April 2009 New Moms!

[bekki]

I think it's a testiment to new motherhood that it's already the 5th, and no April thread:p

Me--Bekki
DH--Adam
Boys--Will and Andy 5 months (Born Oct. 25)

We had kind of an exciting week last week. We took a last minute trip from WA to CA for a memorial service. We (meaning mostly DH) had been super worried about flying with the kids, but it was really not bad at all. They did GREAT! They didn't really sleep all that well over the weekend, which meant we came home and I've been exhausted. It's just hard to catch up, kwim?

However, this week has been pretty good. They've been having really good naps (2x day for about 2 hours), and are so cute with toys and stuff. Still having some nighttime wakeups (ugh, the 4/4:30 am one kills me!), but they're 5 months old, so I can't expect too much from them.

We're attempting an outing with some mom friends on Monday to the zoo. Makes me a smidge nervous to be out for so long. I have no problem with a walk, or a shopping trip because I can fit those in between feedings or naps. This is a little different, so I'm trying to be brave! But our trip to CA inspired me, plus the weather is supposed to awesome on Monday, so how could I say no?

Last thing: What are you doing (or planning to do) about solids? The boys will be 5.5 months on Wednesday, and the ped just said to sart sometime between the 4 and 6 month appointment. I don't know why I'm having such doubt about starting, so tell me your thoughts!!

Couple pics:

Andy
http://www.adamlyon.com/gallery/d/6250-3/wIMG_1515.jpg

Will
http://www.adamlyon.com/gallery/d/6246-3/wIMG_1511.jpg

[helios7]

Me - Heather
DH - Mike
DS - Quinn, 4 months on 3/30

Man oh man... I have so missed being able to get into the boards regularly. I feel like so much has been happening...

In a nutshell -
* Quinn's naps have gone to pot. He doesn't seem to nap past a half hour EVER these days which is making for a tired and cranky Quinn and a tired and cranky mommy.
* Quinn's not sleeping well - often wakes screaming at 4:30 in the morning. This coupled with the "new" 11pm feeding he added 2 weeks ago is really making life tiring.
*Quinn's teething (yes, at 4 months). I'm hoping this is related to the sleep issues.
*Quinn's not rolling over yet (but doing a half roll). I don't think I should be concerned yet.... anyone think otherwise?
*We changed peds for a variety of reasons culminating in the old ped telling me I should let him cry it out at night as he's too big to be eating at night. That didn't sit well with me (on top of a generally growing feeling we weren't a good match). So, now we're with a new practice who we like better (so far). The new ped seemed a bit concerned he's not rolling yet though --- see above. :)
*Quinn's spitting up OUT OF CONTROL. Again hoping teething related.
*We ambitiously tried to cold-turkey on the swaddle, but have cut back to 2 arms out as the one night cold turkey was h(%*# on earth.

So that's all that's with us these days. It seems like a lot. I'm definitely feeling harried... and tired. We had a scare where DH woke up to see Quinn with our covers over his head (I still bring him in around 1-2 when he wakes) so since then I've been making sure he's well clear of the covers and has lots of room. Which means I'm practically sleeping in the cosleeper :rolleyes:. Cosleeping was not part of our plans, and we definitely need a bigger bed but that's not happening right now so we're making do.

In contrast to all the ups and downs right now, he's a wonderful little boy who laughs, and smiles and is just a cutie. We got a great video of him experiencing the baby swings at the park for the first time on Weds. He was laughing and smiling - very cute. In between my moments of panic about his lack of naps, and my fatigue, I'm really having fun with him. I think the scale has just tipped a bit lately as I'm tired.

Becky - good luck at the zoo! Our OLD ped practice told us solids were safe to start between 4-6 months, but the new practice wants us to wait until 6 months as the increase of food allergies increases with early introduction. I don't feel like Quinn is ready yet... so we're happy to wait a bit. Also we're traveling internationally right around his 6 month bday, so I think it'll be easier to start once we come back.

hope everyone else is doing well, and hopefully the boards will behave so we can get some regular chatter going again! :)

[Bawstinn]

ILast thing: What are you doing (or planning to do) about solids? The boys will be 5.5 months on Wednesday, and the ped just said to sart sometime between the 4 and 6 month appointment. I don't know why I'm having such doubt about starting, so tell me your thoughts!!



First, your boys are adorable!

Check out this website - http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

Someone on here had pointed me to it and it is the same website our doctor had told me to check out when I had mentioned wanting to make food, rather than buy. They have a section on here for 'signs' to look for when your baby is ready to try some solid food.

Keep in mind it takes a while to get the hang of it ... so they might be 6 months before they actually get any of it in them. My DD had more than doubled her birth weight and was wanting to nurse constantly so we introduced cereal around 5 months, starting just at supper time. Noticed a difference in her sleep habits (sleeping longer) so it seemed nursing just wasn't enough for her. Started with vegetables at 6 months.

If you have a history of food allerigies in the family, there is even a section on the website on what to watch for and how to introduce the foods.

[kabs]

Hi everyone, may I join you? I am a new mom to a 4 week old little boy. :)

Me- Kim
DH- Todd
DS- Alexander, 4 weeks old

I am feeling very overwhelmed with being a mom right now. I am lucky to have my mother nearby to help me when DH goes to work every day, but I don't know if I could survive a day without help. I just spent an hour browsing babycenter for feeding/sleeping schedules and it made me feel like crying, because I am so not there. I know it's not realistic to be on a schedule quite yet, maybe, but when should I expect to? What about a sleeping, do most babies have a pattern at this point? I can't count on Alex sleeping at any point, we just happen to luck out at times. Can't count on him eating a set amount, just happen to roll with whatever happens. I feel so out of control. :o

Alex seems to also have some reflux issues...it started with general inconsolable fussiness, then went on to eating issues, and swallowing issues, and the dr. seems to think it might reflux, so we started him on Axid 3 days ago, although it pained me to do so. I am not totally convinced that he has reflux, but at this point, I am so desperate to ease the pain that he seems to be in, that I filled the prescription and started him on the meds.

So...without bombarding the rest of you with a million questions, can anyone recommend a good baby book that might help answer some of my questions, or at least help me come up with some sort of plan to help me get through these first months? Thanks!

Kim

[bekki]

Kim, congrats and WLECOME! I'm sure we've all been (or sometimes, in my case, still in the whole new craziness)

A couple books I have found very helpful:

1) Happiest Baby On the Block by Dr. Karp. His methods saved my hide for the first 3 months

2) Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child: I don't agree with everything in the book, but I've found a lot of it really helpful

3) The Baby Whispere (2 books): Again, not everything works perfect, but it really helped me get a handle on things

The thing you have to remember is that you are in survival mode right now. Do whatever it takes to get by. If he sleeps in a swing, great. If he sleeps in the carseat, awesome. And don't forget to cut yourself some slack. He won't remember any of this, so as long as he's growing and alive, you're doing a fantastic job! You're the only mother he's ever had, so it's not like he making comparisons!

[Pony]

I just wanted to quickly post to this......THANKS bekki for starting it....haven't read through it, but I just want to cry out loud and say I start back at work tomorrow...boooohoooo:(:o

ok, i'm done whining..now off to spend some time with my little girl.

[gertdog]

Michelle- I'll be thinking about you tomorrow.

Heather- sorry things have been so tough lately! Hope things calm down soon.

(((((Kim))))) When DS1 was born, DH took two weeks off work, then my mom came to stay for another week. The morning of the first day I was going to be home alone with Ryan, I remember sitting on the sofa with the baby in my lap, totally sleep-deprived, tears rolling down my face as DH said goodbye before heading off to work, and saying "I don't know how I'm going to do this!"

I agree with Bekki- you're in survival mode. You're not going to see a real schedule for a while- a few months at least. I can also echo the first two book recommendations- we found both of those helpful. Happiest Baby has tools for soothing your baby- they don't all work for all babies, and what works once might not work next time, but just having strategies to try can really help you feel more in control. Healthy Sleep Habits is one of the worst organized books I've ever seen but the information about how sleep develops is based on solid research and might help you feel a little less overwhelmed and less "behind" on implementing a schedule.

One more book that I like is The Portable Pediatrician by Laura Nathanson. IMO she offers a really thorough and helpful overview of what you can expect, developmentally, from birth through age 5 as well as info on illnesses and other issues. I don't agree with everything she says, but it's my most-used baby reference.

What most reassured me early on was tracking DS's sleep for a few days and realizing that there WAS a pattern, it just wasn't the kind I'd been looking for. While he never fell asleep at a predictable time or stayed asleep for a predictable amount of time, when I added up how many hours total he slept in a 24-hour period, it was consistent from day to day. So if he didn't sleep much one morning and I was feeling rather desperately tired, it was reassuring to know that *sometime* in the next day, about 14 hours of sleep (total) were pretty likely to happen. (Eventually, most of those hours get concentrated at night... but it's a gradual process!)

Hang in there!

[Pony]

shoot..so much to reply to and no time right now...just had to pump, b/c little E is still sleeping and i need to head to work.

just wanted to say to Heather that I'm right there with you w/ the spitup. it is so bad that my 2 very good friends refused to hold evelyn while visiting. i warned my brother and told him to bring multiple shirts and he has been totally cool w/ the spitup, yay. i think E may be teething. my mom said my brother and i were teething w/in the 3rd month, not sure about my husband.

ok, gotta run.

[acginkc]

Hi, I've been lurking for a while and hope its okay if I join you all.

Me-Ashley
DH-Bob
Matt 6 weeks (2/20)

I am starting to feel a bit more in control of my life at this point. We had family here staying with us for basically the 1st 5 weeks of Matt's life. While really helpful, I am so glad to have time alone with him so we can figure out a routine of some sort. I was a bit tired of having guests.

Matt and I are starting to get the hang of this whole BF thing. I'm not having to make him relatch like 5 times to get it right anymore. My struggles now are that he will unintentionally overeat. I have a pretty good supply and at the end of a feeding if he just suckles he will still get milk and then he's spitting up all over the place. He gets mad if I pull him off, but I don't know how else to prevent this. DH is giving him a bottle every evening so that he is comfortable with them if we go out or once I go back to work. Luckily we've had no problems there.

We are definitely still working on the sleep front. We were so excited because we had a couple of good nights where he woke up to eat a couple of times, but went right back to sleep so we were only up like 30 minutes. But its not consistent yet and I'm ready for a good nights sleep. Naps are still a bit of a challenge, but it was hard to get any schedule down with the in-laws in town since they wanted to hold him all day. I'm hoping that we can figure something out soon so I can start getting stuff done around this place. My house is a disaster.

Our latest concern is that my normally regular and happy boy will get backed up and not go for 12 hours and will turn into a miserable screaming baby. i've tried everything I can think of with nothing but time getting it to move on out. Since its not an everyday thing I haven't figured out what is causing it yet. As soon as the gas starts he'll calm down and then we are all smiles again as soon as we poop. And any other mom's of boys, do any of you notice your boys being super sensitive to wet diapers? Matt doesn't make a peep with dirties, but a wet diaper has him instantly upset.

OK some one is up again. Thanks for letting me join in.

[Pony]

Michelle-33
Carl-32
Evelyn-12 1/2 weeks

Yay, I totally thought I was coming back to work on a busy lab day, but labs are drawn this week on my patients. So, this is our slow week, woohoo!! I've been able to chat w/ coworkers and patients instead of working :). I've talked to my husband a few times and things seem to be going well. He left me some sweet notes from Evelyn in my lunch ;).

I must say, I am very happy that I didn't have to send her to daycare, but I'm sure jealous of my husband staying at home.

Things have been going well. She has been a good nighttime sleeper. The other night she slept from 10-6, ate, and then didn't wake up until 10am!!! I had to leave this morning with her still asleep, b/c she didn't wake up until after 9am.

She is loving her activity mat these days. We put her on the floor and she is content for at least a half hour if not more. She seems like she is calming down these days. Not sure if it is b/c we are all figuring each other out, the dairy issure, or her just getting older??? But, it is nice. I'm loving her smiles and squeals. And finally she is enjoying tummy time for about 2 minutes, this is progress :)

Sarah45-I was reading an old post of yours about Jax crying in the crib when he goes down to sleep. Is this still going on? Evelyn will cry, typically, when we put her in the crib. Unfortuantely, we were not persistent and she hasn't been in her crib in FOREVER! ha! We are going to try to transisition her soon. It just got to the point were I was getting good sleep w/ her in the bed, so I didn't want to change that. She wakes up to feed and goes right back down. Naps, well...she still is being held for most naps. That had a lot to do w/ me going back to work. I just didn't want to put her down, especially this last week. I wanted to hold her as much as I could. My husband did just say that he put her down in the bed and laid next to her and she got a 50min. nap. Has the baby acne gotten any better with cleaning him more often? Evelyn's finally cleared up a couple of weeks ago.

Tami-what is the exciting news about Maya and her crib? :)

Beth G.-How are things going with nursing? I am sad that I can't comfort nurse Evelyn much. She will just spit up sooo much if I do that. I hadn't thought about Evelyn grunting until you mentioned it in a post from March. She has stopped!!!! She still occasionally brings her legs up and wiggles at night, but not nearly as bad as when I was eating dairy. I'm bringing in a diaper this Friday. She has only had about 3 mucousy diapers this entire month. That is awesome that you can put him down in the crib awake!!! We have not been able to do that. Evelyn has found her hands as well!!

Stephanie-How was everything while your husband was out of town? Evelyn is similiar to Aiden. Carl can hold her and she will be calm, but when I hold her she is not so calm. Not always, but I would say typically she is more squirmy w/ me.

Luv to Cook-Time does go fast!!! How was your DC trip? Evelyn isn't fond of the carseat. Sure does make it tough!

bekki-glad to hear the plane ride went well. I am flying at the end of May and crossing my fingers things go well. How was the zoo trip? Love the pictures!!

Heather-sorry about the napping! Evelyn's long naps seem to be getting shorter. Not sure about the rolling over. Is he rolling over from stomach to back? Is that what they are supposed to do first??? I need to read up on that. I'm glad you changed doctors. I hope this new one is a perfect match. My doc prefers crying it out, b/c he thinks we should not be creating a stress free environment. He thinks they should be learning how to deal with stress. However, he is not pointing our finger at us and approaches it very calmly and we really like him. He doesn't make us feel like we are doing anything wrong. How big is Quinn? I weighed E last week with clothes and diaper on and she was 14.4!!!!!!!!!! So, she is probably in the upper 13 pound range at ~3 months.

Kim-I'm sorry you are feeling overwhelmed. I was very confused about naps early on and then chatted w/ Heather about them and E has been doing much better since then. I really try to get her to nap w/in 1 1/2 hours of being awake. That is what the Healthy Sleep Habits book recommended and it has been helping a lot! I was not realizing that she was tired. I just assumed if she was awake that I should be playing with her. So, we finally started to rock her as soon as she would get cranky which was typically at 1 1/2 hours of being awake and then she would be out!!!! She is 12.5 weeks and we are still following that rule. Eating, well, she is typically hungry every 2-3 hours. Our schedule is not really based by the actual time of day, but how long she has been up. This is typical for us, not the actual time of day, but typical for times btwn feeding/sleeping---
awake at 9am,
eats by 9:30
10:30 being rocked for a nap and maybe she wakes up at 11:45
eats by 12,
1:15 being rocked for a nap and maybe sleeps until 2:15
eats by 2:30
etc., etc.
So, we just pay attention to how long she has been up. Does that make sense? My mind is mush and I'm not sure if I'm making sense ;).
I have read through the first 2 books bekki mentioned. I also checked out a book by Dr. Ferber. Can't remember the name of it.

acginkc-I'm glad you are feeling a bit better these days. I'm impressed that you would relatch Matt that often!! I was too lazy :). So, Evelyn does not have the best latch. Good for you! Evelyn spits up a ton (read previous post about friends not wanting to hold her!!!!) and it can be such a hastle. I keep receiving blankets around a lot! We use a lot of bibs and change outfits often!

Michelle

[gertdog]

Our latest concern is that my normally regular and happy boy will get backed up and not go for 12 hours and will turn into a miserable screaming baby. i've tried everything I can think of with nothing but time getting it to move on out. Since its not an everyday thing I haven't figured out what is causing it yet. As soon as the gas starts he'll calm down and then we are all smiles again as soon as we poop.


Hi Ashley and welcome! My DS Aiden, 8 weeks, has similar issues. I just read in the Portable Pediatrician that this is usually normal, esp. w/ bf babies. There is a reflex that pushes the poop out for the first ~4 weeks or so; then the reflex fades out and baby has to learn to push it out himself. B/c a breastfed baby's stool is so liquid, apparently a LOT can build up before baby recognizes the need to push. So baby may only poop every few days, and with much ado before/when it happens, and as long as the baby is getting enough to eat, this is normal.

[Beth G.]

Let’s see if Michael will nap long enough for me to do personals.

Me – Beth, 39
DH – Marc, 40
DS – Michael, fussy eater extraordinaire, 3 months old today

Michael is doing pretty well on the sleep front. We’ve had numerous 7 hour stretches, and last night (after lousy napping all day) he went to sleep at 9, got up to eat at 3:30, then slept until 7:30. I just have to be better about not staying up much later than him to get things done, but that’s hard. He’s also been “swimming” at tummy time which I read is what he should be doing at five months when he’s starting to try to crawl. :eek:

DH brought up his pediatrician records from the basement and interestingly enough, it turns out he had the same problem with his neck (torticollis) that Michael has! They were still treating it when he was 18 months old, and he turned out ok. My mom found this so funny that she brought copies of my records and my brothers. Not much there other than weights, lengths, and vaccinations. She only gave me my brothers first as a boy to boy comparison and it seemed she was taunting me with her giant formula fed whale. Then she finally coughed up mine. I too was formula fed, and of course, I’m a girl, so it’s not apples to apples, but I was a seriously slow gainer and was tracking behind Michael. Even though I weighed 10 ounces more than him at birth at 11 weeks I was 11 pounds 10 ounces and he was 12 pounds 4. Looks like he takes after his mom!

We’ve become a late joiner to the spit up club. Michael never used to spit up, but I’ve been through more burpies and outfits in the last 5 days or so than I can count. Not enjoying that when I can hardly get him to eat anyway.

Nursing continues to be a challenge (and he’s been fussier with the bottle now too). Except during the middle of the night and maybe first thing in the morning, at some point, he’ll turn beet red, arch away, and often start “dancing”. Other times he’ll act like he wants to eat, open his mouth up wide anxiously, then turn beet red and arch away the second the nipple makes contact. He won’t BF at all if there is anyone around besides DH and me. So if we have company, I need to take him up to the bedroom when he wants to eat or DH has to give him a bottle. Basically, I’m trapped in my house until I return to work in early July.

Which brings me to… Wednesday and Thursday are the two Passover seders. It will be our first bigger car trip and Michael’s first exposure to my cousins' seven kids, and all his doting grandparents, aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncle, cousins etc will all be there. There will be over 20 people there the first night (the night with the kids). I think he’s going to have a meltdown. He’s kind of high strung. I started pumping this morning so we’ll have enough bottles for both nights since I don’t think we can count on BF there, even if we go up to a bedroom. Should be… interesting. :rolleyes:

I have a lot of frozen milk we’ve never tested. Anyone have the problem with the milk where it tastes soapy and has to be scalded before being frozen? I don't know how common that is. I should really test the frozen milk pronto – I keep freezing not knowing if any of it will be useful, as I haven’t scalded. I could be using it instead of pumping more this week and know it would be good for emergencies.

Weather forecast is lousy for the next 10 days here leaving me trapped in the house and hoping he’ll nap well. It’s nice when I can take him out in the stroller and force nap him and then sit in the playground with my crocheting or a book or catch up on phone calls.

Laura – I’m a block feeding graduate too. Can I just say, ouch? That was a very painful week. Based on the lactation consultant's recommendation and Michael’s last weight check, I’m back to “normal breastfeeding” but we’ll see how his next gain is and if he continues to fuss (the alternative was to go from same breast 2 feedings in a row to 3 and that would have been seriously unpleasant). I may need to go back to 2 in a row, but I hope not. I have read a lot on kellymom and elsewhere, and I go back and forth between foremilk/hindmilk imbalance (his tummy definitely rumbles, but not as bad as before block feeding), reflux, and he’s just not that interested in food. He’s very happy and giggly and never begging to get back on after he’s done the kicking and screaming and turning red at the breast routine, so I have to assume he’s getting what he wants. I like this article on foremilk/hindmilk imbalance:

http://normalfed.com/Continuing/gulping.html

It certainly describes Michael in some ways (not all). Like you, I didn’t realize I was a big producer as I was only full overnight when he slept longer and I don’t leak. Apparently I have “strong muscles” :).

Kerri – with the new spitup problem, I’m going to ask the pediatrician about reflux next week. Maybe he had silent reflux before. Thanks.

Michelle – glad your first day at work hasn’t been too crazy. Michael doesn’t sleep nearly as long at night as Evelyn does – he is always up by 7:30, and I hope each night the middle of the night feeding will be before sunrise or I’m doomed as he won’t go back to sleep at all. I hear boys sometimes sleep less overall than girls. I also have been having a lot of trouble falling back asleep after the middle of the night feeding. Sometimes it takes over an hour :( Michael was over the activity mat (on his back) a few weeks ago. I hope he’ll like it again once he can start grabbing and swatting the toys. Right now, it’s just not as interesting as the mobile since it plays music but doesn’t move. Michael also brings up his legs and wiggles at night. Sometimes followed by a poop or gas. Enjoy getting home to Evelyn tonight! Hope the diaper test goes well.

Stephanie – Michael is still pooping at least twice a day, so if that’s my problem, oh boy, I’m in trouble. He’s quite the dancer on the boob and I certainly think it plays a part. My DH also used to be the better soother but I would say over the last month or so that has become my specialty, as I’ve worked so hard on getting him to nap during the day, I get more practice! I have the exact same issue with my right side, and since he’s so much trouble I also settle for a bad latch.

Ashley – Welcome, and thanks for the side sleeping info. For now, Michael has calmed down a lot sleeping and hasn’t been doing that. He also stopped rotating himself to sleep the short way in the crib, so I hope the restful sleep continues! Michael doesn’t mind a wet diaper at all, so no help there. Is Matt’s penis pointing down in the diaper (flopped over)?

Luv to Cook – I am only weighing once a week. DH has threatened to return the scale (or at least only bring it home from his office once a week) if I weigh more often. I just find there aren’t enough hours in a day for 8 feedings. I’d have to be at every two hours during the day for that, and he doesn’t want to eat that much. He’s three months old. How did the DC trip go? I am curious to see how Michael does on our four 90 minute car trips this week.

Baker Jane – I will try that with the pump! I don’t pump too often at risk of exacerbating my supply issue, but when I do I’d like a bit more freedom.

Bekki – how did the zoo outing go? Our pediatrician is strictly a 6 month guy on solids, so I haven’t given it much thought. I took a nutrition class while I was pregnant and they basically said solids add no nutritional value and just teach the kids to appreciate food and eating, so no rush. But I’ll be back at work around the 6 month mark and it may help our day care if he’ll have some cereal since he’s so fussy with the bottle now too.

Heather – getting any better with the swaddle phase out? So strange how some babies love it and others hate it.

Kim – I will echo the others on Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child approach – learn the drowsy “cues” and start soothing within 90-120 minutes of waking up. There are other things in the book that I disagree with vehemently but this part works. We don’t have a schedule, but that is our cycle. Eat, awake 90-120 minutes, start to soothe, nap, start again. Some days are better than others. For general info, I like “Your Baby’s First Year” by Steven Shelov.

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos5179/7/11/99/98/14/5/514989911703_0_ALB.jpg

[Beth G.]

Forgot to mention (in my super long post!) that I got my hair colored Friday for the first time since two weeks before Michael was born. As I'm totally gray, that was really nice. DH insisted I find someone locally and not 90 minutes away. I'm not happy at all (and my hair is brown, my color is not that hard, but it turned out kind of orange) but I'll give it one more try. Once Michael is old enough I can probably bring him to visit my parents who live five minutes from my old place. Even though I hate how the color turned out, it's still a relief that the inches of gray roots are gone for now :D Meanwhile I have to keep asking for local recommendations.

[LHBryan]

So...without bombarding the rest of you with a million questions, can anyone recommend a good baby book that might help answer some of my questions, or at least help me come up with some sort of plan to help me get through these first months? Thanks!

Kim

Delurking again...

Kim, you are not alone! I remember feeling the same way when DD (now 22 mos.) was a newborn. She was so fussy and difficult to "read." All the other Moms have given you great suggestions for books. Yes, you are in survival mode now, but it gets so much better. For us, the tips from "Happiest Baby..." were invaluable. We checked out the DVD from our library, which was even better b/c I could actually see what the dr. was doing to soothe the babies. I then filled in with the book after watching it. You may want to look on-line to see if you can get the DVD through your library. As for "Healthy Sleep Habits...," I agree it's a very poorly organized, yet helpful book. Keeping your baby's "window of wakefulness" pretty brief (like previous posters said) was key for us too. I had no idea DD was so overtired until my best friend (who's a pediatrician) summarized the HSHHC newborn chapters over the phone for me when I was at my wit's end. I finally bought a copy and still refer to it. DD was SO slow to develop good naps, but we just kept trying and today (knock on wood) she's a great sleeper for naps and nighttime. (In fact, we still can't convince her to drop down to 1 nap.) What you're experiencing is exhausting and incredibly frustrating, but definitely normal. I hope things get better soon!

-Laura

[Sarah45]

Jax is having a grand ol' time "talking" with his mobile animals in the playpen so I should have time for personals - might as well start out the month on the right foot :)

Sarah and DH - 32
Jackson - 6 weeks

Went to our first Mommy and Me class this morning and he was fabulous! Very alert and happy to have his baby massage :D

Bekki - Thanks for starting the thread this month! Wow, I am so glad that flying went so well. We haven't traveled with Jax yet and I am kind of dreading the idea of packing up all the stuff we would need - I admire you for doing it with two! Your boys are absolutely adorable...

Heather - I totally sympathize with the 1/2 hour naps, it's just not nearly enough time to get anything done while they nap - and I'm not sure that much time even does much good (at least for Jax)

Kim - Jax didn't have any kind of sleep/eating schedule at 4 wks, only now at six am I starting to see a pattern that I can rely on (to a degree). Good luck with the reflux hope the medicine helps. As far as books I read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and got some good insights out of it although it is geared for babies a little older than ours. I also have The First 12 Months of Life (http://www.amazon.com/First-Twelve-Months-Life-Growth/dp/055357406X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239057152&sr=8-1) and am reading that a month ahead. My grandmother was a nursing instructor for OB/Ped nurses and she swore that this was one of the best. I've found a few inconsistencies regarding sleeping and you can tell it was written a little while ago but as far as knowing what to expect, I have really enjoyed having it.

Ashley - Welcome! Wow, houseguests for 5 weeks! We had three sets of house guests for a few days each and even that was about as much as I could handle. We don't have any issues with diaper sensitivity. In fact, Jax doesn't seem to care if his diaper is wet or dirty at all, I've often thought it was something that should bother him more.

Michelle - You are so lucky to be able to leave Evelyn home with Daddy, that is awesome for both of them! Funny that you should ask about our sleeping because Friday DH and I decided that 6 weeks of Mom sleeping on the couch was enough! So, it's only been three days but he is sleeping for a few hours at a time in his crib (at night). Now, naps are a different story and he will still only go down for about 30 minutes at a time a couple times a day - so basically he is not napping. ANd the baby acne...still there but only really looks bad when he gets all worked up.

Beth - Something you mentioned brings a question to my mind...For all BF Moms how do you fit in pumping your milk for storage. It seems to me that its all I can do to get him fed let alone pump enough to be able to leave him for multiple hours.

OK, I have overstayed my computer time and Jax is letting me know :o

[Beth G.]

Sarah - I find the best time to pump is right after the first morning feeding. Milk is most ample then. Once you have a small cache, then it's the replacement of the feedings that you miss that you can build with.

Can I rant about poorly designed children's clothes? In the new spit up era, I'm trying to use the gifts we got as much as possible. Yee gads! One outfit had snaps only down one leg. Impossible to change diaper without completely removing the outfit. Have these clothing companies/gift givers any idea how babies work?

[BakerJane]

Me - Jane. 29
DH - Charles, 29
Eileen, 3 months (12/28)

Our biggest issue right now is sleep - she does not like to nap in her crib so we often put her in her swing to sleep (she does really well in there but the Healthy Sleep Habits book doesn't recommend it). She also is waking up every 3-4 hours at night to eat. Lucky for me DH takes the night shift so I'm only getting up during the night to pump. She will sleep in her crib now, though DH often brings her into our bed around 4 am.

Sarah - I second Beth's recommendation to pump in the morning. You've got the most milk then. Try eating old fashioned oatmeal to increase your milk supply, I've only heard anecdotal evidence for this but it has worked great for me. How do you like the mommy and me class?

Anyone else doing a mommy and me or gymboree type of class? If so, what is the best time to start it and is it worth the $? I was thinking of waiting until she was 6m+ before trying one out.

[helios7]

Hi All...

I don't have time for personals as I have to start getting us organized for our first overnight trip. My husband's grandma passed away yesterday, so we're off for the wake today and the funeral tomorrow morning. Our first overnight at grandma's house! I wish it were under better circumstances, not to mention I'm terrified as to how Quinn will handle it.

Naps went better yesterday! Half hour in the morning, but two hours at lunch. Granted I had to put him down three times in that 2 hour stretch, but hey! It worked. Our houseguests noticed the difference when he got up after that. He was much happier and much more fun. And THEN he fell asleep while we were out in the car, and we were able to carry him in his seat where he slept for another 45 mins. He never does that. Last night he stayed in his crib all night,and only woke twice. Although I did wake at 5 to see the monitor had fallen over... I hope he wasn't screaming!! :eek::eek::eek: His room is next to ours, I'm trusting we would have heard him.

So, we'll see what the overnight does to this progress. Of course, we could stay right here and it might still all fall apart. Every day is different.

Good luck to Michelle - hope the back to work transition is going well. Good luck to the babies encountering their first big family gatherings this week with all the holidays! Hang in there everyone else! :D

[Beth H]

Me - Beth, 38
DH - 39
DS - Will, 3 months today

It's been a while since I've been able to post. I'm back at work full-time now, although I'm so busy that I started taking Will in a few hours a day two weeks ago as a transition. He seems to really like the daycare, and I'm very happy with it, but unfortunately he picked up a cold at the end of last week. He wasn't extremely sick with it, but he (and DH and me) all have this lingering post-nasal drip cough which has totally messed up his previously wonderful sleep pattern. I've been up a ton the past few nights, and am really worn out.

Don't have time for personals now as I'm headed to a meeting but it's nice to have some new folks and to see everyone posting.

[gertdog]

Oops, I didn't introduce myself this month!

Me: Stephanie, 37
DH: Jason, 36
DS1: Ryan, 3
DS2: Aiden, 2 months

Heather, I'm sorry to hear about DH's grandma, and hope the trip goes well.

Michelle, glad you had a mellow first day back at work!

On the nursing bra front, I'm pleased to report that I like my new Medela bra far more than the Gap bra, but still like the pullover Bravado bra with the nice wide band best.

Beth G., I'm there with you on badly designed baby clothes! Seems like ease and comfort would be the top priority, but apparently not!

Jane, I did Gymboree with DS1 at around 6 months and felt it was really more about getting me out of the house than about being helpful/fun for him. When he was older and able to crawl/walk, we did another class and he enjoyed all the climbing, the parachute, and the bubbles. We also really liked Music Together at age 1 to 2 yrs- they don't offer classes near us anymore or we'd still be going!

We had Aiden's 2-month well visit this morning. He is a whopping 14 lbs 4 oz :eek: and 24 1/4 inches long. The dr. said he looks great, which was nice to hear. He did a good bit of screeching when he got his shots but is napping now. If I remember correctly, Ryan slept all day after his 2-month shots, so maybe Aiden will too.

I may get a few rotten tomatoes tossed my way, and I'd better knock on wood :) , but for the past week Aiden has been sleeping at night for 6-7 hours, waking to eat, then sleeping for another 2-3 hours.

We survived the week w/o DH- my mom flies home today. :( While we were at the doctor's office today she cleaned our fridge and vacuumed the whole house- hooray! DH left town again this morning but will be back tomorrow night. I'll order a pizza for me and Ryan tonight- desperately need to get to the grocery store. Tomorrow, I hope!

[bekki]

Stephanie That's awesome about the sleeping. No tomatoes here, just happy for you! And sounds like a great 2 month appointment, hopefully you'll have a nice peaceful day after the shots ;)

Beth H Not fun about the cold, but it does sound like the transition to daycare is going pretty well. That mucst be a relief to not have to worry.

Beth G. I'm leaning towards reflux based on your description, especially with the increased spit up. Andy has "silent reflux" and before meds, would do exactly what you're describing (eat ok, then at some point turn bright red, open his mouth for the bottle, but start screaching the minute any milk/formula hit his tounge). Once he was on zantac, all of these problems went away and he eats like a champ....until he grows out of his current dose, and we have to up it.

Michelle What great sleep stretches! You must be so excited!

Ashley Welcome and congrats! Napping is such a big issue, I think each of us has at least a couple problems with them. Try to find something that works (Swing, bouncy seat, carseat, whatever), and use it until it stops working!

Heather Wow, you've got a lot on your plate. That 4 month mark is such a killer. I swear, the first 3.5 months were easy and this 4-6 month stretch is slowly killing me! I don't know if this helps or not, but we were having all of those issues (bad naps, lots of night waking) right about then too, and although it was a tough 3-4 weeks, things seem to be on the upswing now. I still have one baby who has a pretty routine 4-5 am wakeup (usually b/c he's rolled himself over), but naps are SO much better right now. I restorted to a kind of Ferber method thing, and it seems to have worked, so I'm hoping you find something (or he grows out of this stage asap)

[MaryMorph]

Hello again---

Me: Mary Jo
DH: Tim
DD: Maggie 3 1/2 mo (12/10)

I don't think I've posted since I announced Maggie's birth back on the pregnancy page. It's been a whirlwind, to say the least.

Some of you may recall that we were concerned about some positional/ movement issues that Maggie was having in utero, and there was concern that she may have a movement disorder like muscular dystrophy. I was very calmed by the words of a friend, "have faith in your little girl, and give her the opportunity to surprise you." Well surprise us, she did! With the exception of club feet (that we knew about) and a little bit of problems with one of her arms (that we're doing some excercises for) we've got no issues on those fronts.

She ended up spending much of her first 5 weeks in and out of the hospital with issues of low blood sugars, persistently high bili levels, low temperatures, low blood pressures, and poor growth. After lots of tests and poking and prodding (including a period at home of tube feeding and pricking her every 3 hours to check her blood sugar), we eventually determined that she has a malfunctioning pituitary gland. The gland regulates a bunch of different hormone systems in the body, so all of the systems weren't working as designed. We eventually started her on a few meds, including a daily growth hormone injection (never would have guessed she needed that---I'm almost 6' tall, and Tim is 6'3"). She's doing great now, and has remained out of the hospital since the end of January.

In February, we began the process to correct her club feet. The plan is to place her legs (up to almost her crotch, giving us a tiny amount of room on her upper legs to give her shot) in casts for around 3 months. We have the casts changed weekly, and they move the feet just a little bit each time. The first set was a complete disaster---we ended up in the emergency room at 3am to have them taken off after she screamed bloody murder for the previous 12 hours. The others seem to have worked out ok, and her feet are definitely correcting nicely. It's kind of funny to listen to her---she'll be laying in her crib and we hear her clicking her little casts together. She flings her feet up in the air and kicks them together.

As far as eating and sleeping---we need to measure exactly how much she's eating, so I can't breast feed her. I did the pumping and feeding thing for a while, but it got exhausting, particularly when she was being tube fed---every feed would take at least 1.5 hours from start to finish. I have a ton of milk saved, though, so I should have enough to feed her at least 1 bottle a day of breast milk until she's at least 6 months old. She's a great sleeper--We put her down for the night around 6:30, I feed her when I go to bed (she usually doesn't wake up for this), and then she will sleep until about 7:30 in the morning. It's a beautiful thing! I used to work w/ Marc Weissbluth of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child fame and am a pretty big believer in his main beliefs. We do let her cry when putting her down at night and prior to her naps, but I'll still get up with her if she does wake up at night.

I've been back to work for about a month. It's gone OK. Tim stays home with the kids, so that helps a bunch. My mom also comes over a couple of mornings a week so Tim can get a little break.

Today, I'm frustrated with Maggie's doctor's office. The messed up a prescription for one of her meds yesterday. This is the 3rd error that they've made in her 3 1/2 months. I'm lucky that I'm a pharmacist and know what I'm doing with her meds so that the errors are caught before making their way to her. Each one of the mistakes could have been potentially devastating had they actually occurred. I'm kind of stuck with the office, though. There's not alot of pediatric endocrinologists around. I'm not sure where the problem lies---with the physician or with the staff. I could change to one of his partners, but if the issue is with his staff, I'm no better off than I was before. I called to complain to the office today, and I guess I'll just need to be hyper-vigilant. It's scary to think what is happening to his patients whose parents aren't as informed as I am, though!

Well, I've dilly-dallied enough for now. It's been nice to see what you all are up to again!

mary jo

[bekki]

Duh, update on the zoo....

Epic fail.

1) It was an amazingly gorgeous spring day here
2) Spring break for some kids

Add one and two together and you get a line that was, and I'm not kidding, at least 100 people log to get in. 100 people! After I finally found a place to park (20 minutes later and 4 blocks away), my friends called and said they were bailing because it was going to take so long to get in. So, I called another friend who lived nearby and hung out with her and her kids for the afternoon. The boys didn't sleep much (oh, how I long for the days when they would actually sleep in their carseats), but it was a good afternoon, even with the lameness of the zoo. We will try again, but we'll get there right when it opens.

I'm feeling SO tired and unmotivated right now. Andy was up at 3:57, 4:20, 5:20 and 6:15 before Will woke up at like 7:20. I have no idea what his deal was (Except the first wake up because he rolled over and could figure out how to flip himself back), but the little stretches of sleep between his wake ups are just maddening. But the mom's group is meeting at my house tomorrow, and I've got to reorginaize the living room and clean up around here. But at least with that coming up, I know I'llforce myself to do the work :p

[Sarah45]

Anyone else doing a mommy and me or gymboree type of class? If so, what is the best time to start it and is it worth the $? I was thinking of waiting until she was 6m+ before trying one out.

The class I went to is offered free by our hospital birth center for 0-3 mos. so I didn't have to make a decision to pay for it. It really was more about getting ME out of the house and in the vicinity of other new Moms. The question and answer session they had was really great. Yesterday was baby massage and next week is small group sharing - should be interesting.

Last night was a half good night here. Jax went into his crib by 9:20 and slept until 1:30. After feeding him he fell into a really restless sleep which meant lots of noises that kept Mommy awake. Eventually the restlessness eased into wakefulness and I broke down at 4 a.m. and brought him into bed with us so I could get a few more hours of sleep. Like my husband said - 3/4 of the night in his crib is better than where we were last week so we're moving forward. I am much more tired than I was when we were sleeping together so it's hard to see this as progress :(

[fancyn]

Finally have a brief moment to post without the BB being squirrelly!
Me: Nancy, 30
DH: Jason, 36
DS: Nicholas, 4
DD: Natalie, 7 weeks (2/17)

So much to catch up on – I’ll try and do personals as best as possible. On our front, things are going pretty well over all. I’ve had some serious BF Issues. I tried the Reglan with no luck and I’m currently taking herbs to keep the supply I have. Nothing I do can budge how much I make. There was talk that a shot I got after delivery for Post Partum Hemorrhaging diminished my supply, then talk of a retained placenta. I had blood work done and my prolactin level is extremely low. My LC is looking into it being a side effect from a pituitary adenoma I have. Long story short I am one of the rare people where supply and demand just doesn’t work. So Natalie still nurses and gets supplements and I’ve come to terms with it I suppose. I return to work next Monday and I’m trying to nix nursing during the day, even though she will get to come with me. That’s not going so well, so if anyone has suggestions…

Naps are also tricky. She used to go down fairly well but b/w a cold, congestion and us house sitting away from the norm, she refuses to sleep flat. Bouncer, fine. Car seat, fine. Flat on our back, no way. Stomach…..fine. Hates being swaddled but has the startle reflex wake her. So I’m currently trying to figure this one out. When she’s ready for a nap, she knows it but can’t get comfy enough to stay asleep. Same for the night time. Unless she’s rocked to sleep and laid down totally passed out, it’s an up and down game. But I have been blessed with a nighttime sleeper, TG. So far our biggest stretch was 7 hrs but usually it’s more like 4-5.

Overall she’s a joy. She still seems fairly easy going but that is slowly diminishing I think. She reminds me completely of Nick as a baby. Very alert, very particular, very smiley and talkative. I’m so estatic she’ll be coming to work with me, probably until she’s 6 months – but I really don’t get all that much done. At least I didn’t when Nick came. But hey, I’m there in body…mind, another thing. :D I keep thinking how exhausted I am now and I cringe at the thought of getting both of us ready and out the door in any sort of timely fashion. Add keeping up with the laundry and housework and a 4 year old and I think I'm in for surprise! Having 2 is easy in some ways, but way more trying in others. We're still trying to iron out the kinks with that...:o

OK, sleeping beauty is waking up and wants breakfast. More later, I hope!

[Couperine]

((((Nancy)))) - I was so exhausted for much longer than I expected when we added David to the mix. It does get better, but she's still young enough to keep you tired at night, plus the hard part of an older child still wanting you and their normal routine. Since you are trying to stop nursing the day, perhaps you might think of stopping altogether since you're having such a hard time keeping what supply you do have. I found it very frustrating being stuck between fully BF'ing and bottle feeding, and I know others here have felt the same. Just a suggestion, but I know I felt much less stressed once I made the decision to stop and we all moved on.

I must get back to housework here though; with all the stupid breaks I have to take to keep my blood pressure down, it takes a long time. I'm hoping for a gift certificate for maid service once a month for mother's day - I just want someone else to mop my darn floors!

[acginkc]

Thanks for all the warm welcomes.

I've decided that Matt wants to drive me slowly insane. Friday and Saturday he slept perfectly in his bassinet, no fussing or anything. Then Sunday night he didn't really sleep due to some tummy/gas issues. Monday night only the swing would do, and then last night it was all about being held by mom. I miss predictability :rolleyes:. Oh well, I suppose if he's actually sleeping and in a good mood during the day I'm not going to complain too much.

Bekki-your boys are so adorable. I can't believe how busy your zoo was. Hopefully your friends called and changed plans before you'd gotten the boys out of the car and into the stroller.

Heather- I hope Quinn's sleep starts evening out for you. I feel your pain on the spit up front. I joke that I've changed my perfume to Eau de baby since becoming a mom. If we give Matt his Zantac he seems to do better, though he hates getting that dropper shoved in his mouth.

Kim- Hang in there. As you and DS are trying to figure each other out there will be some bumps. I felt like I was so behind because he wasn't sleeping through the night and wasn't on a strict schedule. I finally realized that Matt was happy, healthy and that at his young age I was expecting a bit too much. Don't be afraid to ask your family or friends for help so that you can have a chance to unwind and maybe get a little nap in.

Michelle- I hope your 1st week back at work is going well. I'm not looking forward to heading back (and I've got quite a while). The relatching was purely selfish. I was getting really sore so I had to do something. Matt liked to chomp down because I have a fast let down. Good luck with her next diaper check.

Stephanie-Thanks for the pooping information. That makes perfect sense. I have a coupon for Barnes & Noble so I may have to pick up that book. And while I'm totally jealous of your restless nights, I won't be throwing any tomatoes. I need all the good sleep karma I can get.

Beth G- I'm sorry your little guy is still struggling with eating, though it sounds like somewhere in there he's still getting what he needs if he's growing so good luck.

Sarah- I've wanted to try a Mommy and Me class, just have to find one around here. Isn't it fun to watch them "play" with their toys now? Matt cracks me up in his exercise mat, smiling at his stuffed octopus.
As for pumping, we give Matt 1 bottle each day and thats when i pump. I've built up a pretty good stash at this point and Matt will take a bottle from pretty much anyone (though he seems annoyed if i try).

Beth H- I feel you on the cold. Matt had one and while he's fine now, I still have some lingering symptoms.

Mary Jo- I'm glad to hear that Maggie is doing well. I always lurked on the pregnancy thread to see how she was doing. I'm sorry the Dr keeps making mistakes with her prescriptions. Hopefully you can address it with someone in the office.

Well we are having a week of lunch dates this week so i better get ready since it now takes me 5 days to get me and the baby out of the house.

[Kiwismommy]

Hello again---

Me: Mary Jo
DH: Tim
DD: Maggie 3 1/2 mo (12/10)



In February, we began the process to correct her club feet. The plan is to place her legs (up to almost her crotch, giving us a tiny amount of room on her upper legs to give her shot) in casts for around 3 months. We have the casts changed weekly, and they move the feet just a little bit each time. The first set was a complete disaster---we ended up in the emergency room at 3am to have them taken off after she screamed bloody murder for the previous 12 hours. The others seem to have worked out ok, and her feet are definitely correcting nicely. It's kind of funny to listen to her---she'll be laying in her crib and we hear her clicking her little casts together. She flings her feet up in the air and kicks them together.

mary jo

Delurking!

Mary Jo, my 2 year old grandaughter was also born with bilateral clubfeet. When my daughter found out at her 20 week ultra sound I began researching and found a wonderful forum: nosurgeryforclubfoot@yahoogroups.com There is a lot of discussion about the Ponseti method of treatment. It has been an incredible resource for us.

Danita

[EmilyD]

another new momma here...

Me: Emily, 33 next week
DH: MJ, 33
DS: JD, 3 weeks and change (born 3/14)

I started writing this on Sunday so it's a bit disjointed and i haven't read the newer postings, nor do I remember any details to do personals -- next time!

JD is more or less an easy baby so far --We were in the hospital for 5 days after I unexpectedly had a C-section so that gave our family plenty of time to learn more about our new arrival. Our hospital had great lactation consultants and they really helped us with some initial latch problems. The immediate solution was a nipple shield (did anyone else use one? for how long?), which I'm still using at nights (because I'm too tired to try repeatedly to get him to latch on), and to get him started on the right side (he favors the left). I'm using it less frequently each day though so hopefully we'll be done with it by the end of the month. Earlier this week he even latched on by himself without any assistance from me.

We've been on our own since the beginning of the month after my DH retrned to work and my mom went back to Houston. So far it's going OK but it sure's been hard to eat as often as I'm hungry with nursing him. Last night I managed to make dinner while he napped but then he woke up just as we sat down. DH got everything bite-size for me and then I nursed him at the table while I ate.

I'm extremely grateful that so far he's a good sleeper. Almost every night he nurses for the last time around 11p and we have him changed and swaddled in the cradle by midnight, where he sleeps until 4 or 5. When that feeding is done he usually sleeps another 3 hours again. During the day he sometimes sleeps 2-4 hours as well, and he's happy to lie in his crib with the mobile too for about 15min. The trade-off seems to be cluster feeding at least once a day where he's ready to nurse every 60 - 90 minutes, leaving me just 30-45 minutes btwn feedings and he's usually alert. But I think that's well worth the stretches of sleeping at night!

JD was 6lb 7oz at birth and dropped to just shy of 6lbs before gaining again. He was up to 7lb 9 oz at his 2wk appt -- hoping to swing by the ped today to weigh him again. He sometimes nurses 10+ times/day, other days just 7 times. I've been keeping a log and can see a pattern emerging but it's still variable. So long as he's still gaining I'll not worry about it.

I freelance from home and have been able to get some small jobs done. The extra income is esp. welcome as my DH was on furlough for one of the weeks of his leave and is furloughed again for a week next month. There have been layoffs at his company already this year tho so we're grateful he still has his job and benefits -- esp. after the c-section and long hospital stay! Rumor is a new round of layoffs may come this month so we're keeping our fingers crossed. Anyone else on this tightrope? We'll both start looking for full-time jobs if he does get laid off and then figure out something different for JD's care.

and one pic; he's 8 days old: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_1N43sSENtCk/Scq_QmSWNyI/AAAAAAAACcw/qcA19x3UsGQ/s640/IMG_0486.JPG

[kabs]

I've been reading everyone's posts while Alex is napping, but I hear him rustling in there, so I know I don't have long...

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement, I really needed to hear that I'm not alone here...The book suggestions have been written down and I will definitey check them out. Also, thanks for the suggestion of finding the book on DVD (Sorry, I can't find who suggested it, as I'm trying to type quickly!). I am going to look at the library.

Also, Stephanie, I have to thank you for the suggestion to track his sleeping. I have been doing that for the past 3 days and I think I"m finding the same thing you did- Alex sleeps about the same amount of time each day, just not at the same times. Well, that's how it looks so far, but I've only tracked for 2 full days so far.

Ack! I wanted to reply to more posts, but the little man is up. Thanks again to all you helpful mamas! :)

[cchhbb]

In February, we began the process to correct her club feet. The plan is to place her legs (up to almost her crotch, giving us a tiny amount of room on her upper legs to give her shot) in casts for around 3 months. We have the casts changed weekly, and they move the feet just a little bit each time. The first set was a complete disaster---we ended up in the emergency room at 3am to have them taken off after she screamed bloody murder for the previous 12 hours. The others seem to have worked out ok, and her feet are definitely correcting nicely. It's kind of funny to listen to her---she'll be laying in her crib and we hear her clicking her little casts together. She flings her feet up in the air and kicks them together.


mary jo

delurking...
Mary Jo,

I had severe bilateral club feet at birth. I went through the casting process you are describing as a child. My club feet were very bad and my parents were not given much optimism about the correction. After casting and a surgery, I have no problems with my club feet. If you would like to ask me any questions, please feel free to pm me.

Good luck.
Cheryl

[tholbrook]

Finally…

Me: Tami, 34
DH: 37
DD: Maya, 7 1/2 months

Okay, this post is about a week in the making, so I hope I’ve caught everyone. I’ll do personals first (before the thread gets even longer! ;)), and then I’ll start working on the latest and greatest here…

Bekki: Sorry the zoo didn’t work out like you wanted, but glad it was still a good day. The 2-hour naps sound wonderful! The night-time waking, however … yikes, that’s a lot. I hope that issue is resolved quickly. Andy and Will are so cute – thanks for posting the pictures.

Heather: Wow, teething at 4 months! I don’t envy you at all. I am dreading that phase (DH was 13 months when his first teeth came through, so Maya might still have a while to go). As far as the rolling over goes, Quinn is a big boy, so it seems to me that it would be normal for this stage to be developed… he has to be even stronger to flip over than a smaller baby would. If he’s doing a half-roll, then he has the right idea. That’s just my take on it, anyway. Hang in there – if I recall (and it’s pretty hazy), the 4-5 month stage was pretty rough for us too. Add teething to that, and … not pretty!
So sorry about your DH’s grandma. How did the traveling go?

Kim: A big “hang in there” to you too – over the next few weeks, I think you’ll start to see more patterns and predictability. Around 7 weeks is when I started to emerge from the fog of being exhausted and overwhelmed… (((Kim))) You’ll get through it, and meanwhile, feel free to vent away here!

Michelle: Well, the first week back to work is half over – how is it going? Is Carl enjoying staying with Evelyn all day? If she is teething, I bet he has his hands full. Very sweet about the little notes! I’m sure that gave you a big smile! So how many times did you call home the first day? ;)
Maya’s spitting-up is pretty much gone now, but we had one friend who used to get drenched in a major way every single time she held Maya. It seems like the spit-up got worse between 4 – 6 months, and finally tapered off to being only a rare occurrence.

Stephanie: Wow, Aiden is a big boy (he already outweighs Maya :D and she’s 5 months older!). No rotten tomatoes from me either – it’s wonderful that he’s such a great sleeper at night. Hurray for your mom cleaning the house… that was nice of her. I’m sure she enjoyed her time with you and her grandsons.

Ashley: Welcome! Glad that things are feeling more in control. Those first weeks are such a wild crazy ride. Good for you for practicing the BF latch correctly – me, I was another one who was too lazy. Maybe your efforts will pay off, and you won’t have any/many future BF issues. Re: dirty diapers – around this age, the frequency may start to decrease. From everything I’ve read/heard, this is normal and BF babies rarely get constipated. Starting at 7 weeks old, Maya only has a couple dirty diapers a week, and her ped says it’s fine. She did (and still does!) have lots of gas, which made her super-fussy. Until she was older -5 or 6 months? - we used to help her by massaging her belly in a downward motion, and then gently bringing her knees to her chest.

Mary Jo: So glad you joined us here. What great news that the situation wasn't as bad as predicted, but I’m sorry you and Maggie have had to go through so much with the hospital visits and testing. I hope that the prescriptions help with the pituitary issue (and that the dr’s office starts getting their act together!). And it sounds like Maggie is making the best of things even with the casts on her legs… I had to smile at your description of her entertaining herself! :D

Sarah: very cute about the mobile! And impressive too – Maya couldn’t have cared less about her toys when she was that age. Glad the Mommy & Me session went well. I really should get involved with something like that. We really don’t know many people IRL with kids the same age, and it would be fun to hang out with other moms.

Beth G: Awesome about the long stretches of sleep! Re: BF - sorry it’s so stressful for you and Michael. The article you posted sounds like it might offer some good advice, although you’ve already done the block feeding… did that seem to help the over-supply at all? I can see why you’re torn between reflux and fore/hindmilk being the cause. Maybe it’s a combination? Also, I’ve never heard of scalding breast milk. Mine sometimes has a soapy smell too, but it doesn’t seem to bother Maya one bit. Is this something I should look into? Have a great time visiting your family – hope it goes better than you expect!

Beth H: Hope Will is over the cold … and you and your DH too. Get some rest (if you can)!

Jane: We’re still using the swing at our house too – and Maya is 7 months old! :o But it’s so hard to get her to take naps, and I would rather her get a good nap than to fight with her on where she sleeps, which invariably results in a short nap (30 minutes or less). Eventually we’re going to have to work on the nap location … not looking forward to that. Thanks for mentioning the oatmeal to increase supply – I’ve heard that but forgot about it.

Nancy: Hi! How is that beautiful little girl of yours? I’m so sorry that BF still isn’t going as well as you had hoped! :( I’m not sure what to tell you on the weaning off daytime feedings since you have a supply issue – maybe check kellymom.com? They have tons of info, plus a forum with some very knowledgeable lactation experts who chime in. You'll figure out a way that's good for both you and Natalie. I totally hear you on not getting much done at work with a baby in tow! Good luck with that! How is Nick doing with being the big brother?

Emily: I hope that your recovery is continuing to go well. And wow, sleeping so well already! I’ve practically given up eating dinner at the table anymore. Maya still likes to cluster-feed in the evenings, so I’ll nurse her just long enough where she’ll let me make dinner, and then once I sit down (in a recliner), we both have our dinners :). Sending good thoughts your way for your DH’s job…
PS – your picture just showed up … oh, that hair! Too cute! With that serious look on his face, he looks so much older than 8 days.


Hope all you mommies and your sweet little ones are having a good week!

[tholbrook]

Okay, unless Megan pops in, it's looking like Maya is the oldest baby on this thread. But I'm in no way, shape, or form ready to graduate from the "New Moms" group :o:D...

So last month, I mentioned that we had exciting news about Maya and her crib. Yeah, well, that lasted all of 4 or 5 days. But it's still a ray of hope in her progress to sleeping on her own...
Anyway, after almost 2 straight weeks of Maya waking up at 3:30 a.m. and staying up until 6, I was at my wit's end. We moved her crib upstairs and I was determined, but very anxious, that she start sleeping in her crib. So I put her down the first night - she kicked around for a minute, then rolled onto her belly, lay her head down, and was asleep in 5 minutes (with me patting her back). You could have knocked me over with a feather! :eek: This was MY child, sleeping so easily in a crib?

Alas, it was not to be :(. She slept there for a few hours, but woke up wailing and would not settle even after nursing. So I brought her into bed so we could both go back to sleep. About the same the next night. After that, she started fussing when I put her in her crib, and it took 30+ minutes to get her down, only to have her wake up less than an hour later. And then it was 45 minutes to sleep, and waking up in 30 minutes. And NOT going back to sleep again for 2 more hours, despite all my efforts. I was more tired than ever, so we're back to our normal arrangement (cosleeping). Fortunately, she's only waking for less than 30 minutes at a time during the night now (3-4 hour stretches) so I feel reasonably rested.

Naps are going okay, most of the time. Finally. I do the same thing as Heather and Michelle - I've been watching how long she's been awake, and it's pretty predictable when she needs to go down: 1st nap after 2 hours awake, 2nd nap is after 3 hours, and the 3rd is after 2 hours... each nap is almost exactly 1 hour, 15 minutes long. If we do miss the sleep window, especially the mid-afternoon nap, everything goes to heck, naps are 30 minutes, and she stays up for 6-8 hours (or more!) with only a few catnaps.

Breastfeeding issues are finally settling down... I feel comfortable with my supply, Maya seems to be more efficient now, and BF sessions are 15-20 minutes, instead of 30-45. My only problem is that pumping is actually worse than before - I never have been great at it, but now I'm only getting about 75% of what I used to. Anyone have experience with that? I really need to be able to pump enough to leave her with DH or MIL a few days a week. When I'm away from her, I don't pump enough to replace what she's had via bottle. I don't want to tap into my freezer supply...

Okay, maybe one other problem: now that she finishes so quickly, she doesn't fall asleep as often while nursing. So she wants to play, but she wants to keep nursing. Add those together, and her favorite thing to do is clamp down as hard as she can to get my attention. Yowee, does it hurt! She also likes to reach up while she's nursing and either grab a handful of hair - or my bottom lip. What's going to happen when she has teeth?!? :eek:

So that's about it here ... unfortunately, this has been a couple of rough days - not much sleep last night, not enough napping today... so it's past midnight now, and she's up again, fighting sleep. Hopefully once I get her down, we'll have a better night.

[tholbrook]

Here are some recent pictures:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/090316Readytogoout.jpg http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/090405MissSmiley.jpg

I told DH that I wouldn't put those bows on her head but sometimes I just can't resist. :p Plus I get tired of telling people she's NOT A BOY (yes, even when wearing pink).

[helios7]

What an active thread this month! Wow!

Quinn's napping (I hope for a long time) so I will do my best to get to everyone and share a bit about our crazy week.

The funeral went as well as can be expected. Our first overnight was rough, but in all fairness I think it would have been rough here too. After a GREAT night monday night (only woke once, and stayed all night in his crib) the last two nights have been disasters full of screaming and inconsolable tears. I've been up 3 or more hours each night, but it was particularly hard not in our own environment. Even though last night was also rough, I was happy to be home. Quinn did very well - he got a bit cranky at the wake in the early evening on Tuesday. The evening is not his best time of day. He also didn't nap well that day. Yesterday he did great - was cheerful during the end of the wake, slept through mass and was cheerful/slept through the lunch. He was passed around (a lot :mad:) and did really well through that too. Overall, people were very impressed.

Now, I have a question I've almost brought up several times but have held off. I'm having a bit of trouble with my mother-in-law since Quinn was born, and am wondering how much of it is just my different family background to my husbands, or my neuroticness as a new mom. I will preface by saying my MIL is a very nice sweet lady and we've always gotten along well. And I shelve my annoyances so we do well in person... these are just things that bother me. She's called my husband daily since he was born asking how "her" baby is. She's pushing us very hard to be allowed to babysit, we should go away so he can stay overnight etc etc. We're not ready (plus he's EBF so a romantic weekend would involve the pump which isn't really romantic). But I find it annoying to continually be pushed. When she's around I barely get to hold Quinn - I have to interrupt to take him to eat. And she is always doubting my decisions to try to put him down - "he looks wide awake to me! He doesn't look tired!" (even as he conks out). And she cries at the thought of our upcoming international trip - she hates the fact we're taking him away. I've thought about it a lot, and think that I will get better about sharing etc as he gets older (or has a sibling) and that a lot of my reluctance probably comes from being a new mom (with a somewhat pushy MIL) but am just curious if anyone else had dynamics change within families after the baby arrived. I've just been caught off guard by the shift.

I'm going to try to post a pic, and then will post again with personals. Assuming the small man continues to cooperate!

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2660/213/18/1516817069/n1516817069_240984_3730928.jpg

[helios7]

I'm hearing noises... so I may have to come back later. But here goes.

In reverse order:

Tammi - LOVE the daffodil pic. She looks adorable. Yep, teething is not fun. No one remembers when either of us teethed, but I confess I would have happily waited a bit longer. Hang in there with the crib. We initially "missed" Quinn when he was in there in the night. Now we both sleep better when he's in the crib, so are moving towards more time there. Just keep trying it out... I also encourage you to find some IRL moms to hang with. My little group has been SO crucial to my sanity!

kabs (Kim?) - You are SO not alone. Hang in there!

Emily - Welcome, and oh that hair! Too adorable. I'm amazed you've gotten some small jobs done. I don't think I could get anything done now, and Quinn is 4 months. :)

More later... the man is up!

[Couperine]

helios7, I had some issues with my in-laws with my first baby; I only breastfed, never pumped to make extra, etc., so the idea of a getaway in which I had to pump seemed absolutely stupid and completely unrelaxing. I can't really discern how close in location your MIL is, but I found it easiest to start by going to dinner and a movie with DH while feeding before I left, and planning things to where I'd feed him when I got back.

Now I think your MIL may have a whole other level of attachment issues, but I had to keep reminding myself that I did marry a successful example of her child-rearing skills. For your sake I hope she gets better - my mother said things more in line with your MIL, and eventually DH and I made it a game to keep track of how many times she mentioned that my son was gassy (her favorite), needing a burp, or sleepy. Basically it came down to realizing she just wanted that time with DS and letting go of control enough to realize that it was her way of bonding with him. Since DS2 was bottle fed after a while, I never fed him while she was around - she absolutely adored that, and I'd worked through most of my control issues with DS1.

Also with DS2, I was pathetically grateful when my in-laws kept him for 4 days while we went away at 5 months or so. Sure I pumped (unsuccessfully hence the change to the bottle and formula), but I slept very well and had a good time with DH where we really connected as friends and partners rather than exhausted parents. I don't think I could have done this with DS1 - I've definitely chilled as a parent since having a second child mostly out of self-preservation.

Anyhow, yes I had a few issues with grandparents with DS1. :)

I find it hard to spend enough time to do personals for all, but I do want to add for tholbrook that if she hurts you on purpose, stop the feeding altogether. I found with my boys that they only chomped, twisted, etc when they were full enough to think about being annoying. The hair thing only gets worse - David turns 1 next week, and he thinks my hair, sunglasses, and car keys belong exclusively to him. I got tired of it with DS1 and cut my hair, but I'm just pulling it back more often now - I hated short hair and it looked even worse on days when I couldn't spend time fixing it up.

Time to go - heading to Ethan's class Easter Egg hunt - woo!

[Pony]

It's my fourth day back at work. So not fun. Monday and Tuesday were easy, b/c I left early and Carl brought her to work. Wednesday was rough and today, I left home early so I can get home earlier then I did yesterday!!! She is still sleeping according to my husband!! I'm trying to be happy with the fact that she is at home and doing well w/ her dad, but I will admit I am VERY jealous! :o He has been really good about writing down and telling me all that they've done. He has been doing tummy time, reading stories, taking walks, etc. ahhhhh, that is what I want to be doing. Deep breaths.

I keep struggling with what to do about sleeping. She sleeps really well at night in our bed, but Carl is still sleeping in the guest room :eek:. Sooo not fair to him!!! We have not tried the crib in ages and I think we might move it to our room and start putting her in there (I've been saying this for about a month ;)). I'm not sure how much I want to attempt the crib after hearing everyone's stories about how difficult it is keeping them asleep. :o Carl was able to put her down in our bed for her naps on Monday, but not successful the other 2 days. He ended up holding her during most naps and one nap was during a walk. He is going to try again today. I don't want to be creating a problem by having her in bed with me right now......it is working for us right now, but then I wonder if we are just going to be in for some trouble down the road?????? ahhh....very confused.

When I got home yesterday, she took a nap in her swing and when she woke up I fed her. She slept on the boppy w/ me for well over 1 1/2 hours. This was after 8pm. We probably should be putting her down then, but I just could not let her go. :( I like having her hanging out in the living room with us while she sleeps.

Pumping seems to be working out fine. I hate it, but oh well. I have a work meeting at a hotel near my house next week. I don't know what to do. I will probably go home during lunch, but not sure where to pump during my other feedings. I will call the hotel and see if they have a spot, but I really don't want to be pumping in the bathroom!!!

Ok, gotta run..will return with personals :D

[MinEaston]

I have a work meeting at a hotel near my house next week. I don't know what to do. I will probably go home during lunch, but not sure where to pump during my other feedings. I will call the hotel and see if they have a spot, but I really don't want to be pumping in the bathroom!!!

quick de-lurk. I had the same thing happen - and the hotel was extremely accomodating. They offered me one of the other open conference rooms and locked it behind me. I also had out-of-town colleagues who offered their rooms.

[BakerJane]

Sarah - Thanks for the info on the mommy & baby classes. I think I'll hold off until she's 6m+ and try a gymboree or similar class. (I do wish the hospital had a free one near me; I'd love to meet up with some other new moms.)

Pony - I've had to pump in a public restroom before and it's not that bad. I used the handicap stall with a baby changer in it; then I just lay down some paper towels and set my pump up on there. It's always short session but enough to get me through another 4 hours.

Helios7 - My MIL is similar in that when she comes to visit I rarely hold Eileen or feed her (she take a bottle of breasmilk). My MIL is great with her though, I never worry about the two of them together so I leave them be. I'll run a few errands, had a pedicure once, DH and I went out to dinner once - it's actually been really great. My in laws usually come once a week on Saturday for two hours or so.

Re: sleeping in the crib. We struggled with getting Eileen to sleep in her crib too. The first week was pretty bad. She would be waking up every 1-2 hours and it would take us 30 min. to put her sleep again; and she would wind up in our bed around 3 am when we were both too tired to keep It got much better after that first week and now most of the time she spends the whole night in her crib (but she's still waking up to eat about every 4 hours). However she won't nap in her crib.

I think Eileen may be starting to teeth, but not really sure. She's been drooling a lot more lately and wanting to suck on a pacifier (or her fist which she just discovered tonight!) but she seems pretty young to start (3 1/2 months).

[valchemist]

I think Eileen may be starting to teeth, but not really sure. She's been drooling a lot more lately and wanting to suck on a pacifier (or her fist which she just discovered tonight!) but she seems pretty young to start (3 1/2 months).

3 1/2 months isn't too early to start teething. sometimes they drool and chew on things for months before anything pops through. two of my three kids got their first two teeth at 4 months and other teeth soon after. the average age for the first teeth is 6 months, but that is really variable of course.

[bekki]

I think Eileen may be starting to teeth, but not really sure. She's been drooling a lot more lately and wanting to suck on a pacifier (or her fist which she just discovered tonight!) but she seems pretty young to start (3 1/2 months).

3 1/2 months isn't too early to start teething. sometimes they drool and chew on things for months before anything pops through. two of my three kids got their first two teeth at 4 months and other teeth soon after. the average age for the first teeth is 6 months, but that is really variable of course.

I agree. My two have been showing some teething signs (most notably likeing their gums rubbed when they're crying, but also drooling, gnawing etc) for maybe a month/month and half? However, we're just starting to see the corner of one tooth on one kid. So I think the early teething is kind of a process as it works it's way up. The Hyland's Teething tablets work well around here, for bedtime in particular.

[acginkc]

Hey all. Trying to take advantage while Matt is snoozing. The weekend went by so fast, and I'm beat. My mom came in for Easter and it was nice to see her and for her to get to play with Matt.

Feeding has been a challenge the last few days. I've been getting really bad sinus headaches and had some congestion so I took 3 doses of sinus medication for 3 days. Well it totally messed with my supply so Matt was having to get topped off with some of my pumped milk I had stored. I went from pumping 7 oz to 4 oz. So now I'm trying to go with natural remedies. Add to the low supply that Matt seems to have a couple days of cluster feeding every other week and I'm tired of nursing right now. He's been pretty much every 2 hours around the clock for the last 2 days. I'm hoping my supply gets back up quick so we can get a few longer stretches (especially at night).

OK my time seems to be up so I'll come back for personals later. I'm not usually good at getting pics to post but I'll try anyways. This is Matt with his Easter basket.
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs025.snc1/3112_155585880570_503150570_6499581_1729732_n.jpg

[Beth G.]

I am feeling refreshed after Michael’s record 8 hour stretch of sleep last night. It’s been a long week with the stress of holidays and bad daytime eating and I believe a growth spurt leading to several nights with two feedings instead of one.

We went to my parents for the first night of Passover. When we arrived Michael was in a great mood, curious, nursed ok, and was looking around for his ceiling fans. He was still ok as people started to arrive and pick him up, but as the crowd got large and the kids got loud, he completely freaked out crying for two hours (he’s never cried for more than an hour, and that was only after shots). DH and I missed the entire seder, and took him out in the stroller to get him to calm down and sleep. Then DH and my brother carried the stroller up the front steps and into the den and we took turns keeping an eye on him until he woke up. The kids (ages 5, 6, 6, 8, 9, and 12) were great. At one point, I heard them talking (the 5 and 6 year olds).

“The baby is sleeping, no one is supposed to be in there!”

“It’s ok, that’s the baby’s mother in there.”

Apparently I don’t have a name anymore and am now “the baby’s mother”.

When he woke up, I whisked him upstairs, not even taking the time to pull back my hair. He twirled my hair violently and then got the burpie, which he swung like a matador. But he ate, and then went right to sleep. First sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa’s went great and he was fine in the bassinet insert of the pack and play. In the morning I left him in the bouncy seat with my brother while I showered and he freaked out again, but I think it was just a remnant of the night before. I got him to sleep, then fed him, and he was great the rest of the day with his grandparents and with DH’s family – only us plus five adults that night.

Bekki – how do you do it? We had DH’s best friend and wife here with their 2 month old Sunday. Michael’s nap lasted exactly one minute with another baby screaming downstairs! He was at least calm eating though, and took 7 ounces of expressed milk in the bottle while they were here (normally takes 4!).

Ashley – hope your supply has come back. Allergy season is my worst nightmare – I lived on Sudafed before I was pregnant and literally cried when they told me I could take a full dose when I had a really bad week in my 8th month. Luckily my worst time is in the fall and I’m not sure whether I'll still be nursing then, depending on how working and pumping goes. Matt looks so cute with his Easter basket!

Tami – I feel for you on Maya grabbing your hair, etc. Michael loves to pull my hair, punch me, push his hand into my chin, throat etc. Early in the feeding :( Did I mention the socking in the eye? Maya’s a beauty!

Nancy (Couperine) – the weirdest thing has happened. Michael LOVES the Trivisol drops! Wags his head as I’m bringing the dropper to his mouth and sucks them down. Makes things so much easier. Also knew he’d have no problem with the Tylenol drops after the last shot.

Michelle – how are you doing? How did the pumping at the hotel go? Have you moved the crib to your room? It works for us, but I’m starting to want to move it into his room since we have to walk on eggshells when he’s sleeping. I probably won’t for another couple of months though – I’m afraid I’ll sleep through him waking up at night to eat as he isn’t very loud.

Emily – I used a nipple shield too. When Michael was born, he couldn’t latch on to either side and was finger fed formula in the hospital. When my milk came in, he was able to latch on to the “better” nipple. Once the lactation consultant arrived, she gave me the nipple shield and said my “bad” nipple was not flat but very small. We used it for about 10 days (so we got rid of it when he was 2 1/2 weeks old and he was ok with cross cradle and football). Even a few weeks ago, I had a major problem during a night when I was engorged and he just could not latch on to that side. Fortunately my supply has calmed down so that hasn’t happened again. I hope you can get rid of it for good soon.

[Beth G.]

A question. Michael's poops are very liquid. We are having nearly daily incidents where it goes out the diaper and up his back. Today he made the poop in my arms - so he was completely upright, but when I laid him down to change him it went everywhere (maybe I should have held him longer to let it "settle"). The other times it's happened in the bouncy seat so it really goes all over.

We use Pampers Sensitive Swaddlers. Perhaps I need to change brands/models? Suggestions? He's way too poopy to even consider cloth, and DH would never agree to that anyway.

Any luck with anything besides Dreft spray for stain removal? Not working for us either.

[Pony]

Any luck with anything besides Dreft spray for stain removal? Not working for us either.

real quick reply...we use oxiclean spray and it always works! We also hang her clothes outside and the sun helps. Her cloth diapers have no stains b/c of the sun. So, if you can put some of his clothes outside, that will help :)

[LaraW]

Any luck with anything besides Dreft spray for stain removal? Not working for us either.

Delurking...I had good luck soaking clothes in Oxyclean and then laundering as usual. I have yet to find a stain that Oxyclean won't get out. :) Good luck.

[Beth H]

We are having nearly daily incidents where it goes out the diaper and up his back.

Beth G - I have this problem as well (not every day, but enough) and also use the Pampers brand. So I'd be eager to hear suggestions. Sorry about your seder dinner.

Emily[B] - I used nipple shields too, but I'm not a breastfeeding success story. The shields were one reason breastfeeding became so frustrating (they kept slipping, falling, etc.). In retrospect I would have tried harder initially not to use them. Good luck with it all.

[B]Michelle - hope back to work and pumping is going OK.

helios7 - My mother-in-law can be quite intrusive too, but thankfully we live hours away from them. She's at her other son's to see his kids nearly every weekend, which would drive me nuts. But maybe you can use her to be able to take little breaks away to treat yourself to a pedicure or something?

acginkc - I love your Easter photo!

Hello to everyone else - thanks for the advice about teething, too. Sometimes I wonder if Will also is starting as he drools a good bit.

Sleeping here has reverted to waking up every few hours, unfortunately. I'm pretty wiped out.

[gertdog]

I use Oxiclean for stains as well. I soak stains before washing using the Oxiclean powder. I use a generous amount in hot water, put the items in, let the washer fill and agitate briefly, then interrupt the cycle and let the items soak (often as long as overnight). So far we haven't had a problem getting stains out.

We use the Pampers swaddlers and have the same liquid poop issues- worst episode was when I was BF'ing Aiden so he was on his side on my lap, and suddenly there was a splurt and it came shooting out the bottom of the leg of his romper! :eek: I'm not sure it's the diaper's fault, but we might try Huggies just to see if it makes a difference.

More later- Aiden's loudly telling me he's ready to eat!

[acginkc]

Quick post as Matt is fighting a nap right now, but we had the same problem with Pampers after a while, but Huggies have done much better for us. Now if he has a blowout its because we were too hasty putting it on and left a gap or a "ruffle" around the leg tucked in.

[Couperine]

Beth, it sounds like you survived quite the adventure over the weekend! I'm so glad Michael likes his drops - David happily has no clue when they are in his milk (one more serving of prepared formula and then yee ha WHOLE MILK!).

As for diapers, when we've had issues, it generally was because we needed to go up in size. When suddenly I'd get a large quantity of bad diapers, that's been our solution. We do use Huggies Supreme - those ruffles really can make a difference on the particularly nasty stuff. We have looser diapers periodically when we give David prune juice to get him unstuck, and the Huggies do the job. I've never been adventurous in trying other brands though, so I don't have other options to suggest! :)

[Pony]

Hi everyone. I hope everyone is doing well.

Thanks to everyone for the pumping tips!

I guess our babies hate their cribs :) Everyone seems to have similiar issues...... We've been talking about the Healthly Sleep Habits book and I'm wondering what you all think about the "motionless" sleep??? Evelyn gets a lot of motion in her naps!!! I don't buy it, b/c she seems to be getting plenty of good sleep even if it isn't motionless.

Evelyn went to her first easter egg hunt and even found an egg ;). My sister-in-law was supposed to be here this week, but ended up not being able to make it. She hasn't met Evelyn yet and we were all very sad. My MIL comes in a week for 1 1/2 months!!! Should be interesting. Carl is still doing a fantastic job at home with Evelyn and I'm still jealous ;). I have gotten some smiles when I arrive home which makes it all worthwhile. He has been able to occasionally put her down in the bed by herself!

We got the results back from her stool sample and there was no blood!!! Yay! Cutting out the dairy was the right thing to do! It really hasn't been that hard.

She has been doing soooo much better with tummy time. I need to post a picture of her tummy time that my husband took. It cracks me up. She is trying sooo hard to turn over these days!!!! She concentrates very hard, lifts her legs up, turns a bit and that is it. Very cute.

Beth G.-Hey "baby's mother". Sounds like Michael is a great sleeper these days!! Oh boy..he is "swimming"!!! Yay and scary all at the same time ;) I'm sorry nursing continues to be a struggle at times. You are doing an awesome job!!! I have a hair puller as well. My husband has long hair so he gets it as well. Tomorrow is my meeting. I think I'm going to pump before I leave for the meeting and then come home during lunch. I will just be a bit full by the end of the meeting, but I live <10 min. away, so I will race home!! Crib isn't in the room yet, ha!

Sarah45-are you getting any longer naps at the house??? I love talking sleep!

BakerJane-I hope to do some sort of class with Evelyn, but will probably wait until she is a bit older. I might take her to a mommy and me yoga class soon. I have one class left in my package that I bought for prenatal yoga. I've got a big drooler as well :p

Beth H-how are you all feeling? Sorry he is not sleeping as well as he used to sleep. Do you think it is b/c of the cold or b/c of you returning to work? I've read that babies sleep gets messy when mom's return to work.

Stepanie-Aiden is big!!! I think Evelyn, Quinn, and Aiden are the big babies of the group! Evelyn was 12.7 at her 2 month and I am sure she is in the 14# range now! I'm glad he is such a good sleeper! How is Ryan doing these days with his brother?

Mary Jo-sooo good to hear from you! I've been wondering how you and Maggie were doing. I'm so glad she is doing well. I can't believe the issues you've had with her medicine!!!!! How scary.

Nancy-how is work going?? How is nursing going now that you returned to work? You mentioned cutting out the daytime feedings. Evelyn is also a good nightime sleeper, but has to be completely passed out when we put her down.

EmilyD-JD is adorable. How is nursing going? He sounds like he is doing awesome!!!

kabs-how are you all doing?

Tami-I'm still calling/texting my husband all day long, ha! He writes everything down as well, so when I get home I get a recap. Her spit-up is obviously a supply issue, b/c she doesn't spit-up much with the bottle. After I feed her, it is just puddles everywhere. I'm glad you aren't ready to graduate from the New Mom's thread. I like you being here :) Is she sleeping better in her crib??? I'm glad nursing is getting better. I don't know what to say about the pumping????? :o Has your diet changed lately? Eating less??? Love Maya's pictures.

Heather-sorry about the MIL issues. I don't have any, but let me get back to you after her 1 1/2 month visit ;) Couperine had some helpful tips! Quinn is sooo cute. I want to squeeze him.

acginkc-Matt is adorable. We were slackers and didn't do a basket. Shoot, we didn't do anything :o Is your supply any better? I was going to a BF support group during my maternity leave and the lactation consultant kept emphasizing how important it is for us to get a good amount of calories and water to help with milk supply. Some women in the group increased their whole grain intake and saw an improvement in supply. She also recommended having babies suckle at the breast. Hope that helps.

[Pony]

here is evelyn's tummy time picture :D

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9da32b3127ccec68fd0490abe00000080O08AaOGzhy1aNQ e3nwc/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

and evelyn's favorite expression.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9da32b3127ccec68e7c2eabf300000080O08AaOGzhy1aNQ e3nwc/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[tholbrook]

I don't have time for a lengthy post right now, but wanted to say...

Michelle, those pictures are SO CUTE!!! Her look (OMG, those eyes!) in the first picture cracks me up. I keep opening this thread just to take another look! :D

Maya went through a phase at about the same age where she was always sticking out her tongue - coinciding with her 3-month pictures, of course. :rolleyes:

I also did a happy dance today because sleeping went great last night - including several fuss-free stretches in her crib. YAY! I'm feeling rested - and HOPEFUL that we're heading in the right direction. More later...

[Pony]

I don't have time for a lengthy post right now, but wanted to say...

Michelle, those pictures are SO CUTE!!! Her look (OMG, those eyes!) in the first picture cracks me up. I keep opening this thread just to take another look! :D

Maya went through a phase at about the same age where she was always sticking out her tongue - coinciding with her 3-month pictures, of course. :rolleyes:

I also did a happy dance today because sleeping went great last night - including several fuss-free stretches in her crib. YAY! I'm feeling rested - and HOPEFUL that we're heading in the right direction. More later...

Tami, the first one cracks me up everytime I see it. There are more tummy time pics on FB. There is another really funny one. Evelyn has very expressive eyes/eyebrows. Yay for a great night in the crib!!!

[tholbrook]

Tami, the first one cracks me up everytime I see it. There are more tummy time pics on FB. There is another really funny one. Evelyn has very expressive eyes/eyebrows. Yay for a great night in the crib!!!Ah, you posted a new album - I must have missed it somehow - great pictures! You're right - she has such expressive features.

Good job on keeping up with tummy time! It looks like she's actually enjoying it.

I have a picture of Maya that makes me laugh every time I see it as well ... it's on FB so I'm sure you've seen it, but I'll post it here too. I love it so much, I set it as my computer wallpaper at work. :)

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/Maya%20Yvonne%20Holbrook/090405MissGrumpy.jpg

[bekki]

Yeah for pictures! They are so cute, and can I just mention again how jealous I am of all of you with girls! The clothing options are so awesome. Boys get the short end of the stick there :p

To make up for the failed zoo outing last week, we attempted the aquarium yesterday. And it went really well! The only major issue was in the "underwater dome" area (which they liked because they could actually see stuff), we were suddenly overrun with a huge group of teenagers on a school trip. It got really loud, and I think Will got a bit overwhelmed! But we even ate lunch at the Red Robin afterwards, so I think it was pretty successful.

The last two or three nights have been really rough though because they both keep rolling over (tummy to back) and waking themselves up. It's happened in the past but usually only once a night. Now they're both doing it multiple times a night. I spent the past two nights acting like a human spatula so I'm pretty tired. I can't wait for them to figure out how to roll the other way, but I think we're stillat least a week or two out.

Solids are going really well. I made butternut squash and they ate right through my stash (I've been using the silicone muffin pans to freeze--each holds about 2 oz and it's SO easy to pop them out) and so now we've moved to sweet potatoes. It's a fun new thing to help pass the day, for sure, but it just reminds me how big they're getting.

Here's a picture from the latest set
http://www.adamlyon.com/gallery/d/6309-1/wIMG_1773.jpg

[Luv to Cook]

Don't have much time to post...Ayaan is napping and DH has the girls at some outdoor event at the football stadium and I am getting much yard work done. But I just had to comment on all the adorable baby pics! There is nothing better than those gummy grins :)!

I love, love Evelyn's tummy time pic and wow, love how cute Maya is...I know she is petite, but she has the cutest little chubby cheeks! And bekki, your boys are darling :)!

Thanks for sharing...back to the yard!

[Pony]

To pump or not to pump.....:) It is 3:40 and I feel like I need to pump, but I should be going home soon........but will Evelyn be hungry, sleeping, etc??? I got away with only one pump session today, b/c she woke up before I left and my husband brought her by the office for lunch :).

I thought Evelyn was going to be really sick this weekend, b/c my husband has been sick all week and I started feeling crappy. Friday night, I heard her cough a few times, but she woke up w/ smiles. She seems to be fine and maybe has a tad bit of congestion. I think I'm finally feeling better, but coughing a lot.

Tami-yes, she is starting to enjoy tummy time except for when she spits up and her face smacks right in to the puddle. :rolleyes: Maya looks so adorable in that picture. I love her expression.

bekki-your boys are so adorable! The aquarium sounds like a great time. I'm sorry the nights have been a bit rough. I am glad you all are having fun with solids!

Luv to Cook-hope you are having fun in the garden!

Michelle

[acginkc]

It has been a full week here. We had our 2 month shots on Monday and we just can't seem to get back to normal. Matt slept a lot Monday, and then yesterday and today its been like pulling teeth to get a good nap. Hopefully we will get back to normal soon. I want my happy cheerful boy back. He was 24" and 13#3oz so definitely not a petite fellow.

Love everyone's pictures. So precious.

Pony- Hope you are feeling better. Are you feeling back in the groove after being back at work for a few weeks now? I'm so nervous about going back and I still have a few months.

bekki- The aquarium sounds fun, despite the rowdy kids running you over.

tholbrook- Congrats on the crib sleeping. I am hoping Matt will start going longer stretches between feedings at night before I move him in there.

Beth G- Sorry your Seder was so stressful. But I'm glad Michael was able to enjoy the rest of the time with the smaller group. And yay for the 8 hour stretch. Hope he continues that for you.

Hugs to all of you dealing with teething, I don't look forward to that after hearing from both my mom and MIL that we were both horrible when we were teething.

Well, its DH and I's anniversary tonight so I should probably start getting dinner ready. Couldn't find a sitter for tonight so we'll stay in and try to go out to a nice dinner next week. Funny how all the families I have babysat for last minute are all booked up when I call for a night out.

[helios7]

hi all...

i only have 1 hand, so this will be brief. Quinn is sick, and i have a thread on other stuff with advice (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=127054) from experienced moms that might be of some use to other new moms. I'm hoping we're on the upward swing now, but it has been rough dealing with a fever at 4.5 months. Poor little man!

hope to be back soon with 2 hands!!!

[Couperine]

I'm glad Quinn is doing better! You got some great advice on the other thread; I know it's hard for you since it's your first baby, but a high fever in an adult is different than a baby. A baby's immune system is very much like a sledgehammer - it finds something to destroy and whammo - high fever time.

Hopefully you're doing better today - my baby has decided he can no longer function without another dose of Advil; why his little body decided to have 3 premolars and a front tooth come in at the same time is beyond me.

[Megan James]

Okay, unless Megan pops in, it's looking like Maya is the oldest baby on this thread. But I'm in no way, shape, or form ready to graduate from the "New Moms" group :o:D...

My only problem is that pumping is actually worse than before - I never have been great at it, but now I'm only getting about 75% of what I used to.

I'm here:D. I lurk once in a while but rarely find the time to type something. Re: Pumping. When are you pumping? If you are doing it after she nurses you probably won't get much especially now that your supply is regulating. I'd recommend pumping in the morning since your supply builds up after a night of "rest";);). Also play with the setting on your pump, maybe more suction of faster or slower etc.

I am definitely still feeling like a new mom. Will turned 8months yesterday and here is our list:

Eating solids: Barely, more of an entertainment during dinner.
Teeth: Yes two came in last week
Sleeping through the night: Um no, no and heck no
Average longest sleep stretch at night: 4 hours
Walking: haha not yet
Crawling: haha not yet
Standing: no interest
Sitting: Finally at 8 months
Smiley and fun: Most of the time

Surprisingly I'm not too worried about the slower milestones and minimal interest in solids. I guess I just want my baby to stay a baby.

Megan

[tholbrook]

Welcome back Megan! Can you believe that it's been 8 months now?? Maya turned 8 months on Saturday... and I hear you on not wanting them to grow up TOO quickly. With all the milestones looming, I'm already sad to know the baby stage is coming to an end. Despite all my complaining ;), I love this age!

Will is in good company … Maya isn’t crawling yet either. She does like to stand up (and bounce up and down) a lot, but unless she’s holding onto our hands, she doesn’t pull herself up. She just doesn’t show any interest in crawling at all, although I did catch her in her crib the other day on her hands and knees, kind of rocking back and forth. But usually, if she wants something, she just pushes/pulls/scoots herself along until she can reach it.

I've been working on a new post for the past 2 weeks, so here goes:

We started solids right at 6 months, but there was little interest, and it took a LOT of time just to get a couple tablespoons worth into her. So we put it on the back burner until a few weeks ago, and all of a sudden, she’s doing really well: she’ll go through about ¼ cup in 10-15 minutes. Besides the rice cereal, we’ve done butternut squash, peas (not a big hit), homemade applesauce, pear, mango (the favorite so far), banana, and avocado. Oh yes, and prunes – since the cereal had a rather unfavorable side effect! :eek::( Fortunately, the prunes were a big hit too. We have another day to wait since we introduced a new food, but tomorrow, we’re going to do green beans. I know we need to work on those vegetables…

Maya also likes her “feeder” (the thingie where you put in chunks of food, and they can chew on it and mush it out through the mesh). It can be pretty messy – she squeezes it with her hands and then smears it on everything - but it’s worth it just for entertainment value!

Sleep, ah, sleep. That’s been the big drama at our house. My post on page 2 of this thread has a few of our ups and downs on transitioning to the crib. It continues to be an ongoing battle. After a week or so of abandoning the crib, we went back to it because Maya was keeping me up during the night again by wanting to play in the wee hours of the morning. So we’ve been putting in her crib at night – awake – and doing about 10-15 minutes of soothing: patting/rubbing her back, singing to her, etc. Sometimes she goes right to sleep, and other times, we have to let her fuss for a few minutes. If it takes more than 10 minutes, the sleep window seems to be gone, and the wailing starts… so we get her up again and wait a little while before trying again. While I’m sure this goes against some “sleep expert” recommendations, it’s working well for us: she’s sleeping about 3 hour stretches (way up from the previous 45-60 minutes), and wakes up in the morning cheerful and seemingly well-rested. On the other hand, if we let her cry for an extended amount of time, she is either super-clingy or a little withdrawn the next day. She does still sleep in the bed with me for a few hours at night, because I am way too tired – lazy? – to sit up for 15-20 minutes to feed her. Anyway, I’m pretty happy with our progress, although I sure would like to see her sleeping for 4 hour stretches. It just seems like she really does wake up hungry during the night, so I’m reluctant to cut back on the night feedings.

Napping is better. Much better. Maya is consistently taking two 60-75 minute naps in her crib, using the same process as night-time sleep. Well, at least she did this past week, so I'm praying it continues. And it seems to be enough for her, so I’m not holding my breath for those 2 hour naps.

We had a super-busy day … we went to a pancake breakfast to support a local cause, and after a nap, to a friend’s baby shower. After another nap in the car (the parking lot with me holding her), we headed to the park to enjoy the awesome weather (unfortunately, so did everyone else). I was worried about ending our “good nap streak” but since she got in a couple naps, she was such an angel the entire time! So nice -and somewhat amusing - when everyone says "ah, she's such easy-going baby." Ha. If only they could hear me venting to you all! ;)

I’ve been slowly working my way through personals, so I’ll try to post those soon… but meanwhile, Bekki, Heather, and Ashley – such cute little boys you all have! And Heather, I hope Quinn is 100% better now!

Here’s the latest (yes, I’m slightly obsessed with the outdoor/flower shots):

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/090425bArboretum02.jpghttp://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/090425Maya.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/090418FortStClair01.jpg

[Pony]

I had an extended weekend, b/c I came in to work late today to see the late shift of patients. My husband called to tell me that Evelyn has been asleep for 2+ hours! She hasn't taken a long nap in a long time. We've been able to put her down by herself a lot lately as well! In the bed, not the crib.

I got to spend lots of time with Evelyn this weekend. It was so nice. We went to an art opening, Central Market, out to eat, playgroup and on Sunday we just hung out at home.

She is sooooo close to having a real giggle......she is talking a lot.....lots of smiles......ahhhh, I just can't get enough of her.

Tami-Maya is so cute...love the flowers! We have one of those "feeders". Sounds like Maya has a lot of nutritious foods that she likes, yay! I'm glad nap time is getting better and I hope the sleeping in the crib works itself out soon. It sounds like you have a system and that is good! We have yet to try the crib and I'm just scared!

Megan-good to 'see' you here!

Heather-how is Quinn? My MIL is here until the end of May. I heard her talking to my SIL (Carl's sister) and she said, "are MY boys back yet". She was referring to her grandsons......I thought of you.;)

acginkc-how is Matt now that it has been awhile after his shots? It took Evelyn about 3 days to return to normal. I'm somewhat feeling like we have things under control with me going back to work. My MIL is in town for a while and that helps a lot with grocery shopping/dinners. It is nice that I'm not worrying about Evelyn since she is with my husband, but I just miss her a ton. :o

[bekki]

I just had to share this quick story, because I knew you all wouldn't roll your eyes!

I had the boys in the bathroom, going through the pre-bedtime ritual lotioning (eczema may be the death of me). Anyway, they were both laying on their tummies. Andy managed to wiggle himself around so he was facing Will. And they totally started smiling, giggling and cooing to each other. For like 4 minutes. It was just heart melting, because they generally don't really interact. Every so often they'll grab hands, but that's just an accident, or maybe smile a quick smile. But this was the first time it really seemed like they knew each other. It was just so awesome.

Followed by a VERY unusual 30 minutes of crying at bedtime. Yin/Yang of parenthood, I suppose.

[Pony]

bekki, that is so sweet. :)

I'm tired...we had horrible thunderstorms last night. Evelyn slept from 12-6am!!!!!!! I kept waking up thinking for sure she was going to wake up. I hate when I do that.

She still has the sniffles :o. We use the aspirator, but nothing comes out. It sounds like it is draining. My husband and I are just over our sniffles, so hopefully she will be over hers soon.

Hope everyone is well.

[helios7]

Hi ladies.. long time no type as usual. Where does the time go?

My mom was here for a spell (she actually just left) which was nice. We'll see her again next month in England, and she'll hopefully see some changes in Quinn. Quinn WAS 100% better, but now he's got a runny nose again. Could be allergies - he seems fine.

His sleep has been all over the place lately - he's been really hard to put down. And last week I was at my wits end! We coslept him while sick, which meant he actually slept pretty well. But I was beginning to despair of him ever sleeping "through the night" aka 5 straight hours. Last two nights - 7 + straight hours. Its been great.

And the man is up. I could have killed for a 2 hour nap today. Oh well! More later, I hope!

[tholbrook]

Awww, Bekki, that's adorable! And I'm sure you'll be seeing more and more interaction between them. Overall, how has the night-time sleeping been lately? Are you still having to flip them back when they roll over? LOL on the “human spatula” :D but I’m sure it gets frustrating, especially with two of them.

Michelle – Your weekend sounds wonderful! I hope little Evelyn soon gets rid of the sniffles for good! And good job, Evelyn, on sleeping for 6 hours straight … maybe your mom will follow your lead! :D

I wouldn’t say that I’m sleeping better with Maya in her crib (yet) but it is a process, and we’re slowly getting there. I know where you’re coming from: some sleep books say that co-sleeping creates sleep problems later on… it’s so hard to know what’s “right”. But if you’re happy with co-sleeping (and getting plenty of sleep), don’t feel guilty about it! :) We approached the crib situation with a “if it works, great! If not, that’s okay too” attitude… and she certainly surprised us by doing fairly well. I do miss the cuddling but I like to be able to sleep on my belly again!

Yay for the good news on the diaper check! I’m sure that makes the restrictive diet worth the effort! How much longer before you can ease back into dairy?

Heather - Haven't seen an update since Quinn started to get better... is he back to normal now?
I can sympathize with the MIL situation somewhat (did I ever mention that we live next door to DH’s parents?). I have a great MIL who watches Maya for a few hours a week so I can actually get stuff done at work. Fortunately, she does not offer “suggestions” unless I ask her - but I know she likes to give DH plenty of unsolicited advice. I think she’s being very careful not to step on my toes, which I appreciate, but I don’t like that she approaches DH instead.
And I’m nowhere near ready to leave Maya overnight, and it will be awhile – a long while – before that happens. I don’t really want to leave her in the evenings yet either – at least not while we’re still getting the hang of the bedtime thing. Hauling around a breast pump is NOT my idea of a relaxing getaway, or a nice evening out! I do agree with Nancy about your MIL wanting to bond with Quinn, but I can see how the pressure she’s putting on you would be aggravating.

Nancy (couperine) - yikes, that's some SERIOUS teething. :eek: We bought baby Tylenol the other day, just in case. We keep going back and forth - is she teething or isn't she - but we're not there, I don't think.
Thanks for the advice on the biting… I’ve been trying to end the feedings more consistently when that happens, even though she pitches a fit when I do :rolleyes:. This past week or so has been a lot better. Aside from the hair-pulling, that is!

Nancy (fancyn) - so how's work going with Natalie? Any changes/decisions with the BF?

Ashley – That’s a big boy you have! Sounds like he’s well-fed :D - and your supply recovered nicely after your sinus issues! Happy Anniversary, too – hope you were able to have a nice quiet meal together. DH and I celebrated our 10th recently – a few years ago, we had talked about taking a big vacation to celebrate, but with our new addition, we also had a low-key dinner at home.

Beth G – 8 hours!!!! I can’t help it: I’m green with envy! :p But happy for you too … And yes, I have also been subject to what I (not-so-affectionately) call her ninja moves: well-placed kicks to my chin and throat. Maya’s latest is to repeatedly slap her hand against my chest or arm – she’s not necessarily cranky when she does it, so I think she just likes the way it sounds. Fortunately, it’s not painful like some of her other maneuvers.

Beth H – any improvement in sleep this week? Were you able to determine if Will is teething yet?

Jane – how’s the teething going? So many teething issues this month!

Megan – Generally, I pump when I’m away from home: 2 mornings and 2 evenings per week (mini sessions before and after I teach a yoga class), and 1-2 days a week while I’m at work (a full 20 minutes every 3 hours). I also will pump if by some miracle, she’s taking a super long nap and I’m uncomfortably full, although that hasn’t happened in awhile. My pumping pattern really hasn’t changed at all, but the output has. I think maybe she’s just more efficient at nursing now, and there isn’t much left over. Do you think that is a possibility?
And “night of rest” – yeah, right! Hahaha. :rolleyes::) Most nights, Maya nurses as much during the night as she does during the day (although we had some major progress last night).

Kim, Stephanie, Anita, Sarah, Mary Jo, Emily – hope all is going well with the mamas and their little ones! :)

[tholbrook]

Hi ladies.. long time no type as usual. Where does the time go? Heather, I was wondering how Quinn was doing ... you must have posted while I was still typing away. Sorry this has been a tough recovery for you both. I wonder about the allergy thing too- seems to be the season for it.

GREAT NEWS on the long sleep stretches! Go Quinn!!!

[Sarah45]

Hi everyone! I just put the little man down for the night, or at least this two hour stretch of it :rolleyes: Our night sleeping changed here in the last week or so, we were sleeping 4-5 hours, waking and then not going back down well. Now, he wakes every 2-3 hours and sometimes I feed him and sometimes he will take a pacifier and a stomach rub and go back to sleep. Of course sometimes he won't be comforted at all and only wants to sleep with us ;)

Does anyone have any experience with using fenugreek? My supply isn't keeping up with him in the last few days, I'm having to feed heavily on both sides every couple of hours and he still isn't satisfied. I was thinking of using something to boost my supply since the constant feeding doesn't seem to be doing it. Of course this all started after he got an excellent bill of health at his 2 month appt last week so I don't have anything to back it up other than mother's intution/guessing ;)

It does seem that it can't just be coincidental that his decreasing sleep times seem to have correlated with the supply issue though.

No time for personals tonight but Bekki, it really must be wonderfult o have twins sometimes, such a neat bond :)

[Pony]

Sarah, I learned in the BF support group that it takes our milk supply ~3 days to change based on how the baby is eating. So, you may start making more milk now since he has been eating more the past few days. Also, the lactation consultant always emphasized the importance of getting calories and fluids in our diet. Some moms were having supply issues and increased their consumption of whole grains and they eventually saw an increase in supply. So, there are some things you can try :)

[helios7]

[/QUOTE]No time for personals tonight but Bekki, it really must be wonderfult o have twins sometimes, such a neat bond :)[/QUOTE]

I'm quoting Sarah because today I'm wondering how Bekki does it! I'm looking after Quinn and a friend for pretty much the entire day. 7:30-5:30. I'm exhausted, and it isn't even 2. So are they - passed out from exhaustion! Juggling two (especially 1 big boy) has been interesting to say the least.

Obviously I think you "grow" into with multiples - one doesn't show up five months later. But I always thought multiples were hard, now I KNOW it! :)

Got to go... I fear my moment of peace is ending.

[fancyn]

Hey ladies, I've been reading along and aspiring to post for 2 weeks just like tholbrook - just can't manage to get the time in to share what's up with us and respond to everyone else. Sigh, I used to use my spare time at work to post but now that Ms. Natalie is here with me, my ‘spare’ time is consumed. We’re on week 3 at work and she’s doing awesome! While at home, I couldn’t get a consistent routine if it killed me and the first week here she developed one herself. Crazy. I’m not saying everyday is a bed of roses, but it’s working out much better than I ever imagined. Our most current and probably most difficult problem which is going on week 2 – She won’t let ANYONE hold her except for me or daddy. If I’m in the room, she’s hesitant but ok. If I so much leave the room she gets hysterical – the silent cry alternating with blood curdling shrills. It’s absolutely awful! I work for my parents’ company so at work, it’s not like I’m leaving her with strangers. She’s been around them quite a bit since she was born. I can’t even run to the restroom without all hell breaking loose in the office. And upon my return and back in my arms, she INSTANTLY will stop. It’s like this switch that turns on and off. I really can’t call it separation anxiety because everything I’ve read says she’s way too young. But I can’t find anything on it about babies nor do I know how to help the problem. Suggestions are GREATLY APPRECIATED! At this rate, I’ll never be able to leave her with a sitter because she can literally cry nonstop like that for hours until she collapses in exhaustion. But other than that she’s still a little angel for me the majority of the time. Nick has really embraced his big brother role and it’s adorable to watch them together.
Sleep has been going good for the most part – down by 9 or 10 and up once in the night. We’ve even had several nights with her sleeping through – and of course those are the nights I wake up paranoid and never go back to sleep anticipating her to wake up any minute. Naps are pretty good. They’re way more consistent at work than at home however. We generally have 1.5 hours of awake time followed by 1.5 of sleep time. Sometimes more, sometimes less. But no complaints here.

Breastfeeding – I’ve already written a novel and this could definitely make for a novel so I’ll give the abridged version. :D I never found out for sure the cause of my supply issue and when Natalie slept through the night 2 nights in a row, my boobs literally shrunk in half and we were on the down hill slide. So the last time I nursed her was last Tuesday – she still struggles with wanting the boob but I’m done. It was such an emotional roller coaster that never improved so I finally made peace with myself after many tears and finished. I will have to say the bottle feeding is going just fine but I feel like I’m missing out on an emotional bond.

Sarah45 – I have experience with Fenugreek – it did increase my supply a bit but really worked best for me was More Milk Plus by MotherLove Herbs. The stuff worked wonders and I purchased it at Whole Foods. Another that really helped me was Goats Rue which enhances mammary tissue. If you want to know doses or have any questions I’d be happy to share. 

Heather – I’m so glad Quinn’s fever broke for good and the runny nose isn’t bothering him. I’m jealous of your 7 hr stretch, it’s been a while since I’ve seen one – can’t wait until they’re consistent!
Michelle – YAY the naps are getting better. Sounds like her and daddy are doing well while you’re at work. I think that’s awesome you guys ‘do lunch” sometimes. :D And yes, I do hate it when I wake up thinking the baby will wake up – why can’t we just relax and take the sleep they are giving us?!

Tami – I think you’ve gotten a great jump on the solids! I know you were hesitant but it sounds like you have a great variety already, yay! I can’t wait. It’s so fun to watch their face when they try something for the first time. And I think your bedtime routine is perfect – it’s working for you so stick with it. Look at all the great naps she’s getting now. What an accomplishment!

Bekki – your boys are adorable btw. I love that story. Twins must be a blast and just exhausting all at once. How are the solids going? And the night sleep?

OK, I’ve been working backwards through the thread and INTEND to do personals with everyone. I have to feed a hungry baby really quick and go pick up Nick. He has an eye appointment and they are dilating today – wish me luck since Natalie will be with me for this lengthy exam. I intend on asking the doctor about when I need to have Natalie’s eyes tested, since she did tell me strabismus is hereditary. More later!!

[Couperine]

Breastfeeding – I’ve already written a novel and this could definitely make for a novel so I’ll give the abridged version. :D I never found out for sure the cause of my supply issue and when Natalie slept through the night 2 nights in a row, my boobs literally shrunk in half and we were on the down hill slide. So the last time I nursed her was last Tuesday – she still struggles with wanting the boob but I’m done. It was such an emotional roller coaster that never improved so I finally made peace with myself after many tears and finished. I will have to say the bottle feeding is going just fine but I feel like I’m missing out on an emotional bond.


It's hard to stop the breastfeeding, but this change could come with a silver lining for getting her comfortable with your parents. Perhaps they could give her a bottle during work hours - David is more comfortable with all the adults in the family than Ethan ever was, and I think it's because he bonded with everyone during feedings. I hope things resolve with Natalie soon - you have a lot on your plate right now!

Best wishes to all - personals just don't happen often for us anymore since David has a fascination with the glowy blue power button on the computer! :)

[Pony]

Hi all.

So, Evelyn had a somewhat off day yesterday according to my MIL and husband. She cried twice during the day and was pretty much inconsolable per them. She usually is not like this. I was worried maybe I had some dairy and didn't realize it, b/c she would cry a lot more when I was eating dairy. I had about 2 TBS of greek yogurt, but that is it! I highly doubt that would be it. Hopefully, she will be fine today. I think she didn't get as much nap time in yesterday and that might be it. She woke up earlier and had shorter naps. Or maybe the teething is starting, since I teethed early. Last night was a bit strange too. I usually go to bed by 10pm. Carl hangs out w/ Evelyn and gets her asleep. He brings her in at 10:30-11pm asleep. She was upset at 10:45, so I just fed her in bed. She fell asleep and then woke up again w/in 45 min. So, I just laid down and nursed her more for comfort and she was out at midnight. I was sure it was going to be a rough night, but she ended up staying asleep, thankfully. She still sounds congested a bit. Poor baby.

Anyway, my husband put Evelyn down in the basinet for a nap yesterday!!!!! We haven't tried that in soooo long. We are going to see if we can get her to do that more often and eventually put her back in there at night. Or the crib. I would really rather her sleep with us, but my husband is really not sleeping as well as I am.

Tami-not sure when I can ease back in to dairy. Her 4 month appt. is next week. So we shall see. Thanks for the reassurance about co-sleeping. My MIL doesn't seem to be bothered by it, but she does keep saying we have to get a bigger bed (we have a queen) or she will say things like "when evelyn sleeps in her crib". I guess I'm saying the crib thing as well, but when someone else says it I think they are criticizing the sleeping. A lot of my co-workers are from India and the Philippines and they all have made comments about how they co-slept.

Heather-I'm sooo glad Quinn's fever is gone!

fancyn-I'm glad Natalie is doing well when you are at work! ahhh, sorry about her crying if anyone else is taking care of her. Couperine has a good point about seeing if someone else can feed her. Sounds like sleeping is going very well! yay!

couperine-nice to see you

[Beth G.]

Just a quick hi to all - I'm still here! I've typed up more than half of my post but Michael just woke up from his 25 minute power nap. Hopefully I can finish and post soon! I've been taking him out in the stroller more with the nice weather so he'll sleep but there's no wifi access in the playground :)

[Beth G.]

Surprise! Another 30 nap! Count me as another new mom who has been writing the post in my head for ages but never has time to type. Those seven and eight hour sleep stretches seem like ages ago though it’s only been two weeks. I think Michael must have been listening when we went to the pediatrician and she said he was a little young to be sleeping that long (but to enjoy it). Starting that day he was getting up every 2-4 hours at night. I think the first few days must have been a growth spurt, since he was nursing really well both at night and during the day (that’s done). We’ve have one almost 6.5 hour stretch since then. Yesterday he ate lousy all day long but got up for two long feedings at night. Must… change… pattern. He’s also getting up early in the mornings and usually has a big poop at that feeding so no chance of back to sleep. I keep remembering that my brother did not sleep through the night until he was 5 (years, not months) :eek:

The pediatrician agrees that some of Michael’s nursing issues are silent reflux. However, since he’s in the 50th percentile for weight gain and not crying after feeding, we’re just going to wait it out. He’s freakishly long – grew 2 1/4 inches in 3 weeks and is between 75th and 90th percentile for height. One day I’ll be able to tell him that at one point in his life he was tall! I’m petite and DH is no giant. His length has forced us into the 9 month size sleep and plays. They don't make 12 months and I'm not going to be ready to find new stuff after this size!

I tried the Oxyclean and it worked like a charm. Thank you Stephanie, LaraW and Michelle! I also love that it has no stink like the Dreft spray. I did not like how that stayed on the clothes. I use All Free and Clear detergent so it was just the stain spray leaving such a powerful fragrance behind. Must be some strong stuff.

We’ve tried Huggies too and they are better although we’ve still had some leaks. There are a lot of other reasons we like the Pampers so we’ve been mainly using the Huggies overnight so as not to have a big mess in the crib. Thanks Ashley and Couperine.

Michael’s naps have really been a challenge. Since the weather has been better I’ve been taking him out in the stroller so he gets some daytime sleep, but I don’t think he’s getting enough.

We found out yesterday we got the daycare slot and he’ll start about two weeks before I go back to work so I can do some doctors appointments, get in a pumping routine, spend some time with DH, etc. But I’m increasingly panicked about swine flu and just want to keep him at home. Hopefully by then (mid/late June) we’ll have a better idea of how serious this is.

Tami/Michelle - Michael’s gotten increasingly good at punching/swiping me in the eye while he’s eating. One day he’s going to scratch me in the cornea and we’ll end up at the ER in the middle of the night – not good for me or his sleep pattern! The telephone lactation specialist suggested a “nursing necklace” to distract him. I’ve been leaving my bra on for day feedings so he has something to grab and play with but I may have to find a necklace for nighttime. I only saw a Canadian site. He’s also amenable to football hold on one side and I can better control his arms that way.

Tami – Love all of Maya’s pics. The frozen milk turned out fine. The soapy taste can be due to an excess of the enzyme lipase some mothers have in their milk, according to the Medela Breastmilk Management flyer we got at breastfeeding class. More here:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/lipase-expressedmilk.html

Michelle – I hope Evelyn is feeling better. Thanks for the info on the drying in the sun. Although it's better weather here, I suspect our condo association would frown on my laundry on the deck :( Just the rules for putting plants out there are ridiculous. Michael always sleeps better after getting some motion – although it may also be related to not being able to move around and wake himself as easily in the carseat. Glad Evelyn is enjoying tummy time more. Michael is also rolling his tongue about quite a bit. I keep waiting for a big tummy time breakthrough but he seems content to just hang out and swim. He rolls from his back to his side but no interest in rolling from his belly anywhere. Michael seems to enjoy licking the mat after he spits up before I can wipe it. Yuck.

Couperine – I was sure our diaper issues were size related and switched to size 2 the minute Michael tipped 12 pounds on the scale. No luck. I didn’t think the size 2 even looked that much bigger than size 1 – unlike the change from N to 1 where the 1s looked enormous.

Beth H. – Any better sleeping?

Bekki – The boys are adorable and I love the story about them interacting! How awesome!

Ashley – how was your anniversary? Are things better with supply and sleeping?

FancyN – re: missing the emotional bond. As I watched my friend bottle feed her calm, loving and hungry baby Tuesday, all I could think was how happy they both looked and how that NEVER happens with Michael and I breastfeeding (see bits about punching, swiping eye etc). So hopefully you’ll be able to have a good bond with the bottle too.

Heather – glad Quinn’s feeling better.

Stephanie - so jealous Aiden tells you when it's time to eat! Michael maybe "demands" once a day (at 2 am). Very hard to read.

Which formulas are those moms doing formula using? My supply has regulated and I'm not sure how pumping will go when I go back to work. I may not be able to keep up, which is ironic since I was oversupplied, but my breasts have finally realized Michael is not a big eater, and the day care wants a spare bottle each day. I am starting to research just in case. I was interested in Similac Organic but there's a whole cane sugar issue with that, and some reviews say it's very constipating.

[tholbrook]

Sarah, how about a growth spurt? Maya was always slightly crankier and what little sleep schedule she had went haywire when this happened. I’ve read that their little bones ache a bit when they’re growing so quickly. And of course, he’ll want to eat more both for comfort and because he’s increasing your supply. So it might not be that your supply is doing down, but I don’t think the fenugreek could hurt either. Michelle mentioned whole grains as well: I’ve heard eating oatmeal every day helps boost supply.

Heather, TWO babies? Wow, you’re very brave! I don’t know how Bekki does it either, but I can’t imagine jumping into taking care of two at this stage in the game.

Michelle, I still catch some flak too about cosleeping - weirdly enough, it's frequently from men :confused: who are adamant that it's dangerous. But now that I've been doing it for awhile, I'm pretty confident when I tell other people our routine, but I do add the disclaimer "it's not for everyone". Anyway, it turns out that more moms I know cosleep with their babies than don't.
Nice work with the bassinet nap. Even if you don't use it all the time, it's nice to have options. I don't think bassinet/crib sleeping has to be a full-time, all or nothing, deal if you have a baby who allows some for some flexibility (I'm sure there are some who must have a very precise routine). Also, if Maya misses her nap, or it’s a short nap, the rest of the day is affected, so you’re probably right about Evelyn’s off-day being caused by less sleep during the day.
I cut way back on dairy (no milk, but still ate limited amounts of cheese) until Maya was about 6 months… she had such bad gas that caused her a lot of discomfort (I don’t think it was as severe as your situation, however). I added it back a few months ago, and it doesn’t seem to cause any issues whatsoever. Hopefully you have just a few more months of waiting…

Nancy (fancyn), I know you were hoping for a different BF outcome but I'm glad that at least you've found some sort of resolution and made peace with it. Just know that Natalie is still going to be a healthy thriving little girl, and you'll be able to bond with her in many, many other ways, including giving her a bottle. I am so happy to hear that she's well-behaved at work for you. While I know it's not true separation anxiety, Maya does the same thing: she will not let anyone else hold her unless Mommy or Daddy is close by. Even then, she sometimes fusses if someone else has her - only to turn around and give that person a big grin once I'm holding her again. Little stinker!

It took her a long time to warm up to my MIL who watches her 1-2 times a week (and feeding did’t help – to this day, she STILL won’t take a bottle from her, and waits for DH to get home). I think it was just a matter of her getting older and more active – and Grandma is a lot of fun at playtime. She still freaks out if she sees me leave, but settles down to playing once she gets distracted from the fact I’m not there.

Other than that, I don’t know what would help, other than letting someone hold Natalie more frequently while you’re really close (and eventually increasing the distance) until she is more accepting of that person. But YOU are still going to be her favorite, of course!

It sounds like Natalie has continued to be a mellow, easy-going baby for the most part - I'm sure she's just a joy to be around! :D

Nancy (Couperine) - too funny about the computer power button! Maybe a piece of tape would help?

Beth G – enjoy the nice weather… and I hope the nap time starts lengthening out soon! We had a LONG phase of short power-naps too.... drove me nuts, because I knew she was tired!
Re: the kicking and punching, I've also heard about some kind of toy/ribbon that you pin to your bra that will keep them busy. My problem is that even when Maya's hands are occupied, she loves to kick her legs around. And when I hold her legs under one arm, she wiggles her toes. I actually have bruises on the bottom side of my upper arm where she really digs in.

One last update for the month from us:
I’ve been reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child, and I’ll echo the opinion that the organization of the book is completely nonsensical. And I also find the tone to be condescending, if not downright offensive in some sections. Nor do I agree with everything he says, particularly concerning breastfeeding (Hello? If dad is going to give baby a bottle of expressed milk every day to give mom a break, where do you suppose the milk will come from? Finding the time to pump, at least for me, would be a major hassle and certainly not a break!). AND the book is full of contradictory advice. Anyway, I digress…

I did realize that we’ve been starting the naps too late, when she was already overtired (rubbing eyes and ears). Unfortunately, Maya doesn’t exhibit the usual signs of being tired (slowing down, quieter, losing interest in playing) until it’s too late - she gets more playful, silly, bouncy, etc when she should be winding down. Anyway, we’ve been trying to get ahead of that, and put her down after 2 hours of being awake, even if she’s cheerful and happy. It seems to work about half the time (the other half, we throw in the towel and give her another 30-45 minutes of playtime), so I guess we’ll continue going that route.

[Beth G.]

Tami - the positions we use have managed to keep me clear of Michael's dancing feet, but if I'm feeding him in bed on the right side during the night, DH better watch out! I have also browsed Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (I wish I had read it while pregnant instead of the breastfeeding books) and use what I can. What bothered me was the statement in the beginning (and I might not remember it properly) about it being natural for children to go to bed at 6:30 and not natural to keep them up later to see a parent that works late, and if that is the case you'd have your quality time in the morning. I don't think it's "natural" for a child not to see its mother several evenings a week (I will be getting home right around then) and since I leave at 6:30 am, when is that quality morning time? At 4 am? We'll see how it goes. As it is now, Michael's bedtime is usually between 8:30 and 9. I can't imagine he'd fall asleep much earlier with the sun going down so late here.

We got another 30 minute nap in the stroller. Some kids in the playground had the nerve to be yelling! Light sleeper. I guess I should exercise more and keep walking where it's quiet, but I like to sit down once he's sleeping and do some crocheting.

[Sarah45]

Hey everyone! Thanks for the thoughts on my supply. I don't think it's diminishing, I think that he wants more and I do suspect a growth spurt coming. The problem is that he has a STRONG suck reflex and when he wants to nurse constantly or isn't getting what he wants it's way painful for me. Hence wanting to increase my supply fast :D. I'm doing the oatmeal thing and hoping that this is over in a few days. I'm going to a BF support class (topic=sleeping:D) next week so I can ask the lactation consultants then if I am still having issues.

I took a great picture of Jackson today (if I do say so myself) and thought I would share.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SpH-dIFli7o/Sfo0Fm1xNyI/AAAAAAAABGg/WrC7g2HoHqU/s720/DSC00919c.JPG

[Beth H]

Michael’s gotten increasingly good at punching/swiping me in the eye while he’s eating. One day he’s going to scratch me in the cornea and we’ll end up at the ER in the middle of the night – not good for me or his sleep pattern!

First - I actually had a scratched cornea two years ago (freak accident with my cat's claw). It was more painful than labor pains (honestly), and I still have problems with that eye. My eye doctor told me baby fingernail scratches were the most common cause of this, so I'm paranoid about it.

Will's cough finally seems to be going away. He slept better last night, but after 3 weeks of poor sleep, I'm afraid to jinx it!

Beth G Will has been a poor daytime napper too. Daycare actually has helped this some; while my daycare doesn't try to put babies on a schedule, he does take 3 40 minute naps a day there, which for him is good.

Nancy (fancyn) I was in the same boat as you w/breastfeeding. Definitely don't beat yourself up about it. It's great that you can take your baby to work with you! I would love that (although I don't think I could be very productive. :)).

Michelle Sorry that Evelyn had a fussy day. It's hard when things seem to be swimming along, and then suddenly they hit an unexplained fussy patch.

Bekki How fun to watch your boys interact. I think that would be an awesome part about having twins. (Although I can't imagine how you cope with other parts. :)).

acginkc Sorry about the post-shot fussiness - hope that's going away now.

I love seeing everyone's photos - tholbrook, the ones of Maya outside are great.Sarah, the black and white one of Jackson is fantastic. I love black and white photos of babies.

We took Will to the beach for the first time this weekend - my parents were there. It was a relaxing trip. Will wasn't crazy about the beach itself (he hates sun in his eyes; I need to get him some baby sunglasses.)

Hope everyone is staying healthy and having a good week.

[tholbrook]

Great picture, Sarah! Love those little hands, it looks like he's getting ready to throw a punch! :D

Beth, I totally agree with you on the going to bed early ... as long as they are getting adequate sleep, will it really have dire consequences if the bedtime is later? We also try for around 8:30 or 9, since the last nap is at 5:30 or so. The other thing that really bugged me is his attitude towards babies/kids that are more demanding, cry more, etc. At one point he calls them fussy brats, and he also calls parents with these kids "unlucky". It just sounds really harsh coming from someone who works with children. While I think you moms out there with easy babies who sleep through the night ARE fortunate, I don't think of myself as unlucky ... to me, that's kind of an insult!
I prefer Dr. Sears' term of "high need" child to the term "difficult" (although I've been known to call Maya difficult on more than one occasion - but I'm allowed to, not other people! :p). I don't necessarily agree with everything from Dr. Sears either - we've found there is definitely a limit on "wearing your baby" to get them to sleep, or even to comfort them, for example. Anyway, I guess the lesson is just to take away what's helpful and ignore the rest!