September 2006 Mommies - Our Babies are Arriving!

[twink]

Still here. Just got the car seat installed in my car so we are definitely getting serious now. My desk is almost empty at work so I will be ready to start my leave as soon as tomorrow afternoon if something should happen.

[Aletheia]

twink you are so close! i'm sending you concentrating bradley vibes... you can do it!

[craftgenius]

Congrats to all the new mommies!

Rosegardenc - My blood pressure is still slightly elevated. Last week it was 139/89. The doctor wants to keep monitoring it for at least another month to see if it will go down on its own before she increases my high blood pressure medicine dosage.

[Fireside Girl]

MSH, larslobster,Di & brenda,
Hang in there. Your babies will be here before you know it and you won't believe how much you will love them!

[LyLMyssChaos]

LMC-[/B] My gosh, with stats like that I have to ask what are you feeding that kiddo? :) He's growing like a proverbial weed.


It's that good ol' Mama milk, at least that is what my daughter calls it. And she proceeds to tell everyone we meet "this is baby Theodore, he drinks mamamilk from my mama's boobies." LOL

I cannot believe how gorgeous the babies are here, but then again, I just may be biased! I can't believe how close we are to having all of "our" babies here. The really exciting stuff is about to kick in!

2Jacks: I'm right there on the pumping being frustrating. I am able to get good supply on one side, but the other side, I'm lucky if I get an ounce, and I've noticed that Theodore does not like to nurse on that side at all. I'm wondering if something is wrong on that side? And I have not had this experience before, but it actually has been hurting when I pump, so hopefully that will correct itself. I'm wondering if Theodore has a poor latch because he pulls off frequently and I'm still having to give him a 2- 4oz. bottle a day.

My blood pressure is still slightly elevated, but it's still within "safe range" so they took me off the meds and as of my doctor's appointment last week, I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight!! I can wear my old jeans (they are my fat jeans but still, they are regular clothes!) The biggest issue for me is that I have this desire to keep losing weight, but I am not cleared to work out yet, and won't be until Mid-October. Then I'm going to try to schedule my tubal litigation for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so I'm going to try and do what I can exercise-wise while I can!

[twink]

Aletheia Thanks! I have done a very poor job of practicing my relaxation since our classes ended. I have to call my doula/Bradley instructor today so I'm sure she will be on my back about practicing.

Due date It's sad that it took me being 39w6d to realize that my count has been off on how far along I am. If my due date really is September 26, I should be 39w2d today. Oh well - too late to change my counting now. Today is the day that would have been my due date had I ovulated on CD14, but that was not the case.

Job front Just found out that the job that I wanted in my company has been offered to an outside candidate. I have a strong feeling that the timing of my maternity leave was a factor as the person currently in the position is retiring in December. I'm bummed about it, but I guess I will just see how it is to work for this guy when I get back from leave.

[{b}]

Had our follow up ped appointment yesterday. Lauren was born at 6 lbs, 13 ounces, discharged at 6 lbs, 7 ounces. At her first ped's appointment Monday (Day 5), she was down to 6 lbs, 2.5 ounces. She also hadn't had a poop since meconium on Friday. They had me nurse her and reweigh her, and she got 2 ounces out of one side an hour and a half after her last feeding, so the ped was quite pleased with that. Followed up Thursday (Day 8) and she was up to 6 pounds, 12.5 ounces, just below her birth weight. She is also pooping after practically every feeding, which is great. The ped said it was the best breastfeeding success story she'd heard in weeks.

Ladies still waiting - hang in there! I know how hard it can be at the end/past due - it's SOOOO worth the wait! :) And I say this after being spit up on twice already this morning!

[dionysia]

Still pregnant!

I lost my mucus plug & had a little bit of pink bloody show last night/this morning, so I ended up starting my leave today instead of trying to stick it out at work for one more day.

Not that it mattered. :rolleyes:

Di

[twink]

di All good signs that things are moving along. Best of luck to you this weekend.

[Dotsie]

Di ~ I've heard that when you see bloody show labor will start within 3 days. Good Luck (and try to sleep now because once the baby gets here, sleep is a HUGE commodity). ;)

[deliciousjones]

copied from my journal:

we're home! i had a c/section on wednesday.

eleanor christine
september 20, 2006
9:38am
7lbs 13oz, 20 inches long

thanks to my kick-ass ob and the girls' kick-ass pediatrician (hospital usually requires 72 hour stays), we're home after 48 hours. we're all happy and healthy and doing great. el's in a biliblanket tonight because of jaundice, but we're hoping that tomorrow morning's blood test will show that they're going down.

ellie's doing great. she nurses like a champ and has been sleeping easily so far. my milk came in this afternoon and thankfully she's keeping up with it. it's only day 3 but so far, she's so much more mellow than rachel was as a newborn and until wednesday, i thought rachel was the easiest newborn ever. (i'm sure i'll be eating my words eventually!)

rachel loves her little sister so much. she visited us every day and gave the baby tons of hugs and kisses and pointed out all of her body parts. she wants to hold her constantly which is so sweet. she's staying with mark's mom again tonight and we're picking her up tomorrow morning after el's pediatricians appointment. i cannot wait to have our little family back together tomorrow but it has been nice to get settled, get everything put away and get the biliblanket figured out without a toddler underfoot.

okay, it's taken me 3.5 hours to write this post so i'm going to quit while i'm ahead and go snuggle in with my girl.

just a few hours old in these two pics!
http://www.mpix.com/GetImage.aspx?a=25636853&b=8ov984ocsyauut5ei01e&c=b&d=0

http://www.mpix.com/GetImage.aspx?a=25636860&b=5ctfapur763s1wxhaav7&c=b&d=0

[2Jacks&Me]

djones How great to be home so soon. Congrats on your Ellie- we both have one! It is so hard to call them by their full name when you can do the whole Ellie- bellie-jellie thing!
Hope you are recovering well!

[twink]

delicious Congratulations - glad to hear that the fmaily is doing well. Welcome to Eleanor Christine!!

[Aletheia]

djones- as my DH would say, you don't need any "fancy schmancy" photography to make that baby look cute! congratulations-- ellie is beautiful!

[dionysia]

Congratulations, Deliciousjones!!

Di

[MSH]

Congratulations delicious your daughter is just beautiful!

I am just stopping by to let you know I will be induced tomorrow morning. I had my post due appt on Wednesday where they stripped my membranes. This has caused me to be spotting since, have quite uncomfortable backache and some contrax but no labour. I will not be medically induced, they will simply break my waters because I was already at 3cm at my Weds appt. I am excited, scared and sad all at once.

What bums me the most is my dad will not get to meet the baby. He has been here for 2 weeks but had to leave this morning. My mom and brother are staying till Monday and will hopefully get to spend maybe a day with baby before they head home. All 3 live overseas and won't get to see baby again for a long time.

Wish me luck :)

[suiej]

Hey everyone, and congrats to the new mommies and the new arrivals!!

Amelia is THRIVING. We've had two ped visits, she was down to 8 lbs, 13 ounces at the first appointment (hard to believe that is considered "low"!), but we went back on Friday for a weight check and she's back up to 9 lbs, 6 oz, I'm sure even more by today. We're pretty impressed by her output.

My milk came in on Wednesday and BF has been going really well, although I was having some serious sore nipple issues at first. I had a lactation consultant come visit Thursday morning and she was amazing... learned some great holds, latching techniques, and nipple care, and things have been so good since.

She's still feeding every 2-3 hours, but occasionally she'll let us sleep for a 3 hour stretch at night, if we forget to set an alarm to wake her up to eat.

I'm still pretty sore from the delivery, but I think I'm on the mend. My doctor wants to see me back in the office this week to check on my heart and blood counts after the transfusion post-delivery.

Good luck to everyone still waiting for the big day, I'll send lots of good labor vibes!!!!!!

[twink]

MSH Hope the induction went well and that you are holding your new little one in your arms!

[dionysia]

Still pregnant. So ready for it to be over. :(

Had more bloody show the last few days and some painful BH contrax last night, but that's about it.

Looks like Fasolaki is going to have to be evicted.

My appointment is tomorrow at 3 pm. The OB will determine whether I need Cervadil or not and therefore when will I be admitted for induction. Regardless, it looks like Fasolaki will be born on Tuesday, September 26.

Di

[brenda]

Di - I am so with you. My appointment is Tuesday, 9/26/06. The midwife wants to induce on Wednesday. Ugh.

[batgirl]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to announce that our baby boy is here!

Baby Ben was born via emergency c-section at 2am on Sept 20. He weighed a healthy 8lbs4oz, 20.5 inches long and scored 9s on his apgars (which I am very thankful for since the delivery was pretty scary). We have been home since Friday, but I am having some troubles with my incision (its slightly opened, so doc wants me to stay in bed, on couch, etc, hard to do with a newborn!)

My memory is a bit fuzzy (well, the pushing/c-section phase) but I'll attempt my birth story soon.

I am way behind in this thread so will try to catch up quick. I'm sure there are lots of new mommies and beautiful babies!

Edited to remove picture...

All I can say is that I was unprepared at how much love I would feel for him so soon. I feel so fortunate and am so happy. I hope everyone else is doing as well as I am.

[2Jacks&Me]

congrats batgirl- 9-20 is a great day to be born- it is our wedding anniversary!

[Aletheia]

goodness, batgirl! i do want to hear details. it's hard to believe that any emergency had to happen to welcome that beautiful, serene little face into the world!

Welcome, Ben!

[akacharlotte]

As a friend of Ally(Rippy) I am happy to announce:

Logan Anthony was born 6:45am Sunday morning.7lbs 13 oz, 21 inches long. I just got the message! Sorry it took me so long!

Congrats Ally and Jeff and Welcome Logan Anthony!!!!!

[alliesmomma03]

Any moms out there with babies who are 4 weeks old. How long are they staying awake throughout the day?

[Aletheia]

alliesmomma- If you don't count the few times during the day where he is only lightly sleeping (in a sling, in the car, at the store) Ovi is awake all day long unless I lie down with him in a quiet room. I lerned the hars way that a baby with no naps turns into a screaming banshee at the end of the day, so I try to get him to sleep ~4 hors (2 2 hour chunks) a day. It ain't easy. Today he's had 1.5 hours, and only the boob has the power to keep the banshee transformation from happening.

[K&H's mommy]

Allison is 3 weeks and 2 days and the longest she has ever been awake was 2 hours. Usually she is just awake for 30-40 minutes and then she's snoozing again. I tried keeping her up longer during the day in hopes that she would sleep longer at night but it did the opposite, she was completely wired and it was a horrible night.

[Koala_Gurl]

Allison is 3 weeks and 2 days and the longest she has ever been awake was 2 hours. Usually she is just awake for 30-40 minutes and then she's snoozing again. I tried keeping her up longer during the day in hopes that she would sleep longer at night but it did the opposite, she was completely wired and it was a horrible night.

DS is almost 3 weeks, and same thing.

He is on like 2 day schedules though...he'll be really alert for 2 days, then really sleepy for 2. DD was like that too.

The Dr. said to try and keep him awake more during the day, but I just think I don't want to mess with a sleeping baby. (I like the "sleep begets sleep theory.) I do wake him to eat during the day if he goes a long time, mainly for my comfort. :)

[roadrunner]

Rachel is 4W1D and pretty much the same as what K&H's mommy & Koala posted. The longest she has been awake in the day was about 2-3 hours, but usually it's only for 30-60 minutes, a couple of times a day.

Seems like we get one good night (up at 3 for a feed, and back to crib within 30 minutes) and then a bad night. Last night she woke at 12:30 and decided that she would stay up until 3:30. I hate that she is not a 'nurse to sleep' baby at night. I've thought about keeping her up in the day as well, but I really don't think it works.

Congrats to Batgirl & Rippy!

Who is having their baby today? Was it Dionysia?

[alliesmomma03]

Thanks for the input guys. I guess miss Alyssa about par. I thought she should start staying awake longer but she is usally awake her longest stent after bath until bottle at 11:30.

[twink]

batgirl Congratulations and welcome Ben! What a cutie!

rippy Congratulations and welcome Logan!

I'm still here and still pg. I had my first non stress test last night at my midwife appointment and we were borderline. I guess I didn't realize that even though it is called a non-stress test, they actually want the baby to be active. :p So apparently 6:15 pm is not his most active time because he only moved 4 times in 15 minutes. They tell me that his heart rate is supposed to increase 15 bpm for 15 seconds after each movement and he just barely passed. Now I have to go in this morning at 10:00 am to see if he is more active. My doula suggested having a Mountain Dew before today's test to get him going so I've got one sitting on my desk waiting for the drive to the doctors. I really hope he is more active today or they are going to start pushing induction for me which I would prefer to avoid. I'm going to go do some research on non-stress tests now before my appointment.

[mommy2AlliWill]

Congrats Batgirl & welcome Ben!

Congrats Rippy & welcome Logan!

Di & MSH- hope your inductions go/went well.

At 3 weeks Owen still sleeps most of the time. Sometimes he will be awake for a 1/2 hour or so, nurse, fall asleep, wake up 10 minutes later, nurse fall asleep, repeat, repeat, repeat.

ETA; Twink, good luck. Hope the Mountain Dew helps & keeps induction away!

[twink]

mommy2AW Thanks - doing the Dew did the trick and we passed within 20 minutes. I have to go in for these NST every Tuesday and Friday until the baby arrives, though. It's weird to think that I may have less than a week left!

[babywish]

I finally have a sec to post the pics...

At the hospital...

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n297/Carmeta/BBB_019.jpg

On our way home...

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n297/Carmeta/Picture020.jpg

Last week...

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n297/Carmeta/IMG_7010.jpg

Please post this one on front page...

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n297/Carmeta/IMG_7024.jpg

Sorry they are so big but I dont know what is wrong.

[twink]

babywish Wow girl - you look fantastic for having just given birth! The last picture is too cute - it looks like he fell asleep studying!

[Fireside Girl]

Batgirl and Rippy,
Congratulations on your baby boys!

MSH and Di,
Hope the inductions went well and you have your babies in your arms by now.

babywish,
Beautiful pictures!

[LyLMyssChaos]

Yay for new babies!!!
Loving the pics, they are just too adorable!!! I hope everyone is recovering well and just eating up the excitement and joy that a new baby brings!! Those of you that are still waiting, I hope it won't be too long now for ya!!

[alliesmomma03]

Just wanted to post and say my bil and sil had there baby at 8:33 this morning. He was 7 lbs 12.7 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Mom and baby are doing fine. Although mom hurts,tired,hungry and nauseous. She was induced yesterday morning and had a long labor. The babies heart rate dropped in the middle of the night and they were talking a csection but not with this one. All are well.

[Rippy1010]

HEY LADIES!!! Thanks for the well wishes and congrats! We've been home now for about 24 hours now.

I was the talk of the L&D Department on Sunday morning!!! They were shocked it was my first child because of several things. Apparently I wasn't a "textbook case" for it being my first delivery.

Short little recap ... At 2:15 am on Sunday morning (Saturday night) I woke up for a potty break and went back to bed. At about 2:28 am I got a really awful, intense stabbing pain ... much worse than a menstrual cramp. And I immediately felt like I had to go to the bathroom again. The pain wouldn't go away, it was just washing over me. I was thinking it might be a contraction, so (after attempting to go to the bathroom again) I tried walking around to make pain subside, had a drink of water, etc to wait for it to go away so that I could time the next one. The pain never actually went away, there was just more intense and less intense. So, I called doctor to see what was happening. Doctor's office had the hospital call me back and they asked me a million questions. Sometimes i had to break because the pain was awful. So, the hospital wasn't exactly sure I was in labor because I was kind of laughing a little bit (purely nervous laughter), but told me to come in to get checked out. Bu this point, it was about 3:20 am (I had waited a while to call). I woke my husband then, and packed my last minute things (camera, glasses case). My husband called off work and went to get my things in to the car. On the way to the hospital, I was trying to time the "more intense" pains, and they were approx 2 mins apart. We got to ER at about 4 am and I couldn't walk any further, so they got me a wheelchair. Wheeled me right in to delivery room and called for epidural. It took him a little to get there. I got changed in to a gown just as I started vomiting. The same time I started vomiting (which only lasted about 1 minute), my water broke. So, they said they were going to get me laid down to check dilation. The whole room went in to shock because I had just gotten there and I was 7 cm. So, things went very quickly. I had to suffer, suffer, suffer through 1 min apart contractions (at the most) until epidural got there. Epi worked in about 1-1/2 minutes, and then I was good. I only pushed for about a total of 45 minutes (that's actual active pushing, not just sitting there waiting for it to be time to push). And Logan was born at 6:45 am ... 7 lbs 13 oz, 21" long. He only lost 5 oz while he's been in the hospital. But, I guess my doc was right ... I did go VERY QUICK! Thank god he's here! LOL!

Here's a few pics ...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid215/p0637da065d29f86e96630cc0af409fed/eccae0ec.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid215/p47a37248192822d57cb45d987d2a86cc/eccae0db.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid215/p428fec97abc3e3aeed84492323d30da6/eccadf18.jpg http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid215/p77ac2bcc3d924868773719181dc74429/eccadf1b.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid215/pbdf4e2f88dfa1378faf21db500d88e97/eccadeed.jpg
You can use this picture for the front page


As suspected, I don't feel very prepared for mommyhood. I don't know what to do when he cries other than hold him or feed him. And when neither work, I'm just at a loss. Hopefully it gets better after the first night's adjustments. But, I know better than that. LOL!

[twink]

rippy You are one lucky lady going so fast! I can't see the pictures here at work, but I'm sure Logan is adorable. Congratulations again!

[LyLMyssChaos]

Congrats Rippy!!
Seeing as how you went so fast, be prepared to go fast in any future labors!

[2Jacks&Me]

Just wanted to let you guys in on this.... Eliza has had swollen breasts lately and I emailed her dr. Here is what she said:
( here response is first, then my question)
You may see that for months--very normal. I would be concerned if she
had a fever or was crying more than usual. If you worried see us.

Dr. Hennessy


----- Previous Message -----
>Hello-
>I have noticed that my 5 week old, Eliza, has had swollen
>breasts for the last week or so. I would even say they are hard
>nodules. Sometimes one side is lesser than the other.
>I know that this can be because of my hormones and she is
>exclusively breast feeding, but I guess I thought that this was
>something that happened closer to birth and subsided by now.
>What should I be expecting

[brenda]

Ok, saw the midwife yesterday. We started off with a *very* thorough ultrasound, then I had an exam, and we finished up with a non-stress test. There's plenty of fluid, the placenta looks great, baby girl is a wiggling fool with a strong heartbeat (even though she did try to escape the monitor and scare me when her heartbeat would randomly disappear), and there is no indication for induction at this time! Yay!

I will be induced next week if we don't convinve her to come on her own this week/weekend. My cervix hasn't changed, still 1-2 cm, 50% effaced. Assuming I need to be induced, we'll start with Cervadil Monday night, and then start Pitocin (if needed) Tuesday morning.

So, I was wrong when I said that we'd have a baby by Wednesday, 9/27 at the latest. We'll actually have a baby by Tuesday 10/3 at the latest.

I am hopeful that I'll manage to go into labor on my own in the next few days, and miss the whole cervadil/pitocin bruhaha altogether. Every night I get a couple of hours on contractions (not truly painful, but altogether uncomfortable and annoying) with back pain, cramping, and feeling HOT. It always dies down, but the 'episodes' for lack of a better word, last a little bit longer, and get a little stronger every night. Hopefully one night soon, it'll be more than an annoyance and actually turn into something useful.

I was a little surprised at my step-father's reaction to the news about not having to induce today. My step-father was UNhappy. He seems to have only a loose grasp on the fluidity of due dates, and wanted to make sure that waiting was a good idea. He was a little annoyed to realize that a due date wasn't really set in stone, and that it's normal to allow a woman to wait up to 2 weeks past her EDD to be induced.

I was kind of taken aback but how strong his reaction was, but then I realized he isn't TRYING to make it sound like I'm a crazy hippy chick who would endanger her kid in an attempt to avoid the doctor, he's just worried that perhaps the midwife is really a witch doctor and I just don't know better. *sigh* I did finally convince him that this is the best thing for me and the baby, and that a "real doctor, with a degree who knows about this stuff" is ok with this course of action. Amazing how when it comes to him and his myriad of medical problems, doctors are quacks, but when it comes to me and a perfectly normal, healthy, natural process, a doctor's approval is of paramount importance.

[brenda]

Argh!

Midwife called. They need to reschedule my induction for later in the week. L&D is already going to have their hands full with scheduled C-sections and inductions, and they don't want to overbook because they're still expecting the regular number of spontaneous deliveries. Instead of going in Monday night, I'll go Wednesday afternoon (10/4) for cervadil and get the pitocin (if needed) Thursday morning (10/5).

This is not a problem for me. Heck, I'm still hopeful I'll go naturally sometime this week/weekend. I don't want to tell my step-father because I don't want to deal with his accidental accusations of stupidity. *sigh*

Time to send out an update to every female relative with email access. At least the constant emails reduce the number of phone calls I get asking about the state of my vagina.

[twink]

brenda You make me laugh since I am in the same boat as you. I also have relatives that think that midwives are witch doctors but I am just ignoring them until the baby arrives. :) I haven't warned DH yet, but he is going to get sexed up this weekend to get things moving - along with lots of walks with the dog and yoga ball use.

[brenda]

Twink - I see we have the same plans. :-)

[MSH]

Hi girls!

I am fianlly back from the hospital. I was induced Sunday Sept 24th and Aiden Russell was born just after midnight on Sept 25th. He is happy and healthy. We are absolute in love but oh so tired. I will post a picture as soon as I can.

[September2006Mommies]

We have 47 mamas, of which 31 are in active duty and 16 are in a state of constant anticipation!
Good luck to those still awaiting their baby's grand entrance into the world!


Welcome jbemommy, and congrats on the birth of Stephen Douglas, Jr.!

Congrats to suiej, and welcome Amelia Josephine!

Congrats to deliciousjones and welcome Eleanor Christine!

Congrats to batgirl and welcome Ben!

Congrats to rippy1010 and welcome Logan Anthony!

Congrats to MSH and welcome Aiden Russell!

I have added the links to the baby pics folks would like added to the Mommy IDs to the front page. Once MSH is back she'll actually add the images.

Actual Due Dates
August
18 - craftgenius; Claire
18 - UTChick; John Michael
22 - 2Jacks&Me; Eliza James
23 - cjones; Nathan Lee
ocgatita; Jacob
24-
25-
26- Aletheia; Oliver Rudy
27- rosegarden; Cameron Cole
28- LMC; Theodore Daniel
roadrunner; Rachel Vivian
alliesmomma03; Alyssa Grace
29- Dotsie; Conor Padraig
30- cosmic; Kai Alexander
31- tgoody; Sophie
Fireside Girl; Braeden Charles

September
1-
2- babywish; Marc Tomas Brahim
K&H'smommy; Allison Elise
Camdynlyn; Mia Lynn
3-
4-
5-mom2alliwill; Owen Joseph
Ericka_Jarett; Easton Robert
Koala_Gurl; Derek Irving Paul
6- spencer's_girl; Zachary Alan
7-
8- luvvy30; Maya Marie
9-
10- dana_b; Henri Grayson
11-
12-
13- {b}; Lauren Rose
14- octoberkate; Zachary Charles
15
16- jbemommy; Stephen Douglas, Jr.
17- suiej; Amelia Josephine
18-
19-
20- deliciousjones; Eleanor Christine and batgirl; Ben
21-
22-
23-
24- rippy1010; Logan Anthony
25- MSH; Aiden Russell

[babywish]

Congrats MSH! can't wait to see pictures... by the way I just sent you a message!!

[Fireside Girl]

Congratulations MSH!

I know this picture is small but I can't figure out how to enlarge it. Can it be used for my mommy id?

http://sc.groups.msn.com/tn/00/11/TheSafeHarbor/2/f4.jpg

[LyLMyssChaos]

Theodore is 1 month old today and guess what?? HE ROLLED OVER!!! He rolled from his back to his stomach. We are really in for it now!!


Congrats MSH!!! Welcome Aiden. You get your rest Mama and love on that baby, and we'll be patiently awaiting pics! :)

[twink]

MSH Congratulations and welcome Aiden Russell!!

Still pg. I had a pregnancy massage last night - I had been saving up for it and was really looking forward to laying on my stomach with my belly hanging in a hole, but she said I was too far along to do that anymore. Boo-hoo. So it wasn't exactly what I expected, but it was still nice. She gave me two accupressure spots to try to get labor going if I wanted it. brenda - in case you are interested, one spot is the web in between your thumb and pointer finger and the other is four fingers above the inside of your ankle. Massage both areas gently for 10 minutes at a time.

Last night when I was up for my 4:00 am trip to the bathroom, I couldn't get back to sleep afterwards, so I thought maybe something was happening. No dice, though.

[brenda]

Twink - will do! Thanks!

[Aletheia]

Wow, Theodore! Way to go!

A question for those mamas who responded to alliesmomma's post about sleeping in the day: Do you actively encourage your baby to sleep to get them to sleep that much? Ovi will not fall asleep unless I try for about a half hour to get him to do so. Should I be doing that more?

[portlandbride]

Just wanted to post really quick and say Addison was born on September 24 at 8:28 pm.
She was 7 lbs. 9 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long.
She's a real cutie!

[twink]

portlandbride Congratulations! Welcome to the world - Addison!

[MSH]

Congratulations portlandbride on baby Addison.

[Rippy1010]

Wow, Theodore! Way to go!

A question for those mamas who responded to alliesmomma's post about sleeping in the day: Do you actively encourage your baby to sleep to get them to sleep that much? Ovi will not fall asleep unless I try for about a half hour to get him to do so. Should I be doing that more?

I'd like to know about this, too. I don't actively encourage Logan to sleep during the day. He just does. (But, then again, he's only 5 days old). But, if he's alert, I don't try to get him to sleep during the day ... foolishly thinking that he will then sleep more at night. :rolleyes:

[deliciousjones]

sleep: eleanor sleeps a lot on her own during the day (she's awake for 1-2 hours, then sleeps for 2-4 hours, repeat cycle) but my oldest took more encouragement to sleep. personally, i would do as much as you can to encourage sleep, as they NEED sleep to thrive. i feel that it's very important to encourage healthy sleep habits as early as possible because encouraging good sleep habits NOW will help us all to avoid having to "sleep train" later on.

[suiej]

Congrats MSH, welcome Aiden, and congrats portlandbride, and welcome Addison!!

Sleep - Amelia is almost always sleeping when she isn't awake eating. (Even when she's eating, she's sleeping a bit!)

She has probably about 2-3 hours of alert, non-feeding time a day. Even then, she usually has hiccups.

If she's been recently changed, fed, and held, we can put her down in her bassinet or PNP and she'll crash for an hour or more.

We got a sleep positioner, which has made SUCH a difference in her comfort level in the bassinet, I think it makes her feel like she's being held and is secure.

Hang in there, twink!!

[twink]

MW Appointment Update The NST went well today. He was an active little bugger so they seemed happy. They scheduled me for an amniotic fluid index on Monday afternoon. If I get below a 6, they will induce right away, between a 6-8 is marginal and they will have to make a decision based on NST results or perhaps a biophysical profile, and above an 8, I will be good for another week. They said that on October 6, they will start pressuring me for an induction. They did a quick ultrasound to determine that he is truly head down in there. So I am doing my accupressure, walking, bouncing on the yoga ball, and DH is going to give me some loving tonight. We'll see what happens, but if it gets to Tuesday next week, I might even try the dreaded castor oil.

The one thing that everyone seems to be disturbed about is my attitude. I am feeling great (thanks to heartburn going away), am able to move with no problems, and can sleep without trouble (well, I do pee every two hours). The midwife and nurse both said that was not normal for being this far along so that makes me a little nervous. I told them I would be more complainy next week if it made them feel better. ;)

[dionysia]

Hi everyone!

Quick post to say that Leo Keith was born by emergency c-section on Tuesday, September 26! He weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs 8.6 oz. and was 21.5 inches long.

I will be in the hospital 'til Sunday, recovering from 2 hours of pushing & the C.

Leo is absolutely adorable and my husband is the best man ever. :)

Thinking of you all!
Di

[Koala_Gurl]

The one thing that everyone seems to be disturbed about is my attitude. I am feeling great (thanks to heartburn going away), am able to move with no problems, and can sleep without trouble (well, I do pee every two hours). The midwife and nurse both said that was not normal for being this far along so that makes me a little nervous. I told them I would be more complainy next week if it made them feel better. ;)

That is a great problem to have! I was like that with both of my pregnancies too, so don't worry! :)

[Koala_Gurl]

Hi everyone!

Quick post to say that Leo Keith was born by emergency c-section on Tuesday, September 26! He weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs 8.6 oz. and was 21.5 inches long.

I will be in the hospital 'til Sunday, recovering from 2 hours of pushing & the C.

Leo is absolutely adorable and my husband is the best man ever. :)

Thinking of you all!
Di

Congrats!! My DD was exactly the same height & weight (yep, that 8.6 oz too!) How funny!

[Aletheia]

congrats, portlandbride, and welcome to addison!

and welcome leo, di! that was one of the names on our short list.

sleep-- feeling better about this-- i think ovi just needs less sleep? i'm going to experiment w/ putting him down more often.

[dana b]

congrats di! welcome baby leo.

aletheia will he sleep in the sling or wrap? that's the only place dd would sleep for like the first 6 mos. i'm a big believer in doing whatever it takes to get them some sleep. so far henri's been easier in that department, but it's still too early to tell.

here's another short birth story for me...

it was sunday around noon, we were at home hanging out with my parents and dh's best friend. they were outside in the backyard and i was laying on the couch in the living room. i had just finished a big plate of eggs benedict and wasn't feeling well, so i decided to lay down, i was also waiting for some furniture to be delivered. i felt a huge gush of warm fluid and knew it was my water breaking, i called dh into the house and actually started crying because the house was such a mess and we were planning to finish up a lot of projects that day -- stupid, i know. i stood up and realized that it wasn't my water that broke, there was blood everywhere and it wasn't watery at all. at this point, i was just hysterical, my mom came running in the house and was trying to calm me down, nodody knew what to do, they were just going in circles, they were trying to be calm and it was freaking me out even more. the blood kept coming, it was all over the couch, the floor and running down my legs, i finally just told dh to get in the car and let's go. thankfully, the hospital is only about 10-15 minutes away, the drive was awful though, at this point i figured that it was some kind of problem with the placenta and thought for sure that ds wasn't getting any oxygen and probably wouldn't survive :(
we got to l+d and the nurses looked down at my legs (i was wearing a skirt) and started running around hooking me up to iv's and yelling things "stat". at one point they realized they hadn't even put a monitor on the baby yet, they got it on and picked up his heartbeat and everyone cheered. within minutes, my dr arrived -- he didn't say much about what was wrong, but that i'd be having a c-section immediately. i had the worst shakes as they took me in for the c-section, i was completely in my own world and never thought in a million years that i wouldn't have the easy delivery that i had w/ dd. at 1:19 henri was born, the dr pulled him out and he was screaming -- i loved it, dh and i could finally breathe. it was a while before i even saw him and i didn't even care, just knowing he was okay was all that mattered.
the dr said i had a complete placenta previa (completely covering my cervix) and that he had to cut through the placenta to get him out. i still don't know how that got missed with all the ultrasounds i had, but whatever.

[twink]

di Congratulations! Welcome to Leo Keith!!

Koala I'm glad to hear it. I was getting a bit nervous. DH even asked if I was sure about the date!

dana Wow - that is quite a story. I can't even imagine how scary that must have been! I'm glad that you and baby are okay.

[Aletheia]

dana- your birth story brought tears to my eyes. before i went through labor, it probably wouldn't have. but now i understand, i think, how terrifying that would be. i am so glad henri made it. stories like yours help to remind us all that each healthy baby born into our group is such a miracle.

sleep- I just gave Ovi a bath, and noticed he was drowsy while i lotioned him up and put a diaper and onesie on him. He fell asleep right there, on the changing table, in a bit of sun. Well, it ain't the bassinet, but whatever works, right? At least the changing pad sheet was changed just before his bath!

koala- he does sleep in the sling, but I have the feeling it isn't a deep sleep, so I hadn't really been counting that. I've only been able to wear him for about an hour a day so far too, as my back has been bothering me. :(

[2Jacks&Me]

dana wow- I am so glad everything turned out- how scary for you all!

Dh and I got our first real sitters tonight. Even 2 yo Ds never had a sitter other than mom and aunts or dad. But our twin nieces came for 2 hours to let us get out of the house. They did great and I was tired even though all we did was coffee and Target. I knew I had to get home when I started feeling like my breasts were leaking.

I am so tired and i have to get to sleep while everyone else is.

[Fireside Girl]

Di,
Congratulations on Leo Keith!

Dana,
How scary! Glad you are OK!

Twink,
Hang in there. It won't be too much longer.

[batgirl]

Dana Oh my. How scary. I am so glad everything turned out and that Henri is a healthy baby boy.

Congrats Di and Portlandbride!

Twink Hang in there girl!

Congratulations to everyone else with healthy beautiful babies. I have been trying to catch up with SOs, but the sleep deprivation has really got me.

Ben just doesn't like sleeping anywhere but in someone's arms. We gave up on the pack n play and keep trying to get him in his crib.

suiej so glad you mentioned the sleep positioner. I completely forgot about these and will definitely consider one. Ben just doesn't like sleeping unless he feels secure.

DH and I have been living in a daze (granted a happy daze) since he was born.

Hey, I have a question for BFing mommas... I am going to try to pump some milk, but don't want to take any away from his normal feedings (he eats every two hours). Do I pump after he feeds? Does anyone know about how long it takes for the breats to fill again? I want to start getting a milk stash together, but don't want to limit his feedings.

Oops gotta run. Ben is calling! Will be back with my birth story and a couple more pics.

[MSH]

Well we have come a long way in the past few days. From spending every waking minute fighting a crying baby to nurse, then feeding him EBM with a bottle, sterilizing bottles and pump and pumping only to start all over again 30 mins later to now spending no longer than 30 mins BFing using the shields. He took to those suckers like a fish to water. In the past 24 hours Aiden has only taken one bottle and that was because we were running out to a hockey game last minute.

Yesterday we met with our FP for Aidens first check up. It was so great to walk in there again and be bringing my baby. Especially since the last time we were there we got the referal to the OB for IF treatment, that was Jan 2005 and now look at where we are. Aiden must have felt like he needed to impress the Dr with his skills because he went twice while we were there. He weighed 8.4. at brith, 7.11. at discharge and yesterday at the Drs he was 8.1. So great progress, especially since one of the nurses at the hospital was trying to intimidate us and saying he was losing too much weight and we would have to stay in the hospital longer ... now I know she was just jealous and wanted to keep my little guy around longer :-)

Afterwards we had an appt. with the BF clinic. I met with the same LC whom I had seen in the hospital on Wednesday before we left. LOVE HER! She is just awesome and was really happy to hear the shields we working do great for us. She was really impressed with his weight gain and said he looked perfectly happy and healthy and we had no reason to worry about BF. While there we tried out the shields again to make sure he was latching correctly etc. Aiden feed for 30 mins while there.

I am fighting a bit of engorgement ... I have some serious porn star knockers these days and have grown out of everything. I have to go get a couple new nursing bras because the ones I have are just too small. Now I am only pumping for relief and to have a bit of a EBM in the freezer. Otherwise the little one is feeding at the breast.

I know MIL and FIL will be coming over just after lunch and SIL really wants to visit later today as she didn't get to see the Aiden yesterday. We had brought him to her hockey game but it ran into his feeding time and he was getting fussy to we had to leave before she was off the ice. Everyone there were so excited to see him and MIL was thriving in the attention and being called grandma.

Anyways I better run. Aiden is due to feed again shortly and I need to get some food in me before then.

batgirl I am not too sure as we are going the other way (pumping less and BFing more) but I would just pump a little after a feed to help increase your supply. After a day or so your body will know to poduce more milk and it shouldn't affect Bens normal feedings.

[twink]

MSH What a cutie Aiden is!! Glad to hear that bfing is going better.

Still pg Ladies - it looks like I will be leaving the September mommies group and moving to the October mom's group. Unless labor starts now and is less than 7 hours long, that is. I'm still feeling really good. We had a wedding that I wanted to go to today, but DH was nervous that we would get there and then labor would start, so we skipped it. Now I wish we would have went because NOTHING IS HAPPENING!! I rented some movies to tide me over for tonight and I am going to make DH take me out for dinner to kill a couple hours - maybe we'll walk to a Mexican place in town to try to get things going. Off to watch a movie while bouncing on a yoga ball. :)

[Aletheia]

oh too sad! i hadn't realized that the end of the month would mean no more babies for us... those of you still waiting better keep us uptodate!

msh
aiden is such a cutie!

[cosmic]

CONGRATULATIONS to all the new mommies! Such adorable babies! :D

I don't try to get him to sleep during the day ... foolishly thinking that he will then sleep more at night. :rolleyes:

hahahaha! that's me, too. in fact, i try to make sure Kai doesn't oversleep during the day thinking he'll sleep better at night. You mean that doesn't work? lol.

[Rippy1010]

hahahaha! that's me, too. in fact, i try to make sure Kai doesn't oversleep during the day thinking he'll sleep better at night. You mean that doesn't work? lol.

Well, it hasn't worked for me. My little man is wide-eyed and busy-tailed at night. During nighttime feedings I keep all the lights out, and don't make any noise (so as not to stimulate him). It doesn't matter ... you should see how alert he is, looking all over the place with his big brown eyes. :rolleyes:

He's also been experiencing some fussiness (translate ... a good two hours of wailing) right in the middle of the night. I've attributed it to gas pains and/or constipation because he kicks his feet, pulls up his legs, scrunches up his face, and seems to be completely uncomfortable. So, that has not been helping.

[deliciousjones]

He's also been experiencing some fussiness (translate ... a good two hours of wailing) right in the middle of the night. I've attributed it to gas pains and/or constipation because he kicks his feet, pulls up his legs, scrunches up his face, and seems to be completely uncomfortable. So, that has not been helping.

Have you done any gentle massage on his belly? I've done this with both of my girls and it helps a lot.

Also, I find that if I burp Ellie 1-2 times during a feeding, it reduces the amount of gas. But it takes WORK to get this girl to burp!

[roadrunner]

Well, it hasn't worked for me. My little man is wide-eyed and busy-tailed at night. During nighttime feedings I keep all the lights out, and don't make any noise (so as not to stimulate him). It doesn't matter ... you should see how alert he is, looking all over the place with his big brown eyes.

Rachel was like this for pretty well the first three weeks. Then, she started to have a few good nights, and now (please,please do not let me be jinxing us) she seems to have settled down to the fact that night time is for sleeping - no parties allowed!!

She is going to be 5 weeks tomorrow! Where is the time going? She started rolling from front to back at one month old. Now we can't keep her on her belly at all :rolleyes:. She has crazy strong upper body strength and neck/head control. She has also begun smiling at us. it's the sweetest thing ever :p .

She is doing well for sleep now. Normally goes to bed at around 10:30 -11, and sleeps until anywhere between 4-6!! Then she goes back to sleep until about 8-9. So, this means that I am getting about 6 hours of unbroken sleep most nights now, and let me tell you, it's soooo wonderful!! However, a couple of nights she has slept in her swing. bad Mommy, I know, but you do what you can to get them to sleep.

I'm on a crazed obsession to find the 'perfect' christening gown now, since she will be baptized on Oct. 22nd, and time is running out!

Anyhow, that's my update.

We are a lucky group. We have our babies - they are healthy and wonderful. I hope that the october Mommies are as lucky as we are.

[deliciousjones]

roadrunner: re: christening gown. have you thought of using your wedding gown? i found a seamstress to alter my wedding gown into a baptism gown for my children.

[twink]

Hey ladies - I'm still here and still pg. I'm starting to feel discouraged that this baby is never going to come. :( I'm actually looking forward to going to work tomorrow so I don't have all day to obsess over the fact that nothing is happening. I'm sure my co-workers will be very surprised to see me, though! I also decided that if I am still pg on Wednesday, I am treating myself to a pedicure after work.

[roadrunner]

delicious ~ I thought about it, but feel that the fabric (Dutchess Satin) is just way too thick for a christening gown. Plus, I kinda selfishle don't want my gown changed!

DD#1 used a gown that my Father found in his parents home after they passed away. We don't know for sure if my father was christened in it, but it was just beautiful and perfect for DD. But, I really want a new gown for Rachel (poor kiddo is already up to her eyeballs in hand-me-downs). I want both of my girls to be able to use their own gowns for their own children, if they choose.

MIl and I are going to the fabric store tomorrow. I showed her some pics of dresses I liked online, so she now wants to make the gown for Rachel. She will do a great job, I know! These two dresses are the inspiration:

http://www.onesmallchild.com/ProductImages/AshleyPFR66-750.jpghttp://www.onesmallchild.com/ProductImages/DaisyCU107-750.jpg


QOTD The 6 week post-partum appt. is coming up for many of us. Anyone feeling weird about it? I am feeling petrified about having a pap/internal exam. Seriously. I do not want to be touched there right now (poor DH!). I'm just so scared of feeling pain. I kinda want to blow off my appt., but I know I can't do that.

[2Jacks&Me]

qotd my appt is weds. I am obsessed over shaving again. Plus with ds, we both got colds and I rescheduled for 8 weeks. Guess who is sick again? But I am going. I was just on safefetus.com to see what ii can take while bfing. my throat is so sore.
onehanded typing, and lefty.

[kenswife]

I've been a lurker for a while since my actual due date had been 10/7. However, just as I suspected, my little man Tyler arrived early on 9/26. So, I'm officially a Sept. mommy :) Hope you don't mind if I pop in on the conversation from time to time!

[Koala_Gurl]

Welcome kenswife! Good to see another March 05 mommy here! :) Congrats!

[suiej]

Welcome kenswife!!

qotd I had a post-partum checkup at two weeks out, last week. It's wasn't too bad. He mostly wanted to check my weight, blood pressure, and sutures (episiotomy repair, ouch!) but didn't do the full pelvic exam. I'm hoping I'll be ready for that in three weeks!

I've lost 30 of the 40 pounds I gained. But I'm still wearing maternity clothes and pants that were huge to begin with. Hoping to get into non-maternity clothes before the end of the month, otherwise my wardrobe is going to be severly limited!

[{b}]

So far behind. I can't believe how tired I am and how much work BFing has been. But it's all good. Love my little girly!

I haven't been reading. Bad girl, I know!

I think I'm almost back to my pre-PG weight, which was about 10 pounds heavier than I was comfortable with. Some of my regular pants fit, most don't, because my hips are so much wider than before. Will they go back some, or am I destined to buy yet another whole new wardrobe?

[brenda]

Just a quick annpuncement:

Elizebeth Ann made her appearance on September 29th at 5:46pm. She weighed 7 lbs, 3 oz and measured 20.25 inches long.

We're home and recovering. I'll post more later.

[2Jacks&Me]

Congrats Brenda rest as much as possible!!! Is that possible

[larslobster]

A quick update:

Lillian Emma was born on September 26th at 4:05pm, two weeks and four days past her due date. I was induced but because my cervix failed to dialate more than 8 1/2 cm, she was delivered by c-section. And thank god for that as she weighed 10lbs 6oz. :eek:

We're home settling in and grateful to have my mom staying with us for another few days.

When I get a few minutes later in the week, I'll post my birth story

[Camdynlyn]

Lars, CONGRATS! I give you mad props for going two weeks and four days PAST DUE!!

[Fireside Girl]

Congratulations brenda and larslobster!

[LyLMyssChaos]

Yay, more babies!!! How exciting! Congrats brenda and larslobster!

[batgirl]

MSH, Brenda, larslobster Congrats! Welcome Aiden, Elizebeth, and Lilian!

Welcome to our awesome little group kenswife!

2jacks hope your feeling better.

roadrunner wow, sounds like Rachel sleeps really well. I am jealous. We found that Ben pretty much only sleeps in his swing... doc wasn't too thrilled, but its all about survival.

Went to doc yesturday. Ben has surpassed his birth weight! Currently 8lbs 10oz. Guess he's getting enough to eat after all!

Twink Hope you've got that little baby in your arms really soon!

[mommy2AlliWill]

Congrats to MSH, Brenda, larslobster

Welcome kenswife!

No word from Twink the past couple days, hope she is off having her baby!

Life here is crazy but wonderful. Alli's preschool teacher told me yesterday that I looked well rested, had to laugh at that one. Owen is a good sleeper. I will feed him & put him in his crib between 8 & 9:30. He is usually up once somewhere around 1:00/1:30/2:00 & then up at 5:00/5:30. DH gives a bottle in the middle of the night or the am one so I am getting decent sleep. With the two older ones there is no going back to sleep so I have been up since 5 this morning. We have our one month check up tomorrow & I am interested to see how Owen has grown. He is certainly more alert the past few days & starting to make cute cooing baby sounds...that first smile must be right around the corner.

[2Jacks&Me]

had my 6week postpartum check today. got the name of a urologist and script for progesterone only pill. all is good. visited my mom for lunch and weighed eliza- 11lbs! whoa. 3lbs + in 6 weeks. idid begin to think that she was growing out of my boob!

sorry about the poor typing- always one-handed these days. at the moment i am doing this, bfing and pumping. multitasking to the max. what man coulddo this
oh yeah - mom says (nurse) she was talking with an ob nurse who said the latest is tummy sleeping is ok- not finding any info to that fact- but will keep looking.

[LyLMyssChaos]

oh yeah - mom says (nurse) she was talking with an ob nurse who said the latest is tummy sleeping is ok- not finding any info to that fact- but will keep looking.

Ugghh, all the sleeping info drives me crazy, especially since so far 2 out of my 3 kids have been "tummy sleepers." I spend so much time worrying about them sleeping on their stomach. How nice it would be to hear that it's okay for them to sleep on their stomach. I worry about it more now since Teddy can roll from his back to his stomach (which he does if put on his back) but he can't roll back over yet.

Does anyone else that is BF-ing feel like a human pacifier? I never went through this with my other kids. Madeline took a binky, and Timothy had no interest in anything unless he was getting food from it. Theo on the other hand wants to be on my breast all the time. He's not nursing, just latched on. And we've tried giving him a binky, but nope, he doesn't want it. He is already developing a very determined personality. He also definitely knows what he wants and if you try to give him the wrong thing(such as trying to nurse when he is determined to have a formula bottle, he will totally reject EBM in a bottle, and will only accept a formula bottle)? Whoa look out, that's the only time he cries, and he cries loud!

[Koala_Gurl]

LMC - with DD I was definitely the human pacifier (that and she liked to eat all the time too.) This time, DS just has his cluster feed / human pacifier in the evening from like 6 - 10pm.

Don't you just love how every week something changes with how to prevent SIDS? IMO (and I am not in any way medically trained), many of these things are just CYA type measures. No one really knows exactly what causes SIDS. I know back sleeping is responsible for reducing the number of deaths, but even that I personally take w/ a grain of salt. In the hospital, they put DS to sleep on his side, and he slept, well, like a baby. With DD, she learned how to sleep on her belly just before 4 months, and from then on she has been a tummy sleeper.

Now a pacifier is supposed to help prevent SIDS, with the theory that a baby doesn't sleep as soundly w/ a pacifier. I don't know...it may work, but I think getting good sleep is also important. Seems backwards to keep a baby from getting good sleep.

[MSH]

I am with you girls on the human pacifier issue. Aiden loves to just hang out on the breast. He will 'chew' lightly on it causing milk to flow but not swallow so I usually end up soaked. Thankfully he also loves his binky (I thought this was a common term for a paci but no one around here has heard of a 'binky' before and all think I am making it up) and I can usually transfer him and he will fall asleep if he hasn't already :)

BFing continues to be a challenge for us. In the hospital he wouldn't latch on at all. Then we were bottle feeding EBM, then did the shields and now we are finally able to go stright to the breast if he isn't too upset. Slowly but surely making progress.

[Aletheia]

teehee! it's almost like a babe's relationship with the boob and the paci couldbe a personality test. look at all this diversity!

Ovi would take the nookie (that's what we always called them) for all of the first two nights of his cluster feeding madness (which has now passed!!) Now, if you stick anything other than a boob in his mouth when he's rooting (including DH's nose, as he is fond of testing), he scowls suspiciously, takes two tentative sucks, and then takes the deep inhale he only ever needs before wailing like a pint-sized banshee. And yes, I'll admit that we have incurred this wrath knowingly on a couple of occasions. The expression that results when he determines he's been betrayed is just too comical.

Regarding the other end... we're practicing elimination communication or infant potty training and I'm really surprised how easy it is! After 2 days of really paying attention to him, I've successfully saved probably 1/2 of the typical load of laundry (we cloth diaper.) It's so exciting! But when I can't respond to his little "i need to go!" signals (like yesterday at mommy yoga) I feel *so* guilty! But then I remind myself that he has sat in his own waste for little bits of time previous to the last two days.

[LyLMyssChaos]

Regarding the other end... we're practicing elimination communication or infant potty training and I'm really surprised how easy it is! After 2 days of really paying attention to him, I've successfully saved probably 1/2 of the typical load of laundry (we cloth diaper.) It's so exciting! But when I can't respond to his little "i need to go!" signals (like yesterday at mommy yoga) I feel *so* guilty! But then I remind myself that he has sat in his own waste for little bits of time previous to the last two days.


That is really neat that you guys are doing that! I myself can barely keep up with a toddler for potty training, let alone an infant. It will be very interesting to see how that goes for you. I don't know anyone who has actually tried it, so I'm very excited to see how things go as you work through the process.

[Rippy1010]

I heard about infant potty training on Good Morning America about a year ago, but didn't know anyone that actually tried it. Good luck with it, Aletheia! Sounds like it is going well so far.

I've been battling the baby blues here BIG TIME. One I get in a crying spell, it's really hard to drag myself out of it. I hope that it's just the normal baby blues and it doesn't go in to PPD. Anyway, I have a strange question for you ... did anyone feel like now they are just going to be "the mom", and maybe take a backseat in their husband's eyes? I just feel like my marriage relationship will be forever changed, and now maybe I'll always come second. Did anyone else have this type of anxiety? And don't get me wrong, I love my little guy with my whole heart! I've just been all mixed up inside - - and I know it's due to the hormone chaos.

[LyLMyssChaos]

Anyway, I have a strange question for you ... did anyone feel like now they are just going to be "the mom", and maybe take a backseat in their husband's eyes? I just feel like my marriage relationship will be forever changed, and now maybe I'll always come second. Did anyone else have this type of anxiety? And don't get me wrong, I love my little guy with my whole heart! I've just been all mixed up inside - - and I know it's due to the hormone chaos.

Ya know? I worried about it with my other two kids and it never happened. This time I didn't worry, and yep, it's happened. And add the fact that I've got really bad PPD this time around (and a husband who just doesn't understand it, even though this is the second time-he thinks I can just "suck it up" or "get over it" I frequently hear "gosh why are you so emotional? What is wrong with you?") and we have not had a very happy home life lately, but we certainly are not the norm. What you are feeling, is so totally normal! I'm sure that you will find ways to balance being a wife and mommy, so as to not have either one be ahead of the other. If you are worried that your kids will come ahead of you, well for awhile that might happen, but I'm sure that it will get straightened out soon enough! And you are right, the hormones at this time are a wicked, wicked element and you just have to make sure not to keep things bottled up inside.

[roadrunner]

Rippy Sorry you are dealing with the baby blues. I had it bad with #1, but thankfully not at all this time. It's rough, especially if your DH does not seem to understand it.

Rachel is doing great. She is a pretty good sleeper. Two nights ago, she had her last feeding at 10:30, and didn't wake up again for a feed until 7:00!! :eek: I was pretty happy to get that much needed sleep. She normally only gets up once a night anyway, but last night she was up at 1 and again at 5. But, i think she is starting another growth spurt, since last evening she nursed from 6-7:15. She never nurses for more than 10 minutes, so I think she was trying to increase my supply a bit.

Dh and I just went out for almost 2 hours - with no kiddos!! G-Ma babysat. We just got coffee and groceries, but it was nice. We get pretty excited to spend time together these days. I think he is getting excited to get the green light from the Dr. at my 6 week check-up next week :rolleyes: . But, I've told him that I'm feeling nervous and that we have to take it slowly. Now, he is scared of hurting me and upsetting me, so I'm pretty sure I'll be the one to instigate when we finally get around to it again.

Uh-oh, I better go. I hear an argument starting upstairs!! Gotta love having a 2.5 year old around. Kinda like having a little mental patient who forgot to take their meds live with you!!

[cosmic]

I'm so behind...
Congrats to all the new mommies!
Following the conversation about being a human pacifier-- I definitely feel like one. Hubby will give Kai a bottle and minutes later Kai will still want to breastfeed. I think the warmth and closeness comfort him and a bottle just won't do the job.

Well, it hasn't worked for me. My little man is wide-eyed and busy-tailed at night. During nighttime feedings I keep all the lights out, and don't make any noise (so as not to stimulate him). It doesn't matter ... you should see how alert he is, looking all over the place with his big brown eyes. :rolleyes:

He's also been experiencing some fussiness (translate ... a good two hours of wailing) right in the middle of the night. I've attributed it to gas pains and/or constipation because he kicks his feet, pulls up his legs, scrunches up his face, and seems to be completely uncomfortable. So, that has not been helping.

This is our situation to a "T". For some reason Kai just likes to sleep in the day. In fact, he could sleep half the day if I let him. Seriously, I have to wake him up to eat in the daytime. But, getting him to sleep at night has been a struggle no matter what we do. Hubby blames it on the overnight work schedule I had when I was pregnant. (thanks for the support, hubs. :rolleyes: ) Kai falls asleep after nursing, so we swaddle him and put him in the PnP. But once/if he realizes where he is, his eyes pop open and he's wide awake again. Did we do something wrong somewhere?

The other thing is that Kai basically wants to be held all the time while he's awake. There are a few minutes out of the day where he'll sit in his Boppy Lounger. Other than that, he has to be in someone's arms or he wails. I wonder if this is temporary or something we need to "solve".

[MSH]

While I am thrilled to be getting lots of sleep it really worries me Aiden is already STTN if we let him. He will feed at midnight and not wake up till 6-7 am. I am afraid he is not getting as muc as he should. While he has already passed his birthweight he has been at a platau since Monday.

We are still working away at BFing. It is getting better with each day ... I couldn't have done it without the help of our LC. She is just awesome and always makes me feel like I am doing everything I can and Aiden is thriving ... with just a few kinks to work out. One of the major issues is Aidens love of his binky. It is great for calming him down but he burns so many calories using it that it is becoming a concern in regards to his weight gain.

This weekend is Thanksgiving here in Canada and we are invited to DHs aunts house. Now normally I would love to go but this year not so much. She lives abour an hour away and there will be lots of people there, which I think may be a bit much for Aiden.

[Aletheia]

PPD- I was really nervous about this, given my history w/ depression and an obvious genetic predisposition. Here are 2 things that might help-

IRON- In one study of women w/ ppd, over 50% were found to be slightly anemic. I take "floradix," a liquid vitamin that is easily digestible for my sensitive tummy.

FISH OIL CAPSULES- 3 to 4000 mg has been shown to really help. Plus, if you are booby feeding, it's good for the development of your little peanut's brain.

[dana b]

Gotta love having a 2.5 year old around. Kinda like having a little mental patient who forgot to take their meds live with you!!

i hear ya. although dd is usually okay when it's just her and i, once dh comes home she starts acting like a little psycho.

cosmic that's all totally normal and not b/c of anything you did wrong. i literally cradle henri in my arm while i sleep at night (if i want any sleep at all!). same thing during the day, except just being held isn't good enough, he *must* have a boob in his mouth as well.

ppd interesting about the iron. before they discovered i was anemic, i was an emotional wreck and i felt so much better after i started the iron supp's.

any c-section mama's having a hard time w/ recovery? i'm at 4 wks pp and still having a lot of issues. this is the most pain i've ever been in and i'm so frustrated that i can't seem to get better.

[dzmattie]

Hi Ladies -

I had a Oct 18th due date but delivered our little girl 5 weeks early on 9/19 due to pre-eclampsia - so I thought I would introduce myself in case I join in on the discussions from time to time.

Hope to get to know you all....

[Dotsie]

Hi ladies.
I'm so sorry I haven't been around in ages. COngrats to all the new mommies.
Conor is doing o.k. He was having issues with his formula so we had to switch brands. Since then he is a new baby. I"m still trying to pump ebm but it's so hard. I'm regretting not bf from the beginning. I';ve tried but he is now so used to the bottle that he wants nothing to do with the boob. Is it too late?

[MSH]

Hi ladies.
I'm so sorry I haven't been around in ages. COngrats to all the new mommies.
Conor is doing o.k. He was having issues with his formula so we had to switch brands. Since then he is a new baby. I"m still trying to pump ebm but it's so hard. I'm regretting not bf from the beginning. I';ve tried but he is now so used to the bottle that he wants nothing to do with the boob. Is it too late?

You may want to try a nipple shield. This is what we did with Aiden to transition him from bottle to boob. It has worked wonders but it does take a while to get them used to it.

[Rippy1010]

Aletheia ~ Very interesting information about the correlation between iron and PPD. Thanks! Every time I've ever had a blood test, they ALWAYS tell me I should be on an iron supplement. So, I will see if that helps with my baby blues.

CC is such a wealth of information. LOL!

Hope everyone is having a good day. So far it's been a lazy day here - - in between feedings the little man and I have just been crashing on the sofa. It's a weekend, so I don't feel so guilty about the sleeping when he sleeps. :D

[Aletheia]

guys, i'm worried about twink. does she have a labor buddy?

[cosmic]

cosmic that's all totally normal and not b/c of anything you did wrong. i literally cradle henri in my arm while i sleep at night (if i want any sleep at all!). same thing during the day, except just being held isn't good enough, he *must* have a boob in his mouth as well.


Thanks, Dana! My DS is the same way. :)

Have any of you started recording "baby's firsts"? If so where did you get the book/scrapbook?

[batgirl]

Another human pacifier checking in...

Aletheia I was thinking the same thing about Twink. Could she have moved to the October thread? Hopefully she is just busy with motherhood.

Cosmic sounds like Kai and Ben have very similar sleep patterns. We finally gave up on putting him in the PnP and instead swaddle him tightly and put him in his swing next to our bed. He sleeps much better in this. We do have luck getting him down in his crib (during his infrequent naps) with rolled receiving blankets on either side.

Rippy So sorry about the baby blues. Have you considered looking into a new mothers group? Just know that your not alone, and you have just been thru a huge life change. Its going to take a bit of time for our bodies and minds to settle down and adjust.

MSH Is Aiden on track for weight gain? If so, I wouldn't worry about him STTN. I do know that nurses in the hospital told us to wake Ben up if he didn't feed for 4 hours. Have you checked with his doc?

DanaB I had some troubles the first week after my c-section, but now almost 3 wks out I feel that things are going much better. I am off my pain meds, but my abdomen is still very sore. Walking is comfortable, but only if I walk pretty slowly.

Things here are going pretty well. MIL is here right now, so I actually have some me-time (which is wonderful). I feel like all I do is feed Ben. He takes FOREVER to eat. I feed him 8-9pm, he wakes up around 1ish, it takes me at least 2 hours to get him back to bed, then he's up at 5-6.

Days are going pretty well. I must say that staying at home is starting to get to me. I am so used to being active. I am still a bit too timid to take Ben places, since he's not yet on a bottle and I don't want to NIP. I am planning on introducing a bottle later this week. But gotta get some more BM pumped or that won't last long.

Gotta run. Dinner time. And I'm going to have a glass of wine!

[Rippy1010]

I was thinking the same thing about Twink. Could she have moved to the October thread? Hopefully she is just busy with motherhood.
She did move to the Oct thread, but we haven't heard from her over there either. Not for days.

Is Aiden on track for weight gain? If so, I wouldn't worry about him STTN. I do know that nurses in the hospital told us to wake Ben up if he didn't feed for 4 hours.
My visiting ped in the hospital said not to worry or wake him for feeding unless he reached 5-1/2 or 6 hours. But I don't know if advice is different for BF-babies vs. FF-babies.

[MSH]

MSH Is Aiden on track for weight gain? If so, I wouldn't worry about him STTN. I do know that nurses in the hospital told us to wake Ben up if he didn't feed for 4 hours. Have you checked with his doc?

He is doing OK weight wise. He had reached his birthweight at his 1 week appt. and around here they allow 2-3 weeks to reach their birth weight. Our main concern is he didn't gain since Monday. Now it isn't a huge deal because he gained alot over the past weekend and I have been fighting a cold this week, which may influence my supply. He seems very happy and is rarely fussy, so he isn't showing signs of being hungry. We've been to his Dr who isn't concerned at this time. We also go to a BF clinic a couple of times a week, where he is weighed.

My visiting ped in the hospital said not to worry or wake him for feeding unless he reached 5-1/2 or 6 hours. But I don't know if advice is different for BF-babies vs. FF-babies.

From what I have heard ... and I take all of this with a grain of salt ... is BF babies should have no more than one 4-5 hour stretch during a 24-hour time periode where they don't feed and I believe it is one 5-6 hour periode for FF babies.

[dana b]

batgirl ooh, i'm so ready for a glass of wine -- must get off the vicodin first though. there was a huge difference in my incision pain at the 3 week mark. mine opened up and drained fluid and blood, once that happened i had very little pain left. i'm just having other tmi issues due to the surgery :o

i'm so shocked at how much this baby nurses. my dd would finish a feed within 5 minutes, but this kid is on for hours. he's doing this thing where he wakes up at like 4 am and eats constantly until like 9 am and then finally falls asleep, i'm so tired!! i think i'll try to put him in the swing tonight.
dd also never took a bottle and this boy sucked it down in minutes and continued to nurse afterwards :eek: good thing is i think i may actually lose some weight bf'ing him - with dd i lost nothing after i left the hospital and with him, i'm already back to my pre-pg weight (still have lots to lose from dd though).

[suiej]

batgirl I feel like I can't leave the house, and I'm so used to being busy and active! I'm actually sick of TV and movies!

Things are going well here. I got my breastpump and pumped some today, and DH introduced the bottle to her this afternoon. She took it and ate about 3 ounces, and didn't seem affected by it. I'm going to pump again tomorrow morning after she eats the next time.

I signed up for a "Discovering Motherhood" class through the local hospital, and I went on Friday. It was a great 2 hours spent with babies and new moms, and it was nice to get out and meet some other new moms. There's also a breastfeeding support group that meets once a week, so I may go to that and ask for pumping tips.

Amelia has been eating like crazy, in the afternoon/evening she'll eat almost consistently for a couple of hours, then sleep like the dead... but we can wake her up to feed her again, and she'll go back to sleep for most of the night. The pediatrician said as long as she's still gaining weight, she's ok for sleeping in 4-5 hour stretches at night, especially at her size. She's gained an additional pound on her birthweight, and grown almost a full inch!

[jbemommy]

dana b and suiej it's good to hear someone else is BF'ing all the time! DS is very different than DD about that--he will BF for an hour and then be ready again in an hour. Makes it hard to get anything done. And I wanted to start pumping next week to get some stored before going back to work, but when would I do that?

[kenswife]

My little guy is also a constant nurser, especially at night (like your little one dana b)! However, my DD#2 was the same way. I definitely can't get too much done but I'm enjoying having a reason to sit and relax OFTEN ;)

[twink]

Hello ladies. I'm pleased to announce that Joseph Parker arrived on Wednesday, October 4th at 5:50 pm. He weighed 8 pounds and 8 ounces, was 21 inches long, and scored 9's on his Apgar's despite a very rocky birth process. Sorry to make you nervous but recovery has been rough and I just got out of the hospital yesterday. I still have to write my birth story up, but the short story is that I ended up with a c-section when the baby's heart rate decreased at an alarming rate and then wouldn't stabilize. The entire ordeal is still very fuzzy in my mind as I was drugged up like you wouldn't believe. Every day I ask DH a little more about what happened.

We are all doing well now. Joseph has been a champion feeder once he figured out why I was sticking my chest in his face. I'm in the engorgement phase now, so I call them my Pamela Anderson's. ;) Last night I had a stretch of 3 hours of sleep followed by 2.5 hours of sleep - it was heaven. I'm hoping tonight is another good night.

Hope everyone is doing well. A few more days and I intend on catching up with where everyone is. Goodnight!

[dionysia]

On Monday afternoon (9.25), we headed off to the OB's for my last appointment. I had been having bloody show and a lot of movement from Sir Wiggles-a-Lot, so we were hoping that my cervix had started to open. An exam revealed no such luck, so I was ordered to march myself over to Labor & Delivery to be admitted. L&D was full and we had to wait for a room. We were admitted around 4 and the Cervadil inserted around 5. Dionysios stayed with me 'til 10, then I sent him home to get some sleep. I slept for about 4 hours and then contractions started thanks to the Cervadil. I rested but did not sleep after that. At 5, the Cervadil was finished and the insert was removed.

Pitocin drip started at 7 am. By 10 am, the contractions had started to pick up in earnest. I was doing my breathing exercises, but did not really get the hang of breathing through them 'til Dionysios arrived. Let me tell you, he was a great coach and help through the entire process (and since then). He talked me through things, told me he loved me and how proud he was of me, and was just fantastic. I did opt for pain meds to take the edge off the contractions, which definitely helped. We did a walk around the floor to help with contractions.

By 3, I was offered and accepted the epidural. It really was less of a big deal of get than I thought. It didn't really hurt at all and once it kicked in, I was better able to deal with the contractions. Of course, I had been getting checked internally throughout the day and was progressing quite well towards full dilation & effacement. Some of the contractions were spaced a bit oddly together thanks to the Pitocin, so my OB and the L&D nurses were keeping a close eye on that and adjusting the Pitocin as necessary.

By 7 pm, it was time to push. I was fully dilated & effaced.

So I pushed.
And pushed.
And pushed.

For over 2 hours.

But I'll be damned if I couldn't get his head out past the pubic bone. All the pushing made his heartrate jump up and by 9:15 I was completely exhausted. I had to wear an oxygen mask and also did my best Linda Blair Exorcist imitation. Twice. We made the decision to go into a c-section, especially as I had nothing left to give and his heartrate was continuing to stay high. My temperature as well was climbing.

So they wheeled me in around 9:30 and prepped me for the C. The contractions were still continuing very strongly and since my coach was not with me yet (Dionysios was getting suited up himself), I had to contend with breathing through them again when all I wanted to do (and had been allowed to do for the last 2 hours) was push. I also ended up with a fever of 102.9.

The anaethesiaologist gave me the usual course of medications and I couldn't feel the pin he was testing me with. I was totally numb from the shoulders down, though I could feel some pressure in my abdomen as they started the procedure. Dionysios was of course next to me. I then felt the most excruciating pain I have ever felt in my entire life. It was as if someone was sticking a knife up my vagina. I screamed and told them I could feel pain. It turned out that when they applied pressure in my abdomen and uterus, I could feel pain in my perineum. And there was nothing that could be done from a local anaesthesia point of view. So I had to be put under general. Which scared the crap out of me, but I seriously could not stand the pain otherwise.

Dionysios was escorted out and from what he said the next 20 minutes were the worst of his life, waiting to hear how the procedure went.

At 10 pm, Leo was born. He was a bit groggy from the general and had to be given oxygen and put under the warming lights for a little while. We found out later that his 1 minute Apgars were very poor. Luckily, he rebounded fairly quickly. His Daddy joined him in the nursery soon after for some bonding while I was sewn up and came out of the general.

2 hours later, I woke up, stuffy and groggy and emotional and my tummy hurting like hell. My pulse ox (oxygen level in the blood) was somewhat low, so I was wearing an oxygen mask still and had to be given antibiotics due to my fever. I kept saying over and over 'ow, ow, ow' as the anaesthesia was wearing off. They had to stabilize me before I could see Dionysios & Leo, so I was in agony, both physically and emotionally. I wanted to see my boys. Dionysios came in to see me and I lost it. I was convinced something was wrong with Leo and why couldn't I see him and I was so scared and I failed and all these things. Dionysios just told me how wonderful I was and how proud of me he was and how beautiful our son is. We both cried quite a bit. At some point Dionysios told me how big our boy was and I realized no wonder he wouldn't come out!

Then they wheeled in Leo and put him in the bed next to me. I could not stop looking at this beautiful creature that Dionysios & I made and that I had growing inside me for 9 months and who we had just brought into this world. It was the most amazing thing to behold.

At about 3:30 in the morning when I was finally stabilized and had rested a little, they moved me to Postpartum, which was our home 'til Sunday. My parents visited us on Thursday. Leo is their first grandson. (I'm an only child.)

Here he is! (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/dionysia/mom_leo_21_hrs_old_03_web.jpg)

More to follow...

Di

[dionysia]

Congratulations, twink!!

Di

[dionysia]

At 3 days old, Leo's hunger caught up with and surpassed my colostrum and early milk production and we ended up having to supplement a little bit. It was really difficult for me to decide to do, but he ended up taking 60 ccs (2 oz) and I obviously would have never been able to produce that much for him.

He had his hearing test on Thursday night, which he passed with flying colors and had his circumcision Friday morning.

My staples were removed Friday morning and I got all the follow-up directions from my OB about what I can and cannot do. It's like I'm a 2-for-1 special since I got both the directions following a vaginal birth and a c-section. Lucky me. ;p

We arrived home Sunday afternoon (10/1).

1 week WBV was Tuesday and went great. Leo is doing really well. I am so glad we went with this ped. She is fantastic. His birth weight was 8 lbs, 8.5 oz and he is now 8 lbs, 2 oz. Dr G was able to answer all of our questions and we had a followup visit on Thursday. He gained 2.5 oz in 2 days. Hooray!

Breastfeeding has been a challenge, due to latch issues (and the resulting nipple pain) and supply issues.

I met with an LC last week, which really helped with the latch & positioning problems we were having. I also got a prescripton for All-Purpose Nipple Cream (APNO), which healed my nipples very quickly. Though I fear I may have overdone it with the amount I applied after each feeding, since my nipples are now very pink and tender. Ugh. ETA: I fear I may have thrush. :(

We've had to supplement with formula a few times since we got home. I am also pumping after every feeding in order to boost supply. We've been able to supplement most times with EBM.

I am going to give direct breastfeeding my best effort. I figure if things with direct bfing don't work out, at least I can still give my little man the best I have (Mama Juice) by pumping. Either way, he is going to get breastmilk from me. Though I admit the guilt over not being successful at BFing yet is really doing my head in. :(

Our Little Man takes after his Mama: he is very gassy. *blush*
We have quickly learned to distinguish the 'I have to burp' cry with the 'I'm hungry' cry. Burping is going better, though we have to remember to do so fairly often when we feed him via the Haberman (special nursing bottle). He also farts a lot. :o

We have decided to use Mylicon (sp) drops after big feedings (they help to break up the bubbles). We are also using a pacifier since it helps him to break up the bubbles and to comfort himself. He was using me as a comfort for a while and that just plain didn't work since he would gnaw on my nipples so much I could not feed him the next time he was due.

Now on to this sleep thing. Leo is having issues falling asleep in his crib. I guess he doesn't like the vast expanse of cribdom after being in utero and then in a small plastic bin/crib at the hospital. He also LOVES to be held, especially by his Daddy. So Dr G said it's ok for him to sleep in his car seat or bouncy seat. Hopefully that will help us to get some more zzzs.

Leo loves to sleep in the car. Unfortunately, his penchant for doing so and for napping in the daytime means Mommy & Daddy continue to be sleep-deprived.

His cord stump fell off yesterday. Damn was that thing nasty! :eek:

He has another weigh-in on Thursday. We need to get to the hospital to sign his birth certificate soon.

Leo at one week old. (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/dionysia/fasolaki2003.jpg)

Di

[mommy2AlliWill]

Congrats Twink & welcome Joseph!

Di- Wow! I cringed reading about your c-section, glad it all turned out okay. Hang in there with the breastfeeding. It gets easier as your supply regulates.

I wouldn't say Owen nurses all the time, but he clearly has stretches where he will cluster feed...5 AM to 11 AM yesterday but then barely at all the rest of the day. He had his 1 month check up on Thursday & he is up to 10 pounds, 6 ounces so I know he is getting plenty to eat:)

[hmbay]

lurker (and 2005 September mommy) coming out of the woodwork to say "Congrats Twink!"

[MSH]

Congratulations Twink and welcome to the world Joseph. It is so good to hear from you. Sorry to hear L&D as well as recovery were so rough, I hope you are starting to feel more like your new self.

Di what a birth story! I can't imagine what it must have been like to have a C under those circumstances. I am so happy everything turned out so wonderfully. Leo is just adorable! Isn't it amazing just how much they change in just one week? We've been having similar BFing issues and while I had always wanted to do direct BFing exclusivly I quickly realized it isn't about what I want but what Aiden needs. This made it so much easier for us to accept the fact we needed to supplement (EBM) in the early days.

[cosmic]

Congratulations, Twink!!!!!!!!!!

I admit the guilt over not being successful at BFing yet is really doing my head in. :(


Try not to worry, Di. I was the same way in the first few days, but it just takes time. :)

[deliciousjones]

congratulations twink and dionysia!!!

di: i'm so glad that everything turned out alright. your birth story was pretty scary!

I guess he doesn't like the vast expanse of cribdom after being in utero and then in a small plastic bin/crib at the hospital. He also LOVES to be held, especially by his Daddy. So Dr G said it's ok for him to sleep in his car seat or bouncy seat. Hopefully that will help us to get some more zzzs.

we had this same problem!! ellie slept in her carseat for the first two weeks and for the last few nights, we've had great success with a sleep positioner in her bassinet. it keeps her cozy and she's been sleeping longer and longer stretches in her bassinet.

it looks like this:http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/netkidswear_1917_213393297

[suiej]

Congrats, Twink !!!!

I highly recommend the sleep posititoner, too. Amelia loves the sense of being held while she sleeps, and the positioner does just that. (And a really tight swaddle!).

[batgirl]

i'm so shocked at how much this baby nurses. he's doing this thing where he wakes up at like 4 am and eats constantly until like 9 am and then finally falls asleep, i'm so tired!!
Oh man, I feel your pain. Ben eats for a minimum of 2 hrs, but can be up to 4 hrs. Ugh. Makes sleeping hard to do.

Wow, your c-section opening sounds awful! Mine started opening a few days after, but luckily corrected itself. Speaking of TMI... my biggest problem post delivery was the worst constipation of my life! Luckily my prescription stool softeners and lots of fiber did the job.

Suiej if you get any pumping tips from that class, please pass them along. I am majorly stressing about pumping, and just not having the time to do it with a baby that never wants to be put down.

Di Wow, that's quite a birthstory. I was almost put under general, and am so thankful I wasn't. Leo is so cute, btw!!! I actually had to supplement with a bit of formula (2oz) in the hospital also. My colostrum just didn't satisfy my hungry little man.

Reading your birthstories made me realize that I didn't write mine. Actually, it was a bit traumatic for me, but I'll probably post it.

Oh, Twink Congratulations!!!

ETA: I am going to have to get one of those sleep positioners. Can you put them in a PnP?

Oops, one more thing... Can anyone recommend an electric single pump? Is Medela best? Anyone have an Avent Isis? Thanks!

[LyLMyssChaos]

I actually have 2 Avent Isis's and I LOVE them both! I have two because someone gave me a brand new one recently and it can't hurt to have an extra one on hand!

[Rippy1010]

I'm an advocate of the sleep positioner also. I don't have a PnP yet, but I'm sure they would work in there just fine! I don't know if they all are, but ours is slightly inclined also, to reduce the amount of "after feeding" spit up and/or acid reflux.

For those of you that say your baby takes a long time to eat ... I know that you are all BFing (that have talked about it), so it's maybe hard to judge. But, how much is your baby actually EATING when it takes them 2-3 hours to feed? My DS will sometimes take 1-1/2 hours to eat just 3 oz, or maybe 100 mL. (I'm FFing). Not all the time ... but pretty often. Is this normal?

[MSH]

I have the Avent Isis manual and love it. I actually pumped better with it than the hospital grade one

[ocgatita]

Hey ladies, sorry I haven't checked in much but I guess we all know how crazy it gets w/ our babies and besides that we just bought a house so that has been quite hectic in itself! Congrats to all the new mommies!

I had my 6 week post partum check up yesterday and all went well. I am 10 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight so I still need to lose some pounds.

Our baby Jacob is doing great though and that is what counts! He just gets bigger and bigger by the minute! He has already outgrown clothes and weight 10 pounds 10 ounces at our last appointment. I will have to post pictures once we get settled in our new home. Other than that, we are enjoying being parents and I dread having to return to work in about 6 weeks!

Hope you are all doing well.

Take Care.

~Judy

[Aletheia]

phew! glad to hear baby Joseph has arrived safely, Twink. You are a rockstar (and you too, Di) for doing all it took to get him here safely. Way to go.

[deliciousjones]

So are all of our babies here now? Is anyone keeping track of that?

~

The State of Us.

We're doing awesome. I wish I could have had this level of ease and confidence when my first was a newborn. We've been out and about every day since I was released from the hospital. My c-section recovery has been fantastic (except for one day of pain when I clearly overdid it). Ellie's nursing like a champ and sleeps well.

My 21 month old, Rachel, is adjusting well although shows signs of jealousy when I'm actively tending to El (nursing, changing her diaper). I asked some wise mamas for advice and today was lots better than yesterday. =D

Rachel is also wanting to nurse again, but doesn't remember how to latch on. So, she brings me the boppy and lies down, pulls my shirt up and just lies there quietly for awhile. It's good snuggle time.

~~

Is anyone over on Livejournal? My December 04 Mommies group moved to Livejournal and it's been so much fun watching eachothers kids grow up. Anyway - if you're over there, friend me!

[Koala_Gurl]

deliciousjones - care to pass along the advice how to handle the 2 young'uns?

DD is 19 months and sounds like you described...loves the baby as long as I am not nursing. :) Since little guy likes to eat, I am nursing a lot. Most of the time she is OK, but she can throw a tantrum or two while I am nursing (or she'll climb the furniture, somehow knowing I can't get up to get her down...little stinker!)

Otherwise, she is doing great! Giving DS kisses and pats all the time (esp. when I am not looking.)

[MSH]

Is anyone over on Livejournal? My December 04 Mommies group moved to Livejournal and it's been so much fun watching eachothers kids grow up. Anyway - if you're over there, friend me!

What is your LJ username ... I'm mrs_natalie over there

[2Jacks&Me]

[Rachel is also wanting to nurse again, but doesn't remember how to latch on. So, she brings me the boppy and lies down, pulls my shirt up and just lies there quietly for awhile. It's good snuggle time.

i was bitten. ds got me through my bra while i was side lying w/ dd and not paying attention!

ds turned 2 today. it is going by so fast, even faster whith this one.

[kenswife]

I just have to pop in and second the Avent Isis. It's WONDERFUL! I had a Medela electric pump with DD#1 and hated it. With DD#2 I decided to try the Isis manual. It's 10x better than the Medela (for me at least) and better than the hospital pump. Fortunately, this time around I don't have to do any pumping so I won't be getting much use out of it.

Koala_Gurl - I can totally sympathize with the 2 young ones (especially since ours are practically the same exact number of months apart). When DS is nursing, DD#2 loses it. Otherwise, she's an angel with him.

[dionysia]

So I do have thrush. :( I started a course of oral antifungal capsules today. Needless to say, the thrush has made BFing extremely painful. I'm still pumping, so he can have EBM, but I'm quickly running out of EBM. We do have formula as a backup, so at least he won't go hungry!

Leo's cord stump fell off on Friday and the poor guy has an infected belly button. The NP at the ped's cauterized it today and we're applying a little Bacitracin twice daily to the outside of it.

His weight is good though, just one ounce shy of his birthweight (8 lbs, 8 oz).

Di

[dzmattie]

I am dzmattie in LJ - if anyone wants another friend there! Now that I am an official September mommy!!! mrs_natalie and deliciousjones - I friended you in LJ!

[roadrunner]

deliciousjones is that your LJ name? If it is, I added you to my FL, if not, I've added a stranger!!

MSH ~ I added you to my FL as well.

I'm rr_claire on LJ.

It's funny that someone brought that up, since I was thinking last night that I'll probably be posting more on LJ than here from now on. But, i was thinking that I wanted to have more friends from thins thread there, to chat about our babes.

Rachel went to bed at 10:30 last night, woke up to feed at 4, was back asleep by 4:30 and didn't get up until 9!!! :D I'm well rested!

6 week PP check was yesterday. Everything is looking fine, and she gave me a script for the mini-pill. Have to get that filled now I guess!

[suiej]

I'm suiej on LJ... I'll add you guys as friends, too!

[mommy2AlliWill]

I am mom2alliwill over on LJ.

[{b}]

I'm _betsy_ over on LJ. Should we start a community over there?

What to expect at 6 week PP check up?

BFing is so much harder than I expected. I knew to look out for thrush, cluster feeding, all night nursing, etc. I knew some women experience pain. I had no idea how BAD latching on could hurt, or that I'd be nursing every hour and a half some days, or that the whole feeding would hurt and be work to keep her latched on. So hoping that "it all gets better at 6 weeks" will be true for us, too!

[dzmattie]

{b} - is your name Elizabeth? We named our daughter that and want to call her Betsy!!

[Koala_Gurl]

I am JennyG999 over on LJ...

[MSH]

I just wanted to let you know I have been adding those of you who posted your LJ screen name. I tend to journal a lot more on LJ than I do on here.

[deliciousjones]

I'm deliciousjones on LJ, too. Real creative huh?

[dana b]

ack, you guys are tempting me to start an lj accnt. i've held off this long b/c i already spend way too much time online.

di sorry about the thrush, i hear it's really awful. i've been drinking my acidopholus just in case since i've been on so many abx.

dj that's so funny about rachel wanting to nurse again, noa doesn't seem to remember nursing at all and that makes me sad.

dealing w/ 2 kids so far it hasn't been too bad. this is the first week i've been feeling well enough to get off the couch and that makes it much easier. dd still acts bratty at times, but she was like that before henri was here. she hasn't really shown any jealousy yet (knock on wood!), i think it has to do with her age, she's really grown up a lot lately and doesn't "need" me as much as she used to. she loves to hold him though and sometimes i have to physically hold her back from grabbing him.

had our 1 mo appnt yesterday and henri has gained a pound and a half in 3 wks, i think he's gonna be a much bigger baby than dd. my goal this week is to get this kid a bath, he'll be 5 wks old and hasn't had a real bath yet :o

[RosegardenC]

has anyone had problems with your baby having constipation? I gave him some similac the other day and he is having a difficult time with it. he didnt poop yesterday and he is really gassy and of course miserable. he has been passing tons of gas this morning, but still no poop... he is eating normally still. so not gonna do anything but breast milk from now on!

[Rippy1010]

has anyone had problems with your baby having constipation? I gave him some similac the other day and he is having a difficult time with it. he didnt poop yesterday and he is really gassy and of course miserable. he has been passing tons of gas this morning, but still no poop... he is eating normally still. so not gonna do anything but breast milk from now on!

My DS was constipated the first week that he was home (and I am FFing). But, from everything I read, constipation isn't about how many time he goes but the "texture and consistency" of the stool that he passes. I read that it can be okay if he doesn't have a BM in a 24-hour period (if it's just a one time deal), or if he only has one BM as long as the stool that he's passing is a little soft, seedy, and the "right" color. My little guy was passing stool that was rock hard but was still 2-3 a day. My ped said to give him ONLY 1/2 oz of water just once in the morning to try to get things moving along, and that worked for us. We did it two mornings in a row, and everything was in working order. ;)

[RosegardenC]

Thanks Rippy. it was just so strange for him he was going a few times a day every thing (color texture etc) was right on target, then it went to once a day a HUGE BM and yesterday nothing, but he is uncomfortable and super gassy so I keep waiting for something to happen! the last monster sized BM was still the right texture and color etc... so should I just not do anything and wait and see I guess thats my question.... He is wetting diapers no problem, so no dehydration here.... and he is eating plenty. I just want to make him happier and not so uncomfortable ya know? any suggestions ladies?

[dana b]

rose i've never tried it, but a lot of people swear by using a rectal thermometer to get things moving.

[Adam's Pi]

Question Those of you who use sleep positioners:

--What kind do you have?
--Where did you buy it?
--How long is it 'good' for?

TIA!!!!!

[Koala_Gurl]

sleep positioner - I forgot the brand, but I bought it at BRU. I have 2, one for the pack & play and one for the crib (moved DS there at about 4 weeks).

With DD, I think I us