March 2007 Mamas: Babies' First Thread

[March2007Mommies]

March 2007 Mommies
32 Babies are here, including Two sets of Twins!


Team Blue (It's a boy!): 8
Mochi, Shimmerstar, dollface, kindermom, ladybug0525, marriedagoalie, whitlockan, happy1nuv

Team Pink (It's a girl!): 16
Brink x2, goldengbridge, ieducate, Nanner, Tandis x2, Betsyboop, Danalou, Buffy, mmm0708, peewee9196, Kanga, MommyInPA

Team Green (It's a surprise!): 8
Janey (Girl), lady1297 (Boy), Sherb (Girl), Orion (Boy), MrsKinnison (Boy), sneak (Boy), littlemia (girl), Miaclear (boy), Deelcie (girl)

Still awaiting word from:
GAmommy

~~~~~

If you are new here, congratulations! We hope you will consider joining us. We look forward to sharing this amazing journey together! Please posts all updates in RED.

Please list your stats in RED in your first post.

CC Name:
Me: Name, age
DH: Name, age
Married: Date
DC: Name
Birthdate: Date
Siblings: (Other kids & their birthdates)
Photo Albums: (Links to your online photo albums)


Good places to make photo albums: Flickr (http://www.flickr.com), Photobucket (http://photobucket.com/), Picasa Web Albums (https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?hl=en_US&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2F&passive=true&service=lh2), Phanfare (http://www.phanfare.com/), Smugmug (http://www.smugmug.com/).


The threadmistresses are Lady1297, Janey, and Miaclear. Feel free to PM them if you have any questions/comments regarding the thread.


Our previous threads are here...
* March 2007 Mommies: First Trimester Fun!! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21814)
* March 2007 Mamas - Trimester Two! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24356)
* March 2007 Mamas: Third Trimester! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27247)
* March 2007 Mamas: Babies Incoming! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29957)

[March2007Mommies]

Mama Roster


Betsyboop
Me: Betsy, 28
DH: Dave, 31
Married: 10/18/03
DC: Amelia Claire
Birthdate: 3/4/07
Siblings:
Photo Albums:


Brink - TWINS!
Me: Tina - 36
DH: Dan - 37
Married: 6/26/04
DC: Katherine (Katie) Louise & Kristi Anne
Birthdate: 1/31/07
Siblings: Aimee Jean 9/25/05
Photo Albums:


Buffy
Me: Erin, 31
DH: Mitch, 32
Married: 10/06/01
DC: Morgan Alexis
Birthdate: 3/8/07
Siblings: Addison Elizabeth 1/23/03, Riley Grace 4/25/05
Photo Albums:


danalou
Me: Dana, 29
DH: Matt, 32
Married: 8/21/04
DC: Mackenzie Danielle
Birthdate: 3/12/07
Siblings:
Photo Albums:


deelcie
Me: Diana, 36
DH: Roberto, 45
Married: 10/12/02
DC: Reikke Meiling
Birthdate: 3/17/07
Siblings: Deacon Archer, 6/16/04


dollface
Me: Stacy, 35
DH: Damon, 38
Married: 6/15/02
DC: Davin Oliver
Birthdate: 3/7/07
Siblings: n/a
Photo Albums:


GAmommy
Me: Robin, 24
DH: Brian, 26
Married: 7/23/06
DC: Laci Rebecca
Birthdate:
Siblings: Christopher 5/18/04
Photo Albums:


goldengbridge
Me: Jen
DH: Miguel
Married: 9/6/03
DC: Ashlyn Michelle
Birthdate: 2/23/07
Siblings: Andrew 8/28/04, ^Jacob^ born sleeping on 4/3/06 at 18w 4d.
Photo Albums:


happy1nuv
Me: Rosa, 31
DH: Jeff, 32
Married: 9/21/02
DC: Joseph Charles
Birthdate: 3/23/07
Siblings: Dominic (nic) 5/18/05
Photo Albums:


ieducate
Me: Karen, 34
DH: Andrew, 35
Married: 8/1/04
DC: Julia Rose
Birthdate: 1/13/07
Siblings:
Photo Albums:


Janey
Me: Janey, 33
DH: B, 41
Married: 9/24/05
DC: K
Birthdate: 2/27/07
Siblings:
Photo Albums:


Kanga
Me: Liz
DH: Chad
Married: 12/11/04
DC: Camdyn Natalie
Birthdate: 03/11/07
Siblings: Daytona Bailey, 10/25/05 and 3 kitties
Photo Albums:


kindermom
Me: Noel, 32
DH: Sean, 35
Married: 5/04
DC: Henry
Birthdate: 3/9/07
Any other children: Madelyn, 8/05.
Photo Albums:


lady1297
Me: Rita, 28
DH: Joe, 29
Married: 12/27/02
DC: John Albert
Birthdate: 2/12/07
Siblings: Edward, a labrador retriever, Sophie, and two cats, Gizmo and Callie
Photo Albums:


ladybug0525
Me: Judie, 30
DH: Jason, 32
Married: 5/25/02
DC: Cooper Joseph
Birthdate: 3/14/07
Siblings: Jack
Photo Albums:


littlemia
Me: 30
DH: 30
Married: 4/26/03
DC: Claire Nicole
Birthdate: 3/21/07
Siblings: No, just Mia, our fiesty mini dachshund
Photo Albums:


MarriedaGoalie
Me: Tosha, 22
DH: Rob, 26
Married: 5/20/05
DC: Carter Thomas
Birthdate: 3/24/07
Siblings: Quentin, 9 (Stepson)
Photo Albums:


Miaclear
Me: Amy, 30
DH: Dirk, 31
Married: 9/18/04
DC: Aaron Fredric
Birthdate: 3/20/07
Siblings: Just fur babies. Luca our cat and Jackson our dog.


mmm0708
Me: Melissa, 27
DH: Neil, 30
Married: 3/3/04
DC: Caitlin Abigail
Birthdate: 3/23/07
Siblings: Dillon Hunter
Photo Albums:


Mochi
Me: Michelle, 34
DH: H, 35
Married: 7/01
DC: Niko
Birthdate: 2/25/07
Siblings: DS, "K" 2 years old
Photo Albums:


MrsKinnison
Me: Hillary, 32
DH: Chris, 35
Married: 11/27/04
DC: Ollie Christopher
Birthdate: 3/13/07
Siblings: 2 dogs, Maggie & Simon and 2 cats, Benjamin & Moses
Photo Albums:


MommyinPA
Me: Kristina, 31
DH: Chris, 34
Married: 6/24/01
DC: Kaia Michaela
Birthdate: 1/29/07
Siblings: SD DeAnna 1/94, Christopher 11/01, Cade 8/05
Photo Albums: Register at carepages.com (http://www.carepages.com/); then enter kaiabear at Visit A Carepage (http://www.carepages.com/ServeCarePage?).


Nanner
Me: Dana, 36
DH: Scott, 34
Married: 3/27/04
DC: Hannah Jeanne
Birthdate: 3/2/07
Siblings: Sam, 6/23/05
Photo Albums:


Orion
Me: Jess, 28
DH: Justin, 28
DC: Dalton Alistair
Birthdate: 3/13/07
Siblings: Sophie Madeline, 12/11/05
Photo Albums:


Pewee9196
Me: Elizabeth, 33
DH: David 31
Married: 3/9/01
DC: Isabella Carmyn
ADD: 3/24/07
Siblings: furbaby Seamus
Photo Albums:


Sherb
Me: Aimee, 27
DH: R, 32
Married: 9/18/04
DC: Madeline Ruby
Birthdate: 3/5/07
Siblings: Sherbert, a very cute dog & Blossom, a very crazy cat
Photo Albums:


Shimmerstar
Me: Rachel, 27
DH: Neil, 28
Married: 6/15/02
DC: Noah Harrison
ADD: 2/14/07
Siblings:
Photo Albums:


Sneak
me: 26
DH: 33
married: 4/4/04
DC: Tarrren Anders
Birthdate: 3/15/2007
Siblings: Jenalyn, 03/12/05
Photo Albums:


Tandis - TWINS!
Me: 30
DH: 32
Married: 4/26/03
DC: Veronica Judith & Audrey Diann
Birthdate: 3/5/07
Siblings:
Photo Albums:


whitlockan
Me: Amber, 24
Father: Jerry, 26
Married: 5/8/04
DC: Zachary Aiden
Birthdate: 3/24/07
Siblings: Shadow 9 years; Jester 1 year 5 months
Photo Albums:


Always in our hearts: Cherry, StacieLady, Tipsy

[March2007Mommies]

Saved in case of more mamas.

[March2007Mommies]

Babies By Birthdate


January
13 - ieducate - Julia Rose
29 - MommyInPA - Kaia Nicole
31 - Brink - Katherine (Katie) Louise & Kristi Anne


February
12 - Lady1297 - John Albert
14 - Shimmerstar - Noah Harrison
23 - Goldengbridge - Ashlynn Michelle
25 - Mochi - Niko
27 - Janey - K


March
2 - Nanner - Hannah Jeanne
4 - Sherb - Madeline Ruby
4 - Betsyboop - Amelia Claire
5 - Tandis - Veronica Judith & Audrey Diann
7 - Dollface - Davin Oliver
8 - buffy - Morgan Alexis
9 - Kindermom - Henry
11 - danalou - Mackenzie Danielle
11 - kanga - Camdyn Natalie
13 - orion - Dalton Alistair
13 - MrsKinnison - Ollie Christopher
14 - ladybug0525 - Cooper Joseph
15 - sneak - Tarren Anders
17 - deelcie - Reikke Meiling Fuentes
20 - miaclear - Aaron Fredric
21 - littlemia - Claire Nicole
23 - mmm0708 - Caitlin Abigail
23 - happy1nuv - Joseph Charles
24 - whitlockan - Zachary Aiden
24 - PeeWee - Isabella Carmyn
24 - MarriedAGollie - Carter Thomas

[March2007Mommies]

A list of helpful links to be created at a future date. I swear this will be done, eventually. :p

[March2007Mommies]

Welcome, Mamas!

Please take a moment to look over the first few posts and make sure your information is correct! Let us know in red if anything needs to be updated/changed.

Let's see those babies, ladies! When checking in with the new thread, post the most recent picture of your baby. :D (only if you'd like to, of course!)

[whitlockan]

wow am I the first to post....

thanks ladies I'm certain mine is 100% too big, its a size 2 and I'm only 5' 2" and a c cup. I'll return it for a 1!! Why can't they sell all sizes in the store, I'm dying to use it!!!

Dollface "z" doesnt spit up all the time either just farts a lot and sometimes he'll burp on his own, I dont even burp him because when I try to do it he doesnt do anything. I wouldnt worry about it, I asked the ped if I should be burping him and she said if hes farting he's getting it out just at another end :p.

Someone posted about their nipple flow before, this is enough to make you laugh so hold on to your gut! I am certain mine is way too fast for him, he will latch on start drinking, it will be rolling out all corners of his mouth then he will finally pull off and gulp and cough like I'm choking him or something in the meantime my nipple is squirting a nice stream of milk straight out to whatever is in its path. Thankfully doesnt happen everytime but only when he goes 4-5 hours between feedings. Its really funny though!

[betsyboop]

Oops, I didn't mean to make anyone feel badly about their baby's sleeping:o If it makes you feel better, it takes me about 1 1/2 hours of cuddling/nursing/rocking to get her settled to sleep each night. It's a real chore. It's odd because she'll literally fall asleep immediately if I put her in her car seat at any time of day other than night time. At night, she needs this ridiculously long routine.

Slings- I'm pretty sure my sling is too big also. It hangs down to my hips, but I'm too lazy to bother returning it. Millie doesn't really like to be in it anyway. She loves the bjorn though, so I've mostly been using that instead.

Gas- Funny, I'm nursing right now and she's farting up a storm:p She burps and spits up a lot too. Lucky me to have the baby who has it coming out both ends! Speaking of which, I was reading in "what to expect the first year" that babies typically smile for the first time by the time they're 2 months. My question is how are you supposed to tell the difference between a real smile and a gas smile?

Shimmerstar- What a cutie Noah is! So much hair!

New pictures:

asleep for the night
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g56/bugs1234_2006/DSC_0355.jpg?t=1176239274

NOT ready to sleep for the night
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g56/bugs1234_2006/DSC_0349.jpg?t=1176239324

[Sherb]

DD's birthday was actually 3/5/07 (instead of the 4th)

Anyone else's baby scream when your DH holds them but instantly calm down with you? It doesn't happen every time DH holds DD; it's happened often enough to give DH a complex about it. I've explained to DH that it is normal for a BF baby to have a closer to connection to Mom at this point and that with time it will get better.

[kindermom]

Correction: My DD, Madelyn, was born 8/05.

Sherb - It was like that with DD. It is not so much with DS. For us, I think DH has more experience already comforting the wee ones. He has no choice now that we have 2. I usually take DD because she is more of a challenge. Therefore he gets prime comfort time most nights.

It is funny that someone mentioned sleeping. Last night Henry slept through the night for us. He went down around 9:30 and woke up around 8:30. I, on the other hand, was up alot. Between Henry snorting and DH breathing loudly (congested) I kept waking up. I dream nursed Henry twice. I think that is why he stayed asleep for the whole night.

Today was only the second time I had both kids to myself. I have had help for the past month. All things considered both did well. They even managed to have an overlap at nap time of about 30 minutes. And when DH came home, dinner was ready and the house was somewhat straightened.

I have a pouch (not hotsling brand though). Mine ends right below my chest. Henry is not a huge fan of it. We tend to use the Maya Wrap most of the time. For those who need a carrier, wraps are the best! I have a pouch, a mei tei, a sling, and a wrap. Hands down the wrap is the best for the young ones!

[miaclear]

Wrap Question: Are Moby wraps good? The lactation consultant near me sells them.

Cesarian Moms: Did they send you home from the hospital with an abdominal bandage (velcro) for support? I absolutly LOVED mine but either I over stretched it or since having lost more weight and swelling it didn't fit anymore. The tightest I could velcro it was just enough to keep it from falling off. Anyhow...I went to Walgreens and bought a new one for $30. AM so glad I did.

[March2007Mommies]

Updated to here!

P.S. - Miaclear, I hear moby wraps are great. I haven't tried one, but this is the tip I got from someone who has: The first time you try it, make sure your baby is full & has a clean dipe... as they take a little learning, and a fed/dry baby is a happy/patient baby. ;) -J.

[shimmerstar]

Dh is now 28 and I am now 27. Not a huge deal, though.

OMG, betsyboop, those pictures are so cute! Her little suit cracks me up!

[Tandis]

DH is now 32 :)

Sleeping - I'm so glad to see what everyone else's babies are doing. Mine seems to be about the same. They get a bottle at around 7:30-8 pm, and then go straight to bed because it generally takes V about an hour to finally go to sleep, whereas A is usually right out. Then I'm up at around midnight-1 am, and then 3-4 am and 6-7 am. Really can't wait until they start sleeping longer so I can get more than 2 hours of sleep at a stretch (takes an hour to feed and change both).

Gassy - We give them each Mylicon with their last bottle before bed.

Betsy - Love the suit! Where did you find it at?

PP bleeding - Mine last until about three weeks PP. Someone asked about a large clot they passed and if it was normal - I passed a super large one almost exactly two weeks PP. My OB said that it was a placental clot - the spot where the placenta was attached to my uterus. Totally normal and generally leaves the body around two weeks PP.

Brink - So glad the tick wasn't a problem. Thanks for telling me how you pump. I still just don't know how you do it. Whenever I start to feel too overwhelmed I remind myself that you're doing it with a toddler so I don't have it too bad. :)

Easter - We did almost the whole nine yards - dresses, church, baskets, bunny hats - just forgot to get the Easter Bunny picture which now I'm kind of upset we missed out on. We put together a basket for the girls (filled with candy we liked!), but unfortunately so did both sets of Grandparents! So now we're overloaded with sweets.:rolleyes:

************

Question - DH is home sick with what might be a cold (sore throat, little achy, generally feeling blah) - what are the chances my girls might pick up what he has? Are they still protected with my immunities from birth? They just turned five weeks yesterday. What should I be looking for to tell if they are sick - or is that one of those things that I'll just know.

[deelcie]

Hi Ladies--

I am sorry, I HAVE been very MIA lately. Janey, I just saw your post about sending me a PM...I never got it! It still shows my # of PMs at 0. :confused: I AM an infrequent poster, especially lately. I've been really bad w/ this baby...I'm starting to get hate mail from my family for the lack of pictures. I am sort of starting to get back into the swing of things tho. Anyways... Reikke Meiling arrived 9 days early on St. Patty's Day! She was 7 lbs, 3 oz and 19". I can not believe how easy this birth was compared to the 1st! Drugs make all the difference...

Birth story:
3/15 Thursday, DH arrives in LA and we spend a family day together w/ DS the rest of that day and most of Friday. 3/16 Friday night, we drop DS off w/ my parents so we can have a "date night" together and tell my mom we will take her out for a b-day brunch when they drop DS off the next morning (mom's b-day is on St. Patrick's Day). After that, we had plans to do some St. Patty's Day partying with some of my friends. We go out for a beer (well, DH had a beer, I snuck a few sips) at a nearby pub and then stroll up the street, pausing every now and then for the occasional contraction, and have a nice dinner. I complain to DH about my mucus plug still not showing up (1st time it showed up about a week before I was induced) and we speculate what schedule changes we have to make if the baby shows up late. 10:51 pm, bed and I'm asleep by 11:02ish. 11:07 pm painful contraction, back to sleep. A few minutes later, another contraction, back to sleep. About 10 minutes later, contraction, back to sleep. With the next contraction, I'm awake and wondering wth I was thinking, doing all that walking...now I'm going to be up all night w/ these stupid contractions. More contractions, and I realize it's only been about 1/2 an hour w/ all these contractions so I start to worry a little. With the next contraction, I decide to call my doctor's office just to make sure. My dr. had told me to call if I had 5 contractions in an hour and it had been more than that in about 45 minutes. So I call and the dr. on duty (not my usual) sounded slightly annoyed with me and how unsure I sounded ("Is this your first baby?" :o ) She tells me to call back when the contractions are 7-5 minutes apart for an hour. I start to keep track and they are 5 minutes apart. DH wakes up around 2:30 am, sees me sitting up in bed and asks me what I'm doing.
Me: "I think I'm in labor."
Him: "You're kidding!" *back to snoring* :mad:
Around 3 am, I call the dr. back and she tells me to come in. I wake up DH and throw some last minute things in my hospital bag. I'm not convinced I'm in *real* labor (no mucus plug!) so I don't bring everything I was planning to, thinking I'm going to be sent right back home. We get to the hospital around 3:30 am and I chit chat w/ the nurse, telling her I'm not really in labor since I was only 1 cm dilated for my last 2 appointments. She laughed when I told her I want my epidural ASAP, since my dr. wouldn't let me have one w/ the 1st baby and it sucked (DS was measuring v. large in utero so I was induced and then my dr. informed me I couldn't have the epidural for delivery b/c she was afraid I wouldn't be able to "push him out efficiently enough"). So she checks me and says "Um, honey, you are at 4 cm, you are not going anywhere." She goes to find the anesthesiologist for me and then comes back to tell me he is being called into an emergency c-section so it will be about 45 minutes. 2 hours later, he comes in and gives me the epi (at 6 cm) and life is good again. I call my mom around 9 am and ask her if we can postpone brunch. :) The nurse keeps trying to get the doctor so she can come in and break my water. She tells me to try really hard not to push if I feel pressure and takes off. I feel pressure a couple of times and then suddenly feel like something is coming out between my legs (no, didn't push). I reach down to feel what it is and feel, oh my god, SKIN. I page the nurse and go "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??" She checks and says "Oh my, your bag of waters is bulging right outside of your body! WHERE is the doctor?!" She runs out to get the doctor and I feel everything go back inside of me. A few minutes later, the doctor and nurse come in, check me and inform me my water broke on its own. 5 pushes and baby is out! I couldn't believe how easy it all was! I told DH--I could do that again--and the look on his face was priceless. :) Called my parents back around 9:30 am to tell them...I could tell they were still in shock--none of us were expecting her to come that early. Anyways, it was all so great except DH went out partying w/ my friends that afternoon and didn't even bring back a beer for me. :mad: Flowers and chocolate do not cut it for me on St. Patty's Day, especially after just giving birth!

So far, she is a pretty mellow baby and sleeps a lot. Doesn't cry much but yells every evening between ~7 pm - 11 pm. DS doesn't seem to be v. interested in her but is polite and says "oh she's so cute" or gives her a kiss when prompted.

OK, witching hour is about to start so I will try and come back and post photos later.

[miaclear]

Tandis...my DH came down with something similar last week and promptly went to the Dr and was diagnosed with a standard Upper Resperatory Infection. Dr prescribed antibiotics and said the chances of passing it on to DS were minimal and to just not kiss the baby...which was surprisingly hard for DH :D

Deelcie...congrats! Welcome back!

[MarriedaGoalie]

Sleeping: DS has been amazing! I have actually had three FULL nights of sleep since he has been born. Last night he slept from 10:30 - 7:30. I couldn't believe it! We've only had one really bad night and I think he was having a temporary growth spurt.

C-section: Nope, no bandages. They took mine off on my third day in the hospital and all was well so it stayed off.

Gassy?: Mine is incredibly gassy!!

[ieducate]

Sherb: Yes, Julia has a tendendency to cry when she is with my dh, but is silent with me. It feels great to have her need/want me that much, but it would be nice if I could walk away for a few minutes and not hear constant cries. :(

Miaclear, I have the moby wrap and love it. The great thing about it is that you can use it so many different ways and it keeps the baby so close that he/she loves it. They feel warm and protected. The bad thing is that it can take some time to put on each time. I am pretty quick at doing it now, but it does still take some time. You can leave it on and just take the baby in and out, but I didn't find it comfortable enough to leave on all day...a few hours for sure, but not all day. Also, be careful when you wash/dry it, as it does shrink a little. Either that or I got bigger between uses and I don't think that happened. :)

Hope everyone is well. I am still struggling to get Julia to go longer between feedings at night, but she is sleeping a bit better. We got the book Happiest Baby on the Block and some of the suggestions seem to work. The best trick has been swaddling her at night. I am upset about it because the NICU told me NOT to swaddle her in crib/co-sleeper because of dangers, but all the books I have read say to do it for newborns as they need to feel the comfort and security. She sleeps for about 2-2 1/2 hours in between feedings and that is better than before. I am following the books and her ped. about swaddling and I will continue to do it until she fights me on it. Right now she is sleeping her in papasan chair and I can't tell you how relieved I am. However, if I get up to go to the bathroom she will start wailing. :( It is like she knows whenever I leave the room for a split second. :( Anyway, we haven't had an appt. for a while so I don't know what she weighs, but we think she is at about 8 1/2 pounds now. She is definitely getting longer because she doesn't fit into some of her footed outfits.

Does anyone (especially the first time moms) ever look at their child and become amazed and in shock that you have such a beautiful kid that you made? After my m/c a year ago I never thought I would know what it felt like to hold my child. Now I just can't believe how much I love her and cherrish her. I don't like being tired all the time, but I LOVE having her here and I still can't believe it is real sometimes. Does that make sense?

Anyway, I am going to go take this opportunity while she is sleeping to grab some breakfast. Hope everyone is well. I will try to stop by later. Oh, by the way, for those of you thinking of using Fenugreek...it really worked. I am still taking it, but I will probably stop soon as my supply is much better. Not as high as I would have liked, but still much, much better.

[kindermom]

miaclear - I have the Moby and did not think it is that tough to learn to use. What I truly love about it is that I can use both arms comfortably and I never worry about DC falling out like I do with my sling and pouch. I also like the fact that it cuddles the baby more compared to my mei tei. If the new moms I know were into it, I would have purchasedone for each of them.

Today the kids are driving me CRAZY. Henry was up from 3 to 5 this morning and both DC were up by 7:15. DD is incredibly whiney and fussy and is insisting on her paci even though she knows it is for bed time and the car. Right now she is in the crib with it because that is a safe place to have it. Ugh. How do youdo it Brink. I would be looking forward to going back to work if this is what it is like. I am so glad our nanny has infinitely more patience than I do!

[ieducate]

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n311/ieducate/Julia%20Rose/IMG_0636.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n311/ieducate/Julia%20Rose/IMG_0669.jpg
The one of her from the bath is the one we used for the annoucement.

[MarriedaGoalie]

Aww.... Julia is gorgeous, ieducate! I can't believe how big she has gotten!! :)

[shimmerstar]

Julia is so cute! I love that bath photo- it looks like she's waving!

Deelcie- congrats! How do you pronounce that name?

Noah let me sleep until 10 this morning. Not all the way through- he woke at 2, 5, and 7, but still.

I am really scared to even think about another baby, because he is so easy and good. There's no way we could get that lucky again, and I think it would be worse to have the needier baby second.

We are getting photos taken today- I hope he's good!

[March2007Mommies]

Updated to here.

Congratulations, Deelcie! It's good to hear from you. Welcome Reikke Meiling Fuentes!

[whitlockan]

Deelcie congrats

ieducate wow shes really growing, how cute!! We lived by swaddling the first week mostly at nights. We just went ahead and bought a flannel swaddle me and fleece swaddle me...they are so easy and he loves them!! But the hospital kept him swaddled his/our entire stay.

mia nope sorry only have the hotsling

Sherb nope he is sooooo happy to see DH at the end of the day so when DH gets home I'm "relieved" for a little while and they spend time together but DH is a pro at comforting he learned a lot from the infant care class.

[MarriedaGoalie]

Just thought I would drop this off here... this is the picture we used for Carter's birth announcements.

http://images.photos.walmart.com/34995395%3A%7Ffp%3B%3Enu%3D3237%3E676%3E%3A72%3EWS NRCG%3D323256%3B%3B79924nu0mrj

[Brink]

Ieducate - My NICU swaddled the girls their entire stay. I've never heard anything about it being bad for them, I'm really surprised. Julie is beautiful.

Kindermom - I can only do it because DH is home too. He is working on remodeling our house and is here during the day. Granted, I take care of the girls by myself, but he is here in case I really need him. Only 3 weeks until I go back to work......

MarriedaGoalie - that is a beautiful picture.

Pictures - what site are you guys using to post them? I used to use Snapfish, but I know we can use that anymore. Then I started using flickr and now can't remember my password! What are you guys using?

[Brink]

I found my account at Photobucket. Here is a picture of the twins from Easter.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m65/Brink_06/Easter2007029.jpg

Why is it so huge? How do I make it smaller?

[kindermom]

By the way ladies - I love the pics of your little ones! And welcome back deelcie!

[MrsKinnison]

Deelcie ~ welcome back and congrats!!

ieducate ~ I can't believe those cheeks she's got now! That's a big change from the tiny thing she was when she was born.

I love everyones pics!!! I need to get Ollie's pics done SOON!

I should probably ask in the bf'ing thread, but maybe you ladies will know... Poor Ollie has his first cold :( He's just kind of stuffy with some post nasal stuff. He's not fussing at all, but I can tell he doesn't feel great and I feel so bad giving him the saline nose drops!!! He is still nursing on schedule, but just not eating as much as he normally does. Is this going to hurt my supply? Should I be pumping more until he's better, or will I be okay?

[ieducate]

Brink, if you are using Photobucket then you just have to go to the picture you want to use, open it (in Photobucket) and go to the "resize" button at the top of the picture. Resize it to website-email 320/240. That will make it the size you want and then you copy the http. Let me know if it works. They are TOO cute by the way. How much do they weigh now? Also, the NICU swaddled Julia too, but they specifically told me I was NOT to swaddle her when she sleeps because she could get her arms free and pull the blanket above her face. When she was in the NICU it was fine because she was on monitors. Anyway, we tried the sleep sack thing and it just wasn't working. I asked her ped. about swaddling and he says they need it at this age. It seems to be working for the most part, except when my dh swaddles her and she breaks her arms out in about 10 minutes. :( AGH. Anyway, I have to run as I have to be up to feed her in a bit and I haven't gone to sleep yet. :(

Married: Carter is adorable.

Question for all: How do you know if you have post pardom depression and how long after giving birth is it still normal to have it?

[MarriedaGoalie]

ieducate: Everything we learned said that it was normal to have the baby blues, but if it lasted more than 6 weeks after the baby's birth, then you should look into getting some help for it.

[lady1297]

ieducate- For me, with DS1, postpartum depression was just an overwhelming anxiety attack when the slightest thing went wrong. Like the dog wanted to go out to pee and I would stand in the playroom and cry because I couldn't figure out how to walk downstairs to the basement and let her out. Personally, I feel that if you are asking what ppd is and how to know if you have it, you probably do have it. And it's normal anytime in the first year after birth. :)

[kindermom]

We had an uneventful 1 month WBV today. Henry has gone from the 10th percentile in weight to the 60th! My boy knows how to eat!

Length: 21 3/4 inches
Weight: 10 pounds, 4 ounces
Head: 37 1/2 cm

We also had our second Hep B shot. He took it like a trooper!

[miaclear]

QOTD: Do you have a sleep routine at this point? I'm trying to figure out when to start one and what to involve in it. Right now DS eats about 8 and then sometimes again about 10:00 10:30 or so, sometimes he'll wait till midnight. He's been exclusivly breastfed but after last night we're contimplating giving formula before bed to help him sleep longer (last night it was 8, 10, 11, 2, 4, 6:30, 8 :eek: ). Also we'll likely move his bathtime to right before bed.

The above is very unlike his normal night.

[betsyboop]

QOTD- I guess you could say we have a bedtime routine. At 11pm, I bring her up to her room, change her diaper, take off her outfit (but I leave on her undershirt) and put her in a fleece swaddle (the kind that velcros on). Keeping the room dim and quiet, I nurse her and rock her in the rocking chair. When she seems like she's asleep, I put her in her car seat and hope she stays asleep. Usually, she wakes up once and I have to start the process over, but I always have her down by 12:30 at the latest.

ieduate- I would imagine that if you are asking about ppd, you should probably get cecked out by your doctor. I think they told us that you should be checked if you have any feelings that are more serious than just getting weepy about something sad on tv or something.

Deelcie- Glad your back. How is Reikke pronounced- like Rike-a? Is that Dutch?

Tandis- The snow suit is from Marshall's actually! The brand is Absorba. I've also seen it at Bloomingdales, which I'm sure is a more reliable place to check.

I had my 6 week check up today and everything looked good. It was pretty uneventful other than the fact that I've lost 6 more pounds, for a total of 24lb (out of 31). Not too shabby considering I snack all day long! This was the first time I've left Millie with a babysitter- my mom. Luckily, it went well and I was only gone for like 45min.

[dollface]

Congrats Deelcie!

miaclear - I didn't get a support garment from the hospital. I ended up buying a couple pairs of Spanx though because I like that snug/support feeling on my incision site.

QOTD - I am fiddling with a bedtime routine. This week I have been shooting for having him down in the crib by 9-9:30. So I usually bath him around 8:30 (depending on when he has eaten last), lotion massage, onsie, swaddle, try and feed him again and then snuggle him til he falls asleep. Of course there are nights here and there when the witching hour is in full swing and could last a couple hours which throws every thing off by an hour (give or take).

DS stats this week:
12.2 lbs.
23" long
15.5" head
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/224/452782886_b442a03e90.jpg?v=0

[kindermom]

miaclear - You are on target to be experiencing his 3 week growth spurt. For a few days he may eat alot and be up alot. Then he will go back to his regular habits. It will happen again around 6 weeks.

[lady1297]

mia- formula never helped DS sleep more. He just woke up more with gas. If you want to try, just give breastmilk in a bottle, they will take more through a bottle because it drips out and they have no choice but to swallow which brings more out, lather rinse and repeat. Just my thoughts. And the 3 week growth spurt is due, so just get comfy and nurse, nurse, nurse. It'll take a day or two, then life will be back to normal.

[lady1297]

QOTD: DS beats me up when he's nursing. Anyone else's baby beat their boobs while eating?? Just curious.

[miaclear]

Thanks ladies for the advice!

Lady...DS is fine when I'm nursing but between boobs when I'm burping him he headbutts my chest :D

[lady1297]

mia- I call that 'Bobbing for Boobs'!! J does that too...cracks me up because it makes him SOOOO mad when he smacks his head wrong, it's like "Dude, you did it to yourself!!"

[whitlockan]

bedtime routine we finally have one established. I feed him at 8:00 he finishes around 8:30, before he gets into a deep sleep I take him change his diaper and then give him his Mylanta. Put him in his "swaddle me" (never put a onsie under it, he seems to get way to hot, he is always kicking and once you remove his tight covers he is happy as can be again). Then he is down by 9:30. We are still only on the once a week baths, since he is only about 3 weeks now he goes no where so therefore no dirt was recommended by the nurses not to bathe him too much at first.

nursing beat-up if I dont have socks on his hands (mittens are useless) he will scratch and pinch me to pieces.

growth spurt I guess we are having a long one too. Since about the middle of this week all he wants to do is nurse nurse and nurse more (he seems to cluster feed in the evening), its very very tiresome and I cant wait until we get back to normal. Also his new thing as of yesterday, he HAS to be held at ALL times, we just put our hand on his chest at night while he is in his PnP. I guess its part of the spurt?

kinder wo he must be eating well! ;)

betsy good job!

dollface what a cutie!!

mag thats a great pic, adorable, and very good amature shot!! you took it right?

[Janey]

No beating my breasts, but K has started to make grunty noises about 3/4 the way through the feeding, and wiggle around and pull her head back and side-to-side with my nipple still in her mouth.


I had a follow-up appointment with the Lactation Consultant on Tuesday. She was sooo impressed by the increase in our BF skills in the last 3 weeks. K is up to 9 lbs. 2 oz., which means she has gained 24 oz in the last 14 days! It seems that the new plan (small supplements + Reglan) is really working. Yay! :)

[Sherb]

No beating my breasts but my ribs are taking a beating from the elbows and knees digging in. She's also started grabbing handfuls of boob with her sharp little fingernails. I trim her nails as much as I can and usually give her my shirt to hang on to while nursing. Haven't found the solution to the knees and elbows though.

[ieducate]

I get it all with Julia. She head butts, pulls at things, and puts her claws into my skin like there is no tomorrow. I also get the pulling on my breast from her mouth as she tries to move away, but doesn't think to open her mouth. Man alive that kills more than anything. The latest thing was with her feet. We were putting her in a onsie for bed time (pre-swaddle) and her feet were exposed. Her toe nails were so sharp that she drew blood from my stomach when I was bfing. Last night she scratched my chest so badly that I finally gave up feeding and got up to cut her nails. TRAUMA began. I was doing fine until the last nail when she suddenly realized what I was doing and moved quickly. I snipped her skin and the tears came pouring down. She screamed and hollared for a very long time. I could not stop the bleeding for the longest time and of course I was in tears from having hurt my liittle angel. :( What a night. Anyway, today I started wrapping a blanket on her feet when I am bfing (if they are not covered by clothes) and I try my best to keep her hands away from skin as much as possible. I like the idea of using my shirt to put in her hands...she does grab things so it may work.

As for the sleep routine...I envy you all that have a routine. We try so hard to get Julia to sleep, but she rarely sleeps longer than 2 to 2 1/2 hours at most. You can't really have a routine with that. She goes in her co-sleeper right after her 10:30/11pm feeding and stays there until 1:30/2am. She is still demanding food every three hours. Of course, she is technically only two weeks old today and I think she is going through a growth spurt too. She seems to be much hungrier lately than she used to be...especially when I am bfing. She seems to finish and then all of sudden she wants to eat more and more. I tell you...I am learning so much about her in the last few days. Being a mother has to be THE toughest job on Earth. I love it so much too. I am so grateful every day to have her in my life. Sometimes it still seems to unreal to me.

Anyway, Thank you for those of you who responded about ppd. I am going to talk to my doctor tomorrow...although I honestly think it is lack of sleep. I only seem to blow a fuse and feel overwhelmed on the days where I got zero sleep the night before.

Also, Mia, I agree with Lady, the formula we had to give to Julia twice a day seemed to be making sleeping worse. She had terrible gas from it and it gave her a killer stomach ache. Plus, she hated it and often spit it up or threw it up which meant we were up longer after she was done eating. Not worth it to me. (We are currently still doing formula twice a day for her, but we have switched to a powder mixed with breastmilk in a bottle per the doctor's orders...I am going to be very happy once he gives me the okay to stop giving her any formula for growth).

Dollface, what a cutie pie.

[happy1nuv]

ppd ~ i agree with the others... if you have to ask, talk to your dr :)

beating boobs ~ Yeah, if Joe's not swaddled when nursing, he can do some damage... i try and change/swaddle him right before feeding so he can't do any harm...

deelcie ~ welcome back... congrats!!!

bedtime routine ~ we don't have one yet. I'm not worrying about it til after 3 months, cause I don't think it will matter... Joey's too unpredictable with when he needs to eat, and I think we're starting our 3 week growth spurt cause all he's wanted to do all day was eat... not a big deal since my gram and aunt were over, but tomorrow will be a challenge since we're on our own again (well, til 2:45 when mom is coming over because we have our 2 week wbv (at 3 weeks) ... should be interesting...

[MarriedaGoalie]

Whit: Yep! We took that picture! I thought my husband did a good job! :)

[shimmerstar]

Fly by post to say ieducate, I cut Noah's finger with the clippers too. I felt terrible, but he was fine.

[goldengbridge]

Hello all. Just wanted to drop off Easter pics!

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i125/prugh12/ashlynsleeping-1.jpg

Our precious gift!
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i125/prugh12/ourgift-1.jpg

Ashlyn and big brother Andrew
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i125/prugh12/kidseaster-1.jpg

[miaclear]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/253/444420021_221b2295f5_m.jpghttp://farm1.static.flickr.com/216/457712416_69e5cf89cc_m.jpghttp://farm1.static.flickr.com/197/457712436_0cb83e0fb7_m.jpg

A few from Aaron's NB photos.

[shimmerstar]

You guys's pictures are so cute! I won't have Noah's back for a week, but they are just from penneys- nothing fancy.

[happy1nuv]

Hmmm... has anyone posted their announcements yet? I have to get working on mine... love all the pics! This weekend...MUST.DO.ANNOUNCEMENTS! (and thank you's since I"m cheating and sending a generic picture thank you for all baby gifts we received... I just don't have time to write out specific ones - I'm already WAAYYY late with some of them...

[miaclear]

Announcements...we were waiting on the pro pics to come back. I'm picking up the CD with the jpg files tomorrow so I'll be working on them over the weekend. I was going to do something more fancy but now I think I'm just going to upload them to shutterfly and have them printed that way. I just don't have the time to do it the way I had planned.

[shimmerstar]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/124/423299170_0d3bea0c4d.jpg?v=0

These were ours. I made them, so they aren't anything special, but I wanted something cheap and something with lots of pictures of him.

[betsyboop]

The babies in this group are so cute! I love all the pictures posted so far.

I posted my announcement a while ago. Here's the link to the post: http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1263998&postcount=736

It's from inababycarriage.com. We were very happy with the way it came out, but I kind of wish they had the option to have it printed on cardstock rather than photo paper, but oh well.

Millie doesn't beat my boobs, she's like Janey's K- she grunts and wiggles/stretches/arches her back about 3/4 of the way through a feeding. I have to wait for her to finish (usually a few minutes) and then get her latched back on. It really cracks me up actually- it's really cute and funny. Sometimes in the evening, she'll get really upset while doing this because she really wants to eat, but she keeps accidentally pulling herself away. She'll let out this ear piercing shriek out of frustration, I'll help her get latched back on, and then like a minute later, she'll accidentally pull her self off again, and the cycle repeats...

Dave gets his hair cut every 3 weeks at this nice salon and day spa nearby and he's like the only male client the place ever has. Whenever he's there, all the girls who aren't with clients hang out to get dating advise and stuff from him- it's really funny actually. Anyway, he promised them he'd bring in Millie for them all to see and so last night he had a haircut so they had their first father/daughter outing together- hehe:)

[whitlockan]

photos I'm getting anxious now, we dont do ours until next monday (4 weeks exactly) then it will be at least 2 weeks before we have the proofs! Its real 35mm black and white so its not as simple as digital she has to send it in to get them developed then ship them up to us (she is about 4-5 hours away). We'll pick out what we want and she will hand develops the ones we pick in her dark room in the photo processing we choose for each. Its a HUGE process but well worth it, she did our wedding and I do not regret the wait!

announcements were not doing them!

Mia so adorable, how old was he when you had them done? They say they like to do them between 2-4 weeks its the best "sleepy" time and there not as fussy or squirmy, just curious I feel like I'm almost waiting to late to do them.

golden she is "precious"!!

MAG he did a great job indeed, at that rate you could have your own photo session at home ;)!!

besty how cute!! DH doesnt get to spend a lot of time with DS since he only has 3 hours with him after he gets home so now we have a new routine when he wakes up in the morning he has me get him and put him on his back on his hard pillow (bad idea I know, I do not agree with it!!) and they lay together, granted DS sleeps but DH lays and talks to him for about 30 min. Always great to get what time you can get.

shimmer graet announcements, you did a fantastic job!

We had our first "real" outing today. I took him into my work (1 hour 15 min drive each way) was it a headache I didnt pay attention on the news and the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade was today....grr so the traffic was really bad even in the off peak time. It was fun, really relaxed me in terms of changing his diaper in a public restroom that doesnt have a changing table, always nice to build the confidence in a SUPER clean restroom first.

warning long winded ramble
This weekend should be interesting I'm on my own with DS, I'm sort of nervous, DH has drill :( and he really doesnt want to go but he missed last month and now is really far behind on paperwork. I gave him a hard time because he gets out of diaper duty this weekend (I dont touch diapers on the weekends :D ) and he said yeah I rather stay at home and take care of my son then go there and have to hold the hands of adults and reem them for not understanding what they just learned a month ago in terms of training exercises...TONS of fun! I tell ya I still wish he was enlisted some weeks, he ALWAYS is doing stuff during the week, oh well he gets ATPs for them but it still sucks sometimes! Then last night I was watching the news and they were talking to a Maj. who is getting deployed with the Army Nat. Guard in May and they were asking him how he feels about leaving his TWO week old newborn son, I just lost it and cried and cried and DH walked in from work and hes like whats wrong and I told him, he said at least he can be proud one day when they explain his daddy may have left but to protect his freedom and rights! Oh it hit home knowing how fast he is growing and thats just the sooner until DH's scheduled deployement in Jan. rolls around. I'm so ready for all this to be over, 10 times harder being a military wife in a time of war with a new son, I just think of all the firsts he'll miss........ok off my soap box now.

[miaclear]

Whit... Your feelings are legit and feel free to vent any time. I can't imagine going through what military wives go through. You're tougher than you think I bet ;)

As for when I had DS pics done it was 1 week 4 days. The photographer likes to do them before 2 weeks because after that they start to loose their "Curled up" look. Which I've noticed the last few days (just turned 3 weeks this last Tuesday) he doesn't curl up any more...all stretched out.

[lady1297]

whit-vent away, that's why we are here!

mia-I can understand the 'curled up'theory, but DS still has his moments, he still would rather be in the fetal position than all splayed out! :) I gotta love my cuddlers!! Both boys love to cuddle with mommy (the house is proof, we all napped in the recliner today and the house is a MESS!)

[whitlockan]

Mia/Lady he has never "curled" up since being out, he is all stretched out......guess he was way to crammed in there and does not want to relive those moments..;). I guess the fresh baby cuteness will still be there, right?!?

[Tandis]

Sleep routine - We started working on the girls' routine at the beginning. At around 8 pm I take the girls in and change their diapers/clothes/onesies. DH and I then sit on the couch and feed them their evening bottle. By 8:45-9 pm they're finished, so we take them into their darken room, and put on their sleep sack. Audrey gets put straight into the crib. Veronica gets lightly swaddled with a thin blanket (her arms are free and the blanket doesn't come above her waist). Usually Veronica will cry once or twice during the following hour, usually requiring one of us to pick her up and hold her for a few minutes. Sometimes she gets her Nuk. By 10 pm both are totally out and I'm good until their midnight feeding.

Tuesdays and Saturdays they get their bath before their 8 pm feeding.

Announcements - I ordered ours the week after their birth from Shutterfly. Unfortunately I don't think I can post them. During those first two weeks when DH was home I got out most of our thank you notes and sent out their announcements. Now that they're awake more often, I just got out the rest of them from people who've sent things recently.

Miaclear - Thanks for letting me know about your DH's illness. It really made DH feel better knowing that his chances of passing along his cold to the girls was slim as long as he didn't kiss them - which I agree, it was *really* had for him to do!

******************

Here are A & V at Easter with their cousin Trenton (he's five months old)
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m21/tandis1/Audrey-Trenton-VeronicaEaster0715.jpg

[MrsKinnison]

We are doing our pictures next week. Ollie will be 5 weeks old. I would have liked to have done them sooner, but at 2 weeks we just couldn't get it together timing wise with feedings, etc. Then, daddy was working crazy long hours and I really want some with him too. We did just get our pics from the hospital and they are really cute. I'll have to try to get in to our store to use the scanner.

Ollie does the same grunting thing too, but never beats my boobs. When he first latches on he usually has his hands clutched at his chest, then as he nurses he gets really relaxed and his arms are all sprawled out.

We used the hotsling today:D Just for a little while, but he seemed to like it and I now believe that bigger would be too big, so I just need to practice using it to get comfortable.

Uh-oh, somebody's hungry...

[Brink]

Tandis - that picture is just too cute!

Photos - we haven't been able to take the girls out, so we haven't gotten their pictures yet. Now that they have had their shots, I think we are going to take them within the next couple of weeks. We just go to Sears and have them done. They did a good job with DD#1.

[happy1nuv]

tandis ~ adorable photo! love the dresses!

[shimmerstar]

We must all be busy with our babes!

Noah has been smiling for awhile, but he got really interactive yesterday. We laid him on a blanket and dh kept saying "arrrgh" (like a pirate), and Noah would say "aargh" back. He did it about ten times. Then my mom was talking to him and he kept talking back and mimicking her sounds. It was so cute!

I have started feeding him only pumped milk instead of bfing, which I kind of like better. He still gets some formula though, and I think he always will. But the other day he literally ate all day and all night! I think it has something to do with the bottles, because he isn't due for a growth spurt right now. He seems back to normal now.

[miaclear]

I'm venturing out in the world alone with Aaron for the first time today. Should be interesting. I hope he sleeps through it :D

I've also noticed him getting a little more interactive. Smiling and loving it when you make faces at him. Finally something to do during the day other than just hold and feed him. I'm sure making silly faces will get tiring too :p

[Orion]

Shimmerstar: Pretty busy with my two babies here!

Sophie and I are down with a cold but at least Dalton has managed to avoid getting sick. Although I do think that he is going through another growth spurt...he was up every 1 1/2 last night and I'm pooped. Is it possible to go through a lot of growth spurts or do you think he was just super hungry last night for no reason at all?

Dalton has become so interactive and it is so much fun. He has been smiling and cooing for a few weeks now and I've actually managed to get a lot of it on video to share with the family back East which is great. My Mom is planning her trip out here in July and I can't wait. It just kills me not to be near family. It is especially hard when I'm having a tough day and I don't have any family to call on for help. Friday was really bad because that is the first day that Sophie and I got sick and she was really whiney and needy (as any kid with a cold is), Dalton was fussy and wouldn't go to sleep, I wasn't feeling to hot and DH was on duty at work (meaning he wasn't coming home until the next morning). I called my Mom in tears because it was just so hard to handle all by myself. At least I survived!

Miaclear: Have fun with the outing with Aaron. I love going out with my kids...I would go crazy staying at home all the time.

Tandis: Too cute!

Whit: Don't you just love being a military wife somedays! There are days I just want to scream because it always seems that the days DH has to be away are the days that the kids decide that they are going to be grumpy and cranky.

[mmm0708]

Oh, Orion, I know exactly how you feel. DS (turned two yesterday) got the croup last week. He spent one night in the hospital. It was such a hard week. He wanted to be held and cuddled, but I also had to tend to the baby. Poor little guy just didn't understand. :(

Now, the baby and I have thrush and DH is sick with a head cold.

[MarriedaGoalie]

Carter has been so wonderful! Although he hasn't been interacting yet (which I am excited for), he is sleeping through the night most nights, which is fabulous! Last night he slept from 12:00 - 7:30 and then ate and back to sleep... he is still sleeping. Such a wonderful sleepy boy! :)

[happy1nuv]

orion ~ i'd go crazy w/o family around... dont know howu manage,.... hugs!!

mag ~ you do have a good sleeper!

we had our 3 week wbv (dr was away for the 2 wk)
9lbs 15 oz (up almost 2 lbs from birth) - 75th %
20 3/4in - 50th %
15 in head - 50th percentile

[whitlockan]

3 weeks

Yep, now that z man is incredibly alert I spend most of my days entertaining him now, so much for CC.

Mrsk the Hotsling makes me so nervous, I had one that was too big and DH had to put him in there, how am I going to do this on a smaller one......isnt it amazing how nervous a simple piece of cloth can make you!!

Tandis so cute!! There cousin has the perfect color to his cheeks vs. his skin tone I think he looks so much like a doll. Those are cute hats too!!

Orion are you telling me, ugh they are sending officers down to AT 1 week prior so he will be gone 3 1/2 weeks leaving just a few days before his 1st Father's Day, they take everything else into consideration including the super bowl but no not Father's Day, that just makes me mad simply because its his 1st ya know!! Oh well like you said the joys of military life! Your a super mom.....I know how you feel, my parents will not meet little man until the beginning of June, which I'm overly emotional about but its all because of my brothers wedding, which we are not going to, too much hassle to travel 12+ hours without a baby let alone how long it would take with mr. man. Flying, DH does not want to be "that person" on the plane if he cries.

Orion/Mia I am going NUTS sitting at home, we went out this weekend but its just such a huge production to go out that I just bear and grunt it and stay at home a majority of the time. Nothing like jumping in the car and just going, everything has to be planned, a HUGE change.

mmm I hope you and your family get better soon!!

Eeeek, no more sleepy baby and now I'm getting exhuasted. He sleeps at night but he is up nearly ALL DAY LONG, which is good he is starting to interact a super tiny bit but not much. Just finding his "coo" and smile, he always smiles in his sleep but not awake until now. He HATES not being held now, if he is awake he has to be held and if he falls asleep and its not deep enough and you put him down he gets upset. All in all he is VERY alert and hopefully the needy (being held all the time) thing is part of his growth spurt, he isnt cluster feeding anymore but now feeding for a super long time and drains my boobs and they are now tender (not the nipple but the actual boob) because he has done it soooo many times, someone please tell me this is all his growth spurt. Other than that were doing great!!

Silly Question (hopefully its not TMI) I have been on stool softners so I know its not that but, everytime I make a bowl movement the front of my pelvis hurts (tons of pressure) as soon as I finish before I get up.....anyone else experiencing this.

[lady1297]

Weight update!

John has gained 10 oz in 2 weeks, which for him is fabulous and it is also with the 'normal' range for a breastfeeding baby his age, albeit the low end of normal!! So we are happy and the doctor was impressed that he did it without formula as am I! I would have liked to have seen more, but I'll take it!

So, our 2 month update:

Height: 21 1/2 inches (2 weeks 21 inches)
Weight: 9lbs 4 oz (Birth 7lbs 12 oz)

In other news, I had the BEST time with John last night! We sat on the sofa and sang nursery rhymes for about 45 minutes!! He was SOOOO interactive! He seemed to like Pat-a-cake the best (It's DS1's favorite so he's probably thinking, "Hey! I know that one!"!) followed by The Itsy-Bitsy Spider! OMG! It was a fun time! Then this morning he wanted more I guess, at 6:30 am! How did I get the kids who like to rise and shine early????? DS1 and hubby were still asleep and here I am entertaining a two month old! I did get diapers put away (we cloth diaper) though while we sang nursery rhymes again. He had his 4 shots today and is sound asleep on my boob right now! Silly boy!
==========

[littlemia]

Hi, everyone. I've been reading along but I haven't posted in a long time. Hope everyone's doing well. We are having breastfeeding issues and things have been really hard. I'm in pain much of the time (both during and after feedings). I've seen two LCs and the 2nd one saw some problems and referred us to an oral motor therapist. The therapist diagnosed Claire with oral motor weaknesses which make it difficult for her to latch and suck effectively. We have some exercises to do to try to improve things. On top of that, I think we have thrush. The LCs didn't think so; they thought my pain was due her bad latch causing nipple compression and vasospasms. I think that is definitely contributing to my pain but I've seen some white spots in her mouth and my symptoms are consistent with thrush. I think we're going to try gentian violet. I'm not looking forward to the mess but I'm desperate at this point. I had to resort to pumping and giving her bottles part time because of the pain. Otherwise we're doing pretty good. Unfortunately, eating is such a major part of a newborn's life that when you have problems they can be pretty overwhelming. Hopefully things will get better and I will participate more.

[MrsKinnison]

Ollie was awake all day yesterday! I couldn't believe it. Of course today he is a big sleepy head. Just as well since mommy has a cold and feels lousy ~ I'm going to nap with him right after this. The weather here is awful! We are in the midst of a Nor'easter and roads are closed all over. I'm bummed because I really wanted to go to the mothers group today to have Ollie weighed. Ever since last week I feel like he is not nursing as long. Just as frequently, but I'm worried he's not taking in as much. When I give him a bottle he takes between 2-3ozs, so I'm sure it's just all in my head, but it still would be nice to know for sure.

Question ~ is it odd that I am still spotting? Not even really enough for a panytliner, just really when I wipe. I had nothing for a few days, then spotting for a week more, then nothing again, now today I'm spotting again. It's really kind of annoying and tomorrow will be 5weeks. Also, we tried to DTD (sorry TMI) over the weekend and it was really uncomfortable. I didn't have a vaginal delivery so I don't get it? I'm hoping it was crappy condoms, but we used lube too so who know.

[mochi]

re: DTD - i think due to hormone levels the vaginal area is dry so it makes things uncomfortable. the dr can prescribe some sort of estrogen cream to normalize hormone levels. after ds#1 was born that's what the dr recommended. i never tried it though because it had all these warnings on the box in relation to breastfeeding so i didn't feel so sure about it.

Niko is a little more interactive, no big smiles yet. mostly when he's awake he's grumpy and crying. though, i just gave him a bath so he's wide awake just chillin' right now. after a not so great night of sleep, i ordered a couple sleep advice books from amazon - Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/0345486455/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-9564140-5231333?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176752818&sr=8-1) and Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition (http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Childs-Sleep-Problems/dp/0743201639/ref=pd_ybh_4/102-9564140-5231333?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=111NC5VTSEMW9B6BN8XA&pf_rd_t=1501&pf_rd_p=280800601&pf_rd_i=ybh). I also ordered a crock pot cookbook, i bought a crock pot last week hoping to work some miracles in the kitchen :) I'm hoping the sleep books help a little. I don't think I was able to sleep lying down all night last night because i kept falling asleep sitting up holding N.

question: N is only pooping once every other day. when he does go it's *huge*. (he's exclusively bf'd) anyone else's baby's poop frequency changing?

i wanna type more but it's tiring typing w/one hand :p

[Janey]

question: N is only pooping once every other day. when he does go it's *huge*. (he's exclusively bf'd) anyone else's baby's poop frequency changing?
YES! I'm so glad you said this. It's been freaking me out. K used to poop at least twice/day, and now she just saves it up for one big impressive display in the evenings, usually about 9pm. She is really, really crabby until she gets it out. I wonder if this is something I need to "fix" or if it's just how it is?

[buffy]

I'm here reading along, just haven't been posting.

Morgan is definitely getting more interacting and smiling more but she's been pretty gassy and crabby the last couple of days too. Not sure what that's all about. She has an appointment tomorrow so I'll find out how much she weighs now.

whit ~ Sometimes I get that pressure feeling too. I remember it happening after my 2nd DD too and it eventually went away. I can't remember when though!

MrsK ~ After I had my 1st I was still spotting when I went in for my 6 week checkup. It stopped right around then though. I'm 5.5 weeks PP now and just stopped spotting a couple days ago.

getting out ~ I don't really have a choice since I have to take my oldest DD to school and gymnastics just about every day. She was on spring break last week and it was kind of nice not to have to get up and get ready every morning by a certain time but we did go to the gym a few times. I try to do my grocery shopping in the evenings or on weekends so I don't have to take all 3 kids but I always have the baby with me wherever I go. I did take all 3 a couple times though and it wasn't too bad.

[Kanga]

Smiles - I wish I could say Camdyn has started smiling (and cooing) but nothing yet. Although they do say not to expect anything til about 8 weeks so that makes feel a little bit better, but dang it - I want the kid to smile at me!!:o

DTD - Haven't been brave enough yet and probably won't for quite some time. I'm trying to remember what it was like after my first, but I can't.

lady - congrats on John's weight gain! Sounds like things are only going to get better from here on out.

littlemia - I hope the gentian violet works for you! I had thrush, and it was some of the worst pain ever, so I feel for ya.

Spotting - Still having plenty of spotting. I use panty liners during the day, but still need a pad at night. It actually seems to have gotten slightly heavier?! I can't wait for it to go away though. With my first daughter my pp bleeding stopped at around 5 weeks, and I got my period 2 weeks later even though I was exclusively bfing:rolleyes: I'm hoping it stays away much longer this time.

pooping - We're about once a day or every other day, although it's not unusual for her to go 3 days.

I'm loving all the photos!! I can't believe how much our babies have already grown in such a short time.

Saturday, my dad took us out to lunch and then offered to take Daytona for the night since we'd be down to their house (1hr away) on Sunday anyways. My sister was also visiting from college and wanted her hair highlighted as did my mom. I love my sister, but man she gets on my nerves sometimes. I did her hair first and along with repeatedly telling her to hold still she had to get up a million times to do who knows what. While her hair was processing I started on my mom's hair. I'd take out the foil that was done in her hair and tell her to come back in 10 minutes and I'd take more out. She'd come back and ask how many minutes left til I checked her next(um, you were supposed to keep track), how minutes til she's done completely, now how much longer. With all of her interuptions, it took 5 1/2 hours for me to do both of them, when it should have only taken closer to 3 or 4 hours. Ughh, I'm not sure who has the shorter attention span, her or my 1 1/5 yr old. On top of that she was micro managing everything Daytona did. So glad we're back home!

On the way back home Camdyn was overtired and overstimulated. I fed her just before we left and not 10 minutes into the drive she started crying. I pulled over and gave her paci but that wasn't cutting it. I pulled over again and tried to feed her thinking maybe she just didn't get enough last time. Nope, still wasn't it. She was just tired and couldn't fall asleep. I finally got her drowsy, and started driving again. She only dozed in the car becuase when we got home she was still wide awake and I didn't get her down til nearly 11. We're going to try being home no later than 7 so it gives her some wind down time before bed and see if that helps, because usually it takes no longer than a few paces through the halls and she's out. It sucks not being able to go out past 7, but it sucks worse not getting to bed til 11 when you have to get up at 5am.

[betsyboop]

Poop- Millie is still pooping a lot, but I think I remember reading somewhere that they start to poop a lot less often starting around 6-8 weeks. So I think it's normal.

Painful Sex- Yup, we tried it the night after I got the go ahead from the Dr and I was very surprised that it was SO uncomfortable since I had a c-section and we used and obcene amount of lube. Oh well, I guess this is nature's way of making sure I don't get pregnant too soon:p

Millie hasn't really smiled yet- just those ones where you know she's just having gas. Although, now I'm wondering if maybe some of those are real smiles?? Who knows. She is pretty interactive though. She'll look right at you while you're talking to her and she's really good at tracking objects and people.

We took Millie to visit her one remaining great-grandparent yesterday, Dave's Mom's dad. It was nice to get a few photos of the event because, let's face it, we're not sure how many more times she'll get to see him.

We've sucessfully introduced bottles of breast milk, so that's a relief. She has had probably 4-5 bottles so far and, while she still definitely prefers getting her milk straight from the tap, she does ok. And I'm sure she'll get beter with practice.

MrsK- I just recently stopped spotting, so I think it's ok that you still are.

[lady1297]

mochi- DS2 poops once to twice a week...and it shows. It gets EVERYWHERE when he blows. We just pick him up, clothes and all and put him the tub to hose him down. Much easier. :)

MrsK- I think your spotting sounds pretty normal. Mine didn't stop until I was 4-5 weeks postpartum.

-------------
PPDepression- I am calling the OB tomrrow, but does short tempered sound like it could be a PPD issue? I have been SOOOO short with DS1 and it makes me upset to be upset with him. I just feel like there is so much I have to worry about with John that I get upset with DS1 when he asks for things. I am overreacting to it all. It just started the past week too. And I've been short with DH too. I feel like it happens when I feel overwhelmed, like right before I start dinner or when John is crying and DS1 needs to use the potty at the same time. Like I can't figure out which to deal with first so I get angry and scream at DS1.

[deelcie]

Hi ladies--

Haven't been around again the last few days since DH and DS left the country this morning and I have been trying to maximize quality family time with them. I guess I still have pg hormones circulating around in my system b/c I haven't been able to stop crying. :( This is the 1st time I've been away from DS in his 2-3/4 years and 3 weeks seems like an eternity! I know it's for the best tho...I'd just die having to take care of both kids by myself for that long.

Shimmerstar, betseyboop and anyone else who may have asked, Reikke is pronounced Rye-kah. Her name is representative of her heritages--she is 28% Scandanavian (1st name), 25% Chinese (middle name) and 25% hispanic (last name). The rest of her is a mishmash of western european countries. Speaking of names, threadmistresses, could you please delete my last name from this thread? I edited my original post. Not that you ladies are up to anything shady but DH reminded me that, due to the somewhat sensitive nature of our jobs, I should probably not be posting our last name on a public message board. :o

MrsK are you breastfeeding? I haven't DTD yet but I think I remember that if you are breastfeeding, the hormoes released cause vaginal dryness and discomfort.

lady1297--don't know if it's PPD but I have been sort of the same way w/ DS lately. I've been chalking it up to irritability from lack of sleep but then since I've been so weepy lately (see above), maybe I should consider that it might be something else? Let us know what your OB says.

Bottle-feeding I pumped for the first time last night and DH gave Reikke a bottle but she only drank 1/2 of it and then wanted to nurse about 5 min. after. Is that normal? Did I make a mistake letting her nurse right after?

[March2007Mommies]

Updated to here.

No problem, Deelcie! Can't be too careful. :)

[shimmerstar]

Noah saves his poop too. Today I caught it too early and he crapped all over the changing table. Nice.

I forgot to post earlier that if we follow our routine and let him put himself to sleep he will sleep from 10-430. Then from 5-7, which is pretty nice.
But if we don't follow the routine, like on Saturday we are in for a terrible night. He must fall asleep deeper if he does it himself.

[Brink]

Smiles - I still really don't get them from the girls. It's hard when they are preemie because you expect them to do things and they aren't ready. They are 11 weeks old and still no smiles, but if you look at their adjusted age, they are equal to a 4 week old. So, I need to adjust my expectations.

Sleep - They are both sleeping longer now. They both slept for 7 hours last night and 8 hours tonight. They are pretty close to the same timing on those stretches. Unfortunately it starts at about 8pm, and I can't go to sleep that early, so I don't get the full benefit of the time but at least they are sleeping.

They are really grumpy little babies during the day. They wake up screaming all the time. It only last for a few seconds and they put themselves back to sleep, but it sounds horrible. My first DD never did that, so it's taking some getting used to.

All else is good, we went out to dinner twice last week with all three kids - and survived!

Littlemia - If you are having nipple pain and it isn't thrush, it could be Raynauds. I think that is what I had. Is your nipple really white or purple? If so, take some B-6 for a week or so and see if it makes a difference.

[happy1nuv]

DTD ~ Last time around, I had a c-section. We dtd at 4 weeks pp (For some reason, I have no desire while pg, but after baby pops out - watch out! IM the one that can't wait) It was a lil uncomfy first time, but after that was sooo nice! I'm thinking dh has til Friday, then we're trying (will be exactly 4 weeks then) ...since I went vaginally this time, I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm feeling really good so we'll see... I could be a *VERY* happy girl sat morning!

littlemia ~ HUGS... hope bf'ing gets better for ya!

nursing after bottle ~ I don't think there's anything wrong with it... esp if you're there. Baby probably just missed the closeness and wanted some snuggle time :)

So, Joe's 3w4d and still pretty sleepy during the day. Of course, from 3 am on he's pretty much awake... he was awake all morning though and freaking me out... I can't handle both of them awake... was liking that Joe would sleep the ams away so I could give NIc some quality time...

[Orion]

Happy: I totally hear you on when both kids are awake at the same time. I feel so bad because when Dalton is sleeping, that is when I can devote all my attention to Sophie but when he is awake, he takes all the attention and Sophie sometimes get whiney (especially now when she is sick). There are days when I just get so frustrated because having two babies is tough sometimes!

[miaclear]

QOTD: I know that some of our babies are weeks apart which can mean a world of difference in their development at this time but I'm curious what all of you are doing to interact/play with your babies. Sometimes I feel like I'm neglecting Aaron because we hang out in front of the TV so much. But I can only coo in his face for so long. He loves to be held and moving so you'll often find me walking him around...today we turned on the XM radio and danced too. But for a lot of the time he just hangs out with my boob ;) while I watch TV.

[Janey]

Miaclear - my day looks pretty much like your day. Thank God for Tivo. ;)

I do try to give her 10 mins of tummy time (usually split into 2 5-minute sessions) per day. I usually just put her on my stomach, and let her do her thing. I also let her play in her gym about 15 minutes twice/day. K looooves her play mat. She smiles at her toys; it's hilarious. If you have a mat, you might try it when Aaron is fed & happy.


Lady1297 - i forgot to say earlier... I'm happy to hear about John's growth. That's fantastic! :D

[deelcie]

miaclear I have the same problem... Reikke only stays interested in anything for like 5 minutes at the most. We just tend to rotate activities and go for walks outside/around the house very frequently (when not nursing in front of the tv). It's amazing how interesting the different light fixtures in each room can be! One thing that DS really dug but I haven't been able to try out with this baby yet--no printer in temp apartment--were staring at black and white images. Some good ones: http://www.envisagedesign.com/ohbaby/infstim/graphics.html

[mochi]

glad to hear how others spend their days w/baby. if N is awake, he's usually crying due to hunger, dirty diaper, gas, no one holding him or all of the above. i can't wait 'til he doesn't seem so upset all the time :( he has his calm moments - thankfully in the morning when he's sitting in his bouncy by the bathroom as i take a shower! i do try to squeeze in some tummy time on my chest, boppy or gym. he's liking his swing a little more now, thank goodness because its the only way i can tend to my 35-month old toddler (in the beginning i was having a hard time feeding my poor toddler meals/snacks during the day since i was stuck on the couch feeding N) , or most of the time i now carry baby in my moby wrap or new native sling.

deelcie - thx for the link to the bw images, that's a great idea!

i have my pp checkup tomorrow. totally not looking forward to it. i'm a little concerned because i've had a "sore spot" down there for the past couple weeks, i'm guessing a stitch didn't hold. it only slightly hurts when i pee (burning sensation), and when i looked i saw a spot of redness where i assume a stitch might have been. it doesn't hurt at any other time. i called the dr office last week and they didn't see the need for me to come in right away, but i did provide a urine test to rule out UTI i'm guessing. i know it's not UTI though. i'm just squeamish when it comes to PP healing and stitches..bleh. i'm hoping it's nothing and that it'll heal on its own.

re: poop - relieved to hear other babies are also pooping less frequently. i totally don't remember my DS#1 being that way.

eek it's late...gotta' go!

[kindermom]

miaclear - I was the same way with DD and am still the same way with DS. I love him dearly. But I can only stare for so long. I have a book that has good ideas in it that is published by Gymboree. I am trying to do more with that.

Having 2 is definitely tougher in ways I could not imagine. I am glad that M will not remember being ignored so much when her brother was born. The poor child gets so upset to have my attention split and turns into a hitting, whiney little girl.

[lady1297]

Anyone elses' baby having a party in the middle of the night? Last night John again woke up at 3 am to play and stare and coo. Then, in the middle of his party, he pooped himself into REAL happiness (How do they get so much joy out of that much mess?!). After staying up with him, changing him, and laying down with him in another bedroom, I put him in his bassinet with his little mirror on the side and let him hang out. He (and that crazy baby in the mirror) fell asleep about 20 minutes later! OMG am I tired this morning....

[whitlockan]

DTD hahaha we were told off limits until my 6 week pp check-up by the doctor before he released me so my 6 week appointment the only time they could fit me in is on our wedding anniversary, how funny.

mia thats all I do, sometimes I even put him in his bouncy and let him stare at himself in the glob thing above him or lay him in his crib for a little while and let him stare at himself in the crib mirror but he is really stimulated by the colors on the bumper, sometimes I feel bad too but man sitting and staring and cooing back gets old after a while

sleeping baby shower time be back later..............

[shimmerstar]

Noah spent his first night in his own room last night. It didn't seem to phase him at all, and I slept better. I still heard him a lot, not even with the monitor- he is LOUD! But he slept a good stretch. It was hard for me because I was convinced that someone would come kidnap him or a spider would come bite him. Let's just say I have quite an imagination. He is going to get his two month shots today, and he's already fussy. :(

I try to do lots of different things with him, since I tend to get kind of down if I just sit and watch tv all day. We play on his mat, do tummy time, read stories (I hope he likes reading better when he's older!), swing, go for a walk, get the mail, take baths, and sometimes I just let him sit in his bouncy seat. If he's not hungry he will just sit for up to 30 minutes.

[happy1nuv]

littlemia ~ you described my first 5 months with nic...
Hmmm.... no one can tell you this while you are going through it... but totally enjoy the time you have to yourself in between staring and cooing at your little one...because you SO do not have that luxury the next time around! I remember complaining about days that I couldn't get a shower with ONE -- now, i think back to that time and wonder how I got so little done! (Now, I would call Nic high needs, and I was a paranoid first time mom ... I am so much more calm about things this time because I *think* I know more about what I'm doing...so if I knew then what I know now, nothing much would probably change, but really... ) Oh...and travel? If you didn't get a chance to take that last trip... sometime before 6 months would be a GREAT time to do it..just throw baby in a sling and go!

Poor joey gets barely any time to do stuff... he swings, slings, and nurses...

DTD ...So, can I just vent a bit. I tell Dh that I think Friday's the day... and I know he wants some cause its been a WHILE... BUT, he told me NO!!! I have to make it to my drs appt first and get the all clear. Ummm... WTF?!?!? It's kind of sweet - he's afraid of hurting me, but really! HELLO... I want some!!!! /vent

[betsyboop]

miaclear- When she's not sleeping or eating, we do tummy time (although maybe we do too much of that- my doctor told us to do 2 20 min sessions per day, but I find that I usually don't get a second one in if I split it up, so I do one 40 min one each morning after her first feed of the day), take walks, go out on erands, and read books. It's hard to know what else to do sometimes.

So we're having a tough day today. It started the night before last when she just would not go to sleep. In a fit of desperation, I ended up putting her in her crib to see if that would make her sleep (she normally sleeps in her car seat). Lo and behold, she slept just fine in there and I was excited that maybe we could transition her into the crib for good. So, last night I accidentally kept her up a little later than normal (11:30 instead of 11) and after that she just couldn't fall asleep. It was weird- she was completely alert which has never happened to her at bed time before. Well, I finally got her to doze off a few times and put her in the crib, but she would immediately wake up. At first I thought it was because she wasn't in a deep enough sleep, then the heat came on and our radiators are LOUD so I thought that was waking her up. Finally, at 2:30am (:eek: ) I relented and put her in her car seat and she slept like a baby for the rest of the night. I got so upset during the 3 hours of trying to get her to sleep and I'm actually still upset about it. I got really frustrated with her and was angry with her for not being able to sleep in the crib. I know it's ridiculous to get angry with a 6 week old, but I was and it made me feel like a terrible mom:( Even this morning, I was still crabby about the situation. I think it's also because it stinks that Dave can never handle this middle of the night stuff because I'm breastfeeding, so the whole time I'm pleading with my baby to sleep, he's in our bed sleeping himself. Ugh, thanks for letting me vent!

[shimmerstar]

Betsy- you are not a terrible mom. Noah is a great sleeper and I still get pissed when he wakes me up. If he just does it once, I'm fine, then Neil can get him at around 630 when he wakes up again. But if he does it more than once I am so irritated. I think it scares dh. :) I have to shift out of teacher mode- I expect a lot from my students, and it's hard for me to accept that Noah is just going to do what he wants. I keep thinking that if I do everything right he will do exactly what I want him to.
((Hugs)) I hope she takes along nap today.

[Brink]

betsyboop - You are so not alone. I actually called Katie a bad name one night when she woke me up. Yesterday they were tag teaming me with crying and it was driving me crazy. We all have our moments of weakness, don't think it makes you a bad mom.

Helpful Hint - for those first time moms - when you take your baby to the dr. for their 2 month checkup and shots, give them some tylenol before you leave the house. My dr. said .4 was the dose for the girls (9lb). You can check with your dr. first, but we did this for each of Aimee's visits when she was little. I totally forgot about it for the twins and didn't give them the tylenol until we got to the dr. office and got a sample from them. Just helps the whole process for the little ones.

[kindermom]

betsy - I have not broken down yet with Henry but I can recall 2 spearate occassions being in tears with Madelyn, asking her "Why are you doing this to Mommy?" when she would not go to sleep after hours of being up!

Brink - Good point to mention Tylenol to others.

[miaclear]

Question....my DS has been up since 7am with a maybe 15 min nap. That's basically 6 hours straight. Is this normal?

[Kanga]

Sleep - I try to follow the 2 hour rule as best I can. It was really a life saver with Daytona and seems to be working well with Camdyn. The general rule of thumb for young babies is to not let them stay awake for longer than 2 hours at a time, sometimes even less for really young babies. This usually catches them when they're starting to wind down but not so tired they're cranky and upset. If you go past 2 hours, then usually babies catch their 'second wind' and at least for me becomes next to impossible to get them to sleep and teh sleep they do get isn't as good of quality from being up so long. I think this is what happened to me last night (more below) and it was so not fun.

Betsy - I had rough night last night as well and got really irritated with Camdyn. In the back of my head I know she can't help it and obviously isn't doing it on purpose but I get so stressed out. I know it doesn't make anyone a terrible mom for getting upset with their kids, but man, it sure makes ya feel like crap the next morning.


So I had a stressful night last night. Dh is usually gone from 6-6 (and not even a long commute to blame it on). He's also building a website for a co-worker's wife and it needs to be done soon so he's been coming home from work, fixing a quick dinner, and maybe playing with Daytona for a few minutes before heading downstairs to work on the website. Camdyn was wide awake and fussy, so I had to interupt dh so he could give her a bath and put her to bed. Luckily she went down easily. Meanwhile I was still up with Camdyn trying everything for her to stay asleep. She'd doze for a minute then wake back up wide awake. Finally at 9:30 (after being up for 4hours) I took her upstairs to see if she would nurse to sleep. She sucked me dry on one side which is pretty unusual for her, so I tried the other side, same thing and she still wouldn't sleep. She wouldn't hang on to the paci and was crying if she wasn't sucking. I finally got so fed up, I interupted dh again because I just couldn't deal with her anymore and went to bed. Not sure how late she was up, but dh said she wasn't too bad. She burped really loud (after I tried burping her for 10minutes straight) almost immediately after I handed her to dh. He said he had her tummy to tummy while laying on the couch and she spit up and went straight to sleep. I spend 2.5 hours trying to get the kid to sleep and he does it in 10 minutes :mad:

[betsyboop]

Thanks for making me feel better about the situation everyone:) I'm getting over it and I guess Millie is too because she gave me a big smile just now as I was putting her into her car seat- this was her first official smile!!

Kanga- I'm sorry you also had a tough night:(

[whitlockan]

betsy you are not a terrible mom, its hard and sometimes can be very very frustrating!

kanga I hear you!! Little man is up a lot during the day and he wont sleep for me so I'm sat to entertain him, no problem, but as soon as DH gets home its magic he holds him and hes off to sleep. It's like DH has some magical powers or something, he always gets him to do exactly what he needs to do within minutes! My DH works those hours too and is 7 miles away from work and when he comes home its more work for the Navy, I know how you feel!! I such concluded I probably just suck as a mom.....yeah I know a lot of positivty.

happy hahah DH is DYING but we've found other alternatives in the mean time. He constantly wants to check and see how its healed etc.......I know way TMI!! But I'm a goody goody and follow the rules!! ;)

Orion, Happy, Brink thank you ladies.....I'm not having another child anytime soon in that case :p

shimmer hahaha we have a VERY loud baby lately. He grunts sooooo loud in his sleep, its rather annoying ecsp when I'm already a light sleeper because I'm so worried about not hearing him. I have the same crazy imagination........there have been 2 cars stolen in our area here on a flat bed tow truck non the less and I turned to DH last night as soon as they sent out the e-mail last night and was like, there not going to try to break into condos now and hurt us are they?!?

*removed*

[MarriedaGoalie]

I've got a sick baby... I took him in to get something checked out with his circumcision and come to find out, he's sick. He currently has a 99.4 degree temp. I am keeping a watchful eye on him. He just had his first dose of antibiotic, so I hope he breaks that fever soon!

[dollface]

whit - that outfit is hysterical!

question - for those who's DC is sleeping in big stretches at night (or STTN)...do you change DC's diaper at all during those times?

[Janey]

MAG - I hope Carter feels better soon.

Dollface - Heck no! If she's sleeping, I'm sleeping. ;) Lately she's been sleeping about 11pm - 5am, and just wet when I change her morning diaper.

[buffy]

whit ~ that picture is cracking me up!

MAG ~ sorry you have a sickie :(

dollface ~ my DD isn't STTN and I still only change her diaper if she poops which thankfully isn't too often. We're usually good for 10 or so hours with no leaks.

I hear you ladies on the two (or more) kids thing. Today Morgan was taking one of her nice 3 hour naps and I wanted to fall asleep with her so bad but my other two weren't going for it.

Morgan had her checkup yesterday and at 2 days shy of 6 weeks she is 12 pounds even and 22 3/4 inches. Her 0-3 month clothes are totally riding up on her so I think I'll be getting out the 3-6 clothes this weekend.

[Janey]

Ya know, I'm glad you gals are posting how big your babies are when you get back from your WBVs. :) K has grown like a magic beanstalk the last couple of weeks and now of course there is a tickle of, "Am I feeding her too much??" in the back of my head, because every time she fusses my solution is to put a boob in her mouth (well, it usually works!). But reading how big your babies are, I realize that K is still a little shrimpie, and I'm doing OK. :)

Also. She's napping in the swing right behind me. No kidding! It's great. I think I will go sweep the floors. :D

[kindermom]

dollface - With DD I only changed her when she was poopy even if she awoke. I figured that the least I could do to wake her, the better. With DS, my take is the same. Only I am finding that he is soaking through his diapers. I am sad that my wee (no pun intended) little man needs to wear a size 3 already!

janey - the boob solves everything, right?

mag - Sorry to her your little one is sick!

Today Henry has not let me put him down for more than 30 minutes! This is the first real break I have had since about 5 am.

[goldengbridge]

Kinder- wow size 3's already:eek:

Ashlyn had her 8 week check up- a little early. She's 11lbs 1 oz and 23 1/2 inches long! She's almos doubled her birth weight! She got 5 shots:( She was really fussy yesterday but it so much better today. Her 0-3 month clothig is getting small on her also.

[betsyboop]

Wait, those of you who only change poopy diapers- does this mean you only change like 3 diapers a day?! I didn't know this was a possibility! Sounds great- maybe I'll cool it on the diaper changes tomorrow and see how it goes.

dollface- Like Janey said, heck no, I'm not going to wake her to change her! Plus, I'm sleeping while she's sleeping anyway.

I notice a lot of you are talking about much earlier bed times and wake times than I'm used to. Did your babies naturally fall asleep at 9 or whatever or are you encouraging this based on your schedule? We go to bed at midnight and have sort of made that her bed time too and I'm just wondering if it makes a difference at all. She gets up at 9:30ish.

It's amazing to me how fast these babies are growing! Millie recently started growing out of some of her smallest outfits and her head totally fills up the head support thing in her car seat now. I can't wait until her 2 month wbv to see how much she weighs.

[MarriedaGoalie]

Forgot to say that Carter had an appointment today and he weighs 9 lbs 14 oz, which is up 10 oz from his appointment last Monday and 14 oz from his birth weight.

[mmm0708]

Caitlin had a well-visit on Monday. She was 3 weeks and 3 days. She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 inches long. (birth: 6 pounds 4 ounces and 19 inches)

Caitlin normally falls asleep for the night between 10:30 and 11:30. She wakes around 4. I change her diaper, she nurses, and she goes back to sleep within the hour. Then, she'll sleep until 9ish (sometimes as late as 10). Too bad my 2 year old gets up at 7:30. LOL ;)

[kindermom]

betsy - I only change poopy at night. During the day I change every 2 hours or so.

bed times - Henry naturally goes to sleep around 9ish with one wake up around 11. If you want personal time with DH then you may want to try to have Millie in bed sooner.

[shimmerstar]

Weight- 12 lbs, 6 oz (Is he the biggest baby on here now?)
Height- almost 24 inches
He is in the 50-75%ile for everything except his head. He has a tiny head, apparently, but the doc said it's staying consistent, so it's nothing to worry about.
He got one shot in each leg and took it like a trooper! He kind of screamed each time they poked him, and then he acted like nothing happened and went to sleep. Didn't cry or anything. We went home and he slept, ate, and played just fine.
When dh got home, Noah woke up and was just crying and whimpering. It was so sad. We gave him more tylenol and he perked up within 10 minutes. Now he's fine, and hasn't needed anymore medicine.

Janey- I was worried that Noah was getting too big, but he's not. I was also worried he was eating too much (sometimes 4.5 ounces at a time) but the doctor said to offer him five oz every time. Everyone in my family is overweight and I am scared of passing that on to ds.

[lady1297]

betsy-I CD, so that's a bit different, but we go through 13 or so diapers a day. I change him any time he's fussy because he is uncomfortable usually. Personally, I wouldn't let him go in a disposie more than an hour or so anyway because the thought of him sitting in his own pee grosses me out big time and disposies are still filled with pee even if they don't feel it. So even at night when he wakes, I change him. I only have the closet light on so it's not too stimulating and he usually goes right to sleep after.

[ladybug0525]

A quick check in been pretty busy with my side business while I am on maternity leave. I haven't been cleared to work out but been teaching Baby Boot Camp classes a lot over the last week.

Cooper 1 Month appt:
Weight: 11lb 11oz
Height: 22.8"
Head: 15.8

Things are going good Cooper has a snotty nose so we are dealing with that and he is giving us a good 5 hour stretch at night but of course I am anxious for more. I am still changing Cooper diaper every time he wakes up in the night but will change soon to just poopy diapers. Totally envious of you that are getting 7-8 hours.

Bedtime - We just swtiched for it to be around 8:30-9:00 ish and it is working out ok. I am trying to remember when my oldest started going to bed at 6:30 but can not remember for the life of me. This poor kid is already being compared to his brother.

My oldest is home sick today, joy joy!

A quick pic of my boys from Easter, I will take down in a little bit. Yes Cooper has BAD baby acne my oldest did too so hence why we have held off on announcements and pictures.

[miaclear]

DTD....we took care of that last night. No discomfort really...just a little rusty. Glad to know all my parts still work though. I was kinda worried about it since I hadn't had a good O since last October maybe. :D Dr had said 4-6 weeks before she'll clear me, most likely 4. But my appt isn't till next week (5 weeks) so I made my own judgment call.

Sleep. Last night was great (hmmmm, maybe because of above mentioned activity)! Well great in terms of having to get up every few hours. DS slept till 8:30 this morning so I was able to pump and shower before he woke up. YEA!

Playdate today! Now that I can get out of the house I LOVE it! The only thing that sucks is when he gets fussy or my boob gets huge. Yep...my left one produces at an insane rate and my right one produces average I'd say. SO I always look lopsided I think :rolleyes:

[happy1nuv]

mia ~ I'm always lopsided too... fun, huh? :) (left one is also the over-acheiver)

sleep ~ i forgot about the 2 hour rule...

weight gain ~ Joey put on just under 2 lbs in 3 weeks, so I was definitely concerned I was overfeeding, but I dont think you can overfeed a bf baby so I'm just gonna roll with it. I am re-thinking our baptism plans though -- we were going to have Nic's 2nd bday in May then do the baptism in June, but if he keeps eating like he has been, the outfit won't fit if we wait that long (we baptized Nic at 2 months... and Nic didn't gain that fast... ) so i think were swapping them...

[danalou]

Bottles?? - I was hoping that you guys might be able to help me out with a major question regarding bottles. My DD has been exclusively breastfeed to this date (+ a few bottle attempts of pumped milk). She isn't really taking to the bottle very well and at all. I first tried the Playtex drop-ins and then went to the 1st year - Breastflow bottles. She seemed to take well to the 1st years, but now it is a different story. I should say that we have only attempted a bottle maybe 10 times, but I was hoping for ideas. Any suggestions would be great as we need to her accustom to them before my maternity leave is up.

Thanks!!

[mmm0708]

Lopsided ~ LOL! I'm naturally lopsided. :o I love when I'm nursing, because my fuller side is normally my smaller side... so now they're somewhat even.

Did I just admit that in public? LOL :eek:

Bottles ~ We used Avent with my first son. He went back and forth between bottle and breast with no problems. I used the #1 nipple until he started to get gassy after bottle feedings, then I moved up to #2. He was sucking too hard to get the milk and took in too much air. With Caitlin, we're using Avent again. She had some nipple confusion issues in the beginning, but last week when my son was hospitalized I had to give her a few bottles and she didn't have any problems re-latching.

[dollface]

bedtime - I started him out at 7 but a couple weeks ago I realized that was much too early for him. His daily fussy time occurs between 6-8 p.m. anyways. So know he is usually awake til 7:30-8, takes a nap til about 9:30, I get him up for a bath, some mellow activity, a bottle and then sleep around 10-10:15. Last night he went down about 10:30 and slept til 5 this morning, had a small bottle and went back down til 8. Hopefully this will work for awhile! I think once he hits the 3 month mark, I will try getting his bedtime to an earlier time (by 8).

diaper - his diaper lasted all night last night - I didn't even change it at his 5 a.m. bottle!

Playdate - we have our first Gymboree class tomorrow :)

[Kanga]

diaper - I CD and change every 2-3 hrs during the day right before she nurses. I only change her at night if she's poopy.

bedtime - With dd1, her first bedtime was 9:30, then 9, then 8, 7, then back to eight. For Camdyn we're going to aim for 8. We just started a bedtime routine last night (pj's, diaper change, bf/bottle then bed) and will just put her to bed as close we can (whenever she's ready for a feeding). I'm hoping this will help set her internal clock and sleep longer stretches at night. I don't usually pay any attention to what time it is or how many times she gets up....just roll over, latch her on and fall asleep nursing, but i probably should to have an idea of when her long stretch is and how long.

Comparing kids - Guilty:o Daytona never ate more often than every 3 hrs unless she was going through a growth spurt...this one eats all the time, rarely more than 2 hrs between feedings and it's not unusual for her to eat every hour.

Danalou - Have you tried leaving the house while your dh feeds her? Sometimes if they know mom is around, they'll hold out for it but if you're gone she might give in.

I have a wedding I'm in on May 19. It'll be the first time Camdyn has been away from me (well except ~30min or so when I go tanning.) I'm not sure how I feel yet....It'll be nice not to have a koala bear attatched to me the whole night

[whitlockan]

wow I am behind........

bedtime we've always went to bed around 9:00-9:30 and when he fell asleep after his 8:00 pm feeding we took advantage of it, changed him and decided that was our new schedule. Much more what we are used to, so I guess you can say we just lucked out.

diaper you mean you can only change poopy ones? I change when I notice it but he pees A LOT so his diapers fill up fast. In fact he did this to me 2 times today, I changed his soaking wet diaper and he cried and cried as soon as I fastened the new diaper he smiled real big so I felt it and what woudl you know it was soaking wet again.....he is one smart cookie. At night I dont change it unless he wakes up. But man the whole diaper thing makes me feel aweful if I let him sit in it whether its pee or poop. No wonder we go through so many diapers.

diaper sizes wow a size 3, we were nearing the end of our newborns so DH and I decided we'd break the case of 1's and see how they fit, he laughed so hard and said buddy this is big enough for daddy to poop in. The diaper is the size of his chest, so needless to say he is still in newborns. Since he was born we've used 5 cases: 480 diapers.....is that a lot???

MAG sending wellness vibes to baby carter.

dollface/buffy DH saw the pictures he LOVES it, he said yes my little man is a player already ;), he is so excited and said he is wearing that outfit whether his mom approves of it or not (my MIL) for the pictures, mainly to piss her off is that bad or what?! But it is hilarious!!

growing we finally outgrew his first newborn outfit, his footed sleeper he is too long, but the onsies still fit great! Tried 0-3 months they hang off of him right now. But man your right they are growing like weeds!!

ladybug CUTE!! Sending wellness vibes to your family as well. I'm sure a sick kid is no fun!

mia/Lopsided hahaha I am lopsided too. Right produces 1 1/2 oz at the most and last night when I woke up with no baby wanting to eat and rock hard my left pumped out 4 oz :eek: (normally 3 oz), I was paying the bills (yes online at 2 am in the morning) and then looked down and freaked out because the bottle was about to overflow, was not expecting that!!!

dana Good luck with the bottle, I will say we are using the Dr. Browns and he LOVES them and has much less gas (next to nothing) with that then feeding directly off of me. They really work, I know they are expensive and have a million parts but worth it to me!! The nipple flow is great for him since he doesnt stop sucking at one point in time, he just sucks at a constant motion, when hes on me he pulls off coughing from chok