April 2008 Moms: Our babies have arrived!

[April08Moms]

April 2008 Mommies and Babies!

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k188/BensMom426/annegeddeseaster.jpg

Welcome and congratulations!
We have 28 Mommies with 30 Babies!


http://blinkies.babytalkzone.com/images/baby/boy111.gif (http://www.babytalkzone.com/)
kenswife, jess&dan, MtySheera (x2), lee60657, Hbaby08, BridalLace, Kristen78, FoxyBlue, Marisa, da1sy, phart, kissmary, SiValleySteph, Mel7dog, Chelsea524, Squee, meatpie

http://blinkies.babytalkzone.com/images/baby/girl111.gif (http://www.babytalkzone.com/)
Alioop12345, twinnyme, Crystal_Orchid, red_canuck, Maggie8202, PinkBeary, summerbride2005, Chelsea524, coquelicot, Jondan, Parrothead, jenjunum, Tracer, jaredsgirl

To join, please submit a post with the following information in RED:

Username:
Me: Name, age
DH: Name, age
DS/DD: Name
Birthdate:
Time of birth:
Weight at birth:
Length at birth:
Any other children:
Photos: 1 to 2 pics per child

Please post updates in red for ease of finding! If we can't see it, we can't add it.

Your Threadmistresses are: jess&dan, Chelsea524, & jenjunum. Please PM us with us issues regarding the thread.

Previous threads
1st Trimester (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35136)
2nd Trimester (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37158)
3rd Trimester (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39327)

*Thanks to all the Mommy-to-be threads for helping with thread layout and links!*

[April08Moms]

Our Mommies

Alioop12345
Me: Ali, 35
DH: Aron, 30
EDD: 4/14/08
Tessa Isabelle
Birthdate: April 3
Time: 2:23 pm
Weight: 8lbs 3oz
Length: 20.5 inches
Other children: Jake, 2/3/4

BridalLace
Me: Heather, 35
DH: Cristian, 34
EDD: April 7, 2007
Ethan
Birthdate: March 28
Weight: 8lbs
Length: 19 inches
Other children: Elodie, born 5/7/05

Chelsea524
Me: Chelsea, 25
DH: Jonathan, 36
EDD: 4/25/08
Avery and Harrison
Birthdate: March 15
Times: 9:47 and 9:49 am
Weights: 4.10 and 5.13
Lengths: 17 inches and 18.5 inches
Other children: DS Trystin 9/29/99, DS Corbin 8/13/04

coquelicot
Me: K, 29
DH: B, 30
EDD: 4/29/2008
C.J.
Birthdate: April 14
Time: 2:15am
Weight: 7lb 5.2oz
Length: 21 inches

Crystal_Orchid
Me, A, 32
DH: L, 35
EDD: March 28, 2008
Avelyn Grace
Birthdate: March 25

Da1sy
Me: Daisy, 31
DH: Eddie, 32
EDD: April 11, 2008
Nathaniel Ivan
Birthdate: March 20
Time: 3:46
Weight: 5lbs 6.45oz
Length: 19 inches

FoxyBlue
Me: L, 24
DH: N, 28
EDD: 4/28/2008
Dawson
Birthdate: April 23
Time: 10:51 am
Weight: 8lb 10oz
Length: 21.5 inches

Gabe's Mom
Me: Natasha
DH: Jeff
EDD: April 10. 2008
Lucas
Birthdate: April 11
Weight: 8lbs 10 oz
Length: 21 inches
Other children: Gabe 10/4/05

jaredsgirl
Me: Megan, 30
DH: Jared, 31
EDD: April 18, 2008
Annika Marie
Birthdate: April 23
Time: 9:17am
Weight: 7lbs 9oz
Length: 20 inches
Other children: Owen 12/9/05

jenjunum
Me: Jennifer, 27
DH: Scott, 27
EDD: 4/25/08
Lily Renee
Birthdate: May 5
Time: 10:06 PM
Weight: 8 lbs 13 oz
Length: 21 in


jess&dan
Me: Jess: 26
DH: Dan: 27
EDD: April 6, 2008
Aaron Robert
Birthdate: March 27
Time: 8:11 pm
Weight: 7lb 10oz
Length: 20 inches
Other children: Nathan 1/31/05

Kenswife
Me: Emily
DH: Ken
EDD: April 11, 2008
Brayden
Birthdate: April 3
Time: 9:00 am
Weight: 7lbs 12oz
Lenth: 20 inches
Other children: Alyssa 5.25.00, Ilanna 3.8.05 & Tyler 9.26.06

kissmary
Me: Mary, 29
DH: John, 31
EDD: April 12, 2008
Henry Ellis
Birthdate: April 19
Time: 3:18 am
Weight: 7lbs 5oz
Length: 21 inches

Kristen78
Me: Kristen, 29
DH: Andrew, 33
EDD: 4/4/2008
Liam Andrew
Birthdate: April 4
Time: 12:11 am
Weight: 8lbs 3oz
Length: 20 inches
Other children:Caitlin 11/3/2005

lee60657
Me: Lee, 32
DH:33
EDD: April 6
Andrew
Birthdate: April 2
Weight: 8lbs
Length: 22 inches
Other children: DD, Feb. 2005

Maggie8202
Me: Maggie, 28
DH: Paul, 29
EDD: April 11, 2008
Ella Rose
Birthdate: March 27
Time: 11:26 am
Weight: 6lbs 13 oz
Length: 19 inches

Marisa
Me: Marisa, 32
DH: Chris, 32
EDD: 4/18/08
Theodore "Teddy"
Birthdate: April 29
Time: 8:30 pm
Weight: 8lbs 10 oz
Other children: Joey, 1/20

Meatpie
Me: Joanna, 34
DH: The Hus, 33
EDD:April 15, 2008
Max Howard
Birthdate: April 14
Time: 12:20 pm
Weight: 7lbs 13oz
Length: 20 inches
Other children: Jack

Mel7dog
Me: Melissa, 25
DH: C, 25
EDD: 4.3.08
William Christopher
Birthdate: April 7
Time: 7:02am
Weight: 7lbs 2oz
Length: 21 inches
Other children: Benjamin 4.26.06

mollymac
Me: Melissa, (34 in a few days. . . )
DH: Chris, 42
Max J.D.
Birthdate: April 24
Time of birth: 3:56 a.m.
Weight at birth: 7lbs 15oz
Length at birth: 20 1/2
Any other children: Big Sisters Mia 7/03, Maddie 2/06


MtySheera
Me: Marlene, 32
DH: Daryl, 34
EDD: 4/12/08
Zachary Ryan and Tyler James
Birthdate: March 10
Weights: 5lbs 12.8oz and 5lbs 8.4oz
Lengths: 18 inches and 17.5 inches
Other children: Frankie, 3 in October

Parrothead
Me: S, 29
DH: P, 36
EDD: 4/28/08
K.N.
Birthdate: April 26
Time: 1:27 pm
Weight: 7lbs 4oz
Length: 20.5 inches
Other children: M, 2 years

phart
Me: Shannon, 32
DH: Alex, 31
EDD: 4/24
Malcolm Agustus
Bithdate: April 17
Time: 9:05 pm
Weight: 6lbs 8oz
Length: 20.5 inches
Other children:Aiden, 11/03 and Maura 3/06

red_canuck
Me:Amanda, 27
DH: Rob, 29
EDD: April 13, 2008
Ainsley Victoria Marie
Birthdate: April 11~At home
Time: 8:15pm
Weight: 7lbs. 15oz.
Length: 21 inches
Other children: Logan, 3/13/06

SiValleySteph
Me: Stephanie, 30
DH: T, 30
EDD:April 28, 2008
Damon
Birthdate: April 28
Time: 4:05 pm
Weight: 8lbs 6oz
Length: 20.5
Other children: Lucas, 3

Squee
Me:Stephanie, 21
DH: John, 23
EDD: 1st April 08
Finley Noah
Birthdate: March 12
Time: 3:07
Weight: 7lbs 5oz

summerbride2005
Me: C, 30
DH: W, 30
EDD: April 29, 2008
Camryn Marie
Birthdate: April 11
Time: 9:44am
Weight: 6lbs 2oz
Length: 18 inches

tgr68
Me: Naamah, 27
DH: Cordell, 28
Caedmon Gregor
Birthdate: April 2
Time of birth: 6:34pm
Weight at birth: 8lbs 7.8oz
Length at birth: 20"
Any other children: Shylah 6/18/05

Twinnyme
Me: Melissa, 36
DH: Dave, 32
EDD: April 15, 2007
Bridget Julia
Birthdate: April 9
Time: 8:07am
Weight: 7lbs 9oz
Length: 21.25 inches
Other children: (Re)Becca, born 1/14/05


Always in our thoughts:
Sophia, Cr8zyforaf

[April08Moms]

Our Babies Birthdates

March
March 10: Zachary Ryan & Tyler James(MtySheera)
March 12: Finley Noah(Squee)
March 15: Avery Mae & Harrison James(chelsea524)
March 25: Avelyn Grace(Crystal_Orchid)
March 27: Aaron Robert(Jess&Dan), Ella Rose(Maggie8202)
March 28: Ethan(BridalLace)
April
April 2: Andrew(lee60657), Caedmon Gregor(tgr68)
April 3: Brayden(kenswife), Tessa Isabelle(Alioop12345)
April 4: Liam Andrew(Kristen78)
April 7: William Christopher(mel7dog)
April 9: Bridget Julia(twinnyme)
April 11: Camryn Marie(summerbride2005), Ainsley Victoria Marie(red_canuck), Lucas(Gabe's Mom)
April 14: C.J.(coquelicot), Max Howard(meatpie)
April 17: Malcolm Agustus(Phart)
April 19: Henry(kissmary)
April 23: Annika Marie(jaredsgirl), Dawson(Foxyblue)
April 26: K.N.(Parrothead)
April 28: Damon(SiValleySteph)
April 29: Theodore "Teddy"(Marisa)
May
May 5: Lily Renee(jenjunum)

[April08Moms]

WBV Stats

Alioop12345
Tessa
birth:8lbs. 3oz., 20.5 inches

BridalLace
Ethan
birth: 8lbs., 19 inches

Chelsea524
Avery
birth: 4lbs. 10oz., 17 inches
2 months: 8lbs. 7oz., 20 inches
4 months: 12lbs. 10oz., 23.5 inches
6 months: 14lbs. 3oz, 24 inches
Harrison
birth: 5lbs. 13oz., 18.5 inches
2 months: 9lbs. 11oz., 22.5 inches
4 months: 13lbs. 8oz., 24 inches
6 months: 15lbs. 3oz., 25 inches

coquelicot
C.J.
birth: 7lbs. 5.2oz., 21 inches
11 days: 7lbs. 2.5oz., 21 inches
1 month: 7lbs. 15oz., 21.25 inches

Crystal_Orchid
Avelyn

Da1sy
Nathaniel
birth: 5lbs. 6.45oz., 19inches

Foxyblue
Dawson
birth:8lbs. 10oz., 21.5inches

Gabe's Mom
Lucas
birth: 8lbs. 10 oz., 21 inches
6 weeks: 13lbs. 9oz., 22 3/4 inches

jaredsgirl
Annika
birth:7lbs. 9oz., 20 inches

Jenjunum
Lily
birth: 8lbs. 13oz., 21 inches
2 weeks: 9lbs. 30z.
2 months: 12lbs. 4oz., 24 inches

Jess&dan
Aaron
birth:7lbs. 10oz., 20 inches
2 wks: 8lbs. 8oz., 22 inches
2 months: 12lbs. 9oz., 23 inches

Kenswife
Brayden
birth:7lbs. 12oz., 20 inches

Kissmary
Henry
birth:7lbs. 5oz., 21 inches

Kristen78
Liam
birth: 8lbs. 3oz., 20 inches

lee60657
Andrew
birth: 8lbs., 22 inches

Maggie8202
Ella
birth: 6lbs. 13oz., 19 inches

Marisa
Teddy
birth:8lbs. 10oz.

Meatpie
Max
birth: 7lbs. 13oz., 20 inches

Mel7dog
William
birth: 7lbs. 2oz., 21 inches
2 wks: 10lbs. 1oz.
5 wks: 12lbs. 5oz.

MtySheera
Zachary
birth: 5lbs. 12.8oz., 18 inches
Tyler
birth: 5lbs. 8.4oz., 17.5 inches

Parrothead
K
birth: 7lbs. 4oz., 20.5 inches

Phart
Malcolm
birth: 6lbs. 8oz., 20.5 inches

Red_canuck
Ainsley
birth : 7lbs. 15oz., 21 inches
4 weeks: 9lbs. 4oz.

SiValleySteph
Damon
birth: 8lbs. 6oz., 20.5 inches
11 days: 9lbs. 7oz.

Squee
Finley
birth:7lbs. 5oz.

Summerbride2005
Camryn
birth: 6lbs. 2oz., 18 inches

trg68
Caedmon
birth: 8lbs. 7.8oz., 20 inches
1 Week: 8lbs. 13oz., 21.25 inches
1 Month: 10lbs. 1oz., 22.25 inches
2 Months: 11lbs. 5oz.

Twinnyme
Bridget
birth: 7lbs. 9oz., 21.25 inches

[April08Moms]

Our babies

Zachary(MtySheera)
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/MtySheera/3-16-08Zachary2.jpg
Tyler(MtySheera)
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/MtySheera/3-16-08Tyler.jpg

Avery(chelsea524)
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m242/chelsea524/IMG_1590.jpg?t=1206140617
Harrison(chelsea524)
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m242/chelsea524/IMG_1578.jpg?t=1206140559

Aaron(jess&dan)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/jpillera/DSCF6237.jpg

[April08Moms]

Ethan(BridalLace)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v14/hlgask/100_2128.jpg

Tessa(Alioop12345)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/Alioop12345/118.jpg

Liam(Kristen78)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b8da28b3127cceb73e2931809d00000036108AcNGrZi0atL

William(mel7dog)
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k188/BensMom426/MarApril%2008/IMG_0468.jpg

Bridget(twinnyme)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2182/2412232304_c1bcdd489d_m.jpg

[April08Moms]

Ainsley(red_canuck)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/red_canuck/Ainsley%20birth/AinsleysBirthday2044-1.jpg

Max(meatpie)
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t94/meatpie73/Maxday2.jpg?t=1208459148

Damon(SiValleySteph)
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/P5058661.jpg

Annika(jaredsgirl)
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j191/meglegs78/100_0225.jpg

Henry(kissmary)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/2460936411_df7f81de2a.jpg

Avelyn(Crystal_Orchid)
http://lh6.ggpht.com/leesim1/R_qauf9arhI/AAAAAAAAAGo/poX8t_wtm84/IMG_0197.jpg?imgmax=576

[April08Moms]

Nicholas(MrsSpencer)
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm318/NicholasHaroldsmommy/nicholas023.jpg

[April08Moms]

Saved: Pics 5

[April08Moms]

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Cloth Diapering (http://www.borntolove.com/index.html) * Huggies (http://www.huggies.com/)* Luvs (http://www.luvs.com/home_new.jsp)* Pampers (http://www.pampers.com/globalsplash/flashlanguagejump.jsp)

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Fun Stuff:
Jewel Kids (http://www.jewelkids.com/) * Lifetime Mothers (http://www.lifetimemothers.com/) * ExpectNet (http://www.expectnet.com/)(have friends and family compete in a baby pool!)[/CENTER]

[April08Moms]

Saved just in case

[April08Moms]

Saved just in case

[April08Moms]

Saved just in case

[April08Moms]

Open for posting
Please look though the first few posts and make sure everything looks ok, anything you want added or removed please post in red

[Chelsea524]

Ok, got it all set just in time, both babies are now awake. Hope everyone is doing great!

[phart]

"Augustus" is is mis-spelled twice on the first page. Thanks for setting everything up!

[kissmary]

Please correct this info! We couldn't get the birth time straight at first
Henry Ellis
Born at 3:18 am

Thanks for the new thread!

Hope everyone is enjoying their babies and that Jen's baby arrives soon!!

[kenswife]

Crazy that we're in an "infant" group already! Time just seemed to fly by after April hit.

Thanks for setting up the new thread!

So I figured out today (after 2 days of Brayden screaming everytime I'd lay him down on his own).....he's a TUMMY sleeper! Hallelujah....I laid him down on his tummy today and he's been out cold for an hour! Now, I'll still lay him on his back at night (we end up cosleeping anyway) but for naps when I'm right there with him anyway....I'm using this method. YAY!

[jaredsgirl]

I can't believe that I have forgotten to post a picture of Annika...here she is, alert.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j191/meglegs78/100_0225.jpg

Also, I don't think I posted that last week we had her 1 week appt and she is up to 7lbs 13oz, so she is over her birth weight of 7lb 9oz...so happy to hear. Now we just need to get the sleeping sorted out and all will be good.

[mollymac]

Checking in! Congrats to all of the new mommies!

Username: mollymac
Me: Melissa, (34 in a few days. . . )
DH: Chris, 42
DS/DD: Max J.D.
Birthdate: April 24
Time of birth: 3:56 a.m.
Weight at birth: 7lbs 15oz
Length at birth: 20 1/2
Any other children: Big Sisters Mia 7/03, Maddie 2/06

[SiValleySteph]

In honor of being one week old today, I gave Damon a photoshoot and got a lot of good pictures. :)

TM: Can you please switch to this picture for the front page
I just like it more than the other one. ;)
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/P5058661.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/P5058687.jpg

Inside my belly cast (from the day before he was born):
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/P5058700.jpg

Brothers:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/P5058705.jpg

We're doing pretty well, except I did way too much over the weekend/last week and now am hurting. Today I stayed home except to pick up my older son. I need to take naps, though, and spend more time laying down.

[twinnyme]

Steph - great pictures. Love them all, but especially the brothers one and the belly cast one!

Jaredsgirl - Annika is beautiful!

We're doing well here. Put together the double stroller this weekend, and dropped off Becca this morning at school by walking. It's beautiful here again so that was very nice. I *think* Bridget almost just smiled - she's sitting here next to me very contentedly, and I think it almost was a real smile. No "official" nicknames for Bridget but we're going to start calling her "good to the last drop" because she eats like crazy. Last night she took a 7.5 oz. bottle and typically takes 4-5 oz. Still sleeping pretty well though we've had a couple of rough nights.

I don't think I posted these but we took the girls to Kiddie Kandids last Monday for Mother's Day photos. Bridget never opened her eyes but we got some pretty cute shots anyway. :D

[deleted]

Yay for all the babies rolling over!

[jess&dan]

Megan: As I said before, Annika is beautiful!

Steph: He's adorable! Both your boys are!

Melissa: I'll say it again, your girls are too cute!

And I wanted to post a picture from Aaron's 1 month photo shoot. :)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/jpillera/1Month01.jpg

[twinnyme]

Aaron is just too cute, Jess - oh, and I meant to say before, thanks for starting the new thread! :)

[kenswife]

I figured I'd come by and post a picture of Brayden at 2 weeks. I'm going to remove this picture in a day or so though. **Please don't put this picture on the front page - thanks!***

[kissmary]

Since everyone else is posting pictures, here's one of my little man in his daddy's arms, at 2 weeks. This can be added to the front page.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/2460936411_df7f81de2a.jpg

[April08Moms]

updated to here :)


If you would like to start updating your baby's weight/height stats, just post in red. I (this is jess&dan) put in Aaron's 2 week stats and would love to post anyone's else's!

Also...please give Chelsea the credit for setting up this new thread...she did a great job!

[FoxyBlue]

Mary, we have the same Carter sleeper set! Isn't it too cute? :)

All the babies are so gorgeous :D

[Crystal_Orchid]

Here is Avelyn Grace

http://lh6.ggpht.com/leesim1/R_qauf9arhI/AAAAAAAAAGo/poX8t_wtm84/IMG_0197.jpg?imgmax=576

[jess&dan]

kenswife: I have a belly sleeper also! My first son was also a belly sleeper. I highly recommend the AngelCare monitor that tells you if they stop breathing longer than 20 seconds. We use that in his crib so that way he can sleep comfortably over night and we're alerted if there are any problems. We used it with DS1 and loved it!

[kenswife]

Look at all these adorable babies!!!

Jess ~ Thanks for the suggestion! I was wondering what I could do to assure myself he'd make it through the night okay on his belly. If I lay him on his back, he's up all every hour or so. That's why I end up co-sleeping with him. If he's on his belly, he's in heaven :p He'll sleep for hours like that. This tummy sleeping is totally new to me ~ I'll have to check that monitor out when I'm in Babies R Us next time.

Steph ~ Definitely rest up! I did the same thing when I first got home. I overdid it BIG time and suffered the consequences. I wanted to be "back to normal" way before my body was ready.

[mel7dog]

Finally found the new thread!

Please update this info:
DH age 25

2w WBV 10lbs 1oz

My little man is 1 month old today!

Great job with the new thread set up!

[jess&dan]

Hey everyone...I don't want Jen (jenjunum) to get lost in the shuffle of threads changing, so I wanted to let everyone know she did have the baby on the 5th!! I'll let her come in and share all the stats, but I didn't want her to be forgotten! So she rounds up our April Mommas group!

kenswife: They sell the monitor at Target also in case that's easier for you!

[April08Moms]

updated to here :)

[twinnyme]

Congratulations, Jenjunum! Looking forward to the details and to your joining us on this side.... :)

[kissmary]

Congratulations, Jen!

[phart]

Congrats Jen! Can't wait to hear all the details:)

[FoxyBlue]

Yay Jen! Our April-May Mommy!!

---
Ok, now that we've all delivered: Who else is very excited about this Mother's Day? :)

I am so thrilled to be having my little boy so close to this year's Mother's Day. I also have a huge new appreciation for every other mother on this planet, particularly my own.

[FoxyBlue]

Oh, and baby boy is 2 weeks today. Time flies!

I look at him and think how much older he is looking... I can practically see forward to school, etc.

I really need to pick birth control soon. I'm very on the fence about having a second.

[phart]

I'm excited about Mother's Day because this little pretty should be on my doorstep tomorrow (with my 3 kids' names, of course)! http://store.nelleandlizzy.com/Detail.bok?no=7
http://store.nelleandlizzy.com/catalog/triple.gif

[summerbride2005]

Congrats jen!

Please update my age to 30, and the same for DH. thx!

[kissmary]

My husband went out today and bought me a ring for Mother's Day, to remind me which side I should be breastfeeding on, for my pinkie. I have to wait until Sunday to see it, though. This is, of course, supposed to be from the baby, not my husband. I am excited about Mother's Day for the same reason as Foxy, since I have a new appreciation for mothers everywhere!

[Parrothead]

Yeah, Jen!

Can you update my DD's age to 2 years (vs. 17 months)? Thanks!

[twinnyme]

Beautiful ring, Phart.

Mother's Day - I was hoping to go to the zoo on Monday (DH is taking the day off) but it looks like rain here so not sure what else we'll do. We don't really have plans for Sunday yet; we might see ILs. I really wanted to go to NYC for Mother's Day to be with my mother and sisters (first time since I've been a mother) but one of my sisters will be out of town. Maybe next year.

Birth control - we're pretty sure (99.9%) that we're done having children. But because of that .1% I'm thinking of getting the Mirena IUD. Going to talk with my OB about it at my 6week appointment. Though I've also always done very well on the pill so I may just go back to that.

Bridget is one month tomorrow (or yesterday, depending on how you look at it - since she was 4 weeks tomorrow). I go by the date, though, because it's easier for me to remember! Tomorrow I will start taking monthly photos of her with a stuffed animal. We did this with DD1 with a stuffed panda and then framed them all for her first birthday. It really shows her growth. I'm so glad someone gave me the idea last time. I forgot about it until the other day, when DH asked if we were going to do that again. We picked a pink stuffed teddy bear that my mother gave her and we'll start it tomorrow. With DD1 we did it on the couch; I think this time we'll do it in either the glider or crib. Just thought I'd post about it in case anyone else likes the idea. :)

[FoxyBlue]

Phart I guess I missed your post originally, but that is an adorable ring!

[tgr68]

Can I join this thread, too? I'm a member of the March 2008 thread, but my little guy hung out an extra week, which made him an April baby! I think I know most of you either from WC or other threads here.

Here are my stats:
Username: tgr68
Me: Naamah, 27
DH: Cordell, 28
DS/DD: Caedmon Gregor
Birthdate: April 2
Time of birth: 6:34pm
Weight at birth: 8lbs 7.8oz
Length at birth: 20"
Any other children: Shylah 6/18/05

1 Week Stats
Weight: 8lbs 13oz
Length: 21.25 inches

1 Month Stats
Weight: 10lbs 1oz
Length: 22.25 inches
Head: 14.75

Phart~What a beautiful ring! BTW, I love your avatar! I'm a recent VBAC momma as well! :D

Jenjunum~Congrats on the arrival of your little one! :D

Hi, Melissa! *waving*

Pictures~I love all the baby pictures! What a beautiful bunch you have!

Birth Control~We'll be going back to using NFP since we are planning on having more children.

Looking forward to getting to know those of you I don't yet!

[jenjunum]

I finally had my baby. A Cinco de Mayo baby. Which is fitting for us since DH is a Mexican Independence baby (Sept 16th). We don't have any Mexican blood in us but we thought it was funny. She came very fast and very hard. I was only having painful contractions for 7 hours before she arrived. I was 2 cms at 4:30 when I got to the hospital and she was born at 10:06 PM. I made it through without any meds. I asked for an epidural but by the time I got checked into our room and ready to have them call for the epi I was 9 cms. My midwife said she could break my water and I could finish without drugs or she could call for it. I agreed to have her break my water. I was actually kind of surprised I made that choice. I was miserable. It ended being totally worth it though. I'm glad I stuck it out.

Lily Renee
May 5, 2008 at 10:06 PM
8 lbs 13 oz, 21 in

We just got home yesterday so we're still working things out but I love being a mom. I am so beyond happy. I'm healing pretty well. I think things are going relatively well. She likes to be awake all night and sleep during the day but we'll get it figured out.

[twinnyme]

Wow, what a great birth story, Jen! Congratulations on Lily! Beautiful name. Love the whole Mexican Independence Day/Cinco de Mayo theme.

Welcome, Naamah! Glad to have you join us!

[April08Moms]

updated to here :)

Welcome tgr68!

[MrsSpencer]

My little guy was supposed to be a may baby, but came early..so he's an april baby! wondering about joining, being in both groups? Is that allowed? haha

[coquelicot]

Congrats, *jenjunum*! Sounds like you had a nice, healthy baby, and she has a beautiful name.

Welcome to the group, *tgr68*!

*kissmary* - That's a good idea about the ring. I've been using a rubber band on my wrist. I have a pinkie ring that I could use for the reminder, and it wouldn't look quite as strange.

Carina is now 3 weeks, 4 days old. I think she's been going through a growth spurt. She fed 10 times yesterday, a couple of those times for around an hour. I was totally exhausted. The last 3 out of 4 nights, she's wanted to use me as a pacifier instead of going to bed when DH and I put her down. She sleeps in her crib okay once I give her the overnight feedings. I don't sleep very well with her right next to me because I'm scared I'll roll over onto her. Last night, I tried offering my breast in the side-lying position. When she only took a couple of sucks, I slipped the paci into her mouth. She resisted at first, but was then fine with it. We slept like that for about an hour. I then put her back in her crib, and 20 minutes later, she wanted to feed again. Yikes. I'm sort of feeling like a milk cow these days.

[MrsSpencer]

Username: MrsSpencer
Me: Mandi, 25
DH: Nathaniel, 25
DS/DD: Nicholas Harold
Birthdate: April 29, 2008
Time of birth: 8:31 pm
Weight at birth: 7lbs. 3 oz.
Length at birth: 18.5 inches
Any other children just our dog!

[kenswife]

Welcome Mandi! Of course you're allowed to join the group!

Congrats Jen on baby Lily!!! Sounds like you had a good birth experience (even without meds)!

Welcome Naamah!!!

My little guy turned 5 weeks yesterday! It amazes me how fast the time passes. But I can't even imagine life without him now. He's such a huge part of our lives & routine now.

He's been a totally different baby since we've started laying him on his belly more often. He doesn't wiggle in pain with gas which means less tears and crying. He's SUCH a good baby. I couldn't have asked for better. :p

[MrsSpencer]

well might help to post a pic!

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm318/NicholasHaroldsmommy/nicholas023.jpg

[FoxyBlue]

Mandi He's so cute! I thought a little girl would be fun, but now I know that little boys are their own kind of fun :)

tgr68: How do you use NFP after giving birth? I'll be going back to work, so there's no way I can reliably use breastfeeding to keep me infertile. I guess you just use a barrier method until AF returns?

Gassiness: We still have not figured out why, from 10:45 ish to about 2 am baby is painfully gassy. During the day it doesn't seem to bother him as much, but at night he will NOT go to sleep.

I gave him Gripe Water and Mylicon drops last night, and rubbed his tummy and did 'bicycle legs'. It seemed to help, but I still couldn't get him to go to sleep. I don't manage well without sleep and this is driving me CRAZY!

Has anyone else (esp RO's) dealt with this? Is it just one of those "normal" baby things?

[MrsSpencer]

thanks for the welcome!...

bcDon't know yet...will figure it out later when it gets closer!

[twinnyme]

He's SUCH a good baby. I couldn't have asked for better. :p

I have been saying the same thing about Bridget! I feel like we REALLY lucked out - and given that DD1 was SUCH a challenging baby, well, it's a HUGE relief.

Welcome, Mandi! Congratulations on Nicholas; he's beautiful.


I gave him Gripe Water and Mylicon drops last night, and rubbed his tummy and did 'bicycle legs'. It seemed to help, but I still couldn't get him to go to sleep. I don't manage well without sleep and this is driving me CRAZY! Has anyone else (esp RO's) dealt with this? Is it just one of those "normal" baby things?

DD1 was very very gassy and eventually we determined it was her formula and switched her to hypoallergenic formula (Alimentum). But since you're breastfeeding I'm not sure what it would be.... We had to do bicycle legs a lot and deal with a lot of fussiness and colic-like symptoms. I never even tried Mylicon or gripe water with her, though I am now using Mylicon with Bridget and she's nowhere near as gassy/fussy. With DD1, the formula change helped but she was always a fussy baby/tough sleeper. We had to do a lot of holding of her/walking at night. I did not deal well with the sleep deprivation, either. Hope it passes with your DS more quickly.

Coquelicot - I think we've been going through a growth spurt over here for the last week or so, too, but it seems to be getting a little less spurt-ish :) the last couple of days, thankfully.

[jess&dan]

Welcome to our new members!!

Jen: Congrats again!

MrsSpencer: He's adorable! Congrats!

Foxy: I know this is taboo to many, but trying belly sleeping might be your answer. Both my boys are belly sleepers. DS1 was gassy and Aaron is even worse! The belly sleeping relieves it and allows him to sleep. As I have mentioned to Kenswife, we use the AngelCare monitor that sets off an alarm if he stops breathing longer than 20 seconds. We used that with DS1 and are again. We can't live without it and sleep so much better with it. Plus, Aaron gets to sleep the way that makes him feel better. They push push push back to sleep...but babies actually prefer to sleep on their bellies because of their immature digestive systems and gas.

[FoxyBlue]

Melissa: Was the fussiness mostly one period of the day/night? We're just stuck wondering why this particular stretch of night is so bad for him, when he's fine all day.

[twinnyme]

Melissa: Was the fussiness mostly one period of the day/night? We're just stuck wondering why this particular stretch of night is so bad for him, when he's fine all day.

IIRC - and frankly I try not to think of that time in general - it was pretty much 24 hours a day but yes nights were worse. During the day she just seemed to fight sleep and would only catnap - maybe 10-15 minutes here or there - and she might be a little gassy, but at night she'd be up screaming for hours. I can't remember the exact time, unfortunately. We'd have to take laps around the house for hours. I got the FOR CRYING OUT LOUD CD (http://www.colicshop.com/for-crying-out-loud-cd.shtml) and Sleep Sheep (http://http://www.sleepsheepandfriends.com/sheep.html) to try to calm her. We bicycled her legs forever. All sorts of things. The day seemed to be better. But take my thoughts with a grain of salt because it has been 3+ years and time did seem to improve it eventually.

[kissmary]

Jen, congrats on going med free! I was on pitocin, but by the time I got to 6 cm, I was actually thinking that if my DH wasn't there, I'd want an epi or something! But then about 3 contractions later I felt ready to push, so I couldn't have gotten it anyway by that time.

Mandi, glad you can join us here and congrats on Nicholas!

Naamah, also glad to see another NFPer here and congrats on Caedmon!

BC, We'll be going back to NFP, too, once the time comes. Don't know at this point about having more kids, but it worked great for avoiding pregnancy, so I don't see why we shouldn't keep at it.

[kenswife]

Foxy ~ I agree with Jess! You might try belly sleeping with him. I used to scared to death to put my babies on their tummies. But I found with Brayden, it's the only way he gets comfort sometimes from the gas. He also had bad stretches of time, where he's more fussy. It usually happens around the same time of the day and/or night.

BC ~ I'll be going on the pill. I have a prescription for the minipill right now which I'll use until I'm done BF'ing. We really aren't advocates of hormonal BC but we really can NOT chance it right now. But we still want to leave the option open for another baby down the line ~ maybe 2-3 years (I know, don't let your jaw drop too far :p ) We love our big family :rolleyes: ;)

[tgr68]

Thanks for the warm welcome!!

Jen~Congrats on your med free birth! She really did come fast!

MrsSpencer~Mine came late, so I'm in two groups. ;) Welcome aboard! DS is adorable!

Coqueliot~Stick with it! Those growth spurts are rough, but they usually only last a couple of days.

FoxyBlue~We're really bad about NFP and taking chances. We use the pull-n-pray method waaaaaaay too often. ;) We'll probably do the same this time around until AF shows back up!

Gassiness~We have a horrible time with this, but it's with the belching. It will take us forever to get him to burp. Half the time it doesn't happen, he spits up and then he screams until it gets worked out. We just keep burping him every few minutes or give him tummy time, both of which seem to work things out of him. FoxyBlue, I'm not sure if you are BFing or FFing, but you might look at either switching up your diet or switching formulas to see if that helps ease things.

Kissmary~Thanks!

Cradle Cap~Anyone else fighting this? DS has the most horrid case of it right now. What are you doing to combat it?

Here's a recent pic of my little guy:
http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/470967/20080505/233340.jpg

[jess&dan]

tgr68: Aaron had this and what a friend recommended to me did the trick. Before his bath, put some baby oil in his hair and then loosen up the flakes with a brush as much as you can. Then when you give him a bath, wash his hair and brush through it some more. It pretty much eliminated the cradle cap for me! You might have to do it a few nights, but it really did the trick!

[kissmary]

Oooh, forgot to share, Henry's umbilical cord stump finally came off today! Tomorrow he is 3 weeks old!

[summerbride2005]

Foxy- I am dealing with the exact same issue. Camryn seems to be up now from 10:30 to around 1:30 with a gassy belly, and will cry. Or she will latch on to eat and then cry on and off. It's the same time every night for the past 3 or 4 nights. I was thinking that she had her days and nights mixed up but I'm not sure.

Jess- Camryn loves to sleep on her belly but we only let her do it on the floor when we are right next to her because it makes us so nervous! I'm thinking about getting the monitor that you mentioned to see if she'll actually sleep in her co sleeper at night instead of with me. Do you get nervous (or did you get nervous with your firs son) about having them sleep on their tummy?

[jess&dan]

summerbride2005: I'm actually not nervous about how he sleeps...just when he sleeps in general (which is why we have the monitor). My cousin passed away from SIDS just before she hit 3 months old. She was on her back in her carseat. So the belly sleeping doesn't mean much to me since that is something that has happened in my family and unrelated at all the belly sleeping. I had a chat with it to my pediatirican when my first son didn't want to sleep on his back. The thing is, they group suffocation into SIDS, which is totally different. Some babies will burrow their faces straight down or smash their faces up against bumpers, which will suffocate them. So there's where one concern comes from. Another is that when babies belly sleep, they tend to go into deeper sleeps. Babies take long pauses in their breathing naturally, but with SIDS babies they just don't start back up. So when they are in a deep sleep, their mind might not click and tell them to breath again. If a SIDS baby is caught not breathing right away, all it takes in moving them (so that's why the monitor is good, because if it goes off you get to them right away). After my cousin passed away, my aunt had a monitor on her next two kids, who both had it go off often (so obviously it seemed to be some sort of gene somewhere) no matter what position they are in. Unfortunately, it happens wherever and whenever. All it took was moving them. They eventually outgrew the problem. We're cautious about the belly sleeping and before we did it overnight, watched him during the day to see if he was a face burrower or not (which he's not). So the fear is actually with me more in the car on long trips. I touch him often and move him to make sure he's still breathing. He just sleeps so much better on his belly and I can't see forcing him to lie on his back and be miserable. I have no clue if any of that made any sense or not!

kissmary: Aaron's umbilical cord took about that long too! And then it left remains, so we had to go in and have stuff put on it to make it dry up. Then that fell off and left a bit more so we went in yet again! I never met a baby who was that in love with his cord stump! :p

[SiValleySteph]

It seems like the days are going by so fast, I hardly have a chance to check in.

I took Damon to the ped today because his belly button was looking rather gross. The ped put silver nitrate on it and it ended up falling off this evening. Yeah! Since we were there, he went ahead and did all the 2 week check up stuff.

11 day checkup: 9lbs 7oz

I got interrupted in the middle of my post by my 3-1/2 year old who can't sleep. So I will ahve to cut this short.

Oh, and congrats to Jenunjum!! :D I will have to look back at your post tomorrow.

[coquelicot]

DD still has her stump after 3 weeks, 5 days. Should we be concerned? It's definitely more shriveled up. We're treating it with rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab 3-5 times a day, really trying to get into those crevices. With the weight checks she's had over the past few days, the ped didn't make any mention of it, so I guess he's not worried about it. She has her 1-month checkup on Friday, so I was glad to read that the ped can remove it if need be.

[MrsSpencer]

DS cord stump is loose I think it might be too early for it to come off he isn't 2 weeks yet....he sleeps for 1 hour to 1 1/2 at night then is hungry again. Sleeps a lot longer during the day..got them confused I guess. Thanks for the welcome...and can I say you all have some beautiful babies!

[summerbride2005]

coquelicot- DD didn't have hers fall off she was almost 4 weeks so I think you are okay with your DD.

jess - Thank you so much for all the info. I didn't know that they grouped that in with SIDS. I'm so sorry about your cousin.

[April08Moms]

updated to here :)

[FoxyBlue]

Mandi: I think 1 week to 4 or maybe even 6 weeks is 'normal'. DS's stump fell off at 1 week (actually 6 days I think).

[MrsSpencer]

i also have a monitor under his cradle (will move to crib when he is). i am terrified of sids and pretty much refuse to go anywhere by myself in the car in fear of it. I also am constantly checking his breathing, and won't rest till he's a year and out of the biggest danger zone. I have one of those wearable blankets also, and he has a pacifier since they said it also helps (something to do with the constant sucking). Glad to know I'm not alone.


sorry about your cousin, what a horrible way to lose a child.

[twinnyme]

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

[Maggie8202]

Happy Mother's Day. Hope everyone has a great day!

[MrsSpencer]

yay! some of our first mother's day!

[kissmary]

yay, Happy Mother's Day to all!

[jess&dan]

Happy Mother's Day ladies!

[kenswife]

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!

If it's your first mother's day or even if you're a seasoned pro.....hope your mother's day is extra special with all these cute bundles!!!

[Alioop12345]

Congrats Jenjunum!!!!!!!!!


Quick question: Sorry if it's TMI. Has anyone had any issue with prolapse since delivery? I had a really easy labor and only pushed like 4 times but I have a pretty severe uterine and bladder prolapse. I am quite uncomfortable as I have an egg-shaped glob of uterus/bladder hanging out of my vagina (sorry). I am also leaking urine. I feel so disgusting. I can't imagine living like this the rest of my life and am not willing to. I am feeling depressed though that I can't even be seen by the specialist until 7/30. I can't have any relations with DH, can't exercise, and have terrible back pain. My reg OB will be sending me to therapy after my appt this Wednesday but I feel like such a disgusting freak. Anyone have any recommendations?

[MrsSpencer]

ds cord stump just fell off!

[tgr68]

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Cradle Cap~Thanks ladies. I'm doing everything you've suggested, so it wounds like I just need to be a little more patient. ;)

Kissmary~Yay for DS's cord falling off!

SiValleySteph~DS's cord got pretty gross right before it fell off too. I hated dealing with it!

Colquelicot~As long as it's not showing signs of infection, no need to be worried. I've heard of it taking up to 7 weeks to fall off.

Ali~No advice here, but that sounds awful!! :( {{HUGS}}

MrsSpencer~Yay for DS's cord falling off!

We're doing well here. I've had a really good but busy weekend. Saturday, I spent all day long scrapbooking and am finally making some headway on DD's book. (I haven't even started on DS's yet.) Today I ended up sleeping in, so we didn't make it to church. We did have a nice lunch with my ILs and spent the day with them playing with BIL's new Wii. I got creamed at bowling, but MIL won the games she played!

[MrsSpencer]

sounds like you had fun tgr68!

Ali- I also have no experience but hope you feel better soon.

Had a nice mother's day, went to ILs' (dh has three sets of parents!) and took a two hour nap at his dad's while they played with ds. That was the best present ever! DS got to meet his six-year old uncle too...although he gets mad if you call him an uncle! Hope you all had a nice day!

[MrsSpencer]

just had a big scare....had ds in the pnp so i could vacuum the livingroom. My dog was going nuts, whining and acting stupid. So I hooked him to his line outside, he hates the vacuum so I figured that's what was wrong. He kept at the door banging against it acting stupid (which he doesn't do outside). I walked to the door getting ready to open it, I had it halfway open and he ran inside I happened to look over to the pnp and ds was almost blue and choking! I picked him up and turned him over and hit his back while running to get the bulb thing. He wasn't crying just looking like he was screaming but nothing coming out. Once I used the bulb he started screaming and breathing again. I tell you I never loved on my dog more than I did after that, I am so grateful to him. ds is fine now, asleep in my arms, but I'm a mess!

[FoxyBlue]

A belated Happy Mother's Day to everyone! I enjoyed mine and I hope yours were wonderful :)

Mandi: What an awful scare, but such a happy ending! Thank god for animals and their senses!

Ali: I would google like crazy. There is so much information out there. I will try and look for you in a bit. Hang in there!

[jess&dan]

Alioop12345: I'm sorry that you are dealing with that. They can't get you in until the end of July? I would call back and demand an earlier time. That's too long to make someone live like that!

MrsSpencer: Such a big scare! Dogs are so wonderful aren't they? That choking thing is one reason I'm more scared of back sleeping than belly sleeping!

[FoxyBlue]

Prolapse:

Here's one site that had some interesting info:

http://thepregnancycentre.com/pelvic_floor_muscles.html (I had to use "Find" in my browser to get down to the Prolapse section.)

The site mentions that relaxin can make prolapse more likely/worse, so I imagine that you'll see more improvement as the hormones leave your body.

Non-Surgical Treatments:

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/vaginal_prolapse/page8_em.htm#Self-Care%20at%20Home

Similar info from the Urology Channel:

http://www.urologychannel.com/vaginalprolapse/treatment.shtml

I would highly recommend seeing a urologist. They specialize in this kind of thing. They might be a little more knowledgeable than your average OB/GYN.

It sounds like you should try to moderate your activity in the meantime to help alleviate the pressure on that area. Some of the pelvic floor exercises may be helpful in the meantime. At the very least, it will give you an idea of whether or not you might respond to non-surgical intervention.

Good luck!

[MrsSpencer]

dh said he was stopping to get the dog a cheeseburger on the way home! lol!

[phart]

Hi to the "new" members:)

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

That's about all I can muster today:o

[Alioop12345]

MrsSpencer How scary! So glad everything is ok

Foxy Thanks so much for helping me find some more info

Me: I am struggling. I think this prolapse stuff is really affecting PPD. Also, I am not getting much sleep. I cannot get Tessa to sleep anywhere but in the bed next to me and she makes so much noise that I cannot sleep. I am not handling DS's ADHD very well and I am feeling like a horrible Mom. I get so frustrated with his behavior and I feel like I am not being nice to him. I know it's not my job to be nice, it's my job to keep him safe but he is just so needy and defiant and I just can't do it all the time. Hoping this afternoon will be better after he comes home from school.

I have my breastfeeding support group this morning so I am looking forward to getting out of the house with Tessa

[twinnyme]

Alioop - I hope you have a good time at the breastfeeding support group. I know I've already said this elsewhere but I hope you start to feel better soon - and I think you should talk to your OB. I struggled with PPD last time and it was very tough. I hope Tessa's sleep improves, too. Take care of yourself.

Naamah - glad you had a good weekend.

MrsSpencer - that's amazing about your dog! I'm glad everything ended well. And yay for DS's cord falling off. DD's fell off pretty "late," too - about 3 weeks after she was born.

All is well here. We had a nice Mother's Day. I'm slowly getting back into my freelance editing (which I do part-time) though I don't start back to my part-time university job until the last week in June.

[FoxyBlue]

Ali: Just a thought, but we found something that helps DS sleep a lot better:

We started putting him in a memory foam pillow. It's contoured, so he sleeps in the dip in the middle. I think that having something 'cuddling' him is what he finds so comforting. He sleeps much longer and sounder in his pillow.

You may not want to use a pillow, but maybe you might consider one of the 'sleep positioners' they have (Babies R Us).

I was having him sleep next to me in bed, but then I don't sleep well. The pillow seems to do just as well or better and I feel that it's safer.

PS- I second seeking some support for PPD. I've had mere flashes of baby blues and I can't imagine dealing with it for any amount of time. Pregnancy and post-pregnancy hormones are no joke- and on top of it you have to deal with TWO kids!

It might be helpful just to find someone you can talk to about it. I know I feel a lot better after talking with my DH about how I feel.

[Chelsea524]

Foxy the trick we use for the twins is I roll up 3 receiving blankets(two for you guys with out twins) and space them apart just as wide as your baby then I put another receiving blanket over that tightly, so its not touching the mattress, that way when I lay the babies down they are kind of hugged by the receiving blankets, and they aren't fluffy so I don't worry about the SIDS thing as much.

MrsSpencer what a great dog, its so amazing how they know these things, glad your baby is ok

Ali sorry you are having a hard time right now, talk to your ob about the PPD, I went through that with my first two kids and was put on an anti-depressant for just about 4-6 weeks, it made a huge difference and I was able to come off the meds just fine, didn't need it long term

Hi to everyone else, hope the babies are all doing great.

My babies are going to be two months on Thursday, crazy! I am back to work now, kind of stinks but at the same time, I haven't had much adult interaction with anyone other than family in the last 6 months and its really quite nice. The babies are awake a lot more now and it is getting a lot harder to handle both when they are both screaming and wanting held, I can't get anything done. Sleeping is pretty rough, if it was just one it wouldn't be to bad, Avery wakes up about twice a night usually and Harrison usually just once, but that means at least 3 times I am getting up and they take FOREVER to get back to sleep, we are talking an hour each time, they wake up and think its time to play, wide eyed and cooing and me, and by 4-5 am they are up for good so they end up in my bed so I can try to get some sleep while they fuss and eat. They are both smiling a lot and it is just so cute, I love it, the funniest thing is that their favorit thing to look at it the handle bar to their carseats, I put them in there and they are just in aw of it, and if you put their binky over it then they just go crazy kicking their legs, waving their arms and smiling up at it, it keeps them entertained forever.

[MrsSpencer]

ugh! DS was up on my breast from 10pm-2am! anytime I tried to take him off when I thought he'd fallen asleep he'd either scream or I'd lay him in his cradle and he'd throw up, then scream. He would sleep for 30 minutes after 2 then wake up hungry again, then he'd suck four or five times and fall back asleep, but if I tried to move him God forbid! Around 4am I laid him down beside me to feed him that way, and we both fell asleep for 2 and a half hours! But DH came in mad yelling at me telling me I can't fall asleep with him in bed with me! I didn't mean to..I passed out and DS was fine I don't toss and turn in my sleep, especially when I pass out from being exhausted! Then he had the nerve to ask me if I had "time" could I de-clutter the divider in the kitchen! I vaccumed yesterday, and when DH got home and was putting together my little island for my kitchen he let the dog tear up all the strafoam (sp) in the floor..needless to say I wasn't a happy camper whatsoever! Then my mom asked how I was doing and I told her he wants to eat every 20 minutes sometimes then can go four hours at other times and just sleep??? She tells me he's not eating enough to make him full so he's always hungry..I told her that he isn't actually "eating" everytime I put him on..he just sucks and falls asleep. I tried putting a paci in his mouth when he does this but he spits it out and screams??? He's happy if I'm holding him and I can lay him in the pnp for about 10-15 minutes before he starts screaming..or throws up on himself??? I've gotten about 6-7 combined hours of sleep I think since I've had him, even when he's asleep for the little time he is in his cradle I'm too scared to fall asleep I literally have woken myself up and realized my hand was laying on his chest to make sure he's breathing...this has got to stop or I will pass out and fall asleep and something bad will happen???

[jess&dan]

Alioop: I'm so sorry. I wish there was more I could say. Things will get better. Can you chat with your OB about handling the PPD?

Chelsea: Ugh to being back at work...but the adult interaction side of it is nice, I know that! Sorry that sleep isn't the best, but glad that they are fun when it comes to smiling and playing around. :)

MrsSpencer: I'm sorry you're having a rough time when it comes to sleeping. Are you opposed to belly sleeping? I cannot even consider lying Aaron down anywhere on his back or he flips out. As for the eating, I wish I had suggestions. Many babies fing nursing as a soother, so whether they are hungry or not, they want to suck to calm down, put themselves to sleep, etc.


I had a good Mother's Day, minus annoying MIL. DH did everything around the house for the day and got up with Aaron during the night, so that was very nice. Aaron is doing well. He's smiling all the time now and loves his bouncy seat toy bar. He'll smile and coo at it for quite a while. We're working on a better napping routine since he wants to catnap all day long and not get any real decent nap in, making him crabby as can be. But nighttime sleep is going well. We'll get him in his crib anywhere between 8:00 and 8:45 and then he'll sleep anywhere from 2:00 - 3:00, then wake up again at 5:00-5:30 then go to sleep until 7:00-8:00. Not too bad. He'll be 7 weeks on Thursday and I can't believe it!

I have my post-partum appt. on Friday, so looking forward to be told I'm in the clear to work out and resume normal life. We're going to the beach in August so I need to be bathing suit ready and I have to get measuredf or my MOH dress for my sister's wedding my the end of August so I'm hoping I'm at least a lot smaller than now!

And here's a big smiling picture of my little man...
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/jpillera/May10200804.jpg

And one of me and my boys from Mother's Day.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/jpillera/May11200802.jpg

[tgr68]

MrsSpencer~Glad you had a nice Mother's Day! :) How scary about DS's incident! :( Glad the dog let you know something was wrong!

As far as the cluster feeding, my DS does the same thing some nights, and my MIL insists that it's a supply issue as well. First off, it doesn't sound like a supply issue but more that he's comfort nursing. When DS got unbearable those nights we were on hour 2 or 3 of cluster feeding, I would put him in the swing for a few minutes and go lock myself in another room to get just a few seconds by myself. Then I'd grab a big glass of water, get DS, and get started again with the feedings. It doesn't sound like much, but those couple of minutes I got to myself helped my sanity so much without sacrificing DS's need to be close.

Hi, phart!

Ali~I'm sorry this is affecting your PPD. Definately find someone IRL you can talk to about what you are feeling. Hopefully some time out will help calm you. {{HUGS}}

Jess~Great pics! You look really good in that second one! My sis is getting married this year as well, but I'm getting a lot less recovery time than you. Her wedding is the end of this month! :eek:

Okay, gotta go get some errands done!

[SiValleySteph]

I'm exhausted, so it's hard for me to follow along. :p

Alioop, Big hugs to you. Please don't feel bad about yourself. This is a complication of pregnancy, your therapists will help you out. You will be better! I just feel so bad that you are so down.

cluster feeding, I just put this in the thread in 0-12 months. My DS is very gassy, so I can't just put him down after he feeds, especially during the night. I have to hold him upright and burp him a bit for about 20 min or so after he eats before laying him down. Otherwise, if I lay him down right away, he will burp himself awake and then want to eat again. Very tiring to be up an hour at a time in the middle of the night, but what can you do? My first son would just fall asleep at the breast and you could just lay him down and he would stay asleep. I didn't know how good I had it! :p

jess&dan, I need to upload my family pic from mother's day ... my older DS had that same shirt on! Very nice family there. :D

recovery, I'm so amazed. This recovery is so different from my first. I can wear all my rings again (couldn't wear them for months with DS1), I lost all but 5lbs of the weight gain already and can fit into some pre-pregnancy pants, albeit with some muffin top, but still! So shocking compared to the first! Of course, this time my tummy is a stretch marked mess, but whatever. I need to go buy a tankini. ;)

[SiValleySteph]

Okay, here is the family from Sunday! DS is not quite 2 weeks old here. Love that he has his tounge sticking out!

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/P5118720.jpg

[MrsSpencer]

he hates being on his tummy

[SiValleySteph]

MrsSpencer, I hope your ped has some suggestions for you tomorrow. Sorry you are having such a tough go of it right now. Remember, it doesn't last forever and some day we will be sane again. Maybe. Hopefully. 20 years from now?

[MrsSpencer]

Maybe 20 years..not sure..my mom says 30-40 in my sister's case!

[FoxyBlue]

Mrs Spencer: When I was trying to figure out why my DS wouldn't sleep at night, I came across the Reflux thread somewhere in Parenting. It's possible that your son's symptoms fit that... It's worth a look.

Also, just my experience, but DS was not sleeping from 11:45pm to 2 am every night. We finally figured that it was gas (we can feel his tummy when he is upset). We've been moving his legs and it helps a lot.

As for the comfort nursing, we were able to transition DS to a pacifier once we got him a more comfy sleeping arrangement. In his little pillow nest, he's content enough to settle for the pacifier instead of the breast.

I know it's frustrating, but you might try experimenting to see if anything improves.

Also, I've been giving DS 'Gripe Water' for about a week or so. Whether or not it 'works', it doesn't seem to hurt so I keep giving him that, and Mylicon at night.

Till then try napping during the day if possible, or see if someone can come help you out so that you can nap. I hope you see some improvements!

[jess&dan]

tgr68: Thanks! Wow, you really didn't get much time at all did you? I was the MOH in my friend's wedding when my first son was 8 weeks old, so I've been there!

Steph: What a great family picture! I think both our boys look handsome in that shirt. :D

[Alioop12345]

MrsSpencer Sorry to be so late responding to your post from yesterday but I had a few thoughts re: the nursing from 10-2AM. Sounds like 1) growing through a growth spurt. They nurse like this to increase your supply 2) Sounds a bit like reflux issues. All babies have some degree of reflux in the beginning. I would try and keep him upright after a feeding for 20 minutes or so. Also, try not to lay him flat. Can you get a wedge cushion? They sell them at BRU. I thought about the reflux too when you had mentioned the turning blue/choking incident. Is he arching his back? Does he cry at the breast? Is he gaining weight? These are the things you should mention to the ped. Lastly, the nursing for four hours can be normal cluster feeding. You can try to move that up timewise in the day or eliminate it all together by feeding him at closer intervals during the day and not waiting for him to "ask" to be fed.
OH! One last thing... If he hates being on his tummy---ALL the more reason to have him do it. At least 3 times during the day for 5 minutes or so. It is one of the BEST things for reflux and gas all together. I know it's hard to hear them cry but it really does wonders...
HTH

[MrsSpencer]

thanks ali..I'll try the tummy thing and look for the wedge...

[Kristen78]

Liam will be 6 weeks old at midnight tonight. He's doing great! He's already wearing quite a bit of 3-6 month clothes. This is so different from my DD who was and still is very petite for her age.

Liam is sleeping pretty good. He goes down at about 10pm and is up at 1:30ish to nurse and then again around 4am or so. I usually put him in his bassinet for the first stretch and then I end up bringing him into my bed to nurse and he usually stays there until morning. But last night he went to bed at 10pm and was up at 1:30 and then I put him back in his bassinet (still in my room) at 2am and then he slept till 5am in the bassinet. Hopefully this is the start of a new trend. :)

He's sleeping now. He's a great baby, just like my daughter was. I:) have 6 more weeks of maternity leave before I go back to work, I am SOOOO not looking forward to working again. Yuck!

[kenswife]

Jess and Steph ~ Great pictures!! And both of your boys look handsome in that shirt! ;)

Things here are going well. My little guy is 6 weeks old today. It's just amazing to me how fast he's growing. He also smiled for the first time on Mother's Day. What a great Mother's Day gift!! Something about when they smile just melts my heart completely.

I can't complain one bit b/c Brayden is a happy baby. As long as he's laying on his belly, he's a dream :p However, if he wakes up and is hungry, he wants fed right then or he'll throw a FIT! But as long as he's fed and doesn't have gas, he's happy to just lay there and look around. It's my other kids that keep me exhausted ~ but the connection between them and the baby is amazing.

I'm a lucky mommy.

[kissmary]

Cute pictures, ladies!

Henry slept an astounding 5 and a half hours in a row last night! I would have had him up to eat sooner, but I was asleep, too, enjoying the slumber!! He'll be 4 weeks old on Saturday, and I know this is far from normal, but I'm going to enjoy it whenever it happens! I've finally been alone with him this week, and I'm getting by on my own. I was spoiled having my DH and then my MIL and then my DH with me for most of the first 3 weeks.

[mel7dog]

Aww I love all the pics!

We just made it through the 2nd growth spurt and it was rough. Will's sleep was all mixed up and for 5-6 nights DH and I only got around 3-4 hours of sleep total. Finally last night we got back in the groove and DS only woke up 1x! We had a Dr visit on Tues for an ear check (had a cold and slight ear infection 2w ago, all is well now) Will weighed in at 12lbs 5oz at 5w!

The IL's are coming today so I have been busy getting ready!

[coquelicot]

*kissmary* - Yea for the sleep stretch! And thanks for posting that; you've relieved some of my worries. DD turned 1 month old yesterday. For the past 4 nights, she's had one stretch where she's gone at least 5 hours between feedings. Considering that DH has been out of town for the past two nights and I've been by myself, it's a HUGE relief that she's been sleeping well. Last night I BFed her at 8:25 and put her down in her crib around 9:15. She pretty much zonked out immediately. I went to bed around 9:30. I had to wake HER up at 2:15 to eat! Then she woke up around 5:45 again to eat, but she wasn't crying yet--just starting to wake up. I didn't even bother going back to bed after the second "overnight" feeding, so in reality, I only had to get up once! Whoa! She had good weight gain at her last weight check earlier this week (3.5 ounces in 4 days), so I'm not terribly worried. I will double-check with the ped tomorrow at her 1-month WBV to make sure that it's okay that she went almost 6 hours between feedings at this point. The lactation people at the hospital said that as long as she's gaining weight, to enjoy my sleep and let her wake me up. I was just paranoid about letting her go so long without eating overnight.

[twinnyme]

Trying to get caught up!

First, happy 2 months to Avery and Harrison! Happy 6 weeks to Liam and Brayden!

Chelsea - glad work is going well. I can only imagine with the babies getting more awake it's getting harder to handle them - times twins times two other kids at home. A couple of nights so far I've been alone with my two for bedtime and I've had trouble with just that. Kudos to you!

MrsSpencer - I hope everyone's suggestions help DS and you get some sleep.

Jess - so fun that Aaron is smiling so much. Hope your appointment tomorrow goes well.

Tgr68 - I didn't realize your sister was getting married this month. Have a great time!

Steph - DD1 was similar to your DS with gassiness and having to be held upright after feedings. Fun in the middle of the night - NOT. DD2 is a bit like that, too, but luckily she can sometimes be put straight down if she falls asleep while feeding and stay asleep - it truly does seem to make a difference. Great family pic, too!

FoxyBlue - glad you figured out DS's night wakings!

Kissmary - glad your first week alone with Henry went well. Yay for the great sleep last night!

Mel - sounds like Will is growing great. I can't believe he's 12 lbs. already! I wish we had a 1 month WBV; I'm eager to know how much Bridget wears. She is growing much faster than DD1 ever did!

Coquelicot - I say DEFINITELY enjoy your sleep. But then again my motto is to never wake a sleeping baby!

*****

Not much to report here. Bridget is still doing well. We've had a couple of rough nights - dinner/bedtime witching hour - but that's mainly because of DD1 (we're still having some adjustment issues). However, Bridget is still on a great overnight schedule. Wakes around 1 and 5 to eat and though it still takes her a while to eat we can get her back to sleep within an hour. DH and I have alternated nights every day since we've been home from the hospital and it is making a HUGE difference this time around.

I have been reading along and so had seen the discussion of belly sleeping/tummy time. I haven't done much tummy time with Bridget yet - just sporadically. So today I put her on her belly on the activity mat and she fell asleep for a 1/2 hour on it. She's also taken two very long naps already today (very unlike yesterday; it's still so unpredictable, of course!), so I'm feeling much refreshed.

[MrsSpencer]

ped said he had reflux gonna try some diet restrictions and put cereal in a bottle at first to see if that helps! Sleep has gotten better, took two naps yesterday hopefully some cereal will fill him up and he'll sleep longer. It's getting better slowly.

[tgr68]

SiValleySteph~I feel your pain. DS is hard to burp here as well. I usually pat him for 15 minutes or so and then hand him off to DH. If we don't get him to burp, he ends up spitting up all over himself. So gross to find his hair all matted in milk the next morning!

Tummy Time~I am so bad about doing this with DS. You'd never know it though from the pics I've taken. It's the only time I can get a good one!

Jess~Not at all! Fortunately my weightloss and recovery has been so differnt this time. I'm already down 6 lbs below my pre-pgcy weight. Of course, not everything is in the same spot it used to be! LOL! I bought a dress that's fitted in the bust and flowy over the tummy, so hopefully that'll hide what's still jiggly. :p

Happy 6 weeks to Liam and Brayden!! DS just turned 6 weeks on Wednesday!

Okay, gotta get going. Still have to eat, feed DS, and get to my Zumba class all in about 20 minutes!

[FoxyBlue]

Burping: I'm no expert (DH still gets burps out of DS when I can't), but here's what is working for us:

We use a combo pat and rub/press. I saw DH's grandmother do this while she was visiting. It seems to help get the air up to where it will come out or can be patted out.

It's harder to burp than I would have thought! I feel like I need a class sometimes :)

It's the one thing I'll wake DH up to do for me at night.

[twinnyme]

Burping: We use a combo pat and rub/press. I saw DH's grandmother do this while she was visiting. It seems to help get the air up to where it will come out or can be patted out.

This also seems to be working well for Bridget. Bridget slept 5.5 hours last night, woo hoo! AND Becca also STTN without any wakeups (for us to fix her blanket, because she's scared, whatever). A lovely night in our household! :)

[Maggie8202]

I am typing this as Ella is still sleeping!! Usually she has been up at 8am regardless of her last feeding. We have been getting some 5 hour stretches at night, but mostly they are 4 hours. I can not complain because I am still getting about 7 hours of sleep at night, last night I got 8! It is interrupted, but I feel great!!

Question about Naps??? Ella gives me a very hard time taking naps during the day. The longest is about 30 minutes. By 4:30 she is such a crank because she is tired, but still will not sleep until she goes to bed which is anywhere between 8:30 and 10:00. Any tips? We have tried swing, bouncy, crib, bassinet. She will only nap if we are in the car driving somewhere, and I can't just drive with the current gas prices!!

We have Ella's christening on June 8th, so we are trying to get ready. I am still looking for a christening gown, and having fun planning...

... crying gotta run.

[jess&dan]

Kristen78: Happy 6 weeks to Liam! Glad he is doing so well.

kenswife: Thanks! Happy 6 weeks to Brayden! The tummy sleeping works wonders for us also.

mel7dog: What a big boy! Sorry he was sick. Aaron has had a slight cold for about a week now too.

tgr68: It sounds like you are doing great with losing the weight! Way better than I am!

Maggie8202: We've been having the same issues with Aaron. So I've started "nap boot camp" and it seems to be working! I keep him awake in the morning for at least 1.5 hours and then rock him to sleep...then put him in his crib. If he wakes after 30 minutes, I give him 5 minutes to see if he'll calm himself back to sleep...which sometimes he does. If he doesn't, I go rock him to sleep again and put him back in the crib. I do this until I feel he's had a decent nap. After that, I keep him awake again for a decent amount of time. And repeat the process. Keeping him awake was tough because he liked his catnapping so much, but he's used to it now and it's working out pretty well. Now we're just dealing with what I think is colic.


I think Aaron is colicky. The last few nights he consistantly starts screaming at the same time, around 7:30, and goes for about 1.5 hours. He doesn't want to eat, go to sleep, no soothing technique works longer than 2 minutes. It's been trying, but we're hoping it wears off. He's had a little cold, so that might not be helping.

His Baptism is set for July 27, so I'm on the search for an outfit. I don't want it to look exactly like his brother's, but boys' christening outfits don't have many options.

[Chelsea524]

Jess have you tried moving his bedtime up to 7? I know that seems so early but it may be that he is over tired by 7:30, mine have to be to bed by about 7:30 or it is just awful getting them to sleep at night.

Tummy Time Harrison loves this, he was playing on his belly for over an hour yesterday and then he just conked out all by himself without me needing to feed him or rock him, Avery doesn't care for it so much, she has awful head control, she has a hard time holding her head up at all and when she does its very wobbly so she just lays there crying. I don't know how Harrison is so much better with his head control, his head is huge compaired to Averys but he has been a pro at holding it up since he was just over 2 weeks.

Christening, in the LDS church we call it a blessing but I think it's pretty similar. I have been fighting with both my mom and MIL on what day will work and I think we are stuck with Fathers Day, its the only Sunday that they will both be around in the next couple months. My mom is making their outfits, she has made all of her grandkids outfits, but who knows if they will be done in time, she wanted me to find out the genders when I was pregnant so she could have an early start on making them and here it is, a month away and I don't think she has even cut them out yet:rolleyes:

And just a couple pictures, this one Harrison is trying to eat Avery, lol
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m242/chelsea524/IMG_1718.jpg
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m242/chelsea524/IMG_1716.jpg

[lee60657]

Ugh - I am just now making my way over to this thread - I tried to catch up but SOs are probably not going to happen. I love the pictures of everyone's babies! They are all so cute! I had to laugh b/c I have that blue dog Carter's sleeper/line for my DS as well - Carter's does not have much of a choice for infant boys :)

Chelsea The twins are darling - it's amazing how much Harrison looks like a boy and Avery looks like a girl - sometimes its hard to tell when they are this young - I just thought that was neat. I could tell w/o needing an outfit or blanket!

NapsWhat are those?LOL - DS sleeps well, but there is no "schedule" yet - but he does sleep during the day for long periods followed by decent periods of awake time so I won't complain. He naps in the pack n play, the bassinet or his crib depending on where I am in the house. Our nights have been going great - I think he has it figured out. We have a nighttime routine that we do not stray from - we did it with DD and I swear by it. Right now DS is eating around 9 then sleeping until 2:30 or and then waking again to eat around 6:30 - not too bad. He recently just started the longer stretches so I hope my milk supply does not suffer. We still have thrush - does it ever go away - the Nystatin is such a pain - he spits it everywhere and it is a sticky mess :(

Tummytime I try to get about 10 -20 minutes of tummy time per day. So far he is ok with it - DD HATED it and screamed the whole time.

Period? I think I may be about to start my first period :( It seems so early - anyone else have this yet? I am bummed b/c I hoped it would hold off since I am BF but no such luck. Now I have to figure out birth control. I hope my milk supply is ok - I worry about it alot since I ended up having supply problems with DD.

Birth control Not sure - I just got a script for the "mini pill", but I am looking into to Charting to Avoid. Anyone else doing this? I need to check out the thread. We are pretty sure we are done having kids, but there is a small part of me that is not 100% certain.

[tgr68]

Foxy~We use the same burping technique as you. I think DS is just a stubborn burper.

Maggie~When I have difficultly getting DS to sleep, I literally just have to sit and rock him to sleep before transferring him to the swing. It doesn't always work though, so I end up popping in a movie and kicking back with him in my arms napping. Luckily, this doesn't happen to often for us.

Christening~Our church calls it a Dedication. I'm having trouble nailing down a date with IL and my parents as well. I'd really like to get it done on the 25th of this month if everyone can get their schedules together. Otherwise, it probably will be at least Father's Day before it happens.

Chelsea~They are too cute! Very cool that you got one of each!

Us~DS let me get a good nights sleep last night!! :D I find that if I feed him between 10:30 and 11pm and then put him to bed, he'll let me sleep until 5:30 or 6am! If I try to get him down anytime before that, I'm up at least twice through the night.

Our morning has been really good. I got up around 6:30am and was able to fold 2 loads of laundry before DH brought DD down for breakfast. Then I got DS up for his bath, got him dressed, and put him back down for a nap. DD and I took a shower together and got dressed. Then we headed downstairs and I gave her a quick oral test over what we've learned over the last eight weeks or so in preschool. She did great overall, but I realized that we'll need to do some more left/right practice. I got DS up from his first nap of the day and fed him. After that we decided to bake "Monster Cookies" together! Now, it's just about lunch, and I'm about as wiped out as can be.

Off to change DS and get DD some lunch before DH gets home, so he and I can eat.

[coquelicot]

Chelsea--love the pic of the twins!

Naps--DD is up around 8 am or so and stays up until her second morning feeding around 10:30 or so. Down for a nap, then up again around 1 or so to eat. Then back down until about 4. Then she's pretty well awake until 9 pm. Last night, I wasn't even in bed an hour until she woke up wanting to eat, but after that, she went 4.5 hours between feedings, then another 3.5. So not too bad. The ped today told me that with her recent weight gain (7.5 ounces in 3 days!!!), I can just let her wake me up at night. So that almost-6-hour stretch the other night wasn't a big deal.

Well-baby visit stats:
11 days: 7 lbs, 2.5 oz, 21 in
1 month: 7 lbs, 15 oz, 21.25 in

Birth control: We'll probably just do condoms and maybe NFP once AF does decide to come back. I was on the Pill before getting pregnant, but I'm not sure I want to go back on it. We'll see how bad AF cramps are and make a decision from there.

Tummy time: We try to do 5-10 minutes a day twice a day, but if we're busy, it might just be once a day. DD is getting decent about holding her head up for a few seconds and turning it from one side to the other. But she has to get pretty frustrated before she does it well. I hate listening to her cry, but it's the only way she'll get better at it.

Burping: I'm definitely not an expert at this. I just sit her upright and pat her back. For some reason, I have trouble hoisting her up on my shoulder. It's not her weight, it's just awkward for me.

[kissmary]

Naps - Yes, he has naps, but not on any schedule. He has one that is about 2 hours, maybe more, and then a bunch of shorter ones, anywhere from 30 mintues plus. He eats for the last time before bed anywhere from 7:30-9:30 and then sleeps for 4-5 hours (so far!).

Chelsea - love the pic of Harrison trying to eat Avery!!

Christening/baptism - Yes, we went to a "class" (which was dumb, but don't get me started on that) and we have it scheduled for July 6, at my old home church so that my family at least can attend.

Lee, I think charting is super easy as long as you remember to take your temp every morning and I'll be going back to it. I charted to avoid for 2 years and then got pregnant. It's easy to switch on and off. ;)

Jess, I going to recommend reading Happiest Baby on the Block again! Or getting the DVD, but they don't have it at my library and I don't want to buy it (I got the book at a yard sale), though I hear good things about that too. Dr. Karp gives great advice on the 5 S's!

[phart]

We still have thrush - does it ever go away - the Nystatin is such a pain - he spits it everywhere and it is a sticky mess

DD had thrush and the nurse had me put the Nystatin on a q-tip then rub it around her mouth and the thrush cleared up quickly.

[twinnyme]

Christening/baptism/blessing/dedication - everyone who's planning one, have fun planning. Bridget's baptism is scheduled for August 24th to accommodate my family who will travel from NYC. One of my sisters (both live there) is the godmother. She is going to buy the outfit. Kissmary - we have to do a class, too - we did it last time, too - it's ridiculous!

Naps - no schedule here either but we have been blessed (thankfully) with a very good sleeper. She's basically on a 3-hour feeding/nap schedule. She takes a while to eat (sometimes up to an hour) but I count that as her "awake" time because she's usually awake just a bit more after eating then down for another great nap. DD1 was NOT like this at all - I used to call her my "recovering catnapper" so I'm enjoying it a great deal.

Chelsea - great pics of Avery and Harrison. As a twin myself, I love seeing such precious twin photos.

[Maggie8202]

Naps: As I posted about my concerns with naps today, Ella took a 30 minute one this morning, followed by a 1 1/2 one in my arms and now she is napping again in the swing!! Go figure!!

Period: I got a "mini" one 27 days pp, and at 6 weeks got a "full" blown one! Lucky me!! I am not BF though, so I knew it would come on schedule.

BC: I am having a hard time figuring out what to do. Right now it is just condoms, but we hate them! I have had terrible side effects from the pill, so I don't want to go there. I would like to chart, because that is what we used when TTC, but I do not think I can do it yet with waking up for feedings. I think that doing an IUD also isn't for us because I would like to have another baby in 2-3 years. So we shall see!!

Christening: As I was trying to type before, when Ella woke up. I am in the middle of planning the celebration for about 100 people. Yes, it got a little out of control but we are having in at my dh firehouse hall so the "hall" is free. Since we aren't paying per head we kept on just adding more to the list!! My mom just called, she supposedly found a gorgeous dress and I am waiting for her to email me a picture. I am having a hard time finding one I like. I do love a couple from the website: www.christeninggowns.com has anyone ever heard or used them?

Ok I think that's it!!

[FoxyBlue]

Dedication: I would like to do this for DS. Unfortunately, we missed our church's May dedication, and they aren't doing it till Sept. So we have to wait.

I would like to celebrate his arrival with a BBQ sometime soon. I need to see if DH is up to helping me plan it (at a local park/pavillion or something).

BC: Was charting in the past, but am not sure how well that will work as I am nursing. I also don't know when I will get 3 consecutive hours of sleep again, although maybe I will. It's certainly free ($) to at least try to resume charting!

I've also thought about Paraguard (copper IUD), but want midwife's opinion. I DO NOT want another pregnancy for 3+ years, minimum.

I hate hormones, so I'd prefer to avoid them. They do bad things!

[MrsSpencer]

Been a rough couple days trying to get him to take a bottle, he screamed ALL NIGHT...but wouldn't take the bottle out of his mouth..but only ate an ounce??? ugh..had a 30 minute nap this morning but my dog wouldn't cooperate he had two "accidents" runny ones today and while DS was having a crying fit, wanting to be stuck to my breast all day, so I just sat down and cried, might as well join him huh??

[jess&dan]

Chelsea: They are adorable! What cutie pictures! And I didn't even think about the earlier bedtime thing, so when I read your response earlier, I gave it a whirl tonight, and it didn't work. He literally turned on the tears at the same exact time as the last 2 nights and turned them off at the same exact time. I really think we're dealing with colic. Thanks for the suggestion!

kissmary: Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look that one up.

MrsSpencer: You're saying he had the bottle in his mouth, wouldn't let you pull it out, but only drank an ounce? Have you tried a faster flow nipple? It could be the flow is too slow for his sucking and he's getting frustrated.

Period: I had a light one at about 5.5 weeks. Not sure when the full fledge one will come back. Since I'm FF, I expect it soon!

Naps: We're working on this. He'll get up in the morning around 8:00/8:30 to eat, then I'll keep him awake until close to 10:00, otherwise he'll catnap. Then I put him down in his crib and he's been starting to sleep until 11:00/11:30. Then he'll be awake for a bit and take a 30 minute nap before eating around 2:00. Then he'll take a nap again from about 3:00 to 4:30. He'll eat around 5:00 and then I try to make him stay awake until bath time around 7:00. Now, at first, the bath time at 7:00, bottle at 7:30, bed right after was working great. Now we've entered this colic thing (I swear that's what it is) and he will start crying at 7:30 and stop at 8:45 (exact times every night!). He'll fall asleep then, but only for a short while before waking up to eat what he wouldn't during the cry fest. After that, he'll sleep until either midnight, 1:00, or 2:00. No matter which of those time he wakes up, he'll then sleep until 5:00/5:30, then go back to sleep until 8:00. So night sleep isn't bad and day time is getting better. We just need to get over this cry thing.

BC: We're using condoms. I don't like anything going into my body. I'm just nervous about messing with the chemistry of my body. Weird, I know.

[April08Moms]

updated to here :)

[coquelicot]

Great news--DD slept through one of her overnight feedings!!! She last BFed a little after 9, and I put her down around 10. She didn't wake up again until 4:45! Too bad I couldn't quite sleep that long, lol. My left side got engorged enough that I couldn't sleep on it, and that's my favorite side for sleeping. She wasn't even that awake at 4:45; I went to check on her at that point to make sure she was okay. She was just starting to stir. I fed her for about 30 minutes, and she was asleep again. It's now about 8:30, and she's just now starting to wake up again. So had I actually been able to sleep, I could have gotten 6 hours consecutively and over 8 hours total. I don't know if this is the start of a trend, but I'll celebrate this milestone for now. :)

[MrsSpencer]

nicholas can't seem to actually bf without vomitting I pump and mix with cereal and formula if I can't pump enough at once. He doesn't vomit or spit up with a bottle...I'm getting depressed that I can't feed my son the way I was intended...

[phart]

MrsSpencer~~I don't have much advice but I'll tell you that my first two spit-up a TON and often what I would consider projectile and they grew and thrived just fine. They're little guts can only only take so much and they're immature and well...I think you should keep on nursing if that's what you want. It's hard to not feel bad when you nurse then it looks like ALL of it comes back up but I assure you he's retaining some! Have you gone into the BFing thread yet? Perhaps Marisa can help you feel better about it...

[twinnyme]

I don't have much advice but I'll tell you that my first two spit-up a TON and often what I would consider projectile and they grew and thrived just fine. They're little guts can only only take so much and they're immature and well...

Phart - can you tell me a little more about this? Bridget has done a lot of projectile vomiting, too. For a few days, it was at least once a day sometimes twice. Now it's maybe once every other day - I think we're coming up with strategies to help, like holding her upright more after feeding, burping even more than usual (though she's a stubborn burper), and now we know her clues more, too, so that's helping as well. She is FF and I know you BF but how long did it go on for your first two? She definitely seems to be thriving and taking in enough and gaining weight (though we haven't weighed her in a few weeks now). MIL told me that with SIL it went on for 9 months :rolleyes: every day and she was fine (when I mentioned I might call the doctor about it because it seemed to be excessive - but it's lessened now so I haven't called, and we have an appt. on June 6th anyway). Thanks!

Other than that, all is well here. We're on night four of Bridget sleeping 5+ hours. It's great. She seems to cluster feed more in the afternoon now, I'm starting to think so she can get enough in to sleep longer at night because the pattern has been similar the past few days - it's been almost every two hours in the afternoon. But that's okay if the tradeoff is sleeping more at night.

I have my post-partum checkup on Wednesday.

[tgr68]

Dedication~Well, it's looking like a no-go here for the 25th. Gaaaah! I really want to get this off my plate! :mad:

MrsSpencer~{{{HUGS}}} Sorry you've been having a rough time with DS's eating.

Period~Last time it came back at 9 wks while BFing. DS is a much more frequent and aggressive eater than DD, so I'm hoping it stays away much longer this time.

Twinnyme~Yay for Bridget sleeping for longer stretches!

Me~We are finally making some headway on DS's cradle cap! (No pun intended.) I did the usual baby oil treatment (all natural baby oil), but I used Head & Shoulders instead of the usual baby shampoo. That afternoon I took a comb to his hair and all of the big scales are now gone! Yay! The dandruff-like smaller scales are still around, but his head is looking 1000x better now! :)

This morning I got the cutest smiles from him! I was putting him in his swing and everytime he caught my eye, he'd get the biggest grin on his face! It absolutely melted my heart!

[lee60657]

PhartThanks for the tip on using the Q-tip for the Nystatin - I have been doing that and the white on DS's tongue is looking better:) I hope it goes away soon.

Bouncy chair v.swing Which does your DC prefer? Or do you have another alternative? Just curious, DS really does not like the bouncy and tolerates the swing. I need a place to put him down! So far his carseat works best:rolleyes:

Baby carrier I posted in the carrier thread, but thought I would throw it out here too - What carrier do you use? We have 4 :o The Bjorn, Hotsling, Moby wrap and Ergo. DS prefers to be carried so I needed something. I do not like my Hotsling at all, the Bjorn is ok (I like it better when they can face the front), the Moby wrap is ok and I have not tried the Ergo yet. I spent a small fortune on carriers and nothing that is great yet:( I plan to try the Ergo on our evening walk - I hope I like it, I mean I hope DS likes it!

[summerbride2005]

Bouncy chair v.swing Camryn doesn't seem to really like either of them. She will tolerate the swing more then her bouncy chair, but she would rather have me or DH hold her instead.

Baby carrier I have the bjorn but I heard that you aren't supposed to put them in there until 8 weeks, but I'm not sure that is right. I also just bought a hotsling and tried her out in it today. I can't decide if I need the size 2 or 3 (I have them both and will return one of them), and I don't know if I like it that much. It feels like a lot of pressure on my shoulder. I wonder if it's supposed to feel like that. Lee I'm with you as DD likes to be carried a lot. I'm hoping this sling will help, but she kind of cried when she was in it.

[PinkBeary]

Baby carrier I posted in the carrier thread, but thought I would throw it out here too - What carrier do you use? We have 4 :o The Bjorn, Hotsling, Moby wrap and Ergo. DS prefers to be carried so I needed something. I do not like my Hotsling at all, the Bjorn is ok (I like it better when they can face the front), the Moby wrap is ok and I have not tried the Ergo yet. I spent a small fortune on carriers and nothing that is great yet:( I plan to try the Ergo on our evening walk - I hope I like it, I mean I hope DS likes it!

hello everyone. coming out of lurkdom again.

sleep - is my baby the only one who was waking every 2 hours to feed? i thought i had it good because my first child woke up at random times during the day and night for 2-3 months. at least this baby is very predictable. i can only dream about getting 5 straight hours of sleep.

baby carrier - i totally went overboard and bought every carrier that i could think of. i figured that i can resell them after we're done having babies. i found that my baby falls asleep instant in any carrier as long as i give her a pacifier while she's being carried. i find the hotsling and maya ring sling to be too hot for her. no pun intended. she sweats too much in the hotsling. the great thing about the ring sling is that i can transfer her easier when she's asleep. i also don't like her head covered in carriers. it makes me too nervous. i just tried the babyhawk with headrest today and i love it. the only bad thing is that my toddler thinks that the babyhawk is "her" carrier and cries to be carried. sigh. it's too hot in southern california for me to really try using a wrap. i can't wait until my DD2 has enough neck muscles for me to use my soft structured carriers. i might not be a wrap person after all.

[Marisa]

PinkBeary -- I'm lurking too. :) I have just about no hands-free internet time these days, I can just about maneuver a mouse while nursing. :)
Anyway, yep, my DS is nursing pretty frequently too. I get longish stretches during the day, one or two big naps, and then there have been some nights when he'll have a stretch as long as 3 hours. But typically, it's much more frequent than that. The upside of it, of course, is that he's gained about 3 pounds in under three weeks -- at least I don't have to worry about whether BFing is going well.

Carrier -- I've been using my Maya wrap, I like how versatile it is (he can lay down, but he prefers "sitting" up tummy-to-tummy style). I have a solarveil ring sling that I made as well, but I feel like ti's not soft enough -- I will probably use that more over the summer when we're out in the sun. I keep meaning to make myself a pouch as well. Yeah, in my free time. :)

I have a question for everyone. I know I'm one of the last of the April moms... how's everyone doing wrt getting back to 'normal' shape? I'm three weeks out from my c-section, and I'm just now feeling like I'm not as swollen and "still pregnant" looking. My mom commented that my face has changed back too. Unfortunately after two c/s I'm nowhere near the same shape as before -- the 'belly shelf' is back in full force, so I looked longingly at my pre-pregnancy size 6 and 8 pants today as I was pulling out the size 12 and 14's from the attic....
(PS -- I'm very realistic about weight loss, I'm the biggest believer in '9 months on, 9 months off', I'm just really psyched about the prospect of not having to wear maternity pants anymore, I wore "real" pants for the first time this weekend!)

[coquelicot]

*Body shape* - I've been back in my pre-pregnancy clothes for several weeks now (DD is 5 weeks, 1 day old). My body isn't exactly the same as it was beforehand. Good news is that I no longer have the pooch in my lower abs. Bad news is that the weight spread out more evenly so that my once-toned upper abs are flabby. But I *look* skinnier than I did pre-pregnancy, believe it or not. That, and bigger-chested. ;) Weight-wise, I know I've lost at least 20 pounds of pregnancy weight; I gained less than 30. I'm back to the weight I was when DH and I got married. So I'm happy with it for now. I do plan on getting to the gym and eventually toning up my mid-section. Now that I don't have the pooch to contend with, maybe it'll be easier to get it into shape.

*Baby carrier* - Using the Infantino Sling Rider. DD loves it, although it's a little hard on my shoulder after a while. I only use it for taking her out for walks and running errands. She doesn't seem to need to be carried *constantly*, thank goodness.

*Sleep* - I thought it was going to be a long night last night when we put her down around 9:45 and she woke up again around 11 wanting to eat. But then she didn't wake up again until after 6 this morning! I watched "Happiest Baby on the Block" yesterday and took their suggestion of putting the radio in her nursery on a static-y station (which is surprisingly hard to find around here) and turning it up. I don't know if that's what did it, but she slept great after that. She had a couple of rough spurts a few weeks ago where she had a hard time going down initially at night, but that's gotten much better. I swaddle her before she's done with her last evening feeding so that I don't wake her back up to do it. Overall, after reading some of the stories on here, I feel pretty lucky that she's a good sleeper. I try to bunch up her feedings in the evenings in hopes that she'll sleep for a while. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

*Bouncy chair vs. swing* - We haven't pulled out the bouncy chair just yet. DD loves her swing, though. Most of the time. Sometimes I can just put her in it and not even turn it on, and she's happy as a clam.

[MrsSpencer]

he slept! for two hour stretches! I even got to bf once (I didn't move him for about 20 min afterwards and he kept a lot down). I even got to cuddle with DH which he loved!

[Chelsea524]

Body shape I have been in my pre-pregnancy pants since I came home from the hospital, and a couple weeks ago I was able to go down two pantsizes. I am thinking the double nursing is what is doing it but I am right now down 25 lbs from my prepregnancy weight. I still have the ugly flab hanging down a little bit on my belly though.

Baby carrier I use my pouch sling that I made but I am thinking of asking for a moby wrap or something else for my birthday, not sure what I want yet so thanks for asking this question, its nice to hear what others like

Sleep They only woke up once last night!! And back to back!!! I was sooo happy this morning

Bouncy chair vs. swing Harrison hates the swing but likes the bouncy seat enough, Avery prefers the swing. I just pulled out my play mat/gym last week and Harrison loves that, he'll lay under it for 30-60 mins just staring at everything

cradle cap just thought I would post what the NICU told us, it seems to work great. Use a normal, cheap toothbrush on their scalp in circular motion every day to prevent cradle cap, but if they do get it put a tiny bit of baby oil on and use the toothbrush in the circular motion to lift it off, they have each woken up one day with really bad cradle cap but I was able to get rid of it completely in that one day

Babies two month appt is today so I'll be back with their stats this afternoon

[MrsSpencer]

I can't believe they're two months already!

[lee60657]

SleepDS is basically waking up once in the middle of the night - so its not too bad.

Body shape I have been back in my regular clothes (minus my "skinny" jeans ) since I came home from the hospital. But I definitely need to firm things up in the tummy area before I get in a swimsuit!

[SiValleySteph]

Baby Carrier - We have two pouch slings (that I made) which he likes... IF he falls asleep. :) We have the Bjorn, which I tried yesterday, he's only so-so. We have a Mei Tei (I also made), but he's not quite big enough for that I think.

Body Shape - DS is 3 weeks old today and I miraculously have lost almost all the pre-pregnancy weight. Shocking really, so different than with DS1. However, my shape is not the same and most of the pre-pregnancy stuff doesn't fit quite right yet. Last time, it was 4+ months before things started fitting again. Weightwise, I'm still +10-12 from where I started with DS1 and +20-22 from wedding weight. Ack.

Sleep - what's that? DS has been giving us some nice stretches of 3-4-5 hours at night, but when he wakes it takes a while to be able to put him back down (1 hour or so) due to his gasiness. Then he has some shorter stretches, usually at least 2 hours, though.

Bouncy chair/Swing - Sometimes DS will tolerate the swing. Now, as for the chair, we have the Fisher Price Infant-to-Toddler rocker, not a true bouncy seat. DS sleeps there at night and for his naps. He just wakes up if you lie him down due to gas, so that is why he is sleeping in the chair. It works pretty well, actually. Ped said it was fine, so I'm not worrying about it for now. I'm going to look into a crib wedge just because DH thinks the chair might not be that comfortable. But, for now, sleeping in the chair!

[twinnyme]

*Baby carrier* - Using the Infantino Sling Rider. DD loves it, although it's a little hard on my shoulder after a while.

Same here. In fact, Bridget just slept in it for almost two hours while I edited (and did the same the other day). I've also had her in it while out and about at parks etc with my 3 year old. I have a Baby Bjorn and a Snugli, too, but I never mastered either with DD1 and I haven't even tried them yet with Bridget.

Bouncy seat vs. swing - she seems to like the swing a little bit better, but we haven't used either much yet, because she sleeps well laying down and we haven't had to. Now that she's more awake during the day, though, I've been trying more to get her used to them - though I tend to have her "play" on the activity mat more, both for tummy time and also so she can have her whole body "free" to move around. We also have the Fisher Price Infant-to-Toddler rocker, which I love!

Body Shape - Well, I definitely still have the belly pooch. We'll see what my weight is tomorrow at my postpartum appointment. I'm kind of afraid to see. Though I didn't gain that much with my pregnancy, I think I've been making up for it ever since; not sure why. But since I usually said during the pregnancy that I wasn't consciously trying to eat that much better, that my body just seemed to be doing it on its own, I think whatever hormone or whatever was doing that must be gone now because I'm back to eating too many snacks sometimes, and I have a feeling I've gained weight since my first postpartum appointment (when I was 10 pounds under pre-pregnancy weight).

[FoxyBlue]

Body: I was back to pre-preg weight within a week. The 'pooch' disappeared after a few days, although I still have a looser tummy right now. I need to do some more ab work, but I was told to wait a while because of the diastasis.

Chair/Swing: So far DS likes the swing. He doesn't really look at the bouncy chair display yet, but I think it's because it's all in color and the batteries aren't in.

Sleep: We are getting 2-3 hours stretches at night. I am still pretty worn out and worn down though. It gets frustrating because right now he wants to cluster nurse every time he wakes up. I think it's a growth spurt. I'm pretty sure he is about 12 pounds!!

[meatpie]

Where are babies sleeping? I'm still sleeping in the same room as Max and I think that's preventing him from sleeping longer. I'm pooped and have a terrible sinus headache. I need just one 4-5 hour stretch!!

And I can't even think about my body. Too depressing!! Athough I have been online browsing like never before. Won't bvuy anything of course, but I might today at Banana.

Off to ask Marisa about fussy nursers!!

[tgr68]

Bouncy Chair vs. Swing~I have a total swing baby here. He sleeps probably 3x as long in the swing as he does just laying on the floor or bouncy seat, which he barely tolerates.

Carrier~I don't use one too often, so we just bought an inexpensive Winnie-the-Pooh one from The First Years. You can get them at Walmart and Target.

Body Shape~Eh. I'm under my pgcy2 starting weight, but no where near the same shape. I'm pretty please with my overall shape though, just need to do some toning. I've never really had hips until DS came along - 3" difference between waist and hips before. I can fit into my pre-pgcy2 size, but things fit so different!!

MrsSpencer~Yay for sleep, no spitting up, and cuddling with DH! :D

Sleep~We're getting 4-6 hours at a time overnight. *Knock on wood.* He's been sleeping in his crib though since 2-3 days after bringing him home. Nobody was getting much sleep with him in mine and DH's room since we could all hear each other stirring, so DH decided to move him to his own room across the hall.

Me~Still totally scatterbrained here trying to get ready for my sister's wedding. I'm hosting the shower with her FMIL, who I haven't met, so that's been interesting!

Between all the graduation parties we've attended, my weightloss has come to a complete standstill. About halfway through them all, I realized that I had put back on a couple of pounds, so I had to really start watching myself. Also, these Monster Cookies are helping in this department at all! ;)

DS is doing great! I think we are in the midst of the 6 week growth spurt because DS eats about every hour he's awake, and when he sleeps, it's been for 3-4 hours at a time during the day! :eek: Also, after feeding him this morning I stilll pumped a good 6.5 oz, so my supply is inching back up. (Of course that could be due to all the aforementioned cookies! :p)

[jess&dan]

Baby carrier: I use a Bjorn and am loving it! Aaron really likes it too!

Bouncy seat vs. swing: We use both. Aaron really likes his bouncy seat. He loves watching all the little lights blink and smiles and talks to it a lot. :) The swing is a good calmer when nothing else is working.

Where are babies sleeping?: Aaron has been sleeping in his crib in his room since he was 1 month. It's been working out really well and we both sleep better because of it!

Body shape: Not down to my pre-pregnancy weight yet. So jealous of you ladies who have lost it all already! I've started my Pilates and working out, so hoping those things will make the weight loss begin!


I took Aaron to the doctor today since we have been having feeding issues. I thought a month ago he was showing reflux signs, but it has gotten worse, and they decided that yes, he does have reflux. So now he is on Zantac and hopefully that will help. I feel so bad for him because he wants to eat more at a feeding, but can't. And he's just so fussy in between. He had one dose today and tonight went a bit better since he didn't have his cry fest from 7:30 - 9:00. So nice.

And last night he went to bed at 9:30, slept until 2:00, ate, started stirring at 6:00, and woke up fully at 7:00. So he only woke me up once! I'll take it!

[MrsSpencer]

yay jess for sleeping! I'm glad they put him on med and it seems to work!

carrier don't have one he can fit into yet.

bouncy seat He loves his seat don't have a swing yet....

sleep beside me in his cradle I wouldn't sleep well if he was in his room (which still isn't finished since he came early and now we haven't had time!

body shape been meaning to go buy new clothes ;)

[red_canuck]

oh man, i completely didn't clue in that we had a new thread :cool: gotta go catch up on you guys!

but for some QOTD:

Carriers -i couldn't live without my ring sling or wrap. Ainsley loves them

bouncy vs. swing - Ainsley dislikes both. girl demands to be held, nothing else will do.

sleeping - in bed with us

body - under pg weight, same shape as after DS.

Sleep. it's pretty darn good, no complaints. just hard to adjust to not being able to nap during the day :(


threadmistreeses, would you guys mind changing the spelling of DD's name on the front page to Ainsley? the "L" and "E" are switched. thanks!

As for stats,
birth - 7lbs 15 oz, 21 inches
4 weeks - 9lbs 4 oz

[coquelicot]

*Where baby sleeps* - She sleeps in her crib in her room every night. Her first night home, we put her in a travel crib in our room. I heard every.little.sound she made, so I did not sleep well. Both DH and I are light sleepers. At least with her in her own room, I can control the volume on the baby monitor to determine how much I hear. She's starting to make noises in her sleep, so I have to keep it down pretty low so that she doesn't keep me up that way.

Has anyone else attempted a road trip yet? We're planning on doing one this weekend for Memorial Day. We're going to see my ILs about 90 minutes away. We're either going to spend one or two nights there. If we stay until Monday, DD will turn 6 weeks old while we're there.

[red_canuck]

road trip - oh yeah, tonnes. our life is pretty mobile. i've taken both kids 2 hrs by myself, and we've done numerous 1.5 hr drives. i'm a bridesmaid in august, so have been travelling to our home town for the wedding festivities. best advice - just take it easy and go with the flow.

[Chelsea524]

The babies two month appt went pretty well, I was there forever though. Both look like they are doing great, but the dr is slightly concerned about Avery not pooping(she is always constipated) because the two things they keep an eye on with her spinal problem is if they can move their legs and have normal bowel movements, I'm not to concerned because my DS#2 was always constipated at this age too and she is able to pass gas fine(more than fine really, she's a farting machine, lol)
two month stats: Avery 8lbs 7oz (5%) 20 inches(0%)
Harrison 9lbs 11oz (10%) 22 1/2 inches (25%)
So they are both on the charts now, but Avery still isn't for height, she is so short still, I have to roll up all of her outfits.

[FoxyBlue]

I'm thinking about taking an hour plus trip on my own with DS. I wanted DH to go with me, but he didn't feel up to it during his time off (I didn't realize how tiring our first week would be).

[FoxyBlue]

Chelsea: Is Avery actually making hard poops, or are they just infrequent?

[jess&dan]

red_canuck: Glad you found the group!!

Chelsea: Glad they are doing so well! My friend's daughter poops every three-six days! And I know my cousin's baby was always constipated. I think a lot of babies are like that!

Road Trip: We already made the 2 hour trek to my parents' house for the weekend and it went well. We left right after he ate and he slept the entire way minus the last 20 minutes. Worked out well. We have to make this trip often, so he'll get used to it just like DS1 did. It's nothing to DS1 now.


I forgot to mention that Aaron was 12lbs. even yesterday! Can't wait to see what he is next week at his 2 month appt. and find out his height!

[April08Moms]

updated to here :)

[Chelsea524]

Chelsea: Is Avery actually making hard poops, or are they just infrequent?

No, they aren't hard, just very very thick/pastey, she goes about once a week and that is after I massage her belly and work her legs quite a bit.

Jess 12 lbs even, wow what a big boy! How fun, does he have the chubby cheeks? I love the round chubby cheeks on babies and wish mine would plump up some.

[twinnyme]

Chelsea - sounds like Avery and Harrison are doing well except for the pooping. Bridget goes only once every couple of days, it seems, which is odd to me because DD1 went about 4-5 times a DAY!

Oh, and if you love round chubby cheeks on babies, here's a photo of Bridget. She has the fattest face I've ever seen; I sometimes think, how can it not explode? :p This is foreign to me because DD1 did not have chubby cheeks ever and no buddha belly or anything, and it's definitely looking like Bridget will - she already does. I love it, too!

[deleted]

Road trip - haven't yet taken one with Bridget though we plan to take a 4-hour trip to NYC the weekend of June 21st. I took Becca to NYC by myself two months after she was born (for the first time) and many many times (both alone and with DH) since. As Jess said, it's nothing to her now. This first trip for Bridget will be all four of us so that should make it somewhat easier. We plan to take a 2-hour day trip on Saturday (2 hours each way) so that will be a good trial run.

coquelicot - going to your ILs do you expect to hit a lot of traffic (especially since it's the holiday weekend)? (E.g. I would NEVER drive to NYC on the 4th of July weekend unless we go on extreme off-hours.) I know it's hard to say to leave when the baby will nap since the babies don't have too much of a schedule yet but I'd echo what Jess said - to feed the baby and leave soon after. And expect a 90-minute trip to take longer not only because of possible holiday traffic but also in case you have to stop to feed or change her. I think my first trip to NYC ended up taking 6 hours, so 1.5 times the usual time. Now I typically leave at 7 a.m. and am there by noon at the latest with a stop or two.

[SiValleySteph]

Wow, 2 months old already for Avery and Harrison! Time flies.

My baby is already 3 weeks and 2 days old. :( I feel like he's so huge already. Although, everyone comments on the "little baby" when we're out.

Road trip, Well we went to the beach this weekend - that's 45 min, does it count?? I won't be going much farther than that b/c he cries a lot in the car if he's awake. Fortunately, he feel asleep both ways and so did my older son. It was a peaceful car ride!

Sleeping, Well, for one stretch last night, I put DS next to me to see if that would work since I had a hard time getting him to stay asleep if I put him down in his chair. It didn't work that well since he's so gassy, all his burping was keeping me up. Right now he's napping in his crib. I put a towel under the top of his SnuggleNest to incline him and so far it's working. FIngers crossed. His crib is in our room, so he's still close by.

You know, I never updated on my older son who was co-sleeping full time until just a couple months ago. We did a "calendar" reward chart for him and bought a clock for him with a big display. He got a sticker for every day he stayed in his room until it was at least 5 o'clock. He did awesome! He got 10 days straight and is staying in his room until after 6 most days, sometimes even 7. He loves his prize, too, this Cranium Bloom shopping game. I can't believe how well it worked. He's also put himself to sleep several nights after stories. O/w I lay with him for about 15-20 min. I usually don't mine unless he's not *trying* to sleep. Having a little brother has really empowered him to be more grown up and do more things on his own. It's neat!

Anyways, I have a friend coming over to interview me for a paper for business school (on working parents), so I'd better go do a round of pick up!

[kissmary]

Sleeping and Carriers - at night he sleeps in his Snuggle Nest in our bed, and for naps sleeps in the Snuggle Nest in his crib. Sometimes he naps in the Snugli with my husband or me, or in the wrap I have--I think that covers carriers, too! Though I also have a Mei Tai that I don't think he's big enough for (haven't tried it) and I just ordered a Hotsling the other day.

He's only been in the swing twice, and we haven't taken the rocker out of the box yet (it's the same one that twinnyme has). The little man prefers to be walked around right now, to get his head extra jiggly.

Of the 40 lbs. I gained while pregnant, I lost 20 right away and have since lost another 5, so maybe one pound a week? I bought one new pair of jeans to wear until I've lost some more. Mostly it's my butt and thighs now that don't fit into pre-pg clothes.

Road trip - Not until the end of June!

[FoxyBlue]

I had to do some poop research because Dawson hadn't pooped in over 24 hours. Just big wet diapers. I'm not sure what young infant constipation looks like (not to 2nd guess your Dr), but it sounds like they can go several days between poops and not necessarily be constipated. Just a thought :)

[coquelicot]

coquelicot - going to your ILs do you expect to hit a lot of traffic (especially since it's the holiday weekend)? (E.g. I would NEVER drive to NYC on the 4th of July weekend unless we go on extreme off-hours.) I know it's hard to say to leave when the baby will nap since the babies don't have too much of a schedule yet but I'd echo what Jess said - to feed the baby and leave soon after. And expect a 90-minute trip to take longer not only because of possible holiday traffic but also in case you have to stop to feed or change her. I think my first trip to NYC ended up taking 6 hours, so 1.5 times the usual time. Now I typically leave at 7 a.m. and am there by noon at the latest with a stop or two.

I don't think we'll hit a lot of traffic. Once we get out of Nashville, we should be fine since we're heading to a pretty rural area (unless there's some wreck on the interstate or something). We're not leaving until late Saturday morning instead of braving Friday afternoon, and we'll come back either late Sunday or early Monday. I do plan on plopping her in the car to head up there right after she's been fed. Luckily we don't have a set time for when we have to be there. She loves car rides, so I don't anticipate too many problems. And she almost never cries when her diaper needs to be changed. We've done up to a 50-minute drive already with her, and even though it was past her feeding time, she slept pretty much the whole way.

[Crystal_Orchid]

For those of you who put your baby down in the crib to nap or sleep, how do you do it? My baby lays wide awake in her crib, and then when she has enough, she starts crying.

[Marisa]

CO -- Teddy will sometimes nap in the cosleeper. I have a positioner so he goes in swaddled, positioned on his side. He's very cozy this way and will nap for an hour or so like that.

Chelsea (and Foxy) -- if baby is breastfed, it's perfectly normal for them to go longer than a day -- even longer than a week! -- without a bowel movement. As long as it's still wet (not hard or formed like an adult's) when they do go, then it's not constipation. It's a part of their development -- they can process the BM efficiently (less waste) and they're bigger -- they can 'hold it' for longer. As you've seen, when they do go it's usually thick, pastey, and often *enormous*. I remember when Joey went about seven days -- it was when he was four months old, because it was my first mother's day -- I went to change him and I had to just keep moving the dirty diaper away and sticking a clean one under him. I think he filled three right then and there.

[FoxyBlue]

Marisa: The never-ending diaper is hilarious! Dawson is four weeks today, and his 24+ hour diaper cake a few days after he was 3 weeks. He had wet diapers all day (MEGA wet!) and then he finally pooed a big ole diaper. :) His poos are now slightly thicker than normal. (Description mainly for Chelsea, in case that sounds familiar!).

Crystal: DS goes down pretty easy when he's sleep. I guess I am defaulting into AP, though, because I pick him up if he's fussy. Sometimes he'll lay awake for a bit. He typically doesn't sleep until after his tummy is full. If he is happy I let him be. If not, he needs a new diaper or food.

If baby doesn't sleep in the crib/bassinet, why not use a swing or bouncer or car seat? I've heard from several people that their kids spent the first few months sleeping in the car seat :) Whatever it takes!

[kenswife]

not to concerned because my DS#2 was always constipated at this age too and she is able to pass gas fine(more than fine really, she's a farting machine, lol)


I just had to giggle at this. Brayden is a farting machine as well. Man, that little boy stinks! :rolleyes: ;) If it helps any, Brayden is exclusively BF and will go 6 days stretches without pooping. I actually called the doctor the first time we had hit 3 days straight. They pretty much laughed and said, "Yup, they can go for over a week, it's okay". Sure enough, the next day he pooped.

Sleeping/Carriers ~ Brayden starts out in his bassinet. He'll wake up around 2am and then I cosleep for the rest of the night. It's just easier for both of us since he feeds for a LONG time at night and I'm too tired to sit up and try to stay awake. As for carriers, he's not interested. He'd much rather lbe sprawled out on the floor, couch or bassinet. He's not a fan of his bouncy seat for that reason. I think b/c he's so gassy. :o

Roadtrip ~ Heck no. :p He HATES the car so trying to take a trip right now would be awful. We'll stick to our 5 min. drive to the grocery store, that's it. We'd like to go somewhere this summer though so hopefully he gets over hating the car. :rolleyes:

[tgr68]

Jess~Yay for sleep!

Road Trip~We haven't attempted one for DS, but we drove 3 hours one way with DD when she was 2 weeks old. She did fine only stopping once about half way to eat. Next weekend will be our first big trip with DS. My sister is getting married and lives about 4 hours away.

SiValleySteph~Same here. Everybody tells me how tiny DS is but to me he's absolutely huge because he's the same size now as DD was at 4 months! :eek:

ITA with FoxyBlue on the sleeping advice. DS doesn't nap during the day in his crib. It's all swing during the day!

[Maggie8202]

Roadtrip: We have gone on 3 to our summer house out east with the dog and Ella. They both have done very well and slept going and coming!! We were actually more worried about the dog having less space then normal! Ella loves the car and the stroller so shopping adventures have been really good!

Carriers/Sleep: I have used the byjorn when we have gone for a walk on the beach since she has been about 8 pounds. She has enjoyed it every time and usually falls asleep. As for naps she sleeps in the swing or the rocker, and for bedtime she will sleep in the co-sleeper the whole night. On occasion I have taken her into the bed with me to sleep an extra hour in the morning when I am more tired than normal.

We took a trip up to my school today to visit my co-workers and my class. Ella was amazing and slept through most of the visit. She even allowed me to eat my whole lunch before asking for a bottle! My students loved her, but were disappointed she didn't open her eyes. They also had to keep far from her and were not pleased about that!!

Vaccines: Ella will be getting the DTap and Rotovirus on Tuesday and I am soooo scared about a reaction. I do not want to put them off because of all the outbreaks in the NYC area lately and a measles outbreak in my area, but I am still so scared. My mom also got the whooping cough 2 years ago so I know it has been around. How does everyone else feel? Am I stupid for being so nervous?

[Marisa]

Vaccines -- we'll get Teddy's first ones at his 2-month WBV, we declined the Hep B at the hospital so DTaP will be his first. I'm not fully anti-vax, but I do think that these days they're giving tiny babies way too many at once, so I spaced out all of Joey's and intend to do the same for Teddy. He'll get DTaP and then Polio probably a week or so later, spaced so I can see a reaction and attribute it to the right shot.
I don't think we'll do rotavirus at all, actually -- it wasn't available in 2004, so Joey didn't get it, and then they had Rotateq that caused intussusception. I know that they're not using that anymore, but I'm still wary of the new one, just because it is so new.
And of course you know that they don't do the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) until at least 12 mos (more often 18 mos around here) so it doesn't matter if it's going around right now -- she can't get the shot.
Anyway, before I ramble on any more, there's a new book by Dr. Sears called The Vaccine Book, and he essentially recommends getting all the required shots, but offers a sample schedule of how to space them out so that you can see reactions and such.

[Maggie8202]

We declined the Hep b also in the hospital also. I don't know when she will get that one, but I don't feel it is necessary for awhile. I only got that vaccine recently! The DTaP will be the first vaccine also for her at her 2 month visit. I also am not anti-vaccine, and agree about spacing them out. Originally Ella was scheduled to receive 5 vaccines on Tuesday, so I felt 2 was a good trade off. These 2 were actually recommended at the 2 month visit in Dr. Sears Book for a slightly delayed schedule by Dr. Bob. However she will not be getting the flu shot. I did not know that about Rotovirus, I think I am going to read up a little more on that! I also will be delaying the MMR for awhile, and just found out that my husband actually got the measles from it and want to bring that up to my pediatrician to see if that is something I should be concerned about. So I guess I know in my heart why vaccines are important I am just nervous about reactions and probably won't slept for a couple of days before her getting them until a couple of days after!

Ok... getting cooed at, so I must attend to Ella!!

[Marisa]

We wound up delaying the MMR and Hep B series for Joey until he was 3, 3 1/2. It was 'catching him up' for starting preschool this past fall. I agree, there's not much reason to give a newborn the Hep B series, it's more that they're a 'captive audience' -- since it's important that they get all 3 shots in a particular timeframe, they do it when they're most likely to get parents to reliably bring the baby in for WBVs. Or so says my mom, who's got the Masters in Public Health. :)

Joey will likely get the flu shot this year (required for NJ preschools starting this fall) so I'll do that early in the season, so that we can get some of the mercury-free vax. But I won't do it for Teddy. I don't even get the flu shot myself, never did, even when I was working in schools and such.

[Maggie8202]

Marisa: I heard the same thing about the heb B and the babies being a captive audience because of them coming in for the WBV's. I also have never gotten the flu shot and I have worked in a school setting for 8 years now.

I think we are going through a growing spurt. Ella took 3 long/deep naps yesterday and was up every 3 hours for a bottle last night. I then looked at my records from yesterday and she ate 42 ounces!! Usually she eats between 28-32 ounces.

[jenjunum]

I've been majorly MIA for a while. Lily is just over two weeks old now. She's doing really well. We had her two-week visit at 9 days and she was already 6 oz over her birth weight.


5/5 8 lbs 13 oz
5/7 8 lbs 7 oz
5/14 9 lbs 3 oz

So she is doing really well with breastfeeding. Breastfeeding was really hard for me at first. It was really painful. The engorgement was killer and my nipples were so, so painful. It's finally getting better. Although I'm starting to feel engorged again. I'm not sure why. Lily did seem to eat more yesterday so maybe she's just back to normal today and my milk already started to increase? So that just makes latching more difficult. Compared to what it was like it all good though. It was crazy to have my boobs so full of milk it sprayed out without me even touching them.

Lily is beautiful and I'm so happy she's here. We have no schedule whatsoever. We do whatever she wants. She eats about every 2 hours or so. But she eats and sleeps when she wants. At night we can usually get her to go back to sleep in her swing but during the day she naps and eats when she wants. I guess at some point we'll have to get her on a schedule. I don't know when that will be though.

[FoxyBlue]

I'm the same way with Dawson. I'm hoping he'll just 'fall into' a schedule when it's time for me to go to work.

He's so good that I can't bear to start torturing myself by forcing a schedule.

Does greasy food upset anyone's baby? I had mexican food yesterday (no beans, but greasy goodness cheese enchiladas) and poor baby had gas issues last night.

[SiValleySteph]

Dumb question - My baby has been sleeping since about 11, it's 3:30 now. He did wake up and had his diaper changed and fed twice. So why is this worrying me? :p This doesn't mean he'll sleep badly later, right??

I'm going to my mom's night tonight. DH is brave and is taking the boys to "Boy's Night Out" which is what they do every time I do mom's night (1x/month). Boys Night Out is eating dinner (chicken asteroids for DS and salad for DH) and then going to the Borders at the chi-chi shopping center here. I'm packing him up with 5oz of breastmilk, so hopefully they'll be jut fine. :D I'm only planning on going for about 2 hours.

[jess&dan]

Steph: Could it be a growth spurt? I know some sleep a TON when going through those. I hope you didn't have a rought night!

[Alioop12345]

Hi All

I ahven't been around much. Hope everyone is doing well.

US Tessa FINALLY is starting to tolerate sleeping in her crib at night. last night, she slept from 9-1A was fed/changed, slept from 1:45A-4, was fed, and then slept from 5-8A. Awesome, now if only I could've slept that well! LOL!

Swing/bouncy Tessa definately prefers the swing and either naps in the swing or in her car carrier (if we were out)

My body/weight I am down to my pre-pg weight but am still a size up in pants. It's frustrating because I had abdominal lipo the month before we conceived and I won't really get to see the results of that. My skin is REALLY loose on my lower abd and I have some MAJOR toning to do for the middle and upper abd. Still not exercising though due to the prolapse.


Forgot to mention that at my boob group (BF'ing support) this week, at 6 weeks 5 days, Tessa weighed 11 pounds 13 ounces before feeding!!!
Roadtrip We are leaving tomorrow for Chicago (normally a 3 hour trip). We'll see how it goes. I'm nervous about screwing up her crib sleeping but hopefully she won't notice the difference between the crib and the PNP. I feel like a freak though because we are taking the PNP, stroller, AND the swing to in-laws house! (and the sling but that doesn't count, right?)

[jenjunum]

Road trip We're in San Diego now on our first overnight--the in-laws house. Lucky for me MIL's parents are also here. :rolleyes: Within an hour of getting here grandma and great-grandma already went through all of my bags because they thought DD was wet and they needed to change her clothes. We brought one duffle bag for all of our clothes so it's not like they were just looking in the diaper bag. This is after I just told MIL that she was fine. So annoyed. Now I'm going to sleep and dad is staying up with DD. Hopefully we'll get some sleep tonight. MIL bought a PNP for her to sleep in here. We'll see if she sleeps there, in her swing, or in the full-sized bed with us. Should be interesting.

We have a small travel swing so we just brought that and the stroller since MIL bought a PNP. I think we actually did pretty good packing. We are only staying one night though.

The 1.5 hour drive went really well. We had to do some errands before we left so I think the total time in the car was about 2.5 hours. We made it until the last 30 minutes before we had to stop to feed her and change her diaper. Thankfully she likes to sleep whenever we drive.

I'm going to start pumping and offering a bottle next week. To build up a stash and let daddy feed her. I think he'll like it. Hopefully the pump and I will get along. I've only pumped very briefly once when I was super-engorged and it went pretty well. it should be better now that my boobs don't hurt.

DD will be 3 weeks old on Monday. I can't believe it's been that long already. OK I need to sleep before she wants to eat again. I think it's growth spurt time; at night she likes to eat every 30 minutes. Last night she wanted to go to sleep with my boob in her mouth but I was finaly able to sneak it out and sneak in the paci.

[Chelsea524]

The babies slept in their own cribs last night:( I don't know why but it makes me sad, maybe that they are getting to big to fast, or just sad for them that they didn't have eachother. Harrison is just getting to tall to lay them across the crib the short way, he always wakes up with his head smashed against the rails no matter how far down he starts. And it would be to difficult to try and rech the one closest to the wall without waking he other up if I lay them lengthwise. They slept fine, no better or worse. I just always planned on them sleeping together until 6+ months. I guess separating them now is probably easier than when they actually notice at 6 months or so.

[twinnyme]

Hope everyone's having a good holiday weekend!

Road trips seem to be good for us - we went on a day trip on Saturday that was about 1.5 hours away and on the way home both kids fell asleep. Bridget fell asleep at 7:30 in the car and slept until 4:00 am - we got her out of the car seat at 10 because we thought she was waking up to eat but she never did so she slept the rest of the time in the pac n play - 8.5 hours. I got 6 hours of sleep off of that. It was wonderful.

I love this baby stage because they're so mobile. We went on that day trip on Saturday, to the zoo on Sunday, and today to a sprinkler park/ playground - our older DD got tons of fun and activity in the gorgeous weather we've having and Bridget basically slept through it all. :)

I have to say that I can now understand why people say they love the infant stage. When I had Becca, who was a very colicky, high-needs, challenging infant who never slept and who ate poorly, I couldn't understand how people could enjoy the infant stage. Now I totally see it - it's very different with a laidback infant....

Here was Bridget's zoo outfit yesterday. She seems to be getting a tiny bit of baby acne lately.

[deleted]

[jess&dan]

Jen: Glad your drive went really well. I hope the rest of the trip was good. Unfortunately, get used to people telling you what your baby needs...I don't know how many times I've been told to put a sweater on Aaron so far! Hope introducing the bottle works out!

Chelsea: Sorry you had to seperate the twins. But, true, doing it now is probably easier than later!

Melissa: Bridget is so cute...love the cheeks!


How was everyone's Memorial Day? We didn't do much on Monday since my older DS has come down with Fifths Disease. Fun fun. But we did have a good two days before that! My DH and I are celebrating our 5th anniversary on the 31st (and happy anniversary in advance to you too Melissa!) so we took Saturday (the day my parents could come down to babysit) and went to Luray Caverns for the day. We ate out for lunch and dinner also and it was so nice! I missed the boys though! Sunday we spent at the playground and playing with DS1's new basketball hoop. It was pretty nice.

Aaron is 2 months old today!! He's started to hold on to rattles, which is fun, and little laughs are coming out! We've been having so many feeding issues with him, but we have finally figured out that it is a lactose issue and now have him on lactose free formula and he is a totally different baby! No more extreme fussiness!

Here's his 2 month picture. He goes for his WBV on Thursday.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/jpillera/May27200801.jpg

[coquelicot]

Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day! Our trip went pretty well. Poor DD, though, had to go 3.5 hours between feedings yesterday. Got stuck in traffic on the interstate due to either a wreck or someone whose tire blew out. Even the car ride couldn't calm her by the time we pulled onto our street. She made up for it, though, and went 8 hours between feedings last night! And for once, I didn't wake up constantly to listen for her, so I got 6.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep! She did pretty well in her travel crib, only waking up once to eat each night we were there (about 3:15 am the first night, 4:15 the next). She was pretty restless her first night, doing a lot of grunting in her sleep. We tried putting her in the bed to limit that. While that did work somewhat, DH and I didn't sleep that well that night. She was fine the next night. She got to meet her great-grandmother and a couple of her great-aunts, so we did a 4-generations picture. That was kinda neat.

She's been pretty tired today. She's gone down for her third nap, which is unusual. She fell asleep this morning right before her second daytime feeding (around 10:40) and didn't wake up until about noon. She's slept after every feeding since. Here she was this morning at 6 weeks, 1 day old (keep off the front page, please):
http://lh6.ggpht.com/coquiekat/SDw8LPQNR8I/AAAAAAAAAgY/z7R0oSioJ4M/s400/DSC03420.JPG

[FoxyBlue]

Memorial Day: We took a bottle of expressed milk and went to a pool party with DS in tow! It was fun and he was pretty manageable. We took the baby monitor and put him in a spare room. Everything worked out pretty well and we really had a good time.

Jess: Aaron is too cute! What a little man :)

[MrsSpencer]

he's thrown up majorly 10 + times in the last hour and has a low-grade fever (99.7). He's actually in the time of typing this throw up twice all over himself and me it's out of the ordinary even for him..I'm kinda worried and don't know if it's cause to call his doctor or what??

[jess&dan]

MrsSpencer: Call the doctor. Never ever feel bad about calling the doctor. If you are ever worried about something, just give them a call. It's their job and it's better to be safe than sorry. It sounds like he might have some kind of stomach bug, but you want to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated with all the vomiting. Babies this young get dehydrated quickly. I hope he feels better soon.

[MrsSpencer]

she said give pedialyte and if not better in the morning to bring him in (if gets worse take to er)

[tgr68]

Hey ladies!! It's been a few days since I last visited. ;) I have been super swamped getting ready for my sister's wedding and dealing with a major growth spurt with DS!

Vaccines~I honestly need to sit and do more research on the whole declining thing. Part of me thinks they cause more problems than they fix, but the other part says that DH, DD, and I are all vaccinated and fine. I'm planning on vaccinating DS, too. We'll see about baby #3 when the time arrives.

Jenjenum~Glad to hear that Lily is doing well!

FoxyBlue~I've noticed a correlation between greasy foods and DS being gassy and tempermental. It was that way during my pgcy too. I always felt so much worse after eating greasy food.

Twinnyme~I love Bridget's dress!! So cute!

Jess~He looks so much older than 2 months! :eek:

Coquelicot~Glad the trip went well! DD is so sweet in that pic!

MrsSpencer~Glad you called the dr! Pedialyte diets suck but really help. I hope your DS is okay.

Memorial Day Weekend~We didn't go anywhere. There were a ton of projects around the house we had been putting off, so ILs came over and helped out with those. We got a window repaired, several things hung on DDs walls, changed out our attic cap for summer, and put up DDs swingset! :eek: Plus we got some rearranging done in our dining and living rooms! I'm so relieved to have these done! :) We also went to see Prince Caspian with my parents and stayed in another night to watch National Treasure 2. Overall it was a nice weekend!

DS is waking up. Gotta run now!

[MrsSpencer]

he has an appt. at 1:30 hoping he's okay.

[FoxyBlue]

MrsSpencer: You might want to see if you pedi's office has one of those 'Dial a Nurse' numbers that you can keep on your fridge. That would give you another option for those 'Should I call?' times.

Pictures:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c268/FoxyBlue827/Dawson-LR111.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c268/FoxyBlue827/Dawson-LR113.jpg

No front page please!

[kissmary]

Everyone has such cute babies!

MrsSpencer, hope everything is ok with Nicholas!

I love putting Henry on his play mat! I can wander around and have lunch while he amuses himself. And he can move his arms and legs and hit the toys and make his cute noises. :)

[tgr68]

MrsSpencer~Thinking of your little guy!

FoxyBlue~LOL! I love the "winking" picture!! :D

[MrsSpencer]

he has a virus:( have to keep him hydrated..I just feel so bad for him.

[jaredsgirl]

Ok, it has been forever since I have posted in here.

Please update my age to 30.

Annika had her 1 month appt today. She is at 9lb 10oz (60%), 22 in long (75%) and her head it 15 1/4 (75%). So she is growing nicely. She has really bad baby acne, so my dr. told us how to treat it.

She is great at sleeping through the night 11pm until 6am, but she is doing it in her swing. I'm not sure what to do to get her out of it. My dr. reccommended making a nest in her crib to give her the feeling of being secure and surrounded, so we will try that.

Otherwise she is giving lots of smiles and just great. She is such a beautiful little girl!

[MrsSpencer]

although he's now 8lbs 10 oz.! up from 7lbs. 6 oz. two weeks ago!

[SiValleySteph]

My baby is one month old today.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/P5288824b.jpg
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/P5288849.jpg
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/P5288870.jpg

On the changing table - his favorite spot! (We have a mobile.)
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/P5288884.jpg

I just weighed him at 11lbs even. I think he'll be out of 0-3 month clothes within the next week or two. His sleepers don't seem to be long enough to stretch his legs out all the way.


...

So many cute pictures!

MrsSpencer, Hope your babe is feeling better. :(
twinnyme, I love that dress Bridget is wearing!

Memorial Day - didn't go anywhere, the ILs were here.

[MrsSpencer]

Cute babies!

Thanks for the well wishes for Nicholas..he's still not feeling well (by the insesant (sp) screaming while he's awake) but he hasn't thrown up since this morning so hopefully the worst has passed and he'll get better tomorrow.

[Gabe's Mom]

Can I rejoin?

Gabe's Mom (and now mom to Lucas)
Me: Natasha
DH: Jeff
EDD: April 10. 2008
Lucas
Birthdate: April 11
Weight: 8lbs 10 oz
Length: 21 inches
Other children: Gabe 10/4/05

6 week stats:
wt 13 pounds, 9 oz
22 3/4 inches

Not sure if anyone else is in the same boat as me and am curious to hear how you are coping. My DS LOVES to be held. Will not allow me to put him down for long at all. Only 2-3 minutes, max. Otherwise, he needs to be in his swing. It's really, really hard. I find it cumbersome to use the Bjorn around the house. Feel like I can't get anything done. Naps are also very short - 30 minutes mostly and that is in the swing. Anyone else dealing with this.

[PinkBeary]

Not sure if anyone else is in the same boat as me and am curious to hear how you are coping. My DS LOVES to be held. Will not allow me to put him down for long at all. Only 2-3 minutes, max. Otherwise, he needs to be in his swing. It's really, really hard. I find it cumbersome to use the Bjorn around the house. Feel like I can't get anything done. Naps are also very short - 30 minutes mostly and that is in the swing. Anyone else dealing with this.

we are in the same boat. i'm typing one-handed right now, while holding my DD with my left hand. baby carriers help. i like my ring sling and hotsling. my DD falls asleep instantly.

[jaredsgirl]

Gabe's Mom Anni is also taking naps and sleeping in the swing. My dr. said to try a nest around here...it seemed to help a little bit, she did sleep one nap in her crib, only 15 min but it was a start. Another time, she was awake but didn't fuss the whole time for 30 min. That might help getting him out of the swing...but as for the holding, I have no solution besides slings or carriers.

[MrsSpencer]

Here's some recent pics!


http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm318/NicholasHaroldsmommy/nicholas036.jpg


http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm318/NicholasHaroldsmommy/nicholas041.jpg


http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm318/NicholasHaroldsmommy/nicholas028.jpg

[FoxyBlue]

DS does not insist on being held, but he apparently does like it! I put him in a 'homemade Moby' (ie, long piece of fabric!) and he fell asleep in less than 5 minutes. We took a walk around the block.

It felt pretty easy on my back. I would look for a carrier like that to try out.

[SiValleySteph]

My baby doens't like carriers very much. Yesterday I thought he didn't like me very much either. Eat, Cry, Cry, Spit up, Eat, Cry, Spit Up, Cry, etc., repeat. :( We were at the library, too, during this vicious cycle. The librarians were taking pity on me. It was storytime day, my older son's favorite thing, so we couldn't leave. I tried the pouch twice and both times it was a no go. It was tough. Forget about getting anything done during the day!

I have been moving him to the crib in the Snuggle Nest, which seems to be going pretty well. I put a blanket down, put him down on top of it and then wrap him up. Last night when I put him down, he wasn't sleeping, but he went to sleep himself. It was like a miracle of some sorts. Thank goodness b/c I was exhausted after the greuling library experience.

[kissmary]

I guess I'm lucky that DS sleeps fine in his Snuggle Nest, whether it's in the crib or our bed. He also sleeps in our carriers, though I'm not sure I can fit him in the new Hotsling in the cradle hold. Occasionally he falls asleep in our laps after some finger sucking, but not often and not for long. He hates the swing though.

Steph - My DS put himself to sleep in the mornings at least three times that I know he was awake when I put him down. It must be a miracle! :)

[jess&dan]

Foxy: He's adorable! That winking picture is great!

Megan: Glad things are going pretty well. I'm sure you'll figure out the sleeping thing soon!

MrsSpencer: I hope he is doing better! And great for his weight gain! He's adorable!

Steph: He's so darn cute! Happy 1 month!

Gabe's Mom: Of course you can rejoin! Glad to see you back!


Aaron likes to be held and is a snuggler, but he's doing very well with haning out in various places too. Ever since we figured out his lactose issue, he's been so content. That helped so much!

He had his 2 month check-up today and he's 12lbs. 9oz. (75%) and 23 inches (50%)...although I think he's a bit longer. She didn't seem to measure right so I'm going to do it again later. He's doing very well and all looked great. Unlike his poor big brother who has Scarlet Fever...yes, Scarlet Fever. The good news is that Aaron cannot get it since babies' tonsils aren't developed enough to get infected. At least DS1 is acting completely normal. Such a mess.

And I'm in a sharing mood, so here are some pics of Aaron. :)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/jpillera/May25200803.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/jpillera/May18200801.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/jpillera/May26200802.jpg

[MrsSpencer]

all these babies are adorable!

Nicholas is very much a snuggler, and where he's still a little under the weather I honestly can't put him down for more than 10 minutes without him waking up and crying:(

[April08Moms]

updated to here :)

[Maggie8202]

All of these babies are too cute! I have to share one of Ella:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2289/2533942427_b93253c6ee.jpg?v=0

We had her 2 month WBV on Tuesday and she now weighs 10 pounds 11 ounces(50th), she weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces at birth. She is 24 inches long(75th).

We have great news in that she slept through the night for the first time last night!! She went down at 10:15, woke at 5:30 for a bottle, went back to sleep, woke for a bottle at 8:30, then went back to sleep and woke up for the day at 10:30!!!! How awesome is that? I actually swaddled her arms for the first time, and it seemed to work!! I hope tonight will be just as good and that it is not a fluke.

[FoxyBlue]

I'm jealous of you STTNers! We're down to getting him to bed around midnight, then up around 3:30 am, around 5:30/6:00 am, and then 8:30 or 9:00.

I can't wait till we have one less nighttime wakeup! :D (But this TOTALLY beats the first few weeks when I was wondering how the heck I was going to survive).

[Chelsea524]

Oh how I wish our nights were as good as some of yours. My babies both will sleep until about 2 and then when they wake up they stay awake, no matter what I do they do not fall back asleep. I can bring them in bed and let them nurse while I am laying down/attempting to sleep but when they are both awake that doesn't work which is most nights and I am awake from 2am on.

[MrsSpencer]

My ds is only a month old, but he goes down at 10 (when we officially lay down), then is up at 12, 1, 2 and then doesn't sleep till 3-4 and sleeps till 6:30, then sleeps till 8-9 and is up till 11 then sleeps till his normal 1-2 hours! I have to bf AND bottle feed since he's not satisfied solely on me. I bf both sides 10-20 minutes on both sides then he screams and screams and I give him a bottle and he eats the whole thing (3-4 oz.)! Any ideas?

[jenjunum]

I also have a baby that likes to be held. The only thing that works for us is to swaddle her, wait for her to fall asleep in our arms, then wait about 15 min until she's really asleep, then she'll usually stay asleep in her crib for a while--sometimes several hours. We can usually put her down drowsy in her swing and she'll go to sleep. Sometimes we need to use a pacifier too but she likes to spit that out. Most of the day I'm holding her though. It does make is hard to do anything; which usually means nothing gets done.

Lily took her first bottle today. She did pretty well. I had a dentist appointment and I needed to get fit for a bridesmaid dress; they were near each other so I decided to go in one trip. DH stayed home to watch her. He fed her a bottle of pumped milk. She ate almost 2 oz. He said she screamed and he had to keep the nipple in her mouth and eventually she figured it out. She wanted to eat as soon as I got home. :) She still much prefers me which is reassuring. I'm glad she will take a bottle though.

It was my first time out without her. I actually did pretty well. I know I'm most comfortable leaving her with daddy and wouldn't have done as well with anyone else. I didn't even cry. I almost did when I walked in the door and saw her again. I had to cuddle her as soon as I walked in the door. Baby steps.

Monday we go to a meeting on finding daycare. It looks like we are "unlikely" to get into our first choice when we need it (Sept). So we really need to find a backup. So we'll meet with a daycare counselor on Monday. She works for the university I work for and DH goes to school at. Hopefully we'll find a good option. I don't really want to use a home daycare.

[jenjunum]

I thought I would post my birth story since I haven't done that yet. Here it goes. Sorry it's a little long.

Lily's birth was intense. I started having regular contractions on Sunday afternoon but nothing was painful. It wasn't until Monday afternoon at 3 PM that the contractions were regular and painful. At 4 PM I told Scott to call the midwife. The longer we waited the more traffic there would be and I didn't want to spend any more time than necessary in the car. She told us to come in. When we got to Labor and Delivery I was only 2 cm dilated but 100% effaced. Our midwife was with another mom who was pushing so we saw a Resident and her sidekick medical student. She spoke with our midwife and they agreed that I should leave for 2 hours and come back and see how I was doing. They gave us a few suggestions including walking around Westwood or just going home. I thought I wanted to walk but on the walk from Labor & Delivery to the car I realized I wasn't really in a state to walk around. The contractions were painful and I felt really conspicuous during them. We went home.

I tried taking a bath. The bath felt really good but it still hurt a lot during the contractions. I staying in for about 30 minutes or so and then decided to lay on my side on the bed. Scott quickly ate something during this time but I wasn't able to eat anything. I laid on the bed for the next hour or so while Scott rubbed my back and tried to provide emotional support. Things progressed to feeling worse and worse for me. I know I told Scott I thought I was dying. I told him I needed an epidural. He kept reminding me that I could do it and we would just see what happened. As it approached 8:00 PM (which would have been our 2-hour mark to return to the hospital) we started to get ready to go. This was a slow process because the contractions were so close together. I had to stop for each one and really focus. I told Scott I didn't know how I would make it back to the hospital. In my mind I was imagining what would happen if we had to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital.

But we were able to get on our way. We stopped several times on the way down two flights of stairs and out to the car. The ride to the hospital was not fun at all. Thankfully there wasn't any traffic so we made it there quickly but each contraction was very hard to deal with sitting in the seat with a seatbelt on. We parked in the emergency room parking lot which is supposed to be a 15 minute loading zone. We decided to walk up to Labor and Delivery instead of being checked in through the Emergency Room again. We thought it might be faster and I didn't want to go through there again, probably a little out of embarrassment. When we got out of the car I told Scott I was getting the epidural. We took the elevators up to the 2nd floor to L&D and the floor was being waxed. We only had to walk over a couple of feet of wet floor but the workers wouldn't let me walk over it, meanwhile I'm in serious pain but they are worried about me slipping. We took the elevators down one floor and took a different set of elevators up.

We walked into L&D and found someone to get a nurse for us. We were standing in the hall waiting when two nurses came walking down the hall to greet us. I remember being incredibly frustrated that they were walking and not running down the hall. I got changed and laid on the exam table in triage. They asked me some questions. They asked me something about how much pain I was in and I said I wanted the epidural. At this point the only way I could get through a contraction was to wrap my arms around Scott's neck, lay my head on his shoulder and sway back and forth with him, and moan.

Our midwife, Ann, came in to check me. She said I was at 6 cms. She said I did really good work while we were gone. They weren't expecting me to be that far along at all. They checked me into a Delivery room, into a gown, and into the delivery bed. The nurses started setting me up with a heplock (basically an IV line that isn't connected to anything) and Ann came in to talk to me. She examined me again. She told me I was at 9 cms with a bulging bag of waters. I had progressed 3 cms in about a half hour. She said she knew I had been asking about an epidural. She said at this point she could order the epidural or she could break my bag of waters and we could continue naturally. At this point I was between contractions so I was feeling relatively OK. Scott encouraged me to have my water broken. I considered the epidural but also thought about how it would take a few minutes to get started and how difficult it would be to be still while it was placed. I decided to have my water broken.

Ann proceeded immediately. I'm pretty sure she was trying to do it before my next contraction and before I could change my mind. She told me I would feel warm liquid gushing out. It was not painful at all, there was enough pain elsewhere that I barely noticed she had done it. Unfortunately there was meconium in the fluid. This is baby's first bowel movement and if Lily were to swallow it during her delivery it can cause problems. Ann notified the pediatricians of this and they would have to examine Lily immediately after she was born to make sure she didn't inhale any of it. I was disappointed by this because I've always imagined holding her immediately after she came out.

I did notice more pressure at this point but I don't think really more pain. Ann told me to tell her when I felt I needed to push. I told her I didn't know what that would feel like and she told me that I would. After a couple more contractions I told Ann I was pushing. It was a strange feeling that came over my whole body and there was no way I could have stopped myself from doing it--my whole body pushed. This overwhelming push only happened one more time during the rest of the labor process. I had been looking forward to this point a lot because I had heard that it's usually more enjoyable since you actually get to do something and the end is in sight. At first I struggled with it. I was getting through each contraction making noise and it took me a while to figure out that if I was making noise I wasn't holding my breath and I needed to hold my breath to push effectively. I think I only realized that in the last few minutes of pushing. I told Ann and Scott I was a terrible pusher and I didn't know what I was doing, they tried to guide me and Ann was trying to figure out why I was holding back. I'm still not sure why I was either. I think I may have been preparing myself for a long pushing stage--which luckily never happened. I also had no idea what point I was at. I think people were telling me but I wasn't processing it. I felt her crowning but I wasn't sure what it was. Scott finally told me that her head was out and with another push she came out the rest of the way.

She was immediately passed off to a group of pediatricians that had rushed in at the last second. They were working around her. I saw a little oxygen tube placed by her nose and they were thumping her chest to get the fluid out. It was hard for me to grasp what I had just done. Scott was standing in between the bed where I was laying and the nook where they were attending to Lily. I think he was as shocked as I was. Lily was perfect. She didn't breath in the meconium and her 1 and 5 minute APGARs were 9 and 9 (out of 10). 10 fingers and 10 toes, no birthmarks and no conehead.

Then I had to deliver the placenta. The resident was still assisting Ann. They gave a slight tug on the placenta to see if it was ready to come out and it was not. That was an uncomfortable feeling. A minute or so later they told me to push and I pushed it out. That was probably the most gratifying part of the whole birthing process. My whole body felt relief after it was out, it was like a huge sigh through my whole body. Later I asked to see the placenta. The resident showed it to me and showed me all of the parts, the sack that held Lily, the part that was attached to my uterus and the part that attached to Lily. It was really amazing.

After the placenta was out Ann had to massage my uterus to get it to start contracting. She massaged my stomach which wasn't the most comfortable feeling but it didn't really hurt. Then I got my baby. The pediatricians passed her off to Scott and asked what her name was. Scott let me announce it to the room. Everyone was giving us their congratulations and I got to hold her. She was beautiful of course. I couldn't believe I was finally meeting her. A few minutes later we started breastfeeding. I think this was around 10:45 PM or so. She did a great job.

[jenjunum]

At that point Scott had to go move the car. Since everything happened so fast our car was still parked in the patient drop off spaces in the emergency room lot. We didn't even have our camera or the rest of our things. When Scott returned he started taking our first pictures of Lily. We had to spend 2 hours in the Delivery room so that the nurses could monitor me and make sure I wasn't hemorrhaging. They were watching my blood pressure because it was getting pretty high. I still felt out of sorts with myself but I didn't really feel bad. The nurses gave Lily a bath and showed Scott how it was done. They also gave her a Vitamin K shot and put antibiotic ointment in her eyes. Ann ordered some blood work on me to make sure I was OK or if my body was just recovering from childbirth and my blood pressure would go down again.

Then it was time to move on to the recovery room. The nurses helped me into the bathroom to clean up. I tried to go to urinate but couldn't and they helped me to get the blood cleaned off me. I got into a wheelchair with Lily and we made our way to our room. Unfortunately we had a roommate. The nurses showed us around the room and said Scott could stay until our night nurse came and checked in with me before he left since visiting hours were long over. He was reluctant to leave but extremely exhausted as well. The nurse came in later and helped me to the bathroom. While she was there she helped Scott change his first and Lily's first poopy diaper.

And our day was finally over at about 1 AM. And Lily and I were on our own for our first night together.

[jess&dan]

I'm so hoping for STTN soon! DS1 slept through the night at 7 weeks old, so with Aaron being 8 weeks I consider him "late". :p I was spoiled! In any case, he sleeps very well, though, so I shouldn't complain. He goes to bed by 8:30, sleeps until anywhere between 2:30 and 3:30, then sleeps again until about 5:30-6:00, then will sleep another hour after that. So he's really only waking up once, which is fine. I just need to get him over that 2:30-3:30 wake up. :)

[Marisa]

I'll have to just envy all of you with sleeping babies! I have to keep in mind that my baby is one of the youngest of the April group. DS is still only going one or two 3-hour stretches at night, and then up every two hours. At least I have the good sense to get some sleep myself during these times, rather than staying up all night to have "me time" when everyone else is sleeping!

Teddy had his 1-month visit on Tuesday and he's 12 pounds now! That means that he's officially been gaining about a pound a week since discharge. He's enormous now! The dr. says that he's doing great, his skin is nice and clear (thank you, dairy-free diet) and we'll give him his first vaccine at his 2-month appointment -- we'll start with the DTaP and go from there.

He also had his first bottle on Weds. night, when I had my own dr's appointment. I was gone for about an hour and a half. He drank close to four oz. but it took him nearly the whole time to do it -- and then (as jen said) he wanted to nurse again as soon as he saw me. We'll probably continue to offer bottles fairly frequently, but I'll be a SAHM still so it's not a high priority.

ETA... I don't think I've posted a picture here, this was taken at 2 weeks and I used it on our announcements (which still haven't gone out yet, though I got them in the mail a week ago....)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2043/2536769916_ca8605d4d6.jpg

Just fitting into his small Fuzzi Bunz. This one's cute, but I hope to catch a few of those awesome smiles I've been getting recently!

[twinnyme]

Not sure if anyone else is in the same boat as me and am curious to hear how you are coping. My DS LOVES to be held. Will not allow me to put him down for long at all. Only 2-3 minutes, max. Otherwise, he needs to be in his swing. It's really, really hard. I find it cumbersome to use the Bjorn around the house. Feel like I can't get anything done. Naps are also very short - 30 minutes mostly and that is in the swing. Anyone else dealing with this.

We're in the same boat. It's getting a bit frustrating. She's taken to not liking her sling anymore either. So last night I tried the Baby Bjorn for the first time and that helped with evening fussiness. I made and ate dinner with her on me, and then played outside with my older DD with her in it. After being SO content the first few weeks of her life she is now not really able to just hang out on her own; she really wants to be held all the time. She's also been very very fussy at night, to the point that I took her to the pediatrician on Thursday. My first DD was allergic to her original formula and I'm starting to suspect the same with Bridget. (We also have some feeding issues that just cropped up.)

She had been STTN for about 4-5 days (8-9 hours) but now is back to waking once a night. She's also not napping very well during the day, which I think is contributing to the evening fussiness - and the not napping is because she'll sleep almost only on us and doesn't want to be put back down - her eyes pop right open - reminding me scarily of my older DD. :( That's partially why I put her in the Bjorn last night - to try to get her to sleep earlier in the evening so she wouldn't be as overtired and fussy later in the evening.

The good thing, though, is that the fussiness and feeding issues doesn't seem to be affecting her weight. On Thursday she was 11 lb. 2 oz. - which is unfathomable to me because at 6 weeks her sister was only 9 lb. 7 oz. even though she was born at 8 lb. 12 oz. and Bridget was born at 7 lb. 9 oz. Her sister didn't break 11 pounds until 12 weeks. Crazy!

Everyone's pictures are so cute!

[mel7dog]

I haven't updated in a while as the ILs were visiting for 10 days, but I have been reading along.

Loving all the pics! How are our babies growing up so fast?!

STTN - LOL DS #1 didn't STTN till he was about 18m old, so I'm not even thinking about that yet. Will is pretty good though, he usually only wakes 1-2 times a night and it's right back to sleep after nursing.

Bottle - I need to start pumping and offer a bottle so I can go see SATC movie and join a knitting group.

Weight - Ha! I am no where near my pre preggo weight. You all must be superwomen dropping that baby weight so soon, I am jealous! I gained about 40 lbs and have about 10 to go still. I have lost about 6-7 lbs this month though, so I am on the right track. I am starting to fit into normal tops again, but my pants are still too small as I'm up about 1 size.

Right now I am trying to get back into the groove of life. I've been a funk for a few weeks and that's no fun. Need to find come stylish yet practical clothes and get settled into a routine so i don't keep being lazy in my PJs!

Here are a few recent pics:
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k188/BensMom426/Summer%202008/web.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k188/BensMom426/Summer%202008/web-3.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k188/BensMom426/Summer%202008/web-2.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k188/BensMom426/Summer%202008/web-1.jpg

[PinkBeary]

At least I have the good sense to get some sleep myself during these times, rather than staying up all night to have "me time" when everyone else is sleeping!


too funny. my kids are sleeping and i'm online reading everyone's posts and looking at the cute pictures. better go to sleep now and read more later. =)

[MrsSpencer]

ds is screaming in pain! when he tries to poop and it's hard what can I do?

I've given him karo syrup, warm bath, cut out the cereal, given him mylican????

I didn't get to sleep till 5! Then he only slept till 6:30, he's so miserable!

[FoxyBlue]

I would try calling a nurse or possibly leaving a message with the pediatrician's answering service.

Here's some info from the Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/infant-constipation/AN01089

However, they say to call a Dr. if the child is under 2 mos.

[tgr68]

MrsSpencer~Poor thing. :( I hope he starts feeling better soon! He is adorable, BTW!

Welcome back to the group, Gabe's Mom! My DS is very cuddly and wants to be held as well. Sometimes I indulge him and just hold him, but others I'll put him in his swing (with a cushioned headrest) and leave the room. He's gotten to where he'll happily sleep for an extended period of time in his swing when I need a break.

Beautiful pics, SiValleyStep!

Jess~Aaron is such a handsome little boy!

Maggie~I love Ella's chubby cheeks!

Okay, I'm way too tired to finish SO's. :o It's been a rough recovery from my sis's wedding weekend!

Today was DS's 2 month WBV. The dr said he is doing great but was concerned about his skin being so dry (got that tendency from DH). She said only to bathe him a couple of times a week and make sure we lotion him up really good afterwards! She also took a look at his cradle cap and said to keep to the baby oil treatments on it. (I told her it looks 110% better than it has been.) They took his measurements, but neither DH nor I got his length since we were doing both kids at once. He weighs 11lbs 11.5oz now!! The dr said his measurements put hm in the 50th percentile across the board.

Then he got the dreaded shots. I had really worked hard to prepare myself for an experience like I had with DDs (no crying until the meds went in), but it didn't help. He started screaming and got really red in the face the second the needle pricked his little leg. :( The only way I could calm him down was to lay my cheek on his. Afterwards, I picked him up and cuddled and held him so close. By the time we got home, he was out cold.

[MrsSpencer]

I spoke too soon on him switching his formula, granted he's only had three bottles he's thrown up I don't know how many times and is having hard stools again gave him another suppository. I'm so wore out and tired since he's been screaming since Saturday, I love him so much but just wish he'd calm down. Between him, and the dog, and my mom I want to shut myself in the bathroom and cry...

[jess&dan]

MrsSpencer: I would get him into the doctor. It sort of sounds like a milk allergy.

[kissmary]

MrsSpencer, hope you figure out what's wrong soon! If you need to cry alone in the bathroom, do it! If you need to put him down while he cries and eat or go to the bathroom or whatever, do it, too!

[FoxyBlue]

Hang in there! I hope you figure out what is wrong soon.

It's ok to feel overwhelmed. Is there anyone who can come help you out at all?

[MrsSpencer]

My mom came yesterday and today, just to hold him so I could lay down, granted she can drive me crazy she'll come in a heartbeat cause my brother was the same way and she had no one to help her. She brought me the what to expect the first year book, she said so if I had questions I could look in there too, since she's realized (today after being with him while he was fussy and feeding him) that he doesn't have what my brother had (ps) but has reflux (which she finally admitted was acid in his throat). She told me if they don't test him before she herself would make sure they test him at his next appointment or schedule it. The new formula and in combination with my breastmilk is starting to do better. He hasn't thrown up today, still has some constipation problems but the cereal and soy formula is still working out of his system. On a good note DH's job is giving him a raise this week, so I'm going to go get my hair done in the next week or so. Being a hairdresser it will make me feel sooo much better about myself. My mom is also going to bring me some of her clothes she doesn't fit into (too small) and some pants for me to wear since all I can fit into is my maternity clothes (all mine are way too small). I think if I could wear normal clothes I'd feel better too, she said she's coming with me to my pp appointment next week cause she thinks I may have a touch of ppd, since I suffered (silently might I add without drugs) from depression before I was pregnant (actually had a suicide scare when I was 15). Wow I haven't told anyone irl besides my DH about that...guess I feel I won't be judged here? Anyway, DH took him from me at 3am this morning cause he was just screaming and I was crying, so I just laid back down didn't sleep but was able to calm down and close my eyes and relax. He's sleeping on my chest right now first time he's slept all day, and it figures I'm not sleepy enough to lay down haha! DH will be home shortly, don't feel like cooking may order pizza:) If he still is showing signs of reflux in a week or so, when the formula and everything would've been out of his system, I'll demand him be tested before his appointment, if not then I'll have him tested before. He's been sick this week so I wouldn't want to put him through too much more. Thanks for the support and sorry this was so long:) I'm known to talk a lot.

[FoxyBlue]

Glad to hear your mom will help. My mom drives me nuts sometimes too, but like yours she is willing to help me as needed!

I would demand a Drs' help immediately. My ped told me that they consider intervention (Zantac, etc) if a baby is screaming, or arching their back a lot. So I don't think they will accuse you of overreacting.

Don't feel bad about PPD. I don't 'have' it, but I've certainly had my moments, and *I* have a happy baby.

I will say that you are right! Having new, 'normal' clothing helps SO much. I bought a few new tops and I feel human again. The pants (now a size larger, yay) were not as helpful :)

Order pizza! Do NOT feel bad if you aren't up to making dinner. Girl, my motto is "If we survive, that's good enough" :D Survival, then Sanity.

Are you already trying to keep him upright after feeding? I don't know if it will help, but it's the only non-medication thing I can think of (other than small, frequent feedings to reduce spit up). Good luck!

[tgr68]

MrsSpencer~I responded over in the BFing thread, but I wanted to offer {{HUGS}} here as well. Motherhood should not be this difficult. :( Definately get checked out for PPD. I also had a suicide scare as a teen and depression runs in my family, and I ended up with a PPD diagnosis at 7 months PP with DD.

Today has been kind of rough. Well, the morning was anyway. We slept in and missed storytime this morning which had me on edge, so DH and I ended up in a big screaming fight. :( Luckily we took it upstairs (kids were downstairs) and had things resolved pretty quickly. It was still exhausting though.

This afternoon was better, though. I got grocery shopping done and the first half of DS's announcements dropping in the mail. I also got DDs schooling done, finished reading her an American Girls book, and had her read (a.k.a recite from memory) "Brown Bear..." by Eric Carle to her brother! All in all, it was a pretty productive day!

[twinnyme]

MrsSpencer - I am so sorry you're going through all this. I've been reading along here but no time to post lately, and I've also seen your other thread. My first DD sounds very much like your DS, and I know how very very very difficult it is. Please take care of yourself and get help however you can. I had PPD with my first daughter partially I think because she was such a challenging child. So, I can really empathize with you, and I'm just sorry that ANYONE has to go through that. As Tgr68 says, "motherhood should not be that hard," but unfortunately sometimes it truly is.

Tgr68 - sorry you had a rough day yesterday!

I'm happy to say, though, that I must have done something right - or else am very very lucky - because so far we've been blessed with a very easygoing second child. She's still sleeping very well at night (though isn't napping too much during the day!), and though we've had some evening fussiness/eating issues lately, she's still doing very well. We took her to the ped. last Thursday because of those issues and she weighed in at 11 lb. 2 oz., up from 7 lb. 9 oz. at birth - and my first DD didn't break 11 lb. until 12 weeks (despite being born bigger, at 8 lb. 12 oz.). So I'm very happy about that. We go back on Friday for her actual 2-month WBV.

Now that we're in June, I go back to work this month - starting back on June 24th. :(

[MrsSpencer]

thanks for the support, had a REALLY bad night, and still not great morning. DH is working through lunch so he can come home early. I'm calling his ped his constipation isn't any better, is throwing up again, sometimes doesn't want to eat. Last night he was so arched I couldn't bend him to burp him! Several times I had to put him down and walk away, or just tell DH sorry but he had to get up. I spent 10-1 calming him, 1-3 feeding him every 15 minutes, 3-4 calming again, 4-5 I slept!, 5-5:15 nursing, then he slept till 6:30 and I woke DH up to take him cause I was sleeping. Slept till 7:30 when DH left, he handed him to me then I slept till now. I can't keep doing this, he didn't sleep yesterday till after 2pm, never took a nap! He's miserable and so am I, don't know what's wrong but the suppositories aren't working?

he has an appt today at 2, I'm not leaving without a REAL answer.

[FoxyBlue]

If he's not eating, he may just be too dehydrated for the suppositories to make a huge difference. Not a medical opinion :) just the only thing I can think of.

I hope the Dr has some helpful suggestions!

Too bad mothering isn't an Olympic event. I think many of you would qualify!

[MrsSpencer]

it's the hardest job i've ever had...but i love it:)

[jenjunum]

Just checking in. Sorry it's going so badly MrsSpencer I hope you get answers & sleep soon.

We're doing ok. DD & I both got a cold. I'm almost recovered so hopefully she'll be better soon too. It's hard to see her having a rough time. She'll be a month old tomorrow-- I can't believe it's been that long.

Are you all on a schedule? I'm doing everything on demand still but I sort of feel like we should start trying to get into a routine. Lily sometimes likes to be awake for a couple hours in the middle of the night and that doesn't really work for me very well. I have no idea how to even approach a schedule.

[twinnyme]

Jenjunum - hope you and Lily feel better soon.

Schedule - no, no schedule here. She is sleeping well at night, usually 8-9 hours, but no certain time. It can be anywhere between 8 and 10 that she goes to sleep. During the day, it's very non-scheduled. So far, she hasn't napped well at all during the day, so we just sort of go with the flow eating, playing, and sleeping. I figure she'll get on more of a schedule when she starts daycare on the 24th (though they still feed/sleep on demand there, too).

Father's Day - have we talked about this yet? What is everyone doing/getting for DH? Here's what I've done for DH so far:

A "DADA" frame for 2008:

[deleted]

I did this in 2007 and 2006 as well so I'm only missing 2005.

I also did another photo for DH. This photo was taken at DD's daycare, I brought Bridget in to have it done. We had just gotten photos of them done at Kiddie Kandids (more formal) when daycare announced photos so I did a fun/casual Red Sox photo for DH at daycare:

[deleted]

And I'm getting him a Color-Your-Own gift card from Circuit City for DD to decorate, and will have DD decorate it. I'm going today to buy it. For some reason, I thought I could upload a photo to put on the card but I am not able to - anyone know of any place you can do that (except for Walmart, where I know you can) - so I'll just have her draw on it. I had been going to upload this picture onto it.... Oh, well.

[deleted]

Not sure yet what we'll do that day but we'll probably spend the day with DH's family (father).

[MrsSpencer]

He has a milk/soy allergy, he's up to 9lbs. 5 oz. up from 8lbs. 10 oz. last week! So he is getting enough, guess he just isn't hungry sometimes? She said it's most likely his reflux, but switched his formula to something that starts with a "n" nutragim or something? My mom bought him a swing which he loves and gives me some time to myself. Last night was much better for some reason, the doctor said he was probably overeating cause I didn't know how else to quiet him. So she said to give him his pacifier, which I didn't think he'd take, but he did. She said to only feed him every two hours (sometimes he'd want to eat every 30 minutes). If he breastfeeds only give him 2 oz. of formula then his pacifier, I did that and he only threw up a little bit not a whole bunch like before. It's continued until this morning too. But for almost two hours last night from like 9-11 he just screamed and screamed. DH laid him down beside him and held the pacifier in his mouth for like 15 minutes until ds "took" it himself and he fell straight to sleep! He slept until 2 am! Then he woke to eat, which I nursed both sides, and he fell asleep again! He NEVER goes to sleep after his 2 am feeding usually up till almost 4. He slept from 2-6 only waking because he wanted his paci back in his mouth and went back to sleep! He was sooo nice to have that time to cuddle with DH and him to give me as he says "long overdue quiet time" where he just holds me. Then this morning I feed him at 6 and laid back down with him woke when DH left to say good-bye and slept till 9:30! I've never gotten that much sleep since the night before I went into labor! He still is having some hard poops but they said I could give him a few drops of prune juice in some water only like an ounce to try to help things along. But she said that if he doesn't get much better within a week to 10 days (the amount of time it should take to see if the formula worked) then she'd give him the barium test and we'd go from there. She said she may have done it sooner, but where his bowels are already messed up the barium messes them up to and wanted to give his little body a chance to recover. She also agreed to keep giving him a small amount of cereal in his bottles but not everyday it helps to keep his food down. But she said not to till the formula itself has a chance to work to help his gass, and constipation. I have to try and avoid any and all dairy, and if he still has problems, I'll have to stop bfing since he spits up my milk now more than the formula. They are also sending us a FREE CASE of that formula since it's expensive. She said he had excellent head control, he was more alert than she expected and thinks he should already start to roll over soon! I feel so much better knowing that he's still gaining weight, and if I have to eventually stop bf, it's okay as long as my baby is happy.

[Alioop12345]

HI! Quickly posting an update. Life is BUSY! Tessa is doing well. She slept from 9P-7:45A last night! I blame it on the shots she got yesterday so we'll see if this trend continues. She had her 2 month appt yesterday, got shots and was 13 pounds 1 ounce and 23 inches! She's doing well, has a bit of reflux but I cannot complain. She's been sleeping in her crib since 7 weeks and it's heaven!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/Alioop12345/017-8.jpg

Hope everyone is doing well!

[SiValleySteph]

MrsSpencer, So glad it seems like the tide is turning for you! I really hope things continue to get better.

twinnyme, I love all your Dad's day gifts! So creative and cute!

Jenjunum - Hope you guys are feeling better!

Alioop - What a nice picture. I love Tessa's hair!

tgr68 - I like to hear what you are doing with your daughter. I think we have Brown Bear memorized, too. It was DS's favorite for a long time.

***

Schedule - No interest in a schedule here. :) I mean, my kid is sort of falling into his own schedule, but that's as far as it goes. I'm still going to go out when I need to/want to. He's been going to bed for the night between 8-9, then 2 wakeups between then and about 6 when he has another wakeup and usually goes back to sleep. Oh, but he's not up in the middle of the night for hours, so it's fine. It starting to be pretty quick on the wakeups, which is nice.

My baby is 5-1/2 weeks now. He's just a smiling machine now, which is sooooo cute and fun. He's getting good at playing for 10 minutes or so now and I'm working on remembering to give him some tummy time every day. :p He loves outside, so I try and take him outside or just have the screen door open next to his play spot. He spits up a ton and also has crazy poo/pee, so I'm having to clean up the changing table multiple times a day. Even if I think he's done and it's safe to wipe... you just never know! What's funny is my first son NEVER made a pee fountain or shot poo across the changing table. I thought I was safe!

[Marisa]

MrsSpencer -- I'm glad you got some more information from your doctor. Please be sure to give it at least two weeks from the last time you eat dairy -- just like the formula needs time to 'work through', you'll need time to get all the milk proteins out of your body. Set yourself a goal of two weeks before you make up your mind either way. Here's hoping things get easier for you!!

[tgr68]

Twinnyme~Thanks. Today isn't going much better. :( I just honestly haven't been able to deal with toddler behavior.

MrsSpencer~Glad you found out what's been bothering DS. I would suggest you PM eliezerah. Her now 2.5 yr old son was literally allergic to EVERYTHING, and she successfully BFed him for 11 months! She may have some suggestions for you since she's BTDT.

Jenjenum~Sorry the two of you aren't feeling well.

Schedule~Not really. About as scheduled as we get is to put him down to bed sometime between 9:30pm and 11:30pm, and he generally sleeps all night. During the day, I BFed on demand and let him sleep when he's tired.

Father's Day~ I haven't thought of anything just yet beyond what I've done with DD the last couple of years.

Twinnyme~Very cute pics!

Alioop~Great pic!! Your DD is adorable!

SiValleyStep~I've been using the Step Ahead Preschool (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Step+Ahead+Preschool&x=4&y=15) series by Little Golden Books. Our loacl store had Before I Write, Before I Do Math, I'm Ready for School, and Count 1 to 10, so those are the specific titles I use. DH and I also read to her everyday. I'm planning to start her on Saxon's kindergarten cirriculum in the fall.

[Eliezrah]

MrsSpencer~Glad you found out what's been bothering DS. I would suggest you PM eliezerah. Her now 2.5 yr old son was literally allergic to EVERYTHING, and she successfully BFed him for 11 months! She may have some suggestions for you since she's BTDT.Ahhh, now I know who sent Mrs Spencer to me! LOL I was just curious who knew about Seth's allergies!

Sorry to have hijacked your thread, ladies!! LOL

[jess&dan]

MrsSpencer: I thought it sounded like an allergy. I'm glad something was figured out so you can go onto the next step. Hopefully the special formula works. Check with your insurance company...they may cover part of the cost of it since it's sort of like a medication. Hope things get better soon!

Alioop12345: Tessa is adorable! Look at the hair! Glad things are going well!

Steph: My first son was a foutain peer. :p He always managed to get it everywhere...actually it was more like a sprinkler! Aaron is no where near as bad and has only done it twice. Funny how different they can be!

Schedule: We're sort of on one. I'm mainly worried about getting him on a nap schedule in order to get him to stop taking 30 minute snoozes. He wakes up from this angry with the world but if he takes a long decent one, he's happy. So I'm aiming for three decent naps a day, which is slowly working out. His little internal clock flips some sort of switch at 7:00 PM on the dot and he demends to eat and go to bed...no matter when he ate last. He will scream bloody murder until he either gets a bath or bottle. I'll literally lay him down and start taking his clothes off and he will get this HUGE grin on his face. It's hilarious. He'll then eat, and go to bed. I can lie him in his crib fully awake and he'll put himself to sleep. The last two nights he'll be asleep by 9:00 and sleep until 4:30/5:00. If he does that a few more nights I'll declare him sleeping through the night. :)

Father's Day: My plan is to take a picture of each of the boys seperate, then one of them together, place them on a half size poster board, trace each of their hands, then decorate accordingly. I'll then frame it for DH and he can hang it in the basement (his man land). I'll be sure to take a picture when I'm done.

Overall, things are going well. Aaron is 10 weeks old today. I'm finally getting control of his eating issues, since we've figured out it's the lactose and reflux combined. The naps are my main issue, but we're getting there. He loves being on the changing table for some reason and will just smile and laugh there. He's let out good giggle a few times and I love it! He loves pat-a-cake when I take his hands and clap them. He also loves when I play peek-a-boo. :) He's starting to cross over into 3-6 month clothing too. Thankfully the season of clothing from DS1 is matching up. :)

[FoxyBlue]

MrsSpencer: I'm almost in tears (of joy) for you- I know how hard it is to be exhausted. Plus I'm still a bit hormonal I guess, lol! I hope you get a workable solution soon!

Tessa is gorgeous!

Fountain Peers: I keep a cloth diaper on top of our changing pad. That way when DS pees, it doesn't shoot across the changing pad and get all over. I also keep a sock or washcloth up there to cover his little winkie. He occasionally pees anyways, but at worst I have to use a wipe on his back (where the diaper got soaked).

[MrsSpencer]

I cried this morning when I realized he'd slept it was such a good feeling to know he felt good enough to sleep:)

[Crystal_Orchid]

Mrs Spencer I finally have time to catch up reading the posts, and I am so sorry you went through such a hard time with your pediatrician and DS. I am happy that things are finally turning around for you.

I posted in the 0-12 month thread about napping, and it is pretty much my primary goal now to get DD down for naps every two hours. I find that I have alot more time on my hands (i.e. to catch up on CC), when she does nap. Long story short, she never was a good napper, and this week, she refused to go down for naps. Given that today is the first day I am being diligent with the 2 hour rule, we'll see how it goes. DD takes naps in the swing, and she sleeps in the snuggle nest or next to us if it takes more than 2 times to put her down. I'd like to transition her to the crib, but I don't have the energy to just yet.

DD wakes up twice for feeding though putting her down after a feeding is a crapshoot. Sometimes I'd nurse her to sleep and she remains asleep, sometimes I'd nurse her to sleep but she wakes up and it takes one more hour to get her to sleep.

[jenjunum]

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one not on a schedule. The main problem is I mostly let her nap on me all day so there's no way I can get anything done. For now that's nice (and I like it) but it won't work forever. DH can keep up on the dishes and the laundry but other things are going to start getting out of hand soon.

MRSSpencer So glad you had a good night. I hope it continues to improve. I love those nights were you feed and they go right back to sleep.

Father's Day I don't have anything planned yet. I've just bought a card and that's it. I think I might want to do a hand print either in ink or plaster of paris or something. I know daddy wants some things for his desk at work. So I could do something there. Maybe a little shadow box for her shirt from the hospital. He really likes that shirt. Looks like we have some shopping trips to go on.

[MrsSpencer]

another good night here! no screaming episode either! hoping it continues, still bfing too no extra problems. (crossing fingers) his bowels have finally straightened up too!

[kissmary]

MrsSpencer, hope things continue to get better!

Henry slept from 9 until 4:30 last night!! We had to re-swaddle him at 1:30 since his hands were coming out and he was squirming like crazy, but he didn't seem to wake much. I didn't expect him to sleep so much after his three long naps yesterday! I hope all this sleeping continues.

Father's Day - DH wanted some Caphalon cookware, so I got that for him already. We both cook, so I'm not sure why this was a gift for him, but he was happy! Otherwise he is just getting a card.