PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[phoenixgirl]

Tao, cute present!


Here''s my Claire dressed in her warm bear suit. Why is it that all winter baby suits are animals? We met a little reindeer named Molly as we were out and about.

We had a successful outing taking Claire out to brunch to meet friends. DH wore her in the sling (we just have the Amy Coe one they sell at BRU). We walked about 2/3 mile to get there, so I was worried that if she got upset at the restaurant, it''d be an unpleasant walk home, but she slept the whole time. Good thing for Mommy since I had cabin fever and had had a meltdown yesterday when DH went out riding his mountain bike in the snow and didn''t come home when he said. I had wanted to take Claire out in the snow yesterday, but by the time he got back I was sleepy and hormonal, and it was too dreary out, which of course I construed to be all DH''s fault. It didn''t help that our cars appeared to be trapped in the alley and I couldn''t figure out how we would get to my mom''s for Christmas. Doing better today and got a car unstuck.

Baby is sleeping and Daddy is shopping, so I''m going to attempt a workout. [Cue Claire to wake up.]

 

[taovandel]

PG: So cute!!


New problem with sleeping....

Evan has now taken to kicking and flailing his arms all over the place while he is sleeping. While he is doing this he grunts and makes loud noises. All of this wakes him up (and us! ha).

A blanket swaddle doesn''t help him because he is strong and just breaks out of it with all the kicking and flailing.

He also normally hates to be swaddled but we haven''t ever tried the swaddle me blankets or anything similar. Do you think we might have some success with that? He likes the sleep sacks--but now he started the kicking...so we are thinking something else is in order.

 

[fieryred33143]

PG-Claire is so cute in her outfit!

DD-Hunter is adorable! And getting so big!

Tao-Love the pics. They turned out really well.

Happy Birthday to MG

Nothing new over here. Sophia has learned how to go from her side to her tummy. However, she now has this new thing where she plops face down on the mattress. I almost cried the first time I saw it, moved her face, and she did it again. We went through this about 5 times before I moved her onto her back. She of course rolled over and face in the mattress

. I hate it.

She also finally understands how to laugh. She would laugh on occassion but yesterday she belly laughed at every thing I did. I was shaking her quilt that I put down on the mattress and she could not stop laughing. I probably could have shaked that quilt all night long if I didn''t need to be in work today and because of you know the whole overtired business

 

[phoenixgirl]

Tao,

Claire does the same thing. I think it''s what babies normally do during the active REM sleep. One night I went to peek at her in the middle of the night and it looked like she was doing kick boxing in her sleep. Anyway, we use the Miracle Blanket, which you can get on Amazon. She can still wriggle out of it, but it''s the best we can do short of straightjacketing her. Sometimes when she''s sleepy, I swear she''s helping me get her arms and legs in; she even helps lift her butt for the underneath part. Then she looks happy and drifts off to sleep.

 

[MustangGal]

tao - you could try a swaddle-me, Kyle wasn''t able to break out of those until about 3 months, and he slept much better when swaddled.

fiery - Thank you! It wasn''t much of a b-day this year, we just went out to Red Lobster, but DH gave me a nice 5 stone ring (that I picked out

and bout on ebay), I''ve gotta snap some pictures of it

.

And Kyle decided to give me a b-day present too, his cold

. My throat is killing me, and his nose looks like a faucet. I just hope he clears up by x-mas so we don''t get all the relatives sick too.

 

[meresal]

Everyone's baby pictures are so cute!!!

We were on a roadtrip this weekend and everywhere we looked we saw the cutest babies, all in adorable little Holiday outfits!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Does anyone else put down her baby to nap in the crib only to find the baby is actually awake upon checking?

Recently we''ve found Claire awake in her crib when we thought she was napping. It makes me feel like a neglectful parent that my baby is just upstairs entertaining herself in her crib when she could be "exercising" and exploring rather than immobile in her swaddle blanket. But this is probably why we have such nice nights. I''m sure Claire isn''t actually asleep the whole time, but she is just usually content to hang out looking at her mobile and thinking deep thoughts. She also likes to Houdini herself out of her swaddle blanket and then she can kick and punch to her heart''s delight.

I''ve been following HSHHC, which says that babies should go more than two hours awake at any time, so when she seems tired between one and two hours after waking up, I put her down for a nap. She almost always calms down and lies quietly in her crib, and while sometimes I sit with her to make sure she doesn''t get fussy before I turn my attention to something else, other times I just leave once she is swaddled. I suppose we could be moving towards more of a two or three naps a day schedule? Does that sound right for 8 weeks?

Say she eats at 12, then I put her down at 1:30 thinking she''ll sleep until 3:00 when she''ll have her next feeding, but I peek at her at 2 only to find her awake but not crying. Should I get her up to play with her?

Why no instruction manual, baby?

 

[fieryred33143]

PG, independence is a very important developmental step for infants. Learning to play/keep self entertained is important.

Sophia does the same. There are times when even if she isn''t tired, I''ll put her in her crib so that she can chat and explore her crib (making sure its a safe enviornment of course). There have been times when I''ll check on her and she''s awake playing with her feet. Don''t feel bad about it!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/21/2009 3:45:01 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
Does anyone else put down her baby to nap in the crib only to find the baby is actually awake upon checking?


Recently we''ve found Claire awake in her crib when we thought she was napping. It makes me feel like a neglectful parent that my baby is just upstairs entertaining herself in her crib when she could be ''exercising'' and exploring rather than immobile in her swaddle blanket. But this is probably why we have such nice nights. I''m sure Claire isn''t actually asleep the whole time, but she is just usually content to hang out looking at her mobile and thinking deep thoughts. She also likes to Houdini herself out of her swaddle blanket and then she can kick and punch to her heart''s delight.


I''ve been following HSHHC, which says that babies should go more than two hours awake at any time, so when she seems tired between one and two hours after waking up, I put her down for a nap. She almost always calms down and lies quietly in her crib, and while sometimes I sit with her to make sure she doesn''t get fussy before I turn my attention to something else, other times I just leave once she is swaddled. I suppose we could be moving towards more of a two or three naps a day schedule? Does that sound right for 8 weeks?


Say she eats at 12, then I put her down at 1:30 thinking she''ll sleep until 3:00 when she''ll have her next feeding, but I peek at her at 2 only to find her awake but not crying. Should I get her up to play with her?


Why no instruction manual, baby?

Really, don''t complain! If she can keep herself entertained that is a very good thing. Don''t stress it''s a good trait for her to have! It''s not like you are leaving her in there all day by herself.

 

[ChinaCat]

Tao- I would try the miracle blanket or some other type of swaddle. It is really common for newborns to wake themselves up with the flailing arms/legs thing. It is harder to kick out of the miracle blankets. It can be done of course, O does it all the time, but it is worth a shot. Now that O is older, he always kicks out of them when he wakes up, but it instantly soothes him and keeps him contained while he''s sleeping. I secretly love watching him wake up and kick out of the swaddle, it''s so cute.

PhxGirl- I laughed at your "why no instruction manual" b/c I feel like that all the time! Also I think "why can''t someone just TELL me what to do!!!" Wake the baby up? Don''t wake the baby up? Ha! Again, I think you should just relax and enjoy your genius baby! Yes, it''s common that the babies wake up and lay there quietly, I think that''s the goal. For me, I don''t get O up until I hear him, even if I know he''s awake. He gets plenty of play time and stimulation when he''s awake and I think it''s good for him to learn to hang out by himself and just talk to himself or kick his legs or whatever. Every book I''ve read seems to agree as well. As for naps, every baby is different. And she will start staying awake longer and being more alert very soon, so don''t worry about her not having enough awake time. You are going to miss these days pretty soon!!! O is crazy alert now and when he''s up, he has to be entertained the whole time. He seemed to make a huge change b/w 3 and 4 months.

All is good here. O is doing great and such a happy flirt. Here''s a pic I took this weekend:

 

[fieryred33143]

China-He''s so cute!

 

[sunkist]

Oh Pheonix and Dreamer adorable pics!

Tao, Wes does the same arm and leg flailing and grunting while he sleeps. My hubby got him a SwaddleMe blanket a few weeks ago, but he doesn''t like having his arms swaddled that tight. Although if your Evan doesn''t mind, I love the SwaddleMe! So lately I''ve just been swaddling him with the Aiden&Anais blankets and that gets him tight enough, but when he is actually awake and WANTs to have his arms out, he can get them out and have some fun

-
We''re doing well over here, although Wes has been having some tummy/gas issues. I''m trying to look at his symptoms and decide if he has some kind of reflux too. We''re BFing and sometimes he can''t finish the second side because he pulls of crying in pain! It makes me feel so horrible! And then sometimes when he burps I can hear spitup in his throat but it won''t come out. Other times he has plenty of spit up come out :/ He also struggles with poops I believe. All I can say is thank goodness for pacifiers because I feel like that helps him sooth himself at least in some way!

I hope all the other new moms and hanging in there and feeling well!

 

[ChinaCat]

Thanks Fiery!

Funny mom moments:

DH spent most of Saturday Christmas shopping. Got home and agreed to take O while I ran a few errands. I was exhaused and wanted a nap, but figured O would only nap for about 45 minutes at that time anyways. Yep, you guessed it, O was still asleep when I got home. He took a 2 HOUR nap for DH. DH is like, I don''t know why you think this is so hard.

Umm, because he NEVER give me 2 hour naps!

More random: So I have been contemplating stopping BF, but I''m not quite ready yet. In discussing the pros/cons with my mom, we had the following conversation:

Me: Part of me feels afraid to stop, kind of panicky.
My Mom: Afraid of what?
Me: Well, when I am BF, I know that no matter what, I can feed him. If I stop, then I have to rely on formula, and what if I can''t get to formula or something?
My Mom laughs: You''re crazy. When are you ever not going to be able to run to the store and get formula?
Me: I don''t know, but what if???

Cut to yesterday when I am watching the news. The Eurostar train b/w London and Paris broke down for something like 16 hours or so and all of these people were stuck UNDER the Channel for hours. One woman RAN OUT OF DIAPERS AND FORMULA for her baby.

Called my mom and said "See????"

 

[sunkist]

Here is Wesley waiting up for Santa Claus. heehee!

ETA: China- O is a doll!

 

[ChinaCat]

RE: Swaddling: Meant to ask- when you say "hates" being swaddled, do you mean he hates the act of being swaddled or hates it after the fact as well? Because O totally fights being swaddled, sometimes he screams bloody murder while we are doing it, but the minute he is swaddled he calms down. The only time he "fights" it is if he has a tummy ache and then he bucks like crazy. If you are swaddling him right after he eats, could be a gas issue. Just a thought.

 

[ChinaCat]

Sunkist- Cutie pie!!!! Did I read that he''s mixed? Who does he look like? One of my friends is Korean and her DH is Jewish and her daughter is the spitting image of her and so beautiful.

Here''s another one- check out his old man comb over hair!

 

[fieryred33143]

China-That is my biggest fear with formula! We ran out yesterday but we were on our way to get some. Hope you can make whatever decision you make! For me, I stopped BUT I am trying to relactate. I don''t know if I could call it that since it''s only been about a month but I''m trying. Love that pic. He''s such a handsome guy!

Sunkist-What a great photo of Wes! He seems very entertained by the tree lol!

Here is Sophia all bundled up. She was PO''d and cried as loudly as she could in the mall when we were putting all of her clothes on. FI was embarrassed and kept saying maybe he should just carry her. I told him she''ll get over it and she did

 

[sunkist]

haha, about the "comb-over"

His eyes are blue already, huh?? Cool! I can''t wait to see what color Wes''s eyes will be. Yes, my husband is Chinese and I think he looks like a really good mix of the two of us. Everyone else says he looks just like my husband. He has my husband''s eyebrows which I absolutely am IN LOVE with

haha! I see Asian in him sometimes and caucasian at other times. I think he just beautiful~ (what mother doesn''t think that though

) I''ll post our family Christmas pic, not a close up of Wes, but you can see hubby and I.

 

[sunkist]

Date: 12/21/2009 5:37:39 PM
Author: fiery

Sunkist-What a great photo of Wes! He seems very entertained by the tree lol!


Here is Sophia all bundled up. She was PO''d and cried as loudly as she could in the mall when we were putting all of her clothes on. FI was embarrassed and kept saying maybe he should just carry her. I told him she''ll get over it and she did

Yes, quite entertained, eh?? haha I was trying...

 

[fieryred33143]

Sunkist-I definitely see a mix but I think he looks more like you!

 

[Mara]

lol china just had to chime in and say your funny mom thing was cracking me up. i would venture to say the stuck train thing is probably an EDGE CASE...hehee.

question for mom's who freeze their milk. one of my new mom friends is producing a lot of milk, so she is storing it for when she goes back to work. i read something SOMEWHERE (where i can't remember) that said that if you store milk in a freezer with 'other food' you should only store it like 3-4 weeks max. but in a freezer by itself (assuming all milk?) it can go like 2 months max.

however she said the medela guide says like 2-4 months for frozen (as long as you don't refreeze). does anyone have a guide? obviously longer would be great but i just can't remember where i found this SHORT time period..i wish i could.

random question re: swaddling. one of my friends said that the specific swaddle items (like swaddle me etc) did not work for them because they couldn't get them tight enough for their boy to not break out. they said their best swaddling were just extra large thin blankets (like the aden and adais 47x47) because they could really wrap him up tight. but it seems like the opposite for a lot of the gals here? also for those who say your kids don't like to be swaddled...how soon do you figure that out? like ASAP?

all the xmas kids pics are SO cute... i am kind of bummed we are JUST going to miss the holiday mark with having our nugget in end of jan...he will be 11 months next xmas so there won't be any cute newborn pics by the tree or anything. but on the flip side next holiday, he will be more mobile, so we can do more 'holiday' things with him than as a newborn where he might actually appreciate them a little bit more (and maybe we will too).

 

[fieryred33143]

Mara, here is the guide from Kellymom. I''ve read other sources too where milk stored in the freezer (part of fridge) is good for 3 to 6 months (some say up to 8 months). I haven''t read anything about food being in the freezer as a factor.

As for the swaddle, I absolutely loved swaddleme for two reasons: 1) I could get it tight enough so she wouldn''t break out without an effort and 2) when she got to the age where she was really breaking out of it but not quite ready to be free of the swaddle, she would end up with the blanket covering her face. The swaddleme has velcro so if she even came close to breaking out of it, I would be alerted by the sound to wrap her up again.

As for figuring it out, it was kind of ASAP but the trick is knowing whether they are truly ready to be free of the swaddle. Sophia started to really hate it around 3 months and would end up with her arms out of it. However, she wasn''t ready to be completely swaddle free until about 2 weeks later. Prior to that her arms would go crazy and she would wake up constantly. Once she was really ready, I was able to stop ''cold turkey'' without any problems.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/21/2009 6:21:43 PM
Author: fiery
Mara, here is the guide from Kellymom. I''ve read other sources too where milk stored in the freezer (part of fridge) is good for 3 to 6 months (some say up to 8 months). I haven''t read anything about food being in the freezer as a factor.

My guess is that it isn''t so much the food that is the problem. It''s that a freezer full of food is constantly being opened and closed. If you have a dedicated freezer it probably stays a lot colder consistently. Just a guess though!

And Mara, it isn''t like the milk goes bad after a few months. It just loses nutrients. Another thing to consider is that your BM changes with the nutritional needs of your child over time. So milk for a 1 month old won''t be the same as milk for a 7 month old. So just something to consider when freeziner/stashing.

 

[ChinaCat]

Sunkist- Yep, his eyes are definitely blue and have been since birth. They could still change though, so who knows. DH has super blue eyes, but mine are gray/green/blue so they could not stay so blue. It''s so hard to tell what they will look like as newborns, O has changed sooo much already. At birth he was the spitting image of DH, and now he looks like a combo. May I say that your DH is quite handsome????

Wes is going to be a looker either way!

Fiery- I know, it''s so hard to decided about the BF thing. Keeping with it for now. Sophia has just gotten so pretty, I can''t stand it. She was always a cute baby, but all of a sudden she''s just gorgeous. By relactate, do you mean start BF again? How does that work?

Mara- An edge case for sure, but those are the ones that freak me out!!!! Re: swaddling- I think you can tell pretty soon. It worked wonders with O, so no real experience here, but I think they hate it pretty early on. As for freezing- looking at my Medela guide right now and it says freeding for 3-4 months in freezer, but 6-12 months in a deep freezer. Doesn''t mention mixing with other foods or whatever. I find that I generally just pump enough ahead for the week or whatever, but haven''t actually needed to freeze any. Good to have in case of emergency, but I try to use mine within the week.

 

[taovandel]

We found out pretty early that he hated it....he hates having his hands/arms constrained--so he'll cry and flip out a bit. Even when I tuck him into the carseat with a blanket over him he automatically pulls his hands out to be free. That's why the sleep sacks helped us for a bit....I think we will try the swaddle me's anyways, who knows maybe he will like it.

ETA: O and Wes are so cute!!! Fiery--she is such a beauty!

 

[Sabine]

Swaddling: Jacks HATED the act of being swaddled, but also immediately calmed down once he was tightly swaddled and slept lots better with it.

LOVE all the holiday pics!

I''m having trouble keeping up again, but wanted to stop in and say hi!

Dh is working long hours again, so I''ve been a bit busy, but things are still going well other than the fact that I''m sick (had a cough for the past 3 days) and paranoid about whether or not Jacks is getting sick. He hasn''t had a temp., but has ambiguous symptoms at times (he''ll cough or sneeze occasionally, etc., things that could be normal or signs of a cold) but is also acting totally normal, so who knows? I bounce back and forth between feeling paranoid, and worrying that I''m overlooking a symptom that could mean he needs medical attention.

I''m also sad that I''m sick because dh is on call christmas eve, and I was planning on spending it with friends, but I won''t go if I''m still sick cause there will be 3 other lo''s under 6 months there and I don''t want to expose them to anything. I''m a little down about it because we won''t be seeing any family at all either.

And here''s one of our "outtakes" from our christmas photo shoot. I tried to use this fake snow as a backdrop, but he kept just playing with it and pulling it all over himself .

 

[Mandarine]

OMG...what cuties!!!

CHina, O is so cute! and look at those blue eyes!!!

Sophia is just gorgeous!...you''re going to be in so much toruble Fiery when she''s older!!!!

Wes is adorable! Love the pic!!!

**

Swaddling: My boys FIGHT being swaddled...and even scream sometimes after...but then, it''s bliss! they sleep so good at night!. I don''t swaddle them for naps because I don''t want them to get confused between day vs night sleeping (is that stupid?). Anyway, I second PG''s suggestion of the MIRACLE blankets! They are truly miracles! My boys break out of everything else.....the concept looks kind of mean (hehe), but they are amazing!

**

Update on sleeping...

Guess whose boys dropped another nighttime feeding!!!!???

My boys!!!

Yeahhh!!! little fellas are only waking up once to eat now at night!!!. So they eat "dinner" at 6:30pm, in crib by 7:30pm, up at 1am to eat and the up for the day between 6-7. Still working a little in making them stay sleep until past 6am (specially with Alex!)...but I''m so excited!!!!. I have no clue how we will get rid of that last feeding...but I''m happy to have one less to do at night!.

I bought the "Baby Sleep Solution" and the "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins" books...hope to start reading them soon (once I have some free time...hehehe, right!)

**
Update on weight loss. Well, NO UPDATE.

I actually managed to GAIN weight. How in the world is that possible!!!?. I''m working out like 4-5 times per week, plus I walk every day...and I''ve cut down a LOT on carbs. I''m hoping my body is just in shock from going to being a beached whale while pregnant, to a health fitness nut. I better start seeing some changes pronto!!!

**
Anyway, gotta go finish dinner....

 

[phoenixgirl]

Mandy, I'm positive that you are just gaining muscle right now. You are running 3.5 miles and working out consistently; you ARE making a difference, even if it's not on the scale. Have you noticed that you can get up and down stairs more easily or run faster than the last time? Don't give up!

Just like with all things pregnancy-related, I'm up and down with how I feel about my body, sometimes both at the same time. Sometimes I look at my curvier self in the mirror and I think, "You don't look too bad for having a baby two months ago!" But then other times I'm like, you've got to be kidding me that my butt and thighs managed to grow bigger than they ever were when I was out of shape even though I kept working out all throughout my pregnancy! I thought I was so smart for keeping my "fat" clothes, but now they just serve as a yardstick to measure how I've gone past my biggest size from the past. Fat pants, you're supposed to make us feel good, not rub it in our faces!

I wonder how much of my weight not budging is BFing. I'm exercising as much as time and body permit, and I'm eating healthy choices to hunger. I don't really know what else to do other than be patient. My goal is to lose 5 pounds by the end of January. Then I should be back in my fat pants so at least I'll have something to wear to work.

Sabine, cute! Sorry you aren't feeling well.

I hope your Christmas plans turn out better than you are anticipating.

Sunkist, what a handsome boy! Love the eyebrows!

China, I totally get your fear. This was a really awful story if you remember it, but a few years ago a family with a baby and a 5 year-old got trapped for days in the snow over Thanksgiving, and the mom had to BF both kids for survival. Eventually the dad went out for help and died of hypothermia, but the mom and girls were rescued. Anyway, there is something reassuring about having sustenance always on hand (or boob).

Speaking of morbid topics and BFing, has anyone read Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath? Spoiler Alert! ----------------->















Well, in TGOW, the Joads suffer from horrible poverty and starvation, and a character delivers a stillborn baby due to lack of nourishment. The final scene of the novel is of this character BFing a dying old man because he can't eat solid food. But remember, her baby never suckled obviously, so her supply was what, a tiny bit of colostrum? When I didn't know anything about BFing, I took this scene at face value, and sure the meaning is in the metaphor, but now I'm like, yeah right John Steinbeck! A character who is starving to the point of losing her baby couldn't produce any milk either.



Non baby related: DH has begun flipping bikes for fun and profit. This began because he wanted a certain set of wheels or crank or something and bought a whole bike to get the part he wanted, then sold the rest of the bike for what he paid for it, essentially getting the desired part for free. He says he can consistently make $500 to $1000 per bike, and he spends about 3 or 4 hours on a bike, so that is like $200 an hour and he has fun doing it. He buys them whole on eBay or Craigslist, then parts them out, sometimes fixing and replacing things. His goal is to time the purchases with our credit card billing cycle so we are never out any cash. Here are my many thoughts on the subject in bullet form:

*concerned that this will become a compulsion, like if he sees a $5000 bike that he can sell for $7000, he will *have to have it* even if it takes away time from the family and puts us at risk of losing $
*wondering why he doesn't do this as a full time job if the numbers are what he claims they are
*glad that he is getting to have fun here at home instead of going out
*annoyed that he's managed to find a new way to fill up his free time when that was our problem when Claire was first born
*glad that his hobbies involve fitness and/or making money since you've got to spend your free time doing something
*annoyed that the UPS guys hate me, like I'm the one ordering a million bikes (Today a UPS guy interrogated me as to why I "didn't answer the door" when they came . . . because I wasn't here! Is it my job to always be here? Is it your business to know what I'm doing all day? Why can't they just forge my signature like the rogue FedEx lady?) DH and I have decided that I should just throw him under the bus the next time UPS delivers something. "[Sigh.] Another bike . . . I don't know what's gotten in my husband . . ."

 

[Blenheim]

Just popping in...

George saw Santa today and HATED it. I may post photos later.

I love all of the pictures!! All of the babies are just adorable.

Freezing milk - are you thinking freezer above fridge versus deep freeze? You can keep longer in a deep freeze as the temperature remains colder. I think something like 3ish months in a regular freezer, 6+ in a deep freeze. Can''t remember exactly.

Ideally you''d regularly rotate milk to keep the stash fresh. Like use fresh milk, pumped the day before, for Tuesday-Friday. Freeze the milk you pump on Friday, and use your oldest frozen milk on Monday. I was really bad about this and ended up having to toss a couple gallons of milk b/c it did go bad.

Swaddling - we had one or two small Swaddle Mes that worked well, but by the time he reached the larger sizes that we had, he no longer needed to be swaddled. We also had some blankets that worked well; forget the brands. The ones that come in a 5-pack or whatever really don''t work. People will give them to you as gifts regardless.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 12/21/2009 10:00:57 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
Mandy, I'm positive that you are just gaining muscle right now. You are running 3.5 miles and working out consistently; you ARE making a difference, even if it's not on the scale. Have you noticed that you can get up and down stairs more easily or run faster than the last time? Don't give up!


Just like with all things pregnancy-related, I'm up and down with how I feel about my body, sometimes both at the same time. Sometimes I look at my curvier self in the mirror and I think, 'You don't look too bad for having a baby two months ago!' But then other times I'm like, you've got to be kidding me that my butt and thighs managed to grow bigger than they ever were when I was out of shape even though I kept working out all throughout my pregnancy! I thought I was so smart for keeping my 'fat' clothes, but now they just serve as a yardstick to measure how I've gone past my biggest size from the past. Fat pants, you're supposed to make us feel good, not rub it in our faces!


I wonder how much of my weight not budging is BFing. I'm exercising as much as time and body permit, and I'm eating healthy choices to hunger. I don't really know what else to do other than be patient. My goal is to lose 5 pounds by the end of January. Then I should be back in my fat pants so at least I'll have something to wear to work.


Sabine, cute! Sorry you aren't feeling well.

I hope your Christmas plans turn out better than you are anticipating.


Sunkist, what a handsome boy! Love the eyebrows!


China, I totally get your fear. This was a really awful story if you remember it, but a few years ago a family with a baby and a 5 year-old got trapped for days in the snow over Thanksgiving, and the mom had to BF both kids for survival. Eventually the dad went out for help and died of hypothermia, but the mom and girls were rescued. Anyway, there is something reassuring about having sustenance always on hand (or boob).


Speaking of morbid topics and BFing, has anyone read Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath? Spoiler Alert! ----------------->
















Well, in TGOW, the Joads suffer from horrible poverty and starvation, and a character delivers a stillborn baby due to lack of nourishment. The final scene of the novel is of this character BFing a dying old man because he can't eat solid food. But remember, her baby never suckled obviously, so her supply was what, a tiny bit of colostrum? When I didn't know anything about BFing, I took this scene at face value, and sure the meaning is in the metaphor, but now I'm like, yeah right John Steinbeck! A character who is starving to the point of losing her baby couldn't produce any milk either.




Non baby related: DH has begun flipping bikes for fun and profit. This began because he wanted a certain set of wheels or crank or something and bought a whole bike to get the part he wanted, then sold the rest of the bike for what he paid for it, essentially getting the desired part for free. He says he can consistently make $500 to $1000 per bike, and he spends about 3 or 4 hours on a bike, so that is like $200 an hour and he has fun doing it. He buys them whole on eBay or Craigslist, then parts them out, sometimes fixing and replacing things. His goal is to time the purchases with our credit card billing cycle so we are never out any cash. Here are my many thoughts on the subject in bullet form:


*concerned that this will become a compulsion, like if he sees a $5000 bike that he can sell for $7000, he will *have to have it* even if it takes away time from the family and puts us at risk of losing $

*wondering why he doesn't do this as a full time job if the numbers are what he claims they are

*glad that he is getting to have fun here at home instead of going out

*annoyed that he's managed to find a new way to fill up his free time when that was our problem when Claire was first born

*glad that his hobbies involve fitness and/or making money since you've got to spend your free time doing something

*annoyed that the UPS guys hate me, like I'm the one ordering a million bikes (Today a UPS guy interrogated me as to why I 'didn't answer the door' when they came . . . because I wasn't here! Is it my job to always be here? Is it your business to know what I'm doing all day? Why can't they just forge my signature like the rogue FedEx lady?) DH and I have decided that I should just throw him under the bus the next time UPS delivers something. '[Sigh.] Another bike . . . I don't know what's gotten in my husband . . .'

Phoenix,
I remember posting alongside you on the healthy living weekly threads some time ago. You WILL get back to where you were. It is just slower for some of us (me too) than for others. It doesn't seem fair, but please don't get discouraged. For a while I was so frustrated with my weight because it was just not budging. Now at 9 months out, I have some weight left to lose but I fit in most of my pre-preg clothes and all of my 1 size up fat clothes. It is taking forever but progress IS happening. I just keep reminding myself that when I get frustrated at a plateau. Also, I know you were super fit before and during your pregnancy and that will help. Come spring, you'll be able to walk and jog with Claire, and that will be a way to have fun together and exercise at the same time. I recently did a 10K with A and it was so much fun!

I hear you about DH and the hobby. I would share your concerns. I had many talks with DH about this too. His was a little different; he suddenly felt the need to get involved with some optional committees at work and to spend lots of time on home improvement and maintenance that were nice but totally not essential. I remember when A was 10 days old, DH was out tuning up the lawnmower and doing all kinds of yardwork for spring while I was recovering from my C section and dealing with a fussy baby alone. Like the yardowrk couldn't have waited a little while. I think it was male nesting or something? Or just not knowing what to do with the baby, but wanting to keep occupied in a productive way. I felt abandoned. We've had many talks about this and it still kind of comes and goes. Now that A is older, DH enjoys spending time with him more and chooses family time over the other stuff more often than not, but still it can be frustrating.

Anyway, just wanted to say that your post resonated with me and you are not alone.