PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[rockpaperscissors67]

Blen, I''m so glad that you saw the doc instead of brushing off the issue. Everyone''s right about not blaming yourself -- I don''t know any perfect people and those are the only ones who aren''t potentially passing bad genes to their kids. My ex and I both wear glasses and needed braces -- I''ve told our kids many times that they''re not going to be able to avoid their genetic destiny but live could be a lot worse. I''ll keep my fingers crossed that the patch and glasses work well and don''t cause G any distress.

EBree, I shower with my babies! It started with my now 9 year old, who was the most demanding baby ever. If I put her down at all, she''d scream bloody murder, and I could never relax when I showered because of her crying. One day, I decided to take her in with me and it started a trend. The water seemed very soothing to her. I think she was about 2 months old the first time. I did the same with my 3 year old and will do the same with Ben. Touch wood, I never dropped either of the older kids! When they got to the point where they could sit by themselves, I still took them in and let them play at my feet.

Anchor, I''m sorry about your uncle. I think introducing Jacob might be a good, healing thing, though, for your family. Funerals suck bad enough, but having a new life to appreciate may help everyone get through the day.

Mara, DANG, do you realize how lucky you are to be able to pump so much? The average is .5-3 oz. for both breasts at a pumping session, so yeah, I''d consider 4.5 and 5 oz. a ton.

I have 2 of the nursing tanks from Target -- I bought one and then went back the next day and got another because I liked the first so much. I like that they keep my belly covered since we''re in the middle of winter and I think they''re comfy. The one thing that I don''t like is that, depending on what shirt I wear over top, the two shirts stick together so it''s harder for me to get situated to nurse.

I will probably end up buying a couple more but I''m likely to do it online. I don''t know if anyone else''s Target is like this, but the size/color selection was really horrible. I got mediums, even though I could probably wear a small (I hate anything very restrictive) and I bought the last white medium and the last black medium! I doubt that the snow storm caused a run on nursing tanks, so I think they just keep a low inventory.

Medela Freestyle: Mara, you have a good memory! Like Lindsey, I got the pump from Add a Little Love for $290. I was really pleased with the service -- I think the pump arrived 5 days or so after I ordered it. I was happier to support an IBCLC than Target or Amazon. I *really* like this pump so far -- I have pumped a couple of times because Ben is a lazy nurser so he leaves me feeling full at times. I pump one side while he nurses on the other and it seems easier with the Freestyle than the Ameda Purely Yours that I used with Will. I really like the soft flanges, too -- they''re much more comfortable to me than the hard plastic on the Purely Yours.



I actually like getting up with the baby in the middle of the night. I brew some coffee and find something to watch on tv...and just enjoy the peace, as well as our alone time together.

Unfortunately, the peace didn''t last long tonight (this morning?) because my 3 year old got up at 5. We have to remember to open the door to the boys'' room before bed or it gets really chilly in there and that wakes him up -- and apparently SO forgot to open the door before he came to bed. So...Will got up and came out here with us. It was nice for the first 30 minutes, but I can see that he''s still tired and he will fight going back to sleep, so he''ll be crabby later. This is the part that''s the most difficult for me to deal with -- Will used to be an excellent sleeper but I''m sure he''s regressing a bit because of the baby''s arrival.

I guess the good news is that the 1931 version of Frankenstein is on and Will seems to be enjoying it without being scared.

 

[curlygirl]

LOVEY!!!! OMG, it''s so great to see you! You look fantastic and congratulations on your little boy!! Come on over to the older kids thread too--you might recognize a bunch of us. Welcome back, hope you''ll be able to stick around for a while!!!!

 

[Blenheim]

Lovely, thanks! It''s great to hear from someone who''s been there. And congrats on your little boy!

Date: 2/6/2010 1:39:28 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Blen I think G will look totally cute in those! Get him a black pair so it is like geek chic fashion, not cutsy silly blue or pink. Then he will look like the singer of Ween or something. Cooooooool

The problem is that some of the models only come in baby blue or baby pink. The one with the expanded range of colors includes "denim", brown, red, and green, but they''re more square and FIL thinks that rounder ones would look better plus more Harry Potter-like. (We were thinking of drawing on a lightning scar and dressing him up as HP for Halloween... We''re trying to look on the bright side of things.

) I''m going to keep looking. I could definitely deal with geek chic black frames.

RPS - I don''t think he could have avoided the glasses - it just shocks me that he needs to wear them and he isn''t even a year old. My mom pointed out that most kids in our generation didn''t get glasses until they vocalized that they were having problems reading words on a blackboard or on signs, and so it may just be that the only difference between G and me (other than both my eyes having similarly bad vision) is that we made sure to get him tested young.

Do you have all this snow down where you are? I''m about 2 hours north of you, I think. We''re snowed in (18" and still going). Hope that Will goes back to being a great sleeper.

Sleep over here - last night went really really well (woke up at 11:30 and put himself back to sleep in minutes, woke up at 4:30 and I nursed him and then he went right back to sleep); the night before that was hellacious to the point where DH thought he may need to sleep on the couch for a few nights to remove himself from the situation. Hopefully we''ll have more nights like last night in our future.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Mandy, good question. No, we don''t want another baby right now, aren''t going to try for another year or so. But if it had happened accidentally, we would have accepted it as a blessing, ya know? I know you know better than the rest of us how difficult two little ones at the same time are . . . we''d prefer a space of more like 20 to 30 months between the kids.


So, my plan to sleep through Claire''s feeding last night and have DH give her a bottle was a big fail.

My stupid neighbor decided to shovel his back porch at 3 in the morning!!!!!!!! Don''t ask me why because it''s covered in snow again today. So of course, I just calmly moved over into the guestroom and went back to sleep. No, I wish. Actually, I started crying and yelling obscenities. DH helped me move into the guestroom and set up the white noise machine for me. He even stayed and rubbed my forehead to calm me down, but it was too late, and at 4:15 when Claire woke up I was still awake, so I got up and fed her. Boo, stupid neighbor, boo!

But I do feel better today with the nausea today, so I''m hoping that as the Fenugreek leaves my system I''ll feel a little better, and we can have me skip the feeding tonight instead. Fingers crossed!

 

[natalina]

Blen- yay for a great night! Knock wood that George is getting more comfortable on his own.

PG- hope you start to feel better today! I would have wanted to KILL my neighbor! I was taking Fenugreek and noticed Ellie''s poo went all green and she got really gassy so I stopped. She seems to be getting back to normal now, and it''s only been 2 days. Maybe some people are just really sensitive to it? Anyway, hope you feel better.

 

[taovandel]

I hate to post this after PG complaining about sleep....but Evan slept through the night again last night (3 nights in a row!) He went to bed between 8 and 830 and woke up at 645....WOOHOO! And my husband woke up with him so I got to sleep in until almost 9!


PG: I can''t believe your neighbor! I would have went over there and yelled at him! The only thing I could think of for why is maybe he or his wife (?) work early inthe morning and he was being nice so that one of them wouldn''t fall? My mom works at 3 in the morning and I could see my Dad going out that early and shoveling so that she had a safe path to her car.


Also, I''m so thankful that E has chosen an earlier bedtime. When he used to go to bed at 10 I felt like I couldn''t get a whole lot done or spend any time with my husband. Now that he falls asleep sometime around 7:30-8:30 We can actually hang out and talk and have fun....for the past two nights we''ve cuddled up on the couch and played Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. So much fun!


Blen: I''m with everyone else...I would avoid getting those glasses in such a crazy color....I would go with brown or black if possible...love the Harry Potter idea!

RPS: We also shower with E. It''s so much easier and less messy and Evan LOVES it. He''s even fallen asleep while giving him a shower. My husband normally gives him the shower--he loves the skin on skin bonding with E. And my husband works longer hours then I do so he doesn''t get to bond that often with him--so he gets mad if I try and do the shower with him.

 

[mela lu]

Just stopping by quickly to report that I POAS, and it was a BFN, just as I thought.

It made me feel good about all the red wine I drank with my crisp fried pigs ear, proscuitto wrapped sweetbreads (organ meat) and lamb carpaccio I ate last night.

The trend here of late is these meat-0-rama restaurants that serve gross things. I try everything once....so.....

Ebree - I think you and H look SO much alike!!!

Also, Tao - I see a resemblance to you and Evan.

So cool!

K, gotta go! B-day party for my dad this afternoon

 

[janinegirly]

Mandy: late to comment (I'm not on this thread much), but wanted to add a few things re: flathead. I do see a bit of flatness--nothing overly concerning, but you are correct to follow your instincts. C had a touch of it, but hers was on one side (not the back). She always favored sleeping on one side and it got most noticeable around 2 months. Now I did mention it to the dr and he kind of blew it off. Those first 2 mo's are tough so it kind of didn't get really addressed till the 3 month visit. At which point I DEF saw something and was much more insistent with the dr. He then agreed and we just were told to be observant and reposition her often. My mom and I decided to be v. aggressive with the positioning though since we knew that that one month was key to avoid PT (which isn't the worst thing--we just wanted to avoid it if we could). We basically never let her sleep/rest on the side she wanted to (poor thing). I used sleep positioners, rolled her on her stomach at night and co-slept to keep an eye on her (and turned her head whenever she had it on the "flat" side--yes this meant I basically never went into a deep sleep myself). I bought a noggin cushion (BRU) which has a hole in the back so their head is not pressed flat when they are in the stroller, bouncer etc. Anyway, we apparently did an awesome job because she was fine at 4 mo's and now has a perfect little head.

So bottom line, do NOT think you caused this. Sometimes it is caused by excessive time on the back (which is actually what we are told to do due to SIDS fears) but sometimes it is also originates from the positioning in the womb. This is how it happened with C I believe b/c I remember her favoring one side from birth! And she almost never was in the carseat or stroller or bouncy. Also, follow your instinct...it's early and you can fix it fast since their little heads are still forming. There are plenty of adults walking around with flat heads and it's not the end of the world, but I figure if it's so easily fixable why not just be conscious of re-positioning including at night (which in my opinion is the longest periods of time they are in one spot)? From what I remember at the time TGAL was the only person telling me to act on it quick, so she's a great resource on this.

Don't worry, it'll be fine and good for you for being an observant mommy!

 

[Mara]

RPS thanks for chiming in re the pump. Do you like the freestyle so far? I have been hearing a few things about it not being as 'powerful' as the PIS and I am not sure if I should go PIS or Freestyle. Also today at our LC visit they said that they really recommend the Ameda brand (what the hospital also rents and we are using right now) which is not hands-free but they have a PIS version of it and apparently it's like 1/2 what Medela is AND the LC's hub used to work for Ameda and said they are owned by the same company as Medela so it's basically like the same thing. They just don't have a Hands Free version. Sooo I will look into that too because if I decide Handsfree is not a requirement (aka I can get a bra or something to help me go hands free) then I would much rather pay like $150 than $300 for same quality. I also emailed AALL and saw their pricing for Freestyle is $290 and PIS is $217.

So we visited with the LC's today at the newborn club at the hospital and spent 2 hours there! They had me feed with the nipple shield, and without it. They weigh the babies in between to see what you are giving them. Basically our kid is a lazy boob sucker because she checked his mouth, his latch and my boob and she said there's no real reason I should need to use the shield with him (aka my nipples aren't flat and he isn't doing anything weird with his mouth). So she had me do 5 min with shield, then try without, rinse and repeat. Towards the end he would take the boob with no shield but he wasn't GETTING very much out of the boob. So anyway I fed him 1oz at the end of about 25 min on each boob. She said 15 min on each boob should be enough for max output and then to have Greg bottle feed him the rest while I pump. And just to keep at it. I am totally good with this because the kid gets the milk regardless, and we can work on the BF thing while Greg also is involved (he loves it). And eventually I will be pumping more anyway when I go to work so if we can find a routine that works for us now, great.

I really liked that the LC we were working with was totally open minded and quite knowledgable. She was telling us that her sister is using a nipple shield because they are having latch problems and she hasn't been able to get her off it for a month now, but it's working for them so it's fine. She said she also had to use a shield with one of her kids. So anyway, positive visit and I love that we can also ask these gals anything random like 'how long before baby regulates his own temp' (answer: he should be fine doing it now) and 'is it ok for him to sleep in the bouncer if it soothes him instead of being flat on his back (answer: yes it's fine just don't keep vibration on entire time). so yay.

Last nite was the first night of 2.5 hour sleep intervals instead of the 3-4 he was going previously. It prob has something to do with the fact he got a ton of BM yesterday and it's more water than formula so he's hungry faster. Soooo we are more tired today but it's not too bad, we'll take a few naps. I was telling Greg that I think the hardest thing for adjustment on sleep is that it's not 'natural' to people to be awake at night so you feel way more out of it knowing everyone is sleeping. And then it's hard for people to sleep during the day because that is when you should be up and productive. I think if we can start to view it more like 'one 24 hour time period' and if we can get 8 hours of sleep in that 24 hours, however you do it, yay for us. So we're working on that mentally but it's hard for sure hahaha. And of course that won't work once I go back to work but I have 4 months so I'll worry about it then!

viz... so good to see you here!! thanks for the info on the uniboob. i also wanted to see if gap mat had any nursing tanks since i really liked the tanks i got from them for preggo.

tacori...good to know you did the entire BF exp with nipple shield. i am hoping to not have to do that but if i do then i do so...!! and thanks also for the note on the supplementing, yeah everyone has their own way of wanting to do things but i am really trying to be as flexible as possible and do what works best for all of us. i really want to spend as much time as possible enjoying my kiddo rather than worrying about his health or feeding or is he getting enough or whatever. so if i can pump and bf together and use bottle and he's eating and happy, then we are too.

rps...wow i didn't realize that i was getting so much from my boobs in the scheme of things. the LC today said that what i got yesterday was pretty good. she also noted you make less in the evenings, i had no idea. i am hoping to continue to make a good amt of food but we'll see.

lovey...that is a fabulous picture and damn you do look great for just birthed hehe.

i took a bad iphone photo of myself this morning at 6 days PP, so if i can remember i will post it later. i feel a little less 'blobby' every day thankfully, but still feel swollen somehow just in general, not any specific spot just overall.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Mara, little tip if you end up using the shield for awhile, get one of those travel spray bottles (little ones). Made it so much easier to apply it without having to get up to get it wet constantly. My LC was AWESOME too! I heard horror stories about the LLL nazis but that was not my experience. Also if it makes you feel better T slept in her bouncer or swing for a long time. She also was spitting up so the bouncer was a life saver b/c it kept her elevated. I started thinking/starting sleep training at 4 months. Before then it was a free for all. I just followed her lead and not I got me a great sleeper. When I started supplementing I used high cal formula. We got her weight back on track in one month. I am grateful they make great formulas to supplement when need be.

 

[ChinaCat]

Phxgirl- EVERY time we make a plan for me to get more sleep, something or someone foils it!!!! Keep trying, hope tonight is your night!

Mela- Sad you aren't preggo for you, but I know you'll have another munchkin sooner rather than later.

Mara- Like Tacori, I have used the nipple shield the entire time and EBF. I have one flat nipple and it just is easier to use the shield. Not a PITA for me, but I don't know any different. I have the Ameda pump and it's pretty powerful. I have a hands free bra that works great. I also pump like 8 oz or more (total) if I pump instead of a feeding (get around 5 oz if after feeding). Glad you have a great LC, it can make ALL the difference.

AFM- Bad mommy confession. I hit O's head against a wall last night. Or rather, I walked his head INTO a wall. I feel so bad. He loves to sit on our shoulders and I was walking b/w rooms and misjudged the height and whacked his head against the doorframe.

He doesn't even have a bump, but I have never felt so bad in my life, I am sure it shocked the he** out of him. Poor baby.

I went to visit a friend and her 3 month old baby. It's funny how simple everything seems AFTER you've been through it. They are stressed b/c they are trying to institute a bedtime and their daughter fights going to bed and won't go to bed at a set time. I told them that O never did either and finally just started instituting a bedtime all on his own at around 5 months. And now we have a bedtime and a bedtime routine. They were just thrilled and relieved to hear this- that they weren't doing anything "wrong" and that their kiddo would eventually have a bedtime. We worry so much about things we can't control. I know I was worried when O didn't have a bedtime and so many of the babies on here did. Well now I just know that he wasn't ready. I can see now why so many BTDT moms are so casual and relaxed about babies. See how the second will go way easier in that respect.

ETA: Tao, how do you shower with Evan? What do you do, hold him the whole time? How do you wash your hair and stuff with him? Just curious b/c we have a huge shower and would love to try that, but don't know that I could actually wash my hair with O.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 2/6/2010 2:01:27 AM
Author: lovey
Hi ladies,

It''s been a long time since I''ve posted anything on PS, but just popped over and found this thread!! So exciting to see all the new babies. It will take time to catch up, so bear with me.

My son is 6.5 months old. He''s our first baby and a total charmer.

Blenheim, your baby is beautiful. I wore an eye patch when I was very young and remember that the eye drops made my vision blurry (all fixed now..no glasses). Good for you for getting such an early diagnosis!! I can remember doing eye exercises and being annoyed because they took too long (my mom tells me that they probably only lasted 10-15 min/day) and like any kid I wanted to be out playing in the backyard.

Here''s a picture of my little one when we were leaving the hospital in July..he''s not so little anymore at 28'' and 21 pounds!!

Hey Lovey!!!! So nice to see you, gosh time flies by huh?? Glad you found this thread!!!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Here''s my late contribution to BPF:

 

[taovandel]

Normally what we do with showering is the following:

Husband will take him and do the holding in the shower. I will wash the baby (I''m not in the shower with them) as he is holding him and Husband will rinse him off. Then I leave to get towels and pjs and what not for the baby while the husband holds him and does skin to skin for like 5 minutes. Then I''ll take the baby from him so my husband can shower and I dry the baby off and change him into pjs. Sometimes I''ll come back after the 5 minutes and the baby will be passed out and happy. It''s nice bonding for the husband and baby and it''s nice for us to do some teamwork with the baby.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

CC, glad I am not the only one who had to use the shield. Mine aren''t flat but I guess they are short

Obviously not anything I noticed or thought about until I had a kid.

We started taking T in the shower when she was about 2 months old. Once she got older 6 months or so we started taking her baby bath in too. Even now she will sit and play in her bathtub while I shampoo/clean myself. It works out great for us. She is SUCH a water baby she rarely lets either of us shower without her. This is our compromise and faster than a traditional bath.

 

[Dreamer_D]

One of my nipples was a little flatter than the other and latch was always harder on that side. It did stretch eventually... like everything on your body after baby I guess

 

[Mandarine]

Date: 2/5/2010 11:26:33 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Mandarine, your boys are such little chubbos! Its awesome. And they look hilarious in all the photos... both staring with the same look on their same little faces. I mean hilariously cute, like puppies and such of course. Don''t you just laugh at them every day??

They ARE hilarious aren''t they????

They are so funny, they crack me up!. It''s just crazy to have the four eyes that look exactly the same staring right back at you...then when they start "talking" and showing their (chubby) gums. Just too funny...hehe The chubbos!!!!!

 

[fieryred33143]

Hey ladies Maise posted an update on IndyGal in Hangout

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 2/6/2010 10:58:24 PM
Author: fiery
Hey ladies Maise posted an update on IndyGal in Hangout

That''s so great to hear! You know, once long ago Indy suggested that she and I exchange contact information and I was too leery of sharing that information online so we never did... and I have regretted it regularly in the last year since she disappeared! I wish I knew how to find her somehow.

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Blen, we got really lucky with the snow this time and the majority missed us. I think we got maybe 4" but then had rain that melted a lot of it. I''m so grateful we didn''t get dumped on because everyone is going a little stir crazy being stuck inside all together so much.

Your mom is totally right -- G is so lucky that you and your DH are aware of the potential for problems and acted now.

PG, I''m sorry you didn''t get to sleep like you''d planned. You''re a much better woman than me because I would have gone out and bashed that neighbor over the head with the shovel. I''m pretty even tempered most of the time -- just not when I''m sleep deprived. I hope you are getting to sleep tonight!

Mara, I do like the Freestyle so far, although I have yet to read the manual to figure out how to use the memory. I used the Ameda Purely Yours to pump with Will and I don''t really notice a difference in the power between the two, but then I wouldn''t use either on the highest setting. One thing that makes a big difference for me is that the Freestyle''s flanges are a soft plastic so they are more comfortable. I also like that there are no tiny pieces to lose during washing like the little white valves that go on the bottom of the horn piece on the PY. The Freestyle motor section is about 1/2 the size of the PY, plus it''s rechargeable so you don''t have to be stuck at an outlet while pumping (although you can put batteries in the PY, so you wouldn''t have to be plugged in).

I''ve never used the PIS, so I can''t compare the PY to the PIS, but I do think the PY is a good pump. When I bought mine, I got it for $200 and it came with a carrying bag, an insulated tote, 3 ice packs and 6 collection bottles. I pumped at least twice a day for 8 months with it and was pleased overall. I planned to use it again full time and have the Freestyle for traveling, but when I pulled out the PY the other week, I found that the one knob must have gotten something in it because it sticks. Since I''m happy using the Freestyle, I haven''t done much to try to get the knob unstuck.

About the lazy nursing: I think this is pretty common in the early days. I''ve had several lazy nursers and Ben is one, too. I really have to make a concerted effort to get him to feed. I tickle his feet, rub his back, talk to him, change his diaper, etc. I also do breast compression to encourage him to keep nursing. He latches on, sucks for a while and then zonks out. Will did the same thing and it drove me nuts for a bit. I make sure to get Ben to nurse at least once every 2 hours because of this. Eventually, I''m sure he''ll get it together and be more serious about feeding.

About supply level: When you get to the point where you''re pumping during work, it''s good to remember that your supply is the highest in the morning, lowest in the evening, highest on Mondays and lowest on Friday (if you work M-F). I sometimes got discouraged on Fridays when I pumped less, so I had to remind myself that it was the end of the week so this is natural. If you nurse on demand on the weekends, your supply will bounce back for Monday morning. There were times when I cleared activities off the weekend schedule in order to allow for more nursing/rest times, too; it seems like it can be way too easy to keep pushing on the weekends when that''s such a good time to take it a bit easier and reconnect with baby.

China, I''ve managed to hurt my kids accidentally. Nothing better for making you feel like the world''s worst parent! I smacked Will''s head into a doorframe when I was carrying him in my arms and misjudged where the doorway was. Duh. I haven''t seen any evidence that kids hold it against us, so don''t feel bad!

I''m not Tao, but figured I''d chime in on how I shower with a baby. I undress the baby down to the diaper and put him on a towel on the floor, then get in the shower myself and do my thing. When I''m done, I get out, take baby''s diaper off, and then get back in and wash him. When we''re done, I get out and wrap the baby in a towel quickly, dry myself off, then dry baby off and put a diaper on.

You can find mesh slings that can be used in the water and I''ve never had one, but think they''re a great idea, especially if you''re afraid of dropping a slippery wet baby.


So...I''m starving all of the time! This is typical for me in the post-partum period, but it still cracks me up that I cannot stay out of the kitchen. I think SO is scared by the amount of food I can put down these days. I''ve already lost 20 lbs in the past week with 17 more to go so I''m not even thinking about watching my weight.

It looks like I have another child who''s a fan of having foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. Ben had like 6 meconium poops in his first 2 days, then briefly had the usual seedy breastmilk poops...and is now having lovely green, slimy poops. I''ve dealt with this with every single one of my kids and it''s soooo frustrating! With Will, I did block feeding and had to go to feeding on the same side for between 4-5 hours before seeing an improvement, and even then, it wasn''t a complete fix. On top of that, my kids are slow gainers, which is frustrating, but at least I know what to expect. The only thing that worries me is that Ben started out so small that I''m more concerned with him being able to put on some weight. The other kids are all tall and thin and perfectly healthy, so I know that I shouldn''t be as concerned but it''s hard to see your baby struggling to gain when everyone else''s kids seem to turn into little roly-polys.

I was a little shocked yesterday because my teenage daughter told me that her stepmom said that Will (our 3 year old) was an ugly baby! Apparently, Hannah told SM that Ben looks just like Will did when he was a baby and SM said, "Ew" then proceeded to say that Will was an ugly baby. Excuse me? I am shocked that she would say something like that, first of all, and second, I realize that I am biased, but I don''t think either Ben or Will are/were ugly babies by a long shot. When I''d take Will out, invariably someone would comment about how adorable he was, even when his hair fell out on the sides, leaving him with a goofy mohawk! I think maybe this was some jealousy on SM''s part because she doesn''t have kids of her own. Then again, she married my ex, who''s not the best looking man on the planet by any means, so maybe her sense of what''s attractive is far different than mine. I don''t really care if she thinks my kids are ugly, but I do care that she voiced this opinion to their sister!

 

[Mandarine]

Thank you Janine!!!

Co-sleeping is not an option for us...I don''t even know what that would look like with two!. Lucas''s head is not as bad as Alex, but he is getting a bit of flat head too.

I started being SO MUCH MORE diligent about tummy time, using the bumbo and now even the jumperoo! (they still can''t jump, but enjoy sitting there). I also bought this thing: Boppy noggin. I assume that''s similar to what you used?. I plan on putting it wherever they are laying/sitting. Not sure if it would work in the crib, we''ll see.

I think I''m going to take profile pics of both babies today, and then take the same pic in a month to see if it''s improving/getting worse.

Thank you again for your tips

 

[phoenixgirl]

Mandy, my sister uses the Boppy Noggin with my niece in the crib. I think it would make me nervous now that Claire is so mobile -- that she would manage to flip part or all of the way over and wind up blocking her nose with it. My sister is very nervous about flathead after my nephew was sent to the see the helmet people.


Claire wouldn''t take the bottle at 2 a.m. last night. She did take it at 7 a.m. though, so I slept until 9:30. But I just have not been doing well going back to sleep, so I was up until 4:45 after feeding her. I do feel better rested today, though. DH really was a superstar. I guess he felt bad about her not taking the bottle, so he stayed up with me while I nursed her. His theory is that at 2 a.m. she had gotten too upset while waiting for the bottle, but in the morning she woke up and played for a little while, so he had it ready when she started fussing.

I''ve been nervous to let Claire eat fewer than 7x a day with my return to work, but I think she''s heading that way, and rationally I know my body should adjust. Last night we didn''t do a dream-feed after the 7:15 feeding because we were too tired, and she went 7 hours, then 5. We seem to be falling into a 6x per day schedule, which I know is normal for a 3.5 month old. I just need to let go of my fear of her not gaining enough and my fear of my milk supply not keeping up.

If I usually feed her around 7 a.m., most days she should only need two bottles at daycare before I get there, and if I pump 9 oz. at work, we''re right on track. If I''m trying to make 3 bottles, I have more pumping to do at night, which is tiring. But if the 3rd bottle is only necessary occasionally, they can use some of the freezer milk I left. I have almost 20 freezer bottles, so this should work pretty well. The only thing stopping me is that I''m worried about the daycare people being annoyed if they have to defrost milk once or twice a week, which is silly.

 

[NovemberBride]

Mara, I have the freestyle and I love it. I also have heard that you can get a hands free bra to use with the pump in style, but I went with the freestyle because it was easy with everything included. Another reason I chose the freestyle is because it comes out of the bag in case you don''t want to use that bag. I believe the PIS doesn''t come out of the carrying case, which seemed really annoying to me in case I was traveling and didn''t want to carry a separate bag for my pump (maybe someone with the PIS can confirm if this is correct). One thing I did want to mention though is that RPS has mentioned the soft cups on the freestyle. While it''s true that it does come with the soft cups, the soft cups are only available in the size that comes with the pump. If you need larger or smaller cups, you can only get the hard ones.

PG, we are on a 6 feedings a day schedule with Olivia as well. She eats at 6, 9, 12, 3, 6 and 9. She gets 3 4 oz bottles at daycare at 9, 12 and 3. It seems to be going well so far.

We had kind of a rough night last night, Olivia seems to have gotten her first cold from daycare. Poor girl is so stuffed up that she wakes herself up because she so sniffly. We''ve just been using saline spray and suctioning her nose. If she''s not better tomorrow I''ll probably call the pedi just to be safe since she''s still under 3 months.

 

[steph72276]

Hey, girls. I finally have a minute to pop in. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. We are all doing well here except for the sleep deprivation. Baby E LOVES to sleep, sleep, sleep during the day and then turns into a party animal at night. I don''t know how to get him to change his days and nights, but I''m sure it will happen eventually. I try to keep him awake during the day and nothing works, he dozes off while feeding everytime and I can''t get him back awake. As far as feedings go, I am so confused. He is nursing really well and goes for about 10-15 min. on each side. I was going to try to cut back on the formula since he''s nursing every 1 1/2- 2 hours, but then he gets MAD if I don''t have the formula ready for him. He drinks about an ounce to an ounce and a half of formula after nursing. I''m taking him for his 2 week appt. on Wed, so I will ask then. I just hate to have to continue with the formula, but he seems to really want it. I think I will try pumping also to have as a backup in the bottle. Have a great day everyone

 

[Mara]

thanks for the tips on the PIS vs PY vs freestyle. still trying to mull it over. diapers.com has the PY for $149 without the tote, and we have a $50 gift card there from one of my vendors so it would be basically $100 with free shipping and i don't think tax. tempting for sure. and i could get the bra to make it freestyle so...and i have bags i could use myself so i don't really need the tote i don't think. but on the flip side i plan to pump at work and i know the freestyle is basically made for that kind of practice. but is it worth another $200? ugh..decisions. and i just don't want to be tossing money out the window. anyway.

RPS i can't believe that your kids' stepmom would say something like that !! and to one of your kids! how entirely inappropriate and rude. also can you explain a bit more about how ben is nursing and the green poo? i am not sure what fore/hind is? and thanks for noting that about the lazy nursers. hopefully as he grows and gets a larger and stronger mouth the boob thing will become easier.

we have been pretty impressed that since day 1, Julian has been a champion head lifter. maybe it's normal or all kids are this strong but the kid can lift his head up and hold it steady for like 3-5 seconds before flopping it down (if we don't notice and catch him). i can't wait to see how his strength develops. he is also crazy houdini with swaddling. i can get a good tight swaddle on him with the A&A wraps but greg is still learning how to control his arms...because he really is AMAZING at being able to pull them out on his own. he's like a little prize fighter while it's happening too and he gets so angry and red, we have to laugh. i have started swaddling him sometimes with his arms a little up and out but not totally because it seems to soothe him more and then he can suck on his mitt. he has a total oral fixation and wants to be attached to something to suck all the time. he will even root on our FACES if he is on our shoulder or something. it's hilarious.

so the kid is doing better with the boob with the shield on, i notice he will feed for a few minutes from my left boob without it but he doesn't really love it, and the right one not at all. the nipples now i notice are slightly diff and i guess the left one just feels more like a fakey? who knows. but i am doing time with shield and time off but not stressing about it either way. and then we bottle feed BM afterwards or sometimes i am interspersing boob time in between bottle/burps to keep him on his toes haha.

also Greg has a wee cold and i am just hoping that neither the kid nor i get it... the last thing i want to be dealing with is a week old baby who is congested. i have just a very slight sore throat and i am taking my prenatal and vit c and hopefully my body will fight it off and then pass antibodies to the kid so he won't get it either. keeping fingers crossed...but the nurse said to just wash hands all the time and have greg not breathe on him for a few days, so hopefully.

steph...our kiddo is more of a partier at night too ...well he's not that bad, he wakes up every 2-2.5 hours at night but during the day he will sleep for 3-4 hours at a time and we have to wake him up. i don't know if its day/night confusion or that is just his schedule for right now. we're just going with it since we're home with him for now and we can manage ok and just make sure to nap during the day...but yeah it's like..'you got it backwards kiddo!!!'. i know you already have a kiddo so you are experienced at this, but everyone's great advice to us was sleep when the baby sleeps and we are really trying to heed it. it is helping us 'catch up' and every night is a little less painful than the last thankfully. hope your little boy switches soon and maybe you can catch some naps in the meantime.

tacori...glad to hear that our boy is not the only one loving the bouncer time. he just doesn't seem to want to be flat on his back in the bassinet much. he sleeps so much better and less 'angrily' when he is on an incline. lately i have started putting him on the boppy to sleep on the couch with me during the day and he sleeps a long time on that too...he just likes being upright more. and he has a little reflux so it makes it easier too.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 2/7/2010 2:29:00 PM
Author: steph72276
Hey, girls. I finally have a minute to pop in. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. We are all doing well here except for the sleep deprivation. Baby E LOVES to sleep, sleep, sleep during the day and then turns into a party animal at night. I don''t know how to get him to change his days and nights, but I''m sure it will happen eventually. I try to keep him awake during the day and nothing works, he dozes off while feeding everytime and I can''t get him back awake. As far as feedings go, I am so confused. He is nursing really well and goes for about 10-15 min. on each side. I was going to try to cut back on the formula since he''s nursing every 1 1/2- 2 hours, but then he gets MAD if I don''t have the formula ready for him. He drinks about an ounce to an ounce and a half of formula after nursing. I''m taking him for his 2 week appt. on Wed, so I will ask then. I just hate to have to continue with the formula, but he seems to really want it. I think I will try pumping also to have as a backup in the bottle. Have a great day everyone

Maybe he wants to nurse more? Could you try switching and giving both boobs once again? He would likely get another 1-2oz that way. How old is he now? I know in the benginning I was told not to let Hunter nurse forever when his weight was low because it was tiring, but it is not uncommon for it to take a baby 40 minutes to finish, so he might just want another go around. Let us know what the doc says, I am curious too!

 

[Blenheim]

RPS - Ben is a cute baby! And who the heck tells someone their baby is ugly? I can see a teenager, as they''re not always as great with filtering thoughts, but the SM?

Mara - Lifting the head is very strong for a newborn! Hope that you and Julian don''t catch Greg''s cold.

Foremilk/hindmilk - "foremilk" is what first comes out and "hindmilk" comes out later in a nursing session - more information here. Hindmilk is fattier. Green poo can signal that the baby is getting too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk.

Mela- I was hoping it was a BFP so I could live vicariously through you. At least you can party it up in FL now!

China - That''s happened in this house more than I''d like to admit. And we''ve all heard about Daisy''s escapades as well. It just happens. you''re not a bad mommy at all.

Steph - congrats again! George didn''t have his days and nights mixed up, but i''ve heard that it can help if you make it very obvious that day is awake time (lights on, don''t make an effort to be quiet) and that night is sleep time (no lights, everything hushed). i hope it gets better for you.

Showering w/ baby- we''ve done it since he was about two weeks old. At that point, I''d usually lather him up, rinse him off (keeping a FIRM grip on him as babies are slippery), and then hand him off to DH who would towel him off while I showered myself. I also used to set up him on the ground outside the shower naked, wash myself, then grab him and wash him. Once he could sit reliably on his own, I''d sometimes just sit him down on the bottom of the tub while I soaped up.

Pumps - I had a Medela PIS and it worked fine for pumping while I was at work. Honestly, the hands-free one would have been a waste of money for me. I pumped about twice as much milk if I massaged my breasts while pumping and then finished with some hand expression, and it''s the only way that I was able to pump enough milk for him.

Belated bad mommy confession - I keep laughing at this photo.

 

[taovandel]

Blen: That picture is hilarious...he will probably hate you for it later when he is older--but it''s still hilarious!


Evan slept through the night again...

We had to try out the pacifier again today. He keeps sucking on his fingers...and I''m figuring that breaking a baby of a pacifier has to be easier then breaking him of sucking on his fingers since we can take the pacifier away...I can''t exactly take his hand away.

Also....He finally laughed! I was in the bathroom getting dressed to take the baby out to breakfast with the grandparents and my husband was in the bedroom talking to him and playing with him and he laughed! I came flying out of the bathroom so excited!! But of course he hasn''t done it since. Hopefully it will continue.

 

[steph72276]

RPS, I can't believe the stepmom would say that either...how rude and untrue! She is most def. jealous!

Mara, yeah the sleep while the baby sleep thing sort of goes out of the window when you have 2 (or more)...that is the time when we spend with Andrew, but Adam and I are trying to each lay down for an hour or so while the other one watches the boys. Hope Greg feels better and the cold doesn't spread.

DD, that is a good idea to switch him back to go for another round, I will try that at the next feeding. I will let you know what the doc says.

Blen, thanks for the congrats and the advice. We are trying to do that as much as possible, but this kiddo can sleep through anything during the day! That pic is too cute!

Tao, yea for baby laughs...they are the very best sound ever!

Here is a pic I took of the boys today....we're getting pro pics made on Friday that will be used for announcements.

ETA: Sorry the pic is so huge!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Blen I think you need to draw a mustache on George with eyeliner or something and take the picture again

Now THAT would be a funny photo!

RPS Wait, I missed something... your step mom said that you baby was ugly?? Now that is just crazy!??!

Steph Your boys are such cuties. Newborns still crack me up, they are so zoned out in photos! Andrew look just like you from what I recall of seeing pictures of you. Does Evan look like Andrew did as a baby?

Tao Yah for laughing!

***

Hunter is almost one. I feel old