PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Mandarine]

phewww....

What an afternoon!

Right after I posted my house was quiet, Alex started crying!. Luckily it was getting close to bedtime! I bathed them, changed them, attempted to read to them (but they were too cranky), fed them, swaddled them and they were OUT!!!

Hopefully tonight is uneventful

The hubster comes back tomorrow!...did I tell you guys he sent me flowers for v-day? It was form him and the boys!

How things change, I used to think it would be so hard to stay by myself with both babies for a few days...now I think is not that hard, just a little more time consuming!

Hope you all had a great valentine''s day!!!. Me, myself and I are going to have some soup and a cocktail for dinner (it IS still the weekend!)

M~

 

[Mandarine]

sorry for all the posts...but I had to post this pic!. I have it on the "other" site, but since I don''t have all of you I thought I would post it here too

I did their 4 month "shoot" today ...3 days later since they have been so cranky the last few days. This was at around 11am, right before the day went way down hill!. What? these cuties giving mommy a hard time??...nah, not them!

I just love Lucas''s smile here....and Alex looks like he''s just chillin''

 

[taovandel]

Mandarine: Super cute!


So I had a wonderful valentine''s day....oh by the way that was sarcasm.

Took the baby over to my parents house and left an ironed shirt and a note for my husband...I wanted to surprise him with my plans. My plans weren''t a lot---just a movie and dinner.

We go to the movie---sold out...so we pick another movie that wound up being pretty good (Wolfman).

Then we head out to a restaurant (pick a restaurant any restaurant) Everything is, of course, a three hour wait. 3 restaurants later...we finally get to a crappy red lobster. A 45 minute wait...we are so there!

I only eat one thing at a Red Lobster---and we sit down and order our appetizer, Then order our entree....they are completely out of Pasta...are you kidding me! So we wind up with just an appetizer and decide to get dessert (my husband didn''t want to order an entree if I wasn''t eating one).

Then we go and pick up the baby from my parent''s house at 10:00---my Dad gets all upset because we are rushing out of there. Ummmmm, it''s 10 at night and we are tired and we have to work at 5 am and 7 a.m. seriously, Dad?!

Then we drive past our assigned parking spot and I notice that my husbands car isn''t parked there. So he winds up calling the towing company---he was parked one spot over...so now he has to go out at 11:00 at night to pick his car up (He works at 5 a.m.!) And it''s going to cost us $125...do we have $125 just laying around...nope....

Super great day!

 

[sunkist]

Mandy - you''re getting so good at handling two babies!! I remember when you were nervous to take care of them alone. Heck, I remember when I was nervous and crying about taking care of one baby alone! You rock! That''s so cool what you wrote on Feb.14th last year! This day last year was my LMP! Then I got knocked up 2weeks later on my b-day

Tao - Wow, Evan is a little peanut!! Smaller than your 4week old friend?? He''s so adorable!

Mara - what Gregg said to you - I think that''s the most romantic/encouraging thing a new mom can hear. You''re a lucky girl!
re: healing down there, it felt like a long time to me. I hated wearing pads too, I think I stopped wearing them around 5 weeks?? Not fun. The fluffiness, it goes down steadily. I remember when I stopped feeling fluffy, but now I''m at 3 months PP and I no longer feel "fluffy". It may not be quite as firm as before I got pregnant, but it''s not that fluffy feeling anymore.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

 

[sugarpie honeybun]

Wow - this thread really does move fast! Hope everyone had a nice Valentines Day with your DH/SO/LO''s

Quick question for those mom''s following (or sort of following) the EASY method. How long and/or at what age should this method stop being implemented? For some reason I thought it was until the LO starts consistently sleeping through the night? Maybe this question would be more appropriate for the toddler thread?

Mara- I didn''t start feeling normal "down there" until probably around week 5. The bleeding stopped at week 4. I started back at the gym around 7 weeks (and not to be gross) but doing squats feels a lot different now.

That''s all I''m going to say...

Love all the pics!

 

[natalina]

Wow! So much going on here! I seriously don''t know how you guys find time to post so much! I think I must need to get my sh*t together, because I always feel like I am so swamped with Ellie and house stuff that I can never get on the computer and I miss you guys! So here''s my best attempt at responding:

Mandarine- LOL at loving ''me'' time with hubby gone. I totally get you! While mine is gone MUCH more than I''d prefer, it is so nice to not have to worry about structured meals (a piece of cheese and an apple for dinner? Perfect! OR a donut and a glass of wine? Even better!), getting dressed, feeling productive- hahaha! As for de-swaddling- you go girl! I gave it ONE feebe attempt weeks ago and gave up. Maybe I should try again soon, since she CAN roll over now (but only front to back so far). And I am so impressed with your running! I really DO need to get it together!

Amber- Piper is just too cute the way she is! Screw all the comments. Ellie has little chub-O legs, too and I love them!

Blen- George is so cute in that poutie pic I just want to hug him! Love the glasses!

Mara- you look great and sound like you are handling this crazy time so well. The BF''ing will only get better. Greg sounds so sweet.

Tao- sorry for the rough Valentine''s day! At least the bar is set pretty low for next year, right?

Maybe you guys could have a ''do-over'' next weekend?

Sugarpie- I think I know who you are too! We did the EASY method loosely from the start. It kinda seemed like Ellie just did it on her own. It is just now (she''s 4 1/2 months) feeling like she is out-growing it. She still eats every 3 hours during the day, but doesn''t usually sleep during every ''rotation''. She will typically so one nap in the morning and one late afternoon. We are still trying to figure out this new phase, which has resulted in a couple over-tired meltdowns already

.

Pandora- You are hilarious re: pumping at your desk to get a pumping room! Love it! I can''t believe Daisy is still in 0-3 mos! What a little cutie pie! I am so jealous of your day of browsing sparklies! I wish we had an area like that here!

Viz- hope you''re doing okay with the whole work/Charlie situation. And Best in Show is one of my favorites!

EBree- Ellie totally does the grab-your-face open-mouth mash too! It''s the best! She always looks so tickled with herself!

I am loving all the pics! Took a couple of Ellie in her first church outfit yesterday and will have to post in a bit.

 

[vizsla]

hey ladies!
blah monday blah! ok, i got that out of the way.... i post at work

because spilling my guts here makes it easier to get thru the day.

something else that makes it easier to get thru the day is listening to radioparadise.com.

mara i'm glad BF is getting easier. for that brief moment when c was EBF and things were 'working' i finally felt like a "mom" to him.. it was awesome. now i feel like a mom all of the time

but there was definitely some serious bonding going on between c and me when we were in sync. it really helped me feel less like he was this thing that cried all of the time and more like he was my baby DH and i like to threaten to write a book about what having a baby is *really* like. i know most people have it wayyyyyy easier than we did, but i think for those who have high needs babies there is a lot to be said in knowing you are not alone. i remember coming home from the hospital and literally thinking.. "i think i hate my baby.. i loved him in the hospital, and now i don't even like him."

i mean, i knew i *loved* him, but i didn't know if i liked him. and now look at me... can't even get to work without sobbing.

.....speaking offffffff..... (gah, will this girl just make up her mind already

) this weekend i decided to focus on the positives of my situation. first and foremost.. i have a job. my industry is very specific and it's in the dumps. last year my company laid off 1/2 of its employees. i'm lucky where i live to have several companies in my industry that are headquartered here -- none of which are hiring. the next step would be to move out of state, far away from family. with this new position i could parlay it into a more marketable position in my industry OR another industry, so i wouldn't *have* to move if competitors are still on hiring freezes (darn economy). anyhoo, taking all that into consideration -- plus further discussions with DH that when baby #2 comes into the picture i *will* be taking a leave of absence from work -- i'm going to try and stick it out with the new job. that is not to say that if something didn't come up that was a better fit i wouldn't JUMP on it in a heartbeat (and i do look everyday)... but for the time being i'm resigned to being in this position and making it work. ideally, after baby #2 i can take 6-9 months off, find part time work and be home after school for charlie etc. and this new experience will help me be able to find something that fits into those parameters. at least that is the goal. i think the hardest thing today, this week, this second is the resentment i feel that (exaggeration) *everyone* is able to spend more time with charlie than his own mom. then again, i grew up with just my mom, so maybe my view of mother/child relationships is a bit skewed. i love that DH is able to spend so much time with charlie, and that they will have a strong bond etc. i guess i just feel sorry for myself. blab over.

mandy-gah! i can't imagine that a stinkin' *name* would be enough to favor one baby.. or to favor one baby at all... special indeed

-- if it makes you feel any better i think my MIL thinks i only had C for her. i'm following your swaddling trials very closely. i forget who posted that they were going to be swaddling their baby on their first day of college.... that is *totally* going to be us! i hope that c will wean himself off of it when he starts rolling because come summertime.. bleh... hot sticky baby.

oh re: pp bodies... and baby weights... i got on the scale yesterday to see how much c weighed. he's still only taking 4oz per feeding, and then it's wishy washy.. sometimes it's 2oz

. (again, why i loved BF.. not getting caught up in the oz madness). anyhoodles i agree that when you have a peanut for a baby it may be worse than a chubby baby... people look at you like 'don't you feed that kid?' or i feel some type of panic that he's not getting enough to eat anyhoodles the point was that at 15 weeks c only weighs 13lbs (and he's 26" long!) AND that i only have 6lbs to lose before i'm pre-preggo weight (secret it's actually 11 to get down to wedding weight, but i'm just doing pre-preggo this month). and i owe it all to BF... because i have not worked out a LICK since having c. muscle weighs more than fat so i'm SURE i've replaced some muscle mass with good old fat so my % of body fat has most definitely gone up - however... i'm running with it

or sitting on the couch with it

speaking of BF... i'm almost done

. i thought i would try and keep one feeding a day, but i tried it this weekend and it is just not working. i started to cry all over again at the thought of being done BF. it was such a crazy emotional roller coaster -- i'm way jealous of all the ladies who are able to do it for a year+ "goooooooooo girls!!!!!" oh, and i leaked... still leak... am a leaky machine... and always leaked during letdown out of the other boob when c was nursing. johnson and johnson nursing pads were my best friend! and on a positive note, i'm trying to think of the first thing i'm going to eat when i'm done done. since i haven't been able to eat any dairy/milk or anything made with soy for 3+months i just can't decide. pizza?? ice cream??? chocolate??

ok, must actually get something done today.... must go find busy bee

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

PG, I had seen the amount that a baby needs calculated the way you said, but I''m pretty sure that only applies to formula. I use the info here at Kellymom. The composition of breastmilk changes over time, so between 1 and 6 months, a baby will take pretty much the same amount of breastmilk at each feeding, and then after 6 mo., as solid food is added in, the amount of bm will decrease.

Theoretically, it''s possible that if Claire is eating more during the day, she''ll nurse less at night. Unfortunately, my kids have never listened to my theories! Some babies also decide to reverse cycle, so they eat less during the day, but then want to nurse all night long -- moms that can''t pump enough may try to encourage this behavior because it takes the pressure off them to pump.

Mara, I highly recommend getting a baby used to a sling early because they can get some particular ideas about stuff when they''re a little older! I didn''t start using it with my younger daughter until she was a couple of months old and she wanted to fight me about it at first. Since babies love motion, the best way I''ve found to start with the sling is to stick the baby in and then start walking immediately. At first, you may feel like J is going to fall out, but you''ll get the hang of it! One of the best reasons for using a sling as opposed to carrying a little baby is that it allows you to go to the bathroom without setting the baby down.

As for feeding solids, the only book that I use is Super Baby Food because I like to make my baby food, and this makes it really easy. There are some things about the book that I don''t like -- for example, the author is really against red meat and pushes beans/legumes. We generally don''t eat a lot of beans (we don''t eat a lot of red meat, either!), so I kind of pick and choose what I want to do from the book. The kids that I used this book for *really* liked the "porridge" rather than the rice cereal from the box. This porridge is simply organic brown rice ground up and then cooked.

Solids during the first year are really just for practice and babies don''t actually need solids instead of breastmilk. Breastmilk trumps all solids as far as nutrition goes, so it''s really fine to limit the solids until 1 year while continuing to breastfeed. I know some families that have allergy issues will delay solid introduction until well after 1 year in the hopes that the baby will be less likely to develop those allergies.

That''s awesome that you didn''t need the shield yesterday! See how things change as J matures? That''s great, too, that you figured out how to get him latched on the left side!

I hear you on the pads. OMG, I hate them. I feel normal down south except for the bleeding that comes and goes. It IS gross. I can ignore it most of the time, but I do get sort of annoyed because it''s like being on a super-period, although I guess I shouldn''t complain after months of being period free. I do hope that I get a break until AF returns full time -- the last time, I got it back 4 months post-partum even though I was nursing/pumping around the clock.

Greg is so sweet to have actually said that stuff to you! I do believe that most men think this stuff about the mother of their children, but they may not voice it. I think the post-partum phase can be so difficult because you don''t feel quite like yourself -- and I always feel kind of yucky because of the jelly belly -- so it''s important to hear that your DH/SO is still attracted to you.

I''m going through the hormonal shift phase which means that when I go to bed at night, I''m freezing...and then I wake up in the middle of the night sweating like a pig. This leaves me with the hair from hell. I''ve always been prone to bad bed head, but this is INSANE. I can''t tell you how many mornings SO has come out, kissed me and said, "Good morning, beautiful" -- and he MEANS it, even though I think he''s off his rocker. It''s just one of the many reasons I''m crazy about the man.

Mandarine, I love reading about your adventures with the boys so much. I think you have it together much more than you give yourself credit for! And I''m totally not surprised that things went fine with your DH gone. The boys are sooo cute!

Tao, I''m sorry your Valentine''s day got kind of screwed up! Maybe today will be much better to make up for it??

I really feel for you guys on the car thing. SO''s car got towed the other week and he was livid. We don''t have assigned spaces and most nights if you get here after 7, you''re not getting a space near our building. Since we had all that snow the other week, SO decided to put the Mustang in one of the covered spaces (that you have to rent, but we don''t). Apparently one of the people who has one of the covered spaces called the tow truck, not the apartment people -- there was NO reason for this guy to do it other than to be a jerk. Luckily, SO saw the tow truck and ran out and stopped it, and the driver cut him a break and only charged $25.



We had a good Valentine''s Day. SO got me a Roberto Coin heart necklace, which really touched me because I had no input. I was *really* disappointed because I got him gift certificates to a website so he could pick things out for his Mustang and the gcs are not processed automatically. I waited to order them until early yesterday morning, thinking I didn''t want the email to show up on Saturday...and as it turns out, the gcs are processed by hand, so the email is supposed to come sometime TODAY. I felt really horrible because he didn''t get his present on the day he should have.

Last night, Ben didn''t want to go to sleep so I took him into bed right before 10. I read for a little bit while he nursed and then I ended up falling asleep with him. He only got me up at 3! I was shocked. The boy obviously likes to sleep at night. After I fed him and he fell back to sleep, I was looking up some stuff online...and Will got up. I told him to get up on the couch and go back to sleep, but he insisted on getting up there and rolling around, moaning that he didn''t want to go back to sleep. Oh, no, you''re not going to do this at 4:30!!

I ended up waking SO up to bring Will into bed with us. Everyone went back to sleep until 7:30, so it worked out fine. Having both kids up in the middle of the night has to stop. I don''t mind getting up with Ben because he *needs* to get up. I understand that Will''s dealing with a lot of changes, so that''s probably causing the regression in his sleep patterns -- it just doesn''t make it any easier to take.

I''m so glad I work at home because I''m going to have to take a nap today.

 

[sunkist]

Tao!! Oh I"m so sorry about your bummer of a Valentines night out! We had one sort of like that a few years ago and since then, never go out to dinner on V-day. So sorry about being towed. That totally sucks!

When we got home last night from visiting our parents, we discovered that our house had been egged

yuck. I think it must have been for the previous owner since nobody in the neighborhood liked him (he was a jerk and called the cops on everyone for having dog off leash or parking in front of his house

). Never been egged before! So this was a new one!

Natalina, hi!

can''t wait to see Ellie''s new pics in her pretty church clothes

 

[natalina]

Sunkist- Hi! Bummer about your house being egged! That''s ridiculous! Do you just hose it off or what?

RPS- oooh! Will you post your necklace for us to see? Love a man that gives jewelry for surprise gifts!

What a bummer about his gift cards, but I''m sure he understood. As for Will getting up in the night, it must be really hard to have 2 little ones! How old is Will now? Poor little guy is probably just feeling like "second fiddle" to Ben now. Hopefully he will soon understand that he is every bit as important to mommy and daddy!

Viz- sounds like you are coming to terms with a decision! I think what China said is key- if you go with the new job, you can always change your mind and go another way. Lucky you on being almot back to pre-preggo weight! I have no idea how close/far I am because I WILL NOT get on a scale yet! I just feel so squishy still that even though I know I have lost a ton, I still don''t feel good and don''t want to know what I weigh! I cannot wait until the weather gets warm enough to get outside and walk! Between the snow, freezing temps, and not having anyone to watch Ellie, it''s been kinda difficult to do too much. Boo. Sorry you are sad about stopping BF''ing. Just out of curiosity, what do you mean it''s just not working? Milk drying up? I am NOT asking because I am judging AT ALL, I am just wondering how quickly that happens. I''ve been worried lately that Ellie isn''t getting enough because sometimes she seems really frustrated when she''s eating. I can''t believe you''ve gone 3+ months without pizza, chocolate and ice cream!!! I know you had to for Charlie, but good grief, girl! I want to come over and celebrate being able to have all this again with you! (That would NOT help my overall squishiness, but I would make that sacrifice for you

)

As for me/Ellie: We started her on a little rice cereal before bed a couple days ago. I know most people wait until 6 mos and she''s only 4 1/2, but she just seemed so HUNGRY all the time lately! Pedi is totally ok with it. And can I just say, she LOVES it! Eats like a little champ! Seriously would think she has been on solids for months! It''s so fun! Now I just have to resist the temptation to introduce a bunch of other stuff. It''s so tempting to try just to see her reaction! But we will just stick with cereal for now.

Here''s a pic from her first time at church (this is at home when we got back):

 

[so cal girl]

Happy Monday ladies! I hope a lot of you have the day off for President''s day. Unfortunately, at my work we get the week off between Christmas and New years, which means we get barely any other holidays off. I don''t get another paid holiday until Memorial Day

I hope everyone had an okay Valentines'' Day. Tao, I''m sorry yours sucked so bad. I am not a huge Valentines Day person, so we usually just do dinner or a quick trip to Disneyland. I was sick all weekend, so we cancelled our dinner plans and just stayed in. We went for a nice walk at the beach yesterday to get out of the house, though, and that was refreshing.

I had told DH not to get me anything for V Day (like always), but he got me a really nice Mother''s Pendent with a sapphire in it. He said it was from E. It is really cute, and I am very impressed that he picked something out all on his own. Usually I have to specifially point out jewelry to him and tell him to buy it. This was complete surprise.

Solids: I am hesitant about starting solids. I think is ready, I''m just not sure that I am! Our doctor said to wait until 6 months, but he is a hungry boy, and he''s always smacking his lips when we are eating. He''s about 4 and a half months now, so maybe we''ll try at 5 months? We were thinking we may try rice cereal before bed, thinking it might make him sleep better, but I''m a little scared of the poop...

Weaning: I have no idea how to even go about this, and am taking a very "we''ll see how it goes" approach to when I will look into it more. When I first started BFing, I set a goal for myself of 6 months. I figured if I made it that long, i could re-asses it then. I''d like to go a year, but I''m a little nrvous that once he gets teeth and starts moving around more, I won''t be able to handle it.

As for PP bodies, I am super squishy still. I lost 25 lbs pretty quickly, but the last 10 has been hanging around for 4 and half months. And it''s (literally) hanging right on my middle. I still haven''t done anythign to get rid of it. I''m thinking maybe I will start trying something soon. I''m getting really sick of all of my clothes not fitting!

I love everyone''s pics from Friday and the weekend. Everyone''s babies are so cute. I especially love George in his glasses. He is such a cuite pie!

 

[puffy]

such cute babies!! love all the pics.

mara with this being my second birth, i healed up a lot quicker this time around. i was back at the gym at 2 weeks PP, but i felt good to go by about 10 days PP but decided to wait until 2 weeks. but with my first, it took awhile longer cause i wasn''t used to the feeling of things healing. glad you had a wonderful v-day. oh and the 2 week craziness, i think that''s just what it is, just needing to nurse more often. noah didn''t really go through the 2 week thing. he''s just super alert during the day but not at all fussy.

hope all the mommies had a wonderful vday and weekend.

 

[anchor31]

Good Monday everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend.

My doc said AF wouldn''t return as long as I BF full time (which I am doing), but it returned on Friday, at 6½ weeks pp! Complete with breakout and cramps. Poo.

I seem to be having some supply issues in the evening and Jacob doesn''t seem to be satisfied until we give him the bottle I pumped earlier, so I ordered some More Milk Plus tincture. I''m looking forward to getting it and hope it helps, because he''s a great sleeper but it seems like I''m feeding him all evening.

 

[vizsla]

nat - thanks! OMG please come eat pizza, and instant oatmeal (soy) and coffee with creamer, and dessert and.... well.... at any restaurant with me!! luckily alcohol does NOT have dairy or soy in it

OMG ellie is sooo cute!!!!! what an adorable outfit. i swear, boys clothes are the PITS.

oh breastfeeding.. well, let''s just say that along with all of charlie''s other issues -- we had the perfect storm when it came to BF. loooong story that basically boils down to the fact that charlie never stuck out his tongue. he uses his hard palate to nurse (basically the hard ridge where his teeth will be one day.... yeah.. OUCH!) never nursed in the hospital and for the first week of his life, i was pumping and DH was feeding him (the first round of tears -- i swear all i was doing was pumping, washing, pumping, washing, pumping, washing). we saw about 5 different LC until i was able to nurse him with a shield. even that didn''t work out very well, so our pedi clipped his tongue. this was all mixed in with the stress of discovering bloody poos and the subsequent MSPI (milk/soy protein intolerance). anyhoo, after about 5 weeks of crying, frustration, anxiety that c was not getting enough to eat, lactation apt after lactation apt -- he started to nurse w/out the shield.... MISTAKE! at the time i was all about nursing him naturally and thought he just needed more time to figure things out. everyone said it hurt, so i went with it ... what i didn''t realize was that it wasn''t supposed to hurt like "that". he chewed me into hamburger meat.. gross! i had to go back to pumping and bottle feeding until i healed. when it *finally* healed (about 2 weeks) i went back to the shield, only to get mastitis and an abscess (the size of a tennis ball!) and had to have surgery to remove the abscess. i spent 3 days in the hospital AND had a drain for a week to ensure it didn''t return. i was so fearful that charlie would rip out the drain while he nursed on my ''bum'' boob (and i didn''t want to give him any BM i was pumping b/c of the narcotics i rec''d in the hospital). it was at that time that i started supplementing him with formula. when the drain finally came out and my system was clear, charlie decided he wanted NOTHING to do with me, wouldn''t even attempt nursing for more than 30 seconds before getting really upset. however, i had to continue to pump to keep the milk flowing in my boob, preventing the abscess from coming back. i began exclusively pumping.. which was AWFUL! mostly due to the fact that charlie''s eating and my pumping schedule were never at the same time.... anyhoo with all of the stress trying to get him to BF in the first place and the fear of a return abscess i decided that i needed to give myself a break and i started weaning off of pumping. it''s taken almost 3 weeks... and i''m still leaking once a day. i originally thought about keeping one feeding, but charlie is sooo not into it. makes me so sad.
my sister BF for about 15 months and was always so encouraging ... and admittedly she was very judgmental about people who give up too early. after seeing everything that i went thru she said ''i promise not to judge anyone ever again about BF''. glad i could help her see the light

.

 

[Mara]

whew so yesterday was prob our first really 'slightly trying' day since having J. greg was gone for a few hours in the afternoon which he has done before, no big deal, but for whatever reason J was mr fussiness the whole time. i fed him for about 30 min on the boob and he fell off it, but was in one of the quiet alert states. well that typically slowly disintegrates into fussy state. so 1.5 hours later i gave him a bottle of 3oz which i figured he wouldn't take but nope, he downed the whole thing. and was still only in quiet alert state after that, not even passed out! and kept yawning so i know he was tired. finally greg came back and took him for a walk which put him to sleep for a few hours. but man he was tiring the whole time G was gone.

the rest of the day was fine but again at night, i nursed him for a good 30-40 min. he is such a lazy eater on the boob... suck suck suck, swallow, rest. rinse and repeat for 40min. this is where not really knowing how much he is getting is frustrating because i think..he MUST be getting his 2.5-3oz there right?? i know i am producing it. but then we pluck him off, he seems comatose, and swaddle him and put him down and he goes from sleepy quiet to quiet alert to mr fussy in 15 min. and cried for a good 15 min straight without falling asleep (normally he falls asleep within about 10 min). so i bring him back out, change him (i swear this kid pees all day long, we go through like 12 diapers a day if not more)...and put him on the boob for another 15 min after which he is definitely passed out. then he did his regular night/next morning routine, sleep 4 hours, feed...sleep 3 hours, feed...sleep 3 hours, feed.

so we only had 2 fussy periods but it does seem like feeding is the ONLY fix to those now. i guess this is the 2 week thing. and he is sleeping less during the day and spending more hours in quiet alert and active alert states than comatose sleeping. which is fun for us as we can interact with him more, except that i know those usually end in crying...hahaa.

as long as he keeps sleeping well at night i think we can deal with the day changes. but if he starts fussing at night too, oooh that will be harder. esp since greg goes back to work in a week. guess we'll see! i think the most frustrating thing for me is not knowing why he is crying, and thinking 'gee he can't be hungry' but finding out he IS or maybe he just wants to suck..who knows. but he's a little oinker right now.

RPS re: feeding on the boob, am i right to just keep feeding him til he seems like he's had enough? even if it takes 40-50 min? i don't want to overfeed him but if i pull him off and he's fussy then it seems like he wants more. we kind of figure you can't OVERFEED the baby on the boob, esp if he is not barfing it up later, and he's not...but we aren't sure.

this morning he fed on the boob for about 40 min and passed out while i was burping him, so i laid him on his stomach and side of head on the boppy and he looks so cute...his arm is totally limp and just hanging down the side of the boppy.

this is our last week together before greg goes back to work and i am so sad already. i wish he could take more time but it would just be harder for him to return, plus he manages 10 people and it's review time...so that on top of regular stuff, he prob can't take more time. i am hoping that he can do a somewhat modified schedule for a few weeks though to help transition. and my mom is a teacher so she is off at 2pm every day and can come by to give some relief. it will be tough to go from all of us home to just me and J and P though. my neighbor has 1 year old twins and walks daily so i plan to hook up with her and walk and listen to her constant streams of baby advice the whole time. it'll be like having a self-help tape in stereo, she has so much great knowledge to pass on.

sugarpie...uhoh re: the squats. i am curious even though i really don't want to know HAHA.

thanks for the commiserations re: the healing and ugh the pad wearing. what is it about pads that makes it seem even worse than when you can wear a tampon or something.

tao sorry to hear about your V-day...booo on all the drama and the towing!! we had our new car towed in SF while i was like 9.5 months pregnant even though we know we were parked in an ok spot (some neighbor called it in!), and we had to pay $400 to get the car back. it really sucked. greg is trying to contest it now!

viz... girl i hear you re: the 'thing that cries'...the first week i was really in kind of a surreal shocked state about being a mom. i kept telling greg i feel like someone is going to knock on our door and be like 'i am ready to take my baby now'...hahaa. but now that we are entering our third week, i def feel more bonded to the kiddo. i don't know if bf working helps that at all (maybe subconsciously and i don't even realize?)...but i definitely feel like he is just operating on reflex and instinct. only in the last few days do i really feel like he might recognize US and feel like he is bonding to US and not just 'whoever is feeding me whatever at the time'. i am really looking fwd to more of that recognition and personality showing as he gets a little older.

rps...gee i would love to not have AF til month 4. i know that rationally my body is 'cleaning' itself out after 10 months of gestation but jeez i wish it would hurry up already!! a few more weeks of this, blah. things are already slowing and feeling better but the sooner the better. and i am not looking fwd to AF coming back hehee.

nat... baby is sooo cute in that pic!!! and interesting re: the rice cereal. i'll keep that in mind for the future.

oh and random note but re: breast pumps. i think i am going to get the Ameda Purely Yours. i was researching yesterday and i love that it's a closed system so no tube sterilization required ever, it's FDA approved so i could pass it onto someone else later. i can use my tubes and bottles and flanges from the rental hospital Ameda so i will have a 2nd set already, and i don't need the tote since i have so many bags and things i can carry it in myself. we also already have storage bottles for avent so i don't need the extra storage tote/bottles. i also like that it weighs only 1lb and in looking at comparisons online, it seems to be as powerful as PIS and it's much cheaper. i have a $50 gift card to Diapers.com and with their 10% off it's going to cost me like $90 and will be here tomorrow. can't beat that!! even if it only lasts me 6 months or however long i BF, it seems like a better deal than the PIS or the freestyle. oh and re: hands free, i have managed to rig the hospital Ameda to be able to type and work on laptop while pumping already, so i figured i don't need hands free after all...i can work something out.

the one thing i wasnt sure about was power/suction, a few people complained in reviews it wasn't very good, but then a ton of others said it was great. and the suction is the same power as medela. since i am already using an Ameda i hope that it's kind of similar because i only go to the middle power on the hospital pump so i am thinking even if i ratchet it up on the PY that it still would not be 'maxed' out? i hope so anyway...the only higher suction is hospital pumps and i am not paying $900+.

ETA...viz i had no idea you had it so rough on the BF...talk about dedication!! abcess ouch. don't feel guilty at all, sheesh, you have been through the ringer.

 

[Blenheim]

I hope that everyone had a great Valentine''s Day! My FIL was out of town and so (with help) George made my MIL a card asking her to be his valentine, and then the four of us went out for Chinese food. We had a discussion before going out to try to figure out what kind of restaurant would not be romantic, figuring that we could thus avoid 3 hour waits. And we were immediately seated! Phew. DH and I went out on a date last week, so it wasn''t too bad having a V Day that wasn''t at all romantic.

And I have an announcement!! I am back at pre-preggo weight and my pre-preggo jeans are fitting correctly. Woooo! I still have that extra skin around the midsection and everything seems stretchier than it used to (does that just take time?), and I think I have another 5-10 lbs to go for things to fit similarly to how they did pre-baby.

I also found a website yesterday that I think some of you may be interested in - Ain''t No Mom Jeans. It''s a website for new-ish moms, and she has some tips on dressing stylishly just post-partum, and when you''re BFing, and when you need outfits that work well for doing things like just going to a playground. I''ve been trying to make an effort to dress decently each day, and to break out of a bad sweatpants rut, and it gave me some ideas. I got this top in pink today, which is a silouette that she says is good for disguising a pooch (which I still have), and DH just loves it. The band at the bottom makes it feel non-maternity-top-like. It says handwash only but I am going to put it through the washing machine anyway and see if it survives.

Tao - Sorry you had such a sucky day.

Vizsla- I also can''t believe that you''ve gone so long w/o any dairy - I wouldn''t even know where to start! I just love dairy. It''s snowing over here (again - what the heck?) so I''d personally go with hot chocolate with mounds of whipped cream, if you need any suggestions.

I''m glad to hear that you''re coming to terms with a decision on the job front. While others may be spending more time with Charlie than you are, remember that you''re still his mama. That''s a bond that none of the others are going to have with him.
You really went through the ringer BFing, and it is amazing that you have stuck with it as long as you have.

Anchor- sorry about AF! Unfortunately that is not true about the BFing... Mine came back at (I think?) 3.5 months and I EBF until 6.

Mandy - your boys always look like they''re just chilling. cracks me up.

Natalina - love the church clothes!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Mara Have you tried the football hold for nursing? Try googleing you will find good descriptions. Worked great for me in those early weeks. Also, when I was bored nursing I watched TV. Renting series was great, and I could watch a whole episode per nursing session sometimes.

All the babies are so cute! As usual.

Blen I am in the same place as you, my clothing all fit but I am still up 5lbs. Gotta get a move on, I''d love to get it off by HUnter''s first birthday. In one week

 

[phoenixgirl]

Tao, sorry Valentine''s Day was a bust! And to end with the towed car . . . ouch!

I was really worried we''d have the same experience since DH had gotten my hopes up by telling me we''d have a date and asked me to name a few restaurants. Well, yesterday morning I found out everywhere he''d called was booked and we didn''t have reservations. I''m such a planner/avoid the worst case scenario person, so I tried not to freak out, but I did not want to spend my date night tired and waiting in line. In the end, he got us reservations at a really nice place (almost too nice--all the other couples were dressed to the nines).

RPS, thanks for the info! I''m psyched! I am getting to the point where I''m pumping 11 or 12 ounces a day at work, and I''d love to feel OK if that''s all I send Claire to daycare with. I think I''m still going to stick with 5 oz. bottles because she usually only takes 2, but I''m not going to stress about gradually increasing it from there.

So Cal, squishy tummy here too! I made DH touch it the other night, as in, "Ew, feel this. It''ll never be tight again." And he was like, "Ooooo, it''s soft!" like he was touching Claire''s bottom or something. I was like, no, honey, that''s a bad thing.

Anchor, sorry about AF! Am I being too crass to say that I''m glad you weren''t one of those people who discovered ovulation had returned early by having a baby 10 months after the last one? Now you know to be careful!

Blen, that''s awesome!!!


I don''t mean to be Negative Nelly, but I don''t think I am going to return to my prepregnancy weight, at least not any time soon . . . not until I wean Claire and quit work. I''m still up over 20 pounds and stuck in the size 8s (I was a 0/2 before). I bought a pair of jeans at Old Navy yesterday because I''m accepting that I won''t be this weight only for a month. With the snow and return to work, I haven''t been able to work out much, and I am a ravenous woman. I eat extra snacks at work and I''m still starving. Tonight I basically ate two dinners. I''m thinking/hoping this is all for the good of the milk supply.

Last night Claire STTN (until 5 a.m., at which point DH went and peeked at her, found her awake, and got her up . . . I think she could have gone longer!). But now today she''s only eaten 4x by 8:30, so I don''t have much hope for tonight. 2 a.m., here we come . . .

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Viz, OMG, I don''t think I knew that you''ve gone through all of that stuff in the course of breastfeeding! You really have had EVERYTHING thrown at you. I know that giving up dairy and soy is a huge commitment; a friend of mine had a baby that had huge issues with dairy so she went dairy free and it was really hard. I admire you ladies because it''s a serious sacrifice. It''s *great* that you made it 3 months!

I don''t know if this will make you feel better about Charlie''s weight, but he makes my kids look like shrimps in comparison. Three of my kids were only 15 lbs. at 1 year! They were just under 7 lb., 7 lb. 14 oz. and 8 lb. 4 oz. at birth. The oldest ended up on formula and with severe reflux, but the younger 2 were bf until well over a year. They hit all of the milestones appropriately and were and are totally normal kids.

Natalina, I tried to attach a pic of the necklace, but keep getting an error -- I''ll have to try it again later. SO is *really* *really* good about buying jewelry for special occasions, although I did have to train him a smidge. Usually I give him some subtle hints...or not so subtle when I enlist my older daughter to pass along info...but this one he took on by himself. He told me it was from all of my "men."

Will''s a little over 3 and I agree that his behavior has to do with Ben''s arrival. We''ve been trying really hard to make sure that Will gets plenty of attention because I hate that he might feel like Ben has taken his place. It''s hard to find the balance between not letting him get away with unacceptable behavior and understanding why he''s acting like that. We have the added joy of some stuff that he''s learning at day care and figuring out how to nip that in the bud -- one of the kids is apparently allowed to watch wrestling and has passed that on to Will. Argh.

Ellie looks absolutely beautiful in her fancy outfit! I love seeing little girls dressed up!

So Cal, did you post a pick of your pendant? I bet it''s beautiful.

for your DH!

Congrats on making it to 6 months with bf! I''ve nursed a couple of kids into toddlerhood and think the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. I''ve been bitten maybe three times and can give you some tips for dealing with that if you want. The moving around thing can be frustrating especially after your baby learns to stand. My daughter would actually try to stand on my lap while nursing and it wasn''t uncommon for her to try to hold one leg up in the air at the same time. She was also a hardcore twiddler and I will never make the mistake of allowing that again. The best thing for me was I had a tool to deal with the inevitable meltdowns that came with the frustrations of toddlerhood.

Anchor, there''s a chance you won''t see AF again after this! It''s fairly common to have a bleeding episode at 6-8 weeks and then AF doesn''t show up for months (which freaks some women out because when AF doesn''t show up, they think they''re pregnant!). My fingers will be crossed that''s what''s going on with you.

Mara, the lesson here is: the boob is never bad! If a baby isn''t hungry, generally he won''t want to nurse -- he''ll start fussing and pull away so you know to try something else. If Ben fusses, I check his diaper because he''s a fairly silent pooper and then I latch him on. You really can''t overfeed a breastfed baby and it''s good for them to nurse often.

Blen, congrats at getting back to your pre-preg weight and fitting in your jeans!!

 

[Mara]

oh i forgot to say earlier, i post when the kiddo is sleeping usually.

so today he has had a few more of his really 'fussy fits'...this must be the 2 week thing. it is usually after he eats, and then he might be quiet alert or he may have passed out but if i move him or i change his diaper or something he instantly gets agitated. and screams like a little banshee. and he doesn't get tired. this evening he nursed for about 30 min like a fiend, and then i popped him off and he fell asleep in my arms but when i had to change his diaper he got upset and there was no calming him then.

we did discover that the oven/stove fan white noise calms him down. i wonder how long it will work. we used it twice today to calm him down and the 2nd time he fell asleep.

he also takes the pacifier and sucks on it like crazy but does the tongue thrust and pushes it out...then gets totally PO'd that it's gone. i wish we could attach it to his mouth somehow, but nope that wouldn't be safe hehe.

RPS funny re: quiet pooper, ours is the total opposite ... he has such loud squirty farty poops...we totally start laughing every time he farts or poops. and the look on his face is usually concentrated while it's happening. haha.

i ordered the Ameda Purely Yours today, yay! it came to $85 after my discount and gift card.

re: PP body. my hips have spread...so def none of my old pants fit not even bigger ones. the belly isn't really the issue right now as it's mostly gone, but the hips and butt are. drat you birthing hips!!! they have spread at least 2 inches, now to see if they will ever move back.

blen, congrats on the pre-preggo weight and jeans!! that is so awesome.

RPS...i feel like ours just wants to be on the boob as a pacifier sometimes. maybe that's normal but i am like...really, are you even hungry? hehe.

oh and dreamer... yeah i have been watching TV while nursing, sometimes my BUTT falls asleep!! a series is a great idea, i told greg we should get a netflix acct. oh and we do the football hold for the right boob but the left, neither cradle nor football works, it's so weird. just this funny sitting up position thing which he seems to love.

i am also trying to up my milk production a bit as the kid seems hungrier than ever and i am barely keeping up with him. yesterday i only pumped 2x because the kid was eating on the boob so often but i just feel like he's not getting as much as with the bottle. not knowing is mentally tough for me as he always seems hungry. we have our pedi appt this thurs so we'll see how much weight he has gained and see what she says re: his eating habits. somettimes he eats almost 4oz in a bottle at night!

 

[gailrmv]

Blen CONGRATS!!!!!! That's awesome on your weight loss.

Mara It's great that Greg has been able to spend so long away from work! Just as a heads up, when my DH had to go back to work was probably one of the hardest times ever for me. My DH was only able to take a week off and Aaron was super fussy in the early weeks. No family nearby, and my parents were only here a week too. So basically I was on my own. Sometimes I can be really hard headed and I was not very proactive about asking for and accepting other people's help. So I am really grateful for the people who gave it to me anyway! Anyway, just mentioning this as a heads up. It could be really hard when Greg goes back to work, but it's temporary. For us 6 weeks was the magic number where things turned around and got easier instead of harder. Sounds like you have a great support network and things are going great, so maybe it will not be a hard transition for you, but it was for me.

Viz Girl. That breastfeeding scenario is just awful! I am so sorry you had to go through that! SOmething similar happened to my friend, who got mastitis TWICE in the early weeks and was hospitalized. She said it was much worse than labor. She had really wanted to breastfeed but had to stop after that. I can only imagine how hard it must have been getting through all that! I like what you said about your sister no longer judging people who can't or don't nurse!

Nursing a toddler Kudos to you DD! I think it's great that you are going to keep nursing in public (should the situation arise). I'm quite modest. I finally got where I was OK nursing in public back when he would hang out behind the wrap thingy and my boob was under cover. I just don't like the thought of my boob being exposed. It's not about what other people think, it's about me. I do wish I saw more people nursing babies, toddlers, whatever. In the entire time I've been a mom (almost 11 months), I've seen THREE women nursing in public. THREE. That's it. And one was at the Nordstrom ladies lounge, which is hardly public! So really only two. The first time I saw someone nursing in public made me feel much more confident about nursing A. So maybe, someone else has seen me nurse and it's given them confidence. Or maybe not!

Pandora Nice to see you! Sounds like a great day shopping with Daisy!

Mandarine Love the photos with the number stickers! That is a great idea. Both boys are adorable. I'm glad you called out your mother in law about playing favorites. I'm still in shock that she would do that! Glad you nipped it in the bud.


Off to bed.... sorry I've missed so many people!

 

[mtjoya]

Hello Ladies!

It feels funny posting here, I feel like I am entering a new dimension! LOL...I wanted to ask...If any of your bebes have experienced this. My bebe has been peeling off her skin. She reminds me of a snake! The doc told us that she will get some crazy rashes but don''t know if you ladies have experienced anything like this.

I am trying to heal and take it easy. I feel like my body is trying so hard to get back to how it used to be because my hormones are going crazy, my digestive system is out of wack, and I am still sore. I feel like a bus ran over me!

I am not petite but tall and med sized, but so far I have lost about 15 pounds from the 20 that I had gained from the pregnancy! So, I guess that it''s okay.

I am just having trouble getting used to the pumping. The storage and cleaning of the stuff has me a little confused. But, I am trying to take it one day at a time.

 

[taovandel]

Evan''s skin peeled when he was first born---it was only one his hands and feet though..I can''t remember when it stopped though...not that long after birth..maybe within the first month?

 

[Mandarine]

Good morning ladies!!!

Last night, Alex woke up at 4:30am!!! That''s a first for him!. Lucas woke up at 4am (unswaddled!!). I gave Lucas 2.5 oz and Alex 2oz...and they both went back down. If that''s all they really NEED to go back down to sleep then do they even really need that?...hmmmm.

So just in case I haven''t mentioned it...I hate swaddles

....yes, I know you guys are sick of me saying it, but they are evil!!!. They have morning naps down...I hope they start to figure out afternoon naps...and we''re not even close to attempting not swaddling at night!. I''m thinking the duct tape was not a bad idea after all...

Blen Congrats on fitting on your jeans!!!!!!! I know it took some hard work, but yayyy! I''m happy for you!!

Mara I have the same thing...my hips are so wide now that I''m scared about when/if they''ll go back to how they were! (already wide but not AS wide!!!). I''m like 10-12 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight....but I think even when I get there my jeans won''t fit...

And it does sound like the 2 week babymoon is over!!...at least you weren''t blind sighted --The good news is that he takes a paci!!!!. Mine did for a few weeks and then they suddenly stopped!

I have a cheap-o little fan in their room that is loud so that''s their white noise. It''s on at night and during naps!. It really helps them!!! Eventually I will try to put them down without it, but I am in NO hurry to do that!


Natalina Ellie is adorable!!!

RPS I am sorry about Will''s sleep regression! My sister dealt with the same thing (her oldest was 2)....Hope you were able to catch a nap!

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Good morning! We had a MUCH better night last night. I took Ben to bed around 10 because I was utterly exhausted. I''m pretty sure he''s doing the 2 week growth spurt because yesterday he wanted to nurse ALL THE TIME. It''s amazing to me how that alone can make you tired. He got up at 1:30 and then we went back to bed around 3 and slept until Will woke us at 7 so I got plenty of sleep. Yay for that!

Mara, looks like we''re right there with you in the 2 week growth spurt. I think the only thing that keeps me from losing my mind is knowing that this is only temporary. SO was gone most of the day yesterday so I was trying to juggle work and Ben''s wanting to nurse all day and that was really hard. I hate when he gets frustrated while nursing and then wants to cry about it. I refused to give him any bottles, though, because I know he''s just working to increase my supply.

Finally at the end of the day, I took Ben to the grocery store and put him in the sling to give him some down time. It worked like a charm -- he slept the whole time I was shopping. Of course, when I got home and was making dinner, he was fussy, so we did some serious parental tag-teaming. I made a super fancy dinner of cheesesteaks and french fries so luckily it didn''t take too long and SO was able to comfort Ben pretty well for the 15 minutes I was cooking.

IMHO, the hardest thing about growth spurts is feeling like you''re not keeping up with the baby''s hunger. I guess the reality is that right then, you''re not, but that''s just a part of the growth spurt. The baby nurses more so your supply increases. I have to keep telling myself that he''s not starving, this is normal, things will improve in a day or so.

for getting the Purely Yours! I think you''ll really like it. You definitely won''t need to use it on the highest suction -- it''s a pretty powerful machine.

MTJ, Ben is STILL peeling, although I''ve seen a considerable improvement in the last couple of days. I call this the "ugly newborn phase" because between the peeling skin and the milia, well, poor Ben looks a little worse for wear. It does improve and then they go back to being their gorgeous selves.

If you have any pumping or storage questions, please don''t hesitate to post them and I''ll try to help! I pumped for 8 months at work when Will was little and have already been pumping for Ben. Even though it all seems confusing at first, I think with a little bit of practice, you can get it all down pat.

BTW, welcome to this side of things!!

TDM, I agree with everything you said about nursing in public. One of my biggest reasons for doing it -- beyond the fact that baby needs to eat! -- is so that I can do my part to make it more normal. I don''t really care if my boob is exposed, but that''s just me. I''m kind of meh about public decency, lol, ''cause I figure that I don''t have anything that no one else has. I haven''t always been this way, though -- with my older kids, I did not nurse in public and was very self-conscious about my body. I remember with my 2nd, I decided that I had to go out to the car, so I had to drag my then 5 year old along and he was bored to tears while we sat there. I''m glad I eventually got over it because I hated having to plan everything around when the baby would want to feed.

 

[fieryred33143]

MT-Congrats again! Funny story about the peeling: the very first time that I gave Sophia a bath when I was completely alone, her face started to peel. I freaked out and called her nurse

lol. When FI got home he asked why her face looked different and I said I gave her a facial heehee.

Mara-White noise saved our lives. Seriously. We have the homedics lullaby sound n spa machine (otherwise affectionately called the baby crack machine) and love it! LOVE IT. When she was a few weeks old, we''d leave it on the heartbeat or rain setting. Once she moved in to her crib, we put it on the rain setting. She used to get a kick out of the animals that would project on the ceiling (not so much anymore though). She still sleeps with the rain setting on. Before it helped her fall asleep but now it just helps with drowning out background noises since she''s a really light sleeper. Her room is right next to the living room so she doesn''t hear the TV or us talking once she''s asleep. It''s pretty cheap ($20 at BBB and you can use the 20% off coupon) but there are other white noise options out there. White noise was key for us!

 

[Mandarine]

hehehe Fiery, a facial! hehe

 

[vizsla]

oh, i hope that didn't sound like a whoa is me post about BF.... it wasn't my intention... i've *finally* come to terms with it, and am feeling better about my decision to stop. (although this whole BF thing was slapped on top of coming back to work and all that jazz... i know i shouldn't laugh about it, but sometimes i feel myself just giggle at the entire poop-storm that was the first 3 months of charlie's life

however, it's so weird being on the other side of the BF coin now. *now* i feel like people judge me for not BF and i want to wear a t shirt that says "i swear, i tried... really hard!"

so i am, and always will be jealous of you ladies who are able to get the hang of it and nurse as long as you are able/want to. blen is so right.. it was the cure to any and all fussy spells -- heaven

the biggest mental block for me was to get over feeling that formula is poison i've been thinking about trying to stay dairy and soy free as long as C... don't know why... comradery i guess. OMG, i already feel so bad for baby #2 if they are able to nurse correctly... i'll be nursing and swaddling him/her well into college, just because i can

i keed, i keed...

mara- so little j is getting a 'personality' huh? at least that's what i called it when c started to demonstrate his lung power. c was a little more vocal than most babies b/c of his bowels and reflux and not sleeping etc. bbbbuuuttttttt FWIW to echo what TDM said about when hubs goes back to work.... well, let's just say, i was *very* appreciative of my sister who came to stay with me unannounced.

it was nice to have a transition from being this 2 person parenting unit to a 1.5 unit to being by myself with c all day. baby steps
oh, also.. c had baby acne REALLY BAD... EVERYWHERE. and at christmas time no less... i should see if i can find a pic... anyhoo, it really does go away on it's own... so hard not to pick.

something else i learned from my baby is that they can get cradle cap on their FACE! charlie had that too... around his ears and forehead.. and he tried to rub his face on everything to itch it... just something else to look for

as for all things baby related around my house.. my darling son got me a massage for valentines day... the boy can't sleep for more than 3 hours but knows that mommy needs a rub down.. so smart speaking of... *if* we are going with the technical definition of STTN as being 5 hours AND you count the 5 hours from beginning of one feeding to the next feeding than charlie TOTALLY slept thru the night last night

DH has been trying to keep him up/adjust his schedule so that i get a few hours with him after i get home from work... which meant that he ate at 9:30 and didn't wake up again until almost 3:00! after that feeding it's usually a few hours of 'plug the baby' until it's time to get up, but .. could it be?? do i feel slightly refreshed??? who would have thunk i would be so excited about sleeping for 4 hours straight! this coming from a girl who would be ticked if i didn't get a SOLID 8 hrs.. ahahahahahahahaah it's all so laughable.

ETA - white noise = life saver. we just downloaded a song from itunes and keep it on a loop for charlie.. the more fussy he is the louder we crank the white noise.. works like a charm..... most times

 

[fieryred33143]

Viz-Went through the same thing with the bf vs ff so I totally understand.

I''m officially jealous of anyone that cosleeps. Yesterday I was off from work. Sophia didn''t get enough to eat on Sunday (weird day) so she woke up at 5:30 to eat and then was up for the day at 7:30. I was exhausted so I put her in bed with me to read a book (i.e. me pointing to pictures and saying what it is, she doesn''t know the difference lol) and play with her toys. Once it was time for her nap, around 9am, I just put her on her belly and she instantly fell asleep. Two hours later I felt a little hand on my nose. I could fall asleep and wake up like that every day if possible!

 

[sugarpie honeybun]

Date: 2/16/2010 9:54:21 AM
Author: fiery
Viz-Went through the same thing with the bf vs ff so I totally understand.

I''m officially jealous of anyone that cosleeps. Yesterday I was off from work. Sophia didn''t get enough to eat on Sunday (weird day) so she woke up at 5:30 to eat and then was up for the day at 7:30. I was exhausted so I put her in bed with me to read a book (i.e. me pointing to pictures and saying what it is, she doesn''t know the difference lol) and play with her toys. Once it was time for her nap, around 9am, I just put her on her belly and she instantly fell asleep. Two hours later I felt a little hand on my nose. I could fall asleep and wake up like that every day if possible!

Aww, so CUTE! DS has been in his crib since 6-7 weeks, and before that, he slept in his bassinet so we''ve never actually co-slept. I''ve always wondered what it would be like, but I''m hesitant to begin since he seems to being doing well in his crib.