PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[AmberWaves]

I''m a little "worried" about my supply. Lately she''s been feeding from one side at a time then double siding at night before bed. I''ve noticed in the last day that I''m not getting a letdown feeling? I can hear her eating, and when I squeeze my nipples the milk appears, so it''s not gone. Still, it''s totally odd to not have the feeling when before I''d totally notice it.

Is this normal? There is no pain, no blockages, I''ve been drinking plenty of water?

 

[sunkist]

Amber, I've been worried about my supply lately too! I hope your'e OK, I'm interested in what the other moms say. Do you feel as full as you used to? I don't. That's one thing that worries me. Maybe your letdown just isn't as strong because you've reglulated your supply? Sometimes now my letdown sensation seems delayed, like it takes a while for W to get the flow going, but it always does. Also, for over a month now I've been feeding him on one side only per feed, cause when I fed him on two sides I think he was getting too full, was always spitting up. But in that last week, sometimes I offer the other side cause he still seems fussy like he's hungry and he'll take the second side.

Of course our babies are growing so maybe their just changing their intake needs and our bodies are in the process of regulating. I have no idea!

I want to keep nursing as long as possible though. Well I'd like to at least be able to do a couple feeds a day till he's one year. How long do you plan to nurse? Maybe try the bowl of oatmeal a day! I need to eat my oatmeal.

 

[fieryred33143]

Amber-I don''t think it''s a supply issue. When I was nursing Sophia, it got to a point where I couldn''t feel her latch, suck, or the let-down. It was such a normal part of our lives that I just didn''t feel anything. I did feel the let down with the pump every single time but not with Sophia.

Solids poop is the absolute worst

. I miss breastfeeding poop.

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Mandarine, please. "Only" a 10K?? Some people (cough ME cough) couldn''t even run ONE mile. I think it''s awesome that you had a goal and made it and I''m sure you''ll do great in the other races you''re planning to do. I hope the boys get back to feeling normal soon, too.

Mara, silent reflux is when the stomach contents only come part way up the esophagus, so the baby has the pain (and demonstrates the typical behaviors) but they don''t actually spit up/vomit. I think it''s really hard to tell what''s going on with a newborn! Ben cries quite a bit when he''s awake, but I think it''s pretty normal when they''re adjusting to the outside world. Heck, I''d cry too. Most of the time, Ben seems to cry for a reason -- either he''s hungry or his diaper is dirty -- and if it''s not either of those reasons, I tend to think he just needs to blow off some steam.

One thing that might be helpful is to try to determine how much is coming back up. When babies spit up, it looks like more than it actually is, so if you try pouring measured amounts of water on your kitchen counter, you could probably get a better idea of how much J is bringing up. Even a tablespoon of liquid can look like a lot in spit up form, but it''s not really that much.

Is J arching his back at all during feeding? That seems to be a pretty classic sign of reflux, although I don''t remember if my daughter did it. She was an oddball, though, because she never seemed to be in pain like so many reflux babies are.

Re: finger in the mouth...I''ve given all of my kids except one a pacifier so they had something to meet their suck needs. The one that didn''t have a pacifier didn''t have one because I waited too long, not because I decided against it. All of them have loved to suck on a finger or a knuckle, but it''s nice when they take a pacifier, too. I''ve never had a child that needed my finger so I don''t know what the possible outcome could be for using this! If you do want J to use a pacifier, you might try different kinds. Just like bottles, these little babies can have preferences. We use Avent pacifiers for no reason other than I like them.

Mara and Anchor, the shooting pains could be thrush (if you''re sure it''s not just let down). You might check your babies'' mouths to see if there are any white patches that don''t scrape off -- if there are, it''s a good bet it''s thrush. A relatively easy treatment option is gentian violet, which you should be able to get from a drugstore. Not all places carry it, so call around the pharmacies -- they keep it behind the counter, but it''s not prescription. You can water it down then use a q-tip to paint the inside of baby''s mouth as well as your nipples. Be warned: this stuff will stain EVERYTHING purple.

The other option is nystatin, which you can get from your doc. If you have thrush, both you and your baby must both be treated -- mom gets the cream, baby gets the liquid. I dealt with this with Will and the gentian violet drove me crazy, but the nystatin worked quickly.

Blen, you might want to look at what George is eating over a period of time, like a week, rather than meal by meal. I read this suggestion in some book -- it said that if you just look at one meal a child eats, it might seem that he isn''t eating well, but if you look at his eating for a week, he''s getting a pretty balanced diet.

I hope you get the job! I know pumping is a major PITA, but look on the bright side -- you wouldn''t have to do it long. You could also encourage George to reverse cycle so that he takes less milk during the day, but nurses more frequently when you''re together. I think this sounds more tiring since IMHO it would be hard to work during the day and nurse all night, but if you can co-sleep and nurse while dozing, it wouldn''t be so bad.

I didn''t even think about the laundry that results in starting solids. You''re sooooo right -- especially when they want to feed themselves. The mess can be unbelievable. A lot of the time, I''ll just throw the kid in the bath rather than try to clean food out of his hair, ears, nose, etc.

PG, well, I hate to say that''s weird because I don''t know your MIL and the family dynamics, but neither my family nor SO''s would be ok with mom doing that stuff. I don''t think I''d do it to my oldest, who''s 20, because there comes a point where your personal boundaries are more like acquaintences than mother/child. I might ruffle his hair or pat his back, but I don''t think anything like you''re describing. Maybe our family is the weird one, though!

Sunkist, I love your confession! LOL! At least it wasn''t something hot, right? I hope that others have done this because I have -- when Will was little, we were at the mall and I got some pizza to eat while I fed him. I dropped a whole bunch of crumbs on his head. Given that you spend so much time nursing, sometimes you MUST eat at the same time so yeah, dropping food on the baby happens.

Amber, it sounds like the stuff you''re experiencing is normal. Piper *might* be going through a growth spurt -- the next one is typically at 3 months, but she could be early, and if she''s sleeping longer at night, nursing from both sides before bed is just her way of tanking up for the long sleep. Not feeling let down is normal, too. If Piper''s acting satisfied, I wouldn''t worry at all.

And back to Sunkist, it''s normal, too, to not feel as full once your supply is well regulated. The best way to tell how your supply is doing is to look at your baby and see if he''s satisfied after a feeding. It sounds to me like you are in sync with your baby, which is a good thing!

======

So yeah, it''s Monday again. Bleh.

Ben has definitely gotten in the habit of having his fussy period late at night, which is hard. Typically, it starts at 10:30 and can last a couple of hours, which is frustrating because by that point, I''m tired and want to sleep. But then I think well, at least it''s not during the day when I''m trying to work, so it could be a lot worse. I hate that he just will not settle because I feel like somehow I''m not meeting his needs. Then I think maybe this fussy period is one of his needs since he''s pretty quiet the rest of the day. The nice thing is that SO is *great* about doing tag team soothing with me. The bad thing is that I can''t decide if it''s harder to hear Ben cry while SO is trying to settle him or when Ben settles right down for SO after refusing to settle for me.

My biggest frustration these days is Will, who is acting out horribly. I feel so badly for him because I know it isn''t easy to have a baby come along and seem to take your place, but he''s started hitting everyone and screaming at the top of his lungs when he doesn''t get his way. Last night, he hit Ben on the belly and I hated how I felt at that moment -- the mama bear instinct took over. I told SO that he had to take Will and put him to bed right then because I was so incredibly angry at Will.

I ordered the 1-2-3 Magic book this morning after another go-round with Will. I hope it''ll make a difference because it distresses me to be upset with Will, and I''m sure it''s not pleasant for him to be yelled at. I''ve heard really good things about this book, so my fingers are crossed.

 

[Mandarine]

Formula poop is no picnic either...so I''m not excited for it to get worse...hehe!!

Thanks guys for all the congrats, you''re all so sweet!

I just posted this in FB...but had to post it here since I don''t have all of you over there!. These are some of the only outfits the boys have that are matching (so cute though!!!) from my mom

Anyway, I wanted to take pictures of them with their outfits and here is the best picture from the shoot........

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 3/8/2010 9:32:40 AM
Author: Mandarine
I just posted this in FB...but had to post it here since I don''t have all of you over there!. These are some of the only outfits the boys have that are matching (so cute though!!!) from my mom

Anyway, I wanted to take pictures of them with their outfits and here is the best picture from the shoot........

LOL!!! Oh that was perfect timing, little man. That''s hilarious - he looks completely serious!

 

[Sabine]

Mandy, that''s hilarious! And congrats on the race...the pic of the boys is too cute! I''ve been known to put ds in a hat that is too small for him as well, because, well, he has a giant head and he outgrows his cute hats too fast!

Mara, I know these signs weren''t as present early on, but now that Jacks is older, his reflux is a lot easier to notice. His tell-tale signs are burps that just sound "wet" even when he''s not spitting up, and also making the "chewing motion" with his mouth. He also definitely arched his back when we were trying to feed him. All babies spit up, so if he''s not having any other signs, it may not be reflux.

Hi to everyone else!

I guess I''m in the minority for starting solids early and being glad I did. We started right at 4 months and went to 2 meals a day after a week or so. Jacks was just so interested in eating, plus he was downing formula like crazy and this helped cut back on his intake a bit (it got up to 45 oz. a day at one point). It also helped spread out the time in between bottles, which really helped his nap schedule. Plus, since I SAH, it was another activity we could do during the day that we both enjoyed and helped break up the day. As for pooping, it also helped his constipation issues (we did oatmeal instead of rice), and made him more regular, and although the smell was bad, it wasn''t too much worse than formula poops. And no more blow-outs now that the poop is more paste-y! I''ll admit that now that he eats 3 meals a day and gets upset if he doesn''t have them, and he wants to feed himself but can''t quite yet, it is more of a pain, especially if we''re out and about, but overall I''m glad we started when we did. I can see the benefits for waiting, especially if you''re bfing, but for us it worked out well to start early.

We took Jacks to the zoo for the first time yesterday! It was such a gorgeous day and we really enjoyed it even though he didn''t seem too impressed. I''m definitely starting to get spring fever!

 

[cdt1101]

Date: 3/8/2010 10:30:01 AM
Author: Sabine
Mandy, that''s hilarious! And congrats on the race...the pic of the boys is too cute! I''ve been known to put ds in a hat that is too small for him as well, because, well, he has a giant head and he outgrows his cute hats too fast!

Mara, I know these signs weren''t as present early on, but now that Jacks is older, his reflux is a lot easier to notice. His tell-tale signs are burps that just sound ''wet'' even when he''s not spitting up, and also making the ''chewing motion'' with his mouth. He also definitely arched his back when we were trying to feed him. All babies spit up, so if he''s not having any other signs, it may not be reflux.

Hi to everyone else!

I guess I''m in the minority for starting solids early and being glad I did. We started right at 4 months and went to 2 meals a day after a week or so. Jacks was just so interested in eating, plus he was downing formula like crazy and this helped cut back on his intake a bit (it got up to 45 oz. a day at one point). It also helped spread out the time in between bottles, which really helped his nap schedule. Plus, since I SAH, it was another activity we could do during the day that we both enjoyed and helped break up the day. As for pooping, it also helped his constipation issues (we did oatmeal instead of rice), and made him more regular, and although the smell was bad, it wasn''t too much worse than formula poops. And no more blow-outs now that the poop is more paste-y! I''ll admit that now that he eats 3 meals a day and gets upset if he doesn''t have them, and he wants to feed himself but can''t quite yet, it is more of a pain, especially if we''re out and about, but overall I''m glad we started when we did. I can see the benefits for waiting, especially if you''re bfing, but for us it worked out well to start early.

We took Jacks to the zoo for the first time yesterday! It was such a gorgeous day and we really enjoyed it even though he didn''t seem too impressed. I''m definitely starting to get spring fever!

Right there w/ you Sabine! We started solids early as well for the same reasons Sabine listed. Never regretted starting early (and would do it again the same exact way), but realize that I''m the only mommy here who didn''t BF at all (well except for my lamea** attempt the 1st week). If BFing, I can definiltey see waiting.

Lex has reflux as well (although he was never on medication, but he''s on Alimentum)...and he still does those wet burps..so gross

And he''s constantly chewing...on nothing at all

 

[natalina]

OMG- been away too long and this thread is MOVING now! So many new mamas! Welcome!

Mandy- that pic is priceless! Seriously! Alex and Lucas are SO cute!

RE: solids- add me to the list of moms that started solids a bit early and are glad! Ellie started rice cereal at 4 months, and we have been doing fruit for a few weeks now too. She has had bananas, pears, prunes and peaches. The prunes were out of desperation because she hadn't pooped in a few days

. Although the pedi said it is totally normal, I decided to help her along with prunes and she LOVED them. I actually 'prefer' the poops now much better, too. The breast milk poops meant blowouts a couple times a day no matter what size diaper I used. Now, she doesn't have blowouts at all (hope I didn't jinx it), so it has actually cut DOWN on laundry for us. We still just do one solid feeding a day, in the early evening. And she has not cut back on BF'ing at all- this is an additional feeding. She was just SO interested in everything we were eating and would actually watch us put food in our mouths and make little chewing motions herself, so we wanted t give it a try. She eats like a champ. No tongue-thrust issues at all.

DH's grandfather passed away, so we have been OOT for a while

. Ellie was SO good at all of the services. After the funeral, the church had a brunch on the last day, and one of DH's friends had Ellie sitting on the table in her pretty dress playing with a bag of M&M's. He started tossing the bag up and catching it in front of her, and she started giggling like I have never seen before. Full on belly laughs! Pretty soon, the whole room was laughing with her, and it was such an awesome ending to a sad few days. Several of us were actually laughing through our tears. What a sweetie.

On a lighter note, I'm having an Ellie ring made! Yay! Should be ready in a couple weeks. It's a spin off the Tessa ring (thanks for the inspiration, Tacori!). I was given an old piece of jewelry with princess cut diamonds, so it's being made into a ring with the bezels/millgrain and her initials and bday engraved on the side. I can't wait to see it. I am kinda having a hard time picturing it with all square diamonds, so I hope I like it!

Hope everyone is well! I missed you guys!

 

[AmberWaves]

Sunkist:

Maybe we ARE just getting used to the supply/feeding thing. Piper seems satisfied when she finishes eating so I am pretty sure she''s getting enough. I only worried more last night because she ate from both sides at 9, then woke again at 1, when she can usually go a bit longer. Since P is 15 weeks now (!) I am going to go to at least 6 months breastfeeding. It''s been relatively easy for us (thank god) so I don''t see a reason to stop yet. I''ll ask her pedi at the 4 month appointment in two weeks. I definitely don''t feel as "full" as before, though. This morning my higher producing boob was more engorged than it has been lately (I fed her from the other one last night), which was a surprise.

RPS:

Thanks for the tip! P is 15 weeks now, is the growth spurt over the whole 3 month period? It would explain her shirts not fitting.

Mandy: Totally cute pic, and congrats on the race!!

 

[vizsla]

china how are you feeling??

sha - congrats on making it to 3 hours!! and YES that extra hour makes a HUGE difference! whoo hoo! p.s. i LOVE that headband... things like that make me sad sometimes i didn't have a little girl.. sooo cute!

mara - if charlie went 6 hours and then 3 hours between feedings at night i don't know what i would do with all of my extra energy

it probably is hard to tell if j is extra fussy, or if he's just being a newborn. honestly, the babies who just plop down and don't make a peep until they want to eat again are few and far between. it probably doesn't help that you have a few friends with kids like that.. but you gotta wonder if they *really* are that easy or if the parents are padding the truth ya know? i thought a friend of mine had this total angel baby and would never understand all of the trials i was going thru.. but when i finally opened up to her she was all "yeah, h did that all of the time blah blah blah". mom-nesia for sure!

the signs of reflux for charlie were definitely the arching of the back, chewing, and eating lots of little meals - general discomfort/fussy all day. charlie didn't really spit up, he has silent reflux and just swallows it back down.

if you are at all concerned i would call your pedi and see if they think it's bad enough for zantac.

congrats mandy!!

hello to everyone else

our pedi told us at c's 4 month apt to start maybe a tablespoon of rice cereal every other day at 5 months and then try oatmeal... so we could report back on his progress at his 6 month check up - at which point i'm sure she will give us the go ahead to 'really' start solid foods. charlie can hold his head up just fine, but he's yet to sit up on his own unassisted and he hasn't doubled his birth weight.

the poor thing is sick-o again (the same?? do they all run together?) anyhoo he has this cough that is keeping him up at night (ha!) it just stinks because i LIVE for those 1/5-2 hr stretches where he actually sleeps and this cough is totally messing with even that little bit of sleep.

plus he has been soooo extra needy b/c he's not feeling well... it wasn't enough this weekend that he was sleeping in between DH and i.. he needed to be held... all night long... luckily i have perfected the sleep hold, but anytime we make a little progress as far as sleeping goes something happens that takes us back 3 steps

my mom and sister are coming this weekend... i'm hoping to get a couple of 4 hr sleep stretches in.

 

[AmberWaves]

Quick Squeee- I was going to Starbucks and was on my way back into the office. I get out of the elevator with Piper in my arms and who is walking towards us? MATT DAMON. He looked at her and said, "Awww, hiiii!" I went like this:

 

[vizsla]

SHUT UP!!!!!!!

 

[sunkist]

Natalina - glad you are back! Im so sorry to hear about Ellie''s Grandpa

How sweet that Ellie could cheer everyone up!

Mand, OMG whan awesome pic!! I love that brother is cracking up over the spit up

Youre boys are so handsome!

RPS - haha, glad to hear Im not alone in dropping food on my baby.

But, ya, no hot foods while BF. My mom always reminds me how the first time I dropped food on him was when he was like 4 days old

I dropped a crumb of banana bread in his ear!!

But it just landed right in that cuppy part so I easily got it out, thank goodness!

Amber, RPS - you''re probly right reagarding the boob fulness issue.

Sha - D is beautiful!


Mara - reflux, I was wondering if W had reflux because of his fussiness, wet burps then crying, spit up then crying, nothing projectile though. So I mentioned it to the pedi and she asked if we wanted to try Zantac, it was perfectly safe. So I said we''d try it. I think it helped. Less crying, no more crying after spitup. Or he could have outgrown something??? Im trying to decide wether I should continue giving it to him now. He''s on a small dose, 0.6ml at 3x/day. And I usually forget one of those times/day

The doc said to just keep giving it to him and we''ll gradually take him off soon. But reflux can last till 1yr sometimes.

Hope everyone has a good week!

--
OK I dont know if this is still a side effect from shots last week, but Wes totally went to bed early last night! I thought he was going down for a nap at 7:30, he slept for 40 mins and was up again but still looked really tired. So I fed him again and he fell asleep on the boob. He didnt wake then till 10pm, which is the start of his bedtime! I was thinking great, hes going to be up forever again! But he had a little trouble, but finally fell back asleep at 10:30!!woohoo! Its not uncommon these days for him to nap, eat and then nap again on my lap though. I dont know why he cant sleep though a 2hr nap, but he always has to have a snack. im just glad he''s starting to sleep longer

He''s asleep on my lap again now, I thought he was ready to get up for the day but he hardly ate anything and fell asleep

 

[sunkist]

Date: 3/8/2010 1:18:04 PM
Author: AmberWaves
Quick Squeee- I was going to Starbucks and was on my way back into the office. I get out of the elevator with Piper in my arms and who is walking towards us? MATT DAMON. He looked at her and said, ''Awww, hiiii!'' I went like this:

WHAT!!!!!!!!????????? Thats awesome Amber!!!!!!!!! hahahaha! You totally have to put that in her baby bok! Start one if you dont have one

(Which reminds me, I totally have to update W''s baby book!)

That totally reminds me of a story when my brother was born, he was laying in his nursery bed and Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn were there too coming to see their new neice or nephew! They were peering in the nursery window and picked out my bro as the cutest baby! heehee! My Dad said, thats my son! My Dad went to the same highschool as Kurt Russel so they chatted a bit. And my mom''s friend ran into my mom''s delivery room saying , Goldie Hawn is out here!! And of course having just given birth and in recovery state, she couldnt have cared less at that moment. haha!

 

[sugarpie honeybun]

Date: 3/8/2010 1:18:04 PM
Author: AmberWaves
Quick Squeee- I was going to Starbucks and was on my way back into the office. I get out of the elevator with Piper in my arms and who is walking towards us? MATT DAMON. He looked at her and said, ''Awww, hiiii!'' I went like this:

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! So jealous!!!!!!!

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 3/8/2010 1:18:04 PM
Author: AmberWaves
Quick Squeee- I was going to Starbucks and was on my way back into the office. I get out of the elevator with Piper in my arms and who is walking towards us? MATT DAMON. He looked at her and said, ''Awww, hiiii!'' I went like this:

OMG I would have passed out lol!

 

[ChinaCat]

Date: 3/7/2010 3:45:17 PM
Author: dreamer_d
There is no need to start solids before 6 months, so why do it? Just adds lost more hassel to life in my experience. I wish Hunter was still EBF

ETA That''s just my laze thoughts on it, not judging anyone who chose differently

Ditto. But that may be just because I''m lazy. I really don''t get why a lot of people are anxious to start solids so early. I''m not really referring to anyone on this board, more moms I know IRL that act like it''s some sort of indication of greatness on their babies part when they can start solids early.

Personally, EBF was so much easier for us. O was ready really early for solids if you go by the "milestones" but we held off b/c 1) did I mention I''m lazy? and 2) poops and 3) O is really skinny and there is less calories in solids so it wouldn''t really be adding anything to his diet.

And I guess I never thought about it, but O never had blow-outs (maybe 4 or 5 times?) and he rarely spits up (maybe 5 times ever?)

I know it''s good "practice" but other than that, I don''t really get it.

OK, wait, just read Sabine and CDT''s response and that''s the first time it''s made sense to me! Thanks ladies. Which brings me back to the point that all babies are different, and you just gotta do what''s right for yours.

Oh and starting rice cereal did nothing to help or hinder O''s sleeping at night. I think that''s a myth.

Sorry!

Thanks to VIZLA and RPS on all of your comments on mastitis. And a huge extra thank you to Vizla- because of you I called my dr and was proactive, whereas normally I would have waited till it was too late and I would have been even more miserable than I was.

So yep, it was mastitis. I called my OB and she gave me a prescription for antibiotics at like 5 pm on Friday. She told me to start taking them right away. By Saturday I was miserable, full blown flu-like symptoms and radiating pain on my left boob. Of course, it was my sister''s bachelorette weekend that I was hosting, so I couldn''t even stay in bed but I had to go and make sure she had fun.

Only good thing is that I slept in till 10 AM! on Sunday morning since we were at a hotel and DH was watching O. I feel "better" but not great. I came into work for a few hours, but am about to go home and go back to bed.

Who gets mastitis when they are almost done BF????

Seriously!

Speaking of, I don''t know how much longer I am going to BF at all.

O just doesn''t want to eat first thing in the morning, whether by boob or by bottle. Which means his first feeding is when I''m already at work. I am going to keep pumping in the morning and keep trying to nurse him at night, but I think the writing''s on the wall. At least it is O that''s dictating it rather than me.

Feel like I missed a bunch this weekend, but hope all are doing well.

 

[vizsla]

aww crap! sucky!
i''m so sorry.. that is the P-I-T-S! and you had to host a bachelorette party? double sucky! you''ll probably feel icky for another day or so

i had to call my mom for reinforcements because i couldn''t take care of c AND deal with the mastitis.

i''m impressed you are at work today. have you been able to work out the clog? do the warm compresses help??

((hugs)) on bf ... i felt like i needed to mourn the loss of BF.
and when i had not pumped or nursed for a few days i had this crazy urge to start again, just to know i could nurse him if i *needed* too. it''s such a crazy emotional roller coaster. ((HUGS)) take care of yourself!

 

[AmberWaves]

I know, RIGHT?? Ugh, so giddy. In her short life Piper has met Tom Hanks, Matt Damon and Ed O'Neill (Married with Children, Modern Family). Sometimes I love living in LA.

China: What a crapbag about the mastitis. Seriously, you poor thing.

 

[ChinaCat]

Thanks Viz. I slept in till 9:30 or so but I had a project that my partner needed today so I dragged myself in. I'm about to go home though and let the nanny stay with O while I sleep. I would feel guilty but I know I need to get this thing beat so it doesn't get worse. I have a steam shower, so I've been taking a really hot steam/shower and doing the massage before I nurse or pump, and then I am doing the cold after, seems to be helping. The spot is not as tender at all and feels "almost" normal, but I still have all of the flu symptoms.

Yes, we need to have a BF mourning night out. We could go out and do all of the things that we couldn't do when BF- drink caffeine! Drink massive amounts of margaritas!!! Wear bras with underwire! For you: eat, well, ANYTHING!

I thought I'd be so relieved to be done, but I am really sad. And yes, I really want to have milk "just in case". I know it's weird but I keep watching all of these disasters and think, if that happened to me at least if I'm BF I can keep feeding O.

Speaking of those that BF and are done: how's the shape of your tatas holding up?

I am really interested to see what all of that is going to be like. Did you notice a huge difference in before and after?


ETA: Amber, crapbag indeed!!! Cute about Matt Damon. I used to work in the "biz" in LA and have met him a few times. He's a genuinely nice guy. Is Piper a flirt yet?

 

[anchor31]

Date: 3/8/2010 1:18:04 PM
Author: AmberWaves
Quick Squeee- I was going to Starbucks and was on my way back into the office. I get out of the elevator with Piper in my arms and who is walking towards us? MATT DAMON. He looked at her and said, ''Awww, hiiii!'' I went like this:

Matt Damon?! Shut UP!

You''ll be able to tell Piper that she seduced Matt Damon when she was a baby...

 

[anchor31]

Re: Achy boobs - I don't think it's thrush, I can't see anything in his mouth and neither did the doctor 10 days ago. My letdown feels like the nipples are going to pop off, so not too pleasant either... My boobs keep getting bigger so maybe they're "growing pains"?

China - So sorry about the mastitis and possible end of BFing for you.

Big hugs going your way!

Oh, and Jacob is a serious swing-aholic now...

Maybe I should put him down in his crib for his naps so he doesn't fight going to bed at night so much! I like having him next to me in the living room during the day though.

 

[Mara]

oh no on the mastitis CC but glad you caught it (mostly) in time!! it can be horrible i have heard...ugh! and it seems like pretty much everyone i know gets it at least once...double ugh!

speaking on boobs, my left boob is still producing like 1/2 of the right now, it''s SO WEIRD. esp since i have been feeding him way more on the left one lately trying to increase production AND pumping longer on the left side. the right boob is going crazy producing like 3-4oz every 3-4 hours. so it''s making up for the left boob but what the heck! i would like both to be producing 3oz or something you know haha.

and i still have been having some pains in the left boob but i am just trying to keep working out the bumps and putting hot water on it in the shower. so far it is not worse and a lot of the time it''s better but i notice after i pump or feed on the left boob it kind of is ''sore'' inside for a while. who knows. this bf stuff is crazy sometimes.

i will def ask the pedi on thurs about reflux. he doesn''t arch when he feeds but infequently he does kind of fuss while on it or tense up. also sometimes he does spit up but swallows it back down. i''d rather not give him a drug BUT i''ll see what the pedi says. does anyone know if i eat things that would cause ME heartburn that it would cause him the reflux?

i really hope on thurs that he''s gained weight. i feel like his head is def bigger but his body looks the SAME to me! and he is still wearing is same NB and 0-3mo clothes. i seriously feel like he is so active what with all the fussing, crying and arm and leg flailing he just burns off whatever he eats. plus greg has a really high metabolism (and i used to be stick thin til puberty and ate everything in sight) so who knows maybe he''s just a quick burner. at night we give him a LOT of food (boob and then bottle with a bit of formula) and then at 4am we give him about 5oz of milk which he sucks down and then passes out...where is all this food GOING??

viz...lol re the extra energy. i know and i am like ''and i could use one more hour in the morning'' hahaa. shut up mara! sorry that C is sick again, hope he gives you guys some peace soon.

because we have guests, J''s schedule is all weird right now. yesterday he napped from 12-2 and then was up til 5:30...super wakeful and did not want to sleep. finally i managed to get him down at 5:30 after like 30 min of soothing (my mom was here before that and walked him around for an hour!) and he slept 2 hours but then we woke up him at 7:30 because i was afraid he wouldn''t go down at 9:30 then. of course he was a MEGA FUSS at being woken up, he was sleeping so deeply. but he went down at 9:30 just fine (actually ridiculously comatose) and slept 6 hours.

i was also trying to start him on a nap schedule today, as an early experiment. he is taking 2 naps a day but they are inconsitently timed which has been ok so far. but in the next 2 weeks i''d like to start trying to get him a bit more scheduled on the daytimes... it''s not crucial but it is something to do haha. so today he got up at 8 and i started soothing him for nap at 9:30. he went down at 10am and then was up within 10 min crying. then we tried again, fed him a little more and he fell asleep and i put him down at 11am and he went down for 20 min then he cried. so now he is crying in his crib...honestly the MIL and my mom have been holding him A LOT in the last 3-4 days and i think that has contributed to him loving to sleep being held, so if he isn''t being held and sleeping then he wants to be. whereas last week he''d go down ok, then cry for 10 min then pass out, now he has been crying for 30 min nonstop. and i know he is tired, he keeps yawning. so we''ll try soothing again. i just don''t want him to nap at 5pm again like yesterday (even though he slept great at night haha).

amber that is so awesome re: MD...hehe. you should have thrust her at him and said SAY CHEESE! that would have been one for the baby book for sure!

oh and re the let down, i actually don''t feel it at all with him on the boob anymore... but i always feel it when he''s NOT on the boob. i get them like almost every hour when he is not feeding. but when he''s on and feeding, i can tell when he gets it because of how he is feeding but i don''t feel it in my boob anymore.

 

[AmberWaves]

Crap. Today Piper has started crying twice when my co-workers picked her up. Literally last week she was fine with them. I need to take a break from her, and now this starts!

 

[Mandarine]

I love Matt Damon!!! Lucky Piper!!!!!!!

I found a way that the boys sleep longer than 20 minutes for naps....in m bed, with me, rocking them every 20 minutes. Yeah, not ideal...but at least they wake up happier!!!. It''s been a LONG week so I really will try anything...I just can''t stand more screaming and crying. Scratch that, just screaming...because they don''t cry like normal babies, they scream (I swear!).

Mara, I think it''s a little early for trying to get J in a nap schedule...but if you can do it, more power to you!!!. My guys still take a nap after each feeding cycle (so every 2 hours or so) their naps are short though...

 

[vizsla]

steam shower??? OMG jealous!! not just for the whole boob thing but when O is stuffy that is going to be pure heaven to clear him out.

and... yes please! i'll go on a BF mourning night out! i drank an EXTRA glass of wine this saturday just because i could i paid for it all night with the booger nose, but i enjoyed it while i was out.

bras with underwire.. ha! i was wearing nursing bras for a little bit after stopping - i was so darn used to them. now i'm back in my old bras... well, my old big bras. my boobs haven't deflated quite yet... i think it is b/c i'm still 10lbs or so from my pre-preggo weight. i'm interested to see what happens in the next month or so.

amber - it's so extra hard when you are not 'forced' to leave your babe. if you couldn't take her to work with you - and she cried - you would never know.... but because you are there all of the time it's going to be extra hard to leave. i'm not saying you should do something you are not comfortable with... but i promise you won't know if she is crying when you are out of earshot.

ETA - mandy... gah do i know that feeling... the 'i will literally do ANYTHING if you will just sleep' feeling. reason why our darling little boy sleeps between DH and i.. one can play plug the baby and the other can hold his arms down until he falls alseep for 30mins

 

[Mara]

i know Mandarine...we''re a little bit early but i figure why not try. if it doesn''t work, it doesn''t work, we''ll try again in a week. if nothing else it helps get him more used to his crib.

i have nothing else to do right now, but put the kid down in the crib all day long anyway.

actually that isn''t true, since greg''s fam is visiting he is on his way home for the afternoon and i''ll be hitting the gym again today. i went yesterday and i swear i friggin love working out now. nothing like a forced hiatus from it to make you relish it again.

and i agree with the others Mandarine...''just a 10k''...my god i am a crap runner and even in the best of shape pant like a horse after a mile. 10k is amazing!

oh and VIZ...it might be fun to think that everyone else is embellishing... but seriously i am like why are other friends'' kids so easy going when it comes to feeding then sitting there like a lump for a few hours but mine is not happy with that? hahaa.

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Mandarine, that picture is priceless! I completely understand why you would dress the boys differently most of the time...but I really love the matching outfits.

Natalina, I''m sorry about your DH''s grandfather. I''m sure that having Ellie there was a really good thing -- it''s amazing how a baby can help you feel less sad. I can''t wait to see your ring, either -- I bet it will be stunning. I need someone to give me an old piece of jewelry, lol.

Amber, wait. How did P get to be 15 weeks? Do you have some sort of time machine? It just doesn''t seem possible. The 3 month growth spurt usually happens right around 12 weeks, but like everything else, can vary from baby to baby. I tend to attribute almost everything to a growth spurt! If her shirts aren''t fitting, though, I''d say that yeah, she''s growing!

I would have fallen over if Matt Damon said hi to my kid. I''m not a huge fan of his, but I know I''d act weird around any famous person. Will would just yell "Jason Bourne!" That''s so awesome that P already has so many star sightings.

China, I''m so sorry you did end up with mastitis, but glad that you took Viz''s advice and called your doc. I''m glad you''re feeling a little bit better too. I hope that you were able to have a little fun at least this weekend. I know it sucks, but I don''t think getting mastitis when you''re working on weaning is that uncommon, only because the baby is draining the breast less so the milk is hanging around more. It''s possible that O is just going through a phase and will pick nursing back up. Kids do this a lot when they''re getting mobile and the world is more interesting to them. I like to offer to nurse a LOT during that kind of phase because I swear sometimes the kid gets so busy they don''t want to eat anything!

About the boobs after weaning...Before kids, I was a 32A. Before this last pregnancy, I was a 34A. Does that tell you anything about what pregnancy/breastfeeding did to the size? Before I had any kids, my boobs were firm, but I was also 20! I know after Ben weans, they''ll go back to the way they felt before I got pregnant -- soft instead of firm, kind of like my belly feels now. Part of that I do attribute to pregnancy/breastfeeding since it''s due to the milk ducts collapsing. Any woman that has a baby deals with this, whether they breastfeed or not, because the milk ducts are created during the first pregnancy. Of course, I also have to blame aging, too, because at 42, I can''t expect my boobs to be a firm as a 20something''s. I realized last summer that I was sort of saggy, but I''m convinced that''s more a product of age than pregnancy/breastfeeding and thankfully, I simply can''t sag too far. One reason why I am willing to do extended breastfeeding is to keep the firm boobs as long as possible.

Viz, I know exactly what you mean about mourning bf. Will weaned right around 18 months and it was his choice. At the time, I was sort of ready for it because he had wanted to nurse a lot during the night so I felt like I didn''t sleep very well. He gradually reduced the amount of time he spent nursing and then just stopped one night. It wasn''t until a couple of days later that it hit me that our special time was over. I know that sounds sort of ridiculous because there were plenty of other things we could do together.

Anchor, ok, what''s your secret to making your boobs bigger? That''s good if you''re not seeing any white patches. You may never know what these pains are! It''s too bad ''cause I''ll have some of what you''re having! I know what you mean about painful let down -- sometimes it hurts soooo bad. I honestly don''t remember painful let downs from the previous times.


==========

I totally jinxed myself. I said that I was kind of glad Ben''s fussy periods were late at night and not when I''m trying to work and guess what! Today, he''s been a total fuss monster. It''s only been bad this afternoon and thankfully SO is happy to take turns. I hope this means that tonight Ben will be chill.

I''m wondering if this isn''t the 6 week growth spurt starting, but when he''s in full fussy mode, he doesn''t want to nurse as much. He''ll hang out for a few minutes, then pull off and start crying. It frustrates me because I go through the checklist (food, diaper, etc.) and when there''s nothing left, I have to keep trying to sooth him while he wears himself out. It''s so horrible to listen to him cry.

Oh, and when he''s trying to go to sleep when he''s fussy, he totally complains the whole time. He''s not full out crying, just making these almost crying sounds and sort of growling. I laugh at him, but feel for him too. I think he might be another Ritalin poster child.

 

[Sabine]

Mara, wow, 2 naps only? How old is J again? Just throwing it out there, but is it possible that he''s fussy because he needs to sleep more? I remember in the beginning feeling like ALL I did all day was feed Jacks and then try to get him asleep/keep him asleep. I''ll admit I''m surprised at how much you say you let him cry in his crib to fall asleep. But hopefully it will work out for you...I also remember how hard it was to break Jacks of the being swaddled, rocked, and held in order to sleep, but early on I was willing to do whatever it took to get him to sleep well since it made him soooo much more pleasant to deal with when he was awake!

China, sorry about the mastasis and that you might be done bfing soon.

Natalina, sorry for your loss. Glad Ellie was good though.

Viz, sorry C is sick again. Boo.

Amber, that''s AWESOME! So cool! Too bad you weren''t quicker with a camera phone!

Anyone else looking forward to daylight savings time? Jacks currently goes to bed around 6:30 and gets up at 6, so I''m hoping we can just roll with it and change his schedule to 7:30-7! We''ll see though.