PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Puppmom]

Sending you lots of hugs, HH. I had a similar experience with Nolan re: cluster feeding and weeping at night (and wanting to punch my snoring husband who manages to fall asleep in 3 minutes flat!). First, Nolan has seemed to go through growth spurts a few days to a week before the standard time line outlines. He typically eats 6-7 times per day and, during the two growth spurts we've experienced, he's eaten twice as often. I always thought feeding on demand was the right thing to do so I'm not sure why your LC says otherwise - maybe because with the bottle you can tell how much A is getting? During growth spurts, not only would Nolan eat twice as often, he would act like he was still hungry long after I was empty. Oh, and he was a little grumpy during his awake time and slept a little more.

RE: the sobbing. I have had a few nights where I'm literally nursing and crying. It's a pretty pathetic scene. DH doesn't know what to do besides bring me tissues because my nose starts running. It seems kind of funny now but in the moment it's awful! Every time I think about quitting, things get better. Nursing is so much more demanding than I ever imagined and that's the one thing that has overwhelmed me at times. Being the only one who can feed N is sometimes frustrating and makes me feel trapped...especially on those nights where everyone has sit down to dinner and I'm nursing (after I made the stinking meal!) or we have company and I'm hiding out nursing or I just want to get out of the house but it's been a while since N has eaten and I don't want to chance it.

Take care of yourself. Pain+exhaustion+the million changes going on in your life easily add up to a very tough transition (as I'm learning myself!).

...and Aidan is absolutely gorgeous! Looks like the *new hair* is going to be super blonde! Right now, N has a mix of the hair he was born with and *new hair*. His birth hairs are long and dark and his new hair is short and blonde. It's pretty funny!

June, thanks for the congrats! MIL is such a nice lady and we're super lucky to have her not just willing but looking forward to watching N full time. She says all of her retired friends think she's nuts! I just didn't realize how rusty someone could be - but it has been 30 years since she had her last child so patience will be key. I stink at being patient.

 

[lovelylulu]

awww HH. hang in there. I logged all of Nora's feedings in the beginning and there were definitely times when she nursed 10+ times a day. I just copied this from kellymom "First of all, do know that frequent nursing is normal and expected in the early months - most newborns need to nurse at least 8 - 12 times per day. Frequent nursing is also needed -- to avoid/reduce engorgement in the early days, to nourish and grow a baby who has a stomach the size of his fist but who needs to double his weight within 5-6 months, to establish a good milk supply for mom, and to help a baby who has been cradled close and warm inside mom for 9 months adjust to life in the outside world."

so I'm also a bit puzzled by the LC. there is no doubt about it - it is exhausting. especially when you are still recovering from the delivery. something that helped me out a lot was that although I had to feed the babe, my lucky husband got to change her, every evening change - even the wee hours of the morning changes. It was difficult for me to get up and out of bed at first (I had a third degree tear and it WILL get better, but it does take time), so it was very nice to have him scoop her up and do that part of the routine. Plus, I wasn't entirely alone in the middle of the night resenting his sleeping.

The tag teaming didn't last forever. now he never gets up with her during the night, but that is fine because it's only once and I'm physically healed, but in the beginning it was great.

And while my husband was a champ in the beginning and offered a lot of the time, I still definitely need to ASK for help when I was feeling overwhelmed, etc.

Aiden is gorgeous by the way

pupp - nolan is too cute. we have those onsies in the girlie version and man do they have a lot of snaps!

tao - glad to hear that justice has prevailed. so happy for you and your parents.

junebug - congrats!!

 

[fieryred33143]

HH

re:feeding-In the beginning most of the cluster feeding can be attributed to growth spurts (not ALL but most). The very general growth spurt schedule from reading different books and based on what other mommas have said is:
2 day
10 day
3 weeks
3 months
4 month wakeful
9 months

When I was nursing I did demand feeding. She would cluster feed during a growth spurt and I would let her. After a day or two, she would be back to "normal." If it had been more than 1-2 days, then I would do as your LC suggested which was to feed on a "schedule" so that she would get back to feeding regularly.

re: baby blues-it's unfortunate but it's normal. I cried a lot in the first 3 weeks. For some reason, the sun setting would make me cry A LOT. It's hard having a baby that is up every 2 hours all.day.long. My only advice is to sleep when he sleeps as much as you can. The baby blues will pass. I can tell you from experience that general sadness, even if you can't pin point it, is normal. What pushes it over the edge are feelings like you don't want to go on, anger towards the baby, severe anxiety, imagining the baby getting hurt and feeling apathy, etc. It's scary to talk about those things but every mom should know when it goes from very normal and very common blues to something more severe.

Now that S is a little older, I have to say that the newborn stage is the absolute hardest in terms of how the momma feels and copes. Hang in there, you're doing awesome and he is way too cute for words

 

[somethingshiny]

HH~ I don't BF but Lily has always been a huge eater. Besides the things already mentioned with the closeness aspect, some babies just eat a lot and isn't a concern. Lily was such a poor sleeper and I had to sit with her all night, feeding every couple hours (bottle). It really helped me to think of the first weeks as the 4th trimester. That little baby was all wrapped up snug and warm and being rocked and never feeling hungry. Now he's out and sometimes he's cold, hungry, overwhelmed in some way--the only thing he knows is you so that's what he craves. Even if you're holding him 12 hrs a day, he's still only getting half of what he's used to.

However, all that being said, you should not feel bad for feeling overwhelmed, sad, etc. With JT, the baby blues only lasted a few days and I'd say only 2-3 were really overwhelmingly bad. That doesn't mean I didn't cry every day for quite some time because I did, but I could still handle the daily tasks. With Lily, I couldn't even function. I was completely overwhelmed, thought I would end up killing her by screwing up her heart meds, thought I was an awful mom to JT so why did I think I should have another child, etc. I was literally bawling in the kitchen and DH asked me what was wrong. My answer, "I'm so tired but I don't know if I should take a 3 or 4 hour nap." That's when DH decided there was a whole lot more than the baby blues going on. I told my doc at my one week check and was immediately diagnosed with severe PPD and put on happy pills. I had to take a test regarding the PPD and was told that they'd never seen a score so high (I didn't want to injure Lily or myself but had every other symptom). Just be aware of your feelings. Take a moment several times a day to assess how you're feeling. Rate it on a scale of 1-10. Are you happy, sad, anxious, etc. If you can pin point certain times of the day that are the hardest for you, have DH take over for that time. For me, staying up until 2 or 3 am wasn't so bad, it was the getting up at 4 or 5 am that was my worst time so DH takes that shift. And, my biggest piece of advice is take time for yourself. I know it's hard to imagine doing anything for yourself right now, but you'll be amazed at how much better you feel if you get a nice bath and do your hair or your nails or just read a book for an hour. Happy mama makes happy hubby and happy baby! I pray that you are just experiencing the baby blues, but if you want to talk I'm more than happy to share my experiences.

Aidan is absolutely gorgeous! You're very blessed!!


To all the mamas posting here~

I just wanted to say, THIS is the reason I love PS and all of you ladies. I love that we all care for one another and rally to support one of our own.

 

[Mara]

Tao...sorry you have to deal with such a wacky situ. Seriously people are demented!!!

HH....sorry you are having a rough time with everything and hope it improves. J never cluster fed so I have no advice. And definitely have your hub help out as much as possible-- someone told us to manage it basically like your job is to take care of the baby. That's your only job. Your husband's job is to take care of you and himself. That means making sure you have dinner or food around when you need it, that you have time to shower when you need it, that you have alone time if you need it. We did it that way for the most part for the first month and it helped us out immensely. We both didn't feel overtaxed. And if it was too much for me one night to always be with the baby, switching it up to have G be able to get up with him once in a while. Hang in there, it always gets better.

re: sleeping them in sacks and clothes, depending on the temp depends on what we put him in. if its warm in his room we just do tshirt and diaper inside sack. or a few nights we did just sack and diaper. if its wintery or cool out we'll do a sleeper (either with or without feet) and a sack. they do make a lot of sleepers without feet so we have a lot of those since he can wear them longer.

that said i am in love with Children's Place footed sleepers. they are $5.99 on sale and they have a long lean fit which is perfect for J since he is pretty skinny but tall. he's wearing 12mo right now and fitting it perfectly. i am about to buy him 18mo ones.

so I am FINALLY getting a little better thankfully. Hope everyone's enjoying their wkd!

love the new BPF...the babies are SO CUTE!!! squeee!!!

 

[KimberlyH]

HH, if I were in your shoes I would try offering the breast whenever A shows signs of hunger but only offer the bottle as many times as the LC recommended for a few days and see how he responds. I was told over and over to feed on demand, not a schedule, but didn't bottle feed so it's obviously not the same. I do know that J takes in more than needed when bottle feeding because she doesn't get the I'm full signal on time based on how heavy her diapers are whenever I give her pumped milk. That may be why the LC is recommended less pumped milk, along with basic knowledge of stomach size and how muc a typical baby eats.

As for the feelings you're having, don't be afraid to seek support. The feeling of responsibility can be all-consuming in the beginning, you're doing terrific.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Thank you so much for your input ladies. I think we've come to the conclusion that the eating every three hours thing is just not going to work for A. We tried it yesterday/last night and he didn't even make it half way through the 3 hour stretch. Then I feel like he was starving and he was never never satisfied. I like the idea of offering the breast in between bottle feedings and I plan to try that tonight. That will allow me to give him what he needs while practicing his nursing technique.

 

[Puppmom]

HH, yay for a plan! Plans always make me feel a little better.

Shiny, what wonderful advice! It must be so hard to tell the difference between things just being difficult and overwhelming v. PPD. Sounds like you have a great hubby too.

DH and I went out to dinner for our 2nd wedding anniversary today. I'll admit it, I was skurred! MIL and FIL watched Nolan but we bribed DD to stay home since she knows the little things about taking care of Nolan. I'm glad we did because he was pretty fussy and DD knew what to do. MIL mentioned she was relieved to have the help too. Nolan is pretty into white noise these days so we use the sound machine (AKA baby crack machine) a lot. DD turned it on for Nolan and FIL was so irritated by it. We were making fun of him when we got home - he says he doesn't like noise of ANY color.

ETA - Mara, I love the Children's Place PJs too. Nolan is long and I think he looks so cute because they're tight and he's chubby. I like the elastic around the ankles too because his feet stay in the footies.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Do babies normally overeat? Is that common? Micah pushes the bottle out when he's full and rarely spits up, so I'm guessing that means he's not overeating? Haha silly question!

So we hit the fair today. Our photographer had to cancel so I took some pictures myself. Here are three since I didn't do BPF!

 

[taovandel]

Super cute pictures!!


HH: If Aidan wants to eat...then feed him. When Evan was that young he wasn't going three hour stretches without eating from what I remember. It was more like 2 hours and we were told that it was normal.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Super cute pictures!!

HH: If Aidan wants to eat...then feed him. When Evan was that young he wasn't going three hour stretches without eating from what I remember. It was more like 2 hours and we were told that it was normal.

Thanks!

And Micah did that, too, but they told us we were over-feeding him...I fed him anyway and he certainly isn't fat lol.

 

[jcrow]

hh - first, he's ADORABLE! second, if i remember correctly, em was nursing every 3 hours outside of the hospital [in the hospital we were doing breast, pump + bottle + what i pumped due to jaundice. i only nursed once we got home]. by the first dr appt., he said to start feeding her every 2-2.5 hours so that she would start sleeping longer stretches at night. so that's what we did. i nursed on demand with the help of the itzbeen. there have been MANY times she eats more often than every 2 hours. many, many. but, if she's hungry, we feed her. hang in there!

also ditto to what mara said. hubs helped out a TON. i fed em and hubs made sure i had food + water [oh, man was i thirsty!]. he also bathed her and changed her including changes in the middle of the night.

--

afm - we went to the outlet stores this weekend. janie + jack outlet that i was pumped about was a big bust! they had a few things that were no longer in the stores/online, but most was their regular stuff barely discounted. in some cases they were changing less online for the same thing than the outlet was charging. robbery, i tell ya! i picked up a few pairs of socks reg. $7 for $1.19. i also picked up a pair of pants for her for next year. $7 and they were $30 something full price. strasburg outlet was also a bust. no, i don't want to pay $70 for a clearance item no matter how pretty of a smocked dress it was. but i did score my favorite EVER crib skirt from the pb outlet. it's this one http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/scallop-pique-nursery-bedding/?pkey=x|4|1||3|crib%20skirt||1&cm_src=SCH and i got it for $14. yada yada... i love deals

em was a such a good shopper for us. first she slept the whole way there [i swear she naps better on the go than at home!]. then went 3 hours between feedings. at home it's more like 1.5-2. love it.

 

[lovelylulu]

monkey - cute pictures and what fine posture your little man has

jcrow - I too was out a shopping yesterday. minus the babe. plus coffee and sunshine = one happy lulu. I normally don't love shopping in person, much prefer the online. but these days, a baby-free outing is still definitely a novelty. ahhh janie and jack. I may have picked up nora a couple of pieces there yesterday it's so freaking precious. and my biggest find was a zara that sells baby clothing. I love that it's pretty classic, subtle baby clothing (if that makes sense) not so over the top with bright pink, bright patterns, etc.

so yes, nora has her fall wardrobe. as for me, I didn't buy a thing for myself. I'm waiting until I need to return to work and hopefully maybe have lost a bit more baby weight - I did drop another 3 lbs. so I'm about 5 lbs from pre-baby and about 10ish from where I would really like to be . . .

 

[Mara]

SUPER cute photos... MP i love that last one with his soooo happy expression. big squinchy eyed baby smiles are the BEST.

em and lulu yay for clothing purchases, as you guys know i am obsessed with J's wardrobe so i always love hearing about baby clothes. oh and jcrow it's a total pet peeve of mine when outlets have their own stock at high prices, hello you're an OUTLET that should mean cheap!

my SIL brought some super cute stuff for J with her, including a little dark brown and blue Adidas track suit, oh my gosh how cute, not into the pants so much but the JACKET is adorable. and in bigger sizes so he can wear them in winter. also she got him a bunch of kenneth cole baby stuff which is so cute!

speaking of shopping, i got J an AllyZabba blanket the last time Baby Steals had them and J really likes it. i got him the blue camo and he likes to snuggle with it and sleep. i love the way it feels too!!! i read all the rave reviews moms had for it thinking REALLY but i do have to say it was a good purchase. plus it's machine washable.

re: Childrens Place footies, yes they are a footie where the footie actually stays. some of the other ones we have gotten J manages to get his foot out of it easily and then it's flopping around.

re: babies overeating, i would not worry about it. i think it CAN happen but it's probably super far and few between... sometimes I felt like J was eating a TON and other times he would not eat so much and i think overall it just evens out. they say also formula fed babies can overeat more but i also am skeptical there because i don't know any. PLUS once the kids start being more active aka crawling, walking they start to burn way more calories than blobbing it out there sitting so they do need to eat more.

 

[jcrow]

lulu - yay for weight loss! yay for j+j clothes! i have a slight obsession with janie and jack. i love the details of their clothes sooo much! so stinkin' cute! and their sales are really good. i've picked up quite a few things for em to wear next summer. i'm waiting for their fall line to go on a deep discount so i can get some fall pieces for her for next year.

there is a children's place outlet near me, but i haven't liked any of their stuff when i've gone in. i thought i would because there are a few pieces from there i got as hand me downs that i really like.

i think em's changing her bedtime. she seems to want down 7-8 instead of 8-9 like before. she's also been waking at 7ish instead of 8ish.

oh, and big news for me - i fit into my favorite pre-preggo jeans! i can't believe it. i almost didn't try thinking i wouldn't get them past my thighs and get sad, but i tried and they fit. hooray! i still have some work to do in the tummy area and i have about 5 lbs. to lose to get back to pre-preggo weight, but my goal is 8 lbs.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Thanks again ladies. I suspect Aidan was going through his 10 day growth spurt because last night was SO much better and tonight (so far) has been ok. He was up off and on last night and definitely wanted to eat, but not with the vehemence of the nights earlier this week. He was much more mellow. Tonight he's been down right quiet. Granted, it's still early but I'm optimistic.

In other news, the bug is officially gone and I'm feeling much much better mentally and physically. My c/s incision is still pretty painful, but it's manageable now that I'm not feeling so crappy. In other news, I weighed myself today for the first time since having Aidan and I'm down 20 lbs! So I guess there are benefits to the stomach flu following childbirth? Now if only I could wear normal clothes....I can't stand to have anything pressing on my incision right now, so I'm still in my comfy maternity clothes. Does anyone know when the weird numbness around the incision goes away?

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Just a quick pop in to send "hang in there vibes" to HH. It sounds like things are getting better. Just note that as Fiery posted, there will be lots of times when it seems like your LO cannot get enough to eat- the growth spurts. I just experienced the 3mo growth spurt with Nico this past Friday. I swear that he was on my boob like every 1.5 hours. And we were also giving him a random formula bottle here and there as he was totally draining me dry! It wasn't that bad yesterday, and today was back to normal.

Re: incision numbness. I had a relatively easy recovery as my c-cection was scheduled which is MUCH easier on the body vs. an emergency one. Regardless, i still felt it in the area. All I can say is take your meds- don't skip doses thinking that you can power thru the pain/feeling. DH is a medicinal chemist/scientist and although he didn't want me on them any longer than need be, he was vigilant about making sure that I taking what I needed to feel comfortable. His goal was to get me off the stuff as quick as possible- took me about a week after I got home before I downgraded to aleve and then took that for another week. But silly me moved some boxes about 3 weeks pp and I was laid up for a couple of hours afterwards- had to take an aleve or two to make it through the night.

Last tip- sounds weird, but the more I moved around, the better I felt! Yes, I took it easy, but I made sure to go for a short (15m walk) outside to get the blood going. It made a difference in my recovery. Oh yeah... granny panties were my best friend!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Does anyone know when the weird numbness around the incision goes away?

I'm glad last night was better! I hope he did well the whole night through.

I actually still have a few numb spots around my incision, but the majority of it was gone right before I went back to work, 2 months later.

 

[Puppmom]

JCrow, congrats on fitting into your pre-preggo jeans!!! I'm down 32 pounds since having Nolan. Unfortunately, I gained 45 so only my fat pants fit. I go back to work in 5 weeks and I'm not sure what to do - buy a temporary wardrobe?

HH, awesome that things are getting better. I knew a c-section could be painful but I really had no idea how tough the recovery was. Thank goodness that stomach bug is gone. I'm sure all of that herky jerky in your belly was not helping the incision site.

I just had to share this pic. DH loaded what was on the camera to the PC and this one was a gem!

 

[lovelylulu]

HH - I'm so glad that you had a better night. hoping for many more.

jcrow - hurray for the jeans. such a victory!!

pupp- what a cutie pie.

little one is stirring - but operation deswaddle is going well. some naps are better than others, but today is both arms and so far so good.

 

[Puppmom]

JCrow, congrats on fitting into your pre-preggo jeans!!! I'm down 32 pounds since having Nolan. Unfortunately, I gained 45 so only my fat pants fit. I go back to work in 5 weeks and I'm not sure what to do - buy a temporary wardrobe?

HH, awesome that things are getting better. I knew a c-section could be painful but I really had no idea how tough the recovery was. Thank goodness that stomach bug is gone. I'm sure all of that herky jerky in your belly was not helping the incision site.

I just had to share this pic. DH loaded what was on the camera to the PC and this one was a gem!

i meant 30 pounds...getting ahead of myself!

 

[Mara]

love sleeping babies!!! and pupp that is so cute.

one of the outfits greg's sis brought us was like this Columbia fleece snowsuit thing with ears. SUPER cute but i am like will he ever wear this? we'll have to take him to tahoe in spring or something hahaa.

re: weight gain, i am at pre-preggo weight but i don't have the same body. i need to do more toning and the baby gut now is more like i ate a big thanksgiving meal than a beer belly. definitely need to get some extra elasticity going there--more abs less cupcakes i guess.

also... on the preggo thread some of the gals are talking about weight. it's funny because when i was preg i was like well my body is going to do what it wants and that's it. and for the most part that IS it...BUT i definitely could have eaten that 10% better while prego which would have probably contributed to getting the weight off afterwards 10% faster. it's 7mo and i got back to pre-preg about 2-3 weeks ago (+1 lb so i figured whatever that's good enough!) but wow that feels like forever to me. also i could have made better eating choices AFTER birth, rather than going 'welp i'm bf'ing, oink oink'. i dropped 20lbs by the time J was a week old and the other 14 was the hard stuff to get off. and the last 5 was the hardest--and i think it hung around mostly because of bf'ing.

BUT it also depends on your body like so many other things. anyhow, if i had to do it again, i would probably eat the way i did while preg--maybe changing it 5-10% (i ate a lot of mcdonalds!!) and then after birth i def would have made smarter choices after the first few weeks of indulgence and prob been back at pre-preg by like 4mo rather than 6mo.

anyhoo. que sera sera. not much to report here other than J has had kind of loose stools the last 2 days, don't know if its teething or a small stomach bug or what but he's acting normally so i'm not worrying. still no teeth to report--he's following miss piper's gummy little trail. and i'm back to work today but i am also traveling on wed and thurs of this week and i am NOT looking fwd to it at all. i missed out on a direct flight i normally take for this event and so i have to go to LAX ugh which sucks. and i'll be away on wed night. so sad. and i'm 90% better but i really could use this week to totally recupe. oh well.

 

[MonkeyPie]

I look heavier than I have ever looked, but I weigh two pounds less than I did when I first found out I was pregnant at 4 weeks. Sigh. My belly looks like I am still PG in some ways because my clothes don't fit the same, and I don't have the cash to go buy a whole new wardrobe. So I just suck it in...a lot lol.

 

[Puppmom]

I'm glad I'm now alone in the post preggo weight loss journey. I guess I'll add this body change business to the list of things I wish I knew BEFORE I was pregnant.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Lulu- glad to see that operation deswaddle is going well. i too need to get going on something similar to prep Nico for daycare. i'm not certain if swaddling is allowed at his, but don't want to count on it. my challenge is that he's just not a good napper. i put him down at 9a- 2 hrs after he woke this a.m and he just now drifted off (9.20). I hope that he goes until 10a when it's time to nurse him. He's usually only good for about 1/2 hour at a time.
The infant crib room at his daycare also does double duty as their playroom, therefore not the most quiet or dark place. but they do have lullabies playing and it's a soothing atmosphere. So i'm starting by raising the shade in our room a bit so he's not used to napping in the dark. We have a white noise machine also going and i plan to have them run the sleepsheep in his crib. I've got those two things going, and will eventually work on the swaddling- maybe in another week or so. baby steps..

weight gain- i got lucky and only gained 22 lbs. i credit the GD for keeping my weight in check, as i tend to pack on the pounds if I have carbs. unfortunately, i haven't been diligent about staying away from the carbs pp as now my mentality is that i'm going to make up for lost time! I'm pretty much eating what I want, which is mostly healthy but this nighttime dessert habit has got to stop. I'm down about 18-19 lbs, so don't have much left to lose but my belly is soft (not that i had rock-hard abs before, but i wasn't this spongy!) so that means that i can't fit into my old size. Good thing i kept my pants from my in-between stage when i lost weight 2 years ago.

Mara- I hope you're able to take it easy this week.

Pupp- cuteness overload! great pic

JCrow- YAY for fitting into your jeans. that must be such a great feeling!

MP- Micah looks like such a little man! Glad to hear you had fun at the fair. Oh yeah, I LOVE your hair!!

i think i hear the peanut- 1/2hr nap right on the dot. geez kid, what do i have to do to get you to nap longer???

 

[lovelylulu]

charger - you tell me how to get nora to "drift off" into her naps and I'll tell you how to get Nico to nap longer

maybe as he gets a little older the naps will organize themselves into longer stretches just as his night sleeping has . . .

 

[Mara]

re naps... sometimes J is 30-45min and sometimes it's 2 hours. and his 'night' sleep doesn't necessarily correlate with nap length, aka he could sleep his regular 12-13 hours and end up with a 30 min nap OR a 2 hour nap. there's no 'a ha' moment. it's so odd!!! and i wish i knew what the magic was. on the flip side i am just happy he sleeps at night.

 

[curiousaboutdiamonds]

re: pre-preggo weight - almost 6 months later and I've still got about 5lbs till I reach pre-preggo, but 10 lbs from where I want to be. I had to gain 10 lbs to get pregnant as I was on the petite side. I also need to do some toning but it's so hard to find the time or the motivation to do so. Keep up the good work ladies! [ETA: I gained 35 lbs, lost only 10 ibs the first month, and I guess the next 20lbs over months 2-4]

re: naps - my LO was a really crappy napper - 20-25 mins 4-5x a day. But around the 4.5 month mark and after we deswaddled, she started napping consistently for 1.5-2 hours 2-3x a day and slept 10-12hrs a night. I think she just did it naturally, she just seemed *ready*. Or maybe everytime she started sleeping, I turned on Rock-a-bye-baby on the baby crack machine and she associated that with sleep??

MP - love M's smile!

Pupp - cute outfit!

Lulu - love the deswaddled pic!

HH - A is so so precious. Glad to hear things are getting better. Nursing every 1.5-2 hrs is perfectly normal. I felt like all I did the first month was nursing and pumping.

 

[somethingshiny]

RE: weight. I was overweight when I got preggo and lost 15lbs in the first tri due to MS. Then I got back up to pre-preggo weight and gained 10 more. I was 12 lbs under pre-preggo weight within a few days of birth. I am currently 31 lbs under pre-preggo weight (so lost 41 total). I kept a close eye on my nutrition during pregnancy to really keep a cap on my gain and the depression diet that first week took a lot of weight off. I'm very happy that I have been wearing my skinny jeans since I got my staples out. Every woman's body is different and will gain and lose differently. I worked hard to keep my weight down and am very glad I did. However, I still weigh 199lbs. But, this is the first time in probably 10 years that I've been under 200. My goal is to lose another 20-25 lbs.

RE: c/s recovery. Move often! Don't just let yourself sit or lie around because you're sore. The more often you move the quicker you'll recover. Don't overdue the weight restrictions or do any weird bending, but constant motion will get your muscles feeling better fast. As soon as you can, start doing cross-over crunches. (That applies to all moms) Often during pregnancy the muscles will separate at the midline. By doing cross-over crunches, you encourage the muscles to fuse back together. The numbness is different for everyone. With my first c/s, I had a triangle of numbness for 2 years. With my second c/s, the numbness was basically gone within a month. My first c/s was emergency so that may be the difference, I'm not sure.

So, Lily actually shot diarrhea across the room yesterday. I thought she had finished, removed the diaper, lifted her legs and apparently set up her shot to hit the door! Ahh, the simple joys of motherhood.

Question: Does anyone have advice about cradle cap? When JT had it, I could brush it off and wash his hair really good and basically take care of it. I think I'm having a harder time with Lily because of how thick and long her hair is. She has just tons of teeny tiny flakes instead of the larger "scales." I've read about people using oil and then washing it out, but I'm afraid it would never wash out of all that hair. Advice??

 

[Puppmom]

re: naps. When do babies start to *nap* as opposed to sleeping most of the time? Nolan is only awake for about 4 active hours per day (not counting when he's nursing).