PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Kunzite]

Oh Bliss, I know your pain! I used to get a ton of clogged ducts but lately haven't had any (did I just jinx myself?). I have over supply too and I've found that I can't cut down on taking Lecithin. I take four a day and if I miss one I can tell because my milk will get "stringy" almost immediately. Another trick that the LCs told me to get rid of a clog is to massage the area with the back of an electric tooth brush. I'm sure I looked like a crazy lady, but it's always worked for me.

 

[Lanie]

I used to get clogs a lot as well, but i've dropped my middle of the night pump, and my supply went down. I'm actually glad it did. Is that weird?

One thing I did was put castor oil on a cloth and put that over my nipple and boob area that was swollen, and then put a heating pad on top of all of that. It would get rid of it by the next day. They hurt so bad!

Kunzite -- I could almost ditto everything you said about the screaming at random times and not screaming anymore while eating!

And here's my AFM: I am back at work this week, and it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I get Spring Break off next week, so maybe that's why I feel halfway at work, and that's why I'm not that sad. Anyway, I recommend putting your kids in daycare or have your nanny come by and leave for a couple of hours before you go back. It helps the transition hugely. When I left him that first full day, I just felt like I was leaving him with a babysitter, and just didn't think about it. If I thought about it, I'd get teary eyed.

Also, if you have a newborn and you haven't had someone watch him/her, do it now! You need to get used to being away from them. My friend never was away from her little girl for more than an hour to go to the grocery store, and going back to work hit her like a ton of bricks.

The hardest part of being back at work is all of the chores you have to do when you get home. He has to be fed, I have to pump the other boob, clean all of the daycare bottles, get bottles ready for the next day, etc. Plus he's cranky during that time. All I want to do is hold him, but I have too many chores to do. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is hard when I would come home from work pre-baby and just relax. Now, there's no relaxing. It's go go go the minute I walk in the door with him. Sleep is also a factor. He sleeps usually from about 10pm until anywhere from 4-6. If it's 4, I can't really go back to sleep, so I'm exhausted the next day. I seriously feel like I need an assistant when I get home to help me with dinner, getting the mail, getting things cleaned up so I can just be with my baby whom I have missed hugely!!!

 

[somethingshiny]

Oh Bliss, how miserable! Thanks for sharing your remedies. I had clogged ducts even though I was bfing. I ended up pushing everything down and then manually squeezing to try to release it. DON'T do that. It doesn't work and hurts like heck!!

 

[Bliss]

HH, AIDEN STANDING IS TOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All the PS babies are SO GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Puppmom, I know! OMG! MIL is here again and she doesn't get the concept of overstimulation. So she'll hold the baby who's yawning and coo, "Wanna SLEEP? SLEEPYTIME!!! YES! YES!!!! CUTIE WANTS TO SLEEP?" Of course the baby gets all excited and the nap goes buh-bye! And then I suffer for it at night. This morning, I sat her down and explained how sleep begets more sleep and I think she understood. We'll see! The perfume thing is gone, though! HAPPY HAPPY BLISS! I think she probably triple washed everything she owns before flying up here again. And DH is having her wear one of his shirts over hers. Even then, I smell a slight whiff from M's hair but it is nowhere near the level of perfume bombs I detected before! YAY!

KUNZITE!!!! Good idea! I *knew* I was forgetting one item on my list! Yes, I also read that women use their electric toothbrushes and ahem, personal massagers to do the job. I only had a Sonicare so I used that hoping the sonic waves would help break it up. Hehehehe - can you imagine someone walking in on a mommy using her gigantic bright purple personal massager on her boob? The image is so hilarious to me! I just chose purple because... I don't have a bright purple personal massager, people!!! LOL But the funniest thing is, the low tech comb trick worked! I used one of those afro pick combs from the beauty supply store with metal teeth that had rubber balls on the ends. It is a lifesaver!!!!! Who knew I'd be "combing" my boobs one day? Oh, Motherhood!!! Even DH got in on the action and offered to hoover it out...which I politely declined. Impossible to imagine! First, it would make me laugh too hard and is just too weird! I'm sure if I got desperate enough, I might have taken him up on the offer. Lordy.

LANIE!!!! No, that is a BEAUTIFUL thing. I can't wait to drop a feed and wean. Is that bad? Breastfeeding is so hard. I know I'll miss it once it's ending, though. I love it dearly but also find it to be incredibly difficult in terms of scheduling, getting help and oversupply issues. It's stressful feeling like your boobs are going to explode all the time. I also have very forceful letdown so if I even think about the baby, the milk GUSHES out. And it hurts! The other day I was unhooking my nursing tank and the squirt of milk went across the room and hit the plasma TV! Milk-o-vision!!! OMG. Thanks for the castor oil tip! Good info, ladies!!! And I hear you on work never being done. I just feel like my list of things I have to do never ends. Having a baby multiplies everything!!!

Somethingshiny!!!!!! I know! OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The worst part was the panic for me. I really thought my left boob was going to explode. It felt like there were bricks in there. Soap bars or something that size...horrific! And they just got harder and more painful over the course of the day. I was terrified that it would dry up my supply or turn into an infection. Holy moly. And I thought breastfeeding was supposed to be so natural, so easy. HA!!! Joke's on me! MIL keeps telling me to switch to formula but that only makes me more stubborn. You'd think a Grandma would want her grandbaby to get the best, but I think she has weird issues about breastfeeding because she never had enough to do it with DH. She always asks if I have enough milk for the baby...enough milk? Hello!!! I should squirt her in the eye to prove it. But then she would go blind due to the hurricane force milk ejection and DH would be mad that I blinded his mother with my boobie milk.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Oh Bliss, I know your pain! I used to get a ton of clogged ducts but lately haven't had any (did I just jinx myself?). I have over supply too and I've found that I can't cut down on taking Lecithin. I take four a day and if I miss one I can tell because my milk will get "stringy" almost immediately. Another trick that the LCs told me to get rid of a clog is to massage the area with the back of an electric tooth brush. I'm sure I looked like a crazy lady, but it's always worked for me.

Do you watch The Big Bang Theory? If you do and you watched last week's episode you know why I'm giggling. Apparently electric toothbrushes are good for other things too!

And for the record my boobs ache just reading Bliss' post!

 

[somethingshiny]

HH~ omg, I was thinking the same thing about the tooth brush! Amy Farrah Fowler recommended!

 

[AllieLuv83]

HH I already posted on the other site but I seriously can't believe how big your little guy is getting. You must be so proud to have a STANDER

 

[AllieLuv83]

Can anyone give me some thoughts on open gut theory? I started C on rice cereal after his ped said it was fine at his 4 month appointment, he was eating it like a champ and then I stumbled upon the talk of babies not being ready for solids until 6 months. We have another month to go which is fine with me but I just wanted to hear some thoughts and opinions on the theory.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Allie, we had to go see a pediatric gastroenterologist when A was 13 weeks because of his reflux. We made a point to talk to him about solids, etc because my family has a strong history of celiac's disease. He 100% had no problems with us starting A on foods at 4 months and encouraged us to NOT withhold gluten because 1. down the road if he needs to be tested for CD he needs to have been exposed to it to get an accurate result and 2. withholding it for fear of it triggering a reaction could be counterproductive. If he's not exposed to it it could line him up for a sensitivity/intolerance down the road. While there are schools of thought that think early exposure can lead to an increased risk of allergies or intolerances, there are just as many who feel the opposite and that early exposure in small amounts actually protects against allergies and intolerances.

Anyway, as A had been on rice cereal since 5 weeks for the reflux he said we could skip it and move right to purees. So that's what we did. The cereal is really just so they get used to eating from a spoon and taking in non-liquids. For BF babies there's also a need for the iron in cereal as their natural stores of iron are depleted around 6 months. As A is FF there wasn't much of an issue.

We started with mashed avocado (very neutral flavor, easily digestible, nutrient rich) and went from there. at 4 mo our pedi suggested starting cereal but when we told her about our discussion with the gastro she changed her tune and was on board with what he said. So we did purees from 4 mo to 6 mo and now we're starting to chunk up his purees more and we're giving solids like baby mum mums or mushy table foods.

ETA: We also found over the last two months that A's enthusiasm for food has come in fits and starts. One day he eats like a champ and is very cooperative and other days he's very resistant and wants nothing to do with it. So it's a process and it's for practice they should still be getting the bulk of their calories from the bottle or the boob.

 

[Kunzite]

Laine - I feel like I could have written your post as well! It sounds like A and O are quite similar. When I get home it's usually almost time for O to eat. If he's still sleeping on DH's lap then I'll start all of the chores (washing bottles, picking up the house, getting dinner started) but if he's awake I'll start feeding him and DH will start all of the chores. O's sleep schedule isn't quite as long though. We usually get him to bed around 9:30 and he'll sleep until either 3 or 4 and then go back to bed for a few hours and get up for the day at around 6/7. Since I'm still pumping at night (only for three more days!! I'm dropping my MOT pump after the weekend!!) DH feeds O. It's a pretty sweet system.

Bliss - I just jinxed myself! I forgot to take one of my lecithin yesterday (how could I do that you say since I literally just typed out that I can't miss one!) and I didn't get a clog but I did get two (yes, two!) milk blisters when I woke up this morning. Oy! This baby feeding stuff is challenging.

HH - Nope, no Big Bang Theory here. Something must be wrong with me in my old age because my mind totally didn't even go there!!

Allie - I don't have any thoughts on the actual theory but we're going to wait as close as possible to 6 months to start solids. I just don't see any reason (for us) to start early since there is no harm in waiting and that's what is recommended. I did come across this information when I was looking at cues for starting solids. Maybe you'll find it helpful.

In order to successfully breast and bottle feed, babies push their tongues outward when something enters their mouth. This is called the extrusion reflex, and its presence means that your baby is able to swallow only liquids. This reflex disappears by the time your baby is about four months old, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s able to eat from a spoon right away. Even after losing the extrusion reflex, babies aren’t quite coordinated enough to move the food from the front to the back of their mouths and swallow it; generally, they don’t develop that type of coordination until the fifth or six month. If you attempt to give your baby a solid food and he repeatedly pushes entire bites out of his mouth with his tongue, he may not be ready. You will know that your baby’s coordination is developing when he begins to make chewing motions when you give him a bite. He might also drool less as he learns to swallow properly. Babies’ ability to move their mouths and tongues tends to develop in sync with their digestive systems, so these are pretty accurate cues.

AFM - Oliver had his four month birthday on Monday. (there must be a lot of us near the beginning of the month!) I hadn't noticed how subtly he'd gotten bigger until we did his four month monkey picture and he looks huge and grown up! It really blew my mind a bit He's now 12 pounds 4 ounces and 24 inches long. That puts him in the 90% on his growth line, which is different than his birth age and adjusted age. His development is also somewhere between the two ages. Confusing, huh? Poor kid has his shots this morning. He was supposed to get them on Monday but he was already getting his RSV antibody on Tuesday so we delayed them until the end of the week so they weren't all so close together. Plus, if he's not feeling well afterward it will be over the weekend so DH doesn't have to deal with a cranky baby on his own.

I cheated and took a page out of Noel's book and did a collage this week. We took SO many pictures on Monday that I couldn't choose just one to post!

 

[drk]

Totally agree with HH on the foods thing. That's what we did.

 

[cara]

Allie I buy into the open gut theory to some extent, it is definitely part of why I wanted to breastfeed, my husband is a doc and, say, didn't want us giving newborn Silas cold milk (rather than warm) b/c of his immature gut, but still the reason we didn't start solids at 4 mo was because of fear of stinky poops, LOL. Not open gut. His pediatrician, whom we trust, recommended we start solids sometime between 4.5 months and 6ish months. He said recent evidence seems to support that kind of time frame (4-6 mo) for starting solids rather than the strict no-solids before 6 mo prior thought.

Anyway, we started playing with solids a couple of weeks ago at 5 mo and change and it wasn't until the last day or two that Silas was actually swallowing anything willingly! He loves his milk, but wasn't really interested in *eating* his foods and got pretty annoyed if we kept trying to force it. Kept pushing it out ala that passage above. But he's getting there, finally started eating little bites last night and then today and then he went and broke out in spots today at daycare

Ped. says its probably a virus, though, not a food reaction. S is sleeping now, hopefully he can shake this off over the weekend.

Anyway I just wanted to check in and say that I do read when I get the time and it is really great to read about everyone's updates and see some baby-pics! But it has been really hard to post or read as frequently with the new job. Its going really well and Silas is a joy and the job is good, but man life is about compromises. I do like getting to use my brain at work, and not be on mom duty 24/7, but it is hard to miss out on some of seeing my little boy grow up. He is rolling all over daycare, and doing push-ups and scootch-crawling (not proper crawling but dragging himself by his arms with occasional push-off boosts from his legs.) And Lanie, I hear you. Every night it is get the bottles cleaned/made/labeled/in-the-fridge, pump extra if I need to, pay attention to Silas even though he's crankier in the evenings and hope my husband comes home from work so I can both eat something other than wheat-thins for dinner and get the chores done and not feel like I am neglected my boy during my limited time with him. Even still, he doesn't get bathed most nights and many days I don't manage to, say, try and ply him with solid foods. I feel like weekends are for catching up with where he's at (in addition to catching up on everything else in life!) Husband does have it worse, though, he misses more during the week and I think the lack-of-boobs is hard on the fathers at this stage. Daddy is okay when Silas is in a good mood, but I am definitely preferred if things are going sideways.

Anywho. Can't believe Silas will be 6 mo next week! And my cohort of babies is getting so big, and all the new ones are so adorable. They are so new and so much work. New moms, I know it is hard to imagine, but you will get through and it will get better. Hang in there!

 

[noelwr]

Allie - Skye just turned 3 months and the doc said we can start her on rice cereal. I have tried to spoon feed her, and she likes the taste (I assume it tastes just like her formula), but she gets frustrated because I think she doesn't understand why she can taste it on her tongue but that it doesn't go to the back of her throat (like with the bottle). anyway, we're just doing it to get her used to the spoon and don't expect her to really get any of it down. at the same time, with one bottle, I am adding a little rice cereal so it is pretty much still fluid and will increase this slowly over time.

 

[AllieLuv83]

Thank you for all of the responses. He was doing GREAT with his cereal, and was actually trying to help feed himself, yes the poops were stinky and WEIRD looking more solid I guess but we stopped giving it to him. We might try some avocado today and see how that goes!

 

[noelwr]

hello. on Thursday I took Skye to swimming class and that was fun. last night DH and I went to the movies while MIL babysat. she's been with us 4 weeks now and leaves on Mon. so that's 7 weeks that I have had someone else in the house with me and Skye (the first 3 weeks being my mom). don't get me wrong, they were all fantastic help while I was recovering from surgery; it's just a long time to have visitors. and just when I was SO looking forward to just being alone with Skye again, my first chemotherapy is scheduled for Tuesday, so my mom will be around for a couple of days as I sweat out the medication for 2 days and the doctor said better not to touch the baby as they don't know if it can be harmful for her. but by Thurs evening it should be just me, DH and Skye for a couple of weeks. can't wait!

well, I have to say that one of the plus sides of my whole situation is that I didn't have to go through the rough parts of breastfeeding. also, ever since Skye was born, I've had to go to the hospital quite frequently, and therefore very early got used to leaving her alone with someone else. I also don't have to return to work before September due to the chemo, so I get to spend more time with her. so I guess there are positives that come with negatives.

Kunzite - great collage!

and here is Skye at 13 weeks. she lately puts her little hands up by her head and face when she's tired and then ends up scratching herself. therefore the red dot on her forehead.

 

[somethingshiny]

Oliver and Skye are so cute!!
Missed BPF, but here's a pic from a few days ago. Lily LOVES her stackers! She always wants one of the rings or stars in her hands.

 

[drk]

I missed BPF too, but thought I'd better get one last pic in before we graduate to the other thread. Can't believe it's been almost a year!
If only the anxiety/insomnia yuckiness would go away, life would be great...

 

[somethingshiny]

Oh I bet K LOVED those flowers!! What a great place to take her. We have a botanical garden about an hour away but I never thought of taking Lily. Definitely putting that on our to-do list!

 

[AllieLuv83]

My man is 5 months today and here is the obligatory 5 month picture with Roscoe the dog

Also the first tastes of Avocado! It went pretty well!

 

[somethingshiny]

Allie~ I love the expression with Daddy. So cute!!



Lily is 8 months old today and just cut her first tooth! Doctors always say that babies don't get sick, or snotty from cutting teeth. I have to disagree.


There is a problem though. When she gives kisses, sometimes she clamps down. That teeny toofer really hurts!

 

[Puppmom]

SS, I am not looking forward to N getting teeth. Was there any warning or did the tooth just pop through?

BTW, I think N and Lily might be related! Maybe it's just the cheeks but I swear they look like they came from the same gene pool.

 

[somethingshiny]

Pupp~ N and L do look like siblings or cousins. If it's just the cheeks, I guess we'll see over the next couple years!! Lily has been teething off an on for months actually. Very drooly and wanting to chew everything, waking at odd times, some days wanting to chew her spoon, other days ignoring solids completely. She has been very snotty and drooly for the last week or so and I figured one was going to pop any day. It erupted today, I kinda helped it along. She kissed and bit my chin so I checked her mouth. I started slowly and gently but she started pressing her gum against my finger. Once I had massaged all the tissue down, she passed out. She's been sleeping most of the day now. I expect the one next to it within a couple weeks too!

My nephew cut his first tooth at 13.5 months and had no signs that SIL could see. He's 6 months older than Lily and only has 2 teeth!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I'm soooo ready for A to get some teeth. He's been miserable for months, but no teeth yet. I think he'll be like your nephew SS.

 

[AllieLuv83]

Ah teeth. I too am waiting for a sign of a budding tooth. There has got to be some explanation for the every 2 hour wakeups we have been having the last 4-5 days!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

growth spurt? A has had a few cycles where he's done the every 30 minute/hour wake ups but still no teeth

 

[Kunzite]

I wonder if O is having a growth spurt. He's really regressed the last few days. He's waking up an extra time at night, isn't calm for his night feeds like he used to be, has added one feed but is taking less per feed (but still more overall). I'm pretty sure DH is rethinking this whole leave thing...

 

[AllieLuv83]

One thing I can say about Charlie's sleep patterns is that they are consistently inconsistent! One night he wakes up once, one night I have to wake him up, next night he is up 4 times. Last night he was up at 12 to eat, 3 for a paci, 4 to eat and then at 6 for the day.

 

[Puppmom]

Happy Birthday, Kara! How are you feeling mommy? It must be so surreal looking at her and realizing she's a little person now. I hope you have a wonderful day!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

One thing I can say about Charlie's sleep patterns is that they are consistently inconsistent! One night he wakes up once, one night I have to wake him up, next night he is up 4 times. Last night he was up at 12 to eat, 3 for a paci, 4 to eat and then at 6 for the day.

Allie, your post just killed my post baby STTN buzz....

 

[AllieLuv83]

Girl please. I am so optimistic every night and then my buzz is shattered by 12am.