PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[lliang_chi]

Hey ladies,
Slowly recuperating. DH has been able to help with Ethan and let me sleep a little when he got home. Plus I didn't have to make dinner, which was kinda nice. But still can't talk much, can't eat much etc. THus far Ethan's been thankfully symptom free so far, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way.

NEL, baking peaches, I baked them at 400F for 15 mins. Feel free to bake carrots, apples, pears, too. What torso exercises did you give K? I can bait Ethan to attempt to role back to front, but he doesn't quite get how to roll.

S&I, Ethan would get so hot in swaddles, especially like the Miracle BlankeT. We also used A&A muslin wraps once it got hot in the summer, but it's not as bullet proof as the MB. So we used to just swaddle him nakey (with just diaper). Hope A gives you more long stretches. Silly boy kicking out of his swaddle.

Freke, a tooth! Hooray Miss A! How's the move going. Hope you guys are doing well.

Bobbin, OMG look at your little fish! She looks like she's having a fantastic time. Gah, I *love* that giraffe outfit! I'm really sorry that you're feeling sick. It's hard enough caring for an infant, but adding being sick on top of it???? I hope you're a lot of help.
Mayer, we all have our tough days. It'll pass and you'll get your amazing days as well.

Kunzite, glad to see you're still checking in. I'd imagine M&E are keepign you busy (or just E). I've never heard of camomille tea either.

Below are two pics of Ethan eating. Well, the first one was after eating, DH thought it was hilarious. I finally had to save Ethan....

 

[PetitiePoire]

Mayerling- I want to echo the suggestion for a carrier. Everyone calls L such a calm baby, but honestly I think it's only because I hold her 90% of the day so I don't give her time to cry. As mentioned before, the Ergo is great. L has gained just over 700 in the last 3 weeks, so dont worry. We were told she's hitting growth spurts and the fact that she was term makes her eat more often. She is in 3 month clothes for her height though. She's definitely big. If it helps to know I frequently pass L to DH when I can feel her getting upset and I'm not ready to feed because it's been to soon.



AFU- 5-6 hour stretches of sleep at night. Our new routine, this week, is an 11-11:30 pm feeding and she sleeps until 5-6 am. I don't know if that's good or not, but it works for us. Then she eats and sleeps again. As I mentioned to Mayerling, I hold her a lot. Part of me is terrified of her head getting flat and the other part just loves holding her. She had an ultrasound of her hips yesterday ( routine for big babies here) and her left hip is not something. I couldn't understand and the dr didn't know the word in English. He said it was just probably because she's only 3 weeks and it's not normally done (the u/s) until later. We have to check again next month. Worst case she has to wear a diaper that puts it in place...

 

[mayerling]

Petite and Kunzite, I haven't really used the carrier yet. We've been trying to rock him to sleep, but I'm going to give it a go today.

Petite, I'm so jealous of your 5-hour stretches. Thankfully N is better at nights. Even though yesterday was the day from hell he still had a normal night.

Kunzite, I think you're right about not doing enough tummy time. I'll try to do more of it.

LC, I tried the bicycling last night and I'll try to keep it up. Hope the bug that's been bothering you is gone. Love the pics with Ethan and Quizas.

NEL, I'm not sure if it's camomile tea. It's called kinderte but that brand might not exist in the US.

AFU, N had a decent night. He's been up since 8:20 for the day and it's now 10:53 and we haven't managed to get him to sleep. He's been crying inconsolably since about 10. I'm really worried that he's overtired and that not getting enough sleep will affect his brain development. I'm also worried because DH and my mum are going back to work on Monday so I'll be on my own with N. I'm already stressing about how I'll manage if he has a meltdown. Hopefully the carrier suggestion will work. By the way, did I mention that he gained another 160g in two days?

 

[PetitiePoire]

Mayerling- I'm glad to hear he's doing better at nights. L is awake most of the day now too. Have you tried a pacifier? dH was/is very against them, but we were given two as baby gifts and they have come in handy when she cries. For her I think the sucking comforts her, so I'd rather give her that than just keep her on the boob 24/7. Unfortunately, now that's sometimes the only way she will calm down when no ones holding her..

 

[pancake]

Am on iPad so typing is slow and clumsy, but just quickly wanted to reply to Mayerling:

Am going to put my professional hat on for this but promise I will take it straight off afterwards!

1. N's weight gain is perfectly normal and healthy. Someone - the health nurse, the paediatrician, GP, all of the above - will be tracking his growth and they will tell you if there's any concern. At this age babies grow extremely rapidly and it is not uncommon for the weight gain to be that rapid. S gained 900g between week 2 and 4! Totally normal. Feel good that you are doing such a great job of nourishing your baby!

2. N's sleep issues are normal at this age and his development will not be negatively impacted. I have no idea how much sleep deprivation on a chronic basis it would take to caus developmental issues, but I have never seen it, either at work or outsde.

3. Carrier is a great idea! I think it will give you some sanity back.

4. You need to be more gentle on yourself. New motherhood is hard, and you don't need the extra pressure you're putting on yourself! Are you going to go to a mothers group, or do you have friends with kids who can give you an outlet to vent your frustrations, your fears, joys and so on? So important not to isolate yourself, and to build a protective network around yourself.

Ok back to the mummy hat now! Will be back later to reply to everyone!!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

PP, an 11/11:30 feed is perfectly fine. It's often called a "dream feed". And also try not to worry about the paci. I totally understand that you don't want it to be a "crutch", but the bottom line is that babies need to suck. And it's one of the easiest ways to soothe a baby. You'll find literature that is both pro and anti paci, so you just have to do what works for you.

Mayerling, even if N is overtired, it's okay. Every baby get overtired sometimes. But it might not be that at all--like my pediatrician says, sometimes babies cry just to exercise their lungs and absolutely nothing is wrong. I know it's daunting being on your own, but I promise you'll be just fine! I have a feeling the carrier will be a really useful tool when you're on your own. When K would start having a meltdown she went right into the carrier and I turned on music and had a little dance party while doing some chores. The movement put her right to sleep.

PP and Mayerling, you are both doing an amazing job!

LC, I really hope you can catch up on some much-needed rest this weekend! That green bean face is hilarious! Thanks for the peach tips, I'm going to bake them today. As for the exercises, our PT just had me put K on her side and get her to a position where she would start to roll. Then keep trying to get her closer and closer to being on her back before rolling. I honestly don't know how much it helped. It seemed to me that one day K just decided she wanted to roll and that was that. My next assignment is to get her to roll to the other side (toward her right), but the problem is that when I put something on her right side, she just rolls to the left and then pivots to get to the toy.

 

[mayerling]

Pancake, thanks a lot for the thoughtful reply. I'm sure you hate people asking you for free paediatric advice all the time, but since this is PS and I know everyone here wants to help everyone else, I'm going to pick your brains again. What do you think of the whole giving the baby tea idea? Also, our paediatrician is adamant that it is possible to overfeed a breastfed baby and keeps telling me I shouldn't offer the breast unless at least 3 hours have passed. I haven't really followed his advice because everything else I've heard or read advises in favour of nursing on demand.
As far as mummy groups are concerned, there's none here but I'll make sure I join one when I'm back in the UK. I have a few good friends with babies but unfortunately they live about an hour away so I don't get to see them much to discuss issues with them. My good friend who has a 6-month-old and who lives 5 mins away just left for a two-week Caribbean vacation (nice, I know) so I'll have to wait till she gets back to chat with her.

Petite and Pancake, I've broken out my carrier and I intend to start using it asap! Also, Petite, I'm sorry to hear that L is being fussy today. I suppose we have to keep reminding ourselves that we're doing our best. And sorry about the whole hip u/s business. I hope it's simply a matter of the scan being done too early.
We've recently ventured into the wonderful world of pacifiers. We were holding off, afraid it would interfere with BF, but since N nurses well we thought it's okay; and it has helped. Last night when he was inconsolable, we went through our checklist and everything was okay but he was still crying. DH put the paci in his mouth and he settled down straight away and was finally able to sleep.

NEL, thanks for reminding me that just because he misses a day's worth of naps is not the end of the world. And for reminding me that I'll probably be fine on my own. How are you and K doing today?

Hi to everyone else I've missed!

AFU, N seems to be doing better since my last post. In the end we didn't manage to put him to sleep until 1:30pm, but thankfully he slept until 3. That gave me a chance to doze for about an hour as well. Then he woke up, nursed, we changed his diaper and had some awake time, and then I rocked him to sleep at 4:20. So he's been down for the past half hour. I hope he stays down for a while.

 

[bobbin]

Mayerling, are you in the US at the moment? Maybe give the La Leche League a call: http://www.lllusa.org/helpline.php I don't have a medical degree so am a little bit hestant to disagree with your paed, but it just sounds wrong to me given the advice I have been given by the Breastfeeding Association and health nurses here. I know that there are a lot of GP's and paed's out there who are a bit out of touch with current breastfeeding advice and research (although I am sure our Pancake is not one of them!). It sounds to me like he is advocating scheduled feeds, which I have always been advised against! If you are unsure of the advice you have been given, can you get a second opinion?

What exactly is he worried about if you do in fact 'overfeed' N? I don't think infants who are exclusively breastfed would exactly face being obese! Is N looking chubby? Some babies are just bigger than others. I remember C gaining 400-500grams in a week, and I was proud of it! To me, it meant that C was thriving. HAve you got a growth chart available to you to see if he is following the curve for weight gain?

 

[stephbolt]

Hi ladies, sorry I jumped in here and have been a bit MIA since then. I've been reading along but just finding no time to post!

Missy, glad going back to work is ok! Sounds like you have a great childcare situation, and I think that helps so much.

S&I, ugh, I have been going in and clearing junk out of my work email daily, but I have a feeling mine will be just as bad. Our emails delete automatically after three months, so I may just let some of them go that way, if it's that important people will get in touch with me. Hooray for 7 hour stretches!

Mayerling, we have periods like that with Nora, some of it seems to be gas pain but sometimes she just needs to scream it out. She'll settle a little with bouncing/walking, but really just has to work it out. It's so frustrating though, especially when you are still trying to get your bearings as a new mama. I think your ped. sounds out of touch with encouraging you to hold off on feeds. Be proud you are doing such a good job feeding your little man!

pancake, it's funny how exciting poop becomes! Nora is starting to go longer between poops so DH and I are always discussing "did she poop?"

NEL you are impressing me with your baby food cooking ideas! I'm taking notes for a few months from now. Sorry you are having IL issues, my MIL is here right now and driving me a bit batty with her outdated parenting advice, I can't imagine if she lived closer.

Kuzite, you are super mama. Thanks for the advice on relieving gas, I'll have to try some of that with Nora.

LC, so sorry you are sick, feel better soon! E is so adorable, I love his face in that pic!

bobbin, C is so precious. Hope she isn't getting sick and you are on the mend soon.

PP, glad L is giving you some long stretches at night! Hope the hip thing is nothing to worry about.

AFU, had my mom here for nine days - she left Tuesday. She was a dream, cooked and cleaned without being asked to do anything, and snuggled Nora when she was fussy and I needed a break even at 2 am. It really made DH going back to work much more bearable. So Wednesday was my first day on my own, I celebrated by promptly getting mastitis. Oh my goodness, I would not wish this on my worst enemy. I'm finally feeling better today after a few day of antibiotics, still trying to get the blocked duct to resolve but no longer feel like I have the flu. So the rest of this week has been spent in bed, DH couldn't take any more time off work sadly so I had to muddle through on my own. But it's the weekend now and he and MIL are here so plenty of extra hands. MIL as I mentioned above is a bit old school, we were waiting on Nora to poop yesterday since it had been a day or so and she kept pushing giving the baby water to both DH and I separately even though we kept saying that wasn't recommended now and it was perfectly fine for her to go a day or so between poops. She's also the type who will say, oh, I'm your lackey, just tell me what you need done...but yet when I was washing pump parts in the kitchen earlier she was just standing there drinking her coffee. Honestly the house is still pretty clean from my mother being here but I'll try and come up with something. DH and I are going to try and go on a date if I feel up to it, since after this it may be a while before we get to!

Nora is doing well overall, she tends to save up her fussy time of day from about 10 pm to 2 am which is very trying. Usually she'll go down until 7 or 8 after that, and then eat and sleep again till 10 or 11. We're going to try some of Kuzite's gas tricks to see if those help, otherwise we'll just wait it out and hope she changes it up eventually, that's the only guaranteed thing right? One we get used to something with these little ones they will just change it up.

Hope everyone else is doing well!

 

[mayerling]

Bobbin, I'm not in the US. There's a La Leche League in the UK but I won't be back there till September. To be honest, I haven't really followed the ped's advice. I still feed on demand. But you have a point about the growth chart. There's one in the baby's health book. I'll find it and check.

Steph, you're probably right that the ped is out of touch with current research on BF. He's still advocating 10 mins on each boob.

AFU, N is still doing well. He started his last feed at 5:50 and it's now 7:37 and he's still asleep so I'm happy. My dad managed to put him to sleep in two minutes without even swaddling him! I told him he's a baby whisperer.
Sorry for all the me-centric posts, ladies, but know that I appreciate all your help and advice.

 

[Kunzite]

Sorry for the low quality cell phone pictures... these are my boys' personalities.

Miles - Don't worry about me, I'll just go to sleep.

Elliot - I'm awake mama! What are we going to do?!

 

[pancake]

Mayerling, my personal opinion is that exclusively breastfed babies do not need any fluids apart from breast milk, and that is the case until they start solids, or even beyond. I've never heard of tea being recommended between feeds here and I think that if it's being offered as something to "tide the baby over", then you could - if you wanted to - use a dummy instead. I am very much a believer in demand feeding, but also recognize that early on it's hard to ready a young baby's signals and it may be the case that a baby who is fussing is indeed not necessarily hungry, but is wet/tired/uncomfortable or "just fussing". After the first few weeks I would generally feed S again after 2 hours if she was u settled, but until then would change nappy/cuddle/rock to see if that would help. I think it is true that is your baby is thriving (and N certainly is) then it is unlikely that he is truly hungry every 1-2 hours, but rather, wants comfort. Which, to a baby, is sucking!

Don't get down on yourself when others can settle N - firstly, he can smell milk when he's near you, and secondly, when you've been trying to settle him all day, you both get a bit wound up around each other and a third party can be the "circuit-breaker" so to speak.

Ok am going to steal DH's laptop to reply to everybody soon!

 

[mayerling]

Pancake, thanks for your reply!

 

[lliang_chi]

Happy weekend ladies!
Whew! I'm finally turning the corner with the HFM. I can actually swallow so today was the first day in since Weds that I've eaten solid food. I still have some mouth sores, but they're small and up front, just behind my lips-manageable. Back up to some decent water consumption so I'm back to a good amount of milk production.

PP, we used (and still do) feed Ethan late at night around the same time. He used to sleep through till 5-6AM too. Before when I was on leave, he would get up eat a l ittle then snooze for another 2 hrs, then be up for the day. Now he's up and stays up. You're going to be great when your DH heads back to work. It seems feels like a super void, but believe me you'll be fine, you'll make it work. I told DH to plan on working a full day unless I call him in tears that he needs to come home. Totally didn't happen and I was fine. PP, don't sweat the paci's too much Ethan's

Mayer, how was the carrier?? Keep trying the carrier in general so N will get used to it. How's the wind removing poses going? I hope that N continues his good nights. I found that Ethan sorted out an evening routine better than a daytime routine. The day time he needed more of my help to set a loose routine (Eat Activity Sleep) for him. It sounds like you have a lot of family close by to you. How nice.

NEL, Have been getting some sleep, but DH is more sensitive with the whole sleep thing. Let me know how the baked peaches go. Ethan really liked them. Thanks for the tips on K's exercises. I'm going to try them for Ethan. Ethan keeps rollign for Daddy but stays still for Mommy...

Steph, oh no! Hope you've managed to kick the mastitis. Can you have Nora help unclog your clogged duct? Hm, well, hope your MIL is helpful, even if she's old school. Hope you can have your date night with your DH. Perhaps you can put a list for what your MIL can do. Maybe have your DH give it to her? I found having meals at the ready were fantastic help when Ethan was brand new, so if your MIL can cook (or you enjoy her cooking) maybe she can make a few casseroles/frozen dinners. Or grocery shopping.

Kunzite, OMG you're so funny. Miles does look like a little angel, snoozing so peacefully. Evan looks like a little mischievous monkey!!! Maybe he's getting all his naughtiness out now and will be super good when he's older.

Pancake, how's everything going Miss S's sleep? How's your dad?

AFU: Ethan's been doing well so far. THe past few days though I feel like I've been more focused on myself and let DH focus on Ethan a little bit. Oh Ethan's been ROCKING the tummy time the past week. Which totally makes me call BS on the day care teacher, she was complaining that Ethan needs to practice tummy/floor time more because he doesn't want to be by himself. Total BS lady, he maybe doesn't want to be alone with you (she is the grumpiest of all the teachers).
Question for nursing mamas: I've noticed that Ethan is having a "harder" time nursing now because he's SO DISTRACTED. Anyone else??? He likes squirreling his head around and seeing what's going on. I keep tellign him that it's nursing time but he's still interested in everything else that's going on.

~LC

 

[pancake]

Hi all, back to post properly!

LC, you poor thing - your mouth and throat must have been wretchedly sore and you must have been feeling awful! I'm glad you're on the mend, but geeeeeeeeez you didn't need that hit on top of work and motherhood!

S has been mega-super-distractable on the breast for about the last 6 weeks or so. The slightest noise makes her flip off and crane her head backwards to look for where the fun is The best feeds we do are the early morning (in our room, dark) and bedtime. The daytime feeds (there are two) are variable and if there's anyone else around she feeds significantly less!

Re solids: I give Sylvie three meals a day. She has about 3 tbsp (metric!) of fruit +/- yoghurt in the morning, 3 tbsp at lunch, and then 4 at dinner. If she doesn't want it all, I don't fuss - but most of the time she wolfs it all down!

That green bean face is PRICELESS. I laughed out loud!

Kunzite, I LOVE your "personality in a photo" pics!!! They're so gorgeous and oh-so-different! How is O going with adjusting to having two little brothers - esp E?

Steph - hello, and hello little Nora! Sounds like your mum was a fantastic help. That's exactly what you need from your mother - for them to do some of the grunt work around the house to give you time to bond with the baby. My mum didn't quite get that concept - before S arrived she used to talk all the time about how she would do X and Y and Z around the house etc, but once S did arrive she just got completely blinded by her desire to spend time with S and for a while it was quite tense; she would come over (but she only wanted to come over when S was awake) and then I would be running around like a headless chicken whilst she cooed over the baby

Nora sounds like she is going so well! That fussy period is so common, but it tends to iron itself out over time. S used to have her fussy period from around 9pm-midnight, but it went away entirely after about 8-10 weeks or so.


PP, 5-6 hour stretches overnight is fantastic this early on! Go L! Yeah hip ultrasounds are usually done at 6 weeks as a standard thing where indicated. Fingers crossed the repeat scan will be fine!

Bobbin - thank you for the congrats! I am really pleased about the grant. No worries re FB! I think there is a FB mommy group but I haven't found it. I found the others through Janinegirly

So glad you are enjoying mothers' group! I meet up with the bigger group every week or two for a long afternoon coffee date, and then there are two other cloth nappying mums who I meet up with separately every week at one of our houses. Those days keep me sane when the rest of the life is in chaos, that is for sure!

Freke - a tooth!!! A reward for all those sleepless nights!

S&I - 7 hours, wow! We also have a whale tub and S is definitely growing out of it, but I am holding off moving her out of it until she's strong enough to sit in her upright bath seat thingo that a friend has loaned us.

NEL, how do you guys usually deal with in-law stuff? I do sometimes get really frustrated with mine, but I try to get David to sort it out, not me, as I feel like the blood ties make it more possible for things to get discussed without ongoing grudges and conflict, you know?

AFU, S has had a bit of a miserable weekend. We went to the beach house yesterday and she dropped her whole morning nap in the car... then once we got there she couldn't get to sleep at all for the rest of the day - very unlike her, screaming in her cot, fussing, miserable. Slept fine overnight, happy this morning, then the rest of the day was a repeat of yesterday until we got her in the car to come home; she slept for about 20 minutes and then had the most ENORMOUS vomit (seriously - her clothes were SOAKED all over, there were puddles in her car seat) and has seemed out of sorts since. She's currently snuggled up in the Ergo having a slightly whimper-y sleep. Think she must be under the weather - she has never had a vomit like that before, and this unsettledness is just not like her at all We were supposed to go out for dinner with friends tonight (after S's bedtime) but have cancelled because I don't want to leave her if she's not feeling good.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Bobbin, I forgot to tell you how cute C is in her photos! How are the swimming lessons going? K can't start until she's 6 months, so hopefully there will be a water babies class open next month. How are you feeling and how is C feeling? When you have multiple days in a row that are "off" it starts to feel like things won't get back to normal. But they will! I hope this weekend was better for you!

Steph, oh my gosh, I can't believe you got mastitis as soon as your mother left! I'm so glad you're feeling better now, but that can't be fun. Did you and your husband get to go on a date night or were you still not feeling up for it?

Kunzite, I looove those pics! Elliot looks hilarious--so mischievous!! Even the little monster on his onesie looks mischievous!! They're adorable.

LC, Katie is definitely distracted by ANYTHING while eating--it's been happening for several weeks now and it's not any better. Today I was at the in-laws' and my FIL kept trying to talk to K while she was eating and finally I told him I needed to go into another room without any distractions. I realize I sound bossy, but the truth is that she can't have any stimuli around her or she'll get too distracted. Anyway, I know it's normal, but it can be a pain. I'm surprised she eats anything at daycare with the other kids running around.

So glad that E is rocking tummy time lately! My babysitter said the same thing, but I think she was just putting K down without any toys to entertain her.

Oh, and the peaches. Baking them was fantastic! I found it so much easier than steaming (how I used to do it). Thank you!

Yay for finally being on the mend! HFM sounds awful!! And one last thing--K finally wore her Gymboree dress this weekend (I meant to take a picture, but the battery was dead). She's starting to fit into the 6 - 12 month size.

Pancake, so sorry to hear about S being out of sorts. Poor thing, the vomiting sounds stressful. And you were JUST getting back to a good sleep schedule. How is she feeling now?

As for in-laws, I've decided to just be honest with them and do it as nicely as possible. The other day when they said they don't see her enough I told them that I understood, but she doesn't get enough sleep at their house. I didn't really know what else to say because that's really the crux of the issue. I prefer to D to manage the relationship, but when I'm on my own I just have to figure it out. They love her tons, so I try to keep that in mind when I'm frustrated.

I hope S is feeling better!

AFU, it was a good weekend! We started a new routine tonight with K bathing upstairs in her own bath (in the blowup ducky) instead of in her whale tub in the kitchen sink.

Also, I started packing up some of her 3 - 6 month clothes that no longer fit (too short for her long body). I went on a little shopping spree and bought a bunch of stuff at Gymboree and the Gap in the 6 - 12 month size. As usual, I cried when packing up her things.

This week has been really great with virtually no tears at home or daycare (which is a big win for me). K has started "talking" herself to sleep instead of crying. It's pretty cute. But since it's been such a good week I'm expecting the beginning of another growth spurt or maybe some teething soon. The calm can't last too long!

 

[FrekeChild]

Kunzite - they are ridiculously adorable.

NEL - hilarious about K starting to fit into the 6-12 month sizes. A is still holding strong with the 3-6 month sizes, and just now starting to fit into the 6-9 months, but the 6-12 months just hang off of her.

LC - the dogs are the worst for distracting A from eating - I use it to my advantage though - I make the dogs sit next to me when she is eating. Which sucks for them because then they miss out on the graham cracker crumbs/mush/pieces that hit the floor.
Yay that you're feeling better!

Steph - I think back to those early days, and I cannot believe we made it through with barely any help. I'm so sorry you have mastitis. I was always super worried about it.

Hugs to everyone!


Update:

I feel like I have the oldest baby around here nowadays!

Pro photos - get them on Tuesday afternoon. I'll post a teaser if I don't have the time to post more before leaving.

Leave EARLY Wednesday morning to go find a rental house in our new state! And hopefully get some R&R and maybe take A swimming! Going into the triple digits, so she might actually LIKE the pool.

Tonight is the third night of A sleeping in her own room. Awful for mommy, perfectly ok for baby. Bah.

We're this close [] to crawling. And then those mutts better watch out! She wants to MOVE, and the dogs are the best incentive - that tail, that paw...she wants to get her mitts on it!

Speaking of getting mitts on things, A got her hands on my husband's iphone for the first time tonight and figured out how to scroll between the home pages, then opened an application and being a game, she managed to play it for several minutes. What.the.hell?! This is so not ok. She's EIGHT MONTHS OLD!!!!!!

We have entirely too much to do before we move and I'm flipping out. If we forget something during this trip, it's ok, we'll go buy a replacement, but moving?! OMG it feels like a nightmare. I feel like we're going on a 2 week trip, only allowed to bring what will fit in our luggage and our destination will have nothing. As in, no beds, no furniture and no...anything. Moving from state to state is ok when you're an adult, sleep on the floor for a few nights! Ugh. Where am I going to put A?! And the dogs?! Totally freaking out about it!

Must sleep...

 

[mayerling]

NEL, I'm glad you have a strategy for dealing with your in-laws. It's a fine line to tread, but you need to do what's best for you and K.

Freke, good luck with the move!

Pancake, I'm sorry to hear that S might be under the weather. Also, I've followed your advice regarding giving the paci and not tea in order to delay feedings.

LC, it's a shame that Ethan gets distracted during nursing. Maybe it's just a phase?

Kunzite, I love your description of your boys' personalities!

Petite, I need your secret for the long stretches of sleep!

Steph, boo to mastitis! I know exactly how you feel; see below.

AFU, N has been doing well with his naps and feedings and has started taking the paci. Unfortunately, I got mastitis yesterday and have been feeling really bad - fever, chill, boob pain - so I pumped for DH to give him a bottle so I could rest a bit more during the night. For som reason he refused to sleep afterwards and DH was nearing the end of his tether. It was 3 am and he was going to work in the morning. So my mum had to put N to sleep while the two of us slept. Also, it's the first day with both DH and my mum at work. I wish I didn't feel so rotten. At which point did you mamas feel that it's ok to leave the baby alone to take a shower, etc? I feel like I can't leave him fir a second. Also, we tried the carrier for a few mins yesterday and he cried in it.

 

[moxie.moo]

At which point did you mamas feel that it's ok to leave the baby alone to take a shower, etc? I feel like I can't leave him fir a second. Also, we tried the carrier for a few mins yesterday and he cried in it.

Mayerling, I rarely post but my little girl will be one Thursday (WHAT?!?!) I used to put her in a bouncy seat in the bathroom with me when she was fed/relatively happy. They will be fast showers but they can save your sanity early on and make you feel human. I swear the first three months or so the shower was my only alone time, so do what you have to do! Also, not sure which wrap you have but I found the sleepywrap (aka bobawrap) to be my lifesaver in the first months and I used it until she was too heavy for me to wear. I would wrap her to me and lay on my back and we'd both snooze for a bit.... It's really stretchy and easy to use--you can watch videos online to learn to use it as it looks intimidating initially. I give them to everyone having a baby now. Hang in there mama, you're doing GREAT.

 

[S&I]

LC, hope you're feeling better! I love the green beans face, so cute! Is that a Bumbo seat in the first pic, or some other brand? I think we need to get one for A soon, since he's starting to want to sit up more. That's awesome about E's tummy time. We really need to try harder with A. Any suggestions on making it easier? A tends to drop his face into his activity mat and start crying for someone to pick him up. Go figure!

Petite, that's wonderful that L is sleeping so well at night already! Sorry about the hip scan results, but hope it's just due to it being too early.

mayerling, how was your first day taking care of N on your own? We used to have a really tough time getting A to sleep at night too. It was the source of lots of anxiety for me when it got close to bedtime. Sometimes he just wanted to be held until he fell asleep, and it wasn't because anything in particular was wrong. He's just high-maintenance, as his pedi calls it. I call my dad a baby whisperer too because he's the best at getting A to fall asleep! So sorry about your mastitis. I've just now started leaving A alone to take showers, and I only do it when he's down for the night in his crib.

NEL, Hope things improve with your in-laws, and that they realize that you're doing what's best for K. I forgot to answer your question earlier about the changing table. We've been using it in A's room since we came home from the hospital, but we only have a 1-story house, so it's not like I have a long way to get there. What's the blowup ducky? Is it still on an incline or does K sit up in it? I think A is starting to get a little too tall for some of his 3-month clothes too. I need to sort through my 6-month stash to see what he can and can't fit into. I still have his newborn onesies hanging in his closet. Every time I go in there, I get sad and can't believe that even those used to be slightly big on him. Yay for K talking herself to sleep! A did that once and it was quite cute.

Steph, so sorry about your mastitis! Glad you are feeling better now, but hope you can get that duct unblocked soon. Sorry your MIL isn't as helpful as your mother was. Sounds like N sleeps pretty well once she does go down for the night, so that's good. Did you and your DH end up going on your date night?

Kunzite, M and E are just too cute with such different personalities - love it!

pancake, so sorry that S isn't feeling so great. Yikes about the ginormous vomit! Hope she feels better soon.

Freke, hope your move goes smoothly! That's awesome that A is so close to crawling. Funny that she wants to grab at the dogs. Our dog comes up to sit on my legs when I'm holding A or playing with him, and he's started kicking Pixie with his crazy legs. She doesn't seem to mind so far.

bobbin, I sent a friend request to you on FB!

AFU, A slept for almost 9 hours last night! He did start grumbling around 2:30am, which is when he normally wakes up for a feed. When I came back from prepping his bottle, he had fallen asleep again, so I went back to sleep myself. He finally woke up just before 5am, and was smiling (completely out of his swaddle and laying diagonally in the crib again) when I bent over to pick him up. He went back to sleep and didn't wake up until just before I had to leave for work a little before 8am. I almost had to go to work without saying bye to his smiling face!

 

[lliang_chi]

Mayer, keep trying the Ergo carrier. I used to be scared that Ethan hated it, but it was the only way I could walk the dog when I was home by myself. He would cry when I put him in, but once I started walking/bouncing with him in it, he'd fall right back to sleep. The only other time he fussed while in it I was stuck at the the flipping post office (the definition of incompetency and inefficiency) for so long he started getting hungry and hot. It's quite warm wearing the baby against you so make sure you've got some decent air circulation for N. Ethan gets hot REALLY QUICKLY so I stopped using the infant insert when it got hot here, and I wear him on days it's not 100F out, and in the evening.
How was your first solo day?

Freke, OMG I can't WAIT to see A's pictures. So close to crawling? Eek!!! The puppies are going to be in for a shock once they realize they have to escape A. Deep breaths about getting ready for the move. You're going to hvae everything. Worse comes to worse, the pups can sleep on some rolled up sheets/towels. As long as you have a PnP for A you're OK. You can ship stuff, maybe have it sent to your DH's boss's address. I thikn you said they offered to host you guys even. Sending a PnP there would probably be a good idea. Glad A's transition to the nursery is going OK. You'll get through it, I promise. I rather like having Ethan in the other room. He's really noisy.

NEL, Pancake, Freke, whew! GOod to know Ethan wasn't the only one that seemed not interested in eating anymore.

NEL, I don't think Ethan eats very much at daycare at all. Ever since starting solids he's been only eating 3 bottles instead of the typical 4. So I bring him home and feed him right away. I find I have to feed Ethan in the other room because he''ll be distracted watching J, or the TV while J is watching TV. He hasn't cared too much about the dog yet. FIL also tries to talk to Ethan and this was BEFORE he was so distractable! I'd hate to see what happens now. Awww!! I'm so glad K's wearing the little dress! Next time post a picture I think you handled the IL's Katie request very well. It's your job as the Mommy to make her life best for her, even if your ILs aren't happy with it. You're the Mom, you're going to piss someone off. Just be glad K's still young enough to not have an opinion yet.

Pancake, If I could find a way to post the video I pulled the green bean face from it's even better. Everyone that's seen it laughs. Wow, Sylvie is a champion eater. I'm sorry to hear S is maybe getting sick. I hope it was just a one off thing. Once Ethan vomited ALL. OVER dh. (It was really funny but in a "I can't laugh out loud or DH will get mad" kinda way). But it ended up being one of those fluke things, so I hope the same for S. Poor little sweetheart, the whimpering sleeps are the saddest sounds ever.

Steph, is the mastitis better?

Moxie, WOW! 1 year old!!!! Post some more pictures please!!!!

S&I, I found Ethan got WAY better at doing tummy time when he had some toys to play with I also put him near the sliding glass door so he can look outside for a little bit too. But the toys were key to making tummy time more fun for him. I put 3 or 4 toys in front of him and he goes through pulling each one, flapping it around then tossing it behind him. Yes that is a Bumbo seat. We use it to feed him mostly. DH also uses it to Skype his folks. WHOA! Look at A and his champion sleeping! Good job little man!

AFU: I'm trying to get Ethan to eat a little more solids. He did pears, prunes and peaches like a champ. You all have seen his opinion on green beans. I tried carrots this weekend and he was just lukewarm about it. And bananas he was just meh about, but maybe it was too thick and chunky for his taste. He doesn't mind oatmeal so much though so I'll try keeping with that. Otherwise I need to make some more prunes and I've got plums and zucchini I need to cook up. And I'm running out of space in my freezer for all this food PLUS breast milk! I think I'm going to have to stop keeping a freezer stash of meat and just buy meat a few times a week at the store.

 

[pancake]

NEL - babies talking themselves to sleep is the cutest thing EVER! S used to do it all the time... then she went through her daytime sleep regression where she cried almost every time I put her down for a nap, and now she sometimes fusses a little, sometimes just sucks her thumb and zones out, but doesn't seem to sing herself to sleep any more Except for around 6am - if she wakes up then she plays by herself until she gets bored and then sticks her thumb in her mouth and goes back to sleep!

So glad that Katie is settling so well at daycare now! That must be a huge relief to you.

Re the in-laws, sounds like you are handling things really well! The problem with mine is that they are just not direct communicators at all... when there are issues they just CAN'T talk about them in anything that remotely resembles a straightforward manner. It's all indirect - eg. my MIL will have an issue with something that was said but won't tell the person who said it, but will perseverate over it to my FIL, who is incapable of mature conflict resolution, as lovely as he is... He can't talk about anything negative without prefacing it with a positive. So for example, the last time my MIL inexplicably took offence at something I did (which was half-filling her glass with wine rather than filling it!), my FIL baled me up the next morning, and said, "[MIL's name] is really remarkable... she really is... you know that back when we had [older BIL], she did [insert story about something random 35 years ago...this rambled on for about 5 minutes]...now you know that we really love you and we think you're a fantastic person...[ramble ramble ramble]..." and then finally after about 10 minutes he tells me that she took issue with the glass-filling "incident" (wtf), etc. Groan.

Mayer - poor you with mastitis - hugs! It's important for you to get your rest but make sure that you are pumping/feeding at regular intervals or else you will make things worse. It's a cruel illness! How did you go with your first day without DH and your mum? Hope you are managing to catnap when N does.

LC, I wish I could see that green bean video!!! S is really a non-fussy eater but I think that kind of just fits with the rest of her personality, y'know?

Freke - hang in there! You poor thing, I can totally understand why you're so stressed. In some ways it'll be easier once the move has actually HAPPENED and you can deal with anything that goes wrong rather than anticipating it, if that makes sense. Hugs!

A is so bright! Amazing little girl. It is scary how tech-savvy little kids are now... she is just getting the jump super-early!

S&I - wow, look at Alex go with his sleep! I think that it is nice for all the newest mamas to read these things as it is proof that things improve and settle down. I remember A being unsettled early on and having to be held a lot, but wow - look at the change! Amazing.

AFU, S is better, thank you! She had some funny nappies over the last few days as well, so maybe she had a tummy bug... but she's been much better since yesterday afternoon. I have to take her with me to a meeting at one of the hospitals where I work today, as my mum and MIL are both busy. DH is super-excited though because he works there and he can't wait to have some daytime S-time - not to mention show her off to his team!

 

[mayerling]

Pancake, yes, I've been trying to nurse and pump regardless of how rotten I've been feeling. In terms of catnapping, I'm afraid I'm terrible at it, mostly because N makes a lot of noise in his sleep which always makes me think he's awake and I get up to check on him. How did Sylvie's visit to daddy's work go?

LC, I'm afraid I don't have the Ergo; it's the Baby Bjorn. It's probably not as good as the Ergo which is why N doesn't like it. I'll keep trying it, though, to see if he'll get used to it. How's Ethan doing with his solids?

S&I, hearing from you makes me think it does get better. I think N is high needs too. Though he seems to need everything except sleep!

Moxie, thanks for checking in. I think I'll probably follow your suggestion of bringing him in the bathroom with me at first just so I'm not freaking out about leaving him and ending up with no shower.

Steph, how are you holding up with the mastitis? Mine doesn't seem to want to go away!

AFU, yesterday was my first day alone with N. It wasn't too bad; it could probably have been better if I hadn't been feeling so rotten. I fed him and thankfully he fell asleep on the boob so I was able to go to bed too as I'd been having terrible chills. Unfortunately, he's such a noisy sleeper that I didn't get any sleep myself. The next time he woke up I didn't manage to put him to sleep until my mum got home and she did it. Today is better, though. He didn't fall asleep on the boob but I managed to get him to sleep on my own and it only took 10 mins! So I'm confident I can do it again!
My mastitis seems a bit better but not much, so I'm debating whether to go to my gynaecologist to get it checked out - I got it on Sunday and had to go to the emergency room since it was out of hours and my GYN has his private practice.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Mayerling, are you taking antibiotics? If you're still feeling awful, then I'd go in and see the doc. I'm glad that at least N hasn't been too fussy while you're trying to feel better yourself. It's like they know when they need to behave. As for taking a shower on your own, I did something similar to other posters. We have a full bathroom next to the living room in our house, so I'd put Katie down for a nap in her PnP and jump in that shower. I still have some shampoo and conditioner in a bottle (I saved time by combining, haha) in that shower--I haven't used it in a few months. Those showers were definitely my only "me" time in the beginning.

Pancake, wow, your in-laws sound like a handful! So funny that your FIL is very passive, mine is the opposite. I actually don't mind that my FIL is so direct. I feel like it helps me to be direct with him without him taking offense. And your MIL just sounds difficult. I can't image getting upset about something so trivial. Blah! I truly love my in-laws, it's just navigating this new territory can be tough.

I'm so glad S is feeling better! How did the daddy visit go?

LC, if you have another baby you'll have to register for a freezer Ethan may just never be a hearty eater--my niece never took a bottle over 4 ounces--to this day she's a light eater. If K continues to eat the way she's eating she's going to be huge. I'm making some green beans for K tonight, we'll see how it goes!

Freke, aww, A is soo teeny. There is a 9-month-old in our music class who reminds me of A. She's super petite nad super smiley. I adore her and I think she's smaller than K, haha.

I can completely understand being freaked out about the move, but it will turn out to be great! And going to find a rental house will be fun!!

I am completely tech unsavvy--I can't even use my husband's phone. A is probably more technologically advanced than I am

AFU, just posting a couple of photos from the weekend. One is in the swing at the park (that Katie loves, though she's still all business when the camera comes out) and the other is from Saturday morning. When she wakes up we will sometimes bring her into bed and I love it! Even though I look asleep...

 

[S&I]

LC, hope you find more solids that E likes, and if you find more that he dislikes, we'd all love to see those pics too. I think we'll go get a Bumbo seat and feeding tray this weekend. A is starting to make a face that means he's straining to sit up straighter when we're holding him. It's like he thinks that if he makes that face and stiffens his neck enough, his body will follow and he can magically get upright himself, ha. Oh, and we might need to start weaning him off the Miracle Blanket soon. He's been breaking free a lot easier, plus he finally figured out how to suck his thumb last night.

Pancake, glad S is doing better. How was the trip to work? I took A to DH's work the week before I came back to work, and all the ladies were gushing over the baby. People were coming out from all corners of the office to meet the little guy. DH says he thinks we might have ignited some baby fever. And yes, I'm hoping the new mamas read my experiences with A's fussiness/sleeping adventures and realize that there is hope that things really do get better as the babies get older and more settled. Things got a lot better when I stopped trying to force things so soon, and instead just let things happen on A's schedule.

Mayerling, yay to a good first day alone! Things will continue to get better and you'll get more confident as the days go by. I'm glad my posts make you feel better about the future. It really does get a lot better. Hope your mastitis continues to get better, but it wouldn't hurt to give your doctor a call to see if you need to get checked out.

NEL, aww look at little K! So precious! And I love that when you bring her into bed, you also get her toys too. We're starting to get toys everywhere too.

AFU, A found his own thumb last night after his bath and decided that it tasted good enough to suck on for at least 30 minutes while sitting in his swing.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

S&I, I totally forgot to say "yay" to 9 hours of sleep in my last post! And that pic of A is super cute! Yes, we have toys everywhere and are starting to buy multiples of her favorite toys so we have some for upstairs, downstairs, the car, the babysitter, etc.

I don't know if others might be able to chime in in this, but I have the bumbo and bebe pod and I feel like the bebe pod is better for feeding. I can strap it right to the chair and leave it there. I'm sure the bumbo is perfectly fine, but just wanted to share my experience.

 

[stephbolt]

Kunzite, your little guys are so cute!

LC, glad you are feeling better!

pancake, so sorry to hear S was a bit off this weekend, but glad she seems ok now. Hope you guys had a fun trip to visit daddy!

NEL, Katie is too cute! Hope her good week is continuing.

Freke, awww, hope you are getting better with A transitioning to her own room. Thinking good thoughts for your move!

mayerling, hope you are feeling better. I started to feel much better after about 48 hours of antibiotics, and it took a few more days after that for my boob to feel better, but now, six days from when I first got sick I feel 100%. Lots of hot compresses helped me as well as massaging in the shower/bath, and of course nursing the baby as much as possible on that side. I think I was doing like 75-80% of the nursing off that breast for a few days, and would pump the other one when it was too engorged.

I've done a few things to get my shower in...put Nora in the swing right outside the bathroom or waited until she was asleep and taken the baby monitor in the bathroom with me. As long as she's somewhere safe I figure the worst that can happen is she cries for a minute or two until I can get dried off and get to her, and the shower goes a long way toward making me feel human! Maybe try earplugs to get your catnap in? It would block out some of the quieter sleepy noises while still letting you hear if he was really crying. Getting that rest is important mama!

S&I wow for 9 hours! Love that thumbsucking picture!

LC, hope you find some more foods E likes! Sounds like he is getting to try quite a variety, makes me look forward to the solid food days ahead!

AFU, Nora had her one month appt today, she's up to 10 lbs 4 oz and 22.5 inches! Ped said everything looks great and she's even doing some things like tracking objects ahead of her age. DH and I went on a lunch date and ran some errands together without her this weekend while MIL was here which was nice for the two of us to spend some time alone together. MIL was ok, I am always stressed when she visits but it's important for her to have a good relationship with Nora so I'm trying to let go a bit and only take a stand over things she wants to do that are truly not good for the baby (i.e. giving her water) vs. those that are just different from what I would do (insisting she's always cold and wrapping her in a blanket all the time.) We probably won't see her again for quite some time now so I don't have to worry about it.

Nora slept from 11-6:15 last night, what a delight! I'm thinking tonight might not be as good, her naps have been bad today and we have friends of DH's coming over in a few minutes so she might get a little worked up from that. But maybe we'll get lucky again!

Hi to everyone else!

 

[FrekeChild]

Because it's a bling forum....

 

[S&I]

NEL, thanks for chiming in about the bebe pod. Is it basically the same as the bumbo, sizewise, but with the straps?

Steph, yay for N's great one-month well check! Double yay for the long sleep stretch. Like the more experienced mamas on here told me a while back, if N does it once, she can do it again. I've found that sleep schedules tend to vary. You'll get a longer stretch randomly, then it goes back to the shorter stretches for a bit, then you'll start to get repeat longer stretches until those become the norm. Sometimes it seems like it's one step forward and two steps back, but it eventually gets better. Good for you and DH getting out of the house while N was at home with MIL.

Freke, aww! That is such a precious pic of A with her tiara, and I love that she's holding your shoes! Can't wait to see more after you get settled from the move. Hope you get there in one piece!

 

[mayerling]

Freke, A is such a cutie! Little princess!

Steph, I started feeling better after 48 hours as well! The redness, fever and chills are totally gone now.
I'm so jealous about your N's long stretches of sleep! My N is only a few days younger and the longest he's gone is 3 hours...

NEL, yes, I'm on antibiotics, and as I write this I realise that I should have taken a pill 3 hours ago!

AFU, yesterday I had a good day with N at home all by myself. I was able to take care of him and felt comfortable doing so. Unfortunately I had a bad night. I tried to do a dream feed and that led to N being awake and crying for 3 hours until his next feed; which means I was only able to sleep 2 hours between feedings. Tonight has been equally bad. N has been up since before 4 o' clock and I've been feeding on demand since. He started getting fussy at 6 and has been crying since 7. It's now 9 o'clock and the only thing that's calmed him down is to nurse. Out of the 5 hours that he's been up, he's nursed for a total of 3 hours! I know they say you can't overfeed a breastfed baby, but I'm beginning to wonder. I'm seriously trying not to cry...