PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[monarch64]

Pancake: big hugs!!!

My baby just went from STTN like a little angel to waking every. damn. hour. these past few nights. Fortunately I have a great husband who gets up with her so I can sleep (I work weekends) but good grief this is killing me anyway.

I don't think she's teething yet despite lots of drool during the day; rather, I think she has a bit of a cold due to lots of sneezing and snot and coughing. Husband refuses to believe it! He thinks it is allergies because he's experiencing similar symptoms.

Over and out until further notice. I knew KNEW we were just having a lucky bout after our breastfeeding woes. Damnit.

To top it off I burnt the sh*t out of my forefinger trying to take an apple crisp out of the oven tonight. I thought for sure I'd chop off one of my fingers slicing the apples, but no, instead I grabbed a spatula SOMEONE left in the oven after baking a ziti dish this evening. &*(p(*&^%&&. sORRY, just a little angry.

 

[pancake]

All's well here - thank you for the solidarity, girls! The transition has been remarkably smooth. S has slept very well (touch wood, touch wood!) these past two nights and her naps have been good too! We have had a total of approximately 30 seconds of crying since moving 48 hours ago. And I have not emotionally combusted I think seeing Dot happy and rested is enough to make it ok for me too. Phew!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Pancake, so glad to hear the transition is going well! Not just for Dot, but for you, too!!

And yes to the growth spurt--we just went through the same thing! Only it's getting cooler here, so I started putting her in her 9 month pants. But suddenly they are too short. I bought her a couple of 12 month pants and the length fits, but they are HUGE around the waist. Oh how I wish we were heading into summer instead of winter. Romper are so easy!

Monnie, I'm sorry to hear about the burn--that sounds so painful! I HATE burns. The pain is constant and when you have a baby and are washing your hands all the time, it's just a constant source of agitation. Sorry to hear that A is having some sleep regression due to congestion. I totally understand, but at least it's (hopefully) temporary. I need to look up the allergy thing--I've read that babies don't have allergies because they have to be exposed to allergens for a period of time before they can actually develop the allergy, but several of my friends have sworn up and down that their babies had allergies. I have no idea.

S&I, how are you doing?? When is A's 6-month checkup?

Mayerling, how is N's nightime sleep going?

Freke, adorable pictures as always!! Look at those teeth! And she's so sweet when she's aleep--a sleeping baby always melts my heart.

amc, cute pictures of B!! In my head I always call him "Blondie B". How is his sleep going? And packing up old clothes always makes me a little weepy. I just boxed up some summer stuff since it's getting chilly here. Suddenly K's dresser drawers looked kind of bare!

Great news about your supply and pumping!! Good job, lady!

LC, I think you've left for Switzerland--thinking about you and hoping you're having an amazing time!!

AFU, it's regression city around here.

1. Eating. The regression being that K is no longer interested in her formula. She still loves purees and is getting more used to table foods, but she wants nothing to do with her bottle. Long story short, I try to get as much in her as I can, which means I try to feed her all the time. So she's constantly snacking on formula. And she's gotten very independent and only wants to feed herself her bottle, so I can't hold her and feed her or she freaks on me. Basically, I have to put the bottle down, let her crawl to it, then help her get it in her mouth without helping her too much or she'll get mad. It's so exhausting.

2. Sleeping. It's a two-steps-forward-one-step-back situation here. We had 2 good nights (though she was still up for her 5am feeding). Then last night she refused her last bottle before bed and then was up crying at midnight. I fed her a bottle hoping she'd sleep soundly once she was full. I was wrong--she was up at 2am and 4 - 5:30am. I tried feeding her again at 4:30 am, but she only had an ounce. I decided to just let her fuss in her crib until she fell back asleep. She rocks on her hands and knees until she wears herself out, then plops on her tummy and sleeps.

Sadly, I no longer have a good sleeper.

Sorry for the long-ish vent about regressions. I'm just really tired and don't know if I'm going about all of this the wrong way.

 

[amc80]

amc, cute pictures of B!! In my head I always call him "Blondie B". How is his sleep going? And packing up old clothes always makes me a little weepy. I just boxed up some summer stuff since it's getting chilly here. Suddenly K's dresser drawers looked kind of bare!

Ahh, Blondie B, cute! I've started giving him faux-hawks after his baths...and they always last through the next day. So cute. Although his hair is so much thicker in back than on top, so it sort of gives him a mullet.

Sleep, ehh. Last night was better than the previous few nights. I think I got a 3 hour stretch and 2-2 hours stretches. Of course, both nights of the weekend it seemed like he was eating all night long. The good news is we bought a new kind of formula- Good Start Sensitive. I gave him some yesterday just to give my boobs a break (my nipples were so sore...the thought of feeding him made me want to cry) and he took it like a champ. More importantly, though, he kept it down. This is huge and means I can give it to him in the middle of the night if I want, and pump that session instead of nurse. Hopefully this will keep him fuller for longer and keep me up for a shorter time. DH seems to be okay with giving him formula, mainly because I think he feels bad that 1) I'm always so tired, and 2) the kid is always attached to me.

Because I'm insane...I start a new workout program today. I won a 5 week fitness course thing (Kaia Fit)...it's sort of like a boot camp type program, with less yelling (hopefully). I have the option of going in the morning (6am) or evening (5:45pm). I'm doing the evening for now...but I hate that I won't get home until 7, which only gives me an hour with B before cranky time starts. I'm thinking of doing the 6am class instead. I mean, it's not like either of us is sleeping after 5am or so anyway. So we'll see.

 

[sugarpie honeybun]

Hi Ladies Jumping in to say hello and hope to be able to catch up somewhat now that things are starting to settle a bit.
Layla June was born on July 4th (her middle name derives from my dear, deceased grandmother). Although it was a bit challenging trying to balance an almost 3-year old son with a newborn daughter, over time, we've fallen into a nice routine and seem to be managing okay. I was pleasantly surprised at how much easier it was the second time around, and I attribute a lot of that to overall confidence in my ability to parent. I reeeeaally enjoyed maternity leave this time, like, really enjoyed it. I wanted to make sure I was "in the moment" each and every day, because I now realize just how fast they grow up. With our first, I was so stressed about doing things the "right way" that I really wasn't able to enjoy the small stuff - those small fleeting moments that can leave a lasting impression on your heart. For example, I used to dread nighttime wake-up feedings because they would cause me to stress about the next day and how it would impact my ability to function at work. NOW, for the most part, I don't mind those late-night feedings. I actually enjoy the time I have with her- quiet, uninterrupted, peaceful moments. (Disclaimer: it also helps that she sleeps 8pm-5am, and goes right back to sleep until 8am). I'm sure everything will change as soon as she starts teething!

I hope to read through the last few pages and get caught up. This forum was a huge help to me when I had my son a few years ago, and I hope to be a more active participant, especially now that I've "been there, done that"

Your kiddos are adorable!!!

Here's my little Miss at 8 weeks and 12 weeks. Love. Her.

 

[mayerling]

Sugarpie, it's great hear from you!

Petite and I have babies exactly the same age as Layla and were wondering how you managed to get her to do an 8-5. Ours wake up at least once during that stretch and sometimes more. Could you give some details on your routine? Also do you BF or FF?

 

[sugarpie honeybun]

Hi Mayerling!

Layla is formula-fed, which I'm sure helps in the sleep department. Also, during the day, we make sure she stays on a fairly routine schedule, which includes feeding her every 2- 2.5 hours, we don't let her nap longer than 2 hours a stretch during the day and will wake her from naps if it's time to eat. We also keep her up after 6:00 PM until it's time to go to bed. At 7:30 pm she has either a bath or quick clean up, we double swaddle her and put her in the swing in our living room while DH and I watch tv. We keep the room dark (minus the light from the TV) and she usually falls asleep around 8pm. At around 10:30pm, DH gives her a dream feed and puts her in her crib where she usually sleeps until 5:00 am or later. After the 5:00 AM feeding (where we keep room dark, no noise), she gets re-swaddled, rocked and put back in her crib. She can sleep another 2-3 hours from that point.

I realize things can change and her whole sleep routine could change at any time. For now, it works, especially since I went back to work a few weeks ago and it has been crazy busy (budget season). ugh

 

[dani13]

Hi Ladies!!!

Just wanted to quickly pop in and say hi..... I'm finally a Mommy!!!! Lucas David came into the world on 9/27/12 at 5:42 am....he was 2 weeks early, so quite a surprise, but he still was a great weight at 7.10 lbs and perfectly healthy!!!!! I am soo busy trying to adjust to life with a newborn, but the little man is truly a great baby so far. He really only cries when he is hungry (which is alot, lol) !!!! I'm doing pretty well with the nursing, but omg, the first few days were really really hard! Being a Mom is the hardest job in the world, and I will admit I really never knew true love until now.....my heart is so filled with love for this little guy, it feels like its about to burst!!!!

Looking forward to sharing with and learning from all of you wise ladies who are going through the same thing. This is going to be one wild crazy, great ride!!!!! And here is a pic of baby Lucas....of coursed I'm biased, but isn't he just so darn cute??!!!

 

[Missy0483]

Dani - He really is cute!!! Congrats!!! 2 weeks early huh, I bet that was a surprise! Glad he is healthy and everyone is happy


I was able to take Blake shopping with me over the weekend without a total meltdown. I alot of times we don't attempt to go out with him, it's just more trouble than it's worth. I can't leave him in the car seat, so I usually have to wear him in a front baby carrier. He took a nice nap in the morning before we left. But then was up from 1pm til 8pm with no nap It's like a rollercoaster around here. We go up and back down again. Ugh. It's so hard. He also randomly waking up in the middle of the night again. I guess we're dealing with the 4 month wakeful. Anyway..enough about that. Here's a recent pic of our little boss man that runs our lives He was 16 weeks old here.

 

[PetitiePoire]

Sugarpie- I just had to pop in and say our babies have the same birthday! It sounds like she is sleeping really well. Mayerling, told me you posted her schedule and I'll have to adjust ours a little see if it works for us. Do you find that sleep/routines/etc are much easier with L considering she is your second? I am far from stressed about her sleep schedules or things being exactly perfect, because she is an over all really happy baby- she just doesn't sleep through the night. Also, I don't really know the "right way" so it helps just to do things my way. haha. Anyways, thank you for updating and posting your schedule! I'm glad it's going well.



Hi to all of the other mommies (and babies). As mentioned above to Sugarpie, L still is not sleeping through the night. It doesn't bother me until the 2-3 wakeup at 5:30 am and then I'm exhausted, so the rest of my day leaves me exhausted, so I haven't been able to keep up with the thread, except every now and then to peek at the pictures! I hope you all are doing well. Aside from the lack of sleep at night- we're doing great!

 

[amc80]

It doesn't bother me until the 2-3 wakeup at 5:30 am and then I'm exhausted, so the rest of my day leaves me exhausted, so I haven't been able to keep up with the thread, except every now and then to peek at the pictures! I hope you all are doing well. Aside from the lack of sleep at night- we're doing great!

Big ditto there. The nights where he's only up two times are okay...it's usually around 2 and and 4 or 5. But those nights where he's up 3 times are killers.

 

[sugarpie honeybun]

Congrats, Dani! Lucas is adorable. He looks so snuggly and warm in the swing.

Mayer and PP - sorry to hear your LO's are having a hard time staying asleep at night. I am a firm believer that 60% of a baby's sleep habits are just by chance (i.e. personality type, disposition, ability to settle easily ,etc), 20% has to do with consistent routine and environment, and the other 20% is based on being formula fed vs. BF. In any case, consistency is key and worked well with ODS and now seems to be working well with LO. I guess we'll wait and see.

We also use a white noise machine in her bedroom and keep her room very dark, with the exception of a very dim nightlight.

I'm happy our babies are close in age - now we can share our experiences together! the good, bad and ugly

 

[Buttons]

Hi ladies! Dipping my toes in the water here!

Wee Button made his big entrance on October 2nd and has been busy taking up his rightful position as RULER OF THE ROOST ; )

He is a very good baby all told, we've only had two serious crying episodes and one of those was during the heel prick test. He has a terrible witching hour from about 6pm to 10pm every night where he fusses and fusses and won't settle to anything but we're hoping that is just typical newborn stuff and not a sign of anything being wrong.

BF is going well, my supply is ridiculous and he is gaining weight like a prize heifer. His latch is a bit shallow so we are still working on that but I think we are getting there. My super duper supply has one downside in that I have horrific letdown pain on my left side - as in it is toe curling gasp out loud painful I'm hoping that will ease as my supply regulates itself.

C section recovery is slow but improving every day. I am getting to be more and more mobile which is great.

Anyway I am looking forward to getting to know everyone and will jump in more properly in a little bit when I get my head the right way up again!

So without further ado here is the little man himself!

 

[mayerling]

Congratulations, Buttons!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Just popping in to say hi to all the new mamas!! I'm loving all the newborn pics--they all look like adorable teeny tiny peanuts!

It's great to see some new faces in here and it's nice that several of you are all coming over at the same time--having a place to talk through all the anxieties of the newborn stage is so helpful. Can't wait to see more pics and hear about everybody's experiences!

AFU, nothing exciting. Colds are still sticking around a little. Still not getting any sleep in our house (Katie is consistenly waking up at 5:30 am and I'm about to start experimenting with bedtimes). Katie is also crawling everywhere and does NOT want to be held. I'm glad we babyproofed when we did, because now she crawls EVERYWHERE!

 

[amc80]

Welcome, Buttons!

Hope everyone has been getting some sleep. The night before last, DH offered to do the 2am feeding and keep B in the living room so I could get some sleep. I think I must wake up more than I realize, because the 3 hours I got were amazing...way better than 3 hours I get when B is with us. He ended up sleeping in his swing and DH slept on the couch. The downfall of this arrangement is I had to hear ALL DAY yesterday from DH about how tired he was from dealing with B. Um, no kidding. Welcome to my life...every day.

We decided to try out B's bumbo yesterday. I wasn't sure if 2 months would be too young, but he loved it! He was in it for 5-10 minutes. I've heard mixed reviews on whether or not these can mess with the natural progression of learning how to sit (any thoughts on this?), so I think we'll use it sparingly. Still a nice break for us, so B can sit up without one of us having to hold him.

 

[pancake]

Hi everyone

I'm so behind I don't think I can reply to everyone but just quickly -

amc - I wouldn't stress about the Bumbo. Physiotherapists do say that it delays the development of truncal stability (ie strength to sit up etc) but I highly doubt it is significant!

Buttons - wee Tadgh is gorgeous! Witching hour totally normal, don't sweat about it - it will pass You sound like you are doing amazingly well at this new parenthood thing - welcome!

NEL - wooooo K on the move! I still haven't babyproofed. Not that I need to just yet, haha, although "they" do say that it should be done BEFORE baby gets moving. Our living area (where S spends most of her playtime) is pretty safe though so hopefully that will do for the time being.

All is well in the House of Dot...

1. Sleeping is good at the moment - touch wood! In bed at 7pm, up at 6:30, then a feed and back to bed until about 8:30. Morning nap around 10:30, afternoon nap around 3, rinse and repeat. No more crying episodes and Dot is very content sleeping in her new room.

2. Dot finally rolled yesterday - only took her nearly 8 months to get around to it Tummy to back, about 5 times in a row. The direction is typical of Dot...can just imagine her thinking, "mmmm....let's get more comfortable here, to a position where I don't have to move for a while".

3. The fussy period of a week or two ago has definitely coincided with a developmental leap. It's harder for me to articulate exactly WHAT has changed, but it's sort of like she just KNOWS and understands a heap more, all of a sudden. Her games are much more interactive now - loads of peekaboo, cause-and-effect type things - and she's constantly looking under things, inside things, on top of things etc.

4. Eating going great. Hates banana, loves everything else. She is almost completely self-fed now, but I think I'm going to start feeding her rice (ie what we eat for dinner almost every night) which is going to have to be spooned in. Sometimes I wonder how she fits all the food in. Yesterday we went to a friend's for breakfast, and she ate two slices of French toast, 3 strawberries and a handful of blueberries. And then had a breastfeed 40 minutes later. Hollow legs!

 

[FrekeChild]

AMC - we used the Bumbo to help A with neck strength, because of the torticollis and plagiocephaly, anytime she was in a seat with a headrest, she would rest to one side - the flat spot. I think it helped, but who knows? She sat up at a normal pace, so I didn't stress about it.


So tired. Baby was up puking last night, plus sneezing yesterday and today. I'm expecting a full blown cold tomorrow.

Need sleep. I also think that we have teeth 6 and 7 coming in. Maybe 8 and 9 too. Her gums look crazy bumpy now...

 

[lliang_chi]

Hello ladies! We're back from Ethan's Great Big Swiss Adventure! It was amazing and totally an adventure. Ethan took 3 days to adjust to the time difference then after that he was fantastic! We just got in today, so still have lots to unpack, clean up etc, but wanted to post to you guys let you know that we're OK.

Hello to all the new mamas: Buttons, Sugar and Dani. You're wee bebes are SO ADORABLE!

 

[Skippy123]

so MUCH CUTENESS on this page ladies!!!

Buttons, awww congrats, so adorable!

 

[S&I]

Pancake, glad S transitioned to her room smoothly. I know how apprehensive you were about moving her, but you'll all sleep a lot better now. I was the same way, not fully trusting the baby monitor, wanting to get up and check on him, etc. Looks like there's a lot of growth spurts lately, and yay for S finally rolling! If she's anything like A, she'll do back to tummy in a couple weeks or so.

NEL, sorry that K is still having problems sleeping, and now has lost interest in formula! Have you asked her pedi if that's a common thing for babies her age, or how you can tell if she's not getting enough? K sounds like she is getting really independent, wanting to do things her way or no way!

sugarpie, welcome! L is so adorable - love that smile!

Dani, welcome! L is such a cutie! Glad things are going well so far.

Buttons, welcome! Witching hour is definitely normal. A did the same thing when he was a newborn, but he eventually got over it.

Freke, wow you just can't catch a break with A's teeth, can you? Hope A's cold wasn't too horrible!

LC, welcome back - can't wait to see pics from your great Swiss vacation!

Hi to everyone else I missed!

AFU, we seem to have hit a wonder week or two. A had a terrible night's sleep last Monday, waking up at least 8 times. The next morning, he rolled over from back to belly. He also started saying "ne ne ne ne", which then turned into "da da da da", which then turned into "daddy!". He also accidentally said "ma" once. Had his 6-month checkup on Friday - 50th percentile in weight, 90th (!) percentile in height, and still 15th percentile in head circumference, ha! He got his shots plus the flu shot too. He cried so hard that I started crying too, but he was easily comforted once I picked him up again. We also gave him his first solid this morning - mashed up avocado. He seemed to like it because he kept leaning forward and opening his mouth for more. I was also pretty surprised that he was able to take the spoon with no problems. Guess he's been studying us while we eat for quite a while!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

S&I, definitely sounds like a wonder week! He's babbling pretty early, that's great! I bet the ma-ma-ma-mas are right around the corner. K started with the ma's, then moved on to the da's. Sounds like he's growing like crazy! PS babies seem so long! Many of us have babes in the 90th percentiles for height. We need our own clothing line for long, lean babies. And great news about the success with solids! Isn't that funny how that happens? When we started I thought for sure K wouldn't know what to do. I thought we might get a spoonful in her at most, but she swallowed immediately and ate the whole bowl. Have fun with the solids! And it's nice that A likes avacado. I selfishly wanted K to like them because they're easy to feed. I should try re-introducing.

I asked the pedi about the decrease in formula intake and she assured me it was completely normal. She told me not to reduce solids and not to force the formula too often. It helped me to relax and now she's pretty much taking 3 bottles/day instead of 4 (24 ounces). The pedi said not to worry about it unless she refuses formula altogether--then we'd need to supplement K with calcium.

LC, I thought about you a lot last week!! I'm hoping E is adjusting back to his old routine without much trouble. I can't wait to hear about the trip!!

Freke, did A end up coming down with a cold? I hope both of you are okay. Our whole family has been sick on and off for a couple of weeks. I just hope that you and she aren't both sick--one thing I worry about when thinking of being a SAHM is being really sick myself and having to figureo out how to take care of the babe. How is the teething going?

Pancake, now I understand why it's important to babyproof before your baby is on the move. Because once they are mobile, they are into EVERYTHING! I did babyproof one room prior to her crawling, but now she crawls really fast and she only wants to be in the non babyproofed rooms. And she LOVES climbing under things (chairs, tables, beds), so we've had a couple of head bumps. Oddly, she doesn't even notice.

I'm so glad the sleeping is going well! And she finally rolled! Yay! My goodness, she's eating a ton, that's fantastic! I still can't get K to like table foods. Though now I can give her a baby cookie and she at least likes gnawing on it. Still some ground to cover on the table foods for us!

amc, I was worried about the same thing and asked our physical therapist about it. She was actually a fan of the bumbo, so long as it wasn't being used for prolonged periods of time. She gave us some torso-building exercises to do if we wanted. The main one involved holding K against me, but only at her hips--so she had to use her torso to hold herself up. It's hard to explain, I need a visual. I used it a lot because I was carrying her around all the time, anyway, and it was easy to do. But I also used the bumbo (or bebe pod) and our PT encouraged it.

Hope all of the new mamas are doing well!

AFU,
1. I did some experimenting with sleep times in order to get K sleeping past 5:30am. Long story short, it worked. She's still up for her bottle, but consistently goes back to sleep. As a result her naps are shifting and I see how the transition to one nap is formed. Now her "morning" nap is getting pushed closer to the middle of the day and it's becoming her longer nap (2+ hours). The afternoon nap is shorter (1/1.5 hours).

2. K is really developing into her own little person very quickly:
First, the crawling. She absolutely loves exploring at home (in her comfort zone). She'll go into any little nook or cranny that she can. However, when we are out or in class, she is much more timid. All the other babies are into EVERYTHING, but K sits back and really takes it all in first. I find it so interesting that she acts very differently when in a new environment than she acts at home.

Second, the child is stubborn. And determined. She is trying to stand up, but will only try it on her own. She has no interest in holding onto anything. She gets into crawling position, then extends her legs so she's on her hands and feet, then keeps trying to push off. I try to get her to hold onto things, but she gets frustrated. Also, if she's crawling somewhere she shouldn't and I pull her away, she gives me a high-pitch squeal of frustration. Then when I put her down, she crawls right back to the same spot with gusto.

Even though having a mobile baby is tiresome, it's so much fun to see so much of her personality come out. I'm really looking forward to the next several months!

 

[Buttons]

Ladies could I ask for some BF advice? Wee Button is a great feeder and is gaining weight really well, and I have a great supply, but my nipples are destroyed. As in I'm roaring crying at feeds and blood is streaming out of them destroyed

I spent three hours with a lactation consultant yesterday who observed Wee Button feeding and talked to us at length. She diagnosed a shallow latch possibly due to (a) an anterior tongue tie, and (b) some trauma from the failed vacuum extraction during his birth that may be preventing him opening his mouth wide enough to latch properly (he seems to be completely without any reflex to open his mouth when his lip is tickled with the nipple).

The LC gave us recommendations for a doctor who runs a tongue tie clinic and for a physio who also does cranio-sacral therapy and who specialises in treating babies. We are trying to get appointments with these people to have him assessed further.

In the meantime I am using nipple shields 50% of the time and hand expressing so we can do one night feed with a syringe, to give my nipples a chance to heal. I am still in a lot of pain though, and I can't continue like this indefinitely

Do any of you have any experience of either of these issues or have any advice to share? I am so scared of putting Wee Button through any unnecessary procedures... and the Mommy guilt over the possibility that he may have some trauma from the Ventouse is just awful... :'(

 

[amc80]

Buttons- I had issues with shallow latch as well, and my nipples are still trying to recover, 9 weeks later. One thing that really helped for us was given B a bottle here and there, an Avent bottle. It forced him to open his mouth really wide, and if his latch wasn't wide enough, I could manually adjust it since I could see it really well. I swear after the first bottle his latch improved a bit. I'm not sure if an LC would agree with this method, but it worked for us. I was also told to use a ton of lanolin after every feeding, as well as letting the boobs air dry. The more research I do, the more it seems like a shallow latch is pretty common. Hang in there!

 

[bobbin]

Buttons, hang in there! I had huge issues with attachment in the beginning and was using a nipple shield/pumping exclusively for a while. The problem was never really diagnosed for me but I think it was a shallow latch/C not opening her mouth wide enough. She grew out of it at around 4 weeks. If you are really sore, give yourself some time to recover by pumping and giving a bottle for a few feeds.

 

[Missy0483]

Haven't checked in for a while. Blake will be 20 weeks tomorrow. We had his 4 month checkup last week. He was 13lbs 15oz, 25" long, 43cm head circumference. According to the doc he's just below average for weight, so we're starting cereal. We have an appointment on 10/26 with a neurosurgeon to check on his flat head. I knew my gut feeling was correct, I should have went in earlier. We'll see how bad it is and he may need a helmet He doesn't have a problem moving his head around from side to side. I'm wondering if part of it is because he started sttn around 6 weeks old so he was on his back for a long period at night. But then again we've evened that out since he rarely naps for us! Haha. On Saturday he literally went from 1pm til 9pm without a nap! (He took a 1 hour nap before we left for the day). He was calm for most of it. We went out shopping and I figured he'd be worn out but he wasn't having any of that napping business. He still does not take a nap from 3pm til 8pm. EVER. But in other more positive news, he did roll over from belly to back over the weekend for the first time!

 

[amc80]

Barrett just had his 2 month checkup. 12lbs 12oz and 24 3/4 inches. 42cm head. Screamed like crazy at the shots but stopped as soon as I gave him a bottle. I almost teared up myself

 

[pancake]

amc - well done on getting through that first lot of immunisations! It's kinda heartbreaking, isn't it? Always helps to see how fast they bounce back though. How is sleep going?

missy - bummer about the plagiocephaly, but at least it's now on your docs' radar. The neurosurgeons hardly ever have to do anything, so hopefully it's just exercises/tummy time +/- helmet (and even if he has to wear a helmet, they're so cute! Here they make them in all sorts of design "themes" - my little nephew had one in a transport theme!). Glad that the night sleep is going well, but gee I wish Blake would cut you a break during the day! Sleep does improve towards 6 months and beyond though, so hopefully he will figure it all out.

LC - I want PHOTOS of Alpine Ethan please! Tell us all about the trip! Sounds like you had an amazing time. I would LOVE to go back to Switzerland.

Buttons, what your LC is saying about the birth trauma and root reflex does not make any neurological or anatomical sense at all. The Ventouse causes some bruising early, and so bubby might have had a headache in the first few days, and the bruising can make jaundice worse, which can make them sleepy, but there is no possible way that a Ventouse can cause neurological damage like that, and there's no way that any damage could isolate just that one reflex. So please don't freak yourself out about that! Re the tongue tie, I don't really believe in it (but there are two schools of thought about this). If you are happy with this LC then continue, but I would encourage you to think about getting a second opinion. There are some fairly wacky LCs out there.

Meantime, hang in there - and I second Bobbin's suggestion of pumping and bottling to allow your nipples to heal!!

NEL - I wonder whether the assertiveness is an age-related thing too? S is still an easygoing little thing but for the last 3 or 4 weeks we have been getting impatient grunts of consternation when she can't get something or we're not doing what she wants! Katie has always been a determined little thing though. Bet she is keeping you on her toes now!

S&I, I know that WW says there's a leap around 26 weeks - in any case I know that fussiness and sleep regression is common at that age! A certainly sounds like he's attaining skills at a rate of knots, so it would make sense. The syllables are so cute aren't they? S's first one was BAH BAH BAH BAH BAH (said in a very indignant kind of a tone) followed by a high-pitched "DI DI DI DI!". We get dadadadada, bababababa, wawawawawa, yayayayaya, gagagaga, and the occasional mamama now (although the latter the most seldom, poo!). She's experimenting with different vowel sounds and exclamations too. Speech development is so cool!

Great that the eating is going well!

Freke - has A stopped puking? Have you had some sleep?


We're going well here. Sleep has gone a little funny the last two days, nothing awful apart from an almost completely aborted morning nap the other day because I had to go in FIVE times and flip S back onto her back because she was on her tummy diagonally in her cot with her head wedged up against the bars, SCREAMING. It was actually kind of funny...is that a cruel thing to say? She is consistently rolling front to back when awake but I think when she's screaming it's just too much to muster up the concentration to do it in her cot, haha. We still haven't witnessed her in the act of rolling onto her front yet.

We're having an "eating less, BFing more" week too. These have been coming and going and I'm just letting her dictate the pace. One challenge I'm having with S self-feeding is that she's starting to get a little constipated again and it can be a little difficult to shovel the vegies in like we used to. I might cook some up today and see if she'll feed herself from a pre-loaded spoon or whether she'll let me feed them to her. Her diet is starting to resemble an adult one much more - eg. last night she had the same braised chicken that we had, and I gave her rice for the first time (as in normal rice, not porridge or cereal).

We have our 8 month visit with the maternal and child health nurse today! Because I am a lax mother (in some ways at least) she hasn't been weighed since her last visit, which was at...um, 4 months I reckon she's probably around 8kg (and boy am I starting to feel it when I'm carrying her on my hip with one arm!) but we shall see! Thought I'd also talk to the nurse about whether it would be ok to drop to 3 milk feeds a day, like NEL's Katie. Between 3 meals and 4 feeds a day, it's getting hard to fit it all in and she's rarely really hungry during the day. All of that milk and food has to fit between 6:30am and 6:30pm, so it's a squeeze!

Some recent photos:

On a summery day (very isolated - it was cold and rainy yesterday!)


Playing on the floor


Maggie (one of my my in-laws' dogs) is much more interesting than dinner!

 

[Skippy123]

squeeeeeeeee

 

[monarch64]

Oh, Pancake...SQUEE, indeed! Your little girl is just fabulous.

AMC80, glad the 2 month stuff went ok. I had a hard time holding back some tears myself during A's shots that first time. The second time, at 4 months, I was ok with having my husband stand next to her and the nurse. I didn't know if I could make it through that one without getting emotional, and I didn't want to scare her by showing that I was upset. She was just fine after a couple minutes, though. I thought the 4 month was way easier than the 2 month, but that's just me.

Missy, your little boy is so adorable! I loved all the frog themed pics. So sorry about his head, I'm sure he will be just fine, though! I thought A's head was looking a little flat/misshapen at about 10 weeks but I never thought to consult the pediatrician or that it might be an issue later, you are not alone. I figured it would correct itself, and fortunately in our case it did, but please don't feel like you did something wrong by not jumping on it when you first had an inkling. We mothers are so freaking busy those first few weeks, I feel like we have these thoughts and then the next second there is yet another task to take care of or the baby wants to be fed or changed and you just cannot keep up with everything. And no one tells you to watch out for that! (No one told me IRL, but I do remember reading about it on PS thanks to Freke.) Anyway, I hope that Blake's case (if he has one) is easily resolved. Hugs.

Buttons! I am so very sorry to hear of your BF'ing issues, and that WB possibly has a tongue-tie or other impediment! Oh, my heart goes out to you. I only Bfed for 2 months, 3 weeks, but I was pumping the whole time and pumped a few weeks longer...my nipples were cracked, bleeding, fissured, etc. My best remedy was applying lanolin religiously and often, I'm sure you've been doing that. I really don't have any other advice to offer, but wish I did! Do you have a breast pump that you can use to give your nipples a break? I read that you are hand-expressing, that's great but I know that is so much work and time-consuming as well. Lots of (gentle) hugs to you from me. I used a nipple shield frequently because my babe had a shallow latch, but it really didn't help save my nipples that much. I expected it to be THE CURE but it definitely wasn't. Are you getting lots of air on your nipples between feedings? I feel like that's the key in helping them heal...but I know that isn't always possible. I hope the lactation consultants you're seeing help you find a solution quickly. You are in my thoughts, Buttons.

Sorry, I'm so worried about Buttons that I lost my train of thought about everyone else. As always, I hope that all the mamas and babies are doing well!

AFU: gosh, still distracted! Um, Miss A is 4 months, 3 weeks old this week and is quite chunky and long. Most of her 6 month size pants are too short. She's kicking so hard when she rolls over that she looks up, astonished, and gives a yell, like "what the heck did I just do?!" She's also kicking so hard when she sits next to me that I have to move her away a couple inches so she doesn't bruise me! Loves bathtime, getting more alert all the time, I sat her in the grass outside this afternoon and she played with leaves and grass for about 5 minutes (while I tried to keep her from putting those into her mouth--I had allergies as a child and developed hives on my tongue once after ingesting grass) so that was a nice fall activity. She wants to reach out and pet our dog constantly now, which would also be fine but the dog just wants to lick her face which I'm not cool with...sigh. I fear that once she's crawling/mobile I'm going to really have to let go of all of my ridiculous anxieties. I never would've guessed I'd be THAT MOM, overprotective and worried about every little thing. And maybe I'm not that bad, but compared to how laid back I was (or thought I was) during the first three months of her life, I feel like I am so much more cautious now. Funny, though, in other areas, like bottle cleaning or diaper changing, I have become a lot more relaxed and have stopped micromanaging my husband, figuring she's still alive and hasn't come down with some terrible bacterial illness from germs. I guess I'm 100% mom now. What the heck?!?!