PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[PilsnPinkysMom]

Just needed to vent...

My dog stole my pump flanges from the counter and chewed them up for the THIRD F&*(KING TIME! ARGHHHHH!!!! I love her, but I SO do not like her right now. My boobs are so picky- I need size 30 flanges or little to no milk comes out. ARGHARGHARGHARGH!

 

[lliang_chi]

PPM, OMFG. Believe me, I've posted many a FB message "Available to a good home, fluffy black dog."

AMC, sorry to hear B has been in such a state. Did you try some acetominophen? THere's been times where Ethan's been inconsolable for a long time. Not 4 hrs though. Did you try a walk outside. Sometimes it seems like Ethan just wants a change of scenary

MP, we have an Ergo carrier. I also heard good things about the Beco, so check that out.

AFU, the pictures went great. We had an hour or so for pictures, it was SUPER nice out so we took pics outside in a park. Hoping they turned out OK. I think I should get a few sneak peaks soon.

Sorry to post and dash but I'm EXHAUSTED. going to hit the hay early.

~LC

 

[Miscka]

PPM - I lurk here (DS is 1.5 and another on the way) but I wanted to send you some Internet solidarity - my dog chewed up my pumping bra TWICE (he loves zippers) and I was basically useless without it. I hope you can get some 30s ASAP! I know that feeling and its awful. You are one awesomely dedicated BFer!

 

[bobbin]

Pancake: I am so jealous of S's sleep routine! The days when C used to STTN seem like a distant dream now. Your post about S was so cute - your love for her just shines through!

Buttons - So glad you are able to get out and about. It really does make a huge difference. That story about the woman being denied an abortion was headlines here in Aus too. Terrible.

AMC: How is B doing now? It could be teething. One of the babies in my mother's group got her first tooth at about 3 months! If it is really uncharacteristic for him, maybe give him some panadol (is acetaminophen the US equivalent??).

I feel for you. The 4 month sleep regression sucked. Unfortunately for us, it continued until C was 5.5 months. Then the 6 month regression started 2 weeks later!

Mayerling: Ugh, being awake for an hour! C did that the other day and it sucked. I don't think I could do it every night!

MP: C had cradle cap for ages, and I didn't know what to do about it. I followed Pancake's recommendation to someone else on this thread and used baby oil and brushing with a baby brush and it cleared within a few days. Ergo, Beco or Manduca are great soft-structured carriers. Woven wraps are also great (although I haven't tried them). I have a ring sling, but it is one for wearing in water and it feels a bit slippy to me - I don't trust it to stay in place if I move in certain ways. There are loads of babywearing groups around the place that hold sling meets for you to try out carriers.

LC: looking forward to E's holiday pics! I tried to take some myself with the dogs today and it was a big fail. Never work with animals or children.

Rachel: good to hear your supply is going up! Re fitness classes: just make sure your core/pelvic floor is ready for them! Take it easy until bubs is about 3 months. Is Hannah refusing the breast when you don't use a shield? Try lots of skin to skin and feeding in the bath if so as it can encourage them to feed.

PPM: Oh no! Stupid dog! That would be so frustrating.


AFU:

C will be 7 months old in 2 days! Wow.

She cut 3 teeth from about Thursday - Sunday last week, and cut 2 more in the 2 weeks before that. She is waking up 2-3 times a night and is harder to get to sleep in the evenings at the moment. I am tired. To top it off, she has started biting! In the last 24 hours she has bitten me during a feed 6 times. One of those times she bit me so hard she made me bleed.

I am finding it really hard to cope with her biting me. It makes me angry, which then makes me feel guilty for feeling angry, and I find it hard to deal with her for a little while after she has done it. Argh. I am starting to dread feeding her. I haven't felt this way since she was a few weeks old. Weaning her is not something I am willing to consider, but I can't have her biting me like this for too long! I am really really hoping it is just to do with discomfort while teething.

When she bites, I am trying to do what I have read is recommended: Say no firmly but calmly, take her off the breast and put her on the floor. Unfortunately for me the shock is too much and I usually yelp/shout ouch, and then take a moment to compose myself before putting her in a flexible tub nearby (I tried putting her on the floor but the couch I sit on is in front of her playpen and colourful mat, and she just started playing straight away). Not very effective really.

Apart from that C is still a real joy. Happy and babbling away most of the time. If I put her on the floor she will immediately crawl to the nearest wall/couch/table leg/chair/anything and pull herself up to standing. She will occasionally move a little bit while she is standing so not long until she starts to cruise. My sister, my nephew and I all started walking at around 9 months and met all other milestones at around the same time as C so I think she may do the same.

Holiday photo fail:







This is the best photo I managed to take:



And these are the worst ones. Poor little duck hit her head on the tiles I stopped after that.

 

[amc80]

Thanks for the replies. He ended up falling asleep in my arms (again) around 9:30, but this time I was able to put him down. He slept until around midnight, at which point he took a bottle, then slept until about 5:30 (which is a really long time for him). I really do suspect teething, just because of the amount of drool. The other possibility is he was really tired. That morning, we went to a gun show and had him in the baby bjorn instead of a stroller. He was having a great time looking around, and eventually fell asleep. But I know he didn't sleep as much or as soundly as he normally would. He probably only slept an hour or two between 9 and 4. Then he was hungry, but would fall asleep while eating...plus a stuffy nose. So he'd wake up, be starving, fall asleep eating, but wasn't able to sleep well due to the stuffy nose. That's just a theory...sort of a perfect storm sort of thing. He's been perfectly fine since then though!

 

[JGator]

Hi, everyone. My baby girl Kareena was born on 10/29. She's 3 weeks old today, and I'm finally posting over here! She is generally a happy baby but gets cranky when she's hungry and/or has gas pains after eating. I am primarily breast feeding and pumping but also supplementing with formula as she always seems hungry and she lost about 12% of her birth weight in the hospital. I think she has passed her birth weight now - 7lbs. After eating she gets very fidgety - tries to move her arms/legs a lot and seems uncomfortable. I think she is in pain but wants to eat to help soothe the pain. So, we have a hard time figuring out if she's still hungry or just has gas pains. Does anyone have any suggestions for burping babies and gas pains? She drinks her pumped breast milk and formula very quickly - we force her to pause several times and try burping her but she just gulps it down and then later either spits up/throws up or seems to have gas pains. My mom just arrived and she is suggesting we get some gripe water or mylicon. Is that safe for a 3-week old?

Also, how do I know if I am creating enough breast milk? I am feeding her every 2-3 hours during the day and 3-4 hours at night - she sleeps for an average of 4 hours the first time we put her down at night/swaddled. When I pump, I get anywhere from 15ml to 60ml depending on how long since the last time I pumped (2 hours - 5 hours). I feed her for 20 mins on each breast each time she feeds - sometimes she also gets the pumped breast milk before/after the breast milk directly from me. She just always seems hungry! I started taking Mothers Milk tea a few days ago also.

 

[amc80]

Hi, everyone. My baby girl Kareena was born on 10/29. She's 3 weeks old today, and I'm finally posting over here! She is generally a happy baby but gets cranky when she's hungry and/or has gas pains after eating. I am primarily breast feeding and pumping but also supplementing with formula as she always seems hungry and she lost about 12% of her birth weight in the hospital. I think she has passed her birth weight now - 7lbs. After eating she gets very fidgety - tries to move her arms/legs a lot and seems uncomfortable. I think she is in pain but wants to eat to help soothe the pain. So, we have a hard time figuring out if she's still hungry or just has gas pains. Does anyone have any suggestions for burping babies and gas pains? She drinks her pumped breast milk and formula very quickly - we force her to pause several times and try burping her but she just gulps it down and then later either spits up/throws up or seems to have gas pains. My mom just arrived and she is suggesting we get some gripe water or mylicon. Is that safe for a 3-week old?

Also, how do I know if I am creating enough breast milk? I am feeding her every 2-3 hours during the day and 3-4 hours at night - she sleeps for an average of 4 hours the first time we put her down at night/swaddled. When I pump, I get anywhere from 15ml to 60ml depending on how long since the last time I pumped (2 hours - 5 hours). I feed her for 20 mins on each breast each time she feeds - sometimes she also gets the pumped breast milk before/after the breast milk directly from me. She just always seems hungry! I started taking Mothers Milk tea a few days ago also.

Welcome! My kiddo is very gassy as well. We give him mylicon (well, the target brand of it). I have found it works a bit better if given before he eats. My pediatrician recommended it at his 4 week appointment, so I'm guessing it's fine for a 3 week old. To slow her down a bit, try holding her more upright and keeping the bottle almost horizontal- so there's just enough milk to cover the nipple hole. That will slow down the flow a bit.

As far as whether or not she's getting enough, I had the same worry. At 5 weeks I went to a BFing support group. They had a scale you could use before and after a feeding to see how much they were getting. He had 3oz, so that really eased my mind. B was hungry all the time as well. Some times he would only go an hour between feedings. Pumping and bottle feeding helped me a lot since I could see how much he was getting.

 

[Loves Vintage]

JGator - She's gorgeous!! So little and adorable in her pink hat! Do you find that Kareena reacts the same way if she is fed from breast or bottle? Curious if you are using a slow flow nipple? You may want to check in with you pedi too, though I'm sure the other moms here will have some good advice for you too. We never really encountered issues like this, but was curious whether you are using slow flow or perhaps another bottle would be better? What type of bottle do you use?

Bobbin - Haha! What a brilliant photo set-up!!! Even if the photos didn't turn out the way you anticipate, A+ for creativity!!!

 

[Skippy123]

Bobbin, I love the photo shoot!
JGator, awww she is precious!!!

Beautiful babies, ladies!!!!

 

[JGator]

Thanks, AMC, excellent advice. We will try the horizontal bottle and keeping her more upright today. Also, going to find those drops!

LV, we are using the small 2 oz bottles that came with the Medela pump we are renting and also the 2 oz Similac Advance formula bottles with the premixed formula. We use the nipples that came with the Similac which should be for infant/slow flow, but I am not positive on that. We have the Dr Brown bottles but those are 4 oz, and I never have that much pumped milk and she usually eats about 2oz of the formula at a time - most often twice a day. Do you think we should try the Dr. Brown bottles with the level 1 nipple? She does better (seems more relaxed afterwards but also often seems still hungry) fed from the breast than the bottle - I assume since she is eating much slower - 20 mins on each side which often takes an entire hour as she will sometimes doze off mid feeding and I have to wake her up again and get her latched on properly. She starts off actively sucking and then slows down during breast feeding, and she is very active the whole time and finishes the bottles quickly. She loves to suck on things - Ie, loves the pacifier most of the time and bottles and breast - the LC at the hospital said she had a great sucking skill so she would be a good pacifier baby - ie, have no nipple confusion issues.

Skippy, thanks for the compliment!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

As always, I love the pics!! So great to see all the new little faces and as Pancake pointed out, it's exciting to see the changing of the guard, so to speak.

Jgator, congrats! I feel like gas is super common in newborns. Feeding ever 2 - 3 hours during the day and 3 - 4 at night sounds completely reasonable for a 3-week-old. It sounds like you don't have supply issues, but Mother's Milk won't hurt, so no harm in taking it.

amc, the drool and even the stuffy nose sound like they could be teeth related. K has only cut 2 teeth (and both at once) and she was the same--congested and drooly. It could be that nursing feels good, so he's wanting to feed more or if he's just not getting as much because of the stuffy nose. Getting K to take a full bottle when she's congested is impossible. I hope he feels better soon!

bobbin, adorable photo shoot and holy teeth! C is really getting them all at once! Even though C is younger than K, it sounds like they're in the same physical development stage. K loves to stand up on things and is starting to walk while holding onto something. She's also loving climbing over things. She won't tolerate being stationary at all anymore, not even in the jumperoo.

LC, so glad the photo shoot went well--I love E pics! It must have been so odd not taking your pump to work. You have done such a great job with BFing, it's crazy to think that they'll only have BM/formula for a few more months. K eats a lot more solids than milk these days. Still, it seems like yesterday that I was still in a fog from constant pumping/feeding.

PnPsMom, so, so sorry about the pump parts. I know that has to be frustrating. I also needed larger flanges (I think a 30) and I couldn't just run to Target to get them. Once I missplaced them (seriously, that whole time is a blur of pumping) and I just went to the hospital and they gave me more. I know you had to be SO frustrated.

MP, good luck with the trip!! We have the Ergo. Love it. I didn't want an outward-facing carrier because of the hip-dyspasia scare. I also liked the Ergo because K could look side-to-side, but then rest her head on me and close her eyes when she was overstimulated. Now that she's older and heavier, I mostly use the stroller when we're out. But the Ergo is still fantastic when I'm dashing in somewhere and don't want to buckle her in the stroller.

MissRachel, I'm with the other ladies, you can't obsess over H's weight. You're doing a fabulous job and it sounds like overall things are going well!

Kunzite, our whole family was also sick a few weeks ago and I about lost it. K had fifth disease, D and I were both sick. I felt like I got NO SLEEP between K's constant waking and D's constant snoring (thank you, congestion). Plus we are both so busy with work and I just had no time or energy to deal with it all. We're all better now, but it was so awful that I am terrified knowing it will happen again.

Pancake, it sounds like S is doing really well!! She's always been such a happy and joyful baby, I feel like it just becomes more and more pronounced as they get older. And she sounds like a great eater and sleeper! I think K's days of doing 12 hours at night are over. Her routine seems to be 11 hours at night and 3 - 3.5 hours of naps.

AFU,

1. Katie is 9 months today. Crazy!
2. She's graduated from crawling to pulling herself up on things and starting to walk while holding on. She also tries to stand on her own, but falls down. She seems to think this is fun.
3. Still only two bottom teeth. No signs of the top teeth coming in. I'm afraid she's going to get them all at once now.
4. She's eating more and more solids. She basically wants anything I'm eating, which isn't always possible. I still worry about her choking (since she only has 2 teeth), but I put rice crispies, bread crumbs, etc. in her food to give them more texture.
5. Now that she's over Fifth Disease, she's back to her happy, cheery self. She looooves to babble (lots of sounds coming out, but no words) and she laughs really loudly. No matter how AWFUL my day is, hearing her laugh always makes me giggle. It's so contagious.

 

[Buttons]

Hi ladies, flying post while T naps!

PPM the osteopath manipulates T's muscles (gently, but he doesn't much like it!) to address areas of what she calls 'tightness' which she says are muscular or skeletal misalignments. I am a total sceptic about much 'alternative' therapies but It was recommended to me during my pregnancy and I did some research and it has a good reputation for addressing neck, spine, and pelvic pain. It definitely sorted out my pelvic problems during the pregnancy. During today's session T lifted his head during tummy time for the first time ever. Before this he just couldn't tip his head bak at all, never mind actually lift it in that direction. Today was his last session as the osteopath doesn't believe in bringing babies back endlessly, she says if she can't fix it in four or five sessions she thinks it's unethical to keep taking people's money. I found that reassuring that she's not on some get rich scheme! We have seen a second CST since that first one and the second lady was MUCH better! The first woman, it turns out, didn't do any proper CST at all. Grrrrr.... I will look up that video you recommended, thanks!!! How is Eloise doing now? Did the therapy help?

Muffdog thanks again for all the advice! We are trying earlier bedtime, the catch is he wakes up to feed every two/three hours and whenever the wake up happens after 8pm it is a nightmare getting him settled back to sleep. I'm holding on to the hope it is just one of those newborn things and it will pass We have been giving him a bottle every few days, if he's acting up a lot at that late night feed we just cut our losses and DH feeds him. No point letting my nipples get injured again! We are planning to make that a more regular thing now as we don't want him to reject the bottle - we want to be able to leave him with the Grannies when he gets a little bigger!!!

Monkey I rub olive oil in to T's scalp once a week or so. Keeps his skin lovely and soft and seems to keep the dry scaly stuff at bay. We have an Ergo but we haven't used it yet as we don't have the insert for infants under 12lbs. We also have a stretchy fabric wrap (ours is a Moby but there are lots of different ones) and both DH and I LOVE it.

Rachel yay for increasing supply!!! And can I say I admire your attitude so much, seems like you are really rolling with the punches. Also how on earth are you contemplating exercise already woman?!? I am banned from any exercise for three months but even if I weren't I still don't think I'd be up and at 'em just yet!

Bobbin those photos are adorable!

JGator welcome! Kareena is beautiful

Everyone else, will write a proper reply tomorrow but for now hi and thanks for all the advice and support!

===

Last thing, this is off topic but my Aunt had a mild heart attack this morning. She is due to be moved to a bigger hospital for tests tomorrow and we'll know more then. My Granny died very young of a heart attack so everyone is really worried. Please keep her in your thoughts/prayers? Thank you!

 

[amc80]

the 2 oz Similac Advance formula bottles with the premixed formula. We use the nipples that came with the Similac which should be for infant/slow flow, but I am not positive on that.

I used those in the hospital and the flow was super fast. When you hold the bottle upside down, the formula should drip out, one drop at a time. I remember it came out really quickly on those bottles. We use Avent bottles and really like them, FYI.

amc, the drool and even the stuffy nose sound like they could be teeth related.

Ah! Thank you for this, I hadn't even thought of it being related, but it makes sense!

 

[monkeyprincess]

JGator, glad to see you on here. She's a doll! We have a gassy and spitting up baby lately too. He doesn't like being burped, but we always make sure to get a burp out of him. But then it seems there is always another one. He also has gas at the other end too I think. It's frustrating to see them so uncomfortable and not know what to do about it. I have tried the mylicon, but so far, I haven't noticed a difference. I may try gripe water....

amc, glad to hear B finally went down last night. Hope he is feeling better. We have the worst little sleeper, so I know how frustrating it is!

Buttons, sorry to hear about your aunt. Sending my thoughts your way!

NEL, glad to hear you are all feeling better. I dread our first illness. It's hard enough when everyone is healthy! Your comment about Katie's giggling made me so excited for the day E is doing that. So sweet.

Bobbin, I agree that's a really cute set-up and funny pictures. I took E's one month pictures last week, and I was horrible and staging the photo. I am going to have to be more creative next month.

LC, glad the pictures went well. You'll have to post them when you get a chance!

PPM, ugh, how frustrating.

Thank you Muff and Steph for the carrier information. I didn't realize that forward facing was so controversial, but that is good to know! I hope E likes being in a carrier. It's just too hard to get things done when he wants to be held all the time. I think I'm going to go with the Beco.

Another question for you all about sleep. I know, I know, 5 weeks is too young to expect a routine/schedule, but I feel like E's sleeping is getting more and more erratic. We don't get very long stretches of sleep out of him, and he just is so restless in the pack n play (whether or not he is swaddled). I wonder if we are doing something wrong. At night, we have ended up having to take shifts, so we make sure we both get sleep because the baby needs to be held so much because he wakes up shortly after we lay him down. I was just hoping, we would be getting consistent 3-4 hour stretches of real sleep out of him at this point. I have 7 more weeks of maternity leave, and I'm really hoping that he is at least able to do that before I go back to work. Any advice?

Also, I still haven't figured out his hunger cues. I usually feed him about every three to four hours, but it is not because he gives clear signs. Anyone else have that problem?

 

[Loves Vintage]

JGator - Definitely try the other bottles you have! I agree with AMC, the ones from the hospital are superfast. I remember we tried one, and I'm pretty sure it's the one that went with the pre-mixed formula samples, that was not at all suited for a newborn, caused gagging while feeding. It was really awful!! I don't know why they still give those out. But, live and learn, right? I had the born free glass bottles, and felt like they were a little faster flow (even the level 1 nipple) than the playtex drop-ins level 1, which is what we ultimately used on the advice of the lactation consultant. In their opinion (and other lcs have other opinions on this topic!), the playtex drop-ins most closely mimic bf'g because (a) they are slow-flow, and (b) they have a wide base. If you do wind up getting the playtex drop-ins, they are maddening in their own right because the measurements are off. I'm convinced that no bottle measurements are exact, however. Oh, and I also though the medela bottle nipples were too fast.

Hope that helps!!

 

[FrekeChild]

Back from Chicago. To Los Angeles this weekend. Le sigh... I just want to sleep in my own bed!

Buttons, I got my mom's princess reset into a platinum solitaire setting. I'll attach a pic. It used to be in a yellow gold setting. I also received a baguette band.

4 days from being the mommy to a toddler. I am so so so sad. I love having a baby and I don't want her to get big!

Some pics from Chicago...

 

[amc80]

Another question for you all about sleep. I know, I know, 5 weeks is too young to expect a routine/schedule, but I feel like E's sleeping is getting more and more erratic. We don't get very long stretches of sleep out of him, and he just is so restless in the pack n play (whether or not he is swaddled). I wonder if we are doing something wrong. At night, we have ended up having to take shifts, so we make sure we both get sleep because the baby needs to be held so much because he wakes up shortly after we lay him down. I was just hoping, we would be getting consistent 3-4 hour stretches of real sleep out of him at this point. I have 7 more weeks of maternity leave, and I'm really hoping that he is at least able to do that before I go back to work. Any advice?

I still don't get regular stretches of 3-4 hours, and B is 15 weeks on Wednesday. Babies are annoying like that. When I went back to work at 6 weeks he was still only doing maybe 2-3 hours at a time, but sometimes every hour. We are just now getting into a night time routine, as in he goes to bed between 9-9:30. Other than that, it's a total crap shoot.

 

[missrachelk]

Just wanted to say - Pancake - thank you so much for your support, insight and sweet comments! You know just what to say. Asknowledging that there is a greiving process when BF doesn't go the way you think it will or want it to makes a huge difference to feeling better.

My LC also said some great things for anyone struggling with supplementing in an email today:

You ARE a breastfeeding mama, no matter how much you supplement. Everything you can humanly make you are giving to your baby and you have given her the best possible start in life.

I just skimmed a few posts and JGator - we had a ton of spit ups at the beginning using the ready to feed formula with the regular nipples screwed onto the bottles and had much better success with our own bottles. We like tommee tippee with the anti colic thing, it keeps swallowed air down so less gas and spit up. Dr Browns are similar and now I know those are regular mouth so are more compatible with other nipples / pumps etc. TT is the only bottle with the size mouth they have so there's nothing they 'play well' with LOL A friend of mine uses preemie nipples because they're the slowest flow available.

I also second AMC's suggestion to do a weighed feeding at a BF group. BF group in general is awesome, you feel so much better just ebing around other mamas. Everyone;s struggles are different but everyone struggles! And there are some with older babies to say that it DOES get better eventually.

In general for increasing supply you would nurse, then offer supplement (ideally by someone other than you) so you can then immediately pump - pumping immediately after nursing 'puts in an order for more milk' f that makes sense. I often end up waiting and that sends a different signal, more that baby wants to eat again, not necessarily that they wanted a bigger meal. You can also always call the pedi and go by just for a weight check on the 'official' scale (every scale is different so to track her gain you have to use the same scale) if you want to see where LO is before the next checkup.

 

[monarch64]

Freke, your mom's princess looks so beautiful in its new setting!!! Amazing!

JGator, your LO is so beautiful, feedings will get easier with time. I used to lay A on her back after feedings and do the bicycle motion with her legs, it helps with digestion or so I was told. It seemed to help her, anyway. You'll get great advice in this thread.

A will be 6 months old on the 26th! I will be working nonstop through the holiday season so want to post a pic now. My mom turned 70 this weekend, and she requested that all of us immediate family members, spouses, and kids get together at my parents house to take group pics as her present. I brought a friend of mine who was a photojournalist during her Air Force career with us to take pictures with everyone's cameras. She got some wonderful shots, we were all so pleased.

A is army crawling backwards, still no teeth although I feel her gums every day, still wants nothing to do with solids, still STTN, and still squealing like a little piggy and giggling a lot. She's a good baby, we just love her!

 

[Buttons]

Hi ladies!

JGator we found T choked on the Avent slow flow nipple we got with our $20 hand pump, and he also choked on the fancy Medela nipple we got with the electric pump! We then bought a BreastFlow bottle and that seemed to work better. He still choked a little but he wasn't scared of it like he was with the other ones, and he got the knack of it within a few feeds then. The Mammies in my baby massage group all use either Dr Brown's or Tommee Tippee, not sure if you have those where you are.

monkey we are not consistently getting stretches longer than 4 hrs either. Every once in a while he does a 5 or 6 hour stretch but his more regular pattern is 3/4 hours at a time. Sometimes it's only 2 hours! Re hunger cues, I was looking out for him moving his head from side to side and lapping at his hands, as that was what the hospital and the LC told me to watch out for. Then I went to a breastfeeding support group coffee morning thing and I was watching the other Mammies there and they all popped their babies on the breast if their babies so much as licked their lips! So I've started doing that and it seems to be helping. We only really have hunger crying now if we are in the car and I can't stop and feed him. Hope E starts getting the hang of longer sleep stretches really soon!

Freke your Mom's princess is beautiful! The reset turned out gorgeous Love the photos, especially the one on the plane, she looks so excited!

rachel what a beautiful message your LC wrote, that brought tears to my eyes.

Monnie how beautiful do you both look in that photo?!? GORGEOUS! And yay for army crawling!

===

AFM my Aunt is doing OK, they couldn't move her for the tests she needs to have so we still don't know how bad the heart attack was, but she is stable at least.

Today I've been trying out swaddling T after feeds and putting him down for a nap and so far so good! Will try it later tonight too, fingers crossed

Only other news is today DH found a house for us to move into. Some of you will know this from the pregnancy thread but when I was five months pregnant DH changed jobs and the new job is at the opposite end of the country. So the deal was we would rent somewhere beside my parents for the few months around T's arrival, and then move to the new town before Christmas. Poor DH has been commuting (6 hour return trip) twice or three times a week since July. Last week he did the commute trip twice and an international trip (3 hour flight). So he's shattered and we need to make the move sooner rather than later. I am very nervous about it as I will be moving away from my parents and all my friends, but it needs to happen. We will have the new house from next week. It's in a small town outside the city DH will be working in, and it's up on a hill with views over a lake and the marina. The town has lots of young families and lots of Mammy groups etc. Hopefully this will work out really well for us!

 

[sunnyd]

I swear, every time I have a question, I just have to pop in here to find the answer. H will be 6 weeks on Saturday, and I think we're finally finding our groove.

She's very gassy like some of your babies! Anyone have experience with reflux here? It's mostly at night, which I know is just a fussy time in general, but she will cry and cry and makes this face like something gross tasting has come back into her mouth after she eats. No spit up, just the face while she screams. Once she poops or farts, she is able to be consoled. I'm going to pick up some Mylicon and see if the problem resolves itself. Maybe she's just "vurping"? I find it hard to bond with her some days because all she does is cry, eat and sleep! My niece is 8 months and is a very happy baby, so I feel like we're doing something wrong because H is so fussy. Just waiting for it to get better, I guess.

Here she is at one month! We don't know how much she weighs, since our next appointment isn't until 2 months, but she's outgrown her NB sleepers and onesies. Sad!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Sunny, E will also be 6 weeks on Saturday, and I could've written your post. Except E also spits up quite a bit in addition to he sour face. I also wish he seemed happier and not upset all the time. Surely it will get better! Hang in there!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all and your litte Turkeys!
F

 

[mayerling]

Sunny and MP, I know how you feel. When N was that age we would frequently get bouts of inconsolable crying. He eventually outgrew it. I know it's easy to say he'll outgrow it, and I was pretty inconsolable myself back then, but he really did outgrow it.

Buttons, how are the thrush pains? I too was told that the pains I'm STILL experiencing are due to inflammation left over from the thrush. After months on prescription painkillers I've decided to gradually stop BFing in hopes that the pain will go away.

Amc, I'm sorry that BFing has turned into such an ordeal. Are you thinking of weaning?

Monnie, wow, A is 6 months already? Time has flown.

Rachel and JGator, I'm sorry that BFing has been difficult.

Freke, is A 1 today or tomorrow? Happy birthday to her! I love your new set.

NEL, Katie has grown so much. I remember reading your posts about her as a newborn back when I was still pregnant and lurking on this thread.

Bobbin, we too are experiencing some pretty bad nights sleep-wise so I feel for you.

LC, how's E doing?

AFU, N is growing so fast. He's started sitting up for a few seconds at a time and is definitely getting interested in solids. He keeps watching us when we eat. I think I'll start him at 5 months which is only two weeks away! He's also started taking the bottle and we're halfway through the weaning process; as of tomorrow he'll be on 4 FF and 3 BF and he should be completely weaned by early December. He's also extremely long to the point where we've had to stop using the carrycot on our icandy cherry and we've had to start using the pushchair - in the reclined position. I'm a bit apprehensive because they say that the pushchair is only good from 6 months onwards, but we couldn't leave the poor boy in the carrycot all crammed in. His night sleep has been pretty crappy lately; he used to wake up around midnight and then again around 6am, but now he's thrown in an extra wake-up in-between; since he awakenings last for more than an hour, you can understand that I'm completely shattered these days.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Mayerling, the broken sleep is awful! I hope it gets better soon! And the long babies make it tough--I keep saying PS has extraordinarily long babies. I find it hard to find clothes that fit because K is so long, but not wide. Sounds like N will probably do well with solids once you transition!

Sunnyd, H is such a cutie! We had some mild reflux--K was diagnosed around 8 weeks. She never really spit up, but she was gassy (not sure if that was related) and fighting the bottle because it was probably uncomfortable with the reflux came back up her throat. The doctor suggested I add rice cereal to my breastmilk and we used acid reflux formula when I supplemented. It cleared up very quickly once she had thicker formula.

buttons, it sounds like you're in the midst of a huge transition right now--wishing you tons of luck! I know being away from family will be hard, but it's great that the new neighborhood has so many mom resources. I hope the move goes smoothly!

Monnie, sounds like A is doing great! This time of year is always stressful, but working long hours on top of the usual stress is no fun. I just feel like it's a blur until January.

Freke, the reset looks fabulous!! And happy 1st b-day to A!! She looks like quite the trooper on the plane! Did you guys get her own seat on the plane? We're flying next month and I'm afraid that having her on my lap the whole time is going to be a serious pain.

MP, sorry you're still having sleep issues. Not getting sleep gets very tiring, very fast. I wish I had some advice for you--I know you're doing the best you can. Unfortunately, I think you just have to keep pushing through--5 weeks is just so young that there is really not much that you can do except keep trying things that might work.

AFU, just came in to post a couple of pics. One is from T-giving (feeding her sweet potatoes) and one is from her 9 month b-day. A couple of things:

1. K now has her second ear infection in a month. And she's cutting 4 teeth at once. The doc asked how long she's been sick and I said "about 2 - 2.5 months". He said "she hasn't had one 'normal' day in 2 months?" and I said "nope". Seriously, there has not been a day in two months where she hasn't had a coughing fit, been congested or had a fever. Not always all three, but at least one. She still hasn't gotten her 9-month vaccines because she's always sick.

2. Hosted T-giving this year and it was great. Last T-giving when I was pregnant, I remember thinking how odd it was that this T-giving Katie would be eating mashed potatoes and gravy with us. Now this year I thought "maybe next T-giving I'll be pregnant again".

 

[amc80]

Well, I've made a decision that makes me giddy when I think about it. I'm going to stop pumping. Every time I do it it just makes mad. The time, effort, etc. The final straw was learning my pelvic floor wouldn't be able to fully heal while BFing. I love my little man and will gladly sacrifice for him...but having full control of my bladder sounds fantastic. So yeah, weaning has begun. B doesn't care, he sucks down formula like a champ.

 

[sunnyd]

AMC, sounds like that will be the best thing for you guys, good luck with the weaning!

NEL, thanks for the advice. We got gas drops yesterday and I don't know if they helped. We'll see! I still love your floors, and Katie is adorable, of course!

MP, I didn't realize our babies had the same birthday! Hang in there! Six week growth spurt kick in yet? H spent almost 4 hours eating yesterday. My poor boobs!

 

[Sha]

JGator, glad to see you on here. She's a doll! We have a gassy and spitting up baby lately too. He doesn't like being burped, but we always make sure to get a burp out of him. But then it seems there is always another one. He also has gas at the other end too I think. It's frustrating to see them so uncomfortable and not know what to do about it. I have tried the mylicon, but so far, I haven't noticed a difference. I may try gripe water....

amc, glad to hear B finally went down last night. Hope he is feeling better. We have the worst little sleeper, so I know how frustrating it is!

Buttons, sorry to hear about your aunt. Sending my thoughts your way!

NEL, glad to hear you are all feeling better. I dread our first illness. It's hard enough when everyone is healthy! Your comment about Katie's giggling made me so excited for the day E is doing that. So sweet.

Bobbin, I agree that's a really cute set-up and funny pictures. I took E's one month pictures last week, and I was horrible and staging the photo. I am going to have to be more creative next month.

LC, glad the pictures went well. You'll have to post them when you get a chance!

PPM, ugh, how frustrating.

Thank you Muff and Steph for the carrier information. I didn't realize that forward facing was so controversial, but that is good to know! I hope E likes being in a carrier. It's just too hard to get things done when he wants to be held all the time. I think I'm going to go with the Beco.

Another question for you all about sleep. I know, I know, 5 weeks is too young to expect a routine/schedule, but I feel like E's sleeping is getting more and more erratic. We don't get very long stretches of sleep out of him, and he just is so restless in the pack n play (whether or not he is swaddled). I wonder if we are doing something wrong. At night, we have ended up having to take shifts, so we make sure we both get sleep because the baby needs to be held so much because he wakes up shortly after we lay him down. I was just hoping, we would be getting consistent 3-4 hour stretches of real sleep out of him at this point. I have 7 more weeks of maternity leave, and I'm really hoping that he is at least able to do that before I go back to work. Any advice?

Also, I still haven't figured out his hunger cues. I usually feed him about every three to four hours, but it is not because he gives clear signs. Anyone else have that problem?

Hi mp, sorry about the sleep troubles. Just delurking to say that my LO woke every hour and a half from birth till 6 months old. She only started sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at 6 months, when we let her cry it out a bit (instead of going in to soothe her whenever she woke). The first 6 months were really tough and I was really sleep deprived until the 6 month mark, so I can imagine how you feel too. It's hard. Even though some babies sleep longer stretches at 5 weeks, I think, in general that you can still expect a baby's sleep to be erratic at this age. Hopefully it'll get easier as he gets older. Actually, everything gets easier as you go along. When my LO was born (back in 2009) I was very disillusioned and 'blah' about motherhood for the first few months or so. It was a huge adjustment and very, very tedious and tiring. I found myself questioning, "Is motherhood really what it's cracked up to be? Am I missing something?" But as time went on things got easier and I began to enjoy my LO more and more. She's going to be 3 this week and she's an absolute joy- I can't imagine my life without her! So hang on...things will get better and easier. It's just that the first few months are really, really tough.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Sha, thanks for the support. It helps to hear others had similar struggles early on. If only babies came with an instruction manual E has had a few good nights. No more than 3 hour stretches at a time usually, but we'll take whatever progress we can make. I know that these sleeping issues won't last forever, even though it kind of feels that way right now! I'm so glad your daughter brings you so much joy. I'm really hoping you get to experience it all again sometime soon!

I'm loving all the cute baby pictures. Here's a picture of E from this weekend. I can't believe he is already 6 weeks old. He's a lot more alert and active these days.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend!

 

[FrekeChild]

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes! We drove to LA and hung out with A's 17 year old cousin and her Grandpa for her birthday and went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. We ordered her a brownie sundae thing and she did NOT like being the unexpected center of attention. She was scowling like crazy at the candles while they were singing.

The next day we went to the beach, which she hated. Lol. Go figure. Anytime she gets anything on her hands, she kind of freaks out and holds her hands out to me until I clean them off. So sand was a disaster. Eh well.

Freke, the reset looks fabulous!! And happy 1st b-day to A!! She looks like quite the trooper on the plane! Did you guys get her own seat on the plane? We're flying next month and I'm afraid that having her on my lap the whole time is going to be a serious pain.

For this trip, we got her her own seat, but that's because it was a 4 hour flight (nonstop LA to Chicago). If it's a long flight, I totally recommend getting her her own seat, so both you guys and she can have your own space.

Let me tell you though, I think that layovers may be the best thing ever. When we go back to NM for Christmas, we're doing a layover in Phoenix because there aren't any straight shot flights from here to Albuquerque anyway, but also, she really needs the break and chance to stretch her legs. Plus a change of scenery is always nice too.

The reasoning behind the nonstop flight to Chicago was because we had to drive into LA before we even got onto the plane (2 hour drive) and then we just wanted to get there as soon as possible since it was already a 4 hour flight! If we'd had a 2 hour drive + waiting around for a plane for an hour + 2 hour flight + 2 hour layover + 2 hour flight? Ugh...

 

[amc80]

MP- Just chiming in to say that what you're going through sounds normal. B didn't sleep longer than two hours or so until 6-8 weeks. It's just now, at almost four months, that he will regularly go five or so hours. Anything more than that is rare.

As for B, I finally took him to the doctor. He's been congested for a few weeks and started with a cough over the weekend. The doc thinks he has a sinus infection. In other news, he weighs 16lbs 6oz and is 26 inches long. Not bad for 15 weeks....