PP chat for Mon 5/18-Wed 5/20

[fairymom]

Ok ladies I got just a few anwers about a daily or every few day chat thread.. so I thought I'd start a 3 day thread. Hope no one minds. IMO it may be easier to keep up w/this way. We were at 7 pgs last week!

GO!!!!!!!!:

[BennyPai]

India is 3 weeks today!!! It has gone by so fast. From my experience with my first two, time seems to fly as soon as that cord falls off.

Maybe I just feel this way because DP and I have agreed that 3 is our final number and this is our last newborn. She weighed in at 12 pounds this morning and already feels big to me. MW commented on how heavy she felt yesterday. I am happy that she is gaining well and healthy but I feel like my newborn is transforming right before my eyes.

I'm trying to enjoy each minute: she is such a sweet baby, like my first two. :Grins and snuggles - so sleepy and DP and I love it when she is milk-drunk. She just lets those arms hang at her sides when we burp her after she nurses. I started calling her flopsy.

ETA: I'd love to keep the threads at 3 days instead of weekly! It's so much easier to join the conversation when there are less pages to catch up on ...

[michanders4]

3 day chats work for me, thanks !

BennyPai - I know what you mean! This is my first and I have been so sentmental the whole time. Cooper is one month old today!

More later!

[goodmomma76]

Originally Posted by goodmomma76

Peony-thanks. I'll wait for her to eat again, and pump right after. I just hope there's enough for her today. She seems to get frustrated when it gets lower and she has to work more for it.

Nancy I thought of you the other day when I was talking to an aquaintence of mine. Her ds was born a week before mine, and she tried and tried to BF him, and he just wouldn't do it. So she had been pumping for him. The LC told her to put him to the breast twice per day, and have him try, it would increase her supply and he would have the opportunity to try...anyway, she'd been doing that for 4 weeks, and one day he just latched on and she's been BF ever since. I don't know if any of that's helpful or not, I don't want to be discouraging, but I thought I would pass it along...

I am supposed to go to work today...instead I am sitting here on MDC and thinking about starting a blog...lol

oops, posted in the old thread...moving it here

[nancy11]

Originally Posted by goodmomma76

oops, posted in the old thread...moving it here

Zack had no problem latching, but since he lost so much weight and needed supplementing, he got used to a bottle fast. Then he would be frustrated with me and also somewhat aggressive.

He is still an aggressive eater. He slowed down some recently, but still takes an ounce more than l can pump. I'm happy with the bottle these days. It's just hard to imagine pumping for six months, and I hate that I have to buy formula.

Meh. He's healthy. I can't complain. He seems happy, too. A pretty content little guy... as long as he's not hungry!

[Peony]

I finally got around to introducing the bottle to Julian this morning. I hate the pump and figured I'd never break it out if left to my own devices so I just hand expressed. He gulped it all down in a matter of a 2 minutes and was staring at me waiting for more. I've never had a child that would actually take the bottle so this feels huge. I might be able to actually get away from him before he is 1.5 years old unlike my other children! DD1 asked if she could feed him so I'll express some more tomorrow and let her.

ETA: And I attempted to exercise this morning. I got 10 minutes before the toddler sitting on top of me while I tried to do pilates won and I gave up. Besides, I think that was all my poor stomach muscles could take. I got motivated when I stepped on the scale yesterday and realized that I had only lost 20 lbs. Sigh, 22 left to go. If I'm lucky maybe it will all be gone by the time he is 9 months old.

[ShineliketheSon]

Originally Posted by BennyPai

India is 3 weeks today!!! It has gone by so fast. From my experience with my first two, time seems to fly as soon as that cord falls off.

Maybe I just feel this way because DP and I have agreed that 3 is our final number and this is our last newborn. She weighed in at 12 pounds this morning and already feels big to me. MW commented on how heavy she felt yesterday. I am happy that she is gaining well and healthy but I feel like my newborn is transforming right before my eyes.

I'm trying to enjoy each minute: she is such a sweet baby, like my first two. :Grins and snuggles - so sleepy and DP and I love it when she is milk-drunk. She just lets those arms hang at her sides when we burp her after she nurses. I started calling her flopsy.

ETA: I'd love to keep the threads at 3 days instead of weekly! It's so much easier to join the conversation when there are less pages to catch up on ...

3 weeks today too! I agree to all the above...savoring every moment of this newborn stage! Even when I was up most of the night to a wide awake girl! We used the crib next to bed...LO slept somewhat in it but ended up right next to me sometime. We didn't sleep much last night anyway as LO decided to just be wide awake starting at 11pm (right when I got into bed) and finally slept from 12-2 then up from 2-5. UGH!

LO had a green poo last night but it's been yellow so far today. She also started spitting up and has to be burped after nursing soooo no more nursing to sleep sidelaying

[MaryTheres]

iron and constipation

Someone posted on the last thread that they are on iron and therefore getting constipated... get Floradix iron pills (they sell it in liquid but it is beyond nasty - yuck, get the pills) .... It is truly non-constipating... good stuff

[emmaegbert]

so... OMG... my almost 3-week-old went to sleep around 8PM last night, woke at 10 to nurse, briefly at 11 to nurse and settle back to sleep, then slept until 3:20 AM when she woke to nurse, on and off until about 4:30, and then slept until 6:40AM (when we had to get up to make breakfast and get the guys off to work/school)

Seems too good to be true but maybe she'll really be sleeping good chunks of the night soon?? With the exception of one (horrid!) night she's already been sleeping from about 11 or 12 until 4, then back to sleep until everyone else gets up... Sunday she actually slept until 7:30, which is a LATE morning wake-up in our house.

Tomorrow we have a 3week PP weight check at the MW office (her weight gain was less during week 2 than we would have liked to see) so if she's back to gaining weight well I'll be very happy with the prospect of getting a decent amount of sleep at night. If she's NOT gaining well I guess I'll be worried instead that she's too lethargic. Sigh.

[BennyPai]

Irrational worrying / hormonal issues vent

Warning: Vent. Feel free to ignore; I just need to get it off my chest.

I haven't mentioned this before here, but after India's cord fell off at around 1 week there was a little red protrusion from her belly button. Turns out to be an umbilical granuloma. I am supposed to keep it dry and apply her cord care powder. I've also read that you can apply table salt but I haven't tried that yet.
I have been reassured by what I've found online and what MW has said, but still am going to be a little worried until it's gone.
I couldn't even see it when we saw MW yesterday, but when I was changing babe today, there it was, red as ever. It was hiding behind her skin. She has such a small belly button opening we just didn't see it yesterday. There was a little blood when I changed her a while ago and of couse it worried me even though I've read that it is normal.
Why must I still worry every time I change her diaper????
And this morning in the 8 o'clock hour I had a hormonal episode: almost a straight hour of crying brought on by dd peeing in our a/c vent and telling me tearfully that she wishes we could go back to before baby was born. My eyes are still swollen and a friend will be coming by soon to drop off the grocery items she picked up for me. I know PP hormones do this, but still I feel ridiculous.

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by BennyPai

And this morning in the 8 o'clock hour I had a hormonal episode: almost a straight hour of crying brought on by dd peeing in our a/c vent and telling me tearfully that she wishes we could go back to before baby was born. My eyes are still swollen and a friend will be coming by soon to drop off the grocery items she picked up for me. I know PP hormones do this, but still I feel ridiculous.

I can relate on the hormonal episodes. I'm sorry you're having a rough time. If venting helps, by all means come in and vent! Better to get those feelings out in the open than bottle them up and have them explode.

Originally Posted by fruitful womb

to you AFwife. I remember being a first time mom thinking the exact same thing over lack of sleep. It can be rough. Hope you're getting some rest during the day when he naps.

Cool about the smile! Thats awesome!

We ended up taking a LONG nap together yesterday. He's also sleeping better at night now. I think the combination of a new place and dairy issues made sleeping hard on him.

Originally Posted by MelW

AFWife. I hope you get some good sleep soon- parenting with two parents will feel like a breeze after this!

I actually mentioned this to DH yesterday. Once he gets here I'll be able to pump and sleep in at least one day a week or something. And having him around for support will help so much!


Question: For those that do offer a bottle, how much is your LO eating? I gave mine 1.5oz the other day and he sucked it down. MIL implied that he had eaten a lot and I looked surprised and said, "I've seen him eat at least 4-5oz at a time before..." Then it was HER turn to look surprised. She said, "You'll have to put him on food early." Apparently, that's what happened with DH. He was eating so much so often that she didn't think her supply was enough. Her mom told her to put him on cereal at 3 or 4 months old...and she did. I'm not planning on following in her footsteps...I was just curious how much your LOs eat in a sitting?

We're getting a schedule down!!! We wake up, eat, and then he takes a pretty good sized nap. He'll be awake for a few hours (usually nursing every now and then) and he'll nap. Awake for a few more hours (these awake times there's an occasional 15min nap in there) and then it's bedtime. He'll sleep for 3 hour jags at a time and usually only wake up to eat and be changed.

I think we're ready to start tackling EC!!! Well, I'm reading "Infant Potty Training" and feeling confident about it. I'm at least ready to start watching for cues and offering pottytunities. He's cued when he needs to poop from day one (usually grunting while eating...he's started crying occasionally but I think that's from the last bits of dairy in his system) Pee is something I'll need to watch.

On the dairy situation: I'm starting day 4 of no obvious dairy. I don't read all the labels but I don't eat milk or cheese. He seems to be feeling better. He's not nearly as gassy and he's sleeping better. So, looks like mommy is just going to have to suck it up and not do dairy for awhile.

Oh, anyone have a good remedy for FLEAS? It's not mosquitoes like I thought (unless there's a swarm I'm not seeing) The bites are numerous and clustered. They haven't gone after him (he must get that from his daddy) but I'm dying over here!

I can't believe he's going to be 5 weeks old this week! Ugh, time is already going by too fast!

[Lindsay1234]

Wow! All the babies are growing up so fast!!!!

Benny - I literally eel my hormones changing minute by minute, I definitely understand!!!! And I LOVE milk-drunk babies!!!!!!

Michelle - I literally cane believe Cooper is a month old, time flies!!!

goodmomma - Im taking that tip too! Dd2 is about to be able to start eating and Im collecting as many tips and tricks as I can!

Nancy - I supplemented with dd1 too. SHe was losing weight and I just didnt make enough milk! 7 yrs later, shes healthy happy and STILL hungry!

Peony - how cute is it that dd1 wants to help with the feedings! as for exercise, Ill live vicariously through you if you dont mind!

Shine - I love when dd2 is awake! Just looking into those eyes makes the sleeplessness worth it!

marytherese - I saw floradix at the local co-op but havent seen it at a major grocery, have you?

emma - my dd1 slept a lot when she was a newborn, it was awesome, some kids just do that I guess!! Hopefully yours will be one of them!

afwife - Franklin is a month old an you have a schedule?! Yes!!! Sorry about the dairy, I hope you dont have to eliminate much more from your diet. Do you or your dh have food allergies? And for fleas, I know a sprinkle of borax works for ants, maybe fleas too?!

I forgot to write about me! I have been CRAZY sleepy lately, taking naps in between pumping and sleeping 6 hrs a night(I literally cant wake up to pump). I know that I have a busier life now but DANG Im tired. And dd2 isnt even here with me, how am I going to handle having a newborn?
Pumping is NOT going well but Im going to try some tips from that video Melw posted and hopefully itll get better. Has anyone used that domperidone (whatever its called) for more BM? Im considering asking for it, at least while Im pumping, when dd2 comes home (in a few weeks) hopefully my supply will increase!

[nancy11]

<< going back to softball this week!

[MaryTheres]

Lindsay, I haven't seen it at major grocery stores but Vitamin Shoppe carries it and if they do not have it (or if they do not have it in pill-form) they will order it in for you. You can get it on the internet too

[wobblykate]

Eden's sleeping happily in her swing! I couldn't get her to go to sleep nursing like usual b/c she was waking whenever I moved. But she wasn't crying, so I put her in the swing and sat in front of it where she could see me until she fell asleep! Now I have laundry to do (so, obviously, here I am!).

She took an ounce and a half from dh in a bottle yesterday. We got the more human-shaped nipples and that worked pretty well.

I figured out that I have an oversupply issue. I guess it's not typical for milk to forcefully spray out and babies to be gagging and sputtering. I just didn't think of it. Anyhow, I went to LLL website and searched for foremilk/hindmilk imbalance (Eden's been having green poopies) and it said that one of the main causes is oversupply and had a list of symptoms of oversupply and they fit me to a T. So now I'm feeding her a full 2 hours on one side (and she'll eat 3-4 times in 2 hours if she's awake, another symptom of not getting enough hindmilk) before switching, regardless of whether she seems to have "finished" and pops off the breast. I just feel so bad for her because by the time she gets to my really over-active boob it is totally too much pressure and it takes her awhile to get it under control. But the theory is that the over-fullness will trigger your body to produce less milk because, obviously, baby doesn't need it. We'll see. If it gets too bad I might pump it off and give it to her in a bottle. Although I don't know if she'll take a bottle from me. Is it a bad idea for moms to give the bottle? Will it affect bfing relationship. DD seems to really have gotten bfing down well and will actually latch herself now (if I let her, it's kinda scary!) and does a pretty good job.

I've really got to get some work done and I don't have a lot of time to respond to posts, but Bennypai . I'm thinking of you, and of AFWife. On the fleas, wash everything you can in hot water and stick the rest in the dryer, vacuum the rug. If there's an animal in the house make sure your in-laws have treated it with Advantage or something. We had a couple of flea bites when dd was 2 weeks old and we changed our sheets, vacuumed and had our roomate treat his cat and we haven't had anything since. GL! Fleas can be really hard to get rid of.

[MI_Dawn]

Originally Posted by wobblykate

But the theory is that the over-fullness will trigger your body to produce less milk because, obviously, baby doesn't need it.

I used vitamin B6 to help with engorgement after William was born. It really seemed to help. I've seen it suggested on some sites to help with oversupply as well. Also sage. And cabbage leaves.

[AFWife]

nak

Originally Posted by Lindsay1234

afwife - Franklin is a month old an you have a schedule?! Yes!!! Sorry about the dairy, I hope you dont have to eliminate much more from your diet. Do you or your dh have food allergies? And for fleas, I know a sprinkle of borax works for ants, maybe fleas too?!

Well, leave it to Frankie to make a liar out of me! He's been sleeping like mad today. I keep waking him up (or trying) because I'd like to sleep tonight! My guess is that we hit a growth spurt the past few days and now we're recovering...
We have Mule TeamBorax I'm going to sprinkle around the bed

Originally Posted by wobblykate

I'm thinking of you, and of AFWife. On the fleas, wash everything you can in hot water and stick the rest in the dryer, vacuum the rug. If there's an animal in the house make sure your in-laws have treated it with Advantage or something. We had a couple of flea bites when dd was 2 weeks old and we changed our sheets, vacuumed and had our roomate treat his cat and we haven't had anything since. GL! Fleas can be really hard to get rid of.

It's been a constant problem for months. And MIL seriously cleaned the room for us before we got back...

[wobblykate]

Originally Posted by MI_Dawn

I used vitamin B6 to help with engorgement after William was born. It really seemed to help. I've seen it suggested on some sites to help with oversupply as well. Also sage. And cabbage leaves.

thanks!

AFW, sorry about the fleas

on sleeping, I find that w/dd daytime sleep doesn't always correlate w/nite sleep. @ times eden will sleep all day and all night with what seems like short waking periods. hope that's so for you 2day

nak (obviously)

[emmaegbert]

Originally Posted by wobblykate

So now I'm feeding her a full 2 hours on one side (and she'll eat 3-4 times in 2 hours if she's awake, another symptom of not getting enough hindmilk) before switching, regardless of whether she seems to have "finished" and pops off the breast. I just feel so bad for her because by the time she gets to my really over-active boob it is totally too much pressure and it takes her awhile to get it under control. But the theory is that the over-fullness will trigger your body to produce less milk because, obviously, baby doesn't need it. We'll see.

I didn't know about this from reading or anything, but figured out that it was what worked w/ my son, and it did seem to help us out, and got my body to regulate better. By the time he was 4 mos (I know that probably still sounds super far away but truly it isn't!) I didn't even leak like crazy any more and my let-down calmed down a lot. Now... this girl is so far a bit of a lazy nurser so its a different thing, she falls asleep before she's finished nursing. Sigh. At least I know I can make plenty of milk so I'm not going to give up on her.

And, when you get to the full boob, you can also just hand express a little into a towel or burpcloth or something, and that will soften the nipple and the breast. (and it doesn't sound like you need to worry about collecting every little bit of milk, since you've got more than enough supply-wise).

(I'm not an LC or LLL person or anything, this is just what I figured out on my own with a similar problem last time I was nursing. And it all really does regulate and get better as the baby gets older.)

[MelW]

Originally Posted by Lindsay1234

I forgot to write about me! I have been CRAZY sleepy lately, taking naps in between pumping and sleeping 6 hrs a night(I literally cant wake up to pump). I know that I have a busier life now but DANG Im tired. And dd2 isnt even here with me, how am I going to handle having a newborn?
Pumping is NOT going well but Im going to try some tips from that video Melw posted and hopefully itll get better. Has anyone used that domperidone (whatever its called) for more BM? Im considering asking for it, at least while Im pumping, when dd2 comes home (in a few weeks) hopefully my supply will increase!

I haven't taken domperidone, but it's the usual drug used to increase milk supply here in Canada. I've had lots of clients that took it, and most with good effects. Jack Newman's website has the best information I've seen about dosing, etc. It has way less side effects than reglan.

BennyPai

I can't remember who asked about the bottle, but we've tried with Nora a few times, and now that she's figured it out she'll take about 4 oz. I think that's pretty typical?

We're having a growth spurt! Since early this morning Nora has been feeding much more. She's much less fussy than yesterday and actually nursing to sleep when she's tired instead of screaming! I had a rough night last night, but got a two hour nap this morning and feel much better.