PP Chat Thread - June 1-7 - Page 5

[the_lissa]

I never pay attention to how often my babies nursed either. As long as they are gaining, peeing, and pooping, I'm good.

Addie and I have thrush. This is the first time in more than 5 years of bf that I have got thrush.

Addie weighs 11lbs, 8 ozs today. Gaining a pound a week like my first two.

[kriket]

Originally Posted by KatieJD

Don't watch the clock with his feedings, seriously. You will drive yourself insane.

OMG totally. for some reason I am obsessed with when hes eating. plus people always ask, i feel silly telling them "um... when hes hungry?"

Originally Posted by KatieJD

Extra gasiness like you describe really makes me suspect something in your diet. That was the first indication to me that DS has a problem with dairy and soy, combined with excessive crying of course. I know the idea of an elimination diet doesn't sound so great but it may help, JMO.

tell me more about this. DS onlt poops like every other day, and its a blow out! but he farts non stop and grunts/ stiffens his legs / gets the fart-face on but he doesn't cry. he just sits there thinking really hard about his farts.

what is it about dairy? i'm lactose intolerant, so i drink lactose free milk, and i'm afraid of soy. to be totally honest, i don't have the money to do an elimination diet. i get WIC so they give us a million pounds of milk/cheese so thats what i have to eat. and lentils like they are going out of style.

[the_lissa]

It isn't the lactose. It is the cow milk proteins. I had to cut way down on dairy with my first, and I am seeing if dairy is the culprit for Adelaide's green poops and gassy/pain periods.

[~Katie~]

Dairy sensitivity basically has to do with a babe's inability to digest the proteins found in cow's milk, as Lissa said it usually doesn't have anything to do with lactose. If you are eating excessive amounts of milk products it could be contributing to the gasiness. With DS he would pass a lot of gas and it would smell awful as well. A true food sensitivity usually takes time to develop with more exposure to whatever kind of food it is, so its best to identify it early on to avoid a potential food allergy. I couldn't do soy either, and had to be really careful about reading labels to make sure it wasn't in anything. I ended up switching to almond milk. He was finally able to deal with eating milk products around 18 months.

[pinkersmommy]

So Aria has large Fontanells, the anterior and posterior are contencted by the open sutures on her skull. Normally the surtures are closed, and her anterior is large, with her posterior being the size of what the anterior should be.
The pedi told me to watch them and come back if they get bigger. They arent bulging or sunken. So i went home and googled it, its all bad. Not the end of the world, but not a good thing either. Nothing i have read says it could be totally normal. I am so freaked out.
We dont have any birth defects or mental retardation in the family.
I dont know it could be just her, it could be a fluke in her chroms. Who knows.
Any one heard or experianced this?

[Asher]

For those not looking to get pg again anytime soon, what are you all going to do about birth control? I don't want anything hormonal like the pill or the patch, we would rather not use condoms, and I''m allergic to spermicide, so all I'm left with seems to be the copper IUD or charting. So what are you all doing?

DH is getting fixed. We're not having sex again until he is fixed and gets a clean sample. And yes, I'm serious. We've been through this before and I never stuck with it and he obviously never got fixed so that's it. He made his choice. (I was going to get my tubes tied if I'd ended up with a c-section, but I don't think I should have to go through a major surgery otherwise to get fixed when it's way easier and safer for him to do it.)

NO MORE BABIES FOR ME! We are entirely too fertile to have sex and not expect to get pregnant, regardless of what form of BC that we use, as proven by our prior history.

[ScootchsMom]

Originally Posted by pinkersmommy

So Aria has large Fontanells, the anterior and posterior are contencted by the open sutures on her skull. Normally the surtures are closed, and her anterior is large, with her posterior being the size of what the anterior should be.
The pedi told me to watch them and come back if they get bigger. They arent bulging or sunken. So i went home and googled it, its all bad. Not the end of the world, but not a good thing either. Nothing i have read says it could be totally normal. I am so freaked out.
We dont have any birth defects or mental retardation in the family.
I dont know it could be just her, it could be a fluke in her chroms. Who knows.
Any one heard or experianced this?

No idea, but hugs! I would get a second opinion since sometimes peds tend to see things that aren't really a problem, KWIM?

Originally Posted by Asher

DH is getting fixed. We're not having sex again until he is fixed and gets a clean sample. And yes, I'm serious. We've been through this before and I never stuck with it and he obviously never got fixed so that's it. He made his choice. (I was going to get my tubes tied if I'd ended up with a c-section, but I don't think I should have to go through a major surgery otherwise to get fixed when it's way easier and safer for him to do it.)

NO MORE BABIES FOR ME! We are entirely too fertile to have sex and not expect to get pregnant, regardless of what form of BC that we use, as proven by our prior history.

We talked about permanent stuff, DP is willing to get snipped but I am afraid to take that permanent step, lol. They asked me about 8 billion times if I wanted my tubes tied while I was getting my c-section so I could have done it than, but I've heard some bad stories about side effects from having it done. Much less risk for the guy it seems.

I'll be talking to the OB when I go back in 4 weeks, but the problem is my insurance is getting cut off July 31st (state maternity insurance program) and I won't have the money for an IUD after that if that is what we are going to do. So I have to kind of make a decision soon and its frustrating me :

[catilina]

There was a lot in the last page I wanted to respond to. Let's see if I can remember all I wanted to say... Forgive the fuzzy mommy memory!

CookAMH, rooting is a reflex so sometimes even when baby is not hungry he will root. Both my DS and DD (who is now 3 weeks old) would root anytime something was near their mouth. Putting DD up on my shoulder is guaranteed to make her root, even when her belly is full. Same goes for when I put her up to my chest to wrap her. She seems to root around an extra lot when she is really tired. Sometimes when she is really tired and I wrap her I have to turn her head to the side and hold it there while I pat her back until she falls asleep, otherwise she just tries to eat my shirt (even after a full feeding). To burp DD, instead of putting her up on my shoulder, I sit her up, lean her forward, and cradle her chin in my hand while patting her back with my other hand. This gets the air out but doesn't cue her rooting and frustrate her (and me!). DS had times like you are describing with your DS, where he seemed to want to eat (or suck at least), but would get really upset when I tried to feed him. He wouldn't take a pacifier and only wanted me, but would get really mad when my milk let down. It thankfully only lasted a few days, maybe a week or two at the most. During those times what worked for DS was either a warm bath or my DH would hold him and and walk with him, rocking him up and down in his arms.

And I agree with what everyone else has said about not watching the clock for his feedings. He'll eat what he wants when he's hungry. Try not to worry too much about how long he nurses for, or if he takes both sides. DS never took both sides at a feeding after my milk came in until my cycles returned (about 14 months post-partum) and my supply dropped. DD occasionally will take both sides now, but usually she is done after one side. It's hard not to worry, especially when everyone always asks about how often and how much they are eating, but really try not to pay too much attention to a "schedule" this soon.

pinkersmommy, I don't know anything about the fontanels issue, but try not to freak yourself out. I have learned that nothing good ever comes from me googling medical issues! My midwife mentioned something to me in passing at one appointment about a possible issue I had, and I went home and googled it, and it totally devastated me! It turned out to not even be an issue and I had totally worked myself up over nothing. Everything is so gloom and doom when you google those kinds of things. Try not to stress too much until you figure out what is really going on...

For those dealing with possible food sensitivies, the easiest thing to do is an elimination diet (okay, so it's not easy, but it is worth it to figure out what's happening). Your baby could be reacting to something you are eating, or it could just be trying to get its own system worked out. I tend to agree with what kellymom says, that true food sensitivities tend to be a lot rarer than most people think. If you find something your baby reacts to, of course cut it out, but if not, eat what you want (healthfully of course). Some babies just need more time for their digestive systems to mature. I did several serious elimination diets with DS and nothing made a difference. It turned out he just had reflux. Nothing that caused him to lose weight or have any real discomfort (other than right before he spit up), but he spit up a TON, all the time. I get so tired of people telling breastfeeding women they can't eat spicey foods, or to avoid cabbage, or whatever, because most of the time it's just not true, and I think that really makes nursing seem like more trouble than it has to be. Like I said, if you find something that your baby reacts negatively to, of course don't eat it. But otherwise, you really can eat what you like and still be successful at breastfeeding your baby... Okay, done with my tangent.

For those asking about birth control options, not sure what we'll do here. We've used condoms for the past...7 years I think? because we both hate hormonal birth control and what it does to my body. We won't ever use anything hormonal again. We're thinking about the copper IUD this time around, but I haven't done a lot of research into it yet, so I don't know. I don't hate condoms, but they do make everything less pleasurable for me, since they tend to dry me out and I don't like all the friction they cause. We'll probably just stick with condoms unless I find some compelling research to turn me on to the copper IUD (and as an aside, anyone know if you can use a copper IUD with a Diva Cup, because there is no way I am going back to tampons or pads, ever...?).

[Asher]

Did any of you guys go for a two week check up? I'm going tomorrow (it'll be close to 3wks) and am wondering what they do at that appointment. I told DH that he needed to go with me, but if they're not going to do an internal, I may not make him. I'm hoping they won't! Bleeding has stopped completely and my only complaint is a headahe almost every day since I've had him (and weeks before then), but not sre that they can do anything about it.

[the_lissa]

My midwife did a home visit. She doesn't do any internals except at the 6 week visit if the clientw ants a pap, but otherwise no. But then, I don't know of any obs who do any visits except the 6 week one, so I don't know what to expect there.

[CookAMH]

Originally Posted by catilina

CookAMH, rooting is a reflex so sometimes even when baby is not hungry he will root. Both my DS and DD (who is now 3 weeks old) would root anytime something was near their mouth. Putting DD up on my shoulder is guaranteed to make her root, even when her belly is full. Same goes for when I put her up to my chest to wrap her. She seems to root around an extra lot when she is really tired. Sometimes when she is really tired and I wrap her I have to turn her head to the side and hold it there while I pat her back until she falls asleep, otherwise she just tries to eat my shirt (even after a full feeding). To burp DD, instead of putting her up on my shoulder, I sit her up, lean her forward, and cradle her chin in my hand while patting her back with my other hand. This gets the air out but doesn't cue her rooting and frustrate her (and me!). DS had times like you are describing with your DS, where he seemed to want to eat (or suck at least), but would get really upset when I tried to feed him. He wouldn't take a pacifier and only wanted me, but would get really mad when my milk let down. It thankfully only lasted a few days, maybe a week or two at the most. During those times what worked for DS was either a warm bath or my DH would hold him and and walk with him, rocking him up and down in his arms.

And I agree with what everyone else has said about not watching the clock for his feedings. He'll eat what he wants when he's hungry. Try not to worry too much about how long he nurses for, or if he takes both sides. DS never took both sides at a feeding after my milk came in until my cycles returned (about 14 months post-partum) and my supply dropped. DD occasionally will take both sides now, but usually she is done after one side. It's hard not to worry, especially when everyone always asks about how often and how much they are eating, but really try not to pay too much attention to a "schedule" this soon.

Thanks for all that and thanks to the others for comments too. I had a good talk with the post partum nurse from the birth center (also a lactation consulatnt). I see what you are saying about not watching the clock. Her advice to me was to not count the hours of sleep I got so I'll try that, and while I feed on demand and don't hold DS off if it hasn't been three hours or whatever, I see what you mean about not watching how long he ate or how recently he ate. I do believe this is a phase and feel more encouraged in talking here and talking to the nurse today. We also talked about his rash and she believed it's yeast based on what I described (bumps in the creases of his legs now). She said for whatever treatment we're doing, keep at it for 14 days even if the rash is gone.

That's helpful about the rooting reflex, the nurse mentioned something similar. We may try what you did with an alternate position for burping that won't trigger that and frustrate us all.

[OceansEve]

Hey ladies hopefully I'll have some time to catch up on the thread tonight, just wanted to get on real quick and ask a Q - Anyone's babe not look at them much? Anna is 3 weeks tomorrow and she makes a point to look at anything but me, even if I get right in her face.



Dairy - Just picked up a bit o0f the conversation, I'll go back and read it tonight, but If I ate dairy w/ DD2 she broke out and cried a lot. She was always cranky even as she got older till we switched her to raw skim milk. She turned into a totally different kid.

[lightheartedmom]

Originally Posted by the_lissa

It isn't the lactose. It is the cow milk proteins. I had to cut way down on dairy with my first, and I am seeing if dairy is the culprit for Adelaide's green poops and gassy/pain periods.

The green poops caught my attention. You may have already tried this...but with my first, this happened and I was so alarmed, I called the lactation consultant (to see if it was something I was eating). She said it was actually caused by the baby getting too much foremilk and not enough hind milk (foremilk being watery and sugary and causes gas apparently). Since I had hyperlactation, this kind of fit...what helped us was pumping an ounce or two off right before nursing made it go away.

Sure enough with Chloe, the day after my milk came in (in giant, boob-busting torrents), she started getting gassy and making frothy green poops. Pumping helped again this time and things have regulated themselves to the point now where I don't need to pump any more.

It also helps to nurse repeatedly on the same side (ie - 2-3x on right and then 2-3x on left, vs left-right-left-right).

[the_lissa]

You are absolutely right, but I don't think it is a foremilk imbalance in my case because I already block nurse because I had oversupply and oal with my first two, so it is second nature for me, but that is good information to put out there.

[JD5351]

Had a speedbump with nursing...Trying to overcome that...Got frustrated when he wouldn't latch..He was screaming and crying and wouldn't latch, and got a bit too comfortable giving him a bottle..Now having issues getting him to latch on..Sweetie went and bought me a pump today...Going to see if that helps increase production, and hopefully will be able pump successfully before I go back to work in 8 weeks..Then I won't feel like such a jerk using bottles.

I've nursed him tons today...I plan on keeping it up from now on.

Been having some issues at night with sleeping...I know he's not going to sleep all night long, but I'd like him to sleep for more than 20 mins at a time. We've been trying to keep him awake more during the day and it's helping.

[jenneology]

Originally Posted by ScootchsMom

Umbilical cord - DS still hasn't lost his, he's 2 weeks old. DD's took a REALLY long time to come off as well. I think I might try that Goldenseal stuff, can I get it at the health food store or is it something I need to order online?

You could probably find it at a health food store or a natural supplements place. It doesn't hurt to ask, but as a pp mama, I'd totally call them first before going in. I don't call it lazy. I call it economical.

Originally Posted by j_p_i

She is wicked peely though, her poor skin looks awful. Her face looks fine, just peeling a little bit, but her body is peeling quite a bit. They told me this would happen before I left the hospital because she was so late. Also, her fingernails are super long, and I am scared to cut them. I wish I'd thought to do it before my mom left.

I've got a peely baby too. I'm using coconut oil for massages and it helps. And fingernails are a topic that scare me too. There's the bite them off using your teeth method, but that also scares me. With my first I learned the trick of doing it when she's sleeping. That works for a while until they start waking up and getting upset that you're messing with their hands.

On the birth control question, I will rely on lactational amenhorea and FAM. I won't chart until she's sleeping through the night but I'll be watching other signs. It worked with Chunka. I was completely afertile longer than I wanted to be. I hope it will work this time too.

[ColoradoMama]

Originally Posted by Asher

NO MORE BABIES FOR ME! We are entirely too fertile to have sex and not expect to get pregnant, regardless of what form of BC that we use, as proven by our prior history.

Yep - same here. This little angel was conceived while we were using two forms of barrier birth control. I hate it that our best option is surgery for dh - hate it, but I swear, if he sneezes near me when I'm ovulating, I get pregnant. I've been pregnant 8 times! So, dh is getting snipped.

pinkersmommy - I'm sorry you're having so much stress with the fontanel issue. I wish I knew something about it. Like catilina said, searching medical issues will only freak you out. You can find out all the bad stuff by doing that.

The fingernail cutting scares me, too, and this baby is #5! With #4, I cut his little fingers when I cut his nails. It broke my heart! Didn't bother him in the slightest though. I still haven't cut T's though, and she'll be two weeks tomorrow. I'm going to have to break down and do it soon though.

[~Katie~]

Didn't see the BC question. I'm a FAM user as well. I was only able to rely on breastfeeding until 5 months with DS when AF returned, but I was able to chart my very first ovulation by carefully observing signs of fertility and sure enough, 8 days later AF arrived. I use OPK's as backup while charting just in case but I won't be doing that while DH is gone. I've used hormonal birth control in the past with horrible results, including 2 years of not ovulating and going through a battery of tests until somehow miraculously DS was conceived. I like having the option of preventing as well as achieving pregnancy when I choose without having to deal with hormones.

[Madalyn]

Originally Posted by jenneology

I've got a peely baby too. I'm using coconut oil for massages and it helps. And fingernails are a topic that scare me too. There's the bite them off using your teeth method, but that also scares me. With my first I learned the trick of doing it when she's sleeping. That works for a while until they start waking up and getting upset that you're messing with their hands.

I've been using an emery board to file his nails down. Biting didn't work for me and cutting them wasn't going well either. I tried to cut them and it's like even though they're long they're too soft to actually cut? The emery boards helped tame them. Poor little guy kept scratching himself all over.

I have a peeler too. I've been using baby oil and it's improved A LOT.

[ladydodson]

Originally Posted by mamayarn

Tandeming here too with molars coming in. Luckily my DH has been handling most nighttime parenting since we night weaned DS1 a few months ago, but the nights since DS2 was born a week and a half ago have been hit or miss for him sleeping well (mostly miss). Then during the day, it's like if he realizes that a boob is loose his eyes lock on it and there's no stopping him. It's been a long time since I nursed him in public - it just hasn't happened, there wasn't a particular reason or plan - and honestly I'm afraid that he'll want to tandem NIP. Home is fine but I can only nurse one child discreetly out in the wild!

Speaking of nursing discreetly, my trick is a nursing tank under another shirt. Reach between to open the cup, draw up shirt and baby at the same time, latch, adjust shirt to rest over the nursling's mouth. I always felt like blankets or covers draw more attention to me and I'm covered, so that's how I do it. I'm all for others having covers or blankets or flashing neon lights, whatever gets the baby fed!!

i totally rock the nursing tank top under my clothes...also, if you have any of those bella bands from pregnancy, you can wear one under a shirt and pull it up to just beneath your bra, then you can just pull up to the bra, and unhook or pull it down over your breast and the bella band covers up your tum...

Originally Posted by kdtmom2be

Tandem nursing here too. As someone else mentioned, it is helping DD to maintain her connection, a few minutes of quiet time with me for just HER. I don't nurse them at the same time and I've limited her to once a day at bedtime for my sanity. Luckily her molars came in about 3 months ago and the issue of her teeth digging in to my aereola has resolved itself with that. *phew*

good to know the tooth in the boob goes away after the molars come in...not sure how long that's going to take...i noticed they are still under the skin today while he was crying...poor little guy.

Originally Posted by Auraji

Oh and dss insists on calling me mommy. It makes me feel good and it makes me kinda sad at the same time. Also because knowing his mom and how problematic she is, I'd rather have him not.

He kept saying it over the weekend a million times and would say "Aura, mm, I mean mommy". Even told DP that I wasnt Aura, than Im mommy.

I really wish he was with us all the time. His mom is such a mess. Her stepmom came to get dss and even commented on how she never has a problem on the weekends and to go have fun on her own, always going to festivals, riding four wheels and going to parties, but whenever she has him, she's sick or doesnt feel good. She came last night to get the daycare money and I went outside to give it to her and she was telling me how she's now dating again this guy (a guy she cheated on DP with and moved in after DP found out about it, dss was 1. And she could've gone to her mom's and dad's) and she's still dating this two other guys and all these men are around Jack. It bothers me so much. I've told DP he should talk about it with her, but he wont, I know him and sometimes I feel like saying something. I mean maybe she doesnt realize how this could affect dss and I think it's something that when he's old enough to understand is really gonna hurt him. What do you think, should I have a mom to mom, girl to girl talk with her? Or should I just stay out of it? Because it's really not my place to say anything.

it really depends on her feelings toward you being in her son's life whether or not she will value your opinion...you could approach it like you're both in his life and it would help if you were friends/on the same page...and ask her to go out to lunch w/ you...and build the relationship like that...but just out and out giving her advice on how to mother her child will likely piss her off...good luck. step parenting is challenging at the very least.



as for us...my little dude has an ear infection...and we were prescribed abx...hubs took him to the doctor so i coudl stay home w/ miss pea...i sent him a text to not give him the abx before i looked into it (older daughter never had ear infections so i never had to treat them herbally and i wanted to make sure it was possible considering he'd had a fever for three days)...he ignored my text and gave them to him...so now we're doing probiotics and im trying to nurse him less frequently (hard when he's sick/teething) to avoid thrush...hopefully we miss it...and hopefully hubs and i can come to a middle ground on his total reliance on conventional medicine and inability to trust my knowledge of herbs/natural healing...sigh. but thats a conversation for a different day.

on night four of miss pea going down to sleep and staying so, only to wake for a dream nurse or two...and then up for the day 10-12 hours later...tho, her bedtime is getting later...hopefully no later than tonight which was almost 11pm...she also has that period of cluster feedings and fussiness for about 2 hours before going to bed for good...it feels good to be getting to know her...

she had her first bath last night! and started cooing today...so sweet.