PP Chat Thread June 8-14 - Page 2

[j_p_i]

nak

We're doing well here. I think Olivia might have some sensitivities to perfume and stuff. Every time my stepmom has come over and held her, she absolutely freaks out for over an hour after. She gets all rigid and nothing soothes her. Stepmom just bathes in yucky perfume, so I'm going to have to ask her not to wear it around DD any more. Our relationship isnt great and i dont trust her with DD anyway, so that'll be a fun conversation

We arent cd-ing yet. We'll start soon, I'm still adjusting to everything else.

Sleeping is going okay, she actually slept great last night.

Olivia's cord fell off already. So I guess that's more motivation to start cd! She's great at focusing on my face already, and holds her head up really well. I'm such a proud mama

[Amydoula]

I'm on the third week of dairy elimination now and nothing. No change, still fussy/gassy. I think it's just something he needs to grow out of. I'm definitely having ice cream for my birthday. Last night was ROUGH. I think I'm going to try letting him sleep on his stomach in the bassinet. I'm out of ideas. He hates the pacifier, I've tried swaddled and unswaddled, on his side sleeping and back sleeping, white noise, dead quiet, music, sleeping in bed with me,etc. nothing makes a difference. He's much worse about sleep than his brother was and I thought he was bad! I've got him napping in the bassinet now, I'm in the bed next to him with the laptop and he's keeping his head to the side and sleeping very soundly. I think it's worth a try. My mother swears we all slept on our stomachs and turned out just fine.

[Mama Rana]

Lissa--: With my first, I didn't have general, but they gave me some huge dose of morphine as soon as DS was "born". I was dopey for hours/all day. I don't really remember when I first held DS, barely remember seeing him for the first time, etc. It sucks. If I'm thankful for anything about my rcs this time it's that aspect of it: the staff and my doula were very respectful of me and the fact that this was MY "birth", etc. They made sure I saw him right away, let/encouraged DH to take pics, had DH bring DS2 to me so I could see/touch him, etc.
I'm sorry your experience is so Swiss cheesy.



I'm blessed that DS2 is a pretty good sleeper, BUT, I'm exhausted today cuz he didn't go down for the night until after 11:30 last night. He slept SO MUCH during the day yesterday that come 9, 9:30, he was ready to be awake!
So today he woke up at about 5:30 to nurse, and never really went back to sleep until 9. I say "really" cuz at one point I'd put him down in the bassinet to pee or something, and he started to fuss so I was hurrying to get back to him and I was going to pop him in the sling to finish getting everyone ready to head out the door, but when I finally made it over to him, he'd stopped fussing and his eyes were closed. So I left him there to finish the morning prep. Well, a couple times I walked by and noticed his eyes were open, but I thought maybe they were just opening as he heard me walking by [our floors are really squeaky]; he does that thing a lot where a noise will rouse him from sleep just enough for him to open his eyes, but then they close right back up. But when I went to get him to get HIM ready to go out the door, I realized he was AWAKE, and I suspect he had been for a while. But he was just lying there, staring at a toy dangling from the canopy. I'm not sure whether to be sad that he was alone or blessed that he "entertained" himself so well for so long.



ANYWAY, I wanted to ask ya'll about nap and bedtime schedules. As I said, C sleeps A LOT. It seems like one nap just blends into another with some nursing and diaper changes breaking up the monotony, and I sometimes have to wake him for those. But he IS starting to have longer stretches of being awake [he's only 3 weeks old], and I want to try and establish "awake time" and "sleeping time". My older son has camp this week so we have to be out the door at 8:30, and I was/am hoping that this will help us all to establish a better daily waking/sleeping routine, but I dunno: DS1 is taking a nap now, something he NEVER does and DS2 has slept most of the day after being awake from 5:30 to 9:00.



Blah, blah, blah. Any thoughts/advice/personal experience?

[~Katie~]

Amy - I pretty much let the baby decide how they want to sleep. DS was a side sleeper or he liked to be stretched out on his back. He is still primarily a back sleeper. DD is definitely a belly sleeper and sleeps very well that way. I can usually lay her down that way when she's somewhat awake and she'll fall asleep that way.

Mama Rana - DD also sleeps quite a bit still, she's just over 3 weeks. She is starting to establish a routine as far as sleeping and waking that goes something like this: Wake up around 6am to nurse and go back to sleep until 7:30 or so when DS gets up. Nurse and have a bit of awake time before going back to sleep from 9-12 or so. Then she is awake until 2pm and sleeps another 3-4 hour chunk and wakes up around dinner time. She has awake time until 8-9pm and then sleeps until midnight, nurses, and goes back to sleep. It should be pretty easy at this point to encourage sleep and awake time based on what your schedule looks like during the day, will he sleep in his carseat when you're out and about in the morning?

[CookAMH]

Originally Posted by lotus.blossom

Griffin is really cute. He likes to focus in on his hand all cross eyed. He watches it move around. I just love these little milestones!

Aww that is so cute.

I had a sandwich at Panera on asiago foccacia (sp) and will see if Ezra has a problem with that tomorrow

amydoula, so sorry that there hasn't been an improvement with dairy Enjoy your ice cream!! I agree with trying tummy sleeping and seeing how he likes it, we do that if Ezra keeps stirring awake on his side or back.

mama rana, I think that is great what your babe did in his bassinet being content awake and also falling in and out of sleep w/o crying. Re routines, perhaps try to stimulate him more when he is awake? Take him outside and walk around? Re: sleeping for us, Ezra has shorter naps than KatieJD's girl. He typically eats, is awake a half hour to an hour after that, shows tired signs, so I nurse a little more and he goes to sleep for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, eats, repeat. He seems to really be getting the hang of eating around 9:45 or 10pm for bedtime and our routine is simply nursing in our bedroom with very dim lights, singing a Psalm to him when he's out, and putting him down, and he stays down for 4 hours usually, sometimes more.

[Mama Rana]

Originally Posted by KatieJD

will he sleep in his carseat when you're out and about in the morning?

Definitely. That was part of the issue yesterday: I was out & about all morning and part of the afternoon. He slept thru it all, plus some.

And it turns out ds1 isn't just tired from the new routine: he's running a fever of 102.1 [according to that ear therm] and says his tummy hurts. Oy. No swim lesson this afternoon [and it was the last one of the session], and probably no camp tomorrow [and it was "water day", and he was looking forward to it ]. *sigh* I hope he doesn't start throwing up.

[~Katie~]

Originally Posted by Mama Rana

Definitely. That was part of the issue yesterday: I was out & about all morning and part of the afternoon. He slept thru it all, plus some.

And it turns out ds1 isn't just tired from the new routine: he's running a fever of 102.1 [according to that ear therm] and says his tummy hurts. Oy. No swim lesson this afternoon [and it was the last one of the session], and probably no camp tomorrow [and it was "water day", and he was looking forward to it ]. *sigh* I hope he doesn't start throwing up.

Hmm, DD will normally stay awake in her carseat and look around. I'm trying to think if there is some way to maybe keep his attention while he's back there, like a seat mirror or toy or something to stare at?

I hope ds1 gets well soon.

[Amydoula]

Originally Posted by KatieJD

Amy - I pretty much let the baby decide how they want to sleep. DS was a side sleeper or he liked to be stretched out on his back. He is still primarily a back sleeper. DD is definitely a belly sleeper and sleeps very well that way. I can usually lay her down that way when she's somewhat awake and she'll fall asleep that way.

he just took the most awesome nap on his tummy! I think we might be onto something here, I'll report back in the morning

Originally Posted by CookAMH

amydoula, so sorry that there hasn't been an improvement with dairy Enjoy your ice cream!! I agree with trying tummy sleeping and seeing how he likes it, we do that if Ezra keeps stirring awake on his side or back.

This makes me feel better!

Originally Posted by Mama Rana

Definitely. That was part of the issue yesterday: I was out & about all morning and part of the afternoon. He slept thru it all, plus some.

And it turns out ds1 isn't just tired from the new routine: he's running a fever of 102.1 [according to that ear therm] and says his tummy hurts. Oy. No swim lesson this afternoon [and it was the last one of the session], and probably no camp tomorrow [and it was "water day", and he was looking forward to it ]. *sigh* I hope he doesn't start throwing up.

We're dealing with our first cold in the house here, so hoping the baby doesn't get it. Feel better to your ds!

[CookAMH]

Originally Posted by Amydoula

he just took the most awesome nap on his tummy! I think we might be onto something here, I'll report back in the morning

Yay!! I just laid Ezra down on his tummy for a nap...

[Mama Rana]

Originally Posted by KatieJD

Hmm, DD will normally stay awake in her carseat and look around. I'm trying to think if there is some way to maybe keep his attention while he's back there, like a seat mirror or toy or something to stare at?

I hope ds1 gets well soon.

Typically if he's awake and in his car seat he's screaming: he hates it. But usually he falls right to sleep. I have a mirror there so that I can see him. Not sure what if anything he can see in it.... Hmmm, I do have a toy that can hang from the carry handle: is it safe to leave that up while driving?

[lightheartedmom]

i'm wondering if the tummy sleeping might help Chloe get through her grunty-fussy phase at night. Our current routine of getting up around 4 or 5am is just not working for me. I'm just worried because she sleeps in bed with DH and me...DD1 slept on her tummy when she was a baby at least some of the time, but she was sleeping in a bassinet. I don't have that option this time because #1's bed is in the only spot in our room where I could put the bassinet.

In other news...I have a friend who had a baby on the 27th and I just talked w/ her or the first time since her delivery. I'm so sad and angry...she had hoped to have a natural birth and ended up with some old-school male doc (not the one she usually saw) who didn't manage her pushing at all...first he gave her an episiotomy (which...I can't believe they still do those!) and then, he didn't help her slow her pushing down at all, so right after he cut her, the baby blasted out in one push (in a bad way) and she's now trying to heal from very severe tearing both internal and external. She said it took an hour and a half to stitch her back up afterwards. On top of that, he didn't say anything to her or her husband before during or after the delivery.
It's so sad that even these days, women still have to practically arm wrestle their way to get respectful maternity care. Grrr...I feel bad because I know she's sad about the way things worked out. She's still processing everything and I'm keeping my mouth shut for now. But...sigh...it's frustrating.

[kdtmom2be]

Originally Posted by CookAMH

Oh boy...so I may need to keep this up for a while? I hope I can do it. Is there any worth in trying some dairy to see if it's mainly milk? I considered, in a few days, trying yogurt or sour cream or something to see what that does. How do you also know when to try a certain food again? I'd imagine I should at least wait until the yeast rash is completely gone before testing some foods.

I eventually figured out that I could eat cheese and yogurt, but not milk or cottage cheese. When DD started solid foods she couldn't have cottage cheese or yogurt, or sour cream, etc, but could have hard cheeses. I would wait 6-12 weeks every time she ate something and reacted before trying again. Now she is 25 months and has completely outgrown it and drank a whole glass of milk for the first time the other day.

Originally Posted by Quate

I am thinking about trying the dairy elimination thing too, just in case that is an issue for her. She is just not a happy baby most of the time, and she is pretty gassy. We have started giving her gas drops, and now she's much less gassy, but not really happier.

It may not be dairy, just remember that! Garlic, onions, cabbage, chocolate, etc are all common. And, if it's garlic, you will be surprised at how much garlic is in everything. It's REALLY hard to buy spices or any processed or pre-packaged food with no garlic in it.

You might also want to try gripe water. I have never had success with simethicone drops but gripe water does the trick for my kids.

Originally Posted by Nolansmum

lissa-so sorry about your memory loss. It is hard to process an event you can't remember.

I think this is why DD's birth was so much harder on me that DS's. I had a general with DD and a spinal with DS so there is a big window of DD's birth that is missing from my memory, whereas I got to see and hold DS within minutes of his birth and hold him in the recovery room.


I also confess to putting my baby to sleep on his tummy some times. :

[Quate]

Originally Posted by kdtmom2be

It may not be dairy, just remember that! Garlic, onions, cabbage, chocolate, etc are all common. And, if it's garlic, you will be surprised at how much garlic is in everything. It's REALLY hard to buy spices or any processed or pre-packaged food with no garlic in it.

Yeah, there's that too. I think dairy and maybe chocolate are the only things I've been eating consistently enough that they could be causing constant problems--depending what kind of quantity it needs to be eaten in to trigger a reaction. But now that we'll be back to doing our own cooking it will be easier to look for correlations. True about garlic--I'm sure it's been in plenty of what I've had for the past two weeks.

[Quate]

Originally Posted by Mama Rana

Hmmm, I do have a toy that can hang from the carry handle: is it safe to leave that up while driving?

I've been wondering the same thing. I dutifully read the instruction manual and they specifically say other positions are not ok but don't say anything about that one.

[~Katie~]

Originally Posted by Mama Rana

Typically if he's awake and in his car seat he's screaming: he hates it. But usually he falls right to sleep. I have a mirror there so that I can see him. Not sure what if anything he can see in it.... Hmmm, I do have a toy that can hang from the carry handle: is it safe to leave that up while driving?

It'll be in your carseat's manual for what positions you can safely leave up while driving, if it isn't there you can call the manufacturer directly. I know the Snugride has positions you can leave up while driving but I can't remember which.

[lotus.blossom]

Ds2 is such a different sleeper than ds1. He doesn't nap much but sleeps great at night!! He really only sleeps in the sling. Usually for an hour in the morning and then sleeps here and there after nursing. He feeds almost constantly from 6 to 9 and then falls asleep for the night. Wakes up somewhere in the wee hours to nurse once and then maybe again at around
6. Sometimes he'll sleep another hour or so but sometimes we're up for the day. There has only been one night where I got up with him.

I eliminated tomatoes out of my diet. He really reacts to them.

Mama Rana- my ds1 has a fever too. The only time he is mellow or naps is when he is sick. So I try to enjoy (and not consume myself with worry about it!) Hope your little one feels better!

Regarding the naps- I get frustrated that he won't sleep. He wakes up in a matter of minutes after I put him down. Same with the carseat. While we're driving he might doze but as soon as I put it in park he is wide eyed and bushy tailed! I don't epect much since he is still so young, but I am hoping I will be able to put him down for naps sooner than later. I can't deal with the sling naps as he gets heavier.

[Mama Rana]

Originally Posted by Quate

I've been wondering the same thing. I dutifully read the instruction manual and they specifically say other positions are not ok but don't say anything about that one.

Originally Posted by KatieJD

It'll be in your carseat's manual for what positions you can safely leave up while driving, if it isn't there you can call the manufacturer directly. I know the Snugride has positions you can leave up while driving but I can't remember which.

Cool, thanks. I need to read the manual more carefully. I confess to reading the install info, and that was about it. I'll take a look tomorrow.



Oh, someone mentioned spinals and headaches. How long can a spinal cause headaches? I mean, I'm 3 weeks pp now; would a headache I get now still be caused by the spinal? I was getting quite a few a week or 2 ago, and it didn't even occur to me that it was the spinal until a few days later...

[Mama Rana]

Originally Posted by lotus.blossom

Ds2 is such a different sleeper than ds1. He doesn't nap much but sleeps great at night!! He really only sleeps in the sling. Usually for an hour in the morning and then sleeps here and there after nursing. He feeds almost constantly from 6 to 9 and then falls asleep for the night. Wakes up somewhere in the wee hours to nurse once and then maybe again at around
6. Sometimes he'll sleep another hour or so but sometimes we're up for the day. There has only been one night where I got up with him.

I eliminated tomatoes out of my diet. He really reacts to them.

Mama Rana- my ds1 has a fever too. The only time he is mellow or naps is when he is sick. So I try to enjoy (and not consume myself with worry about it!) Hope your little one feels better!

Regarding the naps- I get frustrated that he won't sleep. He wakes up in a matter of minutes after I put him down. Same with the carseat. While we're driving he might doze but as soon as I put it in park he is wide eyed and bushy tailed! I don't epect much since he is still so young, but I am hoping I will be able to put him down for naps sooner than later. I can't deal with the sling naps as he gets heavier.

DS1 was/is a sleep fighter, and would only nap on me. He had to be nursed down, and didn't like to let go of the boob. It was so stressful. DS2 is very different.


Good news: DS1's fever seems to be gone
Bad news: He started throwing up. Yuck.



Speaking of throwing up, what's the difference between baby spit up and vomit? DS2 spit up on me a while ago and it smells like vomit. Unfortunatley it got all over my shirt/bra, and I keep smelling it. Yuck. Need to go change.


And dang, all that talk of headaches, and I think I'm getting another.

[catters]

Considering I'm living at my parents house now for the next couple weeks until my DH and I can move up to Wisconsin (we originally were in Florida, but I moved up last weekend... bleh), things are going pretty well.
Isla is a GASSY baby. She's getting her probiotics, but probably not often enough. I need to be better about giving her that. I think I have to cut out milk again (I had to with DS for about six months) which possibly contributes to her gas. She's hilarious though, stretching and tooting away... Funny, but probably isn't too comfortable for her.

We Skype with DH every night. Poor DS looks at my laptop and says, "daddy?" all the time. So sad!!

Definitely trying to hold on to my sanity.

[jeliphish]

Maggie seems to still be sleeping like a newborn. She will be up from about 7am to about 11am and we won't see her fully awake again until 6pm or 7pm and then she's out for the count until about 2 am for a feeding. She will nurse throughout the day but it's enough to get her content and she's back asleep. I'm not too concerned but I do think it's not the norm for a 7 week old to be so sleepy. Anyone else have/have had a sleepy 2 month old?