PP Chat Thead - June 17-23

[~Katie~]

Just realized that the date for the old thread wasn't jiving with the calendar.

[Punchy Kaby]

I'm losing track of days now! Time is going by so fast!

[~Katie~]

I hear you, in a way I'm glad the kids are keeping me so busy because its making the days go by faster but I'm also sad because I wish they could stay little forever.

[JD5351]

Yes, it is going way too fast. I go back to work July 24, that's barely a month away! they are doing shift bids at work, so my schedule will be changing-hopefully to an earlier shift. I had the option to keep my old schedule, but that was 11:30 am to 10pm Monday, Thurs Fri and Sat. So pretty much I'd see him on my work days long enough to take him to the babysitter and put him to bed. I don't like that thought. Every time I think about it, I get all choked up.

So I MIGHT get a better schedule, but I might not...I guess there are quite a few 10am-6:30pm 5 day a week schedules, a couple earlier 10 hour shifts.....Worst case, I end up with a similar schedule to what I have...I hope not though. There are quite a few people who prefer the later schedules, but my rank in seniority is 27 out of 35. I should have the list of schedules tomorrow. I have to rank them in my preferred order. I'm scared to death of what I'll end up with. If I get totally screwed, I'll file for a hardship schedule which will give me like 6 weeks of an earlier schedule..Then I can appeal and maybe keep it. It's so complicated.

[Punchy Kaby]

I go back to work July 7th. Way too soon. It is part time, but I still will probably cry the first week. I am really worried because DD will still not take a bottle. She took a paci for 30 min yesterday. I am also working on getting her down for sleep in her crib-she needs to be predictable for whoever is taking care of her. Right now she screams and DH will just let her be by herself

[lightheartedmom]

Days go by so fast...I've literally had to look at a calendar three times today to remember what day it is, I'm *that* tired.

We're doing okay around here...I feel like I'm stretched a little thin...when I get frustrated because everyone (DH, DD1 and 2) seem to need every piece of me all the time, I have to remind myself how much I wanted to be a mom. I am glad to be in this position, and especially blessed to not have to worry about going back to a job outside the home...especially these days, it's not something I want to take for granted. But...sheesh...sometimes I feel overtouched and over-needed.

On the baby front, she's adorable. I love her so much. We just stared getting some real smiles this week...not regularly, but wow, they make these extra 30lbs that are sticking around worth it. She's sleeping about 5 hrs a time at night which is GREAT and so far, doesn't seem to be colicky or too sensitive to things I eat (except spinach and large quantities of dairy, which I don't normally eat anyway). She's big too! Check up is on Thursday (one month already!), but I think she's already close to 11lbs.
I'm still not CD'ing much because she's completely in between sizes...the next size is pretty big for her, but the size we have now is so small she cries every time I put them on. So there's $88 down the drain for a month of diapers we hardly used. Grr.

I just wanted to say here...thanks to all of you who are keeping the weightloss thread alive over on that board. It's definitely helpful and encouraging to me to have a place to check in on that issue. *STILL* haven't lost any more weight...depressing...but...I did work out today. yay.

Hope you ladies all have a great week!

[CookAMH]

Originally Posted by KatieJD

but I'm also sad because I wish they could stay little forever.

I know...every time I cuddle with Ezra, I know that he won't be like this very long and I really want to enjoy it. I love his dead weight when he's asleep on my shoulder...13lbs...solid but still little.

A lady in the church offered to babysit for free anytime (during the day, works nights) and I've been contemplating asking her for this weekend so DH and I can go out for a couple of hours. We want to shop at Old Navy! lol. I debate though b/c his daytime naps are so unpredictable and I don't want her to have to try to figure him out with getting up and down and how we know his noises and such. But it isn't the end of the world by any means if he's tired and sleeps on her and she just holds him and doesn't worry about putting him down, and she'll have a bottle. He can be finicky eating though with acting hungry but not wanting to eat at the moment.

[Asher]

Hey ladies. DH came home from work this mornning and said "Happy 1 month birthday!" to the baby. *sigh* I said NOOOO! It's too fast. He needs to stop time!

I'm looking at going back to work in like 2 weeks. I want to cry. I love my job, but I really don't want to leave the baby. It's a great job and good money that we can use, but the thought of leaving him crushes me a little. I've never left a new baby before for anything, much less work. It's only one day a week, probably (if they stick to what I said before leaving), BUT it's still more than I want to be away from him. *sigh*

Baby G is smiling so much now, mostly at his siblings and myself. I love it. He's gotten very alert, too. His baby acne is finally going away, it seems. Yay!

I still don't know what his schedule is b/c I just feed him whenever he wants it, BUT it must be pretty regular b/c I can always feel it in my boobs right before he needs to eat. I'll get that full, tingly, weird feeling in my boobs and within minutes, he wakes up to eat. Going to pay attention the next two weeks to figure out how much milk I'll need to leave for DH for the day. (Though I won't know in ounces, obviously.) He will take a bottle but we're having a problem finding a nipple that doesn't flood his mouth. I tried three different kinds of "newborn nipples" and they aren't slow flow at all!

[j_p_i]

More success with the baby bjorn today! It's 9am and I've already vaccuumed, done the dishes, packed a bit, and scheduled a u-haul! Yay!

Also, breastfeeding is going well for us, but I feel like I feed her constantly sometimes. There are times when my boobs just feel empty, and she still wants to eat. Is this normal? I only feel like my boobs are really full if she's slept for a long time during the day, and at night. She's gained a lot of weight really quickly (she's only 17 days and has gained more than a pound from her birth weight I believe). Maybe my body is still adjusting to how much she's going to eat? Sometimes she becomes fussy, like some of you have talked about, will pull away from the breast, cry and act hungry and then not really want to eat, etc. I know she's getting enough, she's gained plenty of weight and has lots of poopy dipes...

It's almost like it's hard for her to latch on when my boobs feel empty like that, but she still acts hungry.

[Amydoula]

Things are good here. Not much new to report but I'm feeling the same feelings of the baby is growing up too fast......he's our last so all the milestones are bittersweet. I don't return to work until September so I don't have that looming over my head yet. This is the last week of school for DS1 though so our routines will be changing pretty soon.

[ReadingRenee]

NAK

jpi i know what you mean about empty boobs. I just figure that her sucking will stimulate them to make more milk. Also, I have found that switching sides when she is fussy like that does help. I have to do it a LOT like 10 times in 20 minutes but it seems to work. She gets enough to eat and either pulls off and is happy and content or can finally drift to sleep.

for everyone going back to work. I might be working a few nights and weekends when summer is over but I hate to do that becasuse then I wont see my dd1 til after school for 5 minutes and bedtime We will see if we can make it without my check for a while.

[lotus.blossom]

I'm hating life today. Got a sore throat and a really dizzy head. DS1 is a terror and DS2 won't sleep much today (can't complain because I got a great sleep last night) and I just want to crawl in bed and sleep. I can't seem to meet everyones needs especially my own. I've been trying to eat my breakfast all morning (chicken soup) and now its almost lunchtime and I have to find lunch for everyone! Fortunately DS1 is in the shop with DH and my cousin.

This is the one sunny day this week and the rest of it is rainy, and I feel guilty that I couldn't take my boys to the beach with the playgroup today. Where's my super mom cape?

[~Katie~]

Originally Posted by j_p_i

More success with the baby bjorn today! It's 9am and I've already vaccuumed, done the dishes, packed a bit, and scheduled a u-haul! Yay!

Also, breastfeeding is going well for us, but I feel like I feed her constantly sometimes. There are times when my boobs just feel empty, and she still wants to eat. Is this normal? I only feel like my boobs are really full if she's slept for a long time during the day, and at night. She's gained a lot of weight really quickly (she's only 17 days and has gained more than a pound from her birth weight I believe). Maybe my body is still adjusting to how much she's going to eat? Sometimes she becomes fussy, like some of you have talked about, will pull away from the breast, cry and act hungry and then not really want to eat, etc. I know she's getting enough, she's gained plenty of weight and has lots of poopy dipes...

It's almost like it's hard for her to latch on when my boobs feel empty like that, but she still acts hungry.

Woohoo for getting the carrier to work!

Even if they feel empty they're still continuing to produce as she nurses. In a 24-48 hour period your body will adjust to meet her demands also, so any extra nursing will stimulate more milk production. The fussiness for us is usually a sign of sleepiness, like she's saying "Hey I'm tired and want to suck but don't really want milk". My DS was the same way, so its not always a sign of a problem. Its so hard to figure out what they're trying to tell you but as long as her pees and poops are good I wouldn't worry too much about the confusing behavior.

[major_mama11]

Oh, new thread- maybe I'll keep up with it this week!

I'm dreading going back to work too. I don't go back until July 17th, DS will be 10 weeks old. I feel lucky to get to stay totally home for so long, but I'm still sad about going back at all. My boss is awesome though, she called me a few weeks back and gave me first choice for what shifts I wanted to pick up (I work PRN). I guess that's her payback for my picking up more shifts than the other PRN ladies all winter long. She also was flexible about letting me work just half of a night shift one night, 6p to 12am rather than making me do the entire 12-hours. I'm only working one shift a week, at least for now.

I'm really nervous about picking up any night shifts until DS is older than 5-6 months, even though that's often the only shift available to work. DH sleeps *really* deep, and I have caught him almost rolling over on DS a couple times already. DS is a chunky, strong baby, but still, it makes me very nervous, especially since DS can be screaming right next to DH's ear and DH often won't even wake up. I start him out in the crib every night though, and he usually doesn't have his first night feeding until about 2 am, so DH shouldn't have any reason to fall asleep next to him if I only work till midnight.

We introduced the bottle at 3 weeks, and so far he's done great with it, thank goodness. We've given him a bottle once a week just to make sure he doesn't forget how. We've been using these glass baby bottles, I think Munchkin brand, and the nipples that come with them are pretty slow-flow so we haven't had any issues. I waited too long to try the bottle with DD, or maybe I just wasn't using the right type, and she never really got the hang of it, even when I had to leave her all day when I was at school.

[Mama Rana]

[goo, I hate the new look ]

DS2 has his 4week/1month check-up today; curious how much he weighs.

nipples still hurt; wish the diflucan would kick in already.

[CanBoo]

Originally Posted by KatieJD

Even if they feel empty they're still continuing to produce as she nurses.

Yep. You'e a factory, not a warehouse, remember.

As time goes, you will feel that full feeling less and less, even though there is plenty of milk.

[ReadingRenee]

it is 130. Baby up at 830 and has not napped. will fall asleep for 5 minutes and then wake up and must nurse,nurse for a while then back to sleep for 5 minutes. over and over and over again. Im thinking growth spurt and Im giving up on the idea of putting her down for a nap as after 2 hours of trying I am feeling the frustration.

mamarana Im sorry your nipples still hurt.

[CookAMH]

Originally Posted by Mama Rana

nipples still hurt; wish the diflucan would kick in already.

sorry to hear that.

I just found two white spots in the roof of Ezra's mouth. No thrush symptoms previously with his rash, so I've started GSE on my nipples and in his mouth. No sore nipples yet....

[CanBoo]

Will try to follow the thread this week... Here's my update for now.

Penny is now 2.5 weeks old.
DH was home the first week. FIL and SMIL were her last week distracting DD1. This week I'm on my own, but DH is finishing his days earlier. So really this is our firt "normal" week post baby. DD1 is having a very hard time adjusting, which means quite the chaotic house...

My stitches all seem to be healed nicely. If only I could say as much about the hemmies... Ouch...

Tandem nursing not working as smoothly as I hoped. DD2 can't handle the flow when they are both on... And even though I have mastered the art of latching both, I don't know what to do when I am alone and DD2 is done and needs burping... 'cos this one is quite the major puker and really needs to be burped, especially after her sister caused a big let-down...

And unlatching DD1 is also a challenge, beacuse she freaks out when I try to limit duration of feedings. Something else we have to sort out.

Taking DD2 to the chiro this pm for the second time. Was recommended by the MW beacuse of her shoulder dystocia. Hopefully it hepls with her barfing. Beacuse this is not spit-up, it is the entire feed that randomly comes back up I feel like the whole house is starting to smell like sour milk.

On a positive note, she is an easy baby. I did not believe it was possible. But she stays happily in the baby neglector (aka the swing) . She also settles as soon as we start the car. I am hoping it stays like that.

[j_p_i]

Thanks for the support mamas, today went better in terms of her fussiness. I have started switching sides more often, and I feel like she's definitely getting enough. I guess it seems like she doesn't always know what she wants, and I run the gamut of things to comfort her and nothing works... I just keep trying and eventually something works the third time around

April, sorry for the crummy day! Wish I was a little closer (or more easily mobile!) to come help out!