6 weeks postpartum - baby & mama

[belltree]

We made it through the first 6 weeks and things are improving for us finally.

Mom:
My cracked nippels are now starting to heal, I still have vasospasms, but it is getting better - at 6.5 weeks postpartum
I am trying to put in hours for work - instead I am here on MDC
I am allowed to start exercising again, slowly though, but now there is ice and snow on the roads.

Baby:
The little guy started smiling at moma - sooo cute
The little guy still sleeps a maximum of 2-3hrs at a time.
We are fighting reflux a bit - he hates it and cries or chokes or it just shoots out of his mouth and nose, but pedi says, as long he is gaining weight, he is fine.
He is now 9lbs, up from 7lbs 2oz and he grew 3in!

Daddy:
works too much and his jealous because I can calm the baby quicker usually or I can read his cues better *sigh*

Family life:
My mother is coming to visit end of December, and I am looking forward to it, but I am also a bit afraid, she is so old-school ("why don't you just let me cry for 10min, he will settle down after that", "you don't even go around the block and leave the baby alone at home?", "you let him just suckle on your boobs?", "you don't have a stroller? Maybe we can get you one for Xmas.") I think she will come around, but I really don't need 10 days of having to defend my parenting style.


I know I was one of the first Mom's in the November DDC, but where are you all now?

[minsca]

I was just thinking of starting a thread like this.... thanks belltree!!

Seth is 7 weeks now, but at his 6 week appointment he:
- weighed 10lbs 8 oz (birth weight was 6 lbs 10 oz) my rolliest baby yet!!! I love his chubby cheeks.
- 23 inches (grew 4 inches)
- smiled for me for the first time last friday, and for daddy yesterday
- still no pattern emerging for sleeping or eating, but he mostly goes about every 4 hrs at night, and about every 2 hrs in the morning, and in the afternoon he usually has a 4 hr nap in the ergo or wrap.

Me
- started excercising wii style last week. I got the wii fit plus for my birthday and am loving it. I still have 20 lbs to lose... ughh. Frustrating since I lost it quickly with my dd's.
- am thinking of getting a copper iud. I feel certain that this is our last baby but the thought of dh getting snipped makes me panic.
- nipples are all healed from the yeast infection

Belltree you saying that about my mom, reminded me of my own mom and my fears about what she would say about my parenting style. For dd1 she bought us a stroller for this one, she bought us an Ergo. She now carries the baby around in a sling and is singing its praises to everyone. she bf all of her kids so I didn't have to fight her on that. I still have to explain the bf to my mil though. The one thing I learned is I emphasized all the positive things about ap to my mom, and even my mil and they now agree with it almost 100%. (well maybe not the cd part)

somebody is looking for food so I have to let this do.

[belltree]

Minsca,

Wow, your little one did gain a lot!

It is nice to hear, that our mothers can learn and adapt My mother is all for breastfeeding, but she started adding solids to our diet by 6 weeks (carrots!) and totally believes in scheduled feedings, every 4hrs no more nor less and still, she breastfed us until 10/11months.

My MIL is great, she already carried all her kids, breastfed until they were toddlers etc

[First-Time-Mommy]

- sounds like everything is going great for you guys so far for the most part.

i'll post all current information once we go in for our upcoming app. friday.

Originally Posted by belltree

Daddy:
works too much and his jealous because I can calm the baby quicker usually or I can read his cues better *sigh*

it's just because we spend more time around the babe, we know the drill.

my dh cant get the baby to sleep. i have a routine i follow with him and dh is clueless of this routine because he is hardly here, and when he is here, as a result, ends in a cranky baby and a cranky dad that i end up having to fix. strangely enough i'm so exhausted that i have no time to exert frustration or anger about it though. like when he has the baby awake for 6/7 hours because he has no idea what he's doing wrong, then we have a fussy, crying baby because he's so tired. not that he's doing anything wrong, he's just not doing everything in the right order, lol, if that makes any sense.

your mother sounds delightful btw.

[ShwarmaQueen]

Good to hear things are getting better and better with you mammas. Same here.

Baby:
DS was 11. 4 oz at 4 wks
DS has been spitting up and super gassy since birth. I couldn't figure out what was causing it (aside from normal NB digestive stuff), but I noticed what a horrible latch he had (including a clicking sound). I figured since I had so much supply he was just dealing with the rapid flow....fast forward 4 wks- I went to see a renowned breastfeeding educator and she said he's posterior tongue-tied! We are going today for an exam by an ENT and possibly a clipping of his frendulum. Hoping to get some relief for both of us!
He hasn't started smiling puposefully *yet*, but he does have the sweet, calm stare that preceeds the smile, so it should be anyday now!

ME.
How does one find time to do anything with more than one?? If it isn't him needing me, it's her...and I'm supposed to make time for myself?
At 2 wks PP, I was down 30 lbs- granted I hemmoraged and lost a lot of blood - I still have 12 lbs to go!
I feel like I can start exercising now (other than walking) so DH and I have discussed adding me onto his gym membership. It sure would be nice to 1) Get a little break a couple times a week 2) Soak in a hot tub 3) Feel the good hormones released by exercising- I'm pretty sure this is what spared me from getting PPD after DD was born

Re the carriers, I started putting DS in the Moby- he loves it! We've been grocery shopping, to the library (though he was especially gassy that day and I hung out in the lobby while DD went to storytime), and for walks. I wish I would have tried it when DD was a NB, but I gave up after the ringsling just didn't work out.

CDing is going well, he's already moved out of the NB covers and into the S and M covers...yay for chunky babies!

[belltree]

Wow, Shwarmaqueen! You are going already to the gym? You are full of energy

How did the ENT visit go? Did he agree to cut the frenulum?

We had several people (LCs) tell us, that our baby might be tonguetight. Our pediatrician (and his colleague) disagreed. I still believe he is slightly tongue tight. If I see photos or videos of other babies, how they play and extend their tongues, our baby is nowhere close to them. At least the latching is better and my cracks are healing.

[EmilyVorpe]

We've made it to almost 7 weeks! yay!

Baby:
Reflux. Milk/Soy allergies. has gained 2.5 pounds, still looks SO scrawny! He's my spittiest baby...dr recommended burping him every 5 minutes, but he projectiles...so we skip burping and stay A B S O L U T E L Y S T I L L for 30 minutes after each feeding. He loves to be held all the time...starting to be kinda fussier than the first few weeks. Sleeps 5 hours at night, wakes for 2 hours at 3am.

Mommy:
OOOOh boy. Lost 20 pounds, now...stopped. I'm looking to ditch at least 10 more pounds so that I'm pre #4 weight. Ideally- 30 pounds looks good. I'm GROUCHY, thirsty all the time, and starting to worry about supply issues.
I hate the postpartum time...

Daddy:
Dealing.

[minsca]

Originally Posted by EmilyVorpe

Daddy:
Dealing.

I love it!

[belltree]

Emily,

have you tried Fenugreek to help milkproduction?

[EmilyVorpe]

Originally Posted by belltree

Emily,

have you tried Fenugreek to help milkproduction?

I haven't tried it yet. I'll be looking into it over the weekend. Thanks!!!

[Juliacat]

We are 4 weeks postpartum. She is nursing great, only about every 3-4 hours for 30-40 minutes and only wakes me up once at night. Which is amazing compared with our other scallywag of a girl. The Beco Butterfly we were given works fantastically at allowing both dh and me to hold her and still be able to use our hands. I have even worn her to class in it! She has outgrown her newborn clothes and fits pretty well in the 0-3 month size.

I love having 2 kids. Love, love, love it. If I had known it was going to be this much fun, I would have PLANNED it this way!

The bad: I am still bleeding, not a whole lot but some, I still have cramps sometimes, oh, and I hate breastfeeding, but we already knew that. It does, however, save me time and money, which is nice.

I do miss work. But I go back February 8 and I want to get as much lovin' on my girls as I can first. I hope I can find enough things to satisfy DD1, since she's down to 2 days a week at school (I can no longer afford to pay for all 5) and she easily gets bored and lonely.

[Krystal323]

we're only 4 weeks pp here, but here's the skinny:

me: i'm excited to be healing so well this time! bleeding has been gone at least a week and it's just very occasional spotting (this is not the norm for me!). my weight is trying to creep up, which is not helped by my crazy appetite or my love of all things caffeinated, heh. i am trying to drink a glass of water before reaching for anything with calories in it--but keyword="trying"... i am behind in my college work (which i am supposed to be doing right now )...sigh.

baby: needs to be weighed again--he's probably broke 11lbs now He's not at all spit-uppy, which is nice. He's smiling at us as of yesterday, and coos and mumbles when I put him tummy-down or in the swing His hair is in a permanent "mohawk" too! NB clothes and covers are already out of rotation, and the KL0s are on the last snap setting. MY dear friend gave (!) me a Baby K'tan sling the other day, and OMG it's awesome! Warmer than my batik Taylormade, and sooo not as complicated as my GypsyMama batik wrap (anyone wanna buy a nice wrap?? )

older kids: are adjusting--they like having a baby around, even if they get frustrated that it takes sooooo long to get ready to leave the house or get anything done my 2yo didn't regress w/the potty, which is such a relief. 4 kids and i've never had to deal with more than one in diapers at a time

daddy: is killing himself working two jobs and doesn't get to see any of us much. he did get Nik to laugh the other night tho

rest of life: is kinda hectic. my mother's in the hospital and i don't think she's going to make it. or, if she does, she won't be herself anymore. broke her hip 2 weeks ago, and has been having multiple major strokes since the hip surgery. sad that she only really got to meet the baby once. i am kinda too distracted with baby and kids to fully process what's going on, yk?

hope everyone is having a good holiday season, fwiw

[Juliacat]

Originally Posted by Krystal323

my mother's in the hospital and i don't think she's going to make it.

I'm so sorry to hear that.

[Youngfrankenstein]

I guess I'm the "baby" of this group. We are 2 weeks pp.

Baby: sweet, alert, cross-eyed at times, still doesn't use her "injured" arm a ton yet.

I realized a day ago that I had oversupply and really needed to just use one side at a time. This is what I did with my first dd, but all of my LCs seem so hesitant to recommend this for such a young baby. But honestly, she wasn't pooping as much as I though she should and I knew I have soooo much milk. I didn't want to get the green poop and have her gassier.

My breasts are still adjusting but I haven't had to pump which is the best way to do it if you can get away with it.

She sleeps 3-4 hours at a time at night. It's amazing how 3 hours of sleep in a row seems like a ton of sleep compared to me sleeping 8-9 hours!

Me:

Body is perfect....well, you know what I mean. I am in my pre-preg clothes. Bleeding is minimal. I have a bit of hemmroid action but nothing serious.

And I think I'm not so pale anymore!

[ExuberantDaffodil]

Originally Posted by belltree

"you don't have a stroller? Maybe we can get you one for Xmas."

I get this, too. Actually, my MIL went out and got me a stroller, and it is still in our garage. I've looked at it maybe once

Originally Posted by minsca

- am thinking of getting a copper iud.

I'm thinking of this too. Do you have to go to a doctor to get it fit? Or can a midwife do it?

Originally Posted by ShwarmaQueen

How does one find time to do anything with more than one?? If it isn't him needing me, it's her...and I'm supposed to make time for myself?

Seriously. I hear ya, Mama!

Originally Posted by EmilyVorpe

I'm GROUCHY, thirsty all the time, and starting to worry about supply issues.

Supply issues are quite draining, I know. (there's a pun in there somewhere.... )

Originally Posted by Krystal323

my weight is trying to creep up, which is not helped by my crazy appetite or my love of all things caffeinated, heh. i am trying to drink a glass of water before reaching for anything with calories in it--but keyword="trying"...

Yeah, I can relate to this, too.

Mom
We're at 5 weeks, here. Still struggling with supply issues. I'm popping herbs and sipping tinctures, trying to keep up with my fluid intake. It's better than it was, but it still is just barely enough on a good day and not quite enough on a bad day. Bleeding finally stopped all the way! I'm hungry all the time and crave carbs -- I feel like I eat shovel-fulls of potatoes, cookies, and bread. I haven't dared weighed myself, but I could possibly be up from when I initially lost 20lbs right off. *sigh* I wanted to be one of those moms who loses lots of weight breastfeeding, but I am just too hungry.

Baby
She is doing really well. Still so skinny looking, but I'm working on fattening her up. She sleeps about 4-5 hours on occasion at night, which is astonishing to me. She gets a fussy period in the evenings, but my hubby and I figured out it isn't colic -- she's just ravishingly hungry at night and if she can get her belly good and full, she's just fine. She started smiling at us and it melts my heart into a pile of mushy goo. I'm going to try to get her weighed soon.

Daddy
He's doing really great with the babe. I do not interfere and have just let him figure his own way, and I think that has helped him develop a really tight bond with her. He's a very doting daddy and has thankfully just fell right in with my AP style with her.

Big brother is adjusting pretty well. I have to watch him carefully to make sure he is gentle with her, but he is pretty enthusiastic about her. He is demanding a lot of attention, but I expected that.

[elisheva]

NAK

I'm very tired today. Ds2 (15 mo) was up for two hours in the night plus the 3-4 times I nursed dd (5.5 weeks) after midnight = tired mama (though my dh did get up with ds2 after he screamed for 30 min and cuddling/nursing/singing wasn't working...

Baby
is tiny! Both ds1 and ds2 were 13 lbs by this point. Dd was 9 lbs 13 oz on Thurs. I'm not worried about supply but I *do* worry that she doesn't "ask" to eat and in getting used to having three I prob wasn't diligent about feeding her as often as she needed until last week when I really got freaked out about her weight. She spends most of the day in the wrap and just sleeps and sleeps unless I take her out. She also caught a cold from her brothers, poor girl.

Me
I haven't officially weighed myself yet (i.e. naked first thing in the AM) but I think I'm still up about 7 lbs. This is a bummer since I was hoping to break even. I have a *very* hard time losing weight Emotionally I've leveled out and am feeling better even though it gets dark here at 415. Bleeding is mostly gone save the occasional spot here or there. Stitches dissolved last week and dh is starting to ask about dtd but it will be at least another week. After my tear with ds2, dtd hurt for several months so we didn't do it that much (though still manged to get preg 5 mo pp???).

Family
Busy, busy, busy. EmilyVorpe I have no idea how you cope with 4. Three is running me ragged.

[ShwarmaQueen]

Originally Posted by belltree

Wow, Shwarmaqueen! You are going already to the gym? You are full of energy

How did the ENT visit go? Did he agree to cut the frenulum?

We had several people (LCs) tell us, that our baby might be tonguetight. Our pediatrician (and his colleague) disagreed. I still believe he is slightly tongue tight. If I see photos or videos of other babies, how they play and extend their tongues, our baby is nowhere close to them. At least the latching is better and my cracks are healing.

Gym = slowest/easiest setting on the Eliptical (more for a break from the kids than heart-pounding cardio workout )

He was tongue-tied. I feel bad I let him suffer 5 weeks before getting it clipped! Can you imagine how frustrating it must have been for him to swallow- try putting your tougue behind your bottom teeth and swallowing- pretty hard!

It was "posterior", which is much harder to diagnose, it's not obvious like "front" tongue tie. Anyhoo, it took only 3 seconds and stopped bleeding immediately. He stuck his tongue out and felt anything around for a few minutes afterwards, it was so cute.

His nursing has improved, but he still prefers to suck on the end of my nipple.

[rrs]

Holden is 4 weeks, 5 days. At 4 weeks, he was 11lb11oz, up from birth weight of 8lb2oz and low weight of 7lb12oz. He has a 5 week check up, and I expect him to be over 12lbs.

He's been very sick, bronchiolitis caused by RSV. We discussed hospitalizing Monday and Tuesday, but I've been managing it at home, doing breathing treatments every few hours and (attempting) to monitor his O2 saturation. He's doing much better today than on Tuesday; if he was laid flat, he would turn blue. He now has an appetite, energy to stay awake, and he smiles and coos at me.

He is very visual. He is also very vocal. He is so strong, doing mini push ups,and bearing his weight on his legs. He rolls from back to belly.

I love Love LOVE having two children. Carter is so thrilled to be a big brother. We are tandem nursing, but with limits on Carter. I feel great, have since the birth. I've lost 25lbs, have 20 left to loose. Carter was an amazingly easy baby, but I made things harder on myself. I'm enjoying myself so much, enjoying my boys! We can't wait to have more.

On the sickness: My husband was out of town all week, but my mom, who is an ER nurse was here. I couldn't have done it without her! Hearing a brand new baby cough the way he is coughing and coo hoarsely are the saddest things. Seeing your newborn turn blue is so scary. Sleep is not really possible between breathing treatments and making sure he is breathing. Carter was a bit attention deprived at points, but did well. Carter was the first to get sick, and he was sicker than I've ever seen him. It was terrible. I'm ready for the sickness to be all over.

[minsca]

elisheva - don't worry too much about your dd's weight. Boys and girls are very very different i'm learning with weight. dd1 and dd2 were barely 9 lbs at 6 weeks and they started out weighing more then ds. they also ate a lot less then ds too. starting out with girls it shocked me how much a baby can eat when ds was born. I know I would have freaked out if the order was different.

rrs - that sounds scary!! I hope everyone gets feeling better.

[belltree]

Juliacat,

Today was my first day in the office, before I only worked from home. And yes, my dh came with me and the baby so I'd feel better about leaving him "alone" with daddy at home. I was scared of leaving him behind, but honestly, I love being back in my lab as well. It is so nice to talk research with my colleagues.

Krystal, I am so sorry to hear about your mom. At least she did get to meet her grandchild.

Youngfrankenstein
Oversupply seems kind of weired. I believe, that had partially to do with my latch problems, because we both got lazy, because the milk just came. My little guy rarely takes both sides, usually once before bedtime and once in the morning at dawn, but all other times, he is content with one side.

Originally Posted by ExuberantDaffodil

I get this, too. Actually, my MIL went out and got me a stroller, and it is still in our garage. I've looked at it maybe once

Glad I am not the only one If we get a stroller, I could imaging getting a joggin stroller in a couple of months, as dh and I used to go running together every day. This was our time to catch up and enjoy the outsides.

elisheva,
My boy is up two pounds from birth weight and he only ever lost 3%. He just is a skinny baby and as long as he doesn't fall out of the growth curve, I wouldn't worry too much.
Isn't it amazing how easy babies are once they are in a wrap/sling/carrier. Mine is just happy and either sleeps or looks around and is content being close to mama or daddy.

Shwarma I am just not a gym goer at all, but I understand your need of a break I am glad your baby is now learning to swallow it takes some time to relearn, just hang in there.

rrs,
I hope your baby is getting better soon, that must be soo worrysome and tough to see your baby suffering.