WEEKLY RAMBLE/CHAT for JAN 3rd-9th - Page 3

[evinmom]

Originally Posted by TyrantOfTheWeek

We DTD at PP day 9
I "missed" my DH that much. It hurt, but I am kinda glad we got that first initial painful part out of the way. Now, besides the annoying interruption for application of the "rain coat" , it's pretty much back to normal.

I originally *thought* we could get back into sooner, but nope. Still waiting for 6 weeks. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. LOL

[TyrantOfTheWeek]

Originally Posted by evinmom

I originally *thought* we could get back into sooner, but nope. Still waiting for 6 weeks. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. LOL

I just have absolutely NO self control. (This is why I have 4 kids under 5.5yrs)

[evinmom]

Originally Posted by TyrantOfTheWeek

I just have absolutely NO self control. (This is why I have 4 kids under 5.5yrs)

I normally don't either, but this time around my pelvis feels like an old lady's. I need to see my chiro first.

[cloudbutterfly]

Woo, check it out, I'm typing with two hands!

Name: Cloud and Nimbus

Baby's age: Six weeks and four days (my goodness! where does the time go???)

Milestones/Updates: I've been getting smiled at for the last week! (Well, I got kind of an awake/social smile late Christmas night, but I'm not 100% convinced he was more than 50% awake.) But I got two for sure real ones while reading him a book a week ago Monday, have been getting them while rocking him to sleep before bed time, and yesterday and today I've been getting them when I snap him back up after a diaper change. (He's another one who hates getting his diaper changed/being undressed. It's the only time he really cries much other than if I make him wait a little too long for the boobies, though now he only cries about half the time. He actually smiled at me a little during his diaper change this morning! So strange for him.)

Breastfeeding is going all right now...other than the fact that we're still stuck with the nipple shield. It's worse than bottle feeding at night, I suspect, because I have to get up and go somewhere where I can see and keep myself awake, plus the nipple shield makes things less efficient so he has to nurse for longer, so I have yet to experience any of the nighttime breastfeeding advantages plus it takes longer than when we give him pumped milk in a bottle. But he's gaining really well now...up to 10 pounds 3.5 ounces from his birth weight of 10-10 and low point of 6-13. 12.5 oz. in the last week! And he's up from 18.5 inches to 21.5 or 22, based on our best attempt at measuring him ourselves. He's been really chowing down and my supply seems to be up.

Christmas week was crazy but fun. We went down to the grandparents three times, including staying the night on Christmas Eve. Nimbus is such a show off...he was on his absolute best behavior (which is pretty show-offy for an easy baby like him), especially at church, where he was either sound asleep through the whole service (including when we played Mary, Joseph and Jesus in a little pageant) or wide awake and calmly alert and looking around at everyone. He didn't even cry when he got baptized...just stared out at everyone, taking it all in. It's hard not to feel proud when everyone is so impressed by my little charmer...it completely makes up for our BFing issues, which of course other people can't see so they think I'm having an extremely easy time of it. Oh well, I don't mind having people who aren't close to us believe that.

It's been good to be home for the last week, as fun as all the social stuff was. After a couple weeks where it seemed like I'd been mistaken about him being a good sleeper, he's gone back to having a decent and somewhat predictable schedule, including one 4+ hour stretch every night. It's helped to just do whatever it takes to work with his own internal rhythm. When I don't try to influence it by waking him when I think he's slept too long, he sleeps better at the times I do want him to sleep, too. That and I'm figuring out ways to not wake him too much when I want to put him down, like putting him in his swaddle sleep sack before we nurse toward sleepiness. I'm also getting better at telling when he's actually waking up vs. fussing a bit in his sleep. Often I've gotten up to get the nest ready for a nighttime feeding before he wakes up too much only to come back and find him sound asleep again...not that I mind!

This past week he's been looking at us when we talk and looking at and trying to play with a couple favorite toys. He still looooooooves books, both the black and white picture books I "read" to him and the pattern of the spines of the books on the jam-packed bookshelves of Mommy and Daddy's books. I love making up stories to go with the pictures. Last night, I had him visiting each of the baby animals in the book in turn and having them tell him that they were happy to see him and would love to play, but it was time for them to find their mommies and nurse and go off to dreamland. I think I'll be a bit sad when he's old enough that I have to read the words are are actually in the books.

Thoughts: I really love being a mom. I don't think I've ever been this happy. I know I'm over tired when I stop loving every moment of it...then I get DH to take over until I feel human again, which usually involves a shower and a chance to reorganize my "nest" in front of the TV.

The switch to an infant carrier-type car seat has made life sooo much easier. We've even gone shopping twice. (I didn't know it was possible to spend so much money in one grocery trip, but it had been more than six weeks and we'd pretty much eaten our way through the freezer and pantry.) Using the Moby wrap more was also helping until I washed it...it seems to have shrunk a bit and I don't seem to be able to tie it right anymore. I'm getting a little better about putting him down in his bouncer or swing occasionally, but really I just like to hold him too much! Well, that and I like to keep him as constantly happy as possible, so I don't put him down as much as I should. Fortunately he likes his co-sleeper well enough and sleeps there at night and whenever I need a nap. I've even been getting him to go to sleep in it after putting him down sleepy and lulled by a full tummy and rocking/cuddling but with his eyes open.

I'm sad that he's no longer super tiny. As much as I want him to be healthy and chubby and all that, and as much fun as it is to see him learning and developing, I'm sad that he already seems bigger and some of his newborn self has disappeared. I guess I really am going to have to have at least one more, even if I don't want to go through another labor like that any time soon. ;-) That's another thing that makes me sad...thinking that if and when we have the next one, he won't be the single center of our universe anymore and I'll have to split my time and attention. It breaks my heart to think about that, so I keep trying to remember that I don't need to think about that yet. But I do. I wonder what the best age would be. We're kind of planning for two years apart, so that if we want a third we could have it before I turn 35, and hopefully the siblings would be close enough in age to be close. I'm a lot younger than my brothers. They loved me at first, but as soon as I could walk and talk they started torturing me.

DH is going on a business trip for the next few days. I'm lucky in that my mom is going to come up and stay with me, and unlike DH she'll be at my constant beck and call for baby stuff all that time, but I'm still going to miss him (and some of the chores he normally does for me).

Questions: Ummm....I know I had some....

Anybody have any good tricks for getting babies to open their mouths wide before latching on? I feel like that's my main obstacle to getting us off the nipple shield now. Good opportunities to get the real boob in his mouth are hard to come by because he doesn't have to open too wide to get the shield in.

Oh, and any tips for getting hats to stay on? It bothers me to wake up and have him sleeping with his cheek on a wiggled-out-of hat, so I've kind of given up on them unless we're going outside and just dress him warm enough at night that he doesn't need one, but it drives me nuts that I have all of these hats and they all fall off. Too loose, too tight, seemingly just right...none of them work, and when I find one that does, it usually stops working the next time I wash it.

Mindie -- I'd consider myself only partially crunchy. I meant to CD but I got sort of spoiled by the Pampers with the color-changing line they used in the hospital (and I chose to have a hospital birth, which is less than crunchy but ended up being the right thing for us because I probably would've gotten transferred anyway based on what I was told during my tour of the birth center we considered). While we do have him sleeping in a co-sleeper, there's no way I'd truly co-sleep with him in our current bed. It's too small and has too dangerous of a mattress, a really squishy old memory foam one. I tried to follow all of the minimalist baby shopping advice, and then realized that I'd prefer/enjoy some of the conveniences and some of the not-so-necessary stuff. We've spent soooo much money on baby stuff since he was born that I'm sick of spending money (didn't know that was possible), but I use pretty much all of the stuff that we've gotten ourselves because we've bought it as the need/want has come up, so at least there's that. When I first started hanging around at MDC, I used to feel bad for not being crunchy enough...but then I realized that we all agree that it's important to do what feels right to each of us.

[TyrantOfTheWeek]

Originally Posted by evinmom

I normally don't either, but this time around my pelvis feels like an old lady's. I need to see my chiro first.

My pelvis hurt lots too, but my vag felt fine..LMAO.
I need 6 weeks to get here so I can get my IUD.

[ears73]

Name: Liz / Finn

Baby's age: 3 weeks tomorrow

Milestones/Updates: Went to the mall over the weekend w/DH & DS2 - it was my/our first trip out shopping w/Finn. Yay - I now have a pair of pants that fit that are not maternity!

Thoughts: I am feeling pretty good... Still bleeding, which would be nice to have end. I just started taking a quick walk to the mailbox w/baby on me and I am hoping to get out tomorrow w/a friend for a longer walk - I soooo need to hit the outdoors!!

Questions: You all talking about dtd - DH sort of brought it up yesterday and it was on my mind as well... But how do you get it through man's thick skull that boobs are not for him when in use!? Maybe it is just me with all my hangups and baggage... but no one but baby gets that part of me now... for like the next 2 years!! Uggghhhhh, lay off already!!!

[evinmom]

Originally Posted by ears73

Questions: You all talking about dtd - DH sort of brought it up yesterday and it was on my mind as well... But how do you get it through man's thick skull that boobs are not for him when in use!? Maybe it is just me with all my hangups and baggage... but no one but baby gets that part of me now... for like the next 2 years!! Uggghhhhh, lay off already!!!

That's a tough one. I know a lot of people just block when their SO goes to that area. Probably TMI but mine loves the boobs when I'm nursing. I wonder if his mother didn't nurse him long enough when he was an infant. LOL Half of the time I'm okay with it. When I'm not, I just block real fast with my arm and steer him elsewhere.

Everett Update: We had our 1 month appt today. At 5 weeks Everett weighs in at 12 lbs 2 oz which is a 3.5 lb gain from his lowest weight. He also grew 2 inches! He's getting so big and chunky. This afternoon I think I got my first real smile. He woke up and as I went to pick him up, I was talking to him and he looked at me and smiled! OMG talk about heart melting!

[evinmom]

Originally Posted by cloudbutterfly

Breastfeeding is going all right now... But he's gaining really well now...up to 10 pounds 3.5 ounces from his birth weight of 10-10 and low point of 6-13. 12.5 oz. in the last week! And he's up from 18.5 inches to 21.5 or 22, based on our best attempt at measuring him ourselves. He's been really chowing down and my supply seems to be up.

Way to grow Nimbus and great job mama! Glad to hear he's doing so well.

I'm sad that he's no longer super tiny. As much as I want him to be healthy and chubby and all that, and as much fun as it is to see him learning and developing, I'm sad that he already seems bigger and some of his newborn self has disappeared. I guess I really am going to have to have at least one more, even if I don't want to go through another labor like that any time soon. ;-) That's another thing that makes me sad...thinking that if and when we have the next one, he won't be the single center of our universe anymore and I'll have to split my time and attention. It breaks my heart to think about that, so I keep trying to remember that I don't need to think about that yet. But I do.

And you may feel that way until #2 arrives. I remember I was so sad during my pregnancy with DD because I couldn't imagine having to divide my attention from DS1. I couldn't imagine loving anyone as much as I love him. I also felt so guilty. Those thoughts completely went away after DD was born. DS1 and DD may fight a lot, but they also have so much fun together. Giving them each a sibling was the best gift in the world. They have gone through phases where they are so loving to one another it melts my heart. We have already decided we will have 1 more after Everett, but I still get a little sad looking at all the things he's outgrown already. That is why I treat everyday with him like he could be our last. I want to soak it all up as much as possible and not take a single second for granted.

[carmel23]

cloud:

the best way to keep hats on is to have a little tie under the chin. If baby is out of sight, I take the hat off (in the car, etc.) or have a hood (all of Nico's buntings have hoods...)

We have this hat:
hat
And it is lovely... it is easy to wash in the sink, dries quickly, and matches everything because it is a natural/white color.

oh, and regarding the getting the baby to open wide, it helps to kind of squash the breast at the end, a little, at the areola, maybe an inch behind the nipple? or so, kind of like a sandwich (if that makes sense...)

with the thumb on the top, and a few 3 or 4 fingers underneath, and then hold it infront of baby's mouth... he'll do the head shaking thing, and open mouth wide enough to get a good latch... but making the areola part of the boob a bit smaller helps... wait for the baby to open wide, and then put the boob in the baby's mouth...

hth

[ithappened]

DS has started to become a little more of a night time snuggler its really sweet, after BFing he usually grabs onto my tshirt and holds on for most of the night with the other arm wrapped around my boob.. this morning he fell asleep with his head at my neck and I could smell his baby smell finally.. we slept and cuddled like that for an hour or so I think Im finally starting to get attached

I also finally worked up the courage to try the breast pump, Im not sure why I was afraid of it but I pumped about 3 ounces without problem and put it in the cooler.. we're going to try me leaving tomorrow for an hour or so and having the BFed milk as emergency 'funds' for my DH.. now I just have to figure out what I am going to do for an hour

[cloudbutterfly]

Originally Posted by ithappened

DS has started to become a little more of a night time snuggler its really sweet, after BFing he usually grabs onto my tshirt and holds on for most of the night with the other arm wrapped around my boob.. this morning he fell asleep with his head at my neck and I could smell his baby smell finally.. we slept and cuddled like that for an hour or so I think Im finally starting to get attached

Oh, the baby smell...isn't it wonderful? Although at first I forgot we were using scented wipes and was amazed at how WONDERFUL the baby smell was, when it was half wipes/half baby. I haven't quite admitted that to DH, because I kept insisting it wasn't the wipes...well, it was. They smell good for wipes, though, so that's great, and I've since discovered that the part I really loved about the baby smell is the actual baby smell. I'm glad I wasn't getting attached to wipes rather than the baby!

Nimbus falls off the boob when he's done and curls up on the nursing pillow in toward my ribs, which is adorable but occasionally makes me nervous because he puts his face into my pulled down tank top with his nose snuggled too close to the loose fabric and I can't see him because he's hiding under my breast. So I adjust him and that works until he snuggles closer again. He's a very cuddly little guy...I swear he's half baby, half puppy/kitten.

Two things to report:
a) We haven't used a nipple shield yet today. He seems to get the milk A LOT faster once he actually gets on the nipple.

b) I woke up to my mom coming in to check on us because we'd been asleep for SIX HOURS and she didn't think a baby could sleep that long. I accidentally coslept for awhile last night, so I wonder if that had anything to do with it. Unfortunately, when I woke up I'd turned away from him--at least, I think I remember that--so I don't think I'll do that again for awhile.

[Adasmommy]

Name: Diana and baby Annabelle

Baby's age: two weeks tomorrow

Milestones/Updates:

cord fell off at one week

Started peeing her in the bathroom sink around 4 or 5 days and it is SO MUCH FUN to EC a newborn! No muscle control, indeed! Of course I'd never ask a baby to "hold it" but she certainly has the muscle control to release it, and I think she really enjoys it because it's something she can do with her body on purpose! Pretty exciting when you're a week old! Anyone else ECing?

Thoughts:
I'm loving the newborn babywearing. Dd was 4 months before I got a wrap, so I missed that whole time before. So cuddly, so sweet, and so impossible for her to stay awake in a wrap--really cute!

Still bleeding and yesterday had a really big amount of blood and it felt like a something big coming out. Called the midwife and she said I must have over-exerted. All I can think of is carrying heavy grocery bags. Really? I can't carry a bag with two gallons of juice in it? But I feel fine!

My 5 year old dd is amazingly wonderful and I haven't seen one second of resentment, jealousy, impatience, etc with regards to her baby sister!

I've been able to get plenty of sleep and overall everything has been much easier than anticipated. Maybe doing so well because I ate my placenta? I wonder if eating the placenta has any effect on the breastfed baby . . . because she is really charming and easy going compared to #1! She sleeps for 2-4 hour blocks at night (once for 6 hours!), she sleeps even when I'm not holding her, she has periods of alert/awake times when I can lay her on a blanket on the floor and she looks around. She's not so freakin needy! I'm kind of needy though--I can't get enough of her!

We homeschool here, but my dd is only 5 and we're unschoolers, so it's way flexible and there's no pressure! I don't anticipate any problem juggling Besides, baby care is as important an educational goal as math, IMO!

Questions:
What's average time for the lochia stopping? After the bleeding stops, is that when it's supposed to be safe to lift heavy groceries again? And start exercising?

[Adasmommy]

For those with the crying periods in the evening, have you tried wearing the baby tummy to tummy during those times?

That can help both by knocking the baby out (hard to resist sleeping when you're wrapped up, apparently) and can soothe the gas because it holds baby's tummy pressed against you and baby is upright. It's like a burp hold and as you walk around, baby's tummy is rubbed gently to work the gas out.

Hope things get better--nothing worse than a crying love-of-your-life!

[justmandy]

Diana, Idk about the lifting. My bleeding had almost stopped and my mw told me it would come back when I started doing more. I've been doing chores this week and it's picked back up. I'll continue to do lighter chores, like loading the dishwasher and sweeping the floor but I won't be grocery shopping for a little while yet.

I'm taking my "placenta pills" and feel great but ds is my higher needs baby. I htink he'd be worse with out it but he's certainly not calm.

I'm thinking about ECing. It seems weird and a bit of a hassle to me but ds HATES wet cloth diapers so I may give it a go for his sake.

I just reread that and laughed. ECing is weird to me but homebirthing, cding and consuming my placenta are just fine

[carmel23]

Originally Posted by Adasmommy

For those with the crying periods in the evening, have you tried wearing the baby tummy to tummy during those times?

That can help both by knocking the baby out (hard to resist sleeping when you're wrapped up, apparently) and can soothe the gas because it holds baby's tummy pressed against you and baby is upright. It's like a burp hold and as you walk around, baby's tummy is rubbed gently to work the gas out.

Hope things get better--nothing worse than a crying love-of-your-life!

NAK word

[Adasmommy]

Originally Posted by justmandy

I'm thinking about ECing. It seems weird and a bit of a hassle to me but ds HATES wet cloth diapers so I may give it a go for his sake.

I just reread that and laughed. ECing is weird to me but homebirthing, cding and consuming my placenta are just fine

Seriously, lol!

EC is actually a lot of fun and very rewarding. It's not a hassle at all because you just do it when you can or when you want to. Time I would be spending playing with/gazing at my baby anyway!

Then again, I chose to do it because I wanted to, so obviously that's not a hassle--whereas it sounds like someone else in your family is making the choice (your ds)!

[evinmom]

Yup, I second the babywearing for fussiness/gas. That is the only thing that calms Everett during those times. We EC here. I ECed with DD too. I'm finding that ECing a boy is a little trickier than I anticipated due to the spraying. I've been sprayed several times in the night already when his penis is pointing up or out in the potty instead of down. Sometimes it's hard to juggle making sure I'm supporting him enough and holding his penis down. ECing a girl was much easier.

Mana - Your work situation sounds great. I wish I had an option like that after DS1 was born. I might have stayed working. It would be so wonderful if all mothers had the option to work flex schedules or from home. I think it's cruel that so many moms have to go back to an office by 6 weeks. No wonder bfing rates are so low in this country.

[ears73]

Diana - thanks for the link to the babywearing site... I had lost the cd that came with my new wrap so have not used it much but now I can try again. My mil seems to think that wraps are so ineffective and I 'd love to prove her wrong!

Oh wow, I just adore my little baby... I want him near me 24/7!!!!!

[onyxravnos]

uh i still cant even think of DTD ... i must of got my inner lip on the left side pinched when ds came out because it was REALLY swollen and it's gone down a lot but is still swollen.... someday.
i need to keep DH in check though.. i really would like to keep a nice 2 - 3 yr spacing

[SilvanaRose]

Well Orin is almost 5 weeks and he is 8lbs 15oz today....tiny. I hope he's getting enough milk. Should I be worried that he is so small?

Thanks for the replies everyone about my first post. I'm continuing to watch him for signs of anything going on with the weird seizure-like symptoms. We are going to visit the pedi next week, it will be Orin's first visit. Hopefully everything is ok. Also I hope he's just a smaller baby and it's not something more serious.

As for DTD....we haven't even tried. I actually forgot all about it until it was mentioned lol. Nah, I'm kidding. I miss my DH but I'm scared it's going to hurt. I'm still trying to repress the memory of the birth LOL. Speaking of which....what are you all doing for birth control?

I love Orin so much I have a hard time 'sharing' him with anyone. We are going to the IL's house this weekend. Wish me luck please. I don't know how to set boundaries without everyone calling me a selfish b!tch.