May chat thread

[Snapdragon]

May chat thread-
asked on the other thread about the facebook group. How do I join it and is it active? HOw many from here are on it?

So what's up with everyone? what's new?

Over here I got Teo a swing today! He is so happy in it.

[HappiLeigh]

Originally Posted by Katie34

May chat thread-
asked on the other thread about the facebook group. How do I join it and is it active? HOw many from here are on it?

So what's up with everyone? what's new?

Over here I got Teo a swing today! He is so happy in it.

Yeah! Glad he likes the swing. Do you have the video Happiest Baby on the Block? I just saw it for the first time this week and wish I'd seen it when DD was tiny. Lots of good baby-soothing techniques we had to more or less figure out through trial or observation.

Re: Facebook. The group is "secret" on FB because we don't want people outside our DDC to join. You PM Ficus with your e-mail address (the one you use on Facebook) and she sends you an invitation to join. I think the group has about 30 members? But it's not very active. But it contains cute pictures.

DS had his 2 month checkup today. He's 13 lbs 4 oz! Last week I switched him out of his infant carrier/seat into our Britax Boulevard, and he's much happier now in the car. Shew! I also feel like he's safer, because that is just so much nicer a seat, once it doesn't swamp a tiny little person.
He's now rolled once front to back and once back to front, but he doesn't do it on a regular basis. He doesn't hate his tummy like my DD did, which is nice. (Photographic evidence!) I feel like we're settling into a regular(ish) schedule now, which is nice. One big morning nap and some afternoon dozes, but a big long stretch of awake in the evening. It feels good to have some predictability and routine again.

Hope you all are well too!

[Snapdragon]

Happileigh He is soooo cute!! Are his eyes really that deep chocolate brown that they look in the photo? Gorgeous!!

[NicoleS]

Not much new here. DS was having a rough day today. Was very fussy, and wouldn't nurse. DH tried a bottle, he drank about 1.5 ounces, farted, and was content the rest of the night.

[flavorfull1]

ugh, I am having to cut dairy out to see if it will help with Malachi's reflux. I think he basically has silent reflux and I hate to see him hurting. He just started arching his back and crying while nursing. I think it is a combo of overactive letdown and reflux. My husband had a ton of food sensitivities/allergies when younger and he still can't (read shouldn't) do dairy. He will kind of gag/spit up but not spit anything out of his mouth and hiccup a ton. He also turns his head to one side pretty often, which I didn't know but is a symptom. It has been hard to stop dairy since I am vegetarian and I already feel like I have limited options. I think I just don't like that it makes me think harder about what I am eating I am planning on talking about it with the ped at his 4 mo visit.
On the up side, Malachi is 16lbs 2oz with clothes on. He has cute fat cheeks and he is getting so much more verbal! I LOVE being his mom and just so enjoy cuddling my baby. I get comments on how big he is all the time and people will always comment about the mei tai. I think my new obsession is babywearing and baby carriers. I am currently drooling over a water sling that I want for the pool and the beach. We took Malachi to the pool for the first time this past friday and he loved it! He kicked and "played" for almost an hour. It will be even more fun when he can actually move around more. So fun!
Happileigh your son is adorable!

[JustSimplicity]

Originally Posted by HappiLeigh

I feel like we're settling into a regular(ish) schedule now, which is nice. One big morning nap and some afternoon dozes, but a big long stretch of awake in the evening. It feels good to have some predictability and routine again.

Yes, we seem to have a regularish schedule also. A brief nap in the Moby during the morning while I do some housework. Then a LONG nap around noon - usually he sleeps 2.5 hours and I have to wake him up or he will sleep on and on. Then some cat naps in the afternoon and maybe a doze through dinner, some wide awake time in there when we give him a bath and "chat." He goes to bed around 8 and has been sleeping 7-8 hours straight! Woo hoo! Of course that means I need to go to bed soon so I can take advantage of that sleep time.

[Nicole730]

DD has her 2 month check up this week and I'm starting to get nervous about the vaccine thing. I just don't know where I stand or what to do! I started looking at the vaccine threads on here and got even more overwhelmed. With DS, we did everything except varicella and flu shots, and I think there is still hep a we need to do maybe? I don't know. We delayed a few of the ones we did too. BUT - that was with the guidance of his previous pediatrician. Who was well educated in some of the heavy metal concerns with vaccines. Those aren't my only concerns now though.

I'm thinking we will just tell the doctor we will get the vaccines at the health department and then take some more time to figure this out. Ugh...so difficult.

[NicoleS]

Ok, so I'm totally paranoid about Caleb's weight gain. He was one of the bigger babies on here I think, at 9 lbs. 11 oz. He just turned 3 months last Thursday and doing the whole weigh myself and then weigh myself with him I think he's about 14.5 pounds now. He was 13.5 at his 2 month checkup so only 1 pound gain for the month...gah, I hate the stress of BFing. I wish I didn't have supply issues. But right now I'm wondering if I just have crappy milk - I pumped tonight 2 hours after he went to bed and got 4.5 ounces, so he should be getting plenty...why can't I have fat, chubby babies?

[flavorfull1]

some people just don't have fat chubby babies I think if he is healthy and growing that is a good sign. I'm sorry, I know it must be stressful with your previous BFing issues. 4.5oz is amazing! It takes me a while to even get two ounces! I don't think you have crappy milk, and from caleb's pics, looks like he is a happy chubby cheeked babe!

[flavorfull1]

Oh and I meant to say yay katie! glad Teo loves the swing and you get some time to yourself!

[Snapdragon]

d

[HappiLeigh]

Katie, I love the pics with the blossoms!

Flavorfull, carriers can totally be addictive! This little guy doesn't love ring slings or pouches, of which I have, um 6, so now to compensate I'm totally tempted to make at least one more mei tai because I get tired of using the same...3. I'm pathetic, someone stop me!

Originally Posted by Katie34

Happileigh He is soooo cute!! Are his eyes really that deep chocolate brown that they look in the photo? Gorgeous!!

Thank you! They are that brown. He resembles my dad, who has very dark brown eyes that have almost an orange cast to them. (Dad's great-grandma was Native American.) It was kind of shocking to see them so dark when he was first born. I them, of course.

Nicole, I think it is a normal growth pattern for these big birthweight babies to even out at some point. They can't sustain that rapid growth, and just because he was big at birth doesn't mean he's going to be a large person, so he has to slow down eventually. As long as he's gaining, I don't think the rate is so important. Look for plenty of wet and dirty diapers instead of pounds.

[NicoleS]

He has plenty of wet diapers, but not so many of the poopy ones. He hardly pooped at all over the weekend, but then went three times yesterday. So I don't know what to think. I know my method of weighing isn't terribly accurate, so I'm looking forward to our WIC appointment next week to see where he's at.

[aramat]

Originally Posted by Nicole730

DD has her 2 month check up this week and I'm starting to get nervous about the vaccine thing. I just don't know where I stand or what to do! I started looking at the vaccine threads on here and got even more overwhelmed. With DS, we did everything except varicella and flu shots, and I think there is still hep a we need to do maybe? I don't know. We delayed a few of the ones we did too. BUT - that was with the guidance of his previous pediatrician. Who was well educated in some of the heavy metal concerns with vaccines. Those aren't my only concerns now though.

I'm thinking we will just tell the doctor we will get the vaccines at the health department and then take some more time to figure this out. Ugh...so difficult.

I've never vax'd before ~ 1 yr before...am stalling as best I can here in "germy" Brazil... I am NOT ready to give shots to my miracle preemie Juju yet! Worse, my pedi doesn't do shots -- sends you to a clinic instead, but I preferred getting shots directly from the pedi I loved & trusted in the US!

Originally Posted by NicoleS

Ok, so I'm totally paranoid about Caleb's weight gain. He was one of the bigger babies on here I think, at 9 lbs. 11 oz. He just turned 3 months last Thursday and doing the whole weigh myself and then weigh myself with him I think he's about 14.5 pounds now. He was 13.5 at his 2 month checkup so only 1 pound gain for the month...gah, I hate the stress of BFing. I wish I didn't have supply issues. But right now I'm wondering if I just have crappy milk - I pumped tonight 2 hours after he went to bed and got 4.5 ounces, so he should be getting plenty...why can't I have fat, chubby babies?

*HUGS!* Juju is my first baby to need formula, & it is so painful to acknowledge; I had no idea how painful and even embarrassing it can feel... *pout-pout-pout!* But 4.5 oz is great!!

---

Just saw that one of my Facebook friends (first-timer w/a 7-mo-old) joined a group called "Sleep-training the Weissbluth Way", and I need to get some b*tchiness out of my system... I struggled not to type to her that all three of my babies were/are excellent sleepers without "training". ...Because maybe I'm just lucky.

But then, I don't really think it's luck. I think it's patience.

Although, also? I have never once [in! 9! years!] bragged intentionally about my babies sleep habits. And maybe now I want to. MY BABIES SLEEP AWESOME.

Ok, just totally jinxed it, but I feel a little better.

---

I've seen some DDCs creating monthly chat threads inside Life With a Babe -- are there enough of us still here that would want to do that? I'm on the FB group but always forget to check it, though maybe that's b/c it is so slow right now.

[Ninetales]

Originally Posted by HappiLeigh

Nicole, I think it is a normal growth pattern for these big birthweight babies to even out at some point. They can't sustain that rapid growth, and just because he was big at birth doesn't mean he's going to be a large person, so he has to slow down eventually. As long as he's gaining, I don't think the rate is so important. Look for plenty of wet and dirty diapers instead of pounds.

This. Elsa only weighed 14 lb 2 oz at her two month visit (9 wks old, technically), so she isn't even a full pound over her birth weight yet. My dr said I shouldn't worry about the numbers, because she's going to do her own thing, and watch the diapers instead.

Turns out my dr's office only offers combination vaxes for this age, and I definitely don't want that, so I have to go to the health dept and now I'm waffling again. There are several I plan to put off or refuse, but Dtap, PC, and Hib protect against things that can kill a little baby, rare as they are. And then I think that they are rare because of people getting vaxed. But I'm still scared to do it.

[Snapdragon]

yes let's do a thread in life with a babe. We have all been hanging out here almost a year together- I think it is super fun to see how things go for everyone.

[NicoleS]

Post the link if you move elsewhere please, I don't really leave this room.

Caleb will likely need formula, and it really pains me to admit it. AF has always come back between 3 and 4 months in the past, and when that happens I lose my supply and it never recovers. So I feel like a ticking time bomb now.

[Lauren31]

Nicole- DO NOT question your BFing. Your baby is getting enough if he is soiling his diapers. BF poops are so different then formula ones. Some babies can go days and days (I was one of them according to my mom) and then poop a ton ALL day long! It sounds like your Caleb did just that. BF charts with weight gain are quite different then formula ones so keep that in mind as well. Lastly, pumping amounts have NOTHING to do with milk supply. Some women with perfectly great milk supplies do not pump much. If you are worried I would cut out all bottles for a week and nurse a ton and your supply should increase if need be.
ETA---

Also- if you do get AF back, just eat a lot of oatmeal and try Fenugreek and lots of water! It should help at least.

[Lauren31]

I am rethinking vaccines as well. She had an awful reaction last time and I have NO idea which one it was to bc my doc convinced me to do all of them at the same time.... and I said, ok... ugh. ugh. ugh. It's so annoying that I did that.... Anyways, come to find out that I had a horrible reaction to DTP growing up and only got the one shot... I think we might just give her the HIB and Prevnar next time and delay everything else until a LOT farther. I was takled into Rotovirus last time but it seems silly to get it if I am breastfeeding her and she is not in daycare... my doc said it's super important but I don't know... it scares me that it is a live virus. Doc said I can give her DtaP seperate but I do not want to give her Pertussis at all as that is what I reacted to as a child. hmmm.... decisions.

[NicoleS]

He doesn't usually get a bottle - DH tried one just to see if that would calm him down any (thinking maybe my supply was lower than usual and the faster flow would appease him). He wasn't that into it so I don't think hunger was the problem...Unfortunatelt the typical galactalogues don't help me. Even Reglan only worked for about three months and the side effects were terrible. I did get some domperidone to try when AF arrives, but don't have much faith it will help and not sure how long I could afford to take it.