Weekly thread, Jun 6-13

[jenfl]

Argh. Bedtime was a total fail last night; I ended up screaming along with the two of them just to see what they thought was so great about it (result: it's not). Not a great night, and woke up to DD being totally contrary and disagreeable.

On the plus side, Sprout is laying on the floor next to me, babbling adorably, and I'm going to meet up with a rare, central-Florida AP mom to try some new carriers.

[Knitting Mama]

After three nights of sleep regression, where Cecilia pretended she was a newborn again having little catnaps and little nursy snacks, we slept through the night again last night, and boy how! Eight whole hours with just one side-by-side nursing (that I remember) in between. THANK YOU, baby girl!

[nikirj]

Trying to get in on this thread this week...

We're only sleeping about 6 hours a night, which is kind of going to drive me nuts eventually. It IS her longest sleep stretch, but she's awake all evening before going down at 1230 or so and then wide awake again at 630 or 7. I have lots of training at sleep deprivation and it's not getting to me yet, but eventually it will if she keeps it up.

The big kids are being totally cute still. They're fighting with each OTHER like little maniacs, but are fiercely protective of the baby and are always wanting to hold her. OMG having two hands free almost any time I need them is awesome, I have no idea how I did this with only younger kids before (or the first time around).

[GreenTeaGinger61]

Originally Posted by nikirj

The big kids are being totally cute still. They're fighting with each OTHER like little maniacs, but are fiercely protective of the baby and are always wanting to hold her. OMG having two hands free almost any time I need them is awesome, I have no idea how I did this with only younger kids before (or the first time around).

Sounds like life around here. The only thing that drives me insane is that they can't let her sleep...ever:P Of course she's also going though some thing where I am the only one she wants holding her.

As for sleep...not nearly as much as you guys. The most she sleeps is five hours and then we do a LONG side by side nursing which I am half awake for. I just can't sleep with someone sucking on my boob The last few days have been rough. Rowena is super cranky and hard to please. Plus she's not going to sleep until 2 or 3 am. Argh!

I am cloth diapering except for nights. I need a wool soaker for right that and right now really don't have the money (money is one of those anxiety causing things right now). I did squeeze out some money for some used fitteds. My friend let me borrow some to try out and I LOVE them. Between those and the prefolds we should be good until the end of the summer.

Still unpacked. I am so glad we moved as there was a home invasion about two miles from where we used to live. It had all the hallmarks of what happened to us but with way worst ending. The woman who lived there raped while two other people were forced inside a closet. Of course the money situation is directly tied to this move but I'm not sure what else we could have done. We could use all the pvs, prayers whatever you do so that we can make it through the summer.

[smeisnotapirate]

We had a BEAUTIFUL naming yesterday for Nomi.

Will post pictures soon - nothing went the way I expected, but it was a wonderful night, and so, so special. My parents showed up, which I was absolutlely shocked by. Anyways, we still have DS's birthday party today (which looks like it's going to be rained/tornadoed out), so we'll see what happens. Will probably post Monday when this crazy weekend is over.

[loveneverfails]

Add me to the list of people whose older children fight over holding/looking at/talking to the baby.

[smeisnotapirate]

BTW, cloth diaperers - my doula gave me a hand-knitted wool soaker for Naomi (she was knitting it while I was in labor) and I have to confess I have no idea how to use it or care for it. Tips????

[jenfl]

gtg -- that is so scary! I'm so glad you guys got out of the area. I'll keep your family in my thoughts.

So how do you guys diaper overnight and how often do you change? We do bumGenius and one change a night -- about halfway through a 12 hour nightime period. But I wake up in the morning to find the bumGenius has leaked sometimes in the morning. I don't think a wool soaker over top is a great idea because of the Velcro on the front of the diapers, right?

[GreenTeaGinger61]

Originally Posted by jenfl

gtg -- that is so scary! I'm so glad you guys got out of the area. I'll keep your family in my thoughts.

So how do you guys diaper overnight and how often do you change? We do bumGenius and one change a night -- about halfway through a 12 hour nightime period. But I wake up in the morning to find the bumGenius has leaked sometimes in the morning. I don't think a wool soaker over top is a great idea because of the Velcro on the front of the diapers, right?

On diaperswappers, many of the women recommend wool for night. They swear by them. The soakers my friend showed me didn't have velcro though. I was planning on wools for nights as I don't really think I can deal with leaking in the middle of the night. It would be that straw....

Right now we're doing spoies for night. I'm open for cheap options though.

Sara: My friend told me that she used a website to learn to care for her wool. I'll ask her for the address.

Thanks Jen I"m glad we're out as well.

[laughingfox]

We're just doing prefolds and thirsties overnight.
We have to change the cover in the morning usually, because the elastic gets damp, but we've had no leaks or rashes yet. *knock on wood*
Have I mentioned that I love my prefolds?

GTG, I'm so glad you moved!
I'll send you good vibes for money troubles if you send me some, too!

[GreenTeaGinger61]

Originally Posted by laughingfox

We're just doing prefolds and thirsties overnight.
We have to change the cover in the morning usually, because the elastic gets damp, but we've had no leaks or rashes yet. *knock on wood*
Have I mentioned that I love my prefolds?

GTG, I'm so glad you moved!
I'll send you good vibes for money troubles if you send me some, too!

Deal

I love prefolds too. I think I'm going to be a fitted and prefold mama. Fitteds I love for going out, and dh finds them easier to use. I'm worried about prefolds at night as R can pee like no one's business She has leaked during the day when I'm holding her and changing her regularly.

[smeisnotapirate]

Originally Posted by laughingfox

We're just doing prefolds and thirsties overnight.
We have to change the cover in the morning usually, because the elastic gets damp, but we've had no leaks or rashes yet. *knock on wood*
Have I mentioned that I love my prefolds?

Ditto!

Thanks for the website.

[jsh7809]

Sleep has been so so, still not perfect. She's going down earlier, between 7 and 8pm but I think she still sees that as a "nap" (especially since it's light outside) and so bedtime can span much later. Last night she was asleep for real by 9. Then up for a nurse at 3 or 4, which is a great long chunk. And she's waking up for real for those nurses, now, so I can actually get her to burp after, so she actually sleeps better beyond that! But then she was up a little at 5 and then for real at 6:30.
I am still having trouble telling what is actual wake up time and what is a nap. I've learned that when I think she's up for real at 6:30 or 7 (she wants to be changed, she smiles and coos and generally seems wide awake), she'll start rubbing her eyes and yawning a half hour later. So I keep it mellow, reswaddle her if she's worked up, nurse a little, and she usually drifts back to sleep, but it's a light sleep. So if I put her in her crib, I need to keep jumping up to settle her back down. But when I bring her in bed with both me and DH, it's too interesting and she can't let herself stay asleep.
That's my theory anyway . So I got a little more sleep (20 minutes or so) this morning but she made a TON of noise settling into and back out of her hour long 7:30 a.m. "nap". And now it's 9:30 ish and she seems ready for another one. Confusing!
But I realized one thing: now that she's sleeping better (or over a long span of time, with more naps), I have room to feel that "I miss Symphony! I want a cuddle!" both at night and in the mornings. This makes it much easier to function on the sleep deprivation. Cause even though she goes down by 9pm, I have trouble falling asleep before 11ish, and then staying deep asleep after her first wakeup calls...
We'll get better and better, though. At least till teething starts!

Nursing is getting better too! Although when the milk slows down to a normal flow she still seems to give up and get mad - although I know hit is much better than when it's gushing into her mouth and choking her. It does crack me up to see her start to lick the nipple instead of latching and suck but it is hurting my back to keep leaning over to relatch her... and it makes it very hard to sleep sidelying.

I'm still freaking out over her hip dysplasia thing, and still very angry that they left me a voicemail about it on a friday evening. (When my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer - now thankfully recovered - they also left her a message on a friday evening! wtf?!). I'm using her huge pocket diapers and all in ones and cloth covers in the hopes that we can get her hips in the right position without that awful brace.

But we do use a disposable diaper (now 2 to keep her hips spread) at night, and it's great because most nights I don't change her between 8pm and 6 or 7 am! I always change if there's poop but I let pee ride until she's fully awake.

[nikirj]

I'm a prefold fan as well. It's mostly about the money and the drying time for us, because I don't particularly care for how bulky they are. We're using a prefold and a snappi, usually with a wool cover (we have some not-wool covers that I use when I won't be able to change a diaper for a while, but I don't do that often because she gets a heat/contact rash every time).

Overnight, I've been using a snappi and a prefold and not putting a cover over it, because she doesn't pee in her sleep; we sleep on a fleece mat just in case, but really I can expect that she'll wake up, pee, and then I can change her diaper and put a cover on and get up for the day. This wouldn't work if she had more than one sleep stretch.

She poops about once every 2 days, and there is no diapering method that I know of that would be capable of holding it in. The way I fold the prefolds, there's literally a pool of poop under her in the "v" of the fold with some bubbling out the legs/back, but it would be worse with most other diaper systems I've tried in the past. Luckily she warns me when she's going to poop (totally shuts things down if I try to hold her over something to do it, though), so the collateral damage has been pretty minimal.

[Knitting Mama]

She sounds like a great candidate for EC since she gives you such clear signals!!

[nikirj]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

She sounds like a great candidate for EC since she gives you such clear signals!!

I've tried a few times to take steps towards EC, but she fusses and won't pee/poop unless she's cradled close to my (or someone else's) body, and the mechanics aren't working out. We'll keep trying every now and then; I suspect she'll just be an "early potty learner" more than an on-purpose EC'd baby. My in-laws did this with their babies; DH was "potty trained" at 8m, BIL at 6m. I think that's the way we're headed with this baby, but who knows.

Jess, I saw that on another thread too, that sounds SO frustrating. You just want clear information from your providers, especially when there might be something wrong with your baby! We are also still struggling with oversupply. I'm looking forward to nursing comfortably at some point, but it's still not happening. It isn't painful, just a lot of off/on (and I did also hurt my shoulder/mid-back latching and relatching), coughing and sputtering, and spraying milk everywhere still. I'm also looking forward to nursing a little less messily.

[ivymae]

Sleep: Becky sleeps like a baby... meaning she wakes up every two hours and cries. really, she's not a bad sleeper. She normally just wakes me up with grunts, and rarely stays up at 3am. I'm craving that deep deep sleep you get when you sleep by yourself in a huge bed, but I really can't complain, since my other girls were (and are) pretty restless sleepers. I'm a night owl at best, and an insomniac at worst, so I'm not surprised that my kids fight sleep. i hope Becky got her daddy's sleep genes.

Siblings: GAH I am so ready for the new to wear off so they will just leave her alone sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I love that they adore her, and my 4 year old is actually a good helper (Becky will calm down for her when nothing else works) but the 2 year old is just naughty, and then when they start competing over her ("Baby loves ME MORE!" they yell as they pull her arms in opposite directions) my eye starts twitching and I usually end up holding Becky out of their reach. So even when she is content to sit in her chair, I spend the entire time telling them to BACK UP ALREADY. (This has been an issue today, can you tell? Heh.)

Wool: Easy-peasy. We primarily use wool longies/shorties, and I'm way too lazy to use something complicated, so that tells you something, aye? I only wash mine when they get poop on them, or if they smell musty. Fill a bathroom sink with lukewarm water, hand wash them with some wool wash or shampoo/babywash, drain the sink, rub a small bit of lanolin in the sink (the stuff for your nipples works fine), run just enough hot water to melt the lanolin, fill the sink with lukewarm water again, and submerge your wool. I leave it there to soak for a while, and then i drain again, roll the wool in a towel (never wring wool, it will stretch out/felt), and then lay flat to dry in a sunny place. It sounds so much more complicated than it is, and i was scared of knit-wools when DD1 was little, but I am a little addicted now. There are also video tutorials out there, if watcghing it would help.

[smeisnotapirate]

Ivy, I'm allergic to lanolin - it gives me hives. Is there anything else I can use???

Those shorties/longies are GORGEOUS.

[crazyeight]

how many prefolds do you put in the cover for night? we're off/on with the cloth. having no dryer/no hot water made me just do it part time then with moving i haven't used on in a while but now i have a dryer and hot water and the boys are here and i am FINALLY caught up on laundry (like 10 loads in one day!)

the heat...um its going to be like oh 108 today i think. we were out yesterday at the lake the entire day and it was up to 100 at least. and yeah it's a dry heat..but so's an oven! its HOT. i'm sure our AC bill will be nice and high...

[ivymae]

Oh, that sucks! I found this thread, which may be helpful: http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/...d.php?t=984959
Apparently you can use them without lanolizing them, so there may still be hope! You can also look into wool wraps that don't need lanolizing (loveybums is a brand we like)

I've also been known to use the wool pants just as pants/diaper covers for cute dresses, so it's not a complete loss even if it doesn't pan out as a waterproof cover for Nomi. I wanna see a picture!