April 2010 Mamas, through October 2nd - Page 2

[Jenica]

Originally Posted by jsh7809

Hope everyone's having a lovely sunday. Can't respond to the other posts right now because I'm feeling like a wreck... I had been hoping that S's sleeping was slowly improving, doing some of the NCSS stuff and working on naps. Well, I finally just logged my second night (with NCSS, you do it every 10 days) and I realized that she's getting WORSE. Last night she woke up SEVEN TIMES between 7pm and 7am. Or, she woke me up anyway, and needed resettling or nursing. Seven, people.
DH has let me sleep in a bit both mornings this weekend, but it's really hitting me that it's been months now since I got more than the occasional 2-3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. This is rough.
I know from last week that when I start crying because I'm exhausted and feeling like I'm doing everything wrong, that means it's DH's turn to get up with her and give her a bottle of pumped milk at night. She still ends up needing ME about twice a night but I will take that over 7 times!
Seriously, though... what AM I doing wrong? How can it be this awful STILL? If this is in fact a 4 month regression, we're going on a month and a half of it! She just turned 5 months, and I'm terrified we've got months of awful sleep ahead of us. She can't find her fingers to self soothe. She has to suck to sleep (though that was getting better - it's definitely not) and either have a ton of motion or be right next to me. I wouldn't mind cosleeping if it actually helped - right now I've been trying to mostly put her back in her crib, and end up spending about half the night cosleeping, which is fine, but she still wakes up a gazillion times with that. And I'm a light sleeper, so every peep she makes wakes me.
I'm really, really having trouble thinking clearly, just getting through the days (and nights!) like this. Looking at the sleep log I was like, no wonder I am a zombie. No wonder I can't do anything during the days. This is torture.
She didn't sleep this badly as a newborn, and slept relatively wonderfully around 2-3 months.
I'm thinking I'm going to have to let her cry - not CIO, don't get me wrong, but I'm so responsive to every noise (thinking, "well, at least this way I'm catching her before she wakes herself up so she's easier to resettle) that it's exhausting. I know she's young but I'm thinking I'm going to need to start letting her cry for 3-5 minutes (or at least move beyond the fussing stage into an actual cry, which I have a hard time doing) before going to her. Is that a terrible idea?
No matter how hard I try, for months and months, I can't take my finger (she has to suck on my pinky to sleep) away until she's fast asleep. I can literally try 20 times and she'll wake up everytime unless she's completely out.
ARGH!!

I posted all the following before I read your other posts, maybe a Pack and Play next to your bed might be a happy medium between co-sleeping and having her sleep in her crib?

Jess, what's your stance on pacifiers? Are you totally anti or does S just not like them? Leyla didn't care about hers at first but I really wanted her to take one because I didn't want her to suck her thumb. (My reasoning is you can take away a pacifier but you can't take away a thumb). Anyway, to get her to take it I dipped it in a little sugar water a couple times. Now she takes it no problem. Maybe it would be easier for you if you could get S to take a paci so you wouldn't have to give her your finger.

Leyla still wakes a lot at night (probably as often as Symphony) but L seems to resettle faster than S so maybe something I do might help you. One thing we started several weeks ago (after we stopped swaddling was giving L her burp cloth to hug while we rocked/bounced her to sleep. She started associating it with sleeping so when we paci her and hand her her burp cloth she now cuddles into it and closes her eyes. It also helps keeps her asleep when we put her down because she holds onto it the whole time. About a week and a half ago she learned to put herself to sleep for naps as long as she has the cloth and paci At night we'll put her in her crib in her room and sometimes she'll fuss but we just keep giving her her paci and cloth and she goes to sleep. (Sidenote: L almost always fusses before going to sleep even when we hold her. She just needs to complain before she sleeps. We don't let her all out cry but the whining she does whether we're there or not so I don't think it counts as CIO). She sometimes wakes up after her normal 1/2 hr nap amount and if she's wide awake she hangs out on her baby gym or her swing and when she gets fussy we put her back in her crib. When we go up to bed I change her into a sposie and take her into our room and I nurse her to sleep in our bed then put her in the bassinet. (Another sidenote: I keep our bedroom dark, no nightlight and definitely no turning on reg lamps. I generally leave her in the sposie all night unless she poops in the night and then I might turn our flameless candle on so I can change her but it still stays dim) She nurses at least every 2 1/2 - 3 hrs and after the first nursing she sleeps next to me. Before she's next to me when she stirs I give her the paci and cloth. I do this without sitting up because if she see me she wants we to nurse her so I just hang my arm over the bassinet and do it all by feel. If she's really awake and is wiggling and kicking her feet I'll hold her feet until she settles. If she starts crying I bring her in bed and latch her on and we both go back to sleep. During the night she wakes up ALOT but I barely wake up and I'll help her latch and then go back to sleep. Sometimes she doesn't want to nurse, then it's usually either needing to burp, she's uncomfortable on her side and wants to be on her back or vice versa, wants the covers up or down, or just wants my hand on her chest or head. If she's just moving too much in her sleep for me to sleep I put her back in the bassinet. I do most of my nighttime parenting half-asleep. I don't stress about how many times she wakes because I found that when I was trying to keep track of it I would wake up more fully and, 1-not be able to fall back to sleep quickly 2-be more tired. Maybe none of this is helpful to you at all but maybe something I'm doing differently might work for you. I just feel really bad for you, you just seem miserable and not able to fully enjoy your LO because of the sleep deprivation.

[momto4plus4]

Originally Posted by Peace+Hope

i've decided i FEEL like i need my mom more as an adult than i ever realized i was needing her as a kid. it's still so important for me to be able to rely on her now...

This is how I've felt too. She's a wonderful mom and sometimes it's hard for me to really understand that someone else in this world feels about me the way I feel about my kids-that complete unconditional, unwavering love.

Congrats on tooth #2! JR really is working at his-drool gallor and just munching on his hands a ton.

I, too, did NOT have my ideal birth with JR. Textbook unmedicated birth w/#1 & things just went down from there until #4 was a c-section. But, at least they're all alive and healthy. I posted my birth story but not sure if it's just in the ddc or in the birth stories thread.

erickalynne: Ouch, poor little guy. So sorry. I hope it heals quickly. I'm not on any FB list as I was out of the loop for a while. Thanks for posting the link for the pacifier. I thought I had bought EVERY kind out there. Wondering if JR's possible tongue/lip tie may be why he won't take one??? Going to give this one a shot.

Liz: Mine isn't sitting at all. I mean, he can sit for about 2-3 seconds on my lap or between my legs but not anywhere near on his own. My others were all at least 6 mths before sitting. He's rolling tummy to back but not the other way and he HATES tummy time. I don't worry. I never really gave my others tummy time (all hated it) and they've all been just fine. I've given JR some rice cereal but stopped. Now just some puffed rice. I tried ds1 on carrots first & that was awful. Mine are all super sensitive. Dd1 started with cereal and she was fine. Do what you think is best.

Jen: that's interesting that he's used to your cats but frieked over theirs. Is their cat bigger?

Dena: Glad that dh's interview went well. Keep us posted!

JSH: I hear you on the sleep thing. NONE of my kids have been good sleepers. I anticipate being up at least once a night until 13 mnths. BUT, until at least 6 mths, they're up typically every 2-3 hrs but ds1 was up every 1 1/2 hrs. I think you're talking out some good ideas: letting dh step in and take over so you can sleep, maybe letting go of all the "ideas" out there so you can just reconnect & feel what she needs and do what You think is best. I HAVE to let JR cry sometimes. I'm not a cio mom but sometimes he just needs to scream. He has a bad temper and it's better for us both if he just gets it out. Hang in there, you're doing an awesome job. Just a note, I'm a light sleeper, I sleep with an air purifier in the room so I can't hear every little noise. That said, he's in the swing or in bed with me so I don't have to worry so much about him rolling over or getting stuck or anything.

loveneverfails:

JR had a fussier day today. His bottom 2 teeth are SO close! 3 oldest were with dad overnight and JR was SO happy to see them when we woke from nap. I hadn't realized how much he missed them! He actually yelled at me when I took him in the house instead of staying out with them. I'm so glad my kids love him so much.

[loveneverfails]

Jess, thanks for remembering!! My knee is *finally* back to normal, so I got on the elliptical last night for half an hour. It makes me annoyed, though. I'd rather run. I think I might do power walking on the treadmill so that my joints aren't screwed but I can go faster. I think your plan sounds like more fun though.

P+H: Yeah, I am owed a nice day out after all of this nonsense. I am going slightly nutty. But yes.. school. I school!

[Sorin]

Originally Posted by Liz.Furtado

Hey all!

I feel kinda out of the loop but it seems like i ahrdly ever have time to pop in here these days...how is everyone? And the babes?

Just wondering where all of your LO's are with milestones. I know every baby is different and they will get to each of them in their own time, I just keep reading things about how other 5-6 month olds are sitting up on their own and rolling over a lot- Max is not doing those things really at all! He HATES tummy time. I try to make sure he does it a few times a day since it'll only last for a couple of minutes at most, get down onf loor with him and play with him and with toys to try to distract him from the fact that he's on his tummy...I've used the boppy to take some of the pressure off his tummy to see if that's what's making him mad, EVERYTHING. We bw and doother things like stand him up on our laps and such so he has really aweome neck control but I'm just concerned he isn't going to be able to strengthen up his upper arms if he isn't getting enough tummy time. Someone (Sry! I forget who it was!) told me in a post I made about this before that since "tummy time" is mostly a western idea and that all babies get there eventually regardless, but I guess I'm still nervous about it!

Also, we started giving him a bit of cereal (I was going to start with fruit but a bunch of peope told me to start with cereal- no idea why I listened to them) and was giving him a little bit about once a day. He became so constipated that he was screaming the most awful screams every time he had to poo. I felt so bad. Needless to say I'm not giving him any more cereal. Have you guys introduced solids yet or are you waiting? To be honest I originally wanted to wait and didn't...Since we stopped the cereal he does seem to be fine with EBF so I'm just going to stick with my original gut feeling of waiting. If you HAVE started solids, what was your babes first food and how did he/she react to it? Just curious! If not, what do you think you'll start with?

Thanks, ladies!

Liz--I think I responded to your other thread, but DD has been on solids for about 3 weeks now (she's 5 months). At 4 months, it was clear that she was not satisfied on my breastmilk alone, so we decided to introduce a little food to her to see if that made a difference. It did! She loves to eat and is still nursing like a champ, and she's a much happier babe with a full belly.

As soon as she turned 4 months, we tried rice cereal, which she hated. We tried again a few days later, and she still hated it. A few days later, we tried oatmeal cereal--she hated it, too! All of the cereal was mixed with breastmilk, but she still was not interested. After about a week, I took a look at a banana that I had on the counter and decided to try a bit. She LOVED it! Since the banana, she has eaten and loved carrots, sweet potatoes, prunes, peas, and apples. I introduce a new food every three days. I make my own purees in a Beaba babyfood maker that I received as a gift. DD eats while sitting in her highchair and opens her mouth wide to receive every bite. It is so cute how excited she gets about eating! Since I don't give her very much (probably no more than 2oz a day spread out over two feedings), she *always* fusses and cries when the spoon stops coming her way. I have to immediately nurse her after solids or else she has a complete meltdown. My girl just wants to eat and eat and eat!

In terms of milestones, she can roll over from front to back, but *hates* tummy time. Once she rolls over to her belly, she's proud of herself for about 5 seconds, and then after that she does the arched back/fish move while grunting in frustration. I try to put her arms under her body to see if she will push up on them, but she always moves them to her sides, which, of course, makes things difficult for her because then she can't move. So I don't see crawling anytime in the near future. She's got good head and neck control and can sit up when propped (like in her highchair). She can't sit unassisted, though. Poor thing just falls right over. She is also a big-time babbler and carries on long conversations with us and with herself. She has no teeth, and it doesn't really seem like any are coming anytime soon. We go to the doc on Thursday, so we'll get a height and weight check. At her last appt, she was in the 50% percentile for both. I have a feeling that in terms of milestones, she is probably right in the middle of normal for her age.

[snoopy5386]

Poor Kelsey is sick!! My oldest caught a cold after only a week of preschool and now Kelsey has it too. It's a miracle that DH and I are still well. Poor baby is soooooo miserable, she can't breathe and is just a wreck. Last night she was up every hour until about 1 am, then she slept till about 4 and then up again for about an hour and back to sleep until 8. She got some decent naps in today, but was a wreck again tonight at bedtime. It took me nearly 2 hours to get her down, she kept crying out, even though her eyes were closed and she was asleep! I finally gave her a dose of tylenol (her first) and she's been out ever since, close to 2 hours now. Poor thing has been sleeping pretty much exclusively in her bouncy seat and we've had to torture her with the snot sucker a few times. I ordered a nosefrida from Amazon that will get here on Tuesday. As disgusting as it looks, all the reviews make it sound awesome so hopefully it will work to get the snot out.

Lack of sleep/baby not sleeping/cosleeping - Jess, it is not you who is doing anything wrong, it is just the way S is. My first was a lot like S and yes, it was absolutely miserable, but it does end eventually and you will survive. Take naps, sleep in on the weekends and don't feel guilty. Do what you need to do to survive. Kelsey's sleeping has gone to crap lately too, even before she got sick. I'm lucky to get a 3 hour stretch, two 3 hour stretches in one night and I feel like a new woman. Usually the later it gets into the night, the more often she wakes. We're also still struggling with weaning from the swaddle which makes things even harder, as I feel like I'm swaddling and unswaddling her all night long.
On Saturday I was so tired, the second I stopped doing anything I could feel it in my bones, the pure exhaustion. I was driving to BJs and the grocery store and had the distinct thought that I shouldn't be driving cuz I was way too tired. Kept forgetting things in the store, just a mess. Luckily I got to sleep in this morning after last night's super crappy sleep, so I'm a bit more on my game today.
This time around I find that I can only cosleep if I've been asleep already. I can't go from wide awake to cosleeping - the lack of being able to move around and get comfy, all the noises and movements the baby makes, I just can't fall asleep. With DD1 I was forced into cosleeping, she wouldn't sleep any other way and I just had to get used to it, but never enjoyed it. It's not too bad this time, as long as I get at least a couple of hours in my own bed. Last night after we figured out it was going to be a really rough night I made DH sleep in Kelsey's room and I slept with her in ours, I just wanted to sleep in my own bed, yk?

Solids - We'll wait until 6 months, but I think Kelsey is ready now and I'm itching to start. I'm holding back cause we're going on vacation in 2 weeks, so I don't want to start and then stop and then start back up again, nor do I wish to do solids while we're traveling. Also my SIL from Florida will be here when she turns 6 months and I think it'd be cool for her to be here for that "first" since she lives so far away.

Milestones - Kelsey can roll back to front and does it almost constantly. She has rolled from front to back a couple of times, but rarely ever does it. She's starting to get better with the sitting unassisted, she can hold it for up to 30 seconds but then just flops over.

AFM, today I fed my freezer - turned 20 lbs of chicken into 20 lbs of marinated chicken. Tomorrow I've got to make 2 full size lasagnas (for feeding guests) and 2 mini lasagnas (big enough for just us). And I've still got like 1/2 a bushel of apples in my fridge that I need to turn into applesauce......

Well, going to bed now, I don't expect to get much sleep tonight.....

[momto4plus4]

Originally Posted by snoopy5386

I'm lucky to get a 3 hour stretch, two 3 hour stretches in one night and I feel like a new woman. Usually the later it gets into the night, the more often she wakes. We're also still struggling with weaning from the swaddle which makes things even harder, as I feel like I'm swaddling and unswaddling her all night long.

This time around I find that I can only cosleep if I've been asleep already. I can't go from wide awake to cosleeping - the lack of being able to move around and get comfy, all the noises and movements the baby makes, I just can't fall asleep.

First, I'm so sorry she's sick. I hope she feels better super fast.
About your post-this is us. I finally got him to sleep unswaddled but I do keep a blanket I made with him and he snuggles it but it was a good week or so of the swaddle, unswaddle and he kept getting out of the miracle blanket so I tried a bigger blanket that he got out of so I just decided he was done. I think him being in the swing a lot helps.

I also can't go to sleep cosleeping. Like you, once I'm asleep, I can bring him in bed and sleep no problem but I need that first sleep on my own to get into that deep sleep. I try to go to sleep right after he's woken to sleep or I just wake him and nurse and put him back in the swing and I go to sleep so I can, Hopefully, get a good stretch.

[OneWithTwo]

Sara- J wouldn't take ANY paci and I took a chance and bought these at a local store. He loves it because it has a handle and he chews on all of it, not just suck on the paci part. I like it because it's free of all the crap and just plain and basic.

his head is looking better..I still feel like a bad mom for not noticing it sooner :/ not even knowing how it happened

We spent the better half of today in bed a really lazy day...
he nursed pretty much all day, the thing about J is he gets so distracted. It drives me batty! on and off and on and off and he turns his head and then wants to suck on my arm and I question if he really thinks something is coming out?
I am so tired of the on and off deal though

[Dena]

Originally Posted by erickalynne

...the thing about J is he gets so distracted. It drives me batty! on and off and on and off and he turns his head and then wants to suck on my arm and I question if he really thinks something is coming out?

You know, I am beginning to think J and Maya were seperated at birth - though I am pretty sure I would have noticed if ANOTHER one had come out of me. Seriously, though, they sound so much alike. Maya has been doing this too lately, and it drives me bonkers. Sofia used to do it too, now that I am thinking about it. I guess I got spoiled with Ellen, who was all business and would complete a nursing in 10 minutes flat. And since she was my largest child, I am pretty sure she was getting enough.

In other news, I know I have been saying five children would be nice, and I think having a little boy would be nice. But a 44 year old "child" in my house was NOT what I had in mind.

[OneWithTwo]

Originally Posted by Dena

You know, I am beginning to think J and Maya were seperated at birth - though I am pretty sure I would have noticed if ANOTHER one had come out of me. Seriously, though, they sound so much alike. Maya has been doing this too lately, and it drives me bonkers. Sofia used to do it too, now that I am thinking about it. I guess I got spoiled with Ellen, who was all business and would complete a nursing in 10 minutes flat. And since she was my largest child, I am pretty sure she was getting enough.

In other news, I know I have been saying five children would be nice, and I think having a little boy would be nice. But a 44 year old "child" in my house was NOT what I had in mind.

I sometimes think he isn't mine either.....LOL..it must be that bright red hair that throws me off
Campbell LOVED nursing and would be all business too, but jennings stops and babbles or burps and then will search around, latch and suck and then 5 seconds later off and babbling again, looking around the room! drives me crazy. he kept turning his head the other direction tonight and sucking on my arm...SERIOUSLY BOY?? I have a hicki(sp?) on my arm now

[triony]

Originally Posted by jsh7809

Hope everyone's having a lovely sunday. Can't respond to the other posts right now because I'm feeling like a wreck... I had been hoping that S's sleeping was slowly improving, doing some of the NCSS stuff and working on naps. Well, I finally just logged my second night (with NCSS, you do it every 10 days) and I realized that she's getting WORSE. Last night she woke up SEVEN TIMES between 7pm and 7am. Or, she woke me up anyway, and needed resettling or nursing. Seven, people.
DH has let me sleep in a bit both mornings this weekend, but it's really hitting me that it's been months now since I got more than the occasional 2-3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. This is rough.
I know from last week that when I start crying because I'm exhausted and feeling like I'm doing everything wrong, that means it's DH's turn to get up with her and give her a bottle of pumped milk at night. She still ends up needing ME about twice a night but I will take that over 7 times!
Seriously, though... what AM I doing wrong? How can it be this awful STILL? If this is in fact a 4 month regression, we're going on a month and a half of it! She just turned 5 months, and I'm terrified we've got months of awful sleep ahead of us. She can't find her fingers to self soothe. She has to suck to sleep (though that was getting better - it's definitely not) and either have a ton of motion or be right next to me. I wouldn't mind cosleeping if it actually helped - right now I've been trying to mostly put her back in her crib, and end up spending about half the night cosleeping, which is fine, but she still wakes up a gazillion times with that. And I'm a light sleeper, so every peep she makes wakes me.
I'm really, really having trouble thinking clearly, just getting through the days (and nights!) like this. Looking at the sleep log I was like, no wonder I am a zombie. No wonder I can't do anything during the days. This is torture.
She didn't sleep this badly as a newborn, and slept relatively wonderfully around 2-3 months.
I'm thinking I'm going to have to let her cry - not CIO, don't get me wrong, but I'm so responsive to every noise (thinking, "well, at least this way I'm catching her before she wakes herself up so she's easier to resettle) that it's exhausting. I know she's young but I'm thinking I'm going to need to start letting her cry for 3-5 minutes (or at least move beyond the fussing stage into an actual cry, which I have a hard time doing) before going to her. Is that a terrible idea?
No matter how hard I try, for months and months, I can't take my finger (she has to suck on my pinky to sleep) away until she's fast asleep. I can literally try 20 times and she'll wake up everytime unless she's completely out.
ARGH!!

Jess, just a quick note because i can hear how you're struggling. I was there a month and a half ago. The 2 things ghat have helped me the most are
1- T naps better now, so I can nap with him. We still have nights like yours, but if I can sleep during the day, I don't turn Into a hysterical mess.
2- puttin him on a mattress on the floor. This way when he wakes up, I can lay next to him and rest until he falls back asleep or just stay there with him.
Will S take a pacifier?
Also, T went through one of his worst phases right before his 2 teeth came in. we never saw them until they broke through.

[jenfl]

Oh, guys.

Remember how, not 2 weeks ago, I said how great nursing was?

And then how, 1 week ago, he started getting teeth?

Well, it seems that his tongue-tie-modified compression technique for nursing doesn't involve his tongue going over his bottom gum. So now that those sharp little teeth are rubbing on my breast, especially when I'm not full and he has to work harder.

It's hurting more and more all the time. I'm not sure what I'm going to do.

[ann_of_loxley]

Jen - does he have an actual tongue tie? Both my sons have - I made sure Hamish got his snipped right away! I don't know what I would have done if that didn't happen!

[jenfl]

Originally Posted by ann_of_loxley

Jen - does he have an actual tongue tie? Both my sons have - I made sure Hamish got his snipped right away! I don't know what I would have done if that didn't happen!

Yup. See http://floridatonguetie.blogspot.com.

[Dena]

Originally Posted by jenfl

Oh, guys.

Remember how, not 2 weeks ago, I said how great nursing was?

And then how, 1 week ago, he started getting teeth?

Well, it seems that his tongue-tie-modified compression technique for nursing doesn't involve his tongue going over his bottom gum. So now that those sharp little teeth are rubbing on my breast, especially when I'm not full and he has to work harder.

It's hurting more and more all the time. I'm not sure what I'm going to do.

I'm so sorry. I hope it gets better.

[sehbub]

Sorry I fell off the face of the planet!

We're doing great.

Charlie will be 5 months on the 30th and is humongous. He's 27" and about 20lbs, wearing mostly 12m and some 12-18m clothes. I'm really glad now that we didn't use the infant car seat, because he'd have outgrown it already! He's this.close to sitting unassisted, and is rolling both directions and scooting across the floor. He's grabbing toys, putting everything in his mouth, and generally just entering the "fun" stage. I'm not really anticipating an early walker, but he's crazy strong, so it's possible.

He has started on rice cereal and loves it with every fiber of his little being. I have always said I'd practice baby-led feeding, and he's definitely leading! DS1 didn't eat a bite of solid food until almost 9 months, but C is a whole different ball game. He can pick up a spoon and put it in his mouth, has 0 tongue thrust, and is not appeased with just being given utensils while we're eating. Every time we take a bite he opens his mouth and then yells if we don't put anything in it. I'm excited for him to get his pincer grasp perfected so we can start self-feeding. It's so much easier.

Sleep sucks, but I have an infant, so, whatever. A good night means I get a 2 hour continuous stretch of sleep and he's only up 5 times to eat. A bad night, well...last night however he fell asleep at about 9:45 and woke up at 6:15 this morning. He didn't nap at all yesterday afternoon though, so it's not really a tradeoff I'm willing to make.

We're super duper busy. DD2 has soccer practice Monday and Wednesday with games on Saturday. DD3 has practice Wednesday with Saturday games. DD3 and DS1 have swimming lessons Tuesday and Thursday. All 3 girls are in different schools, but DD3 is only in half day pre-K, so a typical day is:

615 - wake up, feed C/pump
645 - get big kids up/dressed/pack b-fast for DD3 and lunches for DDs1&2 if necessary
730-830 - drop girls off at schools
900-1100 - work out at gym
1130 - pick DD3 up
1200-200 - lunch/naps/chores for mama
2-330 - preschool work with DS1, more chores
330 - pick up DDs1&2
430 - snack
530-730 soccer/swimming depending on the day
730 - snack/bath
800 - bed for bigs
815-900 - nurse C down
900-1000 - visit with DH
1000 - BED for mama!

Add in doctor's appointments, hair cuts, errands, etc when possible, and nursing C all the time and, well, it's interesting. We found a phenomenal babysitting service around here that has enabled us to actually go out on dates every once in a while (about once a month) which has helped tremendously in keeping the blues away. I had PPP after DS1 and have been really careful to monitor myself this time and make sure I don't fall in to that dark place again.

I'm training for a 5K to be run Thanksgiving morning. I've lost 52lbs since Charlie was born, which I'm pretty happy with. I've still got about 60lbs to go to hit my goal weight, but so far so good.

I think that's about it. Here are some pictures:
2 days old
1 month
1 month
5 weeks
2 months with my BFF
3 months
3 months
4 months (I gave away my Hotsling...he was just too darn big!)
4 months
4 months

[snoopy5386]

Charlie is adorable!! His hair is a lot like Kelsey's - curly and crazy.

Poor Kelsey! She finally slept last night after I gave her some tylenol - slept from 10ish till about 4:30 and then from 4:30-9 with a couple of wakeups to nurse. She must have been in pain which is making me think maybe ear infection? Ugghh I hate ear infections! You can't tell when they have them, then even if they do you have to decide antibiotics or no antibiotics.....We'll see how she is tomorrow. We leave for Seattle in less than 2 weeks and I don't want her to have an ear infection when we're flying.......I don't know what to do!
Poor baby has a raspy sounding cry and is all congested and gets sooooo upset and freaked out when we do the booger sucker! She looks at us like "WHY are you doing this to MEEEEE!!!!"

[rhiOrion]

Yay sehbub! OMG Charlie has so much hair!!!!!

[braidmama]

Originally Posted by momto4plus4

Jeremiah, 4-5-10, induced, stuck at 9.5 cm, ended in 1st c-section, cord wrapped, SO grateful he's alive!

Hiya! Our babes have the same birthday! Woohooo!

[momto4plus4]

Originally Posted by Liz.Furtado

Hiya! Our babes have the same birthday! Woohooo!

YES! I think Cecilia is a 4-5 baby too!

sehbub: Charlie is SO adorable! He looks like my babes at 18 mths! Awesome! We have a crazy schedule too but I have usually at least 1 day at home and that makes a big difference! I always figure it'll be a good 13 mths before I get sleep. I do try to make up for it with naps when I can.

Jen: I am SO sorry for what you're going through. JR has his appt tomorrow and I have decided if they need to do outpatient & put him under I'm going to do it. I'm concerned not just about our bf'ing relationship but about his eating skills later. I wish there were an easy way to help. Hang in there.

erickalynn & Dena: JR is the same way with the whole on/off thing. I finally let him scream this morning after over an hour of it in bed. It hurts! At least he's not too distracted, at least not yet. My oldest was like yours. Had to be a quiet, dark room which was fine with #1 but when you've got other kids-forget it!

erickalynn: I ordered 2 of those pacifiers last night-one each in the round & orthodontic. He likes the MAM paci's best so I'm not sure, if he likes these, which style he'll like.

Snoop-She sounds miserable. I sure hope she gets better soon. Good call on the ears, very possible. I'm glad the Tylenol helped some.

Our ENT appt is tomorrow. It's sad that I'm hoping she'll find a tongue/lip tie. That would just explain so much. If not, I don't know what I'll do next. Taking the other 3 with me in the hopes that the ENT will look at dd2 as well since she's back on antibiotics. Hoping for a better night-last night was awful.

[Knitting Mama]

Cecilia is a 4/6 baby.