Well, for those still around... How the heck are ya?!

[guatemama1]

Since there's a couple of us who are still around, maybe we could start another little chat...

How are you? How's the babe?

All good here - Arlo is huge - has gained about 5 lbs since birth 7 weeks ago. However he has "umbilical granuloma" so we are still trying to get the belly button to heal up, have had 3 silver nitrate treatments thus far.... he's not bothered, no pain.

I'm ok- started classes again and have learned to exist and mildly function in a perpetual zombie-state :) Actually Arlo sleeps pretty ok, wakes 2-4 times a night for 15-30 mins for a diaper change n' some milk-snacks and goes right back to sleep. He smiles a lot and is starting to oohh-gggooooo now :)

What's up with the rest of you? All healed up?

[greenmama66]

Still here- I check for action too on this DDC but there is little action. Julian is now almost 7 weeks and is such a mellow baby- so easygoing. He's been smiling, laughing/giggling and cooing for the past several weeks and it's been so cute. We took our first plane trip and that went well, he slept the entire time aside from sleep/nursing (just a short 4 hour plane ride) and smiled/giggled at meeting my mother for the first time when we got there. Everyone couldn't believe how mellow he was - he didn't cry once the entire trip but has been fussy for some reason since we got home. He also slept really well at grandmas (entire night) but woke several times the first night we got back. Tonight is the second night we've been back so I hope it's a better night.

I need to implement a workout routine/schedule to lose this weight! Ack!

[medmom7]

I'm still here too. My babe is 9 weeks and doing great. I have been back to work for 2 weeks on a light schedule and it has been going okay. I hear you about wanting to get back into shape. It is so hard to find time to exercise!!!! I feel so guilty to take time from my family to do it during the day so I try to get up really early and exercise but sometimes the baby wakes up when I get out of bed, plus with needing to pump in the mornings it is hard...

[mugglesmom]

Fosston is 8 weeks tomorrow.  Things were pretty rough the first few weeks.  Recovering from an unwanted c/s, lots of breastfeeding issues, postpartum depression.  He was pretty fussy and I was a mess, not a good combo.  Now that The breastfeeding is under control he has been a total sweetheart.  I think he was fussy because he was hungry and I wasn't making enough milk.  He wanted to nurse all the time and he had bad latch, I had thrush and mastitis so that was miserable.  Now that I've healed and my milk has increased he's happy and so am I.  I really felt like the first few weeks I was just trying to keep him alive and now I get to actually enjoy him.

He's been giggling and smiling and cooing and I swear talking!  It's amazing how quickly things change.  DH and I just spoke about how different things are every day.  He learns something new all the time, I love watching him!

He sleeps great at night but he doesn't nap well. We're working on that.  He's starting to take one 3-4 hour nap a day and a few catnaps at the boob.

I'm still having a hard time managing my day.  I only get about 2-3 showers a week, my meals are pretty sporadic and I'm not getting anything done around the house. 

How are you mamas handling the daily grind?  Do you have baby on a schedule already? 

[guatemama1]

Mugglesmama - I'm glad things got better. That's awesome you stuck with the bf'ing despite all the problems. Nice work

I swear Arlo is "talking" too :) I love the coo'ing n' goo'ing, it's so awesome. AND I think he likes me, like now can recognize me and so it feels so rad when I make him smile. Someone else will be holding him but I come up and boom, smile. Ah, the perks to bein' the mama

& yesterday I went for my first actual exercise-walk and it felt great. I've hit a holding pattern at my current weight I think and will now have to "work" to get the rest off :)

No baby schedule here, we're just going with Arlo - but he sleeps pretty good, eats well. His abuelita says because he was born so early in the morning he's always gonna wake up early. So around 6am Arlo is bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to take on the day... I am, well, not so ready (I was born in the late morning :)

[mugglesmom]

I love the perks of being mama too.  Whenever daddy holds him he just looks for me and turns his head to the sound of my voice. 

God I wish I could go for a walk!  We can barely go for a walk around the block.  He just wants to be in my arms all the time and if I have him in a carrier he wants to nurse and I haven't quite figured that out yet.  Oh well, with the amount I'm nursing I'm not really worried about weight, yet.

Guatamama- are you still living in Guatamala?  What are you doing about vaccinations?  We haven;t really decided what to do yet but we might be in Central America this winter and I'm wondering if we should get some shots before we go.

I  was born in the middle of the night, is that why I have insomnia? 

[guatemama1]

Originally Posted by mugglesmom 

I  was born in the middle of the night, is that why I have insomnia? 

According to my MIL: yes :)

We are still in Guatemala and so far have not vax'd. We were going to go with Dr. Sears' selective schedule but then decided to do no vax until we are back in the USA - Arlo will be 6 mos then. I'm not sure how much or what yet re: vax but I'm okay with waiting awhile, much more comfortable with that at the moment.

When I first came down here I got vax'd the heck out of - but it was with Peace Corps so I got vax'd for a buncha crazy stuff most people don't get or need to get! And on the other hand my MW's 4 grown children were never vax'd at all and grew up here in Guatemala. My personal view on vax for traveling here depends on where you are going. I used to lead courses down here with US students and some would get special vax but most wouldn't and everyone was ok. And the kids lived with local families and traveled to relatively rural places and off the beaten path without contracting any vax'able diseases.

[stellabluz]

Hey all! Glad to see this, I have been thinking we were done with the club. Mose is 6 weeks today and fully busted out some real smiles and gurgeling acknowledgments today. It made everyones day and was quite the site to see my two daughters over him coaxing smiles with their interpretations of his sounds. Makes me melt

He's doin great, but we have our first cold of the school year and it sucks to hear him so congested. He is gettin big as we both got an official weigh in at WIC today...13 lbs, me enough to keep the dream alive of workouts. I am so dang hungry though, have been walkin 3.5 miles 4 days a week and doin some mama and baby yoga when he wakes up at 5 am ( he too born at that hour and is so awake, i have decided to start my day then). I have had to change my thinkings so as to not become overwhelmed or bummed from lack of "excitement". Between getting Stella off to school and getting her back, feels like the day is short and un-productive between nursin,sporatic cleaning and playing with 4 year old. I miss my crafting and sewing, but have discovered that I can paint one handed and that makes me feel good.

One bummer is the lack of connection and pure annoyance I feel with my husband right now. It is most likely our lack of sex, but we are constantly annoyed with each other. He isnt the best helper and I do and do and do and keep it all cool and then bam, explode all over him. He isnt the best at hearing critisism so trying to convey things that I wish he would do is pointless. Its like Im stuck between wanting to communicate the support I need and the sad acknowledgment that it is gonna have to be on his terms, and it might take a while. All while trying not to get to resentful and mad. We need to do it though. all healed up, but just irked by him. and me to him I am sure. A bad cycle no marriage.relationship needs.

Good to know you are all here. No fb for me so it will be nice to chat a bit. And glad to hear things are well for you all ~

[guatemama1]

Originally Posted by stellabluz 

He isnt the best helper and I do and do and do and keep it all cool and then bam, explode all over him. He isnt the best at hearing critisism so trying to convey things that I wish he would do is pointless.

Yaar, I hear ya. Today I made us a wicked bfast and just as it was coming off the stove, Arlo needed a food-fix, too, so DH ate his yummy hot bfast sitting at the computer while I tended to Arlo... then as Arlo was done... and DH was done... Arlo began to fuss... DH was glued to the computer reading the news then I was like, "ahem... ahemmm" and then I was like, "HEY! Take Da baby!! I WANNA EAT, TOO!!!!!" I try to keep it super cool, too, cuz DH is not receptive to my "assertiveness" - but sometimes I just let it all out even though I know it's not productive. I hate bitchin' about the stuff I wish he'd help with, or realize I have to scarf my food down while he gets to lazily munch away - cuz he does do a good job - it's just sometimes I need a bit more 'awareness' of what he might be able to help with :)

[tourist.]

Ahhh I want to post in here but DS gets squirmy while I'm standing still with him in the sling.  I'll try to come back and post a *real* post later, I don't want the DDC to stop.

[sarafi]

So glad to read the updates and to hear about the other babies in our DDC. I've been a bit overwhelmed with single-parenting four kiddos and the severe lack of sleep that entails with a newborn, but do think of you all often :-)

Mugglesmom RE: vaccinations. My first two are almost fully vaxed on schedule, but we never finished any of the later series with them. Just got the two year old his first shot, went with Polio to start and will do MMR at some point I think. I like the Sears book about vaccinations, and would specifically research what is prevalent in the area you will be visiting before deciding. We lived in Japan for six years and never vaxed for TB, but opted to test for it every two years instead. Normally children living there would be vaxed, but we were comfortable with the risks and uncomfortable with the shot so made that choice.

Schedules??? What are those? LOL. Baby is still sleeping most of the day, and the other kids need someone to play with them. Then nap time hits, and sweet girl wakes up with a vengeance. I am running on 4-5 hours of sleep/day and am so.very.tired... Just a few more days until we reunite with Daddy and I can take a guilt-free break and actually sleep again. I feel like a complete zombie at this point.

Will continue to check it, but need to head to bed. Hope you are all doing well and babies are growing!

[mugglesmom]

Thanks for the vax advice Ladies!  I think vaccinations are the thing I'm having the hardest time with regarding Fosston.  I don't want to vaccinate at all some days and then the next I'm so worried he's going to die from whooping cough that I think I should vax for everything.  I think we're just going to wait to vaccinate until he's older, I think he's just too little right now.  He's not really exposed to anything anyway, even when we go out he's in a wrap so the masses can't touch him or breathe on him :)

Oh you ladies with more than one kiddo!  I thought I wanted lots of kids but I can barely handle this one!  I'm trying to go easy one DH because this is new to him too but he really just doesn't get it sometimes.  He has no idea how to soothe the little guy and I feel like he barely tries.  It's like 2 minutes of crying and he's frustrated and hands him back.  Grrr...I have him all day and night trying to figure out what will soothe him and you give up after a couple of minutes?  Plus, that means that DH gets him when he's all cute and loving and I get him when he's crying. So unfair!  To be fair though DH has been great about doing everything around the house while I get used to being a mama.

Does anyone have interest in creating a social group for our DDC?  I know there aren't many of us left but I really like having this group here. 

[guatemama1]

I like having this group here, too. It's sorta me, myself, and I down here doing the mama thing and I'm on the computer so much for school - it's nice to have a little chat outlet.

Yesterday we took Arlo to the embassy to register him as a US citizen & apply for his passport... Well I didn't expect this but the consulate guy didn't 'automatically' believe Arlo was mine. Granted Guatemala has a lot of adoption fraud and baby stealing but this was a frustrating scene. Because I had no hospital discharge papers or records of any prenatal care, the guy was not convinced. Why would you use a birth center? Cuz I wanted a natural birth, sir. But...why? A midwife? The midwife does water birth. Huh? So you have no records of this birth? He made me feel like a total weirdo. At one point we had to hold Arlo up between us to show the resemblance, but he was still not convinced. Other couples it took a 5 min interview, we were there for hours...  They even had to call in some other big American dude to come flip through our paperwork, shake his head and discuss. I gotta say, it is a very crappy feeling to have to PROVE that's your kid. I mean especially after all I'd been through physically, emotionally, mentally to have him. Made me feel so sad waiting there. In the end he got his US papers. Geez.

Aaaaanyway, I'm down for social group.

[cupcait]

Hey Mamas!

Theo is almost 7 weeks and doing really well. This kid loves to eat so I feel like all we do is sit around and nurse. He's sleeping pretty well at night and I actually feel well-rested, thankfully. He typically sleeps from 10pm to 2-3am and the another good stretch until somewhere between 5-8am. Today we went back to sleep after he woke and slept another 3 hours which felt good. 

His smiles and coos are the sweetest! 

I have to say though, I feel like we get nothing done around here and I miss being able to clean up or cook a meal or leave the house without having to perfectly timing everything. My DH has been great but he works long hours so it's mostly me and the little man most of the day. 

[guatemama1]

Originally Posted by cupcait 

His smiles and coos are the sweetest! 

I had no idea how awesome these would be

[LivingSky]

I don't post here much now (rarely have time!) but I read here every day, so it would be great to keep the group going in one form or another!

Kayden sets his own schedule. He sleeps really well at night - we usually go to bed between 8:30 and 10pm, he sleeps for 4-5 hours, then nurses, then we do two more sections of 2-3 hours of sleep before we get up. So I'm feeling surprisingly rested. He's a speed nurser so we're usually only up for 10-15 minutes of nursing at a time at night. I feel like he's spoiling me and when we have baby #2 I'm going to be blindsided by a tougher baby! So I'm trying to enjoy it while I can

On the vax note - we've decided to delay vax until at least one year, and we'll discuss it again after that. We'll almost definitely vax for tetanus, because we live on a farm and there's tons of rusty old barbed wire and glass around here that a stumbling toddler will eventually catch himself on. I don'tthink we'll do any vax besides that though, unless we travel somewhere that makes me rethink that.

[guatemama1]

Um, any postpartum health issues?

TMI?

I just googled what I think I have... which is my first hemorroid ... it started at like 6-7 wks PP... is that right? Does this happen weeks after? Not cool.

And maybe it's being tired, or the 6 weeks of solid non-exercise resting period PP, but it's hard for me to carry the babe too long, mostly my back hurts. Maaaaaan, I feel like I'm too young to feel so old :)

[Narleegates]

All's good on the homefront here, Asher is chunking up nice and plump, not sure of his weight, he was 8lb15oz at birth, 9lb4oz at two weeks, and then our next appt won't be until October, but he's definitely 10+ pounds.  We did our first cross country drive/fly and he was awesome.  3 days of 8 hour car rides from OK to VA, and then a whole day of flying (3 different flights) to get home, he slept on the first 2 flights and sat pleasantly on the last one.  Had my 6 week check up today and we talked about birth control, still trying to decide if I want to do the depo shot or get an IUD...decisions decisions.  Hubby should be home in November, so we're starting to get a little excited about that, and today I thought I might see teeth in his bottom gums :(  too soon!!!

[stellabluz]

guate~that is maddening, i had similar, but not as crucial experience at our "registering" office. It always amazes me how little or dare i say ignorant people still are about home birth and midwives. They act like the midwife just shows up with a pot to boil water in or something. glad you got his papers, i would have been so pissed. sorry bout that roid too :( I got one after too (around 4 weeks. it's small enough that it seems to come and go though). just breathe and dont push. lots of water.

narleegates~teeth!! at first i thought you meant your husband. either way i would be so scared!

we finally did the deed, hoping that lets out some steam in my husbands brain, geez. no idea what to do about birth control. i actually have been thinking of doing it all again, which was so far from my mind after birthing this ten pounder. i just love my children so much, i get these rushes of what seem like oxytocin still. kinda strange.

the vaxing topic (from my exp. on the mdc) will just eat up any thread so i will just leave it at my kids are all 100% unvaxed and in my gut and to my best researched abilities, i feel that is the right thing to do. there are some great sources here on the vax forums though to help make that decision.

im gonna do a little shameless promotion of myself here, but also give all you mamas a coupon :)

here is a sweet treasury i was featured in:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/Njc5MTgzMHw3MjAzNTU0MjY/birthing-celebration

and free shipping coupon code for my wee shop is : MDCmama

http://www.etsy.com/shop/aCalliopeWoman?ref=pr_shop_more

And I vote for a social club for sure as a non fb-er. I think I read that the moderator needs a "leader" from us to start...any volunteers?

[cupcait]

I am a little nervous to get back to DTD. I am almost 7 weeks PP at it seriously the furthest thing from my brain these days. I don't even know when we'd have the time even if I felt like it! I haven't used hormonal birth control since I was dating my DH and I don't plan to go back on them now, but we don't want baby number 2 until this one is 2-3 years old.

Although, like you stellabluz, I have been thinking of having more and can't wait until I get to experience labor and birth again - I really liked it.

On vaxes - we're staying unvaxed for now. I'm still doing heavy duty research and I for now I feel totally okay with not doing any. If we do decide to get some vaxes, they won't be until he's MUCH older and one vax at a time for sure.

Originally Posted by stellabluz 

we finally did the deed, hoping that lets out some steam in my husbands brain, geez. no idea what to do about birth control. i actually have been thinking of doing it all again, which was so far from my mind after birthing this ten pounder. i just love my children so much, i get these rushes of what seem like oxytocin still. kinda strange.

the vaxing topic (from my exp. on the mdc) will just eat up any thread so i will just leave it at my kids are all 100% unvaxed and in my gut and to my best researched abilities, i feel that is the right thing to do.