November 2011 Whatever Ladies Havin' Babies! - Page 3

[akind1]

Regarding the paci, one reason I sort of encourage it is that I will be in the office, away from her, at least one day a week. She will be with DH, I don't want her comfort sucking a bottle. Or wadting breastmilk if she's not hungry and wants to suck. What alternatives are there?

[MarineWife]

i'm not saying there's anything wrong with using a paci. i was just poitning out that it might make LAM less effective. LAM won't apply once you start bottle feeding, anyway.

Annie ~ I don't feel like you are shoving preschool down my throat. Preschool and daycare environments are just not an option for me for personal reasons.

I'm pretty certain D is teething. He's been drooling like crazy. Gnawing on anything he can get into his mouth. He really chomps down on my fingers. He's been extra fussy and restless, crying as if in pain and won't nap for very long.

[akind1]

I kinda figured LAM was out for me - though she'll be getting far few bottles than DS did.

Regarding bumbo seats. We used the bebe pod for DS - the plastic on the bumbo always looks dirty to me. and he was a skinny baby and the bebe pod fit better. We got some use from it, but not a ton. don't think I'll use either with DD.

DD slept 6 straight hours, good for sleeping, but not the boobs!

[MarineWife]

Haha, Kat. I remember the first night D slept for 6 hours. I woke up with rock hard, very painful breasts. Youch! I even tried to force feed him during the night but it didn't work. He would not wake up.

Probably, even with some pumping and bottle feeding, if AF doesn't show and you track CF, you might be able to use LAM, sort of. I mean, it's not fully relying on LAM if you are tracking CF but it might help to keep AF away a little longer. KWIM?

I've been having interesting CF for a few weeks now. I'm not really sure what it is. It's slippery when I wipe and shiny and clear looking like ewcf but it's not stretchy. I guess I should call it creamy?

I hope this doesn't sound awful but I really hope dh doesn't want sex while he's home. I am so not interested. Breastfeeding and lack of sleep do that to me. I'm sure he'll want it, though. It's been quite a while.

I've been wondering the whole time I've been reading this book if the author was relying on Alfie Kohn's research. Sure enough, she finally mentioned him in the part of praise vs. encouragement.

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by MarineWife 

I'm pretty certain D is teething. He's been drooling like crazy. Gnawing on anything he can get into his mouth. He really chomps down on my fingers. He's been extra fussy and restless, crying as if in pain and won't nap for very long.

Thats nuts!  
 

Originally Posted by akind1 

DD slept 6 straight hours, good for sleeping, but not the boobs!

I'm glad you're getting rest!! But I know how that feels and it's a mixed blessing!

So - I'm dealing with a clogged duct going on 3 days now.  Ugh.  I'm trying everything and it's just...not budging.  I'm so afraid of it turning into mastitis which I just cannot afford to get.  Today I'm really just going to focus on getting rid of it.  Heat, nursing on that side as much as he'll allow, and rest.  Rest is the tricky one, but I figure since it's the weekend I can let the housework slide a bit.  Ugh, ti's so painful and annoying.  And I'm stressing about it.  Anyone have a trick up their sleeve I havent' thought of?  it's in such a tough spot so I'm trying to aim his chin right at it and hope for the best.  I can feel tugging in that area (hard to explain) but it's not breaking up yet.  Taking poke root.  Heat, massage in the shower.  What else?
 

[MarineWife]

IDK what else, Carrie. Maybe also massage it while he's nursing? Oh, cabbage leaves?

Yeah, the teething is crazy. E got his first tooth at 4 months, though, so it's not unheard of for us. He looked like E at birth and he's more high demand like E so maybe other things will be like E.

[MarineWife]

I've been working really hard on telling the boys what to say when one bothers the other and then noticing when one says something and the other complies. It's been working really well. Ethan tells Kellen, "I don't like that. Stop kicking me," and Kellen stops. Then I say, "Ethan, you said it," and "Kellen, you did it." So far, so good.

[MarineWife]

Look what i did all by myself.

[Baby_Cakes]

Love it! D is all, peekaboo!  i'm in here!!  Good work, dude!  How hard was it?

[MarineWife]

it wasn't hard at all. i followed the directions here: http://wrapyourbaby.com/meitaiback.htm and did it over my bed. i put him low with his arms in because i wanted to see how well it would support his head if he falls asleep. i don't think it will at all. i need to practice with my wrap so he'll have more head support and this hurt my shoulders after a while.

[Baby_Cakes]

MW if ur dh doesnt want action id be surprised!! Lol!! Mine wants it far more than i do, but neither of us can stay awake long enough to really do it. Sleep is just more important right now.

This boob is killing me!! I've been dangle feeding, nursing regular, hot shower, used a comb in the shower to try to break it up, heating pad, pumping. Everything!! No fever, no sign of infection yet but it's so annoyingly painful!! The duct is so far interior. When i do push on it I get nauseous, why do u suppose that is?

I just killed my diet with pizza and beer. Im feeling so depressed about this!!

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk

[AnnieA]

Hugs Baby_Cakes! I've never had that but it sounds painful! Hope you can resolve it soon!

MW, I actually apologized to my DH the other for the lack of DTD. It's been a long time, probably a month, but neither of us have the time or energy. And we're still trying to figure out this bedsharing thing. Once DD gets settled for the night, we don't want to risk waking her up but we prefer to be in our bed...makes it a little tricky. We need to get a little creative with that.

I need to increase my water or something. Last night and tonight, when I went to pump after putting DD to bed, I can't get anything out. It's freaking me out! I do NOT want to lose my supply! But I'm fine pumping during the day and in the middle of the night. Just something about this evening time. But I almost got DD to latch this afternoon! And now that I won't be working until 4 PM, I'll be able to go to the morning LLL meetings and hopefully get some help to get DD to latch. I would really like to be able to just nurse her when we are together. 

[MarineWife]

pain can make me nauseous. i think that's why i always feel sick during labor. maybe pushing on it sends a jolt of pain that causing nausea. good that you don't have a fever. you may just need to give it a few days and try not to stress over it. stress weakens your immune system so you could become more susceptible to infection. take lots of vitamin C, 3,000 mg a day is what i remember and do rest as much as you can. i remember getting a lot of hard spots that i thought were clogged ducts when i was nursing K. i never got mastitis with him. i get painful spots every once in a while now but they only last maybe a day.

i'm sure dh will want to dtd. i feel really bad if i don't want to. hopefully, my feelings will change once he's home. less than 2 weeks! it's always awkward for me after he's been gone for a long time, like it's our first time again.

i got my seven slings pouch and udder covers nursing pads today. K put two of his teddy bears in the pouch. it was cute. i put a pic on FB. i tried D in it and i think it fits perfectly. it will be nice to use for quick runs in and out of stores. i'm thinking i'll leave the nursing pads in the packages for now. they are cotton and don't have a waterproof backing. i'll probably sell them.

did i tell you guys i sold a pair of longies i made? they were too small so D only wore them once. i got $10 over the cost of the yarn so, if i don't put a price on my time, i made a little bit off them.

i had a good talk with dh today. we talked finances, paying off the CC and saving for when we have to move. i finally convinced him that it's better to use all of our extra money to pay off the CC before trying to save. if we do that, once it's paid off, we can have the same amount saved in less than 2 months after he gets than we would be able to save over last 5 months he'll be gone and we'll pay less in finance charges. then we'll have at least $1000 a month to save as long as we keep our spending in check. he wants to save in case we have to pay to sell our house. he says he'd rather pay 12K to sell it so that we can all be together than him having to leave us again.

i have stopped buying yarn to help with that. i was spending around $200 a month on it. i have so much now that i have one tall set of drawers full plus a bunch of bags in the closet. don't tell sean.

[akind1]

You love your yarn! LOL - I hope you feel different about DTD once your DH is home. I want to say I'm sure you will, but there is no predicting that for someone else. Love D in the back carry, it is too cute!

Annie, I wonder about the bedsharing too . . . DD isn't really content for long elsewhere, and since we are living with the in laws, locations are limited. Maybe by the time I am clear to DTD (due to the 4th degree tear, I am absolutely waiting on the doc to check it at the 6 wk pp check up) she will  be content for a bit in the bassinet. Also b/c of the tear/repair, I am a little apprehensive about how things will feel down there when it comes around to it . . . but hey, we have time and can take it slow.

yay on finance talk! It is great when you are on the same page.

Norah is taking the paci a little better. I think we may do a trial of the bottle next week. I want to do a trial before I go back to work, and that isn't too far away.

JJ - you hanging in there?

and after JJ, is it Kinder?

[MarineWife]

Yep, JJ in a few weeks and then Kinder. Then we'll have to move our group to a different board. I haven't asked about making this one of those private groups yet. I'm just not sure how I feel about that.

Kat ~ You haven't told me Norah's birth day again so I can add it to the front page. It's ok if you don't want it there. JLMK

Yes, my yarn addiction is bad. What gets me is that it's hard to get the colorways I want from the dyers I want unless I vote them into co-ops. So once those colorways are in a co-op, I have to buy some because I never know when I might get another chance. It's not like Lion's Brand or something where they mass produce the same colors all the time. This is painstakingly hand-dyed yarn dyed by one person, usually in her home. It is soooooooooooo worth it, though! I don't know what I'll do when all my boys decide they are too old to wear it.

After we had E, we just dtd in our bed once he was asleep. He never woke up and he was not a good sleeper. We had to get creative after K, though, because E was 3.5+ and still in our bed. I don't mind the baby being there but having a 3yo is just weird. That was tricky for us. We couldn't just sneak off to the living room because Ryan was always prowling the house. He was 16 by then and not going to school or working so he stayed up late. Luckily, we had the extra bedroom for the boys that they never used. I don't really like dtd in another room because I don't like having to get up afterward and go somewhere else. It makes it feel more like work. Eh...

[onetwoten]

I'm still here, trucking along... My last day of work is on Monday *cheers* It came up so quickly! I originally told them I could work until Saturday, and then when the schedule for this week came out, they only have me scheduled for 8 hours on Monday, and five hours on Thursday. I decided that was stupid, and gave away my Thursday shift. So one more shift and I am done! Most likely forever! It feels like such a weight lifted off my shoulders, and even though it's only been two days off so far, I feel so much more optomistic about the labor and birth. I was starting to feel so worn down and in pain, and swollen, from being at work every day, that I was starting to question how I would make it through a potentially long labor. But the swelling is already going down in my legs, and I went shopping for three hours yesterday, and felt relatively fine when I came home. All good news!

DH emptied out the baby's room Friday and yesterday, so after I got home yesterday we were able to put together the crib. Oooh I love it. Now there's just a couple other things we need to move out of the room that we currently don't have a place for, but I'm able to start organizing her closet properly, and getting things where they're going to go. I pulled all her preemie to 3M clothing out last night and de-tagged it, and it'll go in the wash today, so that's one more thing off my list. We need to purchase a mattress for the crib, and throw some sheets and a blanket on it. It will be temporary, since my MIL is still making the ones that 'match' the room, but at least it will feel more done. I haven't set up the p&p yet, which is where she'll actually be sleeping, because we need to finish cleaning up our bedroom. 

I also set up a  "grab bin" of things to have close on hand, mostly for changing. I'm just trying to think if I'm forgetting anything. It will mostly sit beside her change area, but the point is that it's small enough for us to grab and bring from room to room as needed. 

Currently in the box:

-swaddle blanket

-receiving blanket

-two washcloths (to be increased after sposie wipes are used up)

-sposie wipes

-a couple sposie diapers

-two NB covers and 4 prefolds

-small size baby wash

-small size lotion

-one pair socks

-bib

-hat

I asked for other ideas in my DDC, and someone mentioned things for nursing like pads, lanolin, protein bars, and a bottle of water, but I think I might set up a separate bin for those beside the glider in her bedroom. 

It's nice knowing that the only thing we really need to do now (after washing the clothes and throwing a sheet on the p&p or crib) is to get the car seat from my doula. Otherwise, we can just put the convertible in the car, but the plan is to use a bucket until about March or April when it warms up a bit. 

36.5 weeks. It's getting real that she'll be here soon!

[MarineWife]

i don't know what else you could put in the bin but i'd take the baby wash and lotion out. you don't need either of those things. i have never used baby lotion. i guess it may be needed if you use harsh detergents or soaps that would dry out baby's skin. i don't use anything but water to wash baby so i don't have a need for either. plus, have you read about the carcinogens in baby shampoos? the same ingredients are used in all mainstream commercial products. check the ingredients.

after 4 babies, i've become a minimalist when it comes to baby stuff. i know with the first you think you need just about everything but i've found most of the stuff doesn't get used and ends up being a waste of money. i'm probably not much help.

[onetwoten]

Definitely something we've been watching. The washes and lotions we chose are all organic with basic ingredients. The lotion I use on myself... not so much. lol. Once we've got her in the house I'll probably switch my own lotion over as well, but right now, it's not very baby friendly! 

I'm not sure how long those will stay in the box, and not just in the bathroom, but for right now it's just sample sizes, so they hardly take up any room at all. 

[Baby_Cakes]

Idk, I use baby wash.  Finn always stinks like sour milk.  I used to use Johnsons but I switched to weleda.  California Baby gave DD rashes so I never tried it on Finn.  I just like the clean feeling.  I use soap for myself, and shampoo and conditioner.  I guess that side of me is less natural.

We should prob just move to LWAB after all the babies come, right?

JJ - so excited for you!!  did you come any closer to deciding on a name?

[MarineWife]

Oh, yeah, that's where we should go. Makes sense.

Have you ever tried to give Finn a bath with just water? You may find you don't need the baby washes. You don't have to try it, of course. i've just found that my kids don't need it and they don't smell funky.

i bought a couple different wipes washes to clean D's diaper area that are now just sitting, not being used. the CA Baby seemed to give him a rash so i stopped using that. the other stuff i put in my diaper bag. i read you can use it on a dry cloth to clean baby's bottom. it doesn't seem to work well. i spray and spray but the cloth doesn't get wet enough to clean off the poo.