Chat Thread: 11/13-11/19 - Page 3

[livacreature]

Hmm, I have an Angelcare, but I hadn't considered using it before she was sleeping her room (which DH and I have decided won't happen in the foreseeable future).  How is it with false alarms?  I might set it up today so I get some cleaning done.  I need to crawl around on the floor and bend over to get some stuff done, so wearing her won't really work.  She did good again last night, woke up for an hour at 3:00 and then was up for the day at 6:30.  Not bad, she was asleep by 10.  I really hope this continues.  I'm one of those people who requires ten hours usually to function, so this has been pretty rough.  I'm glad that we are through with the first weeks of up every single hour.  I'm getting stressed over my babes weight.  The doctor had hoped she had gained more at her one month.  She eats a lot, and I have been supplementing when she is done with the breast and starts screaming and banging her head against it.  Usually she'll take an extra 3-4 oz of formula a few times a day.  She just seems so little in comparison with all these other gainers.  Her newborn diapers are still pretty big on her, and she's almost six weeks.  We have lots of wet diapers, it has been a couple days without a bowel movement, but that seems pretty typical for this age.  She's passing gas. Any BTDT moms with littler babes/slow gainers who came out unscathed?  Reassure me, I started crying yesterday when DH was looking at some pictures of my friend's newborn and he commented how much bigger he was than Aurora.  

Rosemary, I hope things get better with Iona soon.  :(

[emmaegbert]

livacreature, people come in all sizes. if your pediatrician is not concerned, try not to worry too much. they are generally pretty conservative with that stuff. My understanding is that they pretty much want to see that kids are staying on a good growth curve FOR THEM, not compared with other babies. My DS (now 7) had some friends who were small babies. They are still fairly small kids, but they are a LOT bigger than they used to be and they are doing just fine!

Rosemary... hugs! I hope that Iona grows out of this soon. Its awful when they are just screaming. And take your rest when you can, for sure.

[capretta]

Rosemary: Try to rest up and take care of yourself. It's so much harder for me to calm my baby when I'm exhausted.

[emmaegbert]

here is my problem: now that the utter exhaustion of the first 2 weeks is past, I can't seem to settle down and nap with either or both of the girls. But I am still freaking tired. AH. I try to at least lie down for 15 or 20 minutes. I figure a rest still helps? Anyone else have this problem?

[livacreature]

Originally Posted by emmaegbert 

here is my problem: now that the utter exhaustion of the first 2 weeks is past, I can't seem to settle down and nap with either or both of the girls. But I am still freaking tired. AH. I try to at least lie down for 15 or 20 minutes. I figure a rest still helps? Anyone else have this problem?

I've done this at night.  She's not waking up every hour or two, more like every three and a half to four, but I'm still waking up and can't sleep even though I'm tired.  It sucks!  Resting even when not sleeping is better than nothing, though.  Put in some quiet, relaxing music, maybe bust out some aromatherapy oil, close your eyes, and breath.

AFM: Trying not to wonder about her size.  She went from being in the tenth percentile at birth to now being smaller than the third percentile.  The doctor just wasn't very reassuring.  He kept saying he'd like to see more gain but what she had was pretty much adequate since she seemed fine otherwise.  For reference, she is in one of her preemie sleepers right now at almost six weeks (even though she is well above the five pound weight on the size chart).  She can wear newborn stuff, but it is pretty loose and too long.  When she cries, you can see her abs, she's cut!  I guess I spent the whole pregnancy geared up and worried about a big baby due to the diabetes, that having a little one kind of throws me off.  Oh well, she's eating, she's sleeping, following sound and light, and seeming more engaged.  Those are the things I need to focus on.  And I need to remember I wore a 6X in little girls when I started middle school. ;-)

In other news, today she has the smelliest gas.  She stinks.  I could smell her when we went for a walk in the Moby, heck, I can smell her now in her bassinet from a few feet away.  I'm dreading this poop when it comes.  I have a feeling it is going to be a mess!  I also got $85 worth of prints and such from shutterfly for $10 real money between a $20 gift card and some coupon codes.  I was psyched!

[starling&diesel]

livacreature ... My first was a very little baby.  She was on the 3rd percentile on the charts until she started solids.  No one ever used "failure to thrive" because they weren't concerned, really, as that's not their style.  As my (very skinny and very short) pediatrician said, "Someone has to be on the third percentile." Now dd is average for her age (three years) and is bright and healthy and quite physically solid. 

I was so worried about her, and I worry now again about my supply with ds, even though he is gaining so well and the supplements aren't essential at this point, according to the scales.  But I tell you ... my nerves were so shot from dealing with my daughter's early weeks and lack of weight gain that I don't think I'll ever regain the confidence I lost.  It's truly nerve wracking, isn't it? 

rosemary ... regarding the tortured porpoise, ds is seven weeks and I can now say that he grew out of it as his gut matured.  I hope the same is true for you!

[AKislandgirl]

livacreature: My daughter was also tiny. She gained very slowly and wasn't on the growth chart until recently. (almost 3) My Dr just checked that she was growing on her own growth curve which she was. We did do some extra weight checks for a while but developmentally she was right on track or even ahead. She did turn out to have an intolerance to gluten which we discovered several months after starting solids but she is doing great and gaining well now. It's hard to not worry though, I know!

[~pi]

Rosemary, HUGS.

Emma, I haven't been able to nap for weeks. I can sleep in, though. DH is doing early mornings; I handle late nights.

I have built up a tiny stash of milk this week by pumping when I could, and tomorrow night, I am going to sleep in the guest room BY MYSELF ALL NIGHT. I am so excited.

It was a PD day today at school, and I took both kids to a museum to meet a couple of friends with their school-aged kids. Overall it went well, though really, why do the diaper blowouts always have to happen when I'm out, on my own, and people are waiting for me? Is it a corollary to Murphy's Law or something? They went to a movie afterward; I was done and I knew the movie would not be appreciated by DS1, so I bought him a dinosaur cookie, we went for a walk in the sunshine over to DH's office, eating the aforementioned cookie along the way, popped up to say hi to DH, and then took the train home.

Such a nice day -- it hit all four of the things that help me feel good postpartum: 1) getting out of the house, 2) sunshine, 3) walking, and 4) socializing. I've been doing well with the first three but not so much the last one, so I think I'm going to focus more on that. As it gets colder and darker, I'm feeling closer to the edge of the cliff of sadness, not to mention way more irritable. DS2 was screaming yesterday while we were out walking and I nearly bit the head off some a woman who went by and felt the need to comment. (Her: "Wow, he's not happy, huh?" Me, snappishly and sarcastically: "No, he's thrilled. That's why he's crying.")

[Trinket90]

I had to go to the DMV today to renew my license (finally turned 21 and get my big girl license!). I was leaving the building, with DS in the ring sling. He was bundled up in a warm outfit, mitts, socks, and a hat, then snuggled in the sling against me, then with a fuzzy blanket wrapped around that. This woman walked by and said, "Is there a baby in there?" When I said yes, she said in this horrified voice, "It's COLD out here, you know!" Yes... it is (although close to 60 F by this time of the afternoon). And what warmer place IS there for a baby then curled up against mama's chest with a blanket on him? I don't get people. 

On another note... DS had his 1 month appointment today. From an 8lb 8oz birth weight and a low weight of 8lb 1oz, he's now 11 lbs 3 oz!!! Go baby go! He's gonna be big fat baby like I was as a babe. My mom said my brothers and I never played with our toes because we couldn't get to our feet--too many rolls! 

ETA: livacreature, what starling said. Someone has to be in the third percentile. As long as she's otherwise healthy, I'm sure she's fine. Just means you get to see her in those adorable preemie/newborn clothes for longer! I'm sadly packing up DS's newborn clothing right now.

[livacreature]

Trinket, I have gotten that "it's cold" crap so often with dd in the moby. It is nuts. People need to mind their business

[emmaegbert]

Originally Posted by ~pi 

Emma, I haven't been able to nap for weeks. I can sleep in, though. DH is doing early mornings; I handle late nights.

[...]

DS2 was screaming yesterday while we were out walking and I nearly bit the head off some a woman who went by and felt the need to comment. (Her: "Wow, he's not happy, huh?" Me, snappishly and sarcastically: "No, he's thrilled. That's why he's crying.")

if only DH didn't have to leave for work at 6:30AM... he gets up first but I hardly get to "sleep in", sigh

as for the second part, good retort!