December 2011 Whatever Ladies Having Babies ~ We are down to one! - Page 7

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by MarineWife 

on the necklaces, i'm in the same boat. i have both necklaces on D but i'm thinking i should take one off. the amber one doesn't seem to be helping with the teething. i'm afraid to take the hazelwood necklace off because i'm convinced it helped with the colic/silent reflux.

I took off the hazelwood and I'm going to give the amber a couple more days.  If I don't see any difference, I'll switch them back.  I really feel the hazelwood helped Finn, too.

[MarineWife]

Ugh, y'all. I thought I was out of the woods with AF coming after that spotting a while ago. I was thinking that if she doesn't show about a week after Sean left, it wasn't AF. I just went to the bathroom and there was reddish again. It's been almost a week since Sean left. I'm so depressed over it.

[akind1]

Carrie - Love Finn's amber and his pink diaper! I haven't put DS in any of my pink ones yet.

As for car rides - it is easy to say - stay at home - but not so easy to do. I don't have day care or what not, but there are things that are needful to do that require a car ride. Now if she screamed bloody murder no matter what, I might rethink that. And she may just not like the dark so much. I think they make a mirror that lights up. I need to check. (she really does like looking at herself in the mirror - it is too funny. DS never really did)

Bummer about AF.  That really sucks. I want her to hold off as long as possible! With DS I had spotting at 6 and 10 weeks and a full blown AF at 4 months PP. I haven't had any spotting really this time. so we'll see.

Pizza night was so much fun. Gabe had a blast with all the other kids. Norah tried out a bumbo chair and was just GRINNING  - I have to get one now. Cousins are willing to give us one - Yay!

And I though your boys were squishy - our friends' 5 month old (he just turned 20 weeks) is nearly 22 lbs! He is a big ball of happy though! I can't imagine. and they still lug around the infant seat because he's not sitting well enough to be in the cart buggy by himself.

[AnnieA]

Blech, sorry about that MW! I'm in the throes of EWCF right now but I've had my cycle back for a while now.

Cloth out and about: Love it! Other than traveling to a different country where I was unsure about my access to a washing machine, I honestly can't think of a situation where cloth would be a hassle. I've even forgot a wet bag before and just dealt with it. Of course DD still has BM poop so it doesn't stink.

Driving when you have a screamer: if I think that DD is not in the mood for the car, I will forgo the trip unless it's for one of two things. If I have to go to work or she has a dr appt. Other than that, nothing is imperative for me to do. DH feels a little differently and takes DD all over the place in the evenings when he has her. But he does stop if she won't calm down after a few mins.

Bummis aplix: JJ have you actually put it in her to see where the laundry tab hits? I put one on DD yesterday and by the time I closed it tightly, the laundry tab was not touching her skin. It was up against the front of the diaper. But DD is skinny for her age.

Newborn sleep behavior: all normal I'm afraid to say JJ! Hugs though. It will get better. Things got a lot easier when we found a soothed that DD would take. She wanted tocomfort suck and was getting too full and would puke. She quickly figured out how to bat the paci out of her mouth if she was still hungry. I remember one bad night when she was about 5 weeks old. I had been holding her for about 6 hours straight. I was so done and just handed her to DH and said deal with her! But then like 10 mins later I was missing her and went back and got her!

Busy weekend here. Kids are home so we have to fit like the whole month of December in two days. :/. We are taking cookies, cards and pics of DD to the NICU, PICU and cardiology team this afternoon. Also have tree decorating and birthday celebration to do! Wow!

[AnnieA]

O.K. on the laptop now instead of the itouch...much better typing!

More on the car ride thing...Not sure who mentioned it but light does help DD some. At night, she screams more but if we keep the light on above her seat, it seems to help some. Doesn't fix the problem but it's better. She screams so much though that I'm totally ok going to the grocery store in the middle of the night while she stays at home with DH if it means that she is not stuck in her seat for 40 mins round trip crying. She's getting better though. Yesterday I was able to feed her while we were out and she fell asleep and stayed asleep while I put her in her seat and slept almost until we were home!

Naps: Yeah, Baby_Cakes, what is up w/these kids not napping? DD slept about 1 hr TOTAL all day yesterday! She was so exhausted but wired and couldn't fall asleep last night. It was almost midnight before she fell asleep for good. I was exhausted!

Pumping: JJ, if you don't have to pump, I would avoid it. It's the biggest pain in the butt. I have to always plan if my pumping supplies are clean before I can leave the house. It's nice to have a freezer stash but if it were me and I was able to nurse and didn't have to go back to work, I would look at handexpressing a few oz here and there to freeze just in case.

AFM: I've been working on building up my supply because DD is eating more and my supply had really leveled off. I could go 4-5 hours comfortably w/out pumping. Sometimes even 6 hours. So I started eating a bowl of oatmeal every day and also started taking my thyroid medicine again...yes, I had pretty much stopped taking it because I could never remember. But I had my TSH level tested and it was the highest it's ever been...so now I try to remember every morning. Anyways, my milk supply is definitely increasing! I'm having to pump every 2-3 hours now and the other night at work, I walked downstairs to the kitchen and felt something wet on my shirt. I looked down and I had started to leak! That hasn't happened since DD was like 6 weeks old! So crazy! But I'm getting more milk and that's good. Oh and I donated about 10 oz to one of my friends the other day. She had a bunch of blood blisters on her nips apparently (ouch!) and they burst and the LC said she needs to take it easy on the pumping/nursing for a few days. So I gave her some of my milk to tide her over. I had previously donated some milk to a couple of our other friends and we are all in a birth group together. One of the other ladies messaged me the other day and said I was like the "wet nurse for birth circle"....hahhaha! Best compliment I've received in a while! Oh and don't worry, MW, I still have about 120 oz in the freezer at DD's godmother's house and starting to freezer more so there would be plenty for D if needed!

[akind1]

Annie - sounds like good news all around! I could totally donate some if I were willing to pump more. but I am not! i really don't enjoy it.

Gabe didn't nap yesterday either. at least he was cheerful!

need an abbreviation for "holding baby @ keyboard" I dont nurse and type at the same time, but I do hold her in one arm and type with the other.

[MarineWife]

Annie ~ Is the itouch like the iPad or is it a phone? I really want to get something like the iPad (not necessarily that one) but am a little nervous about having to do everything on the screen. I thought I'd love my phone that's only touchscreen without a qwerty keyboard. My older phone had to be flipped open and sideways to text and that got to be a pain fast. But typing on the touchscreen is a pain, too. at least half the time my finger hits the wrong letter and it's hard to get that cursor to just the right spot to make a correction.

That reminds me. I need to get your contact info so I can give it to my husband and parents, jic. Would you PM it to me or send me a message on FB?

Well, I have no idea what's going on with this spotting. It ended up being only that one time last night and nothing since. Not that it matters, but can you still rely on LAM if you've had spotting but have not had AF? I was thinking last night that I'd rather deal with menopause than with AF knowing it's of no purpose. If I have it for too long, I'm afraid I might start wanting to be pregnant again. But I know that, practically speaking, I cannot have another child. I can't handle it and Sean would not consent, anyway. I don't want to deal with depression over cycling and not being able to get pregnant.

I really don't think it's that hard to stay at home. Sometimes you have to make concessions for the baby and, obviously, your lifestyle will change after having a baby. If that means you can't go out as much as you used to for a short time, then that's how it is. It's not a big deal.

I was thinking more about the older kids. When we got to Ethan's basketball practice after Dylan screaming in the car for so long, Ethan said he couldn't go in because he had such a headache from all the screaming. He would have much rather stayed home so that we didn't have to listen to D cry and scream. So, I think even kids get that sometimes you just can't do as much as you used to because you have a baby. He has never expressed any resentment toward D for anything like that.

Oh, what illnesses was Dr. Sears talking about that kids get 8-10 times a year? I don't know. I think he used the word sick rather than illness, if that makes a difference. It was in response to a woman who was paranoid about germs around her kids to the point that it was unhealthy. I assume that he meant sickness from contagious viruses, so colds and stomach viruses.

ya know, sean is just in CA. he's working regular hours. he could call every day. but he's only called once and texted once at almost midnight here. and he wonders why i feel so disconnected from him.

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by akind1 

need an abbreviation for "holding baby @ keyboard" I dont nurse and type at the same time, but I do hold her in one arm and type with the other.

I just say 1ht.  (one hand typing).  Sums it up!

Annie - that's AWESOME!  Yay for more milk!!

JJ - re: pumping, I'd give it at least til 4 weeks.  If you need to pump here and there before then, I would say go ahead, but I wouldn't deliberately set a time for pumping until milk supply is better established.

AFUs - Nora is still having fevers from that damn shot.  I'm over it.  I'm going to figure out a way to stop this insanity and get an exemption from having her get the 2nd one, or a from getting another flu shot ever again.  This is redic!! 

[MarineWife]

i took D's hazelwood necklace off last night and kept just the amber one on. he slept wonderfully even though he's congested from a cold. i think he only woke to nurse twice. i say think because sometimes i'm not fully conscious of what's going on. I woke up around 5 am and tried to nurse him to get myself back to sleep and to, hopefully, keep him from waking again too soon. So, maybe he's over the colic/reflux and only needs the amber for teething.

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by MarineWife 

i took D's hazelwood necklace off last night and kept just the amber one on. he slept wonderfully even though he's congested from a cold. i think he only woke to nurse twice. i say think because sometimes i'm not fully conscious of what's going on. I woke up around 5 am and tried to nurse him to get myself back to sleep and to, hopefully, keep him from waking again too soon. So, maybe he's over the colic/reflux and only needs the amber for teething.

That's great!!

We had the opposite night.  Finn was very squirmy and at 4am or so I put him back in the cosleeper after nursing, and he had some silent reflux and then milk went up in his sinuses.  That hasn't happened in weeks.  I felt bad for him.  

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes 

That's great!!

We had the opposite night.  Finn was very squirmy and at 4am or so I put him back in the cosleeper after nursing, and he had some silent reflux and then milk went up in his sinuses.  That hasn't happened in weeks.  I felt bad for him.  

uh oh. maybe you need to put the hazelwood back on and wait on the amber? how badly does he seem to be teething?

D has another white dot under his bottom gum. it's at the spot of the 2nd tooth on the left. strange because i thought he was supposed to get his two top front teeth next. i keep checking up there but don't see anything.

i keep trying to get a shower but it's not happening. D fell asleep while nursing but as soon as i put him down he woke up and cried. now he's sitting on my lap as awake as ever. i may have to do the bumbo in the shower again.

did i tell you guys i do that sometimes? i know it says not to use in the bath but i figure it's ok because i'm in there with him and i'm not filling the tub. he's not quite ready for the bath chair i have.

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by MarineWife 

did i tell you guys i do that sometimes? i know it says not to use in the bath but i figure it's ok because i'm in there with him and i'm not filling the tub. he's not quite ready for the bath chair i have.

I think that's fine.  I think they mean not to use it as a bath seat in a tub.  Even if you did tho, you'd be right there so I don't see the big deal.  A lot of these warnings are common sense warnings for ppl who have none, I think.

I had my first shower in 3 days last night!  I made sure it was a long hot one!!  I hope you get one today!  

Oh - meant to say -- I think DD got 4 bottom teeth before her top ones came in.  Anything is possible.  D might just get his out of order.

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes 

I had my first shower in 3 days last night!  I made sure it was a long hot one!!  I hope you get one today!  

Oh - meant to say -- I think DD got 4 bottom teeth before her top ones came in.  Anything is possible.  D might just get his out of order.

that's why i wait so long before just taking a shower with D. i can't have it as hot as i like when he's in there.

i've been meaning to look at E's tooth chart since he got his early, too.

[Baby_Cakes]

My diapers don't smell!!   We are in business!!

[AnnieA]

MW, I have an ipod Touch. I like it a lot for just browsing but when I want to reply, it's a pain in my butt but that's because I'm not fond of the touchscreen and I type really fast w/a keyboard so it feels like it takes me forever to respond to a post on the itouch. But I'm getting used to it. It's helpful when DD is in the hospital and I don't have to lug around a laptop.

Baby_Cakes, yay for stink-free dipes! We used sposies again at the hospital last night and I've got to say, I DO NOT understand the pull to use them. DD peed and it went everywhere! Maybe I don't know how to put them on anymore because I'm used to the cloth? I don't know. But we have to use them in the hospital because they have to weigh her dipes to measure  her urine output so I just have to deal with it. All the nurses loved her cloth though!

[MarineWife]

carrie ~ yay for no stink. what finally worked? i've been meaning to tell you that i tried a regular wash with the rockin' green i have and i was not impressed. my dipes stank when i took them out, which they normally don't do with the charlie's soap.

annie ~ i'm clueless. is that a phone or a computer?

couldn't you weigh her cloth dipes before putting them on? then you could just weigh them after a change and subtract.

[AnnieA]

I probably could have them do that. Only trouble is that I use a variety of different dipes so they all have a different starting weight. But if I got another set of Flips, I could probably just use those when we go in the hospital for the next surgery. DH would need to be willing to take home the dirty ones, wash them and return them. He would probably be open to that as long as he is not having to take care of the other kids. Hopefully we will only be in the hospital for a week or so next time. He doesn't mind washing them now but things get a little crazy when DD is in the hospital.

The ipod Touch is small, like an iphone but you can't make phone calls with it. Here's a link to one http://www.amazon.com/Apple-iPod-touch-8GB-Generation/dp/B001FA1O0O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323639828&sr=8-1

[akind1]

Annie - love FLIPs! super easy too. before we switched to pockets, they were DH's favorite diaper. I would certainly give a shot next time you are in the hospital. Why not?

Carrie - yay for no stink!

So .  .  . DH and I finally DTD (first time since Norah), and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised. I thought especially with all the tear and repair I had down there that it would be really different, or uncomfortable and it was neither. and even with a condom! DH must have been feeling super deprived because he went for 2 nights in a row, and we usually do at most frequent EOD (unless TTC, and even then that's really rare. The last time I think was when we conceived DS! - nearly 3 years ago. Is is sad I know that?) - at any rate. had to share. That's my TMI for the day.

Had a great and busy weekend, now back to work :( and it's going to be a busy week too!  less than 2 weeks to Christmas, I am really looking forward to it.

[Baby_Cakes]

Hooray for DTD, Kat!  It's one of those milestones isn't it?  We were at least 8 weeks out before we tried and while it wasn't painful, it wasn't exactly fun for me.  I had him hurry it up, lol.  Sigh, DTD is the one thing DH and I aren't seeing eye to eye on these days.  He is feeling very deprived and wanting to do it and I just...don't.  I could seriously never have sex again and I'd be fine.  I'm up to my ears in kid-business, I'm still feeing frumpy, still dealing with some prolapse issues, and I'm TIRED.  He keeps making all these little comments and obviously wants it but we have seriously different needs.  I'd do it but I wouldn't enjoy it.  I wouldn't tell him that but that's what would happen. 

The diapers -- I'm so happy.  All I did was line dry the covers and machine dry the inserts like the manufacturer says.    I'm thinking that's all it was.  I was drying the covers on low and I bet the funky fishy smell was actually plastic.  I had DH put up a retractable clothes line and I'm going to keep it up, and hope for the best.

I cant wait for Christmas either.  I'm really excited to see how it goes this year with DD being more into it!  I'm also hoping Santa gets me what I asked for, lol.  I've got my eye on a jogging stroller.

JJ - did you guys get your jogging stroller?  Weren't you worried about people buying it or not?  Which one was it again?

I'm looking at this one now:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=joovy+jogging+stroller&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=6372807385848078222&sa=X&ei=3AHmTqf7G-HW0QGMhLDnBQ&ved=0CK0BEPMCMAQ

I wanted the Baby Jogger Elite but this one is cheaper and gets pretty good reviews.  I'm not sure why only the red one is $199 but I like the red the best anyway.

MW - did AF show up full blown? What a pain.  I was meaning to ask you about that and kept forgetting!!  Yesterday and this morning I've been crampy like AF is coming, and having lots of CM.  I keep thinking it's starting but nothing yet.  Ugh.  Not looking fwd at all.

[akind1]

I hear you on the differing needs; only it's usually me on the other end of the spectrum. If I wouldn't get seriously sore, I could totally do every day. DH most of the time is a take it or leave it kind of guy. No matter where you are on the spectrum, it is really frustrating. And hard to talk about, because no matter what, it seems like you're complaining or nagging (at least it does when I go over the conversation in my head LOL) and I hate to complain and nag.

I guess the question is: do you want to be in a place where you are wanting more sex? or are you pretty content where you are? (I mean, I know where your DH wants you to be, but where do YOU want to be?) If you do want change then maybe you need to find a few minutes where you can clear your head and get into non-kid mode. (easier said than done, I know) I am grateful I can switch back and forth ok. I remember reading on one of the forums here, in regards to DTD and co-sleeping or maybe BF'ing, that some mamas BF while DTD, and I tell you, I just can't wrap my head around that. DS used to wake when we were  . . in media res . . . and I could go nurse him back down to sleep (he was in the co sleeper or his crib) and get back to DH. But can't do both at the same time. 

But, back to the question at hand, are you able to, or do you want to do like a date night with your DH? even if it is just the two of you at Starbucks for an hour? that might help a little.

Though the prolapse thing throws a big wrench in it - beyond a pessary and kegels, is there much that can be done non-surgically? I am way rambling today.

I wish we could line dry! the HOA has a thing against clotheslines. Idiots. But so glad you are able to use your cloth stink-free!

and FX you get what you want for Christmas!

I am hoping for gift cards. I want to shop for myself! (I am not really fond of much of what my MIL or DH's grandma buys for me that they think is soooo ME. It is usually really loud colors and boxy also don't take into consideration nursing. Can't blame them to not think of that really)