Postpartum check in/chat - Page 4 « Back to Group Discussions

[CarlyVHT]

I long for 3-4 hour stretches. DS is doing 1.5-2 hours pretty consistantly, which I actually consider to be pretty decent at this point (12 days old) though I swear, it seems everyone I run into has better sleepers than I do. I just have no stamina in the middle of the night. That is probably why it took 2.5 YEARS to get DD to STTN. I try to get DS to do his first and second stretch in the Pack-N-Play next to our bed, then he comes into bed with us. I would prefer not to cosleep in our bed because I sleep better when he is next to me but not in my bed, however, I sleep best when he is actually ASLEEP and not fussing, so cosleeping in our bed is it for now.I have a cosleeper, but it needs parts that I haven't ordered and I am debating on whether I should but them or not.

DS is having his first fussy day today - I'm thinking gas. Must be something I ate, but I am not sure what. Poor guy is NOT happy today and has been so laid back until now.

[thomatuttle]

carly-we are having the same issue with DS today and being fussy.  i'm pretty sure it's gas too.  he's been farting a bit, but he's been crying and kicking his legs a lot.  i think he's super tired too because DD has been all over him and whenever he fell asleep she seemed to start screaming soon after and would wake him up.  i gave him some colic tablets and then we took a bath with a little lavender essential oil and now he is passed out in my arms.  finally!!!!  i think i'm going to have to stay away from pizza (dinner last night) for a little while because i think that may have been the culprit.

my bleeding has really lightened.  i actually don't think i noticed any yesterday, but it's back today but just very light.
 

[RosieL]

Really loud farts/poops - yep! I have to ask DH if it's baby, dog, or him!

Well, we seem to be down to 2hr stretches, with 40 min nursing sessions between. And latch has gone to the birds; I'm tolerating a shallow latch just to get some peace. Hmm...things change quickly in newborn land!

Flavorful - dont feel bad about the swing! It's a great tool, IMHO.

[Mom2SammyJoe]

It is 4:30 and DS has been screaming all night, literally. DH and I are both up with him. He must have gas or something. This is nuts. Up til now I could nurse him in bed and he'd sleep with me. Not happening at all tonight. My nipples are sore and he is upset. DH is getting grumpy, and the other kids will be up in 2 hours. At least i pulled it together and quit crying. Yikes. You said it, Rosie, things do change fast around here... One week ago I was snuggling a brand new baby.

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

Tavian's been having a fussy few days as well. We just got over the 3 week growth spurt, and while he slept a ton on Thursday and Friday morning, since yesterday afternoon he's been cranky and won't let me put him down for more than 20 minutes. And he's been up since 5am. BAH!

Also I'm super cranky today. This is the 3rd year my town has hosted a marathon, and the 3rd year my neighborhood has been blocked on 3 sides because of it. They won't change the route, and I can't leave my house without driving out to the country and then the interstate! It's a big PITA, especially since when I'm super cranky getting out usually helps.
 

[NCMtnMama]

Yep, we've got the fussies here as well. I'm hoping it's a growth spurt, but I suspect some gas also. I haven't decided to eliminate anything from my diet yet, but I'll consider it if this continues. 

I have a question I don't know if y'all have dealt with...Louisa won't wake up at night to eat. She nurses to sleep side-lying, then will take a hit off the boob occasionally during the night, but left to her own devices she'll sleep about 5 hours in a row.

Is this eventually going to hurt my supply, or do you think my body will regulate to her? I figure I should get up and pump so this behavior won't hurt my supply, but it's VERY hard to convince myself of that when it's 3am and the bed is so cozy. 

[NCMtnMama]

Oh, and we're int he same boat with the non-use of the co-sleeper. She'll wake up immediately if she's in it, but beside me she'll snooze for hours. The co-sleeper is now where I put all the extra pillows and bedding when she's in bed with us. 

[CarlyVHT]

NCMtnMama - I wouldn't wake to pump, or else you will tell your body to make milk during that time and you'll be stuck ALWAYS waking to pump. Your body should adjust to her schedule and theoretically, she should be eating more throughout the rest of the day to make up for that 5 hour stretch. I'd enjoy the 5 hours! Then again, I have never had suppy issues (if anything, an oversupply) so I won't worry about that as much as others to struggle to keep supply up - so that may play into it a bit also.

Grady finally felt better after some Gripe Water last night, but was up from 12:15am-1:45am with what I presume were gas pains. That wasn't fun. He was just so fussy. He finally fell asleep after some more gripe water and slept really well the rest of the night - though he was a tad grunty in his sleep this morning. I just hope it is nothing major that he is reacting to. It could be cabbage (that'd be an easy fix), chocolate pieces, or gluten. Those are the items that I have sort of narrowed it down to. I'm hoping it is just the cabbage - THAT would be an easy fix.

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

NCMtnMama, I agree with Carly. Tavian has a 5 hour stretch as well and it's not been a problem. In fact his 5am fussies is right after his 5 hour stretch of sleep.
 

[piratemere]

I agree, don't wake up to pump. You're body will adjust, and as long as she's thriving, sleeping long stretches is nothing to complain about.

sfmb, I'm so glad that you mentioned the 3 week growth spurt.  I don't know why I didn't think about it, but we're 2 1/2 weeks in and he's nursing CONSTANTLY all of a sudden and he's been pretty fussy.  I was wondering what was going on, and hoping it wasn't a new habit, not thinking of the growth spurt.  For the new moms, babies often hit pretty significant growth spurts, and nurse A LOT, right around 3 and 6 weeks.  Totally normal, even if it is a little tiring.  We have been joking that his fussiness is all because we have not named him yet, and he's mad!

As for latch, I'm finding I have to keep on that as well.  DS often starts off really shallow. Sometimes I pull him off, use my finger to pull his chin down, and then stuff as much breast as I can into his mouth. Persistence is key, and yes, 6 weeks does tend to be a magic number in finding your BFing groove with baby.
 

So, what tricks have other moms found in keeping their patience with the older kiddos. I am getting really frustrated, and find myself not being a very nice mom, with my older boys.  They are constantly jumping on, poking, etc. the baby, and having a really hard time listening to any direction.  What are some tricks (besides TV, which just makes it worse) to keeping a happy house?

[chiromama01]

so it would seem all of our children are conspiring against us...

we are also having shallow latch issues, Collin has not intention of sleeping anywhere but in my bed or my arms, has gas that could rival his dad's, and is so stinking cute I can't be upset with any of it...

I have had to cut dairy out because it does seem to really bother his tummy, which stinks, because every other meal in my freezer has dairy in it... 

flav-- don't worry about using the swing, baby will be much better off with a rested mommy anyway... i'm also having bleeding issues.  it keeps stopping and starting, at times is fairly heavy, and always after a bm (bright red)  i hadn't even considered that this wasn't normal.  I'm 3 weeks and 4 days pp, so maybe i'll call my midwife it hasn't eased up soon...

nothing else really exciting going on here.. unless you count the fact that I made the bed for the first time in MONTHS, and it looks quite nice...now if only i could get the rest of the house in order...

[RosieL]

Speaking of bleeding...Anyone else experiencing crampy pain only when gpeeing? This happened on PP days 3 and 4, but it went away for a while. I don't really seem to be bleeding fluid blood anymore, but I do pass clots when I pee. I assume this is normal?

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

Rosie, your bleeding sounds a lot like mine, and seems pretty normal. I've been having menstrual like cramps all day though :(

Anyone else really grouchy lately? Nothing has changed in my home and my husband is wonderful, thoughtful, and great with both kids but I am SO annoyed with him all the time these days. I'm internally nitpicking and hypercritical, and I realize it's just hormones. I'm so not normally like this. I'm also trying really really hard to not let him know this is going on because it's so not fair to him, but I am so cranky. And annoyed. GRRR.
 

[chiromama01]

SFMB-- YES! I am a total grump lately.  Nothing makes me happy, and I don't know why.  We have plenty of help with dd, ds is crazy easy, and the house is generally straightened (if not clean...) but I still can't break this emotional funk.  Ugh... hope we're both doing better soon

congrats to all the new mamas! 

off to do laundry...

[flavorfull1]

chiro- yeah same here on the bleeding. My mw was concerned bc it had changed from so light to heavier with no apparent reason.  Well, I downed a ton of RRL tea over the weekend and it seems to be lightening up even when I have been really active so that is nice. Thanks for the encouragement too, my swing arrives tomorrow and I am ready for it!

Ashley- I alternate.  sometimes I just really get in a funk and feel bad. It has a lot to do with a lack of sleep for me which is annoying bc it is not like that is going to change any time soon, blah.  Hope you feel better soon!

rosie, I am afraid I am not any help there but that does not sound like fun to be crampy when you pee.  seems like you are not the only one though. btw, your LO is so cute on the picture thread! Such sweet hair!

jenny- re: patience w kids....I wish I could say I was doing a good job but some days it feels like I spend the whole time correcting DS.  He has started shutting down and pretending like he can't hear me when I am telling him to do something.  Honestly, what seems to work best for him is for me to be encouraging, a lot, whenever he does something good and then he seems to be in a better mood.

nc mama- i agree, dont get up and pump, if you need more milk, baby will ask for t and your body will respond w more milk win abt 48 hrs.

i will be back to post my own update, dd hungry and ds needs to go to bed!

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

Not even 4 weeks postpartum and I have the core strength to do sirsasana in the middle of the room with no use of momentum. Man I love my body's ability to heal!
 

[flavorfull1]

Ashley that is crazy! I still feel it in my abs if I cough or sneeze. they are definitely not back to where they need to be!

My hips were really killing me last night so maybe they are on their way back to where they used to be.  It would be nice to put on some clothes other than pg clothes.  I am in between pg clothes and pre pg clothes and don't want to spend the money for anything that I won't wear for long.  It is really just that I want something that fits lol.

Finally mastered side lying nursing with DD and it has made all of the difference!

First day on my own and I was going to type more but DS needs some attention, poor guy has a cold.

[Tracy McCall]

Originally Posted by flavorfull1 

My hips were really killing me last night so maybe they are on their way back to where they used to be.  It would be nice to put on some clothes other than pg clothes.  I am in between pg clothes and pre pg clothes and don't want to spend the money for anything that I won't wear for long.  It is really just that I want something that fits lol.

Same here! And the only maternity bottoms I have are pants and it's in the 90's here. I'm only 7 lbs heavier than when I got pregnant so I tried to put on regular shorts with the belly sleeve I wore at the beginning of my pregnancy, but they wouldn't go past my hips! I did buy one pair of shorts at Target yesterday, two sizes bigger than what I normally wear. Gotta do whatcha gotta do!

[rik8144]

Originally Posted by Tracy McCall 


Same here! And the only maternity bottoms I have are pants and it's in the 90's here. I'm only 7 lbs heavier than when I got pregnant so I tried to put on regular shorts with the belly sleeve I wore at the beginning of my pregnancy, but they wouldn't go past my hips! I did buy one pair of shorts at Target yesterday, two sizes bigger than what I normally wear. Gotta do whatcha gotta do!

Same here! 16 days post-partum.... I bought a pair of shorts yesterday at Target just so I would have something to wear until I lose this weight. I am wearing maternity jeans right now...though they are a size smaller than what I wore into the hospital to deliver....and I spend all day pulling them up. I do not want to go buy a bunch of clothes to wear this summer. I still have 20 pounds to go to get to pre-pregnancy weight. (I gained 40) My belly is almost gone, but my thighs/butt/hips gained the bulk of the weight so that makes none of my clothes fit. 

[RosieL]

Anyone believe in hip binding to get back to prepreg size? A friend gave me a shrinkx hipz thing, which is annoying to wear. But I also worry about fitting into my prepreg wardrobe. I can't even pull my jeans over my hips! Is the binding bunk or worth it in your opinions?