June Rockstar (formerly Whatever'ing) Mamas 2012 - Page 3

[annie2186]

Oh, the sleeping thing.

A has always been a pretty good sleeper. I remember at about 8 weeks to 16 weeks she would go 7-10 hours straight at night without nursing. I would even TRY to wake her up to nurse because it hurt and she wouldn't wake up! It's so horrible that even when your young baby sleeps at night, your rock hard boobs wake you up 

Then she was touch and go, but not to bad at all. I had her in a crib right next to me.

At about 11 months I put her crib in the room right next to me. There is a little bathroom separating the two rooms upstairs, and I can keep them both open so I can hear her fine.

**I don't even want to say this** 

She'sbeensleepingthroughthenightformonths - shhhhhhh!!

She's an awesome sleeper, I am loooooving it 

She has an off night here and there when (I'm assuming) her teeth are bugging her, but usually I don't hear a peep.

[akind1]

Norah has been such an amazingly easy baby. I am so lucky/blessed. Sure, she likes to be held, and likes to eat, but hey, those are easy things to do! Sleep . . . ugh. She sleeps, and ets, and sleeps. I survive. It's NBD in the big picture. I do wish she would nap longer, but Gabe didn't really do long naps until he was 1 or older.

Gabe . . . he was easy-ish. I thought he was easy at the time, but after Norah, he was meh. He would have horrible times where he would just cry, and cry, and nothing soothed him. This is as an older baby. Norah never has done that.  I don't know what a third would be like. Curious though.

MW: LOL about the farting. again, such a boy thing! And that is too sweet! I love when Norah tucks her head under my chin for a moment. - precious.

[MarineWife]

Oh, I thought you had said something about things being hard or crazy or something in the beginning with Arianna.

I had the same experience with Ethan, Kellen and now Dylan. Ethan was my hardest baby but a very mellow toddler/young child. He's been more challenging since about 6yo on. Kellen was so mellow as a baby that I can't believe it was true. He is now the most difficult child. I don't remember things being too difficult with him as a toddler. I think things started to get hard with him sometime after 3yo. Dylan is in between those two as a baby. I had a hard time with him in the beginning because while he would sleep he was (is) squirmy so that I hardly slept. I was so tired for the first 6 months or so.

[onetwoten]

Originally Posted by akind1 

EC - I think it's awesome. But , being a WAHM, I can't pay attention that closely to catch those cues. I just can't.  So .. . we CD which I love doing, and they are too stinking cute.

Father's day . . . any ideas?

Oh, I totally get it. When I first started talking about EC, Rob was like "Uhhhh what about our DIAPERS?" He was genuinely distressed. No way I'd be doing EC if it meant I had to give up my fluff! lol  And yes, I miss tons of cues. I'm sure if I felt the need to, I could pay more attention and catch almost everything, but I'm not concerned about it. We catch when we think of it, that's all. 

We won't end up doing anything for father's day. Didn't do anything for mother's day either, which disappointed me, so it's slightly bitterness that has me not planning anything for father's day. 

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes 

Ok, so I'm with you.  I can't pay attn to all the cues, or intro the potty and wait 15-20 min.  It's just not possible right now.  But.  If I see the look on his face and he's about to go, I still just...idk.  I guess I can see with an older kid, like a 2 year old, I would say, "Tell me when you have to go potty," and wait for him to be ready to tell me so he could learn to recognize the cues.  To me EC is more about ME being trained than the baby.  I don't mean to offend anyone.  I know you all love doing it and all the power to ya!  Maybe I'll be eating my words in 2-3 years when all your EC babies are PL'ed and Finn is still in dipes.  Ha!

Yeah, and I totally get that too. I don't know how I'd be present enough to do it full time or even really "part time". Even right now we're considered "casual" EC'ers and that's about all I can commit to. Add in another toddler and I'd be hooped!

It's really no more training than them being in the diaper though- you hear/smell/feel them go in their diaper and are then required to change it right? The only difference is that you're putting in the work before they pee/poop instead of cleaning it up after. And same as T cues me to nurse, she's starting to sign for potty a bit too. 

Originally Posted by annie2186 

ECing is something that really interests me. I really don't get cues for pee though. Poop I can get, but I have *never* seen a baby that is *about* to pee. Now sticking them on the potty and waiting to see if they go I can kind of get. 

Maybe I will start trying that. 

We started out just putting her on and waiting. By fluke, the first two times I put her on, she peed immediately. It really reinforced it for us.  The big thing that helped us, was someone saying to pay attention to -all- her cues, if she's fussing- there's a reason for it. The only pee cue I really notice now, is when we're nursing or cuddling- if she starts squirming and multiple times popping off the breast (without it being outside stimuli), or pushing me away, that is almost always a sign she has to go potty. 

Originally Posted by MarineWife 

So, I thought I caught Dylan getting ready to poo and rushed him in to the bathroom. He wouldn't sit on the toilet but didn't mind standing on it. He farted and thought it was the funniest thing. He really laughed out loud! Then he kept trying to fart and would laugh and laugh. Never did poo or pee in the toilet, though.

That is adorable! 

Originally Posted by annie2186 

**I don't even want to say this** 

She'sbeensleepingthroughthenightformonths - shhhhhhh!!

*Sticks fingers in ears*  lalalallalalalalaaaaaaaaa !  I'm just telling myself everyone has babies like this, and sleeping through the night is a myth! lol

Tenley is so freaking close to crawling, it's crazy. She's planking all the time, and will push herself up to downward dog. She can move herself up to 3-4 feet away by a combination of pushing backwards, rolling and just shimmying. 

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by akind1 

Gabe . . . he was easy-ish. I thought he was easy at the time, but after Norah, he was meh.

I think a lof this is perception. I thought Ryan was a difficult baby. He cried a lot. Looking back, though, I now realize he just cried like any baby would at being put down when he wanted to be held. I was very inexperienced with babies. I had never really babysat. Plus, I had not planned on being a parent.

Ethan was much more high needs than Ryan but it didn't bother me nearly as much. Kellen is a crazy kid but since Ryan broke me in that doesn't bother me so much. Sean doesn't know what to do with him but he wasn't around Ryan as a really young kid so he doesn't have the experience I do. Now Ethan is challenging me because I'm not used to the drama. I don't know how to respond to all the emotions of a highly sensitive kid.

[akind1]

JJ, Norah is the same way, gets places, but not exactly crawling. She is working had on standing though.

Sleeping through the night??? I wish, sort of. My boobs take a lOng time to adjust to that, and I hate being engorged. I am pretty happy with our current state. She can be laid down awake in the crib and falls asleep withininutes. I bring her to bed when we are ready to sleep, nurse her, and may or may not get a long stretch after that. But, she is thus far, a much easier to bed share with baby, she jet wants to cuddle, not be all over the place.

MW: Gabe is so emotionally sensitive too, and I am at a loss sometimes. I just don't know how to help him process.

[onetwoten]

I agree Kat. That sounds like a pretty good setup! A couple times Ten has gone to sleep after placing her in the crib, but usually it's a pretty easy process anyways of nursing, pulling off and rocking the rest of the way. On good nights, that part of the routine takes 15 minutes or less, so I have no problem with that. But I wish I had one who liked to cuddle like you, and not attack me in my sleep and nurse all night. She seems to be getting better now when we bring her into bed she doesn't nurse constantly... but she's started scratching and smacking me when she wakes up- which is hard to take at 3am! lol

I could do for sleeping through the night as in the true definition- which is 5 hours. If I could pick any routine (which obviously, you don't get to!) She'd go to sleep at about 8, nurse again at 10, and then sleep until 3ish, and wake up between 7-8am. But yeah... I figure I'll get that maybe somewhere around age 3? lol

My boobs in general are fine without nursing for much longer than I would think normal-- except last night for some random reason, before I went to bed, I was soooo engorged. I pumped, and with lazy pumping (and I have a manual pump) I got over 4oz in less than 10 minutes. It was sooo thin though. It looked like skim milk, split it half with water. I had nursed her on the other side less than two hours before, but I think I may have done that side twice in a row. But yeah, I can normally easily go 5 hours without a problem. 

Ten doesn't have much interest in standing/pulling herself up at all. If we guide her, she will hold herself up against a table or the edge of her crib, etc. But won't think to try it herself. 

[MarineWife]

JJ ~ Dylan did that scratching and clawing and pinching me. Do you remember me talking about that? He still does it but since he's older he's learning to stop when I say that it hurts. It is not fun in the middle of the night, though. To give you some hope (maybe), Ethan was not a good sleeper but he was sleeping through the night when he was 2 or 2.5 yo. I didn't have to wait until 3.

Kellen is 5 today!

[onetwoten]

I do remember that. Any tips? I've got a sunburn right now, so she does it, and I just lay there writhing in pain! She does it most when I'm nursing her, so it's my face/chest/boobs. I literally has bloody scratches on my boobs. lol.   But when I'm sleeping and she does it, my brain is just... not there. lol. 

We took Tenley to the Horse Races last night (it's very much a family thing, I grew up there pretty much, and my parents own a couple that are currently racing). She loved it, and loved being in the barn and reaching out and petting the horses.  Anyways, obviously there were lots of new people we met. I had pumped a bottle the night before, as I said, so I brought it with us, and tried to give it to her while we were there (she's been refusing it, I think I mentioned that?). So I'm sitting in the tack room, cradling her and trying to feed her the bottle, and one of the family friends comes over and asks "What kind of milk is that in the bottle?" I laughed and told her it was very watery breastmilk (wondering if maybe she was curious about the color?) but honestly I was like WHA? Huh? What kind of question is that? I can't tell if she was trying to ask if I was feeding formula or breastmilk, or if she assumed it was formula and wanted to know what kind (she has 4 grandchildren and another due in a few months) or... I don't know. It was the weirdest thing I've been asked about breastfeeding!

Although also weird, was at a playdate with some non-crunchy people the other day, and was asked "Did you breastfeed her?" I honestly looked down at her again with a furrowed brow like "How old does she look? Does she look like the question should be "did you" not "are you"? Weird, especially because the question came from someone who did breastfeed and was asking in context of its amazing immunological properties. I just said "yes, still going!"  But again.. ummm weird?

[onetwoten]

Oh, And Happy Birthday Kellen!  For some reason 5 seems like such a milestone!

[MarineWife]

the only tip i got for the scratching and pinching was to try mittens. i never did because i couldn't find any large enough. it didn't occur to me until it wasn't much of a problem anymore that i probably could have put socks on his hands. i don't know if he would have tolerated that.

were you bottle feeding or had bottles with you when you were asked about breastfeeding? i would probably assume not breastfeeding if i saw mama with a bottle. why do you bottle feed her if you don't need to?

[onetwoten]

Hmm. She might do the mittens while nursing, but I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it at night. Worth a shot though!

I was bottle feeding at the time, but it still just seemed so odd. Most people assume that if it's a bottle, it's formula. But at any rate... I just can't imagine asking someone point blank what they were feeding. I'm honestly not sure what information she expected to garner from it, you know? Like was there a conversation she was trying to start? If I had mentioned a formula was she going to ask for advice on choosing? Or ask why I wasn't breastfeeding, or? 

Anyways, the bottle was two-fold in reason. A/ I pumped the night before because I was engorged and Tenley was asleep, and so I had the milk sitting in the fridge, and B/ Tenley started refusing a bottle, or not 'refusing', but it's like she forgot how- when we give it to her, she's just nibbles and chews on it and pushes it out of her mouth, like she doesn't know what to do with it. Anyways- this has been our savior in the car- if she has a bottle, then she's quiet and calm, otherwise, she just shrieks to get out of the car. So.... her not taking the bottle anymore makes for very unpleasant car rides!  So, we're trying to introduce it again slowly.  Being out at the barn seemed like a good time! lol  In general though, we don't do bottles. I'm too lazy to pump and wash things!

[Baby_Cakes]

I've done that before - pumped for relief and then wanted to use the milk up so as not to waste it.  I usually let DH or DD do the bottle then.  Finn won't drink thawed milk so it's either use it or toss it!

DD reliably slept 5 hours by the time she was like 2.5.  I would say it happened often before then as well.  Hang in there, Jenine!  It won't be as long as you think.  It's just going to feel like forever until it happens!

I love hearing about babies (well, love is a strong word) who naturally sleep thru.  I mean it makes me envious but I also like hearing it b/c I know deep down it's possible and that sleep training isn't necessary.

Happy happy birthday, Kellen!  5!  Wow.  What a big boy!!  It does feel like such a milestone!  

Scratching/pinching - oh yeah.  I just always stop him.  Always.  And I say, "gentle hands," and move his hand away.  I usually have to hold his hand and let him fiddle with my ring or my fingers while nursing.  At night, I shove the blankets b/w us, and up over any showing skin on my chest.  It helps, but man is it frustrating being kicked, pinched and scratched at all night.  

Just now though he was nursing and his hand wandered and started to pinch, and I was eating with my other hand so I said, "No, no, gentle hands," and he actually stopped and moved his own hand away and didn't pinch!  Yay!  Baby steps!

I'm exhausted as we had a rough night.  I gave Chris the baby at 7 and went back to sleep until 9.  I think that was the only unbroken sleep I got all night.  I just poured myself a nice cup of coffee and am staring at diaper laundry and a very crumby floor that needs to be vacuumed.  Ugh!  I don't feel like it!

[MarineWife]

Actually, I was talking about the other mom(s) you said asked if you had breastfed. That question doesn't make any sense if you aren't bottle feeding her. And, yeah, who knows why that other lady asked what kind of milk you had. I had someone here ask me the other day if Dylan took a bottle well. She was very surprised when I told her he has never had one.

[Baby_Cakes]

O/T : Is anyone who has gotten ppaf charting?  I just popped open my FF again and blah.  It's boring and I really am not feeling CTA right now.  I'm not sure if I'm going to jump right in to temping or what.  Going to use condoms anyhow so it's not that huge of a deal.

...and it wouldn't be the worst thing ever to have an oops but don't tell anyone I said that!!  

[onetwoten]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes 

I've done that before - pumped for relief and then wanted to use the milk up so as not to waste it.  I usually let DH or DD do the bottle then.  Finn won't drink thawed milk so it's either use it or toss it!

DD reliably slept 5 hours by the time she was like 2.5.  I would say it happened often before then as well.  Hang in there, Jenine!  It won't be as long as you think.  It's just going to feel like forever until it happens!

I love hearing about babies (well, love is a strong word) who naturally sleep thru.  I mean it makes me envious but I also like hearing it b/c I know deep down it's possible and that sleep training isn't necessary.

Scratching/pinching - oh yeah.  I just always stop him.  Always.  And I say, "gentle hands," and move his hand away.  I usually have to hold his hand and let him fiddle with my ring or my fingers while nursing.  At night, I shove the blankets b/w us, and up over any showing skin on my chest.  It helps, but man is it frustrating being kicked, pinched and scratched at all night.  

Just now though he was nursing and his hand wandered and started to pinch, and I was eating with my other hand so I said, "No, no, gentle hands," and he actually stopped and moved his own hand away and didn't pinch!  Yay!  Baby steps!

I'm exhausted as we had a rough night.  I gave Chris the baby at 7 and went back to sleep until 9.  I think that was the only unbroken sleep I got all night.  I just poured myself a nice cup of coffee and am staring at diaper laundry and a very crumby floor that needs to be vacuumed.  Ugh!  I don't feel like it!

Is it weird that I didn't want to freeze it because it looked so watery? I assume it was because of the heat, so it did it's thing and changed composition to be more thirst quenching than hunger satiating. But I didn't want to freeze it and then when I give it to her later, have her be hungry! lol

And YES YES YES about hearing about other babies who naturally sleep through the night. Every time I mention wanting Ten to sleep longer stretches to my AP group, I feel like I get $hitstormed about how the only way babies sleep longer is if you sleep train them. Like you're obviously doing something -wrong- if they sleep longer than two hours and damaging your child. Pssshhhh. 

I've been doing the "Ow!" and holding her hand, but then she freaks out and starts frantically trying to get it out of my control. I finally let go, she waits a few seconds and then starts up again. It's like it's a -need- to her, and distresses her if I won't let her. Odd child. 

*hugs* for the rough night. Rob's been trying to do that for me, but it's hard since I need to get her up, potty her, change her, and then bring her out and position her in the living room, and then go back to bed. Still, it's better than nothing!

Originally Posted by MarineWife 

Actually, I was talking about the other mom(s) you said asked if you had breastfed. That question doesn't make any sense if you aren't bottle feeding her. And, yeah, who knows why that other lady asked what kind of milk you had. I had someone here ask me the other day if Dylan took a bottle well. She was very surprised when I told her he has never had one.

Ohhhh gotcha. Makes sense. No, I wasn't feeding at all, we were talking about sickness, and how Tenley pretty much never gets sick, and she asked. If was twofold, you know? On one hand I was like "Awesome! She realizes that breastmilk has more than just nutrition." On the other hand, I was like... Why do you assume I've stopped breastfeeding her? She's only 6 months old!  I did make sure to nurse her shortly after that though. 

[annie2186]

Originally Posted by MarineWife 

Oh, I thought you had said something about things being hard or crazy or something in the beginning with Arianna.

I think you might be talking about me complaining recently. I was having a pretty tough time with ALL the kiddo's but *especially* A. Although I think it might have been a bunch of things all together. 
I started taking probiotics to help with my digestion problems which were just compounding, and I think I was detoxing. I didn't really realize until I started feeling better how bad it was! Totally worth it though.

Originally Posted by jeninejessica 

We took Tenley to the Horse Races last night (it's very much a family thing, I grew up there pretty much, and my parents own a couple that are currently racing). She loved it, and loved being in the barn and reaching out and petting the horses.  Anyways, obviously there were lots of new people we met. I had pumped a bottle the night before, as I said, so I brought it with us, and tried to give it to her while we were there (she's been refusing it, I think I mentioned that?). So I'm sitting in the tack room, cradling her and trying to feed her the bottle, and one of the family friends comes over and asks "What kind of milk is that in the bottle?" I laughed and told her it was very watery breastmilk (wondering if maybe she was curious about the color?) but honestly I was like WHA? Huh? What kind of question is that? I can't tell if she was trying to ask if I was feeding formula or breastmilk, or if she assumed it was formula and wanted to know what kind (she has 4 grandchildren and another due in a few months) or... I don't know. It was the weirdest thing I've been asked about breastfeeding!

Although also weird, was at a playdate with some non-crunchy people the other day, and was asked "Did you breastfeed her?" I honestly looked down at her again with a furrowed brow like "How old does she look? Does she look like the question should be "did you" not "are you"? Weird, especially because the question came from someone who did breastfeed and was asking in context of its amazing immunological properties. I just said "yes, still going!"  But again.. ummm weird?

When I am engorged - my breastmilk is very watery and then gets thicker as it empties. It is a possibility she though you were giving her watered down formula?!? LOL

If she stops taking the bottle completely, let me know. I have a few suggestions that might help.

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes 

I love hearing about babies (well, love is a strong word) who naturally sleep thru.  I mean it makes me envious but I also like hearing it b/c I know deep down it's possible and that sleep training isn't necessary.

Happy happy birthday, Kellen!  5!  Wow.  What a big boy!!  It does feel like such a milestone!  

I'm exhausted as we had a rough night.  I gave Chris the baby at 7 and went back to sleep until 9.  I think that was the only unbroken sleep I got all night.  I just poured myself a nice cup of coffee and am staring at diaper laundry and a very crumby floor that needs to be vacuumed.  Ugh!  I don't feel like it!

Yes, she is amazing in the sleep department with (obviously) no help from me! Only A has slept through the night at this young of an age (and I actually mean like 10-12 hours, not 5 or 6) but all my kids have put themselves to sleep from about 7 or 8 months at the latest with NO crying.

Ugh - sleep training, I just really don't get it. With my first two I knew nothing about the label *AP* it is just called COMMON MOMMA SENSE! 

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes 

O/T : Is anyone who has gotten ppaf charting?  I just popped open my FF again and blah.  It's boring and I really am not feeling CTA right now.  I'm not sure if I'm going to jump right in to temping or what.  Going to use condoms anyhow so it's not that huge of a deal.

...and it wouldn't be the worst thing ever to have an oops but don't tell anyone I said that!!  

Honestly - I had to go on BC pills  My cycles got so bad that I couldn't function at all when I was bleeding. And even for weeks before I was a hormonal mess. Add to it the fact that they are sometimes 70 day cycles and sometimes 26 and I just couldn't deal anymore!!!!!!

I know one day I will have to get to the bottom of the problem, but I just can't do it right now.

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by jeninejessica 

I've been doing the "Ow!" and holding her hand, but then she freaks out and starts frantically trying to get it out of my control. I finally let go, she waits a few seconds and then starts up again. It's like it's a -need- to her, and distresses her if I won't let her. Odd child.

This is how Dylan was(is). He would totally freak if I tried to hold his hands or move them off and away from me. He would scream and it was awful! Covering as much skin as possible helps some but he would fight to get his hands under my clothes. At night I would put my arm/hand over my chest so he couldn't get to it. It was uncomfortable and I still couldn't relax and sleep but at least I wasn't getting hurt.

A nursing necklace might help. I did get one and it seemed to help but I would take it off to sleep and forget to put it back on the next day most of the time. He does still pinch me but, like Carrie said, he's getting that it hurts and stops when I say, "Ow!" or move his hands away without getting too upset anymore.

Ah, ok, annie. That must have been it.

[onetwoten]

Ooooh! I forgot about the nursing necklaces! I had seen them a few weeks ago, and remembered that I wanted to buy one... and then promptly forgot. Anyone know of a good website? I'm going to check, but haven't seen them locally before. 

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by jeninejessica 

Ooooh! I forgot about the nursing necklaces! I had seen them a few weeks ago, and remembered that I wanted to buy one... and then promptly forgot. Anyone know of a good website? I'm going to check, but haven't seen them locally before. 

I love etsy for that type of thing!!