September 3rd Weekly Chat Thread « Back to Group Discussions

[iixivboots]

Not sure if we want to continue these but I thought I'd start one for this week anyway.

I'm SURE we've got some people who are still pregnant, I just don't know who they are offhand. Wishing you all the best! Check in and let us know. Speaking of that, I often wonder about intime0 and little Crosby, "our" first baby. I hope by now he's home and thriving!

All is well here, just some fussy evenings that are making us a bit crazy. I am also feeling pretty cooped up because it's still SO hot here, triple digits and I just don't want to deal with taking Lyle out in that during the heat of the day. I might try to visit my friend/daycare provider later this week, she lives close.

I still have a month left of maternity leave which I am grateful for, although it's a little tricky financially, I still wouldn't change it! How about everyone else?

It's just crazy August is over, crazy! Congratulations everyone! Most awesome group of mamas ever.

[Veritas Vitae]

I think we should definitely continue the threads.  I know everyone is probably as wrapped up in their LOs as I have been. I've been trying to keep up but I do little more than catch up with what is going on with everyone before I get caught up in staring at or feeding Q. 

I was just looking at the welcome to our babies list and wondering about Intime and Crosby as well. 

It is so weird that August is over and we have babies.  It still seems like not that long ago we were all just finding out we were pregnant and struggling through the first trimester.  It is unbelievably rewarding to just spend time with my baby now, and to see B as a parent just as completely in love with our daughter as I am. That said, I'm anxious to start getting out of the house a bit more soon, but being only a week out, I'm not really ready for any big trips. 

[LilyTiger]

I totally hear you guys on it being weird that we have little ones.  I remember freaking out about drinking green tea in the first trimester and now I've got an actual human being here.  Totally insane.  It's also crazy how much love I can feel for this little creature I only just met.  Very odd.

We're doing pretty well.  I can't believe I've been a parent for three weeks.  Whoa.  We're still muddling our way through breastfeeding, cloth diapering (trying to decide if I want to do cloth tonight or wimp out with a disposable), and sleeping.  Piper is totally a mama's girl (maybe they all are at this stage), but she needs to be held or nursed pretty much constantly if she's awake.  DH is out of town for work for a few days, so this will be an adventure.  So far today I managed to unload the dishwasher.  That's it.  My mom's coming over tomorrow to let me get a shower in and then we'll do a nice dinner at their place, so that will be a nice break from the monotony of nursing and watching shows on Netflix.

Hope all the new mamas are enjoying their little ones and the ones still waiting get to meet them soon! 

[NewMumJoy]

I was hoping we'd have a weekly chat thread and was about to start one myself - thanks Boots!  Guessing that many mamas are now hunkered down w/their LO's - I hope everyone's doing well!  And thinking about those still remaining in "overdue" territory.... hopefully we'll get a good update from LeAnn soon and anyone else still out there....

Fall is in the air here ...... crazy to think that in a couple of months it'll be the one year mark that I got my BFP and everything changed from there - what a year!

William is 3 weeks old today!  I've already had to put aside all the NB sized clothes (many that were never even worn) as they no longer fit!  He seems to change overnight, and every morning we wake up and find something new about him.  I'm already sad to think how quickly he'll speed through his infancy.  I'm still craving so badly for enough free time to do a photo session at home w/him or to take more video clips... We'll never get these precious days back!!

My life here still seems to revolve around Will's feeding schedule and I live from one pumping session to the next.  I can't seem to get enough of that peaceful quality "down time" w/him, in between.  He's been fussing a bit more lately and now even the bottle can't satiate him fast enough (the boobs are still a lost cause) .... I think he's got bad gas now from sucking on the bottles so hard.....  :\   

DH is away this week through Thurs, so I'm flying solo!!  I'm really missing his help, esp. w/the night feedings where he did just about everything - so that I could just pump.  Good luck LilyTiger - hope you're holding the fort down there ok!  I'm just taking it one hour at a time here.  My only rescue is my landlady downstairs who offers to watch/hold the baby for about an hour each day - and what a relief that is!!  I'm TRYING to get out for a walk, but so far I only got the stroller/carseat out of the car today, lol....  Next week DH will be gone for 6 DAYS; I've already had a few mini meltdowns (usually in tandem w/William's meltdowns) at the thought of it!

[Veritas Vitae]

Happy 3 weeks, Will! 

Joy, we had to pull out all the NB onesies, as the little arm holes were too small. However, all of the NB sleepers and pants still fit Q.  We didn't use most of them either. 

I'm so thankful for B's help with the baby and with the house, feeding me, etc... He has one more week off after this and then he will be traveling again, for most of September and all of October, so I will be in the same camp as you Lily and Joy.  It will be interesting to see how it goes without him here. Hopefully he will be able to come home on Thursday nights and work from home on Fridays, and only be flying out on Monday mornings, not Sunday nights.

Lily, Q relies pretty heavily on me as well, and always cuddles me at night when we sleep.  I know Brian wishes she would cuddle over by him too, but for now, I'm the one who feeds her.  He does what he can to help her, which involves the things she doesn't like as much as eating: diapers, baths, sucking out her nose, cleaning her belly button...but he will also spend some time holding her. He appreciates her high sucking need, because when she is full, she'll start to get frustrated being at the breast, but she still wants to suck, so he gets to snuggle her with a pacifier.  He was so excited the first time she fell asleep while he was holding her.

[Veritas Vitae]

Happy 3 weeks, Will! 

Joy, we had to pull out all the NB onesies, as the little arm holes were too small. However, all of the NB sleepers and pants still fit Q.  We didn't use most of them either. 

I'm so thankful for B's help with the baby and with the house, feeding me, etc... He has one more week off after this and then he will be traveling again, for most of September and all of October, so I will be in the same camp as you Lily and Joy.  It will be interesting to see how it goes without him here. Hopefully he will be able to come home on Thursday nights and work from home on Fridays, and only be flying out on Monday mornings, not Sunday nights.

Lily, Q relies pretty heavily on me as well, and always cuddles me at night when we sleep.  I know Brian wishes she would cuddle over by him too, but for now, I'm the one who feeds her.  He does what he can to help her, which involves the things she doesn't like as much as eating: diapers, baths, sucking out her nose, cleaning her belly button...but he will also spend some time holding her. He appreciates her high sucking need, because when she is full, she'll start to get frustrated being at the breast, but she still wants to suck, so he gets to snuggle her with a pacifier.  He was so excited the first time she fell asleep while he was holding her.

[Sol_y_Paz]

Liked reading how the babies and moms are doing.  Only have a second here, can't believe some are already packing away the NB stuff. My baby still fits just fine in all the NB clothes, even since gaining pounds.

[iixivboots]

I can't believe how some of the newborn stuff is tiny and some fits fine. Lyle is going to the doc on Friday so we'll find out how much he weighs then. The NB onesies are starting to look like muscle shirts, hehe.

Can someone clarify if babies are supposed to hate baths? I guess we haven't done a full tub/sink bath yet, just sponge baths and he hates it despite our efforts to keep him warm/partially swaddled. I gave up on that and just do it as quickly as possible so it limits his screaming time.

We have a blooming bath and I had high hopes! When we get the kitchen sink sterilized again maybe we'll try for more of an immersion bath with the blooming bath and maybe since there will be more warm water the air around it will be warmer and he won't hate it so much.

The fussy evenings continue. Reading a lot about what Dr. Sears says about colic vs fussiness and I'm not sure he's truly colicky/in pain. He can be comforted and will quiet, it's just he then decides he wants us to try something else ;) They've been lasting from about 10/11 to 2 a.m. Fun! :)

Lily and Joy, I can't believe you guys are flying solo this early, it's amazing. All the luck and support in the world to you! Hope you both have people to swoop in for relief if needed.

Joy, you are champ with all that pumping. Have you looked into any of the EP threads here or I think there's an exclusive pumpers board on babycenter, too, (of course babycenter is kind of ghetto, imho. ;) Maybe you can find some empathetic support there. You are doing great and William is gaining well, so pat yourself on the back. It must be so hard to deal with feeling like he is rejecting the breast, reconcile it with what you thought bf would be, but -- I don't know, I am guessing!?-- maybe when he is bigger and his mouth is bigger, he may have another go at the boob and be more successful? I hope so!

[Sol_y_Paz]

 bootsvalentine
We gave up on using the infant tub due to how upset it was making DS.  Since he likes being in arms I got in the water with him for bath time for more of an immersion type bath and he liked that better.  

[sallyrae17]

Originally Posted by bootsvalentine 

Can someone clarify if babies are supposed to hate baths? I guess we haven't done a full tub/sink bath yet, just sponge baths and he hates it despite our efforts to keep him warm/partially swaddled. I gave up on that and just do it as quickly as possible so it limits his screaming time.

We have a blooming bath and I had high hopes! When we get the kitchen sink sterilized again maybe we'll try for more of an immersion bath with the blooming bath and maybe since there will be more warm water the air around it will be warmer and he won't hate it so much.

The fussy evenings continue. Reading a lot about what Dr. Sears says about colic vs fussiness and I'm not sure he's truly colicky/in pain. He can be comforted and will quiet, it's just he then decides he wants us to try something else ;) They've been lasting from about 10/11 to 2 a.m. Fun! :)

I only do full immersion baths with Baby M in the regular bathtub and she loves them. I don't think she'd like a sponge bath at all, though, she'd probably get too cold.

As for the fussiness - we are dealing with the same thing, but it's from 6 - 8pm every night. My son never cried - I mean never - not even when he had a wet diaper. This baby is a whole different being. She is fussy during dinner time and sometimes thinks I want to party from 2-4am. She also screams bloody murder when her diaper needs to be changed. Yeesh. I know it's a phase, though, so I'm not too concerned. Also, I know you mentioned that you have overactive letdown - that can also lead to excess fussiness due to gas. I hope you find something that works for you - soon!

[NewMumJoy]

Boots - I hope Lyle's fussiness wears off and that you guys can get some rest soon!  Frustrating when it happens late at night and you're just about fried yourself and have far less patience!! William was having a gassy day yesterday and oh my lord it was so draining to constantly have to "fix" or soothe him, especially when feeding (which you'd think would help) only aggravated the problem (I could hear the gurgles in his belly all day).  Have you tried wearing him in a wrap?  My Ergo has provided us some immediate and long lasting relief this week - both physically and emotionally!

Re. bathing - I think William's only had 2 proper (tub) baths in his 3 weeks of life, lol!  I'm just that bad w/time management right now, there never seems to be a good/free moment to do it.  I've touched him up w/a wet cloth and he HATES that, despite how warm I try to keep him.  I also try to follow that up w/a little nice massage to calm him down.  He screamed during his first few moments in the tub as well, but then he calmed down and the bath seemed to have a good effect on him overall.  Maybe save getting his head wet for last?  Not too many babies seem to enjoy that part....

My Doula came by for a visit today which was really great.  We talked about my birth experience, reliving moments throughout the labor and surgery and it was interesting to hear her observations which validated a lot things for me.  She echoed my doctor's comments on how she'd never seen a birth go the way mine did - or the amount of pain that I endured - which made me feel better about how things went (like that I really gave it my best and everyone knew it).   I had a very tough time w/the c-section (during and after) and to hear her say that she had never seen someone "so roughed up" from the surgery made me feel like much less of the wuss these past few weeks (yeah, I THOUGHT recovery should have been easier than this!!)

She also was EXTREMELY helpful and supportive of my BF'ing / Pumping ordeal during today's visit and long story short - I BREAST fed William these last 2 times today (and hope/plan to continue like this for the rest of the day/evening).  Wow.  I really hope this might work after all.....  (Boots - yes, I've been lurking on the EP'ing forum here - thanks for the suggestion - hopefully I won't end up a permanent visitor there....) 

[iixivboots]

Thanks for the bath info, everyone. I want to talk DH into taking him into the adult bathtub. I don't take tub baths because they tend to give me UTIs.

OMG, Joy, I am so happy for you and William! Yay for you, little man, and your doula! I am just so glad hope is not lost and it's such a special thing. I bet he will get less gassy, too. He will love you more than your pump does, too :) I hope your recovery is moving along, I can't honestly imagine it and being alone with your babe already.

sally, I am still not sure about overactive letdown after what you described and reading some stuff on Kellymom. I think I am going to go with "sometimes" I do (which maybe is normal) a few times a day he will cough and sputter, but usually not. I have been offering him his non-preferred breast first when he's hungriest and that has cut down on fussing at the boob.

BIG question, HOW do people nurse in public? Not like...modesty wise, but I honestly think my arms would fall off, he would flop around, and it would be a disaster.  I have only done a few minutes at the pediatrician and DH had to help me hold him (I was pretty weak still) That and the crazy temperatures mean we've been homebound since he was born unless papa is here to drive us somewhere between feedings. I also think it would be impossible for me with my giant boobs to nurse in a ring sling, for that matter we're not too successful with the (borrowed) ring sling overall. He loves the wrap but he gets pretty hot after about an hour. (That last point is kind of off topic but any suggestions are welcome)

[Ninetales]

So, I have a poop issue. Oscar's never been much of a pooper. Since the beginning he's only done skid marks or maybe dime sized liquid poops every few days, with a big one once a week or so. The doctor says he's not constipated and that this is just his normal. But it's so weird to me.

With Elsa every change was poop for the first few weeks. Oscar hasn't done a decent poop since last Friday or maybe it was Saturday. Everything I've looked at says it's "normal" after the newborn stage but he's always been like this! I would say he's only had maybe four or five good sized ones since birth.

I know I should trust the doctor but I just want to know if this is really normal.

[Veritas Vitae]

nak

Quick question: Is anyone else's baby snotty/congested sounding? I asked my sister about it when Q was first born, and she said it was normal, but she still sounds congested sometimes at a week and a half, and I'm worried she might have her dad's allergies or that she could have a cold. Plus her eyes have been red, but that might be because she always seems to be trying to scratch her face.  I know I'm probably just over analyzing everything, but I don't know what normal is, since this is my first baby.

Ninetales, Q started out with lots of poo, but now we are seeing more skidmarks, with big poos more spread out.

[LilyTiger]

Veritas, it took a good two weeks for Piper to stop sounding like she had a terrible cold.  She snorted and snuffled and made all sorts of ridiculous snotty sounds for two weeks and then it cleared up.  So at least in our case, it was totally normal.  My doc said their sinuses have to get used to dealing with dust and dirt after amniotic fluid and so they're pretty congested for the first couple weeks.  Obviously, yellow or green discharge would mean an infection, but anything less is normal I think.

Boots, I don't have much advice for you.  Nursing in the car is pretty comfortable for us, but I have small breasts.  I nursed at lunch today and she was slipping around and sort of sliding.  I had to adjust quite a few times.  We've nursed once or twice in the ring sling with a fair amount of success, but it's hard getting the angle right for her to latch without pulling my nipple.  In that sense I think larger breasts might work better, but it's so individual.  We rock the cradle hold and reverse cradle hold back and forth when out and about to try to minimize baby slippage.  I think a lot of it is trial and error.  Nursing without my faithful boppy the first couple times was torture, but now I just sort of latch her on and hold her in whatever position seems to work.  Does football hold work at all?  That's another pretty good one for a situation where you don't have pillows.  We have totally different sized boobs though, so it's hard to tell what might work for you.

In other news, I have mastered the art of no-handed feeding when at home!  I am typing this while nursing.  The ability to answer e-mails or surf the web while nursing has increased my sanity quotient a thousandfold.  I know I'm supposed to spend my time nursing her staring at her and thinking about the beauty and meaning of life, but sometimes I just want to read celebrity gossip or stalk Facebook.  And now I can.  Yay!

[iixivboots]

Lily, yeah having big giant boobs is not fun at the moment. I don't even know how big they are, I need to go get fitted for nursing bras for work pretty soon. Were DD prepregancy, I am thinking we've graduated the middle of the alphabet. ;) I have to support my breast with one hand and the baby with the other, so I guess that's why the NIP without pillows seems so daunting. And hands-free nursing? I don't know if I will ever be able to do that. Sigh.

VV, Lyle sneezes and sounds congested a few times a day. I assume he's still adjusting to the cats and the dust, etc. Sometimes when I look up his nose it seems more swollen than others and he sometimes makes some rattling sounds when nursing. DH and I both have allergies and so since it's not interfering with his sleep or general comfort, I'm not worrying about it. BTW I don't think the "snot sucker" we got at the hospital was really a nasal one, more of a mouth suctioner or something, since there's no way that thing could fit up his nose even a little.

So last night kind of sucked. We're trying to figure out things to do at night so I don't feel so cooped up during the day but don't have to take the baby out into the heat if I don't want to. So we went to the mall to walk around and have a piece of cheesecake. Which went fine, but then the car wouldn't start (AZ heat is HELL on car batteries, they pretty much need to be replaced yearly). So we were stuck in a closing mall with a baby sleeping in a snap and go. I was SO nervous he would wake up and want to nurse, but he was okay and slept the whole time. I am crazy because this mall has nursing rooms even, but I was afraid since it was the end of the night they'd be locking the bathrooms, etc. Anyway, he slept through the whole thing, we got home at like 10:30 and then of course he started his nightly freakout until almost 3. This time he would at least nurse without screaming and crying too much, but it didn't put him to sleep or calm him down afterwards. The only thing that works reliably is the car. We tried to take another short drive around 1 a.m. and he was calm in the car and resumed freaking out after we got home. I am lucky huz is great and doesn't have the "you aren't working right now" attitude. I start to kind of freak out at some point, like I've done this ALL day, now I can't do this ALL night, too. I just wish I knew WHY he was so fussy, or how to help him. I am starting to consider trying to eliminate foods from my diet, even though I wasn't really convinced that could be it. Sigh. I don't want to live in a world without cheese!  
 

[sallyrae17]

boots - As far as nursing in public goes, I honestly just find a place to sit down and nurse. I've actually nursed in pretty much every situation imaginable - even standing in line at the grocery store in the moby wrap. I've also done it in the car, in the bathroom, on a plane, on a bus - you name it. I guess I'm not modest at all and will feed my babe where ever and whenever (though I know that not everyone is comfortable with that). 

[Veritas Vitae]

What hold are you using with the Moby wrap to nurse in?  B and I walked downtown to have dinner and I took Q in the Moby. I was trying to figure out logistically how I could nurse her in it if I needed to.

[NewMumJoy]

Oh man, BF'ing in public - I'm a loooong way from that, lol!  Now that we are just 1 day back into it, I feel like I'm about 3 weeks behind most of you on the BF'ing learning curve since we're really just starting this over again.  I'm still not really wearing clothes around the house (just a tank top which I remove for each feeding, no bras) and I'm leaking alllll over the place - it takes enough planning just to get out for a quick walk!

Wiliam's been quite fussy today, we nursed for over 2 hrs straight this afternoon (I eventually had to cut him off and make do w/the paci) and I can't seem to put him down for more than a minute.  Makes me wonder just how much milk he's getting from the breast (despite that he gets them very soft).  The Ergo really keeps him happy, but then I leak like crazy (I'm on my third tanktop today and both carriers now have huge milk spots on them!)  Sometimes I feel like I'll be spending the first 6 months sequestered indoors!

Ninetales - I've definitely heard and read that the poops can be very infrequent for some babies, and that it's normal!  I'm noticing that William's having less poopy diapers this week (vs. the last 2 weeks) - I'm hoping that this is normal too and not due to the recent change in our feeding routine.  But since Oscar's consistently been that way since the beginning for you, I'd tend to think that he's fine?

[Tizzy]

The lack of poops is perfectly normal, someone once described it to me as babies being exceptionally efficient :) Plus they *are* on a liquid diet!

DD often went up to two weeks as an infant. And now baby G.  goes several days at a time. His longest stretch has been 6 days so far.

Snuffles/congestion is normal too :)   G. was stuffed up for about a week, DD was close to a month before she was completely clear. I too, was worried about allergies or what have you but she is 100% normal.

As for NIP, I've never hesitated to sit down wherever and feed baby.  It gets to be a lot more challenging when I have 3 other munchkins in a store who get restless when I need to sit in one spot for 10min.  Mastering nursing while babywearing has been a godsend!

  I primarily use a pouch sling over my left shoulder so baby is at my left breast. If I need to feed from the other side, I slide the sling around so it's a football hold.  I try to layer my shirts so when I pull my shirt up, I'm not exposing my muffin top to the world lol!  Otherwise I'll wear a button down shirt or one with a low-cut top. The advantage of the sling too is that I can pull it up and it covers everything, it gets a little more challenging when baby gets older and is more wiggly, and starts pulling my shirt around with his hands . Always new challenges!

As for the Mei Tei (I've never used a Moby but it's the same principal), I just loosen the straps so they're sitting lower and right at boob level. Then when they're done, I tighten it up again.

We're having a crazy week here, lots of stuff piling up which is annoying and stressful. I had my first big outing (aside from the local grocery store/library) with all 4 kids yesterday and it went pretty well!  The older two get so spacy after lunch (nap time!!) so that's frustrating but the baby enjoyed being worn and doesn't mind the in and out of the car-seat now too so that's a bonus :)

Poor DH is feeling really deprived because he hardly gets a chance to hold the baby, I feel terrible because he falls asleep at night with him on his chest BUT I have to do a dream feed and take the baby away from him.