Bi-Weekly Chat Thread (thru 10/28) - Page 7 « Back to Group Discussions

[sillymom44]

Things here are going well on day 12. Jack nurses every 11/2 to 2 hrs (3 hrs every once in awhile) around the clock....sooo I'm tired obviously. I have been staying in bed for 12 hours sleeping, so I'm doing my best to stay rested. Im following my mw's recommendation to stay in the house with very little activity for 2 weeks. I left only twice- one to drive around in the sun w DH, but didn't get out and then to the baby's drs appt. I never thought I would be able to do it bc I hate sitting inside all day, but it hasn't been hard. I guess I'm just tired!! My bleeding has almost stopped like she promised. Poor DH has been doing everything...but he's great and is not showing much stress at all.

Jack gained almost a pound in 10 days- so the crazy nursing sched is doing something!

CD: I was using disposables dt being too overwhelmed w laundry, but they were leaking at least once a day!! So we're using CD exclusively now and no leaks! The washcloths are working great as wipes too!

I shouldn't even say this, but so far he is very easy going and has a hysterical personality. He sounds like a baby tiger.

[pregnova]

day 12 here as well!

I got another crazy fast nurser, so while we nurse every two hours or so during the day, it only takes her like maybe five min. to get a full belly and drink all the milk in one breast. At night, she's a cluster feeder until bedtime...and then she'll nurse maybe 4 times in a 10 hour sleep? So not bad at all...and we nurse sidelying then, so I hardly wake. 

She's a little doll...I can't believe how in love I am with her...I feel like the bonding this go around was instant whereas with ds it took me longer....although I didn't feel that way at the time. 

My bleeding is also pretty much gone. But I had the lightest flow ever this whole pp period, so I just got lucky with that. I'm practically back to pre-pregnancy weight...I gained a total of 32 with this one and have like 8 lb to go. Very excited by how quickly it's melting away! I know I'm nursing a lot more than I did with ds at this point though...mostly because it doesn't hurt and I have a big supply that makes me leak like crazy if I don't keep on top of it!  Plus this week I've been walking ds to the park and such, so more activity than I did last time as well.

We finally got a few girly clothes from a friend of ours, soooo excited to have a little girl to dress up! 

[Angelorum]

What a sweetheart, preg!  Who made that fantastic blanket she's laying on?

Ds1 has had a better couple of days lately.  I'm really trying to spend more time with him.  Plus, he's been getting better sleep too.  I'm still doing hardly anything around the house, but I'm still trying to take it slow.  I'm still bleeding, and the varicose veins I got having ds1 are acting up again.  It's nothing like it was postpartum the first time, and I know a lot more tricks to get the ache to go away, so I'm hoping it gets better faster. 

Ds2 is adorable, of course.  He was really great giving me a 4 or 5 hour stretch of sleep at night for the first couple of weeks, but lately he's been gassier at night which wakes him up.  He's not terribly fussy about the gas, he just grunts and wiggles a lot which wakes me up.  His bum is looking a little angry lately too.  I never dealt with diaper rash with ds1, so I have no idea what to use on it!  It's not really bad, just bright red and a little tender looking.  We cd with cotton prefolds.  So far I haven't done anything but try and change him promptly and clean him gently and thoroughly.  I have some kissaluvs brand Diaper Lotion Potion concentrate that I spray on him sometimes (diluted in water).  The bottle says to dilute it in witch hazel for a spray, but the only witch hazel I have around has alcohol in it, and I worry that would sting if his bum is rashy.  Where do I find alcohol free witch hazel?  Is baby powder safe for cloth diapers?  I have some natural baby powder around here somewhere...

[Vegan Princess]

Oh Angelorum, I forgot to talk about my older DD. She has mostly been great about playing on her own with legos and art projects. I have pretty much every art medium you can think of out and available to her so she keeps herself pretty busy gluing and taping things these days. The baby brought the legos and she has spent SO much time building with them that I already got extra pieces for her. The tough thing here has been her missing out on mommy snuggles. But we started our new special thing - a hot bath together. I just wanted a hot bath last week bc my back hurt from hunching over nursing and she convinced me to let her get in. She was so sweet about how much she was loving her special bath with mama and has been asking to do it again - so we did last night. And I think that will be our time together. I also did bedtime tonight. She was great about telling me what she wanted me to do and that then I could go downstairs to pump and daddy could come up and brush her teeth and snuggle her to sleep. Also, since we got our king bed, she is back in our bed full time and gets to snuggle into me more. I just sort of don't want her in the middle bc I am less wanting to put the baby on that side to nurse and fall asleep like that.

My baby is so sleepy this afternoon/evening. I think she is worn out from the tongue tie clip this morning. :-(

Preg: Love the blanket too! So sweet! I have a cute dress I want to put on her but it hasn't been warm enough - though it's supposed to warm up to 74 this weekend. I'm guessing it's not actually warm enough for a dress where you are - but you're just having fun playing. :-)

Oh an my bleeding picked back up a little - I think bc I've been stressed about nursing, etc. Crazy how our bodies work!

Cindy

[pregnova]

Yes, I knit that blanket...it's super warm and rainbow! Perfect for around here. 

lol, and yes, I'm just playing dress up with my little doll. lol If she goes outside she looks more like this, 

A confusion of mama knits!

[Vegan Princess]

I wish I could make things that beautiful!! I was feeling some jealousy over all your gorgeous creations Pregnova...

And then a huge package arrived yesterday. :-) My dad's wife knit a sweater and 2 blankets and matching cocoons and also crocheted a third cocoon. She's still making 2 more sweaters, with a matching sweater for my older DD and some more blankets. I took some cute pics - I'll try and post some tomorrow.

My mom left today. I feel so much more relaxed. LOL.  But now all my help is officially gone. No one to be my extra set of hands or do my dishes. Thankfully we have meals being brought to us for the next 2-3 weeks!! I *love* having meals brought over!! People have brought amazing spreads so far. Someone even brought ice cream sundae makings. I need to have a baby more often! 

Cindy

[Vegan Princess]

Happy halloween! Anyone dress up their babes? I had planned to but didn't end up doing it. It rained here tonight so I ended up staying in with Aria while the dads took the kids around - all the moms ended up back home with the babies. We had a nice get together at a friend's house though and had chinese take out before the kids went out.

Aria smiled for the first time today!! She smiled at me twice this afternoon, right before my husband got home. Then she smiled at him. :-) I thought she would smile at big sister first. She also started cooing at me a little right after smiled at me. :-) 

Nursing is still so tough here. Her tongue still hurts so she hasn't been sucking well and I have been pumping most feeds. Today was an improvement though so hopefully it will just keep getting better - bc I sure can't keep pumping like this indefinitely!

Cindy

[sillymom44]

 Jack was a "Jack" o-lantern!!  :)  It was a simple outfit--orange striped shirt with stickers for the face on his shirt.  DH went t-or-t-ing with friend/neighbors- drinking cider spiked with rum, while i sat at home watching property bros on hgtv.  i actually had fun  :)

[pregnova]

It got so slow around here! Everyone must be busy nursing nonstop. lol!

So, we have a name finally...Atia Isobel. And my mellow little one has turned into a demanding little princess. lol I'm so thankful she's my second because she's honestly a bit more of a handful right now than I remember with ds. She seems to have trouble with my fast letdown and I think I've also got an oversupply, so she gets kind of angry at the start of a feeding and acts a bit like I'm drowning her. Which is super annoying because she's a crazy efficient nurser and I must go through like two or three heavy let downs in one short nursing session...and she screams with each one :-( I'm working on correcting that a bit, but it's a process, and I'm not really sure we're getting anywhere with it. I think I might go to the local breastfeeding group next week for some tips since she just doesn't seem ABLE to do any comfort nursing without drowning in milk....but she pretty clearly WANTS to comfort nurse. 

She's still sleeping great...we get at least an 8 hour stretch once she goes down for the night and the past three nights, she hasn't even woken to nurse...and dry diapers at night although we go through like a MILLION during the day. I just make good night sleepers although she's WAY harder to get down at night than ds ever was. she can't nurse down because of the let down problem, so I have to walk her around....which sometimes takes a long time and she always seems to be so frantic and unhappy during the time period that we're trying to get her to sleep. Not too sure what's up with that except it mostly seems to be that she's upset about not being able to nurse the way she'd prefer...Really just sort of wish I had less milk...

She's growing like crazy...9.5lb and not even three weeks! (she was 8lb at birth and did dip a bit below that). We're using regular prefolds now just as well as the newborn size...and the preemie prefolds only work trifolded in a wool cover. One of the sweaters I knit her she's about to bust out of...and her cheeks are the chunkiest cutest things ever! lol

I've had two smiles since yesterday, and dh got one this morning, but there still not regular or anything, so I'm not sure I should count that yet. But oh boy am I excited for a smiley little one!

[sillymom44]

Preg- beautiful name!!  How do you pronounce it??  "A" names for girls are very popular on this thread-- I think the majority start with A.  I like that...my name starts with "a" too.  You are insanely lucky that you are getting 8 hours at night.  All of my babies-- including this one-- nurse around the clock.  Some nights I get 3 hours, but usually he wakes every 2.  I wask at 8 am to feed the older boys breakfast and get them ready for school, then when they leave at 9, I go back to sleep until 1030/11am.  I hate sleeping so much, but at least I'm not too grumpy in the evening when the whole family is home.  :)

I keep wondering-- where is BostonMummy!!  I am dying to hear how she is!!  I am a little worried about her.

[Vegan Princess]

Atia - I like it! I'm also wondering exactly how you pronounce it. Preg - too bad you can't send some of your milk over my way. I think Aria would be thrilled if she barely had to suck and the milk just flowed right out. My milk comes out pretty slowly and she has to work for it. She is getting stronger and better but she poops out before she gets it all still. Easy to comfort nurse though - thankfully! Sounds rough not being able to count on that. I can't believe you get an 8 hour stretch!! I get a 4 hour and maybe another 4 but it's usually back to 3 after the first stretch. Although last night every time I gave her the boob while lying down she just went right back to sleep without actually nursing. So I did get another 4 hour stretch. 

Silly: Sounds so nice to have the day to yourself after getting your kids off to school - how nice you can go back to bed! I am thanking my lucky stars that my 3 yr old sleeps until 9. So Aria often has some awake time early in the morning around 6 or 7 but if we stay in bed nursing I can usually get her back to sleep for another hour or more before M wakes up. I'd be so bummed if I had to get up for good at 6 right now! Oh and I have been watching tons of HGTV lately. It's almost all I watch when I watch TV - and I spend a lot of time on the couch pumping these days.

[Angelorum]

Wow, 8 hours at least!  I was feeling pretty lucky with the one 4-5 hour stretch.  It's definitely better than ds1.  Also this babe seems to go to sleep much easier.  He drops off nursing every time, but even if he wakes up a little as I'm laying him down, he usually just grunts for a while and then falls back to sleep on his own.  I'm trying harder this time to not create bad sleep habits, I'm sure some of ds1's problems were somewhat encouraged by me unknowingly. 

[dannic]

I feel spoiled because I get a 3-4 hr stretch, only having to nurse 3ish times at night, lol.  all my others have nursed round the clock two hours and then nursed loong.  

How is everyone feeling?  emotionally i am great.  I have good and bad days physically, though.  All my innerds (love that word, heh) are in the wrong places, or at least that's how it feels...I am a bit stretched out I think.  I'll feel great one day and then I probably over do it, so then the next day I feel awful.  I pretty much have stopped bleeding.  DS will be   

I always gain alot but it always comes off...I wish it'd come off a bit faster this time as my sis is getting married in Jan.  but it's really only in my tummy.  I initially lose alot and then lose more about 6 mos out, and then lose the last stubborn ten lbs after I wean.  

Isaac will be 3 weeks on Sunday!  WOW!  FAST! He is a sweetie and has been smiling for about 10 days now.  So charming.  His tummy has been bothering him this week, so I guess I'll oust the chocolate and see if that helps...darn it.  lol.  

preg, the name is pretty.  Do you pronounce it like "Asia" only with a t sound?  

vegan, poor baby to get two clippings!  Hopefully it helps, though!  I can't imagine getting meals for 2-3 weeks! wow!

I have m mom and sis nearby, but not much help, really.  MY mom is great and so it dh.  My sis has been super busy.

[springmum]

Pregnova - I could have written your post about the oversupply/letdown problems exactly. Except that it's giving my little guy a lot of gas, mucousy poops and making him nurse 1-2 hours around the clock. I'm also VERY prone to plugged ducts even he only misses one nursing session - so it's really hard....

He wakes himself up grunting and farting (at least it's not making him cry) and then he wants to nurse back to sleep. I wish I could let him just grunt himself back to sleep, but he also poops non-stop around the clock and so I always have to change his diaper which wakes him up just enough to want to nurse. He will go right back to sleep with nursing at night, so at least he's not up for hours or anything - but I would love a nice 3-4 hour stretch, it would make me feel a little more human for sure. I feel bad that he can't comfort nurse without drowning either, DS1 was never a comfort nurser, but this little guy clearly is - I can't hold him without him looking for the boob.

We've been enjoying smiles for a little while too - I love when he smiles at DS1, DH hasn't got one yet though. He's over 3 weeks now too, and has clear wake up times and he's so cute when he's listening to his big brother.

He hates the carseat though which is actually making me consider a soother just for car rides -anyone done this? I just can't bear listening to him cry so much and b/c there are 2 seats back there and the cold weather is starting it's not so easy to just pull over and pull him out to comfort him.

Silly - I think you should definitely take advantage of sleeping like that ! Waking every 2 hours at night over here too and it makes me really tired - a nap can at least help me function.

Vegan - hopefully she keeps getting stronger and can transfer a little more milk soon :)

Angel - I think I caused some bad sleep habits for DS1 too, and am trying not to this time, but am not being too successful yet - when I'm so tired in the middle of the night with a grunting baby next to me I definitely just go for the boob fix - I've got to try to wait a little longer I think.

Dannic - hopefully taking the chocolate out fix's the tummy problems - although boo! for no more chocolate!!

Hope everyone else is doing well - we're definitely missing a few people!!

[pregnova]

Atia like "At-tee-uh". We like the nickname 'Tia' for whenever she's a bit older. We toyed with xara (said like zara) for a while, but ds absolutely hated it, and I thought it was a bit 'dark'. lol Amazing how long it took to think of the perfect name though!

Yeah, Idk, what the deal is with night time sleep over here...I have no idea how my babies all seem like such easy sleepers. We do sleep skin to skin...like literally belly to belly, and I think that honestly is what does the trick for us. I'm normally just in a t-shirt hiked up and she's so small right now I find that I'm even sort of curling around her..pulling my legs up a bit, so she's getting mama skin all over. I also leave her naked except for a diaper. I'm sure I'd be a wreck if my sleep was more interrupted!

I've been nursing in blocks for the past 4 days or so...so only nursing on one side for a set time period...no matter how many nursings we go through. Generally I'm sticking with two hour blocks because I don't want to affect the milk TOO drastically. Anyway, I 'think' it might be helping. I also started to nurse her whenever I get full feeling rather than letting her sleep if she's napping. (only during the day...at night I let her sleep) and that's helping me from building up too strong of a force behind the letdown, so she's able to do some comfort nursing here and there now. She's like insanely attached to me right now...like literally starts screaming the moment she wakes up and realizes I'm not holding her. lol It's kind of funny because it's just so ridiculous. I got an Ergo the other day, so now she's being worn just about non-stop because I do occasionally need hands free!

dannic-ug! I couldn't bear to give up chocolate! Hope that helps though!

springmum- It's the weirdest thing, but dd seems to poop only every other day although i do have to burp her after a feeding because she is pretty gassy. I would have thought she'd be pooping all the time too with so much milk going down...it actually had me worried for a week or so, but she seems fine and is clearly gaining weight and looking healthy, so I'm just leaving it alone for now...she does GRUNT so much though. The strangest old man noises!

[Vegan Princess]

So I figured out Aria has a lip tie too! I emailed a pic to one of the top dentists treating lip ties and he said hers is severe and def is impacting latch, etc. So we are seeing a pediatric dentist that revises them with a laser next tuesday. So annoying that the ENT that clipped her tongue tie didn't do anything about her lip. I asked him about it - but it turns out he doesn't treat them. I had assumed he didn't think it needed to be treated - didn't understand that he just doesn't do it. I finally looked at her lip myself yesterday and compared it to pics online. Her lip is always tucked under when she latches and she has almost no suction. I can pull her right off the breast without breaking suction with my finger. Man do I hope this finally lets her nurse normally! She is doing better these days but she still poops out after spending 45 minutes to only get 1/2 of the milk (and it's not for lack of wanting it - she will drink that extra amount from the supplementer afterward). I so so so hope I will finally be able to stop pumping after feeds!

Hope everyone's week is off to a good start. :-) I've been wearing Aria in the ergo almost non stop and so I feel like I have been handling my days so much better. So nice to be able to prepare food and do things around the house and for my older daughter - and she is happy in there.

[springmum]

Originally Posted by Vegan Princess 

So I figured out Aria has a lip tie too! I emailed a pic to one of the top dentists treating lip ties and he said hers is severe and def is impacting latch, etc. So we are seeing a pediatric dentist that revises them with a laser next tuesday. So annoying that the ENT that clipped her tongue tie didn't do anything about her lip. I asked him about it - but it turns out he doesn't treat them. I had assumed he didn't think it needed to be treated - didn't understand that he just doesn't do it. I finally looked at her lip myself yesterday and compared it to pics online. Her lip is always tucked under when she latches and she has almost no suction. I can pull her right off the breast without breaking suction with my finger. Man do I hope this finally lets her nurse normally! She is doing better these days but she still poops out after spending 45 minutes to only get 1/2 of the milk (and it's not for lack of wanting it - she will drink that extra amount from the supplementer afterward). I so so so hope I will finally be able to stop pumping after feeds!

Hope everyone's week is off to a good start. :-) I've been wearing Aria in the ergo almost non stop and so I feel like I have been handling my days so much better. So nice to be able to prepare food and do things around the house and for my older daughter - and she is happy in there.

Can I just say that it's posts like these that make me so thankful to be part of a forum like this :) I'll explain why in a moment..... Really though, just coming on and sharing our experiences can open up support for someone else going through the same thing, information for someone who's never heard of it before etc. It can save a nursing relationship if you hear what someone else is going through and think it may be what you're experiencing. It can also save your sanity to know that you're not alone! Think how many mama's with PPD think they are alone, and if they can come here for support or if they have questions, they could feel less alone.

Vegan - So here's why I'm thankful.....Our nursing has been going okay - oversupply, forceful letdown issues, and still having some latch issues. I thought the latch, short nursing sessions, frequent nursing were all related to the letdown (and resulting gas etc) but after you mentioned lip tie I took a look and he's got one! I knew about tongue ties and he doesn't appear to have one (he can stick his tongue out pretty far etc) but I'd never heard of a lip tie. So in some reading it seems this might be a factor in our cycle of nursing challenges. I had our doula over and she said he also has a high palate and may actually have a posterior tongue tie! So I've made an appt with a clinic that can better assess what's going on, and made an appt with an osteopath for some cranial work. 

I don't think our issues are severe - he's gaining very well (over 11lbs at almost 4 weeks) and my supply is holding for now. He is also a pretty happy guy, just gassy and grunty frequently. But in reading how my supply or his latch could really get worse in time, I'm happy to be addressing this now!

So thank you Vegan! and thank you to all the mama's who are sharing their experiences so far! It's wonderful to read the successes and comforting to know that if we are struggling, there are other mama's going through it too, or at least available for some encouragement and support :)

[Vegan Princess]

Springmum: Aria had posterior tongue tie-  babies with lip tie often have a tongue tie. She can stick her tongue out - but they can't put it up enough if it's posterior. I suspect that our issues wouldn't be as pronounced if I had a bigger supply or faster flow (recall I have breast implants that screw things up in there).so it's great he's gaining well despite the tie. I hope the cranial helps! We are doing another (free!) session this weekend. I'm sorry you are having some of the same issues but i'm really glad that my experience has helped someone else out!!

This morning has been frazzling. Aria has been awake from 7ish until 11:30. Mostly unhappy and crying. And while I was trying to get a pumping session in a bit ago, her diaper leaked all over my couch. She is finally asleep in the ergo - that smells like sour milk bc she had a HUGE spit up all over it this morning. But of course I don't want to part with it to wash it during the day. And of course she is likely to be awake and wanting to eat about the time I get home from dropping DD1 off at preschool - which means I still won't get a nap. We've had a few rough nights here with her up for 3 hours or waking up at 5am and not going back to sleep until my older daughter wakes up - the lack of sleep is starting to add up.

Cindy

[pregnova]

Wow, I hope you finally get your nursing issues resolved Cindy! I'm sure it's super stressful. 

And, wow...is the forum slow these days! I wish more Mamas would post updates now that we're all settling in to daily life with babes!

We're actually doing really well. In fact, I feel a little embarrassed by how easy everything is seeming. I would DEF. say the transition from 1-2 has been a thousand times easier than the transition from 0-1, for me. Atia is closing in on 10lb...turning into a little chunker which I LOVE...ds was always so tall and skinny seeming. She's also spoiled beyond spoiled...what with dh, ds, and I all doting on her...

The most stressful time of the day for me is when I'm preparing to get out the door for the first time in a day. Without fail, the baby starts screaming bloody murder as I'm trying to dress her, ds, and myself...get together a bag...all the little things that I have to do before we can get out the door. And the thing is, she seems to have a fifth sense about this sort of thing, so she starts the screaming the MOMENT I begin to THINK about slowly gathering things together. Once I get everything put together enough to get her into the Moby or Ergo, she's instantly peaceful and happy, so it's a bit stressful because there doesn't seem to be any way to thwart it beforehand...I mean, I HAVE to get her and myself dressed in order to leave the house! lol Oh, and if we leave the house later in the day, she's totally chill about it...not a thing to fuss about, so it seems like me getting dressed is her cue...lol. Other than that, we're good, but she is VERY demanding of my attention...WAY more than ds ever was at this age. She still fusses the moment I hand her off, so she spends her days in the Ergo or napping with most of her body in my lap. lol 

She's a super cluster feeder at night...basically from 7 or 8pm until I go to bed around 11, we nurse non-stop and she's still a bit frantic about switching from breast to breast during this time...but I truly believe it's the whole 'tanking' up thing because she'll then sleep from when I go to bed ( I walk her to sleep in the Ergo) until 7 or 8am without a single nursing. It's crazy...I mean, I had the whole easy sleep experience with ds, so I sort of expected that this time, but he def. still nursed throughout the night and needed assistance latching on, so I'd have to wake enough for that periodically throughout the night! 

[dannic]

Just checking in. 

Cindy, I think Isaac has a bit of a posterior, but it's not affecting his nursing or my supply, so dr won't snip.  actually, I know it is tt.  my soreness is mostly gone, not thrush, but his mouth is big enough to nurse better with less discomfort for me.  I hopw you get some rest!

My dh was gone for 3 days this week, and can I just say that I am amazed at single moms?  I couldn't get my toddler to sleep before ten, once.  and if they were both wanting to rock to sleep, heaven help us! (ME!)  but for some odd reason, all five of my kids slept in til 8 am every day he was gone, so that helped some...thank heavens we homeschool, I cannot imagine getting everyone up and out the door, lol.

I have been trying to get back in to our normal routine.  I do and feel really well unitl the evening and then I am just over it all.  and all I want is a bowl of cereal.  And the only cereal we have is envirokids chocolate krisp, or something like that...cereal is a snack here, not breakfast, and since I had isaac it is my snack of choice...weird, but true.  =) So I can't have my cereal kick because ot's chocolate and I am avoding it...I'm really stressing over the cereal thing a bit too much lol. 

Isaac will be 4 wks on sunday and is in 6 mos clothes!  I have no idea his weight but he is squishy fun.  lol.  although as his head grows, his hair is looking thinned out like an old man, hehe.  We'll just have to call him sir isaac.

We got his pics back finally today and i'll try to throw a few on here soon!