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[organicviolin]

How is everyone with their new babe? How did the transition go for siblings?

Our transition has been pretty fabulous all around. I feel much better than I did after baby #2. Now we're just relaxing and enjoying the snow storm that's dumping a boat load of snow on us! 

Have you guys thought if this is the "last" babe? Are you and DH/DP on the same page? What are plans for birth control when it's begins to become necessary?

[Anilia]

Our transition has been pretty good. my son is having meltdowns all over the place but loves his "baby Sissie" so much, so at least she is safe and loved.  His melt downs are directed at everything else...

I think this is our last baby and i am trying to savor each day. 12 days today- she is so magical.  I think my husband wants a vasectamy this year.  I'm okay with no more, but I will miss the baby stage- I love the first year so much.

[Tbutton]

I'm glad siblings are doing well. This is our second, and our daughter has handled it beautifully. It's obviously never occurred to her to be jealous or anything. Our only problem is her smothering him with kisses. Of course, that's not a bad problem to have! But it does kind of drive me crazy when I'm trying to nurse him and he's upset, and she's climbing all over us .

We're not done yet. We don't use birth control (we're Catholic), so we just don't even worry about how many .

So my two major postpartum problems this time are oversupply- producing a choking, gurgling, crying, and profusely vomiting baby- and poop- mine, that is. I probably have not pooped in a week and that seems to be the average since I had him. I'm five weeks postpartum, and I can't believe it's not more normal now. This is probably TMI, but I don't have any urge to go for several days or a week, then I have absolutely miserable diarrhea with cramps, sweating, shaking, and I swear it can't possibly be enough to really clean me out. I just have to be totally full of poop by now, but I'm scared of taking anything that might make the diarrhea part worse!

As for the oversupply, I figure there's nothing to do but wait! In the meantime, I just let him nurse on one side over and over until it's totally drained before going to the other. As long as I actually remember which side that was, it works well.

Other than that, I'm pretty drained from just how colicky he seems to be. I read The Happiest Baby on the Block, and that's made a difference as far as how to soothe him, but even soothing takes so much energy. I'm really not even going anywhere yet, so that's weighing me down, too. I feel like a mother-of-two failure, like I can't even handle two kids when I have so many friends with at least four to contend with. I just don't know how to get out when he cries constantly if he's not swaddled, wrapped, or eating. I went to the grocery today for the first time postpartum, and it went well except for him crying the entire ride home (20 minutes). I was ready to run the car off the road! Afterward, I just wasn't sure it was worth it!

As for good news, Cormac started smiling about a week ago, and yesterday I actually got him to laugh!!! My daughter didn't laugh until like five months old, so I was shocked!! He's done it several times since then now that we know what he thinks is funny . I couldn't believe how fast my heart melted. I just can't wait for more of this super fun baby stuff!!

[aruss]

Tbutton my second was colicky too and it was so hard. You are doing great, it just takes time. It will get better.
This is my 5th and its been pretty brutal. Really bad pp anxiety and depression. Zero milk supply so he's basically bottle fed (and I'm a la Leche league leader...) Spent the weekend begging my husband to take me to the hospital for drugs but he got me through it and things have been a little better. Taking huge doses of vitamins and I think it's helping. I just want to feel slightly normal so I can bond with this baby and have the energy to work on my milk supply.

[Tbutton]

Aruss- I'm so sorry! That does sound brutal! Having low supply sounds like it would be incredibly frustrating. I feel like nothing interferes with bonding for me as much as breast feeding issues. With my first, she was tongue tied, but it wasnt caught and corrected until she was eight months old. The first six weeks were pure hell as far as nipple pain, and I couldn't understand how anyone could successfully breast feed, much less enjoy doing it! I didn't feel like I could bond with my newborn when she was an instrument of such torture. Anyway, all that to say that I really feel for you, and I hope that things improve quickly!!

[Anilia]

Aruss- You probably already know this- but B-12 and omega 3's are probably very deleted so you should up those for the anxiety and depression.

Tbutton- You are likely to already know about elimination diets for the colic- taking out hard to digest foods from your diet.  Onions, cabbage, garlic and often dairy, etc.  You can search the internet for a full list.  If you go down to the most basic diet and then add things back one at a time you might be able to narrow down what he is reacting to (if it is even diet related!)  And you might try adding a couple prunes a day to get you back to regular.  It shouldn't be enough to cause more problems, just to get some more regular action.  

I'm trained as a health coach- if anyone has questions I might be able to help with I'd be glad to offer some suggestions for free to any of you!

Hang in there ladies!!!  Hugs for everyone!

[Tbutton]

Anilia- thanks so much for the suggestions. It's seems pretty obvious when you say it, but I hadn't even thought about just adding some prunes to my diet. I'm going to get right on that! As of right now, I don't think his colic is diet related. From what I can tell, he is just very alert and has a very hard time soothing himself/being soothed to sleep. He really really wants to comfort nurse, but my milk drowns him and he gets no comfort from that! I hate it for him! I tried a paci, even though I didn't really like the idea, but he rejected it. I'm hoping it will resolve itself soon on its own as my supply gets more regular. Thanks, again!

[organicviolin]

Hope everyones' digestion is returning to normal, milk supply is easing up a bit (for those of us with oversupply - um hello - I passed up on a beer tonight because we already oversupply over here...so I'm drinking wine )

Sometimes I must say that my 3 year olds behavior is insane! It's like 5 pm hits and he turns into a running, yelling insane person. He just recently gave up naps so he's getting tired and ready for dinner, but it's still super annoying!

Also my near 2 yo is going through some FUN separation anxiety...um NOT! woot woot

My bleeding has pretty much gone, but then yesterday it started a bit again, not sure why...annoying. It's not enough to fill a pad for the entire day, but I do need to wear something. It's the longest I've bled postpartum. Hoping it goes away

[Clarasmama]

TButton, we're having some similar issues!  DS is 3 1/2 weeks old now, and he had a pretty tight tongue and lip tie that we got clipped (well, lasered actually) one week ago.  I have oversupply/overactive letdown this time too (I don't remember having it with DD), and the poor boy is just working his hardest to keep up.  I need to keep a towel next to me and let the foremilk spray into that I think.  We block nurse too, which seems to be helping him get hindmilk (he's gained almost 3.5 pounds already!).  

He is such a super sweet baby though, the "colicky" one was DD.  Happiest Baby on the Block was a lifesaver for us, she needed the swaddling and shushing and everything.  Never took a pacifier though, she'd just chew on it then spit it out.  I feel for you with the constant soothing, it is exhausting!

As for poo issues, I eat LOTS of prunes.  Like 3 or so after every meal.  And we eat primal/paleo (and are finally almost back to normal with that too!), so there aren't any foods that are clogging (like bagels/lots of bread/pasta/excessive dairy/etc.) in my diet.  I also make sure to have one mug or so of black coffee every day too, and with the prunes I tend to stay regular.  

Good luck with everything, fussy babies are definitely a challenge.  I feel for you!

[Anilia]

Clarasmama- we are working with an upper lip tie too.  She is gaining weight but nursing isn't exactly dreamy.  I hope we'll just grow out of it!  How was the lasering?

[Tbutton]

Clarasmama- how's it going? Is your supply getting any better? As soon as my milk lets down, Cormac unlatches, crying, and I let the milk spray into a burp cloth. When it's no longer spraying, just dripping, I let him latch on again. That works well for us. I also usually only nurse laying down. It seems better for him when gravity isn't making things worse. It's a lot better than it was, but he's still throwing up once a day or every other day, so it's still too much milk to handle evidently. It's so strange, though, because my boobs feel so soft and not too heavy most of the time, yet my let down is insanely strong! I feel like I only sprayed milk with DD when I was engorged, not every single time I fed her. I'm hoping it evens out soon. Although, we are doing significantly more comfort nursing, so I'm very happy with that. That seems to have been the key to keeping him happy, and I'm wondering if that's the only reason for his "colicky-ness." Now that he can nurse to sleep he is a happy baby! And I feel much more bonded to him.

As for the lip tie, tongue tie- I'm so glad you were able to get it fixed. Anilia- I worried about my daughter's lip tie because I had heard stories from mothers whose babies ended up with tooth decay because of the lip tie trapping food against their teeth. I just didn't want to have that on my plate too!

I came across this article the other day and thought it was way more helpful than anything I found when I was actually dealing with it:

http://www.mommypotamus.com/how-to-diagnose-tongue-and-lip-ties/

I thought I'd share in case it helps!

[Clarasmama]

Hi tbutton! Things are definitely better, I don't think I'm having oversupply issues anymore, but I still have an over active letdown. If Henry has slept for a few hours I'll be too full fr him and have to let the foremilk spray into a towel for a while just like you! Except he's hungry at that point and is mad about waiting! Other times he just pops on and off at the beginning and we are both pretty much drenched...I can't wait until I don't feel damp 24/7, ha

[Tbutton]

Clarasmama- I hear you on being drenched! I've been pretty upset about not fitting into any clothes- I'm too small for my maternity stuff and too big for my pre- preggo clothes. I found something the other day that I actually felt cute in, and within five minutes Bubs had spit up all over me. The amount of laundry I'm doing over here is staggering! I drench him, myself, and the pre fold I use as a burp cloth, then he turns around and either spits up on my shirt at and angle where it runs onto my skirt/pants too or he throws up and drenches us both. It's a messy business! My hubby holds him like he's a ticking time bomb! He went through a growth spurt the last couple of days, and that's the only time he wasn't spitting up or vomiting. He was eating every few minutes, and my boobs were soooo empty feeling. It would have been nice if he would have slept for more than five minutes all day . Now he's back to his normal long sleeps, and we're back to our milk battles . In fact, I woke up this morning to him throwing up all over my chest . At least our sheets get changed really often now!

Is Henry growing like a little weed? I read that overactive letdown/oversupply often makes for super chubby babes. My guy is right around fourteen pounds- he was 7lbs 7oz at birth. He's chubbier than our daughter was, but I can't really tell if he's big or not. Either way, it's fun to see him changing from a squishy newborn into a chunky baby .

I'm glad to see your reply! I've been so sad seeing the board die .

[Pogo0685]

Hi everyone! I finally made it back here, and it looks like everyone is doing great! I have had a very rough 3 months. My first baby was so easy, little Hannibal - not so much. He still has jaundice (he is 3 months on Wednesday), we have had blood tests, liver scans, some ultrasounds of his abdomen and we cant figure it out. I put him in the sun for at least an hour every day but its not helping. The Dr said that his levels are not dangerous so at least we know that. They just keep telling me that I should stop breastfeeding him, I don't agree with them and he has a lot of milk sensitives so I see formula as not the best thing for him anyway. I talked to my midwife about it and she said to just keep doing what we are doing and it should clear up on its own. If any mamas here have ideas I am open to them! My first baby never spit up at all, not even once, so little Hannibal spitting up all the time is killing me, I cut out all dairy, soy, nuts, seeds, and oranges out of my diet but he still has green poop and spits up, I don't eat grains anyway so they were already cut out. I am not sure what else to do. But the sheets are getting changed pretty much daily now. Luckily he sleeps pretty good. He usually goes to sleep at 7, wakes up at 9 to eat, then at 1 or so, then at 4 or 5 and then wakes up at 6:30 when I get up and he nurses back to sleep for an hour or so. So at least I feel like he is sleeping good. 

Tbutton - I am in the same boat with clothes, I went to the local thrift shop and got a pair of pants that fit me, luckily I work from home so I stay in my PJ's most the week anyway so I don't have to get dressed. I gained quite a bit of weight, i went from 160ish to 220ish and am down to 185 now. If i can just lose 10 more pounds i might have more clothes that will fit me. I don't want to buy anymore clothes! I have a walk in and a normal closet full of clothes that don't fit. I got so happy the other day when I fit into hubby's jeans! They are like 5 inches to long but they are an option now in case my one pair of pants is in the wash.

I am wondering what other mamas here are doing for birth control? Much to my husbands dismay I don't feel done yet, but hes not very receptive to the idea of more. But at the same time I wont use birth control, and he thinks he has it all figured out so we don't use condoms or anything either. But I would like to wait at least 2 years before trying for another one.

Glad everyone is doing good! 

[Tbutton]

Hey, Pogo! I'm sorry the first few months have been so rough! Here's my two cents for whatever it's worth: my understanding is that green poop is a sign that your baby is getting too much foremilk/not enough hind milk, and the hindmilk is what flushes the bilirubin out of their system. For my babies, both have spit up a lot (this one more than my first) but only because I'm making lots of milk and they just spit up when their tummies are too full. Mine would qualify as "happy spitters" . Here's kellymom's take on spit up http://kellymom.com/health/baby-health/reflux/
So is it possible this is not a diet problem at all? You can just relax and let him try some block feeding to get more hindmilk? I usually do left side in the morning, right in the afternoon, left in the evening, and right through the night. These are just my thoughts, definitely breastfeed and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!! He looks perfectly healthy (and adorable!), so I would think spitting up is fine!

Here's a post I found from a jaundice thread on here that sounds informative and encouraging:
"Just so you know, the bilirubin is not altogether a horrible thing, here are 2 tidbits I have stored in my computer from when dc#1 had to be under the bili-lights:

Bilirubin also has the ability to function as an antioxidant in the brain. According to Dr. Sylvain Dore of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, "When women breastfeed, the babies have higher levels of bilirubin and are healthier. Babies with higher bilirubin levels are more disease-resistant. Bilirubin also protects against retinopathy in premature babies."

and

There is a research that has concluded that a slight elevation in bilirubin may actually be helpful in preventing bacterial infections in newborns

Don't let any health care professional tell you to give him formula/water to help get rid of bili...that's old medical treatment."

I really hope this helps and that things get easier soon!

[Pogo0685]

Hi Tbutton - Thanks for that link. I had suspected it was not food related before we ended up in the er and I was nursing him 3 times each side before switching and the Dr there said that was the reason he wasn't getting enough food and that it was food related. So I went back to nursing once each side. I have been trying the block nursing like you said for the last few days so we will see where we are at in a week. My midwife had told me about the function of billirubin an an antioxidant so I stopped worrying as much as I had been. But the stupid Dr's that I have to use are just so mainstream and not at all helpful. I wish we had a Dr in the area that was more crunchy but so far the closest one is 100 miles away and I would have to pay cash. With my older son we just stopped taking him at 1 year because the Dr we were seeing had never seen an intact boy and thought they there was something wrong with him. So we will see what happens with this new Dr. 

My little guy is gaining weight so I guess he would be a happy spitter, that makes me feel better. Although he has didn't spit up for 2 days and then spit up once in the middle of the night, and now its been another 2 days so hopefully that will stop soon. Thank you for all the info though it really did help!!!

[Tbutton]

I'm so sorry you don't have a better doctor . We're in the same boat, and it really sucks. We've been fortunate to not need a doctor so far, but if we did, I'm sure we'd be so frustrated. I always feel like I doubt everything they say, but then I can't really just ignore them either, so in the end, I'm just frustrated and confused. I can't believe that doctor had never seen an intact boy before! I remember my MIL asking me questions about why we decided not to circumcise and she said "Well, I don't think I've ever even seen an uncircumcised penis before!" and I was thinking, "You've had two boys! Were they both born circumcised??"

Well, I hope it gets better soon! And I'm glad that my post helped! And to be honest, I'm quite jealous that your babe is spitting up so seldom already . Mine usually spits up after every meal, and it's always three or four times if at all. Of course, I'm thrilled at the progress since he's spitting up and not throwing up everything . My daughter didn't stop spitting up until around five or six months, so that's kind of what I'm expecting this time!

Hang in there! It was nice to "catch up" .

[Pogo0685]

I feel the same with doctors, I feel like they are just trying to get more money out of us, and then on the other hand I wonder but what if they are right?? Luckily my husband sides with me and helps me feel better about my decisions, my mom and his mom are always asking us why we are doing things the way we are because they would do it differently. 

We need new pictures of your little guy!

[Tbutton]

Aren't husbands wonderful like that? I sure do enjoy not having to navigate all this stuff alone.

I just posted new pictures of my boy in the photos thread . Thanks for asking for them!

[Pogo0685]

Oh my gosh he is so CUTE!!! Those cheeks are adorable!