May 04 Mamas!!! Here we are...

[Sarah'sMama]

Thought I'd get us started over here, since we have a few May babies to chat about!

Katelyn is doing well. We have her 2 week checkup on Tuesday. I'm anxious to see how much she's gained. She started out as a great nurser, now she's getting lazy, and nursing just a short time, very frequently. So far, she's an OK sleeper, not great. I"m having a hard time getting in a groove with two kids. My biggest problem is getting Katie to sleep during the day. It is quite an effort, and I really feel I'm neglecting Sarah. Right now I need to rock or nurse Katie to sleep, and sometimes she wakes as soon as I put her down. She's not really fond of the sling yet, as I'm still getting used to it myself. I'm gonna have to check out the Babywearing forum for some tips I think.

Other than that, I'm feeling very well physically. Feel like my old self again. Now I'm struggling with my postpartum body. Felt a little depressed yesterday when I tried on some pants. I know it takes time, but darnit, I'm impatient! :LOL

Hope you all are doing well with your new lil ones!

[mcsarahb]

Hi Sherri and other new mamas-

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm trying to type one-handed as I nurse Lily. Hard!

We're doing okay. I'm definitely on the upswing from the mastitis, although not back to my old self just yet. Lily is doing well; back up to her birth weight (2 oz. more, actually) at her 2-week checkup yesterday. The mws did the 2nd PKU, too, which just about broke my heart! I've never heard such pitiful screaming! But all is well.

She eats and sleeps very erratically, too, like your Katie. Lily can nurse for an hour and a half straight, then want more 30 mins. later! But that's a good thing, I guess. Although my nips STILL hurt, unfortunately.

more later - glad you're feeling well, Sherri, and I hope your 2-child life starts evening out, for everyone's sake.

Sarah

[Sarah'sMama]

Sarah, so glad your mastitis is getting better. That does not sound fun at all. I just love the name Lily. It is such a beatiful name!

C'mon May mamas!!! Lets get these babies here so we can chat!!!

[Mere]

nak - i'm here too! hard to believe my little babe is already 10 days old...how time flies! Ugh, Sarah I'm sorry you've already had to deal with mastitis...no fun. I've been lucky with this one so far and have had no problems with nursing...I didn't with dd either, so hopefully my luck will hold! Gavin is a good nurser, but I'm learning that lots of times he'll just *sort of* want to think about nursing, but he won't really be ready yet. He'll start fussing, so I'll put him to the breast and he won't latch on - he'll just sit there and play with my nipple. Usually about 10 minutes later he'll actually be ready to latch on. This is especially annoying at night! Ah well...

Nighttime is going okay...some days I wake up feeling more rested than others of course. I'm noticing though that in general, I'm getting much more sleep with Gavin than I did at this point with dd. With dd, every time she'd want to nurse I'd actually sit up in bed and nurse, burp her, and in general be much more awake than i really needed to be. With this one, I just get him latched on and immediately fall back asleep! I don't even bother with burping - is that bad? He has yet to spit up on me at night though...my theory behind this is that as long as I don't move him after nursing, he doesn't need to burp? So far so good anyway.

Dd so far seems to be doing great with ds - better than I was expecting actually. She constantly wants to kiss and hold him, and prefers to keep her face about one inch from his at all times . At first I was bothered by this, but eventually I gave up and figured at least she loves him (and hey, he'll have a great immune system early on, right?) the main challenge with her is that she's not a kid who plays well independently, so that has been a bit of an adjustment. Some days she has really driven me crazy by clinging onto my leg and whining for me to play with her...I guess she'll just have to learn? I'm going to need lots of patience though to help her get through that! My saving grace right now is that we are keeping her part-time daycare slot, so needless to say I've been taking advantage of that!

Okay, I need to stop this novel and get some things done around the house. I am sooooo behind with everything it's not even funny!

[mcsarahb]

Hi mamas-

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I posted my story about the recurrent mastitis and my hospital adventure in the I'm Pregnant May Mamas forum. I think I will have a foot in both threads for a while, until all the May Mamas have had their babes.

I hope you are all enjoying your babymoons and getting some sleep. We are still adjusting, and the 48 hours in the hospital didn't help, but things are definitely improving. Lily is a nursing champ, thankfully, and I love feeding her. She eats all day, and less at night (woo hoo!!). She is so gorgeous - like the smarmy first-time parents we are, dh and I can be entertained for hours just looking at her...sheesh. My mom's here visiting, and she can't bear to put her down, either! I swear, I think Lily has spent about one whole hour NOT being held or touched by someone. We co-sleep, and hold her or sling her all day long. Lucky little devil.

Hope everyone's doing well!

Take care,

Sarah

[mittendrin]

aaaaah, i had to lurk a bit already. i want my baby out...

mere, don't worry about the burping. if a bf'd baby nurses slowly they usually don't even swallow any air and rarely have to burp. if it was bothering him, he'd let you know. i remember being up "without" reasons too much too.

glad, you're all doing well and the kids are fine. hopefully we'll all be moved over to this thread soon

[Defenestrator]

Baby Theo is one week old today! He has been doing very well. It took me a few days to figure out his quirks, but now that we are communicating better, he has been a very peaceful, calm and easy baby. Big brother Neil is adjusting about as well as can be expected. He has decided that he absolutely wants to sleep in his own bed, but still wants someone in there with him. His bed is not safe for babies, though, so dh has been in there with him. Last night he wanted me to lie down with him and Theo was already asleep, so I said I could. After he fell asleep, dh and I switched rooms. I was woken up at 6:20 this morning with "Hey! Mama was supposed to sleep with me!" Oh, well.

Hope everyone is doing well.

[Sarah'sMama]

Just wanted to bump us up and keep us going!!!

How are we all doing? Adjusting well? How about the May babies' siblings?

As for us....

At Katie's 2 week checkup she was 9lbs 7oz! Fantastic! She was born at 8.12, and we left the hospital at 8.4. She's got the chubbiest lil' cheeks. Sooo cute!

I'm feeling great. Had a little bout of the baby blues in the beginning, but feeling *much* better now. Sarah is handling the adjustment far better than I even hoped she would. I'm so proud of her! Such a sweet big sister. Loves Katelyn so much.

I feel like such a dork. A friend of mine came over yesterday, aand helped me with my sling. But ever since she left, I can't get it right. I'm so frustrated, because it was soooo convenient when I was wearing it. For some reason, everytime I put it on, Katelyn's head gets buried in the fabric and her poor neck looks like its uncomfortable. I guess I'll just have to keep practicing.

On another note, I'm so excited. I started going to a playgroup with a bunch of women from my church. Lo and behold, they are quite the crunchy bunch! Lots of bf'ing going on at the playgroup, talks of slings, etc. Love it.

Hoep to hear from you all soon! I know I don't have much time to post anymore. I feel like my freetime is very limited these days!

Take care mamas!

[Mere]

Hey everyone - all is well and good here! Sherri, glad to hear that your Katie is gaining well! So is my ds Gavin - in the 11 days between the nurse's home visit and his 2 week ped appointment he gained TWO POUNDS and grew 2 inches! I couldn't believe it.

Glad you found a playgroup too with likeminded women - it makes all the difference! I have a great support group I hooked up with from being pregnant with dd, and we are all still together and meeting regularly. Many of us are starting to go through round two with babies, so that has been really fun.

So far Gavin is displaying a nice (meaning non fussy!) temperment, although I'm not going to make any rash judgements just yet. I'm so hoping he'll stay this way though...dd was very colicky, had to be walked and bounced at all times, and just in general was very high needs (still is!).

I did just figure out one thing though - he is sensitive to strawberries! I was eating quite a lot of them for about two days and Gavin was getting soooo fussy...for some reason it took me a while to put two and two together. Strawberries were definitely the culprit though, which is unfortunate for me! Ah well, good thing strawberry season is short so I won't be tempted for TOO long...has anyone else noticed any other sensititivies in their babies?

[pottermamma]

hey ladies!!!!! glad to see this thread and to find you all doing so well

Kylar is doing well and chunkin up!!!! we deal with a bit of gassiness when he doesn't burp....and he refuses to burp un his sleep which has made for some harsh mornings listening to his painful cries. It does not seem food related..when he burps, all is well, if not...it has to go the whole way through to the other end..... but of course i'm staying away from all of the main culprits.
I also had to deal with mastitis...but nothing like what you had mcsarahb...I just finished my antibiotics today and am still taking my probiotic to hopefully avoid getting thrush.....
we also had a bit of a bummer of an appt with the ped for the 1st ime. i specifically asked for an appt with ds's doc, cause she rocks...but when i got there i had to see the nurse practitioner as our doc wqasn't there...and they rescheduled all appts but ours ...so, she was nice enough anyway, and he is already 10 lbs 12 oz and 23 in long (was 8lbs 7 oz at birth and 21 3/4 in long) but turns out she was concerned about kylar's breathing. he's pulling in at the bottom of his neck and in his belly (so he is putting out too much effort to breath). his resps per min were high when he was fussy but ok when he was calm, but his O2 saturation was great. so, nurse goes to get a doc....luckily the only other one there we really like, and he spends lots of time reassuring me Kyular is OK but then wants me to see an ear, nose and throat specialist as it might be something to do with his trachea (sp?)...so, I have an appt in July to see him when he comes to Taos...but am trying to find out if that is soon enough or shoud I drive to santa fe to see him sooner...luckily i have an appt wiht our doc next wed cause no one is calling me back to tell me if the july appt is ok. AHHHHHHHHH I so just wanted to leave there with them saying he is as perfect as I feel he is. So, then i told our miwife who has seen him a lot post partum and she was really suprised and said she didn't see anything that seemed to be a problem...so she was coming for his 4 week appt and wants to really check him out...we'll see

other than all that craziness...we are lovin our little boy!!!! Ds is a great big bro and gives Kylar so much love...Klyar gets kisses even when no one else does. He was mad at me for a bit after Kylar was born, but now seems to be pretty OK with everything...which is so great!!!!! I am amazed at how well these siblings seem to be adjusting my mom was also justn here for a week, which was wonderful...she played with Isaiah the whole time, which gave him tons of attention and gave me the opportunity just to be with kylar.

We are also super busy getting ready to build our house. We FINALLY , after many sagas, closed on our land and our construction mortgage and the foundation guy is starting today....then Dh starts his deal as he is building the whole house. He got someone to do the foundation (hates concrete work) and some folks to help with finishing touches in the inside, other than that it is his show!!!! We are going to be so busy!!! Anyone have a magic wand I can borrow and just wave over our property to have our house all done??????

I'm so glad to hear all the great birth stories and hear about everyone's little bundles....What an amazing journey...so glad to share it with all of you

[Mere]

Wow, pottermama, you and your dh are building your own house right now, with 2 kids??? Impressive....dh and I built our own house too, but that was pre-kids. Wow was it a lot of work...a great experience, but I can't imagine doing it with kids around!! I hope you don't have a real rigid time frame? it took us a little over a year, and that was with two of us going full steam every day after work and on weekends.

I'm sorry Kylar didn't get the perfect bill of health you were hoping for...that would be nerve-wracking to say the least....

[KKmama]

Just checking in... Defenestrator, our ds#1's name is Theodore, so I love your name choice!

My pain is gone, though the vertigo is lingering. As a result, all I seem to do is nurse. As a result of *that*, Zeki's weight gain has been really great... I was so worried, b/c I had difficulty (and soreness) w/ ds#1, but this time, it seems almost too easy...

I think it's kind of funny that nursing is our major topic now...

[Sarah'sMama]

Originally Posted by KKmama

I think it's kind of funny that nursing is our major topic now...

I know I seem to obsess over it for some reason. Speaking of which, my dd seems to be going through the three week growth spurt (anyone know if there is any validity to this? Or is it a myth?). All she's been doing is nurse alot these days. She'll nurse, then an hour later, want to nurse again! I feel really badly, because I have overactive letdown, and feel like I'm choking her sometimes. I'll usually pull her off once I start to let down, and soak up the milk with a cloth diaper and latch her back on once it slows down, but I'm beginning to think we're having latch issues due to the Overactive letdown. It seems like she's got a shallow latch to help slow down the milk. Because fo this, I'm getting some sore nips. OUch! Anyone care to help? I think I may post this over on the BF board to see what they have to say.

Other than that, she's growing well. Already growing out of some diapers and a few 0-3month sleepers. Mostly in the length. At her two week check she was already 22.5 inches, up from 21.75 inches at birth.

Have a good weekend mamas! Both girls are napping, so I think I might try to catch a few zzzz's as well.

[Sarah'sMama]

just me, posting so I can subscribe to the thread. Can't wait for all the new May mamas to report in!

[KKmama]

Sherri, ds#1 went through those growth spurts like clockwork. And he was/is such a big boy... you could practically watch him grow (and set a clock by it). I'm looking forward to a growth spurt here... even though Zeki is a big newborn, to *me*, he seems like he has little birdy legs... I'm looking forward to the luscious thighs they get later on...

Speaking of luscious thighs... dare I broach where *we* are all at with our weight? I was just telling my bf that I'm passing from the "D@mn, I look good for a post partum mama!" stage to the "I want to wear my favorite pants again!" stage.... I'm looking forward to some serious hiking when the last of the dizziness is gone...

[mcsarahb]

Hi all-

I'll chime to say that we had our month (!!!) checkup with the midwives yesterday, and Lily is doing great. She was exactly 9 lbs, up from 7 lbs, 9 oz at birth. It doesn't seem like a huge amount, but that's due to my infection, hospital stay, etc. My milk didn't really get going full-steam until about a week or so ago, so it's really good, considering. She's definitely healthy and happy, though, and a great nurser.

Pottermama, sorry you had to deal with mastitis. Glad it wasn't too bad. Hope everything's okay with Kylar and he gets a perfect bill of health soon.

The antibiotics are finally over tomorrow, which isn't soon enough for me. I am dealing with a little yeast issue, nothing too bad. Mostly the nips (ow) and dd's gassiness. Hopefully that will all go away when the antibiotics are done with and I can really chug the probiotics.

As for my weight, , I fit into one pair of jeans from pre-pregnancy, but let's just say they were plenty baggy then and a leeeetle tight now . But I am very happy with my belly, which has seemed to spring (almost) right back into place. Hopefully the butt and thighs won't be too far behind, no pun intended. Can't wait to get back to yoga, although my energy level isn't quite yet up to speed.

We're really starting to get the hang of dd's needs and wants. Nights are getting easier (ha ha, hope I didn't just jinx myself), she's getting more efficient at eating, dh can just about change a dipe with one hand...She's also really starting to look at us, and maybe smile every now and then. What a cutie!

Sarah

[pottermamma]

Thanks for the well wishes for kylar he seems so fine, but the appt wed can't come soon enough for me....i'm such a worrywart.....

yeah, the house is a big undertakng mere...we did a 520 sq ft addirion to our old house with one kiddo, but dh had less help with that than he will with this.....i'm not helping with the building...just kid duty!!!!! i'm sure it will be such an adventure!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i think i am a bit behind you guys on the back in shape thing. i definately have a it left around the middle and too much junk in the trunk.....but....i'm tryin to exercise and of course nursing helps i'm curious what my weight is though.....i nee to find a scale somewhere...or maybe that isn't such a good idea?????

blessings to all you mammas and babes and healthy vibes to you all

[Sarah'sMama]

Hey gals. Good talking to you all again!

As for the weight....everyone I talk to can't believe I had a baby just a few weeks ago. All rave about how good I look. Now, if they could only see my saggy belly and dimpled a$$! Now I do have to admit, with the right clothes I look *OK* but nowhere near how I'd like to look. June 1 is my big day to begin exercising and cutting down on some snacking. Goign to start riding my exercise bike and doing the Pilates DVD I just bought. Nursing definitely helps me with my weight loss. I gained about 43 lbs with this pg, and as of 2 weeks ago, I've lost about 25-30. I remember when I nursed my first dd, I never did lose that last 5lbs or so until she weaned, so we'll see.

Thanks KKMama for the info on your ds's growth spurts. Yesterday she slowed down eating a bit, but today she's been pretty hungry. I almost am worried I'm misreading her, and that she's really not hungry, but I feed her anyway. Anyone know if a bf baby will flat out refuse to nurse if they aren't hungry? Because she almost always latches on and nurses for at least a few minutes. Its soo hard when they can't talk!

For you moms of 2 or more....have you given this much thought....I used to think taking my first dd anywhere ie shopping or post office was tricky. Now I look back and think how easy it was with one! Not trying to make you first timers think going out with a baby is easy, totally not the case. But I was used to taking a toddler out, which is definitely much easier than taking a baby out in some ways. Now I feel like I never have enough hands or eyes! Hope this made sense.

My project today is to clean out all my maternity clothes and pack 'em up!

Happy Memorial Day all!

[Defenestrator]

I am glad to hear about so many of our babies doing well.

Theo is still doing quite well. I keep on waiting for the colic demon to show up -- his brother was sooo uncomfortable for about a 2 month period and I had to cut out dairy and citrus from my diet, but so far Theo seems to be able to tolerate just about anything I eat without any stomach upset. I have to be careful not to overfeed him -- he likes to comfort suck but doesn't seem to have mastered the art of not making my milk let down, so I find that I have had to follow his cues for when he is full and then rock him to sleep instead of letting him continue to nurse. Otherwise he seems to get uncomfortable and will spit up quite a lot. Doesn't seem to be a problem at night, but during the day when he is wide awake or over-stimulated, he seems to have a problem with this.

Big brother Neil has decided he wants no more of the family bed. I was really worried pre-natally about having him in our bed with the baby, but was resigned to making it work so that he didn't feel rejected. However, he was annoyed by Theo's crying and has decided that he wants to sleep in his own room where it is quieter! I actually really miss him, but he seems to be doing just fine. He wants me to come in and cuddle with him when he wakes up in the morning, which I don't mind at all, but otherwise has been sleeping on his own.


I am totally with everyone who is adjusting to life with two kids. We have been having a relatively easy time, but dh came home the other day and saw me collapsed on the couch with a blank stare and declared me "shelled by children."

Congrats to all you new mamas!

Stacia

[Queen of Cups]

Hello, all! Just a quick note to introduce myself...

My son, Killian Jameson, was born Tuesday May 25th at 7:00am. We got to come home from the hospital the next day and we're both doing great. I had a really rough time on Friday and Saturday because my milk came in and I just couldn't get him to drink enough. I fed him 10-12 times during the day (plus several times a night) and still pumped 8oz Friday and 4oz Saturday to get some relief! We also had some latch problems the first few days, but I think that its all better now - EXCEPT, Killy has a little blister on the center of his top lip - is this normal? It doesn't seem to bother him at all, he's eager to latch on and nurses fine, and doesn't even wince if I prod it a bit. I've been putting lanolin on it when I do my nipples, but that doesn't seem to be doing anything.

I gained 36 pounds with this pregnancy and had lost 12 when I weighed myself yesterday. I'm not back in my pre-preg clothes - not even close - but I'm really pleased that my stomach is almost flat already. I'm not sure how long to wait before resuming my abdominal excercises, though. Anyone know? I've been doing obsessive ab workouts for the past 10 years, so its an area that I'm very concerned with...