January towanahongamamas thread Feb 14-20 - Page 2

[pixiexto]

Thanks everyone for the info. Wow, coal??? Now I'm not sure if I want to use the GV at all!! I noticed while we were outside at the playground today that there are a few (about 5) little white spots inside of Brynn's mouth, so no doubt now that it's thrush. Not a very bad case of it, but still. I took the first 250mg of Grapefruit seed extract, and will do that again once before bed. I'll do the vinegar too, thanks Karen for that idea.

I'm not sure what I'll do about the GV. Maybe I'll wait a day or two, give the grapefruit extract a try along with the acidophillus & the vinegar.... I, shamefully, also assumed "pretty flower" when I heard "violet"... lol!

[LEAW]

GSE - you can put 15 drops in distilled water (don't know why regular water doesn't work!) and swab nipples and baby's mouth before nursing. If you do it immediately after nursing, baby might match the bitter taste to nursing (and besides, how many babies are awake after a meal?).

My parents brought over lasagna for us tonight, which really was a nice thing given how icky I feel and how much dh is doing all the housework and keeping up with food for me and laundry. Of course the trying to avoid dairy went right down the drain as I had 2 big pieces for dinner, we'll have to see what happens in the next few days.

And mom brought along a v-day treat from grandma, she sent dark chocolate covered pretzels for me and plain chocolates for dh. Yay!

And oh my, Lauren is turning into a regular baby! Instead of the CONSTANT nursing and fussing and hardly sleeping, she actually just fell asleep in dh's arms, and she seems to really like the wrap, and she's tracking the mobile I put up over the changing table. Woohoo! Ok so in a week I'll regret that she's not constantly needing me, or maybe this is just because I'm sick and she's fighting it, but I really can't complain right now, the break is nice. I'm going to bed, and I'm going to curl myself up as tight as I can and dig under the covers.

Lisa

[pixiexto]

I have the capsules rather than the drops. The reason you have to put the drops into distilled rather than regular tap water is that the chemicals added to tap water will kill the active properties in the GSE.
YUM on the dark chocolate-covered pretzels! I am a so, so in love with dark chocolate .... darn babies, I really wasn't a chocoholic until after DD#1 was born!
Don't worry Lisa, she'll still need you... lots and lots and lots!

[mamabeca]

ditto on the neeeeed mama thing - that lasts like 18yrs or so, although I hear that at some point (and I vaguely remember this) we don't want anyone ELSE to know who our em-bare-ass-ing parents are...LOL!!! I hope that people are feeling ok and going to get some sleep tonight. I am quite fearful because my little guy slept from 4 - 8pm today...probably be up with him half the night now...maybe maybe maybe not. Am I repeating myself??? Oh, LLL was good, no one I immediately connected to, but a couple of nice mamas there, and one CD'er. There's one leader there who is in her 70's and it's sort of hard to relate, but she was really super friendly and nice and supportive...she must've heard all these stories a hundred times already, she's been a leader for +20yrs now, but she was super patient and smiley the whole time... I guess we need her and maybe she is smiling because she is needed - with all her grown up kids (who moved away on her) it might be nice to be needed. Well, I'd better go get the babe back from dh or I'll really have to do the dishes...given the choice there's little competition! I just wanted them to have some time together today. He was gone for work at 5am today, and didn't get to see the little guy at all, as he slept so much, then fed and would've gone right back to sleep but I handed him off at 8:30. He's starting to fuss now... Heidi's blog is so cool; I wish I had the patience to set up something like that... But too, it's pretty personal and you have to be prepared to allow people in to peek at your private life... her food coop sounds cool (click on the Amish women pic)!

We got the results (?) back from Ori's blood test (the PKU one) and they run like a hundred different tests (Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders? Biotinidase - what the hell is biotinidase???). How do we know whether the results (are they results or just reference #'s?) they give are normal? I tried looking for something remotely familiar - found HIV (1) but the Reference Range listed is "non-reactive" - is that Negative? Oh, and this I love - he's Carlson-Lee male. #20050321164 ?!*%!!*? I am so mad at this medical system. HONESTLY! Why do they want us to panic over every tiny thing, but if we take them into the doctor we are told we're PANICING??? I just don't get it.

Ok, best go get the squirt. Have a great night, and give yourself a hug from frustrated lactating all over her blouse Andy here in springy NY (Oh, but Lisa - that WORD came up on the news tonight...CANADA...must be more cold weather coming! HA!)

[Killick]

Just a quick note to let everyone know how my first couple of days went back at the office.

It is odd to have to share my little man with everyone. People come over to my cubie and take him away without a moments notice. Its a nice break, he gets plenty of loving, but, I worry about germs. Especially with him, so I make sure that whoever takes him is not and has not been sick.

I have CDed him there, although I think we are supposed to use sposies. I don't care though, unless something is said to me.

He is having and interesting time adjusting. New environment, new routine, and new noises. I went and got a travel swing today, since he loves the one at home so much. I am taking that in tomorrow. I have the bouncy chair too, but he hates that, so off to the consignment shop it goes. We won't need it anymore so I have no desire to keep it.

Well, better get going to get some good snuggle time in with DH.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Oh, and I love the name of the group! Very creative.

[Malama]

Hi Mamas!
My babe fell asleep early tonight (like at 7?) and it's 9 and I'm thinking I should be asleep too right this minute.

Andy- re: the PKU results. If your state is anything like here, you'd hear right away if something was amiss. the things they test for are rare but are serious. the consequences of them going untreated can be severe, so when there's an abnormal test result they usually contact you asap. I had some twins we helped last year and one had a funky result. THey called me within 1 day of them receving the test to ask how the baby was. Turns out the test got spoiled- baby was fine, but they were so on it and serious. so.... I'm sure yours is all good.

We just were looking at some home videos and I decided to brave watching the end of the birth video (for the actual birth). wow. We have a friend visiting who's ttc her first and she was wowed. I had the sound turned way down because for me, the hardest thing is hearing the sounds of me in pain. I had such a slow crowning too- with this posterior baby. wow. so my friend was kinda freaked (I better be drugged....or maybe I'll have a c/s), but i told her that even though I'm only 3 weeks pp, I'd still do it again. It's such a small piece of the pie. maybe later I'll be able to watch the whole thing. maybe.

[mamabeca]

Good morning mamas! Nicole - sounds like things went SMASHINGLY well! I am so glad! Will is such a good, boy! Well done mama! The portable swing sounds like a good investment - won't last forever, nothing does...but it sounds like he'll be happy and a place for him to snooze other than the carseat or your arms? Always good to find that alternative place for snoozing. Baby cries...

[Killick]

So I am having my first "fat day" since giving birth. I dropped the weight from my pregnancy really quickly. It just kind of fell off. Then it stopped and I gained back about 3 pounds. Not too bad. Except that I am having a hard time fitting into some of my work clothes. Between the nursing and the pregnancy, nearly none of my shirts fit, and some of my pants are completely uncomfortable. So even though my husband and alot of others around me say "You look good for just having a baby" sometimes what I hear is "You look good, given the circumstances, but otherwise, you might need to lose a bit of weight and tone up a bit"

Having just reread that, I know it sounds like whining. It takes other women a long time to lose the weight. I just felt like venting and am very frustrated due to putting on clothes and having them pull apart.

Will is having a horrible morning too. He has been up since 4am and fussing the enitre time. Won't nurse, won't calm down, nothing is working. Neither of us can soothe him, and so it is frustrating too. He is so tired and just can't calm down enough to go back to sleep.

Fortunately, DD is sleeping through the whole thing. She has been sick for the past couple of days, so hopefully Will has not caught it.

Better go. DH or rather just H right now is getting frustrated too. He is suggesting just putting Will in the nursery and letting him scream. Sometimes he just so doesn't get it.

Sorry for the venting post.

[mamabeca]

Ooooh - what a bummer. Dd had mornings, well, DAYS like that. Ori doesn't seem to ... yet! If he is getting sick, it's probably just a needing to be held thing. Just sling the little guy and let him scream ON you - if he's gunna cry, keep him close, even if you have to put on earphones and listen to Led Zep or something. Dh's sometimes just DON'T get it. sigh.I'm off for some breakfast and then a walkie doggie - still fairly nice here, so I'm getting out while the getting is good! Caio!!! Andy

[pixiexto]

Nicole and little Will.... tough, tough morning. Just hold him close and maybe head outdoors for a walk in the sling? (sorry, can't remember how chilly it is where you live). That used to work wonders for DD#1 when she'd have these kinds of episodes. The cool air kind of startles them into forgetting their woes maybe? I think the motion of walking really helps.

I'm glad that your DD isn't waking at least. That would be 10X worse, hey? Hopefully Will isn't catching her bug!

Brynn's facial rash is already looking better this morning, or at least it looks that way to me! I've been taking the GSE,and I did do a bit of GV last night (wiped some olive oil around the outside of her mouth first to reduce staining... worked great!), but just a tiny bit from a cotton swab to paint my nipple. Hopefully this will clear it all up!

I think my friend and her two little guys are coming by this morning to play in the backyard. It's a bit of a crap shoot, as DD sometimes likes playing with this woman's son (he's her age), and sometimes is "nervous" (her own words) and clings to me like a sock outta the dryer! Hopefully today is a playful day. It looks to be in the high 60's/low 70's today, so it will be nice to sit outside and veg.

Is anyone still having a bit of residual postpartum bleeding? I can't remember how long it took with DD #1 for the bleeding to stop completely, but it seems to me it wasn't this long. It's not heavy or anything, and I have no discomfort; it's just getting annoying!

I uploaded some new pictures yesterday to my webshots page. Here it is, if you're interested! I like the one's I got of Brynn ~ she was laying on her boppy, and alternately looking at me and then out the window. There are some of her big sis & a few of our whole gang, too

[LEAW]

Kathy, I've had the clear to yellow discharge that went back to pink yesterday. Don't know what that's about, but yes, it's annoying.

Nicole, sounds like Will had a rough few hours. Hopefully life will be back to happy normal soon. And I hear you on the clothing thing, I can't even get close to my prepreg clothing yet, just sweats and dh's stuff.

Andy, I hope you got your walk in, it's freezing here and we got 3" earlier, and it's snowing this nice peaceful fluff now.

Argh, Lauren woke and while I was changing her the dog stole my waffle and ate it.

We had a rough night, at 4 I could hardly breathe and started coughing too, so I abandoned fussy babe with dh and took a long hot shower. Started a load of dipes after that, and dh realized he wasn't going to get any more sleep that would be useful so he showered and went to work early - except I don't know how clean he is since there was no hot water left after I started the dipes.

Lisa, who really needs a nap and some cold meds - is anything safe to take?

[pixiexto]

Lisa, I did the same thing to my DH last week.... washed a load of diapers (with an extra, hot rinse!) about an hour before he woke up... didn't even think about it until after it was already 1/2 done. Oops!
Sorry about the commandeered waffle, Lisa :LOL Our rotten dog stole DH's Hershey chocolates the other night and wolfed down a fair number of them. Of course, chocolate is poision for them too... silly mutt.

I haven't unpacked my pre-preg clothes yet. The maternity jeans are too big, but I've been wearing shorts a lot. I guess it's time to dig it out and see how it fits. I'm not optimistic though, I still have pounds to go before I'm at my pre-preg weight and trying not to let it get me down. With DD #1 I went down to 7lbs above my pp weight right away, and this time I've been stuck at about 12... blah.

Oh, cold meds. I only take ecchinacea, VitC (lots of it!!!) and Zinc.

[Killick]

Will finally drifted off. We gave him some mylicon, and I think that the refried beans that I ate the other night gave him some severe issues in the tummy area. Won't be doing that again. My mom called at the same time as everything was going on. Gave her the opportunity to cut down my confience in breastfeeding. She thinks that my milk is giving him digestive problems, and we need to switch to formula, at least for the feedings that I don't do at work. With Emily, she used weight gain as the reason to switch. She was a formula feeder, and will not admit breast is best. I just ignore her and go on with what I know is right for my kiddo.

Things did not get better this mornign though. I took Emily into Montessori after 2 days of being home due to a fever. She had been fever free for 24 hours though, and was acting normal, except for a cough. Well, at the daycare, she had green diarrhea and was complaining that her ear hurt. She has had a big problem with ear infections and has tubes, so perhaps that's waht is going on. We are off to the ped's today to see if it is just a virus or if she has an infection of some sort.

We are using the idiot box for entertainment today. It is the one sure way to get Em to sit still and rest.

Here's to hoping the day gets better.

[Azreial]

My mum came up to help yesterday and spent the night. She took me to her chiro this am. That was so nice. I can actually walk with out pain. He said I'll probably need to get adjusted again in a week. I didn't make an appointment though becuase he is just so far. I'm going to try someone closer. Mum might stay again tonight she's not sure though. However she is going to stay long enough to spend some time with ds after he gets out of school.

Pre-preggo clothes. I haven't even taken them out of the closet yet and I have no plans on doing it anytime soon. I figure the longer that I am dressing like a bum, the longer people will be offering up help

I put some more pictures up photos baby is fussing so I've got to go

[Malama]

morning.
We had a rough night here last night too. Luka fell asleep hard at 7pm and then was wide awake at 11:30- as I suspected. Of course with that long sleep, I leaked all over the bed before he was awake. Anyhow, it took me a while to get him back to sleep and we were up early. Today will definitely include naps!

We need to get off the fat talk! I have tried on a few pre-pregnancy pants but they don't fit at all. Some years ago I abandoned all of my super baggy clothes for well-fitted ones, so there's not too many options in my wardrobe, except for yoga pants and such. I know that when I had ds1 (at 22) that I was wearing my jeans at 2 weeks PP. not this time. Idon't care though. I'm happy to just have my baby.

my lochia is mostly gone- don't wear a pad or anything, but every once in awhile I get a spurt of clearish discharge from nowehere. It happened the other day in town, when I of COURSE didn't have any pads or anything.

kathy- good luck with the gv! I looked it up too (on google) and it said it was a coal tar derivative- whatever that means.

Ok.... baby needs me and son needs a break

[3_opihi]

Morning!

Az and Kathy - your family's are precious!!!! I love seeing pics. Its cool to see how much the little wee folk change over the weeks. I'm loving the pic of baby E and the chihuaha. And Tessa looks just like her papa.

Not much to report over here. I'm breathing much easier, which is nice. There's nothing like walking around half suffocating to put a downer on your day. Dh's brother and sister in law left yesterday, Bummer. It was so nice to visit with them. I think Dh is going to fly to LA next month to visit the rest of his family, who's flying in from Japan, for his bro's wedding reception - and I'm so jealous. I've never met of his family (except bro) and I'm very curious about them!!!

Oh Nicole! sounds like a boob tube day wouldn't hurt things. Did you have to take the day off? Days like that are the worst.

[jessitron]

oh, look at all the darling newborns! The boppy is a good idea for the computer.

Andy, yeah, don't you wish they'd put little happy faces by the good results and angry faces next to anything bad?

Clothes? What are those? The postpartum brace, fleece postpartum shorts and nursing bra is "fully dressed" around here.

Midwife stopped by today. Baby is perfect (except still needs to lose the cord stump). I have a bulging... something... at the entrance. MW thinks blood vessel, doctor thought cyst. I'm going to another ob/gyn for an opinion. It appeared after 28 hrs of labor; then we transferred.

Thanks for the common experiences about pinching. That helps.

[Proudmom]

: Well, you can add me to the thrush club. I thought I was immune living in a dry climate, but apparently I am not (perhaps it is due to the major rains we have had). I had to take Aine in for her fu PKU test today and I asked our FP if it looked like thursh. Yep! However I caught it early, so hopefully we can beat it! I don't have any symptoms yet, just my baby

Hmmmm...clothes. Well I can kinda fit into my bigger jeans. Some stuff is definitely out of the question. I tried to put one pair on and made my dh laugh. I just hate wearing the maternity stuff, so I work with the two pairs of pants I can fit into! I love the fact that I have no idea what I weigh. While pregnant, I requested not to record my weight, so I have not stepped on a scale since about 20wks. I figure I may check around 6wks pp. We shall see. It is too arbitrary to get hung up on, but I understand how frusterating it is.

I love the new group title and also like Andy's suggestion to name our "Life with Babe" threads something inventive. I like "Creamy Mamas," however my little babe only gained 3 ozs in the last 10 days : Not sure what the deal is with that. Oh well, she will be fine. Just gotta keep the breastmilk flowing.

Off to fold laundry. Yesterday I finally cleaned our bathroom. Yuck!! I was afraid Aine would be embarassed if she knew how messy her birthplace was. I didn't want her to tell her friends when she gets older that she was born at home into squalor

Heather

[Proudmom]

Forgot to say all the babies are too cute. Still bugging DH to upload our pics...

Here is one, if it works...
http://www.snapfish.com/viewsharedph...=SYE/otsi=SPIC

Heather

[3_opihi]

It worked!!! What a bunch of cuties!!!