May Chat Thread - Page 4

[Mizelenius]

OK, our BF issues are officially resolved. Moira is consistently nursing like she's supposed to and gaining at least an ounce per day!

Now sleep is a whole other story . . .she used to sleep TOO often. Now she spends a good part of the night awake and won't go back to sleep. I'm soooooooo tired.

thistooshallpassthistooshallpassthistooshallpassth istooshallpassthistooshallpassthistooshallpassthis tooshallpassthistooshallpass :LOL

[liawbh]

Yay for you on the BFing!!!

THe sleep thing is hard! We just got to a reasonable amount/length of nighttime awakenings and then I got sick and sleeping too much during the day threw us off. Though I'm not too upset about it, since I have a perfect example of the other extreme - DS1 is a pain in the *&% to wake up :LOL

[seren]

Had a check up with the midwife today. I lost another 7.5 lbs. That makes me down 29 lbs in 2 weeks. WOW! Madalyn gained 7 oz since last week. She's a little piggy. She's now 8 14, four oz above birth weight.

My midwife said since Maddy sleeps so long at night I am probably going to ovulate soon so we need to be extra careful. She will sleep for 4-6 hours. So, I'm really not wanting to ovulate and I might start setting the alarm to wake her up to eat more often.

Miz, I'm so glad all your nursing stuff is working out.

[J-Max]

Hi, I have not replied to this in a while, but I have been reading it.

We are doing much better around here . DD#1 is out of school for the summer. MIL got us an AWESOME play structure. It is huge and has a play house, 4 swings and a slide, the girls are having so much fun. I will get pictures of it up soon.

Lillian is doing so well. She is my first fat baby and it is so cool. I have not weighed her since her 1 mo WBC, by I am sure she is over 10 lbs. I am going to try to hold her on and off the scale this weekend (I keep thinking I want to, but never get to it :LOL ). She is so happy and easy. She cluster nurses in the morning and evening then will sleep 2 3-5 hour streches in the afternoon and at night. Gen (#2) did not sleep 2 hours at a time untill she was almost a year old. I think my body may be trying to ovulate and get started again, but I have an IUD, so I am not sure what it is going to do.

My parents had to go pick up one of my sisters from the airport in Seattle (5 hours away) last night. They drove back as far as my house and got here about 4:30 this morning. My dad is an awesome cook and made french toast and sausage for breakfast and then my mom cleaned the kitchen .

Anybody doing anything fun for Memorial Day (don't think I spelled that right). I am meeting some other MDC mommas for a playdate tomarrow, but that is it. We have new baby calves and more coming, so we are staying home. My grandparents are coming to visit my parents next week, so we will go down and visit them some (about 2 hours away)

Have a great weekend!

[natashaccat]

Originally Posted by Mizelenius

OK, our BF issues are officially resolved. Moira is consistently nursing like she's supposed to and gaining at least an ounce per day!

I'm so happy for you...I read on another thread that you tried cranial sacral therapy. Do you think that that is what helped? I went to a chiro for cranial work during pg because I was feeling kinda mental/stressed out and it really helped me feel better. I was pleasantly supprised the my insurance even paid for it as a "massage therapy."

[Qerratsmom]

Glad to hear the bfing issues are getting better. Hard to beleive we are going into month two with our new ones!!! Thanks for burt bees suggestion for diaper rash Natashaccat, its working much better Btw how do you like Fairbanks overall and do you think you could live there on 30 k a year? There is a slight possibility we may be moving there this coming fall.
E is still sleeping well, although she is an earlier riser than ds ever was (sometimes she's up and smiling at 5:00 am, yawn!) but then after an hour or so she goes back down until around 8 or 9 when ds gets up. Naptimes for ds have been a bit difficult, however, I still nurse him down but it seems like whenever its time for his nap, dd is wanting to coo and talk to us, which keeps ds up and...it can get frustrating. I have to end up trying to nurse them both at the same time which I'm sorry to say I absolutely HATE. I wish I could find peace with it but for some reason nursing ds lately has been so irritating for me. He's wanting to nurse more and for longer times since dd was born and I wonder if he can sense my irritation. It makes me sad because up until a few months ago I enjoyed nursing him, now I just want it to end. The other thing he wants to do suddenly (never did this before dd's arrival) is hold my boob when he's not nursing. He will throw a tantrum if I don't let him do it. I'm sure these are all issues relating to the new baby (whom he completely adores and does not seem jealous in the least, he's totally happy to share nursing with her and infact if she makes a sound he tells me "mom, Eileen needs you, go nurse her". He's very gentle and loving toward her all the time.) So I am trying to be patient about his new need to nurse more. It has definetly been a practice in zen meditation for me! I know this post should really go under a toddler or extended bfing thread but thought maybe one of you may be going through something similar.

[JoyAnne]

Miz- so glad bf'ing is going well.

ds was at the doctor yesterday- we weighs 12 lb 10 oz at 8 weeks- born 6 1. that seems like a lot. glad i am bf'ing or i would be worried!

not vaxing and the family doc doesn't mind- so we have a one week and an 8 week visit- any recommendations on when we should go back?

[danaalex]

IMO i'd go whenever you feel like going again . if at 4 mo you are feeling good about things and aren't really in the mood to see the doc, then don't go. so forth and so on. maybe check in somewhere around 8-9 mo? it really depends on how things are going for you and your son.

with my oldest she was gaining sooooooooo slowly that i was really freaking, so we went a lot in the beginning. once my ped reassured me that she was fine, just little, and as long as she was growing at all she was ok, we slowed down our visits . my middle dd went at 1 week, then not again till like 4 mo, then maybe 9 mo and 15months? something like that.

our littlest went at 10 days ( new ped for our family) and we are not going back there. i haven't tried to find anyone new yet. i will more than likely take all three girlies in to be seen in aug. it will be my oldest's 4 yr appt, my middle's 2 yr appt and the babe's 4-5 mo appt. hopefully by then i will have found someone that doesn't freak about vaccines. LOL.

Originally Posted by JoyAnne

Miz- so glad bf'ing is going well.

ds was at the doctor yesterday- we weighs 12 lb 10 oz at 8 weeks- born 6 1. that seems like a lot. glad i am bf'ing or i would be worried!

not vaxing and the family doc doesn't mind- so we have a one week and an 8 week visit- any recommendations on when we should go back?

[danaalex]

Originally Posted by Mizelenius

OK, our BF issues are officially resolved. Moira is consistently nursing like she's supposed to and gaining at least an ounce per day!

Now sleep is a whole other story . . .she used to sleep TOO often. Now she spends a good part of the night awake and won't go back to sleep. I'm soooooooo tired.

thistooshallpassthistooshallpassthistooshallpassth istooshallpassthistooshallpassthistooshallpassthis tooshallpassthistooshallpass :LOL

oh what wonderful news, the nursing that is!!!! i am so happy that things are going well and that your DD is gaining weight

sorry to hear about the sleeping. my middle DD was a horrible sleeper till she was over a year old. UGGH. i remember those days LOL. but you are right it will pass. she'll get better and better and better with each passing day

you're a great mom! keep up the good work

we're doing ok. my kids are great so is the babe. she is still so easy, i love it. she is almost 9 weeks and weighs 10 lbs 12 oz. she is my fastest growing babe yet she nurses well and sleeps better than i could've hoped. i am having good days and bad days. there are some days that i am not too sad about our house and lack of friends and area that we are living in. then there are other days that i just want to give up and call it quits. such is life i suppose.

we have no plans for this weekend. i think my dh is going to work on monday LOL. how bout you all? any good memorial days plans?

[speedknitter]

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

We were able to sneak up to our mountain house for a few days, but probably have to go back tomorrow afternoon. Found out yesterday that a good friend of mine died on Friday, evidently in his sleep of a heart attack. I am very sad, especially because he had just returned from a long overseas trip and had not had a chance to meet Julie yet He was a writer, and had several novels published, so someday she can read them.

We had crummy week in general. After battling some plugged ducts last weekend, Tuesday I woke up with flu-like symptoms, and by noon I was working on a serious fever. NO!!! the dreaded mastitis!!! I went in to see my doctor, since my 6 week pp checkup was supposed to be on thursday anyway I went ahead and did that too. So I'm on antibiotics, which seemed to maybe affect my supply for a day or two, which was really difficult. Julie would nurse and nurse and still be hungry, it was so hard! I went to the lactation center on thursday and got some help. They told me that she was not good at swallowing and was not taking in enough at each feeding, so they gave me some suggestions for improving her swallow...we are working on it!

She is not putting on much weight either, probably related to the bad swallowing habits. she was 8lb 8 oz when we left the hospital and is only up to 9 lbs 11 oz at 6 weeks. She has the right number of poops and pees, so we will see if she starts gaining a little more. Should I be worried?

seren, congrats on your weight loss!
miz, hang in there! I'm so glad you got the BF issues worked out. Our catch phrase when things are tough is :

keepittogether keepittogether keepittogether keepittogether keepittogether keepittogether keepittogether keepittogether

from Bowfinger :

[natashaccat]

[QUOTE=Qerratsmom] Btw how do you like Fairbanks overall and do you think you could live there on 30 k a year? QUOTE]

I FBKS, great people here.

Not sure about 30K, depends on how comfortable you need to be and how reliable and fuel efficient your car is, kwim, cabins w/o h20 rent for about $450-500, small apts $700-$800, gas $2.24. I'm pretty sure with family of 4 you would qualify for denali kid care (medcaid for you kids) and WIC.

If you live simply, you could do it no prob but finding affordable housing with water would be really hard. We do fine in our 2 story, 16x24, no-water cabin but sometimes its hard, esp re:space. We bought our cabin last yr and our payments are just about the same as our rent was so that might be a good way to get affordable housing if you can save up a little downpayment.

[danaalex]

how do you get your water? or do you mean you pay for water on top of rent?

[natashaccat]

Originally Posted by danaalex

how do you get your water? or do you mean you pay for water on top of rent?

We go through about 20 gallons a week and hual it home from town in 5 gallon jogs. (We live about seven miles from the city center.) We usually get water for 5 cents a gallon at the laundrymat. Washing baby bottles and pump parts is a PITA because it take a whole gallon of water to get them clean and sterile. We shower at the gym and do laundry at the laundrymat or at dh's work.

Some homes in our neighborhood have indoor plumbing and have water delivered to 1000 gallon tanks their home for 10 cents a gallon. Folks living in town may or may not have to pay for water on top of rent. Most rentals out of town either don't have water or the tenent would have to also pay for water delivery. Some rental places have wells but these are usually expensive neighborhoods or in an area far south (20+ miles) of town.

[ctdoula]

Okay, so I have to know, if you don't have running water, what about a toilet? : Obviously, I totally take our well for granted.

Susan, I'm so sorry about the mastitis! That is aweful! I hope you're feeling better soon. How did they determine your dd didn't swallow effectively? As for the weight gain, my dd was nearly 8 pounds at birth (7-14.9), was 9.1 at 1 month & 10.9 at 2 months. She was only 16.11 at 1 year. She started in the 50% and was in the -5% by 9 months. But, she's always been healthy, a great nurser, she is just a tiny girl (I know Dana's girls are like this too, very slow growers & tiny). Some kids are just meant to be smaller. I wouldn't necessarily think your dd isn't getting enough just based on her growth. I think time will tell. My son is probably in the 90%+.. same woman, same boobs, LOL. Every baby is just different. Oh, and your dd nursing all the time & still being hungry for a couple of days... sounds like a classic growth spurt to me (6 weeks is typical). They nurse all the time to get your supply up.

Elena- I'm so so happy things are going better with the breastfeeding Hopefully the day/night thing will get better soon!!

We are doing well. Cole is just so big and adorable. He's so sweet, I totally adore him. He's gotten 3 bottles of EBM, as I want to make sure he'll take one when I leave him with dh when I teach classes. So far he's gone with me to class, but I think soon he'll stay home w/dd & dh (I teach Lamaze classes 2 evenings/week). He took it no problem, sucked it right down. That is so different from my dd, who took 7 weeks to take a bottle & we had to try a zillion different nipples. Cole took the Avent one right away. He's super smiley in the morning, it's so cute. He's also got amazing head control. I'm impressed, LOL.

[proudmamanow]

nak

sorry I've been out of touch...we were at a family cottagee for 2 wks for some much needed time for the 3 of us after many visitors.

Annie is almost 6 weeks old and I finally feel like I'm settling into the rhythym of mothering, finding the zen... and I love it

glad to hear bf going well, Miz

sorry about you mastitis & the loss of your friend, speedknitter

glad others are doing well too...

I finallly posted my VERY LONG birth story, btw,

http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...d.php?t=294370

hope to keep up more now that we're home

[danaalex]

just wanted to repeat what amy said about little kids my middle dd was 9 lbs 4 oz when born. she weighed only 17 lbs at a year. she gained about 8 lbs in 12 months. she nursed constantly, just didn't grow very fast. her big sister gained 10 lbs, weighed 17 lbs at a year. our youngest seems to be growing rather fast ( compared to her two big sisters). so far she has gained almost 3 lbs but i don't expect her to pass 17 lbs at a year.

i've tried to give the babe a bottle but she just isn't into it at all. i bought a whole bunch of different nipples too . mostly because she won't nurse in public. she hates nursing in the sling or anything else. uggh.

[seren]

I have a small child, too. Ds was 7 lbs 4 oz at birth. At 6 months he was 16 10. At 9 months 18 10 and at 1 year he was 18 14. The WIC ladies freaked me out and we went to weight checks at the ped every two weeks for three months. At 15 months ds finally hit 20 lbs. At 25 months he is only 24.5 He is in the 5%, but he's perfectly healthy. Now Madalyn seems to be doing great. She gained 8 ounces in 5 days. She is now 9 6, up from 8 10 at birth. She nurses every two hours during the day and then drops off in the evening and at night.

Dd1 calls her gorgish (gorgeous) Maddy. So dh and i call her gorgish all the time. We think it's cute. She is holding her head up so well for being 19 days old. When she is awake she HATES to lay down, she wants to sit. My mil was freaking out the other day because she was trying to lay Madalyn on her legs and Maddy pulled her head forward until she was almost sitting up. She just does not like to be down when she's awake. And she's a tummy sleeper. All of my kids only sleep on their tummies, even now the older two sleep on their tummies more often than not. Dh does, too. I'm a side sleeper myself. I know about the whole back to sleep thing, but my kiddos don't seem to care about that.

Ok, how long did you guys wait to have sex? Dh is already complaining. Not bad, kinda as a joke, but with serious undertones. With ds it was less than two weeks, but I only tore a teeny bit with him and only had one stitch. This time I tore on my old scar (when they cut me with dd1) and I had to have 4 stitches. They are gone now, but I think I'm a bit afraid. With dd1 it hurt the first few times and I'm afraid it will hurt again. Plus with Madalyn going so long at night between nursings (4-6 hours) I could ovulate anytime and all we have right now are condoms. They so don't work for us. Madalyn is a condom baby. I really don't want to get pregnant again right now, if ever. Still debating that one. Ok, just rambling now. I better go clean while girly is sleeping.

[Qerratsmom]

I thought about sex a lot the first 3 weeks but i had a few stitches waiting to dissolve. Now its 8 weeks and the bfing has kicked away my libido, we still haven't gone for it. ihad such a bad tear with ds that it hurt for over a year! so yea i'm a little afraid.

[natashaccat]

Okay, so I have to know, if you don't have running water, what about a toilet? Obviously, I totally take our well for granted.

yup we've got an outhouse and a "honey bucket" stored on the porch for nights. DD1's still using a potty chair inside.

As for sex...with dd1 I had a mild undiagnosed yeast infection my whole pg and for several moths after, I was was really sore internally, sex hurt like hell, but thought it was a normal post partum nursing thing until I took diflucan to treat thrush and it went away. This time I treat for yeast with acidophilious, and if needed GSE, at the tiniest sign of nipple soreness (or further south) and I feel fine other than my pelvic floor feeling kinda saggy and bulgy.

I'm concerned about choosing birth control too though, I used a merina IUD after DD1. It was great in many ways, no periods, no effect on milk supply, no obvious weight gain, but I suspect it may have eliminated my sex drive. I blamed it on nursing at the time but after I had it removed my sex drive came back. I'm not sure though because I stopped nursing at about the same time.

Anyway I'm really torn now because the merena IUD was such an easy method of BC that everthing else seems high maintnence.

Anyone here used a diaphram or cervical cap? I'm considering this but using spermicide seems so messy....

[liawbh]

I've used a diaphram for years, it's really not too messy, definately less so than foam or gel without it. It can be a PITA though, in terms of spontanaity (sp??). We're using condoms right now, until my 6 week check so I can be sure the diaphram's still the right size.