Weekly Thread Sept 26th- Oct 2nd

[Goldiemom]

[Goldiemom]

My goodness! I go away for the weekend to celebrate my birthday with family and I come back to lots of babies! How exciting. I can hardly believe that the month is almost over. Adam turns 6 on Saturday. I have to get his birthday layaway put aside for Friday pickup. Can we say yikes!

I turned 26 yesterday. I got to spend my birthday with my family at the campground my grandparents are staying at. Harley was really cute, she told my grandparents that she wanted to stay with them. Too bad we live so far away from that campground! I think she would have had a great time in their RV. I just wanted to put in a quick appearance so that you didn't worry that something happened to me. It was sweet to get a couple of messages asking if I was ok. It makes me all teary eyed that you all care so much. I better get to running my few errands for today. Take care everyone! ELV's to those still waiting.

[mom2threenurslings]

Hey Goldie - sounds like you had a fun weekend! :

Things are going better for me here - Coren's latch is much better on my right breast, but still horrible on my left (different nipples!). I'm feeling better physically and actually spent most of the day out yesterday - church, my sister's house, then a mama's night out with a few friends (mexican food and margaritas ). This morning I woke up EARLY with Coren, then took a nap for a couple hours after dh and the kids were up. I can't believe it's almost noon and I haven't done ANYTHING! A friend is bringing me a meal between 1 and 2, and then I have to do some grocery shopping and go to the consignment shop to buy Coren a few items of clothing to get us through until the colder weather hits (I have either summer clothes or heavy winter clothes in the size that fits him!). I have a few items to sell to the consignment shop as well, so hopefully I won't be spending that much money as we are broke right now!

Sending ELV's to all who need them - I love reading the birth stories and can't wait to read some more!!!

[Autumn Breeze]

Happy birthday!!!

Jack turned 4 on Saturday...I can't believe it!!! We had a pizza party for him, and itwent prett well..mil vent, but only one handed so not enough time...

Dhs b-day is Sunday..mine is next Monday... no plans for our b-day. dh will be 25 so yeah, we'll get a small break on our car insurance.

OHT still so I'll try to make it back later w/ 2 hands.

[curlyfry]

Hey Goldie and Amandas...nice to read your updates. So many birthdays, wow...must be a popular time of year to be born, our babies are proof of that! :LOL

O.K...so do you mind if I blab/vent???

Today Lana had her first pediatrician visit. Everything was perfect. She lost about 8 oz. (I guess that's normal) and no jaundice or anything. I did not want to discuss vax today, but he brought it up, and asked if we had the Hep B. I said no and we're not doing it right now. He said, o.k...we'll talk about it after we're done with the checkup (ugh). So, he went through his whole speech and gave me the schedule of vax that he normally does, and told me that he's never had an adverse reaction to a vaccination and in the next sentence said "other than high fevers and occasionally a baby will go limp on the table." Um HELLO! That sounds adverse to me, right? Oh, and he said that there's no harm in doing the Hep B since it's the safest vaccine. Yet, I just heard some info from a Dr. at a vax seminar here who said it's the worst one??? I'm just so confused because I'm hearing completely conflicing opinions. The Dr. says that there are risks associated with vaccinations but the risk is much higher if she gets the disease...he talked a lot about whooping cough. Then the research I'm doing says taht there are risks to not vax, but the risks of vaxing are much higher. Why are the two viewpoints like night and day? So, basically he's very pro-vax and wants me to sign a form if I'm not going to vaccinate her. I said that right now we're not sure what we're doing and we're not comfortable making a decision until I do all of the research. We may decide to delay or selective or not vax at all, but I'm not prepared to make that decision right now. Ry's just as torn as I am...*sigh*...I just want to do what's best for her. Of course, I left crying. He's not the right fit for me and I know that now. I made the appt. with him because he was local, but now I really think I need to find a compatible pediatrician.

I can't stand all the well visits either! He wants to see her in a week to weigh her again, and make sure that she's gaining weight and then again in a month. Is that really necessary? Oh, and he also gave us an RX for some vitamins to give her (in a dropper) because apparently she's not getting them from my breastmilk? Is this normal? I haven't filled the RX yet, because I wanted to ask you guys about it. (Also e-mailed my LC)

Anyhow...I know that's a lot to dump on everyone in the weekly thread. :LOL Just needed to get it all out.

On a lighter note, Meilana had a great night last night. Slept soundly in between feedings and woke me up every couple of hours. She's such a good girl!

[Shell_Ell]

Lisa, is it vitamin D? That's pretty normal. Depending on where you live, they recommend it for some babies as it's something they only get from the sunlight, and not from breastmilk. It's in formula, of course. Boo. lol Good luck with vaxing, I've found it frustrating as well. I think you have to educate yourself and go with your gut!

Goldie, Happy belated birthday!

Well, things are starting to get better here. I'm starting to really let things roll with nursing and supplementing and trying not to get too uptight about it. We are going to a BFing clinic tomorrow and then Riley has a ped appt Thursday. I am willing to bet he's back up to his birth weight. Once he's up to 7 lbs I think I'll get left alone. LOL! I can't wait to be breastfeeding him 100%. I know the time will come. I just have to be patient and work on doing things to boost my supply.

I am kind of down about my body. I know it's only been 12 days, but I don't feel as though I've lost much of the weight. I won't be getting on the scale until next week, the earliest. I would really like to start taking walks, etc but I'm not sure my stitches are quite healed yet. We'll see. Maybe I've lost it all and the jello belly is just throwing me off. :LOL

Things are good, though. I do love being a mommy. This is SO the life I wanted for years and years. I used to dream about being a SAHM and having a great husband, etc. And I have that. I feel so blessed these days. It really is awesome. I think the worst has passed now, with breastfeeding. I've adjusted to the lack of sleep, and it doesn't really bother me as of right now. I hope things just continue to get better.

[Full Heart]

Goldie - Happy Birthday! Sounds like you had a great day!

mom2threenurslings - Have fun shopping. I wanna go!

curlyfry - I have never done well baby check ups, if the baby is well then why do they need to be seen? Trust me you will know if your baby is not well. We also see a fp dr. I like taking everyone to the same dr. that way they know the family and the history. Its actually worked out really well that way. Good luck finding a new dr. I have tons of info about WC if you want it pm me.

Shell_Ell - Good luck boosting your supply! I am sure it wil happen for you.

DoulaMommy - Hope you have a good birthday on Mon.


Ian had the hugest poopy a little while ago. It was hilarious! I changed him and was letting him air out like a good mommy when all of a sudden he started pooping again. I put a wipe under him but that was no match for him. I yelled for ds to get more wipes, so he brings me 4 more...well Ian just kept going and going and going! It was holy poopy batman! He ended up getting it all over my couch, 6 wipes and 2 prefolds! I have never seen a baby poop so much! Ian was so cute though he just laid there and smiled.

Last night my mother came to pick up the kids and ils just happened to stop by. Oh well that was lovely. Ils completly ruined ds birthday party plans we had for this weekend, mil was upset my mother was here, I was upset my ils were here altogether, they brought tons of candy to the kids : and then my mother and mil were fighting over ian! I wanted a beer so bad after they left.

Does anyone else baby jump when you burp them? With each pat Ian's whole body jerks. This is everytime we burp him too and it seems to bother him.

Ok I think ds#3 is falling asleep so gotta run.

Michelle

[spsmom]

full heart- i am rotflmao! i am so amused that poop amuses me so easily! my julian is a grunter and the other day he filled a diaper and it startted oozing out the side. my 2 yo thought it was so funny as i was running holding baby away from me down the hall.

so today is the first day i am on my own. dh went back to work. our morning acutally went rather well. but nap time was a bit of a challenge. julian woke up right as satchell (my 2 yo) needed to go down. i finally had to put baby in the swing since he fell asleep so that i could lay down with satchell.

i am having major guilty feelings about not holding julian as much as i did satchell. with satcehll, he was in the sling pretty all the time unless he was nursing. i do carry julian in the sling a lot during the day but there are times when i just have to put him in the swing so i can get some things done or have some one on one time with satchell.

and satchell is very sweet to his baby brother but he does not listen at all lately. please tell me this is a phase. i am so frustrated. i posted a while ago in a nother thread about how i had resorted to spanking and thanks to the wonderful mamas and their encouragement it helped me realize that is not how i wanted to raise my children. my dh, on the other hand, is not quite there yet. and has used it as a last resort. is anyone else dealing with a toddler who just wont listen. and what are you doing to keep the peace?

well, i hope everyone has a great week. sending gentle labor vibes to those waiting for baby.

[wenat]

Originally Posted by Full Heart

Ian had the hugest poopy a little while ago. It was hilarious! I changed him and was letting him air out like a good mommy when all of a sudden he started pooping again.

Oh, man, mine did the same thing last week. I opened his diaper but I had put another one underneath the dirty one so that if anything happened, it would get caught by the clean one. Well, once the diaper was open, he started peeing, so I let him go into the clean one, and then when he was done with that, I went to get a new one, but he then started pooping -- onto the receiving blanket on the change table!

He's now "dirty" farted on me twice -- hit my face and eyeglasses once! I can't believe how much poop and pee this little guy can make!

Originally Posted by Full Heart

Does anyone else baby jump when you burp them? With each pat Ian's whole body jerks. This is everytime we burp him too and it seems to bother him.

Yup, DS2 does that when he's almost asleep and I'm patting his back to get that burp out. DS1 did that too at this age. But I keep on patting because if I don't get that burp out, he wakes up in an extremely cranky mood and doesn't relax until he burps. I think the jumpiness is just a sleep reflex.

[wenat]

Jeannie, it's my first day without DH too, but I asked my mom to come over for the next couple of weeks to help me out, and she's doing it. (It's 4-6 weeks for recovery from the c-section, so I'm not ashamed to beg for help during that time.)

I'm also struggling with how to entertain a toddler while cuddling the baby. I'm just so grateful that my mom's around to help me with the entertain-the-toddler part. She couldn't make it this morning, so DS2 spent most of the morning asleep in his pack-and-play while I helped DS1 build a great BIG tower from his blocks, and then do some work with his wooden trains. And then when he woke up and wanted to nurse, DS1 just had to wait or bring me the things he wanted to play with.

Oh, the guilt, making the toddler wait while the baby nurses, or making the baby sleep alone while giving the toddler some mommy time.

I'm loving cuddling my baby (it doesn't hurt that he's a much easier babe than DS1), but I do have guilt about not giving DS1 enough attention. And sometimes, it's easier to put Caillou on the TV (I have a bunch of episodes recorded, and the commercials removed) so that DS1 will sit still while I nurse the baby, rather than let him pull out his toys and throw them at me and the baby.

I just keep telling myself that this too shall pass. In a couple of years, we'll have a 4yo and a 2yo, and they'll be so busy playing with each other that they won't have time for mommy.

[Galatea]

Originally Posted by wenat

I'm also struggling with how to entertain a toddler while cuddling the baby. I'm just so grateful that my mom's around to help me with the entertain-the-toddler part. She couldn't make it this morning, so DS2 spent most of the morning asleep in his pack-and-play while I helped DS1 build a great BIG tower from his blocks, and then do some work with his wooden trains. And then when he woke up and wanted to nurse, DS1 just had to wait or bring me the things he wanted to play with.

Oh, the guilt, making the toddler wait while the baby nurses, or making the baby sleep alone while giving the toddler some mommy time.

I'm loving cuddling my baby (it doesn't hurt that he's a much easier babe than DS1), but I do have guilt about not giving DS1 enough attention. And sometimes, it's easier to put Caillou on the TV (I have a bunch of episodes recorded, and the commercials removed) so that DS1 will sit still while I nurse the baby, rather than let him pull out his toys and throw them at me and the baby.

I just keep telling myself that this too shall pass. In a couple of years, we'll have a 4yo and a 2yo, and they'll be so busy playing with each other that they won't have time for mommy.

I'm right there with you. Ds1 threw up while I was nursing and the vomit just had to soak into the carpet until ds2 was done. :LOL

I also got your reply re putting both boys to bed. I may do that sometimes, but I am trying to get dh to help more. Last night I took ds2 to bed and ds1 and dh watched movies until he fell asleep and then they both came in. So that was fine.

Originally Posted by spsmom

and satchell is very sweet to his baby brother but he does not listen at all lately. please tell me this is a phase. i am so frustrated. i posted a while ago in a nother thread about how i had resorted to spanking and thanks to the wonderful mamas and their encouragement it helped me realize that is not how i wanted to raise my children. my dh, on the other hand, is not quite there yet. and has used it as a last resort. is anyone else dealing with a toddler who just wont listen. and what are you doing to keep the peace?

Ds1 stopped being so bad after a week. Now I just choose my battles. Hence he watches a lot of teletubbies so he doesn't freak.

Originally Posted by Shell_Ell

I am kind of down about my body. I know it's only been 12 days, but I don't feel as though I've lost much of the weight. I won't be getting on the scale until next week, the earliest. I would really like to start taking walks, etc but I'm not sure my stitches are quite healed yet. We'll see. Maybe I've lost it all and the jello belly is just throwing me off.

Don't worry yet. I remember not losing much until ds1 really started with the growth spurts at 2 months. The jello belly will require work, but you will thin out with no problem in other areas just by nursing - as long as you don't stay on the couch! Which is tempting with your first child! God knows I did. I am glad nursing is getting better. It sounds like you have plenty of milk.

Curlyfry - You know this already, but you need to dump that ped asap. You will not get any support. I don't go for wellchild visits b/c they are scheduled around the vaxx schedule. If your child is sick, you will know, and then you can go. Our ped gave us one lecture about vaxxing and has let us be. She also did not give us vitamins or make us sign a no vaxx paper. So you can certainly find one that is better. I drive about 25 mins for mine, but since I go so infrequently, it doesn't matter. Good luck!

FullHeart - I dreamed of a keg of beer last night! Let's have one!

I still (knock on wood) don't have an PPD feelings, even normal little ones. Dh has been a huge help keeping the house neat and is not such a night owl and it soothes my OCD. If only I could get my IUD already so I could thank him properly! Dinner is ready (at my parents' house - lazy me) so I can't talk much more.

[mom2threenurslings]

vaccination/pediatricians: My kids' pediatrician (who was my ped from age 3-18!) didn't know you could opt out of vaxing! We delayed vaxing and selectively vaxed with Zack and Haley and now are not vaxing anymore (older kids won't get any more, Coren won't get any) as I'm still doing research. Our ped just had me sign a note she put at the bottom of the chart sayind "Mom delaying vaccines until further notice" because she wasn't sure if there were vax laws or not. I told her that the only vax laws apply to kids who will be going to school/daycare, neither of which my kids will be going to - and that even then there are religious and medical exemptions. I'm sure she'll question me again about vaxing the baby, but it seems like I know more than her about adverse reactions and the benefits of not vaxing, so I'm pretty sure it won't be a problem! We ONLY go to the pediatrician for medical reasons and the occasional well-child exam. We usually do the well-baby visits to establish care and because it's actually a fun day for us, as we visit Gramma at her work afterwards to "show off" the baby (my mom works in a building behind my ped's office!).

Vitamins: Most likely it's vitamin D. Babies get everything they need from breastmilk. There is a debate about vitamin D, but basically if your baby gets a bit of sun on their skin for a few minutes every day, they get plenty of Vit. D.

Shell_El: It's great that you're calmer about the bfing/supplementing. Things will work out and you'll be bfing 100% soon! One day at a time...

Michelle/wenat: :LOL about the poop! We had a similar experience on Coren's second day of life - I took of his diaper and it had a tiny bit of meconium in it. Then he peed and pooped a bit more, and then more...and more...and more - I had to call dh in to witness this amazing event! He completely covered a prefold in meconium - it was amazing!

Mama guilt: Aaaah, mama guilt. It's a difficult thing to avoid. We tend to see all the things that we're "taking away" from our kids rather than the things we're giving to them: the older sibling is learning to share (things, time, mama), learning to wait (a useful skill - and eventually will learn patience as well ), learning to help, learning to take turns, learning to love, nurture and care for another person...

ELV's to all who need them!

[mom2threenurslings]

Ok...so it took me about 20 minutes to type that last post - between nursing Coren (nak), pottying Coren, saying goodnight to kids, nursing Coren (nak)... :LOL

Hi Lilli! Sounds like you're doing great! My dh is being pretty good at cleaning type stuff, which is really good for my OCD as well!

Beer: Now I must go to my fridge and retreive a Guinness. It's all your fault.

My oldest is sick. Congested, coughing, chest hurts...the poor boy! We have plans all week - I hope he's feeling better tomorrow! He'll be SO upset if we miss any of our activities! (Not to mention I'm looking forward to going to the activities as well! )

I think I'm really done this time -unless someone else has posted while I spent 10 minutes posting this (sick ds needed tissues, non-sick ds needed a drink of water - it's bedtime and my house is still )

[musicmaj]

Lisa,
I was nervous about our WC visit today too. I like our Peds - there are 4 in the practice, but up until now our children have been vaccinated. This new baby will not be. I told the nurse that Ryan would not be vaccinated and she didn't comment on it either way. I think the doctor just assumed that Ryan had had his hep b vaccine in the hospital and so the issue didn't even come up today. I am so happy to not have to have that conversation with him today. We had enough to worry about because we found out that my 3 year old is anemic and will have to have another blood test and lead test in two weeks to see if his iron levels have improved with diet. He is a picky eater so i hope I can get him to eat enough iron rich foods. By the way, the reason we decided not to vax is because our 3 year old is mildly autistic. I think he was born that way, but since we can not be sure we don't want to take the chance with vaccinating him or the new baby any further. It is hard to sift through all the information though and I am still researching too.
Also, on the subject of baby weight loss/gain. Ryan lost a whole pound since he was born. The ped was not overly concerned because my milk was late coming in and then baby was not happy with the engorgement and would hardly nurse. Today he is nursing much better and he has had more wet diapers. The ped told me to just keep track of how many wet diapers he has had and if he isn't producing enough to call. Otherwise, Ryan doesn't need to be seen again until he is 1 month old.

Amanda, hope you had fun shopping. What size is Coren fitting into - 3-6? I was expecting a big baby this time, but Ryan is so little that most of his 0-3 month clothes looks huge on him.

I will have to write some more personals later, Wil needs to get ready for bed.

Oh, and I haven't had a chance to write on everyones posts but - Congratulations to all of our new arrivals.

[Autumn Breeze]

Wow I actually have a few minutes.

Amanda, how was that Guiness? That actually sounds REALLY good to me today, and I HATE beer!! Ds didn't have the best day of listening, and it wasn't anything major, nothing that could harm him but nontheless, he didn't listen like I wanted him too.

Looks like my time may be shorter than I thought it would be. I just finished my dinner, and I think Kate is waking up. She's good, you could almost set a watch by her, it's been about 2 hours since she was last fed.

Might as well get myself some more juice before I need to change her and feed her.

[Goldiemom]

Happy Wednesday everyone! My goodness this week is going by so fast! I have new babies to add to the list which of course makes me very happy and a bit sad. Can you believe the month is almost over?

I am still trying to get together a few gifts for Adam's birthday on Saturday. I swear that time is just going by fast like this just to annoy me. I have so many things to get done and no time to get them done in. Isn't that how it always seems to work though? Allissa is awake and wanting to play a little. Poor baby has the hiccups and I am going to see if nursing her for a few more minutes won't get them to go away. I will check back in later. Hope all is well with you guys.

[mom2threenurslings]

The Guinness was delicious and relaxing!!! I could've gone for a black russian last night, though.

Hey Goldie - Yes, time is conspiring against you! Time always seems to get away from us when we have things to do and a set time to do them!!!

Things are going well here. I have lots of energy and am feeling close to "normal".

I NEED to remember to call my pastor and schedule Coren's baptism ... and call my MIL to find out when she, grandMIL, and possibly SIL are coming to visit.

My kids are already talking about Halloween (who am I kidding - they've been talking about Halloween since January! :LOL ). We already got a ladybug costume for Coren - and they have plans for their costumes: Alex will be a ghost (white sheet, no problem), Haley a fairy (fancy dress, fairy wings - no problem), and Zachary a spider (ok, this is going to take some work!!!).

Time to get ready to go to the park!

[curlyfry]

Thanx for all the support on the vax/ped issue. You guys are so encouraging and supportive.

OHT, so I have to make this brief...Meilana was such a good girl for me last night and this morning. Since dh is back to work I've been trying to take care of her by myself at night. Well we slept 6 hrs. last night! (interrupted, of course). Then when we woke up this morning, I put her in her baby papasan chair and brought her into the bathroom with me while I showered, got dressed, brushed my teeth. Now It's 9:30 and I'm actually put together in case friends stop by today!

Can every morning be like today? pleeeaaase!???

A friend of mine is coming over at 11 to show me how to make a wrap sling. THat will be so nice since I don't have a sling for her yet and she gets lost in her Baby Bjorn right now. It will be nice to have my hands free.

Write more later...

[trijosie-mama]

Hi everyone!! I've been lurking a bit, but thanks to a morning nap I finally have both hands to type with! I don't feel like i have any time to really do anything! I need to shower(Curly I'm jealous), I need to clean, I've been walking ds to and from school, so that's been nice. It's kind of our time to talk, Josie sleeps the whole time and ds can tell me about his day at school. Other than that I hear ya'll on the mommy guilt!! I cried several times last week because ds keeps going to others for things not me! Next week we'll be alone for the first time and I think that will be really good. It was nice to have help the first two weeks, but in the long run I think it would have been better to be alone.

I'm healing slowly but surly, if I walk to much this stupid tear starts to throb! Warning TMI ~ I can't for the life of me figure out how I tore like i did, up the side!! so when I walk this poor little area is being rubbed against the other side and it really hurts!!! The straight back tear is healing great though!

Nursing is going well, the initial latch is still some what painfull, but overall I think things are getting better. I'm learning her hunger signs more and more so I don't wait till she cries to feed her. I think i would know her better if we didn't have a guest. Sharing her takes away from getting to know her.

Anyway, it's good to hear how we're all doing! one more quick vent, MIL is so ditzy!! I can't beleve she's lived alone for the past 15 yrs! We have alot going wrong with out house right now and she just doesn't get what's going on and keeps asking dh the same stupid questions. I can see it starting to frustrate him, I just hope he can contain untill she leaves!!

later mamas!!....

[PrincessCass]

Ok so week two with my new lil bean has been ok so far. Tuesday was my B-day and we celebrated with a cheescake had to take dd to the Dr. but she is fine I'm just being a nervous mama. I have been having to use sposies while I wait for my newborn diaper packege to arrive and yesterday they stuck to her skin twice and she cried when I took it off so today we drug out the old recieving blankets and cut them up to make flats and now she is smiling and pooping happily in soft fuzzy flannel :LOL

Curly- DD has lost quite a bit of wheight this last week also but her doc says it's normal even though she is over the 10% loss rule. I recieved alot of fluids in the hours before her birth via IV and that tends to inflate birth wheight. Anyway no worries she should start gaining with in the next two weeks.

No signs of ppd here either which is wierd I had bad baby blues with both my boys with this one I am still in baby euphoria.

Trijosie- I am having the same problem with the initial latch but found if I have a lil time before she is screamin at me to feed her I can hand express a lil milk and it makes that first latch much more comfy.

Well I have more b-days to get ready for I can't believe my oldest is gonna be six already........

by the way one week pp after c sec and I'm feeling great. incision is still a lil tender but otherwise no more pain wooohoooo