Week of 6/11, Life w/Babe - here to stay!

[~*max*~]

Thanks for the feedback all. We'll stay on our DDC until we get the boot!

How is everyone this week? My sweet little 3 1/2 week old babe has woken up... and started screaming! Those peaceful couple of weeks where baby sleeps all the time and seems like a little angel are over. I feel most badly for dh, bc it seems all she wants for comforting is the boob, and he can hardly hold her w/out the crying. She has also gotten pretty gassy at night, grunting and pushing it seems constantly, but during the day she is fine. :

Otherwise, life is good. I think the thrush is cleared up. (I was surprised reading the posts at how common that is for newborns, and their mamas of course.)

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the spring.

[mamacatsbaby]

Ah yes, gassy, grunting crying fun! I'm so glad the thrush has cleared up for you guys Max.

I think Milky Face is having yet another growth spurt. He was so fussy yesterday and would have nothing to do with sleeping if it wasn't on mama. And the constant nursing, wow, who knew such a little guy could eat so much!

[Sydnee]

Fussy is here too! Alayna has been sleeping awful the last 2 nights. Friday it was 2:00 am before I finally got her to sleep. Last night she went down at 9:00, and slept till 12:30, but then was up for 2 hours. And then up every 2 hours after that. Although, she litterally slept almost all day yesterday from not getting sleep the night before. I was EXHAUSTED!! Luckily my mom took her for 4 hours so I could get stuff done, but all I did was sleep!! How nice! I normally don't take naps, I just always feel like I should be doing something. Stupid, I know.:

Today though, she is sooooo smiley!! Little scheister!! I think our thrush problem is on the way out, I've been taking acidophillus, avoiding sugar, dairy and yeast, (for the most part, and I have totally cheated this weekend: ) and it seems to have taken care of it, so far.

This is my last week off, I'm a little sad, and a little excited to get back into a groove again. Rachel has theater camp this week for an hour and a half everyday, that should be fun!

[~*max*~]

I think I remember someone (dharmama?) mentioning using homeopathic chamomile for overly fussy babes. Can anyone tell me the proper dose? I just bought some (12c), but am unsure how to use it. Also, if you have any book recommendations for homeopathy w/children, I'd love to hear them.

TIA! :

[JayGee]

I've got a gassy, fussy babe too. She was wide awake and SCREAMING last night from 11:00pm - 1:30am. Ugh, I'm exhausted. Today she's fine though, so who knows what's up. Tomorrow is our first official pediatrician appointment, so I'm eager to see how much she's grown, etc. She's definitely chunking up .

[nova22]

C is doing fine, but everyone else has bronchitis or is just getting over it. I've got the brunt of it now...I feel constantly hungover because I'm so drowsy and achy. I'm so scared the baby will get sick.

I think she doesn't like chocolate...we went out to dinner and I had a huge chocolate dessert, and she was cranky for the rest of the night after she nursed. That's very unlike her so I guess no more indulging for me.

[NurseLaurie]

Hi ladies. I need to go check on my little monkey, but I wanted to share a photo with you. We took this last night because she was just cracking us up with that protective and possessive look on her face...
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ffMyBoobie.jpg
This week has been ok. She sleep beautifully at night, but does have long spans of fussiness in the evening time. Around 6-10PM.
We did find out that she has laryngomalacia, which basically means she will cough and sneeze and wheeze a good bit until age two. Scared me at first, but I think it's sinking in.

[mamacatsbaby]

I love that pic Laurie. Too cute!

So I just got back from going on a little walk with Milky here and I don't dare take this sling off! Poor thing's been refusing to sleep for more than 5-15 minutes yet again today and he's obviously exhausted so I'll have to ignore this here shoulder achiness for just a bit.

Oh man. He's getting so big! This is going way too fast. I'm trying to savor every crazy, unpredictable moment.

Another mama getting over thrush. Fabulous Sydnee, yay! I've got a little scheister too.

We're going to see if we can squeeze some chamomile into our budget this week.

Buddy here is knocked out. The most sound he's slept all day.

[luckylady]

hi mommas -

thanks for all the kind and supportive words on the other thread - it's certainly been a challenge but seems to be getting better.

What's with all the gassy babies??? mine too! And he is also a micronapper unless in the sling. That was hard at first but now I am resigned to the fact that's just who he is.

I took this picture of him that cracks me up - it captures his stubborn little attitude! LOL...http://www.cherylol.typepad.com/

Having a tough time accepting the fact that he is starting to only want ME and not Daddy - which pretty much means I won't get to leave him for God knows how long...I could not leave my DD either for 18 months!!! She was literally 18 months old before I left to get a haircut.: I hope he won't be as bad as that.

hmmmm - he also HATES the carseat. Anyone else with carseat woes??? Going anywhere is a major pain because I hate listening to him cry - it breaks my heart - so we stop to nurse. It takes forever to get anywhere!!!

[Peppamint]

I wanna reply but can;t because of squirmy fussy babe!

Love the pic Laurie! Cheryl your little man is adorable.

more later

[~*max*~]

NurseLaurie, love the picture. It did take me a minute though in my exhausted state to figure it out - I was like, "Oh my, is that his tummy so big?" - when it was actually your boob! : I wasn't expecting that angle. Although today when my babe was nursing, I thought how sweet she looked & I'd like a picture of it.

LuckyLady, I love the pic of your little guy too! Boy, if that is truly his attitude, you are in trouble! And my babe seems to want only me too right now. I went out for an hour today, and came home to find her screaming her little head off. I feel badly for dh. It can't feel good to him to be in a situation where he can't comfort his own baby.

Time for bed for me. Good night all.

[mamacatsbaby]

Cheryl what great pics! And look what a look on your little guy! A-t-t-i-t-u-d-e! I'll have to check out the metro momma. Looks oh so comfy.

We don't have carseat issues b/c we don't have a car. But we do have a carseat just in case we're ever riding with somebody. And sometimes if I'm here by myself I dig it out of the closet and put it in front of the bathroom door so I can shower. Milky's usually sleeping then though and doesn't seem to mind.

The wee one here seems to be pretty groovy with Dad here. He shows some preference for Mama a lot of times though, and don't let him want the milks! DH is cool with it though b/c he figures the older the babe gets, the more he'll get the daddy lovin'.

[Marylizah]

SUCH cute pictures! Wow! Too funny.

I'm glad we're staying on the DDC, I really like it here!

Also glad to hear that thrush is clearing up for you thrushy mamas, great news!

We're really doing a whole, whole lot better here. My, er, posterior problem (fissures!) is finally clearing up. My baby is finally waking up a little, we're getting such adorable smiles and coos and he's just started looking at me while he nurses (too cute!). We've been able to go out every day since last Wednesday (HUGE progress) and we had an excellent LLL meeting where a wonderful leader gave me such good advice that my breasts are a lot less sore. It turns out George wasn't opening his mouth wide enough-- so she told me to show him what I want him to do so he'd mimic me. Now, when it's time to nurse, he opens his little mouth and sticks his tongue out, just like mommy showed him!

Anyway, I'm starting to feel human again, what a great feeling! The only problems are it's waaaaaaaaaay too hot here and it turns out that Geo's not nursing long enough at each breast to get the hindmilk. And now, when I try to keep him on longer he gets frustrated because the hindmilk won't flow fast enough to satisfy him. But every day we try....

Anyway, hope all is well with you ladies.

[dharmama]

Originally Posted by ~*max*~

I think I remember someone (dharmama?) mentioning using homeopathic chamomile for overly fussy babes. Can anyone tell me the proper dose? I just bought some (12c), but am unsure how to use it. Also, if you have any book recommendations for homeopathy w/children, I'd love to hear them.

TIA! :

Yup...it was me. I gave my guy one dose of chamomilla last week (30C) and it worked very well. I put it in a bottle of water and let him suck on it. Surprisingly he took really well to the bottle (first time I've given him one). Anyway...almost immediately his body softened and he relaxed. Within 4-5 minutes he was sound asleep. And this was after a couple of hours of fussing and crying and wiggling and refusing to nurse.

Max ~ We live nearby, right? (In my exhausted state I can't remember who in our DDC I PM'd with. ) Anyway....FWIW...I work with an incredible homeopath who moved here a couple of years ago. She's pricey but IMO -- VERY worth it.

Laurie and Cheryl....GREAT pictures!

It did take me a minute though in my exhausted state to figure it out - I was like, "Oh my, is that his tummy so big?" - when it was actually your boob!

Me too!

[gnutter]

I can wear a pair of my favorite shorts again
They are the biggest pair-but the are fit for wear in public now!

a scary thing happened last night-I woke up and wyatt was laying beside me eyes open but not moving-his eyes were watery looking and he wasn't making any noise~~ I picked him up and when I did milk came out of his nose and mouth-I think he was choking! I held him on his side the rest of the night and put him on his belly when I got up-it scared me to death!!he is fine though.

on a more cheerful note-I ordered some baby legs and they are so cute on! I am also developing a diaper fixation-I suggest everyone steer clear of the show and tell section of the diapering forum! I am usually not much of a shopper but they have opened my eyes to a whole world of cute diapers! I have been trading books on mama barter for diapers!! And I LOVE my books!
I am so pitiful

We are doing good though-down to two feedings a night so I am sleeping-and he is one snuggly baby loves sleeping with a warm body-doesn't care whos body-he'll snuggle up to the cat! Our cat loves him to since he smells like milk-I have to keep putting him outside so he isn't getting cat hair everywhere since I am allergic.


By the way I love the pictures-I have got to take some nursing pics-I am terrible about not taking pictures!

[JayGee]

Those pictures are wonderful!

Just back from the pediatrician and Kirsten now weighs 10 lbs. 3 oz (up from 7lbs. 14oz. at birth!) She's growing great. The doctor was a little concerned that her jaundice isn't really going away so he drew blood (yes, I cried...) for a bilirubin level and a CBC to figure out while she's still yellow. Hopefully, nothing to be concerned about. They should have the blood test results sometime this afternoon.

[KatSG]

Originally Posted by Marylizah

It turns out George wasn't opening his mouth wide enough-- so she told me to show him what I want him to do so he'd mimic me. Now, when it's time to nurse, he opens his little mouth and sticks his tongue out, just like mommy showed him!

Can you tell more about this? This is an ongoing issue for us, too, and it was with dd1 as well. I know how to tickle her mouth to get her to open wide but sometimes it takes a long time. She will mimic me, though, so I'd love to know your trick!

We're doing well here. Our Iris will be 2 weeks tomorrow. She's still very sleepy and quiet--except when she's hungry--and is very easy. It's the 2 year old that's a handful! But we're all adjusting.

[dshields]

Hey mamas,
Happy one month to George today Marylizah...he and Rosa share the same birthday!

Things are going well here, better everyday. I'm in love with nursing this little bug...yup, let down as I type this! Rosa and I had our first alone outing to Target for my first nursing bra...I've been somehow allowing myself 5 shirt changes a day due to soaking wet tops for the past month. Now I can leave the house without a sweatshirt to cover my puddles!

Can we join the gassy baby club? We've eliminated dairy since day 5, and addressed the foremilk/hm issue and still we battle the gas. Hugs to those dealing with it!

I second everything mentioned already about the above posted pics!

Here's our one month photo...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9862399...n/photostream/

[Marylizah]

Originally Posted by KatSG

Can you tell more about this? This is an ongoing issue for us, too, and it was with dd1 as well. I know how to tickle her mouth to get her to open wide but sometimes it takes a long time. She will mimic me, though, so I'd love to know your trick!

Heh, I look like an idiot when I do it-- I literally say "OOOOOOpen", then I open my mouth exagerratedly wide and stick my tongue out and down and make an "aaaaaaahhhhh" sound. Very silly looking, but he copies me now, even tries to make a little noise! It's hilarious.

dshields: Happy one month birthday to Rosa!!! I can't believe how quickly it goes!

Oooh, time to go say "ooooopen"-- the baby is fussing for his 10pm feeding...

[JayGee]

Good news from the bloodwork . No blood type incompatiblity issues came up, white count was normal, bilirubin was 13. The doctor suggested putting her in a sunny window in just her diaper 2x a day for 15 minutes. He said if that doesn't work to stop bfing for 24 hours (pump and feed formula) and after that her color will return to normal and she can resume breastfeeding. I'm hoping the window thing works though, because a) I'm not sure she'll take a bottle, and b) I don't want to buy formula!