Week of 7/2, Life w/Babe check in

[~*max*~]

Happy July everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer w/their new babes.

Looking forward to hearing from y'all.

[ecoteat]

Not much to say right now, which looks like is true for the rest of you too!

I feel like we are just noe beginning life WITH a babe. I am able to get back into doing things for me sometimes! I was able to do a lot of good cooking yesterday AND sit down to rat it! We have a busy week ahead of us and the ILs are coming to visit next week, so it's a good thing I'm getting enough sleep now!

Phoebe continues to be wonderful--not much new with her right now, other than I am LOVING her new sleep pattern where I get a 6-hour chunk of sleep most nights followed by another 2 hours or so!

[~*max*~]

Hi ecoteat. I guess we are the only ones for now. Sleep is going well for us now too. We are sometimes getting a four hour stretch of sleep, which has been wonderful. My other kids all woke much more.

We are back to battling thrush again, which is really dragging me down. When I am nursing, whenever my resistance gets low, from stress, lack of sleep, etc. It comes back. It's like it is always there, lurking, waiting... yikes! That's creepy.

[Mamabeakley]

Hi, Max & Ecoteat -

I haven't participated much recently b/c I don't have internet @ home. But I'm back at work now, so I have access again . . .

I work 25 hrs/wk & bring both kids w/me. DS#1 was/is high needs and I've always brought DH or MIL as a caregiver with us. DS#2 (2 months yesterday!) is - thankfully - NOT high needs and so I can pretty much work with him on my lap, etc. But DS#1 still needs company from somebody not trying to get work done!

So far it's going pretty well, I think (this is my 4th day back @ work).

In other news, my cousin (whom I am not very close to) had a baby mid-June. She has a blog for him (also has one for his older brother) and I read it yesterday . . . it was so *sad* to read what she had written: "Mommy stopped making me eat that yucky breastmilk. Formula is yummy!" Acck!

I can't think of anything nice to say to her about that, so I won't say anything at all.

Blessings.

[momatheart]

[QUOTE=Mamabeakley] "Mommy stopped making me eat that yucky breastmilk. Formula is yummy!" Acck!
QUOTE]

She must have had a hard time breastfeeding to think that her babe didn't like breastmilk...it's so sad when those kind of comments are made. How cool that you can bring your DCs to work...or at least work with them nearby. I still have some incomplete classwork that I cannot imagine how I'm ever going to finish.

Max-sorry to hear you're battling the yeasties.

ecoteat-how does your milk supply respond to her sleeping so much? Rosemary occasionally sleeps a five hour stretch and I am dying or discomfort when she does.

Hope everyone else is doing well, I'm off to jump in the shower.

[JuicyPakwan]

subbing

[Sydnee]

Hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th!

It's a sad day here, as our former neighbors lost their baby boy on the 1st. He was born at 27 weeks, and lived 10 days. I had talked to her about 6 weeks ago, and she was having probs with her blood pressure. She ended up delivering at 27 weeks, and I don't know what happened from there. I am just soooo sad, you guys. The wake will be on Wed. Does anyone know of a website, or something that I could buy for them to celebrate his life, like a book, or scrapbook or something???

Alayna is doing great! She has slept through the night 2 nights in a row now!! I am having our babysitter babysit for the first time since I've had Alayna. A little nervous about that, but she takes a bottle great, and goes down at night really easily. Our town has a big to-do for the 4th, tongiht they have live bands outside, and beer gardens. DH said this was my night to relax and have fun, he'll get up tonight with her if she get's up! Woohoo!!

[NYCVeg]

Sydnee...so sorry to hear about your friend's loss.

Our little bun actually slept for NINE hours Saturday night (this was after a horrific day of her fussing and screaming and refusing to sleep even for 15 minutes during the day--so I think she exhausted herself). Last night she gave us six. I'm totally shocked, honestly--I thought she'd be waking every three hours. My breasts seem to do okay with the sleeping because 1) due to her long nights asleep she nurses ALL day long, practically non-stop, so my breasts are just completely emptied by bedtime, and 2) I leak so much that my breasts naturally "relieve" themselves in the middle of the night--it's like they're getting up to pee!

My nipples are still really sore, though, which is so frustrating. We don't know if it's still thrush (we're doing another round of GV, along with the diet, probiotics, Candex, etc.) or vasospasm, or dd's anatomical quirks/strong suck, or just a function of the fact that they've been through an awful lot the last 6 weeks! Nursing is uncomfortable, but not horribly painful or anything, so I guess that's progress.

Dd is so much more responsive now! She smiles (we think) and makes cooing and gah-ing noises and has a lot more quiet alert time. She especially loves listening to daddy read her the NYTimes while he gives her a foot massage. I'm trying to give her more in-arms time during the day, now that I'm a little more rested and less miserable, but sometimes I do still need a break, so I put her in the co-sleeper for some of her naps. : :

[*andiflipping*]

Hi Everyone..

I think I have a baby that just loves the outdoors....

We spent the weekend camping at the inlaws riverlot and Judah was not fussy at all like he usually is and he slept most of the time we were there...Even through the fireworks ...

This weekend ended up being great then. I got some rest and the family got to spend some time with both kids. ...

[Marylizah]

Hi all,

I haven't checked in in a loooong time-- my mom, sister, two aunts and an uncle were visiting so things were pretty crazy for a while. My sister is epileptic and had a grand mal seizure in my living room. It's the first time I'd seen her seize and it was just horrible. It was really traumatic-- she's so beautiful and smart and fun and she has to deal with this. Breaks my heart.

Geo is doing sooooo well, I can't believe how much better things have gotten in the last three weeks. He cries less, sleeps well, eats every four or so hours, gives us tons of smiles and is trying really, really hard to talk! So cute to watch him work on making sounds. I feel so much more normal-- I think I was on the verge of depression a few weeks ago, when breastfeeding hurt so much and he wasn't yet very responsive.

Geo is still a devoted tummy sleeper, though, so we had to figure out a solution that we were both comfortable with. We've ended up moving him to his crib which is in our room, right next to our bed, and we're using an Angelcare monitor (it detects motion, even breathing, so if the babe stops breathing or there is no movement for 15 seconds an alarm goes off). I miss him in our bed, but this was the compromise we both felt comfortable with. He's made the transition quite well and I'm right next to his crib, so it's been fine so far. Last night, though, the alarm went off and I thought my heart had stopped. He was fine, sound asleep and a little surprised at being yanked from the crib. I don't know if he really stopped breathing or what.... But it scared the pants off me.

Other than that, it's been incredibly hot here, so we've been laying low...

Max, so sorry to hear about the thrush!

Andiflipping-- glad you had a great weekend after a rough week.

NYCVeg, wow, nine hours! That's amazing.

Sydnee, for your neighbor. How devastating.

Mamabeakley-- too sad about your cousin's baby and breastfeeding.

ecoteat-- glad things are calm and happy on your end!

Happy fourth of July to all!

[luckylady]

Happy 4th everyone.

Syndee I am sorry for your neighbors loss. How terribly sad.

Wee one is getting on more of a regular schedule - last night went to "bed" at 6:30 and slept through til 1:00 AM! WOOHOO! Then was up for the day at 6:30 so 12 hours! Just like his sister!

We broke down and got him a swing (more for me honestly) and he LOVES it! His sister was a HN baby and wanted NOTHING or NO ONE but me. that was so hard. He is much more easy going.

He ADORES his sister - literally lights up when she pays attention to him! He's trying so hard to laugh out loud and is just so darn happy!

Things here are going well. yay.

[mamacatsbaby]

Hi ladies! DS is certainly keeping mama good and busy! We've been trying some EC and that's been going pretty good. His aweful butt rash is on it's way out of here. Yay! It looks like it was due to chafing mostly on his delicate little skin. Time to try some new folds! I had to get super aggressive with treating it, it was freaking me out! But it didn't seem to bother him too much.

Amy Phoebe's sleeping sounds a lot like Sayon's. Though he does have his "Hi mama, it's 2 in the morning, time to play!!!" moments.

Oh Max, not more thrush! Healing vibes to you mama.

Mamabeakly that's so awesome that you get to bring your little one's to work with you! How sad about your cousin though. I hope she's able to BF successfully if they have more children.

momatheart I hope you find some time to finish your school work. Heh, I get a shower maybe every 2-3 days lately. Sure makes me feel all goddess-like when I do get to work one in lemme tell ya! And to be able to comb my hair too? Oh joy!

Sydnee I'm so sorry about your friend. I can't even imagine. Oh, and have fun tonight!

Amanda 9 hours? Niiiice! You certainly deserve it. It's nice to hear things are getting better. Slowly but surely huh?

I'm glad to see you guys enjoyed your weekend *andflipping*.

Marylizah big hugs to you and your sister. I've seen my sissy seize before and it's very scary. I'm glad to see things are getting better for you guys as well.

Have fun and enjoy the fireworks everyone! Well, if you're in the states.

[mamacatsbaby]

That sounds great Cheryl! I can so picture your DS trying to laugh at his sister. Makes me smile.

[momatheart]

Amanda-yee haw on the sleeping! I see on the TP that you're selling off most of your stash I chuckled when I saw your post there, I remember reading about how much work you did to acquire it.

[NYCVeg]

Originally Posted by momatheart

Amanda-yee haw on the sleeping! I see on the TP that you're selling off most of your stash I chuckled when I saw your post there, I remember reading about how much work you did to acquire it.

I know. We waited a long time to start the NB dipes, both b/c we were overwhelmed and b/c we've had to do SO much laundry due to the thrush, so most of it didn't fit her. But the good news is, I'm using the money from what I sell to get bigger sizes.

Sounds like we've got a lot of good sleepers here!

[ecoteat]

Not much time to post right now, but I'll answer Corina's question about my boobs sleeping for 6+ hours...

For a week or so I was pumping to build up a stash first thing in the morning. For that week, I would wake up with leaking boulders! Since I've moved my pumping sessions to the afternoon, if I go to bed with floppy, empty boobs, I might have a little leaking but no discomfort. I'm amazed at how quickly my body responds to changes in feeding/pumping!

I'll be back later...hopefully the feeding Phoebe is grunting for will be the one that puts her to sleep!

[~*max*~]

Hi all. We just found a little "beach club" to join, which I am very excited about. It is actually on a big pond, there is lots of shade for the babe, bathrooms, a lifeguard, and parking right next to the beach. Although we live near the ocean, there is just no way I can take 4 little ones and feel safe. My MIL has agreed to come w/us once a week to help out and I have found a mother's helper to come w/us the other times. I am also trying to recruit some friends to join. This should really help fill in our summer. I think the kids will love it.

mamabeakley - it sounds like your cousin may be rationalizing a bit about switching to formula. You know, to ease her own guilt perhaps? That's cool about your work w/the kids and that you have family to help. An ideal situation.

Sydnee - I too am so sorry to hear about your neighbor's baby. As far as a gift, maybe a pretty journal and a candle. I was also thinking about a necklace charm, but she may not want something so visable, that people would see & ask about if she didn't want to talk. This touches my heart, bc I went into PTL & was very afraid of losing my baby. Thankfully all turned out well for us.

NYCVeg - I am so glad you are feeling better & BFing is going smoother. A good night's sleep must certainly make a big difference too!

andiflipping - that sounds like a great weekend. My babe seems to like the outdoors a lot too. What did you do about mosquitos? That is always my concern.

Marylizah - that must have been really horrible seeing your sister having a seizure. I hope she is OK now. That has got to be a tough way to live. My first 3 kids were all tummy sleepers. They would NOT sleep on their backs at all. I remember feeling so much better when they were able to lift their heads and roll over.

LuckyLady - your Weston sounds so cute w/his sister! be sure to catch that on video if you have one. It will be so sweet to see in the future. My babe is particularly fond of my 4 year old dd. She always has a big smile for her.

mamacatsbaby - good news about the rash clearing up. Those things can be so worrying.

Happy 4th everyone!!

[*andiflipping*]

Originally Posted by ~*max*~

andiflipping - that sounds like a great weekend. My babe seems to like the outdoors a lot too. What did you do about mosquitos? That is always my concern.

nak

: actually nothing...they didn't seem to be out...


i read on here though that lavendar eo mixed with distilled water will work for young babies

[JayGee]

No energy for personals as I have mastitis :

What a way to spend the 4th. Ugh.

[Vortexing]

Hey all, I'm a bit of a newbie around here, as I've just been lurking occasionally for a couple of months . Scary that it's been that long and I've never gotten around to posting anything.

Well, I wanted to post today b/c, well... I should, since I know very few real life mamas around here, so it'd be nice to have a bit of community even if it's virtual, plus you guys rock. Anyway, DH and I are super new to the whole baby thing, so you all sound so much more experienced and at ease with your new additions. Life for me does not even resemble what it did before (I was doing cancer research in a biomedical engineering lab as a grad student). This is waaaaaay slower than what I'm used to, so I think that's what is making me feel a bit less confident that everything is normal and OK. BUT, I have to admit that I don't miss my old lab work and such, although I have to go back sometime (MAYBE August) to finish my degree!!!

I'm hoping over the next few weeks I can figure out what my new life is going to be like. : Wish me luck!