Life with a babe week of 10/9

[dakotamidnight]

Come one everyone - lets keep the board going!

Check in and let us know how you & your little one are doing!

I'll Start -

Trinity will be a month old on thursday {wow - it went so fast!}, and is up to around 9 lbs now {according to the scale at the grocery }. She's gained 2 lbs since she came home from the hospital She had her 1st real bath today, and managed to roll over for the first time too: I've definately got a water baby on my hands - she just splashed like crazy and laughed in the tub

I'm good - wishing that the babe would learn to latch better {well, not exactly better but stop the latch, then slip off routine she's been doing since birth.} My nipples are getting sore! I'm debating taking her to a LC to see if she has tounge tie, since it looks like she might have a mild case to me {I have tounge tie as well - never clipped since I was FF}

[crazyeight]

Time certainly is flying! I cant believe shes 5 weeks today. Shes getting chunky cheeks and thighs. Has more awake time. Shes starting to smile at us. Shes still a little messed up about her days and nights but the bath routine does seem to be working but its a really long routine so I hope to cut it down in a about a week if everything keeps going. PUmped my first bottle yesterday a while 3 1/2 oz from one side!!

Well shes calling me so have a good day!

[blairinargentina]

Isabel is 7 weeks today and I think about 9 lbs. Wow, she just keeps getting bigger. It's amazing how strong she is getting as well. She tried to stand up and roll over all the time now.

The thrush battle continues though we are trying something new so hopefully it will work. I think she must have a yeast imbalance in her intestines though as she is still super gassy despite all this food elimination stuff. The past two nights she has cried and squirmed and farted for hours before falling asleep. She used to just go to sleep, almost on her own completely, within 15 minutes. Uh. Where did my happy little baby go? The last few weeks have been rough... she just seems uncomfortable. The baby that never cried has become the queen of crankiness : . I know it will get better, I just keep reminding myself of that.

[quinbearzmama]

Arabella is 10 days old today and life couldn't be better. She is a champion nurser and sleeper...and has lots of personality when she is awake. Life with two, especially with a toddler, has been interesting- crazy, but fun. Arabella is pretty much in my Storch sling throughout the day and sleeps/nurses as she likes. So far her big brother thinks she is pretty terrific, however he still doesn't understand why he isn't nursing as much as her

[myhoneyswife]

Hannah is almost 4 weeks old now, and after some initial issues with latching, all she wants is the nipple now! I just stuck her in the sling and she's getting frusturated because she's almost in the nursing position, but there is no nipple in her mouth, lol. We figured out how to nurse in the sling last night, but it's still a little aquward. Not worthy of walking around the store doing, at least, but works for around the house. She's gained almost half a pound in the past week, almost up to 7 lbs.

We are attempting to get her to sleep in her bed (basinette thing right next to ours) at night, but it's been too cold. So, she's been in ours still. Hmm. Our bed is a little crowded and she can't sleep in the middle because hubby is too sound of a sleeper and rolls over on her. She only wakes up about twice a night and seems to understand the difference between night and day.

Her awake times are getting more fun, she really is starting to have a personality and makes all these silly faces when she's awake!

Cara

[mojumi]

Genevieve is 11 days old and doing great! She only lost 2 oz off her birth weight and is nice and pudgy. I'm finding it very strange to have such a restful baby after my two un-sleepers. She'll sleep all night long if I let her (which I don't, I want her to eat!). Last night was our first fussy night, more of what I had experienced with #1, but today she's back to her usual quiet self. It's rough when one child wakes up and wakes up the others and there's those 5 seconds when everyone is crying at once (including me!!), but that doesn't last long.

The older kids are sweet with her. ds asked me when we were going to have *another* baby -- apparently he wants 6 or 7 siblings, lol. dd tells everyone this is 'my little sister ME MINE!"

dh is still home from work, which is great. Today he did need to go in to work for some meetings, though, and I managed driving ds to/from pre-K, meeting a friend for coffee with the two girls, lunch, and getting everyone down for a nap all on my ownsome. Yay! I can do it after all!

MIL came to visit briefly. She did lots of laundry and watched the kids while dh and I went out for a quick meal one evening after everyone was asleep, but I am glad that we had Genevieve all to ourselves for her first week. It's so much easier to have visitors once we're already in our groove.

Sorry about the thrush blairinargentina. Have you tried gentian violet?

[blairinargentina]

Originally Posted by mojumi

Sorry about the thrush blairinargentina. Have you tried gentian violet?

Gentian violet is our last resort I guess. I have had trouble finding it around here, we live in a very small town. At the moment we are trying lots of acidophilus on her tongue (her mouth atleast is still rather asymptomatic) and lots of monistat on my nipples. I have noticed the "getting worse before it gets better" thing yesterday and today so maybe we are rounding the corner.

I feel like things were going so well for about 4 weeks and now it seems like everything is falling apart. : Is it normal to for baby blues to come back? I thought I got over all that after the first few weeks? :

[dvons]

We're doing well too. I fell asleep the other night at 10pm (I'm usually up till midnight) and she didn't wake me until 4:30 am! I was shocked and a little bummed almost because if she keeps doing then my period will return sooner darn-it! She sleeps really well at night and is doing better about having longer awakes and no more little cat naps during the day. DH went back to work this week from paternity leave so I'm learening how to be alone with 3 kids. It isn't that hard unless on the rare ocasion every little person freaks out at once.

Deb

[msnadia]

Isaiah is 8 days old and his sleep patterns are really off. He sleeps during the day and is bright eyed at night. I don't know what to do. I'm thinking about trying to get a night schedule going to get him back on track because this has really been hard. Other than his sleep patterns being off things are going great. He has his 1 week appointment tomorrow so I'm dying to see how much he's gained since he left the hospital because his thighs have gotten chunky and so has his cheeks.

[blissful_maia]

Hooray! I get to join the Life With a Babe threads I've been enviously reading for weeks! Little Maija is two days old (almost 3... at 4:47am )! We are having a great time.

My milk came in last night, so my breasts are HUGE, hard and full of rocks and pretty painful. I'm going to go have a hot bath in a minute to try and get them to leak a bit. She is sooo sweet. She was 9lbs 4oz, but 21 inches, so she's totally chubby. My perineum is a bit sore still, had a tiny tear that I chose not to get stitched and it stings.

Maija is a bit wakeful at night, but not crying or upset so we jst sit and stare into eachother's eyes and she tries to talk to me.

I wonder if/when the baby bliss will wear off. Probably next week when I have to go back to school (I'm a student midwife) and take care of all the home stuff too. : The thought of it makes me dizzy!

[_betsy_]

Baby is 4 weeks old today!

We're doing well. I had to resort to a nipple shield 2 weeks ago (It was that or give up BFing altogether, I was so discouraged and it was so painful). Bbay is weening off that well, but I'm still using it about once a day when I'm really engorged and she just can't seem to latch on.

Baby has dropped a late night feeding already, it seems. Don't want to jinx it, but we nursed at 1 a.m. and then not till almost 7 a.m. the last 2 days. I call this a fluke, not a trend, but I like being able to sleep alomst 5 hours at a time! It still takes us like 45 minutes or more to nurse both sides, but that's Ok. I have no where else to be!

I've been learning the pump, too. It seems to be going well and I have started a freezer stash. Seems the morning is more productive and easier to fit in a pumping session an hour or so after a feeding.

Anyone else not quite managing a shower everyday? Oops!

[littleteapot]

Xan is a week old yesterday!
For four nights in a row he's only woken up 2-3 times. I'm so confused (and amazed, and not counting my chickens before they hatch!) because my daughter nursed every 20-40 minutes, around the clock. She screamed 6+ hours a day, sometimes in a row... I can actually PASS HIM AROUND while he's sleeping. I am so not used to having a baby like this.

Breastfeeding is going great. He eats like a pig!
Only problem with his constant sleeping at night is that he got a WICKED bum rash. He seems to be sensitive to cotton the way Tempest was. I've put him in a 7th generation at night until it clears up and I can get some non-cotton night appropriate diapers.

[Becken]

Sophia is 18 days old today. I can't believe it's been that long already, and yet the time has been agonizingly slow, too!

Her sleep patterns are erratic, at best. Last night she alternately latched, then ripped off my breast to scream, for about an hour before I gave up and passed her to my husband and mom, put a pillow over my head and slept for 2 hours while they calmed her, bathed her, and waited for her to work up an actual appetite. Thank God for that, because I was about to toss her out the window I was so frustrated.: But after I nursed her at midnight, she slept (on my chest - we both sleep best that way) until 3am, nursed for an HOUR, then slept until about 7. So...all in all not too bad. Just hard to get there!

I'm not sure if the fussiness is "normal" or if it's gassiness due to something I'm eating. I have no idea what on earth I'd eat if I didn't do soy or dairy. Goodness. I've tried to eat fairly blandly (no onions, peppers, etc.) but I've been having a fair amount of cheese and some soy products (soy milk, teeny bit of tvp). If anyone has any advice, I'd appreciate it. I'm having a hard time eating enough as it is; I'm used to eating really flavorful, spicy foods and lots of beans! I'm already back to my pre-preg weight and still losing, which my midwife told me to watch out for. Yeeks.

During the day she just wants to be on my breast constantly. I keep trying her in the sling but she gets pretty fussy. Right now she is the Boppy on my lap, thinking about waking up. Only 2 hours before the fussy period begins. Crossing my fingers this isn't a permanent addition to her schedule. :

[noteworthy]

Originally Posted by blairinargentina

I feel like things were going so well for about 4 weeks and now it seems like everything is falling apart. : Is it normal to for baby blues to come back? I thought I got over all that after the first few weeks? :

My little funk waxes and wanes. Some days are better then others and some days are just lower. I was actually envious of my husband today because he got to go to work! Then I went shopping to get some nonmaternity pants, and of course, you never fit into the size you think you should be.: Oh well, it has been only 2 weeks.

Life with baby J has been great. I have been enjoying this babymoon more than the others. with ds, I didn't know how to "babymoon" and was too concerned with doing things always the right way and being perfect. With #2, dd, we were so stressed. We were moving into a new house, my MIL was dying right before our eyes and we were in the thick of it all. This time though, it has been great! I have held her all day and all night and I don't even mind waking up to nurse. Most of all, I am glad that at 37 weeks I changed my mind about getting a tubal ligation after she was born. I am not convinced that we are done having kids. I can't imagine having another one, but I am not willing to close that door just yet. I couldn't imagine having 3, and now I can't imagine living a day without them.:

I heard this sweet Irish song in the hospital on a CD that I borrowed and it goes "you are my delight and my comfort at night and I'll wrap you up tight in my arms." That is my sweet baby J. She is 2 weeks old (in about 11 hours) and a fabulous nurser. She is back to her birth weight + some. We will find out at our appt tomorrow.
She had some discharge in one eye a few days after coming home from the hospital. I thought it was a blocked tear duct; my son had it too, no big deal. Then it turned green and goopy, so I made an appt. for her. Couldn't see the nice guy who delivered her, whom we adore, so we saw this new guy. Very nice, but new in practice, and doesn't know probably that I am about to be done with nursing school. He thought it was Gonorrhea. : I tried to explain that is why we declined the antibiotic ointment in the hospital, because we don't have gonorrhea! He was all ready to admit her for IV antibiotics, but got another, more experienced doc to look at it. She thought it was a little staph infection, she more than likely picked up from me. I have issues with staph and excema on my hands. Just because we declined the eye goo does not mean that we are morons. There was no way in h-e-double hockey sticks that he was going to admit her to any hospital. Ugh. So, we got some antibiotic ointment and off we went. Talk about raising the hair on my neck.

I contacted one of my instructors this week to let her know that I will be needing to pump during clinical, and she said that I was only allowed one 30 min break during my 8 hour shift. Excuse me, but paid employees get 30 min break and 2 10 minute breaks. Shouldn't students get the same? up goes the hair on my neck agian.This little issue has since been resolved, but I was really fuming. Guess I am still a bit hot under the collar.

So, I am feeling fine now, just a bit achey and the like. pumping once in the am to stock up for school/work and not liking the idea of going back, but will suck it up and go. Thank goodness it is not full time. Now, there is something to smile about . Loving my Chinese prefolds and whisper wraps. She stays dry! and no rashes. She loves the ring sling and the new one my friend made from fleece is so warm and cozy. We are having snow, so it is fun to snuggle up. Speaking of snuggling up, I am enjoying laying down next to dh without that big belly in the way. Not anxious to take it further, but loving that special intimacy of having us in bed with the new little life we were gifted with.

[mojumi]

I just have to say how proud I am of my littlest nursling who has gained more than a pound over her birthweight! (she's 15 days old today) Go breastmilk, go baby!

[bohemama]

Lainey is a little over 3 weeks old and we're enjoying every minute. I can't believe how much more relaxed I am with her than I was with DD. I'm not even stressed about waking up at night with her. I'm really enjoying nursing Lainey. I think that we have a mild case of thrush and have been treating it with GSE and it seems to be getting better.

Our nicname for Lainey is Marsha-Mellow because she's just so sweet and mellow. Emilee is blossoming into a wonderful big sister and hasn't shown the least bit of jealousy, but I'm still waiting LOL.

I keep waiting for something to go wrong. Life is feeling pretty good right now. I haven't even had any pp blues. The only time I cried was when I had to be admitted in the hospital when Lainey was 2 days old for a bladder infection and the dr insisted that I had retained placenta and should have a D&C asap. But, since I've left that horrible place I have felt so happy and blessed! I can't believe it!

[maciascl]

Originally Posted by blairinargentina

At the moment we are trying lots of acidophilus on her tongue (her mouth atleast is still rather asymptomatic) and lots of monistat on my nipples.

I had thrush alot w/ Gavin & acidophilus didn't work for me. In fact it just made me gassy, you mentioned that shes gassy too right? Anyway what did finally work for us was grapefruit seed extract. Here is a link with more info about GSE & thrush. GL!!!

[crazyeight]

Things are finally settling into somewhat of a routine. When ayla goes to bed "good" (i.e. when the routine puts her to sleep not use bouncing her around) she only wakes up at 3 or 4 a.m. and 6 or 7 a.m. I can't believe the change that her going to bed WITHOUT alot of help from me makes. I am finding that the bath, then a little bit of face time on the floor just to let her calm down and then a long (30-45 min) nursing session while swaddled puts her to sleep quite nicely.

I am seeing my ds blossom into a great older brother too! He actually "held" ayla and wanted to keep holding her! When she cries and shes in her vibrater chair he will touch her head and then go off to whatever he was doing, today i was holding her and trying to do something else and she fussed and he put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, he tries to help me swaddle her (and tries to swaddle himself ). He still gets upset when he wants attention or hasn't had much during the day. But i do the best i can.

Shes FINALY taking a paci though not for long. She just comfort sucks real quick and then spits it out but gets upset again quickly and easily cause she doesn't have that comfort : Had her first bottle and drank about 2 - 2 1/2 oz (i pumped 3.5!!! from one side). Not screaming in the carseat (thank god for small miracles!!) Over all getting much better in that i am not nearly so stressed or strung out!