Life with a babe week 11/06

[noteworthy]

Wow! We must all be some busy moms...
Here is what's new with us...Baby J is happily sleeping in 3 hour chunks at night. She is settling in easier and most often falls asleep in the cosleeper in our bed. Then, we transfer to the bassinette later in the night. We are sleeping better too. She is starting to really smile now and it lights up the room like any new baby smile does. School is in full swing and I feel I am getting caught up on assignments from the start of the semester. I can't believe that I am going to graduate in May. Having another baby and being part of this ddc has totally clarified that I want to work in OB... Had my pp check and all is well... we decided to use barrier methods until my cycle resumes. Can't figure out the whole breastfeeding/charting thing. No matter how often I nurse, my cycle always returns by 8 weeks or so.
So, things are going much better here.
I had some PPD... it was really hard for me to admit to it. It just was getting worse and worse and starting to spiral out of control. I was getting resentful toward the baby and the other kids and starting to really withdrawl. Much as I didn't want to, I started an antidepressant and I feel so much better. I feel like I can handle life again and more like my old self. I just wish I had asked for some help sooner.
Baby J will be 6 weeks on Thursday. Where has the time gone? My favorite time of day is bath time. After the other ones are in bed, we hop in the bath and nurse and cuddle... Dh says it is like sitting in a hot tub sipping a daquari for her.. she is so happy and relaxed and so am I. :
Best wishes to everyone for a happy week!

[mum2be]

Elisabeth is now 7.5 weeks old. I am up to 9 foods I can eat now without her reacting! I tried an egg yesterday and that was a baaaad idea...

She was up crying from 3 p.m. until 2 a.m. She doesn't nap. It's so exhausting. If she was up all day and was mostly content, I wouldn't have a problem with it, but she's constantly fussy. She is still nursing about every 1.5 hours, but will go up to 3 hours in between at night.

Does anyone else's baby have to be constantly in motion? Elisabeth has to be bounced AND walked at the same time to be content. IT's the only way she won't fuss.

She LOVES books. When she's in a good mood, I can sit and read to her for a good 20-30 minutes and she loves it! She looks at all the pictures and talks to them.

Oops...gotta go. Baby crying

[blairinargentina]

Isabel is 11 lbs at 11 weeks! Hard to believe how big she is getting. I cleaned out a few of her 0-3 clothes that dont fit anymore She os rolling over from front to back these days... how fun! And smiling and laughing so much.... makes everything better!

We are going through the 12 week growth spurt a little early and it's driving me nuts! She is constantly hungry and really fussy. She has been waking up earlier than normal for her nighttime nursing too, which is draining. Hopefully it will pass soon.

She has turned into a 3-5 day pooper... yep, that's right, she poops about once or twice a week. Great for laundry but by the 4 day or so she is in a baaaaaaad mood. But she isn't constipated so I think it's okay, although sometimes she seems uncomfortable. All these things... no poop, growth spurt, etc are all adding up this week. Can't it be next week yet??? :

[mojumi]

Entering our 6th week and dh is out of town for two weeks. : Genevieve is a great sleeper still, who-hoo. She's mostly content while awake -- she mostly wakes up just to eat, so as long as I'm ready to feed her she's happy. She's starting to really notice her older siblings now, much to their delight. She gained 2 pounds in her first four weeks, yay breastmilk! She smiles and coos all the time, it is so awesome! She looks a lot like her older brother did at the same age, but her temperament is all her own.

We visited the inlaws over the weekend and she fussed a lot while there. I don't know why it is so hard to understand that I don't *need* a "break" from my five week old baby, and trying to 'keep her happy' so I can have this 'break' only makes her and I very cranky! Now taking the older kids to play and giving them some real attention would be a true gift. Siiiiiigggghhhhhhh.

She likes to kick around in the bath, too, but I'm sad to say with the other two kids so interested in her we mostly do baby baths in the kitchen sink, where they can 'help' and I can keep a good grip on things (literally). In the bathtub I'm likely to get one or the other or both older children trying to jump in with us ...

6 week PP check this week, I'm glad to bring the baby to the birthing center for the midwives to see.

[bohemama]

Lainey turned 7 weeks old yesterday. Where has the time gone? I can't believe how fast it's going, I thought it went fast when DD1 was born!

This weekend I stepped on the scale with the little miss and she is up to 11lb now! Yay breastmilk! She's still as smiley as ever! She almost laughed for the first time yesterday morning. The mornings with Elaina are the best. She's always so happy! I love it. DH always tries to let me sleep in and take her, but I can't give her up if she's awake because I don't want to miss those smiles.

We've finally found a way to get Lainey to sleep by herself.....the boppy!!!! I didn't have one until this weekend when someone gave it to me as a gift. It is a magic pillow! It's very nice to be able to do things during the day and give DD1 some attention alone, but I feel guilty for having Lainey by herself. It's ok to put her down for a nap, right!! I don't loose my AP card, do I (totally kidding). She'll also sleep in it for about 5-6 hours at night. WONDERFUL!!! Last night I ended up taking her out of it at 1:30 to feed her even though she was still asleep. My boobs were killing me. Plus I really missed snuggling with her. That's my favorite part of bedtime, snuggling with my little miss.

DD1 and I are both performing in the Nutcracker this year. It's been fun, but challenging to get to rehersals and figure out something to do with Lainey. Usually DH comes with me and holds her for the hour, but this week DH is working so I don't have anyone to hold her. I know I could leave her in the bucket, but I hate those things (for me, it doesn't bother me if other people use them, I just hate lugging those things around) and I've never even taken it out of the car. I'm thinking about putting her in my babyhawk on my back and just not really doing the movements full out. I think she'll just sleep in it. Most of the other women think I'm crazy for wanting her to be held all the time and think I'm spoiling her or making her not want to be in the carseat. Oh well, they also think I should just give her a pacifier instead of comforting her myself!

[dakotamidnight]

Trinity will be 8 weeks on sunday - have no idea of her weight but I'll find out monday at her 2 month checkup.

Everything is going good. My mom swears she said her first words yesterday - Momma & My, but I've yet to hear them. I wouldn't put it past her though, she will have a convo with you in baby talk already.

Trinity is about a once a week poo'r now - which isn't as nice as it sounds. Tonight she blew out, and got poo from head to toe & all over the changing table. I"m buying stock in shout lol.

Does anyone have any tips for the 2 month checkup? I'm mostly worried about how her Dr is going to react when I say we aren't vaxing.

[Mynn]

We're grooving through the second month well. Mat leave ends soon. Cloth diapers working okay. Daycare reluctantly taking cloth diapers for the moment.

She's tipping the scales at 13 pounds. Sneezes a lot. Gets rashy alot. Smiles. Oh the smiles.

[crazyeight]

Ayla is still at 14 #'s at 9 1/2 weeks. Haven't gone to the dr since her 2 wk checkup. no hurry though. i like to just have a good chart of weight and height though. need to get her into DEERS/insurance soon. ugh.

she sleeps pretty well WHEN i get her to sleep. goes berserk at night though. I swear as soon as the sun goes down she is cranky, fussy, and just very unhappy.

she's smiling a little more but you really have to work for it! she guardes them well! she is starting to get the idea of the fact that she can laugh. i get little coos that will lead to laughs.

set up her crib and her own room about a week ago. she seems to really need her own quiet cool space. i was bouncing her from our room to ds's room and the living room depending on heat factor, loudness, or dh sleeping. she tummy sleeps too. doesn't like to be HELD on her back let alone sleep that way. i'm ok with it since every time she wakes up she is arching her back and crying her head off...anyone elses babe wake up in a bad modo??? :
she is starting to "talk". i clearly hear momma and such words out of her mouth. i think she gets stressed alot cause much of her "talking" is whiny and sad.

still SCREAMING in the car. i can hardly go a mile before she starts. drives me nuts cause i am NOT a homebody!! i need/want/like to go out and do at least one thing a day. i hope this stage ends soon....

dh is working 2 jobs from 7 a.m. to midnight mon-friday so i am alone alot. no break in the foreseeable future so i am going to have to make it work but its stressful.

[qjraven8]

felix is 8wks tomorrow, was 11.1lbs as of the 1st of the month, will be weighing him at my breastfeeding support group on monday evening. breastfeeding is going well, its just nice to hang out with other moms and babies and to be able to weigh him on a nice scale
still dealing with thrush, gentian violet didnt work, now both of us are on nystantin ... really really tired of it all. i personally always get plenty of healthy bactiera through drinking keifer and taking acidophillus supplement so i dont know why its being soo stubborn : maybe it has to do with me giving in to my sweet tooth waaaay too much at the end of the preg and beginning of felix's life : now i have a bad habit to break and all kinds of medicine to deal with , i'm so tired of it!
felix is doing quite well though. pretty happy most of the time, smiles and coos a LOT. had a couple shaky days of no sleep after going back to work - night shift - i think he was upset his "cheese" was moved. but we're both getting pretty good amount of sleep now and so is grandma.
speaking of work, i gotta run out the door to work now. already took felix to my mom's which is why i even had both hands to type this. keep meaning to post but not finding the time to do it.


man, we're getting close to the bottom of this screen aren't we?

- jen

[littleteapot]

Xan is five weeks old, and weighs 14+lbs - he's so huge I just can't get over it! I love all his fat. He has so many rolls! Everywhere we go someone comments on how big he is compared to me (I'm five feet and normally very thin). I love being able to say that someone my size had a 9+lb baby! : I have yet to get over the joy of having a UBAC.

He sleeps 3 hours, sometimes a little longer, stretches at night - but only if he's covered in a blanket or swaddled. If he's left "open" he tends to wake up much more often.
He has a fussy period from 10:30pm on the dot until 1-2am. This evening he actually stayed very quiet during it! He was just very "awake" and so long as I was constantly moving around he was quiet and pretty happy. He finally fell asleep about 20 minutes ago (it's 1am now).

He's sooooooo different from my daughter, they aren't even comparable. He's so quiet and agreeable, except in the car! :

Chubby naked boy
x2!

[Mimi37]

Talia turns 3 months tomorrow (though at 3+ wks early I always think of her a little younger than she is by the calendar). She still gets really fussy periods but since 2 months she has stretches of happy squealy smiley periods, so I can cope better. She is SO upset by her own gas/pooping, it's ridiculous. I can't wait til she gets the hang of that. She GULPS air when feeding, so I have to burp her well or she is miserable. And she drools like a faucet, and (perhaps not coincidentally) has gross poo... won't burden you with the details! She now goes every few days and usually is not happy after it's been a while. And we have had some stunning blowouts.

She needs a ton of sleep to be a happier baby, so I work and work to get her to nap, and then 15 minutes later she farts and howls and we start over again... On the up side, she is a really good night sleeper. Usually 5-8 hrs the first stretch, then 3-5 the second stretch, then 1-2 after that and we're up for the day. And she very suddenly in the past two weeks became a dramatically more efficient feeder -- it takes 15-25 minutes now instead of 45-60. It makes it much much easier to go out with her, although I realize now it also means less peaceful quiet time sitting around with tv/magazine/internet while she eats!

We got a Moby wrap the other day and it is great on my tender back so far (the sling and the Bjorn hurt once she hit 12ish lbs). She is 13+ lbs now and 25+ inches!

In the litany of non-terrifying but still upsetting medical issues, first the jaundice, then the reflux (both gone now, thank goodness), now there is some concern she has hip dysplasia. We are getting an ultrasound next week to see for sure. I get really upset when I think about it (she would have to wear this harness thing all the time, I don't even know how the logistics would work, ugh). Anyway, I am hoping the u/s will rule it out rather than in...

It's getting easier anyway. Thank goodness they learn how to smile and squeal. That came right about the time I was ready to throw in the towel!

I'll post a photo on the photo thread later today. She is sooooooooooooooooooo cute, not that I'm biased or anything. :

[littleteapot]

Mimi - I have hip dypslasia, it wasn't an issue until I was 15 and gained a bunch of water weight on a medication, and since then it's been a big problem. :-/ If she does have dysplasia, the more you do for it at a young age, the better.

Also, what were the reflux issues like? I am fairly certain Xan has reflux, although he does not appear to be in pain and is thus far gaining weight very well so I'm not that concerned about treatment at this point (I was born with severe GERD problems and pyloric stenosis - although neither of my children have shown signs of stenosis...).