Life with a babe 11/27

[blairinargentina]

So, how is everyone doing after the holiday? Still sleeping off the turkey? How about the little ones?


Isa seems to have turned a corner with regard to this last month of constant fussiness. Not sure if it's a developmental phase that we are coming out of or if it was the food thing all over again. Regardless, she is more of her "normal" happy self again and we are all breathing a sigh of relief. I did cut out soy though, and I think that has something to do with it.

In general she is so active these days and loves swatting at bright things in front of her face (she LOVES colors now). She wont stay on her tummy for more than 30 seconds before she rolls over... her way of getting out of a situation she dislikes (tummytime)! Guess I cant fault her there!

The holiday was great with travel and what not. She actually slept more in that weekend than she did in the previous month! Overstimulation was a bit of an issue but the sling saved us. Having this trip go well makes us not dread the epic holiday adventure (three states, 6 plane rides : ) coming in a few week!

[crazyeight]

ayla isn't flipping over yet. not even trying!! shes only about two weeks behind you so i hope she starts that soon. hasn't really found her hands either. shes still trying to sit but hasn't gotten any further than when she first started. she had a day of eating alot and a night but that was all. not sure if that was enough for a growth spurt so we'll see.

not much else going on.

[bohemama]

We just finished a very busy weekend with DD1 and I doing 3 performances of the Nutcracker. Lainey was a dream! Thankfully a mother was always willing to hold her while I was on stage.

I also have two little lactavists in the making! We took part in our very first nurse-in at the Delta ticket counter last Tuesday! Both my daughters and I were featured on the 5 and 11 o'clock news! They even showed a shot of me nursing Lainey. Thanks to tivo we've watched it many times LOL.

Lainey is still an amazingly mellow baby! She hardly ever cries and when she does it's because she is ready to nurse to sleep. We watched the lady on Oprah who knows the "secret language of babies" and have been listening for all of the sounds. Lainey only makes the one for hungry or tired. She is very interested in the world around her and we always get comments on how alert and wide eyed she is. She really is just drinking it all in and I love it! Doing the baby thing for a second time is so much easier than it was with Emilee and I thought that was pretty darn easy too! I'm almost positive that we're going to have a wild child with the third because there's no way a baby could be more mellow than little Lainey! Twice in a row she slept for 8 hours, but I don't think I'm ready for her to sleep that long yet hehe. I don't think she was ready to either because the last two nights she's woken up twice to eat. I still like that schedule a bit better than going for 8 hours all night. My boobs were thankful that she woke up again too

I have to admit I'm ready for her to be a little more interactive. She has found her hands and likes to grab anything she can, but I'm ready for her to be around 6 months or so. Not that I don't enjoy the new baby thing because I totally do, I just can't wait for her to play a bit more too. DD1 and DH can't wait either!

[Becken]

Still dealing with sleep issues, here. Well, not "sleep" issues - lack of sleeping! She is such a little sleep fighter! Once she goes down (really, truly down), she's a great sleeper. But getting her there is such a battle, most days.

For instance, today: no more than 2 hours of nap, total, taken in tiny 10-20 minute increments. Typically the kind of sleep she needs is 6-7 hours taken in two large chunks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

I have been just pulling my hair out today!

However, she is getting better and better at finding her hands, smiles at her daddy like crazy when he tries to read books to her (she'd far rather look up at his face; it's too adorable), and her digestion is getting much better.

I have been inches away from eliminating dairy, but my heart tells me that it's not a food issue (although soy still is) and it's more of a personality/age thing. I did buy "lactose free milk" (whatever the heck that is!) just to see what would happen. I am still enjoying cheese and yogurt, though!

Things are definitely getting easier. Even on tough days like today, I have enough perspective now to not have a total breakdown, because I know that tomorrow is another adventure in napping (or not) and "This Too Shall Pass."

We had our first chiropractor appointment today - that was great! She fussed the whole way through while Dh and I were getting adjusted, and had just reached her limit when it was her turn, so she screamed the whole time and I felt so bad for the chiro. But he's got a 3 month old (who was in the office and also having a fussy day!) so luckily he wasn't even phased.

I'm really looking forward to more interactive stages - particularly when she starts getting interested in books. We love books! I want to share them with her! Right now she just kind of stares at things and sucks on her hand. I'm sure the neurons are firing like crazy; they're just not firing very interestingly for my taste!

[mojumi]

Genevieve is doing great. She was 13.5 at her 2 month checkup, so breastmilk continues to rock. She's doing a lot of looking around and getting interested in things other than mommy (briefly). She still has a poopy diaper upwards of 10 times a day - !!! - this is not what I'm used to and I've pretty much given up on the cloth diapers. More laundry is one more thing I can't manage right now ...

Its been kind of hard with dh out of town for work a lot recently. The travel is normal, but it feels harder right now, especially at night since dd1 is a night waker (more than the baby, even) and both older kids wake up before dawn.

I'm feeling a little depressed as I'm not where I had planned to be at this point in my life, but I'm trying to enjoy the extension of our family's baby years as much as possible. I remind myself the good things pass as quickly as the rough, so I need to cherish them! (roly poly baby pudge, goody expressions, coos, loving/needing mommy more than anything on earth, and on and on)

hugs to all our wonderful babies-
Monique

[mum2be]

We're still having a really tough time here

Elisabeth is still VERY fussy and there are days when she screams in pain if I eat anything different. I'm still only eating 7 foods. Everyday. Oh mammas...sometimes I think if I had known exactly how hard this was going to be, I wouldn't have gone through with it. Is that horrible?

I'm just falling apart and I still have one unhappy baby! My body isn't dealing with the hormones from the pregnancy OR PP very well. I have eczema ALL over my hands and my fingernails may even fall completely off because of it. I have acne all over my face I was so clear-skinned before! My body feels like it's going to fall apart because I'm not even getting 1,500 calories a day because of my limited diet. Whenever I try anything new, I have to deal with a screaming baby for hours and hours. My legs feel so weak when I have to walk her around bouncing her (this happens about 90% of EVERYDAY) that I feel like I'll collapse.

I came down with the flu, a horrible head cold, and an ear infection last Friday. It hasn't gotten ANY better. I can't take anything for it, because Elisabeth will react. She even reacts to things like rice pasta or rice milk, but not rice. It's insane! The kiniseologist has tested her 3 times already. I have a list of foods that I can eat, but only have like "1 tablespoon, everyday 3 days." So that doesn't get me very far, and she will still react to some foods that were tested "okay."
So I am super sick, and Elisabeth has been extremely high-needs this week. I have to hold her the entire day practically. She isn't happy with anything else. It's been almost a week and I am not feeling any better. I just need rest and good food!

Sorry for all my complaining. We are just having a really tough time. Dh has depression (he gets it much worse in the winter) and can not provide the support I need right now, so I feel like I just want to break down and cry everyday.

Okay...now let's get to the good news...

Elisabeth is grabbing her toys!! It's so cute! She has a little Tigger stuffed toy and she likes to grab his nose and pull him close to her face. She just started doing this Saturday. So that's good because it keeps her entertained for about 5-10 minutes when she's in a good mood

She's out of most of her 3-6 months clothes (well...the sleepers anyway) because her legs are so long! She's now in 6-9 months sleepers and she's only 11 weeks old! Aaahhhh!

She's also smiling a lot more. She LOVES to stand up. She can support her weight for a good 2 minutes and smiles the hold time. Her head support is excellent. She hardly ever does tummy time because she hates it, but I carry her so much that her neck gets stronger from having to support her head.

We are going to see a gastro-enterologist to see if anything is physically wrong with her digestive system. We are also taking her to see an osteopath to see if that can help with her fussiness.

Sorry this was such a depressing post. It's just been hard...

I hope all you other mamas are having an easier time than we are!

[blairinargentina]

Oh mum2be, hang in there! Sounds like you are really being put through the ringer. Remember that a healthy baby needs a healthy mama... hard to take care of her if you can't take care of yourself, huh?

Sounds like you are still searching for answers though, instead of just throwing in the towel, which is soooooo strong of you. Don't forget that! As far as "if I would have known it would be this hard..." we all have those moments, I know I sure do it! But then it passes and that beautiful baby smiles and we remember why we go through it all.

As far as wondering about your choices as an AP parent... sound like you are incredibly intuitive and connected to your child. That love will come through when you trust your gut on the choices you make, regardless of what labels you use or what your friends have to say.

With the way it sounds, I bet you will get some answers (and solutions!) with the dr. and osteopath visits. Do you have a midwife or herbalist or natropath that might be able to help you with your hormonal imbalance issue? Don't forget to love yourself mama!

[qjraven8]

wish i had more time to post, just so slow at typing with one hand and am usually holding ds who is sleeping right now so i'll post then fit in a quick shower then hopefully get some food in too? ya know how it goes
anyway, felix is such a treat, been very "easy" to deal with so far. the only issue we have (still!!!) is thrush : sooooo tired of it.
he actually rolled from his belly to his back 3x the other night!!! i was so surprised and amazed, had just commented to my friend that was over that i didnt think he probably got "enough" time playing on the floor so had laid him down on his back for a few min and he seemed to get tired of it, so i turned him to his tummy, then looked away as was talking to my guest and when i looked back, found him on his back!!! so i turned him to his belly and he rolled over twice more: ..... course he hasnt done it since and that was on monday, but i was soooo proud of him!
he's also been giggling and such quite a bit, but i'm a little jealous as only his grandma gets the really good giggles out of him, and its usually when i'm about to leave for work or while i'm at work ... makes me sad that i'm missing out, and once again jealous that he doesnt do it for me ... is that bad of me? i've been feeling bad about it! makes me wonder if i'll be there when he takes his first step, or what other big milestones i may miss out on having to work trying not to feel that way, but kinda hard to avoid ....
maybe my shower wil make me feel better

[crazyeight]

ayla isn't rolling over.....i thought she would be by now. shes really good with tummy time and she loves to sit even on her own but she has not found her hands (though she has sucked on them twice just cause so i think shes getting closer). although ds didn't do any of this stuff yet either with her wanting to sit SOOO badly and being SOOO good at tummy time i am/was totally exspecting the "super baby!!"