Post your Baby Updates!

[ATruck]

So many of us have our babies with us now, and I'm really curious about how everyone is doing. I thought I would start this thread in the hopes that some of you would feel like giving updates.

Ingrid is doing really well. She will be 6 weeks old on Sunday (her due date). She last weighed in at 8 lbs, 1 oz, at 4 weeks. She is probably somewhere in the range of 9+ pounds now. She seems suddenly very long, and maybe she is- I'm 5'9" and DH is 6'3".

She doesn't really cry that much, but she is so noisy. It's hard to sleep with her at times, b/c she is rarely quiet. She grunts and squeals and moans in her sleep. Some days she seems to sleep the whole day away and other days she is wide awake for 4-5 hour stretches. She sleeps 2-3 hours (sometimes 4) at night, but she usually goes back to sleep pretty easily after a diaper change and nursing. I'm getting 8 hours of sleep, just all broken up.

We are cloth diapering, which is great, but I worry that I don't change her enough. If she is awake, I change her about every hour, but I don't usually wake her if she is out cold. I have never found her dry, and usually her diaper is wet and soiled. I've been struggling to find a diaper solution that keeps her more dry. I've ordered a bunch of inserts. At night, I've been using 2 prefolds. The laundry side of CDing is such a non-hassle. I think we will only use disposables for certain kinds of travel.

We hold her a lot, most of the day. She spends some time in the sling (pouch) every day, but usually just when we are out. She doesn't like being in it if I'm not moving around consistently, so I am not able to have her in it while doing chores around the house. I will keep trying in case she changes her mind. She falls asleep as soon as I put her in it.

It's sort of strange being a stay at home mom. I have a few friends with babies, but they work. My DH works from home, which is nice b/c he gets to see her off and on all day.

I stare at her and cuddle her a lot. I'm amazed at how much I love her and want to protect her. It makes me happy to think that all of you ladies probably feel exactly the same way about your little ones.

[MPsSweetie]

Well, lets see, Asheby will be 4 weeks old on Saturday. I haven't had him weighed in a week but he was 8 lbs 12 oz last Wed., and had gained 12 oz in 9 days. He seems a LOT bigger to me so I wouldn't be surprised if he gained another lb since then. His umbilical cord stump still hasn't fallen off and looks far from it, so after the holidays I will take him in to the dr. if its still stuck. He has had a cold and horrible congestion since the day we came home from the hospital but we are getting through it.
He is also a really loud sleeper, but I am getting used to it. He grunts constantly and makes elephant noises, lol. He nurses at least every 2 hours during the day, but occasionally stretches it to 3 hours at night. He usually falls back asleep right away at night, unless he is super stuffy then we have some drama. I go to bed with him at about 9 and don't get up until after 8 so I think I usually get enough rest.
I am so in love with him its just crazy. He is such a mamas boy and I LOVE it!

[Naughty Dingo]

Athena is doing great.

She has gained almost a pound over her birth weight at 2 1/2 weeks. She is now 10 lbs 9 ounces and has grown an inch and a half! I was getting kind of confused, thinking all my little onesies had shrunk and were almost no longer snapping up at the bottom when in actuality it was my big baby that had grown so much. I made a ton of baby clothes for her and have been dressing her in them like mad since they won't fit for long LOL

She is a great nurser, cluster feeds in the evenings and goes about 3.5 to 4 hours in between nursing at night. I sleep with her in my arms and it is the best thing ever to hear her breathing into my ear at night. My nipples are getting better, I have skin on both of them now though they still are painful. My nipples usually hurt even after they heal until about 6 weeks and I suspect it is a hormonal thing. She's also done some days of nursing that seem just like the nursing in growth spurts. Seeing how much she has grown makes it all make sense to me now.

She's a happy, mellow baby, I can put her down and she just looks around at stuff as I shower or do some work. She is fawned over/persistently pestered/ paid attention to by her sisters and they seem to captivate her attention. She doesn't really cry, likes all the slings and carriers I have tried so far and is in general a model citizen.

I am so glad for Athena's happy temperment as I am finding that going from 2 kids to 3 is much harder for me than from going from 1 to 2. My older girls are really needy right now and have been behaving in more challenging than normal ways (as is totally normal and healthy). But I am finding it very hard and stressful to make sure that everyone's needs are being adequately met. I sent Mr. D back to work early because he got really stressed out and cranky at the older girls and was dealing with them in a very non-GD sort of way and that was a bad scene. That really hurt my heart He is back at work and things are settling down thank goodness. I can't imagine what I would be going through right now if Athena was a high needs baby : : Thank goodness for her as she is.

I am feeling pretty disconnected to my normal life and need to figure out how to get things back to normal. I don't feel like I am depressed yet but feel like I am heading in that direction. Trying to keep things healthy and have started back to doing some gentle yoga and will start running again in the new year. I am looking forward to it so much. When I first weighed myself I was 50 pounds more than my normal weight but now I am only 45 lbs over : which in my brain is soooo much better LOL. I am wearing the same old yoga pants day in and day out but hopefully next week will be able to get out to the Kohls and pick up a couple more fitted outfits so I can feel a bit more put-together and better about my overall appearance.

I had a perineal tear that didn't heal well and that kind of distresses me. There is nothing that can be done for it now. If I want to get it repaired I would have to get the edges of the now healed tear re-cut and resutured. Which is something I can't really imagine at this point. I have had 3 MW appointments that have been cancelled in the past week as my MW has had several births and I feel like I really need to connect to her but that this isn't going to happen any time soon. So that kind of bums me out too.

OK that was all about me. Sorry. But little Athena is just awesome and such a joy. I finally got to have a babymoon and it was one of the best times ever in my life. Ah sweet babies.

I still haven't given Athena a bath. She still has her original wonderful baby scent and I fear that once I bathe her it will be gone. I figure as long as she doesn't start smelling like a rodent we should be OK without the bath for a little while longer

Take care ND

[amyandelle]

Meadow will be 3 weeks on Saturday. She currently weighs 8 pounds 12 ounces and is at 21 inchs (I think they measred her wrong in the hospital) She is very sweet and does not cry very much. She likes to snuggle and sleeps best when I am holding her or when I bring her into our bed in the morning for a few hours.

Well, things have been rough going around here. First, 2 days after coming home home from the hospital Elle got a terrible cold, then I got the cold and now Meadow has the cold Elle was sick for 14 days, I am better, and Meadow is now on day 10. She is congested and is coughing a lot. We have been to the ped more in the past 2 weeks between Elle and Meadow than I would like to go for the entire year!!

Anyway, Meadow seems to be doing better because she is having a lot more awake time for the past 2 days!! She was up for 5 1/2 hours the other night!! She is starting to look around a lot and I think she is ready for a playmat of some sort so I know what Santa is bringing Meadow this Christmas Now I just need to find a way to escape to Toys R Us before Sunday!!

My biggest concern right now is making sure that Elle does not feel left out. I have been short and crabby with her at times because I am so stressed about Meadow being sick and I hate myself for being that way towards her. She is 2 and I know that she is just being a normal 2 year old but when you are tired and stressed and you have a little person following you around all day asking you why this and why that all day long and when you tell her "no"and she does not listen or when you ask her over and over again not to hold her sisters head so tight and she just blatently ignores you, you just feel like you are going to lose your mind!! KWIM?

Amy

[my_baby_love]

This is a good idea! I was wondering how everyone else was doing, although I have seen a few people's posts over on the "Life with a Babe" forum .

Landon will be 5 weeks old on Sunday. I keep wondering where those 5 weeks went! He is a mellow baby, as long as he is being held. He rarely cries and I get comments from people all the time about how laid back he is.

He greatly dislikes being put down for longer than about 5 minutes unless he is in his vibrating chair, which for some reason he loves and prefers over me or DH sometimes . At least that chair allows me to shower every day .

He has about three long stretches during the day and evening where he is awake and alert. He loves to look at lights and be walked around the house so he can check out everything. Every evening for about an hour and a half he spends time with DH in the rocking chair, and they both seem to really enjoy that time together.

At night he has been sleeping for about 3-4 hours at a stretch, and usually goes right back to sleep after being changed and nursing. In the mornings, he has a huge, elaborate routine he uses to wake himself up completely. It involves a lot of groaning, stretching, and general noise-making. If you interrupt the wake-up routine before it is finished, you get a crabby baby . It cracks me up, and I even video taped it yesterday in case he stops doing it at some point.

Overall, things are going really, really well. Some days I just sit and stare at him most of the day, but I justify it by telling myself he will only be this little once. He is a great baby, and I love being a mommy!

[my_baby_love]

Originally Posted by ATruck

We are cloth diapering, which is great, but I worry that I don't change her enough. If she is awake, I change her about every hour, but I don't usually wake her if she is out cold. I have never found her dry, and usually her diaper is wet and soiled. I've been struggling to find a diaper solution that keeps her more dry.

I have this same problem! Landon is always at least wet when I change him (every hour or two) and usually his diaper is completely soaked! I also don't usually wake him from a dead sleep to change him, but I usually don't let him go longer than 3 hours without a change. I think only once have I gone to change him in the middle of the night and found a dry diaper. I am looking for a solution as well, because I feel really bad when I find him so wet, especially when it's only been an hour!

[KrystalC]

Liam is too small to fit in the cloth diapers we have, so we're using sposies for the time being. I'd hate for them to fall off his butt!!! We've already had a couple of exploding diaper incidents, so I just can't imagine what it'd be like with an ill-fitting diaper! I've found it extremely funny when he has a BM. It almost always happens while he's nursing. He wrinkles his forehead, lifts his little legs, farts, and then I hear it squirt into the diaper. Maybe I'm crazy... but I find it hysterically funny.

I'm a little concerned about sleeping arrangements right now. He doesn't like to be placed in his bassinet for more than 20 minutes. I was previously afraid of co-sleeping because I am usually a fairly heavy sleeper, but I wake up everytime he moves or makes a sound, so that's not a concern anymore. BUT my husband can sleep through his cries with ease, so I don't think co-sleeping would be the wisest decision. Right now he likes to sleep on mommy's chest. I haven't slept in my bed since we came home from the hospital. I need to figure out how to get him to sleep peacefully in his bassinet, but I have another 3 weeks or so to work on that. I'm hoping to find a good solution - and I'm all ears if any of you have any suggestions.

He has nursed well since the day he was born, so I'm fortunate in that regard. He does get a little fussy from time to time while he's trying to latch on, but I'm patient and gently guide him until he latches. I seem to have more milk than he can possibly consume so I've been pumping quite a bit just to relieve the pressure. I just rented my pump on Tuesday and I've already pumped 21 oz... and Liam nurses every 2-3 hours like clockwork. He has a hard time emptying one breast at a feeding, but he's having lots of dirty and wet diapers, so I'm pretty sure he's getting enough to eat.

He gets a bit gassy late at night, and we're giving him Mylicon drops after each feeding to help reduce it. I seem to have an overactive letdown, so I think he's gulping a lot of air. Milk just gushes out of his mouth because he can't swallow it fast enough. Poor baby!!

Overall, he's a wonderful baby and an absolute joy!! I can spend hours just looking at him and stroking his fuzzy little head. My husband and I have been waiting over four years for our little miracle and sometimes I can't believe that my dream of motherhood has finally come true. I can't imagine life without my beautiful baby boy.

[Twilight]

This is a good idea

First of all Zoe is a wonderful, beautiful baby... snuggling with her is amazing. The baby smell just takes me to a better place every time I nuzzle her little head. She is very alert and likes to stare at faces, and maybe I'm kidding myself but I swear she smiles at us from time to time

Krystal, we went through the same thing with sleeping arrangements. So far we tried a snuggle nest in bed with us, and then the bassinet.. .and then we noticed she was napping beautifully in her swing, so we brought the swing up to our room, and well.. .now the swing is her bed. : She is sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at night. Around 9:30pm I try to tank her up really well on one looong feeding, we swaddle her and put a little hat on her and then it's lights-off and into the swing. And she's out for a very long time. I had a vision of enjoying co-sleeping but hey... whatever helps us survive right now is that it's all about.

She hasn't been weighed since a week ago, so who knows how much she weighs now. She seems to be getting good and fat though, and she's awake and alert for a good part of the day. She has some fussy times. I wonder if it's that 3-week growth spurt. I have been feeding her nonstop the past two days.

The CD'ing is going fine but wow I had totally forgotten how many diapers a newborn goes through. We aren't keeping up with laundry and end up turning to disposables more often than I'd like!!!

I also had extremely sore nipples, so bad that I did not feed Zoe on the left side for almost two days... I pumped and bottlefed that side. It's not how I wanted to introduce bottles but I couldn't take the pain anymore. It did give the nipple a chance to heal... now at least we can nurse again and thank goodness she transitioned from bottle to breast pretty easily.


Amy, our DD1 is a little over 3 years old and I totally feel what you are going through. She has been so challenging.... just openly defiant for what seems like no good reason, throwing HUGE monster tantrums, throwing things, hitting people. It's so unlike her, and I know all the change in her life is to blame, but I have no idea how to handle it. I'm muddling through as best as I can, which means DH and I have both said some things we regret. I'm trying not to be too hard on DD1 or myself... it's a huge adjustment and a difficult age for her besides.

And ND I identify with feeling out of sorts. I have always been a WAHM and doing this SAHM thing, even for this brief time, takes a LOT of getting used to. Today DH was out all morning and I was a wreck by the time I saw him at lunch. I can't figure out how to manage a preschooler and a newborn. The preschooler scattered toys all over the house and dumped a bottle of shampoo on her head. At least the shampoo was easy to wash out... but I just feel like a mess trying to mother these two kids. I don't know how to do it. I am really uncomfortable and feel like I"m doing a horrible job. I have so little time for myself. I can't even keep up with the housework, forget about getting ahead. I wish I could take a long shower without worry. I hope once I find my rhythm that it gets easier. Maybe we need to get out of the house in the morning. So I'm with you on feeling disconnected. Hang in there.

[theboysmama]

oh what a great idea!

Cyrus is doing really well. He is 2 wks 5 days. at birth he was 7lbs 14oz a day later he was 7lbs 6oz at 1 wk he was 8lbs and at 2 wks he was 8lbs 10oz so not sure how much he weighs now but seems to be growing. He has a mellow personality (which we deserve as ds2 was/is extremely high needs), he lets me put him down for short periods. not that i need to w/ the girls picking him up every second. they love changing his diaper and think that it is such a special treat. The boys show him off and are so proud of him. They are definately requiring more attention right now. Tandem nursing is going well right now. ds2 is nursing about 6 x a day and i am only turning him down a little. When i was tandem nursing ds1 and ds2 ds1 was nursing every moment. i counted once and it was over 50!!! Luckily that is not the case this time. i am not nursing them at the same time very often as i can't get comfortable. So that is different for me as well. I am learning that no matter how much i think i know i really don't know squat. Nursing is going well but cyrus has a little mouth and his latch just doesn't feel right. no pain or soreness, it just feels diff.. My right boob is 2x the size of my lft and it is leaking. I never leak. this just started last night. it constantly feels full. i will have to ask LLL if it doesn't regulate soon.
Done bleeding which is grat bcs i can't stand underwear. Don't think i will ever fit in clothes ever again. Pants i have used previously for postpartum don't fit. just wearing sweats. i had the baby blues for a little while but that seems to be clearing up. Being able to process my birth and write the birth story was really helpful.
Adjusting to 3/5 (depending on if i have the girls) has been easier then I thought it would be. When I have the girls they are extremely helpful. It is a lot harder w/ just the 3 little ones but manageable and fun.
I am having a hard time bcs dh sais he is done and I know that i am not so I know we will have a heated discussion in the distant future and i am not really looking forward to it.
we have had colds here. I think ds 2 has the croupe, dh and I both have sore throats, and cyrus is snotty and sneezy and coughy but seems to be working his way through it. We are not sleeping well so I think that has contributed to lower immune systems.
For the most part all is well and I am just really enjoying my little man. I can't believe he is finally here and he is safe and soo soo perfect.

[riversong]

It's great to read all the updates.

Carter is doing well. He turns 4 weeks tomorrow. We brought him to the ped. for the first time today. He weighed 10lbs, 10oz. And had grown 1.5 inches since birth.

He nurses a lot, but seems to swallow a lot of air and needs to burp every time he feeds, often in the middle of the feeding also. This is really draining at night because I can't just go back to sleep while nursing.

He is so sweet and cuddly and will fall asleep on us during the day and at night. He often sleeps on my chest or dh's at night. Oh, and he likes the car! It actually calms him down and puts him to sleep. Dd would scream in the car as an infant, so this is wonderful to me.

Dd is in love with him. She kisses and sings to him and loves to watch his diaper changes. She also likes to tell us that his name is Andrew. This is the name she decided she wants for him. Though she loves him, she is definitely missing being the center of attention. I feel sorry for her because she really wants me to hold her and play with her more often and I'm always telling her that I need to nurse or change or get Carter to sleep. She is a little more defiant lately, but I can't blame her. Like others have said, dh and I need to learn how to deal with her better. We are tired and often resort to bribing her or threatening her with stuff like no dessert or no movie, etc. She is currently obsessed with watching home movies of herself and the family.

I sometimes feel like I can't possibly take care of two kids by myself. I've had help from dh or other family since Carter was born. I'm dreading January when everyone leaves or goes back to work. It's got to get easier, though.

Anyway, we're feeling good despite lack of sleep and all and feeling very blessed.

[MotherWhimsey]

Well we're doing pretty good. Linden is one week old today, so I don't know how much you can tell about the personality yet. He is a lot different than my dd. He's pretty laid back, rarely ever cries, and is held constantly by someone. I've been living at my moms house, and now that dh is finished with school for the semester, he's here too. So I have lots of helpers.

Linden has conginital Laryngomalacia, which is pretty darn benign. It means that he has a deformed larynx and so he breathes really loudly and squeaks a whole lot. It's usually not damaging in any way and he should grow out of it by about 2-5 years. But it was a bit nerve wrecking to get used to. It really has affected breastfeeding though. He can't cordinate suck swallow and squeak. So he just chooses breathing instead of eating. So there are lots of positions we can't nurse in. So we've gotten creative with that, and he's gained half a pound. It's just really hard at night, cause he can't nurse in any kind of laying down or reclining position, so I have to get out of bed and walk and nurse him. He also chokes and aspirates a bit. He'll cough and stop breathing for a few seconds, then start gasping and squeaking. That is really nerve wracking, but he's never had a blue spell, just a bit of choking. So only the future knows what will happen with this. Hopefully he won't have any of the complications that can come with it.

I'm doing well, but like lots of you others, learning how to balance the needs of a new born and a two and a half year old is kind of hard. I find myself having a lot less patience with dd. She's doing really great though, just a little extra whiney and sensative.

My tear is healing, but I wish I didn't have a tear at all. I'm not good at keeping my legs together (okay, that sounded wrong, but I really like sitting cross legged). But this tear was nothing compared to when I had dd. This one was second degree, but small... with dd I had a third degree all the way up to but not through the rectal wall. So comparatively speaking, it's nothing. But I'm tired of wearing pads.

Aside from all that I can't think of anything else. Except maybe that I need remedial boy diapering 101. Somehow my kid pees out his diaper leg holes. Oh and the other day I turned around to get a diaper and he had already peed on me and the first clean diaper, so I thought I was safe, so that thing was uncovered... he peed on his own face. I felt so bad, I didn't know that little boys have an infinite supply of pee so that they never miss an oppertunity to pee on something cool. He wasn't exactly thrilled himself, but I felt really bad about it. Oh well, there's a learning curve right?

[evenstarlight]

I've been wanting to post on here for ages!!!
Iona Grace is 12 days old today.
On Day 5 she developed a horrid nasty infection around her chord (what we get from being in a hospital) and the midwife recomended she see the GP immediately. The GP put her on antibiotics and I cringed at the though as I am really not into them, but at that stage with me being clueless as to what else to do, and the infection looking really scary and nasty, we put her on them....suddenly my little baby went to being very colicy, very gassy, and simply not settling unless I was nursing her. I thought I was going to go mad. Her infection did clear up though mostly and I rang the dr. and told him about her reaction and he said it was fine to take her off them. Anyway....I think she's still getting them out of her system.

She weighed 8.lbsh 6oz at birth and by day 8 was back to her birth weight...so i suppose that means feeding is going well.
She likes to feed for a loooooooooong time.
At night the last three nights I've co-slept and it's been easier, but i must admit, I would like her to sleep in the little co-sleeper next to us...i just feel it would help me relax more....but who knows...
However in the daytime she doesn't go down until like...mid afternoon! like she'll doze off while feeding...and kind of suckle/feed/sleep on me....but she simply won't go down for a nap until like mid afternoon and that is with a lot of persuasion. Is that normal??? She then can sleep for like...3-4 hours and then be up until nightime when we go to bed. When we've co-slept i'd say she's slept through except for waking up a few times to latch on and once for a change.....
Anyway..i'm a clueless first time mom.

I'm enjoying her though...very nervous about leaving her for any amount of time..my mom keeps sending me out for walks and I find that really hard.
My mom's been here which is a blessing but I think i'm ready to just have it be the three of us for awhile.

[Cathi]

Great thread!

Devan is doing pretty well for a 3 week old little guy, he's a really mild baby like my son Shea was/is so for that I am really grateful. At first he slept a TON, like I'm talking 22 hours a day. I had to start waking him to feed him more which went against my instinct but has really helped him. He is the tiniest of ,my 3 babies so maybe I worry too much about his weight. He's started feeding a lot better now. Sadly he has baby acne really bad and has for about a week. I know it's normal, but it just looks so sad!

Our biggest challenge is how do I cook, clean, take care of the other two with Devan in the sling. He fusses if I put him down now and I feel like my house is falling apart!

I'm with the others too who are CDing and whose babe is always wet/poopy. We're still using the Kissaluvs but I swear he's ALWAYS wet day and night. His poor bum!

Looking forward to a quiet Christmas here at home snuggling our new babe.

[3babiesin2years]

Vivian is 10 days old. She was 10lbs 14.4oz at birth and when we went to the ped on Thursday, she was 10.7. I think nursing is going well. Even though this is my 5th baby, I still don't have nursing down. I do feel like it's better this time than ever before. But she is just nursing a lot and I am getting pretty sore.

She is a very mild mannered baby but I think she has a dairy allergy. She is very gassy and we have had nights where she was up every hour. That is very hard for me with three other little kids. My hubby is still home so that is helpful.

I am very emotional and depressed. And I hate it!! At first everything was great. Then after about 4 days I took a nose dive. And I don't know what to do to recoop. This is not new but it is hard at the holidays.

I am cding yet. I plan too when I get my head above water. We have two others in diapers. They have been in sposies too for about the last month. I was on bedrest and hubby couldn't handle the laundry. So we are filling up the landfills for a few more weeks.

We have also had a virus/cold thing going on. LOTS of fun when you are post pardum bleeding. But I think we are getting over it and I don't think Vivian has it.

[Harmony96]

Lydia is doing OK. Yesterday she turned 3 weeks old. She is a little congested, when she was a week old she and I both caught a little cold. She breathes fine through her nose though (no congested noise when she is nursing) and otherwise seems healthy, so I'm not worried about it. She is having some breakouts but I'm just letting her grow out of them.

So far she hates baths. I need to give her another bath today (or at least wash down her hair a little) because she spits up pretty regularly and it sometimes gets in her hair. We are still in the sponge bath only phase b/c she still has her umbillical stump hanging on by a thread. I think for her "bath" today I'll just use warm water and no soap. The skin on her ankles and wrists is peeling again so I don't want to dry it out further w/ soap.

At her appointment 9 days ago she was 7 lbs 7 oz, and I think she is still under 8 lbs. We are using disposable dipes for now b/c I didn't realize she would be too little for the cloth diapers I bought before she was born. I ran out of the NB size yesterday and had some size 1's... they are still huge on her. For our next baby maybe I'll order some of the extra small cloth dipes... I just thought that my baby would grow faster and/or be bigger than she is.

I posted over in Birth and Beyond about not feeling bonded yet to Lydia. I still don't... but like others over there told me, it's a process. I really do feel myself growing closer to her day by day, but it's so slow still. I would do anything for her but it still hasn't "sunk in" that she's mine to keep.

From day 1 she has had great muscle tone. When I change her or put new clothes on her or try to get the carseat straps around her, she is SO strong and her arms/legs won't go where I want them to. She also likes to stretch a lot. Whenever she is half awake and I'm picking her up to feed her, she will streeeetttttch like she's been sleeping for years.

We're not co-sleeping yet. She does nap on me or on DH sometimes but we are awake. I did try to nap w/ her in the bed one day but I like to burrow under the covers and then she kept trying to inch REALLY close to me and get under my pillow, and I got too nervous. She seems to do well in her crib though and sometimes can put herself to sleep (definitely NO crying it out here... she just peacefully falls asleep on her own).

She LOVES the sling... so long as it's moving. If I stop and she notices, she wakes up and gets mad. Tomorrow we will go to visit my family and they'll get to meet Lydia for the first time. She is my parents' fourth grandchild but first granddaughter and everyone is excited.

Breastfeeding is going well. She has the appropriate poops and pees. She already likes to "play" at dinnertime, though. I know she's hungry and I'll try to latch her on, but she will just sit there w/ the boob in her mouth and not suck or anything, so I usually have to wait a minute until she REALLY wants it. I am still at the point where I have to hold my boob AND her head to get her latched on and I can't sit there holding everything for very long or it hurts my back. But once she's latched, she's on for the whole feeding and doesn't pop off.

I love being a mom. DH's and my TTC journey started in December of '05 and ended in December of '06. I loved the whole process, from the morning sickness to labor pains. I really can't wait to do it again and give Lydia lots of little siblings.