life with a babe thread

[Astromom]

Would it be ok to start a life with the babe thread in here? (I'm not ready to graduate to the Life With A Babe forum. )

How are you mamas doing? What sort of personality is your babe showing? Are you recovering well?

My sweet little guy is 5 weeks old, and .. oops is waking up right now so I will be back to write more later

[Astromom]

back

DS is doing better. Since the pulmonologist thought it was reflux and aspiration causing the breathing funkiness, I just treated Miles as if he had it. (I decided not to do the barium test on him.) I keep him on his tummy or upright a lot (so gravity will keep the lower esophageal sphincter closed), and he breathes normally a lot now. He still breathes fast and grunts at night when he is on his back asleep. So I guess it sounds like that was in fact the culprit and that's fine -- he'll outgrow it What do you mamas think about letting him sleep on his tummy at night? I'm too paranoid to let him do that because of the whole "back to sleep" campaign thing, but I think it would help him...

He is sure a sweet baby. He smiles at me sometimes! (He's been smiling since day 1 actually, but that was in his sleep!) Nothing like a brand new baby gazing at you smiling to make your heart melt.

[Llyra]

Originally Posted by Astromom

What do you mamas think about letting him sleep on his tummy at night? I'm too paranoid to let him do that because of the whole "back to sleep" campaign thing, but I think it would help him...

I can't say whether it's "ok" or not but I do it. James was really congested his first few weeks before we discovered his dairy allergy, and he couldn't stay asleep any other way. I think it's okay if you're co-sleeping, at least, I wouldn't do it if I had him in another room.

[DecemberSun]

nak
Ivy will be 5 weeks on Monday. WOW, I can't believe my baby is already a month old!
She is such a sweetie. She rarely cries, it is SO nice because my son was a screamer, and my foster DD was drug exposed with sensory issues, so... I guess it was time for me to get a calm baby! She is just content to be held and watch the world go by. She's beginning to realize that if she cries she gets picked up, so she's learning how to get her way and is becomming a little more demanding. The kids just love her, which is great. No sibling jealousy at all (yet), in fact I can't keep them away from her! She's nursing in her new fleece pouch right now. I am SO in love!!!

[lotusdebi]

Alex is 4 weeks old. He's easy, compared to his big brother (spirited since conception). He has been crying a lot for no apparent reason, but we're doing our best to survive. Today he finally woke up for a decent period of time instead of sleeping all day! He loves to cuddle at night, but seems to be more confused about whether he wants to be held or left alone during the day. He sleeps so well at night that I'm not sure how to deal with it! I was sleep-deprived for the first few years of my older son's life because he NEVER slept, and I'm actually getting some sleep with this baby! :
To answer your question, Astromom, I think it's perfectly fine to let a baby sleep on his tummy at night if he can hold up his head well enough to move it to the side if he finds his airway blocked. Bonus if he can actually push himself up with his hands!
Sounds like my older son is flooding another bathroom... Better go check....

[Wild Flowers]

I just have 5 days here, but I have a problem, my baby isn't pooping!!!!
She pooped the first 3 days, then skipped most of day 3 and all day 4. She had one poop this mornig, but it still wasn't the mustard yellow breastmilk poop. I admit this isn't the first oop worry I have had, but I hate that it is happening so soon, and I feel like presure for this little to have poopsince my midwife is waitingfor that bm poop to do the pku test:
Other than that, we are all doing well, she is peeing lots, nursing well and having wakeful periods. So in love with this squirt, just wishing for poop

[jkg]

Cas is 2 weeks old now. I can't believe how fast these 2 weeks have gone by, but at the same time it feels like he has been here forever. We had him weighed last week and he was up to 8 lbs' 12 oz. (8 lbs. 3 oz. at birth). Nursing is going well, but I'm kind of worried about his diaper rash. It's a red, pimply rash that just appeared today. My older son never had one that looked pimply. Cas is a VERY calm baby, I think he and his brother (very spirited) will balance each other out nicely. This was my first week solo, DH went back to work Monday, and it went better than I expected. I'm still mourning my c-section, and I think it will probably take me awhile to process the experience, but at least I have my 2 beautiful boys to cuddle with, and that is making it all easier.

[Yo Becca]

Eli is 1 week old today, and still sleeping 98% of the time - I don't remember DD ever sleeping that much. She came out on 11. He's great, except and irritated belly button (dropped his stump at 3 days) and a clogged duct in his eye. THe eye thing means he's constantly crusty, and I have to wash it out or else it crusts shut. But it's not infected. He's a charmer.

I've been stressed about my own recovery. I birthed at home. It was all lovely except the 2nd degree tear (I had a 3rd degree with Robin). My MW was supposed to come the next day to check on me - but didn't call or come. I left several messages, but just heard from her today, a full week later. She was sincerely apologetic, but it was nonetheless a rough week of feeling totally abandoned and worried about my healing. With DD, I had a long, rough healing process, and it's my biggest worry that this one will drag out forever also. SOme stitches have come loose, and my bleeding had decreased but then increased significantly. I'm doing nightly herbal sitz baths, but a friend thinks the increased bleeding is a sign I'm doing too much. I was engorged on tuesday and wednesday and started running a fever tuesday night. I though it was mastitis, but by wednesday night I was feeling much better. I started running a fever again this afternoon. I think it's b/c I wore a bra today.

I feel bad that I'm not spending as much quality time with DD as she's used to - she misses me. But I'm trying to stay off my feet when I can. DH is home...but working from home, so he's chained to the computer. turns out he only has a few days, so he's taking them in half days and working from home half days. I want to get to feeling mobile and like myself so I can get back to my routine with DD as much as possible. ELi isn't very demanding at all, other than nursing - it's my body holding me back!

[Yo Becca]

Oh, on the tummy sleeping - A lot of moms with reflux babies do this. If you are worried about SIDS, you can buy a movement monitor. It's a monitor that lies flat under the sheet and monitors the movement of the baby breathing. If the baby stops breathing, it sounds an alarm to wake you. My SIL used one for my neice, who tummy slept from birth.

I put her down on her side as soon as she could roll over (she had reflux) and she slept so much better. I've been putting Eli on his side for the past few nights also - but he and I have been co-sleeping b/c he won't stay down in his bassinet. I feel okay about side sleeping now b/c his big cloth diaper holds him firmly in place. When he gets a bit stronger, I don't know. I've started rolling him over on his back once he's fully asleep though...

[Mavournin]

Two weeks tomorrow. I'm feeling very

Monday is my first day alone with all the kids, and right now three feels like a huge number of children. The older two are very loving and shower the baby with kisses and songs but are also acting out in their own ways. I'm not getting nearly enough sleep and I fear I will never be well rested again. Thankfully though, the bleeding has slowed down. I passed a gigantic ball of clot and tissue the other day and now it's managable. I'm still on "anemia watch" though.

I'm really afraid of the PPD coming back. I feel very alone and scared right now.

[Astromom]

nak
Thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts on tummy sleeping -- makes me feel better --

Llyra, how were you able to tell James had a dairy allergy? It must've been hard to take dairy out of your diet (I'm assuming that's what you had to do?)

DecemberSun, that sounds great! We don't seem to have any sibling rivalry here either thank goodness

LotusDebi, that's great that he's a good sleeper! (I hope that bathroom stayed dry : )

Valerie, I don't know what to tell you about the poop problem -- all I could think of is maybe she's not getting enough of the hindmilk??

jkg -- I hope Cas' diaper rash goes away quickly.

Becca, oh my gosh -- that tear sounds so painful. That's horrible that she didn't come check on you, apologetic or not! I just had a first degree, and i declined stitches... at around 1 1/2 weeks the dang tear reopened and my discharge way increased ... I was doing too much and it sounds like the same is true for you too! I wish I had advice on how to heal quicker. But you know, some things just have to be done, family has to be fed, diapers washed, etc. Ah well. I hope you can heal quickly!!!

Mavournin, I hope your first day on your own goes beautifully! For my first days alone I tried to set things up for DD so she could be as self-sustaining as possible. It is so overwhelming to take care of a newborn and just one other dc, so I can imagine that it is tough to take care of 3.

[maranapanda]

nak

2 weeks today for us!

For the sleeping on the belly thing... I have my guy sleep on his belly on my bare chest sometimes at night. I feel like its kinda cheating the system somehow. But we both get some sleep for the 2-3 hours between eating!

My boy's stump fell off at day three also. There was a little bleeding for a few days, but I just started keeping his dipes away from the button like I had been, and the irritation stopped.

For the poster talking about engorgement... My 2.5 year dd self weaned when my milk came in, and left me engorged for about a solid week. which then led to a clogged milk duct... For me this is what helped... I stopped all bras, changed my sopping wet shirt as needed. I would keep cabbage leaves in my tank top, I slept topples on a towel at night. Kellymom.com for helpful pointers. And I took echinacea daily to ward off any infection. I also called a friend who's a LL leader. Honestly she didn't have anything to add to what I read on Kellymom, but it was so healing to my psyche just to "hear" words of encouragement.

And on the PPD front, I am sure this is old news, but they say that a diet rich n omega 3s is supposed to help. I dont know how valid the study is, but its worth a shot right?

As for us...

I was just sitting here thinking how I wasn't ready to move of this ddc page yet, so Thank you for starting this thread.

My big concern...
his breathing. It doesn;t seam right to me. It seems so fast and labored when ever he gets excited or even changes positions. his belly moves so much,and so fast. I showed it to the nurse after he was born. She says as long as it stops, and goes back to normal, then its called intermediate and its ok. Then I showed it to the nurse who did my follow up home visit and she said the same thing. I think I showed it to his pied, but I can't remember. I have a tendency to want to get the heck out of peids offices, and forget to mention things that they might actually be able to help me with. The logical part of me says two different things to me
1. they said it was fine. Then its fine. I am just being paranoid and thats fine and normal too.
or I say this to myself
2. If you are really concerned then take him back to the pediatrician.
but it takes two hours to see the doc.. I need a new one. OK, I am off to the AZ FYTribe page... Thank you again for starting this thread

[maranapanda]

nak

This is just to say thank you to Astromom for starting this page. Also to Astromom for giving me the "open, open open" mantra. Seriously. That one was BIG help in labor.

And While I am here hijacking and thanking... I believe it was Nicole77 back in september posted about how in previous pg she had the ultrasound tech put the sex in a sealed envelope. I totally copied that idea. but I didnt tell my dh. I gave him the envelope as a christmas gift. He was shocked. It rocked, it was completely worth finding the sex of the baby before labor day. (And I looked awesome!!) So a big thank you to Nicole77

Hijacking over, everyone resume your normal activities...

[bemommy]

It's been 2 weeks today. I just can NOT get over how very very different Henry is from Libby. I had never really thought of Libby as a "high needs" baby. . just a baby and a challenging child. But I never thought a baby could be like this. Henry has slept more in the past 2 weeks (even with all the poking and jostling he's received from his sister) than Libby did in her first 2 months. He's so mellow, and quiet and easy to please. My biggest worry with him is that I could put him down and forget where I put him.

I'm healing up fairly well. . the lochia is diminishing (thank goodness) my hemorrhoids are almost entirely gone. I do have to watch myself. . I tend to overdue it in the morning and then hit a wall by mid afternoon. DH goes back to work on Monday and my mom goes back to FL the day before Easter. It'll be a learning experience balancing caring for my 2 little ones and myself.

Henry's cord stump still hasn't fallen off (Libby's took a long time falling off as well). He nurses like a champ. . I've actually got a bit of an oversupply problem and need to watch to make sure he gets enough hindmilk. I'm looking forward to the pooping becoming a little less frequent. Between pee and poop it seems he needs to be constantly changed. Oh and he belches louder than a frat boy. . it's pretty funny this huge sound coming from such a small being.

Libby loves her brother, there is very little jealousy and lots and lots of love and cuddles.

[Llyra]

Originally Posted by Astromom

Llyra, how were you able to tell James had a dairy allergy? It must've been hard to take dairy out of your diet (I'm assuming that's what you had to do?)

Well, it was the supplements that clued us in. He was congested right from the beginning, but we thought it was just a newborn thing and would pass. But then it kept getting worse, and his third week he started refusing to nurse, and I couldn't get any letdown with the pump, so I fed him nasty Similac with a syringe for a day and a half, and the congestion got radically worse, and then we found blood in his poop. So we decided the formula didn't agree with him, stopped it, and the blood went away, but the congestion didn't. So I started thinking "hmmmmm... milk formula, milk" and actually it was my mom who made the call. She said cut out dairy for four days, and see what happens, and sure enough a day and a half after my last piece of cheese, his nose and chest cleared right up, his eyes stopped oozing, and he's been hearty, happy, and nursing well ever since.

And yeah, it BITES having to cut out dairy. I am a total nut for milk and cheese and yogurt, and it's killing me not being able to have them. So many of my favorite dishes have cheese in them, and there's dairy hiding in so many packaged foods. It's a big adjustment.

[jkg]

Llyra--I'm suspecting a dairy allergy with Cas too. His congestion seems to be getting worse each night and I'm wondering if this is the reason for the rash too. Just out of curiosity, did your son get a rash, and if so, what did it look like?

[Wild Flowers]

You know starting to wonder about dairy too. I totally forgot about the congestion. She has some goopy eyes too. Which is what my first dd had, along with constipation, which might be the lack of oop, which by the way, I also do thin is too much foremilk, we are trying to fix that also. I guess I will cut out dairy for two weeks and have a bowl of coldstone ice cream to see if it makes a difference.

Becca, I really hope you feel better soon, it doesn't sound like your recovery has been very easy s

Bemommy, I have to say, though it should be on the other post, Henry is adorable

Jkg, is there anyway it could be yeast? Nevermind, I was going to ask if it was hot whhere you are, I know it isn't. I would do some nakey butt time and if it didn't start to clear up take him in. I hope it does clear up.

Mavourin super s. I am going to be dealing with hree all by myself soon too, my dh will be going back out to sea, it will only be for a short while and I have a good support system, but three by yourself is scary. I hope you are feeling alright. YUou know tha epo can help with ppd, right? I think there is a wealth of info somewhere here on mdc. I hope it goes well for you.

Oh, Gwens cord fell off last night.

[Yo Becca]

JKG - Is it "cas" or "caz", pronunciation-wise? Have you tried any diaper ointments? what's the result? I got kiehl's diaper ointment as a gift with DD, and I must say it works quickly on everything. The only other kind I've used is Burt's Bees - and I don't like it b/c it smells like mentholatum - I imagine it tingles, and RObin never liked it. Eli had some pimply bumps, but they went away really quickly.

Llyra - I'd hate to cut dairy at this point too. But glad you got to the bottom of the problem.

My DH goes back to work next week - he commutes 5 days a week, but is hoping to cut it down to 3 days there/2 days at home. This coming week, the kids and I are going to go stay at my mom's house. If she came here, I think she'd make me crazy - her idea of being helpful is playing with RObin. Really, I need her to do practical stuff while I recover, bond witht he baby and Robin, etc. SO if I go there, she'll be more of a "host" and let me spend some healing time. Hopefully after next week I'll feel recovered enough to be on top of the housework. I'm not looking forward to being home alone for the week stretches.

Mav - I'm worried about PPD also. Lots of tears this week - but then I feel fine at other times. : A lot of the tears have been worrying about healing and recovery - I'm hoping that when I *physically* feel more normal, my emotions will follow. But I'm up for the Omega 3's. I'll try anything...I feel like I can't afford to not be aggressive, home alone so much with 2. I have to be fully functioning.

Eli has one goopy eye - the non-functioning tear duct makes him all crusty

[Mavournin]

Llyra - I actually found cutting out dairy to be initially very difficult, but then suddenly very easy. I also was forced to give up wheat, sugar and soy at the same time too and found that once I got past the first week or two, the cravings disappeared and I was floating I felt so much better. (It was for my personal health reasons not for a baby's.) So give it time. It will get easier.

Also, I got some info for you on the twins club in your county from my friend here in Bordentown. Let me find it again and I'll PM you.

[Mizelenius]

Thanks for starting this thread!

So far, third time is the charm for SLEEP. My other 2 woke up every 1.5-2 hours at night. Normal, but hard. This one wakes up every 3 to SIX hours. (The six hours is rare!) Now, she does take awhile to get to sleep initially . . .most nights she is fussy for a long time. I don't care if she's awake until late and happy, but she stays awake and upset. So, I have been trying to cut out dairy to see if it would help. (I am a veggie so this is a bit tough for me.) I forgot and ate pizza yesterday! :

She is also very congested-- longer than what I would consider normal. I took her to the doc since she was starting to cough (I am paranoid about RSV now) and she was OK . . .and now she is getting a little better, not nearly as congested but it is still there. My middle DD is either sick, too or has allergies (I really hope it's not this).

Anyway, so far so good. I think the hardest part in all of this is having the toddler doing dangerous/tantrum-y things when we go out. If she'd walk and hold my hand or stay in the stroller, I feel like going out with the 3 kids is fairly easy. BUT, that is not the case so we are staying home way too often and we all get bored.

I keep reminding myself that even though the tot age is hard, it is SO DARN CUTE! Look at this face-- who could not smile when they look at her?

http://www.pbase.com/image/76489529