life with a babe thread - Page 3

[jkg]

seeing_stars, sending you fast healing vibes! I'm sorry you've been through so much. Hopefully things will get better soon. What a great thing you did for your little one by pumping so much so early on--that couldn't have been easy!

[lunadoula]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Diaper changes are going better - we just go really slow taking off the diaper and also started doing them on our bed, by the window (she loves to look at the light) instead of the changing pad on our dresser.

I have a moby wrap and it has been helping a lot with getting stuff done and not feeling like an invalid . Dw has a Mei Tai and Edie does like it but she has to be in a pretty chill mood and have a full belly before she'll be happy in it. It's getting better though. It seems like every other day Edie has a nurse-a-thon day but at her one week visit she was already 2 oz above her birth weight, yay! So the milk is doing it's job.

[lotusdebi]

After reading some posts here, I decided to stop drinking milk and eating cheese (though I haven't removed foods containing dairy at this point). After just one day, Alex is not nearly so congested or fussy! Can results be seen so quickly, or is there something else going on?

My older son, Ethan, has been having behavioral issues since before Alex was born. But, now I can't keep after him as well (since I'm often laying down with Alex to get him to sleep, or changing yet another diaper.) I'm upset that I can't give Ethan all of the attention he seems to need right now. Yesterday, within 15 minutes of us coming home from running errands - right after I made lunch for me and Ethan - Ethan decided to drown the tv. He poured water all around the tv stand. The tv seems to be working now that it has dried off (though I'm still telling Ethan that it's broken since his behavior is worse when he watches tv), but the problems with the child remain. He has had such an obsession with water lately, and has flooded the bathrooms a couple of times. We've pretty much decided that he's going to Kindergarten this year, though we'd been planning (for 5 years now) to homeschool. Maybe it'll just be short-term, or maybe homeschooling will never happen. But, I know I can't do it without Ethan's help, and he just isn't cooperating right now (and we're unschooling, so it's not like he has to do more than follow simple safety rules). He does love his little brother, though, so at least that's not an issue... I'm really bummed about giving up on homeschooling. But, I'm trying to look at the bright side - at least now Alex will get much of the one-on-one attention that Ethan enjoyed all those years.
Now, to figure out summer camps, so that Ethan and I get some space from each other this summer...

[Llyra]

i think we've finally reached our first plateau. we had a three day 20 hour a day nursathon and now all of a sudden i guess my supply is finally keeping up with them because forr 2 days now they've been spacing their feedings 2 or 3 hours apart, finishing nursing faster, !!!!!!! and taking real naps instead of catnaps. all of this means that i've actually got a couple hours a day when i'm not breastfeeding somebody !!!!!!!!!! and finally we can get out of the house without both babies shrieking their heads off for food before we're halfway out the door.

i feel human again, instead of like a big milk machine. i know it can't last, not with them growing so fast, but i'm enjoying it while i can. and dh has ten days off starting tomorrow, which means we'll all get a break and some rest.

[lotusdebi]

Llyra
You are one amazing woman!

[Wild Flowers]

seeing stars, I hope you recover quickly. Oh I would be hopping mad if they told me to pump and dump after that. You should call that doc and give him a piece of your mind!!! :
Lyra that is so awesome!!! I am glad that things have at least calmed down for a bit.

Gwen either has a bad dairy thing or she is sick. I thought maybe the sneezing was just her getting ickies out of her lungs. So I didn't cut out dairy yet. But we don't eat much dairy. But she is super congested now. No more dairy, period. I just hope she gets better real soon. I hate to see her like this. Though I m wondering if it is just a cold. I have a slight cold, or it is allergies, not sure, no one else is sick though...I just wish I knew what it was.

[Astromom]

nak

Ugh, anyone else absolutely starving? I can't eat enough. I dropped 20 lbs in the first few days pp but have been stuck at the same weight ever since. Seems like it all dropped off quick with dd. Oh well. I'm mostly annoyed just because here I am again without clothes that fit me. :

Oh, and I'm so paranoid about dd bringing home germs that I've been reluctant to let her go to the park and playland to play. How do you mamas with older kids try to minimize older kids getting the little ones sick? (Yes I know it helps them build their immunities when they get sick, but with Miles' breathing issues I would prefer to keep him illness-free for a while longer )

Originally Posted by maranapanda

Astronmom

"Other potential trigger is oversupply, which we have a major problem with but I'm not sure how to fix that."


Have you seen this?


http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

Yeah, I was doing what I could to do the "uphill" nursing to help him, but I really was reluctant to give up my side-lying nursing position at bedtime (he does the worst with side-lying)... so I was trying to get my supply to match his needs, and I was down to the "block nursing" suggestion -- but it doesn't make sense to me. (You are supposed to keep baby on one side for several hours and not restrict feeding. Then switch to the other side and then stay on that side for several hours. But I don't get why that would help. Although I'm trying it.) Finally I decided to just give up and take him to the rocker to nurse at night -- he's actually only waking up 2 times to nurse at night now since I started that, plus I think the tummy sleeping is making a huge difference. Anyway, point is I guess we will get through this ok. Gosh I just hate it when he chokes though.

Originally Posted by monkeybum

Anyone else with "fast breathing" babes have a waterbirth by chance? The MW says my guy did not open his mouth in the water but just another thing I was thinking of. But his lungs are clear, so it's probably unrelated. I also have a fast let-down/oversupply...hmmm...and his fast breathing started the day my milk came in.

I didn't do a waterbirth with this one (but I did with my dd, who had no breathing issues), but he was born very quickly -- so had less time to get squeezed. (Although his lungs sounded clear too.) You know, it sounds like the one common thing here is the fast letdown/oversupply, and Miles got worse when my milk came in too.

How the heck am I going to manage with a potty-training 3 year old when DH goes back to work though? It's mayhem with poop everywhere, sinks/toilets overflowing...I almost wish he'd stay in diapers until babe is old enough to be put down for a bit when needed, (he doesn't like that much now!). Any tips on managing two???

omg mama, i wish i had some advice. that sounds rough!

Originally Posted by Heather423

was up every hour all last night and up all morning for almost 8 hours on an off. She has her days/nights mixed up. Have you guys had any luck setting any kind of schedule? Is she too young yet for that? She is 5 weeks old.

DS here is great with the day/night thing, but with my DD it was a nightmare. I've read that keeping the noise level down during the day helps (counter-intuitive) ... but I had NO luck getting my DD to switch for a long time (hard to remember though, it was 4 years ago.)

Originally Posted by seeing_stars

Hopefully I'll be able to stay out of the hospital and enjoy my baby! I am so sad that she had to have formula. I was always so proud that my older son never had a drop and I feel like I've given this new baby "worse" treatment than I was able to give her brother.

Oh mama, you did an amazing job!!! How many mamas would have been able to freeze so much for their babies? And you didn't know that you were going to have all those unforeseen circumstances. You should totally be proud!! (But yeah, I would be totally furious at that doc : ) I'm so sorry that you've been having so many problems!

Originally Posted by Llyra

i feel human again, instead of like a big milk machine. i know it can't last, not with them growing so fast, but i'm enjoying it while i can. and dh has ten days off starting tomorrow, which means we'll all get a break and some rest.

Yay Llyra, glad to hear you had a good day! And at one smiley face per day that your dh is off. Have a good rest!

Originally Posted by Wild Flowers

Gwen either has a bad dairy thing or she is sick.

Oh no! I hate hate hate it when a tiny baby is sick. Nothing else fills me with such helplessness than to see them struggling. I hope she clears up soon. Do you like to use the little blue suction thing to clear out the nose? And of course being in the bathroom while a steamy shower runs..

[Yummymummy74]

Originally Posted by MamaAcorn

Coping with my 2yo has been really tough PP. He's regressed with potty learning and doing totally normal 2yo things that I'm just not handling well. He went from nursing 2-3 times a day to wanting to nurse ALL the time, more than the baby. Slowly things are improving as we're both finding our way.

Dh has been another issue. He only took off 4 days after dd was born and kept disappearring to run errands during that time, leaving me with all 3 kiddos. I know he needed the time away to help him cope, but it was a bit : to say the least.

And I finally admitted to myself that while I love being pregnant and even birthing, I hate, hate, hate the PP period! I think I just get all dreamy reading about others' babymoons and how peaceful everything is that I have unrealistic expectations and set myself up for failure. I don't get the kind of help I want with the housework, nobody does the laundry except for me, engorgment, afterpains that really are worse with subsequent babies, and all those hormones!

And I've also been dealing with an uncooperative midwife and inadequate PP care. It's sooo ridiculous!

Oh, dinner is ready... gotta eat!

((hugs mama)) alot of what you wrote resonates with me.
My little guy is only 18 mos and this has been a hard transition for him.
My Dh is great however..he has been very helpful as usual.
Post partum is always a horrendous time for me as well...and sadly I share some of your midwife issues! theres more to it but I am utterly dejected at how things panned out with her the tension at our 2 week visit felt so bad to me I have opted not to be seen until 6 weeks now! :

Originally Posted by jkg

although the logistics scare me since I still can't lift DS1 because of my incision.

Astromom--has Miles' breathing started to regulate now? Cas has his moments of very rapid breathing, and my ped. told me pretty much the same as what you said. It still scares me though.

I have the same problem with DS 18 mos.. thankfully my DH is home full time! I cannot lift him..I fear I have some serious uterus prolapse issues happening...and my heart aches when he cries to me to pick him up.. this mama job is just hard all the way around isn't it.

And I always thought new babies had very sporadic breathing patterns... at least mine always have!

[QUOTE=Wild Flowers;7731086
Okay, I need to ask, anyones babe smiling? [/QUOTE]

YES!!! she smiles a ton! especially when spoken too.
She is so bright and alert.

Originally Posted by Astromom

nak

Ugh, anyone else absolutely starving? I can't eat enough. I dropped 20 lbs

Me! I have lost 25 pounds in 2 weeks.. in fact I weigh less now than I did before I got pregnant : hope thats ok! ...secretly I am not complaining
My appetite is so so... comes and goes either I am ravenous or just meh...

[Mizelenius]

Originally Posted by Astromom

nak

Ugh, anyone else absolutely starving? I can't eat enough. I dropped 20 lbs in the first few days pp but have been stuck at the same weight ever since. Seems like it all dropped off quick with dd. Oh well. I'm mostly annoyed just because here I am again without clothes that fit me. :

Oh, and I'm so paranoid about dd bringing home germs that I've been reluctant to let her go to the park and playland to play. How do you mamas with older kids try to minimize older kids getting the little ones sick? (Yes I know it helps them build their immunities when they get sick, but with Miles' breathing issues I would prefer to keep him illness-free for a while longer )

I hear ya on the weight. With both kids it took me almost a year to lose those last 10 lbs. I wore PG clothes for a LONG time. I really dislike the pp period since I feel so frumpy!

Re: germs-- there is not much I think you can do. Frequent hand washing, learning how to cough properly (away from baby, use the arm to cover the mouth)-- that is about it. Some people swear by probiotics but I don't know much about them.

[Astromom]

Originally Posted by Mizelenius

Re: germs-- there is not much I think you can do. Frequent hand washing, learning how to cough properly (away from baby, use the arm to cover the mouth)-- that is about it. Some people swear by probiotics but I don't know much about them.

yeah, she is old enough thankfully that she has developed all those good habits, but can't really help it when other kids end up coughing or sneezing on her - but I never thought of probiotics to help prevent stuff so I will look into that one. Thanks!

[Astromom]

OMG mamas, Miles laughed yesterday -- real giggles! It was too cute! He was smiling and then he laughed, which made me laugh, which made him laugh more -- it was awesome!

[Llyra]

I'm worried about James. He's 7 weeks old today, and he hasn't smiled yet. He smiles in his sleep, but that's it-- no real social kinda smiles. Rachel's been smiling at my voice or my face for a week now. Granted, he gets a little leeway because while they weren't exactly preemies they were borderline, but it still worries me. He's such an unhappy baby. Whenever he's not sleeping or nursing, he's grouchy. He has very few alert periods, and he doesn't smile.

He makes great eye contact though and has terrific head control.

Would you worry???

[Wild Flowers]

Lyra, I wouldn't worry. My Layla was the grumpiest cghild ever. I was the only one who could hold her, and it hd to be constant. She also didn't really smile, was never really what I would call happy. Now, well she still has horrendous grumpy moments, she also is extremely happy girl. It is just with her, she is either HAPPY or MAD, she doesn't really have a happy medium

[karen1968]

Originally Posted by Llyra

I'm worried about James. He's 7 weeks old today, and he hasn't smiled yet. He smiles in his sleep, but that's it-- no real social kinda smiles. Rachel's been smiling at my voice or my face for a week now. Granted, he gets a little leeway because while they weren't exactly preemies they were borderline, but it still worries me. He's such an unhappy baby. Whenever he's not sleeping or nursing, he's grouchy. He has very few alert periods, and he doesn't smile.

He makes great eye contact though and has terrific head control.

Would you worry???

My baby isn't smiling yet, either, except in his sleep. He's come close a couple of times. He's very SERIOUS when he's in quiet-alert state, and otherwise is just fussy...not bad, but not a smiley-happy baby, either. Oh, I'm so looking forward to that first smile, and first giggle! At the moment, I feel as if he just doesn't like anything I try to do with him.

Speaking of that, what sorts of games or activities do you do with your little ones? DS will be 6 weeks old tomorrow, and aside from talking and (attempting) singing, and looking at each other, we don't do much. I don't feel neglectful, exactly, but I feel as if there is something I'm missing...or missing out on. Ideas?

[Wild Flowers]

Karen, with just one I know how you feel I felt the same way. I took up baby massage, Natalie got like an hour massage everyday. There is also this book that my aunt got me. I hve to admit that I barely look at it now, it is just ways and ideas to stimulateyour baby to child. Slow and Sready get me ready. If you want it for ideas, let me know I will send it to you, it was in our goosdwill box. Thid time around I have the idea behind it. I had a really awesome massage tape, but gave it away after Layla because it was susposed to be our last

[Mizelenius]

Originally Posted by karen1968

Speaking of that, what sorts of games or activities do you do with your little ones? DS will be 6 weeks old tomorrow, and aside from talking and (attempting) singing, and looking at each other, we don't do much. I don't feel neglectful, exactly, but I feel as if there is something I'm missing...or missing out on. Ideas?

I remember with my 1st DD I felt like I should be doing something all the time with her. But no, that is not true at all! I read a brief article recently that said that parents in the US tend to overstimulate their infants by doing TOO MUCH with them. Seriously, your baby just thinks you and he are the same person right now . . .he doesn't need much except the basics-- your nursing, talking, singing, and carrying are just what he needs and gets a lot from!

Anyway, when I had my 2nd, I adopted more of the continuum concept, in that the child is part of my life versus my whole life. So, if you carry your DS while you do your activities, talk and sing to him on occasion, you will grow together and you will know what he needs. We DID start reading books to my 1st DD at a very young age and I don't know if that's what did it, but she is an amazing reader now.

Sounds like you know exactly what you're doing!

[Astromom]

Originally Posted by karen1968

Speaking of that, what sorts of games or activities do you do with your little ones? DS will be 6 weeks old tomorrow, and aside from talking and (attempting) singing, and looking at each other, we don't do much. I don't feel neglectful, exactly, but I feel as if there is something I'm missing...or missing out on. Ideas?

I agree w/ mizelenius that babies can get over-stimulated -- you can watch for cues of that (looking away, fussing, closing eyes, etc). But there are some things I like to do in addition to talking, singing, and carrying, and I just do them occasionally. He seems to enjoy it when I show him colorful objects (we have some blocks and things that have contrasting colors, or even just drawing some black dots or circles on a white index card would have the same effect.) I also like to let him feel different textures. Also I am going to do baby signs with him, like I did with dd, and while it's obviously too early to expect any interaction I still like to do signs while I'm talking every now and then. Like I will sing the alphabet and sign the letters where he can see them. I figure maybe it will help him eventually understand that my hands moving corresponds to the words I'm saying. I did the same thing with dd who turned out to be a prolific signer. Also I loved to read to dd even when she was this small. (Now ds just hears the stories I read to dd, which I suppose is the same thing.)

[DecemberSun]

Llyra, my DS didn't start smiling until he was 2 months. My DD has been smiling since birth, and she's already cooing at us! Some babies are just happier than others I guess. Someone made a good point in a post somewhere- I think it was YoBecca- that a baby will cry to the person s/he knows will fix things. So if James seems more grumpy with you it's just because he knows you're the one who can give him what he wants/needs. It made me feel better anyway!

[Llyra]

Originally Posted by DecemberSun

Someone made a good point in a post somewhere- I think it was YoBecca- that a baby will cry to the person s/he knows will fix things. So if James seems more grumpy with you it's just because he knows you're the one who can give him what he wants/needs. It made me feel better anyway!

Yeah, I've seen that with Julia, that she's much "better behaved" with other adults, but with me she lets it all hang out and I think it's because she trusts me. Anyway, that makes me feel better so thanks.

He smiled today! Big grin. But at DH, not me. He was crying in his seat and DH picked him up and I guess he was so glad to find out he wasn't all alone that he cracked a smile.

We did have a crisis today though when DH put him down to change Julia's diaper (she's STILL not pottying) and James scooched right to the edge of the bed and fell out. It's only a low toddler bed, about a foot off the ground, but it was still really really scary. DH feels terrible, I know. Anyway, James is fine and is his usual grouchy self and I love him for it. It's easy to forget I think that even though they're so young, they can still surprise you by moving pretty far and fast!

[Turkish Kate]

Hi, ladies!

Just a quickie while baby is taking his morning nap. I'm joining up on the "just say no to dairy" bandwagon. I'm not a big dairy eater, but noticed that after I had ice cream one night and a huge hunk of cheese a few days later that Ahmet had serious projectile baby spew at 3 am. Nothing else in my diet that was differentm, and coupled with his funky breathing (sounds congested all the time) and red-ring diaper rash, I have to conclude "food allergy." Rats. I'm really going to miss cheese and yogurt. Kellymom says to try adding it back in at around six months or so, guess I'll try again then.

Congrats to everyone for the super jobs you're all doing as moms--especially those of you who are dealing with an older sibling. My older DC is 13 1/2, so I have a little mother's helper built in. Don't know how I'd manage without her.

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it.