Update on us

[CarolynnMarilynn]

Well Alden is just over 3 weeks. He is 2 lbs above birthweight at 11+lbs. My dp and I are switching off in the mornings and evenings to get enough sleep. Mr Alden has a lot of gas and spits up a lot - otherwise he would nurse down to sleep most times. He is a real cuddler. I am finding it hard to get anything done! He really likes the sling, but it does fatigue my back. I am hoping he will grow to be able to sleep independently *some* of the time so I can participate more in the lives of my other kids, but I don't expect Alden to be doing that yet. We cosleep and I can't imagine sleeping any other way.

We have one on-going concern: a heart murmur. He was seen on day 2 by a pediatric cardiologist because he was both tachypnic (breathing too fast) and had a loud murmur (together that is not a good sign). Luckily I work with the Dr. and so he fit us in, even though he was post-call and hadn't slept in 36 hrs. We had an echocardiogram in his office that showed that Alden had a patent ductus and 2 other normal things that cause a murmur. However, the PDA should have been gone by now (and isn't), so we are going to see him again soonish to check it all out.

So, in all, we are doing well. The kids adore him and are so good with him. I could use a bit more sleep and a chiro adjustment!

How is everyone else doing with their bambinos?

[blueyebutterfly]

Hugs Alden and Carolynn,you are in my thoughts.


Rian is just over 2 weeks now. He too is a cuddler. I have to hold him/wear him all the time too. On Friday he was 7lbs 12 oz so he is slowly gaining. Our big struggle right now is trying to get him off the bottle/tube and onto the breast. It is soooo slowly getting there. Its a strugle I will tell you lol. I dont have time for anything else either. I am either pumping...feeding Rian...holding him....or steirlizing something lol.

[luminesce]

Logan is almost four weeks now and weighed 8lbs 1oz yesterday (was 7lbs, 4oz at birth.) My milk didn't come in until day 8/9. I'm afraid that his weight gain is borderline but my MW seemed to think it was ok. Maybe he is just a lean baby?

Like Alden, Logan is a cuddler. I have to hold or wear him all the time too. This would be easier if I could get the hang of wearing him. He always looks so scrunched up inside and doesn't seem to fit quite right. Plus, like you, it puts a strain on my back. For the first few weeks I slept with him in my arms a lot but now we're starting to get the hang of having him sleep beside me (we have a crib side-car'd to the bed.) He has a lot of gas too - he scrunches up his belly and grunts, so I know it makes him uncomfortable. He doesn't spit up too often (usually when he gets the hiccups!) Some days he likes to sleep a lot, others he likes to marathon nurse and sometimes it is more spaced out. There is no real pattern. I'm trying to figure out if I should continue to try and wake him to eat or just go on his cues now. He gets a lot of comfort out of sucking and likes to be attached to the booby even if not eating.

I hope the issue with Alden's heart murmur clears up!

[mclisa]

Sophia is doing great. She was above her birth weight on Monday at her appointment when she was 10 days old. I can't believe how fast this time is going! She usually sleeps 4 hours during the first stretch at night and then is up every 2 hours. It is really busy with 4. She had her first trip to the mall today so I could return an outfit to Gymboree and then we went to Target too. I also picked up my maternity pictures today. I love them! I need to get DH to scan them in so I can post them.

I'm trying to find more time in the day so I can get some pages scrapbooked.

Breastfeeding is going well. I'm trying to pump on top of feeding her so as to build as big as supply as possible and to get as much stored up as possible for when I go back to work in June.

[MonTana Mama]

Noah is going to be a chub! He is a cuddler and so far not a screamer! Fingers crossed! We already sleep w/o swaddling at 8 days old. My ds1 was sensitive, he slept swaddled for 7 months and we wore ear plugs because his screaming was so blood-curdling. My dh says he has to fight being resentful of ds1's babyhood. Are we ever enjoying Noah! Noah starts by squawking and as soon as he is in my arms he quiets. He is so trusting that everything will be alright.

CM-best wishes on Alden's heart murmur. BTW, Alden was our second choice for a name.

Mclisa-I can't believe you have time for scrapbooking! I need to get a book started for Noah and start journaling about his birth and 1st week.

Anyone have trouble w the creases getting infected? I discovered inflamation and drainage from his armpits yesterday and they were so stinky!

[koofie]

Abby is just over 3 weeks (she and Alden share a birthday) and she is up to 9 lbs 6 oz. She was 8 lbs 1 when born, so she is gaining fast! She likes to marathon nurse and then sleep for 2-3 hours (sometimes up to 5 or 6 at night). I just can't believen that I have less than 3 weeks until I have to go back to work - I'm not looking forward to that. I have pumped once, but not since - she usually wakes up as I'm thinking that I might pump.

I am not doing as well as Abby - I have had 3 viruses in the 3 weeks since abby was born. The first two were horrible - fever over 105 at times. This last one has just been a sore throat and a mild fever. A big part of the problem is that I am a horrible sleeper in the first place and i just don't nap, so I am probaby averaging 4-5 hours of sleep per day. I think my body just can't fight anything off. I'm hoping that this is the last virus: I even went to the Dr to check to make sure it wasn't something more, but he said it was a virus and would clear up in 4-5 days <grrrrr>

GL CM and Alden! I hope we hear good news about the heart murmur soon!

[lesley&grace]

Gabriel is doing really well, he's a week old today and we saw the dr and he is already up above his birthweight, which really impressed the dr. He's nursing like a champ, although my milk has not totally regulated yet to his demand and I am going through nursing pads and tee-shirts like a lunatic. I was really engorged but it's getting better.

Gabriel is really cuddly too, prefers the mobywrap to the sling, but he will sleep in the bassinet or the infant rocker through the day. Which is nice because then I get to have one on one with my other kids, especially my toddler. Nighttime he sleeps better next to me, which is easier for breastfeeding anyway.

My older son has not showed a whole lot of interest in him yet, but he was not all that interested in Grace when she was born either...in fact it was not until she started smiling and interacting that he started to show interest in her. He did take pics in to school to show him off though.

My daughter however is fascinated by him, keeps saying "oh, that baby so cute!" and is content to sit and hold him on her lap while she watches tv. In fact the other day I had to convince her to let me take him back so I could nurse him!! My earlier worries about her being jealous over the breastfeeding were unfounded, she is totally supportive "mommy, you give that baby milken, him hungry!!"

[neetling]

Josiah is 3 weeks and 1 day old. I am seriously counting my blessings as we have only had one bad night of crying when he had some gas. Nursing is going great. He hasn't been weighed since he was 6 days old, but he was only 1/4 oz away from his birth weight and he's rapidly outgrowing all newborn sized clothing. He feels like he's 10-11 ish lbs to me.

We co sleep and he falls asleep between 10 and midnight and sleeps 3-4 hours nurses, poos and goes back to sleep. We're usually up between 2-3 and again between 5-6AM and then I get up with him when my husband leaves for work around 8. DH gets up with his big sisters and lets me sleep as much as possible. He takes a few short naps where he feels the need to be help and typically 2 long (2-3 hours) naps where I can put him down. I do want him used to sleeping in his crib so I try and put him there, but I also use the swing so I can get some chores done and spend time with the big kids. He only likes one sling, it's one with straps. I haven't been able to figure out the traditional slings yet.

Our older DD is in love with him, our younger DD is rather meh about him. She routinely tells me to put him in his swing so she can have my lap back.

He's getting his baby acne though. Can't wait for that to clear up. He's a great baby so far though. Other than the one bad night, he's had very little that just snuggling him or a breast won't fix.

[neetling]

Too lazy to edit. He does fuss a lot when he has a burp or a poo stuck. And I had forgotten the marathon pooping of newborns. If I start the changing process too soon I go through several diapers before he's actually done. lol

[grneyes328]

It's so nice to hear how all the other babes are doing. Audrey will be 3 weeks on Friday and I feel so blessed. She's a cuddly little one, preferring the moby or ring sling to her bouncy seat or co-sleeper for naps. She's nursing like a pro and is up over 7 lbs from her low of 5 lbs 7 oz. We still have to re-latch several times most nursings to get a good one, and she's a big time puker. I too tend to assume the maraton poops are over before they are, and I've been covered in poo more than once by attempting a change too soon Oh, and I'm dreading the return to work, and though we're already totally broke and needing my income I'm trying to figure out how we can swing my staying home for a while longer.

[Muggins&Doody]

Oh I love reading about all the new babies!! It seems like just yesterday we were all introducing ourselves in the sticky thread up top. : *sob*

Ethan is 4.5 weeks old! He's one of the elder babies here I'm not going to lie, the first 4 weeks were TOUGH. I haven't had one of these baby things in a while. Our main issue was constant, non-stop nursing which didn't allow me to do anything but sit and nurse. The house was in chaos and the kids were parked in front of Little Bear and fed themselves Cheez-Its and yogurt because I couldn't really cook for them. I started giving him a couple 2oz bottles of formula (*GASP*) a day and it REALLY helped him and he would nap and I could get stuff done. I ordered some Domperidone and we are now off formula. My supply just couldn't keep up. He's gained 2 lbs since birth. He hates pacifiers so I am his pacifier.

He's not a sleeper. Somedays he'll take a few 10 minute cat naps, AND THAT'S IT. It's kind of insane. About once a week he'll have a "sleeping day" where he'll take several 1-2 naps to make up for the rest of the week, I guess. He goes to bed anywhere from 10pm-12am and will sleep from 2-5 hours, then wake to nurse, and gets up every hour after that. : He's a pretty calm baby now that I have a decent supply. He loves bath time and getting his diaper changed. He poops every 5 seconds and doesn't like to have a poopy diaper. Thank god we're using cloth because disposables with this poopasauras would get very pricey. :

[jecaly]

wow, it's amazing how different all the babies are! oona jane is 2 weeks 1 day old today, and is doing really well--she was over her birthweight by nearly half a pound at her 10 day appointment (9.1 from 8.11), and she's really filled out to a good dumpling state! she sleeps better than dd1 did, so far, i think; but we didn't swaddle dd1, so i'm not sure if it's her or us. she goes down easily from being in the pouch to finishing her nap on the bed, so that's nice. she takes a couple of naps during the day, and i've been managing to take one with her most days while hazel sleeps. and last night, she only woke enough to have her diaper changed ONCE! she woke a couple of other times for short nursings, but we mostly slept really well. yay for the miracle blanket, and for swaddling generally.

as for nursing and digestion: she still sputters a bit at letdown and gets angry if there's too much, and sometimes takes a moment or two to latch on, but mostly it's going really well. she hardly ever spits up--neither did hazel--but she requires actual burping, and lets out some doozies that sound like she just puked up a quart! i had a couple of days of plugged ducts and body aches and boy, is that not fun. it didn't turn into mastitis, though, thanks to lots of hot baths and all-day nursing in bed. whew. now i'm fighting some kind of mild sinus thing, but i think i'm winning my chiropractor came to my house a couple of days after oona was born and adjusted us, which improved my life by about 600%. oh, and i was pretty emotional and freaked out for the first week or so, i'd say, but i feel better now, either just from time, or from having my mom here, or from the placenta smoothies...either way, i'll take it!

hugs to the mamas, and especially good wishes to little alden (love that name)--i hope his heart issues resolve soon!

*jennifer

[GinaRae]

Originally Posted by MonTana Mama

Anyone have trouble w the creases getting infected? I discovered inflamation and drainage from his armpits yesterday and they were so stinky!

A friend's baby gets this and what usually works is to take a clean, wet wash cloth (just water) several times a day to wipe over the gunky areas. Then dry it well. That should help a lot!

Also, undress him and do some massage and exercise so that you can keep his arms up for a while to let them air out.

[babyluvr]

My Josiah is 5 weeks old and doing great! I'm guessing he's between 10-11lbs, up from his 6, 13 birth weight. he nurses great and sleeps okay. we cosleep and he grunts awake then i nurse him and he goes back to sleep. dh takes him when he gets up for the day between 6-7 and i sleep till 8-9ish while dh loves on him and utilizes that bouncy seat. our older two adore him and can't get enough of him. he smiles and coos and loves faces.

unfortunately he has gotten a cold already...we live in a developing country and had to go to the dirty capital city for his passport/birth cert and even though i wore him the whole time and i didn't let anyone touch him i think he picked it up there. so i have to bulb suction him every few hrs but other than that he is fine. hopefully this will pass quickly

he has had some gas issues so now i'm totally off legumes and he is happy but I am so hungry because that is so much of our diet here!

you mamas with achy backs, get a wrap for wearing, it is soooo much better than a ring sling or pouch! i have a stretchy wrap that he is in and out of all day and it is so comfy for both of us. there are lots of different carries too.