June '07 Moms *July Thread* - Page 2

[Jilian]

I have a funny (well not so funny for DS) peeing story. When DS was only a week old DH was changing him (at night in the dark) and he peed. He peed all over his face and it got into his mouth. DH was freaking out and when DS was sick DH was convinced that it was because he got pee in his mouth (this was before we knew it was a heart defect).

So since then I've been picking on DH for letting DS get pee in his mouth. Last night I was changing DS and I was at the point where I was lifing his legs so I could slide a clean diaper under his bum and he peed. He peed right in his eyes. I started yelling for DH and freaking out. So now DH is picking on me. DS is fine but we're gonna need to invest in some of those pee-pee-tee-pees because DS is pee-happy. He's still on diuretics from his heart surgery so he pees ALL THE TIME.

[vannienicole]

**

[rock_dr]

just subbing - I love everyone's pictures! mine are in the siggie. Can't believe she's 1 month old already - time for new photos.

Jilian - my goodness a car accident on top of everything else? Glad you're all OK and you'll have some stories to tell the LO won't you!

[wombatclay]

It's not pee, but dd1 urped right in dh's mouth when she was about 3 months old. She nursed and dh was goofing off with her...sort of lifting her up over his head...and URP! Right in his face and open mouth.

Jilian- one reason babes pee during dipe changes is the change in temperature on their belly. Sometimes covering the belly with a towel stops the fountain....though I doubt a towel can take on the diuretics and win!

[Jilian]

What beautiful children everyone has!! I'm not sure if this will work or not because I just joined snapfish but here is a link to our 4 week pics:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailsh...007/t_=6782007

[dara00]

Zachary's not peeing at diaper changes so much anymore. DH wanted to invent the pee pee tee pee until he saw it already exisits!

adinaz, I was the same way with my first, crying at the OB and all that. this time is going much better! btw my grandma lives in scottsdale and we have tickets for labor day weekend!

congrats vanessa!

[OTMomma]

Ian is now 12 days. Where he was 9 lbs at birth, I really feel like I have a one or two month old! He is such a little chunk! I've nicknamed him our "Little Bear", since he's so big and he makes so many odd little noises, sort of like a baby bear. LOL

Willo- Good for you pumping! Pumping is hard work! This time around I'm using a Harmony manual pump by medela that I really love- it works way better than any of the pumps I tried with dd. I'm fortunate that I don't have to pump, I'm just making a stock for "in case" in the freezer.

Jillian- The Pee stories are funny! We haven't had any such interesting ones with our ds, yet. I'm sure it will happen.

[brittneyscott]

What kind of bottles are everyone using to give baby relief bottles? How long did you wait before trying to give a bottle of ebm to baby? I'll be going back to work in a couple of weeks and want to get ds use to a bottle before then.

What do you do when baby gets gas? would you give mylicon at 2 wks? With DD I preferred to give her a bottle of sugar water (4oz water w/ 1/2tsp of sugar). It worked great but I'm worried about nipple confusion giving him a bottle this young. What do you think? I posted this in the june thread but didn't get a response.

DS is growing so fast. I'm trying to soak up every minute of this. I don't want to forget any of it.We aren't planning on having anymore kids so I want to enjoy my last baby. It's a little sad to think I won't have anymore little ones. Oh well maybe I'll get over that feeling soon.

[firefly mama]

Willo -
You pumped 7 oz in half a day IN ADDITION to nursing? That is awesome! That is more than many ebfers get. I tend to get around 1 oz when I pump each time.

Speaking of pumping, I'm getting tired of doing it twice a day. It is really hard for me to fit it in during the mornings with a fussy infant who wants to nurse and a crazy toddler who wants to play. Someone is always crying by the end of the pumping session.

I had a really hard day yesterday and realized (confirmed whay I already knew actually) i'm not cut out for full-time SAHMness. Wish I was, but I think a half-time job is really great for me. Right now I've got my PhD to finish, so I think I'll be throwing me all into that over the next few months. Hopefully I'll work out some form of daycare...cause finishing school ain't going toi happen with my current mommy load. Too bad I'm not getting pais for any of this (mommy or school).

I can hear the big fireworks in the distance. Wonder when I'll get to see those live again.

[willoLevin]

Originally Posted by firefly mama

Willo -
You pumped 7 oz in half a day IN ADDITION to nursing? That is awesome! That is more than many ebfers get. I tend to get around 1 oz when I pump each time. ...

yeah, i'm thinking more and more that my supply isn't low this time--rather A is troubled in his nursing/latch skill. In 7 nursing sessions all day yesterday (midnight-midnight), I got 13 oz!

Last time, like you said, I got typically about 1/2 oz per session (combined total!) and never more than 3 oz in one day. Huge increase, obviously.

Making a homemade "hands-free" bra has helped this time (more relaxed), plus massaging the breasts (only possible due to aforementioned bra), plus I got the "soft fit" flanges which are so much more comfortable than my old rigid ones...

I'm still struggling, but at least I know I'm making a significant amount of milk--at least half of what A. needs!

He FINALLY nursed well again just now before this pumping session. Such a relief. (He nursed a little at bedtime, too.)

Every time he rejects the breast, I get a little crazy from the full-boob-milky-hormones, plus the fear it will be the last time he ever nursed...

But we are okay right now. Must stay in the moment.

--willo

[willoLevin]

Originally Posted by brittneyscott

What kind of bottles are everyone using to give baby relief bottles? How long did you wait before trying to give a bottle of ebm to baby? ...
What do you do when baby gets gas? ...

I bought Dr. Brown bottles this time--standard not wide mouth.

I had to introduce a bottle when A. was 2 weeks old because he wasn't gaining, and I just couldn't get the hang of the SNS with him like I used with his older brother.

There is a method to use bottles while still supporting breastfeeding. (I got an article about it at the MOBI website for mothers with breastfeeding issues. "Bottle-Feeding as a Tool to Reinforce Breastfeeding" by Dee Kassing, BS, MLS, IBCLC ) Basically, sit baby up very straight so gravity doesn't let the milk drip into his mouth. Use lowest flow nipple possible (I have Dr. Brown PREEMIE nipples.) Use a straight (not orthodontic) nipple. Tickle baby's lip and make him open wide just like in breastfeeding--never let him suck nipple into mouth gradually, even with the bottle, because it promotes bad habits--and make sure he has his lips flared around the base of the nipple.

I never gave DS#1 anything for gas, but I would do the I Love You tummy massage from the Dr. Sears book... We never had major gas issues, though. Maybe because I was so careful about MY diet because we have allergies in our family?

--willo

[wombatclay]

mornin' all!

Yay on the supply Willo! That's a huge amount to pump!

Brittney- I don't have a problem using mylicon drops on a 2wk babe if they are really gassy/crying. We used them on Laia that young and we've used them once for Rowan. They're not the most natural thing in the world, but I guess I'd prefer a few drops of simethicone (in a dropper) to a larger volume of sugar water (in a bottle). I would only use a gripe water that is sugar free, or used a lower impact sugar like fructose, since I don't think sugar is good for little ones...but that's just me, and lots of gripe waters have sugar (and alcohol!).

But the Love You tummy massage is great, and there are a few other gas buster holds/positions you can try. (moving their legs like riding a bicycle, laying them tummy down on your arm and jigglng them). Gas is soooooo hard to soothe so check your diet as well if your babe has lots of gas...there could be an allergy or sensitivity.

We introduce bottles around 3 months since that's when I have to go back to work. Like Willo, we use preemie nipples with very slow/low flow EVERY time we use a bottle. I also wandered the bottle aisle till I found a nipple shaped "like me" (I'm a gerber nipple ). For the bottle we used Avent brand...we wanted to use glass, but I'm a klutz and my library nursing/pumping space is cramped. After breaking a few bottles and crying more than a little over spilt milk we went plastic.

Firefly- I don't think I'm cut out to be a SAHM either. By the end of the day I'm I stressed out mess, I'm totally depressed about the state of the house, and I feel like I haven't "done" anything. But it's becoming clear that I may not have a choice. I've been working 30 hrs/wk as a reference librarian (for 6 years now and loving it, moved to 30/wk when dd1 arrived) and my mom or dh watch dd while I'm at work...I worked a blend of days/nights/weekends so we juggled scheduled and did split shifts.

But my mom can no longer watch dd1, let alone dd1 AND dd2. And even partial day child care in my town (which is 9am-noon) costs ~650-800 dollars per child. Even the city run "drop off center" is 650 dollars for a half day. There are only two centers that even take little littles like Rowan (and it's a good deal more than 800 a month for the under 1 year old groups) So that's around 1600-2000 dollars a month for child care for both...and my salary isn't a lot more than that.

DH and I aren't certain what will happen or what we'll do, since our budget is pretty slim as is and losing my salary (one way or the other) is going to hurt. Initially my mom was going to watch dd2 while dd1 went to play school but now that wont happen, and...ugh.

Other than that, today looks like a nice day...yesterday it rained non-stop but today the sun is out and although it's getting humid it's not as hot as most of the country!

[herbmama3-7]

Interesting topic about not feeling "cut out" to be a SAHM full time, I feel that way quite often, but then I also feel like it is so important for development for my little ones. Although I find myself wondering if I am doing them an injustice because I find myself frusterated more often than "happy and cheery" (that may not really be the case, but I am hard on myself too). I find for our family it is very important for me to be present full time at home and DH even finds it very helpful that I take care of the home needs and at the end of the day we can all relax from "work". I know moms work very, very hard, ( you don't have to tell me that), but I feel like Dh also works hard, not only is he going to work 5 days a week, he is also coming home in the evening and doing a lot of work here. The difference is that he gets a change of scenery, I DON'T! On the other hand I was homeschooled and my mom stayed at home most of my life growing up. I Hated it, and still don't like to think about it, I hate to admit it, but wasn't proud of my mom, I couldn't see what importance she was adding, I wanted to be proud of her even as a child. So in that sense I feel I owe it to my children to have a life and passion of my own aside from them, something that they can be happy to see me happy with. Be it my own career, school, hobby etc.. Does that all make sense, just my thoughts. For now (the first few years) I will be home with them.

Did anyone see the fireworks last night? We drove to a great viewing area, away from the big crowd, dh and ds were able to watch on the side of the road while I stayed near sleeping dd, it was a lot of fun and ds thought it was pretty cool.

OTmomma Dd was 8lbs at birth, and she is really big too, I also feel like I have a 2 month old, not a one month old, I am trying to relish everybit because it just reminds me how fast they grow!

[PatchChild]

I had hoped to watch the fireworks last night but they got rained out. We had fun at a cook-out (is there such a thing as a cook-in?) and came home early which was nice. Owen actually slept for 3.5 hour chunks last night! Such a relief after his two growth spurt nights in a row.

So the hearing aids are here, and so begins the fun of keeping them in his ears. It's a pain right now because he knocks them out all the time, and you can't have them pressed up against anything so each time you go to carry or nurse him, you have to remember to take one out or turn it off. And he doesn't wear them when he's asleep, so another time to have to take them out. Good thing he doesn't mind us putting them in! I'm also getting good at succinctly explaining his hearing loss, since everyone we run into on our walks comments on the aids. Maybe I'll print up business cards...just for use on my more exhausted days.

I'm taking notes on everyone's pumping stories. I have to start back to work at the start of the school year, last week of August around here. NOT looking forward to that. I'd really love to do the SAHM thing, I think. Some days it sounds like heaven, and other days I can't wait to pass baby off to dh for a while.But then, most days I love my job, except for the days that I want to run screaming, so I guess it all balances out.

All this talk of big babies! I still get asked if Owen is a newborn, until he holds his head up to look at people. He's just over 8lbs. now at almost 6 weeks old. Itty bitty baby.

[wombatclay]

I should add...I hated leaving dd1 to go back to work. Hated it and cried for days. I don't want to go back this time either. But when I am honest with myself, I think I'm a better person (happier, more focused, more balanced emotionally and physically) when I do have that change of pace/scenery each day.

At the library it's all intellectual work...answering questions, doing research. And it's all "with people". Faculty, grad students, undergrads, visiting scholars all sitting right there waiting for you to help them solve a problem. "I need a quote from a paper published in 1763, but I don't remember the name of the paper...just that there is an anchor in the letterhead". "I can't find any images of the damaged turret in the Hagia Sophia that show the specific damage to the mosaics". "I need a map of how the NYC sewer system changed over time, but mostly I need to know which tunnels were big enough for a person to walk through during prohibition". "How many times has my latest article been cited in the press?". ETC.

And then I could come home and be very physical and silly with dd and do lots of manual work (cleaning, diy projects, gardening, cooking). And my mom was wonderful about taking dd1 on all sorts of adventures, and doing crafts, and just having a great time.

So now I don't know what to do. DH doesn't make that much (we need my income to break even, and we already live pretty close to the bone...not a lot of extras here), and he works long hours and although I know I shouldn't judge based on these three weeks, it seems that all I do with the littles is watch tv and try to have only one crying at a time! So I guess I worry that I'm not going to be much good as a SAHM...

Oh well, there are a few more weeks for us to figure it out!

Patch- I love the idea of business cards!

[brittneyscott]

Fortunately we found a balance around here for the work thing. I work part-time, weekend nights only. I'm home all week with the kids and DH has them when I work. No day care or babysitters. I make as much money in 2 nights as I would anywhere else all week too so it helps with the bills. Plus the kids never know I'm gone. They're in bed before i leave and I'm back before they wake up.

I think I may have to go back to work soon too. I wasn't planning on going back for a few more weeks but I'm not sure I'm going to have a choice. DH works for a small company (privately owned) here in town. The guy that owns it doesn't exactly know how to run it obviously. DH's payroll check from last week bounced and it caused our account to be overdrawn. It's fixed now but he's afraid this week's check might bounce too. DH has to start finding another job. We can't live like this not knowing if his checks are coming. I may have to go back to work soon to cover bills. I'm so upset about it too. I don't want to miss any of the baby stage this time. With DD I had to go back to work when she was 2wks old. I'm not sure what to do. I was so upset the other day I just cried all day. DH says not to worry about it just stay home with the baby... but the bills have to get paid!

Well at least my babies are happy and healthy. I guess that's all you can really hope for right?

[tls]

Hi everyone. I can't believe I actually have a moment to post. It is very hard for me to have a second to myself. Kiara has a very hard time sleeping by herself and I end up holding her almost all day long. She also cries a lot so when she's not sleeping in my arms she is being rocked, bounced, nursed or walked around. It's hard, plus I need to take care of my other 2 kids. Right now Kiara is actually sleeping in her swing which is why I can post.

Breastfeeding got off to a rough start. Kiara nursed constantly and she had a bad latch. I ended up with blistered and bleeding nipples for the first week and a half. Thankfully she fixed her latch and I eventually healed. Things are going fairly well now. However, she has a strong need to suck and once she is full she wants to nurse still but gets very upset when she gets milk so she starts to cry while nursing. She refuses to take a pacifier and she can't or won't find her thumb/fingers. I think she is allergic to something I'm eating too. She's had a bad rash which I thought was baby acne but now it is on the rest of her body. She's also had a diaper rash which I've been treating with breast milk but it's not getting better and that worked extremely well for my son’s diaper rashes. I cut out milk for a couple days and her rash is going away, the facial "acne" is 70% better and she hasn't cried as much. I'm going to go dairy free for at least a week and see if things improve even more.

Here are some pictures. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...376646&l=c23f4 She is now 4 weeks old and these are of her when she was 2 weeks old. Like AnnD said, I don’t have many pictures of her now due to all the acne (oh and who can find the time to take pictures anymore ).

[Jilian]

We had to give DS a bottle at a little over 2 weeks because he was in the hospital and they wanted to monitor how much he was getting. They started with the NICU bottles and he was gagging on the milk so they switched to low-flow nipples. Then I brought in some dr brown bottles and he took those too. He also latched on to the bottles like Willo said. He got a paci around 2 weeks after the surgery for comfort and I think it did mess up his latch a bit so we are working on getting rid of it.

We give him mylicon, that is actually what they gave in the hospital for gas. I think most of his gas issues come from a latch that isn't tight enough. Sometimes he latches well the moves his tongue and I hear a lot of clicking noises then it starts to hurt. I think he moves his tongue so it is not over his gums then he gums my areola and it hurts. Any ideas on how to fix this? One pedi said he may be slightly tongue tied so that may contribute to it.

Forgot to add: we went to the pedi today and DS is up to 7 lbs 8 ozs He's still so tiny but he's gaining steadily. Pedi says his heart and lungs sound perfect She also said it is unbelievable that he survived with his kind of defect for 2 weeks, especially after his PDA closed and blood was not able to flow freely between the two chambers of his heart. It's so amazing, I guess he just wasn't meant to die. He defied all of the rules and beat the odds.

[wombatclay]

Jilian- that's so good to hear! I'm so glad he's doing so well and defying the odds.

I read a story someplace...here? in mothering mag? a website? I don't remember...but the mama was talking about her babe's heart defect. I guess it went undetected for a week or two even though it was pretty serious. The drs were surprised she hadn't noticed her babe turning blue while crying and she realized that because of slinging/nursing on demand/co sleeping her babe never really "cried". All his needs were being met so quickly he was able to put his energy towards surviving. I bet something similar happened here...you gave Evan so much support just by being you that he was able to hang in there till the doctors could do their thing.

Brittney- I wish I could find a part time weekend/evening job! For a while I worked two nights and a weekend along with two weekday shifts at the library...but it was really hard and I don't think it will work this time since we wont have my mom covering those daytime hours.

I'm wondering if maybe I can find another 2-3yo who needs day care and I'll watch them here. Sort of a playmate for dd1 and a few hundred dollars a month for our bills. In NY you can watch up to 2 little ones without certification...

[savvybabygrace]

I've been reading but not much time to post, so here goes!

Jilian - glad to hear he's doing well!! I got very choked up when I read your last post - "It's so amazing, I guess he just wasn't meant to die. He defied all of the rules and beat the odds." Three cheers for your little one!

Brittney, I was just going to post about gas relief. We gave dd mylicon b/c nothing else was available at 3am, but it didn't seem to do anything. My aunt bought some gripewater but it has alcohol in it (huh?) and I'm not too sure if it's something I want to give my baby. I'm hoping something else will work...but I have no clue! Let me know if you find anything useful!!

Tracy, I hope Kiara is feeling much better very soon!!!

As for us, I am swimming in guilt! Savvy had a horrible night last Sat., screaming so horrible and kicking/arching her back inconsolably that we almost went to the ER. After 7 hours of trying everything, we put her in a warm tub and it immediately calmed her down...but then I freaked out because we forgot that her cord is still attached and you're not supposed to get it wet! Now it's shriveled and is green/mucousy looking and I fear it's infected...all because of me. I know, I know, I was exhausted and panicked and not thinking straight...but that's no excuse.
*sigh*

Besides that, I'm thinking that my PPD is rearing it's head. I had it very severely with Emma and I'm terrified it's coming back.