June 2007 Moms ~ Welcome to October - Page 7

[jstar]

i have a metal pail with a lid that i keep next to the basement door. it holds dipes and yukky washcloths. i wash every other day usually (sometimes every 3rd day). and i just rinse out the pail.

willo - i get that frustrated feeling that i can't get anything done if ebin has a day where he needs to be held a LOT. compared to my first he is much more easygoing with sitting or laying luckily. but nevertheless having a baby can give you a really suffocating feeling sometimes. i had our babysitter come yesterday and went to dh's office for a bit. after that i could have gone home BUT i went and had lunch with a friend and went to the fabric store with her to let her pick fabric for a purse i'm making for her birthday. i felt guilty and extravagent paying the sitter for those extra hours but my friend pointed out that i needed a BREAK! and she was right. it felt good. and ebin was fine and happy. (and her birthday is not until december but i think that's how long it will take me to make the purse )

the ped told me to put neosporin behind ebin's ears if it is cracked and oozing. and then moisturize. she said it is cradle cap. so i don't think moisturizer alone will make it go away. i might try wiping it with dandruff shampoo before i put him in the bath and then make sure i rinse really well. my older ds has the same thing still behind his ears and he is 3!

i wouldn't buy the infant insert amy

time to take the bigger kiddo to preschool!

[willoLevin]

nak.
I think every time I'm posting these miserable posts, I'm not sleeping. We were up every 1 to 2 hrs last night. I'm so grumpy! Without sleep, I'm prone to moodiness/depression and self-medicating with food or spending too much money!!!

4 month growth spurt? If he isn't sleeping more by Sunday, I'm asking DH to take him for a night... I'll even consider one supplemental bottle if he's still feeding every 1-2 hours round the clock. Do women w/out history of low milk supply get such fear when baby nurses a lot for a couple of days?

For dirty CD storage, I just use an open (drawstring top) wet bag. I find extra air works best for our odors. I try to take them down to the laundry (basement) daily, but sometimes take them every other day. I'll also confess to trying to use my G dipes (yay! flushable) or a disposable at the time of day my child is most likely to poop, to avoid as much poop as possible in my washer. : (Helps that A. only typically poops 1x/day already, whereas S. pooped often for many months.)

--willo

[momtokay]

Originally Posted by willoLevin

4 month growth spurt?

fwiw, both of my first two had their most noticible growth spurts right around 4-mos old. i didn't think there was supposed to be such a thing, but they nursed like crazy, slept more, pooped less and then when it was over i started feeling some engorgement again between feedings so i know it was a growth spurt. s lack of sleep is so, so hard!!

as for diapers, we just use a regular diaper pail with a pul liner in it. i wash the liners with the diapers. they are on their second baby and still seem to be working fine. for sizing, dd is still in some nb dipes, some smalls, but i've started buying mediums for her to grow into. kind of funny as dd2 was solidly in mediums (and around 16-lbs) by this age. i'm enjoying having her stay small longer as she's almost surely my last baby, but i'll be glad when she gets into mediums as mine tend to stay in mediums forever and i don't like having to deal with finding new diapers as old ones get outgrown.

[Jilian]

I have a great supply but I do get nervous when a growth spurt hits. When Ev is nursing constantly and I start to feel pretty empty I get anxious. Luckily I have a bit of milk frozen just in case, but I do still get nervous.

I just talked to my ex (who lives in the same town as us and is the father of DS1) and he's considering moving back up to the Boston area - I am BEYOND excited because that means we can go to!

[awallrising]

oops....a duplicate post

[awallrising]

jstar- See if you can find "The Healing Salve" at the health food store. It should help the cradle cap. It comes in a little jar, is yellow & works wonders.

A 4mth growth spurt? Yikes! Ian more than doubled his weight by 3 mths, I don't think I can or my back can handle a growth spurt.

I just got $50 as a gift for Ian. Think I will buy some Happy Tushies pail liners & wet bags. I was wondering where I would find the funds for them. Cool!

Willo- I know what you mean about being sleep deprived & self-medicating with food & spending too much $$$. Also DH is away a lot & when he is I find it very hard to stay within budget.

I really want to get onto my plan of losing 1 lb a week until Ian is one year old. I would be at a great weight if I can do that. Have not found the motivation yet though.

My Ergo carrier is on the way, I hope I like this one. I still have a Karma Baby sling that I can't get rid of. I'm trying for a 3rd time to sell it on Ebay.

[dara00]

Amy, did you try selling it on thebabywearer?

[gurglebaby]

Willo- I so feel your pain!! My ds has been waking up every 1-2 hours for about 3 weeks now. thought I would lose my mind. Just last night he actually gave me 3 hours between feedings. Yipee!! Of course I woke up at 4am and couldn't sleep for a couple hours. I think my body was wondering why I was getting more sleep than usual and didn't know what to do. I am hoping last night was the turning point.Just had him weighed 19 lbs! Guess that's why he couldn't stop eating. Good luck to you and hopefully the growth spurt won't last as long for you.
CD's I use a pail/lid with water and a little vinegar. I usually wash every 1-2 days and have had no problem with smell.

I'm off to bed now. I'm hoping the 3 hour feedings continue...

[willoLevin]

Hmm... Well, we had a ped. visit today, and A. is longer (25.25") and heavier (14# 1 oz), but not so much heavier as might have been expected after the last visit. He's up 1 pound in the past month instead of the 2 pounds that might've been expected on his old growth curve. HOWEVER, we were having to supplement back then, so this is more like his initial growth pattern before he started to drop weight and we added supplementation.

So, the doctor isn't worried, we'll just do an extra weigh-in next month and make sure he is at least gaining at this lower rate. Of course, I'M still a touch worried. Arg!

I think I am now leaning more toward adding a little supplementation if we're still nursing every 2 hours or less as of this weekend. I bought a ton of those little 2 oz ready-to-feed formula bottles when the supply problem showed up (assumed I'd need them as I did was DS#1, but happily was able to pump most of what DS#2 needed!), and I think I am comfortable with the idea of supplementing a little bit without stressing myself more by re-renting the hospital pump (or using the FAR less comfy Pump-In-Style)... Obviously, I'm sitting here rationalizing why it is okay, so I'm not 100% cool with it, but I'm pretty comfortable.

S. will have a pirate-themed 4th birthday party next month, so I'm going to be doing lots of little crafty projects for favors and games and such... My MIL is supposed to come over and hold the baby so S. and I can do this exciting "work". I expect all of us and most of the house to be covered in paint for the next several weeks! (Can't even think about finishing the Halloween costume, too!)

Jilian-- I hope you do get to move back up here! Let me know if you'd consider the north shore, because I'd be happy to have you for a neighbor.

DH is overnight at Woods Hole (about 1.5 hours drive from home) tonight for work, so it'll be me and the boys. I know S. will want to sleep on my floor instead of alone in his room, so I sure hope A. is quieter or NO ONE will sleep tonight. :

--willo

[Keeping up]

Sleeping habits - this mightn't be welcomed but I thought I would share. My 3rd baby was an up every few hours kind of kid through the night - it got worse at 4 months and went straight down hill from there. I am convinced he was a comfort nurser - he slept with us, he smelt breast milk (I slept with him in the crook of my arm - sometimes his hair smelt of nighttime BO ... I shower every day but still 'smell' a bit by night.) I read the book everyone talks about - No Cry Sleep, or whatever it was called. While I far from adopted all items from it, I was much more consious with this little one about some of its suggestions. While every baby is different (way different - my #2 nothing would of worked - #4 this will work), I was determined not to comfort feed - respond to all needs etc. but not leap at the slightest peep and let babe learn to comfort self. This is FAR from letting baby cry. With #3, if he made a noise (grunt or a little whine) I picked him up and fed him. I don't do this with this little one - I will pick him up after some noise (very short time frame) but won't necessarily feed him - to eliminate that I whimper, I get fed circle. Just a thought - adopt what you will think will work. This baby sleeps well - but not if he is in bed with us in my arms (too much breast too close) - in his co-sleeper. As I said, it WOULDN't have worked with my colicy screaming #2 child but it would have with the calmer #3 and very calm #4.

Willo - weight - my son was 14lbs. 1oz. and 25.5 inches at 3 months and a bit months (he was 7lbs. 13oz. at birth). I would try and convince yourself not to worry - as hard as it is - if your ped is happy, let yourself be happy. Some kids fall off their curves - it is normal. I know you fight with the supplementation and lack of weight gain history but I would say that weight/lenght at 4 months is awesome.

[dara00]

hi everyone, this is off topic, but I'm doing a walk for suicide prevention this coming Sunday. I am looking for a few more donations, if you are interested! you can pm me for the details (don't think I'm allowed to post my link here!)

[puddle]

Hi everybody! nak--excuse typos.
I know I don't post here much, but I am following along.
I'm so happy I found all of you. The mamas in the other birth month community i joined are already feeding their kids solids and starting CIO and talking about how their babies are being manipulative.
L is doing great. Sleeping much better since I cut out dairy. I hope it's a coincidence--i really miss cheese. She's giggling and squealing like crazy, grabbing her feet, and actually asking for tummytime. EC is going pretty well except that I'm trying to transition from sink to toilet and she doesn't like it as much. I've decided to change pediatricians before her next wbv. I've seen 3 different doctors from that practice and I just don't feel like I can trust them to have her best interest in mind.

[jstar]

ann - i've taken a similar approach with this babe which i think has contributed to his (much) better sleeping. and i agree his 'personality' has been amenable to it so it hasn't been a big struggle.

a few weeks ago he was sleeping through the night almost consistently. now he is sick with a cold he is up 3 or 4 times a night. i really want to get him sleeping through again so i am going to try and soothe him back to sleep without nursing when his sniffles are gone (if he continues to wake). i don't want to encourage the comfort nursing if he is capable of sleeping through.

with ds1 i never considered that an option because he was in daycare so i know he was getting valuable feeding time at night. this babe has boob access all day

babe is napping right now....and i need to take a shower. i always take the bouncy seat in there with me. i guess i'll just hope he doesn't wake up

willo - i wouldn't worry about the weight if the ped isn't worried. and your pirate party sounds like fun!

puddle - cute pics

[mama2Bin07]

For cloth diapers I use a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. I don't seal the lid, just lay it on top. But you can't smell anything. I don't even soak them, I just wash them every 2 to 3 days. Any poop stain that does not come out in the wash always comes out by letting them "bleach" in the sun.

[AdInAZ]

Hi puddle! Cute baby! I see she has a mohawk going on (lots of hair in the middle and thinning on the sides). Same hair do as my little guy!

Well, Sean has diahrea. The babies in his daycare have been passing it around and even the workers have gotten sick. They've been bathing everything in bleach water after hours trying to keep the sickness from spreading, but wah! Sean got it! The good thing is, he is still his chipper self during the day. And I got to take off work to stay home with him and try to nurse him through it. THe bad news is, he was awake amost the entire night last night!! What happened to my baby that slept 7-8 hour stretches?? Since I;ve gone back to work, ds wakes more frequently. But now that he is sick and up most the night and grumpy and tired and crying... I'm exhausted. Definately hitting the sack early tonight.

My mom is flying in for a quick visit this weekend. Yay! I miss her so much. This will be her second time seeing Sean. She is going to be amazed by how much he has grown. He is getting really good at grabbing and moving objects with his hands. Dd has learned a few new tricks as well, like biking with NO training wheels. *sigh* My babies are growing up.

[willoLevin]

Originally Posted by AnnD

Sleeping habits - this mightn't be welcomed but I thought I would share. ... I read the book everyone talks about - No Cry Sleep... I was determined not to comfort feed - respond to all needs etc. but not leap at the slightest peep and let babe learn to comfort self. ... Just a thought - adopt what you will think will work. This baby sleeps well ... it WOULDN't have worked with my colicy screaming #2 child but it would have with the calmer #3 and very calm #4.

Unfortunately, I read The No Cry Sleep Solution, too, with both of my boys, and I still haven't had any luck with it. : Seriously, though, part of my problem is that, with the milk supply issue, I felt it was imperative that I nurse at every peep to maximize what milk I could make. And, happily, this time it worked! I'm not supplementing A. at all, and he is gaining and growing.

I think, what was helping up until recently was my mother's presence. She was available to provide non-nursing comfort, and she is also more old-school (though mostly quite AP friendly), so more prone to encourage self-soothing, in a doting grandma type of way.

But, also, though this child is more mellow in general than my first, he is still incredibly demanding about getting what he wants. For example, if you misread his cue and go to the changing table instead of the toys, or the nursing pillow when he wants to go up and sleep for the night in bed, he will BELLOW with rage, and, after you fix your egregious error, he will show you what he wanted (nurse a little, hit a toy), and then let out one more, smaller angry yell to be sure you understand that he is aware of the transgression! So, basically, he is hard to de-rail from nursing at night if that's what he's set his mind upon.

My big boy was more autocratic and bossy in personality from a very young age, but all he ever wanted was to nurse, so there was nothing else he got miffed about.

Anyway, I'm going to have DH try a long holding session tonight or tomorrow night to see if we can at least get back to what we had a week ago. A. is more willing to accept other forms of comfort from different people (grandma, DH, Baba -- Russian babushka/grandma, my MIL).

Oh, and, as is often the way of life, yesterday, at the ped visit, he asked if A. was rolling over yet. I said, "Not quite, but I'm being really careful since I think he is very close to it." So, last night, while I was in the kitchen getting dinner, A. rolled over from tummy to back with his big brother for an audience. I was a little worried that S. had "helped" A. do it, but, a few minutes later, he did it again and I got to see, too. DH, of course, feels negligent for being gone the night of a milestone!

--willo

[awallrising]

Ugh! Rough night last night. I ate an Amy's Frozen Indian dinner last night & Ian had wicked gas on & off (the beans?). I didn't have any fresh pumped milk, so I fixed a bottle of frozen to try to avoid the gas. He wouldn't take it & kept wrinkling up his nose at it so I had to nurse him. The gas still came but didn't seem as painful. At least we got a nap in & hopefully can get another one in.

One of my friends who works for an LLL hotline says that foods Mom eats don't cause gas in babies. She can actually become belittling if you tell her that your baby reacts to certain foods you eat. Totally pisses me off that she does that, esp. since & I just about every other Mom I know thinks otherwise.

[vannienicole]

*

[todavia]

vanessa. it sucks when people who are supposed to be helping you end up making your life more difficult. good luck with midterms!

puddle - i love the pix of lola! she's a beauty...

carina had a sort of mohawk thing going on but it was way more patchy than that. there were some super long parts and some totally bald parts - it was like a permanent bad hair day so we actually shaved her head last week :. she was fine with it, just kept looking around like "what is that buzzing sound?"

willo- i'm sure baby's weight gain is fine and i hope you get some relief/sleep soon.

awallrising- i'm trying to lose 1lb per week as well. i have to force myself to stay off the scale until fridays cuz when i check everyday, i tend to get discouraged and then i tend to eat some junk to make myself feel better. with ds i didn't really start losing weight until i stopped bfing (7mo) and started smoking again so i'm committed to doing things differently this time. it's hard though.

[wombatclay]

Hugs mamas...sounds like this has been a tough week all round! Hope nursing, sleeping, eating, rolling, husbands, partners, housing, and weather sort themselves out FAST and in such a way as to keep everyone happy/healthy/sane.

Laia had a dairy sensitivity as well as sensitivity to eggs in my diet... it was tough cutting uot eggs/dairy since we don't eat much meat and those two items make up a big chunk of our diet. I think I "challenged" every couple of months and was eventually able to add back in a small amount of yogurt and cooked egg product (like I could eat waffles made with eggs, but not scrambled eggs straight up). And once she was eating more solids and getting a little less "boom boom juice" I was able to go back to my regular diet more or less. At 2.5yo she doesn't seem to have any sensitivities though we do keep a pretty close eye on her and her diet.

So far Rowan has been fine so I'm hoping I dodged that bullet.

Ro has her 4 month wbv next week and I can't wait to see how she has grown! And since we'll be changing insurance companies at the end of the month I'll actually be taking Ro to a new doctor in November for a "new patient visit". Laia gets one too and fortunately we were able to book them back to back. I've never had to interview a ped so I'm a bit nervous. Dh's insurance would cover 80% of a non-network provider but covers 100% of in network care sooooooo...we just don't have the money to keep seeing our beloved family doctors. Boo hoo!

ETA- about weight loss...remember all the things that can affect your weight at a given moment. When I was on South Beach I actually weighed myself twice a day (morning and night) every day so I'd have a better feel for how my body changed during a day/during the month. I found I was almost exactly 3 pounds heavier in the evening than in the morning and my weight moved ~5 pounds during the course of my monthly cycle.

And keep in mind that weighing yourself with empty bowels AND empty breasts can make a huge difference! I've seen my weight change by a few pounds depending on how recently I've nursed!