February 08 - Bring Out Your May Flowers!

[Writerbird]

When last we saw our thread:

Julie's baby, Ember, was nursing beautifully but not peeing. (For what it's worth, I think it was a fluke. E.G.'s first morning dry diaper surprised the heck out of me, given the sheer volume of milk that boy can suck down.)

Rynna wants to talk about nipple piercing. (Rynna, all I can say to that is ) She also put up a new picture of the extremely handsome Bear.

Applecore is experiencing a terrible gallbladder flareup and needs our good thoughts. (*good thoughts at Applecore*)

We're doing okay in the 'Bird household. My little dude was sleeping for two long chunks, waking only to feed at around 4:30-5, and I barely have to wake up for that. However, three nights ago, he started waking up at 4:30 in terrible gas pain. I have not eaten anything new! WTH!? Worse, after we pump out the farts by bicycling his legs, he's hungry, but will not nurse lying down until the second boobful. So Daddy's been on Gas Patrol, and then I sit up in the rocker to nurse. If anyone's got ideas, I'm open...

Welcome to May! Now, why is it so cold? :

[the elyse]

yay a new thread!

youch on the nipple piercing!! bear is SO cute in that hat!!! (where did you get it?)

crap! cash just projectile vomitted all over me. be back later....

[Teenytoona]

Hello all! I've been reading the thread, but cannot seem to keep up too well with all the posts. AH well...

Julie, I hope you can get things figured out with your sweet Ember girl. Perhaps it is one of those overnight dry spells? Nursing problems can be SO all encompassing, they really can, don't be too hard on yourself (either for the problem, or for the way its overwhelming you).

Applecore, good luck. My SIL had her gall bladder removed too, right after the babe was born. I know it's worlds better after it's out.

Rynna, I can't seem to see your new Bear picture, but I'm sure it's adorable.

Writerbird, I have no idea anything on the Gas problem, except to say it's too much a shame it can't be harnessed and then pumped into your vehicle.

Well things are going ok here on the baby front. We're still battling thrush, but (presently) it doesn't seem to affect her nursing, or cause her any pain. IT's just my major nursing obsession (well that and helping my SIL battle the ped induced formula panic). One day I will lick this battle.

She's diong well on the nipple confusion front too. Especially once I figured out that maybe that last bottle I thought she wanted before was something she really didn't need. And then I felt awful that I was accidentally causing her to get stressed out to sleep by giving her the extra bottle. So now I'm realizing that she wants to fall asleep, but gets frustrated that she can't. I spend alot more time calming her than trying to get her to nurse. Which makes sense because we usually have a nice long nursing session when I get home at 6 and then by 7:30 ish she starts getting cranky to go to sleep for the night.

Once she's down, she usually only sleepily wakes to nurse, which is ok because I'm sleepily nursing her. She's growing and changing every day. I still don't have a current picture. I'm sorry I'm just not a great picture taker - I never can find the camera, and am far less organized these days than I used to be. She's talking and babbling and even seems to mimic us on a few things (but she has been doing the ah-aah thing since a few days old).
My goal this weekend is to get you folks a new pic of my sweetling.

In other news Mr Toona bartered himself a vehicle, thankfully. ANd has been doing some out of home work, which means our little peach has been in daycare, and making me feel incredibly guilty, because I do wish I could be with her (though the weekends are enough for me to know I can't handle the whole week being the sole care provider...). But his work he was trying to get going (working from home) was not taking off, and his other prospects seem to be popping up, but they mean him being out of the house and 'Nara being in day care. A lady from his church watches her, which is ok, but I want something closer to my work, would be nice to have lunch with her. However with my long commute and his on again off again, means she will have to be taken care of closer to him until his work become steady. Plus she HATES HATES HATES being in the car for too long, especially if there are stops during the drive. Sigh... I miss that girl every day at work.

I'm really starting to feel more balanced these days and am grateful for that.

[loraxc]

Hi!

Owen is a lovely lovely baby, except that he has a severe posterior tongue tie and yes, it took 10 long weeks to figure this out. We have an ENT consult on Monday. Please cross your fingers that he says this will be an easy clip (our LC says no) and that he is willing to do it. Nursing has been horrible because of this, but otherwise, he is a dream baby. Looks JUST like his older sister but acts nothing like her!

[the elyse]

just wanted to post a pic of cash. this is him about two weeks ago.

[sunkist33]

Ocean is a rather fussy baby during the day & sleeps great at night (just wakes twice to eat & then falls right back asleep)~ weird! She nurses great (read: all the time!) and is growing BIG. She laughs now & is starting to reach & grab toys. We walk everyday with the Beco carrier, which I love
Still researching vaccines (reading a lot, I read while she nurses) & haven't done any yet. Considering delaying until age 2 (and that will give me some more time to research!). Just finished reading "Pushed.." by Jennifer Block...
very eye-opening! We're definately going with a home birth (possibly UC?) next time around. Too bad Blue Cross no longer covers any of it & you have to pay out of pocket This country really has things backwards!
Trying to figure out how to make some money while being a SAHM...
That pretty much sums up what's going on with us...would love to hear how everyone is doing with their little aquarians!
Stacy

[sunkist33]

Originally Posted by the elyse

just wanted to post a pic of cash. this is him about two weeks ago.

He's adorable!

[sunkist33]

Originally Posted by loraxc

Hi!

Owen is a lovely lovely baby, except that he has a severe posterior tongue tie and yes, it took 10 long weeks to figure this out. We have an ENT consult on Monday. Please cross your fingers that he says this will be an easy clip (our LC says no) and that he is willing to do it. Nursing has been horrible because of this, but otherwise, he is a dream baby. Looks JUST like his older sister but acts nothing like her!

Oh no! Hope it's an easy procedure & goes smoothly!

[salt_phoenix]

I rambled in the other thread for a minute. I just couldn't let it die! :

[Jezzy]

Thanks for the new thread!!

Teeny, if you need me to post a pic for you again let me know!!

Helen, I want to know if it hurt too. I have had many piercings in all sorts of places but never dared to get the girls done I also have 4 tattoos, my fav is a lotus flower that I got done in Thailand I want to get 3 stars done to represent my 3 kiddos my mom keeps getting on me for redecorating my body. She also thinks I am to old :

Rynna are you thinking about getting it done??


My aren't our babies getting big?? Here is a recent one of Ash I think that she is going through a growth spurt right now. She is constantly nursing. I dont feel that I have more milk though is this normal??

[operamommy]

Nipple piercing. : I definately couldn't do it - having my belly done years ago hurt bad enough! Kudos to all of you mamas who've done it or are thinking of it, though.

salt_phoenix, are you using a Lact-Aid or SNS at all? (I'm sorry, I can't remember) I'm sorry for the disappointment.

Cash and Bear are both adorable. We February mamas make good-lookin' babes!

Teeny, I'm not a good picture taker either! I have many many friends who get their kiddos' portraits done every few months, right on "schedule." There *is* a cute pic of Peter and ds2 wearing matching brother shirts on my blog, though!

lorax, I will be crossing even my toes. I'm glad other than the tongue issues that Owen is such an easy babe.

sunkist, I'm glad that Ocean sleeps good at night. That makes having a high-needs baby soooo much easier! Ds2 fussed both night and day and I thought I was gonna lose my mind.

I got a 2 hour nap today! Peter went down in his swing, and ds2 and I fell asleep on the couch before lunchtime, even. I've got some chocolate chip banana bread in the oven right now...yum. : Tonight a friend of mine is having us girls (and Peter) over to watch Gray's Anatomy so that should be fun.

Other than that I'm falling more in love with Petey Pete every day. Geez, those grins go straight to your heart, don't they?

[slgt]

I've also been overwhelmed trying to keep up with this thread - reading, but not posting! Some belated catch-up - hugs to you Rynna and Flapjack, for all that each of you have been going through.

And hugs to all the mamas who have been working through nursing struggles - and big kisses to all the babies out there! I love seeing the pictures...

DD will be 11 weeks tomorrow, which means one more week before I go back to work. It's really hard to think about not being with her all day, every day. I say this, but really, we are very lucky for a while at least. Due to a fortunate coincidence of a delayed construction project, I will be working from home for at least 3 weeks. DH is going to be a SAHD, so I will spend my first 3 weeks back "at work" sitting closed away at a desk in our spare room while DH finds his rhythm with our darling girl, and still coming out to nurse every few hours. I'll start replacing one session with pumping, and see how that goes.

As a first-timer, I get a little bit fierce when I see DD taking the occasional bottle of EBM - I feel very possessive! I'll get over it...

She's growing like gangbusters - I figured out that, between her 2- and 8-week appt's, she gained an average of 1.4 oz. per day! We call her our giantess. She is long and has appropriate amounts of baby chub, except for her torso which is skinny. Oh, what a love!

Sleeping...can't complain one bit at this point. She does great with one feeding between 9pm and 5am. At 5, she grunts and levitates until I bring her into bed for a short snack and a snuggle. Ah - I was wrong - I can complain. DD does NOT like to sleep during the day! A couple days ago, I was alone with her for 11.5 hours, of which she slept 4.5. That was a long day. Now, however, she is just starting to stir from a 4-hour nap - her first nap this long in a month! Nothing if not inconsistent, my DD!

That's it for now - she is awake & no doubt ready to drain very full breasts!

[flapjack]

Checking in... hugs to everyone, bbl.

[Writerbird]

*yawn*

2:25 AM - EG was nursing every two hours yesterday, and the he lost his tiny little mind from 9 to 11... now he's sound asleep and I am painfully engorged.

I suppose I shouldn't have bitched about needing a chance to pump for an upcoming trip... the universe provides, but at 2 AM?

That trip's freaking me out. It's not overnight, because I said I wouldn't do those without taking him... but it's all day, the pump is coming with me, and I just have to hope the ice packs make it through security. Anyone got experience with that?

[steph117]

I was so overwhelmed by the 8 billion messages on the April thread that I gave up trying to follow - but I'll see if I can keep up with this one! Probably not too well since I don't like having Mia in front of the computer very much. But I'll definitely check in...I've missed the daily contact that I had with everyone during the end of the PG especially!

to everyone with breastfeeding issues, & mamas dealing with going back to work soon- & applecore, hope the gallbladder can be dealt with easily. Loraxc - hope the tongue clip goes well! & wowee, adorable babies here!

Mia just turned 8 weeks old on Wednesday - how has 8 weeks passed already since she joined us? It's amazing. I'm so in love with her. I will share two fantastic photos of Mia, taken a few weeks ago already (my husband took these two and I love, love, love them):
Mia in bed
Mia on my lap

to everyone...

[Jezzy]

pretty baby Steph!!

[the elyse]

i love those pictures! she's adorable

[firecat]

steph, mia is so sweet.

applecore, how ya doin? hope your gb is better.

slgt, jackson is the same way with naps sometimes. he's sleeping now but that's only b/c he's in my lap.

my poor dh, jackson is always cranky in the evenings and doesn't want to hang. add to that I'm trying to get in a pumping sesh. both papa and baby are frustrated. dh always wants to know why he cries... he's a baby for goodness sake! he's not happy if you just sit and try to watch tv! and no turning the tv up louder is not a solution! ok can you tell I an frustrated too?

I seriously hate hate hate pumping and this trip I'm pumping for is starting to piss me off. dh says it's not the end of the world if he gets some formula while we are gone, but it's a big deal to me. He just doesn't get it!
i won't be going if i can't get enough pumped.

I really admire the dedication of those mamas who have to pump on a regular basis!

[applecore]

Holy cow, there's a lot goin' on here already! I'm glad to see some gals that haven't been keeping up with last month's thread are here.

Well, my ER visit was unconclusive. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the gallbladder contracts after eating, which makes it difficult or impossible to see if there are stones from an ultrasound. So the only thing I know for certain is that my liver enzymes and bilirubin levels are elevated. So they suspect that the duct is blocked by a stone. I have to go for a follow up visit next week to check the enzyme levels, etc., and then I'm sure we'll schedule another ultrasound. This should be fun with no insurance. The hardest part (besides the pain during an attack) has been getting people to understand that surgery is only a last resort option for me. I feel very strongly that all my parts have a purpose even if science hasn't discovered what that purpose is. I'm surprised that people don't see why I want so badly to keep my whole body intact! Everyone just assumes I'll have the surgery and be done with it. I'm going to do everything in my power to find a way to deal with the immediate problem of the stones and then support the gallbladder in a way that will hopefully keep it from producing more. I have a lot of research to do.

I'm getting a kick out of the piercing chatter! I used to have a lot of piercings, including my clitoral hood, which I wouldn't recommend. I never did my nipples, though. I have taken out most of the piercings, leaving only my nose, and my ears, which I am in the process of stretching. I'm more of a tattoo gal, myself. I wish I could afford to get done all the work I want. Once Twyla is old enough for me to leave for a few hours, I'm going to start on a big Phoenix covering my chest. I've wanted it for years. I have a really big piece on my hip- lillies of the valley with a black background, and a number of smaller ones. Someday I would LOVE to have full sleeves. I think tattoos are so sexy!

[the elyse]

mmmmm... tattoos. now i'm interested. anyone thinking of getting tattoos to commemorate their lo's?

applecore, i have a friend that had her GB removed and really regrets it, and i think she may have some good info for you.. her mdc name is truelife. tell her i sent you. i'm with you though, surgery is scary!!!