~Postpartum check in: 5/25-5/31~

[Shanana]

Doing okay here. Struggling with the reflux. The slippery elm works wonderfully, but she needs it on an empty stomach and at least every 4 hours. It's very difficult to make that work. I'm having to wake her between feedings at night to give it, then can't nurse her back to sleep (because need to keep her stomach empty). Am getting very little sleep . The absolute worst is when she goes a short period between feedings and she's hungry at the time she needs a dose. What do I choose? If I don't give her the dose we are looking at a few miserable hours with her in a lot of pain. But if I give it then I can't nurse her -- for an hour, really, if I want it to be effective. So she has to go hungry. It's awful .

I have a message in with the homeopath to talk about switching her to a homeopathic instead. I can apply that topically, so I won't have to wake her and don't have to worry about her hating it and trying it spit it out (like she does with the slippery elm). Homeopath originally felt she would do better with the herbal, but this is just too hard, so I want to talk to her about it again.

The car is the worst. Something about how she sits in the car seat makes the reflux just awful. DD1 was a car seat screamer and I hated every second of it, but I never felt she was in physical pain. With Sophie I know she is in pain and it breaks my heart. I am constantly pulling over and taking her out to burp her and she often spits up. I try so hard to get all the burps out before I put her in the car, but it never seems to work . It takes forever to get anywhere. Makes me not want to leave the house, sigh.

I will be so glad when this is over. So very, very tired ...

[clutterbug]

Oh, Shanana, I feel for you, it must be so hard Declan had a few days in a row of getting really worked up and screaming after his feeds and just those few days were sooooo stressful. Since the weekend, it seems to have died down to just regular complain-y fussing after feeds, so I am keeping fingers and toes crossed that it was just part and parcel with his 3 week growth spurt or something.

We are doing well here. Declan has decided his nursing pattern will include hourly feeds for much of the day...what a little piglet! Luckily my sore nipples seem to be mostly behind us, otherwise I would be quite cranky about the frequency! I think he could go longer between feeds if he ate off both boobs,but he gets so milk drunk off the first that he won't wake up and eat off the second! My midwife is encouraging me to work on getting him to go longer, and I think I will...but not until we hit the 6 week mark. Until then I figure this is awesome for my supply and I am just too lazy (and tired!) to try to soothe him as we gradually stretch it out a few more minutes between each feeding.

This week we are going to try our first little outing (other than walks around the neighbourhood) with just me and both kiddos. I wonder how I will do it, but I figure everyone else in the history of time has managed, so I will too!

[Intertwined]

Shana. I cannot imagine. Poor baby! And poor mama too!

We're doing pretty well. My hormones are really beginning to crash today as my milk is fully in and unfortunately for DH he was 45 minutes late getting home from work tonight and my help left before he got here. I would have been fine if he'd apologized but he apparently didn't feel that was necessary....

Anyway, the wonder duo is great. They're finally settling into a 3 hour nursing pattern as long as I tandem them. Last night I bit the bullet and sat up to nurse them and then was rewarded (TWICE) with a 3 hour block of sleep. Heavenly! I do so love having heavy cream for milk. I am a bit worried about Claire not getting enough hind milk and gaining 'enough' weight so I switch her to Ben's side when he's done and let her nurse there for awhile. He's a champ, though, and already bulking up to look like a mini football player.

I'm hoping my mom will finally be back in town tomorrow. She's been out of cell phone range for well over a week and so doesn't know about the births yet. She's supposed to come for a week and DH is going back to work for good on Thursday so I've got my fingers crossed she gets back when my brother said she would.....

[NatureMama3]

shana reflux is terrible to deal with. My older 3 have had it (no word yet on 4) and no matter what it's hard on mama.

I am still extremely sore in the pelvis and at my tear-repair. Beyond that it is soooo wonderful to feel human again!! I haven't vomited since friday! I can eat whatever I want and water tastes GREAT!

[Intertwined]

Originally Posted by NatureMama3

shana reflux is terrible to deal with. My older 3 have had it (no word yet on 4) and no matter what it's hard on mama.

I am still extremely sore in the pelvis and at my tear-repair. Beyond that it is soooo wonderful to feel human again!! I haven't vomited since friday! I can eat whatever I want and water tastes GREAT!

This is SO wonderful to hear! I am right there with you, tired and a bit sore and still not back to normal but HOLY COW is it nice to be able to breathe and eat and bend over and not have to pee every 3 minutes and my butt bugs are not bothering me and and and.....

[trinimommy]

Doingokay here. Dealing with a silent reflux issue with mt little one. I have decided to start feeding him upright for the most part and burp several times during sucking breaks and keeping him upright after feedings. Seems to be doing well so far. He eats ALOT!! Today we did almost every hour on the hour!!! We are fighting jaundice so I don't mind. The more magic milk the merrier. He goes outside to get some sun a couple times a day. I am praying billi levels are down by his 2 wk appt this week.

I didn't have any tears but was quite swollen down there. Seems to be finally going down.

I am so thankful for my mother taking care of me. Babymooning definitely helps to shorten your recovery period. Wish I knew this 8 years ago!!!!!

[sweetcheeks]

, Shanana. My heart just ached for Sophie while I was reading your update. Poor girl. I have no experience w/reflux but couldn't not offer a hug for you.

We are doing good here. Things are starting to settle down now . . . my sister and her boy were here for a few days. Lordy, I love my sister and I really appreciate how helpful she was while she was here but her and I differ so much WRT parenting and I had to bite my tongue a few times while she was here about some of the stuff she does w/her boy. Anyhoo . . . my baby boy is sleeping in 3 hr stretches at night, which has been heavenly. During the day he does nothing but nurse and want to sleep in my or DH's arms or in the Moby but, hey, it's better than that happening at night, right?! He'll be 2 wks tomorrow and I'm going to take him into the MW's office to weigh him real quick. He dropped to 8/3 by day 3 (from 8/15 at birth) and by day 8, he was back to 8/12. He looks alot chubbier and rounder now so I know he's well over 9lbs already.

I'm feeling really good. This has been my easiest recovery yet (aside from the killer afterpains I experienced w/in the first week -- they're right, they do get worse w/each child). I stepped on the scale the other day and I was suprised to see I had lost 25lbs already, so I only have 5lbs to go to get to pre-preggo weight. Yay!

[kalisage]

Shanana, I hope homeopathic remedies work for you all!

Its been an interesting couple days here. I am taking longer to heal this time. With dd (#3), I was up & moving 2 hrs after she was born - and this time I just feel like a snail getting back to normal. Physically & emotionally.

Some of this feels akin to when I had my first, and I think it's because DP & I are learning how to co-parent together. I know how to co-parent with my ex, so this is all new and different. And it's been taking some adjusting, especially on my part.

I know it's all just new, and takes adjusting yet I find myself falling back into a habit were I just do it all, and I'm getting burnt. I need to just sit back, chill out and let Z put diapers on backwards

Other than that, everything is going beautifully. Marley is just this super chill little guy. And he's already changed so much, I just love this time.

[KingsDaughter76]

Well, we are doing great over here!! Madilynn is ONE MONTH old today and that just AMAZES me- its flying by!!!! She is 10 lbs 4 oz currently - good ol' fatty breastmilk of mine...pure cream! lol!! She loves to look around and is very alert...sleeps well, nurses all the time...and still has all of her thick black hair with the blonde patch in front.....and blue eyes....I know its mommy bias- but I think she is stunningly beautiful!!!! :-) She is such a great baby- she really is...we are enjoying her sooooo much!!!

As for me- I'm good! :-)

[blizzard_babe]

Is it supposed to be like this? Isn't Ike supposed to be sleeping like half the day (even if it is in catnaps)? Because, seriously, this kid is awake for the vast majority of the day. I give him plenty of "opportunities" to sleep (nursing in our dark bedroom, etc), but he just doesn't. He requires SO MUCH interaction when he's awake, too. He just wants to be moving all the time. Position one works for a minute, but then he wants to move again. He's just SO ALERT all the time! Down time is hard to come by. He's already holding his head up; we have to be there for backup in case he "loses it," but he's pretty much able to keep it upright on his own a lot of the time.

Shanana... thanks again for the info in the last postpartum post. We've been looking into it, and I think the crying-in-arms idea, especially, has a great deal of merit for him. Sometimes he just needs to cry and all we can do it hold him. We just have to discern between crying/fussiness that are telling us something is wrong (and he DOES just seem like the sensitive type on top of it all, so a lot of the times his cries ARE for fix-able reasons, even if it means changing positions every 30 seconds...), and the few times he just needs to get it all out while we just hold him and love him. He DOES seem like a more relaxed kiddo after he vents, and I don't think it's just exhaustion. Even after taking a nap, he's more "quiet alert" and snuggly. I don't know. It's hard to tell what's just his personality (like I said, he IS just kind of an intense, easily maxed-out kind of person, and he gets it directly from his mama ).

[battymama]

Yay, i graduated!

Shanana sorry to here about your little sophia, i hope you find some relief for her.

The baby and i are going great, she is so laid back and snuggly, i know that can change but i am enjoying my rest. She is nursing like a champ, and had great latch from the get go, still no sore nipples and my milk has started to come in, my midwife thinks it will be in tomorrow. She is such a little piglet, i love her little nursing grunts and snorts. I am so much in love.

She has a little bit of jaundice, and a bit of a heat rash, so we will be sunning her, and she will be having a herbal bath with me tonight, i was planing to wait but my midwife thinks it will help with the rash. So at the moment she is a bit multi coloured, yellow and pink, quite decorative

I am going well, the worst part is the stitches and one roid. I only had a couple of tiny tears, normaly my midwife would of left them but they were forming a wierd flap so i got 4 sutures, and there was one internal one too. I also have some afterpains, but they are better since i passed a clot yesterday, there may have been a little bit of membrains left in there, but all gone now.

Sorry this is so long, i am just so excited to be a mum, and have so much to share.

[kalisage]

Sara, I think some babies/kids/adults just need & want to get out all that extra stress. s to you!

battymama - Congratulations! It's so fun being on this side

[Galatea]

I don't know, Sara, but my dd sleeps all day and night. She only wakes up for a bath with daddy. Hugs to you!

[NatureMama3]

Sara My big guy is transitioning to a quiet-awake type too. at night. where he was sleeping so well at night to begin with.

I feel like a complete wimp. I have no idea how I ever did it with my other kids! apparently being 5 1/2 years older makes a huge difference! I need sleep!

[MamaJ2005]

Shanana ~ I am so sorry you are still battling reflux. Have you tried apple cider vinegar? My dh made that suggestion to a patient and it only took one dose for the reflux to disappear all together. I am not sure of the dosage, but I am sure you could look it up.

Blizzardbabe ~ HUGS!!! My first dd was a hard one to handle, but it did get better!

Congrats to all the new mamas! And welcome to the other side!!!

We're doing pretty well. I took the girls to the beach for the first time yesterday. I was kind of anxious about how it all would work out. I brought a portable swing for Kierah and let her chill out in there out of the sun in b/w nursings. I used a blanket and towel to create a canopy for her. She loved it. I stuck her feet and bum in the tide a few times. She doesn't quite appreciate the ocean just yet! : ) I just made sure to nurse her a lot and kept her shaded. I was amazed at how well we did. DD1 just played in the sand and surf the whole time. Her shoulders and bum (where the swimsuit rode up) got a little pink, but she is golden brown this morning. I, on the other hand, still have a little pink tone to my skin in places, but not bad for the first time on the beach or any sun for that matter since last fall!

We've officially been on the yeast diet for a week now. I've had very few cheats, which surprises me b/c it's hard!!! Kierah's bum is still really red and a little bumpy. I took her diaper off and let her rash air out in the sun yesterday while at the beach a few times. I will continue doing sun treatments to hopefully kill off the yeast. I had really hoped to avoid the crud this time!

I took some cute pics of my girls at the park on memorial day. I will post them in the picture thread soon!

[NatureMama3]

mamaj, try taking a caprylic acid supplement. it's the active ingredient in virgin coconut oil that kills yeast and the supplement increases the amount by a lot. I've been taking that for a month now for systemic fungal infection and so far NO thrush in me or baby. I noticed a dramatic improvement in symptoms right away when starting it.

[Shanana]

Bah. I'm starting the total elimination diet today (or should it be torture elimination diet?) . I figure I'll give that a stab before resorting to medication . The slippery elm does control it most of the time, but we had another vomit out the nose episode yesterday evening. That just always leaves me in tears . But we had a really good night last night and a good day so far. So I'll do the diet, keep on with the slippery elm and see how things go.

I did this diet for a month with dd1 to try to get rid of her gassiness. It didn't help, but I lost a ton of weight! So at least I have something to look forward to .

MamaJ, thanks for the ACV suggestion ... I will look into that. Sorry to hear about the yeastie beasties .

Originally Posted by blizzard_babe

Shanana... thanks again for the info in the last postpartum post. We've been looking into it, and I think the crying-in-arms idea, especially, has a great deal of merit for him. Sometimes he just needs to cry and all we can do it hold him. We just have to discern between crying/fussiness that are telling us something is wrong (and he DOES just seem like the sensitive type on top of it all, so a lot of the times his cries ARE for fix-able reasons, even if it means changing positions every 30 seconds...), and the few times he just needs to get it all out while we just hold him and love him. He DOES seem like a more relaxed kiddo after he vents, and I don't think it's just exhaustion. Even after taking a nap, he's more "quiet alert" and snuggly. I don't know. It's hard to tell what's just his personality (like I said, he IS just kind of an intense, easily maxed-out kind of person, and he gets it directly from his mama ).

I'm glad to hear the info helped. I also meant to suggest that you read The Aware Baby by Aletha Solter. I haven't read it myself, but it's my understanding she gives physical cues to help to determine if it's a crying-for-emotional-release issue or something else. So that might be helpful. I also found dd1 seemed more calm and peaceful after CIA, and I agree, it wasn't just from exhaustion. It seemed very cathartic for her. It sounds like you are working hard to give him what he needs .

Originally Posted by battymama

Yay, i graduated!

Welcome!!! I was laughing about the multicolored baby .

[Tizzy]

I have to admit, I'm pretty darn lucky!
DS1 was in bed by 8:30 and asleep, DS2 slept while DH and I showered, woke him up for a feed at 10pm, he woke up on schedule at 2am, right back to sleep and awake again at 6am for another feed. He's pretty strict about his 4 hour schedule now awesome! I can deal with this!

However, my bottom ACHES! Okay so I guess I was overdoing it by climbing in and out of the back of the pickup truck, helping a bit with firewood, carrying DS1 when he very well can walk and other little things and it all just caught up to me. Now it feels like all my girly bits are just going to fall out and to be honest - it's most comfortable for me to walk around the house holding my crotch lol!

Not much different from the C/S when it felt like all my innerds were going to fall out I suppose.

DS1 is acting out a bit now, I really think it has more to do with me not being able to take him outside as much with this nicer weather. He has this habit of walking/running to the barn all by himself and darn it - he's faster than me right now! So we try to limit our playtime to what will entertain him up by the house. Although I think this afternoon I'm going to take him out in the hayfield and just let him go. It'll take him a good 10 minutes to find trouble, a fair bit longer since it's like walking through the jungle for him

Baby is finally getting enthusiastic about nursing, I think we're on the up and up now. He really doesn't show any other signs of being "early" except this nursing thing.

Oh and I only have 13lbs to go to pre-preg weight. I wouldn't mind another 5 after that

Happy hump day everyone!

[Shanana]

c/p from the thread I have going w/ Steph on reflux:

Started the Dr Sears elimination diet today . Did this w/dd1 and REALLY didn't want to do it again, but I am desperate. We are still having 1-2 bad reflux episodes/day, and subsequent periods of fussiness. Other times she is fine . Yesterday evening was awful, but during the night was good.

Seeing the holistic ped tomorrow, and I'm going to ask her for a prescription . I am hoping we won't need it, but it has gotten to the point where I have to at least consider it, sigh. It doesn't make sense to let her suffer needlessly.

I haven't given up hope, though ...

Have a CST appt for her tomorrow, and I also just booked an appt Fri w/someone who does NAET. Don't know a lot about it, but my friend is taking her 2.5 yo who suffers from severe allergies w/really good results (he can now eat dairy for the first time in his life). I was worried about the complexity of treating dd for the foods in my diet, but she said it's simple -- she just treats her for my milk .

She said the fact that the reflux is sporadic instead of constant (e.g., after every feeding) means it probably is diet related and not "structural" (meaning the valve at the bottom of the esophagus isn't functioning properly). So I am hoping like crazy that she can help us.

[Naomismom]

This is my first post in the postpartum chat. It feels great to be posting here!

I don't have a lot of time to write, but I have a question for you seasoned pros. With my first, I basically tried to schedule DD, who was a great sleeper anyway, and kept her on schedule with pumped bottles. I'm wising up this time and letting DS feed on demand, but he eats every 45 minutes at night! It's this horrible cycle of eat, poop, conk out, then I try to go to sleep and 10 minutes later and he wakes up and we start the whole darn cycle over again. It's so aggravating! I try to go to bed around 8 or 9 to maximize sleep then don't get a wink of it until 1 am or so. Is there any way to get this kid to take bigger feeds so he can sleep longer (and thus let me get some sleep)? He seems to have no problems sleeping during the day...

I'm guessing this is completely normal and that time will take care of things, but please give me some encouragement!