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Weekly Chat Thread Dec 30 - Jan 6

8K views 113 replies 19 participants last post by  mzminty 
#1 ·
Can you believe we're almost in 2011?!?

I've been lurking more lately - my computer time is nak time, and I only have so much oatience with typing one-handed. :)

Nicholas is doing really well - he was up to 13 lbs last Monday. He started smiling over Christmas, which was so great for my family (we were at my parents' house for Christmas). Dh has taken just over 4 weeks of his 8 week leave - it has been so great having him at home!

How is everyone else?
 
#2 ·
Going well here too. I also cannot stand typing one-handed and when I have 2 hands free I'm typically running around tidying up. Had a mini-success/milestone with dd1 last night - she went to bed without nursing!! Granted, it was late and she was tired and cranky about it (dh had gone to bed at 6:30 with a headache....that's a whole 'nother post...) but she DID IT!!!! Tandem nursing, in theory, is great, but the everyday coping with it is not so great. Combination of baby fussies at big girl bed time is really frustrating.

Got to go! Time to get down the Christmas tree!
 
#3 ·
Things are going OK here. Also with the one-handed typing!
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DH goes back to work Monday after 8 weeks off. I'm a-skeered!
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that it goes all right, esp. Tuesday, which will be my first full day alone with both kids (DS has school Mon morning). We got three memberships for Christmas - zoo, Children's museum, and OMSI. I predict those memberships will get a workout this winter/spring!!

We are still trying to come up with a workable solution to keep DS from crawling all over us while DD nurses. Latest solution, to be implemented today, is a play yard around the nursing glider. I really hope it works! I've also put the co-sleeper - as a bassinet - into a gated-off room as a place for her to nap "with us", but out of assault range. I really hope DS calms down as DD gets bigger and more interactive! His aggression does seem worse when he is kept constantly away from her.

This morning he was sad, and I asked if he wanted ''mama snuggles" but he said no - he wanted Paige snuggles
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I'm hoping that's a good sign.

On a sad note, one of the flooded and fully evacuated towns in Queensland is where I did an exchange in my early 20's. I can't stop thinking about my host family and other friends and what they have lost
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#4 ·
Things are going well over here... Marah was not pooping much at all and I finally figured it out. She was getting way too much foremilk. She didn't have a lot of the discomforts associated with too much foremilk (no green poops, no excessive gas pains, etc) just wasn't pooping all that much. I think she went two weeks between at one time... I started block feeding which I had been doing all along but in order to help regulate things a little more I went on an extreme schedule. I nursed her on one boob only for the first day (my left is a massive producer) and then the next day I pared down the hours slowly... now I can actually switch breasts every feed/every other feed and that seems to work very nicely. No crazy engorgement and she's even stopped choking so much at let down. She's pooped at least once the past three days. I'm so glad I figured it out!

She's smiling a lot now and cooing. She's so adorable and happy. She's got a lot of personality. I love when they start to become more expressive and interactive!!

I love this picture of Marah... it was taken yesterday. She's 6 weeks 5 days here. ♥

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#5 ·
Love that picture!

Things here are going relatively well... I do think things are improving, but I definitely think there is a food sensitivity at play, and it seems like it is taking forever to resolve itself and I keep slipping up. Right now I am in the middle of this mental tug-of-war; Most of the time I feel that I can trust my instincts that we are making positive strides and the rest of the time I am riddled with horrible anxiety about how things could be worse than I think and maybe I am making the wrong choices. Sometimes it gets so bad that I begin to obsessively fret about things and I can't tell the difference between what is my trustworthy gut-feeling and what is absolutely absurd. Ugh. I really need to stop googling about baby poop, seriously!

I'm just glad the holidays are over and maybe we can slow down this frantic pace and just re-establish our family groove. Desmond has started smiling and discovering his voice, it has been so fun.

My belly is slowly disappearing. I'm jealous of everyone who is already in pre-preg. clothing, I can barely get my pre-preg belt done up right now. But I was hula hooping today and it felt so good to move my body and I was so happy that my muscles still remembered how to do everything. Has anyone else started exercising yet?
 
#6 ·
Hello everyone!
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Sorry I have been MIA so much of late. The boys pretty much will only sleep in one position and that of course is on my chest, one on either side. So I spend a lot of time surfing things like facebook and such hitting "like".
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But as far as typing replies... sigh it takes a while to maneuver things to accomplish that.

I am so happy to see that many of us are doing so much better even just compared to just a couple of weeks ago.
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Talk to you all later and even if I am not typing a lot I am definitely reading.
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#7 ·
Nic- great picture! That's good that you figured out Marah's issue.

Farren- I understand what you're going through, I did the same with my first and I find myself doing it again. Clara is so different that nothing I learned with DD1 is useful.

I did start exercising today. I played my first indoor soccer game. The first sprint I tried to run and my legs didn't go nearly as fast as my brain thought they should. I almost toppled forward.

I haven't figured out Clara's tummy issues yet. She still struggles with gas pains and really bad hiccups two or three times a day.

Hope everyone had a good new year! I actually stayed up until 12:01!
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by chambom View Post

I haven't figured out Clara's tummy issues yet. She still struggles with gas pains and really bad hiccups two or three times a day.
This is Paige to a T! Infact, yesterday and today were horrors due to the pains
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Seriously thinking of eliminating dairy. And since DS has gluten intolerance, I'm thinking of eliminating that, too.

I've been thinking a bit about how I'm not enjoying the newborn stage very much this time. Maybe its due to having a not-quite-4-year-old and knowing how things will eventually be. Maybe its the fact that I started having kids late, and so many of my friends are at the "take your kids to Disney and have a blast" stage with their older kids....Anyway, I was glad to see that I'm not alone...I came across this entry on AskMoxie the other day and just felt relief! Is anyone else looking to the future instead of living in the moment?
 
#9 ·
Farren-I started exercising awhile back. I couldn't wait. I was fine until I did C25K and 30DS in 24 hours. I should not have done that. It made me pee my pants and I hadn't had that issue since 9 months pg! It sucked! So I'm giving up on that and going back to hooping/yoga/belly dance for awhile.

Looks like Molly's issues are milk and possibly a sensititivity to cruiciferous veggies. I haven't added those back in yet. But she's been MUCH less cranky the past 4 days with no green veggies besides spinach. So we'll see when I add it back in. She has a little bit of a cold, so I'm not sure if it's that getting better of the absence of kale and broccoli as usual in my diet.

I also am not back in pre-pg clothes by far. I'm usually about 120 and I'm STILL 150. It's killing me. But I've decided to abandon my scale for awhile and focus on how I feel. This while trying not to get really pissed at still wearing maternity clothes.
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I've thought about starting a fitness blog. I have a personal/homeschooling one I've neglected for awhile, though.
 
#12 ·
It's funny how busy we've all gotten and how we've all but abandoned our DDC! I miss everyone, but my days are so full!

Things are going pretty well for us. I'm still fighting thrush, but can tell it's slowly getting better. I'm using GSE, APNO and Nystatin, plus probiotics and an enzyme pill called Candex. Also using vinegar in all laundry loads. I still have small cracks in my nipples, so I think that's hindering things. I'm trying to get those healed, but it seems like nighttime nursing really tears me up.

I also cut out sugar and white flour from my diet as of yesterday. It's not as bad as I thought it would be, and I'm pretty proud of myself. Tonight I'm making chicken pot pie and will probably just try to take a scoop without crust. Just cutting out Christmas cookies, chocolate and ice cream alone is an accomplishment!

I weighed myself and Maia at my 6 wk appt, and she's up to 10 pounds! That's a 3 pound gain since her birth. I was pretty impressed!
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I'm pretty much good with fitting my lower half, but all of my shirts are really tight across the chest and too short to hide my pooch. So I think a little bit of shopping is in order...

I would've liked to have chatted more, but I have to put ds down for his nap. Bye!
 
#13 ·
Carys has had horrible gas pains the last couple of days too. I don't know what's causing it and it sure hasn't made for fun evenings. Though we finally got her to sleep in the Kanoe for a little while last night before dh and I went to bed. It was nice to finally have a little alone time. Carys has gained 3 lbs since her birth too and she seems like such a different baby! Stronger, sturdier and definitely developing a personality. I love seeing her change and grow but I have 2 friends (soon to be 3) who've had new babies in the last couple weeks and each time I hear their stories and see pics of their 1 day olds, it makes me feel so sad and teary that that brief stage is already past me. There was SO much anticipation and now -poof- it's over.

DD1 adores her and Carys responds to her voice and seems to really like her too. They have snuggle time in bed together almost every morning and DD1 lays on her back and pulls Carys up onto her chest. It's adorable and they both really love it. DD1 is really needing more attention from me than I can give her, though, and that's tough. All day it's "mama, don't leeeaaave meeee" or "mamaaaaa, be with meeee. I need you to be with me!" Last night I was helping her get her jammies on and I was standing and just in shifting my weight took one step towards the door and she was in tears, crying on her bed because she though I was going out of her room. She makes me feel so guilty but I'm doing what I can to make her feel loved. At least she's expressing herself this way and she's not upset with or mean to the baby.

Karen- we have an omsi membership too and were just there yesterday! Let me know if you want to meet up sometime. We had a zoo membership too but it recently expired and now I think we'll wait till spring to renew it.

Clothes are seriously depressing right now. I got all my old clothes out of the attic and only one of my pants fit and they're the ugly ones I bought after DD1 was born, so I don't even consider them pre-preg pants. Some pants fit ok over my butt and thighs but then the waist can't close. Others I can get on and zip them up (tightly) but they are WAY too tight over my butt and thighs. Most of my maternity pants are too big now but there are a couple I can wear. I hate this in between stage. Ugh. DD1 was born in the summer so I wore a lot of loose dresses and gathered tank tops and drawstring-waisted capris and never had this much trouble finding cute clothes that fit. At least I have shirts and sweaters that fit ok enough but I definitely am not loving my poochy tummy. I keep telling myself it's only been 6 weeks and I do want to be gentle with myself but this is just frustrating. I hate being the frumpy mom in yoga pants and with spit-up on her sleeve dropping her kid of at preschool like I was this morning. Maybe tomorrow I'll wear yoga pants and actually go to yoga.
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Oh and i haven't had a haircut since the week after I got my positive pregnancy test. I really need to find time to get that taken care of.
 
#15 ·
Late... one-handed.. in good company, I see!
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Sweetest baby girl is asleep on my shoulder - her favorite place (other than at the breast!). So big and smiling and cooing... Love it!
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Though took dinner to friends with 2wk old and the difference was startling... sad it's gone so fast. i really have tried to take it slowly and enjoy it but it's gone already.
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Noticed today that Eliana has a blister-like thing inside her lower lip. Maybe like a canker sore? Tho when I looked those up they described the ucer sort and not a blister sort (I've had both, I think, in the past). My MW is coming by tomorrow and will look at it then... Anyone had a baby with this before?

Have been busy with family in town... My dad was here for a week which was great. Don't see him much but had a very nice visit, including my birthday, which is what I'd asked him to come for a year ago.
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My sister is here for a few more days (she's stayed almost 3 weeks). Don't tell anyone I said so, but she and BIL shared that they're expecting their first in August.
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Super excited for them - and that we can have more babies to love without having them ourselves.
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MW is coming to consult with us on how my sister's health issues may impact her pregnancy/birth. I'm hoping it will be reassuring and she can have the birth she wants (whatever that is). Had a lovely chat with her by phone tonight about baby stuff and am looking forward to tomorrow! (Which is today already... must sleep.)

Definitely missing everyone but also finding it tough to get on and remember to check in. Hopefully schedules will normalize soon so I have more dependable time online. Tho my sister leaves Thursday and FIL and his wife come in Saturday.
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That's the last of the visits, though, and everyone in our nuclear families of origin (does that make sense?
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) will have met Eliana. I have such sweet pictures of her with my dad. He totally loved her. So good to see.
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#17 ·
I've been reading but finding it hard to find time to reply, so busy over the holidays with my dad's hospitalization (he's home and well, yay!) and tons of out of town friends to visit, and we can't stay healthy, it's been the perfect storm of germs around here. Poor Clara has another cold and is unhappy, Charlotte and I have nasty coughs and DH rung in the new year (quite literally) by puking. P.S. don't eat week old sausage stuffing.

I'll be happy to get back on a more normal routine. Clara will be 2 months old on Friday....how that happened I will never know!
 
#18 ·
My little guy weighted in at 12 lbs 2 oz today and is now 23" at his 1 month check up today.

I can't believe I have to go back to school in two weeks and I called my manger today to put me on the schedule. I sterilized and tried out my pump today, boo. This time has flown by, especially with all the holidays thrown in too.

Everything has been good here, just busy.

As far as pre pregnancy clothes, I don't weight too much over by the scale (I've weighed this much not pregnant/postpartum) but nothing fits. So I've been wearing sweatpants/pjs and maternity pants. I can't wait to get back in regular clothing, I feel so sloppy wearing sweatpants all the time. I can't even fit in my larger pants that I bought early in the this pregnancy or after my first son was born.

I miss the ddc but I don't find as much time right now, I am just barely holding together the laundry/household stuff.
 
#19 ·
Hi Everyone,

Crazy how hard it is to post now! Much harder with two than it was with one. Can't imagine how those with more than two are doing it!

Finn is doing great. He is five weeks now, and growing so fast. He is starting to smile more and make those adorable cooing noises--so sweet.

I am 10 pounds over my prepreggo weight and it's all on my thighs and around my middle. Can't even get most of my regular pants on, but the maternity pants fall down. I hate to spend money on in-between sizes, but thinking of investing in a couple of pairs of yoga pants at least. It might help if I wasn't eating everything in sight, but nursing is making me starving! I wasn't really hungry my whole pregnancy, but I've been making up for it since.
 
#20 ·
Paige was two months yesterday! That is amazing to me. She is finally gaining well - was 10lb9.5oz at her appt. If shed get over this cold/congestion I'm sure she'd be a much happier baby!

Speaking of happy babbies...I am SO jealous of all the smiling babies you keep talking about! Little girl does not smile.
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There is a fleeting glimpse not and again, but no big grins, and nothing I can solicit with behavior (smiling at her, blowing gently in her face [which her brother loved], jostling, "dancing", etc. ) I know the smiles will come, but I'm just so ready for them!!

It doesn't help that we are having a hard week, with DH now back at work full-time. DS and I had several screaming matches Tuesday, when I was home alone with the two kids for 8 hours. Totally should have left the house, but DS refused to go (refused to wear pants for a good part of the day), and I didn't want to force him. At least reive all 3 of us were screaming/crying at the samebtime, and once I left him in the house and took DD outside, where I ended up screaming as loud as I could, until my throat hurt! Made my head feel better, anyway.
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#21 ·
Karen, that sounds really rough!
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Dh is back to work as well, so every third day I get all three kids for 24 hours. I've been doing ok, but bedtime is tricky with trying to get ds down while Maia is in her fussy/crying time. My older dd is some help, but she has homework and an early bedtime, so I can't have her help me too much.

I'm going to the store to buy a nipple shield today. I don't know why, but I can't seem to heal the deep crack in my right nipple, and I'm afraid of the thrush setting up residence inside the breast, as it already had. I think that internal part of the infection is gone (in fact, I think it's really on it's way out) but am going to continue treating it for a while.

I'm going back to work on Monday. I practiced giving Maia bottles this week and she seems like she's doing ok with it. Of course I can't pump and save my milk because of the thrush, so I had to practice with warm formula (I was grateful for the free sample can I got in the mail, at least!)
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and only let her drink an ounce or so each time, just so I could make sure she would suck on the bottle effectively and keep it down. It bums me out to have to be leaving her at all, but in my heart I know I'm ready, physically and emotionally. I've gotten over a lot of the postpartum anxiety I was feeling, and have also reasoned with myself that there are worse things than your baby taking a bottle or two of formula once or twice a week. As soon as this thrush is completely gone, she'll have the milk I pump at work, plus I can try to store extra on my off days. And in a small way, I know that getting out of the house for one or two shifts a week makes me better adjusted and so much more appreciative of the time when I'm home!

I'm going to start a new thread about birth control. Feel free to visit me there!
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#22 ·
It always feels good to know you are not alone:

Quote:
Originally Posted by mzminty View Post

I'm going to start a new thread about birth control. Feel free to visit me there!
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You must have been reading my mind, because...

I seriously did LOL when I read this.
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#23 ·
Julie, just wanted to mention a couple of things from someone who's BTDT in regard to thrush. First, there is no reason not to give you LO your pumped milk. Of course you shouldn't freeze it and give it to her weeks or months from now. But since she is currently consuming it, you can give it to her within 24-48 hours of pumping. And speaking of pumping, I'd encourage you to pump on the injured side rather than using a nipple shield, which could affect latch. I had to pump for 5 weeks when I had thrush - I fed one-sided, and pumped the other 3 times a day. We used some of the milk fresh (within a couple of days), and had to dump the rest, but it worked really well for us. Not nursing that side also allowed me to use topical meds (Biafine) that sped healing, IMO.
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Thrush is a bitch.
 
#24 ·
Being a mom is so awesome and so hard at the same time. We are still having green poop issues and it seems to be getting worse. Not to mention that I've probably been effing everything up.

In short: Poop was green and runny/frothy. Started block feeding, stopped eating dairy same day.

Poop remains green with yellow "seeds", not frothy anymore but now is mucousy. I look at my diet: A lot of nuts, rice, spinach and salads, beef, chicken, soups. And soy milk.

I consult local "healthy beginnings" nurse. I am obviously distraught on the phone. She encourages me to see my dr (appointment is next thursday) but she said baby sounds "textbook" and not to worry about green poops. She encourages me NOT to cut dairy as I "need to be well nourished" (She emphasized this after I told her that eating Gluten, as a celiac, makes me show signs of depression and I think she was concerned that my diet might kickstart or contribute to ppd).

Last night I ate gluten free pizza with cheese. Delicious cheese.

This morning: Desmond crying in his sleep, only calming down briefly after horrible farts. A couple really (seemingly) painful poops: green and runny.

So now I just feel horrible, like a horrible person. Not to mention that I did accidentally eat gluten last night (lunchmeat! we accidentally bought the wrong brand) and so I was up half the night with my own horrible digestive pain. I could cry.

On a lighter note... Desmond is six weeks today! And he is a generally happy baby otherwise... gaining tons of weight! He is consistently in 6-month size sleepers now.
 
#25 ·
You are NOT a horrible person! So many people don't "believe" in dairy issues which makes me really mad. Especially when you already doubt yourself with a new baby. I would potentially cut out soy and go for almond or rice milk (or hemp, etc.). A lot of dairy sensitive babies have soy issues.

I didn't know you have Celiac's, Farren. That's what we're thinking my 6 yo has and is causing her thyroid problems.

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Julie! I can't believe you still have thrush, you poor woman!

I remember someone on here saying your nipples blanching during/after nursing is not normal? I never knew that. I have a fairly painful letdown and blanching and never knew that was abnormal.

My anxiety is so bad. I have an annual with the gyno on monday and I'm considering asking for meds. But I REALLY don't want to have to. I just can't function, though. Especially with a neurologist appt. coming up and my 6 yo's health worries right now and finances...I'm a wreck!
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by karen1968 View Post

Julie, just wanted to mention a couple of things from someone who's BTDT in regard to thrush. First, there is no reason not to give you LO your pumped milk. Of course you shouldn't freeze it and give it to her weeks or months from now. But since she is currently consuming it, you can give it to her within 24-48 hours of pumping. And speaking of pumping, I'd encourage you to pump on the injured side rather than using a nipple shield, which could affect latch. I had to pump for 5 weeks when I had thrush - I fed one-sided, and pumped the other 3 times a day. We used some of the milk fresh (within a couple of days), and had to dump the rest, but it worked really well for us. Not nursing that side also allowed me to use topical meds (Biafine) that sped healing, IMO.
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Thrush is a bitch.
Thanks, Karen. I didn't end up getting the nipple shield. I pretty much realized everything you said, plus I realized that my nipples *are* looking better with just being more careful about latching. And that's what I meant about pumping. I haven''t been able to pump a supply for the freezer, but I will save what I pump at work and give it to her on my next work day. The reason I didn't want to pump for practice bottles is because I've read that bottles, pacifiers, pump parts, etc need to be boiled for 20 min every day to kill the yeast, and honestly, all of the precautionary stuff is a total PIA, so I decided to keep the pump out of it until I had no other choice. I guess I thought this would all be done by the time I went back to work...
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Anyway, I'm thinking I'll clean everything with my diluted GSE as well as boiling it -- can't hurt, right? And I'm washing my shirts, burp rags, etc., in hot water with a cup of vinegar added to the wash water. BTW, I still need to get to the HFS to get GSE pills. I tried drinking the drops in water and almost burned the back of my throat out! My voice was hoarse for the rest of the day!
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