May 2005 Mamas!

Howdy! My new guy is just 10 days old, but we're adjusting... My toddler is still sorta acting out, but loves his new brother and wants to be a little too "hands-on", especially since he brought home a cold last week.

Nursing is going well. I had a plugged duct for a couple of days that I was working on that was giving me trouble, though not full-blown mastitis, but I think that's gone. I can't wait for my supply to even out though so I don't have to walk around with a diaper in my shirt all the time.

Feeling a little weepy these days. Just sort of melancholy. Still tremendously happy with Sebastian, just trying to sort out all of my emotions and ideas about everything. Hormones are kinda crazy that way. I can even talk about the weepiness and what's effecting it almost objectively. Like I can view myself from outside my body and know why I am the way that I am.

It's hot.

I didn't post on the preggo board but I'd like to post here if it's OK!

Nora will be 4 weeks on Friday. BF was rough at first but thanks to a nipple shield and 2 great LCs that we saw, it is great now and she is gaining well - last Thurs. she was 7 lbs. 8 oz. (up from 6 lbs. 8 oz. at birth on 5/13). Sometimes she still seems to "forget" how to latch and has to flail around for a bit until she gets it.

I'm trying to transition from sleeping with her on the couch (which is dangerous and I shouldn't have done it, but it was *so* nice to just sit up and nurse) to sleeping with her in my bed, which went well last night.

I'm just amazed by her! But I find myself being pretty critical of my performance as a mom. I either feel like I'm not doing enough with her/for her, or doing too much, or not doing the right things...when I can turn off this anxiety I am so happy just to relax with my sweet sweet Nora-pie!

Kinley is 6 1/2 weeks now.. everything is going great
we havent had any issues at all.. Breastfeeding is & has gone smooth.. shes a little piggy & was 1 lb over her birth weight at 2 weeks old.. now shes about 11 lbs (7 lbs 9 oz at birth)
she's slept great since birth
shes a happy little thing & smiles So much
she loves the sling too.. we use it so much

the only problem was my older girl got REALLY sick when the baby was 3 weeks.. Kayden is really healthy.. it was only the 2nd time shes ever been sick & it did a number on her.. I was so scared the baby would get it .. but she didnt

I have to go back to work in a week though...im sad about that.. But DH is a sahd so it could be much worse.. I know my girls will be safe, happy & cared for as well as they could be ..Im just gonna miss them so much.. but I come home for lunch everyday. .. so I get to see them & nurse the baby then

but I told DH if the baby crawls.. or walks for the first time & Im not here.. he better not tell me.. just lie & let the first time I see her do it be the first time

Kayden starts preschool in 2 months.. shes really excited .. it'll be half day... Ill take her every morning & pick her up & take her home most days..

Hi mamas! I didn't post much on the other thread, but I'd like to join in here if that's okay.

Cole was born May 2nd and things are going really well. One baby seems like such a breeze after having twins and this being my second time around.

This was a surprise pregnancy (big time!) and I am so happy he came into our lives. I wasn't sure how I would do with another, but it just feels like he was meant to be here. My twin girls have adjusted so much better than I thought too. They have the ocassional "MY mommy" and want to be held, but that hasn't been much of a problem.

Cole is nursing well...he is up to around 12 lbs at 5 weeks (birth weight was 8lbs,2oz). He is co-sleeping with us and dh hasn't left the bed yet, so we are doing great with that!

The only difficult thing right now is that the girls and I want to be able to go out more. We would normally be going to playgroup, the zoo, or water park, but the baby isn't ready for this stuff and honestly, I don't think I could take them all by myself. So, we've been stuck in the house - it's ok with me, but the girls, I know, would like to get out and so some fun stuff this summer.

S is now 22 days old and doing great! She had some jaundice in the beginning but we got rid of it quickly....didn't have to go back in for the bili blankets. She's nursing like a champ although she tends to play favorites every couple days so one side goes through hell for about a day while she tries to regulat things. lol She is looking so cute in her cd's! DH has only changed one diaper since we switched her to them though. He's afraid of them. lol Hopefully he'll change his mind here soon. Our dog has been freaking out. He's not used to this amount of attntion and has been misbehaving quite badly. Luckily though it's all been habits he had prior to the baby so nothing has gone that we haven't had to deal with before. He does well with S actually......he wants to sniff her SOOOOOOOO bad! lol He has managed to sniff everything of hers but not her. I'm fine with it....he always tries to sneak around the chair and sniff her head as she nurses but DH freaks out and tells him to go away. DH seems to think he will eat S. lol S actually slept through the night last night. I nursed her at about 1 when we went to bed and she didn't wake back up to eat until 6:30. I was shocked.(nak) She is normally every two hours on the dot! DH has finally mellowed out on nursing and co-sleeping. He decided he liked her in there with us and could trust what I was doing as opposed to him getting up and bringing her to me in our bedroom and then taking her back. S is a mellow baby, only cries when I'm slow getting to feed her or when we change her dipe (and since we've changed to cloth that has slowly decreased). She is the perfect baby for slings. She is in hers quite a bit but I tend to get nothing done when I wear her. lol

We went to see my grandma last week. She had issues with DH when they first met (thought he was "Mexican" and was going to beat me...found out he was Chilean and said, "Oh they're a good people" ) so I was expecting her to be too affectionate. She was until we mentioned DSS. She looked absolutely disgusted. Too bad.

We go into the dreaded WIC appointment Monday to add her and I can tell it's going to be a fight. I don't know where my crib card for her is and unless I find it or her SSC magically shows up by then I have no id for her. I hate this office but we are dairy freaks so it's nice to get them.

Madalyn will be 4 weeks tomorrow. Things are going absolutely fantastically! Three kids is easier than I thought it would be. Ds does really well with having a baby sister. I was a bit nervous since he's been such a cuddly, sometimes clingy child.

Madalyn is gaining about half a lb a week. Last time we weighed, a bit over a week ago she was 9 lbs 6 oz. She was 8 lbs 10 oz at birth and got down to 8 lbs 4 oz. She nurses so well. And sleeps great at night, almost too great. She goes between 4-6 hours at night. She is starting to smile when we talk to her. SHe hates to lay down if she is awake. She has to be sitting up. She has had amazing head control since birth. If she is leaning back she will pull her head forwards until she has pulled her body into an upright position. SHe rarely cries, only if she's hungry. She is such an easy baby.

We are adjusting beautifully!

Ok, this is going to sound really bad, but I feel like I need to write it. DD is 12 days old and both DH and I are having issues with the attachment part of attachment parenting. We don't feel attached to DD at all... well, except for maybe in fleeting moments and then the feeling is gone and we are left with the feeling that DD is just some kid that someone dropped off at our place and forgot to pick up. When we visited my family and everyone was oohing and ahhing over her, I felt like she was my sister, not my daughter.

Maybe this is just because DH and I have never really been around babies, don't really know what to do with them, how to act with them?

DH and I talked last night about how maybe we would feel different if DD was planned... but she was quite a surprise and both of us never really felt at all bonded to her during pregnancy. I mean, even though I was going through all the usual pregnancy symptoms I never really felt pregnant, never felt like birth was immanent and that we would soon be parents.

I guess having a baby just seems really unreal right now and DH and I sort of feel sorry for DD that she has such detached parents.

The latest development with DD screaming all through the night and pushing me away and scratching me while nursing isn't helping anything. I feel extremely resentful. Obviously I'm tired... but I'm finding it hard to sleep during the day because if I don't do something (accomplish something) I feel even more resentful, like each day that I spend just sitting there nursing her is wasted. Sigh. Then I feel bad because I know I'm supposed to have these lovey feelings towards her and most of the time I just don't.

Maybe I could blame it on PPD or something, but DH feels the same way. Poor DD.

Ex-stasis
First babies are tough! Give yourself and your dh some time to adjust to being a family of 3! I remember the feeling that I was just babysitting ds and when the hell were his real parents going to come and take him home??!! In a few weeks you'll feel more like the family you are - promise! As for the nursing and scratching thing, I always think it must be some kind of primal thing left over from prehistoric times. My first dd would dig her talons in so deep, I would have to fight back tears - she still does it at 3 and a half years old. Just think, She must feel awfully attached to You! Nursing is hard at the beginning. No one tells you that it will hurt, that your baby isn't necessarily going to just nuzzle in all sweetly and nurse well on her own. It's hard work! It's also the first real physical thing we have do learn to do with our bodies as adults. Think about it, as a kid, you probably learned to swim, skip, ride a bike etc. How many things like that have you learned as an adult? Be gentle to yourself! Sorry, this has turned into a bit of a ramble! Your post really struck a chord with me, and made me think about my experience with my first. Take what you like...leave the rest! :

Thanks, robugmum. I'm definitely feeling more optimistic today after a decent night's sleep. Yesterday I guess I was feeling overtired and overwhelmed which of course calls attention to the fact that I seem to be missing a large majority of the motherly feeling I "should" have for DD. I think this is just going to take some time, as you said. Today in my better mood I'm confident that DH and I will eventually feel more attached to her.

Of course it helps that she's really cute. :LOL

Nursing was really hard in the first few days, but actually despite the pushing me away and scratching (which we figured out yesterday is due to tummy troubles!) it has improved a lot. I mean, it HURT a lot at the beginning and I don't have that pain anymore, so that's a definite improvement. I gave DD some gripe water last night and she calmed down and stopped pushing and scratching and was able to nurse perfectly. So all is good!