[Grantsmommy]

I feel so much better now that all the company is gone!

We all fell asleep before midnight, but Happy New Year to all of you! Now I will get more serious about losing my baby weight - ugh! I told myself I'd enjoy eating whatever over the holidays and start watching in January, so...

Ava is great! I want to weigh her today with me on the scale to see how much she's gained. I sucked out some beautiful shades of green boogies from her nose this morning, but she seems fine otherwise. We are venturing out to see The Polar Express at the IMAX theater today. I'm going to stuff cotton in her ears and she can nurse and sleep through it, hopefully. Then we have to do some after Christmas shopping and pick up Grandma at the airport (she lives 5 miles from us, so she isn't more company

). I'd like to take down a lot of our decorations tonight, too. I love the holidays, but it's nice to get back to normal after it's all over.

I just have to mention...isn't horrible what happened in Asia? I'm stunned. I don't know how they can handle such devastation. I pray all those people can find strength and hope.

 

[Megamama]

Happy New Year all

So, my resolution is to live more simply this year..so I got the Simple Living Guide..I just started reading it and boy do I need to make some changes!! I hope I can manage though because we're really struggling financially and I don't want to go back to work so I have to think of something to pare down our lives.

Otherwise, I think sweet Sophie at 6 weeks today is around 10.5 lbs..she is nicely fat but sorta tiny like my other kids

She is very sweet!

We survived Elijah having his first stomach flu yesterday..thank heavens everyone was here to help, I don't know how I would have done it alone. I am dreading Monday when Tom goes back to work full time and even though my ILs are here, I need to learn to do it all myself for when they leave..I have done this before, though!

Hope everyone has a fine holiday..

 

[clynnr]

Happy New Year!

We did stay up until midnight, but only because Livi thought she needed to be awake. She was up from 7pm until 11:15, then fell asleep for about twenty minutes and was awake again until 1AM!! I can't believe she was awake for that long!

I love cosleeping.

Last night we got into bed while Livi was still awake, and I was just lying there cuddling with her and she was holding onto my hand and snuggling into my chest while DH was snuggling in behind me.....it doesn't get any better than that. The funny thing is that Livi usually ends up with about half the bed, because she sleeps next to the bedrail (which is one that goes on top of the bed, so that takes up a few inches) and I don't want her to be right next to it, so there's some more room, and I usually scoot away a little bit to get some stretching room after she's asleep, but she sleepily follows me so she can snuggle, and poor DH can't even roll over for fear of falling off the bed. We need a king.

Dawn--we went to see a movie with Livi a couple weeks ago, and she did great! Slept and nursed through the whole thing. We went to a matinee during the week so there wouldn't be many people there if she did fuss, but she didn't!

My New Year's Resolution is to be more organized and efficient with my time. I feel like I haven't gotten anything done since I've had Livi. I refilled my planner yesterday, and I want to make a cleaning schedule for my house and start exercising regularly. I would love to go on walks, but it's so cold here I worry about taking Livi. How cold is too cold to go out? I would put her in the sling under my coat, but what about breathing the cold air? Yesterday it was about 12 degrees.

Our prayers are going out to those in Asia as well. How unbelievably devastating it must feel!

 

[yogagirl]

I

cosleeping too! I attribute Edie letting me get ten hours a sleep (with a couple of snack breaks) to the family bed so I'm spreading the word that it's the way to go - plus, couldn't stand not to cuddle with my nugget all night long!

I'm building up the nerve to go see a movie. Matinee sounds good. Want to see "What the #&*@ Do we really know?" Anyone seen that? I treated us to a new sling on Thursday after our six week mw visit (edie's up to 10 1/2 lbs now!) and she likes it! She's snoozing in it right now. Funny cuz she just woke up an hour ago from a twelve hour sleep. Little Freak!

Asia's in my thoughts and prayers. So happy though my friends that were in the area were safe from harm but what a horrible situation to those sweet people!!

 

[jecaly]

happy new year, all you mamas and babes!

we actually threw a party of sorts last night, believe it or not. bought a pile of crab, made a couple of easy sauces, told people to bring champagne, and thereby didn't have to tote hazel to some drunken scene in order to be social. it worked really well! she's still a pretty easy partygoer, thanks to the fleece pouch. somehow we were up until like 2:30, but the girl slept just like she normally would. yay.

chelsea, i'm so with you on the family spoon moment--it's just about my favorite thing on earth.

i have a question--i'm recanting my previous praise of the lilypadz to prevent leaking; turns out that i am now a hose that mere silicone can't hold back. how do you guys prevent milk from getting on your clothes every day? it seems as though no matter what i do (wool pads, hemp pads, disposable pads, stuff a diaper up against the other nipple when she eats to catch the letdown), i end up with pools of milk on my shirts. i'll ask in the breastfeeding forum too, but if anyone has any wisdom to share on this one, i'd love to hear it. my least favorite is waking up damp (if i'm wearing a bra and a pad) or sticky and wet (if i'm not) in the morning. bleah.

*jennifer

 

[tresleo]

Happy New Year, mommas and babies

Co-sleeping is the best! I love the family spoon thing too, except Dominic kicked dh and Christopher out of our queen size bed! He likes to spread out, lol! (They now sleep together in a single bed, or, more recently, a kid sized tent from Ikea that Christopher got for Christmas!)

Chelsea, I took Dominic with us on a field trip to see Polar Express at an IMAX theatre when he was about 4 weeks old. He did fine, slept in the sling the whole time

And we actually just went to a movie as a family to an old theatre in our town, he did well there too!

Jennifer, I don't have that problem, but my friend experienced leaking like you explained and she didn't even nurse. She used half a sposie for each side at night and that helped her. Don't know if you'd be interested in that, but thought I'd share...Good luck!

I am sooo excited! I finally got a new camera last night! I can't wait to try it out

I can't even watch anything about what's going on in Asia. It's too horrifying. Everyone affected by it is in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[Grantsmommy]

Ava did great at the movie yesterday! She nursed in the beginning and then fell asleep for the rest of it. DS loved the "3-DVD" as he called it (and he looked so cute with the huge 3-D glasses on - of course I took pictures).

DS is picking up on some bad habits from my best friend's daughter. She can be real bratty and a smart mouth. After we hung out with them on New Year's Eve (we counted down at 8:50 PM), he started mimicking her. UGH! We are certainly nipping that one in the bud.

DH goes back to the office tomorrow after a nice 4-day weekend. I'm planning to start back two afternoons a week, too. I'm going to take Ava with me and Grant can come one day a week until Grandma picks him up. I guess I'm ready for it. We'll see. I know physically I am ready to start adjusting again, so it will probably be fine. I'm still so tired though. Anyone else really tired?

 

[MonikitaUT]

Jennifer - you can try using an ultra nighttime maxipad cut in half. They work great!

I'm with you on waking up wet. If Livi isn't nursing much (she has days when she just isn't very hungry) and I'll soak through my pad and tank. I just love waking up wet and cold.

I was pumping when she wasn't eating much, but that was just making the problem worse whereas I developed serious over supply. I'm back to having the overactive letdown so I have to have a cloth ready for when she pulls off and milk sprays everywhere.

Livi seems to be developing more saliva and the need to chew. Is it possible she could be starting to teethe already? This morning she kept eating her hand so I thought she was hungry, but she didn't want milk. I finally tried the paci and she didn't want to suck it, just wanted me to hold it for her so she could chew on it. What's going on there?

 

[AmandasMom]

"This morning she kept eating her hand so I thought she was hungry, but she didn't want milk.

I think she's discovered her hands and they belong to her and she can make them do things. Wait till she finds her toes

I leak like crazy too, though not as much as I did a few weeks ago. I would just snap a Sandy's diaper around my boob and I was good to go. Yep, snapped it on you read that right, dd thinks is funny.

Ethan is back into his screaming fits

I really don't think there is anything wrong physically, i think when he gets tired he just screams LOUD. It's so hard on me, I was so frustrated the other day I scared myself because I was mad at him. I never thought I could get mad at a 7 week old baby! I needed to call dh and hear reassuring words but couldn't find my phone. Ethans screaming in my ear, after 10 mins I put him down in the rumble-butt chair so I could lift up the blankets on the bed to look for the phone. So I put him down and walked towards the bedroom and my 4 year old dd started crying "mama, NO, don't leave him here! You have to take care of him! He's my brother and I love him, you have to find out why he's crying!". So I just broke down and started crying, I wasn't abandoning him just needed both hands to lift up the blankets, god, meanwhile he and dd are crying, I'm crying and i can't find my freaking phone to call dh. This had to be one of the lowest moments in my life, I couldn't make either child happy, I hated myself for being mad at a 7 week old, Ihated myself for not being stronger. Long story short, I ended up taking ethan into the shower with me, that stopped him crying, after the shower he nursed, and slept for a few hours.

When he's not screaming his head off, he's smiling at us now, making sounds like ooooo, ahhhh, paah sounds. He's also discovered his hands are his and will suck on them.

We have our 2 month appt on Tuesday, I'll she what she says. I love him so much, and this is so hard and I'm so hard on myself. I wish this phase would end.

 

[yogagirl]

Amanda's Mom

Just remember - this too shall pass. Savour his littleness. When Edie freaks out like that I just try to think of it as a volume issue. Like, little person - big sound, isn't that interesting? And try to stay calm. Apparantly they can sniff out anxiousness like horses and scary dogs.

 

[Megamama]

Kim..You could have described my day today almost exactly. Today Sophie is having a growth spurt day..all she is doing is eating..I can't put her down even for a minute and what's worse, DH and MIL are sick...Elijah gave them his stomach Virus..it's been a crazy day and I've had to let Sophie cry a couple of times to take care of Elijah..thankfully Tom (dh) has been able to help from time to time. but for the most part..it's me and Jake (my 15 yr old) reining in Elijah. What a crazy day! I'll be relieved when Sophie is done with the spurt and sleeps again..oy..

 

[Summertime Mommy]

Willow has been doing pretty well. She has finally started to settle down to a schedule, although an odd one. She goes to bed around 11-12 at night and wakes up for the day around 11amwaking to nurse a few times at night. She doesn't do a whole lot of napping during the day though. She has gotten to a point where she has to be held all the time, and if she's not being held, you have to be in her line of vision or she gets really upset.

Quote:

Livi seems to be developing more saliva and the need to chew. Is it possible she could be starting to teethe already?

I just read today that it's normal for babies to develop more saliva around this age, so I wouldn't worry too much about teeth. Willow is doing it too.

 

[MonikitaUT]

Ahhh, Kim, I am right there with you. Livi will having a screaming fit (she is suddenly getting LOUDER and more ferocious. Now when she screams her whole face goes bright red and she really wails.) and nothing I am doing will stop her, and add to that my dogs being outside barking their heads off. I can't bring the dogs in because their feet are muddy, and I can't clean their feet because I'm trying to take care of screaming Livi. These episodes usually end with me in tears. Something that made me feel better was that over the holiday weekend DH was trying to comfort screaming Livi while said dogs barked said heads off, and he was really losing control. It let me know that I am human and anyone in my situation would be losing it!

Last night after DH and Livi were finally asleep, I got up and went into the bathroom to be alone and think/pray. I am still really struggling to the lifestyle changes of being a mom. The fact that I am NEVER alone. The fact that I can't just do whatever I want, like go for a run, read, or take a long hot bath. I feel guilty that this is so difficult for me. I love my baby, but I didn't make this choice to be a mom. Unplanned pregnancy really is a b*tch. I wish I could just RELAX. That is my goal for this new year, to let go, relax, chill. That is such a big goal for me, it is the only one I am making.

Like YogaGirl said, the babes really can sense when we're anxious, mad, tense, etc. That makes me feel even more guilty. When I'm having a bad day, Livi cries so much more, and is so much more inconsolable. It isn't a good combo! I love her so much, and I don't want to mess her up in any way, even if it is just my consciousness she is picking up on. I can control my actions, but how do I control my consciousness?

I wish I could make up my mind on whether or not to go back to work. I don't know what I'm going to do. I want to do what is best for Livi, for me, and for DH, but what if they are all different things? How do I stop this panic that I feel about my life? How do I just let go of the past and how easy my life used to be?

Sorry this is such a depressing, long post.

 

[Megamama]

Hang in there Monica! You are doing fine so far..it takes about 3 months for all those hormones and everything to level out so you finally feel more human again..just then the baby might allow you to put her down more often

I think it takes that long to adjust to the new person in your life, too. You have to allow yourself time for doing that, and if things get TOO overwhelming, don't wait, get some help!!

Messing up your child....well, something you do/don't do is going to affect them in a not perfect way someday..right now, not so much, but later, definitely. You cannot do everything right as a parent, it is an impossible thing to do. You do the best you can with the tools you have, period. Get some local mommy support..go to an LLL meeting or an API meeting..it really helps to validate yourself. Let DH take the baby for an hour..she should survive that

 

[AmandasMom]

Quote:

I am still really struggling to the lifestyle changes of being a mom. The fact that I am NEVER alone. The fact that I can't just do whatever I want, like go for a run, read, or take a long hot bath. I feel guilty that this is so difficult for me.

I'm the same way here. I'm 37 now, I left home at 16. I loved being single, loved being alone. I like silence

I got married at 33 and had I had Amanda when I was 34. shortly after I had amanda I realized that I no longer belonged to just me anymore, i was a mom and a wife and was never ever alone. that hit me hard, because I really am a solitary person at heart, so it was and sometimes still is a difficult adjustment. sometimes I just want to lay on the couch, eat sunflower seeds and drink wine while watching mind-numbing TV, but that ain't gonna happen for a while. You do adjust. And I really appreciate the few moments I get alone in the shower .

One thing I'm doing with Ethan that I didn't do with Amanda is I'm forcing myself to pump 4 oz a day so I can get out of the house alone for an hour when dh gets home, or if I want a long soak in the tub or whatever it is I need for ME at the time. Ethan has had no problem with 1 bottle of expressed milk a day and boobs the rest of the time, and it has allowed me to get in the car and just drive, or go to a store or just go somewhere and be alone for an hour or so.

it won't always be this difficult, things will be entirely different in just a few short months. Things are different now then 2 months ago, now I'm getting SMILES, which really help to recharge my batteries....

 

[mamasboys4me]

Quote:

Livi usually ends up with about half the bed,

here too!! lol and usually ******* ends in our bed too! I have a pillow that I keep behind his back, it is feather and kinda big and heavy. It takes up alot of room. We have a side thing to put on the bed, but haven't put it up yet, it is really long.

Quote:

I refilled my planner yesterday, and I want to make a cleaning schedule for my house and start exercising regularly.

Chelsea! you have got to get the motivated moms planner. I saw it on a MDC banner ad. It is *fantastic*!!

Jennifer, I always smell of milk! lol I have to change shirts about three times a day. Partly b/c I haven't found a bra I like. I have a medela that I spent $36 on, and it is just too short around the arms, if that makes sense. I'm constantly having to pull it down. I did find a tank at target, I got a XL and it shrunk and was wayyy to tight. I got a 2XL (which I don't wear a 2XL), and it fits great. I think those must run small or something. Anyway, I only have 1, so one day I usually go bra-less.

What bras are you nursing mamas wearing? I was thinking of one of those YES bras from ebay. I wore bravados last time, but my nipples always showed.

Oh Amanda, big hugs!!! I have soo btdt! My two boys drive me up the wall sometimes. I'd share a story last week, but I don't want to hijack your post! I had to put the baby down in his bouncy (crying), put in a movie for the kids and just cry. I called dh and bawled like a baby. He ended up calling me twice later to see if I was okay. I was not at my best. It is so hard being a sahm, with no social interaction or support (for me anyway). Big hugs, I know most of us has btdt. Dylan is not screaming, but he surely isn't sleeping. I have started not expecting him to sleep longer than 10 minutes, so when he does, I'm pleasantly suprised. :LOL

When Dylan gets tired or he has to burp, he screams like that. When he seems a little gassy, I give him a little of that little tummy medicine, it seems to help. When he seems overly tired, I wrap him up really tight, give him a paci and rock him. Does the sling work for your babe? I have a fleece pouch, in the tummy to tummy position, it is so comfy.

 

[scheelimama]

Hi all.

s to all. It sounds like this is a hard time for all of us. Bronwynn had her first day of daycare yesterday. It went okay, but I don't think I'm going to hold up so well today. All I want to do today is cry. It seems so wrong, so unfair that I can't stay home with her. I know if I was a SAHM I'd be going crazy as well w/my very "spirited" 20 mo. old to deal w/as well, but at least then I would know I was doing the right thing for them.

Monica, I've been having very similar feelings lately and I'm 20 months into this mommy thing. With 2, it's even more rare that I ever get a moment to just be me. I love my babies, but sometimes I really wish I had family around that could just take them for a day. We'll all make it over this hump.

 

[BabyOsMommy]

Hormones are a ragin' here... but I'm not alone after reading this thread...

s to everyone!

Maybe it's just that Xander changed his mind again about letting me get 4hours in a row and doesn't nap when his big brother does...

It's comforting to know that mamas with new babes are going through the same "growth spurts" that I am. It really does feel like a growth spurt for me too sometimes...

 

[momsgotmilk4two]

Monika. I had those feelings even with a very planned pregnancy, you're not alone. It's a hard adjustment, having a whole person to be responsible for. I found that the first time around, it really did take three months for the hormones to adjust and for me to feel like myself again. Don't worry, you will figure it out and get into a groove and it won't always be this hard. I have to keep telling myself that too. It's an adjustment after each baby. I have those "what did I do" moments at times too.

My goal for the new year is to lose the baby weight. I gained over 70lbs

I did an excersize video today and my tummy muscles are soooo weak. I couldn't believe how weak they were! The last time I did that video my stomach was so much stronger and the contrast was startling. I have my first Weight Watchers meeting today too.

 

[AmandasMom]

We had our 2 month appt today, Ethan went from 9lbs last month to 13 lbs today! And Ethan has been all smiles the past 2 days, I feel so much better when he isn't screaming his head off.

Ethan sporting his brand new (and 1 snap away from being too small

) radioactive FB:

http://kim.mimicvii.com/images/e1.JPG

And Ethan finally recharging my empty batteries with smiles and squeals and laughs:

http://kim.mimicvii.com/images/e2.JPG