PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Dreamer_D]

All the babies are so cute!

But what prompted me to post was not the cutie babies, but Meresal's studly hubby You go girl! Nice catch

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: 5.5 months

just a drive by to finally post a little pic of em. this was taken last week. i was trying to take her picture but she kept putting her hands in her mouth. In this pic, I'm trying to take them out of her mouth. I thought it was appropriate for ps!

You are a GREAT Pser j crow. You should always rock a 2ct rock, even when fishing baby hands out of baby mouths.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Just popping in to say that everything seems normal. Lily is still up now which is becoming her norm--staying up until midnight every night. Thank you all for your good thoughts.

Thank goodness Shiny.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Mara, I have to apologize for giving you such a hard time about the miracle blanket earlier this year. After last night and today (Aidan fussed non-stop for 24 hours!), I pulled the trigger and bought a MB. OMG, I swear within 30 seconds of him being swaddled he calmed right down and passed out. The swaddle-me doesn't even compare.

 

[taovandel]

HH: I never wound up buying a Miracle Blanket but I always hear they are the greatest thing ever invented. Maybe for the one I'm carrying I'll give it a try if I need to!


Evan has been so fussy ltoday and pooping a lot (Which of course means butt paste for us!). And he feels really warm but he has no temperature. He has two teeth coming in on the top (Next to the two he already has) so I'm thinking it's all because of those darn teeth. Gave him a half dose of ibuprofen and he's completely back to normal for now. Thankfully teething doesn't bother his sleep too much!

 

[jcrow]

mara - so i was curious and checked my emails to see what costumes were for sale on babysteals and saw that it was the tom arma ones. SHOOT! i just bought the lady bug one for em friday! grr. i hope it wasn't one of those on sale. also, seeing that bunny one SO temps me to get for a super cute easter pic. i would have snapped up that one if i would have seen the sale.

 

[Puppmom]

Monkeypie, those are fantastic pics! Even though Micah wouldn't give you a smile, he's clearly a happy kiddo. Are you building an album or just framing some pics? Either way, they're great.

Phoenix, congrats are nursing for almost a year! You're my hero, I really do hope to make it that long.

HH, that is such a wonderful pic! That is the sweetest face ever! ...and I can see he has grown! I here ya on the house guests. Sometimes I feel like such a nasty B but I get burnt out on company - especially of the familial variety. Today, the ILs came over for football and I was SO READY for them to leave! MIL hates football and talks the whole time. She also followed me every time I changed N and she narrated his every move. I also feel obliged to let her hold him the whole time she's here but I like him and want to hang out with him.

The other issue with the ILs is that FIL had a cold! Stay away! He insisted it was *allergies* but he was carrying a box of tissues, coughing and sucking on halls and taking Dayquil. That doesn't sound like allergies to me.

SS, I'm so glad that Lily is fine!

Question for those of you who work outside of the house - how do you spend time with your LOs? I've just realized that my little guy will be ready for bed like an hour after I get home from work. I was thinking I would try to gradually push his *bedtime* back to 8 so I can have a little time with him. Also, how do you get out the door in the morning? DH is responsible for the dog in the morning (feeding and walking) which takes up most of his time. I'm just not sure how I'm going to nurse and shower and get out the door in a reasonable amount of time. A nursing session (including burps, diaper change and dressing) takes at least 45 minutes. This is gonna be interesting, isn't it?

 

[Sha]

jcrow, MP, and HH - !!!

PG - @ the spandex story!

SS - glad things seem back to normal. That must've been scary!

puppmom - sorry about the spoilt milk...

HH - I always loved my 'alone time', but I treasure it even more these days - it's in such short supply. I love it when DH is out and Dalila is in bed, and I have a quiet evening on the couch all by myself. No distractions...no obligations.... AAhhhhh..... Lovely.

********

Here's my (very late) BPF contribution...

 

[Sha]

puppmom - 8 pm is a pretty decent bedtime, IMO. My routine is: 5:30 am - home, play time. 6 - 7 pm - nursing and solids. 7:30 pm - Bathtime. 8 pm - nursing/bedtime.

I have to get up at 6:30 most mornings in order to make it to work for 9. My morning routine is 6:30 - 7 am - nursing. 7 - 7:30 am - my breakfast. 7:30 - 8 am - change her and iron my clothes. 8 am - 8:50 am - bathe and dress myself. 8:55 am - drop her off at daycare (which is RIGHT next door), and drive to work, which is only 5 minutes away.

I say play around with a routine to see what works for you.

 

[secretagent]

I just have a quick minute to pop in, and decided to post over here instead of preggo thread because this is where most of you that I know best post most often. I was just on the other site, and you guys are KILLING me!!! I will say, someone has already guessed correctly. You guys are GOOD!!! Hmm...another clue that someone IRL wouldn't know...I have the same ering setting as Jas12. Only my center stone is set e/w. Remember, if you figure me out, please don't say (write) my name!
I also have to say, you guys really gave me the warm & fuzzies. I love this place!

 

[taovandel]

Did I guess right?????? I feel like I did!!!!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Now that's just not fair! I know so few of the mommies by their real names vs PS names so I don't know who's guessing who!

Aidan is finally sleeping....ahhhhhhhhh.....silence......I literally forced DH to bed at 8:30. He was watching The Hurt Locker. Um...yea, a movie about EOD specialists and bombs is a GREAT movie to watch when you're trying to get your very sleep resistant LO to bed. Not to mention, the sooner he goes to sleep the sooner I can wake him up and the less guilty I feel doing it! We're still doing our evenings in two shifts, with me taking first shift from 8 until about 1 or 2 depending on how good/bad he is and DH taking over until morning. We really need to figure out how to get LO sleeping in our room and getting sleep ourselves, together, at the same time in the same location. This all started because I had serious anxiety issues when we first got home and I had a hard time falling asleep when DH was sleeping in the same room (like one of needed to be awake at all times). Now I can comfortable nap with the boys in our room and with LO alone at night in the living room, so I think I'm ready to move back into my big girl bed. Suggestions?

 

[taovandel]

HH: We did the same thing with Evan when he was tiny. We took shifts and it was a lifesaver for us....but we also felt like we weren't sleeping together at the same time so it was lonely. I can't really remember what we did! I think we just put the baby in the bassinet in our room and slept together until the 1st wake up (around 1 I think) and then the shifts kinda started. So we got some time with both of us in bed together. I honestly can't remember! haha! Hopefully my memory will be back in April!

 

[Mara]

when you guys say shifts do you mean getting up to just feed the baby or actually STAYING up?

from day one J was in our room (because we had a scary choking incident when we brought him home so i decided his bassinet would be in our room for a few weeks) but we all slept together and at the same times. i think we slept 10-1, then 1:30-4, 4:30-7 and 7:30-10am the 3-4 weeks. the 30 min increments were feedings. G would mostly get up with me the first 3 weeks, except a few times he would take the 1am feeding so i could get longer stretches of sleep, precious! thankfully after he went back to work on week 4, J was more on a 4-5 hour schedule so i only had to get up 1-2x and i just would sleep in the morning when J slept too.

HH...no problem, that MB is priceless!!!! it was the only way we could keep J from breaking swaddle after i think 2-3 months, he was so ridiculously strong. and it would hold him all night.

Secret... all kinds of curious up in here right now...haha!!

re: alone time, i have always cherished it and i do so even more now. i also love when J naps during the wkds ...!

this wkd was a great one. it was warm so we took advantage and went to the pool with my friend. i made J some veggies and cheese combo. i got him some fish to make tomorrow. i bought him some pears to make tomorrow as well. we had a burger dinner last nite with some friends. i have a busy wk ahead so i enjoyed the wkd!!!

sha...super cute pic!!!!

pupp...agree 8pm is a good bedtime for the age. we had J at 7-8pm prob around 3-4mo.

 

[taovandel]

My husband would stay awake forever with the baby.....I would feed and put to bed and then go to bed myself.....I finally had to explain to my husband that he doesn't have to hold the baby after he falls asleep...he can put him back in the bassinet.....lol!

 

[mtjoya]

Sha-Sooooooo beautiful! I love her, such a cute mama! I love the high chair color scheme!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Monkeypie, those are fantastic pics! Even though Micah wouldn't give you a smile, he's clearly a happy kiddo. Are you building an album or just framing some pics? Either way, they're great.

Question for those of you who work outside of the house - how do you spend time with your LOs? I've just realized that my little guy will be ready for bed like an hour after I get home from work. I was thinking I would try to gradually push his *bedtime* back to 8 so I can have a little time with him. Also, how do you get out the door in the morning? DH is responsible for the dog in the morning (feeding and walking) which takes up most of his time. I'm just not sure how I'm going to nurse and shower and get out the door in a reasonable amount of time. A nursing session (including burps, diaper change and dressing) takes at least 45 minutes. This is gonna be interesting, isn't it?

We are doing both I got enough to put one 8x10 of the 5 poses we got up on the wall, and then a bunch of 5x7's and wallet sizes for the baby book and photo album. Plus I am getting some 4x6's later. I'm such a photo junkie.

A thought for your morning routine - what if you pump a bottle for the mornings so it is faster? Your job will allow you to pump at work, too, right? If so, save the pumping until you get to work and just bottle feed for that first morning one. Or maybe get up an hour earlier, as horrible as it probably sounds lol.

Also, good luck pushing the bedtime back! Micah goes down around 7-7:30, when he originally would go down at 10. It got earlier and earlier as his sleep schedule evened out and he got older and was waking up less. Would it be possible for you to change your work schedule? I go in at 7am, home at 3:30. So I get several afternoon hours with Micah despite his early bedtime,and I get to see him wake up before work usually. Loooove my schedule.

 

[natalina]

ETA: oh my gosh. Someone take my computer away from me!

Sha- that pic is just TDF. Dalilah is an absolute doll!!!

MP- awww...look at Micah! I was MIA for a while, so I still think of him as being newborn-tiny!!! He is such a cute little man!!!

Re:time with baby around working: I'm a SAHM, but I often feel bad for DH because he barely has any time with Ellie. He just really tries to make the most of it, and on nights he is a bit later than usual getting home we push her bedtime back a tiny bit so they can snuggle a while. I sympathize with you. I have thought often about what that would be like if I went back, and it breaks my heart.

Re: night wake-ups with newborn: all I can say is, I love DH but you guys hit the jackpot with your husbands!!! Our arrangement was along the lines of, "mama has the b**bs and baby is BF'ing, so what's the point of daddy getting up?" I think he rocked her for a bit when we knew she wasn't hungry and was just fussing twice...that was about the extent of DH's nighttime contribution . But to be fair, he only took one week off so I felt like I should be the one to get up. Who could be expected to go to work after being up all night with a 2 week old?

 

[phoenixgirl]

HH, I'm not entirely following how you guys are sleeping these days. You are not sleeping in your bedroom yet because you want to be more wakeful to take care of LO?

When my sister's first was born, she literally made somebody stay awake for the first two days. I had the 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. shift. She's 7 years older than I am, so I was a long way away from having a baby, and I guess I didn't question if that was a bit much. But finally my mom said, so, how long are we going to do this . . . ???? And my sister conceded that it wasn't necessary. But I can totally understand the fear.

So what's your set up in your bedroom? Do you have a crib/PNP/cosleeper in there for A? But you are afraid to fall into a really deep sleep? I get the fear. Honestly, this may sound backwards, but that's why we moved Claire into her bedroom at 4 weeks. I wasn't sleeping with her right there in our room. I was just listening for every sound and neurotically checking to make sure she was breathing. My brother slept underneath his son's bassinet at first. So at least in my family, this is a very normal thing!

Just remember that you need sleep. It takes a little letting go and trusting the universe to take care of your baby without you trying to control every little thing, even while asleep. Plus you need to trust your instincts. I am the worst at getting out of bed in the middle of the night. DH still does it 80% of the time. But this one time Claire made this sound like she was choking, and suddenly I was standing wide awake in front of her crib. It was like magic. If something is really wrong, you'll wake up. You're the mama!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Yea by shifts I mean two four - five hour shifts where one of us would be in the living room with Aidan and the other would be sleeping. I had insomnia issues when we got home from the hospital that compounded my weepiness and made me miserable. After three nights of waking DH up sobbing in frustration and exhaustion we decided to try this approach and it's worked so far. Of course now DH is getting ready to go back to work so having him get up at 2 am isn't really feasible.

 

[ChinaCat]

HH- First of all, that pic of A sleeping/smiling on your DH's shoulder is priceless. I am so not a newborn person, but even I had a tiny pang when I saw that pic! Soooo sweet. And glad you came around on the MB, they were a life-saver for us. As far as shifts- my DH and I had "shifts"- I would go to bed at 9 pm and he would stay up till 12 or 1 am, whenever he could get him down by. Then we both went to sleep but when O woke next, it would be my "shift" to get up, feed him, try and get him back down, etc. In the first few weeks, I did sleep upstairs in the guest room, but I promise you you WILL hear him if he cries or makes any sounds. Do you have a monitor?

Sha- She is a diva for sure, but a gorgeous one!

Forgot what else I was going to say. Cute babies, as per usual. Oh, JCrow, that pic of Em is gorgeous!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

we're set up well in the bedroom with an arms reach, this was more a way to deal with my insomnia and ensure that we both get at least 4-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. I can sleep fine with both dh and aidan during the day, and i can sleep on the couch in the living room when aidan is asleep in his pnp. But that's now. When we first came home I would lay awake all night unable to shut my brain down, while listening to dh snore and aidan grunt and groan. So now we have this routine and I'm not sure how to break it. Iguess I'm afraid of losing those 5 hours of sleep, lol!

 

[ChinaCat]

HH- Remember it's all about survival! If that is working for you, don't worry about it. Things gradually start to change and you'll make adjustments as necessary. But if this is how you are getting sleep, then do it. YOU definitely have to get sleep!

 

[phoenixgirl]

HH, OK, gotcha. I really get ya on hearing all the baby grunts and noises. Maybe get a white noise machine (love the Marpac Sleep Mate). Again, sounds backwards, but I find that when we do sleep in the same room with C, we need it so that we're not all waking each other up. Babies (and adults) cycle through lighter periods of sleeping, and when C does this, it wakes us up, and then she hears us stirring, and then she wakes up fully . . . So I find that the white noise helps all of us ignore each other and sleep more deeply. If you put A in between you and the white noise, I don't think you need to worry about not hearing him if he needs you.

Good luck. I'm sure you'll find something that you're all comfortable with by trial and error. Maybe think of all the humans throughout history who have slept with their babes when you find it difficult to relax . . . it's very natural and normal to have a little person right there with you, and at least we don't have to worry about staying on alert in case a saber tooth tiger appears.

Yeah, the MB really is a miracle. I think babies naturally want to sleep on their stomachs or sides -- want to feel curled up and snug like inside mom -- so with the back to sleep movement, babies need a way to feel all snuggly and safe on their backs. Enter miracle blanket!

 

[fieryred33143]

HH-I slept in the living room with Sophia for about 2.5 weeks, except for on the weekends. The living room was like a magical place for her. I don't know if the temperature was just right or if it was the lighting or maybe it was that the couch didn't squeak when we got into bed or there was no one snoring but the girl would sleep so well in the living room. She would get up every 3 hours to feed and would fall right back to sleep. It sucked and I cried a lot knowing that night time was approaching and I would be "alone" in the living room but I also slept. Whatever works, works.

As for the shifts, what time does DH normally go to bed (pre-Aidan) and how many hours does he need to function the next morning? I would suggest you going to bed early (around 8pm or so) and having DH take care of Aidan until he goes to bed and then you do the rest of the night.

Also, another plug for the baby crack machine if you don't have it already I had huge problems sleeping in the same room with Sophia because any tiny little sound she made, I was up and ready to offer breast, change a diaper, reswaddle, anything. But she would be asleep. I just couldn't shut my brain off. Newborns are so noisy for having tiny little bodies. When we got our homedics lullaby machine, I stopped waking whenever she would grunt because I couldn't hear it. She also couldn't hear me getting in and out of bed or FI snoring which helped a lot. Of course, the sound takes some getting used to. We sleep with a fan on all night because we like white noise so it wasn't too much of an adjustment for us.

 

[KimberlyH]

HH, do whatever works and don't worry about "normal" for now. I had lots of anxiety around Jane sleeping in her room alone, so we found alternative until I was comfortable with the it and she was sleeping longer stretches. It's what worked for us and I don't regret not putting her in her room until the 6 month mark. Sleep is essential and if that means seperate rooms for now then so be it. As he gets bigger and you become more accustomed to him being around you'll settle into things. Hang in there.

 

[Mara]

I agree with the ladies that do what works for you in the first month or so because it's all just hard.

That said.. I think you will soon get used to hearing his noises and feeling like you know what's a normal noise vs not. In the first few nights I also was kind of straining my ears sitting there listening to the noises wondering what meant what. Maybe then you'll just find more of a natural routine which is more comfortable for you.

In the first few months I think I was obsessed with what was a right routine for us to have. In hindsight, while everything worked out fine, I probably didn't need to be so obsessive. But it's 20/20 hindsight that you only have after you've gone through it IMO. So try not to worry too much even though when I type this out I remember the other ladies telling ME that and me thinking they really didn't know OUR situation. HA!

I guess in the end it'll just all work out one way or another, however it does! Thankfully.

that said, i LOVED it when we moved J into his room at around 3weeks. i loved having my room back-- G snores so i would lay there sometimes listening to him snore and J snuffle and thinking why am I awake??? and also waiting for G to wake up J with his snoring. I felt so much better once he was in his own space. And we have a video monitor. And our house is small so we would hear him...now I don't even need the sound on the monitor to be on really.

pupp..re working mom time for baby. I have a bit more of a flex schedule thankfully because my regular schedule would only afford me about one hour with J before bedtime...and that didn't work for me. I also am in the mindset where I really don't care if I work right now so I'm making my company work with me and if they don't want to, too bad... feel free to lay me off. I am only planning to have one kid so I need it to be what I need to be right now for my own sanity and peace of mind. So I end up going into work most mornings around 9am and then coming home at 5pm--but 3 days a week I work from home in the afternoons after 3pm. This affords me extra time with J before his 7pm bedtime and a bit of morning time with him too (like 30 min).

re: smiling while sleeping-- apparently in the early days the babies often smile in their sleep and it's not gas, it's their bodies practicing to 'smile'...they practice everything in their sleep first which will eventually get frustrating like when they are practicing sitting and standing in the crib at 2am, yikes.

thritto the Baby Crack Machine recommend. we had a sleep sheep and a BCM and they were priceless. PRICELESS. my kid could go naked without blankets or sheets as long as i had one of those. hehee.

 

[taovandel]

HH: Evan wasn't a grunter at first but around 6 weeks he started up. We tolerated it for a few weeks but around 8 weeks we packed him up and shipped him off to his room and it's been the best thing EVER. He slept better in there, we slept better. It was a win win, seriously.

 

[Puppmom]

I'm sick. I have a sore throat, headache and stuffy nose. BFing moms - any ideas what I can take that won't affect my supply? My doc can tell me what I CAN take (as in what's safe and even some of that seems questionable) but not what I SHOULD take. Also, with all the contact I need to have with N to feed him and care for him, how do I avoid passing it along to him? May be too late for that...

...sorry for the me-centric post. N is waking. Time to eat!

ETA - I looked on kellymom and looks like my options are limited unless I want to use "Slippery Elm Bark" I guess it's hot (decaf) tea and motrin for me!

 

[turtledazzle]

I'm sick. I have a sore throat, headache and stuffy nose. BFing moms - any ideas what I can take that won't affect my supply? My doc can tell me what I CAN take (as in what's safe) but now what I SHOULD take. Also, with all the contact I need to have with N to feed him and care for him, how do I avoid passing it along to him?

...sorry for the me-centric post. N is waking. Time to eat!

so sorry you're sick. here's a link that might be helpful http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/cold-remedy.html