PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[AllieLuv83]

Here is a picture of Charlie, I took this today for his birth announcement. He is 10 days old today! I can't believe how fast time is going by.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

all the babies are so cute.

Allie, Charlie is ADORABLE! What a great pic for the birth announcement! Wow, it seems like you were winning the gold in"The Olympics" just yesterday Time flies!

 

[Puppmom]

Charger, Nico is SO cute! Join me here on Monday for out pity party. Work=stinky and hanging out with baby=awesome.

Mere, C is a doll and what beautifully long eyelashes! I'm glad he's feeling better and hope your photo shoot went well.

HH, those cheeks and that chin! What a gorgeous little guy! ...I'm sorry your girls are hurting but so glad you found a solution to your issues. What a relief! I hope your happy A is here to stay.

Lovelylulu, how cute! Did N like the grass? My friend's 1 year old was totally creeped out this summer when they put her on the grass barefoot.

MP, I am NOT looking forward to CIO. With DD, I had to sleep downstairs with a pillow over my head. It was heartbreaking. It did work though!

Jcrow, yay for solids! It sounds likes lots of (messy) fun! I think you are supposed to try each food alone for a couple of days to check for allergic reactions.

AFM, my first day back at work wasn't THAT bad but it's Friday and I knew I had the weekend ahead. I know this is silly but I kind of felt like everyone was looking at me and judging me. I still have like 8 pounds to lose and I'm a little self conscious about my body and I felt like everyone was checking to see if I look like I just had a baby. It's probably all in my head but it still stunk. MIL had a decent day with N. She said he was super happy in the am and fussy for a lot of the afternoon until he passed out at 3. I think it may have been gas because she said he fussed right through his bottle.

Pumping was kind of awkward but I think I'll get used to it. We have a Mother's Room but it's right next to a row of cubicles so it's a little weird when you emerge with your *discreet* pump in bag.

 

[Puppmom]

...and Allie, Charlie is gorgeous and that's a great photo. Nice job!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

GAH! We make the CUTEST babies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[drk]

Pupp - just think of me pumping in the OR. Today the surgeon started saying to the nurses that there must be loud music in another OR, cause he could hear bass coming from somewhere. Nope, it was my pump vibrating on the anesthetic machine! I'm sue you bag is more discreet than my monster pump boobs under my scrubs!

 

[jcrow]

allie - he's SOOO adorable!! best newborn picture ever. congrats on your beautiful, beautiful baby.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Allie, that is a gorgeous picture!!! He is such a cutie!

I have no idea why this looks so blurry when it wasn't blurry on my phone, but here is Micah with his homemade baby legs! I tried to post it last night but it wouldn't let me for some reason.

I need to take some better pictures and stop using my phone already lol.

 

[Steel]

Here is a picture of Charlie, I took this today for his birth announcement. He is 10 days old today! I can't believe how fast time is going by.

Oh my goodness, this might just be the cutest baby picture I have ever seen. Look at him - wearing a little pumpkin hat! Awh!

I want one!

It is so true, PS'ers make mighty fine looking babies. I'm loving all the pics. Congrats Mammas.

 

[cara]

Hi Ladies! Typing one-handed, dipping my toes into the newborn thread! Well my baby is now 5 weeks, so a little past newborn and on to baby! I've been reading these past few weeks, but its been a whirlwind with relatives visiting and whatnot so I didn't manage to post. My husband was also off until this week and that was great as two adults, one baby and some occasionally helpful relatives seemed like the right ratio, haha. We had a wonderful time getting to know our son and going on little outings with some laundry, home cooking, and restless nights thrown in there. Hubs just went back to work and the honeymoon is over! Well, I think we'll manage okay somehow but I have no idea how its all going work when I go back to work.

Anyway, here are some pictures of Silas. The first one is more recent and the rest are from when he was a 2.5 weeks old... Crazy how fast they grow! He's already put on three pounds from his birth weight and his face has filled out so much!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Oh my gosh, Cara! What a cutie! I love the last picture, all squishy face. Where were you?

 

[snlee]

Allie, love your birth announcement photo! so adorable!

cara, silas is so cute! glad you're enjoying motherhood. they grow so fast!

what do you consider newborn? I've always thought it was first 6 weeks...anyways, my baby is almost 6 weeks old. almost past the newborn stage, which I'm sad about but excited to see her grow. N is no longer teeny tiny. she has big chubby cheeks and is growing so fast! we had an appointment yesterday and she's 9 pounds, up almost 4 pounds! big brother is still doing very well with his baby sister. things are busy here but going well. I don't have much PS time so I'm sorry I can't respond to everyone individually. hope everyone is doing well! love all the baby pictures! so cute!

 

[taovandel]

Sharing my last pictures probably on this thread....Evan turns 1 on Halloween!!

 

[AllieLuv83]

Hello Ladies...I am having some BF problems. Charlie had some jaundice when he was born and we were told to supplement with some formula. Once my milk came in, the doctor told us to continue to offer it to him if he still seems hungry once he is done BF. He would cluster feed all day long! I feel like I don't have enough milk for him, and on top of it all his latch all of the sudden has become SO painful. My nipples are just very tender. He seems like he is not taking a big enough amount of boob into his mouth. I started pumping but it takes me like 2 sessions to get 2 oz which is just enough for his feeding. I don't want to exclusively pump but I feel like I am getting frustrated with the pain of him being on the boob. I just don't know what to do! I would like to increase my supply and am trying to pump once an hour, but I know that baby on the boob is best. Any suggestions?

 

[snlee]

tao, evan is so cute!

allie, sorry to hear about your BF pain. both my kids had jaundice as newborns and had to stay at the hospital a few days under lights so I know how important feeding them is. we did supplement a little while in the hospital but mostly just did pumped milk and nursing. If you want to nurse and not pump, I suggest working on your latch. If you're having pain, it sounds like his latch isn't good. can you see a lactation consultant? they are so so so helpful! my advice to get a better latch is when he's about to latch on, squeeze your breast so it's easier for him to latch and get more into his mouth, when he opens up push him towards you. also don't worry about not having enough milk. the more you nurse the more milk you'll produce for him. when you nurse you can't tell how much milk they are getting but they are getting enough if they are content right after. do you feel full before and empty after each feeding? I know it can be very painful, especially in the beginning when you're trying to become a good BFing team. are you using some lansinoh cream on your nipples after each feeding? you can also express a little milk and put it on your nipples after each feeding. helpfully that will help your nipple pain, along with a better latch. hope this helps. hang in there!

 

[jcrow]

allie - have you tried nipple shields?

 

[cara]

Allie, get thee to an LC! Or even a pediatrician might help. Not supposed to hurt that much.

Nursing definitely hurt a lot the first week, and we ended up getting S's tongue tie clipped twice and then it got a lot better. Not saying that is what is going on but get some pro help before going straight to the pump. Also they recommended liberal use of an antibiotic ointment - bacitracin (sp?) - rather than lanolin.

snlee, not sure on the official definition of the newborn period but my guy is just growing / changing so fast! doesn't look so smushed as when he was born.

tao, your guy is so big! congrats on the first year!

we were in yosemite for the pics

 

[blushingbride]

Hi Ladies!

Just popping in because it's been a while...plus I can relate to some of the things going on here. The babies are 5 weeks old now - Alen is now 7lbs 8 oz (he was 5lbs 7oz at birth) and Laila is now 6lbs 6oz (she was 4lbs 10oz at birth). So, they are both gaining well and doing great in that area.

Laila is SUCH an easy baby. She gives us no trouble whatsoever. It's amazing. If she cries, we know there's something wrong (hungry, diaper change, etc). Alen on the other hand is really fussy and cries a lot.

HH - we are going through similar issues with Alen. Over the past week we've noticed that after a feed, he won't go down for a nap. Instead, he'll fuss and cry until we have to pick him up to soothe or we are constantly going in to bink him until he falls asleep. I'm really starting to think it's reflux. Right now, I'm nursing/pumping and then supplementing with formula. We've used grip water and today are switching to sensitive formula (as per the pedi from a convo we had on Fri). We are hoping this does the trick.

It's very frustrating when he's crying and we don't know what to do. We watched the HBOTB DVD and have used the 5's on him which work well, but then when it's time to move him back into the crib, he'll start fussing again. Anyway, just wanted you to know, you're not alone!

Allie - love the announcement!!! Did you take that pic yourself? We are getting our professional photos taken this Friday. We can't wait!
Also, wanted you to know that my supply hasn't been the greatest. It's improved a bit since I've been taking the blessed thistle and fenugreek. I've also order domperidone which should arrive this week. We'll see how that works. I'm making about 2oz per pumping session which is usually every 2/3 hours (if I'm not nursing). With twins, I'd like to make more than that and i know putting them to the breast is the best way, but it's really hard to nurse them both at the same time esp. by myself during the day. Actually, nursing them is easy, it's getting them both on the my breast friend pillow, in the right position and both latched that's hard (esp. when they are crying and very hungry). It takes a lot of coordination...let me tell you! Have you tried the herbel supplements?

As for the rest of the mommies out there...I've been reading your posts too and learning so much! Can't wait to be back on here on a more regular basis!

 

[mtjoya]

Kinda late on the pic. But here it goes! J & I

 

[MonkeyPie]

Kinda late on the pic. But here it goes! J & I

Aww! This is so cute Nice to see a mommy, too lol.

We are visiting a pumpkin patch tomorrow (or the day after - sometime this week!) to take pictures of Micah in his Halloween costume. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[mtjoya]

hehe thanks MP. I have better pics on our other camera but I liked this one. I had to throw myself in there.
Micah is a handsome boy!

Yeah the pp is so kewl. This was a small one in Irwindale, CA. We had tons of fun. We took 400 pics!

 

[Mara]

hi ladies..! we went on a weekend vacation last thurs and left J with my Mom. it was great to have time to ourselves...MAN do I miss it!! not being at anyone's beck and call and having me time...not shoveling food into my mouth in 5 minutes but actually enjoying a dinner, etc. but we missed J and it was good to come back home. unfortunately P got really sick before we left, literally the night before so G took her to the emergency vet and thankfully she was ok after a few IV's but we don't know why she got sick.

J did great with my Mom... in his new crib and sounded like he had a good time. every time i called he was squealing. he slept really well too. i swear this kid is so independent of us... like it seems like he didn't even know we were gone. which i guess is a good thing because there's never any fuss around it, but on the flip side i am like JEEZ! when he saw me after i got home he did have a big smile and tried to clamber out of his playpen so that was some tiny bit of gratification.

i am late catching up to stuff...but here's a few things:

welcome cara! s is super cute--love that squishy face pic.

allie, fabulous picture for the welcome card!! love it.

HH, re drying up the girls. i think i saw you said you will pump every few hours. you may already know this, but don't pump to drain them, just pump a bit to relieve the pain. if you drain or get too close to it, you'll keep signaling to make more. and keep trying to cut down the pumps from 3 to 2 etc. good luck!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

So apparently still having insomnia and anxiety 6 weeks pp isn't normal. I came home from my check up today with an rx for BCPs and another one for Zoloft. Who ever mentioned PPD hit the nail on the head. I guess this would explain the rampant case of neurosis I've had...

And we're heading back to the pedi this morning for a recheck. Aidan is still only taking 1 oz or so at a feeding, which ends up being every hour, and he's not sleeping well. He'll fall asleep after an hour or more of trying and then sleeps very fitfully for maybe an hour. And he's still pulling off the bottle repeatedly and crying during feedings. The really concerning thing is his urine is getting really dark, or darker than I think it should be anyway. I feel like he's having an OK amount of wet diapers, but with the decrease in poopy diapers we don't notice when he pees as much. I know his urine is darker because I changed him on our bed yesterday and he peed all over the comforter. So we're going to have to see what the doc says. I see no other symptoms of dehydration, which is good. Maybe the formula makes it darker?

 

[Puppmom]

HH, I hope the Zoloft brings you some rest and relief from your anxiety. I have totally been there before! The racing mind will not allow your body to rest which just creates a vicious cycle. I think once you’re able to fix the eating issue, the sleep will fall into place. It sounds like A is never really full so that would explain not sleeping well. I don’t know about the dark urine. N’s is pretty much clear with no odor.

Mtjoya, what a great pic! You guys are gorgeous!

Cara, Silas is beautiful. Aren’t we lucky to have had babies during this time of year? We’ve been able to get out so much. I’m not looking forward to being trapped indoors once the cold hits!

Tao, E is such a cutie! I hope you’ll peak in every now and then to give us rookies advice!

MP, that is the cutest onesie! …how awesome that you made your own baby legs. Now you have to make your own crinkly toy!

Allie, I’m sorry to hear about your BF issues. N had a pretty good latch in the beginning. Then, at 4 weeks, it started to hurt all of the sudden. We thought it was thrush but it wasn’t. I used a nipple shield for about two weeks to get me through the discomfort and his latch gradually became better. Definitely try to squish your boob and put as much in his mouth as possible. I know that’s really hard when you’re engorged! I also found that pulling down on N’s chin as he was latching helped a lot.

Drk, do you use the hospital grade pump? Those things are monstrous! I think I’ll get used to pumping at work. Heck, it’s a nice break from my desk! I just hope I can keep my supply up this way.

Charger, I hope your first full day back to work is going well.

AFM, day two at work. Friday seemed to go well for MIL. She did mention that N was fussy during and after his PM bottle. We told her it was probably gas and try Mylicon if that happens again. Also, on our log, she only checks poop. We asked her if he peed and she said she can’t tell if the diaper is wet or not I’m just going to assume he’s peeing until she gets the hang of these new-fangled diapers. We had to give her a bottle prep lesson this morning because we switched to the Born Free. The bottles that came with the pump aren’t cutting it. I guess we’ll get to work on time one of these days!

 

[MonkeyPie]

The really concerning thing is his urine is getting really dark, or darker than I think it should be anyway. I feel like he's having an OK amount of wet diapers, but with the decrease in poopy diapers we don't notice when he pees as much. I know his urine is darker because I changed him on our bed yesterday and he peed all over the comforter. So we're going to have to see what the doc says. I see no other symptoms of dehydration, which is good. Maybe the formula makes it darker?

That's strange, but I can't think of why his urine would be darker - Micah is FF and it's almost completely clear, just the slightest yellow tinge in the diaper if he pees a ton. Keep us updated, I hope the pedi does something that makes him more comfortable.

pupp, I'm glad things seem to be going well for MIL! Once she gets in the groove and gets comfortable with him she's going to enjoy him even more.

So I have a question. Did anyone else get periods that got consistently lighter after giving birth, until they went away altogether? My first PP period was like before I got pregnant, but since then they have been super light, last 4-5 days, and I barely even notice them. And this month I am over a week late for AF. Don't think I'm PG again (gah! I hope not!), but I am going to test tonight to be sure. What could cause this otherwise? I'm kinda stressed but that has never stopped or delayed AF for me in the past.

 

[Mara]

MP.. I'm the wrong person to ask with AF. It's been really inconsistent in flow since it came back--with a few really heavy 'I think I might die from loss of blood' months. I have heard it can take up to a year for your body to regulate again, so who knows.

HH... J is totally formula fed now and his urine is usually mostly clear unless it's a hugely soaked diaper then it's a tinge of light yellow but not dark or anything. And it only smells like 'lots of pee' when it's in a soaked diaper. I would DEFINITELY ask the doctor about that--I don't think J has ever had dark urine.

Pupp...yay for a good few days at work (if that isn't an oxymoron!).

Back at work today, ugh...and a huge preso at 10am to our execs. Welcome back I guess. LOL.

 

[mtjoya]

Thanks puppmom!

I forgot to say that all the bebes are soooo freaken cute! I love the scenic pics cara! He is so cute!

Tao-Evan is soooo cute! Can't believe it's almost his bday, what do you have planned?

 

[turtledazzle]

When did you start the "put down sleepy but not asleep" stuff for them to learn self-soothing? My little one fell asleep while I was burping him and I put him down unswaddled to see how he did. His Moro reflex is still really strong -- in a fifteen minute period he probably startled himself 7 times, with the final one waking him up. So, it seems he is not ready to be unswaddled yet -- he is 10 wks old today.

He's also still just napping 30 minutes to maybe an hour (usually about 45 minutes) about four times per day ... I just cannot get him to sleep longer for naps. I am wondering if part of the problem is discomfort from reflux? We got a script for Prevacid at the end of last week, but we haven't started him on it yet as we're hesitant to give him meds (especially DH). So, I am trying to eliminate things from my diet to see if that helps his reflux (he is EBF). Anyone have any success with this? I am a pescatarian (vegetarian that eats seafood), so eliminating dairy and soy is really difficult for me. One of my friends had success with the elimination diet, the other did not but the meds really helped her son.

The napping thing is extremely stressful for me. Each day I try to start positively and think it will go better ... and each day I feel like such a failure. Gah, being a perfectionist and being an infant's mom really don't go well together! Right now he is sleeping in his swing.

Part of the difficulty is that, because of the reflux, we are supposed to keep him upright for 20-30 minutes after each feeding. Well, at his age, that really cuts into the A part of the EASY method, especially when the E takes 20-40 minutes (breastfeeding and frequent burping). I put him in his swing upright on a low setting after eating so I could each lunch myself ... then he fell asleep there.

He does sleep well at night though. He goes down between 7:30p and 8:15p and sleeps until 6:30a-8a with usually only one wakeup somewhere in the 2a-5a period. For the last night feeding (my husband gives his a small "topping off" bottle after his bath to keep him used to getting a bottle) and the middle of the night feeding, he gets rocked for the 20-30 minutes of upright time after eating so we're always putting him down at that point fully asleep. If we don't keep him upright after feeds, spit ups are pretty much guaranteed.

Sorry this is so long. I think I just needed to vent. I've been feeling overwhelmed the past few days for some reason.

 

[somethingshiny]

HH~ I mentioned the PPD and I was afraid I had offended you. I'm so glad you got something for it. I'll tell you, a few days into Zoloft, and I was finally at ease, able to sleep, and confident in my mommy abilities. My RX was for 3 months and it just ended over the weekend. I'm kinda scared that the PPD will rear it's ugly head. I never want to feel that way again. I hope the Zoloft brings you great relief like it did for me! Another thing I was told about PPD is you have to take some time for yourself. It doesn't have to be any big thing, but you need to get out of the house without the baby. It sounds nearly impossible but it really does help.

 

[turtledazzle]

LuLu and Charger -- In my search for help with naps and the EASY method I found: http://www.babywhispererforums.com/

It seems to be a very active forum and I thought it might be of interest to you as well. Waking at 45 minutes seems to be a common occurrence related to the ending of a sleep cycle.

I just emailed his day care teacher to set up a meeting with her to discuss his transition to her care (especially naps!) Thankfully I have the month of November to work on the nap thing -- I hope she has some good tips for me.

Good luck to both of you with your little ones starting day care soon!