PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[MustangGal]

I''m sorry nyc! We had to switch Kyle to a lactose-free formula when he was a month old, similac sensitive. It''s still milk-based instead of soy, but somehow has no lactose. He was gassy, fussy, and spit up a lot. After a few days on the new frmula it was like having a completely different baby! He also had a bit of reflux that would cause him to cry about halfway through some feedings and not want to eat. I would do what your doc says and see if that water works.

Last weekend Kyle started vomiting the formula, and the doc had us give him only unflavored pedialyte (sp?). He hated it, but he kept it down. The doc was doing it to see if he had a condition where the intestines get thick muscles and constrict so that food can''t go down them.
I hope yor little one is feeling better soon!

 

[lili]

You poor thing nyc.
Sorry I have no advice for you as my LO is BF.
I hope you find your answer soon so Jackie can get a full stomach and sleep better (and you can get some sleep too).

 

[Burk]

nyc~I agree with Curly. Sounds like reflux and/or intollerance. It could absolutely be that she''s just now showing symptoms. T did great on formula for 4 weeks after I stopped BFing until all the proteins built up in her system and at that time she pretty much refused to eat and cried all the time. I would switch her formula. Can''t hurt. You could start with a sensitive formula like similac sensitive and if that doesn''t work I can give you many a recommendation for different formulas for babies with reflux/hurting bellies.

 

[nycbkgirl]

MGAL/Burk- that sounds like the exact symptoms jackie is having so i do believe a formula change is in store...i am using similac neosure now...i will ask doc what change he would like to make but i heard that enfimil nutramigen is a good one...hypoallergenic. i just tried the water and formula so now will wait and see what happens...she hasnt been sleeping practically the whole day

...my sis will take her tonite bc i cant be alone with them both (dh is working) ...sis went to doc and just has a minor cold and doc said with mask its fine with kiddos...so im relieved. jon seems to tolerate the formula pretty well ..but if i switch i will prolly switch them both?

thanks Lili!

 

[nycbkgirl]

DD- thanks for the shout out in the toddler thread

...i didnt realize to ask there....duh

 

[nycbkgirl]

update: so its been an hour since her feeding and no spit up and she fell asleep! so we shall monitor and see how this half water half formula works

and then doc will make a decision on what to do with the formula....sis will keep me updated on how it goes...wish us luck once again lol

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/8/2009 7:47:34 PM
Author: nycbkgirl
update: so its been an hour since her feeding and no spit up and she fell asleep! so we shall monitor and see how this half water half formula works

and then doc will make a decision on what to do with the formula....sis will keep me updated on how it goes...wish us luck once again lol

Good luck NYC!

Just a little note about spit up... it can really really look like more than it actually is. Sometimes Hunter spits up so much I can''t believe it all fit in there! I looks like gallons! Wets his whole shirt and pours off the nursing pillow onto the floor

I''d think he must be empty, but then 20 minutes later he will spit up a similar volume! LOL! Gross! Anyways, my point is that it is near impossible to judge the amount of fluid they are actually spitting up, so it is probably less than you think. My friend used to always tell me that when her son spit up she''d just see if he wanted more because then there was room in his tummy! Sort of the opposite of not feeding because of spitting up.. she would feed a little more! She was BFing and so am I, and in that case the baby has to really suck to get the milk, so it is probably easier to tell if they are still hungry (Hunter won''t suck when he isn''t hungry, he will just play around). This is harder to judge with a smaller baby and with bottles I imagine... So if she cried all day maybe she was hungry if you were worried about feeding her?

Let us know what the doctor says!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 6/8/2009 8:20:26 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 6/8/2009 7:47:34 PM
Author: nycbkgirl
update: so its been an hour since her feeding and no spit up and she fell asleep! so we shall monitor and see how this half water half formula works

and then doc will make a decision on what to do with the formula....sis will keep me updated on how it goes...wish us luck once again lol

Good luck NYC!

Just a little note about spit up... it can really really look like more than it actually is. Sometimes Hunter spits up so much I can''t believe it all fit in there! I looks like gallons! Wets his whole shirt and pours off the nursing pillow onto the floor

I''d think he must be empty, but then 20 minutes later he will spit up a similar volume! LOL! Gross! Anyways, my point is that it is near impossible to judge the amount of fluid they are actually spitting up, so it is probably less than you think. My friend used to always tell me that when her son spit up she''d just see if he wanted more because then there was room in his tummy! Sort of the opposite of not feeding because of spitting up.. she would feed a little more! She was BFing and so am I, and in that case the baby has to really suck to get the milk, so it is probably easier to tell if they are still hungry (Hunter won''t suck when he isn''t hungry, he will just play around). This is harder to judge with a smaller baby and with bottles I imagine... So if she cried all day maybe she was hungry if you were worried about feeding her?

Let us know what the doctor says!

well i spoke too soon...nope she was up in 5 minutes crying and fussing...my sis thinks its acid reflux but it may be intolerance as well....we gave a tiny bit more milk and she was crying afterwards...left a msg for doc but he prolly wont call back until tomorrow and i dont wanna go to the store to change the milk without talking to him first...im just so stressed bc i dont know whats wrong and how to fix it,,,its the worst feeling

she was actually vomitting not spitting up...i read online the differences and she really is vomitting,,it comes out pretty forcefully...sometimes she spits up but ystdy and today its vomit. and she just wont sleep period/....she dozes but keeps herself awake.

 

[Burk]

nyc~I''m so sorry! I can completely relate. Def. talk to your doc about a formula change. Just FYI-they get really expensive the more specialized you go. Enfimil nutramigen and similac alimentum are both hypoallergenic. T did great on alimentum. If J has severe intolerance (usually relux and intolerance goes hand in hand) to dairy, which is most common, there is a change she may not tolerate either of those and need something that has no traces of the dairy protein. You may want to consult a pediatric GI doctor since she was a premi and reflux is NOT something you want to mess around with in my experience. Good luck!

 

[TravelingGal]

Amelia spit up at least once a day between months 3-7. And as DD said, it looked like a lot (I got drenched as did the floor) but in reality it probably was under 2 tablespoons, which isn''t cause for too much concern. It also was not after every bottle. Burps caused it, but sometimes it just happened.

But it was spit up (flowed from her mouth). It was not projectile. If Jackie is vomiting, as you say, and it is coming out with force, definitely talk to the ped. Reflux, intolerance, or a more serious (but fixable) condition like pyloric stenosis are all possibilities. Is the vomit projectile (which is exactly what it sounds like...it''s getting some air clearance?)

 

[Blenheim]

Burk - that is just too cute.

Mela - it took me a couple of weeks to catch onto this, but bibs aren''t just for messy eaters - they keep spit up from making it onto outfits as much. Much easier to change a bib than to change the whole onesie, as G doesn''t like things going over his head.

Mustang - good luck finding alternative care. Is your sitter doing ok?

Janine - that''s great about being approved to work from home! And your description of the swing is funny.

NYC- so sorry about Jackie. Poor thing. I hope you figure out what''s wrong.

Crying baby, sorry to those I missed.

 

[nycbkgirl]

Thanks Burk, Tgal &blen...

Doc called back said it sounds like it may be a virus...he said to keep her on pedialyte tonite and then back to half water half formula tom morn....I bought the nutramigen and will try that anyway tom....im so upset

Jon is being a pain in the butt too...won''t sleep the booger!

 

[msb700]

NYC: sorry to hear about all the spit up...when K had a similar problem and the doc said it mite be a virus, he immediately told me to lay off the formula and replace with a lactose-free formula instead..he said that the milk content doesnt sit well with the virus and it upsets their little tummies..flipped to lactose free for about a week and no spit up watsoever..i went back to normal formula about a week or 10 days later and all is well...

 

[nycbkgirl]

Msb- thanx! I guess that''s y doc said to be on just pedialyte...I will def watch her closely tom on the nutrimigen n water (maybe that''s y he''s saying to dilute it as well)...

She is doing good...drinking the pedialyte like she won the lottery (as my sister put it lol)...(prolly tastes much better than formula lol)..but she only sleeps in bed with sis...she won''t be in her bassinett...sis thinks its bc she''s sick and all kids need comfort but I worry not to start that habit!...urgh.

Tgal-i don''t think its projectile per say...but it flows out pretty quickly and a lot...almost everything she eats basically. I read about that stenosis and its pretty scary but im hoping its not that bc its not as forceful.

 

[Pandora II]

Well, my good baby is now being a total PITA...

Yesterday she was awake all day except one sleep of an hour at 2.00pm and a couple of hours late evening. Then she was up most of the night. Nothing wrong, just wanted to eat for England and be entertained. Every time I thought she''d dropped off and I stood up to put her in her pod/cot a beady eye would open and I''d be back to square one.

Then she''d be awake so long that she''d be hungry again. Grrrr. She''s also started doing this weird way of sucking when she''s feeding that means I have to keep relatching her on all the time (she''s been doing this for about 2 days now) - I''m wondering if it''s to do with getting the milk faster from a bottle? When I give her a bottle I make her have it in small amounts so that her tummy has time to fill up slowly, make it more like bfing and stop her overeating and then throwing it up again. However DH announced proudly that he had got her to drink 90ml in one go

... obviously she then spat most of it back, which since it was breast milk and I still don''t have enough to make me feel totally calm about it, I was unamused to say the least having slaved over the pump to get it!

She slept about 2 hours all night - so I slept even less, and now just to make my day I''ve received a pack from the Employment Tribunal containing my employers response: a whole 43 pages to go through, and it looks like they are going after me quite badly on some fronts, trying to make out that my bipolar disorder is something they knew nothing about and that I would have been ill anyway because I had to reduce my medication for 7 weeks. I know I need to keep calm and I should anticipate them playing any card they think they can use (they don''t have many), but my sleep-deprieved self is having a bit of a meltdown. Daisy is screaming her head off, the ''bonding'' social worker is due to visit shortly, and I need to scan 43 pages into a computer and then go through them to highlight the errors/problem points and email the whole lot to my lawyer and I don''t know how I will get the time to do this.

Oh, and then to just make my day, my brother just rang to tell me that his wife (who he married on May 23rd) is 5 weeks pregnant. I''m thrilled for my brother except that I can''t stand his wife (my sister was in tears the whole night before the wedding because he was marrying her) and was just about coming to terms with having her as a sister in law. Geez, now I sound like a complete cow...

 

[curlygirl]

nyc, I hope things are a little better today. And regarding Jackie sleeping in the bed with your sister, I wouldn''t worry about it right now. You''re in survival mode, do what you have to do to get through it!

 

[Mrs]

no time to post now since I''m kind of doing a dry run of dropping S off at day care and going in to work this morning to see how it goes but wanted to say, "Hang in there!" to NYC and Pandora ! I''m sorry you two are having a rough week so far! My thoughts are with you! I hope your LOs start eating and sleeping better and P, I hope you''re able to get to that paperwork. I''m so sorry you''re still dealing with those jerks!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/9/2009 9:50:58 AM
Author: curlygirl
nyc, I hope things are a little better today. And regarding Jackie sleeping in the bed with your sister, I wouldn''t worry about it right now. You''re in survival mode, do what you have to do to get through it!

Ditto! Hunter slept with us for the first 4 weeks and then teransitioned fine to the crib. Do what you need to comfort your daughter right now, she isn''t feeling good and you need some rest!

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 6/9/2009 3:46:04 AM
Author: nycbkgirl
Msb- thanx! I guess that''s y doc said to be on just pedialyte...I will def watch her closely tom on the nutrimigen n water (maybe that''s y he''s saying to dilute it as well)...

She is doing good...drinking the pedialyte like she won the lottery (as my sister put it lol)...(prolly tastes much better than formula lol)..but she only sleeps in bed with sis...she won''t be in her bassinett...sis thinks its bc she''s sick and all kids need comfort but I worry not to start that habit!...urgh.

Tgal-i don''t think its projectile per say...but it flows out pretty quickly and a lot...almost everything she eats basically. I read about that stenosis and its pretty scary but im hoping its not that bc its not as forceful.

Having just seen my ''mother and baby bonding'' social worker, I was discussing things like having the baby sleeping in your bed, how long you should leave a small baby to cry before picking them up etc and her view was that if you respond fast to a small baby''s needs and make them feel that if they cry then someone will respond that they end up feeling more secure, reassured and confident as a result and hence less clingy when they are older.

Hope she feels better soon!


ETA: OMG, 2 minutes before the social worker arrived I remembered that I had a rat out defrosting in the kitchen for one of my pythons - not a good look when you are convincing them that you are a fit mother, so rat is now safely hidden from view!

 

[MustangGal]

Blen The sitter got released form the hospital yesterday, and was having her helper come in for today, so hopefully she''s doing OK. I did find a back-up though, I have a frind who''s 11 weeks preggo and just quit her job to be a SAHM (she has a 15 month old also). She''s watched Kyle once before, and said she''d be happy to take him once in a while if I needed her too. She lives a little out of the way, but as an alternative I don''t mind driving a bit!

Pandora & nyc I''m sorry you''re LOs are giving you a hard time! At least Jackie likes the pedialyte, Kyle hated it after the first day, and kept spitting out the bottle. He did keep it all down though. And if she had projectile vomit, you would know! Kyle was shooting about 3 feet, and even cleared his body and got the carpet last week! It sounds like a virus or reflux. Pandora, good thought getting the rat out of view! I''m sorry your employer is being a pain, I hope you get it all resolved!

Kyle has been waking up once or twice a night since we stopped swaddeling 2 weeks ago, but last night he slept from 8:30pm to 5:30am without making a peep! And that was after a 2 hour nap at 4pm! Before he went to bed last night he was in the weirdest mood, jumping and talking and smiling like crazy. It was sooo cute!

I bought a book last weekend that I''ll have to post some lines from (maybe this weekend). It''s called If these Boobs Could Talk, it''s stress relief for BFing moms. I only BF for 5 weeks, but I was struggling not to laugh out loud in the store when flipping through it. I plan to give it to my SIL at her next baby shower, they''re going to TTC this fall.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Blen Did I say how cute G is? Love those pictures! I am so sad I didn''t get shots at newborn and 1 month with Mr Bear. The difference between 2 months and three months was crazy though! But I miss having those first two

Pandora You are a great writer did you know that? Your dry british humour comes through so clearly even when you write about annoying things, I laugh... sorry! But you are so funny! Daisy''s "beady little eye" particularly cracked me up. But in all seriousness, just hang in there. Kids change so much in the first months that who knows what direction is up! Is Daisy 3 weeks now? Maybe her first growth spurt is messing her up. At that age we just did what we needed to get H to sleep, and usually that meant carrying him around all the time. And poo on your stupid ex employers. They shall get their comeuppance somehow!

*********

As for me I have a sleep questions help me pleassssseeeee!!

Hunter still wakes 2x a night. I can''t figure it out, he used to sleep so well. He goes down at 8:00 or 8:30 and sleep until about 3:30am and then wake for the day around 6:00 or 6:30. Now goes down a little earlier around 7:30pm and he wakes at 1:30 and again at 5:30 every night! After the 5:30 wake up he sleeps until about 8:30, but that doesn''t help us because DH has to get up for work at 7:30. I also think that is simply too long to sleep at night. Granted he is getting over a cold, but still!!

I tried TGal''s suggestion of giving him a binky at the first wake up and all that did was cause him to wake a couple hours later again. Last night tried it again and he really did NOT want the binky, he was rooting like mad and then ate a fair bit. So I think he may actually be hungry??? Pretty soon I am going to buy a pump and so I may try Tacori''s suggestion of having DH offer a bottle not a boob and see what happens.

But here is my main question: Should we keep putting him down at 7:30 or should we try putting him down a little earlier (he starts showing signs of being tired around 6:30 and then we start the bedtime routine)? Should we let him have a little nap and have him go to bed later so that his second wakeup is later on?? I just don''t know what to do!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/9/2009 10:44:09 AM
Author: Pandora II

Having just seen my ''mother and baby bonding'' social worker, I was discussing things like having the baby sleeping in your bed, how long you should leave a small baby to cry before picking them up etc and her view was that if you respond fast to a small baby''s needs and make them feel that if they cry then someone will respond that they end up feeling more secure, reassured and confident as a result and hence less clingy when they are older.

Hope she feels better soon!

Ditto. This is what developmental psychoogy would tell us as well...

Date: 6/9/2009 10:44:09 AM
Author: Pandora II
ETA: OMG, 2 minutes before the social worker arrived I remembered that I had a rat out defrosting in the kitchen for one of my pythons - not a good look when you are convincing them that you are a fit mother, so rat is now safely hidden from view!

And case and point on your humour Pandora! Your style of telling stories reminds me of "The secret Diaries of Adrien Mole" for some reason. I''m glad you got the rat safely put away!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

DD, I have always read you should put him down at first signs of sleepiness. So if he is tired at 6:30, I would put him down then. I know you are not looking forward to pumping but it really does help to determine if he needs food or comfort. Good luck. T didn''t STTN until 6 months. It was a LONG first 6 months.

 

[jas]

Hi all! Just a fly-by (Mondays and Tuesdays are crazy rehearsal/class days for me...)

I am thinking of you nyc and Pandora. I know "hang in there" doesn''t help, but it sounds like you both are already champion mommies!

For all with sleeping babies, I''m impressed. I''ve got one who was STTN pretty early (five months) and one who does it (it took eight months), oh most nights, but now will wake up at 3 am for teething reasons...hooray back teeth!

They are nine months old. It''s a PITA, but it''s nice to see the light, er, dark, at the end of this tunnel...I had helpful friends who were more than happy to tell me that their kids STTN at TWO YEARS OLD. I made this face

and then this face

cuz I like making rodent faces.

And I agree, Pandora, your rat defrosting story made me laugh aloud.

My big contribution for today is that I realize my tummy looks like elephant skin, and I have some oddball desire to just show it to people...ya know...to gross them out. I would never do it, of course, but it''s a weird compulsion.

Coming soon to a party near you: The Elephant Tummy...too weird even for Michael Jackson.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/9/2009 12:14:05 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
DD, I have always read you should put him down at first signs of sleepiness. So if he is tired at 6:30, I would put him down then. I know you are not looking forward to pumping but it really does help to determine if he needs food or comfort. Good luck. T didn''t STTN until 6 months. It was a LONG first 6 months.

I have been thinking that too... So do you think I should put him down at 6:30 for the night or for a nap? The main difference would be a feeding prior to going down. I think if we start bedtime so early then we would cut the batht ime thing because it is too much hulabaloo at that time of day. I plan to go buy a pump soon! I think it is time...

 

[Dreamer_D]

Jas You are funny too, but in a more Steve Martin way, I think. Totally different than Pandora yet equally hilarious! I like rodent faces too

I want to know where the myth came from that babies STTN at 3 months?? Is it another conspiracy to make us all feel like failures as moms?

 

[jas]

Date: 6/9/2009 12:19:59 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Jas You are funny too, but in a more Steve Martin way, I think. Totally different than Pandora yet equally hilarious! I like rodent faces too

I want to know where the myth came from that babies STTN at 3 months?? Is it another conspiracy to make us all feel like failures as moms?

Thanks! You totally just made my day -- Steve Martin is one of my all time favorites. Because of him I want to learn the banjo. I won''t actually do it, I just pine.

I hate that 3 month STTN myth. I''m learning that once these babies shoot out, all the encouragement and glows from strangers we got during pregnancy vanish into a snarling pit of beastly competition.

Case in point -- my SIL asked if I''m going to enroll my kids in some class called "Music and Movement" and proceeded to tell me that her kids were enrolled before age 1 (read: I am a bad mother because my kids are nearly one and not in any classes.) Quite frankly, my boys are lucky if they get a bath...enrolling them in some sort of dance class is waaay beyond my ability right now. I also have this silly picture in my head of a bunch of babies just lolling around and looking confused. To music.

I don''t mean to insult the people who take their kids to these classes. My guess is that they''re pretty awesome and a good way for mommies to meet. I''m just too much of a loser to drag my sorry a$$ to a class where I''m going to worry if my babies are behind the curve.

I''m just kvetching about the competition/worry race.

What can I say. My kids just started crawling this week. They have 6 teeth. One of them likes to try to get in his own diaper and throw poop like a monkey. They eat kibble.

Obviously they are too gifted to STTN.

 

[Pandora II]

Aww Dreamer, you've cheered me up. Funny you mentioning the Adrian Mole Diaries - DH and I are both big fans... if you remember his teenage love interest was called Pandora, well weirdly enough DH has just finished reading the latest in the series where his new love interest is called...wait for it...Daisy! How odd is that?

The social worker thought it might be a growth spurt as well, as she's 3 weeks and 2 days. I also fed Daisy for a bit when she was here and she got to hear the strange noises she's been making. I was advised to ask the midwives tomorrow, but she reckoned she was latched and feeding fine. She also suggested getting some 'slow flow' teats for the bottles so that Daisy has to work a lot harder to get milk from a bottle.

She was also really helpful to talk over the work stuff with, but wants me to see my psychiatrist over my extreme anxiety over meeting my employer (I have to do this in the next few weeks). On the whole I'm doing better than I expected with the whole new baby/sleep deprivation thing, but a bit fragile so that any little thing no matter how tiny or irrational tends to reduce me to tears. Got to love those hormones!

Here's a picture of Daisy - check out the killer laser eyes - and me looking horrendous (visiting my witch of a grandmother has this effect on me)!

 

[Pandora II]

And one of Daisy on the HUGE (and white and non machine washable

) sheep her daddy bought her...


Just out of interest, did anyone else find it odd how quickly you go from being pregnant to not being pregnant? I mean, you spend 40 weeks gradually growing a big bump, and you have endless antenatal appointments and classes and whatever and then suddenly you are thinner and have had to cancel all the appointments you had because you don''t need them any more.

I also noticed at the supermarket that people don''t look at me (or clear a path) the way they did 4 weeks ago - a mix of horror, wariness in case I suddenly exploded, and probably wondering if I was trying to shoplift a watermelon...

I don''t miss being pregnant in the slightest - such joy to be able to bend down and to not have to spend 15 minutes and much groaning trying to get socks and shoes on - but it is a very dramatic shift.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 6/9/2009 12:30:59 PM
Author: jas

Date: 6/9/2009 12:19:59 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Jas You are funny too, but in a more Steve Martin way, I think. Totally different than Pandora yet equally hilarious! I like rodent faces too

I want to know where the myth came from that babies STTN at 3 months?? Is it another conspiracy to make us all feel like failures as moms?

Thanks! You totally just made my day -- Steve Martin is one of my all time favorites. Because of him I want to learn the banjo. I won''t actually do it, I just pine.

I hate that 3 month STTN myth. I''m learning that once these babies shoot out, all the encouragement and glows from strangers we got during pregnancy vanish into a snarling pit of beastly competition.

Case in point -- my SIL asked if I''m going to enroll my kids in some class called ''Music and Movement'' and proceeded to tell me that her kids were enrolled before age 1 (read: I am a bad mother because my kids are nearly one and not in any classes.) Quite frankly, my boys are lucky if they get a bath...enrolling them in some sort of dance class is waaay beyond my ability right now. I also have this silly picture in my head of a bunch of babies just lolling around and looking confused. To music.

I don''t mean to insult the people who take their kids to these classes. My guess is that they''re pretty awesome and a good way for mommies to meet. I''m just too much of a loser to drag my sorry a$$ to a class where I''m going to worry if my babies are behind the curve.

I''m just kvetching about the competition/worry race.

What can I say. My kids just started crawling this week. They have 6 teeth. One of them likes to try to get in his own diaper and throw poop like a monkey. They eat kibble.

Obviously they are too gifted to STTN.