PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Mrs]

cdt, How is Lex doing today?

LIA, good luck studying!! Sorry you still have to wake up so much at night!

Curly, snlee, janine, & Puffy How are you, ladies?

nyc, I can’t believe your DH wants more kids – ack! Good luck with that one! Sorry you had such a rough night! I hope the new formula helps.

Mela, Romeo is looking great. Nice work on the thank you notes!

BFing didn’t stop hurting me until 6 weeks PP – hang in there! I still only offer S one breast unless it seems like she’s still hungry after she has finished one. Good luck getting ready for the baptism!

Mgal, congrats on getting back to pre-baby weight!! Love those pics of Kyle!

Blen, I’m sorry you’re feeling frustrated about it taking some time for the baby weight to come off! Try to be patient with yourself. Many people say that it takes 9 month to put on so it’s reasonable for it to take 9 months to take off.

Glad that link was useful!

That’s great that the stager was helpful! Sounds like a lot of work though!

Pandora, I’m so glad you had such a nice afternoon the other day! I hope your awful employers pay up!

Courtney, I’m sorry you’re feeling so frustrated about the baby weight as well! You are clearly motivated so it will happen; it may just be that your body needs to hang on to the reserves a bit longer while you continue to BF.

I’m also sorry to hear you’re struggling with the whole question of going back to work now or not. I was feeling just as conflicted as you – it’s such a hard decision! Trust your gut and do whatever you think is best and know that Alila will be just fine whatever you decide.

Jas, yay for the big bathtub and fun dog dishes!! J and L sound too cute for words – I’m glad you’re enjoying them so much!

We’re doing okay. Still coughing a bunch and S still has some trouble breathing at night but I think we’re getting better. Her grandparents left yesterday so it was nice to have her back in her crib last night instead of in our room (the nursery is also the guest room).

We were going to visit friends this weekend but it’s a 5 hour car trip and with us still recovering, we’ve decided it might be better to stay home. Especially since the friends have no kids and it will likely be a very boozy weekend which wouldn’t be so fun for me and the baby. I’m a little sad since we had such fun with them last year. It’s wild to think about since I remember that I found out I was pregnant the week after we got back from visiting them…. What a difference a year makes!

Any of you have fun plans for the long weekend?

Hope you’re all well!
MrsPS: I HATE when my post is so wacky with spacing! I don't know how to fix it - sorry!

ETA: DD, how are you doing?! Is the sleep positioner helping at all??

 

[neatfreak]

Mela For me there were kind of two points. One was 3 weeks PP (give or take) when I stopped blistering and it went to only mildly uncomfy. Then around 7-8 weeks PP it became SO easy. Hang in there.

But that being said-might be worth getting a LC back to your house to make sure the latch, etc. is still good. That can make a big difference too.

 

[neatfreak]

Double-oops!

 

[E B]

Hello ladies! I guess it's time I joined this thread. I can't update much today but I thought I'd see if you had room for one (well, two) more in here.

Henry is 12 days old today and doing fabulously. We're 'modified' co-sleeping (using the Arm's Reach) and BFing, and both are working out really well. Trying to get used to waking up every three hours throughout the night to feed, but I'm hoping it gets easier over time.

Mela, we've been doing both breasts each feeding since the beginning. I find if I just do one breast per feeding, the other becomes engorged. When I try to get him to latch on the engorged breast, it's harder to do so and he becomes frustrated. I just pop him off one side after a while and let him nurse on the other until he's finished each feeding.

Baby is stirring, so I must go, but I thought I'd say hello!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 7/1/2009 1:47:23 PM
Author: EBree
Hello ladies! I guess it''s time I joined this thread. I can''t update much today but I thought I''d see if you had room for one (well, two) more in here.

Henry is 12 days old today and doing fabulously. We''re ''modified'' co-sleeping (using the Arm''s Reach) and BFing, and both are working out really well. Trying to get used to waking up every three hours throughout the night to feed, but I''m hoping it gets easier over time.

Mela, we''ve been doing both breasts each feeding since the beginning. I find if I just do one breast per feeding, the other becomes engorged. When I try to get him to latch on the engorged breast, it''s harder to do so and he becomes frustrated. I just pop him off one side after a while and let him nurse on the other until he''s finished each feeding.

Baby is stirring, so I must go, but I thought I''d say hello!

Hiya EBREE

congrats again! and so glad everything is going well! plz more pics

...and it does get better we are working on like 4-6 hrs at nite~

 

[Mrs]

Date: 7/1/2009 1:47:23 PM
Author: EBree
Hello ladies! I guess it''s time I joined this thread. I can''t update much today but I thought I''d see if you had room for one (well, two) more in here.

Henry is 12 days old today and doing fabulously. We''re ''modified'' co-sleeping (using the Arm''s Reach) and BFing, and both are working out really well. Trying to get used to waking up every three hours throughout the night to feed, but I''m hoping it gets easier over time.

Mela, we''ve been doing both breasts each feeding since the beginning. I find if I just do one breast per feeding, the other becomes engorged. When I try to get him to latch on the engorged breast, it''s harder to do so and he becomes frustrated. I just pop him off one side after a while and let him nurse on the other until he''s finished each feeding.

Baby is stirring, so I must go, but I thought I''d say hello!

We''re glad to have you here Ebree! Glad to hear you and Henry are doing well!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/1/2009 12:41:08 PM
Author: neatfreak
Mela For me there were kind of two points. One was 3 weeks PP (give or take) when I stopped blistering and it went to only mildly uncomfy. Then around 7-8 weeks PP it became SO easy. Hang in there.

But that being said-might be worth getting a LC back to your house to make sure the latch, etc. is still good. That can make a big difference too.

Ditto.

Mela Also, he wil ltell you if he wants both breasts

He will pop off the first one and whine until you give him the other. Stick with one as long as possible. It is really important that the baby nurse as long as possible from one boob because then they get the hind milk (high fat)

EBRee welcome! Glad things are working out. Wanted to mention that midwives really strongly recommend nursing from only one breast at a time because it can take a long time nursing on one breast for the milk to change from skim to cream! If your other breast is engorged, then you can hand express some milk into the sink or something. Over time, your milk production will adjust to your babe''s needs. But it is best to try and stick to one breast each time if possible, which it sounds like it may be given that you are engorged already!

 

[MustangGal]

Welcome ebree!

Mrs - good to hear you guys are feeling better, shouldn''t be too much longer until you''re back to normal, I hope!

Nyc - Well, at least Jon slept well, so you know it''s possible for them to go that long, good luck with the new formula.

Courtney - going back to work was a change (I went back at 8 weeks), but I got used to the routine. Only you and your DH can decide what it right for you. Take into consideration expenses, your ability to get a new job when you''re ready to go back, and how stable your DH''s job is. I''m just too paranoid to rely on only 1 income in this market (my DH was laid off when I was 8 months prego). And if you were on you''re employer''s insurance and don''t return from FMLA, they can choose to bill you the full cost of the insurance for the time you were on leave. I''ve never heard of a company doing this, but they can. And the weight will come off! I still had 12 pounds when I went back to work, so I bought a few bottoms to wear in a bigger size. Blen also suggested the thrift stores as a good place for some interem clothes.

 

[snlee]

Welcome EBree! Sounds like you are enjoying motherhood. Henry is so cute!

 

[pavelover]

Hi you guys! I am so terribly behind.
But I wanted to answer mela re bf- it took me until 9 weeks until t decided he was going to bf. Until then, it was really, really hard a super struggle. I was about to give up but then he changed his mind and all the sudden it was so easy like NF said. I spent many days in tears and pumping 7 times a day after trying to bf, then bottle feeding. I was losing my mind. I have decided that what helped was the baby being a little bigger, and just being more mature. Before then I was cuckoo with, am I sitting right, feet on the floor, shoulders back, etc etc and I was NEVER comfortable. After I just started sitting however I wanted- legs crossed, or laying on sofa, or should I say sitting on sofa with legs up(laying down and breast feeding took a while to be comfortable- it wasnt toe curling but it definitely was not easy for a while.) or propping my baby with knees close to chest and a ton of pillows, that is when it got easier too. I did love my advice from lc''s but I would never listen to all that blah blah positioning stuff again. Hang in there.

courtney and dd- dont throw anything at me- I lost my weight right away( I think I have my dads metabolism) I never shared that on here as I didnt want ppl to hurt me. I am always hungry and was ravenous at the beginning. I am no dietician, but are you sure you guys are eating enough? Maybe your body is trying to hold on to a little b/c it wants more calories?? Just a thought. I do eat and can never seem to be satisfied.

hope everyone else is well. I am soooo busy now. going back to work part time and decided to put our place on the market so trying to get it spruced up and put a bunch of junk in storage. Snlee if you dont mind saying, where did you guys get a place? there is alot of good stuff around, no? Congrats.
ok i have to run. i try to read but sorry i havent been able to contribute too much.
oh Tyler is almost 16 lbs. 6 months old. we went to the allergist and they skin tested (which is sometimes false answers and he came out negative. so she told me to eat whatever i want. Yay! except I am not really sure if I will. He still has blood in his stool and mucus alot of the time. sorry for tmi.
ok bye for real this time!

 

[Blenheim]

By the way, we''ve decided that if DH gets that one particular job, he''s taking it. And I''ll SAH.

I''m getting so impatient to hear back - they said it would be by the end of July. That''s like forever from now.

We''re going to Chicago this weekend for a much needed break. I''m excited.

Eating.... I''m perpetually hungry and am eating at least every 3 hrs, sometimes even more. I''m trying to keep it mostly healthy though.

Ebree - welcome to this side of things!!

Mela - I think it got a lot better for me at about 2-3 weeks, and even better a few weeks ago now that he has better neck control and doesn''t need my help as much. A LC probably wouldn''t hurt if you''re still in pain though. That''s rough.

 

[E B]

Dreamer- That's interesting! I had no idea. Henry's been gaining like crazy the past week (15 oz in 10 days, according to the pediatrician) so I guess that's why my MIL (former LC) recommended both breasts per feeding to me- to establish supply, since apparently I'm making at least 2%.

Thanks for the welcome everyone! I'll hopefully be able to catch up soon.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/1/2009 7:09:33 PM
Author: EBree
Dreamer- That''s interesting! I had no idea. Henry''s been gaining like crazy the past week (15 oz in 10 days, according to the pediatrician) so I guess that''s why my MIL (former LC) recommended both breasts per feeding to me- to establish supply, since apparently I''m making at least 2%.

haha! Hunter gained like mad around Henry''s age too I remember! Do whatever works for you, if baby is happy and healthy the its all good. But if you notice that Henry has green poops or frothy poops or that he is gassy and uncomfortable, then one breast nursing can really help because it decreases the high lactose formilk!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Question: About how much milk in oz. does a 4 month old drink in one go? I am trying to figure out how much milk I need to squirrel away so that I can cover 2 night feeds this weekend.

Pumping still not working very well

2oz. seems to be max with the hand pump. But I''ll keep trying! Hunter took 2 bottles with no issues so we are pretty happy about that!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 7/1/2009 9:36:23 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Question: About how much milk in oz. does a 4 month old drink in one go? I am trying to figure out how much milk I need to squirrel away so that I can cover 2 night feeds this weekend.

Pumping still not working very well

2oz. seems to be max with the hand pump. But I''ll keep trying! Hunter took 2 bottles with no issues so we are pretty happy about that!

according to a chart from babycenter its 4-8 oz.

 

[Blenheim]

DD - George typically eats 3-4 oz at a go and is what, 6 weeks younger than Hunter? so probably a bit more than that? Prolactin levels are highest in the morning, so try pumping then. Relaxing and visualizing holding your baby is supposed to help a lot. And it's a lot harder to get a bunch at once if you're also feeding him, as you're feeding one baby plus some. Pumping at work basically replaces feedings, so it makes sense that you're not getting as much as I am for example.

ETA - my midwife suggested feeding on one side while pumping on the other, but it was back when I needed to support George more while feeding him and so it seemed to require too many hands. It might work better with a slightly older nursling - have you tried doing that?

Decluttering question - for those who don't yet fit into pre-preg sizes, if you were thinking about making a big move, what would you keep and what would you lose? I've gone through and donated most of my clothing that doesn't fit well enough when I'm smaller that I want to wear it, or that has care instructions where I avoid wearing it because I don't want to hand wash/dry clean/etc. But there's stuff I'm not sure about. Like bras - are they going to fit again?

Oh, speaking of - I told my mom that I donated some of my pre-pregnancy clothing. She said that it was good because a lot of women keep their pre-pregnancy clothing thinking that they'll fit into it again, but they never do. Thanks for the support.

 

[Mrs]

DD, Sage (who is 3.5 mos old) drinks 3-4oz about every 3 hours at DC. How many times a day do you tend to nurse him? I understand from Kellymom
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html that exclusively breast fed babies need about 25oz per day so just divide that by the number of times you nurse him daily and you should know about how much to save for the night feeding.

When you say you get 2oz when you pump, do you mean from one breast or both? If you mean out of one, then that''s not actually that bad. I pump twice at work and usually get about 2oz per breast in the mid morning and a little less than that in the afternoon.

I''m glad Hunter took the bottles so well!

pave, glad to hear you''re doing well - sorry you''re so busy though! I hope it''s not too stressful!

Blen, that''s exciting that you may be able to SAH! I''m sorry you have to wait to find out though! I hope you have a wonderful time in Chicago! Sorry your mom was less than supportive... that stinks.

 

[MustangGal]

DD - Kyle''s just a few weeks older than Hunter, but he''s formula fed, so the sizes may be different, but at about 4 months he was regularly eating 7ozs at a time, but he only ate 5 times a day. I would think 4-5ozs per feeing seems about right. I''ve heard the manual pumps aren''t the greatest if you''re going to need it often, I had a double electric pump and was able to produce 2-3ozs per breast in 15 minutes at 4 weeks pp

. I felt like a cow with that thing on, but man did it work good! If 2ozs is all you can get, maybe look into a small electric pump? I had one I returned to Wal Mart, it was only about $35 I think.

Blen - I also got rid of the things that I either didn''t like that well, didn''t fit the best, etc. And clothes will fit again, no matter what you''re mom thinks! I would keep the items you liked and that you''ll be able to get the most wear out of.

And, if the picture turns out better this time, I introduce to you the "sitting baby". This new model can hold it''s self up, dart quickly in any direction without notice, and laugh when it tips over. Gaurenteed to bring hours of entertainment for both baby and parents

 

[MustangGal]

Well, it''s a little bigger... Here''s another one. Kyle can now sit pretty well while leaning on his hands, he still tends to lean forward, but he''s getting the balance downl. Next project: crawling!

 

[Courtneylub]

I read 1oz per every 2 lbs per feeding, but that only seems right if you feed every 4 hours. Dreamer, I wanted to mention my pedi recommended feeding a 2 month old every 2-4 hours, so my 4 hour schedule is fine. She is taking in a lot more (feeding for about 20-25 minutes).

Alila now weighs 11 lbs 12 oz!

She gained weight so fast! She''s in the 70th percentile in both weight and height.

 

[nycbkgirl]

omg MGAL ur the best with posting pics! love love!


im kicking myself for switching them from nutrimigen to gentlease and now lipil....i shoulda stuck with the nutramig bc they were pooping multiple times a day even tho liquidy but still a lot...and now they fussin bc cant poop enough

 

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 7/1/2009 11:17:18 PM
Author: Courtneylub
I read 1oz per every 2 lbs per feeding, but that only seems right if you feed every 4 hours. Dreamer, I wanted to mention my pedi recommended feeding a 2 month old every 2-4 hours, so my 4 hour schedule is fine. She is taking in a lot more (feeding for about 20-25 minutes).

Alila now weighs 11 lbs 12 oz!

She gained weight so fast! She''s in the 70th percentile in both weight and height.

yup 2-4 hrs is what my pedi said also. my kiddos are almost 3 mos and not even 10lbs

(but yeh they were preemies)

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/1/2009 11:17:18 PM
Author: Courtneylub
I read 1oz per every 2 lbs per feeding, but that only seems right if you feed every 4 hours. Dreamer, I wanted to mention my pedi recommended feeding a 2 month old every 2-4 hours, so my 4 hour schedule is fine. She is taking in a lot more (feeding for about 20-25 minutes).

Alila now weighs 11 lbs 12 oz!

She gained weight so fast! She's in the 70th percentile in both weight and height.

That's great news! And she is so big! I was only thinking about night times and trying to go 12 hours without, but if Alila is happy and growing then it obviously works great!

Blen I got rid of most of my old clothing because it was old! LOL! I hadn't worn most of it for close to a year at this point and I had been wearing a lot of it for a while before that. But I kept most of my nice clothing that wasn't worn much pre-preggo. I have onlt 12 lbs to go at this point and I feel very certain it will come off. I have already lost close to 50lbs!

I saw some pictures of myself the week after Hunter was born and man alive, I was seriously seriously huge!!! You will get back to your pre-preggo size if you are really committed to it. Give it a year and work at it!

Mrs Am getting 2oz off one breast. I nurse all the time so its hard to pump both because he will have recently fed off one or maybe both! I would say he nurses about 8 times per day so I guess he is only getting about 3-4 oz. each time... the upper end of the estimate is 30oz and since he is a larger baby I think I will play it safe and estimate 4oz. Hmmm... would have thought more.

Mustang I didn't want to buy an electric since I am not going back to work until Huntr is 10mo, and by then he won't be nursing as often. I'd really like to figure out how the get the manual to work for me, I think it is a technique thing. ETA Great pictures! He's so strong to sit up so early! I notice that Hunter is getting so much stronger every day, it must be all the tummy time.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Perusing Kellymom website and found this page of interesting research on normative infant sleep habits... seems my feeling that "sleeping through the night" by three months is indeed a bit of a fantasy: http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/sleepstudies.html

Pandora One of the studies found that 11% of infants under 3mo don't sleep durign the day at all!

ETA Seems that many infants will sleep in longer and longer stretches as the get older... Hunter regularly sleeps 7-8 hours in a row, but it is from 7pm until 2-3am

Any suggestions on how to make that 8 hours stretch later in the night rather than at the start of the night ÉÉ

 

[nycbkgirl]

?...can your babies sleep thru any sounds? or is quiet a must?

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/2/2009 9:39:42 AM
Author: nycbkgirl
?...can your babies sleep thru any sounds? or is quiet a must?

For us it depends on whether he is in a very deep sleep or not, and with time you can easily tell. Generally, if he is just having a nap Hunter sleeps through normal sounds like TV or me walking around or the phone ringing, but the dogs barking can wake him as could another louder noise. So during the day during naps I try to avoid loud noises. When he''s in a deep sleep at night, he sleeps through most anything, we leave his door open and talk and go about our business without worrying.

Some say babies should get used to sleeping through noise, I think some people are better at this than others (DH sleeps through anything, I do not), and so I think some babies are just better able to sleep through noise than others.

 

[nycbkgirl]

Thanks DD- thing is my MIL keeps wakin them...when im watching and 1 is sleep n other wake..I take wakey out the room and deal in another room and I avoid noises too..MIL talks on phone (loud) and they start stirring and waking and this morn...I put jon to sleep before she came then my sis brought jackie in (I was in shower)...and she was dealin and playing with her in their room and jon woke up ...I was supposed to help my sis out at work today and bc both babies were up I couldn''t go! So sis and I both pissed! We are currently looking for a nanny!

 

[MustangGal]

DD - Kyle goes about 8 to 9 hours each night, but we have it shifted so he doesn''t go to bed until 8:30 or 9 so we get a whole night''s sleep. Hunter takes an evening nap, right? Kyle does one from about 5-5:45. Then we play a bit, feed him oatmeal around 6:30, do a bath a 7:30 and the last feed around 7:45. He passes out quick after that, and sleeps until 5:30am.

nyc - they should be able to sleep through some noise, but I could see how one wakes the other up. Good luck!

And Kyle is pretty young to be sitting up the way he does, the doc told us sitting is usually a 7 month old skill. He just likes to be upright so much that I think he''s go a pretty strong back and neck.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/2/2009 11:28:55 AM
Author: MustangGal
DD - Kyle goes about 8 to 9 hours each night, but we have it shifted so he doesn''t go to bed until 8:30 or 9 so we get a whole night''s sleep. Hunter takes an evening nap, right? Kyle does one from about 5-5:45. Then we play a bit, feed him oatmeal around 6:30, do a bath a 7:30 and the last feed around 7:45. He passes out quick after that, and sleeps until 5:30am.

That''s the dilemma -- we get a nice evening sans baby the way it is now, but I wake earlier...

 

[MustangGal]

We get the nice little streatch when he does the evening nap, which we eat dinner during, and about 45 minutes after he goes to bed. DH wakes up at 4:30am to go to work, and I get up at 5:30am and leave the house at 7am. It''s whatever works best for you. If time sans baby in the evening is worth waking up in the middle of the night, then just keep things how they are. We did a schedule similar to yours while I was staying home. With both of us working, a good night sleep is higher on the priority list