PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Sha]

your last line mere-- i think that babies do increase their intake, but it's hard to know what they are doing when they are EBF, because with bottle feeding you SEE the oz but with boob you don't--you just have to trust they are getting enough and if they are screaming 10 min later then they probably are not getting enough.

i know that a lot of people say/think if you have a formula fed baby they eat more than boob, but i actually think that can be the case with bottle fed babies period...not formula vs boob but rather bottle vs boob. BUT i also think that it depends on the kid and their general eating habits.

help, older baby moms... did any of your LO's 'vomit'... actual vomit when they were teething? J has always been a little spitty but the last 3-4 days he's actually started vomiting--the difference to me is that the vomit smells like actual vomit (and makes me feel sick!) rather than his general spitup. the only difference i can think of is that he's also been super drooly and fussy and we think he's been crazy teething. i know that their stomachs can be upset when teething as well, but should i worry? other than the super drooly and extreme bouts of fussiness and 'moaning' (in between giggles and smiles and he's still super active and eating normally)...this is the only new/odd thing. any advice appreciated. he has been doing it maybe 2-3x a day and it's not a ton but it's def vomit.

Re: the vomit - Poor J. D never did that while teething, but then, she didn't have many teething symptoms, either. There were a couple times when she threw up her milk, but it was usually because DH was playing with after eating or something like that. 3-4 times a day sounds a bit much.. Could it be a new food upsetting him? I might call my pedi just to check on it. I don't remember if it's a teething symptom or not.

 

[Jennifer W]

Meresal, excuse me for butting in here (I'm lurking for cute pics of babies lol), but I found this resource to be very useful, especially when my supply dipped.

http://www.drjacknewman.com/

Might be worth a look. He's very anti-formula, but if that doesn't put you off too much, there's a lot of practical help available on the site. He'll respond quickly to emails if you have a question, too.

DD never took a bottle, so I hear ya on the always being close by thing. It is exhausting. One of the things I learned from this site was how to get her to eat more efficiently so I had hours rather than minutes between feeds. That really helped.

Ignore it if it's no help, but do I hope it is of some use.

Jen

 

[MonkeyPie]

Mara, right after Micah's tooth broke the surface we had one instance where it was actual vomit and not just spitup. My mom said it was probably the teething. He's drooling so much and the majority of it isn't coming out, it's going down to his tummy, so it makes sense that his stomach would be upset. It didn't bother him at all, but it smelled awful. Invest in Orajel now, if you haven't already - if it doesn't hurt, they drool less, and they will feel better.

DH has a job interview today, and so do I. Eeeeek. Mine is within the company so I am trying to keep it as quiet as possible so my boss and supervisor don't know. Even if it's illegal, I wouldn't be able to prove they retaliated against me and I fully expect them to if they find out. Fingers crossed I get the job and I can jump ship.

 

[Mara]

Thanks MP. Yeah it doesnt bother him at all and it's a small amt like spitup. It just smells horrible and ugh that smell sticks around!! I am also a total weirdo about vomit so I have a really hard time dealing with it, ugh..!! I guess this is a good practice round.

Good luck on the job. In our company you have to inform your boss and get approval to look internally. It's a PITA but the company is big on keeping people and they want there to be no bad blood later I guess. But it def puts you off from looking internally sometimes!

Sha... yeah I will email the pedi but no new foods or anything really. Same stuff he's been eating. And it's really intermittent, like maybe 2x a day in really small amts like spitup but it's def not spitup. And he's acting totally normal otherwise (very active, eating well, etc)--just a bit more fussy. And no fever.

 

[phoenixgirl]

MP, sending you and your DH job dust!!!


So I think Claire has the croup. She has a cough and congestion, which she got from her cousins. My niece was already checked out and found to have a virus that didn't need antibiotics, so I'm going to wait and see if Claire has a fever before freaking out and going to the doctor.

She slept soundly last night until 4 a.m. (when she often wakes up and moans a bit and then goes back to sleep) when she made the most terrible coughing sound which I thought might be choking. In about two seconds I was fully awake and standing in front of her crib. DH kept complimenting me on my instincts this morning (while I'm a light sleeper, I am the groggy one who will only get out of bed if DH shows no signs of getting up). I don't really remember hearing her or thinking what to do, just that I was suddenly in her room. Never fear, Super Mom is here! Tonight I'm going to use the humidifier and steam up the bathroom if need be.

My playgroup is expanding, which is nice, and I'm hanging out with the mom I met at the coffee shop tomorrow. That said, I find it stressful to hang out with the creator of the playgroup because she's incredibly dogmatic about parenting philosophies. She was holding forth on being anti-CIO at playgroup (loudly, in public) yesterday, which is fine, but it wasn't in a conversational way, it was in a self-congratulatory ("I can sleep at night because I know I don't let my son's needs go unfulfilled") way. I know deep down that this is more to convince herself to stay the course than anything (that she is getting very tired -- her 10 month old still nurses every 2 to 3 hours over night -- and she had a crisis where she wanted to use CIO), but it just irritates me.

I don't let Claire CIO, but I worked hard in the beginning to acclimate Claire to sleeping in her crib, which my friend didn't do. When I put her down for a nap, she usually fusses for 1 to 3 minutes and then falls asleep. (If CIO means allowing your child to fuss and whimper a little when she sees you leave the room, then I guess I do use it, but I take it to mean ignoring blaring siren crying, which I don't do). Claire often wakes up and moans at 4 a.m., and if it turns into crying we go and console her, but often she just goes back to sleep or starts chattering with herself. I'm sure if my friend could magically get her baby to do this, she wouldn't be considering letting him CIO either. But then when he fusses at playgroup, she's all, "Oh, stop it, you're OK!" in a really harsh tone . . . how does that fit into her "philosophy"? And then she got going about circumcision . . .

So anyway, I am in no way trying to start a debate about these topics, just to vent that I find it irritating to listen to a peer speak so authoritatively on what all parents should do. Her superior attitude makes me want to point out her self-contradictions and how well Claire is doing in comparison to her baby, but I know that's petty. If it weren't for the attitude, I'd have no problem saying, hey, do whatever works for you . . .

 

[Mara]

Quick post:

CALLING MTJOYA! Are you out there miss? If so, can you pls chime in on your First Years umbrella stroller purchase? Amazon is having a sale on them and I am tempted..! Do you like it? Any feedback much appreciated. Thx!!

 

[ljmorgan]

Meresal you heard me right! The quality of breastmilk changes over time (as GingerB explained), while formula is a constant (specific number of calories per ounce) so babies on breastmilk tend to plateau at a certain amount (except during growth spurts) whereas babies who drink formula gradually continue to increase their intake as they increase their weight. Here is a helpful article on guidelines for amounts of expressed breastmilk for babies: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

1/2 ounce is definitely worth saving! If that is what you can get after a feed, after every two feeds that you pump after I would save an ounce at a time to freeze until you increase your supply to what you want it to be.

I definitely understand wanting him to get used to a bottle and I definitely think that you should work on it so that you can have some freedom when you want to -- I was just suggesting that unless you need to (and I see that you do, since you'll be gone this weekend) I would wait to work on bottles until you feel comfortable that you're producing enough milk for C.

AFM I'm off today with A and it is nice. I was so worried about returning to work, but it actually went great. I was in by 6:30am both morning, was able to pump 3 times, and left at 2pm. Tomorrow I'll work for 6:30am-1pm so it's an even shorter day. It felt great to be back, my co-workers seemed very happy to have me back, and overall it wasn't terrible being away from A I guess because it feels like I get home so early. I had plenty of time for nursing and cuddling when I got home. The upside was that I actually looked forward to him nursing in the middle of the night because I got to cuddle with him more!

We have nice nursing mother rooms at work... Medela symphonies, comfy chairs, a fridge, microwave, sink stocked with dish soap, breastpads, extra lansinoh bags, etc. What I was NOT expecting was that 2 women would pump in the room at once! I thought that the room would be mine only. But they have two symphonies there and allow two women to schedule each time slot. So it was definitely interesting sitting across the table from other women as we pumped and chatted. Not what I expected

 

[MonkeyPie]

I think the interview went well. My only problem is that my previous employer doesn't allow managers to talk to anyone about their previous employees. So I need three recommendations and I can't get them! And my employer before them was a hotel with pretty high turnover, so all my managers from there are long gone. Plus it was over 6 years ago. Arg! I don't know what to do, but if I lose this job because of them, I am going to be pissed. They are hindering me from getting a new job...hm, can I sue them for that?

 

[Mara]

re: referrals, can't you just use coworkers? my referral list is coworkers and hiring managers or higher level colleagues. if you can get one manager great. also--isnt it your same company you are in now? the fact that you are employed there still should be referral enough??

i just had my root canal fixed and am trying to eat soup with half a numb mouth. not fun!!

also--i just have to vent that is am so irritated about next week with my work situ. we are having a huge company event where i'll be in meetings from 8-5 all week for our entire business unit. i emailed the admin to ask about the 8am as normally it's breakfast then meetings and she said our VP expects us all to be there at 8am to eat breakfast. i was like really i have to pay my nanny so i can go sit at a table and eat a breakfast i don't want??? AND there are 2 evening events AND a friday afternoon team building event. i have to do all this juggling with the nannies and greg's schedule to make sure that J is covered all the time, it's a total PITA and i am PO'd I have to try to get there by 8am to eat breakfast!!! anyway i fwd'd the email to my Director saying 'really????' so hopefully if he doesn't do anything (doubt it, he's passive) then at least i am expressing my discontent. BOOOO!!!! oh and so i will only see J like 2 nights next week. i am already SO SAD. i might have to just show up at 8:30am... and be like oh do you want to get rid of me now? ok give me a package. peace OUT.

i just feel like it's so disrespectful to anyone with families or kids because a ton of people have to go get their kids from daycare or arrange special things to accommodate this entire week of stuff. if you want our UNDIVIDED attn then fork out the $$ to take us remote somewhere so we don't worry as much about extraneous stuff.

 

[meresal]

MP, I hope that you are able to figure out the referral situation! That would be great to have a job you enjoy more.

AFM, right now I am trying a new sleeping routine, I laid C down before he fell asleep. He has been in there about 5 minutes. He isn't making any noise (yet), whimpers or cries, but I can hear him moving around a bit. Keeping my fingers crossed. Who knows how this will go... but you have to start sometime, right?

 

[ChargerGrrl]

There's so much I want to chime in/respond to, but will be back to do that!

Just wanted to post an UMBRELLA STROLLER bargain alert as I recall that a couple of us were on the hunt for this item. Just popped into Homegoods (love that store!) and picked up a Maclaren Volo for $79.99. It's this EXACT one: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.js ... Id=3997268 .

There were only 2 left at the location I went to, and the clerk said that they had received a dozen just a few days ago.

Hope this helps!

 

[MonkeyPie]

I managed to convince my previous manager to vouch for me, so I signed the paperwork yesterday. Hopefully I get the job!

 

[steph72276]

Charger, the link didn't work for me...what color did you get?

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Steph- oops, sorry about the link- haven't totally figured out PS 2.0! it's the Coffee Brown Stripe, although BRU calls it Coffee/Beach Stripe.

MP- Yahoo for the referral! sending PS dust your way.

Mara- Yuk on the work events- that sounds like our annual Sales meeting where they try to cram too much into a couple of days. You're literally on the go from 7am breakfast to the evening team building events. I was preggo during the last one, so was able to take it easy but won't be able to get away with that for the next one

Lindsey- Sounds like you have a GREAT setup at work, but yeah, kinda weird to be pumping in front of someone else!

Meresal- Here's to good sleep for C (and you!)

Super-quick update- I've been touring daycare centers left and right. Also had a lactation center visit yesterday, and the LC thought that N may have reflux(she saw him in spitup action for the 1st time). His spitting up has gotten worse over the last 2 weeks or so and he's sometimes fussy during nursing. Since we've been working on his weight gain, her thought was that we should do everything we can to make sure that he keeps all his BM/formula down. She weighed him post spitup and he lost about 10% of the total BF session. Not a huge amount, but multiply that by 7 nursing sessions/daily and now we're talking ounces that should be in his belly! Anyway, got a last minute appt with his pedi, and they prescribed Zantac. It took CVS FOREVER to fill the script, so we'll be starting it tonite.

OK, off to another daycare!

 

[somethingshiny]

I just popped in to post a pic of one of Lily's first smiles!! She finally smiled while playing pat-a-cake yesterday and of course I had no camera in sight! Last night, while playing pat-a-cake again, I had my camera ready. As soon as we started "rolling it" she grinned! So I played it approximately 10 more times to try to get her to do it again.

 

[KimberlyH]

SS, the ergo is on babysteals.com for $70.

 

[somethingshiny]

Thanks, kimi!

It's sold out. I signed up to receive the emails so maybe i can get in next time.

 

[cellososweet]

Hi everyone!

It's been a long long time! I just wanted to say hello. I'm going to post a howdy doodie in another thread but wanted to post a picture of Soren! He's almost 8 months now! This is him up from a nap in a hat I made for my etsy shop (ooooh, I wish I could link it but think that might be against the rules! Someone tell me if it's not!

I hope everyone is doing well.

 

[cellososweet]

Because I had to share another!

 

[steph72276]

Charger, I'm having posting problems, but just wanted to tell you thanks so much for the Homegoods tip. I just got the same one you did, yay!

 

[Mara]

re: the Ergo... check the BabySteals discussion board because a lot of times women impulse buy and then a week later they want to sell it. I saw like 20 Ergos up on there the last time BS had the sale (and I got one but we haven't even used it!)

Cello welcome back. Love that sweater and hat S is wearing in your photo!!! cutie.

 

[swimmer]

Cello! so good to see Soren!

MP, good luck!

Mere, hugs, it can be confusing and frustrating, but you can totally be away from your little guy for a few hours here and there.

Thanks for the bf info Lindsey, Mara, Drk, and Jen, super timely for me, I'm here to tag on a situational question to Mere's. E is now 3.5 months and refusing the bottle...poor timing since he is now going to daycare for a few hours. So I send him with 4oz and he passively accepts 2. Like they are being dribbled down his throat, E has no interest in sucking the nipple. We tried 2 weeks ago to get him to take a bottle when he first started refusing it. He went on a 14hr hunger strike rather than take the bottle. I an NOT doing that again. Funnily his napping remained steady during the strike, but the screaming like he was being skinned was torture. Worst vacation day DH has ever taken. Oh, and E refuses pacis too, but loves to suck on fingers.

Questions: Could the milk (it still smells and tastes like just pumped) be less than desirable b/c of the lower fat content? I didn't understand till reading it here that bm adjusts for the baby's needs, so it makes sense that what I pumped in June is not going to interest him? Pumpers, what are your thoughts? I have the darndest time searching kellymom so am just googling and getting nowhere.
I know that when he gets hungry enough, he will take the bottle, but any thoughts on what to do? I have every bottle known to babies r us and some that even they have never heard of. Tried it warm, cold, I'm about to try to make cheese out of it, he just wants boob.

I still pump a ton. This morning, after feeding E breakfast I put him down to play and pumped 7 more ozs in 8 mins. I pump just to get rid of the pressure (its like there are rocks in my boobs all the time) not to keep up supply or anything. So i figure E needs a fast flow nipple or perhaps a water gun? He was not interested in the Nuby sippy cup that the LC suggested. Anyway, I feel so badly for women who have undersupply, but man oversupply kind of sucks. Thanks for any thoughts/insight, I try to follow along here and learn so much from you, but posting is hard while feeding as he takes up more and more of the breast friend!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Swimmer, that's tough. Have you tried moving up to a faster flow nipple on the bottle? If your boobs are spurting out streams of milk then maybe he has the opposite of most babies and just finds the bottle to be slower-going?

Also, I am no expert, but I am wondering if you are exacerbating the oversupply by pumping so much? That's just telling your body to make more, so it becomes a vicious cycle. Not that it's a bad problem to have, but if you want to stop pumping so much then maybe ease off a little. The rock hard pressure boobs only last a couple of times when you skip a feeding/pumping session and then it doesn't hurt anymore.

I suppose it's possible that June milk isn't as desirable as September milk. Have you tried September milk to see? Claire has taken 3 month old milk but it's definitely not the same as fresh.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Swimmer, wait, baby is 3.5 months and the milk is 3 months old??? Milk definitely changes between months 0 and 3, so that may be it.


Ugh, don't know what to do . . . Claire used to be able to put herself to sleep, but now she knows how to pull herself up to sitting in her crib. It's one thing to expect a prostrate baby to gradually fall asleep; it's another to expect her to get herself back down to lying before doing so. Has anyone else who had a good(ish) sleeper encountered this? Last night I had her fall asleep on me before I put her down. Tonight I nursed her to sleep, then put her in her crib. She stirred a little, so I rubbed her back. The second I stopped (I thought she was asleep again), she popped up to a sitting position and wouldn't let me put her back down for more rubbing. So I'm guess I'm letting her CIO right now. She's tired crying, not end of the world crying, but I'm worried about the part where she has to lay herself back down if she's ever going to go to sleep without me. But she definitely needs to figure that out, so I'm going to wait it out a bit. No fun!

Wait . . . blessed silence after 5 or 10 minutes of crying!!! Thank you sleeping gods!!!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Of course I spoke too soon. Started crying again after a couple of minutes of silence. Still sounds tired. Last night she sounded inconsolable, so I spent an hour consoling her and helping her fall asleep. But I can't do that every night! I think this is the trap that first-time parents get into. With multiple children you just can't spend an hour lulling them to sleep every night. Trying to stay strong! Cries are getting quieter (or is that just in my head?).

 

[phoenixgirl]

OK, she's really asleep now. Well, I think. I'm not going to walk up those creaky steps for a few more minutes! So that was 30 to 40 minutes.

 

[KimberlyH]

swimmer, i'd try a regular cup too. also pump less to stop signaling your body to produce so much if you don't need it. supply evens out at ~3-4 months. my friend had oversupply and everything seemed to fall into place for her son at about that point.

phoenix, i dread mobility as j nurses to sleep and getting to sleep has always been difficult for her. glad c is sleeping now.

 

[PrettyBlues]

Ok, so I wrote up a post, and saved it because I had to go to the desktop to get my BPF...and I have no idea where to find it! I'm not normally an idiot hen it comes to these things, but this time I am

Ladies, how do I retrieve my post?

In the meantime, here is the pic. M was five months yesterday, and I thought this photo from the monthly shoot was kind of funny.

 

[phoenixgirl]

PB, that happened to me once. You go to the "My pages" tab at the top of this page, then "Overview," and then it's under "Drafts." I think.


So, Claire did STTN once she fell asleep (10 to 7), but I discovered the answer to my question of how she would get herself back to a lying position. She obviously went face forward, and as a result one of her legs was stuck awkwardly underneath her. Basically she was doing a split while lying on her stomach. It didn't look comfortable so I retrieved the leg for her. One thing at a time!

 

[PrettyBlues]

MP, good luck with the job. Have you heard anything yet?

SS, yay for first smiles I like her little tongue sticking out too.

Cello, nice to see you again. Love that hat on Soren

Mara, that sucks with your work. Hopefully you can work something out so you don't have to be there quite so much.

Lindsey, that is great that you have such a nice pumping room, though I'm sure it is a bit strange to have to pump at a table with someone else.

Swimmer, I think that maybe he needs a fast flowing nipple with your oversupply. If he is used to the milk coming quickly, he may not like the bottle if it's too slow. Also, I agree with the others that you may want to cut back on the pumping because the more you pump, the more your body thinks it needs. Just make sure you go slowly if you do it, you don't want to deal with clogged ducts or anything.

PG, sorry to hear about your sleep troubles. Hopefully she will quickly figure out how to get back down, and in a nice comfortable position. I swear, every time you think that you have the sleep thing figured out, something changes and throws everything out of whack. Oh, and thanks for the tip on finding my post.

AFM, D is going to be off work for 10 days starting from tomorrow. I am so happy to have some family time with him again. And, I'll admit it, to be able to get a bit of a break. I'm also hoping to be able to get some stuff done around the house that just wasn't possible at move in with new baby in tow. I have lofty ambitions, we'll see how much *actually* gets done.