The new "New Moms" thread!

[HollyJoy]

Thanks, ladies! I sware I stood in front of all those playmats for at least 20 minutes, and walked out of BRU WITHOUT buying one! I just can't make up my mind! They are so pricey, I'm afraid that I'll make the wrong choice!! I'm totally amazed at how much they actually are. Guess that's my fault for not registering for one! I remember buying one for my oldest daughter, and it was only $20!!! Prices sure have gone up in 10 years! LOL

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Ellery just got her vaccinations. I had to leave the room, it was horrible. I went back in and DH was just crying his eyes out. We're such wusses. She's sound asleep right now, I hope she doesn't feel bad for the rest of the day.

I'm sure that was tough- I had a hard enough time with just the PKU at the last appt. I can't even believe the list of shots they get at 2 months old. So many more than my other two got!

 

[HollyJoy]

Amanda had her 1 month check up today, and she's doing well! She's now up to 10lbs 14 oz (85th percentile), and 22 inches long (74th percentile). Though she has a mild case, the doc is putting her on Zantac for reflux. Thankfully, she gave her a show during the exam (and she had eaten a little over an hour earlier!). If this Zantac works, I think I may have the most content little baby in the world! They're still keeping a watch on her left eye, for it still goes cross from time to time. Doc said it should fix itself by her 2 month appointment,and if not, we'll have to look into it more.

Luckily, she didn't get any shots this time! Whew! It was hard enough watching them take blood from her heal 4 days in a row, her first week of life! I opted to do the combo shot at her 2nd month checkup, to cut down on the number of shots she'll receive. I believe (if I remember correctly), she'll get the 2nd hep, DTP, and one other (forget) in ONE shot. Plus, two others, and the Rotovirus vaccine, should we choose to get it. Poor thing! Mom may not fair so well that appt!

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Holly - we had the rainforest playmat, and Christopher had a blast with it. Of course, the crazy music gets stuck in your head....

AshJohnson - how's she doing? And how are you doing after all of that?

I'm kind of disappointed - Christopher waved bye at his Grammy for the first time when Brian picked him up yesterday. I missed it And he got 2 more teeth yesterday - he's got 6 in all now. He's a little pirhana. Anyone who puts fingers near his mouth may be missing them....

 

[Syrreal]

Amanda had her 1 month check up today, and she's doing well! She's now up to 10lbs 14 oz (85th percentile), and 22 inches long (74th percentile). Though she has a mild case, the doc is putting her on Zantac for reflux. Thankfully, she gave her a show during the exam (and she had eaten a little over an hour earlier!). If this Zantac works, I think I may have the most content little baby in the world!

Congrats on the good check up

B was on Zantac for a while, till he started gaining weight again. He hated it! The mint just didn't make him happy. If that happens, you can see if the pharmacy will flavor it for you.
B is on Prevacid right now. That is a much easier medicine to give him since it tastes like strawberries. Hopefully we will be able to get him off of it for good at his 1 yr appt. He was off it for a while at 6 months but the reflux was still there (silent reflux since he wasn't spitting up anymore) and he wasn't sleeping at all.

 

[TerryKitten]

Hey all,
I"m expecting my second child in 2 weeks. I found out today that I"m GSB positive (I wasn't positive the first time around). Doctor says I'll get some antibiotics during labor and the baby would get some extra observation. Of course the info on the web makes it sound terrible, so I'm just looking for some first hand experience. Thanks!

 

[HollyJoy]

Hey all,
I"m expecting my second child in 2 weeks. I found out today that I"m GSB positive (I wasn't positive the first time around). Doctor says I'll get some antibiotics during labor and the baby would get some extra observation. Of course the info on the web makes it sound terrible, so I'm just looking for some first hand experience. Thanks!

First, congratulations on your soon to be arrival!

I also tested positive, and was told the same thing about the antibiotics during labor.. however, you have to be on an IV for at least 4 hours before they can give them to you!! I was admitted to the hospital at 3pm, and delivered at 6:15 pm, therefore, no 4 hours for me, and no antibiotics... this now meant that they had to do bloodwork on the baby. The dreaded heal prick... this had to be repeated several times.. first because the blood clotted before getting to the lab, then the results were inconclusive... Everything turned out well in the end (baby was fine), but what a ride! I just wish they had told me the whole 4 hour part, and what would happen if... ya know? Anyway, I wouldn't worry!!

 

[ashjohnson80]

She's doing o.k. today. She was really fussy yesterday and slept a lot. Today was better. I put her to bed about 30 minutes ago and she went straight to sleep. I'm so lucky! All I have to do is swaddle her and put her in her bed when she gets tired at night and she'll sleep until about 6 am and then she'll get up to eat, go back to sleep until about 9 am.

Oh and get this, at her appointment yesterday she weighed 14 lbs, 12 oz and was 24 3/4 inches long at 2.5 months.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I have a question. We are finally getting to the point of getting Dom in a crib instead of his small bed now. We have our crib picked, but I am reading up on mattresses. Any recommendations for us? I just want something that will last for a few years until we get him into a "real bed"

The Baby Bargains book recommends the Simmons Super Maxipedic Crib and Toddler mattress as being safe and a good buy, so that's what we're going with. Several of our friends have it and say it's held up very well even with older kids jumping on it, and they highly recommended it.

Morning ladies! Curious as to what playmats you might have. We haven't bought one yet (never even registered for one) because I couldn't make up my mind! lol They're so pricey, that I wanted to be sure... picky me. Anyway, Amanda and I are driving down to visit my Mom today, and I thought we'd stop in BRU, and maybe pick one up. Suggestions?

We were given the Fisher Price Miracles and Milestones 3-in-1 Gym, and I don't really like it. The mat part of it is nothing more than a piece of heavy fabric, and when it's being used in the "infant on his back" position, several of the toys face backwards or are upside down from the baby's view. I wish these friends had bought the playmat we registered for, but unfortunately they would be very hurt if we returned the one they gave us so we've kept it and use it when they are visiting. Our house is too small to have more than one playmat, although I'm tempted to send this one over to Nonna's house for when she's babysitting Owen.

Ellery just got her vaccinations. I had to leave the room, it was horrible. I went back in and DH was just crying his eyes out. We're such wusses. She's sound asleep right now, I hope she doesn't feel bad for the rest of the day.

Owen had his 2 month appt on Tuesday and the shots were horrible to watch. Poor baby did that silent scream (we call it the hand grenade cry - the pin is pulled and you're waiting for the explosion...) for the entire first shot, turned completely red, and when the sound did come it was so hearbreakingly painful to hear. We were worried he'd be extra fussy and uncomfortable from the shots, and had to drive to Fresno later that day, but with Tylenol he seemed to be okay. I nursed him right before we left, and we stopped half-way so he could nurse again, and he made the trip without much fuss.

Unfortunately, the dr. confirmed what we've been suspecting - Owen isn't gaining weight. He was 7lb11oz at birth, and his weight has gone down and up and down and up and down and up over and over again. He's now 8lb12.5oz and in just the 3rd % for weight. His length seems to be fine - he's in the 27th% range there, so low but not worrisome. The first thing we're checking is to see if he's getting enough to eat when he nurses, so for 2 weeks we're back to a nurse/bottle/pump schedule with me pumping every time I nurse him, and he gets a bottle of milk from the last pumping. And the dr. says I MUST feed him every 3 hours, even if it means waking him (and me) up in the middle of the night. DH is off work this week, fortunately, but next week is going to be a nightmare.

If Owen hasn't gained sufficient weight by the 2 week follow up appt, then they'll start doing bloodwork and gradually increase the invasiveness of the tests until they either find something wrong or can determine that he's just a scrawny little dude.

So now I'm analyzing everything about how I nurse him, and wondering if the nipple shield is interfering, or if he's not aggressive enough in his nursing, or am I letting him go too long on each side, or should I hold him differently... And to top it off, the last few times I pumped I got less milk than I used to: down to barely an ounce from 3+ ounces. I don't think Owen is eating more each time, so I don't know what's going on there. I used to have a bunch of milk frozen, but we've used it up to make sure he's getting at least 2oz each time, and if he's still hungry after those couple oz, we give him a couple more. 2 nights ago he nursed for 40 min, then had over 4oz in the bottles, so it seems like he must not be getting that much from me when he's nursing, but then overnight he wasn't interested in the bottles at all and barely nursed for 25min. each time.

I don't know what to think, but I'm worried and extra exausted, and we still have the sleeping issue to deal with on top of the feeding stuff.

Sorry this has been so long...guess I just needed to vent after a very long few days of traveling and drs. and nursing and not much sleep.

 

[Bashful in TN]

Just wanted to jump in and introduce myself. I posted some on the moms to be thread and decided it was time to move over here. Leo Phillipp was born on January 28. I can't believe he will be a month old next week! Here is a picture:

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[Pollito916]

Welcome new mommies!

IMarriedGrumpy - Poor Owen! Alex always does the same thing when he get his shots, silent scream, red face, then erupts like a volcano. I hope he starts gaining weight for you soon! Alex's cousin doesn't gain weight very fast and is in the 5th percentile, but their doctor doesn't think anything is wrong. He's just a little guy.

 

[helenabear]

Bethany, I am so sorry about Owen. Have they done the weigh him, you nurse, then weigh him again? I know that is the first thing they do when babies don't gain quite right. We even have a center near by where you can weigh and nurse for free. I've used them before to make sure that Dom was gaining good weight with his reflux.

Thanks for the matress suggestions. I think we have a couple we like, but plan on checking them out in person now.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Bethany, I am so sorry about Owen. Have they done the weigh him, you nurse, then weigh him again? I know that is the first thing they do when babies don't gain quite right. We even have a center near by where you can weigh and nurse for free. I've used them before to make sure that Dom was gaining good weight with his reflux.

They haven't done that this time around, but we did that about every other day for the first 3 weeks. Owen lost weight his first week like most babies, and started gaining at 5 days old, but then started losing weight again. That's when they first put us on the intensive nursing program, and at first he was getting about 3 oz each feeding (according to the weigh, nurse, weigh), and after a week it was up to about 5oz. Then we figured out that the vicodin I was taking was most likely the root cause, so I went off that and boom, he started gaining pretty quickly. At 3 weeks he was up to 8lb3oz, so it seemed like that was solved. When we took him in to the dr. about his cold at 5 weeks, he was 9lb even, so it really looked like he was doing well and gaining just fine.

Unfortunately, at his 2 mo. check up he was down to 8lb 12.5oz, and so we're back to the intensive feeding schedule. If he hasn't gained by March 4, we'll do the weigh, nurse, weigh thing again and he'll have initial blood work done to look for problems.

I've really been working on keeping Owen awake for the full 15 min of nursing on each side, and I do think he's been eating more. We bought some formula so DH could do one of the night shifts to make sure I get at least one longer stretch of sleep, and that's helped my mood immensely!! DH has been home from work this week and I don't know what I'd have done without him. Next week will be harder because he has to go back to work, but I still have to do the intense schedule. I've got a couple friends who will be coming in from time to time to help out, at least, so that will be a start. I'm starting to think investing in a hands-free pumping bra is a good thing, no matter how rediculous I think it looks!

 

[7beasley]

Hi all.

Bethany - sorry that Owen has lost some weight -- hang in there though - it will get better.

Glad to see everyone and all those adorable babies. LOVE the pictures!

Question for you guys -- Izzy is 4 months old now (technically 18 weeks but I am trying to adjust to using months for age rather than weeks).

Anyway -- she has not rolled over yet from tummy to back (or vice versa). We do tummy time - almost every day -- maybe for about 10 minutes or more a day. Sometimes she hates being on her tummy - other times she is okay. She holds her head up really well - she pushes up on her arms --she pushes up on her knees/legs --- I have flipped her 1/2 way to see if she could do the rest and she kind of just stays 1/2 way on her side or goes back onto her tummy -- she has still not flipped on her own onto her back.

Is this cause for concern? We see the doctor on March 5th for her next round of shots - I read all these stupid books that say babies should roll around 4 months or even be rolling by 4 months and she is not and it makes me worried.

Thoughts?

-Nicole

 

[Pollito916]

Question for you guys -- Izzy is 4 months old now (technically 18 weeks but I am trying to adjust to using months for age rather than weeks).

Anyway -- she has not rolled over yet from tummy to back (or vice versa). We do tummy time - almost every day -- maybe for about 10 minutes or more a day. Sometimes she hates being on her tummy - other times she is okay. She holds her head up really well - she pushes up on her arms --she pushes up on her knees/legs --- I have flipped her 1/2 way to see if she could do the rest and she kind of just stays 1/2 way on her side or goes back onto her tummy -- she has still not flipped on her own onto her back.

Is this cause for concern? We see the doctor on March 5th for her next round of shots - I read all these stupid books that say babies should roll around 4 months or even be rolling by 4 months and she is not and it makes me worried.

Thoughts?

-Nicole

Nicole - I think that is still in the "normal" range for rolling over. It is a good sign that she holds her held up well and can push up on her arm and knees. I think it was pretty soon after Alex started pushing up that he rolled over. If you are really concerned, you can always ask the doctor, but it sounds like she is doing well and will be rolling over in no time!

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Nicole - I wouldn't worry too much just yet (I know, easier said than done). Christopher didn't figure out rolling until about 5 months, didn't really dit well until about 7 months, and is only starting to figure out standing. As for crawling, no way. Why crawl when Mommy or the dog will bring everything to him?

The doc keeps telling me to forget what I read about when babies should do things. Unless he's more than 4-6 months behind at multiple skills, he told me to just wait and have fun playing with him.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Christopher and I went out to play in the snow today - he kept trying to eat it, but otherwise was having a blast!

 

[Pollito916]

Too cute Jen!

 

[HollyJoy]

Cute picture, Jen! Wish we'd get some snow!! So far, we've only gotten about 2 inches, total, this season! Ugh.. I'm not a cold weather person, but if there's a blanket of snow on the ground, it makes the cold a little more tolerable!

Finally bought a playmat for Amanda. I went shopping with a friend of mine, and she convinced me to buy the same one she has.. the Fisher Price Rainforest one (I was leaning towards the Boppy one). So far, I LOVE it.. Amanda seems to like it too!

Took a few pictures of Amanda today, and thought this one was pretty cute.. Such is the life of a 1 month old

 

[Syrreal]

We had our one year appt today.
He is at 30 inches and weighs 20lbs 12 oz. He is back down percentagewise for weight from the 25th to the 15th but the ped wasn't worried about it. We got the go ahead to try getting him off the Prevacid again. Hopefully this time all will go well.
He took his shots as well as could be expected. He did the silent cry for about 20 seconds until I showed him the faucet and turned it on. Then he was all smiles and trying to play with it.

On a non fun note. I think we are going to have to try some form of CIO with him for sleeping. He is getting worse and now when he wakes up he only wants me and he is purposefully keeping himself awake. He will be fully asleep on me and then as soon as I put him down he will wake up and scream. We go through this for 2 hours back and forth sometimes and I am just to the point where I know that it's just because he wants to make sure I am in there with him. I need my rest too and taking him to our bed is NOT an option since that would just keep him up even more (he can't even see me in the area or he is up). We are going to try this weekend. Wish us luck. It's going to be just awful but I am kind of at a loss for things to do. He's also rarely taking a nap anymore. Today his "nap" was 10 minutes.