The new "New Moms" thread!

[Marshmelo]

Hello, I am new to this thread and haven't even been on the boards in quite awhile. I had to cancel a Disney Cruise we had planned for September and a Disney World vacation planned for December because I found out I was pregnant. I was SO happy to be pregnant because we tried for almost 2 years, but of course it had to happen when it would ruin my Disney vacations!

Anyway, I had my first baby (a boy) on November 22, 2007 (Thanksgiving). He decided to come a little early. My due date was December 9. He weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. I think he is probably close to 15 lbs now because he was almost 13 at our last visit on 1/31. Our next Dr. appt is 4/10.

I saw a couple of you were talking about rolling over/head control/grasping. I don't think you can really compare, though it's hard not to. And I do agree that you have to take into account if they were born early. Nicolas actually rolled over from his tummy when he was 2 weeks old. He has yet to roll over from his back. I think he's too roly poly! He controls his head alright, but still not quite steady enough to sit in a restaurant high chair. It can get wobbly when he gets tired. He is pretty good at looking around though. I was also worried about him not really using his arms and not trying to grasp at things. He is slowly coming around though. He doesn't really reach out/swat at things as one of you said, but he will grasp it if you put it right by his hand, touching it. It's funny how they all have their own schedules and do different things at different times.

As for sleeping, he is doing pretty well. He usually gets fed about 9 or 9:30 and then goes to bed after that, then will wake up at 3 am to eat, and then between 5 and 6. I just wish he would skip that 3 am waking up! I think his eating habits are kind of strange though. He prefers to eat smaller amounts more frequently. He takes 3.5 oz every 2 hrs. I only breast feed 3-4 times a day because I never produced enough to do it exclusively.

Well, I have babbled on more than I intended to. I just needed a break from "baby stuff" and GG and Great Granny have him in the other room now, so I'm taking advantage Hopefully I will be able to get on here periodically. Here are some of Nicolas' 3 month pics. I love looking at all your pictures!

And here are some newborn ones:

 

[Pollito916]

Maggie is now a little over 3 months old. She is smiling and starting to babble. She is also sleeping really well.

I am a little concerned because she doesn't really have the head control thing down yet. She hasn't had much tummy time so I'm really uping that (which she hates) to see if it gets better.

Pollito - DD is loving your sig pic. I think she has a little crush!

I have a friend that had a baby on the same day and her DD is already rolling over! I am NOT going to like this because I won't be able to stop comparing the 2. I really need to remember that DD was 3 weeks early and that she may be more on that schedule.

Thanks! He is such a little ham! He's usually too fast to capture any good pictures, though. I love the name Maggie, it was my grandmother's name and one of my first choices if we have a girl.

I agree with everyone else on trying not to compare, but it's just so hard not to! We all just want reassurance that are babies are the best, like we know they are! But they all develop at different times and if your doctor isn't concerned with her development, I'm sure she's fine. DS also has a cousin that is only 2.5 weeks older, and the sitter has a boy that is 6 weeks older, so I can't help but compare. Lucky for me, DS always comes out ahead, at least in my eyes.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Definitely try not to compare. I know it's easier said than done (and I still can't stop doing it myself ). Christopher didn't figure out rolling over until he was about 5 months, and then he figured both out right about the same time. He's been late at just about all of the motor stuff - he's 10 months, doesn't crawl (yet, but I'm thinking he will soon), doesn't pull himself up, etc. The doc keeps telling me not to worry until he's more than a month or two behind.

 

[ashjohnson80]

Well Ellery's hair is getting lighter. I thought at least she would have the dark hair like me, but nope. She's a clone of her dad, but with girl parts.

 

[HollyJoy]

I took Amanda (along with one of her big sisters) to the doctor today. Over the weekend, she developed this nasty cough, that just got worse. She sounds like a seal barking! My thoughts were either Croop, or RSV, but the doctor says neither! Her ears are fine, her lungs are clear, she isn't congested, just the cough! They are testing her for Whooping cough, and put her on an antibiotic in the meantime. Poor thing! She goes back later this week, and has her 2 month check up next week. However, they weighed her today, and she's a whopping 12.2 pounds! She's growing like a weed!

 

[Pollito916]

Ash- don't feel too bad, DS is like a little mini-DH too, down to the personality and everything (they both have horrible tempers ) , but I notice little things that he takes after me more and more as he grows, hopefully you will start to see parts of you in Ellery, too!

Holly - Poor Amanda! I had to go to the ER this weekend, and there was a little guy there that sounded just like that, and the poor thing sounded so miserable! He was actually coughing so badly that he threw up! I felt so bad for him! I hope your pediatrician is right and Amanda doesn't have croup or anything worse!

Well, we had quite a week around here! First, DH got in an accident on Tuesday (everyone is fine, he's just an idiot ), then I found out on Friday evening that I got a promotion at work , then decided to celebrate a few hours later by going to the ER to have my appendix out. All that and we are moving in a little over 2 weeks. I am so busy, I don't have time right now to take off work and packing. But I am in so much pain I can barely move. I had DH bring my laptop to the bedroom so I could at least go on the internet, but I don't know what I am going to do the rest of the week. I can't even pick up DS or take care of him by myself, b/c the doctor said I can't lift more than 10 lbs. I miss the little guy so much right now, I've barely seen him at all since Friday, b/c he's been staying with family while I was at the hospital, and now he's at the sitter's since I still can't take care of him.

One good thing is that SIL got some ADORABLE pictures of the boys together, and I'll see if I can post some in a little bit. They are just too cute!

 

[Pollito916]

Ok, here's some pictures of DS (lighter hair, blue eyes) and his cousin that is 2.5 weeks older:

And the best one of all, for future blackmail:

 

[TiggerStac]

I finally have a pic of the boys in my avatar. It's taken me forever to get it downloaded onto computer (I love taking pictures/but downloading, thats another story). The oldest is a clone of daddy and the baby (well, not a baby) is a clone of me.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I'll add some more pictures to continue the trend...

We did Owen's first professional photos today! He did really well in that he didn't cry or scream or fuss, but he also never smiled. He just kept an expression of either suspicion, concern, or surprise on his face the whole time. Cracked us up, but he never did get around to smiling for his photos. Oh well, they still turned out cute!

This one is my favorite:

DH likes this one best:

and Nonna likes this one:

either way, he always looks like he thinks this is the strangest thing that has happened to him so far! I suggested that we could just wait until he falls asleep and do some cute ones of him sleeping, but they were very busy today so they didn't have time to wait for that or even have someone else go ahead of us. Oh well. Maybe at 6 months he'll smile for us!

 

[ashjohnson80]

Those pictures of Owen are so adorable!!!! No matter that he wasn't smiling I think they turned out great! I can't wait to get Ellery's first professional pictures done now!

 

[beckmrk04]

Hi ladies- So, I never knew this thread existed! I have never seen it.

But, I'm joining the new mom group.

Many of you probably know me anyway from the TTC thread, but I'll introduce myself. I'm Becky, and my DD is Vaylie (who looks like neither of her parents, as far as I can tell!), and she just turned 1 on February 28th! I can't believe a year has passed already. It went so quick I kind of have whiplash.

So, hi!

ETA- oh my gosh we have some cute babies in here!! Adorable pics, ladies!

 

[TerryKitten]

Hello again. (I was the one a few weeks back asking about Strep B) I had my little one last week and everything went great. So far everything is going good except she is very uncomfortable with gas. She can spend all night and day grunting and groaning. We've burped her as much as we can, given her gas drops, biked her legs as far as the tour de france, and nothing really is making her feel better. I've already talked to an advice nurse and our doc's nurse and everyone feels its normal. Poor girl. Anyone else have ideas to make her more comfy? I hope it end soon, I think she isn't getting good sleep because of it.

 

[Syrreal]

Hi ladies- So, I never knew this thread existed! I have never seen it.

But, I'm joining the new mom group.

Many of you probably know me anyway from the TTC thread, but I'll introduce myself. I'm Becky, and my DD is Vaylie (who looks like neither of her parents, as far as I can tell!), and she just turned 1 on February 28th! I can't believe a year has passed already. It went so quick I kind of have whiplash.

So, hi!

ETA- oh my gosh we have some cute babies in here!! Adorable pics, ladies!

Hey Becky! Glad to see you over here.

ITA about the fast year thing. DH and I were talking about that today and remembering how a year ago we still didn't have a clue what we were doing with Brennan.

 

[beckmrk04]

LOL- I know what you mean- but now it's hard to remember what life was like before Vaylie was born! I have since realized how much free time I used to have...

Well, I have been on a quest to find the perfect stroller, and I think I may have found it. I'm thinking about the Baby Jogger City Mini.

Anyone have one already? The fold looks small (which is key- we have two small vehicles), and amazingly EASY!

I was thinking about a BOB revolution, but I think it'll still be a bit too big. I just want something that's more all-terrain than my stupid travel system which is heavy and bulky and awful, awful.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Those pictures of Owen are so adorable!!!! No matter that he wasn't smiling I think they turned out great! I can't wait to get Ellery's first professional pictures done now!

Thanks! I think they turned out cute, and now I'm excited to hand them out to everyone! We used Kiddie Kandids, and they were awesome with Owen. We're going to do photos every 3 months, but only get a few prints each time.

Hi ladies- So, I never knew this thread existed! I have never seen it.

But, I'm joining the new mom group.

Many of you probably know me anyway from the TTC thread, but I'll introduce myself. I'm Becky, and my DD is Vaylie (who looks like neither of her parents, as far as I can tell!), and she just turned 1 on February 28th! I can't believe a year has passed already. It went so quick I kind of have whiplash.

So, hi!

ETA- oh my gosh we have some cute babies in here!! Adorable pics, ladies!

Hi Becky! Wow, it seems like just yesterday that you started the TTC thread! And Vaylie has an awesome birthday - that's our anniversary!

Hello again. (I was the one a few weeks back asking about Strep B) I had my little one last week and everything went great. So far everything is going good except she is very uncomfortable with gas. She can spend all night and day grunting and groaning. We've burped her as much as we can, given her gas drops, biked her legs as far as the tour de france, and nothing really is making her feel better. I've already talked to an advice nurse and our doc's nurse and everyone feels its normal. Poor girl. Anyone else have ideas to make her more comfy? I hope it end soon, I think she isn't getting good sleep because of it.

Owen has had some gas problems too, and so far our Dr. says it's all normal. We've also tried massaging his tummy counter clockwise and then gently pushing his knees up towards his ears to help him get the gas out, and that works sometimes. We sometimes turn him on his stomach and burp him facing down, or we used to do what we've dubbed the "origami baby" fold until he got too big for it. This is what it looked like:

He'd fold over like that and we'd pat his back. He loved it, and would fall asleep like that! Seemed to help with the gas, but now he's too big for it.

Hope it gets better soon for you!

 

[Pollito916]

Grumpy - Love Owen's pictures! Alex rarely smiles for his professional pics either - even now at 1 year!

Welcome Becky! Glad you found us over here! That stroller looks pretty cool - hope it works out for you. The past year has just flown by for us too. I can't believe our babies are 1 already!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Well, I've done it. I've hired a "mothers helper" to come in for a few hours every week and help me out. I just have not been able to keep up with the housework and take care of Owen and myself, and it's been stressing DH out to try and take on a larger chunk of housekeeping plus work full time. If only Owen would nap for more than 20 min without being held, but he won't yet.

So one of the college students from our church is going to come over and help me out for 5-10 hours each week. I was reluctant to hire someone since I'm not working anymore and we just don't have a lot of extra money, but it's really become a major issue for us and I'm tired of living in all this mess. I think this student will be very helpful - she's a nice girl and often helps out in the nursery and has said she's willing to be put to work however I need her. She said if I want her to clean while I hold Owen, that's fine, or if I want her to hold Owen while I clean, that's fine, too.

Plus I like the idea that I'm helping out a student that I know could use some extra money, and maybe she'll be able to do something nice for herself.

It's funny, because I got my start in Early Childhood Education (what I did my grad work in) by being a mother's helper when I was an undergrad!

I keep reminding myself that I'm not a failure as a wife or mother because I can't keep up with everything, but part of me still feels guilty that I need help getting it all done. Oh well. Hopefully by this time next week the house will be clean and I'll feel better about this decision!

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Can I join?

I just had my baby, Spencer, March 7. He is doing great so far.

I am really nervous still though. He has yet to sleep in his bassinet (I just hold him). He didn't like it in the hospital and that continued when we got home. The second night we were home, we tried it again and he fussed a lot. When I finally picked him up, he spit up everywhere. I was so scared he would do it again and choke, that I held him again. Still, a bit later I tried the bassinet again and after a some time, he started choking (on mucous) and couldn't breathe. Luckily, my MIL was here and was able to get him to breathe again. I am terrified that it will happen again. I thought about getting an Angelcare monitor, but it still scares me. Any advice?

 

[beckmrk04]

I keep reminding myself that I'm not a failure as a wife or mother because I can't keep up with everything, but part of me still feels guilty that I need help getting it all done. Oh well. Hopefully by this time next week the house will be clean and I'll feel better about this decision!

Honey- admitting you need help is no failure!! It's H-A-R-D trying to do it all. If we could financially swing it, I'd have a mother's helper too! No doubt about it.

As it is now, I just let the house slide... I'll clean it one of these days. Before the next baby.

And it gets easier. I'm finally able to cook dinner- I can put Vaylie in her high chair with some appetizers (aka cheerios) and get a meal cooked! It's progress!

So, feel good about doing the best you can, and take care of yourself or you won't be able to take care of anyone or anything else!

 

[beckmrk04]

Can I join?

I just had my baby, Spencer, March 7. He is doing great so far.

I am really nervous still though. He has yet to sleep in his bassinet (I just hold him). He didn't like it in the hospital and that continued when we got home. The second night we were home, we tried it again and he fussed a lot. When I finally picked him up, he spit up everywhere. I was so scared he would do it again and choke, that I held him again. Still, a bit later I tried the bassinet again and after a some time, he started choking (on mucous) and couldn't breathe. Luckily, my MIL was here and was able to get him to breathe again. I am terrified that it will happen again. I thought about getting an Angelcare monitor, but it still scares me. Any advice?

Congratulations!! I love the name Spencer- it was the boy name we picked out!

My advice is- relax. Which I know is infuriating and horribly hard. I would ask your pediatrician about the choking on mucous thing- did he actually stop breathing? Or was he just coughing?

I never did get Vaylie to sleep in the bassinet. She hated it. (To be honest, I hated it too- every time she made a PEEP, I was awake, freaking out, checking on her). She also hated our bed and her crib for the first month of her life. So, DH and I took turns sleeping with her on our chests in the recliner. A whole month I slept in that chair.

Month 2, she didn't want to do that anymore. But, she also wouldn't sleep in her bassinet, or crib, or our bed. So, for the entirety of month 2, she slept in her swing. With Ocean sounds on CD playing.

At the end of Month 2, she didn't want to sleep in her swing. Or our bed. Or the bassinet. So, one day, she just started sleeping in her crib, and she's been there since.

My philosophy the entire time was wherever she wants to sleep so I can sleep, is fine with me. People kept telling me, "OMG- You let her sleep in her swing?! SHe'll never sleep in her crib." WHatever- my response was always, "Well, I have never met a 17 yr old that had to sleep in a swing, so I'm sure she'll be fine."

And from what I have read, it's pretty unheard of for a baby to choke on their spit-up and not be ok.

It is hard, though. I know they seem so delicate and fragile. You guys will be fine.