The "Newest" Moms Hangout...

[december]

Avent and Mam seem to be popular in the breastfeeding crowd LOL. They are both the same shape nipple, kinda a flat wider nipple. I tried like 5brands and couldn't get her to take anything but DH did get her to take an Avent one eventually. He just kept trying and kind of tapping on it a few times and she finally settled down and took it. Now she's good with it. I think she was about 4 weeks when started trying and maybe 7 weeks when she finally took one.

Your baby is still really new. Did you nurse your others? The reason I ask is because I'm not sure how experienced you are in nursing--like if giving the paci should cause a problem. I nursed my other 2 and have been thru nearly all problems so I felt pretty good about being able to "fix" a problem if I created one.

What about trying her on one and then slipping it out of her mouth after she dozes off? I know my baby was always at breast for the first 4-6 weeks but that's totally normal and to be expected.

Good luck!! Can I also put a breastfeeding kudos in here? Last week we were all super sick with swineflu/h1n1. I even went to the ER I felt so bad. Guess who the ONLY one in the whole family who didn't get it was? My 2 month old!!! Whoo hoo for breastfeeding antibodies!! Considering she was in my face every 3 hrs to nurse, it's amazing she never got sick.

Thanks for posting this! The county schools all are reporting cases this week-the superintendent even sent out an alert telling parents not to send their kids to school sick. I'm so worried about Katie getting it and not being able to take any meds.

 

[rparmfamily]

I nursed them all (the four older ones in my signature) for at least a year each, that's why I can tell I'm a "human pacifier" to her right now and that I'm producing a little more than she actually needs because she's into the constant sucking and then the huge spit-ups from overeating. My son did this too. He only took a pacifier for about three weeks, though. Come to think of it. Maybe I shouldn't even bother.

Kudos to those breastfeeding antibodies! I remember having terrible flu (not swine, though) when my son was a baby and how he didn't get sick either. (Husband was deployed at the time, my parents got sick while staying with me to help, oh the flashbacks! Anyway, what you wrote there is one of the many reasons why I breastfeed. (That and I get to be a C/D cup for once in my life. )

Since you're an experienced nurser I'd go ahead and try the paci maybe a little bit. Just I'd hate to see a first timer nurser (and potentially more easily discouraged) use a paci early and it derail nursing all together. That's why I asked LOL. But you've BTDT so you know the drill!

I almost meant to quote about the nursing covers...I got a pink one last time they did the "free" thing and it's nice. It's my backup cover since I have a totally cute Cafe au Lait one I use first. Actually first I don't use any cover if I can help it but they do come in handy when you really can't be very discrete. 90% of the time I nurse in the car before or after, just easier. Though I have nursed at some fun places...a Navy retirement, the beach, PF Changs,etc LOL!

Just to compare against Lucus (since Amelia is a little older) she's 10 lbs and 23", just a wee thing! She's long and thin. I can't believe she's 11 weeks now!!

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

I have a pacifier question too. They used to give them to babies in the hospital, but now either they don't; or they don't to nursing mothers. She's going through a phase where I know she just wants to suck because she either gets mad when she gets milk or she spits up a ton after feeding because she really just wanted to soothe herself by sucking on something. (And I feel like I'm mass-producing milk here-ow!) Anyway, what kind of pacifier is best for nursing babies? Any thoughts?

Hi,
Our hospital will only give a paci (soothie or nuk) if you sign a little paper attached to the nursery bed. It says don't offer, only offer at labs, or it's ok to give one. We didn't start using one with either of my sons until they got the latch properly and could nurse well (3-4 weeks). I guess the main concern is that the baby is able to latch and the milk supply isn't suffering from not nursing while using the paci (not a problem here, I have WAY too much!). We started with the soothie for #2 but he hated it. Of course, now that we have 100 of them around the house. Now we switched to Nuk and it's shaped much wider, which he seems to like. He only gets it when I know he's full and just needs something else besides me.

Good luck!! Can I also put a breastfeeding kudos in here? Last week we were all super sick with swineflu/h1n1. I even went to the ER I felt so bad. Guess who the ONLY one in the whole family who didn't get it was? My 2 month old!!! Whoo hoo for breastfeeding antibodies!! Considering she was in my face every 3 hrs to nurse, it's amazing she never got sick.

Yeah! I totally agree! It's amazing what the human body can do. Dr. Sears would be proud. Our DS2 had a goopy eye from a clogged tear duct and we did a gentle massage with a few drops of milk every few hours. Problem solved!

I nursed them all (the four older ones in my signature) for at least a year each, that's why I can tell I'm a "human pacifier" to her right now and that I'm producing a little more than she actually needs because she's into the constant sucking and then the huge spit-ups from overeating. My son did this too. He only took a pacifier for about three weeks, though. Come to think of it. Maybe I shouldn't even bother.

Kudos to those breastfeeding antibodies! I remember having terrible flu (not swine, though) when my son was a baby and how he didn't get sick either. (Husband was deployed at the time, my parents got sick while staying with me to help, oh the flashbacks! Anyway, what you wrote there is one of the many reasons why I breastfeed. (That and I get to be a C/D cup for once in my life. )

Our first DS only used the paci for a few months then just stopped taking it. I didn't want to get him "hooked" on it and have him running around with it for years to follow. But once he started on a cup, he didn't even look for it. I'm hoping my second will follow suit and just need something extra to occupy his time. Otherwise, I'd be nursing around the clock!

 

[december]

The hospital gave all 3 of mine pacis, no one ever asked to do it. It never interfered with nursing, maybe because they never liked them! Katie will tolerate one in the car if we have to delay nursing a few min, and she has one at daycare (we have one in the car, 2 in the house, and 1 at daycare and that is it). The older kids were the same way. They could take it or leave it.

 

[staley7580]

The hospital gave all 3 of mine pacis, no one ever asked to do it. It never interfered with nursing, maybe because they never liked them! Katie will tolerate one in the car if we have to delay nursing a few min, and she has one at daycare (we have one in the car, 2 in the house, and 1 at daycare and that is it). The older kids were the same way. They could take it or leave it.

My older kiddos were paci addicts! Mikalah had hers until she was 3! But the twins really could care less. They take a soothie every once in a while, but not very often. They hate all the other types.

 

[MelessaG]

The hospital used to give either Soothies or Nuks with my other kids. None of them ever became really attached to them (though child #3 will STILL suck her thumb if she things I'm not looking.). I can just tell I'm being used as a human pacifier and I don't like it. I'm still on the fence about getting her one. As someone else said, with my older kids the hospital gave them out before I could say one way or the other. This is the first time it's really been my decision. I did look at Mams today briefly, but felt too out of it to make any good decisions. Today was a harder day than others have been since we came home from the hospital. I think I may be a little dehydrated because I'm a little dizzy and feel very out of it. When I realized at 5 p.m. that I hadn't remembered lunch (for me, the kids ate) yet and that I had only been to the bathroom twice; I stepped up the liquids and feel more coherent now.

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Yipee! We survived our 2 month check up yesterday. Natalie did really well, she is 11 lbs 14 oz and 22 1/2 inches long. The doctor said she is doing great. She did cry really hard for about 3 minutes after her shots. It was heartbreaking to see those tears. She slept most of the day, only to wake to eat. Last night she played and "talked" for over an hour on her changing table, she loves her changing table. She was just so happy. This morning she woke up happy too. I so relieved.

Natalie loves her binki. Has since day one. She is formula fed as well.

Hope everyone is having a great day

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Thank you SO much to everyone that responded with advice! I wrote down all of your suggestions to keep for future reference. Of course, after all my complaining yesterday Jake made me eat my words and actually slept really well last night. Not that I minded He only woke up 3 times so I feel much more rested today than I have in a while. He's done that before though...had a good sleep night. So I am not holding my breath that he'll have a repeat performance tonight, it may have just been a fluke. But I will keep all the great suggestions I got in mind if he gets super fussy and wont sleep again.

On another note...is there a norm for what formula fed babies should be eating at almost 3 weeks?? I asked his ped at the last appt. and she said it varies because all babies are different. But I feel like Jake eats a LOT. He's taking between 3-4 ounces every 2-3 hours. And sometimes it's a struggle not to feed him sooner than that because it seems like he's ALWAYS hungry. I don't want to overfeed him because he does tend to spit up a lot if he eats more than 4 oz. but he gets so mad and fussy if I don't let him suck on the bottle. I try giving him the pacifier instead but it's a no go. Is that normal? Is he just a piggy??

3 weeks is their growing spurt (3wks, 6wks, 3m, 6m)...so they do eat alot. That's about what Ella was eating then... she's my little chunky baby.. lol
She's 4.5 months now, and takes 7 oz every 3-4 hrs...

 

[Piecey]

So from the sounds of what you guys are saying, Lucas is strange to eat so infrequently.

He only eats 4 times a day.

Once at about 9am. The other bottle varies anywhere between 11-1 when he gets hungry. The next anywhere between 4-6 and then one before we go to bed (usually 10-ish) and then he sleeps until 9am-ish the next morning.

Sure, they're 8oz bottles but... I thought HE was a piggy, but he's not eating as frequently as the other babes on here.

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

So from the sounds of what you guys are saying, Lucas is strange to eat so infrequently.

He only eats 4 times a day.

Once at about 9am. The other bottle varies anywhere between 11-1 when he gets hungry. The next anywhere between 4-6 and then one before we go to bed (usually 10-ish) and then he sleeps until 9am-ish the next morning.

Sure, they're 8oz bottles but... I thought HE was a piggy, but he's not eating as frequently as the other babes on here.

I don't think thats strange. I thought Jake was strange for eating so often! I guess Jake eats more often because he doesn't always finish the bottle in one sitting but if Lucas is taking the whole bottle in one sitting it makes sense that he would only be eating 4 times a day. I wish Jake would be on a schedule like that!

Had another bad sleep night last night. He slept well from 10 to almost 1 and then after that he was up every 45 minutes or so. He woke up at 430 and would NOT go back to sleep. I felt so exhausted He finally went down at almost 8 and I slept with him in my arms on the couch from 8 to almost 945 before he woke up to eat again. This newborn business is so much harder than I ever thought it would be. I knew it would be hard but I guess you can't really prepare yourself for HOW hard it is until you are living it.

 

[DannysMom]

Patsy, I think eating that infrequently is pretty unusual. You may be better off counting how many oz he eats in 24 hours -- so 32 oz --pretty much average (or high average) which given his size seems about right.

The one thing that may be concerning is that he doesn't eat from 10 pm til 9 am -- that's kind of a long stretch for a small (or young) baby not to eat. He's having difficulty w/ weight gain right? If so you may want to set a middle of the night alarm & do a "dream feed" --basically try to feed him w/o waking him too much.

Does your ped know he's only taking 4 bottles a day? If s/he's assuming 6-8 bottles a day, I can see where they may be concerned w/ the 8 oz bottles.

Last night was a tough night w/ Katie. I got 2 hrs of sleep early in the evening -- like 10-12 & after the 12:30 feeding she just would not settle & sleep. Once DH got iin the shower (around 5? ) she pooped & settled some & slept. The older DS came in to watch tv..... I tried to ignore him & sleep -- bad tired mommy. It's the kind of night that makes me fear for when Dylan's home & there are 2 of them to care for.

Dylan is doing OK -- he seems huge to me. Yesterday he was 6lbs 7 oz. So's he's probably about a 1/2 lb heavier than Katie. They just moved him up to all feeds via bottle yesterday. He had been on only 1/2 feeds -- every other feed was a tube feeding. He also sill has the occassional random apnea/ brady episode -- he basically forgets to breathe & his heartrate slows down too much. It's ususally self limiting -- meaning no intervention is needed. But it may be enough that he gets sent home with a monitor. Which kind of sux, but having 1 at home & 1 in the hospital also sux. I'm only getting up there to see him & bring milk twice a week. I can't bring Katie back to the unit, so it's been hard. It's been making teh whole idea of twins kind of abstract. Katie so resembles my older DS as a baby, that's a little bit trippy. I know Dan is down the hall in his own BR, but it really seems like he's the baby in the crib in our room a lot of the time, especially when we're sleep deprived. Both DH & I have noted these last 2 weeks have been a little trippy, almost deja vue like.

I mean I know I had twins -- but so far I only have 1 baby. Katie's been home 2 weeks already. When your baby is in the NICU, it really doesn't feel like it's *your* baby yet. You are really not totally in charge, nor totally responsible for care yet. It's like you're a consultant. I'm ready to be be done with it, even if it does get harder with Dylan at home.

 

[Laura]

Patsy, I think eating that infrequently is pretty unusual. You may be better off counting how many oz he eats in 24 hours -- so 32 oz --pretty much average (or high average) which given his size seems about right.

The one thing that may be concerning is that he doesn't eat from 10 pm til 9 am -- that's kind of a long stretch for a small (or young) baby not to eat. He's having difficulty w/ weight gain right? If so you may want to set a middle of the night alarm & do a "dream feed" --basically try to feed him w/o waking him too much.

I agree with that. By the time I went back to work and before DD started baby food, I would nurse her for the last time late at night, like 10pm, then wake her up at about 6am for her next feeding. She's consistently eaten every 3 hours since she was born. Initially she wanted to be fed about 8 times a day, then as she started sleeping longer and longer through the night she got down to 6 times a day. Maybe Lucas could do smaller bottles if he ate more frequently?

Now that I have her drinking 5 times a day (gets baby food in between), I've increased her bottles at daycare from 5 to 6 ounces. I've started the weaning process (boy, I have mixed feelings about that!) and I anticipate giving her five 6-ounce bottles a day, with baby food added in. So 30 ounces total.

 

[harleyquinn]

I don't think thats strange. I thought Jake was strange for eating so often! I guess Jake eats more often because he doesn't always finish the bottle in one sitting but if Lucas is taking the whole bottle in one sitting it makes sense that he would only be eating 4 times a day. I wish Jake would be on a schedule like that!

Had another bad sleep night last night. He slept well from 10 to almost 1 and then after that he was up every 45 minutes or so. He woke up at 430 and would NOT go back to sleep. I felt so exhausted He finally went down at almost 8 and I slept with him in my arms on the couch from 8 to almost 945 before he woke up to eat again. This newborn business is so much harder than I ever thought it would be. I knew it would be hard but I guess you can't really prepare yourself for HOW hard it is until you are living it.

Forgive me but this post is super helpful for me!! Lily is bf and she was up like every 45 minutes or so too and I very nearly stopped bfing her cuz ut was so overwhelming...it feels good to hear that formula fed infants do the same thing. BTW when Lily did this it was a growth spurt...this week has been SOOO much better. It makes me dread 6 weeks and especially 12 (when I go back to work).

I need to remember that there are a bunch of fellow bfers here...I've had some close calls with quitting when I feel overwhelmed and I know you'd be a big help...Kellymom can be a bit intimidating. At this point Lily is completely addicted to the nipple shield, but she's super healthy and growing like crazy so I try not to stress so much.

So today is the first full day that DH is at work and it's been great so far. Lily woke up every 1-2 hours to feed last night, but she went right back to sleep in between, which is a huge improvement from wide awake 3am baby. She keeps sleeping a 3-4 hour stretch around 5-6am wakes to eat and then goes back to sleep for another 3 hours. I wish we could get that pushed back! But nothing is working so far.

 

[rparmfamily]

So from the sounds of what you guys are saying, Lucas is strange to eat so infrequently.

He only eats 4 times a day.

Once at about 9am. The other bottle varies anywhere between 11-1 when he gets hungry. The next anywhere between 4-6 and then one before we go to bed (usually 10-ish) and then he sleeps until 9am-ish the next morning.

Sure, they're 8oz bottles but... I thought HE was a piggy, but he's not eating as frequently as the other babes on here.

I don't think the going every 4 hrs between feeding and then sleeping thru the night is that unusual. Well, the sleeping thru the night that long is in my book LOL. That is a longtime at night! Could be he's one of those babies who does great on a schedule and he kind of makes a schedule himself. He's gaining great though!

Amelia nurses about every 2-4 hrs except at night, she'll do a 4-5 hr stretch. Feeding her is still a round the clock thing but that's very typical for nursing babies, as breastmilk digests faster than formula.

 

[rparmfamily]

Forgive me but this post is super helpful for me!! Lily is bf and she was up like every 45 minutes or so too and I very nearly stopped bfing her cuz ut was so overwhelming...it feels good to hear that formula fed infants do the same thing. BTW when Lily did this it was a growth spurt...this week has been SOOO much better. It makes me dread 6 weeks and especially 12 (when I go back to work).

I need to remember that there are a bunch of fellow bfers here...I've had some close calls with quitting when I feel overwhelmed and I know you'd be a big help...Kellymom can be a bit intimidating. At this point Lily is completely addicted to the nipple shield, but she's super healthy and growing like crazy so I try not to stress so much.

So today is the first full day that DH is at work and it's been great so far. Lily woke up every 1-2 hours to feed last night, but she went right back to sleep in between, which is a huge improvement from wide awake 3am baby. She keeps sleeping a 3-4 hour stretch around 5-6am wakes to eat and then goes back to sleep for another 3 hours. I wish we could get that pushed back! But nothing is working so far.

I think that is awesome for 4 weeks!

Nursing is overwhelming at the beginning but it's so worth it. And it will get better. I'd say around 6 weeks, she suddenly was able to go a good 3 hrs without nursing (before she was one of those babies that nursed every hour it seemed) and by 8 weeks she was just easier in general. It is TOUGH at first but it will get easier...then before you know it they start solids and then it's easier even then!!! And mamamilk is free.

If you have any questions just let me know, I'm a seasoned nurser.

 

[Laura]

I don't think the going every 4 hrs between feeding and then sleeping thru the night is that unusual. Well, the sleeping thru the night that long is in my book LOL. That is a longtime at night! Could be he's one of those babies who does great on a schedule and he kind of makes a schedule himself. He's gaining great though!

Amelia nurses about every 2-4 hrs except at night, she'll do a 4-5 hr stretch. Feeding her is still a round the clock thing but that's very typical for nursing babies, as breastmilk digests faster than formula.

You have a point; I'm looking at it from the perspective of a nursing mom. Formula definitely gets digested more slowly.

 

[Piecey]

Okay, I didn't read all the responses yet... I'm just freaking out a bit and unsure what to do. Hoping for advice!

DH went to the Dr. today and was diagnosed with what they think is shingles. They say they're not sure because they were caught so early. So they advised him not to touch Lucas.

Well, he's been touching Lucas for two days since the area in question appeared on DH.
Now Lucas has some redness between his eyes that DH and I are pretty sure wasn't there earlier.

His pediatrician is closed.
Do I take him to the ER? Urgent care? Wait for the pediatrician?
I called the nurse at DH's Dr. and she basically said "Well, shingles doesn't usually spread to people who haven't had chickenpox BUT he's young."
Helpful, huh?!

I just don't know what to do. (I'll get back to responses on feeding later. )

 

[Laura]

Okay, I didn't read all the responses yet... I'm just freaking out a bit and unsure what to do. Hoping for advice!

DH went to the Dr. today and was diagnosed with what they think is shingles. They say they're not sure because they were caught so early. So they advised him not to touch Lucas.

Well, he's been touching Lucas for two days since the area in question appeared on DH.
Now Lucas has some redness between his eyes that DH and I are pretty sure wasn't there earlier.

His pediatrician is closed.
Do I take him to the ER? Urgent care? Wait for the pediatrician?
I called the nurse at DH's Dr. and she basically said "Well, shingles doesn't usually spread to people who haven't had chickenpox BUT he's young."
Helpful, huh?!

I just don't know what to do. (I'll get back to responses on feeding later. )

Yeah, feeding kinda takes a backseat in this situation!

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/shingles-topic-overview
I think I would try urgent care. Fingers crossed that Lucas doesn't get it!

 

[Piecey]

Yeah, feeding kinda takes a backseat in this situation!

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/shingles-topic-overview
I think I would try urgent care. Fingers crossed that Lucas doesn't get it!

So this line is scary "Be extra careful to avoid people with weak immune systems and pregnant women and babies who have never had chickenpox." but I'm still confused.
Lucas has that skin rash I mentioned on Monday, but I've been doing what the Peditrician said and it's mosty gone. I'm wondering if maybe it's just that and I'm freaking myself out,

*sorry typing one handed whilke Lucas eats.

I dont wanna be the freak mom that walks into the ER and goes OMG HE HAS A SPOT!!!'

the hospital is literally 2 minutes away (down the street we live on, how is that for convenience?) so I'm thinking maybe I should just watch it and call Peditrician furst tihng in the morning... or if it gets worse go to the ER's urgent care center, or the ER after 9... (when their urgent care portion closes)

decisions, decisions!!

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

When does your pedi open again? Tomorrow? Has he been acting any differently, like the spot/rash area is bugging him at all?