The Official New Mom Thread

[justhat]

Madison was a little sick last night too, but she seems fine now too so I guess there is a little bug going around, but thankfully it's short-lived. She was fine all day yesterday, then right after she fell asleep, I was putting laundry away in her room and heard her cough a little, then she vomited. It woke her up so I changed her bed and put her back in. She went back to sleep, then I heard her coughing on the monitor and she started crying so my husband went in. He said she was sitting up in the crib, so he tipped her on her side and she went back to sleep. Then later he says "Her crib smells like vomit." So I go back in and sure enough the crib was all wet. So I stuck her in our bed for the rest of the night. She woke up very grouchy this morning, coughed and vomited again, then was her normal happy self. So I'm hoping she's over it now.

KaterKat, that's great that you had a good flight with BR and your cats. It's so hard to do anything for them when they get upset on a plane, so I'm glad it worked out so well for you.

 

[MommyPoppins]

Well, I just booked us at the Sheraton Safari Hotel for our May weekend trip. I got it for $65 a night, which is 30 dollars less than other sites. I hope we enjoy it. I didn't want to spend more than $50 a night, but I also didn't want to end up at a dump. My boys are driving me nuts, every day, several times a day, "Are we going to Disney World tomorrow?". I even made them calanders that they put stickers on everyday and when they get to the day with a picture of the castle they know its time to go. My 3 year old thought he could just fill it up with stickers and we could go.

 

[DisKim]

Mommypoppins - I stayed at the Sheraton Safari in 2001. It was our first trip with our kids and we had the time of our lives. We've gone several times since, but there was nothing like that first trip. Anyway, you'll be happy with the hotel. The pool area is great and the kids will just love the big snake waterslide. As I recall, there are all kinds of places to eat over there. Pizza Hut was right next door and Manhattan Bagel is across the street. We stopped for bagels every morning on our way to park openings (no fancy breakfasts for us - it wastes park time!) I will admit that we switched out of our standard room which was first floor and right on the parking lot. We upgraded to a suite so we would have a kitchenette which turned out to be well worth the money with a 10 month old. By the way, you got a good rate. Back in 2001, we booked at $99 a night for a standard room. We were amateurs! Have a great time.

 

[Alice28]

I spoke too soon...now my younger DS is not feeling well...he was throwing up last night and now I'm feeling a bit yucky this AM. Not good.

At least I was able to get a ton of errands done yesterday- grocery store, the mall, etc. Got some cute stuff on clearance for Molly and Josh.

My girlfriend and I (& Molly- the boys are staying home with Daddy) are heading to WDW next May- my mom may go too. It will be a fun girl's trip and DH really wants me to be able to have some fun once he's home, so that's really nice. We will be staying at Shades of Green at this time next yet- just got the ressies the other day. My parents and I are heading to Disneyland hopefully in September. It's very nice to look forward too. I've just been feeling extremely overwhelmed with all the demands my 3 little ones are putting on me lately....it's so hard being the only parent 24/7, day after day. I've felt pretty perky about it the last 9 months, but not this week for some reason. I miss my DH! At least my parents will be here tomorrow and they are eager to help out with their grandbabies.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Hi everyone and congrats to snowwitch.

We just got back late last night from our trip to WDW and Vero Beach. It was a blast and we had a great time. I will post a trip report later when get it together ( kept writting it in my head while we were living it!)

Lily did good. She was 9 months old (turned during the trip) and every where we went the girls turned heads. We got them some Minnie ears with their names on it and they looked so cute in them. The double stroller (Pep Pergo Aria) and baby bjorn worked great. Weather was great for most of it (at least at WDW, Vero Beach wasn't as nice.)

Lily did great on the flight down there, but home was another story. She cried and screamed the 2 hours (slep for the last 1/2 hour.) We got off the plane and she looked up at me with her big blue eyes just gazzing at me like "I love you mommy, I feel better now." It was like my baby was back, I don't know who that was on the plane. It must of been her ears. Poor girl. Last trip we came home on a Friday (same as now) and we were at the after hours clinic at the hospital on Sunday for ear infections. I hope that won't happen today. She seemed fine otherwise.

I shipped big sister Anna off to my brothers and Lily is sleeping so hopefully I can unpack and then take the baby with me to the grocery store to get some food around here. Can't wait to share the details of the trip (and pictures) We had such a nice time.

Happy early mothers day everyone!

 

[MommyPoppins]

DisneyPHD Glad to hear you had a good time! I can't wait for our weekend trip. Actually Sat. DH and I are taking my Dsis up for the day. We are going to hit MK first for the mountains and then go to Epcot for Soarin' and Test Track and MS, then we are going to go to MGM for Rockin Rollar Coaster. I can't wait! Then the Sat. after that we are going for the weekend. Then we prob. won't go again until our Sept. trip.

 

[Alice28]

You gals are so lucky to get to have a Disney fix; I am in desperate need of one. Time to get my countdown ticker for my DL trip I think!

 

[lissawynn]

Happy belated Mother's Day to everyone!
Jimmy did so well on his first adventure away from home. DH and I joined my DS and her family and my DM in Ocean City, NJ for Mother's Day weekend. The weather was beautiful on Sunday and Monday! Jimmy was such a trooper. He slept the whole way down (3 hrs.) and only fussed a little on the way home. He also got his first look at the ocean, the boardwalk, and all the lights on the amusement pier. We also took our first ride on the carousel. DS and I are taking our boys for a week in June, so I hope he's as good then. After paying for our WDW ressie and tickets, it's a relief that he did so well. I would have seriously rethought the trip if this one didn't go well.

The weather here in NE PA is great! I can't wait to take Jimmy for a walk tonight!

 

[tkyes]

Hi ladies! Can I join you?

I have a couple first time mom questions, bear with me!

First of all, I'm exclusively pumping because I haven't had much luck with the nursing. I'm pumping every 2 hours for 10 minutes and still only getting a little over an ounce total each time. Pretty frustrating when the young man eats 2 1/2 - 3 ounces every 3 hours.

We are supplementing with formula so he gets enough to eat. We are using Similac Advance with Iron. He's gone through a couple spells where he hasn't pooped (can I say that on the DIS) in 24 - 36 hours. We did try a little diluted prune juice once and it did work, but I don't want to have to use that all the time. Any chance our formula is causing this or maybe doing both milk and formula is an issue? He's eating well and has wet diapers constantly. He's a little fussy, working out the gas, which breaks my heart!

Any suggestions? Thanks guys!

Tamie

 

[DisneyPhD]

Hi ladies! Can I join you?

I have a couple first time mom questions, bear with me!

First of all, I'm exclusively pumping because I haven't had much luck with the nursing. I'm pumping every 2 hours for 10 minutes and still only getting a little over an ounce total each time. Pretty frustrating when the young man eats 2 1/2 - 3 ounces every 3 hours.

We are supplementing with formula so he gets enough to eat. We are using Similac Advance with Iron. He's gone through a couple spells where he hasn't pooped (can I say that on the DIS) in 24 - 36 hours. We did try a little diluted prune juice once and it did work, but I don't want to have to use that all the time. Any chance our formula is causing this or maybe doing both milk and formula is an issue? He's eating well and has wet diapers constantly. He's a little fussy, working out the gas, which breaks my heart!

Any suggestions? Thanks guys!


Tamie

Hi Tamie, congradulations.

Are you taking in enough water? What kind of pump do you have, some stimulate better then others. Are you "letting down"? With this DD I never let know well pumping, I did with my older DD (good thing since I worked with her and am a SAHM now.)

The more you nurse (or pump)the more you make. I might consider trying to go a little longer bewteen pumping to see if you build up more and release a lot a once (or let down.) that happened with my baby now. ( I had to get encourged in order to get more then 3 onces out) But my baby is a cubbie girl so I know she is getting enough.

Also I have a friend that pumped for 3 months, and at that time her DD was able to lacth on and was able to nurse for long time after that.

Breast milk is a natural lavitive so that will help him, forlmula does tend to make things "harder" so to speak. Going over 24 to 48 hours is considered normal, it is only when they havent pooped for a week that Dr. get concenred.
It isn't easy, to you.

 

[becka]

Hi ladies! Can I join you?

I have a couple first time mom questions, bear with me!

First of all, I'm exclusively pumping because I haven't had much luck with the nursing. I'm pumping every 2 hours for 10 minutes and still only getting a little over an ounce total each time. Pretty frustrating when the young man eats 2 1/2 - 3 ounces every 3 hours.

We are supplementing with formula so he gets enough to eat. We are using Similac Advance with Iron. He's gone through a couple spells where he hasn't pooped (can I say that on the DIS) in 24 - 36 hours. We did try a little diluted prune juice once and it did work, but I don't want to have to use that all the time. Any chance our formula is causing this or maybe doing both milk and formula is an issue? He's eating well and has wet diapers constantly. He's a little fussy, working out the gas, which breaks my heart!

Any suggestions? Thanks guys!

Tamie

Hi Tamie! Welcome to our thread.

I had that problem when I was feeding DS and the pumps just never worked well for me and my "natural plumbing" was also failing me so DS never really got a whole lot of breastmilk before he was on formula full-time by 10-11 weeks old. I never could pump more than an ounce not matter how long I tried. It was so frustrating and I still carry some guilt over my inability to breastfeed. I have worked through it but it is very hard to want to provide from your baby in that way and then have your body fail you.

As for the pooping that is very common for formula fed babies. DD is on a once a day poop schedule. Sometimes she will occassionally go 36-48 hours but usually once every 24 hours around 11-ish.

The pain from the gassiness can be hard but if you want to you can try Mylicon (simethicone) drops. They were life savers for both DS and DD. It is not absorbed by the blood stream so it is totally safe even for the littlest babies and it really does make them more comfortable. We don't feed DD without making sure she gets a Mylicon appetizer. I know her little tummy thanks us.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Hi, Everyone!
Mind if I officially join this thread now? Our baby girl, Kylie Noel, was born on May 5 and has literally been the biggest blessing in our lives. She had her first check up today and is doing great. She weighed 9 lbs 7 oz at birth and was 9 lbs 4 oz when we brought her home Sunday. As of today she weighs 9 lbs 6.2 oz. She is a great eater, what can I say? She generally eats 4 oz at every feeding. But she is beautiful and healthy and I couldn't have asked for a better baby. Her pediatrician was glad she is eating that much and gaining like she is b/c she said big babies need more calories. Makes sense to me.

My family and Dh's family are thrilled since she is the first grandbaby on my side of the family and the first girl on Dh's.

Becka~ Interesting you should bring up the Mylicon drops. DD has also had some gas (we are not breastfeeding though) and I brought it up at her check up today. They recommended using those to help bring some relief. I was also told that the generic brand is just as good and that is what we are trying as of today.

It is great to finally be able to join this thread. I thought DD would never get here and now she is almost a week old! I just know she is going to grow so fast and I plan to cherish these moments while I can! Have a great evening everyone!

 

[Alice28]

Welcome new Moms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tamie- I also would recommend pumping longer. I also starting taking all these supplements the lac. consultant recommended. Such as brewers yeast & this tea called Mother's milk which you can get in any health food store, or even your grocery store. It really helped me.

Molly was having weird poops for a couple weeks- she drinks probably a 2:3 ratio of breast milk to formula (I supplement still) and she was only pooping every 48 hours or so. This is normal as long as the poops are not hard and baby isn't constipated. Now she's back to pooping several times a day. I even googled newborn bowel movements and was reassured.

Molly had her 2 month appt today; she's 10 pounds, 12 oz (50th %) and 24" long (95th %!!). She looks great and got her shots.... Man that's tough to take....warning to new mommies- give baby tylenol BEFORE appt (I gave it to her when we got there and it was too soon before shots) & bring tissues for yourself!

 

[becka]

Becka~ Interesting you should bring up the Mylicon drops. DD has also had some gas (we are not breastfeeding though) and I brought it up at her check up today. They recommended using those to help bring some relief. I was also told that the generic brand is just as good and that is what we are trying as of today.

The generic is the same thing as the name brand. We almost always use the generic but we just always call it Mylicon because that is the most common brand name and it is easier to remember/say than simethicone. We have used both the Wal-Mart and Target brands and they work just as well. I really prefer the non-staining because that pink is hard to get out.


Tami - you might look into those supplaments (with your doctors OK) but don't get too discouraged if they don't work. They had me on several supplemants and some prescription meds to try to increase my supply and nothing worked. Sometimes your body just can't make more than an ounce or so.

 

[justhat]

I know what you mean about the shots-the first time was so hard for me. I felt like such a villain, holding her down for someone to hurt her.

Tamie, I agree with the others about pumping longer. We had a lot of problems nursing in the beginning and the lactation consultant told me to pump for 20-30 minutes every 2 hours (she said that's the best way to simulate your baby nursing). I did that in the beginning and also took the herbal stuff (like the Mother's Milk tea and also all the same herbs in this 'tincture', a oil like substance that is super concentrated and you drink from an eyedropper). Not sure if it was the pumping or the herbal stuff, but after about a week I could pump out about 4 oz. per side in about 10 minutes (using a double pump). And I would literally get less than an ounce total before trying all that. I have the Medela Advanced Pump in Style (or something like that) and it's good cause it 'sucks' short and quick in the beginning, then switches to longer 'sucks', which they say is most like a baby.
I was also exclusively pumping at that time cause I had double mastitis and nursing her hurt too much. She had no trouble latching on when I went back to nursing after a few weeks. Hopefully you'll have better luck cause I remember how frustrating all the pumping, supplementing, etc. was, especially for the nighttime feedings. I remember feeling like something was wrong with me and like I was a bad mom for giving her a bottle after so many people told me she'd never latch on then, I was giving up, etc. It was a rough road for us in the beginning, but Madison is 14 months now and just starting to wean so it all worked out in the end. And even if the nursing doesn't get better, we formula supplemented, so I totally believe it's just as good so don't beat yourself up about it.


We got a toddler bed for Madison today. I really hadn't planned on it since we'll be moving next May (when Madison will be 27 months) so I figured we'd just get her a real bed then. But we were in the store and she saw a toddler bed and ran to it and climbed in. She seemed to like it a lot and I thought, 'well she doesn't really sleep in the crib much anyway...." They were out of stock of all the toddler beds at Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby (and almost every other store we went to) but we found one at Pottery Barn Kids today, bought it, and she's sleeping in it uninterrupted for 3.5 hours so far!! I know, she's 14 months so that shouldn't be such a big deal, but trust me, for her it is. I'm really hoping she starts sleeping better since she seems to like her new bed. Guess I should go to bed now and get some time in before she wakes up!

 

[DisKim]

Tamie - I have the same exact problem. I only get one ounce out when I pump if I'm lucky. I'll be trying out the advice from everyone on this board. I probably only pump for about 15 minutes. By that time, nothing is coming out anymore. For those of you that pump for half an hour, do you get milk out the whole time or does it stop?

 

[DisKim]

Sorry for the double post. Does anyone else have trouble with baby carriers. I have the Nojo baby sling and the Snugli infant carrier. I despise both of them. I haven't spent money on the Bjorn because I figure I'll hate that too. No matter what I do, I can't seem to get the baby comfortable in these things. He freaks out. Besides that, they really don't free up my hands anyway because I'm afraid to do anything because of the fear that he'll fall out (especially the baby sling). Am I stupid or do others have trouble with these things too? It just seems to be the only way I'll ever get anything done in my house. Does anyone have any advice on these things. I'm so frustrated.

 

[justhat]

When i would pump for 20 or 30 minutes, in the beginning the milk would stop after maybe an ounce or less. But then later on more milk would come after say 5 minutes of dry pumping. So maybe I'd get milk for 5 or 10 minutes, then nothing for another 5 or 10, then more milk. Then eventually it would all come at once in less time. I know it's weird to keep pumping when nothing is coming out, but they told me it would make my body produce more milk and it seemed to work.


We have a Baby Bjorn Active Carrier, and I love it. I even used it on our Disney trip last month when Madison was almost 14 months (and about 30 inches and 20 lbs.). It's really great on your back cause it's got lower back support. I also don't feel like she's going to fall out cause there are so many little locks keeping her in. I tried using it when she was around 1 or 2 weeks old and she hated it so I put it away. Then I tried again around 4 weeks and she didn't hate it as much, then around 6 weeks she seemed to sorta like it and by 2 months she would spend lots of the day in it cause she would never let you put her down as an infant so I wore her all day. I really wanted a sling cause I thought she'd be more comfortable, but we never got one, mostly cause I spent $120 on the Bjorn so it was hard to put out more money on almost the same product. I also sorta had a fear she'd roll out of the sling though anyway. I really want one for the next baby though cause I think it would make nursing much easier when we're not at home.

 

[lissawynn]

Welcome to the new moms! I'm so glad everyone is delievering healthy, happy babies!

Infant carriers - I bought a Baby Bjorn from ebay for $45. The makes me much happier than the $90 price tag at BRU. Jimmy can now face forward and really seems to like being in there. It's a bit of a challenge getting him in and out, but it's great for when DH want to take him and the dog for a walk. I've also put him in there and done some light chores around the house. At about 15 lbs., I know he won't be in there much longer, so I'm going to have to find something else for him in the near future.

Hope everyone is well today!

 

[copper68]

congrats T&S!!!! i haven't been on in a while.. figured you had your little one by now..