The Official New Mom Thread

[vald1977]

Welcome Hillbeans ! Liam is a cutie !

Great pictures Tasha !

Joats,
Katrina had some cradle cap also. What worked for us was taking vaseline and rubbing it on her head (she also had it in her eye brows so I put it there too). I let it sit for about an hour then I scrubbed it lightly with a soft bristled toothbrush and did a good hair washing. It worked like a charm.


Our little Katie-Bean likes to spend time with her daddy at night before bed too . I think it's so cute.


Well, DH went in for his consultation for a vasectomy today. He's all scheduled now. I really thought he was going to change his mind this morning before the appt. He says to me "I don't like needles". I had to remind him just how many needles I have been subjected to by having two children . Never mind testing my blood sugar 3 times a day with this last pregnancy. I think he feels a lot better about it now that he's talked to the doctor though. I just can't wait until we don't have to worry about birth control anymore !

Hope everyone has a good night .

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Tasha: loved the pics from the reunion. I don't know how old you are, but you don't look any older than 18! Kylie certainly is getting bigger - what a cutie!

Wow, I can't believe someone said I look like I could be 18! I usually get that I look no older than 16, lol! Actually, I am young but not quite that young. I will be 25 in Feb. The women in my family tend to age well though so it will definitely work in my favor when I am older. No one believes my mom when she says she has a 24 year old daughter and is a grandmother. They think she is messing with them!

Welcome Hillbeans and Liam! The new picture is sooo cute!

Alice~ Hope you get all of the stuff that was promised to you straightened out soon! And that lady at your church sounds like she simply thrives on attention IMO. I think she is using her situation to make people feel sorry for her. Shame on her for using her Dh's deployment to be in the spotlight! Especially if it is causing psychological damage to her kids! Of course I could be way off on that but that is what it sounds like to me. Good for you for handling things with her as gracefully as you have.

bellacam~ Kylie absolutely hated tummy time until she was about 3.5 months old. She would tolerate it for only a minute or so but she was very strong and could raise up and lift her head and all of the things that tummy time is supposed to help her with anyway so I didn't push it with her as much as I was told I should. Around 3.5 months she learned to roll onto her tummy and ever since then she loves being on her tummy...as long as she rolls onto it herself. I can't seem to keep her on her back now! She rolls over every time! Funny what a difference a few months will make!

SL~ Funny that Lucas wants his daddy at bedtime! Kylie only wants mommy! She is a daddy's girl and wants him every other time. But at bedtime she ONLY wants mommy and will scream if daddy tries to put her to bed, despite the fact that I am with her all day! I actually wish I had the time to clean the kitchen but I usually wait until after she goes to bed or sometimes I'm really rebellious and wait until the morning! Oh, well, she's only going to be little once so I am making the most of the time we have at night as much as I can.

vald~ Too funny that your dh had his consultation today. Dh and I were just talking about that! We know we are done after our 2nd child. In all honesty he would be okay with being done now but he is flexible with having another child (which I definitely want!) and I know he will love them just as much as he loves Kylie but he does not want a 3rd and I don't plan to push it! So we are done after 2 but I told him he is getting a vasectomy since he is the one that is dead set on no more than 2. If something happened to Dh and I ended up remarrying I want to be able to have more kids if we (my new Dh and I) wanted to. Hopefully that will never happen but I am trying to think realistically. Besides I feel the same as you...if I go through 9 months of various aches and pains and then labor, plus a c-section, he can handle a vasectomy! He agreed easily enough though believe it or not.

Well, we have to buy Kylie a new carseat next payday! She is getting way too long for the infant one and she is almost to the weight maximum too. By the end of the month I am figuring she will have completely outgrown it. As far as the exersaucer I don't know where any consignment shops are around here but I'll look into it. Until then we discovered that the walker someone gave us works just as well. She is really still too little to walk in it but it has toys attached to it and she can sit in it and play with the toys which seems to make her pretty happy. She can make it move across the floor some though so it won't be long before she is going everywhere in it!

Oh, and I know I said I wasn't going to buy Kylie a costume for Halloween this year...guess what?! I lied! I saw a cute little bunny costume at walmart for less than $10 and bought it. It is more like pajamas so she can wear it more than once so I figured why not? Next year we will get a more elaborate costume but the bunny one is perfect for this year.

 

[joats]

Alice28: Oh I must be a pro at this mom thing as I do feel guilty all the time! LOL!! I hope that the email from DH will get the DJ to make something happen for you. Also, what is a disney photo pass picture? Is this something new or am I just out of touch? I'd love to see it.
Bellacam: love the new pics of Aidan - what a cutie. Tummy time has gotten easier as Jace has gotten older.
Vald: I'll have to try the vaseline route if this shampoo thing doesn't work out. He does look better already since Monday so I'm hoping it will work.
Tasha: Oh, you could definitely pass for 16 based on the picture. It is nice that you look so young. I remember when when I was 25 and went to do a workshop in a High School - I got asked for a hall pass because they said I looked as young as the students! It made my day.

Speaking of motherly guilt, Jace had his first Mommy casualty. I cut his thumb while trying to cut his thumbnail yesterday. For such a small thumb and small cut it sure bled a lot. My brave boy didn't even pay it any mind, but I felt awful (and still do)!

We had a really nice time on our picnic yesterday. The weather was perfect. It is so nice to have days like that - just lying around on a blanket together.

Well, I'm off to the mall to see if I can find some back to work clothes on sale. I'll tell you, as much as my maternity clothes are huge on me, I don't want to give them up - so comfy! But somehow I don't think I should go back to work wearing them. (I'm probably the only person/freak who really loved wearing maternity clothes).

Have a great day everyone!

 

[justhat]

Hey Tasha, I'm 25 too! Well, I guess you're not yet, but my birthday was in June so we're almost the same age. It's hard for me to find people my age with babies so it's always nice to find others out there. In Madison's preschool all of the moms are at least 8-10 years older than me, and the ones with more than 1 kid are older than that. For the first week or 2 they thought I was her nanny-it wasn't till my friend's daughter (in Madison's class) started announcing "Madison's mommy is here" that they realized who I was (despite the fact that I attended orientation with my husband, parents night, and the 'Fall Fling'-parent only party and introduced myself at each event). Other moms at Gymboree and the breastfeeding support group we went to in the beginning would look at me and shake their head and say "so young to have a baby". Yes, I am young, but I was 23 not 13 when she was born! It has its advantages though, such as when I flew with Madison alone to visit my mom and had to carry her carseat, diaper bag, carry on luggage and a 5 month old to the gate. We asked for an assistance pass so my mom could help me carry everything to the plane and at first they were going to say no, then the check-in agent said "But wait, the baby's mom is a minor and minors are allowed assistance." Nevermind the fact that she just read my license which stated I was 24!

Okay, trying to catch up, but haven't really read everything in detail yet since we got back from our WDW trip Sunday night. We had a great time, even though Madison, who was previously the most fearless child I've ever seen, decided she was slightly afraid of almost every ride and character. She would get so excited seeing everything, and point to a ride or character, but once she got up close she'd hug the character and then run back to us sorta whimpering or start shaking her head no when we'd board a ride vehicle. It was definitely a different experience than our trip in April when she turned 14 months. We found out though that if we left her in her stroller she was much more at ease with the characters so that did make things better.

With tummy time, Madison hated it too, but we did it everyday from the time she was 2 weeks old so by about 2 or 3 months she actually enjoyed it.

Alice28, sounds like you had an overall great trip, despite having a 4yo along! I obviously don't know your son, but it might just be the age. My niece turned 4 in August and I swear sometimes it's nice that they don't live near us. I mean I love her and all, don't get me wrong, but it's just constant tantrums, whining, crying, and general unruliness. One night she fell asleep in our car, so my husband and his dad took her and Madison back to our condo while I went to Walmart with SIL, MIL, and 2yo nephew (cause FIL and DH couldn't handle the 3 of them even though they were all asleep). She woke up, realized mommy was gone (keep in mind she sees FIL everyday) and threw a huge fit. She was crying so much that FIL said she was foaming at the mouth. He and my husband thought she ate soap, so FIL tasted it and it turned out to be a mix of snot and saliva! So nasty!! This went on for the 3 hours we were gone. I thought my husband was going to kill himself by the end of the weekend. When she was 2, however, she was nothing like that.

On our front, we've been hearing some great news regarding interviews for my husband's residency. So far he's got interviews lined up at Columbia and Albert Einstein hopsitals in NYC, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic (in MN, but you also do rotations through their sites in AZ and FL), UMDNJ and Morristown Memorial hospitals in NJ. The last 2 are for his internal medicine year which he has to do first (2006-07) and the rest of the schools are for the anesthesia residency (which is 2007-10). He just submitted his applications on Thursday, so he still has many left to hear from. I'm hoping for one in DC cause I'd sorta like to stay here, but we'll see what happens. The only interview I'll be going with him to is Mayo Clinic cause I've never been to MN and I'd like to see the area before I commit to moving anywhere.

Okay, I've got tons of things to do before I pick up Madison, but I'll check back in to finish reading all the posts I missed.

 

[joats]

Welcome back Justhat!

I just got this forwarded email from a friend that I thought I'd share:

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter.
She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I
took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that.
"Why?" my daughter asked.
"Because it's been laying outside, you don't know where it's been, it's
dirty and probably has germs" I replied.
At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked,
"Wow! How do you know all this stuff?"
"Uh," I was thinking quickly, "All moms know this stuff. It's on the
Mommy Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mommy."
We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently
pondering this new information.
"OH...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test, you have to be
the daddy."
"Exactly" I replied back with a big smile on my face and joy in my heart.

LOL LOL!!!

 

[DisneyPhD]

Just that and Tasha, 25 isn't that young. Yes it is younger then me when I had my 1st (turned 30 the week before she was born) but it isn't like you are unwed teenagers.

When you are ready, you are ready. Just because women now a days are more commonly putting off motherhood now a days, dosen't mean 25 is young. What do they want you to wait for gray hair and wrinkles? Besides when you start younger you have time to spred out the kids more and decided how many you want over time, with out rushing.

Don't let it bug you, they are just jelous. Just because someone wasn't ready at 25 doesn't mean other women shouldn't be.

I was married at 22 and people think that was young. It wasn't for DH and I, we were ready. Everyone is different.

 

[zalansky]

Hi everyone,
I wanted to check in and say hello while I have a free minute. For some reason, I can't see Tasha's pics and the new picture of Liam. I will have to try again later. Truly, I shouldn't even be online now, DS is begging me to play with him now that the baby is sleeping and I am being a bad slefish mommy and checking out what is going on in the online world! I had to skim over the pages real fast so I can get back to him and play with him for a little while.
I think I must have a mental illness. I turned 37 years old the day after DD was born...and I had sworn up and down my whole pregnancy I was DONE having kids, and two seemed like the perfect number of children for us. DH swore we are done too and still does, he says I was horrible to live with this pregnancy! Poor guy - try being pregnant and get back to me. Anyway - I am finding myself (sleep deprived no less) actually thinking I may want another baby in the future. Problem is, I am not so young like Tasha and Justthat. I don't know, maybe I am still hormonal and I need to get through these sleepless nights before even considering more.
My sister flies in from NY Friday, it will be the first person on my side of the family to see our daughter. I am so excited.
Thank you to everyone who has complimented DD's name. I loved the name but had to deal with some naysayers along the way, telling me its a boys name blah blah blah.
Hope everyone is doing well...I will be lurking mostly until I get used to this!!!
I love reading the posts.

 

[Alice28]

I've run the gamat of being the "young" mom and now I feel like an "older" mom. I was 25 when I had Sam, not young in a lot of people's books, but I was one of the first of our large circle of friends to have a baby. I was 29 when Josh was born and I thought I was done. But I felt really sad about being done, and wanting a third, for the first 6-8 months after Josh was born. (like what you were saying Loretta). But then we got into a groove with two kids, Joshua was a little bit more of a challenge than Sam was, and I was fine with that. Then we started going on nicer trips again and I thought, "Man, if we have another baby, that will throw this all for a loop, and I just don't want another one."

Then DH started his campaign for #3 around Christmas 03. I thought he was joking for quite awhile. Right after Josh turned 3 (June 04), I said, "Ok, we can try this month and the next two months...if it happens, it happens." I literally got pregnant a week within saying that. And now I'm one of the "older" moms at 33- my thing that throws me is that when Molly is say, 13, my oldest will be 20/1!!! Right now they're all my babies and it's hard to imagine one still being young and living at home, and the other in college, having a job, etc. And the middle one being a senior in high school!

 

[Alice28]

Welcome back Justhat!

I just got this forwarded email from a friend that I thought I'd share:

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter.
She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I
took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that.
"Why?" my daughter asked.
"Because it's been laying outside, you don't know where it's been, it's
dirty and probably has germs" I replied.
At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked,
"Wow! How do you know all this stuff?"
"Uh," I was thinking quickly, "All moms know this stuff. It's on the
Mommy Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mommy."
We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently
pondering this new information.
"OH...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test, you have to be
the daddy."
"Exactly" I replied back with a big smile on my face and joy in my heart.

LOL LOL!!!

 

[justhat]

I just got back from picking Madison up at school and thought I'd take a minute to read the boards while she's napping. Her teacher said she had a great day and was actually playing on the playground (usually she just stands at the gate and waits for me) and laughed a lot. Big improvement for her since being away the past 2 weekends have messed with with her schedule and she's been having problems sleeping again. I sorta let it go while she first started school, but decided it's time to crack down again this week so it's been rough. She's slept on the floor everynight this week cause she walks from her bed to mine, stands next to me crying, then gets tired and lays down on the floor where she stays till morning. So I was very surprised that she had a good day!

Anyway, about your age when you have kids, though Madison came a little earlier than planned, we were planning on having our 1st baby born in early 2005 anyway. Though that would have put her at about 8-9 months after our wedding, we felt it would be the best time in terms of my job and school and my husband's school. We live in such a tiny place and know we're moving in May/June 2006 so we figured it wouldn't be so bad to live in this place with a baby for a year and a half or so. But Madison had other plans and came in February 2004 instead (so yes, 3 months before our wedding), which means we'll be here in this very, very tiny condo till she's almost 2.5, plus if we move out of state in the spring it means starting her in a new school all over again, which I don't want to do at all. It also means she was born 4 months before my husband had to take his board exams, and right in the middle of my 2nd year of grad school. So not exactly the best timing, but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out! I was planning on going back to school and work a few months ago, but that didn't work out cause I couldn't get Madison a daycare spot till September, and then had so many problems with my school that it started to not seem worth it, since I can't finish my 1.5years anyway unless we stay here through my husband's residency. But I honestly wouldn't change anything despite how different things would have been. We want 4 kids (well, I do, my husband prefers 3, but I think he knows that's going to be overruled!) and I want to be able to space them out by about 3 years so the 'extra' year I gained by having Madison when I did is kinda nice. So eventually Alice28 I guess I'll end up like you, getting to be the young, middle, and older mom by the time we're done having kids.

 

[Alice28]

Is anyone going to WDW or DL before Christmas?

I meant to pick up my younger son two more little things he wanted before we left and I forgot. If anyone would be willing to pick them up for me, I will mail you the money and shipping money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They were just two little race cars they had at tons of of the main gift shops- I think they were $4 each. (Mickey & Goofy).

TIA!

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Kylie had a checkup today. She turned 5 months today and weighs 16 lbs 13 oz and is 25 and 3/4" long. She has been gaining 2 lbs a month on average and growing about an inch so I was quite surprised that she has only gained 5 oz since last month and had only grown maybe .5 an inch if that much, esp. since she is eating solids now. I was expecting her to be closer to 18 lbs. Her dr. said it was normal to slack up around now and said her weight/height were right on target. At one time her weight/height was in the 90% percentile. She is now only in the 75% percentile so she may not be as big as I pictured by a year old. Guess we'll see!

Her pediatrician wants me to start her on a sippy cup next month, granting she can hold it by herself. She can hold her bottle but she has trouble tilting it up the way she needs to. She has drank a couple of sips of water out of my glass though so hopefully she'll be ready. Her dr. says the earlier we start a sippy cup the easier it will be to break her of the bottle. I plan to start her on one when I am certain she's ready, but not a moment sooner.

Anyway on the subject of being a young mom...Dh and I got married Nov. 27, 1999, only 6 months after I graduated high school and 3 months before I turned 19! Now that is young! Noone thought we would make it a year and I'll admit the 1st year was rough but after that it has been pretty much smooth sailing and we will celebrate our 6th anniversary next month! Kylie was planned. I waited until dh was ready (I was actually ready around 22, I think) and when he said he was ready that's when we started trying. And I got preg. on the 1st try. So yes, in a way I am a young mom but I have been married longer than some of the "older" moms which played a huge part in how and why we were ready! I honestly wouldn't change a thing. This time next year we are *probably* going to start trying for our 2nd. I am happy that we are young parents (Scott turned 26 two and a half weeks before Kylie was born) b/c that means we will have more time together when we are older w/o kids and won't feel too old to do things we want. Plus it will be nice being young grandparents like my parents are. Mom is almost 45 and dad just turned 44. I can see good points in waiting till the 30s to have kids too though but I am glad we didn't wait as I can't imagine not having Kylie...temper tantrums (and yes, she has some bad ones occassionally) and all!

joats~ You're not alone! I still sleep in my maternity pajamas b/c they are so comfortable but I just ordered a pair of regular pjs b/c Kylie stretched the top out by pulling on it and I keep flashing everyone in them now! I'll miss them though! Oh, and I received that same email! I found it funny too and passed it on to several people!

 

[ahutton]

I found a great "starter" sippy cup. I've only seen them at WalMart stores. I don't remember the maker (it isn't on the cup) but if you see one where the entire top is silicone, that is it. It is valve-less and has been great for DS to chew on with cold water while his teeth are coming in. He hasn't done much sipping but with two handles he can hold and tip it pretty well. Of course, he just started holding his own bottle in the last couple weeks. It has been great for him to hold and practice with after he eats his baby food while the rest of us finish dinner. It is an in between of bottles and a cup - thought I would pass it along.

At DS's check up they looked at his teeth. Apparently it is a stain from the minerals he got in NICU. They said it can be polished off when he is older but hopefully it will just fade. Has anyone had something like that and found a simple solution?

 

[justhat]

We started sippy cups around 5 months, and at 1st Madison was okay with them, but as she got older she did not like them and would not tilt them back to get the drink out. Then she'd get frustrated and toss the cup. So we moved on to straws right after she turned 1 and now we use regular cups with straws or just regular open cups (no lids). We haven't touched a sippy since she started with the straw, and I'm so happy cause it's so much easier to clean a regular cup and throw out the straws than it is to clean the sippys with the valves and spout lids. She drinks out of a regular glass at school (yes, actually a glass, not a plastic cup) and I'm so happy I started her that way because at least it wasn't a big adjustment. With the next baby, I'm skipping the sippys altogether and going straight to the straw sippys and regular cups with no lid.

 

[DisneyPhD]

I found a great "starter" sippy cup. I've only seen them at WalMart stores. I don't remember the maker (it isn't on the cup) but if you see one where the entire top is silicone, that is it. It is valve-less and has been great for DS to chew on with cold water while his teeth are coming in. He hasn't done much sipping but with two handles he can hold and tip it pretty well. Of course, he just started holding his own bottle in the last couple weeks. It has been great for him to hold and practice with after he eats his baby food while the rest of us finish dinner. It is an in between of bottles and a cup - thought I would pass it along.

At DS's check up they looked at his teeth. Apparently it is a stain from the minerals he got in NICU. They said it can be polished off when he is older but hopefully it will just fade. Has anyone had something like that and found a simple solution?

Nubby right? They are all one color. I really like them, infact we threw out all my other sippy cups. (that were big sisters.) Lily never liked a bottle, but she likes the nubby cups. She does perfer staws, but sometimes the sippys are easier. (carrying around, letting her do herself with out spilling ect..) She likes soy milk out of a "juice box type." I mostly only let her drink water out of normal cups, (it drys. )

Off to take Anna (My oldest) to Princess on ice tonight with a friend. Lily gets some time with dady.

 

[KristiKelly]

Hi everyone, I've been away for awhile and I've missed quite a bit I'm sure.

Tasha, great pic of you & Kylie, she's really growing. For some reason I had you pictured with short blonde hair. I was 26 when DS was born, I was the first out of all of my friends to have a baby so I felt pretty young then. I am now 34 and have had my 3rd. It's funny, most of my friends are just now having their 1st and I'm on my 3rd.

Anyway, I've been away from the boards for awhile because we took our kids to WDW last week. We had a great time, it was hot but the crowds were low. Mary Grace did great. She is the best baby. She only cried if she was hungry, wet or tired. We took it a little slower this trip. I used the baby care centers quite often. I would BF in them and let Mary Grace have a little "blanket time" in there, stretch, kick, etc.

She had pictures made with lots of characters but never could get her to smile for any of them. We bought her the Cinderella & Aerial "outfit bibs" from BRU, she wore Cinderella to the Princess breakfast and her Aerial one to Aerial's Grotto for pics.

We had a little celebrity encounter while there. We were eating at the Brown Derby in MGM. DH looked at me and said that a guy from the Backstreet Boys was sitting next to us. Neither of us were fans but it was Joey from the band. He was very polite, signed our kids autograph books and took a pic with them.

A little tip for any of you ever staying at a DVC resort while your baby is an infant. Mary Grace did fine sleeping in their pack N play but I had a hard time putting her into it without waking her up because I had to bend over so far. We took the cushions off the sofa and they fit almost perfectly in the pack N play, then put a sheet over the cushion. This raised her up enough that I could lay her down without waking her. Of course this wouldn't work on an older baby that is sitting & pulling up.

Well, I hear her crying so I guess my DIS time is up. She doesn't sleep much during the day but does sleep all night. I will try to keep up with you all better but can't make promises - the one who wears the diapers rules the house .

 

[joats]

Tasha: Happy 5th month birthday to Kylie!
KristiKelly: Welcome back, glad you had a good time!

I'm 34 and wish I was a younger mom. DH and I really wanted to wait a few years just to be married and enjoy each other before kids. Our 3rd anniversary is next week. My parents were young when they had my brother and me. I like that they and my grandmother are able to enjoy Jace. DH's parents are older and aren't able to do as much with him. I never wanted to be an "older" parent - it's just the way the chips fell. But I wouldn't change a thing on how everything has turned out. DH and Jace are the best things to happen to me. Hopefully if we do decide to have another baby in a few years things will work out ok.

Well, it's pretty much official. As of today, Jace will be all formula fed. I pumped last night instead of nursing to see how much he was actually getting. I pumped and massaged and pumped and all I could get was 2.5 ounces. He needs more than that at bedtime. I really wanted to keep nursing him before bed but my body is no longer cooperating. I thought about pumping every night after he's asleep to put that 2.5 ounces in a bottle the next day, but I don't know. As I know they say any Bmilk is better than none -but 2+ ounces? Seems like it wouldn't make much difference. I'm just bummed - I loved nursing him. So here comes the guilt again about considering stopping altogether and not pumping at night. Who knows.

Well, this is it. My last day of maternity leave.
I'll miss being able to DIS often too! I've learned a lot from you ladies and felt very supported - thank you.

Have a good one!

 

[zalansky]

I often wish I were a younger mom too, but my chips didn't fall that way either. I didn't find "prince charming" until I was 30 and we married right after I turned 32. But I wouldn't change things the way they are now because I have my two little ones and a great DH so I guess life plays out how it's supposed to.

joats -
I remember my first day back at work after maternity leave with DS. It was hard but after a few days it got better and better. I am sure you've heard that plenty. There were even times I was happy to go to work after I got back into a routine. It helped though that our in-laws took care of DS. I wish you luck tomorrow as you return to work...

Tasha - I finally saw the picture of you and Kylie! GREAT picture! You do really look young, I am jealous...you both are gorgeous...Kelie's hair looks lighter to me.

Hillbeans - Liam looks bigger already, the blonde hair is too cute. He is a cutie allright.

 

[justhat]

Joats, I know how hard going back to work, and nursing/bottlefeeding has been for you so hopefully tomorrow will go okay. I think it will help a lot that you've been easing him (and yourself) into daycare. And he'll be fine on all formula, try not to sweat it too much. I felt that way when it took so long for my milk to come in and a lactation consultant told me I'd probably never make much milk so I'd be formula feeding. Madison was about 3 or 4 days old and I was devastated and cried-not because I didn't want to give her formula, but because I felt like I failed her. But then I realized how I was fine (I was only formula fed) and my husband was fine (he took formula too) and most of our family was formula fed and none of us hold any grudges against our moms for not being able to breastfeed.

If you want to switch to just bottlefeeding him, try not to feel too bad about it, but if you don't want to stop then know that you can continue pumping if you want. I know you only got 2.5 oz, but have you been pumping all along? I think I remember you saying you weren't supposed to pump because of hyperlactation right? If so, you probably won't get a lot out pumping in the beginning, even though Jace would get more actually nursing. Your body sorta has to get used to the pump. My suggestion would be to pump in the morning before you leave for work and again when you get home and then before you go to bed. This will help you get used to the pump and will help your body make more milk. If Jace is still interested in nursing (I think you said he liked the bottle better now, but maybe he's changed again) then once you get your milk supply back up I'm sure he'll be happy to nurse once or twice a day. Then when your body gets used to that you will probably be able to stop pumping. You could also try the herbal teas and stuff to increase milk production just until you get to where you have what you feel is enough.

I nurse Madison once a day now, and I know I don't have much milk left cause after she finishes she signs more to me, but I'm trying to gradually phase out the last feeding so this is fine with me. If you get to that point of not having much milk, but Jace still enjoys nursing, you could always supplement with a bottle afterwards.

But again, all that is if that's what you want to do. I just threw it out there cause I remember what I felt like early on (and again around 6 months when my milk supply dropped when Madison went on a nursing strike) so that way you know you're not alone and that either way things will turn out fine.

 

[lissawynn]

Hi everyone. School work and housework have been sucking up all of my DIS time. Things at school are getting better. My class list is slowly shrinking. I lost three students in the last two weeks. One moved to FL, one is being cyber-schooled, and the other (a real PITA) was "promoted" to eighth grade. He failed four major classes last year, but his parents got an advocate and blamed his failures on the teachers, so there he is. I'm actually very happy his is no longer one of my students. He is not a nice child and I have no time for that kind of attitude.
On an interesting note...Our school district is requiring all teachers to maintain websites. They provided a site and we're only required to post homework. Some teachers have gone overboard (me) and put pretty much any information a parent could need. Anyway, on Monday's dept. head meeting, our principal told the heads all teachers must have their photos taken when the school photographers come to take the students' pics. These pics are going to be added to our websites. WTH? The more I thought about it, the more I'm bothered by this. If I wanted a pic of myself on my site, I would have put it there myself. If a parent needs to see me, he/she can make an appointment, sign in at our office, and meet me. I do not like the idea of my photo being out there for anyone to see, manipulate, etc. We've had problems in the past with students and information they've put on the web about teachers. I went to my dept. head, and she completely agreed with me. In fact, most if the faculty is not happy about this idea. I hope it's something that goes by the wayside. I don't want to have a problem with our principal, but I think our privacy should be respected. We have to obtain permission from parents before we can take/publish photos about our students. Why should it be any different for the teachers?

Now to catch up with all of you...
Tasha+Scott - I, too, wish I was a little younger. I was on the verge of 30 when I had Jimmy. DH is 37. This is just the way things worked out for us. We are married over three years and actually ttc right after we got engaged. I know DH sometimes wishes he was younger, but we're blessed to have Jimmy in our lives. IF there is going to be baby #2, he/she will be coming sooner rather than later.

ahutton - Jimmy needed a new carseat after his 4 1/2 mo. checkup! He is such a chubber. Congrats on the teeth. We're still waiting for Jimmy's to get here.

gwcollins - See above post for school information. Other than that, not much new going on here.

Hillbeans - COngratulations and welcome Liam!

joats - Cradle cap - try rubbing olive oil on his head, letting it sit for a few minutes, and massage away with a wash cloth. Jimmy never had it, but when I worked in daycare, this is what one of the moms swore by.

Alice - Maybe an e-mail from the man serving our country will get things moving for you. It's too bad the contractor made the commitment if he had no intention of doing those repairs for you.
I cleaned my carpets last weekend. DH's mom chose the carpet for our LR before DH and I knew one another. It's a lovely shade of mint green (where's the retching icon?). So between the kid, dog, Jim, me, and our assorted visitors, it's a gross mess. It's going to be replaced sooner than later. Btw, the church lady sounds like she's a mess. I hope her kids make it through this with their sanity intact.

bellacam - Jimmy was never such a fan of tummy time. He was strong, though. We would hold his head up all the time.

Val - The big snip will never happen at my house. DH gets green when I mention it. He says that's terrible and wrong, and goes on and on. It would make life much easier, but I will never convince him of that.

justhat - More details about your trip! I'm missing WDW already. Great news for you DH. I'm glad Madison is doing well.

KristiKelly - More info about your trip, too!

I have 30 seconds to get to cafe. duty. I think I'm all caught up!