The Official New Mom Thread

[justhat]

Madison came at exactly 38 weeks (or 37 weeks, 6 days, they couldn't figure it out cause she was born 3 days before the leap day!), on her own doing. I was really getting uncomfortable, and I had so much swelling, my dr thought about 12-15 pounds of fluid, so I wanted her out to get rid of all that and predicted that she'd be born on 2/26 and she was! My husband still thinks I did something to get her out that day-I tried telling him that I'd be rich if I knew how to start labor!

Madison is enjoying her toddler bed and her night wakings have really been reduced and it takes a lot less effort to get her back to sleep. So hopefully the end is in sight!

 

[lissawynn]

Question about pacificers Jimmy has refused to take anything than the green pacificer he was given in the hospital. The company makes them in 3mo.+, and I bought a bunch of them, but he refuses them every time. They are a little harder than the one he's used to having. I don't know if this is going to be bad for him in any way, but he's refused any other binkey he's been given.

He's also been drooling a lot lately. Is it too early for his teeth to be coming? Anyone else have this problem?

 

[floridafam]

lissawynn,

Do you mean he only wants the one he was given in the hospital? I found a link to the website that offers the kind Kona was given in the hospital. She only likes the Soothie one she was given at the hospital. Have you thought about asking the pediatrician? Maybe they have samples.

www.soothie-pacifier.com/

 

[justhat]

Madison had no pacifier preference in the beginning, but around I guess 6 months she only wanted Nuk brand. Then about 2 months later, it had to be only size 2 Nuk, not the baby ones. And at 14 months she's still a Nuk addict!

I changed the size of her pacifier to the 7-18 months size when she was around 6 months cause she could fit the whole pacifier in her mouth and my husband refused to believe the bigger size just meant a bigger nipple. He thought the whole thing would be bigger so she couldn't stick it all in her mouth. So I bought some new ones to show him, and it turned it she didn't care either way. But then about a week later, she'd only take a silicone size 2 for naps-while the latex and size 1s were okay for chewing during the day. My nephew is 20 months old and still uses a 0-3 month size Avent pacifier cause he doesn't like the bigger size. I don't think there's any harm in not changing them to a larger size.

Madison started producing incredible amounts of drool and chewing her hand or anything she could stuff in her mouth since she was 6 weeks old and didn't get her 1st tooth till she was 10 months. The drool was so bad that she had to wear a bib everyday, and it usually had to be changed 3-4 times a day cause it would be soaked. Everyone we saw between 2 and 10 months would see her and say "Oh, you must be teething" but it took forever for that tooth to come. And at 14 months she still just has 2 teeth (the 2nd one came a week after the 1st, on Christmas!) and still drools and gnaws a lot.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Anna would only take Avent passies, and never the latex ones for ages 6 months and up. Lily still takes the 0 -3 months, it makes her happy and we have a ton so why change.

lissawynn how old is he? Anna got her 1st tooth at age 3 months, that just isn't fair. Getting teeth early helps you in no way what so ever. Lily was more like 5 or 6 months, that is much better.

 

[tkyes]

Hi everyone!

I did have that drink, just one of them, it tasted very good lol

So, I tried pumping every 2 hours and it didn't increase my supply. I'm now pumping every 3 - 4 hours for 20 minutes and only getting a little over an ounce.

Here's my other dilemma - one of my breasts produces twice as much as the other side. Is that normal?

Tamie

 

[DisneyPhD]

Hi everyone!

I did have that drink, just one of them, it tasted very good lol

So, I tried pumping every 2 hours and it didn't increase my supply. I'm now pumping every 3 - 4 hours for 20 minutes and only getting a little over an ounce.

Here's my other dilemma - one of my breasts produces twice as much as the other side. Is that normal?

Tamie

Tammie, to you for working so hard for your baby to get breast milk. Don't give up. Can I ask a personal question? Why are you pumping instead of bf? Is the baby having a hard time lacthing on?

I know that when I was pumping I wasn't able to get a much pumping as when the baby nursed.

There is alot you can do to help increase milk supply, (teas, exta calories, enough water in take, getting lots of rest.) The most important is keeping at it.

My friend is a brest feeding support caller for our local hospital. It wasn't until her 2nd was 2 months old that she figured out he was tong tied, making it difficult for him to lacth on. After they got it fixed (it took all of 5 min in the dr office) he did much better.

FonFon, I was wondering if you had the wrong thread by mistake, but don't worry you will be "here" soon enough. Good luck until then. We look forward to hearing the good news soon. Until then hang in there, this will not last forever!

 

[justhat]

Tamie, Madison preferred the left side and so I prodcuced more on that side, not quite twice as much, but close to that. Not sure if I produced more on that side, so that's why she favored it, which led to producing less on the right side, etc., or if she just liked the way I held her better in that arm, so it led to her wanting to nurse on the side more, causing me to produce more.

I know you said you weren't having luck pumping 20 minutes every 2 hours, but if you can, keep at it and it may start increasing. If I pump now I'll barely get an ounce cause I'm not used to pumping, but if I start doing it regularly, I can get myself up to about 2+ oz. per side. Also, my daughter would only nurse a total of 7 minutes when she was younger (under 6 months) and she would be full. If I didn't switch sides after 3 minutes she wouldn't even bother with the 2nd side. When I say she was full, I was nearly empty when she was done, and that took at least 20 minutes total if I were pumping, so if you can get the baby to latch on, that will help with your production. So try to keep it up for a few weeks and maybe you'll have some improvement.

 

[J&D]

Any new moms of boys here want some never been worn, washed once 3-6 month size onesies?

I'll take those if nobody else wants them.

He's also been drooling a lot lately. Is it too early for his teeth to be coming? Anyone else have this problem?

My DD, who is the same age, has been doing the same thing lately. I've read that they can start teething as early as 3 months.

Here is a freebie for moms that I found:
Sample of Ensure Healthy Mom

 

[lissawynn]

floridafam Jimmy only wants the green Soothie. I have purchased the yellow ones (for 3+ months) at Wal-Mart, but he spits them out everytime I put one in his mouth. We have a drs. appt. in the beginning of June, so I can ask then.
I bought a new binkey the other day. This one has room for a clip, but again, he's not interested in it.

The drool situation is bad. He soaks his shirt, his sleeves, whatever he can fir in his mouth. He's getting close to being able to fit his entire hand in his mouth. He cracks me up.

 

[Alice28]

The onesies have found a new home.

I was able to get bday shopping done for my younger son...it will be a Star Wars bonanza. They both want to see the new movie so badly; I have not a problem with Star Wars movies, but this one seems esp dark. I KNOW my 4 year old won't be seeing it til it's on DVD and I'm not sure about DS 7 1/2....I've talked to him about some of the scenes I have read about..even he has said, "maybe I should wait til it's on DVD and I can watch it with Daddy when he's finally home."

I hope you're able to get some more of the right pacifiers lissawynn...

 

[tkyes]

Well, we aren't bfeeding because it just wasn't working. I guess I don't know the exact reason it wasn't working, but I was having toe curling pain and he took an hour to eat.

I honestly don't mind pumping, it lets DH feed him and give me a break. I just wish I was producing enough for him.

It's really hard to find the time to pump every 2 hours for 20 minutes. I know that sounds selfish. If we leave the house we can only be gone for 2 hours so I can go pump. It's also hard when I'm home by myself to do it because I need to have Tyler either sleeping or very content since I can't attend to him and pump at the same time.

The only time my breasts feel "full" are if I skip my middle of the night feeding and pump in the morning. Then I get about 2 1/2 ounces total.

Time to go pump!

tamie

 

[justhat]

Since I did the exclusive pumping thing for awhile in the beginning, let me tell you how I did it when I was home alone. We have a rocking chair and ottoman (which luckily arrived before Madison was born) and I would sit in the rocker with the pump on the windowsill next to me. I'd put Madison on the ottoman, laying in the middle of my Boppy, so she couldn't roll off. I'd also put blankets around it depending on the position she was in. Then I was right in front of her and I could 'rock' the ottoman if she got fussy. And she was a very high-need baby-had to be held at all times, but this worked usually long enough to pump. Sometimes, for the nighttime feedings, I'd stick her in the Boppy on the ottoman and hold the bottle in her mouth with one hand while I held the pump with the other. Of course I never left her alone cause I know it's sorta risky to prop her there as it is. Here's a picture of her sleeping on the ottoman after I fed her at about 3am. She was 12 days old here.

 

[lissawynn]

I applaud all of you BF moms, especially those of you who've had trouble and stuck with it. I never even considered it for Jimmy. I knew that I had to return to work, and I would never be able to pump during the day given my full schedule. I don't regret my decision, and everyone at the hospital respected my choice.
Eight more full days of school! When we return after Memorial Day we have 3 days of fun stuff, and then school is over! I am teaching summer school, but that's only for a week, and it's paying for our WDW trip in July/August!

 

[Alice28]

Yes, Tamie, BIG applause your way---- . You are quite the trooper. I know with all the hoops I was jumping thru with Molly and the pumping, I think I would have quit had I not been successful (& had the positive experience of b-feeding) with my boys. It is DRAINING.

Florida Fam---HOLY COW---14 1/2 pounds already!!!! WOW! She must be a cute chunky monkey!

At Molly's last appt (2 mos) she was 10# 12 oz...I turned to Joshua and said, "She still doesn't weigh as much as you did when you were born!" But she's a long one at 24"...I'm starting to phase out some of her 0-3 stuff cause it fits perfectly around her, but length wise they're getting too short! Sniff!

 

[katerkat]

Robin - I've had to switch to 3-6 month stuff, too. BR is ssuch a LONG baby! He was 22" at 3 weeks, but only weighs about 9.5 lbs. So he swims in 3-6 month stuff, but they fit him length-wise. My favorite outfit for him was the one he outgrew first. When I put him in it anyway, his knees were at the top of the leg holes.

Tamie - wow, I don't think I could do that! I tried pumping when BR was having such trouble in the beginning, but it was really uncomfortable for me. Luckily the nipple shield really helped keeping the pain away - my nipples were extremely cracked and bleeding. (My OB nurse said she couldn't believe I was still nursing with them!) After we stated using the shield, it took about two weeks for my supply to stabilize, then four weeks after that (at 7 weeks old for him) we started weaning him off the shield.

 

[DisKim]

Hi everyone. I need some advice about going back to work so I thought I'd post the sitution here and see what you ladies think. I'm a high school teacher. I had to leave work at the end of January because I was put on bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy. I've been planning on going back on June 15th for the last week of school. Basically, I would have one full day of work and four days of final exams. I went in to visit my sub today and my classes are a mess. She is a retired teacher and just doesn't have her heart in it. I can't say I blame her but I'm afraid if I go back I'll have a lot of "cleaning up" to do. Other people in my department say my classes are so out of control now that I shouldn't even consider going back. What would you girls do? It's only a week of work, but I really don't want to leave the baby to go into a stressful situation. I need advice!

 

[Alice28]

Hi everyone. I need some advice about going back to work so I thought I'd post the sitution here and see what you ladies think. I'm a high school teacher. I had to leave work at the end of January because I was put on bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy. I've been planning on going back on June 15th for the last week of school. Basically, I would have one full day of work and four days of final exams. I went in to visit my sub today and my classes are a mess. She is a retired teacher and just doesn't have her heart in it. I can't say I blame her but I'm afraid if I go back I'll have a lot of "cleaning up" to do. Other people in my department say my classes are so out of control now that I shouldn't even consider going back. What would you girls do? It's only a week of work, but I really don't want to leave the baby to go into a stressful situation. I need advice!

If money or benefits are not an issue here, I would say forget about it! Start fresh in the fall!

 

[justhat]

If you'd really just be there to administer final exams, then I'm not sure I'd even bother. If the classes are way off schedule, you'll feel a need to correct things and get too stressed over it. Plus if it's the first time you'll be leaving Aidan fulltime you'll probably be a little stressed over that too.

But on the other hand, if you are just going in to administer finals, then you won't have to worry about catching the kids up, restoring order, etc., so maybe it wouldn't be that stressful.

Sorry, I know that wasn't really any help, but I can see both sides of it.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

DisKim~ Personally I wouldn't go back until the fall, but that's just me. I would rather not stress myself out for only 1 week left of the school year. Good luck with whatever you decide to do though!

justhat~ What an adorable pic of Madison at 12 days old! That's how old Kylie was yesterday and it's cute to see that Madison had tons of hair at her age too!

Tamie~ Glad you got that drink and wow! You sure are one dedicated BFing mother! I had considered BFing but after having to be put to sleep for a c-section I was so drugged I could barely even hold her...let alone BF her. It worked out well b/c I was able to have people help me feed her while bottle feeding, but I do wonder how BFing would have gone. Oh, well, I know I couldn't have done it the first couple of days anyway since I was so drugged. She's a happy very loved baby so I am not beating myself up over it anyway!

I can't believe that Kylie will be 2 weeks old tomorrow! It is unreal how fast it is already going by! I am recovering quite well and no longer have staples in my stomach! Hooray! I go for my 6 week check up June 16. Kylie has her 2 week check up a week from today and I am looking forward to seeing how much she has grown since her last appt. I weighed myself yesterday and I have already lost 24 pounds! I had gained 30 lbs while preg. until the last week of preg. and then I gained about 8 more lbs. of water retention. So I still have about 14 lbs to go before I will be at pre-pregnancy weight and then I have a lot that I need to lose besides that since I went into this pregnancy a little overweight to begin with. I am just going to take it one day at a time but I can't wait until I lose the weight! Well, I hope everyone is having a great time with their babies! I know I am. Kylie is really a very good baby and doesn't stay up too much at night! Yay for mommy! My grandparents are coming in from Florida either tomorrow or Friday and I can't wait to see them! Well, have a great day everyone!