The Official New Mom Thread

[justhat]

Congrats Alice28 on the home repair help! That's great news, and it shows you how being a good, honest person can actually pay off!

Gretchen, congrats on your baby girl! I love her name too-I met a mom in my birthing class who was naming her daughter Lily Grace and I thought it was so pretty, but I really like the option of having Lillian as a more formal name when she's older.

My BIL is similar to your friend's husband in a way DisKim. I posted about him a couple of weeks ago, and my SIL is closer to getting a divorce now. For the 5 years they have been married he hasn't really shown his wife any love or attention, and now that they have 2 kids and he's doing the same with them she can't take it anymore. He spends time with their daughter (who is almost 4) but wants nothing to do with their son cause he's a baby (he'll be 2 in Sept.). In their therapy sessions he told her that she knew he did not help or interact with kids prior to 18 months old and that he didn't want kids so he shouldn't have to help. Well, he was just as much a part of making them so he should help just as much. They both work so he has no excuses. Unfortunately she doesn't have much support from her family right now so I know it's all very hard on her. Hopefully things will work out for the best for your friends and everyone else who is having trouble.

Tasha, looks like Kylie might be on her way to sleeping all night long! How exciting for you! Madison still does not sleep all night so I'm very jealous. We went to the sleep clinic today and they said we're pretty much on the right track, she just needs more time. Oh well, one day.

 

[gwcollins71]

Thanks so much for all the good wishes!

We are trying to get our schedule set at the house but it doesn't all seem to be working. I'm a little nervous as hubby goes back to work on Monday. I'm not sure how well I'll handle her on my own. Right now, having him with us all day is a godsend! We sort of tag team with her. That helps a lot.

All day yesterday she was soooooo fussy. She wanted to nurse, but would spit the nipple out and wouldn't formula feed either. (She lost a bit of weight and my milk took a while to come in so we are supplementing with a syringe and an infant cup and formula. She was hungry, so she wouldn't sleep. All she did yesterday was scream. She's crying. I'm crying and my poor husband is taking care of her and trying to calm me down. She had 5-6 poopie diapers too with very soft stools. Any ideas what it means?

Today was a whole 'nother day. She has been a dream and her poops are much less frequent. (I swore I was never going to talk about this stuff when I had a baby.)

Anyway, I'm trying to read this thread all the way from the beginning. I'm on page 10 now. I felt so much better after reading a lot of the posts. Lily not eating every 2-3 hours is normal. She likes to sleep and you can't feed her when she wants to sleep. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the thread.

Have a great night!
Gretchen

 

[Alice28]

Molly rolled from back to front a few times last night!

I also gave her about a teaspoon or two of rice cereal today. Her 4 month appt. is tomorrow. And she took a POWER nap of 3+ hours afterwards....I'm going to give her a little bit more tonight before bedtime and see what happens. That was always the trick with the boys- once they started solids, long stretches of sleep quickly followed.

FYI- (I feel like you ladies think I must do nothing but shop...) I went to Target today to buy some diapers, formula, soda, and a box of rice cereal....for some reason all their stage 2 Gerber food in the plastic little tubs were on clearance for .24 (for a TWO pack!). They are normally almost $1. I bought about 20+ of them to put aside for a couple of months. If your baby is eating stage 2, or going to in the next couple months, you might want to see if your Target has any. My mom is going tomorrow to get some of the summer stuff that's 50% off and I asked her to get me some more baby food to stash. Perfect for our WDW trip- plastic containers won't break in the suitcase.

The summer stuff is 50% and somewhere i read it may go to 75% off tomorrow. LOTS of kids clothes on clearance too; good for putting away for next year. I got these huge boxes of juice (like those boxes of wine) for $1.49! Perfect for these summer days. Little portable fans for $2 (like personal fans).

OH_ and I almost forgot- BOXES (Cases) of our favorite Pampers Swaddlers for $26. Great deal! I got one for Molly...I think she will grow out of them soon, but they sure are nice diapers.

 

[lissawynn]

Alice28 - I was thinking of you today as I was on the Gymboree site. I convinced myself that Jimmy really doesn't need any more summer clothes, so I didn't order any of their sale stuff. I "may" hit the store tomorrow, though. I am thinking of buying him the Hawaiian shirt now that we've added Ohana to our PSs for our trip. I'll also have to hit Target and see if their stage 2 stuff is on sale. We'll be needing those in just a few weeks.

I can't believe I'm heading to WDW in 3 weeks! I would normally be obsessing over the trip, PSs, etc. but having a baby makes all that stuff seem as if it's unimportant. Funny how things change for the better so quickly.

Gretchen - Good luck reading this thread from the beginning! If you have any questions, these ladies are a wealth of information. I don't think there's a better place to get baby info.

DH, Jimmy, and I went to visit my sister and her kitty. She is 1lb. and 3 oz.! The vet said she'd be fine, she just needs to gain a pound a week, and she'll be great.

 

[Alice28]

Isn't it funny how once you have a baby, everything changes, including how would up one gets about planning trips? I am an ANAL planner, but even with this trip, it's kind of like whatever will be, will be. I made our dining reservations, cause I definitely like to have those in place. And my mom bought Molly a little outfit for the trip (like how you did for Jimmy, Lissawynn); she bought a little Miami romper from Gymboree on mega-clearance with little flamingos all over it. Sam and Josh have lots of summer shirts and they both have some Hawaiian shirts that they will be wearing to our Ohana dinner too. I sent DH a pic of Molly in her Gymbo firecracker romper and he said, "I like what Molly is wearing." I said, "Isn't it darling? It's from Gymboree of course." He wrote back, "OH....of course it's from Gymboree!"

I think part of the reason I am c'est la vie about our upcoming trip is cause I'm still soooo preoccupied 24/7 about DH being gone, and not being able to come on the trip. It will still be awesome with mom and dad and I'm so grateful they are doing this for up- something fun to plan and look forward to. But I'm a little sad nonetheless.

Hey, if anyone wants to try and listen to my radio thing on Monday (I sure hope they remember to call!), the web address is www.1051thebuzz.com. I think you can listen via the web.

 

[justhat]

Gretchen, don't worry about having lots of poopie diapers. For Madison's 1st 2 months of like she had about 8 a day. I swear, everytime I nursed her, a few minutes later there was a little smell coming from her diaper. Then at 2 months she went over a week with no poopie diapers, and then sorta regulated herself to every couple of days while she was only on breastmilk. Of course all that changed after she started solids at 6 months.

Lissawynn and Alice28, have fun planning and waiting for your Disney trips! I'm sure you'll both have great trips, and lots of great photos to take back with you-the best souvenir!

 

[Lil_Tink]

Gretchen, don't worry about having lots of poopie diapers. For Madison's 1st 2 months of like she had about 8 a day. I swear, everytime I nursed her, a few minutes later there was a little smell coming from her diaper. Then at 2 months she went over a week with no poopie diapers, and then sorta regulated herself to every couple of days while she was only on breastmilk. Of course all that changed after she started solids at 6 months.

Lissawynn and Alice28, have fun planning and waiting for your Disney trips! I'm sure you'll both have great trips, and lots of great photos to take back with you-the best souvenir!

The kids I babysit have one a day..Believe me im 14..ITs not that bad... Just hose em' off outside

 

[Lil_Tink]

Make sure you dont give your baby a sip of your diet coke ( I gave the kid I babysit) now shes addicted and digs throw the trash for them XD

 

[Alice28]

Thanks so much for all the good wishes!

We are trying to get our schedule set at the house but it doesn't all seem to be working. I'm a little nervous as hubby goes back to work on Monday. I'm not sure how well I'll handle her on my own. Right now, having him with us all day is a godsend! We sort of tag team with her. That helps a lot.

All day yesterday she was soooooo fussy. She wanted to nurse, but would spit the nipple out and wouldn't formula feed either. (She lost a bit of weight and my milk took a while to come in so we are supplementing with a syringe and an infant cup and formula. She was hungry, so she wouldn't sleep. All she did yesterday was scream. She's crying. I'm crying and my poor husband is taking care of her and trying to calm me down. She had 5-6 poopie diapers too with very soft stools. Any ideas what it means?

Today was a whole 'nother day. She has been a dream and her poops are much less frequent. (I swore I was never going to talk about this stuff when I had a baby.)

Anyway, I'm trying to read this thread all the way from the beginning. I'm on page 10 now. I felt so much better after reading a lot of the posts. Lily not eating every 2-3 hours is normal. She likes to sleep and you can't feed her when she wants to sleep. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the thread.

Have a great night!
Gretchen

Poops are good things! It means she is getting plenty to eat and flushing it out properly.

I feel for you for the nursing----I had a hard time at first with Molly and still supplement her with formula. Never had that problem with my first two, but you do what you have to do and life goes on. Nothing to stress over. It's hard to accept that though when you are going through it, I know!

Trust me, you will get through it when DH goes back to work. I thought I wouldn't be able to do it with DH over in Iraq, and somehow, life just happens and we get through it day by day. And each day gets easier and easier (usually! ). You will be amazed at what you can accomplish. And, some days, things don't get accomplished. But, what I tell myself, if I have had a shower, everyone is fed, and I get one thing done, like maybe vacuuming the living room, it's been a great day! Don't have expectations too high of yourself, okay?

for all of us. We deserve it.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Well, Kylie woke up at 3 a.m. to have a bottle and was up for about an hour before she went back to sleep. So much for continuing to sleep through the night! I am hoping she will sleep all night tonight since she is having her picture taken tomorrow and I want her to be in a good mood! Wish us luck!

I have a question for those that are formula feeding or anyone that may know. How long after you had your baby did you start getting your period again? It has been 2 months and I still haven't gotten one! Is this normal? I know bfing moms usually don't get one for months but I thought I would since I don't bf. Should I be concerned?

Congrats to Molly on rolling over and starting cereal! She is growing so fast!

lissawynn~ I am glad the kitten will be okay! And wow, it's tiny!

 

[DisKim]

Gretchen - Congratulations. I love the name! My baby would have been named Grace if it were a girl (I had a boy).

Lissawynn - You will have to give me some tips about handling WDW with a baby. I'll be bringing Aidan at the end of August. I toyed with the idea of leaving him with his grandparents and just bringing my older kids but I think I would die without him for 9 days!

Tasha - It sounds like Kylie is doing very well at night. You're so lucky! Aidan has good and bad nights. A good night is getting up just once.

As far as the poopie diaper issue goes, I would be thrilled if Aidan went several times a day. He averages about one poop every three days. My doctor says it's okay but it makes me crazy. He is always miserable on the day he finally poops.

Well, today is my anniversary (11 years) and I am just not motivated to do anything. I guess nothing can beat having dinner at the California Grill like we did last year for our 10th. I think we're just doing dinner and a movie. I'm too tired to be any more adventurous. It's pouring rain here and I really just want to rent a movie and go to sleep. My poor DH

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

Lucas is now up to 7lbs, 7oz. He gained an entire pound in a week. The ped isn't worried about him, but is it really normal to gain so much so quickly? Talk about a growth spurt! No wonder he's been eating around the clock.

DisKim - happy anniversary!

 

[lissawynn]

Alice28- I wanted to let you know our Target did not have the baby food sale . I did buy 12 jars of the Gerber organic stuff, though. Jimmy loves their sweet peas, applesauce, and bananas. They had a really good selection, and I used a $1 off coupon. I also got some Dreft. They had the really big bottle for $13.40. That's less than Wal-Mart.
Their 4th of July stuff was on sale for 75% off. I got Jimmy two outfits for next summer. They're both one piece rompers; one is white and, the other is navy. They were $1.24 each! For that price, he can wear it once or twice.

Tasha+Scott - I honestly don't remember when I got my first period after having the baby. I was too busy taking care of him.

DisKim - Happy Anniversary! DH and I celebrated our third a few weeks ago. I'm sure no matter what you end up doing, you'll have a nice evening. I'll be sure to give you the scoop on WDW with the little guy. I'll be going with my older sis, her son (4 3/4), and a friend of ours. I'm sure we'll have a good time. I'm just worried about the hurricanes. We're driving from PA, so I hope we have decent weather.
All of our PSs have been made, and I plan on feeding Jimmy while we're waiting for our stuff. He's been such a good little traveler and goes with the flow wherever he is.

 

[Alice28]

Happy Anniversary Diskim! It'll be a good one no matter what.

Molly is 26.25" long (100th %); 14 lbs, 14oz (75th %) and a big head (95th %). She's doing great and had her shots...her brothers hated that part & seeing her cry. I just *love* taking all 3 of them to the Dr. in that tiny room. Not.

I've noticed different Targets have different clearances...weird. Great deal on the $1.24 clothes though! Makes me wanna go back & scour the racks.

T & S- no advice on the period as I didn't get mine til Sam & Josh were almost 1!! But I BF them so like I said--- ...you couldn't be pregnant again...............................could you?????????

 

[justhat]

Happy anniversary DisKim! Enjoy the day no matter what you do. Ours was June 5th and we didn't have any plans, but ended up seeing a Phillies game with some friends at the last minute. It ended up being a lot of fun.

Wow, I wish my period had waited to come back until Madison was 1. Instead it came back when she was 3 months old, exactly one year (the same day) after my last period before I got pregnant. Everyone said (including my OB) that since I was exclusively breastfeeding (and every 2 hours no less) I wouldn't get my period back for awhile. My OB said it would be natural birth control till she was 6 months, as long as I didn't supplement or start solids-so much for that.

SL, I think it's normal for them to gain a pound in a week at that age, though maybe the higher end of normal. I think Madison sorta did too. She was born at 8 lbs.4 oz. but dropped down to 7 lbs.6oz. a few days after she was born. At her 2 weeks checkup she was 9 lbs., so almost 2 lbs. in 2 weeks. She slowed down lots after that though-10 lbs.3oz. at 1 month.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

T & S- no advice on the period as I didn't get mine til Sam & Josh were almost 1!! But I BF them so like I said--- ...you couldn't be pregnant again...............................could you?????????

OMG! I would seriously have a mini breakdown if I was preg. so soon after having Kylie! I don't know how women with 2 under the age of 1 manage! But, NO, I am not preg. Just the thought scares me right now! I love dd but she's all I want right now! I asked my mom how long it takes and she said it can take a few months so I shouldn't be worried yet. I just am anxious to start so I can start taking bc pills again and won't have to worry about any unplanned preg.!

justhat~ I will have reached the 1 year mark since my last period in a few weeks. Perhaps I will get mine then too.

DisKim~ Happy Anniversary!!!

SL~ I receive weekly emails from babycenter.com and it said that starting at 2 months a lot of babies start gaining around 2 lbs a month! Kylie just turned 2 months so I guess we'll see! Oh, and Kylie gained a lb in a week at first too. She has gained 3 lbs 4 oz total since birth. Lucas's gain seems normal to me.

 

[joats]

Happy Anniversary DisKim!

I know that some people have a ticker with their babie's age on it, but I wish we had a list somehow of who has what child and how old they are. I have to keep going back pages to remind myself. I wish we could have some kind of list like we did when we were mommies to be. I can't believe how big everyone's babies are already - Molly rolling over, Kylie almost sleeping thru the night = WOW!

Jace is still having trouble due to my hyper-lactation. I am now trying (at lactation consultant's request) to feed on one side for 3 times before going to the other side for 3 times. ARGH! I'm not supposed to pump either - only if I must if I am in severe pain. She said if I have to be away from the baby to use formula instead of pumping. I hope this works. It's really sad to see Jace gaging, choking and throwing up all the time. I know that he is getting enough though as his diapers are always full and we weighed him the other night at 9 pounds 5 ounces already!

SL: Jace had a big growth spurt during the 2nd week. He gained 13 ounces in a week. I thought it was a lot. Good for Lucas!! I love your new picture of him!

 

[copper68]

anybody know of a good stroller fan? i bought the one on onestepahead.com the pinwheel.. it's ok.. gets the job done, was just wondering if there were others, because the pinwheel is hard to snap on to certain strollers.. can't go to disney in august without one.. i took two last year.. was great..
if i can't find a different type i will just take the same one..
thanks
Leah

 

[DisKim]

Well, I actually stayed awake for dinner and a movie last night. We ate at a really nice restaurant and had a great time. Afterwards, we went to see War of the Worlds. Ugh - not a good date movie. It was scary! The kids stayed at my IL's last night. It was so difficult leaving Aidan overnight, but I didn't want to wake him up and throw him in the car. I must have called to check on him about a hundred times.

I'd like to know about a good stroller fan too. I need one for my trip in August. Do any of you have any other tips for keeping babies cool in the Florida heat? I know I'll be in the baby care centers alot. DH and I are thinking about going out for an adult dinner during our trip. The problem is we would have to take Aidan with us because he's too young for the Neverland Club. So, what do you think? My, DH and Aidan at the California Grill for a romantic dinner ? If I knew he'd sleep through the dinner, I'd do it, but I can't guaruntee that and I don't want to annoy everyone who is trying to have a nice, quiet dinner.

SL - Aidan had a growth spurt like that during his 3rd and 4th week. He went from nearly 9 pounds to 12 pounds . The doctor had me supplementing with formula because Aidan had trouble gaining weight in the first two weeks. Well, it worked! I don't supplement anymore.

 

[floridafam]

DisKim,

We went out with Kona the other day and I wrapped a cold pack in a wash cloth and gently set it on her tummy. This helped keep her cool.

It has been so HOT here. I think a stroller fan sounds like a great idea. We also use very light blankets draped over certain parts of the stroller to give her shade.

A lot of the sun and rain shiels that you can buy for strollers don't provide much ventilation. The brochure from the Dr. actually says dress them in long sleeved clothing. Her Dr. said not to pay any attention to that. I don't want Kona to get burned but I don't want her body temp to get very high either.

It's gonna take me a while to adjust to this Florida heat. We went out to run a bunch of errands yesterday and I gave up after the first stop.

Happy Anniversary.