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i just have to share... that i only had to wake up one time last night to feed!! i feel like a new woman today. it's amazing what a 4-hour stretch of real sleep can do to a person. i fed J at 11:30 pm right before i went to bed, and he didn't wake up til around 3:30 am, then he finally woke for the day at 6:45 am... and is now taking his morning nap. please don't let this be a fluke, please...
@Baby Boy Mom: a beach vacay sounds so nice - welcome back! wow, B must've known it was time to give his mama a break - that's great he slept so well the entire time!
@JessiBee: that's great that your job allows you to bring baby to work! where do you put her when you're at work? i'm thinking about going back to work soon too since my boss is letting me wfh full-time until i'm ready to come into the office... i actually miss work and it would be nice to have that extra income again, but i'm trying to wait a little longer til J gets more consistent with longer stretches of sleep.
J has been smiling and cooing a lot too... it slays me!! it makes all the hard times worth it.
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@WALLAROO - omg... that pic of your little ones is SOOO cute!!!
Mira (8.5 weeks old) has been in her crib since day one... but we actually sleep in her room. I thought it would be an easier transition to have us move than have her move? She's just starting to sleep for longer stretches (a miraculous 6 hours stretch two nights ago, and then last night was 4, 3, and 4), so hopefully we'll be able to transition back to our own bed soon. Right now we're on a sofa bed in the nursery, which is thankfully very comfortable.@LOLABEE - the rash is actually cleared up now, and I think it was due to a food allergy. Either soy milk or eggs, so I've cut out both from my diet and it seems to be working.
Mira's nose always seems to be stuffed up, ever since she was born. We end up having to use the nose frida every 4 to 5 days, if not more. My pediatrician said that it's normal for babies though. Oh, and for pumping, my hurt a lot after the first time I pumped but I think it was because I had the setting on too high. I turned the setting on much lower the next time and it was fine after that. Maybe try that if you haven't already?@SHOPAHOLIC - yes, the mastitis is gone now! thanks
@MRS. HIGH HEELS - Mira is 8 weeks and 5 days, and JUST in the last couple of days, her sleep has gotten much better. Last night was 4 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, and the night before that was 6 hours, 2 hours, 2 hours. Just earlier this week, maybe exactly right around 8 weeks old, she was super fussy, and would not settle down... it seemed like she would wake up every 20-30 minutes or so. I resorted to snuggling with her in bed to try to get some sleep, which I never do, and it only helped a little bit. She would just end up napping a lot during those days because she would be so tired from the nights. We also just started implementing a bed time routine with a bath every night the last few days so that may have helped with her sleep as well. I hope things get better for you soon! btw, I just requested to follow you on instagram: i'm pinkorchidweddings
ahh.. ok, i just read your last post. AWESOME!!! i hope that's not a fluke either!! @jessibee - ahh, totally jealous of your sleep stretches! I hope that's right around the corner for me
Ok, M just got back from her two month appt, and wow... i almost LOST it when she had to take the oral meds. The nurse was so nice, but had to get M to take the dose so she had her mouth open, pushed in her cheeks, and forced it down her throat. My poor girl was gurgling and crying so hard =( ahhh... the three shots afterwards were very quick, so that was good. A few hours afterwards, M started to get very fussy and was crying like she was in pain, so I just gave her a dose of acetaminophen.
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Hey ladies! Sounds like everyone is doing pretty well! L is in a REALLY good sleep phase the last few weeks. She sleeps for a good 4-5 hour stretch then I feed her, then she sleeps again for 3-4 hours. I don't want to get too excited because I know things change, but right now we are pretty well rested
She gets her 2 month shots next week. I'm nervous but she's pretty even tempered so hopefully she won't wail too much. It seems like she is wanting to eat less now. Is anyone else going through this? I used to feed her 12-15 times a day in the beginning, then we eased into 10-12. Now she's content with 10 tops. I keep trying to give her the chance to eat more but she'll just pop off the boob after a few sucks. She's still peeing and pooping like a champ and the same amount as before. Is 10 times a day about the norm for 2 months?
We cloth diaper but we don't do it exclusively. We mostly use disposables at night (my husband does all nighttime changes and that's what he wants so I'm not going to argue!) and some days depending on what we're doing. We use gDiapers and we like them. It's nice that you don't have to use a new pant if they are not dirty, you can just switch out the cloth and liner because the liner and pants are separate pieces. We use the cloth inserts with the disposable liner (looks like a tissue) on top to flush the poop solids. It's a pretty easy system. We have the fully flushable liners too, but we just use them when we're out for a while and don't want to carry around the dirty cloth inserts. It's a nice option but the flushable inserts are expensive, I think comparable to regular disposable diapers so it doesn't make that much sense to use them all that often.
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@Mrs. High Heels: Way to go J! Glad you got a nice stretch of sleep!
@JerricaBenton: Yup I think it's normal for them to start combining feedings- they just take in more at each feeding, but of course we can't really tell with BF. By 3 months I think most settle at about 7-8 times a day and suddenly you feel like there is so.much.time in between.
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@Baby Boy Mom: Cool - haha, yes it'll be nice not to be chained to the chair I nurse in for half the day!
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@WALLAROO: So exciting M noticed her feet, it's definitely the coolest seeing them learn everyday. Glad you're enjoying your group.
@Mrs. Lantern: Did you star co-sleeping right from the beginning? How does DH feel about it? A few people have decided to tell my hubs horror stories...I feel like he's more uncomfortable about it now. I just find it so easy, both of us definitely sleep way better.
Good to know about the nipple, I have the Calma one, I've yet to use it though!
Glad your shots went well! Z had his Friday, he did really well. Let out a big wail and went right back to the boob. No fever or anything, just wanted to be snuggled/comfort nursed, in which I was happy to oblige.
@Mrs. High Heels: I ask about the dipes because I've been experiencing leaks lately...at the beginning I never had any leaks. We switched to disposables for awhile to try and help clear up Z's yeast rash. Anyways, now that we're back in cloth he's had a few leaks, especially at night. I'm not sure what the problem is...fit? Heavy wetter? With the Bum Genius 4.0's I've tried double stuffing and he's still wet through them. I have read that a few people don't like the inserts that come with the Bum Genius 4.0's, do you know if thats the reason?
Interesting about your experience with the breast/bottle. The 6 month situation is what I don't want to happen! I am itching to start working out again, so I'd like the lil guy to take a bottle sometimes
@Baby Boy Mom: Glad you had an awesome trip, sounds like a blast! I bet it's so cute to see your LO's interacting with each other.
If you have an suggestions about my dipe issues (question above to Mrs. High Heels) that would be wonderful, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong?!
@JessiBee: So wonderful about your work, to have that flexibility would be great! Excellent about E's sleeping too, WTG! I bet you felt like a new woman!
@Emilie: Good to hear that Mira's rash is gone, those things are so frustrating! Nice to hear that your Ped says its normal, I always seem to forget to ask my doc that question. Is it normally at night time that she's stuffed up? I wonder if that's why Z wakes sometimes...
Is the liquid vaccine Rotavirus? It's not given in Canada, at 2 months anyways.
@JerricaBenton: Wonderful about L's sleep! If your doctor will allow ask if you can nurse while she gets her shots, I found it helped a ton with Z's. He wailed then went straight back to the boob, I like to think it helped soothe him. He didn't end up getting a fever.
I think the slowing down on the number of feeds is normal, it seems as though Z is more efficient now.
Lots of changes this past week in the sounds Z is making, tells way more stories and appears to really listen intently when talking to him. He really took notice to a couple of books this week which was really cool!
Does anyone else still have a pretty late 'bedtime'? There were three days in a row that he went to bed at 8:30 or so but he still naturally wants to go down for the night at 11ish. I don't particularly mind but don't want it to be that way forever!
I have to whine for a second....I am beginning to think spring will never come for us, it snowed again last night and is still snowing! Argh!
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@lolabee: oh man! I didn't see your tip for the shots until now and we went today! She just cried for a few minutes then slept for 4 hours but when she woke up she was screaming! She cried so hard she was choking. It was so awful. She's sleeping now but it might be a long night :'(
We have a late bedtime too. I don't put her in her p n, p til 10:30/11. I guess we should start earlier but it's working for all of us now. That's what time I want to go to bed and I hold her and feed her til then.
How did all the other Feb babies do with their shots?
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@JerricaBenton: they did ok. They had low grade fevers so we gave them baby Tylenol and they slept a lot.
I did my first solo trip to Costco and another grocery store. Thankfully they were both sleeping. I kept them in the double snap n go and put some reusable grocery bags on Mommy Hooks and finished this week's groceries. I've done one short trip before but this was my first attempt at a week's worth grocery haul.
How was everyone's week?
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Y'all are so good about keeping up with each other. I usually HB on my phone & it's so hard to reply to everyone!
What kind of milestones are y'all reaching these days? Rolling over? Smiling? Laughing? STTN?
@JerricaBenton: We had our shots & it was the worst night of my life. Right after the shots she was smiley & normal, so I thought we dodged a bullet. She took a short nap, and woke up with a swollen leg WAILING. It was especially awful for me, because she literally hardly ever cries, and if she does it's because I waited to long to feed her & usually only lasts 20 seconds until I can pop a bottle in her mouth. We eventually gave her some Tylenol, because I couldn't stand to see her in pain. She slept for 5 hours after the Tylenol & then woke up choking. Her face was red & she couldn't take a breath. She started turning white & I was FREAKING THE FREAK OUT. I had her upside down & was banging on her back screaming at the top of my lungs. She coughed & took in a gaspy breath, and then her color returned. I started weeping & my husband threw up. I've never been so scared in my entire life. I cuddled her for hours after that, and she slept in our room that night!
For everyone who was wondering -- I got my Mirena! It was painless & quick. It works instantly, so no more babies for me for a long time!!
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@photojane: oh my gosh! So scary! Did you call the ped and they say that was normal or any explanation for her reaction to the shots?
Good to know on the Mirena! Did your insurance cover it? I'm waiting to hear if our insurance will cover it. If not, then, I will just use the mini pill.
Question on the 2 month shots: Which vaccines did your LO get? Did you opt for all of the ones offered? If not, why?
We were told by DH's friend who referred us to our ped, that he doesn't give ALL the vaccines, and she had to take her son to another ped to get some shots. My SIL also told us she deferred some vaccines until our nephews were school aged and they were required. We're traveling to Europe before K turns 4 months, so DH wants her to get ALL the vaccines she can, but I'm not that sure. But I'm also not obsessive enough to go through all the anti-vaccine literature out there. *sigh* Anyone care to give me a cheat sheet? -
@shopaholic: We got the rotavirus oral suspension & it was crazy sticky. It made her drooly & stuff. I think she just had a little stuck in her throat. It was so scary though!
As far the vaccine schedule... we're following the pediatrician's guidelines. Sadie is getting all of her vaccines on the typical AAP schedule. At her two month appointment she got rotavirus, her second hep B, DTaP, Hib, Polio, and PCV13. It was three shots (my doc does the combo vaccines) & the rotavirus was oral suspension. She was very sore, but the Tylenol did the trick. She was back to her normal self the next morning! I don't believe in skipping or delaying vaccinations -- there's a reason polio doesn't exist anymore!
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@photojane: wow that sounds so scary! Luckily L is pretty much back to herself. It's just so awful to see our little loves in pain and not be able to do much to help. And the swollen little thighs kill me!
@shopaholic: we follow AAP Vaccination recommendations too. L got 3 shots and the oral suspension, same as @photojane's sadie. We feel strongly about following the guidelines for the safety of our LO and the community.
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@photojane: oh my gosh, that's sooo scary!!! glad you're past all that now! we just got our 2-month shots a couple hours ago, and he seemed fine when we got home and took a one-hour nap. he's up now and is really fussy... he also hardly ever fusses or cries unless he needs to eat or burp. i'm hoping he'll take a really long nap later to sleep it off!
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@lolabee: Sorry this is so late- for leaks I would check first that you're getting a tight enough fit. Then if that's ok, take a diaper and pour a little water on it- if it soak quickly you're good, if not then you're getting some repelling which is probably from build up of either diaper cream or detergent. Try to put in water and swash around- if soap comes out then it's detergent that just needs a few more rinses, if not then you will need to strip them. And if it's neither of those than you might just have a heavy wetter in which case you will want to use natural fiber inserts which are more absorbent than microfiber. In my personal experience I much prefer cotton over microfiber. Hope that helps!
@photojane: Super scary! Glad little S is ok now! We go in for our shots tomorrow and I am more than a little worried.
How is everyone doing???
This week B decided that he doesn't want to go down for naps, and I am seriously losing my mind. No nursing to sleep, not in my arms, not in the swing, nothing. Any advice???
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Hi Mamas!
Kaitlyn had her first 2 month shots today! I was worried about the 3 shots + oral that I read most people get and how she might get a fever. Actually was more scared of having to get all the shots with her by myself! Turns out our pediatrician is not in favor of giving so many vaccines at once anyways. He's very pro-choice for parents, but generally likes to follow Dr. Sears's schedule. Since we're going to Europe and on a cruise in a couple of months, DH is definitely pro all recommended vaccines. To be honest, I can't deal with reading all the literature on the topic. I get swayed by both sides too easily. Decided to get all the AAP recommended vaccines for now (my SIL still has me thinking about delayed MMR - be we have a year to think about that) BUT we are spacing them out every 2 weeks. He said we can move up to 2 vaccines in one visit if she doesn't have any reactions.
K was so brave! Only cried out for about 3 seconds and was smiling again when I was dressing her in the room! The doc was impressed that she was trying to roll over the whole time on the table and that she was smiling already (but actually she's been smiling since Day 2)!She's gained quite a bit of weight! She's up to 9lbs 12 oz. and 21 1/4" long! Dr. is not positive what she has is actually thrush, but it looks to be stable and we are continuing our treatment as is. She took a long nap (for our standards) ~ 45 min. after nursing. I'm hoping she won't be too fussy or get any fever tonight.
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@shopaholic: that's great she did so well with the shots! We just got J's shots on Monday... I wrote about the experience in my post that went up today. I always forget how close in age they are!
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@Mrs. High Heels: Thanks!
Last night K went 6 1/2 hours in between feedings! She DID cluster-feed before that long stretch, but it was by far the longest stretch she's gone in between. We are EBF, so it wasn't formula. She's 7 1/2 weeks now. Did your LO go that long in between without eating at this age? I'm not sure if it's because of the shot she got 2 days ago or because she is growing. She actually finally woke up because I picked her up and moved her from the swing (DH was out in the living room with her) to the bassinet and it woke her up. I have no idea how long she'd have gone if I didn't move her!
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@shopaholic: yes! He went 8-hours without a feeding last night! He fed at 7 pm... Slept from 8-3:45... Then fed again.
It's been getting so much better ever since he hit that 7-week mark.
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@Mrs. High Heels: ahh! Good to know it's okay then! Not to say she actually SLEPT the whole 6 1/2 hours! Lol!
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@shopaholic: haha, I still got up to pump anyway at midnight cuz I was engorged! So no long stretch of sleep for me either.
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Hi everybody! So Derek goes to daycare Monday and I'm back at work
I'm actually looking forward to work but sad about daycare. We visited on Thursday and we love his teachers but I will miss him like crazy. He's also chosen this week to begin refusing the few bottles we do give him. Awesome timing. He has started going down a bit more easily for naps, though. I dropped out bedtime feed -- I used to feed him at 6 then 7 then down to sleep. I dropped 7 and he still sleeps a 4-5 hour stretch. He's 12 weeks today! Getting very vocal, starting to laugh, grabbing more, and dying to sit up -- he tries to lift his head up when I have him lounging back on the boppy.
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@ladyfingers: aww he's adorable!! i love his cheeks!! i'm starting work on monday too, so i'm right there with ya, although my MIL will be taking care of jaren.
i'm looking forward to working again, i quite enjoy it! i'm sure you'll find your groove in no time at all.. and that's awesome about him dropping a feeding. just in time.
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@photojane: oh my gosh. How scary! Glad everything turned out ok.
@Baby Boy Mom: have the naps improved? Have you tried bouncing on an exercise ball or baby wearing?
@shopaholic: K sounds like she is doing awesome! Brave girl at her shots and sleeping well.
@ladyfingers: he is so cute and getting big! What kind of dog is that next to D?
@ladyfingers: @Mrs. High Heels: good luck with going back to work on Monday! Enjoy these last few days and weekend. Let us know how it goes.
Things are going well here. M has rolled over a few times from tummy to back. O is getting better at lifting his head during tummy time but hasn't rolled over yet. They both are batting at toys and grasping them as well. It is so fun to watch their development. How is everyone doing? Hitting any milestones yet?
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@WALLAROO: She's a Shar-Pei mix, we're not sure mixed with what, though!
@Mrs. High Heels: How's the week been?
I feel like my first week back at work has flown by. Dropping him off Money morning wasn't as bad as I thought, but I definitely started feeling it when I picked him up and had to feed, bath, change, and to bed within an hour. It's so rough having so little time with him. They love him at daycare, though, and he seems really happy when I pick him up, even if pretty sleepy.
He has been napping, though -- about 2.5 hours a day, which isn't awesome, but is much better than I expected for his first week. It's honestly probably comparable to what he gets at home, since most of his naps have always been 45 minutes to an hour. And he usually dozes in the car on the way home, too. He's not super cranky or anything at night, and goes down really easily and sleeps 5-6 hours before his first feeding, so I don't think he's overtired. So it seems like a good start!
Pumping has been going well -- I have been able to pump more than enough for the 3 4-oz bottles he takes at daycare, in 3 work sessions plus an occasional nighttime pump before bed. So far I have a surplus of 8 ounces this week. Hoping this keeps up and I don't have any supply hits! I'm pumping every 3ish hours and nursing at 6 a.m., 6 p.m., then once or twice throughout the night.
It's good to be back at work, though, as much as I miss him. I make sure to get all the cuddle time I can when I'm with him!
How's everybody else doing?
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@ladyfingers: oh oops. I read it wrong. Thought you were going back this coming Monday. Glad to hear this week has been going well so far and you are able to pump. Gives me hope!
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@WALLAROO: They have sort of, thanks for asking. As DH says, it was probably a "Miracle Week".
We discovered he likes to fall asleep walking around now, just in our arms. Once he's asleep we can put him in the carrier or swing depending on his state. Other than that we had our two month shots finally. That was about 24 hours of inconsolable crying. Broke my heart.
On the happy end though- we've pretty much mastered side-lying BF and I am feeling so much more rested at night. And we moved his bed time a little earlier which leaves me a little bit of time after both boys are in bed to unwind before I crash. -
@ladyfingers: it's been good. this week was actually slow because my boss just came back herself from a 2-week PTO... so it's given me some time to get used to the idea of working again. we've streamlined the process of getting my toddler out the door faster and figured out how to handle our newborn at the same time. i'm usually up for the day after J's motn feeding though (he usually wakes to feed around 4:30am.. and after i'm done feeding and by the time i put him down again it's already 5:30am).
that's great that your adjustment back has been smooth, and that he's going down easily!
yesterday, J slept from 11:30 pm and didn't wake up til 6 am this morning!! i heard him stir at 2am, but i waited 5-10 min to see if he'd cry, and he just fussed a bit then fell back asleep!
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Found this really helpful site for the wonder weeks - http://www.whosthatmom.com/wonder-weeks-week-by-week/
I think I'm entering WW12! Sigh. These past couple weeks have been so nice.
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Hi Feb Mamas!
@Mrs. High Heels: Thanks for that link! I actually just went backwards in the thread to look for your Wonder Week 8 post!
I definitely feel like we have reached/are at every single point on the "after the leap" for Wonder Week 8. She has definitely found her hands for soothing, batting objects, and grasping things. Last night, she was totally cracking herself up in her swing looking at the mobile, while we were eating dinner.
I think just the toughest part we're dealing with right now are the witching hours.After a whole week of prolonged sleep stretches, from over 5 hours, to even over 7 hours one night, last night was our roughest in awhile. K started cluster-feeding every 1 to 1.5 hours from after 7pm till almost Midnight! Our longest stretch in between feedings was just over 4 hours, which is short compared to the days before. Of course, she chose Saturday to be the most awake, when I had been optimistic that DH and I could DTD after she went down for the night.
I even had a large glass of wine with our dinner, thinking it would be nice to unwind and couldn't hurt if it made K a tiny bit sleepier. Nope! This girl seemed to be even more awake for it! Meanwhile, since it's only the 2nd time I've had wine (1st was last weekend) since being pregnant, my tolerance must be at an all-time low. I was SO SLEEPY by her last cluster-feed, I nodded off on the sofa while DH was burping K. I don't know how long it took him to get her to sleep, but I know he was SUPER exhausted when I got into the bedroom. After our MOTN feeding (around 4 am), I was just about to put her back down when I heard a loud pop and all this crazy noise! DH was totally passed out, but I woke him up just in time to find water flooding out of our master bathroom into our room (hardwood floors)! Needless to say, I had to put K down quick and we had to do damage control ASAP! I guess the tubing under the toilet burst. Did a load of laundry for all the towels we used and still have to do the floor mats.
A couple hours later and Miss K was up again! She fell asleep at the boob, as did I. I was fine sleeping like that, but she woke up hungry again within 20 min. She had 2 blowouts yesterday, and one so loud, even a trucker would be impressed! So I'm thinking she is going through a growth spurt again. Hopefully it's only a day or two!P.S. I think it's time for baby pictures updates and how old everyone's LOs are now! It was fun seeing the pics when I was scrolling backwards today!
Here's K - 8.5 weeks! She's been chubbing up the past two weeks!
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@ladyfingers: Love that picture of Derek and the pup!
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I'm once again too far behind to reply to everyone but just wanted to check in!
@Baby Boy Mom: No problem! I am so bad at getting on to reply....I try to read but just don't seem to designate the time during the day to reply regularly. Thanks for the help with the dipes. I have figured out that he's just a heavy wetter. I was using the Bumgenius 4.0's at night with one insert (far prefer my AppleCheeks bamboo inserts!) and he would wet through very quickly. I haven't had a leak in the Elementals and they're cotton.
@ladyfingers: Such an adorable picture of Derek!! He's a handsome lil guy! How much did he weigh at 12 weeks if you don't mind me asking? I just took Zev today to get weighed (3 months) at he's 16 lbs on the nose. A big guy!!
I am glad that being back at work is going well, minus minus Derek. I'm sure that must be really hard! Are you happy with your choice of daycare so far?
@shopaholic: She's gorgeous!! Love her Bla Bla too
Sorry to hear about your plumbing burst - those types of things are never any fun!The weather here has FINALLY become warm! We've spent the last three days outside, it's been fabulous. Today Z napped in his pack and play out on the porch with me while I did some work. He's growing like crazy - 16lbs at exactly 3 months, everyone comments on how big he is! Curious about his length as he was 25 inches at 8 weeks. He's definitely becoming more active as each day passes, more vocal - on the verge of laughing, grabs and plays with certain toys and rolling over (if he's in the mood!) I can't believe how fast the time has gone!
How is everyone doing?
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@lolabee: Thanks! I'm *slightly* obsessed with the blabla dolls. If she doesn't like them, I don't know how I'll take it! lol!
Wow! That is SO amazing that Zev is a big boy! You were like one of the teeniest, tiniest preggers woman I've ever seen! Is he tall or just big? I think people just like to say babies are so big. At least he grew all on "the outside". I say that about K too as she has been chubbing up fast! She is right now about the same size as when her cousin was born at! (~10+ lbs, 21 1/2" - almost 9 weeks). I can't even imagine toting that around inside my belly!
Nice about your weather! It was in the upper 90s on Friday and raining and cold here today. I'm ready for some nice temperate weather please!
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@Mrs. High Heels: Nice resource! I see we're headed toward a 5-week stormy period... grrrreat.
@shopaholic: she's so cute, and I love her bla bla doll
We got the small Fergus the Frog when they were on Gilt a couple of weeks ago. What a crazy story! Glad you were able to catch it right away!@lolabee: He weighed 12 pounds at his 8-week checkup but we haven't weighed him since. However, I did cave and buy a baby scale on Amazon today because I'm just too curious to wait until his 4-month appointment! So I will update you as soon as I weigh him!
We are very happy with our daycare. I was sort of nervous most of last week just because that's my nature. I was worried he wouldn't eat, wouldn't nap, would be lonely, wouldn't like it there, would get sick, would get hurt, you name it. But he's always so happy when I pick him up (if not more than a bit sleepy, he's still a crappy, inconsistent napper) and playing or chilling in his crib. He seems to really like the teachers there, and they love him. After the first week, I'm much more comfortable leaving him there and know that he's in the best possible care we could have found for him. And it makes me and DH much more appreciative of the time we do have with him!
It's been continually amazing watching this kid grow and develop. He's become much more vocal in the past few weeks -- his morning teacher at daycare (I drop him off at the older infant room before his teachers get there at 8) said he loves to talk to her -- and he's become much better at grabbing objects, which just amazes his teachers who say they have older babies who still aren't as good at it as he is. The other night, I was reading to him before bed and he kept grunting and reaching out for the book, and when I brought it closer, he started thumping at it, feeling it, and grabbing the big board pages and turning them! Of course I realize he isn't really "turning the pages" so much as he's playing with something movable, but it's just amazing to see him go from not paying any attention to the book to just wanting to get all up in it.
In other news, he hasn't had a bowel movement since Saturday and has a cough
I'm not that concerned about the BM since he's breastfed and I know up to 12 days is normal to go without one, but I've just become accustomed to him going a couple of times a day, so I'm bracing myself for a big one! The cough doesn't seem to bother him and he doesn't have any other symptoms, so I'm wondering if it's either allergies or an upper respiratory infection. But it's still sad to hear him hacking away Ah, daycare!
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And here he is playing peekaboo with his blankie this past weekend (actually he had just pulled it up all over his face after his nap -- a recent soothing technique he's landed upon -- but I thought it was pretty adorable).
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it's been so long!!! trying to catch up
@shopaholic - week 8 for me was really rough too in terms of sleep schedule... it only lasted a few days though. I hope K is well out of that phase by now and back to long sleep stretches!
@LOLABEE - oooh, Zev is such a big boy! I haven't officially weighed Mira, but a rough (M+me - just me) brings her to a bit over 14 lbs. I think she's really big for being 13 weeks, and she's definitely in almost all 6 month clothes now.
@LADYFINGERS - aww, how cute is the peekaboo! I try peekaboo with M, but she just looks like me like I'm being weird. I hope the cough cleared up by now, and you've seen some poo! haha. Starting around week 11, M started to poop every 2 days instead of every day... and it's SOO gross even being held up for that extra day. It's almost always a major blowout up the back and I have to wash her clothes right away or else it will stain.. I can't imagine what it would be like after multiple days! =P Mira also came down with a cough and runny nose and it lasted about a week (but no fever). She's much better now though, so I'm glad she was able to get through it.
Hope you all had a nice Mother's Day! Here is Mira at 3 months old (on 5/11). She is really starting to smile a lot more these days, and makes sounds like she's trying to talk to me =P haha. Sleep-wise, she's doing really well, getting up only once a night to eat between 7:45pm - 7:00am.
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@ladyfingers: Ahh, he is so cute!! L pulls her blankies up over her face too, sometimes! L coughs, too but it's inconsistent. Sometimes right after eating so I think it is more a mild reflux thing since it isn't all the time and she's not fussy. I'm going to ask about it at the pedi this week though.
So, since all our babies are close in age - how many times are the eating in a 24 hr period and for how long? L used to be a marathon eater, like at least 30 minutes, usually closer to 45 and at least 8 times a day, more likely 10. In the last week or so (L will be 3 months on the 16th) it seems like she's wanting to go longer between feedings and she only eats for like, 10 minutes at a time. Basically I'm the worst and I was ignoring her lack of cues and continuing to feed her about every 2 hrs during the day and even waking her up to eat (I know I know) and a few times she basically puked up everything she ate. She doesn't have any other symptoms and is literally giggling and smiling all day long, so I'm not really concerned that she could be sick. So is it totally obvious that I'm force feeding her more than she needs? I guess I'm just afraid now that I won't even recognize her cues because I've been preempting them for so long. I'm definitely going to speak to the pedi about all this but I'd love some of your feedback so I don't go in there looking like the biggest nutjob in the world
ETA: Oh yeah, and she also used to poop 5 or 6 times a day but now she's pooping 3-4 times a day. Pees are the same. This is normal right?? It means she's using up more of the breastmilk nutrients and creating less waste - not that she's not getting enough to eat right?
I really don't know why I have this anxiety about her input/output! She lost a lot of weight after birth and I was so fixated on her gaining I guess maybe I never got over it
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@ladyfingers: Love that pic of D!
@Emilie: Awww! Beautiful Mira! You really ought to post more pics of her on IG mama! Well, just wanted to pop in and say a belated HAPPY 1st MOTHER'S DAY (well, to most of you) Mamas! Hope you all had a wonderful day with your LOs!
DH and K got me a Tiffany & Co. Amethyst necklace, wrong birthstone, but would have been right if I had been a true Feb. mama! She sat through brunch and dinner at Chart House both without any fussing! I was very proud!
Our little K is growing and progressing SO MUCH these days!
IDK if you saw my post on her "princess and the pea" sleeping, but we were longing in bed on her silk satin blanket and she officially turned over!!! She's been trying to turn for a few weeks and easily turned to her side on the blanket, and within a minute or two, she was on her tummy!!! Well, color me worried now! She can face plant basically and now I'm scared if she does that in her sleep she won't be able to breathe! lol!
She's also intentionally grabbing things now, especially my hand and fingers while BFing and the rings on her toy bar.
She's babbling A LOT and totally tries to mimic your facial expressions. It's just getting to be a lot of fun around here!
Not to say her sleep is predictable. NOT IN THE LEAST. Fri. 8+ hours in between feedings (~ 7 hrs sleep). Sat. she woke up every 30 min.-1 hr. Ahhh!! Sunday she slept 9.5 hours! Last night she woke up 4 times from midnight to 7 am. Isn't it crazy?We also came home to our house being 85 degrees at 10 pm and our A/C not working.
First night we didn't swaddle and used a light sleep sack. Might have been the reason why she woke up so much, but I think she really liked sleeping with her arms up over her head. Anyone else stop swaddling yet? If so, did you transition with one arm out or did you just quit cold turkey?
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@Emilie: LOL yep, we finally did see poop. But his poop has been so weird since going back to daycare. It's either dark green or super watery. The watery poop I get because he's had RSV this past week so it's from that. But I have no clue why the rest of his poop has been dark green. Is it an imbalance from my pumped milk? So confusing.
Anyway I'm glad Mira is feeling better -- she is beautiful!!
@JerricaBenton: Yeah, so the cough turned out to be RSV. The twins in his class got it, which I found out on Thursday. And by then he had a runny nose, watery eyes, stuffiness. We took him to the doctor Friday afternoon and they diagnosed "probable RSV" and then by Sunday he was having chest retractions. He seemed fine otherwise but the on-call ped wanted us to go to the pediatric ER to get checked out. So scary
He turned out to be fine, he was hooked up to an O2 monitor for a few hours and his sats never dropped too low and they did a test to confirm the RSV, and said that a certain amount of wheezing and retracting is to be expected with RSV and as long as he's otherwise happy and tolerating feeds, he's OK. We kept him home yesterday but it was back to daycare today -- where another kid now has it! Poor kids... It totally crapped up his sleep, too. He slept 10 hours in a row last Wednesday and Thursday, woke to feed then slept for another hour. And then he STTN completely -- 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. with no wakeup -- Friday night. But then he was up multiple times Saturday and last night with his stuffy nose. I was able to just get away with one feed each of those nights, though -- if I popped his paci back in, or sucked out his nose, he was able to get back to sleep without eating.
See, now that he's showed me he can STTN, I'm much more skeptical of his night wakings
As for your feeding question, I think this is fairly normal. They're supposed to get more efficient as they grow older so they feed for shorter amounts of time, but get more. Derek basically eats 6 times in a 24-hour period -- once in the morning, three bottles at daycare of 4.5 oz each, once when we get home, then one night waking. On the weekends, it's usually more like 7 just because I end up feeding him an extra time somehow. If he starts STTN more consistently and drops down to 5 feeds a day, I'm going to increase his bottles to 5 oz each just to make sure he gets his calories.
I have TOTALLY overfed him before. The good thing I guess is that they have that spitup switch -- they'll just upchuck whatever extra they got but it never seems to bother him
But sometimes he'll be really fussy and only feed for like 5 minutes and I'm like, there is no way you're done! And I'll shove him back on, and then he'll spit up a good amount like 10 minutes later. Whoops. Yeah and he also went from 45-minute sessions to 15 minutes between both sides, at the most. And is pooping much, much less -- he used to poop after every feed, and now he poops 2, maybe 3 times a day, sometimes only once, and like I wrote earlier, last weekend he went 3 days without a poop. But plenty of wet diapers.
I think as long as their weight gain is appropriate, they seem happy and alert, and they have plenty of wet diapers, there's no need to worry! EBF babies can go up to 12 days, I think, with no poop!
But I can relate to the obsession. I was somehow certain he was losing weight last week? So I paid $50 for a baby scale off Amazon. I haven't even used it -- since he got sick, he was weighed at the doctor and he's 14 pounds. And then we had to pack away all his 3-month clothes because they were ridiculously small. So... my obsession, as usual, was unfounded.
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@shopaholic: I'm so scared of our AC breaking! It's 15 years old
We have a home warranty so we're pretty much just waiting till it breaks to replace it. We live in Florida though and now with an LO I'm so paranoid it will break in the dead of the summer. I wouldn't care if we went without it a couple of days if it was just us, but I don't want him to be uncomfy!As for swaddling, I am happy to announce we are now officially swaddle-free (at least I hope so... haha, he will probably make me a liar and regress somehow).
We dropped the swaddle for naps a couple of weekends ago and started using just an A+A blanket, which he uses to self-soothe. Then last night, I decided that since he was sleeping so crappy anyway, I might as well try going without the swaddle. We did a sleep sack instead and he fell asleep in minutes and slept from 7-1ish. He had some wakeups that were due to the stuffiness, which he has been doing for a couple of nights, and went right back to sleep with the paci. Then woke at 3 to eat then slept until 6. None of his wakings were due to a lack of swaddle, basically.
So I'm calling the impromptu, cold turkey swaddle wean a success!
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@ladyfingers: Holy crap! I'm so sorry D has RSV! That must have been so scary - I'm so glad he's on the mend! And thank you so much for your response. It helps to hear someone else say it! I'm cracking up about the baby scale - I think I need one! Haha
I'm impressed by the swaddle weaning! We've been swaddling her with arms out after she wakes up from her longest block of sleep and it's been working so far! Happy to report L slept for 7 and a half hours the other night, and 7 last night! We are so well rested lol!
I even had a large glass of wine with our dinner, thinking it would be nice to unwind and couldn't hurt if it made K a tiny bit sleepier. Nope! This girl seemed to be even more awake for it! Meanwhile, since it's only the 2nd time I've had wine (1st was last weekend) since being pregnant, my tolerance must be at an all-time low. I was SO SLEEPY by her last cluster-feed, I nodded off on the sofa while DH was burping K. I don't know how long it took him to get her to sleep, but I know he was SUPER exhausted when I got into the bedroom. After our MOTN feeding (around 4 am), I was just about to put her back down when I heard a loud pop and all this crazy noise! DH was totally passed out, but I woke him up just in time to find water flooding out of our master bathroom into our room (hardwood floors)! Needless to say, I had to put K down quick and we had to do damage control ASAP! I guess the tubing under the toilet burst. Did a load of laundry for all the towels we used and still have to do the floor mats.
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