Hellobee Boards

@Mae: Yay, glad to hear that Fia's appointment went well, must be a huge relief. And woah, amazing chart!!!

@skipra: the feeding issues sound rough I hope it doesn't last long and that everything goes back to normal quickly. I haven't noticed any changes on the feeding side, although he is bottle fed so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

@Sungirl: I haven't even tried structured naps yet, because with the two kids it's so hard! DD still has a 2 hour nap in the afternoon, but W naps most of the morning in his car seat/stroller because we are out and about, so I don't put him down for a long nap in the afternoon, he just cat naps in his bouncy chair or on me. I'm worried about how complicated things are going to get when he needs two structured naps!

@Beebug: We have a consistent bedtime, but we go to the bed at the same time as him...so we get like zero downtime! DD goes to bed around 7h45, and then around 9h00, DH and I head upstairs with W. DH feeds him a bottle, then I swaddle him an put him in his pack and play. Then we might read for a bit with the lights really dim, but mostly we just go to sleep too. I want to move bedtime up soon, but I figure we have to have him in his own room first otherwise it would be tough for us to get ready for bed with a sleeping baby in our room. I hate to mess with anything though because he sleeps a nice long stretch right now (9h15 ish to 5h00/5h30). I really hope your DS' nights improve soon, you must be exhausted

@cheesetomywhine: W is still eating every 3 hours (ish) during the day, and then goes a long stretch at night without eating (up to 8 hours).

W had his 2 month appointment last week. He was 12 pounds on the dot and 24 inches. He wasn't too bad after his shots...a little grumpy throughout the day, but could have been much worse.

Daycare is closed this week and next week, so I've decided to take DD to visit my sister (lives about a 5 hour drive away). My sister is going to drive us there (since she is here visiting now) and then we will fly home. I'm SUPER nervous about flying by by myself with a toddler...luckily it's a super short flight! But I'm also super nervous about being away from W for four days. I feel like a terrible mom for leaving him, but on the other hand, I know that he will get so much more one-on-one attention from DH, grandparents, etc without his big sister around demanding all the attention! Hopefully it will be good for him to be a only child for a few days and not just "along for the ride" like he normally is. Luckily I have a really big freezer stash, so he should be fine for breastmilk...should be interesting trying to bring all my breast milk through security on the way home though!

@cookie_dough: Good for you for going away for four days. The one on one time with your DD will be nice and time for W with fam will be good, too! I am slightly envious, lol.

Over an hour to settle him tonight, so here I am thinking do I need to try earlier? Started at 8 tonight, bahhhh. In the night last night he was waking so much, taking so long to settle, not staying settled. At this age am I ok to not nurse inside of every 3 hours (given he goes 3 hours like clockwork through the day) and try to sooth him with paci, rocking, whatever? I mean if I am feeding him as often as he wakes and he's not settling, clearly it's not because of hunger his unsettledness? A theory could be he's too full/has a burp/something so if I stick to my guns with every three hours and not settle him with boob I could at least be trying to make a better soothing habit? haha I am a mess.

Also....we were doing sleep sack for a couple weeks no problem. Now I have this kid who bats himself like crazy, so I am putting socks on his hands....he can get those off (??!! how!!) and on top of that I am swaddling him arms in. And in a swaddle that hardly feels humane, but otherwise he escapes and I'm again back at square one even faster? I feel so frantic, desperate and lost right now, it's a total bummer, I just want consistent sleep.

I don't even remember if I said this, but Sunday I got AF and I also dropped my external hard drive that I use for photo storage...note....storage, not back up....and yah.....it now won't turn on.

DD went to her old daycare today. I had another counseling appt with DH and I needed (wanted!) to get some cleaning done and stuff done around house. I got home after dropping her off and C fell asleep on me and I just flaked on the couch. Was again not as productive, and am usually crazy motivated, but am apparently just super burnt out.

Bah.

I type this as I sip a glass of wine, eat leftover pizza slice, and watching "after the final rose" from last night, Lights off shortly, but I needed to order two books (a la counselling) off amazon and needed a brain break before crashing. Oh AND I showered for the first time since Friday, haha.

@Beebug: wow your post makes me exhausted for you. You do have a lot to deal with. I hope you can retrieve your photos. I'd definitely ask a tech person to look at it. How are things going with your DH?
@cookie_dough: good for you for getting away with DD! I really miss the alone time I used to have with W. We started him in swim lessons on Saturdays so I can have one on one time. A trip sounds fun though!
@Mae: I would also have a hard time leaving overnight and would make DH and babies come with me! I bet it would be nice to get away for a full day though the actual process of leaving might be difficult. I saw your other post about feeding issues. Sorry you are dealing with that on top of everything else.

So I think our feeding issues may just be me misreading his signals and trying to overfeed. Today I made a point to only attempt to feed him every 3 hours and he was much better. I got in the habit of him eating more often but obviously he doesn't need to now. Also I think with the chaos that is his older brother, it is ddifficult for him to concentrate on eating so to compensate he has been wanting to nurse more overnight and early morning. Hoping that with less frequent snacks he will start to take more at a time and gain weight faster. After reading about foremilk/hindmilk imbalance it sounds like that's our problem.

Sorry can't respond to those on the previous page from my phone.

Hi ladies! I know I haven't posted almost at all since Jr. was born but I havent even been at a computer. Unfortunately that luxury is over and I am back at work today I can't believe how fast the time went and I am so absolutely miserable today. I cried all morning and I just keep staring at his pictures I have on my desk. This is going to take some getting used to but I know the first few days will be the worst.
Everything has been going really really great. He is just the best baby in the world. He sleeps through the night (usually 10pm - 7am), hes a good eater and he has the cutest smile and giggle I have ever seen. I say all this as he is going thru his 12 week growth spurt and he is demanding that hes held and fed all day long. hes still perfect though.
So I just wanted to check in. I will do some back reading to see how everyone else is doing. Any other moms back to work yet? Any other moms pumping at work? I am off to pump in the only spare office with a lock (I share an office). sucks but its for the best for my boy! I have about 450 oz in my freezer at home alraedy. yes, crazy.

@mrsog: @Mamasig: so sorry your ample time with LOs has/is winding down. I know it can't be easy, but be easy on yourself - you're doing what's best for your kiddos, and it will get better in time!

I still don't know what my work situation is gonna be. I'm so not ready to give up 24 hrs with my baby.

@mrsog: 450oz is A LOT! How did you build up such a huge stash so quickly? Do you pump multiple times a day?

@Beebug: Woohoo! Hope C has turned a corner in the sleep department! Good luck at your appt!

I feel like I'm going to jinx it if I talk about it, but after some awful days and nights lately, they slept great last night. Down at 9:45, up at 1:45-2:30, up at 5:15. That might not be awesome for everyone else but it's good for us! I'm praying for real naps today. I can't take more no nap days!!!

@Mae: Good luck at your reflux appt! A and B are on reflux meds (Zantac and Prevacid, respectively) and I think it's made a big difference. Right before we started them in meds Blake used to wail and writhe around after eating and look at me with these huge eyes like "why do I hurt??" It was the most pitiful heartbreaking thing I've ever seen! My LOs still have major spit up issues, but at least it seems like a lot of the pain after eating has been alleviated. I hope you two have similar results!

Also, today is a terrible day. I ran out of free episodes of Amazing a Race to watch on Amazon Instant watch. Now what am I going to do all day??? So sad!

@Glitter: I never thought I would build up so much and I guess I was nervous about it so I went hard core. I started when he was 4 weeks and I did 3 times a day for about 3 weeks to build up supply. Then I switched to 2 times a day - morning and night. Each session though I average probably 8-10 oz. My supply is great and it just added up so quickly. Right now I am feeding in the morning, pumping 3 times at work, feeding when I get home and pumping before bed. I seriously feel like a cow lol I ideally want to only pump 2 times at work but I have to figure it out.

First day of work in the bag and the second day isn't as bad. Last night Jr. went to bed at 8:30 and slept till 6. He must have been exhausted being out all day! Worked for me though because I was also exhausted.

@Mae: Good luck at the appt today! I hope they find that is the issue and Fia can start to eat and feel better!.

@twodoghouse: We just finished watched Orphan Black. Wasn't sure if I was going to like it but it was so good! there are 2 seasons of it alraedy.

@Glitter: I just replied on your other thread but this sounds just like my two. They have actually increased the frequency and length of BFing sessions as time goes by. I do supplement but that was because they didn't gain weight and they are still small (A nearly 11 lb and B nearly 10 at 13 weeks). I think my kids just really like the act of nursing because we can give them a full bottle of pumped milk/formula and they still fuss to BF. Mine have also been drooling a lot, sucking on hands, etc so I think it might be this age! Do you ever pump? You can see how fast you letdown that way although it's hard to gauge if that's the right speed for your LO.

@Mamasig: aww such a cute pic. Sorry you have to go back to work so soon

@mrsog: hope your return to work gets easier with time. And omg that freezer stash! Will be great to have if you ever give up pumping at work. Are you using the stash and freezing the fresh stuff so it doesn't go bad?

Has anyone tried dream feeds at night? We sort of did once accidentally when they went to bed early and they barely woke up to eat. We haven't tried it since though. We are going to try it tonight though. I'm nervous about the logistics!! Do we really not change diapers? Will they really just stay sleepy? They've been sleeping great but the timing has been crazy so we're trying to adjust things so they still have a long stretch of sleep but don't wake up for the day at 4am!

Post partum hair loss has begun over here. So gross.

Still have AF and I am delightfully miserable about it!

DH is home for a couple days, it's honestly easier without him. I don't know if it's because I have adjusted to new normal, so I am struggling. On paper this is what I want, but my actions and feelings say different, bah.

C had his best night last night and is now going down between 8-830, it's a game changer for me.

@twodoghouse: I stopped night changing like 2w ago. He goes in a sposie at night like DD and yah....they both go full stretch unless poop!

@twodoghouse: I also don't change in the middle of the night unless he poops or pees through. I've been using different diapers (cloth) on him at night and they are working to contain the massive amounts of pee this child has. I love not changing him! Makes it much faster. Also for dreamfeeds, I was doing one but alas S was still waking at the same times so I cut it out. Hasn't seemed to phase him. I did do it with R though and it worked wonders! Something to try at least!

@Beebug: Sorry to hear you're dealing with stress with DH being home, that must be so tough on you! Sorry if I missed this, but who is going to take care of the children when you are recovering?

@Glitter: We ended up giving S a pacifier since he is also a comfort nurser. I am doing better but I felt so guilty about it.

@Mae: I'm having the same problem with A right now. Blake did perfectly, but Alice will NOT wake up at all. I guess I did too good of a job nursing her to sleep two hours ago. Dream feed fail. And of course even if it's working fine for Blake, if Alice wakes to eat in the night I'll wake him too so their schedules aren't totally out of whack and I don't have to feed babies all night long. Sigh.

@cheesetomywhine: DHs parents were apparently coming up. They have a trailer and were going to stay at a local campground they have stayed at before. They are obviously well aware of our current "situation" but we really haven't heard from them so I'm going to stop banking on it. Daycare is on vacay and so DD needs to be "covered" still, DS will stay with DH and come to hospital with me in am so I can nurse him right before going in. My mom is taking the next day off, she will have DD then. DH could probably handle both, but I will likely be ready to come home during her naptime and we don't often mess with her sleep, so I'm going to have to get thinking.

@Keds: @cheesetomywhine: @Mae: @twodoghouse: thanks for thoughts/love/hugs

C woke 1:45 to nurse, was up and back down in 15 mins and here I am can't sleep. Been a bit of an insomniac with one waking a night the last few nights, trouble getting back to sleep, and I'm stuck in my head trying to figure how to turn thigs around with DH and I'm just clueless with where my head is at. Bleh! I suppose all the problems of the world are never solved at this hour, need to shut my brain off!

Dog is snoring, haha. Doesn't help my cause for sleep.

Well they slept till 3:30, so not bad. Blake was definitely sleepier than Alice at that wake up, so it makes we wonder how long they would have gone if Alice had taken an extra bottle at the dream feed. DH really wanted to try giving them bigger bottles in the middle of the night to see if it would extend their second stretch of sleep (right now they only go 1.5-2 hrs for second half of night). Well that totally backfired and they got overfull. Blake sort of spit up the excess and settled down but Alice is having a meltdown with DH while I pump. What a nightmare. Hope she settles soon because Blake is usually up for the day around 5-5:15 and it's 4:22 now!

@Mae: I ended up going out to the couch after two hours awake in bed. I think I was asleep in 5 mins. Annoying how a change like that can be it sometimes!! Hope you got back to sleep!

@twodoghouse: oh no on overfull! Hope they got settled again quick so you could get a bit more shut eye!

The wakings 5am on blow, he is so hard to keep settled and asleep and the overtired Ma in me would rather get up 20x to put paci back in (after he spits it out) so I can lay in bed a little longer than just get up.

@Mae: I never followed the wonder weeks so I'm not sure about that. They never seemed to correlate to DS' behavior.

I do think Leo just had a growth spurt because he was waking up to eat every 2-3 hours at night for two nights even though we had gotten down to one wake up. That passed and now he back to just waking up once. Yay! Just in time for me to go back to work.

Speaking of, I'm sitting here at work doing nothing because my computer is no longer recognized by the network since it hasn't been used in months. So I have to wait for a new computer. So annoying, I could be home with my boys!!