Hellobee Boards

@lindseykaye: yay for nursing in public! I nursed in the car the whole time...

I'm dreading tonight. My baby would not sleep today other than one nap from 11am-1pm and a few short 10-15 minute naps. He finally went to sleep about 15 minutes ago after being awake for over 6 hours. Babies this young (5 weeks) are not supposed to be awake that long. Poor guy had gas that was bothering him and just couldn't get comfortable not matter what I did. I think I might go to sleep really soon/early because I'm worried about what will happen tonight. If good naps lead to better night time sleeping then I am totally screwed.

@ChelseaRose: this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0082ME3GK/ref=oh_details_o05_s01_i00 I liked that I could return it for free if it didn't fit.. but it did! It is a nice compromise between a shaped bra and a sports bra.

@lindseykaye: Good job on nursing in public! How did it go? Did you use a cover? I haven't dared nurse in front of anyone other than DH.

@travelgirl1: nursing in front of tons of people too - never thought I'd be so open about flashing my boobs. In public I totally use a cover - though the most public I've done is the back of a car.

Are you guys taking your baby to public places? One of DH's good friends is a pediatrician and he totally discouraged us from taking the baby out before 6-8 weeks. I forgot to ask our pedi about it. What have you been told?

@travelgirl1: Without a cover - totally unplanned because we were there longer than I thought we would be. But it wasn't too public (I was facing away from the only visible table next to us) however the waitstaff came around a lot. I had another mama nursing without a cover at the same time which made me more comfortable and 2 seconds of potential boob viewing was better than a crying baby at that point!
@ highwire: the support group totally counts!
@Mrs. Tricycle: Our ped said going out is fine as long as we avoid big crowds and she isn't passed around/handled alot. We still haven't ventured out much but it feels like time is passing so fast that if I don't start now, I won't have time to ease into taking her places and doing it on my own before real life starts again and I'm alone full time for a while or I'm back at work.

Wow you're all so brave nursing in public! To be fair I would have done it during our BRU disaster if I'd have had my nipple shield. I haven't even been brave enough to do it in front of visitors yet.

@Mrs. Tricycle: our docs said to take her wherever we want so we do. It kills me though and I'm constantly putting alcohol gel on my hands when we're out and standing guard in case anyone tries to touch her! Her stroller bassinet is very deep so she's well hidden though and I'm totally not above slapping away hands, lol.

@Mrs. Tricycle: our pedi also discouraged taking her out for 6 weeks since flu cases are already high here.

@travelgirl1: I usually have something easy like a granola/protein bar for breakfast. Lunch doesn't always happen around noon and usually consists of something that I can make quickly and easily, like a frozen entree from Trader Joe's. we've been having a lot of take out for dinner whether my husband gets it on his way home or a friend stops by with a meal.

So baby finally went to sleep at 7:30. I left my husband with a bottle of pumped milk and I got I to bed around 9:30 (probably fell asleep around 10). Baby woke up hungry around 4am, which gave me six hours of sleep. I would have gotten up then anyway because one boob was totally engiorged and would need to be pumped. Hopefully I can get baby back to sleep (nursing now).

Are any of you drinking caffeine? I am totally paranoid that it is going to effect the small amount of sleep we are getting at this point. I don't want to be giving out espresso breastmilk here but I don't know if that's how it works or not lol and I'd love a latte! Guess I could do decaf.

What are everyone's holiday plans?? We'll have 3 family days and I'm really anxious about them. I'm worried about everyone wanting to hold him with germs... and with it messing with our great sleep cycle/schedule! We've gotten to a good place of having his awake time be about an hour max - and after 30-40 minutes of nursing, changing, that doesn't leave a ton of time for people to snuggle him. I know family matters too.. but I don't want an overtired baby that ends up getting sick!!

I've been having caffiene for the past week or so. I make coffee in the morning, but use both decaf and regular so I can have more than one cup (it gets cold by the time I can finish a cup). It's about a 60/40 split decaf and regular. I've heard that caffeine is totally fine as long as it's not in excessive amounts. I don't think I've exceeded the amount they say is fine in pregnancy.

I have thought about cutting it out for a few days to see if I notice any difference in Em's fussiness or spitting up.

@highwire: Geez, I wish my in-laws were like yours!!

@SLR: He's been doing 4-5 hour stretches between feedings at night for a couple of weeks now and he's 5 weeks old. I usually only have to get up one time in the night to feed him. Sometimes I just go to bed immediately after feeding him around 10-11 and then I get up with him around 3. The whole process of feeding him, changing diaper, and getting him back to sleep usually takes an hour. Last night I had to pump the side I didn't nurse him on because otherwise I would have gone from about 9pm to 7-8 am without nursing or pumping that side. It takes me a while to get back to sleep though.

@highwire: I've been drinking sweet tea when I want it and I haven't noticed any effect on LO.

@scg00387: My parents and my aunt are coming to stay with us Dec 22-26. I'm really excited to have them here. They will basically do all the cooking and cleaning and take care of putting on Christmas even though we are technically hosting them : )

Thanks girls. I managed to peel and eat a banana with one hand today, so that's an improvement. I think I need to buy things that are easy to eat and prepare while holding a baby.

@highwire: omg yes, I could not do without my cups of tea at the moment! There's not much caffeine in a cup of tea though and I only have 2 cups a day so I doubt it affects her. She does sense when I've just made one though, she wakes up for feeding everu single time!

@scg00387: we're on our own in Canada so it will just be me and DH and a whole lot of skyping to England. God knows how I can cook a Christmas dinner with a baby though, it might be festive beans on toast, lol.

@scg00387: i'm going to be taking 12 weeks off at least, maybe a couple weeks more of vacation after. depending on how i feel at that point. and as far as holiday plans both sides of our family live near us. my side is just immediate family so its small and no big deal. DHs side is huge and i know LO will be passed around to everyone. she'll be abt a month old so hopefully she'll have better immunity to the germs. we prob wont stay as long as well.

@highwire: yep! drinking about 1-2 cups of coffee a day. couldn't function without it. so far it doesn't seem to be affecting LO. she does get gassy but it only seems to bother her for a couple min. then shes okay. maybe just try alittle and see if it affects her - like half decaf? and i'm glad breastfeeding has been going well for you!! pumping is annoying! haha

LO has been sleeping in 3-4 hour intervals throughout the night. i still feel like a zombie in the morning tho. i've read and looked into moms on call and i think i might try to get LO to only have 1 night feeding through their methods. hoping to be lucky like mrs. stroller and have LO sleeping through the night soon! haha wishful thinking i know.

@highwire: I have a small cup of coffee in the morning. Maybe 3/4 a cup? M doesn't seem bothered by it, and our LC and pedi said that amount wouldn't affect her unless she was VERY sensitive to caffeine.

@highwire: yay! That's so exciting !

I have 1 cup of coffee in the am. Doesn't seem to affect LO but I did also have 1/2 cup in the third trimester

@kodybear: I want to try this as well! Moms on call it is!