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Yay!! Thanks for starting this.

Baby is good. He has breast milk jaundice and his umbilical cord stump looks funky. You'd think being a second time mom I wouldn't stress out about these things.

Thanks for starting this!

I'm doing well! My incision is still sore, but that's to be expected. I've gone to half on my pain medicine which means more discomfort but I hate feeling out of it.

Baby is doing great - my only real complaint is that during the day he seems to like to eat every 2 hours - which keeps me from being remotely productive, but that's what husbands are for, I suppose

@Mrs.Someone: Hormones are the worst! Hang in there!

@Aandmklover: How is the jaundice going? Are you doing the lamp?

@Mrs.Someone: that's exactly how I felt the first week! I cried a lot!! I, too, am using a shield. Baby apples was never really able to latch on in the hospital without it so I've been using the shield pretty much exclusively since we got home. I keep telling myself I'll try and wean off of it but even with the shield sometimes it's hard for him to latch- especially if he's really upset. Are you going to try and wean off of it?

@BakerBee: Baby Apples too wants to eat every two or so hours, day and night! And sometimes it's every hour- those cluster feeds are rough! I don't know how people go out in public when they have to constantly nurse!

Baby and I are doing well but I basically have a constant worry about everything- is he eating too much or is he not eating enough, is he not sleeping enough, does he have colic or is he just fussy? Does he have gas? Does he have reflux? Will he get fussy if I go to the store or Go for a long car ride? Ahhhhh!!!!!

Hey ladies! Happy to join you all here. We are hopefully heading home early afternoon tomorrow (I hate how long it takes to get discharged!). Not looking forward to spending another night in the hospital but since she was born at 2 am, we have to.

Second time mommies, holy crap are uterine cramps much more painful this time? Every time she nurses, i get pretty bad cramps. I don't even remember feeling them with my first.

@mrskc: YES. So much worse! but my overall bleeding is less, so I guess I'll take the trade-off? (Except for one super scary looking massive clot....that was gross/scary to see).

I keep meaning to actually update properly but I'm always on my phone and it's just a pain to write out a long post.

Yay! Congrats to all the August mommas!

LO is 2 1/2 weeks now which blows my mind. I think we're in the middle of a growth spurt too. He was eating every 3 hours during the day, and every 4 at night pretty consistently for the past week. Then yesterday and today its every 1-2 hrs during the day and every 3 hrs at night. I hope its just a growth spurt and it'll be over soon. I got so spoiled by my consistent and predictable newborn

How are all you ladies doing?

My milk came in yesterday and ack I forgot how uncomfortable the engorgement is. DD is nursing like a champ tho. Typical newborn tho and has her days and nights mixed up.

My bleeding is just like a light period at this point which is nice. I remember bleeding heavier for longer with #1. Just my stitches are bothering me a little.

Hope you all are doing well!

@locavore_mama: It's been really easy so far! Definitely going from 1-2 has been much easier than 0-1. I think the hardest for me is feeling a lot of guilt about not getting to spend as much time with DS like I used to. He was my whole world just a few days ago and now I have 2 and it's an adjustment having to split my time between them. DH is home and has been handling DS mostly.

DS is somewhat interested in her. It seems each day gets better for him. He says baby and likes to look at her and wants to touch her. It's been tough trying to teach him to be gentle with her. He gets upset when I'm nursing her and he wants to get into my lap. I have him sit next to me and he likes to play with her feet. He's watching a lot more TV than we like, but whatever. I'm nervous tho when DH has to go back to work and I'll be taking care of both of them all day.

@locavore_mama: a few things have helped us.

The first day we were home from the hospital she needed some one on one time with one of us.

Having some special snacks (like individual cups of fruit or applesauce) has been a treat for her and keeps her occupied rather than rushing the baby when she gets home.

Just a few things we hadn't thought about. We didn't do any gifts (from her to him or him to her) but she did enjoy wearing her big sister shirt.

@kodybear: My red angry stretch marks from DS are even angrier now. lol My stretch marks take a really long time to fade tho. I know it's hard not to focus on the weight at times. Be kind to yourself. You just had a baby! I was a little bummed when I only lost 10 lbs after L&D tho. Have 25 lbs to go but trying not to focus on that right now.

Yeah, my weight loss has stalled with 17 lb left to lose. I'm trying to eat healthy and go for walks but that's all for now. I'm going to start Jillian Michaels once I get the ok from the dr.

The lactation consultant at the hospital recommended introducing a bottle at 3 weeks so today we gave LO his first bottle of breast milk. It went perfectly well. He drank all 3.5 oz. DH fed him while I pumped and I got 8 oz!! In my morning sessions I've been getting 2!

Also, my maternity leave is half over... When did that happen!?!

Ugh, you guys I have mastitis. It's awful. I woke up yesterday feeling achy, and my left breast was so tender and it had red streaks on it. I went to urgent care and got some antibiotics. I was such a mess because I had to leave dd and I didn't want to leave her. I hope I start feeling better soon. Thank goodness DH is still on leave.

@mrskc: How are you feeling? I've been thinking about you.

@T.H.O.U.: I'm down 20 too, but like @JennyPenny: I've stalled out it feels like it's stalled. My husband keeps reminding me that it's not even been 2 weeks ... This was after watching me try to get into my normal jeans today.

@chibee: The first few days were rough. I'm 2 weeks post c section tomorrow and I feel more like my self the past few days. I know it's hard, but make sure to take time for yourself. My sister had a baby in the NICU and she always talks about how emotionally exhausting and draining it was. Let other people help you and just remember that you and your body have gone through a lot. And, of course, if you start to feel like you are getting under your emotions, don't hesitate to call your doctor.

Sorry I haven't been around much! I mostly read HB on my phone now while feeding, and can't type one-handed! Baby is doing well, though didn't quite gain enough for his 2w appointment. So now even more feeding, so exhausting! And I never shared his birth story, so here goes:

We were at a friend's house on Saturday night (1w before due date). I was having some contractions, but I had had them the night before too, and they didn't turn into anything. My friend said that many women have them for days, so don't get too excited. They started up again at around 1:30am Sunday morning. I didn't even bother waking up DH, since I didn't think it was real. I got out of bed to get through one at 3:30, and my water broke! So I texted my doula and called L&D. They asked me to come in right away to get checked out.

We got to triage around 4:30am. Sat in the bed for a while getting monitored and they said I was "too happy" to be in active labor, so they sent us to go walking and have breakfast. When we got back, we were told they couldn't admit me yet, so it was back in the bed for more monitoring. Then all the delays... Not enough rooms in L&D, then not enough nurses to staff the rooms, etc. I complained, but I still didn't get admitted until around 1pm I think.

In the meantime, the doctor told me she wanted to start pitocin, but I asked her to check how far along I was first. She noticed that there was still a bit of a water bag, so as soon as I was admitted she broke it and labor picked up. I was only 3cm at that point though. I then got in the tub and stayed there for a long time, eventually contemplating the epidural since it hurt so bad.

My doula showed up (she had been at another birth), and she helped me stick it out a while longer. I finally decided I was done with the tub, and actually felt better out of it. The doctor again wanted to try pitocin, so she checked me again and found I was barely at 4cm. I agreed, since I was tried of the pain and we all needed some rest. Such a good decision

About 4hrs after the epi/pit, I was checked again and was at 9cm! We were all surprised that it worked that fast. 10cm came pretty quickly after that, and time to push. By the time I was pushing, I had a really bad headache and backache, and I was on my side which caused reflux. I couldn't even drink water because it made it all worse. Luckily, pushing only took 50mins. And baby came out screaming and peeing

Wow, that was long!

@Mrs.Someone: Wow! Great birth story. I'm glad everything went well.

hi all! I am super grateful that this postpartum thread is here - the 2.5 weeks since my little guy was born have been such a roller coaster. I only feel like I've been leveling out for real for the past few days- and that's probably because we've had three great nights of sleep (all different configurations, but adding up to about six hours for me and a bit more for hubs.)

I actually was reading through the August 2013 postpartum thread last night because I felt like I was losing my mind with the emotions and the tiredness and all of the worry of 'is this normal'? It was so comforting to actually read so much of what I've felt/feel from moms who were here just a year ago. If anyone else needs that comfort like I did, check out their thread.

@chibee: I just wanted to chime in and say YES. You have have it even harder than most, having to go to the NICU to see your little one. I was a hot mess the first two weeks, and still have hours each day where I feel completely overwhelmed/sad/angry/resentful/not like myself at all. You are so amazing from what I've read about you just on these threads, and I'm sending you good thoughts. You are not alone in these feelings!

@Mrs.Someone: love that birth story! thank you for sharing - i can't believe you sat in triage/non admitted for hours!

I've never done this before, but I'm inspired by a little check in from the August 2013 PP thread. Wanna play?

2 Things You're Loving About Newborn Parenthood:

2 Things You are Not Loving about Newborn Parenthood:

Here's mine:

Loving:
1- All the little noises my son makes - cooing when he sleeps, the snorts when he's super hungry and just about to latch.
2- Breastfeeding. It's not always perfect and sometimes I feel so 'trapped' by being his sole source of food, but when we get a good latch and he does those big gulps, I get a wave of exhilaration I never expected.

Not Loving:
1- So. Tired. (Sleep deprivation). This was something I expected but could not actually prepare for. I get anxiety about the nights, not knowing if we'll get a cluster feeding/sleep schedule of every hour sleep and an hour awake, or if we'll get lucky and get a few 2-3 hour chunks. And the not knowing how long he'll be awake each time - 45 minutes if we're lucky and sometimes as long as 2 hours, which is killer at 4 AM.
2- Constantly questioning myself. I have had to fight the 'is this normal'? questions for everything- breastfeeding, naps, nighttime sleep, swaddling, crying, etc. I had to stop using an app that tracks feeds/diapers/sleeping because I was obsessing over his 'schedule' and comparing it to previous days, trying to make out a routine.

Anyway, sending everyone thoughts of good sleeping and good eating and good health to you and your babes!

@BakerBee: @mrskc: @yellowskates: @kodybear: thank you for validating my craziness!!

Good news is that Jack is finally home!! I am seriously, SERIOUSLY overwhelmed and feel like i have NO idea what i'm doing. The first couple of hours - DH and i literally looked at each other and went what did we just do?? and then felt horrible. Then his parents came over and i felt so much better bc my MIL helped me change him, and held him while i ate. I've been pumping while he's been in NICU and putting him to breast every time i could when i visited him, but i really hate pumping and my supply seems a tiny bit inadequate but i am supplementing with formula anyway so i really REALLY don't want to have to pump... ok i am rambling bc i need an outlet - he's finally sleeping in his bouncer after his feeding (is this bad?) and i'm on the couch catching up on emails and whatnot.

2 things I love:

1. i am so, so grateful he is home and out of the NICU, and that he is one of the lucky ones in the NICU who had a short stay with a very minor issue. I'm just loving having him off all wires and iv lines and getting to hold him in the privacy of my home without other babies crying around me and machines beeping. On the other hand, I can't say enough for NICU staff - they are seriously underappreciated and i just can cry thinking about how good they were to jack and us during his stay.

2. my dogs are totally obsessed w/him! I love watching them obsessing over them, it makes me love them so much more!

not loving

1. I have no idea what i'm doing with breastfeeding, and feeding in general, and he hates to burp, and the nicu staff thought he had a bit of reflux and stressed importance of burping, leaving him upright for a bit after he eats, elevating his sleeping area a little bit on the head side, it's overwhelming, and feeding has been really stressful in general.

2. DH just started grad school - it is terrible timing, no fault of his own, i wish i could have his attention 100% of the time which is unrealistic but it makes things a little bit harder to manage.

@chibee: Glad he's home now!!! After my son was born, my DH and I had many moments the first couple of weeks where we were like "what have we done?!" It can be a tough transition going from zero to one kid. We both used to dread/feel depressed when it started getting dark out because we both dreaded the night wakings! Hang in there!