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@Smurfette: Haha, babies are funny. Xander has already rubbed all the hair off the back of his head. He has a big bald spot now!
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@Adira: haha - Andy has the opposite problem. He ONLY has hair on the back of his head.
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Thanks ladies! I am always trying to play catch up on the thread!!
the first 2 days at work has been exhausting. I have been getting up to speed and also pumping at work which has been a bit stressful with rushing to the designated area and my pump is causing clogs and pain 
Hopefully my boobs will get used to it. Wish I could lug my hospital pump (medela symphony) to work but its too heavy. As far as LO care is concerned I got lucky and my mom is staying with me a few weeks to get adjusted with working. I am looking at both daycare and nanny options most likely leaning towards nanny. In my area both are equally expensive.. but daycare hours are not so great and it doesn't work with my and DH work schedules. So hopefully we can get nanny hours to be a bit more flexible.
@shopaholic: Glad to hear your bubs is feeling better. Is that shot given in third month? Here at my ped they give shots at 2 months and then at 4 months. So this month no shots for my LO!!
@Adira: hope you are feeling better and your LO sounds cutest at entertaining you :-))
@aprk: he looks adorable can't believe how fast our babies are growing. My LO looks so much different from newborn stage. Can't wait for next milestones!! -
@silver1: it's crazy how fast they change! Good luck with your nanny search
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@aprk: haha, he looks like a balding old man!! So cute!!
@silver1: Sorry to hear that your pump isn't that great. Which one do you have? Good luck with the nanny search!
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Ugh, I feel bad. Xander has been wide awake since I fed him at 5:30, but I can't do anything because I have to get ready for work. I can just hear him babbling and squirming around in his crib. I don't understand how he's not tired!! He should sleep for another couple hours!
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@Adira: Don't feel bad. At least he wasn't crying and you had to just leave him.
@aprk: haha. He makes me smile every time I see his picture.
@silver1: Going back is exhausting. Glad your Mom is there to help with the adjustment. Bummer about the pump and clogged ducts. I got one the weekend before we started day care and work, no fun for sure. Good luck with the nanny search!
R slept 830-545 last night, 9 hours between feedings. So I know she can do it. I am going to try next time she wakes up in the middle of the night with a pacifier and see if I can get her back to sleep that way.
She is so congested and was coughing this morning. Poor thing. Then we think she got a bug bite on her eyebrow. Now DH gets why I yell at him every time he leaves the doors open when he goes outside.
I was so sad to leave her, she was so sleepy still and just wanted to snuggle.
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@Smurfette: So true! I think he was trying to roll over again, haha. When I finally went to get him (I had to bring him to daycare since Hubs is now sick), he was completely out of swaddle again. Though the poor guy was FINALLY asleep and I had to wake him to bring him to daycare! Oh well!
Oh my gosh, I'm so impressed with how long R slept!! That's awesome!! Definitely try the pacifier next time she wakes up in the middle of the night and let us know how it goes!
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@Adira: he really does!
@Smurfette: aw thanks. I'm impressed with R's sleep last night!
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Day 2 of taking supplements and I pumped as much as I did in sessions last week in 2 today. I have enough for three bottles tomorrow already. So my last session will be freezer stash as long as she doesn't drink the 4th bottle today. I always send 4 in case.
This is what I am taking. Ignore the mess on my desk. Fenugreek, morning and night. The mothers tea isn't bad, drink twice a day. Note, I add Splenda to it. The mother love is nasty so I only take twice.
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So my husband is home sick today, so I brought Xander to daycare, which made me 30 minutes late to work. I HAVE to remember to call Hubs this afternoon to make sure he picks up Xander, since I have to stay late to make up time and won't be able to do it. I'm so afraid I'll forget to remind him (and he'll forget to do it)!
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@Smurfette: Oh my gosh, that's awesome!! Have you changed anything else, or just taking those supplements? I think I might have to do that because I would LOVE to get a little more output and not have to stress so much about getting the 15-20oz each day!
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@Adira: Besides eating healthier nope. I have been so tired, drinking 2 Diet Cokes a day verses 1. I got them all on amazon. I think you should look into it since you are so worried about pumping enough. Heck you might even be able to drop a session!
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@Smurfette: That's so impressive! I'll definitely look into it!
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Well, Hubs remembered that I wanted him to pick up Xander from daycare, but is apparently feeling even worse than he did this morning and was hoping I'd still do it! I told him I couldn't because I got into work so late so he would still need to do it! Poor guy. Although hopefully getting out of the house makes him feel better.
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@Adira: Aww, I hope your house is all on the mend soon!
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@Smurfette: Seriously!! I wonder if it's Xander bringing all these illnesses into our house! Though he seems the least affected by them, haha. Hopefully we'll all start feeling better soon!
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Kelsey has rubbed a ring around her whole head from looking left and right. I call it her "halo"!
@smurfette: glad to hear the supplements are working! My supply has always been low and during 3 pumping sessions at work I only get 4oz. I totally forgot about supplements. I might try the cookies and blended thistle and fenugreek, and possibly the tea, but I'm not sure at what point is overkill. Off to Amazon!
@adira: hope you and DH feel 100% soon!!!
@shopaholic: glad to hear K is feeling better!!
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@Smurfette: That is a great nights sleep! I hope it happens again. Sounds like the supplements are working good for you.
2:15 and on our first nap today. Crazy boy. I had some errands to run earlier and figured he would just sleep which he does lots when we were out. Boy was I wrong. We got home and he was screeming from being tired and hungry. He ate a tiny bit, I guess enough to hold him over and passed out. Poor guy, hopefully he goes to bed at a decent hour tonight.
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Hi ladies!!
I have a dilemma! I have to decide whether we want to send Pete to a local daycare for three days a week or hire a nanny/babysitter instead. At first, I was set on daycare because of the price. I've seriously toured every daycare in the NYC area and I had given up on it because every spot had a long waitlist. On Monday, I had a bit of a revelation. I realized that I could probably find a young, reliable nanny-figure pretty easily and inexpensively. I teach at a very reputable/affluent all-girls private school in Manhattan and they have a list-serv for recent graduates. I realized that I could probably hire a recent college graduate from my school who is maybe in grad school part time, or studying for the MCATs or LSATs. I would hire her to watch Pete 3 days/week for about $100/day. I would require her to go to an infant cpr/first aid class and would ask her to begin coming over in August so that she could get the hang of caring for him with me still there. She could also take our dog out once a day so we would save money on a dog walker. And, it wouldn't be like hiring a total stranger since she'd have come from this pretty intimate school community.
Well, I had just decided on this plan on Monday and then today I was offered a spot in a local daycare (of course!). The daycare has a good reputation and I was pretty pleased with it on the tour, although most of the children were gone for the day.
The cost of both options ends up being almost exactly the same. I made a pros/cons list of both situations, but they kind of even out. I really don't know which one to choose and I have to hand in my $600 security deposit by Friday if I want to keep the spot at the daycare! Ahhh so stressed! I love the convenience and one-on-one attention of a nanny but I also love the stimulation and checks-and-balances of an established daycare.
I know that I ultimately have to make the decision with my husband, but I needed to vent on here. It's really been on my mind all day! Any thoughts or input would be appreciated.
Our dinner is ready now so I have to run but I hope to write about our crazy sleep rollercoaster later! Hope everyone is having a good day!
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@QueensBee: better two options than none! As for the nanny, would it be long term or would you have to make a new plan next year?
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@aprk: That's a good perspective!! I also try to remember that it's not a lifelong commitment. If we absolutely hate our choice, we can always take him out of daycare or find a new nanny. It would be a pain but certainly not the end of the world.
We've had kind of a wild week with sleep. For two nights, it was GREAT! First, he slept from 9pm-8am, only waking twice and he fell right back asleep as soon as I popped a pacifier in his mouth. Then the next night he slept from 8pm-6:30am straight without waking up once. I know there are great sleepers on this board who do this every night but for Pete, this was a first and it was amazing! He was also taking long and deep naps in the morning and afternoon.
And then....
last night was a bust! He didn't fall asleep until 10pm (we have him swaddled and ready for sleep by 7:30pm so this is a long stretch of fighting sleep) and then woke up at 3am. He would not go back to sleep and it took me an hour to finally get him back down in his crib. Then he woke up again at 5:45am and was awake for the morning. He took some little cat naps but nothing very restful. I tried taking him to a mommy/baby yoga class at noon (we had pre-paid for it), and of course he became incredibly tired at 12:30pm. So I left the class early, hoping to get him home for a good long afternoon nap. Sadly, I think I missed my window and he was overtired by the time we got home and refused to sleep. I pretty much had him swaddled in my arms for the majority of the afternoon but he just would not close his eyes. Finally, he had an exhausted baby meltdown at 7pm and has been sleeping since. I've been journaling every detail of this, in accordance with the No Cry Sleep Solution, but I feel like his sleep has been all over the map this week.I am still grateful for that 9-6:30am stretch though. It was so lovely! Looking forward to more of those at some point!
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@smurfette: It looks like you've got the bm supplements down! So glad they are working out for you and I will definitely reference this thread when I go back to work in the fall for your reccs.
@adira: How is hubs feeling tonight? you guys have had a rough stretch! Keep drinking your OJ!!
@alv91711: Sounds like Pete and Isaac are on similar sleep patterns. Did he have a good long nap once he finally fell asleep at 2:15pm?
@aprk: What a sweet little photo! His orange onesie looks so soft and comfortable. I love his hair!
@silver1: I know, this thread can be so hard to keep up with! But, I do love that it's so active! Glad you are surviving your first days back, although the pumping sounds like a real pain. How are your boobs feeling now? The good news is that it's almost Friday, if you can believe it!
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@Smurfette: I take those supplements too I have the Mother's love in capsule (I buy on amazon) and you can just swallow it without the nasty taste.
@Adira: Hope you feel better soon. I have the medela pisa I got it after looking at the great reviews I mean it is good but then it does not empty in 20 minutes and I cannot spend time any more time at work..
@QueensBee: my boobs are still getting used to it and I'm constantly applying heat pack at home ya can't wait for friday! wow 9-6:30 sounds heavenly looks like you got a great sleeper most days!! I am going thru some of the same things in my nanny / daycare search. One important consideration for me to getting nanny is if baby gets sick then I don't have to worry with nanny vs. I can't leave baby in daycare. Also since LO is still very young its likely he can get sick in daycare the first few months.. another side benefit with nanny is if she speaks multiple languages then baby can pick up another language. This is esp. important for me since I am non-english speaking and would like my baby to be multi-lingual too.
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@QueensBee: The sleep is just crazy. It is like if they can sleep a long stretch one night, why can't they do it every night. He had a couple one hour naps this afternoon and then was asleep at 8:30 tonight. The earliest in a while. So we will see how the night goes. I'm going to get into bed here soon and hope he sleeps for a while. Good luck with the decision on daycare/nanny. There are definitely pro's and con's for both.
I'm definitely not looking forward to having to make this decision. I'm going to have to start looking this fall and I'm already dreading it.
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@sheskrafty: I take the cookies, fenugreek, mother's milk, mother love, lecithin.. I'm so full of supplements!!
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@QueensBee: Hubs is still sick. He said he felt even worse last night. I hope.he feels better soon, especially because he is supposed to watfh Xander on his own this weekend.
@silver1: I.have the same problem that I'm not empty in 20 minutes. I've been trying to squeeze in an extra five minutes, but it's hard and I'm STILL not empty.
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@sheskrafty: You have more will power then me. If I was getting 4 oz in 3 sessions, I would have quit a long time ago. @QueensBee: I would probably go with the day care. What if the nanny is sick? Plus I think it is good for children to be around other kids. As much as it stinks when they get sick from the germs at day care, I also think it is good cause in the long run I think day care babies are sick less often. At least that is what most teachers all tell me. The ones at home are sick way more come elementary school time.
Those long stretches of sleep are so nice! I hope you get another one soon.
@silver1: I didn't know they made it in a capsule. Darn it. I hate to spend more money but it is gross. Tastes like black licorice.
@Adira: Sorry he is still sick. I hope he feels better soon, so you don't have the miss your bachelorette party. -
DH and I were eating dinner last night and some friends stopped by to drop something off. They were only there like 10 mins, her and I were talking baby gear, as they were going to register. DH was holding R and she was looking out at everyone like she likes. She kept closing her eyes. She hadn't even been yawning. They left, and we did a sponge bath. Then I finished dinner while nursing her. It took an hour and half to get her asleep. I put her down at one point thought she was asleep. We watched her on the monitor scoot herself completely around in the crib, all swaddled up, and woke her self up. Finally at 9 I put her down and she was out, out. I had to wake her up at 620. She has a cough, so I know she is super tired cause she isn't feeling good. I think half the day care class has coughs right now. Poor thing. She is still smiling and happy in between her coughs. So hard waking her up though.
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@QueensBee: I would probably go with the daycare too. Like @Smurfette said - what if the nanny is sick? Plus I think it's good for kids to have the social interactions that they get at daycare (though I guess a nanny could always take him to some playgroups or something). And I think exposure to all the germs at a young age is so good for them in the long run!
@Smurfette: Wow, I'm impressed she slept until 6:20! Xander woke up at 4:00 again this morning, the little stinker! Bummer all the kids in her class are sick, but hopefully they'll all start feeling better soon! That's a good sign that she's still in good spirits even though she's not feeling well! It's crazy how resilient children are. I hope she feels better soon!
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@Adira: I just wonder how long she would have slept if I hadn't woken her up. She was still out!
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@Smurfette: Yeah, I wonder the same thing with Xander. After I fed him, he passed right back out and was still sleeping when I woke him up at 6:45, but once I strapped him into his car seat, he was wide awake! Oh well.
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@Adira: She looked like she would have fallen back asleep when nursing. I gave her to DH for snuggles in bed while I loaded the car up, and I think that woke her up. I was hoping she would have fallen asleep on the way to school. She was just looking all around. I know she isn't feeling good, she hasn't been "talking" as much the last couple days. I think it is just a cold but wondering how long do we let it go before taking her to the doctor.
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@Smurfette: Yeah, same here. I was hoping the ride to daycare would put Xander back to sleep, but he was just looking around too. And I think he might also be sick - he's got a cough. Probably the same thing Hubs and I have, though hopefully milder. Does R have a fever at all? I think if she doesn't have a fever and is in relatively good spirits, she's probably okay? Maybe call the doctor if she's been sick for 4 or 5 days though? I don't really know.
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@Adira: No fever. At least she doesn't feel hot to us. Just congested and coughing. Day care told me that they think it is just a chest congestion cough. I guess if she is ok being there then I don't need to take her to the doctor.
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@Smurfette: Yeah, that's probably true. Plus daycare probably has a lot of experience with sick babies, so they know what really sick looks like. But I hope she recovers quickly!
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Thanks so much for the advice, ladies! I am still torn but trying to interview some nannies today and tomorrow, just to see how comfortable I feel with them. Either way, I definitely plan on going with a daycare for the following school year, when Pete will be 18 months. I think he will really benefit from the socialization aspect, and even the germs, at that age.
Pete slept from 8pm-6am again! No wakeups! Of course, I had to get up at 4am to pump 7 ounces of milk out of my leaky boobs but it was a small price to pay. So right now, the pattern is... one good night, one bad night. How do we make them all good sleeping nights? And, he still can't fall asleep on his own so we're still working on that too.
I woke up *famished* this morning. Not sure if it's related to breastfeeding or just my lack of self control! It's only 10:30am and I've already had an english muffin, a smoothie, a coffee, a chicken cutlet sandwich, some pretzels and mixed nuts! And I could still munch on more....
@smurfette: Poor R with her little cough! I agree with Adira though... the daycare would probably tell you if they thought it was worth a trip to the pediatrician or keeping her home. Another amazing benefit of daycare is you get their years of expertise! Hope she is feeling better soon.
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@QueensBee: Totally random, but will you post a full-size image of your avatar? I suspect it's a totally cute picture of baby and dogs, but I can't tell for sure!
Good luck interviewing nannies! I hope you're able to figure out what you want to do! Maybe one of the nannies you interview will just knock your socks off!
Congrats on the sleep!!! Hopefully it'll become more consistent and he'll really start sleeping through the night. But who knows! Xander had a few days in a row last week where I ended up having to wake him up in the morning to feed him, but now he's waking up even earlier on his own! I have no idea what's going on.
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Day care just called, R only ate 1oz this morning. She has been crying for 45 mins. They said she isn't acting like herself, doesn't want to be held. Usually all she wants is to be held so she can see everyone. They are trying to give her another bottle, and they have another 40 mins to try but she doesn't want it either. T
Poor thing. I think I might just need to leave work and go nurse her or even just go home. I feel so bad. -
@Smurfette: Awww, maybe she really is sick and just wants her mama!!! I hope daycare is able to get her to take the bottle and that she starts to feel better.
the first 2 days at work has been exhausting. I have been getting up to speed and also pumping at work which has been a bit stressful with rushing to the designated area and my pump is causing clogs and pain 
Hopefully my boobs will get used to it. Wish I could lug my hospital pump (medela symphony) to work but its too heavy. As far as LO care is concerned I got lucky and my mom is staying with me a few weeks to get adjusted with working. I am looking at both daycare and nanny options most likely leaning towards nanny. In my area both are equally expensive.. but daycare hours are not so great and it doesn't work with my and DH work schedules. So hopefully we can get nanny hours to be a bit more flexible.
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