Hellobee Boards

@anonysquire: i hadn't thought about jewellery! I don't really wear much jewellery day to day, so i probably wouldn't, but it sounds like a really sweet idea!

Things are okay here, but I had a TERRIBLE morning!! I wanted to take Aaron into my work to show him off a bit - its a 20 min drive on a good day, longer with traffic. I got Aaron to sleep after his morning feed, put him in his car seat ready to go, and he had a massive spew all over the nice outfit I'd picked for him, and obviously woke up. Changed him, cleaned him, got him back to sleep (or so I thought) and put him in the car - about 10 minutes in all hell broke loose and he would NOT stop screaming til we got to school, a good 35 minutes later. In the process he poo'd through his diaper and onto the second nice outfit I picked for him. I cleaned him, changed him, put him in the carrier, and he was a perfect little gentleman during our visit, charming the hell out of all my coworkers and especially my principal. Fell asleep in the carrier, I walked around for ages to keep him asleep, put him in the car seat, and what do you know? 5 minutes in, screaming his head off again. For the entire 45 minute car ride home. And another poopsplosion to top it off.

The silver lining is that once i got him home, cleaned, and fed, he fell straight to sleep and has been sleeping 3 1/2 hrs! Still wouldn't want to go through another morning like this, though.

@ScarletBegonia: Awww babies sure know how to ruin an outfit quick eh? Does Aaron take a pacifier? If Zuma ever cres in the car that's the only way she will stop. But it freaking kills me hearing her cry in the car glad you got to show him off though!

@Bao: I started pumping like day 3pp or so because I was paranoid that I wasn't makin any milk. Hahahah idiot ftm. Anyways now I pump for when I go back to work and because I'm super uncomfortable breastfeeding in public or out and about so if we ever leave the house I bring a frozen bag of 5 ounces. Anyway I only pump once a day because I'm lazy but I've been getting 15 ounces total when I pump. I guess because I started early? Idk. I hope your dad heals quickly through the surgery!

@anonysquire: I have a J pendant with a stone in it and will probably get an L one to go along with it. I want to do a tattoo of a key ring with a key for each of us but want to be sure before I commit. Also 15 ounces in one session is so awesome!

@ScarletBegonia: oh dear, been there with J! He always mucked up the outfit I wanted to go out in without fail. I learned to feed earlier and let it settle before packing him up. L doesn't have this problem - at least not yet. Glad you had a good visit!

@Bao: I pump about twice a week in the morning after her first feed. I pump the full breast first and then do the one she just ate off and get about 3-4 ounces. I never freeze it, we always use it in a day or 2.

Ugh, Leah is driving me crazy with her night "sleep". She goes to sleep after nursing then rocking and will sleep about 2 hours in her bassinet and then she is up and cranky pretty much all night, only sleeping in my arms. She calms and actually sleeps for a good stretch around 5 am. J wakes between 6:30 and 7. I'm so tired

We go in for Nora's two week appointment today. I hope that she's back up to weight since we had some breast-feeding issues she was down a little bit. I'm also hoping that if she's back up to weight I won't have to wake her for night feedings. Even though she still wakes up on her own every two hours now, when she sleeps through longer periods it will be nice not to have to wake her up!

@anonysquire: i've been planning to get a really cute bracelet off of etsy that has her name and birthstone on it. I just have to order it today!

@Bao: the lactation consultant had me pumping last week a little bit just to establish supply since and had a rough latch for a while. I was getting 2 to 4 ounces per session. I have it in the freezer now hoping to start a stash so that DH can feed her in a couple of weeks with the bottle!

@Mrsjets: sorry about the sleep. Hopefully it's a phase that she goes over quickly! We've been having some cluster feeding here and she was up for the past three nights every hour and a half. Last night seems to have gone better and we got a few 2 to 3 hour stretches. Can't wait for sleep to level out a bit!

@Bao: I'm not pumping. I have an over supply as it is, so I need to tame that down. I actually don't even have a pump. I had one for DS and never used it so I figure I'll get one once it looks like I might need one.

@debbiei8: I've been pumping at like 3am because she will only feed from one side and the other side is painful.

@fussygal: If she's eating every hour, I'm sure she's really building up your milk supply and I'll bet she'll get a lot of the hind milk soon, if she isn't already! My LC in the hospital said that during those feeding frenzy times when they feed often but sometimes not for that long, you can put them back on the same boob a couple of times so that they get the full complement of milk. I did this for a few days and now Aaron and I have gotten in the habit of just doing one boob fully at every feed. Its really rare for him to take both sides in one feed.

I'm doing really well, Aaron is 5 weeks on Friday (!!!!) - things are still going really well, he's feeding well and sleeping usually a 4-6 hr stretch at the beginning of the night (usually 9-1, 9-2 or 9-3am), then a 3 hr stretch, then little sleeps in the morning. I find him really difficult to settle him after about 530am.

The GREAT news is that my parents arrive from Canada tomorrow morning!! I live in Sydney, Australia so its very exciting that they are making the trip! They are so excited to meet Aaron and I'm so excited to have some help around the house for 5 weeks!

I'm so jealous of you early March mamas and you LOs that sleep longer than two hours

@ScarletBegonia: when you put him on the same boob multiple times is it all within one feeding with breaks or is it starting from the same side you finished on during the last feeding? Have fun with your parents! It will be so fun for them to spend time with the LO!

@Mrsjets: luckily my supply seems to be pretty good. I've been putting him on one side, offering both and then starting on the last side for the next feeding. Is that what you did? Glad the probiotics are working!!

@fussygal: Yay great news! Umm still not sleeping much here so don't be too jealous

@fussygal: I'm so happy for you that she is back above birth weight!! What a relief it is

It's been a great 24 hours so far with my parents, I think the only time I've held Aaron has been when I've been feeding him! My mom is obsessed with him. It's been nice having a bit of a break! I really need to start pumping regularly and get A on a bottle so hubby and I can hopefully get out & about a bit while my parents are here & can babysit! I'm a little annoyed cause my husband had a work dinner last night that he said he was dreading, would be home 9-10ish cause it was going to be so shit...guess who rolled in wasted at 2:30am!? And still complaining that the dinner was crap and he hates his colleagues...well why are you staying out with them til 230 then?? Ugh. I think it's a response to being stuck at home most nights since A was born - we get out with him a lot during the day but his evenings are unreliable so we've been sticking close to home...I think my husband needed a night out. At least I've got one in the bank now, my best friend is visiting from Melbourne in 4 weeks and I'm definitely calling in the night out card! #pumpanddump

@PixieStix: congrats and welcome back! We have birthday twins, yay! We are pretty excited about Pi Day as a birthday (plus our anniversary is the day before, so we are happy to not share that date Planning a big bash with family next year already since it will be 3.1415 lol

With my first I had a lot of breastfeeding issues, it took a lot of visits to the lactation consultant and time, but after 7 weeks we hit smooth sailing and it got easier. That probably has helped me this second time around, while it's hard to juggle two kiddos, the past experience helps considerably.

Hey everyone! I have been reading along, sorry I haven't posted.
Little E is two months old (!!) already! Here are his stats:
Weight: 8lbs 12 ounces
Length: 22 inches
Head circumference: 15in
He was a champ at getting his shots but the next morning he spiked a pretty big fever. He woke up to nurse and he was bright red. I was able to cool him off but it was a hard couple of days. He is feeling better tho. Yesterday he went to his first concert. The concert was to benefit St. Jude's children's hospital. We had a great time. E is awake so much more now, he loves looking at all the lights. N is such a great big brother and is always trying to comfort E when he cries.

Last night N, my father, and I took a trip to the ER because N managed to jam a cocktail straw up his nose. It just kept bleeding after we arrived home from the concert. I nursed E and left him with my Dh while we took N to be seen. Luckily N was just fine and E slept at least 5 hours last night!
We are really looking forward to a relaxed Easter tomorrow. What is everyone doing for Easter? Care to share pictures of finished Easter baskets? I will post pictures tomorrow.

@Dandelion: My parents had N with them because he was thirsty. He had been drinking out of the straw. I guess my dad picked him up and somehow the straw rammed up his nose. N started to cry and then his nose just started to pour blood and he dropped the straw. It had mostly stopped before we got home but continued to bleed while I nursed E. N did great while the doctors looked him over.
I know it is hard to believe E is two months already!!

Oh man we've had quite the last couple of days here. At almost 4.5 weeks exactly L became a different baby...inconsolable during awake times except for nursing. We ended up having the worst 24 hours of his life. He was better today thankfully and we ended up with our first real smiles today too!

I downloaded the Wonder Weeks app and I'm definitely drinking that kool-aid. L seems much more aware of his surroundings and the extreme fussiness started at the exact time of the first "leap." He's displaying a lot of the signs the author warns about and the developmental changes we've seen in the past couple days seem to support the idea that he is noticing the world around him and things are changing for him. It says it can last a week but I'm hoping that part is wrong

I've also been in cluster feeding hell the past 2 days but that also seems to be getting better. I'm wondering if the cluster feeding is from his developmental changes or a growth spurt as well.

L is one month now (what?!) and was 9lbs 5 oz (that's 2 pounds up from his birth weight exactly...craziness!) and 21 inches long at his appointment this week. I think his head circumference was 38 cm.

@lemondrop: Oh yay! That's too cool.

I've visited an LC already and thinking about going back (if I can get insurance to pay). She corrected our positioning but we managed to back-slide with the progress. Got blisters for the first time this past week. Our little guy is seeing a pediatric ENT this week to get his tongue-tie clipped. I hear it does wonders for other kiddos and the breastfeeding gets way better afterwards... but of course I'm nervous that it will do nothing for us.

@fussygal: Sorry you're struggling with the latching as well. I feel like a broken record here but how is it that something "natural" is a learned skill?! Crazy to me. At any rate, I hope you and I both are success stories in the making!

@MrsRcCar: Aw man. Poor N! Glad to hear he took it like a champ though. And it sounds like E is getting nice and big! How are your breastfeeding ventures going this time around, if you don't mind me asking?

@debbiei8: St Patty's day is cool! We almost had our boy on the 18th (scheduled induction) but on the 13th I had high blood pressure that wouldn't go down, hence the induction and then C-section on the 14th. I find it funny now that all through my pregnancy I told myself "Anything but a C section!" Turned out not as bad as I thought.

Hi everyone… I'm trying to catch up. We've had a rough go of it over here too. J is a really fussy baby who HATES to sleep. He fights it so hard and it is so clear he's exhausted. We had the worst of it after Easter (naturally he slept the whole time we were at the ILs house) and was up from 10:30-2am, unconsolable. He kept being a fuss-bucket all day and I was so frayed I almost lost it the next day to the point where DH came home from work early to tag in. naturally J finally fell asleep as daddy came home, but I got a two hour nap and could face the rest of the day. Amazing how much your perspective changes with a couple hours of sleep! J has been (I hesitate to say) better about sleeping since then.

We were having nursing issues too, and after a few ped appts and a visit from a LC it turns out that the first few weeks J was a bear bc he was constantly hungry and not efficiently taking my milk even though I was producing enough. We've had to supplement with formula, and are slowing minimizing that. I was pretty disappointed, but now that I finally see a content, happy baby I know it was the right decision. He also sleeps a smidge longer so I have a chance to pump and get my supply up a bit more, as well as have some milk in the fridge for supplements.

But J is a month today!

@PixieStix: How did your apt with the ENT go? Any news/relief?

Things are going okay here - Aaron is 6 1/2 weeks, and has been on an excellent sleep schedule these past couple of days (but I know better than to get used to it!) - last night he went 930-500! His naps have been getting a bit worse, but I'll take it if means such good night sleep. He's been SUPER fussy today so I'm expecting a huge sleep regression tonight!

How are you all keeping busy on mat leave? My parents are here at the moment so I've got company, but when they leave I'm going to need to fill up my days!

Hope everyone is well xo

@ScarletBegonia: wow - that is awesome sleep!! DD is 4 weeks (what?!) and is still mostly doing 2 hour stretches with a few 3-4 stretches in there. Can't wait until it gets longer!

I always thought I'd get so much done during the day while on mat leave, but honestly I rarely get one "big" chore done off list each day. I'm sure it will get better as she naps more, but right now she still eats about every 1.5 hours during the day and will only take long naps in my arms (which I actually love!). I try to put her in the crib or RnP, but she'll only stay down for 10-20 minutes. We're starting to go for walks more with the nicer weather (in the 80s this week!) and we have visitors (usually my mom) 2-3 times a week.

We're almost completely weaned from the nipple shield! Still using it at night b/c it's so much quicker when we're both sleepy, but hoping to quit soon. Feeding isn't as efficient with the shield, it goes slower and she gets frustrated, popping on and off a lot, hence the feedings every 1,5 hours. Still seeing an LC once a week to help us out. She's having no trouble gaining weight though - she's already 11 lbs!!

@fussygal: I found a k'tan for $10 at Target (an online only return so it was heavily discounted). I love it! And L likes it if he's sleeping, but yesterday he got majorly pissed at me for putting him in it awake.

@fussygal: I have a non-padded ring sling that I use when we are out. At home I use a baby Bjorn. I am not a huge fan of the baby Bjorn, but it does get the job done. I also have an ergo, I plan to try it out this weekend at the zoo with my toddler. We are traveling in June and want to be able to carry both kids ( not by myself but I want to see if my toddler will tolerate it). Also good luck with weaning from the nipple shield. E just decided one day that shield was his worst enemy and we have been shield free ever since. Our nursing sessions went from 40 minutes to 30 minutes tops. (More often 20 minutes).