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@Mrsdaredevil: maybe she has gas? Or you are having a strong let-down? Or not letting down fast enough for her? Nico does that fussing at the breast thing sometimes, and was actually doing it this morning. I think it was because he had a burp. He was half-asleep and crying; it was frustrating. He seems to get anxious about burping sometimes. Other times it's because I sometimes have too fast/strong of a let-down, so I 'feed uphill' or I let some out and put him back on when it is a more normal flow.

@pastemoo: what a smart idea to convert onesies to t-shirts! I am really tempted to cut the bottom of Nico's swaddle blanket sleep sack, as it is too short for him now, but I keep thinking that maybe our next baby would be mad about that. Plus, Nico usually has his legs tucked up anyways, but I just don't want him to be hindered, in case he does feel like stretching out. I ordered a larger one in cotton and tried that out, but it seems too big, and he gets out of the swaddle. hmmmm.

@winniebee: so glad that the sleep tips are working out for you !

This weekend was my first time in my swimwear. When I am conscious about holding in my belly they look great on me, but it's hard to constantly do that. Once I was at the beach, I was either sitting down or holding the baby, so I didn't really feel like my belly was much on display anyways. I've lost a couple more pounds, so now I'm only about 3 pounds over prepreg weight. I totally never thought the 'baby weight' would fall off this easily....I'm sure glad. Again, the belly is still something to be conscious of: saw a photo someone took of me this weekend where I saw muffin top over the front of my jeans. But I don't mind because everyone knows that a new mommy will have a tummy.

On a down-side: I am finally admitting that I think I have hemorroids. I have my 8 week PP appointment this week, so I will ask about it. I think it came on at about 6 weeks PP, which I think is a bit weird. I think that's when Nico had a growth spurt and was feeding all the time and I didn't drink enough water and got constipated for a couple days. (And one poop came out attatched to the stitches, which I pulled out, not knowing it was stitches......but by 6 weeks that should have been dissolved?! Sorry this is getting so gross but it's my reality!) I keep thinking the hemorroids or whatever are going away and it's not. I have blood on the toilet paper after any bowel movement, and even a big drop of blood into the toilet. And I have a sore butt hole almost all day long. Boo. Everything I read about says to resolve constipation to fix it, but I'm not constipated at all. I poop a couple times a day and I'm not straining at all (just anxious because I know it will hurt) and the poops would generally be approved by the 'Dr. Oz' test, but they still feel like razor blades coming out. Can't wait for my Thursday appointment.

Also in my news this weekend: I reorganized my baby stuff. because of all the new clothes we got last weekend at the shower. I now have the baby pants rolled up so I can access whichever ones match the onesie of the day best. My big problem now is that I feel bad for the clothes that might not get worn much. So I'm only putting him in the 3 month onesies even though the 6 month ones look fine on him too. ANd I have a new rotation system where after he wears one and I wash it, I fold it up tiny and put it in a different pile, so that I will access the ones that haven't been worn recently. And I have started packing away the things that don't fit. Yep, he's outgrown like 3 sleepers and all his newborn cloth diapers. I am using baby gift bags to store them for now and then I'll put the gift bags as I haven't pre-bought storage containers. Oh, and I was given a bunch of things that won't fit him until the fall or next summer, so I stored those at the 'back' of the top drawer, where I have the socks and bibs. And I put the baby shoes and hats in a little storage basket near our front door. I still haven't put any shoes on Nico, but they'll be ready if I feel like doing it. I also put Nico's soft toys and hard toys into 2 baskets and moved the zillions of blankets to a new storage spot to get them off the ground (had them in a basket on the ground but there were wayyyy too many for that and the tower of blankets growing out of the basket looked ridiculous). Phew.

I am totally avoiding 'getting up' today. My goal is to clean the house top to bottom, as we are having overnight guests tonight. Nico is still sleeping and I 'should' be doing it now. Hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

@winniebee: I wouldn't worry about the weight as much. I gained 30 lbs with Mavrick and it took a good 6 months to get down to only 5 lbs to lose. What's important is to drink lots of water and get some rest. Eventually once you get a "routine" you can concentrate on shedding the extra pounds.

As for sleep... no advice here, because Sienna is so unpredictable. I wish we had a magic wand or something.

@cvbee: haha! I should be cleaning the house too yet here I am on the computer. It's crazy how fast they grow and I think your "organizing" is smart! If you have things hung in a closet (I have pjs and dresses, but alas you don't have dresses) you can always put the hanger the other way for things that have been worn, so you know to put on something else.

@winniebee: Oooo this sounds great!!! I never read the book the first time around, but heard great things about it. Maybe if things don't as smoothly in a week or so, I might consider it. So dont mind if I follow along your progress

@winniebee: The first part of my weight came off quickly, but the last 10 lbs are hanging on. I keep trying to remind myself that I'm barely 3 weeks postpartum, and that I'm still in recovery mode. But I'm tired of seeing the mommy pouch that used to be my flat tummy. I want it gone now!
I think Audrey has a cold - she was super fussy and seems congested. She was having a hard time sleeping, so now I have her on my chaise lounge chair that has a bit of elevation to it, and she's been asleep for almost 2 hours now. I think we might have to prop up one side of her crib tonight to see if that helps her evening sleep.

@pastemoo: I will pick up the tucks wipes tomorrow when I'm in town. I feel like it's an 'internal' issue though, but I will try anything. It's actually the worst when I'm sitting up and breastfeeding. I could do side-laying more often. Hopefully it will be a thing of the past soon.

Hey everyone with the weight loss issues who are still early-on: I didn't even start wearing my regular clothes until 3 weeks PP. I'm 8 weeks now: every week makes a difference with the return to the old body. I've never really had a flat tummy even though I'm a thin gal, so I'm pretty set-up with my clothes to not be tight or accentuating that area.

Got the house clean but not much else today. Nico has been a little extra-fussy. One fussy session I solved: turned out he had to toot! I gave the bicycle leg thing a try for a couple minutes and then held alternating legs for about 10 seconds each in bike pose and he started letting them rip. Then I held both legs in. It was unbelievable how much gas came out of that little body. K, so then I felt sooo good about figuring that out and he was all happy. But then he got hungry and I fed him and he was fussy AGAIN. I tried so many ways to burp him and he fought me the whole time. I got one mini-burp out and managed to trick him into sleeping a few times, but every time he woke up he was mad. Right now I've tricked him into sleeping again. Hope he gets over this gassy fussy thing because we are having overnight guests tonight who will be seeing him for probably the only time they will ever see him as an infant. Want to make a good impression. (And yet there is this voice in the back of my head saying that he's just a baby and if he's fussy he's fussy.....but I can't help but want him to be 'good'. This is probably the beginning of a long life of hoping for him to be good. !

@marriedandlovingit: Nico just recently started his social smile too (a bit late? wait, i must stop comparing my baby to standards!) and it is absolutely delightful.

@cvbee: lol! Never compare your lo to others! It will drive you insane. Easier said than done though.

I'm envious that you cleaned your house. Mine is slowly becoming more cluttered and dusty by the day. I have enough time most days to just wash bottles, pump and do laundry when lo is asleep. Oh, and shower. That is a priority!

I was using a sleepsack on my son, but he kept getting into the most uncomfortable positions in the bassinet. It sits at an incline, and it doesn't work out that well. So I switched back to a swaddle last night. I may try him in his crib for naps this week.

Ugh, I spoke to soon. Tyler only had 3 sleep stretches last night - 1:45, 2 and 2 - I can't seem to get him down well after his 4:30ish feed and then can't get him back down at all after his 6:30ish feed. Also, I still feel like I have no read on any of Tyler's cries/cues except when he is hungry and I know he hates his diaper change so there is a specific cry there.

I feel like all I do is complain on here lately. I just thought that by 4 weeks we would be in a routine, etc. Don't get me wrong, we have great days and I love my son to pieces. It's just....harder than I thought it would be.

@cvbee: Thanks for the encouragement. I'm almost 4w PP and can't fit into anything non maternity except jersey dresses. I am going to get some in between clothing because I think it will help me feel better about myself.

@marriedandlovingit: Aw, social smiling can't wait for that! I'd be seriously pissed if AF returned at 6 weeks - I still haven't stopped spotting yet!

@MsMini: Your poor chest!!

@marriedandlovingit: AF already?! whoa!!! I forget, are you EBF?

@Goldilocks1107: The best gift you can give Audrey is a happy Mommy. No guilt because you know yourself and what you need and that is what you must do.

Doh! When I was in town for the infant hearing screen (and yes, Nico can hear: not surprised) I forgot to get the tucks wipes for my poor bumbum.

@marriedandlovingit: Cleaning is not important. I just did all that cleaning yesterday, and yes, the house was so nice and clean for my overnight guests, but now it is dirty again. That's how housework goes. You might have heard this poem before, but I thought I'd share it. My grandma had cross stitched this and hung it on her wall and I remember reading it so many times as a little girl.....it came back to my mind when Nico was a newborn, and my grandma gave me her cross-stitch as a present when I told her about relating to it. Here is the poem:

Cleaning and dusting can wait til tomorrow
for babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

@cvbee: &@marriedandlovingit: Thanks ladies! I mentioned to DH that I was feeling bad about it, and he told me not to (which is a nice change from when I mentioned I was considering stopping and he said he'd support me, but that he liked the fact Audrey was getting "natural" food and not using a lot of formula was saving us money - um, not supportive honey!).

Today's challenge: go to the gym with Audrey and get in a workout that doesn't include running from the cardio area to the Kids Club because I'm being called over the intercom. It will be my first experience with the Kids Club, and I'm a little nervous. Plan of attack: I'm dressed, pumped and waiting for Audrey to wake up. I'll then feed her, change her diaper and put her in the car seat and hit the road.

Maybe I should go put her diaper bag in the car now . . .

I wanted to sleep and nico wanted to party. The magic combination: Snuggabunny bounce chair on vibrate plus soother in mouth.

Now would I be a bad person to just fall asleep now and leave him in there?

@marriedandlovingit: oooh! congrats! that's exciting.

And as an update I don't think I can just leave Nico in the vibrating chair because he is pooping.... loudly. Diaper change time.

Ah! I think that the growth spurt is over, but Sawyer was super grumpy/cuddly today, so it was hard to get stuff done. I am hoping for more sleep tonight, I miss my 4-5 hour stretches, since he has been 3 hours max since the weekend. We are going to try to get to bed earlier than 11 (we have been "sleeping" 11-12 until 10 am).

@marriedandlovingit: I am not getting much house cleaning done either! I can tackle a couple things per day (dishes/laundry/vacuuming/dusting/making bed) but a whole house clean ... not a chance!

@winniebee: I don't think things with Tyler sound out of control or anything, I just think that you might have had somewhat unrealistic expectations, babies are too young to have a real routine at this age, there are so many other factors at play (fluctuations in milk supply, growth spurts etc) in the first weeks of life. From what I understand developmentally babies aren't able to support a routine until around the 3 month mark. Any routine people see before that are more "patterns" than a real routine. Hang in there, it will get there eventually!

@Goldilocks1107: I think you did awesome, especially considering you originally didn't intend to provide any breast milk. I think pumping is really hard (in so many ways harder than breastfeeding), and you just need to do what is best for you.

@cvbee: We had the sleep vs party issue the other night, it was midnight, and he was chattering away in the cradle. When I turned out the light to see what he was up to he looked over at me with the biggest grin, so I brought him into bed to visit until her fell asleep (at 2 am).

@winniebee: I had the same issues with the forceful letdown (but it's not because of pumping because I rarely pump) and I do the recline with baby on top thing too, with much better results. I 'finish' with sitting up though because I read that if you don't you could get mastitis from the breast not draining fully. I have also found that a few times a day if I make Nico do bicycles with his legs (pushing the knee all the way to his tummy and the opposite leg stretched out to the ground, doing some fast ones for a while, and some where I hold him in that position for 10 seconds) then he gets out his extra gas down there and is much happier.

Now, winnibee, disregard what I'm about to write because I know how much you want a schedule, but you have a 4 week old and I have an 8 week old. So, I've decided today to stop feeding on-demand and put the baby on a schedule instead because he is 'old enough' in my opinion. He's been going sometimes 4-5 hours between feedings and when that happens at night, it is glorious, but it has been happening a lot in the day lately. So, I've decided that I am going to feed him every 3 hours all day.....this is what my friend with a 3 month old does (her 2nd baby) and I think it might work for us. I wrote out the schedule and it felt great to do, as I am used to writing out and following my day plan as a teacher. Today is day 1 on the schedule so I'll let you know how it goes maybe next week, but I am pretty excited about it.

3 hours til our doctor appointment! Can't wait to find out how much Nico weighs and to find out why I have razor blade poops. I decided not to give Nico tylenol before the appointment, but if he seems really upset after I will stop at the store and get some for after. I have a feeling that he'll be fine without: he's a tough little guy.

@LAGS: About the noises, yes! My son wakes me up all of the time with his little noises. This morning when he woke up, he was squealing in his crib. It was adorable!

@winniebee: It turns out the bleeding wasn't AF. It was just bleeding from recovery that started back up again after a two week hiatus. My dr said it is normal.

I'm curious about that Australian hold. I will have to check it out.

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today. My throat has been hurting since I woke up this morning. Nothing serious. More a pain in the ass than anything.

While I was nursing my son this morning, I was looking up different ways of swaddling my son since he was breaking out of the swaddle that he wasn't supposed to be able to break out of. I googled the double swaddle that I keep hearing about and I came across this:

If we think having one child is hard (or twins like @auntpol....), I just found out that one of my sister's friends is having another set of twin boys! She already has 4 year old twin boys. Can you imagine?

update: he is in pain i had to really spoil him to settle him and now he is sleeping again, poor thing

@Goldilocks1107: Around 6 weeks Nico started to out-pee his newborn diapers...even though they are cloth I think it is a similar thing. I bet you might be okay with the size 1s. I used some size 1 disposables on Nico in the hospital, thinking they were newborns and they worked even though they were bigger. I remember that they held so much pee that at diaper change time I couldn't even tell if he had peed or not unless i compared the weight of the diaper to an empty one. (and I had to keep track of his pees because of his jaundice....it was sooo much easier with the NB disposables to tell if he peed). Anyways, maybe it is indeed time to move to size 1 because of the pee, not the fit.

Fed Nico and he did the pain cry at diaper change time, but I settled him again. Now I see why parents get all upset about the first immunizations: it's possibly the first time really seeing baby in pain. (On the up-side, now I know what his pain-cry looks and sounds like ).

@LAGS: Tonight I wish he was louder, as I keep worrying that he's having a bad reaction to the shots and is not breathing. My Mom said that after having me, a loud sleeping baby, she kept thinking my brother stopped breathing because he made no noise in his sleep. She said she'd always have to put her face right up to his little nose to check. So, loud is helpful for knowing they are alive. I like the noises: I've got a total grunter.

@marriedandlovingit: Um, no I can't imagine twins!! Or even having an infant while also having a toddler!

@Goldilocks1107: Poopsplosion LOL. We have lots of pee through accidents (one every few days).

@cvbee: Thanks for the info on your letdown issues. The lactation consultant seems to think that Tyler will be able to better deal with it in another week or so when he's even a little bigger. Sorry Nico had a rough evening - I am so sad thinking about the shots already! Hope your bum gets better soon.

Tyler's sleep this week has been so.much.better. He's sleeping for multiple 3 hour stretches at night and for longer naps during the day, too. Though we resisted the swaddle at first (because he seemed so distressed by it) it's really helping and now I think he understands that sleep = swaddle.

After consulting with a lactation consultant yesterday re: oversupply and forceful letdown, she agrees that I should be feeding him on one side only to make sure he gets hindmilk and then NOT pumping the other side if possible (only pumping for comfort) and if he is in cluster feed mode, feed one side for up to 4 hours. Crazy how engorged I feel from not pumping the other side that he doesn't nurse on. Hopefully my supply regulates in a few days. Also to use the reclining positions to help with letdown. We'll see how it goes....

DH is off this weekend (after being on for two weekends in a row) and we are headed out of town to his family's lakehouse (though, no comforts are spared there). It's the place where DH and I fell in love (and the place where Tyler was conceived, ssh!) Pretty excited about getting away and having some extra hands around this weekend.

For father's day, I got DH some nice whiskey glasses and a framed picture of Tyler for him (he works in a hospital so can't take it to work but can leave it upstairs in our office to look at while he works : )

Hope you all have a great weekend!