Hellobee Boards

@marriedandlovingit: Wow I so wish I watched this video before bed last night. LO used to be fine in a normal swaddle until we started using the sleep sack and woombie. Last night they were all in the wash so I had to go back to the normal swaddle blanket and she escaped every time! Thanks for posting!

@cvbee: Poor Nico, hope he's feeling better now. It seems we'll always find something to worry about, right?

@winniebee: Swaddling is a must. LO would fuss while doing it at first, but now she actually calms as we're doing it. They just have to learn we know what's best for them. Glad to hear you're getting better sleep and have a nice relaxing weekend at the lake house!

@marriedandlovingit: We just switched to size ones a week or so ago and I felt totally sad to be leaving NBs behind. So sorry your little guy has been uncomfortable. I hope he's feeling better soon.

@pastemoo: Our little one had a fuss marathon the other day too, and for seemingly no reason. Our little one is just about to grow out of her NB wardrobe... so sad! What size is your LO moving into?

@Goldilocks1107: We thought 1's were too big for our little one too, but after running out of NBs we tried them anyways. (NB had been leaving red marks on her legs etc) we folded the fronts for a little bit and they're definitely big looking on her, but we've had waaay fewer blowouts, actually only one so far which was this morning and I think it was just because her diaper was already ballooned at full capacity!

For father's day I bought DH a bottle of scotch I knew he wouldn't spring for on his own. Unfortunately he found it yesterday though... I hid it in the kitchen because normally he would never be poking around in there, but with the renos I should have known better. Whoops

How often is everyone bathing their LOs? We hadn't been doing everyday yet but I'm starting to consider it. She loves it so much and I can't get enough of her hamming it up in there.

LO is 3.5 weeks.
@LAGS: LO loves his bath, too. The original plan was once a week, but so far it's been every other day, plus extra face/neck washings for the puke.
@duckduckkristen: I'm still crampy, too. I stopped bleeding at 2.5 weeks, except for random drops.
So.... DH and I have been wanting to DTD since we left the hospital. And we tried and it was horrendous. I guess we should have waiting until 6 weeks.

LO had his first open air poop accident today. EWWwwww.

@Goldilocks1107: Congrats on being done with pumping! What a relief that must be!

@winniebee: Hope you had a fun weekend at the lake house! That sounds like fun!

Our son was a bottomless pit this morning! He woke up close to 6am for his feeding, so I nursed him. I was naive to think he was done as he fell asleep afterwards. The second I put him down in his crib, he started screaming bloody hell for more. I gave him 3 ounces of expressed milk. He was still hungry! By that point, I was frustrated and started to get the worst headache. So, my wonderful husband took over and he fed him 2 ounces of formula! This episode took 3 hours. My husband said that he slept well afterwards, and when he woke up he barely took a couple of ounces. I guess it all evened out in the end!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Penny is 6 weeks old today. Time is sort of flying by! I am up with her (it's 4:15), and she's been asleep since 11! I'm not sure I did anything to get 5 hours in a row tonight, but i'll take it!

Not much else new going on. I took her to the mall the other day. She did really well with the mix of stroller and moby wrap. I also got her a bunch of carters dresses on super sale. I love carters and want to dress her in it until she's 15...haha. I also got a bathing suit. Very mom-like but will be perfect for this year. It's a bandeau skirtini (so I can bf in it easily). I also found a pacifier that she will take! At the rec of a bunch of people here and in real life, I grabbed a couple mam's. Finally, something that works. It gives me a little relief from comfort nursing! I also found some headwraps at babies r us that are adorable and very soft and stretchy. They don't leave marks on her head like others do, and I can' wait for her to wear them.

Anyway, hope everyone has a great day today!

@duckduckkristen: My left boob is definitely a better producer than my right. It always gives an extra ounce or so and is the first to feel full.

@pastemoo: The neck washing is nuts. When I think I've really dug around in there and gotten all the creases cleaned, she moves her head a certain way and there's still lint or something stuck in there!

@marriedandlovingit: We haven't used it for an overnighter yet, but have practiced it on her and used it during the day. It seems like it should work really well. We'll be prepared now for the next time the swaddleme's are in the wash!

@cvbee: What bath do you have for Nico? We have a run of the mill FP one, and I've ditched using the sling because LO supports her head so well and she plays more just sitting in it, but one that gets her in the water even more, but supported would be great. I'm think I might do baths more often too, or just "swim" sessions like you do. Its just so amazing to see her moving around in there and so happy.
@cvbee: I bet you're right about the witch hazel. I bought a bottle of it postpartum and its amazing. I hope his little toosh clears up! I let LO go through the night without a change most nights, with a last change being around 11pm or midnight, and some mornings when I see her diaper I feel so guilty.

@bpcmarj: We just got a few MAMs too this weekend and she's finally taking her paci! We still have to work on keeping it in there but its world's better than others we've tried. Glad you're having luck with them too!

@pastemoo: Tyler has been rather fussy the last week, too. The doctor suggested that it could be the onset of colic, but I'm in denial. The thought of it getting worse and lasting 2 more months is kind of depressing to me.

@LAGS: We've been doing every 3rd day (mostly bc DH gets home too late for us both to do it and it's still hard for me to do on my own) but I'd like to start doing it every other day or even every day for routine. She's a cutie!

@bpcmarj: I wore my "mom" bathing suit over teh weekend too - it's bizarre for me, but a must!!

@marriedandlovingit: Holy cow that's a lot of milk! Tyler still only takes 3 oz at a bottle fed feeding!

@cvbee: Oh no I hope you weren't up all night! I haven't even thought about sex yet - very brave woman. Try some of sugar free lube (I like liquid silk) without any bells and whistles though. Also, my midwife gave me some of the lube that is used during exams b/c it is so benign - maybe ask your doc for some?. I'm not cleared for sex yet though.

We had Tyler's one month visit today and he's growing like a weed : ) 7 lb, 6 oz and 20 inches - which is up from 1st to 5th percentile - and probably smaller than most of your babies at birth! But, he's gained over 2 lbs in a month and is thriving, so that's what counts.

Our weekend was good - it was hard on T (I think) to be out of the routine, but it was good that grandma took him at 6:30 a.m. every day and DH and I got 3 extra hours of sleep! Also it was really what DH needed -a few days away and out of the city. He has a light schedule this week too which we'll take advantage of.

In breastfeeding news, in an effort to tame my oversupply/forceful letdown, I spent 48 hours totally engorged. As in boobs as hard as rocks and SO bruised feeling. My supply seems to be more in tune with what he needs, now, as I have been feeding him off of a semi-soft and only semi-bruised breast for the past day or so. I hope it helps with his hindmilk intake.

As I mentioned, he's been sorta cranky the past week which at first I attributed to a growth spurt, and then to my oversupply/forceful letdown/not enough hindmilk. But now I'm worried he might just be a fussy baby (like his dad was)...any suggestions are appreciated!

@winniebee: oh! and tummy time....when he is fussy he uses tummy time to get out his gas or to eat his hand (soothe and sometimes soothe to sleep)

ha! as luck would have it, here I am giving you, winniebee, all my fussy tips and then Nico woke up and was fussy (probably because he still needed more nap time). What worked this time was probably what I'd recommend if your LO is being fussy 'all the time': put him in the wrap! Nico settled right down and I went for a walk and prepped dinner and talked on the phone. He ended up falling asleep. Horray for baby-wearing!!

@winniebee: yay! I even posted about my baby-wearing-fuss-success on facebook with a photo and I had sooo many friends comment that it is the most amazing thing for their babes too.....especially for those with more than one child!

Man, it is so hard to keep up with this with a newborn. I feel so behind... I am going to try and catch up with everyone!!

@LAGS: We just switched to size 1s too... and they look HUGE on her, but we have also had fewer blowouts as well. The pack we are on right now is called Pampers Baby Dry and although they seem thin, they really keep her dry!
Now after seeing how often everyone else bathes their LO I feel bad, but I only bathe mine 2-3 times a week.

@duckduckkristen: Oh man, it's 6 weeks that you are supposed to weight to swim? For some reason I thought my Dr. said 2 weeks and I swam on 2 weeks on the dot... I wonder if that is why I am having problems with healing still at 5 weeks pp?

@pastemoo: We had a bad DTD attempt too. We have been fooling around and everything "felt" okay, so we decided to go for it but it lasted 2 minutes and was hurting me a TON so we had to throw in the towel. I can't wait to feel normal again!

@marriedandlovingit: Seems to me that a lot of people have problems with LOs waking up as soon as they are put down in the crib. I swear my LO can be fast asleep, but the moment I set her down she wakes!

@cvbee: In the diaper rash department: My LO has had bouts of diaper rash here and there, and I think it depends on the kind of diaper we are using. However, we have a friend who is a pharmacist and he made us this homemade diaper cream in his blender at home... and the stuff works like magic!!! I swear we put it on her at night and when she wakes up in the morning her butt looks brand new... it's amazing!!

@winniebee: Your Tyler is an inch longer than my Willa, but Willa weighs two pounds more than him! I guess she is a chunky butt! lol

@cvbee: I checked out the link to the baby bath you have, and as soon as I saw the picture I started cracking up.... that baby looks so cute squished up in there! I would laugh every time I gave my LO a bath if I had one like that... haha

Okay, since I haven't updated in a while I am going to post some updates on baby and me!

First of all, I took Willa to the ped today because she has an eye infection. The doctor prescribed some drops so she should be okay in no time, but it was pretty sad seeing her with nasty yellow stuff coming out of her eyes!

Willa is still only 19 inches long but she is 9 pounds, 10 ounces already (50th percentile for weight, yay!). She has been breastfeeding pretty well lately, although she goes through random phases where she refuses the breast. I think when she goes through growth spurts and is super hungry, the milk doesn't come out fast enough for her after my initial let down, and she gets frustrated and wants the bottle (it comes out way faster).

She has become a much more efficient sucker... she only breastfeeds for about 15 minutes now and she is completely full. Before, she would do at least 20 minutes on each side!

The past three nights in a row she has been sleeping pretty good. Her first stretch has been about 4 hours, and then she has a few 2 or 3 hour stretches after that. The other night, I took her in bed with me and she slept for 6 hours straight!!! if my husband was okay with it, I would just have her sleep in bed with us all the time.

Does anyone still have their stitches? I STILL have my stitches from my tears... I can feel the knots and everything! My doctor said they would dissolve, but I don't know how long that is supposed to take!

Willa has started smiling. On her 4 week birthday I was talking to her and she shot me a big, gummy grin. The more of a big deal I made out of it, the more she smiled! Now, she does it several times a day, especially right after she has finished eating. It's so fun!

Willa is still in NB clothes, and swimming in some of them! She wears the same outfit at least twice a week because we have so little NB clothes... I can't wait for her to fit into 0-3 months! What size are your LOs wearing? Because Willa is so short, I think her arms/legs are short which makes the clothes all so big.

Well, I think that is all for now. it is 10:45 here and she is still wide awake, her dad holding her. I don't think she is going down any time soon, silly girl.

Oh ya, and I also wanted to add that I recently found out LO is OBSESSED with music! Whenever she is crying (even when she is screaming) she will stop the moment I put on Colbie Caillat. She also loves country, and likes to listen to DH and I sing. Maybe she will be musical like me!

@marriedandlovingit: 7 hours? wow! 5 hours is still my record for Nico's sleep at 9 weeks (9 weeks today!)

@Mrsdaredevil: don't feel bad about bathing less frequently. Lots of people say it is bad for your newborn to bathe them almost at all. (I try and justify my frequent bathing because I don't use soap every time and my soap is super natural stuff). Do what feels right for you!

@Mrsdaredevil: That homemade diaper cream sounds so cool. The balm that we use (and I only use it if his bum looks like its starting to get angry....otherwise with cloth diapering I don't need to use diaper cream at all) was developed by people who did that very thing: made something homemade for their sensitive LO and now they market it. I'm slightly obsessed with the stuff, but I hardly use it on Nico: it's for me! I have really sensitive skin, so I find a reason to use it at least once a week for myself.

@Mrsdaredevil: yes the baby bath is quite funny. I posted a pic of Nico in it on facebook and everyone LOVED the pics.....calling him a little science experiment or a baby drink.....he looks so cute in there. And he's extra alert and interested while he's in there too, which makes it even more funny to watch.

@Mrsdaredevil: when I was at your time I still had my stitches too, but I thought maybe they were gone. This is gross, but bear with me : then at 6 weeks, they somehow (mine were a running stitch, so all in one peice) got attatched to a poop and I got pulled out like that. Sooooo gross. And I've had on-and-off bleeding hemmorroids ever since, but my OB just seemed to think it is nothing to be too concerned about. boo. Anyways, I'm saying that stitches at this point for you are totally normal (and try to avoid disrupting them like I did!!!!!)

@Mrsdaredevil: Nico is pretty tight in his 0-3 month clothes now that he is 12 pounds (and 9 weeks old today). But 6 month stuff is big. Last week when I brought Nico into one of the schools I visit the kids remarked "now his clothes fit!".

@Mrsdaredevil: That's so great that you figured out that music makes Willa happy. I LOVE finding things that calm and please Nico.

@duckduckkristen: yay for getting back to your eliptical. I think exercise is so important for feeling 'normal'. This week I'm thinking of going to my yoga class for the first time....I've been doing yoga at home, but this class I can go to is a REALLY good workout and plus it will be a social time for me. If I end up doing it, it will be my first time leaving Nico at home while I go out. (He'll be with Daddy).

Nico is 9 weeks old today and my new big thing is schedule training. He used to be able to doze off and sleep through anything at any time of the day, but now that he is more aware of the world this is challenging. Last week I think I told you gals that I was going to try feeding him every 3 hours instead of on-demand. That didn't really work out and I started noticing Nico getting way more fussy than normal (and it wasn't because of gas or being hungry anymore) because he was overtired.

Today I have officially started the E.A.S.Y. schedule that I read about so long ago in the Baby Whisperer (Eat, Activity, Sleep, You-time). His first 2 months, I found he was perfectly happy just doing his own thing and he didn't need any help going down for naps, napping anywhere and anytime. Today I've done a great job with EASY so far and we'll see how it really pans-out as the day turns to night and a few days into it, but so far it's good. He woke up, I fed him, and we did bath time and toy-time, then I saw him getting sleepy and I put him into his crib and he slept for an hour. (Oh, funny thing: when he was drifting off to sleep I thought he was almost gone so I tried to sneak downstairs to get my breakfast and he noticed right away and let out a few screams until I came back and layed down in my bed.....I'm amazed how aware he is now!) Next he woke up and I fed him and changed him and we did stroller time and tummy time and then I saw him getting fussy and knew he was getting sleepy (even though he wasn't yawning), so I took him to his crib area and held and bounced him to calm him down and then layed him in his crib. He started to fuss so I swaddled him and then I layed down on my bed (with my laptop) and it took him about 15 minutes but he didn't cry and he fell asleep. So, I'm only 2 cycles into EASY, but I am feeling like it is a good fit for us already. Hopefully this keeps up. As a teacher, I like making schedules, so this way I can make a plan for each "A" of the day. I think next we'll do reading books and Mommy-baby exercise time (using baby as a weight, doing squats and stuff like that).

@LAGS: Thanks. EASY continues to go well for Nico, but it's making me feel like this is the longest day ever. (3rd nap is usually the end of the day....how is it only lunch time?!)

@LAGS: I think he'll fit the tub for quite a while. I anticipate the next step will be once he can sit up on his own. I think I'll get the blow-up duckie tub because that can be used as an outdoor toy down at the beach as a floatie, and even on the ice as a sled (I've done that with my cousin).

@LAGS: I do the same as you for overnight feedings, but the way I burp isn't too stimulating: I just rest him up over my shoulder (arms over, armpits resting on me) and his burp comes out quite naturally now.

@LAGS: Mommy-baby exercise was fun. I liked having him on my tummy while I do crunches....seemed like a good stability exercise for him. I had him on the ground looking up at me while I did some stuff on my hands and knees over him. And I had him on a blanket on the kitchen table doing a tummy time while I did some other exercises on my own in front of him. I was not so successful at holding baby while exercising...might try it with a wrap, but I was just worried that he'd fall asleep in there and that would mess up our EASY.

EASY continues to go really well for Nico. I almost feel like a bad person for keeping him up for such long periods normally, seeing how he is doing so well with the system of only being awake for 2 hours at most. But for me, so far, this feels like the longest day EVER because he's on his 3rd nap and usually 3rd nap is dinner time and now it is only lunch. I'm sure I'll get used to it. I was a bit worried that with all this napping he won't get enough awake time in during the day, but I just did some math and he is actually getting in about the usual amount of awake time so far, it's just for shorter periods.

Penny has been really weird today. She slept a lot more this morning than normal, but was REALLY hard to get to bed tonight. She's also been spitting up like crazy today, almost after every feeding. And, although she's had wet diapers, she hasn't pooped. I'm wondering if something I ate upset her stomach, but I can't think of anything out of the ordinary that I ate that I haven't already had.

Other than me wondering if she's OK, she's been totally adorable. She smiles so much now, and it melts me every time. I was looking at her smiling at me today and thinking although I have seen some cute babies, I think she is the best. That's normal to think that about your kid, right?! ha. I put on some music today (The Police to be specific) and she loved it. Smiling and cooing the whole time. It was too funny.

Anyway, wanted to update more and post a couple of cute pictures, but I can hear her in the other room. I think Daddy's snoring woke her up (I am going to kill him in his sleep one of these nights I think. He snores SO BAD when he's on his back, but just won't stay on his side unless I am next to him telling him to turn over a hundred times a night. Even then, he gets pissed at me in his sleep because he says it's not as comfortable. Or he will move around like he is turning on his side, then he just stays on his back. He finds this to be funny, I do not.).

@cvbee: I burped her last night but tried to keep things a little more mellow. She went down almost as quickly just wasn't in as deep a sleep... she grunted a while and finally quieted down. She was still a little gassy and very spitup-y but hopefully after making a routine of it I'll see better results.

@Goldilocks1107: I'm glad you're finding things better without the pumping. I think pumping alone would drive me crazy too! Every few days my LO has an entire day of fussiness too... she's absolutely miserable to be around but the good days make up for it! Have fun on Thursday!!!

@bpcmarj: Poor you, snoring is the worst. Especially now that sleep is so precious!

@Mrsdaredevil: I've left DD a couple times just to do a quick beer run or trip to the grocery store to pick up something we've forgotten, so nothing over 20 minutes really. I have no problem with the idea of leaving her with DH longer, but don't think I'm ready to leave her with anyone else yet.

@bpcmarj: maybe you will have one of those babies that only poops every few days? It's totally normal if you do. Nico still poops at almost every feeding.

@Mrsdaredevil: yep, all this time and we've only been apart for maybe 30 minutes at most, when DH took him out for a dog walk/stroller ride. And to be honest, the first few times when he took him for that I even looked at photos of Nico while he was gone. But I'm definitely up for my first time leaving him tomorrow night for yoga. We'll see if my body is ready for yoga though. I'm most concerned that I (um, TMI alert) take-in air into my va-j-j way too easily now and then it makes a sound on the way out. So that would be really embarrassing. That used to only happen to me sometimes in yoga during shoulder stance, but I knew about it so I'd 'prevent'....I feel like this might happen in any/every pose. Maybe I should just make an announcement before class starts? (I won't)

2 things to share today:
1) Thanks to our EASY day, Nico slept for a record 6 hours last night, followed by another 4 hour stretch. I slept 5 hours and then 4. In my dream I had to go find my breast pump and pump while I was in public.....really funny because I woke up in the biggest puddle of milk ever!
2) I feel like I'm getting my period. I hope not, because even though I got a prescription for the mini-pill, I decided not to take it and just got with breastfeeding for prevention until 6 months or my period, whichever comes first.

@Mrsdaredevil: I left LO with DH for the first time when he was 2 weeks old and it was for four hours while I went to the mall to buy clothes that fit. I was sad driving there, but after that it felt great to hav some time away. Since then we left him with my mom once while we went to dinner and I have left him a couple times to go to the store quickly. Thank goodness for my pump!

@Mrsdaredevil: we did exactly the same thing last week and the week before, but now he is sleeping ok in the pack n play so we haven't had to do it for a few days. I've also had to stop nursing him laying down during the night because I'd fall asleep nursing him and not wake up for an hour or so until he started making noise. DH always sleeps facing away from us so he wouldn't know Liam was in the bed and I was afraid he'd toss the blankets over him or something. Sometimes after DH goes to work I let Liam sleep in his space on the bed and he'll stay asleep when I get up to get dressed or while I sit next to him and read hello bee.
If Liam falls asleep before we are ready for bed, we just let him sleep his first cycle in the bouncy seat in the family room with us while we watch tv. I don't think it's bad. Whatever works! They are so young now it's hard to not just do what they want.

After not napping more than 20 minutes at a time for the last week, Liam has been sleeping all day today, just waking up to eat and for a few minutes of play time. He slept pretty well last night too. I'm hoping this continues because I've had so much time to get stuff done today. I even finally did my postnatal yoga DVD! It was so relaxing. Now I'm off to prep dinner before DH gets home, and then maybe take a short nap.

@marriedandlovingit: I was indeed thinking about using it to prevent pregnancy. I thought it was really effective until the baby goes 7 hours without feeding? hmmm. Well, so far we are technically using abstinence and it is working perfectly. (But not planning on continuing that.) I'm just suddenly feeling uncomfortable about giving Nico unnecessary hormones. Got some stuff to think about.

@Mrsdaredevil: I used to always give up at 4am and sleep with Nico. It gets easier when they wake up less often, so I say, keep trying your best and don't beat yourself up about what happens at 4am.

so ladies, it was not my period coming: it was a KIDNEY INFECTION FROM HELL! Felt like labour again: couldn't sit still, pain so bad I had to stop and put Nico down when breastfeeding so I could pace, and I tried every trick in the book: tylenol, lots of water, hot shower, ice on my kidney.....when I started throwing up from the pain I packed up Nico (which was so hard to do while in pain) and headed to the hospital. I did not hide my pain from them and I got served right away with some morphine and some kind of suppository something.....drugs are amazing. Oh, just before I got the drugs I was breastfeeding and throwing up into the toilet at the same time, which I thought was sortof impressive. Thought it was my kidney stones again, like at 33 weeks pregnant, but there was no blood, only white blood cells, so they declared it to be a kidney infection and I am on breastfeeding-compatable antibiotics. Phew! My regret on the way to the hospital was not having more breastmilk stored-up. I only had one bottle.

K, got to go!

@pastemoo: Eat Activity Sleep You-time It is from the Baby Whisperer book. I have done it for 2 days now. Before this I just never realized that Nico was tired and didn't put him down for naps. Turns out I had an over-tired baby almost all the time....who knew? He didn't yawn or rub his eyes as described in the book. Now I know as soon as he gets slightly fussy that he's tired. It's working great and like magic he is also now sleeping 6-7 hours at a stretch at night.

Hey ladies! Here I am out of the loop again, it is so hard to catch up once you get behind! Sawyer is 8 weeks old now, and has been so much more awake lately, and really needs to be "entertained" while he is awake, so we spend hours of the day switching from play mat, to swing (he likes the swing mobile when he is awake), to chatting on the couch, to offering him toys on the couch, and then repeating. When he is napping I am usually trying to get some stuff done, so I only have a few minutes to pop online usually.

We finally got his newborn pictures back, and I LOVE them, so today when he was napping I got our birth announcements ordered, so we can send them out (DH's grandma has been hounding us like 2-3 times per week about sending them out from about 1 week PP ... grrr). Here is the link if you would like to see the newborn pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/welchminchuk/sets/72157630229124248/

@cvbee: Sorry about your kidney infection, they are so so painful! I hope you feel better soon. As for BF is BC, I have seen WAY too many babies from that 'method' to trust it, and I am in no way going to be ready to be pregnant again within the next year or so, so I got the mini-pill, and I am happy with it, although we are so paranoid we use condoms as well.

@Mrsdaredevil: I have only left Sawyer with DH briefly to run to the grocery store, but this weekend I am leaving them for an afternoon to get my hair done, Sawyer is 8 weeks old now, so it is time! We are also thinking of leaving him with my parents for an evening so we can go for an anniversary dinner in a few weeks. We are a little inconstant with bedtime as well, he sleeps in the cradle until DH goes to work, then the feed around that time I nurse in bed and we sleep in our bed until it is time to start the day.

@Goldilocks1107: Sawyer had bad baby acne as well, I would wash his face twice per day with just water and a wash cloth, and we bathe him 2x per week, his skin is so dry if we did more than that he would be a flake-fest.

@cvbee: Thank you! The pics were taken at 2 weeks old.