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Quick post. My son has been asleep for 9 hours. Yesterday was day 2 of him refusing to nap. He would cry and scream whenever we laid him down for one. He would calm down the second he saw us, but start up again when we left the room. This is strange.

Is anyone else's child excessively gassy? Ours has such horrible gas. He was screaming in pain last night. I'm going to call the Dr when they open. I want to know if this is something normal and he will eventually outgrow, or if it is something else.

@pastemoo: my midwife didn't want me swimming or taking a bath until my six week checkup. I guess the fear is that if your cervix hasn't closed up completely yet, then something could get in there and cause an infection? I've heard some people say its fine after four weeks.

@MsMini: adorable pictures!

@bpcmarj: I had my 6 week appt a few days ago and first she checked to see everything was all healed on the outside, then did an internal exam to make sure everything was back to normal. Since it was, she ok'd me to swim and DTD. I swam a couple days before my appt though. She didnt do a pap, but told me to come back for one in 4 months. Your LO is so cute!

@marriedandlovingit: 9 hours? I'm so jealous! I got 5 out of Liam last night, but that was after it took 3 hours to get him to bed. He used to be very gassy too. I was worried it was some kind of food sensitivity but the dr said babies have to learn to relax their sphincter to let out the gas and until they do, they have a really hard time getting it out and that's why they get so fussy. Liam's gas issue has gotten much better though, so I think they usually outgrow it. I wouldn't worry.

@pastemoo: I bought new clothes 2 weeks after Liam was born because I felt like crap going out in yoga pants all the time. I only bought a couple pairs of stretch denim capris and a couple tops. Just wanted to be able to look cute when I leave the house! Still have 10 lbs to lose and with my boobs being so huge, pretty much none of my pre-preg clothes fit and I don't think any of my tops will fit as long as I'm nursing!

I really need to change Liam's sleep schedule. For awhile now he's been going to bed around 11pm and sleeping until almost noon (he wakes up 2-3 times to eat)! It's nice that I can get a shower in and get some stuff done in the morning, but I'd rather he go to bed earlier so that I can too! I'm so tired by the end of the day and I have a hard time sleeping past 8am. DH has all of next week off so hopefully I'll get more sleep while he hangs out with the baby and we'll also get to spend lots of family time together.

Hope everybody has a great weekend! Stay cool!

@marriedandlovingit: I'm really glad that Cooper's tests came back ok. I'm sorry that BF is so tough for you too lately. How do you cope? I'm having to do the top off thing too lately and it is difficult since I know I have plenty of milk in there for him, he just won't take it from me : ( Cooper is super cute!

@cvbee: OMG hope you feel better!!! What caused it?

@Mrsdaredevil: I leave Tyler at least once a week but not more than a few hours. Once for an OB appt, once to grocery shop, once for dentist, once for manicure. Etc. Tyler's sleep is inconsistent, but I'm trying to keep him consistent at least at night. Days he naps basically wherever.

@bcpmarj: Awesome pics! Thank god today is cooler around here! You are on the cape, right?

@msmini: I love your newborn pics!

@pastemoo: I have been trying EASY too, though Tyler hasn't been going 3 hours on feedings during the day lately. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Tyler fights naps too, pretty routinely. Lots of his daytime naps are spent on walks or in the car by chance. I just had to force him to swaddle and get in the swing because he has been so fussy the past hour. He just started screaming again but I think he zonked himself out.

My husband unexpectedly had some time off this week so we made the most of it and had a great week - went to NH for a few days to relax at our parents houses (and go swimming since it's been a heat wave in Boston).

Tyler is still fussy but has had good days and bad days. I don't think he has colic, but he does have bad tummy issues. We started using gas drops the other day but I'm not sure they have helped at all. When he is having a good day, he's so stinking good and cute : ) It all goes without saying that I love him dearly.

Sleep - he's back to 2/3 hour stretches at night. I think due to BF issues. It's more of the same on the BF front. Going on one week, he will only feed 5 minutes on one side, pushes himself off and then screams when I put him back on either breast. And sometimes acts hungry after and will take up to an ounce. DH is still very encouraging and doesn't want me to quit, but I dread breastfeeding at this point and feel like it is taking away from the mothering experience (and clearly DS is not happy, either). I'm going to pay to meet with a lactation consultant on Monday or Tuesday (LLL was very disappointing - never even returned my calls) and give it one final good old college try before moving towards pumping and giving him bottles. I'm really sad about it, but I'm not sure how much more of this I can endure.

I have a case of the poor me's re: BF. Tough time getting pregnant, difficult pregnancy, failing at breastfeeding. I know it's not about me anymore, but catching a break would be nice. I'm disappointed in myself for feeling this way - I just thought motherhood would be so natural for me and the BF issues plain suck.

@winniebee: It is so much cooler in our apartment today, although we haven't been outside. We live right by the sagamore bridge and it's a zoo on weekends:) I try to avoid going out unless I feel like I really have to!

Penny fell asleep on her own the other night. She was tired so I put her in her seat while we were watching tv in the living room. It was awesome that she fell asleep on her own. Next time I will try putting her in the pack and play/bassinet instead!

@winniebee: Thanks for the sweet words!

As for the bf'ing, it is so frustrating. I keep trying to convince myself that I need to keep at it. I feel guilty whenever I give him a bottle of pumped milk or formula when I know that's ridiculous for feeling that way. I cope by venting to my husband. He understands my frustration. He thinks we are doing the right thing by supplementing.

@winniebee: Glad you had a fun week with your husband at your parents' houses! Swimming sounds so nice right now (minus the fact that my body isn't swimsuit ready!).

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I've been able to get out more these days. Cooper loves getting out. He smiles so much when we get out of the house!

How is everyone doing with the weight loss? I haven't lost any weight for a few weeks. I haven't really been working out though. I am sick of living in yoga pants, so I need to implement something more than just walks!

@marriedandlovingit: I basically lost 20 pounds during week 2 pp and haven't lost anything since. My weight is going up and down 5 pounds from those 20. So... 14 to 19 to go...
My fat pants and my maternity pants (and my fat shorts and my elastic waist skirts) fit. My nicer tailored stuff don't fit and may never fit--I really need to lose the weight! I hear you can't really diet until 2 months pp if BFing. 4 weeks to go...
@bpcmarj: I had two convertible nursing/maternity shirts, and 2 dresses I bought late in pregnancy (empire waist, super stretchy) that can pull down, and then I have several button down shirts that I wear.
I don't understand the "lift up" nursing wear--it is way too hard to do that! I just mostly wear buttons downs, except my maternity pull down/pull to the side stuff.

@everyone: Breastfeeding is ridiculously hard! I hear you all on that. Every once in a while he gets a great latch and reminds me how cool it is, but usually it hurts or is frustrating and I feel like the snack machine. But it's worth it for that once in a while.... And it sounds like everyone is getting out more. cool.

@duckduckkristen: same thing here! Willa goes to bed super late, and so usually we don't end up starting our day until noon in the "morning."

I am fitting into some of my pre pregnancy clothes, but I don't think anything looks right. My body is just so much wider now....tight shirts do NOT look cute. I have like two pairs of pants that actually fit WELL and I am wearing them out! @winniebee, I am probably a size 8 now too. Boo! It is weird being the same size as my mom.

@Mrsdaredevil: We haven't had a long sleep stretch either. for 3 days in a row, he did 4 hours, but that was about (more than?) a week ago--now it's 1-3 hours.
My LO goes to sleep between 7 and 9pm... and is WIDE AWAKE at 4am. Sometimes I can get a morning nap out of him. 4am to 6am is my least favorite time of day lately.
@winniebee: Yay for keeping up BFing. It's hard!
And.... I don't care about my bathing suit body, either. I've never been so comfortable in my bikini as I am now--because I feel like I earned my belly. I know it's there, and jiggly, but I earned it, darn it!

Hey All!

DH is doing the baby work this morning so I've got some time for this! Yay!

So yesterday we tried to DTD again, but with regular lube. TMI but I could get it half way in comfortably so I told DH that was as far in as we were going. You'd think after having a giant baby head come out that having a penis go in would be no problem hey?

Well that didn't last long. Nico is back with me. I am the one with the boobs.

@winniebee: not sure what caused the kidney infection, but since it was the same side that got hurt by the kidney stone I think it may be a weak spot now. I probably didnt drink enough water, and it was the hottest ever here, around the clock. And for a bacteria to get in there? Maybe it was from using hemorroid cream? Speaking of my roids, they went away maybe because of the kidney infection.......the pain from the kidney infection made me vomit up my breakfast and not be hungry for lunch, and it took a while to get my appetite back, so I think my colon was empty for a couple days. May have been just enough time to rest up and heal?

So, I've had bad luck in my body lately, but good luck with the baby. Nico is 9 weeks old and it was like a lightswitch this week where I figured out Nico's tired cues (fussing!...maybe similar to Willa?) and have been diligent about giving him naps, and I make sure he gets a good feeding each feed time, and now he wakes up only once in the night, sleeping 9pm to 6am or 8am. He often 'refuses' to nap though, and I didn't like the way he was starting to scream when I put him in his crib (whereas I had previously only used the crib for night-time sleeping and he was sooo good about sleeping and not screaming in there). So now I will just put him in the wrap-carrier and that puts him to sleep. Then I can usually slip him off me, keeping him wrapped up, and put him wherever I want for sleeping. I know when he gets older I'll want him napping in his crib but for now, so long as he is sleeping, I am okay with it.

Ha. Things change so quickly with babies. I feel like as soon as I write something here, it is no longer true. For example, Nico just got fussy so I swaddled him and put him in his crib. He is not screaming, so it might work. And I might be able to eat my breakfast in bed.

@pastemoo: I feel the same way: actually MORE comfortable with my bikini body now, since I have a 'reason' to not have a perfect tummy.

Okay gals, Nico is not taking the nap. Got to go.

@marriedandlovingit: still have about 10 lbs to lose. I started working out again last week but need to be more consistent about it. I lost 15 lbs in the first week, then nothing for a month, then 5 lbs in a week, and now nothing lately.

@bpcmarj: I just bought some nursing tanks from target. They were having a buy more, save more sale so I stocked up. I also got some tops that are not specifically nursing, but have an elastic neckline I can pull down. I got some halter dresses from Victoria's Secret that were on sale too and I just untie them to nurse. I get so frustrated with clothes when it comes to nursing!

@Mrsdaredevil: The six week growth spurt was pretty bad for us too. Now that he is 7 weeks, he has been sooo much better though! He doesn't eat nearly as often and sleeps much better.

It seems like things have gotten a million times better in the last few days! Now that he is 7 weeks, Liam is going 3-4 hours between feeds during the day and is much more efficient at emptying my breasts, so nursing is only taking 10-15 minutes. AND last night he slept for 6 hours! I woke up and had leaked all over the bed and after he ate I was still engorged and pumped over 5 oz!

The other thing is, he only eats from one breast per feeding now, so each breast goes 6+ hours at a time without being emptied. I've had to pump a lot, but maybe I should stop to let my supply regulate.

Only thing that's getting worse is Liam's ability to get himself to sleep. He used to just pass out after nursing, but now we have to actually rock him to sleep, which can take awhile since he's so much more alert and just wants to play, especially when daddy gets home.

But overall things are much better, so for those of you having trouble, hang in there! You're doing great and I'm sure everything will work itself out... And that as soon as I'm done typing this something will go wrong again here.

@Mrsdaredevil: it is from the Baby Whisperer book. It is a type of scheduling where when the baby wakes up the first thing you do is feed it (E is for Eat), then you do stuff with the baby like change it, go for walks, tummy time, bath time, read books, whatever (A is for Activity), next you try to notice the baby's cues for sleepy and get it to sleep before it is overtired....well, overtired or not, the next thing is a nap (S is for sleep). The Y in EASY stands for you-time. That's where you as a Mommy do what you need to do for yourself. And you don't go based on a clock, you just keep cycling EASY EASY EASY all day long until it is night. Personally, I do an extra E before putting him down for the night so that he's tanked-up, and in the middle of the night I don't do activity time, just eat and sleep.

I do an extra E before bed too so that the last thing Tyler does before bed is eat. I try to keep him up for an hour after feeding during the day. Sometimes he naps 1 hour sometimes 2 (and sometimes hr is up for 2 hours before a nap...)

@duckduckkristen: I'd caution you on the pumping. Ty has always nursed from one side and I'd pump the other to relieve myself. I called in double what he was drinking and created an oversupply which led to a bunch of issues. It might not be a big deal since Liam is older though.

@duckduckkristen: That's crazy how a bunch of us lost a bunch super quick postpartum, and now we have plateaued.

@cvbee: I love the EASY method! I guess I have been doing that without realizing. One of the baby's I nannied followed that routine and is the best sleeper! His parents say that they sleep better than before baby.

@cvbee: Have you found that feeding from one breast has been the most successful? I am struggling with my son not getting full from our sessions. I try to just do one breast, but sometimes I feel like I need to offer him the other one.

@cvbee: Are you sad about moving him to the next size up? I think it's bittersweet! I love that my son is growing and gaining weight, but it is happening so fast! Time flies with these little ones! I have a pile of the 3 month clothes waiting for me to wash. Perhaps I will do that this week!

As for the baptism, I would invite everyone! Throw a party regardless of how many people happen to show up. It is an important occasion! It should be celebrated!

@Mrsdaredevil: It will get better! I've noticed how much better my son's sleep got this past week (week 7). I'm sure now that I have mentioned it his sleep will suck, but I just wanted to throw that out there. There is hope!

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My son is now 8 weeks old! I need to take a picture this week in his 12 month old outfit. His first month picture was horrible! We got him when he was pouting and super fussy! I don't know why we didn't try again the following day. Things were chaotic then, so that is probably why.

I decided to try on my size 8 shorts today. Most of them fit! They are a tad tight, but whatever! I couldn't button them last week, so this is progress! I was a size 6 (briefly) before I got pregnant, so that is my goal size. The funny thing is, my weight has not budged in what seems like forever! WTH?!! If I lose 10 pounds, I will be happy. If I lose 15 lbs, I will be ecstatic.

I think I have an ear infection. I got one last year while I was on our honeymoon and it feels exactly like it did then. Being a mom while you aren't feeling good is tough! Before baby, I would just stay in bed all day. Now I am not sure of how careful I should be around him. I have been breastfeeding a bunch today, which is progress from earlier. I know how important it is to nurse while sick so little one can build up the antibodies.

Time for bed!

I feel like I am finally getting caught up with the thread! Sawyer is 2 months old today! Time flies by SO QUICKLY! We did his 2 month pictures yesterday, and it was so much more fun than the 1 month ones, he was smiling and happy, the pictures looked good, I hope DH has time to edit them soon!

Sawyer has his immunizations, I prepared by feeding him and giving him tylenol an hour before the appointment, then we played so he was a bit sleepy by the time I put him in the car seat, he was drowsy during the appointment so he didn't fight too much, but he was very upset/mad about the pokes. He settled pretty quickly and was back to smiling and chatting in about 5 minutes of soother/cuddling. DH came along and held him for the shots (me and DH both needed to update our immunizations, so we both for poked first). Sawyer got his shots about 4 hours ago, and seems fine so far.

Sawyer had been sleeping well prior to the 6 week growth spurt, and got totally thrown off sleep-wise then. He has always been a night owl (best awake time is 10pm to midnight!), but we finally are back on track, and last night he did a 5 hour and a 4 hour sleep stretch (YES!!) I hope the trend continues.

It is amazing how quickly these babies grow, he is starting to grow out of his 0-3 month clothes, I just pack them away as he grows out of them, and I have been able to pull out some of the smaller 3-6 month clothes. He had grown 4 1/2 inches and gained 4 pounds since birth already! He is starting to get chubby, and I am loving the new chubby belly that sticks up over his pants.

@bpcmarj: I ended up buying a few nursing shirts, like 6 of them, they are all tanks so I can wear them this summer then layer with cardis in the fall/winter. I got some cute ones, and I am happy for the wardrobe refresh as well.

@marriedandlovingit: I am below pre-preg weight, but have plateaued for a while. I am getting out and about (walking) more so I hope that will help keep it going.

@pastemoo: I don't like "lift up" for nursing either, I have a couple drapey pull to the side tops, they are my favourite, because the drapey piece covers excess boob, so it is more modest than "drop down" stuff.

@Mrsdaredevil: Sawyer has never gone beyond 5 hours of sleep, he did it consistently in week 5, but then the 6 week growth spurt happened, and he just finally did 5 hours again last night (he is almost 9 weeks now). I was getting discouraged.

@cvbee: I am packing up select 0-3 month things, basically setting them aside as they get too short and putting them away. I have also pulled out some of the smaller 3-6 month things for him to wear, so his wardrobe is expanded quite a bit!

@duckduckkristen: I only feed 1 side per feeding, unless Sawyer is ravenous! Usually he does 1 feed per day where he does both sides (what time that is varies - oddly). I only pump after his first feed of the day, and I have stashed enough to exclusively feed him for about a week if I needed to. I really need to give more bottles during the week (we usually do 1).

Officially six weeks pp today and had a successful shot at DTD!!!! It was like the first time all over again....I cried after!!! How pathetic.

Baby still a mess today. No sleep in nine hours, and even then it was a thirty minute sleep.

@duckduckkristen: Wow, that's fantastic! You're making me consider going back to swaddling! I did it the first fortnight until Sive started escaping and I've been putting them in sleep sacks since, and they really don't sleep as consistently as they used to.

@Mrsdaredevil: You poor thing, it sounds like you're having a really tough time of it. Is she colicky or anything? I can't remember what you've said in earlier posts, what does your paediatrician say? There must be some kind of solution for that.

@marriedandlovingit: o.m.g. LO cried ALL night with gas--least sleep I've gotten since I was in labor.

@winniebee: I'm liking this EASY thing with the extra e before bed.

@cvbee: I know, I thought people complained about being loose after having a baby---not super tight!
I think you're right about why I'm ok with my new bikini body.
And I'm sad about getting rid of his outfits, too!

@MsMini: Sawyer is 2 months? WOW! Where did you get the tanks? Both the drapey kind and the drop down kind?
And our little guy is growing out of some 0-3 at 5 weeks. Sad!

@aunt pol: With two I'm surprised you have time to catch up! Welcome back. How hard was it to learn to tandem feed?
I hope your wound gets better soon! Are you really sore? Bonding is really tough, especially since you have so much more healing of your own to do!
Please post pics! And congrats on the weight loss.

@Mrsdaredevil: YAY!!! We've been joking that we get to lose our virginity again.

@duckduckkristen: 8 hours! Jealous!

@krsmall: I read your birth story--yay! And so glad he's gaining well. And yay for improving latch, too.

@pastemoo: oh dear. I hope you get some sleep soon. Nico's not gassy anymore, but the week he was, I found doing 'bicycles' with his legs several times a day (like, really pushing his knee up to his belly) helps a lot.

@krsmall: So glad Brennan is gaining weight well. If you can get Brennan to sleep in his crib that's a better habit than on your chest. Last week I was like supermom with sleeping and nap training in his crib. This week I'm bad....nursing to sleep each nap, trying to transfer him to the crib, but then he only sleeps for a tiny nap, then i feed him again and he falls asleep on my chest.... Maybe I'll try being 'good' again tomorrow.

@duckduckkristen: It's all about the swaddle. Maybe tomorrow when I get back onto being a good EASY mom, I will swaddle him for naps: that seems to work best even for nap time.

@Mrsdaredevil: no sleep, but you are having sex! Well, it ain't all bad?

@aunt pol: I know how you lost so much weight: carrying twice the babies around that the rest of us did! That must have been exhausting. I bow down to you and how on earth you are doing the twin thing. Loved reading your update!

@MsMini: 4.5 inches? Holy moly! At Nico's 2 month he had also gained about 4 pounds, but only 2 inches. So, Nico isn't getting too long for his onesies yet: they are just really filled-out by his baby Buddha belly.

Thoughts for the day:
1) I've fallen off the EASY track and I want to get back. It hasn't messed up his night-time sleeping, but he is snacking throughout his naps, (eat-sleep-eat-sleep-eat-sleep) which I am finding a bit annoying.
2) I'm noticing Nico really working on manipulating his toys. He looks like he's just flailing his arms and legs, but I notice purposeful efforts at flailing in the right direction. I can tell he's trying to move his toys around when I lay him on his back and put his toys around him where his fingers can just reach. He seems to have a hard time reaching toys that I place on his belly. Last night he 'worked' on moving toys for 1.5 hours straight. I couldn't believe he had that kind of attention span to not fuss for all that time doing just one thing in one place.
3) Nico is 10 weeks old today! Double digits!

I made a conscious effort yesterday to start bf'ing more. I have been so frustrated with it that I was only nursing twice a day and supplementing with bottles of breast milk and formula. He fell asleep this last time and went down without issue. His naps have sucked for the most part though. I don't mind all that much, but it is impossible to get anything done!

My lo has been averaging 10 hours a sleep at night. I guess I will take crappy naps for a good night's sleep. Ever since we moved him to his room, he has slept better. I was hesitant to move him over bc I thought it was too soon, but I was happy I did.

@Mrsdaredevil: Wow he had a lot of time off! Do what you need to do to get some rest girl! How did you find time for sex with Willa being up so much!?!?

@shortcake: good to hear from you! I'm so glad the LC consult helped you. I learned today that the head holding thing is no bueno for baby! I can't even think of work yet either. Gah.

@MsMini: I'm glad Saqwyer is growing and doing so well. It makes me sad to think how fast the time is going!

@autpol: Great to hear from you! I was wondering how you are doing! Glad your girls are doing so well. You hit the nail on the head - sometimes I wait and wonder when someone is going to come and take Tyler away because he can't possibly be mine!?

@marriedandlovingit: I'm really glad that you seemed to have turned a corner in BF!! Way to stick with it!

@cvbee: My EASY routine has been a mess this week too. He was so sleepy the past few days and napping all the time and then today he's hardly napped. Ah well there's always tomorrow.

Yesterday had my 6 week checkup (Tyler is 5w, 5d) and all went well - healed well and cleared for all activity. Still have 14 pounds to lose - a little baffled because I do look a lot different but haven't lost anything in a month. Oh well.

As a result of Tyler only feeding for 5 minutes and then screaming (going on 2 weeks) I went for a lactation consult today (paid for one since LLL never called me back). Glad I went. Not that there was an easy fix to the breasteeeding (she thought it was perfect storm of him having reflux and me having forceful letdown) - she gave me some tips and was encouraging but even with her help we couldn't get him to drink for long enough. All he took from me during the feeding was an ounce and a half (he drinks at least 3 now). Thankfully, despite this (and because I had a feeling this was the case, w'd been supplementing with pumped milk) he still gained weight over the last week. The solution is to consult with doc about reflux (explains his burliness and gassiness) and continue to work on BF while supplementing each feeding with an ounce and half of milk....and pump on top of it to keep my supply up. While I haven't spoken with DH about it I think I just need to throw in the towel on drinking from the boob and just pump and give him bottles of pumped milk. The road ahead to getting him to stay on my breast for more than 5 minutes knowing all the while that (1) it may not work and (2) enduring Tyler screaming at the breast in the meantime.

I am sad about it and feel a little like a quitter but honestly I've been so stressed about bf and his gain etc etc that it has taken away from my mothering experience. So that's where I'm at. Before having Tyler I would say to someone encountering BF problems "Happy mommy happy baby" and I think I need to remind myself of that since BF is just too stressful for me at this point.