★ October & November 2020 Hedgehogs ★

[Pineberry]

Aww congrats CC! omg she's totally gorgeous!! and so happy you had a great home birth experience, that sounds amazing! + Yay on the weight loss

Wow @Fern81 I'm so happy to read that everything is going so well!! That's fantastic! Two boys sounds amazing, actually I'm loving having a boy so much that I think I'll want another boy when we have our second (funny I'm back to wanting more babies - the first weeks postpartum were so exhausting I wasn't sure I wanted more, even though I've always dreamed of having 3-4!).

I have a Hakaa but not used it yet - I read that the way you use it that you put it on the other breast while nursing? So is it just me that doesn't leak at all from the other breast when I'm nursing my little one? I'm a bit confused.

@jellybeanxx - HUGS!! All of that does sound quite stressful! Hope the contractions turn into real labor very soon. And same to you @Flueky88 - hope labour gets going ASAP. That last little stretch of pregnancy is such a pain in the butt!

________

AFM - not much going on other than that Rafael has definitely been giving me some real smiles these past few days! Here is one of them! That was this morning



Had a ped appointment couple days ago & she said he's growing just perfectly! 50-65th percentile in growth/weight!

Weather has been so bad lately (rainy/ stormy) so haven't been able to go on walk, but I hate being inside all day so we've been to the stores here & there to get out a little bit (but now that corona is back on the rise we'll be doing that less). I love showing him off in public, so many strangers swoon over him and tell me how gorgeous he is - it's nice to share his cuteness with the world a lil bit especially bc we're not seeing anyone (family/friends) right now due to covid!

He's generally also been way more relaxed lately! He's becoming more alert and active and amazing each day. can't wait for the months to come. Week 5 was a real turning point, everything has been so much better since then.

Portugal is also going into a semi-lockdown again, beginning on Monday. So crazy to think that this whole thing has been going on for so long now. Back when it started I thought covid would be gone by August latest.

Also, really pleased Biden has been elected. =)

 

[jellybeanxx]

Pine Rafael is so cute!! I’m glad things are a little more settled for you, those early weeks are so hard. I’ve always gone through phases of not wanting any more babies when mine were newborns and then it kicks in again once the smiling starts!
I’m also very happy about the news from America today. I’ve been very hormonal about it!
I remember us talking about covid and how long it would go on for at the start of this thread. I still feel a bit like I’m going to wake up any moment and it’s all been a weird dream. We should all be so proud to have got through pregnancy under these circumstances and now so many of you raising your babies!

As of 3.27am tomorrow, I will officially be the most pregnant I’ve ever been. Each of my babies seems to come later than the last! I’m sure it’s meant to be the other way round. I guess this one has a few hours still to come out and not be the latest! I made jokes about this being the one that would go over due but I didn’t actually think I’d still be pregnant at this point!

 

[AzureOrchid]

So much excitement and great things going on for everyone! Would love to respond to all but am absolutely exhausted and little guy is probably going to bug for a feeding again soon. It's unreal getting used to feeding so often! Here's a (hopefully) quick rundown of how our birth went!

We were tentatively scheduled for a CS on Sunday Nov 1st but were getting squeezed in so it took most of the day before they could get us into the OR. I fasted all day (originally they were aiming for 8am... didn't go in until about 5pm!) and wasn't allowed liquids, either, so it made for an even longer day. They then filled me with IV fluid, some meds and off we went to OR. Things started to get pretty real!

They numbed my spine and gave me a spinal. It was wild how fast it started to work to numb my body. They strapped me to the table (arms on either side) and did some tests to confirm I couldn't feel anything, then they let my partner in. It didn't take long for them to get him out and it was crazy hearing everything happening - water breaking, then he was bum first, then a limb and another... then it took what felt like ages to get his head out. So neat feeling all the pushing/pulling as they worked him out and incredible to hear that first cry. He also pooped on the doctor and gave him a good kick, apparently.

They cleaned him up, sucked out some of the fluid in his lungs, daddy cut the cord and I got to try to hold him (which was hard since my arms were half asleep from the spinal). They then stitched me up and wheeled us into a recovery room, where they then took him again to remove more fluid. It was at that point they decided to take him to NICU and discovered he had a pneumothorax. Dad went with him and I was left to recover.

They put him on CPAP for about 4 hours and dad spent a good chunk of time with him in there. Poor guy was hooked up to IV and so many monitors. I still couldn't go see him as they wanted to wait for my spinal to wear off to remove the catheter. It wasn't until 12 hours after he was born that I was finally able to get into a wheelchair and get over to NICU to see him - but that was about all we could do.

A lactation consultant visited me shortly after to help me with expressing some colostrum and we had to wait for the pediatricians to get into the hospital to determine if I could start breastfeeding. Fortunately, he was doing well enough that they let me start around 8am and we kept to a 3hr schedule of breastfeeding while they reduced his IV amount each time and kept an eye on his sugar. He was heel pricked so many times, the poor guy. By 5pm they determined he was OK to leave NICU and get off the IV, so he came to the room with us. By the 11pm feeding his sugar had remained stable enough with just breastfeeding that they finally removed the IV and left us alone with the frequent check ins. The whole NICU thing was really rough. He was the only baby in there and my partner wasn't allowed to be in there with me at the same time. It was so nice when we could all finally be together.

The next day we got the OK to go home and headed out shortly after lunch. So, we were in on Sunday and home on the Tuesday. Most of the staff was absolutely fantastic with us.

CS is healing up quite well. The first few days were pretty rough to try and get comfortable or do even the most basic of things but the pain started to really improve the last couple of days. We've even taken advantage of some really nice weather here right now and been on short walks around the neighborhood in the afternoon. Night time has been a bit of a challenge so far with him getting rather fussy at night with cluster feeding. It has been extra tiring and I'm looking forward to starting to pump soon so dad can help with the night shift. Swelling has been really fun, too. My legs are like tree stumps still, though it is starting to go down. The tops of my feet jiggle when I walk, which is so weird lol. Progress was made when I could actually blow my nose without being in agony today, though, so definitely going in the right direction.

He is just way too precious and adorable, though!!

We may start allowing our parents to visit next week to see the little guy, as we get settled into a better routine with everything and I have a bit more patience to deal with them lol both sides were driving me up the wall the first few days of the week with their crap/advice/childish antics. My mom got mad at me and ignored me for two days because I told her not to share pics of the baby from NICU with people and that they were just for them so they were in the loop. The other side of the fence was all up in my business about making sure I don't let the nurses bottle feed or he won't take to the breast and blah blah blah... it was quite annoying and I was very short on pleasantries with everyone, especially when my dad tried to get me to apologize to my mom for what I said.

 

[Fern81]

Wow Azure what an intense birth experience. I’m so sorry that your son had to be in NICU without you being able to see him for so long. Do they know what caused the pneumothorax? I’m glad you’re all doing well and enjoy your walks! I went for loads of walks with ds1 but am very reluctant this time... its just too unsafe. I have walked to the end of the block and back twice with baby in his pram and ds on his bike.

Pine- ugh yes covid!! Like I mentioned in a previous post it’s summer here so all viral infections are lower in general, luckily. It seems like some parts of the country are having an increase in infections but we’re far from having a huge upsurge again.

Pine and Flueky regarding the Haakaa- I don’t leak either. But I bought one (and then got one as a gift) so one night when I was nursing I thought why not just pop it on the opposite boob and see what happens. Then when I swopped breasts I swopped around the pump. I was surprised to get 40ml total whereas when I use the electric pump I used to get only 30 ml total, max. A few things though- breasts have to be stimulated to initiate a letdown reflex even if there’s no leaking, otherwise the Haakaa collects very little or nothing. So in other words it has to be while baby is nursing or while you’re pumping the other side. So it can’t, in my case, replace the electric pump. It is however an easy to use hands-free tool to collect some milk to go toward a freezer stash. I’ve also read that it collects mainly foremilk- well I do attach it to the boob that baby has finished using so I’m sure I’m getting some hindmilk too. I mix it with pumped milk just to make sure. And am continuing to pump too, to keep up my supply. My main goal with pumping is to stimulate as high a supply as I can so that I can bf as much as possible and not have my milk dry up so soon/suffer with supply issues again; but like I’ve said it’s a bonus to get a freezer stash with the Haakaa’s help.

Jellybean and Flueky I still have a good feeling for one or both of you for what remains of the weekend lol fx for both of you!

 

[Fern81]

Oh and Pineberry, Rafael’s smile is amazing I can’t wait until A starts to smile and yet I don’t want him to get any older lol.

A pic of A enjoying the sun...he loves it... he needs 5 min morning and late afternoon sun due to slight jaundice.

Eta my pics always end up sideways/upside down and blurry. Sorry

 

[AzureOrchid]

Awww such a big stretch there, Fern!! Such a cutie

The doctors said that pneumothorax is more common than people think but it typically goes undetected. I think the only reason they noticed it was due to the fluid in his lungs so they did an x-ray but I'm not entirely sure. The x-ray did confirm it, though. It was such a whirlwind when it all happened!

Here are some pics from the last day or so, going for a walk in the backyard and in a milk coma after feeding

 

[Flueky88]

Jelly, thinking of you. I hope you have baby soon. Also hope no one contracts covid. My girls are coming coming down with colds, better than covid but definitely stinks.

Pine he's so cute and how wonderful that things are getting easier. It feels like forever when you're in that hard stage but you look back and realize it went by quickly.

Azure so glad he's home and doing better. You have a pretty intense story. He's a cutie as well. Sorry your mom was being difficult.

Fern good to kmow about the hakka. I'll definitely try even if I don't leak. Aw, so nice to get baby oit in the sun. We are having unusually warm weather right now for November. He's a cutie

AFM 3cm almost 4cm dilated, 70%effaced. Waiting on a call to schedule induction. Midwife said she wouldn't be surprised if I didn't make it to an induction though. However, if I do my cervix is favorable.

 

[Flueky88]

Quick update. It was a prelabor clean out. Got to hospital around 8 a.m. and checked around 9, 6cm. Water hasn't broken so labor is slower than what I had previously. I don't think I'll get 2nd iv antibiotic dose in but that's okay. Update more later

 

[Flueky88]

Baby Erika was born yesterday, 11/10/2020 at 225 p.m. 7lb 1oz and 20 1/4in tall. I was able to have a vaginal delivery without an epidural, gas and air isn't an option either. The end was pretty intense and pushing was harder than it was with 2nd. She was sunnyside up so I think that had some to do with it. When trying to deliver the placenta the cord broke so midwife had to remove. I *think* she went into to uterus to grab the bit of cord and was also pushing hard on my abdomen. It definitely wasn't what you wanted to feel after delivering a baby. However, we are both doing well and healthy. I didn't tear and my only pains are from afterbirth cramps. I've been taking ibuprofen every 6 hours so it's not been too bad. Anyways, jelly I hope you've had baby or will very soon. Take care mamas and babies.

 

[Flueky88]

Here she is

 

[Fern81]

Oh wow Flueky congratulations!!! She is a little doll! I believe you that pushing was intense, no pain relief and sunny side up well done! I’m glad though that you didn’t have that unplanned roadside delivery but it was still fast and all the best with your recovery I hope it goes quickly.

 

[Pineberry]

@AzureOrchid Uff, that was intense! Thank you for sharing. I can't even imagine what it had to have been like to be seperated for 12 hours. That must have been hard. Hope recovery is going well lovely.
Aww the pics. He is absolutely precious and gorgeous.

@Fern81 Ohh cute! That lil stretch ahh Rafael also had quite a bit of jaundice in the first week and as first time parents it really freaked us out a little. A lot of walks and carrying him around on our terrace fixed it.

@Flueky88 CONGRATS!! Wow, you're a warrior! No pain meds AND she was sunnyside up! Hats off to you and she's a darling I'm so glad you're doing well and that everything is going wonderful! No tears, that sounds amazing.
_

AFM - we have had a rough couple of nights with bubby not sleeping well and much, and being generally fussy. 2 nights ago he was up for houuursss at a time, clearly tired (yawning, red tired eyes etc.) but absolutely refused to sleep, not even when we were holding him. He did eventually pass out on Daddy's chest but my god that was a long, exhausting night. I do think that he just went through his first major leap maybe.

He slept like an angel yesterday and today is going well so far too with sleep, so maybe things are better from now on. It's just the length that's not great. I started tracking his sleep 2 days ago (via 'Huckleberry' app) and I noticed he rarely goes longer than 2 hours at a time. At night so far he's been going for max. 1h 50min at a time. no wonder I'm always dead tired in the mornings.

Also, I am definitely having my first ovulation again (my discharge ain't lying) meaning AF is gonna return in 2 weeks from now. Pretty bummed.

Babe is smiling more and more which always makes my day Also he's getting so big y'all. Definitely doesn't have that newborn look anymore!





i think he's got such gorgeous lips! we still co-sleep, though he did sleep in his bassinet for 2h last night (want him to get more used to it and eventually co-sleep less... though I do love him being next to me at night).

 

[JessdueJan]

Congratulations Flueky, Erika is gorgeous!! & well done you!!

 

[JessdueJan]

@Pineberry Rafael has such a gorgeously cute little face, hope he starts sleeping better for you soon. On the AF front, mine arrived back yesterday... Its much heavier than its ever been before. I'm hoping this is a one off and it's not like this every month from now on.

We're having settling issues here with baby but doctor thinks it's down to reflux. She's been on infant gaviscon for a week now and it's taken the edge off slightly but think we are going to try something a bit stronger.
Baby is starting to smile more now, have just had weighed this morning at bang on 7 weeks and she weighs in at 10lbs 15oz, little chunk!

 

[Joannaxoxo]

Flukey - congratulations she’s beautiful!

Pine - I feel like I could have written your post myself! We went 3 days and nights where Connor didn’t sleep more than an hour at a time (sometimes only 20 minutes)... he did this day and night for 3 days! He was clearly overtired but just wouldn’t stay asleep.. it was exhausting. He finally slept for a 4 hour stretch last night and has been sleeping better today, phew!

Connor was weighted last week and is 7 lbs 8 oz. so he’s doing well.

hope everyone is doing well! Got to go, can hear him waking up.

 

[AzureOrchid]

Thanks so much ladies!

Congratulations Flueky!!!! She’s adorable Great to hear that everything went well and you’re healing up good!

Aww Pine, that sounds rough. We’ve had some tough nights here and there with him fussing and super gassy and they are just brutal. Take everything out of you for the next day or so. Hope he settles into better sleep for you soon. He’s looking amazing, though!! So handsome! Also really sucks about AF coming Big hugs!!

I’ve been struggling with the bassinet vs co-sleeping lately, too. I can get him to sleep long enough that I have to wake him up when I have him in bed with me but in the bassinet I’m lucky to get 20 minutes of shut eye myself. We had one night where he was a dream in the bassinet but that was short lived!

Awww Jess, she’s so cute and growing so well! Hope you can find some relief for her.

Connor is looking great, Joanna! That sleep must have been such a huge relief. That’s rough going so long without much of a break. Here’s hoping he keeps up the good sleep!

We’ve been having some “fun” with Logan’s gas lately. He has been getting really gassy and will make the craziest faces and sounds as he pushes the gas out. He doesn’t seem to get upset about it but it can keep him awake (which then makes him upset). He certainly puts a lot of effort into passing his gas and almost sounds like an old man at times with his grunting and groaning. We’ve been trying a bit of gripe water and may try some gas drops soon to give him some relief. Laying on his tummy on my chest seems to give him the most relief but we can’t be like that all day long, as nice as the snuggles are!

Also, I am so glad that I went with one of those silicon peanut changer things to change him on. The amount of “accidents” that we’ve had during changing would be tough to keep up with laundry-wise if we were using something with a cover on it that needed to be washed lol!

Also, Lansinoh is amazing. My nipples were a disaster after the first week of breastfeeding without using anything. This stuff is magic - cleared them up in no time and they’ve been great since.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and is able to get some sleep!!

 

[Fern81]

Hi everyone it’s been a while since I’ve been here,I can’t believe all the babies are so big already and smiling and so super cute! Just the other day I was gawking at the second, light pink line on my pregnancy test! And then the fun of everyone finding out the genders... and the anatomy scans... at the same time it feels like a lifetime ago.

I can’t believe my son is almost a month old. We’ve been sleeping ok this past week with him doing 5+ hour stretches. I’m knocking on wood (literally) because I’m scared it’s just a nice phase lol. I’ve been diving into taking cara babies’ instagram and blogs and following some of her advice. I wish I could afford the classes. He does sometimes really struggle to sleep though. I wish babies could talk,it’s so easy with DS 1 because he is so eloquent.

Azure my LO also does that with the gassiness and pushing and it’s hilarious! My older son and I have so many laughs about it!

Well things have been a blur of taking care of A and doing housework. I dislike the housework in every off second, I must say. But I cannot imagine anyone really likes doing chores haha! I still prefer it over my previous job!

We are still in the process of buying the condo and it’s exciting but scary as we’ll be dependent on air bnb etc to get an income from it. But it’s such a lovely place with a huge lagoon (like a fake sea) and lifestyle center etc so hoping we can make some money from it.

Phew that was a lot, I should have saved it for my journal!

Ps Jellybean I’m guessing you’ve had your baby?

 

[co_fostermom]

Hey everyone! CONGRATS Flueky and CC!

Jellybeanx...holding out for you! Are the last one left or is there anyone else? Sorry, I hope that question didn't bug the crap out of you - I know how tiring the end of pregnancy can be. Can't wait for you to meet your little one!

Pine - I LOVE Rafael's smile! SO adorable. Also, I am glad Biden got elected too. Also, I am with you with wanting more babies already lol. DH was talking about more babies while I was still in the hospital and I wanted to slap him across the head but now I'm like, I'm ready to try again once I heal lol.

Fern - how are you doing/ recovering? I'm so glad to hear that big brother is being helpful.

How is everyone else doing?

Baby Zeke is just over a month old now! Cannot believe it. He is doing well. Had some problems with his circumcision unfortunately and I felt like a wretched mother for doing that to him but my husband keeps telling me it was the right choice for the long run. But long story short it wouldn't stop bleeding and all the doctors were saying this never happens. One even said in the 30+ odd some years she's been a pediatrician, she'd never seen a baby bleed like that, especially with the method they used. Figures we'd be the ones to do it the hard way. I had never heard our baby cry and scream like that before. It was terribly distressing. Anyway, he's totally fine now. We did have to go in for hemophilia testing after that whole episode, but all his tests came back totally normal, so we're chalking it up to a random newborn thing and the fact that his first two weeks of life were a little rougher than normal. He's growing well though and is finally latching onto me without a nipple shield (yay!). I am healing slower than I would like, but it is what it is.

 

[Flueky88]

Thank you all. Sorry this will be a selfish post. I have been so busy. We got t come home last week on Thursday. Pediatrician last Friday where she had lost 10% of birth weight. We knew she had a tongue tie and I was going to make appt with pediatric dentist to get lasered. Was going to start pumping 3 to 4 times a day so she would have an easier time getting milk. Also, have an infant scale at home to monitor weight. Ped was happy with my plan to avoid formula unless she continued to lose. Well..... dd2 fell from recliner last Saturday and broke her left clavicle/collarbone. She required more TLC so I was having to step up more with dd1 while DH was caring for dd2. However my milk finally came in and even though her latch wasn't deep she wasn't losing, was gaining weight, having enough pees and poos, and was content.

Went Monday to a PT that specializes in craniosacral therapy to help loosen her tight jaw muscles prior to the release so it was more effective. Then went to dentist who identified lip, cheek, and posterior tongue tie. Had them lasered. Nursing improved. I have very little nipple pain and they no longer look like lipstick afterwards. I do know she still hasn't perfected her latch though. She started having green stools on Thursday after they had been mustard colored. I went back to IBCLC and pediatrician yesterday. IBCLC thinks she isn't getting the hindmilk/fatty milk due to her latch which is causing the green stools. So she's having me compress my breasts while nursing to help her get that fatty milk. She gained 4oz in a week's time which they were both happy with. IBCLC wants her to gain 5 to 7oz in a week's time. So hoping we meet that goal next Friday. She also wanted me to see the PT again which I was already scheduled for Tuesday. Ped was fine with me continuing to check weight at home, and wait to come back at 1 month unless there are issues.

Dd2 is doing much better and honestly you wouldn't think she broke anything. She wants to run and play like nornal which can be a bit scary as I worry she will fall and make it worse. She goes back to ortho on 30th. There was a bit of drama getting her a sling that fit her, but was resolved. Not feeling like getting into it, but a nurse at peds office had me crying (it was another doctor's nurse).

My bleeding picked up a fair bit yesterday but I think it was from carrying dd3 in car seat to and from appt with IBCLC. It's more than 10lbs and was a decent walk. Seems to be slacking off some and plan to take things easy over the weekend.

Dd3 is really an easy baby other than some feeding issues. She is easily content and likes to sleep. She can sleep through her wild sisters playing thankfully. I'm so thankful she is much easier than dd2 was in the newborn stage as with dealing with her broken bone and how young all my children are, I'm just not sure how I could deal.

 

[Fern81]

Wow Flueky that’s a lot to deal with! So glad your dd is doing well despite the broken collarbone. Good luck with Erika’s feeding issues. I hope you guys get it sorted out.

Co_foster please don’t beat yourself up over the circumcision issues! No way you could have known that in advance. Here we don’t do them as a rule but if we did, I’d definitely consider it. Can’t believe he’s so old already; it’s also easier (for me at least) to consider having more when you know you have embies on ice. Idk if that’s the case with you too. I think about my frozen embies a lot but after this birth and my age etc I don’t think I’ll have them though.

Hmmm we’ve been having sleep issues again on and off but I’m very happy that A is still a good sleeper at night. Last night he only woke twice to feed (since going down at about 7:30 pm). I found that if he struggles going down, side lying helps him fall asleep and he’s fine for the rest of the night in the bassinet. Days though... that’s a different story! I really miss having a swing (the one I had with ds 1 broke) and many days A will only nap if I do babywearing. I love doing it, have 5 slings and prefer the close caboo; only problem is that it’s so hot here he gets sweaty and overheated after about an hour in the sling. And when I take him out those eyes pop open! He really only naps in the morning until about 10 and then MAYBE one other time during the day. I’m so not used to this! Again- so grateful for his night sleeps though. I had such a bad stomach bug last night I wouldn’t have been able to cope with him.

He is 4 weeks old today so just a while before he starts smiling yay.

Let’s see some more baby pics!

I guess mine will be sideways again lol.