1 day DPO and in need of buddies :)

[korink26]

I always read about needing to put the baby down before they were sleeping to get them to learn to put themselves to sleep. Never worked for us, so maybe that's why were's till spending over an hour a night rocking until she's sleeping and then taking another 20 min. just to slowly and quietly walk out of the room without her waking up. It's really ridiculous. I guess with the next one we can try a little harder at having them fall asleep on their own.
Lindsay, I thought for sure you'd have more! How come you think he'll be your last?
yes, AF came full force today. I was half expecting it though because I had my normal brown/pink spotting pretty much all day. So bummed...but, I had a great cycle so I have to be happy about that. My first round of clomid I think just always jump starts my system, and although it doesn't work for that cycle, it helps my next ones regulate. So, onto my 3rd round of clomid. Boo...I keep thinking of my Mesina prediction all those years ago. She predicted I'd conceive in October with a boy, and then my next one would be a girl and she guessed spring for conception. Maybe she had it switched around, and Khloe was my spring baby and this one will be October conception!? Hey, I can dream if I want, right? Ryan of course thinks it's the silliest thing ever. Ah well.

 

[babydust818]

Quick question. What is your idea of a good routine for feeding and sleeping for a newborn? Not sure if there is anything you can do. Seems Rowan loves to be held and the minute I put him in a bouncer or swing or rocker he gets super pissy and starts crying. So I have to hold him majority of the day. sleeping is a nightmare. I had him on top of my bed last night and he loved it but I know you're not suppose to do that. I just dont know what to do and how to keep him awake during thr day to sleep better at night. who knows maybe all of this is normal and I just am making it difficult. I just hear ppl all the time say don't spoil your baby by holding him all the time. I just don't know what to think.

 

[BeachChica]

Rach - I can't believe Rowan is already a week old!! How is it being a mom!!?? Amazing right!!?? Well they say you can't spoil an baby that young so don't worry about that. All this sounds normal. Babies sleep a lot but they are up a lot to feed too, every couple hours. He will start to go longer periods as he gets older and can hold more in his tummy. The first 3 months is tough unfortunately! Isabela would never sleep much for me during the day, short cat naps. So I had to do a lot of entertaining. I had to walk her around the house a lot etc. (helped me lose weight faster! LOL) I seemed to never have time to eat myself and only got to shower every couple of days. I did find that a play mat with things hanging helped some. I would not put him in the bed with you, he needs to learn to sleep on his own plus it's not safe. Do you have a playpen you can put next to your bed? How is the BF going?

Lindsay - Happy 38 weeks!!! You look amazing!!!

Kelsey - I am keeping everything crossed for October for you!!!

AFM - I spoke to another friend about the sleeping who subscribes to the left them scream it out method of sleep training so last night we tried it. We did the bath, bottle and book and then out her to bed awake. She cried for about 10 minutes and then went to sleep. Woke up about 12:30am, cried for about 45 minutes to an hour and then went to sleep. Then again about 3:30am cried for about an hour and went back to sleep. Her last time was about 5:00am, I let her fuss a bit until about 5:30am then got up to feed her because I figured she was hungry, put her back in her crib to play a bit until I got ready and was ready to come back and start getting her dressed. Overall I think it went well. I just kept the monitor on low and checked on her with that.

 

[confusedprego]

Kels - I think Mesina just got it backwards and you'll get your boy conception in October! You'd deliver around June - perfect!! Keep your chin up - are they going to change your clomid at all? Your cycle was very nice!! Get DH to get up with Khloe this month - you need your rest!!

Rach - schedules won't really become an option until Rowan is at least 6 weeks old. It took us until Oakley was around 3 months until we got into a more predictable schedule and it wasn't until around 6 that we had a real set schedule. Babies are naturally nocturnal because we sway them to sleep during the day with walking and then they have parties at night while we're still, so it will take a little while to switch that sleep schedule for him. They say to let them sleep as they like during the day but to go about your daily routine as usual - don't try to be quiet for them and that will help them switch their sleep schedule. I agree with Jess and don't recommend him in your bed. I know it's tempting but it can be very dangerous. My SIL did a strict schedule right from the start - she based on the book babywise. She would wake her son up in order to feed him every 2 hours on the dot and then those times would change as he got older - I didn't read it so I can't give you any more than that but it helped her feel more in control of everything. We took a different approach with Oakley and I would let him sleep when he wanted to and would feed him when he got up but would try to make sure it was always a 2 hour interval. Every baby is different but try to not get discouraged - all babies cry - they just got evicted from a nice cozy warm place and are adjusting to the new world! Oh and there is no way to overspoil a baby less than 6 weeks. They say this is the time to spoil like crazy and to reassure them that you're there for them. Picking him up at every cry is 100% acceptable at this point.

Jess - Way to go with Isabela last night!!! It's really going to pay off! Keep it up and you'll all be sleeping through the night in no time!

AFM - 38 weeks today - I can't believe it! This pregnancy has flown by! I had some stomach issues last night and was waiting for contractions to start but it must have just been whatever I ate yesterday. I'm hoping little man will stay in there for another week since tomorrow is my last day here, it would be nice to get a few things done around the house before he comes. Oakley is dropping down to pre-school only starting October 1st - I would love to have a bit of extra mommy/Oakley time before baby comes too!

 

[babydust818]

Thank you girls so much. I feel better. As soon as we go to bed he will start to cry and I can't lay doen for another hr or two just to get him to sleep and then cry again when I put him down. Now the other night I held him in my arms next to me in bed and he didn't make a peep for 3hrs. Andrew and I do not want to make it a habit bcz of SIDS or rolling on him. I kept waking up every half hr to make sure his face was uncovered. I really just want to get a routine in tact so it will be easier on me in the future. As for BF.... he wouldn't latch properly. which would make him incredibly discouraged which would make me discouraged. So..I've been pumping and bottle feeding. I'm only producing 1oz every two hrs so I've had to supplement him with formula as well which I've been crying about bcz my whole point was to never use formula. I just feel like I keep failing. I amngoing to get fenugreek but does it really work? how quickly should I start seeing more of a supply? Right now I need to make at least 2oz to support Rowans appetite. I dont know if I'll ever make enough to store in the freezer. Ugh I just feel like all my plans are crashing down. How much were you feeding your LOs? how often? I've been going every 2 hrs during the day and 3 at night. I love him so much though. His farts are hilarious. He just woke up, moved and let out a huge one. He is hilarious and so handsome. Drs have told me they can not believe how alert and how much he moves for a week old. It really does amaze me. At his dr appt yesterday he was 8lb6oz so he had lost 6oz from birth but has gained since we left the hospital. Being a mommy is so rewarding.

 

[confusedprego]

Aw, Rach! I struggled a LOT with breastfeeding as I was so stressed about making it work that I couldn't have a letdown and so poor Oakley would suck his little brains out trying to get some milk and nothing would come out. I was insane about pumping and it actually worked well to increase my supply and I ended up producing way too much but there is NOTHING to be ashamed of with supplementing with formula. You give whatever you can with your milk as long as it's working for you and supplement to give Rowan what he needs. I know we tried for 2 ounces at a time early on but it's hard for me to remember exactly what we did. If Oakley finished the 2 ounces at one feeding and looked like he wanted more, the next bottle I would make 3 ounces and if he only got through 1.5 of that then I'd go back to 2, etc etc.
Don't worry about the schedule and try to get some sleep whenever he sleeps and everything will sort itself out as you go! I know I had a few nights of sleeping with Oakley on my chest - sometimes I didn't mean to, I would just be comforting him in the rocking chair and we'd both fall asleep for a few hours, or on the couch. You'll get the hang of it just don't be hard on yourself! It's tough at first!

 

[BeachChica]

Rach - did the doctor tell you to supplement? I think don't think the 1 ounce sounds too bad for a week old. Sometimes it takes time for your milk to fully come in. Does the hospital have a Lactation consultant to help with the latch? I had trouble getting the hang of it too. They had a number I could call with questions and a BF support group that met monthly. Just BF, BF, BF if you can for your milk to increase. There are also some times of the day that I produce more than others. I think they say that between 10pm and 6am are peak times. I wish I would have pushed harder earlier to try to increase my supply. Pump, pump, pump whenever you can squeeze it in, even if it's just 5 minutes. Enjoy this time with him as when you go back to work you'll miss him. I was a walking (unshowered) zombie Isabela's first 3 months and felt like I got nothing done around the house but all worth it. Oh we tried to do the 2 hour schedule with Isabela and it was too much. I just let her let me know when she wanted to eat but would set a timer to be sure it did not go over 4 hours. Also the Baby Connect App helped a lot in the beginning to keep track of her feedings and diaper changes. They ask about this when you go to the doctor and you get so delirious it gets hard to remember. Plus it will help to see that there is not a problem.

Lindsay - yeah for just 1 more day of work!!! You better get your bag packed just in case!!!

 

[korink26]

Like the others have already said, what Rowan's doing is completely normal! I was worried about holding her too much in the beginning, but her Dr and all the books I read said when they're newborns, there's no such thing as holding them too much. They need you. So, it was a lot of holding. And I know when you're tired, you will do anything, even stuff you swore you would never do. I slept on the couch with Khloe on my chest MANY times. One time I woke up with her on the side of me, almost between me and the couch and it scared me enough to not do it again. but, like I said, I did it MANY times before then, just because you're so deliriously tired! I had huge issues with Khloe latching, and the only way I could get her to latch was using those little rubber nipple shields. Some nurses said omg no, don't use those it will mess up her latch for ever. others said, do whatever you can to get her to eat directly from you. So, we used the nipple shield for at least 2 weeks, and then she got the hang of latching. Try it!
Jess how exciting that you're first night of letting her cry seemed to work out! Fingers crossed it just gets better from here on out!
Lindsay I can't believe you're 38 weeks already!!! can't wait to see his beautiful, unsmooshed face
Actually I'm lucky and DH pretty much gets up with Khloe every night and in the mornings. I haven't really questioned why he always does it and doesn't ask me to? Especially during my 2 ww when I'm trying to temp, he always takes care of Khloe during the night/morning. I told him now that I have AF, I will take my turns. Last night she was up twice, and I was feeling horrible for Ryan having to do it everynight because it's awful!
Ha, and thanks Lindsay for playing along with me and my Mesina hopes According to the gender predictor charts, December is the first month it has the possibility of a boy.

 

[BeachChica]

Kelsey - that's great that Ryan has been so helpful with her. So when she gets up does she come into your room? Or does she just start crying? I can't remember what you said what the specific problem with her bed.

 

[confusedprego]

Kels - I'm so glad to hear Ryan gets up with Khloe! Kirk has been getting up with Oakley but that's only once every couple weeks or so and typically you just have to go in and tell him he's ok and he goes right back down.
So, I'll buy into your psychic but not the gender charts lol. They were ALL wrong for Miles! I was so convinced I was having a girl and I was so wrong haha. Practically all the old wive's tales were wrong for him. But then again, looking back, they were wrong for Oakley too except the actual gender charts - but if I went to different sites they gave me different answers. Plus, I conceived Oakley at a weird time where I O'd in November but my LMP was in October so it was tough for me to figure out "conception" month - haha so silly that I think this much into this stuff!!
I have everything crossed for you this month and I hope you, Ryan and poor Khloe can get some much needed sleep!!

Jess - How'd last night go?! I hope even smoother! Give it a good week because it can take a while for the adjustments to happen. I think Sam used to say there was a 3-4 day regression and then you get better again.

Rach - like Jess said, we had some little timer thing that had a button for diaper change, sleep time, breastfeeding, bottle, and a misc button that would keep track of each thing that we used for a little while and we would just make sure Oakley ate within 2-4hrs and then we could track how long he slept for, how long since his last diaper, etc etc and it worked pretty well but by the end of my breastfeeding days, I would use an app on my phone that was a lot nicer that you could record breastfeeding times, pee's and BMs, and how long they slept for - it gave you charts and stuff - it was really nice! I actually need to try to find something like that again for this time, I'll let you know the name of it when I find it!

Sam - hope you're holding up well with your two and getting some sleep!!!

Mar - saw your new pics on Facebook - such a cutie you have! she really is gorgeous!!

AFM - last day at work!! My mind is kind of blown! I've organized a lunch with all the students from my program that work in the hospital today so it's a nice sendoff! Not sure how much I'll be back after baby.
Still getting contractions but nothing regular since last Friday. Still have a lot of movement in there too but I am definitely not feeling very well anymore, especially in the mornings. Feels like morning sickness, which it probably is, I know that can happen to a lot of women. It might also be that I'm just exhausted working and then going home to cook dinner and chase Oakley around lol. Maybe I'll feel better next week!
I'm packing the bag tonight - I swear!!

 

[BeachChica]

Lindsay - check out the Baby Connect App. It has all the things yiu mentioned. We still use it for our doctors apps, shots, measurements etc because it has all that too and puts things on nice little charts and graphs. Yeah for your last day of work!!! Hope you feels better soon, when is yiur next doctors appt?


AFM - Last night went ok. I put Isabela to bed awake but really tired and she fell right to sleep. Woke up about 1am, cried for about 30 minutes and went back to sleep. The woke up again about 3am, this time she cried for about an hour, it was awful to hear, but she fell back to sleep eventually. When I got up at 5:45am she was asleep so I got myself showered and ready then went in and had to actually wake her at 6:15am to eat and start getting ready. Hopefully just a couple more nights of this!

Did you girls notice a decrease in your milk supply when you stopped nursing at night? I want her to get as much breast milk as possible so I wonder if I should get up and pump at night.

 

[confusedprego]

Sounds like a bit more successful of a night! You'll get there!!
I don't know about supply issues as mine was always a too much instead of a too little problem but I've heard of that being a problem with other people! I don't know that I would recommend getting up in the middle of the night - you need your sleep!
My next appointment is on Tuesday in the morning. Kirk is guessing Miles will arrive October 4th with labor starting the night of the 3rd - any guesses from you guys?!

 

[babydust818]

thank you girls for all the info. I can always count on you!

jessie yes not bf during the night will alert your body that you dont need that milk supply and will shut down some ducts. I'd suggest pumping at night every 3-4 hrs. I got all this info from some exclusive pumpers lol. it sucks getting up to pump but it will help keep it going. so happy Isabela is getting better through thr night. hopefully just another night or two to get her on schedule. I bet it is hard for you to hear her cry but you've got to do what you need to.

Lindsay yay for last day of work! not feeling good is a great sign! can't believe baby could be here at any time. what middle name are you using for miles? my guess is October 6.

 

[pinksmarties]

Jess- I think by now if you stop feeding at night it shouldn't affect supply. The need to feed overnight is more important in the early months to establish supply (there is a certain hormone only produced at night that helps with supply). I think by now you should be okay as some babies do naturally sttn at 6 months and continue to bf no problems. The only think that might happen is that AF might arrive earlier than you want. I know that when B reduced feeding over night I think that was what triggered AF to return.

Rach - as the other ladies have said the early weeks are tough and there are no routines at all. I started a bedtime routine only at 6 weeks with B and got a sort of daytime routine with B at 3 months. Please sleep when you can and try not to be everything you were before i.e cleaning, washing etc. I tried to do the same and drove myself nuts expecting to be able to do it all and I wish I relaxed a bit more and just cuddled my lil man and left the dusting and hoovering. Can't spoil a baby and crying means they need you whatever their age, I fed Both mine to sleep especially at night and now B happily goes down on his own, so just go with what you think is best. B slept on Petes chest for the first 2 weeks as we couldn't put him down and visited the supermarket a few times at 2am (OH taking him in the car to get him to sleep) so you do what you can for everyone to get some sleep.

Linds - happy 38 weeks, wow so close now!! I'm thinking 6th for some reason, no idea why. Hope you feel better. Did you pack your bag? Who is going to look after O when you go in to hospital?

Kels - sorry AF showed. Glad your OH is so great about getting up with Khloe, that seems really rough going with her sleep.

afm - it has been a hard week. B has impetigo again (I think I'll coma back to that), and been really unwell with it. He started with a spot above his lip on monday then more blisters on his hand (Like what happened last time) but them bore spread across his face and all over his legs and bum/groin. Dr put him on highest dose antibiotics, at pone point she even contemplated hospital admission for IV antibiotics. He was really lethargic and just wanted to cuddle up on the settee with me. So poor O kind of got left to himself a bit but he was nice and settled so that was a blessing. B is much better but the pharmacist and the nursery lady today are convinced it was HFM as is going about our village so not sure what to think. What did HFM look like with Khloe and O? I have been unwell too which hasn't helped.

B's vocabulary coming on leaps and bounds and O growing like a weed. Can't remember when I last posted but last weigh in at 8 weeks 11lb 9.5oz when he got his injections. We are going to baby massage classes which he seems to enjoy.

 

[babydust818]

Need to vent. Rowan is still too young for colic, but I am almost certain he has it. Monday, yesterday and tonight he has been relentless around midnight and just keeps going until around 330am. We tried a car ride tonight and that made it SO much worse. I will rock him, put him in his swing, kiss him, talk to him, lay him in every position, walk through the house, etc. and he will not stop. I bought gas drops tonight and only gave him one dose so far. Hoping it helps. It is so hard being a first time mom and not knowing what I should be doing. He will cry hysterically and then boom he's asleep for 30 seconds to 3mins. Then wakes up to screaming again. Just don't know what to do. i hate seeing him cry. He doesn't spit up. He poops everyday. I just don't know.

 

[confusedprego]

Hi Ladies!!

Sam - so good to hear from you! So sorry B had what may be HFM - it's just terrible!! HFM starts as a bad fever and then within a day or two turns to blisters on the mouth, hands and/or feet and very often on their bums - I think poor Khloe had it all over her bum area if I remember correctly. Oakley only got a lot of blisters on his mouth, but that's probably because they spread a lot due to his binky. He got a couple blisters on his feet and hands but nothing too bad. He complained about 'boo-boo's' in his mouth and they supposedly get the worst blisters at the back of their throat. The blisters actually cleared pretty quickly - from the day they started showing up, I'd say they got worse for about 2-3 days and then it only took another 1-2 days for them to stop oozing but unfortunately it was at least a week or two after that before they stopped peeling.

Rach - I don't think any baby is too young for colic. I think I told you before that Oakley screamed inconsolably for about 3 hours a night from 9 to midnight for the first 2-3 months. The only thing we could do was walk around the house with him and that often wasn't enough either. I've heard of people using gas drops but I think they have different levels of success with babies. Try to be patient, it's tough at first but you'll look back and enjoy all the little moments - even the tough ones! As long as he is peeing, pooping, and eating - you're good! Mention everything to your doctor at all his appointments for helpful hints and to make sure everything is normal but you're doing a great job - keep it up!

 

[pinksmarties]

Rach - its hard when they cry like that and there isn't much we can do to help. O currently cries from 5-8 every night and I am hoping it will settle down soon. B never really had this but had very unsettled periods through out the day and when we had bad night the car really helped. I fouind bf Oliver lots really helped keep him settled maybe you could try that.

Linds - thanks for that, some of it sounds similar but others different. He has had a temp but it was when the blisters had started not before, it was mainly on his hands, mouth and legs/bum but not the palms or soles. The blisters scabbed over within the day of them showing and now the scabs have gone and apart from it being more widespread this time looks just like before when the dr said it was impetigo.

 

[confusedprego]

Jess - thanks so much for suggesting the baby connect app - it's even better than the app I had last time (that I can't remember the name of!). How's sleep going???

Sam - Sounds like it may be a bit different than HFM but the two seem very similar. Hope he's all better now! How's sleeping going for you??

Rach - Hope you're hanging in there and not being too hard on yourself! I know you're pumping and feeding but I would try to keep working on getting Rowan to latch - it'll make nighttime feedings a lot easier.

AFM - Oakley is getting me ready for a newborn - we were up for 3hrs with him last night. He was just wide awake for no reason - thinking a growth spurt because I finally gave him a pack of mini muffins and he finally went to sleep. Who knows but man I'm pretty tired, haha, I need to get used to this again!! I guess it will be easier to be sleep deprived when I don't have another human feeding off of and beating up my insides
I'm getting nervous about this respiratory virus that's going around the country. It's been confirmed in Maryland now - bad timing for Miles!!

 

[BeachChica]

Hi girls! Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Rach - have you talked to the doctor about Rowan's crying? One of the ladies in Isabela's class has a baby with reflux so I think there's different things you can do for different issues. Isabela cried uncontrollably every night from 6-9pm and there was nothing we could do to help. I read it's just like a release for them. Maybe Rowan is just on a slightly different schedule. I agree with the other girls about continuing to try to get him to latch. Even now when Isabela is really upset BF seems to calm her. I think they really like the closeness and warmth of your body, it's not the same with a bottle.

Sam - I can't believe B is sick again. Poor little guy! I hope it passes quickly. Is that going around at his day care?!I know you mentioned not feeling well also, what's going on? How has your OH been this time around with helping?

On a short break so I will update more later...

 

[BeachChica]

Lindsay - so how does it feel to be officially off of work!!??! I never cast my vote for your due date but I am going to say the 3rd. I hope you have your bag packed!!! Will you Miles in your room for a little while? I bet it will be hard to be sure he doesn't wake Oakley and then you have 2 to deal with when you are exhausted!!!

AFM - Isabela is sleeping through the night!!! We are so excited! 2 nights were kinda bad but by the 3rd night it was about 15 minutes of crying and then back to sleep. The last couple nights I haven't heard anything from her over the monitor so either I slept through it or she didn't get up at all. I am thinking the latter! It's going to be great to get her on a schedule with this so I can actually stay up a little later too and get some things done around the house after she goes to bed. Before I was going to bed soon after too since I knew I'd be up a few times. Since she hasn't eaten all night she seems to be feeding better in the morning and I feel pretty drained so maybe the STTN won't negatively affect my supply, we'll see.
I also been trying puffs with her and had a big scare Saturday, I almost thought she was going to choke on one, how do you get them to learn to let it dissolve or chew with their gums?