First time IVF - Started Lupron last Thurs - Would Love some Buddies

[ERosePW]

sars, Brian is so, so, so precious! I just loved the pics, thanks for sharing! I'm glad he's being such an angel for you guys during this house buying.

booger, so sorry for the issues you're having... I don't blame you for taking a short break from the internet. I tend to google a lot too, and I get myself totally convinced of something. My DH always has to talk me down. I agree with beagle on the coconut oil for the rash... the stuff is amazing for so many things, and I recently bought a jug to keep in my pantry at home. Take all the time you need for your break, and just update us when you can.

Jen, i'm so happy Charli is doing so well!

Amy, looking forward to another update on the twins!! How are you feeling??

kfs, how is Adeline's cold? I think you said she was getting better, so she's probably doing great now. I was giving Owen those Hyland's Baby vitamin C tabs in his bottles, and I've continued even after he got better. It was so sad seeing him with the sniffles, and this time of year in daycare, I just figure it can't hurt to keep doing it until the spring.

Lady, you look so darn cute! Thanks for sharing the pic!

beagle, I just love seeing all the adorable pics of Derek on FB. He's getting so big!!

brighteyez, I sure hope you start feeling better soon!

babyW, hope all is well with you. Is work getting any better?

miss terri, I miss you! How are you hun?

Hi to everyone else!!

I've been catching my sweetpea rubbing/scratching his head at night. He'll fuss a little, so I'll look at the monitor and he's rubbing his scalp, sometimes scratching. It started out as ONLY rubbing, so I thought maybe it was something he was doing to soothe himself. But at 3am, he was crying for his pacifier, so I went in, and his eyes were still closed like he was still sleeping, but his little hand was scratching his head. So this morning as soon as he woke up, I pushed some of his hair back to take a close look, and his scalp is definitely super, super dry... it even looks a tad scaley in one spot. I know there's something called cradle cap, but from what I've read, that's usually babies under 3mths, and doesn't cause itching. So there's also baby eczema... I don't know... if its either of those, its a very mild form, because it doesn't look NEAR like some of the pics I found. I suppose it could just be dry, especially since our house feels SO dry right now using the heat at night. But with the small patch looking a little scaley, I just don't know. I'm going to use coconut oil on it tonight after his bath and see if it relieves the itching, and see if it improves in a couple days. If not, I'll take him into the doc.

 

[LadySosa]

Good morning ladies,
I hope everyone had a great weekend! I have today off work so I am being leisurely and will be going to get my nails done shortly.

Sars - Brian is so adorable! I love the pic for your SIL/BIL! So cute.

Booger - so sorry you're going through this stress. Funny you mention this, I was just having a convo with my mom about breastfeeding and she went through something very similar with my older sister. Apparently she was underweight and my mom was super upset, so she started bottle feeding. And then apparently she didn't even attempt breastfeeding with me, which I had no idea! I hope your internet break does you well. We'll be here when you get back.

Erin - sorry your little one is dealing with an itchy scalp. I'm sure its nothing serious, but I bet its stressful.

Amy - looking forward to an update!

I need your advice ladies. I started thinking about how overbearing my in-laws can be. Lovely, wonderful people, but they can be a bit much sometimes, they always want to be hanging out, and we get no time away from them when they're here. So then I started thinking that perhaps they could come a week after our girl is born, rather than before she's born. That way we can have a week to bond, just the three of us. I may be having a c-section, so it would give me time to heal, give our pup time to adjust, etc. before we have house guests (who apparently might be staying for like a month ugh). But DH is not on board. He's like, 'this is a family thing, we need to have family here.' And I get that, I do. He also doesn't want to offend them. But it annoys me a little because I always feel like his priority is with his parents, and he needs to understand that now we have our OWN family. Did any of you with out of town in-laws have them in town during your birth? How was it? I don't want to cause hard feelings, so I think I this may not be a battle worth fighting.

This weekend we went to Pottery Barn Kids to look at nursery furniture. I think we're close to buying some things, we're just waiting for a sale. The room is completely empty, so thats progress! Just waiting patiently on DH to remove the popcorn ceiling and paint. We're going to paint it a very subtle green, I bought some soft pink curtains, and then the furniture will be white and I'll get pink and green accents. Yay! The fun begins. I also need to start checking out daycares - oy! That part is stressing me out....I need to just do it!

 

[ERosePW]

Lady, I actually live near my inlaws, so in our case, it was my parents that came to visit. I love my parents dearly, and I always love when they are here... but I have to admit that I was wishing I had asked them to come a week later. They didn't stay at my house, they got a hotel nearby so as not to crowd us. But they were over everyday, all day. My DH and I were definitely wishing we had complete alone time with the baby first. Plus, since my DH owns his own business, he was only able to be away from work for one week. So during his week off, my parents were there. If I had it to do over again, I would def have had them come a week later. Some people really like their family there to help out, but we didn't find that first week to be tough at all since he slept so much. And we were so smitten, that there were just moments when we wished nobody else was around. That just ended up being how we felt though... I had no idea I'd feel that way, so it actually kinda surprised me. It's good you're thinking about it ahead of time!

I should clarify too though... while I wanted our bonding time after we got home, I did like having my parents come see us at the hospital. It was nice to share the moment with them, and have my mom around like she was for my sisters. When I talked to my mom about it a little bit afterward, she said she could've come for the c-section and then they could've headed down to see my aunt in South FL until we were ready for them to come back. Hindsight....

But that said... if it means that much to your DH, that would be hard to refuse. You're in a tough spot... A month is also a very long time. By the time my parents left, we were SO ready to have our peanut to ourselves. I can't imagine if they'd been staying for a month.

 

[beaglemom]

Lady - I don't have issues with in laws visiting...they are all too far away. My mom came the day of or before (can't remember) I checked in to the hospital to be induced. She was no help & even refused to take care of my dogs. She insisted on being in the hospital the entire time & when I checked in nothing was going to be happening. She slept most of the time & even when we were home. Derek spent most of his time with me since he was nursing. I ended up with a c section. I will say the first week went by fast & just felt like a time to figure things out. We were so happy for her to go. Then we had another week just us before my husband went to work.

The other thing was nursing & your body & just yuck. I felt gross. I wore pjs most of the time (as for most of my maternity leave). I did not wear a bra. Once I started leaking I would wear tank tops I could put the pads in & they would stay. But I am not exactly large up top. I had no issue nursing in front of my mom but would not have felt right with anyone else. And he ate a lot so I don't know how you feel about nursing in front of people. You are also in recovery. I was very sore & I didn't take my meds on time so I cried a lot because of hormones & pain. And the bleeding wasn't awful but again it goes back to just feeling kind of gross & glad I was in my own house with no one to impress or feel embarrassed in front of. Those are things to think of. I don't know your relationship with your in laws. But I wouldn't want it. I think I would not want anyone staying at my house if I did it all again...not in the very beginning. And yes a month is a LONG time.

I like my mom visiting now because I have Derek figured out. She is still not much help. She acts like she forgot what babies are about. Derek was crying when she started to change his diaper. She looked at me panicked & said what do I do. I said take the piss diaper off his ass & he will stop crying. I mean seriously. Usually it is food or his diaper. Not hard.

 

[kfs1]

Sars - I also made sure to get out of the house every day when I was on maternity leave, even if it was to just go for a drive or to even walk around somewhere like you said. It really helped so much just to have a change of scenery for a bit. I remember seeing other moms who looked like they were just walking around the mall, too. Wow. I hope everything goes OK with the house and the owners agree to pay for some of the repairs. I've never bought a house but have heard from so many how stressful the process is.

Oh - and little Brian is SOO cute. Thanks for sharing.

Booger - Ugh. You poor thing. How stressful! You are making the right move by staying off of google though. I often freak myself out by searching things and it usually turns out to be nothing. You will figure this out and all will be fine. Hang in there.

Erose - Adeline's cold is better, thank you for asking! Thanks for the tip about the vitamin C. Maybe I'll run out and pick some up because I'm sure it's just a matter of time before the next one hits since she's in day care. Can't hurt to boost her vitamin C! I hope all is OK with little Owen and his scalp. Let us know what happens.

Lady - If you think you're going to want some alone time, you should absolutely plan for it. My mom was up in the area when Adeline was born but was actually staying at my sister's house, who had just had a baby 6 days prior. I only saw my mom twice the whole time she was up because we were having such a hard time adjusting. For me, I really wanted to just focus on breastfeeding (which didn't work out in the end) and being at home so we absolutely kept the visitors away for a bit. Everyone's different but if you already have that feeling, I would definitely speak up. The baby isn't going anywhere and a week later really doesn't make much difference!

Beagle - How's breastfeeding going? Hope things are going OK for you.

Hi everyone else!

Easing back into work after a 3-day weekend. It's really so nice just to have that one extra day - makes such a difference. Some news though - Adeline got her first tooth this weekend! My husband thought he saw something and then sure enough, there was a little nub sticking out. I was so excited and was right up in her face trying to get a look, the poor kid.

Here are a few new pics. One of Adeline and her cousin Josephine and the other of Adeline with her new bunny hat given to us by my best friend.

 

[Babywhisperer]

Lady, my in-laws could practically be in witness protection we only see them for holidays and they live an hr away. If you are having a section you will likely be in the hospital for 4-6days. I liked being there as the bed helped me get up and the rails made it easy to adjust when I had to nurse. Going home was an easy transition but I can see how you want your space. I would say to your husband that you want to adjust you, the baby and your dog without added distractions, and that you yourself want some privacy as you heal and learn to nurse. See if that helps him make sense. The first week or 2 they nurse so often that having guests can make it awkward.

Sars that is one little cutie right there. I agree that getting out even for a store was crucial for my sanity!

Booger I agree that breastmilk can help everything from a clogged tear duct, rash, chafing and even pink eye. Don't beat yourself up for low supply. Eat oatmeal and even a pint of stout will help get your supply up. I swear beer helps.

So the update on work is.....my former boss resigned! I can't believe there is someone in this business that doesn't know his track record but whatever. I hope this is enough to change the dynamic. I know no one is unhappy about this change.There is still a "boys network" dynamic and a younger guy is getting more lucrative accts and I've been here longer, but they did give me back what my former manager took from me which is a step in the right direction. Another guy resigned as well and he had been given 5 of my accts and for the year he did less than 25% of what I did and I was out for 12 weeks. I hope to get a couple other accts as well. I can't get back the 2yrs my mgr hurt me financially by taking accts from me and giving them to someone else who did nothing with them, but I can make this year better and have a solid opportunity to make more for my family. At the end of the day that's all I want. I am not buying a 7 series BMW like a coworker did and bragged about. I am not going to Canyon Ranch for a week with my husband. I am trying to earn enough to afford our overhead, save for preschool and college and help pay off my husbands law school loans. I work very hard to be able to do this and I am the last remaining member of the original trading desk. I never take time off, even when I'm sick I work from home. What amazes me that I've had 2 kids while working here and they think a younger guy needs more money for his family than I do. I will never understand that mentality.

Away from that all is groovy. Emma is 6mos and no teeth yet but they have to be close b/c she is chewing on everything. She is such a sweet baby, her eyes truly sparkle when she smiles and she laughs all day long at jack. She took a nap in my arms yesterday and I ended up falling asleep with her, it was great. It's frigid here in NY and looks like we will get to use our new snowblower this weekend.

How is everyone doing?

Amy I am still on cloud 9 for you.

 

[beaglemom]

Breastfeeding is going well...not terrific, but pretty good. Babywhisperer if you say beer helps, I wish I could tolerate it. I am trying all kinds of things. My fenugreek pills are gone, but I read alfalfa helps, so I am taking those pills now. I just started oatmeal today (didn't know about it). I am still slacking in the water department, but I try. If he seems frustrated or won't eat, I give him a few ounces of formula depending if he has nursed none or a little. I have a hard time in the evenings. He is going through another evening spell of frustrated crying. So he won't nurse at all. I have great supply in the morning & at night. He nurses a lot at night which is good & bad. I get almost no sleep unless he sleeps in the bed with us...a habit I had always swore I wouldn't do. But my dogs are fine with it & he starts out in the bassinet. He stirs a lot though & it wakes me up. He usually want a pacifier. But if he is in the bed, I can go back to sleep faster. I heard if they nurse a lot at night they will eat less during the day which seems to be true. I also need to be more diligent about pumping. I would really love to reverse this cycle & have him eat more during the day. The other issue I am having is napping. He gets so frustrated I can barely calm him down. I try so hard to put him down on my own but most of the time he uses the swing. I then turn it off & let him sleep a few minutes then transition him to the play pen. Next week is day care & I am just so nervous. I heard that they hired a new asst to replace someone who quit while I was on leave. She & her banker will be moving to my office. Not happy about that. They made some changes & I think I am coming back to a whole new dynamic. Something to add to the stress I will already be feeling about leaving Derek. But the good news is my husband will have him on his days off. So Derek will mostly never be in day care more than 4 days. But my husband is working long shifts Mon & Tues. That will be hard on me...working all day my first couple days, doing day care, then coming home by myself for a few hours. I will be exhausted.

 

[ERosePW]

beagle, I'm glad the BFing is going well for the most part. I know that is important to you. I always heard the best way to build supply is to pump and feed, pump and feed, as much as possible. One of the reasons I stopped nursing was because of the couple weeks Owen went through the fussy phase and he wouldn't let me put him down long enough to pump. My supply went downhill from there, so I just stopped altogether. I felt a lot of guilt for it though.

babyW, yay for that nasty boss of yours leaving! I'm sure that makes such a huge difference for you at work! So glad to hear you're feeling so optimistic. Glad everything is going so well with Emma. She's a total cutie.

kfs, Adeline is soooo darling! Love seeing the pics. How exciting, her first tooth! Does she seem to be handling teething pretty well?

As for Owen, I feel terrible... Mommy FAIL. I think I've told you all how he often wakes a few times at night for a pacifier... I'm thinking that it actually might've had to do with the head rubbing/scratching instead. I ended up slathering his poor scaley scalp with coconut oil last night, left it on for an hour, then washed his hair with a moisturizing shampoo, and put a little moisturizer on it. He fell asleep last night with NO pacifier on daddy's lap at 715, took him to his crib, and he didn't wake up til 6:30 this morning. Not a single little peep all night, not a single pacifier run. I feel SO bad that that's what might've been waking him when I thought it was a paci the whole time. The paci always does put him right back to sleep, but now I'm wondering if he wouldn't have been waking up at all if he didn't have a crazy itchy scalp. I guess we'll find out, if he doesn't wake at all tonight either.

 

[Babywhisperer]

Breastfeeding is going well...not terrific, but pretty good. Babywhisperer if you say beer helps, I wish I could tolerate it. I am trying all kinds of things. My fenugreek pills are gone, but I read alfalfa helps, so I am taking those pills now. I just started oatmeal today (didn't know about it). I am still slacking in the water department, but I try. If he seems frustrated or won't eat, I give him a few ounces of formula depending if he has nursed none or a little. I have a hard time in the evenings. He is going through another evening spell of frustrated crying. So he won't nurse at all. I have great supply in the morning & at night. He nurses a lot at night which is good & bad. I get almost no sleep unless he sleeps in the bed with us...a habit I had always swore I wouldn't do. But my dogs are fine with it & he starts out in the bassinet. He stirs a lot though & it wakes me up. He usually want a pacifier. But if he is in the bed, I can go back to sleep faster. I heard if they nurse a lot at night they will eat less during the day which seems to be true. I also need to be more diligent about pumping. I would really love to reverse this cycle & have him eat more during the day. The other issue I am having is napping. He gets so frustrated I can barely calm him down. I try so hard to put him down on my own but most of the time he uses the swing. I then turn it off & let him sleep a few minutes then transition him to the play pen. Next week is day care & I am just so nervous. I heard that they hired a new asst to replace someone who quit while I was on leave. She & her banker will be moving to my office. Not happy about that. They made some changes & I think I am coming back to a whole new dynamic. Something to add to the stress I will already be feeling about leaving Derek. But the good news is my husband will have him on his days off. So Derek will mostly never be in day care more than 4 days. But my husband is working long shifts Mon & Tues. That will be hard on me...working all day my first couple days, doing day care, then coming home by myself for a few hours. I will be exhausted.

I highly suggest reading On Becoming Babywise. I nursed on demand for the first 6 weeks then switched to leading when Emma nursed. I also started using a bottle more and found that she needed a faster flow nipple. I started using formula at night to try and get her to sleep longer. I found that when I held her off from eating by using a pacifier first, I discovered that she wasn't necessarily hungry but wanted to be soothed. I got her to switch from snack feeding to more evenly spaced feeds every 3hrs then every 4. She took more at each feeding and was less fussy and napped better since she had a full stomach. I made sure to feed upon waking, did an activity with her, then got her to sleep. The feeding to sleep thing is a bad pattern. She now feeds every 4hrs 8/12/4/8 and takes 8oz per feeding unless it's a growth spurt in which she will eat a lot more. She sleeps from 8ish to 7ish and really has been on that schedule since she was 4mos. The book really helped me and I learned that highly fussy bad sleep weeks followed with easier weeks. It's from learning a new skill or making a developmental hurdle...they almost always do something new the week following a hard week, like grabbing toys, smile, laugh, roll over...they have FB group to where every question you have has almost always been answered before. They are so helpful and supportive. The key was when Emma got to 12lbs, that's when baby nurses teach them to sleep thru the night. It takes a few nights of consistency but it works for everyone I know. I never got a baby nurse b/c this book walked me thru it all. HTH.

 

[Babywhisperer]

beagle, I'm glad the BFing is going well for the most part. I know that is important to you. I always heard the best way to build supply is to pump and feed, pump and feed, as much as possible. One of the reasons I stopped nursing was because of the couple weeks Owen went through the fussy phase and he wouldn't let me put him down long enough to pump. My supply went downhill from there, so I just stopped altogether. I felt a lot of guilt for it though.

babyW, yay for that nasty boss of yours leaving! I'm sure that makes such a huge difference for you at work! So glad to hear you're feeling so optimistic. Glad everything is going so well with Emma. She's a total cutie.

kfs, Adeline is soooo darling! Love seeing the pics. How exciting, her first tooth! Does she seem to be handling teething pretty well?

As for Owen, I feel terrible... Mommy FAIL. I think I've told you all how he often wakes a few times at night for a pacifier... I'm thinking that it actually might've had to do with the head rubbing/scratching instead. I ended up slathering his poor scaley scalp with coconut oil last night, left it on for an hour, then washed his hair with a moisturizing shampoo, and put a little moisturizer on it. He fell asleep last night with NO pacifier on daddy's lap at 715, took him to his crib, and he didn't wake up til 6:30 this morning. Not a single little peep all night, not a single pacifier run. I feel SO bad that that's what might've been waking him when I thought it was a paci the whole time. The paci always does put him right back to sleep, but now I'm wondering if he wouldn't have been waking up at all if he didn't have a crazy itchy scalp. I guess we'll find out, if he doesn't wake at all tonight either.

Owen is adorbs! Don't worry about mommy fails, they happen even to friends of mine with 3 kids. You live and learn and do better each time. Babo makes a great moisturizing wash/shampoo...great for my kids who have sensitive skin like their mom.

 

[brighteyez73]

Oh and here is my most recent bump pic!

Too CUTE lady!!!!

 

[Amy1976]

LadySosa - You look so adorable!! I wish I had some advice for you. I do agree with you, I think I would like having a week alone (maybe two lol) to adjust before anyone came to stay with me but I don't know how you're going to talk DH into that. Although if you're having a C-section, maybe having the extra help there right away will help you out more? I just don't know lol.

Sars - Brian is so cute!! Love the pics you sent your bil/sil.

Booger - I'm so sorry you've been having such a rough time. I hope you are able to get everything worked out.

Erin - I hope Owen's little scalp gets better. So crazy that he slept through the night after you moisturized it. Don't feel bad though. This is a learn as you go process.

kfs1 - Adeline is so cute! Congrats on her getting her first tooth. That's awesome!

AFM - I still haven't completely wrapped my head around having twins yet lol. I think about things like breastfeeding and I get overwhelmed. But then I think about when they'll be 2 and older, they'll always have each other to play with etc. Or going on vacations, they'll always have each other and not be bored with just mom and dad lol. I'm so much older than all of my siblings that I was an only child for a long time so I love that part of it for them.

Apparently having identical twins with IVF, although not really common, isn't rare either. It is actually more common in IVF than having been conceived naturally. They're not exactly sure why though, some say it's because the embryos are unnaturally manipulated others say that the PGS or assisted hatching process helps the embryo divide as well. I never knew any of this.

I've been feeling ok. I'm nauseous all day on and off but at least I'm not throwing up, so that's good. My boobs hurt and I'm constipated lol. But other than that, I'm doing pretty well. I have another Dr. Appt. this Thursday.

 

[sars930]

Hey ladies! Everyone resurfaced. Dropping in quick to respond to Lady Sosa and I'll do a full check in tomorrow.

Lady, With the c-section I was in the hospital from Friday AM until Monday afternoon. I chose to discharge later because I was struggling with BFing. My parents, brother and his girlfriend all came up Thursday night and we went out to dinner. They all stayed at my house. For me, this was super fun. There was such an excitement about baby's arrival it calmed me and I didn't have time to worry. My parents visited every day in the hospital as did my in-laws. Everyone was very good about not over staying their welcome. And I just whipped out my boob and nursed in front of anyone. I didn't care. My feeling was: I'm feeding my baby. If this makes you uncomfortable, that's on you. And, for the record, my boobs are insanely huge with nursing and Bri's head doesn't come close to covering them.

When we got home, my parents stayed with us for the first four days. Beforehand, we decided they would stay for a few days to help us and then we wanted them to leave so we could have some family bonding time alone. DH was home from work for two weeks and we wanted some time as a family of three. Then, we got a baby that had his days and nights mixed up and would only sleep if he was held. My dad held that baby every night from midnight until 4 a.m., so Nick and I could get some sleep, bringing him to me when he needed to be fed. My dad ended up staying past Thursday when my mom went back to work and she returned Saturday. They both left the Sunday after Bri was born. Nick and I didn't quite know what to do with ourselves but quickly figured it out. My family came back wgen Nick went to work to help.

I wholeheartedly contribute my amazing postpartum experience to the support we had from my parents and in-laws. But you also have to know the sort of person you are and the relationship you have with your family. My dad was very nonchalant about me nursing in front of him. I sat topless 95 percent of the time. I never in a million years expected feeling that comfortable after I got home from the hospital. But he was so whatever, you're feeding the baby. I think it helps my mom EBF me and my brother. Like I never took a bottle. Ever.

That's a very long account of my experience. My overall message is: know what you need and want. And don't be afraid to ask for it. There's no do-overs here. If your in-laws could be helpful and you feel comfortable, it might be better than you imagine. You will be in the hospital for much longer with a c-section. I don't know if a hotel for the in-laws is an option for a bit. Good luck. That's a tough negotiation! I'm sure you will find the best option.

 

[sars930]

Erin: Owen is sooo adorable. I love your profile pic of him with the elbow patches. Gah! Don't beat yourself up about his scalp. This is all a huge learning process. Maybe it is eczema? I can tell you it itches like hell; I've got it myself.

KFS: I love, love the picture of Adeline by herself. How lucky she will be to have a cousin so close in age. We did get the sellers to agree to pay for almost all the repairs, which is a huge relief. I'm glad you got the 3-day weekend. My good friend, who has a two year old, always say a 4 day work week where you worked 5-6 hours a day would be the perfect balance.

BabyW: Yay for you toxic boss being gone! I hope it makes work more enjoyable and you hit all your goals. I read BabyWise and tried to attempt it. But there's really zero suggestions on what to do if your baby doesn't play ball. Brian eats every 3-4 hours. He generally takes a 3 hour nap during the day. We have a loose schedule and I try to not nurse him to sleep. But he started boycotting naps at home unless he was held. He would scream bloody murder when we put him down. Just this week it has stopped but he has been passing out after his mid-day feeding.

He just turned three months and from what I've read that's a bit too soon to let him cry out. He just clocked in at 12.2 pounds. I'm getting ready to go back to work and he's been having a bit of a sleep regression of late. I think it may be gas. Did you let Emma cry it out? I'm still EBF with bottles of breast milk when I'm not around or have had a drink. He goes down between 8-9 and typically sleeps until 2:30-3 when he eats. Until recently, he wasn't waking up for that 3 a.m. feed. He won't be settled by a pacifier or rocking. He then sleeps until 5:45-6:45, eats and does back down until 8-9 He will eat, get changed and naps again until about 10. Then we have lots of play time and he goes down again about 1.

Amy: Good luck at the doctor Thursday. Can't wait to hear your update.

Beagle: BFing really is a supply and demand. If you can pump for 10 minutes after feeding Derek or let him nurse longer, that will signal to your body you need more milk. Adding in a pump feeding after he goes to bed will help boost your supply and build up a frozen stash. For me, water seems to be very important in keeping my supply up. Have you tried lactation cookies? I am making my first batch this week. I go back to work Jan. 28 and I'm trying to build up my frozen stash.

Hi Terri! How is marathon training going? I'm signed up for my first post-baby 10K on the Super Bowl and a half-marathon the last weekend in April. I'm finally starting to feel good running. I'm still slow though. haha.

 

[beaglemom]

sars - I go back Monday. I have a decent supply in the freezer. I am trying to pump while I feed or after or while he sleeps. But sometimes it just doesn't happen. I am trying not to be too hard on myself. I am okay with supplementing if I need to. I don't have many bags that are a full feeding. So I plan to use one bag per bottle & fill up the rest with formula. Derek has recently started screaming during feedings. We figured out it was gas...burps to be exact. So I try to burp him after he has eaten a bit...but it is hard because he goes in a fit if he is still hungry. Goes completely rigid. I am also switching all his bottles to the next nipple size up...I read that can help.

 

[Babywhisperer]

Erin: Owen is sooo adorable. I love your profile pic of him with the elbow patches. Gah! Don't beat yourself up about his scalp. This is all a huge learning process. Maybe it is eczema? I can tell you it itches like hell; I've got it myself.

KFS: I love, love the picture of Adeline by herself. How lucky she will be to have a cousin so close in age. We did get the sellers to agree to pay for almost all the repairs, which is a huge relief. I'm glad you got the 3-day weekend. My good friend, who has a two year old, always say a 4 day work week where you worked 5-6 hours a day would be the perfect balance.

BabyW: Yay for you toxic boss being gone! I hope it makes work more enjoyable and you hit all your goals. I read BabyWise and tried to attempt it. But there's really zero suggestions on what to do if your baby doesn't play ball. Brian eats every 3-4 hours. He generally takes a 3 hour nap during the day. We have a loose schedule and I try to not nurse him to sleep. But he started boycotting naps at home unless he was held. He would scream bloody murder when we put him down. Just this week it has stopped but he has been passing out after his mid-day feeding.

He just turned three months and from what I've read that's a bit too soon to let him cry out. He just clocked in at 12.2 pounds. I'm getting ready to go back to work and he's been having a bit of a sleep regression of late. I think it may be gas. Did you let Emma cry it out? I'm still EBF with bottles of breast milk when I'm not around or have had a drink. He goes down between 8-9 and typically sleeps until 2:30-3 when he eats. Until recently, he wasn't waking up for that 3 a.m. feed. He won't be settled by a pacifier or rocking. He then sleeps until 5:45-6:45, eats and does back down until 8-9 He will eat, get changed and naps again until about 10. Then we have lots of play time and he goes down again about 1.

Amy: Good luck at the doctor Thursday. Can't wait to hear your update.

Beagle: BFing really is a supply and demand. If you can pump for 10 minutes after feeding Derek or let him nurse longer, that will signal to your body you need more milk. Adding in a pump feeding after he goes to bed will help boost your supply and build up a frozen stash. For me, water seems to be very important in keeping my supply up. Have you tried lactation cookies? I am making my first batch this week. I go back to work Jan. 28 and I'm trying to build up my frozen stash.

Hi Terri! How is marathon training going? I'm signed up for my first post-baby 10K on the Super Bowl and a half-marathon the last weekend in April. I'm finally starting to feel good running. I'm still slow though. haha.

How many ounces does he eat per feed?

 

[ERosePW]

sars - I go back Monday. I have a decent supply in the freezer. I am trying to pump while I feed or after or while he sleeps. But sometimes it just doesn't happen. I am trying not to be too hard on myself. I am okay with supplementing if I need to. I don't have many bags that are a full feeding. So I plan to use one bag per bottle & fill up the rest with formula. Derek has recently started screaming during feedings. We figured out it was gas...burps to be exact. So I try to burp him after he has eaten a bit...but it is hard because he goes in a fit if he is still hungry. Goes completely rigid. I am also switching all his bottles to the next nipple size up...I read that can help.

Is he screaming during BF'ing too, or just formula? We had same EXACT issue with Owen for a while when we'd give him a bottle. He'd eat, then stop and scream, and when I tried to burp him, he'd go completely rigid and get even more mad. Feedings were not fun during that phase. For him, the Gerber Soothe probiotic drops (recommended to me by Jen) helped so much. But one of the keys for us was to not shake his formula. It allows a ridiculous amount of bubbles to enter the formula. I bought a mini hand mixer that I mix it with every time. When I first started him in daycare, they were shaking his formula again, and he started doing it all over again! So I bought an extra and took it in and asked them if they would mind using it. Within a day, he stopped again.

 

[ERosePW]

Amy, so good to hear from you! I'm sure you are still trying to get used to the idea of twins, LOL! Can't wait to hear your next udpate!

 

[beaglemom]

sars - I go back Monday. I have a decent supply in the freezer. I am trying to pump while I feed or after or while he sleeps. But sometimes it just doesn't happen. I am trying not to be too hard on myself. I am okay with supplementing if I need to. I don't have many bags that are a full feeding. So I plan to use one bag per bottle & fill up the rest with formula. Derek has recently started screaming during feedings. We figured out it was gas...burps to be exact. So I try to burp him after he has eaten a bit...but it is hard because he goes in a fit if he is still hungry. Goes completely rigid. I am also switching all his bottles to the next nipple size up...I read that can help.

Is he screaming during BF'ing too, or just formula? We had same EXACT issue with Owen for a while when we'd give him a bottle. He'd eat, then stop and scream, and when I tried to burp him, he'd go completely rigid and get even more mad. Feedings were not fun during that phase. For him, the Gerber Soothe probiotic drops (recommended to me by Jen) helped so much. But one of the keys for us was to not shake his formula. It allows a ridiculous amount of bubbles to enter the formula. I bought a mini hand mixer that I mix it with every time. When I first started him in daycare, they were shaking his formula again, and he started doing it all over again! So I bought an extra and took it in and asked them if they would mind using it. Within a day, he stopped again.

I will have to look in to those drops. I also need to buy the Vitamin C you mentioned since he is starting daycare. I bet his issue may be the bottles being shaken. But he does do it during BF too. Your daycare makes his bottles? I have to prepare mine & bring them in. I bought the Dr Brown mixer which I really like...but I don't use it as much since I started trying to go back to EBF since I don't know how much formula I need. But I will be back to using the mixer when he is in daycare.

I feel like I have failed again. Remember how prepared I was for Derek to come? I think I only do that when I look forward to something because I literally procrastinated most of the daycare paperwork until today. My husband was off today so I went there hoping for us both to get the run down on the procedures of drop off. But the lady I spoke to wasn't there. So I will go back tomorrow. I also had not gotten his med paperwork done so I dropped that off with the dr. I will go back to the daycare tomorrow & finish my paperwork (had some questions) & get my med paperwork. Luckily the peds office is office & will have it by this afternoon...but figured I would save a trip back out & do it all tomorrow. I also planned to hit BJs for some things to take to work for lunch but left all my coupons at home. So unprepared today. But now back home & the 3 of us are relaxing.

 

[ERosePW]

I will have to look in to those drops. I also need to buy the Vitamin C you mentioned since he is starting daycare. I bet his issue may be the bottles being shaken. But he does do it during BF too. Your daycare makes his bottles? I have to prepare mine & bring them in. I bought the Dr Brown mixer which I really like...but I don't use it as much since I started trying to go back to EBF since I don't know how much formula I need. But I will be back to using the mixer when he is in daycare.

I feel like I have failed again. Remember how prepared I was for Derek to come? I think I only do that when I look forward to something because I literally procrastinated most of the daycare paperwork until today. My husband was off today so I went there hoping for us both to get the run down on the procedures of drop off. But the lady I spoke to wasn't there. So I will go back tomorrow. I also had not gotten his med paperwork done so I dropped that off with the dr. I will go back to the daycare tomorrow & finish my paperwork (had some questions) & get my med paperwork. Luckily the peds office is office & will have it by this afternoon...but figured I would save a trip back out & do it all tomorrow. I also planned to hit BJs for some things to take to work for lunch but left all my coupons at home. So unprepared today. But now back home & the 3 of us are relaxing.

His teacher does makes his bottles, but the preschool handbook said we had to prepare them in advance, even formula. So for the first week, I was using the Doc Brown's pitcher to make several bottles, refrigerate them, and then take them in the morning. But then his teacher said to me that I could just bring empty bottles and a container of our formula, and she'd make them! Her preference is to make them on demand rather than having to refrigerate them and then use the warmers. So now all I have to do is take home the bottles and wash them, its so great. If they hadn't been willing to use the electric mixer, I would've kept making them at home, but luckily they were totally fine w/ it.

Btw, I procrastinated my daycare paperwork as well. Oh, and those Vit C tabs are supposed to dissolve in their mouths just like the teething tabs do... but I found the Vit C tabs to be harder than the teething tabs, so I didn't feel comfortable putting those in his mouth yet. I just add them to his bottles.