January Baby Bears 2017 ~ 48 Momma Bears: 21 Blue, 17 Pink

[vrogers]

Ally- oh no, I'm sorry about the blocked duct! That sounds painful, I'm glad you were able to get antibiotics and I hope they work fast!
Glad Isa is doing/gaining well!

Literati- oh my goodness, I bet she is a cutie! Chunky babies are so freaking adorable. I've done the same thing at appointments, especially Lillian's because I'm so nervous. For me, I'm still getting used to being a mom and being responsible for another human so it can be weird and awkward at appointments. When Lillian had a diaper rash, it worked to keep her dry and we used desitin, it cleared up within a few days! I hope violets does too

Slammer- oh my goodness I am having the same problem with Lillian. I was just dealing with that this morning. I know their awake and alert periods get longer as they get older but it's so hard to tell if she's fighting sleep or just WANTS to be awake and is fine. It's hard for me to figure out how to entertain her as well. I just try to let her stare at my face and look around and talk to her, and if she keeps looking away from me and turning her head I assume she's had enough stimulation and would just like to look around and chill.
Aw I bet the dance class is adorable to see! I would want pictures too, I hope you are able to get some next time

Pompey- glad you guys have figured out a routine that works! It is a bummer though that it means sacrificing evenings together. Sleep is definitely important though! I hope you guys are able to spend some time together whether it's weekends or whenever else works best schedule wise. It's tough to find a balance-sleep, time together, tending to baby.
Glad Jamie does not have jaundice and yay for him latching, it's such a good feeling! That's awesome!

Newbie- our pediatrician gave us some at her appt back when she was a few days old and I was still BFing. I've seen so many diff brands but the ones she gave us were enfamil I believe

We've had a rough time here! Two nights ago I didn't sleep at all because we fed Lillian around 10, so I knew she would eat again around 2-3 and we went to bed at midnight. Knowing I was only going to get a couple hours made it impossible for me to sleep. Then after feeding her at 3:30 or so, she grunted LOUD and I couldn't tell if she was just sleep grunting or was still hungry, so i stayed awake until her next feed only 2 hours later. Then she was just fussy and not napping well so I didn't get a good nap in. It was awful! We've found her eating problem is getting worse. She'll sometimes eat 4-5 oz no problem, but then a lot of times she will get hungry, eat 1-2 oz and then choke on the formula and start crying which eventually turns into screaming. She's obviously either in pain or frustrated as she also grab some onto my hair/shirt/whatever she can and just pulls hard. Dh thought it was gas so her pediatrician had us switch to that gentlease formula and here we are a week later and it is either the same or even worse. Yesterday at almost every meal time she was miserable and then even worse in the evening. Dh made me go to bed and took care of her for the night which made me feel bad because he had to work today, but holy cow I needed sleep!
I called and made her an appt and they're seeing her tomorrow, so I'm REALLY hoping we can find the solution! I've come to dread feeding time and get a lot of anxiety with it. I'm thinking it's either really bad reflux or some kind of milk allergy, but we'll see what her doc says!

 

[slammerkin]

Newbie - I gave vitamin D drops to my DD sporadically. Looking online it seems you can get a vial of 900 doses for a bit over $20. There was also some new research that came out in the last year or two that if you're BF and supplement yourself with at least 6400 iu then that's enough to pass along what's needed to baby.

Ally - I hope you feel better soon!

AFM - our evening was better last night. Not so fussy. But back to waking every 90 minutes and being grunty during the night. Sigh. I guess I'll take that over the evevning fussiness, but it sucks too.

 

[slammerkin]

Vrogers - I'm so sorry feeding has become so stressful with Lillian. I hope she settles down and you can figure her out asap. That has to be so frustrating.

Oh, literati I didn't see about Violet's weight before. That's awesome. I'm going to try to get my mom to come this weekend with her baby scale. I'm dying to know Jack's weight!

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Hi all.
I promised I have read every post but I am awful at replyig, plus it is half term. Manic.

We have been out and about. I managed a 6mile walk with Vi in sling. She slept whole way.

Vi now weighs 9lb 2oz

Toddler and Vi have colds.

Xx

 

[Literati_Love]

Midnight - sorry your Violet and toddler have a cold too! Talk about parallel worlds.
Good for you on the long walk!

Slammer - I hope you can find out his weight soon! Keep us posted!

VRogers - I think chubby babies are the cutest too!
I'm glad someone else says dumb things at the dr and feeling embarrassed after! I am sure the lack of confidence and then the sleep deprivation are a bad combo! Oh well!
Nothing is helping with the rash but we are going to try a different brand of diaper cream. The problem is she literally poops 20 times a day! There is just no keeping the poor area dry for long!
So sorry lillian is struggling so much. It is no wonder feeding is causing your anxiety. I sure hope you get some answers soon.

 

[greats]

I still need to read the last 5 pages or so, will do so tonight, but wanted to just post a quick update.

Genevieve is doing well, she had her 1 month check up this past Monday... she is 22 inches tall and weighs 10lbs 13oz... Up 2lbs 10oz from birth! She is going through her first wonder week leap now and finishing up a growth spurt so been eating lots and a little cranky.

Having a rough past couple days myself, though, just worn out and need a few hours to myself.

 

[AliJo]

Hey ladies, I'll try my best to update and catch up, but I'm on my phone so please excuse me if I miss anyone.

Right now I'm at the laundromat catching up on laundry.. just a week's worth of laundry and it's going to cost me almost 15 dollars here. Oh well, at least my clothes will actually be clean.

T has been doing pretty well. I feel he's becoming less fussy. He smiles a lot and talks to us a ton. He's doing really well holding his head up for longer periods. I'll be putting him in size 2 diapers once we run out of 1s. Which will be in a week at most. He's fitting his 0-3 month clothes really well so I don't think it will be long and he'll be in 3-6 month. I need to start buying some 6-9 month clothes since all of the ones I have are for cold weather and it definitely won't be cold when he's in them. I need to do something different for when he's napping. He gets woken up by O a lot. I was able to get him to fall asleep in using a swing today but couldn't try again because he had a major blow out in it.

There isn't any other houses on the market right now that I feel will be the one. We plan to look at a couple but I just know they won't work for me. With spring around the corner a lot more are popping up so really hoping the right one will come along.

DH ended up getting sick but got over it after a day. Hopefully we're done getting sick.

Greats - Genevieve sounds like she's doing really well! Hopefully she stops being cranky soon! I don't blame her if she's going through a growth spurt, though. Definitely no fun to deal with, though.

Midnight - Oh my.. a mile almost killed me! Six would have been my death and more. Glad you got out for one, though!

Sorry about the colds. Hopefully they resolve soon. I couldn't imagine having a toddler and a baby with a cold. I'm sure I won't have to try to imagine forever. It's bound to happen.

Slammer - I would probably prefer to be woken up over the fussy evenings as well. For me it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't add to it and he sure as heck always does.

Newbie - My pediatrician just has me taking a high dose of vitamin D. I get like 5400. She told me to take a 4000 but the store didn't have 4000 and got 5000 instead.

Vrogers - I'm sorry it's been rough with feeding Lillian lately. That would be frustrating. I hope her appointment gives you some answers.

Edit: Did not mean to hit post. I guess I'll just make another in awhile. Now my phone is almost dead.

 

[Literati_Love]

Greats - I am glad Genevieve is doing well. Sorry you've had a rough few days and are so worn out! I think that is probably to be expected with three little ones! Do you think you'll have opportunity to get a little break this weekend?

Ali- I am glad T is doing better. Sounds like a really animated little guy. I hope a really nice house comes up soon.

 

[vrogers]

Thank you ladies for the encouragement! Will update you all tomorrow after her appt

Slammer- glad you had a better evening! Oh the grunting, I will not miss it when it's gone!

Midnight- good to hear from you! Wow 6 miles, go you!

Literati- I hope you can find some cream that helps! Diaper rashes look so painful on their tiny booties

Greats- first wonder week here too, I am with you! And I'm so sorry it's been rough...you should definitely find time to do something you enjoy and have someone watch the little ones...grab coffee, go to your fav shop, go for a walk, something for you that you enjoy. You need and deserve it!

Ali- wow! We are just now getting to size 1. I'm so jealous of the smiling and talking, I bet that's fun! We just get maybe a couple smiles and small coos a day. I can't wait until it's more often.
Glad he was able to nap in the swing. Where does he usually sleep? You may have said before.
I hope the perfect house comes along asap and also that sickness stays away!

 

[Literati_Love]

VRogers - thanks. Have you noticed this thread has been a lot quieter this week? You and I have been the most active. How are you doing today?

Today I am on my own, and you know what? I feel like I can do this! I don't feel overwhelmed and I don't feel cranky or frustrated. Everything is a bit chaotic and I am not able to keep the house tidy at all. I barely have time to use the washroom, but I'm feeling like I'm finally getting into my groove with two (btw - don't hold me to this because I'll probably have a nervous breakdown next week or something) and it feels like I might actually manage just fine after all!
Also, after today DH has a week of holidays again! Once he is back to work after next week, I'll have no more help ever and he won't have time off again until summer, but at least I'm starting to feel a bit better before that happens.
Happy Friday, everyone!


Oh, and because I am slightly insane apparently, I am wondering if anyone who wants another baby knows when they will TTC again? I know - it's crazy to be thinking of that already! For some reason having a second has given me baby fever again already and makes me excited for my third. I think we wouldn't try before August or September of 2018, though!

 

[Ally2015]

I have to read and catch up but I quickly glanced and lit your post about ttc made me laugh. I honestly don't know how you can think of another baby just now or when to ttc. For me that feels like a long way off ,In finding these early months so hard and tiring it puts me off having a baby lol!

 

[AliJo]

Lite - That's awesome about Violet's weight! It's cute that she's chunky and short! I love little chunky babies. I did an unofficial check on T and he's 13.4lbs! O was 13lbs at 2 months. He's gaining at a little under a pound a week.

Sounds like you're handling 2 better than I am! I do feel like I can do it but I do have some rough days still.

You're not crazy, I am! I already joined the WTT 2018 group. I'm tentatively planning NTNP in May next year then trying in July for sure`. I've even considered a smaller age gap.. because I'm crazy!

He is really animated! He smiled at DH as soon as he saw him this morning. It was super sweet and made DH's morning!

Vrogers - He generally sleeps in his bassinet when I can lay him down. He almost always has to be held to go to sleep and then laying him down can be tricky.. if he startles awake at all he'll wake all the way up and cry to be held to sleep again. The swing actually put him to sleep so it was nice not having to fight setting him down.

Pomp - That's so awesome about Jamie latching! I bet it was an amazing feeling to be able to feed from the breast again. I'm glad he doesn't have any jaundice and I've never heard of breast milk jaundice.

I don't want to go back too far. Sorry if I missed anything big!

T has heat rash on his back. Not surprised. He's a little hot box. O always had heat rash as well and he still gets it.

 

[Literati_Love]

Ally - haha, that is understandable. I couldn't think about a second yet at this point with my first! I don't know why it's different this time!

Ali - a pound a week is pretty good! I am curious if violet will keep getting chubbier and chubbier or if she'll slow down at all? Dd1 never did slow down, but you just never know!

Haha, that's funny you have joined the WTT 2018 group already! I actually brought up that questions after snooping on the WTT boards as well (but I never actually posted). It sounds like we may only be a few months apart next time, so we could end up being bump buddies again even if our due dates are different months! That would be fun! I hope we are still in touch then!

Don't worry - I'm just having a particularly good day. This is only my first day thinking this and it will likely all go out the window next time I am alone. However, I am going to ride the high while I can! Sounds like you're still doing pretty well, though! It helps that Violet is a much easier baby than my dd1 who was crazy demanding! Sounds like T is harder than your ds1 so that would make it an even more difficult adjustment as well.
I bet that smile made your DH's day! I can't wait until violet gives me morning smiles! I remember it making the wake ups so much easier with dd1.

 

[pompeyvix]

LL - Go you for being so positive and having a great 'I can do this attitude' I know it may change again but you may as well embrace it whilst you're feeling like it! I am pleased your husband is off work next week, do you have any plans at all?
As for TTC - no way!! We are done at 2. I feel our family is complete and I have no urge for another. Good for you for thinking about it already though. How many children do you want in total?
You asked me about expressing - I started because I found breastfeeding so painful. I had bleeding and cracked nipples and Jamie was starting to cluster feed for the second night in a row and I couldn't bear it. So I expressed and straight away got a good amount and then I continued. I am not sure whether to keep trying to breastfeed. With Jamie's heart condition, it is actually quite important I understand how much he is having and how often and expressing allows me to do this where as breastfeeding it's a bit more unknown. I may offer breast every now and then for now.

AliJo - I am so pleased T is doing better and is much less fussy. That must be a relief! I hope the right house comes up for you soon. Spring is always a good time to buy.

vrogers and greats - I hope your little ladies get through the first wonder week ok!

midnight - wow , what a long walk. Go you! Hope you get over your colds soon.

slammer - sorry Jack is still grunty. I am lucky in that Jamie seems to have reduced his gruntiness, but I know how horrible it can be!

AFM - So last night wasn't good!Jamie spewed his WHOLE feed over me twice, once at around midnight and then at 6 in the morning. Both times both me, him and the bedding was covered.

Jamie had another heart scan today. The consultant was more positive. Basically, Jamie has a moderate size hole. Due to where it is, it may or may not close by itself. If it does close, then all is good and that's that. If it doesn't close by itself, whether or not he needs surgery purely depends on his feeding, weight gain and breathing. Currently the medication he is on is doing it's job and is helping Jamie, but as times goes on, he could struggle. If he does and he starts dropping centiles and doesn;t feed as much or struggles to feed, then there is a good chance he will need surgery to close the hole. If he continues as he is now in gaining weight, breathing well and feeding well, the hole probably won't need closing and he will always have a hole in his heart. So it's just a waiting game. The consultant was happy with Jamie and feels right now he is fine, so we have another scan in 2 months time. But if in the meantime he starts struggling then I need to make an appointment to get him scanned again. We are also likely to be seen by the team in Southampton for their opinion too. I feel much more positive!

 

[slammerkin]

Vrogers - how was Lillian's appt?

Literati and AliJo - y'all cray cray, hehe. I am so glad to have my two kids and be DONE forever. DH already has an appointment for a vasectomy in March.

Pompey - good to hear Jamie is still thriving. I hope scans continue to be good. Sorry to hear about the big spews of his feeds though!

AFM - not feeling all that confident today. Got frustrated with Jack trying to get him to sleep earlier. Tried the swing and it was not a success. Seriously, why can't my kids take to these standard tools that parents use to keep themselves sane? We ordered a mamaroo. I doubt that will be a success either, but DH is already impatient with bouncing him about and saying he's not bouncing him for 45 minutes to get a 30 minute nap out of him like he had to do with DD for months. Not sure what he thinks the alternative is, but whatever. :-/ I guess it's still so early and he could change a lot, but despite feeling prepared for another bad sleeper I'm actually feeling a little despondent at the thought of it now.

 

[Literati_Love]

Slammer - I'm sorry you're not having a good day and that you're feeling down about the possibility of another bad sleeper. Violet will NOT fall asleep in the swing either, and it's really frustrating. Your comment about why babies won't just take to these devices to make our lives easier made me smile. I hope he will take to the mamaroo okay. It is too bad your DH is getting frustrated already as well. I hope it gets better for you and that Jack doesn't end up being as bad of a sleeper as your dd. You can do this! Lots of hugs.

Go you on scheduling that vasectomy already! It will be nice to never have to worry about that again now that you know your family is complete.


Pompey - I'm glad your family feels complete. It is interesting hearing how different people are feeling. I think it's kind of cool that people get a feeling of being "done" when they've had enough kids...but that number is different for everyone! I personally want 3 in total.

I'm glad the scan with Jamie was a bit more positive. I hope he doesn't end up needing surgery. That's great that expressing actually works better with his heart condition. Cool that you might be able to
Offer the breast from time to time if you want though.

 

[Ally2015]

Ali and lit- you are both crazy. I can't believe you joined a WTT group already Ali!!

Pomp- I'm so glad your feeling more positive. Fingers crossed things for you! Sorry about about the pukey nights. I washed my bedding today as it's covered in isas vomit!

Slammer- sorry to hear u had a tough time with jack. I feel like standard tools don't work on my baby either.

I read a little of the bsby sleep book I have. It says babies alertness follows a 90 min cycle. 90 mins after they Wake is the ideal time to start to get them to sleep. This is regardless of how long they slept for. Would be interesting if we test this? I'm going to see if I can see a 90 min rhythm in Isa.

 

[vrogers]

Literati- I agree, it used to be much more active! But I know everyone has their hands full. I'm glad it's finally the weekend!
That's awesome you don't feel overwhelmed, you have a great attitude about it all! I'm sure you are definitely starting to get into the swing of things and the more time goes by the more "normal" it will be for you. Also I'm sure it will be nice having some help for a week!
I've heard it's completely normal to have a bit of baby fever right after, you aren't insane. I think I would want to wait until Lillian is 2-3 years old, especially because of the section. How many more are you guys wanting? Dh is saying no more because this newborn stage has traumatized him but I kind of wanted one more!

Ali- I've seen so many people saying their newborns only sleep while being held, not sure how I wouod handle that! I love the baby snuggles but I also like having my hands free haha. I hope the swing keeps working!

Pompey- poor little guy, I hope he's able to keep milk down now.
It seems like there's a good chance he won't need surgery, and I hope he doesn't. I can't imagine how you feel! I'm glad you are feeling positive!

Slammer- the appt was good, thankfully her doc took us seriously and we are trying yet another formula, similac alimentum. She does think Lillian has pretty bad reflux and said to call her Monday and update her, and if it isn't better or gets worse we will have to go to medicine. Hopefully this formula is the answer!
I'm sorry today has not been good! Lillian has been the same way, it's quite exhausting especially when you are already sleep deprived. We just got a mamaroo, my MIL actually bought it for us yesterday hoping it would help Lillian! I've only put her in it once because we don't have the infant insert. I do like how it works, it's pretty fancy. I hope it works for you guys and everyone is able to sleep!

Ally- let us know how the 90 min schedule goes, I'm interested!

 

[AliJo]

Vrogers - He will sleep without being held, but he has to be in a deep sleep before you lay him down. Even then sometimes he wakes up, just like he did now.

Ally - Ha.. I couldn't resist! I don't really talk on it much yet.

Let us know how the 90 minute rhythm works for you! It would probably be a joke if I tried. It's best if I go with the flow and just pay attention to cues. There is no rhythm with two it seems!

Slammer - I kind of wondered if I would change my mind at all on wanting more, but I definitely haven't! I don't feel our family is complete. There's another little boy or girl that definitely is suppose to be a part of our lives!

Kind of funny about you buying a mamaroo, because I did the same thing except I bought a traditional swing. Desperate times call for desperate measures. T was put to sleep maybe twice in the mamaroo, but he would never just sit content in it. Of course he was a major fuss butt during these times and I haven't tried it since he calmed down some. It would keep him to sleep for longer periods if we put him down in it once asleep. It's in the bedroom and I put him in there if he needs a nap and O won't be quiet. I've had more success with the traditional lately, but I need to try the mamaroo more since he's chilled. Hopefully it works for you. It's so hard having a baby that is hard to put to sleep and then doesn't stay asleep once put down.

Keep your head up! It was really rough for me and still can be but T has gotten better so hopefully Jack will calm down some.

Pomp - Sounds like Jamie is doing really good! I'm glad things are going well considering the situation. A second opinion is a good idea.

I'm sorry he lost his entire feeding all over everything. I feel so defeated if my bedding gets it because we don't have a washer or dryer and the ones in our building don't really clean stuff well so blankets really don't get washed.

Lite - I have no hopes of T slowing down. I think he's going to my little chubs just like DS1. At this rate.. chubbier! If he does hit 15lbs by 2 months that 2lbs more than DS1. Maybe he'll be longer. So far he is so I guess that could make up for the extra pounds.

It's getting easier for me since T is calming down. O is actually challenging me more than T at the moment. I hate getting after him so much, but honestly don't know how else to handle it because he simply won't listen. He'll just laugh at me like it's a game which is beyond frustrating.

AFM - DH and I both feel T is calming down and has been less fussy. I was actually able to put him down in the swing for awhile while he was awake yesterday without him being angry. He's very interactive with us and I think that helps some. He's able to be entertained.

I attempted the crib again last night. He woke up not long after being in there, but I wouldn't have let him say in there. He's still doing some of the high pitched breathing while laying on his back on a flat firm surface. He doesn't do it on the bed when he's on his back so I'm not sure if it's just because of the way it holds his airway or what.

I'm going back to work halfway through next month. Not really feeling too much towards it yet. I just hope things go smooth enough for me to be able to pump adequately. I'm not putting T and O in daycare yet, but what we plan is to get moved over to the town I work and put them in the YMCA daycare for weekdays because it's literally right next to where I work. Won't work right now because I won't have them there for 12 hours. So, I feel better about it just because DH will have them.

DH is a bit worried about it. He isn't feeling ready for having them on his own 13-15 hours a day. Hopefully I won't be so out of it at work since I'm no longer pregnant and can almost always get out of there at a good time. Ha.. I can hope! I know he'll do fine and I don't blame him for being nervous about it since I sure as heck was.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend. I should have gone out for a walk yesterday while it was 70 out, but I didn't. It will be in the 60s today, though so I should go. Just have to time it right because T does not like being put in the carrier when he's wide awake.

 

[Literati_Love]

Ali - oh yeah, I meant T sounds harder as a *baby* than O was as a baby. The toddlers are definitely the challenging ones when you have a baby and a toddler! Even when Violet is super fussy for hours, I find it less draining to deal with than all of dd1's disobedient behaviour, whining and constant demands! She has been pretty good, but there is always an hour or two in the day when she's just awful. It's so hard to deal with!
I'm glad T is so much less fussy now. It definitely helps he can interact More I am sure. I bet he will be a very sociable child and will probably be an early talker! Dd1 was like that and got easier and easier as she aged (except for her sleep - haha) because she did so much better the more she could communicate with us.

That will be hard for your DH watching two for that long. I don't blame him for being nervous. Still better than daycare right now. Good idea to go to the daycare right next door. So, does that mean you are just going to go back to picking up shifts at your old job? Or did you already find a new job? I'm so sorry you have to go back so soon. I can't even imagine!

Also I probably have no hope of Violet slowing down either. I am not sure why I let myself hope for that haha. I love having a big strong toddler but it is hard to keep up with such rapid growth. At least Violet can just wear hand-me-downs.

VRogers- I bet your DH will have an easier time once Lillian is a toddler and will be more keen on another one. In general, I've noticed men enjoy kids more once they can play and interact with them more. Do you mean 2-3 yrs before you have another baby or before you even TTC again?
We want 3 kids in total. We used to want 4 but after having dd1 decided 3 was
More than enough. Now I am curious if I will actually feel done at 3! I hope so! Haha

Ally - I personally think that 90 minute thing sounds pretty limited. Babies change their ideal awake time as they age, so I can't see the 90 minute awake time being ideal other than during a short window. I hope it works for you though.


AFM - even though DH is supposedly on holidays, he had to go into work this morning to finish up some things that he just couldn't leave for a whole week. I don't mind too much but look forward to him getting home finally.

I thought we would wait until spring to see if we need a double stroller, but now I am making plans to go to a Movies for Mommies showing in a couple weeks with the kids and I just don't know how I will keep them both contained and safe with a single stroller. I am thinking during DH's week off we should start researching them a bit.