Hi ladies,
I'm happy to see we have a little more activity here, these days. I guess everyone's over the initial sleep-deprivation and adjusting to having baby home and we're ready to socialize again.
Chel, that breastmilk situation sounds freaky, but I'm glad you seem okay now. Did you have soreness or redness before then? I am always worried about developing mastitis, but so far, any time I've had a sore spot, it worked itself out with the next pumping or nursing session, so no infection/blood for me. I hope you weren't in too much pain! Also, I don't know if you have Food Lion stores in FL, but one of the generic brands they sell, Home 360, has great wipes that are nice and thick and soft, but dispense one at a time as long as you don't overfill their dispenser (I did that once and they came out in tiny shreds then about 4 at a time before I got the right amount
). I think that brand is sold other places, as it's not Food Lion's brand, so maybe they have it where you are. The packages are super cheap, which I like. Also, I HATE washing bottles. I finally gave up and put them in the dishwasher on the gentler cycle so they still get cleaned and sanitized but don't end up getting shot all over the inside of the washer (and turned upside down with filthy water left over).
yazzy, I had to laugh at your description of your daughter's clothing size and diapers. Over here, we're 4 months and M is still in newborn clothes and diapers. It feels like we're gonna be there forever, which is especially funny since I thought I'd have a big "diabetes baby" and might not even need newborn clothes or diapers at all!
It's just so funny how all our babies are different and I love it!
Re: bedtime... we don't really have one for M yet. She still naps in the evening and then we feed her when DW comes home and we all go up to bed around 12:30. But M sleeps through to at least 6 am most nights, after that, so it's a nice chunk of uninterrupted sleep for me. I often nap with her in the evening, so I guess that counts as part of the night, it's just that we're still downstairs. I guess we should start trying to have some kind of routine to move her toward something more "normal" but for now, this works for our little family.
Re: diapers... we are in weird limbo between sizes. M can't really wear the Pampers newborns anymore, but the size 1s leak like crazy, so must be too big (plus they cover practically to her armpits). Right now, we have Huggies newborns because they stretch differently around the legs and still fit her. But at 9lbs 9oz, she doesn't have much room left in the newborn diapers and the size 1s really aren't going to fit her in just a few ounces (she's 23.5 inches long, so super skinny still). Has anyone dealt with this before? Any suggestions?
Re: weightloss... Way to go, ladies! It is hard to lose weight any time, but after baby can be so stressful. I was so sick during pregnancy that I didn't gain except 4 lbs, which ended up being my baby's weight. So I lost 25 lbs when I gave birth from my pre-pregnancy weight. However, once the PPD abated, I've started gaining weight again. Since I had a bunch to lose before I even got pregnant, I'm trying to stop the weight gain. It's hard because with BF, I'm hungry all.the.time and my PPD meds make me crave carbohydrates, which are terrible for causing weight gain. I need to get my behind up and exercising. It's cooler today so I might take M for a walk this evening, if it doesn't rain.
AFM - we had M's 4 month checkup on Monday. She's doing well and even meeting her developmental milestones despite her adjusted age being 6 weeks less. Shots were brutal... or I should say the after effects were brutal. Two days of a fussy, unsettled baby, even with regular tylenol dosing. She's finally back to her happy self (see photo), but it was hard on the mommies. Our cats also got upset and seemed to glare at us, wondering what we had done to make her cry. They tried to comfort her, but she was just too upset and uncomfortable to appreciate it.
Breastfeeding is going better - no more meltdowns prior to latching (yay!), but still needing a nipple shield and lots of patience. We found out she has to have her tongue-tie released surgically (it is tied anterior and posterior) so we have that set for Sept 5. She also has all kinds of muscle tightness in her lips, cheeks, and neck, so she has to go to physical and occupational therapy twice a month to address that. I'm hoping that with all of this, she will be more comfortable and have a better chance at continuing to breastfeed going forward. The good news is, she is gaining weight steadily and has jumped up to the 7th percentile (from 3rd), so despite her difficulties, she is eating well from the bottle.
We have to do massage "exercises" on her lips and cheeks at least 3 times per day, which she hates. It's not very motivating to us, so we are struggling to get these done. DW has taken the strategy of doing them when M is already crying, but we're not sure if that makes it worse on the baby or not.
Other than that, we're doing well. DW and I are still sharing one car and working opposite schedules so that we don't have to pay for childcare. My mom comes in a couple of days a week so DW can get things done and/or catch up on sleep. It seems to be working for us, so I'm glad. I was worried it would get old very fast, but both DW and I love spending time with M, so it makes it all worth it.
Holy cow! This post got really long. I need to try to post more often. I lurk almost every day, but don't always have time to post. Then when I do, it's an epistle!
