Valentines Babies, 2013!

[SierraJourney]

helena, I am so glad to hear that someone else's baby is hungry all of the time still, too! I was in tears today because Camden feeds all day long, and when he's not nursing, he's crying! (All of this while I'm supposed to be working from home--so I'm extra stressed because I'm trying to work and take care of him!) His current routine is get up, nurse all day until about 3p.m. when he gets fussy WHILE nursing, so I give in and give him a bottle, which satisfies him for maybe 10 minutes, then he nurses some more. So far today, he hasn't really napped (except quick dozes on the breast), and he's suckled all day long! It's soooo exhausting! He's gaining weight well, but my goodness! I'm thankful he's a good sleeper, though! (He slept 8 hours STRAIGHT last night).

Kellen, when is the big move?! That's so exciting!! I'd be upset about the smoky relatives as well. . .that's so hard!! Good for you for losing 40 lbs! If I'm that successful when I get weighed next week, I think I will treat myself to a huge dessert and eat every bit of it! I know I've lost 25 lbs already, but am assuming it's more than that now, since that was 3 weeks ago that I was weighed. I, too, am flabby and have a "muffin top" in my pre-pregnancy pants. This weekend I hope to start my core exercises as well.

That's crazy that your lo is in 3-6 mo already! (Although, I really can't wait for Camden to be in that size because I have a lot of cute clothes in that size! haha)

Anyone left with stretch marks? I didn't have any when I was pregnant, but I must have had hidden ones or something because as soon as baby was born, I noticed a patch of them right below my belly button. I'm a little sad that they are so obvious and hope they fade a bit before swimsuit season. . .

Are you all still swaddling baby? We swaddle at night, and the doctor said to keep it up until 3 months. Camden outgrew his regular swaddles, so we had to get some big ones. . .problem is that they are too big and end up leaving a lot of bulky cloth behind his back which makes him rock a bit when he fusses. . .which worries me that he's going to flip himself over, but DH says he's secure.

Okay. . .better get back to that work now. . . Of course, baby is on my lap nursing away!

 

[Kellen]

I had no stretch marks on my tummy before labor, but afterwards I walked away with a ton!

We don't swaddle. If we do Teagen gets super mad and screams until her face turns purple. If we try to keep her arms contained she will find a way to release them. We have tried with blankets and with swaddle sacks; none of which work.

 

[wamommy]

No stretch marks here, but I DO have the mother of all muffin tops Ah well, it's worth it!

I swaddled the first couple weeks, but after that LO started hating it. He struggles and fights sleep, because he likes to sleep with his arms up. Picture a cactus... that's what he looks like sleeping! I DO put little gloves on, though, because even with trimmed nails he scrapes at his face and wakes himself up in the night.

Last night he went 2 full hours sleeping! Yes, this was after being up straight until 3am, but still... it's a start.

Helena, LO likes to sit and look around when he's in his car seat, but not flat on his back. I think it's because he can't see much lying down. When we go out to eat I pull back the blanket over his seat so that he can see around the restaurant and he LOVES it. He'll sit there for an hour that way. If I walk away or block his view of me he fusses, though. This could become a problem later on!

 

[helena]

Luckily I avoided stretch marks.

I just got in from a run! Yikes, I feel sick! Lol. Baby came too, in the stroller. She seemed happy, awake the whole time and looking about

Have tired her with another bottle this morning, see if I can make her just a bit more content and happy wi a fuller tummy. So far so good.

Any baby's in their own bedroom? Thinking of moving K this weekend. I tried before it couldn't bring myself to.

 

[SierraJourney]

Glad I'm not the only one Kellen! Weird how that happens! So jealous of you other two!

Helena, Camden has been in his own room since we brought him home from the hospital. It was hard the first few nights for me but now I hardly think about it! I always pray over him, kiss him, and tell him I love him before I leave his room and that seems to settle me down a bit . But Camden doesn't seem to notice at all! He does excellently!

 

[DragonflyWing]

Do your babies ever sit and watch the world and be content?

Yes, sometimes, although not as much in the past few days. I think they're having a growth spurt, because they've been super cranky, and if they're not sleeping, they're mostly crying. On good days, though, they are often quietly alert, just looking around. This is when we get smiles from Gunnar and a happy face from Lily (not really smiling, just bright eyed and content-looking).

Is it the age from due date we should consider when reading about development milestones etc? Kiara was only 3 weeks off due date but I do tend to assume she may be a few weeks behind her actual age development wise?
Your guys already 3 months? Wowee! Oh my word they are growing up fast already!!

I know, it's crazy how fast time goes! Yes, adjusted age is calculated from their due date. So even though they're 3 months old, they've only hit most of their 1 month milestones, plus a few 2 month milestones like bearing weight on their legs and better head control (result of more time out of the womb to strengthen their muscles).

Anyone left with stretch marks? I didn't have any when I was pregnant, but I must have had hidden ones or something because as soon as baby was born, I noticed a patch of them right below my belly button. I'm a little sad that they are so obvious and hope they fade a bit before swimsuit season. . .

Are you all still swaddling baby? We swaddle at night, and the doctor said to keep it up until 3 months. Camden outgrew his regular swaddles, so we had to get some big ones. . .problem is that they are too big and end up leaving a lot of bulky cloth behind his back which makes him rock a bit when he fusses. . .which worries me that he's going to flip himself over, but DH says he's secure.

I ended up with a little patch of new stretch marks on the side of my tummy, but I truly don't care because I'm prone to stretch marks and have a ton of them already. They fade pretty fast, generally, but I'm so used to having them that I hardly notice them anymore.

As for swaddling, when the babies first came home, they were swaddled almost all the time, and they seemed to love it. As they've gotten older and more alert, they seem to hate it, so we don't do it much now. The only time they get swaddled is after baths when I'm trying to get them toasty warm again, and sometimes while eating so they don't flail as much. They will hardly ever sleep swaddled now, they whine and struggle until I free their arms. Sometimes if they fall asleep swaddled after a bath, it seems like they stay asleep longer than unswaddled...probably because their arms don't wave around and wake them up. LOL most of the time it seems like they have no idea or control over what their arms and legs are doing. They routinely smack themselves or each other in the head because they're flailing about uncontrollably.

The twins got their second Synagis vaccine yesterday (for RSV), and they were SO cranky last night! Lilja actually had a fever, and Gunnar spit up most of his milk for several feedings, and they were just generally inconsolable. Poor DH only got about 2 hours of sleep. I had to get up early to go to work today, so I couldn't help as much as I wanted to (although I laid awake with knots in my stomach for a long time because I can't stand to hear them cry).

When DH came to bed at one point, Lily started screaming almost immediately. He tried to get me to let her cry herself to sleep, but I just couldn't. When I went out to get her from the bassinet, I found that she was in her carseat with the cover completely closed, ON THE COUCH. WTF DH?! I immediately pulled her out, and she was soaked with sweat, her face was bright red, and she had tears rolling down her cheeks...she was so upset. I felt terrible...what if she had overheated? What if she had rocked the carseat right off the couch onto the floor? What if her airway was restricted from being slumped in the carseat? I don't think he should ever have left her like that and gone to bed. Too many things could have gone wrong. As it was, she was incredibly overtired, and just needed to be held for a minute before she fell right to sleep. Poor little thing.

I told DH that he should not have left her like that, and he disagrees that it was dangerous

 

[Kellen]

Dragon, I would have flipped out too if I had found my baby in that position. I understand that your DH was probably exhausted, but that just doesn't seem like a wise position to try to sleep a cranky baby in. Like you said all she needed was a snuggle and then to sleep she went.

Wamommy and Helena, you two are officially off the Christmas card list for having no stretch marks. LOL. I don't actually mind mine. I never wore a two piece to begin with and DH will be the only one looking at me so I don't really care. I just found it interesting that I had none before labor and then a bunch afterwards.

How is tummy time going for everyone? Teagen loves to be placed in different position. We have a small boppy that she can rest her chest on and look around. She will turn her head and look at me if I talk to her. It is awesome. She has also started to "stand" on my lap.

My only complaint is my lower back. And she just showed off her ability to grab and pulled the cover over her face...nice.

 

[helena]

Well done Teagen!

Kiara is in her own room tonight for the first night. I am really wanting to get an evening routine going, so we have an 8 o'clock ish bedtime set now. And I want her to get used to going to sleep by herself, so I am trying to put her down awake.she cried a bit while I was brushing my two boys' teeth, but I when in and put her pacifier in a couple of times and she seems to be calmly looking about now. Hopefully she will doze off soon.
I bet she ends up in our bed later on though!... But for me it is the bedtime I want to crack, even if she does bed swap in the middle of the night

I guess I wouldn't be too pleased either Dragon, but I hadn't heard airways could be restricted in a car seat. I knew babies shouldn't sleep in them for too long but thought this was about the spine....
My little one doesn't move so much yet so wouldn't tumble off the sofa, but maybe yours do..
I have heard people say that a partition or something up so baby can't see can help them go to sleep so maybe he was trying that sort of idea? Not sure I would do it and go off to bed though..
Have you spoken to DH? Perhaps he is just so exhausted?...I would view it as a cry for help. I hope it doesn't lead to too much stress between you...x

For the last 3 nighty Kiara had a bottle of formula before bed and one in the day. First time it went great, then once or twice she has projectile vomited. I think it is just the sheer volume she struggles with - she is a gready guts! Today she threw up all down my arm, I wiped her face and she then gave me the most gorgeous beautiful big smile! The first definite one! I was so happy, even if I was covered in vomit and stank! hoping for lots more soon!

 

[wamommy]

How is tummy time going for everyone? Teagen loves to be placed in different position. We have a small boppy that she can rest her chest on and look around. She will turn her head and look at me if I talk to her. It is awesome. She has also started to "stand" on my lap.

We aren't quite ready for tummy time, I think. Max freaks out if he's awake on his tummy and starts to whine like a puppy and thrash around. We did get a mobile the other day, though. My girls were never very interested in theirs, so we didn't think we'd need one. I've caught LO trying so hard to look at colorful moving things in the house, though. We bought a mobile and sure enough, he loves it!

Today she threw up all down my arm, I wiped her face and she then gave me the most gorgeous beautiful big smile! The first definite one! I was so happy, even if I was covered in vomit and stank! hoping for lots more soon!

Woohoooo!! Isn't that the BEST? So gorgeous

WTF DH?!

I'd have to say I would be upset too! I've caught DH "propping" a bottle with blankets so that he wouldn't have to hold Max to feed him The weirdest part is that he didn't seem to understand why that would bother me? Men are weird.

The last 4 nights have been sooo hard! We hot into a routine where I would take LO all night () but DH would come get him in the morning so I could go back to sleep for an hour or 2. The last 4 days DH has had early appointments, though, and so NO sleep for me! I'm literally a walking zombie. I'm sitting here finding ways to avoid going up to bed, since I know it will be so hard. My back is killing me from pacing around the house in the middle of the night trying desperately to rock Max to sleep. Ah well... some sleep is better than none I suppose.

 

[Kellen]

I've caught DH "propping" a bottle with blankets so that he wouldn't have to hold Max to feed him The weirdest part is that he didn't seem to understand why that would bother me? Men are weird.

Oh good! Mine isn't the only one who seems to think that this is totally acceptable. The other night DH was having a drink of Gentleman Jack with Sprite and Teagen was being fussy so he started to dip his finger in and give her some. After reading him the riot act about never giving children alcohol he told me that his parents used to give him and his siblings 1/4 to 1/2 a beer before bed so they would sleep. The poor man honestly thought it would be a good idea to give her a small amount of whisky to calm her down

We are currently sleeping on an air mattress as I sold our bed out from under us in anticipation of our move. Looks like our last day on the East coast will be April 31st. Woot! I am so excited to be heading back to the Pacific Northwest.

Last night she cluster fed from 8 to 11. It was rather exhausting, but she slept until 5:45 this morning, ate for 10 minutes and slept again until 8:30. And for some reason she smells like bacon. We don't have any bacon in the house nor have we eaten any recently. odd.

 

[helena]

For those who use a bottle, what volume of milk do you give at one time?

 

[wamommy]

For those who use a bottle, what volume of milk do you give at one time?

If it's breast milk Max will take 4 ounces at a time in a bottle. If it's formula he only eats 1 or 2, but often. I'm not sure why! I think he likes the taste of breast milk better. He looks drunk when he's drinking it It's rare for him to eat more than 2 ounces of formula at a time, which is why I think he wakes all night to feed over and over.

 

[helena]

Bacon! Hahaha! How very odd!!
Kiara was doing that evening cluster feed for a couple of weeks or so, it is tough!

 

[DragonflyWing]

Tummy time is hit or miss for us. Sometimes the babies will tolerate it for 5-10 minutes, and they're pretty good at lifting their heads to a 45 degree angle. Sometimes they get pissed off the minute we set them down on their bellies and scream right away. If that happens, I can usually get them to calm down by rolling them across the bed (that's where we do tummy time) lol...I say "Rooollllll!!!" and slowly roll them back to belly to back to belly, across the bed, and they are fascinated by it. Their little faces are like "Whoa, dude, what's going on?"

Both babies slept through the night on Saturday! Lily slept for 8 hours, and Gunnar slept for 10 hours! There have been several times now where they have slept for 6-7 hour stretches, but this was a record. We're encouraging this by getting into a bedtime routine, and letting them eat as much as they want during the day (not like we were restricting them before, but if they still seem even remotely hungry after a bottle, we make them more) so they can get all their calories in before bed time. They slept more during the day yesterday and didn't eat as much, though...so they both woke up twice during the night to eat. In any case, I'm so happy to see that they are naturally regulating their sleeping and eating. If both babies start sleeping through the night, it will be like heaven!

Regarding milk volume- Lilja takes 4 oz of breast milk supplemented with preemie formula. Sometimes she asks for more and takes another 1-2 oz. Sometimes she only finishes 3, it really depends on her mood. Gunnar takes 6-7 oz of pure breast milk and sometimes asks for more and takes another 1-2 oz. He gets his formula separately, and since it's thickened with rice cereal, he usually only eats 4-5 oz of formula at a time. He eats tons and he's consistently gaining about 1.5 oz per day. I bet he's going to catch up from being a preemie pretty fast.

 

[helena]

For those who use a bottle, what volume of milk do you give at one time?

If it's breast milk Max will take 4 ounces at a time in a bottle. If it's formula he only eats 1 or 2, but often. I'm not sure why! I think he likes the taste of breast milk better. He looks drunk when he's drinking it It's rare for him to eat more than 2 ounces of formula at a time, which is why I think he wakes all night to feed over and over.

4 seems about right.
Kiara just had 5 of formula and would take more I am sure....is there a growth spurt at two months???...she has been SO grumpy today.

 

[helena]

Definately growth spurt alert I say! This morning K fed from me for 20 or 30 minutes. Five minutes later she was still hungry and managed 80ml of formula (3oz?). I am sure she would have more but don't want to make her vomit...

 

[SierraJourney]

Camden just went through a growthspurt- he was super fussy and I kept having to supplement bottles because he'd nurse, then cry because there wasn't much coming out after hours of nursing. He's always nursed tons in the evening, though, then will get mad that I'm out of milk... it's like he won't even let my milk replenish itself! So I usually have to give him a botle of formula too. I wish I could just breastfeed but he doesn't seem satisfied until that bottle. I usually end up pumping while he has formula, and must say that I don't get very much after he nurses.. so it really is like he drains Mme completely and is still hungry. I didn't think that was possible. It makes me feel bad that I don't have enough for him in the evenings

I wonder if I'm not eating enough or something and that's affecting my supply. Anyone else find it hard to find time to eat? Camden wants to be held so much that it's rare I have a free hand to make a meal for myself. Dh makes dinner for me, and usually I can esat cereal one handed in the morning... and I grab a sandwich at lunch, but I usually don't have time to snack or anything, so I don't thibnk I'm getting the extra 500 calories a day we need to support breastfeeding. I must try harder at this.

 

[helena]

I think we are meant to let them be fussy and nurse without supplementing, that way our bodies get the order for more milk. It should settle in a day or two once our bodies make more milk. It's good if you are pumping.
I haven't pumped, no time. But she is so happy with a sneaky bottle of formula, she even goes to her cot awake and goes to sleep alone. Perfect! I did feel a bit bad about not being exclusively breast milk, but I also wonder if I have enough milk - I only use one breast as it is, and she has been feeding hours in the evening for weeks. I wonder if the stress of dealing with my mums cancer is affecting my supply. I am stressed for sure.
I am eating ok. Only twice have I skipped evening dinner for breakfast cereal. And the mars habit I started when pregnant is living on


Dragon - well done your babies for sleeping through!!! 10 hours Gunar! brilliant work little boy! Oh Wowee, your husband must be delighted!!
Even with supplementing with a bottle of formula before bed K only goes 4 hours. I think she needs more milk in the day. I am going to breast feed during the day but offer a bottle after each feed as desert I think, once she has finished feeding from me. Maybe it's what she needs.being 3 weeks early I feel she has some catching up to do too. Her brothers were both a kilo (2.2lbs) heavier at this age.

 

[SierraJourney]

Glad I'm not the only one- thanks Helena! I try to be diligent with the pumping.. I hate it though! Haha it's sooo time consuming and you have to clean it every time... but I like having some milk stored up... even if a little.

Helena, how is your mum doing? When will you be able to go visit? Thinking of you...

I have my six week checkup today... taking Camden with me. He's so fussy, I always get really anxious taking him to quiet places like doctors offices... I know the midwives will hold him and pass him around during my appointment, but I always feel bad when he wails whenever I'm out. I know he's just a baby but I can't help but get stressed. poor guy just hates being out and away from mommy

 

[Kellen]

Last night DH ended up taking me to the ER for my back. It hasn't gotten any better since it started hurting last Wednesday. I can't even pick up Teagen without crying out in pain. I've tried the chiropractor and ice, but nothing seemed to work and Tylenol didn't even touch the pain. So we went to the ER and it only took 2 hours. Apparently I pulled a muscle in my lower back and by compensating I strained my hip as well. Now I have stronger Tylenol with codine since it is the only thing that won't impact breastfeeding. On the up side Teagen slept for 7.5hr last night and DH is taking the next three days off to help me recover so I don't have to lift. I am hoping we can get a bunch more of our stuff sold and/or packed. We are giving notice to our landlords today.