April/May 2008 MOMS (all others are welcomed too)

[woodcliff]

OK, I did not feel this was fair to post in the last message considering we were talking crying babies

BUT...I think, unless I 'forgot' an 11:30 pm feeding, that my babies had a 7 hr span between feedings...
I fed them at 7:30, they were asleep between 8:30 and 9:00...
THEN at 11:30, after dinner, I went upstairs to wait for their 11:30 hunger cries...and I laid down on the bed...fell asleep (had baby monitor)
AND
at 2:30 am, they finally stirred...
I am blown about!
They were 9 weeks yesterday, maybe that did it?
WISH ME LUCK.

(of course I have a night nanny tonight and tomorrow...little suckers will probably sleep through the night with her!)

[rebeccaj]

can anyone tell me how long they BF for per session? sometimes i'm feeding for 45 minutes which seems a long time for 7.5 weeks....does anyone know whether boob feeding is more or less efficient than the pump? just trying to work out how many fl oz they are getting per boob feed.

vlada, when mine are crying in the night i lie down with my face next to theirs and hold them, it seems to work although be careful as i got puked on in the face the other night - i had my own milk in my eyes running down my face into my mouth!

[Vlada]

Thank you everybody for your advise!!!
Tesa goes crazy at night, it starts at about 6pm off and on and then full blown freak out session at 8pm untill 10 30 or 11 pm.
Woodcliff, I have tried all those things that you wrote , but unfortunatelly those don't work on my baby. I am hoping that she will get better with time, but right now i am going crazy
She is constipated sometimes, but when she is not , Tesa still screams A LOT during her witching hour, or should i say hourS.
I am really hoping that she will grow out of it....

[Vlada]

Oh and i forgot to mention that Tesa hates the car ride, other babies fall asleep in the cars, mine screams like crazy

[Vlada]

Mandy,
It is very normal to bleed after 3.5 weeks after delivery, my gyno said that it can go on for a couple of months
Vlada

[woodcliff]

Oh, Vlada....I feel for you...I wish for the days to pass swiftly, I hear babies grow out of Colic behavior (if it is that) at around 2 months.
But ha.
My son had his witching hour fits last night, AND at moments during the day today...
He had 3 poops today, I think that is what it was...poor kiddo.

Wishing you peace, Vlada....it's so hard when they are crying and won't stop...I put my son in the crook of my arm, sometimes swaddled, and put his body sideways toward me, and jiggle him...and pat his bottom. AND if that doesn't work, I sit in the bathroom with the water running.
I pull out the big guns (BATHTUB RUNNING ) if all else fails...sooner or later he falls asleep...

The confusing thing is that sometimes he'll stop and smile. Little devil.
love to all

[woodcliff]

Wow...had my sis here over the weekend and she helped so much, I can see how people with Family can get by without paying up the nose for nannies!
My mom and sis are coming in now from the airport...my A/C is out. *#($ 100 degrees in Wash, DC...an a/c guy 'fixed it' today but now the fuse box is acting up and kicked it out again...please cross fingers for me.

OK: My daughter slept 7.5 hrs last night.
My son? oink oink
Had to have his 3 hr feedings He is such a hungry little man.
My guess is they will barely sleep tonight...she has slept most of the day, due to the heat.
wish me luck...
I have hope...they are 9 weeks and over 10 pds now...it'll happen, all in due time.
xxoo
xxoo
Vlada, thinking of you...your little one will outgrow this and coo at you one day and smile...and you'll forget she had you tearing your hair out!
PSS: My daughter, one night at 2 a.m., when I was too tired for words, looked up at me and smiled...it melted me.
My son? "Hurry up, mom, I am hungry"
BOYS

[Cocoa]

OH Girls!

I posted the other day and just NOW I am seeing it didn't go through!!!

Well, I have been really sick for the last week+. It finally culminated into THRUSH! and its GROSS!!! My doctor (family GP) was stunned as he kept asking if I had taken antibiotics, if I were sure I wasn't diabetic etc... NO, no and no... I have been healing from MAJOR surgery, BFing, AND had some sort of virus - is THAT all enough to drive your immune system down?!?!? Not to mention the STRESS of the situation here (right WC?!?!?)!!! I cannot believe that all my joy has been snatched away like it was! My OB is big "B"!!!

Anyway, this thrush is so disgusting that it hits all moist areas and I have been bleeding from my right nipple... anyone else have any nipple bleeding? I am so afraid I may lose all my milk. I cannot BF but 2x/day (each baby 1x) because of the nystatin. I am sad. I feel like Job in the Bible where one thing after another keeps happening. I hope I pass this test! Don't want to ever take it again!

WC - I KNOW what you mean about the smiles melting your heart! They are OH SO CUTE!!! My babies are 10 1/2 and 11 pounds already and my girl is bigger AND the better sleeper! He is such a piglet!!!!

I bought a "Bumbo" chair and baby boy tried it. He looked sooooo cute. Its for 3mos+ but we just tried it out. I may buy another for baby girl but I wanted to be sure they could sit in it and smile and sure enough it IS all its cracked up to be!

Aren't we all just the happiest ladies in the world?!?! VLADA! I KNOW what you're feeling sweetie. My first son was exactly like that! If you haven't tried this already lay Tesa on her back and force her knees up into her belly area and hold them there. This helps relieve a lot of the gassy pains and helps them pass gas (and sometimes even poop). I let my boy sleep on his belly too because he gets relief that way.

Yeay!!! We are crib sleeping!!! What a feat!!! They take all thier naps in their own cribs and they sleep in their cribs at night now. I am still waking up (and right now they are on different schedules) so I am exhausted but it will get better...

OK, gonna go - gotta make CDs for Father's Day...

xxxCocoa

[Aliann09]

Vlada, I am reading a good book right now and "healthy sleep happy" baby anyway it talks a lot about the newborn babies bodies are typically programmed to not fall into their nighttime sleep until 11:00 or 12:00 after six weeks of age or six weeks from their due date they don't produce certain chemicals that actually sooth that gut contraction which usually causes the witching hour symptoms as well as the sleep hormones. In some babies this will happen a little sooner and others slightly later I am now coming up on six weeks with Peyton and she still doesn't hit that solid sleep session until about 11:30 and then I only get a good 4 hr stretch from her but 4 hrs is better than 2. Also they recomend that the young babies not stay up for more than 2 hrs max without sleeping or they will become over tired I have noticed that if I can get Peyton back to sleep after about 1hr during the day she does a lot better at night amyway just thought I would share I would recomend the book the 1st 5 chapters would be of great interest to any of us and then it continues with advice as the kids grow all the way through high school!
Ali

[kipatte]

It's been awhile since I have posted. I love reading everyones post.

Mandy your sense of humor is wonderful. It cracked me up. I am also doing a baby group but I love it. It gets me out of the house and I get to meet other moms. Stephie just sleeps through it. It is nice to see some of the older babies and their developement.

Vlada regarding night time. We have not set a bedtime yet, because she sleeps between feeds anyway. She usually takes a feed around 6:30 to 8:00. We bath her around 9:00-10:00 and her last feed is anywhere from 10:00 to 11:30. We then put her in her cot after this last feed and she will usually wake between 3:30 to 4:30 for another feed, at which point she stays in the bed with us after. This helps her go back to sleep right away and we get more sleep this way. I think when she is old enough for a set bedtime it will be around 9:00 because of our life style. I don't want to have to worry about getting her to bed during dinner time. We usually eat between 7 and 8 and Daddy wants to spend some time with her. Our normal bedtime would be 10:00 if we ever get back to normal

Regarding tummy time. She really likes tummy time if we prop her up on a pillow. Her arms and head are over the pillow and her little legs dangle. She tries to move/crawl this way and is very happy. We got some really good pictures this way also. She is getting a lot stronger.


Love to all,

kipatte

[robinsonpr]

Aw Vlada are things any better with Tesa? Have you considered it could be colic causing the early evening screaming sessions? Since I stopped breastfeeding I used a normal bottle, and I could even HEAR the little ones taking down air with the bottle. But now I use Dr Browns bottles and they are just fantastic...almost eliminated feeding wind completely. Yes they are more expensive and a bit of a pain in the ass to wash, but I think it's definitely worth it. Also might be worth trying "colief" if you can get it in the US?

Try and focus on the fact that this difficult stage will be over soon enough once her little stomach grows and matures a bit. I'm still praying for the time when my boys sleep longer than 4 hours through the night....!

Hope everyone else is ok!

Love,

Hayley xx

[Vlada]

Thank you guys for you advice!!!
Tesa is getting a little bit better, now she is going to bed between 8 and 9 pm, but i am starting to put her to bed at around 7 pm, because she cries and fusses around for about 1 to 1.5 hours, which is much better then 3 to 4 hours before. At night she does 3 hour stretches between feedings. However, she doesn't want to sleep during the day, i can tell that she is tired but she just refuses to nap at all!! I try all the techniques that i use on her at night time, no luck so far.
Also, she has terrible baby acne, all over her face, neck, chest and even ears, it scares me because i am afraid that it is some kind of desease. My pediatrician didn't seem to be very concern about it, but i am going to address the issue at her 2 month check up. Does anyone else here have baby with terrible case of acne?
Ok, gotta go, i got pretty sick , have low grade fever, chills, cough, well, the whole package, dang it. Hopefully Tesa won't get it from me.
Good luck to all and thank you again for your suggestions.
Vlada.

[woodcliff]

How is everyone? I am sorry I am forgetful on the personals...
My family is gone...and I feel ragged...because they really helped a lot!
I didn't realize that just having someone to feed a baby so I could shower or have coffee was such a big deal...

My mom was gaga over the babies, my sisters as well...

Babies are good...but all of the excitement seems to have impacted their night sleeping...I only got a few hours last night, and dear darling husband took care of them today so I could get 3 hrs of sleep.
Anyone have odd dreams of their babies?
I keep dreaming one is in bed with me..
last night I dreamt that my bedside table had babies 'folded up' on it...I actually got out of bed, put the monitor on the floor (i keep it in the charger next to my bed)...later, I couldn't figure out why the monitor was on the floor...so odd.
xxoo

[rebeccaj]

WC, that is so funny - i dream every night that i am feeding/cuddling or holding one of the babies under the duvet! when one of the girls cries i get so confused that there are still two little bodies in the co-sleeper!!

i have in-laws here at the moment and it's stressful!! wish they were helpful but all they want to do is talk some kind of stupid language to the babies and comment on how they know everythying we're going through as they had ONE son (my DH 30+ years ago) .....ggggrrrrrrr.......anyway must go as it's boob time (again!), babies STILL on 2 - 3 hour schedule and i can't keep up, am exhausted!! that said they are sleeping 4 - 7 hours at night in one stretch - just wish it was at the same time!

love to all!!

[robinsonpr]

How's everyone doing?

I thought I'd let you know I managed to get both boys to drop the middle of the night feed on Saturday night. They fed at 11.30pm as is pretty much usual, but then they didn't wake until 3.30am, they usually wake at 2.30am and we feed them at 3am. Instead of feeding them me and the DH took one each and cuddled them back to sleep, and slept with them on our chests. They managed to sleep like that until 6am, so we completely missed out the normal 3am feed and just fed them at 6.30am.

We were going to try it again last night but it was clear they weren't going to have it so we ended up feeding them at 3 again.

I guess it's too soon to be trying to force them into dropping this feed, and they'll eventually do it on their own when they are good and ready. They are 9 weeks old tomorrow, going so fast.

And I'm exhausted.........

Love, Hayley xx