AUGUST 2008 ~ BUMP BUDDIES

[2ndtimer]

Hi Shari, thanks but I dont' really feel so much like a natural. I think it's just that I've had daily good advice from my sister, happened to read a few good books, and my baby is just a little older so I've had more trial & error.
Karen -some days I end up changing Connor's clothes 2-3 times because of that fountain! And I've had to change my clothes a couple of times, too! It's so funny because he's usually grinning anymore when he does it -I swear I think he thinks it's funny too.

We had our first shots today. 5 different vaccines given with 3 shots & some liquid medicine. Poor Connor has been fussy and I'm giving him infant Tylenol. Sure was hard to see him get stuck -I could never be a pediatric nurse.
Rebecca

[tryw8]

Karen -some days I end up changing Connor's clothes 2-3 times because of that fountain! And I've had to change my clothes a couple of times, too! It's so funny because he's usually grinning anymore when he does it -I swear I think he thinks it's funny too.

I had to laugh because I can so relate. My sister-in-law told me that if my son is naked below and crying, take it as a warning .... the fountain will go on. My son usually grins when he does it because I also think he thinking it's funny. Then it's followed by a look of "Oh-oh ... I did something wrong."

Cody gets his first set of shots October 14th. I'll remember to pack the Children's Tylenol in his diaper bag.

Karen

P.S. - Cody was up all night last night and wouldn't stop crying. My mom thinks he had a stomach ache. It's possibly due to what I had. So I haven't given any breastmilk today only formula to rule it out and yes, I've been watching what I eat.

[tinaO]

Well, Noah was pretty tough last night. He went down around 11 p.m. and was up at like 3:30 a.m. but then would not go back down. Of course, he stirred quite a bit in between, too. My husband took him upstairs at like 4:30 a.m. to watch TV and came back to bed around 6:30 a.m. and then Noah was up again at 7:30 a.m. UGGHH!! My wonderful husband took him again from 8 to 9:30 a.m. so I could sleep. I feel so guilty. I just can't live without sleep. But then it makes me feel like a loser mom. It doesn't seem fair to my husband. I hope, hope, hope tonight is better. I just keep telling myself as Noah gets older, this will get easier, right????

[itsgottawork]

Tina - thanks for posting on the November site! You are always so thoughtful and I appreciate you thinking of me while you are busy with your newborn baby.
I am sorry I have been so delayed in congratulating you! I have been reading your thread off and on in August and was so excited to see you welcomed Noah Christian (I love both the first and middle names!) on 8/20 and that you and your DH are doing so well!
It is wonderful to think that in one short year since we started stims, that so many of us will be moms. It is truly miraculous and I feel tremendously blessed (even if it is taking a couple extra months for me!)
We are very excited and still have no names picked out. We have a short list of boy and girl names but nothing concrete yet. We still are at the joking around stage but every once and a while, DH brings it up seriously and says we have to get on it. I am more focused on tying everything up at work and getting the nursery ready right now. I have a few hideous weeks to get through and then I'll be able to relax I hope.

I want to wish all the new moms on this thread all the best! You probably don't realize how much reading about your experiences has inspired and calmed this lurker about concernts of my own pregnancy and the first few weeks after childbirth. I know you have experienced some ups and downs but you all seem to be doing a wonderful job. So many times, all you here from family and friends is about how great or even easy it will be. I love seeing the realistic issues you are working through and doing so well with. It really makes me feel that I too can be a good mom and that it is okay to feel overwhelmed or down at times.
So, keep up the good work and take care of yourselves! I hope all continues to go well as you continue to enjoy your new babies!

[tinaO]

Hi, Ladies. Well, yesterday sucked. I took Noah over to my brother and sister in-law's house for the morning. They have three boys - ages 8 to 3, so my youngest nephew was having a play date and a group of moms were there with their boys. It was wonderful...until I got a call about my mom and had to end up spending the rest of the day and part of the night in the Emergency Room with my mom and brother. As I have mentioned before, my mom is not healthy. She has Multiple Sclerosis and has had it since I was about 15 years old. Well, now it appears we are dealing with a lung problem, too. It seems she might have some kind of chronic lung disease. We are taking her to a pulmonologist on Mon or Tues for more testing, but she may have to go on oxygen. It was a long, terrible day spent in the ER watching her get poked and prodded and it just sucked. On top of that, I had actually called a friend of ours the other day and told him to call my husband and take him golfing because I just felt like he needed a break. Well, instead of a break, he spent the day taking care of Noah...who for the first time ever....proceeded to start crying from like 3 p.m to 8 p.m. I have NO idea why. He has NEVER done that. I mean, he fusses, but not cries like that. My husband was so frustrated and I could not leave the ER. By the time I got home, I felt terrible but I was pissed because my husband was so frustrated and I was like, "Geez - I am sorry, but come on....look at what I am dealing with, you know"??? Well, for some reason Noah quickly calmed down not long after that...so who knows. Maybe he needed me? So hard to know with babies. He slept pretty well last night....from 11:30 p.m. until 3:30 a.m. and then 4:15 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. I am taking care of him now so my husband can get some rest as he usually does for me. Noah has been in his sling since like 8:30 a.m. on my chest and just been sleeping...so that is good.

Anyway girls, just count your blessings every day. There was a woman in the ER yesterday who had a 6 month old whose heart had stopped beating and had to be rushed to the ER...on the way, his heart stopped beating again. He was in the ICU and she was in the ER because she was pregnant again (18 weeks) and thought she was most likely having a miscarriage - had been bleeding and cramping really badly. It was so sad. Made me thankful to have my beautiful, healthy little Noah.

Have to run now.

ItsGottaWork - good to hear from you. I will post more to you later.
Rebecca - thanks for the advice on the diapers. They are sooo much better for Noah.

Take care all....

[sharishu]

Tina-
I am so sorry to hear about your mom's health problems. She is in my prayers for a speedy recovery. I can't imagine what your day in the hospital must have been like, but it sounds awful. I am hoping her health just keeps improving from here on in. As far as your husband's frustration coming on the heels of your horrible day, I can relate. When I had pneumonia I was delirious with high fever, nervous as all get out that I would have to be hospitalized, and could not even think of caring for the baby. That put the whole burden on my dh's shoulders (along with all other household resposibilities). He is by no means lazy, but the pressure was a LOT for him, and in the height of my sickness, we had a huge fight. At the time I thought, "insensitive jerk! How could he fight with me when I'm sick like this!" Afterwards I realized that he was just cracking under the pressure.

Again, hoping things settle down soon with your mom's health.

Shari

[tinaO]

Thanks, Shari. My husband told me today that what upset him about Noah screaming was that he felt like Noah hated him and he felt so bad that he could not calm him...so yes, it led to total anxiety. I was there not long ago with the breastfeeding thing. It was horrible to have Noah scream when I tried to feed him. I felt like he hated me and my boob - so silly, but geez - I felt that way! Probably the hormones, you know?

My mom seemed fine today, so I will know more Mon or Tues when I take her to the pulmonologist for tests. Thanks for the prayers. It is surely going to be an uphill battle....

[tennisgurl]

Hi ladies- I am kind of jumoing in here.....I remember a few of you from the other boards (before we got pregnant)

Anyway, I have a few questions to compare notes.....any help would be appreciated.................

first my baby girl (Karolina) is 8 weeks old I put her down at 7pm and she wakes at 11pm i feed her and then she is up at 1 or 2am AND 5am...then it is sketchy from that point...is this normal?

second, she only wants to be held ALLDAY.....everyone including doctors tell me she is too young to let cry BUT she will not nap in her crib or bassinet - I put her down totally asleep and she wakes in 5 minutes screaming

lastly, she is on formula only- the doctor told be she should roughly get 3 ounces every 3-4 hours (she is 9lbs 9ounces) I am actually giving her 4 ounces and she wants it like every 3 hours MINIMUM

any advice would be appreciated- I have no help and no one to compare notes with!!!

Thanks

[tinaO]

Hi, tennisgurl...well, here are my thoughts although they are just that - thoughts! I have my own questions every day and never know for sure what is right!

1. Karolina (love the name) should start sleeping more at night, although I don't think her sleeping is that abnormal. My son sleeps right now from about 10:30 p.m. until around 3 a.m. and then feeds and goes back down until around 7:30 a.m. I would think Karolina should shortly be giving up one of her night feeds. Then again - maybe it is because she goes down earlier? I commend you for that! We are now doing what Rebecca recommended on this thread and feeding every 2 hours before my son goes to sleep. So, today I will feed him at his scheduled 3 hour feeding at 4 p.m. and then will feed again at 6 p.m. and at 8 p.m. He will then hopefully go to sleep around 9 p.m. This helps to load him up before bed and he sleeps better (they call it "tanking up" in the book)...most nights now. This was recommended in the Baby Whisperer book. However, there are nights when he only sleeps from 10 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. and then is up again at 4 a.m. and at 8 a.m. Again, I think it just takes time and every baby is different. OH!!! I know! Have you been jumping up every time she makes noises or is she actually crying? I had to learn this!!! My son makes noise all night and it really isn't him wanting to eat...he is actually sleeping. Babies at this age make a lot of noise in their REM sleep, so we often confuse that with crying and jump to get them up. No need to! Many times they are actually making the noise in their sleep. This has saved us from jumping up all the time!!!

2. I had the same problem with the being held, but my son is slowly starting to grow out of it!!! I was sooo nervous about it. Now, we rotate him some in the mornings and have him spend time in his crib and swing. He does still like to be held A LOT though, but it is getting MUCH better. I think it just takes time. Some of the girls in this group place a hand on their babies' chests to let them know they are there....does not work for my son. However, he is getting so much better with spending time not in our arms lately. Again, I think it takes time and Karolina will do it when she is ready. Have you tried a sling? I LOVE MINE! It frees up my hands and my son still is getting "held".

3. My son is eating between 3-4 ounces every 3 hours. What I read is that you should give them 2.5 ounces for every pound of their weight. So, she should be getting about 25 ounces a day. If you feed her at 2 a.m. and every 3 hours afterwards, then she should be getting the right amount with approx 3-4 ounces. You might try "tanking her up" and if your plan is to put her to sleep at 7 p.m., then start feeding her every 2 hours before bed....like perhaps at 2 p.m., 4 p.m, and perhaps 6:30 p.m. I usually do the largest feeding right before bed and during the night, which for us right now is 4 ounces. The extra formula seems to help him sleep better. I have Rebecca to thank for this!!

It sounds like you have many of the same issues/questions I have had....esp with the feeding thing. It is so confusing!!!

Anyway, good luck! I hope the others chime in as I love hearing everyone's tidbits of help and advice!

Tina

[2ndtimer]

Hi Guys,
first of all let me say to Tina that I was very sorry to hear about your mom's health problems and I sure hope that things get easier on that front for all of you(your mom, you, your hubbie).
It'sgottawork -thanks for all the kind words for the moms on this thread. It sounds like your baby is still on the way and I want to wish you the very best of luck!

Tennisgurl, my baby is 2 months old now so about the same exact age as yours. I had the same problems with his napping during the day -he just wanted to be held. He would scream when I laid him down in his crib. I just kept trying every day to get him to nap either in his crib or his bassinet. Sometimes I would let him cry for a few minutes -not longer than 5, to see if he would calm himself down. But mostly, I just stand there with my hand on his chest and talk sweetly to him. The hardest thing is to not pick him up(unless of course he's just completely worked up). I guess it took 2-3 weeks of this. Now, for the most part he does not freak out now when I lay him down for a nap. Sometimes he still does and then I let him sleep in the vibrating chair but I really try to not make a habit of that. Or I rock him for a little while & try again.
Night time sleeping has been much easier and I'm extremely happy to report that we've had 5 nights in a row with him sleeping at least 8 hours!!! One thing that I do notice is that I'm feeding him a lot more than what you are feeding your baby. Connor drinks about 5 oz 6 times a day with the last feeding about 10pm. Like Tina said I cluster feed him in the evening at about 5&7, change him into his jammies, he goes to sleep about 9 but I gently wake him back up for the last feeding. The Baby Whisperer calls it the dream feed and it works great for Connor.

Sorry for such a long post! Hope everyone is well.
Rebecca

[seltzer]

Hi all,

Tina, sorry to hear about your mother's continued health problems. What a bad time for this to be happening.

I am doing not so hot...struggling w/the depression bigtime. My mental state is not good. Some days are a living hell, no exaggeration, while some days are relatively OK. TO complicate matters I have a pinched nerve in my neck which is causing numbness and pain in my arms/hands. I think I strained something while I was pushing Keira out, no joke. I am seeing a chiropractor and taking a NSAID...if this doesn't help I'll have to get an MRI. On the other hand, Keira is doing great! Last night she slept for a record 5.5-6 hours, woo hoo! I was so thrilled when I woke up. Then she slept for another 3.5, so I feel so rested (relatively speaking of course). As far as this conversation goes about routines/schedules, I don't have a set schedule or plan for Keira, per se. She seems to be developing one on her own, and I am kind of following her lead and trying to work with what she does. Thankfully she is a great baby and doesn't cry much--doesn't mind being put down. If she wants to be held, though, I always hold her. I don't believe in letting a baby cry until he/she is older (e.g., DP and I had to Ferberize our son when he was 11 mos. old but we wouldn't do it before then). Unless Keira is upset about something she'll fall asleep on her own while chilling out in her co-sleeper. She is full of smiles...she is constantly smiling at everyone, it's hysterical. She even smiles a lot at me in the middle of the night, which is so cute. Tennisgurl - I wouldn't worry too much right about your baby's sleeping. I really don't think there's a whole lot you can do about it until about 3-4 months. That said, I do think it's important to try to tank up the baby during the day so that he/she doesn't make a habit of eating a lot during the night. I think you want to keep underscoring the fact that night is for sleeping: lights out, no talking, don't change the diaper unless it's pooped out, etc. During the day I generally don't let Keira sleep more than 2-3 hours...but I'm not even sure the length of time she sleeps during the day is correlated w/her sleep at night.

Gotta run, Keira's crying...

[tinaO]

Question for all of you and I will post more later...

Important question: How much have your babies gained in weight since birth?

Seltzer - Hang in there!!! I will post more to you later.

Noah slept 5 hours last night and then went to sleep for another 3+ hours. He and my husband are sleeping again right now. Things are improving as this appears to be a pattern! Have to run to take my mom to the doc. More later...

[seltzer]

Hey Tina - Keira was 7 lbs even at birth and as of last Saturday she was 10 lbs., 12 oz. (at exactly 8 wks). She is for the most part out of her newborn clothes and into the 3 mos outfits.

Does anyone's baby have green poops? Beginning last week Keira has been having primarily formula...I have been slowly stopping the BM pumping. She has also acquired dark green poops. Otherwise she is normal, and it's not diarrhea. Yesterday she pooped bigtime while in her bouncy seat, and I put her on the counter in the kitchen to change her. Well...after I took her diaper off (and discovered a massive quantity of hideous-smelling green poop), she proceeded to projectile poop. Tons of green and yellow poop shot out of her butt like water out of a fire hydrant. It shot across the kitchen and hit some of the cabinets and went all over the floor. Anyway, I was giving her Nestle Good Start, and she had the most horrific gas and would be writhing around in pain trying to fart and poop. Yesterday I switched her to Similac Sensitive, which is lactose free (but milk-based). This seems to be helping her intestinal discomfort, and hopefully that is why she slept longer last night. What formulas are you all using and how they are working?

[2ndtimer]

Hi,
Connor was 7lbs6oz at birth and weighed 11lbs11oz last week at his 2 month appt. We have been using Enfamil Lipil and he has no problems with that.
Rebecca

[tinaO]

Hi - just have a sec to post. Thanks for the update on the weight of your babies. Noah is still only around 9 lbs and 3-4 ozs, so I am going to step up his feedings. I am not sure why he has not gained more weight.

Seltzer - I am so sorry you are still not feeling great. Do you get out much? I think that is SO important. I go crazy in this house by myself when my husband is gone. Are you going back to work? I go back on the 13th of Oct - ugghhh. It will be nice though to do something again though, you know? I think stopping the breastfeeding may help you as that was so tough on you...I know it helped me. The bottle is so much easier. The green poop is normal. That is the formula. Also, babies who use formula don't typically poop as much, so don't freak out. Noah only goes once a day typically. We give Noah Enfamil...and recently changed him to the Enfamil Gentlease as he had a lot of gas previously. He does will on this. How much are you giving Keira? Hang in there - everything you are going through is normal and lots of women go through what you are dealing with - always remember that and continue to post to us!! Try to get out some and do things by yourself - even if it is just running to the store. I had lunch today with friends before my doc appt. It was so nice.

Rebecca - congrats on Connor's sleeping! Noah is getting so much better - he slet last night again for 5 hours and then followed that up with another 3 hours. Whoo hoo!!!

I need to run. By the way, we got great news on my mom yesterday - it is not lung disease and is mainly a product of her MS, so overall - very good news! Thanks for all of your thoughts.

I had my 6 week follow-up today - got a clean bill of health! I am starting back on the birth control pill. How weird. It has been a while!!!