Feb- PAIF graduates - new mamas

mskeenan

hey ladies ! This thread is for those of us who graduated from pregnant after infertility that now have our babies ! We can discuss all the joys and struggles of being new mommies  

Griffin5413

Yay! Love that we have so many new mamas that we had to start a new thread!!!

tvh1982

Thanks for starting a new one, the other definitely gotten long.
So many mummies, I just love it!

mskeenan

I love it too !! 

Vince finally slept for 4.5 hours straight !!!! I am so excited lol

ultratomato

Aubrey and Brynn both slept 4 hours plus what a night we swaddled them again and it seemed to do the trick. 
@Griffin5413 the pitcher we use is dr browns and we have two they are great 

dragonfaerie

Ahhh, so happy. Three nights in a row of our routine getting us all better sleep. 
Riley was cluster feeding from about 3pm until 7pm last night. Around 7pm, he finally seemed settled and asleep, so we were able to continue with our routine of DH keeping an eye on him from 7ish until he wakes for his 10ish feeding, while I sleep. When he wakes up for his night feedings, I've been getting him up, going into the bright nursery and stripping him to his diaper/changing him, then feeding before getting back into his sleeper and going to bed. In the mornings, we make a point of turning on lights and getting him dressed to some degree so he can start to learn day and night. I feel so much better and alive.
Glad your LOs are sleeping more @Griffin5413 @ultratomato

capps42613

Good news: The past 3 nights Cason has been sleeping 10p-5:00a, eats & goes right back to sleep til 8:30am. Last night he slept 10p-7a, ate & went back to sleep til 9:45am. If only he knew how much I appreciate it lol.

Bad news: I checked my bank acct yesterday & my employer only paid me $157 for the week. I'm suppose to be receiving 75% of my weekly salary at this point in my ML. Had to leave a message for HR. How obnoxious, I made financial arrangements according to what should've been. 

tvh1982

So your babies 'stole' Pia's sleep! How rude
Since 7 this morning she has slept a whooping 2 hours! My mum was just here and got Pia to sleep for a fantastic 10min. 
So now this adorable creature is strapped to me, and is half asleep half awake. It's 7 again. I kinda feel it's teething or something else that's bothering her, as she doesn't know what she wants.

Even though I'm envy today, I do love all the updates of the LO's giving their mummies some sleep.
Way to go!

Oh wow @capps42613. That's a serious WTF moment!

ultratomato

@capps42613 I haven't even got my disability card or payments yet gotta love the state of nj. Luckily for savings and DH 

Griffin5413

@capps42613 that's awesome about Cason's sleep but sucks about your payment. Hope you get it figured out soon!
@tvh1982 - I bet Pia is getting ready to grow or teeth or something. Hope she gets some sleep soon! Eli has been getting a good 5 hour stretch when we put him down and then he's up every 2-3 hours

ok ladies I'm contemplating stopping bf. bc I pretty much only pump and he's about 50/50 bf and formula I am finding it hard to pump every 3 hours and it's really discouraging only getting about 3 ounces each time I pump which is maybe 3or 4 times a day. Eli will be 2 months on the 7th so I'm disappointed that I'm already thinking of giving up but it's so much easier to give him formula. 

Tulips29

@Griffin5413 i pump anywhere from 1.5-3 oz each time also so don't feel that your 3 oz is not enough. I also get discouraged thinking it's so little but I remind myself that it's better than nothing.

I'm envious of all the sleep you ladies are getting but it's great your babies are getting into routines and letting you sleep. Can't wait to sleep for more than 2 hours at a time!  

capps42613

@ultratomato Nj disability is awful. I worked in NJ with my 1st pregnancy and didn't receive anything until I was just about to go back to work. I was only 20 years old at the time and had my own apartment to pay for, so that was a huge burden. Luckily I'm in a different situation this time and we have savings too, but still inconvenient lol. I hope you get it soon!!

@Griffin5413 Not trying to sway you one way or another, but I knew it was time to stop when I got the "ugh it's time to pump again feeling", and when I felt defeated by my (lack there of) supply. Although 3oz (to me) seems good considering I never got up to 3oz lol. Just know that if you do decide to stop... ITS OK!

@tvh1982 Tell Pia girl I said to get some sleep! lol I have noticed today that Cason is only taking 15-30 minute cat naps since sleeping a bunch last night. 

tvh1982

I agree with what @capps42613 said, that it is ok to stop should you feel ready. 
But if your hesitant, keep going, 3oz doesn't seem much, but it is 3oz! So keep going strong if you can, you're doing a good job @griffin5413!

I'll tell Pia @capps42613.
I just woke her (I know, finally got her to sleep) to give her a bottle at 11. 
Pia had a while back decided she can sleep from 7 til 3, but I want her to not skip the 11 feeding, but skip the 3. Which will give me a sleep from 11 til 7! It's been 3 nights i've woken her at 11, and she decides to keep the 3 o'clock too! Not what I had in mind, hope she'll get the hang of what mummy wants

dragonfaerie

Another cluster feeding day. I am so tired,  lol. 
I'm so freaked out by how floppy baby's heads are.  I lost Riley's neck a bit when I was getting back in bed and he flopped away from me. It made me sick and cry a little the way he whipped back.  He didn't start crying and he seems okay,  but it just really upset me.

@capps42613 @ultratomato I'm sorry that you are having issues with getting the payments you are supposed to, how frustrating!
@Griffin5413 Did your doc say that Eli is not getting enough or that you should be getting more than 3oz when you pump? Two months is still a good amount of time that you gave him,  no matter what decision you make

capps42613

Just saw this in my Dec BM group about increasing your milk supply from a Ben & Jerry's ice cream lol. 

https://www.scarymommy.com/ben-and-jerrys-oat-of-this-swirled-increase-breast-milk-supply/?utm_source=FB

Griffin5413

Thanks ladies! I am still going to try to keep at it for a little while longer and see how it goes. @dragonfaerie - my dr didn't seem worried one way or the other. We have been supplementing with formula since Eli's first visit bc he wasn't gaining weight fast enough. I am trying to tell myself even if he only gets 3 feedings of breastmilk that's still 3 feedings. 
@Tulips29 - sleep will come I promise! And you will want to cry the first time you get a good stretch. Eli just started sleeping a 4-5 hour stretch about a week and a half ago. So at 7 weeks. praying for sleep for you!

mskeenan

@dragonfaerie the floppy head freaks me out too ! One time I was passing Vince off to my husband and failed to support his head properly and I really flipped out . He's fine obviously but scared the hell out of me !! 

@capps42613 ugh I'm so sorry ! HR needs to get it together ! To be told one thing and not get it must be really frustrating !! 

@griffin5413 as others said you can't go wrong no matter what you decide  - it's already amazing you have been able to give Eli breast  milk for this long 
I am a little worried about my supply still - it's fine when I'm home all day long but I'm worried about how being back at work will impact things. I'm only working two days a week to start but it's going to be very hard to pump . my supply has been steadily decreasing I feel and I'm not sure why . Breastfeeding is so much harder and taxing than I ever imagined . 

I hope Vince lets me sleep for 4 or more hours tonight . He's almost 10 weeks and I feel like he's not sleeping like other babies his age I am really feeling pretty rough most days . Especially in the afternoons I just want to cry I'm so exhausted . 

On an unrelated note - I am making a care package for my friend who is having her FET this week . Any ideas of what to put in it ? So far my ideas are red raspberry leaf tea , pineapple (since people say the core helps with implantation .. prob total bs but who cares ) , comfy socks , a couple magazines, a nice smelling candle (maybe relaxing lavender ) , adult coloring book , fresh flowers . 

Griffin5413

@mskeenan - that's so sweet of you to do that for your friend... my re told me to drink lots of Gatorade.., maybe some of that too. 

tvh1982

That's so lovely @mskeenan. 
I gave my bestfriend an infertility bracelet from Etsy, unfortunately it hasn't helped, but she said it helped her knowing she had support.
So I'm pretty sure your basket will do the same no matter what you put in it!
I took royal jelly shots, it's an old wives tale that it works. (but one tries everything that doesn't harm )

Now I'm not sure how well you know her DH (or DW) but maybe a magazine too, so they can 'relax' together while going through the TWW.

ultratomato

So who is not watching the super bowl or partying because of the little ones. It's not a big deal but missing parties kind of stinks but the girls come first. This time last year I was working on trying to get pregnant it's crazy how much a year things can change 

dragonfaerie

@mskeenan don't overthink what is "normal" for sleep.  My friend's daughter didn't sleep all the way through the night until she was a year old, and her son is on the same trajectory at 6 months. I hope you can get some good sleep too, but sneak naps in when you can and don't stress too much.  

Drove2u

@ultratomato we decided to go to a friend's house for a small party tonight. Only difference is that I won't be drinking this year. 

clt2pwm11

Friends! It's day 10 in the NICU, I got to hold my baby today for about thirty minutes. It was quite the production, but little man and I had skin to skin contact. He immediately fell asleep and was doing AWESOME with his breathing and heart rate. But then he spit up a little in his feeding tube which caused him to gag and all of a sudden he spit out his breathing tube and was rapidly declining. They rushed over and got him stabilized, and the Dr. Decided to put him back on CPAP instead of re-inserting his breathing tube. But for just a few minutes, I held my love, and it was magical. I'm hopeful they will let me hold him again tomorrow. His little head is so small; it's like the size of a lime or a tiny lemon. I could just hold him forever.

Griffin5413

@clt2pwm11 - love that you got to hold your LO today! Hope he continues to make progress!

Tulips29

@clt2pwm11so great that you got to hold your son. He's a little champ doing so well in NICU. 

We had a few friends over for the super bowl tonight and it was nice to be among people since we've been at home for a month now. 

clt2pwm11

Thanks guys! I thought I'd share this too. I found a website that makes personalized new mama necklaces. I ordered one for myself for Charlie bear. I'm going to wear mine every day until I can take him home. It feels like a healing step to recognize I birthed this baby even if it ended up as an unexpected c- section. 

dragonfaerie

@clt2pwm11 What a wonderful way to celebrate! How beautiful and special! I'm so glad your little man is a strong fighter and you've gotten to hold him

capps42613

@mskeenan that care package sounds wonderful! 

@clt2pwm11 so glad you finally got to bond with Henry 

Griffin5413

@clt2pwm11 - what is the website you found that necklace on? I really like it!

tvh1982

What an amazing half an hour that must have been @clt2pwm11.
Adore the necklace, which site did you get it on?

AFM, Pia is doing my head in. She's such a lovely way way way to active little girl.
Last night she woke at 11, and I thought yes, it's working! But then she keeps her 03:30. And it's not because she wakes up because she's hungry. (Although she really wants that bottle) no she wakes up, because she does NOT lay still in her bed.
I had to take her off the pillow she slept on (all against safety rules, but she slept that way) as one morning I heard a different sound and went to check and she was half on half off.
So now she sleeps as she should, on her crib mattress. But she starts laying lovely on her side and ends up squished against the top railing in the courner and of course complains as that isn't comfortable and as she keeps moving she keeps pushing against the top and wakes herself.
I don't know what to do to keep her comfortable (and asleep). Love it she is getting places, just not when it's bedtime

clt2pwm11

The website is stampedunderthemoon.com.

dragonfaerie

@tvh1982 That is definitely an issue to have! Would your pediatrician have any recommendations? 

ultratomato

@clt2pwm11 that's great you got to hold your LO. I can't imagine how it is to have a baby in the nicu and not home. 

So ladies one twin slept for 6 hours and then again for 5 plus now only if her sister could do the same. Right now her sister is eating every three and half hours or less. I'm worried I should wake up the one sleeping for so long because they say babies shouldn't go without eating for more then 6 hours. Anyone else hear that?

dragonfaerie

Oy, Riley is all the sudden having issues feeding. His latch is weird and it often takes him a while to get latched, he's squirmy, and he curls into a ball sometimes which makes getting him into a good position awkward. It's like "we had this! What the heck!?"

@ultratomato I have heard you shouldn't let newborns go more than 4 hours or so without eating,  but then another pediatrician said that they'll wake when they are hungry and not to push it as long as their weight gain is good. I think you'll have to ask your doc ultimately, cuz it seems like you'll get as many answers as there are babies

Griffin5413

@ultratomato - once Eli gained back his birth weight his dr said to feed him when he's hungry and let him sleep.

Eli has had a regression the last few nights. He was getting a good 5 hours in the first stretch but the last 2 nights it's only been a little over 3 and then up every 2 hours. I just got to LA yesterday so  out here all week at my parents without DH so I'm hoping this doesn't last all week!

tvh1982

I'll definitely ask on Wednesday when Pia get her shots. Completely forgot they might have tips @dragonfaerie, oh this brain of mine!

I was allowed to let Pia sleep @ultratomato. But this was after the ok from my paediatrician. First got the ok for 6 hours, but that was when Pia had the wrong formula and cried all the time. Then when we got the right formula and Pia was still gaining weight they said to let her catch up on sleep, she would announce herself. I had a few times she had 8 or 9 hours between feeding, of course during the day #wouldbeawastetoletmummysleep

Drove2u

For the first time ever Viktoria only woke up once last night around 3am. I'm so happy. Although for some reason I feel more exhausted today than ever. 

capps42613

@Drove2u that same thing happened to me too. I was so exhausted & couldn't understand why since I did get more sleep. DH and I chalked it up to it messing up with my typical schedule that my mind was out of whack. It's gets better, promise.

tvh1982

I think it has to do with the fact they wake you up from your deep sleep. When Pia wakes me up every two hours I never got to my deep sleep. Now she sleeps longer I get to my deep sleep, which she then drags me out of and I'm completely knackered.

dragonfaerie

@tvh1982 I'm hoping your doc can come up with an idea. All I can think is adding bumpers in her crib,  which goes against safety recommendations 

clt2pwm11

@dragonfaerie Have you tried relaxing on the bed and having baby lay on your chest? The LLL book recommended that. Obviously I hadn't tried breastfeeding yet, so forgive me if that's a stupid suggestion, I just remembered reading it and thought it might be helpful.