PAIF Graduates - New Mommies - April 2018

byrneme

Ladies! Where is time going?? I hope everyone is well - thought I'd start this month's thread!!

persnickity

@byrneme thanks for starting this! I was thinking about you and your little girl the other day. Mackenzie started to shift her bedtime this week to be later and I was wondering if your daughter had done the same thing.

I can't believe it's spring already! We're starting to look at hats and sunglasses for summer, any sunglasses suggestions? What are you guys using for sunscreen?

Also taking our first flight next week. I think we have everything, but is there anything you guys recommend to help with take off and landing pressure changes??

byrneme

Hi there @persnickity ! Zoey is still going down between 7-8, fingers crossed for no sleep regressions! How much later is Mackenzie going down?

I'm so happy spring is here even if it doesn't feel like it in Iowa! Totally curious on sunglasses - I was just thinking about that the other day. As for sunscreen, I can't remember who recommended or where I read about this one but I put it on my registry so I wouldn't forget! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007B1D0YY?colid=3HBPWVTHXO0S&coliid=I12D3WJF5CIQTW&ref=br_ADD_TO_CART_title_link 

persnickity

@byrneme Mackenzie used to go down between 5:30-6ish. The last week or so she's been going down between 7-7:30. Since Zoey seems to sleep like Mackenzie, I was curious. The only time we have sleep issues are the first few days of a leap. Man are those rough!!

Polythene Pam

@persnickity how old is zoey again? Graham (5 months) goes down by 6, I get my 4 year old down by 7 (she doesn’t even rest and has to get up by 7 for school). I keep waiting for graham to push his and have them flip, we feel like we’ve got a great rhythm so I’m sure he’ll flip it soon! 

we use babyganics sunscreen. We were using some Australia one, can’t remember the name but this one is at target and works well on my fair skinned kids. Plus the spray is still great coverage for touch ups, I use the lotion and the lotion “spray” to really get every bit of skin.

glad you started this! Graham is good, up more at night which is throwing me.. we’re traveling in a few weeks so we’ll start solids when we get back, I’m hoping that helps. He’s a TANK so I’m guessing he’ll like food! Otherwise it’s spring break for my daughter so it’s been nice to just scootch at home (as it snowed this week! Happy April lol)

persnickity

@Polythene Pam Mackenzie is 7.5 months and @byrneme her daughter Zoey is a few weeks older. Mackenzie just switched to a later bedtime the past week. 

MMD1986

Hi everyone! I'm jumping over here from the 3rd trimester thread, though I haven't posted much in the last 6 weeks.

My boy, Brooks, was born 2/21 at 34 weeks and 2 days. His due date was actually a few days ago.  He spent 22 days in the NICU and has been home for a few weeks now. 

Do any of you supplement your breast milk with formula? If so, how do you do it and what kind?  I've never been able to successfully breastfeed because he was too small and at this point he is too used to the bottle and has zero interest in trying any other way.  I've been pumping, but am to the point where I won't be able to keep up with his intake for much longer.  I'm going to talk to the pediatrician as well, just curious if any of you ladies had success supplementing.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone.

Here is a picture of our little man.  I'm on the app so hopefully it isn't big.

JWatt5

@MMD1986 - hey!! I supplimented at first while I’m waiting for my milk to come on. At that time I use the Ready Made (Enfamili+ Gold). Then I exclusively pumped for months and months. Eventually started supplementing again at 4 months and use powdered formula. They like you to use ready made for 2 months or so. Especially if you had a premiee, maybe to 6 Months. So make sure you talk to your doctor soon and they’ll help you out!! 

Were also getting ready to go on our first trip!! We’re headed to the Mayan Riviera for a week. I think I’ve got everything together for it. We’re using the ThinkBaby sunscreen and long sleeve bathsuits. Hooded towels. Hats. And taking our full sized stroller (City Select). I got a UV/Bug screen for it hoping it’ll also dim things for naps!! Then just feeding him as the plane goes up and down! 

Polythene Pam

@MMD1986 what a cutie! Congrats!! I’d check with his pediatrician, in case there’s issues they really help nail down the right choice. I supplemented my daughter (low supply due to trauma at delivery), she also hated the boob since we supplemented so much right away. I pumped but gave similac (the hypoallergenic kind) as she had a dairy sensitivity. I’d just do as many pumped bottles as I could, then formula for the rest. I hated pumping though and barely produced so we flipped to all formula by 2 months. She’s a healthy happy 4 year old so no regrets!

For my son, he loves the boob TOO much so I do give one bottle at bedtime - also hypoallergenic. It helps so someone else can put them to bed if needed too, and I’m terrified he’ll hate bottles if I don’t keep this up I hate pumping so have no issues with this formula. Congrats again

latershrader

Hi everyone. Great updates! @MMD1986 Welcome! How precious Brooks is! I ended up never getting any milk so we used Similac Sensitive (and still do). It make my son gassy and angry for the first few weeks but he eventually made it through. It was either that or switch him and I thought that would be more trouble than it was worth.
Eli is doing well. He is quite the chunk. But he is really making us fall more in love with him every day. He's still not sitting up on his own 100% yet. He'll manage it for a few seconds then fall over. But we're getting there. Yesterday he was showing me his "pinchers" so we've started cutting up banana so he can practice. He is a very happy boy, all the teachers at daycare say he smiles and laughs all day. I still can't get over how much I love this little person!
@JWatt5 So jealous of your trip! I hope you enjoy!!
@Polythene Pam & @persnickity Safe travels! Hope your trips are for fun!
@byrneme We just bought a pair at Buy Buy Baby for our summer beach trip. But we need to get a "string" or something to keep them on his face. I'm curious to hear if you found anything.

mbradfo2

Baby Anne is 11 days old today; she was born 35 weeks + a few days but did well from the start so went home with me after 48 hours. She continues to be a great eater (just gulped 2.5 oz, which is alot for a 6 lb baby!) and a so-so sleeper (unless mommy is holding her - she sleeps soundly then!). Luckily wet diapers don't stress her out too much!

We are doing formula mostly for my own sanity and so we can keep track of exactly what she's eating. She had Enfamil ready-made in the hospital because they don't stock SImilac (I guess it's like Coke and Pepsi), but since then she's been on Similac Pro Advance ready-made. Similac does make a formula specifically for supplementing and you can buy it in the little ready made bottles so it's super easy....but your doctor might want you to use something else if there's an allergy/etc. If you can manage it, I'd recommend ready-made since getting the right mix of powdered and water can be challenging and baby can get tummy upsets if you screw it up. But that's just up to you!

stella_700

With the twins and them being born at 34 weeks we supplemented right away. There was never any thought of being able to keep up with their needs. We were using Similiac's Neosure, in the powder form. The doctors wanted the twins on the higher calorie formula to help with weight gain. I'm still pumping today, getting not quite three ounces per pump, so not great but at least something for them. The twins are 5 months now. We've got this down to a fine art at this point and the twins' tummies seem just fine. We boil water and let it cool to lukewarm, this is important, mixing it too hot results in lumps, then add the powder. We are using one of the mixing pitchers or just mixing directly into the bottles. The husband puts the formula into the bottle first, then adds a little bit of water, shakes to a thinnish paste, then adds the rest of the water. So far its working well. We have switched to a generic formula but are still mixing it at the higher calorie count. Ask your pediatrician about the mixing chart if your little boy needs the higher calorie. Also ask for the generic chart comparison so that you can make an informed decision as far as price point. We were ever so glad to switch from the Neosure to a sensitive tummy formula at three months.

byrneme

Welcome and congratulations to @MMD1986 and @mbradfo2 !! I had a similar situation to @MMD1986 and wasn't producing enough so we supplemented with Gerber Good Start Gentle (bonus: now both Target & Walmart make a generic and it's identical). I pumped like @JWatt5 for what felt like forever. We gave three bottles of BM a day and three formula which allowed me to build a bit of a stash which helped when we went on vacation. When I stopped pumping at just past 6 months we went down to 2 BM bottles/day and now at 8 months give 1/day. I have enough, I think, to get her through 10 months on 1 bottle/day. You do whatever works for you and works with your peds suggestions.

kaseycoco

Hi everyone! I'm joining too, I had my baby boy Henry on Feb 28! I'm so over joyed to finally have him here, especially with everything we went through to get pregnant. The first month has been a whirlwind, but we're starting to settle into a routine and I finally feel like a functioning human again. It's fun to read about your trips and just getting ready for summer in general. It snowed here again today and feels like spring will never come. I can't wait for warm weather and swimming!

MMD1986

Thanks everyone!

@stella_700 the NICU had us mix in a little with Neosure as well. 1/2 tsp per 90 ml EBM. We are still doing that so tried to give some extra Neosure to supplement and he reacted terribly. The pediatrician has us trying Nutrimigen as a supplementation formula now. Hoping it works.

persnickity

Hope you find something that works well @MMD1986

PoeMasque

Congrats to all the new mamas on here! Isn’t having the baby on the outside just the best?! 

We also supplemented with formula early on due to jaundice and weight loss. We just used the sample similac sensitive that came in the mail. Our little guy is pretty gassy/refluxy/colicky so we have now switched to enfamil for gas and colic, but have only used it once (he’s been EBF since 1 month with only occasional formula when I haven’t pumped and someone else is watching him). We actually added a lactobascillus reuteri probiotic a week ago and it seems to have helped the colic and gas, but not the reflux. 

Our little guy has just never been a good sleeper (3.5 hours at best, ugh) and now we are in the 4 month regression, so its up every two hours. I swore i would never sleep train, but after two nights of a baby who refused to sleep without my boob in his mouth I changed my mind. We are on night two of a very mild version of “training”, so far we are still up every two hours, but are down to one night feed instead of 3-4. I go back to work in two days and am just dreading it sleep-wise (plus figuring out how to fit in enough pumping sessions). 

@Polythene Pam our guy used to get so sleepy around 5:30, so we would put him to bed, but he was waking up at 3:30-4am wide awake, so we actually pushed bedtime to 7-7:30 (per sleep specialist recommendation) and no more 4am playtime. 

Polythene Pam

@PoeMasque how did you cut those feedings? Graham was doing 2-3 feedings (midnight, 3, if he woke before 6 quick feed and back down). The last week the feedings are creeping earlier, like in bed by 6:30 and wanting a feed by 9/10. I’ve tried ignoring him but he’s got some pipes and just screams till I feed him. I’ve seen doing shorter feeds, I’m just throwing darts at this point hoping for more sleep soon haha. maybe I’ll try flipping bedtimes (4 yo is exhausted by 7 but she’d honestly go down a little earlier with no naps, if I need to push graham till 7).

we did sleep train at 3.5 months when he was up every hour so any tips on cutting the feeds would be amazing! 

wabash15

@PoeMasque good luck getting back to work. everyone is a little different especially with what your employer allows but I pump 3 times during work (about 15-20min) and am able to keep up with LO needs. I do pump other times but that is mostly because we had to switch to EP for about 6 weeks due to a swallowing dysfunction and we are just getting her back on the boob.

@stella_700 how are you?!? I'm glad to hear the twins are doing well. 

persnickity

@PoeMasque to echo @wabash15, I pump 3 times a day at work. I've blocked 30 minutes for each session, but that gives me a little wiggle room in case a meeting before rooms a little over. I also pump right before I go to bed, but that's just to help keep me comfortable. My employer has been great about giving me a private space and plenty of time, even though we're only a 30 person company.

mbradfo2

what is it about 4 am? lol our little girl consistently struggles to lay down again after her 3 -4 4 am feeds! we'll put her in her bassinet and she'll just fuss or squirm -- she'll only fall asleep if she's being cuddled (and even then, it's a pretty light sleep). Husband is currently doing the middle of the night feeds since he's often up late with work things and he's been a bit frazzled!

PoeMasque

@mbradfo2 someone told me that babies practice what they’re learning at night and that 4am “playtime” definitely looks like skills practice to me. If my LO is wide awake I just put him in the crib and let him work the wiggles out (usually 30-60mins) then he usually goes down for 2 more hours. (Usually.....) 

@Polythene Pam we cut the feedings by just not doing them. We bounce him till he’s calm, put him in the bassinet, let him cry for 5 mins, repeat until he’s asleep. Usually takes about 3 rounds, but this is only the 3rd night. I make sure we don’t go more than 6 hours without a feed. Twice last night he went back to sleep with just a little head stroking instead of bouncing  

stella_700

@PoeMasque The learning thing perfectly describes what our little boy has been doing! It happened again last night, we hear him through the monitor talking to himself and doing his new trick(see below).

mbradfo2 I think I might just be lucky with our twins (5 months). They have both transitioned to just one feeding at night without much coaxing by us. We make sure that they take 6 ounces before going down for the evening. I do still wake up the baby that doesn't wake up to eat. Feeding them both at the same time is necessary for parental sanity. That first stretch of four hours of sleep in a row for us was wonderful. Good luck making it happen. I've read several articles that say slowing lessening the time you breastfeed and/or lowering the amount by an ounce a night might be helpful in weaning your baby from those feedings.

@wabash15 Hi! The twins are doing well. I'm sleep deprived but healed up, off most medications, and back at work. Still on the meds for water retention, but Bp is back down to its normal low levels. : ) How is your sweet girl doing? The twins are both rolling over both front to back and back to front. We are working on sitting up right now. They sit well with torso support but still haven't figured out that they can use their hands to help support themselves. They are very drooling babies and I think we will be looking at serious teething soon. I can't believe they are 5 months. They are such good babies.

Our little boy discovered that he can make a good whomping noise by lifting both his feet in the air and smacking both of them down onto the crib mattress at the same time. The first time this happened both DH and I were alarmed. It wakes you up at four in the morning during his "playtime". Victoria doesn't do this, she sleeps like her Momma getting her to sleep is still a struggle.

@all pumping moms, The twins didn't take to breastfeeding very well, which saddened me a bit at first, so I EP. I pump twice at work for 30 minutes. As I've got a 9-6 shift, I pump right before heading to work, pump at one and again at about five. The institution I work at has a lactation room with comfortable chairs, pillows for behind your back, a fridge and sink, in addition to an ice and water dispenser. You badge in, issued through our employee nurses station. I've never been able to exclusively breastfeed but they get at least one feeding per day from me each. The best I can do. I'm hoping to last to six months, its my current goal.

Polythene Pam

@PoeMasque that sounds so simple lol. I’m paranoid about my daughter waking too as he can get LOUD but for everyone’s sanity I’ll try, especially his first waking when only been down 3-4 hrs. He’s a tank so I know he can do it. We also do a big bottle before bed then nurse during the night so maybe I’ll make my husband go in.. graham literally claws at me if I’m in the room. Thanks for sharing!!

byrneme

@stella_700 you can do it!! EPing is hard work, I applaud you. My goal was 6 months and I made it just over (there was definitely a bit of a mind mess with stopping) - keep up the amazing work!!

wabash15

@stella_700 it does sound like teeth are in your near future. It is so fun watching them grow, learn and discover their environment. one of our twins was a great sleeper the other was not and it took us a very long time to get him into a good sleep routine. The no cry sleep solution was helpful for us to find little things in our bed time routine to change and get him to sleep in less than 3 hours! Since our twins were/are in the same room I found a lot of the other sleep recommendations and sleep training were just not an option because they would mess with our good sleeper and they were so bonded I did not want to put them in separate rooms. EPing for 5 months is HUGE!!!!! I know how hard it is and I just want to cheer you on. We had a lot of latch issues with the twins and it took 2+ months to get them into a good nursing place, even after that I pumped around the clock every 3 hours to meet their needs. I wish I had given myself more permission to supplement with formula so I could sleep more. I'm so glad your doing better and off of most of the meds. That's great news about your BP
    Our newest baby is doing better. She was super sick and in the hospital with RSV shortly after birth and then had a swallowing dysfunction so she was aspirating when nursing. We had to switch to EP for a while but she recently had a follow up appointment and she is swallowing normally now and we have gone back to breast feeding. 

omarismyhomeboy

Jumping on the "we supplement" bandwagon over here- we supplemented on June's 2nd day of life because she had glucose instability and needed to make sure she was getting enough food- it was so hard to tell with colostrum! 

Now are are at 7 months, and she gets about 40% formula every day. @stella_700 I am also an pumper and have been since day 2 in the hospital. Direct nursing was too painful for me despite multiple attempts. It's such a time suck but its amazing you are doing it! 

Here's a pic of June from her 6 month session we got her, now about 3 weeks ago! (Crazy). She's so so happy and sits up great and rolls over great but still no crawling. She has been a little slow to take solids but I think we are getting better.



@MMD1986 congrats on your newborn! he is gorgeous!

stella_700

I know that you all know this but baby laughter is a miracle cure for whatever ails you. DH got our baby boy to laugh, really laugh for the first time the other day, I cried. I got it on video and I just keep watching it over and over.

Thank you ladies on the encouragement to continue pumping. Its something *I* can actively do to help them stay has healthy as possible so I keep on. I'd feel better if my supply was better, but I think for me supply is tied to how much sleep I've been (not) getting.

stella_700

wabash15 Oh I hadn't heard that your daughter caught the Rsv. I'm so sorry. I went in fear of it after taking them home. I'm so glad she has gotten over her swallowing issue. What do the twins think of their sister? Mine so far aren't showing too much of that twin bond that yours have. The only thing I note is that they have begun smiling at each other a lot and when they were very young I'd put them down in the divided bassinet and come back to check on them and find them pressed as close to the divider as possible.

latershrader

@stella_700 I was on pins and needles to hear my sons first laugh. And my husband got it on video. I was at work, my second week back from maternity leave. I cry/laughed the whole way through it. And now when he gets in a giggle fit, we ALL lose it. It really helps take away whatever ails you!

MMD1986

@omarismyhomeboy June's photo is adorable. What a cutie!

JWatt5

This kid - he loves the water!! He traveled so well despite not sleeping much during the flight/awaiting flight. Anyone thinking of travel - just do it. You can do it. And any questions. Let me know!!! Day one...rough. But day two. Amazing. 

Polythene Pam

@JWatt5 love!! We’re traveling this week, I may throw our floatie in my suitcase for Graham as well, that looks awesome!

mbradfo2

We usually like to go to France in the fall/winter - -didn't go last year because I was pregnant and wanted to stay home -- but my husband's getting cold feet about planning for this year. Baby girl will be about 7-8 months during our usual vacation time. We might go to Disney instead just to try "traveling with baby" and work up to Europe next year...

stella_700

JWatt5 That looks so amazing! What a little cutie with the sunglasses.

@omarismyhomeboy June is darling. Little mischievous grin.

mbradfo2

I keep thinking it when I scroll down the page, but yes, June is absolutely adorable!

omarismyhomeboy

Yall are so sweet @mbradfo2 @stella_700 @mmdd1986

nmtay

Hey everyone! My sweet babies came on April 7. As y'all know things have been kinda crazy but I am just so happy they're here safe! Baby boy Eliot, girl Leilani. Does anyone have success stories of going from bottle to breast? I'm lucky to be producing plenty more than enough for my twins but I had to exclusively pump and bottle while they had jaundice and now I'm trying to go back to at least some nursing, but it's not going great and I'm definitely worried they aren't getting enough since they won't nurse for long. I think I've been giving them a bottle an hour later, which doesn't help efficiency at all.

stella_700

@nmtay First congrats on your beautiful twins. They look great! I'm not going to be very helpful on the breastfeeding from bottle fed issue.  I would suggest adjusting how you hold the babies while bottlefeeding to better mimic the hold you would use to breastfeed. You could also adjust the nipples you use to better mimic breastfeeding? Playing around with those things could help transitioning back to the breast.

kaseycoco

@JWatt5 that looks amazing! It's encouraging to hear positive travel stories as I'd love to get somewhere warm after this long, snowy winter!
@nmtay congrats on your beautiful twins! A friend of mine had luck with using comotomo bottles. I know its a lot to switch brands, so you could also try the slowest flow nipple your brand has like stella said. Nursing was hard for me in the first few weeks and a lactation consultant was so helpful in getting a good latch, after that he was able to stay on much longer. You could call your hospital and see if they have a lactation consultant to help you. Good luck!

MMD1986

I second talking to a lactation consultant. Even though I exclusively pump due to Brooks needing formula added to the milk for extra calories, I met with one at our hospital and she was very helpful. Even with pumping info/techniques.