@kvacmak Oh, I've been there! I wish LO would have found relief on his stomach, I would have gladly been okay with just rocking in his nursery while he slept. We dealt with the gas/pooping issue around weeks 4-7, and still are, but it's gotten so much better. LO will be 10 weeks this Wednesday.
I realized when my alarm went off at 5:15 this morning, that we need to get a move on with our upstairs remodel, or make the journey up and down stairs if we move DS up into his nursery. He's in our bedroom that we have downstairs that has a joining room. It's used as mine and DH's changing room and DH's computer desk is in there. Well, it's where we both would get ready in the mornings if the other was sleeping, so the other wouldn't be bothered or woken up. We put DS's bassinet in the office last week, to make a little more room for us to maneuver around, in the bedroom. Well, I had to feel my way around the office this morning to grab my makeup, clothes, and other belongings and bring them into the bathroom, all because I couldn't turn a light in in there or our bedroom, as DS and DH were still sleeping. DH had to pick up the bassinet and move DS back into the bedroom once his alarm went off, because he wears glasses and would have never been able to get his way around in the dark.
I started taking probiotics a few days ago and I think they are helping him through my breastmilk. He's pooping more regularely, but still farty. Hopefully it helps him even out before 10 weeks!
My LO is 8 weeks, and has been a consistent sleeper since around week 5. I went back to work yesterday, so yesterday she decided she is no longer going to sleep well, and I'm on night 2 of up for hours in the middle of the night. Ugh! I used to feed and just plop her in the bassinet and she would pass out, now she fusses for ever!
Me: 32 DH: 32
Married 11/24/13
DD1 born 12/24/15
TTC #2 Aug. 16
BFP for #2 11/22/16
Aug17 December Siggy Challenge: Funny Pics of Kids Afraid of Santa
My LO is 8 weeks, and has been a consistent sleeper since around week 5. I went back to work yesterday, so yesterday she decided she is no longer going to sleep well, and I'm on night 2 of up for hours in the middle of the night. Ugh! I used to feed and just plop her in the bassinet and she would pass out, now she fusses for ever!
Sounds like she needs more mommy time! If you BF, I would try offering her your breast basically all evening long until you go to bed. That might help her meet her "mom quota" a bit earlier in the night.
LO is getting harder to nurse to sleep at 6 weeks. I mean it's great that she can stay awake after nursing for longer periods of time but it's so tiring at night! She's been sick with a cold and literally cluster feeding all day and I just have to switch sides back and forth like multiple times in an hour... Seriously hoping she'll feel better tomorrow!
Breastfeeding is finally starting to get better & less painful. LO is almost 5 weeks. From 8-2AM she has been consistently wide awake and fussy, and I'm finally able to offer my breast to help calm her down. So we're still awake til 2AM, but at least she's not crying the whole time!
I had my first diaper blow out tonight. I guess I'm lucky since it's the first, and DD is six weeks old (today.) I don't think I'd mind so much, except she only poops in the middle of the night. I don't even remember the last time DH had to change her when she was dirty.
DH is working the night shift tonight and I'm just sitting here alone while LO sleeps, spiraling out about how I've been a failure at breastfeeding. My baby blues have passed so at least I'm not crying in the bathroom about it anymore, but I'm just really, really sad that my supply is so low, it hasn't changed, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it. I've tried (and am continuing to try) everything I've read about, fenugreek, oatmeal, coconut water, etc. and I'm pumping about 10 times a day. My max output is about 8 ounces, on a good day. 6 ounces on a bad day. LO is eating about 20 ounces a day and I'm just realizing, unless something drastically changes, I'm never going to be able to catch up and feed her exclusively breast milk, or even half breastmilk, half formula.
I never thought this would hit me so hard and upset me so much. I'm logically aware that she will be just fine on a mostly formula diet, but emotionally I just feel like my body has failed me, and her. And not only that, I just miss breastfeeding all day/night. Even though it was mostly useless to LO and I had to stop breastfeeding so much because she was burning way more calories than what she was getting back (which was keeping her from gaining weight), I just miss the bonding and the closeness and the simplicity of it. I'm doing okay with our current system of pumping and supplementing with formula, but I can't help but feel sad about how much easier it would be if I could just breastfeed exclusively, but if my supply hasn't changed by now (2.5 weeks postpartum) I'm worried it's just not going to change.
I don't know if I should just accept the situation and embrace the upsides (DH can help with feedings, I don't really mind pumping that much, I am at least able to give LO *some* breastmilk) or if I should keep trying and maybe look into a prescription to increase supply. I'm just depressed and, though it's embarrassing to admit, jealous of other women who have a strong supply and are able to exclusively breastfeed. Just kind of a rough night emotionally. Sorry for the rambling.
awe @maureenmce please don't beat yourself up. I know that's easier said then done. The important part is that you are nourishing your little babe which is priority number 1!! And guess what? You aren't failing her. Because you're HER mom, which means in her eyes you are the best mom. You're her best friend right now and she does care whether you give her strictly breast milk or strictly formula or a mix of the two as long as she's with you. As whether or not you should continue to try, if you love breastfeeding and miss the closeness maybe you can try to aim for one feeding a day. It would give you something to look forward to daily. Some special time with your baby. If you don't wanna continue worrying about breast milk and stressing yourself out that's okay too! I think that in your situation you should make a logical goal that way you don't spend your days disappointed. I hoped this helps. Hang in there momma.
@maureenmce have you checked baby for tongue tie or lip tie? Talked to a lactation consultant? Maybe pump flanges are the wrong size, that would effect output as well. Make sure you're drinking enough water and unfortunately stress has an effect on supply too. There are prescriptions you can take for supply, talk to a LC about options. I took a RX while breastfeeding my second to help, didn't help me a lot but allowed me to pump bearly enough to have bottles for daycare. It is very stressful, I remember the days of just crying after pumping every 2 hours for 20 minutes and only getting a total of 1.5-2 ounces. With this baby I've already told myself that if my supply dips like last time I will just have to be ok with supplementing and knowing I've tried my best. Good luck you sound like you're doing a wonderful job already.
Wtf? Baby has been sleeping through the night for the last, probably 4 nights for SO, so I volunteer to take the night shift... it's now 5 am. Guess who has been awake for an hour? Cannot. Keep. Eyes. Open! She refuses the rest of her bottle and doesn't want her pacifier.
And why in the world do I have such terrible heartburn? That definitely could have gone away with pregnancy.
@hannahduff3 - Thanks so much for the encouragement, it really means a lot. I have decided to breastfeed at least once or twice a day in addition to supplementing and pumping, since I really do enjoy it so much. LO and I breastfed after her bottle this morning and it was great, even though she falls asleep at the breast pretty quick. (Though that's nice in its own way, if I'm trying to get her down for a nap!)
@Hipshaker - Sadly the SNS didn't work well for us. She falls asleep at the breast, whether the SNS is on or not. She only feeds decently via a bottle right now.
@Superherosmom - Yeah, we met with a lactation consultant twice (that's how I figured out I had low supply initially - we did a weighted feed and she was only getting about .2 oz from each breast after spending 20 min on each one!) The LC checked her for tongue tie and said she didn't have one. I've been trying to stay as hydrated as possible and have tried two different flange sizes, so I think the only variables I'm not hitting at 100% would be stress and fatigue, though I'm not sure how to combat those currently other than sleeping as much as possible. I have a thyroid autoimmune disease and it's possible that's impacting my milk, so I'm seeing my endocrinologist soon to see about adjusting my meds. If that doesn't work I'll ask her about the prescription to increase supply. But worst case scenario I can rely on 6-8 ounces a day, and maybe once I'm sleeping more and less stressed it could even up to 10, which would be nearly half of her intake each day. Pumping and not getting much out of it is stressful! Thank you for sharing your experience, it makes me feel less alone.
Anyway, in the light of day I'm feeling better about everything and trying to focus on the positives, like the fact that I do have some breast milk to offer her/offset the cost of formula, and most importantly, LO is *finally* gaining weight now that we've been supplementing properly and making sure she's getting enough food. Her being healthy, fed and thriving is all that matters, really. So my mantra for today is take deep breaths, look at the bright side, and take things one day at a time.
Well, DD has MSPI, which isn't much of a shock since DS had it plus several other food allergies, but it still sucks. I miss cheese and ice cream and butter and everything I used to eat that contains soy.
You guys am I the only one with a baby that swings his arm around like a wild animal and hits and scratches me in the face and chest while he's trying to eat? Hahaha he is real excited about the boob
Random thought right now- getting super frustrated w hubby. He acts like I do nothing bc I'm on maternity leave. He seems to think he's entitled to having more sleep than me. He's never once asked what he could do to help me since going back to work. When I told him I felt underappreciated he said I never thanked him for doing all the stuff I asked him to do (which was do the dishes and clean the litter box). He should be doing that without my asking! Ugh I'm so tired and frustrated. Just needed to vent, I'm sure I'll feel perfectly happy with him in the am.
Tonight when it was time for her last feed before bed baby girl was screaming crying, would take the breast for 2 seconds then pull away. I changed her, tried to burp her, tried rocking her, giving her paci, nothing worked she literally screamed her head off. I was hysterically crying after about 30 minutes hubby came and took her and made me go to bed (she obviously wasn't hungry) that was about 8 pm, sometime between then and 10 he got her calmed and asleep in her crib and at 10 she wanted to eat. Now we are back at our regular middle of the night feeding schedule but man, I hope this is not a new party trick.
My LO woke up at 1 hungry. Fed her and got her to sleep in her crib in about an hour (4 wks on Tuesday - this is our 3rd night trying the crib). I finally am trying to get back to sleep when my husband wakes up and randomly goes in her room and takes her binkie out, shock wakes her up!! I told him he had to get her back to sleeo. He asked if I was mad and I said I was annoyed. He asked when I had just fed her and told him that I just fed her.
my husband is so groggy at night, I don't know what to do. After 10 pm he is no help. He was telling me how tired he is and wants to sleep all weekend. I do feel guilty because he is the one working to provide for our family, but at the same time I'm like, "hello, I'm the one up every 2 hours feeding her and trying to get her back to sleep, do you really think you get less sleep than me?!" Ughhhhhh. I love my husband. Just needed that rant. Just hoping we get to a point where he can help for more than 10 minutes in the morning and 1-2hrs at night.
We're trying a new thing tonight, I had extra milk pulled from the freezer today from our one bottle a day and so I asked my partner if he wanted to take a night feed and he said yes. So I'm downstairs pumping while he bottle feeds. I woke up asking him if he wanted to take this feed when I heard her start to wake up and wiggle about and it seemed at first when he said yes it was hesitant. Came back upstairs with the bottle and it was all clear, he thought I wanted to wake her up to feed. I mean I know I can hear her cues at night even when I'm sleeping and she is as well but I didn't realize he slept that soundly. I should of figured, multiple times at night I'll get everything done with our girl then get back in bed and he wakes up and goes "did she wake up? You fed her already?"...yeah and rocked her back to sleep for 10 mins even......not frustrated just think it's funny. He double checked when I headed downstairs "so you want me to feed her, and burp her till she falls back to sleep and put her down?" ..."yeah and I'll take the next feeding and change her at that one too"
@StephEppie my LO did that last week. Still have no idea what caused it (possibly to fast of a let down). Except for she was still hungry. I ended up giving her a bottle then pumping. But she only did it that one time. It was awful!
I may take my husband on his offer to watch the kids Sunday so I can go and get a massage. He keeps finding me crying with baby crying and screaming and all I can say is he never stops of course he calms down fine for my husband, blah. But maybe it'll be worth pumping for a mental health break.
My DH seriously is lacking sometimes... I get that it is hard to wake up in the middle of the night but for everyones safety and wellbeing you gotta wake yourself up enough to do things properly. He just changed DS. But when he changes him he removes the diaper, wraps it up, tosses it, then opens up and puts a new one on. So because of leaving the baby bare for too long, DS peed all over and had to be changed again. (Same lengthy process except wiping up underneath the baby and removing all his clothes.) I don't know how many times I have to tell him when you remove the diaper you need to quickly replace it, THEN wrap up the old diaper. But GOD FORBID he listens to ANYTHING I tell him to make life even an ounce easier. And then he gets pissy when I don't want to get up to find a new outfit for the baby when he can LITERALLY turn around and grab one. Sorry! I get up at least 2x a night to pump AND get up everytime the baby wakes. You can change him by yourself. Eff that...
Thinking of skipping town for a while- it will be good for me and for my LO. I need to think and I need support. My relationship has been kind of shitty. We broke it off on the last months of my pregnancy and I moved out. We kind of worked things out and He promised to do better and has been doing so since LO was born, but then other stuff happend this weekend that make me realize that we are going back to square one. I hope going away for a few weeks will help me regroup, I have to do what's best for my LO. I can't afford to be in an unstable relationship now, it's not healthy for my little girl.
Ugh. How do people survive the toddler stage? The baby has been asleep for hours, it's now 1:30 in the morning and we are awake because DS refuses to be in his crib without sticking his chubby legs through the bars and getting them stuck, then thrashing around trying to get loose again. We have bumpers, but he just takes then down, or sticks his legs through over the bumpers. I'm exhausted, he's exhausted, and his legs are probably bruised like none other, yet he keeps doing it!
@preggoandglowing I keep thinking that too! Even toddlers or babies that are older/bigger than mine, I'm just like wow everyone's head is GIANT! I asked my husband if my head seemed huge to him and he gave me a weird look and said "nooo...?" Hahahahaha
Also, Guys I'm wanting another so bad that I already came up with potential baby names for the next one.... ahhh don't worry I won't have another for awhile but ugh I just want more little love bugs to cuddle and kiss on!
One of my most favorite things about having a baby is after a bath and lotion and new jammies, to cuddle up and just smell him. I swear that scent and the cuddles are like a high. Even if he was a monster that day, I just can't get enough of him then.
@SDaniels19 For whatever reason, he's terrified of the pack n play. Right now, that's also where the baby is sleeping... Can't wait until we get into the new house and each kid has their own room. Right now the babies should be sharing a room, but due to her colic and his light sleeping, she's in the pack n play in the living room. Ugh! My back is killing me from sleeping on the couch for the last 7 weeks!
One of my most favorite things about having a baby is after a bath and lotion and new jammies, to cuddle up and just smell him. I swear that scent and the cuddles are like a high. Even if he was a monster that day, I just can't get enough of him then.
Seriously it's like meth for moms. The. Best. Thing. Ever.
I asked DH the other day "don't you just love the way he smells?" And he looked at me like I had 3 heads haha. I guess it's a mom thing.
Re: the newborn smell - an older lady in the elevator at the grocery store yesterday asked me if I had just had a baby and I was like... uh, yes? And she said she could literally smell the newborn smell on me and she talked about how much she loved and missed that smell. It was an equal parts cute and weird interaction with a stranger!
I'm feeling pretty guilty right now. Baby is feeding and sleeping well and seems to be just perfect... except we are dealing with a case of baby acne. It bothers me so much, which makes me feel like a superficial ass. But I can't help it. I want to show her off in pics but I feel like all people will see is her acne. And it's gotten worse over the past few days. I've read about things other moms did, but I am super skeptical and don't want to make things worse. My doc said it would go away on its own, to just use water.
@paigeyferd we had a case of it too... It lasted about 10 days. We just did water on a wash cloth twice a day and the occasional cotton ball with breast milk like 3 times. It's so common so don't worry and it shouldn't last too long
@claireloSC Those are actually the exact ones we were using! My sweet child (I say that with gritted teeth) would just undo the velcro or put his legs over the top. We ended up weaving mesh fabric through each bar, then zip tied the fabric randomly to the top bar, bottom, and various bars all the way around... it seriously looks like he's in a cage. But it worked last night!
Re: Late night RTT?
I'm trying to ween my baby from the nipple shield and it's terribly hard
Aug17 December Siggy Challenge: Funny Pics of Kids Afraid of Santa
I never thought this would hit me so hard and upset me so much. I'm logically aware that she will be just fine on a mostly formula diet, but emotionally I just feel like my body has failed me, and her. And not only that, I just miss breastfeeding all day/night. Even though it was mostly useless to LO and I had to stop breastfeeding so much because she was burning way more calories than what she was getting back (which was keeping her from gaining weight), I just miss the bonding and the closeness and the simplicity of it. I'm doing okay with our current system of pumping and supplementing with formula, but I can't help but feel sad about how much easier it would be if I could just breastfeed exclusively, but if my supply hasn't changed by now (2.5 weeks postpartum) I'm worried it's just not going to change.
I don't know if I should just accept the situation and embrace the upsides (DH can help with feedings, I don't really mind pumping that much, I am at least able to give LO *some* breastmilk) or if I should keep trying and maybe look into a prescription to increase supply. I'm just depressed and, though it's embarrassing to admit, jealous of other women who have a strong supply and are able to exclusively breastfeed. Just kind of a rough night emotionally. Sorry for the rambling.
Look into a sns!
https://breastfeedingtoday-llli.org/at-breast-supplementing/
Creepy internet huggs
And why in the world do I have such terrible heartburn? That definitely could have gone away with pregnancy.
@Hipshaker - Sadly the SNS didn't work well for us. She falls asleep at the breast, whether the SNS is on or not. She only feeds decently via a bottle right now.
@Superherosmom - Yeah, we met with a lactation consultant twice (that's how I figured out I had low supply initially - we did a weighted feed and she was only getting about .2 oz from each breast after spending 20 min on each one!) The LC checked her for tongue tie and said she didn't have one. I've been trying to stay as hydrated as possible and have tried two different flange sizes, so I think the only variables I'm not hitting at 100% would be stress and fatigue, though I'm not sure how to combat those currently other than sleeping as much as possible. I have a thyroid autoimmune disease and it's possible that's impacting my milk, so I'm seeing my endocrinologist soon to see about adjusting my meds. If that doesn't work I'll ask her about the prescription to increase supply. But worst case scenario I can rely on 6-8 ounces a day, and maybe once I'm sleeping more and less stressed it could even up to 10, which would be nearly half of her intake each day. Pumping and not getting much out of it is stressful! Thank you for sharing your experience, it makes me feel less alone.
Anyway, in the light of day I'm feeling better about everything and trying to focus on the positives, like the fact that I do have some breast milk to offer her/offset the cost of formula, and most importantly, LO is *finally* gaining weight now that we've been supplementing properly and making sure she's getting enough food. Her being healthy, fed and thriving is all that matters, really. So my mantra for today is take deep breaths, look at the bright side, and take things one day at a time.
getting super frustrated w hubby. He acts like I do nothing bc I'm on maternity leave. He seems to think he's entitled to having more sleep than me. He's never once asked what he could do to help me since going back to work. When I told him I felt underappreciated he said I never thanked him for doing all the stuff I asked him to do (which was do the dishes and clean the litter box). He should be doing that without my asking! Ugh I'm so tired and frustrated. Just needed to vent, I'm sure I'll feel perfectly happy with him in the am.
my husband is so groggy at night, I don't know what to do. After 10 pm he is no help. He was telling me how tired he is and wants to sleep all weekend. I do feel guilty because he is the one working to provide for our family, but at the same time I'm like, "hello, I'm the one up every 2 hours feeding her and trying to get her back to sleep, do you really think you get less sleep than me?!" Ughhhhhh. I love my husband. Just needed that rant. Just hoping we get to a point where he can help for more than 10 minutes in the morning and 1-2hrs at night.
DS1 01/08/03 DD1 08/11/04 DD2 10/06/08 DS2 09/30/14
SURPRISE! Hannah May born 01/22/16
My relationship has been kind of shitty. We broke it off on the last months of my pregnancy and I moved out.
We kind of worked things out and He promised to do better and has been doing so since LO was born, but then other stuff happend this weekend that make me realize that we are going back to square one. I hope going away for a few weeks will help me regroup, I have to do what's best for my LO. I can't afford to be in an unstable relationship now, it's not healthy for my little girl.
I'm seriously out of ideas and patience.
I'm just gonna leave this right here...
The. Best. Thing. Ever.
I asked DH the other day "don't you just love the way he smells?" And he looked at me like I had 3 heads haha. I guess it's a mom thing.