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new babies and old frinds
The tenth month! Postpartum is definitely a part of pregnancy, so here
you go: All our new moms, if you're still reading here and haven't migrated over to misc.kids.breastfeeding or misc.kids yet, how are you doing? Lochia tapering off, or telling you to take it a little easier? Are you getting out of the house, or snuggling in with the baby? How's your support network? Don't hesitate to talk to your OB if you're feeling bit blue -- it's *very* common, and there's no reason for anyone to suffer (the vast majority of antidepressants are fine to take while breastfeeding, for example). Still getting the hang of all this newbaby stuff? How's motherhood treating you so far? How are you feeling about your birth experience? Write everything down, it disappears so quickly! And not-so-new moms, whether you're a beloved member or lurking or skimming or occasionally checking in, how is everything going with your families? One of the most valuable part of this board, I think, is the number of not-pregnant women who stay in the community, whether to give advice, follow friends' progress, live vicariously, or cheer each other on. So how are you all doing? Mary |
#2
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new babies and old frinds
And not-so-new moms, whether you're a beloved member or lurking or
skimming or occasionally checking in, how is everything going with your families? One of the most valuable part of this board, I think, is the number of not-pregnant women who stay in the community, whether to give advice, follow friends' progress, live vicariously, or cheer each other on. So how are you all doing? Mary We're okay. Husband's away for a month in Louisiana. Charlotte is in her last month of kindergarten. She recently had her gymnastics recital, she wants to do it again next year. No summer camp for her this year - bummer. She's either too old or can't go cos I don't work. She has 2 new teeth but has not lost the baby ones. They are loose though. She wants the baby to be a girl of course but isn't happy about sharing a room with him/her. Patrick is in his last month of his preschool playgroup, he will have summer camp this year. He's into Buzz Lightyear. Still loves Thomas too. He now shares a room with Lewis. He misses sharing with Charlotte. He goes back and forth on wanting the baby to be a boy or a girl. Lewis - the aggravation of my life. He's so loud. He "talks" a lot, don't know if a teacher will understand him this fall when he goes to a toddler playgroup though. He loves, loves, loves his big brother. He copies *everything* Patrick does and Patrick knows it so he does bad stuff on purpose. He's too young for summer camp this year. I'm okay, still have my once a week coffee morning that I'd die without. Will be having a baby shower in 2 weeks. I think that's it. Sophie #4 due July 7, 2004 4th c-section |
#3
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new babies and old frinds
Mary S. wrote:
And not-so-new moms... We're doing well, if crazy busy. I always forget how crazy the end of the school year is--must be like labor amnesia ;-) Genevieve has kicked into high-gear mobility-wise. She's ten months old now, and into *everything*. I swear she's moving faster and more the daredevil than either of her brothers. Clearly, she's going to keep us hopping. she's too cute for words, but definitely no delicate little flower. Fortunately, she still has a great disposition and deals well with all the business. She sleeps very well, but she's eating like a horse these days, including getting up more frequently at night to nurse despite lots of table food as well (she completely eschews baby food). I can't believe she'll be a year old in only two months. That just doesn't seem possible. Adrian is already starting to show his preteen side at 9yo, and he's having yet another growth spurt. Thank goodness it's summer so at least he'll be in shorts for a while and it won't matter! I can't keep the boy in pants! He's got a dance recital tomorrow that he's really excited about. It's the first time they've had an all-boys class, and they're doing a football-inspired piece to "Blue Danube" that is quite amusing. He thinks it's very cool. The rehearsals have been taking their toll, though. There's another marathon rehearsal tonight, so we'll all be camping out at the studio having a "picnic" dinner. I swear Genevieve must be thinking it's a second home! Fortunately, she has a lot of favorite people there. Anyway, Adrian also has a piano recital coming up. I just can't get over how much he's learned since September. He struggles a lot because learning to play piano causes some really frustrating conflicts with his perfectionism, but he's also learning to deal with that (slooooooowly and painfully, but learning), and I think that's a good thing. He clearly has his mother's poor practicing habits, but we're trying to work on that. His schoolwork is more laid back recently, since they're spending all their time gearing up for SOLs (may they and the people who brought them to us rot in hell). Colin is also doing the dance recital. Not only is he in the big boy dance (he's got a special role as the "umpire" ;-) but he's also leading the little boy dance. He's just so darned cute at it I can hardly stand it, though I dare not mention that to him. He's decided that soccer is now his very favorite thing, and he actually seems to be putting his money where his mouth is on the field. Last season there was a lot of standing around looking at the grass, but this time he's getting into the action a lot more. I think he's *finally* understood that just because he keeps having the same coach, it doesn't mean he's being held back with the "little kids." (Coaches tend to move up with their kids, so a team generally has the same coach from season to season. Colin thought he'd get bigger and get to have the same coach as his brother!) He's really on the cusp between little boy and big boy right now, and he really wavers back and forth. I think it's a bit of a heady/scary time for him. All in all, life goes well, if busily. I have so many great things in my life--I just wish sometimes I had a few less good things ;-) I think we're going to take it *very* easy this summer. The boys will do vacation Bible school and we really need to have them learn to swim this summer. If they want to do Nutcracker, they'll have to do a few weeks of dance camp. But other than that, I'm not going to schedule anything, though we are going to have to make some time to spend on academics. It's probably going to drive me crazy having them home all the time, but I think they need some of that. It's easy to get into a rut of having activities and thinking you need to keep doing them just because you've *been* doing them. I'm hoping a break will help them get some distance and reevaluate what they *really* want to do. They keep wanting to add activities without giving anything up, and that just can't continue. We're full up! Best wishes, Ericka |
#4
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new babies and old frinds
On Thu, 06 May 2004 22:58:36 -0400, "Mary S."
wrote: snip And not-so-new moms, whether you're a beloved member or lurking or skimming or occasionally checking in, how is everything going with your families? One of the most valuable part of this board, I think, is the number of not-pregnant women who stay in the community, whether to give advice, follow friends' progress, live vicariously, or cheer each other on. So how are you all doing? Joey is 6 months old today and I can't believe it. The old cliche about how fast babies grow is so true. It seems like the time from 3 months to 6 months went especially fast, I guess because babies do so much growing and changing in that time. He has doubled his birth weight. He's now 8 kg (17.6 lbs) and he's a BIG boy - very long (about 71 cm, or 28 in). He's almost as tall as his cousin who's exactly a year older than him. Wherever we go, people always think he's at least 8 months old and he's wearing 12-month sizes in clothes. He learned to roll over from his back to his tummy a few weeks ago and now he does it compulsively. He won't lie on his back for longer than a few seconds before he flips himself over. The only way he'll stay on his back is if he's sleeping or if he's sucking on his toes (which he started doing about a month ago). Unfortunately, he's forgotten how to roll from his tummy to his back (which he used to be really good at) so now he gets very angry and frustrated once he gets onto his tummy and can't do anything about it. He's doing okay with sitting. He can sit for a few seconds before he topples over, but with a bit of support he can sit indefinitely. He loves sitting in his bath seat in the tub, playing with the water and tub toys. Actually, he loves water in general. I often shower with him and we've taken him swimming once. I'd like to take a Water Babies class with him soon. The cutest thing he learned recently was how to blow raspberries. He did that at about 4.5 months. We had gone out for coffee with a friend and her 8.5 month old son, who spent the entire time blowing raspberries and laughing about it. I didn't think Joey was paying attention (since he was nursing for most of it) but the next morning he started alternating between sticking out his tongue and blowing through his lips. After about a day of this, he finally got the two coordinated and managed to let out a big "Thpppppppppptttttt". After that, there was no turning back and he did it obsessively for several days. It was the first thing he did every morning when he woke up, he'd do it in the middle of nursing, in the middle of crying, whatever. He still does it a lot, mainly because he's realized that he gets a great reaction from people around him. Breastfeeding is going great other than an ongoing battle with thrush. He's exclusively breastfed. We've had really great experiences with nursing in public and now I don't feel self-conscious about it at all. No one's ever said anything negative to us or even looked at us funny. I usually cover everything up with a nursing cape because Joey is so easily distracted these days. It's cute, though, because now when he's finished he whips up the cape and sticks his head out to see what he's missed while he was eating. We're going to start introducing some solids any day now. We did give him a tiny bit of mashed up apple a couple of weeks ago because he seemed very interested in it. It was pretty cute - he rolled it around in his mouth for quite a while with this semi-disgusted look on his face. Eventually he swallowed it but I'm not sure that he really liked it. We haven't tried anything since then but I think I'm going to buy some rice cereal today or I may start with some mashed up sweet potato or something. Knock on wood, his health has been fine, no colds or fevers. Even teething so far hasn't been too bad. He's had a couple of days where it was obvious his gums were bothering him but I gave him Hyland's teething tablets and those helped a lot. The only health concern we've had with Joey is that he was born with a kidney defect (duplex kidney). It was diagnosed before he was born, which meant that the doctors were able to monitor it right from the start and avoid any complications that he might have had otherwise. His left kidney is duplex, which means that it has two parts instead of one. One of the halves is enlarged due to urine refluxing from the bladder (which, on its own, is a very common condition in babies and toddlers apparently). He has to be on antibiotics until he's a year old and have ultrasounds every few months to monitor things but otherwise he's in excellent health and you'd never know there was anything wrong with him. He may need surgery sometime down the road to remove the malfunctioning half of the kidney. I think that's about it. I haven't posted here a ton but I have found the group (and misc.kids.breastfeeding) to be invaluable. Every time I have a question about something, I do a search in the Google archives of mkp or mkb (or misc.kids) and there's always someone else who's posted the same thing before. It's nice to know that pretty much any question or concern I have has come up in the past. Katie |
#5
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new babies and old frinds
"Mary S." wrote in message ... And not-so-new moms, whether you're a beloved member or lurking or skimming or occasionally checking in, how is everything going with your families? One of the most valuable part of this board, I think, is the number of not-pregnant women who stay in the community, whether to give advice, follow friends' progress, live vicariously, or cheer each other on. So how are you all doing? I guess I'm under the semi-lurker title. I can't stay away from here! I'm at the point where I feel it is time to try to conceive again... Check out the dates in my sig! LOL I want to have just one, only one more baby, and I promise I'll stop, but hubby says he's quite satisfied with three. sigh... I'm really having the bug, though, so I guess I either have to deal with it and move on, or hopefully he'll change his mind if I bring it up at a later date. It is kinda understandable why he wouldn't feel like anymore at this point, so I'm certainly not pushing it. My baby is almost 14 months, and he's positively adorable. Found the stinker on top of the table, though, yesterday. He is positively sweet and loving, and holds his own with his sisters. My 3 yo is having some potty issues, but I'm trying to give her all the space she needs and hope they straighten out. She is picking up counting and ABCs from her sister. The 5 yo is quite excited about starting kindergarten in the fall. Unfortunately, my hubby and I have fallen prey to the wiles of American Idol, and the girls now sing and critique each other. Older daughter," Iris, you are the boy judge. Say, 'That was very good, Lyssa (made up name)'" Iris piping girl voice "That was good, Lyssa." Rose, the performer, "Iris, you are the girl judge now, say, 'I really liked that. Good job!'" Iris piping girl voice, "Good job!" Rose, "Okay, okay, you are the other boy judge now! Say, "That was not good." Iris piping girl voice "Not good, Rosy." Rose, "I'm NOT Rosy! I'm LYSSA!" Funny now, but will it still be funny later?? For now, I'm enjoying putting in my maybe 2 cents worth every now and then and living vicariously through others. -- Joy Rose 1-30-99 Iris 2-28-01 Spencer 3-12-03 |
#6
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new babies and old frinds
"Mary S." wrote in message ...
And not-so-new moms, whether you're a beloved member or lurking or skimming or occasionally checking in, how is everything going with your families? Hi, Mary. Madeline is 6 months old now, and it is just going too fast. She is a sweet, smiley girl. She can roll over both ways, and sit in her boppy pillow. We have just now gotten into solids and are doing fruit and cereal. Eddie and I are just in love with her and wish we could have more. I had a tubal ligation after her birth due to my history of preterm labor. We barely made it to term with Maddie and just couldn't do the high risk pregnancy bit again. We don't regret having the tubal done; just the reasons we had to get it done. I just love having a baby around again. I only wish I could get her on a more predictable sleep schedule. She sleeps at night but that is it. I suspect it is because we are so busy going places and taking big brother to preschool and therapy appointments. Aaron is growing up so fast. I can't believe he is going to be 4 this Fall. He went to preschool 3 mornings per week this year and did great. He will do the same next year. We are still fighting developmental issues with him, but recently got some encouraging news. He was exhibiting some behaviors that looked a bit autistic. Neither the Pediatrician or the speech therapist could entirely discount what I had told them. The Pediatrician felt if he was on the autistic spectrum, it was very mild. He sent us to an awesome Pediatric Occupational Therapist. She spent 2 hours on separate visits checking Aaron out. This woman is great at explaining things and appears to be very sharp and observant. She does not THINK Aaron has PDD or autism. He does still have low muscle tone, sensory integration problems, and visual perception problems. But the good news is that he is very bright and she thinks we will see a lot of improvement with therapy. He is doing some neat, very new things... like some pretend play. (finally!) Also, he is daytime potty trained, even for naps. We just got a swing and he and Madeline both love it. We'll be in the back yard a lot this summer if the mosquitoes don't carry us off! How are you doing? Amanda, mom to Aaron 10/00 and Madeline 11/3/03 |
#7
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new babies and old frinds
On Thu, 06 May 2004 22:58:36 -0400, "Mary S."
wrote: snipped *-*And not-so-new moms, whether you're a beloved member or lurking or *-*skimming or occasionally checking in, how is everything going with your *-*families? One of the most valuable part of this board, I think, is the *-*number of not-pregnant women who stay in the community, whether to give *-*advice, follow friends' progress, live vicariously, or cheer each other *-*on. So how are you all doing? *-* *-*Mary First of all welcome to all the new babies, congrats to all the new parents & I hope all is well for your families. Condolences to the ones who have had losses. I don't post much but I read all. Joseph is six months old as of yesterday. He's not spoiled in the least & no one here likes him at all! lol He's almost 20 lbs, rolls both ways, sits unattended, but I stick him in the boppy sometimes just to make sure he don't bonk over on a toy or smack the headboard on the bed when he does topple. He escapes frequently & has tried to follow his toys off the bed a few times. We call him da Bug & his Auntie got a a denim jacket with that on the back. I'll have to take a pic of him in it when it's cooler. He rocks up on his hands & knees & goes backwards a lot. So diving head first off of stuff is not our main issue. He needs a backup beeper. My little sister walked at 7 months, so nothing surprises us. He loves his exersaucer & throws toys at his daddy while he's asleep. He works nights. lol He's a bit round, so weebil fits him! lol He's been teething since about two months according to the ped, drools like niagara falls & when he latches on thinks it's funny to clamp down & try to see how far mommy stretches the opposite way! He's also learned to blow raspberries. He does this on his own, but his favorite way is if a siblings arm or cheek is handy then he raps out a few on any exposed skin available. lol He's done it while nursing as well. It's one thing for him to do it at home since it just cracks everyone up, but it's quite something else for him to do it while nursing in public. We either get a really odd frown & actual guffaws of laughter. He prefers the second since it sends him into fits of giggles. He slings all his toys off the bed in about a two foot radius. Makes him smile when we run to pick them up. No way he does it on purpose! lol Slings his rattle around & beats people up with it. We co-sleep, so he's already territorial about blankies & who can touch them. He hums himself to sleep just like his bubda used to do when he was little. As a matter of fact he did that up until he was about 12. It was adorable. He said his first word a couple of weeks ago when he was in the peds office for a checkup on an ear infection got while on a road trip. She picked him up, he threw himself sideways & said "MUM" really loudly! That cracked her up & she said what a good boy he was. lol She calls him "Chub" when she sees him. He loves his teenaged siblings until he practically drives them nuts. He squeals or screams when he sees them demanding to be taken & played with. Big brother rides him around the house on his shoulders & his girl carries him constantly. Did I mention he's not spoiled? lol He loves Teletubbies, Baby Looney Tunes & his Baby Einstein videos. Not necessarily in that order. He flew from California to Spokane Washington to meet his Grams & various Aunts, Uncles & Cousins. That's when he got the ear infection. We sang the ABC song on the take offs & he slept thru the landings, so I sang it to myself. I don't fly well. Hmmmmmmm i'm thinking that's about it. For now anyhow. lol As for me i'm fine. No incision issues at all. Back on my low carb diet that started this whole deal & losing slowly. lol I'm sure when he's even more mobile i'll lose faster! Although even with my age a fourth one is looming in the back of my mind maybe. lol Guess we'll see. Except for the breech issue, the gestational diabetes & the docs panicking about my age it was all well worth it & i'd not change any of it. Not even the c-section. Jinxie / Brandy Jessica Rae (Jessie) 22-June-86 Russell John (CJ) 08-Feb-89 Joseph Kieran (Ki) 06-Nov-03 also assorted kids of the four-footed variety da Bug: http://brandence.com/gallery/view_al...mName=BabyPics Other pics: http://brandence.com/gallery/albums.php |
#8
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new babies and old frinds
"Mary S." wrote in message ... The tenth month! Postpartum is definitely a part of pregnancy, so here you go: All our new moms, if you're still reading here and haven't migrated over to misc.kids.breastfeeding or misc.kids yet, how are you doing? Lochia tapering off, or telling you to take it a little easier? Are you getting out of the house, or snuggling in with the baby? How's your support network? Don't hesitate to talk to your OB if you're feeling bit blue -- it's *very* common, and there's no reason for anyone to suffer (the vast majority of antidepressants are fine to take while breastfeeding, for example). Still getting the hang of all this newbaby stuff? How's motherhood treating you so far? How are you feeling about your birth experience? Write everything down, it disappears so quickly! Well, Kerry is 2 weeks old today. She's been home from the hospital 9 days and is doing beautifully. She regained her birth weight and has learned how to nurse/latch properly. Physically, I'm finding the recovery to be much easier this time around. Which means I keep overdoing things and my body tells me to slow down. We're getting out a little bit, but there's a lot of snuggling at home going on. Despite not being what I wanted, I'm somewhat in awe of my birth experience. It was shaped by my complicated pregnancy, and in the end, I'm thrilled that I did not have a C-section. Dana is adjusting to being a big sister. Overall, she seems to like Kerry and always asks where the baby is, tells her to wake up, tells her its ok when she's crying, etc. There have been a few incidents, though, while I've been nursing that she's leaned on her head, or told her to move (off my lap). So its been a bit touch and go. Overall, though, she is a delightful little girl. I'm amazed by how big she is and how much she has learned and can do. There's nothing like a newborn to make you notice how grown up your 2 year old is. Nancy (wondering how Mary's Sprout is) |
#9
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new babies and old frinds
Mary S. wrote: The tenth month! Postpartum is definitely a part of pregnancy, so here you go: Thanks for asking, Mary. Mia is now almost 7 weeks old and just took her first plane ride to grandmas. She is doing just great, seems to have mostly outgrown some fussiness that she had during the first 3-4 weeks, has slept a few solid 6 hours stretches at night, which is heaven, she is exclusively breastfed and is gaining weight nicely. Our 4 year old (Z) is loving being a big sister and I really like this age gap since the 4 yo is really independent and easy to manage and really shares the excitement of having a new baby. The second time around has been SOOO much easier in every way, probably mostly because I knew what to expect, although physically its been a breeze as well due to being in good shape prior to and during pregnancy, an easy labor and delivery, etc. We are just trying to enjoy every minute of our newborn, since they grow up SO fast, and this might be our last.... cara |
#10
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new babies and old frinds
Mary S. wrote:
All our new moms, if you're still reading here and haven't migrated over to misc.kids.breastfeeding or misc.kids yet, how are you doing? Lochia tapering off, or telling you to take it a little easier? 4 weeks postpartum this weekend. Lochia has tapered off to a mild color to regular discharge, but I apparently "overdid" it last weekend when I had a chance to get away from baby.. DH watched Logan while I went on a shopping trip to get shoes, socks, & underwear. I don't know how I "overdid" it getting those few things but apparently I did, because the next day I was bleeding bright red w/little clots. It went away after just that day, but I was very annoyed that it happened at all. I just went shopping fer chrissakes! My c-section incision healed beautifully and was never a problem. It is a very mild scar, considering. My abdomen in the uterine area is still feeling like sore muscles though - but just regular sore muscle pain. getting out of the house, or snuggling in with the baby? How's your I try to get out of the house a few times on the weekend when DH can watch Logan, and during the week I have to pack up baby and go to our doctor's appointments and so forth. Mostly I'm still stuck to him. He needs such constant care and there's nobody else but DH to help me out, and he works full time. support network? My IL's have been great about helping with buying things for baby. During the day I can call FIL and ask him to run to the store for me and pick things up I need, etc. They look for any opportunity to come over and see Logan (he's their first and only grandchild), and they think that they must come bearing gifts. So we have a new digital camera and various accessories, many new baby clothes, plenty of diapers to last us a few months, lots of baby formula stacked away... I wish I lived closer to my family though. I have nieces, and nephews, and sisters not to mention my mom, who would love to take Logan for a few hours so I could catch a nap, except they all live 4 hours south! I can't wait for the summer so I can steal my niece so she can help with the baby. breastfeeding, for example). Still getting the hang of all this newbaby stuff? How's motherhood treating you so far? How are you feeling about your birth experience? Write everything down, it disappears so quickly! I have been a little blue here and there. I wouldn't call it depression because it comes and goes but if it stayed it would definitely be depression. I'm so sensitive to hormone changes and I can pinpoint many moments when my emotional response is due to a hormone change, so I can rationalize the depressive moment away. But it still bothers me! I struggle between being ecstatically in love with my little boy to being desperately frantic over being needed 24/7! I obsess over the color and consistency of his poop. I obsess over whether or not I'm giving him enough personal attention, enough intellectual stimulation, enough educational experiences for him to develop properly. I've found Logan will let me sleep better if I set him up in bed next to me. But I can only do this in the morning after DH goes to work - not enough room in bed otherwise! and I keep Logan out of the bedroom when he's fussy at night so DH can get some decent sleep before work. I'm ok with my birth experience. Despite having to have a c-section I am ok with that decision because I understood and agreed with my doctor's thought process about it. It was the time after the birth that I spent in the hospital that bothers me. The moment when the two nurses, just hours after my c-section, insisted on both pushing very hard on my stomach for several minutes so they could push out discharge and see if there were any large clots. I am a strong woman, I handle pain and I handle distress. They made me cry. They made me SOB. I do not see what they did as necessary since it was only hours after the c-section and there was no indication there was danger. The moments when they insisted my Logan's temperature was too low and they had to constantly poke his heel to check his blood sugar because low temp can cause low blood sugar (it was never low), when they took him away from me when he wanted to feed because it was more important to them that they wrapped him up in hot blankets to try to raise his temp... the hour in the middle of the night that he cried and cried and cried while being swaddled too tightly for his liking in hot blankets away from me when I could not go and get him because I had just had a c-section and could barely move IN the bed let alone out of it, and the nurses wanted him there to warm up, and my DH was away sleeping at home because he was dead on his feet and I had told him to go home. *sigh* THOSE things I will remember. THOSE things I regret. Next time I will be a much more difficult patient. I will NOT let the doctors poke my baby's heel 20 times a day or insist on having him away from me when he wants to feed just because his temp is 97.6 (which btw is a very normal temperature for me, his mother, who'd been his home for 9 months). I will insist that someone who can advocate for me and my baby be in the hospital with me at all times. Other than that, we're good. |
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