Post by hillarywhitney on Jul 30, 2014 14:16:34 GMT -5
I've never questioned my choices so much in life. I wish DS came with an instruction manual. But since he didn't--I have some more questions for you guys.
1. I know newborns don't have a schedule, but what did your days look like? How often was your baby awake during the day?
2. How long do you burp your baby for? If you get one burp, do you keep burping? How many burps should we get?
3. If you have a boy, how long do you cover his penis during a diaper change? Today I thought I had covered it long enough, but the second I uncovered him to secure his diaper he peed everywhere. I imagine in time I will get faster at diaper changes, and it will be easier. But in the meantime--any suggestions?
eta: one more
4. At one point were you alone with the baby? How did that go?
1. He would sleep late in the beginning, until 9 or so. He'd eat pretty much every 1.5 hours from start to start, and he'd typically be eat, be up until it was time to eat, eat, sleep, repeat. I'd say he maybe slept 17-18 hours a day, and was never up more than about 1.5 hours at a time.
2. A couple of minutes, maybe. He has acid reflux so we'd stop every 1.5 oz or so to burp, but he usually burped pretty quickly. We stopped after one burp, sometimes he'd do another on his own.
3. I put a wipe on right away and leave it there until it's time to fasten the straps. I haven't been peed on yet!
Eta: I don't think I was alone with him until my H went back to work when he was two weeks old, and to be honest I was scared at first. I was pumping a ton, so the hardest thing to manage was trying to time that around him. Otherwise, it was fine.
I've never questioned my choices so much in life. I wish DS came with an instruction manual. But since he didn't--I have some more questions for you guys.
1. I know newborns don't have a schedule, but what did your days look like? How often was your baby awake during the day?
2. How long do you burp your baby for? If you get one burp, do you keep burping? How many burps should we get?
3. If you have a boy, how long do you cover his penis during a diaper change? Today I thought I had covered it long enough, but the second I uncovered him to secure his diaper he peed everywhere. I imagine in time I will get faster at diaper changes, and it will be easier. But in the meantime--any suggestions?
eta: one more
4. At one point were you alone with the baby? How did that go?
1. When she was first born, she was rarely awake. It was just diaper, eat, sleep and repeat all day. I think around 4 weeks she started being awake more. 2. I would burp once halfway through a feeding and once at the end. I EFF and usually can get at least 2 burps out. 3. With DS I just threw a washcloth over his penis after I removed the dirty diaper and quickly switched diapers. I didn't really have a great method to avoid pee. 4. I was alone within the first week. It was actually more relaxing to be alone with her than with people trying to help. We could get into our own little routine.
Post by simpsongal on Jul 30, 2014 14:25:54 GMT -5
It's only been ~6 months and I'm already hazy but I think.... 1) he slept a lot during the day, more so than at night those first couple weeks. Maybe 2-4 hours at a time. The 4 hour naps were glorious for getting stuff done but I knew he would be awake from midnight until 2am...ugh. When he wasn't sleeping he was often BFing.
2) I would try to get a burp for ~2 minutes? I usually stopped after 1 burp. But every baby is different.
3) Foolhardy, but I never really covered his peep. I only got doused a couple times
4) DH went back to work at 2 weeks, so we were alone after that. It was fine - we were in a pretty decent routine by then. But don't be surprised if, at the end of the day, you're still in PJs, haven't showered, have grazed on unhealthy crap, and you can't remember what else you did that day.
1. All of mine have been different. The first one ate around the clock almost non-stop. She didn't sleep well until 10 weeks when she suddenly slept 7 hours at night and 2 decent naps during the day. DS slept only on me or next to me for 6 months (actually longer then that but I don't want to scare anyone.) He ate every 2ish hours. DD2 was very efficient at eating every 2 hours and so is DD3 so far. DD3 is my best night sleeper so far. She goes about 4 hours in the first round and then 2 hours after that.
2. One burp is usually enough unless they seem fussy and that may mean there is another one in there.
3. DS never peed while his diaper was off so I am no help here. I have been peed on 6 times by DD3 so far...go figure.
4. I am a little confused by this one...I was alone with all of them in the hospital for at least a brief time. For a longer period of time, DD1 was when she was 4 days old and everyone went home and to work and we were alone. DS was day 4 as well. My DH had to go see some clients. DD2 was at day 8. Just because I had my mom and sister in town to help for a week. It was a repeat c-section and i had a 4 and 2 year old so the help was wonderful. With DD3 I have never been "alone" because now those other kids are 11, 9 and 6. My husband went back to work (he is self employed so needs to get back to it) at day 8. we lucked with a holiday and a weekend. Just take it one hour at a time. I actually prefer to be alone with them because I can make a schedule and we stick to it.
Post by catsarecute on Jul 30, 2014 14:35:21 GMT -5
1. I wish I would have kept track of what my days looked like back then! I do know that DD slept a lot because I remember thinking "is it normal for her to sleep so much?" She would fall asleep after every single feeding and she was eating 8-9 times a day, about every 2 hours. Basically, if she wasn't sleeping, she was eating.
2. DD spit up a lot so we fed her slow, taking a break every half ounce when she was little. I BF for 2.5 weeks and I think I would burp her after she came off the breast. If I got one burp, I called it good. Since she has been bottle fed formula, I burp every ounce. Sometimes she burps, sometimes she doesn't. I don't wait too long to give her back the bottle though.
As for being alone with the baby, gosh, I wish I could remember. Because I had a c/s and the first two weeks were tough, I'm not sure if I spent much time alone with her. I know DH would run out to the store but only be gone 20 minutes or so. He went back to work after 4 weeks so that was the longest I was alone with her on a day to day basis. You will get into a routine and know what you can and can't do.
Hang in there. It gets so much easier as you and your son get to know each other and you start learning how to function in this new role. You are doing a great job!!
Post by statlerwaldorf on Jul 30, 2014 14:42:12 GMT -5
1. DS has maybe two times of wakefulness each lasting maybe a half hour to hour. The rest of the time he's eating or sleeping. He eats 9-10 times each day and the nursing sessions with burping and diaper change last about 45 minutes.
2. I usually try to get one burp. I burp after each side and nurse each side per feeding. I only burp for a minute or two, but he doesn't seem very gassy.
3. I don't. I expect to pay for this. I get his new diaper ready and wipes ready before changing him. I think I'm pretty quick.
4. 1 week. It was fine. I didn't get anything done around the house, but I can't do much because of my c-section anyway. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.
1. I know newborns don't have a schedule, but what did your days look like? How often was your baby awake during the day? Eat, change diaper, sleep. All day and night. For at least a few weeks. Then we would have some 20-30 wakeful periods a couple times a day for a few weeks.
2. How long do you burp your baby for? If you get one burp, do you keep burping? How many burps should we get? Early on, until she burped, which sometimes took 5 minutes or more and trying different positions. Now I will actively try for a minute. If she doesn't burp I will just make sure she stays upright for at least 5-10 minutes. I have a reflux baby.
3. If you have a boy, how long do you cover his penis during a diaper change? Today I thought I had covered it long enough, but the second I uncovered him to secure his diaper he peed everywhere. I imagine in time I will get faster at diaper changes, and it will be easier. But in the meantime--any suggestions? E is a girl and still peed every change early on when we opened the diaper. We just made sure to give her 30 seconds before the new one went on and put a cloth over her tummy so it didn't get her clothes. She grew out of it within a month and now rarely goes when we change her.
eta: one more
4. At one point were you alone with the baby? How did that go? Within the week during the evening for a few hours. It was fine as she slept. H went back to work after 2.5 weeks. My goal the first day was to shower and get dressed, which I did by 10am. You'll do great! Just know that some days are easier than others.
Post by whitepicketfence on Jul 30, 2014 15:10:30 GMT -5
1. My days revolve around my older girls' schedules and DD3 just adapts around that. At 7 weeks, she still sleeps most of the time. She eats, gets a diaper change, has awake time for maybe a half hour to an hour, and then is ready to sleep again. Rinse and repeat.
2. I usually just burp her until she burps once. We FF and I burp her half way through her bottle and once at the end. If I don't get a burp after a few minutes, I stop.
3. N/A
4. I was alone with all 3 girls about a week after DD3 was born. It was crazy but not awful. It took awhile to learn how to juggle 3 kids on my own and to be honest, I'm still learning in some respects. Some days are definitely better than others.
I've never questioned my choices so much in life. I wish DS came with an instruction manual. But since he didn't--I have some more questions for you guys.
1. I know newborns don't have a schedule, but what did your days look like? How often was your baby awake during the day? My baby slept most of the day. I would feed her, hold her and put her to sleep. That was about it There really isn't a lot to be done with a newborn. No real schedule, just followed the baby's lead
2. How long do you burp your baby for? If you get one burp, do you keep burping? How many burps should we get? I stopped if I got a burp.
3. If you have a boy, how long do you cover his penis during a diaper change? Today I thought I had covered it long enough, but the second I uncovered him to secure his diaper he peed everywhere. I imagine in time I will get faster at diaper changes, and it will be easier. But in the meantime--any suggestions?
Cover the penis until you get the new diaper on, keep extra spit cloths or use a baby wipe. Until he can control when he urinates, its your best bet! Even little girls can pee all over you! eta: one more
4. At one point were you alone with the baby? How did that go? I was alone 2 nights in the maternity ward with the baby because H wasn't allowed to stay the night. At home, I had only one or two days alone with the baby in the first 7 weeks. After that, I was alone most of the time
DS is 4w. I'm far from an expert on anything baby, so grain of salt.
1. DS still spends most of his time eating, shitting, and sleeping. If he is alert during the day, we do tummy time or play gym time or babble at each other. It's maybe 30 minutes of awake time before he's fussing for the boob or a nap.
2. He's really not a burper but farts like a champ. I'll try for a burp after he pops off a boob but if it doesn't come almost immediately then it ain't coming. Usually I'll pat him on the back and he will fart.
3. DS loves to pee in the open air. Loves. We keep a small washcloth at the changing station to cover his penis while we switch diapers. Sometimes even that doesn't work. He's also projectile pooped at us.
4. I really haven't been alone yet. That starts next week. Since my day really doesn't get on a roll until 11 am (between feeding and pumping in the morning hours), I don't think it'll look too different immediately. There was a day when H had an appointment so I showered with DS in the bouncer and carried him around while I made lunch. I feel OK about things if I have eyes on him. His constant napping comes in handy here.
1. I know newborns don't have a schedule, but what did your days look like? How often was your baby awake during the day?
My kids were different. My daughter would eat, poop and pass out during the day and then party at night. My son would be OK in the early AM (eat, poop, sleep) and then cry for 1-3 hours in the evening and sleep 4-5 hours and then start the eat,poop, sleep cycle. Around 6-8 weeks my children were awake and happy for brief stretches.
3. If you have a boy, how long do you cover his penis during a diaper change? Today I thought I had covered it long enough, but the second I uncovered him to secure his diaper he peed everywhere. I imagine in time I will get faster at diaper changes, and it will be easier. But in the meantime--any suggestions?
I don't think there is a timing factor as play here, like if you wait 5 mins there are less likely to pee. Pee accidents tend to stop before 12 weeks.
4. At one point were you alone with the baby? How did that go?
With DD I had help pretty much all the time until 6 weeks and then we hired p/t help so I could sleep in the AM because my daughter would be up half the night. With DS I was on my own for most of the day around 2 weeks and it was fine.
1. I know newborns don't have a schedule, but what did your days look like? How often was your baby awake during the day?
DS was a sleeper until about 8 weeks. He was awake to eat, and that was pretty much it.
2. How long do you burp your baby for? If you get one burp, do you keep burping? How many burps should we get?
I waited till I got one good one. If I didnt, I would try for a minute or so, then let it go unless he got fussy.
3. If you have a boy, how long do you cover his penis during a diaper change? Today I thought I had covered it long enough, but the second I uncovered him to secure his diaper he peed everywhere. I imagine in time I will get faster at diaper changes, and it will be easier. But in the meantime--any suggestions?
Go ahead and put a new diaper open underneath the old and open, pull the old one out and close. (sneak a quick wipe in there somewhere)
4. At one point were you alone with the baby? How did that go?
At some point within the first week. It was fine, but DS was a laid back baby.
Post by AlpineSlide on Jul 30, 2014 15:48:22 GMT -5
1. i barely remember. day and night were the same, he ate, pooped and slept. and everyday was groundhogs day for at least a month. i remember seeing the sunrise almost everyday and feeling sooo much better about making it through another night. just something about daylight made things better. 2. i usually get 2 burps 3. i cover it every time 4. pretty early and frequently (5 days old maybe). it went fine, but my H was at our farm so i could call him and he could get home really fast. my SIL was also willing to run over fast if i needed her (never did, but i did call h home a couple of times). my mom also spent a few nights with us when my h went back to work.
1. I know newborns don't have a schedule, but what did your days look like? How often was your baby awake during the day? L ate every two hours around the clock for her first two months. She was a VERY sleepy baby, so she did not have a lot of awake time at first. Once she reached a month old, she'd be awake for maybe a half hour-45 minutes at a time? And then there were days she'd be awake for two hours in a row and I'd be shocked, lol. Over time it gradually increased, but not so much in the very beginning.
2. How long do you burp your baby for? If you get one burp, do you keep burping? How many burps should we get? We tried burping her for 5-10 minutes in different positions, and if it didn't happen, we stopped trying. She was not and still is not a big burper, though they come more easily now that she's bigger and upright and mobile. She had reflux, too, so after her feedings we had to hold her upright for 20-30 minutes, especially if we didn't get a burp out of her.
3. At one point were you alone with the baby? How did that go? H was home for two weeks, and then it was Christmas, and then New Year's Day, so really for her first almost-month I was not alone very often. The build-up to my first alone day with her was the most nerve-wracking, but it was fine. She behaved the same way she had been while H was home, and while I was a little bit extra sore from being the one to do everything (vs. not doing a whole lot while H was home), we settled nicely into our own routine.
Post by MadamePresident on Jul 30, 2014 16:32:45 GMT -5
1. I know newborns don't have a schedule, but what did your days look like? How often was your baby awake during the day?
So far baby boy has not been awake a ton during the day. Maybe 3-4 hours total. We got really lucky and he sleeps well at night. I guess he is kind of a slept baby overall, which is good because I also have a toddler.
2. How long do you burp your baby for? If you get one burp, do you keep burping? How many burps should we get?
I only burp when he gets fussy while nursing.
3. If you have a boy, how long do you cover his penis during a diaper change? Today I thought I had covered it long enough, but the second I uncovered him to secure his diaper he peed everywhere. I imagine in time I will get faster at diaper changes, and it will be easier. But in the meantime--any suggestions?
No ideas here. This whole boy baby thing is new to me.
4. At one point were you alone with the baby? How did that go?
I had both kids on my own Sunday morning. It was a mess, but I know it will get better.
br] 1. I know newborns don't have a schedule, but what did your days look like? How often was your baby awake during the day? DD was pretty much eat, sleep, poop until maybe 3 months. She slept in 2-3 hour stretches,if memory serves
2. How long do you burp your baby for? If you get one burp, do you keep burping? How many burps should we get? If we got one and she seemed content, we moved on to other things
3. If you have a boy, how long do you cover his penis during a diaper change? Today I thought I had covered it long enough, but the second I uncovered him to secure his diaper he peed everywhere. I imagine in time I will get faster at diaper changes, and it will be easier. But in the meantime--any suggestions? Put a washcloth over it. I hear the relatively cooler air just makes them pee
eta: one more
4. At one point were you alone with the baby? How did that go? The night she came home, DH left for 2 hours to shop at WalMart. He went back to work the following Monday. It went fine, she was a chill baby
Post by chickadee77 on Jul 30, 2014 22:31:19 GMT -5
First of all, hang in there. After two losses and very much wanting a child, I am still doing some questioning. My H likened having a newborn, at one point, to saying, "Oh. I'm going to saw off my leg. Now I have to deal with it - one fairly brief act has forever changed our lives." He didn't mean it in a bad way - just dramatic, lol.
That said.
1. Our days have just started to take shape in the past week (around 5 weeks). Before that, the first two weeks we had to wake to feed every two hours. It took her about an hour to eat. Being EB, this was tough for me. I won't lie, it was pretty brutal.
2. I burp between sides, or if she pulls off and is fussing. If feeding pumped milk, we burp every ounce or so. I wait for one good burp, and see if there are any little ones immediately following. She doesn't always burp at night, so I'll lay her down, and if she gets super fussy, I might try again in a few minutes.
3. N/A, though L can shoot poop a good three feet (ugh) so I try to be quick.
4. DH left for a few hours our first day home to pick up groceries etc., since L arrived two weeks early. Again, since she wad EBF, it was nbd. I just made sure he left me with plenty of water and a snack close by.
I've never questioned my choices so much in life. I wish DS came with an instruction manual. But since he didn't--I have some more questions for you guys.
1. I know newborns don't have a schedule, but what did your days look like? How often was your baby awake during the day?
2. How long do you burp your baby for? If you get one burp, do you keep burping? How many burps should we get?
3. If you have a boy, how long do you cover his penis during a diaper change? Today I thought I had covered it long enough, but the second I uncovered him to secure his diaper he peed everywhere. I imagine in time I will get faster at diaper changes, and it will be easier. But in the meantime--any suggestions?
eta: one more
4. At one point were you alone with the baby? How did that go?
1) she had very little awake/alert time at the beginning. She was either eating, sleeping, or fussing to eat. She slept a lot but would also cluster feed.
2) we are not always super diligent about burping. I burp in between sides when nursing and periodically through a bottle. One burp is good enough for me
3) N/A
4) I'm not exactly sure when I was first alone but I know DH went into the office when she was 4 days old. We did have lots of help around. I first left her for the first time 2 days ago when she was almost 4 weeks
1. - ds often nursed for 45mins or so, then napped for 45 mins, then was awake for quite awhile (he was never much of a sleepy newborn), then hungry again about 2.5-3 hrs after the last feed. His daytime was about 9am to 9pm.
2. - ds was an easy burper, I'd often get a good belch out of him just by picking him up upright. Then I'd spend no more than 10 mins trying to get a second burp.
3. - I didn't cover his penis the whole time because then I'd miss the cues he was going to pee (aka, penis stood up and looked full). When I saw this 2 second warning, I grabbed the cloth I kept nearby for this purpose.
4. think at 5 days pp I had my first morning alone with him. I was very hungry and my bladder was bursting by the time my mom came by. I quickly learned to surround myself with snacks in all my regular nursing spots (ds would nurse then fall asleep on me, but wake up if I moved) and to pee one handed.
Post by thebreakfastclub on Jul 31, 2014 6:49:17 GMT -5
My newborn routine won't really apply since I FF, and my baby put himself on the 3 hour sleep/diaper/eat/few minutes of awake cycle pretty much from the start. Bottles are just so different.
I will chime in on burping though. I have small hands and I never felt like I could give an effective burp. This led to DS writhing and screaming at 2am a couple of nights. Gas drops helped tremendously. As for burping, I had to lay DS face down across my lap, and burp him there, using gravity to help - at the end of the bottle.
Being alone at first, especially post C/S, is not fun. But you will be getting stronger every single day, and in a few weeks, there will be a day when you forget you had a C/S. You have to find the balance between overdoing it and getting up and moving again. It is so discouraging to be feeling weak physically, but the 2-3 week PP mark is a turning point, and it's all better from here out.