Newborn check in

[tiptoetulips]

How’s it going everyone?

[jennistarr1]

Ok...but her belly always seems like it hurts and I'm swimming in google info

What fits the most is foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. She nurses for short periods, shallow latch (which no longer hurts but it's all nipple), explosive/gurgly poops which sound and smell worse than the quantity produced, poop is mostly green and doesn't look like breastfeeding poop pictures.

I feel like with my first daughter, I diagnosed something myself, switched to block feeding, then had supply issues

So my plan is address her minor tongue tie and keep on keeping on until 6 weeks to see if things adjust on their own

She is fussy, but no colicky screaming, so I want to help her but not overreact

I may take her for weight check.. ourbpediatrician is spacing out appointments so reassurance she is gaining weight would be helpful

[madDawg228]

Baby G is almost 8w, and we are doing alright - considering we're still in a pandemic and the West coast is on fire & covered in smoke.

We've been holed up in our <1,000sf home because of the smoke since Tuesday. It really sucks because it's the last few weeks of Summer - like weather. And I'm not comfortable with indoor gtg's with most people - so it will be a long & lonely Fall/Winter.

G has been a little underweight for his check-ups so I went from EBF to having H give him a bottle of formula at night to help him chunk up. I also get the ability to sleep more at night, so that's been nice.

G is not a good sleeper, and won't stay asleep for longer than 15-45 min w/o being held. So H & I has been taking shifts sleeping. I miss cuddling with H.

[clseale]

We’re doing ok! E is 4 weeks old today. He’s woken up and gotten a bit fussier from his very chill, newborn self, but that was to be expected. Luckily he does not have the extreme colic his sister did. I was worried he maybe had some silent reflux as he showed some signs and was soooooo fussy this week, but I think it might have been the probiotics we gave him. I didn’t give them today and he was so much better. Sleep wise he’s decent. He doesn’t give me the glorious 3 hr naps he did when we first came home, but he gave me a few 45min-1hr naps, plus a 2:15 nap today. He does them all in his bassinet, and his first night stretch is 5-6 hrs before waking to nurse. I hate the newborn stage, tbh, but it could be much worse. The toughest part is navigating this with a 3.5 yr old at home.

[clseale]

Sept 12, 2020 9:25:52 GMT -5 jennistarr1 said:

Ok...but her belly always seems like it hurts and I'm swimming in google info

What fits the most is foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. She nurses for short periods, shallow latch (which no longer hurts but it's all nipple), explosive/gurgly poops which sound and smell worse than the quantity produced, poop is mostly green and doesn't look like breastfeeding poop pictures.

I feel like with my first daughter, I diagnosed something myself, switched to block feeding, then had supply issues

So my plan is address her minor tongue tie and keep on keeping on until 6 weeks to see if things adjust on their own

She is fussy, but no colicky screaming, so I want to help her but not overreact

I may take her for weight check.. ourbpediatrician is spacing out appointments so reassurance she is gaining weight would be helpful

If I remember correctly, our daughter’s are about the same age, right? 3.5? How are you managing all of this with her? Is she in school? Dd was supposed to start a program in August, but we kept her hoke because of covid. Trying to manage her/not totally neglect her AND taking care of a newborn is giving me a lot of anxiety and stress.

[jennistarr1]

Close, she is 5. So she did start school in person which is great because it tires her out. Up until now trying to entertain all day always turned into a shameful youtube fest

[starryfish]

Sept 13, 2020 9:18:01 GMT -5 clseale said:

Sept 12, 2020 9:25:52 GMT -5 jennistarr1 said:

Ok...but her belly always seems like it hurts and I'm swimming in google info

What fits the most is foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. She nurses for short periods, shallow latch (which no longer hurts but it's all nipple), explosive/gurgly poops which sound and smell worse than the quantity produced, poop is mostly green and doesn't look like breastfeeding poop pictures.

I feel like with my first daughter, I diagnosed something myself, switched to block feeding, then had supply issues

So my plan is address her minor tongue tie and keep on keeping on until 6 weeks to see if things adjust on their own

She is fussy, but no colicky screaming, so I want to help her but not overreact

I may take her for weight check.. ourbpediatrician is spacing out appointments so reassurance she is gaining weight would be helpful

If I remember correctly, our daughter’s are about the same age, right? 3.5? How are you managing all of this with her? Is she in school? Dd was supposed to start a program in August, but we kept her hoke because of covid. Trying to manage her/not totally neglect her AND taking care of a newborn is giving me a lot of anxiety and stress.

This is me too. My dd is 3.5 and it’s hard, she used to be in full time daycare but has been home with me since March. I’m tempted to put her Back in daycare....and we are in the middle of an addition to our house so it’s super stressful

[verycontrary247]

Better now.

Stella will be 2weeks tomorrow. We had some latch issues and then I was ultra anxious/paranoid she wasn't eating enough so I started pumping and we started supplementing with formula until my milk came in- but formula made her SO gassy, particularly at night. We had some very long nights just trying to get her to fart. Poor girl was so uncomfortable.

We are at the point now where I'm just barely pumping enough to feed her without supplementing and she's doing *so much* better. I'm just trying everything to increase my supply to keep up with her appetite. Oats! Dark beer! Coconut water! Vitamins! Power pumping! Brewers yeast on order.

I dream of having a freezer stash.

[janegold]

Sept 15, 2020 21:52:52 GMT -5 verycontrary247 said:

Better now.

Stella will be 2weeks tomorrow. We had some latch issues and then I was ultra anxious/paranoid she wasn't eating enough so I started pumping and we started supplementing with formula until my milk came in- but formula made her SO gassy, particularly at night. We had some very long nights just trying to get her to fart. Poor girl was so uncomfortable.

We are at the point now where I'm just barely pumping enough to feed her without supplementing and she's doing *so much* better. I'm just trying everything to increase my supply to keep up with her appetite. Oats! Dark beer! Coconut water! Vitamins! Power pumping! Brewers yeast on order.

I dream of having a freezer stash.

I never was able to get a freezer stash with DS, and I worked SO hard to increase my supply for so long. I was constantly nursing or pumping for 4 months and he was falling right off the weight charts. I worked with lactation consultants constantly, and it was soooo stressful. I finally stated supplementing with formula at 4 months and he immediately started gaining weight; meanwhile, a giant weight was lifted off me too. Looking back, I am upset that no one - not the lactation consultant or the pedi - ever told me I should consider supplementing.

With DD, my supply has been better from the get go but I have still been supplementing as needed (mostly just when I don’t feel like nursing, like if we are out or I am away) rather than stress about a freezer stash. I haven’t pumped since the first or second week and i don’t really plan to.

Obviously, you should do whatever makes you feel comfortable - but as someone who knows how stressful it can be, it has been very freeing to let go of it. Of course, you would want to find a formula that agrees better with your daughter, though.

[janegold]

Speaking of DD, I don’t think I ever updated here when she was born! Not sure if she really qualifies as a newborn anymore - she’s about 2.5 months old - Lex Elizabeth. I was induced at 41w1d (not fair for after a first pregnancy that also went to 41w!). Induction went very smoothly, although my epidural failed. Luckily i only pushed for 9 mins before she was born. Easy after 3 hours pushing with my first! Recovery was a relative breeze too!

I hate to brag but she is a dream baby! From day 1, she slept nearly through the night, waking briefly around 4a to feed and then right back to sleep. And starting around 2 weeks, she started STTN altogether. She will go for a good 9-10 hour stretch! She eats quite frequently during the day - I guess to “tank up” - but I’ll take that trade off!

MDS, who’s almost 4, is so sweet with her and has been adjusting so well to the transition. I think it helped that it happened during the pandemic when H is home so much more than usual, so he has benefited from that a lot. He also went to day camp this summer and just restarted preschool last week, so I think it has benefited all of us to have some structure.

[jennistarr1]

Sept 16, 2020 17:01:05 GMT -5 janegold said:

Speaking of DD, I don’t think I ever updated here when she was born! Not sure if she really qualifies as a newborn anymore - she’s about 2.5 months old - Lex Elizabeth. I was induced at 41w1d (not fair for after a first pregnancy that also went to 41w!). Induction went very smoothly, although my epidural failed. Luckily i only pushed for 9 mins before she was born. Easy after 3 hours pushing with my first! Recovery was a relative breeze too!

I hate to brag but she is a dream baby! From day 1, she slept nearly through the night, waking briefly around 4a to feed and then right back to sleep. And starting around 2 weeks, she started STTN altogether. She will go for a good 9-10 hour stretch! She eats quite frequently during the day - I guess to “tank up” - but I’ll take that trade off!

MDS, who’s almost 4, is so sweet with her and has been adjusting so well to the transition. I think it helped that it happened during the pandemic when H is home so much more than usual, so he has benefited from that a lot. He also went to day camp this summer and just restarted preschool last week, so I think it has benefited all of us to have some structure.

Do you think pushing very better because epidural failed and you could feel it

I had a failed vbac attempt and when I'm ruminating and blaming myself ...they had offered a top off of the epidural but when I asked for it they gave me a difficult time because they needed me to feel the pain to know when to push. My problem was my epidural worked fine except the top of my stomach ...until the top off and then I truly couldn't feel contractions at all and had to be told when to push. Pushed three hours, vacuum, then csection

[janegold]

Sept 16, 2020 17:21:07 GMT -5 jennistarr1 said:

Sept 16, 2020 17:01:05 GMT -5 janegold said:

Do you think pushing very better because epidural failed and you could feel it

I had a failed vbac attempt and when I'm ruminating and blaming myself ...they had offered a top off of the epidural but when I asked for it they gave me a difficult time because they needed me to feel the pain to know when to push. My problem was my epidural worked fine except the top of my stomach ...until the top off and then I truly couldn't feel contractions at all and had to be told when to push. Pushed three hours, vacuum, then csection

I do think it helped things go faster, to be honest. I also couldn’t feel contractions with my first and I do think it slowed down the labor. But I also just dilated REALLY fast the second time around, and she was crowning as the anesthesiologist came by to try to top off my epidural, and there was this dramatic “THERE’S NO TIME!” moment. So she was going to come fast regardless of my better attempts at pushing.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Like I said, I basically had the same experience my first time and I bet if I had been attempting a VBAC, I would have ended up with a c-section too.

[clseale]

Sept 16, 2020 17:21:07 GMT -5 jennistarr1 said:

Sept 16, 2020 17:01:05 GMT -5 janegold said:

Speaking of DD, I don’t think I ever updated here when she was born! Not sure if she really qualifies as a newborn anymore - she’s about 2.5 months old - Lex Elizabeth. I was induced at 41w1d (not fair for after a first pregnancy that also went to 41w!). Induction went very smoothly, although my epidural failed. Luckily i only pushed for 9 mins before she was born. Easy after 3 hours pushing with my first! Recovery was a relative breeze too!

I hate to brag but she is a dream baby! From day 1, she slept nearly through the night, waking briefly around 4a to feed and then right back to sleep. And starting around 2 weeks, she started STTN altogether. She will go for a good 9-10 hour stretch! She eats quite frequently during the day - I guess to “tank up” - but I’ll take that trade off!

MDS, who’s almost 4, is so sweet with her and has been adjusting so well to the transition. I think it helped that it happened during the pandemic when H is home so much more than usual, so he has benefited from that a lot. He also went to day camp this summer and just restarted preschool last week, so I think it has benefited all of us to have some structure.

Do you think pushing very better because epidural failed and you could feel it

I had a failed vbac attempt and when I'm ruminating and blaming myself ...they had offered a top off of the epidural but when I asked for it they gave me a difficult time because they needed me to feel the pain to know when to push. My problem was my epidural worked fine except the top of my stomach ...until the top off and then I truly couldn't feel contractions at all and had to be told when to push. Pushed three hours, vacuum, then csection

I’m way late to this, but don’t beat yourself up. First for me was a 44 hr induction, epidural plus a “top off” and I pushed for three contractions. Second baby was 7 hrs, all natural and I pushed fro two contractions. So basically 9 pushes versus 5-6 pushes. Not a huge difference for me.

[jennistarr1]

Updating this, my chunkamunk is 12 lbs at 7 weeks and her aforementioned stomach issues are settling down