[hopefull79]

Yeah, my DH is pretty much driving me insane at times as well. When she's really fussy, which is a lot, there's several things you have to try to get her to calm down. All he'll do is rock her, and if that dosen't work, he'll just sit there with her and let her cry. I'm like, why don't you try walking around with her, or taking her into her room to rock, or something - obviously what you're doing ISN"T working!! Anyway, I just can't STAND to hear her cry if we can fix it, it breaks my heart. I go back to work in four weeks, and I'm already worried sick about it.
Has anyone else gone back to work yet??
The gripe water seems to help sometimes, so we give it to her a few times a day.

[infertilitynovice]

Rennae ~ Did you ever try the 5 S's I told you about? Marlee doesn't fuss much but I'm reading "Happiest Baby on the Block" anyways. She only fusses for a few seconds if she's hungry, wet, or about to fall asleep. She doesn't really cry, just fussy wimpers until she gets whatever it is she wants. Other moms on here swear by this method though.

Can you all believe how fast time is going by? It seems like yesterday that I was so frustrated about being late and now Marlee is a few days past a month old!!!!

I don't feel like shrinking the pics to fit on this site, but here's our shutterfly acct link: Shutterfly)

[hopefull79]

Yes, I've tried the method, it works some of the time. Thanks for the tips.

[infertilitynovice]

Rennae ~ I'm glad to hear that it at least works some of the time. I read something else today that made me think of you...try warming her blanket, or whatever you swaddle her in, in the dryer for a few minutes before putting her in it. The warmth might "surprise" her enough to get her attention when she's upset so that the other techniques will work better. Plus, how nice is snuggling into a warm blanket anyways, right?

I'm flying home tonight. Did I mention that I flew to see my mother and in-laws with Marlee by myself the Thursday before xmas? Ben made the 2 day drive with the boys, and I flew. It went really, really well. She slept the whole flight (both legs). I was worried about her ears, but they were fine. Did anybody else travel long distances with their little ones this holiday season?

We weren't originally planning to travel this xmas, but the boys were in sore need of another dose of reality with their mother. As I may have mentioned way back when, my husband has full custody of the boys for very good reason. Lately, they both seem to have forgotten why we won custody and have been vigorously proclaiming that they want us to let them live with her again...yeah, right! Well, this trip snapped them right back into reality and they are no longer wanting to stay with her. Just to give you ladies a taste of what I'm talking about, my youngest stepson had to call his dad the other day (while away on a visit with his mother for the evening) to come pick him up earlier than planned b/c his mother was arrested for domestic violence (not toward my stepson) while he was with her. Yeah, no kidding! She decided it would be a good idea to take J with her when she went to take the newest child (this woman has 4 children with 4 different fathers. we have the 2 oldest sons, the 3rd lives with his father, and she just recently left this 2 yr old 4th son with the father's parents) away from the place she left him weeks ago. Some may be asking yourselves why in the world we would allow the boys to visit with their mother at all...good question...the youngest hasn't seen her in nearly a year so was back to the fantasy that she's a decent human being and making our daily lives miserable...he needed a reality check...sounds harsh but it is the only thing that works. The oldest, though lived with her the entire school year last year and knows exactly what she's in to and all about, wants to go back b/c he can do whatever he wants and is under the delusion that the age of 15 is the same as the age of 25...he too needed another dose of reality. This was the best way to do it b/c we were right down the street at my in-laws house in the case that we needed to get them back quickly...which, as it turns out, was necessary. Now my husband and both boys are on their way back home and there are no more requests to live with mom.

It is so sad really...

[GEwifey]

Originally Posted by infertilitynovice

Rennae ~ I'm glad to hear that it at least works some of the time. I read something else today that made me think of you...try warming her blanket, or whatever you swaddle her in, in the dryer for a few minutes before putting her in it. The warmth might "surprise" her enough to get her attention when she's upset so that the other techniques will work better. Plus, how nice is snuggling into a warm blanket anyways, right?

I'm flying home tonight. Did I mention that I flew to see my mother and in-laws with Marlee by myself the Thursday before xmas? Ben made the 2 day drive with the boys, and I flew. It went really, really well. She slept the whole flight (both legs). I was worried about her ears, but they were fine. Did anybody else travel long distances with their little ones this holiday season?

We weren't originally planning to travel this xmas, but the boys were in sore need of another dose of reality with their mother. As I may have mentioned way back when, my husband has full custody of the boys for very good reason. Lately, they both seem to have forgotten why we won custody and have been vigorously proclaiming that they want us to let them live with her again...yeah, right! Well, this trip snapped them right back into reality and they are no longer wanting to stay with her. Just to give you ladies a taste of what I'm talking about, my youngest stepson had to call his dad the other day (while away on a visit with his mother for the evening) to come pick him up earlier than planned b/c his mother was arrested for domestic violence (not toward my stepson) while he was with her. Yeah, no kidding! She decided it would be a good idea to take J with her when she went to take the newest child (this woman has 4 children with 4 different fathers. we have the 2 oldest sons, the 3rd lives with his father, and she just recently left this 2 yr old 4th son with the father's parents) away from the place she left him weeks ago. Some may be asking yourselves why in the world we would allow the boys to visit with their mother at all...good question...the youngest hasn't seen her in nearly a year so was back to the fantasy that she's a decent human being and making our daily lives miserable...he needed a reality check...sounds harsh but it is the only thing that works. The oldest, though lived with her the entire school year last year and knows exactly what she's in to and all about, wants to go back b/c he can do whatever he wants and is under the delusion that the age of 15 is the same as the age of 25...he too needed another dose of reality. This was the best way to do it b/c we were right down the street at my in-laws house in the case that we needed to get them back quickly...which, as it turns out, was necessary. Now my husband and both boys are on their way back home and there are no more requests to live with mom.

It is so sad really...

I was gonna ask you about the boys and how things have been going since Marlee has been in the picture, and are they starting to treat you a little better.

[hopefull79]

I'll try the warm blanket some time Melissa, thanks, and sorry about the drama with the boys mother!!

So, is anyone doing the Babywise method?? I know Avery is already almost 7 weeks old, but I think I'm going to give it a try. We already do pretty well with the eat, wake, nap - though not every single time. But the times she wakes in the morning vary greatly, and she eats every 2 1/2 - 4 hours, so I want to get that more routine...

And if youre not doing the babywise, what are your routines/schedules like, now that our babies are a little older???

[Sweetpea]

Marlee and Avery are GORGEOUS! Thanks for posting pictures. I just love pictures!

Melissa-so, about the breastfeeding. I totally supplement, and never feel anything but very happy to bust out the bottle of formula. Carina usually gets a bottle in the evening, when my supply is down. She's pretty much sleeping through the night now, but if she does wake up, its at 4, and DH does formula again too. Other than that, I really try to breastfeed. You know, nursing nazi's always say your body makes enough for the baby, but I just don't believe mine can keep up. Especially on busy days I find my supply just isn't, shall we say, abundant. Some things you can do to kick start more milk production are, 1. pump, dry, five minutes after each feeding. 2. rest more. 3. fluids.
While all of those things help a little, none of them have helped me with the fact that in the evening, theres just nothing left. One interesting thing you can do is for a day, pump everything you have, and then bottle feed, to see exactly how much your baby is getting. I do this periodically, bc Im worried about supply. Also, I find if I pump after the morning feeding whatever is left over, it helps to kick start production for the day. Good luck.

Babywise- We did babywise, mostly, and Carina sleeps from 10 to 7 without waking up, she started at about 8 weeks.. But we didnt do any of the cry it out stuff they talk about. we wait for 4 months to do sleep training. She pretty much sucks herself to sleep on a paci anyway though. I think its going to be easy. The most important things about babywise are 1. feed at largest possible intervals, and 2. never nurse to sleep, instead you should feed, have wake time, then let the baby put herself down. It does work. We dont have any particular schedule, but stick to gist of it, and we are mosty sleeping 10 to 7. If she does wake up, its always at about 4. I say try it. DS woke up twice a night for more than 4 months, and once for more than 9. and that was way too much for me. Thats why we went to babywise this time.

Happy holidays everyone!!

[Sweetpea]

does anyone have a sling they just love and can reccomend?

again, anyone have thoughts on birth control after their IVF? doing it or not?

[eggy]

Marie -- I am going back to see my RE after the new year to discuss birth control options. I'd like to wait at least a year before trying to get pregnant again. I may end up on the pill for a while just to manage my PCOS, as well as to avoid getting pregnant. Oh, irony of ironies -- all I wanted for so long was to get pregnant and now I'm avoiding it! How weird is that? I just hope it's easier to get knocked up the next time around!

Rennae -- In terms of schedule, the little one eats about every four hours during the day with naps in between feedings; at night she's been sleeping about a 7 hour stretch (though she did sleep from 10:30 until 7:30 the other night; then again, last night she slept from 10:30 to 4:45, so it does vary). For now, this is working for us. We see the pediatrician for her two month check-up next week (where does the time go?), so we'll see when and if we need to start sleep training.

Melissa -- So are the boys being sweeter to you since Marlee arrived?

[GEwifey]

Well ladies, little Ashtyn is not a fabulous sleeper as some of her cyber cousins, but last nite was the best nite we ever had!!! She went down around 10:30pm, woke somewhere between 12am & 1am, had an oz of formula, she never really opened her eyes, went back to a sound sleep, woke at 2:30, stayed up for 30 mins, went back to sleep and woke up at 6am.

For those formula feeding, how much are your LO eating?
Ashtyn still is only doing around 4ozs, but I've come to realize that I need to buy her 3-6mos onesies now.

[hopefull79]

Avery is up to 5oz, and I think she would do 6 - but that seems like too much for only 7 weeks!! How often is Ashtyn eating?? Hooray for a good night sleep!!

[eggy]

We make 6 ounce bottles of formula, and she usually finishes 5 ounces (sometimes she'll drain the whole thing, and other times she'll just take 3 ounces, like during a late night/early morning bottle). Our pediatrician says the rule is this -- approximately half their body weight in ounces for each feeding, and then approximately double their body weight in ounces for the entire day's intake. So, say, if your baby weighs 12 pounds, then you'd be making 6 ounce bottles and she'd be taking in an average of 24 ounces a day. Of course, the math is not exact with this, but my husband and I find it to be a helpful general guideline.

[hopefull79]

So this may be a dumb question, but what do you guys do with your babies when they're not sleeping/eating?? Do you pretty much hold them the entire time?? Avery is so fussy, and she hates the swing, the bouncy, laying in the floor to play. Well, she'll tolerate any of these things (usually), for maybe 10 to 15 minutes, then it's back to crying. So, I hold her A LOT - and I don't want her to be spoiled. I know they say you can't spoil a newborn, but I think if you hold them all the time (like I do), they get used to it and want it all the time. But, I can't just lay her in the floor or put her in her bouncy and let her scream. Just wondering what you guys are doing and if you have any suggestions... I feel like I'm doing everything all wrong!!

[Sweetpea]

chandra-thats so great. Rest feels so good!

When my baby is awake she is held by me or DH, or she sits in the bouncy seat, or she lays under her activiy gym. When she gets sick of one thing, we move her to the next. Sometimes we put her in the pack and play in the living room too and she likes it. If we are all playing toys on the floor w DS, she lays on a quilt and watches.

[chantalTTC]

Hooray for our LOs beginning to sleep a bit longer! Linnea was doing on average 5 hours around 8-1, followed by a few 3-4 hr blocks. On the 26th she slept 7 hrs, breastfed for 3.5 mins (it was like trying to wake the dead to get her to eat longer so I gave up) and then slept 4.5 hours. It was BLISS. Then...we flew to Germany. She did really well on the trip: slept 5 hours on the trans-Atlantic flight, was generally in a good mood and survived the first really long day with tons of my dh relatives (all speaking German). Then came the night... She was up every 1.5 hours all night long, then slept like a zombie during the day. Oy. She was really jet-lagged the first few days and so I wasn't getting much sleep at all (oh, and did I mention that we're all sleeping in the same room so I hear every groan and sigh??). I think she's starting to get her days and nights set again, so we'll see how tonight goes. I expect about the time she figures it out we'll fly back to the US and then start over again. At least I know she's capable of going 7 hours...!

We had her 2 month appt on the 26th. She's 23 1/4 in and 10 lbs 9 oz, 75% and 55% percentile apparently. The doc reassured us that we're doing ok and she's very healthy. It was so good to hear as I also worried she wasn't getting enough to eat (we're exclusively breastfeeding). We're going to get her shots on Jan 12 since we didn't want to get the shots the same day as we were traveling.

Have to run - will post again as soon as I can recharge...

Happy New Year!!