[hopefulmama]

Amy So glad you've joined the thread! Billy!

Barbara Wow!! 3 pounds in a month - that's impressive! At birth Emma was 7 pounds 5 oz, at 4 days she was 6 pounds 15 oz, and at 1 week she was 7 pounds 2 oz. Compared with my others she's a peanut.

itsgonnawork Can't wait to hear the weigh in for Grace and Jacob.

Mette 400 mg/ per day isn't too bad. This is depressing to admit but I'm on 2400 mg of Labetalol per day and 360 mg of cardizem and they just added 20 mg of lacix. Wow it feels terrible to type that. Wish I could take less (then I would bf - I'm bottle feeding) but I tried before getting pregnant and my bp went wacky.

Emma has been a bit fussy today - she's usually really quiet. She's snacking alot - hope this doesn't mean I'm going to be up with her all night

Night ladies.

[Curlgirl503]

Audra, that's too funny, Ethan has been very fussy today too! He's usually so calm but he's had a hard time settling down today.

So, that being said I have a question for you BFing girls. Sometimes at night I give in and give Ethan a pacifier if he can't settle down (the one that they used in the hospital when they had to give shots, etc.). He'll usually suck on it for a few minutes, then fall asleep. We haven't had any problem with BFing, but I hesitate to use the pacifier at all. I asked one of the nurses in the hospital about it because every time they brought the baby back to me after messing with him, he had a pacifier in his mouth and I always took it out. She said they say to wait a month before giving one, but she's not going to tell me to do that because she doesn't have to be home with us when the baby's crying.

SO, today with Ethan being so fussy, I finally gave in and gave him a pacifier (the NUK ones that I bought). It is calming him and he doesn't want to give it up, lol! He will be a month old on Thursday (ok, I want to cry now!). My question is, what have you girls done as far as pacifiers? Have you given them? I guess as long as he's still latching onto me ok, it's not a problem right?

[Spaitts]

Amy - glad you're joining the thread! Billy!

Felix had his two week check up on Friday, and he put on 10 oz in a week! He's now 7 lbs 5 oz which is such a relief after all the weight/blood sugar issues we had when he was first born. We can definitely tell he is getting chunkier - that double chin is turning into a triple chin, LOL! The doctor was quite satisfied with his weight gain, but he still seems to tiny to me. It'll be nice when he gets a little bigger and seems more sturdy.

My parents flew in from Denmark on Friday night, and it has been such a blessing having them here! They weren't supposed to come until the end of May, but once I had the c-section they asked if I needed them to come help out sooner, so that has been super nice. They are staying a hotel - normally they stay with us - but a new baby and house guests just seemed a bit much at this time. My mom brought rubber gloves, a dust rag and a mop, so she's ready to clean, LOL! Totally cracked me up - she must think I'm a pig! But honestly, house cleaning is not at the top of my agenda right now, so it's so awesome to have someone here to cook and clean. Last night was the first home cooked meal that DH and I had since Felix was born.

Felix is doing well and was sleeping really well in the beginning, but we've had a couple of nights where he just screamed which is totally exhausting. Last night he was up from 3.30 to 6.45, and I was so exhausted I wanted to cry. It's hard cuz DH went back to work on Monday, so I'm pretty much on my own at night, and Felix takes forever to go back to sleep after I feed him. Last night I think he might have had gas or something - he seemed to start screaming his head off about 30 minutes after I fed him and would pull up his little legs like he was in pain. Anyone else have that happen? It's so tough when you can't yet read all of their little signals. Today, however, he was fine and ate and slept just fine. So who knows...

As for the pacifier, I wasn't originally gonna use one, cuz I'm really not a fan, and I don't want it to be a prop for him, but the third night we were home, Felix screamed for 7 hours straight, so the next day I sent DH out to buy some! He doesn't seem to have problems latching on, and he also switches between the breast and the bottle without any problems. I guess that was one of the benefits of being in the NICU -- he totally got used to the bottle right away. I do plan on taking the pacifier away from him around three months if I can, but we'll see how it goes. Newborns do seem to have a need to suck, and if you don't want that to be on your boob constantly, then I think the pacifier is a good alternative. When Felix spits it out, I don't force it back into his mouth but just assume that he's done with it, and then I give it to him again when he fusses.

[bq122]

Audra - I felt like my guys were peanuts too compared to my other kids. But i know there getting there. I guess the 2 hr feedings are paying off for them. DR said I have to write down for three days how much & the time she may put them on water bcause they maybe eating too much. But they scream like crazy when they want to eat and pacifers do not work longer than 10 mins.

I am not bf'ing but most of you know how I feel about pacifers my boys will be on them until they around 3yrs old if I can help it. As of right now they arent really taken to them but I know they will eventually.

I think they both are developing colic because from around 8 pm to 2 am they fussy, scream they dont want a bottle or pacifer and i try and burp them thinking its gas. Nothing helps. I am giving mylicon but I dont know what else to do for them.
Any suggestions?

[itsgonnawork]

amybeth - Welcome and congrats on the birth of your son!

Angela - I'm only breastfeeding Jacob (I had a hard time getting Grace to latch on), but he seems to use a pacifier or bottle and still latch on without any problems. I would say as long as he's still latching, it's not an issue.

I can't wait for their doctor's appointment tomorrow! I'm so excited to see what kind of progress they've made over the last 3 weeks.

[houmasue]

Angela - I am bf'ing and I have been giving Valerie a pacifier since she was a few days old. I spoke to her pediatrician about it and she said it was fine as long as I didn't use it to substitute a feeding. She is now a month old and is not having a problem latching.

[Curlgirl503]

Thanks guys!

[itsgonnawork]

Just got back from the twin's doctor appointment and both are doing very well! Their measurements were as follows:

Grace - 8 lbs. 14 oz. and 21 in.
Jacob - 8 lbs. and 21.5 in.

Here's a pic from last week I took of the two of them.

4_Weeks.jpg

[Curlgirl503]

Awwwww... Grace looks sad that Jacob is trying to eat her! Lol! Adorable!

[bq122]

Originally Posted by itsgonnawork

Just got back from the twin's doctor appointment and both are doing very well! Their measurements were as follows:

Grace - 8 lbs. 14 oz. and 21 in.
Jacob - 8 lbs. and 21.5 in.

Here's a pic from last week I took of the two of them.

Attachment 58720

OMG.....I think this picture us priceless, i love it.

[amybeth]

Billy has jaundice. We have him hooked up to a billi-light (a wallaby 3). I hate this. The Dr's office said to supplement with formula as it will be easier than breast feeding as he's not very mobile hooked up to the light. Because of that, I can't nurse so I tried to pump but all I have is a manual pump which I can't seem to make work right. It hurts too and my breasts are so sore from trying and feel so full right now. I can't stop crying either so I'm sure that's not helping. DH has been so great, but right now I feel like I've failed.

I go in tomorrow with him to get his levels checked again. Then I go in to my ob in the afternoon to get my staples out. I may end up joining the baby-blues group and starting on something for ppd if I can't shake this feeling.

I just needed to vent. Thanks girls.

[Curlgirl503]

Oh Amybeth, I'm so sorry. I know it's easier said than done, but try to relax. Maybe you can rent a pump temporarily? I wish I could give you a hug right now!

[amybeth]

Thanks Angela! I've gotten a lot of hugs from my hubbie tonight, but I could use more that's for sure!

DH and I talked and he wants me to nurse too. It's good to know that in a pinch we can use formula, but we really don't want to at all. The Dr's office said that we can nurse, we just have to start wtih one side, let him eat for 15-20 minutes, and then pull him off. If he's still hungry, I switch to the other side for no more than 15-20 minutes. If for some crazy reason he's still hungry, then we supplement with formula. So... we kept him hooked up to the machine and I was able to nurse on one side. He didn't want more after that, but at least he ate.

We are both sleeping downstairs tonight. We have Billy in the play-yard and we'll see how things go. I have a feeling it will be a night of not too much sleep, but at least I could nurse a bit.

Tomorrow I'm going to see about renting a pump from the hospital. I can do that for a week, month, etc... and then buy one if I want one or continue to rent.

[dukie41181]

I'm so sorry to hear about your struggles amybeth! Just remember you're doing the best you can and that breastmilk (aka: liquid gold) will help him along too. Natural sunlight will help too so get in front of a window!

I wanted to let everyone know that I found a great sale on Miracle Blankets in case anyone is swaddling. They are $17.99 on rightstart.com but i think there are only pink camo ones left. HTH someone!

[houmasue]

Amy - I am so sorry to hear that Billy has Jaundice and that you are down in the dumps. I am seconding the suggestion of putting him near a window. The first 3 weeks after Valerie was born I kept her bassinet in front of the living room window (it gets the most sunlight during the day.)

Valerie's 1 month appointment was last Wednesday but my 14 yr old DS had an appointment this AM and I brought Valerie with us. They weighed her for me and here are her stats.

Birth - 6lb 13.3oz
1 wk - 6lb 13oz
4 wk - 7lb 11oz
5 wk - 8lb 7oz