[jenedens6102]

Here are two of the newest pictures of Ethan. First is him at my friends house on Saturday, it was his first time in the exersaucer and he had such a good time. Of course it made me tear up just seeing how big he looked in it and how well he did holding himself up in there. The second I took yesterday when we got home for the evening, he looked so handsome in his outfit that I couldn't resist, plus the smile was priceless.


Great news - Ethan finally rolled belly to back yesterday for the first time. Again the tears of joy started flowing. Seeing him hit milestones (whether early, on time or late) is so rewarding for me and we celebrate every one. His tooth doesn't seem to be bothering him too much. He might throw a fit once or twice a day now for about ten minutes but he soothes himself and we haven't had to use orajel or tylenol or anything. I have found that getting a wash cloth wet and putting in the fridge for about 10 minutes really helps too. We haven't started cereal yet but I think we are going to within the week, maybe even this weekend. He's definitely following our food from plate to our mouths now and holds him mouth open at the same time. So I think he's ready.

Laurie, the girls are doing great. So proud of Avery for gaining her neck strength, I knew she would. I loved the pictures of them in the pool. How did they do? We are thinking about taking Ethan into the pool this weekend while we are camping with my parents. He loves his bath but I don't know how he'll do in colder water. Plus as you mentioned they don't make swimmers or swim suits for them until they are bigger. So he'll just be in a diaper as well. I do have sunscreen and was told the same thing that they just needed to be out of the sun as much as possible up until 6 months but I know he's worn sunscreen at daycare and did just fine with it. As for drying up your milk supply - DO NOT pump! That will prolong things. I know you feel miserable and it is unbearable at times but pumping stimulates the milk production to continue. I wore a sports bra from my pre-pregnancy time so it was about two sizes too small then a regular one on top to keep things nice and tight in there. I took tylenol to get my through the pain but it didn't take as much edge off as I'd like. Plus the morning after I stopped breastfeeding I had gone in to my doctor for an incision check and he put me on birth control, told me to start right away and it would help dry me up quicker and I think it did. My friends all told me it would be a few weeks but honestly it was a week and a half max.

Anna, glad to hear that the girls are doing so well on their cereal. Remember rice is binding so if you find them constipated switch to oatmeal.

Chrissy, good to see you stopping in. Alexander sounds like he's growing strong too. Ethan is about 16 pounds but also 26 inches. He doesn't have his four month appointment though until the 18th so I'm sure he'll grow even more by then.

Maraget, nice to see you. I'm sure you and the twins will have a great vacation and I'm sure they'll do fine with the sunscreen. Just try a spot test to see if they have a reaction to it.

Adrienne, how are things?

[mthomas1012]

Lauri- the milk drying up is the worst. Mine took about a week or so to completely dry up. Like Jen said DO NOT pump or you will be in pain longer. It does not help at all to have the constant pain and two little ones to look after, but if you pump more milk will be made. The more that is made, the more there is to dry up! I took Tylenol, which really does not help, and wore two bras. I did like Jen and wore a super tight sport bra. That was about the best relief I could get. I too got on birth control and that helps dry it up too. It will still take about a week to dry up.

I will post some pictures on here soon, but my blog is updated for now. I started a new job when they were 8 weeks old- yeah I am crazy! However, I am working from home now so we do not have to worry about daycare. There is just a learning curve with the new job, so it is taking all of my "spare" time to learn what I am doing. I work like crazy while Maura and Brody are napping!

Everyone have a great holiday weekend. Thanks for the information about sunscreen.

Margaret

[Laci]

Laurie - I was told to use the cabbage leaves as well, and it worked. I was also told that Sudafed (for allergies) would help dry the milk up.

Here is the information that I found online about the cabbage leaves:

Jan Barger, lactation consultant
It's not uncommon to be able to express milk for several months after Adoption.com - Information on International, Domestic, Child & Agency Adoptions, Stories, Laws. Eventually it will dry up on its own. If you're feeling a slight engorgement, or if milk is leaking and annoying you, you can try putting fresh green cabbage leaves over your breasts to help dry up the milk supply.

Wash the leaves, crush them slightly and place them over your breasts inside your bra. Change them when they wilt, but leave them on around-the-clock for 48 hours or so. Drinking two to three cups of sage tea a day will also help dry up your milk. Or, you can just wait and let nature take its course.

Breast pads can help control wetness but they won't do anything to diminish your milk supply. Whatever you do, don't pump routinely. If your breasts are uncomfortably full, you can certainly pump once to empty your breasts completely, and make yourself more comfortable. After that, only pump if you get really miserable, and then pump only for comfort.

[Laci]

I have no idea where the Adoption link came from...

[jenedens6102]

Laurie, I noticed though that the second my bras came off or I stepped in the shower I was leaking a ton, enough for glasses upon glasses of milk. But there isn't much you can do to stop that. I did wear breast pads to help against leaking through my clothes but you have to change them often to prevent infection from the moisture. The first three to four days they had to be changed on the hour every hour, they were so heavy they felt like soaked diapers! But once you get past those first few days it does start to get better. I remember how uncomfortable it was to move, roll over and even to hold Ethan but it's something that has to happen and it just takes time.

Margaret, I checked out the blog again for Brody and Maura - I just LOVE them. Such cute babies and all that hair. Precious.

[mthomas1012]

Jen,

How can you not start laughing when watching that laughing video of Ethan. His laugh is contagious! How adorable... I really look forward to Maura and Brody laughing for the first time. We are just getting the big smiles now.

Have a great holiday weekend.

[jenedens6102]

Oh I laugh everytime he starts the big belly laughs, now when we do it keeps him going. He's such a ham and we just eat it up!

[amfandrmf]

Adrienne, its great to hear from you. I thought the rice cereal would make the girls sleep better at night as well, but it hasn't changed much for us either. Some nights the longest they make it before their next feeding is 3a.m. I think I need to try and get them to take more regular naps. Right now, I just let them sleep whenever they want for as long as they want. Some days they can sleep most of the day away and it always makes for rough nights.

Jen, Ethan has such a cute smile. We've put Mila in the exersaucer as well. We have two different ones that were hand-me-downs. One of them she still can't touch her feet to the bottom yet. But, she loves just sitting in it and taking everything in. She doesn't really play with anything yet though. Woohoo on Ethan rolling over! That must have just been amazing to watch. How are Ethan's teething going? I know Maddie is teething for sure. She has at least one white swollen spot on her bottom right side. She doesn't let me look on the left, so I'm not sure if there are any more. Mila, I'm still not sure if she's teething or not. Oh, and we are going to try oatmeal tomorrow. I don't think the rice cereal is making them more constipated, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Margaret, I took a look at your blog. I love all the pics! Maura and Brody are just adorable...so precious.

Happy 4th everyone!! I hope you're all enjoying your holiday weekend. We went to the zoo AGAIN today. Its the 3rd time we've gone this week. Ya, we're a little obsessed with it since we have the passes. Mila just LOVES the zoo and cries whenever we leave. Maddie could care less and just sleeps through most of it. But, we still enjoy all the animals and there was barely anyone there today! I still keep forgetting my camera. Well, our friends decided last minute to get their son baptized on Sunday. So, another big day for the girls this weekend. I was kinda hoping to relax a little this before I start work on Monday.

[lauriej79]

Hope everyone had a good 4th! We were in a tractor parade that we have every year that ended up at the local sunflower fields.

Anna - You are wearing the zoo out aren't you!

Margaret and Jen- The babies are so cute!! I can't believe how fast time is flying by.

Oh, btw the boobies are much better! It's not gone yet but I held out and never did pump. Hopefully it won't be too much longer. Laci, thanks for the info about the cabbage leaves. I almost went and got some but I ended up not having to.

[Laci]

I am glad things are going well for you Laurie. Your family is beautiful, and you look great. I have not ever figured out how to get images on here, but maybe I will sometime.

Anyway, technically I am an April Mommy, but there is not an active April thread, so I thought I would post my question here. Karson had been doing so well eating, sleeping, and was generally a happy baby. The last few days he has been so unpredictable. He will take a couple ozs, and then is raging mad. He might go to sleep for a short time, and then he will eat another 1-2 ozs. This has been going on all day. This is not a cry that can be consoled, and I have no idea what is going on. We have already dealt with Colic, and I thought that was behind us. He is still sleeping well at night, but the days have been hard. Any thoughts?

[jenedens6102]

Good morning darlings! Sorry I wasn't around this weekend, we went camping for the holiday and Ethan did great. Of course I packed the entire nursery, minus his crib, so he had everything he's used to at home plus he LOVES to be outside so this weekend was a real treat for him. We started oatmeal cereal on Friday and he did great. Never pushed anything out of his mouth except when he'd give me a big grin as if to say "mom, this is good stuff." Only issue we have is that he tries to sit up more in his bouncey seat so I can't always see straight into his mouth but he's not sitting up unsupported yet.....so what do you girls do?

Laci, sorry to hear that Karson is going through a fussy period again. Do you think he's going through a growth spurt or perhaps even starting to teeth? I know that the first few teeth can take months to finally break through but that doesn't mean the process hasn't started. I thought Ethan was awfully young to be teething but he's got a definite white bump down there and he has his fussy periods too. About three times a day for no less then ten minutes where he cried and cannot be consoled by anything until the pain goes away.

[amfandrmf]

Hey girls! Had my first day of work today! It wasn't too bad. I'm loving the company I work for. They have amazing benefits that I qualify for as long as I work at least 24 hours per week. Can't post very long...have to feed the girls quick. It's almost their bedtime and DH is putting an alternator in my car...another story for when I have more time. I'll try and post later on tonight. Otherwise, for sure tomorrow...only working 2 1/2 hours.

[amfandrmf]

OK...I'm back. I just put Maddie down for the night and just waiting now on Mila to fall asleep. Lately, she hasn't been wanting to fall asleep until about 9 p.m. Poor thing has the hiccups right now too...she always cries when she has them. Not a happy girl right now.

Laurie, cute family photo! Sounds like you had a great 1st fourth with the girls! The dresses look adorable on them. Looks like you had great weather too! How are the girls doing with their rice cereal? Any new and exciting milestones with the girls lately?

Laci, you are definitely welcome here! I love hearing how all the babes are doing no matter when they were born. I'm sorry Karson hasn't been doing well lately. The only thing I can think is teething or possibly he is gassy. Have you tried gas X or something for that. Sometimes the girls would occasionally have a fussy day or two but then it would pass. Right now with Maddie, the fussiness never seems to be passing with the teething. She'll just scream for no reason and she's normally such a happy baby. I hope it gets better for you soon.

Jen, sounds like you had a wonderful camping experience with Ethan! I can't wait to take the girls camping for the first time. I haven't been camping since high school...we've been saying for years that we want to go and just never get around to making the plans. Woohoo on the oatmeal milestone! I'm glad he's enjoying it. Isn't it amazing how quickly they pick up on things?

So, my car decided to break down on me on Saturday. Of course, it has to happen right before I started a new job. We were heading back from my mom's house, which is 10 min away. I was at a red light and as it turned green and I stepped on the gas, my car decided that it didn't want to go anywhere. I coasted through the intersection and luckily my car was able to creep at about 3 miles an hour all the way home. Of course the girls were in the back and NO DIAPER BAG! I drove home with my hazzard lights on...fun, fun! I was so nervous that my car was going to stall and I'd have to walk back a mile in the heat with the girls...at least I had their stroller. So, we had to replace the battery and alternator and I finally have my car back tomorrow. I learned my lesson never to go ANYWHERE without a diaper bag. I don't know what I would have done if I would have been stranded and had no diapers, formula, nothing.

So, Mila has a bad habit now...sucking her thumb! She had done it a few times in the past, but now she cries if you pull it out and try and give her her nook. Ugh...this is not what I wanted. I never thought I would have a thumb sucker. She is now sucking her thumb through the night. I think I'm gonna have to start putting those mitts on her at night to keep her from it. Any suggestions?

[Laci]

Thanks Anna. I am glad you like your new job. I cried everyday the first week I had to go back to work, but it is better now. I am also sorry about your car, but thank goodness you have a handy hubby.

I called Karson's doctor's office this morning, and told the nurse what was going on with Karson. I suggested that he might be having teething pain, and she said he was to young to be teething. I told her that from what I could find online there are many babies that start teething early, but I don't think she was convinced. Needless to say we are going for an appointment at 10:45 this morning. We will see what they say, but I am still convinced that his gums are hurting.

[jenedens6102]

Laci, Ethan had a full on teething breakdown last night that lasted for a half hour. Absolutely NOTHING we did helped to calm him down. Even the tricks that normally help during his ten minute fits. He just couldn't cope. He was screaming, red faced and not breathing the way he should be (because he was screaming of course) and so I broke down and gave him half a dose of tylenol. I don't want to give him tylenol any more then I have to as I don't want him to get used to it but we had done all we could. I'm going to try the gripe water if I can find some on my weekly trip to Wal-Mart tomorrow. Do you find it in the baby aisle or the pharmacy area? Don't let anyone tell you it's too early, like I said it might very well be. Ethan was fussy for a few weeks before I even saw the white swollen bud in his gums. But let us know how his appointment goes today.

Anna, congrats on loving your new job, that makes it all worth it. Sorry to hear about the car trouble.

Laurie, I too loved the family picture from this weekend.