[jenedens6102]

I thought it would be neat to upgrade from the "March Due Dates" to a new thread for all the "March Mommies!" We could use this as an area just like the due date threads where we can get together and lean on each other for support, suggestions and advice, to see where are children are and what they are doing. Let's get to know each other and our children!

My son Ethan was born Monday, March 17th (his grandpa's birthday, also St Patrick's Day) via c-section. He weighed in at 8 lbs 7.5 ounces and was 21 inches long. So that makes him 8 weeks old now, two months old on Saturday and he's well over 12 pounds already. Developmentally he's holding his head up a lot, he kicks his feet and moves his arms when he's on his back. During belly time he lifts himself up and makes crawling motions with his legs. He follows objects and sounds with his eyes and loves to smile and coo now. We are working on sleeping full time in his crib and for the past two nights so far so good. I breastfed for four weeks and have been bottle feeding for the last four weeks. I wanted to transition him at home before I went back to work and while I loved breastfeeding I felt it was best for both of us to stop when I did. He is still only taking four ounces per feeding but every now and again he wants more and we'll do two more but he's not consistently at six yet. We enjoy bath times and singing. His favorite song is "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and his favorite part, the part that makes him light up with the biggest smiles and even a laugh is "eyes and ears and mouth and nose" as I touch each part.

So that's us in a nutshell right now. Looking forward to hearing from more of you!

[amfandrmf]

Hey Jen,

Great thread! It would be nice to stay in touch with all the new mommies. Maddie & Mila are doing great. They will be two months on the 15th. We are having their baptism on Sunday and I can't wait for them to make their big family debut. We just started last night to let them sleep until they woke up to feed them. They did pretty well their first night, but it makes it harder to feed two screaming babies once they do wake up hungry.

Mila is smiling more and Maddie just gave us her first smile yesterday. They are a little behind because of being preemies, but are doing well. They have their 2 month checkup on Monday and I'm nervous about how I'll react while they get their shots. Friday, Mila has her appt at the hospital for her constipation. Nothing has helped yet and I can't wait for her to stop being in such pain.

Jen, sounds like Ethan is doing great and developing well! How fun to see all those new and exciting discoveries they now make.

[jenedens6102]

Anna, our baptism/dedication is June 1. DH and my 6 year wedding anniversary. Sorry to hear nothing is helping the constipation. poor baby. I do feel your pain. Luckily the switch of formula was our key to overcoming constipation. Ethan also has his two month appointment on Monday and I too am scared about the shots. I don't like to listen to him scream or cry. I was instructed to give him tylenol a half hour before hand so just before we leave town. My plan is to take him to the sitter afterwards but she knows as does my boss at work that if he develops a fever or is just too fussy I'll pick him up. Even with your two being preemies it sounds like they are right on target and not far behind at all. Our little ones are just two days apart!

[amfandrmf]

It is crazy that we had them so close together. A friend of mine had a boy a week and a half before our girls and now she is telling everyone that he will some day marry one of our girls. It is so cute. We were planning on getting a pic with him between the two girls with his arms around them. What a pimp! Ha!

Anyways, I heard the same thing about the tylenol, but to also give it every four hours for the rest of the day as well. My friend just had her two month with her son and she said it was kind of nice because he basically slept the next two days. She got a lot done around the house and was able to catch up on her sleep. We'll see if we have that same experience.

That was nice that you could have the baptism on the day of your anniversary. That will definitely make it special. We bought matching gowns for our girls and they look so adorable!

[jenedens6102]

That is too funny about your friend's baby. I'm sure it will be a very cute picture with him and the girls. If you guys do take one you'll have to post it. Ethan has a cousin who was born the day before (we were at the same hospital and due one day a part, you may remember me mentioning her on the March Due Dates thread) and we had pictures taken of the two of them together and they are just too cute. Of course Eva weighed 9 lbs 6 oz at the time and Ethan was already 11 lbs 13 oz! I have a monster boy on my hands. Thank you for sharing the story of your friend's son and his shots. Definitely something for me to keep in mind. After reading that he slept for two days maybe I should have scheduled Ethan's appointment for Friday instead of Monday! Just kidding. If he sleeps a lot he'll be fine, my only fear is him sleeping too much during the day and not at night since DH and I both work mornings. But we'll manage if he does. Do you do matching outfits on the girls often? I would if I had twins, just with a small variation so people could tell them apart (if identical). We don't yet have a special outfit for Ethan to wear for his dedication, I'm waiting until the week before so I can ensure it still fits. Our chunky monkey is moving into 3-6 month clothes already!

[trvlagnt11]

Hey Anna and Jen,
Although I am not a March Mommy, I was a due buddy of Anna's. I am a April Mommy. Our little girl was born April 17. I have a question. Are either of you using Simalc? I have some coupons and cans of it that the company sent to me that I would love to give away. I also have some coupons for nestle good start. Let me know if you are intrested. I would have to be reimbursed for postage, on the cans, but if anyone needs the coupons i will send them for free.

Christa

[amfandrmf]

Jen, I would love to see the pic of the two babies together. I bet it turned out real cute. You really do have a big boy! Mila, our largest is still only about 9 lbs. Maddie is almost 7 lbs right now. She is so itty bitty. Because of the size difference, I really haven't had the chance to dress them in matching outfits yet. The outfits that we received two of before they were born are the same sizes and unfortunately Maddie still kinda fits in preemies. She drowns in the 0-3 sizes, but the Newborn size seems to fit her somewhat right now. That's why I'm so excited about the matching baptismal gowns! I want to start buying matching outfits soon once they get closer in size. They're not identical, so we would still be able to tell them apart. Mila looks exactly like my DH as a baby and Maddie looks exactly like me as a baby. It's just crazy! Our families can't believe it worked out that way. They have completely different personalities as well. What features of yours and your DH does Ethan have? I can't believe Ethan is already in 3-6 month clothes! Wow! Our little Maddie probably won't be in that size for another 3 months or so.

Christa, its nice to hear from you. Congrats on your baby girl! I am using similac neosure. What kind of coupons do you have? If no one else wants them, I'd be interested. With the twins, we pay about $350 in formula a month! And their still not even eating that much! Their doc wants them to stay on this expensive brand to about 6-9 months. I joke saying once I go back to work part-time, I'll basically be working to buy their formula. How is your little girl doing? What is her name? I'd love to see a pic!

[jenedens6102]

Here is the picture of Ethan and his cousin Eva. Eva was 6 weeks old and Ethan was 5 weeks 6 days old.

Christa, I am using Similac Advance for Ethan. What do you have?

Anna, How neat that you have a baby that matches both you and DH. I can imagine them having different personalities as well. That'll carry with them all their lives. As for us it depends on who you ask. I thought from the moment Ethan was born that he looks a lot like my younger brother. Dh told me in the OR while I was trying to peak around him and the nurses that Ethan had a "big Melson head" like his mommy (meaning nice and round). He has my skin tone and coloring but DH's skin sensitivity. He has the shape of my eyes but DH's eye brows and forehead. We are still debating his nose, chin and mouth. Although he falls asleep with his mouth wide open and his arms up like his daddy. Other people who see him only weekly say he changes everytime they see him, one week he looks like me and the next week like DH. Only time will tell.

[trvlagnt11]

I have 2 cans of powder advance and 2 cans of isomil advance. I do not need them.

I have coupons for any similac formula. Infront of me are (3) $5.00 off coupons. I know that I have more.....just can't put my hands on them.

I was thinking since Anna does not use the advance formula, I could send her the coupons and you the formula Jen. What do yall think of that?

[jenedens6102]

That works perfectly. Wow, thanks!

[trvlagnt11]

do you need the isomil ? if so that is fine if not i would like to find someone that can use it.

[amfandrmf]

Thanks Christa! Sounds good to me. I know I received some of those coupons as well. I'll definitely put them to good use. Any help I can get is greatly appreciated.

Jen, the pic is so cute! Ethan is such a handsome little boy. How funny that every day he looks different and changes who he looks like. Some people think our girls are starting to look more like each other, but the family members who see them all the time disagree.

I had Mila's constipation appt today. It almost seemed like a waste of my time. I just hate seeing her in pain and the doc didn't give me any advice that I thought would work. She told us a different position to hold her to help her go to the bathroom. She said that Mila basically needs to go probably about twice a day instead of once and we're suppose to go back in about a month if it doesn't get better. So, in the mean time, I still have to see her in pain and she'll keep having rough nights. She also said that if it gets real bad that we can give her some juice with her formula. I guess I was hoping for more. How often do your babies go? Does Ethan go more than once a day? Mila eats about 4 oz each feeding.

Can't wait to show you all the baptism pics! I'm sure we'll be having lots of fun with the girls on Sunday. It will be their first time going to church and we'll probably start taking them every week now. I'm just glad I can rely on that crying room. I'll probably spend most of my time in there. Hope you girls have a great weekend!

[jenedens6102]

Sorry to hear that Mila didn't get any extra help like you were hoping for. Ethan goes about twice a day, that I know of. He tends to go in the morning and then again in the evening but I don't know how often he's going during the day. It's a question I mean to ask because he didn't have a bowel movement at home yesterday morning or evening and not this morning either. After his last bought I want to catch any upcoming constipation issue early on. Juice in the formula may help, it didn't help us with Ethan or if it did it took a while and we'd already switched formulas by then. While I know they are preemies I'm surprised this will be their first time at church, it'll be a wonderful experience. Yes, you may need the crying room. Ethan has been every weekend since his birth, including the weekend we came home from the hospital which was Easter. He's not missed a Sunday! For his dedication we want to have pictures taken of us as a family again, like we did for Easter and then I want a picture taken with us and everyone who came to share in our special day. It won't be a lot of people because he comes from a family of non-believers. So just his uncle, aunt and their two girls, another aunt and maybe her husband, my parents, and a family friend...that's all I know about for now. Let me know how it goes and I can't wait to see updated pictures. I'll post some this weekend as well. I really think Ethan grows everyday!

[amfandrmf]

Jen, our doc recommended not taking them out really before my official due date which was only a couple of weeks ago. She worried because it was still flu/cold season last month. She even hesitated with us having their baptism already. Our family is very religious, but some are catholic and others are lutheran. They had us in prayer chains while I was going through all the fertility treatments. I truly believe in the power of prayer and I think it really did the trick. We actually are having about 35 people attend the service and then a luncheon in the church basement afterwards. I can't wait! I also can't wait to see pics of yours as well! My mom bought these cute bonnets for the girls that turn into a handkerchief that they can use on their wedding day. On one corner, we'll get their name engraved with the date of the baptism and on the other corner we'll get the date of their wedding day. I think it'll be a great keepsake for them!

Let me know how your Monday appt goes. I have an interview Monday morning as well. I'm kinda excited, but it always seems better than what it is. It's a chiropractor looking for an admin assistant and I would only need to work when he needs me, but I can work more than that if I like. So the hours can be as little as 20 per week, but I can work full-time if I like. My plan was to work about 30, but I guess we'll have to see because I'll need babysitters all week. I was kinda hoping for a job that was 3 or 4 days a week for 6-8 hours per day. I know my mom will be able to watch them, but they farm during the summer and I'm sure I'll run into times where I'll need to find others to watch them. It just seems harder to find babysitters for two.

[jenedens6102]

That is true, I didn't think about what season we were just in. Especially with preemies, you have to watch that stuff. It sounds like you have beautiful keepsakes for them already and I'm sure they'll look at those with great adoration as they grow older. I definitely believe in the power of prayer and a God who still performs miracles daily. I'll keep you posted on our appointment and the dedication in two weeks.