*Baby Corner*

[Nessa 23]

Nessa, ben is beautiful!!

thanks

@ Nessa - My pediatrician has several nurses available to answer questions and they always encouraged me to call with my "new mom worries". That helped me feel better, if I was worried about something, I would call. Can you do that with the pediatrician from the hospital until you find a local one?

he's in the system now, i'll be going to the clinic on base thursday.

[Chrissy25 0]

TMI but when anyone was pregnant di you have alot of pressure down there? lol kinda feels like i'm carrying a bowling ball between my legs! i assume this means she is head down and quite low?

[Nessa 23]

yup i had it. that's when he's engaged, ready to come.

[tnh9479 1]

Thanks for everyone's eye color replies. I know the science behind the genetics (I am a high school science teacher). What really happens and when it happens I know can vary and was interested in what others had seen. The nurse at the hospital told my family it can take about two years for pigmentation to finally set in. My family asked because at birth Zak appeared to have more of my husband's skin color and Hana appeared more like me.

Twila

[Chrissy25 0]

yup i had it. that's when he's engaged, ready to come.

did you find it worse at night Nessa, when you were laid in bed? sometimes it takes my breath away it hurts!

[chnst 6]

@Nessa : good that you have an appointment. We had the first pediatrician appointment when Ben was 1 week old and we had no clue what the heck we were doing. It's reassuring to see him gain weight and do fine.

About the shivering- some babies do that when the last feeding has been a while ago and they're low on sugar. Or they're just cold. Newborns can't regulate their body temperature yet.

@autum: aww hazel eyes. He's going to be quite the ladies man. I so wish Ben would sleep for more than 5 hours for just 1 night!! World record was 4 hours. But he just keeps thrashing around. We are still waiting for an appointment with the gastroenterologist (in June) but our pedi said that his sleeplessnes might be related to food allergies. That would also explain the cronic constipation.

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

poor ben I am grateful for my good sleeper. I lay him in his bed at 830pm or so, he sucks his two little fingers and pulls the blanket over his face and falls asleep. he has done that everyday since he was a few months old. he sleeps anywhere from 10-12 hours straight. I think we have had 2 nights where he woke up for a short period of time due to teeth and such. i would DIE if zaid woke up numerous times a night. i swear sometimes i cant handle when he wakes at 7am on my day off. lol. guess im spoiled.

[Vi Mazzella 4]

autumnchik@ I try to do the feedings at nights fast but is really hard, sometimes I think that she is ready to go to sleep and a few minutes later she is waking up again . And I have to spend an extra hour trying to put her to sleep.

Nessa@ Great that you found a pediatrician, it took us a week to find a good one and not so far from the house,seriously you will feel so much better when a doctor checks him. For Sofia's first appointment I wrote down a list of questions for the doc, it might help you too.

Chrissy25 I remember that pressure, yes, that means that she is getting there...

Gotta go

Have a Good night!

Vi

[keltic 1]

now he's been shivering, but his temperature is 98.1. more blankets, maybe?

Nessa,

Babies do not shiver because they are cold. They don't have that in their ability for temp regulation yet. They shiver (are jittery) usually when their blood sugars are low. They can also have short jittery bursts just because they are not quite neurologically stable yet. If you notice that he is shivering, try feeding him again.

As far as reflux, even the tiny premature infants in the NICU deal with this. Try more frequent burping (sometimes breastfed babies don't need much burping, but sometimes they do) & holding him upright for a while after feeding before laying him down. Try thinking about it like this: If we eat a big meal and go lay down on the sofa, it just sits there and doesn't digest well. For babies, it is the same. If they lay down right after eating, it can "reflux" back up. It doesn't mean that it is GER, just that they need to be held upright for a while to help the digestion. If it is actually GER, then there are other things you can do. I am glad to hear that you will have a visit with the pediatrician Thursday. Make a list of questions that you have and take it with you. It is amazing how all those questions can just disappear from your mind when you are actually sitting there with the doc. AND... never be afraid to call and ask a question. That is what they get paid for, and paid well.

Good luck with it!!

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I don't remember who was asking about engorgement, but, you can use a pump to help alleviate the pressure, but be careful not to pump more frequently than your baby eats. The more you pump, the more milk you are telling your body to make. I found this link from La Leche League: http://www.llli.org/FAQ/engorgement.html .

[keltic 1]

Some people recommended us to give her formula the last feeding and at 2am, does it work for you??? she sleeps excellent during the day the problem is at night.

The reason some people will recommend using formula during a night feed is that while formula is made to be as much like breastmilk as it can be, it still takes a lot longer to digest. This means that the baby usually feels more full for longer. Usually it is only an hour longer though, so not something that will buy you enough time to skip a feed. Others might suggest rice cereal, but you really shouldn't add that until a doctor tells you to. It basically takes up space in the baby's belly to make the baby feel full (and can thicken breastmilk/formula to help it stay down if reflux is a problem). However, when rice cereal is filling up your baby's tummy, it is not giving the calories and nutrients that the same volume of breastmilk/formula gives. So you don't want to dilute their nutrition by giving those supplements without a doctor's advice.

Since she is staying awake for hours, it seems like she is getting her days & nights mixed up. The advice to keep the lights out and not talk to your daughter during the nighttime feeds is spot on. I don't think you need to alter what she is eating, but if it is something you want to try, you are mommy and you know best. Good luck with it.

[Nessa 23]

yup i had it. that's when he's engaged, ready to come.

did you find it worse at night Nessa, when you were laid in bed? sometimes it takes my breath away it hurts!

in the last weeks while in bed i wouldnt feel a thing, but after a while in bed, like weekends when id spend lots of times in bed or at night to go to the bathroom, every time i got up my legs would feel weak, it hurt like crazy my hips area and my lower back area, like i had a hard time standing up at first.

and during the day it would hurt only when i walked.

[Nessa 23]

I have a feeling I'll need to give him some formula to complement his diet when I go back to work. I just pumped and it took 30 min to pump 4 oz. If he eats 2oz every 2 hours, and I'm going to be away from him (at work plus gym plus commute) for 11 hours a day, that means i need to pump 12oz. That would be 1.5 hours of daily pumping plus feeding him while at home.

[Nessa 23]

i've been so thirsty lately. i wonder if it has to do with bf

[Chrissy25 0]

i've been so thirsty lately. i wonder if it has to do with bf

yes it is Nessa, make sure you have a glass of water when you are breastfeeding and keep taking sips

[Nessa 23]

yeah i have a bottle with me every time.

i decided ill start storaging milk for when i go back to work.