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[Fatalah]

I didn't know this thread existed! New dad here, 5 months in! Looking forward to reading through this thread.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Aaaaand...it's over!

Mia was born yesterday at 39 weeks +2 au natural via water birth, weighing in at 6lbs 7oz. She kicked ass on her Apgar test, loves being burrito-ed, and so far I've had great and consistent success breastfeeding her. She also sleeps like a champ (won't last, I know), and this all feels very, very strange and surreal.

Congrats

 

[RoryDropkick]

Aaaaand...it's over!

Mia was born yesterday at 39 weeks +2 au natural via water birth, weighing in at 6lbs 7oz. She kicked ass on her Apgar test, loves being burrito-ed, and so far I've had great and consistent success breastfeeding her. She also sleeps like a champ (won't last, I know), and this all feels very, very strange and surreal.

Congrats!

 

[Soulfire]

Congratulations H. Pro, sounds like everything is going great. She's beautiful!

 

[cablenathan]

Congratulations H.Protagonist! She's lovely!

While I'm here, does anyone have advice for sleeping, while pregnant? I'm only 19 weeks, but the last couple of nights, I've started waking up, every hour or so, due to pain in my hips. I'm sleeping on my side, but I can only seem to handle it for so long, before the pressure on my side feels like too much and I have to wake up, to move to the other side. It's super bumming me out, because I still have 20 more weeks to go (not to mention the sleep deprivation of having a baby).

I've done some light reading on the internet and some women say those wrap around body pillows help, did anyone have good luck with them? They're kind of expensive as far as pillows go, so I'd like to know it's going to work. I'm not sure how the wrap around pillow will take pressure off my hips though...Some other women said they bought memory foam mattress toppers, which helped (obviously that's still expensive). I already have a pillowtop mattres topper, would memory foam make a big difference?

I just want to be able to sleep again, while I still can. I feel like I'm at that point where I'll buy ANYTHING if I know it will work and let me sleep, but I don't want my sleep addled brain to result in me buying a bunch of expensive things that won't make a difference...

Congrats to H.Protagonist!

My better half used a lot of pillow combinations, and what worked changed from night to night deoending on the aches and pains. She did use a wrap around pillow (Dreamgenii was the brand name, other reputable brands available of course) some nights and it was really helpful for her. She also used a long pillow to support her back which got sore a lot, and combined that with a few regular pillows - one of which was out between her knees while she slept and said that it also helped to relieve a lot of pressure. Our bed was a veritable pillow fort BUT it was worth it all for any tiny bit of sleep that was gained.

 

[anarckitty]

Congratulations H.Protagonist! She's lovely!

While I'm here, does anyone have advice for sleeping, while pregnant? I'm only 19 weeks, but the last couple of nights, I've started waking up, every hour or so, due to pain in my hips. I'm sleeping on my side, but I can only seem to handle it for so long, before the pressure on my side feels like too much and I have to wake up, to move to the other side. It's super bumming me out, because I still have 20 more weeks to go (not to mention the sleep deprivation of having a baby).

I've done some light reading on the internet and some women say those wrap around body pillows help, did anyone have good luck with them? They're kind of expensive as far as pillows go, so I'd like to know it's going to work. I'm not sure how the wrap around pillow will take pressure off my hips though...Some other women said they bought memory foam mattress toppers, which helped (obviously that's still expensive). I already have a pillowtop mattres topper, would memory foam make a big difference?

I just want to be able to sleep again, while I still can. I feel like I'm at that point where I'll buy ANYTHING if I know it will work and let me sleep, but I don't want my sleep addled brain to result in me buying a bunch of expensive things that won't make a difference...

Sounds like you're describing my first pregnancy. It literally felt like I was sleeping on concrete, and I was constantly tossing and turning all night trying to get comfortable. Luckily my mom ended up buying me a memory foam mattress topper. While it didn't make the pain go away completely it did definitely help. I also sleep with a regular long body pillow. If it makes you feel better I remember the pain did ease up as I got further along in my pregnancy. My second pregnancy I didn't really have the same pain.

Good luck and I hope you find some relief!

 

[Keri]

My wife had luck with a Snoogle pillow, but I don't think she was ever 100% comfortable. I can't relate, but I imagine having an entire person inside you is an ordeal no matter what accoutrements you use.

My better half used a lot of pillow combinations, and what worked changed from night to night deoending on the aches and pains. She did use a wrap around pillow (Dreamgenii was the brand name, other reputable brands available of course) some nights and it was really helpful for her. She also used a long pillow to support her back which got sore a lot, and combined that with a few regular pillows - one of which was out between her knees while she slept and said that it also helped to relieve a lot of pressure. Our bed was a veritable pillow fort BUT it was worth it all for any tiny bit of sleep that was gained.

Thanks friends! I dragged my husband with me to Babies R' Us to get the snoogle wrap around pillow and immediately came home and took a nap with it. I think it's going to be a big help. I think leaning on the back portion will help take the pressure off of my hips and let me make minor adjustments during the night, instead of waking up every hour. I'm just going to keep this wrap around pillow and an assortment of other pillows on hand, to keep adjusting with as time goes on.

 

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[Keri]

Sounds like you're describing my first pregnancy. It literally felt like I was sleeping on concrete, and I was constantly tossing and turning all night trying to get comfortable. Luckily my mom ended up buying me a memory foam mattress topper. While it didn't make the pain go away completely it did definitely help. I also sleep with a regular long body pillow. If it makes you feel better I remember the pain did ease up as I got further along in my pregnancy. My second pregnancy I didn't really have the same pain.

Good luck and I hope you find some relief!

I missed your post when I last replied! Thanks for the advice! And it's encouraging to hear it might get better. I was so sad the other night, thinking it could only get worse. The memory foam topper will be my next plan, if the Snoogle doesn't do the trick, but I'm hopeful. The Snoogle is actually really comfortable regardless, so I feel like it was money well spent, whatever happens.

Good luck! You'll need all the rest you can get.

Thanks so much! My plan is to sleep as much as I can...while I still can!

 

[Omikron]

Aaaaand...it's over!

Mia was born yesterday at 39 weeks +2 au natural via water birth, weighing in at 6lbs 7oz. She kicked ass on her Apgar test, loves being burrito-ed, and so far I've had great and consistent success breastfeeding her. She also sleeps like a champ (won't last, I know), and this all feels very, very strange and surreal.

wahay, congrats!

 

[zbarron]

Aaaaand...it's over!

Mia was born yesterday at 39 weeks +2 au natural via water birth, weighing in at 6lbs 7oz. She kicked ass on her Apgar test, loves being burrito-ed, and so far I've had great and consistent success breastfeeding her. She also sleeps like a champ (won't last, I know), and this all feels very, very strange and surreal.

Congratulations. Enjoy every minute, even the ones that are not enjoyable.


We spent the better part of the day at the ER. Nick has thrush and has begun treatment for it. Hopefully soon we all can sleep at night.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Back at work. It's times like these I really hate the US. No real paternity leave is a joke.

 

[Interfectum]

10 week scan. It looks like a baby!

 

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[Fenderputty]

Back at work. It's times like these I really hate the US. No real paternity leave is a joke.

I'm assuming this varies by state. In California I'm protected federally by FMLA for 12 weeks of leave, but the state pays me 55% of my salary un-taxed for 6 weeks of the total leave I could take. The rest I cover with PTO. Which isn't a bad deal. Since it's not taxed income it reduced the amount of taxable income one bring in at the end of the year too.

I'm taking 4 weeks off and staggering the time. Two weeks at the start. One week this summer and one week near the holidays.

My wife is technically due Wednesday. The baby has hardly dropped though. The doc thinks she'll come late. I'm hoping we don't end up having to induce.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Yeah. My wife had to apply for FMLA to get more than six weeks. Her doctor had to convince her employer she had a real need to be excused from work. I used up my entire PTO bank and then another two weeks unpaid. It was a mess.

I'm assuming this varies by state. In California I'm protected federally by FMLA for 12 weeks of leave, but the state pays me 55% of my salary un-taxed for 6 weeks of the total leave I could take. The rest I cover with PTO. Which isn't a bad deal. Since it's not taxed income it reduced the amount of taxable income one bring in at the end of the year too.

I'm taking 4 weeks off and staggering the time. Two weeks at the start. One week this summer and one week near the holidays.

My wife is technically due Wednesday. The baby has hardly dropped though. The doc thinks she'll come late. I'm hoping we don't end up having to induce.

Here in NJ dads can gets 6 weeks FMLA. I plan on taking it when my wife goes back to work but 6 weeks is a joke for raising a child. Up to this point I've used a week and a half vacation time so far but we're only 2 months in to the year and I need to save some time for the rest of the year to be with him.

 

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[Skellig Gra]

I still take time off. Just don't get paid for it.

Yeah that's what I'm going to end up doing, just very frustrating how screwed up things are here.

 

[effzee]

Constipation sucks. My son is 2 later this week and we have been so lucky that he is a great eater.

He eats everything but then randomly last month he got really constipated to the point he went 5 days with a movement while eating really well. Foods like eggs, spinach, lentins, and fruits like raspberries, blueberries, and pears.

We are so perplexed and he was uncomfortable. As per our doc, we finally gave him miralax. Did the trick. Doc told us give him for 2 weeks.

He was fine but when 2 weeks ended and we stopped, he was constipated again. Again we gave miralax and it worked but I don't get it.

We are going to seek out a specialist to make sure it isn't any serious matter.

 

[H.Protagonist]

Congratulations H.Protagonist! She's lovely!

While I'm here, does anyone have advice for sleeping, while pregnant? I'm only 19 weeks, but the last couple of nights, I've started waking up, every hour or so, due to pain in my hips. I'm sleeping on my side, but I can only seem to handle it for so long, before the pressure on my side feels like too much and I have to wake up, to move to the other side. It's super bumming me out, because I still have 20 more weeks to go (not to mention the sleep deprivation of having a baby).

I've done some light reading on the internet and some women say those wrap around body pillows help, did anyone have good luck with them? They're kind of expensive as far as pillows go, so I'd like to know it's going to work. I'm not sure how the wrap around pillow will take pressure off my hips though...Some other women said they bought memory foam mattress toppers, which helped (obviously that's still expensive). I already have a pillowtop mattres topper, would memory foam make a big difference?

I just want to be able to sleep again, while I still can. I feel like I'm at that point where I'll buy ANYTHING if I know it will work and let me sleep, but I don't want my sleep addled brain to result in me buying a bunch of expensive things that won't make a difference...

Thanks, Keri! Not sure how she'll turn out when she fills out, but she seems to have all the right number of bits and pieces, so I'm pretty happy.

For the sleeping issue, I had the same thing for the last 4-5 months. Unfortunately, unless it's so bad that doctor prescribes you stuff (and it would still ache, I imagine), it's just something you have to minimize through pregnancy noodles (the giant skinny, loopy pillows), positioning (make sure if you're using pillows between your knees that you put one between your ankles as well to keep the legs parallel), muscle work/stretching (squats seem to add muscle support to that area), hot bath before bed, and finally the trick that served me best on bad night, a fast acting mild painkiller (pregnancy safe) right before you go to sleep will grant you usually about 4 solid hours of sleep without having to turn over and over and over...

Basically, I feel your pain and I think some of these should help.

Congrats

Thanks, HD! Now I can join you and the other newbie parents as we fumble our way through this.

Congrats!

Cheers, Rory!

Congratulations H. Pro, sounds like everything is going great. She's beautiful!

Thanks, Soulfire. So far so good. It's only day 3, though, so I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop... At least all the crazy weight loss post birth can't be taken from me (14lbs so far) if things hit the fan!

Congrats to H.Protagonist!

Thank ya, cable~

wahay, congrats!

Cheers, Omi! And wahey for the awesome Australian birth services! Amazing stuff, seriously.

Congratulations. Enjoy every minute, even the ones that are not enjoyable.


We spent the better part of the day at the ER. Nick has thrush and has begun treatment for it. Hopefully soon we all can sleep at night.

Thanks, zbarron. I really am. ^_^ It's funny to be 'proud' when your child does something as banal as take a dump, but there it is. Had my first night of non-stop feeding too and even enjoyed that. I could just be sleep-deprived-crazy, though.

Really sorry to hear about the thrush. Such an annoying, persistent thing, right? Hope it clears up right fast.

 

[Icefire1424]

Ugh, don't get me started on leave. My wife is a teacher and had to go back after 5 weeks or lose her job. There's more or less a loophole in New York state that essentially nullifies FMLA for teachers. Thought it was ironic that I could have taken 12 weeks as the father since I'm in the private sector, but the mother had to go back early or not have a job. In the end it did work out as my wife's sister who went to Syracuse University at the time was able to nanny for a few weeks for us until the school year ended.

Pretty ridiculous.

 

[HammerOfThor]

Oh man we have a parent OT? Sweet!

I have a 5 month old little dude, and two step kids, 9 and 14(both boys too).

The 5 month old has been talking like crazy the past month or so. Well, not really speaking, but making baby sounds, which I assume is his way of communicating. Its a blast so far!

 

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[RetroMG]

So my wife is 7 weeks along, and I've got the flu. We're terrified she's gonna get it, so we've been sleeping in separate rooms, she's taking as much airborne as possible, and I'm just trying to get over it as fast as possible.

Anyone dealt with anything like this, have any advice?

 

[Skellig Gra]

So my wife is 7 weeks along, and I've got the flu. We're terrified she's gonna get it, so we've been sleeping in separate rooms, she's taking as much airborne as possible, and I'm just trying to get over it as fast as possible.

Anyone dealt with anything like this, have any advice?

I had the flu about 2 weeks before my wife's due date. I basically just drugged the shit out of myself to get through it as fast as possible. Airborne or emergenc something like that is wise choice.

 

[Dot Matrix]

Ugh, don't get me started on leave. My wife is a teacher and had to go back after 5 weeks or lose her job. There's more or less a loophole in New York state that essentially nullifies FMLA for teachers. Thought it was ironic that I could have taken 12 weeks as the father since I'm in the private sector, but the mother had to go back early or not have a job. In the end it did work out as my wife's sister who went to Syracuse University at the time was able to nanny for a few weeks for us until the school year ended.

Pretty ridiculous.

That is ridiculous, I took a month paternity and my wife took 9 months maternity, all paid. How do they expect new mothers to go back to work after only a week or so of giving birth? Who do they expect to look after the baby?

My daughters both had health issues that required hospital treatment on multiple occasions. We've never had to pay a penny for their treatment, care, or medication. I know I sometimes criticize the UK but I only have to look at the US to make me appreciate it.

My girls are 10 months old now and they're so lazy. One of them doesn't even roll over, she just sits and plays. The other does make an attempt at crawling but just ends up sliding backwards on her belly. I have to pull her out from under the sofa. She has learned to clap though, and it is by far the cutest thing I have ever seen. She's so proud of herself when she does it. We're trying to teach her to wave now.

 

[JeTmAn81]

Congratulations to H. Protagonist, it only gets more and more fun from here! Except for sleep deprivation. That blows.

That is ridiculous, I took a month paternity and my wife took 9 months maternity, all paid. How do they expect new mothers to go back to work after only a week or so of giving birth? Who do they expect to look after the baby?

My daughters both had health issues that required hospital treatment on multiple occasions. We've never had to pay a penny for their treatment, care, or medication. I know I sometimes criticize the UK but I only have to look at the US to make me appreciate it.

Murica. It's not news to anyone that we still have a lot of things very backward.

My girls are 10 months old now and they're so lazy. One of them doesn't even roll over, she just sits and plays. The other does make an attempt at crawling but just ends up sliding backwards on her belly. I have to pull her out from under the sofa. She has learned to clap though, and it is by far the cutest thing I have ever seen. She's so proud of herself when she does it. We're trying to teach her to wave now.

Hehehe. It's pretty awesome when they start clapping. My daughter claps whenever she hears any kind of applause now, even on TV.

 

[Keri]

Just found out today that baby is a BOY! I'm so excited! I know I'd be excited either way, but it's amazing knowing. It makes it feel more real. We're going to have a son!

 

[Skellig Gra]

Just found out today that baby is a BOY! I'm so excited! I know I'd be excited either way, but it's amazing knowing. It makes it feel more real. We're going to have a son!

Hey congrats, now to work on the list of names.

 

[TI82]

What is it with parents, mother groups in particular, that leads themselves to such odd fringe ideas? On the Facebook a bunch of moms kept going on and on about placenta eating and no vaccines, trying to bully a new expecting mother. When I stepped in to offer her different viewpoints with actual evidence based science they flipped out on me. The majority boiled down to "you don't have a uterus so you don't have a say". That kind of sexism is pretty disgusting in my opinion.

 

[H.Protagonist]

10 week scan. It looks like a baby!

Congratulations! Just wait till you see the 20 week scan. Freaky stuff (in a cool way)!

Congratulations to H. Protagonist, it only gets more and more fun from here! Except for sleep deprivation. That blows.

Thanks, yo. I'm with you on the sleep deprivation, though maybe because of my line of work it doesn't feel so bad yet. Yet. I was an idiot and worked really late the morning of the day I went into labor, so had to do the whole thing on 5 hours of sleep, then then next night I got no sleep because I was in labor, then 4 hours at the hospital that night, then 3 the next night and last night she woke up for feedings 7 times. As of 6 PM today she's had 14 feedings. Cluster feeding...nooooooo....

My poor brain. ;_;

Just found out today that baby is a BOY! I'm so excited! I know I'd be excited either way, but it's amazing knowing. It makes it feel more real. We're going to have a son!

Exciting! Time for another Breckin/Kale thread!

What is it with parents, mother groups in particular, that leads themselves to such odd fringe ideas? On the Facebook a bunch of moms kept going on and on about placenta eating and no vaccines, trying to bully a new expecting mother. When I stepped in to offer her different viewpoints with actual evidence based science they flipped out on me. The majority boiled down to "you don't have a uterus so you don't have a say". That kind of sexism is pretty disgusting in my opinion.

Dude, you should see the WTE forums. I found everything really strange. Either they were totally fringe or totally hug-bubble and would get angry if anyone had a contrary opinion. Had some good fun stirring up shit with the anti-vaxxers and trying to offer counter points as well. Sorry they were trying to exclude you like that.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

I'm surprised I have never seen this thread! I Have been spending more time in the OT in recent months as well too....

Our son will turn 2 years old in about 3 weeks, and he is about on par with the above link which is surprising since our household is bilingual (English/Japanese with heavy leaning to Japanese). I always had the impression that an environment like that might slow down his development, but it really is crazy how well he seems to be able to understand both languages.

He still has trouble pronouncing things of course, and mostly babbles outside of a dozen or so words that are understandable. Hopefully, he will start improving over the next few months. That said, his ability to understand things in both languages really does blow me away on a daily basis.

Awesome! My daughter is in the same boat but about 8 or 9 months older. We've found that compared to her friends that only speak English or only Japanese, she is definitely a bit behind. But compared to her other haafu friends she is at roughly the same level. So anecdotally picking up two languages from birth seemed to slow things down. On the other hand, her (bilingual) pediatrician said no that shouldn't have an effect, and was actually worried for awhile that her language ability was just barely borderline acceptable. My wife and I were freaked out for a bit and started looking up speech therapists. But hey, what do you know, with a bit more time she's picking up tons of English and Japanese and switching between them like a champ. Me speaking only English with our daughter and my wife speaking only Japanese really seems to help.

 

[soepje]

Congrats to all the new (expecting) parents !

What is it with parents, mother groups in particular, that leads themselves to such odd fringe ideas? On the Facebook a bunch of moms kept going on and on about placenta eating and no vaccines, trying to bully a new expecting mother. When I stepped in to offer her different viewpoints with actual evidence based science they flipped out on me. The majority boiled down to "you don't have a uterus so you don't have a say". That kind of sexism is pretty disgusting in my opinion.

I've always thought that the anti vaccination movement was mostly a thing going on in the US atm. Since i got a kid i've realized I was wrong though. Pretty crazy to see how people who seem to have it together turn out to be/become anti vaxxers for the strangest of reasons. It seems like the number is growing too, the anti vaccin preaching is strong. Makes me wonder how things will be 20 years from now.

Overall there seems to be a lot of harsh judging; breastfeeding vs no breastfeeding; carrying vs using a stroller; anti vax vs vaxxing; using canned food vs freshly prepared biological baby cuisine, daycare vs stay at home etc.. the list is pretty long .. It can become pretty harsh and crazy sometimes. I usually just ignore it by now and do my own thing.

 

[Browny]

Aaaaand...it's over!

Mia was born yesterday at 39 weeks +2 au natural via water birth, weighing in at 6lbs 7oz. She kicked ass on her Apgar test, loves being burrito-ed, and so far I've had great and consistent success breastfeeding her. She also sleeps like a champ (won't last, I know), and this all feels very, very strange and surreal.

Congrats H Prot!

10 week scan. It looks like a baby!

I distinctly remember a Friends episode where Chandler says "I don't know, but I think it's about to attack the Enterprise" - but I'll say congrats instead!

Back at work. It's times like these I really hate the US. No real paternity leave is a joke.

Reading the conversation that followed this... I can't even imagine how horrible the system is. My partner took 12 months off with our first, and we're planning on 12 for the second. Maternity pay in the UK isn't great, but we'll make do (assuming I don't punch anyone at work ) - but back to work in 2 months? Fuck that.

Just found out today that baby is a BOY! I'm so excited! I know I'd be excited either way, but it's amazing knowing. It makes it feel more real. We're going to have a son!

Just don't make a thread asking for names... Congrats on the surprise wees going in random directions!!

 

[zbarron]

Thanks, zbarron. I really am. ^_^ It's funny to be 'proud' when your child does something as banal as take a dump, but there it is. Had my first night of non-stop feeding too and even enjoyed that. I could just be sleep-deprived-crazy, though.

Really sorry to hear about the thrush. Such an annoying, persistent thing, right? Hope it clears up right fast.

It seems to be. He had white crusties covering the entire inside of his mouth but by now they are gone which is nice. He already seems to be feeling better but it seems like his mouth starts to bother him again before the next dose. He also had constipation but as of yesterday that's cleared up too.

Just found out today that baby is a BOY! I'm so excited! I know I'd be excited either way, but it's amazing knowing. It makes it feel more real. We're going to have a son!

I also had problems at times with it being "real."

Hey congrats, now to work on the list of names.

Oh tell me about it. We went through over 10,000 before we made a "final" decision 3 times. We were going to go with Calvin Sterling and Noah Arthur, before settling on Nicholas Arthur.

And as for maternity leave my wife gets none paid but was able to take a few weeks of unpaid off. Thankfully we got our tax return, but yeah I agree the current system is abysmal. She ended up only home for two weeks and is on her second week of part time. She'll probably be back to full time next week so she's trying to spend every minute home with her boys.

 

[anarckitty]

This thread needs more baby photos. =)

Here's my little man that doesn't let me get much sleep. He's 9 weeks now.

Here's my baby girl (she's 4) She's a real handful, but so sweet with her little brother.

 

[zbarron]

Cute. Your oldest has good taste in turtles. Is she also a party dude(tte)?

We have a son who just turned five and he is the sweetest older brother. He likes to read to the baby and point out the animals and tries to help calm him when we do. We're also really struggling with sleep. Most nights anymore Nick won't go to sleep until four or five in the morning. Tonight I'm considering loading up on caffeine and taking him for a drive.

 

[Soulfire]

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[Steeped in a Sea of Games]

My daughter it almost two and a half and she is either the sweetest, smartest, most polite and adorable child I've ever seen or an absolute monster that disobeys everything refuses to eat anything and rips all the pages out of books. I feel like there's no middle ground. Someone please tell me this is normal and that she'll grow out of it. Also, I would appreciate it if you could refrain from telling me it only gets worse and that threes are worse than twos because that's all my Facebook friends are telling me. I don't know if I'll survive another eighteen months.

All I can tell you is to gird your loins. No, not every kid is the same, but it's pretty normal for kids to be this way to some degree. My 2.5 year old boy is pretty well behaved most of the time, but there are times where he just wants to be a little stinker. My biggest problem is that he just wants my attention 24 hours a day. The only advice I could give you would be to try to create an environment where they just can't cause that much trouble. IE: Board books instead of paper pages, try to let them eat at their own pace, create a 'safe space' in the house where your kid can spend time without you having to constantly be watching over their shoulder (I have a large area of the house totally gated off that's completely baby safe for my kids to play in).

Oh, and just remember that teens will most likely be a lot more terrible.

 

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[Skellig Gra]

Pete and I chilling at home. Can't believe he's 2 weeks old already.

 

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[Skellig Gra]

He's so small nothing fits him well. I should just go with robes haha.

 

[indigo-cyclops]

Our little guy is 10 days old, had a pretty big setback this week. Hospitalized for photolight therapy for a really high bilirubin level. It threw off the nursing schedule and all that and now it's been really tough to get him back, and my wife's confidence.

Any of you just say fuck it and switch? How much longer can I really try and encourage and reassure without being too overbearing? I'm not even sure why I feel it's important, but it's not important enough to me if it's going to be such a burden on my wife. I want her to be able to enjoy this to some degree. And I have to go back to work in a week...

 

[Skellig Gra]

Our little guy is 10 days old, had a pretty big setback this week. Hospitalized for photolight therapy for a really high bilirubin level. It threw off the nursing schedule and all that and now it's been really tough to get him back, and my wife's confidence.

Any of you just say fuck it and switch? How much longer can I really try and encourage and reassure without being too overbearing? I'm not even sure why I feel it's important, but it's not important enough to me if it's going to be such a burden on my wife. I want her to be able to enjoy this to some degree. And I have to go back to work in a week...

Are you talking about breastfeeding? If she is having issues doing it on demand have you considered having her pump and bottle feed later?

 

[H.Protagonist]

Congrats H Prot!

Thanks, Browny~

It seems to be. He had white crusties covering the entire inside of his mouth but by now they are gone which is nice. He already seems to be feeling better but it seems like his mouth starts to bother him again before the next dose. He also had constipation but as of yesterday that's cleared up too.

I've heard (now) that it's quite a common thing for kids to get, but I'd never heard of it before having one of my own. Glad to hear everything is clearing up.

This thread needs more baby photos. =)

Here's my little man that doesn't let me get much sleep. He's 9 weeks now.


Here's my baby girl (she's 4) She's a real handful, but so sweet with her little brother.

Awww, he looks so boss, especially with the tie. Your daughter is lovely too. I'm more team Donatello, but she has obvious good taste to go Ninja Turtle.

And:

Mia's a week old now and very, very serious. Except when she's cross-eyed. That usually means some serious blowout is happening.

Brought Logan to the zoo last Sunday.


He had a lot of fun with the monkeys and fish.

He looks like he's really getting a kick out of it. How old is he now?

Our little guy is 10 days old, had a pretty big setback this week. Hospitalized for photolight therapy for a really high bilirubin level. It threw off the nursing schedule and all that and now it's been really tough to get him back, and my wife's confidence.

Any of you just say fuck it and switch? How much longer can I really try and encourage and reassure without being too overbearing? I'm not even sure why I feel it's important, but it's not important enough to me if it's going to be such a burden on my wife. I want her to be able to enjoy this to some degree. And I have to go back to work in a week...

:/ Really sorry to hear that. Breastfeeding has been a real challenge and I can see how that would throw a spanner in everything. Was she unable to express while he was getting treatment and now she's not producing, or has he just stopped latching properly...? Perhaps it might be worth it to get/hire the guidance of a lactation consultant to guide her back through it and help build up her confidence again/fix any issues? You could put it forward that some professional help might be just the trick to start fresh again since everything's been thrown off, and that if it doesn't work or she's not happy let her know that whatever she wants to do next you'll support her. And if she's not keen on even trying that, just support what she feels is best. A super stressed mom is not going to make breastfeeding work or be good for either of their (mom and baby) mental health. I'd say put it out there and give her the option of some expert help, but don't box her in. And maybe get her a post-natal massage. De-stress her.

 

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[Milksheikhs]

This may or may not be controversial but I really am interested. What age do you guys think it's appropriate to stop breastfeeding, and is there any age where you feel it becomes inappropriate to still be breastfeeding?

Also, a side note my daughter's sleep schedule is pretty much screwed up completely. Like it's great that she sleeps like 12 hrs and only wakes up like once. But it's the complete opposite like she started sleeping as late as 5 am until 5 pm. I've tried keeping her awake during the day but she just falls right back asleep. She's less than 3 months so it's not like I can keep super entertained for long before she loses interest.

Mia's a week old now and very, very serious. Except when she's cross-eyed. That usually means some serious blowout is happening.

She's so adorable! ^_^

Here's my daughter Ariana:

This is in her little sailor moon outfit we got her.

And this is the most recent photo of her ^_^

 

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