For ENA moms and moms-to-be!!

[Celestialagape54]

Dang,

 

He is just precious What a little cutie pie. I am so sorry to hear about the ordeal you went through, but I am so glad to both you and little Hayden are doing well

[secretness87]

Congrats Dang!! I remember your thread wayy back in the day about the false positive you had on your pregnancy test. I'm glad baby Hayden is out and healthy. He's so adorable Congrats again!

[arwen]

CONGRATS DANG!!! He is gorgeous and you look fab. I am sorry about the back labor. I know how that is, had it for 10 hours until I got an epidural.

 

And yay for the breastfeeding. I am still breastfeeding, and I love it The nipple thing will be better in time. Take care that you let him take a 'big bite' (well not literally 'bite' lol, we call it that). The whole or a big part of the areola should be in his mouth, not just the nipple, that hurts like hell and will cause tears in the skin.

 

If you have problems with the nipple, pure lanolin oinment is the best.

 

If you have anything I can help you with regarding breastfeeding or other things, please let me know

[Ac143]

How are all the momma's & the preggo ladies doing? I noticed this thread hasn't been as active since most of us have babies now & probably all really busy!

[arwen]

Yes... and the lack of sleep is not helping *yawn*

 

Renske is almost 6 months, and is turning into a night person. Parties all day, drinks all night. I am still fully breastfeeding her, so it's a bit of a job. Since I also work about 32 hours a week, it's interesting. In the sense that I didn't experience before how odd a day of work can be after you skipped to nights in a row

 

anyway. She's doing great. That's what matters most, right?

 

How are you doing?

[Hope75]

Yes... and the lack of sleep is not helping *yawn*

 

Renske is almost 6 months, and is turning into a night person. Parties all day, drinks all night. I am still fully breastfeeding her, so it's a bit of a job. Since I also work about 32 hours a week, it's interesting. In the sense that I didn't experience before how odd a day of work can be after you skipped to nights in a row

 

anyway. She's doing great. That's what matters most, right?

 

How are you doing?

 

Oh I hear that! We actually just recently did a little bit of sleep training with our daughter because at 13 months she was up 3-4 times a night for 45 minutes to several hours every night and we just could not keep up. Once she was able to understand language and able to communicate a bit we allowed short bursts of controlled crying after telling her we were putting her in her crib for night night and that we loved her. Of course we ruled out physical causes for her wakings, (thirst, pain, wet or poopy diaper, etc), then told her the above and placed her in the crib for 5 minutes, returned and comforted her, then 10 minutes, etc. and within about a week she started sleeping through the night almost exclusively and has been for the last 2 weeks. It is amazing how much happier we all are now that we are mostly well rested- her included.

 

It was something I never thought I would be comfortable with but honestly after over a year I was soooo exhausted and she was at the point where she could easily be sleeping through the night and wasn't able to get herself there, and I was at the point where I felt ready to allow her to be able to soothe herself. I definitely wouldn't have been ready any earlier and I think the results for both of us have been very positive.

[BellaDonna]

Hey Hope, I am so glad to hear that you are all getting some more sleep! YAY!!!!!

[arwen]

I was thinking of a year of 'following her'. Meaning that I simply breastfeed her when she cries at night, and she sleeps in the co-sleeper (a bed attached to ours). We never let her cry, we do let her 'be tired' on her own. She sometimes needs to 'cry' (it's not actually crying) before she can catch the sleep.

 

Thank you very much for this post Hope. It's giving me hope

[Hope75]

I was thinking of a year of 'following her'. Meaning that I simply breastfeed her when she cries at night, and she sleeps in the co-sleeper (a bed attached to ours). We never let her cry, we do let her 'be tired' on her own. She sometimes needs to 'cry' (it's not actually crying) before she can catch the sleep.

 

Thank you very much for this post Hope. It's giving me hope

 

Arwen,

 

We did the same, fed and responded to our daughter quickly, and comforted her to sleep, no matter how long it took, whenever she cried for the first year + a few weeks, but after a time I started to realize it was a pattern we were establishing, that she was unable to fall asleep without being rocked by us for long periods, no matter what time of night it was, and that wasn't fair to her or us when it became 3-4 times a night, we were all cranky and exhausted. My husband's cousins were going through the same thing with their daughter (a few months older than ours) and we talked about it and decided to do it together. I won't lie, the first night was hard (she cried for 90 minutes, I went in after 5, then 10, than 15, then 20 for the remainder) and I also cried because I wanted to stay and comfort her as I always had until she went to sleep, but I knew if I didn't stick to it we could be doing this for YEARS and it wasn't healthy for her or us. It helped that I had a friend to talk to about it who was going through it too. The most important thing for me was that at 13 months she could understand language enough that she knew what we were saying and doing, and we could in very simple terms tell her what we were doing and what to expect.

 

Our friend said to think of it this way, "She isn't crying because she is thinking you are a terrible mom who is abandoning her because you aren't, you are returning every 5,10,15 minutes to pick her up and comfort her, but you are teaching her that the final act of falling to sleep is something she needs to do on her own. Her crying is her way of saying, ' * * * !' because she is used to it being one way, and now you are changing the rules- which is why it is SO important to be consistent or you will just be confusing her."

 

That helped, too. It was really only bad the first 2 nights and even then I expected hours and hours of crying (for both of us, LOL) but it was 90 minutes the first night and about 30 the second night, and since she goes down for naps and bed without a fight, goes to sleep on her own, and sleeps through almost every single night.

[Hope75]

Hey Hope, I am so glad to hear that you are all getting some more sleep! YAY!!!!!

 

Thanks, Bella! It has made a big difference in the levels of sanity in this house.

[BellaDonna]

I won't lie, the first night was hard (she cried for 90 minutes, I went in after 5, then 10, than 15, then 20 for the remainder) and I also cried because I wanted to stay and comfort her as I always had until she went to sleep, but I knew if I didn't stick to it we could be doing this for YEARS and it wasn't healthy for her or us

 

Hearing your little one cry will always tug on your heart strings.

 

Luckily my boy is pretty good about going to bed. Even though he is almost 3- he has some nights that he doesn't want to go to bed. We have a very predictable routine established. We cuddle on the sofa and I read to him. Some nights, when I go to put him down to sleep he will clip on me and cry- I put on music for him and will usually hug him for one song- but after that it is time for me to leave the room. He will not want to let go and he is talking now and will say "nooooo, mommy mommy, I want mommy") It makes me very sad all the time. But usually as soon as I leave the room he moves on and falls right to sleep. He wakes up very happy in the morning.

 

In a perfect world we would never need to sleep and we could be cuddling all night long- but in reality he needs to go to bed and I need the break once he does. On weekends I am more likely to cuddle him for an extra song. (I still give in here and there lol)

[sophie274]

Just saw your post Dang - CONGRATULATIONS! It sounds like you made it through labor with flying colors. I hope that you're recovering well and that the breastfeeding gets easier every day. He is absolutely beautiful! So glad to hear that you're enjoying being a mom. Come back and give us updates when you get a minute.

[sidehop]

Congrats Dang!

[Ac143]

Hello ladies!

 

How is everyone? I'm doing good, finally getting into the groove of being a mom lol...it took some time to adjust but now I feel great. I love this lil girl more than anything. She brings me such joy, I can't even explain it.

 

She is 2 months tomorrow and smiles a lot now, her first smile was around 3 weeks old but it wasn't all the time...she even laughs out loud which is the cutest thing ever, melts my heart! Last night she also slept 6hrs straight, I hope it continues!! I am still waiting for my period though...as odd as it sounds I want her to come already lol..Overall though all is going good here.

 

How are you ladies & your lil ones doing?

[metrogirl]

Hello ladies!

 

How is everyone? I'm doing good, finally getting into the groove of being a mom lol...it took some time to adjust but now I feel great. I love this lil girl more than anything. She brings me such joy, I can't even explain it.

 

She is 2 months tomorrow and smiles a lot now, her first smile was around 3 weeks old but it wasn't all the time...she even laughs out loud which is the cutest thing ever, melts my heart! Last night she also slept 6hrs straight, I hope it continues!! Overall all is going good here.

 

How are you ladies & your lil ones doing?

 

Nice to see you again.

 

So glad little Alicia is doing well.

 

Nathan turned 2 months yesterday. He's huge and he is just so handsome. Right now he has a lot of red in his hair and blue eyes. I haven't seen him smile that much but yesterday I was holding him and talking to him and he cracked a big ol' smile for his grandma.

[Ac143]

Nice to see you again.

 

So glad little Alicia is doing well.

 

Nathan turned 2 months yesterday. He's huge and he is just so handsome. Right now he has a lot of red in his hair and blue eyes. I haven't seen him smile that much but yesterday I was holding him and talking to him and he cracked a big ol' smile for his grandma.

 

Aww aren't their smiles the sweetest? I try to get a picture everytime she smiles, but as soon as she sees the camera she stops..little booger lol I did get a few but they aren't that great.

 

Oh Alicia has some red in her hair too (like her daddy) and green eyes so far.

[metrogirl]

Aww aren't their smiles the sweetest? I try to get a picture everytime she smiles, but as soon as she sees the camera she stops..little booger lol I did get a few but they aren't that great.

 

We did manage to get one picture of Nathan smiling but he had this weird smirk on his face, I think he was farting. lmao

[Ac143]

We did manage to get one picture of Nathan smiling but he had this weird smirk on his face, I think he was farting. lmao

 

lmao!! yup they love their farts haha

[metrogirl]

lmao!! yup they love their farts haha

 

 

oh my goodness, she is just so precious.

[Ac143]

oh my goodness, she is just so precious.

 

aww thanks, she is sitting on our glider laughing at me in that pic lol

[metrogirl]

Nathan had his 2 month shots today.

 

He is 13 lbs and almost 23 inches long......what a porker.

[Ac143]

Nathan had his 2 month shots today.

 

He is 13 lbs and almost 23 inches long......what a porker.

 

 

Alicia was 12lbs 4oz and 22.5inches long at her 2 month appt just the other day, so she's no skinny minnie either LOL.

 

She HATED her shots and I did too, I cried right along with her haha.

 

How is everyone doing, this thread isn't so active anymore after everyone had their babies! We all might need to get knocked up again or we just wait until HERS does lol.

[hers]

or we just wait until HERS does lol.

 

not funny....no babies for me please!

[bearskittie]

hey guys well yea i noticed alot of you have babies now and omg i cant believe i'm only 7-8 weeks luckily i have had little morning sickness but i have had terrible tonsillitis and still trying to clear it looks like its going but will keep trying. I feel so huge for 7-8 weeks as i have a little bump already but looking at others i feel really small lol.

I cant wait to have my first scan and get out of this 1st trimester my hormones are everywhere and my senses are so much more heightened it feels abit surreal.

[Ac143]

not funny....no babies for me please!

 

I was hoping you would catch that haha

 

hey guys well yea i noticed alot of you have babies now and omg i cant believe i'm only 7-8 weeks luckily i have had little morning sickness but i have had terrible tonsillitis and still trying to clear it looks like its going but will keep trying. I feel so huge for 7-8 weeks as i have a little bump already but looking at others i feel really small lol.

I cant wait to have my first scan and get out of this 1st trimester my hormones are everywhere and my senses are so much more heightened it feels abit surreal.

 

Congrats bear! Ahh I remember the 1st trimester like it was yesterday - I also didn't have morning sickness but was sooo tired all.the.time plus like you said the hormones were out of control. The 2nd trimester was so much better - you will bet there soon I hope your 1st scan goes well, keep us posted!