NEW MOMS, THINKING OF YOU!

[HGx3]

New Mommies,
How are all you guys doing??? Thinking of you, and hoping you will give a brief update on you and your babies!!!

[emily]

I have been wondering too!!!! Any recent pics? I love seeing how cute those babies get after a few weeks. Not that they aren't cute when they are first born but you know what I mean!

[HelenA]

KimberlyAnn is doing just fine, she is sleeping a dream and feeding well, and getting cuter and cuter as each day comes!! My stitches came out saturday and I'm healing quite nicely even though it's still a little sore, but it's much better than it was.

I have made KimberlyAnn her own website with a journal and short video and lots of photo's if anyone wants to have a look!



http://www.babababies.com/view/view.cfm?SITEID=18287

[meg]

Moira Grace and I have made it to 6 weeks! I'm on my own with the kids again - no more mommy and daddy or dh to help me out - and we're actually doing well. My house may never recover from the HG or having 3 kids, but the family is really back on track. I am finding 3 to be not too much more difficult than 2. Finding my place in the family again was easy, they were all glad to have me back. Restablishing any semblence of routine is taking a bit more time, but I'm getting there. Anabel and Patrick are having a bit of sibling rivalry between each other, but it's manageable. I'm sure it is in response to the baby as they've gotten along remarkably well until just recently. We're looking forward to summer vacation and a few small trips.

Physically, I'm actually doing quite well. My anemia is improving which has helped tremendously with my fatigue. Saw my dr on Monday and she gave me the go ahead to start exercising again. I've been walking for about two weeks already and I'm up to a mile. I used to do 45 to 60 minutes five times a week on the treadmill so that doesn't seem like much but compared to the last 9 months or so, it's a marathon! I started my post-natal yoga video on Tuesday. It concentrates on abs, lower back, thighs, buttocks, chest and upper arms - you know that whole center of your body that turns to mush during 9 months of inactivity and a c/s finale! I am in agony, but I'll keep at it. I have a wedding in July and August and I don't want to hear, "Oh, I thought you had a hard time gaining weight when you were pregnant?" I've gained 15 lbs since Moira Grace was born. The dr blamed my metabolism. She said to make sure I'm taking in 1800 to 2000 calories plus 500 extra for bfing every day and to exercise regularly so that my metabolism will reset itself (eventually) for normal conditions. She said that between not eating much for 9 months, being inactive and taking mega doses or Reglan, I'm all out of whack. Ah, another reason to love Reglan!

Emotionally, I'm improving. I haven't started crying in the middle of the night because I'm so tired I can't stand it for almost a week. I also have been very explicit with dh about what I need and how I feel. No excuses if he doesn't step up to the plate now. I also talked out my whole c/s with my dr on Monday and it was very liberating. She actually acknowledged that the spinal/epidural was botched and that it was a scary moment for the drs as well as me. It made me feel so much better to be validated.

OK, I've written a book. I'll let someone else have a turn now...

My best to you all,

[HGx3]

Kimberly Ann is precious, those sweet little sounds of a newborn, ahhhhh. Thanks for sharing!

Meg, I am glad you are starting to feel better, and that you are managing with 3 kids alright. Kudos to you for starting the Yoga. Alrady 6 weeks postpartum, can you believe it?
Thanks for the updates.

[Janehh]

Hellon, that KimberlyAnn sure is cute! I'm glad you're both doing so well. Sleeping like a dream?! That's awesome. What's your secret?
Meg, I'm glad you've turned a corner. I am in awe of you handling 3 kids, breastfeeding, managing to exercise, while recovering from everything you've been through. You really are incredible!

We're doing ok here, although it's still a bit of a rollercoaster. I'm probably having some PPD, and though I'm taking medicine it's not helping as much as I'd like. The baby (Susannah) eats every two hours and while the bfing is going better I still don't really like it and my letdown is so fast that we both end up soaked, so I can't see doing it anywhere but home for awhile yet. So I dash out for quick trips but mostly stay home and am feeling isolated. I have been looking for mother/baby groups in my area and noone seems to know of anything. It's so frustrating! I was really hoping to meet some other stay-at-home moms now that I've quit my job. I'm also freaked out about that--I'm afraid I made a big mistake. I really don't know if I can do this.
My 3 yr old ds is also having a hard time adjusting. Plus he has stopped napping so by the afternoon he is really unbearable--huge tantrums, whining, demanding attention constantly. Now that I think of it, I'm not enjoying either of my children right now--and I wanted to stay home??!!!!
Physically I'm feeling ok but am really weak and out of shape, so that even though my weight hasn't really changed, nothing fits, which is depressing.
Ugh, I'd better stop whining. I guess I feel like I can't whine to anyone else--like I've used up my whining allowance during pregnancy and now I need to suck it up, you know? But sometimes I feel like this whole year was a huge mistake and I should have left my life the way it was--I was healthy, happy, working at a job I liked, and (I thought) doing an ok job of raising my son. Now everything feels like a mess. I hope this passes soon!
I've really written a book here so I'll stop. Thanks for listening.
Jane

[IslandDreamer]

(((Jane)))

How on earth did I miss your birth announcement. CONGRATULATIONS!

Love,
Suzanne

[HelenA]

Jane - As far as we can work out, the secret is Johnsons lavendar baby bath!! The first time we bathed her in that she slept right through from 12.30am until 8am!!! Also routine, she has a bath then a bottle and then a little play then it's straight to bed. The one night we didn't put the lavendar bath in she woke at 4.30am! So we make sure we are stocked up now..lol

[Atsie]

I am on my way out to buy some now!!!!!!!!
Erin

[rjdecker]

Jane,

You really must be having a hard time. My three year old is so full of energy, she runs everywhere she goes and is constantly into everything! I still give her a nap, or quiet time, because if I don't she just can't function at all. And it makes the rest of us miserable! I even tried to wean her from her naps, but after about two weeks, the rest of us had had enough!

It is possible that you might need a new medication for the PPD. There are many, so don't think you have to stick to just one. Celexa was a wonderful help for me and we are going to do it with this next one. The doc wants to start me about 37 weeks so that hopefully we can avoid the PPD. the only problem is there are not very many studies with bfing with it, so we have decided to bottle feed. We decided it is better to have a happy mom with all the kids. As my first bout with PPD was pretty bad. I am actually looking forward to feeling better, as there are certainly days that I am beginning to feel the depression set in already.

Hang in there. If bf proves to be too stressful, or isolating, maybe bottle feeding isn't so bad. I bf my last and loved the bonding, but I too felt very isolated and hated that. I couldn't go anywhere without taking her along because she absolutely refused any bottles. It was miserable for me. There are advantages to bfing, but there are advantages to bottle feeding, and it doesn't make you any less of a mother.

Jenny

[Janehh]

Jenny,
Thanks so much for your reply. We're slowly doing better here--there are good days and bad, but I can sometimes see how this could work. When things are ok, like today, I look at my earlier post and it sounds so over the top and dramatic, but then I cycle right back the next day and can't see any of the positives until I climb back out again. The meds might need to be adjusted--good idea--I go to the doctor next week and will discuss it.
Again, thanks for replying!
Jane

[rjdecker]

Jane,

No problem. I looked at my last post and made the bf look bad. It really isn't. I've done both. The last time I did it the longest. And the bonding was wonderful, but I was very ready to finish when it came time. The bottle wasn't so bad either with my first. I could share feeding times with others. I do know that with this one, we are bottle feeding. However, for the first few days it will just be me and possibly the dh as I want to get that bonding down. Baby will be born when all the flu, RSV, and such is going around, so we are definitely not passing him around! Good luck with whatever you decide to do. It is nice to have options for feeding!

Jenny