PRAISE THE LORD, Libby is over this dreaded "4 month sleep regression" if there is such a thing. I think. I hope. I pray. She slept 9 pm - 6 am last night, unswaddled! She is "supposed" to sleep till 7, and I got her to go back to sleep till about 6:45, which is good enough! I hope we have a repeat performance tonight!
Then this afternoon I fed her prunes for the first time. I did not have high hopes, because up to this point, she has tried a few bites of a new food and then fussed. Today I had to go back for more two times, and she ate the WHOLE jar! She has never eaten that much at a time before. Prunes leave nasty brown drool everywhere, but she needs the fiber, especially now that she's on formula full-time (its iron is constipating).
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The End
Well, we have come to the end of our breastfeeding relationship. On Friday the 12th, Libby was diagnosed with a respiratory virus and double ear infection. She lost her appetite and nursed poorly for a couple of days. When her appetite came back late this week, I couldn't keep up. My supply tanked from lack of demand. I realized on Thursday or Friday that she wasn't getting enough and started offering a bottle after each time she nursed, and today she is still sucking them dry. I'm worried that she's sometimes still not getting enough with the bottle because I'm only making 4 oz, and my supply doesn't seem to be improving (since she's still taking 4 oz of formula after nursing), so I think it's time to quit and go to bottles.
I'm kind of sad about it, but we had a really good six months. It was rough in the beginning, and I think a lot of women would have given up, but I persevered. I am so glad I did. It really helped us bond, and was such a rewarding part of our relationship. Plus, breastfeeding is so much easier than taking formula and bottles everywhere, not to mention cleaning the bottles! Libby going to formula may expedite our getting a dishwasher. :)
I'm kind of sad about it, but we had a really good six months. It was rough in the beginning, and I think a lot of women would have given up, but I persevered. I am so glad I did. It really helped us bond, and was such a rewarding part of our relationship. Plus, breastfeeding is so much easier than taking formula and bottles everywhere, not to mention cleaning the bottles! Libby going to formula may expedite our getting a dishwasher. :)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Bump in the night
Okay, so this is not related to Libby, but I have to share. Something pushed hard on the bottom of my foot last night, and it scared me so much I sat straight up in bed and almost yelled. For a minute, I sat there, before realizing what it was. Unbeknown to me, Todd's foot had been below mine (not under, closer to the foot of the bed), and he flexed his foot in his sleep, which gave me that little push. Creepy.
My last entry was about cloth diapering, but it was very diaper-oriented and did not share my feelings on the whole thing. I love cloth diapering (or cd'ing, as it's known in the online community). Let me count the ways:
1. Good for the environment. Everyone has heard this one. I was horrified to discover that we threw away a plastic grocery bag full of dirty diapers EVERY DAY when Libby was a newborn. I was glad to know we would soon be using cloth. Then there are the chemicals in the disposables. Ick. I hate the smell, walking down the diaper aisle at the grocery store always makes me frown. People say cloth is no better because you do so much more laundry and use all that water. True, but disposables take a lot of water to make, we just don't see how much. And I think keeping stuff out of landfills is more important.
2. Good for the baby. Libby has had very few very minor diaper rashes that have all disappeared in a number of hours. Her lil booty is very happy in cotton diapers.
3. Good for me. We have never had a poop blowout in a cloth diaper. I have heard that this is often a once-daily occurrence in disposables, and I can believe it's true since we've had 3-4 of them and almost always have L in cloth.
4. Good for the family. I have already mentioned how cheap cloth diapers are. As I said before, we have probably spent around $300 on cloth all together, and I'm hoping to only need to spend $25-50 more before she's potty trained. That's two years away, folks. That brings me to:
5. Good for all. (sorry, I'm running out of individuals. This is probably actually "good for mommy and daddy") Cloth diapered babies are potty trained earlier because they are better able to tell when they are wet, and they don't like it.
So, cloth diapers. Check 'em out.
My last entry was about cloth diapering, but it was very diaper-oriented and did not share my feelings on the whole thing. I love cloth diapering (or cd'ing, as it's known in the online community). Let me count the ways:
1. Good for the environment. Everyone has heard this one. I was horrified to discover that we threw away a plastic grocery bag full of dirty diapers EVERY DAY when Libby was a newborn. I was glad to know we would soon be using cloth. Then there are the chemicals in the disposables. Ick. I hate the smell, walking down the diaper aisle at the grocery store always makes me frown. People say cloth is no better because you do so much more laundry and use all that water. True, but disposables take a lot of water to make, we just don't see how much. And I think keeping stuff out of landfills is more important.
2. Good for the baby. Libby has had very few very minor diaper rashes that have all disappeared in a number of hours. Her lil booty is very happy in cotton diapers.
3. Good for me. We have never had a poop blowout in a cloth diaper. I have heard that this is often a once-daily occurrence in disposables, and I can believe it's true since we've had 3-4 of them and almost always have L in cloth.
4. Good for the family. I have already mentioned how cheap cloth diapers are. As I said before, we have probably spent around $300 on cloth all together, and I'm hoping to only need to spend $25-50 more before she's potty trained. That's two years away, folks. That brings me to:
5. Good for all. (sorry, I'm running out of individuals. This is probably actually "good for mommy and daddy") Cloth diapered babies are potty trained earlier because they are better able to tell when they are wet, and they don't like it.
So, cloth diapers. Check 'em out.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Diapers
We are a cloth diapering family. A friend of mine cloth diapers her son, who is about 18 mos older than Libby, and seeing her go through it made me interested. I started researching, and found out there is a TON of info and support on the Internet.
Because Libby was such a tiny baby (under 7 lb for the first 3 wks of life), we used disposables for the first two weeks till her umbilical cord stump fell off. She swam in Pampers Swaddlers Newborn, prompting us to unsuccessfully search for preemie diapers. I think she was wearing newborn size diapers for the first two months, certainly for the first 6 weeks.
When Libby was 2 weeks old or so (I think it was when my mom was visiting approx Sept 17th), we started using the Thirsties wraps I had bought before she was born. Someone online had recommended using washcloths as diapers under a cover instead of actual diapers, so we bought two 18-packs at Walmart and used two in each diaper. We also bought newborn size prefolds, about 12 of them. We had about 6 Thirsties. These worked until she was about two months old.
When Libby was two months old (early November), we bought size Small Thirsties (we had been using extra small) and started using the prefolds we had bought before she was born, which we had about 24 of.
At the end of December, we were getting ready for daycare. We bought 9 or so BumGenius pocket diapers, which are probably the most popular cloth diaper nationwide. We already owned 3, which we had used at night since Libby was a month old or so, probably. BumGenius are so popular because of their ease of use, and I knew daycare would be cool with them because baby W. (the aforementioned friend's baby) had worn them at the same daycare. We also bought four Thirsties Duos Size 2, which are size M/L, and 12 "red-edge GMD" prefold diapers to use at home, because Libby was already too big for the size small.
We now have about 14 Bumgenius, which is enough to have 5 per day at daycare, one at night, wash every other day, and not get nervous about running out. We have one of every color they make, and two of both shades of pink, both shades of yellow, and neon green. I love the colors!
Libby wore Size 1 disposables for only about a month, Size 2 the same. She was wearing Size 1 in November, maybe part of December, and wore Size 2 until about the 1st-2nd week of January. We bought a pack of Size 2 on January 1st in case the new BumGenius didn't arrive in time to start daycare, but they did, and she only used about 5-10 of those diapers before needing to go to Size 3. She should be in Size 3 for quite some time, since they're 18-28 lb. By the way, she was only 14 or 15 lb when she started wearing Size 3.
Okay, this was a really boring post, but I've been wanting to get it down so I have something to refer to "next time". Also for the record, we've spent about $250-300 on cloth diapering, which is the cost of 25-30 packs of disposables, which would have lasted 15 weeks at most. I don't foresee spending more money on cloth for at least a month, at which time I think $25-50 should fix us for another spell.
Because Libby was such a tiny baby (under 7 lb for the first 3 wks of life), we used disposables for the first two weeks till her umbilical cord stump fell off. She swam in Pampers Swaddlers Newborn, prompting us to unsuccessfully search for preemie diapers. I think she was wearing newborn size diapers for the first two months, certainly for the first 6 weeks.
When Libby was 2 weeks old or so (I think it was when my mom was visiting approx Sept 17th), we started using the Thirsties wraps I had bought before she was born. Someone online had recommended using washcloths as diapers under a cover instead of actual diapers, so we bought two 18-packs at Walmart and used two in each diaper. We also bought newborn size prefolds, about 12 of them. We had about 6 Thirsties. These worked until she was about two months old.
When Libby was two months old (early November), we bought size Small Thirsties (we had been using extra small) and started using the prefolds we had bought before she was born, which we had about 24 of.
At the end of December, we were getting ready for daycare. We bought 9 or so BumGenius pocket diapers, which are probably the most popular cloth diaper nationwide. We already owned 3, which we had used at night since Libby was a month old or so, probably. BumGenius are so popular because of their ease of use, and I knew daycare would be cool with them because baby W. (the aforementioned friend's baby) had worn them at the same daycare. We also bought four Thirsties Duos Size 2, which are size M/L, and 12 "red-edge GMD" prefold diapers to use at home, because Libby was already too big for the size small.
We now have about 14 Bumgenius, which is enough to have 5 per day at daycare, one at night, wash every other day, and not get nervous about running out. We have one of every color they make, and two of both shades of pink, both shades of yellow, and neon green. I love the colors!
Libby wore Size 1 disposables for only about a month, Size 2 the same. She was wearing Size 1 in November, maybe part of December, and wore Size 2 until about the 1st-2nd week of January. We bought a pack of Size 2 on January 1st in case the new BumGenius didn't arrive in time to start daycare, but they did, and she only used about 5-10 of those diapers before needing to go to Size 3. She should be in Size 3 for quite some time, since they're 18-28 lb. By the way, she was only 14 or 15 lb when she started wearing Size 3.
Okay, this was a really boring post, but I've been wanting to get it down so I have something to refer to "next time". Also for the record, we've spent about $250-300 on cloth diapering, which is the cost of 25-30 packs of disposables, which would have lasted 15 weeks at most. I don't foresee spending more money on cloth for at least a month, at which time I think $25-50 should fix us for another spell.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Don't it always seem to go
I cut Libby's hair tonight. Ten minutes later, I missed it. She has had incredibly long hair since birth. In the last month or two, it has become clear that it is just these little wings at the sides of the back that are super long, not the back in general. She also has some hair on top of her head that is quite long. I decided to even these areas up a little bit with the rest of her hair. I did this between bath time and bedtime, and as I nursed her before bed, I missed playing with that super long lock of hair. I put the cut hair in a little ziploc. Some of the pieces are two inches long, and I left at least that much in some places!
I wanted to blog about diapers and advice I'd give new moms (and myself next time), but it's going to have to wait till later.
I wanted to blog about diapers and advice I'd give new moms (and myself next time), but it's going to have to wait till later.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Catching up
Well, working full time has moved the ol' blog down on the to-do list. But there is so much going on!
Libby is a solids-eating champ. At least, she loves cereal. She has also tried carrots, pears, and sweet potatoes. The carrots were a hit, the pears a no-go, and the sweet potatoes received mixed reviews. I'm going to buy some more baby food this weekend (we've been working through what she got from Nana for Christmas), and maybe make some of our own. I would like to point out that Nana did not buy any green vegetables. That is her right as a grandma. I'm also somewhat apprehensive about apples and bananas, since Todd used to be allergic to them, and you're supposed to wait to introduce foods your family is allergic to in order to try to prevent allergy in the baby.
Libby weighed in at 17 pounds yesterday, which I think means she's gained 1-1.5 pounds in two weeks, which is right on target. It is getting very hard for me to heft up into her car seat base in the van because the seat is so high, so I think we're going to buy her a "big girl" car seat next weekend. The car seat we're planning on buying is actually for 8-50 pounds, so she could have been in it already, but I'm glad we started with an infant seat that we could carry her around in. I know I'm going to miss being able to put her down anywhere, but I decided I'm ready to make that sacrifice.
Libby is sitting up on her own, or nearly, just not for very long. She will either fall sideways or face first. The other day, I had her sitting on the changing table, and she fell forward and clunked her head on the window! She was totally unfazed, but I felt pretty bad. Libby spends a lot of time at daycare in the Bumbo seat and the Exersaucer (stationary walker), and I think this is building up her core muscles and helping her get ready to sit.
She's also becoming more mobile as she's wiggling around to get toys, and rolling back to front (new this week). It's fun to see what position she'll arrive in next, and we talk about her "escaping the jungle" since that's what we call her baby play gym.
Starting 3-4 weeks ago, just after I started back at work, Libby stopped sleeping 6-7 hours, which she had been doing for over a month. She was up every two to three hours, and I was going crazy. So I decided the swaddle had to go, and we started putting her down without it last week. She is getting the hang of it, and slept 6.5 hours Tuesday, 6.5 Wednesday, and 7.5 last night. Starting Wednesday, I started trying not to feed her in the night, and was successful, so I'm hoping knowing she's not getting fed will stop her waking up at 4-5 am and she'll start sleeping all the way till 7, when I get her up and feed her.
Last night when she woke up at 5, I went in to check on her, and she had grabbed her swaddle blanket off of the crib rail and had it snuggled up next to her. It was so cute! It makes me nervous having her sleep with a blanket that big just loose, so I cut a receiving blanket down for her to sleep with tonight. I'm going to make her a blanket that is furry fleece on one side and satin on the other for her blankie.
Libby is a solids-eating champ. At least, she loves cereal. She has also tried carrots, pears, and sweet potatoes. The carrots were a hit, the pears a no-go, and the sweet potatoes received mixed reviews. I'm going to buy some more baby food this weekend (we've been working through what she got from Nana for Christmas), and maybe make some of our own. I would like to point out that Nana did not buy any green vegetables. That is her right as a grandma. I'm also somewhat apprehensive about apples and bananas, since Todd used to be allergic to them, and you're supposed to wait to introduce foods your family is allergic to in order to try to prevent allergy in the baby.
Libby weighed in at 17 pounds yesterday, which I think means she's gained 1-1.5 pounds in two weeks, which is right on target. It is getting very hard for me to heft up into her car seat base in the van because the seat is so high, so I think we're going to buy her a "big girl" car seat next weekend. The car seat we're planning on buying is actually for 8-50 pounds, so she could have been in it already, but I'm glad we started with an infant seat that we could carry her around in. I know I'm going to miss being able to put her down anywhere, but I decided I'm ready to make that sacrifice.
Libby is sitting up on her own, or nearly, just not for very long. She will either fall sideways or face first. The other day, I had her sitting on the changing table, and she fell forward and clunked her head on the window! She was totally unfazed, but I felt pretty bad. Libby spends a lot of time at daycare in the Bumbo seat and the Exersaucer (stationary walker), and I think this is building up her core muscles and helping her get ready to sit.
She's also becoming more mobile as she's wiggling around to get toys, and rolling back to front (new this week). It's fun to see what position she'll arrive in next, and we talk about her "escaping the jungle" since that's what we call her baby play gym.
Starting 3-4 weeks ago, just after I started back at work, Libby stopped sleeping 6-7 hours, which she had been doing for over a month. She was up every two to three hours, and I was going crazy. So I decided the swaddle had to go, and we started putting her down without it last week. She is getting the hang of it, and slept 6.5 hours Tuesday, 6.5 Wednesday, and 7.5 last night. Starting Wednesday, I started trying not to feed her in the night, and was successful, so I'm hoping knowing she's not getting fed will stop her waking up at 4-5 am and she'll start sleeping all the way till 7, when I get her up and feed her.
Last night when she woke up at 5, I went in to check on her, and she had grabbed her swaddle blanket off of the crib rail and had it snuggled up next to her. It was so cute! It makes me nervous having her sleep with a blanket that big just loose, so I cut a receiving blanket down for her to sleep with tonight. I'm going to make her a blanket that is furry fleece on one side and satin on the other for her blankie.
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