debbie

My daughter is one month old. She was 9 lbs at her 2 week checkup (8 lbs 10 oz at birth), but I don't know how much she weighs now. I'll be running out of size 1 diapers in about a week and am not sure what size to buy next, and I know she'll be out of a size 1 soon, but don't know if size 2 will be too big. I always buy the super huge boxes so it would be wasteful for me to buy more size 1's. Has anyone used the size 1-2 diapers? Are they really just in between a size 1 and a size 2?

My daughter will be one week old tonight, and I hear that it takes forever to really heal from an episiotomy, but how long will it be before there is no longer pain just from normal activity? It doesn't burn when I go #1 or anything but there is one spot towards the rectum that feels like it's not healing as well. I get a little sharp pin-prick pain in that spot randomly and there is still blood when I blot it after peeing, and more after going #2. Is this normal? At this point I'm not thinking about sex or anything, just everyday life with my baby and toddler. I used perineal herbal tea pads for the first five days, am taking a bath every day, and make good use of the peri bottlle. Anything else I should be doing?

Had my 42 week appointment today and my girl passed her non-stress test with flying colors, so we have our next appointment scheduled for Monday. Hoping she comes before then, but I've done all the research on post-date babies and am comfortable waiting for labor to start on its own as long as she is still active and passes her tests (my midwife is fine with this too, but some of the ob's in the practice don't like going a day past 42 weeks). I was induced with my first at 41 weeks, 4 days (for no reason except I had the option and that midwife was strongly suggesting it), and had a c-section due to failure to progress.

I'd like to hear of people who decided NOT to induce, and what happened. If they went into labor on their own, how much later, or if they decided not to induce at first but then ended up inducing at a later date. And how the labor and delivery went!

I'm 39 weeks 5 days and in the past 3 days have been pooping more than usual. Lately I've been going once every 2-3 days and getting it out without much effort. I don't strain. But the past 3 days it's been multiple times a day. It's 1pm right now and I've already gone 3-4 times today. Anyway, I know that "loose stools/diarrhea" is common in the days before going into labor, but my stools aren't watery at all. They are of normal consistency, but with a little bit of that upset tummy feeling and the need to really push to try to get whatever is out, out, so that I feel better. Sometimes it's not much at all but sometimes it's close to the normal amount that I would poo.

Is there any way to know, have I just been eating too much apple crisp in the past few days (well, I probably have...) or is there something else going on? It's just weird. I've never had anything like this happen before. I've had more rectal pressure in general this pregnancy with the baby sitting so low the past few months, but even that has seemed worse in the past couple of days before my intestine seemed to loosen up.

I was a little surprised to learn that I would be allowed to labor in water for my hospital VBAC. With my first birth I had planned a waterbirth but since I was induced and was then put on pitocin and stayed at 5cm for over 12 hours, that kind of went out the window. I had been assuming I wouldn't even be allowed in the tub at all with my VBAC since I'd have the saline lock (IV needle) in my hand and all that.

I'm not sure if they will allow a VBAC waterbirth, but they do waterbirths at my hospital, and I'm going to ask them about it. I don't know if it's something that I'd want or not, but my midwife is very experienced in waterbirths and so I'd be under excellent care.

My son is 21 months and currently nurses once a day, first thing in the morning. I've noticed in the past few months that every time he starts nursing his upper lip stays tucked in. I manually fix this as soon as he is latched because 1) I've always heard his lips need to be out and 2) it's more comfortable for me this way. This is only a recent thing, and he did fine the first year and a half of nursing! So I don't see that it would be an attached-frenulum issue. I feel like I'm pretty knowledgeable about breastfeeding but this isn't something I've come across. I'd rather him just latch on correctly from the beginning without me having to "fix" his upper lip.

Anyone got anything?

I'm 36 weeks pregnant with my second baby, and this time is definitely different than last time. I'd like to know what sorts of things you were dealing with in the last couple months of pregnancy and any tips for what helped with them. I'll start!

My first baby kept his butt in my ribcage for the last trimester. I had heartburn and a sore rib and got out of breath very quickly. I tried especially hard not to eat too much later at night, when it was worse. Very small meals, and often. And I really just couldn't do much. I had to sit with my feet up after 5 minutes of activity.

This time around I have a daughter sitting very low. She tries to find the exit. I feel occasional pressure as she's moving, near my vagina and rectum and the sides of my hips and my tailbone area. I get that very low backache (posterior pelvic pain) and find myself on my hands and knees on a regular basis, doing pelvic rocks and trying to get her to MOVE! I have hemorrhoids and sometimes it is REALLY bothersome, which I never got when I was pregnant with my son. I guess the blessing in disguise is that I am a little healthier, because I am trying to eat lots of fiber and water and occasionally get a little exercise. The pelvic rocks DO help, but I feel like I am fighting a losing battle sometimes because she is just getting bigger and heavier every day!

I have asked this of my doctors/midwives and they just tell me it's to check for progress. Checking dilation, effacement, all that good stuff. And we all sit there admitting that you can be "progressed" for weeks without labor, or completely closed but then have a quick labor anyway. One of my midwives said, "Well, if you were feeling like this baby was never going to come out, and you found out you were starting to open up or something, then it might encourage you." None of them have given me any reason that would make me say, "Yeah, let's check!"

Rather, I hear (NOT from my doctors or midwives, but from books and websites and lots and lots of sources) that there are actually risks from vaginal exams. Each time you are checked there is a chance for infection. There is a chance for your water to break before your baby is in a good position for it to break (and once it breaks there is an increased chance of infection and therefore a time limit is put on labor in most hospitals).

So, with my last pregnancy I think I opted out of one check. I had them at 38 weeks, skipped 39 weeks, and had them at 40 and 41 weeks before I (regretfully) agreed to an induction. This time I am going to have my strep culture done at 36 weeks, like last time, but I don't plan on being checked again until I have better reason, and don't plan on being checked as often in the hospital in labor, either. I would say no checks at all til I'm in labor and want to go to the hospital, but since I am trying for a VBAC I know they might want to just schedule a c-section if I go post-date again and in that case I would ask for a check because if I was "progressed" at all they might let me go into labor naturally still.

What are your thoughts on cervix checks in late pregnancy? And during labor?

I have decided that I want to wait to clamp/cut the cord until it stops pulsing, but have no idea how long it takes. Also, if the placenta comes out before the cord is cut, which I hear is sometimes the case, how does that work? Do you just hang out with a placenta sitting next to you on the bed while you wait for the cord to stop pulsing? This will be my first vaginal birth (hopefully!) so even how long it takes for the placenta to be detached is something of a mystery to me. Thanks.

Shortly before my 21 month old's nap, he tripped and fell down. He was running through the house and just kind of fell down on the carpet and was instantly crying. Once he calmed down and wanted to get back down he cried as soon as he put weight on his right foot. My husband and I checked him out and couldn't see or feel anything noticeably wrong with his foot or ankle or leg or knee or anything, so I put him down for his nap. Three hours later he is up and again, he cried as soon as I put him down and he tried walking. Again, when he is not walking on it I can't tell of any injury. He is happy and when I wiggle his foot and toes and everything he doesn't complain. He sat with me on the couch during his entire snack time and wasn't upset again til I moved him to our bed and he decided he was bored, so he got down onto his feet and was instantly holding on to the chair while standing on one foot.

I just gave him a dose of Tylenol but am not sure if this sounds like something I need to call his doctor over? My husband thinks he just twisted his ankle and it'll be better by tomorrow. I'm inclined to agree but I just want to know how worried I should be.

With my first pregnancy, my son spent the last 3 months with his butt jammed up into my ribcage (and he still managed to make me uncomfy "down there" too, he just liked to s-t-r-e-t-c-h!). I thought that was pretty uncomfortable, and have been relieved this time around not having to deal with that and heartburn every day. However, I'll be 33 weeks tomorrow and am starting to have some issues with dear daughter hanging out way down low.

First issue is wardrobe. I'm 7 weeks from my due date and more than half my maternity wardrobe is now too small (and half of 5 shirts doesn't leave me with much!). I've been raiding my husband's closet and am thankful to be a stay at home mom who doesn't need to be seen every day. Do I try to buy more clothes at this point? It's annoying cuz I'm not very big up top and going a size up just isn't an option with so many of these maternity shirts that have very open necks and room for huge chests (not to mention shoulder fit). 7 weeks is both a short time and a long time, but I don't have anything going on in that time (staying home for Thanksgiving and no other get-togethers planned except for seeing friends here and there at home).

The second issue is backache. I know I have horrible posture so I've been trying to work on that when I can, but with my big belly there are a lot of things I just can't reach if my shoulders stay back. So washing dishes and changing my son's diaper and most cooking are tough and now I'm getting more pain in my lower back. Are there specific exercises that can help?

If you carried low, what issues did you have to deal with and what solutions, if any, did you find? Thanks.

Not necessary to read this all in order to answer the above questions, fyi.

I was this way with my first baby and I'm this way now, 7 months pregnant with my second: I do not want visitors for (at least) the first couple of days after having my baby. I would like to have a little family get-together a weekend or two after, once we are home from the hospital. To me it just feels right to have a couple of days of bonding and recovering with just my little family. Add to that 1) I don't feel comfortable nursing in front of others and 2) I am in general a private person and feel like I have to be "on" in front of people, 3) when I say family I mean in-laws (my own family lives halfway across the country) which means I am not quite as comfortable in front of them as I would be with my own mother, for example.

When I had my son, I requested this arrangement of no visitors in the hospital, based on talking to others whose personality was similar to mine, and my in-laws reluctantly agreed. (Keep in mind all of my husband's family lives a little more than two hours away.) I ended up being induced on a late Thursday morning and apparently the family freed up their weekend once they knew. I had my son by c-section Friday morning and knew I would be in the hospital til Monday at least. I figured the weekend following would work out great for everyone to come over for a few hours and meet the baby and all that. But, once the in-laws found out about the timing, they said they couldn't possibly wait that long to see their new grandson/nephew/whatever and showed up on Sunday (my husband, by the way, told them they could, saying I was being selfish and the baby was their family too. His mom was seriously pressuring him on the phone and I don't envy him being caught there but of course still think he should have sided with me). Because of the c-section I wasn't even up to go to the bathroom til Saturday night, could barely move still, and didn't get a shower til Sunday afternoon. When the in-laws showed up, we had to have them wait while I finished up, had all my little check-ups done by the nurse, and had spent 45 minutes breastfeeding my son. Then they were there for three hours and by the time they left my son was STARVING again (which we said but they are slow on saying goodbye), and I also really had to pee and the nurse was waiting to do another checkup. But while they were there I was sitting in bed with the covers and the robe, sweating, for my own modesty. And of course because they had driven the 2+ hours out here, they stayed overnight nearby and came again to the hospital in the morning for another of the same. Lots of picture taking with annoying flashes and me feeling self-conscious as a new parent when they kept handing me my baby in expectation of seeing that mother/baby love and get pictures of it (when I was holding my baby a ton for nursing and I couldn't hold him the way I was sitting because of my incision). And the weekend after we STILL had the rest of my husband's family at our home, but at least I was dressed and could move around and could go in the other room to nurse him... I wish my parents-in-law and sister-in-law would have waited too.

So you can see that even almost two years later (and hormonal from pregnancy) these things are bothering me just remembering them. I just want a little honeymoon time! So last night I told my husband he should be sure his family knows that I would rather wait a few days and have visitors at our home. I am trying for a VBAC so hopefully won't be in the hospital as long this time but even if I am, I'd rather have visitors at home. He wanted to know why, and apparently my emotional reasons are just selfish if it's going against what his mother will likely push for. I'm sure if I keep up the argument based purely on that he will add that it is his baby too and he wants to share her with his family! He wanted to know if there was any scientific argument for having the child almost exclusively with its mother for the first couple of days. I said I knew it was HUGE in the first several hours at least but didn't know specifically beyond that (other than the whole first five years being important thing). Anyway... I'd love to hear others' opinions and personal feelings when they had their babies. Cuz I know some people love to have visitors. And I know nurses are willing to kick visitors out, but I couldn't really get away with that with my husband. ;)

I noticed while I was pregnant with my first that if I ate more than a few cashews, the next day I'd have at the very least a skin reaction on my upper lip that lasted several days. Depending on how much I had, I might also have a reaction on the roof my mouth, itchy palms, and even (tmi!) on my skin on the other end where the cashews came out after being digested, if I'd had a lot. I never noticed this before I got pregnant, and I was hoping it would go away after I had my baby, but every time I've tested it I've had the reaction. However, I have been nursing this whole time. I just recently heard that some people can't tolerate certain things while they are breastfeeding. My friend who had a mild gluten intolerance before she had her baby now can't tolerate ANY and is having trouble with dairy as well. Her friend told her she had a problem with something until she weaned, and then she could have it again.

Has anyone ever heard of this or experienced it? I really like cashews... my husband just bought some salt and pepper ones that he doesn't really like, but I just ate two, washed my hands and mouth, and am hoping someday I'll be able to have a whole serving again. They were soo good!

I have a friend... well really just a long-term friendly acquaintance at this point, who has agreed to watch my almost-two year old when I and my husband are in the hospital having baby #2. Because her schedule is very flexible, loves kids, and she lives close by, she is the perfect person, and we just need to set up some playdates ahead of time so we can all get to know each other well. Because I want to have my son back with us/Daddy as soon as the new baby is here and don't want other visitors besides, I didn't want my in-laws driving the over two hours out here to babysit and then sending them home right away (besides, their schedules aren't as open).

But because this person is not a super close friend and this may involve her missing out on a little work (although her job is very flexible), I feel like of course I need to be paying her! But I have no idea what. It could be a few hours or it could be almost a full day that she is with our son (this makes me nervous just saying it because he's never been away from me for so long and the one day he was, he was with Daddy). If there are any complications that require my husband to be with me longer than a day, we would call in the in-laws. But how do I figure pay for my babysitter? I've never had to do this before. By the way she is a working, married, mid-to-late 20s aged adult (no kids yet), not just a teen, so that seems like it would make a difference?

I'm pregnant with my second child and have recently learned about all the awesomeness of babywearing and how beneficial it is and all that. I had a Baby Bjorn that I tried with my first but it was never comfortable for more than a few minutes, and left me with a backache. I'm very small framed and not sure if that made a difference, but I did have it on the smallest adjustment so maybe if it had gone smaller it would have worked for me. Also, it was definitely not something I could breastfeed in.

Round two, and I want to be able to hold my newborn hands-free while keeping up with my toddler and all his needs (getting him a snack, getting the shapes out of the shape-sorting ball, singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider," etc). And newborns nurse a LOT, and then fall asleep in your arms, and then cry as soon as you put them down (in my experience), so I'm really jumping on this babywearing thing.

So far I'm thinking about getting both the Maya Wrap Ring Sling and the Moby Wrap or something like it. I know I don't want a plain pouch sling or another Baby Bjorn type. Babywearers, share your wisdom!

I realize I'm getting ahead of myself a little bit, as my son is only 20 months old. But my mind got onto this as I was washing dishes and singing along to his favorite video so bear with me when I can't let a thought go until I've satisfied my curiosity.

We are already pretty sure we want to homeschool our kids, and I've read a book about the basics that covers different methods. I figure we'll probably end up being somewhat eclectic, probably making sure reading/writing/grammar and math are in step with grade level and being a little more unstructured with different aspects. Anyway, before I start a little preschooling and definitely before I start having to think about laws and record-keeping and all that, I kind of want to practice. My son may not be old enough to sit still for 15 minutes and is easily distracted, and that's fine. But he is old enough for a routine, and he has one for eating, sleeping, etc. He is learning all day at this age, but would it be beneficial or detrimental for me to make a few minutes a day, "learning time?" I could specifically spend time with him practicing colors or, "Itsy Bitsy Spider," or how crayons and paper can work together harmoniously?

And what sorts of things would YOU do for pre-preschooling an almost 2 year old? Besides just the practice, part of the reason I ask is because I'm due with our second child in a couple of months and I want to make sure there is established mommy and son time. I'm praying this whole babywearing thing I'm going to try works out for me and that I'll still be able to interact hands-on with my son while holding a sleeping or nursing or awake-but-happy newborn, rather than every other sentence out of my mouth being, "Hold on I'll get to you in a minute," with the ones in between being, "Come on baby, it's okay, just relax, shhhhh." Pregnancy hormones make me exaggerate, but I'd appreciate any helpful answers!

I'm very curious, especially, to hear what the all-natural moms have to say compared to the epidural moms, and whatever else in between. I've heard that a lot of people who have the epidural just can't imagine doing it without the epidural because for them even with drugs it was painful. And for those moms who give birth naturally, there are varying levels of pain but as soon as the baby is born all those love hormones released from "feeling it" make them forget the pain and just be euphoric for a while. I've also heard that when moms have the epidural the recovery period is much worse, maybe from not adjusting the pushing force as they go automatically, so they tear or stretch more? And of course Bradley in his childbirth book goes on and on about these natural moms having their orange juice and being up and running right away. I'm just... very curious. It seems what I've heard from family and friends kind of echos this type of stuff. My sister, who has had epidurals with all three, just seems determined to tell me how painful it is, and how sore I'll be after, while my friend's sister has had all natural births and went home and made dinner for the family. I had a c-section with my first and I told my sister that if my VBAC is successful, I probably won't have my husband stay in the hospital with me overnight, preferring him to go be with our toddler at home. She flipped out about how was I going to manage without help overnight bc vaginal birth is just so painful to recover from and would I keep my baby in the nursery (which I did with my first anyway bc I couldn't move from the surgery and my husband slept too soundly to be of much help)... anyway...

I want to hear peoples' stories!

I'm due in 2 months with my second, and my first will be 22 months old. Last night I woke up at 4am to pee and for some reason started thinking about what we will do with our son when I go into labor, and I started having serious separation anxiety (which of course was made worse by it being the middle of the night). I'm a stay-at-home mom and the longest I've been separated from my son was most of a day once, and he was with my husband the whole day. My family lives halfway across the country and my husband's family is 2 hours away. My husband's brother, wife, and 3 kids (or at least part of that family) have offered to come out if they can work it out, or maybe my mother-in-law, but out of our good friends in town no one would really be able just to come over and hang out with our son for a bit (some have young kids of their own, some work, and my good friend will probably be out of state for a wedding).

I really just want to be able to have someone watch him during the heavy labor and birth and then have him back with me and my husband, whether it's at the hospital or at home. I'm kind of a private person and am not comfortable with people other than my husband and hospital staff seeing me in labor/delivery or even breastfeeding, or I would just have my son with me the whole time if he could be supervised and I could be comfortable. I don't WANT anyone to drive the 2 hours out here for such a short time and then try to fight with my husband to tell them I want them to go home. Of course they would want to ooh and aah over the baby but I want a little babymoon time to bond our new family without others around. Besides the fact that newborns nurse all the time for a long time and at the hospital I'd have to kick visitors out and at home I'd have to go by myself into the bedroom (since I've never been comfy doing it in front of anyone other than my husband).

Random other info: my son still nurses when he first wakes up in the morning. He'd probably be okay without it, but I don't want him to wean yet and so I don't want him to miss it more than once... if I end up needing a c-section I might even keep him (and my husband) overnight with me during my hospital stay so he gets that.

Do they make hospital nurses I can hire to keep an eye on my son? =) That would be ideal for me. Otherwise, I'm just not sure what to do. Any ideas?

My son is 20 months old and for the past month or two has only been nursing once a day. It's a leisurely session cuddling in bed first thing in the morning, laying down together. A couple of weeks ago I was half asleep and he was kind of poking my breast near his mouth. He messed up his latch but I didn't realize it til later when I saw my nipple was cracked at the base (not painful). Since then I've been very careful with making sure his latch is right and also he now knows not to put his fingers near his mouth. I've been alternating which side I start with, mostly starting with the "good" side, and I've been letting my nipple air dry for several minutes before re-doing my bra. I also let it air out for a while after I shower before getting dressed.

However, it still is cracked. It seems to be getting better, but in the past when I've dealt with this sort of thing it seemed to heal faster. I feel like if I switched positions it would be good, but I don't think he would go for this as the only reason he still nurses is to cuddle in bed with mommy and daddy. The last few times I've tried cradle or football positions he goes for a second or two and is off and running. Is there anything else I can do to help it heal faster? I do have lanolin but I haven't used any... and are there any other positions I can try? I'm almost 7 months pregnant so certain positions (like him laying on top of me) wouldn't work so well. Thanks.

Would it be true that the bigger the loaf, the lower the temperature needed to bake it? Obviously it would take longer...

I have two recipes that I've made before, and they use roughly the same amount of ingredients (one is a little big bigger). The bigger one is for one big loaf and it bakes at 450º for about 15 minutes and then at 375º for about another 45 minutes. The smaller recipe is for 3 small baguettes and it takes about 10 minutes at 500º and another 10-15 at 475º. They both require steaming the oven in the first part of the cook time, and seem to be pretty close to the same hydration level, although I'm going by feel and not by calculations.

I'd like to make the smaller (baguette) recipe but make it into 2 loaves instead of 3 (and maybe next time make the bigger recipe into 2 loaves instead of 1). Does anyone have any suggestions as to what temps and times I should try? I'm very new to bread baking and although I've been learning a lot online, I can still count on one hand the number of times I've done this at all. Any tips would be appreciated!