Jammie

Just became aware of the impending crises in our country involving the government shutdown and the impending battle over the debt ceiling on Oct. 17. I am young, not very into politics, so forgive me for being slightly clueless, but how does this all affect me; the average citizen?

I have a young child, I worry about a lot of things, as most mothers do. My husband has no clue what all of this means either, but we're both wondering if we should be preparing in any way. I'm wondering if now would be a good time to stock up on some groceries, toiletries, that kind of thing or if this situation is unlikely to affect prices of daily goods. I'm not into the tinfoil hat thing; but I AM into being prepared for sky-rocketing prices and I'd rather have a back-stock if I need it until the crises at Capitol Hill blow over. We all know daily goods are highly priced already; I can't imagine what I'll be spending at the grocery store if cost of goods goes up because of these issues.

Thank you for your enlightenment!

Cute meaning: a thin girl in skinny jeans, flowy shirts in floral prints and girly colors, wears flats or slip-ons, minimal makeup including long eyelashes and pink glossed lips, smart but bubbly personality, can hang with the guys.

Sexy meaning: the same thin girl in short jean shorts or a skirt, tight low-cut black shirt, strappy heels, moderate to full makeup including foundation, cover-up, blush, mascara, eyeliner, lip color, gloss, and whatever else girls wear. Party girl, prefers to drink and bar hop, is a girly girl - doesn't hang well with the guys.

This is geared more toward Indie types, but a response from all types of men works too.....please explain WHY you prefer the type you choose, and describe your own style as well.

My son will be 5 months on the 26th and started saying "Um num num," when I feed him his cereal. He said it 3 times last night during dinner, once this morning at breakfast and twice at dinner tonight. I thought I was just hearing things the first time but he continued to do it and it's SO clear! My husband and I have always said "Um num num" to him when we put the spoon in his mouth, I just didn't expect him to pick it up so quickly.

I'm so excited that he said something intentionally already, is this normal for his age? Would you consider it a "first word?" I'm debating whether or not it's his first word lol.

There's going to be a folk festival in a nearby city and I'd like to attend as a family. Problem is, my son is 3 months old and it's going to be 85 and sunny at the height of the day. IF we go, I plan on putting him in just a cloth diaper and t-shirt with a hat on for the sun. Is this a bad idea? I'm a new mom so I'm not really sure if it's a good idea......I've brought him out in 90-something degree weather before, but not all day just for little spurts so I'm not sure if it's okay to do it for a whole 2 hours or so at a festival.

I am returning to work on Monday and my son is cloth diapered. He is 3 months old and goes through about 4 diapers during the time-frame he'll be with my mother-in-law. How large of a wet-bag will we need and where can I find one big enough to hold enough diapers if he has a stomach problem here and there and goes through say 6 diapers at her house?

Thank you!!

I purchased a few all-in-one cloth diapers when I was pregnant and tried it out with my newborn son. This was before I knew however, that there was a such thing as an all-in-one! I just grabbed diapers off the shelf at a local store, not realizing that cloth diapering was so intricate. I was also unaware of the specific process of washing cloth diapers and have simply been throwing the all-in-ones into the washing machine just like regular laundry.

Now that I've actually done research and I know the ins and outs, I'd like to move over to fully cloth diapering my son, instead of just part-time cloth diapering lol. Since I washed the diapers I currently have in a regular fashion and it worked well, I was wondering if it's really a big deal not to follow the "rules" of washing cloth diapers. I live in an apartment, so if I have to pre-rinse, wash, rinse again, and then dry, a load of laundry will cost me $6.00 and that's ONLY the diapers....no clothes or towels, etc. To spend $6 three times a week is way more expensive than disposables.

How do you wash your cloth diapers? Do you really use the special detergents and rinse multiple times?

I was unable to nurse my baby in the hospital due to severe medical complications. I nursed him immediately after birth and for the first 6 hours, and then hemorrhaged to the point of needing a blood transfusion and not being able to move my fingers. I couldn't hold him in order to nurse him, and once they gave him the bottle he wouldn't take my breast anymore. He will still latch on, but just sucks three or four times and then either screams bloody murder until he gets a bottle or falls asleep on my breast.

Anyone who has EXPERIENCE with this, I would love some advice. I am currently pumping my milk for him, but it's SO tedious and time consuming and I want that close bonding time. I am trying to do anything I can to keep him close to me to supplement that skin to skin contact provided by breastfeeding such as bathing together, holding him skin to skin during bottle feeding, co-sleeping, etc. etc.

All of the online articles I've been reading say they acquire this skill around 3 months. My son has been rolling front to back since 2 weeks and rolls onto his side from his belly since birth. Is that normal? He lifted his head at 1 week and holds it up at a 45 degree angle for up to 10 seconds now at 1 month. He seems really strong to me!

My son is only 16 days old and when I pumped just now, I didn't even get 1/4 oz from both breasts combined! I was unable to nurse him due to severe postpartum hemorrhage. My body was so weak from blood loss that I couldn't even lift my head or wiggle my fingers, so my baby had to have a bottle. Once he had the bottle and experienced instant gratification, he wanted nothing to do with nursing. I've been pumping 3 times a day and feeding him my breastmilk in a bottle, so he'll at least get the nutritional advantages from it. My supply was always quite low, only totaling about 5oz per day, but today my pumping sessions produced only 1oz, 1oz, and now less than 1/4 oz!

If I continue using the pump anyway, will my body start producing milk again? Is it too late and I'm all dried up?

My baby has a 2-week check up scheduled for tomorrow, but in the event the doctor doesn't have a cure for his constipation, I was wondering if anyone has experience with this.

My baby didn't poop for just under 48 hours, and he was SCREAMING in pain off and on for two days. I thought it was just colic because the symptoms were exactly the same; red face, arched back, flailing arms, high pitched cry. I took him to the doctor to rule out ear infection, bowel obstruction, etc. and he checked out fine except for possibly being backed up. The doctor suggested I feed him only breastmilk for 48 hours as it has a laxative effect, (he's normally on 1/2 breastmilk 1/2 formula). It definitely worked! Last night at 4am he had a forest green diarrhea, and has had about 6 more similar bowel movements since. He finally seems to be slowing down and getting back to the yellow color this afternoon. He got so backed up that his bowels were impacted and caused an explosive episode of water excrement! I can't even imagine the pain he was in for the past two days! My poor baby! The problem is I can't exclusively breastfeed him to keep him on track because I don't produce enough milk, nor does it work with my daily schedule.

Has anyone had a child with slow-moving bowels such as this? I am going to ask the doctor about giving him a teaspoon of prune juice each day to keep him moving. Any other suggestions?

I am currently in a postpartum room at the hospital, and being discharged tomorrow afternoon. I suffered a third degree perineal tear during delivery and experienced hemmorhaging for the first 36 hours. Everything seems to be going great today, bleeding slowed significantly and I can walk on my own albeit extremely slowly.

This is my first child, so I have no idea about recovery from labor and delivery, especially with a third degree tear. What do I do when I get home? Do I continue to simply lie in bed and only get up for the bathroom? Should I try walking a bit further/longer than just bathroom trips, or should I only do what my body needs to until a few more days pass?

I live on the third floor of my building, should I bother trying to get up the stairs to my apartment, or take my parents offer of staying at their place, (stair free), for a few days?

Thank you for your advice.

I went for my first internal exam today, expecting nothing....and found out I am 3cm and baby's head is RIGHT THERE, (I wasn't given an actual station). My doctor is heading out of town from Thursday-Sunday and said I won't make it until she gets back, and therefore gave me the option to be induced. I took the offer, as I don't think I can handle labor and delivery with a different doctor. I have panic disorder and my doctor really comforts me. I'll be induced and kept at the hospital, and can have an epidural as soon as I need it as I'm already 3cm, so it seems like a pretty good set-up for me. I asked if my labor would be longer and harder due to being induced and she said no because that usually only happens if a person is induced before they're ready to go into labor, but I'm ready so it'll progress normally.

Has anyone had an experience like this? Any advice?

I have my first internal exam to check for progress tomorrow morning. My sister said that in her experience they did not use the speculum (I believe that's what the thing is called they insert in the vagina for a pap), but that the doctor just inserted two fingers and pushed down on her uterus. Was it painful or sore at all after? I am planning on returning to work after the appointment, just want to make sure I won't be miserable all day!

I am 38w4d pregnant with my first. According to just about every pregnancy article and website, first time babies usually drop quite a few weeks before labor begins. Has anyone gone into labor with their FIRST baby without feeling them drop beforehand? I'm getting discouraged that this baby is going to be a 42-week induction and I just want to hold him NOW! I'm going crazy waiting for my precious little bundle.

I've been told that when you do not breastfeed, it's very painful waiting for your milk supply to dry up. Do your breasts still hurt if you discontinue nursing after a few months? I would assume they wouldn't because it would be a gradual decrease; is that correct?

38 weeks preggo tomorrow.

For a few days now, every time I go to the bathroom I feel the urge to push like I need to have a bowel movement, but nothing comes out. I thought it was just constipation, but it still happens even if I've had multiple bowel movements that day. I'm assuming it's pressure from the baby's head? I've also gotten this urge once when my baby was very active and hitting me in the cervix. He tends to punch my cervix or rub against it with his head (not sure which), and I get a very sharp breath-taking stabbing feeling. It happened for an hour straight the other night and I laid in bed with my legs apart and bent and lightly pushing as it eased the pain a bit. Has anyone else experienced this feeling near the end of pregnancy?

Other new symptoms this week:

- vomiting (left work after one hour today)

- low back ache (dull, starting to get very uncomfortable, somewhat painful and very annoying)

- urinating every 15-60 minutes

- braxton hicks become time-able, then subside after a few hours (got to 5 min apart last week and 10 min apart this week)

- strong period cramps (upper thigh goes numb from the pain, happened with my normal period as well before pregnancy)

- feeling slightly depressed about the waiting game

- extremely exhausted and lazy

It all seems pretty normal to me, but thought I'd check in with others to see if it's a common experience or not. Thank you!

For the past 4 days every time I go to the bathroom I feel the urge to push like I need to have a bowel movement, but nothing comes out. I thought it was just constipation, but it still happens even if I've had multiple bowel movements that day. I'm assuming it's pressure from the baby's head? I've also gotten this urge once when my baby was very active and hitting me in the cervix. He tends to punch my cervix or rub against it with his head (not sure which), and I get a very sharp breath-taking stabbing feeling. It happened for an hour straight the other night and I laid in bed with my legs apart and bent and lightly pushing as it eased the pain a bit. Has anyone else experienced this feeling near the end of pregnancy?

Other new/odd symptoms this week:

- vomiting (left work after one hour today)

- low back ache (dull)

- upper back ache (sharp and clearly from strained muscles from work)

- urinating every 15-60 minutes

- braxton hicks become time-able, then subside after a few hours (got to 5 min apart last week and 10 min apart this week)

- strong period cramps (upper thigh goes numb from the pain, happened with my normal period as well before pregnancy)

- feeling slightly depressed about the waiting game

- extremely exhausted and lazy

It all seems pretty normal to me, but thought I'd check in with others to see if it's a common experience or not. Thank you!

I started having braxton hicks at work today around 4:30 coupled with strong menstrual cramps. The braxton hicks happen more toward my belly button area and they were intense but not painful. Now I'm getting contractions that fill my whole belly from where my abs are down to my pubic hair line but they're very far apart like 30 minutes at least. They don't necessarily hurt, but they're VERY uncomfortable, i couldn't get out of bed while I was having one because it hurt a little to move my body sideways to roll out of bed. I've had no signs that labor was coming or anything, how do I tell if these are contractions or not?

37w4d baby #1

At 35 weeks I had a night where I had period-like cramping with braxton hicks contractions 5 minutes apart for 2 hours. I think I lost my mucus plug that night, I had three chunks of semen-like, sticky discharge in my undies over the course of 3 hours and low backache all night. I thought for sure I was going into preterm labor. Then, it all just stopped cold turkey and nothing happened.

I am now 37 or 38 weeks and NOTHING has been happening. My braxton hicks, which used to be constant are now maybe 3 contractions a night and very wimpy. No increase in discharge, my baby seems to have crawled back up into my ribs although I thought he had dropped, guess not. I have intermittent period cramps and my back hurts near my kidneys but that's it.

Has anyone gone into labor spontaneously even though they had no signs that labor was coming? I feel like I'm geared up to go the full 42 weeks at this point, as baby shows no signs of wanting to come out. P.S. this is my first baby.