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My baby will be 6 weeks tomorrow. We've had some sleep and evening issues, but I think a lot of it is he has gas. The baby gas x has been a life saver for us. He's only had a couple of nights where he had sleep issues since we started using it. He farts A LOT and loudly. I didn't know babies could be like that. He'll usually fall asleep for the evening anywhere between 8pm and midnight and sleep usually 2 - 3 hours, wake up for a feed and changing and go back to sleep till the sun comes up. A week ago he thought it would be cool to try not sleeping for 24 hours. Last night he slept from midnight till 4am  The 5's sort of work for us, the one thing that'll always calm him down is holding him and bouncing on either the side of our bed or our exercise ball. I've watched almost entire movies bouncing on that drat ball. I'm going to have nice strong core muscles by the time he's 3 months! He's also farted himself awake before. When he wakes up for his night time feedings he usually spends the first 5 minutes farting while he's nursing. Alterian fucked around with this message at 22:42 on Jan 3, 2013 |
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Jan 3, 2013 22:40
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| # ? May 29, 2024 17:41 |
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Do you have a babywearing contraption? I used to wrap mine up in the moby and sit on the corner of the bed and bounce bounce bounce when nothing else soothed him. The exercise ball would work well too.
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Jan 3, 2013 23:04
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So we're just about to heave ho baby time and I was adding up the bills and it seems our start up costs for the young pup are about $2000. I was worried it was going to be way more the way everyone goes on about how expensive babies are, or maybe my idea of what's expensive is just different from most. How much did the rest of you guys spend on start up costs for baby? I'm wondering how much more I can look forward to spending in the next year.
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Jan 3, 2013 23:42
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Alterian posted:
Haha that's great  I also have a farty baby (sometimes we all look at each other and ask "was that you?' before determining it was the baby). We have used the gas drops but I don't know how effective they are, since she tends to throw it all up when she really gets worked up anyways :/ People always comment on how gassy she is :/
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Jan 3, 2013 23:50
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Just as a counterpoint. Our baby care basics class did say do not swaddle and leave a baby unattended as it is a SIDS risk. They said if it's for a nap and you are watching them that is fine. If you are sleeping too then don't do it. Have them sleep at night in a sleepsack. That being said. Because it's so cold at night we have been swaddling our 10 month old but loosely and he undoes it after about an hour. Then his little arms fly and he punches himself in the face Bouncing on an exercise ball is the current method of getting him to sleep. He's in the ergo fighting sleep and I'm bouncing right now actually.
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Jan 3, 2013 23:53
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MockTurtle posted:Hey babies thread! I finally got around to having the "do you want to have children sometime" talk with the man. I'm 26 and he is 35. We ended up deciding to go off the pill (after 10 years, wow!) and not really try but not really prevent things from happening either. I (stupidly) figured that it would take a while for anything to happen since I read about people who are actively trying after being off BC and it takes them forever. Well here I am on month 1 pill-free and knocked up. It's something that we obviously knew could happen but we certainly weren't expecting it right off the bat like this. The same thing happened to my husband and I. Went off the pill with a 'if it happens it happens' attitude, but not really actively trying. I told him "Don't worry hun it could take us a little while before I get pregnant" He said "Nope, you're going to get pregnant right away." I didn't even have a period between going off the pill and getting pregnant. Oops, husband was right!  I waited until after 12 weeks with most everyone. I told my best friend and drinking buddy first because well, he has never known me to turn down a beer. Luckily I have no family in town so it was pretty easy to tell my few close friends without telling any family. I told my mom earlier than everyone else too because I've been horribly sick with my pregnancy, and I finally broke down and just wanted to talk with my mom about everything. My husband is awesome but he isn't a big talker. So...just do what you feel like doing. If you want to wait and don't want to risk telling people if you have a miscarriage then don't say anything, but if you're excited and feel like you really want to share, go ahead. Or do a little of both like I did. Whatever works for you. and Congratulations, by the way.
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Jan 3, 2013 23:54
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SmokeyXIII posted:So we're just about to heave ho baby time and I was adding up the bills and it seems our start up costs for the young pup are about $2000. I was worried it was going to be way more the way everyone goes on about how expensive babies are, or maybe my idea of what's expensive is just different from most. I can't really remember exactly, but not a whole lot. It helped that we borrowed/got hand-me-downs from friends a lot - most of the big things like stroller, car seat, crib were either borrowed or gifts. Clothes too, we got bags and bags of clothes It is perfectly possible to spend a lot on baby stuff, but it's also possible to be pretty thrifty.Side note: Don't but a car seat used from someone you don't know - you want to be certain it hasn't been involved in any accidents.
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Jan 3, 2013 23:55
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What are you considering as "start up costs"? Not counting the hard goods like crib, stroller, etc: It's going to cost us ~$2200/year just to add the baby to our health insurance. Plus $300-400 a month for part time daycare starting when she's ~3 months old. And the internet tells me to expect diapers to cost us ~$50-75 a month. Add something in for formula if breastfeeding doesn't work out or isn't an option. And most likely some amount of baby food starting around 6 months.
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Jan 4, 2013 00:04
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Cathis posted:Haha that's great I was changing his diaper in his room yesterday and my husband was in the bathroom with the door closed next to the room. He let a big one rip and my husband yelled out "Was that you or him?!" Not only have people commented on what a gassy baby he is, but how he can cry loud for a newborn. We do have a baby wearing device and sometimes we do have him in it and bounce on the ball. The issues is usually he wakes up when we take him out of the device so if we're trying to get him to go to sleep for good, we usually just hold him. He hates a swaddle that pins his arms. When its time to go to sleep, I usually do a loose swaddle under his arms just tight enough so he can't kick it free and so he can sleep in his favorite position where it looks like he's being crucified. I'm finally post partum enough that I can get my thyroid rechecked. I had the blood drawn today and an appointment about it next Thursday. I feel really hypothyroid. I'm scared the bloodwork is going to come back normal. A couple weeks after I had him I had lost half my baby weight already. At my appointment today about a month later, I've gained 10 pounds.  I'm also freezing cold to the point I have to take a shower around dinner time every day just to warm myself or I feel like I'm dying of cold. I think I'm going to invest in an electric blanket. Once i'm that cold, I can't warm myself up again no matter how bundled up I get. My skin is super dry, I'm tired, and I'm still having milk supply problems. It feels exactly how I felt when I knew for certain I was hypothyroiding last time.
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Jan 4, 2013 00:08
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Ceridwen posted:What are you considering as "start up costs"? Right, I didn't think of all of that since I'm not in the US. Well we obviously bought diapers but none of that other stuff. You don't strictly need special baby food though - you could start with soft-boiled vegetables or small pieces of bread or make your own simple porridge etc. So the food costs are low for the first year.
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Jan 4, 2013 00:09
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One thing I wish we had done earlier is signed up for our local parenting forum/email list. If you live in a city, check to see if there is something around you. There is TONS of stuff on ours for either free or really cheap. We could have saved a bunch on small miscellaneous things if we had done it earlier.
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Jan 4, 2013 00:16
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I have no idea how much we've spent. There's a lot of little hidden costs you don't think you'll need until the situation comes up. Jasper refused to sleep in his co sleeper when he was first born so we had to spend $100 on a more snug bassinet, getting birth announcements done or professional pictures taken costs money, I've been having a bitch of a time finding nipple shields for my breast pump that fit me properly and each time I try a new one that's extra money, etc etc.Papercut posted:One thing I wish we had done earlier is signed up for our local parenting forum/email list. If you live in a city, check to see if there is something around you. There is TONS of stuff on ours for either free or really cheap. We could have saved a bunch on small miscellaneous things if we had done it earlier. If your city has an issue with bed bugs, I'd be cautious. I won't get any used baby stuff I can't easily wash in my washing machine as soon as I get it.
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Jan 4, 2013 00:18
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Weighing in to agree with swaddling the arms in. It helps them feel snug like they were in the womb.
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Jan 4, 2013 00:45
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rectal cushion posted:You don't strictly need special baby food though - you could start with soft-boiled vegetables or small pieces of bread or make your own simple porridge etc. So the food costs are low for the first year. While this is true it really depends on the parents, so it's at least worth thinking about what your plan for it will be.
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Jan 4, 2013 00:48
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Here's a nice info sheet from the AAP's website on swaddling: http://www2.aap.org/sections/scan/practicingsafety/Toolkit_Resources/Module1/swadling.pdf It does warn against LOOSE swaddling, which might be what a few people heard about in their parenting classes. edit: I did find our food costs went up just because of the vast amount of extra fruit we were buying. Baby eats a lot!
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Jan 4, 2013 00:57
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I had a midwife at the hospital telling me if I swaddled my baby would overheat and die  Another midwife told me I had to swaddle or they wouldn't sleep well. As it turns out though, my baby hated swaddling, so we never did it, and she slept great as a young baby. Now she's older she gets up a lot more at night.
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Jan 4, 2013 01:31
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Papercut posted:Are you 5 S'ing (link)? Our baby is only 6 weeks old but it has worked for us basically every time, usually without even getting to the 5th S. Gorejess husband chiming in We tried this immediately after I got home from work. I can swaddle him like a straight jacket, then let my back get tired as hell holding him on his side and rocking him, shushing like I want to bust his eardrum, and drat if he didn't stop immediately. Biggest issue we are running into is that this does nothing LONG TERM. Sure it gets him to shut up in seconds, but I don't have the lung capacity to shush for hours. After a minute or 2 shushing even after he has gone quiet, he kicks back up. Forget the pacifier because that is a crap-shoot whether he will take it, or spit out out like brussell sprouts. I liked it, but I need something to last a bit longer.
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Jan 4, 2013 03:16
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Anyone have experience with belly button piercings and pregnancy? I have two-- one in the top of my naval (standard belly button piercing) and one in the bottom. I have had the one in the top since 2001 and the one in the bottom since 2005. Today, my top piercing sort of hurts a bit. I'm wondering if it is infected how big of a deal this is. Are we talking super scary could cause a not insignificant issue with my pregnancy, or just something that if it is infected will need to be looked at and fixed up. I'm not super worried yet, as it has in the (non-pregnant) past gone through days where it will just be sore and touchy for one to two days and then go back to normal. That's probably what this is-- it is sore to the touch and a little swollen where the bar goes through the skin. No pus or anything like that. Thoughts?
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Jan 4, 2013 04:05
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hagie posted:Gorejess husband chiming in This. The 5 S's are good for calming baby down in the immediate. Helpful for when you want to try to nurse or give a bottle. But it's pretty short term (or at least it has been so far in my experience). Also, I just hate the drat shushing noise. My husband who reads SA can attest to that. Bouncing and walking work just as well, but again, it's usually short term.
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Jan 4, 2013 04:09
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sheri posted:Anyone have experience with belly button piercings and pregnancy? I have two-- one in the top of my naval (standard belly button piercing) and one in the bottom. I have had the one in the top since 2001 and the one in the bottom since 2005. I have the same thing! Try switching to a bioplast or tygon bar. It's bendy so you'll have more leeway and less chance it will get angry or reject. Also if it was infected you would know it. Hot and dischargey and horribly painful. I am thinking the switch and maybe some sea salt soaks will do you good.
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Jan 4, 2013 04:29
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sheri posted:Anyone have experience with belly button piercings and pregnancy?
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Jan 4, 2013 05:01
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hagie posted:Gorejess husband chiming in Yeah, in the book there are supposed testimonials about how this method got their 4-week-old to sleep through the night, which sounds completely ridiculous to me. The way we use it, if he's at all sleepy then we can do it long enough to get him to fall asleep and then transition him to a sleeping position. If he's not tired, it just relaxes him so we can stop most of the S's and he'll remain calm. But it's not some magic bullet that makes him sleep. We've also found that we don't need to shush nearly as loud as they do in the videos. Really, hunching over and shushing in their ear is going to kill your back really quickly, so try dialing back the shushing as he calms down and see if he's alright.
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Jan 4, 2013 05:52
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Aren't there white noise apps you can download on your phone? Perhaps better than doing the shushing yourself.
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Jan 4, 2013 06:09
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Chickalicious posted:Aren't there white noise apps you can download on your phone? Perhaps better than doing the shushing yourself. We did this. There are also white noise machines you can buy that sound like a fan.
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Jan 4, 2013 10:09
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I don't know if it would work for a newborn, but when I am putting Ben (4.5 months) to sleep, I open up Pandora and use a station created around an artist called "Liquid Mind". It works amazingly almost every time.
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Jan 4, 2013 10:57
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rectal cushion posted:We did this. There are also white noise machines you can buy that sound like a fan. We just use a fan. 
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Jan 4, 2013 11:58
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Alterian posted:We just use a fan. Haha yeah, we do that in the summer. In winter it gets chilly at night though, hence the noise machine
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Jan 4, 2013 12:34
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I just have the fan not pointed at anything. Its funny how many things are in our room now just to placate him into sleeping well.
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Jan 4, 2013 15:53
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I'm 14 weeks along, and this morning I started feeling kind of weird and tender in the uterus area - like the feeling after a pap smear, or period pains - but no cramping, just a constant, low-level tender sensation. I wouldn't think twice about it, exept that I've never had any similar discomfort during my pregnancy so far. I've tried googling, but found only info about early signs of pregnancy and late-term uterus action. Can someone just tell me that this is completely normal so I can stop worrying?
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Jan 4, 2013 16:25
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With my last pregnancy (and this one too), I just got on and off random cramps and twinges. Nothing huge, I figured it was just my insides stretching and rearranging. Is 14 weeks when it starts to lift up out of your pelvis? I think it's kind of around that time. If you're concerned, see your doctor, but it's probably just tissues stretching and the like.
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Jan 4, 2013 17:36
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Sockmuppet posted:I'm 14 weeks along, and this morning I started feeling kind of weird and tender in the uterus area - like the feeling after a pap smear, or period pains - but no cramping, just a constant, low-level tender sensation. I wouldn't think twice about it, exept that I've never had any similar discomfort during my pregnancy so far. I've tried googling, but found only info about early signs of pregnancy and late-term uterus action. It's normal. You will get cramps and sometimes they will hurt like hell and basically it's just everything stretching around the baby. I rolled over the other night and it felt like I pulled a muscle (16 weeks here). If it's cramping following by bleeding though, I would be worried. (One of my OB's nurses told me that it gets worse with each pregnancy. Oh joy, and here I though I would be getting a smoother ride because I was already broken in.)
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Jan 4, 2013 17:50
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Sockmuppet posted:I'm 14 weeks along, and this morning I started feeling kind of weird and tender in the uterus area - like the feeling after a pap smear, or period pains - but no cramping, just a constant, low-level tender sensation. I wouldn't think twice about it, exept that I've never had any similar discomfort during my pregnancy so far. I've tried googling, but found only info about early signs of pregnancy and late-term uterus action. I'm pretty sure it is, like Lyz says it's really bleeding that's the big sign that there might be a problem (and even then sometimes it's completely fine too). I had a dull ache pretty much constantly from 12 to 17 weeks but it's all fine. I had my 20 week scan yesterday, everything looks nice and healthy and the midwife seems pretty sure that it's a girl. After 3 boys it'll be nice to use one of the names that have been on the girl list though of course now it's looking like we'll be using one we don't like the names we thought we did as much.
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Jan 4, 2013 18:05
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SmokeyXIII posted:So we're just about to heave ho baby time and I was adding up the bills and it seems our start up costs for the young pup are about $2000. I was worried it was going to be way more the way everyone goes on about how expensive babies are, or maybe my idea of what's expensive is just different from most. So much of what you "need" to spend money on is based on your lifestyle, what's important to you, and even something as simple as the layout of your house (we don't need a baby monitor, for example). The baby's personality/temperament counts for a lot, too. It is really easy to get sucked into the idea that you absolutely need a bunch of baby gear to keep the baby happy. I think some people try to deal with the anxiety of pregnancy and parenthood by buying a bunch of crap that will supposedly make their life easier. You can save a lot of money just by resisting this urge. Remind yourself that billions of people have had happy, healthy children throughout history and across the planet without the vast majority of the crap on sale at Babies R Us. Things I'm glad I spent money on - cloth diapers (~$600), BOB jogging stroller ($400), and various baby carriers (~$500). All of these things actually do make my life easier, and though they're a fairly big up-front investment, they also have good resale value, too. I'm a stay-at-home mom, I live far away from family, and my house has almost no storage space, so the stuff I have and use tends to reflect that. Breastfeeding is also a huge money saver for us. Investing in some one-on-one, in-home sessions with an excellent lactation consultant when the going gets rough could end up saving quite a bit of money in the long run for your family. Things I found I didn't need - a baby monitor, a stroller-carseat travel system, a swing, a bouncer chair, an exersaucer, a bumbo, a breast pump, a baby food maker, a fancy highchair, a crib, a big selection of bottles, nipples, and various baby feeding gear. I also regret buying most toys and stuffed animals; the best toys have been free (e.g. cardboard boxes, kitchen utensils, plastic cups, spare computer keyboard) or have been super-cheap random stuff from the craft store (e.g. wooden eggs, puff balls, pieces of felt). For the most part, I think many of the baby gear costs are offset by how our lifestyle has changed. The logistics of going to the gym is a pain in the rear end now, so instead of a gym membership, I have an amazing stroller. We don't go out to eat very often these days, so even with spending more for organic produce and snacks, we probably spend less on food now than ever before. I like the fancy cloth diapers, so diaper costs are probably close to even, but I do appreciate that washing diapers is easier for me than loading up the baby to go out to actually buy diapers. Sometimes, I try to imagine a parallel universe in which I didn't have a baby, and think about what I would do with all my extra free time, money, and sleep.
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Jan 4, 2013 18:38
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MoCookies posted:Things I found I didn't need - a baby monitor, a stroller-carseat travel system, a swing, a bouncer chair, an exersaucer, a bumbo, a breast pump, a baby food maker, a fancy highchair, a crib, a big selection of bottles, nipples, and various baby feeding gear. This varies from person to person and baby to baby; I used all of those items except a baby food maker and fancy high chair, and found them all great. Maybe went a little over the top on the number of bottles I bought, considering baby is breastfed. If asked to name the top 10 "most have" items for looking after a young baby the swing, exersaucer and bumbo would be very high on my list! Then again, I would never buy a jogging stroller, or hundreds of dollars of baby carriers 
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Jan 4, 2013 18:56
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Helanna posted:This varies from person to person and baby to baby; I used all of those items except a baby food maker and fancy high chair, and found them all great. Maybe went a little over the top on the number of bottles I bought, considering baby is breastfed. If asked to name the top 10 "most have" items for looking after a young baby the swing, exersaucer and bumbo would be very high on my list! And we use carriers, have a jogging stroller/travel system with two different carseats/bases, a swing and a bouncy chair, a huge selection of bottles, two cribs and a cosleeper. This is definitely a hugely variable area for expenditures
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Jan 4, 2013 19:37
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Cathis posted:And we use carriers, have a jogging stroller/travel system with two different carseats/bases, a swing and a bouncy chair, a huge selection of bottles, two cribs and a cosleeper. This is definitely a hugely variable area for expenditures My best friend has a baby the same age, and we laugh at how vastly different our "must have" lists are, too. She considers Mother's Day Out to be her #1 must-have expense, by the way. A hugely variable area, and I'm sure that makes it frustrating when trying to plan out how much a baby actually costs.
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Jan 4, 2013 20:01
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I was actually just reading a thread on another forum about what things people had gotten for their babies and rarely/never used. Everyone said different things  Remember, stores are still open after baby arrives. You could always wait to get some of the things until you see that you do in fact need them.
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Jan 4, 2013 20:13
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MoCookies posted:I also regret buying most toys and stuffed animals; For the love of god, do not buy stuffed animals. Every time I turn around, someone is giving me stuffed animals for him. He's only 6 months old and I think we've already got about 30. I'm ready to start burning them. SmokeyXIII posted:So we're just about to heave ho baby time and I was adding up the bills and it seems our start up costs for the young pup are about $2000. I was worried it was going to be way more the way everyone goes on about how expensive babies are, or maybe my idea of what's expensive is just different from most. Your profile says you're in Canada, so I don't know if baby showers are a thing that people do up there. In my case, I got most of my big-ticket stuff either at my baby shower, or as hand-me-downs from family or friends. When it comes to diapers, if you aren't cloth diapering, doing the Subscribe-and-save from Amazon is the cheapest way I've found. We've been using Pampers (which are the most expensive of the "standard" brands that you find in stores), and it costs $45-$48 (US$) per month with free shipping and I never have to run out to the store for them. Another thing that a few people have mentioned is babyfood makers. If you have an immersion blender (something like this), you don't need a baby food maker. If you don't have an immersion blender, it makes more sense to buy one of them than a baby food maker. Not only can you get an immersion blender for around $25, you can use it for all sorts of kitchen stuff for the rest of your life, unlike a baby food maker.
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Jan 4, 2013 20:18
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And you don't have to make puréed baby food at all. You can just steam veggies till they're soft enough to gum up.
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Jan 4, 2013 20:43
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Totally worth doing the Baby-Led Weaning. We decided to do it, and don't regret it for a moment; she adores her food and happily tucks into whatever I serve for her. She's not yet 7 months old, and this gives an idea of how much she's loving feeding herself. Shepherd's pie:  Christmas dinner:   Literally we just give her whatever we are having, while avoiding giving her too much salt or sugar. So much easier (and cheaper!) than messing around with purees, and she's loving food so far; no battles trying to shovel a spoon into her!
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Jan 4, 2013 20:55
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