How is everyone doing?

[Jrmedic]

This board is so quiet! How is everyone doing? Or is this going to be a "dead" board?

[Curly,]

Hi Ladies,

It's great that we have this board, although I wish there were more of us lol!

I think we're doing good, as well as can be expected for first time parents anyway. We are having a similar problem to you Burtneysmom in that Gabe was crying all night unless we held him. We too have a bassinet in our room and he would be sound asleep until we placed him in there, turned the light off and he'd wake up instantly and scream! Anyway this week I wondered if the cradle was ok and that if he just didn't like the dark. We did have a nightlight but I wondered if even that was enough. So I got a 15watt bulb and kept the light on .... wouldn't you know it he slept right through his next 3 hour feed for a total of 4 straight hours. DH and I felt so rested after having hardly any sleep

Prior to this we would need to hold him, or his favorite position is to sleep on his stomach on either of our chests. He still does this at his next feed though, so at his 3am/4am feed he won't go in the cradle and wants to be with us. Out of desperation we do co-sleep which I was dead set against but you just have to do what works in the end. We have a firm mattress, and we make sure there are no covers anywhere near him. I also don't plan on doing this for long; only until he's no longer a young newborn. Once he reaches 3 months he'll probably be moved to his crib and we'll have to do either the CIO method or something else to enable him to go to sleep alone.

I'm also exclusively b/feeding and finally this is the week it's started to click and he gets it, I get it and it's not as painful. Thank goodness!! For a while there I was very close to quitting. Getting him to latch on correctly and feed in the early am sessions without falling asleep was so tough, but I'm really glad I hung in there because it is so much easier than messing around with bottles.

Have either of you introduced a paci yet? I had to do it albeit reluctantly because he gets so fussy mid am and right about 5-7. Nothing else helps sooth him other than the paci and man watch out if he srops it, he screams his head off!!

I'm looking forward to getting to know you all

Kath

[Jrmedic]

that's great that everyone is doing well. Our munchkins are holding their own. Emmy is 7 lbs 12 oz and Maddy is 8 lbs 9 oz today. Emerson is our rough sleeper. She will sleep in someone's arms but forget sleeping on her own! So we are co-sleeping with her. We co-slept with our toddler until she was 18 months old and it worked for us.

Maddy still has a wicked stuffed up nose, and is still having apnec episodes but they are not as bad as before. So we are making progress in that area.

I know it is hard for some to get online. It is hard here with a 2 yr old and the twins.

[Curly,]

Burtneysmom I'm so sorry if my comment on the ease of breastfeeding upset you. I know a lot of women struggle and I didn't mean to say anything off-putting. I had just been pumping and washing bottles and nursing and it was so much work that when I finally did just nurse exclusively at the breast it was a relief for me.

Funny you mention that about co-sleeping in the rest of the word. My friend in England (where I'm from originally) said the same thing about it being so common everywhere but the US and UK. The reason I'm so frightened of it is because you read such scary things about it, books make you feel like if you do it you're being careless. But for us, it really is the only thing that works when he's not calmed by anything else and just refuses the cradle. I think it's good to trust your instincts as a mother and do what you feel is right, even if sometimes you're just winging it. I know I feel like 98% of my day I'm just winging it, and don't have a clue what I'm doing, lol!!

If you and I both go the CIO method let's keep in touch so we can keep each other sane I've heard it's awful for the first few nights.

[Jrmedic]

Curly, CIO is rough in the begining. We did it with DD and there were night's that it killed me! It was hard going from co-sleeping to not having her in bed with me. I co-sleep with the twins (depends on who is fussy at the moment!)

you are right people scare you with co-sleeping. My mother couldn't believe what I was doing, but they sleep better and are closer to you.

[pugified]

We are doing well here. Lyla is 6w4d old. She is a great baby during the day and then has her witching hours between 8pm and 11pm when she screams on and off for 3 hours! Drives me crazy! I think its probably just colic and we will just have to wait it out. She isn't sleeping so great - see my post on the brag thread. She does sleep in her bassinet, not on us thankfully. For those who are having issues with the babies not wanting to sleep unless they are on you, please try the Miracle Blanket! It really is a miracle - www.miracleblanket.com. I've used ti for both my girls and it works wonders.

I am BF'ing and its going really well which is such a relief b/c it did not go well at all with my first and I ended up having to stop. But Lyla just seems to get it which is nice. She also takes a bottle easily which is nice for when we are out and about - i'm very large chested which makes nursing in public pretty difficult.

Can't wait to get to know all of you and your kiddos!