Hawaii Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
**Renee**
Just wanted to check in and see how things were going for you. Hope all is well. I hadn't seen a post from you since you had Baby Ashton, only responses, unless I missed it which I very well could have! How's being a mommy? How's the breastfeeding going? Are you sleeping much?
Bella is sleeping on my chest right now as I type, it's my favorite place for her to be! No wonder why I feel like I can't get anything done!
Re: **Renee**
Hey there! I haven't finished my birth story so you didn't miss a post. Good thing my mom took good notes for me to write it.
Things are going great! I love being a mommy. It is hard work, but so worth it. Breastfeeding is great! Ashton today at his 2 week check up was up to 9 lbs 8 oz already. The Dr. couldn't believe how much weight he has gained...he said I didn't have a milk problem like I had kind of thought I did.
Sleep..hum? What's that? Nah....it's bad but not as bad as I thought it would be. Ashton has his days and nights still mixed up so it's a little harder than it needs to be. I really need to work on keeping him up more during the day.
I can't believe that Bella is already a month old. I am already dreading going back to work. I have become super emotional since Ashton was born...I guess it's the hormones....when I think about going back to work I start crying!! Weird!!
How are things going with Bella? How is sleep now compared to when Bella was 2 weeks old? Any advice?
Renee, I'm sorry to jump in and offer unsolicited advice (yep, I'm gonna be 'one of those people' lol)...
When bubs are newborns, their sleep is gonna be all over the map. Standard time they stay awake is usually an hour before they get tired and need to sleep again. Let him sleep when he is tired, hon. Keeping him awake when he wants to sleep will mean a grumpy, overtired bubba.
It's odd but, with babies, sleep begets sleep. On the occasional days that Maya has missed out on her big afternoon nap (she's down to one 2.5 hour nap a day now) she sleeps very lightly and terribly at night. On the days she gets a good nap in, she usually sleeps beautifully all night long.
I just remember doing the same thing with Maya when she was a newborn (waking her up if she slept too long, keeping her awake in the hopes of getting her to sleep longer at night etc) and it really threw us for a loop lol!
Thanks for the advice! I need all I can get:-)
I love breastfeeding, although my nips are still super sore! Bella kind of clamps down on them so they don't "slip out of her mouth" when she's takign a break but not done nursing, if that makes sense. She has jaws of steel! My nips are WHITE when I encourage her to open her mouth when she's resting on the boob. Other than that I love breastfeeding. I'm starting to pump once a day to build up my freezer stash. I'll be pumpng at work too but I want to be sure I have a little milk in case of emergency or something.
We did the bottle a week ago and she hated it! She's a boob girl for sure
Which I am SO thankful for, but I need her to take the bottle for when I got backto work. We'll keep practicing but if she still has a rough time with the bottle I bought then we'll try something else to see if it's better for her.
Sleep well, it's few and far between. I've been trying to sleep when she's sleeping which doesn't always work out. It seems like adrenaline kicks in and when I need to sleep I can't! Bella seems to want to nurse about every 2 hours at night and every 3 hours during the day. I just let her do her thing. I've found the sidelying nursing position works GREAT for us at night because at least I can close my eyes then, so in the morning I feel a little more rested. As far as sleep now compared to 2 weeks old... she sleeps without wimpering which is better. I would say I'm also better at napping when she naps then I was in the begining. I wanted visitors to feel welcome but now I know I need my rest to in order to function.
I've cried multiple times lately. I feel like my days at home full time with her are numbered so I tend to just hold her all the time! Which is fine by me. Who cares if the rest of the ^hit gets done! I'm dreading going back to work too! I just ordered a moby wrap so I can carry her and get things done and then I can have her close to me more
DH won't be thrilled because he says "your always holding her" but who cares. He still is trying to figure out where he fits in with baby and all... it's different that's for sure, not bad but we're just going to have to adjust how we used to do things since we have her now. It's a change! 
Things are good with Bella, she's amazing and I LOVE being a mom. Advice? Yes, sleep when baby sleeps- everyone told me this and I didn't listen in the beginning! I wish I would have... other advice... hmm... don't forget to eat... I seem to not eat much or I eat the same thing over and over (lately it's been chocolate poptarts which are really good for me, right?!) Also drink tons of water, I did really good with this and then forgot for a few days and felt really exhausted, I picked up the water again and Now I'm feeling better. Oh and TELL DH what you want/need help with. I felt like I was doing a lot and mentioned it to DH and he said he just didn't know what to do or how to help me since i was the only one who could feed her. I mentioned helping with diaper changes more, getting me water or food while she's BFing and he's been doing that much more! I sit down to feed and he comes in and asks if he can get me anything or he'll fill up my water without me asking. I think before he just didn't know what to do, if I tell him, he does better
Oh and Ashton is a giant
Bella is probably about 6.5 or 7lbs now, she's still a little peanut, fitting in newborn clothes still. We went for her 2 week visit and she was almost back her birth wt and we don't go again until our 2 month visit. I've been getting on SIL's scale with her to get a rough estimate just to be sure she's gaining. I swear I'm a great peds nurse but I'm a nervous nelly momma!
I cringe at myself when I give unsolicited advice so I'm glad you're ok that I gave it lol.
I was totally and utterly confused when Maya was born that I look back now at some of the things I did and go "WTF was I ON?! Seriously!..."
Other new mums just seemed so much more 'together' than I was. It was really and truly a period of hormonal, sleep-deprived insanity for me lol!
Example: Maya is two weeks old. There I am, at 11:30 at night, making a poor attempt at bathing this slippery little creature in the portable bathtub that I've wheeled into the living room (that's where the heater is).
I was determined that I was "getting her into a bedtime routine". See, I was told that a good bedtime routine was bathe, feed, put to bed" and I was all "Yeah, that's what I'm gonna do starting right now!"
My husband was asleep on the couch and I hadn't yet mastered the art of bathing this tiny baby by myself (I hadn't worked out how to hold her with one arm/hand whilst lathering/rinsing with the other). The only thing I knew how to do was hold her in the tub with both hands for dear life and....that's it lol.
So, I'm getting mad at my hubby for being asleep and not helping me and he's sleepily saying "Hon, why are you bathing her NOW? Just put her to sleep and go to bed youself..."
"Noooooo, I NEED TO GET HER INTO A ROUTINE!"
*Shakes head and rolls eyes at the memory of herself back then*
That's the beauty of anticipating a newborn the 2nd time around...I am much more relaxed because I have learnt so much from all the mistakes I made with Maya!
This time around I know that newborns are going to be 'around the clock' for the first little while. There will be no 'striving to get him/her into a routine during the newborn phase...I'm just going to enjoy him/her and know that this time is fleeting and eventually the baby will settle into a routine (or I can begin to work towards a routine) once bubby gets past newborn.
Like Sarah said: Sleep whenever you can. This is a time of feeding/sleeping/playing/rinse and repeat....enjoy it! Routines come later. AT the moment, Ashton will tell you what he needs and wants when he needs it, follow his lead.