few questions. . . Babies Are So Wonderful!

When They're Sleeping Or Not Crying. . .

Published on June 24, 2004 By simplethings In Blogging

Alysia hasn't cried as much today now that I started her on the formula. She seems to be eating better and sleeping. I'm Loving It! I spent time with Shawn today, without talking about what we should do about the crying. Alysia has one more appointment left this week. Then her next one will be in 2 weeks. She's grown so much in the past 3 days. I have a dumb dumb question, and I don't want to ask cause I feel sort of dumb by asking this, but. . . how long is the normal wait before having sex again? I was thinking about that this afternoon and I feel so weird asking it. Shawn's been hinting a bit, which I can understand, I mean its been 3 months and a week since he's gotten any (omg! i can't believe I just said that) Anyways. . . He's leaving tomorrow afternoon to go to New York to be with his dad who's having open heart surgery. Alysia and I have to stay here, first of all because I don't want to take her in a car for that long, and also because he'll have to leave before her appointment time. So my husband will be gone for a week.

Alysia got a bath tonight. Here's another stupid question, should I give her a bath every night, every other night, or what?
I got some more pictures of her, if anyone wants to see one let me know and I can e-mail it to you!

Hey, another question, is there a such thing as feeding Alysia too much? Cause I'm completely lost, my neighbor fed her baby every hour on the hour. And Shawn's mom said she fed Shawn every 3-4 hours. I'm lost!

Emma

Comments

dharmagrl

on Jun 24, 2004

Sex....6 weeks. We waited 3 with Jake but 5 with Davey (who was a 9lb baby and did me some damage). I wouldn't recommend doing it after just 3 or 4 days, that's for sure.

I always waited until their unbilical cord had dropped of before I gave mine a full tub bath, and then they got a bath every night after that. It can help calm fussy babies...and you can get baby bath that has lavender and chamomile in it that helps as well.

Feed her when she's hungry. She'll let you know. I used to feed mine a 3 ounce bottle, then they'd fall asleep halfway through so I's change their diaper to wake them up and then they'd be ready to finish the rest of it.

That's too bad that he has to leave again...

...and I want to see pictures!

simplethings

on Jun 24, 2004

Thank you. I was thinking that it was WAY too soon for sex, but I figured I'd ask anyways. Now Shawn will have peace of mind. lol, I'll send you some pictures right now!

Emma

InfoGeek

on Jun 24, 2004

Well, Bathing. If I remember correctly we bathed the girls every three days or so. More if they were really dirty. I seem to remeber that bathing washes away "good" oils from thier skin. I suppose a "once over" with a washcloth and baby bath would not hurt. Don't forget to lotion afterwards.

Food. Mine basically set their own schedule. I think we tried a bottle every 4 -5 hours. If they wanted it they ate, if they didn't they would spit out the nipple. Also, if they were hungry before the 4 hours, they also let us know. Feeding a growth spurt is such a joy.

Nocturnal meetings. I would consult your Obgyn. It has a lot to do with "mood" and how things feel physically. I forgot how long we waited. I believe it was a few weeks after the birth.

Hope this helps.

IG

InfoGeek

on Jun 24, 2004

Oh yes. Pease send pictures.

I forgot.

IG

simplethings

on Jun 24, 2004

I can do that! I'm so excited that you want to see my baby! It makes me feel so bubbly! I know I know, I'm pathetic

simplethings

on Jun 24, 2004

I wish I had a picture of Shawn Alysia and I to send, but we haven't gotten around to getting one taken.

trina_p

on Jun 24, 2004

Six weeks - until after YOUR six week checkup - pap smear etc. If you're still bleeding they give you pills to make you stop. Then after your period starts again you're allowed to go on the pill and all the other stuff.
It kinda depends on you - how many bruises, stitches, lacerations etc you have down there and how well they heal. Plus there's not alot of natural lubrication down there for a few weeks (its in textbooks)

Food - Elana is on s26 - she fed every 2 1/2 - 3hrs for the first couple weeks - basically she had 6 meals a day. She started on 30ml, then 50 gradually increasing to 150ml As the amount increased, as her weight increased, the amount of time in between feeds decreased. At one stage she was having 6 bottles 4 hours apart.

Now she's on 200mls 5 times aday - roughly 3hours apart.

Like Dharma said - no full submersion until after the cord drops off, don't bath her after you feed her - the nurse told me this - she throws up, so bath then feed, and be quick cause as soon as the nappy's off she pees. Then in the first early days she pees again as soon as she's out of the bath so get the nappy back on quick.

simplethings

on Jun 24, 2004

Ok, thanks.

citahellion

on Jun 25, 2004

Or, if you're not so lucky, as soon as her butt hits the water, she pees.

Yeah, babies don't really get very dirty except from pooping, so a good application of diaper wipes will keep them pretty clean most of the time. A sponge bath every 2 or 3 days is fine until, as Dharma and Trina said, the cord falls completely off. (Which usually takes a couple of weeks.)

citahellion

on Jun 25, 2004

... although, peeing when she's going into the water could be considered a sign that the water is too warm, too.

dharmagrl

on Jun 25, 2004

It kinda depends on you - how many bruises, stitches, lacerations etc you have down there and how well they heal.

Yes, that was the thing with Davey.....I had 3rd degree lacerations that were really painful so there was no way.....having said that, there are many ways to...ahem....please each other without there having to be any penetration. I know I enjoyed making out with my husband and being able to lay belly to belly with him with no 'bump' in the way!

Even at 5 weeks it was a bit uncomfortable because I had some scar tissue, but my doctor took care of that at my 6 week check up with some silver nitrate and we've never had any problems since then. Like Trina said, it all depends on how badly you tore, if you had an episiotomy, stitches and so on.

simplethings

on Jun 25, 2004

Ok, That makes sense.

KarmaGirl

on Jun 25, 2004

I'm amazed that your Doctors haven't given you this info. Mine gave me tons of info before I left the hospital. It seems like your Doctor would have given you feeding instructions since he/she had you stop breastfeeding.

I hate doctors. (But, that is a totally different rant entirely)

A tip- use the sent free "natural" wipes (there are a few commercial brands out there) or simply water and a cloth to clean up your baby's diaper area. The perfumes in a lot of the wipes can cause major irritation. Also, if the baby gets a diaper rash, A&D ointment with Zinc is a blessing. Zinc is amazing for clearing up the rash.

Happy baby = happy mommy!

If you get a chance, send me a couple pictures. I'd like to se what the little peanut looks like. (I could post one on here if you want, too)

citahellion

on Jun 25, 2004

Oh, one other thing, regarding feeding too much:
Babies will always let you know pretty immediately when they get hungry, but they won't always let you know when they've had enough. I overfed Krystal several times in the hospital because although she had eaten her fill, she still enjoyed sucking, so she didn't spit the nipple out or anything. Only later, when she horked up a big ol' blob on a couple of nurses, did they let me know about this.
My rule of thumb became: Pacifier first. If she spits it out a couple of times, then apply the bottle. Hopefully you already have a good idea of how much she'll want on a given feeding; if she still acts hungry after that, try the pacifier again.

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