3rd Time's A Charm

I ended up in the ER last night due to mastitis. I was shaking uncontrollably, had diarrhea and cotton mouth so bad, but when I would drink I felt like I was going to throw up, and the pain was unbelievable I was crying. I rated it at an 8 at the ER. It hurt in my breast mostly, but like radiated out too.

Because of my allergies, I had to get hooked up to an antibiotic IV. I also had to get saline. The nurse tried to put the IV in the crook of my elbow but my vein rolled. Next she tried my hand and exploded that vein. So, she went and got another nurse. I was in tears at this point and just wanted to go home, but I let them poke me one more time, in the forearm of my opposite arm. Luckily that one worked. I was there for about 1 1/2 hrs. It was amazing how much better I felt when I left! My boob still is killing me, but its bearable, and there is a huge red spot on it from the infection that freaked M out! I just hope it goes away quickly cuz even feeling better doesn't feel good.

This is the 3rd time I have gotten mastitis. The first time, I was miserable at home for a couple days, but it went away. The second time I got meds from Dr K. This time I was in the ER. Next time.... ? I don't even want to imagine! I think this should be a hint to stop breastfeeding. I have cut Miss L down a lot already, but maybe its time to give up completely. The best way to get rid of mastitis is to nurse, but maybe once its gone, I will have to stop. 3 times is enough for me!

Would you stop BF is you had gotten mastitis 3 times? Have you gotten mastitis 3 times?!

We Have Created A Monster

And to be honest, I don't know who is worse, Miss L or us.

Miss L still sleeps next to our bed in her slightly inclined sleeper. It is nice and easy to have her right next to us. Plus, we can look over and check on her during the night if we need to. Neither M nor I want her out of our room. But this is starting to slowly become a problem.

During the day, when it's nap time, the little miss doesn't want to sleep anywhere other than our arms, or her slightly inclined swing. When I try to lay her in her crib for a good nap, this is what I instantly get:

WHOA! I'm laying flat!!!!

It's like the second her little head touches down her eyes pop open! I know that she can't sleep in the swing forever, and really can't sleep in my arms all day, but I can't get her to sleep in her crib!

I keep telling M that we really need to transition her to her crib at night... this weekend. Neither of us really want her out of our room. Its such a comfort knowing she is right next to me and I can peak at her at any time. I think I may have to invest in those monitors with the screens so I can calm my nerves. M keeps saying that we can just move her crib into our room, but I won't let him. If we do, she will never leave and end up being that teenage kid who still sleeps in their parents' room. Ok, I don't think I have ever actually heard of that kid, but I don't want our daughter to be the first! 

We have created a monster in us and our precious little daughter. How are we ever going to get her to sleep in her crib?

Was the transition to the crib hard for you? Your LO? How old was your LO when you made the move?

Terrible 4's

Everyone always says things about "the terrible 2's", but I have to disagree. 2 was easy. 3 got a little harder, but nothing to complain about. But 4? It has been horrible.

I was worried about how L's arrival would affect Pumpkin. I knew that the transition of being the only child, with all the attention, to being the older child with a brand new baby in the house, that needs a lot of attention, would be hard. We have tried our best to make Pumpkin feel special still though. We spend a lot of one-on-one time with him, try to let him do things that only "big kids" get to do (like stay up an extra 15 mins at night), and buy him new toys to play with, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Whether it is the new addition to the family, or just the age he is at, we are having a really hard time. Pumpkin back-talks all the time, raises his voice, tells us what is going to happen, throws major fits, whines, cries, kicks at us, pees his pants and is almost proud of it, the list goes on. We have tried everything we can think of to get him past this, but nothing seems to be working. I'm losing my mind with it, and feel like a horrible mother because I have resorted to sending him to his room constantly. I don't know what else to do anymore. I have tried to talk to him and reason, but he yells at me and kicks. I have taken toys away, but he started to tell me which ones to take. We started a "naughty or nice" jar which we put money in towards a toy when he is nice, and he has to give us some when he is naughty, but he is still too young to grasp the concept of money. I'm out of ideas and nearing the end of my rope.

Source

I actually talked to Ex a little about it, and he said that Pumpkin is doing the same at his house. I don't know to what extent or anything, but at least I know that it is happening at both houses. Ex's wife is also pregnant right now though, so I wonder if it is just all too much for Pumpkin. He is losing attention at both homes now.

Is he acting out to get attention? I can't imagine he is. We spend a lot of time with him at our house. I don't give Miss L any extra attention then necessary. I actually feel bad that I don't get to just sit and talk to her and play with her. I am constantly trying to give Pumpkin attention and make him happy and feel loved.

I feel so bad for him, and just wish I could help him out. I am really sad that he is acting this way, and hoping that it is just a stage he will soon be out of. I am thinking that maybe enrolling him in a daycare for 1 or 2 days a week might be a good idea. It would be a time for him to interact with other kids his age, make "friends", get to do things like crafts and playtime, and have something to look forward to.

4 has been the hardest age so far. I really miss my sweet Pumpkin too, and hope that my little boy returns soon and this angry version of him goes away!

What age has been the hardest for you? Did adding a new member to the family change your other children's behavior? Do you have any suggestions?!

SAHWM

The new term I have coined for myself: Stay At Home Working Mom. Yep, I am a stay-at-home, working, mom.

I got a random phone call a couple weeks after L was born. It was from a place that I had interviewed at while I was still working, and they were wondering if I was still interested in working for them. I told her maybe, it would have to work out just right though since I would have to pay for daycare, etc. She told me what she was really looking for was a night tech, someone to work 7 PM to 7 AM, and only 1 or 2 days a week. Um, score! Of course I told her I was interested, and I went to work with L was 4 wks old (a little early, but I couldn't loose this opportunity). And that is why I consider myself a SAHWM.

I am home during the day, everyday, to take care of my children. They don't go to daycare, I can do all the SAHM functions, and I don't work typical job hours. BUT, I do work. I work while my kids are sleeping, so I don't miss out on them during the day. Of course, I have to sleep at some point, so when I get off at 7, I go home, and sleep for a couple hours while my mom watches the kids. Since I am only working about 2 days a week, I can go off just a few hours of sleep, and then sleep in on the weekends while M hangs out with the kids. I don't feel like I am missing much with these few hours of sleep I get in during the day. I am definitely not missing as much as I would if I were to be working an 8-5 job either.

My job is the best it helps with the bills, we don't have to do daycare, and I still have all the time with my kids. I am very fortunate to be able to work a night job and get to be with my kids.

Are you a SAHWM?

Shield Strike

Last week, L decided to go on a nipple shield strike. I have no idea what prompted this, or what changed, but I couldn't get her to nurse with the shield on for the life of me.

At first I was excited about this. I had been wanting to cut her off the shield, and what better way then for her to do it herself?! It wasn't to nice and exciting though.

It was like starting to breastfeed all over again. My nipples cracked and bleed, and latching on was horrible pain, again. I tried to get her to use the shield, but no go, she wanted nothing to do with it. I tried and tried and tough it out, considered quitting breastfeeding all together, and finally was able to get her to go back to the shield.

I have no idea why she went on strike in the first place, or why she decided to go back, but I am so thankful that she has decided to nurse with the shield again. And now I know, I am not going to try to break her of it!

Has your LO ever decided to not nurse with a shield? Do you use a shield?

Mastitis Misery

I have mastitis, and it is MISERABLE. I woke up feeling fine, but by the afternoon it was all I could do to even stand up. My body hurt so frickin' bad, I had the chills like crazy, and I felt like I was going to throw up. And the ache in my boob, unbelievable.

Going to bed the first night was almost impossible. I couldn't get in a position that was comfortable and didn't make my boob throb. The pain woke me up multiple times, and if the pain from that didn't do it, the pain from my body aches did. Needless to say I called Dr K ASAP the next day! She called down a prescription for me and I started it right away.

I also did some home remedies that may have helped. Every time I breastfed or pumped I rubbed the area. This seemed to relieve some of the pain temporarily, but eventually my whole boob started to hurt from me rubbing so much! I also applied heat and that felt amazing. I don't know if it actually helped it to get any better but the relief was so worth it.

Luckily the meds are kickin in and I am feeling better. Still not great, but better. The odd thing though, my milk production on that side is way low now. I don't know if that is a usual side effect, or maybe something completely unrelated. Whatever it is, I hope it goes away soon and my milk returns to normal because I need all the milk I can get!

Have you ever had mastitis? What did you find most helpful?

Best Phone App

While I was checking out of L's dr the other day, I was looking at the brochures on the wall and found one that I actually took. It was for the Similac Baby Journal app for your phone. Not only did I take the brochure, but I downloaded the app, and LOVE it!

The website gives you a good run-down on everything the app has to offer, but I will tell you some too. First you input all of your baby's data: height, weight, length, head circumference, date of birth, and it keeps track of that. You also get to add a picture of your baby! :) Then you input everything else as you go, feeds, diaper changes, sleeping times. When you first open the app, you get a "snapshot" view like this:

From there you can either touch the different sections, or go to "Journals" on the bottom. 

In "Feeding", you have the options of breastfeeding, bottle feeding, and pumping. It keeps track of how long you do it, and how many oz were fed or pumped. It also tells you how long average time is between feedings, and when your next feeding would be. In breastfeeding, you pick which boob you start on, and you can switch to the other during the feed. You can always pause a feeding too, and then resume it.

Under "Sleeping", you simply press start timer and stop timer, and it will keep track of how long your baby sleeps (that 7 hrs you see was during the night, and her longest sleep time). It also keeps track of if it was a nighttime sleep or a daytime sleep. 

"Changing" gives you the option of choosing a wet diaper, and wet and dirty diaper, or just a dirty diaper. You can say if the diaper leaked or not, and with the dirty ones, you get to pick the color of the poo, and the consistency! 

If you forget to put in a feeding or whatever, you can go to "Manage All Entries" and manually put them in. You can look at your baby's "Trends" and get "Advice". And, if you have more than one little one, you can add more than one baby under "My Profile"! That is also where you can set your morning and night start times, measurements, etc. 

I love this app! It is so awesome to be able to see just how much L is awake during the day, how often she feeds, keep track of her diapers, and how much I can pump :) The best part though, this app is free. FREE!!!! Can't beat free! Especially since it works so great and does so much. 

Is there an app that you absolutely love when it comes to keeping track of you baby? Do you use this same app?