Poop....help! Advice Needed!

Hello ladies,
I am getting worried. My little one has not had a poop in 6 days! She is only breastfed so I have heard they can't be constipated. Normally she goes every one or two days! Has anyone experienced this lack of poopiness or know what the problem might be or what I should do? I am going to the pediatrician on Wednesday but if I can't get any advice before then I would be happy!
Thank lovelies!
LTB

My Favorite Things...

Some other mommies have been doing posts about some of their favorite baby things so I thought I would do the same.

The first item I am going to talk about I just got on Friday but so far it has transformed my life! I may have mentioned that Alexandra has been crying ALOT. All day, unless you are holding her standing up and bouncing or strollering or driving. Needless to say, my arm has gotten exhausted, I have gotten nothing done, and I have been so tired and stressed to see my baby so sad. Well, on Friday I went an bought a swing. I put little A in the swing and she is in heaven! She loves the mobile that goes around and the swinging is so soothing for her! she is happy to be in there when she is totally awake, this never happens in our vibrating chair. After a few minutes in the swing, if she is tired she passes out and will nap for a while. I have eaten breakfast and lunch the past two days in PEACE! She is in heaven and i am in heaven!!! I am being very vigilant not to 'abuse' the swing. I don't want her to become sick of it (ahhh....the horror of going back to my life just a few days ago!) and I don't want to be neglectful at all by being the parent that just tosses their child in a swing and walks away. But to be honest, after she's been in there for a half an hour i am dying to hold her and cuddle her and play with her so there is no fear that I will neglect her in the swing! The swing we got is the Fisher Price Rain Forest Swing. It plugs in to the wall or runs on batteries. It is pretty big and we avoided getting it earlier b/c we
a) didn't want to clutter our condo and
b) didn't know how FREAKIN' AMAZING it was!

Go and get the swing. NOW!

Item number two we also didn't get until 4 weeks ago and it has also transformed my life! I used to co-sleep with A in our bed. Cuddled up to me. Not the safest option. and not the best option for me to get any sleep at all. She is loud, and flails and squirms. So upon recommendation from some ladies in my mommy-group I got the Miracle Blanket and used it on A and put her in her bassinet beside the bed. I swear, without the Miracle Blanket, everytime I tried to put her down in the bassinet she would cry. This thing keeps her cuddled all night long and helps her sleep longer stretches. I highly recommend it to everyone. At first I thought she hated being swaddled. This thing is seriously like a baby straight jacket and you have to pull it TIGHT! The first time I tried it she went insane, crying , screaming...I gave up. Tried it the next night and persisted and after a few minutes she settled right down. Now, she doesn't even fuss when I swaddle her up in it! Last night little A slept from 8:30pm to 3am ! What a miracle! It is also really easy to use (comes with instructions...that are super easy to follow) and it is nearly impossible for them to break out of! A couple of times she has gotten a bit loose but can never get her arms out. Apparently it helps with baby gas too by putting pressure on the abdomen. Get the Miracle Blanket NOW!!!

The third thing that I avoided getting because I didn't think we would need it but has since made my life so much easier is the carseat-stroller adapter. I have the UppaBaby Vista Stroller and the Graco Snugride 35 carseat. I thought I would be fine to just have the stroller and wouldn't ever really need to take the car seat out of the car and put it on the stroller. But let me tell you, the last thing you want to be doing is waking up a sleeping baby from a carseat to put her in a stroller. Baaaadddd idea. Now with the adapter I just take the car seat out and plop it on the stroller base and go. Alexandra never wakes up and we go out, do errands and get back home without a fuss. Best $70 we ever spent.

One other thing I really like but have not "transformed my life!" is the Diaper Genie. Its easy and great to keep stink out.

Oh...and the last thing that we got for baby was the SUV. Best purchase ever! We need the space sooooo bad! When we visit family we have to go overnight so we pack our bags, her bags, stroller, bassinet, bouncy chair, stroller...would not be possible with just a car. SUV Rocks!

Some stuff we have bought that I don't use much right now or really care about are the baby tub (she bathes with me), the vibrating chair (she doesn't like it, and now that we have the swing, it is rendered useless!), and the MammaKangaroo carrier (I know tons of babies love these wraps and slings but she hates it and it hurts my back).

So, that's my list folks! And I leave you with some cuteness!








My little princess (a.k.a. Bug, Buggy, Bugaboo, Alexandra) is 11 weeks old already!

How Dare I....

How dare I complain about crying and tiredness when this family is suffering an unimaginable pain. I feel so sad for them and so sorry for my complaining. Sometimes I need a slap in the face to remember how grateful and lucky I am. Alexandra is wearing a bow for Maddie. We are sending love and prayers to the family.
LTB

So What Wednesday

So What If....

I'm super jealous that Shannon got to have a night (SLEEEEEPPP!) to herself this weekend! I am TIRED! PAINFULLY TIRED! Alexandra is crying ALOT during the day and in my tired state I am going INSANE.

I wished for a few minutes this morning that I had to go back to work. It was a hell of a lot easier than dealing with a crying baby all day.

I cut my 10 week old baby's nails for the first time today. I was too scared! But after she scratched her nose I realized it was time!

I watch the View, Oprah and Young and the Restless pretty religiously these days. That's more TV in one day than I used to watch in a week!

I officially hate my in-laws. Like, wouldn't care if I never ever saw them again. They are so difficult and always full of drama that I can't handle anymore! (remember...I'm TIRED!!!)

I pretty much only blog on So What Wednesdays...I suck. I'm tired. My baby is crying. What can I say! I am reading though!

What are you saying So What to? Link up here!

Mommy Love

Recently we have been noticing something in our household. Baby girl is growing very
 attached to her mommy. Now I think this is very flattering and I love it,but it does
have a down side. Baby girl cries inconsolably with daddy, if I step in and take her...
Calm and happy baby. I pass her back to daddy so he can hold her in the exact way I
am
...screaming baby. Has anyone else experienced this with a two month old? I feel bad
for my husband, but I also feel mad that he doesn't have more patience to deal with
the crying before passing her off to me. It sucks because hubs doesn't get much time
 to spend with her and hen when he does she wails! :(
I have been telling hubs to hold her more when she is happy instead of putting her
in her chair or swing when she is happy. He really only holds her when she is crying
and otherwise thinks she doesn't need to be held. I in the other hand love to hold
her happy and sad. I can hold a baby, blog, work on my assignfments for my masters
course, ear, cook, pee...hubs is a one thing at a time guy(I think most men are!)
so he feels if he is holding her he can't do anything else and so he wants to put
her down even to check his email. I love that my baby loves me, but I don't wan her
to only be dependent on me for comfort!

Any advice?

On a positive note our bed time is going great! She goes down after about 15
minutes of rocking and walking at 815 and let night she slept until 2, fed, right
bac k to sleep until 5 to eat, back to sleep until almost 8! It was great! Normally
she stirs around 6 and is fidgety until I get her up at 7, so I loves the peaceful
mornig slumber (although I did keep waking up to check if she was still alive!)
ah...the wordy never ends for a momma!

So What Wednesday

So what if...

...I still log-in to my work email atleast once a day, even though I'm on maternity leave.

...my name is Lisa but pronounced Leeza...but I rarely correct people until we become good friends. It's just not worth it. Don't do this to your children...give them normal names, or atleast ones that are pronounced the way they are spelled!

...I am not sure if I still love the name I chose for my daughter. But I love her so I guess that's what really counts.

...I told my husband the cleaning costs $80, she really costs $60. I pocket the extra $20. It was an honest mistake the first time, I just never corrected it...and now its like a little treat for me!

...I'm 9.5 weeks post partum and have only done ONE workout. I will be trying to go tonight for my second!

Hope you all have a great Wednesday! What are you saying "So What" to? Link up at Shannon's site!

LTB

So What Wednesday...

I sometimes pretend the baby was up more at night than she really was just to get pity from my hubs. In my defense...I get no help from him with the babe so I deserve a little pity!

I only bathe my little one when I am in the tub with her. Its hard for me to shower so this is the perfect way for us both to clean up together!

I don't want to have sex. I got the ok from the doc this week and am dreading the weekend when I know hubs will be ready to go. am i totally weird for feeling this way? will it go away?

I compare my baby's "cuteness" to all of my friends babies...of course she is the CUTEST.

Doctor Oz and I have become good friends. I often find myself quoting Oz-isms to my hubby at night after work.

haven't even done a minute of exercise in 2 months. But in my defense.. I just had my post-partum check up yesterday (delayed due to scheduling conflicts). Pregnancy weight is gonzo but I'm definitely skinny-fat and sooofffttt right now!

I eat peanut butter and crackers IN bed at night...gotta stop. At first the excuse was I was breast feeding and thus starving. then I was just bored as I sat in bed cradling her until she fell asleep, well now that she is sleeping very quickly in her bassinet...I have no excuse and I am just gross.

Join the fun and link up on Shannon's site!

You are getting sleeeeeppppyyyy....

Sleep is always a popular topic with new moms. Obviously we enter motherhood knowing we will be sleep deprived. Now, for me at the beginning (maybe first week or 2) I did not feel tired. I know I was EXHAUSTED but I was running on pure adrenaline and hormones. As the weeks went on, the tiredness, and accompanying BITCHINESS came into full effect. I was mean. I was sooooo tired. I dreaded the nights, I knew I would be lying awake, watching the baby, soothing the baby, feeding the baby while my husband snored next to me with his earplugs in.

Now, here's where I have to make a confession. I was sleeping with my baby in my bed. Cuddled right next to me. I never planned on being a co-sleeper. We had bought a travel crib to go beside our bed and that was where I envisioned the baby sleeping. In fact, I was definitely one of those women who thought people who co-slept were "stupid" and making bad parenting decisons. Well, the first night in the hospital the baby slept in her hospital bassinet...like a baby! Then the second night...she cried. and cried. and cried. and all that soothed her was to sleep in the bed with me. And so began our co-sleeping.

We came home and I continued to bring the baby to bed with me and cradle her until she fell asleep and then lay her down beside me to sleep. I would wake up a zillion times a night because my baby is a GRUNTER and it is LOUD! I also wasn't swaddling her so she was flailing around like crazy. I would wake up to her noises, her movements and if it wasn't one of those two reasons, I would wake up because my arm would be completely numb since I was sleeping on it and too scared to change positions in order to not wake the baby.

Now, even though I was not sleeping well, I was convinced that putting the baby in the crib would be worse because she would NOT sleep. I envisioned putting her in only to encounter a massive crying, screaming fit! Afterall, my baby NEEDED me! I would rather have woken up to a numb arm or a few grunts than upset her and have to repeatedly get up to soothe her crying. I also have to admit that I LOVED the smell, the feel, the closeness of having her right next to me all night long. Afterall, she was right beside (ok...inside!) me for 40 weeks! It was tough to imagine her not connected to me!

Well, last week I decided to try out the bassinet. I bought a swaddle that was recommended to me by a lady at my mom-group. It's called the Miracle Blanket. And let me say...it is just that! Alexandra loves to flail her arms around and easily busts out of many swaddles we already have. Those velcro ones have no chance! So, I swaddled her up TIGHT. Really tight is the key. I felt bad doing it, its like putting your baby in a straight jacket! Of course she screamed. and I figured she would be unswaddled and in my bed in no time. But after a few minutes of shhhing and rocking she was out cold. I put her in the crib, and she slept. For FOUR hours. and I slept for FOUR hours! When she woke up, i didn't unswaddle her ( I was warned not to unswaddle her!) and I fed her and she was back in the crib and asleep 30 minutes after waking. and so was I. She slept for another 3 hours after that! holy smokes! I woke up refreshed! a new woman! and we have not looked back since! Quitting co-sleeping has changed my life! I don't dread the night time, i can actually "put her to bed", it gives me a tiny bit of freedom that i didn't recognize i needed! I know there willl still be rough nights but man oh man am i happy i tried something that i was so afraid of! i'm really proud of us!
LTB

So What Wednesday

I have come across a very funny series on the blog Life After I "Dew". I am going to participate in So What Wednesdays! Woo hoo!

So what if...

I am obsessed with my baby's poo. Need to look at it every time...even if hubs is doing the change.

I sometimes hide dust/crumbs under the fridge.

I cried when my baby went to size 1 diapers this week.

I slept with my baby IN my bed for 7 weeks.

I like to eat the chocolate chips out of cookies, and toss the cookie part. Its just not the same to eat plain chocolate chips from a bag.

I think Ricky Martin is super hot..too bad he's gay...and i'm married...

I hate to close the bathroom door, even in public washrooms...i'm a freak. and i will close it if there are other people in there.

I cry everytime we leave my parent's house.

That's it for now! but I will have to start recording my "confessions" for next week!

Have a great Wednesday. It is a snow day here in Toronto which means me and baby A are stuck in the house.

Time to back cookies (so I can eat the chips out of them....just kidding! I will eat all of my homemade cookies!)

LTB

Birth Story

Finally, after 7 weeks, I want to record little Alexandra's birth story. It's not that exciting (well...it was super exciting for me!) but I want to record it for myself.

My due date was Sunday Dec 12th. However, I was feeling fantastic and not "ready" to be done being pregnant. I thought when I was ready to give birth I would be so uncomfortable and ready to get that baby out! That was definitely not the case. I loved being pregnant. So, I worked until Friday December 10th. Then on Saturday the 11th I finished my final paper for my master's course. I submitted the paper at 10:30 pm on Saturday. Then, hubs and I decided to watch the movie Taken (good movie...I recommend). At around 11:30, I felt a gush. My water broke! I ran upstairs (leaving a wet trail behind me!) and grabbed a pad (good thing we had purchased the giant "Depends" pads...they were a MUST HAVE!) We didn't know what to do and were mildly freaking out. I wasn't having any contractions so we didn't know if we should go to the hospital. So I did what I always do when I need help..called my mom. She told me to call the hospital and ask...duh...I couldn't have thought of that on my own?! When we called L&D they asked about the colour of my water. It was not clear. It was more brown/green. They said that meant there was meconium in there so the baby might be in distress so we had to go in right away. We packed our bags (since I thought I was going to be WAY late we were exactly all packed and ready to go!). We drove the 5 minutes to the hospital and as we were walking in to the hospital at around 12:15am I had my first uncomfortable contraction. By the time I was checked in and hooked up to the monitors I was having some serious contractions. By 1am they were coming every 4 minutes and were super super strong. I was hurting. And, those stinkin' external monitors were so tight I couldn't breathe! ugh! I asked for an epidural around 1:30 but to my dismay (actually...to my absolute horror!) the anestisiologist was in emerg dealing with a car accident case. Ummm...hello! this is a giant hospital in a giant town and there is ONE stinkin' anethetist???! I started freaking out as we waited for him to come. These contractions were making my whole body quiver and shake. I was in agony. I don't wish labour pains on my worst enemy! I was squirming a lot so they had to take off the external monitor and put on an internal monitor on the baby's head. I was not pleased that they had to do this (she came out with a sad little scab on the top of her head..:( ). Oh well. When I finally got the epidural we waited an he pumped me up with a test dose. I was still feeling pain. LOTS. He pumped more meds in. Still pain. Major, worsening pain. He finally said that clearly this epidural didn't work because he had given me enough meds for a big man. This led to more MAJOR freaking out from me! Oh my god. I cannot do this without the epidural! So, he agreed to try to put it in again in a different spot. And thank the lord...it worked. I could breathe and relax. ahhhh......

Totally weird sensation though to have your legs completely paralyzed! My parents had driven in (1.5hours) after we called them so they arrived and were allowed to come and see me once the epidural was done. It was great to see them. So, at this point it was about 3:30am and they told us to take a nap. With all of the beeping and monitors and just pure excitement/anxiety there was no way I could sleep. Hubs on the other hand through in his ear plugs and passed out solid. hmmm...obviously that was a sign of things to come!

Nurse came to check me at 5am and said it was GO time! I was already fully dilated! OMG! This was all happening so fast! I thought I would be labouring for HOURS! We woke up hubs and prepped the room for pushing. She paged the doc (who I still hadn't met yet...) and we started pushing around 5:15am. Once the doc arrived we did 3 big pushes and an unfortunate episiotomy because her heart rate was dropping on the pushes. Out she came at 5:33am! Perfect. Beautiful. Amazing. As soon as she was out I started puking...EVERYWHERE! I overflowed 2 pails and it was all over me and my bed. Luckily it was just watery but it was still so gross. But hey, in the heat of the moment I didn't care and I wanted to see my baby. They cleaned her up, weighed her (5 pounds 8 ounces) and brought her right to me. I was IN LOVE. My life was forever changed. My baby girl was with me. Forever.

Immediately after the birth I was comfortable. That dang epidural worked so well! Thank god!
Unfortunately, it wears off. And I was hurting. BAD. I had lots of stitches and was passing blood clots the size of TENNIS BALLS! Totally gross and scary. I also kept puking everytime I stood up for about 24 hours. Those first trips to the bathroom were traumatizing and agonizing. I passed out the first time I walked. Scary.

Breastfeeding was easy and amazing right from the first moment she was at my breast. I know I am sooooo lucky for this.

The BEST thing for after treatment I got was the frozen maxi-pads to put in MY diaper. These were amazing an d helped the pain and inflammation sooooo much. I couldn't walk normally for atleast a week. Sitting was painful. The worst thing I did was LOOK at "it". Oh my goodness...that was scary and disturbing. I don't really recommend looking at that patch-work that is the post-birth-vagina! Ahhh!

So, that's it. My baby girl had perfect timing and arrived right on her due date, right when I was done work and my course and she came FAST and furious. Thank you baby girl!

Now 7 weeks later, I am walking normal, feeling better, and beginning to contemplate going back to the gym. But really, until this week, I was still feeling weird pain/pressure "down there" and it got way worse when I walked too much, so the gym was not even on my mind. But this week I feel much better.

I have my official post-partum check up in one week. We'll see how the doc thinks things look..cause lord knows I am not looking down there again until I know it is all clear!

I'm heading out now to my New Mommies Class but I have a post to write about sleep that I am resolving to write today or tomorrow! I am doing great reading blogs and keeping up with everyone else but having a hard time finding the time to post myself! I will get better. I love reading everyone else's updates and get disappointed when my bloggie friends don't post so I should definitely be posting more (obviously I'm assuming atleast someone wants to read my blog! ha ha! ).

I leave you with a few pics: