Hey everybody, I know I haven't been on much in the last couple of months - being enormously pregnant and having a toddler to boot will do that I guess. Just wanted to post that I gave birth to my son, Truman, on Friday. He was 36 weeks but was just perfect - never had to go to NICU or anything - and we came home from the hospital Sunday afternoon. He's a bit jaundiced but for the past 24 hours has been pooping a lot so I think that is going to get him over this. We go to the pediatrician on Friday. I hope he's back at his birth weight (7lbs) by then. When we left the hospital he was doen to 6lbs/8oz already.

I am breastfeeding and it's going pretty good. The LC at the hospital told me to try pumping after feedings to boost my supply, since babies who are born a little early don't stay awake long enough to nurse enough - that doesn't sound right, I can't remember exactly how she put it, but it made sense at the time! So I've been pumping with the PIS and getting an extra ounce or so out after feedings. Sometimes we give him that in a bottle and other times he's content with what he nursed, so we store it. I'm so glad he's latching on well. My DD (who turned 3 today-woohoo!) had terrible latch and I wound up exclusively pumping for a few months. That was a lot of work. BFing is work too but at the same time, I don't have to bother with bottles or mixing formula.

Physically I feel pretty good. I had surgery just after his birth on a bartholin cyst and so I'm a little extra-sore, and my back is KILLING me for some reason (labor was fast & I only pushed five minutes) but I don't feel too tired or worn down. YET! I'm sure it'll come, right? My MIL is flying out on Tuesday and is staying w/ us for three weeks so that is going to be a huge help. DH is home this week to help me. I'll really be scared in a month when all the help is gone!

Well I'm glad to be back and excited to start losing weight again, though I'm not even stepping on the scale for a few weeks, until I get my milk supply built up.

Wow, congratulations! That's one chunky baby for a 36-weeker! My Linda was born at almost 36 weeks and was 5lbs 9.9oz. Just think...they say babies put on something like a pound a week at the end...

Good to hear he's nursing well. I had some problems with Linda because she had a lazy suck. She was jaundiced too. I don't know if they told you (they didn't tell me), but the best things for a jaundiced baby are breastmilk & sunlight.

I love the name, & I can't wait to see pictures.

Congratulations! I hope things continue to go great for you and your new baby!

Congrats!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations. I too can't wait to see pictures.

Here is a picture of him at about 3 days old. He's nursing really well now, exhausting me, but it's good! With my DD, I pumped exclusively, so I could set the schedule. With this little guy, it's HIS schedule, which is really wacky.

I'm surprised at how HUNGRY I feel all the time. Is this normal?

Heck ya it is normal to feel hungry. You are making milk.. congrats on your birth and I am glad he is healthy.

The insanity and the hunger are both totally normal. Mine have all gone through a period at the very beginning (I'm talking starting at about 24 hours after birth, maybe 36 if I'm lucky) where they start nursing every 30 minutes, and that goes on for a week or two. I know that's to get supply established, but goodness is it exhausting!

He's a real cutie. Love the name Truman, too. That's definitely one that will see him through life perfectly.

He is very beautiful.. demanding feeding is just great. Your little one knows exactly what to do to help boost your supply and is possibly having a growth spurt.

I was simply starving with my daughter.. but making sure that my snacks were protein packed and I kept to eating lots of low GI carbs - helped alot with the hunger.

Aww he is so cute.

Congratulations! He is absolutely beautiful!

My MIL is here and though the help w/ my older child is awesome, she keeps bugging me to do things to 'make Truman stay awake & eat longer...' like pour cold water on his head or tickle him with ice cubes!!! But he's so small, I think his tummy is just tiny and can't hold enough to fill him for more than 2 hours at a time. Am I crazy or is she? Or both?! (probably dh's response if you asked him!) I guess she's just trying to help ME, but I want to feed him when he's hungry, not when I'm ready to feed him.

2 hours sounds about right at this age.

She's crazy. If he's eating every two hours, consider yourself lucky. It will stretch out more as he gets older, but two hours is totally normal. Keep in mind your MIL probably didn't breastfeed, so she's used to a formula feeding schedule. Breastmilk is processed properly by the body, and so it's processed fairly quickly. He may well also have a high suck need, 2 out of 3 of mine have...