April 2006 babies! postnatal!!

[2SPUNKRATZ]

hey all,

thought i would start a post natal thread here. marius is doing well. he is feeding brilliantly. i am only gradually starting to get better nipples. the right one is still really sore. i have to grit my teeth for the first few sucks. i unfortunately have developed thrush from the antibiotics im taking for my uterine infection. and so it continues...grrrrrrr. i love him so much.
he is amazing. since he was only a few days old he lifts his head. i try to support it but he doesnt want me to. he holds it up really well. he also follows me with his eyes really well. i cant beleive he is 3 weeks old already. he still has stacks of hair. i love being a mum. it is such a fantastic rewarding difficult but exhilerating experience that i look forward to continuing for many many more years to come.

thake care everyone. i look forward to hearing more about these beautiful babies and more about how all you mummys are going to.

xxoo to everyone.

jess

[angcaltam]

Thanks for starting this up Jess, I was just asking the other day if anyone had started this sort of a thread up.

Well, Tamara is growing so fast. We think that she might have cut her first tooth and she is getting another one. I was hoping that she would get teeth at a more normal age. Angus cut his first at 15 weeks old and Caleb cut his first at 14 weeks old, I guess she just wanted to better them.

Tamara went 6 1/2 hours last night so that was good.

That's all from me for now.

[Lisa C]

Katherine - HOW do you get Tamara to sleep so long?????????????????????? We consider ourselves lucky if we get 4 hours - But 3 or 3.5 is the norm overnight. It's frustrating because he regularly sleeps for 4 or 4.5 during the day!!!:banghead:

L

[joe]

I know I am a bit late but would love to join the April thread. I am a first time Mum to my little boy Nathan and just thought I would post to say hello to all the April Mummies.
Joe

[mylittleangel]

Hello all.

Annabella has been so good (unless she is hungry, or has wind.. then she screams the house down!). She has great neck muscles and she seems to be doing something new everyday. I can't believe she is 2 weeks old tomorrow.

I think I am over my baby blues, I haven't been crying over the past few days. I would get these feelings as though I couldn't do it, but I haven't felt that way either. I feel more in control of everything. I have her feeds worked out well.. so far! And I can even fit housework in sometimes too. DH is a great help though.

My c-sect wound is healing well and I can bend over again, without grunting lol. And my period is almost gone, thank god! All the lovely things us mums go through.

I hope all is well.

Mara xxx

[jmacg]

Hi all on the new thread!

welcome Joe!

Mara sounds like you are doing great! When I think back to when I first had Gaia I was a nervous wreck but now she is five weeks I feel and only really feel this week that things have clicked into place and i am really enjoying being a mum. I have enjoyed it since day one but is nice not to worry so much about EVERYTHING. Took her to guides last night (I used to help out before I had her but taking a wee break) and people fussed over her and held her and it was great. She didn't cry at all Takes a while I think to get your confidence, well it did with me. Hope this makes sense.And you had a c-section which takes longer to get over. I think we are all doing well!! Talk about steep learning curve though. Is one of the most challenging but rewarding things I ahve ever done and each day I wake up looking forward to spending the day with my Munchkin!

She slept from midnight till 6.30 was so impressed. My parents get here on Thurs for a month :smiliedance: so excited last saw then in July. They are going to love Gaia. been expressing like mad is my friends birthday in a couple of weeks and we would like to go out!

Lots of love to all the April mummies,

Jxxx

[hummingbird]

J, I totally agree with you on things feeling like they are coming together and really enjoying being a mum. I am also at five weeks (today) and it's only the last couple of days that it's really clicked. Last week was a real test with a last rush of hormones sending me into a slight depression and making me question what on earth I had gotten myself in for. Now things are rosey and I hope it stays that way.

With Sienna smiling, it just makes all that sleep deprivation worthwhile - they should come out smiling!

Lisa, I'm with you on the sleeping front. Just when I think Sienna's finally got it together and it showing a bit of a routine, she changes her mind, keeping me on my toes. I would be lucky to get more that 2 hours sleep at a time and she's feeding 7 times a day. I have been staying up at my mum and dad's every Tuesday night and this week when I got back my DH tells me that he fell asleep at 9am and didn't wake once until 5am (when his alarm goes off) and what bliss it was to sleep thru........god I can not wait for that to happen to me!!

I am still pretty much nursing her to sleep each time which I realise is a bad habit, but she won't have it any other way. When I am not so exhausted I might think about some controlled crying, but to be honest I think that a baby needs the security of thier mum at this early stage and no baby ever turned into a monster because they were nursed to sleep at such a young age. Reading the section about sleep in Baby Love made me feel much more confident in my approach.

Hope everyone is going well.

S

[sshellzp]

I actually did start another one up in the birth groups section but we can use this one. I dont mind.

[sshellzp]

You guys are so lucky. The most Emerald will sleep is 2 hours. She has never slept 3 hours since she came home. Its so frustrating. In the neonatal unit she slept all the time but now she is home it is like she has realised im looking after her and wants to be naughty. Lol.
Shell.

[angcaltam]

Lisa,
Tamara feeds 3-4 hourly from about 8am till about 6pm then she feeds about 2 hourly until about midnight and then she has a decent break, usually at least 5 - 5 1/2 hours. But I do wake her during the day if she goes longer than 4 hours, and it seems to be working. We have had a few nights where she has gone 6 - 61/2 hours and one night she even went 7 hours, so I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing.

Joe,
Welcome. I hope that we keep hearing from you.

Mara & J,
It's great to hear that everything is going good for you.

Siobhan,
I'm still nursing Tamara to sleep most of the time and she is 4 weeks old today. She has gone to sleep a few times in the cot by herself, but I say "Whatever Works".

Shell,
Sorry about the other thread. I did ask a few days ago in the other April thread if anyone had started a new thread and no-one said, but then I seen this one.

As for me,:gloomy: I'm not sure if I'm getting a little PND because the last couple of days I have been feeling down and crying for no reason really, but I think that maybe it could be because Mother's Day is on Sunday and it will be the first without my Mum. I will just have to see how I go next week and if I don't start feeling better I will go to the Dr's. I don't want to feel like this for to long. I got a little PND after I had Caleb because I felt like I had failed because I had to have a c-section and I found it a little hard to bond with him, it's not as bad this time round because I knew that she couldn't come out the normal way before I had her but I'm still having a little trouble with the bonding. I just hope that things start looking up soon.

Shandi is doing really well, and little Blake is so damn cute !!!:p But he makes Tamara look so damn big.:(

Well, that's all from me for now.

[BelindaL]

Hi All,

Well - I went to the doctor about my HUGE clot & apparently, it's normal. It was just a whole heap of clots that had formed together and had sat inside me for a few days (hence the smell) & finally decided to come out all at once. The pain has stopped & I have stopped bleeding now.. It's all good!

Annaleise is doing really well. Trying to keep her in a routine of feeding at least every 2hrs and most of the time she sticks to it. Middle of the day and between 6 & 10pm it's every hour - but the goood news is that she sleeps for 5 - 6hrs through the night & I am getting plenty of sleep YAY :smiliedance:

My nipples have started to get used to being sucked & don't hurt so much anymore - I love being a mum

Congratulations to Priya & Shandi :yelclap:

Annaleise & I had our first outing to the shops yesterday - I had to buy some jeans that fit me - I'm sick of wearing trackies everywhere. I've only gone up one size (from 10 to a 12) So I'm hoping to lose that soon :fingerscrossed: . Can anyone suggest when it might be a good time to start exercising? I'm gonna start walking next week but was wanting to do some Pilates aswell - Any ideas?

Me - 28
DH - 34
Annaleise - 23 April 06

[porridge]

Hi everyone, this thread is a good idea - Shell, I looked in at the other one, but kept forgetting how to get there!!

Griff is doing well - he's such a character! I have to organise his 6 week check up next week and I've got to go in to the doc too.

How regularly does everyone have their bubs weighed? I've only had griff weighed twice since birth and seriously have no idea how much he weighs now (just know that he's getting bigger - he's in 000 now!)

Have been making mother's day presents for Grandma's and great Grandma's - a Griff footprint in a frame, very cute.

Hope everyone is having a good time with their little ones - so far, so good :)

Emi

[Lisa&Davey]

Hi everyone,

Is this the thread we're all using now?

Congratulations to those girls who are getting baby smiles. I just can't wait. I think I'll do a dance around the block.:p

Thanks for the advice about Davey's eye. I'm feeling better health wise now but a bit :gloomy: emotion wise. I can't remember who mentioned the booklet saying their eyes don't follow you until a few months but just thought I'd clarify. They should follow movement and focus at aprox. a 30cm range at 4-6 weeks (this is how they know how to smile). They start following you when you move around the room a few months later.

It sounds like everyone's doing really well apart from the sleep. Davey sleeps pretty well during the night he has two or three feeds but goes to sleep straight after. Its just difficult during the day. He falls asleep but then wakes up hysterical after a few minutes. The CHN thinks he may suffer from reflux so I'm going to try the treatment and see if there's any improvement.

Hoping to head to Perth soon. Looking forward to having my sister look after Davey one night while I'm there and getting an 8 hour stretch:sleeping: . Will be heaven.:D

[2SPUNKRATZ]

hey all. well, marius is a darling. i love him so much. he kept me awake last night which i got stressed out about but i am tryin not to stress about it to much cause he doesnt do it to often. *touch wood*
i love how your saying about your bubs finally being in 000, marius never fit in anything smaller. 0000 was to small but some 000 are to big. lol. but he fits perfect into some of his 000.most are gettin closer to fittin properly now though. i love him so much.

well gotta go for now.


love jess

[BelindaL]

Hi all. Just thought I'd let you know I've changed my Avatar. Annaleise is changing so much - she looks so grown up in this picture. She never fitted into 0000's either (too big) She's been wearing 000's. I don't want her to grow up...

Hugs for everyone :hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

[hummingbird]

OK so I mentioned in a previous thread about how I was going to hold off on controlled crying, well I was reading one of the threads about the method where a lady asked if it was too early to do CC on a three week old. There were a lot of responses which all said that CC is not recommended for babies under 6 months old. So I'm confused. How come all the material I have read has never mentioned this when they talk about settling techniques that include leaving bubs to cry for 20-30 secs before going back to settle them (by patting, rocking etc in the cot)? Is this not controlled crying? Or is that just regular settling? There is no way Sienna will be comforted to sleep in her own cot. I have to have her in my arms, which I am totally fine about. Anyway, I feel much better about not having to leave bubs to cry at such a young age and secretly rejoicing that it's not something I need to think about again for many months yet. I don't know why but I felt like I had to be in control of her sleeping and settling. It's amazing the pressure you can put on yourself and when you stop and ask why you actually feel the need to do it, it's usually because someone else thinks they know best - when will I learn!?

Sienna is still in 000, but I have put her in the next sized nappies, infants I think. She started leaking all over the place in the newborns. That being said, I don't think I have been securing the infant ones enough as she just did the biggest poos ever and it went all up her back....it was good timing as I was going to give her a bath as we have some visitors today. I gave her some swim time on her front and nearly drowned the poor thing - her face went in. She was in such shock that she screamed the house down. And it was a totally different cry to any other - a real 'OMG what have you done to me, I could have died' cry. God I felt awful! Had to put her on the boob to calm her down.

Emi, Sienna has only been weighed twice since birth too. We have our six week check next Friday and can't wait to find out how she's progressing. We are able to take bubs to the ECHC anytime we like to weigh them as they have scales in the waiting room. I like the anticipation though and will wait for our actual visit. Are you just using paint for your footprint mementos? I like that idea.

We had to go to the hospital last week for a followup on Sienna's head. She was born with a rather large cone head, despite being delivered by caeser. After waiting 1.5 hours to be seen by the doctor (what's the point of appointments?) we have to go back again next week as it's still not 100% C'mon little head - get it together!

[porridge]

I'm sooo tired...

poor griff had bad tummy pains this morning and spent about an hour screaming (and crying, there were tears!! :crying: ) he's asleep now (went for a big walk)

he's 6 weeks today :D

siobhan - yep, I just used an acryllic paint (non toxic :thumbsup: ) and used a paint brush to paint his foot and toes. It's funny, griff didn't quite know what to think of the brush, but sat quietly til we were finished! They look really good (just in black frames)

[Minke]

Well spoke to soon, Jack slept so well on Thursday, yesterday made me pay for it though! Slept for 1 hour in the morning, 1 hour in the afternoon, 1/2 hour around 8:30 and finally went to sleep at 11pm! Shouldn't complain he only wakes up around 2:30 for a feed and then 7:30am.

He no longer fits into 000 growsuits :crying: My boy is getting big...

Having massive problems with constipation... Oh the joys of motherhood.

JMACG - Love your new avatar - I giggle every time i see it, your girl is so cute

So everyone had lost their bellies?

Lisa&Davey, my sister's children have both had reflux really bad. Her 2nd she took to the paed and he put her on losec at 6 weeks old, and the change in her was amazing! She had a really bad case of it though, wouldn't feed, wouldn't lie down - i think she spent her first couple of weeks sleeping in a swing! Good luck with it

Kelli

[charlach]

What a good thread. I have been trying to get involved in a thread since I started visiting bub hub, so hopefully this is where I can talk to all of you new mums etc.,
I had my little boy Charlie Ross on the 3rd May and he weighed in at 8.9lb. After four days of labour he eventually arrived after being induced. I had the mid wife from hell, she was extremely unsympathetic and talked me out of a top up on my epidural and I ended up going through intense pain from 7cm until birth. My doctor was furious with her and I could hear him telling her off in the hallway. Anyway, my little boy is here now and he has an older brother Lachlan Andrew who is 20 months. He is a little put out at the moment as we have only been home since last Saturday, but he will adjust.

Jodi:smiliedance: :D :wave:

[Lisa&Davey]

Hi Charlach. Welcome to the thread.

Siobhan, from what I understand, controlled crying involves spaces of like 20 minutes rather than 20 seconds.

The only time I leave Davey is when he's just doing little whimpery cries. They usually mean he's falling asleep but wishing he could stay awake.:p As soon as he does a proper cry I go to him. They always mean he wants more cuddles before he'll settle and I'm happy to oblige (making the most of little baby cuddles).

the smallest Bonds suit Davey ever properly fit was a 00. This was mostly due to his long legs. He's now in other 00 stuff as well but mostly 000.

When I went to the CHN he weighed 5.65kg. I love the little chubby cheeks he's getting. Might go update my avatar.....

[mylittleangel]

Hello all.

Well I have almost lost my baby weight. I have like 4 kilos to go, but I have a big floppy belly! I hate it, I can't wait to heal anough to exercise lol.

Annabella is a loud sleeper, she is always making strange noises, I spend all night checking on her!

She has trouble doing poos, I think I will ask someone about it next doctors visit. She cries so much. Poor bub. And twice now she has done the worst power hurls I have never seen, I didn't know so much could come out of such a small thing!

I hope everyone is enjoying their little bundles.

Mara xxx

[jmacg]

Hi all,

Kelli thanks for your comment on my avatar, her daddy took that one!

Talking about clothes sizes Gaia is inbetween 0000 and 000. Put her in 000 today for first time and is a tiny bit too big but was getting sick of seeing her in neutral colours, wanted her in all her lovely pink stuff people have given her. Just weighed her for first time since her week check up and she is nearly 5 kilos. Then weighed myself not too drastic got about 6 kilos to lose but not been too careful about what I eat cos I am starving constantly. Can fit in all my tops and skirts but trousers still a bit tight. Prefer skirts anyway so not end of the world. Will see wha dr says on Monday can start exercising next week hopefully. Have been walking but would be good to go back to aerobics.

Bye for now Jxx

[Mischief]

On the controlled crying issue. I bought the book....Save Our Sleep today....its great, and backs up what we have been doing pretty much. Although I allow Oliver to set his own routine, i dont wake him every so many hours and make him feed.

When he cries I get him up, feed him, burp him, change him, feed him, burp him, swaddle him, and down to sleep he goes. Most of the time he goes quietly, but sometimes he will scream.

If he is hungry or has wind he makes a wa.waaaa.wa.waaaaa.wa.waaaa kinda cry. Almost a continuous sound! Then I pick him up and try to burp him or feed him again. He's usually an angel after that and will go right to sleep.

If he is just over tired and fighting sleep he makes this waaa.........wa....waaa.......wwwaaaaa...kinda cry. It has pauses in it. If you leave him he's usually asleep in 5 minutes. Sometimes if he is over tired and really fighting sleep he will cry for 5 minutes....drift nearly to slee pand away he goes again for another 5 minutes. This is almost an evening ritual....he can go on and off for about half an hour, but then settles down and sleeps for 2 - 5 hours.

I express 2 feeds a day for him too....its just my routine, but I find it hard to make sure he has had enough to drink. He's a big boy, and when he has his expressed bottle he seems to drink about 150ml instead of the 120ml he is "suppost" to be drinking about now. So I express the last feed of the night (usually has this about 1030) and give it to him in a bottle. That way I know he has a full tummy and he usually sleeps about 3 - 4 hours after that. Then Steven gives him his next feed (about 1230-2ish) of more expressed him...and I usually have to get up about 430-6ish to feed him again.

Some days area really really good, and others not so great or easy, but we are all learning here. Oliver is learning about us, and we are learning about him!

Today we spent almost all day in town. When he wanted a feed we went and parked in a nice quiet area down near the sea and I fed him in the car, Steven changed him on the back seat, and we went out again once he was fed and clean. :)

Steven goes back to work this monday. I am going to miss him so much. He's been doing so much!!!

[Mischief]

On the size thing.... Oliver is now in 00 Bonds suits, and almost out of the Baby Baby 000 (bigger sized 000 from Best and Less). He's so skinny in them, but he's sooooo LONG!!!!

[mylittleangel]

Annabella is in 0000, but she is really long, only certain clothes fit her. The wonder-suites are way too small but the cotten jump-suites fit nicely. It's funny how babies find it hard to find clothes that fot properly.. just like their mummy's!

Mara xxx

[mylittleangel]

Annabella is in 0000, but she is really long, only certain clothes fit her. The wonder-suites are way too small but the cotten jump-suites fit nicely. It's funny how babies find it hard to find clothes that fit properly.. just like their mummy's!

Mara xxx

[joe]

Thought I would wish you all a Happy Mother's Day - I had been thinking about how my first Mother's Day would be and it was something along the lines of a snuggle in bed with my little boy followed by some breakfast in bed. The reality is that he had the worst night ever has only just gone to sleep after being awake since about 4.30am and now I can't get to sleep and have to settle instead for lunch in bed. I think I will rename today Monster's Day not Mother's Day.
Truth is though I can't get mad at him even after a rough night - I guess this is what being a Mum is all about.
Hope everyone has a great day.
Joe:)

[jmacg]

Happy Mother's day to everyone. Hope you all have a lovely day.

Joe hope you get some rest.

Gaia is having a nap and I am going to chill and read my book for an hour or so.

Lots of love Jx

[mylittleangel]

Happy mothers day all.

Joe, get some sleep. I hope you feel better soon.

My mothers day has been **** so far. I had to get up early to clean the house as were are selling and we had our first appraisal. DH stays up at night with bubs, so when this morning came, I am in a mad rush and trying to wake both him and bubs up. Needless to say, both of them weren't happy. So I spent the morning fighting with DH because we are both tired.

I hope the rest of the day goes well. I am going to go to the shops and hire a few movies and get take-away!

Mara xxx

[Bellamyn]

Hi All

Tullee is still struggling to fir into 000, she is so compact & petite!!!! I love dressing her up in funky things. Always get coments on how she looks!
Love being a mummy!!
Got totally spolit today, my first Mothers Day. Felt strange but good :laughing:

Tullee has been smiling for about 2 weeks now, but they are getting more frequent. Love it when she smiles at us all. She has taken a real shine to my mum & has become crafty when she stays. Wants to be cuddled by nanna ALL the time.

She is a good sleeper. She often goes down at 8pm, wakes at 1.30am then 5am & then 8am. So I am getting lots of sleep. And during the day she sleeps most the day!

I have lost all my baby weight (the big 7.5 kilo's hee hee) I am back into the size 6-7 jeans, but have some tummy flab to loose. Lots of ab work:thumbsup:

Hope you all have a nice Mothers Day.

Bella

[TrulyBlessed]

Hi Guys

I joined the other thread when we were all expecting only to post a couple of times before getting PreEclampsia and not allowed to do much and our computer died while I was in hospital, so its only just been fixed.

Declan James arrived on Anzac Day (April 25th, also his due date). Labour was 4hrs & 45mins (didn't think it would be that quick). He got a little stuck on the way out and they had to use the vac as when I pushed he'd come down but once I stopped he went back up. So apart from that it was a good birth.

It's hard to believe that he'll be 3 weeks on Tuesday, where does the time go?

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day.

[Pixie]

Hiya :)
I seem to post more often in March mummies as I was meant to be one + been with the march girls much longer I sometimes feel like I am intruding here lol I read most of your posts though being the nosy girl I am lol

Eliza was 5 weeks yesterday wow where did the time go! Went to mothers group last week weighed Eliza she was 5.08 kilos now she's in the infant huggies newborns just got to small and her poopies were leaking out the top :eek:

I discovered I have a uterine prolaspe going to hospital tomorrow for a DR to have a look and see what has to be done about it. I am quite upset, just when I thought I was getting over the traumatic birth, another thing pops up keep saying to myself everything bad that happens makes one a stronger person and the things that happen to us in life happen for a reason, that seems to keep me going. I just get worried that things will go horribley wrong and they will tell me I can't have more kids, and I want at least 4 lol Yes we're mad!!

Anyway Eliza has been smiling in her sleep etc for ages but now she actually smiles when you smile at her sooooo cute!!

[mim]

Hey guys,

I hope you are all well.
Just wantedc to say Happy Mothers Day to everyone! :D

mim xxx

[hummingbird]

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Glad to see Amy and Bella back on board.

Had a lovely day today. Sienna treated me to a 4 hour sleep after her midnight feed which was great. Then had hot chocolate in bed before dying my hair (packet has been sitting on the table for 3 weeks) and then heading up to the shops ON MY OWN! God how liberating! Besides the fact that I had to rush around like a madwoman with only 1.5 hours to spend before hightailing it back home for the next feed. About to pull a chicken roast out of the oven and that's my first mother's day - hope everyone else's was just as nice.

[Mummy_Johnno]

Hi everyone

Just found this new thread .................. man so many new bubbas!

Lucas is sleeping well at night NOW. I feed him at 10 then he sleeps till about 2 or 3 then another feed then again at about 6 or 7. I am happy with that. I make sure i feed him every 3 hours during the day to combat any missed feeds at night. The hardest thing for me is not worrying if he sleeps 5 or so hours at night. I am always wondering if he is ok :)

That is on a good night ...... last night i fed him at 3 and at 5.30 he decided to fall asleep! :eek:

He now weighs 4.8kgs. He has gained just under a kg in 4 weeks. I think that is good ( i guess he has to make up the 350gms he lost in the first few days too )

I am doing well. Stitches almost all out and feeling ok. I may have PND but i will chat to the midife tomorrow to check. I have so many things on my mind right now and tears are freely emerging from my eyes everyday. But i should be ok

Glad to here everyone is well and that i am not the only one dealing with bubba issues .................

Take care and stay happy

[angcaltam]

Lyn, I hear you about PND. But I think most of my being down is due to not having my mum around anymore. But I'm trying to stay happy for the kids sake.

Tamara went 8 1/2 hours between feeds on Saturday night so a good night sleep was What she gave mum for mother's day, plus a few gifts as well. I had a great day, I had bacon and eggs for breakfast in bed then we went to my in-laws for lunch and then had Shandi, Steve and baby Blake over for dinner.

Well today is my first day at home alone with Tamara so I hope to have a little nap before the boys get home from school. Tamara has cut one little peak of her first tooth and looks like she has 2 more teeth that are thinking they might come through as well.

Well, had better go now, little miss needs a nappy change.

I hope everyone had a great mother's day ! ! !

[porridge]

the little footprints went down a treat with the grandmas! *yay*

Griff is formula fed all the time now... does anyone know if it's ok to give them cooled boiled water in between feeds (they're not supposed to be feeding as often as b/fed babies)???

He's fighting the sleep monster at the moment (slowly losing the battle)

I thought I might have PND too but I think I'm ok now - mostly issues with breastfeedign (still get a bit teary, but getting better)

hope everyone is doing well

Emi

[mylittleangel]

Mummy_Johnno - that sounds like an awesome routine you have going there.

Katherine - I know it must be so hard for you, I can only imagine how you are feeling :hugs:

Emi - I have been told you can give cool boiled water to bottle fed babies (im not sure about breast fed babies). Also, bottle fed babies get constipated easier so the dr told me to give a little bit of orange juice in water to bubs if that happens.

Annabella kept us awake most of last night again! I hope she gets a bit more of a routine happening soon.

About PND, I know most mothers feel sad and wondering if they doing everything right. I know I feel I should be super-mum with looking after bubs and housework and doing everything, I know I sould ask for more help, but it's just not me. So I know my blues are my own fault because I feel so run down and tired all the time.

I hope all is well

Mara xxx

[BelindaL]

Hello little mummies :D Hope you all had a wonderful mothers day. I was sooooo tired! Annaleise kept us up all night and we had to get up early to go to church (my inlaw's are ministers) to see nanna preach her last mother's day sermon before they retire. Then we had luch with the family..... Had a really lovely day!

Generally, Annaleise is feeding every 2hrs during the day - her last feed is at about 11pm then she sleeps till around 7 in the morning :smiliedance: she's so good!

I weighed myself yesterday and I've only got 7kg's to loose which isn't too bad. I started my exercise programme today - a 20min walk in the morn & some pilates in the arvo. There are lot's of hills in my area & pushing the pram up them is awesome exercise! I'll be back into my jeans in no time :yelclap:

Me - 28
Dh - 34
Annaleise Kate - 23 April 06

[joe]

Just thought I would mention I went on my first solo shopping trip with Nathan today - have always had someone with me up until now. He had a great night last night so was feeling confident. Apart from a leaking nappy (time to go up a size I think!) while feeding him, and a bit of a whinge in the bus on the way home the outing wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.:smiliedance:
Joe

[shanz]

hi guys thanks for all the well wishes. We are finally home and things are going great. have sore nipples, but we figured that one out and now just getting them better. motherhood is fantastic. we had our first shopping trip today and my little man was great. fed him at 8am. got down town at 10:30 and was expecting a stop to feed not long after but little man didnt feed til i woke him at 1:30:eek:
will post birth story when he finishes feeding as it wont be as easy to type one handed!!
bye for now.

[Mummy_Johnno]

Well i talked to the midwife and she doesnt think i have PND just baby blues. I guess things were just all happening at once

I took Lucas to the shops yesterday in his carrier and he loved it. He's not a big shopper though, he fell asleep within 10 minutes of being carried :yes:

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their little bubbas

[jmacg]

I am so upset. Just got an email from my best friend who lives in the next street to my parents. She said " Your mum says I am to ask you why you chose a Greek name, she looked rather embarrased!" I can't believe my mum sometimes until we had Gaia she gave us so much grief about when we were going to have a family and now she hates the name we chose for OUR child. Didn 't realise I had to pass a list of names for her approval. I know it is unusual but we love it and cos we have a really Scottish surname I didn't want a name like Emily so that she would get called " Scottish Emily" or Blonde Emily to distinguish her from the other kids. I want her to be an individual. My parents are on the way here (in Singapore at the mo) and I am so upset. My dad is perfectly reasonable and supports me in everything I have ever done but my mum is so narrow minded and judgemental, is her way or no way. AAH sorry to rant but DH is at work.Just p***** me off that she gets my friend to do her dirty work for her. Is so concerned by what people in our town think, like I care, got out of there as soon as I could!

Got our doctors appointment 6 week check up later. Dr was ill yesterday so postponed it.

love Jxx

[Mischief]

Our mums would always ask our names and then tell us the ones they didnt like!

We were going to call Ollie "Ryan Frank" but mum and dad said...well thats a good Catholic name (we arent catholic)....LOL So we decided that Ryan would be put aside or we might get anoying comments! Oliver suits him better anyway! :)

[mylittleangel]

I know how you feel Jess. My parents HATED the name Annabella. They wanted Isabelle or Annastazia. I had to deal with them going on about it basically my whole pregnancy. But I stuck to my guns! Now they have no choice but to call her Annabella lol.

Mara xxx

[Lisa C]

Siobhan - could i just say that your story about nearly "drowning" Sienna during her front swim could so easily have been written by me!!!!! - The first time i bathed Rohan on my own last week, i was doing so well, and he was loving it, so i thought i'd give him some tummy swim time ....BIG MISTAKE!!! Nearly S***t myself when his face managed to go under .... and that cry/scream - so completely filled with terror!! Needless to say, i don't think he will get to swim on his tummy again until he has full neck control!!!!

And on the "control crying" thing - i don't know if it is control crying, but we do exactly what KitKat described with the broken cries - we call it grizzling, or squarking, cos it isn't an emotional cry. We will let him go for nearly an hour of the grizzling / quiet / grizzling to see if he can get himself to sleep properly. If he is still grizzling at around 45 minutes, then normally one of us will pat him to sleep or pick him up and nurse him until his eyelids are almost closed and then put him back down and pat him to full sleep. The first few times you do this, you feel really mean, but once you realise that he is only fighting sleep, and that it isn't an emotional cry that needs soothing, then it is easier to let him go. We always have him in the same room as us, so he can always hear our voices/movements so it's not like he's in a room on his own.

We had a huge weekend - drove to Adelaide on Saturday (normally takes 4 hours - but took closer to 5.5) and came home yesterday. Introduced Rohan to DH's family which was nice. Unfortunately Rohan has been really unsettled since saturday ... i think it was just all too much for him at such a young age (3 weeks yesterday!!)

Rohan is in between 0000 and 000 ... but i'm going with the 000 at the moment, cos the 0000 really seem to restrict his ability to stretch his legs out. As for me, i still have 4-5kg to lose, and after trying on my old jeans - am thinking that even if i lose the weight, i think my hips are permanently widened, so i doubt that i will ever fit back into them. Am definitely starting up my old walking routine this week, as my sciatic nerve finally seems to have settled down since the birth.

Well, i should get some washing done and maybe think about doing some housework, seeing as he is finally asleep!

Take care everyone!
L

[BelindaL]

Annaleise seems to be constipated..... I'm really feeling for the poor little thing - she's been trying to push a poo or something out for the last hour. her face scews up & goes all red & her legs come up..... & she's been crying. I'm not sure if it's poo or just wind she's trying to get rid of??? Dh's gonna pick up some gripe water for me on the way home so I'll see if that helps. Has anyone else experienced this? :(

Jess - sorry to hear about your mum being painful. I hope she get's over it soon & just enjoys her grandchild!


Me - 28
DH - 34
Annaleise - 23 April 06

[porridge]

Belinda - Griff does the same thing... we let him have some free time without his legs in the growsuit so he can kick around and it helps him to *pass wind* (generally after a feed) also find that a warm towel round his middle will help a sore tummy.

Today I put on my favourite pair of shorts (couldn't get them done up at 3 weeks) and they fit again!! I was so excited! :smiliedance: I thought my hips had irreversibly expanded, but they haven't :D

I got the maternity payment last week - it's funny, because they said I first had to provide original documentation for griff's birth... but when I took in his birth certificate, my claim had already been processed... go figure that one :confused:

Emi

[hummingbird]

Lisa C - thank god i'm not the only one drowning their baby!! I am with you on the jean scenario. I also have about 5kgs to lose. It's been that way for two weeks now and having tried my old jeans on I also think that my hips have permanantly widened because there's no way they're doing up if I manage to get back to pre-pregnancy weight. DH seems doubtful that hip-widening is a valid excuse, but I'm sticking to it and besides I need some retail therapy!

OK, so I get the controlled crying thing now (derr to me). Glad to say that I tried the recommended strategies in Baby Love and Sleep Right, Sleep Tight where you only leave them to cry for 20-30 seconds before patting them gently on their sides and I am pleased to say that it is working a treat. The first time it took an hour after her feed to get her asleep, but I perservered and it worked (and boy, was I a proud mummy!). The second time it took 1/2 an hour and third time 10 minutes! I was so sure that she would scream the house down but as you described Lisa, its more whiney grumpy calls that full on crying and she;; only do it for a few seconds, stop and then start up again before going quiet again....on and on until she can't hold her eyes open anymore. And it's all without a dummy too! Sienna has also dropped one of her night time feeds which is great so I only have a 12pm and 4am feed (there used to be a 2am feed).

Belinda are you bf? Because if you are it sounds like wind. I'm not sure bf babies get constipation.

Reading a lovely book at the moment called Parenting with Heart - highly recommened it.

[jmacg]

Took Gaia for her 6 week health check. She weighs 4.65kg and is 57 cm long! The nurse said that is quite tall for her age. Made me laugh cos I am quite short! Everything else fine. Told me to put lots of sudocream on her bum and if it doesn't clear up gave me the name of sth stronger you get from the chemist.I had a smear test and after giving birth is nothing!

Feel a bit better about my mum. Spoke to Nanna and she says she loves the name and that mum is delighted to be a nanna hopefully she will concentrate on that (well said Belinda!!) and we will have a nice time. Thanks for your messages girls and Mara I love your little girls name so pretty.

love Jx

[Mummy_Johnno]

I took Lucas to be weighed and measured today. He is 4.6kgs naked and weighed 3.8 at birth. He is doing really well.

I also weighed myself. WOW at the beginning of pregnancy i weighed 74kgs and at the end 85kgs. I am now 70kgs. Is that possible? I weighed myself 3 times to check. I am now in smaller jeans than ever and i feel great :smiliedance: :smiliedance:

Keep up the great work ladies who are trying to get back to their ideal weight. I still have 5 - 10 kgs to loose to be realy happy ( i have always wanted to be 60kgs ) but it is great to know it can be done. I am taking Lucas for our first 'speed walk' tomorrow to k ick start those kgs!!!!!!

I am gonna try having a bath with Lucas tonight. I am going to set it up with the heat lamp on, towels ready on the floor and relaxing music. He can lay on me and we can enjoy the soak together. Getting out will be interesting though ....... i will lay him down and wrap him so he is warm and then super quickly get myself out... wish me luck :fingerscrossed: :fingerscrossed:

I hope everyone is enjoying their bundles as much as i am ........

Have a great night

[aprilbaby]

Hi girls,

Happy belated Mothers Day to you all!

We had such a lovely day, we're in Adelaide at the moment visiting family and we had a welcome home and happy mothers day party for James, so I got to spend the day with my son, my Mum, my MIL and both my Grandmas.

My DH gave me card from James saying I was the best Mum in the world and he wanted me to treat myself to a pamper treatment from him and his Dad, so that was beautiful. I found myself getting teary all day thinking how wonderful it was to be a Mum and have my first mothers day!! I have so become soft!

It's lucky my boy likes to be held because he has barely been put down since we got here and he has been an angel of a child the whole time. He must have been cuddled by a hundred different people in the last few days and he just sleeps soundly through it all. Although i've noticed he doesn't like being put in the cot and now wants me to hold him when he's sleeping but I'll worry about getting him back in a routine when we get home. I'm not going to deprive anyone of cuddles even if it means a bit of work for me afterwards.

He's the first grandchild on my side and my parents are just absolutely bessotted with him. I'm going to feel so guilty when we leave because I know my Mum will be heartbroken.:crying: There's been alot of non subtle hints about us moving back here and I have to say it's hard not to consider it when you see how much support there is and how much all his family love him. We'll have to see.

Speaking of having baths, I had my first bath with James yesterday and it was SOO lovely. We don't have a bath and I've been craving one since he was born, so my parents deep claw foot bath was heaven sent. He loves having a bath and with it being so deep he just floated on his back and was so calm and peaceful. It must have felt like being back in the womb. It was very bonding and beautiful.

i am SOOOOO loving being a Mum and I've already decided I'm going to keep having babies until I can't any longer!! It's so amazing, isn't it?! Then again, my next might be a terror and I may change my mind. I wonder if we'll still be on bubhub then?!

Will write again when we get home. xx

[angcaltam]

Hi all,

Belinda, have you heard of Infants' Friend? It is great for those sort of moments when you are not sure what is wrong, these are the things it helps with:
*will relieve colic and wind in the bowels
*will help to allay restlessness and irritation caused by inflamed gums during teething
*will help to keep the bowels regular
*will produce natural, quiet sleep, by relieving the child from colic &
*will be found very pleasant to the taste.

We were told about this after we had DS2 and it helped him a lot, with his wind pains and his bowel motions. We now use it with DD when she needs it. I hope this has helped in some way.

Well, I have started getting PND due to feeding problems. Well, the feeding was gong along great until Tamara decided to get teeth. It was getting to painful to breastfeed so we have decided to FF. I feel like I have failed, but I know I don't really have a choice. It hurts to much.

Well, i have to go, Tamara needs another feed.

[Georgie'smama]

Hi all,
sorry i haven't been around-although i must confess i read all your posts in my email every day. Sounds like everyone is getting into good routines with their babies-am i the only one who thinks of the days i could just pick up my keys and run out of thehouse with nostalgia? :laughing: Especially now with the two of them- getting out of the house is like a military assault!:laughing: I am now frantically organising the christening-it had to be brought forward from oct (i thought i had loads of time to plan it!) to the end of july-just 10 weeks omg!We have booked the church and the photographer, but still need a venue for the party, and also to sort out the flowers and the party favours. I have ordered a victorian christening gown, as the stuff available here in Cyprus is really over thetop, especially as she will now be so young (plus we will be baking in the middle of summer so i don't think it's fair for the lil one :) ). Hope every one is well, and i am sending lots of sleepy vibes to all those babies- give your mummies a rest lol. Christina slept for a seven hour stetch last night- i feel like a new woman this morning lol

[Mischief]

Katherine, dont feel bad! You are doing what you can!!!!!

Have you considered expressing her meals....that way you are still giving her breast milk but without the pain for you.

I've been expressing 2 feeds for Oliver each day, one for his 8oclock feed....I give him breast first but then give him a bottle of expressed milk. He doesnt seem to get much himself in the evening. And one for his early morning feed so Steven can give him one and I can sleep. :yes:

As long as you express 6 times a day your supply should stay okay.....

Whatever you do though, dont feel bad. You can feed her on breast if its hurting. Thats not going to be good for you or her!

In all honesty when I give Ollie the bottle of an evening I feel much closer to him, and he gazes up at me. Its so nice being able to relax with a bottle sooner than feeling so uptight trying to make sure he is attatched right, ect.... Its kinda special KNOWING how much he is drinking...seeing it drain away! :)

Goodluck with whatever and PM me if you want to chat!

[porridge]

Katherine - you have not failed at all! I spent so many days sitting on the couch crying because I thought I wasn't a 'real' mother because I couldn't bf griff (and he doesn't have teeth!) I persevered with bf for 3 weeks, but ended up with the worst feelings of resentment toward griff and that made me feel worse!! It isn't helpful or healthy for you to be stressed - go easy on yourself :hugs:

I found expressing was good - they still get breast milk, it doesn't really matter how! I decided I would express up to 6 weeks (which was on Saturday) and that worked fine. Make sure you drink lots though!!

I hope it works out for you... I think it's amazing how Tamara already has teeth!!

:hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

[TracieP]

Hi everyone haven't had time to post lately. Dusty is doing well & has finally settled into a routine, but today she was awake at 7.30 until 2.30 I think she was a bit too warm & left her blankets off , just wrapped in her muslin wrap & a sheet on. Can't believe she is 6 weeks old already only another 6 weeks till her splint comes off. Bye for now. Enjpy your bundles

[angcaltam]

Thanks for the support Kat. I can express but the breasts are just to sore. They are hurting constantly not just while I'm feeding her, that's why we decided to go to the bottle. I know that it is what's best but it is just getting over this feeling that I've failed her. Mark is happy about it because he now gets to feed her as well. I think he can do the over night feeds.:idea:

Well, I had better get going now, little miss is calling.

[Mischief]

Katherine! Dont worry! You are doing a great job, and its great that Mark will get to bond so much more with Tamara too!

Ive spent hours crying about breast feeding :gloomy: . You read about it everywhere....women make it look so easy....our mum's make it sound like its the only way to feed your baby..and in reality its darn hard, it doesnt feel natural, and our babies sometimes have their own ideas!

We even started giving Ollie a bottle of formula at night to help top him up. :) My supply is better now...but its still darn hard! :yes:

[BelindaL]

Thanx Katherine. My sister inlaw actually bought me some "Infants Friend" this week and I've been using it in the afternoon feeds & early evening. It really helps with the wind - not sure about the bowel movements yet...?

Sorry to hear about the PND. The first time I expressed & gave Annaleise the bottle I cried & cried..... needless to say I haven't done that again. It's amazing how attached we get to brestfeeding. It's a feeling very hard to explain but I guess all mother's feel it. Chin up chickadee :D It's all gonna work out.

Me - 28
Dh - 34
Annaleise - 23 April 06


Hi all,

Belinda, have you heard of Infants' Friend? It is great for those sort of moments when you are not sure what is wrong, these are the things it helps with:
*will relieve colic and wind in the bowels
*will help to allay restlessness and irritation caused by inflamed gums during teething
*will help to keep the bowels regular
*will produce natural, quiet sleep, by relieving the child from colic &
*will be found very pleasant to the taste.

We were told about this after we had DS2 and it helped him a lot, with his wind pains and his bowel motions. We now use it with DD when she needs it. I hope this has helped in some way.

[Mischief]

My goodness we are a quiet bunch now arent we!!!! :)

Guess we are all busy with our little bubbas!!!

Thinking of you all!

[Lisa C]

So my little cherub who has let me have two lots of 3hrs or 4hrs each night since he was born, has suddenly beome really unsettled - i think it is because i have had gastro for the past two days and my milk supply has been affected.:mad:

(TMI Warning) but at least the gastro has reversed my constipation problems!! :o

Oh and not being able to eat/keep anything down has seen me lose nother couple of kg and miracle - i can actually get my old jeans done up!!!! (couldn't go out for dinner in them and hope to be able to eat though!! ) Fingers crossed this means that my hips are slowly going back to their old shape!!:rolleyes:

[priya]

hi everyone,

Thanks for all your best wishes.

My little bundle of joy is giving me sleepless nights since she has born. I can count on my fingers the days when she has actually slept for 4 hours in a row. Yesterday i experimented and fed her expessed breast milk and she slept for 4 hrs in a row.

I have a question regardiing expressed breast milk. I have read somewhere that it can be kept at room temp for 8hrs and for 72 hrs at fridge temp. So when you keep it in fridge how do you warm it? It sounds like a silly question. But i am thinking that may be rubbing the bottle in your palm can bring it to room. Please help.

Another question reg. poo stains. Sometimes my daughter nappy cannot hold the poo and for me surf detergent powder can not remove the stain. Is napisan good?

Lisa C- Great to hear that you are able to wear your old jeans. I have got 8 kilos to loose and i am jealous of you, kat and lisa who have lost all their preg weight.
Can anyone suggest some exercises for toning and shaping the abdomen?

Last question. It is very important for me. Sometimes Ria is hard to settle in the night even when she is well fed and has her nappy changed. My husband says to let her cry and she will go to sleep automatically but she takes a lot of time to settle. We have tried it twice and she has took approx. 3o minutes for her to settle. Is this what isknown as controlled crying. Please guide. Is it good for her to let her cry?

A lot of questions. Please help. Any advice would be appreciated.

LOVE

[BelindaL]

Hey Priya,

Great to see you back and little Ria is adorable!

To answer a few questions:

Breastmilk - you can warm it by simply sitting it in some hot water - it's a bit quicker than holding in your hands.

Poo stains - Yes napisan is excellent. You will need to soak the clothes in a bucket for a few hours usually. Those poo stains are pretty sticky - I've had a few of those too.

Tummy Toning - I don't suggest starting any abdominal exercise too soon. Like me, you might feel great and ready to do so BUT your muscles take a while before they have recovered enough from pregnancy. I've just started walking this week (3wks) and have been advised to hold off any ab work until at least 6 wks. Can't wait to start pilates...

Settling Ria - When she's not settling, have you tried burping her? I've found a really good remedy which I use in my evening feeds; it's called "Infant's Friend". you can buy it a the chemist for about $7 and you just use a small seringe to put about .05ml on bub's toung before you start feeding or just after and it helps bring up wind which in turn gives bub a good night sleep.

Hope this helps. I'm sure you are doing an awesome job - It's hard to know everything with your first bub. I've been so blessed with lots of friendly advise so I hope I can help a little. It's all trial & error and in the end you have to do what works best for you and your bub.

Me - 28
DH - 34
Annaleise - 23 April 06

[BelindaL]

Ooh, just thought I'd mention 1 more thing.

This is my opinion only so take it or leave it.

Regarding controlled crying - I don't believe you should do this with a new born (until at least 6 wks old). It's a big nasty world for a newborn and you are their only security. You CAN'T SPOIL a newborn by cuddling them too much - they need to feel safe & secure and by leaving them cry their little heart out in their crib doesn't make them feel safe. I know you are tired and exhausted, but sometimes you just need to rock bub to sleep - I've had a few of these nights with Annaleise and, as hard as it may be, you just have to be patient.

Big hugs :hugs:

[hummingbird]

Oh Katherine...I hope you are feeling better. As long as you do the best you can and little Tamara is happy, then that's all that really matters.

Went to the hospital this morning for a second check-up on Sienna's head. It was a bit mishappen when she was born so they need to check that it's going along nicely, which it is. She has also put on 500gr in two weeks and is now at 4.5kg. SHe gave me a 5 hour sleep last night (miracles of miracles!), however since then, (2am) she has been demanding 2 hourly feeds. I wonder if it's a growth spurt or if she is just trying to find a new routine. Not sure what I prefer now...4 hourly feeds at night and day, or a little longer sleep at night with 2 hourly feeds.....!

My abdomon has been quite sore / tender the last few days so at my 6 week check my doctor booked me in for an ultrasound in a weeks time. Having had a caeser I hope its nothing serious.

Sleep vibes to all the babes.

S

[mylittleangel]

I have the hugging Bella to sleep works well. As soon as I hug her and walk around rocking her she drifts off to sleep. It doesn't work as well for DH though.

I started using Infants Friend yesterday, it is awsome. Bella has had bad tummy gas since she was born. She would always cry just before she would burp or poo. and she hasnt done that yesterday or today.

I hope all is well. This is a hard job!

Mara xxx

[hummingbird]

Priya, I have to agree with everything Belinda has said. With the poo stains, you can get an antibacterial napisan, which is specifically for nappies.

I haven't had any experience with Infants Friend, but it is worthwhile to keep in mind that it is completely normal for a baby to have an unsettled period once a day. It usually happens in the evening and it is where baby cries and does not sleep between feeds. Sienna has done this from birth and her unsettled period is between 5pm and 9pm. I usually feed her at 5 and again and 7 and then at 9 and she won't sleep properly (just catnaps) between each feed. She doesn't cry badly, just more grumbly. I just keep thinking that it will mean she will sleep better through the night at least!

Controlled crying is not recommended for babies before 6 months of age, but this is where you leave them to cry for between 10 and 30 minutes. If Ria is just grumbly then this is OK.

[priya]

hi,

Thanks Belinda, Siobhan and Mara for the replies. Today Ria is sleeping since 7:30 and it is strange for her because she takes her feeds every 2 hours even at night,sometimes one hourly at night. The midwife at the hosp said that may be she is snacking and getting asleep while feeding through the night and she told me to at first feed her from one boob and then offer her another boob so she is fed well.

I will like to share some thoughts with you. Things are a lot different in India. In India there is a trend of joint family where the boys don't leave their home. So parents in law share a lot of responsibility of caring for the child. For me it is a new exp. because i have to do all the things for Ria by myself. I am finding it challenging and interesting. My MIL is asking me to go there for few months but i don't want to leave my husband nor does he.

I will like you to tell you an interesting fact. In India you are not allowed to do any housework for a minimum of 30 days. You are just asked to take care of the baby and yourself. There are special foods like dryfruits etc which are are to be eaten to increase lactation.

My mother has gone but has made me a stock of some recipes for at least one month. I have to lose 8 kg and here it is, all fattening foods. At first i thought that my mom was stressing me out but now i can give her full credit of a smooth delivery. It was because of her that i changed to private from public and had such a good obs. and high level of care from the hosp.

Anyways, Lot of chitchat from my side. Better go to sleep now.

Love.

[Lisa C]

Hey Priya - i think i must have lived in India in my previous life.... cos i haven't really done any housework since Rohan arrived (beyond the absolute essential, like dishes) - DH has had to take that on board, and mum's been good too! Looking about the place today, though, i think it's a good thing my 30days is up later this week, cos i really do need to get stuck into some serious cleaning!! :rolleyes:

Thanks for sharing those interesting facts. It's amazing how different things are. You must really be missing the extended family support. And i'm glad that you are not feeling completely resentful towards your mum still. It's amazing how a bit of distance (like different Continents!) can put things into perspective!

Just thought i'd have a brag, that Rohan slept from Midnight until 6am!!! I couldn't believe my eyes when i woke up and saw that it was 6. Of course my first thought was that there was something wrong with Rohan, but he was already grumbling for a feed, so i knew he was ok.... Fingers crossed this becomes a habit!!:D

Here's hoping that you all get a big sleep like that soon. It really makes such a difference!!

L
xx

[Minke]

Hey all,

Jack has settled (am jinxing myself as we speak) into a routine, and happily times his night feeds to coincide with DH getting home from work (usually 2:30am) so i am getting to sleep through. Sadly am still up at 1am trying to catch up on stuff i don't get done during the day (let's just say he gets lots of cuddles...)

Still having constipation problems, and have changed formulas, so will see how that goes.

Katherine, hope you are feeling better. I had PND the first time (which was partly due to feeding problems), but left it untreated for 8 months :( , and didn't enjoy my DD at all for almost the first year of her life. At least you'll be able to get it under control before you get to where I was (not pretty) And, I know that BF is the best, but I was a FF baby, and there isn't anything wrong with me... ;)

Am reading a book at the moment, "Layla's Story", not for the fainhearted, or pregnant.:crying:

Anyway, hope everyone is goig well,

Kelli

[joe]

It is so good to know that I'm not alone in wishing for just one good night's sleep. I know everybaby is different but when are they 'supposed to' settle into a routine? Nathan did have one five hour sleep this week but this was just a one off as he is now back to 3 hourly feeds at night. He does seem to have a lot more awake time now during the day and now that he is smiling and laughing I am having a lot of trouble tearing myself away to do the housework.
Well better go - it's chow time.
Joe
:)

[Lisa&Davey]

Hi Everyone.

I had my first night out without Davey last night. Went to a quiz. After stressing the whole time how Davey and DP would be doing I came home early to find that Davey had been asleep the whole time! For the past week he's been inconsolable between 7.30pm and 9pm. I think DP thinks I've been lying now.:rolleyes:

Find out about Davey's eyes on Wednesday. Still haven't had any improvement.:(

[Mischief]

Hi Priya,

Congratulations on the birth of your sweet little girl! I love the name Ria! It was one of the names I really liked if we were having a girl! :) She is very very cute!!!

I was told not to leave breast milk at room temp for more than 4 hours.....and that it can be stored in the fridge up to 5 days. It has to be kept in the bottom of the fridge on the hinge corner according to the midwife though. As for warming it, I give it a quick zap in the microwave, the family health nurse told me this is okay, but to make sure you only heat it a few seconds at a time, always shake it, and always test it on yourself first to make sure there are no hot spots to burn our very sensitive babies. It also heats well sat in some hot water for a few minutes.

As for poo stains, we use Napisan (there is one specifically for nappies and babies clothes) too. BTW if you are using cloth nappies make sure you tuck the "legs" in....I find that if I dont Ollies poos go everywhere, but if you fold the loose fabric in it keeps everything in, and he seems to find it more comfy too. :)

As for your tummy, make sure you are doing oooodles of Pelvic Floor excercises. They seem to help, as for anything else the Dr told me to wait 6 weeks before doing anything. She didnt even recommend the walking I was doing each day. She said that your body needs time to recover, its struggling enough with the new demands, dont add to the stress on it by exersicing yet. She recommended I spend every spare second laying down or otherwise resting. No housework except the essentials, take up peoples offers of help with cooking, cleaning, anything...and rest!

On the crying thing...... Oliver was keeping us up all night. The Dr thought I was getting PND because I was so exausted, I couldnt get over the baby blues, and was crying at the drop of a hat. That night I just couldnt take it anymore. I told Steven we had to try something. So after Ollie was fed, cleaned, and BURPED (very important) I put him in his bed and we let him cry for an agreed 10 minutes....he cried just under 10 minutes and fell asleep....we repeated this for the next couple of days, by day 3 when we put him down to sleep he would go straight to sleep or only grumble for a couple of minutes. Now he only cries if he is still hungry, or if he has wind. Oh yeah, and his 1 hour sleep and 2 hours up routine is GONE, he tends to have an unsettled period in the morning and in the evening for abour an hour and a half each time....and now he likes to play for about half an hour each time he gets up as well....but during the night he sleeps 4.5hrs one time and 3 the next. :)

I would highly recommend you buy (or get it out at the library) the book called Save Our Sleep. Its very good, and has some great pointers for sleep in it and other things!

BTW there are differnt crys your baby has.....if her cry is different pitches and tones, and broken...ie waaa...wa.....wa...waaa...wa.wa...waaaaa...wa it probably means she is just tired and fighting sleep. If its a constant breathless kinda sound like waawaawaaa.waaawawwaaaaa...she is probably telling you something is wrong, ie she needs feeding, changing, cuddling, winding or something! :)

PM me if you have any questions. I'm happy to look them up in Baby Love or Save our Sleep and let you know what they say.

I'm sure you are doing a GREAT job! Dont be so hard on yourself, take time to rest and its alot safer to let Ria cry for a few minutes in her cot that you getting to the end of your teather or starting to feel down because you cant stop her crying. XXOO

BTW you mentioned something about foods to eat that assist lactation, would you mind letting me know whatt they are? I'd be really interested to try them!

Luv,
Kat and Ollie

[priya]

hi everyone,

Kat- Thanks for the reply. It is just like that i am feeling so alone nowadays. My husband has a tight work schedule from 7 to 7 and whenever he comes back he says that he is too exhausted and he wants to sleep. On weekends he wants to do his own work and i have to literally persuade him to do any work of Ria's. Then he says that he is too tired and wants some rest. Oh these men. Nowadays, in addition to this, he has started complaining that ria is not gaining weight and i am not taking proper care of her. It just hurts me a lot because it is only because of him that i left my country, all my friends, relatives and if he will not help me then who will.

I have now added one time expressed breast milk feed for ria and so he is now telling me that i love my sleep so i have added this work for him.

ON TOP OF THIS, he is now suggesting that why don't we have second kid now? Doesn't he know that one is enough atm?

KAT- there are whole lot of recipes- It is highly recommended to eat almonds during this time. You can either eat them raw, toasted with sugar or salt or soaked almonds with one glass of milk. I had toothache after ria was born and my MIL told me that eating one almond covered in a betel leaf will help. But i don't know whether betel leaf is available here.
There is another recipe of dryfruits roasted in oil with some sugar and edible gum- [cashewnuts, sultanas etc.] Kheer is also recommended a lot. It is made up of sweetened milk and crushed wheat. [just like cornflakes but it takes some time for prep.]There are more. As i remember i will tell you more.

Well, enough from me now.

Bye.

[Mischief]

Hey Priya,

I'm sure you are doing great. Your hubby needs to understand that being a mum isnt easy. You understand that he is doing hard work...7-7 too, but you are physically exausted after the birth of Ria and need to rest as much as you can.

Make sure you are burping Ria after each feed, and each time she spits out your nipple. If she has wind she will think she's full long before she really is...then be starving hungry half an hour later, plus some babies get really bad tummy aches when the wind goes down into their digestive tract.

Expressing is also a great way to make sure you are feeding her enough. If you have some expressed milk in the fridge and she is still crying, you can offer her a top up.

Is you MIL close by? Let her help you as much as she is willing.

You sound like you are exausted. You poor thing. Even during the day, try feeding, changing, burping, ect...then put her down in hercot and let her cry. Pop a mobile on if you have one for her, and put yourself to bed. If you can get a couple of hours sleep I promise you will feel much better emotionally and physically.

If your MIL is willing, express a couple of feeds for Ria and let her look after her for a few hours so you can have a nice hot bath, and a snooze. If you need to do all the night feeds because your hubby has work committments you have to make sure you can sleep during the day. Also, talk to Sandy, is he willing to do a feed for Ria about 10ish? You go to bed about 9 and SLEEP girl!!! Then when Ria wakes up about 12 or so for her next feed you will have had some rest and be much better for it!

Another thing I found....I get really dizzy if I dont drink when I feed. So have a big glass of water before you sit down to feed her. :) You are doing a great job! Okay?! xxoo

[Minke]

Lisa&Davey, yours bub will always make you look like a liar...:rolleyes: Whether you're boasting about how good or bad they are they will do the exact opposite...

Good luck with the doctor :fingerscrossed: , let us know how it goes. Big :hugs: to you...

[BelindaL]

Hi All,

Priya - You sound like you're having a bit of a rough time. It must be hard with your husband so incensitive.... Thinking of you :wave: :hugs:

I just wanted to share something that I think could help those of you who are not getting that wonderful full night's sleep.

I've been reading a book called "Baby Wise" and it's all about how to get your new bub into a routine so that they will sleep through the night and after 4wks it's working for me - I get at least 6hrs a night sometimes more.....

We need to establish our baby's metabolism & our milk production so, in order to do this:

* Try to make your morning feed the same time everyday (can be within an hour each side)
* During the day bub should be fed every 2hrs & not exceeding 3hrs. Wake bub up to feed if you have to.
* Bub should feed between 8 to 10 times in a 24hr period
* Bub should feed for about 20 - 30mins, have some awake time & then be put down to sleep.
* The time between feeds should be timed from the start of one feed to the start of the next.

Our last feed can be at 11 or 12 at night (sometimes 10:30) & Annaleise sleeps through till usually 6 or 7am - I LOVE IT - Then she'll have a feed & sleep for a further 3hrs so if I need more sleep I can have it.

Just thought I'd share because this routine is working for me - Hope it can help you all get good nights sleep.

Big hugs for everyone :hugs: :hugs:

Me - 28
DH - 34
Annaleise Kate 23 April 06

[mylittleangel]

Hello Ladies, How is everyone going?

I hope all the baby blues and PND is getting better for everyone. It is a hard time for everyone at the moment, we are all still getting used to our little cherubs. Establishing any sort of a routine seems so hard at the moment lol. I still get baby blues, but mostly when I am over-tired and bubby is grizzly, but I am sure this is the same with everyone.

I was wondering is anyone needed a breast pump? Or know or anyone that does? I bought one thinking I would use it (a tommee tippee one), but since I am FF so I don't need it. I also stocked up on breast pads (disposible and cloth type ones), it is all new, never been used.
Or is there somewhere I can advertise it?

:hugs: to everyone that need it.

Mara xxx

[angcaltam]

Well, yesterday was Tamara's first day fully on formula. And she now has a happier mum, but I remember now how much more work it is when you put them on to bottles, I just wish that she hadn't cut that damn tooth. But on the up side, Aunty Shandi got to have all 3 kids the other night so DH and I could go and do the shopping. She also got to give Tamara her bottle. I had a friend come to visit on Saturday to check out the tooth cause she didn't believe me even though she knew that both our boys also teethed early ! ! ! I think that is what was getting me down, know that everyone was judging me but I just thought that well, they are my nipples that are getting chewed to bits.

Mara, What Formula are you using? And how are you finding it? Tamara hasn't done poo's for a day and a half now which is really unlike her, we gave her Infant's Friend twice yesterday to try and help her go but still nothing.

Well, that's about it for me for now.

[Mischief]

Hey Katherine,

What are they like when they start teething? Oliver has really rosey cheeks and is fussing when I try to feed him. He sucks for a few minutes then spits out the nipple. He's CHEWING on my nipples alot of the time too. Its really getting frustrating.

He's warm, but doesnt have a temperature. I thought he has a little cold maybe? His gums dont look red or anything.

[angcaltam]

Hey there Kat,
Look and feel for hard white lumps. Has he got any?

[Mischief]

Hey Katherine, None that I can see!

He's just fussing. :(

He's been unsettled too, not sleeping long ect...so he could have a cold maybe?

[angcaltam]

They are all signs of teething, just keep checking for those lumps. I hope that he settles soon for you.

[priya]

hi everyone,

Kat- Thanks for the support. I hope that little ollie doesn't get his teeth so soon. I have seen children became very fussy at the time of teething. I don't know how i will handle that.
I have added one nighttime feed at approx 10 p.m. for D.H. During that time i take some rest and that couple hrs rest seems like a gift to me.
My MIL is in India and she couldn't come here because my FIL's health is not good. SIL was intending to come for 2 months but she has been denied tourist visa twice, God knows why.
I don't know anyone else here except DH and his friends and you by bubhub. I have only come here last may and we are married for only one and a half year.

Belinda- Thanks for the hugs. You are such a lovely person.
Ria is an angel during day. She has a set schedule of feeding every 2 hrs [sometimes 3 hrs] then staying awake for some time and sleeping. The main problem is during night when she doesn't want to go to sleep. That is at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. She wants you to play with her, will take feed every two hours. Any amount of rocking or patting or walking around with her doesn't put her into sleep and then she finally goes into sleep at 7 or 8 a.m tired when i can't handle her more. During this 5 or 6 hr period most of the time she is asleep in my lap but when i put her in the cot she wont sleep. DH says that i am spoling her.Please help.

LOVE to everyone.

[Mischief]

Katherine....thank you! I'll keep an eye on him. Mum said all hers got teeth around 3 months. Ollie is just over a month now....i doubt he is teething, but you never know! AS YOU KNOW! :D

Priya, I'm really glad you are getting some rest for a couple of hours at least. Ollie was doing the same thing you mentioned.....he was 2 weeks old before he started to settle! In the end we were ready to crack.

In the night try to feed her and change her, burp her, feed her again and burp her...dont spend more than an hour up if you can help it at all, then put her to bed.

Babies arent like us...when we get tired we slow down and want to sleep...babies are the opposite.....when they get tired they rev up and cant sleep. Ria is possibly over tired at night, thus why she screams when you try to put her to bed.

The first time I put Oliver down with the idea of letting him cry...I put him down...let him cry for 5 minutes...got up...patted him in his cot and make the sssshhhhhhhh sound until he calmed down and started to close his eyes (about 5 minutes)..then let him cry again for 5 minutes....he was asleep after that.

Please please please get Save our Sleep! Read it, its a god send!!!!!! :)

[mylittleangel]

Katherine - We used S26, but it is really expensive {20}. So we tried SMA {$12}, which is great, it doesn't constipate her as much as the other formulas do (and it's not as smelly as S26!), Bella seems to like it more too. DH thought he would try a more expensice brand, I think it's NAN gold, it's meant to be good for the digestive system. It's really expensive {$21} and it made her so ill, she had REALLY bad wind which wouldn't come up, and her poos were rock hard. At first I thought she just had to get used to it, but after 3 days I got too annoyed, I went back to SMA lol. I still have the whole tin.
We have schatets of S26 that we keep in the baby bag, you just fill a bottle of water and put in the scatchet. I think it is better than having the formula made up (not that we have gone out for that long!), its about $5 for 6, and it's about 2 feeds worth for newborns.
That's my experience, I know every baby is different, but most people at the hospital used SMA. I thought because it was they cheapest one, but it seems to be the best.
Ok I am babbling. I hope I helped!

Annabella seems to want to stay awake at night also, but it is easier for us because neither of us go to work, so we can be up at all hours. I find that if we try to feed her more amounts during the day, she seems to sleep more at night. Last night she slept 7 hours straight! But again, it's easier for us because we are bottle feeding rather than breast feeding. I'm really no help at all lol.

I hope all is well.

Mara xxx

[mylittleangel]

Oh another thing about formulas. The more expensive they are, you seem to have to use more.
SMA you use 3 scoops to 180ml. But the NAN one it was 6 scoops to 180ml. So not only it is twice as expensive, you use it quicker because you have to double the scoops.

I also found it hard to find the right teats. We went through so many. Fast flow one, slow flow ones, anti-colic ones (heaps of different brands). The ones we found the best are about $8 for 2, but they are awesome. They are the NUK anti-colic ones, thay have a little valve at the base of the teat that allows air to escaspe. I find Annabella drinks really fast, these teats make her slow down.
TOMME TIPPEE BRAND IS C**P. Or so we have found :thumbsdown:

We have spent so much money trying to find the right things for us (thank god for the baby bonus :laughing: )

Annabella is also very long, so she is at the awkward stage of 0000 being too small in the legs, but 000 are WAY too big.

Ok, enough of me. I seem to be all ove rthe place today!

I hope I have helped. We are still trying things out. It's all trial and error... we seems to have more errors :confused:

Mara xxx

[Mischief]

Priya - I found some info on the huggies site that is pretty similar to the Save Our Sleep information.

http://huggies.com.au/BeingAParent/YourBabysSleep/default.asp

I'm not sure if you will need to sign up (its free) to view this, but if you do it only takes a second and they have heaps of great advice on their! Including an ask the expert section in a family forum where you can talk to a sleep consultant. :)

Ps. That doesnt mean the advice on bubhub isnt great! I must say BH has been my saviour recently! Its so great to know I'm not alone with feeling down about breast feeding, worrying about every sound Ollie makes, worry about sleep, worry about anything!

[Minke]

Katherine, we had the same problem with Jack - got really badly constipated. Was on S26 Gold so we changed him to NAN HA1 Gold, which, from my chemist, is $18 (CHN recommended it - apparently it easier to digest or she said S26). So far he's been good on it and poos once a day (which is what he did when breastfed as well!). While changing him over we gave him coloxyl and brown sugar in water, and started giving him one bottle of water a day (around 90ml - if he'll drink that much). She also said to move his legs up and down like he's riding a bicycle... Good to hear your feeling better.

Mara, we had the same problem with teats! We used Avent bottles for my daughter (that's all she'd take), so grabbed them again for Jack and they gave him really bad wind! So went out and bought pigeon teats and they're really good, he gets hardly any wind. (BTW the scoops for NAN are half the size as S26, so you're not using more except if you're me and keep throwing out bottles because i loose count half way through - and they said pregnancy vagueness went away...):D Don't know if you have seen formula dispensers? I got one from the chemist, pigeon i think, and you just put the right amount of scoops in and empty into your bottle when bub wants a feed. That way your bottles not already made... and you can stay out for hours!

Good luck!

[Georgie'smama]

Hi guys, i know i'm a bad friend, just don't seem to find time to get on here for long enough to write very often but i had to share this with you. I went to get some photos done for Christina's christening invetes, and it turned out really well- basically i had seen this pic in a mag, and i cut out the page and took it ot the photographer. Well our pics came out ewven more gorgeous than the original.
I thought you might like to see it?
http://www.bounty.com/memberpages/Storage/124319/Christina/910362.jpg

[Mischief]

Hey GM,

The photo of Christina is wonderful! She looks so cute!

[joe]

Just thought I would post this for anyone having bf supply problems....
At four weeks Nathan was only 100 grams over his birth weight despite having 2 hrly feeds during the day. I could feel he was a bit scrawny and he was preety unsetted during the day. The CHN was pretty happy with my diet but said I wasn't drinking enough water. I thought I was drinking enough (about 2 lt per day) but she said it should be at least 3 lt. So for the next week I drank a 600ml bottle of water after every feed (plus extra throughout the day) and Nathan gained 830 grams in one week. No wonder I was feeling a bit tired that week! This was him playing catch-up and has now settled down as last week he gained about 350g.
I can really notice that my supply has increased and the morning feed especially is quite messy as there is milk everywhere. Not sure if this will help anyone else but it is worth a try. I fill up my water bottles and line them up on the bench so I can just grab one when it is feed time - have found it easier to drink water at room temp rather than cold water now the days are a bit cooler.
Hope this helps
Joe

[priya]

hi everyone,

Thanks a lot Kat. That is a very good information.

Joe- After reading your post, i have realised that i don't drink enough water. I will take care from now on.

Georgie's Mama- That is a very cute photo of Christina.

LOVE

[BelindaL]

Hello girls,

What a gorgeous photo of Christina! Soooo cute!

I just remembered something else that has been a HUGE help getting Annaleise settled - And alot of you may not like it - The Dummy....... Yes, I didn't think I'd ever use one either but I can tell you, when nothing else works and you just want to sleep, the dummy is great at night time when they are unsettled...

Yesterday, Annaleise had a very snotty nose and was finding it hard to breathe, so took her to doctor & had her checked out. (had 4 wk check up too) Just a little congested, not fluy or anything (phew) bought some Saline nose drops with a "snot sucker". I've been sucking snot all day today (yucko!) :laughing:
She has put on 600g & 4cm since she was born. They grow so quickly...

Me - 28
DH - 34
Annaleise Kate - 23 April 06

[Lisa C]

Hey Belinda, i've been sucking snot out of Rohan's nose basically since we got home!!:rolleyes: First because he was just snuffly, and then cos he's had a bad cold for the past 2 weeks. It's such a good feeling when you get a "big one" and all of a sudden they can breathe easier, isn't it?!!? - The things that make you happy as a new mum!!:D

I did post this in the advice/things we've learnt thread - but just in case you didn't see it:
In the end, the thing that worked to unblock his nose (and we tried lots of different things) was when i put a few drops of breast milk up each nostril. I waited until it softened things up, and i could see that things were moving in his nostril, and then used a nasal aspirator to suck out the snot! - It worked a treat.

I express a bit of milk into a cup and then use a syringe (an eye dropper would work too) to get a drop or two up his nose. I find the milk works better (and faster) than the saline drops on the really dried up hard snot that congregates at the back of his nose.

Glad to know i'm not the only one with snot issues. I also vaguely recall someone posting about an attachment that goes on your vacuum cleaner :eek: anyone tried that??


GM - that is a gorgeous photo of Christina. Your invites are going to be very special.

Priya, i think i might follow your lead and express a feed for DH to do in the late evening so that i can get 5-6 hours straight sleep before the 2/3am feed. I think that will make a huge difference to my energy levels during the day..... i never seem to accomplish anything, and when DH comes home and asks (nicely) "and what did you two do today" - i'm always struggling to remember anything beyond feeding and changing!! - Particularly as our days don't seem to start until around lunch time. :o

Loads of long sleep vibes to all the bubs!!
L
xx

[Lisa&Davey]

Hi everyone.

GM - That pic is excellent. You've inspired me to go get some professional pics of Davey.

I've been lucky with Davey's nose. As soon as it blocks up he sneezes until bit globs of lovely sot come out. So cute:laughing: He also breathes through his mouth occasionally when he's stuffy. I had been told babies don't do that so I guess I'm lucky.

Davey's been sleeping pretty well at nigh, just waking for feeds but he refuses to have a proper sleep during the day. Which leaves him getting increasingly overtired. Lots of fun.

Davey had his needles today. :( Wasn't as bad as I imagined though I must admit. So far he's just a bit grizzly and more tired. I've given him a bit of Panadol and am just enjoying him sleeping (feeling a bit guilty but I'll take all the sleep I can get).

There's been no real improvement in his eyes so we're off to the pead Friday. Trying not to worry too much until we see her.

Hope you and your bubs are all well and getting plenty of sleep.:wave:

[Mischief]

Morning guys!

Oliver is a good baby too. I cant really complain. He is a bit unsettled during the day, doesnt like sleeping for 2 long. I put him down at 815, and am expecting him to wake up any time now! arrggg...so much for my ideal 2 hours LOL. If he wakes up I'll go for a drive to get some fuel maybe...

We usually try to feed Ollie at about 10pm, down to bed at 11ish, and then he generally sleeps until about 3am...back down about 330-4ish, and sleeps again until 6ish.

Yep, he's awake again! I think someone forgot to send him the memo about how many hours a day 5 week old babies are ment to sleep! :rolleyes:

He also sneezes when he gets a stuffy nose and all the gunck comes out!

[aprilbaby]

Hi all,

Can't write for long but just wanted to say that James had his best nights sleep ever last night!

As I've said before, he usually has his long sleeps during the day and has been even more wakeful at night for the last week, which was starting to get stressful. But yesterday I feed him every three hours and kept him awake longer and he then feed at 10pm, 3.30am and 7.30am!! I got such a shock when I woke at 3am and realised he hadn't had a feed for 5 hours. This is compared to the last week of 7pm, 11pm, 1am, 4am and 6am. :eek:

I'm sure he had a six week growth spurt which made him more hungry last week because he was feeding alot more than normal. Or maybe it's being back home and only being held by me and DH yesterday, instead of being passed from person to person all day. But whatever it was it was I'm doing it again today because it gave me the most sleep I have had during the night since he was born. :smiliedance:

Who would have ever thought I would be exstatic with two lots of 3.5hours sleep??!! Funny how our needs change isn't it?!

James is now 7 weeks old and is more alert and gorgeous by the day. He is smiling and following our faces more and I am SOOOOOOOO in love with him I can hardly stand it!

Hope you're all enjoying your babies as much as I am. :hugs: to those who are struggling with BF or lack of sleep, it sure is hard work this Mummy business.

More from me when I have a moment xx

ps. the piccy of Christina is gorgeous!

[porridge]

Hey Mandy - sorry to hear that Emma has a cold! but it's good that you're seeing here everyday. :hugs:

Griff is going well. He was weighed on Monday and he's 4.68kg now... +1.38kg since birth :thumbsup:

He gets snotty nose too, but so far has been pretty clever and 'blowing' it all out with a sneeze or a snort (have to stop myself from trying to 'dig' them out!!)

He's not sleeping all through the night, will feed 11pm, 3am, 6-7ish. not too bad. He doesn't fuss during the night at all which is good of him and likes to be awake lots more during the day. He's starting to play with his little gym thing (just patting the toys) - very cute

time to write grocery list -

Emi

[Mischief]

He's not sleeping all through the night, will feed 11pm, 3am, 6-7ish. not too bad. He doesn't fuss during the night at all which is good of him and likes to be awake lots more during the day. He's starting to play with his little gym thing (just patting the toys) - very cute

Sounds like Ollie. Except we dont have a play gym...just a mobile over the change table! Got to get one!

[BelindaL]

I experienced a real projectile vomit last night.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I had just put Annaleise down to sleep after feeding & burping her. I was just rubbing her tummy before I went to bed and she did a projectile vomit that totally missed her and spurted up, over the edge of the cradle & up the wall. :barf: She didn't wear any of it :laughing: :confused: I was totally amazed - never seen anything like it. Usually she just does little ones & spits them out...... Just thought I'd share :D

Me - 28
DH - 34
Annaleise Kate - 23 April 06

[Lisa C]

Hey Belinda, you have a talented little girl there! - Or a fussy little princess who doesn't like to make a mess of herself!!:laughing:

[angcaltam]

You just have to love the vomit ! ! ! Tamara is never sick and then on the day I decide I'll start picking Angus up from school, I'm just about to walk out the door and up it comes, she covered herself and me, so I had to change her and me really fast to make sure I was there to get Angus on time. Today I will make sure that I leave earlier just incase.:rolleyes:
Apart from that, the peek of her tooth that she had cut has somehow gone back up ! ! ! But we are keeping her on Formula, because she is still teething.

Well, Little Miss is calling, I had better go.

[Mischief]

Belinda, your little bubba sounds so funny! i had a good giggle! :)

[BelindaL]

I guess you could call it talent :laughing: :laughing:
She is a funny little one - I love her to bits!
She doesn't usually spew too much - I'm just waiting for the day that I walk out the door & I get spewed on (Katherine) ....... It will probably happen on her christening day when she's dressed all pretty.:p

[mylittleangel]

hehe.
My bubba does little spews, but I can count 3 massive ones where I swear she has saved up 3 days worth of bottle! It goes everywhere.. the last one went all over our bed, I had to wash the sheets, doona cover, pillow cases AND doona! DH was freaking out as he was the one holding her at the time as I was in the shower. I had to jump out dropping wet and grab her, undress her and jump back in the shower with her (she wasn't directly under the water of course). It was early in the morning and SO cold! She looked so scared at the time, but she was happy after she was clean.

We went to the child health centre yesterday to weigh Bella and see how much she has grown. She has gained 1kg since birth and grown 2.5cm. I thought she was getting taller, the 0000 jump-suites don't really fit her anymore.
I was nice going there, there were other women there all learning about our babies. They showed us a video of the signs of getting tired and it was exactly what annabella does, but I was mistaking those signals for her being hungry so I was feeding her... which is a big no no, or so I found out. Also, I'm not meant to feed on demand with formula, she is meant to feed about 150ml over a 1 hour period, then nothing for 3-4 hours, if she gets hungry, give her cooled boiled water. The reason for this is formula fed babies take longer to digest the formula (upto 3 hours) whereas breast fed babies can be fed on demand (1-) which is much healthier. So basically, the way I have been doing it her tummy is always full and it makes her uncomfortable and whingy.
So I am changing my ways. I found that today I would try to make her have the big feed, and she would sleep for 3 hours, then give her another big feed. Rather than her 'snack' feeding over 7 hours. We will see how it goes!
We are also trying the sleeping method of putting her down after she is fed, burped, changed, had a bit of a play and showing the tired signs. Last night, she was overtired, so we out her down and gently rubbed her belly to get her to sleep. Over 2 hours she half fell alseep, woke up, cried, had some water, fell asleep again, woke up, etc. So we gave her a little formula and she went off to sleep for 4.5 hours. So once we get this down pat, it should make our lives much easier.

DH has been asked to work again. I don't know if I am ready for him not being here with us just yet, but I don't want him to miss out. Plus we could use the money. I say it's upto him. It is only casual from 6am-2pm. But it is at night when I need him the most and if he goes back to work he will need his sleep. My mum can come and stay with me until I get used to it. But I don't have many friends to keep me company during the day. I don't know if I can do it alone yet, I don't know how you all can do it! What should I do?

Mara xxx

[hummingbird]

Emi + Aprilbaby, it sounds as if we have the same routine. Sienna was feeding every two hours last week around when she turned six weeks. I had asked the CHN how long it lasts and she said just a couple of days - thank god! A few days later I was staying at my mum and dads the night so I have Sienna sleep with me in the king size bed they have in the spare room. She slept from 8.30pm to 1.30am and then 2.30am to 7.30am. OMG two five-hour stints - I was so overjoyed I called DH right away and I was in the best mood all morning, wondering if this was a sign of things to come. Well, it must have been a freak occurance, because she's now pretty much back at her old routine 8pm, 11pm, 4am and 7am (ish).

I can't complain because the whole day after her marathon sleep she wanted feeding every 2 hours and was really grumpy and whiney between feeds. I was thinking to myself that I much prefer to wake up once or twice during the night and have a baby sleep more during the day, so I can get things done, rather than one that sleeps for 10 hours straight and then won't let you put them down all day long.

Today I visted some old friends who have babies around the same age as Sienna and it was great to connect with people who are going through the same thing as you. A lot of my friends are no where near having kids and they can't seem to understand why I can't (or don't want) to bring Sienna out for birthday dinners etc. I go to bed after her 8pm feed (sometimes before then!) and I would hate to think what I would be like without that sleep all for the sake of a couple of hours chatting (with everyone else getting drunk). I can't wait till they have babies and then they'll understand what it's like. Anyway my baby-friends all agreed that this business about things getting easier from 6 weeks is c##p and its more like from 12-15 weeks. They agreed that from 5-6 weeks things get easier in the sense that you are more confident in what you are doing with bubs ( and bubs starts smiling), but that in fact it seems that bub cries more around this time too. They reckon from 12 weeks is when bubs is in a solid routine which is predictable and where they are sleeping for longer periods through the night. I must say I have to agree at this stage. Sienna's routine is all over the place at the moment, where once it was quite predictable and also getting her settled is impossible unless she falls asleep in my arms. A few weeks ago I was putting her in the cot awake and she was going to sleep with no help whatsoever. I don't know what's changed, but I just keep telling myself that it's not forever and she's just as likely to change back again anytime soon.

Anyway that's enough from me!!!

S

[sshellzp]

Anyway my baby-friends all agreed that this business about things getting easier from 6 weeks is **** and its more like from 12-15 weeks.

OH NO! Please dont say that! OMG its so hard, I want it to be over :( :crying: :no:

[Minke]

Jack has cut two teeth... :eek: And the fun begins (I thought i had at least another 8 weeks before this started):rolleyes: :D So far hasn't been too bad, just grisly, hoping it doesn't affect his night routine too much (his day routine now consists of being held for hours... not that i mind extra cuddles :) )

Lisa&Davey, good luck with your appointment tomro



Kelli

[porridge]

hmmm :detective: griff has been extra grizzly and likes more cuddles - could it be teeth???!! :eek:

[Minke]

Emi - it seems to be a trend in the April babies! I noticed Jack drooling and he chems on everything he can get his hands on, and at night usually once hes asleep, he won't wake up till his next feed, but atm he wakes every 30 mins or so and fusses, then goes back to sleep.

Mara - i was doing the same thing with the bottles, Jack would wake up - i'd assume he was hungry and give him a bottle, he'd only drink half and then be hungry again in 2 hours! He still feeds quite a lot at night but i figure he's storing reserves for sleeping so i don't mind :D

Take care all,

Kelli

[porridge]

Well today has been interesting...

Griff screamed (yep, it was definitely screaming) for a good half an hour (tummy pains?) then settled for a bit, then cried... I gave him some water to drink (it had only been just over 2hours since last feed - FF) then he went to sleep and he's still asleep!! nearly 5 hours since his last FF - WOW. It would be nice if he did this at night, but I'm just going to let him go for a bit as he worked himself into such a frenzy... poor little man

but yeah for me - time for lunch!!

[sshellzp]

Look guys, Emerald is smiling already. She is only 4 weeks corrected but because she was prem she has seen faces for longer so she is smiling early. Its so cute.
Shell.

[joe]

Wow I can't believe everyone is getting teeth already!! :D - I hope Nathan doesn't get any ideas - I am just starting to really enjoy BF him. Can't imagine how painful trying to feed him with choppers would be:eek:
I can relate to the power spew stories too. I wore a beauty the other day. Thought I would give him a quick feed before heading off to my 6 week appointment. He managed to cover both of us meaning a complete change of clothes...the only thing that escaped the spew was his bib. I thought they were supposed to collect the mess...
Joe

[mylittleangel]

haha Joe thats typical, isn't it?

Bella spewed again today, we both wore it. I thought I would be smart and both have a bath.. it didn't work out for us. I think I will wait until she is bigger and in a bath baby seat!

mara xxx

[Lisa&Davey]

I'm in shock about all these April bubby teeth. I thought teeth this early was extremely rare.

Davey had his pead appointment yesterday. Bad news is that there are problems wih his eyes:crying: but the good news is that we got it early so it should be fixable. He's going to need glasses. I'll have to post a pic once he has them. How cute will that be?

We will be heading to Perth within a week to go stay at the hospital for a few nights and get all of the tests done.

Otherwise he is big and healthy. His stats are right up the top of the charts:

Weight: 6.22kg
HC: 44cm
Length: 63cm

That means he's gotten 6cm longer in the two weeks since his 6 week appointment!:eek:

I'd like to encourage you all that it does start getting better at some point. Just follow the recomendatons, make sure they don't get overtired, don't let them sleep too long in the day. For the past week or two Davey has had a sleep of between 5 and 7 hours every night and then has another of at least 3. He has also started going down easily for his naps during the day (which I was having real trouble with before) ever since he had his needles. Hopefully I won't jinx myself from sharing that.:p He was 8 weeks on Wednesday.

Hope you're all doing well and getting lots of sleep.

[hummingbird]

Awww Shell, isn't is just the best when they smile??

Yeah, I hope I didn't freak too many people out about the comment my friends made about it only truly getting better at 12-15 weeks. Sienna has come on in leaps and bounds over the last week (she was 7 weeks on Friday). Trouble is she is due for her shots next Monday and I am worried it's going to send her back to her old ways for a little bit.

I am a bit troubled by the whole immunisation palava. I do want her vaccinated, but I still think 2 months is too early for so many combined vaxs. At the same time I don't think I could live with myself if she fell ill....

Lisa, you are not the only one shocked with all these teeth errupting. I must admit that I have had my finger rubbing over her gums a couple of times over the last week when she is having a 'moment', just in case she's teething. I think I am in the clear so far.

[Lisa C]

Siobhan, i'm with you on thinking that 2 months is too young for all those combined vaccines. My mum thinks i should just do it later .... she thinks another month or two isn't going to do any harm. i'm going to speak to my CMH nurse tomorrow, and see if i can delay by a month or 2.

[Lisa&Davey]

Don't be too scared by the vacc's girls. I was very worried. Didn't know if i was doing the right thing etc. In the end I just thought at the end of the day they've chosen this age for a reason though so probably best to stick with the experts. It's not as bad as you think it will be. Davey cried for about 5 seconds. Then he was just more sleepy than usual. He has been sleeping better ever since actually so I'm not complaining.

One thing I did was give him pre-emptive panadol 30 minutes before the appointment. My sister called me a molly-coddler (wrapping him in cotton wool etc.). He wasn't 100% to start with though so why put him in more pain than he has to be? Don't get me wrong, I think all things should be used extremely sparingly and with caution in newborns. I gave him one more dose 6 hours later and haven't used it since.

Flying to Perth Wednesday morning to go to the hospital for Davey's tests. Please keep your :fingerscrossed: . I'm trying very hard to be level headed and not stress out.

[Mischief]

Fingers crossed for you Lisa. I'm thinking of you and little Davey and hoping everything will turn out fine! And as for your sister....I get told I'm being stupid all the time too....I wont take Ollie near anyone with a cold and I dont take him into the Doctors with me....everyone thinks I'm being stupid and "while he is being breast fed he wont get sick" but please explain why he caught my BIL's cold 2 weeks ago then! Thanks but he's my baby and I'll do what I want to protect him!

What age are babies suppost to have full control over their eyes? Ollie has one that turns alot...the CHN said not to worry about it to much yet at his 2 week appointment but that it should correct itself by a certain age, but I cant remember what age she said? He doesnt do it all the time, but off couse like all new mums I worry!

He also has a horrible rash over his neck and face. We think its the huggies baby wash, because we washed him just in water last night and its not as bad today...but still bad. It looks so red and sore. :( Doesnt seem to worry him, but it worries me!

[Lisa C]

Lisa - GL & :fingerscrossed: for the tests. I meant to respond to your last post to say that at least there is some good news with the bad and that glasses aren't the worst thing in the world.... at least he doesn't have to have surgery! But I truly hope everything works out for the best for you. Try not to worry too much - though i know that will be impossible!!! And GL for the flight too!!! That will be an adventure i'm sure. (Or have you been to perth already?? - i can't remember, but perhaps you did go just after Davey was born?!?)

KitKat - I can't remember what they said about the cross eyes either. I had a quick look thru some of my books, cos i know i've seen it there, but can't find it as yet. will keep looking and try to get back to you soon.

L xx

Could i just say that Rohan is completely unsettled today, and i have him strapped to me in his sling ... it's the only way to get anything done as he just wants to be held. And he is COMPLETELY wide awake too!! :banghead:

[aprilbaby]

Hi girls,

We had our immunisations today and it wasn't very fun. My little man was so brave, much stronger than his Mum!! When the needle went in he gave the biggest scream but he didn't cry for very long afterwards. His daddy had to hold his legs down and I stroked his face while it was happening. I felt so horrible for inflicting pain on him but i know it's protecting him from things much more horrible and painful so it had to be done.

Since we've been home he has slept almost non stop, except for a half an hour of unsettled crying where he really seeemed to be in pain. This was when I cried, god it hurts seeing them hurt doesn't it?

He had a slight temp so we gave him some baby panadol and he has been calm and sleeping ever since. Aparently this is all normal and I'm sure he'll be fine tomorrow and never rememeber anything, but it is still hard to see him go through it.

On a happier note, his 8 week check was all good and I'll post his stats on the other thread when I have a sec. Like all of yours he is growing so quickly and smiling all the time. Ever since he started smiling my DH has been even more fascinated with him and spends lots of time holding him and trying to get those precious smiles! It's so beautiful seeing my two boys together!

Everything else is going wonderfully. Those lovely long sleeps in the night haven't tuned out to be a regular thing but he's feeding and settling abit faster so it's not too bad. We took him out for a friends birthday dinner on the weekend and he was an absolute angel. He fed and then had some awake time so everyone could see him and then slept in his cot the whole time! Everyone commented on what a great baby he was and I was a very proud Mumma indeed. It was great to be doing 'normal' things again but with him with us. We even stayed out til 11pm, by far my latest night out since he was born. It was also a nice change to get dressed up and wear high heels for the first time in a while!! Even if it did take me three times as long to get ready trying to do it all while holding him. :laughing:

I really feel like we've settled into the flow of things now and things keep getting easier every day. I hope the same happens for all of you. You can tell how busy we all are by the lack of posts these days, it certainly is hard to find the time to do the big long posts we all did while pregnant!

Good luck to Lisa and Davey for the eye tests and big :hugs: and sleep vibes to all the rest of you and your precious bubs. xx

[porridge]

Lisa - I hope everything goes well with the tests :hugs:

Griff had his needles today, it was so sad! He was happy and gurgling with the dr. then when the first needle went in his eyes went huge and he did the silent scream... and then the not so silent one... poor little guy :( I had to hold his little leg for the 2nd one, that was awful. but he didn't cry for long. We gave him some panadol (only heard about giving it to them beforehand AFTERWARDS :rolleyes: ) and he's been very sleepy since(which is nice).

Emi

[deezy76]

Hey everyone!
It's been a while since I've been on Iam an april mummy!
This is my second little boy. Wow what can I say it's been pretty full on around here hubby does night shift (lucky him some nights) and Aarian born on the 29th April is very unsettled if he is'nt feeding or sleeping he just cries. He always seems to be hungry and then suffers terrribly after each feed for sometimes nearly up to the next one.

Tonight has been one of those nights hubby left at 5pm he has'nt settled since then and its now 10:30 he has just crashed! He cramps up and just pops and farts and carries on for what seems for ever and is in a lot of pain screams and goes bright red poor little love!

My 18mth old was a lot worse at this age but it's just so much harder with the two!
I dunno what to do with him I guess what I'm doing! I was really tempted to throw in the breastfeeding i find he is just on all the time and my breasts are getting really sore!

Well theres my winge for the night SORRY girls it;s good to get it out and see if any one else out there may be having the same problems. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.:wave:

Cheers Delanie
mummy to Keyan 10/11/04 and Aarian Jay 29/4/06

[angcaltam]

Sorry I don't have time to reply to everyone but just thought I would let Delanie know about Infants Friend, it is great, it helps with all sorts of things, you get it from the chemist. I would give it a try, and have you checked for teeth??? It seems to be the in thing for these April Babies. Just a thought. I hope I've helped.

Ok, off to feed Tamara. I promise I will try and get on here more.

[Lisa C]

Delanie, i feel for you and all the other mums who have other children!! - I honestly don't know how anyone does it, and am truly wondering when we will go back for number 2, cos as much as i want more kids, i just don't know how i will cope with the sleep deprivation, and a toddler!!! :eek: Good luck, and we are always here to listen to you whinge! - And there is nearly always someone who has been there/done it before, who has some good advice (like Katherine!!)

KitKat - On the cross-eyed thing, Baby Love says "Young babies look cross-eyed because their eye muscles are not strong enough to keep them straight. Crosseyes are usually fleeting, not constant, and stop happening at around six months of age. If it is constant or persists beyohd six months, the eyes need checking..." Hope that helps.

L
xx

[sshellzp]

Its funny your babies are getting their 2 month needles and Emerald has already had those and is getting her 4 month vacinations on friday. lol.
I have an appointment at the hospital for Emerald today :fingerscrossed: she has put on enough weight.
Shell.

[aprilbaby]

Hi girls,

I'm pleased to report that James is fine today, so we only had one bad day from the needles. The baby panadol really helped so I'd reccomend having some handy for those of you with immunisations coming up.

On a less happy note, i had my checkup at the OB today and I have some scar tissue that hasn't healed properly and it has formed a lump which needs to be burnt off. :crying: I'm getting it done on Thurs, they'll use a local anesthetic and then lancer it off. It's nothing too major but I'm feeling abit sorry for myself about it. I'm just sick of being poked and proded down there and I think I've had enough pain in that area for a while! Oh well, it should help it to heal faster and will mean I don't feel so sore down there afterwards, so it will be worth it.

The things we have to go through to get our babies hey? Lucky they're worth it.

Delanie, I'd also recomend Infants Friend. My DS was doing the same thing and this seems to have helped. I also try and keep him upright for a while after a feed and I think this helps too. Good luck.

ps. Mandy, great to hear from you. How are you doing?

[deezy76]

hey thanks for your feed back girls I realy appreciate it!
Can I ask what exactly is infants friend for is it for wind ect? Ive tried gripe water but does'nt do anything!
My little man was born with a tooth has any one heard of this before??? I wa really suprised but i've noticed he has a little ulcer type blister under his tongue were the tooth rubs! so this might be unsettling for him as well dunno!

bye Delanie

[aprilbaby]

Glad to hear that Mandy. i was so sorry to hear you were having a tough time. And yes you do have to go easy on youself, being a mum is the hardest thing any of us will ever do and its those who admit its hard and ask for help that are the strong ones. And one day when Emma is old enough to understand she will appreciate what a strong Mum she has.
:hugs:

[aprilbaby]

Delanie, infants friend is for wind, colic and unsettled babies. It's made from natural ingredients like aniseed oil and you just put a few drops under their tounge before or after a feed.

[Lisa C]

OK Delaine, you officialy win the earliest teether award.... being born with a tooth is the only way you could actually beat all the other early-teething-april-bubs!! :fingerscrossed: Rohan doesn't feel left out. He does enough damage to my nipples with just his gums!!

Mandy please don't be hard on yourself. Just take each day as it comes, and focus on getting better. And know that we are all here hoping you get well soon!!

L
xx

[sshellzp]

She put on 210grams. Yay!

[Mummy_Johnno]

Hi April mummies

I have been so busy with Lucas, i feel like i havent had a moment to myself in nearly 7 weeks. :idea:

I have been reading posts to keep up but not posting. I am glad everyone is doing better and that their bubs are doing well. Lucas and i are under the weather :gloomy: and feeling sorry for ourselves.

Take care everyone and i look forward to posting again soon. I cant wait to add my 2 bobs worth. I will also put Lucas' stats on the other forum too.

The photo on my avartar is Lucas at 6 weeks

[deezy76]

Hiya all!
Have to add the new additions photo just noticed hav'nt done so yet!!!
Was wandering if there is many Adelaide April mums that would like to cach up! Just thought it would be good seeing there all nearly the same age going through similar things ect. Any one interested???:rolleyes:

By the way bought Infants friend will keep you all posted to any result!!:fingerscrossed:

Bye Delanie

[Mischief]

Lisa C thank you for the info on the eyes! I have baby love too but couldnt find the article! Its only fleeting thank goodness but I worry because I had a turning eye as a child (still do sometimes) and it wasnt something that could be fixed. I had awful thick bifocals and would hate if Ollie had them too.

Mandy, you hang in there girl! Motherhood is scarey, new and you do the best you can! I'm sure you are doing a great job, and I'm glad you are starting to feel a bit better! XXOO :hugs:

[mylittleangel]

Hello ladies.

I am glad to hear everyone is doing relatively well.

Infants friend is a god-send, Annabella is great on it (although she still gets a little wind). I noticed the difference when we went out all day 2 days ago and I didn't have any Infants friend on me, yesterday she was crying all day from wind pains and she was doing really solid poos. So I really recommend it.

My mum is here again. I love it when she comes. She helps with bubby (by feeding and looking after her) and does the washing and things, she won't put Annabella down, and says she loves her more than she loves me LOL. Dad cleans the oven and toilets/bathroom. It's bliss!

I FINALLY got a chance to mow yesterday. We have 1/4 of an arce and a rideon mower. We got it when I was pregnant so DH wouldn't let me use it. It was so fun, zipping around with my Dad's MP3 player :thumbsup: It was strangely relaxing.

They also bought us a whole heap of second hand stuff, so dad has been cleaning that us for me. We got a cot (we are buying a new mattress for it though), a wooden highchair, baby bath/change table, jolly jumper, porta cot, toddler carseat, a rocker and other toys. Some of it isn't that nice so mum and dad are taking that home, most of it is great, the lady we got it from kept it well. But I am so happy with it all, we couldn't really afford to get it all. Some people don't like second hand stuff, but I am fine with it!

Annabella now has a dummy, it is a god-send, I never really wanted to use one, but it helps so much. Now I know why they were invented!

I am going to start using cloth nappies soon. She has grown out of the newborn disposables, so I thought it will be cheaper and maybe more comfortable for her?

I have issues at night time, I don't know why. During the day I am fine, I don't really need much help. But come night time, I turn into a wreck. No matter who is around I still feel alone and incapable of looking after Annabella. I am slowely geting better so I hope it goes away soon. DH is hoping to go back to work soon but I am not ready for him to go just yet!

Ok everyone. Enough from me!

I hope everyone is doing really well. Remember it gets a little better everyday.

Mara xxx

[2SPUNKRATZ]

hi everyone. has been a while since i posted. ive had nonstop sickenss since marius was born. but am mostly better now. marius has oral thrush atm, its hell on the nipples but i am willing to deal with it so he can have the goodness of my breast milk. plus we cant afford to bottle feed. marius is a great baby. he feeds around 11pm and will sleep till 4am then a bum change and feed and back to sleep within about 1 hour and sleep again till around 8am. i love having cuddles with my little man.
the CHN tried to tell me that i was doing the wrong thing by letting him sleep in our bed with us. if anyonew else is doing this, dont listen to people tellingyou its wrong. you know whats right for your own child. he sleeps so much better in our bed with us cause we dont have a heater and he gets the warmth from us.
i love being a mum. its the most rewarding experience in the world.

mandy - im glad to hear things are getting better for you. you always have my support. big hugs and kisses to you and emma.

shell - glad to hear em is doing so well. bet you are loving having your little girl home. marius has started smiling to. i put a new pic on my avatar of him. i only just took it.

i call marius my little punk boy cause no matrter what i do, his hair sticks up on ends and goes into a mohawk look. he has had a dummy since he was a few days old. he loves his dummy. he usually spits it out once he has fallen completely asleep which is good. he mostly only has it when he is restless or sleepy.

hope everyone is doing well. i would reply to everyone individually but as you are all probably aware, there just isnt enough time in 1 day. lol.

take care all, best wishes,
jess and marius xxoo

[mylittleangel]

I thought I would change my avitar. Isn't she cute! she loves animals.

I have so many pictures of her!

I bought a baby records book today, it will be fun filling it out. That's if I can do all of the details.

Have fun all.

Mara xxx

[2SPUNKRATZ]

hey, annabella and marius have the same rocker. cool. i love his rocker, its a godsend. he loves chillin in it. but isnt yet interested in the toys that attatch to it. he actually cries when i put them on.

hehe
take care

[mylittleangel]

hehe thats so cute! I love the thing.
I still want to get her an activity gym thing.

Mara xxx

[Mischief]

Its funny about the rockers! Ollie has a bouncer kind of thing, he's much happier if it doesnt have the toys on it....but he LOVES his play gym!

[porridge]

the smiles are great aren't they? sometimes griff doesn't know whether to smile and gurgle or cry... it's very funny to watch :D

He's nine weeks on Saturday and is changing so much... there's already things he did in the first week or so that he doesn't do now - he's growing up *awww*

[jmacg]

Dear All,

Just a quickie haven't posted for AGES cos my parents have been here. Having a lovely time they adore Gaia and DH and I have been on a few nights out. The first night out was quite traumatic as we left enough milk for 3 feeds, thinking she would only need two. Well they used all the milk and we got a frantic text saying "We need more milk, HElp!" had had a drink by this point. When I phoned back she was sound asleep so it was all ok in the end. Dad now knows that when she cries after a feed to try winding her and it doesn't mean she is still hungry!!

She is doing well weighs 5kg and is sleeping from midnight till 6.30 except today was 7.10 am which was great.

My parents are in Sydney for a few days, really looking forward to chilling with DH and Gaia this weeekend. have had to share the hugs with my parents!

Playgyms are great we borrowed one from a freind and Gaia loves it. Put her in it and she is starting to grab the toys.

Adelaide Mandy happy for you that wee Emma is smiling. Gaia started smiling just before my parents arrived and she beams at my Dad when he speaks to her, thinks she is going to love her grandad. Is very special when they smile isn't it??

Going to go and spend some time with DH but just though I would post!


Love Jxx

[hummingbird]

Well Sienna is booked in for her vax on Monday and I have already bought the baby panadol. I am a bit nervous about how I am going to cope with little bubba in pain, but I know it will be over quickly. I could go on about my concerns with vax, but I’ll leave it for another forum.

Sienna went to her first movie on Wednesday, The Da Vinci Code. She was transfixed on the screen for the first 40 minutes. I was thinking, ‘Oh dear she is going to be so over stimulated’. During the trailers she would cry when the screen went black between commercials! She then ended up sleeping the rest of the movie, and I’m not sure how as you forget how loud cinemas are. I then went into Target hoping to find one of those old-fashioned knitted bouncers as she doesn’t like lying flat on her own (unless she’s under her activity gym and even then its only for 15 minutes max) and on my sister’s insistance come out with a $130 battery operated automatic swing with music and all the ‘educational stimuli’ attached to it. I put it up for her that night and she cried after five minutes of being in it. I think she was so overwhelmed by the whole movie/swing experience because after taking hours to settle, she slept for SEVEN hours that night!!

I have been staying at my mum and dad’s place for one night a week (they are over an hours drive away) and this week I overheard mum on the phone to my sister, who also lives close to mum, and they were talking about Sienna and how she takes so long to settle and hardly sleep during the day and praising my brothers 9 month old baby who is such an easygoing baby and so easy to look after etc etc. They were then discussing what Sienna needs to help her behave (swing, bouncer, baby sling, blah blah blah). Naturally I felt like barging in and telling them where to go for being so critical of a (my!) baby, but thought better of it. For two women who have raised 9 children between them you would think that they would understand that an 8 week old baby likes quiet when it is trying to go to sleep (they have the volume on the telly at 30 when I can hear it quite reasonably at 15 – I told dad he should get his hearing checked!) and does not need to be stimulated by swings and songs and talking to and rattles in their faces for more than 5 minutes at a time. Besides that Sienna is away from her normal environment up there, so it must take her a little getting used to every time we go up there because she’s a fantastic baby 90% of the time at home……anyway I have to be very diplomatic about how I handle it because they have been so good to us and I really like my time up there with them all. It’s actually quite funny listening to them give all their advice. I remember when my sister started having babies and she would get so annoyed at family telling her what she should be doing and here she is doing it herself!

Anyway that’s my two-bobs worth this week! Hope everyone is well.

S

[angcaltam]

Well Tamara is 7 weeks old today and has started to sleep through. She has nearly always given us at least a 5 to 5 1/2 hour break over night but the last week she has been going longer and longer. The last 2 nights she has slept for about 8 hours. I just hope that she keeps it up.

I'm sick with the flu,:gloomy: DH had to take the day off yesterday to look after Caleb and Tamara for me, it's a good thing that she is on bottles now, I got to sleep all day without having to wake up to feed her.:sleeping:

Well, I better go and do the bottles.

Will try and post again later.

[porridge]

Katherine - how do you get Tamara to sleep for so long??? Griff is doing ok, but 4-5 hours max.

Siobhan - I think that you're very restrained... I know that if I'd heard my mum and sister talking about griff like that, I'd have hit the roof! But good on you for not blowing your top :thumbsup:

I have thought about taking griff to the movies, but am too chicken. I guess if they start crying, you can just take them out, but then you've paid to see a movie!! I'd like to think he'd sleep through it and he probably would, but you never know...

Anyway... he's 9 weeks old tomorrow :eek: I can't believe how quickly the weeks go by.

Hope everyone is well :)

[aprilbaby]

hi girls,

Feeling a bit over it today.:gloomy:

I'm hearing all these other Mums talk about how their bubs are sleeping through (one baby in my mothers group is sleeping for 11 hours?!) and the best I'm getting is three hours at a time, sometimes it's only an hour and he's awake again. :eek:

I was dealing with it quite well, just thinking it was what you have to put up with with a baby, but now hearing everyone else is sleeping has made me feel like I'm missing out and i'm feeling abit sorry for myself!

The thing is, James used to have huge sleeps in the day, but in the last two weeks he's stopped that and has started catnapping more, I don't know why. This would be fine if he was sleeping longer at night but he's not.

I tried to do the 10.30 dream feed from 'Save our Sleep' for the last two nights but he just fed for 5 mins and then feel asleep and couldn't wake him up. So I put him down and he woke again at midnight, then 4am (again a small feed) and then awake again at 6am. :eek:

At that stage I'm so tired I bring him in to bed with me, which I said I'd never do (what did I know!) and now I'm finding he doesn't like sleeping in his cot because he wants to be close to me all the time. Aaargh!

Anyway, I'm going to try giving him a bottle of expressed milk tonight, to see if that makes a difference. I haven't given him a bottle yet becasue he's been feeding so well and I haven't needed to, but i think I'll give it a go.

Anyway, that's my whinge for the day. He's asleep now (hopefully for a while) so I'm going to have a much needed coffee! Hope you're all having a good day.xx

[angcaltam]

Emi, I don't know how I do it. She has her last bottle at about 11pm then we don't hear from her until at least 6am. It's great, I just hope she keeps it up.:fingerscrossed:

[jmacg]

APRIL BABY QUOTE (wasn't sure how to do it!)
Anyway, I'm going to try giving him a bottle of expressed milk tonight, to see if that makes a difference. I haven't given him a bottle yet becasue he's been feeding so well and I haven't needed to, but i think I'll give it a go.

April Baby that sounds like a good plan. On the odd occassion when we have gone out and mum has given Gaia a bottle at 11pm (100ml) she has had a big sleep. Mum reckons that because we can see how much she drinks and give her a lot of milk is better. At night she BF less as is tired and just want the hugs. Worth a try.

Cinema is great is something i really miss. first time she was only 3 weeks and slept throughout. yesterday I went and she was grisly. Took her out and she had messed her nappy! No one bothers if the babies cry because the toddlers were playing in the aisles. I would recommend going.

Better go Gaia is crying!

Jx

[priya]

hi,

am posting here after a long time.

Ria's night is still unpredictable. Every night is different but the thing that is same is that she wokes up every 2 hours and goes to sleep after one hour of my persistent rocking and finally falls asleep in my arms but when i lie herdown in the cot she wakes up. I have googled a lot and tried wrapping to feeding her EBM but she cant sleep for long.She has a lot of difficulty falling asleep.

Another problem is thatshe is not taking the bottle feed from me anymore. When i feed her she wants to cling to my breasts all the time. No EBM when i am feeding. She doesn't like it. She has also started licking during feeding and that is hurting it more. Hey ladies, please help.

I am :ecomcity: about me. Siobhan,katherine,kitkat,jess- i have noticed that you have changed your avatar. The bubbas look so cute. I have also changed mine. A friend of DH[girl] pointed all the wrong things that Ria is frontally bald and has got a nose not so sharp and is arrogant in appearance. Are girls nutheads?What is your opinion about Ria? I personally don't like these type of comments about my baby. She is my darling and if she would have been my friend then i would have asked her to apologise.

Waiting to see Ria smile.

LOVE

[Lisa C]

Aprilbaby - :hugs: to you! Don't feel so down about it - every baby is different, and believe me there are lots of us here who are not getting huge sleeps. I will confirm that on the odd occassion where we have given Rohan a bottle of expressed milk close to midnight, we have got a good 4-6 hours of sleep ... just make sure you have at least 100ml of milk - they can take up to 180ml apparently, but what i do is have 100ml in the bottle, and when he's finished that i then offer the breast, and let him have whatever he wants from there too.

I think that sometimes by 11pm at night we are so tired that our boobs perhaps are not making sufficient quantity/quality milk and so if you have expressed some from earlier in the day, then it can help with the evening deficit. Save our Sleep actually recommends that you do this every day (express in the morning and give it to bub last thing at night) .... but that requires a lot of organisation to be expressing every morning, and i can't normally get 100ml in one sitting, so i need to express two mornings in a row to get that much.

Give it a go - and if it works well for you, maybe you can do it a few times a week. I find that just having one night of up to 6 hours straight sleep does wonders for my ability to cope with the next few days of very broken sleep. Good luck, and chin up. Before you know it this phase will be in the past, and we'll all be crying about how our babies are growing up too fast!! ;)

Emi - check out if your cinema does a "mums and bubs" day - no one gets upset if your bub cries in these sessions.

My DH and i have my mum lined up for babysitting on sunday afternoon so that we can go see The Da Vinci Code. Mum baby sat for the first time on her own on Tuesday, and she loved it (had all her neighbours over for cuddles too!!) - and is quite keen to repeat the experience, so i'm not complaining!! Rohan will probably be quite spoilt with all the cuddles and be a right proper terror to settle without being held afterwards, but i guess that's what grandparents are for!!

Take care everyone. Lots of sleep vibes to those who are suffering!

L

[Lisa C]

Priya - i think Ria is gorgeous! And i would have demanded an apology regardless of whose friend!

That also reminded me -
Siobhan - i can't believe you were so restrained with your mum and sister - but good on you for being the adult! Don't let them get to you!

Mandy - yeah to you for Emma's first smile. It makes the world right again when they smile, doesn't it?!

[angcaltam]

Priya, I think Ria is very cute. Don't listen to anyone that has anything negative to say about your precious little girl.

Must go, Tamara is calling.

[Mischief]

Priya - Ria is beautiful! For goodness sake she is a baby not a supermodel (yet)....babies look like that... Ollie has had awful rashes on his face, he has hairy ears, and a receeding hairline....but I still think he is the most beautiful baby Ive ever seen. Sounds to me like the silly woman belives that babies look like they do in the movies!

You should offer to squeeze her head thru something the size of an orange and see if she doesnt look a little different after that for a few weeks!

Regarding the settling....maybe you could call the hospital and see if the midwives have any suggestions? You might need to go to sleep school?

April Baby - Ollie doesnt sleep thru the night either...we have started trying the dream feed, he's not really sleeping longer than if we woke him up to feed, but it does make it easier for us because there is not holding a crying baby while warming his bottle, or nappy changing...or re settling. He has his long sleep from 7pm...I wish we could make it 10, but he wont change it for us! He sleeps from 7pm till about 1am....but if you wake him up at 10 to break the sleep...he still only sleeps till about 1 or 2...LOL

Keep trying, eventually he will settle into a routine and we have to work around it.

Now I'm going to winge :gloomy: .......I'm having a really blue day today. I'm back to being an insomniac...when I get up at 2ish for Ollies night feed I cant get back to sleep. Today I thought I would crawl into bed when he has his 3 hour mid day sleep...I spend an hour trying to settle myself, finally started drifting off and then some of Stevens blasted relos turned up, bashing on the door. I was soooo upset I nearly bawled. I let them view Ollie, told them today wasnt a good day, and call next time and they can come for a coffee as well. I felt like slaming the door on them and telling them how rude they were.

I'm feeling really down in the dumps alot, and am scared I'm getting PND. I feel really helpless, worthless and totally overwhelmed 90% of the time. Instead of enjoying the family "support" I feel as though I'm being criticised or that they are crowding me.

When Ollie smiles it's all better...I love him more than anything, but I feel so miserable and tiered the rest of the time, its really hard. I have my Dr appointment tomorrow, but I know I wont be able to admit to her how I'm feeling. Ive experienced depression since I was a teenager, but cant talk to anyone (other than my hubby and online) about it....I feel like I'm failing my family if I admit to not being happy. Now I feel even worse cause I feel like I'm failing Oliver.

*Sigh* Tomorrow is another day....fresh and beautiful with no mistakes in it....just have to keep the chin up until then! RIGHT?!

Sorry for the gloom....just needed to get it all off my chest. Thank you for reading/listening. :hugs:

[joe]

Well Nathan is still not sleeping through the night yet either but I can't really complain as he usually sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time during the night and a daytime nap of 2-3 hours. He had his 6 week appointment this week and although I already knew it, it was reassuring to hear from the Paed that it is normal for babies to want to catnap and feed every two hours during the day - despite what the baby books say...Well sounds like someone is hungry. Heres hoping all the April babies have a good nights sleep tonight:fingerscrossed:
PS - Don't agree with your 'friend' either Ria is gorgeous!

[aprilbaby]

Lisa - thanks for the :hugs: My stubborn little monster has been fighting sleep all day so i needed them! He's obviously exhausted but he doesn't want to miss out on anything so he fights so hard to stay awake. He gets to the point where he's too tired to even complain so he makes these little whimpering noises. It's so cute I can't get mad at him even when I'm exhausted. And I shouldn't really be surprised he's like this, both his Dad and I are stubborn and headstrong so we had to expect our baby to be the same! My Mum said it's payback for me because I was exactly the same as a baby!

Priya - Ria is gorgeous and your friend is quite obviously insane. And besides that, doesn't she know you have to tell a mother her baby is beautiful even if it's the ugliest baby you've ever seen?! Maybe she's just jealous because she doesn't have a beautiful baby girl to enjoy!

Kat - now it's my turn to give someone :hugs:. If you want my opinion, I think it's extremely important you do tell your Dr how you are feeling, because if it is PND you need to get some proper help and possibly medication. It may not be and you might just be suffering from sleep deprivation which is making you feel down, but you can't take any chances with things like this. You said you have suffered from depression before. Were you on medication? I'm asking because I have a friend who was taking anti depressants before she got pregnant and then went off them while she was pregnant. Because of the pregnancy hormones she was fine but after her baby was born she got very depressed again and had to go on something. She was and is a fantastic mother but she couldn't control the chemical reaction in her brain, which is what PND is. There is absolutley nothing wrong with admitting you're finding it hard and if medication is what you need to be able to get back on track then that's what it's there for. The last thing you want to do is struggle through without getting help and then find down the track that you never enjoyed your time with Ollie. Again, you might not need medication, you might just need some more sleep and everything will feel better (don't we all) but if you are feeling like this day in day out I would definitely tell your Dr.

You know it's what you would tell any of us girls to do if we were in the same situation.

[Lisa C]

KitKat - I support everything Aprilbaby has said. You really MUST tallk to your doctor, or your Child and Maternal Health Nurse - they will be able to determine if it is PND or just exhaustion. You are not failing anyone by admiting that you are not enjoying every second of motherhood, and you will certainly be doing yourself and Ollie the best favour possible, by getting whatever help and support you may need to get through this time. Big :hugs: - but please promise you will speak to a health care professional SOON!!

L
xx

[priya]

hi girls,

thanks for all your replies. Love you all for that. I am in confusion nowadays for 6 week checkup for Ria. My paed wanted us to see him but i found his aptt too costly. I think he charges 170-200 $ and i am not so much impressed with him. Is there some place like early child health centre where i can go? Who is the child health nurse? I am totally new. Please help.

Kat- What is this sleep school thing? Ria is usually good during the day and it is only night time and that also after 1-2 a.m when she causes problems[hope i am not jinxing myself] Otherwise she takes a feed at 9:30 or 10 and then at 12 or 1. Feeding her EBM has not done any good. I DON'T THINK THAT SHE WAKES UP EARLY BECAUSE SHE IS HUNGRY.

I am thinking of giving her a warm bath tonight and then see. What do you girls think? Will this improve? I am just fed up of doing all the housework and babywork. DH is of no help except in cooking and then making a mess of the kitchen. He has inherited all the habits of a typical indian man. No housework at all. I think one day i am gonna have a major fight with him and tell him that hello i am not living in a joint family where somebody can help me out.

Bye from me now.

[2SPUNKRATZ]

priya - ria is absolutely gorgeous. as are all the babies on here. mines cutest though lol. well to me anyway hehehehehe

mandy - i hope things are cruisin along well for you.

to all having sleep problems i send you sleep vibes. i dont wish i could say i understand, im glad i dont. we have the occasional bad night and i can tell you right now, if it was every night, i think i would scream. so :hugs: to you all.

my little man is officially nicknamed by me, punk boy. lol he has a natural mohawk. its so cute.

well typing 1 handed sux. talk 2 u all again soon.

much love,

jess

[hummingbird]

Emi, each Wednesday Greater Union have 10.30am sessions called ‘babes in arms’ where mums can take babies and not feel guilty if they start to cry. Our local Reading cinema also has ‘crying rooms’ at the back of some of the cinemas where you can go to if your baby starts to cry at any session. They also have change table facilities and speakers in the room so you need not miss out on any of the movie action. It’s great to see that mum’s can go out and have fun with bubs in tow.

April baby – don’t you just hate hearing about babies who sleep these long hours?? I know how you feel. Whilst Sienna kind of has a routine, it can vary wildly some days. About once or twice a week she has a shocker at night, when I am almost in tears with her waking up every two to three hours. If I am really lucky I might get two nights a week where I get a 4 or 5 hour sleep. She’s 8 weeks today and is not in a particularly set routine, especially during the day when she hardly sleeps at all (meaning I can not get a lot done). Don’t be so hard on yourself or bubs. You need to remember that it won’t be like this forever and where your baby might not sleep like a doll now, he’s probably excelling in an other area of development. I think what you have been doing sounds spot on so keep up the great work.

Priya, anyone who remarks on the looks of a baby ought to be kicked in the behind. I could never understand why anyone feels the right to be critical of how any baby looks – it’s not as if they can defend themselves. If only Ria could talk back, “Yeah well you have bad skin, greasy hair, and thin lips” LOL. In regards to feeding at night perhaps try her getting used to feeding at least every three hours (from start of last feed to start of the next feed). I use a dummy if Sienna wakes early until at least three hours has gone by between feeds before feeding again. I think that when they feed at two hours at a time, they may only be getting little feeds and not filling up. This is just what works for me, so experiment and you will find out what works for you. Every area (at least in NSW) has an Early Childhood Health Centre which is run by the government. You can book in for your checkups and its free. Unless you can claim the visit to the paed on your health insurance? Your paed or the midwives where you gave birth should be able to give you info on the sleep schools in your area as well as the Early Childhood Heath Centres. And those husbands can be shockers sometimes!! Sometimes you just have to get bossy and tell them what you expect from them.

KitKat, I also agree with what Aprilbaby has said. I wonder if once you tell your doctor, you might find it a big weight off your shoulders to get it out in the open and get the assistance you need. It might well be sleep deprivation compounding the problem, but it’s definitely worthwhile getting it sussed out so you can get on with being the great mum you are.

Well I have a sore throat and snotty nose and took aspro clear, before finding out from the pharmacist that you shouldn’t take aspirin whilst breastfeeding (it’s not recommended for children under 18 years!). Could I have felt any guiltier and more stupid? Sienna doesn’t appear to be affected by my taking it, however she now has a snuffly nose too.

Well another long post from me…..

[Georgie'smama]

God, i feel for you kitkat, but i agree with wveryone else :hugs: and see what the doc says.
Aprilbaby- hang in there-it will get better Tina is now sleeping from 8-3, then 6 then anything goes, but as i'm usually up by that time ith my to yr old i v=can hack that.
Priya-can't believe u didn't clock her one- i would've! :yelclap: Ria is gorgeous!

I just celebrated my 31st birthdya, my hubby took me out for japanese at the weekend, mum babysat bless her, then on the actual day my mum, sister (who also celebrates on the same day) an in laws came over and my dh cooked us fajitas and birhtday cake- i'm so lucky! Next day it was back down to earth with cooking,cleanign, washing etc...poor lil cinderella!:gloomy:

[sshellzp]

Hey guys, Emerald had her 4 month immunisations today so ive got her doped up on childrens panadol. lol. I think thats why shes been asleep pretty much for the last 2 and a half hours. She usually only sleeps about 1 - 2 hours before waking up to be settled again, and sometimes wont settle. Sometimes she will be awake from one feed to another. I think she has day and night mixed up too which sucks.
Other than that things are great. She weighs 8lb now and is in the 25% for her CORRECTED age.
Shell.

[Minke]

Kat - Talk to your doctor. I had huge BFing probs with my first and got really down (you discribed it really well) and instead of going to the doctor I let it go on for months. Was finally diagnosed with PND when DD was about 7 months...:(

And like one of the other girls said, when they said that there was actually something wrong, it was like a weight off my shoulders (I wasn't just going nuts!).

Big :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: to you,

Kelli

[priya]

hi everyone,

Mandy- your avatar is good. You look great and emma too.

Georgie's Mama- Nice to hear from you after a long time.

[aprilbaby]

hi all,

giving the bottle of expressed milk must have worked, last night he fed at 9.15pm then not til 2.45!!!

now if I can make it happen two nights in a row we might be on to something. The only trouble is expressing in the morning is a pain in the ..... and I'd rather he took a big feed from me.

You can't win can you!

[Mischief]

Priya - The sleep school is something run by your local community child and health center I belive. You should have been contacted by a child health nurse from your local center...???? If not...do you have a child health record? You should have some information in that book about your local one. Someone there should be able to give you some information regarding settling, and if they run an overnight course for parents. I really hope Ria settles soon. :hugs:

Jess - I'm jealous!!! :) Ollie isnt too bad though! He has a feed about 11ish then once durning the night...then awake again around 6ish.

Thank you all so much for all your replies and being there for me to winge too! XXOO

I spoke to my Dr today about how I've been feeling. She wasnt overly concerned....she said that its most likely sleep deprivation as I'm not depressed all the time (every other day), and I had noticed that its worse if I havent slept well. She said I need to get some sleep, ad if I dont get back into a good routine soon she wants to give me sleeping tablets. I really dont want them though! Will try Valerian capsules....they are herbal. I have to go back if i get worse with the emotions.

As for my breastfeeding issues, she has told me that I shouldnt put undue pressure on myself. I told her I am expressing all of Ollies feeds except the middle night one....that I was planning to do it for 6 months. She told me to aim for 3....not 6. She said that BF is the best, but if I am finding it to stressful emotionally I shouldnt view it as the be all and end all of parenting. And as for expressing she said that I shouldnt aim for the 6 months as its most likely unacheivable and very tiering physically and emotionally. Just hearing that 3 months is a good goal made me feel better. I still intend to try longer, but I can now tell myself just 5 more weeks...just 5 more weeks....when things get on top of me.

I'm really glad I went. I didnt want to talk to her about how I was feeling...its hard to do...but I feel so much better now knowing that I'm doing okay and even though everything isnt how I expected it was going to be, its okay.

[hummingbird]

good to hear Kat

[mim]

Ooooh I'm so lazy! :o I hope nobody minds if I jump back into this thread.
I've been reading the replies but always run out of time to post. And I've felt so guilty not posting.....You were all so supportive during the pregnancy bit :hugs: I will have to slowly catch up when Austin lets me....

Austin weighs almost 4kg now, he is doing really well. We are getting heaps of smiles . He is absolutely fascinated by lights, he will look around everywhere searching for them!
Nights are pretty much :banghead: . He is still feeding every 3 hours, but I think I just have to wait until he gets bigger because he's not that much bigger than the average newborn now.
He has a large umbilical hernia and I can't get in to see a pead for 6 weeks :eek: I guess we just have to hope that it doesn't get strangulated. I'm a born worrier so everytime he cries I have to check his bellybutton.

All your babies are soo gorgeous. I think April (and Jan, March and May!)was a good month for cuties!

Take care

Anne xxx

[mim]

Kat, please don't be too hard on yourself, I had to start supplementing Conan on formula when he was 6 weeks old, and I felt so guilty over it, it was almost my undoing. The most important thing Ollie has in his life is YOU, that you are happy and healthy is more important than whether he has breastmilk or formula :hugs:

Anne xxx

[jmacg]

Just a quickie- Kat I agree with Mim don't be so hard on yourself. Whatever works for you and your baby I say.

Priya your daughter is SO gorgeous I would ignore those comments. people are so rude.

Mim I love the picture of Austin so cute!

Gaia is so cute today she has started reaching for all the toys on her playgym and is very smiley today.

Love the avatar Adelaide mandy good to have you back!

Injections on Wed taking my parents with me. A few of you have mentioned giving the babies panadol/ paracetomol does it matter which? Is it only if they have a temperature afterwards or is it to stop them hurting. Am so nervous about it am such a softie as far as Gaia is concerned! I hated the neo-natal test as it took AGES to get enough blood. Gaia didn't care was quite happy feeding.

Have a good Sunday,

love Jxx

[sshellzp]

A few of you have mentioned giving the babies panadol/ paracetomol does it matter which? Is it only if they have a temperature afterwards or is it to stop them hurting.

Hey, you give them childrens panadol 1 month to 2 years and its for fever and pain I think. I gave it to Emerald because she was fairly grizzly after it so I assume she had some pain.

[joe]

I asked the Paed about giving Panadol before they get the injection and he said there was no need to these days. I am definately getting some for afterwards though.
Not sure if its going to keep up but Nathan slept for 4hrs then 6hrs:yelclap: then another 3hrs last night...:fingerscrossed: :fingerscrossed:

[mylittleangel]

Hello ladies.

It's sad to hear most of you are having problems.

Since I started using Infants Friend in every bottle Annabella has been great. She sleeps well and feeds well and doesn't cry as much. She is quiet happy to lay there sometimes. It's so good, :fingerscrossed: it stays that way, I hope I haven't jinxed it!

My step-MIL and SIL came to visit over the weekend. They bough the cutest outfits for Annabella, I felt so guilty on how much they spent! They also bought the activity gym I was talking about earlier, she is sooo in love with it, if she wasn't smiling before, she certainly does now!

I am feeling better lately, I think I am getting used to being a mum and I am handling things alot better. I still have a long way to go though.

For the girls who are sleep deprived, I understand. She doesn't sleep too long at night, and no matter what time we put her down, she always wakes up at 4am. But in saying that, she went to sleep at 9:30 last night and didn't wake up until 3:45, I was very happy. But no matter how much or little I sleep I always seem to be tired.

Anyway, I might go catch a nap while DH and bubba are alseep. I call them my sleeping beauties.

Love Mara xxx

[Mischief]

Thanks guys. I'm having another down day today... I think I'm just a sook though. Steven has gone up north with his brother...I wish he was at home with me....his mum is looking after Ollie for the day, but I wish he was at home with me too....LOL Doesnt make sence does it. I should be happy for the quiet, but instead I went to bed and cried instead of sleeping. I didnt want Ollie to go, i hate sharing him...:( If he was going to be baby sat for the day I wanted it to be because Steven and I were spending the day together...but we arent.

I think I'm being a horrible grumpy wife at the moment. :no: Not a habit I want to get into...Ive always loathed those women who wont let their hubbies have any time to themselves..always said I would let Steven have a day on the weekend when he could unwind from work...but truth is I really wish he would stay home with me ATM.

I'm going (suppost to anyway..got to get the get up and go to do it...) to an Undercover Wear party this afternoon....so hopefully getting out of the house and excersising the bank account might cheer me up! :D LOL

Thanks about the advice about breast feeding. I'm taking it a day at a time now.....

Thanks again for letting me rant!

Ollie has his check up on Tuesday...I cant wait to see how much he has grown. He eats almost constantly!!!!

[hummingbird]

J- Sienna has started talking to her 'friends' and reaching out for them (a caterpillar toy and an elephant toy) when I change her - only since last night. This afternoon I was bf her and I looked down and she was staring up at me, she had come off the boob and gave me the biggest smiles over and over again. I nearly cried it was so beautiful. It was like she was saying 'mum, i'm having the best time right now and it's all because of you!'. I never thought I would say this so soon, but she is growing so quickly already. I remember when she was three weeks old thinking the time was dragging on and pining for her to turn six weeks so the 'good stuff' would start. Now that it is I just want it to slow down so I can really enjoy the ride.

Kat, my DH went out one night last week and had the next day off work because he was hungover. I was so nasty to him the whole day, because I was jealous that he got time on his own (without me) and then proceeded to be of no help whatsoever the next day....it did not help that that night Sienna decided to cry for hours on end. I was feeling very sorry for myself. ANyway, my point is that you can allow yourself to get grumpy once in a while. I think we'd go mad if we didn't.

[Lisa C]

Kat - can i ask why you are expressing all but one feed? - (Sorry - i'm sure you've said before, but i must have missed it!) And seriously, somebody said earlier, that at the end of the day in 20 years time Ollie is really not going to care whether you bf or ff - and if it is causing you heaps of stress to bf, then you are probably better off ff-ing and easing off the pressure on yourself. So glad to hear that you talked to your Dr and felt better for it. Good for you.

To those of you turning into grumpy wives - i can absolutely relate. Except i think i've gone beyond grumpy!! I was giving Rohan Infants friends drops at 3am on saturday night (sunday morning) after Rohan still hadn't settled from his 9pm feed (and had been fed another 3 times) and DH got all anxious "what are you giving him ... are you drugging him" (like i would do that!??) and i said "its infants friend" and he wanted to know what it did - and i just snapped "I don't feel like explaining it at 3 in the morning" - and he got all s***ty and went back to bed. Which p***ed me off more, cos i did want his support! But really, if he was truly worried i was "Drugging" Rohan, couldn't he have just read the bottle!!?!??

Anyway, i just want to report that up until last night, i've only been using Infants friend in "desperation" - at 2 or 3 in the morning when everything else has failed. But last night i really wanted a good night's sleep cos the past 2 had been horrors - so i gave Rohan some drops with his 9pm feed, and was planning on giving him some more with his 11pm/12am Expressed BM bottle - but he didn't wake until 2.30am!! So we both got 4.5 hours sleep, and at 2.30 i gave him a few more drops befor his feed and he went straight back to sleep after for another 3.5 hours, and can i say that i feel HUMAN today! I might even be nice to DH!!

So to anyone who hasn't tried Infants friend as a preventative "cure" - please give it a go! I will be using it from now on.

Mim - lovely to hear from you again. Glad Austin is doing well.

L
xx

[aprilbaby]

I got my longest sleep ever last night!!!!:smiliedance:

I fed James at 10.15pm, 3am and then 8am. Oh what bliss it is to sleep for 4 hours straight. :laughing: The best part was, I didn't even give him an EMB, so I know he can sleep for that long without it.

I'm glad I did try giving him the bottle though, because it showed me that he does get sleepy and pull away before he's had enough milk. If I was BFing when he did that I'd think he'd had enough and i'd put him down, but now i know that's why he's getting hungry two hours later. So last night i kept waking him, changing his nappy etc, which took longer but then he settled suprisingly quickly and slept for four hours.

Also, with today being such a wet wintery day when my DH brought him in to me at 8am (after I woke with a shock when I realised what the time was!) I fed him in bed and then we dozed together until 11am! What a lovely way to spend the day, snuggling my beautiful boy!

On the subject of EMB, it got me thinking and I wanted to see what you all thought...Before this week I haven't given him the bottle because I have found feeding very easy and enjoyable and I didn't feel the need. (Also, I don't want anyone feeding him but me, I know it's silly!) But after he took the bottle so well the other night I thought how easy it was giving the bottle and then found myself thinking 'should I take a bottle when we go out for lunch on Sunday coz it would be easier?'

But I didn't because I'm worried if I start giving more EMB my supply might go down and eventually dry up, which would be devastating because i want to feed for at least 6-9 months. Anyway, it got me wondering whether alot of mums start to give the occasional EMB and then find they are BFing less and less and then eventually stopping all together. I was just interested to see what your experiences were?

I hope you're all having a good day. Thanks for all the hugs when I was having my down day and :hugs: back to whoever needs them today. xx

[Lisa C]

Aprilbaby - so long ast is the "odd bottle" of EBM it really won't affect your supply. Glad to hear that you had some success with the EBM feed at night - and it's great that you got a good night sleep witout it too!!

[Mischief]

Lisa C - Thank you for your support. :hugs: I'm expressing for several reasons. Number 1 - I couldnt fill him up off an evening...my supply was almost non existant by 3pm. Number 2 - I just feel very stressed and uptight about him sucking....I know its suppost to feel natural and make you bond better...but I felt so uncomfortable. Number 3 - Its nice to be able to let Steven feed him of an evening/weekend/early morning sometimes so that he can bond with Ollie too, and I can get things done around the house.

I was given heaps of advice about expressing...and that my supply would get worse, but its improved no end. I expressed every 2 hours during the day for 3 days and my supply has boosted. Its not brilliant of an afternoon, but I do get a feed for him each express...before i was lucky to get half a feed.

April Baby...you supply shouldnt be affected by the odd bottle of EBM...but if you are worried try to express just before you go out...that way you arent missing a "feed" its just being moved to a little earlier than you usually have. :)

I feel better today. Steven and I had a good talk last night, and it was nice to get everything off my chest. Today he asked his manager if he can change his work hours to 630am-3pm and was told YES! So thats brilliant. He will do the early morning feed and then go to work, and he'll be home nice and early so we can go to the shops or just spend time together. :)

[joe]

Hi Everyone!
Well just thought I would say hello. I weighed Nathan today and he was 5.95kgs :eek: - no wonder my back is getting sore when I carry him around now. He went on his first outing to the hardware store on the weekend and was a little angel. When I take him to the shops with me he whinges and cries - maybe he only likes to do 'boys shopping' not the girly shopping that I do.....just like his dad I suppose. I also got some Infants panandol in preparation for this weeks needles and some Infacol drops which I am trying out today to see if it makes him any happier during the day.
We are going to our first BubHub outing this week, a morning at a park and are looking forward to it. I haven't been getting out and about much lately so this will be a good start.
Well hope everyone is having a good day!
Joe

Forgot to ask - has anyone tried Infacol as opposed to Infants friend drops. Is there a reason why everyone seems to get Infants friend instead of the other brands? The chemist I went to didn't have infants friend.

[shanz]

Hi all. Looks like everyone is slowly settling in to parenthood. We have been good. have blake's 4 week check up on wed. so it will be good to see what he is doing weight and height wise. Although i am seeing a difference in his length but he doesn't seem to be "fattening up" much. So i have been a bit worried he isnt getting enough milk.
Stev only went back to work this week and that left me all alone to do everything. I survived but it was nice having someone to talk to when feeding and someone to help out with bath time and nappy change time. but he only works 2 days then 2 nights and has 4 days off so i have 1 more night with just me and blake before he finishes for the week.....thankfully. Its weird i have managed absolutely fine but its just having steve in bed beside me,just in case i need him. that i miss.
Well better go,get some work done before they wake up.

[aprilbaby]

glad to hear you're feeling better Kat, and good news about your DH working less! :)

[Georgie'smama]

Hig girls- i usually bf when my babies are havign injections. It relaxes them and they don't cry as much afterwards. Someone recently showed me an article that a study has been done on it, so i thought i'd post the link:

http://www.nelh.nhs.uk/hth/baby_pain.asp

Anyway, i had an amazing night last night. In the day we went to the beach so i don't know if the sea air had anyhting to do with it, but Christina slept from 8:30 till 5am!!!! I don't know what hit me this morning. 8 1/2 hours is amazing- i feel so full of energy this morning, i am trying to do a million things at once, and my 2 year old is dragging me down- he has gonre all clingy this morning-typical! lol
Anyway i gotta go and do housework and stuff-love to all, and sleep vibes to everyone who needs them (And who doesn'1!!!) Also re the grumpy wife thign- it does pass, i got it real bad with George, but this time i am much more relaxed and onlu het it once in a while. Since we can talk about anything here- is anyone making love yet? I just can't seem to get in the mood, especially when i have a child int he room- it just feels wrong :shame: :thumbsdown:

[mylittleangel]

We aren't making love yet. I am still bleeding though. I do miss being intimate by the time I get to bed I am so tired, and DH usually stays up with bubs anyway. I do get lonely.

Mara xxx

[jmacg]

Georgie's mum thanks for the article I bf while she had the heel prick test and she didn't even flinch.

April Baby I was like you I was worried that if I gave Gaia bottles she would prefer this and my supply would drop. My parents have looked after her a couple of times and give her bottles. She is MUCH quicker drinking from the bottle but apart from that no difference. My supply hasn'tdropped at all. On the nights when I missed feeds I wake up and my breasts are really full and a bit sore so i expressed that and had enough to BF her first morning feed. i would say go for it I am enjoying BF Gaia but is nice to know there are options in case we go out or if i was ill.

Joe's mum enjoy your outing I thought about going but my parents are here from the UK and want to spend time with them. Have another week with them. Will go to the next one though.

pleased for you that your DH will be around more Kitkat

:hugs: to all Jx

[Mischief]

Since we can talk about anything here- is anyone making love yet? I just can't seem to get in the mood, especially when i have a child int he room- it just feels wrong

Well Ive been feeling 100% against it....but last night it happened...it just felt right. After talking to Steven and getting all my feelings out I felt much closer to him...:o

It was a little uncomfortable, didnt hurt like I was scared it was going too. And once everything got back in the swing off things it was pretty nice. :D

I think maybe the closeness that making love creates has a lot to do with me feeling better emotionally today. :)

[2SPUNKRATZ]

NO WAY!!! NOT A CHANCE IN HELL!!! i have not made love yet!!!! i am terrified!!! especially after having the infection in my uterus. it just feels so wrong for now. i feel bad for DP but i just cant stand the thought of it. i have my post natal check with the gyno on thursday, hope that goes ok. i may consider it provided they say everything is ok. but i am still absolutely terrified about it. does anyone else feel this scared about it???


well, i need some advice/opinions. i have been trying to express some for marius as on the 24th we are meant ot be going to a comedy show and i will be leaving him with my mum. i cant even seem to get a full 25ml. and no, thats not a typo, i did write 25. surely there should be way more than that right. marius feeds great and is putting on weigt fine, he is getting enough according to the child health nurse, so why cnat i seem to get this expressing to work properly?? anyone got any advice on how to be able to express more. how long should it take to express a decent amount? what is a decent amount of expressed? i am so confused about it. PLEEEEASE HELP!!!

i dont use infants friend, i use braeurs colic relief, its all natural and seems to work fine.

well im off to bed.
take care all,
xxoo

[Lisa C]

I'm with you Jess - feeling quite anxious about having sex again.... i had an episiotomy and while it has healed fine, something does feel "odd" down there. I have my 6 week check with my Ob today, so hopefully she will check it all out and make sure everything has healed properly, and then i guess it will be a case of slow and steady when we do get around to it. I think i need a bit more sleep before i can be bothered though.

Also Jess on the expressing deal, i can only ever get 50ml at a time. And sometimes it takes ages - well, half and hour/45 minutes to get that much. I was actually going to ask Kat about it, because i could never express an entire feed in one go. If i need to express a full feed for Rohan, i normally have to do it in 3 batches. And mornings are the best time to express i find, because normally Rohan has his biggest gaps between feeds overnight, so my boobs are at their fullest in the morning. In fact, my boobs rarely ever feel "full" during the day, cos he's on them so much.

I think i have read somewhere that babies are much more proficient at getting milk out of the breast than any expressing pump, so you are probably right in that Marius can get a full feed easily, but it is much more difficult for us to do so.... For the record i have a Medela Harmony manual pump (the gun type, not the bicycle pump style - IYKWIM). Kat - any advice would be good!!

L

[aprilbaby]

Jess, are you using an electric pump? I'm sure you could get more with that than a manual. I could not be bothered to sit there pumping manually, it would drive me nuts. Also, are you doing it in the morning or at night? Supply is always much more in the morning. And are you getting 25mls from one side or both?

It is true that your baby can get more out of your breast than a pump, so don't worry that Marius isn't getting enough, he would be crying and unsettled if he wasn't.

I find if I express from one side after my morning feed I can get about 80mls (he he hasn't feed from that side.) I'm sure everyone is different though so I don't think there would be a 'normal' amount.

[hummingbird]

On the odd occasion that I have expressed I was only able to get about 20-60ml off one boob. The other boob was usually empty because I would express after Sienna would feed and she was at that time, just feeding off one boob. I found that my supply was much greater in the early morning, or if she slept for a long time (very rare!) and 'missed' a feed. I have three bottles in the freezer with 130ml each of breast milk and each bottle took me between 2-4 pumps to fill that much. Because of all the effort involved I am now just waiting for a really really really special opportunity for them to be used! She's probably needing more than 130ml per feed now. Doh!

In regards to sex, having had a caeser I haven't had the issues regarding 'down below', but that being said, we had a go in week three and I was sore for a whole day afterwards. I think it was from the friction. Apparently with bf you don't get as lubricated (sorry if TMI) as easily. Since then we have done it about once a week and it is totally on my terms insofar as me not being tired and me actually being the one in the mood for it. Poor DH thinks he's died and gone to heaven anytime I raise my eyebrows and **** my head in the general direction of the bedroom. Oh, and Sienna's in her own room but that still doesn't stop me from thinking about how strange it is to have another person in earshot....

[TrulyBlessed]

Hey guys, for those of you who are expressing I have found that if I have a warm-hot shower before expressing I get alot more milk out. And there always seems to be more milk in the breast in the morning. I can get a whole 125ml bottle full when I have the warm shower first (and thats with a manual pump). Also try sitting slightly forward that way gravity is helping out too. If you are having too much trouble try contacting the Australian Breastfeeding Assoc. They will be able to give you some more pointers.

[Mischief]

Hey girls...here is my advice for expressing.

1 - It takes a few days for it to work properly....the first few times I did it I couldnt get my flow to go....just a few drops at a time....You need to really relax, its alot harder to get "let down" expressing than BF.

2 - Feed on one breast and then express the other one....Your baby will help get the let down happening....if you can (I couldnt) express one breast while your baby is feeding on the other.

3 - If you are feeding and expressing dont be supprised if you can only get a few mls off afterwards....You are only making about what your bub wants to drink...

4 - Do it in the morning, and if you have a time when you know your bub is going to sleep for 3 hours or so, express about an hour after they go down, that way it gives you plenty of time to get more milk for the next feed.

5 - Massage Massage Massage....if you rub your breasts before you start expressing....especially in a HOT shower or bath, it helps heaps...and when you are expressing massage from the top down towards your nipples...especially pay attention to the area under your arm and under the breast...this is where the most milk nodes are.

6 - Electric pumps are great!!!!

Goodluck girls!!!!!

[2SPUNKRATZ]

thanx everyone for the advice on expressing. i am actually using an electric pump and it is about 25 ml from both sides combined. i know marius is getting full enough. i actually leaned forward while feeding him this morning and he fed so much better so i will try it with thre expressing aswell. i couldnt beleive how quick he finished his feed while i was letting gravity help. and he seemed more full than he has in a long time. he is asleep now and i reckon he will stay that way for a nice long sleep probably.

yaaaaay!!!! i just tried leaning over while expressing. it worked much better. i got just over 40 mls FROM ONE SIDE and its not even morning its midday. i could probly get way more in the morning then. woooot!! hehe.

im so glad you are all understanding the whole sex situation. im just gonna wait and see what the gyno has to say and go from there.

well take care all, talk again soon,

jess

[Mischief]

Well after my DH and MIL told me they dont think I feed Oliver enough, it was GREAT to go to the CHN today!

He has grown soooo much. He's the lenght of the average 4 month old, and he's above average for his weight. My little baby now weighs 5.43kg and is 62cm long. Dawn was really happy with his progress and said I'm doing a great job with him.

He's smiling, holding his head up, and is really alert and focusing on EVERYTHING.

I felt so great when we had to undress him...he got upset and when Dawn went to move him to measure him he looked straight for me. It was the most amazing feeling to feel so needed....and wanted! :)

I didnt fare so well though....I had the PND quiz and scored 16...Dawn has asked me to go back in 2 weeks and re take the test. She said that anything over 12 is cause for concern. She is hoping that the new mothers group will help me...it starts this Thursday, I'm looking forward to that. And again what the Dr said...that if I feel worse and 3 days out of 7 becomes 4 or more or I dont feel like I can cope with my feelings myself...I need to get myself back and get some help. She said there is a PND support group run from the center that is really good, and the GP would want to give me some medication if I get worse. Its nice to know there is support right there. I feel like I can cope on my own at the moment though.

Wow...I cant belive that 7 weeks has gone by all ready!!!! Anyone else having this feeling? :)

As for the sex issue....girls, when you feel ready, you will know it. Sunday I told Steven to stop being so cuddly and stuff, cause it was making me feel pressured.....Sunday night it just felt right....

Take it a day at a time. I felt much more ready once the Dr said it was all okay. Lisa C....it does hurt a little bit after the episiotomy, its kinda like your first time all over again....but its not horrible...just uncomfortable....it will take time to feel 100% again I'm sure.

[angcaltam]

Just thought I would let you all know that Shandi ended up back in hospital at about 3ish Tuesday / yesterday morning. She has Gall Stones, she is still waiting to see if they are going to operate or not. I will let you all know when I know.

As for us, well, Tamara's teeth are still giving her hell but there is nothing we can do. I just wish they would make up their minds if their coming or going.

DH has had the last 2 days off work with the flu. But he is going back tomorrow.:crying:

Well, I had better go and get some sleep. I will post again soon.

[Mischief]

Sorry to hear Tamara is still so sore Katherine....the poor little thing!!!!

Pass my love onto Shandi, I hope she is better really soon! :hugs:

GTG for now...Ollie just woke up! LOL

[2SPUNKRATZ]

i just wanted to say,

YAY!!! 40ml 1 side 50ml the other this morning. god gravity works wonders hehe.

thanx for all the advice.

[Mischief]

YAY Jess! :) Thats great news!

Has anyone else started their New Mothers Group yet? Whats it like? I'm nervous and excited!

[angcaltam]

Just Thought I Would Let You All Know That They Are Going To Operate On Shandi We Aren't Sure Yet When But She Should Have It Done By The End Of Next Week

[angcaltam]

Yep But Blake Gets To Stay At The Hospital With Her So Thats Good

[Lisa&Davey]

Katherine> Please tell Shandi I'm thinking of her. My SIL had the same thing a couple of months ago. It would be so hard with a new baby. They said it's one of the most painful things you can have. I hope Tamara is feeling better soon.

Kitkat> Sorry to hear you're a bit down. Make sure you look after yourself. If you're ever feeling down make sure you come and chat to us. A problem shared is a problem halved.

Hi everyone else. Thanks for the well wishes for Davey.

It's a bit of a long story but I'll fill you all in on what's going on with Davey:

All things considered, we went really well in Perth. Davey and I were at PMH from Tuesday to Friday. It felt like forever and I'm still waiting for some results of genetic and screening tests they've done but things look pretty good. There's nothing structurally wrong with his eyes. :smiliedance: *Yay!* He has something called 'delayed optical maturity' and a little bit of muscle weakness which in itself is not a huge concern. It's got to do with the forming of the connections between the eyes and the brain. He will need to be reviewed every 6 weeks just to be on the safe side but it will hopefully fix itself.

It's funny because I had 3 lots of peadiatricians and their students tell me 'he'll definitely need glasses' but he doesn't. Well not in the immediate future at least.

If he's not 100% up on development for his age within 12 weeks they will do further investigation like MRI and catscan. They won't do it at this age unless there's a huge worry as he would have to go under anaesthetic. Which is risky enough with a bubby but I also have a family history of allergy to anaesthetic. Hopefully it will all be fine and not come to that though.

We had a few stresses during our stay. He had to have a heap of tests. It was heart breaking to have to hold him down as he screamed. I'm so glad it's over for now. They thought he had hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and I had to wait 24 hours for the results. I swear it was the longest 24 hours of my life. Thank goodness it just turns out he has big brains. :D

The brilliant thing is Saturday night he started laughing! It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen or heard. I may or may not have cried. :p I wish I had it on camera. He stoppd by the time I had it up and running. Ever since then he's been smiling heaps. He really is developing in leaps and bounds.

One excellent thing that came from our hospital stay was proper treatment for his reflux (they confirmed he does have it). It's so simple, I just feed him a little bit of thickener before, during and then after his feed. It works really well. We have also thrown the routine out the window as they said little frequent feeds are best for babies wih reflux. It's also increasingly difficult to put him to bed at set times because he just lies there babbling and smiling while I try to pat him to sleep. I don't want to leave him and miss out on any of that time with him.

Other than that his muscle development is a bit behind but they're just going to keep an eye on that as well. I'm sure in 12 weeks it will all be fine and I will be one happy mummy. That's about everything I think.....

And.... I got to see Austin, nanah-nah-nana-nah! Mim, he is beautiful! I can't believe Davey was once that small.

I got Davey's birth certificate today. How exciting.

It's good to be home! (Sorry for the essay - I had to make up for lost time :D )

[angcaltam]

Lisa, I'm glad everything is turning out with Davey. I will let shandi know that you are thinking of her. We are still not sure when they are going to operate, but hopefully it will be sooner rather than later because I know first hand how painful it can be, I had to have my Gall bladder out after I had Caleb. As for Tamara, I have had a rough day with her, she can be nice and peaceful just laying there or even be asleep and all of a sudden she will just start to scream.:crying: It would just be her teeth, but I hate it when there is nothing you can do to stop the pain, just let them know your there.

Tamara is having her 2 month needles next Wednesday, I'm not looking forward to them. Mark comes with me to get them done because he has to hold the kids. I go in, but can't watch or hold them. I'm a big sook.:crying:

Well, I've been feeling really down today, just feel like I can't do anything right and that everyone is judging me for putting Tamara on the bottle, maybe if she had a tooth fully through that they could clearly see then it would be different. Sorry but I just feel so down and out about everything, including the support that I'm meant to be getting at home but feel like I'm not, and the one person that I always run to to talk about these sorts of things is Shandi, but I don't want to put all this on her at the moment.

Anyway, thanks for listening, I'm going to go and give Tamara her last bottle for today and go to bed to hopefully get some :sleeping: .

Thanks for listening.

[hummingbird]

Katherine, I am sure you are doing an amazing job. I just don't know how you do it with two other kids to think about aswell. Just remember that you are giving all your best for little Tamara, and despite the screaming sessions, I am sure she's a happy bub whose glad her mum is around for lots of cuddles. Please pass on my thoughts to Shandi. I've heard gallbladder problems can be hell.

Lisa, glad to hear that Davey's problems should sort themselves out. The waiting game must be difficult.

Sienna has got my cold again. Just when I thought I was getting over it, another cold comes along to give us stuffy noses and sore throats all over again. We bought one of those aspirators and used it for the first time last night. She screamed the house down but it worked a treat and she was able to breathe normally for a few hours at least. It was a bit intimidating and scary putting the saline drops in. She sucked it all back and didn't know what was going on! Then whilst DH held her I had to suck it all out. It was really quite amazing how much snot came out! I did it on my own again this morning and it is just heart breaking to hear them scream and cry that cry that's saying 'Oh my god - why are you torturing me for??'. I just keep thinking that this is what it is going to be like for her needles (will be keeping the bf idea in mind for sure). I keep putting off her needles until she is 100% healthy again so we are booked in now for next Tuesday.

[mim]

Hey guys,
We had Austins needles today. It was horrible :crying: . The nurse didn't want to do it to him because he is so little. He screamed and screamed. I don't remember it being that bad with my other two. But after a cuddle he calmed down and I was getting smiles and chuckles all afternoon :) .

Katherine, please don't feel down about formula feeding. Whatever anyone else thinks doesn't matter. You know what's best for the two of you.
Send my best wishes to Shandi, poor thing.
Lisa :smiliedance: Yay for Davey! He'll catch up in no time. He is such a gorgeous (big!) boy!

Is anybody else finding that they get to the end of each day and have done absolutely nothing?
All I'll get done is a tidy up, the dishes and taking Conan to kindy and back (and look after the kids!) And if I go out, then the tidy up has to wait. It's crazy. I must of had heaps of spare time before :confused:

Anyway lots to do, so little time....

Anne xxx

[angcaltam]

Thanks girls for making me feel like I'm doing the right thing. I'm glad she is on Formula because you should have seen her chewing on the teats of her bottles today, now that would have really hurt if she was still BF. Plus, Shandi goes under the knife tomorrow at 1:30pm, so I'm able to leave the kids with DH while I go and sit with Steve and little Blake while she is having her operation and I don't have to worry about if Tamara is going to want a feed while I'm not home.

Anyway, better go and see if she is going to wake up for her last bottle or not so I can try and get some sleep so I don't fall asleep on Steve and Blake tomorrow.:sleeping:

I will tell Shandi that you are all thinking of her, even though I did start up a thread to wish her luck and nobody replied to it.:crying:

I will let you all know how she goes.

[Georgie'smama]

just popped in to say that someone gace me a tip on expressing that i haven't seen on here yer (maybe u all know and that's why it hasn't been mentioned?) i got given an electric pump but haven't got on with it so have gone back to my manual avent pump. i get on well with it and have had it since i had george so am quite proficient, but some told me if you take of the plastic 'cushoiny' thing then you get more 'suck' and i tried it today-omg! i got twice what i would usually get!!

best wishes to shandi-see she even has wishes from across the ocean! am seniding get well soon vibes!

lisa-so glad things are turning round-he is beautiful!

kitkat-we are here for you.

ok-got one for you girls, my normally placid lil girl has had a coupla screaming fits. last night she wouldn't settle at all, and today she has had a coupla fits too. she isn't colicky- no legs drawn up or anything, and hen she isnt screaming she is her normal smiley self.she is feeding well,and has plenty of wet nsappies. any idesa?

[Mischief]

Lisa C - I'm so glad to hear that your little mans eyes are going to be okay! It must be such a relife for you!!! YAY!!!! Evening if the worst does happen and he has glasses...little boys look so cute in glasses...it makes them look all grown up! LOL :)

Katherine - You have to do what is right for YOU. Dont let what others say get you down. My MIL is really disapproving that I am bottle feeding Ollie, even though its still EBM. But the thing is...she has had her chance to be a mum...5 times over...this is MY TIME, and I'm going to do it MY WAY. Just remember that! I went into work yesterday and at least 2 MEN commented on my giving Ollie a bottle. I felt like I had to explain myself to them...but at the end of the day, tuff...Ollie is doing well and he doesnt seem to care that its a bottle! THAT IS THE IMPORTANT THING...that YOU and your BABY are happy. Stuff everyone else! :yes:

Everyone - Thanks for your encouragement and support while Ive been down. Its so upbuilding! :hugs: On a positive note, I havent had a down day for a few days.....It was good talking to Steven, the CHN, and ive felt better since I got everything off my chest.

We had mothers group yesterday. It was so much fun.....there is even a lady in the group whos son is the same age as Ollie and she lives just around the corner from me. So we are hoping to catch up and bit and go walking with the bubbas!

Then we went into work to see everyone. Sarah one of my girlfriends heard Ollie in the hall (he wanted FOOD NOW) and she came running down to steal him from me! Its funny...you would thing the women are the cluckiest....but its the MEN that really got clucky! Even the Company Secretary who is very quiet and stayed most of the time...he pops his face down to Ollie and coos "helloooo there little man....." LOL

Enough rambling now!!! GTG Someone wants my attention! :wave:

[hummingbird]

Don't worry Katherine - I am not only a thread killer, but I hardly ever get responses to threads I start. Sometimes it can feel like the school playground all over again!:D

[Mischief]

Hugs to Katherine and Siobhan....you arent thread killers. I always love reading your posts!!!! :hugs:

Katherine...where is the thread for Shandi? I didnt see it....but I'm not always the most observant person! :rolleyes:

[angcaltam]

Kat I put the thread under general chat, it's called Get better soon Shandi.

Thank you so much for your support ladies. I just wish that everyone else would be as understanding as you ladies. If only they all knew how I felt about putting Tamara on the bottle, I felt like I had failed her and it was the very last resort. I would have expressed if I could be she had done that much damage that I couldn't. But Tamara is happy and I'm happy that she is happy and healthy so that is all that matters, I know that now.

Siobhan, You aren't a thread killer, but I must say I don't think I've seen any threads started by you, but just remember I'm looking through tired eyes.:yes: :sleeping:

Well, I best keep going, I have a few things to do before I can go up to the hospital. I'm going up to keep Steve and Blake company while Shandi is having her operation. My DH is coming home early to look after the kids for me so I can be there for them.

[angcaltam]

Mandy,
I will jump on the computer and post as soon as I get home from the hospital. I'm just glad that they aren't stuffing her around like they did to me. I think Caleb was about 3 months old when I had to have mine out, not fun at all.

Well, better keep trying to get things done.

[Mischief]

Hey Mandy! I dont know if Ive said it, but your little girl is beautiful!!!! :)

Katherine - Dont let them get to you. You know you are doing the best thing...who cares if your bub is BF or FF, as long as Tamara is going well then its not an issue. BF and FF both have their advantages and disadvantages!! :hugs:

Hey, has anyone heard from Priya?? She's been very quiet!!!

[aprilbaby]

Hi girls,

Katherine, please pass on my best wishes to Shandi, sorry I didn't write in your thread but i didn't see it. Hope it all goes well, I'll be sending good vibes! And like the others have said, don't beat yourself up about the FF, when Tamara has grown up to be a happy heathy girl she is not going to look back and feel deprived because she got her milk from a different outlet!! You're doing what's best for you and her, and that makes you the best Mum you can be.

Lisa, so glad to hear everything is ok with Davey. I can't imagine the stress and worry you must have gone through having to do all those tests. I am REALLY happy for you he's ok. :hugs:

Kat, glad to hear you're feeling better. Communication is a wonderful thing and we forget sometimes we have to spell it out for our DH. But it's not their fault they're less evolved than us!!

We're doing great, we had a few longer sleeps this week so that was good. Also, my Mum has booked a last minute trip to see us for the weekend, so I'm really excited about that. It's only been three weeks since she saw James, but he's changed so much in that short time.

Today's a wet and wintery day in Sydney and this morning after the 5am feed I brought James into bed with me and we snuggled and slept until 11!! (with a little feed in between.) I LOVE doing this, I can soo understand why people co-sleep now, and to think i was so against it before I had him - just goes to show you shouldn't judge til you're in the situation. It's just so much easier to pop them on when they wake, you can just lie with your eyes closed next to them instead of getting up and sitting alone in a cold lonely house. And he sleeps for so much longer when he's next to me, he would never sleep that long in his cot.

BUT I know I'll have to stop doing it soon otherwise he might get too used to it (or I might get to used to it!) and it will be hard to get him out later. But for now i'm just going to enjoy it, it's just too beautiful waking up to see a little angel face looking back at me. :yes:

Hope everyone's doing well, have a great weekend. xx

[Mischief]

Aprilbaby - I wish I could co sleep! It sounds good! Unfortunately I'm a restless sleeper, and a pillow that was under my head often ends up under my chest with my arms wrapped around it! I figure its proably not a good idea to put the little man in bed with me!!! :O

We had our first bath together in the 'big bath" today. Steven usually bathes Ollie because I cant hold him and wash him like he can. And he has put him in the big bath with him before. But the little fella decided to wee when I was chaning him and it got his suit, so I had to change him anyway.

It was great fun. I wish Steven had been here to take a photo of us though! LOL He didnt like getting out of the bath so much....cause I had to pop him down on a towel while I quickly dried myself off...he was quiet indignant about that!

[aprilbaby]

Kat - having a bath together is so good! I wish we had a bath so I could do it more often. It is abit tricky getting them and you out though isn't it?!

As for being a restless sleeper, I was worried about that too at first, I was scared I would roll over or the covers would go over his head or something. But i just tuck him in the bend of my elbow and my lie chest to chest, so neither of us can move anywhere. And I put him on the other side of me to DH, coz he probably would roll onto him he sleeps so heavily. Come to think of it, poor DH has been replaced a bit. Me with my back to him cuddlying and kissing my new boy. Luckily he's not the jealous type!!!

[priya]

hi,

SHANDI- Best of luck.

Kat- I am here. I just wanted to share that ria is now sleeping for five hours straight at the night either from 10 to 2 or 11 to3 but after that she wakes up after every 2 hrs. She is awake a lot more during day that's why i cannot log on as much as before. The rocker which we bought is a godsend for us because she loves sitting on it so i can do the stupid housework. I don't enjoy doing it after her birth. All i want to do is to play with her and now i have to do the work of two babies[DH included].
I don't think that breastfeeding and bottle feeding should be seen as an issue. None of my sisters or SIL BF. I have made bottles for my nephews and niece. They consider it as a daunting task because they find it very hurting and encourage me a lot. I also think that i will BF till her teeth erupts[6-7 months approx].

I think that my periods have returned back. I am bleeding heavily for the last two days with the same cramps and backpain though the pain is a lot less. There was no bleeding for 5 days before that, only slight discharge[mucous]. Sorry if TMI. I should observe for 3-4 days more and then call the doc. What do you all think?
Please suggest.

Mandy - I think that i should call you emmas mama from now on. It is so cute.

Kat - Ollie looks cute and grown up a lot since the last photo.

Love you all.

[priya]

hi,

just wanted to add that ria is cosleeping with us since her birth. She cannot sleep in her cot, god knows why. I think that the cot will make a good haven for DH's clothes.:) I am trying my best to get her sleep in her cot because i have to be a lot more conscious when she is sleeping with us.

Love.

[hummingbird]

I am so not looking forward to getting my period again - one good thing about being pregnant...

I was co-sleeping with Sienna a bit at the start but not so much anymore. Once in a while, like in the early morning when all you want to do is sleep in for that extra couple of hours. I also agree that they sleep for much longer like this. Aprilbaby - we have the same technique, though after a couple of hours I have to pull my arm out as it goes numb!

[2SPUNKRATZ]

helllooooo ladies!!!! its my birthday in 2 days. yaaay!!! i will be 22!!
wentout for dinner with family and a few friends tonight to celebrate cause its a long weekend and all my family is going away. it was a nice night.

i co-sleep with marius as the nights seem to get quite cold even with the heater on. he sleeps really well when we co-sleep. bout 6 hours at a time. i do put him in the basinett still sometimes. but he always ends up back in my bed. usually cause he wakes for a feed and i feed him then fall asleep together while im burping him. hehe. also, im a huuuuuge fan of sleep lol so i will do anything for more of it, iclding co-sleeping. my sister did it with all 3 of her kids and didnt have trouble getting them back in there bed.

priya - if you are having trouble getting ria to sleep in her cot, try putting her in it for her day sleeps. at least 1 sleep a day, and gradually build it up. im not saying it will definately work but give it a go. i am putting marius in his cot for at least 1 sleep a day atm so when he moves to the cot, he will be more used to sleeping in it. and it wont be so daunting for him.

marius is due for 8 week shots in 6 days. eek!! im scared.

i am sooo not looking forward to getting my periods back. i think i deserve some extra 'no period time' after all the **** i went through. i bled enough when he was born lol.

katherine - i didnt see any post for shandi or i would have replied. please send her my best wishes.

well i gotta feed my frog, and my son lol. then i think its bed time.

xxoo to all.
take care, until next time,
jess

[angcaltam]

Hi all,
Well, I got home from the hospital about 9:15pm. Shandi's operation went smoothly and Blake was a good boy for Daddy and Aunty Katherine, I even got to give him a bottle.:D We are hoping that she gets to go home tomorrow but it could be Sunday. The Dr will see her in the morning and hopefully decide then when she can go home. I passed on all your well wishes.

Ok, better go and do some bottles so I can go to bed.:sleeping:

P.S. Thanks for all your support and understanding, it has made me feel so much better about having Tamara on the bottle. I knew I could count on you ladies for the support that I need.:yes:

[joe]

Hello everyone! I am happy to report that all this week Nathan has been sleeping from 7.30pm to 3.30am and then goes back to sleep until about 7.30am :smiliedance: . I didn't think it was ever going to happen. No improvement during the day though, he still feeds about every two hours but I can cope with this after a good nights sleep. At the 3.30am feed my boobs are so full that he only feeds from one side so have started expressing the other side (by hand, no pump) and freezing it. I hadn't tried expressing before and could not believe how much milk came out!! I will try him out with a bottle tomorrow just to make sure he will drink it before I end up with a freezer full of milk. I hope he takes to it so I can go out and not have to worry about getting home in time for his next feed - I can't get a whole lot done in between his 2 hourly feeds.
We had a lovely day out in the park this week with the other bubhub mums. It was so good to get out of the house and talk with other mums, we will definately be going along to the next one.
Have a good weekend!

[mim]

Katherine, I'm glad to hear Shandi's operation went well. Please send her my best wishes for a speedy recovery :) .

Errrgghhh I almost forgot about good ol' Aunt Flo :( . She didn't return with my first two till they were both 6 months old, so fingers crossed they stay away as long this time. Especially since I'm not having any more babies, so AF just seems kinda pointless!

If you guys are co-sleeping, don't stress too much that they'll never sleep in there own bed. We co-slept with our first two, but they were both in their cots full-time by 6 months. I'll be doing the same with Austin. He sleeps in his bassinet for the first half of the night, then when he wakes up I bring him into bed, chuck him on the boob and fall back asleep! He just wakes me up when he wants to feed again. I'd never get any sleep if I didn't co-sleep part of the time. Though I do enjoy having half the bed to myself when he is in his bassinet!
Austin actually went for 5 hours between feeds last night :smiliedance: . I'm stoked. I hope he does it again soon!

Is anyone else still bleeding? It's been nearly nine weeks and I'm still bleeding on and off. It's hardly anything now though. My doc reckons I'll have to have an ultrasound soon if it doesn't stop. I just really don't want to end up having a D&C :(

Anyway, take it easy guys

Anne xxx

[Mischief]

Jess - Happy birthday for Sunday! :) I'm glad you had a great dinner! Oh and AMEN to no periods! Ive had enough stuff from down there too!!!

Priya - I'm soooo glad that Ria is sleeping better! Thats brilliant! During the day if she is waking all the time, try to stretch her at least 3 hours between feeds (thats from the start of the last feed....not from the end), she will hopefully drink alot when she has her feed then, and sleep longer. If she's waking every hour or so and wanting a feed, she might be "snacking". You will find she will settle into her own little routine though and you will be able to pretty much set your clock by it! :yes:

I think my period may be returning too...Ive had a little bit of bloody discharge today, and I had sharp pains like ovulation pains today. We will see. Im expressing all of Ollies feeds, so I shouldnt get them back (breastfeeding) but I know it happens because there is only 11 months between 2 of my aunties!

Ummmm.....sex question. How long does it hurt/feel uncomfortable for once you resume? Anyone got the answer??? :o

Oliver got his first MAN clothes yesterday. He wore them out to an engagement party today. He looked so grown up, it was cute and sad! I was soooo wanting to get him into little cargos and jackets, but once he was in them I felt like the time is just slipping away too fast! Once we got home and put him back in his gro-suit Steven and I were both so much happier. He looks like a baby again!

The party was good though. I caught up with people I havent seen for ages, and my goodness....most of them have kids! LOL So next week we are starting up our own little mothers group....wednesdays we will meet up and alternate houses!

[Mischief]

Katherine - I'm glad Shandi's opperation went well! Pass on my love.

Mim - Fingers crossed for you. I have heard that the lochia can last 12 weeks for some women or more. I really hope you settle soon. Its different for everyone though. My Dr was worried because I had bright red bleeding for 4 weeks, and only the last week turned pinky.....she was throwing around the D&C threat too. :hugs: Hugs to you.

Joe - Nathan is so cute! Love your av! BTW....pass the milk fairy along to me will you? :)

[mim]

Thanks Kat, I think I'll refuse the ultrasound. If I get to 12 weeks and I'm still bleeding then, I guess I'll have to have one. You made me feel a bit more normal!

I found sex was uncomfortable for a couple of months afterwards. It settled right down after that and I was back to normal. Though it did get really uncomfortable when I was pregnant again :confused: . My only advice is lube up and take it really easily :o . Though I'm sure you already know that!

Anne xxx

[Minke]

Hey all,

Jack went for his 8 week check up on thursday and is now 6.7kg. All is good, except for the teething! Up and down they go.... Bub was really good for a week, but has been cracking up for the last couple of days - now both his bottom teeth are poking through! Its so awful, he sleeping and then just starts screaming! I've never been really big on giving bubs panadol, but I hate seeing him in pain and after seeing what he is doing to his bottle (and dummy if he'll take it) I am glad I'm not BF! And his great routine he was in is out the window again!

Have already got my period again.... But am getting an IUD next friday, so hopefully won't have too many more for the next FIVE years! :smiliedance: No more remembering the pill.... :D

Lisa&Davey, good to hear everything should work out with bubs

Katherine, I notice people looking at me when I bottle feed, but I just ignore it - like my CHN said after my "stress test" with my last bubs i had a really high score, this time I had 3/30! I am enjoying this so much more this time (and no I'm not getting anything done around the house!)

Kat, good to hear you're feeling better!

Am madly trying to organise moving at the moment. DH got a job offer in Townsville (which is where we met) so moving back up north. Only thing I'm worried about is finding a school for DD (the school she goes to here is fantastic and she loves it). I still have friends up there but none of them have kids!

On the co-sleeping thing, my close friend lost her 5 month old to SIDS last year. I'm not saying co-sleeping was the cause, but it has really put me off (i co-slept with DD, she co-slept with all three of her girls) I am not saying this to upset anyone or saying its bad (I still put Jack in bed with us if he wakes up at 6), but what she has gone through is hell and i would feel **** for not saying anything to make people aware. :crying:

And another thing that has put me off co-sleeping is the fact that I still have a 5yr old in my bed!:rolleyes:

Take care

Kel

[joe]

Well the EBM bottle wasn't exactly a hit....
DP tried Nathan out on the bottle this morning - I fed him before I left and was only gone 1.5hrs so I didn't expect him to drink it while I was out but when I got home he had emptied the bottle (after refusing it at first) and was crying for more. There was 130mls which I thought was enough but am now thinking maybe 180mls might have been better? I found a formula in the bottlefeeding thread - weight multiplied by 180ml divided by 8 (3hrly) or 6 (4hrly). Is this the formula that you use Kat??How much does Ollie drink per feed?
Nathan usually feeds every 2 hours during the day so I'm not sure how this will affect it (and he was 6kgs as of last Monday and was putting on about 500gms per week - not sure if this is still the case). I guess I will just keep on expressing at night and freezing it - and try a bigger bottle next time. I worked out today I get 100mls when I express at night from one side :eek: If his appetite keeps up though I might have to invest in a pump.
Katherine - Glad to hear Shandi's op went well. I can't imagine having to go through surgery this soon after having a bub.

[Mischief]

Joe - I dont use any kind of formula for Oliver. What I did was I started writing down what time he got up, how much he drank....ect. So now I know that when he wakes up in the mornings he will want 150ml, when he wakes next he wants 100ml, then after that he wants 180ml, then 130ml.

If you are only giving the occasional bottle and have plenty of milk (I dont thats why I'm pedantic about how much he will drink at what time...tipping some down the drain breaks my heart!) put 180ml in it. Or have 2 bottles in the fridge....one with what you think he will drink, and a spare that you can "top him up" with. Ie...take 50ml out of that bottle and add to the other one if he is still hungry.

[sshellzp]

I cant co-sleep because I only have a very high single bed. Theres a good chance Emerald would fall out so i dont take the risk. And when im at my DB's house me, him and his mum take turns looking after her so im never asleep when she is during the night so its not a problem :D

[aprilbaby]

Kel, I am so sorry to hear that your friend lost her baby to SIDS. I could not even imagine how i would cope if I lost James, it is to unbearable to even think about.

Do you mind if I ask more details on how it happened? I am always worrying about SIDS, is he too hot, too cold? Are the covers tight enough so they can't go over his head etc...

You said it was to do with co-sleeping. Was the baby smothered by blankets or was it unexplainable? Was she/he lying on their stomach?

I hope you don't mind me asking, if it's too personal please don't feel you have to talk about it. I just thought it might help knowing what not to do and if there is anything at all we can learn from it.

ps. :bday: for yesterday Jess!

[priya]

hi everyone,

Kat- Thanks for the advice. I don't know if it wasn't the advice of bubhub what will i do in a country so far away from my home country without any social support.

:kiss: you all for that.

I am finding parenting very challenging. Every day is totally different and you learn different things.

Ria has gone to sleep after continuously crying for 15 minutes even though she was well fed, burped and had a nappy change. Most of the times she sleeps without any drama but it is 3-4 times in a day when she goes to sleep only after crying. I feel helpless because i am rocking her, she is in my arms when she cries i can't do anything. I thought that babies had only one unsettled episode in a day.:no:

I have got a question. When Ria does a poo she becomes hungry immediately and demands a feed even though she has fed before 10 minutes only. I always thought it to be normal. Is it?

Cosleeping with Ria is becoming more and more difficult because the slightest noise made by her keeps me awake and i always feel sleepy throughout the day. But she doesn't want to lie in the cot and wakes up as soon as she is laid. I think that it is better to cosleep with her than keeping both of us awake.

Jess-:bday: . Thanks for the advice about lying Ria in the cot during the daytime. But the problem is that i live in a twostorey unit and most of the time i am downstairs doing the cooking and other stuff [during day] and i want Ria in front of my eyes so it doesn't happen. But i will now restart trying to lie her in the cot.

Enough of :ecomcity:

Love

[2SPUNKRATZ]

priya - you are welcome. when ria is screaming have you tried giving her a light scratch all over her body? babies get itchy to but do not have the co-ordination to scratch themselves. give it a go. also, yes it is normal for her to be hungry after doing a poo. marius is the same. when the poo is in them they feel fuller so they will feed but wont eat enough, then once the poo is out, they need to fill themselves up the rest of the way. also, try laying ria on diffeerent surfaces, lay her on the floor, on your bed, on a soft pillow, a hard suface, when you put her on differnt surfaces, observe her and see how her mod changes. it is quite possible that the firmness or softness of her cot mattress isnt right for her. marius doesnt like to sleep in his bassinette because its to soft, but if i put him in his cot he sleeps much longer because the mattress is harder. he sleeps well on the floor with just a blanket under him aswell. marius likes hard surfaces to sleep on. give that a go and let us know how that works out.

thank you ladies for my birthday wishes. i had a great birthday. i got everything i have been wanting for the past few years. a hair straightener, a new dressing gown, nice new ladies boots, new clothes, hair colour and best of all

A MARRIGE PROPOSAL!!!! woot!!
i get to pick my own ring to. hehe
marius gave me a sleep in for my bday. that was awesome. hehe.
well i better nick off for a bit. lookin forward to hearing from all you ladies again soon.

take care,
jess

[Lisa C]

CONGRATULATIONS Jess!!! How exciting! - And happy be-lated birthday!

Katherine - i hope that Shandi is recovering well - please pass on my best wishes.

L

[angcaltam]

Jess Happy birthday for the other day, and CONGRATULATIONS on your Engagement. That is the best birthday pressie ever.

Shandi is doing great, you can't even tell she has had an operation, only when she shows her war wounds.

Well I had better go and get a few things done.

Sending sleep vibes to all who needs them.

[mim]

:smiliedance: Congratulations Jess! And you get to pick out your own ring! Have you guys set a date yet? Marius will look cute in a tux :laughing: .


Priya - do you have a portacot? You could always try getting Ria to sleep in that downstairs during the day. I've found that once they learn to sleep on their own, it's easy to get them sleeping in a cot at night, a potacot isn't that much different from a regular cot. Or you could take the potacot upstairs at night and let her sleep in that for awhile, then swap to her cot when she is a bit older. I hope this made sense!


Big news! Austin slept for almost 6 hours in his bassinet on Sat night and last night! :smiliedance: I haven't had this much energy in ages! :fingerscrossed: he keeps it up!

Take care everyone

[shanz]

Hi all. Thanks for all the well wishes. I am home again and doing pretty good. Still a little sore. I was so lucky with Blake's birth,this is and was soo much worse!! maybe i shouldnt of bragged at how good my labour etc was!! Oh well.
I was soo lucky to have supportive midwives, yep was admitted to maternity ward so that Blake could stay with me and i didnt have to give up breast feeding. He just had a top up of formula while i was in surgery and all is good.
funny thing was he had a check up the day i was admitted and daddy took him all by himself!! they weighed him and he was 4 kilos(roughly 8lb 13oz) and he is 4 weeks old and still didnt look out of place with the other babies!! one of the ladies in our room had a bub that was 8lb 11oz. so it was very funny.
Well better go and start making my way back to the couch. its nearly feed time and it takes a bit to get set up at the moment.
We are having a bit of fun trying to settle Blake back into things but i am going to go to the sleep settling classes and see if they can give us some more tips.
Bye for now.

[Minke]

Aprilbaby, Don't mind you asking, but will PM you in the next couple of days.

Kelli

[hummingbird]

Hi Priya,

Sienna is 9 weeks now and I can assure you things get so much easier.

I don't know how you feel about using a dummy, but I find that if Sienna is having trouble getting to sleep in her own (usually because she is overtired), I will stick the dummy in and most of the time is works. At first it will fall out a couple of times so you need to be standing close by to pop it back in, but eventually it will fall out, but she'll be out to it and not notice.

If this doesn't work after 4 or 5 goes, then I pick her up and nurse her to sleep with the dummy. She will usually spit the dummy out as she is going to sleep but because she is in my arms she won't cry for it and usually goes to sleep in a few minutes. If she sleeps in my arms, I always wait about 15-20 minutes before attempting to put her down in her cot. But I always only use the dummy when she is crying, not everytime I put her down to sleep.

One other thing that I have found that helps is to wrap her tightly so her arms don't move. She's getting a little older now and they say not to wrap them after 12 weeks so I have been experimenting by wrapping her loosely the last week, and I find it takes her a lot longer to settle as she's constantly trying to suck on her hand, or rubbing her eyes, or whacking herself in the face by accident. So back to wrapping for me!

In regards to the feeding after nappy change, I usually feed Sienna off one boob, then change her nappy and then offer the other boob. Sometimes she will be on the second boob for anywhere between 1-20 minutes.

[hummingbird]

Oh, and congratualtion Jess - that is fantastic news

[aprilbaby]

CONGRATULATIONS JESS!!:smiliedance: That's fantastic news, I'm really happy for you. I absolutely loved planning my wedding, I even considered wedding planning as a job, so if you need any advice let me know!

Kelli, thanks for the PM, I'll look out for it.

Shandi, glad everything went well!

Priya, I find that James is really unsettled until he's done his big poo (or two!) of the day and if it's on it's way out while he's trying to feed he gets really upset because it hurts his tummy and he can't feed properly until it's out, but then he gets more upset because he's hungry and he wants to feed. I find the best thing is to lay him across my lap on his tummy and just rub or pat his back because it helps get the wind out. So this could be a good thing to try with Ria. Actually, this position is a good trick to try anytime she is unsettled, they like the pressure on their tummies and will often fall asleep like this.

I also find that when James is tired and ready for his sleep he will often cry and fight it for a few minutes before he falls asleep. It's as if he doesn't want to go to sleep and miss out on anything!! I find it's best to wrap him, put the dummy in and rock and pat him really firmly and he will fall asleep really quickly.

On the point of being firm, from my experience and from what I've been taught (my Mum works in childcare and has taught me alot) babies really need to feel like you are in control of them and the situation. It might sound strange but they really do feel your energy and 'vibe' and if you're usually calm they will be and if you're really stressed they will be. So, if you hold them firmly as if you know what you're doing (even if you have to fake it sometimes!) they will feel like "My Mum's here and I'm safe and secure' so they will be calm knowing you're in control, but if you're jittery and you hold them like you're nervous and worried they will feel nervous and worried themselves. Which makes sense really.

Of course you won't always feel calm and there will be times when we all feel stressed but you have to trust yourself that you know what you're doing and be firm and confident with Ria, remember, you're her Mum and you know what she needs better than anyone.

This is just my opinion but I hope it's helpful advice and it just might make a difference when she's unsettled.

[Mischief]

Jess - CONGRATULATIONS! What great news! :p

Shandi - Glad to hear you are back and doing OK!!! :hugs:

Priya - Dont worry about Ria's unsettled times. Although alot of babies have one period a day where they are unsettled, many of them dont! They can have an hour or more of unexplained crying per day, but that doesnt mean that its all at the one time! You are doing a great job! Some babies NEED to cry themselves to sleep, its just the way they are....others will always go off without a peep.

[aprilbaby]

Just thought I'd share something you'll all relate to....:D

James is very unsettled today and doesn't want to be put down. So I decided the only way I'd get anything done was to put him in the baby bjorn and go about my day as usual.

But I must say, yoiu know you're life's changed when you're sitting on the loo doing a wee with your baby strapped to your chest!:laughing:

The things a Mumma will do....!

[priya]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the great advice.

Jess- First of all congrats on ur engagement. Nice to hear that you got a lot of gifts. My birthday is on 20th of this month and i am going to demand something special from DH.
On a good note, Ria slept in her cot yesterday night from 10 to 2. Hubby lied her down and she became grumbly, cried intermittently for 15 minutes but he didn't pick her up and then she went to sleep. I think i should give this task to him.

The most comfortable place for her to sleep is my lap.:laughing:
The meaning of my name - my name is priyanka. Priya goes for sweetheart and anka means lap so it is sweetheart's lap for ria.:yes:

Siobhan- If i don't wrap Ria then she becomes very restless. It has become a conditioned reflex for her.
Sienna looks great in her new avatar.

Aprilbaby- DH pats Ria on her back whenever she is unsettled and this calms her a lot. I am a very anxious mummy and always try my best that Ria cries the least but hubby says that sometimes baby want to cry to sleep. So that is it. I think that i should act calmly from nowon.

Kat- Thanks. You are always there with a great advice.

Mim- Thanks.

Shandi- Great to hear that your operation went well.

Love.

[jmacg]

Jess comgratulations on your engagement. I agree with AprilBaby I loved planning my wedding. Enjoy every minute of ther un up to the weddding as wellas your day.

Shandi glad to hear that you are ok.

Gaia is sometimes unsettled and takes a while to go to sleep. We have been putting her mobile on when we put her down and playing the tune. A couple of times she has cried and when I have gone in she has been looking at the mobile. have put the tune on again adn she has gone. Without wanting to sound like Supernanny think having a routine works, whether that is wrapping them, rocking ro whatever your baby likes till they sleep. I do sympathise cos it is tiring when your Bub won't sleep. Gaia is slightly out of routine as my parents have been here and everytime she made a noise my dad would pick her up. :fingerscrossed: can get her back into her sleeping pattern.

Feeling very sad today. My parents went back to the UK this morning, have been here for a month. My dad walked me into the city and was saying what great parents we are, how Gaia is so much more beautiful in real life etc. When he said goodbye to me he was crying. is the first time in my life I have seen him cry. I feel so guilty that we are here and they are missing out on seeing Gaia. Trying to be rational as we are going home at Christmas for over 3 weeks but is so hard. We both love living here, I am not homesick at all but seeing my dad cry is so hard.

Anyway better go and see if my girl needs a feed. My DH will be home soon and he will look after me.

Bye for now Jxx

[hummingbird]

J - I have tears in my eyes reading your post. No wonder you are sad! It is so hard to see our parents, but especially our dads cry as it so rarely happens. He must be so proud and happy for you to see that you are managing so wonderfully in a new country. Just think if Gaia does the same thing when she is older how emotional you will get to see her creating a new path and getting all she can out of life. At least you can now look forward to a reunion in December. These things in life just make you treasure everything so much more, don't they?

Priya, sounds like you are doing a fabulous job - you have to be doing somthing right to get a four hour sleep! Aprilbaby has some sound advice on trying to remain calm (aswell as how to relieve yourself with babe in arms ha ha!)

[Mischief]

I just wanted to say that you are all doing a brilliant job! Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. No matter if your baby is formula fed or breast fed, if it sleeps all night, or is up every hour, if he/she cries for an hour, or for hours....being a mummy is hard work and you are amazing!

Just remember that our babies dont know that we dont know what were are doing (or if we do)....they arent comparing us to anyone....and whatever we do, they think "wow mum, you are so SMART!" :)

Ollie has been very unsettled today, I gave him a bottle of formula yesterday, so I wonder if that is the problem...not sure though...will have to monitor! However, he slept from 8pm - 4am this morning. MY GOODNESS....now we know he can do it, hopefully it will happen more often. I'm not holding my breath just yet though....

GTG, he's awake and wants food!!!

[aprilbaby]

Good for you Mandy! I've also found that cotton on have good cheap tops that you can buy while you're in between sizes. I had to go and buy some looser tops as well as tops that button up for easy BF. I never realised before that all my tops were fitted on my tummy until I had one that wasn't flat!

I've lost 10 kilos but I've still got 5 to go to be at prepregnancy weight. I'm sure with BF and walking it will come off though. I look the same as I used to in clothes, it just requires a bit more effort and some 'suck me in undies':laughing:

I'm actually surprised how little I care though, I know my body will never be the same again (especially my boobs which i was always very proud of:crying: ) but I have so much more respect for my body now and I would never abuse it my starving myself or critisicing it because it's not perfect. That fact that it carried, birthed and feeds my baby makes it perfect!

[aprilbaby]

By the way, I bought something today that I can already tell is going to be the best thing ever so I thought I'd share...

It's the Fisher Price Cradle Swing, and it's a battery operated swing that goes forward and backwards OR side to side (which babies prefer at this age.) They retail for $290 but you can get them second hand on ebay for about half that (which is what I did.)

We got it today and put James in it when he was restless and not going to sleep, which is when I normally have to hold him constantly. But it put him to sleep straight away and he stayed like that for two hours! At one stage we tried to stop it swinging but he woke straight away, so it will stay on! If it uses up batteries it will be worth it!

It also has music and lights and a tray for toys or food (I'll probably use it as a high chair as well when the time comes to save space) so it's great to stimulate them when they're awake too.

Anyay, as you can see I think it's great and well worth the money even though it's a bit pricey. As we all know, you can't put a price on your sanity so if it settles a restless baby it's worth it!

Here is the link to one that's selling on ebay at the moment:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7774447520&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

While I'm on the subject, another brilliant thing I found on ebay is the Glamourmom breastfeeding top, it's the best! You wear it instead of a bra, it makes BF in public sooo much easier and it also keeps you warm and your tummy covered. I wear them everyday and can't reccomend them highly enough. You can buy them at Babies Galore but they're also cheaper on ebay. They cost about the same as a good bra and if you wear them everyday they are a very good investment. The link for them is:

http://stores.ebay.com.au/Trendy-Tots-Imports_Breastfeeding-Tops_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ2QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Always happy to share a tip with my fellow April Mums! (And now i have time to share because my baby is alseep in his swing!!) xx