fab FEB mummas are now MUMS!! [Archive] - Bub Hub Pregnancy & Parenting Forum

Butterflymumma

02-03-2007, 09:25 AM

Hey All,

:yelclap: how exciting, we are now in a new place! I like it!

Nomorescuba- Im single so i dont have a partner to sqeeze bubs between but i find the easiest way with Lillyana is to get one of those boomerang pillows and put her in the middle, that way there is a pillow on either side of her so she cant roll and i cant roll over to her either (But ive been told mothers and fathers have an in-built instinct to not roll onto their babies unless they are intoxicated in some way) i feel secure in doing it that way with the pillow, but sometimes put lillyana on her side and back to my chest and cuddle that way. The only way that makes me nervous is when her chest is facing my chest, i worry i will get to close and smother her. You sleep but are always aware of them there and so its unlikely you will hurt bubs in anyway..

To all the ladies having Bf issues- I hear you loud and clear. :gloomy: I'm ashamed to admit..I really dont like it, I would even go as far as to say I dread the next time she wants to feed! Am i a bad mother? :crying: She always wants to feed and while i try and try to attach her properly she has now taken to 'tugging' on my nipple during a feed. She holds on tightly to my nipple with her mouth and then yanks her head back and kicks around but wont let go! Its excruciating and i dont know how to stop her from doing it! We were going so good for a while there she was feeding every three hours, feeding off one breast and attaching well, now its all gone haywire again.

Im living with my mum and even though she has been like a rock to me and been so supportive she breastfed all her children and anything i do that she didnt do like using a dummy or wanting to quit bf she says ' we'll i didnt do that with you kids' I know she means well, but in a way it makes me feel like a really inadequate mother. Like Im doing something wrong because i need to resort to other methods. I admitted to her that i really dont like bf and she is supportive and saying that it will get easier and i really dont want to use formula if i can help it, but i really am not enjoying bf my baby like i thought i would.

On top of everything else, i have got some bladder issues from my surgery and am still very anemic from the blood loss during my ceasar, i have no energy to play with my child, what kind of mum is that! Im just sick of feeling run down and ill and in pain 24hrs a day. :crying:

Sorry to vent and start off this new thread with depressing stuff, Im just having one of those days, thanks for reading.

JoJoMart

02-03-2007, 11:02 AM

Hi girls, I've already posted in our previous February mums chat thread but will update you here also! I gave birth to my baby boy Liam James on Sunday 25th February at 3:54 am by emergency caesarian (eek). I had a 24 hour labour (double eek) and as labour wasn't progressing and bub was posterior they decided with my consent (I was begging for something to happen at this stage) to have the caesar.

We only arrived home today. Baby Liam weighed 8 pounds 1 oz at birth but unfortunately lost a 450g after a few days because my milk hadn't come in properly so the poor bugger was starving. I have to admit I got quite stressed about it and the midwives were all giving me different advice so it was hard, but now we are topping him up with formula & I'm expressing 3-4 hourly so it's going well. He's sleeping/settling better.

He is such a cute I can't stop staring at him. As for BF, well I'm expressing because my nipples are sore & cracked and it's unbearable to keep it up. Gosh it's the hardest thing in the world to breast feed I reckon.

Shelby - I've had a few tears too don't worry, it's totally normal. I especially was teary about my birth as it was totally unexpected that I would have a ceasar and I wasn't prepared emotionally for the pain as my bub was posterior which was agony.

Anyway, will read this new thread later so I can catch up!!

Congrats to everyone else Harleyq, NewbieNina & anyone else who has also given birth!

Roopee

02-03-2007, 11:44 AM

BUTTERLYMUMMA- Firstly -NO YOUR NOT A BAD MUM. This is how b/f is for me. For the first three weeks of my first babies life i dreaded feeding him. I would be in tears and constantly watching the clock. I hated it. I also started to resent him for making me do it. My DH was not supportive of the whole ff thing and actually told me when i told him that i was stopping b/f that he was intensly dissappointed in me. I was devastated. I was angry at him and angry at myself for not "liking b/f. I honeslty thought there was something wrong with me. Cooper used to scream all day every day, he lost alot of weight and i just had to switch to bottles for my own sanity. I just came to the conclusion that i would rather enjoy my baby than resent him.
Ok, so im not saying that you should ditch it al together but i just wanted to let you know that your not the only one who feels like you do. Its mre common than you think.

Well guys im off for a nanna nap now
Have a great day!

Hels*Bels

02-03-2007, 11:50 AM

1st time mum - I posted in the other thread too, but congrats again on the birth of Liam. Sounds like you are doing well. :)

Butterflymumma - Have you thought about expressing feeds to give your nipples a break? This worked for me for a while but unfortunately Reece wasn't get enough from the breast milk so we started on formula top-ups and now he is full-time formula.

He is 5 weeks old today and weighs 4.1 kg so he has gained a kilo since birth now :smiliedance:

Sleep deprivation is awful and it's normal to feel inadequate or cranky at times. I have good days and bad days but somehow we keep plodding on.
I can't wait until he is a bit older and sleeping through the night. I also can't wait to start playing with him more and taking him out more.
I have to admit I did not enjoy being pregnant and I do not enjoy the newborn stage very much.
Despite this, our son is very much loved and well cared for. I know it will all get better and I am quite happy to admit my true feelings rather than pretending that everything is hunky dory all the time, when it's not.

Sorry, but I just had to get that out.

thelma

02-03-2007, 12:33 PM

Good Afternoon....nice place girls!!!
Elizabeth Ivy has arrived !!!:party:

Born 1.46pm Friday 23rd February Sydney Southwest Private.
Not the birth I had hoped for .....epdural, episotomy and forceps, but she is here now and I love her with all of my heart.
Her dad has been wonderful, he even cried lat nght as he did not know what to do when she cried and cried and cried. But then he got her up this morning and let me sleep till 9am!! What a guy!
I only stayed in hosp 3 days as Iw as getting a bit lonely. The staff were wonderful and the i could not have done it with out my midwife Penny.
B/F has been a trial for me too. Really sore nipples. With one cracked beyond belief, but they are slowly getting better and I do dread when I have to feed her on that side as it hurts alot.
If she slides off, I put my finger in between her gums to break the seal and she slides off so I can put her on again in a better position. I must go as she has just woken up.

my_lot

02-03-2007, 12:47 PM

butterfly mumma- i felt the same with my first. i had such a hard time with b/f and was in so much pain i really just didnt want to do it. i was b/f, pumping and f/f. and it was such hard work and i also had a mother who not only b/f but tandem fed...and shed say things like your not holding the baby right, your not feeding long enough or often enough ect ect.. i felt like to be a good mother i had to b/f..it really was hard to overcome that feeling...

from that day in hospital, when she was three days old and crying all the time, not latching on well, pulling on and off i was cracked and i was sure she was starving- i was begging the nurses to give her a bottle (they kept insisting i could b/f and comping was no good for the baby and id never have a fully b/f baby if i started this "habit" . i did b/f her for two years but she never was fully b/f...

i was determined to b/f no.2 but then i had her early and through the SCN wanting to tube her and me not getting my milk in right away they asked if they could give her formula. i was crushed with the same feelings..when i did try to feed her she just couldnt latch on and go for it.

the lack of sleep (3 others in the room all with a baby waking in the night - my own baby was in SCN!) 3rd day blues hit me really bad and when a nurse came to my room and said "your baby is hungry" in her la di da voice i said "oh well give her some formula then" she said in her same whinny voice "oh dont you want to come down and give her some boobie" i told her if she really wanted the baby to have BOOBIE she could use her own! i didnt want to feed her and fail at it again.

in the end i pulled myself together and fed her and she did very well. i got mastitis 3 times in the first few months but still it wasnt as hard as with my first and i fed her with only b/m for 6 months. i was ready to give it up though- id had enough of being " tied" to her as she wasnt eating solids and was still demand feeding- i found it so draining... when she bit me hard and i almost threw her to the floor i knew it was time! dp said i only used that as an excuse to stop feeding as i never really liked it..and in a way he was right...and though id tried to hide the fact that i never really enjoyed it 100% i still felt the mothers guilt when he said that.

no.3 was a dream to b/f and i fed him with no dramas for 18months. he had no formula

this baby- well. i have four now and im a whole lot more busy and tired...and when he cries at some blo0dy horrid hour of the night i just dont want to get up and feed him!
i am in alot of pain when i get a letdown and cringe at the thought of it ....and thinking about the next feed only brings on the letdown! :laughing: but realy its like the sting of the head crowning only its in my nipple!

i know if i was f/f dp would get up in the night- we minded our friends 9 week old over night and dp gave him the bottle, burped him and put him back to bed!- he was needed so he helped is what he said to that! so i do feel like alot of the demand on me would be taken off me if i f/f.

the feeling of being inadequate isnt just there for your first... when friends, my mother or dp have said maybe your not feeding him enough or maybe you should top him up or a bottle at night to get him off to sleep or maybe your milks too fast and youve given him a belly full of wind you should give him gripe water, infacol ect ect
i dont feel like i have a whole lot of support with the b/f thing... and it probably doesnt help that i dont give off the "im really enjoying my b/f experience" earth mamma vibe!

as you can see each experience with each child has been so different. i dont know when ill stop b/f this time but when i do it will be because i know ive had enough.. you have to come to that in your own mind.

i just wanted to say its ok to not like it 100% ive felt the same at some stage with all of mine.

NoMoreScuba

02-03-2007, 01:01 PM

butterflymumma, don't ever think that you're a bad mother...b/f is just really bl&*dy hard if you ask me. I'm trying to keep positive about it, but it's surprisingly stressful - I thought it was supposed to be relaxing!

thelma - congratulations on your baby girl!

hels - i feel the same - i'm really pleased not to be pregnant any more, but i'm kind of thinking that i'm missing something with this newborn stage. i'm finding it hard to 'read' charlie - to know how much to stimulate him etc. can't wait for that first smile or look of recognition, i just feel like a milking cow at the moment...:rolleyes:

charlie is having a bad day today, and i'm shattered. have been feeding him every 2 hours this morning just to try and stop the screaming. i think (:fingerscrossed: :fingerscrossed: ) he's just gone down for a sleep, but i keep thinking that and then he wakes up screaming again.

a question on finger nails - has anyone cut their baby's fingernails yet? charlie's are getting quite long and he keeps scratching himself and my boobs. someone told me to bite them off but i'm too scared of hurting him. any tips from anyone?

mumslilspunks

02-03-2007, 01:18 PM

To all the ladies having Bf issues- I hear you loud and clear. :gloomy: I'm ashamed to admit..I really dont like it, I would even go as far as to say I dread the next time she wants to feed! Am i a bad mother?
Im living with my mum and even though she has been like a rock to me and been so supportive she breastfed all her children and anything i do that she didnt do like using a dummy or wanting to quit bf she says ' we'll i didnt do that with you kids' I know she means well, but in a way it makes me feel like a really inadequate mother. Like Im doing something wrong because i need to resort to other methods.

.
You are definately not a bad mum!!!! It must be so hard living with your mum. I wouldnt be abel to do it. Have you tried talking to her and telling her that she is making you feel like your not good enough? Im sure she'd understand and hopefully give you peace to do whtever you want with your OWN child!

[QUOTE=1st time Mum in Melb;1171829]
I gave birth to my baby boy Liam James on Sunday 25th February at 3:54 am

[QUOTE]

Congratulations :yelclap:
To everyone, I think we are all too hard on ourselves as mothers! If we have poblems with BF we beat ourselves up, if we ff we are "bad mothers" if we co sleep we are doing something wrong, There is just so many things we are being to harsh on ourselves for!!!!
We 'grew' these babies inside us for 9months , we have already done so much for these little miracles and we are not just going to stop coz 'we dont enjoy bf or we co-sleep with them. I guess what im trying to say is we are all doing the hardest job in the world and there is to many other pepole ready to knock whatever we do so how about we just all pat ourselves on the bak coz we really are doing a great job!!!!!!:thumbsup:
I hope noone takes offence to what ive said. Im not knocking anyone just think we should all be given a bit more credit for the things we do rather than what we are not doing!!

Clareabell

02-03-2007, 02:12 PM

hi girls,

i haven't been on for a while.

a big congrats to everyone on the arrival of our feb babies....
excuse my typing as i have a wiggly boy on my lap who is sleeping and needs a nappy change badly - stinky!!!!
we had a good night lastnight as i have stopped wrapping ollie up in his blanket - he loves to wiggly around in his sleep. i have slept with oliver in bed with me few times - as i was desperate for some sleep - it makes it hard when you have another child to look after the next day....ollie has a dummy too, but i won't let him have it as long as william did.

we had an appointment with the childhod nurse yesterday and oliver has put on 510gms in 2 weeks. he was born 3.7kg and is now 4.3kg.

i better go as oliver really stinks :eek: - i can't believe he is still sleeping with a dirty nappy.

chat soon xxxx :wave:

Sassi

02-03-2007, 02:22 PM

Congrats to all who have given birth in the last few days, and welcome to all the new bubba's

Here here Mumslilspunk, I agree. I notice that there is a lot of conflicting advice around from the so called 'professionals', to me that means that different things work for different people. This is a fab forum for sharing what works, or doesn't work for each of us and for me reading what works for some of you, gives me ideas of different things to try. I try to be confident in my decisions, I love my son and want to do the best for him, so I assume that if it feels right for us then it probably is.

Nomorescuba - I cut ds nails using baby nail clippers, works a charm, but another thing you can do is use a nail file.... also works beautifully! Re feeding every 2 hours, do you think it could be a growth spurt, as I had similar few days with DS??

BF - cringe - I too dread BF and have the most severe shooting pain in my boob, shoulder and down my arm during let down, as well as just having aching boobs all the time. I am perserving because I have so much milk and feel bad if I don't BF but not sure how long I will last. I am going to Hawaii in a month and if I still hate it this much I will stop when I get back.

Positives
- I'm not pregnant anymore!!
- I have a beautiful little boy
- I absolutely love being a mum, more than I ever imagined
- I feel relaxed
- I love being on mat leave and not having to work

Negatives
- I HATE BF
- I am tired
- My BP still hasn't gone down, and as they have tried taking me off the meds it has gotten out of control and I'm having headaches everyday... basically I feel c*#p.

On the topic of weigh-loss (cant remember who was saying this), I have lost nothing in the last 2 weeks either despite eating quite well and walking 45 min a day... Despite only being about 5.5Kgs heavier than pre-preg I still can't fit into my jeans and I'm finding it depressing.

Finally DH started his new job yesterday so we finally have some money coming in again!!!!! YAY, might go out for din on the weekend to celebrate.

Love to you all and hope everyone is feeling good

shelby

02-03-2007, 02:54 PM

hello beautiful feb mums! Love the new thread.

1sttimemum - a huge congrats on your baby boy. SOrry to hear the birth didnt go as planned and hope you are recovering ok. I hear you re: breastfeeding it is really getting me down. I have cracks and blisters all over both and one of my nipples is now infected apparently. Am expressing every 2-3- hours to try to keep up with her needs as she is a hungry little baby!

Butterflymumma - I think it sounds like you are doing a great job already, please dont feel guilty for not enjoying BFing - I think it is so much harder than anyone realises and if you choose to FF this does not make you a bad mum!!

Mumslilspunk - I second everything you said and am trying to take it on board as I am suffering massive motherguilt issues at the moment.

Hels - :yelclap: to you for being so honest - theres nothing wrong with admitting things arent perfect or easy and that we dont necessarily enjoy every moment. Thats why you gotta love this forum - no judgement here!!

Well today was my first day on my own with bub and I have basically cried for most of it. I called the ABA for some advice re: breastfeeding and they werent very helpful. I tthen went to a doctor (1st time out on my own, very scary but so desperate to make this BF thing work that it motivatred me to do it) as apparently there might be some medication I can take for the raynauds - but she was hopeless, she didnt listen to me at all, just criticised the hospital for letting me tear as opposed to cutting me, criticised my choice of multivitamin, then ignored me when I started crying. She woulndt give me any meds as my blood pressure is apparently too low which is bulls*** (110/70) but gave me some antibiotics to clear up an infection on one of my nipples. She said I had to go see a lactation consultant then come back next week.

I just walked out crying - she obviously has no idea what effort it took to get out of the house and come to see her and tells me to come back next week. GRRRRR!!!!

I know I have the baby blues - hence the excessive crying but its all so hard right now!!!

Anyway lovely ladies hope you all have a good evening and that all our bubs are settled!! xxxx

icugal

02-03-2007, 03:06 PM

Congrats to Ist time Mum in Melb and Thelma on your new arrivals !! You'll have to post some pics in the baby photo thread (http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?t=72972).

Butterflymumma.. You are a great mother and don't you ever forget that. Ignore the comments from your mum... just because you do something different, doesn't make it wrong... it's just different !!

I don't know how you live with your mother... my mother has just gone home after staying with me for the last week, and I am so glad she is finally gone !!! God love her.. she really does try, and I appreciate the fact that she has cooked and cleaned while she was here... but she has unknowingly and unintentionally completely screwed up any sort of routine with Kaelan that I had established.

She is so in love with her grandson that she has not given him a minutes peace since she walked through the door last Saturday... and I ain't kidding here. Even if I were sitting down trying to feed him and/or settle him.. she'd still be hovering overhead talking to him, patting him on the head etc. I had to straight out tell her several times just to go away !! :banghead:

She nursed him most of the time she was here, so now I'm having a lot of trouble trying to settle him in his cot. It's going to take me some time to undo all the damage.

Unfortunately, I'm not completely free of my mother, as DF and I are travelling up to Wodonga tomorrow (and staying at their place for the night), because we are going to the opening of the Albury Bypass on Sunday (I'm originally from Albury-Wodonga, so the bypass is a big deal for us locals :) ). It won't be until Monday that I can finally relax and do my own thing... at least temporarily anyway. My mother states that she is going to come down to stay with us once a month :eek: She is absolutely obsessed with the concept of her grandson knowing who she is.

Damn I need a stiff drink...

Sorry, this became an 'all about me' post... just needed to vent me thinks :)

talon

02-03-2007, 03:17 PM

Hiya girls! I made it here. :)

Butterflymumma - I pick and choose the advice that my parents and in-laws give me. They can comment all they like but they will never know my child the way that I do. I am the only one who knows when they are getting sick, when they are hungry, tired etc. You are a new mum, true, but that doesn't make your mum more of an expert on YOUR child then you are. You are doing a great job, remember that it is early days at the moment. You are stilling recovering from the birth, lack of sleep, learning about your new bubba and the list goes on. Try not to put so much pressure on yourself and just go with what works for you. A happy mother is a happy baby! :) Hugs.

Re: breastfeeding. I have heard of several things that are suppose to increase your milk supply if you think that you are not producing enough. The first I can think of is Fenugreek tablets. You can get them at the chemist (I bought some yesterday) and they are for colds apparently but so many people on this forum say that they do wonders for their milk supply.

Also, my midwife at the hospital I had DD at said to try drinking stout and eating cashews. I am thinking I will go and buy a small bottle of stout tomorrow when I do groceries.

There is also a recipe for lactation cookies on this forum which a lot of members swear by also.

My milk supply dips just on evening and I have taken to giving DD a bottle of formula before bed so that she gets enough to fill her up and she will generally sleep for about 4-5hours. I did feel a bit guilty to start with but I would just be more stressed with an unhappy baby (stress affects your milk supply also!)

So, I admit, I am nowhere near the perfect breastfeeder. FAR from it actually. But I don't care, we are happy doing it this way and that's all that matters to me.

Re: sleeping - DD will generally stay up for a maximum of 2 hours between sleeps and she will then go down again without much resistance. I am still wrapping her which seems to be working well. Has anyone bought a Grobag? And do you think they are worth it?

Shelby - sounds like you had a rotten doctor. Sorry you are feeling a bit down. I don't really have much advice for your poor boobs, other then what the midwifes told me in hospital. They told me to use lansinoh after a feed, avoid letting your nipples dry out if they are scabbing as this can make it worse. Put the lansinoh on and then some nursing pads - it will keep the scabs nice and soft so they don't rip off when you try to feed next. Also, don't run them under hot water in the shower, keep it nice and warm. Oh, and don't use soap on your nipples. That's about all I can offer. :) Although, I reckon you should ditch that doc and find yourself someone who will actually listen to you. I bit of empathy goes a long way - docs forget that sometimes...

mumslilspunks

02-03-2007, 03:23 PM

Unfortunately, I'm not completely free of my mother, as DF and I are travelling up to Wodonga tomorrow )
So your going to be in the area? (me in wang) LOL DH and i were thinking about going but decided that there is going to be that many pepole, we'll watch it on the news:D

shelby :hugs: It will get easier!! Is there any chance of you seeing another doctor? She seems like an absoulte cow! How dare she just ignore you, doctors are supposed to listen.

icugal

02-03-2007, 03:36 PM

So your going to be in the area? (me in wang) LOL DH and i were thinking about going but decided that there is going to be that many pepole, we'll watch it on the news

I'll wave to you as I drive past Wangaratta !! :D

Maybe I'll be be on the news with the Bypass Opening.. I'll be the one banging my head against a freeway bridge pylon as my mother scoops my son out of the pram just so she can have a cuddle !!! ;)

Actually, according to the Border Mail website, the temp in Wodonga is supposed to hit 39 degrees tomorrow !! :eek: Not ideal travelling conditions when you have a newborn. Hope it's not going to be too hot on Sunday when we're supposed to be walking on the new freeway.

Shelby... :hugs: to you. I hope you feel better soon... and good on you for being so determined to succeed with your BF. I'm sure you'll do just fine !!

ziggy29

02-03-2007, 03:58 PM

Isnt it amazing how difficult BF is? so many of us are having trouble. before i had the baby i never really realised how hard it is. i thought that maybe 20% of people couldnt BF, another 20% found it tricky but made it through fine and the other 60% took to it like ducks to water!!
How wrong i was :rolleyes: .

Having read all your posts i think my milk may be a bit low at the 8pm feed so i will try lots of attachment tonight and give her an ebm top up early (see if that stops the 3 hour crying fit). it is worth a go .... i am not ready to try the FF top up yet. mostly because i seem to get engorged if i go more that 5 hours without baby sucking.

keep up the good work everybody. remember that you are the mummies and what you say goes!!

Hels*Bels

02-03-2007, 05:00 PM

a question on finger nails - has anyone cut their baby's fingernails yet? charlie's are getting quite long and he keeps scratching himself and my boobs. someone told me to bite them off but i'm too scared of hurting him. any tips from anyone?

I have cut Reece's twice now and I bought a little grooming kit for him. I find the nail scissors easier to use than the clippers. I cut them right down as short as and then lightly file the edges. I do it after a feed or when he's dozing off as he is more contented. He doesn't resist too much.

NoMoreScuba

02-03-2007, 05:02 PM

shelby - really sorry to hear that you're feeling down. It's good that you realise it's hormonal - remember you will return to normal eventually... Any chance you'd be able to find a new doctor? Your one sounds horrible, which is EXACTLY what you don't need right now.

Thanks for the tip about nail filing Sassi, i will try it when i'm feeling brave. And yes, maybe it is a growth spurt for charlie (why he's been feeding so much today) or maybe it's the heat...dunno.

I'm nervous, gotta go over to my BIL and SIL's tonight to see some of DF's parent's friends who are visiting sydney. I hope it goes ok, I'm only going to stay a little while then make excuses 'cause i want charlie to be back here for his feed later otherwise i just know he'll be awake until 1am...

hoping4another

02-03-2007, 05:21 PM

Hi ladies,

Congralutations to all the last of the mummy who have given birth.
Life at home with a new baby is very different for a new mummy i never believe people saying you won't shower until the afternoon now i believe them.
But i can't complain Liam is a fairly good baby only has trouble with Colic from about 8pm to 10-30pm any idea ladies. Othewise he is such a good little boy only waking once during the night for a feed.
I have been told by sooo many people how alert and strong he is for a newborn maybe been born sooo big has helped.

Moggs- What Formula are you using as i was using Heniz and Liam was having trouble going to the toilet i have changed to Nan gold and 2 days later is loose and normal.

I am still in a little discomfort from the C/S. Does anyone know how to remove the sticky tape they put over your wound from your skin.

Take care all.

Wendy

Nina79

02-03-2007, 06:34 PM

Hi girls!

I've been itching to get on and post since Ryan's arrival on Monday. I typed out a one finger job this morning only to lose it when my darling pooed all over me and the internet connection went down while I was changing him! :laughing:

I'm tired but on cloud nine still. I'm sorry to hear that some of the most recent birth experiences weren't so positive - big :hugs: to those who need it right now.

In light of some of your experiences, I feel a bit selfish to say that Ryan's birth was so much better than I expected. I can honestly say that I dreaded the thought of a VB throughout the whole nine months (but couldn't have an elective caesar thru the public system) and was willing to take whatever drugs got me through... However, at the end of the day, with the amazing support of my midwife (from the Mater Public Midwifery Group Practice) and DF, I managed to labour at home using TENS and panadol and was already 8cm dilated by the time we got to the hospital (after a terrifying car ride - eek - luckily we live close). So I carried on and ended up delivering with the help of just gas. I didn't end up tearing or needing to be cut (another HUGE fear) and had him on my chest for the first couple of hours. Overall, I feel extremely empowered...

It was not all smooth sailing - I suffered a massive haemorrage (sp?) and was prepped for surgery to remove membranes but luckily didn't need it in the end (just had some fairly scary internals and drugs - best left unsaid how traumatic this was!!).

Since then we've been getting to know one another. We left hospital the next day as I couldn't sleep due to an inconsiderate roommate who had loads of guests 24/7 --grrr! Coming home was the best decision we made and things have been pretty chilled since then. DF and I keep looking at each other thinking 'is this just the calm before the storm?'.

My milk has come in with a flourish today and my breasts are very engorged and painful. I am grateful that so far, Ryan is feeding well and so hopefully they will settle down soon. I am hoping to start expressing next week so that DF can do some of the night feeds and I can get some rest!

Well, I'm off to shower before he wakes up.

Sorry for the lack of personals - I'm too tired to remember all of them. However I would like to say a big thank you to leashie for posting our announcement and to also say again how wonderful it is to be able to share this journey with you all... :D awww...

Nina xo

(please call me Nina, I am hoping to drop the "newbie", even tho I'm still a novice!!)

my_lot

02-03-2007, 08:10 PM

icugal

02-03-2007, 09:25 PM

ive cut nails 3 times now- jeeez they grow fast dont they?
i use a little baby powder on his hands so it goes just under his nails then i can see how far to cut.

anyone used gripe water, infacol or the likes?

what did/do you think of them?

oooo big deal in our house today- we have a dummy sucking boy!!!! wooo hooo for mummy :laughing:

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l132/my_lot/UlilDUMMY.jpg

*I haven't been game enough to cut fingernails yet. I bought one of those newborn manicure sets, but his fingers are so small... and he flings his hands around uncontrollably, I'm worried that I'll cut him and not the nail.

*I've been using Infacol for a few days now and I don't think I notice much difference.. Kaelan still suffers from retained wind that gives him awful tummy aches... and he forever has the hiccups. It doesn't seem to matter how much I wind him... he still seems to suffer... poor little bubba !!

*Yay for the dummy !! Kaelan isn't a big fan of the dummy unfortunately.. I have to fight with him for about five minutes before he'll eventually give in and suck on it. But for that five minutes when I struggling with him to take it... I feel awful that I'm forcing it upon him... but once he does accept it, he settles so well and will happily suck away on it for ages.

Feb mums.. I need your input. I'm lucky if Kaelan goes two and a half hours between feeds. I'll feed him until he is literally spitting the milk back out at me (he takes about 120-150ml per feed)... but sure enough, within 2-3 hours he is screaming for more. By the time it takes me 30-60 minutes to feed/wind/feed etc him, I'm starting to feel like that I'm feeding him 24/7. I keep reading about your babies that go 4-5 hours between feeds and I'm wondering why mine is such a guzzle guts. I guess he could be on a growth spurt... but then it would be so nice if he could just drink more at any given feed instead of just grazing all day.

Any suggestions??

Squiggles

02-03-2007, 09:42 PM

Hi Feb Mummas :wave:

Im so behind the times - I only just discovered our new home!

Feb mums.. I need your input. I'm lucky if Kaelan goes two and a half hours between feeds. I'll feed him until he is literally spitting the milk back out at me (he takes about 120-150ml per feed)... but sure enough, within 2-3 hours he is screaming for more. By the time it takes me 30-60 minutes to feed/wind/feed etc him, I'm starting to feel like that I'm feeding him 24/7. I keep reading about your babies that go 4-5 hours between feeds and I'm wondering why mine is such a guzzle guts. I guess he could be on a growth spurt... but then it would be so nice if he could just drink more at any given feed instead of just grazing all day.

Any suggestions??

Penny, ditto everything you have said. Connor is exactly the same at the moment - tonight DH and I took him out with us and attempted to have dinner out of the house (brave huh) and I didn't bother to take a bottle with us as we left straight after I fed him - sure enough 2 hours later we were scoffing down our pizza as Connor was going hysterical for a feed (nice and embarassing) he is even feeding every 2.5 hours at night which I cam tell you is hard work!

So there was some discussion in the old thread about someone smoking - Im sorry I dont remember who. But I have a confession to make too I really missed drinking so much while being pregnant I am now finding myself indulging in a drink everyday. By no means is it excessive but Im chugging back 2 or 3 beers a night - usually straight after expressing so Im hopefully not getting the little fella drunk. I feel so guilty for it - and its not at all helping the weightloss.

On a positive note - I left Connor with MIL yesterday arvo and my mum and Dad this morning to practice babysitting. They all loved it and pretty much didnt want to give him back. I got a chance to get to the shops and run around a bit which was nice. Im even thinking I might make it to the hairdresser next week!

A quick Q for you all - prob more directed at the first time mummas here - Is anyone finding their relationship with their partner has changed significantly? Im having trouble with my moods and being extremely bossy with DH. We sat and had a talk about it last night after barely talking for the last few days. I have realised that I still haven't recovered from the trauma that we went through at the birth and as a result Im being overly negative and am so scared and frightened that something will happen to Connor that I cant let DH do anything without supervising or criticising him on how hes doing it.

Sorry - just realised I just whinged for my whole post

talon

03-03-2007, 06:15 AM

Feb mums.. I need your input. I'm lucky if Kaelan goes two and a half hours between feeds. I'll feed him until he is literally spitting the milk back out at me (he takes about 120-150ml per feed)... but sure enough, within 2-3 hours he is screaming for more. By the time it takes me 30-60 minutes to feed/wind/feed etc him, I'm starting to feel like that I'm feeding him 24/7. I keep reading about your babies that go 4-5 hours between feeds and I'm wondering why mine is such a guzzle guts. I guess he could be on a growth spurt... but then it would be so nice if he could just drink more at any given feed instead of just grazing all day.

Any suggestions??

I find that DD will only sleep 4-5hours overnight. If it is during the day, then it is a shorter period of time. I think it is because she is getting the hang of day vs night sleeps now. It might be a growth spurt? They say about 2-3 weeks old to expect one. I think DD has a growth spurt at 2 weeks because she would just want to suck ALL day but it has settled down now.

I really missed drinking so much while being pregnant I am now finding myself indulging in a drink everyday. By no means is it excessive but Im chugging back 2 or 3 beers a night - usually straight after expressing so Im hopefully not getting the little fella drunk. I feel so guilty for it - and its not at all helping the weightloss.

I admit - I really missed a glass of wine when I was pregnant and have taken to having a glass of an evening. Same as you - I will have it straight after a feed to minimise any effect on DD and to be honest, it doesn't seem to have effected her at all. :) I feel a little guilty but it's not like I am binge drinking or anything. :p

Hels*Bels

03-03-2007, 06:39 AM

My_lot - I have tried just about everything for wind and the best thing is 1ml of mylanta liquid. I give it to him when he shows signs of being uncomfortable, eg arching his back and squirming.

Penny - Don't worry about hurting bubs when cutting his nails, it's almost impossible to hurt them I have found. As soon as you have done it once you'll see how simple it is. :D
Re the feeding - my "baby bible" says it's normal to feed every 2-4 hours, especially during in the day. Also many mums mistake crying for hunger. Try other things first such as nappy change, burping, playtime or swaddle and cuddle closely.
If it isn't hunger and you feed every 2 hours, then they get used to "snacking".
To break this behaviour, you need to feed him every 3 hours one day and use the above options to distract him. It might be real hell for a day but it should help him to establish a routine (it worked for Reece).
It could just be that he does like to feed more often though.

my_lot

03-03-2007, 07:22 AM

thankgod for your baby bible hels!

i love reading your quotes from it...half the time its something ive wanted to say but didnt want to sound like a know- it- all or ive thought it was great advice and tried what youve quoted!

wooo hoo for the baby bible!

NoMoreScuba

03-03-2007, 08:19 AM

squiggles - you beat me to confession! I too have been enjoying a glass of wine most evenings, and I LOVE it. Especially with some really nice smelly runny cheeses!

What's this I hear about a baby bible? Gimme gimme gimme, I need all the help I can get!

Still too scared to cut his nails, must get round to it this weekend. As well as trying out the hugabub, haven't done that yet either - eagerly_awaiting - are you getting on better with your hugabub yet - any tips?

kriscee & icugal - yes, charlie will sleep 4 - 5 hours during the night, but he is still feeding at least every 3 hours during the day. Yesterday evening he was feeding every hour because he got himself in such a state. He just screamed from 8 until 11.30.

Congratulations Nina on your birth experience, sounds like everything went really well. I hope you're settling in well with the bubs...

I've got a gang of relatives arriving today for a bbq, but my mum and dad are still here so they've promised they'll do all the food etc, I just have to worry about Charlie...

mumslilspunks

03-03-2007, 08:41 AM

So there was some discussion in the old thread about someone smoking - Im sorry I dont remember who. But I have a confession to make too I really missed drinking so much while being pregnant I am now finding myself indulging in a drink everyday. By no means is it excessive but Im chugging back 2 or 3 beers a night - usually straight after expressing so Im hopefully not getting the little fella drunk. I feel so guilty for it - and its not at all helping the weightloss.

It was me and i too am having a few beers aswell!! I also herd that beer or stout helps your milk:D (thats my excuse).
fingernails- I havent had to do billys yet but ds1 was a nightmare. I just did it after a feed while he was snoozing.

talon

03-03-2007, 09:20 AM

fingernails- I havent had to do billys yet but ds1 was a nightmare. I just did it after a feed while he was snoozing.

ROFL - I end up putting a DVD on for DS and then it still takes me 10 minutes to convince him they need cutting!:laughing:

thelma

03-03-2007, 11:28 AM

Hi Girls,
Thought I would pop in to show off my new addition....
She is sleeping soundly at the moment, but I hope she wakes soon as my boobs are overflowing.
She slept for 4.5 hrs straight yesterday afternoon and i thought I was going to explode.
MIL has just left the building and DH was getting the cranks as she kept spurting out the do this do that thing. My mum has been great, she said let me kow wen its ok to come..which is very unusual for MY mother, and she can't give B/F advice as she did not B\F my sister or me.
Elizabth has been really good on the feeding front. I do find that if I dont put her back on after a few munutes for just a bit more then she wakes and feeds more often.
One of the girls was concerned about feeding too often. Maybe you could try this and see how it goes. Elizabeth spits it out and falls asleep but I put my nipple back under her nose and she quite often takes just a few minutes more which I have found makes a huge difference.
Harleyq : thanks for the PM re induction...it was bad at the time and I did have an episotomy but I did not feel the cut and i only have 2 stitches, so I suppose I was very lucky.

Have a great weekend..It is going to be hot in Sydney today...

ziggy29

03-03-2007, 11:29 AM

Penny - lily only goes average 3 hrs between feeds in the day too.(sometimes 2.5 sometimes 3.5). i think this is fairly normal for their age in fact one of my books says to wake them to feed if they go longer than 3 hours!!

Squiggles - i too have been having a drink every now and again (after a feed). Someone i know told me that most of the bad stuff is filtered out before it gets to the breast milk anyway.
- ditto with dh. we are trying to work together on baby care when he is home until he gets the hang of it. but there are certain thingd that are his job - the baby bathing and the late ebm bottle feed. Maybe try this with your DH - give him something that is his job and then he can teach you how to do it properly.

Nails - i use tommie tippie nail scissors and use them everyfew days. my boobie are sore enough without being scratched up too.

Me - lily seems to be unsettled every evening. i have been reluctant to just keep feeding her during this time despite her calling "NEH" (food).
yesterday i tried a new plan (out of a book called the baby whisper solves all your problems). so i cluster fed her (and even woke her to do this) at 5, 7 and 9. Then a 12 midnight (50ml ebm,) dream feed. She slept from 1030 till 3am. I got 4+ hours sleep in a row!!! i think if we gave her a full feed at midnight she would have made it till 4 or 5 am. But i am too worried about my supply dropping to go that long.
Even though she was still awake most of the evening she was calm and not hysterical which feels like a win. even though i was close to dead having fed so much.
We'll try again tonight - not sure if it will work again or not....

LMenz

03-03-2007, 12:30 PM

Re the feeding - my "baby bible" says it's normal to feed every 2-4 hours, especially during in the day. Also many mums mistake crying for hunger. Try other things first such as nappy change, burping, playtime or swaddle and cuddle closely.
If it isn't hunger and you feed every 2 hours, then they get used to "snacking".
To break this behaviour, you need to feed him every 3 hours one day and use the above options to distract him. It might be real hell for a day but it should help him to establish a routine (it worked for Reece).
It could just be that he does like to feed more often though.

This is what were trying at the moment - The sleep/feed/play routine. The lactation consultant I saw advised us of it and so far it seems to be working :fingerscrossed: I'm trying to space his feeds out to 3-4 hours instead of demand feeding so he's hungrier and will stay awake on the boob longer. I did still have to give him a formula top up at 9pm........The hardest thing is settling him in between and before feeds.

It was well worth me seeing her...she had heaps of great tips and she also thinks I do have thrush on my nipples (OMG it's painful!!) Thankfully Jack doesn't have it in his mouth (yet)

To everyone else having B/F issues :hugs: to you. I'm still battling with it even though it's getting a little easier day by day - I never imagined how hard it would be and everyday I'm so tempted to just put him on the bottle but will perserver a little longer. I definately recommend seeing a Lacatation Consultant. It was great for her to even reassure me that my attachment was right and my supply was enough. Don't ever think your a bad mother for struggling with B/F. As mumslilspunk said we grew these babies for 9 months...we know them and can care for them better than anyone else

my_lot - Please feel free to share your motherly wisdom with us all...I personally think it's wonderful having all you ladies with other children here to help us along the way

Thelma - Your labour sounds exactly like mine......Hope your feeling ok? I still have a bit of bruising and soreness from the forceps. I've found ice packs (or filled up frozen condoms) to be the best thing

:yelclap: CONGRATULATIONS :yelclap:
to Ist Time Mum in Melb
Great to have you back!!!
and hope your recovering well

juzzy

03-03-2007, 01:50 PM

oh geez... i spent ages doing a really long post and then i lost it!! Not happy... and i doubt cassidy will stay asleep long enough for me to do another!!

Oh well.. ill try again

Firstly a big thanks to those who supported/gave advice about the breast feeding issue, i feel alot better about things now and i am going to persist with it as she is putting on plenty of weight and i am sure as time goes on things will (hopefully) get better.

butterflymumma - There is so no way that you are a bad mother. Breast feeding is damn hard!! At the end of the day you really need to do what is right for you and lillyana. As for the comments for your mum, as well intentioned i am sure she is, id just be taking in the advice that you find useful and ignoring the rest. I can understand how it must be hard for you right now, i am a bit anemic as well because of blood loss after my ceasarian and i can tell you that i am struggling a bit as well. So :hugs: to you:hugs: . Oh by the way lillyana is just gorgeous!!

nomorescuba - the co sleeping thing, DP and i have been putting her between us, we just clear a space for her. We have found that we are obviously more conscious of her but as well both, thankfully, dont move alot in our sleep the rolling on her thing hasnt been an issue. We havent done it very often but it does mean that she settles a bit better.

Hels - your honesty about not enjoying being pregnant and the newborn stage is strangely refreshing! To an extent i also didnt really enjoy being pregnant, i hated the things it did to my body ultimatley leading to the ceasar, and having a newborn hasnt been the easiest task either but everyone always expects you to gloss it all over when talking about it and pretend that everything is fine, why do that when it is not all ok? there really isnt a point in my opinion! But having said that, at the same time i am enjoying being a mum and i fully expected it to have its ups and downs.

nomorescuba - i havent tried to cut Cassidys nails yet, i am going to have to as they are getting a bit on the longer side and she is starting to scratch her face with them, not to mention my boob when i am breast feeding!

Shelby - your doctor sounds like an absolute tool, i would be going to see someone else she clearly didnt listen to you when you were asking for help! The nerve of her! big big big big big :hugs: to you it sounds like you need them. On the topic of the baby blues, we all get them to an extent so dont feel bad about it, it doesnt make you any less of a good mother to your baby.

hoping4miracle - to remove that tape stuff from your ceasar wound, i just pulled it off during a shower one day, it actually came off quite easily.

nina - ooooooohhhh how much i hated being in hospital, i was there for 5 days. The lady that was across from me in the ward and to a lesser extent the lady next to me... both had visitors ALLLLLL THE TIME!! The midwives were very reluctant to enforce the visiting hours so there was always people around. I cracked it bad one day and complained to the midwives who then finally told them all to leave.... i just wanted 5 minutes of peace!

penny - i just went thru this with cassidy, she would want to feed all day if i let her i figured it could be a growth thing. the last two days shes been a bit better and is going 4-5 hours between feeds again, so hopefully the same will happen with kaelan

squiggles - yes!! DP and i have found that our relationship has changed alot. I have also been very moody and irritable since getting home from hospital. DP and i have spoken about it and we both know that our relationship wont ever go back to the way it was but we are just going to have to find time to be "us" every now and again.

i havent yet had any alcohol since i have had Cassidy. i would love to tho, a beer or bourbon and coke would be great! just havent had the chance to do it as yet!

My mum has been here since last nite... i am going slowly insane. DP has gone to work this weekend so its my job to keep her entertained which is hard considering i cant drive anywhere!

As nice as my mum has been with trying to help me clean my house and everything, the advice and things she has been trying to force upon me hasnt been helping. All she really wants to do is pick up Cassidy all the time so its going to wreck the nice routine i had working out. Everything in my house has been moved and rearranged so i cant find anything... i cant cope!!!

I feel like i have had people here every day since i got home from hospy even thought i asked people to leave us alone for the first week or so, it just hasnt happened. It has been a long 2 weeks!! i havent had any "Juzz time"! DP is going back to work on Monday so hopefully that will mean our barrage of visitors will end as i can just pretend im not home :devil6:

otherwise all is well... for the second night in a row, last night Cassidy slept through the night so with a bit more sleep under my belt i am feeling better about things, just hope it continues!

Hehehehehe i can hear thunder and lighting outside.... yay!! thunderstorm!!

im off, hope everyone is well!!

Hels*Bels

03-03-2007, 02:04 PM

My baby bible is a book called "Baby Love" by Robin Barker :thumbsup:

However, I have a very very unsettled baby today so I'd better go and get him up as he's screaming the place down.

JoJoMart

03-03-2007, 03:35 PM

Hi everyone,

Well I haven't got my photos organised on the computer yet.....but will do this soon so I will have a pic of little Liam. He's just georgeous. I feel better now and the caesar isn't so painful just taking panadol for pain relief twice/three times per day.

BF - doesn't this suck (no pun intended)!! I am expressing 3 hourly (so about to do this now) and only get 20mls of milk each express so little Liam also gets formula. The cracked nipples were just too sore it was unbearable trying to feed him plus he was starving. So, from reading everyone's posts there's heaps of you who feel the same. Those of you not having any probs & have lots of milk that's fantastic! It's a HUGE bonus.

Shelby - I have had some teary days a couple of times......mainly about my horrible birth and feeling let down by the midwives at the hospital (my OB was great) and also thinking if I'm doing the right thing with bubs. You need all the support you can get.

Question?? Does anyone give their bub water in between feeds during this hot weather (in Melb?)?? I know water must be sterilised but is formula/breast milk enough? Liam gets mainly formula at the moment & I know breast milk doesn't need supplementing with water but does formula?

Hey must OB didn't say much about whether I could drive or not after the caesar but the hospy midwives said not for 3 weeks at least so I'm not driving until then & will phone & ask my OB before I get in the car. Anything else other than no heavy lifting we can't do? Gosh, gotta go to start expressing now but chat later.

Hels*Bels

03-03-2007, 05:13 PM

1st time mum - I was wondering why you are expressing so soon? did they advise this in the hospital? The reason I ask is because expressing can slow down your milk supply and it's not recommended for the first 2 weeks. It's heaps better to put bubs on the boob lots and it's ok for him to feed every couple of hours if it suits you both. I don't mean to sound negative or anything but I couldn't express very much at first either so I stopped after my MHN said not to do it straight away. After waiting 2 weeks for my milk to establish, I could express 100 mls each time!!
Unfortunately my milk was just like water to Reece so he ended up on the bottle anyway. But it could be very different for you :fingerscrossed:
With the driving, my friend had to wait 6 weeks after a caesar due to something with the insurance, so maybe check with your car insurer first?

My_lot - thanks for the comment about my posts, it means alot to me :D I get alot of advice from the January ladies too as a lot of their bubs are ahead of mine in age, so I am happy to share anything useful with you guys. I hope I don't sound like a "know it all" at times, I am just a first time mum trying to do her best, like most of us!! lol

Having said that, I did get a great tip from a sleep and settling class that we went to this morning.
This is for those who have a problem with bubs having a bit of sickie when you lie him/her flat in the cot/basinette. It was suggested to put a book under each foot just at the head, therefore raising the whole top by about an inch, so bubs is slightly elevated at the head.
We have done this, so will see if it makes a difference.

Hels*Bels

03-03-2007, 07:08 PM

Just letting you know that as breast feeding didn't work out for me I am now selling my 2 Avent breast pumps (both electric and manual). They are practically new.
For more details, please click the link below;
http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?p=1176564#post1176564

Clareabell

03-03-2007, 07:40 PM

Hello...

Short and sweet tonight as I have an unsettled baby - WIND!!!! I also find with Oliver he has an unsettled period before he opens his bowels as he is slightly constipated.. I gave him cooled boiled water today through a syringe as he spits it out with a bottle. Cooled boiled water is good for constipation.

I'm feeding Oliver every 4 - 5 hours during the day and at night 5 hours. He is fed formula only. Unfortunately BF was no good for me - I tried so hard too!!!

I'm finding that Oliver sleeps an hour or 2 between feeds during the day and has a good 3 - 4 hours during feeds at night .... which suits me!! His wind unsettles him from peaceful sleep and I'm using Infacol and Gripe Water too ???

I better go and relieve DH from settling Oliver and I must put William to bed too..

:wave: for now xxxx

mumslilspunks

03-03-2007, 08:04 PM

Question?? Does anyone give their bub water in between feeds during this hot weather (in Melb?)?? I know water must be sterilised but is formula/breast milk enough? Liam gets mainly formula at the moment & I know breast milk doesn't need supplementing with water but does formula?

.

If bubs is just bf there is no need to give them water but if they are ff they suggest cool boiled water when its hot or when constipated. Well thats what i was told anyway. Hope it helps.:yes:

ziggy29

03-03-2007, 08:13 PM

NoMoreScuba

03-03-2007, 08:44 PM

oh my god my baby will NOT stop screaming tonight.

anyone know any good earplugs?

i will feed him again in 15 minutes, but seriously...SHUT UP!

sorry, just had to whinge. my head hurts.

ziggy29

03-03-2007, 08:59 PM

NO more scuba - i hear you mate. having a crappy night too. is it a full moon or something??

Squiggles

03-03-2007, 09:21 PM

Put us down for the crappy night tonight too - Ive come out to quickly check my emails etc while DH tries to calm Connor in the lounge room. His nappy is clean, we have burped him, fed him, wrapped him, unwrapped him, put him in his cot with music on, put him in his bassinette in front of the TV with us, put him in his rocker chair, taken him for a walk outside - I GIVE UP!!!! :banghead:

Roopee

03-03-2007, 09:23 PM

Ziggy- for the nappy rash try a cream thats based on chickweed if you can get it (chemist) or Lucas' pawpaw ointment.
Anything thats a barrier cream so needs to be thick so the poor baby's wee's and poo's dont touch the skin.

Soory your having a bad nite- both of you- i hope it gets better. You never know, they might wear themselves out screaming and sleep for 12 hrs straight for you. Ahhh that'd be bliss!

my_lot

03-03-2007, 10:24 PM

Ziggy- you could try some papaw ointment at every nappy change i always found this to help when my others had nappy rash
...are you using wet wipes? maybe try cleaning the area using a soft washer (or if you have a weak tum like me- use chux- so you can throw it out!) just til its not so sore... wash her down even if its just a wet nappy....
with Eli i use curash or pigion wet wipes and papaw ointment at every nappy change...so far so good...
scuba- when Eli does this i put a cd on (bonnyM or 60s stuff) and grab the other kids and we drown out his crying by the noise of the music, singing and dancing around! i also go over him in the car too- and he hates the car! he cries 9 time out of ten! i find im less stressed by doing this than just holding a screamin kid or putting him down and walking out!

1st time mum- i was told the same as mumslilspunk on the water thing. when i was comp feeding dd1 i would give her cooled boiled water daily in the heat (she was a new born in summer) with the others (when i was fully b/f) i would offer CBW but not daily only if it was really hot & she wanted more b/fs... i used a teaspoon.
i dont feel the same as hels on the expressing (not advised in first two weeks)_ as ive had two bubs premmie and had to express from day one with both as they couldnt be b/f. with my last i expressed every four hours from just hours after the c-sect til he was fully b/f. from just a few drops to having so much i was tipping it down the drain - it didnt hinder my supply with either...having said that it IS so very different when its the first baby.

i must say reading all these posts from the first time mummas here is really bringing back memories....

hels- yes raising their bed is a trick i was shown with my first- she was a projectile vomiter and was never flat after i was told to do that...or youd see the fountain and hear the choke! raising the bed helped- she could then throw up to her feet!!

and baby bible- lol - i read that book with my first too and it was invaluable! robin rocks! its one of the very best baby books out there! i saw it in bigW when i was preg this time and thought "ah this is still around- new cover now but still around"...

Clareabell- on the gripe/infacol thing..are they any good??
im thinking of going with mylanta for a few days and see how that goes. we have a problem here with reflux more so than wind...hes windy but if we can get the burps out of him its not so bad...but the reflux is a dif story. he is gulping it back, throwing up curdled milk, positing or just projectile vomiting.. youd think i could have just had one baby who didnt chuck on me daily!

***talks to the higher man here****

couldnt you just spare me just one out of the four!!! was that really too much to ask? its just not nice. i never know when its going to hit me. i find im walking out the door with some bright orange/blue/red cloth nappy on my shoulder- its not a fashion trend thats taking off! i have a spare change of clothes in the car for ME! i dont like the feeling of warm vomit down my bra or back- its really not something i can get used to! the kids think he just squirts it out each end all day long- and he can do both at once- clever boy! but really im sick of them screeching out at me that hes just thrown up on them/himself/the floor/lounge whenever they hold him. and its not nice to have to throw a nappy over the shoulder of anyone who wants to hold him...its even worse when he misses the nappy and gets them!

i think ive had my share of vomit oh higher one. i DO remember the way vomit has effected our lives!

- the plane trip when dd threw up on the business man sitting next to us? projectile vomit. woosh. all over him his suit and laptop..30 min into a 2 hour trip!
-visiting family interstate with dd and we were sitting on a loaded bus when the projectile monster hit...over the isle and onto the poor ladys feet sitting over there!
-ds in the middle of the backseat of the car and i feel splashes on my arm while im driving- one talented spewer could even splash the window from her carseat.
- even the poor blo0dy cat has been chucked up on!
i deserve ONE child who doesnt vomit! just one damit! :D

LMenz

04-03-2007, 05:56 AM

my_lot

04-03-2007, 06:29 AM

i saw big signs in the coffee room in hospital and at baby health clinic saying "it is normal for your baby to have one-two unsettled periods a day and one unsettled day a week"

sorry i cant help other than that LMenz.

5-9pm is hard its right on dinner...

our little darling has been doing the 4am "cracking the sh!ts shift"!

it does my head in at this hour! i end up waking dp to take him....then we are both tired and cranky!

HELS- what does the baby bible say about this?

NoMoreScuba

04-03-2007, 07:54 AM

Well, posting on here must have done us some good last night. I gave him that feed (fed him every hour and a half from about 6pm last night...ouch my boobs are sore!), and then he was as quiet as a mouse. Like nothing had ever happened!

He still took a while to get to sleep, but at least he was quiet, so we went to bed. He didn't wake up for another feed until 4am.

I'm still knackered though. I know there's a biological reason for it, but I find his screaming SO hard to listen to. It almost makes me want to cry. No idea what it was, maybe wind. We tried to leave him to cry for a while (when i ran out of ideas and energy) but he just drove himself insane.

Urgh. Anyway, he's acting like a little angel again this morning. We'll wait and see how we go tonight !

Thanks for all the support.

*heads back to bed with head in hands*

EskimoMumma

04-03-2007, 08:11 AM

Oh god, here i am exhausted from not having a decent night sleeps like some of our DP's and wanting to whinge about that..I had no idea bubs would have those type of unsettled periods. Big huge massive :hugs: to you and some :wizard: your way to turn them into 24/7:angel:

I feel really lucky that so far DD2 is not having any unsettled periods like that.. unlike DD1...:banghead: Nothing much here to report, moving house went well, all the kids have adjusted well and love the new place..IM fine throughout the day and night, is trying to get functioning by 10am because im so sore and tired...

Best of luck girls, and coffee all around!

(eta- i do have a concern about DD2's bowel movements, she averages 1 every 2 days..if that.. sometimes 3 she goes without, but then the next few days she has 1 or 2 a day. I'm so confused, she is on Heinz formula with karicare thickener due to her silent reflux..)

LMenz

04-03-2007, 08:17 AM

Thanks my_lot :hugs: I know it could just be his unsettled time as he's getting older now.....but I want to have the perfect baby!!! :laughing: :laughing:

Oh well...I managed to get another 2 hours sleep after his feed this morning so am starting to feel a bit more sane

NoMoreScuba - Glad you managed to get some sleep. I can't stand to hear Jack cry either...I just want to run in and pick him up. Good Luck for tonight!!

Were going out to buy a vibrating rocker/swing today - anything is worth a shot!

NoMoreScuba

04-03-2007, 09:12 AM

Lauren, I bought charlie an automatic swing the other day - it was on special on the babiesgalore website. It's a graco one, and it was only $100 - it's very simple, no music or anything, but that's what we wanted. Anyway, Charlie doesn't like it so far! I think he'll like it when he's a bit bigger, but he seems to find the swinging a bit too violent, so he keeps being startled by it...hardly a relaxing experience!

Anyway, we've found that if we put it up right by the sofa the motion is calmed down a bit so he's ok in it then. Just thought I'd warn you not to expect miracles from it, we were a bit disappointed! Maybe he'll learn to love it...:rolleyes:

Nina79

04-03-2007, 09:39 AM

Morning girls!

Sorry to hear about those with unsettled babies - I noticed the moon was quite full last nite... Big hugs to you and your bubbies for a more settled day today. :hugs:

I have a different sleep related problem. Ryan sleeps for periods varying between 1.5 hrs and 3.5 hours each day - he is particularly settled when DF takes him for a walk to give me a break. Despite this, I would have been lucky to get 2 hours sleep a day since his birth (Mon) - the problem is ME!! :crying: I can't relax and have a real aversion to sleep - my whole body feel wired and humming since having him - it's like it's tuned to a whole different "non-sleep" frequency.

Last nite, we expressed so I could sleep (our midwife said it was fine to do this so early - I just take 20-30mls off the top of each feed to build up a little supply) but I lay there for hours with no luck. I even had a a glass and a half wine after a feed (bubby was probably a bit drunk at his next - he was unusually quiet!!) but.. no sleep! Eventually I got up and told DF to go to sleep and I would sleep when exhaustion arrived (it's permanent but there's something about the 3am hour that allows me to sleep...).

Has anyone else experienced this feeling?

Sorry for the long rant 'all about me' when others are having a rotten time - I'm just feeling a bit desperate as I AM exhausted and have some support that will allow me a few hours of sleep time if only my body would let me.

Re a swing - DF has found an ingenious use for my fab nursing chair stool. It swings effortlessly and is great as a rocker when the car capsule or bassinet is placed on top. We might think about a rocker down the track but for now this is doing the trick.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day. :thumbsup:

shelby

04-03-2007, 10:28 AM

having a terrible day.

lily seems to get so upset when feeding today. she pulls off the boob and cries until she gets back on and then cries again - repeat 50 times... i seem to spend 5 mins burping her every few minutes.

apart from during feeds she hasnt been too bad

she has a terrobly sore buttom - could she be in pain? the gp gave her some ointment for it but it doesnt seem to helping.

please help. what should i do. should we try some panadol.

I dont know if this helps at all but I spoke to a lactation consultant and she diagnosed us both with thrush - she said one of the symptoms was Olivia being really unsettled when feeding - sucking and then pulling off crying over and over. I know thrush can also cause a rash on the bottom. Check her mouth - if her tongue is white and the white doesnt wipe away then this is thrush apparently.

[quote=LMenz;1177767]HUGS to all of you. I hope you finally got some sleep or peace.

We had a terrible day too!!! :banghead: Jack was sooo unsettled from 5-9pm I was just about at my wits end....... When he did eventually go down (9pm) he slept until 1am and then a feed and didn't wake until 6 so we finally got some sleep. I don't know what it is about this time but he's always ratty.

quote]

The lovely lactation consultant I spoke to said the reason babies are so unsettled between 5-9 is that our milk supply is lowest at this time of day due to being tired and not having slept since the night before - also why your supply is best in the morning apparently. She said the best way to fix this is feed more frequently but also to have an afternoon nap - even 20 mins will help hormone levels and the supply. Hope this helps a little.

Me - Thanks for all the :hugs: from you guys. My normal lovely caring doctor is on annual leave for the next 2 weeks so the one I saw was a random at the local medical centre - Ill never make that mistake again!!

Ive now been told I have thrush as well which could be one of the reasons feeding is painful. Im actually taking this as a good sign as it is easily treatable and might reduce the pain. :fingerscrossed: . I am going to persevere with expressing but if things done get better soon will consider switching to Formula.....its just so draining.

My little terror was so grumbly last night also - she was changed, fed, burped, bathed, walked, wrapped, unwrapped, cuddled, put to bed, and just would not settle. Must have been the full moon!!! It sh!ts me a littlle though that I tried to settle her for about an hour and DF takes her and within 5 mins she has stopped crying and fallen asleep. GRRR!!! The little terror.

Wishing a lovely day to you all :smiliedance:

LMenz

04-03-2007, 11:02 AM

NoMoreScuba - Thanks for the tip about the swing. Maybe we will get a vibrating rocker instead.... will check them out this afternoon

Shelby - I think my supply is down in the evenings as Jack often needs a formula top up around this time. I think a nap is a great idea. Thanks. I have thrush on my nippes too....it's an awful feeling! and it hurts so much when he latches on. Good on you for sticking out the expressing...it is very draining. BTW I love the name Olivia...Jack was going to be called it if he was a girl! :)

Nina - How terrible that you can't sleep...it's probably something hormonal due to the after effects of labour. I find most nights as I'm drifting off I can hear Jack cry.....even though he isn't. I think it's a mother/protection thing. Hopefully it settles down for you soon. You must be exhausted :hugs:

MrsP

04-03-2007, 11:36 AM

Hi Guys :wave: ,

Wow!! Love our new home!!

Been at home for 10 days now and everything is going great!

My gorgeous little girl (pic in avatar) arrived at 7.52am on 19th February 2007 weighing in at 7lb 15oz. We decided to call her Evie Frances and we all love her to bits!!! I want another already lol!!! Will post my birth story when I get more time.

Will catch up on the posts and will visit here again after I finish entertaining - AGAIN!!! Getting a little over it, but if they all come over now, the less people will "drop in" after DH goes back to work - well let's hope that's the case anyway :rolleyes:

Hope all is well with everyone :)

T Bear

04-03-2007, 11:58 AM

Hi All,

I posted in the Jan Mums Thread, but thought I should show my face in the Feb Mums Thread too - since I actually have a feb bubba!
Hi everyone,

I thought I'd just pop in to let you all know I'm still here. I haven't managed to log in for a few weeks. It's amazing how much time 1 tiny person takes up! I can't believe he's nearly a month old already!

Oh-oh, Wilfred's awake...

ok, re-settled (sort of) but seems to have ended up in mummies arms, eyes keep opening as soon as the dummy comes out or the rocking stops - little rat-bag.

It's been good reading through the posts and realising that we are all having similar issues with settling etc. Our biggest struggle here seems to be with wind and poo (or lack of it). He only poos about every 36 hours and spends a lot of time working up to it and getting quite distressed with wind and pains in his tummy.

Other than that he's feeding well and gaining HEAPS of weight (330g in 5 days). My (*)(*) are still very sore and still quite damaged - healing is just so slow because the damage gets re-aggrivated every time he feeds. I've been mostly expressing from the right side (by far the worst damaged) for a few days in an attempt to give it enough time to heal - it seems to be slowly improving but still soooo painful!

Hmmm... it has just taken over an hour to type this 1 handed between rocking and jiggling to keep my naughty munchkin asleep.

I will really try to keep in touch much more!

JoJoMart

04-03-2007, 02:42 PM

Nina - I know what you mean. I was up a lot last night......after feeding Liam I would get my bottles together in the steriliser and sort all that out instead of going to bed because I felt awake & couldn't sleep. I feel like absolute sh*t today and we've had some visitors too, but they didn't stay long so that's okay.

Hels*Bels - Basically what happened in hospital was I didn't have enough breast milk supply to feed Liam to fill him up...so the midwives said I should top him up with formula and then express 3 hourly until my cracked nipples heal and to keep the flow going...I am only expressing an average of 20mls each time so I'm feeling a bit hopeless in this area. I'm looking forward to my first maternal health nurse visit this week to ask her opinion on the whole thing. Basically Liam is mainly formula fed (the poos are yuk!) and topped up with expressed breast milk once I've made up enough.

Liam is sleeping soundly at the moment. I kinda miss when I was pregnant and could logon to Bubhub anytime! Not anymore :thumbsdown:

Has Harleyq posted lately? I can't find anything from her does anyone know how she's going?

Butterflymumma

04-03-2007, 05:48 PM

Hey All,

I just wanted to post to say Thank-you to everyone for sharing your b/f experiences with me, it puts it into perspective and makes me realise im not the only one who feels like this. That makes it easier. I tried expressing, but found it to be really difficult so im going to try a nipple sheild next and hope that helps.

I spoke to mum about everything and she was really understanding and then told me i am doing a fantastic job and am a great mum so that was really nice. I must admit, despite her past comments (and im sure she meant well by them) I would be completely lost if i didnt live with her, I couldnt do this all on my own as Lillyana's father left me long ago and mum has just been so so helpful!

She took me out to lunch the other day and we did a bit of shopping, i didnt realise that just getting out of the house would be so good and It really boosted my spirits and i felt alot happier after that!

someone spoke about us all being less harsh on ourselves etc (sorry not sure who- maybe mumslilspunk?), It really hit me and i think you are so right. I created a beautiful human being, and im a new mum learning the ropes, Thanks, you made me realise its okay to make mistakes.

I hope all of you are well, It is very exciting we are all mums now, I'd be lost without BUB hub and i'd be lost without all of you- so Thanks

Group HUG :hugs:

Take Care all xxx

ziggy29

04-03-2007, 08:23 PM

Thank you everyone for your hugs and reassurance. sometimes it is hard not to feel alone but you all made me feel like part of the list again.

Roopee and my lot - i got some paw paw ointment. lets hope it does the trick

Nina - instead of going to bed and trying to sleep why dont you just lie down and relax and watch tv or read a book (not about babies). just try to wind down and not force yourself to sleep. i cant sleep unless i have read quite a bit of my novel first.

Mrs P - congratulations. Evie is so beautiful.

Butterfly mumma - glad that you are feeling more positive. i admire you for coping so well with such a challenging situation. by the way i love your avatar.

Shelby - thanks for the tip. we have had a thrush infection 2 weeks ago. i think it is cleared up (all spots on babe gone, less nipple pain, rash on her little bits gone). The rash we are dealing with now is broken skin post thrush which may have an infection. hopefully between some antibiotic ointment and the paw paw ointment things should get better soon. :fingerscrossed:

Us - so far so good tonight. I ended up calling child health in desperation last night. they said she is at an age for a growth spurt and may be getting really impatient later in the feed when the milk flow slows down. didnt change our situation but was really reassuring.

i am so tired - i m off to bed (after expressing). but for how long i do not know

BlessedWithBlue

04-03-2007, 10:52 PM

Hi all!! wow haven't i missed out on a lot lol but i found you all thanks to Kay ;)
I'm a January mummy but Feb EDD so i hope you all don't mind if i stick around here!!

We have had the boys home for 2 weeks now and we're just getting ourselves settled in to a "routine" as such lol we have just changed formula as Isaiah is having a few issues with Reflux so :fingerscrossed: this solves our problems. They are both getting better sleep wise! when we first got them home from the hospital they did not sleep for more than an hour at a time and now they are sleeping sometimes 5-6 hours having a bottle and then sleeping another 4 hours till their next feed so major progress finally! i though i was gonna go crazy cause they were both all over the place when it came to sleeping.

Well i'm gonna start from the beginning and catch up on how everyone is doing :hugs: to all

shelby

05-03-2007, 08:48 AM

Youve gotta laugh (or cry)

Yesterday we were on the way to his mums for a BBQ and I was having a bit of a whinge about how hard BF was, that Id had cracks, blisters, an infected nipple and thrush and the only other thing I could think of that could go wrong was mastitis.

2 hours later, I had a temperature, was shaking with cold despite the heat in Sydney, boobs were rock hard, red and very painful and I felt like I was going to pass out.....

Expressed for an hour and a half to try to drain the breast but there are still smallish painful lumps. I am feeling better today though just very tired. And our poor bub got overtired and screamed her lungs out for about 2 hours.

Who knew this would be so hard?

I am still going to persevere with trying to BF (I must be insane to have not given up by now)

So wish me luck ladies!!

Sorry for the pity post will check in and do personals later

:hugs: to you all

Charis

05-03-2007, 09:35 AM

Congratulations all February Mums!!! Charis from January here. So wonderful having all your bubs home and growing :smiliedance:

I think H was 6weeks before we had an established sleep routine (of sorts) :laughing: ...so it does get better, if its not now.

Wonderful time with your newborns!!:wave:

ziggy29

05-03-2007, 09:45 AM

oh shelby you poor thing.

here is my pity post.

had the worst night so far.
up every 2 hours and then bub would only latch for 5 mins b4 crying and crying. she strugglers and scratches me.i feel like she hates me.:gloomy:

we persist for about 45 mins ar which time she collapses exhausted and we start all over again an hour later.

i cant believe after all our early struggles and triumphs with bf that i might have to stop now is really unsetting.

LMenz

05-03-2007, 11:20 AM

Shelby - I really hope your feeling better soon :hugs: Have you seen your doctor? Hang in there!

Ziggy - :hugs: to you to. Jack is doing a similar thing atm......takes ages to latch on and then pulls, squirms and screams mid way through a feed. You've done so well to keep breastfeeding. Keep at it Lily may just have been having a bad day

I think Jack's in pain as he screws up him face and it goes all red. This morning after his feed I lifted his legs up high and cycled them for a bit and he let out some huge farts...I hope it makes him more comfortable. I feel so helpless......My DH had to go out today too so it's just me and Jack. A bit scary but good too cos next week it will just be the two of us as DH is back to work full time.

Well hopefully all our bubba's get some sleep today :)

NoMoreScuba

05-03-2007, 11:42 AM

shelby, hope you're feeling better soon - maybe you should go to a doc and get it checked out?

ziggy, sorry to hear about your horrible night - she definitely doesn't hate you though, whatever it was that upset her it certainly wasn't you...:hugs:

LMenz, I get the same with Charlie, he looks like he's in so much pain whenever he's farting or pooing.

My SIL told me last night it's good to have a lullaby that you sing to them as you can sing it anywhere to calm them down. Tried to get my mum to teach me a couple of lullabies this morning but they just make me cry!! I think I'm starting to get very emotional because mum and dad fly back to the uk on thursday. I'm so dreading it. I know it will be good to start dealing with things on my own during the day when DF is at work, and in a way I'm kind of looking forward to it, but it'll be hard for the first couple of days i'm sure.

Charlie screamed until 1am this morning but then slept ok ish. He's pretty unsettled today so far too. Took him to the early childhood centre and he's put on 400g this week which is HUGE ! So I guess at least I know my milk supply is ok. But recently he's starting really hurting my left boob when he latches on. Seems ok on the right, but i swore at him last night when i was feeding him because the left hurt so much...

LMenz

05-03-2007, 11:49 AM

i swore at him last night when i was feeding him because the left hurt so much...

:laughing: I shouldn't laugh but must admit I've done the same to Jack...sometimes I think he has teeth!!

AND we bought a Fisher Price calming vibrations rocker yesterday and he loves it...Thanks heavens for that! He even fell asleep in it this morning......I don't think he'll ever be in the cot again

Roopee

05-03-2007, 12:35 PM

Im so sorry to allof you having troubles b/f. What troopers you all are though for sticking with it- i tell ya i dont have that kind of patience so :yelclap: to you all.

How nice of you CHARIS to call in to our new place and say hi.!!!

ZIGGY- hows that pawpaw cream going?? Hope her little bott clears up soon.

I had a rough one lsat night too and i should be sleeping but DS2 is home and refusing to have a rest. I even tried to bribe him by waving a $5 note in front of his face but the little blighter wont go:banghead: LOL- hmmm girls, do NOT take any parenting advice from me- i bribe the children ha ha.
Have a funny moment for you all. Yesterday my boys were outside jumping on the trampoline and next thing DH is dragging DS2 inside yelling at him. I get the "tell your mother whata you just said" and DS2 says with his eyes firmly focused on the floor :no i dont want to". Anyway, it came out finally that he's bouncing and saying f#$^ing h3ll. WEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLL, i was stunned BUT much to Dh's disgust i nearly wet myself laughing. I was eating some cherry tomatoes at the time which proceeded to fly out of my nose LOL. Oh im such a good role model arent i. OOOoppppppssss!
See what you all have to look forward to.

Well DS1 had news today and he's been bugging me to take Cody as his news, so today was the day. He did really well and it seems he will be an even bigger hit with the girls now LOL, they were looking at him glassy eyed as his sitting out the front of his class holding his baby sister, very very funny!
Well not much else to say- hope everyone is getting loads of sleep!!! Yeah right!

juzzy

05-03-2007, 01:28 PM

hey guys

i had the worst night last night!!

Cassidy refused to sleep at all. So by 7am this morning i had been awake for 24 hours!

Seh had really bad wind and just wanted to feed all night to relieve the pain. It took me ages to figure out what here problem was and even after that she was almost inconsolable and just wanted to cry if she was put down for longer that 5 mins

I feel like a terrible mother today like i am failing her in some way cause i cant even recognise when my own baby is in pain :gloomy:

we had to take my mum into the city today to catch a train home this morning (1 hour each way) and finally Cassidy managed to get some sleep... me too... since then she seems to be better and has been sleeping after a feed when we got home. The poor bugger is stuffed.

anyway got Cassidys birth certificate this morning, only sent it away a week ago, so we are off to claim the maternity payment today (ebay shopping here i come!)

sorry about no personals, ill come back later maybe to catch up. Hope everyone is well

ziggy29

05-03-2007, 02:09 PM

went to the gp this am. i was terrified she would be mean to me. anyway she was quite nice and said lily might have reflux. apparently is often dosent start till 4 weeks old. but as she is putting on weight like a tropper just to try some mylanta and see if that helps her pain to settle. she also suggested trying to feed her in a more upright position :rolleyes:

she is asleep and we are both exhausted so i will go into the air conditioning and rest.

although nothing is solved i always feel much better when i have a plan in place. thanks for all the support. somehow it is reassuring to know that there are other people out in the world who are having similar experiences.

my_lot

05-03-2007, 03:30 PM

*******breaking news*******

from the exclusive club of FEB 5th babies :D

WE ARE 1 MONTH OLD TODAY!!!!

NoMoreScuba

05-03-2007, 03:39 PM

Wow, congratulations my_lot on surviving the first month!

Does anyone else feel like time is going really quickly?

ziggy, I'm glad the doc made you feel better, and fingers crossed that lilly has a better time of it soon...

Squiggles

05-03-2007, 04:19 PM

*******breaking news*******

from the exclusive club of FEB 5th babies :D

WE ARE 1 MONTH OLD TODAY!!!!

There was a few of us wasn't there... and how it only seems like yesterday. Well for me it still does as I still have the pain from my trillion stitches.

oh I hear waaaaaaaaa - best be off will check back later and try and actually respond to some people...

LMenz

05-03-2007, 06:02 PM

There was a few of us wasn't there... and how it only seems like yesterday. Well for me it still does as I still have the pain from my trillion stitches.

I wanted to ask if anyone elses stitches still hurt......mine do a bit too. Just wondering if it's still normal?

CONGRATS to you all on making it through the first month!!

Jack's just gone down after a long day.......we got some Infant's Friend today to try and help with his wind. I hope it works for him...he's in so much pain :crying:

NoMoreScuba

05-03-2007, 06:15 PM

I wanted to ask if anyone elses stitches still hurt......mine do a bit too. Just wondering if it's still normal?

Mine aren't exactly hurting, but i'm still very aware of them, I can feel them quite often. No idea how they're healing, i'm too scared to look still... My lochia has gone pretty much now, i'm quite surprised - it seemed to stop all of a sudden. Now i'm just wearing panty liners :smiliedance:

For some reason i'm really happy this evening. Is anyone else still really up and down on the emotions front?

ziggy29

05-03-2007, 09:12 PM

Oh my god Juzzy - what a horrible 24 hours you had. here is a big hug. :hugs:
You are not a terrible mother - you are a amazing, caring, thoughtful mother.

I think it would be a good idea if babies came with an indicator light like mood ring. eg. red - sore buttom, blue - just want a cuddle etc. it would certainly make life easier for us new mums.

Today at the end of a another trying day lily looked into my eyes and gave me my first smile!!!! the feeling i got was unbelieveable. i felt that if she trusts me like that then i need to trust my ability to look after her too.

Now when you next pick up your baby i want you all to say to him/her - i am a good mother; i am a good mother, i am a good mother.

Talk to you all you good mothers tomorrow. Take a bow. :yelclap:

juzzy

05-03-2007, 10:00 PM

thanks ziggy, i feel alot better now actually. Unfortunately babies don't come with an instruction manual.

Cassidy has just gone to sleep again after throwing up on my shoulder so looks like we wont be having a repeat performance of last night, thank god!

DP knows i have been feeling badly about my mothering skills and took me out to dinner tonight which was nice (Cassidy slept the whole meal thru). It felt good to get out of the house, if i dont get out every now and again i start to get a bit of cabin fever!

oh and ziggy - yay for the first smile! im looking forward to that!

Congratulations to my_lot for making it through the first month!

as for pain from stitches and things like that - i havent had any pain in that area for a week or too now. i do have back pain on the left side which i was told was from how Cassidy was stuck but other than that no pain for me. Is that normal? i do have a pulling sensation every now and again but other than that nothing!

lmenz - let me know how you go with the infants friend, i might get some for Cassidy to see if that helps with her wind problem. Hopefully it works for Jack.

NoMoreScuba - my emotions have been totally up and down. One minute i feel as though i could take on the world and nothing could get me down, the next i want to hide and shut everyone out. I find it hard to deal with my emotions at the moment as well. Its like they arent on the top of the priority list anymore so i tend to just let the mood take me rather than trying to deal with it and stay relatively human.

anyway i am certain that my girl is asleep now so i am going to catch some sleep myself. Good night all!!

harleyq

05-03-2007, 10:00 PM

Thank you all for your encouragement upon hearing the news of my waters breaking � l�m sure those vibes reached me over at Frances Perry birthing suites� Coen and l are doing really really well � we love him to bits!

I have almost caught up on all the posts - l'm probably 4 pages behind... will read on at another time... but here's a bit from me for now, will post my birth story shortly! :-)

Lauren (LMENZ) � re keeping bubs awake during a feed � YES YES YES!!! I had this problem in hospital too � l spoke with the midwives a few times about it, all had different advice, in the end l tried it all � and then called a midwife in when l was having the problem and she said it was just hopeless, l would just have to do a top up feed later as he was dead to the world (we tried, stripping him naked, wet cotton balls (almost drowned him once), massage, jiggling etc.) -- in the end a week later we have found that stopping, burping, changing him (he inevitable leaves me a present as soon as his lips touch my breasts) and then trying him again � the whole process takes about an hour by the time we have fed from both sides (or at least attempted it) changed him at least once and resettled him�

BTW - Coen usually only has one or two alert periods through the day, other than that, he will usually feed from one side, we change nappy, fiddle fart around, feed from the other side, burp and then he will get sleepy and we put him down again� once or twice he will sit up with us for awhile and we can gaze lovingly into his eyes� but that is about it� They say newborns usually sleep about 17 hours a day�

Congratulations Mumzi on the birth of Christopher Daniel.

Congratulations NewbieNina on the birth of Ryan Michael.

Congratulations allycat2 on the birth of Daniel Anthony.

Congratulations jojojonsey on the birth of Baxter Alexander.

Congratulations Shelby on the birth of Olivia Jane.

Congratulations Thelma on the birth of Elizabeth Ivy

Butterflymama � Like lillyana, Coen gets the hiccups frequently � at least a few times a day � the nurses say it doesn�t bother him � but it still bothers me�
Big hugs to you � it is not easy being mother at the best of times, having somebody second guessing your every move hardly inspires confidence�you are a wonderful mum and don�t ever doubt it!!!

My_Lot � thank you for sharing your experiences with breastfeeding � it is so reassuring to hear other peoples experiences � and heartening to hear how it was different for every one of your children.
I have been very fortunate in that Coen and l learnt how to feed pretty quickly � but one careless midwife when asked why my sons poo was green said he was extremely dehydrated � well that night l almost cried, got no sleep, hand expressed for an hour, begged the midwives to feed it to him and felt extremely guilty � people can just be so thoughtless with their careless remarks. I have also shared in the damaged nipples � l rang the ABA for advice and they did give me some useful advice but also suggested l just keep feeding and that there would be no pain to my cracked nipples if l attached properly � bulls**t� sorry once your nipples are red raw they need a break� so l began expressing my milk and gave my nipples a 48 hour vacation � they have come up trumps again and l have started breastfeeding again� cross your fingers that all goes well!!! I even managed to express a couple of hundred mls extra to freeze in case of an emergency!!

Shelby - Big hugs

Penny (icugal) � Oh, l don�t know how you and Butterflymama do it, my mum offered to come and stay with us for a week or so (she desperately wants to �but is trying to be considerate cos l have talked to her about needing my space etc.) � she has been really helpful but l couldn�t handle it� having said that l better tell her to come round some time soon � otherwise she is likely to go insane � its been a whole 4 days since she has seen her grandson � she calls me every day to see how we are (but in a good way � not the checking up way that mothers sometimes get) � she was here when l got home from hospital on the Friday, and for some reason l just kept crying (over the littlest things � or nothing) and she was really supportive.

A dumb question � how do you know if you do not have enough milk, or that your milk supply �dips� in the evenings? Coen just seems to suck and suck and suck � l think l have enough there�

LMenz

06-03-2007, 06:37 AM

Mine aren't exactly hurting, but i'm still very aware of them, I can feel them quite often. No idea how they're healing, i'm too scared to look still... My lochia has gone pretty much now, i'm quite surprised - it seemed to stop all of a sudden. Now i'm just wearing panty liners For some reason i'm really happy this evening. Is anyone else still really up and down on the emotions front? Thanks for that Sarah - Your lucky your bleeding has stopped, mine is still very up and down just like my emotions :laughing: Yesterday I cried with Jack as he was in so much pain but 10 minutes later I was fine...... I'm imagining it will all level out soon

Today at the end of a another trying day lily looked into my eyes and gave me my first smile!!!! the feeling i got was unbelieveable. i felt that if she trusts me like that then i need to trust my ability to look after her too. :thumbsup: That's fantastic Ziggy.......You are doing a wonderful job

lmenz - let me know how you go with the infants friend, i might get some for Cassidy to see if that helps with her wind problem. Hopefully it works for Jack.

So far so good......We gave him his first dose last night and he went down at 7pm with very little fuss (most unusual for that time) He was up at 10pm for another feed and passed heaps of wind but never battered an eye :fingerscrossed: It keeps working. The real test will be from lunchtime today as this is normally his unsettled period. He doesn't like the taste much but manages to keep it down. I'll let you know how he goes today

Lauren (LMENZ) � re keeping bubs awake during a feed � YES YES YES!!! I had this problem in hospital too � l spoke with the midwives a few times about it, all had different advice, in the end l tried it all � and then called a midwife in when l was having the problem and she said it was just hopeless, l would just have to do a top up feed later as he was dead to the world (we tried, stripping him naked, wet cotton balls (almost drowned him once), massage, jiggling etc.) -- in the end a week later we have found that stopping, burping, changing him (he inevitable leaves me a present as soon as his lips touch my breasts) and then trying him again � the whole process takes about an hour by the time we have fed from both sides (or at least attempted it) changed him at least once and resettled him�

A dumb question � how do you know if you do not have enough milk, or that your milk supply �dips� in the evenings? Coen just seems to suck and suck and suck � l think l have enough there�

Welcome back Harleyq!! Looking forward to seeing some pictures of Coen.

I've started doing breast compression towards the end of a feed when Jack gets really sleepy....it really helps him get the last little bit of milk and it's making feeds a bit shorter. Apart from this nothing else has worked for us. It's quiet frustrating. Hope it's all going well for you

RE: enough milk....I think the best indication is (what lactation consultant told me) 6 wet nappies a day, yellow poo, settling most of the time, weight gain of 150/200g per week, alert baby and good skin colour. Hope that helps..... Jack is a real comfort sucker so I find it's a fine line for me of when to take him off the boob.

My supply also drops quiet a bit in the evening so he has a small top up of formula when he needs it. If Coen isn't searching for more food then I'd say your supply is fine :)

bAaM

06-03-2007, 09:57 AM

Hello all the beautiful feb mummys thought i better come by and see how every one is doing My little marissa is great we have had a few bad days/nights but it looks like we are finally in a routine she has started smiling at me and dp but she will not look at us she will only look at her big proud brother all the time no one else.
I noticed a few of you are having trouble with wind well i have a few suggestions try lifting bub slowly up just under the arms to stetch them out or sometimes the wind can get trapped under there arms so try rubbing under there side and keep them up right when feeding. I only no this stuff cause i had ALOT of trouble with ds and reflux and went to stay at a special place where you can get help from midwifes for a week.

Welcome back Nina im glad everything went ok and congrats again.on the sleep issue it happend to me for the first 2 weeks and then it all caught up on me. Its just a new mummy thing.
congrats mrsp and harleyq and every one else i have missed.

Welcome Tbear and my2boys this is by far the BEST thread it is filled with awsome ladies and the best looking kids in the world ;) so come on in.
Thanks Charis that was nice of you.
Shelby i cant say i no how u feel cause i couldnt BF but i hope you are feeling better (jack does NOT hate you)

To the feb 5 fab congrats on us getting through the first month.
We went to Australia zoo on sunday and it was great bub sleep nearly all day and ds had a ball we got a photo of bub in a ( pretend) Crocs mouth i will put it on my aviater if i can.
Thats it from me i can hear bub i will try and catch up again today i got a funny story for you all so talk to you soon. **blows kisses**
:wave:

Hels*Bels

06-03-2007, 01:06 PM

Sorry no personals today but bubs has fallen asleep in my arms lol.

Have had a rough couple of days. To cut a long story short I have seen my doctor and she has prescribed me some anti-depressants for mild PND. I have also had a big crying session with my parents and let it all out. This has helped heaps and some changes have been made for the better to help me thru it.
DH is also going to cut back his hours at work for a while and start later in the morning so he can help with the 3am feed, as this is when I struggle most.
It is so awful to cry all the time and not know why and to feel so much hate and resentment, it's so not like me at all :(
However, today has been alot better and I have started to enjoy my little boy a bit more.
I can't wait to get back to my old self again.

My bleed has just about stopped too and I am expecting AF back soon :thumbsdown:
I always suffer with PMS so no wonder my hormones are all over the place!

Squiggles

06-03-2007, 01:07 PM

Welcome back Harleyq!! Hope you are enjoying motherhgood!!

Yesterday we were on the way to his mums for a BBQ and I was having a bit of a whinge about how hard BF was, that Id had cracks, blisters, an infected nipple and thrush and the only other thing I could think of that could go wrong was mastitis.

2 hours later, I had a temperature, was shaking with cold despite the heat in Sydney, boobs were rock hard, red and very painful and I felt like I was going to pass out.....

Expressed for an hour and a half to try to drain the breast but there are still smallish painful lumps.

Oh Shelby - that sounds awful. Hope you are feeling better now. I have woken up a few times with really hard lumpy full boobs and I know how much they hurt so I can only imagine what you went through.

AND we bought a Fisher Price calming vibrations rocker yesterday and he loves it...Thanks heavens for that! He even fell asleep in it this morning......I don't think he'll ever be in the cot again

Lauren, we got a Bertini one and Connor loves it too - I must admit though I just leave him in it so often now and leave the vibrating going... his poor little brain must be turning to mush!

Have a funny moment for you all. Yesterday my boys were outside jumping on the trampoline and next thing DH is dragging DS2 inside yelling at him. I get the "tell your mother whata you just said" and DS2 says with his eyes firmly focused on the floor :no i dont want to". Anyway, it came out finally that he's bouncing and saying f#$^ing h3ll. WEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLL, i was stunned BUT much to Dh's disgust i nearly wet myself laughing. I was eating some cherry tomatoes at the time which proceeded to fly out of my nose LOL. Oh im such a good role model arent i. OOOoppppppssss!
See what you all have to look forward to.

:laughing: Love it!
I had a moment with my 6 year old niece who decided to tell me one day all of the bad words that you are not allowed to say - she listed them off for me which I know I was supposed to discourage but I couldn't help but laugh - at least she knew they were bad words!

Seh had really bad wind and just wanted to feed all night to relieve the pain. It took me ages to figure out what here problem was and even after that she was almost inconsolable and just wanted to cry if she was put down for longer that 5 mins

I feel like a terrible mother today like i am failing her in some way cause i cant even recognise when my own baby is in pain

Hey Juzzy, don't feel bad. I have no idea half the time what is wrong with Connor and it can be pretty upsetting sometimes. But Im sure it will get easier to read the signs with time.

My baby bible is a book called "Baby Love" by Robin Barker

Hels - I was so impressed with all your tips I went out and bought this book on Sunday. Its great. Has lots of answers to a few things I was wondering about.

eagerly_awaiting - are you getting on better with your hugabub yet - any tips?

Nomorescuba - DH and I tried again with it on the weekend and I ended up swearing ,my head off and vowing to Sell it on ebay. Connor hates it he screams and head butts me and I end up carrying him - he just gets too worked up and I get all stressed out. :banghead: How are you going with yours?

I think it would be a good idea if babies came with an indicator light like mood ring. eg. red - sore buttom, blue - just want a cuddle etc. it would certainly make life easier for us new mums.

Today at the end of a another trying day lily looked into my eyes and gave me my first smile!!!! the feeling i got was unbelieveable.

Love the idea!

As for the smiles - they are just the best reward aren't they!! Although DH is now competing with me to get more smiles :rolleyes: He says he gets them all the time.

Hope everyone else is well and getting at at least some sleep?
I am feeling pretty run down and tired. Stitches and downstairs area still requiring me to take painkillers which I dont like.
Poor little Connor is constipated at the moment - I have been giving him water but he is passing little pebbles. He was screaming and turning bright red yesterday and I looked in his nappy and he had one that was stuck on its way out - I had to help remove it IYKWIM poor baby I felt so awful for him and helpless. Off to see the health care nurse on Fri and see what else we can do.
He also has a rash all over him that looks pretty nasty but again will have to wait til Fri to get some relief for him.

:hugs: Big hugs to all!!

icugal

06-03-2007, 01:31 PM

Hello feb girls.. I've missed you guys the last few days...

So, I went up to Wodonga over the weekend and did the walk on the new Albury Bypass which was a little bit exciting I must admit. All up I walked about 6kms which I think is a fair achievement considering I'd had a caesar only a month earlier... it felt so good to be out and about !! We missed out on the official ceremony though at the Murray River Bridge (little Johnnie Howard was there) because my little one decided he needed a feed about half way there (we walked along the freeway to the bridge and back again), so we had to stop for that. Considering it was 32 degrees, I couldn't blame him for being hot and thirsty.

The best bit about the weekend though is that I got to drive again. We had to take my car up to Wodonga because the air con in DF's car is screwed... and given that it was 38 degrees on Saturday, I didn't want Kaelan to fry !! Because of the baby seat in the back however, my drivers side seat can't be moved back any more and with DF being 6'3", I was pretty much forced to drive... which was fine with me !! Technically, I'm not allowed to drive for another week, but I won't tell if you won't tell :)

There were so many pages here to catch up on when I got back, so please forgive me for not doing lots of personals.

For those of you with unsettled babies, I offer you lots of these -- :hugs: -- and I know exactly how you feel. Thankfully though, Kaelan has been a little more settled for the past two days and has (finally) been sleeping for 3-4 hours at a time. On a side note, I took him to the MCHN yesterday for his second appointment and the little porker put on over 700 grams in two weeks !! Apparently he now weighs 9lb, 5oz... he's getting so big !!

MrsP - Congrats on the birth of Evie !!

My2Boys0917 - Or should that be 4boys !!.. Welcome back and a big congrats on the twins. I find it hard enough to cope with one baby... I don't know how you cope with two (plus the other two as well). I just realised that our babies were born on the same day... yay for us !! ;)

Roopee - Bribing the kids to bed? Sounds like something that I'd probably do !! You crack me up !! *LOL*

harleyq - Welcome back !! Hope to see some pictures of your little man soon !!

Hels - :hugs: to you. Good on you acknowledging that you need some help.. that is probably the biggest step of all. Hope you feel better soon. And can I just say (and I've been meaning to say this for awhile), Reece is just GORGEOUS !! He's certainly going to break some hearts when he gets older... what a stunner !!

While I'm here, two more things spring to mind..

1) Reminder to you all that we have a Feb baby photo thread (http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?t=72972)... I want to see more more babies !!

2) The February Melbourne mothers thread that we had in our old forum... where shall we continue that?? because I would still like to pursue meeting up with you guys at some stage.

bAaM

06-03-2007, 01:37 PM

BIG :hugs: :hugs: to u hels and good on you for getting some help before it got worse. I had PND with DS which i wouldn't admit to and it got that bad that it turned into Bypolar Disorder and am still five yrs later on tablets. They even uped my dose after i had marissa so they new i was ok.
I can't stress enough to all the other mums that if your feeling horrabile all the time and even think u may have i PND go to ur doc and talk to them i missed so much with my son that i am only just realising now i have marissa.

Another :hugs: Hels cause i no u would be feeling like cr*p but it does get better i promise.

NoMoreScuba

06-03-2007, 02:49 PM

hels, lots of these coming your way - :hugs: :hugs: - I'm really pleased that you have found help. I hope that you are feeling more like your old self soon. Can I just ask a question (and please feel free not to answer me as I understand this must be very private to you) - have you been feeling like this ever since Reece was born, or is it something that has come about more recently? I'm asking because my emotions have been really up and down, and with my mum and dad leaving on thursday i'm going to keep a very close eye on things because i'm going to be down anyway. I just wondered whether it's something you have straight from birth or if it can come on later.

squiggles - god, i still haven't tried the bl*&dy hugabub. I really should. Maybe this weekend when DF will be able to share my frustration!

Right, screaming baby needs feeding i think. Who knows. But at least he's quiet when he's got a nipple in his mouth :D

LMenz

06-03-2007, 04:09 PM

Hels...some BIG :hugs: for you. I'm so sorry that your feeling this way but remember it won't last forever and you've done the right thing by seeing your doctor. We're all here to support you. Please PM me if you ever need a chat :)

Penny - I'd still love to meet up too...I might PM a mod and see if we can have the thread moved to our new home

Hels*Bels

06-03-2007, 04:55 PM

Thanks for your kind words girls, I am feeling alot better already today and I have had alot more interaction and bonding with Reece which we have both enjoyed. I got my first real smile today with his gums showing and my heart just melted.

Penny - Good on you for doing the walk in Albury and getting out and about. I think Kaelan is gorgeous too, I can't wait to meet you both in the flesh at the meet :D Our bubs are about the same size now too!
Good idea LMenz to get the meet thread moved :thumbsup:

NoMoreScuba - I am happy to talk about my situation as what I say might help someone else. When I had Reece I had this over whelming feeling of love for him and I would spend hours holding him in my arms. Then after 2-3 weeks it got so much harder eg the breast feeding issues, bubs being unsettled and he started screaming for no reason. Then I started to feel very resentful and unhappy. I didn't want to get up in the night anymore, I would lay in bed and in my mind I would be saying "shut up stupid baby and go back to sleep".
Then 2 nights ago I refused to get out of bed and I told DH to take him away to be adopted :eek:
I felt awful about it the next day and couldn't stop crying all the time. Talking to my DH and my parents (who are staying with us) really helped me, aswell as seeing the doctor.
Amazingly, today all of those negative feelings have gone. I sat on the floor with Reece this arvo telling him a story and we loved every minute of it. I think this is the first time I have seen him as a real person, rather than as an eating/pooing/sleeping machine.
Since the birth, my hormones have been up and down like a roller coaster (which is quite normal). But I suddenly realised that I wasn't feeling like my normal self anymore, which is when I realised I had more of a problem.
They usually say that if you have more unhappy days than good days, that's when you could have a problem.

Butterflymumma

06-03-2007, 08:31 PM

Hey ladies,

How is everyone today?? Hopefully well!

shelby- I admire you in every way possible for your sheer strength regarding your B/f issues! You have definitley been through every possible bad b/f experience and to keep going on is just pure courage! Good on you!!!

had the worst night so far.
up every 2 hours and then bub would only latch for 5 mins b4 crying and crying. she strugglers and scratches me.i feel like she hates me.:gloomy:

oh ziggy, your little one could never hate you!!! You are doing a terrific Job, and she knows it!

LMenz, I get the same with Charlie, he looks like he's in so much pain whenever he's farting or pooing.

recently he's starting really hurting my left boob when he latches on. Seems ok on the right, but i swore at him last night when i was feeding him because the left hurt so much...

i have both these problems with Lillyana, It seems odd to me that a b/f'd baby would make so much noise while pooing, but she really goes for it!! my mw said its nothing to worry about unless they have no result..so im always checking Lol. Ouch i hear you about the left boob issue, what is it with left boobs?? Mine just never feels right and I tell you what, it is hard to think bubs is cute when your in so much pain!!

I feel like a terrible mother today like i am failing her in some way cause i cant even recognise when my own baby is in pain :gloomy:

I have felt like this many times Juz, your not alone there. But its not true you are a fantastic mum!! Babies unfortunatley cant talk to us with language so we have to just work by trial and error, I was up last night literally feeling like i was on deaths door, and Lilly wouldnt settle for hours I was so angry at her for making life difficult and myself for not knowing what else to do to help my child, luckily my mum got up to help me which didnt necessarily get her to sleep any quicker but did make it easier because at least i had someone else's support and someone to talk to. It can be quite frustrating at 2am in the morning when they just wont settle and you have no idea what else to do!

oh I hear waaaaaaaaa - best be off will check back later and try and actually respond to some people...

LOL as soon as i read that line i heard the familure WAAAA as well LOL!

For some reason i'm really happy this evening. Is anyone else still really up and down on the emotions front?

YUP isn't it crazy?!?! One minute i feel on top of the world the next im really low!! I cant keep up with my emotions so im just going with the flow now.

Hels*Bels- :hugs: to you! It must have taken a lot of courage to admit that things werent feeling right and I admire you for your strength. I hope things get better for you soon! Never forget you have all of us to talk to and we all really care about you and your little man.

Me- Well saturday and sunday nights were just fantastic in this house- NOT! I was spewed up on twice in 2 nights! It is so lovely when you go to burp your bubba and 'blergghh' warm smelly vomit all down your back at 3am in the morning...just wonderful! Not to mention that it got on my bed too!

Last night was a rough night for me as I was really really tired and she wouldnt settle for hours. I managed to get some sleep today so hopefully i will be feeling much better tonight! Does anyone else feel like during the day they are in control, totally going well with this mummy stuff and totally in love with your baby and then as soon as the early hours of the morning hit, You suddenly think 'why the hell did i sign up for this!' and doubt your abilities and feel really cut off from the love you had that day? I just get so overwhelmed and have told Lillyana to 'shut up' sometimes which makes me angrier at myself for lack of patience. I know its just sleep deprivation because during the day i am happy as larry with her and feel like i can handle her when she cries its just at night when i wonder why i had a baby...:( I hate that feeling, it makes me feel so dissapointed in myself...

oh and p.s I finially posted my birth story

http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?p=1184820#post1184820

All my Love
xx Tegan

BlessedWithBlue

06-03-2007, 10:36 PM

My2Boys0917 - Or should that be 4boys !!.. Welcome back and a big congrats on the twins. I find it hard enough to cope with one baby... I don't know how you cope with two (plus the other two as well). I just realised that our babies were born on the same day... yay for us !! ;)

lol i think a name change for me is in order soon ;)
It's not as hard as i thought it would be, luckily for me the twins are very placid babies, the other two are a handful at the moment though :laughing: Great day to be born :D

shelby

07-03-2007, 09:04 AM

butterflymumma and everyone else - thanks so much for your kind words. you're all so so lovely and I appreciate your reassurance.

I went and saw a doctor and got some antibiotics and the mastitis seems to be all but gone, only problem is my supply has practically halved in the meantime. I tried feeding her on my own again but ended up with new cracks and bleeding nipples.

Have booked myself in to see the family care centre for 2 hours this morning to hopefully get some help with BF. If it doesnt get much better after that I will consider giving up.

Hels - Good for you for having the courage and strength to ask for help. I really feel for you hon and am so glad you are starting to feel better already. Please remember we are all here for you and things will only get better from here on.:hugs: to you.

Nomorescuba - :hugs: to you also. I hope you start feeling better soon and really admire you for being so self aware that you are conscious there might be a problem. I hear you with the up and down emotions - sometimes I feel so much joy and happiness and feel utterly in love with my little girl then others I feel quite detached from her and really really down.....hopefully the rollercoaster will settle down.

Penny - 6kms thats bloody awesome!! I went for a walk last week and barely made it to the end of my street and back!!!

Welsome back harleyq! We've missed you and a huge congrats :)

Hope you all have a great day.

Roopee

07-03-2007, 11:45 AM

HELS_ massive hugs to you. You have amazing courage and strength to admit that all was not right and to get yourself to a Dr so fast. Im glad your feeling so much better now.

I think i have satans child LOL. My baby has gone from being so calm and relaxed to absolutelyjust will not sleep much at night. I have had 6 hrs sleep over 3 nights and its pretty hard getting up in the morings i tell ya. I would love to be able to sleep thru that day when Cpdy does but its impossible when i have the other children at home. Im tired im cranky and i just wanna lie down. It seems when my bum hits the bed at night Cody wakes. Its called *** radar and she has it. I seriously hope its a growth spurt. Oh, and why is it that men can hear a dog barking 6 streets away and their baby ca be screaming in the next room and they dont hear that???? I dont get it!! I asked him to get up this morning at 3.30 as i had yet to get to bed, i'd been up for over 24hrs, and i got the "well i have to go to work" speech.:banghead: WTF?????? Are you kidding me??? I just gritted my teeth and said, if you dont get up im calling your boss to ring in sick for you! I'll spend the day shopping and YOU can et the kids ready for school and look after the others all day! I was ready to commit homocide. He got up.
It had better be a growth spurt and not something permanent.

I hope evreyones going well today-:hugs: to all who need them!

JoJoMart

07-03-2007, 01:19 PM

Hi everyone! Gosh, I don't know where you all find the time to get on the computer......this has been my first chance in a couple of days I think!

Hels - sorry to hear how you have been feeling. I totally understand.....I basically feel like I'm controlling myself most days from crying and have a little cry most days (or a big cry!) because it's so hard work with a newborn. I feel like I'm in mourning for my old life sometimes but little Liam is georgeous so I wouldn't change having him but it's just so hard. Plus the sleep deprivation is just a killer.

Is anyone having supply issues with BF? Mine is a logistical nightmare........I have a low supply and express BM every three hours to get only 20mls of milk each time and I top up Liam with formula. Basically he's a formula fed baby & I had to stop the BF from the breast because he had damaged my nipples. Now that they have healed I try and give him the breast to stimulate them more and he won't latch on & stuffs around & cries. I'm really worried I won't be able to breast feed him at all now......going to a BF clinic next tuesday at the hospital so I hope I can sort this out plus get my Maternal health nurse visit today. I feel a bit like a failure.......

ICUGAL Penny - I still hope we can all meet at some stage. I had a caesarian too so I won't be driving for another couple of weeks but feel quite okay that I could then.....so maybe the Melbourne ladies could all meet up then?

:hugs: to everyone.

icugal

07-03-2007, 02:00 PM

I feel for you Roopee... this is what I have been through for the past two weeks. Given the amount of weight that Kaelan put on in that time (over 700 grams), I thinking it must have been related to a growth spurt. For the last two days though, he has been great (*touch wood*) and has been sleeping solidly for nearly four hours at a time. It has been sheer bliss... :fingerscrossed: that this lasts for awhile.

As for your DH, make sure he helps you out a bit more. Whether he has to work or not.. you still have to get some sleep !! Kick his a$$ girl !!! :D

Shelby - Glad to hear that the mastitis has resolved itself... and I hope your supply comes back. Hearing all the continuing trials and tribulations that you poor girls are going through with BF (and good on you all for sticking it out)... makes me almost happy that I switched to formula.

1st time Mum in Melb - :hugs: to you. Hope the BF works out for you, but if you do have to go to formula, don't feel too guilty about it (I struggled with the same thing)... you've genuinely given your best shot and that's the main thing.

As for meeting up... I'm thinking we should probably wait until at least April... that way everyone should be mostly recovered from their births.

As for me, two new things today...

1) My caesar scar has finally healed up to a point that it's not oozing anymore (sorry if TMI). One side of my scar healed up almost immediately after surgery, however the other side split open a bit and was leaking haemoserous fluid for weeks. I was starting to get concerned that it was getting infected, but now it seems to be much better.

2) For the first time today, I couldn't squeeze any milk out of my nipples. Looks like I'm all dried up !! :)

Other than the fact that there is an extra little person in our house, I'm almost starting to feel as though I was never pregnant - I have no belly, no swollen feet, my caesar scar is mostly painless, I have no bleeding (lochia), there's no milk in my breasts etc... I'm almost boring old Penny again.

I wonder when the dreaded AF will strike again??

bAaM

07-03-2007, 02:26 PM

Hi girls just droped in to say a quick hello as i got to pick up DS.
I forgot to tell you my story well marissa is a little constapated and i found this out on monday while at the doctors. Bub had been doing little farts so i thought she had done a poo and as i stood up to go change her she let off a ripper that every one in the room heard and just looked at me, i mean it was loud . Ds turned to me and said "mum ur gross" when i said it was bub andrew turned and told me her bum is to little for that big fluff :laughing: i just got up and waited at the back of the room for my doc. What a trooper.
I have put in a 'getting to no u thread in our birth group so i can get to no u guys a bit better.
http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?p=1190952#post1190952
We no some much about our bubs but i don't even no your b-days.

Hels*Bels

07-03-2007, 04:39 PM

Firstly big :hugs: to those of you having sleep/settling issues and BF issues. They just don't tell you in advance how difficult this parenting thing can be do they?

I'm feeling alot better and in control now. Not sure if the anti depressants are kicking in yet but all my negative feelings have gone. At 3am I now go into Reece with a smile saying "hello sweetheart, time for your milky?" which is a big step up from laying in bed saying "shut up stupid baby" lol.
So I am alot more calm, my mood has lifted and I am bonding with my baby again :yelclap:

Today I went to a mother's group which I really enjoyed. It was my first trip out with bubs so it's done my confidence the world of good. A couple of the other mum's have PND too so we chatted about that, it's nice to know I am not alone.
I'm looking forward to going again next week, and Reece was one of the best behaved bubs there!!

I agree about postponing the meet for the melb ladies, wait until everyone can drive again and are more confident with bubs. Reece is almost 6 weeks old and I am only just finding my feet.

Squiggles

07-03-2007, 08:29 PM

Is anyone having supply issues with BF? Mine is a logistical nightmare........I have a low supply and express BM every three hours to get only 20mls of milk each time and I top up Liam with formula. Basically he's a formula fed baby & I had to stop the BF from the breast because he had damaged my nipples. Now that they have healed I try and give him the breast to stimulate them more and he won't latch on & stuffs around & cries. I'm really worried I won't be able to breast feed him at all now......going to a BF clinic next tuesday at the hospital so I hope I can sort this out plus get my Maternal health nurse visit today. I feel a bit like a failure.......

Don't feel like a failure - what could you have donw to change the situation...? Nothing!! And thats the way you have to look at it, you are doing the best for your child.

I had a really similar issue. Connor was BF in the hospital fine for the first 4 days then on day 5 when we were discharged he was really really ratty and unsettled and the midwife said to me that he was hungry - I didn't think he was and I thought it was all going well. They weighed him and he had lost more than 10% of his birth weight. Turned out that my milk didn't come in properly until about 2 weeks after he was born and only in my left boob - apparently my right boob is a bit of a dud and was still producing immature milk. I was advised to top up on formula and keep trying him on the boob - well it all went to **** from there... he would cry and scream and fight everytime I tried to BF him - I got stressed which also affected my milk supply. Went to get some help at the hospital and they put me on Motillium - which helps to increase the milk supply. I am producing more now but Connor still fights and wont take the boob - so he is fed 99% of the time from a bottle. I am able to express about 200mls a day - so he has 2 feeds of expressed breast milk and 4 or 5 of formula. Its the best I can do and I have to accept that. I know its beyond my control so no help in feeling guilty, even though I did for a few weeks. Hope you can get some help and feel better :hugs:

Hels - Glad to hear you have been out and about and are feeling more chipper. Im glad you were able to get some help and have a good support network.

Me... well DH took today off work (surprised me) and let me sleep in - I slept for nearly 7 hours!!! And I even had a dream, haven't had one of those for a while... it was a weird one... I dreamt that Hulk Hogan (the wrestler) and his Son were driving me to work at a garden supply place and that I went ice skating in my lunch break!! Weird huh. It was so nice to sleep and not have to worry about Connor, DH did all his feeds overnight and this morning. I was feeling top of the world, but this evening every little thing is getting on my nerves and I have just been picking fights with DH - he has now gone to bed and we are not speaking. I think I am justified in some of the things I have said to him - some things he does have made me angry but I also think my hormones are all over the place which has made me approach things in a completely immature way - Im just picking at him and he is prob pretty tired and snapping back. UGGGHHHHH maybe my AF is about to rear its ugly head??!! That could eplain the up and down behaviour!!

:hugs: big hugs to all the Super mums!! xx

icugal

07-03-2007, 08:45 PM

God, I knew I'd jinx myself by saying that Kaelan has been sleeping better lately... he has been a horror all day !!! :banghead:

With the exception of a few catnaps, he's been awake and (mostly) screaming since 12pm. He's driven me completely crazy !! Currently he is balancing on my chest, sleeping (finally). At least I can type on the laptop whilst he snoozes on me... gives me something to do :)

I don't dare move him !!

mumslilspunks

07-03-2007, 09:04 PM

Oh, and why is it that men can hear a dog barking 6 streets away and their baby ca be screaming in the next room and they dont hear that???? I dont get it!! I asked him to get up this morning at 3.30 as i had yet to get to bed, i'd been up for over 24hrs, and i got the "well i have to go to work"
I hope evreyones going well today-:hugs: to all who need them!
Oh i hear you on that!LOL Id love to go to work and forget about the screaming kids and demand feeding, the time to myself and just talking to other adults.

I wonder when the dreaded AF will strike again??
Not looking forward to that!
I forgot to tell you my story well marissa is a little constapated and i found this out on monday while at the doctors. Bub had been doing little farts so i thought she had done a poo and as i stood up to go change her she let off a ripper that every one in the room heard and just looked at me, i mean it was loud . Ds turned to me and said "mum ur gross" when i said it was bub andrew turned and told me her bum is to little for that big fluff :laughing: i just got up and waited at the back of the room for my doc. .
LOL I would of P$##@! myslef laughing if i was there. Trust kids to say whatever they think.

Today I went to a mother's group which I really enjoyed. It was my first trip out with bubs so it's done my confidence the world of good. A couple of the other mum's have PND too so we chatted about that, it's nice to know I am not alone.
.
Glad to hear you have meet some mums who will be abel to offer advice aswell as listen. I love my mums group they really are a heavens sent (besides bubhub) but its good to hear and see other mums and to know there having troubles too and its not just yourself!!

MESorry but this might be a little rant:
I had a bad day yesterday DS1 has started teething again ( 2yr old molars) and just been wingey as. DS1 was unsettled yesterday aswell so rang DH at work and told him i was going to do the grocery shopping on my own to have some 'me' time, that was fine. He got home dinner was ready, DS1 was feed and sleeping and all he had to do was feed ds1, I got home after 1.5hrs and as soon as i walked in the door i was yelled at! " Ive had 2 kids screaming, had to do dinners, bottles and stuff", "why were you gone so long":banghead: f$#! me i have this everyday and you cant even handel 2hours of it?
Well i let him have it....:
He can go hunting, fishing,camping and to the pub and i hardley ever ***** about that. He was out all night drinking the other night and didnt det home till 10am the next morning and im supposed to just deal with it.:banghead:
SORRY luck i have a good baby and not such a good DH!!
Sorry for the rant ladies but am just lack of sllep and just sick of dealing with a selfish husband.
OH and where is he tonight at the clubhouse watching the mundine fight and drinking!!!!

icugal

08-03-2007, 07:50 AM

MESorry but this might be a little rant:
I had a bad day yesterday DS1 has started teething again ( 2yr old molars) and just been wingey as. DS1 was unsettled yesterday aswell so rang DH at work and told him i was going to do the grocery shopping on my own to have some 'me' time, that was fine. He got home dinner was ready, DS1 was feed and sleeping and all he had to do was feed ds1, I got home after 1.5hrs and as soon as i walked in the door i was yelled at! " Ive had 2 kids screaming, had to do dinners, bottles and stuff", "why were you gone so long":banghead: f$#! me i have this everyday and you cant even handel 2hours of it?
Well i let him have it....:
He can go hunting, fishing,camping and to the pub and i hardley ever ***** about that. He was out all night drinking the other night and didnt det home till 10am the next morning and im supposed to just deal with it.:banghead:
SORRY luck i have a good baby and not such a good DH!!
Sorry for the rant ladies but am just lack of sllep and just sick of dealing with a selfish husband.
OH and where is he tonight at the clubhouse watching the mundine fight and drinking!!!!

All I have to say is... bloody men !!!

I'm lucky that my DF is pretty good and helps me out with the baby to a point (he generally does the overnight feeds... which is bliss)... however, even he has his moments. He always loves messing up my kitchen after I've just spent ages cleaning it !! I feel like I'm cleaning up after him all the time... but I guess I could have it worse.

Clareabell

08-03-2007, 07:58 AM

Thankgod I'm not the only one having fights with DH...He means well, but geez I'm loosing it with him atm. It's because I'm so tired and he gets to sleep (or stay in bed) all night. Poor Oliver cops it sometimes and it's not his fault. Being tired can change your WHOLE personality, I reckon!!! DH actually got up at 4am this morning and helped with Ollie's feed - YAY!!! But of course I lost it with him as he was doing it different to how I do it and he lost his dummy.. I still love him though!!!! The joy's of newborns!!! We were exactly the same when William was newborn.

Re: Constipation - We are trying Karicare brand formula this time, to see if that changes his bowel movements. My neighbours mum is a midwife and she reckons S26 Gold is known to cause constipation in young ones ???? I swore by it with William and my brother and I were brought up on it, so I don't know???? We will see how we go with the different brand..:fingerscrossed:

Geez we have our days with Oliver sleeping. He won't settle in his cot during the day and he takes a while to settle him at night when he first goes to bed after his bath..but then after that he's a gem - wakes up every 4 hours (like clockwork). Sometimes I give him an extra 60mls to really settle him and that works great!! It's cooler today, so he has gone back into his cot this morning for a snooze - YAY!! HOPEFULLY THAT MEANS WE WILL HAVE A GOOD DAY :fingerscrossed: !!

:hugs: to everyone having a rough time and thankyou girls for making me feel normal - I have really lost it at times with DH and POOR Oliver and after reading all your posts I guess I'm not the only one going through this change in my life.

Keep smiling girls xx

:wave: for now..

LMenz

08-03-2007, 08:47 AM

Well I had the same night as everyone else by the sounds of it......Jack was up and down from 4pm til he finally crashed at 10pm. What a terror!! I'm wondering if he's having a growth spurt as all he wanted to do was eat... Anyway this morning he's fine and was just playing and gurgling in his cot when I got up. It's amazing how they can change just like that.

My DH is driving me up the wall too. He's been on holiday's for the last 3 weeks but had done some sort of work from home everyday. I finally cracked last night as he was taking another business call (at about 7pm mind you!!) - I told him to get off the fu**ing phone!!! After that I just handed him the screaming baby and told him to deal with it!!!! I'm just so frustrated as we will never get these first 3 weeks back and all I've done is constantly nag him about not working......I'm so mad at his work too as they knew for 9 months that he would be having some time off - OK RANT OVER!!

:hugs: to everyone else having men troubles - they have no idea sometimes!!

Also I had a couple of our old threads moved into our new home;
*Feb mums in Melb
*Feb mums weight loss thread
*First Thoughts

Well I'm off for a shower while Jack sleeps......
Hope everyone has a wonderful day!! :)

my_lot

08-03-2007, 08:57 AM

ill join the club!

dp calls me a raving lunatic OFTEN :laughing: oh yeah i can laugh about it now but i want to dong him one when he says it!

we have a baby that wont go to sleep in his bed NO he likes to be rocked in my arms or if he has to :laughing: then he will fall asleep on dps shoulder,only if he has to! only after crying in protest.

at 4 am the other morning i said to dp "what am i meant to do with him! he just wont shut up and i want to sleep! he wont settle in his own bed...and rocking him is fine now but i dont want to be doing it in a years time". he says dont worry he will sleep through when hes one! its not my point. i dont want to be rocking him off to sleep!

with ds1 i b/fed him to sleep after his bath. i thought oh what a sweet way to go to sleep each night- how cute does he look drunk on the BJ bla bla. well i was still doing that when he was 16,17 months. not cute then! id be doing dinner ,baths, homework, bed and hed be grumpy and neding to go to bed and i couldnt just sit with him i had to get the other two to bed first...and i couldnt just plonk him in his cot, read a little book, kisses and walk out. (like id do with dd2)

so i am worried i am creating a little monster here. but then again id have a house full of them if i let him cry and carry on at 4am trying to settle him in his bed and he woke the other kids up. cant win.

i lost it with dp at one of these 4am baby parties and told him i was going to divorce him and find somewhere for HIM to live and he could have the kids too! first thing in the morning he rang his therapist (my mother!) and she sent me a txt telling me i had PND and need to see a DR. rightaway...she then txt my friend who drove straight over. i was just getting out of the shower and didnt time it very well with the baby..so he was bursting his lungs in his bed. i went out on the balcony with just a towel on, hair a boof and baby yelling! she yelled out why she was here for all the street to hear!
then i get a txt from my cousin interstate saying she was flying here to help for the weekend and taking ds1 back with her for a little holiday.yup, my mother txt her too. wonder if she booked me a bed at the hospital too.
oh im going to keep my midnight tantrums to myself from now on! id better shut it up quick smart too cos the therapist arrives here tomorrow for four days stay! :eek:

JoJoMart

08-03-2007, 09:26 AM

Careabell - I have Liam on Karicare Infant formula (not the gold one) and he isn't constipated. That's what we used in hospital to top him up and he seems fine with it.

LMenz, My_lot etc - I don't think husbands 'get it' sometimes. My DH has been pretty good but has only taken a small amount of time off work. When he is home he's very helpful which is good because I'm exhausted. Saying that, I would have preferred him to have taken the first week at home full time but he doesn't get paid paternity leave & taking leave in April instead.

Squiggles - thanks for your support re BF issues. I get really down about it and feel bad because I know BF is best for baby....but my patience is wearing thin. I will continue expressing for as long as I can but I am doing two jobs.....formula feeding every 3-4 hours then expressing every 3-4 hours and it's exhausting! I have been told about that drug too so I will ring about it today. I hope it helps.

Hels - I'm really looking forward to my mother's group which doesn't start for a while. Glad to hear you enjoyed yours and feeling better about things.

For the Melbourne ladies, that's great we can wait until April to meet up. We should all be feeling a bit better about things by then & have found our feet (at least a bit).

bAaM

08-03-2007, 10:52 AM

with all the talk on how men can be all about themselfs(yes mine is the same its in there genes) i got an email that i would like to share. Just for a laugh

*One day my housework-challenged husband decided to wash his Sweat- shirt. Seconds after he stepped into the laundry room, he shouted to me,
"What setting do I use on the washing machine?" "It depends," I replied. "What does it say on your shirt?"
He yelled back, " University of Oklahoma .."
And they say blondes are dumb...

*A couple is lying in bed. The man says,
"I am going to make you the happiest woman in the world."
The woman replies, "I'll miss you..."

*"It's just too hot to wear clothes today," Jack says as he stepped out
of the shower, "honey, what do you think the neighbors would think if I
mowed the lawn like this?"
"Probably that I married you for your money," she replied.

*A man and his wife, now in their 60's, were celebrating their 40th
wedding anniversary. On their special day a good fairy came to them and
said that because they had been so good that each one of them could have
one wish.
The wife wished for a trip around the world with her husband.
Whoosh! Immediately she had airline/cruise tickets in her hands.
The man wished for a female companion 30 years younger...
Whoosh...immediately he turned ninety!!!

Gotta love that fairy!

Dear Lord,

I pray for Wisdom to understand my man; Love to forgive him; And
Patience for his moods. Because, Lord, if I pray for Strength, I'll beat
him to death.
Amen

Q: Why do little boys whine?

A: They are practicing to be men.
-------------------------------------

Q: Why do men whistle when they are sitting on the toilet?

A: It helps them remember which end they need to wipe.
---------------------------------------
Q: How do you keep your husband from reading your e-mail?

A: Rename the mail folder "Instruction Manuals"

-----------------------------------------------------------

Roopee

08-03-2007, 11:07 AM

Well while were on the subject of Dh's being !diots, i'll have a turn!!

Last night i was soooo tired so i gave baby her bottle at 8.30, put he to bed and around 9.30ish i say to DH, i'm off to bed. You can dream feed her at 11 tonight. Ok so off i go and crash out and next thing its 12.30 and i am woken up to DH standing over me with crying Cody saying, "she awake now-you'll have to feed her. WTF?????? I said, your up buster, you do it. His rsponse?? I was just about to go to bed" Weeeelllllll, didnt he cop it. "you have to be f@$king joking right" Im already asleep and you can wait 15 f#@king minutes to go to bed" Then he starts the but im so tired cr@p. I lost the plot. I think the neighbours heard me.
So My_Lot, we might get shipped off to that hospital together. Hey at least we'll get a full night sleep hey?

icugal

08-03-2007, 11:10 AM

Hehehe Leashie, thanks for the laughs. I think we can all do with those now.

You can add my DF to the shame list now. As mentioned previously, I've had trouble the last 24 hours trying to get Kaelan sleeping. Well, my dear boy was sleeping in his cot earlier but woke up with a little cry. Normally I leave him to see if he'll re-settle by himself... but for some reason, DF decided to go and pick him up which of course woke him up properly and as a result, Kaelan started screaming again.

DF's solution to this?? He simply dumped a screaming Kaelan in the bouncer in the loungeroom, then went and sat in a completely different room, surfing the internet... effectively making it my problem... WTF????

I was absolutely livid... if you wake the baby up, YOU deal with it.. don't just put him in the "too hard" basket and leave him unattended in a bouncer in a completely seperate room. :banghead:

I initially went and tried to calm Kaelan down myself, but I decided fairly quickly that DF could do the job just as well as me, so I gave him back the baby to look after properly and went about trying to get some of the housework done.

Bloody men !!! :rolleyes:

Ok, that's my rant over. Back to doing the housework (which never got done yesterday because of Kaelan being so unsettled)

icugal

08-03-2007, 11:22 AM

Ok.. one more thing to b!tch about.

Melbourne girls... you've all seen the ads... "One Word : Delfin".. yeah, well that's our life currently. We live in Craigieburn in one of the Delfin Estates (Personally, I still think the slogan should be "One Word : Distant"... we so bloody far away from everything here :) )

Anyways, I digress...

Living in a new housing estate really sucks sometimes... We have new houses being built on pretty much every side of us at the moment... so guess which 5 week old keeps getting woken up by all the machines involved in construction (infact, right outside his window atm).

Is it any wonder that Kaelan doesn't sleep ???

I knew we should have just stayed in Greensborough....

Roopee... I reckon I probably would slogged your DH in the face if I were you !!

LMenz

08-03-2007, 11:59 AM

DF's solution to this?? He simply dumped a screaming Kaelan in the bouncer in the loungeroom, then went and sat in a completely different room, surfing the internet... effectively making it my problem... WTF????

My DH does the same thing!!!!! The other morning he just popped Jack in his cot for his nap and walked out without settling him....well 2 minutes later Jack was screaming and my DH just looked at me :mad:

GRRR MEN!! and I hear you about the building noises....several homes around us are doing renovations and the banging, jackhammers etc wake Jack up too!!

I can't believe I've turned in to a mother who rants "Don't wake the baby" :laughing:

Roopee

08-03-2007, 12:10 PM

icugal

08-03-2007, 12:15 PM

icugal- well he didnt get a slap in the face but i think thats because even though the room was dark he could see the whites of my eyes turn yellow and the smoke billowing from my ears. He goes " ummmm i'll feed her then shall I?" I just looked at him, turned over and said "best f#@king idea your've had all day- MORON!"

OMG.. I am laughing so hard right now !!! You go girl !! :laughing: :laughing:

(So much for doing housework... I've ended up watching "Maternity Ward" on the Discovery Channel instead. So nice to watch the deliveries and yet, so very sad too (one newborn has a massive malignant growth :crying: )

juzzy

08-03-2007, 12:53 PM

Yep i am joining the club with the annoying partner!!

For the last three or so nights Cassidy has been really unsettled at night. Guess who has been getting up to her and ends up staying up the whole night cause Cassidy refuses to sleep at night. ME!!

Last night i put Cassidy down to sleep at about 3am, id had very little sleep for three days and am totally exhausted as a result, Cassidy starts to cry in her cot. DP rolls over and says "the baby is crying go and get her" i said "are you disabled? do you not have arms?" His reply was "Well i have to go to work in the morning". Excuse me, but i havent slept for three days, i have been cleaning up the house after you leave it messy and have been dealing with your family members coming over at random times to see Cassidy. I stormed off and picked Cassidy up then bought her in and placed her next to DP to deal with, it took a couple of minutes of her screaming in his ear (she wanted me) for him to apologise.

To top all of this off, i woke up yesterday morning after about an hours sleep with a really bad headache. That progressed to a bad fever and a migrane. We to the doctor as my left boob was killing me. Turns out i have mastitis. I was so ill yesterday that i was almost falling over in pain and tiredness. It seemed to take over my whole body and i still feel crappy even though i am taking antibiotics for it.

So i have decided, since Cassidy is so unsettled at night i am going to try giving her formula (i heard it fills them up more, dont know how true that is) and keep giving her breast milk during the day. Otherwise i will never be sleeping again the way things are going.

So, i was wondering what brand of formula i should buy, those who FF what should i use? Ive heard that formula can make a baby constipated, what do you do to relieve that? Any advice in regards to formula would be appreciated!

i have also been using Infants Friend to ease Cassidys wind problem and she seems to settle a bit better but just wont sleep at night for longer that 5 minutes!

my_lot

08-03-2007, 12:57 PM

leashie- thanks for the laugh!

reminded me of the other day...

dps baths the baby friday and sunday and i shower with him during the week.

but this week i had bathed Eli in the laundry tub (cos when i tried out the kitchen sink he kicked off one end then head butted the other!)

i have always used johnsons baby care range but a friend gave me some huggies bath liquid in a pump bottle so i used that and left it on the side of the tub.

later dp put spewy/poopy baby clothes in the nappy bucket and came out to tell me he had used the "huggies baby wash" in the bucket...and would it work like nappysan? and could he put in work shirts or school shirts in there too?

well. i didnt think much of it as a baby wash lets see how it goes cleaning the clothes!:laughing:

roopee- when we meet up we should leave the dps with all the kids- in your house yeah? and we'll go out!

the family therapist aka mother is coming tomorrow. maybe ill come visit you on my own -when i run away from my mad house!

my_lot

08-03-2007, 01:02 PM

we should spend the whole day today bagging them out...

then we should all get on the hub stiff drink in hand, mellow out together and sit around praising them..

yeah right! :laughing:

bAaM

08-03-2007, 01:39 PM

Hi Juzzy i FF both of my kids. Andrew was on s26 for a while but got really constapated and had bad reflux so i swapped to karicare it worked for him so i put Marissa on just the normal karicare(has a llight blue lid) and she has been great she slept for 8 hors last night mind u thet was after screaming from 1pm till 6pm. The karicare has made bub alittle constipated but any F will till bub gets used to it.
if bub does then you can get coloxal drops to put in a bottle it helps them poo.

bAaM

08-03-2007, 01:42 PM

Here is another one for you guys.
:p
In the world, one single rule applies to the men: Make the Woman happy.

Do something she likes, and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted. You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played.

Here is a guide to the point system:

SIMPLE DUTIES
-- You make the bed (+1)
-- You make the bed, but forget the decorative pillow (0)
-- You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets (-1)
-- You go out to buy her what she wants (+5)
-- In the rain (+8)
-- But return with Beer (-5)
-- You check out a suspicious noise at night (0)
-- You check out a suspicious noise, and it is nothing (still 0)
-- You check out a suspicious noise and it is something (+5)
-- You pummel it with fireplace poker (+10)
-- It's her pet (-10)

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS
-- You stay
by her side the entire party (0)
-- You stay by her side for a while, then go chat with a friend (-2)
-- Named Tina (-4)
-- Tina is a dancer (-10)

HER BIRTHDAY
-- You take her out to dinner (0)
-- You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar (+1)
-- Okay, it's a sports bar (-2)
-- And it's all-you-can-eat night (-3)
-- It's a sports bar, it's all-you-can-eat night, and your face is painted the colours of your favourite team (-10)

A NIGHT OUT
-- You take her to a movie (+2)
-- You take her to a movie she likes (+4)
-- You take her to a movie you hate (+6)
-- You take her to a movie you like (-2)
-- It's called 'DeathCop' (-3)
-- You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans (-15)

YOUR PHYSIQUE
-- You develop a noticeable potbelly (-15)
-- You develop a potbelly and exercise to get rid of it (+10)
--
You develop a potbelly and resort to baggy jeans and Hawaiian shirts (-30)
-- You say, "It doesn't matter, you have one too." (-8000)

ENJOY THE 'BIG' QUESTION
-- She asks, "Do I look fat?" (-5) [That's right, you lose points no matter how you answer]
-- You hesitate in responding (-10)
-- You reply, "Where?" (-35)
-- Any other response (-20)

COMMUNICATION
-- When she wants to talk, you listen, displaying what looks like a concerned expression (0)
-- You listen for over 30 minutes (+50)
-- You listen for more than 30 minutes without looking at the TV (+500)
-- She realises this is because you have fallen asleep (-10000)

... so just how many points did you get?
__________________

NoMoreScuba

08-03-2007, 02:00 PM

Hey guys,

Well, I'm sitting here sobbing 'cause my mum and dad have just walked out the door to get in their cab to the airport...:crying: :crying:

Thank god charlie is asleep, otherwise he'd think his mother was a freak...my eyes look like rabbit's eyes they're so red!

I know that i'm going to be fine, but oh my god this hurts like crazy. I knew it was going to be hard, but it's really awful. I've been so lucky to have them here for so long (5 weeks) and they've been so much help I guess I'm just really scared of doing things on my own (well, with DF, but on my own during the day i guess).

They bought me seasons 1 and 2 of desperate housewives before they left, so I guess i'll go and watch an episode to cheer me up.

Sorry about the me, me, me thing i've got going on here. I'll get over it soon I hope :fingerscrossed: .

Might see if DF can come home early from work today to offer some moral support...

icugal

08-03-2007, 02:18 PM

:hugs: to you Sarah.. you'll do fine darl, give yourself some time...

Do your parents live in Australia or overseas?

Leashie.. that was great.. very funny :)

Roopee

08-03-2007, 02:59 PM

Oh Sarah- big:hugs: to you. You'll surprise yourself with how well you do. And, hey, if you dont then thats ok too, we're all here for you!

My-lot-- your full of great ideas arent you!!! That sound like a great one. Lets go shopping, do lunch, a sleep under a shady tree in the park, off to the pub for a few drinks and a chicken schnitzel and we'll stumble on in at around 3 am?? Oh NO!!!! We will book ourselves a nite in a 5 star hotel for massages, swim in the pool and a huge sleep in the next day.
Ok, that settled, what day suits you? :laughing:

Re the formula-juzzy- all my kids have had the Karicare one (light blue lid) as the say that the "gold" varieties of any formula will constipate the babies. BUT with this baby i have started using the Heinz one (just the normal-has a dark blue lid) and so far no constipation. AND the best bit is that its only $10.95 a tin!! I have foud this to be the best one i have ever used so far. Also keep up with the "infants friend" a that helps them be more regular and prevents constipation too.

Ok,well no personals this time :hugs: to all!

NoMoreScuba

08-03-2007, 03:10 PM

:hugs: to you Sarah.. you'll do fine darl, give yourself some time...

Do your parents live in Australia or overseas?

Thanks guys - mum and dad live in the uk. It's so far!

We have flights back in august, so i'll look forward to seeing them then.

Meanwhile desperate housewives seems to have cheered me up a lot. And charlie is just waking up so i'd better go and do the milking thing (does anyone else feel like a cow or is it just me?).

moggs

08-03-2007, 03:57 PM

Hiya

How is everyone? I've heard people talk about AF what does this stand for?

I'm quite lucky all Tayla seems to do is sleep and she is 6 wks old. I got a lovely smile today which makes it all worth it. My problem is with my other daughter. I keep loosing the plot with her and then feel like the worst mother on earth. I don't know why I don't have patience for her at the moment.

Oh fomula, i used S26 gold and Tayla got constipated with bad wind. I now have karicare gold and it has got rid of her wind but makes her spit up more. Paeditrician said it's better out than in. Her bowels were concerning me but I think I was expecting too much poo. Paeditrician says the poo has to be hard pellets, maybe blood with alot of distress. Also babies can go from pooing daily to two bowel actions a week! I didn't know this. I can't get her to drink water so i'll see how this goes.

Also she has alot of mucus in her nose and sounds blocked. Does anyone know what I can do to clear it?

moggs xx

LMenz

08-03-2007, 04:23 PM

Thanks guys - mum and dad live in the uk. It's so far!

We have flights back in august, so i'll look forward to seeing them then.

Meanwhile desperate housewives seems to have cheered me up a lot. And charlie is just waking up so i'd better go and do the milking thing (does anyone else feel like a cow or is it just me?).

:hugs: Sarah.....My DH goes back to work on Tuesday and I'm really scared of how I'll manage on my own. I think it will just take time to get the hang of things and develop a bit of a rountine. I keep joking that I will show up at his work everyday crying with a screaming baby (it might not be a joke :o ) I'm so thankful to have you girls here for support......

And I totally feel like a cow. Jack is just having one boob at each feed so I've been expressing the other one to keep up my supply and have a bit in storage. Some days I feel like it's all I do......Pump, Moo, Pump :laughing:

Penny - Your new avatar is gorgeous. I can't believe how much Kaelan has changed already.

Moggs - AF stands for Auntie Flow (your period) :)

Roopee - Your a total crack up.....

Juzzy - Hope your feeling better. Mastitis sounds terrible.

Enjoy your night everyone...I hope we all get some sleep

ziggy29

08-03-2007, 04:49 PM

my lot - love the new avatar

penny - great photo. does kalen have red hair?

Leachie - LOL!! my dh is often teased by me with the line "Youve got s**t for brains!" If i ask him to get something he always looks in the freezer first (and i mean everything).

Juzzy - big hugs. hope the mastitis clears up. just be really careful giving formula overnight as your breasts may become hard/engorged. you may have to get up in the night anyway to express and relieve the pressure (you dont want mastitis again). i thought about formaula at night but cant go 5 hours without finding a hungry baby to feed.

Sarah - big hugs. :hugs: we are always here to lend a supportive ear. you'll be fine.

Me - well after a f***ing terrible week i have come to the conclusion that lily has reflux. Feeds have been a nightmare because the poor chicken is in pain. I went to child health today and they watched me do a feed and the nurse was almost certain she has reflux - as she pulls away from the breast, arches back, crys during the feed, feels better when upright. some strategies she has shown me may help - fingers crossed :fingerscrossed: .

Good news is she is still putting on weight (500g this week)! what a piggy!

I moved my app with the paeditricain to next mon so we can discuss any medications to try.

Yesterday when DH got home I said " i'm going and i dont know if i'm coming back!" i walked out to door and left him with the baby. to his credit he grabbed the pram and baby and chased me down. i was so fatigued from the terrible feeds and extended unsettled period after each feed and the vomit (down my back, in my ear or hair, she even got me in my mouth once (50 points)). We decided that i will do the night feeds and then i will wake him and he will hold her upright for 20 mins and then settle her. he will do this in another room and then bring the bassinette in when she is asleep. and he will give a small dream feed top up for me as well. it worked well last night and i got nearly 2hours * 3 sleeps (total 6).

I have been feeling quite down about the reflux thing.... like it is the end of the beautiful dream i had that i would have a "good baby" :thumbsdown: The more i learn the better i feel though. here is a good link if anyone with difficulties feeding or settling their baby should check out:

http://www.reflux.org.au/

Any Brisbane mums keen to catch up in April? I live in Tarragindi.

icugal

08-03-2007, 05:09 PM

Also she has alot of mucus in her nose and sounds blocked. Does anyone know what I can do to clear it?

I don't know what to do about it, but Kaelan has the same thing. A couple of times I've resorted to removing the offending boogers with an ear bud (which is a big no-no btw)

Penny - Your new avatar is gorgeous. I can't believe how much Kaelan has changed already.

Thanks mate... I can't believe how much he's changed too... he's my little chubba bubba :)

penny - great photo. does kalen have red hair?

........

I have been feeling quite down about the reflux thing.... like it is the end of the beautiful dream i had that i would have a "good baby" :thumbsdown: The more i learn the better i feel though. here is a good link if anyone with difficulties feeding or settling their baby should check out:

http://www.reflux.org.au/

Firstly, Kaelan does have reddish hair (more strawberry blonde actually)... which completely took us by suprise. I never, ever envisaged a red-haired child... especially considering that DF and I are both brunette. I get a little paranoid when family and friends give me that "and where does the red hair come from??" look. I feel like they're accusing me of cheating on DF or something. Apparently, DF and I both had a grandparent with red hair, so Kaelan seems to be generational throwback :)

Secondly, thanks for the reflux link. I just had a read of how reflux presents and I can pretty much tick off everything for Kaelan. I'm now considering buying some of the S26 reflux formula to see whether he settles better... because he always seems to be in pain and forever has the hiccups. Poor little mite.

juzzy

08-03-2007, 05:38 PM

hey guys

a big thanks for the advice in regards to the formula. Really appreciated! Love my Hub ladies!

and thanks to all in regards to the best wishes for the mastitis. It does suck bad and my boobs hurt but i have been expressing from the bad side and with the antibiotics things seem to be getting better.

sarah - i hope you are feeling better soon. i have been so afraid of doing things by myself also. Especially with all the issues i have had with feeding and whatever, i have had a few days on my own so far, and besides the issues i had yesterday with getting mastitis, things have been going really well. This weekend will be the tough part, DP is working. Big hugs :hugs: :hugs: to you. Oh and desperate housewives rules!

Lmenz- i feel like all i have done today is express! meanwhile i have been on bubhub all day while doing it! I am actually surprised at how much i am getting each time i express. There is alot of boob juice around!

ziggy - i know that my boobs may become engorged and everything overnight and it can increase the chances of the mastitis hanging around, i am going to express as much as i can (whenever i can, even if its at 3am!) id prefer to express for Cassidy at the moment as it hurts more to have her latch on rather than express on the left side and the right is badly cracked, they need to heal. The formula idea, we are trying that as no matter how much i feed her she doesnt get enough, we seemed to have solved her wind problem with the infants friend now just want to use the formula more as a top up. I dont think i can go another night with no sleep!

time to get some muchies happening, im starved!

my_lot

08-03-2007, 05:49 PM

ziggy- the avitar pic is good.... when its that small!

its actually the worst pic ive taken of my baby!

and ive got some yawning, crying, vomit dribble, pooh up his back,cross eyed bad ones but this one...its just funny!

my first thought was oh jeez thats a face only his mummy can love!:laughing:

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l132/my_lot/000_0269.jpg

i do have a cute baby really i do..this was just an off moment, like a bad hair day!

has anyone heard from hels*bels?

icugal- ive plucked boogers like that too...but i remember with ds1 we used saline to flush it out.

nomorescuba- :hugs: youll be ok..we are all here for you

lmenz- your mooo moo ing made me think of this-have you seen the sig someone has here on bubhub- it says something like "used to have mad cows disease - i dont noooow"
i call imyself the milkbar now..ive graduated from cow:D

moggs-i think its your monthly

leashie-- funny!

i used coloxyl drops with dd1. works well for pebble shooters

Squiggles

08-03-2007, 06:13 PM

The blocked noses - there is a Saline Solution called "Fess" and a special one for babies that comes with a little sucker thing. You put drops of Saline in their nose and its loosens everything and then you use the sucker thing to suck it all out. Works a treat. I got it from the chemist.

Formula - Im suing S26 regular. The gold one made Connor a bit sick and constipated. He has been constipated a bit lately but the water seems to be helping, otherwise I was told they can have diluted prune juice.

Juzzy - hope your mastitis is not causing too much pain :hugs:

Nomorescuba - Cheer up mate!! :hugs: I know you must be missing your parents terribly, but hopefully time will go quickly. We are thinking about visiting the rellies in England/France in September. Not sure that I want to hold Connor for the long haul - if only they had business class that allowed babies and we could afford it - I could handle those Sky bed thins!

So its DH, DP and DF a$$hole week then! Good, Im glad it wasn't just mine behaving badly.

Went to the dr's (local GP)today and waited a whole hour to be seen - not happy! Connor has a rash all over him and its so crusty and red it looks awful. Dr reckons he has dermatitis and perscribed some cortisone cream for it - Im not happy with giving that to a young child so am off to see Child and Youth health nurse tomorrow for a second opinion - I figure she sees babies all day everyday and prob knows a bit more about babies skin conditions that the local GP who got his text book out to make the diagnosis!!!
:D

icugal

08-03-2007, 06:40 PM

OMG... I have got to share what just happened. I still have tears in my eyes from laughing so hard...

I was just giving Kaelan a bottle (still am actually.. typing one handed) and I sat him forward to burp him. Anyways, he had pretty much fallen asleep during the feed and just after I sat him forward, he let out this massive burp. He gave himself such a fright, he nearly jumped out of my arms... but then to watch the face expression change... from stoned sleepy baby, to increasinlgy large pout (gotta love that quivering bottom lip !!), through to full howling... it was so precious !!!!

Poor little poppet !!! I gave him big hugs to make it all better :)

harleyq

08-03-2007, 06:59 PM

Wow� I�m finally caught up� it�s taken me all day btw feeds etc. so here goes�sorry in advance 4 the long post�

Alcohol � I was dying for a glass of wine, so b/c l have heaps of surplus milk l decided to express an extra feed and go for it (although l know as long as you have it right after a feed its not too bad)� but it was weird, l had a couple of sips and found l just didn�t feel like it � l was a bit disappointed� that is how l was through the pregnancy (l would have a glass every now and again � but most of the time l would try it and find l wasn�t interested) � bummer � l used to really enjoy unwinding with a wine or two (or half a bottle) every now and again� Oh well � they say that when you drink alcohol your body spends all its energy getting rid of it so you tend to store more of what you have just eaten as fat� so l guess not feeling like alcohol at the moment isn�t such a bad thing� it may help me get my pre-pregnancy body back!

Juzzy � On parents� l can commiserate a little, my MIL has been very similar to your mother� l was really worried that my mum would be like that too, but she has been sooooo great� she respected my wishes for space and actually went 6 days without seeing her grandson � it must have killed her� l wondered what kept her away and then l realized what she was doing and rang her to tell her it was alright to come over� she was so grateful� and when she did come over she was just so helpful� she did give me some advice, but it was more in the way of tips and it was really useful� on the other hand my MIL has been over almost every day, ignores it when l ask her to keep Coen quiet cos we are trying to get him to sleep and l end up with an unsettled baby and up till 2.30 in the morning trying to calm him� then she second guesses me and speaks to my husband in Italian saying she thinks our son is cold when l have just said three times that he is not!!! I wanted to kill her (l do understand Italian enough�) it has gotten to the point that the thought of her just makes me angry� l asked DH to tell her to stay away this weekend � he did. I find it so much easier to speak to my mum directly about all of this (it didn�t hurt that she saw me at home the day l got out of the hospital when l was a bit teary) � but my MIL is impossible � any chance you can speak with your mum at all?
Oh and BTW - YOU ARE A WONDERFUL NURTURING MOTHER � and don�t ever doubt it� if you weren�t would you be in here trying to find out everything you can, to help yourself and your little one???

My_lot � can l confess that your baby vomit experience brought a smile to my face, Coen isn�t a chucker fortunately� but my best friends 1st one was and how well l remember those experiences (and that was 11 years ago)� hopefully the higher powers have heard your pleas�

Coen�s unsettled time is 10.30-12.30, right when we are hoping to head off to sleep

BUTTERFLYMAMA Glad to hear that you and your mum had a chat, l think sometimes they forget what a sensitive time this is for us� it�s great that you have her to support you.

NewbieNina � sleep issues -- any chance of getting a massage? Perhaps by either your husband (using jojoba oil with some lavender in it) or by a professional, preferably one that will come to your house so you can go right off to bed afterwards? If not l agree with Roopee�s advice, don�t just lie there, go watch some TV, read a book, magazine, listen to music or whatever will keep you distracted and when your eyelids start to droop try again� l watched old episodes of Sex and the City during my pregnancy when l couldn�t sleep � fortunately with our little alarm clock going off for a feed every few hours l have no problems falling asleep whenever and wherever l can these days�

Quick question? For those who have thrush � how do you recognize it in yourself� would love to know the early warning signs� it sounds horrible�

Shelby � sorry to hear about your sore boobies, glad to hear they are feeling a bit better� l have been massaging mine every morning in the shower� without a doubt l have rock hard breasts painful breasts at some time during the day� l try and get all the lumps out either in bed and/or in the shower� l hope this keeps the mastitis at bay � l hear its horrible�

Ziggy29 � how are things going with the bf? I hope they have gotten better over the last few days� Coen gets quite violent about latching on and will sometimes shake his head or pull his head back when my nipple is in his mouth (OWWWWWW), but other than that he is quite an active feeder (but the feeds are short and incredibly often). � NOMORESCUBA � you mentioned swearing at your lil one during a feed, l yelled out in pain the other day and DH said don�t yell at him - l said l�m not � it just kills� I have gotten quite good at being really forceful about getting my nipple out of his mouth these days though� l finally realized that the pain does neither of us any good� cos it just means that l will be unable to feed (and be forced to express) whilst my nipples heal�

LMENZ � l am going to try your trick with lifting the legs after a feed� we often have a bit of trouble with wind� although l can hear him exploding on the baby monitor right now�

Penny (Icugal) � yes please lets meet (feb melb mothers)

Roopee � you go girl, glad you got some help from DH � 6 hours over 3 days must have been torture � how is the sleep going these days?

1st time Mum in Mel � big hugs re. BF issues � hopefully the MHN will have some good advice � l hope you are able to keep bf�ing if that is what you want�

Congratulations Hels*Bels it must feel wonderful to have that negativity gone� and thank you so much for sharing your experience � your courage and determination to get it sorted is an inspiration.

NOMORESCUBA - big hugs for you� You will be fine but l do understand your feelings � like LMENZ l�m scared about dh going back to work the week after next also� but fortunately (not so fortunately 4 me) b/c of my broken tail bone (long story) l have a doctors certificate which means he has to stay home to care for me for another week (reprieve).

LMENZ-l hear you on the �Pump, Moo, Pump� � me too�

bAaM

08-03-2007, 09:44 PM

Hi girls just quickly to all the brissy feb mums we are planing a meet some time in april if your interested let me no and where u live so we can arrange a in the middle kind of place IYKWIM i would be happy to do the organising.

my_lot

09-03-2007, 08:21 AM

oh i think bubhub is down.

im the pnly one in the whole forum!

ohhh spoooky

LMenz

09-03-2007, 09:32 AM

oh i think bubhub is down.

im the pnly one in the whole forum!

ohhh spoooky

How do you do that????

I almost had a panic attack cos I couldn't get online :laughing:

juzzy

09-03-2007, 09:36 AM

Morning everyone!!

hope everyone had a good night!

i actually managed to get a whole night uninterrupted sleep! Seems like giving Cassidy a bottle of formula after some EBM and a dose of infants friend has done the trick to not only ease her wind problem but to also help her go thru the night sleeping in her own bed and not constantly wanting to feed all night!

I feel so good after last night, the sleep was totally what i needed to lift my spirits a bit...

the formula i ended up getting was the heinz Nurture Gold Starter. I did read somewhere that getting the gold varieties were bad or something, but so far no issues for us :fingerscrossed: it all works out well...

thanks again for the advice, i almost feel like a normal person again! (with the exception of the mastitis and badly cracked nipples!!) :p

hehehehe

my_lot

09-03-2007, 10:28 AM

i use this link- works every time..

http://209.85.127.150/community/forums/

and now if all my fellow feb mummas could please "copy and past" i wont be all alone next time bubhub shuts off:D

ziggy29

09-03-2007, 10:37 AM

Congratulations on the great sleep juzzy. although i must admit i am jealous.

it seems like everyones baby sleeps longer than 2.5 hours at least occassionally. am i the only one still getting up 3 hourly day and night??

the days seem so long and the nights seem even longer. i just seem to cry all the time. i asked my MIL to help me for an hour today and she said she couldnt as she was cleaning the house. :banghead: Well as long as she has her priorities straight. :mad:

icugal

09-03-2007, 11:42 AM

<..insert an immense amount of swearing here..>

I've just got AF back again !!!! *So* not fair !! I only stopped the post-birth bleeding properly last week (after four and a half weeks). This means that I must have ovulated literally two seconds after I stopped expressing milk.

I was starting to wonder yesterday if AF was about to make it's return, because I started feeling the familiar backache that I always get just before it strikes.

Not happy Jan... :banghead:

My_lot - using the IP address... clever !! I started getting withdrawal symptons when BubHub was down this morning :)

Juzzy - Yay for you for being able to have a good nights sleep !! It makes you feel like a whole new person doesn't it??

Ziggy - :hugs: to you. If you were in Melbourne, I would seriously offer to take Lily for a couple of hours for you so that you could sleep. There is nothing worse than chronic sleep deprivation... I know, I'm a shift-worker with regular bouts of insomnia.

Is your DH helping you out?? You sounds like you are doing it all by yourself. You need to get him to look after Lily for a bit so that you can grab some much needed Zzzzz's. Your health and well-being is absolute priority... if you are unwell, then looking after your baby will be damn near impossible. It's like when you are on a plane... you have to put the oxygen mask on yourself before your child. I hope you can find someone to give you a hand !!

BTW, your avatar is gorgeous !! What a beautiful little face :)

juzzy

09-03-2007, 11:47 AM

oh ziggy im so sorry, i shouldnt be boasting about having a good night sleep considering everyone else may not be. Sorry to hear about your MIL and her mixed up priorities that sucks, youd think since you are obviously asking for help shed be more than willing.

The sleep i got is probably only a stop gap solution to my crying issues that i have been having as well. I tend to get more emotional when i am sleep deprived.

Is there anyone else who can help you?

And i can almst promise you that tonight i wont get a repeat performance, i bet i will be back to getting up every 3 or so hours to tend to Cassidy again.

Big big big big big big hugs to you Ziggy :hugs: :hugs:

EskimoMumma

09-03-2007, 11:47 AM

ziggy- your not the only one.. :sleeping:

my_lot

09-03-2007, 12:30 PM

ziggy- im still b/feeding 3 hourly day and night and if i get a 4 hour block out of him its not 4 hours sleep just four hours from the last feed!

eskimomumma- where have you been!!! please tell me your little girls name...i didnt see it anywhere and always think that when i see your av.
ttc no.4 :eek: so soon!! but yeah for you that you can! :smiliedance: (( im so jealous!!! i want another one!)))

juzzy- you lucky bugger! a whole nights sleep! speak english please i no understand.

ruby slippers is back in bubhub land...i shall send her a linkys to our new home!

icugal- omg thats so soon after baby! eeek hope that doesnt happen here!

Lmenz- lol i txt roopee in desperation!...i was the ONLY hubber in hubland- what a nigel!

NoMoreScuba

09-03-2007, 01:37 PM

icugal - can't believe you have AF back so soon...!

Which brings me onto a new topic of conversation - contraception... What's everyone doing? I don't want to go back on the pill, but I also don't want to get pregnant again (yet). I'm a bit worried about relying on b/f, and we're really **** with condoms. I was thinking about trying out temping to work out when i'm fertile... Anyone else got any ideas? Mind you, all this does depend on us actually starting to have S*X again, which is highly unlikely for a few more weeks i'd say :eek: :eek:

ziggy, i'm so sorry you're so tired. It makes everything so hard to cope with doesn't it...:hugs: . And your MIL is cr*p...

juzzy - am very jealous of your full night's sleep.

LMenz, I hear you on the panic attack, I was here hyperventilating this morning as well when i got that message. my_lot, i've got the link now so i'll always be here...:smiliedance:

Well, charlie is finally asleep, so i'm off for more desperate housewives. So far i'm feeling pretty good today, no more tears over mum and dad. Thanks for the support yesterday, i was really miserable.

JoJoMart

09-03-2007, 01:54 PM

Hi girls,

Well I've had a **** day today and can't stop crying........I think it's a combination of DH being a **** Head at times and frustration from expressing milk every 3/4 hours plus formula feeding Liam. It's so much hard work!

I'm absolutely buggered.......I should be sleeping now but wanted to get on bubhub & see how everyone is going.....thank god I'm not the only one with a hubby who is trying to help but not being that supportive emotionally. He has taken a couple of days off work here & there but I wish he could have taken more time off. Being on your own with the bub is hard!

NoMoreScuba - I have no idea what to do about contraception........not that its an issue for us at the moment :no: . I was told the mini pill for BF women or condoms.......I wouldn't rely on BF to prevent ovulation. Glad you're feeling better.......desperate housewives is a fab show that should cheer you up!

Harleyq - MIL's are a pain........mine hasn't offered any help so far except yesterday when my husband was home from work (so I didn't really need the help) they offered to come over and mind the baby to give us a break!! That's not what I need at the moment it's more someone coming over when I'm on my own & helping with housework or giving me a break so I can sleep. As if I'm going to feel like going out and about just now when I'm still getting over my caesarian. Bloody hell !!!

Okay, enough ranting..........why do some people not 'get it'??

Roopee

09-03-2007, 02:28 PM

Hey nigel- ooops sorry i mean my-lot- i was at a friends place this morning so sorry i couldnt join you!
contraception- well, we are doing to only fail safe method we knw how and thats NO sex! Considering my DD1 was born on the pill and DD2 was born on the pill and condoms- theres no way thats going on in my house till he has his vasectomy! He's lucky he even gets to sleep with me- i swear his swimmers dont swim- they FLY!.
Did anyone watch RPA last nite? Well this guy was having a testicle removed due to cancer and DH walked in in the middle of it. I said look at this, thats his testicle does that make you cringe? He said to me " Tanya- if thats a f@#king vasectomy i am not doing that." LOL= well i nearly wet myself laughing and just said "hunny, they cut a cord not castrate you". i now have one very relieved DH.:laughing:.

Had a good sleep last night, put Cody to bed at 10 and didnt have to get up till 4am so i feel a lot better today. I still feel like i will never catch up though!

shelby

09-03-2007, 04:11 PM

1ST TIME MUM - So sorry to hear you are having such a hard time. I too am expressing and trying to breastfeed and formula feed and its so draining and depressing. Are you getting enough sleep? Big hugs to you

Nomorescuba- we are so far off sex right now but I think I will go on the mini pill. or no sex at all, that always works!:rolleyes:

ziggy - sleep deprivation is the worst form of torture. Can you sleep during the day at all? being so tired just makes everything harder to deal with I really feel for you. my bub still gets up every 2.5-3.5 hours by the way - im hoping itll get better soon

Juzzy - you poor thing re: mastitis and cracked nipples, its just the worse. Keep resting and looking after yourself.

Re: cracked nipples - how long has it taken you guys for them to heal? Im using Lansinoh and only feeding 2-3 times a day (bottlefeeding the rest) and they just dont seem to be getting better. Its driving me nuts, but I need to keep trying to feed her as my supply is rapidly dwindling. Im so over trying to breastfeed - I feel likle its one step forward and two steps back. The lactation consultant I saw was really good and I managed to breastfeed 3 times that day, but over the last 2 days every time I try to feed her she will latch on for a few minutes then detach herself, cry, and start screaming if i try to put her anywhere near the breast again. Its so frustrating.

And I have had the baby from hell over the last 24 hours, I was up with her for 3 hours last night walking, rocking her etc and she would just not stop crying and has been like that all day today. Im so tired and I have no idea why she is crying. DF keeps getting really frustrated and impatient with her and that is stressing me out because it puts more pressure on me - I have to try to settle her as he gets too tense and works her up even more.

Sorry for the whinge girls .

juzzy

09-03-2007, 05:09 PM

Shelby - any chance your bubba could have wind or something? I had a similar thing with Cassidy over the last few nights (last night being the exception) where i was up with her for the whole night as she wouldnt settle at all, turns out she had bad wind. I have since bought some Infants Friend and everything seems a bit better now. Could it be something like that?

In regards to contraception - when i was in hospital they gave me a script for the mini pill and then proceeded to give me a lecture about safe sex (probably because i look like im about 17 and not 22). So i guess i will be using that as well as condoms until we are ready for number 2. Which by the looks we will start trying for around late this year early next year. DP doesnt want to have a massive gap between babies.

cracked nipples - i am using marcalan to heal mine up, it has taken a bit but they are slowly getting better. It has meant expressing rather than putting Cassidy on the boob but it seems to be making them heal a bit quicker.

Tanya - you crack me up. I wish i had of seen RPA might have put DP off already thinking about number 2!

ziggy29

09-03-2007, 07:35 PM

Thanks for all the support today girls. :hugs:
I got out of the house thid arvo and mum took the baby for a few hours and i went to the shops and had a pedicure and eyebrow wax. It was tiring but i needed to get out!! And it made me appreciate my baby - i missed her so much. It made me realise that we are going through one of the toughest phases in our babies life. i bet when they are 2 years old i will look back on this time with rose coloured glasses and smile.

Shelby - re:cracked nipples. It is easy for you to get an a thrush infection in the nipple cracks. you treat this with canestan cream 3 (-4) times a day. me gp said canestan is harmless to the baby. also check in babys mouth - if you see white dots on tongue or cheek (that dont wipe off) then babe has thrush too and needs to be treated as well. we used nilstat drops (check with dr or pharmacist).
Also i got some antibiotic ointment called fucidin from teh dr which healded everything up in 48 hours and i have had no cracks/bleeding since!!

To everyone who is botle feeding and expressing a big round of applause :smiliedance: . You are just amazing. it is so tiring. you are giving your bubs the most amazing start in life. hope you are using some kick **** mechanical pump and not a hand pump (you arm will fall off).

Re: contraception ?? i would like to say withdrawal method (sorry tmi) but i got pregnant the first month we tried so...suppose condoms are the answer. i am looking foward to it as a stress reliever to it as i only have the caesar scar to deal with.

Shelby, ist time mum, my lot, eskimo mumma - we are united in our sleeplessness.

Good luck for tonight everyone. if/when she cracks it tonight i am going to try baby massage!!

Squiggles

09-03-2007, 07:51 PM

Ziggy - It feels great to get out and be a normal person again for a while doesn't it! My mum looked after Connor for a few hours last weeks so that I could go and do some clothes shopping (Im no where near fitting into my pre preggo clothes and sick of wearing maternity stuff when Im not preggo anymore!) MIL gave me a voucher for a day spa - cant wait to use it! So glad you enjoyed your time out.

Contraception - We have the greatest form of contraception - its called 3rd degree tearing!!! I have umpteen million stitches to take care of any thoughts I might be having about doing the deed. Just not on the cards for us for a long time as I am not healing well at all. :banghead:

Im so excited - My friend has invited me to go with her to a mothers and babies group on Tues morning. Its one for newborns to 1 year olds where they sing songs and play games then all the mums chat and have coffee. I've been feeling like I've lost my confidence a bit in meeting new people - I feel like I've been out of the loop since being away from work for so long and not being forced to interact IYKWIM. So it will be good to have my friend to ease me into getting to know some more mummas (in the flesh - love all my bub hub mumma friends but you are all too far away!). I said to DH that I didn't want Connor to suffer because of my insecurities.

Took Connor to see the child and youth health nurse for his check today and she disagrees with the GP that I saw yesterday and doesn't think he has dermatitis - she thinks he has baby acne, a hormonal reaction. Im happier with this diagnosis as I wasn't really comfortable in giving him Cortisone at such a young age. I think I will find a GP for next time.

Also, a little self centered comment here... but since I have changed my username Im feeling a bit left out on bub hub these days. I dont feel that people are responding to me like they use to when I was Eagerly_awaiting. Does everyone realise its still me? Am I just boring now or totally ultra sensitive?

xx

icugal

09-03-2007, 07:59 PM

re: Contraception.

We will probably go back to the withdrawal method, which we used successfully for two and a half years without getting pregnant. The pregnancythat I've just had only occured because we decided that we were going to try to get pregnant, so it was planned (well, sort of.. long story). We got preggers the first time we actually tried, so I was very impressed that my DF had obviously done so well with the whole withdrawing thing for the 2.5 years beforehand (that sentence sounds so tacky.. I apologise.. we really have no secrets here do we ?? :D ).

If I were to rely on the pill for contraception, then I would probably be pregnant again very soon... because I am exceptionally hopeless at remembering to take medication (quite ironic considering I'm a nurse !!). DF doesn't like condoms, so they're out... and I'm not keen on the idea of IUD's, implantable capsules or depo provera.

Juzzy - We're going to try for a second baby around the same time as you... maybe we'll be in the same birth group again !! :)

icugal

09-03-2007, 08:17 PM

Squiggles - :hugs:

Kaelan had this awful pimply thing over his face a couple of weeks back, infact I even posted photos of it here and other people here believed it was that baby acne.. it must be a fairly common thing. Who would have thought !!

I actually want to ask you a question... and feel free to tell me to mind my own business. But because you tore so badly... does it turn you off having another baby?? I think it would for me because the only reason why I wanted a caesar in the first place, was because I was terrified of tearing badly. For me, having an abdominal surgical scar was going to be far less traumatic than tearing "down there"... but that's just my perspective. I'm curious as to how you percieve your experience.

my_lot

09-03-2007, 08:17 PM

HI SQUIGGLES :wave: :wave: :wave:

Squiggles

09-03-2007, 08:18 PM

Juzzy and Penny - we are thinking of TTC around October/ November this year... we want to have the 2 under 2.

Squiggles

09-03-2007, 08:22 PM

Oh I just posted at the same time as you Penny and My _lot.

So the question about wanting number 2 has been answered. But yes, the tear and the huge trauma still plays on my mind constantly and I have made the decision tjhat the desire to have children close together in age out weighs my fear of having another child... and also next time I can only have a C Section, so no more freakish tears and damage...!!

edited to add - the tear was worth it though. I have to say that everytime I think about it or talk about it. Its still damn painful and I look like someone got their overlocker out and stitched me after drinking a carton!! In other words I didn't tear straight.

:wave: Hi My_lot - thanks!!! I guess I am just being a sook - Bl**dy hormones!!

Roopee

09-03-2007, 08:23 PM

Oh squiggles big :hugs:. I know its you, dont feel left out hun. No one wants you to feel like that. Sorry if your feeling neglected:kiss:.

Weelllll i hope tonights a good one! Its amazing isnt it how much you miss a fullights sleep when you cant have it. hmmm come to think of it- i miss using 2 hands to type lol. I never thought i would literally WEAR a baby- not a good fashion accesory if you ask me lol-it leaks!

I wish we could all meet up- that'd be awesome!Imagine all us postnatal ladies (no babies) turning up for thestar treatment at a swanky hotel:smiliedance:.Well if nothing else ive just given us all something to dream about tonight!

Sassi

09-03-2007, 09:13 PM

Hi Girls,

I seem to get on to read everyday, but rarely get the chance to reply. DH woke DS up, so I am making him deal with it tonight... I'm too tired.

Sorry to all of you who are still having difficulties with feeding and settling, for us, some days are great, others are cr#p.

Hels - Hope you are feeling better :hugs: for you.

Juzzy, Penny and Squiggles we are planning TTC#2 at about the same time also:fingerscrossed: . As for contraception until then I will probably try the mini-pill, I have my ob appointment next week so will discuss the options with him.

BTW - What actually happens at your post-natal appoint, do they do an internal??

I absolutely adore my little boy, more than I could have ever imagined pre-birth, things are going okay feeding about every 3 hours during the day and 4hours at night. I have severe pain in my boobs, but am trying to persist until we come back from at the end of April.

Weight loss just isn't happening, since my initial loss of 10kg, the rest just wont move.. I have been walking everyday, am going to have to start doing some serious exercise and diet soon.

:hugs: to everyone tonight, as we all need a little hug sometimes to make it through the day.

Sarah XOXO

juzzy

09-03-2007, 09:51 PM

well well well, looks like we all already looking to plan baby number 2!! I kinda like the idea of having 2 babies under 2 thats why i am going to try and have another as soon as possible.

Does anyone know how long you are supposed to wait after a ceasar to try for another? like is there any official "waiting period" to allow for healing?

As for the whole sex issue, it has been three weeks tonight since i had Cassidy, DP has got a major case of itchy feet. I think i am going to sleep on the couch tonight. The idea of sex kinda scares me really. I think i am going to use the whole "oh but im spost to wait 6 weeks" excuse tonight.

I got pregnant while on the pill so i dont really trust the pill much, but DP doesnt like condoms, so who knows.

Squiggles - no we havent forgotten you!! Big hugs!!:hugs: I feel forgotten all the time but i just keep posting hehehehe

Sassi - i know at my six week check that i will be getting a pap smear as i was due for one before Cassidy was born. Other than that i am not too sure.

ziggy - i feel like a milk bar at the moment! all i do is express and yeah it is damn hard work, cant wait until my nipples are fixed up so i can put Cassidy back on the boob!! My pump gets a massive workout!!

Im off to bed, got about 2 hours before Cassidy wakes up for her last feed. Got my maternity payment today, so going to go get some things for Cassidy tomorrow! Yay, feel like i havent been shopping in ages!

NoMoreScuba

10-03-2007, 08:09 AM

Morning girls...thank god it's saturday!

squiggles - :hugs: to you, those hormones are dreadful things aren't they?! No-one's forgotten you, don't worry...:D

To all those hoping to try for number 2 this year - good luck! My DF is keen to have 2 close together as well, but I've said I'm refusing to try until next year, I don't want to be pregnant at Christmas again, I think we'll try in Jan/Feb 2008. The thought of it terrifies me at the moment though, I wonder how long it'll be before i'm hoping for another baby? I can't bear the thought of tearing again, and all that pain of labour, not to mention the whole 9 bl*&dy months of being pregnant...aaaaargh!

ziggy - how'd you go last night? Get any more sleep?

Charlie was a horror yesterday evening, but then when he finally went down he slept for 6 hours, so i'm very grateful for that... Today he seems in a much better mood - typical! I've already told DF that it's not always like this (just put him in bed and he goes to sleep, no screaming for 2 hours like he was doing yesterday). Not sure DF believes me...!

Have a lovely weekend everybody. Here's to some sleep and rest for all :fingerscrossed: :yelclap:

JoJoMart

10-03-2007, 09:17 AM

Shelby - my little Liam does the same thing when I try and give him the breast. He takes it for a minutes, sucks a bit, pulls off and starts screaming! Now I feel like he's more used to the bottle than the boob and he might never attach properly. I'm going to a clinic on Tuesday so I hope this helps. My supply is ****, only 20mls per express. I got 50mls once and got excited but then it went down to 20 :no:

Juzzy & Icugal (Penny) - I was wondering the same thing about how long to wait after a caesar before trying for another...not that it's an issue for me I'm not going to try anytime soon!

The whole sex thing is scary because I'm worried my scar will split open or something!! Have either of you got some fluid retention or swelling around the scar area? Mine looks like fluid retention just under the scar. I have to say having a caesar wasn't as nearly as bad as I thought it would be.......not that I expected to have one mine was an emergency caesar.

Squiggles - sorry you feel a bit left out. I think we're all just trying to respond as best as we can. So :hugs: to you we haven't forgotten you! I'm lucky if I can get on the computer once per day at the moment.

My hubby & I are such fumbling parents when it comes to nappy change time! The amount of times we have gone to change Liam's nappy when he's done a poo and he then wee's everywhere like a fountain and it ends up on the carpet. Has anyone else been having this trouble who has a boy? I feel like such a dill and we are pointing his penis down when putting on his nappy and now have a washer over his penie at nappy change time in case it happens. His so far christened his cot sheets, pram and change table with pee! How embarrassing :eek:

I hope everyone has a good weekend. My hubby is running errands today but I would like to get out of the house myself at some stage.

my_lot

10-03-2007, 10:14 AM

morning everyone (EVERYONE!!)):D

- on ttc after tearing-

i had internal and external tearing with the first- lots of stiches!!
we conceived 17 months after and went on to have the second with no stitches, no tearing just grazing (and ooow that stings too)

- after c-section-

well, i have nearly 5years between my boys! that says it all!! i was so scared to have another one after the c-sect. the first time we bd after the c-sect took my breath away! as in choke not excitement! that c-sect was the best contraception i ever had!

good on you all wanting to have 2 under 2!

- that way you dont get too used to having sleep again, you still have to change one bum so why not two, pushing a double pram is so much more fun than a single...
can i join your due dates threads when it all happens?? please>??

****sulking now- damn that snip-i want another one****

first time mum- oh jeez i laughed when i read your wee fun! ...at least you can say you are fumbling new parents- dont know what you call it when its the 4th baby (dps 5th) and our boys have both peed in their faces at nappy time!

LMenz

10-03-2007, 03:51 PM

Hi All

Hope everyone is well today? and we have all had some sleep.......Jack slept from 7.30 to 12.30 last night. I woke up shortly before and saw the time and thought something had happened to him as he was so quiet. I think it was because he hardly slept during the day. It's amazing how just a few hours of extra sleep can make all the difference. I feel much more capable today

I'm also raising a piggy I think...he has gained 566g in 9 days :eek: Seems like alot to me...what does everyone else think??

RE: Contraception...I'm going straight back on the mini pill at 6 weeks...I don't want to be pregnant for another 2 1/2 years at least....you are brave girls wanting to have 2 under 2.

Ist Time Mum - Jack pees all the time with his nappy off. He recently did it at a friend house, all over the floor when I was changing him....He's peed on me and DH many, many times. Such a boy thing to do!!!

Have you tried anything to increase your supply? I've heard about a few things like eating oatmeal, drinking more water, cutting out caffeine. You can also get some tablets from the health shop...Fenugeek I think. Otherwise if you really want to keep breast feeding your GP can prescribe some tablets too. You may find you supply will increase over the next few weeks on it's own...I know mine has. In the mornings I can express 100ml from each side but as the day goes on it normally drops to 60-80ml.

Ziggy - I hope you have managed to get some sleep and extra help... can I ask what Lily's symptom's are with the reflux? The LC I have been seeing thinks Jack may have a mild case of it. I've done a bit of reading about it...sounds really tough. Poor little babies! Is Lily on Mylanta?

Squiggles - We all remember you....I still go to call you Eagerly when I see Connor in your Avatar. I think we all feel left out from time to time...I just keep on posting :ecomcity:

my_lot - Thanks for that link....I can breath again now :laughing: I can't believe you want another bub so soon......Amazing!! I don't know how you girls do it all...I'm having enough trouble with one.

Juzzy - Have fun shopping....I've splurged a bit since the we recieved the maternity payment. I love shopping for Jack...almost more than for myself

Well I best be off..... need to milk the cow again!!!!

Have a fab weekend!!! :D

Hels*Bels

10-03-2007, 04:28 PM

I haven't been on for a few days so I've only skimmed over the posts (sorry). I hope everyone is well, seems like a lot of you are still sleep deprived and feeling tearful - damn hormones! They really seem to hit hard around the 2-6 week mark.

Penny - Eeek about getting AF back, I expect mine will be here soon too :thumbsdown:

I feel like a bad mother because for 2 days I accidently gave Reece the wrong formula. I had picked up the follow-on tin for a 6 month old by mistake! He doesn't seem to be any worse for wear on it, but I hope he doesn't get constipated or anything. DH had to go out this morning to buy the right tin, he was not impressed, oops!!

I'm going to go out on a limb here but for the girls in Melb who are finding it tough... I have a suggestion; would any of you like to get together for a cuppa one afternoon? I know it gets quite lonely and daunting being at home alone with a bub. It would be great if we could get a small mother's group started and take it in turns to go to each other's house now and then for a chat whilst the bubs are small, what do you think?
If anyone is interested, let me know so we can try to get something started. Some of the January girls might be interested too.

LMenz

10-03-2007, 04:33 PM

I'm going to go out on a limb here but for the girls in Melb who are finding it tough... I have a suggestion; would any of you like to get together for a cuppa one afternoon? I know it gets quite lonely and daunting being at home alone with a bub. It would be great if we could get a small mother's group started and take it in turns to go to each other's house now and then for a chat whilst the bubs are small, what do you think?
If anyone is interested, let me know so we can try to get something started. Some of the January girls might be interested too.

Yep...I'll be in on that :yes: At least if my bub screams the whole time you girls will understand.

juzzy

10-03-2007, 04:53 PM

Hels - ill be in on the mothers group too, sounds good to me :) i cant do it until i get a new car tho, my car doesnt fit the baby seat in the back so its up for sale :no: looking at a BMW on Monday tho! Im excited! :yes:

1st time mum - i dont have any fluid retention or anything like that around my scar. I went to the doctor during last week when i found i had mastitis and they said that mine is healing well. It does get a bit itchy now and then tho...

Has anyone found that they are the only one doing the whole nappy change thing? DP came to me this morning after Cassidy had filled her pants and said "she needs a new nappy" i was like u know where the supplies are.... go change her....

Well tonight is going to be my first night alone. DP is working alllllll night. Here is hoping Cassi has a good night. I am kinda afraid that something is going to go wrong and im gunna have no help! Oh well ill stay online and on the forum and ask someone... hehehe

NoMoreScuba

10-03-2007, 04:57 PM

squiggles (and everyone else, but i know squiggles will be interested 'cause she's got a hugabub too!) - check out the photo:

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s264/NoMoreScuba/Charlie/Charlieinhugabub2.jpg

I tried my hugabub finally! I had to get DF to help put him in, but once he was in he loved it. He ended up falling asleep. Am definitely going to be trying this more often... Have you got more used to yours yet? Maybe your bub just doesn't like it, a friend of mine was saying her baby hated being in a sling, she ended up selling hers.

On the peeing with the nappy off thing, yes charlie is a master at that (it's almost as if the baby penis is designed so that pee hits their faces isn't it?!). BUT, does anyone else have an issue with number 2's when the nappy is off? Charlie seems to love this. Just as i'm wiping his bum he lets off a little fart and then BANG, there's poo everywhere. It's grim. Please tell me i'm not the only one with a baby with a sick sense of humour??

Elmopalooza

10-03-2007, 07:22 PM

Hi ladies! I just wanted to say hi! I am actually a 'March Mumma' that went early! Little Griffin decided to crash his baby shower and show up 2 weeks early!

Just thought i would pop in and see how you are all doing etc!

Roopee

10-03-2007, 09:18 PM

Sarah- Your are NOT alone on the poo thing when the nappy comes off!! I have been sprung too often to count (you'd think i'd learn right?). Its like she thinks "oooohhhh i need to do more, line up Mummy, watch out and BAM!!! There it goes all over my shirt, the floor, the wall, seriously , i didnt realise that poo could literally fly so far!.

Elmopalooza- Welcome to our new home!!! Feel free to join in oh, and i looooove your baby's name!

me- well im supposed to have the night off tonight with DH getting up and doing the feeding as i do it every night so he is not tired for work. BUT he decided to stand around out the front this arvo with some neighbours and get p!ssed:banghead:. So currently the p!ssed !diot is asleep on the lounge and i have to stay up to do the feeds. I would just go to bed but i will not leave her in the trust of a drunk man even if he is her father. I dont think he would even hear her cry for her next bottle. So im not happy one little bit! Its the only night of the week that i get to sleep and he went and was selfish:banghead:. He's gunna pay tomorrow!!!!

Cody actually slept from 11.30pm til 8.30am last night so maybe she will do it again tonight:fingerscrossed:- i felt like a new woman this morning. Shame the other kids were up at 6 though- ive kept them up tonight till 9.30pm so maybe, just maybe i will get another full night sleep.

Have a good night all!!!

Sassi

10-03-2007, 09:26 PM

Sarah.... I LOVE my hug-a-bub and so does DS, only thing is that we both get quite hot wearing it.. It does get easier to use though and I pretty much use it whenever we go shopping (so much easier than trying to get a mountain buggy around the shops), and I also use it at home if I can't settle him, 90% of the time, he just doses off to sleep!! I rate it highly.

As for the pooing with nappy off... happens everytime, well almost!!

I have a question about tummy time... DS HATES it, and becomes inconsolable when I lay him on his tummy, any ideas for getting him to enjoy it more (I have tried just laying him on my chest and now he doesn't even like that!!)

icugal

11-03-2007, 12:01 AM

1st time mum in Melb - (We need to find a shorter way to write your name - so long !!). Anyways, re: caesar scar. I still have swelling around the general area and some of it is still quite numb. The suture line is also a little tender to the touch. No fluid collections that I can feel, though it was oozing fluid up until last week.

Hels - Love the idea of meeting up for coffee. Y'all welcome at my house anyday... make sure you pack a picnic lunch for the looong journey here though :D .. I'm in Craigieburn.. miles away from everything, truly the a$$ end of Melbourne.

Actually I might be M.I.A over Easter and the week or two after that (so no Melbourne meet-ups in that time pretty please !!!), because it looks like we are going to be making an extremely last minute trip to the UK !! DF's family are all in England and they want to meet Kaelan (and me too hopefully !!), so DF's mum has offered to pay for our airfares !! The only time that we can go at the moment is Easter, so we're rushing to get things organised... ie a passport for Kaelan (does anyone else find it amusing that such a tiny little person has to have their own passport?).

Juzzy - Good luck with surviving the night by yourself. I'm sure you'll do fine :)

NoMoreScuba - That hugabub thingie looks very cool but very complicated.. how the heck do you get in and out of that thing?? *LOL* I actually spent a whole $40 on a baby carrier the other day.. and that was complicated enough !!

Lana - About time you March girls started crashing our thread !!! *LOL* I'm forever sticking my nose into your thread and putting in my two cents worth !! Feel free to come back any time... we'll all be forum buddies soon enough anyways (once you guys move across to this parenting forum).

Roopee - Once again your DH enters himself into the Great Hall of Shame !! Bad, bad hubbie !! Hope you do manage to get some sleep.

Sassi - I have no suggestions for you. Kaelan isn't a great fan of tummy time either (though maybe a little more tolerable than your DS). Maybe it's something they come to enjoy over time?

juzzy

11-03-2007, 08:33 AM

Morning everyone

i managed to survive the night by myself. It was relatively trouble free actually. Well except for a massive poo incident (took off her nappy about 30 seconds too early, poo over her clothes and blanket, not pretty!!). She did end up sleeping in my bed tho, i went to sleep before i got a chance to move her to the cot. Other than that everything went well!

I put Cassidy back on the boob this morning and i am very happy to say that there was no pain! I am using nipple shields and they seem to help a bit. So for the moment i can put the pump back in its box for a little while.

I was actually expecting to have some trouble getting her to go back on the boob as i have heard that once they have been given bottles for a few days or whatever they can then have trouble latching back on. But that didnt happen

icugal - as for living in craigiburn... i live in Somerville about 10 mins from Frankston on the Mornington Peninsula.... this is the a*se end... i mean Frankston!! Really!! Im the same tho, anyone wants to come over for coffee my door is always open!

anyway im off the girl is awake!

Hels*Bels

11-03-2007, 09:00 AM

I'm making a list of names of Melb ladies for the coffee meet, then we can decide whose house and when etc.
1st Time Mum, are you up for that too? (Penny, I think I just shortened her name :laughing: )

Well Reece had a feed at 10pm last night, went to bed straight after and woke at 4.30am :smiliedance:
We are having some friends over for a BBQ lunch today so everyone is rallying around getting food prepared etc, it's chaos here today and Reece is quite happy to scream through it all lol.

Re the poo'ing on the change table, I put a nappy liner under him (it looks like a chux cloth) which catches all that, then I can just throw it out.

Have a great sunday everyone :D

Roopee

11-03-2007, 09:11 AM

Sassi- dont worry too much about the tummy time. NONE of my 4 have ever liked it, so i gave up till they started rolling there themselves. It wasnt worth the hassles.
I know all the nurses and Dr's and MCHN's ll tell you how important it is but, seriously, my kids have all walked before their 1st birthdays and crawled at around 6 mths so it really doesnt affect their development too much.
I used to and now do this for Cody but hold her upright under her arms so she has to hold her head up. Its pretty much the same outcome so give that a go.:hugs:

Well DH slept thru the night- me however:no:. I did manage to sleep in a bit this morning til 7.30. When i got up DH had put a load of washing on, sterilized bottles and cleaned up a bit. He was feeling a touch guilty me thinks, which works for me coz i can boss him around today and he will do whatever i ask to try to make me play nice:laughing:. I've just sent him to the beach with the three older kids so i can tidy up the bedrooms LOL- hmmm yet here i am on BH.
Well i'd better go do something so it looks like i've been "working"
Have a great sunday!!!:hugs:

Squiggles

11-03-2007, 10:24 AM

Oh I am so behind with this thread, I miss a day and I can't keep up!

Roopee - Your DH sounds like mine. Its funny how responsibilities come second to an unplanned pi$$ up. My DH was like that a couple of weekends ago - he was drunk at 4:00 in the arvo. I was so tired but no way was I going to leave Connor in his hands, even though he assured me he was capable... this is the man who was so pi$$ed he got out of bed in the middle of the night and walked outside, I followed him and asked him what he was doing and he told me he was "checking for carparks" I was like WTF - he rambled a full load of Sh!t
about carparks then went and took himself to sleep on the floor in the lounge room. hmmmm yeah and he thinks Im gonna trust him with a child!! I also do all of the night feeds during the week, as he heads off to work so it seems fair and he does the early morning feeds on the weekends to give me a break.

I shouldn't b!tch about DH though as this morning was great... everyone just check if there are pigs flying around anywhere and hell could be a pretty cold place today!!! He got up all on his own, fed Connor and then when I got up he was actually bathing him - without me nagging or anything. He made the decision to do it all on his own. Weird.

Also, and I know I am going on and on about DH here sorry. But does anyone have a partner that thinks its hilarious to talk rubbish to their child... If I hear one more time " Connor, I am your father" in the darth vader voice I will go insane.

Juzzy - glad to hear you are back ok with the boobs. Expressing is such a pain. I just wish Connor would take the boob and that I would produce enough milk to just breast feed him, it sounds so much less complicated than milking every few hours! Glad you survived the night on your own too - I bet you have more confidence now too.

Penny - Oh I have to say Im kind of happy about you going to the UK as you can report back on how Kaelan goes on the flight. DH has most of his extended family in UK and Europe so we were thinking about a trip in September but the flying really doesnt appeal to me (I think I complained about this the other day) We are taking Connor up to Hamilton Island in April so I will test him out on that short flight.

Come to think of it... it sounds like a few of us have family or partners from the UK or are in fact English. Just wondered where everyone is from? DH is from Barnstaple in Devon and has family in Maidstone (Kent), Eastleigh (Southhampton) and Woking in Surry. He also has rellies in Normandy in France and some in Stockholm.

Nomorescuba and Sassi - I am so jelous of your well behaved hugabub loving babies. I think Connor just isnt comfortable in it. I have given up on it and will prob sell it. Well done to you both though, it caused us so much stress!

On the subject of tummy time - Connor likes it I think, well he doesnt get too worked up... but I have to say how funny do they look plonked on their tummy's when they squiggle around - too cute!! Oh and hence my new username, Squiggles.

We are off to a food and wine festival today :smiliedance: Hopefully Connor will let his mummy indulge in one of her favourite activities... eating and drinking - oh how I love it!!! No wonder I am having trouble losing this pregnancy weight!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and has well behaved bubbas that sleep :hugs:

Squiggles

11-03-2007, 10:37 AM

oh ands thanks everyone for making me feel included and allowing my self centred whinge the other day. I really am a pathetic sook!!

Thanks!! I will try not to do it again!! :hugs:

NoMoreScuba

11-03-2007, 10:48 AM

Come to think of it... it sounds like a few of us have family or partners from the UK or are in fact English. Just wondered where everyone is from? DH is from Barnstaple in Devon and has family in Maidstone (Kent), Eastleigh (Southhampton) and Woking in Surry. He also has rellies in Normandy in France and some in Stockholm.

No way :eek:

I'm from maidstone ! Not that that's much to brag about, but it's quite a coincidence!

My mum and dad are still there, and it's where we'll be spending half our time when we go back in august. My DF is from leicester.

On the subject of flights, i'm scared - we are flying out there together, but DF is flying home after 2 weeks to go back to work, and i'm staying for another 3 and doing the return leg on my own with charlie...eeek!

Right, gotta go feed this baby and then take him to a picnic...disaster in the making methinks.

ziggy29

11-03-2007, 11:22 AM

Ok - here is 2 days worth of replies

Squiggles - love ya mate!!! i sometimes feel left out - but i find that when you are in trouble everyone rallies around. i will try to make an effort to respond to those in trouble and those who are going ok too. 3rd degree tear sounds terrible
but apart from lots of stitches do you mind if i ask what that means?

Sassi - my weight hasnt moved at all since the first week. i think i sort of imagined breast feeding would suck the fat stright off my thighs. I am starting a post natal fitness class this week for mums and bubs - hopefully i will meet other mums and get a few exercise ideas as well.
- re:tummy time. try rolling up a towel and putting it under Zane's chest and then put his little elbows under him. when i so this with lily she can lift her head up and doesnt face plant. or try tummy time on a pillow on your lap and do a baby massage with almond oil in his back at the same time. keep the time short and build it up.

Juzzy - Helllo. did you get anything when you went shopping?

Ist time mum - some tips i know for increase supply are - hot shower before; massage breast with a hot wet washers during expressing (i used to keep container of hot water handy and keep re dipping the washers); also keep swapping sides every 5 mins - dont stay on one side for too long. hope that may help!.

Lmenz - re: reflux. Lily seems a lot better the last few days. her symptoms are mainly pulling off after about 5 minutes of feeding and screaming. she is starving but wont reattach. she pushes away and arches her back. she is not a good burper and tends to bring up quite a bit of milk (often curdled ie partially digested). We keep her upright 20 mins after feeds. she still has a sleep after each feed. she has mylanta when i cant console her. it is much worse when she is hot/humid. it helps if i swaddle her to feed and drop her legs lower than head when BF.

Nomorescuba - the sleeping is a little better. DH is giving her a bottle dreamfeed at about 1130 so i have been sleeping from about 1030 to 230 the last 2 nights!!!

What bottles/teats do people find the best to avoid wind?

Anyone trying to impose a routine on bubba yet? having any luck. i read a book yesterday and lily had basically put herself of one of the recommend routines for a 3 weeks old. now i have to decide if it is worth trying to stretch her to the 5 week old routine.

Also as lily seems a lot better the last few days should i still go to the paeditrian tomorrow or wait 2 weeks till her scheduled check up?

icugal

11-03-2007, 11:46 AM

Squiggles - I am totally dreading the thought of having such a young baby on the plane for a long haul flight... but then everyone tells me (including my cousin who is a travel agent and has flown with her young son everywhere since he was born), that they're easier to fly with at this age than when they're a bit older (and trying to exert their independence.. wanting to crawl/walk around). But we'll see.

We'll be breaking up the flight with on overnight stop-over each way in Hong Kong as DF's brother lives and works there... It's our little way of covering as much family as possible in one trip *LOL*

To answer your question about location, my DF is from Bristol. His father still lives in Bristol, his mother lives in Bath (which I believe is nearby). After his parents seperated (when he was about 13 I think), he also lived in Manchester for some time, so he has connections there as well.

LMenz

11-03-2007, 01:21 PM

Hi Guys,

Having a bit of a **** day here...Jack is just refusing to sleep during the day. He is very settled at night (yes... I know I should be thankful for that) From about 9am onwards he's an absolute monster. He's very contented in my arms but as soon as he goes in the cot he screams bl**dy murder..and trying to wrap him is becoming impossible. He thrashes around and clenches his fists and arms so we can't put them down by his side......The last few times I've just given up and let him fall asleep on my shoulder and then put him down but within an hour he is awake again :banghead: He's so head stong and determined already. Maybe I'm just expecting too much....Any words of wisdom or tips??

Ziggy - Thanks for the info on reflux....I think I may go and see someone as feeding on the boob is becoming stressful. He seems to take to bottle quiet well as I feed him in more of an upright position. I have a really fast letdown and he just gulps the milk down...the bottle seems to regulate it more. He vomits quiet a bit too and constantly wants to feed. Why can't he just tell me what's wrong with him???? LOL

Hels - Things seem to be on the improve for you...that's great news!!

Juzzy - Glad you survived the night....Well Done!! Great news that the pain has subsided to when feeding...it makes all the difference

Penny - I'm so jealous of your upcoming trip...sounds wonderful! I don't mind holding off our meet up until your back

Well he's finally asleep again...the question is for how long??? Might try and grab a few zzz's myself :sleeping:

shelby

11-03-2007, 01:46 PM

Hi all,

LMenz - So sorry to hear you are having a bad day. Its good that he is settled at night but sounds like your days are hell - I find it so frustrating when they cry and you just dont know why - youve ticked all the boxes (fed, changed, wrapped etc) and they still cry. Is Jack like that every day or is today particularly bad? Hope the feeding improves for you hon.

Icugal - I think you are really brave, I am going to Canada at Christmas so bubs will be 10 months old then - still scary!! But I think you're right - he will be easier being younger and immobile, a few babies I know of have slept for the entire flight (long haul) or I know you can give them cold medicine or something (its in my baby bible) which can have a mild sedative effect. You'll be fine :yes:

Hi Squiggles!!!! Sorry you have not been feeling the love.....:hugs: to you

Ziggy - no routine yet, would love one but havent even tried. My angel seems to change her patterns on a daily basis!

Juzzy :yelclap: for feeding without pain!!!! Cant wait to feel what thats like.

Question for you ladies re settling - how do you put your bubs to sleep? At the moment we have gotten into the bad habit of letting her fall asleep in our arms, then putting her in her cot, sometimes she wakes up straightaway and Ill stroke her face and :"shh" to her, but inevitably within 5-10 mins shes woken up and started screaming and we start the process again - usually takes 3-4 times. Its starting to get tiring, particularly at night but I dont really know how else to settle her. How do you guys do it?

BF-ing for me is still hard. I feel like its one step forward then 2 steps back. I had a great feed with her this morning, then went to feed her at lunch, tried to attach her a few times but she kept pulling off and then ended up screaming the house down, Ive never heard her cry so loud, and her whole body went purple she was so upset. I cant help but get down when she is like that - my emotions/self esteem as a mother are so tied so our success/failure at BFing right now which is terrible I know. ANy advice?

Also - all this talk of a melbourne get together is making me feel a bit left out - any girls in Sydney that might want to meet up?

Love to you all.......

juzzy

11-03-2007, 03:47 PM

Hels - glad to see that Reece had such a good sleep last night. Sleep makes you feel totally new again! Good luck with the bbq today, we are supposed to be having one tomorrow but looks like the weather mite not be the best for it.

in regards to tummy time - i dont really do it with Cassidy i dont think she enjoys it very much. Tends to get a bit upset with the whole thing. Developmentally i dont think it matters too much.

Roopee - in regards to "working" i did alot of mine last night and am planning to do the rest today. Im feeling lazy and DP is working again tonight so if Cassidy sleeps i will get heaps done! And besides posting on bubhub is classed as work.... think of all the posts there are to read, its almost a full time job!

squiggles - WTH with your DP and the carparks thing... thats slightly on the strange side. I have given DP the benefit of the doubt today after working last night (and tonight) but tomorrow he can entertain Cassidy for some of the day... Does sound like your DH felt badly tho, so hopefully he keeps up the good behaviour in the future.

to those who are flying with babies, i am flying to Hamilton Island at the end of October, its only 3 hours or something but i dont know how i am going to cope with that so good luck with a long haul flight! The idea scares me a tad!

in regards to weight, i have lost 15 kgs since i had Cassidy but i dont think BFng will help me lose anything else. So i am going to start some light exercise this week to see if that helps at all.

Ziggy - i have been using a tommee tippee bottle and teat for Cassidy, it says on the packaging that they are the best to avoid wind/colic. I guess they work to an extent.
My shopping trip i bought a mobile for Cassidys cot, just for a bit of visual stimulation as well as some toys for her. Going to go back during the week and buy some clothes and things. Thanks for asking
As for the routine, Cassidy has kinda set her own routine for the moment, 3-4 hourly feeds during the day (ranging from 8am til 11pm) and then sleeps all night. I am pretty sure all that will change soon enough but at the moment it all works well.

1st time mum - like ziggy said, try a hot shower or try the cloth and hot water thing, i have found those work. I was also told that the more you express the more you should produce.

lmenz - sorry to hear that your day has been so bad. Cassidy has been sleeping less during the day as well, i guess that is the price i have to pay to have a full nights sleep. I get so upset when they are inconsolable as well.

Shelby - I have been letting Cassidy fall asleep on my shoulder as well and then putting her in her cot. I have found that this is pretty bad tho, as soon as she realises that she is by herself she will cry until we go and resettle her. The last day or so we have been putting her down when she is still slightly awake and letting her self settle, or we stay in the room and touch her head gently until she falls asleep. As for the breastfeeding try to persist as much as you can. After having cracked/bleeding nipples, masitis and trouble latching on i know that its not easy at all. :hugs: to you.:hugs:

Squiggles

11-03-2007, 04:14 PM

No way :eek:

I'm from maidstone ! Not that that's much to brag about, but it's quite a coincidence!

Small world huh!! So now I can pick your accent. FIL grew up in Kent.

3rd degree tear sounds terrible
but apart from lots of stitches do you mind if i ask what that means?

It means OUCH OUCH OUCH! It means the tear went through the skin in the perineum, the vaginal tissue and muscle (3 layers I was told - which were stitched up) and lucky me... a tear in the anal sphincter. I also had 3 stitches put in up the top as I had a slight tear in the urethra. I had an episiotomy, but unfortunately it didn't stop the tearing. Nearly 5 weeks on and I still have a large amount of swelling and inflamation which is bl**dy painful. My Abs separated by 3 finger widths too - so pretty much from the belly button down I am now a dud! End result was worth it though... and a nice safe C section for number 2 - no more horrors of a vaginal birth for me!

Penny - Can I ask how long Kaelan had the baby acne for? Connor has had it just over a week now and Im really hoping it clears soon

LMenz

11-03-2007, 04:46 PM

LMenz - So sorry to hear you are having a bad day. Its good that he is settled at night but sounds like your days are hell - I find it so frustrating when they cry and you just dont know why - youve ticked all the boxes (fed, changed, wrapped etc) and they still cry. Is Jack like that every day or is today particularly bad? Hope the feeding improves for you hon.

Thanks Shelby (and everyone else :D ).......He's been like this everyday this week. Maybe he's having a growth spurt?? I really don't know. DH is looking after him this afternoon so I can get some of my sanity back

I'm feeling much the same about B/F at the moment. The LC I've been seeing thinks I have Nipple Vasospasam which is making feeding sooo painful. I've been expressing a feed and then doing one on the boob to see if it helps but no such luck yet. Everyday I still think about putting him on formula full time........I'm feeling so much pressure to keep breastfeeding but in the end I will still love him just as much so soon I will have to start thinking about myself as well as his needs. I think a happy mum = a happy baby. I wonder a lot if he picks up on my stress when it comes to feeding time.

RE: Settling......it's tough!!! We put Jack down and do a lot of shhh, shhh, shhh. We also pat him near the hip and sometimes rock him in his cot. I'm trying to set up cues so he will know it's sleep time.....wrapping, soft music etc. I think a lot has to do with persistance. Some days it works and others (like today :( ) it doesn't......I just try again the next day.

RE: Routines....we've been trying the sleep/feed/play routine but with Jack were doing sleep/play/feed atm as he goes to sleep better after a feed. He seems to enjoy it most of the time.......I'm finding it hard to pick when he's starting to get tired before he becomes overtired and then it is just a nightmare

Squiggles - Your tearing sounds horrific :eek: OUCH!!! Has your OB said how long it will take to heal??

NoMoreScuba

11-03-2007, 05:54 PM

Re: Settling - my god, don't ask me. Did anyone see the thread i started:

http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?t=75008

I've got all these articles that say the baby needs to cry, so leave it be, and i was just trying to find out if that's right, because it feels really wrong to leave him to cry. He gets himself in such a state, and everything we do (rocking, singing, etc etc) just do nothing. He's beside himself. I also try putting the hoover on, because he often falls asleep to that (though usually wakes up when it's turned off). I also do a lot of 'Sssshhh' ing. But sometimes it does seem like he just needs to scream and get it all out before falling asleep.

Tonight we've tried a dummy. It's keeping him quiet, but he's not going to sleep. Does anyone else use a dummy?

LMenz, sorry to hear you're having a **** day, hope he makes up for it tonight.

squiggles, oh my god that sounds painful - i hope you heal up soon

shelby - i'd be up for a meet in sydney too!

right, gotta go, he's crying again...

Hels*Bels

11-03-2007, 09:19 PM

Squiggles - I am a pom, originally from Southampton. My family still live there and not too far from Eastleigh (small world hey?). My parents are over here at the moment staying with us, they go back at the end of this month.
BTW, I consider myself an Aussie now, I am naturalised and married to an Aussie, I have also lost most of my pommie accent lol.

Re Tummy time - Reece is getting used to it, he likes it when I get down with him and encourage him. I also rub his back and wave toys around infront of his face. But some days he won't have a bar of it!

Re Settling in bed - They say you should put them in awake but sleepy so they learn to self settle. Sometimes he will scream, other times he will settle and sometimes we put him in fast asleep. The main thing we have learnt is perseverance. No matter how hard he might scream, we take turns going in every few minutes to put the dummy back in and stroke his head. We also play lullabys in his room. About 90% of the time he will eventually settle. The hardest thing is resisting the temptation to pick him up constantly as this makes it worse. I only do this if he has wind or is really really distressed.

Ziggy - I like the pigeon peristaltic teats, they are closest in shape to a nipple and bubs sucks in less wind. They also fit the avent bottles :thumbsup: .

Nina79

12-03-2007, 08:51 AM

Hi ladies :wave:

Sorry it's been a while between postings - I have been busy 'surviving' these past two weeks! It's been a blur of feeding, sleeping, changing nappies and 'managing' visitors!

(Please god, will the visitors ever end?! It's great to show off my new baby but most don't even think to put their own coffee cups on the sink - thus generating LOTS of extra work. Whoa, sorry - I obviously needed to get THAT off my chest! :laughing:).

Ryan is wonderful and I'm having a blast but am tired all the time. He's now sleeping in 2-4 hr blocks but we have had the occasional night where he screamed constantly between 10 and 2. I concluded the poor little man had bad wind and having read all of your posts on this, last night we tried infant's friend - with great success!

I can't join the DP bashing - mine has been helping with feeds where he can. Unfortunately, despite our best laid plans, he has not really been able to take any real time off work (i.e mobile phone off, computer off). This makes me less inclined to wake him in the night to help, as he is in the the middle of a very very important project. As the owner/manager of the company, our future is somewhat dependent upon it's success, so I'm trying to think long-term and not be selfishly focussed on the 'now'. It's hard when you're tired tho...:rolleyes:

I will need to limit personals as I find it hard to keep up with you ladies!! Hopefuly Ryan will have a routine in a couple of weeks and I'll be back on BH more often.

Juzzy - I hope the mastitis is clearing up. My friend had this and it was extremely painful. I admire your perseverence and determination to BF.

Squiggles - big hugs to you too hon, your tearing sounds awful but your attitude about it is amazing! Some tough cookies walking amongst us, no doubt about it!

Hels - I know that the thread has moved on but I just wanted to say how brave you are for openly discussing your PND. I had depression a few years ago and so am trying to be very self aware during this postpartum period, just in case it returns (more likely if you've had it in the past). I'm so glad things are brighter for you...

Ok, I'm off to shower before he wakes up - I'm sure the neighbours are sick of seeing me in my PJs at 5pm! :D

Have a great day - hopefully I'll be able to pop back in more frequently...

Nina xo

PS.. Sorry for awful font - won't go back to default d*mmit!

LMenz

12-03-2007, 09:06 AM

Well the day from hell turned into the night from hell :laughing: Poor little Jack had the runs.....we were changing a dirty nappy every two hours. He finally settled down at 4am after a feed and slept until 8am....My DH is trying to get him to sleep again now as I type - He is one determined baby. Hopefully things will improve :fingerscrossed:

Nina - Good to hear from you.....you sound like your doing a great job

NoMoreScuba - We are (reluctantly) using a dummy...no sure if it helps or hinders. Quiet often I have to go in and put the dummy back in is mouth. Sometimes he just doesn't want it and spits it out

Ziggy - Were using the same teats as Hels....they were recommended by the Lactation Consultant I saw.

Ohhh Yay he's asleep......I'm off to Spotlight before the little monkey wakes up again

Happy Labour Day to those in Melbourne!!! :D

cate

12-03-2007, 09:45 AM

Hi February mums....I'm from over in the Jan mums thread but thought I would let you all know that a few of the Brisbane mums are meeting this Friday at Garden City for a coffee...If anyone is interested pm me and I'll give you more details!!

Hope you are all doing well; just wait for the smiles....each one is a little present!

JoJoMart

12-03-2007, 09:54 AM

Hi girls,

Well I'm hoping to complete this post before Liam wakes up! He started crying twice yesterday when I started typing it was so frustrating......

LMenz - sorry to hear that Jack has had the runs and been so unsettled. I hope this passes soon......it's so hard when they scream and you can't console them. As for BF, well I'm predominately using formula at the moment with top ups of my expressed breast milk. I have tried Liam on the boob again as the nipples have healed and he attached okay, but other times he fights, screams and pulls off so I give up and make up formula instead. He seems to prefer the bottle because he doesn't have to work for it......I'm going to the BF Clinic on Tuesday so I hope to sort some of these issues out. I totally understand you wanting to give up BF and I feel the same but also want to persevere for Liam's sake.

Nina79 - visitors......I know what you mean! We had some yesterday and we are having some today but luckily only one couple are coming today. It's so hard......especially with family who it's hard to say "no" to. Friends tend to be more understanding about waiting a while before visiting I find.

NoMoreScuba - we have been using a dummy even tho the midwives at Cabrini Hospital were against it in the early weeks.....they said it can interfere with BF. We try to use it at bed time to settle Liam as he will suck then drift off to sleep......but I have to admit to shoving it in his mouth when he's screaming sometimes for a feed while I'm preparing his formula. Bad habit I know which I'm going to break.

Squiggles - gosh your tear sounds horrible....I hope you heal soon. :hugs: to you.

Hels - Yes, I think I probably should change my user name as 1st time Mum in Melb is long (I realise typing it myself just now)!! As for a mother's group.....that's a great idea. We need to work out where everyone lives and who is central I guess....unless we just make it a public place to start with like originally planned or are you thinking we need to meet up a.s.a.p. for some support? Any ideas?

I am finding motherhood such a blur......I feel like I'm on overdrive and existing day by day at the moment. Does this feeling settle down? Liam is only 2 weeks old and I've been home 1 week from hospital so it's not long but I want to feel normal again if possible! I'm sure everyone can relate to this. As for PND I thought I might have this a couple of days ago. I was a complete mess in tears all day and feeling like I couldn't cope and this had been getting worse over the week, but I seem to have picked up in my mood......probably because hubby has been home over this long weekend. We have a dog and they are so much easier than babies!

As for settling.......we are finding Liam sleeps after a feed.....like now he is doing that but usually during the day he has some awake/play time after a feed then gets grissly and I put him down but this is the hardest time to settle him. He settles better straight after a feed. Settling is hard work and so frustrating. I find patting him when in his cot still awake a waste of time and usually have to rock him in my arms until he calms down.....it's hard to put him back in his cot without waking/stiring him though which starts the whole process again.

Thank goodness for Bubhub and the support we all give each other going through the same thing! :hugs:

moggs

12-03-2007, 02:51 PM

Hey,

This melbourne meeting up thing sounds alright but i'm in werribee so I think it's a bit too far out for me.

Also i am finding it really hard to lose weight. I've lost 9 kg and it doesn't seem enough. I'm doing all the right things but the weight doesn't seem to be shifting.

What is the deal with tummy time? The MCHN said it is because laying on their back can leave their skull flat. Is this true? Never heard this one before. Tayla is also not too keen on tummy time but she does lay on my chest.

Ziggy- I use avent, i know they are expensive but they work quite well. It may be the formula responsible for extra wind. Tayla's wind was better when changing to Karicare.

Shelby- I have to admit when settling Tayla I have started leaving her and going back in 5-10 mins for her to know i'm there and keep repeating this. She has been pretty good and is learning to put herself to sleep. I didn't do this with Molly and I was rocking her in my arms until she was 2!!!

Routine -

It seems all I do is feed, change and put to sleep. Tayla just loves to sleep, I sometimes miss her!! It can be a hassle putting her to sleep sometimes thou

moggs xx

Butterflymumma

12-03-2007, 04:07 PM

Hey Ladies,

Its taken me a few days to get back on here and i have read all the posts- finially!! Sorry to those having issues with your partners, I come from a different point of view thinking how nice it would be to have a partner around to help with bubs.

Ok going to try and reply to a few things:-

Im so over trying to breastfeed - I feel likle its one step forward and two steps back

I hope things get better for you Shelby, you've had it tough thats for sure, you really deserve a break!

Took Connor to see the child and youth health nurse for his check today and she disagrees with the GP that I saw yesterday and doesn't think he has dermatitis - she thinks he has baby acne, a hormonal reaction.

I think lillyana might have this too, she has little pimply things alll over her face! Is there anything I can do to help it??

Sassi, Juzzy, Penny and Squiggles- Goodluck with your TTC, I would love to have my children close together, but because im now a single mumma, and dont want to have another baby until i meet the right guy and get married, I dont see it happening that fast. Maybe in 5 years- I hope so!

Sassi- In regards to your post-natal appoint, i think it depends on the individual if they do an internal, I am due for a papsmear so i will prob have one done then.. I too am having problems with the weight loss, my sister (although kind intentions are meant) kept saying how amazed she was that i still had a tummy....I had to talk to her about it as i started getting quite self conscious of it, it has gone down a fair bit, but i cant wait for my wound to be healed so i can start some sit ups.

my little Liam does the same thing when I try and give him the breast. He takes it for a minutes, sucks a bit, pulls off and starts screaming! Now I feel like he's more used to the bottle than the boob and he might never attach properly.

Have either of you got some fluid retention or swelling around the scar area?

This same thing happens with me and feeding Lillyana, maybe Liam had wind? thats what im thinking is the matter with Lillyana. Yes! i have the fluid retention/swelling around my scar too, it feels less sensitive to touch as well, like there might be nerve damage...kinda numb when i touch it- do you get this?

I put Cassidy back on the boob this morning and i am very happy to say that there was no pain!

:yelclap: That is WONDERFUL news for you Juz, good on you!!!

settling -At the moment Its whatever works at the time. I am trying to teach her to sleep in the pram during the day and in the bassinette at night so she can start to learn the difference between night and day sleeps. I pat her on the bum/back gently and rock the bassinette/pram to get her to sleep.

tummy time- Lol, this was suppost to be time for her to strengthen her neck according to the child health nurse, nup she falls straight to sleep if she's on her tummy and therefore rests her neck anyway. The only reason i do it is because i like the time with her.

I'm feeling much the same about B/F at the moment. The LC I've been seeing thinks I have Nipple Vasospasam which is making feeding sooo painful. I've been expressing a feed and then doing one on the boob to see if it helps but no such luck yet. Everyday I still think about putting him on formula full time........I'm feeling so much pressure to keep breastfeeding but in the end I will still love him just as much so soon I will have to start thinking about myself as well as his needs. I think a happy mum = a happy baby. I wonder a lot if he picks up on my stress when it comes to feeding time.

Lmenz I completly agree with you on everything you have said, I actually looked up Nipple Vasospasm after reading your post in the b/f forum and realise this is probably what is causing me so much intense pain while b/f. I have always had very poor circulation and my nipple is white when i detach Lillyana from the breast not to mention extremely sore and red and swollen. I have cried and cried thinking it was something i was doing wrong, maybe its something i cant help. :hugs: Its a hard thing to deal with hey?

Routines- I admire those who have started a routine, I have no routine, at the moment i cant even think, i feel like a walking zombie and just feed and sleep most of the time. :(

NoMoreScuba- to avoid my nipples being used for comfort and causing me to break down in tears, i have started giving Lillyana a dummy. she is a comfort sucker and id much rather wean her off the dummy than her thumb. If it works for you then have no regrets, my father always tells me if you make a decision for your child based on love then there is no wrong answer, You do what is best for you and you cant fail!!

me- well im off to buy a microwave sterilizing kit, some more bottles and some formula for top up feeds because Im scared to admit im starting to feel like things arent right, im finding no joy in my daughter and im very aware and afraid of developing PND and i think it all comes down to my dread and severe pain from BF. So im not going to suffer anymore hoping i will be able to feed her for another 6 months if its just not working. I am going to express and ff (if need be) and keep her off my nipples. I know im probably setting myself up for a bit more work, but work i can handle, Pain and PND i cannot. :crying: It really breaks my heart that i couldnt have the experience i so longed for during my pregnancy...

I am also feeling really emotionally fragile at the moment because i am being bullied by my ex (DD father) re immunisation. We both have a different opinion on the subject and everytime he comes to visit Lillyana, he ends up spending the whole time lecturing me and pressuring me and trying to control our lives. I am so tired and emotionally drained from looking after dd 24/7 with no help or encouragement from him, that when he does this i have no energy to fight back. i just sit and get bullied. *crys* He didnt want anything to do with us for most of my pregnancy now he wants to tell me how to raise her...like i have no idea what is best for her and he does. If only he could be in my shoes for a day, then he'd see how hard it is and back off.

Sorry for my rant, Life just isnt going as expected at the moment and im getting really miserable about it- hopefully its just lack of sleep thats fueling it all.

Take Care all xx Tegan

P.s Sorry for the very long post!

Nina79

12-03-2007, 08:56 PM

[quote=Butterflymumma;1209269]

Life just isnt going as expected at the moment and im getting really miserable about it- hopefully its just lack of sleep thats fueling it all.
quote]

Big hugs to you hon :hugs: - you are doing a fabulous job - I completely admire how you're handling motherhood and how you keep the rest of us feb mummies smiling with words of encouragement.

I hope that tomorrow is a better day for you.

Make sure you listen to your own advice re. decisions made with love - those are the truest and most beautiful words I've heard in a long time...

hoping4another

12-03-2007, 09:33 PM

Hi ladies,
Sorry to hear of the ladies that are having a hard time big :hugs: and :kiss: to you i hope things improve.
IMy Computer has been down so it been a while since i been on and i just didn't have the time to read over all the post sorry ladies.
As for the topic of partners mine isn't to bad but i wish he would go back to work now :laughing: not back until 20th March his driving me crazy like having a extra baby at times.

As for us motherhood is great i am lucky toh ave a good little boy he has his last bottle at 11pm at night and sleeps until about 6am-7am in the morning but this has only just been the last 4 nights :fingerscrossed: it stays that way. He is stillh aving mild colic but not as bad as the early days.

A quick question i have found a lump under one of his boob's the size of a pea any idea's?
Sorry ladies must be off Liam is calling.

Wendy

Elmopalooza

12-03-2007, 09:53 PM

Feel free to join in oh, and i looooove your baby's name!

Thanks hun!

Lana - About time you March girls started crashing our thread !!! *LOL* I'm forever sticking my nose into your thread and putting in my two cents worth !! Feel free to come back any time... we'll all be forum buddies soon enough anyways (once you guys move across to this parenting forum).

Hehe yeah sure is! Im actually surprised that none of the other girls have 'popped' in! Especially considering the amount of bubs born early in our thread!

Are there many Perth girls in this thread??

harleyq

12-03-2007, 10:00 PM

Oh my, l really must get better at reading this� l am really far behind again- apologies for the long post� THIS POST HAS BEEN A DAY LONG EVENT in getting finished � but l refused to go to bed till l caught up � l keep waiting for the quiet time to get on, but l have now decided that that probably isn�t going to happen�

Ziggy29 � No ziggy your not the only one doing 3 hourly feeds. Coen feeds every 1.5-2.5 hours during the day and less often at night� we get him to sleep about 12.30am (we start trying about 10pm) and then he will sleep through to 2.30-3.30, at that stage we give him 60-80mls of expressed milk and then a top up on the breast, then he usually sleeps through quite a few more hours 5,6 or if we�re lucky 7. I think the act of actually draining my breast is tiring for him so he actually falls asleep after 10-15 minutes, by giving him the expressed milk in a bottle first we are able to get more milk into him� we�ve been doing this for about a week now and seems to work well for all of us (DH gives him the expressed milk, burps and changes him and brings him in for the top up feed which is usually only 5-10 min.)
Oh Ziggy your MIL is soooo not supportive (l feel like a b**ch for complaining about mine)� if you were in Melb. L would offer to give you an hour off�
What? You mean BF�ing doesn�t suck the weight off your thighs??? Sh*t l kinda hoped that also� have about 4.5 kg that seems to be sticking around� Coen�s two weeks old today� l kinda hoped it would all just disappear � with a broken Coxic l can�t really walk too far or do any form of exercise just yet�

Icugal � oh l hope bachache isn�t a sign of AF early return cos l have been getting that the last few days � and l haven�t even stopped bleeding yet� hugs to you!

Shelby - You poor thing� re. cracked nipples, l stopped bf completely for about 30 hours, l tried once or twice as a top up when the amount in the sterilized bottles we had prepared just weren�t enough.. but those top up feeds were literally 5 minutes� I did try just cutting back on the bf and topping up with expressed milk first of all but they didn�t seem to be healing� if your able l would suggest a complete avoidance for 24 hours (and keep using your nipple cream and don�t let any soap near your nipples)� but try and express perhaps every couple of hours??? I don�t have a problem with milk supply just yet so not sure about that one, but surely if your expressing as regularly as 2 hourly it would be okay????

I have the opposite problem to you, Olivia cries and won�t attach, Coen cries and the only thing that will stop him is attaching� which means that l am sometimes feeding hourly (and it can take 30 min. to feed so l feel like l am feeding constantly)

Squiggles � we still love you as squiggles or as eagerlyawaiting!!! LOL � Your DH cracked me up� l am not going to share his Darth Vader antics with my DH cos he is likely to emulate them� l keep hearing DH singing little things to Coen� and giving him heaps of nicknames� Chinese man from Japanese land (cos our little man looks a little asian, even though neither of us have asian blood), booba, hiccup man and l can�t even remember the rest,�

Me & Coen � Coen has had one of those unsettled days today� and it appeared to always coincide with DH holding him � so he is now feeling unloved� but in all honesty nothing would soothe him but being on the boob � so he was on the boob hourly all evening, l have just gotten him to lie down for the first time since this morning and l am hoping he will stay that way (l am literally holding my breath cos l am scared he is going to wake up screaming again)!!! DH is going to go in to work tomorrow to do a handover for the rest of the week (cos they were expecting him in this week)� l am a bit nervous about being here on my own � l hope we don�t have a day like this afternoon �
I am worried that we are getting him into bad habits already� i.e. we put Coen to bed when he is already half asleep (but really we have no choice, he falls asleep at the boob� l try and wake him up but there just isn�t any rousing him); when he cries hysterically the only thing that will calm him down is the boob � so l give it to him�what kind of example is that??? Are we making a rod for our back??? I watched my friend with her baby constantly at her hip, letting him sleep with her etc. and thought well that is her choice but l won�t do that with my child � well never will l ever second guess another parent � who knows what that parent goes through when they are at home alone with their child � when all they want to do is console their little one�. Arrrgghhh all these choices, l want to help Coen to be a confident little person and am worried that things l am doing now may influence that� am l being ridiculously paranoid????? HELP!!! Advice� suggestions most welcome

1sttime mum in Melbourne � I hear you about boys and their pee� so far dh has been hit twice� we use huggies nappies and with almost every pee nappy we get leakage� but not from where you would expect, its from the top� we point his penis down as well� any suggestions? I was thinking of writing them a note and asking for advice� surely a nappy isn�t fit for the purpose if it leaks with every pee???? BTW � we do the facewasher trick as well � at least l do, DH always forgets (hence his golden showers)

LMENZ � Coen put on 350 g in 5 days so 566g in 9 days isn�t too bad, mind you the MHN thought that was pretty amazing (well when the juice bar is always open l guess there is no choice but to put on weight)!!!
Coen is doing the same thing with the day sleeping� and the wrapping etc. l am keen to hear what others have to say on this as well

Hels*Bels � I am happy to get together with fellow Melbournians whenever, wherever� even happy to host the first one in Coburg (15 min. nth of City) if that�s convenient� or attend elsewhere�

Sassi � on tummy time � when you lay him on your chest are you skin to skin� that often helps� and if you lay him on your stomach and let him root around for your breast that gives them an incentive (mind you they can get a little anoid if they don�t find it right away� l�ve had to turn Coen back around on occasion when he has gotten lost (typical male didn�t stop to ask for directions J)

Penny - Well done on the trip � sounds terrific, a great opportunity for you and your family!

Butterflymama - Good on you for making a positive decision on BF � as hard as it may be� you�re right your health and sanity comes first, you wouldn�t be doing lillyana any favours by getting stressed out� your dad sounds like a wise man� Good luck with whatever you choose to ultimately do� BIG HUGS to you.

Hoping4miracle � lump under the breast can a blocked milk duct which may ultimately lead to mastitis� they suggest giving yourself a good massage (massage towards the nipple) in the shower (hottish water)� keep massaging it cos it may be a blocked milk duct that you may be able to clear if you get it relatively early� if it doesn�t go away or you are feeling like you have the flu, feverish etc. or have red streaks on your breasts go to see your GP � mastitis may have already set in�

FINALLY �at the end � l promise to be more regular� can�t wait to meet all the Melbourne gals soonish!!! Good luck everyone

icugal

12-03-2007, 10:08 PM

Hi girls...

Had a pretty cr@ppy day today... I was giving Kaelan a bottle about 1pm today and I mentioned to DF that I had pretty full-on period pain (I have AF back remember), so I got up to go to the toilet and once there had a massive bleed that lasted several minutes (it was running out like water). I also passed some rather sizeable clots (sorry if TMI).

I called up the Mercy Hospital and they told me to come straight in. I was triaged almost immediately but because they were so busy (aren't they always?) and because my vital signs were stable, I ended up sitting in the waiting room again for FOUR hours... I'm kinda glad I wasn't bleeding to death !!

Anyways, by the time I did get seen by the doctor, the bleeding was minimal (though I was still passing smaller clots) which was a relief at least. An examination showed that my cervix was opened a little, but apparently that can be normal 6 weeks post baby. After a bit more poking and prodding and monitoring of vital signs, they were happy to let me go home again, but I have to go back tomorrow at 2pm for an ultrasound.

I still feel fairly crampy now, but the bleeding is just like normal AF type flow again, so :fingerscrossed: that whatever was wanting to come out (ie retained products) has infact now come out... I'm really not wanting a D&C.

I just have to mention that in about an hour, my little man will be officially SIX WEEKS OLD... which means I can officially drive and start exercising again... let's hope that todays events don't set me back any further (maybe will hold off on the exercising for a few days, until I have some results from the u/s).

juzzy

12-03-2007, 10:14 PM

Evening all,

well it has been a long day, Cassidy has been wanting to feed for the most of the day and has been a bit clingy, like not wanting to go down for naps and things. Poor DP is in the lounge with her at the moment, she is asleep on his lap and he is playing xbox so i can have a break and catch up on some "housework" that i so desperately needed to do lol

Tegan - I think you are doing a great job so dont ever doubt yourself. It must be hard on you to be a single mummy and i cant ever imagine being in that situation but i am 100% positive that no matter what you decide in regards to lillyana, it will be the BEST decision. Dont be bullied into making a decision because someone else thinks it is right, only you can decide what is right for lillyana.

nina - i know what you are saying about DP bashing. My DP owns and runs his own business as well and i totally feel bad asking for help whether it be during the day or night as i know how busy he is and that if the business fails then we dont get to eat or whatever. This generally means that i feel as tho i am raising a baby by myself at times. And as good as DP is with trying to help with Cassidy and housework i still feel totally bad if i have to nag to get him to help me.

Penny - thats pretty bad!! I hope everything is ok and that they dont find anything wrong at the ultrasound tomorrow!

As for the whole not driving for 6 weeks thing, has anyone actually stuck to that? I may have to drive for the first time tomorrow after having Cassidy (im going to look at a car that i mite just buy if i like it) and i will have to drive it home. So i was wondering is the whole not driving for 6 weeks following a ceasar is gospel or has anyone started driving well before that? (hehe just like i was told to stop driving at 36 weeks i was still driving the day before i went in to be induced)

anyways im off again, Cassidy is due for her last feed then i am off to bed!

Hope everyone has a good night and gets some much needed sleep!

NoMoreScuba

13-03-2007, 06:45 AM

icugal - hope the ultrasound shows everything is ok.

harleyq - i'm the same - all the decisions i'm making i'm worrying that it's going to have some long term effect - like when i gave charlie the dummy, or when i leave him to cry for a few minutes - i keep imagining this psycho 21 year old with a machine gun saying "If only my mother hadn't given me a dummy" :laughing: . I say we've just got to do what feels right, we have no other choice really... Oh, and with pee nappies we have had the same problem, although it's better now. I make sure i tuck the penis down, and also make sure i pull up the sides when i put the nappy on. I think sometimes they just can't cope with the amount or force of the pee! But when we get a leak, it's from the same place (the top). It does seem to be getting better though, so i hope it does the same for you :fingerscrossed:

Wendy - I'd probably take him to the doc if i found a lump. Though i've heard that babies can be quite lumpy, so i'm sure everything's fine.

Tegan - you are doing a fab job, so make sure you remember that when you're talking to your baby's dad. You're the one looking after the baby so you should be strong and trust your instincts with regards to her care...:hugs: to you.

Weight - I've lost a couple more kilos since leaving hospital, but still have about 8 to lose. I'm trying not to worry about it. Does anyone else find it's tempting to snack when you're sitting around at home all day? I never snacked while I was at work. A habit I definitely don't need to be picking up...

Me & Charlie - Took him to the early childhood centre again yesterday and he put on 310g last week after putting on 400g the week before, so i'm pretty pleased with that. I talked to them about settling him, and I'm happy to say that i had a brilliant day with him yesterday. I picked up the tired signs, then cuddled him and wrapped him, and put him in bed. I let him cry for a minute then go back and calm him down, then walk away. Let him cry again, and then go back etc etc. It worked! I felt good because i wasn't leaving him to cry long, and he seemed much calmer. The only downside is that because he got a lot more sleep during the day he didn't have a nice long sleep overnight, but i think on the whole i'd rather he was easier to settle generally than having a big sleep at night, at least at this age.

Routines - who's going to start putting their baby into a routine? What are you going to do? And how old do you think the baby should be? I'm not sure what we're going to do about this yet, I certainly don't see us sticking to a strict routine, but it would be nice to have some idea of when he will be asleep/awake.

Sorry for the long post!

Hope everyone has a good day...

harleyq

13-03-2007, 09:23 AM

Penny � You poor thing, not only for the bleed but getting stuck waiting around 4 4 hours� l hope all goes well w the u/s today and that you managed to get some sleep last night�
Juzzy � l hear you on the no nap business, if you come up with any solutions please do share. On the driving thing � don�t want to sound old and wise here, but just be careful� you will no doubtedly be fine to drive, the complication comes in if you have an accident you are unlikely 2 be covered by insurance and more likely to sustain serious internal injuries � l have had ahave had aious accident where l broke 3 bones in my spine - its not pleasant - l don�t mean 2 judge here � do what is right 4 you �.
Sarah � yes to the snacking � yesterday l gave in � ice-cream, saladas, bbq shapes, choc teddy bear biscuit, fruit salad � OMG � it sounds so much worse when l list it out like that � but l was starving�
On routines� Baby Love has a bit to say on this one�. So here goes

�During the frist six months of a babys life a routine is more for adult convenience rather than something tht is essential for a baby�s well being
A baby�s instinct is to be held and breastfed more or less continuiously. It does not come naturally to babies to be fed large amounts less often and put somewhere on their own to sleep, which is what fits in best with our very structured way of life. In many cultures babies are given the breast constantly while permanently attached to their mothers. This probably avoids a lot fo the hassles morthers go through in our culture trying to work out how to make babies cry less and sleep longer, but is not a practical approach for life with a baby as most of us live it. Patience and glexibility is needed while our babies learn to fin in with our way of life.
So, itsmuch better, if you can, to take a reasonable relaxed approach and try not to get yourself in a knot about four-jhourly feeding and sleeping regimes, especially during the first three months. Between six and nine months everything becomes much more predictable and it�s easier to follow a more structured routine. By the time babies are toddlers, routines are very important for safety and a sane family life.
During the first six months it may seem at times that the days and nights with your baby are chaotic, but you will find as the months go by a pattern emerges which tens to become more consistent in the second six months.
If routine is important to you, it is much easier to gradually structure eating, sleeping and walking cycles over a reasonable period of time. Where possible stick to a consistent way of doing things even when your baby doesn�t sleep much.
On the other hand, if routine doesn�t matter at all to you just do what ypu feel comfortable with.
All babies and families are different. Babies thrive just as well in families where they are guided into a flexible routine as they do where there is no routine at all- as long as their homes are safe, stable and loving."
Yesterday as l was reading about you poo stories (getting splattered, on carpets etc.) l was thinking thank God Coen doesn�t do that, but l had better not say anything cos l will jinx myself� well it seems thinking it was enough� sure enough 4.30 this morning splat, all over the change table, my dressing gown and the floor (thankfully we have floor boards)� l shouldn�t complain though, whilst l was cleaning that up, Coen decided to lend a hand�, in the way of hosing down the change table� it�s a bit funny now, but l assure you l didn�t think that at the time.

Well l hope you all have a good day�Coens is on the booby juice right now so hopefully he will settle for a bit�

harleyq

13-03-2007, 10:49 AM

My washing machine just died :eek: on the good side my scales just said l weigh 52.??? so if that is true only 2.?? to go... but it was just after a feed not sure if that makes a difference...

icugal

13-03-2007, 11:08 AM

Yesterday as l was reading about you poo stories (getting splattered, on carpets etc.) l was thinking thank God Coen doesn�t do that, but l had better not say anything cos l will jinx myself� well it seems thinking it was enough� sure enough 4.30 this morning splat, all over the change table, my dressing gown and the floor (thankfully we have floor boards)� l shouldn�t complain though, whilst l was cleaning that up, Coen decided to lend a hand�, in the way of hosing down the change table� it�s a bit funny now, but l assure you l didn�t think that at the time.

That is hilarious !! But you know I've just jinxed myself typing that right?? :D

(Harleyq - Hope your washing machine won't be too expensive to fix)

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. The bleeding is really minimal now which is a relief. I'm still going to go in for the u/s today just to make sure that I won't be faced with anymore nasty suprises in the future, but I'm sure everything will be fine and that I'll still have to sit around for hours waiting for the results (I have the u/s at radiology, then wait for the results at Emergency). :fingerscrossed: that I don't have to wait too long though because the trip to the hospital today will be my very first journey out with Kaelan by myself... :eek:

To make matters worse, my poor little bubba had his first immunisations this morning (*three* seperate needles I might add !!), so I'm kinda expecting that he is going to be all grisly and unhappy this afternoon. I'd better make sure I pack the Childrens Panadol in the nappy bag before I go out.

Please god, let my baby sleep for the remainder of the day !!!

Clareabell

13-03-2007, 11:09 AM

Hi everyone,

I haven't been on for ages and I have taken so long to read all your posts.

I just got off the phone to my childhood nurse about ollie's sleeping - he was awake most of the day yesterday - was not unsettled or anything just happy to lie in his cot. I was stressed cos i thought he'd get over tired and not sleep at night, but he seem ok during the night too (maybe a little unsettled)...

Anyway I have changed formula again too - the Karicare Gold seemed to give Oliver runny poos (and smelly too), so I'm trying the normal Karicare brand.

Short and sweet as I hear a little boy crying...better go

Chat soon

Roopee

13-03-2007, 11:14 AM

Hi- i hope everyones feeling good today:hugs:

Well- i dont want to jinx myself here but Cody has slept thru last night. She had her last bottle at 9.30 and didnt wake till 5am- even then she went straight back down:yelclap:. Today is a good dayLOL.

Penny- omg, you must have been scared!! I hope it all goes well at the u/s today (seems weird talking about u/s now doesnt it?) and that a D&C is not required! Good Luck!
Everyone second guessing their decisions- DONT!!!! You are all doing really well, i remember when i had my first i was a bundle of nerves- didnt know what to do, if i was doing it right or if i should be doing it at all. Its so so hard but as time goes on, your confidence will grow and you'll be more confident in your decisions. Your all doing a fantastic job!!
Re- silly DH's- Mine talks to Cody like shes a freak or something:laughing:. Gives her a running commentary of wherever they are "ohhh, now we're going out of the kitchen and im gunna take you to the boys room" LOL- as if she cares, i sit and laugh- its is cute though. While my DH might sometimes be really crappy towrds me (he cracked the sh!ts with me last night coz i wouldnt, errrrrr, be intimate?) He knows the rules) he IS a FANTASTIC father so im thankfull for that.
Re Routines- Cody has been in one since she was a week old. I know this sounds harsh but i dont have any choice. I need her to feed at certain times so i can do things with the other kids. It has to be flexible to a certain extent but its pretty consistent. I think routines are great for babies- they learn to expect whats happening thus building trust and confidence.
Her routine is
8am Bottle (i usually have to wake her for this one)
9am in pram, walk to school and back home to bed
12-1pm-bottle back to bed by 1.30
4-5pm-bottle- awake till 7.30
7pm bath
9pm bottle and bed.
5am bottle- straight back to bed till 8am.
So you can see there are variation but the only one she has to have on time is the 8 am one or i wouldnt get DS1 to school on time.
I also like this one coz it means i can go out shopping if i need to and know that i wont have to feed her till lunch time. I dont have to spend any time in the parents rooms with 3 other children running riot.
Have a great day everyone.:hugs:

my_lot

13-03-2007, 11:35 AM

hi everyone,

well ive had a huge weekend. great having family here..i slept in for the first time since my interstate trip when Eli was a few days old!

dp was nagging me to go out while they were here just for a walk along the beach he said before they left and we didnt get a chance to go out with no kids again for a while....so we went for a nice walk along the beach and i wrote Eli in the sand thinking it would be a nice pic to take for his baby book. then dp wrote this!

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l132/my_lot/100_3572.jpg

it was planned. he had a beautiful diamond ring and got down on one knee! my family and the kids knew and were bouncing when we got back with "did you say yes!! did you!! did you!!" - he asked me before in conversation or mucking aorund- but never like that. never with a ring.

the other exciting thing that happened this weekend was Eli's first smile.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l132/my_lot/firstsmile.jpg

we were standing in the car park after a full day at movieworld (and yes i got to go on all the rides i missed out on while 8 months pregnant!!)

we were packing the car and mother had the camera in her hand when i said oh i think he just smiled at me..she snapped away and got the second one!

oh dang baby is awake!

ill be back later- ive read through 3 days worth of chat here and wanted to do personals...

Nina79

13-03-2007, 11:42 AM

Good morning girls,

We had a better night - the infant's friend has certainly become OUR friend! Ryan had a bottle feed of expressed milk at midnight (given by DF) and slept through until 4:30am. I managed 5 hrs sleep and feel like a new woman! :D

Penny - glad to hear you're feeling better and good luck today with the u/s.

I am worried that we are getting him into bad habits already� i.e. we put Coen to bed when he is already half asleep (but really we have no choice, he falls asleep at the boob� l try and wake him up but there just isn�t any rousing him); when he cries hysterically the only thing that will calm him down is the boob

Harleyq - our babies were born on the same day and Ryan is behaving just like Coen. He will usually only settle after feeding (yesterday he fell asleep during playtime but woke hungry an hour later). I'm just letting him do it at the moment as I sense as a newborn he just likes having us close. He manages to settle on DF's shoulder after a bottle feed and I figure he'll learn to settle himself eventually...

Ryan is also putting on plenty of weigh probably due to his constant craving for boobie juice (DF can't stand that I call breast milk this - so glad you ladies understand!!). He is now 350g over his birth weight at two weeks old - I'm just happy he's thriving...I will look at trying to establish a feeding routine when he's older but right now we will continue to feed on demand.

Re golden showers - in our first week, Ryan managed to pee into his own mouth TWICE! It didn't help the poor little guy that both DF and I were doubled over laughing for the next five minutes. Since then, we've tried nappy free time at least once a day and have not yet managed to get the nappy exactly in the line of fire - what is it about boy's uncanny ability to pee in the one tiny spot that is not covered??

Squiggles - I made the mistake of telling DF about your DH's darth varder impersonation. I now have a storm trooper of my own... :laughing:

Are any of the Brisbane feb mummies thinking of taking up Cate's offer to meet with the jan mummies this Friday? As a novice with a two week old, I'm not game to go on my own but would be brave if anyone else was interested...

Gotta go - the mobile has obviously lost it's appeal and he's grissly (is it bad that I leave him in his cot for periods while I get other things done?? :o)

Have a great day!

Nina79

13-03-2007, 11:44 AM

hi everyone,

then dp wrote this!

it was planned. he had a beautiful diamond ring and got down on one knee! my family and the kids knew and were bouncing when we got back with "did you say yes!! did you!! did you!!" - he asked me before in conversation or mucking aorund- but never like that. never with a ring.

Congratulations my_lot!!

That's very romantic! :smiliedance: I hope you said 'yes'!

NoMoreScuba

13-03-2007, 11:56 AM

dp was nagging me to go out while they were here just for a walk along the beach he said before they left and we didnt get a chance to go out with no kids again for a while....so we went for a nice walk along the beach and i wrote Eli in the sand thinking it would be a nice pic to take for his baby book. then dp wrote this!

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l132/my_lot/100_3572.jpg

it was planned. he had a beautiful diamond ring and got down on one knee! my family and the kids knew and were bouncing when we got back with "did you say yes!! did you!! did you!!" - he asked me before in conversation or mucking aorund- but never like that. never with a ring.

Wow! congratulations !!!! :wizard:

Roopee

13-03-2007, 12:24 PM

Congratulations my_lot!!!!!!!!

Thats fantastic news!!!!! Bet you were shocked but happy right?
:hugs:

ziggy29

13-03-2007, 12:36 PM

Ok - sorry -huge post...

harleyq - broken coxxyx - ouch*100. Keep up the pelvic floor exs - gently does it!

Lmenz - ouchy!! thats what i thought a 3rd degree tear was. Ditto for you on the pelvic floor.

broken coxxyx and 3rd degree tear were my two major fears that made me decide to hace an elective ceasar. my heart goes out to you both and i wish you a speedy recoery.

Harleyq - have you considered using a dummy. they are a godsend for babies that love to suck and at least your husband can help putting it back in his mouth. dont worry about what the books say. babies do not generally rouse between sleep cycles in the day till 8 weeks and at night till much later (so i read in a book yesterday). The best habit you can so is feed, play, sleep routine. for a yound baby like cohen having a nappy change and staring at some lines (eg the blind) for 2 minutes is enough. so what you need to do to get through the day - today.

Icugal - i wonder if the potential retained products may have effected your breast feeding. i cant remember exactly what your problems were but i remember hearing that retained placenta could decrease mild production. oh yeah - :hugs: big hugs sweeties.

Juzzy - i had to drive lily to the dr when she was 5 weeks. i was fine. i am mostly limiting driving to essential errands until thursday. saying that i pushed the pram on an hour walk yesterday (yes with hills) which is heaps more strenous on the body than driving. im 6 weeks on thursday - xtrainer here i come.

Sarah - i find myself eating something at every feed including in the night. but last night i had an orange (and a milo) instead of cheese and chocolate.

Nina - i pm you re:friday. i'm in!

my lot - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! :yelclap:

tummy time - i am not sure if i have told you all but in my past life i was a physio. now i havnt worked in paeds since i was a new graduate but from what i remember about tummy time is it is important developmentally to strengthen the muscles that extend (bend backwards) the spine and head to aid in the development of all upright postures includ sit and walking. now lots of kids never have tummy time and do just fine with their milestones. BUT at the kids hospital we saw lots of 4 year olds who coldnt run or 8 year olds who couldnt hold a pencil who got a lot better when they did a lot of tummy time rehabilitation exercises. (is there a link to babyhood ??? it is impossible to know)
i think the lesson is try to expose your baby to lots of different postures so they will be happy to move all their muscle in every direction.
That said i probably only get around to tummy time for a few mins most days

Me- well we went to the paeditricain yesterday and he diagnosed lily with reflux. she has all the classic symptoms apparently. i feel quite shattered about this as i was in denial. she was so happy for the first 4 weeks.

she has been started on losec but this is not expected to start to help for 7 days. In the meantime i have been instructed to ONLY EVER feed from one breast per feed and never feed under 3 hourly. this is to increase the hind milk which can cause less burning, the paed thought her ongoing frothy poos and bum rashes could also be related to too much foremilk.

It is pretty hellish here at the moment as lily and me get used to the imposed routine.

The funny thing was last night she went from 945pm till 345am for her next feed and then didnt wake till 7. this is the first time she has dropped the 12 -1am feed. Coincidence????? we will see tonight.

hugs to all mumma and bubbas

harleyq

13-03-2007, 01:34 PM

then dp wrote this!

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l132/my_lot/100_3572.jpg

it was planned. he had a beautiful diamond ring and got down on one knee!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
I am so happy for you, l assume you said yes... it sounds like the kids and family are all very excited too... any plans as yet???

Thanks for everyones advice support - oh and by the way, it turns out my washing machine just needed a rest... its up and working again - thank god - it really wasn't the right time for it to conk out on me!

Also just attempted putting Coen to bed without falling asleep at the boob... it took us a few goes but we got there eventually, l told DH about it (he's at work today) and after hearing that it took me a number of attempts he said do we have to do that at night too? Well Yeah!!! I had to explain to him that it is better that we do it this week (whilst he is off supposedly looking after his broken wife) then when he is back full time at work!!! he reluctantly agreed.

ziggy29 - l didn't even know you could get a broken coccyx giving birth, l thought l knew about most of the things that could go wrong -- well it turns out l was wrong... l was so worried when l heard it snap l yelled at the obstetrician that l had heard/felt something break worrying that it was Coen... he said don't worry the baby is fine... it wasn't till afterwards when the pain medications started to wear off that l realised it was me...

Oh Coen's crying... so much for his sleeping! bye for now - oh now he's stopped...

LMenz

13-03-2007, 01:48 PM

CONGRATULATIONS my_lot
That's so exciting :yelclap: Have you set a date?

Penny - Gosh I hope everything is ok at the ultrasound.....sounds pretty scary.Let us know how it all goes and I hope Kaelan sleeps for you.

Roopee - Your routine sounds terrific! Did you just start doing it or did cody fall into it herself?

Butterflymumma - RE: Nipple Vasospasm......Have it checked out as there are a number of ways to manage it. Try keeping your nipples warm after a feed, take some calcium and magnesium supplements, cut back on caffine and make sure you have your positioning correct. Hopefully it gets better for both of us soon

NoMoreScuba - You cracked me up about the dummy comment....... :laughing: I'm so glad the settling is going better for you

Ziggy - :hugs: to you. Reflux sounds tough....... but I bet you feel better now it's been confirmed and you can work on ways to manage it. We did the same thing with Jack (no feeding under 3 hours) and the first day or so was tough as he was so used to snacking but it did get better.

Me - My DH went back to work today :crying: I had to try really hard to not cry when he kissed me goodbye...I've really enjoyed doing all the baby stuff together. I think he was equally upset about leaving Jack too

So far our day has been good and I have a success story already....Jack fell asleep on his own for the first time. I've started playing a CD especially to help babies sleep and i think it's working. Not sure how long he will stay asleep for....he's just been cat napping on and off today but I feel like I've made a bit of progress.

Hope everyone is well.......enjoy the day!

LMenz

13-03-2007, 01:51 PM

Harleyq - Ouchy on the broken bum.....I never knew that could happen either. How long before it heals?

Nina79

13-03-2007, 02:45 PM

[quote=harleyq;1212743] l didn't even know you could get a broken coccyx giving birth, l thought l knew about most of the things that could go wrong -- well it turns out l was wrong... l was so worried when l heard it snap l yelled at the obstetrician that l had heard/felt something break worrying that it was Coen... he said don't worry the baby is fine... it wasn't till afterwards when the pain medications started to wear off that l realised it was me...
quote]

Harleyq - You poor thing :hugs: - must be very painful - are you able to sit/drive/move very much? I hope it heals quickly.

Was Coen posterier? I only ask because Ryan came down the birth canal on his side (thankfully NOT fully posterier) and I had a LOT of lower back pain. At one point during the labour, my midwife pointed out to DF that my coccyx was bulging and badly misshapen - she was quite concerned (she was not the only one!!). :eek:

Thankfully, bubby turned at the crucial moment and was born the right way around however I wonder if your break was caused by a similar thing (but worse).

Sending you speedy recovery vibes...:wizard:

shelby

13-03-2007, 02:50 PM

huge congrats my-lot - how exciting!!!

:yelclap: Lmenz re: getting bubs to sleep - this is my biggest challenge at the moment so I admire you!! Its so hard when the other halves go back to work, sounds like you are coping really well on your own

butterflymumma - a huge hug to you. I think you are doing such a fantastic job as a mother and are so amazing it to be doing it on your own. Remember YOU are lily's mother and are doing all the hard work and you are in the best position to make decisions about her health, wellbeing and future. Call me harsh but I think if her father is not the primary caregiver and hasnt chosen to be involved or help you at all and is only causing you stress then he has no right to have decision making power in her life. Again, you are awesome and dont let anyone make you doubt it.

Also - re nipple vasospasm, I have also been told I have this and bloody hell its painful! I have been told no caffeine, evening primrose oil and fish oil, keep breasts and whole body warm at all times, try breast warmers, and as a last resort you can get nifedipine prescribed which has proved very successful - a 2 week course works in most cases apparently.

Penny - Hope you are feeling better now and everything has resolved itself - what a nightmare

roopee - what a great routine and success at sleeping through the night! I hope it continues for you.

Nina - congrats on your bub being such a porker:p you are obviously doing a fantastic job BFing

Me - well I have managed 2 whole days of almost exclusovely breastfeeding. I feel like this is a massive achievement and I am really happy to not be expressing or formula feeding but bloody hell my nipples are so sore, I have thrush again and cracks which wont seem to heal. Im thinking about giving my nipples a rest for a day to let them heal as suggested but am worried that I will confuse her by going back to bottles after she has learned to breast feed - she does seem to get confused.

I got really fed up last night as she woke up every 2 hours wanting a feed, I hardly got any sleep and ended up saying to DF "you get up and give her formula" feeling a bit guilty this morning for not being tougher but I was soooo frustrated and just exhausted.

Does anyone find that their bubs falls asleep on the boob after 10 mins or so, you know they havent had enough but you cant wake them to have more? I have tried tickling feet, making noise, rubbing body vigorously....Im finding she ends up snacking every 2 hours rather than getting proper feeds that last 3-4 hours and its driving me nuts!!! Any advice much appreciated.

Question for you ladies - how do you guys sort out who does what with the bubs? Im finding this hard, mainly at night. I know DF needs to work so needs his energy but I get so tired and have a lot less patience so end up asking him to settle her after a feed then lie there awake anyway feeling guilty. This baby stuff is hard!!!

Love to you all and a big hi to any ladies I have missed

Roopee

13-03-2007, 02:52 PM

Lmenz- I had to put her in the routine. I had to start pretty much as soon as she was born- but its alot easier if your FF as you know they how much food they are getting etc etc. So probably not too realistic if your B/F.
I want to stress to that i HAD to do as my eldest is 6 years old so i simply just cant be saying, "oops, sorry You will have to take yourself to school today or be late because bubba needs to be fed " IYKWIM.
Hope it doesnt make me sound like the "routine police":D

Hels*Bels

13-03-2007, 04:53 PM

I haven't been on for a couple of days so I've only skimmed most of the posts. Congrats to My_Lot though :smiliedance:

I'm going to cheat and paste the same post from the January thread lol.

Had a horrible day yesterday thanks to MIL. We went over for lunch, she had too much to drink and over the course of the day told me I was feeding at the wrong times and I wasn't heating his milk enough. So she heated his bottle up too much and of course he threw most of it back up. Then she told me something was wrong with him because of the screaming he does at night. Finally, I mentioned to my SIL that he will be going to daycare 1 day a week (so I can work from home) and MIL totally lost it over that. My parents were not impressed with her.
I ended up in tears when we got home, I really don't need this negativity when I am struggling with PND :banghead:
We are going to tell her that we do not want any advice unless we ask for it and we do not want to discuss the management of our baby anymore. If she can't bite her lip in future then I won't take him over there anymore, simple as that.
Anyone else getting sick of being told what to do with their bub?

On top of that, poor Reece has got thrush in his mouth so the Dr has prescribed some drops. He also has a sore throat and has lost his voice so he sounds very croaky. He had his first unsettled night last night. So lots of cuddles from mummy today :hugs:

Had the 6 week check-up today, everything is fine despite the thrush. I also had the Flu vac as I can't take any chances.

I feel so tired and headachy today, I just want to fall into bed and sleep for a week!! AS IF

Melb ladies - We will work out the coffee arvo soon, once I have a clearer head :sleeping:

harleyq

13-03-2007, 04:56 PM

Lauren - well done on the settling!!! And big hugs - DH went back to work for just one day today- (he is staying home to look after me for the rest of the week) and l was okay with that, but l am really nervous about next Monday - how did you go?

Harleyq - Ouchy on the broken bum.....I never knew that could happen either. How long before it heals?
They say it will take a couple of months to heal completely, but it is definitely getting better daily...

Was Coen posterier? I only ask because Ryan came down the birth canal on his side (thankfully NOT fully posterier) and I had a LOT of lower back pain. At one point during the labour, my midwife pointed out to DF that my coccyx was bulging and badly misshapen - she was quite concerned (she was not the only one!!). :eek:

Thankfully, bubby turned at the crucial moment and was born the right way around however I wonder if your break was caused by a similar thing (but worse).

Sending you speedy recovery vibes...:wizard: Thanks Nina, I am able to sit and walk (providing l have pain relief) l have avoided driving up until now but hope to try it some time soon, maybe just a short trip (cos l have a manual, it would be easier with an auto).

I didn't really get it explained to me why it happened, only that it did - Coen wasn't posterier but he was side on - so what you explained makes sense, it sounds like this is what happened to me - although it doesn't sound like Coen made that final crucial turn - bummer -- l had quite a bit of back pain as well -- in fact that was the pain l couldn't handle, the contractions were fine, but the back pain was horrific - l went completely drug free for 14 hours until they told me that the last 4 hours l had not progressed and l fathomed that l had had 4 hours of terrible pain for nothing... l cried then... but l have a beautiful baby boy now and a sore bum that will heal so l guess l can't complain to loudly...

... but bloody hell my nipples are so sore, I have thrush again and cracks which wont seem to heal. Im thinking about giving my nipples a rest for a day to let them heal as suggested but am worried that I will confuse her by going back to bottles after she has learned to breast feed - she does seem to get confused.

I got really fed up last night as she woke up every 2 hours wanting a feed, I hardly got any sleep and ended up saying to DF "you get up and give her formula" feeling a bit guilty this morning for not being tougher but I was soooo frustrated and just exhausted.

Does anyone find that their bubs falls asleep on the boob after 10 mins or so, you know they havent had enough but you cant wake them to have more? I have tried tickling feet, making noise, rubbing body vigorously....Im finding she ends up snacking every 2 hours rather than getting proper feeds that last 3-4 hours and its driving me nuts!!! Any advice much appreciated.

Question for you ladies - how do you guys sort out who does what with the bubs? Im finding this hard, mainly at night. I know DF needs to work so needs his energy but I get so tired and have a lot less patience so end up asking him to settle her after a feed then lie there awake anyway feeling guilty. This baby stuff is hard!!!

Love to you all and a big hi to any ladies I have missed

Congratulations on the successful BF'ing!!! On the sore nipples - l feel your pain (and l didn't even have thrush), l took Coen of the breast for about 30 hours and they healed enough to be manageable, l tried a shorter amount of time first but it didn't work... but l have to add here that Coen hasn't had any problems with nipple confusion... one thing that l did do on occasion during those 30 hours is a very very short top up feed... eg. Coen would have about 60 mls of EBM and then l would put him on the breast for about 5 minutes - it was a comfort thing for me more than anything else cos l was worried about nipple confusion - not sure if it helped.

On the 2 hourly feeds, Coen does the same thing during the day, sometimes its 1 or 1.5 hours... but at night he is up to 3 - 4.5 hours. late in the evening l give lots of feeds, whenever he wants it.. his first night feed is also EBM (which DH gives) and then l top it up so we get a lot into him (without him falling asleep)... Coen also falls asleep after 10 or so minutes at the breast and their is absolutely no rousing him... (l definitely recommend the first feed being done by DH -- it gives you some time to sleep, even if l have to the top up, he has already fed so its short, and Coen is already changed so all l have to do is put him back to bed)... Good luck shelby...

bAaM

13-03-2007, 05:55 PM

"Attention Feb mummys"

My baby girl just giggled for the first time.
I havent had time to catch up on posts yet but i had to tell my fav mummys. It was so cute it was like a little squeal.
I will be back in the morning to catch up.

icugal

13-03-2007, 07:13 PM

This is going to be long...

Penny - Can I ask how long Kaelan had the baby acne for? Connor has had it just over a week now and Im really hoping it clears soon

Sorry mate, at the time I read this... I was feeding Kaelan and forgot to go back and reply.

The acne seems to come and go. It was rather bad a while back but has settled more the last couple of weeks... though he still has some little pimples. This wasn't a very helpful answer was it *LOL*

Also i am finding it really hard to lose weight. I've lost 9 kg and it doesn't seem enough. I'm doing all the right things but the weight doesn't seem to be shifting.

My weight just will not budge. Granted I'm not exercising everyday... but it's not like I'm sitting here stuffing my face either. If anything, I'm sometimes missing meals purely because I get so caught up with the baby (or surfing the net *LOL*). I still have 10 kilos to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight... but I easily need to lose another 10-15 kilos on top of that just to be within a healthy height for weight range.

me- well im off to buy a microwave sterilizing kit, some more bottles and some formula for top up feeds because Im scared to admit im starting to feel like things arent right, im finding no joy in my daughter and im very aware and afraid of developing PND and i think it all comes down to my dread and severe pain from BF. So im not going to suffer anymore hoping i will be able to feed her for another 6 months if its just not working. I am going to express and ff (if need be) and keep her off my nipples. I know im probably setting myself up for a bit more work, but work i can handle, Pain and PND i cannot. :crying: It really breaks my heart that i couldnt have the experience i so longed for during my pregnancy...

Good on you darl for making the tough decision... that's probably the hardest part. There's no point continuing something if it causes you so much misery. You are a good mum, remember that. Bottle feeding may not be the way you imagined feeding your baby (I struggled with this too)... but I sincerely hope that it will give you the chance to enjoy the little miracle that you have created !!

As for the whole not driving for 6 weeks thing, has anyone actually stuck to that?

Except for the one weekend that I went up to Albury-Wodonga, I stuck to the no-driving thing (and I only really drove on the Hume Freeway... and with cruise control on, so the effort was minimal).

But as of today... I am a free woman again.. WooHoo !! :smiliedance:

Me - My DH went back to work today :crying: I had to try really hard to not cry when he kissed me goodbye...I've really enjoyed doing all the baby stuff together. I think he was equally upset about leaving Jack too

You're lucky you had him at home with you for so long !! Mine was home the first week, but he seemed to spend most of his time either online or playing the x-box... yeah, thanks for the help honey !!

I do remember how scary it felt the first time DF walked out of the house to go to work and I was left alone with the baby...

Question for you ladies - how do you guys sort out who does what with the bubs? Im finding this hard, mainly at night. I know DF needs to work so needs his energy but I get so tired and have a lot less patience so end up asking him to settle her after a feed then lie there awake anyway feeling guilty. This baby stuff is hard!!!

My DF works afternoon shift and gets home after midnight. If I go to bed at that time, he will do any night feeds Kaelan needs until 6am (He usually goes to bed at 2-3am himself and will get up again to do a feed.. bless him). The rule is simple.. if it's before 6, Kaelan goes to daddy, if it's after 6am, he goes to mummy.

This system works well for us, because it gives me a stretch of sleep of about 5 hours minmum (more if Kaelan sleeps for a couple of hours after 6am !!)... and although DF will often have a broken sleep initially, once I'm up with Kaelan in the morning, then DF can sleep in for as long as he likes.

"Attention Feb mummys"

My baby girl just giggled for the first time.
I havent had time to catch up on posts yet but i had to tell my fav mummys. It was so cute it was like a little squeal.
I will be back in the morning to catch up.

Such a precious moment !!

Kaelan has got as far as starting to spontaneously smile, but only once has he smiled at me in response to me smiling at him first..

As for me, well I went and had my ultrasound and everything is fine.. there are no retained products left so they think that I've already expelled what needs to be gone. This is a relief, though I wish they'd given me some forewarning that they were going to do an internal u/s... the sonographer was really rough too... ouch !!

As for my first journey out with baby.. it certainly started out rough but improved thankfully. Kaelan basically started screaming the very second he was put into the car seat... then stopped again once the car starting moving. As if almost on cue though, he started screaming again just as I pulled into the multi-storey carpark at the Mercy. I shoved a dummy in his mouth and managed to keep him quiet while we were in the lift with a crowd full of people (thank god !!)... but started to get whiny while I was sitting in radiology.

Thankfully the sonographers were running a little late so it gave me some time to give him a bottle. I was hoping that if he had a full belly that he'd go to sleep... WRONG !! I was called into have the scan and of course, this is where Kaelan REALLY let loose !! He went ballistic... so much so, that he managed to knock a folded up bunny rug (that was sitting in the pram with him) over the top of his head which caused him to become completely hysterical (he panics if his eyes get covered).

Of course, I'm up on the sonographers table, with an ultrasound probe up my jaxie unable to get to Kaelan... so the sonogrpaher is forced to stop what she is doing to rescue my poor baby from himself. God, it was awful. Just as the scan finished and I was getting dressed again, Kaelan went to sleep :rolleyes:

But not for long... I had to go and wait in ED (emergency department) and this is where he started up again. I managed to find somewhere to change his nappy and gave him some kiddies panadol (because he was looking a bit flushed after his needles) and eventually he settled and basically layed next to me quietly on the comfy couch while we waited the 2 long hours for the results.

Needless to say, it's been quite a day today...

Butterflymumma

13-03-2007, 08:26 PM

Hello all,

I really want to do personals, but need to get to bed as well LOL, so i will pop back in tommorrow and do them, I just have a quick question for now...

I'm expressing milk from my left breast at the moment *(because this is causing me the most grief) At the moment I can get about 120mls ebm in one sitting and feed this to lillyana but she still acts like she is hungry like it is not enough....from what i've heard from other ppl, their bubs only drink around 60mls during a feed. Lilly is 3.5 weeks old...looks like she is 3 months LOL, and im not concerned if this is just her needing that much milk, but just wanted to know if thats average? And any suggestions as to why she could still be looking around and sticking her tongue out like she needs to feed?? the dummy just doesnt seem to satisfy her for long but my boobs wont produce any more milky...

my_lot

14-03-2007, 07:22 AM

:hi everyone :wave:

thanks for the congrats!

everyone seems so excited for me i kinda feel bad im not bouncing around too! but really i dont feel any different today..maybe because weve been together so long and already live like an old married couple? i think the thing that made me smile was that he actually went out and got the ring himself -and it fits- and it is really nice. (and my mother told me off for describing the ring as "nice" when its "16 diamonds surrounding a big fat one!" :laughing: ) i would have been just as happy with a cheezle... so i said yes! and weve talked about doing the "I do" on the same day as the babys baptism and just springing it on the family to minimize the fuss...so it will be in the next few months.

i have read through the posts quickly while my family were here but its a big catch up when your off for a few days!

i remember chat about flying with baby. as you know i did that when he was4 days old. we are setting off again in a few weeks so he will be about 2 months. i found i got dehydrated on the plane and had to drink alot that day. to keep mehydrated and for the milk supply. i also fed him taking off and "tried" to use a dummy on the way down to help pop his ears. i always give the older kids something to chew on too.

butterflymumma- i had to express for the first time over the weekend when i went out and left him with grandma. when i got home i expressed from one side (hoping to feed him from the other) i got 100ml from that one side. ..but darling boy wouldnt wake up. hed had 70ml of formual and was zonked out. it took grandma an hour to get the 70ml into him as he still gags on the dummy you can imagine the stuff around with a teat that drips! so i have no idea how much hes getting from me. he has times when he feeds then and hour later your swear he was wanting it again.

leashie- im so happy for you! makes your day doesnt it!

hels- glad your back in bubhub land from your few days off. i miss your baby bible quotes. maybe you could share the bits on getting a baby to go to sleep?

shelby- congrats on the b/f- WOO HOO for you! you must be very happy. and opn the sharing of baby duties. i do the same! make him get up then feel bad and i also get mad when dp goes to bed at 9pm when hes tired! its harsh but i feel like- stuff it i have to function during the day too! if he goes to bed at 9 its always the night the little darling has me up til 11-12 so i go to bed and have 2 feeds between then and getting up in the morning i feel like slapping him up the head when he says "oh jeez im tired". so we do the 9pm bed for him for a few nights til im so exhuasted ill drop at about that hour and he will bring the little bugger into our room and let him whinge and scream right next to my ear! as you can see im a little bitter about this subject :D ive just had 3x1hr blocks of sleep. dp slept on the spare bed and then just before he left for work i handed him the baby and said could you please change him. he said "thats what i pay you for!" well! his drought just got a little longer!
so i cant help on that share thing im having problems here.

lmenz- yay for you getting jack to sleep on his own- i wish i could say that!

ive got to go do the school run. ill be back later. its my day off!:laughing:

talking about days off- when everyone going back to work?

LMenz

14-03-2007, 09:21 AM

Lauren - well done on the settling!!! And big hugs - DH went back to work for just one day today- (he is staying home to look after me for the rest of the week) and l was okay with that, but l am really nervous about next Monday - how did you go?

We survived!! I was very glad when he got home though.... I knew I would be ok but it was just good always having some back up. I think this first weeek will be the worst. I hope!!

Jack has finally stopped falling asleep on the boob.....I think it helps that he's getting older and stronger. The LC I saw suggested stretching out his feeds to 3-4 hourly so he was really hungry and would stay awake. I also started doing breast compression when he fell asleep to encourage my milk to flow more. You just pinch your breast (a good amount)between your thumb and middle fingers until they start sucking again. Both these things worked a treat..... I hope it improves for you. I know how frustrating it is. :)

I'm expressing milk from my left breast at the moment *(because this is causing me the most grief) At the moment I can get about 120mls ebm in one sitting and feed this to lillyana but she still acts like she is hungry like it is not enough....from what i've heard from other ppl, their bubs only drink around 60mls during a feed. Lilly is 3.5 weeks old...looks like she is 3 months LOL, and im not concerned if this is just her needing that much milk, but just wanted to know if thats average? And any suggestions as to why she could still be looking around and sticking her tongue out like she needs to feed?? the dummy just doesnt seem to satisfy her for long but my boobs wont produce any more milky...

When I express for Jack he takes about 100ml and seems satisfied with that...and he's a very hungry boy. Every babe is different though... I've found it hard at times distinguising when he's hungry or just tired.....he sucks a lot when he's tired. Does she settle well after a feed? If so then she's probably getting enough.

Shelby - Well Done on the B/F. I'm suffering from Nipple Vasospasam too and my god it's painful!! I find it's worst at the night feeds when it's a bit colder. I'm going to sleep these days holdng my boobs to keep them warm :laughing:

Me - my settling was a fluke I think...he was so unsettled most of the afternoon and just wouldn't sleep longer than 1 hour BUT and I can still hardly believe it myself....he slept for 8 hours straight last night :smiliedance: Only problem was my boobs were about to explode when I woke up...so sore!! Anyway I'll keep perservering with the settling, it's gotta sink in some time right??

Roopee

14-03-2007, 09:23 AM

Re going back to work- Well i start in back in two weeks! Geez, its gone so fast and while im looking forward to it im also dreading it. I love working and i only work every second Thursday night and every second Sat and Sun, so im not there much but i still feel like the time ha flown by and slapped me in the face all of a sudden.
Leashie- Ahhhh the first giggle, its so nice isnt it. Makes you feel like its all ok when they laugh at you.
Splitting the work load- Well its the same here as what it is at my_lots place i think. I often get the "but i have to go to work" speech. It does my head in, you know those nights when your so so tired that your standing in the baby's room rocking them and your bawling your eyes out thru pure frustration and fatigue. I usually tell him in response to the "work" thing that me taking the kids to the park, doing the shopping, housework etc tec is not exactly a barrel of fun for me and i class that as work. Dh actually goes to bed before me, gets up after me with no wake ups in the middle and STILL whinges how tired he is! You have to be kidding me! I often tell him t "please re insert my energiser batteries up my clacker as i seem to be loosing power here". He kinda knows when thats being said that if he doesnt moove off his butt, theres going to be trouble.
I delegate now. Last night i sent him out with th shopping list and tol him to do the groceries. I have to be a bit cowish and tell him to do things or i simply cant get it all done.
He cracked the poo's at me the other night because i wasn't prepared to have sex with him. Ummm well he hasnt had the vasectomy yet so its not going to happen anyway but as i said to him its really hard to feel like doing that when you wont help around the house ad with feeding and all that. Dont think it made much difference.
icugal- glad everything went well at the ultrasound- even though it sounds like it was hardly pleasant.
harleyq- i hope your bum gets better soon, you poor thing it must be so so uncomfortable.

me- well Cody slept thru again last night so here's hoping thats the new pattern. It feels so good to have some sleep finally. The older kids are just so adoring of her- poor kid doesnt get a moments peace! She has a little bit of the baby acne too but its not too bad and i find its more noticeable when she's cracking the cranks. When her whole body goes red and stiff and she lets us know she's unimpressed!:hugs:

ziggy29

14-03-2007, 10:32 AM

shelby - i used to try detaching lily at 5 mins and burping her before reattaching. i read somewhere that if there tummy is full of air they are tricked into thinking they are full! i also try just waiting while she has a 1o -15 min sleep and then try again. it is getting easier now she is older and she can eat for 10 minutes and still go 3 hours till the next feed. also do you try to resettle her in rhe night before you feed her?? she could be waking cause she is cold/hot??

- good work with the BF. Hang in there - just tak eit one feed at a time.

- dh does her bath and all most of the settling once hes home; after the 9ish feed DH takes lily and they sleep in the lounge room until the next feed; he also has to help around the house. i take the other night feeds/dinner and the rest of the baby care. all up he is getting twice as much sleep as me. but now that i read it back he is very helpful compared to some.

Hels - big hugs to you. you need your family to rally around you at the moment. remember too that the road to recovery to PND will be 2 steps foward and 1 step back. make sure you cut yourself some slack - you seem like a strong lady and if you are anything like me you need to go easy on yourself. iykwim

Butterfly mumma - my paeditirian said to feed a baby as much as it wants (BF/ebm) - not sure if this applies to formula too

Me - we are down to 7 feeds/24 hrs now and lily skips a night feed and generally settles easily at night. i had to get up and express when she went 6 hours last night as the boob was so sore and leaking and i was covered in milk (i am feeding on one side only on drs advice so it was 9 hours since that boob was emptied).
generally she is improved now i am stretching her over 3hrs bw feeds - the reflux is still there but she is eating better.
- she is awake more in the day - and so cute!
- her bum is finally getting better and her poos are less frofthy and less volume
- i am more tired despite more sleep and soooooo hungry. as i have changed the way i feed to try to maximise the fat content of the breast milk - do you think it would take more energy to make the fatty hind milk than the surgary formilk? if so hopefully i will lose some kgs soon.

LMenz

14-03-2007, 10:46 AM

Had a horrible day yesterday thanks to MIL. We went over for lunch, she had too much to drink and over the course of the day told me I was feeding at the wrong times and I wasn't heating his milk enough. So she heated his bottle up too much and of course he threw most of it back up. Then she told me something was wrong with him because of the screaming he does at night. Finally, I mentioned to my SIL that he will be going to daycare 1 day a week (so I can work from home) and MIL totally lost it over that. My parents were not impressed with her.
I ended up in tears when we got home, I really don't need this negativity when I am struggling with PND :banghead:
We are going to tell her that we do not want any advice unless we ask for it and we do not want to discuss the management of our baby anymore. If she can't bite her lip in future then I won't take him over there anymore, simple as that.
Anyone else getting sick of being told what to do with their bub?

So far we haven't had too much advice but my MIL said to put glycerine on Jack's dummy..WTF?? Very old school!! DH"s sister is trying to stick her beak in a bit..only over the phone as they live interstate...the thing that peeves me the most is she doesn't have kids and hasn't had any experience with them either. Whenever people ask how he's going now I just say fine, perfect baby....most of the time I'm lying through my teeth but it keeps everyone off our back's. I have a trusted friend who I go to for advice when needed...or I just wing it!! and ask you guys of course!!

Good on you for sticking up for yourself....your Reece's mum and you know what's best for him. I think your doing a fab job!! Hang in there! :)

Roopee - I can't believe your back to work already. I hope Cody keeps sleeping through the night for you

Ziggy - Can I ask you how long Lily as awake for at a time? Glad the reflux is improving too

ziggy29

14-03-2007, 01:04 PM

Lmenz - lets say lily woke at 10am for a feed -i give her max 45 mins to come back to the breast if she wants ( but she will only suck for about 15 mins of that). I will endevour to so some activity from 1045 till 11 or 1115 depending on how tired she is. put her in her bassinette at 1115 - takes about 20 mins (aver) to fall asleep. she will usually sleep for 1.5 - 2 hours and then we start again. therefore to answer your question she is awake and alert for 1 and 1/4 hrs plus however long it takes her to fall asleep.
ps. it dosent always go to plan of course.
What is jacks routine?

LMenz

14-03-2007, 01:20 PM

Ziggy - Pretty similar to lily's actually.......I think I may be keeping him up for too long though. It was recommended to me to keep him up between feeds (including feed) 1 1/2 - 2 hours. This week I've dropped it back to an hour to see if that helps....he just refuses to sleep during the day. ATM I'm trying to get him to sleep and it's already taken an hour....he's so determined or (over stimulated!) His eyes are so heavy but he fights to keep them open. At night he goes down no trouble at all...wondering if he already knows night from day? Didn't think that was possible at his age though. At this rate he'll be due to feed again before he sleeps :laughing:

Thanks for answering......it's good to know I'm on the right track

Hels*Bels

14-03-2007, 01:48 PM

I couldn't go to my mother's group today because DH needed to use my car for work. He had an accident in his van last week so it is being fixed. I am stuck at home today and Reece is very unsettled due to having thrush. Plus I gave him some paracetemol drops and that makes him sick up his bottle, so I might have to try nurofen next time.
Not very happy campers in this house today.

My_lot - The sleep tips are the 5 S's which are
1) Swaying (or rocking)
2) Shhhh'ing
3) Sucking (eg dummy)
4) Swaddling
5) Sound

Another good tip is the Sounds of Silence CD. It has noises like the heartbeat in the womb, vacuum cleaner and washing machine etc. But they are all muffled and sound like they did when bubs was still in the womb. It helps to settle and calm the baby. It can be bought from Target and eBay.

NoMoreScuba

14-03-2007, 01:48 PM

[B]At night he goes down no trouble at all...wondering if he already knows night from day? Didn't think that was possible at his age though. At this rate he'll be due to feed again before he sleeps :laughing:

Hee hee :D - can we swap? Charlie seems to be sleeping well during the day (as in, easy to settle), but is being a real monkey at night and in the evening.

Last night was a nightmare, he was awake (and upset about it) from 6.30 until 10.30 at which point DF put his knuckle in charlie's mouth and he sucked that until he went to sleep! He was just beside himself with tiredness, but was wide-eyed and really struggling with us when we were trying to calm him down.

During the day I have a similar pattern to you and ziggy - he's up for about an hour or an hour and a quarter and then i put him down. If he's up for any longer than that he is much harder to settle.

LMenz

14-03-2007, 01:58 PM

Hee hee :D - can we swap? Charlie seems to be sleeping well during the day (as in, easy to settle), but is being a real monkey at night and in the evening.

I know, I know.... I should thank my lucky stars he sleeps well at night.

Did you decide if you would give Charlie a dummy or not?

I was reluctant to start with but if it's not the dummy he's sucking on it's me..... :laughing:

icugal

14-03-2007, 02:09 PM

Any one would think I still have pregnancy brain... I'm so vague these days!! After my monumental post yesterday, I still forgot to add two things...

1) Congrats to My_lot on your engagement. That was really sweet how your DF proposed !!

2) harleyq - I can't believe you broke your coccyx bone giving birth.. how horrendous !! You must have been in an excruciating amount of pain once the pain killers initially wore off... I hope you are keeping up with your analgesia now !!

See girls, this is why vaginal births are just pure evil !!! ;) Can you blame me for wanting a caesar ??

Well, as I don't really have anything to contribute to the breastfeeding conversation, I will just add that it looks like we are definately going to the UK over Easter. We just found out that DF's extended Easter holiday leave has been approved and that was our only obstacle left.. we even submitted all the forms for Kaelans passport this morning. All we need to do is pay for our tickets (thankyou DF's mum !!) and we are set. Now I can start to get excited :)

NoMoreScuba

14-03-2007, 02:42 PM

Did you decide if you would give Charlie a dummy or not?

I was reluctant to start with but if it's not the dummy he's sucking on it's me..... :laughing:

Yeah, we tried it. He did take it, and he's calm while he's sucking it, but it drops out (or he spits it out) after just 10 minutes or so. Which means it's not really a viable option to get him to sleep at night as it's just annoying getting up every 10 minutes to put it back in.

I dunno, sometimes he's really good (monday night) and sometimes he's really evil (!) (last night). We just need to learn how best to deal with the evil nights without getting stressed because i'm sure we stress him out even more. I should probably try feeding him more often when he's like that, and carry him around in the hugabub. The good thing is that once he's asleep in the late evening he's really good overnight, so i can't really complain. It's just getting him to that state that's hard!

icugal - great news about your trip. I'm so jealous!

I know this is old hat for most of you b/f ladies out there 'cause you all seem to be doing/have done it, but i'm hoping to start expressing over the next few days. Went through how to sterilise / pump with my SIL yesterday (she's given me all her avent stuff). I'm quite excited!

Nina79

14-03-2007, 02:55 PM

Hi girls,

Can I ask you how long Lily as awake for at a time?

Ryan is only two weeks old but is awake for two long periods of 3-4 hrs, twice a day (between 10am and 2pm and again from 5pm til 9pm). I admit that he IS hard to settle after each (takes about 4 goes of 20 mins in cot sleeping followed by crying and another 15 mins of suckling to fully send him off to sleep - often due to wind I think) but is impossible to settle him any sooner!

During these two periods a day, he is happily awake. For example, we've just returned from a trip around the shops - he was awake the whole time and only grissled for a feed mid-way through. He has only just now finally fallen asleep on the trip home (after staying awake since 10am, including the car trip there and the 2 hours around the shops!).

Although it's tiring trying to settle him, I'm happy for Ryan to be awake during the day because we seem to be getting longer sleeps out of him at night (slept from midnight to 5am last night after 120mls of EBM!!). I'm not game to call this a 'routine' yet as we've only had this for a few days (and the long sleep at night for only 2).

Having listened to you ladies with babies who are older but only awake for 1.5 hrs, I hope I'm not overstimulating him...:( It's all still very much trial and error for me and as I've only got him to look after, I'm letting him set his own 'routine' for the time being.

Re work - I'm going back to do two days a week from May 1st (Ryan will be two months old). At first, I'm going to do these hours from home because I don't have any child care lined up yet but hopefully I'll make it into the office at least one day a week by June. Before I had Ryan, I was one of those "I'll be back at work straight away" girls until I looked into his eyes last week and cried at the thought of putting him into care so young :crying:. So I'm not in a rush anymore and thankfully have a very flexible employer who's willing to let me work from home as long as I need to.

Nomorescuba - I started expressing using a medela mini electric pump when Ryan was only 6 days old (with the midwife's blessing) and I can now get at least 4 hrs sleep while DF does a night feed. I feel much more human now - I hope it works well for you too! :)

I hope you all have a great day. (Big hugs to Hels - :hugs: hope your day gets better.)

Nina xo

harleyq

14-03-2007, 03:56 PM

Does anybody else get blown away by how far we've come??? Today as l was reading the most recent posts l was thinking two months ago we were all talking about our pregnancy symptoms and here we are discussing settling, dummies, breastfeeding, complications etc. the change in the conversation, the issues etc is just mind blowing! Just want to say CONGRATULATIONS everybody, we made it!!! And we all have beautiful little babies to love and cherish for the rest of our lives - and (hopefully) a community here to help support us!

My baby girl just giggled for the first ongratulations!!!

I'm expressing milk from my left breast at the moment *(because this is causing me the most grief) At the moment I can get about 120mls ebm in one sitting and feed this to lillyana but she still acts like she is hungry like it is not enough....
The ABA book says that babies vary widely in how much they normally take from the breast but that it is fairly constant for the individual baby, the range is 500-1000ml per 24 hours, with the average being 750-800mls - it also says that late morning and afternoon feeds may be slightly larger than other feeds, but to estimate your babies feeding needs you can divide the estimated total amount (use 800 mls as an example) by the number of times your baby feeds, eg. if you assume 800 mls, baby feeding 8 times per 24 hours its 100 mls per feed. Coen is all over the place... he was sastisfied at 60 mls, but he has drunk as much as 100 mls and last night only drank 50 mls. We are going to start storing the milk in 50 mls batches, if he drinks 50 mls top it up with a second batch of 50 mls (maybe 20mls at a time) to see how much he actually needs nowadays... Last night l had 100 mls in a bottle, dh (who does the first night feed) decided to leave the whole 100mls out thinking Coen would take it (or at least most of it), when l woke up to see 50 mls still sitting there (once they have drank from the bottle your not supposed to reuse it) l was heartbroken - 50 mls of good expressed breastmilk down the drain... so l guess my advice here is if you can store it in 50 mls lots, give first 50mls, change her then try her on some more - we've pretty much got expressing down to a fine art now (excepting the wastage last night) so if you have any questions feel free to ask...

talking about days off- when everyone going back to work? Not till next January YAY :smiliedance:

Yeah, we tried it. He did take it, and he's calm while he's sucking it, but it drops out (or he spits it out) after just 10 minutes or so.
I know this is old hat for most of you b/f ladies out there 'cause you all seem to be doing/have done it, but i'm hoping to start expressing over the next few days. Went through how to sterilise / pump with my SIL yesterday (she's given me all her avent stuff). I'm quite excited! I tried to use the dummy for the first time last night... it didn't work, but DH used it this morning after Coen woke up and mummy couldn't wake up... he (DH) went and played playstation and took Coen with him, stuck the dummy in his mouth and Coen happily slept for another hour... We are going to try and limit the dummy to night times only -- or when he's desperately upset... we'll see how we go.

Me - I have been fighting off a sore throat since Christmas and it is back again... just hanging around not really bad, just enough to make it harder for me to get up in the mornings, so l have been feeling pretty horrible in the mornings, sore throat, sore neck, sore bum, l was a bit teary today and told DH l just needed to get out of the house, l didn't care where, just out... so he took me down to princes park... Coen got a nice walk... it was good, but now my bum is extra sore... and head is pounding a bit more... l think its back to the icepacks for me, some neurofen and some panadol/panadeine - I will try and sneak it past DH cos l don't want him to feel guilty. Sorry for the self indulgent post!!!

Hels*Bels

14-03-2007, 04:08 PM

For NoMoreScuba and anyone else facing the unexplained unsettled periods -
It says in my baby bible that all babies have an unsettled period for about 2 hours a day, when they cry. This is necessary for their brain development, although many people consider it to be colic, but in actual fact bubs may not be in any pain at all.
This is very true with Reece, he screams almost every night around 6-7pm for about an hour, like someone turned on a switch. I make sure that he isn't hungry, has a clean nappy and is warm enough etc. Then we comfort and cuddle him or put him to bed but we go into his room every few minutes to reassure him. Eventually, he snaps out of it as quickly as it starts. Then I pick him up, wipe away his tears and say "welcome back".
I have found that if we comfort him to the point of actually stopping the crying too early, then he has a really unsettled night and sometimes won't feed properly too. It's almost like he needs to do this every night, and for as long as he wants to.
Because we have such a good understanding of it now, we no longer get upset or worried. It's just something that he does so we let him get on with it.
They are meant to grow out of it around 3 months of age.
I know it's not very nice, but if you are able to be very accepting and understanding of why it happens (like we are), you will find it alot easier to deal with :)

Squiggles

14-03-2007, 05:58 PM

No personals sorry - trying to feed DH and myself before the devil child wakes for another few hours of screaming, but just wanted to comment on how much EBM Connor has... He has 150mls per feed, he is also on 150mls of formula at a time too... he sucks every last drop down each time. What a pigglet huh!! The EBM takes me so long to get enough to fill one bottle - as I can only seem to express max of 40mls (total - 20mls each boob) each time... so hes not getting much of the good stuff.

Anyway off to try to throw something half tasty together...

NoMoreScuba

14-03-2007, 06:04 PM

Thanks hels! I've just fed him and this is the time when he usually kicks off, so we'll see how we go tonight.

I'd be ok if it was just an hour's screaming, but last night's 4 hours just really got to me.

I know it's important to stay calm though, so :fingerscrossed: we'll learn to deal with it!

OK, off i go (*repeat to self: I AM THE BABY WHISPERER, I AM THE BABY WHISPERER*)

Butterflymumma

14-03-2007, 07:07 PM

Hey all, Okay LONG post alert!

icugal- Glad to hear that your u/s went well, It must have been quite a shock for you to have so much blood, but great to hear it is all cleared up! Sorry to hear your lil' man was unsettled during the u/s, babies- gotta love em! Thats just what Lillyana did to me when i went for an u/s about a week ago in re to some internal difficulties im having from my ceasar and obstructed birth...i think she might have gotten the sonographer all worked up with her screaming cuz she looked glad to get rid of us at the end LOL

my_lot - CONGRATULATIONS!!! I got goosebumps when i read your story and how your DP proposed- So lovely!! I can understand you not feeling much different today but just think how exciting it will be to go shopping for that special dress and all the exciting stuff! Your ring sounds stunning, a cheezel would have been great too- then you could eat it too YUM!

LMenz- that is fantastic news that your bubs slept for 8 hours!!! even if it doesnt happen again tonight at least your got a bit of a catch up! Yay for you!! Hang in there with trying to settle you bubs, its tough, but you get there in the end...i was just handing lilly to mum most nights but i find using music especially the stuff i played to her in the womb works a treat!

Roopee- Goodluck back at work, your an amazing woman thats all i can say!!! I cant imagine having any spare energy for work right now and i only have one kiddie to look after!

Ziggy- Glad to hear Lily is doing much better. i read up on that reflux info you put in your post and think that my Lilly might have reflux as well. Everything you describe from crying on the boob to frothy poos is exactly how it is for me as well. I am hoping that i can get the doctor to check her out soon- The best thing for her at the moment is keeping her upright for 30 mins after a feed...its exhausting but at least she doesnt throw up after every feed anymore. Is Lily's reflux really bad? any advice on what else i can do?? p.s you rountine with Lily sounds really good, i hope i can get Lilly into something similar soon.

NoMoreScuba- hang in there with the Dummy if you want to, I had this same problem (and still do to some extent) but Lillyana is much better now and manages to hold onto it better, its just because their mouths are so little at the moment and not strong enough to keep it in. Goodluck with the expressing! You're doing a terrific job!!

Nina- I hope you and Ryan settle into this new way and it becomes a 'routine' for you! That would be lovely to get a good 5 hours of sleep at a night!! I have a younger baby, but i dont think you are overstimulating IMO as long as he doesnt get over tired at night then your set!! Good on You mummy!

harleyq- I completley agree with you on how far we have come!! What a journey! i want to send out my CONGRATS to us all as well- and what amazing women we ALL are to have gone through childbirth and getting through some tough times relatively unscathed! YAY!

Thanks also for the advice on feeds, i was devistated this arvo when i thought i would have to get rid of 60mls of ebm but thankfully she took the rest! i just cant bear the thought of all that hard work going down the drain lol. I cant believe i actually expressed 150mls from one breast today in one sitting! Talk about MILK bar!

Hello to all those i've missed!!! ooohh Leashie- thanks so much for the PM, i'd love to meet up soon and meet with the other brissie mummies on the forum but i cant this fri as i cant drive for another 2 and a half weeks :( But as soon as i can i say we all set a day and time to get together!!

Hope all are well and sending you all big :hugs: xx

Sassi

14-03-2007, 08:41 PM

Congratulations and Yay for you Mylot!!! Very exciting news!! And very romantic!

Penny, glad your u/s was okay!! Harleyq hope you have a quick recovery.

Just a short one from me tonight I am completely exhausted!

I had a day of doc appoints - Ob appointment had my papsmear done and got script for minipill. Renal appoint. My BP is still up and still taking tablets 4 times a day..

My most exciting was the pead. appoint! DS is now 6 weeks and weighs 5.3kg (a whopping gain of 2.2Kg/6weeks or 370grams a week). Both pead and ob were shocked that I was BF only and hadn't given any FF to top up!! Didn't have the guts to tell them that my boobs hurt so much I want to give up as I feel guilty because my milk supply is good, when others who really want to feed can't.

DS is well in every other way, had a discussion re: rotovirus vaccine (my GP advised to get it, pead advised not to get it until its free) does anyone else have an opinion on this?

Me - Well more about me - tomorrow I am starting fit boxing class at 6:30am, DH is going to look after DS and go to work a little late!! I hope it's fun!

I haven't thouroughly read all the posts but hope everyone is doing okay :hugs: to everyone, because we all need it.

Love Sarah XOXO

juzzy

15-03-2007, 07:57 AM

Hey Guys

big congrats to my_lot!! ur partner sounds so lovely! and love the way he proposed!

penny - glad that all was well with the ultrasound

Dont really have the time to do alot of personals, but i hop everyone is doing really well and that some of the issues have been sorted out

Ok i have a bit of an annoying issue, an ex girlfriend of DPs is talking to me on msn this morning and wants to know every intimate detail about Cassidy and the birth and everything. Now i dont really like this girl and neither does DP. I dont want to be rude or anything but some of the questions she is asking are quite personal and actually have nothing to do with her (or anyone for that matter). Now how do you deal with this? How do you tell someone to back off a bit with the personal questions without hurting someones feeling? Or causing a massive argument? Im not really in the mood to have an argument and im not feeling very b*thcy this morning either (thats a first for me teehee) so i dont know how to deal with it.

Anyway, off to the CHN this afternoon, will get to find out how much weight my chubba bubba has put on.

Cassidy is one month old tomorrow!! Cant believe that it has been a month already! Where has the time gone!

I may be back later, should be using this time to shower!

JoJoMart

15-03-2007, 08:12 AM

Squiggles - Liam gets approx 100ml formula and EBM when I build up some.....like you I express approx 20-40mls each time I express so not much either! I wish I could express 100mls each time like some women! It's hard work doing both don't you think!

As for settling......Liam's arsenic hour is around 7-8pm esp the last few nights what a horror :eek:
No settling techniques seem to work then!!

Does anyone give thee boob or bottle to try and settle?

my_lot

15-03-2007, 08:14 AM

morning everyone :wave:

ive had an a3s of a night ~ again

last night we had hours of screaming, again, dps idea on how to fix it is for me to feed him. even if its just been 1.5-2 hours after i just did...so i got the "hes hungry" line. the little guy was so over tired, being woken up to go in and out of the car for 3 trips (6x in and out) in one day can do that to a kid!

in the end darling boy just fell asleep in dps arms, he put him to bed and he slept for 3 hours... dp went to bed on the spare bed,again, and i didnt see him again til 5 am, again- when i was awake with the baby for the 4th time i took all the spewy clothes to the laundry and accidently on purpose slammed the lid on the machine and started a wash! so guess whos all chirpy and well slept today!

this brings me to a vent on feeding-

im just about sick of everyone around me giving their 2 cents worth on my b/feeding. i get-

- you should top up with formula if he cries after 2 hours

-you should give him a bottle at night so he will sleep

- give him formula at night so you can sleep

-maybe your milks just not good enough for him

- you should use thinken formula to fix that reflux

the fact that i have fully b/fed this baby from birth-should be celebrated- its friken hard! as all the b/f mummas here know!

apart from that 70ml the other night-hes had no other formula and has never even had expresso in a bottle- it hurts (yes still!), its tiring, time consuming and im tied to him! but its my choice- why cant people accept that AND support it?

i dont ask these people for their advice. the ones giving it are f/f friends or my male of a partner!

but im sure dp would whinge about doing bottles in the night and im sure none of the advice pushers will want to help feed the baby if i took them up on the formual thing!

on a happier note-

sarah- what a big boy! (and i thought mine was a piggy wiggy!~.... ) mine has 3 chins- how many does zane have :laughing:

butterflymumma- i think ill go with a white cotton/cheesecloth ish material and more like a summer dress- id love to have it at the beach. did you see one of those celeb mags this week with liz hurleys wedding pics? her little boy is the same age as my son and he looked so cute in the short tux!(stops and cuffs at leg just near knee) dp said it looked sissy so i guess its out the door! but i could just imagine my littlest in a white satin suit and son in white tux!

whats everyone doing about naming day/baptism ect

icugal- sorry i might have the wrong gal- was it you that got shots done? isnt that the 8 week ones?

iamstephc- where are you????? anyone heard?

hels- thanks!! thats just what we do minus the music- ive been using the radio- do you have the cd or was that what the book said? i was thinking of getting one that sings his name all the way through- we have one for ds but his is pre-school songs- i know they make baby ones now. my last two were great sleepers so its been a while since dd1 was this age- oh and she was the devils child! i think my lack of sleep-and help- is making what Eli does a hundred times worse than it is- because in my well slept brain i know hes no where near as bad as dd1 was!

sqiggles- how much does connor weigh now? i think Eli would be taking about 150ml too. maybe between 150-200 ml each feed. he is 10lb now so has put on 900gm (inc the 200 lost after birth) do you weigh every week?

sarah- aka baby whisperer- how did it go last night? i hope you didnt get another 4 hours of screaming! ive had 3 before this one and it still gets to me!

got to go - the boss is calling

ziggy29

15-03-2007, 08:37 AM

[quote=Butterflymumma;1218143]Hey all, Okay LONG post alert!

Ziggy- Glad to hear Lily is doing much better. i read up on that reflux info you put in your post and think that my Lilly might have reflux as well. Everything you describe from crying on the boob to frothy poos is exactly how it is for me as well. I am hoping that i can get the doctor to check her out soon- The best thing for her at the moment is keeping her upright for 30 mins after a feed...its exhausting but at least she doesnt throw up after every feed anymore. Is Lily's reflux really bad? any advice on what else i can do?? p.s you rountine with Lily sounds really good, i hope i can get Lilly into something similar soon. ]

Butterfly mumma - if you have time have a look at this other thread of mine which includes the advice the paed gave me about feeding.

http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?p=1196032#post1196032

The thing that i found the most important was only feed from one side per feed. Here is the reasons the paed told me.
reflux is worse when babies have too much sugary foremilk and not enough fatty hindmilk.

dr said the fat doesnt start to get made until after 3 hours. so he suggested only feed from one side and dont feed any more regularly than every 3 hours.

eg. If you say feed on the (L) at 7am and the (R) at 10am and the (L) at 1pm that has given the (L) breast 6 hours to make the fats.

i was worried that lily would get really hungry with this advice as she was having food 2-3 hrs all day and night (about 9 feeds and top ups a day).

Lilys progress after following this new feeding plan for 3.5 days is : she is only feeding 6 times a day and going between 3 and 4.5 hours between feeds. she only sucks for 10-15 mins and is more satisfied than ever!!!

I am not sure if this advice would work for you as all reflux and babies are different.

Do you have a 6 week f/u with a paed? can it be moved sooner? otherwise do you have a good GP you can talk too who may be able to make a diagnosis for you??

How did you go at the BF clinic on tues? (that was you wasnt it?)

Also re hind milk/foremilk. after you express after it has settled in the fridge for a few hours it will settle into layers - the watery foremilk to the bottom and the fattier two layers on top!! Maybe you could try expressing each breast into seperate containers as an experiement?

also when in pain lily is really soothed by the dummy. so much for just occassionaly use...
:rolleyes:

hope this is helpful. it proabbly is the opposite of what the CNN told you to do. :laughing:

LMenz

15-03-2007, 10:01 AM

Lilys progress after following this new feeding plan for 3.5 days is : she is only feeding 6 times a day and going between 3 and 4.5 hours between feeds. she only sucks for 10-15 mins and is more satisfied than ever!!!

Hey Ziggy......this is what I've been doing with Jack too. He's been settling much better since I started just feeding from one side. So glad it's worked out for you.

Ist Time Mum - I give Jack the boob when he gets uncontrollable. He doesn't eat much just has a suck for comfort I think. It works most of the time. I've give him the dummy first but if that doesn't work then he gets me.

Juzzy - Not really sure what to do about the ex girlfriend....I'd probably just say it's personal but thanks for asking.....not really much help

Me - Jack slept very well again last night...He went down at 9.15 slept until 4.15, had a 15 minute feed and didn't wake again until 6.45!! My DH and I are so rapt to finally get some decent blocks of sleep. Not sure how long it will last but were enjoying it while it does.

RE: Music to help settling.....I've started playing a CD called Music for Dreaming www.musicfordreaming.com. It recommends you play it at sleep time for 10 days in a row but after 3 we have found it helps heaps. Jack is much calmer now in his cot....I'd love to know if it's the music that helps but I'm not game to try settling him without it

RE: Work....I've already started again but I work from home for myself so I'm only doing as much as I can manage.

Better go I can hear some grunting.....