Due June 08: less of the hens hatching, more of the cows milking?

[bitofadramaqueen]

Lets hope it's not too long before everyone is hatched and milking season is in full swing!

My lovely guests have bought Edie a present, she is now brandishing a foam sword and shield

Basils feeding is erratic as well, can go 3.5 hours but usually 2 ish which is knackering.

Blimey Debs! Are you breastfeeding - if so your poor boobs!! That's one benefit of FF - you can tell how much he's having at each feed and kind of nicely force him to have a bit more if he's not had enough to keep the feeds regular. I do wish I could BF though!

Sponge Luke has 120ml every 3 hours so not massive differences and we have babies born on the same day. We mix 30ml of hungry baby with 120ml of no 1 milk and he leaves 30 ml behind.

Bought that baby book you guys recommended. Am going to try the bath and massage routine tonight as DP going work tomorrow - god help me - I am really worried about it!!! More the loneliness than the lack of sleep.

Essie, a fatter and more desperate woman than you I'm guessing! Thanks for the tip on the big pants - may splash out and buy some. But, tbh, it's my waist, thighs, bum, etc that are as much of a problem as my stomach! Hell, I think I even have fat eyebrows!!

Amber, thanks for letting me know about Luke - makes me feel better. Doesn't help that MIL is sat here constantly going on about how greedy he is . He's hungry not greedy. Thank god I didn't have a daughter, with my MIL around she'd be anorexic before she's out of nappies.

Can also relate to the loneliness with dh back at work - he's only been back a week but I do find the days when I'm not doing anything stretch on endlessly. I'm busy making plans now . . .

babies aren't greedy - they take what they need. so silly. someone told me that luke was taking the piss out of me by crying so i would pick him up - "he's got you wrapped around his little finger" - he's 3 weeks old you moron!!!

Amber, lol, I got exactly the same comment from my MIL - "he only wants a cuddle, he's not hungry, he can't be, he only fed an hour ago", this as he was screaming the place down and was only placated when he fed!

She is the queen of stupid comments !

Sympathies, Amber and Sponge - I find it really important for my own sanity to remember that Iestyn is three weeks old, so routines, feeding, sleeping etc - it's all new, and it's each day at a time. (I think Iestyn was born the day after your two).

Sponge - 2 solutions for you! Spanx are basically cycling shorts so the waist, thighs and bum get it as well as the tummy .
And the eyebrows? I'm going to have mine threaded this week...

Focus on your collarbone. I once read that your collarbone never gets fat. (Pray god I don't send you to a depressed state now - don't you dare tell me you're the exception!!

My DH is back to work tomorrow too Amber. Bricking it. Big confession - I think I'm quite crap at motherhood because I'm lazy and selfish, and I'm really worried that I'll be caught out once DH is out of the picture...

the difficut thing is that at the moment when I get frustrated with Luke when he's bawling and there is no logical reason for it I give him to DP. I can then walk away for 5 mins and come back. Who will I give him to???! Thank god I bought one of those vibrating chairs - I can just strap him in and take 5 - that's what it says in the books so you don't end up comitting infanticde! Essie I will check on you tomorrow and you can check on me.

PS I bought elastic knickers but I will have to get more in a bigger size as I can't fit in them (I am usually a size 14 and i bought them in 16 and they're too small - am I expectig too much to be a 16 after three weeks?)

Essie - ohmigod, my collarbone is HUGE!!! Lol!

Amber, I'm normally a 14 but I'm an 18-20 at the mo . No idea when I will get back into my 14 clothes but not expecting it to be before Christmas realistically.

Sponge, you're a medical anomaly, clearly, you and your massive collarbones !

I'm normally 8-10, and I'm only just squeezing into a 12 (with a spectacular muffin top: 14 would probably look better). So at 3 weeks, I'd say we're doing ok being 2 sizes or so bigger?

Amber - you've just typed exactly my fear - I feel like I'm lazy/selfish because I just can't cope when Iestyn's bawling (like now - he's just fed for 1/2 an hour, and is red in the face screaming). I hand him to DH too, and I won't have anyone to hand him to tomorrow. I think I know the answer - but it is ok to walk out on a screaming baby, right?

Promise to check up tomorrow, Amber! Might be with a screaming child in another room, though!

Essie, I'm a medical anomaly in so many ways!

I'm no expert, but I've been told that if you've exhausted all the options on crying (nappy, food, etc) than it is absolutely fine to put them down for a little bit and leave them (I think about 15 mins). As Amber says, better that than infanticide .

I think we should campaign for mandatory 12 mth fully paid paternity leave to be introduced asap personally - it would certainly make life so much easier!

He's really going for it now, with DH trying to deal. (Actually holding him on his knees - nobody warned us that the sheer volume of a baby's cry could be so high! I swear, the neighbours will complain.) He's been like this since his last feed.

Feeling bad because I've had a bottle of Belgian beer. God, I hope it's not alcohol intolerance.

Surely he can't keep this up?

Sponge - just looked at your pictures. That 4D scan was so worth it - you can now tell that it was a really good view of Alex because he looks the same now!(Hope that makes sense!)

Essie - if it makes you feel better Ethan is screaming too, nappy is fine, just been fed(again) just doesn't ant t obe in his cot alone!!!I'm hiding up here and considering turning down the volume on the baby monitor!!! Only joking!

My advice for those with partners going back to work is to plan to get out of the house once a day even if just for a short walk. I was without a car with ds1 in a village with limited public transport but the free bus to tesco stopped there so I would go there for a coffee and look around!!

Yes Amber I am bfeeding - boobs aren't too bad but I do feel very drained.

Sponge I need those magic pants too for the wedding next week, I still look pregnant in the dress I bought for it!!

Ethan has stopped crying - hurrah!!!

My beautiful baby has acne - it's awful - anyone else join Ethan in the pimple club?

And also I tried his wedding outfit on today (lovely Emile et Rose romper suit bought from Ebay) - it just fits(poppers almost straining) and the wedding is 2 weeks today, checked the size and it's 0-1 month age not 0-3 as advertised - AARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do have a back up but I'm devastated as it's not as nice but can't afford to buy him anything else, so with that and the spotty face I don't know what his Aunty will think ? I'm going to have to make sure that he's not left alone with sil on the wedding morning or she'll be sneaking concealer on his face!!

Not read today's posts, as I can do that whilst BF in bed! Just wanted to write a quick message whilst I am on the proper computer and can type quickly.

Deb and others with big hungry babies! I had a bit of a meltdown last night, mostly because Peter constantly feeds all day, and I am beached on the sofa unable to get on with anything else. Today my Mum chatted to 2 friends of hers, one is an NCT BF councellor and the other a retired MW. They both said the same thing: that big babies need a lot of feeding, and that it is completely normal for them to snack constantly, even for half and hour every hour . The message was one of reassurance that: a) this is normal, and b) we are doing an amazingly good job so c) not to lose heart.

Also thanks to TGF and Deb for your reassurance yesterday.

Right, I can hear small baby noises upstairs, I think my services are needed (sigh)

Deb - I'm so glad that I was misreading when I thought that you were hoping to wear a romper suit for the wedding . Maybe you look a lot better than I do, but a romper suit on a recently post-natal woman doesn't sound good to me!

I am very fat with a big moon face and pregnant-looking tummy. I have hit the bfeeding munchies and will find it very difficult to follow all the healthy-eating guidelines. It's hard to keep in perspective the fact that only a few weeks ago we were all huge pregnant whales.

Essie - DH and the boys are going to Aberporth. And later in the summer we're all going to a friend's house not far away from Aberporth.

Are any of you doing anything about bedtime routines? At the moment the whole family has no sensible bedtime routine and the other children will really benefit from a bit more order in their lives. I think Thea would benefit too. I'm taking her upstairs to bed when we go up and until last night she was fine with it but since then she's been difficult to settle. She has a very long sleep in the later afternoon which is ok whilst she's so young but soon enough will get in the way of establishing a bedtime routine. The reason I'm hesitating is that hse generally sleeps well at night (once she's settled she's up once for a feed at 3 or 4-ish then back to sleep till morning.). What are the rest of you doing?

right, just caught up on today's posts.

Nearly popped my c/s stitches laughing at ethan's wedding outfit disaster. Sorry deb am sure u r really annoyed, but its the way u write your posts.

I have given up recording feeding times. This afternoon I fed him on and off for the duration of the tennis final - without the rain breaks!

Amber and essie: I also have the lazy mummy thought in my head. My family all seem happy to wind peter for ages but I just get fed up of it at the end of a long feeding session. Fear of how I will cope on my own is part of the reason for last nights crying session.

Essie, yes the 4D pic is amazing isn't it - my little boy pictured in his first home! Something for him to look at when he's older .

Deb, Alex is also in the pimple club - but we have no weddings lined up so no panic on that score! Sorry to hear about the outfit - suppose it's too late to get any redress from the person you bought it from on e-bay?

Rolf, no bedtime routine at all at the mo - but then we only have Alex to worry about so trying not to stress too much about it. We are trying to put him upstairs after his 9/10pm feed, but this doesn't always work.

Good morning all - I have good news - Ethan slept from 11.30-3.30 then 4.30(after I'd got him settled again)-7.30 - I can't quite believe it!!!I was definitely worth all those feeds yesterday, I feel quite human

Rolf I need a bedtime routine - haven't got one - oh you mean Ethan?? atm ds1 and ds2 find it very unfair that they go to bed before ethan so we need to sort out something but Ethan is often wide awake from about 8-10pm .lol at the thought of me in a romper suit - not a pretty sight!!!!

Rolf still managing a bed time routine for DD but Basil just comes with us wherever we are, once his feeding has settled down a bit I will start putting him to bed upstairs. I think we did this at about the 6 week stage with DD. He also gets a bath in the morning instead of the evening as it works out easier.

deb Isaac has the infant acne, so sympathies there, although I don't have a wedding to go to , although we are going to meet the great grandparents next week

rolf don't know if this counts as a bedtime routine but after his daily 2-3 hour fuss we will take isaac upstairs around 10.30 - 11pm change him, oil him (for the dry skin, using the johnsons bedtime oil), swaddle him and then let him fall asleep while feeding properly rather than the snacking he has been doing for the previous two hours. Once he has fed he will sleep on me for about 40 mins and then put him down, it seems to work for us at the moment.

DH has gone back to work today so I am facing the day all alone, and currently with a screaming migraine from the light in the living room last night shining right in my eyes - Can I take ibruprofen for it if I am BF?

Not going to enter the discussion of baby weight coz I appear to have pinged back and can actually fit in my pre preg jeans - but in my defence, I lost over 2 stone in my first three months so do have an excuse

Whoops - have been so long typing this that Isaac has fallen asleep again, and I was trying to be organised and get him dressed etc

Essie worst possible start to my first day withour DP. Luke would not sleep last night as he cannot breathe through his little nose and doesn't breathe through his mouth (is this a newborn baby thing?). He is so congested I tried everything, saline drops in the nostrils, the nasal aspirator, held him up, raised the head end of his bed but to no avail. He was screaming and thrashing with frustration and went the most awful purple colour. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY ADVICE AS I NEARLY TOOK HIM TO A&E Also I want to post this somewhere else in case any MW have advice - where should I put it - under sleep? Woke DP in the end and we sat up with him until he calmed down so poor DP has to go to work on hardly any sleep worried sick. Went to HV last week and took him to docs and they said saline which does fuck all.

Cecily has spots too, poor thing, every time she cries they glow like little beacons. And she's doing a lot of that this morning- wind, and possible constipation. She hasn't pooed for three days!!!

What an awful night Amber. I'm sure you've thought of all these things but I'll suggest them anyway:

hold him on your arm (think it's called "tiger in a tree") position -so his face is near the crook of your elbow and your hand under his thigh. It can be soothing for their tummy.

Try TGF's back and tummy-rubbing suggestion (has helped Thea, I think).

Cranial osteopathy. Just having the appointment to get to can help you feel less demented, iwswim.

Is there a nice homeopath near you? Won't do any harm and may be worth trying.

These last two night help with his congestion.

Do you have a humidifier?

Sounds awful for you. Hope you get some rest today.

Hedgehog - very very of your pinging-back.

Thanks for all the comments on bedtime routines

Done cranial osteopathy already - not breathing is new though. Had suggestion of baby olbas and steam so will try that. Jeez I'm tired.

Re getting back to your pre preggo weight the trick is horrific morning sickness in early pregnancy. That way you lose so much weight that everything you put on just takes you back to normal again! hmm...