June 10 babies have arrived. Now we are all sleep deprived!

[CantSleepWontSleep]

Welcome to 'the other side' ladies. Long may we all continue to post!

ARRIVALS
27/04 (due 23/06) - SunshineDay - Faye - 3lbs 2oz
16/05 (due 02/06) - Meggymegmegs - James (Jimmy) David, 7lb 1oz
19/05 (due 01/06) - whenwillisleepagain - Alice Emily, 8lb 7oz
21/05 (due 21/06) - Gizmo - Hester Rose - 6lbs
23/05 (due 9/06) - greensnail, Alice Elizabeth, 7lb 2oz
24/05 (due 8/06) - Saucepanman, Gabriel, 8lb 4oz
24/05 (due 31/05) - minimoonumber2, Sebastian Robin
26/05 (due 24/06) - GibberingGinger James Alexander, 5lb 13oz, & Douglas John, 5lb 15oz
28/05 (due 30/05) - GoodName, Fergus, 8lb
28/05 (due 31/05) - mampam, Tilly May, 9lb 11oz
28/05 (due 4/06) - jo807bump - Hannah May, 5lb 7.5oz
04/06 (due 07/06) - perkster - Sidney James Perkins Berner, 7lb 11oz
05/06 (due 31/05) - dinosaurinmybelly - Zoe Leila - 6lb 9oz
07/06 (due 02/06 ) - AlwaysHopeful - George, 7lb 13oz
07/06 (due 07/06) - MrsC09 - Rufus Jack
08/06 (due 01/06) - PogueMahone - Magnus Gabriel, 8lb 14.5oz
08/06 (due 11/06) - woofie - Laurence Elliot (Laurie) - 7lb 11oz
08/06 (due 21/06) - sunworshipper - Romola Ann Bettina, 5lb 15oz
09/06 (due 08/06) - LittleRobbo - Summer Dawn
09/06 (due 09/06) - Boobz - Constance Ella Reed,
11/06 (due 02/06) - Justbeme - 'Nobody' (boy) - 8lb 9oz
12/06 (due 02/06) - roundabout1 - Lauren - 8lb 14oz
13/06 (due 18/06) - Virgo1979 - nameless boy! 7lb 9oz
14/06 (due 30/06) - monthlymayhem - Hayden, 7lb
14/06 (due 08/06) - MrsAlwaysRight - Alice Rose, 9lb 7oz
14/06 (due 15/06) - Millymollymoo - boy
15/06 (due 31/05) - RnB - Artemis, 7lb 9oz
15/06 (due 29/06) - playftseforme - Rory 6lb 4oz, and Fergus 6lb 8oz
16/06 (due 17/06) - Chestnut100 - Daisy Belle 6lb 14oz
17/06 (due 01/06) - Madamfreckle - Emma 6lb 6oz
17/06 (due 30/06) - MonkeyMargot - Atticus Fox 7lb 8oz and Rafferty Bear 7lb 14oz
17/06 )due 04/06) - Suzy1975 - Samuel 7lb 14oz
18/06 (due 23/06) - earlyonemorning - Edgar William 7lb 8oz
18/06 (due 13/06) - sobloodystupid - Stella 8lb 8oz
19/06 (due 22/06) - Gaelicsheep - Robin 6lb 14oz
22/06 (due 14/06) - Fillybuster - Mia Rae 9lb 3oz
24/06 (due 16/06) - Nizzynoodles - Samuel James 10lb 10.5oz
24/06 (due 17/06) - summerhols - Lilly
25/06 (due 17/06) - Barbeasty - Ruth Damaris Rose, 9lb
26/06 (due 16/06) - JoKettle - James Lennox, 8lb 7oz
26/06 (due 29/06) - MrsDmamee - Elyssa, 8lb 5oz
28/06 (due 26/06) - imkeepingmum - girl, 7lb 11oz
28/06 (due 12/06) - Georgee - Anna Rose, 7lb 15.5oz
28/06 (due 12/06) - Elena67 - boy, 9lb 5oz
29/06 (due 17/06) - bluesnowfalcon - Corey, 8lb 11.75oz
29/06 (due 18/06) - theperfectbaguette - Clementine Jemima, 6lb
29/06 (due 26/06) - RubyReins - Luke Douglas, 7lb 14oz
29/06 (due 25/06) - Ilovemyterrier - Jeppe Sebastian Fagerlund, 7lb 6.5oz
01/07 (due 30/06)- LaTrucha - Daniel Timothy, 8lb 11oz
3/7 (due 29/06) - CantSleepWontSleep - Jeremy Francis, 9lb 4oz

I specifically took Alice to be weighed for the first time yesterday, but we've had lots of visits from HV for various reasons and she's also been weighed at 6 week check and her 8 week jabs. I can't see me going to clinic specifically for weighing very much as they all coincide with DD1's nap times. I do like to know what she weighs though as it gives me something to tell the grandparents. Its quite interesting to compare her weight with DD1 as she's following the 25th centile, whereas DD1 was on the 98th so there's a big difference.

My weight loss has plateaued after easily losing a few pounds after the birth. That actually leaves me a few pounds lighter than i was pre-pregnancy and a good stone and a half lighter than I was before my first pregnancy. Still leaves me with a couple more stones to loose ideally though and I think I should probably aim to do it through diet rather than a couple more pregnancies!

gosh i am impressed by all these babies that are actually happy with being stuck on a playmat!! Seb usually only manages 5 mins or so before he gets grizzly so for those of you that can do this make the most of it!!! Ido think that being poked at and watching older dc is stimulation enough and Seb has been having sleepy mondays after 4 days of hanging out with his big bro.

I also have about a stone to go until i am my ideal weight but really can't be bothered thinking about it too much at the mo. Bottoms fit & i have some nice looser tops so that should keep me going. Last time i didn't get down to pre-pregnancy weight until i stopped breastfeeding so i imagine (fingers crossed!) the same will happen this time. filly & monkey don't put too much pressure on yourselves, you both have 3 dcs fgs!!!

oooh csws am jealous of your mothers help, someone else to clear up every night - joy.

Here's to a good night's sleep for everyone, just finishing off my camomile tea - as if i need any help with dropping off!

I've got just about 1 1/2 stone to lose too and I'm in the same clothing position as you filly! Quite depressing putting on the old tracky bottoms but I refuse to buy clothes just for what I'm hoping will only be a few months of being this size. Although, have to say that last time it took until I totally stopped bf at 18 months before the weight shifted completely.

Emma spends most time doing b or c. Proper interaction with me is a snatched 5 minutes here and there and virtually never with dp as when he's not at work, ds completely monopolises him. She kicked about on her playmat for 20 mins today, then just fell asleep there and I left her there for over an hour. Ds would never have done that!

Green poo - I'd read about it being due to too much foremilk, not enough hindmilk, but I only ever give her one side per feed and let here stay there as long as she wants, which is often only 15 minutes but I don't think she can be getting too much foremilk. She is windy though. I'm not really that concerned as she seems fine.

MonkeyMargot - That's classic that you can't tell if they're identical or not. Clearly not so identical that you can't tell them apart then! From what you say about their characters it sounds like their names suit them really well. Atticus sounds more forthright to me and Rafferty is much softer sounding.

I've got a lot of weight to lose too. I'm thinking of starting Slimming World in September. HAs anyone tried it?

Other than that, when DH and I are trying to lose weight, we have our main meal at lunchtime and then only a soup and/or salad in the evening. It seems to work and we don't feel deprived. I'm having a snack at around 5.30 as I'm ravenous by then. If I don't see continued weight loss with this, which I am so far, I'll go to slimming world.

Anyone want a manual breast pump? I've got one that I'm not going to use as MIL bought me an electric. CAT me if you do and I'll calculate the postage. That's all I'd want for it. It's an Avent Isis. It's been used little, washed and sterilised and comes with storage thingies and spare parts. It works fine but electirc much quicker.

I'm with you ladies on the dieting, but like madame I don't think the weight really came off last 2 times until I had stopped BF. I too have 1.5 stone to lose...

All these tales of the weight coming off after you finish bf are giving me some hope. Wonder if i'll end up skinny when I finally stop (if that ever happens).

Have had a lovely morning with MrsAlwaysRight today, introducing the two Alices to each other! I won't mention how well she's sleeping

My mum reckons Slimming World is the best around, and has lost loads of weight on it over the past year or so, LaT I've heard from a number of friends that WeightWatchers is bf-friendly and allows extra points (whatever they may be) for bfing mums, so am tempted to investigate that.

I've always lost the weight in the past, once I could properly diet after I stopped bfing, but I have my sisters wedding in mid-December and I hope to still be feeding Mia until at least November, so I can't wait until then to get cracking. Plus, I feel humungous and nothing fits..and I'm permanently hungry!!!

Liposuction suddenly strikes me as a fantastic idea...

CSWS most medics (wrongly) believe that seperate sacs and placentas equals non-identical twins, but this is not the case. It all depends upon what day the embryo splits into two apparently.
MadameF glad you think their respective names suit! Have posted a photo (taken at 2 weeks) of the boys on profile page - see if you think they look alike or not!

Little sweeties. Impossible to tell. I know non identical twins who are virtually indistinguishable at age 2!

They look so lovely MM! They certainly look very similar indeed but I suppose that's hardly surprising! Let us know when you find out!

We've been to the health visitors' clinic every week for weighing, but then Ruth has only just FINALLY got back above her birth weight at 6 weeks. We get a week of next week (but have our 6 week checks instead!) and if she's still piling it on the following week we can cut right back.

I've added a couple of pictures, the latter one is from her christening last weekend. Unlike every other child, she cried the entire time except when the cold water was poured on her head.

I need to loose a stone to get back to pre-pregnancy weight, but I'm starting a post natal exercise course in September and will start running again later in the year. I don't really do diets. But my SIL got on really well with slimming world when she did it.

Hi everyone, missed a couple of days on here and it took me ages to catch up. Its getting busy again
Where we live the HV comes and weighs the baby every week after the midwife signs you off at 10 days or so. The HV comes for 6/7 weeks then there is the 8 week check so this is the first week Fergus hasn't been weighed! Must have a superior health service in Scotland
Fergus is now very much in a routine during the night, unfortunately it is a wake and feed every 3 hours routine but at least I iknow what is going to happen now. AM thinking of trying to dealy each feed by 15 minutes or so each night and see if this improves things. I know he can last longer than that as he has done 4, 5 and 6 hours at a time before. These usualy come after screaming for a couple of hours before sleeping!
Dont know if I am supposed to answer about interaction as Fergus is my first but I will anyway. He is now (at 10 weeks today) very good at playing on his mat if he is in the mood, he will sit and talk to himself and hit his ball for about 20 minutes before he gets cranky. I take him for lots of walks and talk to him but he mostly ignores me in favour of looking at the trees! Going for walks is def his favourite activity. I do spend lots of time just cooing at hime and trying to get him to laugh but I do only have one. Filly I think pushing/driving them around is plenty of stimulation for them.
I seem to have lost most of pregnancy weight by feeding and walking at least 2 hours every day pushing a heavy pram! Am constantly starving at eating choc tho, def could not diet! Dont think anyone should think about dieting as life is easily tough enough without adding that into the equation.

Must go now as Fergus is stirring in his pram, have been sitting on the front door step typing and shoogling pram at the same time. Only way to get some internet time these days!

Hi everyone - finding it hard to keep up with it being summer hols.
Re - stimulation etc - Lauren is happy in her bouncy chair. loves being on the floor but unfortunately in a small house have to watch like a hawk as don't want dd1 rolling or standing on her, so as a result doesn't get to go on the floor much at all! I feel a bit guilty that Lauren isn't getting the quality time dd1 had but saying that she adores dd1so I suppose they get different kinds of stimulation, activities etc
Re - hv clinic, I haven't been yet, & am busy the next 3 mondays, may try to fit it in this monday somehow as I am curious how much Lauren weighs, as she is such a chunky monkey.
Just wondering have any of you with older dc's noticed a change of attitude from health professionals regarding breastfeeding? Dd1 is coming up 5 & when I bf her it was never praised or commented on at all. This time round the doctors at the hospital for Laurens follow up checks praised me for bfeeding & the gp at the 6wk check was so pleased I was bf. Today Lauren had her vaccinations & the nurse said how great it was to see a bfed baby & found me a private room to sit in to feed her after her jabs. I know in this area there is only a 50% bfeeding rate at birth & obvioulsy not everyone can/does carry on so I don't know if they are trying to encourage those to carry on as long as poss.

Just had a quick peek at some of the photos - sooooo cute!! monkey your boys are gorgeous - they look very wise, like they know what's going on kind of thing. goodname & barbeasty very very cute babies, well done!

Had a bad couple of days on my own with both ds's, thank goodness for my lovely neighbour who I bumped into twice on the doorstep & burst into tears both times, she has 3 dc's so knew exactly how to help. Much better today as dh here but I do miss my time alone with ds1, it's like I never get to do anything with just him any more although of course this will become possible again when I'm not feeding etc. Does anyone else feel like the baby is their responsibility & the older dc is your dh's iyswim? Like if Seb starts crying, ds just hands him over for me to sort out while he looks after ds1. Maybe I need to be more assertive with dh - sorry this has turned into a bit of a ramble!

roundabout I think that just generally the health professionals have been so much better than when i had ds1 nearly 3 years ago. They have been really alert to any PND and I just feel have been more attentive altogether. It will be a shame if with all the public service cuts things go back to how they were.

Anyway, hope everyone is having a nice weekend, here's to a good night!

minimoo yes, I know what you mean about the older DC being more DH's responsibility. I think I'm guilty of not giving DH the chance to look after the baby enough though. I had a bit of a meltdown at 6am today and DH was fab and got up with Alice and looked after her until DD1 summoned me for her milk. Made me realise I should let him take Alice a bit more. This morning I took DD1 out to the shop after Alice had taken a good feed, and obviously her and DH were fine and I think it was really good for me and DD1 to have some 1-1 time together.

Better go, Alice has just done her first poo for about a week so off for a major cleanup job and then to celebrate!

Hello, finally got a few minutes catch-up time. Alice has zonked out after a feed and DS is at nursery.

Alice is 12 weeks old on Weds, and seems to have gone up a notch in terms of being entertainable and happy to look at stuff and not just cry, eat or sleep.

As far as weighing goes, I had her weighed by GP at 6 week check, who was a bit unsure about her weight gain, so he asked for practice nurse to weigh at same time as 8 week immunisations. There is a community walk-in clinic where HVs do weighing 2 afternoons per week, and i used to dread it when I went with DS. As Alice looked to be going up the centiles at 8 weeks I decided not to go to the clinic until she's 12 weeks and if things ok, stick to 4 weekly weighing. I just remember it as somewhere that was very slow and disorganised, and after at least one hour of sitting around with lots of screaming babies, then a HV would tell me that I was doing a pretty rubbish job and to start giving my son formula. Best avoided I think.

I leave DS (3 3/4) and Alice alone if he's engrossed in cbeebies. Otherwise not. He's really sweet with her, for example turning her bouncy chair round so she can watch Zingzillas... and sometimes I come in and he's just sitting holding her hand or shaking a rattle for her. More usually he's trying to cuddle her which involves putting his whole body weight on her, or pulling her up (along with the chair that she's strapped into).

What does anyone think.. have I left it too late to get Alice to drink ebm out of the bottle? I introduced DS at 6 weeks. I spent a lot of time last week pumping so I could have a trip to the hairdressers on Sat afternon. Was determined to produce gallons so MIL, who was around, couldn't snipe at me (bf is our biggest battleground), and I left 3 bottles for DH. Fortunately Alice was asleep for quite a lot of the time because when DH tried her with a bottle later, she wouldn't take it. We tried again late on Sat night and also yesterday. Am watching a bf thread where someone got similar questions about a slightly older baby.

Hope your Monday going ok!

whenwillIsleep gosh 12 weeks already - it goes so quickly does it not?

Re. EBM from a bottle, I haven't tried yet and probably won't bother now, mainly because DD never liked taking milk from a bottle and point blank refused after a week or two of doing so. Hence I have resigned myself to being the life support system for these babies until further notice.
But I'm sure if you keep persisting you will succeed if you really want to. I think you are correct in giving it a go every day or so if you can. I remember last time being distraught I'd spent all that time pumping only for DD to refuse the bottle. good luck with it - be interested to hear how you get on.

Hi everyone, just took Alice for her first swim along with my mum and DD1. Both girls had a great time and so did I. It was lovely to be back in the water and DD1 wanted to ride on my back while I swam for ages, so very good exercise for me

whenwillisleep I hope you haven't left it too late, as I was planning to try Alice in a few weeks time with some ebm (will be leaving her with DH while I get my coil fitted - lucky me!). I think if I remember right I tried DD1 with some ebm at about 8 weeks, she took it fine but I never bothered again as she was always with me.

I was wondering how much to leave for Alice if she will take it - have no idea how much she would need for one feed - how much do others take?

Hello greensnail I express whenever I can during the day ( but get most in the morning after her 7am feed) and then Zoe takes 5oz in the evening for her feed. I think the rough guide is that a baby will take 2 - 3 oz for every lb weight they are, so if they are 10lb now, they will drink 20 - 30 oz per day, and if they have 6 feeds that is anywhere from 3.5 - 5oz each time.

whenwillisleep I'm sure you haven't left it too late and would keep trying. My cousin had a similar problem with her DD1 and in the end it was her mother (my aunt) who managed to get the little one to take the bottle and then she never looked back. So perhaps you should try asking someone else to have a go with the bottle...

Any one else feeling a dip in hormones here... I am feeling very down and struggling to get motivated. If I don't get out the door in the morning, I feel myself sinking during the day and want to escape into a big bar of chocolate and trashy TV...

I'm in agony - I cleverly managed to put peroxide instead of saline into my eye this afternoon and have spent the rest of the day squinting with a thumping headache :( Very not clever...

Mia was finally weighed as part of her 6 week check and is now 10lbs, 7.5ozs, so a reasonable weight gain although a drop down the centile charts (not that I care!) to 75% or thereabouts. She's doing really well on the feeding and sleeping front although every 'good' night is followed by a couple of bad ones so we're not out of the woods yet. I think it will get better when we're not swaddling her any more (around 10 weeks) and when she starts properly taking her ebm at 11pm...last night was the first time she drank most of the 110ml I left for dh, so maybe we're finally seeing some progress?

WWISA - I think 12 weeks is perfectly fine to introduce a bottle, you just need to persist with it and don't stress if it takes a week or two (or three) for them to get the hang of it. We're onto week 4 now and its finally happening, I think...(btw, we never offer breast straight after bottle is refused - that's why the dream feed at 11pm works well for this one as she's less aware of whats going on)

I'm having the Mirena coil fitted in a few weeks, so its just the minipill until then...DH and I actually managed to get jiggy in celebration of our wedding anniversary on Saturday night :) :) :) Even better, it wasn't at all painful, which is some kind of record for me :) Hurrah!

I must admit that I'm finding the times I'm managing 3 dcs on my own quite challenging at the moment - I know it will get easier with time but right [frazzled emoticon]! Thankfully it is rare that I have all 3 screaming at the same time ....and at least Mia stays where I put her down, even if she doesn't always like it .

Oh, does anyone else have massively different quantities of milk in one breast than the other? My left hand side seems to produce gallons but the right hand side is a lot emptier - I'm noticing this during feeds and when I double express - trying not to worry about it as overall there's enough milk, but is this normal?

Slimming World is fab LaT. I would have done it again over the last few years if I hadn't also had to be dairy free.

For those of you who like swaddling, can I recommend my new discovery - the woombie. Tis very simple but very clever.

I think it's fairly 'common' to have one breast produce more than other, if not 'normal' filly. I imagine it's probably exacerbated by the fact that most people then feed more from their 'good' breast, which of course means that it does produce more than the other!

I have ds asleep in my bed at a sensible time (been there since around 7:30) for the first time ever tonight. Have no idea what that means for the rest of the night mind - hopefully we won't be up at 4am as a result!

morning everyone.
Filly i think it's fairly common for the left breast to be the favoured one and hence is fed on more and produces more milk etc. something to do with it being nearer your heart. my left produces lots more than my right, so now I alternate the boys each day to ensure both get worked on equally (as I was looking a bit lop-sided!)
It must be really hard looking after 3 DCs. I am only managing as DH around lots to help with DD.

greensnail your swim sounds lovely! am jealous. Still no exercise here, although I did go out with the boys yesterday in the sunshine for 2 hours which was lovely and most of that time was spent walking.

Boys doing well here. They are going down at 7pm and lasting til 4am now til they need feeding (we don't do a dream feed). I hope it won't be too long til they can last til 6am. Has anyone noticed there is literally nothing worth watching on the TV at 4am?

8 week immunsations tomorrow and having Mirena coil fitted - not exactly looking forward to that!

Csws good to see you here - hope you had a good night after J settled so well at bedtime.

hi everyone, bad night last night with seb who didn't go down till 10 then was up at 3 & thrashed around till i finally got him up properly at 6. Probably wouldn't be feeling too bad but ds1 also up at midnight, told me to go away when i went into him then when i woke him up this morning he only wanted daddy - cue hormonal rush of tears, the last thing he needs to see! Thankfully he's at nursery today but things aren't great with him at the moment so filly i feel for you with 2 older dc's to think about and dimb me too definitely!

miserable and rainy here today which isn't helping, need to just get the wellies on and get out i think.

whenwillisleep I'm pretty sure with DD1 I didn't introduce her to EBM in a bottle until she was atleast 12 weeks old - she took a bottle fine on the odd occassion we used them.

Alice had her check last week and is fine apart from a soft heart murmur was picked up so we have to be referred to hospital for further checks. Apparently its really common and Alice was the 4th baby that day to have it.

She weighed 12lb 14 last week and seems to be following the 91st centile line. She is very long and is started to look rather cramped in the pram already. She's got her injection this afternoon

Sleep wise she is sleeping through most nights although doesn't settle until 11pm - midnight most nights but will sleep for anywhere between 7-10 hours then.

Action wise DH and I did it for the 1st time last week and I'm pleased to report everything is in working order

Am interested to see that a couple of people are opting for the Mirena coil. Think I will be too.

Too tired to post and too much to do...but a quick hello from me to everyone - its all gone very quiet on here suddenly...