AUGUST 2010 - welcome to post-natal :o)

[CherryPie3]

I know I'm not around a great deal lately but we don't yet have a PN thread - so here we are.

Love to all xxx

:)

Hear, hear on the pot Caz! Lovely to see that Belle's rose has arrived. Hector is absolutely right - so many times when I've felt a bit down/frustrated when E just won't sleep, I've thought of Belle and she's reminded me to be patient. Very grateful for that.

Second proper lunch out and about with E today - last weekend it was dimsum in Chinatown, this weekend at a lovely little place in Brixton Market. Now he's not screaming after every feed, we're so much more mobile. Hurrah! Brought you ladies some leftover dessert too - sticky date pudding with caramel sauce and cream. God, YUM! Best pud I've had in ages.

Have lovely weekends all. I'm excited for vino and X Factor. I have lost all shame about shite TV.

Hi all,
Sorry I've not been about much. We had a really difficult week. Monday/Tuesday all three of us had gastric flu and as well as looking after a poorly baby and a husband whose birthday it was I managed to vommit five times and faint. Still not really over it (tmi alert!) as really constipated as a result and basically had a load of blood in my stools today.
Then yesterday we were at a family party and S started some excruciating screams (like nothing we've heard before) and refused to feed. We were so worried because she just couldn't be comforted (and we've been through her crying for hours in the evening with colic) and the volume/type of screaming was something else. Anyway phoned an ambulance and she was checked out in A&E and finally settled. They couldn't find anything immediately wrong with her but they're concerned that because of my medical history (I had polyhydramnios when pregnant with her) she might have some undiagnosed gastro-intenstinal issues so off to the Drs tomorrow. Very worried. Also found out this weekend that my grandad has prostate cancer. All this and we're supposed to be leaving her to go out for the first time tomorrow night for a gig to celebrate DH's birthday. Not quite sure how I'm going to cope :*(
Sorry for the whinge.

pample will keep everything crossed for you. F has had sudden bouts of screaming lately but with him i am sure it is the teething. Hopefully S is sffering with something as minor.

F seems to be having a growth spurt. Spending all morning feeding, sleeping for a good stretch in the afternoon, then all evening feeding and waking up 2-3 times a night again. My nipples are in bits, going to have to get the lansinoh out again.

F did proper giggles today for the first time

CazandBelle the pot and rose looks great, can't wait for it to bloom for you. You are often in my thoughts and I really think it's great that you find time for us. Good luck with ttc.

Alice My little chappie had a fit of giggles yesterday, the first time he's done that. DH and me were laughing with him as it was soooo cute

Weehector sending you lots of get well vibes, hope it clears up soon

Pample Hope you find out what was causing the problem with your LO, it's so awful isn't it when they cry and you cannot do anything to help. I would give my right arm to help my DS when he is in pain.

Thankfully the colic has gone...yippeee however, he doesn't have many bowel movements, he goes about every 8 days, so he gets alot of tummy ache. He cries and when I hold him I can feel him trumping, but just doing that causes him distress. I'm trying tummy massage and some leg exercises which are supposed to stimulate bowel movement, so heres hoping.

CazandBelle thank you for posting the picture, once her rose blooms, I am sure it will look lovely. Like others have said, you and Belle are often in my thoughts and remind me that I should be grateful for all the moments I have with my LO.

I haven't posted in a while, but GYA glad you are home from hospital with Tilly and I hope she is continuing to get better. Pample hope you get to the bottom of the unexplained screaming and crying.Weehector hope you are now on the mend. Also thank you Elusive for the maple syrup upside down cake recipe, it inspired me to get baking, something I haven't done in years, my family thanks you for the tasty upside cake last week and the fact they were treated to a victoria sponge cake with lashing of cream and strawberries this afternoon. Maybe I should embark upon my pilates DVD with the same enthuasiasm as I have shown in blowing dust off the measuring scales and cake tins?!

Hi guys, thanks for the wishes..my elephant boob has dramatically improved tonight now that I'm home & been able to express with the pump. I was starting to get worried about it.

However, I feel sick to the pit of my stomache at something terrible I did today. An old work colleague contacted me when A was 4 weeks old to let me know she was pregnant and expecting in December. We exchanged a couple of emails in September but nothing since. I calculated that she'd be at the magic 37 mark today & dropped her a 'good luck, how excited you must be, motherhood is amazing, even labour's ok' email as I didn't want to bother her closer to her to the DD (remember those well meaning 'have you had it yet?' texts/emails) & as she'd previously sworn never to have kids and I had thought it might be because she was scared of labour, reassure her that it was a wonderful experience.

I checked my emails tonight & there was a response. Her baby died in utero in October..which is just horrific but what made it worse is that she forwarded an email she'd sent to me a week after her baby died to tell me to ward off exactly the sort of email I sent today & she knew she'd be likely to get. I trawled back to see if I missed it but I never got her email..I suspect it got lost when my ISP changed their format but it doesn't matter, I feel like I've kicked my friend in the teeth at an acutely painful time. I know that it's not my fault & she was very neutral in her response when my email could have been a lightening rod for her anger & grief but still...I won't be sleeping much tonight even if A sleeps just thinking about what she must be going through and the pain I've caused her today. I've sent back a note that I spent an hour wording - once again, Belle helped me as I knew from Caz that the SANDS website would help me get the words right. I so hope I have. :(

Oh hector xxx Your poor friend. :( Don't beat yourself up too badly, you know it was an honest mistake, and I'm sure your friend will understand that too. I won't deny it will have rocked your friend but you are a lovely person and I'm sure your response to her news was spot on. I'm glad you found the Sands website helpful.

I'm sure you sent a much better response than the idiot on fb who asked me how Anabelle was last week. (Old aquaintence from school). That rocked me - how could people not know from my fb profile she is an angel I don't know, but anyway... the next day he sent me another message saying he was so sorry for his mistake but that he knew how I felt because his ex won't let him see his kids at the moment!! How he dared equate my baby girls death with a situation he could change I don't know. Needless to say blew my top at him and then pressed delete.

Love to you today hector

oh hector don't beat yourself up too much - it was an honest mistake.

Have to go and fetch ds1 from school in 30mins and it's all I can do to keep my eyes open! 2 days of doing my 30 Day Shred dvd has left me knackered! early bed tonight me thinks.

don't know how I'm going to survive the night feeds tonight though - I've either lost or had my iphone stolen . I have a very bad habit of leaving it in the buggy when I take ds1 into school, so it's no surprise it's gone walkies. waaaah! should have a new one by end of play tomorrow though - thank goodness for insurance!

Weehector yay for elephant boob back to normal. Sorry to hear about your friend. By the sounds of the first email you put a lot of thought into it and i guess she realized that. It was an honest mistake. Pleased that she has taken it as such and is happy to continue the friendship, obviously thinks you are worth it.

Caz what an idiot, some people have absolutely no compassion do they.

I have been so ill today. DH was ill on saturday and spent all day in bed, sorry to say i was not very sympathic. This morning i got up puking my guts up, with the shakes aching all over. Couldn't keep down water. DH took the day off and has been looking after the kids, just bringing F up to feed. I feel shocking. This is gastric flu apparently Have just taken a ibruprofen and sipping warm water - so dehydrated! have managed about 2 inches of lucozade throughout the whole day. Feeling very sorry for myself, but trying to make myself better now.

thedogwalker bumbo seats get babies pooing (new catchphrase perhaps?)
pamplemousse my grandpa has prostate cancer and it tends to be one of the more manageable ones, hope he gets all the treatment he needs. Hope S settles down for you quickly too.
weehector glad you're getting back to normal. I'm still in agony and GP was worse than useless so not sure what to do now... I'm sure you managed a sensitive response, you seem pretty good with words! and don't beat yourself up too much, it's easily done and you've done what you can to try and apologise, there's not much more you can do. (having said that I once 'joked' with an old friend that he hadn't had a baby yet and should get cracking for him to say that he and his dw couldn't have children - I could have punched myself in the face for the rest of the week)
caz what an insensitive git well done for not blowing your top at him though :)
alice sending get better vibes and a hot water bottle, sounds horrible!

blueberries you'll have to let me know if you feel any different after the 30 days/have lost any weight, I really need to do something!

Hi all.
Hector- hope you re ok I'm sure your friend will realise it was an honest mistake and you can bet you weren't the only one to make it unfortunately..
Tilly continuing to improve though utterly refuses to breastfeed so looks like that's it. Oh well nearly 4 months is 3 and a half better than I managed before.
Off to hospital with dd2 tomorrow for results of her latest allergy tests, hoping they ll say she's miraculously outgrown them all!

Alice get well soon. Hope the flu passes quickly & that DH is looking after you as well as the kids. All wrong I know, but you may drop a few pounds..i certainly felt a lot more comfortable driving home last night in the jeans I'd shoehorned myself into on Thursday.

Chulita what are we going to do with these boobs? I'm amazed at how clueless some health professionals can be with regard to matters of the nork. Marzipan has better knowledge of the drugs required so we all know what drugs to make sure we get for mastitis but I'm getting a little frustrated with the shrugs when it comes to painful nipples, blisters, etc. I've made a right arse of managing mastitis this time round beyond getting the ab's quickly & given myself all sorts if problems - A wouldn't feed from the affected boob by day 3 & was clearly not getting enough from the other so I had to give some emergency formula on Sunday (well my aunt did as I lay crying in the bath trying to manually express). I did everything - heat packs, massage in baths/showers to try & clear it despite being relieved that we weren't having to feed..

weehector, I am sure your friend will understand it was an honest mistake, but I can totally understand how mortified you are. Your poor friend.

Caz how insensitive to say it's the same as not being able to see your kids! Some people are just totally crap .

Daniel's sat on the sofa with Dh trying to BF off his stomach . I think he is teething cos he chews his fingers loads and is a bit grouchy. Been giving him a bit of calpol if he gets really sad. He's started waking up once a night as well when he had been sleeping through (not complaining about that tho!).

Potty training the twins is going really well - no accidents from either of them today for the first time .

EVENING All, sorry I haven't been on for ages. Sounds like lots of you re poorle or have poorly babies - hope everyone gets well soon.

We are doing well - had a lovely break in Prague last week. J was great on the flights and slept beautifully while we were there - shame it hasn't lasted now we're home! it took me 2.5 hrs to get him to sleep this evening, so I've just drunk a glass and ahalf of wine which is probably naughty. oh well.

yes agree with the general crapness of doctors re bf problems. I've had a blocked duct for 3.5 weeks! Went to GP yesterday who told me to come back in 2 weeks if it's still there. Are they trying to get me into the Guiness Book of Records?! She bfed her babies too so you'd think she'd be a bit more sympathetic and helpful. At least it's not painful to feed any more. Sympathies to those still struggling with the pain.

I really shouldn't have posted last week about J's 2 nights in a row of 7 hour stretches. The last 5 nights he has woken every 1.5-3 hours. It's starting to really get me down. He's not going back to sleep as easily as normal after feeds either. I guess it's probably a growth spurt but sometimes I'm not even sure he's waking cos he's hungry, but feeding the best way of settling him, sigh.

Do you think it would be worth giving him calpol before bed tonight in case it's illness/pain waking him? (Though he seems fine) Or is it bad to give them calpol when they're not ill?

woodlands, glad you had a good time in Prague, sounds great :)

Good luck with the allergy tests gya

Hello everyone,

Sorry I haven't been on for a while. I used to catch up with MN while helping DS with the CBeebies website, but over the last week he has learnt to use the mouse himself, so now won't let me sit with him and wants to do it all himself. Very annoying .

Pample so sorry everything's going a bit tits up at the moment. How have the last day or two been?

Hector I really feel for you over your friend, but as others have said, I'm sure your apology was very eloquent, which was probably of some comfort.

All well here in Moose Towers. S still not sleeping in the day, little monkey, but otherwise a happy little chap. Had him weighed yesterday, and he's a whopping 16 pounds 2 - so exactly double his birth weight. The little heifer is already growing out of some of his 3-6 month clothes, and he's only 13.6 weeks . He's still on his birth centile, though, so I guess that's fine.

Oops, he's getting cross, better run.

Hi all,
Much better today but still now time to write a proper personalised post :(.
Seems S needs a scan to check out all her bits and bobs. No repeat performance though so feeling a bit better....
Maybe I'll get chance to post properly when the cricket is on tonight! Yay! Come on England!

GYA Good luck for the allergy tests.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Yippee at my house.... my LO has had a bowel movement, only 4 days after his last one, vast improvement on 8 days, so the massage and exercises must be having some effect. He is a much happier chappy, so not as much tummy ache me thinks . Just hope he can keep doing them on a more regualr basis.

Not much to post, so wish everyone a good night, ta ta for now x

dogwalker I know where you're coming from. I was convinced today that S was having side effects from his jabs on Monday, because he was unbelievably crabby all day. Then, about 6pm, he did the most unbelievably huge poo, and was instantly a different child. Even spent about 5 whole minutes just cackling uncontrollably at nothing in particular.

Pample I'm glad it's not just me that's excited about the cricket. Though it does seem ironic that S has started sleeping through just at the moment when I have a reason to actually want to be awake between midnight and seven .

Another quick one: elusive, my thoughts precisely! I was actually looking forward to winter's night feeds spent with CMJ but seem to have acquired a sleepig-through-the-night baby!!
Dh is staying up for the first balls but I'm too tired. Hopefully catch some play at the other end of the day.... Now going to bed nervous!!

Morning everyone,

Hope everyone is feeling a bit better - we all seem to have been hit with various bugs / BF problems. Time of year I suppose (for bugs not BF obv!)

GYA how did your daughter do with her allergy tests?

cazandbelle thanks for the picture of the rose. Best of luck with TTC - hopefully it will get easier. Will keep praying for you

elusive 16lb 2oz I feel lagging behind - Izzy weighed 12lb 1oz this week.

Can't remember who was mentioning about mum and toddler groups - but I was having the same problem, people were very cliquey and wouldn't include others, however have tried a few and found a really great one. Its a bumps to babies at local children's centre and all the babies are a similar age and very welcoming! They are having a christmas party on the 8th december - fancy dress for the babies - am putting Izzy in a christmas pud outfit. Does this constitute child cruelty?

Marzi, can you try upping his feeds in the day to try to strecth him more at night? Do you feed/rock/cuddle him to sleep? It may be that he is rousing every 90mins or so and can't get himself back to sleep without a cuddle/feed. That's absolutely fine if you are fine with it but the disturbed sleep is hard. Leaving him to have a little cry and settle himself might do it but easier said than done. I wouldn't do that at night btw - try getting him to settle himself for his day naps first.

Mums and toddler groups are hard at first - you need to find one where other new mums are,where no one knows anyone, then in 2 yrs it will be you being cliquey

Pample, I've always thought that when CMJ is speaking, there can be nothing all that wrong in the world. And is it very wrong to admit that I have a major crush on Jonathan Agnew ? He's just so nice.

DH is a bit depressed about our performance last night, but based on previous series, I'd be a bit worried if we didn't do badly in the first Test.

Hi all much better with the allergy test results!
All levels down and she will have a milk challenge in hospital after Xmas then a cooked egg 6 months later. And for the first time in almost 2 years she rose off the 9th centile for weight! Still on the 2nd for height though.
All you cricket fans prepare to be jealous mil and fil will be there- top tier holding an England flag..