The Final Fruition of the Frolicking Forays for the First Time Frolickers

[Spirael]

We came, we saw, we frolicked.

Now our PFB has arrived and we can begin the stressful befuddled guiltridden exhausting wonderful journey of parenthood!

(Or at the very least we can stop bothering the antenatal bunch until they join us!)

spirael well done to Mindy for winning a prize at such a tender age [bugrin]

The enforced rolling worked to an extent - he eventually rolled onto his tummy to get a toy......then there was quite an alarming thud as he flipped back onto his back and cracked his head on the floor. He's got a little bruise and I felt a bit guilty for about 30secs [bugrin]

This morning the little bugger darling decided to wake up at 6am. I attempted to feed him back to sleep but as soon as I put him down he started chatting and squealing away, so I gave in and got up at 6:30. He had a little play while I ate my breakfast and then promptly dozed off sprawled across my lap where he's been snoring away for the last hour. He did a massive poo just before he fell asleep so he absolutely stinks (in fact I think the need to poo might have been what woke him up in the first place) I really really need the toilet but am stranded here until he decides to wake up. [bugrin]

spireal Lol at your DH 'helping' with the chocolate eating!

bunny Hope you managed to extricate yourself from the pooey baby! We had a 'thud' occasion yesterday - DH was feeding Lochie and had put him on the couch to fill the bottle, turned his back for one second and WHAM! Lochie rolled off the couch and onto the floor. Cue much howling but he was fine. DH was a bit shaky though! The little stinker has perfected his commando/gecko style crawl though and has realised he can leave individual rooms - lucky we have the stairgate up!
Hope everyone has a lovely Easter!

Hi all - love all the talk about rolling and moving babies. I can't imagine Hannah being able to do all that but i'm sure it will soon come.

spireal Well done Mindy on winning a prize. I think I would insist that mummy gets her share of the chocolate too.

Am feeling much better 3 weeks, 4 days in. She is growing into her personality and looks directly at me now. BF going well mostly although nipples are getting a little dry from some bad latches. I am being saved by lasinoh. I am going to get my latch checked again next week but sometimes she starts well but ends up nearly falling off the feeding cushion (which isn't ideal but I can't fed her without something to lift her up) I have a painful letdown which I have to grit my teeth through too. She is gaining weight well which is making me really happy so i'm sure she is getting plenty of milk.

Tiredness is really hitting now though as she has been waking 2 hourly in the night). Even the odd day time nap doesn't quite hit the spot. I can't wait for a 4 hour stretch in the night so I can actually hit a nice deep sleep again! Am hoping that 6 weeks will be a real breakthrough with lovely smiles and longer between night feeds (and please don't break my bubble!)

I wanted to ask tribble, mumsnerves and anyone else who uses real nappies what the best place to start learning about them is? I have used the nappy lady and got 2 recommendations there. Should I go for a starter pack from her? There is so much to learn and its hard to take it all in with such a little baby! I am wishing I did more reading before she was born but hindsight is a wonderful thing!

halo fab to hear from you, and you sound like you're doing so so well. Not bursting bubbles, just wanting to reassure you, you do get used to the sleep deprivation... in fact, you get so used to it, that the first time Hannah sleeps through the night you'll be awake for hours wondering why she's not woken yet!!

Am a single parent tonight - DH's best friend is over from France, so they're having a boys night out and he's staying at his mums, won't be back until middayish tomorrow. Fingers crossed Lochie sleeps through the night....

worrisome poor Lochie. Hope he doesn't go too far while he's exploring

halo lovely to hear you're feeling better. Like worrisome said the first few times you get a long stretch of sleep you'll be awake and poking her to check she's still breathing. If you don't want your bubble bursting don't read any of my posts from Feb/March as Will went to town on the 4 months sleep regression, and if he did a 2 hour stretch I was celebrating. I've fixed him now though, and although he's yet to sleep through he does do an 8 hour stretch before waking for a feed.

We use real nappies and I got recommendations from the nappy lady, and their youtube videos of the different systems are great. I then just bought a couple of what was recommended to try before we made a firm decision. I would try and get a few samples first to test before you invest as the different types/brands all fit differently so it will depend on the shape of your baby. tribble knows where you can get second hand ones from in the UK - maybe pm her for advice.

William wears Bamboozle Stretchies and I love them, but we had him in disposables until he was 6-8 weeks. Partly because he was then big enough to go into size 2s which will fit till potty training, and partly because it took that long for me to feel organised enough to put the washing macine on regularly.

spirael I thought of you in "sunny" Yorkshire yesterday....it was 20 degrees here and I bumped into one of my friends out and about with her DS who was all rugged up in the footmuff thing on his pram and wearing a bobble hat to keep his little head warm Lots of people wearing coats and scarves as well

Hello all!!

I'm rubbish at keeping up, I really am.

We're fine here, DS is chatting away like a chattery chatty thing and we're getting into the swing of BLW. I have tried to give him purees but he's so willfull independant that he just wants to do it all on his own. Yogurt is a task best undertaken at home these days.

It's a blinking faff isn't it, I keep having to remember to bring food out with me. Most of the time I forget, so I've stuck some baby jars in my changing bag so if we get truely stuck at least I know I have something to feed him.

Hello Halo, I went on cloth nappy tree and literally absorbed information from there. We're mainly in bumgenius at the moment, but I'm slowly working my way through a variety of different nappies (I have an addiction). What has she recomended?

Bunny Have you been rescued from the sofa?

Spireal Well done Mindy!!!!

tribble I did get off the sofa eventually (It was actually quite nice watching him sleep on me as it's ages since he's wanted cuddles like that)

We seem to be heading off down a BLW type path now, as William has decided he'd much rather feed himself. I'm not exactly doing proper BLW though, as he's still getting mushed up stuff, I just load the spoon for him and he feeds himself. We're getting about 8 out of 10 spoons in the mouth, and 2 out of 10 in his eye

halo I agree with tribble that it's very easy to develop an addiction to buying different cloth nappies.....any money you think you'll save by not using disposables soon gets spent on cute wraps etc. They really should come with a warning about the risks of addiction on the packaging

tribble She has recommended easyfit version 2 and bamboozle stretchies. She has suggested a trial order although recommended I buy 2 wrap sizes (small & medium) but only 1 size 1 stretchie? I might have to tailor the trial order or go elsewhere (I like the fill your pants website) Hannah weighed in a 10 pound 11 yesterday so hopefully i'll be ok to go straight to size 2.

I have to say I am drawn to any nappies with colourful wraps - I can see how this would become addictive.

Things are going ok here but we are now co sleeping which DP isn't keen on. After 4 weeks of interupted sleep we just didn't have the energy to settle her. She falls straight asleep on the bed after a feed (I feed lying down in bed) and doesn't wake for 2 hours. It could take 15 minutes - 1 hour to settle her into the cot.

Did anyone here co sleep? Did you do it temporarily or on a longer term basis? Am hoping its just temporary as although it makes the feeds easier - its not the best nights sleep with a baby stretching her arms out between me and DP. Is it likely that she might get used to it and settle less and less in her cot? We may go back to the basket although she seems to like to spread her arms wider than the basket.

I've just read up and noticed the swaddling recommendation. I may try swaddling again in the big cot but leaving her arms free. Hopefully this will keep her cosy. My intial swaddling attempts were rubbish so I need to practise. Best go- it seems her morning nap is over!

halo we use the bamboozle stretchies and they're fab. I got a recommendation from the nappy lady but then customised their suggested order to fit my needs. I went straight into size 2s, when William was about 10lbs. I only got 2 small wraps but they saw quite alot of use, he moved up to medium once he was about 12 weeks. You need a well fitting wrap otherwise poor Hannah will end up with wet clothes.

I co-sleep with William if he's being particularly difficult to settle, but I try and limit it as I don't want him to get used to it. If I do it now I tend to go in the spare room so Will has half of the bed and I have half. I get a better night's sleep that way than if we're in with DH as well cos I can make sure Will's far enough away from me that I don't worry about rolling onto him. Hannah might be finding the cot a bit big and lonely at the moment so you could try her in the basket again. Or make the cot seem a bit smaller with rolled up towels/blankets (obviously far enough away from her so they can't cover her face)

I would fully recommend giving swaddling another go, but then I live in the land where everyone swaddles for a loooong time - most of my mum's group are still swaddling their nearly six month olds. I found it easiest to use something with a bit of stretch in it (like a sort of jersey type material) but we ended up buying a swaddle that did up with velcro as Will was too strong to stay wrapped, but would wake himself up if his arms got out.

A trick I used to get Will to settle into his basket was to let him fall asleep feeding/in my arms with a muslin between us (not sure if that makes sense, but essentially the muslin was over my arm so he was lying on it). I then popped him in his basket still lying on the muslin, so he didn't get the shock of cold sheets and it still smelt of me. It had the added bonus of being easier to change when he was inevitably sick on it than having to change his sheets

Just woke from a lovely 3 hour nap and Hannah is still asleep. I am feeling refreshed although disappointed i'm not still sleeping too! Will be trying the muslin idea bunny. I feed with a muslin under us anyway to stop milk going on the bed so would be easy to pop onto the basket first (provided i've not soaked it!) Will see how tonight goes, although her face is so cute to wake up next to.

About nappies I didn't realise I might still need a small wrap either - thank you.

The big news of the day is i'm going to a nappy sellers house next Friday to ask questions, sample and possibly order some reusable nappies. I found the number at the bf support group today. Am very excited - will report back on what I buy.

halo am v of your 3 hour nap.

Check with the nappy seller about the wraps, but I found that the size range on the wraps is smaller than on the nappies, so there aren't really any "birth to potty" types. Might depend on the shape of the baby though - William had scrawny chicken legs for a long time so he needed narrow leg holes.

DH has taken William out for the morning so I'm meant to be having some relaxing alone time, but I just keep scanning the room and seeing bits of housework that need doing. Must try and resist and go and have a nice long shower and chill out instead.

So finally getting round to the labour story, it's quite long so I'll abbreviate it a little bit! Starting with cramping pains on the Saturday but I went to my friends hen do during the day anyway - was a bit uncomfortable at times but enjoyed it all the same! Came home at about 7pm and the tightenings were continuing so I phoned MW just to ask whether or not this was the start - she said probably yes and I could come in for a VE if I wanted so I did. At 9pm she could get a fingertip in my cervix and said that it was still quite thick but that things would probably start happening soon. On the way home from the hospital the cramps started to get a bit stronger and wasn't really able to sleep so that was the start of the marathon labour!!

Was up all night with contractions varying in strength and time, phoned MW a few times but each time told to stay at home a bit longer, which I was happy enough with. Just as well cus they had 4 other ladies in all in labour too (its a very small unit!) At about 7.30am contractions were about 3 minutes apart and lasting 50secs so went back in and had further VE and sweep - ouch!! Was 3 cms by tht time and advised to go home again, tried to rest kneeling on the sofa for an hour which was impossible but was starting to get very tired, managed that for an hour then decided to get mobile! Cue 2 hours of stomping up and down the house through contractions, got them down to 2 mins apart lasting over a minute each and went back into hospital at about 10.30 and told them I wasn't leaving until I had the baby, was 4 cms but stretchable to 5-6cm (had cryotherapy a few years ago for abnormal cells so cervix was a bit stiff!) went in the pool at this point which I found a bit difficult to start with as I'd found it easier walking around but soon relaxed and once I got on the gas an air it was fine. Contractions went on and on until about 5pm and was starting to get a bit emotional as nothing was happening so MW suggested breaking waters. Got out to have VE and was still only 6-7cms, however the VE seemed to make me feel a bit sick and I vomitted - waters broke with the force of retching and plug all came away at once! DP got emotional and had to leave the room at this point! Bearing in mind we had both been up for nearly 2 days!! Mum was there though so it was ok. Another hour passed and nothing changed so MW then suggested a shot of diamorphine so I could get some rest, she was still suspecting I had another 5 hours to go!! Wasn't keen but was so tired by that point I agreed! Had a little sleep until 8pm and then things kicked off! Contractions were unbearable so kind of just went into the zone, still feeling slight effects of morphine and wasn't allowed back into the pool so marched up and down the corridor of the unit with DP and G&A in tow! That went on for another few hours (which seemed like 5 minutes to me) and then at about 11.30 I went back in the pool to start pushing, 2nd stage only took about half an hour and baby Robyn appeared after 5 pushes!! THANK GOD! I think a longer 2nd stage might have killed me after a 26 hour 1st stage!! She came out in a oner but cord was so short I couldn't get her up to me for skin to skin, was so tired though that I didn't mind too much!! Robyn was fine despite morphine and had APGAR of 10. Had slight 2nd degree tear but stitches were optional so I decided against them! 3rd stage I managed naturally too. Finally got to bed at 4am and Robyn woke up for her first feed at 6.30am!! I have never been so tired in my life!

If you've made it to the end of that then give yourself a pat on the back, bit more epic than I had intended!!

Hope everyones well, don't have much time to read and post these days, hopefully will improve! Robyn is a week old tomorrow - can't believe I've manage to keep her alive this long!! hehe :)

mrsW great birth story, I had to lol at you going on a hen do despite being in early labour.

Interesting that things really kicked off after you had the diamorphine - one of the things my obs suggested in the case of a long first stage (not that I had one in the end) was a dose of pethidine to help you sleep. She said 9 times out of 10 things really kick off while you're dozing and people tend to wake up ready to push.

Hope you start managing to get a bit more sleep soon

mrsw Congratulations and well done. It sounds like you coped really well. Welcome to the other side!

Mrsw well done you! And welcome to the world Robyn, hope you're both settling in ok.

Well, we're doing well here - Lochie is so funny at the moment, lots of giggling and crawling and investigating things. We're having lots of fun with the BLW too - we shared sardines on toast today! I'll try and put a photo on my profile. Was most amusing - he loved the fact he could just pick a handful of sardines off the bread and shove them in his gob!

Hope everyone else has enjoyed their long weekend (and wasn't the Royal Wedding fab?) [cgrin]

worrisome Lochie looks so cute with the sardines He's got the same highchair as William too

I loved the royal wedding, DH wasn't interested at all until he realised Kate Middleton has a rather attractive sister.....then I had to pause the tv every time he left the room in case he missed a glimpse of the lovely Pippa

William said dada for the first time today.......to his sock

Rolling boot camp seems to have paid off as he's secretly doing it when he thinks I'm not looking - I leave a toy well out of reach come back a couple of minutes later and he's happily playing with it so he's obviously had to roll to pick it up and then roll back again. If he knows I'm looking he'll just whine until I roll him over though

Feel like shit-mum today, went out for a meal last night which Robyn dutifully slept through but when we got home she woke so we bathed her before her feed and she basically fed from 7pm til 11pm and still wasn't satisfied :( I started to get really stressed and DP couldn't settle her. Everytime she came near me she just wanted back on the boob but then would go on and fall asleep! Ended up giving her and oz and a half of formula and she settled straight after and slept like a log! But now I feel terrible. I'm finding breast feeding so difficult because my nipples are still sore and grazed. I really want to continue for as long as possible but formula feeding seems like it would be so much less stressful for all of us - and thinking that makes me feel like I'm a total failure!! :(

mrsw you're not a shit mum. You're doing fantastically well to even be functioning enough to leave the house at this stage.

The cluster feeding and really unsettledness is normal newbornness I'm afraid. William would often feed constantly from 7-midnight and never settle during those times regardless of what DH and I tried. He'd always fall asleep just as we were boiling the kettle to make the formula!

BFing is hard hard work at the start, but it does get easier. In the meantime, the odd bottle of formula isn't the end of the world. And there's no rule that says you have to only BF or only FF - you could give her a bottle each day so your nipples get a bit of a break.

If you do decide to switch to formula, please don't feel bad. This is just a really short stage in her/your lives and in the long run Robyn won't care how you fed her, just that you love her, which you clearly do

Mrsw Are you keen to keep bf'ing? If so I would call your MW today and get her to come out or get a bf counsellor to check your latch and give you some moral support. If you post on the bf/bottle feeding forum there are so many lovely people who can help. (I have recently posted and found the help and support amazing)

Tips I was given for keeping them awake on the breast are blowing gently on their face, taking them off and winding, and tickling their feet. Hannah was like this at first.

For sore nipples, Laninsoh and breastmilk. Hand express a little, rub on your nipples and let air dry. Alternatively just wear a vest, allow yourself to leak and keep your nipples wet that way.

I find these comfortable and they help me air dry my nipples without the wet vest option. Also if you sterilise them you can pop the milk you collect in a bottle and put in the fridge/freezer. No expressing neccassary.

Speaking of which could you express to feed her a bottle of EBM late at night instead?

One small amount of formula isn't bad and you are not a bad mother or a failure. Formula milk will give her everything she needs.

I hope you get some support today and feel ok - the early days are really tough. I hope this helps whatever you decide to do.

Yep, you're definitely not a failure, MrsWajs! I had exactly the same thing with Mindy. Every night she would cluster feed from about 5pm to 10pm, while generally thrashing and being fussy because she was tired as well as hungry.

Lansinoh is definitely good for sore nipples. I also found if I ever got really sore that using nipple shields for a day or two gave me a chance to heal up between the relentless feeding. Taking a paracetamol or ibuprofin about 30 minutes before the evening feeding mania kicked off too seemed to help.

Also, do you have a breast pump? I found my milk supply was much better earlier in the day. So I'd pump the side Mindy didn't feed from at dawn and/or in the morning during her nap, which would yield enough milk to give her a bottle in the evening. It worked well as it gave me a chance to take a short 30 minute break, my DH a chance to bond with feeding Mindy, while she still got the goodness of breast milk. :)

Another advantage of the breast pump is that if you have one particularly sore nipple, you can use the pump on that side for a day or two and give that milk in bottles.

On days when I didn't get chance to express or couldn't produce enough, I gave her small amounts of formula instead. I managed to drop it completely after a few months once her appetite and my supply were regulated better, so a little bit of formula definitely doesn't spell the end of BFing. And while Mindy is a bit of a strange child, I think that's more genetics than the formula.

Aside from that, set yourself up a comfy nest in your favourite chair each evening, with phone/remotes/drink/food/PC within reach, and just feed-feed-feed!

Just to warn you, during growth spurts Mindy would often feed all day! Her best one was at the 4 month growth spurt, where she fed for 18 hours straight one day, with just brief pauses while I dashed to the loo or grabbed a sandwich!

We had our ups and downs, but made it to 6 months with breasfteeding. Though she's 10 months now, and we still use the mantra of "If in doubt, feed." whenever she cries. She seems to be a bottomless pit!

One other thing, be wary of thrush! I suffered with it for ages, before I finally got any help. If you're getting a burning sensation in your nipples/breasts that seems to start shortly after finishing a feed and lasts for half an hour or so, then it could well be thrush. Get thee to a doctor if that's the case, and demand proper injested meds! None of the cream/gel rubbish, as it just doesn't work.

MrsW give yourself a pat on the back for getting out of the house this early!! We didn't have a meal out until Lochie was out 3 months. And by no means are you a shit mum for giving Robyn some formula. B/feeding is incredibly difficult (we didn't even make it until we got out of hospital, but we had other issues as well) and I'm so impressed you're battling through. The expressing idea is a good one, just to give you a break - it means DH can help and if Robyn gets used to a bottle this early it may make weaning easier. When it comes down to it, you need to do what works for both of you and if thats giving your boobs a break so that you can both get some sleep, then thats fine. Lochie was mix fed until he was 3 weeks, with me expressing and feeding the b/milk via bottle. The doc then told me to stop expressing (long story but I had PND and it wasn't helping my recovery) and so we switched to exclusively ff. Lochie is a happy, healthy, busy little guy so it's not harmed him one bit. I'm sure you will get over this hump and get through the next few tough weeks with no problem, but if for any reason you don't, then think about what a brilliant start you've given her!

bunny the highchair is brilliant isn't it? I'm loving the completely wipe cleanable nature of it! Lol at William being secretive with his rolling.

Lochie has started to try and climb on things - the fire place, a random box, my leg... crazy child, he still can't get himself to a full sitting position but is trying very hard!

Hope you're all having a good week!

mrsw hope you're feeling a bit better today.

Thinking back, the only way I could sometimes get Will to stay awake for a proper feed sometimes was to strip him down to his nappy before we started feeding and wash his face with a cold cloth. If he really dozed off I'd give it 10 mins then go and chance his nappy, which would normally wake him up enough to start him feeding some more.

spiraels mention of growth spurts reminded me that they do have one at about 7-10days, so this may be it and you might find she's a bit more settled in a day or two.

spirael an 18 hour feeding marathon Where did she put it all?

worrisome I just put the highchair in the garden and blast it with a hose...it's a shame I can't just do that with Will too

Will's definitely a secret roller - I caught him halfway over this morning and he stopped and acted like he couldn't get the rest of the way. He couldn't get back either so he just lay there stranded for a while till I walked off and he continued onto his tummy!

Very of Lochie's mobility, Worrisome! Little Miss Mindy is still being a lazy slow poke when it comes to movement.

She's quite happy just to sit and play with her toys within reach. If something is out of reach, she might roll towards it if it's relatively easy to get to, or will just shrug and find something else that she can reach if it's not!!

On the plus side, she clapped back at me yesterday for the first time ever. [proud Mummy] Then did it again for her Daddy!

Still no words... She just sits there and stares at me (possibly with the face) when I try and teach her words. I have a suspicion she's going to sit there in stubborn silence, until one day when she'll suddenly start reciting Shakespeare!

LOL about Will's secret rolling, Bunny. It's amazing what the LOs can do when they either a) think we're not looking or b) realise we're not going to do it for them.

I'm sure you'll be glad to know Mindy is expertly brushing her singular tooth every day. She seems to enjoy it!

As for where all the milk went, it's all in her legs. She's really tall, but skinny. (I doubt she'll complain if it stays that way.)

spireal believe me, I am wishing he was a bit slower! This morning he managed to climb on and off the hearth (you know, the tiled bit, not actually in the fireplace!) and then when he'd gotten off safely he turned round to smile at me and toppled over and banged his head! Cue much wailing, which was swiftly quietened by being allowed to 'help' mummy on the laptop. He's a little monkey and is discovering new things every day which means I'm constantly trying to keep one step ahead of him in terms of baby proofing!! However, the one benefit is that his midday nap seems to be lengthening - he's been such a 30 min napper for so long, I never thought it would happen, but he's currently been asleep for 1.15 hours and this is the second day in the row! Hoorah! Now if only I can get him to sleep past 5am..

Well done to Mindy brushing her own tooth!! I have to distract Lochie so that he doesn't try to eat the toothbrush... and so fab re the clapping, our little ones are growing up soooo fast! (Who'll be first for #2??)

bunny that's hilarious about Will being caught in the act! Sooo funny, what a clever little guy!

MrsW I'd forgotten about the whole growth spurt thing - for the first few months it seems like they're constantly having them, and it will make a difference to the feeding frenzy. I found that Lochie fed a lot during most of them, but the 12 week one was really noticeable in that he just fed and slept all day! It was lovely! He doesn't do that anymore though...

Have a good week all!