IS THERE A SEPT 2005 CLUB YET?

[pooka]

Hi all fellow September mums. If I'm duplicating another thread please tell me. If not, would love to hear how everyone is getting on.
Tom is a week old today. All well - though has a slightly infected cord stump so am going to GP today.
I'm still madly hormonal, could burst into tears whenever I think about the impact all this has on my lovely dd (2y2m).

Just have to say that I really take my hat off to LadyL and Mummyhill and anyone else that is having to express to breastfeed. I find bf in itself stressful at times, so I think you should feel so proud of yourselves to be giving your babies such a great start under the circumstances. Hope that doesn't sound patronising, but just think people expect us all to get on with it and don't often say 'well done' - we all need a bit of praise from time to time!
LadyL, when I admitted defeat with bf with ds1, I was v teary and upset, but my (ex-GP) Dad was great - he pointed out that plenty of people don't bf at all and that I should be proud of myself for having tried as long as I did. Please don't carry on if it is making your life hell - there are plenty of other ways you can give Elise a great start in life. A friend of mine researched the best alternative exhaustively and gave her dd goats milk formula and added probiotics. I can find out more info if you need me to.

Not actually sure where you all get the time to post, It seems to be getting worse the older Jasper gets. Off to see a Crainial Osteopath next sat as Jasper will not settle during the day in anything but the Baby Bjorn and my back is killing me from constantly wearing him round the house. Turns out the blister thing that my DD1 had was hand foot and mouth , theres an epidemic at her nursery! Don;t actually think any of us have been well since the birth, we have had gastric bugs, horrendous colds and now this . Off out tonight with the girls for a much needed night out in Putney - can't wait.
First time mum - you are not far from me at all and it sounds like Franch might also be moving to Nappy Valley soon .
Better go, can't seem to write anyhthing before one or the other kicks off - will I ever get any me time?? Time for Tea.

thanks for the kind words... have had a better afternoon + feel a bit more human now i will just do the expressing when i feel like it i think, + not according to a schedule. have done it less today and it feels better already.

heelo thought it was about time i graduted to this thread. Decided on the name Gabrielle Rebecca (and my tactful mother discussed how she thought she would "get used to it", much preferred Rebecca as a first name but wouldn't do what someone elses mil did and say why didn't you call her xxx.

oh bye she's awake again. was hoping wouldn't have to feed til 9.00 then could get a bit more sleep!!

Rhumba - that's a beautiful name. My MIL gave her full opinion on our chosen names and we ended up changing them around. I don't regret changing the names around because we'd had our reservations about the baby's name being too similar to dd1's name BUT I tried desperately to think of a totally different first name for a long time because heaven forbid my MIL actually might think she named our baby.

Zoezebra You're going out? I'm sooo jealous.

Cabe - Yes, I have a froggy baby. Nappy changes are fun

Hello all!

LL - hope things are better for you - don't overdo the expressing - nearly run myself into the ground doing this for ds - Rachels on the bottle - so much easiler!

Still not very well but healing - hoping nasty infection is now over! just my luck - bad labour/c-section and ongoing problems - health visitor thinks I may have pnd - I think leaving hospital with serious wound infection more the cause!!! Hope to mail more regularly from now on but computer poorly too~~~!! Take care and loads of cuddles to the little people xxx

thanks Beatie. is not easy to be rational when your sooo tired. Had a word with little sis who was going to have a word with her about shutting up!!

Made it into the local press with my birth story (Pooka it's the Bromley news shopper if you get it!) Had first solo outing with DS and Gabrielle to the library which was fine but took much longer to walk than usual. Everyone had seen the article so we had our five minutes of fame.

LadyL - skimmed over the previous posts and noticed you were asking about keeping feeds warm. if it's formula you can get special boxes for the powder from Avent with three compartments. You can then have the water warm (or even still hot) add the powder when required and cool with cold water if necessary. Don't know if this helps or not.

Found old copy of Gina Ford which I found very helpful first time and just laughed as wasn't sure how would possibly get DS dressed let alone along to our various activities all timed when DS would be "sleeping in her cot". Having routined Ds within an inch of his life quite enjoying just being relaxed about feed sleep time...may be a different story when I can't get them asleep at the same time and am getting no sleep but I'll worry bout that later.

Think it's bed time for me anyway

Congratulations KF and welcome to little Charlotte. Was wondering were you had got to! Quite a dramatic entrance but I am so pleased you have your little girl safely woth you. I cant believe every one of us who met up for pedicures has had a girl! 6 out of 6 - what are the odds?

Congrats to all other arrivals I have missed - nappy head means I cant retain any info longer than a few seconds.

I have a Babybjorn and Huggababy and both dd and i prefer the Babybjorn. Just feels cosier at moment. LadyL - it is def warm enough. In fact dd was almost too hot today after I walked up hill to meet friend for coffee! Think its mainly head/feet/hands you need to keep warm in a babybjorn sling as rest of body is kept warm by you.

Have no routine for dd and do worry we are making a rod for our own backs - dh and my paerents(who are staying with us for three weeks) seem to think shes too little for a routine. Have to say she is still awake and cuddling/playing with dh in living room at 930pm! I bought Gina Ford today and although i dont plan to stick to a routine I feel it may be interesting reading!!

dd crying - boobs needed asap!

I saw you in the Newshopper Rhumba!!! What a story
Are you going to go back to yoga to tell your birth story? I'm going next Tuesday. Feeling rather nervous.
Think your dd has a lovely name. How is your ds getting on with her?

No routine here either Boompi - and Tom is 4 weeks old today. I plan to wait a while and see what sleep/feed patterns he naturally falls into (within reason, taking into account being out and about with dd).

night from hel being had in hill household have finally got kids to sleep. DS took hours to settle then DD woke up with earache and woke ds up. Ended up with ds,dd,dh and self in our bed kids and dh now sleeping so i am expressing before trying to get kids into bed/crib so i can crawl into my own bed and get some sleep befor ds wakes for next feed.

MUMMYHILL - nightmare!

all is quiet ds ha just been fed so i am here expressing again then back off to bed.

Quickly sneaking on to computer - DS woke up at 6:25am whilst Alice and DH are still asleep. I think that DS knows when it is a weekend as he often wakes up early .

Yesterday very tiring - Alice being grumpy and DS being active. Worked out I sat down for about 30 min in total (luckily Alice copes well with feeding on the move .

DS has goen suspiciously quiet so had better look at him.

Congratulations to all new mummies and babies - has everyone graduated yet I wonder?

Just tried to CAT you RedHelen, but you don't receive them... hope you're ok.

Does anyone know when babies eye colour usually changes? dd still has blue eyes like dh - and im hoping they will stay that way, partially as would rather she didnt inherit mine - Im as blind as a bat.

Zoezebra, we had an initial consultation with a paediatric osteopath yesterday who said that he could feel that DS felt "like he wanted to punch someone"!, which made DH and I feel so terrible - only 2 weeks old and already so full of misery! Which cranial osteopath are you seeing - is it the one at Neal's Yard on Northcote Road? We are wondering whether we should take DS there. Are you going there because you have had problems with sleeping?

Good to hear that you and maybe Franch are or might soon be in Nappy Valley. Perhaps one of these days we could meet up at Crumpet or one of the other baby friendly cafes.

I really envy those on this thread whose newborns are sleeping well. Ours is going through a terrible time and DH really lost it last night to the extent that I had to take DS off him and have him sleep on my chest. I'ts been really hard and I am feeling quite depressed, especially to see DH so upset when he is usually a pretty together person. Thinking of calling Cry-sis or one of the PND orgs, but not sure how much help they will be. What we really need is for someone to take DS away for a few hours each day so that we can rest.

Good morning all,
Zoezebra, hope you had a lovely night, so far i've been to bingo twice with my mum. Can't wait to go out on the piss with my mates, shouldn't be too long now.
Mia is sleeping great at night, 6 hours last night then straight back down after her feed and 7 and half the night before. we get about 4 nights a week like this so we're happy

Firsttimemum. Sorry you're having a rough time with ds's sleeping. I know how upsetting a crying baby can be, particularly when there is nothing practical you can do to make it better for them. dd used to cry like crazy, for hours, and I really very nearly lost it, particularly as was so sleep deprived. In the end, just taking her round to my mother's house for the evening sometimes helped - my dm would coo over her and seemed so unflappable about the crying while I'd snatch a couple of hours sleep before the next feed, or even just go into another room wth a cup of tea. It helped recharge my batteries and reinforced the fact that even when crying she was lovely and loveable.
This time round Tom seemed initially more settled, but that has passed and he seems inconsolable in the evenings and doesn't sleep massively well. And yet its still much better than before, because I know that this period will pass, and am used to lack of sleep to a certain extent - I'm calmer and so the bad evenings/nights are more bearable.
None of this is much help right now, but if you can rope in a friend/family member to just go out for a walk with him for an hour or so, that would be valuable time out for you. Is your dh back at work now?
IT WILL PASS. HE WILL BECOME MORE SETTLED.
Take care.

Hugs firsttimemum. I am finding my mum a great source of help and comfort again this time round as I am finding it difficult to keep up with the demands of both children. My mother in law is also fairly unflapable and is good with the kids however I feel as if she is critisising me although she probably isn't it's just the way she comes accross sometimes. I have been known to place baby in crib/basket and go and sit in the garden with a cuppa when it all gets too much, especially if dd is at nursery cause I know he can't come to any harm and a bit of crying won't hurt him although I might if i don't get out iyswim. Can dp/dh, a family member or friend give you a couple of hours on your own to sleep or just chill out, just cause you are a mum doesn't mean that you suddenly loose the need for time to yourself. (really must listen to my own advice and get out minus kids and dh).

Ohh and as pooka said it does pass they do become more settled.

Firsttimemum, I really feel for you. We had dreadful nights with ds1 and it reaaly is hard 1st time around. This time I look at my boys and think if I got through it with them then I can do it with dd - by 3 months they normally settle a bit, although that probably feels like a lifetime away! Have you tried putting a hairdryer or hoover on in the middle of the night? Sounds mad, but it worked for us!! What about a dummy - have now resorted to this with dd with some effect. I am in Kingston, so not far away if you want to meet up - with ds1 regular post natal meetups kept me sane (sort of!!..)You will look back on this time with fond memories one day, even if that seems hard to imagine now! Take care.

Boompi, eyes can take up to 6 months to change I think. Ds1's eyes look like mine, but he has perfect vision like dh which the optician says he will keep, whereas I'm -8.5 so they can inherit same eyes but different sight iyswim!

Good afternoon all, firsttimemum, as the others say, it will pas, i promise. DD1 never ever slept but dd2 is fantastic, they say you never get two babies the same, Mia slept from 9pm until 7 am last night (don't mean to sound smug), Leonie never slept that many hours in a week!!!!!

Sleep deprivation is the worst part of parenthood. David has slept most of today so this evening/tonight could be interesting. Natalie has wet the bed for three nights in a row think she is unsettled by davids arrival. I am not making a fuss just going in and changing her and her bed and putting her back to bed with a hug, a kiss and the famous words mummy loves you. DH goes back to work tommorow so first day on my own with two kids could be fun, will be a miracle if i manage to get her to nursery on time.