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).

congrats to Milward - what a whopper

mummyhill - is the electric breast pump quicker than the manual one? I have a manual one, but it's pretty slow going, and I don't seem to be able to get more than 30mls out at one go... I think the moment of breast-feeding yesterday was a bit of a fluke, as I tried her again on the other side later and she just had a big tantrum back to expressing for me (which is a lot less painful!!)

Congratulations Milward!
Not posted for a while, being a mummy takes up so much time! Joel is now 2 1/2 weeks old. Thanks for your words of support ftm. Breastfeeding has got a bit better but he just snacks for half an hour then takes a full formula bottle. At least he's hopefully getting some goodness out of the breastmilk. Went out for the first time just the 2 of us with the pram today. Walked to a local shop and stressed out so much about the fact he was starting to wake up while I was waiting to be served. He let out a few wee screams before I managed to put in his dummy! What are you supposed to do with a newborn though, if he kicks off in a shop? Do you pick him up then try and balance him and your shopping while pushing the pram?!? Just the thought of it stresses me out!
Sorry everyone who is having DH/DP probs, so far my DH has been great, we take it in turns to do the 3am feed and he has been doing loads in the house and his share of dirty nappies - hopefully this was last. He does shift work though so he's here a lot of the time and just helps me get on with things.
Anyway, better go, has taken me ages to catch up with all the posts. Glad you're all ok. x

Hello all

Been quiet recently - as computer down and fighting an infection - hope to be feeling better soon - best wishes allxxxxxxxxxxx

RH - get well soon!
ych - good to hear from you, glad your dh is behaving!

Hi all feeling much better now, thanks for the concern. I have suffered from migraine since puberty and tend to get them when I have huge hormonal changes, usually when AF is due, durring pregnancy and frequent ones for a brief spell post nataley.

LadyL - I can't get anything with the hand pump I have but am managing to get 40 - 60ml with the electric one each session and only need to be attached for 10 mins or so. I am currently trying to get hold of an ameda lactaline as I have to return the engell to the hospital soon. We have managed to drop two formula feeds this week and am hoping that soon he will be on ebm for every feed especially as he seems to prefer breast milk to formula.

Should add that this is by double pumping every 2 hours. we are switching on average one feed every two days at this rate i should be able to freeze some as well for emergencies/nights out.

Milward CONGRATS!! on your new arrival

Hi All. Sorry to those struggling with cavemen/difficult toddlers/exhaustion/cracked nipples (oh, the JOYS of motherhood). As those who aren't first time mums know, it DOES get easier.

Mummyhill - I've also had a problem getting Grace to sleep in her basket. One thing that helped is to put an unlaundered shirt of mine into her basket with her. I've managed to get her to sleep for two and a half hours with my dirty shirt by her face - she likes to snuggle into it!! I've also managed to get her to sleep for three hours at a time in a big bed with me. Another desperate measure I took, was to invite my mum over and get her to hold Grace for a couple of hours while I got some sleep during the day.

A quick question for those who have cots. We need to buy one at some stage and were looking at a couple from Mothercare. Is one-handed drop-side a very useful thing - sounds like it is but thought I'd pick your collective experience!

Still feeding every 2.5 hrs but got a 3.5 hour sleep btwn 9am and 1230 today - yay!!

Hi everyone. We've had a manic weekend of taking dd1 to friends' parties. It was nice to see all my old NCT friends and show Alice off - although I was a bit dubious as to whether I should have a 12 day old baby in a soft play area. No-one else touched her and no snotty kids breathed or coughed near her. Those places are sooooo hot though. Is everyone else still suffering from being overhot?

So, may I ask, how is everyone healing (((((adopts Les Dawson style whisper))))) down below?

I can't remember how long the bleeding/lochia lasts for. I still feel a bit battered and bruised and the area where I had my stitches irritates me ~ even though I know they are healing well. I find by the evening that gravity has taken its toll and I suffer some discomfort. I feel pretty energised after my pregnancy but waiting to heal physically is a hindrance to returning to normal activity.

Alice gave us a great burst of sleep last night. Four and a half hours. I hope I don't jinx myself by sharing such information.

re the lochia - mine is still bleeding a lot at day 8. mw said it should start reducing in the next few days, provided I dont run about so much as I've been doing - easy for her to say!! She doesnt even have any children of her own.

If another person tells me I'm looking tired I wont be responsible for the consequences ...

my 8 day old baby is also hard to settle. Its all been trial and error, but we've found that he hates being put into a cold bed. we heated up a hot water bottle for a couple of times, but this was just another task that had to be remembered and added to the work, so now wrapping him in a cellular blanket while feeding and burbing and putting him straight into bed like that, flattening the blanket out when he is in bed so that it becomes his bottom sheet. We tuck it in to the sides of the cot so it doesnt come loose. Seems to help, but still hard to settle down to sleep.

He slept for two lots of 5 hours last night before I woke him, getting scared that a baby that tiny shouldnt go without food for so long. Mw said I shouldnt have worried and to let him go as long as he wants.

He's now been asleep for 4 hours, so I hope that wont make him difficult to settle tonight. Am breaking every rule in those gina ford/tracey hogg books which I thought sounded so good before he came along. But now just going along and seeing what works for us.

Hi everyone!

Sorry to anyone having sleep issues with their new little people - just have to share the wonderous 6-1/2 hours sleep Conrad managed last night - don't know what I'm doing right, think I exhaust him with all the to-ing and fro-ing I'm up to getting shopping etc whilst DP isn't with us.

On the 'down below' front though Beatie, feel things are getting back to normal, started going hilly walks when Conrad was a week old - with him in the Baby-Bjorn, only about a mile and a half but we're in a very hilly part of Warks with a beautiful big park. I do the exercises quite religiously and now it's beginning to feel as though I have got some muscles 'there' to exercise! - recognise that ache you're experiencing, found getting up the hills was difficult to begin with because of it but feel the walking has really helped me to heal quickly.

The worst thing for me though is going to the loo STILL painful and feel very bruised looking forward to not dreading doing a poo

Oh Hmmm... thought the bleeding was coming to an end but just discovered I was being given false hopes, just splotted loads (sorry if TMI) after particularly thorough vacuum cleaning session - that'll teach me!!

No stitches but feeling bruised going for a poo was ok till a couple of days ago, does anyone know if lactulose is ok to take whilst breast feeding? Don't like taking stuff like that but anything has got to be better than dreading trips to the loo. Bleeding can last for up to three weeks i keep thinking mine is easing off and then i either overdo things or spend longer than usual expressing and it all goes mad again!!!

DD has bought a cold home, she is recovering nicely but david sounds like he has a 40/day habit. Spoke to pharmacist to be told that there is nothing we can do for him appart from offering extra fluids and giving lots of tlc.

My bleeding went on for about 5 weeks plus with dd. Still going now - though not as much this week as last week. Think it varies from person to person really. Thankfully stitches seem to have healed well this time. I hate hate hate wearing pads - never wear them ordinarily, always used tampons. Loathe them and find that it's the lochia after birth that I can't stand more than everything else - just never feel really CLEAN,ifyou see what I mean.
Boompi - wish I had bought a drop sided cot with dd. Think you'll feel the benefit of one, because when they're tiny it makes sleepy transference from arms to cot easier, and when they're bigger they get to be such lumps that banding over can be a bit of a strain on the back.

Just about to turn in for the night, my dd has cold too Mummyhill - she's been excused from her usual fetching and carrying duties!!! I'm just starting to feel that ominous tickle in the throat and heat behind the eyes, but at least if I get it before Conrad he'll have the benefit of my anti-bodies (or so I'm told)

Night night all

Not sure about Lactulose MH, sorry.

Cot with a drop-down side is brilliant. We never had any trouble with ds climbing out, either.

Grace caught the horrid cold that I had. She keeps waking at night weezing and blocked up. I've taken to putting vicks vaporub on her vest (so it is not on her skin, but on top of her vest and under her baby grow). I know that the bottle says not to be used on kids under 2 - but mw said this was fine (and we did this for our ds as well when he was little and he did not suffer any harm from it - apparently some kids can get a reaction if you put it on their skin). This, together with putting her to the breast, helps clear the stuffy nose and she can get back to sleep. There are some other eucalyptus drops that you can put on a baby's clothes to help clear the nose, as well. They are quite mild, and we found did not help at all with ds when he was little.

Also, if the snot get too solid try saline drops which you can get from the chemist. Huge chunks - yuk!

morning all, and what a great one it is too.
only had 2 hours sleep and was just changing shifts with dp when i got a txt off my very good friend. She was due to have her baby tomorrow and had a little girl (my god-daughter) YIPPEE at 1:39 this morning. i'm so excited. she weighed 6lb10 and is called Libbi

MH - I'm sure lactulose is ok as I took it while pregnant & it said on bottle that you could take it if preg or breastfeeding. Just tried to check label but it's all sticky and cant read it all - sorry. The chemist will keep you right but I also mentioned it to mw last week and she said it was ok.
Joel will be 3 weeks tomorrow and my bleeding is almost gone. I agree with you Pooka, I don't feel clean, no matter how many baths & showers I have. Stitches seem to have disolved and feel much better than they did last week. Have been putting drops of tea tree oil in my bath, as advised by mw, and it seems to help. My big problem is piles, they are not going away and are v uncomfortable.
Joel is also a bit snuffly & chesty at night. Was going to try some baby olbas oil someone mentioned on another thread.

Congrats Bubbles on arrival of god daughter, love the name Libbi

I really will read all the threads sometime .

But now has got our broadband installed and Alice and I are on our own today so will have more time.

She and I are going registering in a little while, so I suppose we should get dressed.

I am still amazed at how Alice has fitted in with our family....and also amazed at how many pink clothes she has already got .

I am still having some bleeding and its four weeks tomorrow since Violet was born - is this usual. typically, I cannot remember when the bleeding stopped after I had ds and dd1....

Hiya all,
Bethan was born on the 25th, and is doing really well. Our DS, Rhys, 19months, seems to be coping really well with all of it.
DH is still at home for another 2weeks, and am already worrying about how to cope when hes back in work!!
Feeling a bit teary about how the birth went, but ive got a great health visitor whos already seen her because of Rhys, and talked about it all with her for about a hour.
I had stitches, which have been bleeding, so not sure if its normal, but midwife wasnt too concerned about it all.

re: the bleeding... i am 3 weeks tomorrow + mine has almost stopped. however, my cousin had bleeding for 9 weeks.

I have ordered a double electric breast pump off the net in the hope that i might be able to abandon or at least cut down on formula feeds... still plodding on with the hand pump for now, but it's very slow-going. Have ordered the 'Lactaline' one, looked quite good, and lots of other mumsnetters seemed to rate it highly. Fingers crossed!

I have a lovely cosy baby on my chest and will try and catch up with all I have missed.

First congratulations to everyone who has had a baby in the past two weeks while I have been flitting in and out. I can really hardly believe that two weeks ago I had just had a sweep and that now Alice seems to have been here for ever.

At the risk of jinxing things, Alice is being veery nice to us at night - she agrees that it is time for sleeping (DH has been staying up with her until about 11 or 12, with me having fed her about 9 or 10 and gone to bed then) and she then feeds when they come up and a couple of times in the night, but goes to sleep in her basket afterwards . DS was not like that at all, at least not for a couple of (very long) months.

Breastfeeding is also going fine as well - so far there hasn't been much pain - my newly purchases Lansinoh remains unopened. Milk is getting in as on Friday she was up to 7lb 13oz. It took DS (6lb 1oz) a little while to be that big. I am realising that newborn clothes will be too small soon .

DS seems to have accepted the arrival of a small baby in our house, although I am again waiting for the storm after the calm .

My mum was here until yesterday and so today is the first day I have had Alice all to myself (DS at nursery) which is very nice. She is now registered and she and I also went to Tescos. We are now the owners of a new pair of jeans each. Hers are smaller, prettier, but more expensive than my Value version. I am finding that nothing fits, especially as it has now got colder. My top half is too big (not that I'm really complaining, being a small busted woman) and so is my bottom half. I am realising where the extra weight I am carrying is . And I can't seem to stop eating chocolate .

Tonight I am not sure when DH will be home, but I did do a trial run of putting DS to bed on my own (with Alice watching the proceedings) so I will manage if necessary.

Tomorrow will be the first day with both of them (and health visitor will be coming as well) so I shall see how I feel after that.

Alice is windier than DS was - not too often but especially in the evenings (generally when DS is going to bed) and enjoys sucking on a finger (DH's seems to be best). Have tried her with a dummy but she wasn't impressed.

Sorry about length of that - will try much harder to post little and often!

(Feels weird to say this but I feel quite in the mood for sex. How soon can you do this after birth? Need to get some condoms first though...)