November 2010: Welcome to life on the other side

[bunnygirl80]

Pull up a chair and help yourself to a LARGE glass of wine

Welcome to the dark side the wonderful world of motherhood

Btw, bow are you all coping with the snow? We have plenty here but that's not unusual. I've put my snow-wheels on the pram, but I think that a pair of skis might have been better idea.

Glad the spots are getting better Cardi! I guess I'm just unlucky, it was a little tough giving up dairy for 2 years at a time, although good for encouraging weightloss! :) Glad the feeding is going a bit better too. Regarding where to put baby during the day, I either put her in the pushchair (lying flat) to sleep, or in a baby bouncer-chair thingie. The pushchair is preferable for me as I have three boys ages 5, 4 and 2.5 in the house all day, and I worry mostly about them being overly loving and accidentally knocking the bouncer off the table, for example. I don't put her in the bouncer on the floor lest she might be fallen on, toy chucked in her direction, etc! :) The boys are lovely with her, but accidents happen. The nice thing about the pushchair is I can bring her with me to other rooms without disturbing her. I also like having her in the sling, awake or asleep.

Thanks sarahbuff. I will be having a visit from the health visitor on Friday so I will try to mention to her that I feel I'm struggling a bit. DH is back at work on Monday after two weeks off which I'm not really looking forward to so I shall make it known to her that I might find the next few weeks hard.

It is my first baby yes. All my leaflets regarding baby groups etc I had were with my maternity notes which must have been taken following the birth of Isaac.

I will have to find out what there is to go to. I presume my health visitor will know this so will check on Friday.

On a lighter note, Isaac has been struggling to sleep at night unless in bed with me and DH. We are both nervous about this arrangement as we don't want to squash him but I have just successfully moved him from our bed where we were having a nap to his Moses basket. If I can manage that manoeuvre at 3am then things might feel better.

take care Bassface!

i've been meaning to go to the postnatal group at my surestart centre but the weather's not helping and i'm still a bit antsy about going out with her on my own. the local NCT does coffee mornings in my area so i might head for that next time.

4 weeks old today. gosh where has time gone?!?
have started pumping (and feeling like a cow) for DH to try and take over one of the evening feeds. Day 2 of that today and she seems ok, not rejecting the teat. fingers crossed...

bunny if you're gonna sell your hugabub, i might buy it from you! attempted the ring sling today but still feels slightly insecure. wanna try a wrap next.

24 days to christmas and i've yet to do ANYTHING in prep!!!

Vix, I think bunny lives in Australia (missing all this lovely snow) so would take a while for the hugabub to get to you!

I've always found my local surestart centre great, you should definitely give it a go. I took Lottie to the first of four free baby massage classes there last week, it was fab. I met loads of new people at baby and toddler groups, they're daunting at first but once you remember everyone is in the same boat and there for the same reasons you are it's much easier to approach people and start chatting.

I have my six week check tomorrow, weather permitting, amazing how fast time has flown!

Cardi when were home Evie sleeps in her carry cot on her pram or in her swing chair which means im I can carry her upstairs If I'm in the shower or something. Do pop upstairs for very short time if in pram but wouldn't like to leave her too long at the mo! When she's awake I've been putting her on a blanket on the floor with some toys around her which she really likes! Gets really excited already and kicks her legs loads!! Looks so sweet :)
Also very little snow here (Bristol) certainly none to be making me
nervous about driving around with a newborn yet luckily!

Bassface hope your able to speak to MW and get some reassurance that your not alone :) are you near anyone on MN that you could meet up with to share baby tales & worries with over a nice coffee?

Thanks for re-doing link of pics of Evie hmm I really don't seem to be able to get the hang of it! Usually pretty good with technology etc but it just doesn't happen!! Hope all goes well at 6 week check.
And thanks for lovely comments about pics everyone :)

How are you finding the expressing Vix? I'm also trying it every day and have managed to freeze 3 lots if 5 oz so far. Evie's had 2 bottles of expresse milk up until now and wasnt overly keen on the teat to begin with!! Gave her 3 & half oz the first time and she wanted more so ended up having to feed her anyway!!
Am only managing about 2 & half oz at a time! Is this normal?? Also worried I may have stopped producing as much! Anyone else who has breastfed know if this can happen when still feeding on demand??

Sorry for long post!

Congrats on your new arrivals umf and bassface

bass sorry you're feeling overwhelmed at the moment. Hope your HV is useful, perhaps she can point you in the direction of some mum and baby groups.

Will often falls asleep in our arms but then wakes once he's put down in his basket. He seems to settle much better if I put a muslin between us while I feed him and let a bit of milk get on it. I then put the muslin into the basket under his head and he settles much better - I think it makes him feel more secure as it's warm and smells of mummy. Don't know if that would work for Isaac.

vix I'm in Oz so it's probably a bit far to send the hugabub to you.

Hope you're all enjoying the snow. We're currently having one of the wettest starts to summer on record - I'm starting to get a bit stir crazy as my plans for long walks with the pram keep being scuppered by torrential downpours

I'm just over the bridge from you Babybean, not much snow here either! Too close to the Severn I reckon. Still plenty cold though!

I'm glad to hear the health visitor is coming Friday, Bass, make sure you tell her about how you're feeling, it is her job to make sure you are managing ok. With regards to baby sleeping in your bed, Skye is also not tremendously keen on being out of the bed at night (I have an Amby hammock next to bed, she did sleep in it for most of the night but wasn't as quick to settle as in the bed). All my babies didn't like being out of the bed for the first couple of weeks, but I found it got better after 2 or so weeks. I think it is important for baby to feel secure now so that he will have the confidence to sleep on his own as he gets a bit bigger, after all he was inside you not very long ago! :) One thing I found in the past was that baby would fall asleep in bed, and warm up the bed underneath them, then when I put them down in the hammock or moses basket, the cold would wake them up. Maybe try wrapping Isaac in a blanket (or are you using a growbag?), and let him fall asleep in your bed, then move him with the warm blanket into the Moses basket? Failing that, what I've been doing is letting her sleep in the bed on my u-shaped pillow that I've tucked into a circle, I put her bum in the hole in the middle and her head on the circle. Also keeps her head elevated which helped stop her nose from getting congested the first few days after birth. Also means I won't roll on her/she won't roll on the floor.

Babybean my expressing is about the same as yours, 1.5 to 3 oz depending on how long/ when she fed etc. Im still nursing on demand too but she'll have expressed milk from a bottle so I let DH do that, gives my poor sore boobs the occasional break. She'll happily nurse for an hour but Im never sure how much shes got out so seeing a measurable amount in the pump is quite reasurring.
First time mum nerves I guess

babybean, mibby, same same. i get out abt 2-3oz from 1 boob.

she's not too happy with EBM from the bottle though. DH tried the past 2 evenings and she'd only take 1-1.5oz. had to complete her feeding on the boob as she kept using her tongue to shove the teat out each time DH tried to coax her to drink. how much are they supposed to drink each time?!?

am popping her into the ring sling more and she's fairly content to stay in there. although i've only semi got the hang of the snuggle hold. can't get the hang of the cradle/lyingdown hold yet.

in non-baby news, i think my weightloss has plateaued! bah. to think i was hoping to fit into my pre-preggy jeans before xmas. no way now that my hips hv expanded by 2+ inches! will that go back to normal ever? anyone?

Hi All, Just checking in, William was born last Saturday. I've just had a chance to catch up with this thread, lots of helpful tips on feeding. I just have one concern, he's not done a poo for over 36 hours now and I'm desperate to see that first yellow nappy, hopefully its all building up into one enormous one. Any advice much appreciated.

sancerre annabel went ages, well over 24 hrs between the last mecconium (sp?) nappy and the first proper yellow one. My mw said not to worry if youre still getting plenty of wet ones

vix have you tried different bottles? Annabel will take the avent anti colic ones nut wont touch tommee tippee. No idea why

sorry ...but wont touch... not nut! typing left handed

Mibby - thanks so much. Can't believe how desperate I am to see a nice big poo!

Sancerre - did you have any non meconium poos before the break? It's quite normal to have big gaps between poos after a while when breastfed, and the wees mean plenty of milk, but if you have only had meconium and then nothing I think you should give midwife a call

Hi everyone, including the new comers :)

cardi I either put Norry in his moses basket if he's sleepy or his bouncey seat if he's awake but grizzling and looking bored. Yesterday he watched me hang up the washing which had the added benefit of being so boring that it sent him off to sleep after hours of wanting to be held but not wanting to snooze

Regarding doing stuff I had massive guilt trip two days ago thinking that I'm not doing enough with him. I do sing to him and change some words to involve him (Norry noodle instead of Yankee Doodle, or "down comes Norry, cradle and all" for 'rock-a-bye-baby') and I also looked at Baby Centre for ideas - they give you suggestions of activities week by week. We also go for lots of walks although he generally sleeps through those

And very of all of you with snow. It's just cold and grey and miserable here, and to add insult to injury they keep promising us snow and then it doesn't happen :(

Can't help with the poo issues sancerre - Norry goes about a billion times a day and I'm already fed up of changing nappies. When can I start with the potty training?

mibby, she doesn't reject the bottle outright. She'll accept it and chug down the first 1-1.5oz. Then she has a change of heart and won't take anymore and starts pushing the teat out with her tongue.

And I've got the full range of avent bottles and teats in various sizes already. Argh!!

Evie was a bit like that to start with Vix although just kept popping it back in and she eventually carried on sucking (saying that she has only had 2 bottles so far so could all change!) I did wonder if it was because DH wasn't cuddling her in enough as she's so used to the closeness of BF. Will check next time!
She also seems to take about 4.5 - 5 oz when having the bottle, but of course not sure when BF :)

Glad your the same tho Mibby and Vix! read a while back someone (sorry can't check back who) got 36oz in a couple days! Most !

TMI question coming up!!.........

Anyone else who had stiches notice they have a strange smell when weeing and with discharge?! Was over 4 weeks ago now and pain has completely gone but am left with this weird lingering smell at times!! Not particulary pleasant and wondering if I need to get it checked out! Thanks in advance for anyone not embarrassed to share :)

I read somewhere that about 10 min of nursing = 1oz, cant remember where tho.

vix all I can think is to keep tring with the bottle, making sure the teat hits the roof of her mouth to trigger the sucking reflex. Normally if Annabel pushes the bottle out its cos shes tipped her head so the teat is in 'wrong'

I saw the 36oz figure too babybean, very !!

babybean, bunnygirl, sarahbuff thankyou for your kind words and advice. Feel like I've turned a bit of a corner now. I had a haircut booked for yesterday which I was dreading but I went with my mum and DH and my hairdresser looked after us all very well and made me relax and told me not to panic if he started crying.

Isaac slept in his car seat while I had my hair coloured and cut, DH changed his nappy in the middle of the salon and he and mum kept him entertained til I was done, then I breastfed him while I waited for DH and mum to have their hair done!

I was feeling super confident after that so we headed to the Trafford centre for lunch. Again Isaac was a little angel and I managed to breastfeed while eating my own lunch with DH cutting my food up for me so I could eat one-handed He slept while we had a look round the shops and bought him some nice clothes and Christmas presents, then went to my mums for tea. Was really good for my head to get out of the flat for the day and feel confident about being out and about with Isaac.

Last night I fed him in bed wrapped in a blanket which I then kept round him when I moved him into his basket and everything was going great until I was woken up by an almighty cry and switched the light on to find Isaac covered in sick He was so upset and I had to bath him because it was all in his hair. Fortunately he loves the bath so that calmed him down. Managed to get him in his basket and settled again at 1.30 and wasn't woken up until 5.30 this morning.

The midwife came today. I thought it was going to be a health visitor so was glad when it turned out to be a nice midwife who had been before. I did the usual thing of saying I was fine so DH mentioned I'd had the blues and she was really nice. Told me there was always someone I could talk to and that Isaac was thriving so I was clearly doing a good job. She gave me some info regarding breastfeeding groups, baby massage classes and mother and baby groups which I will be trying to get out to next week.

I feel as though I have been able to enjoy being with Isaac recently rather than just worrying about him. He seems to be feeding longer and sleeping longer now which is giving me time to keep on top of everything.

Thanks again mumsnetters

So glad to hear you had a really nice day Bass! The midwife sounds really nice, sometimes it makes a big difference to just be told you are clearly doing a fantastic job, and she would know too! :) Hope you manage to get out to a group or two next week, it always helps me immensely just to get out and have a chat with other adults. (I have four children under 6 in the house all day, we homeschool, so there is plenty of talking going on, but not necessarily the sort I need!)

It was me that pumped more than 36oz in two days, I was getting 4oz from each boob each time I pumped, but in fairness that was in the first couple days after my milk came in, and I was really sore with having so much. I think now that my milk supply has settled, it would probably be a lot less, so don't be disheartened ladies! :) And I haven't tried giving Skye any yet, I was just pumping to relieve the pressure really...

sancerre has your DS pooed yet?

My DD has now not been 36 hours too, have the day 5 midwife check up tomorrow so will ask then, but I am also starting to worry. She slept from about half 12 til I woke her up at half 6 too, going to have to set the alarm tonight to wake her up earlier I guess

She just pooed and it was huge :o

bass glad to hear you had such a nice day I think a bit of pampering is great for lifting your mood.

privet yay for DD's huge poo

I am currently in my fourth outfit of the day after Will decided he would projectile vomit over me after a feed, before the next one, and then only sleep while walking outside in his carrier rendering me so sweaty I needed yet another change of clothes I think I'm overfeeding him as he tends to fall asleep on the boob, but then when I take him off he starts rooting for something to suck again. So I've been assuming he's still hungry and feeding again, when I think all he wants to do is comfort suck. Managed to take him off as he fell asleep at his last feed, and give him his dummy instead. So far there's been no more sick so hopefully it's working.

He's also developed a habit of grabbing the excess skin that's left on my tummy and kneading it with his little hand while I feed him. DH thinks it's supercute, I'm not that impressed with being reminded of my post natal jelly belly every time I try and feed the cause of it

bunnygirl , yes it was nice just to do something 'normal'
with Isaac and it not feel like such a mammoth task.

Isaac has also mastered the art of projectile vomiting. I asked the midwife about this because during the last few days, he seems to be taking a lot of milk but then bringing it back. She said he's got eyes bigger than his belly and lots of babies do this but to just let him carry on as he is.

The washing machine is getting a lot of exercise at the moment!