December 2010 - Merry Christmas new babies!

[Chooster]

Hi, I couldn't see a post-natal thread but as we grow in numbers we'll need a place to chat!

All good here... Jude is now 5 days old and such a wonderful good baby. Mind you he must think he's been born in the Arctic as it was -16 outside this morning in Edinburgh. Brrrrrrr - Its not always this cold Jude .

How's everyone else getting on?

I have caleb in a moby too, he loves it and its great for dog walking etc, will be doing the school run tomorrow too, although thankfully I still have DH as back up tp help this week, will try and master it before he is back at work.

max your dd sounds like mine, took 3 goes to getr her fringe straight last time, I keep threatening to take her daddys clippers to her and give her a grade 2 like her dad!

lol littleb I might try that next time! It's DD's first day at big school tomorrow - can't believe where the time has gone! I'm preparing myself to be a blubbering wreck

Ah, good luck with the school tomorrow max! I blubbed when ds started school... important day!

I have a moby too and use it loads. I used it from about one week so I guess Jude would have been about 9lbs. They are a god send.

Df, Jude sleeps in his sleeping bag next to me with a pillow between him and the edge. I'm under the duet but I sort it wrap it round me so.it doesn't fall over Jude. Co sleeping is lovely.

The Oesteopath was brilliant today. She said his neck and head were perfect but his back was a bit tense on the left. He seemed.to enjoy the treatment and was very relaxed. He's been wide awake this evening but not crying! Hoooray! Let's see if its the same tomorrow.

Dh has ds1 at the sick kids hospital at the moment as be has an.infection in his arm which is just not clearing up with the anti bio he is on. We just got worried tonight as it looked so red. Hate that I can't be there with him...

Max good luck tomorrow - what a big day!

Chooster, hope that ds1's arm gets sorted out quickly, it is hard not being able to be in more than one place at once. Glad the osteopath seemed to go well. I've been wondering if some of the problem with colic is how relaxed or not the baby is. Sometimes Malcolm seems able to do enormous belches without suffering at all.

Df great link, m really seems to like that technique.

We're using a moby wrap too. M has pretty good head control but is still quite small, i've been using the sling since he was 1 week when he weighed about 7.5lbs.

Dd has been a lot easier since we started a reward jar it makes me feel a lot better to focus on the positives with her too. It was starting to feel like all I ever said to her was stop pulling the baby about like that etc so she was starting to play up just to get any attention at all.

This is turning into an epic post but just a word of warning about registrars if you've not already been. I was 5 mins late for my appointment this morning which I thought was pretty good going considering the effort involvednin leaving the house nowadays. They refused to see me and I had to go back for another appointment this afternoon, when they kept me waiting for 1/2 hr, as I'd been 20 mins early that was a long wait. I think it was partly due to the number of people registering deaths after the holidays so it might have been better to leave it for another week.

Thanks chooster . Glad the osteopath seems to have helped & hoep your DS1's arm gets better soon, it's horrible when you can't be with them

Thanks 93pjb . How annoying about the registrar - mind you, having worked for councils in the past, I know how jobsworthy they can be! Will make an extra effort to ensure we're on time for our appt this week

df I've been using moby type wrap with Gracie (6lb5oz at last weigh) since she was 6lb but 1st roll up a hand towel & put it in 1st so she's higher up in it - I found the advice on line - I fold the towel in half shortest ends meeting then roll each side in to meet in the middle like a twin sausage roll. When she's on top of it her breathing isn't constricted-sounding & she normally goes to sleep as soon as I start walking in it even if she grizzles when I'm getting her positioned. As our mw warned of someone local loosing their baby effectively a cotdeath in a wrap, I only ever have her in vest & babygrow in the wrap & tuck in a blanket or wrap my coat around if we're outside in the cold.

I haven't read much on previous pages so sorry if topic covered but after having a few days around Xmas with Gracie crying a lot in afternoon or eve & wondering if was colic, found letting her suck my little finger soothes her like magic immediately. The trouble is, having realised may as well try dummy, she couldn't keep it in her mouth as way too big. I've ordered a small (gumdrop) one from amazon but in the meantime dh feels frustrated as his previous soothing methods eg swaddling aren't as effective now (& his fingers are too big fo her) so if he has her she gets horse from crying poor things (dh as well as Gracie). Also I'm awake ages at night as it can take a couple of hrs before I can take my finger away without her wanting it back. Once or twice she's managed to suck her own thumb but usually can't keep it in even if I help her & I gather she's likely to be 3 mths before she's likely to get proper control to self soothe. Any advice...is suckling a physiological need for some babies or am I encouraging an unhelpful dependency? I find it upsetting to let her cry when it's so easy to calm her this way.

so, moving to four-hourly feeds has led to DD having a more settled stomach, so happy with that. nights are still a challenge...she settles herself in her moses basket with no problems during the day but come the night she grizzles and then cries like a trooper. one 'good' thing is the witching hour seems to have come forward from 2am to 11pm. so, last night the first half of it was grim but from about 2 we got two good stretches of sleep.

how is everyone else approaching the sleep thing? DD is only just over a week old so i'm sure things will settle down, just curious.

first visit from the HV today....

hope all are keeping well and sane!

x

Bob sleeps well at night, we don't go to bed properly until 1 or 2am and then he sleeps until 4 or sometimes 5, has a feed and then back to sleep. I feel guilty this morning as I finished feeding at 6am and was woken up at 11 by my husband phoning from work! He said when he left we were was fast asleep and he didn't want to wake us.

At the moment I am going with what Bob wants but I do feel like I should wake him in the night more for a feed. He's 2 weeks now and sleeps beside me rather than in the moses basket. He does seem more grizzly in the evenings.

thanks for the tips about the Moby baking

Woo hoo! I survived the school run. We remembered PE kits and lunches... and, get this, we were early.

Speaking of sleep, I am truly baffled. My lovely little boy

Strix whispers

sleeps through the night.

I always said I was blessed on the sleep front because both DD and DS1 slept through at 8 weeks. But, I'd never believe anyone who told me their newborn slept through from day 1. However, this is only the case if he sleeps in the bed with me.

On the flip side he moans whenever I put him down in the day. I must sort a moby/sling/baby carrier so I can have both arms to use at once. But, I'm not sure the section recovery is quite ready to have a baby in sling resting on and rubbing the scar all day.

I'm on the verge of giving up the idea of exclusive breast feeding. I've been eating motillium like candy but still don't seem to have enough milk to feed exclusively. So I think (sadly) I'll end up mixed feeding.

Sleeps through! Bloody hell, you lucky thing! Will be back when I'm less jealous!!!

sleeping through?! goodness, that is impressive!

we seem to be approaching the 6pm onwards grizzle period now. talk about textbook...where DD used to feed and sleep quite happily she is much more wakeful. oh well. am sure we'll cope with this as with the rest of it. after last night think will defo just let her sleep with us in bed if she wont settle in the basket. she's still so young and if it means we all get a decent night then so be it. just wish i wasn't so paranoid about 'bad habits'.

us too Rudbekia DH gets home and Bob gets grizzly :( He's so chilled all day, I didn't know it was text-book behaviour though.

I had him in the sling today - huzzah! I am trying not to drink Dr Pepper (i love it) as I am sure it has a bad effect on him.

is any one else just in a fog? I dont know how often ruby feeds, its often, I know that, and I cant tell you about my nights, as they are a blur... we are functioning and I cant see much further than that!!!!

Ruby in sling as shed scream other wise, feeding for last 3 days has been constant and im exhausted

dont know if I really want to breast feed any more, i seem completley trapped by it :(

DF - from what i've read its very, very common for babies to be unsettled, wakeful and grizzly from about 6pm onwards. its why they suggest a bed routine with bath etc when they're a little older.

just this evening DD was getting properly wound up so DH and i took her out for a walk in the buggy. she's been alseep in it since! its something my mum mentioned doing with my big sister when she got fractious.

Bob seems to sometimes feed every hour, but at night he feeds less. I'm not convinced I have the latch right half the time, so maybe he needs to feed frequently to get enough of the good stuff. The lovely hold the breastfeeding counsellor showed me doesn't seem to satisfy him as much as the grip and shove method :(

Other than that I feel ok, I am not as tired as I thought I would be but at the same time I am getting nothing done apart from breastfeeding and nappy changing.

i have good days and not so good days. i find the night feeds most difficult...its those moments when i can feel myself dropping off with a baby on the boob...and all i feel like is a milk machine. its tough. i'm lucky that DD does tend to nap well between feeds during the day so i can get on with other bits and pieces or get some rest myself.

i'm dreading DH going back to work - this week is going far too quickly - when its just and a bab all day....scared!

Oh yes, everything from about mid November onward is one big blurry haze of grey for me. I remember sitting down on Christmas evening and thinking to myself "well, thank God that's over" And then thinking how sad it was that I didn't even enjoy Christmas.

I'm quite enjoying lovely new baby (expect when he pooed all over my bed last night), but DD, who is 7, is driving me up the bloody wall. God help me when she's a teenager. Anyone know a good bording school? (for me)

I know what you mean about feeling like BF has taken over your life. Maybe there is a happy medium in mixed feeding for you?

Evening everyone:) Had the mw round for 5 day post-natal check today. I can't wait to start feeling more mobile - I think that is what is getting me down most of all. The mw said I mustn't pick my 3yr old DD up yet which is hard, or go out on my own for 10 days . DH is back at work on Monday so I'll have to start getting more back to normal soon.

Francesca is starting to feed more often, I'm hoping this is a day thing and then she'll sleep longer in the night but who knows .

I love the idea of co-sleeping and it does happen for a while most nights but more from exhaustion than intent, then I wake up in a panic!

Anyway, baby calls.........

Hi beautiful December mums!

Just marking my place while I think about it.

Little O is feeding like mad and I'm super tired, but loving this new mother role.

Will try and read the thread throughout if I have some extra time (who am I kidding!). ;)

DD seems to settle down when DH comes home and will go into a pattern of feeding every two hours until 10-11 when she goes into her crib and we go to bed. She will then feed every four hours. She was grizzly from 7 when DH left for work and didn't settle all day. Tried all sorts. We are not getting on with our babasling at all, combo of her being small and getting scrunched up and my boobs taking up a lot of space as well. My left boob leaks like a sieve at the moment and it's making it engorged as it thinks DD is demanding more. HV & MW suggested putting a palm over it and pressing to stop the flow, but that isn't working. DD only takes from one boob at a time. Fed up of saturated bed sheets and duvet, even if i fold up a towel underneath, wearing a nursing bra and pads.

Still worried about latch as it still stings for a good few minutes of each session. HV wasn't too good for advice, just kept showing me pictures of other babies latching. With big boobs i can't really check her bottom lip. And the pictures seem to be of people with nipples as long as my little finger and babies with big mouths.

Struggling to settle her down in crib or basket at the mo, she wants to go to sleep on you or at least very close. She co-sleeps for the major part of the night, like others don't want to start off with this really.

strix I can't believe you have the nerve to come on here and tell us your LO is sleeping through the night already!!! Lucky you - Matthew has decided that DH and I should stay awake all night a couple of times already!

DF the early weeks are very much taken up with feeding and nappy changing, but once you establish a routine, you'll find you have time for a bit of a life as well!

OWO sorry you're in a fog and feeling exhausted, hopefully things will settle down for you soon.

rudbekia I think we've all dropped off to sleep while holding/feeding babies at some point, so don't feel too bad. You'll amaze yourself at how well you'll manage when DH goes to work - I had my first day home alone with 2 children last Friday and we all survived!

esian I remember being stuck indoors for weeks and weeks after I had DD, so I know how it can get you down. Is it the stitches that are restricting you?

ebrookm glad you're enjoying motherhood

kellestar sorry you're struggling with bf, I don't know anyone who's ever had much useful advice from a HV. Your local hospital may run a bf clinic, you could ask your HV about that?

DD had her first day at big school today. She was very brave as I could see she was having a last minute wobble. Amazingly, I didn't blub which I was fully expecting. I felt excited for her rather than tearful, which was actually rather nice. The walk to school takes longer than I expected but she is a bit of a dwardler.

A quick question, those of you who've had some problems with colic/wind, are you breast or bottle feeding?

I'm breastfeeding max. I've cut out caffeine and cutting back on dairy and a couple of.other things. Jude has been much more settled today. Not sure why, maybe the Oesteopath visit? I'be also got some infant gaviscon which I've started tonight. Am thinking he may have a bit of reflux like my other son. But either way he's been much better today.

I also worry about bad habits from co sleeping but they are still so young and I.think we are right to.do.whatever will give the most sleep and rest for.us. there is plenty of time to set up good habits. Anyway, am in bed with a sleeping relaxed Jude who has just done an explosive poo... bugger! Time to change!

Hello everyone :-)

It's taken me so long to get over here because I can't seem to put my gorgeous Hetty down for long enough to get anything done! Typing this one handed on my phone even now.

DF totally empathise with the MIL thing - mine is wonderful & we get on really well but when we saw her on NYE at my mum's place when Hetty was 2 days old she held on to her for ages and NEVER offered her back and when I looked over anxiously at her she actually walked to the other side of the room with her. I had to go over to ask for her back & even then it seemed line she might refuse! Worst thing was that loads of other people there didn't get a cuddle at all after that because my instincts were so frazzled by the experience I couldn't bring myself to offer her again. Very odd as she's usually sensitive to other people but it's made me nervous about her offers of help once DH goes back to work. I don't want a nanny, I need someone to do things for me (especially as I can't carry stuff after the CS) so I can look after Hetty.

I'm loving the moby wrap too but can't seem to get it to work on DH, which he's finding a bit frustrating.

We're loving the co-sleeping & Hetty sleeps on my front with mo apparent problems. Midwife seems to have no objection either.

I'm finding 16 feeds in 24 hours quite strenuous but I'm sure things will improve on that score. Might have to think about doing things differently once DH is back at work from next week (& working away too :( ).

gosh, 16 feeds! Bob does sometimes do hourly feeds but they tend to get further apart as the day goes on - he's been asleep for 2 hours for example - so my attachment to him does ease up a bit. He was really grizzly earlier, I think it's wind because he had a load of farts, filled a nappy and then fed really well before sleeping.

I think because he was in neo natal he's just not as demanding as a newborn.

I hope you sort things out with MIL ggg, I know I wouldn't want my mum or mil offering to help and then keeping hold of the baby for ages. When mine was here I made cups of tea, pizza etc while everyone else held the baby, but it was a one off really.

maxpower I'm breastfeeding but only just noticing that Bob is a bit windy. I do try to wind him after a feed despite being told breastfed babies don't need to be winded as much.

Yep DF, I'm with you on the winding - Reuben seems to need a bit of a burp and has just started griping a bit in the evenings, which tends to be tummy tightness and settles with a bit of circular stroking.
I wouldn't worry too much about the co-sleeping either, DC's 1, 2 and 3 almost always slept on my chest, although I'm trying to get Reuben more used to being in his crib, so I can have a bit of 'me' space and eventually start getting things done!

Blimey, GGG - 16 feeds! Don't quite know how to solve that one!

strix Impressed with that school run - we had a disastrous first day when DS2 couldn't find any trousers despite having been asked the night before if he'd got everything ready & he'd said he had!! I was livid, ended up tearing all the clothes out of his drawers to NOT find any trousers as they were all at his dad's - again! Poor thing ended up with a pair that were a bit short :(

DD was super brave though yesterday - had 3 teeth out with only local anaesthetic, and walked home with me, despite having wobbly legs.

4 weeks on now, & I still don't feel up to scratch yet, thank god for dh working at home 3 days a week though! Think I'll have to take it easy today after the walk to the dentist & back yesterday!