Late Jan 2011 (some very, very late!) - here we go!!!

[ThreeBubbasAndManyBumps]

Graduated
JJKM - Twin Girls
Stars - Baby Boy
FloraPost - 6th Jan - Baby Boy
Mimou - 14th Jan - Baby Boy - 7.3lb
Zippy - 14th Jan - Baby Boy - 7lb
LadyBuzz - 18th Jan - Kali Margaret Briany 6lb 1oz
Scuba - 22nd Jan - Baby Girl - 6lb 13oz
AmIGoingMad - 25th Jan - Baby Boy - 7lb 5oz
Gallicgirl - 26th Jan - Alys May - 7lb 2.5oz
BubbaAndBumps - 27th Jan - Lachlan Robert - 12lb 3oz
Travispickles - 27th Jan - Saskia Faye
Fuzzy - 28th Jan - Evan James - 8lb 8.5oz
*Saltnvinigar - 28th Jan - Henry David
Ryuk - 28th Jan - Ezra - 7lb 4oz
TheBreastMilksOnMe - 30th Jan - Amelia Rose - 8lbs 9.5ozs
SaraL77 - 31st Jan - Reuben Mark - 7lb 2
Pootle - 2nd Feb - Jacob - 8lb 9oz
cyberfairy - 4th Feb - Rowan - 7lbs 7oz
RockLover - 5th Feb - George Christopher - 8lbs 4oz
RunningKatie - 5th Feb - Isobel Millie
CupcakesHay - 5th Feb - Jesse William - 7lbs 1oz
Crystylline - 8th Feb - Xavier Louis - 8lbs 11oz

Count: 8 girls, 15 boys

Still Huffing and a Puffing..?
Shanster: 30/01 Boy (1DD)
Faraway Trees: 22/01
RobynLou: 24/01 ?? (1DD)
Loopylu: due 31/01 (1st?)

Here we go, down the slippery slope of parenthood. Slippery thanks to the poos, wees, leaky boobs and goodness knows what else :o :o

We'll be here to hold each other's virtual hands through the tough nights and delightful days, and to laugh at each other's stories of comedy nappy changes , and the fear (or not?) of getting back in the saddle, and coating some cervixes just for the fun of it again!! :o

keep strong jjkm, it must be so hard at times. Pootle glad the tips helped although you need to run faster and hide better if you're fitting into pre-preg clothes AND if your baby isn't waking at night- you are talking to a woman who's feeding every two hours 24hrs a day and whose cake tops (too big and too plentiful to be called muffin top) are very much not en vogue! Thanks for making me laugh though ladies, needed cheering up a bit! :o

Hi all, is good to hear all your ups and downs, is making our chaos seem more normal!

I've been struggling a bit with the breastfeeding, after taking ages to get going I now have thrush on my nipples which is very sore but I have some treatment and am persevering for now. Also have a very windy smelly baby and have hours of crying at a time, so I'm wondering whether to try infacol.

jjkm you're amazing and so are your twins.

pootle own up.... what's the secret? i was deliriously excited to get two blocks of 2.5/3 hours sleep last night, but figured that the extra movement/running around/stress etc might help lose the preggers tubbiness! obv not true.

ooh.... it's so nice to be spending a few minutes hours browsing mumsnet! all the visitors have gone for a few days and in between feeds, i've got a tiny bit of me time!

i put some pics up of the young-fella-me-lad, who is very windy today! and v. snotty...

i'm trying to decide what type of cake my stomach is now...

lemon meringue pie - swirly, slightly wrinkled surface with wobbly underneath?

perhaps!

Lovely photos Crystyl I think the ones where they look they are deep in thought or pondering are brilliant.

As the others have said jjkm stay strong, you and your girls have been through so much but little steps are putting you in the right direction.

Bubba I think on the sleep front we are being led into a false sense of security. In his first 4 days he had about 6 hours sleep so I think he is just catching up. We did wake him once for a 2am feed and he refused to go back to sleep so now I will only feed him at night if he wakes up (which he did the other night but by the time dh had been downstairs to warm milk he'd gone back to sleep!) and I make sure he is having enough in the day to make up for his missed feed at night iyswim - (plus of course the shot of vodka I take before I do the last express of the day )

Bless you Zippy hope it clears soon, it can't be much fun :(

Right now heading off to do my Ermintrude impression!

Crysty he's lovely.
JJKM can't believe how long you've managed to express for your girls, just wanted to say well done you.
Anyone got any idea how to help get rid of really wrinkly skin on my stomach? I have managed to get back into one pair of pre pg jeans but still have a definite muffin top and wrinkly skin which is a bit yuk.
Zippy you poor thing, sore nipples are horrible. Hope it gets better soon.
Have finally managed to get Evan to sleep for more than 45 minutes, he's been on a major feeding mission today. Going to take the opportunity to chill out for a little while (hopefully).

Hi ladies, just dropping in briefly. Have had a pants afternoon, waterworks suddenly errupted and I couldn't stop crying for about 2 hours, mainly because I look so bloody awful that it's depressing.

I have to go out in public tomorrow to get George registered and I'm actually embarrassed for people to see me. I can't remember being this huge after my first c-section, I don't feel like my tummy will ever be normal again.

So far I have refused to look at my scar in the mirror as I don't want to look at my naked body, so I get DP to check it is healing ok.

Sorry to hear things are so hard at the moment jjkm, but at least the girls are making progress, no matter how slow. I hope things continue to improve steadily for them.

I have to admit that George is sleeping really well, but that's probably because he's formula fed and so doesn't need to feed as often as breast fed babies. So I can't claim to have a miracle on my hands sadly.

Cute pictures Crysty, Xavier looks as impressed with bath time as George is..i.e not very!

hi girls

read posts, but not much time to comment... although OUCH to zippy and photos lovely crysty - and don't worry about tears rock - they'll come and go....

awful nights sleep last night - 2 hours between feeds, hgiccups & wet back cos of badly put on nappy (DH).

Worrying about Dh going a week tomorrow....

M/W came this morning - and was going t discharge me but scar has slight oozing at edge and bed sore is worrying her. BUT jesse is doing well - which IMO is main thing - even if i am in agony some days. She asked about colour of blood and when i said bright red some days she told me off for doing too much...

Didn't do outing with Jesse as it was p*ssing it down, but me and Dh went to new tesco store which opened and got Haagen Dazs for £2! HURRAH!

Also giving Jesse 2 boobs every feed at moment - ugh - so feel like a cow! Parents are going away at weekend so can't wait.

Well done on the milk front jjkm - you sound such a wonderful mum!

pootle very impressive about jeans - i'm still in tracki bottoms and can't even contemplate trying on my mat jeans which were tight at the end - but then I have had a c-section (that's my excuse)

And love little kali covering you in poo lady

We received the birth certs yesterday, was so lovely to get them... and goign to get passpotr form sent off this week. Also received an info pack from the Cleft Lip team, explaining about the operation, etc - so bloody efficient! I'm dead impressed.

God i'm sick of aching! Although i'm pretty sure the m/w recommended Haagen Dazs... so off to have a bowl!

(oh - just noticed - where's the PIGGY icon??? or chocolate???

Forgot to report - the m/w got the belly button thingy off today! Hurrah! Although still quite grim with the weird bloody bit, but much better!

Oh JJKM you are doing an amazing job. I think so many people would have fallen apart by now and you are being so strong for your girls.

I can't believe some of you ladies (pootle and fuzzy) are getting back into pre-preg clothes! I bought some boots yesterday and couldn't believe that my feet are now a whole size bigger. I've gone from a size 5 to a size 6! Anyway they were expensive so don't want them to go down but at the same time I have my favourite boots still which are a size 5. Sigh!

Well bathtime for DS now (in the washing up bowl)

Rock, you have a few more weeks before you have to register lo don't you so if you don't feel up to going out then leave it another week or two until you feel a bit better.

Well, luckily the registry office is literally 2 mins drive up the road from my flat salt and DP's sis driving us, so I'll barely have to walk a few metres.

I have managed to find a pair of trackie bottoms that fit me, but by god I look like a hugely fat bag lady! I plan on finding a VERY loose top to wear tomorrow!

I have cried loads more tonight as I had a rather rubbish run in with my ex husband regarding access visits with DD and various other things that he was an arse about. It's made me realise yet again what an utter selfish shit he is! Thank God divorce was invented!

On the upside, we have bought the portrait of George taken in hospital and it is the most precious thing ever, he looks beautiful! :)

Oh dear... I think I've misjudged feeds today and now this Lo is cluster feeding; third feed of the hour. Wonder if either of us will be sleeping anytime soon.

I'm also living on yoga pants, pjs or leggings. Can't be doing with real clothes yet.

Need to go sort registration out this week though and passport. Hope it's not too much of a faff.

Great to hear everyone's news. I am currently rocking moses basket with foot - the only way we have managed to keep her in there. That and the swaddlepod - she wakes herself up with flailing arms if not! Have had bath and hand expressed away some blocked ducts - by christ it's non stop glamour the breastfeeding thing! Saskia is officially a greedy so-and-so, piled on 11oz in a week!! She is a whole lb heavier than her birth weight after 18days! But short and pinheaded so will see how that pans out :-)
Oh- stirring now for feed (again) - back soon

Hmmm any suggestions how I get Evan to feed from what he seems to regard as evil left boob as well as he does from lovely right boob? I've tried holding him both across my tummy and rugby ball style but there's no fooling him. I'm going to end up ridiculously lopsided if he keeps this up

I can't help with that one fuzzy but I also have a lazy left boob that when I express it's half of what I get from my right. Maybe there's an evolutionary thing that right is better than left!

Pootle you might be right! Anyone else have a lazy/ evil left boob? It's weird, Evan looks at me like I'm trying to poison him if I dare feed him from the left side sometimes, stick him on the right and he's blissfully happy.
He's finished feeding from the right so will try nappy change to wake him up then attempt the left, wish me luck

i have a disgusting right boob according to this one although can be fooled briefly with facing the wrong way or by sheer will power from me :( :) :( Bit emotionally draining though. had my first massive sob last night, had expressed a fair amount of milk and put it in the fridge thinking I had a few days at least but double checked and fridge-stored milk should be used within 48 hrs so this had all gone to waste and i had been really hoping for break. Haven't slept for more than 1.5 hrs in one go in over 2weeks and am close to not coping. Sobbed and sobbed, poor DH! Resorted to dummy and co-sleeping tonight just to steal an extra20 mins here and there. Sorry, very me, me, me post. Will catch up with others' soon, hope to have computer back today

Bubba don't blame you for feeling weepy, you must be exhausted. I'm sure your DH understands. Evan has had a dummy since he was a few days old so you hung on much longer than I did. Hope you're managing to get some sleep now.

no idea how to resolve the single boob preference... except maybe lying down and feeding?

i co-sleep as DS will not sleep in moses basket overnight. he's fine during the day in there, but absolute hissy fits extraordinnaire if I dare put him in it after 10pm. I swear he'd rather sleep on his changing mat than in his basket.

I had two horrible nights trying to persuade him - both of us were tired and miserable in the morning - then gave up and we co-sleep.

now getting two 3 hour blocks of sleep plus a daytime nap for an hour and it's made all the difference.

bubba - my MW said not to beat myself up about co-sleeping, but just to make sure I minimised risks, i.e use sheets not duvet, or keep duvet well away from baby, no drinking/smoking and lie facing the baby.

I also made a little pen from pillows to stop any attempted rolling/movement away from me.

other ideas that didn't work for me, but MW suggested were: hot water bottle in basket to warm it up before baby goes in, music or white noise on low in the room, something of mine in the cot - top/breastpad etc, put him down whilst still awake...

Oh Bubba you have my sympathies. I think I can cope with just about anything except a lack of sleep. Until last night I don't think i'd had more than 3 hours but think I got 3.5 so feeling quite energised this morning. I have to say that is probably down to your winding advice: little and lots so thanks :)

Okay well I need to catch up on more sleep while lo is napping and then I really will write out thank you cards and post them. Having a baby is a little like Christmas sin't it. Everyday there's been a parcel and card .

fuzzy and pootle I started off having the opposite problem with difficult right booby and lovely left booby. Luckily difficult right booby has turned a corner and is much better now. Thank god!!

Hi ladies, just popping in. Sorry to hear about the lack of sleep some of you are having to cope with, I am lucky that George seems to be able to let us sleep for 4 hours or so. And I'm even luckier as lovely DP gets up and does the feeding and changing at the moment.

Yesterday and last night were a bit tricky though, George had (and seems to still have) horrendous trapped wind and he was near enough inconsolable at times yesterday. I was so :( for him, poor little mite. He has done a HUGE amount of pooing this morning though, so we are hoping this has sorted his problem.

We registered his birth this morning at 9.30 and because of my stupid swollen feet I had to wear slippers.....in public!! Mortified doesn't even come close. I am fed up to the back teeth with my feet and legs being so swollen, the skin on my feet is getting sore and is flaking off as it's so tight. I NEED to get rid of this fluid!

HV is coming at 12 to do George's hearing test, so I am hoping he doesn't have another trapped wind session and go bonkers .

oh rock! the fact that you are mortified by slippers in public demonstrates that you DO have your dignity still! It would be more worrying like me not to care at all!

do you drink coffee or coke? both diuretics so should make you wee alot and get rid of any excess water. don't go mad tho.

xavi is also full of trapped wind - last nigth and today. have now fed him half a dozen times in the last three hours as he thinks he's full, then finds it's wind.

am using bubba's winding tips tho - thank you so much!

very proud baby put on 4oz in his first week, and is now growing out of his tiny baby clothes - he was 6lb 11oz at birth.

right... ,must make soup for lunch

Bubba have just read your milk storage problem.

I have a leaflet given to me by the hospital in association with the NHS, Unicef and UK Baby Friendly Initiative and it says that milk can be stored for 5 days in a fridge of 4 degrees c or less at the back of the fridge.

Alternatively if you have a home bargains near you, I bought some steralised milk pouches that you can freeze and was told to freeze them in 25ml as you can defrost them under a warm tap quite quickly and you don't get any waste.

Don't beat yourself up about it.

After yesterday and telling you all that Jacob sleeps, he decided last night that he wouldn't! Screamed from 12 - 3 then slept for 2 hours, luckily I think he wore himself out so then slept til 10.30 and after excessively playing take that when I was pg, he now falls asleep to their music!

oh bugger pootle! Hey ho, will know for next time, lachlan still not at birth weight but only 1oz off so at least my self-torture is doing its work!