March 2011 - we made it!

[Muser]

The waiting is over, the babies are arriving. March 2011 mums, come on in your time is up.

Sorry loads of typos!

Thanks Cherub - i was thinking that she was making herself over tired and then needing me to rock her to sleep at that point. trying to avoid her needing to be rocked but when she gets to that stage i have no other choice. It is nice for the more experienced to tell me I'm on the right track every now and again. I'm going to try and give her the opportunity to sleep (calm environment so nothing to interest her) every few hours - I could do with being able to do stuff in the house myself.

Bought myself a baby sling from snugbaby but not really sure how it fits a small baby comfortably, tried it yesterday and for the first time I was able to make myself some dinner and carry it to the sofa rather than rushing it at the kitchen table. Strangely they sent me a discount code for if I buy another but why I would want another when I've just bought one is beyond me, so if anyone wants the code for 10% off then the code is - SL_SNUG.

Anyway - must go, planning a trip into work today to introduce LO which means for once I have to leave the house before 3pm. I have a lot of respect and admiration for those of you with other children who manage the school run everyday!!! I don't know how you do it!

1Catherine1 - with DS1 I NEVER EVER left the house before 2-3pm if at all.

day sleep - Lara is sleeping on the move or in the sling when I do DS's dinner. Gonna be using the sling a LOT around the house I think!!

Better at night but still taking ages to settle.... She's had lots of happy awake time today though and nearly cracked a smile at DS - I'm sure he's going to get her first smile!!

mixedmama and catherine very reassuring that it's hard for you to leave the house before early afternoons too. Even getting a shower is a job and a half isn't it.

I think I'll be basically house/village-bound until these hour-long feeds stop in any case. It's a bit limiting!

My advice for getting out of the house is to just go for it. Feed, change nappy, get baby in pram/sling and run. The distraction is often enough to settle them. Mine used to cry but within a minute she'd usually be fine. And if she really didn't settle I'd sometimes go home. In the early weeks I was just trying to get a walk more than anything else.

Hello - another middle of the night post...

K - wow at weight gain - what are you eating drinking I need some as only expressing now and fairly pitiful amounts - need to do it more regularly!! But where does time go?

I am better at getting out of house this time but still faff for ages and if I need to be out early it means showering before DH and DS leave. DS is still at nursery so am spoiled by time with LO - didn't want to mess with routine too much only to have to change everything again for school starting in sept - he is not massively keen on change.

So pushchairs/ prams - what do you have is it good? Have dusted down loola from first time but have new maxi cosi car seat, but tbh wheels on loola are knackered and skid about a bit and frame a bit wobbly (walked a lot with Ds and intend to again) so looking into new wheels as 11 months of that will drive me mad. Am half thinking quinny zapp xtra but nit sure if robust enough for lots of use or perhaps quinny buzz?? Any opinions? Figuring might as well sort sooner to max use. Would love an iCandy but cost too much. Live in a big city and half mile to nearest village/sub district and 1 mile to bigger parade of shops plus impending school run so will be walking lots.

So any thoughts ladies?

Right back to bed I hope!!

Happy 'woyal wedding' as DS seems to say.

Jx

Ps settling in day also hit and miss here. Mornings virtually no sleep from LO max 3 short 10 -15 min naps a d only if being held or in sling. After late am feed normally good sleep until 2-3 ish but only if in move in car seat or pram and much less good if in carry cot even if moving (probably thd slurry wheels) late pm early evening much crying wants to be held dummy invaluable! 7-11 she will sleeP but only on us - put in basket etc instantly awake. Bug then bizarrely quite happy to go in basket (which is in cot to prevent DS knocking over) at night. Funny but lovely little creatures ;-)))))

hello, is anyone using a dummy while bf & when did you start? I'm going to give it a go but worried about causing nipple confusion (and a lifetime dependency lol). Are they ok to use at night time (as in do you have to supervise the use of them or can I leave Arthur to suck away whilst I hopefully sleep?)

Another thing to tick off my list "of things i'd never do"

Petty - I have been told you can use a dummy when bf is established so as long as baby is feeding well then go for it. I think I also read that having a dummy at night is supposed to actually reduce the risk of cot death so it is perfectly safe to leave LO sucking away although there is someone on her (I forget who) who gives LO a dummy until they fall asleep and then take it away - I suppose it that works it could stop a dependency. My HV told me though that if I used a dummy I'd have to take her off it again by 6 months. My LO doesn't want it though...

Jupiter - I have the quinny buzz (I also fell for the iCandy but couldn't justify the cost) which I love although worryingly my LO has nearly grown out of the carrycot already, I'm sure she'll be out of it by 3 months. What I love about it though is the toddler seat faces both ways and almost lies flat too so it won't be a big change when she moves to the other one. I also find the adjustable handles useful for my tall OH so he can have a go - it was one of the few he could use without hurting his back.

petty the dummy has been a life-saver for us. I always swore I wouldn't use one but because Elijah is such a guzzler for comfort and feeding he wouldn't sleep without a dummy at the moment. I'm hoping that when he's a bit more aware and distractable he won't need it but at the moment ( 4 weeks) it's saved us! He's still breast feeding with no problems at all. We leave him with the dummy and he gripes a bit but drifts of to sleep and it generally falls out by itself.

Jupiter I don't think it's anything I'm eating! It's just that the demand is so high that it keeps the milk flow up! It's really helped me lose weight too. Am back in my pre-pregnancy trousers and that feels brilliant as I put on a hefty 4.5 stone!

Hi all,

It's comforting to read we have the same woes :) DD2 is a grazer and light sleeper and hope she settles into her own routine soon. Sleep is a distant memory at the moment. Does anyone have experience of odd lumps appearing? Two have appeared in my underarm, and t'internet suggests it could be a blocked milk duct. I've put off pestering the GP but as it hurts to move my arm, I guess I should get it checked to be on the safe side. Hot compress and massage has not helped so far.

I watched bits of the wedding, whilst making fairy cakes for a royal tea party at relations in the afternoon. Kate's dress was gorgeous and DD1 kept pointing at the tv saying 'princess', however DD1 was wearing her rapunzel dress and homemade tiara so looked more of a princess . Had a great time and DD1 run around with cousins and DD2 snuggled up to lots of adults.

We had a good royal wedding too - DS made a crown at stay and play last week and hasn't taken it off since! He was beyond bored watching it on the telly though. Thankfully we have my mum and brother here at the moment so they took turns amusing him! I loved Kate's sister's dress, HOW thin was she?!

re weight loss - I've ground to a halt with half a stone to go - I'm back in to my (stretchy) pre-preg jeans but they hurt! I have a wedding to go to at the end of May, god knows what I'll wear what with needing boob access too.

Kagey - I've had a few lumps too - have you tried massaging whilst baby is feeding? The other tip with the under arm lump that my midwife gave me is to feed with the rugby ball position so you can knead the lump - apparently the baby drains the area that its chin points to first. (Hence why you normally get lumps on the outer bit of boob and under arm) Also I shifted one stubborn lump by moving boob around whilst baby was feeding - I think it unblocked something by moving a duct up or something.

Now Lara is one month old, I'm going to start trying to settle her earlier in the evening, as when I'm on my own (DH working late for the next few weeks) I'll have to put her down to sort DS out and settle him too. I'm thinking about starting that shush/pat thing where you settle them in their crib whilst they are awake - I remember it working really well for DS around 6 or 7 weeks when we were beyond desperate for ways to settle him! It means going to her every time she cries and soothing her but putting her back awake, so no leaving to cry. I give myself about 2 days of attempting this before giving up!!!

Lozario - shushpat sounds good I might try that.

I also have a wedding that spans the next 2 weekends. It is my BIL and I am married to the oldest son so I dont need to just find something to wear but I will be stared at all dayas his SIL and have a role to play. I need to buy Asian clothes which are difficult to find fitting at the best of times since even when I was slim I was always curvy and now I need a size 16 it is impossible. I am also quite fussy. Nightmare really, my SILs call eveyrday o see if i have anything yet. So my sympathies.

Weightloss - every week I decide this is the week as I am trying to avoid actually joining back up to WW but working on the premise that I already know the habits. So this week I am just cutting back, stop binging on choc (I kid you not 2-3 kit kats a day most when I wake up in the night), one toast instead of two etc and eating from a bowl or half a plate full of salad and veggies with every meal.

DS2 (3) being challenging at the moment so exercise is difficult to fit in but am hoping to start a Bollywood dance class in a few weeks.

Oh and Loazrio half a stone, I have just under 3 whole stone.

Kagey I've had a couple of lumps/hard bits that were a bit red too but I just fed through them, and massaged a bit. I had one night where I accidently used the same boob for three feeds (sleep deprivation) so the other boob was rock hard the next day! The expresser helped with that a bit.

If it's just a blocked duct you can feed/massage through it. If it's mastitis you'd feel ill and flu-ey so just keep an eye out for that if you can't work through the lumps.

I'm so happy to be in month 2! Can't wait for this 6 week time when things magically get a bit better. My mum is heading back to Wales tomorrow after I've had her around coming over a few times a week since the birth. Absolutely dreading it. Can't think about it.

KPidgeon you'll be fine - at this point it's just about getting to the end of each day (and night!) for all of us! I have my mum here til tmro, then she's back again in a couple of weeks, then after that once a month. Will yours come back again soon? I feel better knowing I've just got 2 weeks on my own and then more help again! She mainly plays with DS all day but also does all our meals whilst she's here! God knows how we'll eat in the next 2 weeks!

Lozario - Get your mum to freeze some meals for you. :) I got through the last of my frozen meals last week so yesterday (made the most of OH being off work) I made my v. tasty chicken risotto and froze 3 meals worth. Will probably do a chilli at some point this week too to build my stocks up. Or that is the plan at least.

Catherine she's done us a massive lasagne that will last us until Lara leaves home!! Or at least until Monday....

Hmm. Elijah has suddenly gone from mammoth hour-long feeds to 20 minutes max! I think ( I hope) it's that he's got more adept at getting milk quicker. Can I check with you ladies what your feeding habits are? Elijah is 4 weeks + 2 days. Feeding every 2-3 hours maximum and now down to around 20 mins per feed.

Thanks all. Hope you all had lovely sunny sundays. My achievement today was driving around the village twice. I've got my licence but didn't use it much in London so am a nervous driver. Now need to drive whilst living in the sticks with a baby!

hi kpidgeon Rosa was exactly the same, at 4 weeks suddenly went from an hour to 20 mins also, i was really worried that she wasn't eating enough but had put on plenty of weight when i got her weighed. She's now 8 weeks and feeds for about 15mins only, altough sometimes up to 30 mins and about every 3 hours.

thanks all for discussions on daytime sleeping, nice to know i'm not the only one! I am now putting her in the sling/pushchair and going for hour long walks whenever i think she needs a nap, either that or taking her to bed and letting her fall asleep with my boob in her mouth. she is desperate to suck all the time, but isn't very keen with a dummy. She is just finding her thumb and trying thumb sucking, however gets frustrated as can't yet coordinate getting it into her mouth properly!! very sweet to watch :)

Thanks ladies for your help! The lumps are still there but don't hurt as much so that's good :) not feeling unwell either.

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!

I've been stressing about what my LO should be doing and when, and why she isn't etc etc and a friend gave me this poem....it made me cry a little bit but i loved it and actually it helped me...thought i'd share it - sorry if you are not a poem stype of person!!

Baby steps
When I am ready, I will smile. You'll have to wait a little while. Its one of the first things I learn to do, I want it to be just right for you.

When I am ready, I'll sleep through. There may be small things you can do, To help me do it, but you'll soon see, That in the end, it's down to me.

When I am ready, I will crawl. And then you'll have no peace at all. Into everything I'll be, No time for your nice cup of tea!

When I am ready I will walk. And when I'm ready, I will talk. Then that's it, big milestones done. Though you will still cherish ones to come.

And when you're old and up I've grown, And maybe perhaps children of my own,
You'll look at them and you will sigh - How fast the time has passed you by!

Was I really as small as that, Helpless and tiny, in booties and hat? And much as you tried to enjoy each part, There was that wish inside your heart.

Will you ever get there? You used to say, As you wished my babyhood away.
The others are doing it, why aren't you? Because it's not my time - if only you knew...

That all the worry was a waste of time, The decision of when, was always mine. I did it all in the end, nice and steady. I told you I'd do it when I was ready!

Ah nello that's a lovely poem! Thanks for sharing :)

nello I love that poem - it 's brought tears to my eyes. Clearly my hormones are still all over the place!

Things aren't going brillantly here - I feel i've taken steps backwards with bf or maybe I just expected to be able to do it by week 4. Also I can't feed in public well - she latches on wrong and only takes little sucks before falling off the breast. I think this is because i'm not relaxed as i'm worried about exposing myself. I even find it hard at other peoples houses (all my friends are childless and even in front of family it feels weird) All this means that my confidence of going out during week 3 is gone and I just want to stay in this week.