April 2011-kicking back drinking lactulose cocktails and riding the maternity surfboards

[Petalouda]

Post-natal thread for all the antenatal April 2011 Family!

Share the birth stories, the baby blues and everything else.

How funny Cycle - fame!

I have various slings the one i'm using at the moment is a 'pouch sling' from Funky Slings, in an African print material, not on their website anymore.

I find it very easy to put DD in, and she seems very happy & sleeps in it.

Also have a ring sling, Maya wrap & others...
I found the wrap made me too hot so not that keen to use it right now with the weather being warm anyway.

Neighbour popped round earlier, with the most gorgeous cashmere blanket for DD, it's lovely :)

DD being super-hungry-baby this evening, so best feed her, again...

Aaaargh DS will not sleep. He hasn't slept properly for nearly 12 hours and he's been feeding constantly. This is a growth spurt isn't it? What can I do?! I thought they were supposed to feed and then sleep deeply!

You can join the elite club of MNers who've been lazily quoted in the DM, cycle! Sometimes they even wrote entire stories about what we're talking about on here....

I have a wrap that I've not dared put DS in yet and a ring sling I'm very slowly getting to grips with.

Oh Frak, we had a couple of days like that, I lived on chocolate!

Last night H went 11-2.30 4-7.15, a vast improvement on recent events. I'm still dreading DP going away this coming weekend though

Just having a moments peace waiting for visitors to arrive. have been lurking past few days but not had chance to post.

G slept from 11:30-4 last night, then managed to feed and change his nappy and get him back down for 4:45 and I had another 2 hours sleep. Wow its amazing how much better you feel after a bit of sleep. I am well aware that this could all change and I've probably totally jinxed myself now!

During the day he only will settle when held which is fine when I can pass him to DH or someone else. Seriously thinking of purchasing a sling, but there are so many not sure what to get. we already have a 2nd hand baby bjorn but he doesn't seem comfy in it. One of my friends had a connecta I think which seems good. or I'm not sure if one of the wrap slings would be better.

DH has just announced he has to go away on business to Ireland for 4 nights in early June, and he will get back the evening before we are due to go on hol to a static caravan in Wales. So I will have G and dd and also have to do all the packing (well I usually do the vast majority anyway).
Having some concerns already about a caravan hol with an 8 week old baby. We seem to get through about 4 changes of clothes for him every day, so how on earth will I manage on hol without a washing machine? I don't have 30 odd babygros. Think I will spend a lot of time handwashing stuff to festoon around the caravan to dry. i certainly think we will need to buy a roofbox for the car.

Hello all

Sorry for the radio silence of late - I've offered zero value recently but have been struggling a bit. Can I share my List of Great Crapness with you and get it all down here as there's nowhere else to offload? Forgive the moaning in advance, but in no particular order of crapness....

1. Feeding. My nipple is now healed and the thrush seems to be abating, which means that each feed is no longer agony. However, I'm struggling with it all as it's relentless when trying to deal with the girls. I'm feeding for about an hour each time once you factor in nappy changes, burps, waking the baby up from his milk-induced stupor... I'm giving EBM for the 11pm feed and middle of the night feed (he settles more quickly if he's not feeding direct from me) but otherwise he's on me. I haven't given formula as a midwives words of doom are ringing in my ears still. Basically I was warned that because he inhaled meconium and had such a tough start in life I need to try and breast feed him exclusively for as long as possible. Apparently the meconium inhalation also puts him at a higher risk of developing reflux and breastfeeding will reduce the likelihood/severity of this. So I'm on a massive guilt trip. It's not great.

1. The girls. What can I say? They've been great and delightful with the baby (really loving and helpful) but they've regressed. We have tears and tantrums and whinings from the second they wake up to the second they go to sleeps. As is always the case with twins, if one is being nice the other is taking her turn to be difficult and vice-versa so it is NON STOP. I know why; I know it's because they're feeling unsettled and displaced and this is their way of getting attention (after all, even negative attention is better than nothing...) but obviously because I'm tired and preoccupied and frazzled I'm not handling it very well and am snapping and cross the whole time. Which of course makes them whine more and look for negative attention more. So we limp on in our hideous vicious circle. I feel so sad for them as before the baby arrived things were fine and dandy and now I've inflicted this on them. And because I haven't got over the operation yet (Moan Point Number 4) I can't take them out to spend quality time with them alone, so the situation is even worse.

1. The physical side. Where do I begin? The night sweats (hideous - drenched in ice cold rivers of sweat when I wake), the leaking torpedo boobs, thrush nipples, jelly stomach. I know it's short term and all for the greater good but I do feel I'll never be me again. I cant wear trousers yet as my stomach is too painful (see below) so I'm living in leggings and feeding vests. It's not good for the style mojo.

1. Caesarean Scar. This has been horrible. I'm a month in tomorrow and I still can't walk normal distances. My stomach on the right hand side is just too painful. It feels like a pulled muscle, which I think it is. Obviously I need to rest it but a house with a newborn and two unsettled four year olds does not lend itself to R&R in bed. I haven't been to the doctor as they'll just tell me to rest. My community midwife was hopeless (one visit on day 8 and nothing since then) - she looked at my scar from the other side of the room and said it looked fine.

1. Miscellaneous. I'm crap at changing nappies. The poo (mustard seedy liquid) goes everywhere and I end up using a billion wipes. Plus, I get pee'd on every time as the baby has an uncanny knack for weeing as soon as his nappy is peeled back. I'm a total amateur!

I would moan on but the baby is grizzling upstairs. As usual I have no idea why so I'm going to investigate. Thanks for reading this. It has helped to get it down.

Hope everyone else is okay.

...screaming fit due to lost dummy . Off to catch up on posts now, baby permitting, and discover everyone else's progress.

Ahhh Kits, i was feeling all crap yesterday/last night too, like so many different things are wrong/have gone wrong, it's not fair and i don't even have a list that compares to you.
Re scar - now it may be a pulled muscle & the doc may well say to just rest but really a month in i think you should go and see the doc to make sure.
4 weeks post my c-s (admittedly not a rush emergency) i was driving and feeling remarkably human.

Nipples - can sympathise, now it's my left that hurts most. I am a peer supporter yet I can't seem to help myself, sometimes she just doesn't latch on properly and i end up telling her off - like that'll help!

She has terrible nappy rash and it may be thrush, though neither of us have enough of the signs to be sure. I think i will check with the other supporters on Tues morning at my BF group. Feel incapable of making a decision on my own.

My boys are being ok at the moment, but DH goes back to work tomorrow so who knows what'll go pear-shaped next. (have check up for DS1's leg tomorrow, hopefully they won't want to remove cast, reset leg & re-cast as was threatened when appt was made).

Am going to have to swallow pride and make sure i do ask people for help...

Kits my scar is also taking its time to heal. I'm 6 weeks on today and just finishing a weeks antibiotics as I think it was slightly infected. It looks much better but I don't want to push things too much and make it sore and bleed again. I'll be interested to see what the doctor says at my 6 week check tomorrow. Big hugs for you, at least you know why the girls are playing up...

Frak we've also had 12 hour marathon feeding sessions. Sometimes I've wondered if M wasn't really hungry but something else was wrong but she doesn't know how to communicate something else so just roots for food because that's the only thing she knows how to ask for. I think that's what was going on when she didn't like having her head on a cold sheet.

Kits more nipple sympathies here too. Currently my right is torture when S latches on and is so tender when things rub against it. I'm paranoid that I've got nipple thrush to go with the mastitis on that side though I haven't spotted any signs of thrush on S so maybe it's just the nipple taking a battering.

We also have the nappy change pee issues. I've taken to covering S from the waist down with a flannel square so that if (when) he pees it's caught and absorbed rather than soaking me, him and the surrounding area!

And as for style mojo, don't worry due to nipple issues above I spend a lot of time pottering around with boobs hanging out and PJ bottoms on. Such a stunning look I'm sure

Frakk I second the chocolate and

Jen Yay for sleep! I got to sleep from 9.30pm - 1am last night, was bliss.

JKS I've done the telling S off when he doesn't latch properly, tis frustrating as he sometimes latches perfectly before I've even had chance to help him on!

Cycle Daily Fail fame, that is one of MN higher honours!

Evening ladies! A couple of days of highs and lows here!

PIL and SIL arrived yesterday morning at 10.30 for a visit. I was under the impression they would be gone by about 2. At 4.30 they were still here, MIL wanted to go, but SIL bit her head off saying they were staying another couple of hours. DH managed to get them to go at 5 by saying we didn't have food in to feed them tea and with a 2 hour journey infront of them they had probably make a move. I felt really guilty as FIL is very ill, much worse than I thought he was. He was so proud to meet B, god just thinking about it makes me cry.

TMI Alert - I appear to have lost bowel continence! I've been quite constipated the last few days but the lactulose has worked a bit too well

In better news, milk supply is out stripping demand today! I have a little stockpile in the fridge! I know the expressing malarky is very time consuming, but I'm seeing results so its worth it.

Staples removed from CS scar yesterday too. What a difference it's made. I don't feel like it could burst at any minute. MW actually said I had had a reaction to the metal in the staples, which would explain the uncomfortableness of it.

This might jinx everything, but all B does is sleep eat and poop, lots of poop! He hardly ever cries. He feeds at around 11pm, we go to bed then, he wakes between 3.30 and 4 for a feed then goes back down until 7ish when one of us gets up and lets the other sleep for a little longer. This isn't going to last is it?

Those asking about slings I have a Mobi Wrap which seems to be really good. haven't had him out in it yet, but it feels very secure. An they come in loads of colours.

We got a bouncy chair yesterday from the ILs. What a wonderful thing it is!

Lis R seems to have the very same sleeping pattern as baby B!! It's great isn't it, am also waiting for it all to go pear shaped and more sleepless nights to ensue!!

Glad your milk supply is on the up, I'm now going for a 2 hourly expessing regime to get mine up a bit so I can start storing milk and exclusively feed exressed milk. :)

Had a bit of a shocker of a night last night as I was unsettled (kept pooing, just before he was about to drop off - arrrgghhh), then ds2 woke up a couple of times too. DH dealt with ds2, but it was still disruptive.

frakk - when mine have had a growth spurt, during the growth spurt they feed and don't sleep. But when the feedathon is over, they then do the sleeping.

kits - I'm with you regarding the whining and negative attention. There has been lots of it here and if there's one thing that drives me insane it is whining. I know why he's doing it, but by god it tests my patience to the limit and beyond.

Are you still hand pumping MrsWajs? My hands wrists are still aching from my 2 days at it.

I was Lis but got an electric pump today, although so far it seems to be producing the same amount as I was getting manually it's just a little easier but the bloody thing is loud!!
I feel like a dairy cow but tis all for the greater good!!

yep, DH has started calling me daisy! See the tips on my thread here as it has really helped increase my supply. i'm getting double now.

Frakk - he won't sleep while the spurt is occurring but it won't last long and then he should start sleeping again.

kits - I would go to the Drs. I really really sympathise though, I couldn't walk properly until DS1 was 7 weeks old, it was horrendous. Do get it checked though incase you have an infection or something which can be dealt with.
Can anyone come and help you with the girls for a day or two so that you can rest?

T is still not sleeping. Aaaarrrrggghh. He will snooze happily when being held, but hates to be put down anywhere - we swaddle, use a dummy etc etc and it is hit and miss to say to least.
Really should be trying to get to bed now, who know what tonight will bring.

Kits poor you. I find it hard on the days I have dd and G to look after. She is lovely with G but is very demanding and attention seeking but this is to be expected really. She no longer has my undivided attention, and I think gets a bit bored. We will really need to find some kind of structured activity for her that gets her out of the house. We have fairly recently moved so I don't have any mummy friends locally either. I think having twins must be doubly hard and I don't have caesarian scar pain to deal with either!

Is there anyone that could help you out with the twins or take them out so you could get a rest?

How was everyones night? hopefully some good sleep was had. G was awake y/day from about 7am till 3pm. We had visitors and I think all the noise was just too much stimulation. He cried and cried and sucked on me without really feeding . Eventually he fell asleep in the pram when we went out for a walk. I was exhausted from cuddling him, cooking lunch for 5 adults and 4 kids and generally running round.

Health visitor coming later to weigh G. I think he has probably put on weight. Although I won't be surprised if we have similar issues as we had with dd who dropped from the 50th to below the 2nd centile over the months. The hv started to get really twitchy which worried me despite the fact I could see dd was healthy just skinny! I stopped taking her to be weighed once she got to 6 months in age and knew she was fine and growing ok.

Going to have a look online later to try and purchase a sling.

I have cracked using my Kari Me. Thank god, and hurrah for having two hands again. And silence, while T sleeps in it.

OMG Kits and ILTMIMI - the whining! I can't take much more of it. DS has just discovered that it is the best noise for getting my attention immediately. I want to give him away when he whines. Those with more than two please tell me this feeling will ease/go away as I get more sleep??!!!

Ali I'm envious at your wise Kari Me ways. Was there a trick to it? I really want to use it over the Baby Bjorn but for now it is still foxing me and reducing me to tears.

In better news though, I bought one of these swaddling pods yesterday and rather than taking 2hrs after each feed in the night to resettle, S resettled in under half hour each time and even went back into her crib awake and settled herself. Of course not expecting it to last tonight but for one good night it was maybe worth the tenner!

I'm finding it hard with two as well. DS1 only goes to preschool two afternoons a week for 2.5 hours each time, so mostly he is here with me. He has actually coped really well, but he nearly always suddenly decides that I must come and build him a train track, or help with lego or something the moment I've sat down to feed T.
He is watching too much TV, and spending too much time playing cbeebies games on my laptop but it won't last forever.

caramel - where are you positioning it - waist or hips? Based on the pictures I was trying to have it sat on my hips, but I think because I'm quite curvy it was riding up to sit on my waist and then the fabric was too lose and I didn't feel that T was secure. When I start with it on my waist I can get it much much tighter, and then it is fine. I've just walked DS1 to preschool with T in the sling, and then gone all the way up to the post office to return a parcel and come home again and T is still snoozing away in it! I'm now having a slice of cake and a cuppa with him still in it before I unwrap him so that he'll wake for a feed.

God I'm so excited about my sling arriving tomorrow.. I may actually be able to leave the house! Up until a couple of days ago george was feeding then sleeping for 3-4 hrs at a time in the day (not so much at night but thats another story!) but the last couple of days I cannot get him to go to sleep at all. It was when my mum was here he was such a good napper and as it was when she was putting him down it'smaking me feel very inadequate. Night time is still a bit of a disaster too.. just buying a swaddling pod nnow in the hope it helps! Even if it only works once I'll pay a tenner for that!

B hates being swaddled, will just scream as soon as you try to get his arms by his side. He also doesn't like lying flat on his back during the day for naps, so the bouncer has become the nap site. Is that ok? nI'm not going to give him a malformed spine or anything?

I was up with B until 1am, DH did the feed at 5, I had to get up to pump at 7 and then slept through until midday. God I needed it!

We are thinking about makingour first family outing today, just to Matalan, I need to get some nursing friendly tops! But it is quite daunting!

MrsWajs sorry it has taken me a while to reply, haven't been on MN over the weekend. To answer your question RE prolapse, I just felt a bit like a bit was slightly falling out, it actually isn't as bad as that, it is more like my insides have moved down slightly and so everything on the outside seems to be slightly further forward....lol...don't really know how to describe it. I got DH to look without telling him what he was looking for, and he said, umm it looks different, I don't remember this bit being here....lol. It feels kind of heavy at times particularly if I have been more active that day. I wish I could describe it better but hope that helps. If in doubt ask the doctor but I was told to give it few months of pelvic floors before worrying.

Had some horrible news today, a friend of ours that works with DH has just lost her baby, she was around 20 weeks I think :(

Such sad news for your friend stuffed

Thanks for the tip on the sling Ali. I'll play around with where I'm putting it round and see if it helps. I'm determined to crack it.

Lucie it's more than likely it was a conincidence that your mum was around when George was sleeping well, don't worry he's probably just having a couple of days where he's more alert and awake, he'll go back to sleeping soundly again soon. Hope the sling helps too. Yesterday I was one of those women you see pushing an empty pram with the baby in the sling because S decided the pram was not for her.

Lis S doesn't sleep in her cot in the daytime yet either. She's either on me, in the sling or in the bouncy chair so I hope the curved back thing is not a concern. DS didn't sleep in his cot in the day until he was about 12mths old and he can walk and isn't hunchbacked so I've been basing my lack of concerns on him. Anyone with more scientific knowledge though please come forward in case I'm abusing my child by not having her lay flat for all her naps!

LisMcA - am sure the spine issue is the same as the sling, ie not a problem at all! I sympathise with these poor babes - what mammal in their right minds would want to sleep in a completely prone position?!?! Face down on Mummy or something comparable seems so natural it's almost cruel to insist otherwise I'm beginning to feel (rod, back etc....)

Handy tip with sling - am finding that if I get S to sleep in the sling, which doesn't take long at all normally, I can then very carefully unwrap him and place him gently in my cot/carseat/pram of choice and 9/10 he doesn't wake up..... Sure he'll catch on soon.....