arrived in March, April, May, June and July......the Due in June ladies babies have finally all arived

[moomin156]

The endless cycle of feeding, winding, pooing and crying has finally arrived......and we all couldnt be happier :) The due in June babies have all been promoted to the post natal thread at last

Thanks for comments re rubbish nights sleep. halle also heard that sleep encourages sleep, unfortunately the napping has been rubbish today, going to put them to bed a bit earlier (around half 7) so fingers crossed. Luckily nurse Ciara is much better at sleeping but if she is going to have a bad night it seems to be the opposite night to Naomi (not sure if that is good or bad).

Does anyone just leave their baby crying? I'm rubbish at it. Let Ciara cry for 40mins today (with the odd pop in to 'settle' her). It didnt work she just ended up with red eyes and she was doing the quick sobbing thing that made me feel so mean. Maybe it is too early.

merlion no ideaa how people cope with a baby and another child. Hope DS starts to get used to the new LO sooner rather than later.

bananarama glad you are starting to cope a little more now.

nurse I've never watched so much tv in my life- when I'm bfing and expressing there really is little else to do (apart from go on the laptop- progressed from using my toe to surf now have a cushion on my knee and DD's positioned so I've got a little hand movement). I've started sky plusing films because day time tv is becoming soul destroying. I get very little done in a day- slight chance if my mum comes over but if I'm on my own just about manage to find time to eat.

Hi all. Welcome to all the new joiners - sorry I cant name check you all but its nice to have you all with us.

Thanks for the suggestion re mobile hairdressers, I hadnt thought of that - will make enquiries.

Ive had a bad few days health wise. I dont know what's going on - if anyone recognises the symptoms please feel free to suggest what is wrong.....sudden boob engorgement after a few weeks of relative stability. Its extremely painful but no hot spots. Headaches. Weakness in joints like flu is coming. Ringing in ears. Extreme tiredness. Loose poo. No temperature, bp and pulse is normal. Any suggestions? Wondered if (apart form the boob bit) I have picked up something from Wills nappies? I think the boob bit might be a red herring and caused by a tight bra.

Ok, time to wake him up for some more nipple abuse.

Clarkiee I wouldn't leave DD to cry (she's 1 month) as she would only get more worked up and would never go to sleep. Maybe with a slightly older child who could understand when you told them it's sleep time it would work, or maybe other babies would eventually drop off and it's just my naughty willful child who won't?!

X posts Jasmine, don't know but I would let a hcp know asap as you don't want to risk getting really ill. Might be nothing of course but better to get checked out.

Have you tried expressing to relieve the engorgement?

Hi jasmine Could be anaemia. Have you spoken to your mw?

Clarkiee Have you had a chance to listen to hear whether your babies have different cries for different reasons? Percy gets shouty and jerky when he's tired and his hungry cry is more like coughing. Trapped wind makes him squeaky. I can't remember when they start crying because they need attention (in a good 'I need to interact with other humans' way). We used to time DD1 to see how long she cried at bed time and she always cried herself to sleep in about 10 mins. But she is still a bit of an odd child. I've not done that with any of the others as they just cried more and more until we picked them up. DD1 cried to be put down. I suppose that this is a rambling way of saying that there is usually a reason why they cry (obvious) and sometimes the best course of action is to do nothing.

Jasmine - I would ring the GP for appt in the morning if you are feeling no better, not sure what it could be but it sounds very unpleasant!

Wii your ds sounds like he is doing similar to my dd. The little cooing sounds they make are so cute Been getting some smiles as well, as has DS but not DH!

Hi ladies, been a while :) Welcome to the new ladies, and congratulations!

Am impressed with those of you returning to bedroom action. DH and I had our wedding anniversary yesterday but DD is only 3 weeks old today, so we were restricted to a certain method of inducing labour discovered on the antenatal thread and other sorts of activities . Waiting for six week check to do anything more invasive

Jealous of the haircuts! My roots are appalling...

jasmine I hope you start feeling better soon. No advice here but I second what the others have said.

I'm a bit worried about DD. You may remember I freaked out about toxoplasmosis when I was 30 weeks pregnant because I gardened without gloves on and ate a sandwich before noticing I had mud on my hands (I had washed them but haphazardly and clearly not properly). I went to the doctor who said the chances of contracting TP were so low it wasn't worth a blood test and not to worry about it. MW said the same. I put it out of my mind because we don't have cats and I'd never seen any cat faeces in our garden. But DH told me today there's a load of cat poo out there. Cue googling from me. Really worried now as most babies born with congenital toxoplasmosis have no symptoms but develop eye infections, hearing loss or learning difficulties later on (any time up to their 30s ).

I need a reality check - will someone slap me around the face and tell me I'm being an idiot?

In other news all is well - she's getting livelier by the minute and is so active and beautiful. I can't believe how happy I am :) (but would like some sleep pretty soon!).

Ttl slap round the face from me. The risk is seriously minimal. I could tell you any number of stories of people not getting tp as I'm sure could all the others on here. Not sure how much it would help though.

Clarkiee MOSP has a good point about deciphering cries. I am getting there with dd (never managed it with ds). To the point that I get seriously annoyed with dh or those people on the street who always suggest that she's hungry when I've just fed her and know she's tired or wet or windy. I wouldn't leave her to cry at the moment for any kind of sleep training the advice given by the hv's here seems to be 6 months onwards - not sure what it is based on though.

Any tips for getting dd to take a bottle? We've tried on and off since 4 weeks but not really consistently. I don't want to be in the position I was with ds who never took one especially as I'm going back to work when she's only 5 months. I only work mornings so it's probably only 1 feed (ds just woke up in the night again).

Merlion I am in agreement with the sleep training, I have left DD to cry but not through choice, usually she has woken up when I am the middle of something that I can't immediately leave to attend to her (going to loo/doing something fro DS/trying to get the washing in/out) and I hate it as she sounds so upset and angry!!
We are also getting mixed results with the bottle, I think the key may be to be consistent and offer on a regular basis? Hopefully someone else may have some useful tips!

Morning everyone, welcome to the newbies and lovely to see the regulars :)
We had a lovely weekend......went to a friends in Oxford for a social gathering and DD was as good as gold. It was an afternoon event and she coped with all the people, lots of handling and slept for long periods.
Yesterday we took her swimming for the first time......she loved it. Just 10minutes in the teaching pool at the local leisure centre. She floated and kicked and coped with splashing, we have been practicing in the bath as i hate water and my DH says we need to teasch her when shes little and im not allowed to show fear LOL. Think we will start swiming lessons in september ( aquababies). The only time she cried was when we got her out :)
Did have a stressy morning though.......DD can be really whingey and grizzly for no apparant reason and somedays its none stop. DH obviously goes off to work so doesnt hear it, well he got really cross with her yesterday as he was trying to concentrate on sorting out my new phone ( just had an iphone from a blackberry). It really upset me.........she was in her bouncy chair and he just snapped. He was really apologetic and now realises why sometimes when he gets home from work im a little frayed with the velcro baby.
On the subject of hairdressers.......took DD with me for a cut but left her with mom when i had my colour.
merlion and Kara.......wes truggled with a bottle initially but just kept trying everyday. We tried a variety of teets ( now on avent size 2) and different feeding positions. DD prefers to be sitting up more and i have her sort of facing me, resting on my knee. After the initial refusals ( sometimes she would and sometimes she wouldnt) i didnt put her straight to the boob......had a play, walked around and then fed her so she didnt associate refusal with getting what she wanted. She now takes 5oz of FF twice a day and im going to introduce a third shortly.
I do leave DD to cry a little too.......after we put her to bed 7pmish we sometimes leave her to cry for 10min to see what happens, if it doesnt work we are up and down the stairs to comfort, reassure, sit in her room, replace dummy etc. But remember DD is 18weeks now

TTL get a grip.......th chances of toxoplasmosis from a grain of dirt is miniscule, consider yourself slapped :)

Thanks for the slap merlion, I needed it. I hate it how things seem so much more worrying at night - I've had a good night's sleep (!! - DD woke for feeds at midnight, 3.30, 5 and 7, but fed and just dropped straight back off to sleep :)) and know I was being silly. Thank you.

On leaving to cry, I never do it either. I'm lucky though in that DD is usually easily appeased once you work out what she needs (sometimes that might be a cuddle, and the cuddle might last a couple of hours, which is lovely when you're watching trashy TV in the afternoon but quite tiring at 3 in the morning!). But I figure she'll feel happier and more secure if she doesn't have to bawl to get food or her nappy changed or winding and if her needs are (usually!) met. She's so tiny I'm not bothered about trying to 'teach' her anything - I just want her to feel calm, if she knows what that means! I do realise though that it's different when babies have colic or are inconsolable and there's nothing you can do ...

DD is only 3 weeks so haven't tried the bottle yet but I'm interested in the conversation as I'm going back to work at 6 months and the BFing counsellor at NCT said that would be a tricky time to introduce a bottle. I'd also like to express after a couple of months so DH can do a night feed, or so I can maybe maybe have a cheeky night out (can't imagine it at the moment, but maybe!)

Cross post with merlion. Thank you for slapping me, I deserved it . Sometimes I do need a slap ...

And totally agree, 18 weeks is different from 3, and by then I may well leave DD to cry for a few minutes if need be. At 3 weeks old I'm pretty much letting her dictate everything to me! (And I'm not tired of it yet! When the utter exhaustion sets in it'll be different, i'm sure!)

moomin, not merlion ...

For all you first time moms suffering with sleep deprivation can i just say there is light at the end of the tunnel.......this week DD has slept for 6 hrs each night and last night 7rs. She is 18weeks (7 weeks corrected) but i reckon about 9 weeks developmentally. Hang in there, it will get better :)

moomin yay for longer sleeping hours - sounds like a lifetime to be asleep! We have noticed with Will that if he has a wakeful day and then a screaming fit in early evening ( because he is over tired) then we do get a 6 hour sleep at night...or during the evening if we have mistimed it! If he has had a relaxed day with lots of naps then we dont get the screaming in the evening but his night sleeping periods are reduced to about 3 hours. Swings and roundabouts really.

On the crying dilemna - apart from scenario above, Will doesnt really cry. I recognise his noises when he needs a change, when he is uncomfy and when he is frightened or in pain but he doesnt have a full on shout very often at all....oh except in Asda...he hates being in his buggy and panicked maybe because I was looking at the curries (no mum, not in my breast milk!) the minute I stuck my head round the hood he stopped but his little face nearly broke my heart

Feeling a bit better today but still got ringing in ears. I had thought about anaemia but my levels were so high during pg that I would be surprised. Have spent alot of time napping with Will over the w/e and that seems to have helped. Will discuss it with MW

Can I pass on something I have been taught to prevent windy problems (with baby, not my own!) in case it helps anyone else. When he feeds, he feeds very vigorously but then spends ages just chewing and sucking very occasionally. I have been taking him off the boob at that point because it hurts and I thought he was just messing around. I have been told that after the initial hard sucking, the slower phase is just as important because he is taking in the richer hind milk. If I take him off the boob too early, he is just getting the foremilk which tends to ferment in the gut and cause wind. By leaving him to finish naturally, he gets the full quota of hind milk which neutralises the wind. If he is still hungry after that I can put him on the other boob after winding him, but not to put him on it prematurely. It is working wonders for us and we are not getting the explosive poos any more but I bet most of you are now rolling your eyes and thinking 'well we know that already' arent you!

Moomin your post gives me hope am dead on my feet today ds wanting feeding every two hours is combination fed so normally goes 3 to 4 hours between feed last 24 hours every 2 still very clingy today and wantoing feeding all time dh not very helpful as at work though while I was moaning about lack of sleep helpfully suggested we start trying for another baby after 6 week check next week!! Could have killed him

Just hope ds naps today so I can try and catch up on some much needed sleep

Blimmin heck. I don't read while feeding for 1 day and the thread takes off!

Things are going okay here. Alba is brilliant (and squaking for attention). DH is getting there slowly, though he's better than he was it's long road back to 'normality'. The in laws finally met Alba yesterday and they're smitten . we had a lovely BBQ in the sun! Yep actually sun in Scotland.

Anyway battery is about to die and Missy Miss thinks half an hour is long enough to sleep, cheeky thing.

Slaps ttl. You know the risk is low. Had dd in a sling yesterday and was pottering in the garden when I git compost all over her. Whoops. Had to take her out and clean her. Luckily it was bath time!

Not really leaving dd to cry unless its unavoidable such as need to sort out ds. She is too little.

Is anyone else fed up of people asking if their baby is good. Yes she is settled but I hate the word good. Especially when it comes to routines. No she is not in one but that doesn't make her bad.

Halle DH was asked in a shop the other day if our LO is 'good', he said 'he has to be good otherwise we beat him'. The shop assistants face was a picture. You might have to know my DH though to appreciate that humour!

My standard reply is "Well she hasn't got an ASBO yet!"
I find that question equally irritating!
Routines.. well the amount of growth spurts they experience in the first 3 months can make it tricky to stick to a routine, go with the flow!

I do go with the flow. At nights we have the bath feed bed routine but rest we make up as we go along. Learnt that last time. We had a good routine after weaning but we have a long way to go before that.....

I finally bought a feeding pillow this afternoon. Oh the bliss of not needing both arms to hold DD up while feeding, and DS has been informed he is NOT allowed this pillow, so no having it pulled off my knee mid fed (unlike the couch cushions). And now DD is asleep on the pillow, like it's a nest (so cute). Am looking forward to the burning in my back going. Now I just need to spend the rent money on a couple of feeding bras that fit (have gone up about 3 cup sizes!!!) and I'll be all set. DD is only 3 and half weeks old.

Am slowly working my way through all the back posts, so will stop being rude and ignoring you all soon.

Hi everyone! Hope your all well! Have gotten completely behind due to too many visitors (husband can't say 'no' and also can't seem to successfully restrict their visiting time to the two-hour windows I tell him his friends can have ) C's rhythm has been totally thrown by all the visitors wanting to hold him so I'm trying to re-establish sleeping in the Moses basket not on Mum at the moment! Halelulia (sp??), we have discovered swaddling and it's working!! Will catch up if I can!! All the best! Bugger, he's waking up

thanks nurse, mothersnort and merlion haven't really let these two continue to cry for any period of time (apart from yesterday) because unless its a little whimper or winey trying to drop off cry, they normally cry more anyway so glad to hear that maybe you shouldn't do it till they are 6 months (plus it was horrible). Starting to recognise different crys. Only really considered it because my friend has been doing it with her 3month year old- but she has also put baby in his own room and start weaning so think she is impatient .

Gave into the dummy again yesterday evening and it really did the trick. Going to only try and use it when necessary but as they seem to be getting better at not dropping it (or being less bothered when they do) think it might help keep me sain at times.

Had a great day today, fingers crossed the night will be better.