April 2011 - cake-offing, gin-guzzling, wine-sipping, dreams of sleeping

[fraktious]

Thread 3!!!

ok, so only 3 & 5am, but that's still 3 night feeds. whyyyyy?!

Aussie, I'm so impressed with your pumping dedication. I don't think I could have done that.

Hehe, sounds like something I'd do Jen!

Sassy, we've had this with H but he's 19 weeks tomorrow and the past two nights he's done 9-4 and 9-3.30 so don't give up hope.

Aussie I don't have a steamer so just boiled them without any salt.we have a deep freeze so it should last 3-6 months as it's just veggies.

I've decided I know why I've been so weedy emotional. Hair coming out, skin hideous, yes I think my hormones are settling after the pregnancy. I getAWFUL PMS and the way feel nowise similar. After talking to DP he's being very sweet and H sleeping better is definitely helping. Anyone else having a bit of a crash?

Just to say, cycle and buck et al, we are also back to 2 hour stints at night again, after a tantalising week of 5 hour stints, and I cry lots too. There are so many of us in the same boat trying really hard to do the right thing for our babies and those "perfect" parents are just darn lucky, IMO. Big group hug, we'll get there!! >slightly pasted on

T has started waking loads at night.....not hungry just moaning. Having gotten used to a full nights sleep the last few nights have hit me hard lol.

Saturday afternoon we had a bit of a surprise, DS1 came running into the house from the garden to tell us he has spotted a cat with kittens at the end of the garden, behind some pots. Sure enough we head out there and there she was with 5 mega cute, tiny little furballs
We had seen this cat a lot in the garden when she was pregnant but she hadn't been around as much for a couple of weeks.....or so we thought, turned out she was there, just out of sight. Anyway we have taken them in and are hoping to rehome them with various friends, when they are old enough. I say that but really I want to keep them all lol I know I can't but I expect the mum will stay (if we can get our current cat to accept her that is).

Wow Jen that sounds horrendous!! There's nothing worse than noisy drunk peple when you're sober and worse when you have kids with you. I remember staying at a travel lodge for my friends hen weekend and it was the rowdiest place I think I've ever stayed, it was very central so there were loads of hen and stag parties staying. Unfortunately I was about 10 weeks pg and so felt like crap, people coming and going and singing and shouting at all hours of the night was terrible!

I am also burying my head in the sand at the thought of sleep regression, R is 15 weeks today so I'm guessing it might hit soon?! Gaaaah!! She slept 9.30 - 5.15 and then 5.30 - 9.15 this morning so dreading going back to lots of night time wake-ups :(

Ausse My DP sounds a lot like yours, he can never go out for a few drinks and not come rolling home at 4am!! What is it about men that like to stay out all night?? If I'm not out with DP then I usually come home at the earliest opportunity cus I miss him [sappy emoticon]

Cycle You sound like I did a few weeks ago, PMT was a killer!! I was just a wreck. Glad to be back on my pill as it has restored normality for me! Pity I need to be loaded wth drugs to feel normal but hey ho!!

Another one who's back to more frequent night wake ups. P has never slept through but has been waking lots more than usual over the last few nights. There must be something in the air!

I'm sure she's not always hungry when she wakes but it's easier to give her a quick feed as she then (usually) goes back to sleep quicker. I hope I'm not creating terrible habits for the sake of an easy life!

In other news, the big post pregnancy hair loss has started here. There's handfuls coming out when I wash my hair. I'd be worried if I didn't have so much of it!

Hi all

Jen that sounds a nightmare.

Aussie dh was out at work things wed and thurs and fantasy football auction fri. Wed he was home by 9 but I went to a mates with s. He is also a west ham season ticket holder and training for the Nottingham in September. I fully support the running. He discussed the marathon with me before entering it. And the football doesn't bother me. I see it as me time or us time as it now us with s. But he knows he pushed me too far this week. I got sorry / birthday flowers sat. Anyhoo I sympathise!

stuffed awh at kittens!

Just had s' 12 week injections. He was good as gold.

Going to try putting him in his cot this week. He kicks the side of the Moses basket now and wakes himself or me up.

Wow, busy weekends!

Jen I don't envy your hotel night.

Aussie I found the best way to meet people is to go to some groups. I was just saying last week to DH that I was really happy as I feared I'd be lonely on maternity leave. I think I really started going out about 8-10 weeks as my scar had started to heal properly by then. The best group for me was the breastfeeding group I started going to about 6 weeks ago. I only really went to socialise and it's great being able to have , cake and a chat. We've also been to the park for a picnic and a Facebook group has been set up for local mums to discuss what's going on at the various children's centres, where to go for swimming lessons, etc :)

And on the subject of swimming we took M to the pool yesterday - it went really well, we stayed in 20-30 minutes and she didn't cry once even though she got splashed by the other kids occasionally. She didn't really look like she enjoyed it much but there was a hint of a smile once or twice.

I forgot to say Aussie, I sympathise. DP is chair of the local rugby club and trains once a week now as well as games coming up every Saturday. He's meant to be taking H on Saturday mornings from September despite the Rugby world Cup being on on Saturday mornings but he insists he'll just take H with him.

It might work, the boys love it when H visits.

Well after my nights of hell I had a dream night last night, L slept from 9.30pm to 8.30am!!! I actually woke up at half seven and was amazed to discover that she was still fast asleep. I feel like a new woman today. I'm sending good sleep vibes to all of you that are suffering with bad nights and expect that I'll be back wit you all again tonight!

cycle I'm a hormonal nutcase as well at the moment. When is it going to settle down? Still no sign of AF here yet but I've been giving the odd bottle of formula here and there so I think it should return soon possibly. Maybe when AF is back I will feel more myself again.

Aussie you must be 5 mins from me, small world, I'm at the top of Green Lanes near Turnpike Lane. ecuse are you up for a coffee next week in Stokey? Aussie can you change your setting to accept PMs so we can work something out?

On the sleep front, S still not great. At best she wakes twice a night, at worst more like 4 or 5 times. Am hoping there can be no regressing from this at 16wks .

Hoping all the shops in my area have been looted by now as can't face another night of sirens and helicopters. Maybe the looters will get desperate and hit M&S and Mothercare as they're pretty much the only stores left on the high road near me that haven't been touched.

Frak how's the new place going? Hope you're settling in. Can't wait for CDWM-style gossip, sounds brilliant.

Lis what happened with the cake-off woman? Have you seen her again? Any good gossipy comments we can laugh at?

The kittens have just been taken by rspca. I dared to ask them for help with flea treatment. I couldn't afford to get them sorted but thought rspca would prefer to spend as little as possible. They told me they wouldn't pay for it but if I didn't get it done out of my own pocket they would have to take them. They then have to do it anyway and home them until old enough to rehome, plus give jabs and sort neutering, then find them homes, quite possibly having to house the mother long term as she won't go as easily as kittens will. I could have re-homed most if not all of them and saved them all but the flea treatment cost but no that just isn't the way they do things.
I then asked if I could keep in touch about these animals so that the people that wanted them could still offer homes via rspca centre and was told no. They will just be rehomed to whoever, as soon as they are ready. So the people that wanted them can ask and take pot luck as to whether they can get the one they wanted.
Seems a bit silly to me, but what do I know

Anyone got any ideas on bottle refusal?? R has refused at least one bottle everyday since last Tuesday, and on top of that is only taking around 4ozs per feed whch means she's back to only taking about 20 ozs a day, that and the fact that she had dropped a centile last weigh in is starting to really stress me out. Just tried to phone HV for advice but she is on holiday and the other one is on a day off today so no-one at all that I can talk to. Now sitting in tears as R is refusing bottle and screaming the house down :(:(

re bottle refusal, don't really know how to help as T is getting a bit that way lately too. Sometimes I can get some in him if I sit him in his chair and feed him there
Have started weaning now as a result of his lack of interest in milk on top of his reflux. Normally if he refuses the last couple of ounces of milk he will have it mixed with baby rice.
Not much help sorry.

DP and MIL keep suggesting early weaning too but I really wasn't keen to be starting til nearer the 5-6 month mark, R won't be 4 months til the end of this month. Will have to contact HV tomorro and see what she thinks.
Have finally managed to persuade 2.5 ozs into her and she's now crashed out - probably as a result of all the carry on!!

Stuffed How much does T take a day roughly and what age is he?

no experience with bottles, MrsW, but F regularly refuses a boob. He'll only have one side at any sitting now (as opposed to both), pukes up at least 100ml between feeds. He wants feeding every 2 hours, no more no less. Can't feed him to sleep if he's tired but been fed an hour ago. Feeding doesn't calm him if he's upset, infact makes him scream more. And with him dropping through the centiles I don't know how I can get any more milk into him.

Sorry, my bitterness is not helping. I've reached that crying-with-sheer-exhaustion stage again. He just keeps SCREAMING and I can't find anything wrong. He needs sleep. I need sleep.

I'm actually going mental. Again.

forget the above. pulled myself together. we had 20 mins of happy(ish) playing. (sponsored by dentinox teething gel)

MrsW T tends to take between about 25 and 30 oz (30 on a very good day) per day but it is a struggle and he will be 20 weeks on wed.

T throws a lot of what he takes in back up again aswell.

Hugs to all those who are stressed out, tired and premenstrual :)

Today I have started giving B formula :(. I've been really struggling to pump enough for him recently and have used up nearly all of my freezer stash. I will keep pumping morning and night so formula is a gradual introduction. We are getting out and about more and pumping just wasn't making things any easier. When you add in all the impropmtu trips home for funerals, its all had an effect on my supply. But, I've made it to 14 weeks and he will still be getting some BM for as long as I can keep pumping. Once I started dropping a session to have an afternoon out of the house, to have to go back to having that session felt like clipping my wings! god that sound really selfish, but I would go mad if I didn't get out.

Aussie you'll probably not want much advice from me now, but I had a wee look in my book where I logged all my times and volumes back when i started pumping. I pumped 2 hourly through the night for 2 weeks then slipped to pumping at midnight before bed and then at around 5 or 6am. I think that was when B was getting up, DH fed him and I pumped. I was getting between 3 and 4 ozs each pump(both sides together) by week 3/4. Then dropped from 2 hourly through the day to between 3 and 4 hours until B was 6 weeks. This is where it all goes a bit Pete Tong, when we were home for FIL funeral and I stopped keeping a written record. The last few weeks it's been pump in the mornign when I get up, maybe once after lunch if I'm not going out, evening when DH got home, then before bed.

I've not seen AM since the bake sale. She wasn't there the week after and I haven't been since with all thats been going on. Sorry for the lack of gossip!!

Frak its over to you!!

Stuffed bless the kittens, hopefully the RSPCA will find them all good homes.

Stuffed I long ago gave up on the RSPCA. I think it was when an officer laughingly told me to drown the baby grey squirrel we'd rescued from the cats as they're an introduced species.

Buck you're so not alone, I actually completely lost the plot this weekend just gone (see the posts),

Lis, you are not all selfish to want afternoons off. I have huge respect for those who have found BFing difficult and you've worked so hard. Give yourself a medal not a hard time!

So, weaning.

H is now demanding to be fed every 2.5-3 hours every day, sometimes it's every hour. He fist chews and wails if I attempt to stretch it to 3-4 hours and he takes from both boobs every time. He's just so hungry. I'm thinking of starting on the baby rice this week (he's 19 weeks) but am I reading it wrong?

thanks cycle

F's 19 weeks today and wants feeding every 2 hours during the day & half the night. I'll join you in your query, if you don't mind. And I'll ask the doc on thurs.

Got pelvic-floor physio and bum clinic tomorrow. DH has swapped his days off to hold F during it all. I'm so glad. I really need help at the mo!

Cycle, Buck - with the weaning, my personal opinion is that if a baby is hungry then milk is the best thing rather than rice or vegetables. Buck your situation is slightly different I think because of the puking and dropping centiles etc.
I am also lazy and can't be bothered to purée, sterilise, express to mix with rice etc.
Cycle can H sit up at all, or has he lost his tongue thrust reflex? Those are physical signs of readiness for food - tbh the fist stuffing sounds more like sore gums, T is suffering with his and I am doing a lot of feeding for comfort. He rarely goes more than 2 hours without a feed during the day and has both sides 90% of the time.

Had T weighed today, he is 8.5 kilos

Hugs ladies.

Has anyone got the maclaren techno xt? I'm thinking of getting it for S. Our pram is too big and S is too mosey for it anyway.