December 2005 It really was like waiting for Christmas!!

[flutterbeedreaminofawhitexmas]

OK this is it I have started the thread in the vain hope that someone on the December antenatal thread will pop and come and join me, I have been waiting for over 3 weeks now and to be honest with you I think your all being a little selfish making me wait around on my own .

Can't believe I am the one starting this thread I'm not due till 18/12/05 yet by then George will be nearly 6 weeks old, I tell you what though I feel really really sorry for the last person to give birth from December as they will be dying to get onto this thread by then.

As sad as this may seem over the next few days (or weeks if you lot don't get popping) I'm going to post on this thread little messages so that when people start crossing over they have something to read, well that is what I intend to do anyway but whether George lets me do that is a totally different thing.
I shall deffo post my birth story on here I have waited so long to do it so expect that to appear in the next day or so.

So come on over ladies the grass really is greener on the other side.

HERES WISHING YOU MANY HAPPY NAPPIES [GRIN] [GRIN] [GRIN]

How do you know what PND is? like i said in my last post i have been feeling really down, teary, crying and feeling totally useless, i did ask some questions about how long its sup to last etc, but have had no replies maybe i need to post in a diff thread?
Went to Docs today and hes given me some stronger pain lillers for the sciatica, double the dose the hospital gave me, not keen on giving poor Hari and upset tummy, but its either that or i cant pick her up, which doesnt help my state of mind at the mo, also have had physio telling me shes recommending me to go for treatment, its such a drag, but needs must.

Hgs to one and all, Bonkerz Nemo Ex, i feel for you all i really do, i guess the consolation is that we are not on our own in feeling the way we do.

xx

Jay, A friend of mine said the main difference between PND and depression is that you try to hide PND! The doctor told me today that the difference between baby blues and PND are the thoughts of self harm and possible harm to baby. This is definately how i am at the moment.
Emotionally i feel numb when i look at Alex, i cant get that rush of love that i had with DS, In my head i KNOW i love her BUT i find it almost impossible to feel that love. I have had thoughts of hurting her (not easy to admit) and am terrified that something may make me snap and i wont be able to think straight. When im around friends i put on this mask and smile lots and pretend im well, luckily my closest friends see straight through me! It is perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed with responsibility and emotion when its your first baby. Talk to your midwife or HV, baby blues is normal and as long as it doesnt get any worse you will be fine! Hope the pain killers help the sciatica, mine is still playing up from before too and ive just started taking a herbal remedy, devils claw, which is meant to be a natural anti-inflammatory and must admit it feels better today!
Hope you are all well. Nemo, will try and catch you on MSN and we can have a gripe together!!

Just popping on briefly to say congratulations to BBE . So pleased for you.

As for me, just need to say ARGHH - when do they stop crying?!!!!!!

Will post again soon.

Sorry to hear some of you are feeling low.

I am a bit tired and grumpy some days but on the whole am feeling pretty good.

I started back at the gym today and I'm going out for drinks with the girls tomorrow night so I'm starting to feel like a normal human being again.

I'm getting a bit fed up of being a milk machine and we are giving Lucas a bottle of formular as his last feed each night now he snack feeds all evening and by 9pm I need a break. Plus it means he gerts a very full tummy and sleeps longer. I don't think I will fully breastfeed for much longer although I am trying to stick with it. At least I have managed longer this time than with my dd.

So how is everyone else? There must be someone else that is feeling half way fine????????

hey ladies ugh major computer crash happened and i lost sooooooooo much. would you purlease email me all over again as i ost everyones email address. esp you s/h as i owe you an email and am dying to write!lol. but everyone else too

well i'm doing okay actually. i feel pretty calm, chilled out and mostly happy. this is very nice after having had pnd after dd2. i did start anti d's straight after birth this time tho so maybe they have kicked in hence me being okay? whatever the reason, antid's or the fact i have a pretty chilled out baby here its nice to feel okay last time was awful -really awful- tho so if anyone feeling crap wants to email me, i can listen and do anything i can to help.
daisy snack feeds alot, and fusses -colic- in the evenings/night for a few hours but she doesnt really cry....i swear dd2 waas such hard work as a baby whatever daisy does is going to be easier! i dont mind feeding lots..was rewarded today by her weight having gone in 8 days from 7lbs14 to 8lbs10 small eating machine i have here!! i tend to bf for ages...so i'm glad its working well for daisy too. shes now big enough for her sling which is going to be great -walks without a buggy!
checking the 'old' dec thread we have all had our babies now! how lovely.......so many new little people in the world
george, i know jakes been hard work sleepwise for you...how are you doing? i was your secretstork btwhope the bath stuff i sent starts working on him soon!!!!!
scully where are yooooooooooooou hope all is well....kangel hows that little man of yours? hope everyone checks in now and again, i miss you! ninah -pictures needed of your little angel please! what a fabulous name she has.......is she still goldilocks to ds??
jays, sorry didnt respond to your pnd/blues question..i get time to read but not often post as you prob well know! yes ask on a whole new thread as lots of people will have advice for you too.
i hid my pnd for ages,,,,,from all but dh. i guess its how much you feel like EVERYday is black and how much is just 'moments' of blackness. can you look forward or not see any further than 'crap' now?

• do give yourself some time to adjust tho, first babies do throw you in the deep end, life will get 'normal' again honestly. the first few months are the hardest. that sound contrite wrote down, wasnt meant to be. big DQ hugs and daisy kisses to all dec (and jan) ladies.

Hi everyone

George is now 2 months old he went and had his first set of jabs yesterday he was fine when he had them a little yelp and that was it, but he must be feeling down about them as he has done nothing but cry all day he has only slept for 1 hour from 8.15am until settling about 10mins ago (12.20am)he had Calpol at 9pm but that didn't help at all. I feel exhausted but still haven't had a ciggie, its day 5 now so I think I'm going to crack it don't want to speak to soon though.

I seem to have developed some mild kind of insomnia because no matter how tired I feel I can't get to sleep till at least 3am I'm hoping it will pass soon.

Jay you sound just like I did when I first had George I tried to hide my crying when I was in hospital with him for the first week as I thought it was "not normal" but soon realised nearly all new mothers go through this my Mum told me she went through it with all 7, after about 2 weeks I stopped crying everyday, when George was in hospital over Christams I totally lost it again but thats to be expected. It will pass I promise.

Nemo, Bonkerz and Expat I'm so for you, I have no idea what you must be going through but I know it must be horrendous. Sending you all ((((((((HUGS))))))) I wish there was more I could do.

Hope everyone else is coping OK, George is gorgeous I will post some new pics of him soon. Has anyone heard from Minnie?

Love to you all xxxxxxx

hey flutter
minnie posted quickly on the antenatal thread...

Hi all, i just lost all my post....and it was massive too.....grrrrr god i hate it when i do that.........

Anyway i was thanking everyone for the kind words re the tears and emotional rollercoaster i am on at the mo...i thin that its just baby blues and hormones rather than PND i can see past the horridness of feeling down, and i havnt had any bad thoughts about harming Harri, i am just up and down at the mo, its like if someone asks me if i am ok, i just cry, i mean i am ok, and i dont know why i cry, just my body responding to a traumatic event i guess. It does help though to know others are gooing through similar stuff, so thanks Flutter, DQ and Bonkerz for your reasurance!

Have been up since 5 45, with the little monster, shes had a bad night, only sleeping about 3 hrs in total i gave up trying to put her back in her crib at about 7 45 and came downstairs where she promptly fell asleep on the sofa... have wrapped her up and left her there, no WAY i am waking her to put her in her crib! Shes a monkey!!

Cant believe Geoge is 2 mths old, its so true about time flying, i mena Harri is 10 days, all the days tend to blend into one at the moment, i havent managed to get out much what with the sciatica, i sooooo want to go for a walk with her, but i find it impossible to take more than a few stps without wanting to keel over in pain at the moment! ingeers crossed i will get better real soon!

Hugs to one and all, its tough trying to get on here to post, i, like most of you all, find time to do a quick read up but when it comes to posting, the time is non existant! still have managed a ppost today, will try to keep more in touch as i thin it really helps in keeping me sane at the mo!

Hope mums and babies are all well, J and Harri xxx

Hi everyone
sorry to see a few people are down
having been thru this with no1 and not no2 and 3 and so far feeling great with no4 can i say that i partly attribute this to gina ford? - controversial subject I know but I got the others into a routine, went to bed between 9 and 10 leaving dh to do late formula feed then i bf in night and all the rest of time - never got massively knackered and stayed more cheerful.For me some of the depression with no1 was due to being absolutely shattered and having no predictable breaks from baby - have got no4 into 2 hour nap at lunchtime from about 10 days and it is a wonderful break
sorry if anyone hates gf with a passion but just thought id share what works for me

hello all
thanks for the thoughts.
good to hear all the babies are doing well and gaining weight.

Hannah was weighed yesterday and is now 8lb 14ozs and 4 wks old today. time has flown over. I went to psychology yesterday which is hard work but will keep trudging along.
Still potty training adam and we made our first trip out with pants on today. He had half an accidents as he tried to get to potty but couldnt get pants down in time so not doing too badly. he is also being a lovely big brother so shouldnt complain.

gosh everyone must be so busy with new bubs!! Just checking in really, am settling down a bit now with Harri, still feeding on demand, which is working out about every 3/4 hrs, shes goes down about 1/12 ish and wakes about 3, then goes down again for aything from 2 - 4 hrs.... its not too bad, i find myself being grumpy at being woken but as soon as i start feeding and look at her tiny face and big eyes, it all goes away!

Am feeling beter today, with baby blues... MW came yesterday and i had a cry with her, she tells me i am normal and its going to take a while to settle down. She is really nice and had been out to me four times since i left hospital. She is keeping me on also till she knows my sciatica is being seen to, so will be coming next friday also. Have HV coming on Tuesday, not sure what they do? is it just about baby and weighing etc? Anyway, am sure i will find out.

My brother and his Wife are due today, just for the day. They are coming from Nottingham to see us. Which is really nice, long way to come though just for a few hours but thats their choice i guess, means i dont have to worry about too much hospitallity!

Hope that everyone is ok, and coping with all the ups and downs of new babies, hugs and baby kisses to all.xxxxxxx

I'm going to have a breakdown since Georges jabs on Wednesday he has been horrible, he crys all day for no reason, won't sleep properly, when he feeds he won't take the full feed but then needs to be fed an hour earlier than normal. On Wednesday I thought he handled it so well hardly a yelp when he was jabbed and then the rest of the day he was fine but OMG Thursday morning it was like someone had climbed through the window and swapped my child. I didn't think it would still be going on today, I really can not cope and have had to leave him screaming in the drawing room.

aww FB huge hugs to you hun it will pass I promise. Can dh take George out for a walk to give you a bit of peace for a little while?

DH has been at work everyday since so I have no escape and he doesn't even have a day off till Monday.

aww hun then leave george for 15 mins or so in his cot and go and grab a cuppa. he will be fine. do you have anyone else who could take him for a little while?

Evening all,like you all time is passing by so quickly its all i can do to catch up on the posts written let alone reply.....Things are ok this end,had a few downs but plenty of ups....Mainly down with dh and mebut sure things will work out one way or another.....
dd stil loves her baby brother,and Jack started smiling well over a wk ago,now also weighing 9lbs 14ozs....little chomper monster

Jack has been really unsettled the last 3 nights,constantly wanting to feed,what culd be the matter???

Sorry to hear others are feeling down,cant imgine what or how u r feeling xxxx and hugs to all xxx

Well DH came home at about 7ish and took George straight off my hands and made dinner for me followed by a loevly treacle pudding

Dh and George are now lead in bed together watching Match of the day and I am feeling much happier, I'm pretty sure that if he is the same tomorrow I will feel like a break down again but such is the life of a parent.

Nemo thanks for the advice, are you sure that throwing George out of the window isn't a viable option

Jay and Ebbie so gald things are going really well for you both, I'm sure we will all get to catch up with everyone else pretty soon.

Its my birthday soon !!!!!!! Well in a couple of weeks but I can't help getting excited I'm like a kid when it comes to birthdays, Ive already asked Dh where he is taking me and what he is getting me God how exciting.

C'mon, ladies, let's band together and send each other collective positive vibes!

We're all hitting that rough patch they go through as newborns.

Wouldn't it be great if we could all switch babies for a day or two?

We're going to get through this!

Sending peaceful thoughts to all you and your little ones.

Need peaceful thoughts here!!!

Ebbie: could Jack have colic? Alex has not been settling for a few nights and appearing to want to be fed and also just being generally miserable and not settling despite being fed! Last night we gave in and gave her 5 ml of gripe water and the change was almost instant. After about 15 mins of wind escaping from everywhere she was calm and the best bit was that she fed at 10.30 and then at 2.30, 5,30 and slept till 9.30 which is better than ever!! She settled straight back down after each feed which meant i got spoilt for sleep last night! Needless to say have done same tonight!
Got anti Ds from doctor on Thursday, will give them a go as really dont want to get any worse. Have grief counselling on Friday too so am hoping to start making head way finally! My friends have been brill too and vowed to help get me through this little set back. Hate being like this BUT on a plus side have enjoyed Alex for the first time in ages today! Hope she is good tonight though!!!

POSITIVE VIBES TO YOU ALL!!!!!!!

((new thread and secret stork reveals please)))

thanks for the advice girlies xxxxx keep ur chins up xxxx

Hi all, same problem with posting here but I am trying to keep up.
Jake is still feeding constantly so am giving him 4oz of formula for the last feed & expressed breast milk through the night as it seems to help with him settling. The alternative seems to be me feeding him 22 hours out of 24. DP goes back to work tomorrow so expect me to be on here having a breakdown too!
Bonkerz, glad you had a better night & you are enjoying Alex. I'm still on my ADs, god help everyone if I wasn't!!
DQ, thankyou for my secret stork pressies. Must print out a photo for my keyring, keep forgetting as I don't go anywhere where I need my keys at the moment (argh!!, I want to drive again!) Am I allowed to put anything in his bath yet? Have just been using water but not sure how long I need to do that for.

Ebbie, Jack might be coming up to a growth spurt as they are supposed to feed more to increase milk supply (well, I guess that applies if you are b/f). Jake has decided that everyday is a growth spurt for him

Looking forward to happier days when we all get some more sleep & can look back on this time & laugh.

Must fly as my dear little Jakey piglet is waking up! (That must have been 10mins there!)

hey george missed you.
and ebbie too
ebbie sounds like wind/colic-y tummy pains I think also. Daisy suffers from this, as I make alot of milk and it gushes out and nearly chokes the poor girl. (-actually george, could be what was unsettling jakey, esp if hes now taking it from a bottle at a controlled speed and settling better)I have to spend half my life wind-ing daisy.
in the baths, well depends on your personal preference and how often you bath them tbh. daisy has a bath every few days (a wash every day of course) and I put in some organic lavender baby oil/bath stuff. the tiniest bit, but enough to stop the plain water drying her out. after the bath she gets a massage or special oil (weleda brand) and her skin is now wondeful, after being v flakey and dry. we have a tummy tub bath and daisy loves it....she crashes out afterwards
talking of sleeping well........she slept well last night and in her bedside cot! I used a miracle blanket, and my goodness it worked! its like a shaped swaddling blanket which velcros across and doesnt 'undo'. (you can often get them on ebay if anyones interested)
hope you can drive again soon george, getting out keeps me sane (saner)
ninah where are you?

hello all
I have been lurking and reading but not posting mainly because when I go to post one of the tinkers needs something...lol

So hope everyone is ok and babes are all behaving. Not a lot been going on here apart from potty training in earnest and getting to grips with cloth nappies..lolAdam is now in pants apart from for bed which seems to be going very well, hannah is now in cloth nappies apart from for bed when i resort to a disposable as it doesnt feel as wet to the skin to me but then it could be the way i am doing it..lol Both kiddies are being great and couldnt ask for better. Apart from that life is pretty much as 'normal'. Depression is getting me down but am fighting on and session with the psychologist worked out well last week. Have had a friend around this morning who brought her little boy the same age as adam so they were both happy.

Finally I have internet access to catch up on how everyone is going..... dd2 was 3wks old yesterday and we have just announced her name today, to the family/friends who have been patiently/impatiently awaiting it Madeleine Kayley is doing well so far, few nights where she has driven her parents loopy but on the whole things are going ok. I'm still only b/f but we are considering introducing the odd formula feed, to give me a break and to let dd1 feed her as she's a very keen little helper (smile)
I want to see what dd2's weight gain is next time I have her weighed and will decide after that. At night she is feeding every 2 hrs or so, although we have had 2 nights where there was a 4hr stretch and a 3.5hr stretch, they were lovely!She's also got a dummy, and as long as I keep it in her mouth as she's falling asleep, then she's fairly happy. No probs with colic so far, more the opposite, she farts for England this child , but better out than in I guess
& she grunts and groans so much, has taken a bit to get used to, as dd1 didn't do this, but I now know to get out of bed if it's a proper cry, otherwise the noises are just her talking to herself.....
Hope things improve for those who aren't feeling
great. I was also very teary for the first couple of weeks, seem to have improved now & am slowly getting used to changes a newborn brings to the house, & being a stay at home mum again, that's been another adjustment in itself. Just taking a day at a time really and trying to keep dd1 occupied and stimulated on the days she's at home. Are there any photos on the yahoo link, if so what do I do again?

Ever one to try a new idea I've bought a miracle blanket on your recommendation DQ - anything to try to get some sleep!!
Nemo, I think you are fantastic using washable nappies, don't think I could cope with anything else on my plate at the moment.
Glad it's not just me with the 3-4 hour feeding sessions Scully. I've had to start expressing for the night feeds so I get some sleep otherwise I would be keeling over by now. I have no idea how anyone exclusively b/feeds and manages to remain sane so you have done so well keeping it up for 3 weeks already.

Ooops little one is off again so must fly.......