september edd new babies arriving come share the ups and downs here

[ssmile]

Hello. Think i was first to deliver off the September EDD thread so waving to see if anyone else out there yet to join me :)
Had my 2nd DD on 26aug by C-sec. We now home but struggling with BF and baby lost 10% body weight in 3days. Started to top up with formula in syringe to try give cracked. Bleeding nipples a rest, but milk is starting to drip out now leaking everywhere! Hoping for a better night tonight after 3nights of hourly feeds and snatching 2-3hrs of sleep.
Anyone else struggling too?

Ssmile - no, can't put our LO down awake. After her last evening feed and after the one during the night we have to rock her to sleep in our arms before putting her back in her moses basket. It can then take a few times to rock her in the basket, pick her up if she's still not settling and then start the process again. Then finally we'll put her down in the basket and she'll flop the arms back and away she goes. (Although, she may wake in half an hour and we'll start again!) Recently she's been wanting a feed around 1am and then around 5am, so after the 5am feed, we'll put her in our bed, where she settles much quicker. But, we'll not do that in the night as need to encourage her to sleep in the basket.

She'll sometimes fall asleep during the night time feed towards the end (she's bottle fed) and if so, I've started to not wind her and put her straight down. It works sometimes, sometimes not, and if not, I'll wind her.

We're also trying to let her settle herself in her basket though - once down, if she wakes straights away, she'll kick a lot and make grunty noises - she won't cry though, and it's not too loud that you'd hear it outside the bedroom (and wake kids) so we've started to let her do that and see if she falls asleep. Not much success, and if she gets too restless we have to pick her up. But, hoping she'll start to settle herself.

In the day, she'll happily fall asleep by herself in her vibrating chair - which she just has!!

Meal was lovely, didnt feek out of place & lo slept thru :-)

sebs thanks for sharing. Our first DD was such a poor sleeper from day one we tried everything, with this babe she has diff personalilty already so it would be gd to encourage gd sleep but im taking easiest route at mo as need daytime energy more with 2DDs and co sleeping which I never did with DD1 and consequently never got much sleep as she would never settle in her basket and never slept more than 2hrs between feeds for 7mths+ luckly this babe seems diff!
Went into work for half hr today went ok, Lo was well behaved, but boy I don't miss the politics :)
We have full on cradle cap here ive tried rubbing little olive oil then washing off an hr later which helping but its still smelly. Anyone got any other tips?

ssmile if i remenber right u can get lotion (or shampoo oe something along those lines) 4 cradlecap.

Dh lproper peeing me off bow. Its months since he's put dcs 2 bed; 2nite was the 1st time i can remenber him changing lo's clothes, he only xollects dd from school if he wants a fag; doesnt listen 2 anything i say.... Hes great and i love hin but recently its got 2 me. This eve i didnt even bother really talkibg 2 him. Even wen we had a friend round (who kept asking if i was tired & y im stressed). Dh currwntly snoring away next 2 me. Hea volunteered 2 work on his days off +obv rather b at work than with family), thk he is off 2moro. Any1 thinki'll get that lie i. (my anniversary present from a week ago) still waiting o. It!

Ssmile, yeah, my DD is similar to yours; there's been quite a few times when I've been busy with DS and she has settled herself because she's had no real choice. I'm learning the difference between her grumpy grizzling because she's tired and her full-on howling because she really needs attention so I have not been sprinting to her the minute she starts making a noise the last few days. I really can't believe it; DS was 7 mo before he learned to self-settle (or maybe I was just too pfb to let him do it earlier).

I've started putting her down for daytime naps in her carry cot so that I can then just pick her straight up and bung her in the car when I need to take DS places as she's now beginning to fit herself into a bit more of a feeding and sleeping routine during the day.

You can get shampoo (Dentinox I think it's called) for cradle cap but it never worked for DS. I always just used olive oil but I just used to leave it on him and not rinse off. It made him look dead greasy for a while but it was better than the big flakes of scalp everywhere.

Jimmi, sorry DH is being a pain. Mine has also been a right grumpy twunt today so I have completely avoided him this evening. I'd be tempted to just have your lie-in and if the kids are late for school then it's his fault!

Iv started a thread in the reationship section '4 any1 who feels like a nag' just 4 ppl 2 vent really, if any of u ever need it -hopefuly u wont tho, its there.

Jimmi - perhaps you need to take off without kids on one of his days off and force him to look after them for a few hours? Difficult to do and you'd worry like mad but he'd have to see what you do every day and hopefully appreciate you more? Good idea on the 'vent out' thread.

So chuffed with LO - she settled herself last night and slept well. Put her down in basket, she kicked and grunted to herself but looked happy enough so let her carry on. OH and I were talking quietly and it seemed to soothe her. It took about 20 mins but she eventually dropped off herself. She grumbled a bit after but after 15 mins or so fell into deep sleep!:) she slept till 2.15 fed and settled by 3 and woke at 5.45. Put her in our bed and she slept until 7 before wanting next feed. So pleased she managed nearly 5 hours between each feed. Hope it continues this way.

Off to work today (went to one site last week so going to the other site today) so colleagues can meet her.

Well done on the sleep Sebs, DD also seems to settle better if I'm in the room or if there's some background noise; yesterday I left her in her carry cot with radio 4 on and that did the trick. I have a friend who used to swear by the afternoon play on R4 for getting her DD off for a good long nap!

Loving the vent thread Jimmi, I'll prob be over there later!

Glad a few of u r getting a much better nights sleep :-)

Just thought,.jojo should b back from hol now, did u have a nice time?

Grrrrrrr vvvfrustrating morn. Got TWO punctures in both back wheels of buggy onway back from school. Spent an hour wrestling to get tyre off and fix one puncture got it back on pumped it up and it blew out water bubbles and now gone flat again :( :( sat and cried just too tired to do this. Babe has slept whole time so the only time I get in 24hrs spent trying to fix feckin punctures and didn't work. Now give up will have to drive down to school 40mins before they kick out as its only way I can get space close enough to use baby carrier with my weak back so yet more wasted time. Hohum.......

Hello all, just had a little catch up after not logging in for a week or more... haven't been able to read all the posts I've missed, but a few comments on recent things:

ssmile, regarding cradle cap I was advised to use almond oil instead of olive oil, and this seems to be working really well on LO, who had it all in her eyebrows and up her forehead. I apply it with a cotton wool pad, and use the pad to massage it in - this also seems to lift away any soft flakes, and it's gradually clearing up. Have to do it every day though, and no washing it off even if their hair does look revoltingly greasy.

We have had absolutely no success in putting LO down for nap/sleep whilst awake, in fact she has got worse in ability to settle to sleep over the past ten days, and it is currently taking me at least half an hour to 'persuade' her to drop off, that's with the use of lots of 'props' like white noise, dummy, shushing, patting and bouncing in moses basket (DH rigged up the basket to hang from a couple of bungey cords so that we can swing it and bounce it around!). Even then she will usually ping back awake after two/five/ten minutes, and we have to go through it all again. Very tedious, and nigh on impossible if I'm home alone with DD as well, as she wants to be involved in getting LO to sleep, that's really helpful as you can imagine!

Really hoping that this pattern improves and we can drop some of the props before too long, as I'm worried about making a rod for my back. At night she comes in to cosleep with us, but even then she's not dropping back to sleep after feeding like she used to (think we were rather spoilt by how easy she was for sleeping in first few weeks). She's a noisy little warthog too - lots of grunting and creaking, think she's going to be in her own room quite soon if she doesn't quieten down!

jimmijam I can't believe how selfish your DH is being, does he not enjoy spending time with his DCs? I always think that bath/bedtime is such a lovely thing to be able to do (once they are a bit older of course, not with a newborn!). I'm obviously very lucky to have a very hands on DH - he is working away a lot at the moment, but when he does get home he is keen to be as involved as possible with both DCs, I think he'd even breastfeed if he could . You need to remind your DH about your anniversary present for sure, and as Sebs suggested, consider going out for a while when he's got a day off - leave him with the kids. Surely he would get some enjoyment from being with them?

So sorry to hear about all who are struggling to put up with DPs, I know I would be going a bit crazy by now if I didn't have such a supportive DH to take over when things are getting too much. Am also looking forward to getting TV supply set up soon, as we've not had any since moving house (three months ago now), and much as I like to think that I can live without a TV I've actually felt a bit depressed without it - slightly cut off from the rest of the world IYSWIM, even though I live in a city and see lots of people every day. Just being able to watch the news will be a bonus! Secretly looking forward to watch some daytime crap quality David Attenborough programmes.

Hello everyone we are back from our holiday had a great time was V V cold down there and I have now come down with a cold! Little one enjoyed his first trip to the seaside (even know it was wayyy to cold to make a sandcastle!) The change in water down there upset his belly a bit but now we are home he seems to be back to his normal self then again after 4 big poos yesterday i think it cleaned him out!

Re sleeping LO is really good during the night he has his bottle then falls straight back to sleep so i pop him into his Moses basket and he is gone until the next feed. However during the day its a bit hit and miss he sometimes needs to be cuddles or other times will happily sit in his bouncy chair with the vibrations on and the music and fall asleep. He slept from 8pm till 1.30am this morning was so happy to get some sleep!

Re Cradle cap LO has just started to get this so will be trying out the lotions and potions in the next few days cant believe he has it in his eyebrows!

Jimmi sorry to hear bout ur DH being an idiot mine is the same we had a big argument earlier as im not feeling 100% and just want a few hours sleep but he don't understand that. Men hey cant live with em cant live without em!

Ds had his injections today

Ssmile - not the best start to your day :( Hope you manage to get the wheels sorted. I hate it when small things like that just take so much of your day when you have better things to do.

Loomer - think I'd have gone mad without a bit of daytime telly these past few weeks. Loving my daily dose of the ER repeats each morning. Hope you get your TV sorted soon, and enjoy those brilliant daytime shows Frozen Planet shows.

Jojo - glad you had a good holiday.

Firework- boo to the injections. Hope LO is ok. Have you got some Infant Calpol just in case? Mine has her injections next Thursday (and I finally have my check up too! One day off 9 weeks).

Jimmi - hope things are ok. I've read your thread on the relationships section - and just wanted to say thought they were a bit harsh... and you can textspeak here anytime!!!

Been into work again today, tis lovely showing off LO! Took one look at the paperwork they all had on desks and got shivers... so grateful not going back :)

My DS had jabs today and is now (4 hours later) screaming and crying. Have given some calpol but he is struggling to calm down. Is this normal? set crib up today but think in this mood he will still be in bed with me.

Candr has he got a temp? He might be ok once it kicks in.

ssmile, try taking your punctures to your local bike shop; mine mend them for a fiver and then buy some weldtite from Halfords for future use. Buggy tires are a pisser to mend, it took 3 lads in my bike shop 45 mins to do mine a couple of weeks ago!

I took DD to meet my best mate today who is pg and due on 01/12; she was a great advert for babies and behaved beautifully. My friend has this awesome swinging chair that sent DD off to sleep in about 30 seconds that I now feel I must have but it's £80. What can I sell...?!

My exhausted DH been a darling he fixed both pram wheels in half hr, when he got in from work and was vsupportive when he phoned at lunchtime to see how I was doing with the wheels and I burst into tears as it had just gone down again. I feel vblessed he is a sweetie under huge strain at work. Brute strength definitely helped get tyre off rim quickly Did feel slightly vindicated as my puncture repair had held there was a third puncture I'd missed in the tyre :)
Will try almond oil if it smells nicer than olive oil on cradle cap I did try some baby oil today (but not big fan of the smell) left it in all day, washed at bath time definitely helped.
Had easier eve with DD1 than last nights.tired little monkey. We did her reading practice together and she was really gd, managed to bath both girls together at same time as DD1 did herself mostly. She is settling down a lot more now in big sis role. Less negative.attention behavior. She asks now "mummy I need a cuddle, babys had lots its my turn" which is a lot nicer than silly negative behavior.we were getting. Now I just need to work on her understanding mummy has one pair of hands so when changing a nappy I can't put her dvd on RIGHT.now! :o

Thanks feralgirl crosspost my friend told me today to get some foamy stuff too

Lolly, wow that's a LOT of milk. I have about 1.3ltrs which is about 43 oz and my OH said the other day what's all this milk. I also have the stuff I've expressed for the milk bank.

Minky, sorry you had a rubbish time with your DH. How are things now?

jimmi, humous is supposed to be also good for energy. Did you get your lie in?

Jojo, my LO goes from not pooing for days to going 3 times in a day, which she did yesterday. I ought to make a note of what I'm eating, when she poos and see if there is any correlation. I only have a small amount of cows milk myself as I'm slightly intolerant to dairy, I do have some, but I'm mostly on soya milk.

sebs, we've also not got into a settled night pattern yet, but well done on last night. Some nights it's 2 wakings, some nights it's 5. And she is very rarely asleep before 10:45 pm. Although it's usually around 11ish.

Ssmile. At night I can't put LO down asleep, she won't self settle at night, yet she will in the day! She's fallen asleep in the day a) on her activity mat, b) in the moses basket, c) in the bouncy chair and d) in the cot, at night though she will not settle herself. I'm trying to leave her a little longer in the cot at night, but she gets more upset and I don't want her to cry.

Hope candr's and firework's LOs are Ok now after their jabs. My little one had a teeny bit of a temp for about half an hour, where she just felt hotter than normal, but that went and she was fine.

Well I've had a few days where I have felt a bit down, and had a big massive cry twice yesterday. Spoke to OH about how sometimes the nights just feel like hard work and other stuff, it really helped me, I felt a lot better afterwards and feel a lot better today having spoken, I think I just needed to get it off my chest. I think I'll be OK now, but I will keep an eye on it in case I start to feel like it a lot. I have had depression in the past, and so I am conscious of the higher chance of PND, and as a rule I feel absolutely fine, it just hit me over the past few days.

I'm never saying to anyone again about how LO has slept, when I do I get the totally opposite night to what I've said! How on earth she knows I was saying 2 wakings was good I'll never know, but if I comment on that then she wakes 5 times, and if she's had a really wide awake night and I talk about it, that night she will sleep loads and wake only once or twice! In fact I've risked it by saying she's usually asleep by about 11ish, what's the betting it's midnight! The thing is she's really tired from about now, and will sometimes doze off, as soon as we move or put her down her eyes ping open and then she's wide awake again for half an hour. It's only after she starts whinging properly at about quarter past 10 that we can get her to start to settle to sleep. It's not a real problem, means we can go out and know we aren't going to have to get home early to put her down etc etc. I think maybe in a few months we'll try get it earlier. For now I've managed to bring it earlier than it was (midnight - 1am) so I'm OK with it.

Been swimming today, LO really seemed to enjoy it. :) didn't mind the water on her face, no crying, no problem even when we got her out of the pool and getting her changed :) Looking forward to doing more with her.

I did have more to say, but I've forgotten it now! I'll try and post more later if I can keep my eyes open.

Sorry if I've missed anyone.

Ooh, I can't wait to take DD swimming. I just need to buy myself a new cossie and shave my legs.

Managed to get her to bed at 9 o'clock this evening. She chewed on her fingers for 5 mins and that was the last we heard from her (been in to check a couple of times) but hopefully, we can manage some repeat performances.

Hello - just caught up with posts after feed. Haven't been on for a while as lo had vaccinations today and not been 100% and I have a throaty virus thing which is making me feel a bit ropey.
Situation with dh is up and down. He drove home with lunch for me after receiving my email the other day and was very loving and kind yelling me he wants to help and does appreciate everything. Thought all was okay but thr next day he was at meeting in London and despite knowing I am not well with virus chose to go to pub after meeting for couple of hours rather than come home. Got in at 11pm and went strAight to bed as he was tired ! We were not speaking really the next day and yet he still brought up the possibility of him meeting his friend the following night for snooker and beer - I an so knackered and cross I just told him to go but then sent a curt text telling him he may as well go out tomorrow night too as I am unwell and exhausted. He appeared home within half an hour and was very kind. Think I may be a bit pnd at mo - either that or it's exhaustion or being ill. Mum thinks I look exhausted. Can't concentrate on anything much or think clearly or straight at moment and feel quite Scatty so maybe that's the root cause.
Off to sleepy bys again

Just a quick one but it seems a lot of us feel down at the moment wondering about pnd ... is this a stage when LO are around 2 to 3 months do you think? Are hormones changing? And I guess it's 2 months of lack of sleep and hard work catching up with us?

I'm constantly battling mood swings and head is full of issues. Isolation getting to me too.

So sending hugs and big pat on backs to us all for coping with all this :)

2night dh will b moving into the spare room as i cant take things as they are anymore. I know, as u say sebs tiredness, hormonal changes & possibly being on the pill dont help but that doesnt make me feel any better. Im sure its not pnd with me tho, just issues at home. I still love my family
please if any of u feel u may have pnd, please seek help, from your health visitor or anyone.

My HV sad that 3months is the PND trigger time but the NHS book they gave me said 6-8 weeks, so yes, definitely around now. I've actually felt much better this week so maybe a bit of a hormonal dip? Also I wasn't well last week and neither was DS so that won't have helped.

I'm not sure you can separate PND and exhaustion tbh, I spent the whole time with DS telling my family "I'm not depressed, just knackered" and I think I was probably both as they feed each other.

Can you not get to any baby groups Sebs? Or your local children's centre? Hope you pick up soon.