The brookers post graduate thread

[hawthers]

We've got so good at brooking no argument for no pregnancy complications and sneeze births, we're going for our Phds in big fat babies

Oh and hope Scarlet is ok and enjoying newborn snuggles without having too much CS pain

Slightly better night here. DT2 dosed up on gaviscon. They have still been up every 90 min- 2 hours but better than the torture of never going down of last night.

hawthers tis a well documented sleep regression time at 3-4 months. Can't remember why. The one baby book I was lent which is sensible and not prescriptive told me so last time.

biscuits, well done to E!!! I was up at 4:30am eating extra special triple chocolate cookies- you know the really yummy ones that come in packs of 4 or 5? I had three yesterday . Great sleeping by E, long may it last :-)

scream, I'm so pleased mine take a bottle too, so much easier now we are giving gaviscon too. I spoke to a mw who said the worst thing you can do is top up via bottle after every feed as they lose interest in working harder for the milk in the boob but that the odd bottle as the feed never causes much issue in her experience- she was telling me all the nicu babies learn to bf much later and its fine. Was most reassuring though maybe it would affect how good their latch is? I've noticed no difference though. Expressing is a total pain though and I'm getting less and less now... Maybe as I'm so tired??

Hv came yesterday. In 10 days DT1 has put on 1lb 6 and DT2 1lb 1 . He's now a whopping 8lb 6 and DT 2 is 7lb 4. So the weight gap between them is still widening but the average and a good weight gain is to put on an oz a day. Well, DT1 has put on 2 oz a day, every day for the last 10 . DT1 more than average too. She thinks we should try colief with the boys. She said she'd come again next week but i don't see the point- they're banging it on and she can't make them sleep!!!! So hopefully that's it for weighing etc for us. Oh- and she said I'm vanishing, eat more. I weighed myself and I'm only half a stone over my pre-pregnancy weight. I still look crap though as my fully separated stomach muscles can't hold my tummy in so I think I'll look pg for a loong time :-(

Hope DD1 feels better soon pomme. 5:30 is so not morning. A did great though. You sound like a multi tasking pro. No wonder your dh wants you back at work!!

And hi pet, DD is 19 months and my twins are 4 weeks tomorrow (similar.to your ds I think, they were 4th April birthday) . Babies are challenging little creatures.

I have decided I would be going less mad if I knee when the sleep deprivation torture would start improving. Even if someone said not til 15 weeks I could be mentally prepared. Sigh.

Forgotten rest, on phone...
Oh, S just did big poo. Off I go...

Glad the Gaviscon seems to be helping a bit Dream - do you think you'll try colief? Did you say 4 weeks was the age for gripe water too?

Colic is supposed to reduce at 3 months isn't it, so hopefully things should start to settle down hopefully at maybe 13-14 weeks? Even if they're still feeding at night I find it's the not getting them back to sleep that is so hard. At least if you knew that they would wake a bit for a feed but then be easier to put down?

I feel so sorry for these babies though - I mean it must be excruciating the aches and pains just from eating, with really very little that can be done or it. It's almost as if nature made an error and they shouldn't be born until their digestive systems could at least deal with milk.

Scream sounds great that you managed to salvage your nipple a bit and well done A for taking a bottle for your mummy. And well done to the Dreamy duo for taking bottles too. It makes a lot of sense that topping up after each feed with a bottle would cause more problems than just having a bottle for the odd feed - I guess if it's easier to feed from a bottle (is it? They must have gravity on their side?) and they know they'll get a bottle at the end of the bf bit then they'll just hold out for a bottle?

Sorry you're not getting as much expressing though Dream although I am still astounded you're even finding the time to express. Remind me why they need a top up rather than feeding from you? Is it just a matter of the time they're feeding for? Or nipple soreness etc? Or with twins do they sort of 'empty you out' before they're full so you just need a bit at the end? Sorry if they're stupid questions - i cant imagine what its like to be feeding two at once! Sorry also if I should remember this - I am tres forgetful!

When I say I feel sorry for these babies I mean babies in general, not specifically your babies Dream - I just reread my post and realised it might have sounded like I meant yours specifically!

Gaviscon.is easiest given in a bottle..colief also needs giving 20 min before a feed in ebm. So i need to keep up with the expressing/bottles! It also means when both are screaming in the night, as I'm finding tandem feeding much harder, dh can start one off with a bottle so i can feed individually. And I'm sore so it could possibly be one nipple getting a break if i can express enough which is a big if now... We do it all wrong though. Give bottle first to shut Ben up and give gaviscon while i feed Seb, then boob. I'm worried about the expressing though. Ideally I need 6 oz per day. Yesterday I managed less than 3, hence have to do bottle/ boob combos in one feed. Gah. So no nipple rest etc but enough for meds and settling.

Hi all, sorry for disappearing! I've only managed to briefly skim read the threadx please forgive me for not acknowledging anything. I'll have a proper catch up when I get on the computer at home.

Things are mostly going really well here. DD is brilliant at feeding, such a difference from the struggle I had with DS. She's been very peaceful so far apart from when crying for food. She's a little jaundiced which they're keeping a close eye.on but apart from that she's completely fine.

I'm exhausted. 4 nights in hospital is really taking it's toll, the noise at night is bugging me big time. Not the babies crying, it's the midwives sitting gossiping full volume like it's the middle of the day. I am in a side room alone though which is nice.

My wound is a little sore but healing well. The most pain I'm experiencing is terrible trapped wind and after pains which are hurting almost as bad as contractions. My pain relief is paracetamol, diclofenac and liquid morphine. The paracetamol may as well be nothing, it's not even touching it. I'll probably have to stay in until tomorrow as I'm still feeling the need for the morphine which they won't allow to take home.

I'm missing DS so much. He's been in twice and was so cute with DD. I think he's a bit cross with me though for not having been home since Fri.

Will try and post more later, someone's waiting for another feed.

scarlet! Great to hear things are going well with dd - its funny how many of us who had difficulties first time round are finding it easier second. Maybe its us not the babies?!
Hope the pain and chatting midwives (!!) improve.

We did doctor things this am - dd1 has tonsillitis and dd2 weighs 11lbs 13 oz which puts her on the 50th centile ( she was slightly above it) so despite snuffles she's doing okay. Am hoping dd1's antibiotics put a stop to any colds for a bit.

dream - It makes me tired just reading about what you're doing for the feeding. You're amazing!

scarlet - I meant difficulties feeding not in general!

Oh MN is doing my nut in! It KEEPS SWALLOWING MY POSTS!!! Grrrrrrrr

I just wrote a long post and don't have time to rewrite it now - I'll have to do it later - grrrr!

I actually am biscuits

When I was in hospital my side room was near the mw station and they played the radio all night, loudly... so bloody annoying. I feel for you scarlet

crap, cacophony of howling...

Dd1 is being sooo stroppy. she's now having a nap she's so under the weather. I never normally get a nap from her but A has chosen this moment to have a strop about her wind. ARGH!

hi all.

glad to hear things going well scarlet.

when i had my cs I'm sure i was on diclofenac, codeine and paracetamol for at least 2 weeks, i must be a wuss. was prescribed the same (but no paracetamol this time) for my bruised and swollen undercarriage/episiotomy situation. I've not taken all of the doses the last couple of days, just as required so must be feeling better.

not a bad day today, we all managed to get out to the park (bigger park in a town nearby) which DS1 loved. we had to bribe him away with raisins as he didn't want to go home!

DS2's tongue looking much better, health visitor is going to check it but hopefully it was just milky bits.

dream brooking for the early feeding frenzy to die down soon and the boys to develop a hobby of sleeping... awesome weight gain though.

better get comfy somewhere, think DS2 is going to wake up hungry...

hungry wee DS2 has put on a whole pound this week

Wow jaggy! You need to talk to +biscuits* - her ds2 does that too!

Well done to everyone! It sounds like you've all been working hard with the LOs! Special mention to Dream for the insane amount of work involved in making sure the boys get their gaviscon / colief! . Also extra No Brooking on behalf of our poorly mini members - hope Pomme's DD1 gets better asap! Same for Biscuits' DS1.

Yay for Jaggy's DS2 probably not having thrush!

Scarlet I'm sorry to hear you're still in pain, and at the noisy mw's! So inconsiderate, when she KNOW how crucial good rest is for healing! Perhaps Hawthers, Biscuits and I should come over for some in-your-face No Brooking at them! Farley can teach Autumn how to join in!

I've actually held off on the codeine today (still taking the diclofenac) and it's going better than expected. I'm sure I'll need it later on, but at least I can decrease my daily dose.

Autumn had her heel prick today, and hardly flinched! She was wide awake during the mw visit (a first!) and quite happily looking around. When the prick was given she gave a momentary look of intense disapproval(!) and then went back to being quite happy! She's soooooooooo much better at injections than me!!! She was also weighed, and has gone from 8lbs 5oz to exactly 8lbs, which is a nice reasonable weight loss. All round she did very well!

*they

not she

Right here we go again. If MN swallows this one I shall be tres tres !

Dream - what a faff with all the bottles and stuff . It's not like parents that need Gaviscon / colief aren't having a hard enough time of it already dealing with a very uncomfortable baby! What a shame Infacol is so ineffective as its nice and easy to administer!

Oh, and I still can't believe what you do in a day! I reckon 24's Jack Bauer would fail miserably if he tried to be you for a day. And he's been tortured more times than I can count!

Scarlet lovely to hear from you. Grrr for the noisy midwives. Shall I pop round and complain I can hear them from my house? Hope the drugs are working for that wound. It's funny that you say your ds is cross with you because that's exactly how I would explain ds1's reaction to me when we came home. He was (and still is) pretty enamoured with DS2 but seemed mildly 'cross' with me for a few days. Hope he's back to himself soon. So does DH get to visit longer hours if you're in a private room? Who's looking after DS?

I so thought you were having another boy too!

I'm going to post this in case it gets lost....

Pomme hope DD1 perks up soon. Maybe being stroppy is a sign of being on the mend? Ds1 is fine when he's properly ill and then we have a day (or more) as e starts to get better when he's awful .

DS2 would like to send condolences to your DD2 for the wind problems - he is having similar issues

Oh my goodness I have had this cough / sore throat FOREVER - I sound hideous when I start hacking my guts up - and poor old ds2 is trying feed as I'm going COUGH, COUGH, COUGH. I just wish it would go.

Scream - sounds like you've done marvellously to cut down your painkillers - its still early days so you're doing amazingly. And well done to Autumn for such a modest weight loss. Well, well done to Team Scream really! And for being brave for her heel prick. Wasn't she amazing for her vit K injection too? Ds2 has his first jabs next wednesday - eeek

Jaggy - good effort on getting to the park . How old is DS2 now? A lb in a week is amazeballs - well done! Ds2 only put on 1lb 3oz in a fortnight last time he was weighed but he's sticking on the 75th centile which is great

Think that's everything?

I've updated the stats thread, and I've moved a bunch of people who haven't posted in a long time to a separate "missing in action" section. I hope I haven't annoyed anyone by doing this! Personally I was just finding it really hard to figure out who was actually next on the stats list, with all the extra names!

I have only moved people who were due before Musical. There are a few more names on the list lower down that could probably also do with moving...

For the post grads, do you think it's worth getting rid of all our scan dates now and just putting the delivery dates of our LOs? I've attempted to put the post grads in the order the babies arrived, but without anyone's delivery dates on there I'm not sure if I've got it right.

Please feel free to go in and make corrections!

Stats Thread

I keep forgetting to ask my mw about centiles, and she never mentions them. How can I find out which centile Autumn is on?

Poor Biscuits with a horrible cold! I hope you feel better soon!

Scream - do you have your red book? At the back there should be growth charts which you can mark up. You'll need the weight in KGs though.

he will be 2 weeks old tomorrow biscuits. hv did weigh him in his vest and nappy instead of naked, but still not bad for a week. 6 days actually as he was weighed last Wednesday.

he's looking to be baby average round about the 50th centile like his big brother was so far.

good work on the stats thread admin scream, will have a wee nosey.

Thanks Biscuits!

Please can we all brook no argument that I get more than 2 hours sleep on a row tonight. Really am rather tired and if I have another night of it then I'll have to stop driving as I feel so odd and dizzy with tiredness. Still absolutely nothing to do tomorrow apart from some washing so can spend the day in bed.

Brooking for some sleep for you Hawthers. But intrigued to know how you get a day in bed - what do you do with the DSs? I need your tips .....