March 06 The Arrivals!

[Frizbe]

Hi ladies, have created this to start our postnatal thread, so fire away!

Periods? have you got yours back???

Hi girls, just back from a week in Cornwall and catching up on the thread. Weather was a bit grim...thought I was being very sensible to pack 2 warm outfits each (just in case)...but I should have packed 6! DD wore the same trackies all week! We went to Eden project, Tintagel, Plymouth Aquarium, walked on moors etc which was all fab but didn't get to a Cornish beach b/c of weather. SOOOOO....we were driving home yesterday in the hot sun and thought we would make the most of the sun and stop at the beach for lunch, so stopped at this place called Weston-super-mare. All of our friends here in Derby laughed at us when we told them. The water was miles away, but we had a good view of the brown sand. Aparently everyone knows not to go there, but not us Aussies .

So Friz, where was this lovely beach you went camping at? We are camping next weekend, near Bakewell.

Uni and Rom (good to 'see' you Rom!), Eli is not a day napper either, but neither was DD until about 6 months. I'm trying not to worry, but he does get SO overtired. I'm not sure what I can do though. I think he got used to sleeping in the car last week and now SCREAMS for 30 mins before every sleep...its like colic all over again (but I thought that had stopped!)

DS goes to sleep for the night between 8 and 10, usually after 30-60mins of screaming. He usually falls asleep on the boob at the mo...not great, but at least he sleeps well once asleep.

Solids - I say wait as long as you can - its a hassle really, although quite fun if you have a good eater. First foods are pureed, and you can add some breast milk or formula to make is runny. Mind you, DD never actually ate anything we gave her, so perhaps this is not the way...

Munz - WOW teeth! I've thought Eli has some coming as he is chewing on everything, but no evidence yet.

Periods - not sure if I've got mine yet as had bleeding for ages after the birth. I think I have had one (and Eli was very unsettled for those days)but not positive it wasn't just more bleeding.

Hope you all had a good weekend

x Astro

thanks for the welcome back astro! another non-daytime napper eh? its good to hear i'm not the only one struggling with this nap business - makes you feel a real failure when they are so tired at the end of the day the poor little things are literally burrowing their head into your shoulder
i did EVERYTHING i could today to get those precious naps in, but we still only clocked up a total of 2 30 minute naps all day. so one knackered baby is sleeping soundly now. she is still up at 2am and 5.30am for a quick chomp on the boob in the nights too. so one knackered mum too!!
astro, i also let romi fall asleep on the boob every night - is that a cardinal mum sin?! lol....

friz - with you on the periods thing, no sign here either. happy to say. not looking forward to getting those back, with all the baggage that comes with them (mood swings, zits etc!)

unisarah - sorry to hear ds has been a bit grumpy, hope he's chirpier for you this week

Rom, dd2 doesn't sleep much during day here either, unless I enforce a nap! usually either in bed after 11am snack, or by cutting out all light in buggy and having a small push around about same time, or sometimes just after her lunch at 1pm ish.....(her times are roughly feeds at 5am/8am/11am/1pm/4pm/7pm/11pm, although she is starting to drop the 11am now and is moving the 8am to 9!

Astrophe, lol , we went camping near Porth Cawl in South Wales, just past Bridgend, there are some great beaches further down if you head past Swansea - seem to remember Broad Haven is good, but a long trip! Munz, where do you recommend in Wales, seeing as your that way on at the mo!
Tis nice around Bakewell way, lots of great walks/cafe's - Treeline Gallery is nice in Bakewell for a coffee n cake, mind you I also love Chatsworth house, the farm/adventure playground there is great for the kids when the weather's good and the farm shop (situated a few miles away oddly) is fabby too!

ooh friz - right then, where in wales to go - well as u know i'm as far to the west as u can gop - we're an hour from swansea, 2 from the bridge on a good day (and not getting stuck behind any tractors! lol) anyhow, we have newgale - an absoulty excellent place to go - not so good if u have young children whoom you allow to freely roam as there's a busy road there, but u literally have the camp site on one site of the road and the beach on the other side (as seen here newgale and there's a pub as well just next door! lol - fab little pub that one. v fmaily orientated. erm right obviously there's also tenby - not sure on camping there it's only a half hour drive for us but it get sooooo busy during the summer it takes at least an hour if u go the main road way so we tend to stick to the back roads. wem then there's little haven/braod haven both equally lovely little fishing towns really. beach much the same as newgale - it's just a little further along the coast. tonnes to do here as well, u have folly farm for the kids, (various other farms as well) oakwood theme park - good for tiddlers not really for grown ups. a chocolate factory (yes u read me right there called pembertons chocolate, also they do cheese) ooh they're choccy's lush! not sure whta it's like out side pembrokeshire tbh, there's loads of other little things - like a pottery place u can paint your own pottery. really nice - i'd advice the summer definatly thou as we get soooooo much rain and the feilds literally all flood so deffo middle of the summer.

well friday night we had a good night here. - Joey went from 8.30pm to 1am (DH was up but I got up to put his dummy in as DH would have let him cry it out nuvver thread thou) then he went to 5am, so if I hadn't of got up at 1 I would have been a v happy mummy. sat - night mare, althou he didn't nap on sat day - well was doing half hour at a time, and consequence was up at 2 3 4 5.30 6.30 when he came in with me (I should really stop doing that as when he's with me he sleeps soundly) anyhow last night wast up/fed at 2 then 5 then 6.30 wanted up - que our bed as again have told DH to take next weds/thurs off work as I need some serious help with Joey (or go on AD's ) which I really do not want to do, but can feel myself slipping/always crying etc it's mainly down to tirdness i'm sure, of course it's not helped by DH coming to bed at 2am then sleeping till noon whilst I have Joey screaming in my ear, and at the minute I just don't know what to do with him.

no periods in my camp eiother- althou I do have what I ca only describe as v bad PMT every 4 weeks ish. in fact Joey's unsettled around this time as well. might be an indicator? think we're having the 4 month growth spurt at the mo, but not sure. yesterday he napped well, day tiem naps seem to be the key as i'm sure 8/9 hours slep a day isn't any good is it?

rom - Joey also falls asleep on the boob at night. by day thou we have a little play after his feed then wrap him up and off to the lad of nod - still gotta try the cot - he'll only nap for 45 mins in his cot by day as opposed to 1.5 hours in the bouncer. ho hum. anyhow, best ring the garage up - my car failed the MOT - apparently it's the cat gone or something - hoping it's not gonna be too dear.

ooh friz - found beef jerky in our morrisons as well so DH is now happy!

ooh rom - have u tried swimming with romi yet? i took Joey for the first time last thursday poor lamb - we were in there for half hour, he had a lovely time loads of floating/splashing etc, anyhow the poor boy got so tired he screamed, after getting dresed, however he was asleep by the time his bottom hit the car seat, woke after 45 mins was wraped in his blankey then stayed asleep for another 2 hours - would it help if romi had a long nap to reset herself as it were? Joey only haps for half hour if the first two of the day are that long i've noticed, however if he manages a long nap first of (longish) then he'll stay asleep for longer.

Thanks Munz that looks cool I shall endevour to get down there sometime

Re joeys sleep I think you've answered your own question there, knock his daytime naps down a bit and I reckon if he sleeps less in his cot, then get him in there during the day as well, he may have lost the cot=sleep association, iuswim? when dh gets the time off, go for major cot re enforcement in the meantime {{{{BIG HUGS}}}}} as lack of sleep is a total killer and went there with dd1, as it is I'm buckling with dd2 and cheating by keeping her in bed sometimes (like yourself) to keep dh from having to wake up, but I know this is wrong and I'm making a rod for my own back, as in two weeks, she's off to her own room and then I won't be able to do that.....so you can all laugh at me in two weeks time when it all goes horribly wrong!

Yep- periods- blopdy things started up again when Ed was 7 wks old :-( AND are being V irregular so far I've had a 32 day cycle and a 13 day one. I wasn't regular before this preganacy but this is even more extreme than last time ( post miscarriage).

Thankfully twas short one and ED and I both cherred up yesterday. Had a very busy day. I did a charity bike ride in the morning - 5 miles on my unicycle. Had pic taken by press with 2 others from the Uk unicycle team. Then DH was playing cricket all afternoon and it was our day for doing Cricket tea.
Ed was a star all day,napping in the buggy for DH in the morning , flirting with the women at the Cricket club, giving people big smiles, not screaming, only crying a bit when he was hungrey and feeding in a fairly discrete manner. By 9pm when I put him into his cot he was KNACERED, he'd been awake since 12 with only 1 10min power nap. didn't bother waking him for an 11pm feed he woke at 2 and then again at 6.30. So far today hes on nap 3.
Munz- are you able to get out with Joey in the mornings to go to any sort of mums and babes group. I find it really helps me get through the day to have some other adult company at some point and Ed seems to like the change from our 4 walls as well. Does his cot have to be in a different room? all that up and down sounds worse than being able to reach out and retreieve dummy while still in bed. We Squezzed Eds cot into our room, had to move the bed, can only just open the wardrobe and I have to get into bed at the bottom.

Thanks Munz and Friz for camping info...am filing it away for next time. Do the Welsh beaches have sand or rocks?

Friz, how long from here to Wales coast?

Uni you are wonder woman - cricket tea, cycling here there and everywhere...I put the kids in the buggy and we walked 5 mins to post a letter today...hurrah for me!!!

I was going to start a diet after we got back from Cornwall, but ubfortunately can't start now until all the clotted cream fudge is gone

Today I haven't bothered about Elis sleeps at all and he stayed awake from 7.30am until 12noon, then screamed for 20 mins and conked out on the floor. Transfered him to the buggy for our letter posting walk, then left him sleeping in buggy away from toddler noise and he slept for 2 hours total! yay!

Maybe I shouldn't bother fighting with him multiple times a day...if he's tired enough he will sleep right?!

Not wonder woman,just very sporty family, but do only have 1 kid and a V surportive DH.
Made me laugh yesterday. Ed siting on daddy's lap when a cricket ball hit the pavillion a meter from where they were , scared Ed shitless- litterally Pampers could not contain it all! urgghh. DH had to change EDs shorts as well as nappy.
Nap 4 has just finished!

friz - romi has similar feed times to yours, but as for the 11am thru to 5am sleep, am most impressed. do you give formula or expressed BM?

last night was up 11:30pm, 2am, 4am, 5:30am and then 8:30 am - not great. no idea why we now have a 4am as we didnt before. things seem to be going backwards on the sleep front. am wondering if my milk at night is not enough. dont want to give formula if i can hold off though.

Rom she's started waking at 4am for past two days!!! lol....either expressed or formula (formula has only been in last few weeks, after expressing supplies have run down, after wedding usage!) I find she usually drinks 5oz from a bottle these days, and then that takes her 11-4 , so where she was doing the 6 hrs, now just the 5.....must be getting ready for weaning? is now 16wks, so will be getting hungrier for that 4mth spurt........

Astro, here to Bridgend is 3.5hrs, and your about 20mins south of me I reckon, so knock that off! I think where Munz is/the sites listed, take another hour/1.5hrs from Bridgend, quickest route from here is A38/M42/M5/M50/M4 just watch out for speed cameras after Monmouth!

Unisarah, lol at the poo incident! do we get to see a photo of you on your cycle??

Hi all, I've been lurking recently but thought I'd do some keyboard tapping tonight.
Munz, I went to the docs as I was feeling just like you and thought my pnd had returned. We are going to try for a few weeks before going down the AD route. I can't offer you any advice that you won't have heard before but keeping busy, getting out and about and speaking to people really is the key. I got through it last timewith no ADs but if they help why should we be so 'off' them?? Anyway sending you big hugs and keep posting....
Astrophe- when are you in Bakewell? Give us a shout if you fancy meeting for coffee at Chatsworth or anything as it's really near to me.
Rom, the night feeds will get better!! Tilly fed just like your little one until about 6 months but Kiah can go 10 hours if she fancies. Reckon it's not our milk just different babies!! Must say that moving the cot out earlier has meant that I sleep much better - they are just so NOISY - like grunty little piglets!

LL I'd love to meet you but this weekend we are camping for a friend's birthday, so probably not.

But lets meet somewhere between Derby and Bakewell (or wherever you are) some time and Friz (and anyone else) can come too! I have no idea whats half way between us as I don't really know the area, so its your call.

Mondays and Thursdays are best for me, Weds are ok but DD is startng nursery for a morning a week on weds, and I know she would love to play with Tilly!

Rom and Friz, Eli has also started waking more the last week...last night he woke at 1, and 5 - which is not bad I know, but previously he was sleeping through until 7-ish. Its weird - hopefully just a growth spurt. I've thought of giving some formula to top us, but I have been really slack with expressing bottles and he hasn't had one for about 2 months, so I'm not sure he'll take it now.

Nighty night...hope you all get good sleeps...zzzzzzzzz

Going backward on the sleep front sounds like its a 3/4 month growing thing as they all seem to be doing it. Eds gone from 5 hours back to 4 at a time this week.(11pm-3ish then til 7ish) still only one middle of night feed but hes waking up earlier and I miss my 8am lie in :-( I'm holding off the solids tho, going to try and get through it on milk alone, just need to let my body catch up with him again.

anyone that "really" wants to see a pic of me on one wheel try www dot vimes dot eclipse dot co dot uk. Its an old pic but I've not changed that much- just got a bit fatter temporarily.
Antidepressants "can" be usefull. I found them helpfull when I was depressed the other year, the drugs helped me get back to a position where I could make some life style changes and sort things out, got me out of the steep sided hopelessness I'd managed to slide into. I took them for 6 months.

Just been looking at your pics Sarah! I am very impressed. I did a theatre studies degree in Northern Ireland with a couple of unicyclists but never had a go as not the most coordinated of people! I agree with you about ADs but at the mo am having more good days than bad so hope it continues. Even managed to get through Tilly doing a re-run of a Supernanny 'before' scene at Tescos today!! Just calmly walked out pushing the trolley with her under my arm and then she tantrummed merrily by the side of the car for a while.
Kiah has picked up an extra night feed too - 8 hour stretches were a flash in the pan. Also having some mastitis/agonising pain probs but am receiving MN advice as I sit here!! I wouldn't bother topping up with formula Astrophe though as it should get better soon. Tilly fed about 5 times a night at this point so I am still finding it soooo much easier this time around!
Love the idea of a mini meet up. Mondays are best for me. Are you in Friz? Anyone else???

LL I never realised you were close by as well hurrah yep up for a mini meet, Mondays are ok for me too! happy to meet at Chatsworth if you like, or Cauldwells Mill does good coffee too! (whilst the smaller ones are small!) although if you/Astro needs space for your elder ones (dd1 here is at nursery on a monday) we could maybe meet at Crich Toy Library, which is every other monday?? or at the newish play centre at Cromford??

Uni great photos how long have you been cycling then?? and are you still doing lighting?? (obviously not right now!) do you do theatre/tv or music or something else??

Had a fun day here today, although I did manage to make it to Aikido, even in a knak'd state, as dd2 (oh you'll like this Rom) decided to get up at 3.30am and didn't go back to sleep until her afternoon nap she spent the whole morning chattering to me in a gurgelly fashion and rolling side to side like a trooper, can now make it from fire to sofa in about half an hour

lol laundrylover - grunty little piglets is exactly right! adorable grunty little piglets of course.

am feeling very reassured by all you girls: friz, astro and uni - that maybe this extra night-feeding is possibly a growth-spurt thing. i saw my health visitor at the clinic today who looked horrified when i said i put her on the boob each time at night to get us both back to sleep asap... she said no you mustnt, pat her back to sleep instead. yeah right.... that would take umm...lets see, about 50 mins which when you are dog-tired at 4am is going to seem very appealing

good luck 2nite girls... am off to bed now!

p.s. big [[hugs]]] to munz, sorry to hear you have been feeling a bit down

Blerrghh- unifamily hit by food posioning , dh and I feeling dreadfull, throwing up etc. So far Eds unaffected, tho maybe a bit sleepy ( which is nice as hes been easy to look after this morning thankfully). I'm starting to feel a bit human again, Dh seems to be 3 hours behind me so theres hope for him too.
Rom- in the middle of the ight you have to do what you feel is best for you and your baby, and if thats give her a feed so she goes back to sleep so you can too, then do it. 3 and half months old is too young for sleep training IMHO.

LL- Friz- I've been unicycling for nearly 15 years , and taking it fairly seriously for about 10. been working in theatre slightly longer. In the last couple of years I've done festival site lighting in the summer and theatre and concerts in the winter. I have an out door show to light in November will see how that goes and then consider other work offers when they come in. I'm not marketing myself at the mo, rather enjoying being a SAHM.

Rom, tell your HV to go jump...what are boobs for!? Plus, if they are all having growth spurts then they need the extra feeds. (But they are a right royal pain...the feeds that is, no the babies).

My Eli has had only one day sleep for the past two days...he seems too little to be doing that, and is wretched by bedtime, but...dare I say it...its terribly covinient!

Friz and LL, Mondays are good...please lets meet somewhere thats VERY easy to find and not too far as I don't know the roads very well and find the English roundabouts terrifying and am not the world best navigator

Sarah...hugs...but not getting too close! Get well soon.

Munz, hows joey been? Did DH get some time off? Being tired is just SO hard.

good morning ladies,

how is every one today? crappy night again with the boy, up at 12, 1 2 5 (when he finally came in with me at 5.30) i'm such a norty mummy

friz - don't seem to matter with his napping yesterday and monday he did 5 45 min streches, mon night he woke at 1am and 5 am only for feeding and last night he was a nightmare. only difference is with long naps he doesn't wake up screaming cos he's tired and we doon't have the half hour screaming at bed time.

uni - the cot's in the other room as it won't come thru the door unless we take it back down - and i'm too lazy to take it down and put it up and mess about with it. just have to persevere I think. recon if he does the 1am and 5am feeding each night then it's deefinatly manage able. cos form 5 he'll go back down till 6.30 ish. Joey's the exact same with feeding as well. recons our LO's are all on the grow! lol.

astrophe - bridgend is about 1.5 hours as friz says we're the end of the M$ and about 40 mins down the A40.

LL - yes glad i'm not alone, it tends to be the days when i've not had much sleep and really can't be arsed, still we're moving at teh start of august now so lots to do keeping busy and such. bit of a nightmare actually as Joey's decided not to sleep by day, so I'm only doing little bits and bobs at the mo - why is it there's always more stuff when u go than when u arrived! lol.

rom - patting to sleep - ahy worked with Joey for about 2 weeks when he was a NB part from that nada! lol. ahyhow his latest trick is fall asleep on the boob then (for some reason) has started crying again around winding time and waking up to be winded, then promptly falls back to sleep once his head's on the matress.

anyhow best get down stairs Joey's having a nap, i've got 3 draws of papaer work to sort thru and hopefully a cuppa tea whilst watching good nightsweetheart. (god I love itv2! lol)

Ok Astro, will see what LL thinks about places to meet, as I'm kinda in the middle of you two! but if you don't want to go too far, she'll have furthest to come!!

Munz, have you started weaning yet? you might find lobbing breakfast(to start with) and then supper in helps (so long as over 17 weeks, which he is now, you are ok to go if they're hungry)

Uni, booo re the food poisioning, glad your ds is ok tho hope your all feeling better tomorrow. Wondering if you may know a few people who I do thru your work! lol...

Munz, when I read your posts you aound just like me when Tilly was tiny - exhausted from night feeds and having too many bad days as a result. It does get better but now having a second child I realise that some babies are just sleepier and more laid back than others. I can't imagine how I would be coping if Kiah was waking as much as Joey so you have all my sympathy. We moved house when Tilly was 6 months and I sat on a wall and cried!!!By the way are you a Pratchett fan by any chance?
Friz/Astrophe, Mondays are good for me or Thursdays if we are not having the toddlers present! Really though it would be good for me to have it as a Monday Tilly treat. I am in Mossley, nr Manchester so Chatsworth suits me fine as I recall that there is a good farm bit there? It's not far from me as I've taken a school trip there in the past. Ooooh am a but scared about even such a mini MN meet up!!

Sorry Sarah forgot about your tummy troubles! Hope they are improving now...
Friz I don't mind travelling further as am used to trawling around strange places for work! Pick a place and a date and I'll be there.

LL - na, DH is thou absolutly loves TP (I can't understand him ) I prefer your James Herbert myself.

friz - I wanted to hold off for as long as poss- mainly cos if we're moving in 6 weeks (ARGHHHH!) lol, then I didn't want to be faffing with the puree foods. I think we'll try to get a few more weeks.

Joey's down now for a nap in his cot - yay me! lol - I put him in there wide awake wrapped up andf 5 mins later he's dead to the world - with no assistance from me, just his dummy. hopefully he'll have an hour. last night we were up at 1am 2.15 (for dummy and teething gel) and 5am so not too bad, I think these toothy pegs are on the move again. then at 6.30 in with me till 8 so can't moan bout last night. (althou he did have 1.5 hours nap at 4pm perhaps thats the way forwrad?? 3 45 min naps and 1 1.5 hour nap?)

anyhow best have a shower and ring the garage bout the car - apparently it's the onboard computer which has gone