The 5th Gemini luxury bus - the one with babies!

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

As we have all our gorgeous babies now, welcome aboad the 5th Gemini bus.

Drinks and previously banned foods supplied in bulk, Car seats installed, slings and prams at the ready, as we head into parenthood, and all the excitement, and sleepless nights our little ones will bring along the way.

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

it's baby steps and practice for both of you lor
I'm fine until ds gets wind and pulls off squirting milk and flashing my boob everywhere. And then he always struggles to get back on. sure he just wants me to watch and praise
Expressed 3.5oz of my non-leaky side earlier, as I've just been too full today. And just bought a hand pump 1/2 price from tescos.

Ooh and did you know there's a baby sale at Argos

[Librarina]

Are we all ready for the night shift? DH has taken N downstairs so I can squeeze in an hour or so early on, then I'll be in a better state to do the 4am slot which we are affectionately calling the 'suicide slot' as everything feels so bleak.

Only problem with our new feeding position is that I have no spare hands to look at the iPad now! No late night MNing.

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

Suicide slot not sure if I'm ever ready for the night shift. I will need matchsticks tonight after my early morning.

Just managed to get j back to sleep in his carrycot, (been cuddled/cluster fed all evening) he kept threatening to wake for a feed, but settled back when I gave him an extra cover and lay where he could see my face. Bless. Almost a self settle. dds never self settled boys are so different.

[Lorelei353]

Been cluster feeding here too. dh cuddling now to settle. Will probably get through to about 1.30 before getting up for night feed and then maybe 4.30 or 5 if I'm lucky.

[bringonthetrumpets]

Soon you'll be so good at it lib that you'll be able to type one handed and nurse cradle style at the same time :)

Ok, so I had a pretty ridiculous 20 minutes....

M just out of nowhere totally projectile vomited everything in her poor tummy all over me. As I'm trying to clean myself and her up I feel a gush (after not really having any bleeding in the last couple of days) rush to the bathroom and passed a crazy-huge piece of retained membranes. . Normally when they are retained like that there is a lot of bleeding and cramping and the mum's milk never comes in. So bizarre! Called midwife who is just completely shocked and keeps saying she's never seen that in her 25 years as a midwife.....

[Jojobump1986]

Has anyone else noticed that we have 2 first timers, 2 second & 2 third? Not only that but if you alphabetised our MN names the 2 third timers come first followed by the 2 second & then the 2 first timers!

It's funny the things you notice when you're sleep deprived & haven't been allowed 2 minutes to yourself all day. I'm so glad DS1 is staying with my parents for a few days! I have to have him back tomorrow though! No idea how I'll cope if DS2 continues to be so clingy once DS1 is home. I've not done anything other than lounge around in bed all day with DS2 sleeping on me but I'm exhausted now! I've reached the point where I just want him away from me... Just an inch or 2 would do! Apparently DH isn't good enough though. It must be me or you'd think the world is ending. He'd soooo better get over this phase when his cold goes!

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

Ooh I love patterns line that jojo although my sleep deprivation prevents my brain from working at all

although I have noticed the gender pattern that goes with your pattern.
bring b:b:g. frus g:g:b
jojo b:b kitty g:g
lor b. lib g.

can you guess what time it is...

I have a clingy little only mummy will do boy.

... Ds is in cot.. Not whinging.. Will be back after proper sleep..

[bringonthetrumpets]

We also have one boy and one girl for each category! How odd that it all worked out like that. We are a bunch made to be together.

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

that we are bring

clearly I didn't get any sleep after my last post, but at least I defrosted my shoulders

What an odd thing to happen bring (the clot) your milk came in on time,

[Librarina]

You crazy ladies and the things you come up with! I still struggle to work out how the names in Facebook correlate to the names on here! But then again I've always struggled with names in general, especially if I can't relate men to a person I've met.

I wonder if Breastfeeding will give me nice toned arms,.. That would be a nice benefit.

Back to feeding.

Xxx

[Jojobump1986]

7.5 hours between feeds! Only 5 hours of sleep but still... One day I'll manage to get to bed right after feeding & won't wait up for DH to stop faffing & I'll get a decent sleep! He did have a big feed just before 10. Well, for him anyway! He generally fed for about 8-11 minutes at most feeds yesterday but at 9.45 he fed for 17 minutes straight without his usual popping on & off every 3 minutes when it all gets a bit too much & he chokes on it!

Loving the gender patterns. We're so well balanced! Symmetry makes me happy!

[kittykatsforever]

7.5 hrs Jojo, that's great!! I know what you mean when you havnt made the most of it but at the same time it's nice to have abit of awake you time aswell!
We had a reasonable night, 7,11:45,4:30,7:30 straight down for all but the 11:45 where she had a tiny but of wind that wouldn't shift till we got the gripe water, I may have jumped the gun with the colic worry as dd1 was horrendous at this point and dd2 seems better I think she's just prone to abit of wind but she's so strong it's comming up easier now! She's been pulling herself up since day 1 her head control is amazing so much faster then dd1!
My babies will self settle I'm like mummy hitler! I do always go in when she crys but never really cuddle till she's asleep I just wait till the wind etc comes up then put her down still awake, I always tried the same with dd1 and she never makes a fuss in bed even when ill or teathing and loves her bed!
Bring that must have been a shock I think I'd have been abit scared, luckily you know what to do, will they have to check you for more?
You and your lists lol I'd never think of that it is very strange though, I think I spend most of the time just thinking go to sleep, go to sleep over and over
Frus are yours and brings kids similar in age as obviously lib and lors are and me and Jojo both have a very similar age gap between dc

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

I don't know kitty I think based on brings lovely pictures, my 2 are slightly older. Although dd2s behaviour and understanding can be that of a much much younger child.

[Lorelei353]

Love the pattern spotting! Read it in the wee hours and it made me smile.

So last night we got up when DS started mooching around, rather Han trying to let him go to 4 hours between feeds. He was definitely calmer going on the breast but he only feeds half-heartedly for about 10 mins and falls asleep. No amount of foot tickling etc wakes him so have to properly wake and try and get back on as I'm sure those tiny feeds aren't enough and he'll wake wanting more a hour later. So the 2am feed went on for about 2 hours. It's exhausting. Am I doing the right things? How are your night feeds going?

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

lor I'm impressed you are getting 4 hours between feeds. We're averaging about 3. But are starting to settle into a pattern where he'll cluster feed in the evening and again around 7.30am. But we only had 2 feeds last night as I ignored the 11pm mooching/squeaking. So I think you may be doing the right thing with making him go longer lor because if I feed on every mooch, he feeds more often.

I've been expressing when i get full since last night, and so far he seems to be feeding less often, possibly because I don't stink of leaking milk, and as I'm not bursting I'm not offering the boob every time he squeaks.

Weighed at Breastfeeding group today and he's 10lb10 already!

[Lorelei353]

We're averaging about 3 now. We were just leaving him to mooch at night and going close to 4 but then he was really distressed and it wasn't worth it. Now responding to mooching and having evening cluster feeds. Expressing is interesting idea. He does just want feeding every time he gets near me.

[Jojobump1986]

Lor, different babies need to feed at different intervals & for different lengths! I'm a great believer of feeding on demand & DS2 has mostly settled himself into a 10-15mins every 3 hours routine. Sometimes it'll only be 8 mins every 2 hours & sometimes it'll be 20 mins every 4 hours. I figure I eat whenever I'm hungry & the amount varies depending on my appetite so I should let him do the same! You could try feeding him whenever he seems hungry & letting him decide when he's had enough just for a few days & see if he starts to settle into a routine. It does sound exhausting for you at the moment! If it helps, my mum says I would only ever feed for 4 minutes on each side at every feed & there was nothing she could do to convince me to take more. My DB, on the other hand, wouldn't stop feeding almost 24-7 & was putting on a pound a week! She started giving him solids at 10 weeks because she was so exhausted! Every baby is different!

[bringonthetrumpets]

I agree with jo with on-demand feeds. They are so tiny and the amount their stomachs can hold changes as they get older. Breastmilk also digests very quickly so it's common for them to feed frequently, especially if they've just done a poo. Unfortunately for us, we're designed to feed more through the night due to the high hormone levels and the higher quality of milk made at night. It is exhausting right now, but this is the stage that we should still be resting during the days and taking advantage of "resting while the baby rests" It's not fun being up at night and feeling dead tired, but it is a tiny phase that will pass. Trust your instincts, mama, you know your baby the best and what will work best for you both.

No, it seems since the bleeding has practically vanished again there shouldn't be anything else to worry about. Still a little shocked by the whole thing and just really fortunate that nothing serious came from it.

We have graduated from the bedroom to the living room today! Feels good to be able to see the front garden again.

[Librarina]

My nipples smell of chocolate and my baby's bum smells yum! The Earth Mama Angel Baby products have arrived and are delish!

[bringonthetrumpets]

Yay for chocolate nips Lib! You will feel such a difference.

[kittykatsforever]

Agree with the others lor, 10 minutes seems a short time but its surprising how much can come out in that time I wouldn't kill myself trying to make him go longer as the benifit of him having an hour longer has gone with the length of time it takes to make him, I can remember when dd1 first started sleeping through we gave the expressed bottle at 7 before bed and one night when dh fed her she only had 2oz, I went mad at him saying well shell never sleep through tonight although he claimed he'd really tried everything to wake her and she wasn't interested and she still did! The only thing you could try is changing him nappy first so he is more awake to start with although that might make him more cranky I guess or I sometimes found if you put them on the floor for a minute it woke her up again, in sure it was a mw or someone who told me to try that and it did work for us

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

Didn't mean to come across sounding like I was saying don't feed on demand.
Like the others have said every child is different, and often what works for one doesn't work for another.

My issue at the moment is that ds doesn't seem to stop feeding, (and being sick because hes over full) so I'm holding back to see if I'm misreading the cues. As I've been going on the basis of "if in doubt- offer the breast" trouble is ds will take it whether he needs it or not.

DH has decided j is a mummy's boy, and only ever wants me.

Yay for progression bring

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

3:42 now thats an odd time

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

Anyone else up stupidly early?

[kittykatsforever]

I didn't get that from you frus, I'm abit the same although I presume wind first then offer the breast lol
Madame was a pain last night 11/2 hrs both feeds to get her to sleep and the last one 4-5:30 I thought well she'll atleast sleep till 7:30-8 ish...... No 6 f#in 30