JULY 2014 - WE HAVE BABIES

[justhayley]

Well it's only mid June but I hear we have our first July 2014 baby - congratulations MrsC, also hear there is one going to be joining us very very soon so thought it was time to start a postnatal thread! Wow can you believe it's that time already!!!

I hope to be joining you on this thread in the next few weeks - have no desire to get to 40 /42 weeks in this heat thank you.

For now congratulations new mummies xxx

Zing I hope you get the treatment you need and feel better soon. I have no idea how you cope with being ill and having 7 kids! I'm finding one hard enough!

DH has gone back to work today after the summer holidays - I'm currently chained to the sofa feeding DS and wondering how I'm going to shower, let alone leave the house!

You know when your baby is screaming and you can't work out why or comfort her so you feel like a failure? That.

zing hope you get your op soon and have a speedy recovery - also that you are getting some rest.

blue its frustrating isn't it?

Completely sympathise with both of you becky and kiwi.

Yesterday DS had bad wind on and off all day and was a bit more sick than usual :( there doesn't appear to be anything else wrong with him though so I'm hoping it was just the fizzy drinks I had the night before (our local harvester has installed a new drinks machine with something ridiculous like 30 different options...)

Happy September everyone!

I'm painfree now and jaundice is going.
still on IV AB.
had an MRI earlier as Ultrasound wasn't clear enough to see what's in biliary tube.
waiting for result.
if there's no obstruction and no intervention needed I can go home today or tomorrow
if I need an op to clear blockage (caused by a gallstone or cholesterol bulid up or whatever) it will be through endoscopy & being heavily sedated - it's booked in for tomorrow 9am and I'm likely to be able to go home Wed latest.

either way I will need gallbladder removed in a few months.
which is fine with me.
I will have to be on a srict diet but tbh that is well overdue
A friend of mine is a nutritionist and she will help me with diet ideas.
Also with what supplements I should take to aid bf, immune system, liver function, general health so that's the easy part.

My only real worry is that Elijah will refuse bf - ff is a doddle, because of the top ups he'd been having.
I'm trying to squash negative thoughts of "what if it he can't/won't want to bf, milk is not enough etc".

Pumping is stressful. it's not the lovely calm environment one needs, that's for sure .
lady in next bed keeps having accidents - I sent out DH to get air freshener as I almost threw up coz of stench. although I might just be jealous. I produced no number twos for 5 days now!
not eating/drinking, all these drugs and messed up sleep, annoying sounds etc certainly don't help ..but I hope that as long as I keep pumping the quantity of milk is unimportant and the physical stimulation will keep milk production going.

DH brought Elijah in twice yesterday.
it was so lovely to hug my baby and he rewarded me with his sweet smiles!
I gave him his bottle, changed his nappy and was looking at him while expressing. Made me really happy coz I miss him so much.
I miss the others too but that's different.

I'll update later when I know more. And if I have connection.

How do people cope looking after a 3 year old and a breast feeding newborn without resorting to long Cbeebies sessions?!

This afternoon DS watched me latch on DD and then told me he needed the toilet with a cheeky smile on his face. DD was most unhappy at having her feed interrupted just as it was starting.

Yay to home by wed zing and so glad Ellijah gave you big smiles!

kiwi yes yes yes many times over. Long drive? Walk with headphones until asleep? Sling? These are my when all else fails tactics at the moment. Which is why ds is in car seat asleep whilst I chill out!

foxtrot little bit in awe of anyone who has 2 at the moment, postman came just as ds latched earlier which was frustrating but imagine ds would have been worse.

Ordered some new clothes with birthday vouchers online, got 2 sizes in skirt and very happy smaller size fits! Phew!

kiwi

if you can't figure out why baby cries please go on YouTube and search for:

Priscilla Dunstan Baby Language Oprah Show

watch it. re-watch it. observe your baby and act according to which cry you think she/he makes. I promise you that soon you'll be thinking "how did I not know what s/he wanted?"

go and watch the clip now!!!

That's awesome Zing!! Thanks for the tip.

DD is having a nice settled day today. I think she is like DS in that I need to make sure she sleeps. DS was a terrible sleeper until we finally cracked it and set up a good routine for him. Although DD is already better!

zing I forgot to thank you for the Priscilla Dunston thing - it was really useful. These days some of the cries aren't so distinct but ds's dying cat cry still means he's tired.

Get some glycerine suppositories and try to go to the loo before any op if you're having stitches.

ds has been laughing in his sleep - so cute but the monkey stops every time I try to capture it. I can't wait for him to start doing these things awake but at the same time I feel like he's growing up too fast :(

Excuse me while I have a moan... DPs dad is on the phone every night at the mo. I understand why and that he's lonely but it means that every night during the week by the time dp gets home from work, we have dinner and then he speaks to his dad I barely get to see/speak to him before I go to bed and the stuff I want dp to help me with doesn't get done. I know I'm mean for being annoyed about it but I'm currently sat here with a sleeping ds on me after he's had a really unsettled day and I just want a drink but dp has forgotten he said he'd get me one an hour ago and is now on the phone to his dad.

Btw does anyone have any advice to ease a rock hard windy baby belly?

Also I'm using an app to track sleep and feeds - for the past few nights ds has slept for roughly 4 hours after making sure he feeds for at least 30 mins maybe with a short break. He normally feeds for about 15-20 mins and then goes about 2 hours between feeds so I think he must feed til satisfied but not necessarily til he's full?!

auntie windy tummy tips we have tried-
Tummy massage - use some oil (cumin oil is often recommended) and always massage in a clockwise direction round the tummy button.

Cumin suppositories - here (Germany)we get tiny baby ones (what is it about continental Europe and suppositories?) I'm not convinced but DH swears they help.

Fennel tea. Seems t calm DD down and help her fart.

Warm hot water bottle on the tummy or a nice warm bath if they like baths.

That's all that springs to mind right now.
I know some people also use fennel tea when making formula - sorry I don't know if you're ff or bf.

Argh this bloody site - have written a post several times and lost it :(

Nutella Thank you - I've tried most of that but not heard of the suppositories... not sure I could bring myself to do that :( it's gotta hurt their little bottoms. I'm breastfeeding. We've got another osteopath appointment tomorrow so fingers crossed.

auntie it may have been coincidence but we started using gripe water yesterday and ds who has had horrible colic for last 4 weeks every eve was so calm and happy last night. Was amazing! Worth a try?

Thanks, zing. That's a great link, isn't it? I found it brilliant for getting to know DD1. Baby's cry yesterday was a new one, and I think she's either got reflux (that's just started) or a little virus. Have just had another hour of screaming, even when she was in the baby carrier snuggled against me, which usually sends her to sleep. It's horrible, the poor wee thing seems to be in a lot of pain.

Will be a sofa day today, and I am so glad that a neighbour is going to take DD1 to the park this afternoon. It's so hard on her when I can't spend time with her. She's only 2 1/2.

Auntie I'm convinced the osteopath worked for DS. The night after the appointment was awful but the next night was better.

After watching Zing's clip I've been paying more attention to DD and what she wants and we've had two quiet days since then. FX it continues

ickle we've been using gripe water but Sunday and yesterday we had several cycles where he had a rock hard belly and was screaming, so we gave him gripe water which was followed by lots of bottom wind but then it would happen again a few hours later. I made sure I winded him well after a feed but it didn't make a difference and he was sick a few times. He seems better today though fingers crossed.

The osteopath said she thought it might be a growth spurt and his neck was really tight. Those of you that have used osteopaths for your babies how many sessions did you have?

I think i broke him... He screamed all the way home in the car (20 mins) was bright red and sweaty when I got him out of the car took him inside sat him on my lap and he sat there really quiet for about 10 mins before chewing on his fist for a bit and then going to sleep - very unlike him.

How is your DS doing now Auntie? The longer sleeps in the evening might be to do with a more 'normal' sleep cycle developing. I find DD does really long feeds in the evening ready for a long night time sleep. Can you send your DP a text message with your refreshment requests? That's what I resorted too!

He's better now thank you fox. Yes he's getting into more of a night time sleep routine though the time differs so he'll go for approx 4 hours but he might go to sleep at 9 or 11. Though when he woke at 6 this morning he was a bit distressed for some reason but a quick feed and a swaddle and he was ok.

I might resort to text messages!

Good morning!

Zing how are you doing now?

Yesterday was horrible! DS was only at school for the morning so I had both DS and DD from lunchtime. DS woke up from his nap in a foul mood and was intensely jealous when I had to feed DD and had a tantrum. I had both kids screaming at me several times! And I got nothing done all day.

Anyway it was so bad today could only be better! It's just after 10. DS is at school, breakfast is cleared away, a load of washing is on, DD has had a bath and I've started defrosting one of the fridge-freezers. The question is whether I'll be able to finish the fridge-freezer, or will DH come home from work and find us drowning in the freezer defrosting mess? DD has just fallen asleep feeding so fingers crossed I will be able to put her down so I can wash the fridge shelves, freezer drawers, clear clothes airers and hang up next load of washing!

Gap are doing 30% off starting today until Sunday. It's personalised so you need to sign up for emails. Last few years they have done this offer twice a year so worth looking out for when you need to get kids clothes. I never pay full price at Gap!

I hope you're all so quiet because you're enjoying your babies and life is treating you well :)

I noticed it was quiet, too. Hope you are all well, and that the babies are enjoying a little bit more sleep than before...

We've been chatting quite a bit on Facebook. Poor thread has been neglected.

How are you auntie and lemon?

And zing if you're reading, hope you're on the road to recovery now.

Yes I kept checking here- should have posted really!

Ds has awful wind in the night and when he woke this morning! Refused to eat so I have a leaking boob- wonder if he spat out more gripe water than normal. Got a little burp out this morning but hoping he will be bit better after this 'nap'!!!

Hope you are recovering zing

I almost left DP at 5 am this morning after a night of DS waking every hour his alarm went off and woke him again and he had a go at me when I mentioned it for trying to find reasons to have a dig at him... tbh if we're still together in a year with the way things are going it'll be a miracle.

Things with DS are ok - can't believe how fast he's growing. I had to buy 3-6 month vests yesterday as he's almost too long for the 0-3 ones :( I've been using a phone app to track his sleeping and feeding and apart from last night he's in a sort of routine and is better at being put down asleep. still demanding when he's awake though and screams in the car whenever we go anywhere. I tried to give him a bottle of formula but he wouldn't have it at all so I need to find a way to fit in expressing as well as sleep/food/showers when he's asleep!

My little bean is just about 5kgs now so no longer fits in the 'newborn' size clothes. Slight difference to Aunties DS there, clearly!

She had her 8w vaccinations with shocked and betrayed screaming and then screamed for hours afterwards, but eventually settled down for the night and was then back to normal the next day.

Not really relishing the next jab and the next and the next...but will do it.

She's been sleeping in our bed, in her bed in the middle and DH has been in the spare room for weeks. I think we'll transition her to sleeping in her crib soon though.

I've not joined the FB group. I quite like the anonymity of this. So I hope you don't all leave.