December-the 'Merry Christmas' Babies!

[Calmriver]

Hi Guys, thought I wouldn't betray our months of being together...whats a week amoungst friends!!!

Decided to jot down naps and feeds today, as I have been reading everyone else's LOs' habits and haven't a clue really

dd is on her third nap today (two of them only broken for a good long feed) and has had about 4.5 hours awake/bath/play time in between. I feed her on demand, but have started trying to make sure she feeds at lesat every 3 hours during the day to tank up for night time - because nights have deteriorated recently

Last night and night before: slept from 9pm till 1am, fed, slept from 1.30am till 3.45, fed, slept till 5.30am, fed, then slept/snacked/slept/snacked every hour or so until 9.30am.

The early morning snacking and unsettledness (seems like wind/reflux) is doing me in. Maybe if I went to bed earlier?!??

Thanks Castles and Jabberwockey - already feeling better today, the pain has definitely improved since yesterday.
My lo's poos are are very bright yellow and like Devongirl put so well (pmsl) just explode from a big fart - so glad I read this today as I was getting worried that Felix had diarrheoa. He poos loads too!
Oh and the hiccups, it's awful I find he gets them all the time, esp at 5am...

Having an awful screaming/crying day again today the only time I get any peace at all is when I take Felix out in his pram when he falls also almost immediately but as soon as I get back home the screaming starts again, can only be colic as now ruled out everything else...

Well, ds2 moved his fussy period from late evening to 10.30. Finally got him down at 12:30 and he slept for 3 hours. We're up feeding now and here's hoping he goes back down easy

HW, I'll bet he gets interested in the play gym soon.

Eli, ds2 is funny about feeding in the mornibg too. He won't settle in for a proper nurse, just keeps messing around at the nipple causing me to leak milk everywhere

bebespain, glad the mastitis is better. It's amazing how one can go from feeling so awful to so much better that quickly, isn't it? Thank goodness for anti-b's!

We had 2 (brothers) of ds1's more "active" playmates over yesterday. I was utterly shattered by the time they left. I had been putting off having them over 'cause I knew it would be that way.

lots of hiccups here, too. Ds1 was the same.

Morning all. Hellish nigth as DD was up from 7pm until 12.30am. EEk. But she then slept until 7.30 am with just a 20 min feed in the middle. DH also let me lie in until 9.00 (hurrah) and he has taken DD to softplay area so I am here on my own with a sleeping baby

My DD always gets hiccups in the evening just as she is about to go to sleep...

I just bought a playgym too and she liked the lights but wasnt too fussed to be honest. I have a takealong swing though which she loves. Got rid of bouncing cradle though - DD1 hated it and I cant say DD2 is that fussed either.

DS2 seems more perturbed than anything else with lights, music and/or vibration. We're leaving all that stuff turned off for the time being. Ds1 is very sensitive to stimuli also

Hi Girls,
Just a quick note to say sorry I am not around, our internet is still broken and we are having it sorted on Friday 19th so I will be back!!!!

Ben is being a pain
Had his tongue tie cut made no difference to his feeding all the time or his crying with what I though was hunger? Going to gp tomorrow, thinking possibly silent reflux? Have ruled out thrush and bf counseller thought it was due to insufficient latch with the tongue tie but its not getting better

Hope you are all well and I will have a proper catch up next weekend in the comfort of my own computer

Love to you all xxxxxx

Hi everyone
Have been away for ages as have been having huge broadband/phone problems(have been without either phone or internet since Oct 23 in fact and last week didnt have either!). Anyway, I must try to catch up,but it will take a while. I hope every one is well and getting a bit of sleep at least!

I have new questions to ask you all every day, but lots of things have just sorted themselves out. Gabriela seems to be doing ok, apart from the normal worries about poo colour, crying, vomiting etc. I'm still sticking to the feeding routine and it mostly seems to work (we've even got a couple of 5 hour stretches at night) although every time she cries when we are out and I get asked 'doesn't she need feeding?',I feel guilty-most women here in Spain feed on demand, I think.

Things that have worked-the Tiny Love mobile is great, sends her off to sleep(and my DP too, unfortunately) and she's now started to make out the shapes. The vibrating chair/bed(-double vibrate mode-) also sends her off to sleep/calms her down. Nipple shields have really helped me and not affected my supply. We've also been giving her water most days and the odd bottle of formula when she has a really bad night(both recommended by my MW).

Things that havent worked-swaddling isn't her thing it seems. We tried a Grobag and she spent all night kicking-what clothes should she wear underneath? She didnt like having bare legs and socks. Lying her on her front-the MW says we should try to do this every day to strengthen her neck muscles but she hates it.

Is there anything you have been told to avoid eating while bfing?

magnolia - hope you get to the bottom of the crying

annaspanner - my dd isnt in her grobag yet but with dd1 we dressed her as normal in vest & babygro/sleepsuit. she used to sleep well in it. look at the grobag website and i think they used to give guidance on what to dress them on. I havent put DD on her tummy much yet as she hates it. DH tries every now and then but it makes her cry I am b/f and i eat what I like..

Hi Magnolia, wondered where you had got to? Sorry to hear about crying/not latching on. My DD2 had her tongue tie cut at 1 week. She's 6 weeks now and still a lousy feeder. Ok at latching just comes off and falls asleep alot. She also cries/screams alot. We have her on gaviscon & ranitidine for gastric reflux as DD1 had it and they are pretty sure it runs in families. I think much of it is down to not having enough time (or arms) to just sit and hold her. Hope you get to the bottom of it soon I've been told to only feed her every 3 hours which is effing hard when the screaming gets going .

Hello! 3 days old! Already reading these tales of getting 5 hour stretches of sleep makes me very but I know it will come in a few weeks! William is amazing and feeding like a trooper although he has more trouble with one side where the nipple is flatter and doesn't take so much so I'm developing the lopsided look! trying him with a shield on it at the minute though and he seems to be feeding well.

We are in cloth nappies already and loving them, I really didn't get on with the disposables they leaked everywhere. My main problem is getting him to sleep without being held. He can be fast asleep but as soon as he is put down the screaming starts. Ok in the day but at night it doesn't really help! Still will b trying swaddling tonight I think!

Anyway William is now full of milk and dozing so time to pass him to dp and go nap before tonights onslaught!

annaspanner, things my hv told me to aviod whilst BF is: caffeine, garlic, onions, sprouts cabbage brocloli and dairy! I havvent to be honest coz thats alot to cut out MY LO seems ok with it at the mo tho...he has colic wuite bad but i use infacol and it helps x

HW, why were you told to avoid all those foods? Seems extreme to me (says she wafting garlic at the PC whilst BF )

HW, not all babies are sensitive to those foods but they are gas triggers. DS1 was VERY sensitive to dairy. Found out last night that ds2 is sensitive to raw broccoli and cauliflower. I'm still trying to work out if dairy is a real problem or not. Same thing with caffeine although I think it's best to limit that anyway.

Indith, lopsided boobs here, too. I've started offering the smaller one first to try to even things out a bit.

DS2 has slept from 9 - 1 and we're up now. It would be sooo nice if he would do another 4 hours...

Still up and at 'em. I can't sleep and it's the middle of the night, and the baby's even asleep...

The boob thing is really something....I just always feel full, even when DD2 is finished eating. Maybe it's just because I am not used to having bigger boobs. I LOVE having bigger boobs...

Oh sleep..... why can't I sleep??????

Anyone heard from Olihan??

Mastitis... it can be a baddy! I was so sick with it with my first child that I was a bit delusional. DH had my MIL come over to stay with me, because I was so feverish that I was crazy...

Antibiotics rock for this one, so use 'em if you've got 'em... and if you don't, go get some!!!!!

Sorry to hear that Bailey's having to sign off awhile... I don't have time to keep up with this thread, let alone surf any others I have no idea what's out there... probably won't go looking so much either, thanks to some of the things I've seen here about people being nasty about wipes-warmers and militant about breastfeeding (why anyone would bother ranting about another mum using a wipes-armer is beyond me)...

Eli - I am glad to hear that someone else is also having trouble keeping up... I was beginning to think I was doing something wrong, being unable to log on and keep up.

Uh oh, someone's awake upstairs, guess I'd better go check it out.

And as for the poo discussion... Kirsten's is often bright green... and explosive... poor little gassy thing!!

Hi NM, I'm here!! Been having broadband probs and haven't been able to get online much since ds2 was born. Seems to be sorted out for the time being.

Ds2 is still being a dream baby, slept from 7 to 12 last night, fed for an hour and a half then woke at 4 and 7 for food. Typically I didn't go to bed until 11.30 cos I was expecting him to wake up so I'm a bit bleary this morning! Exploding poos here too, only had one nappy failure so far - the poo up to the shoulder blades was one of those things I'd forgotton until it happened, such fun!

Dh is back to work part time this week, then full time next week so I'll be tackling the pre school run on my own. How do you get 3 children washed, dressed, fed and out of the house by 8:30 single handedly, as well as get showered and dressed yourself? Any advice welcome!

Olihan, I find the morning pretty hard getting everyone ready but then I can be back home by 9.30am (like today) & it's all alot calmer. My advice is just to do the minimum: i.e. feed LO, get 2 older DCs dressed & breakfasted & leave all the other tidying up etc to when you get home. Also try and do as much as you can the night before like put stuff in school bag, make packed lunches (or at least think about it). On the plus side being so busy takes your mind off tiredness & makes the time go more quickly. Not that I am wishing these first 3 months away or anything ...

Having said all that, am housebound again with the 2 DDs this week as looks like DD1 is getting chicken pox. Roll on next week when she can go to nursery, playgroup & see her mates. Think she's getting pretty bored - I certainly am!

Jabber, have you heard from Lubella? Ran into her on another thread but nothing recently. If you are lurking, Lubella, been thinking about you

castles, I emailed her the other day as I was getting a bit concerned. She said everything was fine and just not posting as much for the moment. I wish she would come back to the thread though.

lubella we misssss you!!!!

Thanks Satinshoes! the Grobag worked last nite-we just kept her normal clothes on-bodysuit andsleepsuit. It's so much easier to transfer her to the moses basket after a feed.

Jabber, Hayley and Babypowder, my MW only told me to avoid chocolate but having looked online I?ve found lists that seem to include everything I normally eat! I?m one of those vegetarians who eat fish, luckily, because fish seems to be one of the few things I can now eat, according to some lists-no pulses, little veg, no citrus fruits, no dairy etc. Maybe it?s a trial and error thing. We went out for a Thai meal and had some wine on Saturday night and got very little sleep-my LO just wouldn't feed and wouldn't sleep-I couldn't do anything.

Indith, when I said a couple of 5 hour stretches, I meant that-2! and the second time it was my enormous boobs and soaked nursing pads that woke me up....and I spent the next day in a lot of pain. How do your boobs adjust to shorter gaps between feeds in the day and longer at night? I?m looking forward to my first complete nights sleep(sometime this year I hope) but really don?t see how it?s possible.

hello all,

I can finally, FINALLY join in too!

Little baby Joseph John was born 11 days late last Tuesday 9th at 5.24 pm, after an extremely long and horrible labour lasting over 18 hours. Thank the dear lord for epidurals!!!
It was just me and Indith left on the December thread last weekend, both getting thoroughtly fed up, so I'm really, really pleased that she managed to have what sounds like a wonderful birth experience!

Anyway, Joseph turned out to be a whopping 10lb-er, and I ended up with a ventouse delivery as there was no way I would have been able to push him out by myself. He also got his shoulder stuck on the way out - everyone looked alarmed and one of the midwives pushed the emergency button on the wall and the room filled with about 20 people just in time to see me with my ankles hoisted up round my ears in an effort to make more room for him! Talk about total and complete loss of dignity! He arrived safe and sound though, and to the doctor's credit, my perineum is intact and I only have a tiny grade 1 tear with a couple of stitches.
Spent a couple of nights in hospital to make sure Joseph's head and shoulder were ok (they are), had my nipples practically ripped from my body by his sink-plunger sucking, but now we are back home all safe and sound, and he is the most beautiful, gorgeous baby in the whole world!
DH & me are deeply knackered, but we're slowly getting the hang of night-time feeding, and the wisdom of taking in turns so we each get a stretch of uninterrupted sleep. DH has got two weeks off work, so I don;t know what will happen once he goes back - trying not to think about that right now..
Today was our first outing as a family - a glamorous stroll to the supermarket!
Funny how people make lots of room for pregnant women and smile at you and make conversation, but once you have your little baby in a pram all they do is tut and wish you would get out of the way! Hey ho.

stokeymonkey..congrats hun, wow 10lbs how did u do it ? well done! MY LO is 9lb 8oz now at a month old and i think thats heavy, i cant imagine pushim him out now! LOL