May 2007 - The babies are arriving!!

[aprilmeadow]

Thought i would start the offical May 2007 thread as it is May and we have now had our first offical May baby - even though we have 6 naughty babies who queue jumped and arrived in April .

Probably be a while before there are many messages but a least we have a thread now

April - i also used the she who must not be named book with DS1 and have every intention of using it again with DS2. It's a bit too early for me to start with DS2 - I think I waited until DS1 was c.4 weeks before I really gave it a go last time. It worked really well for me - best of luck!!

ITS - re not drinking until saturday. Still, my sympathies are not that great if you are going longer than 2 hours through the night without being rudely awoken by a screaming baby, closely followed by a grumpy DH telling you how he needs his sleep

I also will leave DS2 for 10 mins before going to him. I really don't think it's mean to leave them, at least half the time, DS will then settle himself back to sleep in that 5-10 min period. So saying, i'll only leave him if I know he isn't due for a feed/needs his nappy changing/suspect it could be wind. Luckily (fingers crossed emoticon), the crying at night isn't waking up ds1

Jonah i am only starting now as E is 9wks today and feel that its time to at least try something.

Hello,

Befnal the winding tips were good, I find the pull and stretch one the best but as you say better when sat straight up. Haven't tried the gym stuff yet but will have ago if needed, what it has taught me is that it's just no use trying to settle a windy baby.

Suportive words needed now please ladies.
I'm sooooo sad this bf malarky is just not working for my girl. She just can't do it. I feel so sad for her and for me, I really wanted to feed her as long as possible, I thought maybe 7-8mths like I did with maddie but it looks like I'm going to have to knock it on the head already. She can not get to grips with latching correctly and therefore is not feeding efficiently. She can suck and suck for hours and is never satisfied. I know my milk is good because when I give her the expressed 3oz bottle in the evening she just loves it. It's like heaven on her face watching her feed and then she settles straight away for 3-4 hrs. I'm going to continue expressing as much as I can as it's easy to do but I don't think I can express for every feed so will combine it with formula.
I'm not sure why I'm so sad about it as I've spent the last few years telling friends not to beat them selves up about it and here I am doing it. I think it's the closeness I feel from feeding that I feel I'll miss.

Sorry for long post, but needed to write it all down as it's been going round and round in my head for days now.

MJB I know excactly what your going through, I really expected to be doing at least 4 months and was prepared to do longer, however A just couldnt do, when he was on scbu the nurses were saying that is surprising how many babies just dont get it, but like you i was always saying dont beat yourself up - so i didnt too much but was still a bit sad as it is such a lovely time to be that close to your lo and very rewarding to be doing it, however better still and more rewarding to have a happy contented healthy child, than one that is stressed out and hungry, hugs to you xx

AM I thought that might be "the routine" not sure i am disciplined enough to follow it, £200 will buy aloy ok KK's lol

ITS hope your infection gets better soon

for you Mrs JB..Even though I hated BFing with Lily I felt a bit sad when I gave it up as even though it hurt tremendously and was doing neither of us any good, it was so lovely sometimes to look down at her little face and know I was the only one who could feed her..
Could you maybe do sort of half and half-give her expressed milk/formula for some of the feeds and keep the other half BF's proper?Or would your milk dry up?
If its any consolation at all though im not Bfing this time at all, and although I was worried it would mean I didnt bond with Mae as much or her with me, I havent found that at all..I feel just as close to her as I did to Lily..Big hugs to you though as I know how hard this can be...

Mae was very unsettled last night, lots of wind, so I was up for two hours trying all BBs techniques..did the baby gym with Lily with great success, not this wee mite though..Lily slept through it all thank goodness however, as I have hit the wall re the tiredness a bit now..boobs still rock solid and feel shattered but cant sleep during the day for some reason..even when I get the chance..

DH took Lily to toddlers group today and was fussed over by all the other Mums..he says he's now considering becoming a stay at home Dad, he enjoyed it so much!
I took Mae out shopping for Fathers Day bits..I love taking them out at this age as everyone fusses over them in the shops because they are so tiny..

hope everyone has a good night with babies..

The people buying are house are coming round in half an hour to measure things...why DH agreed to it at ruddy 9pm is anyones guess..well they will have to deal with me in my PJ's as as soon as they are gone im off to bed!Night all..

OOH, forgot to say Madeindevon was readmitted to hosp at the weekend due to her blood pressure being high..she is ok though, hopefully out on Wednesday, and says Freddie is doing great..

LARGEGANDT...You are at your Hants address now yes?

Evening, I can't possibly keep up with you all now, congrats to JL!

SOH, if you are feeding that often then you need to eat bucketloads drink lots too and rest to keep it up. Though I am very of the thin comments, I had to buy a pair of trousers two sizes bigger than my usual size to keep me going

MrsJB, I'm so sorry the bf isn't working out, I would feel exactly the same, are you sure it isn't tongue tie? My best friend also experienced tongue tie with her ds and it was so straight forward to solve and the bf became much easier.

LG&T, how nice to be back home, I hope you have lots of friends who can help you with school runs and playdates and shopping? I take my hat off to you, three for me is terribly time consuming and I don't feel like i am giving any of them enough attention.

Befnal, glad you got the parcel and the winding tips are great, the shoulder job seems to work best for us. Also if I don't wind J properly he has the most dreadful hiccups, the dc think it is hilarious!

I can't believe all this talk of jigjig and Pebble lol at your husband going to the pub for condoms! During my 6 week check with ds1 I had a regular copper coil put it - it was absolutely marvellous, this time we have already been to the docs for the snip talk

J does not settle much during the day apart from in my arms or in his car seat, in which the poor boy seems to spend a great deal of his time. We have our bedtime routine of bath at 6.30 and bed and he goes down really well, last night he even managed to go through to 11.45. After that he is awake every 2.5 hours. We are getting there..

Has anyone got any recommendations for more natural bath products? Especially a post bath oil or lotion for super flaky babies?

Hey MrsJB - DONT BEAT YOURSELF UP!! I know how much you wanted it to be like it was for maddie, BUT every baby is different. You have managed to bf for a month (some ladies cant manage it at all)which is more than ladies are able to do. If you do have to stop then you know that you have given J the best start in life by feeding her. And if you are able to express and give that to her then she is still going to be getting 'the good stuff'. My advice (based on the advice you gave me before E was born) is your advice. Write down what you would say to a friend in the same situation and then read it back to yourself . I am only at the end of a phone if you want to chat xx

btw it has taken me half an hour to write this post what with running up and down the stairs to settle madam

Burts Bees baby lotion Cam..you can get it in John Lewis I think as well as other places...

Forgot to admonish SOH for being on the point of collapse and also being thin..sit down, eat some cake, (and some spinach for the iron)Please take it easy..

Well im glad some other people have the awake every 2.5 hours thing as well..so tell me all those with older kids, how do you manage to be up all night with the baby and up all day with the other DC's and not go ever so slightly mental/grey with fatigue?DH going back to work on Monday and I have no idea how Im going to manage (sorry to whinge, I know I have it relativly easy with just two)

The only way we get through it is knowing that Tues-Fri Jack is at nursery! 8am -6pm Weekends and Mondays i make sure i have things planned, whether it be seeing family (all parents live within 10mins of us) or friends. I have become a member of a few places so that family outings are free or as cheap as poss. Or failing that we go and mouch around the shops

April you and I are on the same wavelength! Scoot, ds1 goes to pre-school mon-thurs 8.45 to 1 and he eats his packed lunch there. So in the morning I clean, feed J, cuddle him, clean a bit more, feed J, cuddle him, go shopping/out for a stroll in the pushchair, feed J cuddle him (sense a pattern here?)then in the afternoon we spend a lot of time in the park, visiting friends and back to school to pick up dd..not much time to sleep when the baby sleeps, not that he does sleep much during the day I think probably it is more difficult for you with Lily being so small, ds1 is 3 so is quite independent, though naturally I feel GUILT GUILT GUILT that I am not spending more time with both ds1 and dd.

MrsJB, I can only reiterate what everybody else is saying. You have given J such a fantastic start and as you have a great supply and can keep bm for a month in the freezer you could effectively keep expressing, eke out what you get and mix feed for quite a while. J will be satisfied, you can still be giving her the antibodies and you can have lots of skin to skin, bath together and make time for a good long cuddle a few times a day. Be so proud of yourself for persevering. J loves you and would have loved those hours of suckling with her mummy. I'm an old lentil weaver but I think it's times like that that stay in children's subconscious as they grow.

[hippy]

M has successfully fed on and off for five hours, the longest break was 20 minutes. I'm exhausted. She likes to cluster feed in an evening. I might get a 3hr break from it now if I'm very lucky- enough time for a quick post on MN, a shower, a cup of tea and a nap. In all seriousness, I'm finding it so hard to look after myself adequately. M feeds so much that I don't have time to cook or make sure I'm drinking enough. HV is right, I need more help but don't really have any friends that don't work full time, they're all childless, my family isn't really near enough, I don't drive and I'm useless at asking for help. I haven't slept for more than 1.5hr at a time since she was born. Probably not helping and DH works 14hrs a day. Still in 4 weeks DH starts a new job so should be home more. I can't wait.

Going to try and cram a day's worth of stuff into the precious minutes that M is asleep for.

I knew you'd all make me feel a little better about it. Thanks for your sound advice. I am going to keep expressing for as long as I can.

SOH, please be careful, don't overdo it lovelie. I know it's easier said than done but at somepoint you will hit a point where you can't go on. It may be some of the reason why M feeds so often and for so long. She is obviously a hungry baby but if you are run down, tired, anemic etc... your milk quality will not be tip top so she'll need to feed more to be satisfied. (I think) In other words, REST, EAT, DRINK, please.

Off out for the day tommorow, it's like a major operation to prepare for it. Geeee, not sure it's worth it?

I love planning days out. I particularly like that bit when it's five minutes to the time when you plan to leave and you and dh look at each other with mild panic in your eyes, both knowing that you're having exactly the same thought: is it too late to cancel?

Oh and you're usually about half an hour away from home when you remember you've forgotten the most vital piece of baby paraphernalia you could need for a day out. Probably just me.

I will try to rest and eat I promise. Going to buy lots of beef and spinach tomorrow.

Scoot Wgoes to preschool for 2 full days and half day fridays, weds we usually meet up with people, tho today they have cancelled so going to walk to the vilolahe today do a bit of shopping get some snacks and go to the park for an hour or so, its harder when is raining and not easy to stay interested in all the drawing and dressing up when you have only had a few hours sleep

SOH are you still taking vitamins??? please please get some sleep when M is sleeping dont worry about cleaning ect that will still be there next week/ month

Right off to enjoy the last of the sunshine bfore the rain sets in

Morning everyone. Hope everyone had a reasonable night's sleep.
Mrs JB sorry to hear you are feeling so down re bf. I went through that last time as C just couldn't feed preety much like J. I have to say I wimped out this time as I had such an awful experience last time. You've had some great advice on here, don't beat yourself up about it. You need to do what's best for both of you and i admire anyone who does it even for a short time so well done.
SOH I add to the look after yourself voices. It is so hard in the early days with your first one but try your best to get a little me time if you can. It's amazing how much better you will feel if you just get a little sleep and eat and drink regularly.
I'm also in the school of send your older kids somewhere. C still goes to his regular cm for 3 days a week. It woirks brilliantly for us as it gives me time with R and he loves it there so much. She does far more with them than I ever could with R in tow and he has so many good friends there. It's means on the other 2 days we have good quality time where I can do things with him.

Hi all. there is no way i can catch up!

Freddie was eventually born by emergency c section at 19.58 on 05/06/07 weighing 9lb 3oz.I was induced at 10pm on 04/06/07 and my waters broke at 4am on the 5th. A proper birth annoucement story will follow and be very long no doubt!!! I went home on the afternoon of 8th june but was back in hospital again by lunchtime the next day due to my very high blood pressure. I eventually got out yesterday afternoon! I am on medication to keep my BP in check. Aside from that i feel great and Freddie is just what i ordered!! haha He is feeding very well and sleeping 4-5 hrs at night in one stretch already. My DH and I are totally besotted with him. He was worth everything....of course im totally bias but he is gorgeous!!

Morning, well - it is for me - we wake at 10!

congratulations MID! sorry you had such an ordeal but fab that you now have your little bundle!

JL is still in hospital until thurs as they haven't discharged her DS (wow!) yet, but she is doing well and has even had a nice midwife .

SOH - have you thought about expressing? I have the avent isis uno which is an electric/hand pump.
warning - more wisdom from the bb archive

I find expressing really helps you with finding out whether they are just after cuddles or actually hungry too and gives you a break as your dh can do one of the night feeds (much quicker from a bottle then straight down again so not much hassle for him). I found that when dp went back to work, the only way i could settle L was by giving her a quick 3 min feed - then worked out she was using me to get to sleep and (shock) i had trained her to do it! have now started being a bit stricter during the day and making her go to sleep on her own a la baby whisperer (dp finds this easier as if i pick her up for the three min cuddle when she cries she starts rooting again (and its very difficult for me to tell myself SHE IS NOT HUNGRY!!!!) when dp is there he tells me and he is right - when he picks her up she goes quiet and does not root, the little madam!)

apols for the long post but think we have to share these things as there is so much to learn!

xx

Good morning everyone
Long time no speak - just been finding my feet for the first week and now slowly feel like I am getting into some kid of routine.

Congrats MID2! Your lo was born the same day as Leila. A great birth date 5/6/7!

Re: breastfeeding - I have also shed more than a few tears of frustration. I have loads of milk, but such a slow let down reflex that she seems to be at the breast forever. I can feed constantly, but she is STILL hungry. All the time. My breasts are incredibly painful as a result and I have tried to express by hand and with a pump, but its still so slow . I have tried warm flannels, looking a pictures of Leila....nothing seems to help. I hit the the wall and am now supplementing with formula. I am lucky that Leila is happy at the breast and with the bottle, but it didn't stop the guilt! My DP thinks I am mad as she is healthy, content and gaining weight beautifully. So why I am beating myself up about it? I can't help feeling that I have failed - despite knowing how ridiculous this is at the same time. I would not be able to look after myself if I exclusively breastfed her, which is not good for either of us.

As a first time mum - from what I understand I will always be feeling guilty about something, so I had better get used to it ;-)

Congrats MID!

Minipop, it's really early days, and the bf is likely to speed up soon. With DS1 feeds always took forever, but it does get better

I have just had a rather delicious parcel arrive..... HUGE thanks to you Scoot for my tum KK's!!! I was doing so well with the not eating fatty foods too...... im scoffing a custard filled choc topped one as we speak You are a naughty lady, lovely though.

I got my secret stork pressie from MrsJB yesterday too! It is lovely, a gorgeous little french outfit and a lovely soft toy for Beau AND a jar of Marshmallow Fluff!!! I have it on toast and it is sooooo yummm.

I fear the 2 stone i have managed to lose in the last 2 weeks could soon be undone, i still have another stone and a half to go too.

SOH good lord, you must eat, your milk will be less filling for Mathilda and that is probably why she is feeding all the time. You will be no use to her if you start collapsing from hunger and dehydration. If she feeds alot and you only have one hand free buy lots of the innocent smoothies, i lived off them when i had the twins. I was expressing from both boobs avery 3 hours to keep my supply up for 3 months when they were in hospital, and wanted to sit by their incubators. I consummed my body weight in various smoothies in that first 6 months with them. I know you are a soup fan too, make a vat of it and put in everything, whizzing till smooth so you can drink it. Drinking loads makes such a difference too, buy bottles of water for ease. Ok lecture over >

Scoot i will post the bumper bar for the P&T when i get a mo, found it yesterday as we were unpacking.

MrsJB dont worry about the feeding, Hugs would only feed for 8 weeks, some just dont wanna! No need to feel bad, and just think of all the lovely night feeds A can do now...... PMSL

Beau slept for 5 hours last night > course he had about 4 feeds in 2 hours to make up for it this morning. I was feeding him on the bench outside Jonah's classroom Oh and he screamed his head off for 3 hours before flaking at 11 last night >

Forgot to say CONGRATULATIONS to Maidindevon and to JL, cant wait to hear more from you!

its a good day for parcel's I've got one too thanks BB, its a lovely book. I forgot to send my proper address, sorry but it still got here!

SOH, Scoot, J and I have joined you both in the feeding all the blinkin time scenario and we were up every 2 hours last night, he wouildn't settle at all, he was difficult to wind and suffice to say I used ALL of BB's tricks in one night to no avail . I am pretty tired.. He has not settled much today either, but at least he didn't cry as we went around Tescos. That took longer than normal because all the grannies stopped to coo and gaa . SOH can you try and get out a bit too? It'll make you feel better and give M a change of scene. Dd used to get quite bored staying at home and would then constantly demand boobies.

After a rotten night J makes up for it by giving me the most enormous smile, makes it all worthwhile

Congrats MID, Freddie is such a cute name

Aww Freddie is such a gorgeous name. How lovely.

Just got back from the GP's. I haven't seen a doctor for years so forgot what an ordeal it is. The hour long wait was only the start of the hellish episode and it was capped off by some miserable old bugger complaining to the receptionist because I was feeding in public. Sorry but the waiting room was roasting hot and I'd been there an hour, my dd was hungry. I should have sprayed in his direction. I did pmsl that his disgruntled 'that woman over there is feeding her baby in full view of us all' with 'I know, isn't it absolutely lovely to see' from the very nice and thankfully enlightened receptionist. Upshot of the appointment was that I have an iron level of 9 and my blood pressure is 80/50. Apparently this is Not A Good Thing. Got a 6 month course of iron to take, a slap on the wrists and an order to do nowt for a few weeks. Fat chance. The problem is that there's nobody else to help out. DH works 15hrs a day and then has to sleep at some point. I definitely suffer from Mathilda not actually needing food but rooting because she knows I'm there. Trouble is there's nobody else to comfort her and if she can smell milk she'll demand it. Smoothies are probably a good idea and I might get some vitamins too. I drink about 6 litres of water a day though as I'm very thirsty, I just don't eat. Going to do an online shop now, so feel free to suggest some iron-rich stuff that's easy. Going for watercress, beef, cabbage and spinach for starters. I do feel terrible today, nearly fainted just trying to go upstairs. Feeling decidedly pathetic.

hiya SOH - almonds? other nuts? I'm anemic and low-BP as well. Take care of yourself!!