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

Welcome Sheepgomeep I had an elective section and am healing well, but two weeks later am still very bruised.

SOH, good to hear from you and am sorry to hear you have had such a tough time. With my first, my dd, I had a similar though not quite as bad, experience as you and for a long time felt cheated that I had not managed to deliver naturally and that I had failed. I tried for a VBAC second time round and felt much more in control, but still ended up with an emergency section and whilst disappointed i realised that I had tried and had laboured and that in itself was an enormous achievement and i had two utterly gorgeous children as a result.

Also you both have to remember you have had major surgery as well as a newborn to cope with. All quite emotional..

Hi all, looks like I'm finally joining you! Birth announcement has been posted and pics are on profile. Will catch up when I can

congrats lwatkins - she is beautiful!

Morning everyone, congrats to you LWatkins!
SOH good to have you back in the fold. I'm so sorry you had such a tough time but glad you are feeling better about it all now. It's shocking how much ante and postnatal care varies around the country. I had reasonable antenatal care but treatment in the hospital couldn't have been better. My labour was quite traumtic as R had done a poo inside and my water was full of thick meconium when it broke. I was monitored throughout and her heartbeat kept disappearing from the trace. Of course we were terrified but my mw was brilliant all the way through and did her best to distract us and keep us calm. Once home however the care was not the greatest and I felt very left to my own devices as it is my 2nd. The mw who visited admitted they didn't have enough mw for home visits so I had to go to the postnatal clinic to be checked with both children in tow!
Well the weather is looking decidedly dodgy here today and I've got a HUGE load of washing out. How can one little tiny person make your washing so much harder. I seem to have the machine on at least once a day! I'm praying it doesn't rain - it was beautiful bright sun when we got up at 7am! R has gone back to sleep in her bed in the day for the first time! She settled almost immediately and I only had to leave her to cry for 3 minutes - a record! Ds is having a snack watching Nina and the Neurons - how bizarre is that programme! I try to convince myself it's mildly educational but I don't think he really understnads what it's about anyway.
Hope you all have a lovely bank holiday, despite the weather. Catch up soon!

Hey there SOH - lovely to hear fromn you. I too had a crap time in hospital, and came out on day 3 or 2 depending on who you are talking to. Found the midwives vile, and I was one of the people that you describe that found I got no support with breastfeeding and Alexa is now on formula. Every windy pain and constipated poo I cry over now, as I feel that it is my fault as she isn't breastfed.

The midwives also made things up in my notes. However, they failed to mention that on my second night, I called the mw and told her that Alexa wouldn't settle anywhere other than in my arms, and I was so tired I was worried I was going to drop her. I asked whether they could suggest anything, and was told 'no.'. I came home the next day. I fully appreciate that the pn ward was clearly under-resourced, but I couldn't leave that place quickly enough.

I am also an emtional wreck, although this is day 9, and I feel a little better today. Lexi is fast asleep in her moses basket, looking like butter wouldn't melt. Was looking forward to a nice day until mil announced she was coming.

And SOH - dh and I are also now poo obsessed. As Lexi is suffering from wind, I take her nappy off when she starts to strain, and the poor thing has to suffer the indignity of her parents staring at her little botty while she poos.

God help her. And us.

LW, MKG and LG & T - congratulations, you're all fab. xx

Thanks for the advice, everyone - feeling a bit more confident about it all today, now that I know I should be producing enough milk. Had another crazy night of feeding last night (pretty much continuous from 9pm to 2am) but managed to get some sleep in the three hour intervals between feeds from that point on, so feeling a bit more human today.

SOH - great to see you again. So sorry to hear that things did not go to plan. Please don't blame yourself in any way at all - you have your beautiful baby girl with you now (and you passed the 37 week mark!) and that's all that matters.

Congrats to GB, Sheep and LW! More lovely May babies (what cuties)!

Hello all

Cant beleive Im finally here on the post natal thread!! I really thought i would still be sat waiting for Alana-May to arrive.

Ive been meaning to post on here for ages but things have been so hectic and ive been trying to get into some sort of routine (it hasnt worked yet lol). Also lack of sleep has left me feeling like im walking around in a daze most of the time.

Alana-May is absolutely gorgeous, i still cant beleive i have a little girl. Changing the nappies still feels strange, after having two boys im used to seeing little willies lol. Also with boys they give a little warning before they pee over you, little girls dont so we've had a few incidents much to dh's amusement The boys both dote on her and she is being thoroughly spoilt by everyone. She isnt much of a sleeper prefering to lay there looking around most of the time but when she does sleep it can be for anything up to 6hrs, its just a shame she doenst do it at night when i can enjoy the rest too lol. I think ive managed about 5hrs sleep since Tuesday and most of that has been in little cat naps. I had forgotten how hard breastfeeding can be. It took three days for my milk to come in and since then my breasts have been rock solid and very painful, it didnt help that Alana-May was feeding almost hourly last night so as well as sore breasts my nipples felt as though they were on fire. She hasnt got into a routine with her feeding yet its very much as and when she wants it, sometimes every two hours sometimes four. Hopefully things will calm down soon, i hope so for my nipples sake lol

Im now off to try to add pics to my profile but my brain feels so foggy at the moment it may take several attempts lol

Will try to post on here more regularly from now on. Ive missed MNet but havent had the energy to switch the pc on let alone concentrate on writing anything that makes sense

Welcome Pebble! We should start getting a bit busier on here now

Creena you are sounding a lot livelier, now its my turn, J is all stuffy and full of green snot and needing feeding every couple of hours to unblock him. Anyone got any unblocking stuffy noses techniques?

Gosh all your mw and hospital experiences makes me realise how lucky i have been, fab mw, loads of help and good follow-up here at home, maybe its because we live in the middle of nowhere

cam apparantly squirting breast milk up a babies nose can clear up the gunk. hope that helps.

think this is the only way I will ever get on the postnantal thread!My baby is never coming out, lol.

Hello all, welcome to the most recent to the post club.

Pebble and Creena, I know how you feel with the feeding lark. Jorja is on a mission the last two days. I had her weighed on Thursday and she had only put on 50g, MW was not impressed. I think Jorja took note and has decided to become a new nipple fashion accessory. Last night she slept for a total of 2hrs between 3-5am. I remember a similar few days with Maddie though so I'm hoping it's going to get better.

AM, I'm having a lovely time with L thanks but the weather is crap!!! It's just nice to spend time together though.

Hello to all

Well my milk has finally started to come in and I must say ladies, I'm impressed with my new bigger boobies! Breastfeeding is still going really well, little vampire that she is!

M/w was here this morning and Lottie now weighs 6lbs 11oz, she did weigh 7lbs 6.5oz at birth but m/w said this was ok as they can loose up to 10% of their birth weight in the first week. Seems rather a lot though! She also checked my stitches They are so sore. Apparently my episotomy wasn't exactly on the small side, the bruising and swelling is some of the worst my m/w has seen and the combination of pain killers I've been given is stronger than some of the sectioned women get. I've not been brave enough to look at them yet, but must say am rather proud as I had my first poo today and it was no where near as bad as I thought it was gonna be. So that's a gold star for me She also did that heel prick test, my poor wee lamb screamed the house down

Have to go back to the hospital in 6-8 weeks as Lottie has a heart murmour and they need to see if it has gone or not. When I was in hospital the rather young, tactless, female doctor came round to check all the babies and when she was checking L over turned to me and said abruplty 'oh, she has a heart murmour she'll need to go to the nursery for tests'. I nearly fainted, followed by an ocean of feckin tears! Stupid bitch. Complained about her before I left, as if you tell a mum that her newborn baby has a farkin heart murmour in such an insensative way without explaining anything about it. Still about it now and it took me the rest of that day to calm down and stop shaking once a nicer doctor reassured me it was common in newborns.

Other than that one instance my care could not have been better whilst in hospital. The staff were amazing and very helpfull. Made my stay there extremely comfortable. Looking at it all, considering I didn't enjoy my pregnancy I'm finding it strange that I actually enjoyed my labour. The worst bit about it was definitley the sodding drip in my hand!

Lwatkins I remember when the Dr told me that ds1 had a heart murmur I immediately thought the worse. He had to have several tests during his first three years of life so that they could determine if it was an 'innocent' murmur or not. They all came back fine and even though he has still got it (he was expected to have outgrown it)it hasnt affected him whatsoever.

A has to go back to hospital in 6wks too, she has to have a scan because she had been breach. I've never heard of this before I thought that because she had turned by herself everything was fine but apparantly they need to check that her hips etc are ok.

Isnt it funny how something simple like having a poo can make us so happy. When i did my first one i phoned dh to tell him The worst thing was he actually congratulated me as if it was a major event lol.

Ive got MW coming round tomorrow to see A. I cant wait to see how much she weighs now, thats the only thing with opting to only see the midwife at 6 and 10 days, I miss gettign her weighed every other day. She is also due to have her heel prick done tomorrow, poor thing, it was bad enough when they gave her the VitK in hospital.

My stomach is just about getting back to feeling half normal. The empty hollow feeling is slowly disappearing, still wobbly though lol. ds2 went to pre-school on Friday and told his teacher that mummy's got another baby in her tummy I know its nowhere near back to normal but its definatley a lot smaller than it was a week ago lol

Evening everyone, how are you all doing? And how are the gorgeous little ones?
LWatkins - sorry you were told about C's heart murmur so insensitively. My neice had one and it had disappeared by the time she was 4 months old, my dsis was also told it is incredibly common. Good luck for the appointment.
R is doing well but is still unsettled after feeds. She drops off for a bit and then wakes really crying, then drops off again and this continues for ages. Her little face really crumples and I'm sure she's in pain. She pulls her legs up, goes red and writhes around. The hv suggested colic but I'm not so sure. I've been giving her Infacol but it doesn't seem to be helping. She doesn't really have a problem bringing up wind to be honest. I'm a bit concerned that she may be constipated. She was really straining all day today but couldn't go. When she finally did it was the everywhere - like thick yellow emulsion paint from her knees to her ears. Luckily I was out shopping and dh had that one to deal with. When ds was constipated however he did tiny hard poos like rabbit pellets so I'm not sure. In the end with him we changed to a different formula but I'm loathed to do that stright away in case it's not that causing the problem. Anyone got any bright ideas? I hate to see her in pain it's heartbreaking.

A was like that on Thursday, she had been filling her nappies fine since she was born in fact she did it at least 8 times during her first day but then she suddenly stopped. She was crying almost continuously and no matter what i did nothing seemed to work. She seemed very uncomfortable and so in the end i gave her a bottle of cooled boiled water, she drank an ounce and within an hour had gone back to stinking us out. It was very runny, yellowy and there was a lot of it (tmi, i know)but as soon as she had done it she seemed a lot happier. I think she had been constipated, her tummy was gurgling and she had terriblly smelly wind but since that poo she has been fine.

It is horrible seeing them like that though isnt it All we can do is guess what is wrong and try our best to sort it out. Im not sure what to suggest about R but i would say keep an eye on her, babies do sometimes go through things like this for no apparant reason (think they just want to keep us on our toes)and it may sort itself out without you having to do anything. Good luck

MKG reporting in as an offical post-natal member!

Cruz is doing awesome! He is nursing great, sleeps a lot, and is adored by his big brother.

I'm doing great too. I'm at that time where the stiches start to itch, so I can't wait for that to pass, but I've been out and about having fun. Friends and family keep dropping in with food, and other fun stuff. I have to say that right now (only 4 days post partum) I am feeling really blessed.

Pebble what is the sign that boys give??? I keep getting an eyeful

LW gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous - your little girl that is!! grrr at insensitive doc, sorry havent had chance to read your birth story yet, bu tgood to have you back and sounding great

Cam I got a nasal aspirator and a snot sucky thing quite gross but it works, if you use saline nasal drops that loosens it a bit, also which i dont suppose is recmmended but a cotton bud up the nose but make sure u hold it on the bud bit so it cant go in too far

SOH dont you dare feel like you have let anyone down, you have grown a healthy baby girl and it doesnt matter how she arrived, you have done a fine job in getting her here, crikey if it was a failure to have a cs then theres lots of us about and I sure dont feel like one so dont you dare!!! anyway good to have you with us, glad you are starting to feel better

Sheepgomeep congratulations and welcome

AM I might have to cancel for tues, I dont want to but have got a stinking cold and really sore throat with white lumps on - which I really dont want to pass to you or you lo's, pretty sure i still have you mobile number so if i do have to cancel i will call you monday night, really hoping it will pass tho

I have kind of had a day off today, went to dp's folks for dinner, so nice not to have to cook or be around the house which i feel i am constantly tidying and not getting anywhere with

Right off to bed - oh yeah Arlen went from 3.30 to 8.15 lat night and is now on 4oz, I have put him on sma gold at night as its a bit heavier than the aptamil which he is having in the day, seems to be doing the job yipeee

How is everyone getting one with reusable nappies??? I cant seem to get A's to fit right always seem to be leaking or too loose or too tight

Right bed, must go

Morning all, hope you are all well and have had good nights sleep with your little bundles, mine wasnt bad, however i wish i was still tucked up in bed all snug, this weather is crap and my throat and head are killing and my nose is burning, house is a tip and i just want to curl up with a hot water bottle

Whats everyone got planned for today, we might have gone to the carnival but i am pretty sure it will be cancelled, so no plans at the mo - apart from sleeping but that will be when dp gets up and whats the bet Arlen wakes up then too

Feel like a right moaner grrr at me

Morning all, sorry you're feeling rotten Lupin, hope it passes soon. Why do we always get ill on bank holidays? The weather here is shocking, really windy and wet. We are praying for a change soon as my dsis gets married on Friday and I would hate for her to be a soggy bride. Ds is being a page boy and I just know I'm going to cry buckets when I see him in his little tail coat and waistcoat.
R had a good night last night and only woke at 12.15 and 3.45 so we had a reasonable night's sleep. She settled back down striaght away after both feeds too. However after this morning's feed she is back to her usual daytime self - drank all the milk really well, did a poo and is now really unsettled - wake, sleep, wake, cry, sleep etc. It's really wearing.
We've got no plans for today, just a chill out. Dh has a couple of appointments this morning but he should be back by 10.30 then we'll just bum round the house I guess.
Hope you all have a good day.

Abbey hope the weather clears up for your dsis, hope you have a lovely day

Yipeee friend has just phoned to take dd out, might get some sleep yet

Well I've found a solution to R's constant crying. I've gone against everything I've ever thgouth and given her a dummy! I've always hated them to be honest but I saw it sitting there in the box that the bottles came in so I sterilised it and gave it a try. I had a feeling she would like ti because she is quite a sucky baby and I don't want her constantly sucking on my fingers! So far she has laid under her baby gym and in her rocker chair and had just sucked away happy as Larry! She has fallen asleep as well which is brilliant and a great relief for us all!

Abbey sometimes need must - at least you are both happy, I tried one a few times with Arlen, (Willow would bite your arm off if you tried to take hers away) but he just spits it out and screws up his face - yet another thing they differ on

Bloody Weather

Finally done my birth announcment - warning its long!!

97% gingerbread baby has put on a whopping 24oz on top of her birth weight. She's a chubby little thing.

AbbyLou, M is the same with the sleep, wake, cry cycle. Have three solutions that work chez SOH: swaddling; sling; wrapping mum and baby in big blanket together and going to bed. I am just resisting the dummy, especially with 5hrs of cluster feeding each evening. Ouch.

Lwatkins, beautiful baby and great birth. Stupid doctor, hope C's murmur disappears unaided. Give me some drugs, share and share alike woman. I am a wee bit miffed that after a huge episiotomy and an emergency cs I was given two paracetamol in hospital and nowt since. Still am healing well and am definitely more comfortable. Agree re the drip in the hand, kept bending my hand and tugging on it. Sore.

One handed typing sucks...

PS we had a projectile poo incident today. The cat suffered the most, don't think she'll sniff the baby again.

HI everyone

I'm so pleased to know its not just Lexi with the sleep, wake, cry thing. I was starting to feel like I was doing something wrong. I'm finding the crying so hard though. You all sound like you are taking it all in your stride!

She feeds really well and sleeps really well, but in between just cries and cries and nothing we do seems to amuse or placate her. Is this normal?

Hey lovely ladies

Had a really busy 3 days and am now looking forward to a slow boring week

On Saturday i had a makeup trial for the wedding i bridesmaid for. It was really nice and even dh commented how nice i looked. Slight surprise in his voice but nice that he noticed, although he did say that it was nice to see me wearing make up again.... I wear it every day!!!! Then had BIL, SIL neice, nephew and MIL over yesterday for nephews 2nd birthday - they live in small flat and it would have been too cramped and smokey for my liking. Today has been a visiting friends and shopping day. Needed to get Ella some bigger sleep suits as she is almost 9lbs and can only just straighten her legs in the upto 7.5lb ones.

This week i am hoping to get all of her early baby clothes on ebay as well as my maternity clothes.

Lupins - sorry you are feeling poorly. I have lost my voice but i dont have a cold or sore throat which is very odd.

We have the same sleep feed cry thang going on here. Can get quite annoying but you have to learn to tune it out! Swaddling does work most of the time but she will most definately go to sleep if she lays on Mummy.