JUNE 07...Starting thread!

[nannyjo]

Well i think i was the frist to 'pop' from the due in june thread so i thought it was about time we started the post-natal thread.

DS2 is 2 weeks on monday I had him 4 weeks early due to induction for OC. Everything is going really well and i think things are finally starting to settle down (i hope i haven't just spoken too soon!!)

He is really suffering with colic though and were getting about 4 hours sleep a night on average and with a 2.5 year old there is no chance of catching up in the day, but i shouldn't complain as i'm lucky to have got two wonderful boys. Thats it now NO MORE!!!!!9smile0

I know a few other june mums have had their babies so it would be lovely to hear from you to see how you are all getting on (when you get the chance )

hi guys. was going to post something in reply to recent posts, but goodness, it's all about BF!! I feel a bit left out and that stupid guilt thing is threatening to come back again - you know those thoughts, "BF really is best, why didn't you try harder, they can deal with the pain why can't you..."

I know the whole world would seem brighter if I only could get some sleep. Just can't get S to take more than about 2.5oz at a time at the mo - but she wants 30oz a day! Do the math! It's way too many feeds...........gahhhhhhhhh

Don't feel guilty Lilkel, with your DD's feeding pattern you'd probably have no niples left by now

Hi all, Glad I'm not the only one to praise the wonderful invention of the dummy! it definately comforts my lo.

The reason some breastfeeding pro's are against them is because they say you may replace what should be a feed with the dummy. However I find that they are really handy to use after a feed, when they have fed well but just want to do the sucking motion.

We have just been on our first major family day out to .....Ikea of all places, can you believe it! we went at 11:30 and got back at 3pm and lo slept the whole time, waking up back at boring home!

Hope your all having a good day

right....i'm off to sterilise the dummies!

Lilkel, don't feel guilty.....it's all about whats best for you and your LO and i can imagine that its comforting to know what she's getting. have you tried different teats, could it be she needs to suck too hard and is just giving up? the variable flow ones are good.

and don't feel alone...natty is ff, so is TA and someone else is mix feeding.

Hi Lilkel

you're not the only one FF - I have FF from day one as I fully expected to struggle to cope with the pain / sleep deprivation etc and true to form it only took 2 weeks until I went to the GP for ADs! I know I made the right decision for me as I am very relaxed around DD and the feeding issue as I know how much she is taking and how long she will go etc.

your LO is only taking 2.5oz - does she fall asleep while feeding? I find that my DD will take about the same amount and then spits / dribbles everywhere unless I have got every bit of wind from her!

thanks Charlie and everyone...I just can't help feeling bad about FF sometimes. Especially when I see what you all are enduring - I gave up so easily!!

TBH tho I don't know how on earth I could BF with DS around! I barely get the bottle steady and he's over poking S in the face or something... for me to BF I needed 100% utter calmness & a solid hour!! Not happening anytime soon chez lilKel!!

Yeah DD only takes 2.5-3oz at a time. She totally falls asleep midfeed. I sometimes change nappy but this usually ends in hiccups and posseting, and not much result frankly. Tickling feet doesn't work either. Any other ideas????

Oh and yes did try other teats Daisy. It was a couple weeks ago though, and it was too much flow for her. Maybe I should give it a go again.

We're using Dr Browns bottles now - don't think they have variable flow teats

lilkel don't be alone!
I am mix feeding but only to ease my troubled conscience until I fully give up BF

I am so glad about the whole dummy thing actually, I wasn't 'worried' per se but I do know that it wasn't de rigeur. Perhaps it was always only frowned upon for older babies? Anyway no idea, all I know is that after a feed it helps him settle.

Anyway I am going to do my FF duty and try to steer convos away from boobs in future

ok, I shall start.
I am starting to get the whole 'raised eyebrow you named your son with a surname?' thing. Of course I knew it was coming and quite frankly my care factor is zero. I love his name. Anyone else had any comments?

ta

i like the name u picked!! different, distinguished...

we get "did u name her after sienna miller??"

as if.

Actually I love the name you chose, it was on my shortlist if we had a girl.

I guess you would get that comment but hopefully by the time your LO reaches an age where she'll get asked that sort of question, Sienna will be old news and the question may never even get asked!

Sullivan is a great name....you can imagine that with a name like that he's going to go somewhere .

It was a tradition in Scotland that the first born grandchild has the mother's maiden name, which is why there's Camerons and Frasers and Campbells around north of the border.

Sienna is lovely, but I suppose with our sleb culture people are going to assume that's why you chose it.

My family, being Scottish, actually commented that Emily is an "English" name. I treated it with the contempt it deserved!

Hi,
i love Sullivan as well TA. he sounds like a hollywood actor already, VERY cool name.
my responce to anyone who criticises would be fuck off but then i am feeling a bit grumpy today
my DD1 is called Millie and i got asked if it was after millie vanillie???? WTF?
people can be SO rude.

Hi girls

Thanks for your advice yesterday. Things aren't really any better, she is still feeding every hour or so, for ages at a time and refuses to sleep. Could someone tell me how much a newborn should sleep. I'm truly amazed at how little she sleeps. Foe example, she has had 6 feeds since 10.30am and hasn't slept a wink. She refuses to be put down as well.

???

hey pingu....my dd does that a couple of times now, but in the evening. first time she was awake six hours then slept seven. Last night she was awake 6.5 hours then only slept four!

i was reading a thread from megglevache yesterday....her ds hardly sleeps at all either so it must be quite common! not that that's any consolation.

LOL Derlor at Millie Vanillie......you should have said that was her middle name to shut them up! or told them they were showing their age!!

how does ds feel about being the only boy?

Milli Vanilli? That's not rude that's just idiotic! And I like your response, not rude, just the freedom of expression that I have already learned comes with motherhood

Daisy I didn't know that tradition! Makes sense though.

My Dad thought I had named him after him, because my Dad was born in a 'Sullivan Road'. I did not know this. But hey, if it makes him happy

I am very flattered that you like his name, perhaps it's one of those love/hate names, or maybe a generation thing? I am not losing sleep over it. It took me a while to get used to saying it but now I really like it.

Pingu I wish I could help!
Last night we had something similar here with our LO, he was drinking constantly and everytime we put him down he started screaming again, in the end we found a dummy just allowed him to get off to sleep and he was much easier, perhaps it's worth a try?

Also I found that, oops, I had been cooking the poor little sod and he was too hot. Took some of the sheets off and he was a lot more settled.

Perhaps worth a try?

TA...there was a really good little guide on the back of the sheets I bought in Mothercare....for what combo of blankets/sheet is reqired at what room temperature....

.....our LO tends to wake up cold as she sleeps with her legs crossed as if she's in a sitting position and kicks the covers off.

don't know if i mentioned it, but she was all folded up like a frank breech baby when she came out and they reckoned that she'd been breech for a very long time (MW obviously missed that one . I'd felt a horrible clunk one night (about 35 weeks)when i rolled over and thought it was her head engaging, but OB thought it was most likely her turning!

Thanks daisy and TA

I've not been using sheets- just a blanket. Should I use more? maybe she is cold...I can't tell. She ends up sleeing in just a vest most nights cos I've found that feeding her skin-toskin keeps her awake longer and so encourages slightly longer feeds.

TA- I tried the dummy ( I feel NO guilt over them btw!)and she cant't seem to keep it in. My mum reckoned it would be a good idea to teach her that not everyting she sucks brings milk, given that she seems hellbent on sucking on me every 15 min! ((cruel mother emoticon))

Any tips for perservering with the dummy? Or fofr breaking the 'refusing to be put down' cycle???

Afternoon everyone!

We have a bit of a yellow baby here! MW has been and he is fine, but he is very sleepy and a bit spotty. I suppose we all worry about everything, sleeping too much, not sleeping enough, how often they feed etc.

Glad your bits are ok TA, sounds sore, but it does all heal quite quickly down there. Also glad the dummies are working out, they are a life saver when you are knackered!

Tallulah, I used shields for about 3-4 months with dd and I never had any problems with milk supply or getting her to feed on the nipple when I stopped using them. Your mw may be right, but if they help you to bf then surely that is a good thing.

We didn't register William today, so we have til the morning to agree on a middle name. I like Henry BZ, it is cool and The Who are dp's fave band so the initials are very apt!

Hi,

Holly - I think William Henry is lovely, William is my favourite name but we couldn't have it as its our last name!

Pingu - to break the cycle of needing to be picked up all the time, have you tried going out for a nice longish walk with her in the pram, to get her to sleep or even the car - anything to encourage her to sleep for longer periods - or maybe a rocking swing..you obviously don't want to get your lo reliant on these methods to get to sleep, but at this moment in time for your sanity and her happiness it maybe offer you some reprieve, and help her feed for longer if she has a long sleep.

Pingu, i'm just quickly scan reading as Abbie is stirring but have you tried swaddling her in a big shawl/blanket - mothercare do a swaddling blanket
just ignore me if you have tried this already

oh and meant to say, strip for longer feeding as you are doing but then when sone swaddle, dummy and ......walk away. She may object as she is used to being cuddled but the swaddling should make her feel secure enough to fall over maybe after a wee cry, just stroke her face or say ssshhhhh to her rather than lifting her at this point. it won't work immediately, you will need to be strong and NOT lift her, but stick with it. Good luck x

oops meant done NOT sone

Hi.
Am having a fecking bad day.
Need to buy dummies and prozac!

I had to go to a meeting at school about DS2 starting nursery. There was no "meeting", we just had to play with the kids for an hour (making sure they wore the riht apron for the right activity of course. Lets teach them petty rules early...) and were given a envelope with the information in. We will be told next week if there is a place. They were more interested in selling bloody school sweatshirts.
Also, my DS was very apprehensive and didn't want to interact with the teacher who said "you'll have to learn to smile at me sooner or later or you'll have a miserable time". FFS. 3 is too young anyway, they're allowed to be scared. Should have made a scene. Instead I waited out the hour and then sat in the car and cried for 15 minutes before we came home.

On the plus side, DH managed with babypootle ok.

If I make it through tonight without sending DH to tesco for formula & dummies it will be a miracle!

Thanks claire and derlor- will look into the swaddling blanket. I have kind of been swaddling her in a blanket, albeit loosley for fear of overheating her. I'm having trouble getting her to keep the dummy in, without actually permanently holding it in her mouth. I worry that if I start that that, I'll be teaching her all kinds of sleep associations that I'll regret later.(am I being too harsh here?)

With regards to the constant feeding (10 times yesterday, 8 today so far) Will it really get better. The mw reckons that just one more week of this and it will get better. Please tell me she's right!

Hope you're all well x

Ria.......think calm thoughts....stress isn't good for you or the feeding!!

Three is such a young age, especially if they're shy. I was horrified that DS had to go to school aged 4 and a quarter here in England...it seems horribly young to me! If we were still in Scotland he would have been 5 and a quarter. His teacher sounds like a bit of a dragon!

Gordon Brown is on the news.....outside my old high school, which he also went to! Kirkcaldy, famous at last!!

Oh, another tip for settling LOs which is working with Em....When I put her down, I lay the burp cloth/muslin beside her and it fools her into thinking its still me. I know she'll develop an unnatural attachment with a piece of tatty cloth, but at least muslin is in plentiful supply, unlike some obscure toy that becomes irreplaceable!

To give everyone a much needed laugh....when I had DS, I'd read that if you sleep with a cuddly toy for a couple of nights so its nice and smelly if you, it will help to settle them in their cot. So, I duly went to bed with a little fluffy duck tucked into my cleavage for a couple of nights. Night three, I fed DS, put him to bed, then laid the duck gently next to him! I was just drifting off to sleep, when I was jolted awake by the most awful slurping noise.....my five day old DS was trying to inhale the aforementioned fluffy duck . It sat at the bottom of the bed from then on!

sorry to drone on!