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 )

too late holly, I went to bed to get a couple of hours in before the next feed....she went from 10 till 2 which wasn't bad. Now she's got wind and won't settle .

thought i'd let dh sleep this time as he normally takes her and lets me get back to sleep.

was hoping for some news from DKMA, but there's nothing.

my nips feel very strange...like they're hypersensitive, its a weird feeling

Morning all, hope you all had restful nights.

DD slept for nearly 7 hours last night! Which is brill, but was still in the living room, and she woke a couple of times but DH settled her down while I slept in the bedroom. Tried her in our bedroom but she wailed for 15 minutes solid.

Can an of you explain to me your night time "routines"? What time do you go to bed? How do you settle the LO down, how often do you feed and do you do it in bed? Just wondering as DH and I have not slept together in the same bed at the same time since she came home from hospital.

Holly have you tried savoy cabbage straight from the fridge to sooth your nips a bit? I have to put some in when I sleep else my boobs are pretty sore. My nips aren't bleeding any more, but my boobs are pretty tender.

God, this sounds terrible, but it just hit me this morning how tied to this baby I am. Until I can express I am never going to get a full night's sleep, I can't go out of the house on my own for longer than 2 hours (not that I want to at the moment - feeling v agoraphobic) it's very scary how much this child needs me. I'm so anxious about DH going back to work tomorrow... He has been a star and it's just been lovely having him around all the time.

That's not terrible Bumper, its normal. Its just hit you, thats all. And its a big deal.

Can I make a suggestion? It might be helpful if you think of DH going back to work as time for you and LO. Go back to bed, have a babymoon, go for a walk. Take a day or two. Remember the day you and DH spent with croissants, the papers and relaxing before she came along? Why not have another of those, but with LO? Look forward to it. And DH will have missed his girls when he gets home, he'll want you to be relaxed and calm, not frazzled cos you've tried too hard .

Easy for me to say, from the 'other side' though.

Thanks Foxy, that's a really good idea. I'm going to make things worse if I'm anxious about it. DH has been great about letting me sleep and looking after DD when she cries. He gets frustrated that he can't feed her and has to wake me up to do it. Hopefully we'll settle into some sort of pattern soon. Hope you have a good day, thinking of you all waiting for your babies!

bumper - i had similar feeling the other day, a real "a dog is for life not just for xmas" moment. But a few hours later (after I'd had some sleep funnily enough) I was OK again with it, I loe my baby and although the routine of changing, feeding, settling, etc can seem a pain at times, I'm sure it'll be worth it in the long run.

As for sleep, since you asked, when C settles after a feed sometime around 8.30 - 9.30pm, I sneak off to bed on my own, leaving DH with C in the living room. That way I get a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep. When either she wakes for next feed, or when he comes to bed he brings her upstairs to our room. We then all sleep in the same room, us in bed, and C in her basket at the foot of our bed. I'm then on call through the night, letting DH sleep as much as possible, thought he does get some disturbance from me getting up to change, feed and settle her etc. Incidentally, the cat used to sleep on the bed by me, but has decided there are too many disturbances now, so sleeps outside the bedroom door instead. But this morning as I was feeding C, and DH was snoozing next to me, the cat came and curled up next to me, and I couldn't help but think how contented we all looked.

Hello,

My boobs are back to hurting again, I dropped the nipple shields about 4 days ago , and all was going well, and yesterday my right boob felt so achey and as though it was bruised all over, there are no obvious cracks but stings when ds latches on. left one is good though, I look forward to feeding him when I know its the left boob and dread it when its the right boob, I can't go out and breastfeed in public if its the right boobs turn !!

We've got a nice bedtime routine going - I bath him at about 6pm and then feed him in his bedroom at about 6:30 after a little massage that I give him to soothe him, He is tucked up in his crib by 7 and will either go straight off or sometimes me or dp have to sit with him ssshhing him and holding his dummy in, and he is always asleep by 7:30pm. I then wake him up for a dream feed at about 10:30 which he takes 1 full boob, and he is back in his crib by 11;15, then he tends to wake anywhere between 2 and 3 am, and again at 6:00 am for feeds. Then he comes into bed with me and sleeps until about 7:30.

Won't be so easy to do come tuesday when my dp goes back to work and I have dd who is 3 and a half aswell to bath etc..I will let you know how it changes!!

BLOODY RAIN

some words of wisdom from an old hand.....just remember that this early drudgery is only a very very small part of their life and willl be over before you know it (although hours feel like days and days like weeks at the moment)

babyboo is already much more settled and awake for short periods at 4 weeks and in anoter few weeks will be settling into a routine.

bumper, i know how ordered you like things, but don't be too rushed to get into a routine, it will come. like foxy says just concentrate on getting to know your LO...the housework will wait.

we're still taking it as it comes at the moment and she is sleeping in her pram until its time to go up to bed. after her last feed she stays down with dh (he's a late night owl) and i go to bed, then he brings her up for her next feed and after that she goes into the cot. not really doing bath bed stuff as her skin is very dry so she's only had four baths in four weeks.

i know though that i need to start moulding her into our routine a bit better when dh goes back to work next week.

Hi everyone

My night-time routine (if that's what you call it) is similar to everyone elses. DD is in a travel cot downstairs until we go to bed, then its into a moses basket next to me (RIGHT next to me - I don't have to get out of bed to see her).

When she wakes, I sit on my dressing table stool to feed her - and change her on my bed - if I fed her in bed I'd fall asleep. I FF her so have a bottle warmer next to bed and take bottle up with me when I go to bed.

When she's been fed, I lay her down (awake) and turn off the lights so there is nothing for her to look at and she drifts off to sleep. I'm usually awake for a little while listening out for the telltale signs of being sick, but when she settles, so do I!

If she wakes early in the morning and isn't ready for a feed, she either gets a dummy (held in by me if necessary) or comes into bed with me if DH has gone to work and she wakes me about 8 for her next feed.

Although I don't seem to have a routine yet (or not one I would like), I am getting to know her better and anticipate when she'll feed / sleep etc

I know the agrophobic feeling - DD is 4 weeks old today, and I've hardly been out of the house (can't drive either yet which doesn't help) - but I MUST do it - its the fear of how I will cope if she screams / needs feeding etc.

As Daisy says - it is only for a small part of their lives - even if it feels like forever at the moment!

Thanks girls, I appreciate your posts. I'm trying not to be too keen to get into a routine, I just want us all to be able to go to bed at night. We'll get there eventually.

Claire, I'm having a boob problem as well. I think we are latching on ok, and my nipples are no longer cracked, but they are a bit tender. I'm also worried that she isn't feeding well from my left boob. She doesn't gulp like she does with the right one, she doesn't seem to be very efficient with it and I worry that it's going to effect supply to that boob, which will mean she feeds even worse.

babyboo is struggling with a shallow latch...and she gulps and smacks her lips wen feeding. tried taking her off and relatching but it doesn't seem to make any difference.

bumper i often find with her that although she seems to be on fine and its not sore, if she's only a tiny amount wrong in her position, it pulls on my nipple and makes me sore. its just a case of "suck it and see"....quite literally, LOL.

that should have said makes me tender....not really sore as such.

Bumper have you tried maybe expressing from the boob that she doesn't take aswell after the feed , this would keep up the supply on that one, if she is favouring the other one, and in time she will be fine on both.

I think as we're all suffering from sore boobs , I think you can safely say its most likely not due to poor latch, but more due to the lo's eagerness to feed, my god when they're hungry they can bloody suck, and its just a huge shock to our boobs, unless they're used to it I have quite a painful letdown aswell, as I tend to oversupply - maybe your letdown is more efficient bumper in the boob that she favors.

Any more babies? Am too tired to catch up properly!

Not from me Ria! How is it going with you?

Have just found a box of matchmakers, that's made me a bit happier.

Oh I wish I could have sore nips and sleep deprivation

can't keep up foxy - are you past your due date?

only due yesterday!

that warrants beginning to get impatient but I can promise you , you don't want the sore nips! are you going to be one of the sadists who breastfeeds?

hi ria.....you managing with all those boys then?

oh yes! mainly because I'm a bit rubbish at leaving the house with everything I need. And I need the excuse to sit on my bum for long periods of time.

lol - yes it is good being able to sit down alot.

I'm a bit nervous this time round about bf in public, haven't been out during feeding times yet - It didn't bother me at all when i bf dd1 , maybe because my boobs were alot more pert then, and easier to hide, not sure how i'm going bf discreetly with my pendulous bosoms this time, none of my tops that fit are bf friendly eithe - any tips anyone?

I don't think people really notice / care if you're breastfeeding. A cardigan is always useful for covering up if you're shy?

I felt exactly the same Claire. Each time I got more self-conscious. I remember feeding DC3 in Pizza Hut Leicester Square toilets. Grim!!

This time I've bought a few beach cover-ups from Primark, they are only about £3 - £5. I intend to wear a bf top underneath and hope LO will feed underneath the cover-up.

Hi BZ! How is it going?