July 2007 - yet starting in June!

[Jamantha]

Well, I can't see a post natal July 2007 thread, so will start this, even though Charlotte, my DD was born 4.5 weeks early in June. I'm sure the other July ladies will be along soon enough.

Have had 2 nights at home now. Yesterday afternoon was fairly distressing as Charlotte wouldn't latch on, and if she did she wouldn't suck. But have got loan of electric pump from hospital, and support from midwives and now managing with comination of breast, expressed and formula milk, sometimes all three in the same feed. Finding it quite emotional, with all the issues associated with feeding one's baby, but trying to stay calm as found out yesterday that getting self into a state doesn't help anyone.

Dh has just gone out to get some things we're still missing, and I'm putting my feet up for a bit. Phil & Ted has just arrived so we might try a stroll down to the ante natal class tonight!

Any how, hope there are lots of lovely birth stories to come from July ladies, and that we can swap advice, give each other moral support etc over the coming weeks and months.

Looks like it's just us today Typhoonsmum.

Have to mention my Gifted and Talented son. He managed to pee in his mouth this morning and then laughed. I looked at him all shocked and asked if he had just laughed and he did it again! Laugh not pee in his mouth that is. My sil said it doesn't say much for my breastmilk! Don't think dd laughed for months and months after only smiling late.

Well think Birmingham is the easiest place for most people in England to go to, but we we are in Scotland and Ireland too so don't know. Anyone in Wales? Manchester? Would love to meet you all....

meet up - london (OK OK I admit that I would say that coz I live here.....) but perhaps in Nov we could combine a meet up / christmas shopping excursion?

typhoonsmum - the constipation sounds awful, for bth of you. Does the Hv say anything useful?

Is everyone's LO having a BCG? I wondered if it would make ds grumpy. He survived the first set of vaccinations, the nurse helpfully suggested I put him on the boob and he hardly screamed as all. Poor thing.

at peeing in mouth!

DD is hovering around the 50% line for weight, but she's on the 75% line for height. Is anyone else's LO like this?
DP and I are both 5'5", which I think makes me about average, and him short for a bloke. I'm wondering if DD has picked up her Uncles mutant height gene, he's a good 6 inches taller than anyone in my family has ever been.
It'll be good if she is tall, she'll be able to get things of the top shelves in the supermarket for us. It's so embarrassing having to ask people to reach the Vimto.

Cutlery Poll - Knives go blades down, but spoons and forks go handles down. The dishwasher doesn't seem to get them clean otherwise.

Has anyone been swimming with their LO yet? My parents have a private session once a week in a pool which is lovely and warm so I'm planning on taking DD next week. That's if the pool will let her in before she's had her injections. Anyone got any vital information I need to know?

We're doing quite well, she's slept for about 6 hours in a row the past few nights. I feel almost human. We've been getting out quite a bit too as she's going longer between feeds during the day. We also started out post-natal classes this week and I've been learning about baby massage.

I was told last time that you don't have to wait for injections before you go swimming. Dd was so tiny last time, I had to buy a reusable swim nappy as the smallest disposable was enormous, and she was 6 months before she could have fitted in them.

Apparently the injections thing depends on the pool. Swimming before having injections was a problem when polio was an issue, but the chlorine should kill everything.
I've bought DD some reuseable swim pants. The smallest size is still too big for her but they'll do. It's not like there'll be a pool full of people to complain about any yellow patches in the water.

Or any obvious floaters bilbio!

Yes and I had a feeling about the polio being the contentious one, which isn't an issue any more because it's now no longer a live vaccine.

I LOVE COW AND GATE COMFORT

DS has been awful the past few days with constipation and trapped wind. He starts at 6pm and will scream nearly constantly till about midnight. A friend suggested Omneo comfort milk - (I think it is the same as Cow and Gate comfort)It is designed for babies with sensitive colicky tummies. He had his first bottle of it at 3pm yesterday evening and since he has been much more settled. He wouldn't sleep till about 7.30 but he wasn't screaming. He was just lying in my arms cooing. Took him up to bed with me at 9pm and he was asleep by half past.
The wind he burped with it was impressive as well.

I thought you were about say you'd tasted it and thought it was delicious. LOL

Nah it hasn't got that bad yet! He has been a different baby since yesterday afternoon. I actually like him at the moment.

Talking of tasting milk, Has anyone tasted their own breastmilk? Just curious.

lol jam now if dd could pee into her own mouth I could make some money. We're going to leave potty training a bit longer though. After Christmas I think.

Breastmilk is VERY VERY sweet typhoons

My DS peed in his face (mostly his eyes!) when a few days old in hospital and we all got a bit of a shock. Hasn't happened since thankfully- usually just over my jeans and the carpet as i kneel on the floor changing him!

JAM - I'm in Sheffield- maybe we could have a yorkshire or a north of england meet-up? I've already met Bilblio (very briefly) as she's a northern lass too.

BIT OF A LONG QUESTION FOR YOU ALL- Has anyone who has been swaddling tried the LOs without a swaddle? DS started to take a while to settle, trying to wiggle his arms out, and when I unswaddled him, he went to sleep instantly. I then swaddle him up once he's dropped off, but I tried today without doing that, but he seems to disturb himself after a while with his hands and trying to suck them. We're going to try him tonight unswaddled, but is it something that could take a few days for him to get used to or do you think its best to keep swaddling at this age? We've also moved him to his big cot (in our room still) so he can stretch his arms out.

I'd be up for a north of England meetup. I'm still at the stage where any trip out feels like a major expedition so I wouldn't really fancy driving too far south. I live just to the east of Manchester. Who else is up north?

Pulapula, DD sometimes gets her swaddling left off at night, and we never swaddle her in the day. She certainly sleeps longer when she's swaddled, but she seems happier unswaddled. It can take ages to settle her when she's swaddled because she's trying to fight her way out, if I let her have her arms she often settles straight away.
Last night I ended up leaving both her arms free but still wrapping her up tightly, she seemed happy, but was waking every 3 hours instead of the 6 or 7 that she'd slept for a few nights earlier.
I'd not thought of trying to swaddle her when she's asleep... I'm often so happy to have got her to sleep I daren't do anything that might risk waking her.
I'm not sure how old they should be before swaddling become irrelevant. DD still flings her arms wide if anything startles her so I think she needs swaddling. I think my niece was still being swaddled at 6 months.

We've actually evicted DP from the bedroom (to be fair he went by choice, he can't sleep through her snufflings.) It means that when DD wakes at 5am and won't settle in her carrycot I can leave her in bed with me and we both get more sleep. I stayed in bed till 9am this morning!
Before you all get jealous it wasn't so great, I had a splitting headache and kept getting kicked

Yes I stopped swaddling the other day. Ds started really fighting it so I thought ok lets try without it. He went from waking once or twice to every 2 hours. He def. still has the Moro reflex. I believe it's no longer necessary at about 14 weeks. I put him back in the swaddle and he's back to going 4 hours. This could have been a growth spurt of course....The only time I can get a decent nap in the day is if ds is swaddled. Think I'm going to have to devote a week of sorting out his day time naps and get him to settle himself, and reread the no-cry sleep solution book. It worked for dd.

Oh and I'm NorthWest. Liverpool and Manchester dead easy to get to for me.

I live in The Wirral. On Merseyside so North of England meet up would suit me.

We have decided to keep swaddling as DS sleeps better, but the sheet we use (a moses basket sheet) is getting a bit small, and he manages to wriggle out of his swaddle a few times a night which is causing sleepless nights. Must find an alternative! I did wonder if he was wriggling his hands out to his face because he was hungry (3 month growth spurt is due about now) so ended up feeding him last night at 3.45am, but he then wasn't too bothered about his 7.30am feed so not sure now.

I am from South Manchester originally, so would be happy with a Manchester meetup which might be quite central for Leeds, Sheffield and the NW people. Some suggestions for a meet are the Lowry Centre (culture and shopping), Tatton Park (fresh air to send LOs to sleep), or city centre (shopping and cafes) which might be more convenient if people are travelling by rail.

pulapula, I accidentally stopped swaddling last night as I was staying at my parents, who are allergic to putting the heating on, so DS woke up and was cold, I didn't want to reswaddle him as (stupidly) thought he'd get too cold while I was doing it....

he woke every hour virtually. JESUS WEPT! The night before he only woke once. I am a wreck, plus I had to come home on the train today.

I love swaddling, no wonder mums who don't know about it are having 3hrs sleep or something crazy.

tonight he'll be so tightly swaddled, he won't know what's hit him.

We are using an ikea blanket with eyes and a fish tail. If you find a decent swaddle blanket then let me know as he's beginning to grow out of it.

It's nice to whinge on here

Haven't posted in here much folks, sorry - been having baby-from-hell issues. If anyone really wants to hear the misery of living with a baby that seems to be allergic to sleeping then there's a thread in Sleep you're welcome to look at. For those who have better things to do - and who could blame you - here's the condensed version. He doesn't sleep much. I am tired. Waaaaaah!

Anyway, thanks to lots of lovely support from the folks over there I am feeling much better and he's actually sleeping a bit better. We're going to see a cranial osteopath on Friday in the hope that she will help him. Not looking so bleak just now.

I'd love a meet but I'm in the arse end of nowhere. And right now it would have to be somewhere with beds .

Also, so jealous of all you swaddlers. Mine acts like you're trying to amputate his leg or something if you swaddle him.

csb - I saw your other thread, my heart goes out to you. I think that it's just luck what kind of baby you get. You are doing a super job under very difficult circumstances.

I know you are super knackered but I would recommend "baby bliss" by Harvey Karp. We swaddled from literally day one with ds so he's used to it. But sometimes he does scream whilst dh swaddles him, he keeps going then Shhhhhhs him very loudly and it stops him after 2 mins. Anyway.....I hope your lo gets some sleep soon.

csb ds HATES being swaddled unless he's actually asleep. I do it under protest, feed him while swaddled and suddenly he is an angel, and then when I put him in the crib which he is just about to grow out of, he usually cries unless I put on this It's brilliant. You need to start using it before baby is 12 weeks I think, but can use it for as long as you need to get them into the routine of sleeping at night. I used it for only about 4 weeks with dd from 6 weeks. You can also use it during the day.

Also I use this swaddle wrap. I got mine cheap at a nearly new sale, but they don't half make it easier to get a tight swaddle. DS though is getting far too big for it and I'm going to have to learn how to do it with a normal sheet.

also, and this is for baby2 ( if your ds hasn't put you off completely)

amby bed

It is BRILLIANT and ds sleeps like a dream (sorry). There are usually some on ebay