August 2007- More boys than girls? Our beautiful summer babies are arriving at last!

[bananabump]

Thought I'd start a thread to give somewhere for Jem, Washersaurus and Bresha to discuss their little ones and make all those of us waiting impatiently jealous!

Who will be next??????

its obvious that lots of people are having a very hard time just now, and so might not want to hear this, but am sitting here watching ds dose in his chair and am just so happy.

ds is not a perfect sleeper etc by any means, but he does settle well and apart from the odd crazy evening like last night when he just screamed and screamed for no reason that we could work out, overall, i am a million times happier looking after him than i ever was at work.

banana - totally agree that you shouldnt feel guilty about ff because of mn - do whatever is best for you and your baby. i know some people can be pretty militant about things, but on the other side of things, i#ve enjoyed having a place to read about things when a lot of health visitors etc are not very helpful cause they havent breastfed themselves etc.

had that questionnaire with the hv last week so those of you who are getting high scores should be flagged up when you get them cause i think its done about 6 to 8 weeks.

posts crossed with banana - agree about the birth not having to be too bad to be quite traumatic (if thats the right word) - i felt like i had to talk about it to dh lots in the first few weeks. sure he got sick of me going on about it, but it is such a big emotional event that i think you cant help reliving it over and over. but am the same - the forgetfulness is starting to kick in, and am back thinking that we can have more children.

had a look down there and as with almost every other part of my body it looks totally different. cant (and probably tmi anyway) describe exactly whats different but just changed. at least the line of stitches doesnt look too bad.

James, I'm sorry you are having a tough time. I remember about this time with DS that I was so tired I didn't know what to do with myself. I used to sob uncontrollably if he woke before 6 because I knew that was it for the day.

Feed him whatever way it works - he's had a great benefit of your milk for the first few weeks, and I know no child with 2 heads as a result of FF!! It goes back to how GillL felt - if FF relaxes you, and allows him to be relaxed and you can all feed more merrily, then it is the right thing to do.

Perservere with leaving him with DP - if you take james off him when he screams, DP will never learn to settle him, and James will learn that only you can settle him. It is hard. If yu can, try and find a mother and baby group (I know they are bloody awful) see real people, and real babies, and pass James round a bit (everyone likes a newborn). I am going to face problems with Evie - DH so rarely picks her up that she screams whenever he hods her. I have to give her to as many other peple as I can when we go out so she is used to being handled..

Birth is traumatic - get counselling if you are having bad thoughts about it. But remember it will only ever happen to you as many times as you let it, and it ENDS! I was scared out of my brain going into labour a 2nd time, coz I knew what was happening! And it still hurt!! But it is over now. Just becuase you chose to go through the pain (as opposed to having a car crash where it is out of your control) does not mean you should suffer in silence. Good luck.

James - agree with everything all the girls have said, we will support you and not judge!!
GillL is right, my ds feeds every 2-3 hours! But for the last 3 nights we have had 5 hours ( which is great)

Lizzemun - do really feel as i know how you feel, ds also screams alot and the 2-3 four feeding is the good days, some days it every hour!!, never seems happy to sleep etc etc, well we have just got back from the osteopath and she was great, said that his head is fine and not major pressure or stresses there but his diarapham was tight and that was probley uncomfortable for him, making him wake on sleeping and feeding so much because thats all he knows to get comfort, also said that because of this he may eat more because he is struggling to digest all the bottle propley, have another appointment next week so will keep you updated!

have 6 week check today!

JamesAndTheGiantBanana

FF feeding now, but she is such a fussy b*er. The milk has to be the right temp, fairly hot but she is so slow at feeding so i have to heat the bottle again half way through because she won't drink because it's cold.

I had a break from them (dd1 & 2) on saturday as mum had them for the day.

A freind has lent me one of those fisher price swings, which has been a god send this weekend as she likes to be rocked to sleep.

Lizzie - have you tried different teats? - what number do you have, DS was on number 2 at 2 weeks because he took so long on the 1s

banana - I found my first labour and birth to be traumatising and like yours it was very straightforward. I felt it to be a very bad experience and couldn't contemplate another. This time couldn't have been much better. I felt in control and relaxed (well as much as I could be). I was thinking about having the next one only days later. You should consider having a home birth next time. I can't recommend it enough.

conker - I haven't really looked down there in much detail. I have tidied up the lady garden though.

lizziemun - that sounds like a pain. I've always given milk at room temperature and luckily neither dd nor ds have complained.

Hi Lizzie - um, no hip scan. They just tested them at the hospital before we left and again at her 8 weeks jab appt by flexing them. Guess that means all okay. Have you had to have yours scanned?

Banana. Sorry to hear about the lack of sleep and breastfeeding woes. Don't beat yourself up - a sane mum is more important than bf him still. He'll have had all your colustrum and you've done brilliantly to last this long. Right, getting some sleep... I'm exactly the same, can't leave her with anyone as she's a cryer and they can't cope. So, my solution if you feel okay with it is to take him to bed with you one evening, feed him in bed, then turn him so he's propped up on your chest on his side. It's guaranteed to work with Nell, but you'll need to prop yourself up with pillows to be comfy. If you're nervous about sleeping with him in bed with you, ask DH to check in on you both.

Oh, and for all of you worrying about how often yours still feeds, Nell can happily feed every 40mins - I'm not joking! Have resolved not to let it bother me and don't time it, nor do I care about the number of times she wakes up. Reckon if I don't worry, then there's nothing to worry about!

Lizzie, no futher hip checks for me - they checked her twice whilst we were in hospital after her birth and said her hips were fine.

Think Cait is going through her 6 week growth spurt as she is feeding every 2.5 hours today rather than her normal 4. She stil slept through last night but I have no expectations about tonight. I am FF too - had to stop BF when I was re-admitted to hospital.

Finally had the patience to upload a couple of photos of Caitlin and these are now on my profile.

the doctdr the hospital said they were ok, but the hospital routinely scan all breech babies. one hip was ok the other was just under the 60% alignment.

Shrinking, thanks for the comments on the photo.

Hersetta, I can't see yours I must be doing something wrong

hi all

been trying to catch up with everyone's news.

big hugs to those that are feeling low - remember and be honest when you see your HV/GP and do the PND questionnaires. it's so easy to hide it.

i'm formula feeding and did so from very early on - i had a midwife who was quite off with me when i told them that i was going to stop BF and FF . i still feel irrationally guilty about it mainly due to the strong views of people on mumsnet (silly i know). however, DD2 is thriving, content and she's off the scales for both her weight and length so if i could have managed to BF i think i would be on FF by now!

she is a really content baby (so far anyway) hardly ever cries and is very sociable.

banana - what if someone took james out in the buggy for a walk, would you be able to settle more easily then knowing that he wasn't in your earshot? i would agree with perservering with letting others look after him and you trying to get rest.

we're still having problems with DD1 - up during the night, whining, screaming, attention seeking arrgh. off to search and maybe post elsewhere for some advice on what to do with her....

Dcs have both got colds again. Got ds to sleep at 9:30pm but he woke up shortly after. Fed him at 10:30 but he still didn't want to sleep. Put him in his cot at 11pm and at 11:20 his sister woke up (she's got a bad cough as well) and wanted to come into our bed. Ds finally went to sleep around midnight. I thought he would never go with dd coughing constantly.

It's quite frustrating when you get the baby to sleep and then their sibling wakes up. Sometimes it feels like you're never going to get to sleep.

Had a nice time with dd yesterday. I took her to the park and she told me I was a special mummy and a nice mummy She didn't even complain when we left. Normally I have to drag her away kicking and screaming.

waves

Hi all I was on the ante natal August thread but have just caught up with this thread today.

Been having a bit of a hectic hard time (see step parenting thread) and now feel like Im slipping into depression.

On the upside baby Amy is doing very well :-)

Ive uploaded some piccies of her onto my profile.

regards
Elenor

Hi All
trying to catch up, but will probably do a mediocre job as usual
sorry to hear some babies and mummies not getting enough sleep. It is hard but try not to dwell on it, as being stressed and tried doesn't help.

J&TGB- sorry to hear about b/f issues, hope it all works out better soon. You know my mum always says how when she had my brother they gave all the ladies tablets to dry up milk and encouraged ff. It was the done thing, which is a bit weird but shows you how things have changed re:attitudes.

my2weegirls- we had some problems with ds1 too, i think it takes about 2 months for the older siblings to settle back down, they normally pick the most annoying behaviours to get attention, so just ignore the behaviour and give lots or extra love and reassurance when good. saying that we had big tantrum here tonight but I think he was just very, very tired.

gill - sorry to hear of colds. at DD's comments though

Elenor- welcome back

shrinking- good advice about Dh's they need to get used to settling babies too. i have been meaning to tell you that my dh has been a lot less interested in ds2 than 1, i think ds1 had more novelty value and he also says he likes them when they do more. he has been doing a great job with ds1 though so I only have to worry about LL most of the time. I'm sure it will even out soon enough though.

I had 6 week check after my first abs and bums class and the Dr. told me to avoid sit -ups due to muscle seperation, oops. I asked how long to avoid them and he said 6 months and also not to do too much jumping type things due to pelvic weakness, not sure what to do now regarding my bulges

LL has been good although his vision is still a bit out according to dr. I'll try not to gloat but he slept 6 hours the other night, i'm in shock at that one as it was at my mums house of all places.

Well despite my worst fears Cait fell asleep at 1.15am and then slept through till 7.45. She's extraordinarily happy today and has been smiling and making loads of baby giggles. Probably thinking to herself how she's got us wrapped round her little finger - she's right too!!

Ineedsomesleep - sorry you can't see the photos. I re-checked my profile and they seem to be working for me. Can someone else check for me and see if they appear OK? Love your photo by the way. Sooooo cute.

Hi ElenorRigby - Glad baby is doing well. I don't have any step children but I can imagine it can be tough. Hope it gets better for you soon.

Uki - I've ordered a couple of Davina McCall's DVDs and one of them is especially for post natal exercises. If I ever get them (damned postal strikes) I'll let you know what's recommended after having a baby.

Hersetta - Sounds like you're really enjoying little Caitlin. How much does she have each feed and how far apart are they? My ds won't go more than 2 1/2 hours between feeds during the day and it's a struggle to get him to take 6oz. Ds normally has 1 5hr sleep and 1 3hr sleep at night. I can't see your page either. Have you set your pictures to be public?

Just read your step parenting thread Elenor. Sounds like a nightmare. My friend is caught up in these sorts of problems in 2 ways. She has to contend with her ex partner's partner trying to make decisions about her son. One Christmas they left her son with the partner's grandparents while they went out for the night. She went spare and wrote into the legal deal that they were never to leave him with other people without her consent. She also has to deal with her partner's ex partner. She's very neglectful of her children and has a go at my friend when she tries to help. I'm obviously no expert but I imagine that your dp may be worried that if he doesn't comply with his ex's requests then he may get less access to his dd. That's why my friend's partner gives in to all his ex's unreasonable requests. Everything is always on her terms. She even complained when I didn't invite her children to my wedding. It wasn't her weekend to have them and she refused to swap. I wasn't going to make my parents pay £120 on food for children I had only met once. I felt I was going out of my way to invite them to the evening do.

GillL, she takes between 5-6oz usually every 4 hours (sometimes less) but is having the hungry baby formula as on the first milk she was wanting food every 2 hours and couldn't handle the volume so was being sick a lot. She's now much happier and putting on roughly 10-12oz per week.

I have tweeked my profile - can you now see the photos?

Hersetta - can see your lovely photos - can I go to lily beach - now!!!

Hoping we've got our first growth spurt (6 weeks to the day) - fed about every 2 hours last night and each feed lasting an hour. Thought my nipples had toughened up but today they hurt! - yet another 'joy' of BF. As far as I can see the only benefit is that if you are out and about longer than expected you don't get caught without a spare bottle!

DH away again tonight. Told me today he's away in switzland (SP?) next week. He'd forgotten dds first parents evening - hoping it can be changed. Feeling a bit neglected at moment - I know work's hard but think he's missing out on the family and when he is at home he's dead grumpy with everyone.

Having said all the above - I'm really enjoying having ds2 - yes I am tired, no don't have a minute to myself before 9pm, yes my back aches from having to carry him around as he screams when left. But it lasts such a short time and am already missing my curled up red faced new born! (getting tears in my eyes - must need a glass of wine!)

Love the beautiful baby pics, finally got round to adding some to my profile.

Gorgeous pictures! I've uploaded a new one of ds with dd.

Ds slept almost all day yesterday. I think his cold is taking all his energy as he never does that. Had a bad night last night (not as bad as yours loler). Dream fed ds at 10:45. He was so sleepy that he only took a few ounces. Put him in his cot fast asleep at 11pm. It took me almost an hour to get properly to sleep. I think it was due to Ds's cold cos he was snorting lots and I kept worrying. He woke up at 3:20 and had 4oz. Then he was sick all over himself so I had to change his vest and babygrow and clean the carpet. He seemed hungry still so I gave him the rest of the bottle and then he was sick all over himself so I had to change his vest and babygrow. Finally he went back to sleep at 5am. Luckily he slept til 9am but I woke up to find the cat sleeping next to him! Will have to make sure Dh closes the bedroom door each morning when he goes out.

Loler - me too !!

It's even better in real life too. We went for a once in a lifetime holiday for Xmas 2004 but unforetunately we were hit by the Tsunami and were evacuated home 3 days later. Didn't put us off though - we went back 3 times in the next 2 years. Our holidays now that Cait is here will be slightly closer to home and of course my Mum lives in Spain so lots of weekends spent there - we are going for the first time on Novemeber 11th so will see how Cait in on the plane.

Gill - sounds like a rough night. Your washing pile certainly increased!!

Gill, your dd and ds are so cute together! Sorry you had such a bad night, but hopefully his cold will go soon. Not sure I'd have bothered to clean the carpet during the night!

oh Hersetta just seen you saying about going to Spain in Nov, can't believe it - we're going the week before !!! Typical eh ? Are we ever going to meet up over there ?????