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??????

morning all - another hug from me trina - there is no way you can choose what day the baby was born, so it is crazy that she's cross - hopefully she will relaise that very soon.

lo is finally sleeping -dh went back to work today and lo has been awake all morning, which is very nice in one way to get to know him better, but meant i didnt get breakfast till about 10 mins ago - will need a bit more practice of how to do things with a baby at the same time.

its funny how tired i feel at night when i have to wake up for feeds, and every night i think i must catch up on sleep during the day, but then cant really fall asleep during the day so musn't really need to. Does anybody do anything while feeding at nhight, eg watch tv or read?

Hi all

I'm moving over and trying to catch up on all the drama,
I'll add my own at the end.

banana- so sorry to hear you had to go back to hospital with J, scary when they are not well, hope you are both feeling healthy and strong now.

babymad- I can imagine having 3 weird, i still wonder where this second one came from. (can't believe i'm a mummy x2) How do the boys find/accept lil sis?

trina- Your Sis is below the line, that is weird, I think it's great they share b'd's, but i'm weird and want everyone born on the 16th I really think she needs putting into line, what do your parents think of it all?

Anyway my news...went home from hospital after one night, but probably shouldn't have as i was straight back to emergency the next day Levi's naval had swollen up massively and was oozing. My ds1 had to have an operation for his, very rare condition but he had a hole going down to bladder. Levi's looked much worse though, he is now on antibiotics and needed an ultrasound.

Anyway ultrasound happened today and it looks ok, maybe just infection, so relieved after scary labour and all i was soooo worried about him, my nerves are shat

I'm still getting over the pain of labour, why or why is it so painful. isn't there a better way?????

I want to invent some better pain relief

Hello. Thought I should join now. Haven't really got time to catch up with all the posts so far but I'm going to spend more time on here than the ante natal thread now.

For anyone not aware, I had baby Alex at 04:16 on Wednesday (4 days early - yay). He weighed 7lb 10oz (a lb bigger than dd). Labour lasted 4 1/2 hours which was good and I sucked 2 gas and air canisters dry and then ran out for the pushing. The second midwife arrived 15 minutes after Alex was born but I don't think the first midwife realised that I was progressing that quickly. After all, I was only 2 cm dilated when she arrived.

Feeding was very slow to start. Even when I put Alex to the breast he put his mouth on and did nothing. It was worrying the midwives that he had only fed 3 times in 48 hours. I had lots of help from a Surestart midwife and a volunteer breastfeeding peer supporter. Finally on Friday evening he found his appetite and has been feeding really well ever since. The nipple shields are being well used. Can't wait for my nipples to toughen up so I can stop using the shields. Anyone know how long it takes?

Anyway, I think I've gone on enough for now. I've put one picture of Alex on my profile but I'll try to put another one on later of the whole family. Hope everyone's well and not too tired. Mum's here to help out so I'm going to take advantage and try to have a nap.

HI All,

time for me to move over to the post-natal thread I think.

Trinaj - sorry to hear about your sis and everything else hope you're feeling better soon.

Gill - I can't remember how long it took for the nipples to toughen up last time but it does pass fairly soon. Just look after them as much as possible in the early days - If you can leave a bit of your milk on your nipples and then leave them out exposed to the air for a bit after a feed - not always practical especially in our house would give the neighbours opposite a bit of a scare

Hopefully I'll get some pictures posted up later today of baby Alex

Had a miserable weekend, - my friend came over who I had hoped to be there for the birth but didn't make it in time - and I was hoping for a nice weekend of catching up with people, getting out a bit and chatting with her about everything that was worrying me.
But unfortunately it was full of unexpected visitors - putting any chance of getting into a feeding routine out the window. And not being able to get out of the house - feeling like a caged animal!
Have been out and about today and feel a lot better.
But have cracked nipple, and worrying about feeding.
Just want to be able to get along with everything and get settled into a routine so it's not so hard when dh returns to work.
I've always been eager for dh to return to work but this time I'm terrified of being left alone with 3 dc and no support.

hello - and welcome those of you that have made the move over from the antenatal thread!

trina - have just looked at your DC pictures - they are all gorgeous! DS1 has a really cheeky grin. hope today goes a bit better for you. would it help if you could speak to your HV or GP. it's very difficult when visitors just drop in unnanounced - make sure that you are not running after them. have a list of things that they can do for you if they do appear suddenly.

i've had to learn that DD2 comes last in the house and DD1 needs more attention than ever just now (lots of cuddles/time from mum) so as long as DD2 is fed/clean/not crying she's not getting anywhere near as much attention as DD1 got when she was 2 weeks old. it's very difficult as it goes against your natural instinct as a mum.

uki - that sounds really scary, hope things continue to be ok

gill and conker - make sure you get those naps!!

i've been on iron tablets for the past week and what a difference they seem to be making - i feel like i've actually got a bit of energy even with getting 3 times a night to feed DD2.

take care everyone

Hi guys, sorry I haven't been around much, I tried to snatch as much time with dp as possible before he went back to work. Today is my first day at home with the baby while he works. Scary! Got off to a rocky start... baby finally dropped off at 3am, then at 6am all dp's alarms went off, and despite me asking him to get up and switch them off several times, he ignored them for 40 mins, then finally got up and banged all the drawers looking for underwear. By the time he'd slammed the front door shut behind him, baby was awake and demanding breakfast. I think we need to sort out a better system!

The feeding is weird though, he feeds quite well during the day, will have a big feed then sleep for two or three hours, then repeats, up until about 10pm when he starts feeding for 10 mins, dropping off to sleep for 10 mins then waking up crying for more. He did this 11 times last night, over and over for hours. It was pretty baffling, maybe he's preparing for a growth spurt?

Better go, he's waking up... hope everyone's ok, and all the babies are doing well. Love all the pics, they're adorable! xxx

BB - My ds2 has been exactly the same - see breast feeding thread
Settling well during the day but not in the eve - I had an eve like yours thurs - up til 2am then fed at 5am waking ds1!
So far I've been feeding him as much as possible then topping him up with formular about 11pm - dh can do this . And he's slept so much better the last 2 nights. Fingers crossed he stays like it.
No un-announced visitors yesterday - and with feeding settling a little I'm starting to feel much better. - Thanks all for your words of encouragement.

Morning all- glad Hannah isn't the only one with strange feeding habits!
During the day she is OK and feeds pretty much 3-4 hourly. At night all goes haywire. The night before last I fed her on and off from 11.15 to 3.15. She then slept till 7. Last night feeding (well, feeding, falling asleep, crying, feeding etc etc) from 10.30 till 1 and then waking and feeding every 2 hours.
She has been sick quite a lot but got her weighed yesterday and she is putting on weight well (finally over 7lbs) so not worrying about that, it's just a bit annoying when she's taken so long to feed and then sicks it up!
Tonight I am goving in and feeding her with formula at the 11 o'clock ish feed and hopefully that will make it quicker and make her sleep better as I just can't do that feed much more. I'll express the milk from me that she would have had. She doesn't mind a borttle so hopefully it will work. Other than that she's fine.
It's all a bit exhausting isn't it?! I should be asleep now as Mum has taken her for a walk but can't seem to settle down.

Hi All

LL's naval is looking a little better today, so hopefully infection is clearing.

I'm off to bed now but just thought I'd give banana - a little advice.... try and get into the
eat- play - sleep - routine. if j is falling asleep during feeds, try changing his nappy and making sure he finishes feed. My ds constantly went to sleep on Boob, and he at 2 is the worst sleeper ever, he needs so much settling, reading, singing, etc.

LL feeds, plays then gets put in bassinet. i'm trying not to let him sleep in my arms, etc, so he gets used to sleeping on his own. sounds a little tough but he, so far has been angelic and hardly cried at all, expept nappy changes. rant over BB but I know how hard it is not to pamper but be prepared for how long it lasts.

Hi all

Finally trying to catch up! 2 weeks in and I haven't actually made it outside properly yet! Feeding getting a little bit easier every day. Had exactly the same thing with DS, think it takes a while for my poor pale nipples to desensitize. Ive now had 5 seperate midwifes tell me my latch is fine - it just hurts like hell! But we're getting there. The pain is a little shorter every time - I've also sent off for some silver breast shields/pads - It'll be interesting to see if they make a difference. Like many of our new arrivals Imogen has crazy feeding patterns too. She can feed almost non-stop for hours sometimes. I've also turned her into a bit of kangaroo baby because I don't like putting her down and she now really likes to be cuddled a lot. None of this helping get me off the sofa and into the big wide world very easily but I reckon we might get there by next week. Dh being wonderful and I'm being well looked after by him and by DS too who's being very helpful fetching phone/lansinoh/water/remote etc etc when I'm welded to the sofa feeding.

golly, this thread is so long already!
quick update: DD born Thursday 16th, full story here.

Feeding well, though latch is a bit clicky - seeing MW tomorrow and a bf counsellor at the baby cafe on Thurs.
Sleeping, like everyone else's, 2-3 hr stretches during the day, then down to 20min-1hr intervals between feeds from 10pm-3am . No sign of a routine emerging yet though.
Am working on the eat-play-sleep thing but not sure quite how one gets a newborn to 'play'... a dangly arch thing over the moses basket is going down well though.

DH is a utter god - changes and amuses her between feeds 10-12 while I tank up on sleep for the 12-3 stint, also brings me breakfast in bed so I can stay put till after the 9amish feed. Lord alone knows how we'll do once he's back at work....

yup - my dh went back to work yesterday and it does make it a whole lot different - he is still getting up at night to change nappies which helps a lot, but i seem to be lucky with ds - the last few nights he has fed at around 10pm then slept till about 3, then slept again about 3.30 to 5 or 6 and then shorter sleeps till we decide its time to get up. but it could well be luck and i certainly couldnt count it as a routine just yet.

last night when he fell asleep straight after his 3am feed, instead of waking up a few mins later wanting more, i could have jumped for joy if i hadnt already been falling asleep. so hope he can do it again tonight cause that waking up again a short while later is definately the hardest bit.

Nice to hear everyone is doing well. Agree with Uki I did the eat play sleep routine with DS1 and it worked well but he loves routines so we might have been lucky. Trying to get Alex to follow a similar pattern now - during these early days MrsB it's not so much about them "playing" as having some awake time rather than going back to sleep after a feed. If you can just get them to keep thier eyes open for a bit so you can have a little chat with them and a look around.

Alex managed to do his first wee on me today much to DH's amuesment I forgot entirely what to do to contain it and ended up covered. He didn't let daddy get away with it though and caught him out later. I had DH flapping about as I had tried one of our cotton nappies on him and this threw DH's change routine completely it was like an episode of the generation game.It was rounded off by DH putting on a little sleep suit thing back to front

Off to try and relax in the bath for a bit now before the evening fun begins!!!!!

I don't know if it's cos ds is younger than all yours but he is only waking twice for feeds and going straight back to sleep (although I am waking him in the day for feeds). Only problem is that he won't settle in the moses basket so dh is still sleeping on the sofa. At the moment I've got enough to contend with getting the feeding sorted out so I think I'll leave the sleeping arrangements til I'm confident with feeding.

I didn't have such a good night last night. It started off well with me having a 2 hour sleep from 10pm while dh looked after ds downstairs. He fed and then went to sleep. He woke again about 3:45am, fed and went back to sleep but I couldn't sleep. Ended up watching the tv til about 6 but I only dozed so I'm very tired now. Couldn't nap either as we went to visit sil.

treacletart - I'm having the same problem with my nipples. The midwife tells me that they will probably never toughen up because my skin is so fair. I would highly recommend the nipple shields though. If I hadn't started using them ds would have been on formula after a few days. Ds doesn't really like them and comes off the breast a few times before he latches on properly but, fortunately now the milk is in, it doesn't take him long to fill the shields with milk and start sucking properly. I'm going to start a thread in the feeding section on sore nipples/nipple shields so you might want to look out for the replies.

Hi guys, just a quick post to let you know I told the health visitor about James's feeding habits and she asked how old he was, then said "between about 10 and 14 days old most babies have a growth spurt which makes their feeds go closer together and erratic, probably won't last beyond 48 hours"

And I think she was right, he's been more settled since, back to every 3 hours or so. I have woken up with a rock hard achy boob though and he's been sleepy this morning so I can't get him to properly drain it, even though I keep putting him on the same one. Time to dig out the breastpump, I think!

Just about to give him a bath in the mixing bowl. Cameras at the ready!!

Oh I was going to eat my words as after two great nights, I had a fairly rubbish one last night. LL didn't want to be put back in bassinet and i had to keep holding him, feeding him,etc he just wouldn't sleep if i moved him back, so he ended up staying in my bed. He slept well in the morning and then again wouldn't be put down
But he did pass his hearing test

Stretch- you'vr only been weed on once!!! I've lost count already. yesterday LL weed straight up all over his head and the bed, he wasn't too happy with that one either

I had exactly the same problem this morning bb - so hard I couldn't latch lo on! - Out came breast pump.
Problem is he slept so well last night that this morning he wants to do nothing but feed! - He's only 8 days - what's his excuse!
I keep finding that a lot of the time he falls asleep and won't wake no matter what I try! - even stripping him off. Then 10 mins later he's crying for more - it's driving me mad!

Finally got time to pop in this morning and catch up. Sounds like more or less everyone is having the same problems with feeding.

I let my DS fall asleep on the breast all the time and my sil formula fed and followed the Baby Whisperer eat-play-sleep. Over 2 years down the line they both sleep the same, DS is 3 and doesn't sleep through every night. I don't think her routine worked. IMO you either have a baby that will sleep or you don't!

DD usually feeds every 3 hours in the day, but not every day and then wants feeding in the small hours all the time. Although I know this is natural as its when your milk is richest, I'd forgotten how tiring it can be. Am going to try expressing a bottle to give to her tonight after her feed at about 11pm to see if this makes any difference.

Think I might pop to the Baby Cafe tomorrow too, just to check the latch is ok. She seems more windy than DS and often is a little sick after feeds.

Finally, I've got around to changing user name! (Mum2George)

Sorry, that didn't work, try again

Hi - thuoght i should join in, as I now have the lovely 5 day old Evie..scrummy yummy......

I hate to say this, but I thnk I am completely besotted.. except at midnight when she wants MORE milk, after 2 hours feeding on and off. but - last night she then slept til 5 am (on top of me) had a quick slurp and went back till 7!!

I know I want to get her in her cot - but right now I'm too tired. During the dya she either sleeps on our bed, or in her cot, so i know i can do it. But it always seems like too much hard work at night.

the feeding is a bugger isn't it? Evie is often v sleepy, so i do the feed, change, poke, feed, burp, feed thing. it seems to take an age - but actually it does the trick esp - if you plan to do it. In the she gets a lazy breakfast, snoozes while I get breakfast, and then I wash and dress her between slurps -gives the nipples a moment to recover too!

I swear by Lanisoh - inches of it on both nipples! My problem is the sore bits always seem to stick to the breast pads (ouch!) Mine are slowly geting better to - i think 2nd tme around for me 've been less engorged which has helped. Deep breaths and lots of cursing help too..

On the less funny side, I am now wearing sexy ted stockings as I have phlebitis - inflammed veins - which can lead to DVT, my legs are really sore, and I can't bend my knees v well, to even play with DS on the floor. I thnk it was the trauma of labouring on my knees that did it!

Well, mammoth post almost over, I ahve read what other people have said - I think more or less we are in sim positions -2nd time around is less scary but still a bit daunting.

for those still swollen down below - I am swearing by Arnica 30c 2 pillules 4 times a day (or when I remember!) - I ammost feel like I haven't had a baby -not sure if that is something to be proud of !!

I think I spoke too soon too. Ds went down really well after the midnight feed but then was awake and feeding constantly from 3:45 til 5:15. Just when i thought we could lay down and get some sleep dd woke up asking for medicine. Dh got it for her and I told him to go back to sleep (on the sofa as usual these days) and she slept with me. I woke up about 8:30 on my side pinned between dd and ds. It was quite nice actually. Dh has been really good about staying up late with the baby and letting me get a couple of hours sleep before the late feed.

I know what you mean about getting baby in the cot growingbagpuss. I've had ds in with me since he was 2 days old purely so that I can get enough sleep. He's been falling asleep at the breast or on my chest and then I transfer him onto the bed after a little while so I can get comfortable.

2nd time round is definitely less scary and a lot easier. It helps that I didn't have to have stitches. Last time I had 2 stitches and couldn't sit down for weeks. This time I felt human again after only a couple of days. I'm really trying to make an effort now to put the baby down in the bouncer so i can spend time with dd. She was a bit upset this morning when I was feeding ds so I asked her what she wanted to do together when I had finished. It was nice to sit with her and just do some sticking and drawing.

Hey I'm back!
I just posted on antenatal thread is it extinct??

I'll copy n paste ...
The wee lassie Mila/ Isobel (still not decided!) was born at 12.30 last Friday 7lbs 6oz. C-section absolute dream, until getting out of bed.. but it's not too bad really.

This baby is incredible tiniest dinky beauty we ever saw, we're all feeling like we've fallen in love (that's me, dp & ds) She's totally calm always asleep, rarely cries. We've been blessed! But the lengthy sleeping has it's downside, I'm horribly over-engorged, terribly painful bowling ball breasts and cracked nipples as it's hard for her to latch on to these monster boobs.

But yes we're all blissed out chez itchy!

Now I'm going to scroll down and see how everyone else is, photos to follow..

congrats everyone, I've tried to read up on everyone but not really comfy sitting in this chair at computer!

It seems incredible babe's so tiny after my enormous bump but they sucked out 2 litres of fluid during c-section.

I'm so glad I elected for section, the other women on my ward had emergency ones after traumatic labours and it all sounded terrible.

We just arrived at hospital all fresh at 9am, had to wait for 2 hours, the staff were amazing and the whole thing was totally pain and stress free. The only bit that made me anxious was waiting to see her, they whisked her straight out for pediatrician without even holding her up for us to see and didn't bring her back till stitching finished. This was because of polyhdramnios can be caused by defects and to check her hips as breech. That's when I wished I was religious and cried and asked dp to pray for her and he told me that he already was!

I put her to breast and she fed immediately on way from theatre to recovery. The ERI was incredible, can't fault them. Midwives were fantastically helpful. I tried to get out of bed 2nd day and passed out dramatically.. doubled the painkillers and been up and about since day 3. Came home day 4. Had my stitch thing removed today, still slightly sore and not ready to leave the house but not too bad at all. Still in pyjamas, still got quite a bump (like 6 months) now acessorised with Jordan boobs and savoy cabbage leaves and overbump disposable knickers...

We're all still stunned, seems odd that 9 months of pregnancy doesn't actually prepare you for a real life baby! It's incredible the rush of love that's hit us