October 2007 - the golden piglets have landed

[Mumpbump]

I couldn't find a postnatal thread - not sure if I am just missing it with post-childbirth brain! Anyone else around??

Inzi delighted honey that all is going so well for you. God knows you deserve it after all you've been through to get here. Jealous as hell of your lo sleeping through the night but sure it will happen for us some time this century !!!

Inzi - really glad things have turned a corner with you.

Enjoy the sleep!
ZZZZZzzzzzzz
x

The ring sounds like such a lovely gift - you lucky thing. My DH is crap at gifts - he didn't even get me a birthday present this year. He is good in other ways but still - it is a bit rubbish of him. He's gone out tonight which is a bit annoying considering he is hardly ever here but he did make the tea and do Dareh's bath before he left so can't complain.

I am fighting off the cold. Lots of vitamins and lemsip for me!

Stefka - just have to say, i think you can complain about your dh, i wouldn't stand for him going out when he's hardly ever there already and you've got the cold on top of everything else you've been dealing with, don't mean to be rude but i just feel for you and think you need more support than that. Sending hugs anyway , also sending positive bf vibes...
Well we've done some more xmas shopping today, i'm impressed with how organised we've been really, nearly done!!! we're on a real budget this year and have warned everyone not to spend too much on us cause they'll not get much back, just want to see my family for xmas really, there's not a think i want apart from my precious ds .
Still expressing everytime ds feeds, getting slighlty mor each time but only tiny amounts still, just drops but i'm staying posistive, at least i'm getting something!
Anyway hope everyone is doing ok, off to bed now, just had one bottle of beer and feel really drunk, i've not drunk at all for 10 months apart from a sip of whisey the other night when i had toothache... used to drink quite a lot, can't believe how much of a lightwieght i've become . catch ya all later

Inzi you sound so happy! Stopping bf was clearly a really good move for you. And your Jane sounds like a fantastic little girl. I can't believe she sleeps so well!

Stefka, I would complain too like Dal, I think. You've had all the pain of the bf and a cold to contend with plus the sofa a couple of nights! Having said that my DH is possibly going out tonight - his favourite group is on in town. That feels odd to me because my world doesn't have space for going out without DD yet. Anyway he says he won't go if she's being a sleep terrorist again (she was good last night and slept 2 hours at a time - result).

Dal, my tolerance has gone too! Annoyingly Rebecca cluster feeds in the evening, which is making me feel guilty about a glass of wine. Am considering introducing an espressed bottle in the evening so I can have a drink. That makes me sound like an alcoholic - I'm not but I do like a nice glass of red wine!

Today we're having Sunday lunch at my parents and then onto an NCT reunion thing. Very intrigued to see what that's like.

Have a good Sunday all!

Hi all,
I am really interested in what Floria was saying about using a potty!

I am facing a very strange situation with LO's nappy changes. He doesn't seem to poo at all until we put him on the changing table and take his nappy off. At that point, he'll start looking really happy and do lots of massive poo (sorry if TMI!) which makes a huge mess as you can imagine....

We are starting to think that he actually associates being changed with doing a poo.....which seems a bit far fetched for a one month old (dh even suggested he may be actually waiting for us to change him and holding off until then...which seems impossible to me). Then again, after this happens he is all content, stops crying, etc (he is "colicky" we are told, and spends a lot of time crying especially after feeding and before nappy changes). So we are thinking of a way to use this to make him feel better - and also just to manage the situation because as you can imagine each nappy change creates a huge mess that we have to clean up (and needs a lot of team work - no way one person can do this alone!).

Can't imagine being able to hold him on a potty though. Has anyone ever heard of this problem - and Flora - what did the midwifes say. They disapprove of you method but did they suggest an alternative??

I am like you choc - I love my red wine! I had a glass on Friday night but felt bad too. I think having a bottle of EBM is a good plan - I might try that too.

Gem - Dareh loves having a kick about with his nappy off. He nearly always poos with his nappy off too. He just seems to like it. The other thing he loves is looking at himself in the mirror. I pop in on the floor on a change mat by the mirror without his nappy and he is happy enough so that I can jump in the shower.

I am still fighting the cold but got a good nights sleep with hubby in the next room with is bear like snoring! Dareh makes a lot of noise in the night too actually - like father, like son.

Morning everyone,

I hope you are all well.

Just a quick question, have any of you that are breastfeeding had your periods return. I think I came on yesterday.

I am sure it took a lot longer for them to return after having DD1 5 years ago.

I hadn't even thought of that. When do they generally return? I can't be bothered with that just now!

I am jealous of those of you who have managed to get back to their pre pregnancy weight. I still have a stone to loose and it isn't shifting anywhere fast. I just feel hungry all the time right now. I used to do a lot of exercise but not at the moment.

So far today I have had one feed that wasn't too bad and one that was awful. So strange and frustrating.

Choc...you are not the only one who has had a sleepless baby though I'm sorry I cant offer any help other than that small comfort...My mum suffered with me (from 24 wks of pregnancy too!)I never ever slept for more than 2 hours at a time and after 6 weeks coping on her own (Dad was scared of handling me because I was tiny and he was massive and thought he'd break me!)one night, she broke down and threw me to the end of the bed...she says she had never seen my Dad move so fast in his life before! I must have been well wrapped up because I came to no harm and my Dad started to help more..my great aunt used to come down and drive me around in her car (my parents didnt have one at the time)to give Mum some sleep and the parents took it in turns to sit up late with me. I'm sorry but I didnt improve quickly, I still only need 6 hours a night but the intelligence thing is true..I was always alert and content so long as I could see Mum, I was potty trained and walking at 9 months and reading at 3!...not much compensation for sleepless nights I know Hope you work things out somehow.

For those interested in the potty usage...it stems from my Mum, who was trained as a nursery nurse in the 1950s...they used to "hold out" the babies over a potty before and after each regular feed time; the babies got used to relieving themselves at those times which saved washing so many nappies and didnt let them get inured to sitting in wet or dirty nappy,..it wasn't potty "training" as such, babies cant hold their bowels or bladders but they can relax them so it is just a matter of letting them know when the best time to relax them is....Some believe that letting babies soil nappies is "training" them to think that that is the correct place to do it...in China and India they dont used them at all but the Mums learn to recognise the signals thier babies use to indicate when they need to "go"...it sounds like Gemma and Stefkas LOs already preferr to go without a nappy.
I do it half way through a feed and also when Alex is puffing and straining(usually just before a bout of colic)..I have the potty on a box in front of the chair in Alexs' room, I sit with the box and potty between my knees, hold Alex in a sitting position over (not on) the potty with my hands supporting his thighs, rest my forearms on my thighs and let Alex lean back against my chest...I only hold him there for a short while, longer if he is obviously "trying" to relieve himself but give up as soon as he show signs of restlessness or distress...after about 4 weeks we now have surprisingly high sucess rate..it is certainly worth a try if you have the patience.
The mws and hvs dissaprove of it because psychologists say it creates "issues" for children "forced" to use a potty before they are "ready" ie. 2-3yrs or older..it apparently can make them literally anally retentive...but my Mum used this method on me and my brother and though I cant speak for him, it certainly hasn't done me any harm in that department

Dh is calling me to help with the Christmas decorations...just want to say those who are getting so much wonderful sleep....ooh the bliss....oh well, perhaps one day, when he is 18 !!!!

Hi all,

Well, we put henry to bed at 7 last night and he managed 2 1/2 hours. I fed him in the dark and put him straight back in his bed and there he stayed until 9 oclock this morning. he fed at 1.30am, 3,30am and 6. he seemed to need an extra feed but at least he spent the night in his own bed and not ours. it also meant tha dh and i could have a little time together and some cuddles.

we did go to the zoo today despite it be a windy and stormy day. it was very funny seeing the few die hard parents taking their children round the zoo with it blowing a gale and tipping down with rain. i'm sure the lions had a wry smile on their faces as they slept in their nice warm beds looking at us loonies looking at them....

we have noticed, whikst on the subject og poos and pooing habits that henry doesn't poo what i would call 'normally' ie 1 or 2 a day but does nothing for hours and then literally explodes (very much like your lo gemmamc) the noise and the smell, not to mention the ammount, is amazing! he always needs a complete change after his blowout!
will ask the h/v on tues as he's being weighed then.

please forgive all the lack of capitals as i am typing one handedly as are making up for the lack of cuddles as henry was in his pram most of the day -the raincover covers all of the carrycot but has a wacking great big hole right in the middle of the carrycot bit so yes, you can reach in to sort out the baby if need be but the rain falls right in on henry's face!?!??? we ended up tucking a muslin in to cover the hole....

dinners ready -ollie just said
x

Hi folks, what lovely topics us mums talk about, before you were a mum did you ever think there was a day when you would be discussing babies poo online

I think it must be pretty normal for babies to store up and have one "blow out" a day because Zoe does it too and surely they can't all have the same thing wrong. I am trying to convince Zoe to make sure she does it when Daddy is around (not having much success though!)

Okay, maybe bathing two boys isn't as easy as I first thought....

Ollie was playing with Henry's babybath as it had water in it and I think he knocked the plug out a little. Fine if it were in the bath but it was on the carpet (to save my back) and fine if it were just a massive wet patch on the carpet as it can just be cleaned up with a towel but oh no, we had to had a massive leak of water on the bit that Ollie spilled blue food colouring on earlier this year. My lovely towels are now blue coloured and we now have a much bigger bluse stain on our cream carpet (who puts cream carpet in a family bathroom anyway??? -property developers!) I am definately checking out the home insurance to see if we can claim. It looks awful in there now

Still, both boys in bed and I'm hittin' the gin
x

Hey everyone, how is going? Still expressing to try get my milk back, get a tiny bit more each time, like a couple of drops more but i'm gonna keep going even though the progres is so slow... just trried ds on my good boob, it hardly hurt and he stayed on for about 10 mins so must have at least got a little bit of milk, hopefully it will have stimulated my boob to make more too, still trying to build up the courage to try him on the other one as the crack hasn't fully healed yet.I'll be so happy if i can get my milk supply back to what it was, i long to express and actually get enough to give him rather than an amound so small i need a magnifying glass to see it!
Polar - yeah can't believe some of the things we discuss on here , has anyone else found it spilling over in to everyday life??? i keep finding that because i'm so used to talking about things on here in such detail that when people ask how things are going i keep giving TMI , it's actually quite liberating, not sure they see it that way though .

Dal yeah I am giving too much detail as well especially to people who already have children like that means they want to talk about bowel movements in intimate detail! must be a lack of sleep thing means our small talk skills are somewhat lacking

Zoe has been a bit off colour today, can't put my finger on it exactly, now I know some of you dream of this and will be asking what the problem is, but she has been sleeping a lot and hasn't been in good form when she has been awake, she was due a feed at 6.30pm and doesn't usually oversleep at this time of the day. She also hasn't finished all of her bottles (although this may be because she has been feeding more from me) Its so hard not to worry a bit when they do something different like this.

Its also funny that its one rule during the night and another during the day. For example Zoe fed at 11pm last night and then didn't waken for food until 5.30am and I was delighted and yet she is now 1hr overdue a feed and I am concerned about her! Pity she didn't come with an instruction manual would have made this mummy business so much easier

Polar - i know exactly what you mean, any change in ds routine has me worrying there's something wrong, he overslept feed time yesterday then was really hungry and fed then fed again an hour later cause was really hungry again, i convinced myself he was crying cause something was up but dh helped me get some perspective and pointed out that he was obviously just feding more cause he'd gone longer without one earlier. You can't help but worry though, i try to tell myself that if they haven't got a temp and are at least feeding a bit they must be ok .

Choc glad to hear Rebecca slept better!! Hope your NCT reunion went well... Had a thought - if motion sends her to sleep (like the car) she might settle in a swing? We have one and it worked wonders on Sam although Adam isn't bothered. Do you fancy coming over here one day next week and you can try her in it to see if it works? I would be very happy to come and pick you both up.

Well we have officially had a shite weekend. Adam's sleeping (or not!) has been crap at night. Although he has only been needing fed once between 11 and 6 he has been VERY unsettled and was awake for 2 hours at about 2.30 on Friday and 3 at 1.30 last night. I am shattered. Feeling relatively good humored now (helped by a glass of red ) but wasn't earlier... Keeping fingers crossed that it's his jabs.

Anyway hello to everyone else - can't remember what else you all said (remembered Choc after chatting about it on Friday!). Thinking of you all as always... Off to finish our dinner and to spend some quality time with my lovely dh

Hi all,
Sorry, I'm not keeping up with this at all.

A few things I've gleaned from this page...

Stefka - I think I've mentioned before my DP is being totally crap too and seems to think he's entitled to go out and "let off steam" even though he's sleeping through the night (somehow he doesn't wake up with DD cries )and I'm the one who's left at home holding a baby 24/7. I really resent it because I feel like if he's got any spare time after college he should want to spend it with me and DD rather than out with his mates.

Don't know who started the poo conversation but DD tends to store hers up too. Sometimes she'll go for 3 or 4 days without going and then doing an impressive explosive number. I've asked midwives about it and they seem to think it's normal.

I've had the weekend from hell. Poor DD has had a cough and the last few days seemed to have trouble breathing (sounding wheezy and sometimes sort of choking with terrifies me). Yesterday we called the GP and SIL who's a GP and both advised us to go to A&E. I ended up staying the night in the hospital with DD. They took urine samples (which is harder than it sounds...it involves holding baby on a tiny plastic bowl for as long as it takes for her to provide 3 urine samples!) and found signs of infection so they wanted to keep her in. They don't know what's wrong with her but they were worried it could be a urinary tract infection. I don't think it is. I think it's something to do with her throat/chest. Anyway, I didn't sleep a wink. In fact, I was crying like a big wuss! It breaks my heart seeing her poorly and I've been so worried about her. Worst thing was she wasn't even feeding properly yesterday so I couldn't even use b/f as a way of comforting her

She's feeding better today and I'm about to take her to bed for an early night and a big cuddle.

X

C died this afternoon: his partner and his 2 boys were with him (as well as my PILs - his Ps decided to stay away and ) - very , but also a relief. DH is surprisingly ok about it at the moment - but I can imagine he will cry later ...

love to all.

My thoughts are with you and your dh ejt
x

oh sorry to hear that ejt, hope you're both coping ok

Big hugs to all of you ejt you are in my thoughts and prayers.

missbumpy I hope they find out what is wrong with your LO and that she makes a speedy recovery.

Ejt, I am so sorry for you and your family. Hugs and condolences to you all.

MissBumpy I hope DD gets better soon! And your DH sounds like he needs some quality time with his daughter too while Mummy gets a nice nap

Dal, well done on the expressing - slow progress but progress nonetheless: great stuff.

Muppet not surprised you're on the gin!

Floria - I was an insomniac child too - I learnt to read very early as well. But I was a living nightmare for five years for my parents...

We went to the NCT reunion yesterday which was weird. Everyone else had managed 'natural birth' and one person had a good dig at my emergency section, insisting that if I'd practised proper breathing it wouldn't have happened. I didnt have time to breathe wrong - the problem occurred so early that I WAS active birthing at the time, walking around, bouncing on the ball (swearing). She kept saying it was a shame I hadn't experienced birth normally but that clearly I'd had an easier time. I couldn't decide if it was annoying or amusing. Both, probably.

Got colleagues coming over this afternoon, interesting combo. I really ideally want DD to have a nap before then but I doubt it - she has yet to sleep in the mornings...

Have a good day all!

PS: Alice - I've emailed you about testing the swing, that would be great. We could get her one for Christmas if she likes it!