January 08 - shiny new-year babies!

[Naetha]

Thought I'd start this thread now as I think there's already a couple of people to go on it, and I know there'll be an awful lot more!!

Will update when I get a chance

Yes was thinking about the temp of the mattress as it is plastic. Tried till 11 last night then gave up and put him in with me. More for the fact I couldn't stay awake any longer. He is staying in his chair a bit longer in the day now so I don't have to carry him around all day. Just wish he would stay in his moses basket too. Ill try again tonight and keep trying till he gets the idea
Lol at being an expert susie. Never had any trouble with my other boys staying in the basket but my neighbour did say this one will be spoilt because he is our last
Hope you all enjoy the sunshine today. Take care all xx

poor you Gingeme i still putting it off
The thing is Martha will go down in it during the day so we prob need to try again at night but like you it's going to be hard not to give in when it get's later and i know she will go off straight away in with me!
Hope you all well and enjoying the sunshine.
Any one doing anything nice / bought dh any nice presents for Thurs ? Need some inspiration! Head too full of baby stuff at the mo (prob all the same)

psst! look in birth announcements - lolo's had a girl!

Hello all Gorgeous weekend - went for a lovely walk yesterday, and about to go for another walk in a bit - get me and DH fit after a winter of lazing about

Still finding this whole motherhood thing a very steep learning curve! Over the last week, Ben's cues have completely changed, which is frustrating as it feels like I don't understand him any more! A couple of times he's just started crying for no reason (or so I've believed) within an hour and a half of a feed, so I've carried him and shushed him only for him to work himself up into a frenzy, only to try feeding him to find out that he's absolutely ravenous. Obviously I then feel very bad about starving my hungry child because he skipped the rooting stage and just went straight to crying! One of the problems I think is that he's taken to flailing with his arms much more than previously, so we can't tell when he's hungry, tired or just generally flailing. Because of this, we've decided to try swaddling him again - he hated it the first time, but seems to have taken to it a bit better this time. He struggles for about 30 seconds then gives up and looks ever so cute! Got him to sleep in his moses basket last night for a total of 6 hours with a feed and cudle in between

It's also taken us a while to get used to his body thermometer - it seems like he doesn't feel the cold at all, and much prefers to just be in a vest in the house during the day with the heating on 17 degrees. I just hope he doesn't suffer too much come summer. I think some of the spots he has (and he's a very spotty baby!) are actually heat rash, so we've just stripped him down completely and make sure we keep an eye on his temp.

Feeding wise things have been pretty good - I started expressing his feeds because we were trying colief, but just the act of expressing itself has made it much easier. Ben used to get frustrated by my odd let-down (super fast and strong, then nothing for a couple of minutes), and his poor latch and would often get bored / frustrated before he was full. Now when I express he takes it from the bottle much better, doesn't take anywhere near as much air, and finishes when he's full rather than when he's bored. Have stopped the colief now and he's still not suffering with trapped wind as much.

Wow - apologies for this being a mammoth post - I started it on Saturday!! Sorry there's no personal replies - but I'm reading all of your posts and finding them great for support. For those of you struggling - remember "this too shall pass" (has become my mantra of late!

Ooh just one more thing before I finally go for a walk - got a gorgeous pic of Ben smiling s7.photobucket.com/albums/y290/ldticp/Ben%20Llewelyn%20Thackray/?action=view&current=IMG_0228.jpg

Hi Naetha,

WOW! that's an amazing picture of ben! beautiful. ~I think we're getting little smiles here too. mainly at my boobies!

I'm with you with the cues changing. I'm not actuallu sure sabela has cues at the moment. Shen just seems to be ravenous all the time . glad the feeding is going well. are you still putting him to the breast?

Neatha so of your lo sleeping in the moses basket at all let alone 6 hours.
Been out looking for a cheapish umbrella buggy that lays flat to take away with us but none to be found that aren't bloody expensive.Not many that do lay flat either. Very frustrating.
Fed in public again today. Went to a cafe and fed George while I tucked into jacket potato and cheese.
George is lookin round lots more now. Not sure if were gtting smiles yet or not thugh.

Oh Neatha Ben is simply gorgeous. How old is he now? x

I may have imagined Sabela's smiles

Hello everyone

This is pretty much my first post in ages.
I've skim read down below and SO RELIEVED to read other people's babies like sleeping in their mummy's beds! I had a little girl on 8th Jan and she sleeps happily in my bed at night, but in her own basket during the day. It's weird. I keep thinking how does she know the difference? And I must admit it's lovely having her in the bed at night. Sort of a cosy primal feeling.

Boy am I looking forward to a full night's sleep again one day. And a brain that functions...

I've noted the fennel tea tips. My breastfeeding is going well so far, but i'd like to start expressing so i can share some feeds in order for me to slope off for some naps.

I'm so glad i came on here today as it's my first baby and i've been feeling bad about having baby in my bed!

p.s. i have definitely had a few smiles in teh last few days too. They are so cute!

Glorious weather here today. Been busy with a lovely trip to the park with DD1, DD2 and my two neices.

Lots of smiles here too, lovely to see that she is now responding when I talk/smile at her

Hi everyone,

Isnt it weird when they know its night and dont like their baskets all of a sudden?!!!
George is going 4 hours at night now, but is such a noisy sleeper, he still keeps me awake, so think i might have to think about putting him in his own room soonish before i lose my sanity?
I have also been hit by a mystery illness called labrynthitis! anyone heard of it? i hadnt....Viral infection of th emiddle ear, so i have no balance what so ever and if you turn the lights off i just fall over! I have had to come and stay with my sister in the front room so i have no stairs to navigate with George...Very scary before i knew what it was , as th eroom was spinning all the time and iwas just staggering around!. Dic said it will take between 48 houtrs and 4 weeks to clear...hope its not long!
Im with you guys with the cues changing too..and just looking forward to him not being so sick after eahc feed...doant bother him..just pukes and sits there!
Am gettign some lovely smiles now though and he will happily sit in his bouncer for an hour sometimes! Bliss, for getting stuff done. Well im at mysistersliek i said, so will be able to get on here and there, but hoep everyoine is ok xxxxxxxxxx

Hi all

Charlie now 18 days and has put on a whole pound so very pleased given how much trouble we have had with the feeding but tomorrow she goes to get her tongue tie cut so am hoping that the breast feeding will improve after that. Although I may breast feed during the day and formula feed at night she seems very versatile and switches between the 2 and expresssed and nipple guards bless her - talk about messing her around.

Moses basket issue we had exactly the same thing would sleep in it at day but not at night then we atched her one night and because she hates being swaddles she moves her arms about a lot and would bash them on the sides and wake herself up. So after 4 sleepless nights we switched her into her cot and she is actually loads better - will sleep for 2-3 hours at ago and often will go back to sleep quite quickly after a feed. Although the last couple of nights she has woken every couple of hours.

My health visitor said that they have a growth spurt about every 3 weeks so that is probably why a bit more demanding.

Hope that helps.

Was extravagent today and bought a little bottle warmer machine.

Thats funny nicky6 someone else said that to me about putting baby into a cot and it sleeping better. Ill try for this week and see how it goes if not Ill get dh to put the cot together.

hello!

Beller, I've had labyrinthitis about 5 times, it's horrible so hope yours clears up soon! I had it when i was pregnant this time and couldn't take anything for it. Kept crashing into things! What did the doctor give you?

Gorgeous pic Naetha, we got a lovely one of Charlie smiling this week too. Will have to work out how to create a profile and put it on here.

Nicky - hope Charlies tongue tie snip goes well, let us know!

Neuro - welcome back and congratulations!

Gingeme - good luck with the basket tonight! Will keep fingers crossed for you.

Took Charlie to the cinema this morning to see Juno, keep finding bits of popcorn in his sleepsuit where i was eating and feeding at the same time He has been asleep nearly all day, he is such a snoozy boy. Keep waiting for him to liven up a bit but think he's just a big sleeper (wakes for feeds but conks out again fairly quick) he is a bit of a mummys boy at the mo though which is making DH a bit fed up. Tends to settle fairly quick with me but takes ages for DH to calm him. Just another 'this too will pass' thing i guess!

Right, off to make something low fat for dinner to make up for the popcorn and pizza express lunch afterwards! (weigh in at weightwatchers tonight, lost 2lbs so v pleased!)

Hi to everyone else x

Ooh meant to say as well, does anyone want 3/4 of a bottle of colief? It hasn't had any effect on Ben, and it's pricey stuff at £10 a bottle - would be happy to post it to whoever needs it - will go in the bin otherwise! Email me your address - elliethackray(at)googlemail(dot)com.

I keep on thinking Ben's going through a growth spurt as almost every other day come 11pm my boobs are completely empty, and he's taken 5-8oz of milk I've expressed earlier in the day (allegedly to try and build up a stock of expressed milk in the freezer but the bugger keeps on drinking it!). Not sure what's going to happen tonight as he's already drunk the milk I expressed earlier...if he's starving then he may just have to take the emergency formula I have...for emergencies

beller - a friend of a friend had labyrinthitis, said it was very disorientating, but she got over it reasonably quickly - still was a good excuse for a week in front of the TV, not that you need that excuse at the moment!

Gingeme - brave of you BFing in public - I still haven't worked the courage up yet! I always take a bottle of expressed milk with me if I'm going out.

Susiemj - Yes Ben's still on the boob about half the time, but he finds it so frustrating, it's often easier for both of us to express and bottle feed him. Damned if I'm doing it at 2am though, so he gets the boob in the night . Thankfully he's not usually awake enough to fuss about too much, so as long as my let-down doesn't swamp him, he's OK.

Going to try our first outing on public transport tomorrow - I'm debating whether to take the pushchair or the sling... Will probably go for the pushchair for the first time as I don't know the bus times and could be waiting a while!

Sorry to keep on posting (it takes so long for me to get a post out that by the time I post, loads of other people have posted stuff that I need to reply to!) but Nicky, how did you get the tongue-tie sorted? Did you do it through your GP, and how hard did you have to campaign to get it done/referred? After the HV saying that she'd get it sorted for me, turns out I have to go back to the GP (who originally refused unless it stopped him taking a bottle), and will probably have to print out NICE guidelines etc to make my case. How severe is Charlie's tongue tie as well? Right, I'll shut up now!

Well I have just sat for an hour doing a repeat performance of last night and its driving me mad. My friend suggested a book called No cry sleep solutions by Elizabeth Pontley. I have just bought it off Ebay so hopefuly will get some tips. Guess hes in with us in the mean time then
Thanks for letting me rant. Night all xxx

[pops in dancing...] Definitely got another smile!

evening

re tongue-tie; ds1 has it, here tho they don't do anything unless/until they have speech problems then they will snip it and have speech therapy, which i think is nuts.
hope your LOs snip goes well.

ds2 still suffering with cold but otherwise he settles well. managed a couple of 3hour sleeps last night fingers crossed for tonight. really feel the lack of sleep first thing when ds1 decides to get up at 5-something...

right, falling behind as usual, hope all LOs settle nicely for their mummies tonight.

Hi! Having a nice week here, DH is doing lots of jamie oliver impressions to keep us all going.

Re sleeping - in evening we usually manage to get a good 2 or 3 hour stretch in his Moses basket then at about 1-2 am he usually comes in with me (I am still on downstairs sofa bed - all his stuff is set up down here so I don't have to keep going up and down stairs) for a few feeds, and we both snuggle and doze, once he is well away I can get him back into his basket no problem. I'm not sure about co sleeping all night as he usually ends up on his side which bothers me.

I usually lay a muslin square against me so it is warm and then put his head down on that back in the basket, don't know if that is any help Gingeme?

I've found this vague "routine" much more restful than having to get up and feed. DS feeds really well laying down, fusses more if we are sitting up - cos I have droopy boobs I reckon!! .

He does often do the usual "think he's down, put in basket then stirs straight away" trick though!!

He is 2 weeks old today, just signed over to the HV and he has lost 2oz of his birth weight, dwon to 10lb 12 - am sure he can afford to lose a bit . he still gets one or 2 bottles at night as sometimes after 2 hrs constant breastfeeding he is still starving!

Naetha - gorgeaus pic of Ben

Ds1 had lovely birthday yesterday. Samuel is asleep on sofa next to me atm. He is growing fast and showing lots more alertness to what is going now. He has upped his feeding last couple of days but apparntly they have another growth spurt around 7 weeks, which he is on Friday so i guess he is building up my supply.

Have been sharing him lots as had lots of visitors (another 2 today). I miss him when visitors have super long cuddles, so when he wants a feed I am pleased as i get him back

Enjoying every minute as they grow so fast i know this stage wont last that long.

Thanks Angechica I will try that tonight.
Dh being an a***le again today trouble is hes taking it out on ds4 which is realy getting to me. They have gone to the library now so I can have a rant. Im glad hell be going to work in a couple of hours then I can get some peace.
Putting all my maternity clothse on Ebay today. Definately wont be needing it any more
George has been as good as gold today considering all the shouting that has been going on in the house.
Im so bloody tired had a bit of a hard night. Didnt help with dh tossing and turning and bloody snoring all night. At this rate Im gonna be thinking twice about Valentines day realy cant be bothered to get anything. Mind you he better get me something or there will be hell to pay
Sorry for the rant ladies.
Hope all is well elsewhere.
Did someone mention something about a meet up?

Valentines day...oh forgotton about that! . So wrapped up with my two DD's.

My DD is slightly tounge tied but have been told to wait until 6 week check for another evaluation. HV mentioned that apparently they can grow out of it..??

Hi - just discovered and joined mumsnet. Our first son was born 30 Jan, so I guess that makes up part of the January 2008 group!

Am breast-feeding (hard work, and very sore nipples, but he's gained weight already, so must be doing something right )

Anyhoo - hello to you all, this is a long thread, but I'm reading through it to get to know everyone.