January 08 shiny new - year babys , tired mums and dads!

[lilyloo]

Will that do

Hi all

Been to health visitor today and Nathan still put on a good amount of weight despite not feeding well due to thrush. That dactarin gel is miracle stuff. Started it Friday eve, it was half gone by Saturday afternoon and even with a torch in his mouth no trace visible on Sunday. The difference in feeding is enormous, and no trace of anything resembling colic, just crankiness when his majesty is having some difficulties falling asleep or just at 5pm. Such a joy. Got him to sleep at 9.15 after finishing a feed at 8.30. Hope he comes knocking at around 11 for the next feed so I can have a good stretch of sleep. The last few days he has wanted feeding at around midnight when I am just nicely asleep.

Have just realised that if I want him to sleep at about 7 I should probably get up with him at 7 and not let both of us sleep until 9-9.30am , poor lad is sleeping 12 hours it is not his fault!

Anyone else sometimes miss baby's cue for nightfeed because it slots in with a dream? Happened a few times recently leading to Nathan actually having to cry for his meal, where as normally the grunting and noisy face rubbing (really) suffice.

Talking of dreaming, bed time!

hello ladies, madmouse- I am a bit of a sleeper like you, me and Rubes usually sleep until 8am...!

I was wondering ladies, do you think this is right...... Ruby has 5 feeds 3 hrs apart she is still 100% breastfed, she gets up around 8am, has her first feed, has her bath and change and then by 9am she is sitting in her chair downstairs and has another snooze until 10am when she wakes and has a play until her next feed.... she has her last feed at 8pm and is changed and in her grobag by 8.30pm, when I put her in her cot she actually smiles at me and my dh and goes straight to sleep, wait for it, until 8am the following morning! Now apparently she was awake when dh went to the loo this morning about 4am but he said that she just lay there smiled at him when he looked over the cot but then went back to sleep within 5 mins, am I starving my child in the night??!! All I can think is that she has given up using cues, but she never cries out?? I don't think waking her in the night is a good idea but I feel guilty that I am getting 8-9hrs unbroken sleep a night- lovely though!
Also on Sat morning, when she was awake at 8am I dozily said let mommy and daddy have another half and hour and she did and only started cueing at 8.30am, do I have an angel or is there something wrong?

Also are there any ex-smokers out there? I gave up a month before I got pregnant with Ruby and haven't had one since but i am starting to struggle now.. just wondering if this is normal..

Hope you are well xxx

Bluebell, your baby should be well capable of asking for food if she needs it. Is she vocal about it during the day? You can ask your health visitor about it but if she is gaining weight and is bright and happy just count your blessings

Hi madmouse- yes she is very vocable, she is not a crier, she used to cry when she had a poo because she didn't like sitting in it but we know when she is having one now (she gets watery eyes!) and she is changed pronto so she doesn't cry anymore, actually she shouts at you more than cries! She was 6lb 14oz when born and she is now 12lb 8oz at 12 weeks the HV seems happy... just seems like everyone else is still having broken sleep and its strange how she is not when she is still bf and sleeps a little in the day, thinking about it though she used to have a big 3 hr nap in the day plus lots of little ones (20mins or so), she has dropped the big nap, which was quite scarey on the day she didn't sleep, I was a bit like 'what do I do with you!!' ... x

sorry I meant vocal- vocable!

bluebell you lucky thing she sounds like an angel.
dh took ds5 for his jabs yesterday. Said he only cried for a few seconds. Brave boy.
I went to my osteopath today because of my very sore knee. He said my arch on my left foot is collapsing causing my ankle to twist and my knee cap to shift slightly. I have to wear arch supports all the time now.
Well nothing much happening here today.
Hope your all well x

think in future I won't say anything about Ruby sleeping loads and me getting a full nights sleep, I was practically hissed at by all thetired mums at my postnatal group today- note to self!!!!!!

bluebell my dd is 12 weeks tomorrow and sounds exactl like yours. she is doing 7-7 and goes down awake and happy. I just feel bloody lucky as DS was still waking up 4x a night at this age...........

Bluebell - there's nothing to worry about, its completely normal for bf babies to go for 12 hour stretches...sadly, its also completely normal for them not to, hence all the grumbling on here!! If she's feeding every 3 hours between 8 and 8 then you're basically getting enough food into her for her to have a nice long sleep at night, that's all. I'm absolutely certain that she would let you know if she was hungry...you just have a happy baby

Nicky - like you, I was about 9st 3lbs, I put on 3.5 stone, now I'm 10.12 and desperate to lose at least a stone by the summer...but sitting on MN eating cadburys creme eggs isn't going to do it, is it? Am very impressed by your gym visit...I had good intentions after going last week but have had a lot of 'householdy' things to do this week and don't feel I can justify the time off for the gym... maybe tomorrow...

Moving into my parents house for a long weekend on Friday, for the first bit of the festival of Passover. Not really looking forward to being under my mums feet for 3 days, but very grateful not to have to do all the cooking myself. And it will be nice to have lots of adults to help with my 2 kids, as my aunt & uncle and 2 teenage cousins will be staying with my grandma across the road at the same time. Even so, I'm really not up for the faff of having to pack all the ridiculous stuff we're going to have to take with for 3 days....steriliser, breast pump, baby monitor, playmats, baby chair, travel cot...not to mention nappies, changing stuff, clothes, breast pads...[panic emoticon]...and I won't be able to go out and buy anything I've forgotten as its a religious holiday (so no shopping and no driving....)...aaaarrghhh....

Right, hugs to all, xxx

Hi all,

I've just been sent this link which includes a whole chart (you have to scroll down) which explains why and when babies go through 'grumpy' patches in their first year. It looks quite interesting, and there's an amusing 'storm chart' at the bottom which might help us all to justify whats going on when the lo's get a bit difficult now and again!

Anyway, thought some of you might like to take a look...can't see myself plotting out Tamara's grumps against the storm chart (I'll never remember to check ) but curious to know what you make of it if you do...do you think it can be that scientific ...I'm not so sure

Seems like those of us with LOs who still wake for night feeds are in a minority now! .

madmouse can I ask how was Nathan feeding when he had thrush? Did he thrash about and pull off? Alek is getting worse and worse doing this, am going to ask the HV about it tomorrow. Maybe it could be thrush as well, tho' I still suspect as he is getting bigger maybe I have a slow let down and he is just frustrated, if that is feasible.

Lucky, your HV says some odd things! DS absolutely loves the door bouncer - he thinks it's hilarious and has already learned how to make himself bounce. I haven't put him in for long though and not when tired, as his head strength goes when he's tired. He is a good weight though and is very strong.

Ange, Nathan started screaming the moment he tried to latch on. He tends to trash about anyway, especially during the day when he is easily distracted. He is a very efficient night time feeder, was so also when he had thrush.

If he has thrush you are likely to have itchy-sore nipples, perhaps oddly pink and shiny. If you want to be sure shine a torch in Alek's mouth and look for white patches, a bit like tiny ulcers. I think for Nathan the main discomfort was caused by patches on the inside of his bottom lip, which is very important when latching on.

If you think it is your let-down (never my problem ) try pumping for a few minutes or hand-express a bit to see if it helps.

By the way, Nathan is doing really well, but dh and I have become spooked by the idea that his head may not be growing enough. If that is the case it indicates that his brain is not growing properly and that would have major implications for his development. We are seeing the consultant on Monday. We hope we are wrong

Well Ange if your LO can handle it then sod the HV i'm gonna c if Ali enjoys it tomorrow.

Guys - on average how much is your LO drinking? Ali is drinking 6/7 9oz bottles a day and I'm thinking there's something not right there. She's on the first milk cos the 2nd milk makes her constipated (although she does get 1 bottle of 2nd milk at night as it helps me get a bit more sleep)
I honestly think she should be starting on more solid stuff soon and I don't think she'll hold out till the 6 months but the HV is adament.

How old is he now lucky?
George drinks 5 bottles of 6oz a day. But we did buy him the hungrier milk because hes getting hungry every 2 and a half hours now instead of the four hourly he was before.
That does sound rather alot to me.

Lucky, if your lo is ready why not try weaning her at 17 weeks? She will soon tell you if not ready. She seems to be drinking stacks of milk...but then you did say she sicks up a lot, you do need to take that into account.

Ange - pulling about and thrashing off (and it hurting) is sadly another of those charming aspects of breastfeeding that no one mentions to you in advance... I find it seems to start happening when the lo becomes more aware of the outside world and wants to see what is going on around them...the pummelling and punching is (apparently!) them trying to stimulate milk flow....

Lucky...I started weaning ds at around 17 weeks...he wasn't particularly interested in it until around 19/20 weeks but it meant that by the time he needed the food (around the 20 week mark) he was already used to the idea of spoon and mush...and it meant that I started to do it before it became stressful or important, IYSWIM

I looked Filly! Just really looked for reassurance that Sabela's clingy phase is normal. She's suddenly turned into a little cry baby! But it is normal, so there you go.

Ange - I'm still up in the night! Whatever the LO needs ...

Also, Sabela went througha squirming phase and is now out of it. Instead she's on a 'feeding is so boring when you can play' phase. I regularly look down at her to find her great little latch has turned into a broad grin. It was ok when it was just to me but now it's to her favourite plant and clock too! She also has a game where she unlatches, swivels her head, grins, and swivels back and latches again. I know it's a game because she was doing it with dh's finger last night. Sometimes I give up, turn the lights off and feed her in the dark!

Bluebell - I often wake to find Sabela wide awake in her cot. Mostly doing ligament stretches and various other exrecises. She's so bloody active! Oh, and I finally gave up smoking [2 years now] but before that had three tries - I got to about a year each time and started again [anger]. I think it's a crucial time that no one talks about. Keep on going!

Nicky and Filly - I'm with you on the weight. It's so frustrating. I'm pretty much a 14 now if it weren't for my tummy. But with my tummy it rockets up. I asked my doctor and she pretty much said, 'have a go, but until you stop bf, you probably won't lose anything.' hmmph.

I'm trying to find an outfit for a wedding I can bf in. My bf tops aren't that smart any more, and I've got no smart trousers and skirts. [I'm living in denim and jersey right now]. Any ideas? Oh,
and I'm penniless after the holiday disaster.

Oh I have had a look at this too now filly, looks like my LO is in wonder week 12 -good - he will stop flailing about so much!

We have just been to clinic and he now weighs 15 lb exactly at 11 weeks.

Also he is apparently teething, which explains the frantic hand chewing and dribbling!

So it is not just me with a fidgety feeder then! That explains a lot thanks.

Gotta go, I can hear Thunderpants is doing a 48 hour special. Good thing he didn't produce that in the health visitor's scales !

PS how about a wrap dress Susie? and you could have a look on Ebay for a bargain.

Well filly if the chart is anything to go by i am in for a stormy week 12. which funnily enough seems to be right.

I think charlie is changing routine she had been waking at 8.30 feed at 9,12,3,6 bed by 7 feed at 3am ish then 8.30 am again.

But now she seems to be not wanting her bottle every 3 and when i try to give it to her she practically spits it ou - yesterday she was like this and today too (she is 12 weeks today). I think she is switching to nearer 4 hourly feeds whihc is a problem cos she doesnt wake up early enough for me to get 4 feeds in and I dont want to be aking her at 7 ( I dont want to be waking me at 7 either!!) SO last night because not enough food she woke at 1 and 4.30am.

Many of you are a few weeks ahead of me did you find this??

Last night me and dh went out and went to a ballroom dancing lesson - we've been talking about it for ages. my sister babysat and we went out for dinner afterwards - had very nice time. Although went to bed gone eleven and then charlie was not her usual helpful self never mind. Tired today though

On the weight loss front - a friend of mine said that a study was done of a load of pregnant women before and after some to do exercise others not etc etc and the researchers found that however you behave it is almost impossible to completely get your figure back before 6 months!!

Susie, I think the theory behind the switch from 3 to 4 hours is that although you drop a feed, they drink x amount more milk at the remaining feeds which makes up the difference......although I'm not an expert on bottlefeeding, so not really sure if formula works differently....

Nicky, I think the theory behind the switch from 3 to 4 hours is that although you drop a feed, they drink x amount more milk at the remaining feeds which makes up the difference......although I'm not an expert on bottlefeeding, so not really sure if formula works differently....

Aarrghh ...sorry gals..as you'll see, I typed 'Susie', then hit 'post' then thought 'hang on a sec, susie is still bfing...oh bugger, it was Nicky', hit stop, changed the type and then hit post. Except the blardy computer is clearly faster off the mark than I am.......

mmm but i cant even get 4 feeds in if she goes 4 hourly and she still only eats 4-5 oz per feed wont take anymore, actually think she might be suffering from a bit of reflux, however she hasn't been so bad today on feeds.

Me however feeling a bit ropy so i think early to bed for me.

Hey ladies,

Lost the thread so just posting quickly.

Have some news tho. I am starting my new job on Friday. Maybe I already posted that, mmm cannot remember. Anyway part time 5.5 hours everyday in the afternoon. Kids are going to nursery two days a week when I get the deposit money together, one day at ILs and two days with my dad and mum. I was going to take them to my parents as that was why i specifically went for pm work but my dad has said he will come (on the train) to me instead so that is lovely.

Missed my 1st weight watchers weigh in as DH didnt get home in time, nearly took the kids with me, but they were in their pjs and stuff. Had a look on my own scales and i have certainly lost, but not focussing on how much as I am going to go by whatever their scales say.

Gingeme - meant to say, your ankle problem sounds similar to problems I have and have had since i was very small. They are going to operate on mine tho.