June 08 babies - I know there's a few of us about!

[isaidno]

Thought I'd start a thread inbetween breastfeeding, laundry and bossing DH about tyo do stuff!

Let's make a list of members!

ISAIDNO - baby girl; Poppy Elizabeth; born 18 / 6/ 08; 6lb 4oz

Hi everyone, thanks for reading birth story (sorry it was a bit long). I'm skimming posts to try and keep up with you all, but still in the early sleep deprived state so it may be a while before I'm up to my usual chat.

Struan projectile vomited the other night which gave us a fright. He was completely fine afterwards though.

Despite all the early feeding issues he's putting on weight aplenty and is now 8lb 15. He's quite long so concerned about how long he'll actually fit in his moses basket. There's no way we'd fit his cot in our room!!!

Josey I've only been able to pick up quick snatches of your chat about Olivia - I hope everything is going ok.

Did the 'graduate' list transfer across to this thread? I could do with reminding myself who had who over the last couple of weeks until I start functioning again!

Interesting to hear the paed said his baby sleeps in a different room UDC!

Is it true that babies that young shouldn't projectile vomit? Theo did a few times when he was 5/6 weeks old but not since he went to osteo.

If anything it is DH who is the worrier out of the two of us. One night Theo wouldn't stop crying and DH said 'shall we call an ambulance?'

I said 'yeah let's ring and tell them our baby won't stop crying' - imagine what they'd have said.

I agree your instinct tells you when something needs checking out.

Not been online for a few days so it's nice to log on and find such a lot of good news! Congrats to BDQ on birth (and boo to horrid midwives postnatally), Essie on lecture, needahand on job and especially Josey on Olivia crying, how exciting!! Do get your dh to set something up to donate online if poss.

Had some changes here as Caitlin's hip scan on Tuesday showed mild dysplasia of left hip, so she was in a harness within the hour, which keeps her legs frogged outwards - one of these. She has to wear it at least 23 hours a day for at least 6 weeks and have weekly physio checks. All a bit of a shock really but it's not major and we're getting used to it. Better than growing up with painful hips, limp, or early hip replacement I guess.

She screamed all Tuesday afternoon - I felt like I was torturing my lovely settled baby! - but has been calmer since. But it does mean we have to work out new positions for everything - carrying her, wearing her in the sling (fortunately the wrap cross carry works really well with the harness on - the dr. even asked if the reason I was carrying her in that rather than using a buggy was because of family history of hip problems, as it keeps the legs in the right position), and especially feeding - having to be creative with use of various cushions and supports which give her lower leg enough room while getting her close enough to me. And because I am worried she might be uncomfortable I'm getting v. slack about sleeping - she is in bed with us pretty much all night and I keep letting her go to sleep on me in the day - I know I am probably creating a sleep monster! But she does get left to go to sleep in her basket or cot a lot when ds is around and needing attention so hopefully she won't get too dependent on having me there as a sleep cue. Fingers crossed ....

I did take her to the cranial osteo the day before the scan and she said Caitlin had problems down her left hand side and tight LHS sacro-iliac joint - I was sceptical about how she could tell that just from holding her head, but she was obviously right! She also said there was tightness around the diaphragm which was causing more wind problems. I think the treatment did help with the latch problems, definitely, and she is bringing up wind easier too - has started posseting since Monday which she never did before, and I think that's a good sign as it means she is bringing up all the air and then a bit, rather than having lots of air still trapped inside. I think the colicky evenings have improved too, but that's hard to tell for definite as it coincided so closely with the harness going on which has made her more unsettled than usual generally.

sorry for too long post - a week's worth in one go!

Luke has projectile vomited a good few times too - it's amazing how much can come out of him - a whole 4oz feed. It's also amazing how far it can travel and has bits of what looks like cottage cheese in it!

Side sleeping - we have bolsters but they are not as good as the towels IMO - you roll one up lengthways and double it over for the back and then roll one up widthways so it's thicker and place this in front of their tummy so it's warm and stable and they can't roll. Then I hold the towel to his tummy with one hand and put my other on his back and gently rock him. Only thing is if they are not going to sleep they are not going to sleep which I discovered last night. The little bleeder kept me up all night and i've had about an hour's sleep. Put him in his own room with the new breathing monitor (which I kept forgetting to turn off when I took him out so alarm kept going off). Slightly less grunting and thrashing to be heard but just enough to keep me awke all night - I think he slept too much in the day yesterday (which is why I said I had a good day!). You can't have it both ways.

Does anyone else think being a new mum is really boring? at such a young age there really isn't much return from the baby for all the hard work. I'm not surprised people get depressed - it is fairly thankless. I guess I still haven't started to feel like a mum yet. Was really weird seeing it on his birth certificate yesterday. I still feel like someone's given him to me to look after. DP keeps saying how madly in love with him he is - why don't I feel like that? You can tell I've had a bad night.

Hi all,

Popping over FINALLY from the ante-natal thread - so glad you lot are all still here and chatting, have missed catching up with your news.

My wee boy, Adam Alexander, arrived a week early on 16th June and I've not had a minute to post since. Was a traumatic birth for us both (meconium in waters, scalp monitors, abnormal foetal trace, emergency forcep delivery, shoulder dystocia when he got completely stuck and they had to throw my legs over my shoulders and lean on them to get him out (nightmare for my SPD!) then a 1.5 litre haemorrhage for me. Poor wee mite's initial apgar was only 4, then I couldn't hold or feed him for hours - was awful. Anyway, ended up with 2 weeks of bed rest then completely broken down stitches so an open wound and 3 courses of antibiotics. Has been pretty horrible, but he's 4 weeks old now and we're just starting to cope properly at last!

Am skimming the old thread to catch up on all your news - huge congrats on the new births! It's great reading all your advice and realising I'm not alone

Anyway, will add self to list, and apologies for the mammoth post. Will try to keep up better in future!!

NEENZTWINS - twins; Theo Isaac 6lb 2oz and Esther Elizabeth 4lb 8oz; born May 6
MAKECAKES - baby girl; Cecily Jean Olivia born 18/05/08 7lbs 1oz
GOINGFOR3 - Baby Boy; Harvey born 20/05/08 9lb 9oz
KATYJO - Baby Girl; Mia born 24/5/08 7lb 11oz
PAROFLEURMAPU - Baby Girl; Fleur born 30/05/08 6lb 7oz
GREENFAIRY - Baby Girl; Storm Josephine Frances, born 01/06/08 6lb 7oz
TJUICE - Baby Girl; Elodie Summer, born 03/06/08 7 lb
JOSEY - Baby Girl; Olivia Margaret born 4/06/08 8lb 15oz
ABERDEENHIKER - Baby Boy; Fraser Neil born 7/06/08 9lbs
LORETTAH - Baby Boy; Harry Joseph born 8/06/08
SYBILVIMES - Baby boy; James Dominic born 11/06/08,8lbs 2oz
SYSTEMSADDICT - baby girl; Caitlin Rose; born 11/06/08; 7 lbs 11 oz
DYLANSMUMPLUSONE - baby girl; Anwyn Crystal Anne born 14/6/08 7lbs 15oz
SPONGEBRAINBIGPANTS - boy, Alexander Peter John; born 15/06/08; 7lbs 3 ozs
ROLF - baby girl; Theodora; born 15/06/08; 8lb 9oz
ESSIE3 - baby boy; Iestyn Seiriol; born 16/06/08 6lb 1oz
HOGGLE - baby boy; Adam Alexander; born 10/06/08 8lb 8oz
DEBINAUSTRIA - baby boy; Ethan; born 17/06/08; 10lb 1oz
ISAIDNO - baby girl; Poppy Elizabeth; born 18 / 6/ 08; 6lb 4oz
JOSIE57 - baby girl; Emma Caitlin born 18/06/08 7lb 3oz
SOPHIEWD - baby boy; Sebastian Wilfrid Joseph; born 19/06/07; 8lb 5.5oz
LIBRALADY - baby boy; Luke Thomas Jacob; born 23/6/08; 6lb 4oz
HEDGEHOG1979 - baby boy; Isaac John; 24/06/08; 8lb
POPPY34- baby girl: Edith, born 26/6/08, 7lb 6oz
JIVEGIRL- baby girl; Charlotte, born 26/6/08, 7lb 14oz
UPSIDEDOWNCAKE - baby girl; Dorothy Wijnanda - 6 lbs 7 oz; 28/07/08
NEEDAHAND - baby boy, SJ, 11/06/08. 8lbs4
KTPIE - baby boy; Jonathan; born 02/07/08; 9lb 2.5oz
ALLNEW - baby boy; Alexander; born 02/07/08; 8lb 9oz
FUNGLE - baby girl Isla Rose born 2/7/08; 7lb 7oz
LAURAT - baby girl; Charlotte Helen; born 06/07/08; 8lb 0oz
HELLBELL- boy; Ned, 9lb 7oz, 07/07/08
WHINEGUMS - boy; Barnaby Henry, 8lb 12oz 07/07/08

And again with proper date of birth!

NEENZTWINS - twins; Theo Isaac 6lb 2oz and Esther Elizabeth 4lb 8oz; born May 6
MAKECAKES - baby girl; Cecily Jean Olivia born 18/05/08 7lbs 1oz
GOINGFOR3 - Baby Boy; Harvey born 20/05/08 9lb 9oz
KATYJO - Baby Girl; Mia born 24/5/08 7lb 11oz
PAROFLEURMAPU - Baby Girl; Fleur born 30/05/08 6lb 7oz
GREENFAIRY - Baby Girl; Storm Josephine Frances, born 01/06/08 6lb 7oz
TJUICE - Baby Girl; Elodie Summer, born 03/06/08 7 lb
JOSEY - Baby Girl; Olivia Margaret born 4/06/08 8lb 15oz
ABERDEENHIKER - Baby Boy; Fraser Neil born 7/06/08 9lbs
LORETTAH - Baby Boy; Harry Joseph born 8/06/08
SYBILVIMES - Baby boy; James Dominic born 11/06/08,8lbs 2oz
SYSTEMSADDICT - baby girl; Caitlin Rose; born 11/06/08; 7 lbs 11 oz
DYLANSMUMPLUSONE - baby girl; Anwyn Crystal Anne born 14/6/08 7lbs 15oz
SPONGEBRAINBIGPANTS - boy, Alexander Peter John; born 15/06/08; 7lbs 3 ozs
ROLF - baby girl; Theodora; born 15/06/08; 8lb 9oz
ESSIE3 - baby boy; Iestyn Seiriol; born 16/06/08 6lb 1oz
HOGGLE - baby boy; Adam Alexander; born 16/06/08 8lb 8oz
DEBINAUSTRIA - baby boy; Ethan; born 17/06/08; 10lb 1oz
ISAIDNO - baby girl; Poppy Elizabeth; born 18 / 6/ 08; 6lb 4oz
JOSIE57 - baby girl; Emma Caitlin born 18/06/08 7lb 3oz
SOPHIEWD - baby boy; Sebastian Wilfrid Joseph; born 19/06/07; 8lb 5.5oz
LIBRALADY - baby boy; Luke Thomas Jacob; born 23/6/08; 6lb 4oz
HEDGEHOG1979 - baby boy; Isaac John; 24/06/08; 8lb
POPPY34- baby girl: Edith, born 26/6/08, 7lb 6oz
JIVEGIRL- baby girl; Charlotte, born 26/6/08, 7lb 14oz
UPSIDEDOWNCAKE - baby girl; Dorothy Wijnanda - 6 lbs 7 oz; 28/07/08
NEEDAHAND - baby boy, SJ, 11/06/08. 8lbs4
KTPIE - baby boy; Jonathan; born 02/07/08; 9lb 2.5oz
ALLNEW - baby boy; Alexander; born 02/07/08; 8lb 9oz
FUNGLE - baby girl Isla Rose born 2/7/08; 7lb 7oz
LAURAT - baby girl; Charlotte Helen; born 06/07/08; 8lb 0oz
HELLBELL- boy; Ned, 9lb 7oz, 07/07/08
WHINEGUMS - boy; Barnaby Henry, 8lb 12oz 07/07/08

congrats on new job needahand that's fantastic!

hoggle sounds like a very traumatic time, no wonder you've not had time to post!

SA sorry to hear about Caitlin's hip, but your definately right, better for some discomfort and inconvenience now than in later life!

all is going well here, although Charlotte has decided that over eating and possetting up most of her feed is the new trend, two changes of clothes in one sitting last night! (not including the bedclothes and my clothes!)

we're off to try and get passport photos of our 12 day old baby now... going to be fun!

Tjuice there's a pic of Luke asleep with his towels on my profile - just taken it as he's sparko!

Congrats Hoggle, sorry to hear you've had such a hard time of it, hopefully you will be able to relax and enjoy it from here on in!

Amber I didn't 'fall in love' with ds until a good couple of months into it, I was just too exhausted, sleep-deprived and numbed by the whole thing. I would hear people talk about loving their babies and nod along, but I felt completely detached and didn't really understand what they were talking about, just went through the motions of looking after him. The head over heels feeling came very gradually but it came in the end, in spades, and I'm sure it will for you too. It's easier this time round but mainly because Caitlin sleeps more I think. There's no rule saying you have to bond instantly - small babies are indeed bloody hard work, with very little return, and with the sleep deprivation on top I'm surprised anyone feels anything at all, for anybody! (on which, as for those of you actually having sex already - respect, but it ain't going to happen here for a while!)

neenz Alexander is only 2 weeks so I guess I was being a bit optimistic on the trip out! I think I'll stick to shorter trips in future until he's a few weeks older

ktpie sorry to hear about the sore boobs, really hope they get better. Your days' events sound very much like mine. Just when I think I've got Alexander sorted, he needs feeding or changing again and the cycle starts again. Its never-ending. I can't imagine when I'll ever have time to do something as mundane as hoovering the house again - place is a mess! And ouch re. the sex comment

UDC sorry to hear about your hospital drama. Better safe than sorry though, and hope your DH calms down soon!

dylansmum maybe that snuggler is what I need - Alexander always weedles his way into our bed and I think that would make me feel more secure about him in there (either that or buy a huge new bed!)

I really wish Alexander would take a dummy. Instead he uses my nipple - he doesn't hurt it or anything, but it just makes leaving him anywhere impossible. Maybe they should make dummies more like nipples!

That is EXACTLY how I feel! I thought it might be because he was a C section and was then just plonked on me a while later all clean and wrapped up. I think things will change once he becomes more of a little person and less of a mess/noise making machine.

amber don't think its that abnormal how you feel..

anyone help as just been to get a pessary to treat thrush (yes there are side effects to being a non stop antibiotic scoffer since edie was born )... i did try and explain to pharmacist that dd 3 weeks old, had stitches etc but still not convinced ok to use a pessary when still (albeit only mildly bleeding) and dont really want to wait til monday. Am so fed up with the whole breast mastitis/antibiotic etc saga.. and no the word from hospital re appt yet either

allnew have you ever seen these dummies? they can prefer silicone or rubber (dylan preferred silicone, now anwyn prefers rubber) but the shape is the closest to how a breast goes in their mouth of any i've seen. my sister has sworn by them for all 3 of hers. dylan gave his up at 7 months when i tried to go up a size so i'm hoping anwyn will do that too! the good thing about a snuggler in a big bed vs. towels is they lay on the piece of fabric that's between the cushions so there's no chance of it accidently rolling off the edge like a towel might. saying that - AMBER luke looks so comfy i'd give that scenario a go if we had a moses basket!!

systemsaddict sorry to hear about caitlin's hips but at least it's manageable. interesting about the wrap - i'm always worried if anwyn's comfy but i guess considering that she sleeps the minute she's in it is a good indication it's a good position for her.

congrats Hoggle!! sounds like a rough start you must be so glad to be home. you seem quite upbeat though!

SA sorry to hear about caitlin's hips. Hip dysplasia runs in DH's family (him, his dad, his cousin) so Storm was checked out at six weeks - all fine, but I was v worried. His cousin was diagnosed v late and it's caused real probs so it's great they caught it now.

amber don't feel bad for not feeling swoony - when I'm sleep deprived I find my adoration of Storm diminishes! It'll come.

debs just starting to see some kind of routine now (7 weeks) but every time I start one she has a growth spurt and it goes out the window!

Ok, time for a quick bath before 4pm feed. Ttfn!

Hi all, having quite a boring day here. Waiting for a call back from the LLL lady - yes, still having dummy angst. Every time Iestyn does something odd during a feed I think it's nipple confusion. Goodness knows why I'm obsessing so much about this!
After a lovely day yesterday - thanks UDC and really sorry to hear things went pearshaped afterwards but glad Dorothy is ok - we had a dreadful night, with Iestyn refusing to settle, and a row (me and DH - Iestyn doesn't get involved!). DH keeps being 'heroic' and refusing to sleep, plus has had several early starts (5.30, 6ish etc) and was getting more and more tired. I tried to make him go to bed at 9pm last night but he went and mucked around on the computer instead of sleeping. Anyhow, he was too tired to speak even, and I'm also tired and had a strop because he's not, er, sleeping enough to help me... we're all rational here! We all slept late, but now DH is panicking because of work.
Plus, Iestyn farted magnificently several times during his 10am feed. I found it sweet, and DH and I laughed a lot. Until we discovered that it wasn't a fart, more like several giant poos which came through his nappy, through his babygro, through the towel he was on, through the sheet and onto the mattress protector! Extremely penetrative! Lucky DH put the light on or I would have rolled into the nasty stuff.

Amber again you seem to have read my mind. Having a newborn is basically boring boring boring! I struggle with the tedium (and then feel guilty that I don't appreciate him enough and will regret it later). My friend Paula calls it the 'maggot phase', because newborn babies feed and poo and do little else.
And the whole falling in love thing - well, I had a problem with that because I felt nothing for the first week or so. (And cried a lot about being unnatural.) But several good friends have admitted the same thing, and I think I needed to get to know Iestyn a bit before being madly in love. And even now - this is a big admission - it's rather conditional. Or, I do love him all the time, but it's hard to like him after 2 hours of crying.

Essie it seems you and I are one and the same!! Perhaps I am just brave enough to write it down!

Bought that book I was recommended on here by rachel waddilove and am currently struggling with the not picking up thing when Luke is bawling (now) I am trying to write this to distract myself - it's horrid!

poppy, i'm so embarrassed and had a complete spongebrain moment - i thought the link was to pictures of a baby called amber, and nobody on here has even had a baby called amber, but i have an RL friend who does! sorry to amber also!

well, i have finally managed to get alex to take a dummy and he's sleeping soundly! stupid question coming up - do i just sterilise them in the same way as the bottles, wash it and then steam sterilise? or do i stick it in my mouth to sterilise it?!

SA, sorry to hear about caitlin's hips but could it was picked up early so can be resolved.

good it was picked up early

dummies: for a first baby, sterilise fully each time dropped. for second and subsequent, stick in mouth.

Just heard Caitlin was probably exposed to chicken pox last weekend. I know it can be dangerous for newborns, but am hoping that it's less so at 5 or 6 weeks old - does anyone know more on this?

I was lucky if I got 30ml from both boobs when expressing, and now even that has dwindled so I'm afraid I took the decision 2 days ago to abandon the ebm for Luke.

He's had 3 weeks of my milk which is far more than Sam ever got.

As for taking baby out, I went for a walk to PIL the afternoon after Luke was born at 8.07 that morning. We walked him to the postnatal clinic the next evening as well. He also did the Tesco's experience at 4 days old. Although my SIL did tell me when she went to visit her gran with her DS (now 28) just after birth, her gran drew the curtains once in the house as 'it is dangerous to take a baby out before it is 6 weeks old'. WTF???

Now I understand what the 'confinment period' was all about. Can't believe women used to rest up for so long after the birth (apart from the working class that is) - I am talking Victorian/Edwardian times.

Anyway, I've bitten the bullet today and e-mailed work asking for an extension to my ML. I was only intending to take the 12 weeks at full pay plus a weeks holiday, however my Mum who is my childcare provider has been waiting for a hip replacement and now has a date through of 4th August (lucky it's the day after my Nan's 100th birthday).

Anyway she'll need time to recover, plus I don't want Sam to feel like he's being pushed to Big School in September whilst Nanny has a new baby to look after and Mummy has abandoned him and gone back to work. I've now requested to return to work in Novemebr after the 1/2 term holidays. We've booked a week away that week anyway and I already had that week booked as annual leave.

This return to work business could change though if I win the lottery. We will just have to tighten our belts for the next few months, not that we spend excessively anyway. Who knows what's going to happen in this current financial climate?

Funnily enough I had an e-mail from work yesterday advising me that the plans for us to move to a new purpose built building in 2010 have been cancelled. We're now staying put and they will revamp the current building!

Tells you something when a financial services provider starts to tighten their belts. Anyway looks like the redundancies will still be going ahead so I will certainly be busy when I do return (I work in HR, predominantly Redundancies).

Oh and Luke has a dummy, which we introduced at 2 days. This is just to settle him and once he spits it out, we do not put it back in. He doesn;t scream for it (but then he is only 3 weeks old). I don't want it to become a permanent thing. I can't stand seeing toddlers of 3+ still with a dummy, same as toddlers with bottles of milk or juice.

Mind you I sucked my thumb until 6 and I know how annoying that was to my parents. Maybe I'm just old fashioned and when the time comes I'll think differently because I'm in that situation iyswim.

So sorry for the long long post.

SA - lol about the sterilising of dummies, well I'm first time mum so better religiously sterilise it then!

libra, Alex also spat his out after 15 mins and didn't want it returned. I'm with you on hating dummies on toddlers so, even if Alex feels the need for one for the next few weeks, hoping I'll wean him off it pretty soon.

thanks amber, i tried it earlier but didn't work as well in her cot as she kicked the one in front out the way. but i hadn't rolled it widthwise so will try again.
also with you on the growing and conditional feelings for lo . . .actually felt nothing for first few weeks then slowly something happened . . . now when i have a night off and dh does the feeds (just learnt that it is a bad idea for milk supply - typical!) I actually miss her! which is just silly really.

i am so the paranoid first-timer - sterilising dummies and taking spare ones in my nappy bag in little clear boxes! my friend just gave me a bagful of toys that her lo grew out of and i had to scrub and clean them all. and am still sceptical . . .so lame!

Ooh, Libralady, that long post really got me thinking. (Which is miraculous, btw - I have a sponge brain...and also big pants.) It was specifically the bit about confinement and traditions. I do quite a bit of women's history, and getting pregnant - probably the hormones - really brought things home to me. When I was in the first few months, I was at a discussion group on the virgin Mary and lady chapels (!!), and how superstitious women were, because the moment they realised they were pregnant, they started praying etc because within a few months they could be dead.
So, I hope I'm not being too morbid and do tell me off if I am, but looking at the long list of women who have just given birth here, how many of us would have made it? I was thinking that I could use it to illustrate: 'my antenatal group of x women, x would have survived'. Me - I probably would be dead but Iestyn would be ok. C-sections and breech births - in medieval times, bad luck. A tear could be life threatening before hygiene awareness... Actually, I'll look over birth stories and make a little illustration for teaching.
I do get quite reflective in my hormones. My mother was given up for adoption at 10 days old, and now that I've given birth, the enormity of what her birth mother did really hit home.
Intellectual moment over. I promise not to do that again!

Ok, back to...Dummy angst #7. Iestyn was feeding in a strange way this afternoon - fussing, sucking, pulling off. Does this sound like nipple confusion? Mind you, he fed a couple of hours ago and it was fine. I'm confused (!) because he seems to feed normally most of the time, snacks more during the afternoon, but also seems to like to go on just for the comfort sucking as well. I'm trying to go easy on the dummy because I don't want to be jumping to put it back in when it falls out, and I don't want dependence, but sometimes it just stops him crying...

Such a long journey from high level research to stressing about dummies... I wrote a book and everything in my previous life. Amazing.

Oops, long post. Sorry! I'm just rambling.