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

[hedgehog1979]

afternoon all, having a lazy couple of days here, feeding, sleeping and playing. Although have committed the cardinal sin of falling asleep on the sofa while feeding. Although we have leather recliners so not to much of an issue for Isaac to slip down between cushions as there aren't any (does that make sense?)
Have also been trying to pack as we are off to visit all of my relatives next week, they all live very close. I have no idea, however, how much stuff a 3 week old baby will need.

Luckily my mum has a travel cot, pushchair/travel system, sterilliser and some other bits and pieces. Is it better to take to much or not enough and utilise her washing machine?

[sophiewd]

Take not enough and use washing machines.

[fungle]

NEENZTWINS - twins; Theo Isaac 6lb 2oz and Esther Elizabeth 4lb 8oz; born May 6
JOSEY - Baby Girl; Olivia Margaret born 4/06/08 8lb 15oz
ISAIDNO - baby girl; Poppy Elizabeth; born 18 / 6/ 08; 6lb 4oz
LIBRALADY - baby boy; Luke Thomas Jacob; born 23/6/08; 6lb 4oz
HEDGEHOG1979 - baby boy; Isaac John; 24/06/08; 8lb
FUNGLE - baby girl Isla Rose born 2/7/08; 7lb 7oz.
Just adding myself to the list.
Mainly lurked on the June 08 thread, hoping to be a bit more active on this one!
Isla is 10 days old today. Cant beleive how fast Its going.
Ive just put make up on for the first time since she was born! Feel almost me again!

[isaidno]

sybilvimes - re feeding lying down
I only have small boobies - c/d when feeding and I find feeding lying down is fine. I lie on my side so the breast I want to feed from is on the bed. My arm has to go high under my head so it is not in the way. I put baby very close and roll her on her side slightly to get her mouth near my nipple. I need to lean over a bit until she is latched then can relax, get comfier (and go to sleep!)

[spongebrainbigpants]

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
PAROFLEURMAPU - Baby Girl; Fleur born 30/05/08 6lb 7oz
GREENFAIRY - Baby Girl; Storm Josephine Frances, born 01/06/08 6lb 7oz
JOSEY - Baby Girl; Olivia Margaret born 4/06/08 8lb 15oz
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
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
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

Fungle, just moving you onto the main list cos half of us had disappeared!

[Essie3]

Poppy giggle? I'm actually secretly pleased that I share a birthday with Britain's most prolific serial killer. I think it says a lot about the mentality of people born on that day.

Rolf agree about the names - there's some really lovely ones on this thread. I shouldn't be bitchy, but the baby names thread...well, we're all people with good taste here because I haven't seen one I don't like! Oh, and 2 people with Welsh names - what's the chances?? (Hi Dylansmum!)

Just come back from our church children's party. My wonderful friend Paula (ex-midwife, 3 kids, saved my life on several occasions these past few weeks) and her unflappable husband Max took Iestyn away, winded him, got him to sleep and generally let me be a person without a baby for once! (Really important - Amber, when I say you're not alone, I really do mean it!) But, most importantly, loads of mums came to talk to me about how they totally failed to cope with a young baby! This isn't schadenfreude, but reassuring. I had responses varying from 'I hate babies including my own', 'it's harder than anything I've ever done', 'it's like boot camp' to 'I coped really badly with my three and tried to throw one out of the window'. PND, but so sad that she took it to show that she 'couldn't cope'. (Oh, I should add: her children are all fine, and her husband persuaded her not to throw him out so disaster averted!). So again for Amber, Sybil and all those struggling, I felt better for being told I'm not the only one ever to sit on the windowsill and contemplate jumping. Or the weird 'my breastmilk is poisoning my baby and he hates me' thoughts. But funny that nobody ever mentioned this until I had my baby. Like Paula says - you join a secret society of motherhood when you have a baby!

Amber - where did you get your maternity nurse from? I'm looking specifically for a night nurse.

[poppy34]

essie - nightnannies was recommended to me by midwife.

And to add to the not alone thing about despairing.. it feels like a prison sentence that you get no remission from at bad times...and I keep looking at those with more than one kid thinking how did you do it!!

[Amberc]

Hi everyone thanks so much for the I'm not useless support!! I have realised that I'm not actually useless I'm just sleep deprived and I have got a very precious little baby who relies on me totally and I have no experience in this lark. I went to the hairdressers today for a much needed cut and colour and as much as I looked forward to it I missed my little boy so much I couldn't wait to get home!

Essie I found my night nanny on line - there are agencies who charge an intorduction fee once you hire one of their nannies. They send you CVs and you interview the nannies and pick the one you like best. Quite scared of leaving Luke with a stranger in my house but need to get over it. They all have crimnal checks and paediatric first aid. You can call their references up and the agencies check they are not fakes.

[thegreenfairy]

Evening all

Storm has been feeding off and on, mostly on, since half 2 - seven hours...

I guess it's her six week growth spurt kicking in and she'll have to sleep at some point, but am so fed up - it's so drainined and frustrating.

On top of it all she's now got hiccups again. DH is trying to cure them. God, I hate times like this.

[Amberc]

ooh - how do you cure baby hiccups - the only way we can do it is with a dummy or a bottle...shit - growth spurts - are there specific weeks that they have them then? Hope little storm decide to stop growing during the night and goes to sleep

[spongebrainbigpants]

Being thick here, but do you have to 'cure' baby hiccups - Alex hiccups alot (he did in the womb too so we had been warned!) and my book says it doesn't bother them at all (how do they know?!) so we just hold him upright if he's just eaten (otherwise he brings up his milk) and let him ride them out. Is this wrong?

[Essie3]

Amber your posts are like reading my own mind!
Sleep deprivation...according to my sage friend Paula (see previous glowing praise) the Geneva convention prevents prisoners from having sleep deprivation because it's a form of torture, but new parents are in contravention of that rule. Fancy living on 2 1/2 hour sleep sessions! I do find I get a bit mad on it - I thought someone was trying to contact me the other day, but it was grafiti on the pavement (it did say my name, though!)

Greenfairy is 4 weeks also a growth spurt? Iestyn changed to every 2 hours last night which was a bit of a killer really, but I stayed in bed until 11. DH is currently walking him around the streets of Tooting in an attempt to get some peace and quiet...

[fungle]

Thanks for moving me sponge!

[fungle]

So, when can I be expecting to sleep more than 2 hours at a time?? Its been 5 years since dd1 and I cent remember/blocked it out!
Isla is feeding every 1 1/2 to 2 hours in the day, then every 2 hours at night. Is that about the norm? Bloody knackering!
Had 2 glasses of red wine last night, have a headache today, blimey what a lightweight!
Mum just left, so on my own with 2 kids for the first time tomorrow till Fri while DP goes off to work in London......Slightly scared!

[Josie57]

I found my ds started sleeping longer after 4 weeks but that was when we tried to put him into a routine. Previous to that he had been feeding every 2 hours often for 40 mins or so and I was exhausted. We found by putting him to sleep in his own room he slept better plus sometimes when he was crying he was tired not hungry.

This time round Emma has been a lot easier as she only feeds for about 20 mins and sleeps from 2-3.5 hours. I really don't know if this is just hernature or if we are subconciously doing things differently this time round. I know she is getting enough milk as she is putting on about 1/2 lb per week.

As fot coping with the lack of sleep - it is something you do adjust to and I think you just have to accept there will be days that you feel like shit but tomorrow is another day. On the bad days the housework can wait and make sure you keep some frozen meals or ready meals in the freezer for the bad days.

[debinaustria]

Morning everyone, how are you Amber?

Hope Storm settled down TGF.

Essie - I love the grafitti on the pavement - sounds like something from Derren Brown!!

Ethan has settled into a sort of routine, at night he feeds after the boys have gone to bed, then I put him in his cot at 8.30 ish, on a good night he will then sleep for 4 hours, unfortunately I don't want to sleep at 8.30 and still have things to do, anyway, after that we're back to feeds every 2 hours or less, and he sleeps with us, then from 5 ish he grunts and groans with tummy ache until it's time to get up.

It is amazing how you can survive on little sleep isn't it. I agree about the quick meals in the freezer - now today I have defrosted chicken breasts and was hoping to discover a sauce in a jar for a quick meal but no luck - any inspiration?

Weird dream last night - Dreamt about Looney's weird friend,In my dream I discovered this woman in my house bfeeding Ethan , saying she needed to get rid of her milk, I said in a very prim voice "I'd rather you didn't " then snatched him off her!!!

[Amberc]

Hiya - all is well here today. Just going to bath Luke as he's been left without more than a lick over with a baby wipe for two days and he's a bit smelly! We're taking him to his great gran's today and I want him to look cute - his hair has all gone from the front and it's really long at the back. Perhaps I can fashion some sort of comb over a la Rab C Nesbitt?

[Essie3]

You know, the baby comb over look is well known in our family. My little brother was born with black hair, and it always set itself in a strange comb over!

Iestyn still seems to have his hair, but it's very fair.

Oh, slight problem here, and any advice appreciated! Iestyn likes to suck, and I'm having big dilemmas over giving him a dummy (I don't want to ruin the breastfeeding). However, he was screaming really hard last night, and sucking his hands and his arm, and gave himself a lovebite on his arm! (It actually looks terrible, a purple bruise, and I'm worried people will think I injured him or something.) So, we gave him the teat of a tommee tippee bottle to suck, and he loved it.
Anyone know anything about dummies and breastfeeding? I'm so confused.

[thegreenfairy]

amber growth spurts are most significant at 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months.

Storm's had mega feeding sessions for every one so far. She finally fell asleep at half 9 last night on my chest. Woke up at midnight and fed for an hour (not unusual). Fell asleep at half 1 and woke to be fed again at 6am!!!

She fed again for a couple of hours this morning and then slept for another four hours! I think with her earlier spurts her tum was too small to let her sleep long, but it's been v notuceable this time.

Just feeding her again now. Normally she'd be frantic for food after that long a break but actually seems v chilled. Hooray!

She put on 6oz in two days this week!

re hiccups they normally don't mind them for the first couple of weeks but storm deffo gets upset by them if they go on v long now. You can get them to stop by patting her back but it takes a while

[thegreenfairy]

essie my HV said bottle was ok when BF "established" and that leaving it to six weeks may be too late and i guess that applies to dummies too?

make sure you get the smallest size and don't force the issue if he won't take it - or you'll make him gag and get mega vommed on - i speak from experience!

[hedgehog1979]

essie I have not managed to give Isaac a bottle, but DH has. He will quite happily feed from him but if I try he just screams and pushes it out of his mouth. Think he can smell the boobs?

TGF nice to know when the growth spurts are supposed to happen as he does appear to be feeding more this week than he has been.

Although he will sleep for 4 hours in the afternoon and when he initially goes down at between 10 - 11pm I can get a few hours sleep as I know he won't wake til between 2 and 3 am

re hiccups Isaac doesn't seem bothered by them at the moment. It is the look of surprise on his face when he does one that makes me and DH laugh. Occassionally he will hiccup, fart and then burp. He definitely takes after his father there.

Off to the West Country tomorrow to visit all the relatives, so you may not hear from me for a while, unless I can persuade DH to take his laptop

[spongebrainbigpants]

essie, no expert on bf or dummies cos Alex doesn't like either! (although has now discovered his thumb which he loves!)

however, the three of my NCT friends who are getting on brilliantly with bf all use dummies (and babies are between 3 and 5 weeks old) so can't make too much difference

TGF, interesting what you say about hiccups cos today was the first day when alex actually seemed bothered by them - will try rubbing his back

[debinaustria]

Essie - ds1 had a dummy on the day home from hospital and I bfed him for a year, ds2 would take neither dummy or bottle - ever!! Ethan sometimes will take a dummy if desperate and has successfully taken one bottle of ebm!

[Amberc]

I'm not breastfeeding but I dont know what we would do without a dummy - the avent ones for newborns are best IMO - you also get a cover to out on them to keep sterile in the changing bag.

Very pleased about my night nanny's references - just called some and they said it was the best money they'd ever spent and that she is lovely and genuinely loves babies. Can't wait now! Roll on 10 hours of sleep tomorrow night - hurrah!!!

[Essie3]

Just bought the avent newborn dummies - anything is better than nasty lovebites on his little arm.

at your 10 hours, Amber! Although hopefully I'll get a good stretch with a night nanny (or DH depending on work) on Tuesday night.