we did it, we did it, the babies are here, now come and join us and we will give you a cheer!!!!

[Dozymare]

Hope this works

thought i would start a thread for those of us already in the heady World of motherhood, so we can share the trials and tribulations of the early days....

I shall start with my birth story and hope other's follow and I haven't started a dud thread

As you know I was dreading a 3rd CS, almost to the point where I was having panic attacks - we went in on the Thursday and after waiting for an EMC we were taken to theatre where I was DELIGHTED to recognise the aneathatist (sp!!) who helped deliver DS2. Now, one of my major fears about a 3rd CS was the fact that having had a "perfect" excperience with DS2, it6 wouldn't be possible to experience the same thing again...I was wroing, it was better The whole thing was started at 1315 and Tallulah was born at 1344 weighing 7lbs 2oz. She has a shock of dark hair but seems so small compared to the boys who were 9 and 10lbs respectively. The care I recieved was absolutely 2nd to none - no complaints or gripes.........So far so good.........

HOWEVER.........my god, do you forget the pain of breastfeeding before the milk comes in - I am in absolute agony and have had to top up with aptamil as the poor wee thing is so, so hungry...I am literally BF for up to 2 hours (the point of pain in both udders ) and then topping up with Aptamil. She guzzles 30ml and then settles.......As for sleep - sleep is for wimps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i also have a close baby carrier as well, and have been using it when my back feels ok.
I sorted through sophies clothes today, and packed up the newborn stuff that i had from the other girls, or have been loaned to me, as they dont fit. sophie went straight into 0-3month stuff, and with the length of her, i dont think she'll be in those for long either. She hasnt had her length checked yet, as MW dont do that here, but she is so long and big.

I also stepped on the scales earlier, and i am sorry to say i am back to my pre-pregnancy weight already thats pretty good. obviously i have xmas to get through, but then will be back on my diet after the new year.

TMI ALERT AGAIN

am not too worried about the clots as thats normal for me when having a period, and they were overly largem, and no smell at all ( so so sorry for TMI again), but its just the erracticness of it all. i did get a lot of afterpains yesterday, so could be it, and today, have had none so far.

but on the poo front, senna has worked its magic and i now feel 100% better and not so sluggish.

That close baby carrier looks very much like the 'kari-me' that I had with DD.
I still have it, but cannot think/find where on earth I have put it!
Reckon I put it somewhere safe. That is always teh best way to loose things.

Oh Lacks/Leaky poor you that sounds so awful

DH still has DS, I am beginning to wonder what to do with myself!
Had I know he was going to be so good, I would have gone for a much needed bath. He will be out tommorrow night too. Doh, silly missy

Hello all
Love the name, leaky poor you.

RE slings- I have had three babies and carried them all in slings- so maybe I can help?I recommend you have a read of this site here

You will want a sling you can easily push your baby round to your back, if you are cooking or want to cuddle your toddler, I reckon.
I have a number of slings- my favourites are the woven wraparound ones, esp. the Didymos, but a pouch is a good one to try out.

sorry have to go baby demanding me!

LOve to all.
LOve the name, Yorky!

I known this sounds awful, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who has been having ridiculous blazing rows with their DH. We seem to be settling down now, but my god we've ahd some ding-dongs this time around!

misdee I've been bleeding like that. Night time I reckon it's bfeding. Daytime MW told me I was overdoing it.

lacks I really hope your thrush clears up quickly- sounds horrid!

Hi Pinky
Thanks for putting that link up about slings - v useful. I'm a bit wary of my cs scar at the moment to try one but will see what mothercare have and try one out in the shop. James is long and thin so I worry he will fall out! I know that's irrational but there you go

X

Hello Autumnlady no he wont fall out! The term 'baby wearing' is quite literal- a good fitting sling should really feel like you are wearing your baby!
Big chain stores don't always stock the good slings.
Baby carriers are not the same at all- you'll notice the baby sort of 'dangles' off the adult in them. With a good sling, your baby should feel snug against you.

I really would recommend a wraparound sling for you- esp. as you have issues with your back, and it shouldn't be a problem for your cs- it's no worse than carrying your baby around normally. I've been a bit naughty this time around as I have been picking up DD1, but you will be fine carrying a newborn.

If you want a pouch sling, which has no tying involved, you need to measure yourself carefully so as to get the right size, but you have to bear in mind that your DH might nneed a different size, as thye are not adjustable like wraps.

Glad to hear all is going well.x

Thanks Pinky, I def want a wrapround one and especially as you think it will be better for my back. Those baby carriers worry me as I don't like to see them dangling! I will get a wrapround one from the internet as I've not seen them in the normal shops.
Thanks again for the advice.
X

OMGoodness I have just realised that DS is 3 weeks old today!
We had not too bad a night.
Feeds at hmm....10, 12? 1, 3.30 7.30 and 9.
Still hourly pretty much but I am beginning to feel quite rested for it all
I wish I could find my kari-me
Ah well, onwards to testing the tricotti.

Oops, meant to say 3 hourly, forgot to hit a number

Hi All,

VBAB I am just so sorry that your DH seems to be what I can only call BL**DY SELFISH! It makes me so upset for you and

Roca your little girl has as much hair as mine, in fact they don't look that different.

We went to the health visitors yesterday and yippee Esme has put on 9oz, her new weight is 7lb 3.5oz. Our feeding sessions are approximately every 4 (she could sometimes go a lot longer but i feel i need to wake her after 4 hours as that is what the hopsital said to do. They are; 9am 1pm 5pm 9pm 1am 5am etc... Sometimes on an evening she will cluster feed around 8pm every hour until 10.30pm and her awake time seems to be 9pm to 3am. Will she just naturally get out of this???

I am at my wits end. will tell why in minute.

misdee, my bleeding eratic. still wearing pad after 4 weeks.
vbab love to you. my dh's like misdees, reduced me to tears the other day.

And vbab we are in the same position. re slings. and baby wanting to be held. fine if like hana you are pro attachment. no o.k. if you have another ds. or want o get anything done at all.

misdee, you ask if we are supposed to release secret stork info. are we supposed to do that then ?

Daisy, love, new leaky name. I am leaking all over the place. getting through about 4 tops per day. not good.

Autumnlady my love to you. why have you not got your computer sorted,. you naughty girl. so glad that we have arranged to meet. at my next trip to king.

and I rang choc. yesterday afternoon. as i rushed to pick up ds1 from school. to offer my gf knowledge. I take it all back. I KNOW NOTHING.

congratultions ceebee

I was up ALL NIGHT with max.
well all of the first part of the night.
i was feeding him hourly. less than that actually. that can't be good, can it ?
DAISY HELP ME WITS END
and then I fed him CONSTANTLY from 11.30 to 1.30am / 2am.
And then in desperation, I let him cry for like 2 MINUTES. When I went downstirs and stood at the kitchen sink and looked outside.
Wheres ( Vbab and Misdee), dh crys at the top of his voice
" hello, can't you hear him crying ? Are you deliberatly TRYING to wake me and ds up"

where, I stand there, in desperation, trying not to loose it completely.

So, at 2am, I take ds2 into bed, for the third night running. Which I do not want to do. Goes against all my instincts. I am sure. And sleep with him on my shoulder.And he sleeps until 6am.So I do get 4 hours sleep. but, not PROPER sleep.

And then I manage to get ds1 ofF to school. But ds2 wakes up agin. And I have only just managed to pump some milk. and settle him. So plan to get back into bed now, for a bit of sleep.

I am not HAPPY.

aM i ASKING TOO MUCH ?

Ob, that sounds so hard!
Isn't it lovely holding a tiny warm snuggly baby when everyone else is asleep and they won't stop eating, and scream every time you try to put them down and all you want is some sleep yourself!
Amy was feeding pretty constantly from 2 till 530 this morning, and every time I thought she'd fallen asleep she screamed at me!
I fell asleep at 530, with her still latched on! Woke at 6 and put her in her own bed then had 2 hrs sleep. But thats because she's tiny and my milk hasn't come in yet isn't it? Please say it won't be like this next week when DH is away

Morning all

Obs sorry to hear you are having a hard time, tell your DH to pull his socks up too!! And your call yesterday was great - you do know lots, I was feeling a bit confused by the GF routine vs having a life and you helped put it in perspective - she is a wise one ladies so ignore her!!

Pinkali good to hear about Esme - you must be so pleased considering her tough start - she's obviously going to be a little fighter!!

Hana / Pinky I am interested in the sling discussions, I want to get a wraparound one and saw the Didymos one which looks really good but it's ?90 which with the £/? exchange rate being so rubbish ATM is about £75. That seems like a lot to me or am I just being cheap???

At the moment I am a big GF fan, since we started using it Mack has one 2.5hr lunchtime nap and although he doesn't really have his morning or afternoon naps properly he does go down in his moses basket for a bit so I can get stuff done and in the afternoon naps we are going for walks together and there is no crying involved which is great. Also for the last 2 nights he has slept (in his own moses basket!!!!) from 7.30pm - 10pm and last night I had to wake him to feed at 3.30am then he stayed in bed till I woke him at 7. Not bad considering he's only 11 days old!! Sorry if I sound like I am boasting - not meaning too, I just wanted to share that I am so much happier now I am using a routine and feel like I have a bit more control or at least understanding of what Mack is going to do and when. And at least now if he doesn't do something I want I don't feel like pulling my hair out and crying each time.

GF isn't for everyone I know but its working for us and I am not going to change whats working now!!

Is anyone else expressing yet - GF recommends it to build up milk supply for growth spurts so I am but I only manage to get about 1oz out each time???

I am a bit worried as Mack wasn't putting on much weight when we had him weighed on tues and maybe its cause I'm not producing enough?? Although it never seems to bother him. He's being weighed again tomorrow and I am a bit nervous about it.

Oops - tempted fate - the lungs have just opened!!!!

Hello everybody - Love the name Leaky ! Lucky you I only get leaks and pathetic ones first thing in the morning.
Pinkali - Dd is just the same re feeding went to doc this am and he reckons that my milk later on in the day is just not satisfying so she is awake and hungry . I caved in and gave her a bottle last night at 11pm after 30 mins bf and she slept for 4 hrs - I was awake every hour !
Anyway I am going to try expressing after morning feed to see if can get enough to give her in a bottle at night - am willing to try anything to keep her off the formula as I went and bout a packet and here it is taxed . It was £17 for 800g
Obs you poor thing we are all short of sleep but you seem to win the prize. I hope your dh pulls his socks up I think I would have probably thrown a poo nappy at mine ( open obviously)Mind you he managed to sleep through 3 feeds, 2 nappy changes - one full sleep suit one ( with dd crying)- Then this am said - much better night wasn't it ????
After 3 days of no bleeding yesterday had a big loss took me by surprise as well.
My nips no longer cracked but sore and tender to touch ...Talking of nips time for food !!!

Hi all

'Glad' to hear of your bad nights and arguments with dh's. We had an argument at 4am although I was a bit too tired to argue properly!

Another loooong me post below.

Obs, I totally sympathise. The dt's fed constantly yesterday. I was done in. Apparently 3-4 weeks is a growth spurt, but they are past 4 weeks now. Yours is probably right in it. Definitely wasn't normal feeding as it was all previous night and then all day yesterday, literally I had very little time off to get a cup of tea or some food. I was so depressed I stuffed my face. I had an icing covered donut, 2 pieces of chocolate cake, 2 mince pies. And that is on top of 3 square meals !

I went to bed at 8.50pm, I was already a zombie! Dh has the babies from 9-11.30. I asked him to change nappies in that time and make sure he gave colief so they may be more settled. He also had my Dad helping him out. Anyway, he only gave colief to ds2 (who is less windy than dd as a rule) and did not change ds2's nappy, so not only do I have to feed and take care of 2 babies on my own, but have to change their nappies too. At 11.30 I took over, babies both fast asleep, but one on Dad and one on dh. Bring them upstairs, they wake up and I am up for the next 2.5 hours (mostly with dd in pain, not sleeping even on me - WHY did he not give her the colief?). Then she finally sleeps, then she is up again 1.5hrs later. She wakes ds2. Feed dd, ds2 screaming for 20 mins - despite not really being hungry. Feed ds2 (who can't latch properly because he is not really hungry..I am shouting at him, "Why are you crying if you are npt hungry?"), dd screaming her head off too as I could not spend ages winding her. No sign of dh, asleep only in next room. At past 4pm, I wake up dh and say "I cannot do this anymore, you have to have them." To his credit, he did get up. But was not impressed with me when I have a go that he did not give dd the colief and did not change ds2's nappy. He shouts at me.

I actually HATED my babies last night, I could not feel an ounce of love in my heart for either of him when I looked at them, I really did. It's amazing though how you just get on with it anyway...but I did get to breaking point, which is when I got dh up.

HV finally came yesterday (babies were 29 days old!). It was all ok, just paperwork really, but she kept saying they are a good size and as big as single babies etc. etc.

Oh, had to share a gem from ds1. Hwas moaning the other day and I said, "What are you crying for?". He said, "I am crying for whinging"!!!! I know how he feels.

Leaky, you are a supertrooper for still bfing despite the pain and issues.

OK, both crying at same time again...

hello
choco slings- well I love the Didymos. Not that expensive when you compare it to a good quality stroller- and the Didymos is the best quality sling you can get.

The hug a bubs and kari me etc are great, and they say they go up to 35lb, but IME they are too stretchy for that.

If you want a sling just for the first 6 months or so, the cheaper ones are good, but a woven sling will last way into toddlerhood, and you won't find yourself adjusting the sling during the day as it doesn't lside loose or stretch with weight/wriggling.

The ellaroo one is a bit cheaper but you have to soak it to shrink it which can have mixed results. The Storchenwiege is a good woven sling and a bit cheaper.

A well fitting woven pouch sling is a very handy bit of kit to have- mine just sits in the changing bag for emergencies- like crying newborn at Tumbletots today[hhm] and take two secs toput on.

But don't be scared of the percieved compliexity of a wrapoaround- I literally got mine out of the box, practiced with a teddy for a few minutes and was off out to my friends house with a DS snuggled up in his sling.

What an essay.. sorry.. I love slings!

merry you are doing so well. And you too Obs. It is soo hard, and exhausting. But remember it will get better, it's for a short time, this bit blah blah.. you know what I mean. xx

I got DD2 to bed last night after a mamouth cluster feedding seesion all evening (see my late night posts!) only to be woken an hour later by DD1 again so I'm there reading the bear in the cave at 2am. DS has a cough and I had to give him some cough mixture at 3 am then DD2 woke up for her milk and nappy fest.

To be fair, I'm not normally up in the night with my other two, and my baby is doing amazingly well- apart from in the evenijng she feeds every four hours which is incredible.

So last night was a bad night, but I'm hpoiing for a better one tonight.

Thanks pinky. Your blankets look so lovely with my red carrycots/ pushchair...lovely.

What is a woven pouch? What brands?

just woken up.
feeling a bit better.
thanks for sympathy.
merrym, your post made me really smile. and smirk. not sure it was supposed to do that. but hey. thanks alot.
i think part of my exasperation is the same as yours. crying for nothing.
thats him (ds2) not me my crying always has significant reasoning
he only took 4oz during that 11-2am slot. fighting for it. rooting really hard and heasdbnutting me. but really suck suckling, not taking any. made me ctross.
yesterday afternoon, whereas, he woke from sleep, at 2.10. i knew i had to leave house at 2.30 to collecty ds1 from school. he bf for a few minutes and then to about 5oz from the bottle, all in 20 mins. left at 2.30, quickly trotting, phoning choco, as i went.

so 5oz in 20 mins. 4oz in 2.5 hrs.

do you still think growth spurt ?

mind you thsnks, i had totally forgotten about those. hadn't considered them. was at a loss to explain to dh, why ds2 was awake 8pm-2am,

daisy, yes you are a star, for battling on, with thrush. even sounds vile. good for you.

A pouch sling works a bit like a wraparound but it's a loop of cloth, so no tying but you need to measure yourself to get a good fit, and it's no9ot quite as versatile as a wraparound. You can get them made out of stretchy faric,or fleece but I like the woven cloth. Mine is a hotslings one. The tricotti sliong that Missy ahs is similar, but like two pouches crossed over- so you can do the kangaroo carry which is really one of most useful carry positions.
Try here

Glad the blankets are proving useful DD2 loves hers.

pinky, loving sling debate. used mine twice. ring sling. 1st time o.k. second time sil helped me put him in. so comfy he and i loved it. loasds of people stopped me in street and at ds1's school.

is it vbab and autumn ? jhave you decided. i have cs scar and mine is very comfy.

obs could be a growth spurt. Could be major gas. Could be both. Silly DH. Men are a bit silly sometimes,they expect everything to have a logic, to be reasonable.Life ain't alweays like that.

DH woke up at 3am thinking it was morning, things were so silly here last night. He started getting dressed and everything.

Ring slings are cool. MY friend has one- we call it her baby handbag.