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 think my young man may have turned a corner on the feeding front . The thrish meds have kicked in and we have had a few painless or nearly painless feeds today. His latching seems better as well and I haven't had to correct him nearly as much.

Obs, i hope you get your young man sorted soon......my DH is still on the sofa, but that isn't such a bad thing imo as I'm enjoying the solitude. I'm actually thinking of co-sleeping so that DH can get back in the bed with us.

mind you, I am so sweaty at the minute that I'm not sure he'd want to!!

Is anyone else sweating profusely at night? I've woken up a few times and have been drenched and had to change the sheets and my pjs. I remember being bad with DD as well, but not this bad. I also can't remember how long it took to settle down.

ChocO....meant to say on the expressing/mixed feeding. It works for lots of people, but for some it can interfere with BFing. I would say that as long as you are happy with DSs latch and your supply, then give it a go and see what happens.

I would love to express so that DH can give DS2 a bottle and let me have a bit of unbroken sleep, but I daren't give him a bottle until we have his latch and my boobs sorted out....maybe next weekend

Daisy (love the new name ) i sweated profusely both with ds1 and again this time with ds2. Am almost 7 weeks post-natal and have already forgotten how long it lasted but certainly a good 2 or 3 weeks (or maybe even 4). I also woke up absolutely drenched every night but it has passed now. I guess it is just our body getting rid of all the excess water we carry when preg and perhaps those good old hormones making us overheat! Really hope you have now turned the corner with bf. I had horrendous thrush with ds1, it took a very long course of fluconazole (ime very few gp's know how to treat properly esp as, if i remember correctly, it is not licensed for use when breastfeeding) plus daktarin for ds1's mouth to shift it but oh my it was excrutiating so well done for getting through it. Amazing job!

Well, ds2 is piling on the pounds and is not far from doubling his birthweight since his very premature arrival nearly 7 weeks ago which i am absolutely thrilled about as ds1 always struggled with his weight gain (both exclusively bf) However, we are back to the doctor again next week to have his reflux confirmed. He can't lie flat without choking and gagging and has horrendous painful wind.We had a truly hellish first year with ds1 and reflux so i am feeling a little low that we seem to be heading down the same path. It was so stressful, i suffered bad pnd and dh and i very nearly didn't make it through. The poor little man also has an umbilical hernia which i am hoping will remedy itself and won't need an op

Aside from all that doom and gloom, i am loving being a mummy to two little boys and am bizarrely rather broody for number 3 Anyone else's hormones playing similarly crazy tricks?!!?

oh, sorry about DS2s reflux zonedout; sounds horrendous . fin's sounds mild in comparison. I hope the doc can give you something for it. Have you tried a cranial osteopath as well? there is lots of anecdotal evidence to suggest they can help, although I don't think it made much difference to DS2.....although as DH pointed out, how bad could it have been if we hadn't taken him to see one? As we saw her when he was less than a week old we'll never know of it helped or not!

It seems to me that boys seem to be more affected with reflux and wind problems than girls.

Glad I'm not the only one sweating like a horse....but I seem to be dropping 2lbs a day at the minute so long may it continue

and absolutely bloody not on the crazy hormones; I never want to be pregnant ever again!!!!!

at the crazy hormones!!! I absolutely loathed this pregnancy but the minute ds2 'popped' out i seemed to be hit by some major amnesia and was ready to go again!

at you losing 2lb a day. Bring on the night sweats!!! After my initial weight loss post giving birth i have actually managed to gain weight (unsurprising given the quantities i am eating ) and have just over a stone to lose which i know won't happen until i stop bf. guess i will just have to live with my hip n thigh lard then.Nothing like a muffintop hanging over the jeans to feel super sexy!!

we took ds1 to a cranial osteopath. Like you found, it didn't make any obvious difference but who knows how he would have been without it. i actually had an appt for ds2 last week but our boiler broke down (no heating or hot water) so i ended up having to wait in for british gas so need to rescehd. Anything is worth a go! Interesting that boys seems to be affected so much more.

Peaceful nights to all x

Hi all
Sweating here, too.
Zonedout my first daughter had reflux. Tis horrid, have great sympathy for you. It is exhausting, and upsetting.
cH0co twas me recommended the baby bjorn bouncy chair- we used to settle DD1 to sleep in it- it is a fab chair.

I didn't find the Didymos any cheaper on ebay when I bought mine.

missy do you think you may need a smaller size in the sling, if it's a bit low?

I do hope you are feeling better, daisy, sounds like things are improving.

Morning all.

Pinky - I hope the baby bjorn bouncer works for us - i'll let you know!

Can someone help on the bottle feeding front please? I have bought the mothercare self sterlising bottles and we tried to give him a bottle last night but it seemed to come out far too quickly and choke him. Can anyone recommend a good teat to get and will any teat work with those bottles???

zoned ATM I cannot imagine ever having another - who knew it'd be such hard work - although when he's being lovely and cute (and quiet ) I can perhaps think about considering it.

PS - is anyone else NOT enjoying the combination of this cold weather and exposed wet nipples??!!??

Hi all - my LO has just been sick for the third time in 12 hours and it seems like a lot. He is feeding well but having just fed for 30 mins and then been sick, he's now back on the breast. Should I be worried about the sick?? thanks!

at zonedout , wnting to 'go again' already. Ha ha. Now that really MUST be hormone tricks. Sorry to hear of reflux and previous problems.

Bad night again. Up from 11.50 to 3.45 - Up for nearly 4 hours. Yes HOURS. God this one is a TYRANT, I tell you.
WHAT IS GOING ON ?
Ds was only up twice in the night, by now.
He dropped one feed at 7/8 weeks and was sleeping throught eh night by 13 weeks.

THIS ONE ? I think not. I think I have my work cut out here.

Right. ChocO. Yes, I have been using EBM ( Expressed Breast Milk) since hospital. I am pumping ALOT. But that is becasue my latch has not been that great, so using bottles alot.

Some, like Daisy says, think pumping interferes.
Are you happy with your BF and latch generally?
If so, carry on.

First thing in the morning muiight be a good time to pump. Mind you everyone is different, you will have to 'find' your best time.

But as Calire Kedves said ( lactation specialist at Kings) all mamals have a let down of milk supply at 2am. That is why it is better to feed or pump at 3am , post this night let down.
If your baby is not feeding every hour throught he night ( LIKE MINE), then you may have had a few hours sleep, plus a few hours of not feeding, when you wake up first thing in the morning. I.e very good time for milk supply.

But I do think pumping will do you no harm. It will stimulate and increase your milk supply, if nothing else. and if you say you are not getting alot, formt he pumping you have done,then that can only be a good thing.

And eventually, in a few days, you may have enough form one pump, or you made need a couple of pumps, to have enough in a bottle for that feed, that dh can then help you with.

Re the bottles and teets. The mothercare one, is normally sold with quite a slow flowing teet, so shocked at Mack, spluttering. Not sure what to advise.
MY doctor browns seem quite slow flowing. plus they do a var-flow teet, so baby is more in control of sucking more then less, as they want. Haven't tried that one yet, but I may. Hope someone else can advise you mor on teets.
I think you may find that it is hard to give advice and it willl just be trail and error on your part.

Dozy, ds2 sleeps either on my chest, with me quite propped up, or in the crux of my arm. so waking up with dead arm. is it not advised to have them so close ?

Love to everyone else.

welcome twinkle, to the dark side. I am seeing alot of the dark side at the mo. and thus having to sleep through most of the day.

Morning, asorry for not checking in for a couple of days.

Sophie has been feeding and sleeping well (sorry), but is a right grump inbetween. I have finally given in and given her a dummy for morning nap. she was feeding almost soldly between 7am-10am most mornings and not settling back down, despite winding, changing bum etc etc. o gave her a dummy and rocked her to sleep in her pram. cue two hour nap and one happier baby.

Her tummy button is sore today its been bleeding in the night, have given it a quick wipe with cooled boiled water, dont want to mess about with it too much in case i aggrevate it more. HV is coming tomorrow so will get her to have a look at it then. the cord fell off a week ago.

I was crazy and went to ikea yesterday with sophie and my parents. was my first go at public breastfeeding this time round. it went well and no problems. i was feeling very nervous this time, no idea why, as fed dd3 anywhere and everywhere due to dh being in hospital so long. think i was a permanent breastfeeding fixture at harefield and the surrounding area lol.

Morning all,

Hugs to Obs and her nocturnal DC

Glad the feeding is improving daisy zonedout hope the reflux improves soon.

Jay eats constntly in an evening and then get so full he brings everything back up and wants fed again
He is a bit snotty too and seems to be finding it hard to feed poor lamb .

The sleeping isn't too bad though most nights he is only up once and some nights twice which I am very grateful for.

Love to everyone else, sorry if I missed anyone.

Its my first day on my own tomorrow, DS1 is at Nursey and I have to be at the docs by half 9. I am hoping he will say I can drive again though - that would be really helpful!

morning all

Anyone else watch the rugby?? What a wash out....DH took DS1 to his first ever international and he came back supporting SA! They are off to All Blacks next week, so here's hoping for a better result......

I am now almost back to full recovery - really, really hope that none of youlovely ladies get this flu........it really wiped me out. Thank God for DH (please remind me of w2hat a superstar he has been this week, when I am nexct moaning about him )

DS2 now has the flu virus - very wingy, and worst of all, doesn't klnow what he wants...cuddles one m,inute, telling us to go away the next......he is such a sweetheart, I hate seeing him like this....

Tiger is still being such a good girl - I keep waiting for it all to change as don't believe a baby can be this good...(sorry everyone) she is so chilled and hardly ever cries.....surely that means she is going to be a terrible 2?? or teenager???

Morning all! (and an amazingly cold, wet and grim one it is here in london)

Obs, my sympathies on the all night shenanigans. In someways i think its worse if dc1 was a good sleeper as that is what you must have come to expect. For me, ds1 was such a shocking sleeper - i do not exaggerate when i say that he literally only ever slept for 45 min stretches max before waking up to scream again for several hours, due in part to his reflux. This lasted for over a year so i have extremely low expectations this time and see any amout of sleep as a bonus!! Ds2 sleeps only on my chest at night (as did ds1).

Choco, i am in no means expert but could he just be taking too much for his little tummy? Or sometimes my two get/got extra sicky if i have eaten something that 'disagrees' with them, perhaps spicy etc.

Misdee, sorry about the poorly tummy button

Ladybuzz, hope Jay's feeding gets easier. It is so exhausting, the constant feeding/fussing/feeding thing!

Dozy, what age is ds1? My dh was thinking about taking my ds1 to the game yesterday but i wonder if he is still a little young. My dh works in sport/rugby so it is a big part of our lives! Hope your boys have defrosted, it must have been pretty chilly out there!! Glad you are feeling much better from hideous sounding flu.

zonedout DS1 has just turned 5 - he absolutely LOVED it and can't wait for the gasme next week.........didn't realise you were London, you have to join us on our next London meet sometime in 2009!!!!

How old is your DS1?

Ah, my ds1 turns 3 in Feb so probably too young, as suspected. Glad yours loved it! Does he play? My poor ds has had a rugby ball thrust at him from the moment he could crawl! No brainwasing here then

Yes am in London... had really wanted to join the ladies tea but the combo of no childcare for ds1 that day and being on crutches for spd made it impossible! Am in NW, whereabouts are you?

gaaaah, we have now gone from unsettled nights and settled days to unsettled at all hours

DH has taken the older two out for the day, supposedly to let me get some sleep....fat flipping chance! Obs, I'm with you hun, this one is proving to be the hardest work of all my children. DS1 was sleeping six hours a night at 2 weeks and DD was doing the same by about 5 weeks.

I'm a bit pissed off with DH today but trying not to show it. He had Fin downstairs with him in the first part of the night. I had fed him at midnight, then DH took him away. I woke up about half two, you know that way you startle awake and can't figure it out? It took me a few moments to realise that I could hear Fin crying. I thought DH would get him (considereing he was right next to him on the sofa), but after a few minutes, the crying was getting louder. So, I got up wnet to the loo and moseyed downstairs, thinking maybe he was getting him changed or something. No.....Fin screaming in the crib and DH dead to the world on the sofa . So, did I take the baby and tiptoe out of the room? Nope, I woke the beggar up to tell him he was igoring a scremaing baby. Just goes to prove that men aren't hard-wired to hear them cry in the way that we are.

Sorry...big rant .

Choco, some babies do seem to posset a lot, but it always seems more when mixed with saliva and tummy fluids. If he is still producing lots of wet and dirt nappies, then it's probably just one of those things. Have a word with your HV if you are concerned, but I'm sure he's fine. My DS1 was a marathon puker until he was 9mo old, and was still a little porker.

Not sure about the teats for those bottles, but the gushing out will be because he is probably sucking as hard on the teats as he does your boob!!

Dozy, glad you are feeling better, and hope that your DS is well anf that tiger doesn't get it.

LadyBuzz, you can get saline drops from the chemist or yur doctor which help clear little noses.

sorry about DDs tummy button misdee . Fins was a bit red raw when his cord first came off as it had caught on his nappy, but a few days of bathing in cooled boiled water did the trick.

blue sky ans sunshine here....a gorgeous crisp winter day....although there was snow and sleet earlier. My big boys are off fishing......mad fools!!!!

apologoes for crap typing and lack of capitals......fin is on my lap with tha laptop and I can't reach some of the keys!!!

are there any GF followers out there to reassure me that some days it doesn't work??? My good little man who has been following the routine for the last 6 days has decided that today is not a GF day.

CO - this is why I don't do GF properly until about 6 weeks have been so impressed with you doing so well on it so far....what has gone wrong today????

As you know, tiger has been "following" GF on her own accord......well today, nobody woke up until 9am which means that the "routine" is out by 2 hours and instread of feeding at 7ish, 11ish, 3ish,7ish, 10ish, 3ish and 7ish.....(ie only 1 awake in the night) she will now be up 2x at 1am and 4am. .....

You are doing realy, really well to have got a rountine as such in someone less than 2 weeks, so give yourself a pat on the back and go with the flow today.........Obviously you are seeing that a routine is sooooo much easier, it is a shock when you go back to winging it......

leaky My DH did exactly that all last week - DS1 ill in bed with me, and so we decided taht DH would sleep downstairs with tiger in her crib.........I had to come down a few times to "wake up" a snoring DH whilst poor tiger was crying - Men eh! Hopefully you get to sleep soon...make the most of the peace and quiet!

zoned I am SW............both my DS's are sports mad and we started DS1 at Rugby at 3...he LOVES it. DH is one of the coaches and lovges it as well. What does your DH do in a sporting environment??????

I am a GF follower, but do not follow the strict time regime, as I would go mad with constantly checking that I am on track with the sleep/ feed timing.

Since I relaxed the routine and adjusted it to my DS needs it started working a lot better for both us. I still keep a log of sleep, feed and activity times, just to see how his regime is going. He sleeps fine at night, waking up at around 3-4 am for his feed and then again at 7 am.

Daisy, sorry you are having unsettledness (please forgive me oh language tutor but my brain is toooo tired to come up with real words) at all hours now... we are in the midst of a particularly unsettled day today after the usual unsettled night. Aaaaarrgh.

Dozy, dh started out captaining Durham then moved into managing rugby players (many of the England team) when a very bad injury (culminating in major spinal surgery when i was preg with ds1) forced him away from the game, He now sets up and runs all sorts of sporting events, including city relays, sports industry awards quite a lot of charitable involvement and has recently launched a global event recognising sporting heroes through the face of adversity. Phew! Not explained that well nor eloquently but the sleep deprivation is really getting to me.

ChocO....there are days when babies don't fit into the routine, because.........

the babies haven't read the book

sorry, that wasn't helpful but I couldn't resist.

I suppose like everyone they have their good days and bad days and days when they want to do their thing and then days when they want to stay in bed and sleep or else feed all day. He could be ramping up to the 3 week growth spurt!

daisy you're right, it wasn't helpful, but it is the truth and it did make me smile!

DM he was doing so well but yesterday afternoon he slept for an hour and a half which, although its was GF recommends, he doesn't usually sleep for and then he wouldn't go down at 7 and only went to bed at 11pm, although we did only have one night feed which was good. And now today he wouldn't go down at lunchtime until 1pm and has just been sleeping till now - I fear tonight!! Oh well - I will retrain him until he breaks and does exactly what I want!!

Oh and I am not following GF strictly either, reducing his morning and afternoon naps as he doesn't seem to need as much sleep as she says but I was getting very happy with the lunchtime nap and 7pm bedtime so I am a bit now thats not happening.

Hi All
we went to the German market in town today. It was a bit rainy but we had a good time.

Ended up bfeedign dinky walking around Kendals (big dept store) as we had parked there and had to get the lift from the Hmaleys dept to the car park. I'm not sure anyone noticed!

Dinky is doing pretty well. She is finding her routine- and still pretty much every four hours, then going from 11pm to 4:30 in the morning, waking for a feed then having her 'mornings' at around 8:30 am. I am hopeful she will settle quickly into sleeping through, as DS did, but we shall see.

daisy nope herd of elephants would not rouse my DH