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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was about to say Morning then just realised it's quarter to 3 . Where does the day disappear to? I am dressed though! I even put make-up on every day, despite the fact only DH and Cecily see me most the time. It makes me feel more human.
Sorry to Vbab and others whose DH's are being wnkers. I guess the elation of the arrival wears off, and is replaced by chronic fatigue...We women seem better at handling the sleep deprivation. I'd say going off to work is the soft option!
Mine, thankfully, is still being a good-un. I also forgot to mention he bought me a truly magnificent pair of diamond earrings which are just boo-tiful. So he's earned months of brownie points with that one!
pinky and merry sorry to hear your LO's are not well. It must be such a worry

Re. cosleeping, we've now transitioned to Moses basket fulltime which I'm happier about, although I often nod off in the middle of the night feeds and often wake with a start wondering where Cecily is...This morning DH came in at 7:30am and I woke up and said "where is she??" - she was asleep in Moses basket! Oh, the anxiousness of a first-time mum!

Choc - there is no way Cecily sleeps as many hours a day as GF suggests. She is awake and alert lots in the day (and the middle of night) - I guess every baby is different.

So, after my last posting where I mentioned Cecily was sleeping better we had 2 absolutely dreadful nights Friday/Saturday. Awful. Friday she didn't sleep til 6am - was screaming all night, wanted to feed, then was windy/colicky, then cried doing big poos, cried being changed. We must have had to change her 3 times that night due to major explosions. Thank god DH was patient and helpful.
Luckily last night was better. Slept from 10:45 - 1:30am, then from 4:30-7:30am. She does get really wide awake in that middle part of the night - I can't just feed her and put her back to bed. She wants to look around, do big trumps, poo, gurgle. But TBH i'm enjoying re-watching Sex and the City on Paramount channel!

I purchased me electric pump today. Not sure how much /long I should be expressing at first?
Any suggestions?

My other question to you all is re. BF.
GF says never offer the 2nd breast til 1st one is emptied. Problem is, I'm never certain the 1st one IS empty. She might feed off one breast for a full 30 mins, properly latched on. But if I squeeze it, there will still be milk coming out. So if she then dozes off and wakes say, an hour later, should she go back to the 1st breast, or should I start on 2nd? I guess I'm confused about getting to the hind milk. How quickly does the breast "re-fill"? Confusion, confusion...
Sorry for intermittent postings - just was shattered all weekend.
xxx

Just quickly as NAK (nursing at keyboard!)

Monkey, I was taught/told that if baby wants to eat and it's less than 2 hours since the last feed, start with the breast they were last on as there will be less foremilk and they get to the hindmilk quicker, then offer the other breast if they are still hungry

Thanks HM2J . That helps a lot!

Wow, nice one Heartmum - Fin dribbles like heck so I daren't NAK, it would totally nak the computer.

MM I am with you - does an empty boob make a "last drop of milkshake in the straw" noise? Fin would carry on chewing on an empty one anyway, he has all the hallmarks of a future thumbsucker.

Me too with postings, was going to get on this morning but Exorcist Baby covered me in recycled milk. Again. He is now in his baby gym in disgrace. How do you make them not vomit? I have tried burping him for ages, Infacol, passing him to someone else wearing dry-clean only clothing and to be honest it's not that frequent, just expansive and copious. There is a facial expression I am coming to dread...

Love to all, sorry to hear about poorly babies x

It's great to be back and catch up a bit with you all.

Choc, having read your post I may have just worked out that Fin's gross spewing thing is the END of a growth spurt - he doesn't realise that he doesn't need the excess milk... He just had a horrible 3 nights of constant feeding and whinging followed by 2 nice nights but a lot of regurgitation. Greedy boy.

North/Midlands ladies, when are we meeting up? Did we say the 9th? If so, I need to reschedule the HV.

Also, when can we all go and see Rosa? I have never been to Venice. The closest I got was the Great Sheffield Flood of 2007, which hardly counts. I bet Venice hasn't got as many shopping trolleys.

monkey, this is where it transpires that GF knows naff all about BFing! your breasts are never empty. As long as LO sucks then they will make milk and you will continue to have letdowns throughout the feed. what she means is that when the initial fullness of your breasts has gone down and the baby naturally comes off, do your nappy change etc and then offer the other side.

I'm rubbish at explaining how it all works, but have a read of this. It should clarify the foremilk hindmilk thing as well as the physiology of BFing

I'm not convinced that GF knows that much about BFing (quite a common concern with self-styled parenting gurus).

double sided feeding generally doesn't work for me as I have oversupply issues, so I just use one breast each time and if he wants more after his natural break I put him back on the same side and only offer the other side at the next feed.

cluster feeding is a different kettle of fish though and baby can bounce from side to side all night!!

if you mean granny shopping trolleys then I bet we could match them I have 2. Both are on the way out though as they have been bashed about so much !!
Agree re emptying one breast I have never had the 'full' hard feeling and I can never tell if one is empty or not.
I must say I found the kellymum site ( thanks Lacks) helpful . I seem to have read so much stuff that I am on overload and don't know what to try next.
Anyway she slept again for 3 hrs this pm has had both sides and after 35 mins she has just done a Burp - that is one of the first Hurrah !!!
MM lucky you on the sparkly stuff - I got a wonderful ring with dd1 and have yet to see anything from dh for dd2 - not even a flower !!! ( ok so he did do 30 mins of ironing today does that count ?)

No, ironing is His Job now...

I meant shopping trolleys in the lovely rivers! Mmm, scenic.

I am also v jealous of the bling, but I did get balloons...

monkey the easiest way to tell if your have milk or not in your tits, is to give them a squeeze!!! I would tend to nurse for as long as LO wants and then swop over.......but as leaks says, in the early days you tensd to go back and forth anyway!!!

Sounds as if you and rutho are doing well.......good to have to back girls, same as ever...monkey glam as ever with her slap on and rutho making me PMSL at the laptop..I still implore you Rutho to write a book on pregnancy/motherhood!!!!!

I spoke to autumnlady today - she is absolutely fine but still without laptop!

rosa I'm up for some venice action as well! If only virtually!!!

Hello ladies i am now here on the post natal thread.
Owen is a complete gem, he feeds and sleeps. bf is going well was up all last night as milk was coming in but today he has settled back into his 4 hourly feeds. on the bf subject i am offering one then when he comes off on his own i wind have a cuddle and then offer the other, greedy guts will then empty that side too.

i always start with the side i finished on last feed and it seems to be working but he isn't due for 1.5hrs and i am as full as a boot already

Hello everyone.

James is finally showing signs of being on the mend. Still coughing a lot at night and I didn't sleep all night as I was watching him and then he decided to moan and feed and poo and moan and feed and poo... You get the idea.

From a first time mum perspective - MN has not been an option for much of the time and, as James and I have spent half his life so far in hospital, I couldn't post even if I wanted to!!! However, things are settling down and I'm comfortable changing nappies and feeding so, inbetween, I can now catch up. I also wanted to read the whole thread before I started posting - that was a GREAT idea as I realised that James was normal and even experienced mums were / are having problems that, in some cases, are worse than ours!!!

Hi Mummynic and Tegan. I have only just made it over, the last 3 weeks are like some kind of weird dream except now I am a mum. How did that happen? I am v impressed with Mummynic reading the whole thread - did you have to feed James first and then read really really fast? I froze Fin by accident trying to catch up the other week, oh the guilt...

Hey Northern Ladies:

Me and Vbab is meeting for coffee (us) and vomit (babies) tomorrow at Costa near Debenhams in Meadowhall at 10 am. We will be the ginger ones with huge eyebags. And small screaming babies, natch. Anyone want to come and compare war wounds and indulge in hideous amounts of cake and caffeine? I am considering spending DH's Grandma's Xmas present money on myself in Costa.

I am also up for a repeat meeting next week, if we're still doing that.

I would love to come tomorrow but HV is coming at 9.30 and I need to see her re thrush medication.

I'm impressed that you will be up and out the house to get there by 10am. when I had DS1 I think he was about three months before I was that organised. Of course now I haven't a snowball's chance in hell of leaving the house by myself with three kids before 2011!

I would love to come next week, but we are going to a Christmas party from 12-2. It'll be DDs first meeting with Santa (that she can remember) and I don't want her to miss it. Can we do another day instead of Tuesday?

rutho, I've missed your wittiness; welcome back

ChocO and MonkeyM, and anyone else wanting to increse supply, re bf:

Have very good technique, taught to me by Claire Kedves, Lactation specialist at Kings.
Basically manually expressing. Treating nipple like segments of an orange and stimulating them all. Or like a clock. Do it twice, say once late nice, when relaxed, once next mid morning. Increases supply remarkably.
Let me know if you want to know more.

Leaks, old chum, the only way I am getting there for that time is to get up with Fin for his 5:30 feed and STAY UP. Gruesome, I know...

I would be dead happy to do a different day next week as my HV appt is on Tues - I think Vbab can do Mondays or Tuesdays and I am cool with Monday as long as I am back in Sheffield centre for Baby Massage at 1, dontcha know. Would love to see you, sorry to hear about the thrush - it is all glamour, no?

I have a confession/query to make about more of Fin's revolting habits. I am scared to change him in public as he has been known to fire poo across the room for up to a metre. Seriously. He got my stepmum the other week, and we have had to wash the sofa cover. Does anyone else have a baby that can do this? I am half appalled and half very proud of him. However, I am terrified to get the nappy off him anywhere other than at home, where I have access to a mop and bucket. . People are more understanding about sick.

Obs, how does one stop lactating? Plus, is anyone else sitting here with 1 full boob and 1 empty one? My poor baby fell asleep after 1 boob and now I am lopsided.

Heck Ruth im impressed by your LOs poo spraying there, nothing from my LO like that, but then hes never pooed when hes had his nappy off.

for those of you trying a routine or as in my case, GF lite...I have to say, keep persevering as I have now jsut finished dinner with DH in peace and quiet whilst the kids (yes all 3 of them) were tucked up, happy, fed and watered by 6:50pm.....it really is possible and so lovely to now have a kid free evening with DH (well until 10pm feed that is!)

Glad you northerns are meeting up as well - it is so nice to meet with other mums who have LO's the same age. In my experience, you tend to stay friends with those you meet the first time around, so to be meeting with lovely ladies with newborns 3rd time aorund is ace

nowt on tv tonight.........may have to do a lacks and drag the DH upstairs for an early night

Evening all!

Very of your northern meet-up tomorrow!! As me coming to Sheffield/South Yorks will require a military operation to stay at my mum's, I am not up to the job just yet!! Wish someone else lived in Lancashire though

Rutho so good to have you back - have missed you! As for the Exorcist, me and DH are experts in such-style vomiting as DS1 had a condition which made him projectile vomit pretty much every feed for the first 7 weeks of his life until it was diagnosed and he had an operation! We tried everything for those 7 weeks - but ended up investing in cheap towels from Matalan and always made sure we were fully draped in one before feeding and a plastic bowl to catch it in Can't help on the flying poo though - not come across that before

Dozy am jealous of your organisation to have an evening to yourself already - although having said that, I don't think I am ready to put Sam upstairs in the evenings just yet

Am struggling a bit with DS1 at the moment tbh. His behaviour seemed to improve last week but has gone backwards again this weekend - lots of tantrums, constant whinging, refusing to do what we ask of him etc. I want my sunny, happy little boy back and feel guilty that we have made him like this by having Sam Have posted a thread for tips on handling it as me and DH are doing our best, but is obviously not enough.

Yeah, it is good to see you back rutho
I remember well the lopsided boob, i swear poeple could see it! My mum could, on occassion!
I also remember going through the hindmilk, foremilk worry. Haven't really thought about it much this time but I am starting to just offer the one boob. If he falls asleep there is no way I could get him on the second anyway. Today I asked DD which one he had had last cos I couldn't remember! Funnily enough she didn't know, well she is only 2!
pinkali my DS can be a right bugger, too, to get on. Though he does go on, so I can't truly understand your frustration, I can share a little cos it really is very frustrating. When you know they are hungry yet they won't take. DS has to be screaming awake during the night. The last time you want him to be screaming awake, he has to be before he will take. I was putting it down to him being premmy but maybe I will have to admit he is just a little lazy?

I was soo gonna say something else but now DS is shouting at me I have completely forgotten what it was!

Dozy, you mean your !!

Ok we tried, fine but had to laugh feels like MW put to many stiches in. Need to sort contraception at 6 week check, any ideas? don't want to go back on the pill and condoms don't do it for us

Nice to see you Rutho, Rebecca seems to dp power poo's to. 1st time DH changed her he was half way and she let rip all down the nursery walls I PMSL! I was in the bath at the time.

I am another one with full boobies although one feels really sensitive and bruised at the minute - again any suggestions?

Wish I was near sheffield would love to meet with other people for coffee.

Yes, another day than Tuesday would be great, as I will be driving north and being polite to MIL then, maybe Thursday morning?
Mum has just rung to see if I want to go to her school concert on Tues evening, (ulterior motive - show off grandchildren to colleagues) I said they'd probably enjoy it but I might have a bath without them!
Baby putting on weight happily, MW discharged her today, HV on Weds
I have 2DC to myself tonight, and have managed to bath and bed DS. How long can I let DD cry for when giving DS attention? felt really bad when she was just sitting watching him in the bath and getting impatient for another feed

ceebee we only put Tiger into her room last week (4 weeks old) but only for daytime naps (when we are in!) and then 7pm-10pm...After that, she comes and spends the night with us.....I am not sure when we will brave putting her into her own room for the whole night (probably never, the LBS is very strong )

Also, remenber you are a FANTASTIC mum - poor DS1 has had his World turned upside down, I really had problems with DS1 when DS2 came along (he was 2 and 4 months at the time) and it was horrible. I felt so, so guilty and he was really unsettled/angry and even mean to DS2. Make sure that you spend as much time with him as possible, perhaps organise an afternoon out just you and him?? Cinema or park???

Also, get him involved.....and most importantly, heap lots and lots of praise on him!!!!!!!!!!!!1

IT WILL GET BETTER.....I can promise you that, and now 2 yhears later, DS1 and DS2 are such good friends (most of the time)

Check out my FB pictures, this is what you have to come - it is FAB being mum to 2 boys

coolkat, the sensitive and bruised boob could be due to a blocked duct.....can you feel any hard lumps anywhere? if so you need to either express to clear it or feed off that side to avoid it developing into mastitis.

rutho......that over full feeling will only last a few more weeks and then your boobs will be working on pretty much (growth spurts excepted) a demand and supply basis.....the first day you don't have any engorgement you'll be thinking it's run out! I know I did (another waaaaaaaah thread on here).

I can do Monday next week

DH and I have discovered the way forward with Bumba.....we had stopped swaddling him and were just putting his blanket over his legs. Tried swaddled him again this afternoon and he has gone back to sleep straight away after every feed

hi all. wow it's beginning to look more like the proper thread onhere- good to have so many chatting!

would love to meet up, any day next week, just let me know asap so dh can book day off.

OMG Dozy! DH is v steamed up at the mo' cos I have D-cups instead of A cups and won't let him near them or anywhere else...

Coolkate, we are umming about this as well. Anyone else on the coil, or got Views about it? I don't want to go back on the pill again as it was really messing me up but neither do I want 2 babies 10 or 11 months apart. Or 10 or 11 years apart, for that matter (It'll be that long before I let him at me, I swear. The swine.).

Dozy thanks for the advice and the words of encouragement! Will check out your photos in a sec. Me and Dh have said several times that, in some ways, we wish we could fast forward 12-18 months when things would have settled down and Sam and DS1 can play together - and I don't like feeling like that as I really want to savour Sam as a baby since he will be my last one

I feel that all DS1 hears from us at the moment is 'don't do that', 'be careful', 'stop it' etc - although we are praising him extensively when he is good! I never imagined it would be so hard.