March 2005 babies - we are very quiet

[popsycal]

So how is it going for everyone? Most of us have had our babies so how was the first few weeks?

morning all!

lol Popsycal - I love it when my boobs get full enough to look big like that - have to make the most of it as they shrunk so much after I finished bfing ds1 they resembled spaniels ears!

3Mummy - wow at that enormous sleep! I get really paranoid when Toby sleeps for more than 2 hours in the day and generally try to wake him up. Maybe I should try leaving him and seeing if it makes him sleepier at night!!

Norash - bless Kieran - Toby is still not making noises (apart from the obligatory crying and grunting!) and I can't wait to hear him 'coo'. He is now smiling though, which is sweet.

Had a good night last night as he went down at about 8pm in our room (we have a bedside cot), so dh and I actually got to eat and watch some tv in peace. He then woke at 12pm and 5am for feeds, and we all got up at 7am. ds1 was also in our bed last night, so it was cosy to say the least!! Toby was in his grobag for the first time last night, and I think it made a difference as he does tend to kick his covers off when he starts to wake up. Anyone else got one (we're using a groovy Klangers one which we had for ds1).

Off to pick ds1 up from pre-school in a mo, so my peace and quiet is under threat! Have his lunch in the oven on timer so it will be cooked when we get in (is there a 'feeling smug and organised' emoticon?!

Arghhh can't believe it...I've just had to yell at ds1 - he pulled Toby off the sofa!!! Cue 2 screaming children. I'm really worried, we have wooden floors and Toby really went down with a bump. Can't feel any lumps on his head, but the poor little mite must have been scared silly. You turn your back for 1 minute

oh crikey kerry. hope he is ok

clinic was fine....12lbs exactly and got a big well done for still breast feeding

hv asked would i go and talk to some new mothers at a breast feeding support group in the area...part of our GPs catchment is one of the more deprived areas of the city and they are hasving a big push on breast feeding
told her i am no expert but she would like me to do it
thats next tuesday

forgot to mention that i had my bp hecked yesterday and it is too high
argh

KerryJ I hopeToby is ok.

And I hope you bp goes back to normal popsycal.

12lb!!!

can you get harry top whisper in my serenas ear to get her to put on more weight . he is doing really well!!

6 week check today went well, all fine and she smiled at the doctor . Got a well done for bfing and another for the cloth nappies so am polishing my halo now .

Having a growth spurt here - 6pm last night motre or less all night till m idday today. bit less frequent now as she's really tired. Me too but dd1 is here as ever so no sleep for mummy

Good weight popsy, 3mummy hope the feeding is slowing again and sleep vibes for all who need them (me included), and wakeful ones for serena

Just checking in before I go to bed, but too tired to catch up properly.

Misdee - thinking of you and hope you are doing OK.

Morning all,

Misdee I hope you are better today, keep your head up gal

Yuck - had a really crappy day today, just when I thought Toby had started to get better (i.e. happier!!) He just seems so bloomin' miserable all the time, wingeing and moaning non-stop unless he's on my boob or asleep! I have a feeling it's wind related. He seems to burp no problems, but has trouble getting wind out of his bottom end. Does anyone know if Infacol would help with this (I always assumed this would help with burping, not sure about farting?) If I can use Infacol, goodness knows when I'd give it to him, as there are no real 'feeds' as such with Toby - he's on and off all day!!

Hi kerryj, you could try gripe water. I use it with Faith as infacol doesn't seem to have any effect. She does smile lots but we only really have the odd 10 or 20 mins of "happy baby" a couple of times a day - the rest of the time she is crying unless she's feeding or being held/rocked/bounced in some way. I just think things will pick up the older she gets and the more she can see - she loves watching her sisters, and smiles when they talk to her .

Funny you should say that, 3mummy - Toby is fascinated by ds1 and has given him his best smiles, despite the bashing he takes from him!! It's also nice to know I'm not the only one with a little misery guts to contend with. ds1 was a grumpy baby though, and has been a very 'easy' toddler and now pre-schooler (apart from the jealousy issue). Hope Toby follows suit!

Can't help but feel I'm wishing his life away...can't wait til he's about 6 months old, sitting up and generally interacting with the world more.

Does anyone actually LIKE the early months? I just don't get how this stage can be enjoyable (miserable old moo that I am!)

Crikey - didn't post for ages and now there's no stopping me!!

ZoeC - just wanted to say I am also a clothie (well, Toby is). Which ones do you use? Also, I've read your posts and it seems we are in a similar situation as far as trying to deal with an older sibling. Just wondered how you dealt with putting Rebecca down for naps? Toby isn't great at settling, and it tends to be very hit and miss. He'll often fall asleep at the breast and I manage to sneakily lay him down. If I'm lucky he'll then have a good nap. The problem is, ds1 is a nightmare when I disappear upstairs with Toby and insists on yelling for me, coming into the room and being noisy, etc. Bless him I'm wondering if I should give up and let Toby sleep wherever we are at the time, but after the sofa incident I would prefer him to be somewhere safe (i.e. in his cot!) Sorry for the waffle, just really in need of some sharing!

bloody bugger

harry is getting worse and worse at night...
he slept from 8pm til 12 so i was getting all excited then woke at 12, 1:30 briefly, 2:15, 3:30 then at 4 i gave in and brought him into bed

Kerry - hi ['smile]. I gave up trying to put dd2 upstairs for naps as dd1 would follow us up and mess around so really she sleeps on my lap more often than not. We go out much more than we used to as I get fewer tantrums and naughtiness if I break the day up - even a walk round the village makesc a big difference. I put dd1 in a buggy and dd2 sleeps in the wilkinet. The wilkinet is really handy - i've even played football with dd1 wearing dd2 in th wilki . nap wise i don't think i'll ever get the sort of neat routine i had with dd1, she just has to nap when and where she can.

Nappies - I'm using sandys mostly, and stuffies overnight, in airflow wraps. What are you using?

Oh, and no I don't much enjoy the very newborn stage - with dd1 I've enjoyed each 'stage' better than the previous one, as their personality properly develops and they interact more.

(((hug))) popsy this will not last forever.

Thanks for sharing Zoe...looks as though I may be trying to be a bit idealistic. Just can't stand the thought of the loooong summer holidays with a baby who won't nap independently of me!! I also have a Wilkinet, but to be honest haven't used it that much yet - did get the washing in the other day with Toby in it, but as he was wide awake he kept bopping his head against my collar bone in his endless pursuit of my boob (he was rather off target ) and eventually started yelling!! Maybe I should use it more when he's unsettled and tired during the day.

I also use Sandy's with Airflow wraps...love them as they're not too bulky. I'm embarrased to admit I haven't been brave enough to put Toby in cloth over night yet, although have got some Twinkle Twoosters to boost them up a bit. May give it a go in the next week, as he does seem to have stopped pooing so frequently in the early hours so I can usually get away without a nappy change.

Popsy...I can completely empathise with the 'getting worse' thing. Toby is 6 weeks today and stupidly I had kind of envisaged the 6 week mark as being a magic turning point. No such luck. He's waking even more frequently at night, too. We have been at my parents all day today, and Toby has had the grand total of 1 hours sleep all day, so spent the rest of it screaming with overtiredness. Nothing would send him off, I even bundled him in his pushchair (lying flat) at one point and power walked around the block...all to no avail - he screamed all the bloody way!!!!

Put him down in his cot at 6.30pm and spent over an hour trying to settle him, resorting to boob which sent him to sleep but he woke up the moment I laid him down. Had to leave the room (and him screaming) in the end before I did something I'd regret. HE FELL ASLEEP!!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!!!!! Nice to know he can do it on his own when push comes to shove.

SOrry about all the waffle, it's been the day from hell and I had to offload.

Yahoo - I am back in my jeans! Admittedly these were previously the world's baggiest jeans which had to be held up with a belt, and they are now skin tight, unbelted and with my tummy bulging over the waistband. But hey, it's progress! And to celebrate I have given all my maternity clothes to a pregnant friend.

We had a couple of nights when Iris resisted going to bed again, but the last few nights we've been back on track with a 7pm ish bedtime. Though she's rather too perky around 4-5am for my liking! The only way to get her to sleep is for me to climb into bed with her and feed her lying down, sticking her back on the breast whenever she gets wakeful. I only manage to doze as it's not very comfy, but at least we sort of get some more sleep.

Drat - was about to read all your messages in more detail - but Iris has woken up. Must scoot off!

Loads to catch up on....!

Great to have you back Kerryj & Nik72.

Kerry - that's one of my nightmares that Niklas will roll off something. I keep him on the floor as much as possible or wedged between cushions, don't have the worry of another lo to pull him off somewhere or beat him up though !

Popsycal, I 've been thinking about your problem, and I don't know much about sleep, babies or Harry, but.... the problem either has to be a sleep or hunger. he is putting on plenty of weight so must be a sleep problem. He is only sleeping for short periods so maybe he isn't getting into deep sleep properly. Is there something that could be disturbing him to wake him up? does he sleep in a silent dark room? Is he warm enough?

Today is mother's day in Switzerland :! My first one! I got a little pressie from Niklas!

I think the first 3 or 4 weeks were fantastic because the baby was new and it felt so incredible. Weeks 5 & 6 were difficult because the novelty had worn off a little bit, tiredness and routine set in but not much coming back from the baby yet. since then every day gets better and better, Niklas gets more and more communicative and responsive, he gives much more back. there are the odd bad days, but overall the feeling of being a mother is wonderful and sometimes a bit overwhelming. i can't believe that I have created this wonderful, complex thing and that he exists (almost) entirely from me!

Niklas is about 6Kg now (stood on the scales with him last night!) (I think that's about 13lb).

Well done Pidge!

Morning everyone...

Pidge - well done on the jeans!! I seem to have lost my pre-pregnancy pairs, they're probably part of the huge pile in my wardrobe, however I did try on some size 12's a week or so ago and they were still far too tight. So, still in maternity jeans and as I have only one pair I have a problem on wash days!! Have vowed to start exercising after my 6 week postnatal check, and even bought some trainers last week. Best intentions, and all that

Leogaela - Niklas sounds lovely - I can't wait for Toby to start interacting. After our miraculous 'putting himself to sleep' episode last night he slept til 12.30am (a whole 5 hours!!) but was then up every hour, and wide awake at 5am. It was the worse night we've had yet and I am feeling totally exhausted today. Will be picking ds1 up from pre-school in about an hour and have promised him a trip to the local soft play area, which I am now dreading as feel half dead.

Sorry, it seems all I do is come on here and moan but it feels so good to offload, and please feel free to just skip my messages if they're too depressing!

Caleb is 11 weeks today, lots of smiling and cooing, he's started giggling as well which is lovely!

I did weigh less when i'd given birth then I did before I got pregnant, now I seem to be putting weight back on so i'm getting delivery of a jogger pushchair tomorrow and I intend to jog round the park everyday. See how long that good intention lasts!

Caleb gave me a heart attack the other day, he started passing mucus and little steaks of blood so I was in a right panic, spoke to the midwife and she thinks it's the antibiotics I was on. Either way he's alot better today. still throws up alot though.

Does anyone else feel like the're going bald??

hmm steaks of blood would have been interesting!! Meant streaks

leogaela - you are right - it IS a sleep prblem as opposed to feedung i think,,,i am going to give the dummy another go. the room is dark and quiet....
i think i am going to buy him a grobag.....
he wakes every 2.5 hours]cant let him be too unsettle though as ds1 is right next door

got to do something....he is a big boy and should be able to go more than 2.5 hours without feeding

not sure wheter to ring NCT for advice i i dont think it is a feeding problem...

Popsy - I can recommend a grobag - even though Toby is still a nightmare at night at least I know he's not getting cold!! I've decided to go the whole hog and move the bedside cot away from the side of the bed, as I think the frequent waking is due to his reliance on my boob to send himself to sleep. So will probably have some even worse nights ahead of us, but if things improve as a result of being sleep deprived for another week or so, I can't complain.

Shalaa, strangely I haven't had lots of hairloss this time, although I did after ds1. I'm sure it will start to happen, but I'm making the most of my luscious locks while they last! What a nightmare with the bloody mucous / poo. Glad your midwife could put your mind at rest.

Kerryj and popsy - agree, my best nights sleep was when i stayed awake long enough to return her to the moses basket - i think when she stirs, being able to zsmell the milk gives her ideas . Last night she slept 8.30pm-1.30am but then it was back to 2.5 hourly again, probably because I fell asleep feeding as usual so she stayed in with me.

Although that said, I'm becoming quite fond of my little hot water bottle .

Having proved she can sleep for 4 hours like that I'm just going to trust that if I give her enough time, she'll carry on improving.

Not had a chance to post for ages but have been checking in regularly to read everyones messages. Grace has had a cold for a couple of days - poor little thing is really snuffly which has given us some disturbed nights. Before this thiough we had a couple of nights where she slept for 8hrs solid which was bliss .

Popsy, I would deffo recommend grobags, and if you get really desperate and have some spare cash treat yourself to one of these baby hammocks - I'm convinced this is the main reason Grace sleeps so well. Every time she starts to stir it starts gently swaying and bouncing which I think sends her back into deep sleep again. I wouldn't be without it. They're supposed to be good for reflux as well as you can tilt them so the baby is a bit more upright.

Well done on the jeans Pidge . I'm not quite there yet but think things are starting to get a bit looser. If I could only resist the chocolate...

Sorry to hear Grace has had a cold, bonym, hopefully she's on the road to recovery now. Those hammocks sound fantastic, I have looked at them before but can't really afford one unfortunately. If I 100% knew it would work I'd find the money of course!!

I've been in contact with a cranial osteopath today and am going to take Toby along for a session. He is still incredibly unsettled during the day and I just can't put him down without him getting into a state. The second stage of my labour was only 8 minutes so he made a very quick exit, and his head looked very flat when he was born (sort of squished from chin to forehead as opposed to the usual pointy moulding, iyswim). It's £50 for a session but he comes highly recommended and my mum has offered to pay (I wonder if she would also stretch to a hammock...lol )

Hope everyone has had good, peaceful days with their little ones - it's been very quiet on here recently. Do hope I'm not a thread killer!