January 09 - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4......and we're off

[fourlittlestockingedfeet]

Here's a brand new thread for the early party poppers!

Thanks for the tips ladies and the leaflet lennied I am just going to try and persevere, even though at midnight last night I had a bit of a meltdown and was all ready to give up and couldn't face giving another feed until this morning so he had formula again (leaked milk all night so there is definitely plenty there - for now). I'm going to try and not give in tonight but I just get so fed up, lonely, cold and miserable in the middle of the night that I just want to cry every time he wakes up. I think I need to try and get more rest during the day too so I don't get to that 'I can't cope with this anymore' point and am going to try feeding lying down in the hope this is more relaxing. I really think the NHS should give you a bit more info about what it is really like to bf as if it wasn't reading all of your feeding posts on mumsnet I would think the problems meant I just wasn't cut out for it when that is not the case at all.

Sorry, mammoth post I am just hoping that I will soon get to the stage where for one reason or another I don't dread every feed.

Good luck dog my cervix was virtually unreachable at each of the four attempted sweeps I had and then at pretty much the last minute he decided to come out on his own so there is hope!

Welcome pat rrayray had my 10 day visit today too, cannot believe that it is that long already!

my midwife said it is ok to give directly baby 2teaspoons of fennel if there is excess gas or constipation. just be sure the tea is body temp.

the best fennel tea is by the altiva brand which i found at john bell and croydon shop. that brand has some fab teas. can't get it canada. boohoo.

rrayray enjoy your snow day. i was lucky to get some of those too.

dog - if you go on the may 07 postnatal thread, both lg&T and tyg used it for both of their previous pregnancies....they are the experts imo!

oh miss H, do know exactly hoe you feel. callled DD the c - word when she was 3 weeks old as just could NOT cope with the constant demand last time. This time I'm trying to ge at least one nap during the day as it is soo necessary for yor mental health. they do use sleep deprivation as a torture technique to break prisoners down - and thats exactly how it feels sometimes! Watching funny clips on you tube is a really good way to have a belly laugh and thus a quick release (yes there are other ways, but its all a bit sore at the moment !

MissH I've had quite a few days like that in the last 4 weeks. You'll turn a corner soon though and it will get a LOT easier quickly. I was despairing last week when DS had a growth spurt and was feeding every hour, but this week he is back to every 3 hours and I feel like I could carry on to 6months quite happily. I'm sure there will be another challenge around the corner. If it doesn't work out though, it really isn't the end of the world, it's more important that you are both happy and healthy.

Am trying to catch up on this thread....its overtaken me.

Welcome Florida and Pat

And just as I was about to sit down for a good 'ol mn session....ds has started crying and dd wants a cuddle and should have been in bed about an hour ago!

Thanks for the advice about the fennel tea fourlittlefeet, I did scan the tea shelves in sainsburys the other day but obviously in my sleep deprived state couldn't see any. have just found a few health shops online that sell loads of teas so will try that, saves trekking out in the snow tomorrow!

LenniED-What did you call your DS? Freaky if they had the same name too! After having a waterbirth the first time I just couldn't face a birth on 'dry land', only just had time to fill the pool this time though before he popped out a few minutes later, so much quicker the 2nd time

I am glad to have read all these posts about growth spurts nobody seems to tell you about a 3-4 week one, I guess every baby is an individual and my DS seems to settle to every 3 hours for a few days and then has a few days of every hour or so. So frustrating when you think its all sorted. Just praying tonight he will go back to having a 4-5 hour stretch at some point like he did last week.

Oh I can't tell you how I long to have an hour to read thru the whole thread and catch up properly... some of you seem to be able to do this, most envious! I can't even return my friends' calls... wow, can't believe just 6 days ago I had all the time in the world to hang out on thread!

Thanks for advice about co-sleeping though - I'm just slightly worried that OH has unrealistic ideas of sweet routine-led baby not waking him up all night long!

OH is being brilliant though - he still has to work (he has a horse riding place) but is somehow juggling it all. Meanwhile it took me until 5pm to actually be able to dry my hair after my bath at 12! Where does the time go?

xxx

MissH - i had a little chapping and i used a nipple shield while feeding and lansinoh and it cleared it up in 24 hours - if you do use one be sure to do lots of winding because obviously the little one sucks in a bit of air at the beginning of the feed with these. no point in exchanging one problem for another. i know what you mean about the cold lonely despairing thing in the middle of the night, dd takes her time about it so i wind up getting very cold and stiff backed and sit there almost begging her to finish. i don't think they tell you how crap the first bit is with breast feeding because if they did, you wouldn't bother. people keep telling me it gets better, and i'm working hard to believe them

missj - know what you mean - this week i am managing to fit in brushing my teeth, which is an improvement on last week - and the sounds from the cot suggest that i must take my leave of you all again... routine-led baby - hah!

hey all. spent a while catching up and sounds like we are all experiencing the same thing. had a friend call tonight who has a 5 day old in tears as she is struggling with bf and just directed her here to join the gang!
6 weeks in and now had about 2/3 weeks of coping with 2. good days and bad days believe me. friday was a shocker and today medium. one piece of advice i had was to have a box of toys to only bring out during feeding. has worked a treat with ds1 especially thomas fuzzy felt. agree cbeebies also a lfe saver but i switch it off as soon as finished so the novelty doesn't wear off (have sky plused madagascar and toy story for emergencies when i can't keep my eyes open!). my major problem is the violence but on canvassing advice from others i am going to introduce the naughty step. any advice/opinions on this? i thought 19 mo too young but friends say they have had it work this young and i am getting desperate.
yay for snow and husbands at home. he and ds1 had a great time in the garden building snowmen. was slightly shocked that the sweet potato i gave them for the nose (no carrot) was used elsewhere....
dog thinking of you and hope it happens soon.

Pat - DS is called Dylan.

Tip for getting MN time - I balance my laptop on my pillow I use for breastfeeding and MN with my free hand while feeding Bit harder if DD isn't playing nicely but I can usually grab a few minutes here and there - plus I'm a quick reader

I also make all my phone calls while feeding once you've had a baby a while you will be a dab hand at optimising every minute of your days and if/when you go back to work it will seem like a holiday

Hi all, Thought I would get DP to give DS a bottle of EBM at 7:30pm to see if it makes a difference to his mood and to see if my milk is not fulfilling of an evening as it is fine during the day. He has been asleep since 8pm !! Can not believe it. Probably just a fluke as he has only had 1 big sleep today of 3 hours so probably just really knackered, but will try again tomorrow and see what happens.

LenniEd I like those tips - I need to be more organised about my BF time cos I always get going and then realise that my cup of tea/ newspaper is just out of reach... am sitting terribly too and will no doubt pay for it later, but the stitches and bruising aren't helping !

DS is sleeping sweetly in his moses basket for the FIRST TIME by the fire with us.

We still haven't got a name for him, can you believe it? I am all set on his name but OH has to make his mind up that he's happy.

More tomorrow when I get my laptop set up!

DH and i had our first argument since DD was born. all i wanted him to do was cut my giant hamburger that he made in half so it was more manageable with me holding DD in one hand. he huffed about it but i let it go. DD was fussing so much it made it difficult to eat it, plus it was thick and it just became a mess. i went and sat on the couch to feed DD and asked him to bring my plate over, which he did, but not the fork. i said 'you could've brought the fork'. then he blasted me about being sarcastic. i wasn't being sarcastic. i was being straightforward... logic of the moment dictates that i would need my fork. a stupid 'discussion' ensued and ended with me and DD going to the bedroom because he didn't want me to talk to him. it's been 4 hours now. he's been in once... probably to see if i fell asleep and he could take the computer. too bad DH... i'm busy mumsnetting. DD is fast asleep with me.

it was a stupid and frivolous argument but he can apologize for his attitude.

Just posted this in childbirth - do any of you have any ideas? Is our residant midwife around (pretty please!)

Hope there is someone who can help!

Am currently 41 weeks exactly. Have been having contractions (real ones not BH or tightenings) for the last 3 weeks, I have about 2-5 a minute long and a few minutes apart then.....nothing!

Keep thinking this is it.... and it just goes again.

I'm concerned that there is something wrong that is stopping me labouring (Have had monitoring and baby is moving etc) but can't understand why it keeps starting and stopping. Any ideas??

With my DS I had nothing beforehand just went into labour the day after my due date and although it was fairly long (24hrs start to finish) it was continuous.

I have a sweep booked for tomorrow and am going to try to move to today (buy TGH the midwives are all booked solid so it's unlikely)

WWYD?

Go for monitoring, insist on a scan to see if there's a problem or am I worrying over nothing?

TIA

Chefswife - lots of DH's and DP's seem to have a real problem with losing their independent wives - they're just not used to having to think for you as well!

This is the latest updated list - just waiting for news from Elkie....

Still waiting:

elkiedee 26 Jan (DC2, DS born May 2007)
FYM - 28th Jan (DC2, DS Dec 05)
Givethedogabone 30th january will be DC3, DD 4 in feb and DS 2

Babies!

Jokat - DD, 2lbs 15oz
Looweeza - DS 4th Dec, Kit, 7lbs 13oz
Chefswife - DD 9th Dec, Violet May, 6lbs 7oz
HeathersMummy - DS 17th Dec, Fraser, 7lbs 2oz
Qumps - DS 19th Dec, Stanley, 7lbs 12oz
Kittenpaws - DD 22nd Dec, Susanna, 7lbs
NatalieJane - DS 27th Dec, Mikey
Ginni - DD 26th Dec, No name yet, 6lbs 15oz
Scared - 29th Dec
Mel2005 - TWINS 29th December. Alice 6lb3oz, Oscar 5lb 5oz.
TallulahBelle - TWINS 31st Dec
mppaw - DS, 3rd Jan
spink - DD, 7th Jan 11:37am
lennied - DS 7th Jan, Dylan Jacob, 7lbs 14oz
newmomma - DS 7th Jan, Harry John
periwink - DD 10th Jan, Ariella, 6:49, 8lbs 10oz
buickmackane - DS 13th Jan, William Ben, 7lb 7oz
Nellybell - DD 13th Jan, Polly, 7lbs 3oz
witchandchips - DD 14th Jan baby girl, 8lb 6oz
moosemama - DD 15th Jan, Elizabeth Jane
MsSparkle - DS 15th Jan, Finley Stephen, 9lb 8oz
Shanster - DD 15th Jan, Mairi, 7lb 9oz
Largeginandtonic - DD 16th Jan, India Rose, 9lb 5oz
Blue Sapphire - DS 16th Jan, David Alexander
FourLittleFeet - DS 17th Jan, Hugo, 8lb 6oz
Stripeywoollenhat - DD 18th Jan, Catherine Eleanor, 7lb 13oz
Tink - DD 19th Jan, Bracken Hope Willow, 8lb 7oz
Ooggs - DS 20th Jan, Luke Daniel, 8lb 6oz
Hkz- DS 21st Jan, Jude Peter, 7lb 5oz
Treedelivery - DD 22nd Jan
MissHairspray - DS 22nd Jan, Oliver James 9lb 12oz
RRay - DD 23rd Jan, Esme Mae, 6lb 6oz
Booksgalore - DD 27th Jan
LooseyC - DS 27th Jan, Toby, 7lb 8oz
MissJackson - 29th Jan 8lb7
Eachpeachpearmum - 2nd Feb 8lb 10

Also had their babies but not sure of details:

Poorbuthappy - 14th Jan (1 dd born Sept 04)
Happyathome - 18th Jan (DC2. DD born June 02)

ps this list may not have the newcomers on this thread (I'm sure there are at least two or three) please do add your own details...

congrats elkie.
oh got to go...

Fym You poor thing, the frustration of still being pregnant is fresh in my mind too. The only piece of advice i can give you is have some acupuncture, and in as close proximity as possible as your sweep! Did the trick for me- and a few others!!! Hope you havent got much longer to wait.

Can't believe how time is flying.

DD was a GEM last night, slept 10.30- 8.30am only waking to feed once at 3.30am. Am Astonished. Not sure if its just co-incidence, but since i've been swaddling her she sleeps MUCH better and longer!