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!

Dog Yay... glad to see no more posts from you. hope you have babe in arms now!

FLF lovely to hear LO put on so much weight! No idea how much LO has put on, she wa 7lb 2 a week ago (6lb 6 at birth) first Health visitor visit tomorrow, so no doubt see how much more weight is in her hamster cheeks! Almost out of Tiny baby clothes now, as she has long legs compared with body.

Just been looking into baby massage, going to take LO with one of friends from NCT class & her little baby!

MissJ- Think it's a lovely name. Ils weren't impressed with our choice of Jude..thought it was a girls name ..but we like it and he looks like a Jude so there you go. Go with your gut instinct.

Dog- Looking forward to seeing your bith announcement tomorrow morning.

FLF- Its lovely seeing J filling out too...all of a sudden he's got big fat chubby cheeks, it makes having raw nipples worth it!

Hope Tree is ok, didn't she say she was going away visiting relatives/ to a wedding?

Does anyone know about car seats? We have a maxi cosi baby one and I can't get it to fit securely in our Ford Focus. I know they shouldn't move around at all and have followed the instructions and it still doesn't seem secure enough to me. Is there a trick to this? We didn't have a car whenw e had DD so am new to this whole baby car seat thing...

DS just fell asleep on me after mammoth 6hr clusterfeed session so no time to catch up properly as going to get to bed while I can. Thanks for all your support - much better day today, a few more of them and I'll be fine.

Looking forward to news from Dog.

hkz - Can't help I'm afraid as our car seat has an isofix base, never done the belt thing, but am sure someone can. One thought is does car have slippy seats? I know FIL uses one of those rubber mats on his car seat for DD as his seats are leather.

Promise to catch up properly tomorrow. Night all x

Ray not all car seats fit in all cars. There should've been a guide supplied with your car seat when you bought it. If not try their website.

I know our car seat is only listed as fitting the 2 outside rear seats but not the front or middle rear seat in our car.

Also, I think you can get bases for maxi-cosi car seats with or without isofix. We have always had the bases for our Gracos as it makes life a lot easier for getting them in and out of the car and you don't need to keep checking if they are fitted correctly every time.

Lennied glad to hear you've had a better day. at 6hr cluster feed though! I'm a mean Mummy that insists on at least 2 hrs between feeds I'm afraid, I think my sanity would be gone by now if I didn't.

Dog hope all's well and you are snuggled up with your little one by now.

booksgalour TOFINO! i love it up there. the first time i went there in 1995 when DH and i moved out here from ontario. we walked out at the long beach to the water and the waves were coming in and all of a sudden we were running up the beach for dry land because the tide was coming in in one crawling wave... i guess you had to be there. not a great story to tell but makes me smile at the running. anyhow...

lennied hope you are feeling better. i experienced a couple of weeks that i had to keep checking myself of my mood and reminding myself it was mostly hormones and some adjustment to a new life. and what an amazing life too. keep positive but don't ignore your feelings. take the test if you are feeling really low.

lennied my DD is still occasionally doing cluster feedings. i don't have another child to attend to so it's not to bad but i can relate to that tied down feeling and the relief after when they finally go to sleep

Oh, dog, how brilliant - you sound so relaxed. Perfect. I will be reading so keep posting! as long as is practicable of course - water and computers don't mix

oooh, how exciting. At least with a slow home birth you can keep us updated!

None of this 'I'm off to hospital', and then three days later 'I have a baby' malarky. We'll be able to read it arriving. woohoo! Its our last one so make it count (obviously as quick and painfree as possible too )

have you got a ball for bouncing and circling; keeps you moving, but takes the weight off your legs?

nothing will stop the labour now - what a beautiful phrase! don't worry too much about the contractions slowing down in that case - if your body likes to labour slowly try to make the most of it and rest!! you can always twiddle your nips if you want to be doing something

Oh dog- hope all is progressing well!
Is there any news of elkiedee?
Or indeed tree....?

Dog sounds like you are doing really well. Slow labour sounds like heaven to me after my super turbo charged one.

By the sound of it you are labouring like I did with DS2 and it was the best, most fulfilling experience ever. Only difference is I had to go into hospital for the last hour and a half as I hadn't booked a home birth. Fantastic that you will be getting your home birth!

Will be thinking of you all day, don't know how often I'll be checking in though as got DS1 home after he had a major vomiting session in the night - again! We are starting to think it probably isn't repeated viruses but something more intrinsic as he always seems to go gray/green and exhausted, get a headache, throw up in a major way once, sleep really heavily, then seem better the next day and it seems to be happening roughly every 2-3 weeks. School policy a problem then as he has to stay off for 48 hrs after he last vomited. Will book an appointment with GP to discuss it I think.

Oh Moose, hope its nothing too sinister. Could he be allergic to something; have you tried keeping a food diary?

Dog.. am so excited for you.. keep loggin on for updates!

Thanks flf am still online as have been trying to do some research. Think I may have sussed it.

Migraines - I really think he is having migraine attacks. Apparently he is about the right age for them to start, all the symptoms add up and there is a family history (my, Grandad, my Dad and me). I had them severely for years and in the end went on a contraversial drug trial (epilepsy drugs) which fortunately for me cured them completely. The only other thing that gave me any relief was seeing an osteopath so may try that for him. (Will obviously take him to GP first though.) It would also explain some of his stranger behaviours such as constantly needing to go the toilet and having regular upset stomachs. (I now realise its always 24-48 hrs before an attack and is apparently common in childhood migraine sufferers.)

I feel so sad about him having them so young though. I don't want him to go through what I did. It would be good to understand what's happening to him as it would help us to control/prevent them to a certain extent. But they are so difficult to control, the drugs/medications are often worse than the attacks and they have such a negative impact on your life.

Am pretty sure I'm right though, it all adds up. Just wish I'd thought of it and done the research sooner. Poor little thing has been really suffering over the past year and we've been telling him off for repeatedly going back to the toilet as we thought it was an obsessional behaviour.

Thanks for support on names- maybe ILs actually did us a favour because now I am dead set on the name and realise that it really does suit him! And I am sure he will learn to cope with having to spell his name all the time - maybe it's character building!?!

Go Dog go!!! You sound very chilled out. I'm sure you are going to have a lovely birth.

MM sorry to hear about your migraine suspicions - the only time I ever had one was in early pregnancy, which apparently can trigger them, and it gave me a whole new understanding of what migraine sufferers go through. But as you say, information is power.

Suddenly started bleeding again very heavily last night - MW assured me this is normal, but feel totally wiped out this morning. And was shocked to discover I only weigh 3 lbs more than pre-pg weight - that's surely an unhealthy amount to lose in 12 days? Worried it will affect my milk output... am eating but sometimes it's hard to muster up appetite when am so tired.

Rray let us know how baby massage goes - I tried it out on Nye and he screamed blue murder but I think my hands were cold!

miss j My goodness you'd shed weight, i'm still about a STONE heavier than pre preg. Lost about 8 lb in first week, and don't seem to have lost anything this week. strange thing is, i'm looking pretty pre-preg, so i;m wondering just how much my boobs with milk weigh?? As apart from bulging boobies, tum is pretty much flat again. Hmm...

baby Massage Apparently the place Nr. me seems to suggest you wait until 6 weeks for baby massage? Anyone know why?

Moose i think it was Hkz who was talking about the car seat, not me. I have to second what you said about the bases though. we have the maxi cosi cabrio fix, and we have 2 bases, one car has the isofix one, and another just the usual easy base. They feel very secure, perhaps worth investing in one? i think if you shop around you can get pretty decent deals.

Am feeling on top of the world today- Esme slept through the night last night! from 10.30pm- 6am. It was a dream. i woke up a few times around her ususal 4am feed and worried she wasn't ok. But she was peacefully sleeping! Yay! Can't believe she has been only waking once for the last 4 nights and now hopefully, is going to carry on sleeping through! Brilliant, shes not even quite 2 1/2 weeks!

Have been loosley reading/following the EASY method by baby whisperer. Not clock watching at all, but just doing things in that order, ensuring she has some activity before she goes to sleep, letting her settle herself, not sleeping on me, and trying to put her down before her third yawn. Seems to work, she seems to like it, that and her swaddle blanket! Recommend both to anyone who isnt getting much sleep!!

Hope everyone else is well?

Sending labour vibes to dog xxx

Am crying so cant chat long or even apologise enough for my complete no show for 2 weeks.

Nothing actually the matter, but we have a colic baby and a baby that can't open her bowels, and a baby who will not be laid down or held flat, and a baby who only sleeps over your shoulder, a baby that screams so hard when handled for changing etc she is sick. Nipples have bled, boobs have nearly exploded several times, have had every midiwfe in area to visit, have every alternative therapy booked and all treatments ordered. Have spent about £200 on this madam's digestive system!! We get 4 hours sleep on average and never together.

So am exhausted, guilty, worried and miserable - at same time happy, delighted, in love. So, crazy loon then.

Just can't even talk about it, it's just too painfull and hard at the mo, but I promise to be back if you'll have me . Thinking about you all lots [hard when you dunno what some look like ] and wondering how the preggy ones are and hoping the mamas doing better than me!!

Oh tree, sounds like things are really tough atm, and why would you need to apologise to us? .
DD was like this- reflux, colic, the scream till she's sick etc (though without feeding issues on top)
Just get rest whenever you can. She will get through it, it will pass, though it feels like eternity when they're screaming.
I assume you know all the stuff about propping up the head of the cot, 20 mins upright after each feed, etc. I know there are other mners who have found they have to let baby sleep on her front, as its the only way they can sleep.
DH and I did do it on occasion, but we took turns watching over her.
Are you babywearing at all, does it make a difference (didn't for us though)?
And big hugs for DD1 too, hope everything is okay with her.