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!

bless you mj. i think they mind it less than you do. i sat in back seat with mine holding their fingers and shouting at dh to be careful. only 5 mins drive too!
ds2 has cold too probably from ds1 licking him and covering in snot. ds1 also lain on him and hit him with his hand and a spoon today. think he got off lightly as mummy copped it with a fire engine.
argh bloody cat so desperate for attention he has just clawed my cardigan and got stuck to it ripping out the wool. tried to detangle while holding ds2. seriously anyone else want to demand my attention in this house?!
welcome to all new mummies. the thread is so busy now its lovely.
have been mixed feeding quite happily but milk taken a dive at night and now don't seem to have enough to settle him so looks like the end for me. pleased i got this far tbh.

Hi MissJackson - we are an hour away from hospital and didn't have a peep out of either of our two on the journey home. DS was about 8 hours old when we came home and DD was 1.5 days. We even managed a trip to Asda to buy a new kettle on the way home with DD and she never stirred. If they do wake up hungry then just stop the car and feed them - you'll be fine And if you are less than 5 mins away from home then I wouldn't even stop - the crying is stressful when you are driving but they'll only cry for a minute or so and then stop and you are better to just get home. You can always sit in the back next to the car seat - although I never do this except on long journeys as I feel a bit like DH is a chauffeur! (Bit odd that isn't it )

x-posts there Qumps - sounds like you are as chaotic there as we are here. Nice to see your pets are getting in on the act too - ours rolled in sheep poo yesterday so we had to bath both children followed by both dogs AAARRGGHH! And then I spent an hour decontaminating the bathroom!

missjackson i always find that babies seem to sleep on car journeys, even if you put them in the car screaming their head off. Must be the movement of the car or something? I think you will be fine

I have had a bad couple of days here. I couldn't stop crying this morning, i just felt really down and over whelmed. The babys feeding is doing my head in because i don't know where i am with them. He seems to only take 2ozs or so little and often. I am hoping he is going to take more at a feed and go for longer soon. He falls asleep whilst feeding too.

DD is being horrible. She is having more tantrums and i am finding it difficult to stay patient. I put her up for a nap but she isn't sleeping, she is up there calling me and i am going to have a very tired little madam later. What annoys me as well is when dps step mum says things like "Oh well she always has naps here." and "Oh she always eats that here." She makes it sound like dd does things for her and i am just a bad mum because she doesn't do these things here.

Sorry, i have gone on a bit. I guess i am just having a bad day.

hi flf, his poo is mustardy yellow colour. so it is ok right?

i am thinking of topping him up with formula at night. would that affect the amount of milk i have during the day?

Hi all, sorry sorry sorry have not been about!! Want to tell you all the news and offer advice where needed but bleeding nipples adn hourly feeding have cancelled all activities!!

Mustaard poo a great sign heron22! It's transitional poo from waste built up over the time inside, to waste from the breast milk. It looks like french mustard with grains, then goes english mustard, with any amount of green brown and I swear we had blue in between!! Sort of curry powder orange red [tumeric?] today and smells of sweets and cereal.

We nearly took dd2 on a car ride at 4am to get peace!! It's what 24 hours supermarkets were invented for!
hour to 2n hours fine but then they need 20 mins flat to allow spine to stretch. So the paeds at work tell me anyway!

gotta go dd2 has just curry pasted my white company quilt fresh on yesterday. Argh!!

hi, this is going to sound bad. i am starting to feel like i am not up to looking after my 2 week old.

anyone felt like this? i am starting to regret having a second child

maybe i just need a good talking to!

Heron and Miss S-I don't think your alone in feeling like this, DD is 21 months and quite demanding and tantrumy, and it is very hard to cope with her, ds and having had bugger all sleep since the birth.

Agree with Dog, try and get 5 mins to yourself, have a bath, unwind and rest...
Miss S-Ignore your step mil's comments, she's being really insensitive..what a pita!

Tree- The colour variation of poo is amazing... from lime pickle green to tumeric in 12 hours...duvet cover will never be the same again..and why did i buy white baby gros?

FLF and others who suggested rugby ball hold for feeding--thank you...it works a treat and my right nipple is very greatful.

hkz I know what you mean about the white babygros! I currently have nearly the entire collection of first size babygros soaking in stain remover and am down to just one clean one and one clean bodysuit. (Had to wait for shopping to arrive for stain remover before I could wash them.)

Love the rugby ball hold - it means you have your lap free as well as one hand! Elizabeth seems to prefer it to the cradle hold as well. Its useful to do the odd cradle hold as well though maybe every other feed or so to make sure all the milk ducts get emptied regularly and prevent mastitis or blocked ducts from rearing their ugly heads. I tend to rugby ball for the majority of the feed then take her off, wind her and put her back on for a 5 minute cradle hold - it definitely helped me get through the engorgement stage quickly and with minimal discomfort.

LenniEd Now thats why my dogs are still in the kennels! Actually I cried yesterday cos I want them home but DH insisted on them staying till Friday. The lovely lady who owns the kennels says they are having a ball, so in all honesty they are probably happier where they are at the moment. My other 'old lady' dog was in my PILs car today when it was hit by a truck and totalled . Fortunately she wasn't hurt and seems unpreterbed (sp?) by the whole thing.

MsSparkle sorry to hear you are having such a tough time. Sounds like you need a break.

Heron you are not alone. I was exactly the same when DS2 was born. (DS1 was 2yrs 8 days at the time.) Its really hard with two little ones and remember you are still tired, depleted and hormonal which makes it feel much worse. I know it probably seems like a long way off now but my two are so close and truly the best of friends so its all worth it in the end.

Have to agree you need some 'me' time, even if its just a nice long bath and an hours sleep with someone else looking after the kids so you can relax properly. You will feel so much better afterwards.

Lenni - green poo will have been him catching the cold; when they have upset tums or are a bit off colour they get it (sometimes they just get it anyway and thats normal). Also BF babies can go up to 10 days without pooing! Amazing. Mine never did though, regular as clockwork after every feed. Still does at 20 months!

Herron, I think what you are going through is normal, and it can take a little while to adjust. Go very easy on yourself and make sure you have at least an hour to yourself each day; either getting out for a coffee, or a quiet bath, or just reading a novel on your own in bed. Its important to get a feeling of who you are. Second children can throw you really badly... might be worth looking at "Three Shoes, One Sock and No Hairbrush" by Rebecca Abrams. It has some coping strategies; I made sure I read it before having #2. It explains quite a lot.

evening all - well, it seems at the moment that one post a day is all i can manage -pinned under dd who will not be put down. she is a funny little thing - sleeps for three hour stretches (on laps, tummies or chests, but not in cot or pram or anywhere else) and then feeds for hour and a half stretches. i worry that her tummy will explode.

am v tired today - a pretty rough night with four hours of continuous, inconsolable crying. am a bit overwhelmed, really, i think. but so is she, i guess, hence the crying.

anybody else's house look like a dope smoking student's? my living room is full of chocolate, cold half-drunk cups of tea, little piles of books and clothes (gifts for dd) and the curtains are sort of drawn because i don't want to flash my frighteningly large breasts at my elderly next door neighbour while engaged in the ongoing struggle to get dd to latch... (she gets overexcited which means she can't do it and then we have wailing and sometimes it gets into this terrible feedback loop of my anxiety and hers...) and i never leave, and the tv seems to overstimulate the small one in the evenings. so it's just music, which reminds me of my youth when i didn't have a tv... i feel slightly like i'm in the twilight zone, really...

lord, i do go on.

on the pet front, my cats are not speaking to me as they've been banished from half of the house because i don't want them sleeping in cots/prams etc. i think it may be years before we reach detente.

Thanks for car-seat reassurance ladies!

Glad to hear other experienced people have found your situation difficult too Heron and MissS- I can't even get my head around coping with one baby, let alone two. You deserve lots of tlc, so make sure you get it - I know you shouldn't have to ask, but sometimes people around you need it spelling out.

Lots of 'bloody show' since my quad bike ride this afternoon (it's only really a gentle scoot up the lane and back but just feels relaxing for some weird reason; something to do with the vibrations maybe?!) and LOTs of twinges, possibly tightenings, but maybe my imagination is running riot...

Anyway, am settling down in front of a log fire to watch 'Out of Africa' which is my favourite film - I figure I may not get a chance for a long time!

Have x-posted this as am still flirting between the two threads!

xx

heron and sparkle i swear i felt exactly the same a bit back. i felt i was on a merry go round of nappies, feeding and tantrums that i couldn't get off. i thought i had post natal depression as really couldn't see how things were going to improve. however last few days i feel like my old self and am actually enjoying my children. i find getting out of the house helps as family were taking ds1 out so i wasn't going anywhere. also i think my hormones have settled down as the night sweats seem to have stopped. dh and i have a few hours out planned for sat night and that is cheering me up no end. i think its because it involves alcohol!
sorry very disjointed post. writing with one hand and half a brain.....

good luck dog!

Good luck MissJackson and Dog

Night sweats are hormone related now that explains it. Couldn't understand why I am freezing when I am up feeding but keep waking up all sweaty. Thanks Qumps

Thanks FLF for the poo reassurance I never knew that before... the things that become important to you eh?!!

Go missjackson and dog! Good luck!

MissJ- i love out of africa...made me wanna watch it again!

I'm completely hyper active at the moment, think its being so over-tired its not true...so am just waiting to break down into a pile of weeping hormones. I just seem to have all those love hormones floating around...really hoping for more than 2/3 hours sleep tonight...mmm....sleep....

good luck miss jackson and dog.

Dog, i had shooting pains down left leg day i went into labour.

boobs massive and sore. Think milk must be coming is. DD seems fuller and now needing to feed less, ok still ALL the time, but at least a bit of a break between.

Off to wash her hair, still bit of gunk in. Then settle in for a looooooooong night!

Hello all - you might find it strange what with your lack of sleep and constant feeding but I still wish I was on this thread for real!

Heron - hope you are feeling better now, sounds like some good advice here. I'm anxious about how I will cope with 2 but reading this from you, MissS and qumps is helping me prepare myself as it's going to be tough I know - so thanks for posting what you are going through (Who mentioned alcohol? Can't wait to have a bit of that! )

Had a stretch and sweep today and have had some period-pain type feelings since then, but who knows if anything is going on in there. Had not a single twinge before now though so lets hope so... induction will be 5th Feb otherwise - miles off!

good luck Dog, hope this is it for you...

Hello ladies have finally managed to grab a spare minute to pop in and say hello.

Oliver James arrived at 1am on Thurs weighing in at 9lb 12 oz, a bit unexpected but then he was two weeks overdue and only just beat the induction. I'll post a proper birth story when I get the chance.

He is gorgeous but feeding has been a nightmare. Despite the help and reassurance of 8 or so midwifes he would not latch on at all for the first 48 hrs and just screamed everytime we tried. After the first 24hrs and nothing to eat we had to give him some formula, and he has only latched on five or so times since then. I spent half the time in hospital in tears and have shed a few since then. I have managed since then to get him latched on a couple of times and at the moment am trying to use the pump for a couple of mins to get my nipples 'primed' and then get him on that way but i'm not that confident about it working. Still its better than nothing. I knew it could be difficult but I didn't expect him to just not even try to suck.
Anyway apart from that all is well, will try and catch up with you all soon and welcome to all the new babies.

hi all, it is good to know that i am not alone in feeling like this.

the mornings are the worse i think. around 7am. i feel so guilty all the time. thinking whether i am doing a good job. thinking how all this is affecting DS1. he seems fine.