December 2008 - Its not wind they are smiling.

[JamInMyWellies]

Here we go ladies Rosmerta suggestion.

Cat at present I am keeping the white noise CD on all the time during the night (in that, "oh my God she is sleeping and I really don't want to do anything that might wake her", kind of way). No idea if turning it off will wake her but find it easier just to keep it on iyswim. Best of luck !!

Back in Australia I used to put a fan on in my room for White noise while I slept during the day for night duties. I realize a fan is not really appropriate now but as it gets warmer you could use that rather than the vacuum.

Morning,

Veggie He doesn't get upset if I touch it. Its probably nothing so I might just take him to clinic to be weighed and just mention it.

So far so good, I've just fed him and he is now asleep. I was going to try to stay in bed a bit longer but DS1 wanted to get up.

Kayz it could be hormones from your milk.

hurrah! last night was our best night ever - we miracle blanketted her (!Turnip!) and she went 4 hours between feeds and was easy as pie to get back to sleep. dh and i have woken up sleep drunk. mind you, that was after a hell of an afternoon when i did that thing of walking around with a screaming child with tears pouring down my face all afternoon. and she is now grizzling, but...

to all those having sleep probs: it CAN happen!

w are off to the osteopath, cranial or not this morning - hope she reacts well to it. feeling a little nervous about it.

Yay WG!!!!! Good luck at the osteopath, hope it helps.

DS2 seems to be feeding quite well.

woohoo for you WG!!!
we had a busy night - just feedfeedfeedfeedfeedfeedfeed! She did sleep inbetween but less than an hour each time. I'm a bit befuddled actually - she doesn't feed for very long and only ever from one boob, and I don't think she empties it because i can squirt milk out after she's finished, and she won't go back on - just licks me! so maybe she never gets hind milk which might be why she's such a frequent feeder, but i don't know what i can do about that. hmmmm

this morning when we got back from school, phoebe was still asleep in her car seat, so I scurried around trying to do 163 things before she woke up, managed to impale my forehead on the corner of a table, and now I look like Harry Potter!!!

WG - brilliant!! Really hope it continues for you. What a clever girl R is. Good luck at the cranial. Oh, and just to let you know that I am not a complete tecnical idiot - DH discovered last night that when he burned the Happiest Baby dvd onto the hard drive the sound hadn't come across (so no matter what i did we would never have heard Harvey's wise words!). he sends apologies!

Trace ouch ! You poor thing. Is you head OK? Harry Potter indeed...

Ouch trace your poor head I was going to ask if your headache was better but I suppose it has been replaced by more pain now.

Well I was doing the nasal suction overnight J has a bit of a light cold and his sniffles were making him grumble and not feed so instead of sore engorged boobs and no sleep I went for the suction and very effectively. It actually didn't really drawn anything out just cleared his airways a little.

My Roomba irobot arrived today hooray we have tried him and he vacuums way better than I do I love him. We will charge him up now and let him go downstairs tonight.

Veggie, I am I want one of those!!

HV has just been - Phoebe is now 9lb 11 so is staying nicely on the 25th centile for height, weight and head circ. She reckons all this feeding is a growth spurt but that it usually settles down at 8 weeks! Next check is at 4 months. Not had the GP one yet - they're running behind so her six week check will be in a few weeks! And apparently mummy's don't get a 6 week post natal check round here. I feel fine though so I'm not bothered. Am officially 6 weeks tomorrow so does that mean I ought to start exercising?!
My mum is coming over from Manchester today to see us and she's not seen us since Christmas day - think she'll be surprised how much P has changed

Kayz - when are you going to clinic today? Hope it goes well and that the nipple thing is ok.

Veggie - can't believe you braved the nasal suck-out! You're a better mum than me!

So turnip - what's miracle blanket? I want a baby who sleeps! tell me tell me!

thanks for the concern about my head - yesterday's mega pain has gone and my Harry Potter injury is not too bad so am feeling good!

Cat - I tried the hoover this morning - more because my carpets ming than anythinng else! Anyway, she was in her bouncer crying because she always cries within seconds of going in it, and I did some hoovering and all was quiet with her - I did the hall and Lucy's room too, thinking she was lovely and calmn, and when I turned the hoover off, realised that she was yelling at full volume and I just hadn't heard her! Oh well, you win some, you lose some

trace - don't worry about still having some left in the boob after feeding, they never really completely empty out - which does mean the 'empty each side' thing is a bit confusing, I think they mean wait until she won't take any more off that side. Is she about 6 weeks? It's the time when your milk starts coming 'to order' when your baby asks for it, rather than being there when your boobs decide. The baby feeds like mad to get this to happen so yes it's exhausting for a bit but then your boobs are super-efficient!

Can you tell I've been reading my bfing book?! It's this one, really cute cartoons and full of supportive advice on pains, positions etc BF book

WG yay! You big star and your dd too

cat/turnip we used to try putting a radio with white noise in the cot if dd was hard to settle, then once she was asleep really deeply we'd turn it off. Can't hurt to leave it on though if it helps your los to settle again.

veggie/kmp re nappies - I often forget that one as well if she's wet she wails like a banshee but is quite happy to sit in a big pile of warm soft poo for ages apparently this is quite common! Wee gets cold and makes them uncomfortable, poo is kind of warm and squishy. Anyone remember the end of Ferris Bueller's day off - "Gummy bear? They've been in my pocket, they're all warm and squishy" I love that film, might have to put it on while she's snoozing in the sling

arti fantastic work on the bottle intrigued by the bottle, what's it look like? I'm imagining a big doreen bra style affair

kayz hope the bfing is going ok - I guess we probably won;t see much of you on here today! fingers crossed really hard for you

We had an outing yesterday to the launch part of an exhibition I was working on for the best part of a year before mat leave - left at the end of November and it launched yesterday. She was an angel and slept all the way through the addresses - snored a bit but dammit once again she gives everyone the impression of being a little cherub all the time and saves her grumps for when it's just us Lots of people said I looked really well and must be getting lots of sleep which I ascribe to the dim lighting of the exhibition centre... She went to sleep at 9 last night then woke at 12.15 (feed), 3 (feed), 4 (painful wind) 5 (wind) 6 (feed) 7.30 (feed)... and of course that means I barely get back to sleep each time before being woken again. DH can sleep through pretty much anything so I didn't feel at all guilty at getting him to take her downstairs at 4 to walk around and try and help with the windiness.

We've tried her with gripe water and infacol, neither did much at all (in fact HV said you may as well use a spoon of warm water instead of gripe water, that's after i bought the flipping stuff on her advice after the previous visit!), so now onto Coleif lordy it's pricey stuff. Anything that expensive for such a small amount must be good... But the problem is, you're meant to keep it in the fridge and then for demand feeding, express a couple of teaspoonsful of milk just before each feed and add it to that. Expressing that much by hand in the dark is proving pretty tricky, especially when she's yelling hungry! The alternative they say is express quite a bit of foremilk and leave it in the fridge then each feed you warm a few teaspoons to body temperature - erm, how exactly?? And every feed you're meant to use a fresh sterilised cup and teaspoon. Yeah, that really works in the middle of the night, just used the same cup each time and fed it straight to her from that.

Well, she's asleep again in the sling for now so musn't grumble. Was grizzly for about 20 mins, let fly a huge belch (that's mah girl! ) and went straight off.

Any conclusions about time and place for the meet next week? Really want to try and come down to say hello to people and meet all your lovely LOs

Trace It's tomorrow the clinic. I don't really like going but I'd like to know how much Dylan weighs now.

I have my 6 week check next Thursday, which is really at 7 weeks.

jusy a quickie from me this morning as am knackered after worst night yet with dd2. she was gripey and cross all evening and had two massive voms, then she was gripey and cross and refused to sleep in her moses basket. eventually she settled in bed with me but woke several times. can colic start this late???

kayz - good luck with feeding today . how amazing to get back to this point .

veggie - this is the bottle set i got dd2 to use. i would highly recommend it for bottle resistent babies. her reaction to it was totally different from all other bottles. it comes with loads of teats but the very short and stubby rubber one is a dream.

BF has gone to pot. He just keeps crying and I can hear his tummy rumbling. So I made him a bottle. I am annoyed with myself but I have realised it is for the best. We're planning a third so maybe I will get it right then. I have now got to stop myself from crying and get on with housework.

I might have a break from MN(I doubt it though), I find myself comparing myself to you lovely ladies and I feel like a failure. I know none of you think that but I can't help thinking it myself.

TBH my break will probably last all of 2 hours as I am so addicted

Hi all, well the vibrating chair kind of worked yesterday evening... he was a little grisly at several intervals but overall if he doesn't have wind and he's full he's happy in it!
last night was a different story - he tried to get the lock in yet again, but after one feeding session of over an hour and a half with small winding intervals. I decided to enforce the last call and I declared happy hour officially over at about 1am - tried him in the cot - forget it!! I caved and put him in the bed again. Poor DH - but really i'm worried about letting him cry and waking dh who has to work. During the daytime he is falling asleep feeding but at night he is wide awake after each feed?? Is that normal? How do I swap that around?
WG Brilliant news about your successful night! Hope it stays that way for you - you'v e had a rough trot...
Veggie nose sucking! wow - wish i could do it - well done!
turnip I want a miracle blanket too - where di i get one and what does it do????

Ohhh Kayz, I am sorry you are feeling so down. If you need a break then so be it but please remember we all think you are a fab mum.

Jump - lol at your DD acting the cherub in public and then letting rip at home. Let us know how the colief goes. I have avoided it as it sounds such a faff to get it into a breastfed baby, but if it might calm DD's gripey tummy then maybe it would be worth it.

Wierd I just wrote another post and it dissapeared completely!!! So quick one - so sorry kayz but you are NOT a failure... I feel like that with the sleeping arrangments here
JJ where do you live? Hope you can come for the meetup? If there is one? Thought you were London but sound further afield?
Arti sorry to hear - your night sounds like most of mine... hope it improves soon...

Hi all,

I feel like I never get the chance to post properly so am going to attempt to now while the boys are asleep.

WG so glad to hear you ghad a good night youwere deffp due one.

Those that are swaddling this is what we use I have tried several others the grobag swaddle and the miracle blanket I found that DS2 managed to wriggle out and the recieving blanket is big enough to get it tucked round him so that he cant get his arms out so therefore stopping the arm jump reflex which wakes him.

Traceface bless you hows the head feeling?

Arti sorry you had a rubbish night heres hoping tonights better for you. Those bottles look quite similair to the tommee tippee closer to nature teats have you tried those?

Veggie am super of your roomba I would love one of those.

Kayz sorry mean to elaborate on my is it hormones post earlier, you now when the bubbas are born and they have rather large willie and balls and their nipples can also be quite pronounced it sometimes feels like a hard spot, if you are continuing to BF it could just be a hormone surge.

JJ am sure you looked very yummy mummy, isnt it typical that they behave themselves when out in public.

Cat how goes it?

LadyT am very jealous of your lovely sounding wkend do you fancy coming iver here for the wkend and looking after my 2 horrors cherubs so I can disappear for a couple of days.

Canbt remember who was saying about nannies yesterday. As a nanny in my previous life I can say it is easier when they are not your own but that doenst mean the crying etc doesnt get to you, I remember one particular day when one of my charges a couple of months old had cried and cried all day long and by the time his parents came home in the eve I was practically in tears too and was desperate for them to give me a break.

All going fairly ok her in Jam land both DS' are asleep (it wont last) and the house has had a quick spruce up and I am even almost up to date on the laundry, unheard of at the best of times. It will all obviously go wrong later when I have to cook a turkey roast dinner. Lachlan is doing brilliantly he has taken to feeding at 10.30ish and then going straight down until 4 or 5 who says BF babies dont sleep in big chunks, quite clearyl having written it down it will all go tits up tonight. Lachi is now 5wks where has the time gone am thinking about gettinghim into a sleep routine at night and maybe putting him down in his moses upstairs after bath time is anyone else thinking about bedtime routines yet?

Well I suppose Ihad best crack on while they both still sleep.

Big hellos to all sorry not to do personals for everyone.

Jam I was wondering about routines - I am at 6 weeks - I think about it but then something happens and it goers tits skyward... I don't know - I'm not up to that part in the book yet!
Must take crazy canine to the common she is doing my head in and doing laps of the coffee table

KMP am with you on the mental dog I have just put ours in his crate as he is trying to eat Elmo live. Must take him for a run round the fields later. Oh and I meant to say to you DS1 was rubbish at sleeping in the daytime until 6mth (sorry) but then he started doing 2 hours in the am and 2 hours in the pm so it does get better. But I also am doing the vibrating chair thing with DS2 he is none too pleased about it.

arti I'm SO pleased your DD2 has taken to the bottle! I mean in the baby-milk kind of way of course! Can't wait to be having some time off myself from all the boob munching when I finally start expressing. Had better sterilise those pump parts and get cracking on it tomorrow!

LadyT I luuurve the ballet but never get to see it here as the opera company & ballet company swap cities at the same time - we go to Melbourne when they go to Sydney and vice versa. I took DH to see Romeo & Juliet at Covent Garden and to my surprise he really enjoyed it (despite being a "U2 & not much else" kinda man), and he even went and bought the soundtrack! They have all the top notch dancers and costumes & sets etc there, so it's just lovely. What are you going to see? Make sure you take some opera binoculars won't you so that you can check out the boys in tights costumes in detail

jump LOL about the gollum comment! I must confess to also thinking DS looks a bit like ET at times when he wrinkles up his forehead and opens his eyes really wide Also regards the singing - I woudn't know about any vocal changes yet as I haven't been practicing... I am the naughtiest, laziest singer ever! Actually I did have a bit of a warble in the shower the other day and my voice felt a bit lower, which doesn't bode well for the Queen of the Night does it? aarrrgh. Will update on whether I make it back to work next week or not (I am clinging to the security blanket of knowing I have a medical certificate from the hospital stating I shouldn't work for 6 weeks post caesarian, so at least that'll give me 2 weeks more grace if I need it).

trace does P wake when you sit her upright after a bit of a feed? Or is she still asleep? I am so mean and do heaps of stuff to keep bubby J awake so that he takes more boob milk, but then he subsequently sleeps for a lot longer as he is fuller. He is a big baby though too, which I'm sure helps. Anyway we always do nappy changes and washing hair/bum or a bath mid feed if he is getting too sleepy and once he just can't wake up to take any more then we know he won't fuss too much being put to bed & will sleep for a bit longer.

kmp we couldn't get by without a dummy when J wakes up again after being put in his cot. Can't remember if you said you were using one, and I know some people are anti-dummy so just ignore my comments if this is the case. Anyway sucking it makes him sleepy again, and if he isn't shutting his eyes fast enough (I am an impatient mummy!) then I just gently stroke his face between his forhead and down his nose which makes him close his eyes and once he starts shutting his eyes then it doesn't take long for him to fall asleep. Then once he is fairly asleep, I gently take out the dummy between sucking sessions so I don't have to do it later when it falls out of his mouth & wakes him up. Oh and we swaddle too (the miracle blanket is a swaddling blanket?) but I just use an ordinary baby blanket with a bit of stretch in it. Otherwise he just bangs himself on the head with his arms whenever he has wind (which is a lot!) and wakes himself up again. Oh and reading back - DS has a huge burp after about 5 mins of milk and he does pull of the boob and thrash around so could that be why your DS is doing it too? Anyway it's just a thought in case it helps at all.

A question for the BFers - how long does it take to feed your LOs? Oh my word it takes AGES to feed DS. From the time he wakes up till the time he goes back to sleep, it is usually 2-3 hours. I've timed it and he is on the breast for about an hour of that time, the rest is burping, washing, playing etc. Anyway it's a pain having these marathon sessions but for that he sleeps for at least 3-4 hours in return, which does make it worth all the effort of constantly keeping him awake to take more milk. And (knocks on wood!!) he is also sleeping well at night, so I really hope he stays in that habit. Of course now I've said that it'll probably all go to buggery (and we've still got the 6 week growth spurt to come as well...)

Lastly on the fav things topic -

DS does this cute little noise at the end of a yawn that is just delightful. So much so that we like to ring his grandparents towards the end of a feed and say "listen to this"! We're such suckers for funny baby noises, we think his burps and farts are hilarious too

Hi all, have been lurking rather than posting for a bit as have been having a bit of a meltdown here. As a result we have moved totally over to formula as of today. DD is most definitely a snacker and never seems to take a full feed, even from the bottle and I found that I was pinned to the sofa almost all day breastfeeding her, which is not ideal with an energetic DS to run around after. I also had a panic on Monday when she refused to feed for almost 12 hours and got really sleepy and lethargic. Finally decided that at least with a bottle I could see how much she was taking and therefore have an idea what the problem is at any given time. I feel like a complete failure for not going longer, but 7 weeks is longer than I lasted with DS (3 weeks) and I refuse to beat myself up over it.
Hope everyone is doing ok, off to catch up properly.

oooh am interested in this routine talk too. DS seems to almost be in a bit of one already & sounds similar to your DS jam - he has gone to sleep at around midnight for the past 2 nights and then slept till 3/4, had a short top up then slept again till morn. Am VV keen to try and keep this pattern, fingers crossed for tonight! Speaking of which, I should probably get to bed while I can. Night all, sending lots of happy and sleepy vibes from Australia to all your lovely LOs. xx

oh katie cross posted, so sorry.

Of course you're not a failure - 7 weeks of BF is FANTASTIC. And I totally hear you on the being trapped on the sofa issue, this is exactly my life at the moment which is why I asked how long it takes everyone else to feed. I really don't think I could be doing this if it wasn't my first, my hat is off to you for BFing for so long in the first place.

Anyway big hugs to you, and to Kayz too - this BF mallarky sure does take a toll on our emotions at what is already a very tough and trying time. XXX