May 2009 - loved-up new mums and/or sleep-deprived zombies this way please

[pulapula]

Here's a nice new thread for us to share our experiences with our new LOs.

I just got a kari me sling and have tried the cuddle wrap and managed to feed Rueben whilst walking around the garden he looked all squished though. Anyone got one?? Any advise??

Hi febes can't help yoy. I just spent the last hour on youtube watching sling tying videos to see where I'm going wrong with the cuddle wrap or even the upright wraps. I think it's a case of practice makes perfect

Hello all! I know, I should be out enjoying the sunshine but it's just a bit too hot for me - DH and DD1 are having a lovley time in the garden but there's not enough shade out there for me to sit with them, and A is fast asleep.

febes - I have a kari me, but no advice about the cuddly carry, sorry. Never tried with DD1 for some reason and haven't got round to it yet with A. I always do the upright carry (can't rememeber proper name) as that's the way A is most settled. Another vote for keep practicing.

Sorry, no time for proper catching up with everyone. Just to add though that we've got a cluster feeder here too, from about 10 until 1 ish, great. We're trying to get A to sleep in the basket a bit more often, but I keep getting her out to feed and then falling asleep with her in bed with me. I don't mind her being in bed with us but we both definitely sleep better if she's not.

I will keep practising. Do you guys tye the wrap on quite tight? I think I made it a bit loose and it sags a bit. I think maybe start tighter and then pull or stretch bits that need to be roomier. Mines black what colours have you guys got??

afternoon all. beautiful day! wasn't online yeaterday as tel line was down, thought it was a fault but discovered this morning one of the toddlers must have flipped the power switch off. glad we didn't call tel repairmen, would've been embarrassing.

love the phrase '10 sec toe-curler'as that's how it felt for me in the 1st week. it did settle down later.

Fi, love the name, it's beautiful(am a huge Grace Kelly fan). grace is Harper's middle name as well.

hope everyone is having a good day.

Hi all,

Lovely weather here, but a bit too hot for me. However DS2 has been quite unsettled and only sleeping in the sling, and had quite a bit of screaming today too.

belgianchocs- it is kind of reassuring to hear that S is similar to C in terms of wanting to be held constantly. I can get him in his bouncy chair briefly after his breakfast feed but seem to spend most of the day feeding him or carrying him in a sling or letting him sleep on my shoulder. My DH never offers to wear the sling - maybe i should just ask him to! We are making some progress with the moses basket in the evening though which is good. However i don't persevere in the night as it just prolongs the night wakings so last night he was back in with me from 12.30am .

pula dd1 made a drawing of the family the other day. I think it said a lot about how things are with us that she drew baby C in my arms! I'm really getting the hang of the wrap sling now. I'm using the gauze one, rather than the stretchy moby one now, both because it's not as thick and hot and because it seems to be supporting my back a bit more. My hour watching wrapping on youtube did really help me, so febes that would be my tip C also prefers the upright carries. C is usually asleep within seconds of being in the wrap and after 15-30 mins of walking around with her she's in such a deep sleep I can put her down for an hour before she wakes again. DS was the same with wanting to be held, by 8 weeks he was a lot better, because he started to be more interested in playing and doing things like bashing away at the baby gym, so hopefylly C will follow a similar pattern. I'd like C to start off the night in her own bed to get into a good habit. I don't mind that much if she gets in later. I did the same with the other 2 and never had the difficult bedtimes like some people do. They're both usually asleep by 8.30 and always have done.

fi love the name grace too. I even proposed it to DH, who wasn't keen.

The dcs have only just got back from the neighbours, they had loads of fun and it was lovely to have the peace and quiet (minus C crying off course) too.

Hmm, just reread my post. Lots of 'I' in there. Sorry, didn't mean to make it a me post.

I was looking around for a breastfeeding summer dress and I saw this. Bit better than one of those BF bibs we talked about before, isn't it? Tell you what, I couldn't believe my eyes today when I got the Midwives magazine through the post today and found babybabette in there. I might have to send a reader's letter to tell them that real bf women find them a bit ridiculous and wouldn't be caught dead wearing one of those

belgianchocs - I've got a freedom (ring) sling and just received a freedom pouch off ebay today as i thought it would be easier to just pop DS2 in. I've promised my ring sling to my SIL next weekend but am now wondering if i need it too as my pouch is black and padded and DS2 seemed to get hot in there today. Also it doesn't allow for an upright hold until toddlerhood, and again i think DS2 would like the upright position as thats how he sleeps on me in the day. Mmm, might have to make another sling purchase, or offer the pouch to my SIL instead. He did go off straightaway in the pouch though .

hi everyone,

sorry havent been on since Baby Lewis was born just been so busy with visitors everyday, which actually hasnt been too bad and quite enjoyable been getting lots of lovely prezzies!

Lewis is 5 days old today and is just so lovely i cant believe how good he is, he is a little angel. sleeps all day and never cries really and is so calm and settled. nothing like matthew was when he was born im in shock at how different they are, but also very pleased! Lewis normally has one feed a day when he's not settled so well which unfortunetly seems to be the middle of the night at the moment but he's so good all day i cant complain about a few hours restlessness. he feeds every 4 hours, i mixed breast milk and formula for the first few days until milk came in and now he is just on the breast milk. im expressing breast milk and he has about 3oz every feed. he weighed 6lb 10.5oz at birth and was weighed yesterday and was 6lb 8oz so only lost 2.5oz which is really good i think.

Matthew has reacted so well to the new baby, he is being a very loving and protective big brother, its very sweet. he does get a little much sometimes wanting to hold him all the time even when he's sleeping, but i think were doing the right things with him and hopefully he's not gonna develop any jealousy over him. i always let him hold him if he's awake and have been trying to spend time with him aswell, which has been quite easy as Lewis sleeps so much.

were going to a christening 2moro which is an all day event, our first outing as a familt of 4 and i cant wait! cant wait to show Lewis off to everyone. im taking my breast pump with me so hopefully we can stay all day and evening. just gonna see how it goes if it all gets too much were just leave early.

sorry to not comment on anything, havent had time to catch up more visitors arriving soon.

take care everyone, hope all new mummys and babies are well and enjoying life!

How are you all doing with your bleeding? Mine had pretty much stopped then with two active days yesterday and today I've soaked right through my pad

Febes Oooh what type of hens are you getting? And congrats on your nieces/nephews

blotted- my bleeding stopped around day 10 (MW said this often happened), then came back all mucusy 2 days later, then stopped, then came back as heavy red blood 2 days ago soaking through my pad. And i hadn't done any activity that day...

Bugger. I bled for more or less the full six weeks with the others but I hoped that having a physiological third stage would mean it would calm down quicker this time

Matthewandbumpsmummy - so glad to hear things are going well. My DS1 was a bit like your Lewis, which was really nice after having DD although i'm sure some of it is that you are more relaxed with your second and it rubs off on them. I must have lost my touch with my DS2 .

Just a quick poll- does everyones LO cry/scream through nappy changing? i am hoping this will stop soon - think my others complained til around 4 weeks?

blotted my bleeding is doing the same. It looked like it had stopped and then on tues it came back proper red, soaking my pad. After it started settling and then yesterday was heavier again. I suspect going round the zoo didn't help. I am purposely taking it easy today because I think my body is telling me to do just that. With the other 2 my bleeding had stopped completely by now, so I don't think a physiological 3rd stage makes the bleeding any shorter.

pula I'm going to sell my ring sling and the moby wrap, so I've just got the gauze wrap left as it seems to be the one I get on with the best.
Oh and to answer your poll. C actually calms down during nappy changes. She doesn't like having a dirty bum, so I suppose she likes to get out of the dirty nappy.

matthewandbumpsmummy - Lewis sounds like a dream! Only slightly ...

re bleeding - gave birth 3 weeks ago on Monday, and now the bleeding is very light, like the end of a period. Much much shorter this time than last time, I think it was nearer to 6 weeks then (and I had physiological 3rd stages both times). blotted - how annoying for you.

re karime - I've got black too, wouldn't have been my first choice (shows the fluff, dribble and sick!) but it was a gift so can't complain. febes - definitely tie quite tight, surprisingly tight in fact. The stretch means you can get LO in then, and the firmness of the tie keeps them in the right position if that makes sense. I've been using my gauze wrap (Calin Bleu) too, it's been a bit warm here for the karime today.

I'd forgotten that the HV came yesterday. She was only here about 15 minutes, just weighed A, asked if I had any questions, how I was feeling, asked how DD1 is taking it all (she was my HV for DD1 too so remembers her), talked about immunisations and then went. A now weighs 8lb 15, 12oz up on birth weight, 13.5oz heavier than lowest weight.

lol at the babette thing!

oh, and nappy changes - yes, A cries through a lot of them, but it seems to be getting easier.

pula dd cries through most nappy changes atm. it's only when she's full to the brim with milk she remains calm.

early days for me bleeding wise but due to cs it's not too bad on the whole.

had our 1st trip out as family of 4 today.. the out of hours dentist in bristol as i suddenly got an absess so now i'm on bf friendly anti biotics and half my face is all puffy swollen and weird looking!

also got round to uploading some grace photos to Facebook about an hour ago..

fi - bad news about your abcess, hope the abs kick in quickly and that you feel better soon. Hope the swelling goes quickly too.

evening all.
nappy Changing, Harper has cried through most of them but has calmed down in the last week.

went out to Tesco's after evening feed so DH was left bathing/putting to bed the older 2 as I'd put dd3 to bed. it was nice to let him take responsibility of the 3 and I felt so free and happy (for just this once) to go to the supermarket.

hope everyone is having a good evening. we've just finished burgers from the bbq and now sipping prosecco (though I may have to BF in an hour ), and eating GU choc mousse. this is life, sigh.

and all is quiet. at least for the moment.

Fi, love your pics, Grace is gorgeeous!

well, didn't have to give Harper such boozy feed - she's only just woken for a feed at 230am so hopefully alcohol content of milk has gone down by now.

i wonder if anyone else is awake .

belgian if you don't want to make cake/fancy a change.. with all the eggs you could always do custard or vanilla ice cream and with the left over whites make some meringues. not much good for your waist line either though ;)

momino thanks we think g is adorable and getting prettier every day..