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.

Belgian What colour is your moby? I might be interested if you're selling?

Fi Ouch! How are you feeling today?

the antib's have kicked in.. my face is less swollen this am.. toothache gone Phew

getting used to g's marathon evening/night bf sessions.. finding we sometimes have to top her up with formula if i get exhausted though. but i must be producing a decent amount of milk as she generally just needs an oz or two.. and that's only if we've been on a 4hr stint.

g is not settling now unless she's on my shoulder... she doesn't seem to like my bjorn carrier but does like being upright. What other carriers are you all using atm? think i'll have to buy a different type or i'll be forever one handed!!!

M v.unsettled today always hungry, crying, etc I've had to top her up twice with formula but she has finally given in to sleep at 3.30pm after being awake since 9am.
Think it might be down partly to the weather? We sleep in an attic bedroom so it gets quite hot at night so she either sleeps in a babygrow or a vest with a light fluffy blanket, I might get a lightweight grobag - anyone use these?

Right while M is asleep I'm off to marinate some chicken for kebabs on the bbq later.

Fi I've used a Moby for the last three and it's the best money I've spent. I've heard good things about the Calin Bleu too

Hello! Just a quick one as am feeding M - def experiencing the 10 sec toe curler! Will type more later / tom when am not so zombie-fied!

just wrote a long post on phone and lost it grrr

blotted i'll check out the moby thanks.
looby g fed pretty much constantly from 8am until i topped her up with formula at 1.30pm she'd nod off on my shoulder and as soon as i'd lay her down she'd wake up rooting! eventually she gave into proper sleep at 3pm and i swaddled her up. we have a 0.5 tog grobag which until today she's liked. think the weather is a factor..

this absess is affecting my energy levels.. and tiredness then my milk i think. going to send dh out tomorrow for fenugreek to help supply. can only help imo atm or at this rate i'll be stuck bf on the sofa all day with a numb bum, sore nips and exploding bladder!!

there's another announcement on fb.. don't think she's posted here yet?

I can't believe I'm onto baby number 4 and I'm a neurotic mess.

Having an "issue" with Greer's feeding - I was feeding her lying down yesterday and noticed that even though she was sucking there was milk pouring out of her nose. It's the first time I'd seen it but although I panicked, I put it to the back of my head until she woke for her feed during the night. I switched on the light to latch her on and the same thing happened again.

Throughout today she's got snufflier and snufflier and I got it into my head that she'd aspirated milk into her lungs. I called the maternity assessment who were really lovely, basically told me she'd be really sick if that's what was happening and that it's actually more likely she has reflux and her stomach isn't holding the contents. I've to call the health visitor tomorrow to get her checked over.

I really hope it's not reflux - I could seriously do without another refluxy child

Blotted Beligan I have just posted photos of our new chicken coop on facebook DH has spent 2 days building it and we now can't wait to get some chickens. Any tips on breeds that are good to look for. Does anyone know where we can get hens in Surrey???

My dad arrived from NZ today and my sister sent loads of boy clothes for Rueben so I can't wait to dress him up.

Glad to hear there was another baby to add to our brood. Hopefully all the May babies will be with us soon as its June tomorrow!!

If you register on the forum at www.practicalpoultry.co.uk you can check their listings - they've got someone in Surrey selling Brahmas just now but they're really feathery, not sure what you're looking for - would you prefer a hybrid or a pure breed?

evening all. wish we could have hens but need to move to something a bit more out of the city. we only have a small courtyard much to the dismay of our border collie.

blotted, hope Greer doesn't have reflux. how can you find out if she is affected by it?

Fi, hope that absess clears up and you're in less pain. that's one thing you don't need.

had a long day here and very warm and lovely. I've just had my 2nd piece of choc cake from the birthday party we went to today. i'm really overdoing the cake/biscuit intake. i daren't weigh myself. my clothes do fit (snugly) but i had to keep my top button unfastened today underneath my smock top. i really should eat healthier but i'm definitely craving the sweet carby things.

i'm going up to bed finally. don't think Harper will wake up for an 11pm feed so should get a few hours of sleep until she wakes me about 2.30.

Hope everyone had a good day.

Morning!
Seems a lot to catch up on over the weekend. Will try and have a proper read through in a minute.

MIL and SIL visit went ok. DS was quite unsettled most of the time though. This morning we seem back to our usual "routine" and he is currently asleep in his sling.

Also having a discussion atm with DH about use of soothers. For some reason that I don't quite understand, the thought of using one creates v negative feelings within me. Logically I can see benefits though and DH is quite keen to try and use one as he may be able to get DS to settle more on him.
I think part of it is I'm worried it may affect the BFing. What thoughts does anyone else have?

HV is coming this afternoon. I'm worried that DS will still not have put any weight on, or even worse, may have lost weight. I really do want to continue BFing and hope that she doesn't tell me to introduce formula. I guess I just need to try and think rationally about what is best for DS if we find ourselves in that situation...

ses if i remember right the only reason the mw say not to use a soother at first while bf is that they can stop the rooting/hungry signs you'd normally spot. friend just arrived be back in a bit

ses just read your post. Remember this is YOUR baby and no one can tell you what to do! You can listen to advice and then make your decision about what to do re feeding. Am sure your HV will be supportive whatever the situation re your DS's weight. You've done a great job so far with BF. Its not easy! Hope he hasn't lost weight and won't be an issue for you anyway.

Re dummies. I've read contradictory things about them effecting BF.SOme say it does. Others say it has no impact at all. Personally I'm a fan of them. They do what they say on the tin for Rufus - soothe him!

Ses we use a dummy and have done since we came out of hospital. It's a good way to tell if he's tired or hungry - he likes to suck for both. He doesn't do a lot of rooting- usually if he wakes up hungry his hands go up to his mouth and he's very vocal (he does the cough cry like the baby whisperer describes). I've used them for all 3 (althought couldnt get DD to take one for ages as we usually tried when she was very upset/overtired which didnt help.

Well I've had my mum here this morning- she's here all week to "help" me as DH is back at work. Whilst I appreciate her help with the DCs, so i'm glad she's here, so far she has damaged the pushchair brake by not listening to my instructions about how to open it, spilt my breastshell of milk in the fridge, then when i asked her to fetch it for me to use, she rinsed it under the tap therefore its not sterile anymore so that's 2 lots of milk wasted (I'm storing it up to test him on a bottle later). And she has told me non-stop how windy DS2 is, and i need to look at what i'm eating to work out what's causing it . I do think about my diet too but i'm sure it can't just be that. He is struggling with his wind though so we are giving infacol and he settles best in the sling which is tiring for me. But i'm hoping he will improve in a few weeks and i can get him settled in his moses basket again.

ses sorry i had to post and run earlier.. was just going to add just go with what works for you and it will be the right decision

Hello all - signing up for the post-natal thread! So far had only got round to posting on our ante-natal one, and haven't managed to read either thread to see how everyone's doing, but hope things are going well for all the new mums!

Everyone's asleep so while I have teh chance I guess I'll tell the whole stry here (not that it's terribly exciting ). So, having finally got our move/house sorted out and organised on Tuesday, and my mum arriving for 5 days on Monday, I went into labour on Weds afternoon after a sweep at lunchtime. At 11.10pm baby Theo arrived! It was a really straightforward labour - started havign contractions at about 3, they were every 9 mins or so until suddenly at 5.15 they were 4 mins apart so we jumped in the car and went to the hospital (right at the beginning of rush hour - it took quite a tense 45 mins to get there!). This being Belgium there's no pain relief apart from an epidural - stuck it out for as long as possible but was so tired after the moving house that I found myself trying to sleep through it at some point . So at about 9 I had the epidural which fortunately didn't slow things down at all, and they do them so well here (because everyone has them...) that it was great, I could feel everything but it just didn't hurt. Even better, he came out with no tears, episiotomy or stitches needed, just a small graze.

And to my amazement, because I was feeling crap for so much of the pg and expecting the worst, he seems to be a total dream of a baby! Within 15 mins of being born he had latched on perfectly with no help at all, sucking away like a trooper, and hasn't stopped since - my milk came in within 48 hours and he's very happy! Seems to digest it well, lots of nice yellow poos, and he sleeps well between feeds (less so at night, we had 3 hour-and-a-half marathon milk sessions... fortunately he also feeds well lying down so it's not too bad). I was out of hospital after 4 nights (5 is more usual), I think because the midwives were a bit freaked out that I never needed any help with anything and didn't have any war wounds for them to take care of. I honestly have been astounded with how much of a little angel he is, I would never have believed it or dared ask. And unlike dd he hasn't had jaundice or lost too much weight (he's now gaining again and rapidly approaching his birth weight). She seems really taken with him, and dh has taken 2 weeks off and is giving her lots of attention so that's helping a lot when she gets upset. I am so glad to be home now and settled in with them both.

Well, immense post and all me I'm afraid, sorry . Will try to keep up from now on - will be nice to chat again, one-handed! I quickly skimmed a couple of pages which has reminded me to do my pelvic floors and abdo exercises while my 3 little darlings are napping! If I get time I will be unwrapping my ergo sling too to check that out, what fun.

So, till soon ladies. Hoping you're all ok and looking forward to catching up properly!

pula i hope your mum's 'help' is less frustrating for you for the rest of her stay

Hiya ladies. Thought it was about time I posted on the post natal thread. I have been really busy though, and with all my health problems I've barely had a minute...were getting back on track now though. I'm just waiting for the hospital to contact me and tell me when they're going to be doing my operation.

Baby J was 4 weeks old Thursday, he's doing really well. The saline drops helped alot with his snufflyless, he's still a little snuffly but it's better than it was, he's had conjunctivitis too already, but that's gone now too. Apart from that he's good. He has a feed around 11-midnight then goes till around 4am and then has one between 7am-8am, so I can't complain at all.

DD has her MMR booster and the other booster this morning, so she's a bit grouchy today bless her.

I've lost 2 stone in weight so far, and now I seem to have stopped losing weight...I'm going to give myself a couple more weeks and then start eating properly again. With me being in and out of hospital, were eating and weird and wonderful times, so I can't stick to any plan. I'm planning on starting slimming world again when I'm abit better. I have another 2 stone to lose to be classed as a "healthy weight" lol

How often is everyone bathing their LO's? With DD I bathed her everyday but were not this time.

Hope I can get on abit more regularly to post, I really have been missing talking to you all.

Jael X

thanks fi- i read my post back and i sounded really ungrateful but i just get frustrated by her doing things without thinking. It did get worse earlier- somehow a pair of red pants ended up in the white wash so my white bedlinen and new bra ended up pink . luckily she got the bleach out and sorted it for me.

congrats euromum

Hi everyone,

Didn't come on her yesterday as I was too tired by the time it was evening and I was on my own. Anyhow, I don't seem to have missed too much. The p/n thread doesn't move nearly as quick as the a/n ones used to!

Euromum congratulations. Sounds like you're doing really well. Enjoy your lo

blotted My moby is black. Let me know if you want it and I'll pass on my details. I prefer the Calin bleu wrap, it's more supportive for me and in this weather so much cooler too.

fi There are a big variety of slings out there that are better than the babybjorn. Wrap slings and ring slings keep baby in a better position for their hip development and because there's no fabric between you and baby. I'd have a look at them. They're also much prettier too. Here is a shop with a good selection of slings and it also has a good reference section and helpful page to make a desicion as to what type of sling is right for you.

dummies ses I just want to second what the others say. It's your baby and if you prefer not to use one that's your choice. I nearly used some with C as she was quite sucky in her 1st week, but that has settled now. She just wants to be held all the time. None of my 3 had dummies, nor did they use their thumbs/fingers. My reason for not wanting to use dummies is simple. When I was an au pair my host parents and I were regularly woken by the toddler crying in the night because he'd lost his dummy. So from that point of view I didn't think that they brought all that much peace and quiet!

pula Hopefully your mum will get a bit better at helping. She's probably just a bit excited. I did have to laugh a little though, because I can be clumsy and I can imagine me being just like your mother for my own dds!

I've officially survived my 1st 9 day stretch on my own. DH is coming home tonight after bedtime.

I've also managed to loose another important thing. My glasses . I remember rushing out this morning to take ds and dd1 to a friend to play (they had a staff inset day) and I remember thinking 'oh quickly put on my (prescription) sunglasses to drive' and I haven't seen them since. So like an idiot I was walking around the shops with my sunglasses on and now I'm wearing my contacts. I really can't think where they are. They can't be far. On the other hand my old phone turned up today .

Just bookmarking for later. Kids everywhere. Back later when sanity resumes x

Hi Ladies

Just thought I'd let you know that chocbunnies has been sent home with regular cx's I think 3 or 4 mins apart. It seems that she can have a HB after induction (I will have to discuss this for myself on Wednesday) so, I have everything crossed for her that it will happen tonight.

I hope you're all ok, I bet you're all shattered and sore - I shall hopefully be joining you, along with runningmonkey, sophietom, reebee and msg (we think these are the stragglers) very soon.

June already! These babies started arriving in April