June 2005 babies

[uwila]

Hi everyone. Thought it was time we have a post-natal thread.

Hi you lot

So, post-natal chat is all about bf-ing and sleep routines I refuse to even think about it, my ostrich approach Still, I have got 2 weeks till due date anyway. Hard to believe eh??

Do newborns lose a little bit of weight in the first few days, then go back up?

I am dreading the feeding and the sleeping

Time to go and nest and take my mind of stuff that may or may not happen!

Lots of love xxx

HI there!
Welshie and Mrs W, your experience in the docs sound utterly frustrating! You'd think these people are professionals and know how much anxiety they are causing! I was so mad with the hospital for loosing the first blood sample they took to check for the antibodies problem in DS! The poor things was pricked and proded and blooded so many times! Very hard to watch! But thank goodness so far they are all well!

MrsW, I am cheating on the 2 thing... My DD is also going to the nursery and we had my sister and my MIL around so we have always someone to keep her busy. We were very stupid though a signed her for a week's vacation from nursery. Not sure what we were thinking...That will be the real test! I do feel though horribly guilty. GUilty for enjoying DS too much, guilty for letting him cry, guilty for not playing with DD... and I can go on and on. I will probably make a psych very rich some day!

Hi Lippy - can't believe you've got 2 weeks left - make sure you enjoy them and don't worry about what's ahead.....although I did and I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I've enjoyed it all so far. And yes it's expected that newborns lose a bit and then put it back on - apparently they're supposedto be at birth weight again by 10 days although the doc said that it could take longer with bfing babes.
Lua - I know just what you mean about the guilt, think you get a big sackful of it along with every child you have. I feel awful that I've left dd in nursery although I know that she loves it and a continuing routine is good for her. After all what would she do here all day?? Watch me going la-la trying to look after 2! (still feel bad though)

I think I might do the same - DS1 (who is 2.9, very similar in age to your DD Lua, isn't he?) is due to go to nursery Monday and Tuesday next week but I think I might do Wednesday as well if they will let me. We've had a better day today, me and DH have both made more of an effort to spend one-on-one time with him and he's been much better behaved. It must be so hard for them. Lua, you are right about the guilt - perhaps we should do group therapy? I keep telling myself that he'll gain more than he loses by having a brother, but I still feel bad.

Had a scary midwife round today to do the heel prick test, poor DS2 has had such a tough time this week. He's fast asleep now...wish he'd wake up actually as I'm dripping milk all over the place

Hope all your babies have a good night's sleep tonight Got to go, he's woken up and my milk fountain is flooding the place...

hi there

just thought I'd quickly scooch over here even tho I'm not officially in the post natal club yet, to say congratulations! and hope all is going well.

Mrs W - did you get yr water birth/home birth in the end?

am ignoring sore nipple talk etc as am in denial and just focusing on birth thank you very much.....

Hello ladies.

Right side feeding still hurting, but only for about 20 seconds at the beginning now rather than all the way through a feed. best tip i have had is that, apparently, tummy to tummy positioning is not really best for larger breasted ladies, who should adopt a baby sitting on knee 45 degree angle position. This does seem to be pretty good advice, i still toe curl at the initial latch but can unlatch and get into a better position much more quickly if baby is seated in this way. just thought I'd share that for any big boobied Junies out there experiencing difficulty!

All I need now is 12 hours uninterrupted sleep.........

Noggermum, I'm the same - the initial latch-on makes me grit my teeth but after that it is definitely getting better. Managed to express a load of milk off today which helped as well as I was too full.

To those who have a different gender second time round, how is it? Are you getting used to boy bits/girl bits?!

Recovery is definitely so much quicker this time round. I suppose having a shorter labour helps but even things like the blood loss doesn't seem as bad. Is this the same for you all?

Hello again,

Mrs W - yup recovery is amazing this time...mind you last time I had at least 12 stitches to contend with and had to constantly poor water over myself to pee, plus couldn't sit, stand or walk properly for at least a week...this time however it doesn't really feel like I've just had a baby at all, and yes the blood flow is almost gone now at 9 days...

At last ds's green eyes have turned back to blue and he's totally in love with his little sister...well for today anyway! DH is off for another week, so we have ds with us, but afetr that ds will be back with mil for 2 days a week to help me out.

Re the bf Nogger, 2 things - you could also try the rugby type hold - if bf from left hand boob, then baby held tight in left arm latching on from side iykwim, mw recommended this for big boobed ladies, and when milk first comes in and boobs are big and full. Also you can get silicon nipple guards to put over your boobs when cracked to allow them to heal, and baby to still bf, mw in hospital recommended this for me as I have a little vampire who isn't fussy, milk/blood whatever!!. HTH

As of thursday I'm fully on formula now and much happier...although I still have to convince dd that it's the way things are going to be...I swear she grins and licks her lips each time she's at boobie level!

Have also finally put up a pic of Amber on the yahoo site...awaiting some others to join us tho...couldn't leave poor little Annalise all alone out there

Hope you're all having great weekends out there, and here's to all of us getting 6 hours uninterupted sleep in the very near future, ha ha ha, think I have better odds on winning the lottery !

Hi there!

I am also amazed with the recovery this time. Was thinking about crediting to RLT capsules, but maybe is just the way it goes for second timers... That, and not having any stitches!

MrsW this little guy is so different from DD that is hard to compare! I haven't been peed in the face yet, so I guess I'm getting along well with his bits so far.... He poops for england though, so we are going to run out of outfits and blankets! Yesterday he went through 5!!! I guess the problem is finding a good fit nappy (a problem we never had with DD) He is very long, but quite skinny so all nappies we tried are too wide in the middle ... He is gaining a lot of weight though, so hopefully he'll start to fit better soon!

Welshie, I have just started reading "the time traveller's wife" at bf time and am enjoying immensely! Thanks for the tip! Anyone else has been reading anything good?

hello everyone - thought i'd better come over here and join the new mums!!

Well things are going great here, DD1 loves her baby, if anything she just a bit too enthuseastic and wants to cuddle her all the time!! she's very helpful getting nappies and wipes and stuff and just loves to sit and watch Annalise feeding. Im sure the green eyed monster will appear soon but at the moment she is being a total angel. The funniest thing is the doll the new baby bought her has not been played with at all, she too interested in her new little sister. With visitors she asks them if they'd like to cuddle her baby! and then tells me to pass X Annalise.

Breastfeeding is going sooo much better than with DD1, i am still huge and engorged but that does seem to be improving a little. i tried to buy bigger nursing bras yesterday but could find any that fitted. The 38G's were too big round my chest but the cup size was fine and the 36G's were too small round!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh I also get that toe curling pain when she first latches but this passes.

Amber looks beautiful!

I have to agree that second time round is soo much easier. I've not got as many stitches this time but they've not hurt at all. Nipples have remained intact! and apart from the hugeness of my boobs its all been okay.

Glad to here everyone is well and coping.

Morning all,
Can't believe ds is 3 weeks old tomorrow. Still haven't thought about routines yet - going with the flow seems alot easier currently. The bfing is fine now - very occasional toe curls with latching but mostly easy, worth persevering if you're that way inclined.
I had a bit of a full on weekend but glad that we did - want to get into managing being a 4 instead of a threesome asap.
Last night my god-daughter got confirmed and I was determined to sing in the choir, took ds along and womanfully juggled bfing and singing - although at one point I was worried I'd stood up to sing with one bosom on display
One of my good friends told me that because of an 'accident' she was expecting number 4!!! I'm so pleased for her and it started me thinking that maybe 3 wouldn't be so bad....Don't think I'll actually do it though....getting past it now.

Hello Katz - glad things are going well. How old is your dd?

UAu! Welshie you can consider another one already??? All I am thinking these days is how soon should I or DH get fixed!

btw, are you already taking your DS pretty much everywhere? I ask, because I feel like I am ready, but keep worrying is too early to take DS to public places (he is 10 days today....).

Also, sorry if TMI... but I have basically stop bleeding, and then I went out of the house yesterday and started bleeding again.... Is this other people's experience??

Yes Lua ds goes everywhere now - I figure that his big sister is bringing home a million germs from nursery so his little immune system has to get going anyway and I'm bfing exclusively too so that must help......
With the bleeding apparently it can ease up when we're taking it easy but come back when you start doing more - that's what I've found too. I really want it to stop - anything that reduces the parts of my body that are currently producing liquid!

Lua, I've had the same thing, no bleeding for ages and then all of a sudden it starts again. If I give DS2 a big feed it seems to get worse.

Well, he's wide awake this evening, lying on the settee next to me farting and pooing away (typical man ). He's been asleep virtually all day so I won't be surprised if he's up for hours tonight. How's the sleeping going for everyone? He is in our bed as it's easier for night feeding, but I'm having to sleep in a very strange position to avoid him being covered by the duvet. Apart from that, he's not doing too badly at night - in fact on Saturday he slept for 7 hours . It won't last...

Mrs W - how long are you going to have him in your bed? I'm doing the same thing at the moment but I don't want it to be a permanent state of affairs - I'm slighty worried about leaving it too long.....
He's doing fine on the sleeping - feeding every 3-4 hours at night IF he's allowed to sleep next to mum - if he's put in his basket he gets restless and unhappy. Dd went in her own cot in her own room at 4 weeks - can't believe I did this now as they're so little - then again would be nice to sleep in a normal position again.
Moving him involves so much self- discipline and I don't think I'm up to it at the moment.

Well, I am in the same boat as the two of you! The nights have not been bad, but it is because he is such a great feeder that with him sleeping in bed is really easy to feed him every two hours with me barely opening my eyes.... But I really don't want to keep this way! DD was a terrible feeder, but once she fed she would sleep 3 or more hours on her own! This little guy though seems to be clueless about sleeping on his own! I was thinking about waiting until he is 3 weeks to start being a tough mummy. To early, too late? What would Gina said?

BTW welshie, I have been thinking about a get away in the fall too. Have found some good tips for family friendly places on the MN travel section.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! DS2 is exactly the same, sleeps great next to me but put him in his basket and he wakes up within ten minutes. It's ok at the moment because I need the sleep more than anything else but definitely don't want this to be a permanent arrangement. Will be watching your thread with interest.

Well today is the first day of just me and DS2 - DH is at work and DS1 is at nursery. Can't believe how restful it is - I'm not sure what I did with my time when DS1 was first born but I never managed to get dressed before lunchtime and barely had time to eat

Much the same on the sleep front at ours. If I put the baby down straight after a feed he will sometimes go off to sleep in his own cot, but otherwise he often ends up in bed with us.

We've got a cot where one side comes down completely so that it "docks" to the bed. So my technique at the moment is to put the baby down futher and further away from me and closer and closer to the cot. Not really sure if it is working though.

Am impressed at all you second timers - I can't imagine dealing with 2 at the moment (although strangely we have already found ourselves discussing when we might try for a second. I think we now believe it is possible, so can properly think about having more.)

At the moment am finding it incredibly exciting that the baby spends more and more time with his eyes open and already seems to be showing his personality and turning into a little person.

Find it hard to believe he is really ours sometimes.

12 days in and am back in my jeans! it was 14 months with DD1!!! Feeling very very happy today (oh, how shallow I am!)

Have big blister on right boob though. Still ouch, but getting a bit better, at least it only hurts when i latch on now as opposed to the whole way through a feed. we seem to have settled into a two and a hald to three hour feed routine too, which is fab. Right, off to attempt to get two kids to the park. Pre baby, i wondered how hard it could possibly be. Now i know......

i'm back in normal clothes too have been since the weekend - yeah. Annalise is now 10days old!!!! the weight seems to have fallen off this time, i'm also wearing clothes that didn't fit before i got PG, i'm sure its having a toddler couples with breastfeeding.

well went bra shopping yesterday, finally found some to fit, just can't quite believe the sizr 36J!!

36J wow even full of milk I was lucky to manage a 36D

I'm also back in my normal clothes - although I have to chose the stretch jeans and elastic waists

He he he re the sleeping thing - we have dd in our bed too! - didn't want to say before as my mw doesn't approve but now I feel happier it's not just us

Have to say that having a girl now is soooo odd, put her in a dress the other day and it just looked wrong wrong wrong guess I'm just too used to trousers...but I'm sure as time goes on that will change.

Lua - don't worry about the taking him out thing I'm sure it's fine - well it had better be - so far Amber has been to the park twice, into the local town twice and into London to visit my work yesterday - all in just 13 days!

Morning all,
Hope things are going well for you and the babes. Anyone else getting annoyed with bfing tops? None of my clothes seem designed for this and I can't face buying anything specifically and wearing dh's baggy t-shirts is just depressing. Ho-hum. If anyone's got any solutions would like to hear them.
Thanks for the reassurance re babes sleeping in the bed. At least I'll have some company once we all decide it's time to move them somewhere else How long do you think you'll do it for?

Morning all!

Well, I was talking with my MW yesterday about co-sleeping, and she said: - I can't help you, my son co-slept with me for a year!
I really hope I can't get him out soon. Last night he was feeding everyhour! I think the smell of the boobs close by keeps him awake...

Thanks tea, and welshie. I am crazy to take him out! i.e. I am crazy to go out!

Welshie, I was just wrestling with sleepwear that allows bf.... found a great top to feed at night from mothercare. Unfortunately it comes with a pregnancy pijama trousers! Don't they know by the time you are bf you are not pregnant?! Go figure!
I have to say though that I am mostly a jeans a t-shirt kind of girl, so during the day is not a problem. I did see some nice nursing tops in a singapore site that scraggy posted on the ante-natal thread. I'll see if I can find it again, and will post it for you.

the site scraggy recommended is:
nursing tops

she has got her tops and said they were great, p and p cost her s$18 so it worked out about a tenner a top. She is recommended emailing the site toget advice as some cuts for western women require a slightly larger size.

can i just add - we are co-sleeping too!! well Annalise starts off in her own cot but often ends up with us