October 2009 babies - Waving arms and gummy smiles make the sleepless nights worthwhile.

[HumphreysCorner]

Here we are on the other side-finally. Well done ladies!

On 2nd lot of AB's and they are suitable for BF so no expressing needed.

HC
x

devils - so sorry to hear that Charlie was unwell.

My DS had bronchilitis twice and it was very scary -

wibbly - nice to "see" you - sounds like your LO is thriving

twinkle - hope you like the concert. DS has his next week so we bought some antlers today

HT - yay re his weight gain ...

Ruby was weighed yesterday and she is 10 lbs 6 oz which is 4 lbs more that her birth weight. She is following the 25th centile beautifully - she has been putting on around 8 pz per week bless her. I guess all that cluster feeding is doing its job

oh and if anyone can help with this breastpump issue that would be great - have [posted in breast and bottle feeding as well

Bought this yesterday and (whooppeee) can actually get some milk out BUT the milk is getting caught and not flwoing into the bottle like it should

it is hard to explain but it isn't going through so is getting caught in the pump bit

can anyone help?

I think i have put it together properly ,,, have checked it again and again and can't see an obvious issue

x

Hello all

Just marking my place on the thread as failing miserably at keeping up. Am sure normal service will resume in the New Year.

ruby-I bought a new Tommee Tippee closer to nature electric pump on Wednesday as it was half price in Tesco and my Avent one no longer works. Haven't had time to try it yet so will let you know how I get on.

Hope all OK.

HC
x

check the little rubber cone on the bottom of pump, they are replaceable. alo, if you keep pumping does it not come out?

DA - nothing comes into the bottle

it is a brand new pump and i tried it this morning

everything is new ...

hmmmm

keep pumping.
i think once enough milk gathers it will come out.

if not check manual for a helpline number.

really hectic day. ds1 really playing up at the moment. just got them both into bed and had a hot choc. feel marginally better.

Arrrggghhhhh. Whose grand idea was it to have cluster feeding time in the evening when your milk supply is at its lowest. Am swapping sides after 35 -40 mins so many times it's making me dizzy. Joseph sneezing a bit, think a cold is on it's way.

ruby I had the same problem as you initially re. pump. I pressed the bottom bit of it more firmly into my breast and it seemed to do the trick.

ruby-have used my pump and it did take ages for any milk to come out but I left it on the initial on button setting for several minutes then once I got a flow switched to the 1 drip button. You can't see if any milk is coming out so DH had to look and tell me when to up the flow speed. Will try again tomorrow with a mirror to check for drips.

devils & fidelma how awful, I hope Charlie & Connor make full recoveries very soon, hugs to you both.

HT YAY, 7oz is amazing! Well done you, you must feel very proud of yourself And he's already rolling? Wow! I hope Joseph isn't coming down with a cold, that would be frustrating.

ARGH again. Feel like I'm going backwards. Not only is Annalise vomiting as much as ever again (not sure what that blip where she stopped was about) and she's back to being massively fidgity during her sleep at night, thrashing about all over the place. The HV did ask if she slept deeply... hmm, she 'sleeps' like she's running a marathon during the night and NEVER naps during the day. I'm feeding her every damn 1.5hrs as it is, but HV suggested I intake even more carbs to improve quality of milk. I feel like I'm carbo-loading for a race myself!
The tiny chink of light is Annalise took 4oz over the week, and moved from the 2nd to 3rd centile, heh.

Off to a mummy & baby Xmas party today, wonder if I'll make it there before Annalise parps over her santa outfit

haven't been able to pump anything today

i have the manual not electric pump but it shouldn't make any difference

tomorrow DH is taking DD out for a couple of hours with a bottle

calypso - has Annalise got reflux? DS had it and was very thrashy

you can get something called Carobel from a pharmacy which is a thickener and can help the milk from comgin back up (are you mix feeding)

Hi all.Connor is doing really well.I have kept him in all week with the help of my mum.Last night he slept in his mosses basket all night wit a feed at 12 then 3.30am then 7 am yipee!!!!He is now well into 3-6 months clothes and he is really looking to big for his mosses basket.How many of you have them in their cots ?

However Ds1 had a night terror 2 nights ago. quite scarey as he looked awake but was asleep.

DD1 had a tooth out, was hit with a hockey stick and then fell in the kitchen and needed 5 butterfly stitches.(luckly a lovely Dr lives at the end of the lane and came round and did it saving us a 2 hour round trip to hospital !!!

When the going is good 4 children are majical but when the tough gets going it is crazy

Off to see DS1 nativity this afternoon.

DH has gone to our friends, who have a Christmas tree farm to pick up our free treeso hopefully tonight will be domestic bliss with everyone decorating the tree.

For your information friends brother also has a Christmas tree farm.H e is knowen as SANTA and has been since he was born on Christmas day all their trees are sold in homebase.

fidelma

ruby, with ds1 (cluster feeder like ruby) i found it easiest to express in the night opposite to him feeding. once i got used to it i could exp in the day. with ds2 i express just before i feed him as i find it best when i'm most full, ds2 has noissues getting more out after iykwim.

CF i'm sure the quality of your milk is fine regardless of what you eat. however, i always feel if i'm eating well, feeding is easier.

charlie has been in 3-6 for a couple of eeks now. he is very long i do think, sometimes, when i put him to bed, he's never going to fit in the basket for another 3.5 months!

lol at Santa
Fidelma-Joseph never really went down in moses basket to begin with but he outgrew it 3 weeks ago. I keep perserveing with the massive cot bed.Have fun decorating the tree tonight, it's great to hear Connor is improving.

Calypso-I take fenugreek tablets to improve my milk supply,2 tablets 3 times a day. Am careful not to skip meals and inncorporte 3 bowls of porridge into my diet each day(recommended by 2 bf counsellors)-all this to improve the quality of my milk after the mastitis. I'm pleased to say it's working(I think!)Hope you both had fun at the party. Re. the thrashing about-Joseph does this when he has wind so I try to keep him upright for a bit after ech feed.

I'm looking for some advice re. sleep because I;m not sure Joseph is getting enough. Co-sleeping isn't always working and my back is killing me. Joseph tends to drop off to sleep after every feed day and night and I'm working on getting the whole day & night thing the right way round (long slow process tho). So...

• Do you follow any kind of bedtime routine?
• If so, what time do you put dc to bed?
• What do they wear and how many blankets would you use in chill weather like this?
• Do cot mobiles actually help?
• Do you wake dc up at a set time each morning or let them wake up naturally?

Thanks in advance for being patient with yet another of my newbie mummy questions . I really do need to get this sorted as the lack of sleep is really starting to affect me.

Apologies for typos, sleeping baby lying across me!

Hi all, it's nearly christmas!

HT, I have a similar issue with William but he seems to be getting days and nights sorted (although I bet he stays awake all night now)... To answer your questions:

• we have a loose routine where we take him up to the bedroom, quieten down, put some music on and get him ready for bed.
• we don't have a set time - but he usually has a feed at 5.30pm/6pm so we get him ready after that
• William wears a vest and a fleece sleepsuit. He sleeps on a fleece blanket on our bed (we cosleeps) and has a fleece blanket on top. If it's really cold, I'll put him in a sleepbag
• cot mobiles make William really excited and in no mood for bed... We have to cut all stimulation so do everything in dimlight (bedside lamp partially covered!)
• I let William wake up naturally - open the blinds, turn light on radio on etc so he's more likely to wake up. Usually around 8ish.

William sleeps a lot in the day which worried me but not anymore as he needs it (if he doesnt get it, he gets really overtired and stroppy). So when he is awake, I make sure we have a bit of a chat/play and I get him outside in the sun if the weather is nice. We go for a walk everyday if possible.

I cosleep with William and DH sleeps in the othe room. I do put William in his cot for day naps to get him (and me) used to it. He's only managed about an 1hr at a time though! He does have his own side of the bed, sleeping on a fleece blanket with his own blankets so that he gets used to the space of the cot. Then I plan to transfer all the bedding into the cot (which will be right next to the bed) and put him in there all the time. We're going to tackle this over the christmas when DH is off work!

HT with Connor being ill we just went with the flow.However last night I gave him a bath at about 5pm he had a good kick before he got in with his nappy off.Igave him one side of milk before all this.Next a wee massage as he was still playful.Then the other side and into his mosses basket.(quite a change as we often cosleep)He was up and down about twice for a little feed up untill 9pm then he slept until 12, 3.30am then 7pm.I do think it is good to get them up at set time, however I have to get for school, i would find it very hard to get up if I didn,t have too.If he stuck to this routine for 3 months I would be delighted.

Where are you all? have you gone over to Facebook?

devils and fidelma your poor ds am glad they are improving.

Fidelma great that Connor slept so well.Havent got a cot yet as Nathaniel still fits in his ok and need to check my friends one out as we havent actually got one.
Hope your DS1 wont have a nighterror again I know its very frightening and theres not much you can do about it except wait for them to stop.DD suffered from them a few times and looked like she was possed she was screaming so much but not waking out off it.

HT got same problems am co-sleeping too and find thats it not always working.Hes been sleeping too much during day this week and was up for the day at 5.30am and just wouldnt go back to sleep.So will make sure during the day he wont nap longer than 2 hours at a time.

Calypso sorry that Annalise has started vomiting again,am sure your milk quality is fine.Could she be milk intolerant?Hope your christmas party was good.

It was lovely going out mon evening Nathaniel was asleep by 7.30pm and was just drinking his bottle when I got back at 10.30pm.

Have a good weekend all xx

I try to put Faith down about 7.30pm & it was working until a couple of nights ago. Have now found that she will not go to sleep if any lights or the tv is on, so tonight i will give her a feed around 7pm, then take the MB upstairs, put her down & stick the monitors on. She wakes up about 1.30, 4.30am for feeds, if she doesnt wake up before 7.30am then i just go ahead & feed her as i take DS to school at 8.45am, she then stays asleep in her buggie until about 11am, that will be her untill night-time for another sleep. She hates to sleep! I put her in a sleepsuit with her blanket, or her sleepingbag, but she is getting to big for the MB & the sleepingbag isnt helping! Cotbed will be put up in the next couple of weeks. Love the rosebud range from mothercare for the nursery so will have to order that.

Calypso, Faith is also still vomiting, she isnt milk intolerant as we found out, but she is teething, this also made my DS sick when he was small also, could Annalise be doing the same? Has she runny nappies or does she have her hands in her mouth alot?

My DS used to have night-terrors, they went as quickly as they came thank goodness. But so scarey , hope things calm down soon Fidelma

Our house looks like Santas grotto, all the family have sent over loads of pressies as they all feel sorry for us being here alone for xmas. Lots of the Army families will start going home next week, so this place will be like a ghost town. But im looking forward to it just being the 4 of us (5 with the cat!). The snow should be starting soon, so lots of fun with that!

Hi all just thought I'd add our sleep/wake times.
The night before last was fantastic! He fed most of the evening between 7ish and 9ish then we took him up to his crib. We warm it with 2 mini hot water bottles before we put him in.
He slept until 12.30 when a coughing fit woke him dh, held him until it passed, then he went back down ( no feed). He didn't wake for a feed untill 4am!!!! He'd had an awake day that day, with one big sleep between 3 and 6 and dozes in the morning.

Yesterday was a more sleepy day, sleeping 11 till 2, then 3.30 till 5.30.
Last night he fed 7 till 9 (roughly) again then went down. We take him up when he is totally asleep. I woke at 2ish due to hunger!! He didn't wake till 3.20. I fed him and he had a coughing fit which made him really awake and he lay next to me, smiling in the dark for about half an hour . Then he slept untill 6 30ish when the dc's woke him.

Got a busy day today. School xmas fair, trip to town to get more bits and pieces, then round to my parents to do their tree with my sister. Then the X Factor final!!!!!

I'm not expressing so can't add much on that. I did a bit in hospital and took 40ml from each side, could have gone on but only wanted to relieve the pressure really.

Sympathies with the vomiting, it is very disheartening

Littlepea love that your house is like a grotto!!

Posted too soon

Sorry for all the other poorly babies. I completely know how you feel. [hugs]
xxx

Morning all

HT we have quite a fixed bedtime routine in the twinkle house. It's purely for selfish reasons though, as a stay at home mum to three children four and under my evenings are very precious! So I like to get them settled and tucked up in bed as soon as possible It goes like this...

5pm tea then tidy up
6pm bathtime
6.30pm storytime/feed Amelie one side
7pm older two children to bed
feed Amelie till 8pm (ish) then she goes to bed until 6am (sometimes she wakes for a feed around 2am)
Feed at 6am then she sleeps until 8am (older two up at around 7am)

She sleeps in her moses basket. She has on a bodysuit, babygrow, sleeping bag and 2 sheets.

Daytime naps vary, some days she sleeps all day others she is awake all day, it doesn't seem to affect her bedtime routine either way. In fact with all of mine I have found that, when they're this age, if they sleep well during the day they tend to sleep better at night, if they're awake and unsettled during the day they seem to have a wakeful and unsettled night.

have a good weekend everyone, we're off to see santa at Castle Howard today

Thanks for all your kind messages.House is completley Christmassy " trees up

Off to see santa at Grandads golf club, great party,good childrens food to eat and big pressies for the children not that they need them.

I always give mine new pjs on Xmas eve so they look nice in Xmas photos Does anyone eles do anything like that?

Connor doing well although he was in my bed last night and that was not so successful.
No more night terrors, and all with injuries recovering.

Christmas music playing throughout the house.

Looking forward to Xfactor.

XXX

fidelma I always get mine new xmas pj's to wear on christmas eve. This year got dd1 and ds some from Marks and Spencer and got dd2 some from mamas and papas (they had 30% off)

very quick one from me

DH took Ruby out for a few hours

she slept for 3 of them but she took a bottle!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and i figured my pump out and got nearly 4 oz over a couple of sessions!!!!!!!!!!!!

feel fan bloody tastic

will catch up more tomorrow

xxx