Jan 2010 babies and mothers....come here to hibernate!

[mistletoekisses]

New thread for us Jan 2010 mums. Will hopefully get busier as more of our little ones arrive!

Arrivals List
1st Dec - Missmarjoribanks - boy Thomas William Francis (33+4)
10th Dec - ClaireDB - girl Mira - 5lb 11.5oz (36+5)
11th Dec - Alibobins - boy Jacob, 6lbs 1oz (37weeks)
14th Dec - londonlottie - twin girls Juliet 6lb 1 and Eve 5lb 6 (35+5)
15 Dec - Whensmydayoff - girl Olivia - 6lb (36+6)
22 Dec - Liskey - girl Ellie - 5.5lbs
24 Dec - timmette/shinybaubles - boy Oliver - 7lb
25 Dec - Fakeplastictrees - boy Luke Edward
29 Dec - CantThinkofFunnyName - girl Olivia Iris - 6lbs 2 1/2oz
30 Dec - Liny - Nottinghamsire - girl Elise
1 Jan - TheMinnieBauble - boy Freddie - Weight TBC
2 Jan - nomorebboze - girl Megan - 5lbs 12oz
5 Jan - Fraochsmum - girl, name TBC - 6LBS 2oz
5 Jan - FlightofFancy - boy Edward - 6lb 14oz (37+3)
6 Jan - salvadory - girl Imogen
7 Jan - MistletoeKisses - boy Nicolas - 6lb 8oz
10 Jan- crumpette- boy 'babycrumpette'- 8lb 15 oz

JoInScotland - glad you're home and well. Sounds like a terrible labour and beginning to motherhood but fingers crossed things are on the up for you. I haemorraged so i know it takes it out of you, have you got people at home to support you?

CantThinkOfFunnyName - i'm hoping to find my knight in shining armour sometime as well. I thought i'd found him when i was pregnant in the form of 1 of my friends but he was an arse as well so i'm happy with Jack being the man in my life now I'm based in Nottingham, where abouts is everyone else from? It would be great to meet other mums.

Londonlottie & CantThinkOfFunnyName - it sounds like it may be colic, have you tried gripe water? The other thing that i find helpful with Jack is massage and massaging his tummy in a clockwise motion and if they're quite gassy down below you can move their legs like they're on a bicycle to help any stuck poos.

LondonLottie - i know what you mean about formula, i didnt want to use it at all. Jacks father then told me after i found it really hard breastfeeding i might as well poison Jack if im giving him formula Thats stuck in my mind but the dr said as long as everything is sterilised its fine so as usual the father is being unhelpful with Jack and doesnt do any of the hardwork but lays down guidelines for me . Sorry, rant over.

Lottie - Infacol certainly helps - gives great burps! Gripe Water you can't use until they are one month, which Olivia is today. However, DS had awful colic and this is definitely different. I think I would now recognise colic anywhere after the dreadful time he had. Why don't you try feeding at 4 hourly - or see how long they go between a feed? Think I'm definitely going to see what she wants to do tomorrow instead of trying to force milk down her. Poor little mite, something is not right.

Newbeginnings1 - tried all that with the tummy rubs etc! The only thing that she really wants at the moment is to be cuddled by me until she goes to sleep. No temperature or anything so must be feed related, I reckon. PS - your ex sounds like an arse and you are so better off looking after Jack yourself. My DS and I have a fabulous relationship and he is a real mummy's boy because it was just us for a while. But what is also lovely is that he loves his new dad so much because as he says "he chose to marry you and me". He's 11 next week .

Evening All

Just thought I would pop on and say hello.

We've only been home from hospital for 2 days and I have already been told off my my midwife for over doing it! DH's parents arrived yesterday afternoon and stayed for 4 hours, went away and then came back again this morning unannounced, despite us saying, we will call when the Midwife has been! DS's Godparents were due to visit this morning and although DH said that the midwife had left instructions to limit visitors to a maximum of 2 for no more than a hour at a time, MiL clearly thought she was the exception (3 hours)! Godparents duly arrived (even ringing beforehand to check it was OK) and PiL sat there not budging. I just get so cross with them and feel totally powerless to say anything, mainly because I want to keep the peace. Oh well, we won't have to see them for another couple of months. My mother, on the other hand has barely seen us since DS was born. She pops in to get the washing and goes again, we can't even get her to sit down for a cup of tea! I think that will all change when DH goes back to work!

Routine is in the dim and distant future for us at the moment. DS is still on hospital time and my milk has only just come in so we are only just beginning to establish a feeding routine. I haven't even managed to get him to sleep in the moses basket yet, he has slept on me since he was born. I really don't feel strong enough to tackle that one just yet, perhaps next week!

I'm finding this recovery much easier than last time, my stitch comes out tomorrow and although I am still stiff and sore, I can move fairly easily.

DD is loving being a big sister and loves helping me with DS. Again, how long that will last is anyone's guess, but while it lasts ....

Better go, boobs are required. Hope everyone gets some sleep tonight!

My fiance took a week's holiday when I was due (41 weeks according to NHS when I delivered, 40 weeks according to my own dates) and then 2 weeks Paternity Leave, and is going to use some holiday he had left from 2009 to take most of February off. When he explained what happened to his boss, about being in the High Dependency Unit, his boss was really understanding and said, "Take as much time as you need" which is quite good for us.

I am feeling rather shattered. The baby has taken to sleeping from about 3pm to 9pm or 10pm and then wants to feed all night long. I woke him at 9pm to feed him, and discovered a massively wet nappy that had soaked 2 blankets. I think I'm going to have to wake him every 2 to 3 hours to feed and check the nappy because he is really producing a lot of soaked nappies that do not wake him up and might lead to a rash!

Its good that his boss is understanding and that you've got support. Is this your first?

It sounds as though your DC is doing their cluster feeding at night. My MW said it normally happens about 5pm so the baby can get through the night and take in reserves so to speak so if you try waking them as you say it should help.

My DS likes to be awake at night and sleeps in the day on me but we got up earlier today and it seems to have made the difference as hes asleep and not wide awake like normal.

Enjoy the rest of your evening ladies, Jack and I are going to bed.

JoinScotland - congratulations and best wishes for your recovery after what sounds like a rather nasty birth experience. If you're finding that nappies are regularly soaking through after 3 hours you may well need the next size up.

Newbeginnings - hello! I used Aptamil for top ups as I was told by the nurses in SCBU it was the closest to breastmilk in composition. I hate the smell of it like lottie though.

I've just had a rather lovely glass of port. Booze is fine in moderation and I'm avoiding spirits but everything else is OK in single measures - I had a rather fine pint of ale last night as well.

Right, need to round up the dummies and stick them in the steriliser for the night shift. One is in his mouth, the other three could be anywhere.

another early morning feeding happening...

newbeginning - have so far only bfed Nico. But am v. at the comment re. formula being poison. WTF? Have never heard such nonsense. Poison indeed??? Millions of babies (my DH included) have thrived on being ff....enough said...
But do come on here for support whenever you need, we are all in it muddling along together as best we can.

Fifi - good to hear from you, but second the MW. Take it easy. Now your milk is in, you will probably have a feeding frenzy on your hands. Feed, eat, sleep is my advice

Lottie - I too have my first visitor friend in the morning. Am looking forward to it actually.

Right, of to pop Nico back in his cot and fingers crossed get some more sleep. This was the time yesterday that he decided it was wakey wakey time!

Morning lovely ladies. Routine indeed?! Well Olivia had a very tetchy day yesterday - my first real day of trying to get some semblance of schedule. Then I read the first chapter of the Baby Whisperer book (MK - you are to "blame" for me buying that because of your references to it ) and found my first mistake - schedule instead of routine! I'm quite a time driven person - have had to be for my job for years and I write lists of everything I have to do etc (read: exceptionally anal). Anyway, the first thing I realise is that of course Olivia is already in a "routine" per se because she eats, has awake time and then sleeps. While she sleeps I do something like wash up bottles, sterilise, prepare dinners, housework etc. Doh!

She totally was not interested in her feeds last night at 5, 8 and 11ish. She was stirring at 02:30 so attempted a feed but again, interested only for the first ounce and then not. She also had an uber sicky day. Whatever feed she did take from the afternoon onwards, quite a bit was possetted back up.

She did, however, wake just before 6am and was ravenous. So I'm quite relieved about that.

Picking up some really good tips about the getting to sleep part of the routine. A problem I have had is her wanting to be held or have dummy put back in - which of course is something I've introduced as a "prop" and now she associates going to sleep with having her dummy in. When it falls out, if she's not already in a deep sleep, it disturbs her. So today (starting about 20 minutes ago) we're doing the pick up/sssh sssh/put down thing. Have already been back into the room 8 times after manic screaming and now finally she is asleep.

I was planning on going back to bed but other two lovelies are up and saying "muuuuuum, can we have some breakfast please".

Still, am determined to have patience today and see if we can get through this. Oh, and by the time I've written this, she is now stirring and moaning again.

Skiing cancelled? My goodness. DH has finally agreed that our skiing hols should be postponed this year too . We usually drive down to Chamonix in France and he now realises that its prob a bit much with a newborn - doh!

Morning everyone.

I'm glad everyone agrees my ex has no idea what he's talking about. I'm sure when he next takes any interest in Jack he will come out with some more rubbish so i'l be posting on here to have a rant!!

CTOFN - let me know how you get on with the Baby Whisperer. I'm incrediby anal, (my job is all about process and makng sure peope adhere to it )and like knowing whats happening and when so maybe it would work for me. My sister gave me the No Cry Sleep Solution but its a slow process.

Jack has now associated my boob with going to sleep which i need to get him out of the habit of. I worry though that hes not full but as his cries are changing im beginning to tell more what he wants. Does anyone have any goden rules for knowing when BF babies are full?

londolottie - is Baby Secrets a parenting book of techniques?

Well I've had two successes at the sleep technique so far this morning plus !

Guess this Baby Whisperer knows what she's talking about.

Newbeginnings1 - I run/ran my own event management business and directed 20,000 pax events/exhibitions for royalty, governments, top businessmen etc thus when it comes to being anal about process and knowing who's doing what, where and when - I'm a bit of a queen of that.

Taking a well deserved break now after 20 years. Will prob doing a bit of consulting if and when I feel like it in the future - but for now, being a SAHM seems a good option - I was going to say less stress but ....

Baby Whisperer is the one that does the EASY technique right? Does she put in there what to do if the baby falls asleep nursing as this is what Jack does.

Newbeginnings - yes she certainly does - but I can't find it right now! Try going to the website www.babywhisperer.com and searching for this - you'll probably get the answer quicker than I can look it up as have a mountain of ironing whilst Olivia's sleeping!

Hi all!
Cara does that too, which is great during night feeds - but then fully wakes up during burping . Thanks for the bf advice londonlottie, she is very much preferring one side and I'm having to use a shield with the other. I thought it was due to having had that one pierced twice and changing the nipple shape, but if others are having difficulty too it might be something else.
Hello Newbeginnings, I hope things are a bit more settled for you and certainly feel free to come on here to rant etc.
Wow joinscotland, that is some serious stuff! You must have got such a shock after a trouble-free pregnancy, but hopefully Ninewells took good care of you and you are feeling much better now.
CTOFN I am v jealous of your full body massage! My wee sister gave me an Indian head massage this morning, which was fantastic, but was slightly marred by her exclaiming about some dirty runt peeing up a close across the road and an impromptu hailstorm in the brilliant sunshine! Still, it was devine and Cara stayed asleep throughout!
Well thanks for all the advice about the sex issue! We did the deed when she was 3 weeks exactly...and it was fab! No pain at all and, best of all, dh said I didn't seem any different! Sorry if tmi, but I was slightly concerned about that. We had been pretty regular up to birth, but it is really nice to change position without an obstructive bump!
Happy weekend everyone x

What was with all the fussy babies last night Jacob woke and fed a few sucks at 10 11 12 2 5 and we gave up and got up at 6.

He has started to be really sick after feeds and it looks like cottage cheese whats that all about then?

Fingers crossed we get a bit more sleep tonight x x

Hi everyone!!

I think the baby whisperer is fab. The school of controlled crying on tiny newborns and a strict routine per se never really appealed to me. The BW was recommended by a work colleague and I love the fact that it is more about the chain of events as opposed to a strict routine. It worked a treat for DS1 although didnt really start it until he was six weeks old. Am going to do the same this time.

Re. the falling asleep at the breast. I always wind afterwards and that ends up semi waking Nico up. Otherwise I find that laying him flat and loosening some clothing wakes him up a treat. Failing that, the midnight nappy change is guaranteed to wake him up! There are sometimes he stays pretty zonked from feeding, others he wakes and then goes into a deep sleep after he is off.
From memory the hardest part with DS1 was teaching them to go back to sleep without a feed. I started that at 9 weeks and it took a good 2/3 weeks before he stopped waking for the 1am/2am feed. Once we cracked that - we had a baby sleeping from 10pm to 5am. And the 10pm feed was given by DH via a bottle of EBM, so I was off duty by about 8. Apparently some babies drop the feeds themselves, I dont think this one will either.

Hope everyone else ok. Re. the windy babies - there are a few things I can think about. One is diet - Lottie (dare I ask this?) but are you finding the bubs windier after you have had a glass of wine? Apparently only a tiny amount of alcohol passes into Bmilk, but it can cause additional wind to babies. The other cause could be them getting a surplus of foremilk and not enough hindmilk (combined with some green poos). This happens to Nico everytime he has a growth spurt and I have started to ensure I sometimes use the same breast for two feeds consecutively - called block feeding I think.

Anyways - have had a lovely sociable morning with a lovely pal. Hope everyone else having a lovely saturday.

For those of you having fussy stressy eaters for the last couple of days, I found that letting babe wake up naturally (with the aid of removal of blanket/clothing) helps, also if they are screwing themselves up into foetal position then it's possibly wind (infacol helped loads for this). Also don't forget that babes can get bored and sometimes just like to be sat upright on you being talked at! Ofc non of this may work but they've made a hell of a difference with Tobin, think he's like his parents, doesn't like being told when and what to do do .

Newbeginnings I had this and asked on the BF area, got loads of good tips e.g. strip them off, nappy changing mid feed, switch boob whenever they fall asleep, tickle feet, cold wet cotton wool in palm of their hand, blowing on their face. I actually found letting them wake up slowly b4 feed, but not letting them get to the point of screaming for food worked a treat. On the whole you know they're full when they fall of the latch and don't want to latch back on despite all efforts to wake them.

Me and Tobin are finally finding are feeding feet now and he's sleeping well, although he does like to fight off sleep at bedtime so can take a while to get him down, but it'll come, he's just pushing to see what and how far he can manipulate us I reckon. Little does he know just how stubborn mommy and daddy can be too!

lottie I don't think you really can overfeed a small baby, especially if BFing mostly, they just don't take what they don't need. If they're gaining lots of weight sounds like you're doing great. It will probably plateau out for a while soon and then they will gain some more after a bit of a break from constant gaining, if that makes sense. Perfectly normal and I think it sounds like you're doing amazingly and don't have anything to worry about.

Somewhathorrified - Jack tends not to fall off when hes finished, he keeps sucking for comfort im guessing so i think im going to try Dr Newmans massage technique which gets your milk going as ive tried it once and he came off because he didnt want milk and i think he was shocked mid sleep that he wasnt expecting it but it came so i'll give it a go.

I 've had a nice afternoon catching up with friends although 1 of them was late so i ended up bf right in the middle of Nottingham, not a great look. I am finding though that my friends that aren't mummys dont get it when i say i need to find somewhere to feed DS and they seem to arse around deciding where to go etc and walk really slowly. Any tips on how to politely tell them to get their arses into gear and that Jack isnt being unreasonable crying, he's a hungry growing boy?

Hi all - thanks for the advice on the formula milk.

Crumpette - Aptamil is the one I am planning to try first. And will use the ready made cartons. Considering either mum or DH will be doing the later feed, think it only fair that they can open, pour and warm fairly quickly. Have to say though, am now considering expressing!! Ho hum, will see how the next week pans out and decide.
How are you and your DP getting along? Was the visit from his dad ok today?

Is anyone else finding all this incessant night waking is no good for trying to shift post baby bulge??? The more tired I am, the more munchies I have.