April 2010 - our little bundles are here!

[lineky]

Thought I'd start a Post-Natal thread as there are so many of us now sorry about the uninspired name.
Well I am slowly realising the sleepless nights thing is no myth - VERY tired!

Hi everyone,
We were at the allergy clinic today. Eilidh is allergic to milk and egg. So disappointed. The more I think about it, the more upset I feel. I'm glad we know what caused her reaction though. I'm just so nervous. I keep thinking that the smallest red mark on her body is some kind of reaction. The consultant prescribed special formula and says that I should give some to eilidh asap to get her used to it, despite the fact that i'm still breastfeeding. Will maybe put it in her porridge this week.

Neeko a thread meet up would be great! Laughed out loud at you forgetting you were formula feeding! I am dreading having to make up formula and worry about bottles.

Stinkypinky, Bulk cooking, meal planning, washable nappies, blow jobs and sex...you are super women after all!

zeeky glad you survived your hols and hope that you get some sleep tonight.
On a positive note, eilidh has started to say dada all the time ...thats mama, dada and hiya in her vocabulary!
Hope everyone is relaxing with a cuppa just now. Eilidh was in bed late again tonight. She was sick after dinner and brought up banana. Is this normal?
Sorry there are no paragraphs, i'm on my phone

Haverina DS1 used to be sick after banana when we were first weaning. He seemed to like it but then 20 mins later he would bring it all back up. It put me off bananas for quite a while! Apparently bananas are high in potassium which some babies have difficulty digesting. it's strange then that all the books say that bananas are an excellent first food!

Wow on the talking front for Eilidh! It's great when they start getting vocal but in a year or two when it is non-stop chatter & questions, you'll be wishing she couldn't talk !

ha too true zeeky the 'why' stage can be unbearable

still no mama or dada babbling here, anyone else not had this yet? should i be worried?

your lucky dh stinkypinky

thedollshouse hope things start to get better for you soon. doesnt sound to me like you are doing a bad job. i cant keep on top of the housework either, sometimes it will get me down and other times i will just think 'whatever'. my dh is a very chilled out person though and it seems to have rubbed off on me over the years, i used to be a really bad worrier but not so much anymore.

im sorry i dont really have any good advice for anyone. not much news here, Kacie is being good as gold and i am just praying it will last

Hi all.

Harverina have a hug. I can completely understand your disappointment but just think what an excellent start you've given her and how much easier it will be now you know. We should def do that meet up.

Stinkypinky I was jealous of all you were managing to achieve but not that last one! Happy new haircut tho, bet your DH will happily let you spend a fortune at the hairdresser.

Zeeky the 2 hours thing is a nightmare. We're thinking of trying a formula dream feed so she'll sleep a bit longer as i'm sure it's because she's waking up hungry but because she's already had a lot of sleep she finds it difficult to nod off again.

Nicnac No distinguishable words here either but a great growl! Enjoy your angel baby

SleepyWombat - washable nappies were easier with the BF poos, as no disposable could contain them, but as B is now on solids, things are thickening up a bit. Both my kids are heavy wetters, and unless they are changed almost hourly, they leak, unless I put huge boosters in and their bum is then too big for their clothes. If I were a SAHM I would persevere, but back to work soon, so will stop then. Shame as they are so cute.

The occasional mama here, but no pattern.

Loving the hair - even put make-up on today. DH thinks he has a new wife

When I picked up DD1 from nursery, she said to the teacher "Is that my mummy?"

sleepywombat, she is not allowed soya milk in the first year but can have yogurts. I drink soya milk and eat alpro yogurt. Eilidh was always affected by how much dairy I ate through breastfeeding so I try to avoid too much raw dairy. Do you have any tips for avoiding dairy and any good product recommendations? I love the alpro choc yogurt but will need to find a natural version for E.

Neeko, lets arrange somthing? Any ideas? And thanks for being so kind. I could cry right now. I know its not the end of the world - I think I am just feeling a bit tender just now. She is so precious. (as are all our DC's)

zeeky, thanks for letting me know that about bananas - I will avoid too many from now on though E likes them.

Mashed an avocado for Eilidh's dinner tonight and she seemed to enjoy it. Then some melon for pudding. We are now doing a combo of BLW and mashed foods. So, some meals I spoon feed, others are finger foods.

stinkypinky, I do my hair and make up every day. My DH tells me that I should relax and try and be more casual but I find it hard. I feel a total mess without my hair washed and make up on.

Hope you are all well.

Hello ladies, wow, a lot to catch up on since I've been away. We had a lovely time withy my sister and her three girls, they were all over Alexander (a bit too much perhaps as he has caught the youngest one's horrid cold) and DD loved playing with them, the goats, the chickens and the new puppy.
The mountain air seemed to agree with Alex as he was gobbling up his purees, having only had a spoonful or two at home. I tried giving him apple for breakfast yesterday but he just wanted BF and a long sleep. He is really rattly and snuffly, it's sad. I have moved him into his cot in his own room, he is growing up already. On holiday I slept with him in the middle and DD on the other side of my sister's sofa bed, it was really nice being snuggled up with my two babies. For some reason Alex was very wakeful but he seemed to like the cuddles :).
harverina really sorry about the allergies. Will Eilidh grow out of it, do you think? It might sound a stupid question but I had a milk allergy when young and couldn't have milk at all (although I could have cheese, so obviously I wasn't as bad as Eilidh) but at 13 my mum tried me on milk again and I was fine. I don't think we had soya milk and that kind of thing back in the 70's.
dollshouse so sad to read your post, it made me cry because I have had all those thoughts too. I remember being out for a walk with DD on the most glorious sunny day, in the beautiful countryside near where we live, and still feeling down and tearful and rotten, and thinking how can I be so down on such a wonderful day? Have you had your iron levels checked at all? Low iron can make you feel very tired and then it's easy to feel worse and worse. Might be worth asking. Really hope you are feeling better.
Right, better go and do last night's washing up and get ready for the day!

Welcome back bettymum, glad you had a nice holiday. Sorry to hear that Alex has a cold, Eilidh has had a cold too. Te consultant says that alot of children grow out of milk and egg allergies by age 3 but not all children so we are hoping that she will grow out of it. I am going to go milk/egg free too. Think that it will be easier for us if I try to do it too. Feel a bit better today as I did a meal planner for Eilidh. Think that while she is young it will be ok to manage, it just when she is older that it will be harder. We have to go back to the consultant in 6 months time and she said that we would discuss then introducing well cooked dairy to see how Eilidh reacts. This is called a "food challenge" apparantly. I just need to try and relax a little. Yesterday Eilidh's eyes were slightly red and puffy after eating melon - she has had melon most days since we started weaning. I totally panicked and gave her piriton. She had melon again this morning and was absolutely fine. Before she had it she was rubbing her eyes and they were quite red, so I think that this is what happened yesterday and that I just got a fright .

bettymum, sorry to hear that you have been having low days. Are you ok now?

Its been quiet here today, hope you are all well and getting some sleep. We have had a difficult few days sleep wise. On Tuesday night Eilidh was up every 1.5-2 hours for a feed. She hardly fed during the day so I had thought that she might waken more - but hadnt expected her to be up that much! Last night was better. She finally went to bed at 9pm, woke at 3am and went back to bed till 7am.

princess i know you weaned at a similar time to me and are on 3 meals a day now. just wondering how much milk jude is having?
Kacie has now cut down to only two bottles one at 7am and one at 3.30pm. every time i tried to give her one before bed she threw it all up. she still sleeps right through without the bedtime bottle, she has her tea at 6 then bed at 7. i know she is probably not having enough milk but it is better than her being sick every night surely?
she's doing better than ds did at this age anyway as he refused to have bottles at all once he was fully weaned.

I am OK thanks harverina, I had a bit of a weepy day yesterday. I really don't want to go back to work, but financially I have to as DH is self empolyed and has very unpredictable income, and has really suffered during the recession. Worryingly though, me being a bit rundown seems to have affected my milk supply. There didn't seem to be much in there last night, and A was screaming and screaming which he never does (I know, I am a very lucky mummy) and I was getting more and more worried, DH was out at a meeting. Anyway he settled eventually and slept all night, I think it's just his cold bothering him. But this morning I don't seem to have much milk at all, normally my boobs are quite hard and full first thing but today they're not at all. Going to try and relax, and do some baking with DD, that should sort it :).

Nicnac, Jude's pretty similar to Kacie..he rarely has a morning bottle, and if he does, will not take more than about 2-3 ozs, will have an afternoon bottle of around 4-5ozs,and also has his bedtime milk, staggered betwen 5pm and 7pm..I try and get him to take as much as I can, but it's usually again around 5ozs. I also was slightly concerned about the milk intake, but he eats really well, he does eat jar food , but he also has a varied diet of veg/fruit and meat, and Makenzi-Shei was pretty much the same too. I agree that it's better for them not to be sick, and he is a content little boy as well. xx

Bettymum Stop worrying! When you hit six months it's normal for your boobs to adjust to the milk and stop feeling full. There's planty milk there and it's most likely his cold that's making him unsettled. The same thing happened to me with DD1 and I stopped feeding Ride it out.
If it helps I feel sick at the thought of returning to work but know i'll be so busy once I'm there that it'll be ok.

Nicnac and princess after i stopped feeding DD1 I became obsessed with how much milk she took as it was waaay below what all the info said. My health visitor just said that if someone offered me a glass of milk or a delicious meal and I was hungry the choice would be easy so not to worry. she also said to offer water with ever meal and plenty of yoghurt and fruit. HTH.

Sleepywombat Motherhood is a real challenge for controlfreaks like us As for coping with two - some days I don't but while there's twice the stress, there's also twice the fun. My girls are now really giggly together and it's my favourite sound in the whole world! I love to think that I've given them both a potential friend and confidante for life (plus sparring partner )

harverina glad to hear you're feeling a bit better. I was reading the Tesco baby club magazine yesterday which said "babies often outgrow milk or egg alergy" and immediately thought of you. We'll definitely do a meet up although DD1 inconveniently goes to nursery in the afternoon which makes it tricky. I go back to work in December 3 days a week. When are you back?

H was awake 9 times last night between 7.30 and 9.30. I really thought we were in for it so wen't to bed to try to maximise sleep time and she slept until 6am!! Hurrah! I feel like a new woman today.

Have a great weekend all.

planty milk?? plenty

thanks princess i too am on jars now as Kacie would eat my food really slowly or just refuse it sometimes and was sick quite a bit. tried her with a jar and she wolfed it down the little madam. i was a bit upset at first but i know i didnt make anything wrong as i made all Ajay's babyfood and he loved it, she must just be fussy and maybe because the jars are slightly smoother than some homemade stuff it agrees with her tummy better. still feel a bit ashamed when i feed her jars out in public but if she's happier with them then thats all that matters to me i'll get over it ha. she has the meat and veg ones mainly and then fruit for one pudding and yoghurt for the other. i dont buy any of the actual pudding jars that say cheescake and things like that. really dont see the point in giving a baby stuff like that.

thats lovely neeko i feel the same about having two. i love walking in a room and seeing Ajay playing with his little sister and her full of giggles laughing at him. he has made me realy proud as a big brother. the other day i gave him the argos catalogue and told him he could look through and pick some toys he wanted for christmas and he asked me if he could pick something for him to get Kacie first. i thought that was so sweet.

i used to worry about the milk intake with Ajay but just thought that at the end of the day i couldn't force him and he had a lot of milk on his breakfast and plenty of yoghurts and broccoli and things like that with lots of calcium.
Kacie will have two 9oz bottles most of the time, and she has porridge for breakfast but i buy the creamed porridge jars at the moment so not sure how much milk is in them. she loves water and drinks plenty of that at both meal times so i am not worrying. Ajay was having less milk by now and it has not done him any harm.

nicnac ajay sounds like a complete sweetheart!
neeko thanks for your kind and very sensible words :). I am feeling a lot better again, DD and I made cupcakes with pink icing and pink sparkles yesterday afternoon, DH won't go near them . Probably just as well actually as DD has coughed and sneezed all over them .

Ahhh Bettymum cupcakes can cure anything! There's just something about them that helps lighten the blackest of days .

For those who are now well into weaning, can I ask how much your little ones ate in the early stages & how much of a battle it was if any to get them to eat it. George tends to clamp his lips and gums shut so that I just can't get the spoon in. When I do get some in he spits a lot back out. He is gettng some as his nappies have changed consistency & smell (no more vinegary milky poo!). I don't remember it being such a battle with DS1. I'm currently giving him some fruit or veg purée at lunch & just starting giving a second meal of baby rice at tea time. He's just over 5 months so taking it slow.

Neeko I don't go back to work until may next year (smile). Taking the full year then my annual leave. Dread going back too but know that i'm lucky to be taking so much time off.
sleepy Thanks for advice. Going to go food shopping on monday and get lots of things so that I can start cooking. Hadn't thought about going into a holland and barratt, Thanks will do that. Zeeky eilidh is over 6 months and still taking tiny amounts of food. We started over two weeks ago but sort of lost our momentum when she had the allergic reaction. Some days she has 3 meals, some days 1 or 2. Building up to 3 meals every day by the time she is 7 months. At each meal she rarely takes more than 5 tiny spoonfulls. Sometimes less so I wouldn't worry. Its all so new for them.

Sleepy - I would have been furious with that woman! So glad LO is ok - could have had major consequences! Your baby, so your choice what goes in their mouth. Be strong. I got so much lip from my ILs when I refused to give choc to DD1 until she was over a year.

I go back to work on 1st Nov (DH is a student so no income, not even benefits, and he can only care for DD2 two days a week. He could not manage both girls ) I will be full time, and in a new unit, but will be in charge, so should be fun.

Started Billie on solids 10 days ago at 23 weeks. Now on three meals- only tried porridge, rice, carrots, apple and banana so far, but loving it. Still breastfeeding and at the same times, if not more often. Poos are fun - varying consistencies, but not constipated thankfully. This evening she was having a snuggle on my lap, went red in the face, and I felt something warm and wet running down my leg - poo Nice.

Meant to say BFing at the same times as before, if not more frequently, plus meals (little piggy emoticon)

Just a quick query really. I think my periods have restarted (getting some very light bleeding) & was really surprised as I'm still fully breastfeeding. I thought they didn't start again until bf stops which is what happened last time. Just wondering what everyone else's experience has been. Should I be concerned?

I had periods with DD1, but nowt this time - perhaps I am going through the change...

Remember contraception - BF will not protect you. I wouldn't worry personally.

Zeeky I had light bleeding a few months ago but have had no bleeding since. I'm still fully breast feeding too. Doubt its anything to be concerned about. Some people do re start their periods when bf.ing I think. It helps if your still feeding during the night.