July 2005 babies

[AussieSim]

Welcome all those with fresh new babies. Oh the joys and tribulations. Post the lot here!

I hope I haven't overlooked a previous thread here for us. Anyway, here goes.

DS2 was due 3 July but arrived 29 June, 9lb 6oz. He has been growing nicely and is 4 weeks old today. I am breastfeeding and have already had mastitis and thrush but am pushing on with it. Biggest problem is sometimes he sleeps too long in the day and then wakes up a lot in the night, not that he stays awake for long, just long enough to feed and go back to sleep. The Midwife says that I shouldn't worry about his lack of wakefulness for the moment in the absence of any other issues, and to see how he is going around the 6 week mark. She also said I should wake him up during the day, which I have been reluctant to do, but I think I will have to do. Anyone else got an overly sleepy baby who doesn't seem to be growing out of it quickly enough?

With dd1 I bought lots of unisex clothes thinking we'll have another one at some point which may be a boy so I was trying to save money. By the time she was 18 months, she was already expressing a preference for 'pink or purple'. If I buy her anything blue we have a real battle trying to make her wear it. And jeans, we'll, they're a big cause of arguments. With this one, I'm going for pink right from the start.

Pinkmamma, dd2 also has a mark between her eyes. Somebody told me that its a stork's mark and that it should fade. Could that be what yours has? I agree with MrsD, the internet is a scary place.

So many messages to catch up on! We have been very busy this week as dh is off work and it was dd's 3rd birthday yesterday .

Belated happy birthday Eulalia .

Pinkmama, ds2 has a birthmark also. His is on the inside of his left thigh but it is about 5 mm in diameter and brown. Doctor said (at 6 week check, yesterday) that it was an unusual colour for a mark on a baby but measured it and said if it changes at all that I should contact her again. She said also that she didn't think it would really amount to anything so I am largely happy about it, although a part of me really wants to google to see if I can come up with anything but I daren't. dd also had stork marks on her eyelids and in between her eyes. They were more like burst blood vessels and purple and used to get worse when she cried. They went by the time she was one fortunately, but I did worry at the time!

I am with Pamina, pinkmama and Mrsd on the weight thing too. I have loads which I need to shed but feel ravenous most of the time due to feeding.

Right, must be off now as I am enjoying the fact that ds2 has been asleep for a couple of hours and the other two are amusing themselves in the garden.

Hi All

I must say that it is quite uplifting to read everyones recent posts, as it sounds like everyone is very upbeat and enjoying motherhood. We aren't exactly having a party but we are having some people over for lunch today and both boys are currently asleep, which happens very rarely and would usually be a great opportunity for a nap.

So far we have had to give away 2 lots of tickets from our theatre subscription and turn down invitations to a Charity Ball. I just don't seem to be able to seriously consider expressing and giving him to someone else to bottle feed. Plus I wouldn't be seen dead in formal attire at this size.

Just to close the loop on the contraception issue: I ended up getting a mini pill script, as DH is talking of having the big 'V' soon anyway as he is dead against number three and I am wavering on it so head over heart and all that. I think I will only bother getting the script filled around 16wks.

My Ob/Gyn said the Jelly Belly needs to be exercised and will also see some improvement when estroegen levels rise when I stop Breast Feeding and that any remaining effects after that are just the cost of motherhood. Oh goody ... I am a bit worried about exercising too much in case it affects my milk supply. One woman I know returned to playing netball and after her first game back her milk started to dry up.

DS2 is 8wks old Wednesday and last week weighed in at 5.35kg. DS1's most helpful comment to him include: 'Kai are you awake?' great especially when he is asleep and it is yelled loudly in a high pitched voice in his ear.

Must go and see if DH has left me anything to do before our guests arrive ...

Aussisim at your ds1.

Yesterday I left ds2 sleeping in the car while I put the kettle on. Turned round to find ds1 walking through the door carrying him. He'd undone his straps because he'd woken and thought he should carry him in the house. I know he is 6 but what if he'd dropped him. Of course dd wants to carry him too but no way can she manage it.

No idea what to do about contraception - dh would never have the snip. I was reading Scotland on Sunday and there was a photographer who'd had a baby when he was 68 - dh is 60 soon so he is young!

Nursing a baby is damn hard work
Playing this makes me less beserk.

hellllooooooo

did you miss me?! we've been in devon for a week with all the inlaws, 12 of us in total. i am a saint! actually had a really good time, ds loves his cousins & they all looked fab in their wetsuits. dd & i spent most of the time chilling out on our own as the beach was a bit much. she was muuch admired.

not too much to report. she's 7.5 weeks now, & super-smiley. had a great night last night - bed at 10:30, feed about 3:30 (10 mins, no fussing, straight back in basket), then we had to wake her around 8. i am in shock.

really pleased how chilled & happy everyone sounds .

Hello everyone, long time no post, as in about 7 weeks....I'm very impressed that everyone has managed to get to thier computers so promptly. Jacob, the big lad, is now just over 7 weeks old, and just over 7kg in weight...he was 4 and a half at birth, so has been packing it on at an average of half a kilo a week. He's long with it, so doesn't look reallly fat, just looks loke a 3 month old. He was feeding about avery 2 hours, all through the night too, and has just recently started to space out the gaps between feeds. Plus he's started to sleep a bit better at night, ie manage the odd stretch of 6 hours straight, ( ah bliss). Hope I'm not jinxing it by talking about it...
Generally I'm finding it easier second time round, Dd is the main focus as to what gets done, and Jacob is fitting in with the routine. Dd has been really good with him so far, she has her moments, but it could be alot worse!
I'm loving the fact that Jacob is starting to really notice things, smile, and even gurgle a bit, doesn't feel quite so sufforcating as it did initially, some variation on the sleep, eat, poo, cry has to be good.
The tits are holding up, the belly is in a sorry state, though slowly retreating from still looking 8 months pregnant. I know fuck all excercises and am hoping that generally running around and eating less ( cos I can't be arsed to cook in the evenings) will contribute to some weight loss. Any excercise classes are all on days I have both kids, so not really possible to attend.
Glad everyone sounds well from the few posts I managed to read. This newborn business is getting easier, and I am SO happy not be pregnant anymore. Off next week for a mireena coil to be fitted, apparently as effective as getting sterilised, lasts 5 years, practically eliminates your period...sounds too good to be true!

HC, holiday sounds marvellous! We've still got to book ours. Will do after the party on Sunday. One hurdle at a time....did you stay at family home or in a hotel?

OzJo: its got to be swimming for me to sort me out. BF seems to be making me hungrier than ever. Still the weight is coming off 2-4 pounds a week. This is miracle number one. Number two is Vin dropped a feed last night, god bless him. I feel so rested, though I then had my ifrst experiuence since he was in ICU of engorged dripping breasts. Sadly the breast pump wasn't sterilised so I didn't use that. It's bubbling away now, so I will next time this happens!

Happy Mondays to the rest of you..{dances off like Bez to see if sleeping child stirring yet}

ha, jinxed myself with the sleeping - dh woke both me & ds up when he came to bed, which woke the baby etc etc. ah well.

mb, we stayed here , in the self catering flats. it's fantastic, you get to use all the hotel facilities. and the inlaws paid .

going for my coil fitting at lunchtime. what fun....

oooh that looks interesting.
but i won't think of you at yr coil fitting

i wonder why...

diet went a bit by the wayside last week, mb, as i mostly lived on fish & chips & ice cream. whoops. quite a lot of smoothies though. going up to my parents for a week tomorrow, so will try & avoid chocolate. maybe. am losing about a pound a week though.

I'm not losing any weight. I was the same as you HC after dd1 and lost a lb a week. This time I'm the same weight that I was when I came out of hospital over a month ago. Very depressing. I need to lose 12lbs to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. But, maybe I don't have to go back to that exactly as I'm sure my bigger boobs must weigh at least an extra lb. I've got my 6 week check-up next week then I'm going to start running. Ozjo, it shouldn't make your milk dry out. I'll just need to make sure I rest when I get back and have a snack. Running always makes me lose weight. Or, at least it used to. I'm going to a wedding at the end of September. I want to buy a new outfit for it and my goal is to lose at least 6lbs by then.

Dd2 had her hearing tests today and all is fine. I was worried as the antibiotics she was on when born can affect hearing. Really very relieved.

Eulalia, we're having the same problems with dd1 picking up and carrying dd2 if we leave them on their own for even a nano-second. Bit worrying as dd1 is not 3 yet!

On the coil front, I'm going to go for one too. Does anybody know any good sources of info about which is the best type to go for? Are there any which make you loose weight????

Good news on the hearing test. Was it one of those where they ping sound in her ear? All very new to me, pleased Vin passed his.

I have my 6 week check up Thurs. Not sure what this is gonna entail. Some women say its a thorough lady garden check, others say their gp just asks them how suicidal they feel and leave it at that!! Any wisdom to pass along.

Also Vin has his 8 week check soon: is that a developmental checkover, anyone know? xfx

Afternoon everyone. Nothing much to report really, just thought I'd say hi.

Hoxtonchick, glad you had a nice holiday and good luck with the diet. You have more will power than me. I am actually back to pre preg weight nearly (only 4 lbs heavier) BUT sadly I do still have a good two stone to lose on top of that.

With regards to exercise, I had good intentions today to do an aerobics dvd that I have had in the cupboard unwrapped since before being pg. Sadly I haven't managed to get around to it yet although I did manage to take the cellophane off it which is a start I suppose .

ds2 slept from 10.30 pm until 3.30 am last night. It would have been a lovely rest for me except dd woke up and insisted on a story tape in her room which meant that I got no sleep whatsoever .

Well, I hope everyone has had a better day than me - have been catching up on washing after dh being off work last week. MB - lol @ dancing like bez .

Any tips on how to get a baby to stop crying???

Just a quick note. Eulalia, yes I wish we had named our little girl at birth as it has made it very difficult to fix on one name. But we're nearly there!

Mrs Darcy - there are 2 names in the shortist. One too many. Also I can add myself to those going overboard on the pink bubblegum look. Well I would if I could, but Bath was very low on pink babygrows etc last week.

Has anyone bathed their baby in a Tommy tub? My sister sent this over from Switzerland and it looks like a bucket and may be sold under a different name here. Babies feel secure because they can feel the sides. Our little girl farted in it the other evening and she nearly shot out of it in surprise as this bubble rose infront of her! It does have a very calming effect though.

Loloasmum - maybe a bath may help as a distraction. Or music with a strong drum beat. Good luck - hope you get some peace soon.

Latearrival, I've got a Tummytub, ds loves it! It's meant to be similar to how it felt to be inside you, ds bobs around in it for ages, it's like his own little hot tub!

We're going through a growth spurt at the moment, he's been feeding constantly almost for the last day or so, wont let me put him down, and my boobs are really feeling it. Just got to press on through it and hope it all calms down again soon.

Hello
Welcome back HC, although not for long I know! We must get the girls together very soon!

Lolasmums, regarding the coil, my gp told me that the one with hormones is same effectiveness as one without. 1 with can prevent you having periods, which sounds like a bonus to me. Friend had that one and she didnt have a period until she had it removed 5 years later. I went for one without last time because I seem quite sensitive to hormone fluctuations, get v bad PMS and quite low in pregnancy. GP said it might stop it, but I am not sure I want to risk having it put in, PMS being worse, and having to have it whipped out again. Friend did say that she felt the hormone one stopped her losing weight, but I guess that is hard to prove. Try looking at IUDs . Hope you managed to stop the crying last night!

I have got tonsilitis, which could do without, especially as this is dh's first week back at work. If I have infection, I obviously dont have any immunity to it, so does that mean that Violet is likely to get it. Bless her, I hope not, but not sure how they get the antibodies off you if I can still catch it, and she spends so much time so close to me. Does anyone know?

Let us know when you settle on a name latearrival!

Must get Violet registered soon. I keep forgetting, and then putting it off. Its the though to dragging all 3 of them into town that puts me off. Should have done it before dh went back, but we always thought we would do it tomorrow!

Hi pinkmamma. I think dd is less likely to get your tonsilitis if you're breast feeding. Not sure how it works though. She will be sharing your immune system and you will already be developoing anti-bodies before she catches it. I think. I hope you're feeling better soon. Tonsilitis is horrible.

Thanks for the coil advice. Don't think I like the sound of the hormone one. I never got on very well with the pill.

Latearrival, the bath does get dd2 to stop crying. For how many hours a day do you reckon I can bath a 1 month old?

dd2 is definitely going through a 'difficult phase' at the moment. Maybe its colic. She keeps crying. When I try and get her to feed she has 1 suck and then pulls away and appears to be in agony. I can't get her to burp very easily. She also keeps doing these enormous pukes. All cottage cheese like and they stink. Dd1 didn't do these. Is this normal? They really are very dramatic.

I can't complain too much though. She is awake and crying for most of the day (asleep now though and so is dd1!!!) but she sleeps from about 11pm until 7am. Maybe the yucky daytimes are the price to pay.

Lolasmum, ds2 doing that aswell. I have started to give him infacol and wind him more which has helped enormously. Having said that , I have just given him a feed and popped him over my shoulder to bring up any wind and lo and behold we were both decorated in said cottage cheesy stuff . My other two never once posseted like that so I am getting used to the unpredictability of it all. You are very lucky with the nights. ds2 has dropped a feed now and I am getting some benefit but nothing like a full 8 hrs sleep .

Hope you feel better, Pinkmama, and hope DD settles down Lolasmum.

I took DD for her MRI today - we don't get the results until next week when we have her check at the hospital. There was a family whose son was having an MRI and was clearly very ill, and they were undersandably distraught. It was very upsetting .

I pranged the car on the way home, on a busy roundabout . My poor victim was unhurt but his car didn't look good, and his wife was pretty shaken. I really wanted to grovel and be sympathetic but my litigation head surfaced so I didn't. I also knew that if I stopped being formal I would probably start crying, which is exactly what I did once I got back into the car. They probably think I'm really mean and will deny liability.

I hpe everyone else is having a better day!

MB - at my 6 week check after DS2, my GP asked if "the undercarriage" was OK, then examined my tummy and asked if I would like to have a tummy tuck! . Apparently here (I have had each delivery in a different city!) they do a ladygarden check but I don't know if it's a proper internal or just a little peep. Anyone know? I am completely freaked out by having stitches. I was the same way after DS1, and it took me ages to get over it. The thought of anyone going anywhere near me "down there", whether medically or for fun (ha!) terrifies me.

HC - your holiday sounds lovely. My DH is still working like a dog so no holidays for us for a while. I have just e-mailed him the school holiday dates, and we are going to book some Landmark Trust houses for later in the year.

dd has doubled her birth weight (1.93 kilos / 4lbs 4 oz) in 7 weeks !!!!!! (was 4 prem).

She weighed in at 3.93 kilos today (that's 8lbs 10 oz).

That's bang on the 50th percentile, but apparently the rate of her weight increase, week on week, over the last month means (according to the nurse) that we're over-feeding... either / or too much milk, too often (EBM / formula, bottle).

We've been told to introduce up to 4oz cooled boiled water per day, cap the quantity at each feed to around 100ml (about 3.3oz) when she typically has been falling asleep at around 110 / 120ml, and try to space feeds to at least 3 hours (we've been demand feeding; typical gap 2 - 4 hours, average is probably 3ish)...

What do you all reckon ? Does this sound sensible or does it sound a bit ginafordish ? I'm not really sure tbh, but obviously wouldn't like to encourage obesity / bad feeding habits IYSWIM...

great news about the weight gain, Hub. What proportion ebm:formula? I didn't realise Dee was still expressing (the trouper! )
1-handed typing so brief!

Am a bit sceptical of boiled water. Tried it with ds1 when he had hiccoups until I read that it was a waste of time. dd didn't drink any water (or anything else for that mattter) till she was 7 months. Is your dd taking straight from the breast at all? thing about bottles is that it is easy just to slip a bit more in and yes babies do find it easier than sucking on the breast so will tend to take more. I am sure she's getting enough fluid so maybe just reduce the formula amount so you can increase the breast milk amount (if I assume you want to phase out the formula eventually) and try to get her to take it direct from the breast.

Obviously boiled water won't do any harm of course, just seems like more faff for 'empty calories'.

Need to go ds2 is crying...

Good news hub, all i know about boiled water is that it tastes crappy.

MrsD, I will make sure I share my (non) lady garden experience with you on Thursday. Bet that makes your week....