May 2010: All the babies have arrived, welcome to the other side!

[rachelfruitloop]

Here we are ladies, a new Postnatal thread! I wonder if we'll fill this one up as fast with one-handed typing?!

So cannot keep up with everything and everyone. We are fine here, Jacob is taking more of an interest in his surrounding now and will actually spend 10 mins in his swing having a look about without screaming. Loads of gummy smiles though

Carikube - so so sorry to hear about your cousin, life sucks sometimes. I think all 10yo boys want to do is play on Wii's or Xboxes or DSs.

LuckyC - grizzliness well even the girls call Jacob "grumpy baby" he does seem quite miserable a lot of the time. I think it's the stage they are at and if I remember it gets better soon, 3 months for me has always been the holy grail when things start to calm down a bit.

hollyoaks - sympathy on the piles front, I had a terrible one after DD3 it literally had me in tears it was so sore, could hardly sit down, I went to docs and got suppositories and loads of cream and it camed down.

Feeding bra wise - I have a lovely Hotmilk one and two Elle Macpherson ones, have a few old Mothercare ones for emergencies, might treat myself to another Hotmilk one though.

Would love to write more but duty calls.

Attempt to catch up with todays posts.. you chatty lot!

Hollyoaks- hope the cream helps.

Carikube- Sorry to hear about your cousin.
Hope DD2's cough improves soon. Not much experience of 10yr old boys.. but id guess they would have their heads bruied in a Nintendo DS or something.
A kick about in the park/picnic etc?

Rachel - glad you managed to squeeze in another case Im not a light traveller so dont know how you do it!

Raquel- Soooo with you on folding the washing from the line!
Hope the heel prick tests go ok. Anyone would panic after that call.
Lovely pics

homebirth- that pram clip looks lovely

Sassles- id be pissed off too. Hope their visit isnt too stressful for you.

SK- Good to hear Jacob is becoming more settled.

Lucy has been smiling more and more now which is lovely and DD is enjoying her becoming more interactive with her.

DH as of today is now a commuter as his office has been moved to London. Was home 2 hours later than im usd to and I really felt it today as both girls have been abit grizzly ( prob the heat). I guess ill get used to it but im knackered tonight. Lucy being awake for 2hours in the early morning didnt help either.

I also started back at DD1's Swimming lessons today.She was so excited bless her. Thankfully she hasnt forgotten her skills. Lucy 'watched' from the side

Lucy was 6 weeks yesterday.... where on earth has that time gone!!!
My PFB is 2 in July as well My babies are growing up too quickly!

morning ladies, hope every one is well! Posting from my mobile again! LuckyC I took my DS1 to a cranial osteopath when he was newborn, he'd quite a sore head from failed ventouse and then forceps. It seemed to help him settle easier and feed better. Cari I know Lego is a big hit at my house so maybe your cousin's nephew would like it, there are some pretty cool sets. We had a decent night despite unfamiliar surroundings. Eric slept from 11 pm to 4.30 am so that was great! I didnt sleep so well as all 3 boys were snoring! Forgot to pack any night nappies for DS1 so went without for the first time last night, he woke up wet. My quest for today is to go buy some night nappies for him. (and ear plugs for me!) Oh well, at least we know he's not ready to give them up yet.

Grrrrr

Blardy DH. Today is the last day before ds and dd1 are off for summer hols - different system in NI. I wanted to do something just me, him and Molls but he isn't well enough because he hasn't been taking his meds properly for about a week. He has bipolar and is fairly ok but on a stack of drugs and I usually oversee it but have been busy with Molly for weeks and although we've caught on early enough so he'll be ok I'm just annoyed that I can't trust him with this, now of all times.

wooooooo its washing machine repair day!!!! pleeeeeeeeeeeease let it be fixed today!!!! sad aren't i?! haha

molly sorry that you won't get to spend your day doing something nice - hope the meds get sorted.

angel a big woohoo for you and your washing machine - I really feel for you as I was without one for about 2 days a couple of weeks before DD2 was born and I went doolally. How I would have coped if I'd had more DC like you, I have no idea!

Pigley am with you on the growing up quickly - DD2 seems to be starting to smile, and DD1 made it all the way downstairs on her own today for the first time.

Am trying a fleece liner in DD2's nappies today and we'll see how we get on. DD1 has developed an obsession with opening the nappy bucket and emptying them out which I'm not overly impressed with...

am hating every minute of it this time round

dd JUST cries. all day. with no relief unless she's asleep. and she doesn't sleep - she was awake for 12 hours the other day.

it can't be normal?

but the gp said its 'just' colic and she'd grow out of it. in 3 months.

sorry for the me post but i really need to hear if anyone has any advice.

i've tried:
infacol, dentinox, gripe water, driving, swaying, singing, dancing, walking, rocking, vibrating chair, rocking chair, pushchair, dummy and leaving her. none of it stops her crying.

ds was never like this. he wailed a bit but nothing in comparison.

angel, yippee! at last! so pleased for you, i remember seeing something on tv a number of years ago about a woman who held the washing machine repair guy hostage til he fixed it, not trying to give you ideas but........

carikube, hope you like the fleece liners as much as i do, yeuch at your dd1's new game, would it be a total nuisance to maybe keep the bucket in the bath?

molly, sorry to hear you are not getting the day you wanted, it seems a long way off now but can you do it again when schools reopen?

newmomma, for you,it must be such hard work, i know when virginia has her crying time (which seems to be from when everyone gets home in the evening to about 7 or 8) i sometimes feel quite distressed, like i must be a crap mum or something. i am learning some coping tips though, like repeating to myself that all babies cry. tips i find work for me ( to a point)

1. she loves to be naked so i let her lie on a pampers drynites bedmat (in case she wees or poos) absolutely naked, this begins to calm her down a little, next
2. i give her a warm bath which seems to settle her a little more, followed by
3. sitting with her cheek on my exposed boob, for some reason she finds this reassuring, she is not hungry and doesnt want to feed, just seems to want to be close until she is asleep.

i know she gets like this for 2 reasons though, she seems to get tummy ache late afternoon and needs to poo and also, she doesnt sleep in the afternoon and is totally exhausted. finding the reason for the crying is the key i think but it is so difficult at times. i do hope your dd settles soon as you must be feeling desperate. on a final note, have you tried baby massage??? your hv may know of a good local therapist to teach you. i am sorry that my advice may be stuff you have already tried or just rubbish for you but i will be thinking of you.

angel you're not sad, if my washing machine didn't work i would have a breakdown, i'm in shock just thinking about it, i think i would kidnap the neighbour's

thanks homebirthmummy4

It's very kind of you to offer some solutions.
unfortunately, as you say, I have tried them.

• She hates being naked...
• She LOVES the bath, but then seems to really really hate the naked drying part after so gets even more wound up then before the bath.
• I haven't tried the exposed boob thing - although she does tend to do it after a feed, she latches off and then just sits (usually with a nipple in her closed eye socket ) but I haven't tried it when she's crying.

I wish it were just for short periods (even three hours would seem short), but its all the time. Literally sleeping or crying (or feeding).

I just phoned the HV - she's coming out on Thursday morning, which seems like ages away to check her out and see what she thinks.

Am going to the bf clinic tomorrow to see if they have any advice too.

I did a baby massage class with my son - so did try some of the techniques with DD but unfortunately the naked problem just makes her cry.

I'm just dreading the day DH phones me from his Mums and says he can't face coming home.

i have just arranged for a lady from the local milk bank to visit me tomorrow to discuss me becoming a donor. have NEVER expressed before so hope it all works out as i have seen the tiny little babies who depend on this service. no doubt i will be on here looking for advice about it over the next few days.

oh newmomma, i wish i was close enough to you to just come over and be there with you. is your dh's mum someone you can talk to about that fear? i mean, could you talk to her in order that she would persuade your dh to come home if it ever did get to that (i really hope it doesnt though)

newmomma, where are you based? maybe between all of us we can arrange visits to give you a break or even some company and a friendly ear.
i can't say i know how you feel because oscar hardly cries, annoying i know, but i am having trouble breast feeding and he never seems to settle after breast only, except when a friend of mine holds him, i actually asked her to move in with us for a few months but she refuses and laughs, probably thinks i'm joking

The timing is really bad.
DH's sisters son is having a fairly heavy duty operation next week and is going into hospital this week for testing so I can't really lay any more stress at their feet at the moment, be it talking to them (MIL etc) about fears or asking for babysitting help.

I'm sure she would never let her son cop out and take the easy route but if it actually came to that point I'd be mortified.

I feel awful but I just feel like walking away sometimes. She doesn't stop crying whatever I do so it feels so futile to keep trying.

Sorry alle cross post.

I'm in Reading, Berkshire...

Can I help with your bf problems? Is it wind maybe? Or is he getting the right kind of milk, have you checked your latch is good?

newmomma there is also a helpline you may or may not have heard ofwww.cry-sis.org.uk. this is the blurb from their home page, they are open right now 'Cry-sis offers support for families with excessively crying, sleepless and demanding babies.From its modest beginnings, Cry-sis has developed to become a well-respected and national charity. The stated aims remain 'to be efficient and effective in providing self-help and support to families with excessively crying, sleepless and demanding babies'. To achieve this, Cry-sis runs a national telephone helpline that is available to callers every day of the year between 9.00am and 10.00pm. Callers are referred to a trained volunteer member of Cry-sis who has had personal experience of crying or sleep problems within their own family. '

Sounds like it might be worth a try home, thanks, I'll give them a call and see what they recommend.

happy to help, hope they are useful.

i called and an old chap answered saying his wife does the counselling and she's asleep as she's been on nights...

i guess i'll just try again a bit later.

gonna have to go - as DS's woken...

washing machine fixed now to tackle the mount everest of washing!!!

newmomma have you tried colief? I exhausted all the options with dd2 but colief worked wonders. Its expensive but so worth it. And a sling!!

someone mentioned colief to me but i heard you had to add it to a formula. i'm exclusively bf...

newmomma, the neonatal nurse has just shown me a special massage for the relief of colic which is done with clothes ON. i cannot scan the printout unfortunately but if your hv cannot show you, it seems to have come from a book called infant massage a handbook for loving parents by vimala mcclure .

virginia has gained 8oz this week

Hi all had a nice morning at BF group was two new babies there one a week old one 4 weeks old, they made Jacob look huge [sob] Jacob did a huge explosive poo and had to be changed!

Feeling like a crap Mum just now as it's the start of the school holidays and we cannot really go anywhere, I cannot go on my own with 4 of them. Would love to have taken DD1 and 2 to swimming lessons over the Summer but there's no way I can take them all there then get DD1 and 2 changed and look after DD3 and Jacob. Feel like the other 2 are missing out a bit

newmomma - sorry you are having a hard time of it. Someone else I knew swears by colief as well, you could express a few mls and mix it with it. Have you tried a sling, I was a bit about it at first but it's brillant, if J is very grizzly he goes in the sling 5 mins later fast asleep?

angel - yey on the washing machine getting fixed bet it's on non stop for the day now

Right better get back to it Jacob needs changed and DD3 will be up from her nap soon.

SK I'm in awe of how you and the other mums with several kids manage! You won't be able to please everyone all the time, you're only human! It sounds to me like you're doing an excellent job! Newmomma I'm so sorry you're having a tough time. I tried Coleif with DS1 in expressed breast milk, started using it around the same time we saw a cranial osteopath, not sure what did the trick but he was much easier to settle after that. angel hooray for your fixed washing machine!