Parenting after LT TTC #3

Hi All and a big welcome to Smithy and Poppyfairy. So good to see you both over here.

Smithy - I know it is hard to let go of the pregnancy thread - I think we all felt that way initially, but you are more than welcome here and we look forward to hearing more about little Charlie.

Poppyfairy - I used a cream called Lansinoh (I think it is made of Lanolin) on my sore nipples - it is perfectly safe for babies, so you don't need to wash your nipples before feeding. You can get it from most chemists and it really helped. It is for soothing, healing and protecting sore nipples. I know how hard it can be in those early weeks to get them attaching properly. Good luck - I hope it doesn't take you too much longer to get him attaching well.

Grub - you poor thing I hope you recover quickly from your infection so you can get off those antibiotics. I had a bout of Mastatis when Jasmine was about 2 months old, so I know how horrible it can be.

Murph - We have been lucky that Jasmine has always taken to a dummy and bottle. I think it was to do with the fact that it took a while for my milk to come in so I was having to do formula top ups. We also use the Avent dummies and I have to say that even though Jasmine is almost 10 months, she still uses the newborn size! I just think it is sometimes a matter of trial and error as to which dummy they will take to.

BG - It still blows my mind how many words Miss E is saying! What a clever little girl you have there. Great to hear how much she is moving around too.

Hi to Neptune, Kahlan, Kelly, Acacia, Marcellus, Bella, BW and anyone else I have misssed - hope you are all well.

AFU - 3 sleeps until our holiday! Can't wait... I THINK I am organised/ I HOPE I am organised! Jasmine had the H1N1 flu shot on Friday last week - she was very brave. I wanted to get her some protection before our trip to the States and also before she starts at Nursery. In the little ones they have to get another shot a month after the first one to get full protection. She has had a couple of very small reactions which I was expecting anyhow - slightly runny nose, slightly runny poos, and a very mild cough... but those all appear to have only lasted about 48 hours. So she is back to normal now.

Janie and Jasmine xxx

just a quick one for murp re dummy - i really didn't want to go the dummy path but Ash really really finds great comfort in it to help his wind. He's very certain when he wants it and when he doesn't and pops it out himself once he's asleep. He's laying next to me doing number 2s while sucking like a crazy baby lol.

anyhoo, our lactation consultant said to just pick up the cheap, no name cherry-shaped brand (we got ours from woolies, comes with a plastic cover which is very handy). We use them only after a feed and in the car and I stay up until he's asleep to remove the dummy so he can learn to resettle himself at night without it.

oh dear.. .poor darling. he's had a lot of pain the last 24 hrs.. he was grunting and crying in his sleep last night and moving his legs like he was having bowel pain. The last day i have just got him out of his bassinette and patted his bum til he settles. seems to work.

got our first giggle too!!! my heart melted... except it was while he was asleep. DH reckons he was having a dream about the two "young and pretty'' ladies who did his renal scan! lol.

off for our shots and 6 week check up! hopefully i'll be putting my running shoes on this week :) can't wait!

sorry no persies gotta go. grunter callin.
oxo

Lol Lenny, at least you didn't put whiskey on it, hey?

OH, first giggles, how lovely!

I still love it whenever DS laughs. It's the most wonderful sound, isn't it? Sometimes he just loses it at the funniest things. The other day he was playing "doing th eshopping". He'd push his little stroller off to the dirt driveway, pick up some dirt and put in under teh stroller (where the basket is on the one I push him in). then pushed the stroller back over to us and handed over the "moo nha nha" (that's cow's milk btw) to granma. She says thanks, shall i put it in the fridge, then mimes opening the fridge and puting the milk in. DS looked at her like she was mad and cracked up. But then when he brought the cheese back he put that in as well.

Wow BG, she's talking so much already!

Hope you guys have a great holiday Janie!

Hope the infection clears up quickly Grub. I had to have ABs for same thing and it was not nice for DS.

Hi Poppy and welcome over here - how're you guys doing? Any better with the feeding? It really is a lot of hard work in the early weeks - no matter how you do it! Feeding on a recline like Grub suggested could be worth a shot.

I think it generally takes a bit of work to get babies to take an artificial nipple, just cause it's not quite what they're expecting, but some definately seem to take more effort than others. We only used one ocasionaly for a short time when DS was little - had to hold it there and force him to take it, which really feels wrong. But then he was doing better and we didn't use it for a week or so and when we tried again - nup. would not take it. to be honest (and although there were times I wished he would just suck a dummy!) I'm glad he never got stuck on them.

And hi Smithy too! This place is getting crowded :D

Hello, just a quick one (I promise),

in a nutshell, I have tried all but one of your suggestions re the dummy-sucking. I have dear (avanti newborn) and cheap (woollies cherry), soft and hard, same with bottles and no joy. common sense has led me to try most of the ideas without knowing to do it and then my MCHN tells me to do the same thing and you all tell me too, so at least I feel like my instincts are on track. They make her gag and throw up (gag reaction) so I'm thinking there must be even smaller dummies as they go too deep and she hates it. any other suggestions are welcome. I'm going to get there...(once more with conviction)...:rolleyes:

The "but one" is the gripe water, so off to the shops tomorrow to find smaller dummy and gripe water (oh and wind drops for green poo, but that's a whole other Oprah story;)

Cheers, lovelies.xox

Hey there all - Murph I am sure that you can get dummies for premmie babies that may be more suitable for what you need... not sure where you could buy them from, but there are heaps of premmie shop sites on the net that maybe able to help.

Hi to everyone else.

Janie xxx

Janie: Have a fantastic holiday and fingers crossed for you that Jasmine is teething free for the time you are away. Hopefully she will be a good girl for you on the long flight.

Well girls I was just looking at the calender and realised that 1 year ago today (2/2/09) was the day our little princess was taken out of the freezer (along with her unsuccessful twin) and put back in to start growing. Wow what a year it has been, and it is so scary to think that time has gone by so fast.

Anyway speaking of my princess I had better go and wake her up for a feed, she has been a bit unsettled at night the past couple of nights which is unusual but is also sleeping way longer ie: she is going to bed at 7.30pm and around midnight she has been whinging in her sleep so we put her dummy in, then she wakes at 4.30am and is chatting away until dummy is put back in again. Sleeps again until 7am and then grizzles in her sleep, dummy back again and then she crashes out.

Yesterday she did the same thing and when I got her up to feed at 9am she didn't actually wake up, she fed while still asleep. She only woke up to do her morning pooey nappy and onced changed she went back to sleep again and didn't wake up until 10.45am. I'm thinking she is growing again, mmm will see at next weeks weigh in.

Hi all,

Great to hear everyone's different experiences with their LOs. Strengthens my newly reconfirmed belief that we all usually know what is best for our babies.

I say this because I have got over my little anxious weekend of worrying about my bf'ing technique. The health visitor came today and weighed my baby and he is putting on weight as he should. My boobs are no longer sore with the help of lanisoh so pooh to the nasty breastfeeding coordinator at the children's centre who criticised my latching. DS and I are coming to the end of his three week growth spurt and we have done it OUR way. Yes he may not latch on in the textbook way and perhaps as a consequence he is feeding longer than he should but I have the time for his feeds and I am getting more breaks (the cluster feeds are only at nighttime now and they mean he sleeps through for at least three to four hours so I really do not mind) He is still only three weeks old so still getting used to not being continually fed by the placenta so I am not going to worry about what some 'professional tells us.'

:hooray: Poppy! You're absolutely right! Sounds like he is doing really well.

Poppyfairy - i'm sure you will find yourself saying pooh to people more and more. Sometimes advice is well intended, but we know deep down what is right for us and our bubs and we get more and more confident in sorting through the good ideas we are offered - and disregarding the unhelpful ones.

:hug:

:clap: your doing great by the sounds poppy..well done hun

well done Poppy and welcome.. yes mothers do know their bub.. even DH has to agree that most of my instincts about Lyla's behaviours and reactions are accurate.

Murph, I was just wondering have you thought about encouraging Jazz to suck her fingers/hand. While I never had to consider dummy or thumb for Lyla (because she is a great settler and has no gas/reflux probs) I was told that the alternative to dummy is the LO's own hand/fingers. The trick is when wrapping we just have to make sure their hands are close enough to their face so that could suck on when they need to.

Grub, first giggle is a heart melting thing isn't it. I remembered the first time Lyla smiled (in her sleep at 2 days old) we knew we had a smiler. She now smiles and laughs all the time.

BG - God Miss E is such a charmer and sounds like a really clever girl. I can't wait for Lyla's first word. So far the only thing I got is Mummmma when she is very upset and really wants mummy to rectify the problem straight away. I don't think it is her first word though as I don't think she knows what it meant.

Kelly, you are very lucky to have a sleeper during growth spurt. Lyla during her growth spurt is extremely fussy in both sleep and feed.

To everyone else I hope you are doing well.

AFU, well we did try the sleeping bag but unfortunately I feel so very sorry for her because she would try doubly hard to crawl, climb and stand in her sleeping bag. I have resolved to letting her do all of the above in her cot for a short while then when she is really tired and cranky, I would give a little cuddle and then put her down to settle. Tried it tonight and she fell asleep pretty much straight away. The other night I actually found her falling asleep kneeling and hugging a pillow with one arm ( I put them there to prevent her from hitting her head onto the cot rail if she happens to fall) and the other hand was on the cot rail waiting to pull to stand. I don't know what to think! She is very tenacious.. I guess considering what it took for us to bring her into this world and what she had to go through to get her I can truly understand.

For those of little ones who have started solid, may I ask how many meals are your little ones having and how much. Lyla is having 2 meals a day and approximately 100-150 mls of solid. Not sure when I should introduce the 3rd meal.

Hello everyone,
I had a great day today and will come and tell you about it tomorrow, but you just have to see these photos. The girl I met in hospital hours before our c-sects is now a good friend and today we caught up and the babies ( born an hour apart) met. OMG!!!!!!! Tell me...is this boy normal? My eyes didn't believe what they were seeing.

Angela Bengsen's Photos - Jazz meets Mace (born 1 hour apart) | Facebook

most days E only has 2 meals - she is offered boob first thing in the morning, and breakfast if she wants it. generally she only has a piece of fruit IF she has anything at all. yesterday she had a lovely prune covered face - don't think any made it into her mouth! for lunch she has anything from half a sandwich to a full sandwich, yogurt if she is eating plenty. i don't push it. again, she gets offered (and usually accepts) boob first. dinner is whatever we're having. tonight it was sweet and sour chicken. no idea the volume - really depends on what we're having! i'd say she had two generous serving spoons of stuff. she wore half the rice, but a fair bit of veg and chicken got eaten. she feeds herself so the mess is just whatever the mess is! we make sure she is eating, but i don't monitor how much exactly. have read many times the mantra "food is fun until they're one" - and that's how we're eating. we do have doggies that enjoy eating her mess though!

having said all that, on weekends, this gets turned on it's head by DH "helping" - he makes rissoles or something for brunch one day, and this is generally accompanied by french toast. she will eat half a slice of bread and a home made rissole for brunch. the other day is pancakes - she pigs out! he makes extra pancakes for her for the coming days, but she just picks at them most days.

she tends to eat pretty well (and her weight gain supports that - averaging 180gm a week!). LOVES her vegies - but will clamp her mouth shut and shake her head visciously if someone tries to feed her mashed anything. it's real food all the way!

the chatterbox has new words and new tricks every day. apparently i was quite talkative as a kidlet too (not this young, but younger than average). she has her first tooth, is commando crawling, is keen to be on her feet, and is in to EVERYTHING! i didn't realise i'd have to baby proof quite this early! her fave game at the moment is over-excited eskimo kisses - they hurt! but are so cute - and she giggles like a loon while she does it. i recorded it and now have it as the ringtone on my phone when a message comes in. only did it last night - woke up when a friend messaged and went to abuse DH for snoring beside me while she was at the other end of the house giggling (sounded like the baby monitor! oops!)

Murph, E has been like the little man you met up with today - she has always wanted to sit and stand. was never a "floppy" baby like most babies i see. i kinda grieve that we didn't have that with her!

Hi girls

Janie - have a fantastic trip!

Grub - I remember Adam doing a lot of grunting at the same age, it was what prompted me to get him out of our bedroom and into his own room!!! Never really knew what the issue was, but it always happened after the 3am feed. He wasn't awake, so I got much more sleep once he was in his own room. I hope the poor little mite feels better soon. And I also hope that your infection clears up and you are off the AB's soon love.

Murph - OMG, that baby is ...unusual!! Just reading in my developmental psych book and that doesn't even rate in the milestones!!! Very cute, and just a little bit freaky. God Jazzy looks cute in her little baby-doll dress :thumbsup: With dummies, I found the pigeon newborn ones quite small????

BG - Little miss E sounds so clever and adorable. Every time I read about a baby that's a little bit older, I can't wait for Adam to get to that stage; however I also have many sad moments when I remember things that he did as a younger baby and I can't believe he has grown so much already. If that makes any sense.

Kahlan - It sounds like you have found a method that works for you with Lyla's bedtime, well done. It all comes down to trial and error, doesn't it? And doing what works for you.

Poppyfairy - So sorry to hear about your BFing problems. Good on you for finding your own way, and keep trying, you will get there.

Smithy - welcome to the parenting thread!! You will love it and you will soon be just as attached as to the other one! Your video was fantastic, Charlie is just lovely.

A big :hello: to Marcellus, Lenny, KellyD, and anyone else I have missed.

AFM> Adam is a bit unsettled at the moment. Has some crying episodes where we have no idea what is wrong and he gets more and more upset to the point that he is really distressed! Very clingy too, and he can be perfectly happy in his rocker or playing on the floor but if he sees me leave the room watch out! He seems to be chewing a lot on fingers and objects; could he be teething? Also waking once or twice during the night and needs comforting. I figure it's just a phase?

Phew - looks like I am giving Grub and Murph a run for their money :p.........on 2nd thoughts, not even close.

PS - Grub - enjoy your first run if you get out there this week. It feels weird at first, but good to back!

Neptune

Tara is going throught the same sort of stage as Adam with the waking during the night and needing resettling, just with the dummy though and also she is now very aware of where I am at all times. If she goes to someone she knows (she will under no circumstances go to anyone she doesn't know) she still watches me all the time to make sure I'm around. She even does this with DH, although I am still able to leave the room if we are at home on our own but once someone else is about she freaks a little bit if she thinks I've left her.

Murph, Tara has also been a very strong baby. Right from the beginning she has wanted to be upright and sit or stand if possible. I think it is because she spent so much time upside down when inside. Enjoy Jazzy still being a baby because trust me before you know it she will be doing things all the time.

Hi everyone else.

Just letting you know that Tara is now getting the hang of this rolling thing. She likes to hold onto my finger as support and then can get from back to tummy and is even working out how to get back again. Before I know it she will be rolling everywhere... Ahhh the eyes in the back of my head are really going to be handy soon. Anyway better be off, Mothers Group this morning.

Kelly you need eyes in the back, front, top and sides of your head - and even then it won't feel like enough! once Tara gets truly mobile, you'll never be the same again! E took a while to get really mobile (where i couldn't leave her in the room and expect to find her pretty close to where i left her) - now i can't leave at all as she is into EVERYTHING. in the few minutes i've been typing this, E has crawled through her activity gym, looked at herself in the glass on the tv cabinet, tried to tip the nappy basket over (twice - i have moved her both times), rolled over to her nappy bag, moved that, grabbed my shoes, gone back through her activity gym (i had to move the nappy bag and shoes!) rolled half way across the lounge, grabbed a nappy liner, tried to clean her toys and is now laying on her back, chewing toys, clunking them together, hitting the chair, trying to balance the toys on her feet.... she is full on - but amazing. i am constantly amazed by her development, her speed, her ability to interact with everyone - such a gorgeous girl! i can't believe i was getting to the point of calling off the assisted conception and accepting a life without children... ooooh - she's back in the activity gym again! i live for nap times so i can have a few seconds to myself lol.

i had no net access yesterday for a large portion of the day, so i spent the day importing photos to a program that sorts and tags them without creating multiple copies of the file - i think we've been a little snap happy! i have copies of all of mum's photos (just adding that before i get looked at like i'm insane!) but there have been more than 4000 photos and vids from when E was born until new years day! oops! digi cameras rock! we have talked about it and have no issue taking 30photos close together with the intention of getting one or two decent ones. that kind of attitude has left us with some absolutely hilarious shots, but some absolutely amazing ones as well! thankfully we don't have to print them all to see what they come out like though....

very tired today - AF is back for second time since E's birth (no cycle while trying, but BF night and day and she shows up - wt???). for those hoping that BF will keep her away, don't count on it! if you really don't want another bubba close together, i would suggest using alternative contraceptives. especially given most people don't fall into a normal cycle straight away.... we're happy to play russian roullette as we won't go through AC again, but will happily accept a natural miracle - but others may not be so relaxed about it all lol


ETA - neptune, have sent friends request on FB hun. looking forward to beaking at some bubba piccies!