I can't believe my little boy will be one month tomorrow! I can definitely feel some pressure lifting and perhaps a pattern emerging which is wonderful, and a little bit more confidence in reading his cues and responding. Still struggling with the breast feeding, but still expressing and he is getting probably 50% breast milk and 50% formula. He is thriving, so the guilt is slowly dissipating. Not sure whether my milk is starting to dry up, but I only need to express now every 4 to 5 hours rather than every 2, but getting much more volume this way anyway. Anyway, both me and Adam are happier at the moment. I've got him in the sling at the mo which is a bonus as it leaves my hands free to get stuff done!
Sleeping so far I can't complain. He goes down to sleep anywhere between 8pm to 10pm and is awake 4 to 5 hours later, then another 3 hours after that. I hope this continues for a while as I feel reasonably well rested, but I know I shouldn't get m,y hopes up that this is a pattern.
Struggling a bit with the enormity of the whole thing and not being able to get much done, so trying to accept that I just can't do what I want to do (God, I know how selfish that sounds, but it's the truth). Just to get in the shower for 5 minutes is heaven.
Love to all, still trying to get to know you all, I will catch up.
Neptune: Good to hear that Adam is thriving on both B/M and formula. Hope you can get things sorted soon so you can start to feel more normal, although if Adam goes through this first growth stage like Tara is at the moment you won't have any time to yourself.
BG are you out there???? Another question about these wonder weeks. Tara has now become so clingy that she will not sleep unless she is being held by either me or DH. And with DH working it is coming down to me all day and also during the nights. I currently have her in a baby carrier at the moment and she has been asleep for about 1 1/2 hours, the only other time she slept today was in the car when I went into town (1hr round trip). She was even unsettled in her pram and was only content when we were moving. How did you manage this at the same age with E?? I have found that having a shower consist of her being in her cot screaming, if I didn't leave her then I would never get a chance to shower at all. Last night she had a good sleep of 4 hours in her cot, but after her feed, she only slept for about 45mins and when she stirred she realised I wasn't there and the screaming started, this only stopped when I went to her and picked her up. At 6.30 this morning I was so tired I put her in bed with us and she was happy to sleep so long as she was tucked up against me. When DH got up I moved to get more comfortable which broke the touch and bang.... awake screaming her head off. I think all up today before this sleep on me she has slept for a total of 1 1/2 hours from 8.30am - 4.30pm. I would have thought she would be exhausted and just crash anywhere, but no luck..
Sorry for the huge me post, I'm just really looking for ideas to get through this 1st transition period without going insane.
in all honesty, i went with it. if she wanted to be close, i let her be close. i co slept with her for those really bad nights (cos the couple of times i didn't, and got to sleep at 6, only to be woken at 8, didn't leave me a happy lady!). when i was cosleeping though, as soon as she was in a deep sleep, i would move her just away from me, so she was nearby, but not right beside me. DH was working away at the time, so i had no at-home support - i just did what i could. showers - well, i'd have them when i could. usually in the early hours of the morning when i got her back into a deep sleep, i'd jump in the shower. sometimes she'd end up crying, but not allways. we have an ensuite so i would hear if she got worked up. it's not ideal, but it works. now she has showers with DH rather than baths, so we all tend to shower at the same time, then she has a feed and off to sleep...
i survived using the mantra "this too shall pass"...
ETA - DD's wonder week antics really DO only last a week or so - that early one was only about four or five days - so it does pass quickly hun.
Hi Sazz - it's lovely to see you again and hear all about your gorgeous girl. She's soooo sweet!
Hi BW - hope you guys are doing well.
Glad you and Adam are settling in well Neptune and sounds like the feeding setup you've got there suits you well. If you get your 'baby things' done for the day then you're good, don't worry about anything else.
Kelly, I absolutely agree with BG - just gotta ride it out hon. If she needs to be with you and that allows you both to get the most sleep, then do it. Slings/wraps/carriers are great for babies at this age to get some sleep & maybe even get some other stuff done while they sleep. And in the early months they are very prone to getting overtired - and overtired babies do not sleep well (if at all). I know it makes no sense, but that's just the way it is
It's just a few weeks out of your life, then it too will pass
Sorry Ive been MIA, I have been lurking but just not keeping up at the moment! Just started reading and replying and realised I was replying to things posted in mid November . So I'm posting a very quick hello so I can restart from here and keep up to date with you all. Sorry for no personals but I will make a better effort this time hehe.
Kelly - Sorry I'm a bit pushed for time, but I just wanted to say that there were times when I just let DS sleep on me - in the HAB, or on my chest while I 'watched' telly or in bed with me. If that's what it took, then that's what I did. I didn't start out like that - but I found that I was frazzled and exhausted and I would do anything for him to sleep. And sometimes, I would nod off too. DS co-slept more than i thought he would. Sometimes just in between feeds or sometimes almost all night. It wasn't in my 'plan' but I just ended up doing whatever seemed to be working (which changes all the time). I think it just pays to remember that they are still so young and some babies sleep all night alone in their cots - and other's don't.
Gradually things will improve - but I think you need to feel ok about taking your cues from DD, and doing whatever feels right to you.
Thanks so much for your advise and encouragement, it has been invaluble these past few days while I was struggling to make sense of what was going on.
I am happy to report we have a breakthrough. Tara has slept in her cot for her afternoon nap and is again asleep now in her cot after her evening feed. It appears that she doesn't like lying flat on her back to sleep as when I put her down she would start to wake up, so as much as I don't want to do it I have propped her up slightly on a flat pillow and she has gone off like a dream. I think she might have freaked herself out the other day when she did a massive vomit when laying flat in her cot and ended up when it all over her face.
When DH gets home from work tonight, we are going to try and place some pillows under her cot mattress to try and lift it slightly. I have got online and ordered a Cot Wedge, so will have to improvise until it arrives (hopefully soon). Fingers crossed we are on the downward slope now and that she sleeps well tonight as I am really struggling with the very limited sleep at the moment.
I used to have to sleep Jasmine on a bit of an angle as she was a very colicy baby - so would have sore tummy's a lot. Lying flat just did not work for her. I placed towels under her bassinet mattress to get a small angle happening and that seemed to work.
Hope Tara's good sleep continues!
AFU - well Jasmine has decided to start practising moving in her sleep. Last night she keep waking up as she had moved onto her tummy and was trying to crawl! So that is a new one to add to our sleep problems... hopefully she will get the hang of it soon and will stop the nighttime antics - although it is so cute that she is doing it, it worries me that she will get stuck or something.
Hi to everyone else - hope you are all well. Got to run - little miss is waking up.
Hello there everyone,
I have been lurking and reading to catch up with you all but I'm still far from being up to date. I just wanted to stick my head in and introduce myself before I get trumped by others in the PALTTTC
I thought that I had a traumatic birth and a bit to work through, having had my little girl Jasmine Lucie on the 29th of October via caesarian. She was breech all the way through the pg so although cs was elective, it could not have been any other way as at the birth it was discovered that not only was the cord wrapped around her neck 3 times, but my placenta was thin and my uterus the wrong shape to have a vb. Owing to all this, she came into the world with a rude shock and it took a bit to get her little life started, which gave us a hell of a scare to say the very least. She was blue and APGARS were a bit sluggish but I can happily report that at 10 minutes, she scored a perfect 10. It really was a terrifying experience for those few minutes of not knowing, but overall my birth experience was actually really good and after debriefing myself, writing it all down and revisiting the scary photos, I have decided I will write my birth story to give something back to those, like me that want to see all sides of the story (especially those with happy outcomes regardless of a bumpy beginning).
Jasmine is turning 6 weeks on Thursday and things are going wonderfully well. I feel guilty reading some of your posts about breast feeding and although I have nothing to add, I really feel for you girls that are struggling and applaud your efforts. I just hope that you don't feel like you have to keep at it if it's not working for you. Like someone said (sorry, can't remember who), but the most important thing is a happy Mummy. You don't need to blame yourselves for anything you can or can't do with your babies. If you love them and care for them and meet their needs in the best way you can, then you can't feel bad. Give yourselves a break, it's bloody hard work and some people's bodies are just physically incompatible. I'm doing it because I can but also because it's free (and we're poor , plus all the other good reasons of bonding etc, but I'm sure that you would bond just as much looking into each others eyes, holding close to the body while feeding from a bottle. I hate any social stigma that surrounds BF vs bottle feeding and have seen women bruised for decades due to their inability to produce milk or whatever reason. Look after yourselves first so you can be the best Mums to your babies.
I'm not sleeping alot, not getting much done, still very sore some days from the cs and today had to practically sleep all day because yesterday Jazzy and I had a big day doing the groceries in town. Three feeds and three nappy changes while out and about makes it a bit awkward to say the least but i live out of town like a lot of you so I have to just adjust. It's only my second time driving since the birth so although I've had to do lots and lots of trips as passenger, I have to get used to now doing it myself. It's such a lovely feeling to drive your little one yourself though(quite surreal). she is a great little traveler, which is so lucky because she is profoundly deaf and we have had to make umpteen trips to Cairns with her (4 hours return) to see specialists of every variety and that won't stop any time soon. Next week we take her to Townsville which is 6 hours away to get hearing aids fitted and then we have to trot back up and down to Carins fortnights to have the hearing aids adjusted due to her growing ...errr. I wont' ever complain about her hearing loss, I certainly haven't shed a tear (yet) but the travel may wear a bit thin especially when we have to go to brisbane to meet the cochlear team. We have a happy, healthy girl and you will hopefully never hear me complain.
Cheers, look forward to meeting you all in time and sharing the ride xoxo
Murph: So good to see you over hear now. I hope your little Jazzy is putting on heaps of weight and fingers crossed will be a little porker before you know it. Good luck getting the hearing aids fitted, do they think it will have any effect on her hearing at all or is it something they are doing to try and get her used to having to wear them??
Miss M: I'm so glad that Trent is doing well, it can be so tiring b/fing and then bottle feeding (plus all the extra work required and time lost) but hopefully you can get some help and maybe the top up's will start to dwindle and you can 100% b/f.
Janie: Wow, Jasmine seems like a very active little girl especially crawling around in her sleep. And already pulling herself up on things, I think you may have an early walker there. Gosh they grow up so fast.
Everyone else a big hello and I hope you are all doing well.
AFU: Off to get weigh in today so am excited to see how much Tara now weighs. I'm thinking she has got to be close to the 5kg mark now (little porker) and considering she had 920mls of formula yesterday she will be stacking on the weight before my eyes. Girls I don't want to rub it in but I didn't tell that when Tara goes down for the night she will have her 7-8 hour sleep and depending on when she wakes for a feed (all depends on when she went down for the night) I can then pop her back into bed and she will sleep for a further 3-5 hours. So we are getting fantastic night sleeps it just means that she is awake most of the day now as she will only have cat naps of between 20-40 minutes to recharge her batteries. But I can't complain as she has already learnt the difference between night and day.
Still trying to get her into a feeding routine, but it is hard to predict as she varies with what she will take at each feed. Generally it is between 150mls - 230mls, but sometimes she just wants little snack feeds of 70mls - 80mls depending on how she feels. So I have to be prepared everyday for any possibility which makes it hard when we go out as I have no idea when she will want feeding next and how much. I'm off to the hairdressers tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see how she goes for the 1 1/2 hours I will be there.
Anyway, I will drop back in later to update on how big my little girl is.
Kelly - well done on the sleeping. They all get into their own little routines and we just learn to live around them, and trust that we know our babies the best.
Murph - you sound very positive and happy, even after all you have been through. But hey, don't feel you can't ever complain! We all need to some days!
queenh - congrats on your twins. What an amazing double blessing. It must be very hard work some days - I hope you are getting some help and support. I don't know how Shannon does it
Janie - funny about your 'NZ time/Aus time' struggles. DS has been to NZ a few times with me, and I have to sheepishly admit that he sleeps better there...I am convinced it's all the attention he gets that tires him out. But you can guarantee he does not sleep on the plane or during the travelling, which makes me one of those parents that no-one want to sit beside!!
Shanon - I'm sorry that you have had these disappointments. I'm sure it's in no way easy to deal with when you have the twins to take care of too. Especially contemplating another stim cycle.
I don't think that i have said yet, but this bub is breech too. I'm a bit annoyed as he was head down (not engaged though) from about 27 weeks. Then he went and did a big flip. So, keep your fingers crossed for me that he decides to do another big flip...and stays that way.
O.K back from weigh in.... and my little girl has put on a massive 600 grams in 2 weeks and now weighs in at 4.8kgs. So she has now gone from being in the 25th percentile to being in the perfect weigh range, but to me that is such a huge gain. And her length has now gone from being in the normal range to now being longer than average, so I'm thinking we are going to end up with a tall girl here.
Everything else was perfect and we are having an extra visit next month for another weigh in just to see how much more she can grow. Oh, my baby is going to grow up too fast.. I forgot to mention that she also did her first front to back roll on Sunday afternoon . She hasn't wanted to do another one since but she will turn onto her side if she is put on her tummy now.
. So I'm posting a very quick hello so I can restart from here and keep up to date with you all. Sorry for no personals but I will make a better effort this time hehe.
.
. Owing to all this, she came into the world with a rude shock and it took a bit to get her little life started, which gave us a hell of a scare to say the very least. She was blue and APGARS were a bit sluggish but I can happily report that at 10 minutes, she scored a perfect 10. It really was a terrifying experience for those few minutes of not knowing, but overall my birth experience was actually really good and after debriefing myself, writing it all down and revisiting the scary photos, I have decided I will write my birth story to give something back to those, like me that want to see all sides of the story (especially those with happy outcomes regardless of a bumpy beginning).
, plus all the other good reasons of bonding etc, but I'm sure that you would bond just as much looking into each others eyes, holding close to the body while feeding from a bottle. I hate any social stigma that surrounds BF vs bottle feeding and have seen women bruised for decades due to their inability to produce milk or whatever reason. Look after yourselves first so you can be the best Mums to your babies.
. She hasn't wanted to do another one since but she will turn onto her side if she is put on her tummy now.
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