Babies Born April 2007 #4

HI all,

I hear you all on the unsettled bubbas. Lily is so up in the air at the moment! She has no idea what she wants, though I seem to be the order of the day when it comes to cuddles and settling! She will not settle for anyone else other than me, last night she stayed with mum while we did some shopping and she was tired, fed, and dry when we left and I assumed she'd sleep the whole time we were gone. We got back three hours later and she was still awake! I gave her a cuddle for about 5mins and she was asleep. Mum said 'I've been doing the for hours!'. She slept until 11pm so we were stuck at mums until then! Oh well... Then this morning she was awake at 3:30, 4:30, 5:30 and finally at 6:30, when she just wouldn't sleep anymore. I got her up gave her a bottle and had a play put her back to bed where she slept for about 20mins, got her up had a bit more of a play, gave her a bath, put her to bed where she slept for about 40 mins.....and so on until we are here 5hrs later and she's awake again after another 40 mins! She's done this for a few days now. She's just such a monkey!

Danni, oh how I'd love to see a hairdresser! My hair is horrendous at the moment but we can't afford it.... :( I wish I could sleep with Lily, but I am too scared to. I'm paranoid that I'll squish her or something. My bed isn't made for co sleeping!

Disgirl, sounds like you are doing well! I left Lily for the first time a few days ago and it gets easier! Though I messaged DH every hour while I was out!

DH and I dtd yesterday, almost seven weeks later, everthing still works ... wooohooo! Though I will have to keep up with the pelvic floor exercises, hehe. It was a little uncomfortable, though nothing too bad.
We're going to my nephews 7th birthday today...at macca's I can't wait for ice cream cake, LOL!!! But other than that a quiet weekend.

Happy Saturday everyone.

Kel.

Hi everyone,

lots to catch up on so don't know if I'll be able to do full personals but glad to hear that all is pretty good with all of you, apart from some unsettled bubbas! Don't know if it's just a 6 week thing or if it's a full moon but Mimi has been a little like that this week to - she's 4 weeks today. crying a bit at the breast and really only wanting one side - and only for about 8 minutes. Then I get paranoid that she won't get enough and won't sleep, but she seems to, so who knows. She woke at 2 this morning and that happened and it was so frustrating - I wrapped her back up and put her back to bed and she then slept through til 6- after only about 8 minutes solid suckling.....anyway, will see how she goes tonight. the old night feeds sure catch up with you though. I am finding that the bath in the evening is a great way to relax her for a nice sleep. Thank goodness DH was here this morning to help with Ella's breakfast before we went to the market.

Apart from that, not much to tell. have Mimi's 4 week check on Tuesday so will be interested to see if she is catching up to all of your babies!

Danni - that's disappointing about your check up - I agree it's not quite right....sounds like Mason and Dylan are really in sync!

Kel - sounds like you have a little monkey on your hands! it's hard when they seem to wake on the hour every hour isn't it? I have started getting worried that Mimi might be a little cold in the middle of the night so have put a slightly heavier blanket on her at nighttime now. seems to have helped a little but who knows?

Disgirl - that's great re Ben's neck control and strength! It's amazing to see them develop so quickly isn't it.

Kristie - hope that Dylan settles down a little - I am sure he will....

Darn - better go - someone's at the door. will check in again later! enjoy your saturdays everyone...

Gigi

g'day g'day,

Looks like everyone's doing well, which is good.
Patrick was unsettled this week as well, but I think he had a HUGE growth spurt, as he no longer fits into 4 outfits! One of them, that he was wearing last week OK, only comes to his knees if I lay it on his body from his shoulders! Plus he's been demanding food every 2.5 hours instead of the usual 4 hours or so.

Disgirl - Patrick sounds about the same as Ben (and today he was given his first Swans football - albeit a knitted soft one!)

Melissa - had a look at Olivia's photos, she's just gorgeous! Love your sheets too, they are so colourful!

Gigi - I've been giving Patrick sleepy time baths and massage oil, not sure if that's actually helping or just the massage and bath is :) But when he's all grizzly, sometimes the only way I can get him to sleep is skin on skin ... a couple of times DH has been waking in the morning to find me in the armchair with Patrick on my chest, and me grizzly instead !

anyhows, as has just been pointed out to me, its past 1am! night all!

My 6-week checkup is on the 14th (it'll be more like 7 weeks, but hey) and I keep meaning to get some condoms or something to try to DTD before then.

Hi everyone,

I'm having a nice quiet morning with Lily asleep again already...she only woke at 6:45. It's good though I have alot to do around here. I'm amazed at how the mess mounts up these days, I feel like all i do is tidy up, LOL!
I got to catch up on some sleep yesterday, thank goodness...I was sooo tired after so many days of such broken sleep. I can cope with two or three wake ups during the night but 5 or 6 is a few too many! Mum and DH gave me a break yesterday taking Lil for a while and I slept in mums bed -for 5 1/2 hrs (I luuuurrrrvvee her bed it's so comfy, hehe!)!! I went to sleep at 4:30pm and thought I'd sleep for a hour or so, but woke at 10:00! Luckily Lily slept for most of that time too and DH watched the soccer. She then went to bad again (about 11:00) when we got home and slept until 2am! Then woke at 6:45. So we had a good night. I managed to sleep at 12:30 again too, I thought I'd be up all night...

Gigi, maybe mimi has gotten the sucking thing down so well she only needs to be at the breast for a little while?
I don't think Lily is cold at night sometimes when she wakes she is sweaty and all she has over her is one thickish blanket as well as being wrapped in a flanelette (sp?) wrap, with a thickish all in one suit and singlet. Our place is pretty warm, but I have a doona on me with flanalette pj's, so I don't know....

Kaz, they're growing so fast aren't they, I can't believe it was almost 7 weeks ago that we were all whinging about how horrible we felt being pg! Now were all sleep deprived with our beautiful bundles in our arms. How things change...we had no idea! I didn't anyhow, LOL!

Ok gotta go Lily's awake and its time for a bath....

Happy Sunday everyone.

Kel :)

Dannie - I hear on the EBM at night it is so much easier and quicker to feed Luke it especially now that the night's are getting cooler.

Luke slept for 6 hors from 8:30 - 2:30 and then woke for his 5:30 feed

Hi All,
Just a quick one as I dont know how long my little munchkin will sleep for this time... five minutes or 2 hours... go figure. Shes better now, yay, no more spewing and normal poos!!! Yay, I really cant believe I am so excited to see normal, green poo:) Olivia is growing so quickly. She is reponding to us, smiling when we see her, having a chuckle and talking. Her cry is different, not sure if I can explain it but its not always a "I'm awake now change me and feed me" cry, theres also a "i'm awake just letting you know, so I'll just lay here and practice mytalking/crying" Its really cute.
We went to mothers group the other day and its a small group, which is really nice.
Other than that, not alots happening. I manage to do the minimum housework, however, I still havent worked out how to go food shopping with Olivia on my own yet.... thats why we're out of food.
Shes still waking every 2-2.5 hours during the night, but at least its clockwork.
Hope you are all well,
Love Melissa

kristie: how did Dylan go last night? Did he scream for hours for no reason :crying:

Mason had to come into my bed again!!! grrr i really dont like it but I had no choice.

I think he may be coming down with a cold. I really hope not. But today he has slept a lot thank goodness.

off to bed now xx

Hi!

Dylans being so funny at the moment...he's in his bassinett but wide awake and we can here him laughing and making noises! So funny. He's been quite unsettled but he slept from 7-7 (with feeds in the middle and lots of cuddles) so I think he's just not wanting to sleep too much through the day. He's happy sitting in his bouncer under his play gym quite a bit now though which is helpful - especially when I have to do something with Louis. So sometimes he's up around 1 1/2hours....
I went to the gym today! My memberships started up again so mums watching the kids tuesday morning and I've booked them into creche (at the gym) for Thursday. So hopefully I can start shifting this extra weight! I'm going to be soooo sore tomorrow though - I'm so unfit!

Kel - Funny bubbas at the moment! It will be nice when they're in a good routine (when they're 5! hehe) Thats great that you dtd and everythings ok...I'm with you on the pelvic floor exercises though! Thats great you go such a big sleep last night!! Must have been sooo nice!

Gigi - Sounds like your well! Dylan has super quick feeds at night now and only one side. No matter what I try he won't have the other side although he feeds both now during the day...cheeky things!

Kaz - Wow on Patrick growing so much! Dylan seems to want his mummy for cuddles lots as well at the moment. I'm usually bringing him in to bed in the early hours of the morning so that we can both get some sleep.

Iona - Yeah on Luke having a big sleep!

Melissa - Glad you and Olivia are well. Hopefully she starts sleeping longer at night for you soon!

K - I better feed bubba and then I'll be off to bed! How fast is the time going?? I can't believe it's Monday again tomorrow!

Danni - Umm not screaming for hours but very unsettled overnight and wanting booby but just to fall asleep with I think - and no the dummy wouldn't do - LOL! I've been bringing him into bed at times too. Big hugs -hope he sleeps well for you tonight!

Good morning girls :)

Sorry so many of you are having unsettled bubbas, maybe it's a growth spurt? They're all around that age now, so it could be that.

Don't throw things at me, but Ben's having the opposite response to his growth spurt! He's been sleeping for six hours through the night(fri, sat and last night). Unfortunately for me, last night his sleep was between 7:30pm and 1:30am when I expected him to wake at 10:30 for a feed, so I didn't sleep :( Fri and Sat were fantastic though! I felt SO good after all that sleep!

I did alright with leaving him on Sat night. Once I was out I was fine and only called home twice (interuppting a feed once and waking him the other time - oops!). It was the initial leaving that got me all teary.

My cousin just got back from overseas and bought Ben a 'Baby's first Christmas' tree decoration from DisneyWorld. It's SO CUTE!

I'm off to meet with some local mum's at a cafe soon. I'm really excited because I don't know anybody in my area. Geez, I sound so desperate for friends! LOL

Melissa, do you have a sling or carrier? I put Ben in his Hug-a-bub when I do the shopping. He loves it and is normally asleep by aisle three. I guess Olivia might not be able to go in one though? It's a shame if she can't because it makes it all so much easier.

Hi!

I'm having a great day! The boys are being sooo good! and they both went to bed at the same time so I've been able to spend some time catching up on some paperword - I would have preferred to put my feet up but if I did nothing would ever get done! LOL! Dylan went just over 6 hours between feeds last night which was great as well! but he had an unsettled time around 1am ish and then Louis woke up as well...

Disgirl - Dylan was asleep last night as well when I wanted to go to bed so I just go him up and fed him so I knew I'd get a big stretch...Sometimes doing a dream feed in that circumstance can be really handy! Glad you had a good time on Sat night!
The chrissy decoration sounds cute! Hope you have a good time getting out of the house today!!

Goodmorning ladies,

Well we had a horrible day yesterday!! Lily just would not sleep and she was sooo tired. We had a loong night with her waking every 2 1/2- 3hrs on the dot....then she woke up at 5:30am. Then she would only cat nap for 15- 20mins, and POP her eyes would open like she was saying 'no I wasn't asleep!'. Even in my arms she slept for no longer than 30mins all day. Then she didn't go down until 9:30.....I was falling asleep where I stood.
Luckily my DH stayed up late last night and took the first feed so I slept for a good 6hrs. Then he got up with her this morning at 6:30 and I slept for an extra hour, well dozed really not sleep, but still I didn't have to get up in the cold. Now she's asleep but we'll see for how long....

Kristie, lucky you for having such a lovely morning. It's so nice when things go how you want them to. And you can get things done. I haven't swept vacuumed or mopped my floors for a week, I will have to do them today now that DH is home for the day (he's on night shift).

Sorry for no other personals, but I really should do some house work while my monkey is sleeping! I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Kel.

Hello! Long time no post for me. Had a few days at my parents and managed to get in some much needed rest whilst my Mum and sister doted on Hazel. It was so nice to catch up on sleep and recharge my batteries, feel like a new person! Have also been car hunting so that is taking up my precious spare time for now. I've managed without one since we got back from the UK but am feeling the need for some independence and being able to get out and about more.

Little girl has been lovely and is smiling!! Only for me at the mo though. She barely sleeps through the day unless she's literally on me, either lying down or in her sling. Fortunately it means that by 7pm she is absolutely sound asleep and only wakes for her a feed, poo, another feed then back to sleep soundly again, so I guess I shouldn't complain. The last few days I have put on a CD pretty loudly and I sing and do daggy dancing while I make dinner and DH's lunch and Hazel watches on with amusement from her rocker. Has the added bonus of me doing some excercise (of sorts!). She's also happy lying in her cot for about 20 minutes looking at her mobile and lying in her rocker while I vaccuum. If I leave the vaccuum on I can even go and put a load of washing on/ hang it out/ put the bin out etc etc.

We've got our six week checkup on Thursday, and I'm very interested to find out how much weight this gutsy girl has put on as she's getting chubby and long!!

Sorry to hear some of you have unsettled Bubbas, hopefully you will all get some rest and they will settle down soon :pray:

Hi!

All good things must come to an end....LOL! Dylans a bit unsettled today but it's fine...
I went to the gym this morning and did a class...aaahhh - so unfit! I can feel my muscles are going to be soo sore tomorrow.

Kel - Sorry you had a rough day - sounds like you go some sleep in overnight though which is great! My floors are feral at the moment...I really need to get it done but I keep putting it off. When I finally get a minute to myself I just like to chill out...(which is all of about 1min a day! LOL!)

Christy - I've very jealous of your few days of rest -as such! Good luck buying a car! Sounds like she's being a gorgeous little girl. They're so cute at the moment now their little personalities are starting to grow! Those smiles can melt all our frustrations away!

Wow - its quite in here - anyone would think you've all got demanding little babies to look after! LOL!

Kristie, good on you going to the gym! I'm hoping to join our local little gym, but I know I'll feel guilty that I should be running with the dog instead!

Cristy, what kind of car are you thinking about? DH and I are looking at Commodore wagons at the moment. My little mazda is just too little. Don't you just love those smiles?

Kel, sorry you had a bad day with Lil. Hopefully she'll be good for you tonight.

Ben has been awake ALL day. Hopefully that means he'll sleep all night tonight, but I'm not betting on it!

Hope you get some sleep Disgirl! Big hugs!

Hi girls, how are we all going??

Just a quick one from me - woke up at 3am this morn and went "oh *****, I haven't heard Luke woke up' asked mark if he had feed him while i was sleeping and he said no. Luke slept from 8-8:30ish to 5am. Fingers crossed that this becomes a regular thing.

Off to the hairdressers today for much needed colour and cut!! (last one was 3 months ago)

Take care and rug up - I think winter has arrived

iona: i watch brisbanes weather forecast with envy! It is so much colder here in melb!

:hello: to everyone. It has been awfully quiet in here.

Mason is sleeping much better at nights now and definitely knows the diff between night and day.

Last night we got 7 hours in between feeds and a 6 hour sleep! I felt great :D

We had our needles this morning and OMG what a horrific event. I cant take him ever again. And he has been upset all day. Poor bubba.

He still doesnt sleep for longer than 20 mins during the day either! grr

Hi!

All good here! Had our 6 week check up today which went well. Although the dr thinks that Dylans little rash is actually eczema. We got some cream prescribed but I'm hoping copious amounts of sorbolene cream will help. Dylan slept really well last night but he's sooo unsettled tonight...I hope he calms down soon because I really want to go to sleep! Last night he fed at 6.40pm/1.10am and then 6.45am!! I couldn't believe it.

Iona - Wow - what a huge sleep - how good would that be every night!! Have fun at the hairdressers!

Danni - Dylan doesn't sleep for long through the day either it doesn't seem...Occasionally he'll have a huge one but most of the time it's just naps. I think that seems to happen when they have big sleeps at night. Poor Mason having his needles. Dylans booked in for a couple of weeks away. So not nice...

Danni & Kristie, I know what you mean about not sleeping during the day - Luke does the same. Except if I go shopping he will sleep.

Well Luke slept thru his midnight feed again, so it may look like he has dropped that feed. I hope so for the moment as I've come down with the cold and mark is up at noosa for work until friday and then off to melb for the long weekend, so I need some much needed rest!

Danni - oh poor Mason on getting his needles already - Luke is booked in for next Thursday and am dreading it.

Iona: come and visit us!!

sorry danni, i'm not going only mark is with his dad to go and see the demons v collingwood game

Hi All,
Tis very quiet in here. Danni, am hearing you on the needles. Olivia had hers yesterday too, I just cried, she only screamed breifly, but has some big bruises on her little legs:(. Then we had to go to physio to get her harness adjusted coz she grew so much in 2 weeks, her knees were up around her chest. Now shes much more comfy. Only 2 weeks left til the specialist appointment and hopefully we can get this thing off. Then maybe she will sleep some more:)
Iona, would be great if you could come down and we could all catch up. There are a few of us in here from melbourne, we should start our own catch up group:)
I have mothers group again today, I think we are doing baby massage.
Should go and eat some breakfast. I hope you are all well and bubs are all well.
Love Melissa

Hi All,
Good to hear everyone is well. I have been having some frustrations with Bf'ing as posted in a different section but apart from that everything is good. I was getting worried that Iggy was holding his head up enough during tummy time but he has improved over the last couple of days. I have been thinking that he hates tummy time and have realised that by coincidence (or just not being used to it) he has been going to the toilet we I put him down. If I do it straight after a nappy change he is a lot happier.
I bought a new activity centre (the ones that they lie under) and he is in it now. He loves it! He can hit all of the toys and kicks his legs about. I can hear him doing his little airy laugh.
He is now officially into 00. Mostly just because he is so tall. 000 are still loose on him width wise but his legs pull them off his shoulders.
He has been doing a lot of day sleeping lately. Two nights ago he slept from about 1pm until 6 am the next day (apart from feeds of course). Yesterday he slept from about 6pm until 8 am. I wonder if he is fighting off a bit of a cold as I have had one and DH has been quite sick. Iggy seems very bright today though with only a few sneezes and hasn't been too grumpy so hopefully he won't get it and the long sleeps were enough.
Ooh - needles. I am dreading it. I don't really like the thought of needles as I do think we over-vaccinate but you really get given the guilts about not doing it. We do want to take him to day care and playgroup as we aren't planning to have more than one little bub and he will need the interaction so we are going to have to do it anyway. We chose not to get the birth hep B vaccination and have had big lectures from our gp everytime we have been there. :rolleyes:
How many nappies are you guys doing now? Sometimes we do 20! Before having a baby I never would have believed it. Speaking of.....here comes another. Better go.
Bye!

Hi!

We ended up having a great nights sleep! After being unsettled he eventually dozed off and slept until 3am and then again until 8.15am (well after I brought him in with me at 6.30am).
I went to the gym this morning so the kids went into creche for an hour. They both did really well so thats good!
Dylan wants to stand up heaps now. When I sit him up on my legs he wants to stand up and he's sooo strong!

Iona - Hope your cold passes quickly...

Melissa - Hopefully the next 2 weeks go super quick for you and you can get the harness off. It will be so nice...
If you're interested Cindy and I are meeting up at the play centre at Forest Hill tomorrow (for the older babies of course) but you can sit there and have a coffee etc as well. We're meeting at around 10-10.30am...
Have fun at mothers group!

Krysalyss - Hope you bf dramas get better soon (I haven't read your thread yet) The play gyms are great!! I sit Dylan in the bouncer underneath it so he's a bit higher up! Wow at Iggy being in 00's. I think Dylan will be as well in a couple more weeks!!
20 Nappies??? Wow!!! I just change Dylans each time I feed...(unless he poo's of course!!)

Both my boys are asleep which is so nice - but I'm getting visitors...grrr! hehehe.

Hi everyone,

It really has been quiet in here hasn't it? We must all be busy with our bubbas... I know I am! Lily has been keeping me on my toes with a new routine everyday....so much for the regular routine. We have been waking a 5:30am everyday for a week- I am NOT a mornign person, Lily seems to be though as she's all smiles when she gets up. She's lucky she's so cute. She has also acquired the no day sleep syndrome so many of our bubs seem to have. She sleeps for no longer than 45mins at a time and will not resettle. At night she won't go to sleep until 9ish- she is soooo not getting enough sleep! Neither am I (like the rest of you... ;) )
I have been thinking about tryinr to get Lily back on the breast now that I am in a better frame of mind. I have stopped bf feeding her at all about 4 days ago, and she now has a cold and is a bit miserable, my bbs have been leaking whenever she touches them, she roots around alot and I just miss it, i think she does too.... I can't help but think that she's sick because she's no longer getting any breast milk, even though she wasn't getting much before, at least it was some.
I have looked at the ABA website and researched it a little and I am wondering if I have the persistence and staying power to do it... I'm so confused! I have begun pumping after she has a feed and getting 20mls(total) in about 10mins, so not much at all but at least it's some I guess. I will go to the dr to try decide and maybe to get some motilium again. I am trying to increase my milk a bit my self with oats and acktivite and might get some fenugreek and/or other things to help.

Iona, you lucky thing with such big sleeps I have forgotten what it's like to sleep more than 4hrs! Hope you feel better, it's hard when your alone with bubs, my DH works 12-15hrs a day for 4 days at a time, then pretty much eats and sleeps when he's not working, so it feels like I'm home alone for four days every week, I hang out for when he's home, for the first day he's home, she's all his! I do the house work and try to catch up on sleep. Take it easy.

Danni, your lucky too getting such good sleeps at night. Lily seems to have gotten into the routine of not sleeping in the day too, she was going soo well before then one day she just decided to stop day sleeping for some reason! :(
I'm not looking forward to immunisations. I still have to book Lily in I keep on putting it off!

Kristie, another person getting half decent sleeps from your bub! Lil still wakes/ eats 3hrly (if I'm lucky, 4hrly at night) and she's formula fed, I thought they were supposed to feel more full on formula?!
Lily's getting really strong too and standing on our legs when we hold her she like to try to bounce too, she tries to giggle when she does it, it's very funny!

Melissa, I hope Olivia feels better in her harness and I hope she can have it removed sooner than later. Have fun at mothers group.

Krysalyss, I hear you on the bf troubles, I am so torn as to what to do.
I think Lil will be in 00's soon too. She's getting soo big already. She has the chubbiest cheeks, rolls on her thighs and a triple chin! She's such a pig...
Another good sleeper, I'm so jealous! I can't believe you go through 20 nappies a day, is that cloth nappies?! I go through about 7 or so, depending on how many poo's we get...but no more than about 8 or 9.

Ok gotta go we have a MCHN appt soon to weigh and measure my piggy Lil!

Kel.

Hi!

Kel - I think the easiest way to get more milk is just to feed more...although the other things help as well I'm sure. Remember also that bubba will always take more from you than you can express as well. The more milk baby takes the more you'll make....Good Luck! Don't they just have the cutest faces when they're standing up!! It's like they're really proud of themselves! hehe.
Have fun at your appt! It's always fun to see how much they've grown. I'm hanging out for Dylans appt next week. He hasn't been weighted/measures since his 4 week check up!

I was right. :( Little Iggy has a big cold. We had a scare today when he was napping next to me and then he started frothing mucus and could hardly breathe. The dr thinks its just a cold but they have taken a mucus sample to test for bacteria. Poor little duck. DH & i were going to go to the movies tomorrow night and my mum was going to b the first 2 babysit him 4 a few hours but if he still feels like this we won't b going. He keeps giving me looks as if 2 check I am still there. Well better go bath him b 4 it gets 2 late.
Bye!!

hey Kristie,
thanks for the offer for tomorrow, but have something else on, maybe next time... just need a little bit of notice!lol
Mothers group was good, did baby massage. its just good to see other people.
Does anyone know how i can get Olivia to stop sleeping so much during the day and not at night. rrrrr i need some good sleep.
cheers melissa

My lifesaver at night is my tomy nightlight. At night (around 9 or 10) we put him in bed when he is calm (usually after a feed) and i give him some slow belly rubs and put the tomy nightlight on. it plays a lullaby and projects a moving image on the roof. If he starts to cry properly then I pick him up but usually he is tired by then and he just groans and makes a few whingy noises. By the time we have played the nightlight twice (10 mins each time) we are both asleep. Until this time, I intermittantly stroke his belly and chest so he knows I am not going anywhere. I dont stand there looking at him but will walk around the room chatting quietly to DH (or myself) so he isn't getting a lot of attention to keep him awake but knows I am there, and then I will come back and give a few gentle belly strokes. He sleeps next to me in his cot and I think he is a lot more settled for it as he can hear us there. After feeds sometimes he is really awake but I do the same things and by the second play of the nightlight we are both out again.
It might not work for you but you might as well give it a go. We also make sure we don't pick him straight up if he makes a noise. If he is actually getting upset and you know he will cry then pick him up, but if he is just groaning about he may be just trying to settle. Iggy is really good at self-settling now and we don't have any problems getting him back to sleep after night feeds.

Whats that?...no:)

Hi!

Caro - How are things going with Michael?? Well I hope!

Melissa - No worries! The only things I did to let Dylan know it's night is to not talk with him or play with him...keep the lights really dim...change his bum before his feed so he can fall back asleep on the boob - if I change his bum at all...That's all! And in saying that he's having a huge sleep now so I assume at some point in the night he'll be up! LOL! It's really hard when they're this little and aren't in a great routine yet!
Oh and I also shove the dummy in his mouth through the night so if he's just waking up unsettled he gets the dummy and when he doesn't take it thats when I feed him...So he doesn't get fed to settle iykwim??

Krysalyss - sounds like you've got a great routine happening!

I will try the dummy thing. I just put her bottles back up to 180mls of formula. Shes taking most of it, but I seem to be feeding her just as much?! as before. I have the lights dim, I dont talk to her and if I do, its softly. Today, shes basically been asleep since lunch time, bar the time shes up for feeds and a bit at mothers group. I just wish she was like this at night time. Its so hard to keep them awake at this age. Am just tired, thats all, but at least tonight she has given me a chance to put a rinse in my hair (didnt turn out:() have a shower and surf the net. Shouldnt complain.

Hi girls ... popping in again. I seem to be missing in action a lot lately - I've been spending lots of time taking Jambin to various appts (breastfeeding day stays, lactation consultants, GP's), as well as Mother's Group, playgroup, and lots of playdates with friends to get me out of the house or I'll go stir crazy.

We've just started Jambin on Zantac, for silent reflux. He's been a real little trooper and hasn't spat any of it out yet, although he's making some pretty funny screwed up faces when I syringe it into the back of his cheek. I wasn't expecting it to work so quickly, since he's only been taking it two days, but he's had a daytime nap yesterday and today, which is the first time he's napped in his bed (an Amby hammock) since I bought him home from hospital. Previously, the only place he would nap in the daytime was upright in the hug-a-bub, and never anywhere else. Because he was losing weight, we're still topping up his breastfeeds with formula or EBM, and he has put on 600g in the last 3 weeks which we're absolutely ecstatic about. I'm also expressing 8 times a day, so it keeps me pretty busy (but expressing gives me a good chance to have some BB time!)

Nightimes, he's sleeping great, and only getting up for 1-2 feeds. He feeds well at night (no breast refusal, like during the day), and self-settles back to sleep when we put him in his cot awake). So I'm really blessed with that side of things.

Melissa - what things have you tried to keep Olivia awake during the day? Jambin is awake all day (and cries if I leave his sight), but to keep him from crying I involve him in everything I do, including doing the laundry, washing the dishes etc. I take him everywhere with me, explain what I'm doing ("these are daddy's daggy undies" ... "these are mummy's sexy gstrings" lol), take him out in the garden to do weeding with me etc. Perhaps doing some things like that might help keep Olivia awake a little bit more?

Caro - I read your other post about round-the-clock feeding :hug: It's exhausting isn't it. The LC I'm seeing suggested that I could express directly after a feed, and not worry about waiting a certain period of time, as for me it's a matter of stimulating supply, rather than trying to express a certain amount. This arvo I expressed 3 times in between feeds, about an hour apart each time. I was only getting 30ml each time, but that's as much as I get even if I wait for 3 hrs, and I've been told by an ABA counsellor that breastmilk replenishes about every 15 minutes anyway. Perhaps that might make it logistically easier for you, especially if Michael is feeding so frequently. I hope you're manging to get some sleep in, amongst all that feeding, and making sure you take good care of yourself :hugs:

hey cherie, can you tell me how they diagnosed his silent reflux? And what his symptoms were please? thanks

Sure Danni :)

We first saw the paed at 5wks - at that stage, Jambin was screaming all day (not just crying or grizzling, but screaming ... all day!). And the paed asked me if he had any happy time when he was awake, which he didn't. He was either asleep, feeding, or screaming. He was also losing weight, which can be a symptom of silent reflux.
His other symptoms were:
- reswallowing, where we could hear him vomit, but nothing would come out of his mouth because he would swallow it back down
- coughing
- wet sounding wheezing
- hiccuping after feeds

Initially the paed wanted me to top up his feeds 6-70ml, as she said that he probably was either starving (from low supply of breastmilk), or had silent reflux + starvation. And she wanted to address the starvation issue first, so that we didn't end up medicating him for something he didn't have. Apparently a very hungry baby & a refluxy baby can present quite similarly. She prescribed me Motilium, and we're topping up with either EBM or formula (I can only express 20-30ml each time, so not enough for all top-ups).

So we topped us his feeds - it really helped settle him a lot more - much less screaming during the day. But still would not sleep at all during the day unless he was upright in my arms or the hug-a-bub, and he still didn't have any happy, awake time. And still lots of reswallowing, coughing, wheezing etc.

So I went to see the paed this week, and we decided to trial Zantac, to see if it would make a difference. Which it has :) We got another morning sleep this morning - 3 mornings in a row. I can hardly believe it, because it's so different to what's been happening for the past 8 weeks.

Hi all,

MIA for a while back boy, lots to catch up on again so here goes....

Kaz - great to hear from you and hear that all is well. I am the same with the skin on skin thing - Mimi just loves it - she is a real cuddler. She had a growth spurt last week too for her 4th week out in the world but it's calming down now.

Kel - you're right re Mimi and her skill at the breast! I have checked with nurses etc now and she is just pretty efficient and gets what she needs so I am really being led by her now and not stressing about it. Good luck with the BF - I agree with Caro - see a lactation consultant and get some support from there - you can do it I am sure and particularly if your head is in a better place about it all now it's a good time to try again. Best of luck babe.

IonaMacca - yay on 6 hours sleeps from Luke! sounds like he is dropping that feed and very settled - fantastic.

Melissa - glad Olivia is doing well - I am hanging for Mimi to start smiling. I have only had an occasional one....re during the day, I like to keep Mimi on regular feeds during the day and try to fit them in before bed in an attempt to get her full for the night sleep.So I don't let her go longer than 4 hours between feeds during the day - if I let her go she would just sleep! But she is a bit younger than all of you guys so she is not awake as much yet during the day. Really only just over an hour and then she is ready to go back. I agree with what the other girls have said re no talk etc at night and just straight back to bed and having a regular nighttime routine of bath and story or gentle cuddle etc before putting them down. Good luck with it though.

Kristie - Mimi is the same at night now re the shorter feeds and generally only one side. I am just following her lead with it now!

Disgirl - great re Ben's big sleeps! he sounds very settled. would not throw anything at you - it's great for you that he is settled and sleeping and it gives me hope that Mimi will get to that age and do the same thing!

Christy - great you had the rest with your parents. I am at my parents' farm now and getting doted on with the girls - it's great!

Krysalyss - I am about 8 nappies for Mimi - really only after feeds and if she wakes hysterical with a messy one.....sorry re your bf troubles, hope it works out and that all is ok with the mucus test!

Caro - take care of yourself - hope things settle down for you soon.

Cherie - hope all settles for you too with Jambin. I can't imagine how hard it must be.
Me - all good - Mimi is divine, so in love with her and just trying to get her sleeping longer at night (aren't we all....) but really I am only up once half the time and twice the other half so can't really complain. She had her 4 week check last week and had put on 260g per week and is now 4.440 kgs so growing nicely. Very pleased with that. I am off to Noosa for two weeks next Sunday and can't wait. Means I will miss my 6 week OB check as he is in Paris til the day after I leave...half his luck. Anyway, all is good so it will just have to wait I suppose!

Anyway, enjoy your long weekends all - and chat later

Gigi xx

I'm not sure about that our situation Caro. I honestly don't believe that our paed caused Jambin's reflux.

All of his symptoms, the reswallowing, coughing, choking, screaming, bad-temperedness, and non-sleeping were present before the paed suggested top-ups. And she wasn't concerned that Jambin was gaining weight slowly, she was concerned that at 5 weeks of age, he was actually losing weight, rather than gaining.

When we started top-up feeds, things improved, although they were not perfect. Then, when we started Zantac, things have continued to improve.

So in our situation, I feel that the reflux was present prior to us even seeing the paed, and prior to us commencing top-ups.

It may be a different story for yourself and Michael however. Our little miracles are all so very different (and so very challenging at times ;) )
I hope things improve for you both - it is a tough road to be walking.

thanks cherie. Mason has been posetting and projectile vomiting much more than normal this week. He is also gagging, choking and reswallowing after feeds, between feeds and before feeds :(

He is barely sleeping as he wakes due to the pain and he is very unsettled the past few days.

I just took him to the doctor and we need to get an ultrasound done next week to eliminate some disorder regarding the tummy muscles. He also told me to give him infant gaviscon.... gosh this is awful

Hi!

Not much from me today...Took the kids to a play centre which was fun...I'm feeling particulary tired for some reason...Dh is out for the night so I'm left with the kids - although he's going to help me with dinner etc which will be good...I hate being home alone as such as something always seems to go wrong or they have an extra unsettled night - LOL!

Melissa - Sounds like your doing everything you can! Trust me, it won't last forever and bubs will turn it around! I know it's hard to look at it like that but one of these days it will just switch around!

Caro - Sorry to hear your still having dramas...it's always the way isn't it! just when we've got them worked out in some type of routine it all goes backwards! hehehe.
It's so hard not to cry over spilt milk!

Cherie - Sorry to hear about the silent reflex - hopefully the medication helps!!

Gigi - Sounds like you're going really well!! Yeah on the weight gains!! It's easier second time around to just go with the flow I think...I remember the 1st time around being really anxious and wondering what was happening every second...so much more relaxed now!

Danni - Sorry to hear your having a tough time with Mason...hopefully everything settles soon...

Better go...got to cook dinner!

mason definitely has reflux and needs to take gaviscon and have an ultrasound :( Poor bub has been screaming more since I gave him the meds..

Kristie: my dh just called to say he wont be home till around 8 and i get so anxious :(
On the upside, I look forward to seeing you guys on monday!