Babies Born April 2008 #3

shell: Just wondering if you have read that link that was put in one of these forums for babies and their sleep and unsettled-ness, I think Fire put the link in here dont quote me on that though but it was a brilliant article and explained alot to me about why babies sometimes just cry for nothing, might be worth chasing up and reading? It was about how they can become over-stimulated, and they cry cause they cannot yet "self settle" themselves by looking away yet. I found it very very interesting. Probably where we went wrong with our 1st...

BW: new car? sounds exciting! We are getting another car too, we already have a prado though plenty a room for me and the kids... but we are finding it hard with the one car, with dad working and me needing to get out and about - especially doctors visits with the kids, so we're getting a wee little cheap to run runabout mazda2, lucky I have the wagon cause those things are so weeny! hehe.
those adventura's look really nice Ive never seen the inside of one though..

home life has settled down heaps here, Ive noticed a few girls arent in as much as they used to be probably m uch like me tied up with kids and the extra kid ie:the husband!:D and home life.

QUESTION: Has everyone had their first periods again yet? sorry to ask... just wondering Im still waiting on mine... I thought because I only bled for around 3-4 weeks that I would have it by now Im not sure... sorry for the TMI just want to know if its normal or not. I am waiting to get it so I can start my contraceptive again - although our life in that area is a bit boring at the moment! but it happens... :D

thanks!

Danielle: not coping too bad. Its enough sleep, i could do 2hr feeds and it didn't bother me, unless it was every hour, them i'm crabby.

Me just seem to be buggered by about now, and about to head off to bed.

will do other post in moring Wyatt in arms he's taken a little while longer to put down 2 night.

cheers

hey all

just popping in, been very busy since becoming a single mummy.

Danielle- i havent got my period yet, and have heard that bf can delay it.

Went to the Dr today as i havent been feeling the best and the girls had been very cranky. turns out Mj, Annika and myself all have ear infections from having the cold and Mj has reflux very red throat so we have been given losac.

Since we have had the chiro appointment she has been fantastic. we have a follow up apointment tomorrow at 3

can i ask what a neurolink practitioner is?

Danielle - didn't realise you had to wait for period to start in order to take contraceptive. Probably because I haven't taken one for over 10 years now so the idea of popping a pill is newish to me. On the mini pill there isn't the need to wait.

Shellbell - good luck with Luke tonight and as Danielle said it might not be anything to do with your milk, could be he is just reaching that stage of greater stimulation = unsettled. They like to suck to get themselves to sleep. You could try using your little finger in the roof of his mouth or a dummy to see if he is sucking for comfort or milk. If after a few sucks he cries, when he realises there is no food, then he is hungry.

We had a terrible day - I kept DS home today and we had the temper tantrums from hell over wanting a sandman phone. Kept telling him daddy was getting it but that wasn't good enough.

Danielle - i want to get another implanon in and DR said i have to wait for period too, and have no sign of it yet... DH is hanging out not to have to 'tarp up' but is so desparate for loving he will LOL (sorry for TMI)

Oliver had a better day today, got a bit more sleep that he has over the last few days, I am going to take him to the clinic nurse tomorrow for a weigh in and get his length checked. I managed to get a photo of a smile today, even though he has been smiling for a couple of weeks, he has been smiling heaps more today and he looks so gorgeous, will hopefully get around to adding more pics to my gallery tomorrow.

shellbell yay on getting the internet at home, i've missed you :)
Leyla I know it's not much help to you now but I have always been told not to re-give a dose of medication even if they have thrown up within minutes of having it as there really is no way of telling if the entire amount came up, there may still have been some absorbed into the system.
sarah_dobbo2 loved SATC, it was a fantastic movie, and I really enjoyed getting out, but missed my boy terribly and couldn't wait to get home to him.
BabyWrangler congrats on getting BJ back onto BF, sounds like his Pead appt went really well. I hope that Oliver grows out of his reflux soon.
Danielle I haven't had my period yet either but I have a feeling that it isn't far away.
Shoegal sounds like Baxter is really starting to take off with his weight gain, way to go! must be such a huge relief to you.

No time for any more personals, sorry, will try and catch up tomorrow.

I've had my period twice (well had it once, got it now!)
I think its cause of all te muck up with BFing and stuff.
Even that is in the air after he keeps mucking around.
We've decided anything after sundown, will be a bottle (either EBM or formula) to ensure he gets a good nights sleep.
Daytime will be BF unless he chucks it all up (he spewed lots tonight), mainly cause he mucked around so we chose to revert to formula, and I've since had a minor nervous breakdown about missing it...which is weird cause right through PG I wasn't even sure i wanted to BF!!
While he was on formula I was fine, but I BF'd twice today and now I'm all over the shop!!

I've had my period twice (well had it once, got it now!)
I think its cause of all te muck up with BFing and stuff.
Even that is in the air after he keeps mucking around.
We've decided anything after sundown, will be a bottle (either EBM or formula) to ensure he gets a good nights sleep.
Daytime will be BF unless he chucks it all up (he spewed lots tonight), mainly cause he mucked around so we chose to revert to formula, and I've since had a minor nervous breakdown about missing it...which is weird cause right through PG I wasn't even sure i wanted to BF!!
While he was on formula I was fine, but I BF'd twice today and now I'm all over the shop!!

Sorry guys, things keep posting twice and I don't know how to get rid of them

Howdy
Havent popped in for a while, and dont have time to read from when i last did, so sorry for lack of personals.
Isabell went to the Chiro today, he said that her skull isnt alligned with her spine, so we have to have that all treated, and also her spine is pretty out of whack so thats causing her problems with sleep and probably making her colicy. Hopefully it sorts it all out and i can have a happy baby that likes to go to sleep.
So far so good, i just need to get her into her cot from her rocker.
I took her shopping for the first time the other day, with my mum, she was such a good girl, slept in her pram the whole time. I was so proud of her :)
She is such a chatty baby when she has had enough sleep, and such a smiley one too. Starting to laugh a lot more too, and ppl can definately tell its a laugh now too.
I had a mole cut out last thursday, so far so good. Isabell got weighed on Monday, almost hitting 5kilos!! Such a chubby bubby lol.

Danielle if you are bfing, it takes longer to get AF. If you do frequent feeds including night feeds, it may not come back at all until feeding diminishes. Prolactin prevents ovulation.

Beatrix neurolink is now called NIS (neurological integration system), it was designed by an osteopathic doctor who wasn't finding complete success with osteopathy and other methods. It is doing amazing things, curing cancer and all kinds of stuff. Its basic definition is that the brain can fix and control anything and everything in the body. If there is a communication breakdown between an organ and the brain, that organ will remain compromised. It reinstates communication between the "broken" organ and the brain, and the brain naturally, immediately, fixes it. I only worked in clinic with it for three months, but I will be going back to it eventually. Here is the main website: Segment Publishing : Design.Develop.Host

Meg: Its great that the chiro could find something to fix, I swear by my chiro and in MY case I tend ot go to him before a GP, for BJ I always went to GP first, but not anymore, that proved to be the biggest mistake we could have made this time around!
Sharon: I hope all goes well at the weigh in tomorrow, can't wait to see more photos of Ollie, he's a cutie!
Grubi: Like you don't already have your hands full with a newborn, the older ones always have to have a tanty don't they?! Hopefully daddy delivered on the phone situation and all went well!
Beatrix: I hope the chiro appointments continue to help and that the ear infections improve! No wonder you're all feeling miserable!
Sarah: What a gorgeous photo of Wyatt!!
ShellBell: Hows is Luke going? I find sometimes (Particularly when I was BFing) that I'd hold BJ off for a feed til we got home, and whilst he always seemed to cope with it, he'd be unsettled for a while afterwards...I think he used to just get "past it"
MGM: How is DD going? Anymore sleeps out of peoples arms?
ShoeGal: Can't wait to see pics of Baxter's smile....smiles just rock!

On a personal note for me (after my 900 posts last night) having observed Benjamin with BFing last night and today, I will be switching to EBM from bottle during the day, formula at night, and when I dry up and the freezer is empty, we will be fully on formula.
He fed directly from breast this morning (both sides) but started to fluff around so I put him on the floor for a play. When he got crappy about 10min later, I popped him back on, he fluffed around again, but then proceeded to drink 80ml of EBM!!!
I think partly my milk may taste different due to my visit from AF, and also, I think because he's been on the bottles (which are easier to drink from), he's finding the breast too hard.
But hey, woke at 4:20 for a feed, had finished 100ml of bottle, burped and settled himself back to sleep by 4:35 this morning so if it has to be bottles, so be it!
Will confirm the decision with DH today, but I think (Im over my "moment" too where I nearly cried over wanting to BF) we'll be on bottles...but sort of technically still BFing....does the EBM count?! We have 14 days worth of EBM assuming he has 5 a day, which he won't cause it will only be the daylight ones, so about 3-4 weeks of EBM, that puts him over 3 months so I'm happy with that!

Just a quick question of Fire - so would neurolink or NIS work on an umbilical hernia?? I take it not all osteopaths do it though.

grubi i was trying to remember whose baby had an umbilical hernia but couldn't find the post. i have a friend whose baby had a huge one, and she was told 'if it doesn't go away, we'll operate'. this thing was so big i thought there was no way it was going to disappear by itself, but when i asked about it a couple of months later it had already gone down to half its size! i'm just telling you this so you know it is possible for them to go away without intervention.

bw you sound like you're on top of the bottle/ebm thing now - that's great. and isn't bj a good boy for sleeping so well!

fire how are you going? haven't heard much from you lately. hope all's well.

mummymeg good luck with the mole. very considerate of isabell to let you shop! our dd has 'allowed' us to have lunch out a couple of times which we are very grateful for!

sharon oliver's gorgeous. it's hard catching those smiles, isn't it. i have a few blurry phone pics, but you have to be really quick!

baby's stirring - think my time's up. have a good day everyone.

Whew, the past two weeks has been really full-on. Just as they'd started to settle, Lila got her immunizations and the shock to her system made her teeny little cold pretty bad for a few days. When she was sick she didn't have much of an appetite so my supply went down (silly of me not to keep up) and is just now getting back to where it was. Good news is that I've gotten up in the middle of the night with her once this whole week, she's sleeping 6-12 hours a night now. No sleeping during the day, just dozing in her sling but wakes up should I put her down.

Making lots of cooing noises, very smiley all the time and responsive. She likes to play by herself for 10 minutes or so at a time. Been giving her tastes of things I'm eating, just little dabs here and there. She likes to suckle apple wedges especially. We've gone to cloth nappies, I'm using plain towelling and woolen wraps I made when I was pregnant. Wow, wow, I'm blown away by how well the little wool Tickle Turtle wraps work. Seriously amazed, she's dry on the outside even after 12 hours sleeps. Cloth nappies are easier than I thought, I just throw in a load of them every other morning and we're sweet.

Am changing my dr after the way they treated me when I had her 2 month shots done... The Dr made fun of her cloth nappies ("Oh my, did YOU make this? Hah, I didn't know people still used cloth...") and so did the nurse giving her the shot. Then the nurse gave me an awful look when I pulled out some EBM to calm Lila and made a snarky comment about how my baby hadn't gained enough weight for a FF baby. Excuse me... But the kicker was when she asked me about sleep. I told her and she was aghast, telling me that she HAS to sleep at least twice during the day (where do these random numbers come from?), that her brain won't develop properly blah blah and here's the kicker- When I told her all the things I'd tried to get her to nap, she told me to put her in her cot and let her scream herself to sleep. WTF? Sorry, I just can't do that.. I mean, if nothing else its horribly impolite- the only way Lila can communicate with me is through crying (which she does very little of anyway) so why should I just ignore my little girl when she's calling for me? She's so little still, maybe when she's older and having a temper I'll leave her but not now...

Been expressing her milk for the past 6 weeks or so since she had thrush but I think its cleared up now so have been putting her back to breast. Amazingly, we're having very little drama with it so far. She doesn't attach as strongly as she used to, but she does attach well and stay on for 10-20 minutes. Then I top her off with a bottle of EBM, maybe soon it'll be just breast. Here's hoping.

Sorry for no personals, I'll finish reading through and get on that. I just wanted to start getting back into the threads... Hope you're all well and your babies are thriving. :)

(Janine, I'm also counting down to 12 weeks, MIL has been telling me to savor it all but I say phooey I want a routine and some regularity to life. And I'm looking forward to putting her on my back, too..)

GREAT!!!! DH organized for his mum and dad to take caleb for a few hours today to give me a break, and i just realized that i sent my wallet off with them in the baby bag!!! TYPICAL hey! so much for my shopping errands

When we went to the paed yesterday we found out that Caleb has a umblica hernia too it is not too bad, i just thought it was a funny looking belly button, half way between in-e and out-e :) So it should hopefully go away on its own then???? Also he has some fluid on one testical any one else come by this before?? would like to hear from anyone else with same thing!!!

Just checking in to say Hi!

I had done a huge post a few days ago, having a vent , whinge, and a cry after being up all night with Hunter, and just as I went to send it the whole thing, website and all vanished! I was so frustrated, that I nearly threw the comp out the window. :computer:I was too upset to try again, and have been too busy to do any thing since. I'm back at work a few days a week now. The joys of being a business owner.:doh:
Hunter had his immunisations yesterday. Took them very well! only a little cry. but he seems to have come out in a rash of little tiny pimples on his chest. I remamber the nurse saying that babies get little spots like ant bites, and that its normal. Anyone else got this?

We still have wind problems, tho not as bad as they were.
He does have a herniated belly button now. The doctor and his nurse both said it's ok and not something to worrie about. It's just disconcerting to see thid big blister looking thing that pops in and out when he cries. It's about the size of a marble normaly, but pops out to twice that.

I'm not doing personals, sorry if that makes ne seem antisocial, I just don't have time. (I'm at work right now)
Hope you are all well
Love Lisa

BabyWrangler I was SO amazed to have heard all the things that a mis alligned spine can cause in a baby (and adult) its so amazing how it affects everything!

I heard with the belly button hernia, its not really a concern, my doc said even adults have them sometimes. An outtie is considered a belly button hernia coz it hasnt been sucked in. Isabell has a half innie half outtie, but doc said nothing at all to be concerned about.
Im getting Isabells injections next week, should probably have been this week but DP is working and i thought it would probably be easier if i had him around to help if need be. How have all your bubs been after their needles? Unsettled or just normal??

Both the doctors that looked at Greer's belly button have said the same thing... will monitor it and if it is still there at her 4 month injections they'll refer her to a paed surgeon and asked if I have private health insurance/hospital cover for her. i hope it does go before then - hate the thought of her having surgery.
Bellelasse I've learnt not to listen to half the medical staff I see when they tell me what to do. My Mum said it best the other day..." You are her mother, you know what is the right thing to do for her". As Fire I think said babies don't read the books that tell these people what babies should be doing. Good on you for doing what works for you EBM, cloth nappies, not control crying etc.
MGM - Still having difficulties with out of the arms sleeps here, I try and I try and feel like I am useless, the minute she goes down from the arms she cries, no matter how tired she is.
Taurusa Don't you hate that when you leave something you need in the bag you send off with the kids. My DH tool my DS to daycare along with my mobile the other day - I panicked that I had lost it, then remembered putting it in his daycare bag pocket when I picked him up. Hell of a job to get in and out of daycare without him seeing when the kids call out "Logan your mum is here".
Greer is still screaming from being over tired if i put her down and I have got to go to the Post Office so might try to do that and hope she falls asleep in the car.

Ooops double posted - just removing the extra one :doh:

Meg- my Lila had a little sniffle before her immunizations, and afterwards it developed into a full-on cold... She was alternately sleepy (looong stretches of sleep) and cranky/restless afterwards, I gave her panadol to help with the little fever and the aches that I'm positive she had. It lasted a few days, I'm sure would have been less so had she not been a bit sick beforehand. I'd say just make sure you have some baby panadol around.

grubi, NIS would perhaps nail the problem, but umbilical hernias do often clear on their own. How severe is it? My DD had one and I forgot about it until I realised months or maybe years later that she just didn't have it anymore. I hear this happens a lot. If a lot of bowel was protruding however, it would be worth having it looked at by some kind of practitioner, neurolink or whatnot.

Steph, they probably mean well, those medwives and fruitcakes we deal with on occasion with our babes. They don't keep up to date on the updates in research and pediatric science, much to the detriment of babies. But luckily for your wee one, you listen to your gut, and that will steer you right. My mum raised five of us and was very hands on and nurturing and a little AP really. But even she surprises me with her antiquated ideas sometimes. The other day she told me babies can manipulate you, which was the thought of her generation for sure, but in this day and age we now know this isn't even possible, let alone probable. Babies are short changed, they have one signal - crying. Poor sods. Not only that, but it's the most irritating sound to most people on the planet, and nothing gets under a mama's skin more than the sound of her baby crying. Which is how it was designed. Unfortunately, many babies are abused because the crying is subconsciously interpreted by parents as being able to be controlled by the baby and therefore pushes all their emotional buttons, including anger. We'd all deal much better with the crying if we didn't keep hearing this pseudoscience as to how to treat babies and their motivations.

Well, things suck here. Where I thought I was resigned to having to put him into the cot cos of my back, now it seems I might be stuck slinging. He isn't taking to the cot at all. But I hear to persevere, and cos I don't let him cry, this is going to be long and painful for me. Either that or stick with the slinging until he isn't so little and vulnerable.

Well i am about 2 days behind however thats due to doc visits and lack of sleep. Russell is still waking every 2hours in the morning. will sleep for a good 5-6 hours in the early evening but after that its every 2 hours till dawn . i am so tired and out of ideas to get him to sleep longer. hes also sleeping less during the day and mostly naps for an hour or so then is up and playing. i will say that hes pretty happy during the day and not overly demanding. will play on his own with me or just sit quietly with me so cant ask for much more than that.

Fire - could you try transitioning him while hes awake for short periods untill he gets used to the space?

bbl8r- my boys still outta whack from his shots

just a quickie for me, DH has just called me for dinner.

Oliver went to Community Nurse today, and he has put on 300g in 2 weeks, grown, 3cm since birth, all in all his doing really well, and she said to just keep doing what i'm doing and he will go back to settling himself shortly (hopefully)

BBL

Glad everything went well Sharon, good on ya Oliver for being a good boy!
BJ has just totally changed back to my perfect boy.
Had a feed at 8am today, back in bed til 12pm, up and out of the house til 3:30pm, home, 100ml boobie, top up off the breast then 100ml formula (we've changed to heinz nurture gold instead of s26AR as it was constipating him), then asleep by 5pm, and we are still waiting (9:56pm) for him to wake for another feed before we go to bed!!!
Catch up tomorrow!

Ok, I've snuck on here while Liam's asleep - but he's bound to wake up any second!

As far as AF goes, I've got my first one now. I had nearly 6 weeks of bleeding post-birth though - then two weeks of nothing, then first AF. Probably doesn't help that I'm only expressing and don't have DS at the breast. *sigh*

:clap: Big self praise here - I'm so proud that I've got to the 2 month stage of BF by expressing! Lots of people tell me it's a big deal to go this long, but I keep reminding myself that Liam will recover better from his surgery (when he has it) if I BF as long as I can. Proven fact there! Still having some supply issues (and we supp with FF once a day) but have got some options. Have just begun some herbal tea (Morelife Fenugreek Flow - I think it's called) and am having my Activite milkshakes as often as I can get the time to make them. Just finished a course of Motilium which helped a lot. Dr will give me anothe prescription if I need it. Will see how I go this week. At least it gave me the opportunity to freeze a few batches for when my supply drops.

Frankly - I'm lost about doing personals... can't keep track of everyone anymore! There's a lot of us here now!! :doh: I don't think many of us have the time to respond to everyone who posts so can we have some sort of consensus that we won't be harsh to anyone who can't provide personal messages to every member? We love you all, honestly!! ;)

DH has been thinking about us taking Liam to the Chiro... I'm pretty much convinced that it would be a good idea (at least it can't hurt) so I'm hoping DH will agree soon. Although we've got a pretty sweet and easygoing boy here. I'm so lucky!

Our cycle is pretty much: 2.5 - 3 hrly feeds (but sometimes can be only 1.5 - 2 hrs) of around 80 mls of EBM. Gets grizzly and tired around 5pm as he only really naps during the day with lots of awake time. He sleeps best in our arms, but does ok in bed too - just not as long a sleep. We give him a FF around 9 pm and usually after that feed he sleeps for 5-6 hrs (but not for the last two nights!!). Then around 5am he gets really snuffly and restless and usually DH will get up and sit with him in the recliner and sleep (a bit) so he can breathe better. Anyone have any suggestions for easing his 'snuffles'? Someone told us Vicks - but we can't find an 'infant' variety. Not sure if one exists?

I read 2 and a half pages of posts tonight so I can't remember what everyone was reporting on now :( I remember that Baxter's doing well with his weight gain - well done! Honestly - my head is like a sieve... can't remember anything else I was going to comment on! Sowwy! :rolleyes:

Will try to come in again tomorrow and be more caring/sharing!

*mwah* to all :hug:

Nettie I think we should all understand that there is just no way that we can reply to every single post, so I think as long as we all get a mention every so often (just so that we don't start to feel like we are invisible) that's fine.
Babywrangler glad to hear that BJ is back to being your good boy again.

I'm not BF and haven't done since day 2, and I still don't have AF, wonder where she is, just around the corner probably.

I am still up, but not because of Oliver, but because my BF came over tonight and we did some scrapbooking, there was a cybercrop on and I really enjoyed myself, and will probably make the effort and go over to her place for 3 or so hours tomorrow and get some more layouts done, it was nice to start to get back into the swing of things as I just haven't done much for quite a while.

Morning All,

Everyone doing good here. We go to see Kung Fu Panda on Sunday kids are all excited.

Nettie: I'm with you... we are all very busy mums and as much as we would like to have time to responed to everyone, we just dont have that much time. I'll responed/have input for others if I have experinced something simlar, or I win lotto and I can sit on computer all day. :D

On the Whole AF situation I stopped bleeding after 2 weeks and still waiting for first to come. Wyatt is now 7 weeks. But am still brestfeeding him. A girlfriend of mine didn't have AF for almost 3 and half years. She had DD then waited for AF to come, it didn't for 7 months she went to DR and they told her she was 3 months preg again.

Were all different and it will come when our bodies are ready. Me I just to lose my tubby tummy. :pray:

Cheers
Sarah

HI All,
Benjamin has had a great night. ended up sleeping from 5pm til 11:30pm last night, had a feed and (DH did it) then was setled again by abuot 11:50.
Woke at 4:00 and had 110ml formula, then was carrying on a bit about 4:30 so had another 70ml, then again 20 min later still carrying on, had another 80ml, and has been asleep (other than poo grunting) ever since...I wouldnt have thought 250ml would fit in his little tummy!!!
EBM for the day today, then formula, but we'll see how that goes, 2 evenings in a row he's had the ebm then had to be topped up with formula cause he just wasn't happy!
We may end up switching over totally...we'll see.
DH is determined to return with a new car today...just a matter of which deal (he has 3 to choose from) works out best and what colour it is!
Routine wise, BJ doesn't have one (and is sleeping better as a result!) he feeds roughly 4 hourly during the day, but it all depends what time he wakes as to what time they are! (suits me fine for now), the one thing we have noticed is he seems to have a big sleep from about 3 or 4 til about 6 or 8 which is great cause we are getting nice hot meals at a decent time!

Thinking more and more about it, I wish there was a breast milk bank in vic....soo much may well go to waste!

Morning ladies.

Well I managed to get online yesterday to read all the posts - but was interrupted by either Luke or DH when I wanted to respond!!! Grrrr to DH - Luke can't help it! Luke had a pretty good day yesterday - not sleeping much during the day, seems to have reverted to power napping and frequent feeding, but went down at 11pm and slept through to 7.20am so I really can't complain. That was pretty much his pattern for the fortnight before the long weekend and it was great! hoping that his growth spurt/unsettled period is over and he will calm down again.

BW new car is cool!!! Saw that you mentioned the adventra - very jealous - we nearly bought one of these, but found out that they had been discontinued so didn't - I think that given they are a holden you would still get parts no worries but DH is a car freak and refused - ended up with a sedan which is lovely, but I wanted the wagon!

Sharon yay for Ollie putting on weight and growing nicely. Good job mum!

Nettie I hear you on your brain being a seive. I am back at work in 3 weeks and starting to wonder how I will cope with thinking again.

Grubi I have come to the conclusion that it is a combination of greater stimulation and being a bit hungrier. At night though I think he is sucking for comfort so I have been making sure that he has both sides for 20 mins each (at least) and then settling him. Seems to be working better!

On that note, who has returned to work?? any tips on how best to cope with BF'ing and full time work. Also, any tips on how to best help Luke cope with the loss of his mummy?? I am really worried about my little man and how this will affect him. FInding that DH doesn't really get it, probably because he doesn't get to spend the days with him.

Re AF - someone was talking about it - haven't seen it yet. Hoping not too!!! I am on the mini pill now though.

Shellbell. I returned to work fulltime at 4 months with DS and in the weeks leading up to going back I began expressing so I had some frozen EBM just in case things didn't work out. I was lucky that I had an office and could close the door to express whenever I got a letdown back then - not so this time. In WA at least and I would expect all over is the same they have to give you breaks and a place to express in the workplace - being a government agency they should be accommodating with that. Get an electric (or battery) breast pump - to make it easier on yourself - I had the NUK one. Arrange with your boss how much time you can have for expressing and workout what is best. Try to work out now what Luke's feeding pattern is and try to stick closely to that - not that it will be possible. Don't know you care situation, leave EBM for Luke whilst you are not there and BF when he is with you. If you are able to get him brought to you at lunchtime for a feed - do that too.
As for the loss of mummy - the younger they separate the less anxiety they have about it as they haven't developed too much memory yet. Most important is that they have consistency with the person who is looking after them. You'll notice it more later on when he gets older and has the separation cries when you leave him in care. My DS has been in fulltime care since 3 1/2 months and he is a lot better with being left with other people than other kids because he doesn't have a huge separation issue.

PS Forgot to mention that I continued to use EBM and BF exclusively for 2 1/2 months, then gradually introduced formula during day and continued to BF at night and on weekends until 14 months - could have continued, but chose to stop.

Forgot who mentioned it, Nettie I think, there is an infant vicks - remember getting it in my Bounty bag 3 years ago with DS, it was a small pink tin, will see if I still have it anywhere and let you know what it is if I find it.

BW - it would be great to be able to donate that to someone else... it is such hard work to express to just throw it down the drain....

Shellbell - back to work!!!!!!!! i couldn't even think about going back to work in three weeks!!! thank goodness for maternity pay!

Thanks Grubi - I wonder if I'll get some infant vicks in my final Bounty bag? Must go & get that today! I looked for it at the chemist, but couldn't see it.

I've put a link to our gallery in my sig - there's new pictures of Liam if you're interested. Including one we all 'Jungle Boy' with him in the shower! I think it was Janine who first said something about babies in the shower being like in a waterfall in the jungle.. ? Anyway, it stuck in my head so now we call him 'Jungle boy' when he's in the shower because he leans back into the water so his head gets wet - just loves it!

Sharon & Sarah - glad to know I'm not alone with the 'personals' issue. Thanks!

Shell - Can't fathom working yet! I'm not due back until mid-Sept but will be going back full-time and that's hard to think about yet!

Hope we all have a good day today!

YAY DH bought a new car (well secondhand), a nice blue Adventra!
We get it on tuesday!
Of course, I won't be able to drive it til we get the car seat man out to re-fit the seat!

Still weighing up the ebm issue...BJ had a major hissy fit at the shops today cause his emb wasn't warm enough (plus he technically wasn't due for about an hour and a half) but there wasn't much to do about it, it was cold or nothing....It just isn't satisfying him for as long as he should be going...plus he seems happier drinking the formula.

I think in a way I'm only holding on to the BFing EBM part cause I don't want to waste it!!

Nettie- :clap::clap: on getting to the 2 month mark with EBM. Its hard. How much are you making? I'm averaging 30ish mls an hour per breast. Not that I express that often. I'm trying to get my supply up, so I've been drinking fenugreek/raspberry leaf tea and taking flaxseed capsules. I think its helping. Am trying to get her back on the breast exclusively but its kind of touch and go. Sometimes I get really down and think I just can't do it anymore, but I get stuck in and do it anyway. One week at a time, weeks turn into months. That's my mantra for the feeding. Lila has sniffles, too. I don't know what to do for it other than the saline drops (loosens up the muck and kind of dries it out) followed by a good swab with a cotton bud. And I have her in the bathroom in the steam while I shower.

Zennie- Lila was like that for ages up until about ten days ago. Drove me nuts. I still race to bed every time I have her down for fear I won't get another sleep ever again. I don't know what made it change, but it did and now she sleeps unbroken 7-12 hours a night usually. I got up with her in the early morning once the past week. I just tell myself that it won't always be like this, and try to stay just in the present moment and it kind of helps. That said, I have had times where I cried and nearly threw Lila at her father because I was so tired and out of it and exhausted I couldn't stand her any more. Hang in there, I guess.

Janine- my back hurts too. She never sleeps during the day and is only calm if she's close to me. I can't get anything done unless I sling her, but I can't do it for more than a few hours at a time cause it kills my back. Like you said, persevere. I tell myself it will all pay off eventually, and hey I don't have to listen to her screaming. When I was at my wits end a few weeks ago I did a search and found a study that looked at crying in the first year, and overwhelmingly it showed that how much a baby cries in the first 6 months sets the pattern for how much they cry in the second 6 months. Could be completely off, whatever, but I think of that and it helps. I really don't buy the "manipulation" school of thought, either. Seriously. She can't even hold her head up for more than a few seconds, how is she going to be clever enough to manipulate me? It smacks of projection a little bit. Like how people tend to attribute human characteristics to their pets. When i put her down and she gets upset and cries I think of how she doesn't know she isn't alone and she doesn't know there aren't wild beasts just waiting to pounce on her the second she leaves the protective parental arms. Poor wee thing. Manipulation might start to come into play a few months down the road, but for pete's sake our babies are still womb-fresh. heh, sorry, not preaching, I'm thinking of that nasty woman at the dr's office.

BabyWrangler- we don't have much of a routine either. I couldn't say when she feeds or how much, I just take her as she comes. And you know, I have such a giggly, smiley contented little thing. Routines are overrated. The thing I've found with Lila and the EBM is sometimes she just has a normal feed (90 or so mls) and is happy as larry for hours and hours. Then other times she has one, has another, has another, has another and just when I think there is no way she can cram more milk in her little tummy she'll have another. I doubt it has something to do with your milk not satisfying him, it might be that he just has insatiable periods during the day. The other thing is, I notice my milk is thicker when I'm eating more fatty foods- bacon and eggs with hot buttered toast, that kind of thing. And I try to express regularly, even if she hasn't fed. About every 3-4 hours, more often lately because I'm trying to get my supply up. Maybe that would help?

Lisylee- Lila gets those spots like little ant-bites on her face every now and then. It looks awful but doesn't seem to bother her so I'm not fussed. I think I traced it to my chocolate intake, so I'm a little careful with it now...?

About Af- had a little one about two weeks ago and now a big one. I guess my body just needs some time to work itself out, but it kind of freaks me out having another one so soon, I've been 28 days regular since I was 12. We'll see. Am on the mini-pill.

The past few days I've taken a little sigh of relief mixed with worrying it will all come crashing down soon. But I've been able to get some good sleep at night, have been able to spend a little time being a wife, have been keeping up with the house and washing (mostly) and making dinner almost every night. It feels really good, hope it lasts but don't expect it to. And no sign of pnd, was so worried and prepared for it to raise its ugly head. I just get homesick for my mum in Texas every so often.

Belle - it vaties a lot, but I usually express anywhere from 50 mls to 150 mls each time (both breasts). I was on meds to help supply, but have finished them and found my supply has dropped dramatically :( May have to ask the Dr for an ongoing supply... I'm now trying some herbal tea called 'Fenugreek Flow' which has fenugreek, fennel & anise in it. We'll see if it helps! Liam has around 80 mls each feed and I express every time he eats and sometimes I don't get as much as he's used that feed which gets me down a bit. Thanks for the congrats though... At least I've managed to freeze a few batches from when I was on the meds.

I realised yesterday that the reason Liam might be waking up so often is that he might be cold. So we've begun wrapping him warmly and he's sleeping a lot longer! It worries me that he's too hot though and I have no idea how to judge this - does anyone have any suggestions? He's like both me and DH and sweats when he sleeps so it's hard to tell if he's overly warm or if it's just the sleep-sweats (does that make any sense???).

Here's wishing everyone a good restful night. :pray:

Nettie, that pic is SO cute, of jungle boy. Cracked me up. About temperature, you can get sleeping bags (grobag) that come with a temp thingy on them, to check the temp of the room. You get grobags of 0.5, 1 or 2.5 TOG. 2.5 would be for winter, and I think it's for room temps of 16 - 20. 20 - 24 is the 1 TOG. Ebay sells them cheaply, otherwise they can fetch $70. I want one, all I know who use them say their babies love them. You can also get a grobag egg, which is a room temp thingy. I had read that babies like the air temp to be 25 degrees, or wrapped to that temp. Others say sleeping in 16 degrees is ideal. Maybe it's both. I keep Ci pretty warm anyway.

We had a routine, we didn't make it, Ci did, but now not so much. Because I'm feeding him on waking and then again on sleep, he has two feeds in one hour sometimes because of it. This has thrown me all out of whack. Also trying to get him to nap in the cot means he keeps waking, and has about six naps a day cos we can't get him to settle until the next half hour. It sucks. I like routine, I like knowing what's coming next. Not before I had kids, but since kids, definitely.

Steph, I'm really over slinging, not slinging so much as him napping in the sling. I've found a few threads on BB with women desperate to get the kid out of the sling for naps, so it's common. I try and comfort myself with the good bits, like I did when starting out with all those probs bfing. Unlike Bfing which got better, sling naps are wearing thin!

It's suddenly really cold these days and our heater is broken. Yay.

Hmmm I think i am the only who is is not getting huge amounts of sleep!!!

We have had a few nights of 6hrs but she does that from like 6-12 so doesnt really help with sleep. Other then that of late she has been feeding every 3- 4 hrs.

I felt so drained the other night i tired to give her some forumla caus ei was sure she was hungry and she wouldnt take it at all. But she ended up going to sleep fine so mustnt have been hungry

I am so so disappointed in my weight atm though. Im not losing anything (if anything am gaining) I try so hard to eat healthy but i get so so starving and sometimes with all 3 kids i just dont have the time to make something so i snack

Ok now they are fighting again better be off

beatrix i sympathise on all counts. let me assure you that there's at least one other person not getting much sleep! plus dd has the most awful cold and is now waking more than ever, even in the sling. every little cough and sneeze wakes her up and it's so sad to hear her trying to cry when she's just about lost her voice. as for losing weight - i really need to do something about this, but it's hard to exercise when you have little ones, isn't it! i could do postnatal classes and take the kids but they're so expensive. let me know if you find any magical weight-loss solutions! i guess with snacks the thing to do is try to keep healthy ones on hand (carrots, fruit etc). not that i'm much good at that...

nettie brillliant work with your expressing. i've had to express a bit with both kids (a month with ds, a few days with dd) and can imagine what an effort your two months represents. well done.

fire there's not long to go til the 'magical' three-month mark - maybe things will start to fall into a better routine then. how long have you been putting ci in the cot? they say to allow a couple of weeks when introducing changes; i hope he'll soon start to sleep longer in there. unfortunately dd's cold has made me put my attempts to settle her out of the sling on hold. she did fall asleep in her swing once, but that was only because she was exhausted after a horrendous night of coughing.

today's whinge: i am SO tired. when dh woke up i asked him to take dd so i could have a sleep but it turned out he'd been woken up at 5 by ds and wasn't in any mood to take the baby for me. i'm not too impressed since i have so far done all the nighttime parenting of this baby and have never once woken him up to help. he's been great in other ways but doesn't seem to realise how sleep-deprived i am.

Time for a new thread everyone. Here you go :)