Babies Born April 2008

MGM, the hugabub is great for littlies and newbies. I use it almost exclusively. I am changing to a mei tai soon and an ergo, but for this early period the HaB has been brilliant (it's a wrap so takes a few minutes to put on which is bothersome at times, but still worth it). Legs hanging down is not comfy for any age bracket. They have to have their knees higher than their hips or they can get back and hip problems later, which makes the bjorn the worst choice of carrier. this is a great article on carriers: Storchenwiege - Your Baby Sling | No need to slow down your active life - just bring baby along!

Has anyone else experienced a babyblues days around the 2 week mark.
For some reason today I keep bursting out in tears and have no real reason behind them. DH keeps asking if I want to talk about how I'm feeling, but the only thought that comes to mind when he asks is why did i do this again, but I know that isn't the thought that sparked the crying.

Oh, Grubi, hugs for you. Tears come and go around this household. It's overwhelming, whether it's your first or fifth child, and hormones mixed with "will life ever be the same again?" can run me over. Let them spill, is the advice I was given, even if there is no real reason for them. Subconsiously, there will be a reason, and like we hold our crying babes, hold yourself and let it happen.

*hugs* to you Grubi, tears come and go in this household too.

PS - I think I saw your birth notice in yesterday's West, now I understand your username! Not sure why I am still trawling the birth notices for names though....!

Well, I think the fenugreek is helping plus not being so worried about Baxter's weight. He is feeding so much better (not so fussy etc) since I decided to put it out of my mind. He will get there, just not as fast as others.

Must go, off to watch DH play footy and possibly BF in public, eek!

SG
xo

Grubi - YES!!

I had a bit of a melt down on Friday night when DH went out (regular weekly thing). I absolutely lost it when Liam wouldn't settle. Then I was teary for the next 24 hours. Nothing at all would set me off... I kept thinking "shouldn't the baby blues be over by now??"

DH went out again last night and I coped much better. We bought a Baba sling yesterday and it's helping a lot (Liam's in it now as I type this!) as I was getting worked up at having to use both hands to keep Liam quiet and couldn't even scratch my nose... silly, hey?

Janine - with the slippery elm, does it have to be in liquid form and do you feed it direct to bubs or take it yourself? I've only seen it in tablet form...

I also have a BF question - those of you that express, when do you stop? I'm worried I'm not leaving it long enough to get all the stages of milk... I usually stop when the pump takes three 'pumps' to get one drop out. I'm expressing at every feed time (Liam is bottle fed) and my supply goes up and down a lot.. last express only had 60 mls and Liam's taking around 80 each feed. I hope I've got enough! I've started taking fenugreek today... hopefully that helps. Liam also seems to 'spew' a bit of mucus so I'm hoping the fenugreek will help with that too..

:hug: to everyone! Anyone else finding the first few weeks going very quickly??? :)

Nettie, you buy the powder from a health food shop and mix a little (less than 1/4 tsp) with breast milk and feed it via a spoon to the baby. (all sterilized stuff of course) it should be semi-liquid enough for the baby to get it down without difficulty. it was trial and error here.

Because of its action, baby has to take it, not the mum. It works to "sop" up acid and kind of thicken the milk in the stomach, also settles things. Babies on formula, who have reflux, can get a "thickened" formula to keep it down. This is the bfing equivalent, I guess.

Janine- think i might try that slippery elm stuff cause MJ is a bad chucker and i just cant seem to settle her. She hates lying down flat as well so it might be a bit of reflux.

ANd with the sligs, the ABA simplicity lets bubs legs hang out, i didnt think they would endorse a product that was harmful to a baby. MJ loves the meh tai

Shoe- thats great, you are doing a wonderful job!!! go with your gut instinct, remember Bax hasnt read the manuals!!

Nettie- ot surte about the exoresing, maybe you can try and express more often to encourage a your supply mopre. or try BF with liam on your lap, or even try and let him suckle even if he cant feed cause that encourges supply as well

grubi- being tired makes everything seem en times worse then what it really is, justmake sure you do cry cause if you hold it in its much worse

Hello April mums!

Fire, I hear the HABs are great. my sister has one she was going to pass on to us but I think she must still be using it. I'd intended to use a ring sling for these early months - will try it out again tomorrow because my wrists are getting really sore and after having DS I developed awful prpoblems with them and had to wear a splint. Don't want to do that again!

Beatrix as I understand it the problem with the Baby Bjorn (and presumably other slings of similar design) is if it's used constantly - for short periods they're fine, and they're certainly very quick and easy to throw on.

Grubi hope you're feeling better. Mood swings are very normal - I've had many a teary day.

Shoegal good to hear your boy's feeding well. How did your public BF go? I remember finding that so difficult with DS - at first I could only feed him in the football hold which required lots of support from cushions and was really hard to do anywhere but in my loungeroom!

Nelle you sound like you're managing well. My main concern about taking both kids out together is be that DD takes ages to feed - so if i have to do it while out (which is very likely at this stage) DS will run wild... I'd better stock up on bribes and distractions before I head out!

Last 2 nights DD has had a 3-hour awake period from 3-7am. It's a killer. Anyone else up at this ungodly hour? I'm starting to really dread nighttimes...

mgm- so do you think that the meh tai as it forms around bubs body it would be ok as such? Oh i am always up at that hr, its when miss decides to cluster feed.

From what I've heard (from a Chiropracter chick), there's not much evidence that Baby Bjorn style carriers do any lasting damage - BUT that could be because Bjorns aren't really comfy enough to wear for too long at a time anyway, hehe. And obviously there are better carriers, with more comfort for baby...can't say I'd like to hang by my crotch for too long...

I found our Bjorn incredibly uncomfy for ME once River got to even 7ish kg, so, wearing him from 4kg - 7kg - that's not a great lifespan for a carrier! Which is why I did a bit more research once he was out of that! I am LOVING our CatBirdBaby Pikkolo (similar to the Ergo), except that you don't need an infant insert for it, and bub can face out if you want - it's just really versatile. And super comfy, it uses memory foam in the shoulder straps.

Beatrix, if you look at the link Janine gave, it shows good leg positioning. Maybe look in a mirror next time you wear MJ and see if she appears to be dangling from her crotch, or if she looks more like she's sitting in the sling.

In my opinion, Baby Bjorns are good in that, people can enjoy the feeling of carrying their bub hands free at the shops or around the house, and then when it gets uncomfy, hopefully they'll start to look for comfier options. Perhaps that's a bit optimistic of me, but that's what I did. :P

Wow MGM, that's a long overnight wake time! Have you tried waking bub more during the day, so hopefully she'll sleep longer overnight?

Oh yeah, meltdowns, I agree with Bea, it's a sleep deprivation thing, when you're just so tired it's easy to feel overwhelmed. If I find myself teary, I try and grab a nap...not always possible...

Oh i just looked at the ABA site and this is what it says about my sling

:

---

Baby is carried in the correct orthopaedic, or 'frog-leg' position for baby's hips.

---

so i brought a good sling then!!!!

Bea - Liam has gotten distressed (really worked up) every time I've tried to put him to the breast, so I don't want to do it again (made me upset too). I usually express when he's having a feed (DH feeds him with the bottle) and I look at him to help the milk production. I'm taking fenugreek now so we'll see how that goes.

I've got the baba sling and it's been good so far (only had it one day).

Liam's down for a sleep (finally) so I'm heading there myself. MGM - yes, we have big 'awake times' at night too. He's got a lot of wind at the moment, so settling can take hours... Got a big day planned tomorrow, so here's hoping he sleeps ok tonight!

Thank goodness for Brauer's Colic relief! Does anyone else use this? Do you give it before, during or after feeding??

yeah, it's all about "frog legs" for slinging. legs out is fine, as long as the are splayed and up, like they would be when hip carried - it's the natural leg pozzie they assume if they can.

nelle, i've just been recommended the catbirds! good to hear another one. i'm trying to find a great mei tai, and kozy looks good so far but i'll look for those catbirds.

crap night last night here, too - cluster feeds from midnight to 3a. and then 5.30 to 7 (his fave cluster feed time).

Just thought I would weigh in on BABY CARRIES. I had the Bjorn for first DS and it hurt back, so I took it back after 2 weeks of useage.

I brought an ergo this time around for Wyatt (DS). We went out last week put him in pram and very restless in it. So walked back to car to get carrier and put him in it, and was asleep for 4hrs while I was walking around. He seemed to be content in their. The only thing I was worried about, was is he warm enough in their. I tried tucking blanket in around him, but it kept falling out. Also felt like i was pregnant again and even started to waddle towards the end. (starting to get very tired).

Wyatt had an awake period last night, which was bit of shock, he normal up to feed done and back to bed, all within 5-20minutes, oh and maybe bum change or two in their. So am very tired and emtional today.

Cheers
Sarah

Yeah I've got the CatBirdBaby 'Pikkolo', which is more a SSC (soft structured carrier) like an Ergo, but I know people who have the CBB Mei Tai's love them!

I've got a BabyHawk Mei Tai that might come today, and can't wait to give that a shot with Silas. I've tried Si in a pouch and ring sling, but he's just not a fan of being carried in the cradle position. River was like that too. Never mind! :)

Silas is being a bit weird with feeding at the moment, will feed, then pull off after awhile and seem like he's done, but then 10 mins later will want to finish the feed! So I'm just changing his nappy and grabbing a drink (and sorting out the mischeif Riv's gotten up to while I've been feeding) before feeding him some more. Interesting the way our babies change all the time.

intense screaming period here just now :(. he's asleep now but i couldn't work it out. very distressing. pulled off boob and screamed for half hour solid. done that a few times this past week.

Oh no Janine! That's always so upsetting isn't it. :hug: Could it have been wind? I thought also maybe overtiredness, but usually boob fixes that, whereas Si seems to pull off too when he has wind and is trying to fart...Here's hoping that was just a random once-off event.

Well we had a big day out today. There was a 'grand opening' for our town's play cafe which has just opened up - so I went to that for 2.5 hrs with Liam, then came home for a feed, then went to my workplace to say G'day to everyone - for another 2 hours. He didn't get much sleep at these times and is now overtired. He's just gone off to sleep and we hope he'll kip for a couple of hours and not be too ratty for the 8 pm (ish) feed...

I'm just heading up to the shops to pick up some decaf coffee & tea as a friend of mine who has a son 6 days younger than mine said that she's found he sleeps a lot better and doesn't get so unsettled since she's gone to decaf. It's worth a shot! Will let you know if I see any marked improvements!

Janine - :hug: to you... I had a night like that on Friday. Liam gets a bit of wind which hurts him a lot. He gets rid of it a lot better with the Brauer Colic Relief stuff so it's not so dramatic now, but it really kills me when he screams so much. Not looking forward to teething! :)

Oh yeah, we used Brauer's Colic relief! And you may notice I say 'used'. That's because as his gut is maturing, the wind situation seems to be settling! :D So - there's some hope for you. Si still is windy, but he seems to be moving it through his gut and getting it out a bit more efficiently. Stay away from cabbage though. :P

Is decaf coffee nice? I'm okay with tea, guess that doesn't have so much caffeine, and I also have herbal tea that I drink, but I've kind of avoided coffee so far...
Another trick I've heard is to have the coffee/chocolate right after a feed, so it has as much time as possible to not be in your milk by the next feed.

Anyone's bub's smiling yet? I guess it's early days for lots of you...can't wait for Si to smile, Riv didn't smile til he was something like 3 months! It's so cool when they smile and start to interact with you...they're more like little people than little (cute) blobs.

Shoegal yes that would be our notice and why the username. She is a Grubi Bubi after all. Guess it's obvious as there aren't too many babies with the nane Greer.

I did cry and maybe it was just the sleep deprivation as I had what seemed like a good night's sleep last night and have been fine today. No sleep today though - so who knows what tomorrow will be like. I guess it was just that I was thinking like Nettie shouldn't the baby blues be over by now??"

I think the hardest time for me is whilst DH is at the gym, always at bewitching hour 6 to 7pm when I am most likely to want to throw DD in the bin and DS wants Mummy's attention at this time also.

I so can't wait until we get to the point where there is more to DD than just reactions to bodily functions. When a smile isn't passing wind.

A smile is a smile. It's an old wives tale that smiles are wind in newborns. No adult or baby smiles because of wind. I wondered at first about Ci smiling in his first week, and I've since realised that yes, it is smiling because he still does it and now laughs also. I can coax a laugh or smile out of him now too, by going "woogie woogie woogie" and wobbling his top lip. :lol: He thinks thats hilarious.

I think his screaming fits are overtired and can't sleep. Can't sleep cos he likes to be on the boob to sleep and he keeps getting milk or worse - a let down which is too forceful for sleepy sucks. So he pulls off screaming, tries again, repeat. Now I just stop the feed and bounce on the fitball with him until he nods off. I hope that's all it is so I can continue with this routine. Screaming fits suck.

In other news, drum roll....

Cian's birth story!! Click me click me!!

It's on my blog. Has one video (takes too long to upload them on youtube so I only did one but I'll do more at some stage) and several pics.

Nelle- we got smile at around a week or so old but like only very rarely, Now She is smiling more often specially today so so cute.

Janine- off to read your story now

Hello ladies!

I have not been in here yet cause I couldnt find the thread! I had my little boy 17th April, 56 cm long, 40 cm head 10 lbs 13oz by c sect. I dont know everyone in here but Im Danielle anyhow :D and hello to sarah and grubbi from my belly buddies group!

I didnt BF with number 1 and am 2 weks in still BF with my little boy, my nipples are stinging and sore and I dread feed times, he does this thing where he clenches his gums down on my nipple when I 1st put him on it does settle after a little while but my boobs are so sore from it and it doesnt matter which way I put him on he still does it, he always has his mouth wide opened when he goes on and his lips in the "K" shape they tell you. Its so frustrating, and he cries even when he's finished feeding after 15 mins-30mins and still sucking like mad, so Ive been topping him up with a little formula which I really didnt want to do but had to its the only time I see him settled.

Anyone know a bit about BF and can offer some advice?

would be greatly appreciated.

Danielle, The lactation consultant gave me this advise - use lanilon like Lansinoh on your nipples to help them heal, it can stay on when DS feeds. Avoid using soap when you shower. If they don't heal into 2 to 3 days try cold sore cream, but wash it off before feeding. When attaching use the hand closest to the breast to "squash" the nipple upwards place it close to his nose and when he gets a mouth full of the areola push the nipple forward into his mouth. If it hurts beyond that initial sting because you are already sore, use your little finger to break the suction remove him and try again. Also make sure youkeep pressure on his back whilst he is feeding so he doesn't slip.

CHN just visited again - I made her weigh DD, even though she said she didn't need to now that we weren't having feeding issues and she gained 322gms this week - that's 10% of her weight - well above the CHN's expectations. She has jumped from the 10th percentile to between the 25th and 50th now. We are also moving out of the five 0s to the four 0s this week - Yippee my little girl is getting bigger!!

Welcome Danielle - our babies share a birthday!

Janine - I'm with you. I'm sure my little man smiles at me! I can see it in his eyes. Baloney about the wind thing... I need to express now, but will try to read your story later.

Lucky me, I'm still in PJ's and have had extra sleeps today. Still tired though! Will try to get an early night in too, but Liam has fussy evenings, so it's not always possible. On the other hand, I haven't gotten ANYTHING else done today! Bugger the washing & dishes... I need sleep!!

:hug: to everyone else!

Hi all

Had Baxter weighed today, he put on 100gms this week, so an improvement from the 80gms he put on the week before. I've started on the fenugreek and I have milk everywhere!

MCHN has made a GP appt for Baxter on Thursday to check that he doesn't have a possible UTI and therefore isn't gaining as much as he should. His fontanelle is tiny bit sunken too so she is concerned about that.

We feed about 8 times a day and he very alert when he is awake so I'm not too worried.

Welcome Danielle, we are a small but friendly group, I'm sure you'll find lots of advice and support.

Nelle - DH says he got a smile last night, not sure if he was winding me up or not....!

Janine - thanks for posting your birth story, and the photos too.

PS - where is Steph?

SG
xo

I was of the belief that babies smiles are not expressions of emotion until their 2nd or 3rd month.
"Smiles while awake are reflexive reactions to a face or voice rather than an emotional response. However, during the second month, your baby's smiles are a genuine sign of pleasure or friendliness. "
It may not be wind, but it isn't an interactive smile which is what i was getting at - I am looking forward to the point in time where there is genuine interaction.

thanks Grubi, Ill try what you said about the BF issues I really dont want to give up, I have been using lanolin cream since I started feeding in hossy too,

My baby smiles at me with a wide opened mouth not just a grin, and his eyes look like they are smiling too, but I still doubt weather he is smiling for real yet, but then again he rolled over when he was born on the scales, and he lifts and turns his head as he pleases when someone talks in the room, but he is very very strong being born such a big baby, he is imortal sometimes I think. But I never have these little cute newborn babies hehe my last one was the same!

Thanks for the warm welcome girls I look forward to getting to know everyone else in here too!

There are too many posts for me to try to catch up and do personals to everyone, so just a general hello from me tonight, we where without internet over the weekend due to vandals cutting a cable in our area and it took them all weekend to fix.

so, this is me kind of just checking in and letting you all know that i am still around.

Oliver will be getting weighed this Friday, which is his first since leaving the hospital, I am guessing that he will be over 5kg because he is a little piggly wiggly.

Shoegal, hope everything turns out to be OK with Baxter, it must be worrying for you :hug:

Shoegal Sorry to hear that Baxter hasn't been thriving as much as he should. You need some of Greer's weight gain - Sharon you think Oliver is a piggly wiggly.... Greer's weight gain is definitely piggly wiggly since we left hospital she has put on over half a kilo.
I hope Baxter doesn't have any major problems. We have an appointment with the pediatrician next Tuesday for Greer to see about her tongue-tie. I've also noticed that she has some irratic breathing so I might ask about that too.
Nettie I had an all day PJ day yesterday - I try not to do it, but yesterday I just didn't feel like making the effort.
Well DD is sleeping so I'm going to try to get DS to go to bed now so I can get some much needed sleep since we haven't had any today with all the interuptions and short sleeps cycles.

grubi I am just guessing about Oliver's weight gain, he will be 2.5 weeks on Friday so will be interesting. He has been on 100ml of formula since he was 4 days old, and today we have increased that to 150ml as he was sucking his bottles dry, adminittedly not every one, but enough for me to think he needs more, especially since he would be very unsettled and still wanting to suck the times he did empty bottle.
sarah so far I have been lucky and Oliver hasn't had a 'nighttime' unsettled period, I usually change his bum before his feed at night as sometimes he will fall off to sleep at the end of his bottle, most nights though I manage to cuddle him till he's nearly asleep (but not quite) then put him in his bassinette and he will get himself off to sleep, which is great, if he does have an unsettled period it is usually between 5pm and 7pm or sometime in the morning. I seem to be emotional even when i'm not tired lately.
Nelle I have had a few 'pretend' smiles from Oliver, Jordan was about 5 weeks when I got his first 'happy to see me' smile and it just melts your heart, so I can't wait for Oliver to start smiling at me.

Wow Sharon - my Liam is 5 days older than your Oliver, but he only takes around 80 mls a feed! Around every 3 hours. I'd think I'm not feeding him enough, but he refuses any more...

For those of you taking fenugreek, how much are you taking? The bottle I got doesn't even mention using it for breastmilk (only respiratory congestion) and suggests 1 tablet 3 times a day...??

Having trouble with Liam spitting up lately but it doesn't seem to be milk - seems to be like phlegm?? Anyone else have this issue? He gets really upset when it happens..

Still in PJ's... tomorrow will be a 'get dressed' day!

Danielle, I recommend an ABA counsellor or professional lactation consultant. I wish I'd used one for my first baby, because it really does become an amazing experience once problems are sorted. A pro will cost money but it is totally worth it. My ds latches on by sucking my nipple into his mouth. He unlatches by reefing his mouth off. This was a major issue and I had sore nipples and tried for days, every single feed, to unlatch and then relatch trying to train him to not use certain behaviours. But oddly, he still does it but I'm not sore anymore. His attachment while feeding is fine, it's just the on/off bits that were a concern and I worried I'd be in pain for the years I wish to feed. But as long as your attachment while feeding is good, it may be a case of hold on for a couple of weeks more until it balances out. But I would certainly find out for sure if he needs correction or if it is a wait it out situation. Nothing beats hands on advice. Good luck to you and welcome, btw.

Janine - just read your birth story. Well done girl. You have a gift at storytelling.

I can't imagine the torture & heartbreak of your labour. You are an exceptional person for coming through that with faith & positivity. :clap:

Well done.

Morning all,

How is everyone this morning...

Grubi: I see Kat and Lulu still haven't gone yet. Maybe today...

Sharon:LMAO to your little Oliver farting his way off to sleep. I only change Wyatts bum before a feed, otherwise it will wake him up more. Unless he does a poo and I can usually smell them.

Nettie: I had a PJ day the other day. It was great, but by then end of the day all I wanted to do was get shower. 'Cos my PJ day normal is a cleaning day as well. Got all washing and ironing done.

Well am off to take DS to playgroup. Wyatt asleep at moment in pram let just hope he stays that way for next 2 hrs. PLEASE so I can do stuff with DS...

Cheers All

I take my hat off to all of you that are managing a new bub and other children at the same time. I can't do it - DS either goes to daycare or Nana's house otherwise I end up growling at him most of the day.
Sarah hope Wyatt is good for you so you get some time with Landon. I know DS loves the time we get, even though it isn't that much.
I'm only just starting to be able to do some of the household chores, but having to clean the power chuck off the floor this morning caused some pain again.
Noticed this morning that i have one D cup and one DD cup breast - really feeling all out of shape with that and my tummy seems to have a bulge where DS poked her head up all the time when she was breech - hope that settles.

Grubi- its hard dealing with more then one. My older two are so demanding lately since Mj has been born. I live for tuesday when they are at day care.

I think i have a bloocked doct, the back of my breast os so so sore atm, feels a little hard so i am sitting here with a heat pack on it. seems to be releaving the pressure a little bit and its not as hard anymore.

Sarah- hope playgroup went well

Nettie- i take two tablets three times a day

man annika is screaming again. she is going to wake up MJ when i fianlly have her settled in her cot

Hi Everyone

I have been MIA for a while - so sorry. I have been reading everyone's posts but didn't really have much to contribute. But I just wanted to say thanks for all the advice and sharing cause it has helped me out enormously over the last week or so.

Charlotte is still taking Gripe Water to help her bring up her wind (once it gets to her bowel, we are in for a lot of screaming - have tried massage and bicycle legs but it doesn't seem to help her much). So still struggling with that. Slept all night on the recliner with her on my chest last night. After trying to put her down unsuccessfully for about 2 hours, I just gave up. I forget who asked, but I give her the Gripe Water before the feed - I am only giving her about 1ml (can give 2.5ml) but it doesn't take much to get things moving.

My next step is to work out what foods are making the problem worse. I have heard that chocolate and coffee and cabbage are bad?? Any others that I should try and avoid??? I would like to get her off the Gripe Water before she becomes addicted (if she isn't already).

I am also taking fenugreek now (thanks so much whoever mentioned it on here). My milk supply practically dried up last week. Charlotte was draining both boobs and still wanting more (normally she only feeds on one side and that is more than she can handle) anyway I couldn't keep up. But have only been taking the fenugreek 3 x per day (and drinking loads of water) and am now back to my plentiful supply (running out of my boobs and wetting my lap while I burp her, squirting her in the nose while we try and attach - oh the joy of it). Ironically, we did not have any wind issues whilst my supply was low - but I would rather know that she is getting enough.

Charlotte is ready to join the piggly wiggly club. She is 3 weeks old today and has gained 760 grams on her birth weight!!

Danielle - I am same as Fire - Charlotte doesn't attach the way she is supposed to (ie. nipple in last) - she sucks the nipple in first too which is a bit ouchy for about 4-5 sucks but then is all good and she makes a nice 'special k' shape with her lips. Also, because my boobs are sooo big, I have to support her head/neck with one hand and my boob with the other or she detaches. So I am fairly limited in what I can do whilst BFing (I just watch tv normally). I think you need to get ONE person to work with you until you find a suitable solution. I got so sick of being told different things by MWs in hospital that I stopped calling them in and just did my own thing until I got it right. I found that what they showed me worked great for colostrum feeds but then when my milk came in, I had these huge, hard boobs and had big troubles getting her attached (lots of tears and holding breathe). But we have our own little arrangement now and it might not be textbook but it works for bub and me. Good Luck with it!!

I was thinking, since most of the last of the late April group have had their babies (still waiting on 2), it would be nice for us all to share our details so that we know about one another. In our Belly Buddies group, we had a post with everyone's name and what/when they were expecting. Maybe we could have a post with our names and what children we have.??? (Sort of like a 'members list'). If everyone wants to PM me their details, I can do the post on the first page of the new thread (which will be coming any time now). Eg.

Tarnee - DD Charlotte - born 16/04/08

(Obviously if you have other kids, you would include their details too - I only have the one).

Sorry for the long post - Charlotte is sleeping very well!!

Talk soon.

Nettie I think Oliver drinks so much of his bottle because he was/is a big boy, but he doesn't always drink over the 100ml it is normally around 90-100ml. How big was Liam when he was born?
sarah I always change Oliver's bum before a feed, or like you if he poos in the the middle of a feed.
grubi I didn't handle the last week of the school holidays very well, I found that Jordan had a touch of the 'green eyed monster' in him, which is understandable, be even now when he is home he still doesn't seem to understand that he needs a bit of patience when I am doing things with Oliver, I try to get him to help but it doesn't always work either.
Beatrix your blocked duct sounds painful, I hope that the heat pack helps to unblock it for you.
Tarnee sounds like you are having a tough time with Charlotte and her wind, Jordan was a bugger too, but 'touch wood' Oliver seems to go really well. Great idea about having a post with all of us on it at the beginning of each thread, at least until we all really get to know each other more, will PM you my details :)

Well, I have to get going and pick up Jordan from school, will try and log back on again some time tonight, otherwise I will see you all tomorrow.