Babies Born February 2006

Hi all,

Kaydee – Wow sounds like you have had a rough time. I hope you are feeling a little better. What a terrible experience.

Snowy – Hope your haematoma is getting better.

Me – We had a rough day yesterday. The people that were going to buy our house pulled out about 3 hours before the cooling off period finished. This means now we can’t afford to buy the house we had put a deposit on and have blown about $2000.00 in legal costs. I was really upset yesterday and Harry was also quite unsettled in the afternoon which I found very difficult to cope with because I was so exhausted. I ended up having to hand him over to DP and I went to bed. DP managed to settle him after a few hours. Thank god he is such a great guy. I don’t know how I would have got through last night without him.

I am feeling much more positive today after a good sleep and Harry is back on his best behavior (bless him). Our house is back on the market again so hopefully we will get some interest soon and we will be able to move out of my mums place. It is great staying here but we are really looking forward to having our own space IYKWIM.

Harry is growing so much. He is now fitting into his 000 clothes and is starting to smile. His eyes focus on me now when I talk to him and he has discovered his voice and makes little gurgle noises all the time.

I think we have the breast feeding business under control which is good. The midwife at my parenting group said that it is more common for bottle fed babies to sleep through the night earlier than breast fed babies. I was wondering what would happen if I gave Harry a formula bottle at the 10pm feed if that would help him to sleep through till 6am. Does anyone have any ideas or opinions on this? Also I was also thinking about expressing so I can leave him with my mum or DP when I go back to the gym. Can you girls that are expressing recommend a pump?

Hi lolly,i found hand expressing much easier than using a pump. I found the pump i use (avent) really fiddly and awkard. But its personal choice really. When having a 'let-down' have u thought about trying 2 xpress then? i will be doing the same in a few wks when its time to get hair re-done, eyebrows waxed etc - expressing and giving bottle to DH.

Formula much fuller on bubs tum tums, so makes sense they sleep a bit longer. I havent tried the formula/breastmilk combo.
Sorry to hear about yr house - bummer they pulled out.

Like lolly had an unsettled day with Sophie yesterday. Took DD #1 to the park and sophie decided to cry the whole time we were there. I was pushing DD on the swing with a screamin baby in my arms - it must have looked a sight. I think it was a growth spurt, or something. I was feeding every hour at one stage but didnt mind, it seemed to settle her by 830pm last night.

Apple - amazed you can last till 10pm at night. DH and i are in bed by 830pm most nights. HOw do you last till that hour? We find Sophie will sleep from 830pm till 1am, then every 2-3 hours after the 1am feed.

Kaydee - how are you going?

Snowgirl - Yay on Zara sleepin thru your lunch, dont you love that ! How are you coping with Wolf? I have a 2 1/2 year old and finding it really BUSY, and she's that little bit more independent and older obviously....

Bruky - Well done girl !!! First to DTD .....nope, havent thought about it but DH sure has and think i will have to give in sooner rather than later. He's threatening to go over the road to the cute little blonde thats just moved in !!!! - in his dreams i say !!!!!!

Sophie 3 weeks tomorrow. The 0000 bond suits are on there way out i think , i dont think she will be in them much longer. Other than that, somehow surviving on broken sleep and taming a 2 year old, along with Sophie. Its 5pm somedays b4 ive made the beds........but im loving it though.

Hi girls,

long time, heh!

Sorry no time for personals...im glad everyone seems to be travelling along great.

ive had to changed aiden's formula due to mild reflux which has made the world of difference he's not in as much pain anymore...in two weeks he has put on 1163gms...and now weighs 5kg he's growing soooo quick. i can't believe he was 5 weeks old on friday.

Im back working at my parents which is great as i can take the kids and nana looks after them and haven't had the time to post. zara is coping very well with her little brother...she's very helpful. i brought a new pram the other day to start walking with. it's so much heavier with 2 on board now so lets hope i get trim taught and terrific quick!

take care i will be back soon...i promise!

lol @ mbear....Dh said something similar (yeah as a joke too) to your Dh and I said knock ya socks off buddy...lol

I really did just give in...i knew it wouldnt be too bad as I hadnt torn and really didnt even feel like I had given birth after the first day (weird really I guess cause she was so fast??? no idea really why but wont complain). Poor Dh had been on a drought fo some time as I just wasnt interested whilst pregnant...not in the last 2-3 months anyway...lol

Guess what...................Katie is smiling!!!! its not wind either...lol Its a real definate smile and she is gurgling along too

My relactation isnt going as well as I thought it might...i just dont have the time to express (or the milk it seems) every hour...not with a family to look after...if she was my first it might be a different story???

its a real pity as I am so much more relaxed b/feeding now...it doesnt hurt at all and she latches on well but I just dont have the milk now...I also dont have the pressure that I put on myself to succeed and I know that she is doing so well on the bottle...makes a difference in the long run I guess

Sorry for not doing personals...just thought I would duck my head in quickly and I can hear Katie stirring...bugga I was planning on taking an early nanna nap 8-[

Hi just a quick one from me!

Back in London now. The trip was okay. Zara slept 90% of the time and Wolf was really happy looking at the cars (luckily we had 3 police cars and 2 ambulances and 2 tow trucks on the road... that gave some excitement for the trip :D)

Katie / re. nappies> we are using pampers with Zara. They had Fixies at the hospital but I have not seen them at my local supermarket. I did not like the Pampers with Wolf as the mesh would stick to his balls, so I switched to the drugstore's homebrand (back in Berlin we had a Rossmann drugstore and they had "baby love" but I don't think Rossmann is in NRW, but Schlecker has a homebrand that is pretty good). Aldi also has great nappies if you ever shop there (also in Australia! liked them much better than the stupid Huggies - they were way too narrow for Wolf). Zara is a different issue though (no balls that could stick to mesh, lol) and I think I will stick to pampers. Just ordered some here online in London as well.

Lolly, so sorry to hear about the purchase falling through. How annoying! Hope you find a new buyer soon!!!
re. breazst pump
I have the Medela hand pump and I love it! I tried out the Avent but didn't like it, the Medela though works really well for me. I borrowed the Avent from a friend and the Medela from the midwife ... maybe you have someone who can lend you their model for a day??

Bruky / yeah on Katie smiling!!

Mbear / things are okay with Wolf. He plays quite well on his own now and Zara still is so easy and does not need much entertainment... I wonder how things will be though once Zara can crawl and will get into his toys...

Okay, gotta go and meet the nanny
very curious!!! i hope she is nice

Snowy

lolly sorry to hear about the house falling through, i am doing a forumla feed at his last feed before bed, and its working really well for us at the moment. The nurse told me its fine to top up his feeds with formula if i want to so sometimes his afternoon feed i give him a small bottle then as well after the boob if he is still seems hungry.

I'm not finding breastfeeding that great at the moment, i have milk and attachment is fine just so am thinking about going to bottle formula fed but we'll see i'm not making any decisions strait away. Having to get used to how to do the whole bottle feeding thing now as well.
Thats the most stressful part for me is the feeding, everything else is going well though.

Breast pumps i bought an avent manual and for me it was crappy so we went and bought a medela mini electric and its great, i'm able to get more milk these days and it makes life a lot easier it was about 150 but it has a limited life span but for what i want it for its perfect.

DTD no way thats happening any time soon lol i'm scared and to tired, will wait for our 6 week appt at least.

Snowy - Glad the trip back to UK was good, hope the nanny is nice :)

Bubs is off to bed so have to go, hi to everyone.

Mbear - Im going really well thank you. I feel like i have fully recovered, but I have to take it easy for a while.

Ive finished my medication, so Bens nappies arent as full anymore... yay! He has been sleeping really well lately too.. with sometimes 8 hours sleep (from 3am until midday). He has trouble going down before 1am though.

We are back home now, thank goodness. My mum arrives on Wednesday, wohooooo!

DTD: well, i have a few stitches, so i dont think that will happen until after my 6 weeks appointment. Im still feeling bruised aswell. Boy am i missing it though! Do any of you find that your relationship with ur dh has changed? I mean, apart from the having a child (or, another child) part. I never thought it was even possible to feel closer to my Dh, but seriously i feel like what we did at the start... Fresh love... It's really beautiful!

Ooooh, gotta go, the boss is hungry.

Snowy - Yes, we have a Rossmann here... They are great. I bought a couple of nursing bras from there, €9 each. Cheap, but they are great for when my Anita ones are in the wash. The Babylove brand is great too.. Gotta check out the nappies. The Aldi ones are too big at the moment, but we intend to try those out as soon as Ben's bum is big enough.

Hi guys,

Busy busy busy, no time to get on!! DH goes back to work tomorrow, which will be interesting! I cant iomagine how I will get anything done or anytime to get on here, but I suppose we will work it out eh.

Bonnie is sleeping much better during the night, though is still sometimes hard to settle and get to sleep. Ifind I cant put her down until she is in a deep sleep, so she wakes and cries. I'm sure it's not setting up the best habits, but what else can we do?!

Today I have tried the hugabub, as she is not keen to sleep during the day. She has been in it for the last 1-2 hrs, asleep which is great, though I dont think I tied it too well! My boobs are all squashed in it too!

Question for you all:
Does everyone else put there bubba down to sleep when they are awake still, or do they go to sleep in your arms?

Mbear - I dont think Bonnie would go down at 8.30pm, she is a bit unsettled still. So we save the bath until 10pm in the hope that she will settle well for the night. I try and get a nap in before the 10pm bath and feed though.
She then wakes around 2.30-3, then somehwere between 5.30-7am.

Snowy - must be nic e top be home :)

apple - it depends on Liam's mood as to wether he goes into bed awake or i settle him in my arms. I would say mainly during the day he settles himself but at night i try to make sure he is asleep before i put him back in to bed otherwise without a doubt if he is awake i will pull the covers up on myself and he will want to be held.

Hi Everyone :)

Apologies for being a bit absentee of late - so much to do!!

We started Mothers Group last week, which was great. Most of the bubs are around Allegra's age and at least 2 mums live in walking distance to us so I suggested perhaps me and the other 2 go walking once or twice a week with respective bubs so some excercise.

Allegra is doing great - 7 weeks already. I cant believe it. She is now 3.6kgs which is also very reassuring as she was soooo tiny when she was born. Now she has a bit of meat to cuddle!

Apple - we self settle Allegra. Once a few times have I put her to sleep in my arms and only because the tresillian help line suggested I do it because she was in a bit of pain from wind. I finish feeding her have a little play (or sometimes straight to bed, we often play in between one boob and the other or before the feed) and she is fine when we put her in the bassinette when she is half asleep. Within a litlle while she is fast alseep.

Am in the midst of organising Allegras Baptism. Have asked all the godparents and they are overjoyed. We have 4 in all (normally you have 2 but I tend to be a little overboard) and we are all having lunch at a lovely restaurant in Manly afterwards (Snowy you might remember the Cove Restaurant at the Wharf) - am making invitations at the moment!

OK - well its time for me to go and organise some dinner.

Love to you all
T and A xx

Hi Ladies,

Lolly - Sorry to hear about your house falling through. I can't imagine how upsetting and frustrating that must have been. Fingers crossed you find another buyer soon.

Apple - I generally try and put Brianna straight into bed after a feed, however she usually lies there awake for quite a while before she goes off to sleep. Most of the time she is happy to just lay there which at night can be quite frustrating as I can't sleep until I know she is asleep.

Does everyone else's baby go straight to sleep after a feed? I find Brianna goes to sleep on my breast but once I pick her up to wrap her she wakes straight up.

Another question: Does everyone wrap their babies? I find it really frustrating because if Brianna is very tired she goes straight off to sleep, but if she is wide awake when I put her down she wrestles and winges until she can get her arms out. I am not sure she like to be wrapped or not.

Today was my first day without DH. He went back to work today. I think today it was harder for him than me! - he missed his girls. However, Brianna must have missed him because she was hard work all day. She wanted to feed all day and after both sides she was still wanting more so I just gave her the dummy. I hope that is the best thing to do. I then just put her to bed and she just layed there sucking her dummy and only cried if the dummy fell out. She doesn't always have the dummy but for some reason today all she wanted to do was suck.

That should probably do me. Have a good night everyone - sleep baby sleep!

Lolly - I forgot to mention before that i am so sorry to hear that the buyers for your house pulled out! How frustrating. I hope you get new buyers very soon.

wishful - Ben tends to sleep after a feed most times. if not, he is (normally) more than happy to lay in his basinet and talk to himself for a while.

Apple - We put Ben down to sleep when he is awake most of the times. Normally he will sook himself to sleep... when this doesnt work, and its at night time, Dh or I will lay him on our chest to sleep, then put him in his bed when he goes to sleep. I dont want Ben to get into the habit of only sleeping after we have rocked him to sleep.

HELP! LEAKING BOOBS! I wear breast pads... sometimes 2! but i ALWAYS end up with huge wet patches on whatever im wearing (even if it is a thick jumper!). Anyone else have this embarrasing problem? Ok, i know we all must leak, but my leaking is extreme sometimes!

Ben is now 4kgs. He is growing sooo much, everyday i can see a change! Dh is always asking me "When will he talk/walk"... and "when can i start playing with him" etc... I told him not to rush him, or he will grow too fast. I cant believe Ben is only 2 weeks old, to me he looks much bigger than that.

like Teena, we too are organizing Ben's Baptism. It will be on the 8th april, because that is when my mum will be here. The other day Dh and i went to this months Baptisms at the church to spy and see how it is. We talked to the priest, who said that so far Ben is the only baby on the 8th, and he is more than happy to have a half english / half German ceremony. So we might be having a little private thing, that would be nice! Not sure if we will go out for lunch afterwards... will have to talk to Dh about that. We are having my sister and Dhs brother as godparents. I still hate the idea of BIL being a godparent, but he is Dh's only sibling, and they are quite close... But he cant even look after himself!
Well, enough about that.

Snowy - how did it go with the Nanny? I hope she is nice!

Hi guys,

Today is my first day at home without hubby, and so far so good. We just got back from a walk to the supermarket, we were out for an hour or so, and Bonnie is still sleeping in her pram, nice!

I'm stil trying to feed around 3hrly during the day, sometimes I need to wake her, sometimes not. At night she will go either 3hrs, or up to 4.5hrs between feeds.
There's usually one time at night that she is difficult to settle - and it drives me a bit balmy!

How much are your bubba's sleeping during the day? Yesterday Bonnie slept really well between feeds in the day time, but then struggled to go down after her bath and feed at 10pm... maybe she slept too much during the day?

Interesting that evrytone eles's babes seem to be able to self-settle somewhat... damn, I wonder what we are doing wrong?!

Hope you are all well :)

Hello everyone!

Well after meeting the nanny on Sunday, she did not show up on Monday. First I was annoyed, then concerned. At 1p.m. she sent an sms saying she had fainted on the way over and was in hospital. Arrrrrrrrrg. Poor girl, but we were totally lost without help. Went online and found someone else who could start asap and she came by for an interview in the evening. She is only 20 (would have preferred someone a bit older) but she seemed lovely and friendly and Wolf instantly liked her and flirted with her.... so fingers crossed.

Zara has been very cranky recently... maybe wind... I am trying to remember how things were with Wolf but somehow my memory is totally rose tinted and in my memory he just slept the whole time... but I am sure he didn't... good thing though that you just remember the good parts :D he he

Katie: sorry, don't have any leakage at all... that must be awful...

Teena: are you having the baptism in Manly as well? I have never been to the Cove Restaurant.... but there are so many nice restaurants in Manly.... oooooooooh, I miss Manly... it's still snowing here... you'd think the winter would be over by now but no... arrrrrrrrg... I am so bummed we are not flying to Oz ... but I just can't with my stupid haematoma and as weak as I feel... gotta wait til November...

Routine ... hmmm.. I don't think we have one... but I don't think I had one with Wolf either at this age. That all happened after the first 6 weeks I think.

Okay, better get my kids dressed and fed!
Will let you know how our first day with the nanny went.

Snowy

PS
Emma, don't worry. Zara does not reazlly self settle. She usually works herself up if I let her cry. Yesterday, when I was cooking and could not pick her up, she cried herself to sleep. but that hadn't happened before.

Yeah, I think they can sleep too much during the day. Zara was basically awake all day yesterday and we had a wonderful night! (only woke once at 1 a.m. and then again in the morning - great!) but if she sleeps lots during the day, the nights are difficult. So I am trying to keep her awake as much as possible in the day, especially in the afternoon, so we all get a good night's sleep.

We have a basic routine but its "very" flexible. He doesn't sleep for long periods during the day, and doesn't really self settle much either but at the moment we feed every 3 hours ish depends, i don't wake him though if he goes longer but usually he wakes anyway.

He gets a boob feed at around 5:30ish pm give or take an hour and then another at around 8:30ish and then at around 9:30pm i have been going to bed and hubby gives him a formula feed at about 10pm and wraps him up finishes some more bottle and he usually crashes by 10:30pm - 11pm and then *most* of the time he sleeps through till about 4:30am which is great, i then give him a change and a boob feed and put him back down again by about 5:30 and he will sleep for and hour or two just depends and then the next day begins :)

Oops bubs is waking have to go, back later

Snowy: We are having the baptism in Manly Vale at our parish, St Kierans. Its special for both DH and I as we were both baptised there, I went to school there and the priest also married us.
You are right though, Manly is wonderful!!! When you come home in November we will definately have to get together and have lunch down at the wharf somewhere (you would not recognise it now - it is so different and even has a Lowenbrau pub, chinese yum cha and the Manly Wharf Hotel is gorgeous!)

Katie - my boobs dont leak as much now. But that is because they tend to settle a bit around the 6 week mark as they know how much they need to produce.

Apple - dont worry about the self settling. When I was at mothers group yesterday the nurse talked about it and if you would like to ultilise it it takes a little time to get bubba to do it. The first few times baby might cry but they often cry themselves to sleep. At first I let Allegra cry for a few minutes (I was going to leave it to a maximum of 5 minutes) and off she went. Now I feed have a little play, wrap and she dozes off. I think she now knows wrapping is a sign of sleep.

Allegra has been sleeping ok. She has been waking up a bit in the early mornings though. She feeds around 6 and then agaain around 9.30 or 10pm and she gets up for a 2am feed and sleeps until morning. But for the past few days she has been waking at 2am and then 4am wanting another feed. I think it must be a growth spurt and considering she is still so tiny I cant deny her :) I am hoping that the ealry morning snacking stops and i am tired today!

Wher is Nadine - she hasnt been on for a few days - hope all is well with her and little Kayla.

Love to all
T xxxxxxx

Hi girls and babes!

Aiden put on 1160gms in 2 weeks, he now weighs 4956gms (10lb 14). i can't believe he is 6 weeks on friday. since we've changed his formula his reflux is much better. i still find him in lots of pain if he is layed down flat on his back.

apple - sometimes aiden goes off to sleep on his own and other times he needs to be settle...it just depends on his wind etc...in regards to sleeping some babes sleep 8 hrs a day and some 20. ive found since aiden hit 4 wks he more awake during the day. which is easy to cope with if he's not cranky!

snowy - a nanny...i hope u don't get withdrawal symptoms.

katie - oh my god leaking through a thick jumper. ben must be loving it.

princesst - have u set a date yet? glad to hear allegra is putting on lots of weight.

lolly - sorry to read about the house situation.

haven't heard from bek...i hope u are all ok!
nadine MIA 2...i hope kayla is being good for her mummy.

take care

Haven't seen Mbear for a few days either hope she is good with her 2 little girls.

We got our baby bonus yesterday yay, so that was nice and Harrisons birth cert arrived in the mail.

We are planning bubs christening at the moment as well, will be having it at home which will be nice just have to find out the dates.

Anyways my little poppet has woken from his 15 minute nap, no idea why but i can't get him to sleep long in the day...

Hi - im here. I swear they both know when i get on here - one plays up and the other cries !!!

Love Wednesdays- DD No.1 is at Kindy - my day to potter around in b/w feeds.

Apple - a routine - nope, dont have one and dont think we will get one for a few weeks yet. I think with Sophie its a bit unrealistic to set a routine at only 3 weeks. But we are creatrues of habit arent we, and man do we need that routine. Like snowgirl said, first 6 wks, not even thinking about one. Sophie rules the roost at the moment. But in terms of day and night we put sophie in the lounge room in her rocker most of the day - we make noise, keep blinds open and door wide open. There's no quiet time during the day at our house . She has little cat naps - 1 hour or so, but not long sleeps. She feeds every 2 hrs in the day, and is going 4-4.5 hours at night, so i figure she is making up her feeds in the day time - i dont mind. DD #1 was EXACTLY the same. At night when i feed Sophie she is only up for 20 mins, sucks me dry, then i put her back to bed.

I read somewhere babies at 4 wks have 17-18 hours sleep in a 24 hr period. I guess if they have big sleeps in the day, they obv going to be up a bit at night.

Kaydee ohhh yes, the leaking breasts are a prob. I dont wear the breast pads - i dont like them. I know, im a wuss. I would rather have wet patches on my tshirt ! But have noticed them leaking less each day.
AND yes, i totally, totally know what your saying re: the DH love rekindled thang......I totally feel like we've renewed our vows or something and are inlove all over again. Wearing off a bit now, but a baby defn brought us closer together. Makes you say all gushy stuff.

ANyone squirted their poppet in the face yet with a let down of milk?? Ohhh i have, and man it was funny.

Snowgirl - YOu lucky thing getting a nanny. How is it all going?


Wilson - yay on the mat. payment. We got ours too, havent posted the birth cert. off yet - must do that.

We found Sophie loves to be rocked, patted. Here i am at night washing the disheson one leg - the other leg rocking her rocker. Something had to be done. So bought a musical/vibrating rocker. She loves it. Try not to put her in it too much, dont want her to get used to falling asleep with a vibration, but a godsend around hell hour 6-7pm when im trying to feed 4 mouths (incl. mine) and bath DD #1.

Went to shops with my baby sling yesterday. Sophie slept the whole time. I love carrying her in it. Enables me to hold DD hand too, which she loves.

Must go, love to all.....

XXXXX

Hello girls!

First day with the nanny was great! She was here from 9 to 4, so 1 hour after DH left and 1 hour before he returned, so only had to manage on my own for 2 hours, which was okay. Wolf really likes her and they played together so well. It almost made me jealous how well he took to her (stupid, hey?). So I only had to look after Zara and that was just so relaxing! I don't know what I would do without her as I can't pick up Wolf, so would not be able to lift him in and out of his cot for naps or in and out of the stroller for walks. It's also nice to be able to just have a shower or go the bathroom without having a 16 months old trying to join in. We went for a walk (my first walk since having Zara) and I was so knackered afterwards I almost fell asleep on the couch. I went to bed at 8:30 p.m.!! It's so frustrating to have a body that is so weak when I feel like doing so much more. I can't wait to feel fully like myself again and do some sport again etc.

Teena / oh yes, they did an amazing job with the wharf, didn't they. I did not know of the lowenbrau pub, but have been to the wharf hotel (terrible accoustics though, sounds like a beehive in there on a buzy night). My favourite places in Manly are The Barking Frog (great coffee & great breakie), Jellyfish (close to us :D) and Blue Water Cafe (great breakie). Since we live towards Queenscliff end, we tend to hang out more in North Steyne area (i.e. Jellyfish, Ash's Table and Honolulu Grill / if those are still there.... they have changed ownership in the past years a bit)
Oooooooooh, just talking about it makes me homesick!! We will definitely have to meet up when I am back (hopefully should be there for 3 months)

Narelle, wow, that's some serious weight gain in 2 weeks!! Woohoo! I won't have Zara weighed until she is 6 weeks old... I wonder how much she will weigh then... but I can tell she is chubbing up nicely. More and more fat rolls on the legs by the day and the face is filling out nicely.

Well, I better get dressed (sitting here with my towel wrapped around me, fresh out of the shower).

Snowy

Snowy - you would be happy to know that Bluewater has opened up another restuaurant where Rimini used to be and its called Whitewater (I'm sure it would have been opened when you left) and its really gorgeous and upmarket.. its all shades of white inside and the food was really nice when we went.

Ahhhhhh

OK - got to go have a shower. Going shopping today YAY!!

I am still here :)

Have got Mastistis :( Woke up with aches and pains and a fever and a really sore boob on Tuesday. I have been really careful and have made sure I empty each boob properly, but Kayla went for 7 hrs without a feed (an I didn't express to empty) the other day and I think my boobs just got too full and the right one blocked up. I can't think of any other reason why I got it. Anyway, I went to the doctor and I am on antibiotics. I have to watch Kayla for signs of an allergic reaction. So far all is good. He said if we didn't treat it, it could turn into and absess and need surgical drainage. It feels heaps better now though and the lumps are going.

Kayla has been feeding quite well off the breast now. The last couple of days she has, besides one bottle a day, has only been breast fed (I have three more bottles of breastmilk in the fridge that she has to finish up. Don't really want to waste it).

Kayla has a little awake time after feeds, and then we wrap her and put her down. She then generally winges for the dummy after a minute or so. The dummy she spits out herself when she is asleep and does not ask for it again, which is good.

She was a bit unsettled last night with wind pain. But she eventually got out the gas and we went to sleep at 12:15am.

She is pretty much still feeding every 4-4.5hrs. Not last night but the night before she slept 7 hrs and then another 5 hrs which was bliss. It's amazing how much better you feel :)

We weighed her at the chemist yesterday and she now weighs 4.36kg. Her discharge weight was 3.6kgs, so she is doing well.

Re: formula/breastfeed: I have not tried giving her a formula feed at night. I am too worried to let myself go for that long without emptying my boobs. I think that is a reason why I got mastitis, because she had a long period during feeds and I didn't express, and they just got too full (if that makes sense).

Re: breastpumps: I use the Avent one and personnaly find it great. I did have the manual one, but my hand started getting sore from pumping, so we bought the electric one (it is new and has just come out this year). It is much quicker and at good times I have gotten 240ml out.

Everyone is different though and everyones breast is different, so one pump may be great for one person but not for the other.

Re: wrapping: Yes we wrap Kayla. She use to go off without being wrapped but I think because of her jaundice she was too exhausted to fuss about it. Now if we put her down without being wrapped she generally startles herself with her arms (she loves flinging them about), so she LOVES being wrapped to go to sleep. Makes her feel secure.

Routine: No we haven't got a routine yet. I think it may take another few weeks before we get into one. I have just been concentrating on the breastfeeding. Once my boobs have adjusted to how much Kayla needs, I think it will be easier to get into a routine.

I will be back later for personnals. Have to go through and read everyones posts again. Oh...so much to catch up on.

Hi everyone

Hope you and your bubs are having a good day. This is my first full week of DH being at work, its been okay though I have to get out the house sometime each day or I go balmy.

Routine - Isaac seems to have one good day, where he sleeps and eats well and then one miserable day where he doesn't sleep more than a hour or so at a time, gets a lot of wind and screams all the time. Today is his 'nice' day, yesterday was a killer

Settling - Nup, Isaac can't do it by himself yet, though not yet three weeks old so he is a bit young, sometimes it takes hours though just to do a feed, burp and settle, it takes so much time out of the day!

Milk supply - mine has been down a bit, I don't I've been drinking enough water. I usually express some each day which we give him at night to help put him to sleep on a full tummy. Its great for when we're out during the day too and I don't want to breastfeed in public every time, I feel a bit uncomfortable about it in these early days.

Nadine - sorry to hear about the mastitis, sounds painful :( I don't think I will have that problem at this stage, I seem to be only just making enough to satisfy him

Kaydee - I also agree with you about the bubs bringing us closer together, its been a really nice, special time O:)

Hey has anyone's baby's genuinely smiled yet?? I'm really looking forward to it as I feel quite unappreciated some days when all I get in return for my caring and nurturing is a heart-breaking cry! According to 'Baby Love' book they can genuinely smile from 10 days.

Well he is stirring now, gotta go
Nic

Hey guys,

:

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Routine - Isaac seems to have one good day, where he sleeps and eats well and then one miserable day where he doesn't sleep more than a hour or so at a time, gets a lot of wind and screams all the time. Today is his 'nice' day, yesterday was a killer

Settling - Nup, Isaac can't do it by himself yet, though not yet three weeks old so he is a bit young, sometimes it takes hours though just to do a feed, burp and settle, it takes so much time out of the day!

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Nic - I hear ya!! Bonnie seems to have a bad day and night, where she doesnt settle and I end up in tears :( then the next day (like today) she sleeps beautifully and is happy when awake, and settles well at night. I am hoping she will do it again tonight.

I agree about settling, that's what gets to me, I really have no problem getting up to feed, but no one ever told me you would get up to feed then possibly spend another 1-2 hours trying to settle her to sleep. That is by far the hardest bit for us so far.

Smiling - I think Bonnie is not far off it, she makes some smiley type faces, but not a grin at me as such yet - I cant wait, and I agree, it will make the hard times so much more bearable.

Nadine, so sorry to hear about the mastitis, you poor thing you - look after yourseld.
We too have some gas problems.... my let down is really fast, so poor Bonnie gulps to get it all down, so by the end of the day she has lots of wind she cant get up. I rang the ABA, as she was screaming on my boob the day before yesterday and they said to try feeding from one boob per feed to make sure she gets the hind milk, adn to express a little before feeding (20mls or so) so when she latches on, the let down isnt so focreful.
I am also trying Infacol - so far so good, last night was a dream ,but the real test is if she can repeat the good night tonight!!

WRapping - yep, we wrap Bonnie - when she's ready to sleep. At night, I wrap her before giving her the last side, so she is all wrapped up ready for bed, this has been really useful.

girls if you are having trouble with "wind" try INFACOL you buy it from the chemist, it's harmless but does wonders with bringing up wind. also be aware is bubs is screaming after milk, curling legs up, arching back, and sometimes vomiting it could be reflux. all the things about having 1 good day and 1 bad sounded like aiden was 3 weeks ago. once i changed his formula to an "AR - anti-reflux" he's a much happier/settled bub! speak to your maternal health nurse or doctor.

nadine - so sorry to hear about the mastitis. i had it with zara and god it hurt. try heat packs on your boobs i found it to be a great help.

settling - i let aiden go off to sleep 90% of the time on his own and only half settle him other times but i always put him down before he is completly asleep. i don't want him to need me to sleep!

wrapping - don't do it. aiden is such a hot bod! he hates his arms being restricted so i use sleeveless sleeping bags.

smiling - heaps of smiles from about 5 weeks. he's soooo cute when he's smiling =D>

snowy - yeah he's getting chubby legs on him. and has fat little arms and fat cheeks....just love to squeeze em!

aiden is having his 6 week checkup 2morow! no big deal just routine. but they are giving me some medication for his reflux...just to help him sleep on his back.

take care

We are lucky with Kayla in that she burbs and lets off gas quite well. She doesn't seem to have any problems there. She just winges and squeals sometimes before she lets off gas, poor bubba, but she gets it out herself. If she looks like she is having trouble then I gently push her legs to her chest and this always works, but generally my help isn't needed. Touch wood!!!!

Narelle- Yes the mastitis is not fun, but my boob is feeling alot better. I have been using gel packs heated up before a feed, and also give my boob(s) a gentle massage. The lumps seem to be going.

Smiles- yep can't wait till Kayla smiles at us. She smiles when she dreams and she looks so cute. The smiles just keep getting bigger and the other day she even giggled when she smiled....BUT...once again..all while she is dreaming. DH says that she must be dreaming about a field of boobs LOL :)

Apple- I have also heard that leaning back a bit at the beginning of a feed helps too in slowing down the flow. I haven't tried it yet as I don't have that problem, so I am just forwarding what I have been told by others.

Teena / oh, no, didn't know that. Rimini had just closed down when we left last time. Cool!! Will have to try that !

Nadine / so sorry to hear about the mastitis! Ouch! Hope you get better soon!!!

Smiling / well... she does twitch her lips into a smile every now and then but always when asleep... Wolf did not smile at me until he was almost 7 weeks old... so am not holding my breath.

Wind / as madam drinks sooooooo fast, she has some serious burps trapped sometimes. I never used to burp Wolf but she gets quite unsettled and then when I pick her up and pat her she lets the biggest burps rip... shocking for a girl :D he he Farting... hmmm.. I think she's got that one down pat... we'll work on the manners later in life, hey?

Me / well Zara is sick which is really upsetting. She had 37.8 deg last night and she had slept all day and I was quite worried. Today she is back at 37.4 deg, so I guess she is on the mend. Wolf keeps shoving things in her mouth (his dummy, his toothbrush, etc.), so she probably picked up his cold. She is still quite sniffly and I was in tears last night as I was so worried, but she seems much better today and has been awake for an hour, whereas yesterday she just slept all day. Poor little princess :(

I love my children, I love my children, I love my children! I am so happy at the moment... Wolf is such a darling and Zara is just so cute ... dunno what's going on... some crazy post-natal hormonal stuff??
well... I will take this... it beats the crap out of the teary post-natal hormone stuff! lol

Snowy

Hi mummas and bubbas,

Well my mum is finally here! It is just wonderful to see her again. She will be staying for 4 weeks... major help with everything too, she is keeping me sane. Dh is back at work this week (again).

Ben is doing well. Loves all the extra cuddles he is getting! Still feeding every 4 hours (give or take an hour or so). Feeding isnt painful anymore. Im still not enjoying it though. I keep thinking about putting Ben on formula... But i feel really guilty when i think about it. I dont have a great reason to do so... I guess i just have to keep to it, and i will get used to it eventually.

Nadine - Oh mastitis, how awful.. Take care of yourself!

Snowy - that is so wonderful you are feeling so happy at the moment. It really does beat the crap out of the baby blues huh? I too am feeling pretty happy at the moment!

Smiling - Ben smiles, im sure he is smiling. Like some of you, its mainly in his sleep though. the other day i was feeding Ben, and half way through he pulled off, smiled and giggled at the same time. Ok, so it might have been wind, but it was absolutely beautiful!

Mbear - I squirted Ben in the eye once.. I felt so sorry for him, but i couldnt stop laughing! :cryinglaugh:

Gotta go, lots to do :p

Hi ladies,

Nadine - Ouch! at the mastitis. I am pleased to hear you are on the mend as I have heard that is quite painful.

Snowy - It's great to be feeling good isn't it. I think my Dh is pleased to see me smiling a bit more as I think the hormonal baby blues were starting to wear him down.

Feeding - we are getting better with the feeding I think. I had a panic the other day as Brianna was feeding for a while and then fighting the boob. I rang the Community Child Health Centre and at first when I told them what was happening and when I mentioned that she has had green poos for a few days they said that it could be that she wasn't getting enough milk. This sent me into a panic and depression as I then started to think that I was going to have to stop breast feeding. I took her down on Wednesday morning and they weighed her and checked her out and said that she is fine. She has put on 420g in the last week and a half and doing lots of wees which is the main thing. The green poos are just an indication that she is digesting the milk quickly but is getting enough to sustain her - phew!!!!

I haven't expressed any milk. I mustn'y have as much supply as the rest of you ladies. My cousin is sending me the breast pump that she bought and never use. I will have a play with it once I get it because I will want to use it to express if we go out somewhere and want her to babysat.

Does anyone else have anxiety about the thought of leaving their precious baby with someone else to go out? Before we had her I told DH that we would go out from time to time and leave her with my parents for a few hours, but I just can't bring myself to do that just yet. It is more DH's parents I don't want to leave her with. It seems aweful to say that but it is just how I feel.

Settling - Brianna pretty much settles herself. If at first she doesn't settle when I put her down I then give her a dummy which she mostly spits out after she goes to sleep. The other day I took the dummy out when she was asleep and she kept right on sucking without realising it was gone - so cute!

Routine - No fixed routine however she generally wakes around the same time each night for a feed - 11-12, then 2-3 and then again 6 or 7. Apple - I know what you mean about the settling. Whilst Brianna doesn't cry a lot getting to sleep but she does lay there awake fidgetting for a while and making lots of noises. she eventually goes to sleep but this can sometimes take up to 45 mins. Last night was good night as she went straight back to sleep after each feed.

When Brianna wakes upand has a feed we are off for a walk down along the lake foreshore and then coffee with my mother. It makes the day go faster if we get out and about a bit. Oh and she likes the pram a bit more now which is great.

Have a great day everyone.

Holey Dooley girls I seriously have to try and catch up...so many posts

I wont attempt personals cause I am sure to miss someone out...lol

Katie is 4 weeks AND 1 month old today...that doesnt happen often that the weeks and months add up...must be a Feb thing with 28 days

I have been back at work most of this week at any opportunity I can...I used to do bookkeeping for our mechanic and he has just opened up a new shopfront...I had to catch up on Jan to current but the worst thing was back early Jan he backed up his data file and started using it in the new workshop....it was the wrong data file!!!!! So not only am I catching up on 3 months work I have to duplicate all the work he has done into the correct data file...grrrrr

THEN he is switching over to a new accounting package that I have to learn...we did 2 hours training last night and then as I was leaving the trainer basically head hunted me...I work for myself so told him I would consider working for him after I have learnt the package...lol...might be crap yet...lol

The best thing is I can take Katie with me...she sleeps the whole time...dont know how with all the noise of the ratchet guns etc

The MACH nurse came on Wednesday and Katie is now 4280g (birth weight was 3890g) has grown 6cms :shock: and her head is now 38cms (2cms more than birth) so she is going really well but nothing like Aidens...thats huge Narelle...i luv chubby bubbies

Routine - without me trying she seems to have some pattern going...I expect this to change she is only 4 weeks today. So far she wakes @ 7.30am and I have a hard time most mornings with her... I am sure that since she thinks she sleeps most of the night she is entitled to be cuddled all morning O:) during the day she feeds anywhere from 2.5 - 4 hours in between sleeps...last feed is @ 8.30pm into bed @ 9pm and then sleeps 6+ hours...generally its like clockwork she wakes @ 3.30am and back to 7.30am again

Settling - we have at least one really unsettled time during each day but have worked out the way around it now

A SLING - arent they the best...thats how I settle Katie when I need to get things done...she is asleep within 5 mintues, stops crying as soon as I get her into a good pozzie...she loves it...havent taken it shopping yet

Feeding - she is going well on the bottle...so much better for both of us. Boobs have completely dried up now..I did try again but it just didnt happen...and I am ok with that ;)

Wind - Katie is a good burper and farter...lol

Wrapping - yep still wrap, she seems to also realise wrap=sleep :)

Smiling - we are getting a few a day now...its just too cute!!!

Wishful we have a wedding to go to tomorrow night and I soooo wanted to take Katie with us...DH asked his mum to look after all the kids so we could have a night out as it hasnt happened for so long. I know she will be fine and spoilt rotten but I have this guilt thing happening...been in another thread where mums put me down for letting my kids stay with our parents at a young age...not that it hurt them or us in anyway...my kids only EVER stay with my or DH's parents

Nadine - you poor darlin!!! I too have heard how painful it is, hope its all over soon for you...I had a g/f who had it 7 times...she did so well not to give up

If anyone needs a breastpump I have a Medela I am not using nor likely to use again...its a manual one...I bought it off ebay and used it once (but it was used before I just sterilised everything first)Better go Biggest Loser is on...lol

take care everyone \:D/

Sleeping – Harry sleeps for about 4 hours when he goes down during the day. If I think he is going to go over that I wake him up otherwise he doesn’t sleep well for me during the night. He usually has one 4 hour period during the day when he is quite awake and won’t really go down for a sleep. Harry self settles most of the time but sometimes he falls asleep at the breast.
Harry is wrapped when he goes to sleep and I also had the problem with him wanting his arms out. I started only wrapping him from the waist down but he kept waking himself up because he kept punching himself in the face and head so went back to the full wrap. He seams to have gotten used to it now and settles quite well most of the time. I also am having issues with wind so if he is windy there is no way to get him down until I get all the wind up (poor little mite).

Routine – That is starting to happen now in a round about way now that he is a little older. I have come to hate going out of the house, I find that when ever I take him out and interrupt his routine he becomes a little monster. He is fine when we are out but once we gets home he is really hard to settle. Most times I am up till quite late at night trying to pacify him. Hence we don’t go out much.

DTD – No way, DP has dropped hints but I just can’t be bothered at the moment. I think once he starts to sleep through the night that side of things may get back on track. At least I don’t have to worry about the stitches or bruising because I had a caesarian.

Leaking Boobs – Don’t rally have that problem. I really like the “Rite Aid” breast pads. They can get really full and they never seem to leak on me. You can get them from Coles or Woolies and they aren’t to expensive either which is a bonus.

I had a bath with Harry the other night. Hi just loved it, he was so relaxed and only cried when DP took him out to get him dressed.

Smiling - Yes Harrison smiles. It is really funny to watch him when he is sleeping and he is having a dream. He will frown and look like he is about to cry and then this huge grin will come on his face.

Nadine – Sorry to hear about your mastitis. I hope it is clearing up for you and you are starting to feel a little more comfortable.

Expressing – My mum has gone to pick up an electric breast pump that I am hiring. I am going to give it a crack and see how I go. If it works out well then I may buy one. Any hints on expressing from those of you who are expressing would be very much appreciated.

Wow this is a long post. I guess there is a lot to catch up on if you are away for a few days.

Take Care All

Hello girls & bubs!

It's been rather quiet in here the last few days! I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I so enjoy having DH around (though he never does the promised 'morning shift' ... *sigh*)

Our princess currently has babyzits galore. Poor little thing. Wolf had that too though, so am not worried ... it's just not very pretty. Can't wait for it to go away.

As to expressing: it can be tricky. The first time I could not get out a single drop. I think you best try to be very relaxed, look at your baby, lean forward a bit. You can also try to express on one side while you breastfeed on the other (not first hand advice since I only have one 'operating' boob). Also warmth is supposed to help, so putting a warm washcloth on the boob just before is supposed to help.
Hope that helps. Good luck.

Snowy

hi all,

Nadine - mmm sorry to hear about your mastitis. I had it twice with #1 DD, i too was on anitbiotics, and didnt notice any effects with bubs. I remember the day i was diagnosed with it - i thought i was dying, felt really weak, tired and run down. HOpe your over it now, never to return.

Sophie is 1 month old today. Wow how time flies. We've been out a bit this week - just me and my two girls. Im getting pretty confident now. I even fed Sophie sipping a latte in a gloria jeans shop the other day. (i was told by the shop assistant i do it very discretely, she didnt even know i was breastfeeding, thought i was just nursing bubs).
DD #1 seems to be fascinated by her sister, and insists on smothering her with kisses (leaning fully on her mind you).

DH went to football on fri night - my first night alone with putting the two to bed......it was hard. DD #1 hates going to bed, has wiped out her day time sleeps (grrrrr), so is very cranky come 7pm when its her bedtime. THis has been happening well b4 Sophie. Its really trying, but we're getting there. All in all the night went well. I dread when DH goes back to work though - 2 weeks today......(he does 2 days, 2 nights, then 4 days off).

Missy is stirring, best be off.......

Snowy - Katie has a few too and its sooooo hard to not touch them...lol My DH and DD stay clear of me if they have obvious pimples...lol I cant help myself I have to 'get em'.

Has anyone elses babies hair changed colour??? Katie came out light brown like the other two but her hair now has a definate red tinge to it ;) Its a bit of a throwback from both sides of the family...I have natural red highlights but am still fairly dark...DH is mousy brown.

Also most of it has fallen out from the top of her head...same thing happened with Jordi and he got called Elmer for a few weeks till it grew back...lol Cant be calling KJ Elmer tho!!!

Mbear Jordan is the same with Katie...he loves her so much but is just a little too rough...but its not purposely rough either...like with your DD he is leaning on her whilst kissing and cuddling. His behaviour has gone downhill in a hurry over the last few weeks...definately jealous over Katie...its really hard cause I am trying to get him to help and be involved but he is a mega lil **** too at times...lol

We are having an unsettled day today...cant get her to sleep for much longer than 30 minutes...she justs wants to be held and I had so much to day...got through the housework but she is still not sleeping...grrr...ah the joys

Hi guys,

Good to hear from everyone :) It's hard to keep up with personals, but as I have said previously - its nice to read how everyone is going.

Bonnie is good, sleeping much better at night and slotting into a bit of a routine - she feeds around 3hrly during the day, and we are still bathing her around 9.30/10pm - I'd like to try bringing this forward to the feed around 7pm, but I'd worry that it would stuff up everything!! She wakes again aroun 2.30/3am, then again 6-7am, which I am fine with - as she is sleeping in between pretty well. She sleeps for about 1-2 hours at a time about twice a day, and the rest of the time is little cat naps. I put her in her pram to sleep sometimes, as I can wheel her around and jiggle her if she gets unsettled.

I'm really feeling like we have come out of the haze of "what the hell are we doing!" I dont feel like we know for sure yet, but I feel more confident and feelk like I understand Bonnie more. The first week home was MADNESS and really hard... so it's nice that it gets better!

Hope you guys are well.

:)

Hi

Excuse me for butting in - I was just surfing a few threads.

Kaydee - I had your problem with the leaky boobs with Hannah and I found the Pidgeon breast pads were the best - they were thicker and didnt move around as much. At the time one of the other Belly Belly ladies suggested putting a chux cloth inside your bra just before you feed to help soak up more of the milk.

Being a Mum s so glamorous isnt it!

Best of luck with your new Bubs.

Hi everyone,

Apple - your feeding and sleep timing sounds very similar to our routine. It is good to hear that someone else has the same 3 hr timing. Sometimes I start to think that it is just me that has a baby waking for feeds through the night. I envy all you other lucky mums that has a bub that sleeps through pretty much. Hopefully that will be us soon.

Bruky - I have a day just like you - not much sleep and very unsettled. Feeding and then fighting at the breast and then crying. It is then hard to settle her to go to sleep. And when she does go off to sleep it only lasts for about an hour.I just found at DH has to work back tonight so I am struggling today with no catch up sleep. I am not looking forward tonight. I was going to bath Brianna after this last feed but she went off straight to sleep so I just put her straight down - agh! I will get Dh to bath her when she wakes for her next feed.

I noticed Brianna has a nasty red rash in one of her neck skin folds when I was looking at her today. She must have got it from moisture collecting there from when she has her little vimits after feeds. It looks really nasty and I feel guilty that it is my fault that she has it from poor cleaning. I find that place hard to wash as it is where we hold her when we bath her. I will have to try and get in there and clean it some more when we bath her tonight.Poor little thing as it looks very sore.

Have a good night everyone.

quick drop in with have visitors at the moment and more arriving at the end of the week so busy busy.

Harrison is going ok, sleep is up and down some nights longer the next every 3-4 hours but i go to bed at 9:30pm and hubby does the last feed with formula (I'm formula feeding mostly now and will be fully in a week or so) so i am still getting some sleep before he wakes again so thats good.

He is 4 weeks today,where does the time go, hard to believe really. the last few days we have noticed he is seeing things now, he was following his pop's hand and watching tv and he stares at your face and things which is lovely. Now for my first real smile and that would be perfect.

We are going to get H weighed sometime this week.

Oh and i think i've got my bloody period back already ](*,)
My bleeding from the birth dropped off to almost nothing and now since yesterday i have bleeding again not heavy heavy but not just spotting either, after 10 months though its weird.

Nadine sorry to hear about your mastitis, hope its all gone now.

Apple lol i think we are going past that phase to and getting more used to things a bit, at 4am i still have the what are we doing thoughts though :)

Hope everyone is well sorry no time for more personals but thinking of you all and your beautiful bubs.

Oh Narelle the email you sent with pic of Aiden the attachment didn't send..so can't view...?