Babies Born February 2008 #2

[prama]

Minky/Katkins - he's still the same, he doesnt cough or anything so he's all stuffed up. We use some saline and suction to get some out but of cos it keeps coming back

We've got his KinderKot in the lounge room, when we're doing stuff around the house. We just want him to get used to day time noise. He sleeps there sometimes. And when I have a nap, I put him in his bassinet in our bedroom.

He's been of sorts today. He slept so well last night, from 11 to 4.30am, though i kept waking up every half hr to make sure he's ok. had a feed till abt 5.30 then slept till 9.30am. but since then he hasnt slept. he falls asleep in my arms then as soon as i put him down, he wakes up in a couple of minutes and cries. im not sure if he's hungry. i feed him and he has some and falls asleep. same cycle all day..
I dont know what's wrong, he hasnt slept and isnt cranky....
sorry for the me post.

I have a question - how long do you express for? 3 hrs between feeds and if you express half way, and if each express takes about 30 mins, then it's an hr before the next feed. is that enough for your milk to build up?

[Mommyof2tob]

Hey Girls,

Minky - thanks it was pretty good not everyone showed my oldest sister ended up coming after all, she thought that she had missed the party and that she was just coming for a visit. But we hadn't even opened presents or had cake so that was nice. My brother in law stole Zoey right away and wouldn't give up for anything. Oh and TJ says you must be crazy for the snow comment lol. it's nice for about the first month then it can go away lol.

Jacki - thank you for confirming that we aren't crazy, my oldest sister showed but my middle sister didn't. Just as well because I think my middle sister would have had words with some of the people there. But my Aunt is having a "Welcome to the World Zoey" get together for just family. So my other sister might make it to that and we won't have anything to worry about.

Other than that how is everyone doing with their new little babies. I don't about the expressing, I personaly have noticed that I only make enough milk for Zoey for her feeds. I have however heard that a hand pump is better than a mechanical pump. Then again I've also heard that expressing by hand is better than both. And for the sleeping Zoey has to lay on extra soft blankets she's very picky.

Well I should go I have my friends daughter here for about 5hrs while she's at work and TJ crushed the end of his finger at work today so I get to take care of a 25yr old, 5yr old, 4yr old, and a newborn yay me lol.

[prama]

Mommy - so glad your oldest sister came! That was so good.

Lakshman's phelgm is getting worse, he cries in his sleep and it breaks my heart. I wish I could take on his phelgm..

Gotta run, he's crying again in his sleep.

[Bun]

prama - poor little Lakshman, I hope he gets better soon. I only express if DD doesn't have a complete feed and I feel that there is still some milk left. I also find that for some reason in the middle of the night I have more milk and it is easier to express. I have been haivng the same issue with DD - she wakes up every time I put her down, so I never get any sleep or manage to get anything done!

jen -I think it was you who asked about saline drops? I have some called Nyall in a blue packet but I have heard that fess is also good.

Hi everyone else, sorry for no more personals, but I am just too far behind!

DD had a horrible couple of nights over the weekend but is thankfully better now. She was just not sleeping at nights at all and were were shattered. DH still gets v impatient with her sometimes and refuses to take my advice about what she wants. When he was trying to settle her in the middle of the night I kept telling him to get up and rock her but he refused and would lie there with her screaming her lungs out, then she got so worked up there was no way we could settle her, so we both got no sleep all weekend. We also started fighting again, but things seem a bit better now. I can't believe how much more alert she is. She seems to be awake all the time now! But the smiles are so beautiful, we are getting more and more!

Does anyone's bubs like tummy time? DD hates it.

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Bun - hope things get increasingly better for you, DH & Catherine very soon.
Alex loves tummy time. I think he'd much prefer sleep that way if he could!

Just saw the MCHN for our two week check. A put on another 200gms & has grown 2cm since birth. He also has the nastiest 'baby acne' i've ever seen in a newborn, poor lil man!

I swear i seem to be on here reading every new post frequently but never have the patience to reply... ill try be back later for personals!

[*MinKy*]

Hi Everyone!

Went to the CN today for Noahs 3 weeks check up and he has put on 510g in 2 weeks!! Yippee!! He is not really improving on his sleep routine, still 8pm , 11pm, 2am, 4am, 5am,6am...lol..we'll get there eventually! Would be nice to have more then 2 hours sleep!!

Carley, so sorry to hear that Lysander has had a bad week! I hope that it gets better for you soon! His night sleeps are great!!

Ash, another awesome weight gain for Alex!! Whats baby acne? Is that the milk spots? Noah has a heap of those!

Bun, my DH is the same, he dosent hold Noah properly sometimes and gets a bit miffed that as soon as he passes him to me he settles immediately..lol..as much as I tell him thats its the way he is holding him he wont listen! Maybe one day it will sink in!!

Mommy, awesome to hear that the shower went so well!!!! Poor TJ ! I hope that he is okay! How did he crush his finger???? Hopefully you have the patience to put up with him whilst he is off work..lol..

Prama, poor Lakshman, I really hope that he gets better soon!!!! I epress for maybe 20mins each side, I get anywhere between 60-120 mls out of one bb, depends on what the day has been like..

Kat, great to hear that your DH made it! Despite all of the dramas!!!

[*MinKy*]

dp....

[Jacki]

Ash - DS had a bad rash for about 2 weeks. Seems to have cleared up now and only appears now and again. Think it is just a hormone rash that all bubs get pretty early on and will disappear.

Minky - OMG - you poor love on the sleeping routine. Hope he 'gets his act together' soon for you and you get a break/sleep.

Hi Carley - nice to see ya ! great news on Lysander's nite last night. We managed a really good one as well. 8.30pm, 2.00am and 7.00am. I actually feel like a normal person today andhave managed to get out for coffee at the beach then to the shops (had to spend 1 hour in the parents room feeding !)

Bun - DS doesn't particularly like tummy time. His neck is pretty strong and he will life his head but still not too sure about it. Maybe because he just loves looking out the window when he is on the floor he hates to be turned away !?!?!?

DS has been pretty good over the last couple of days. He has been sleeping quite a lot and feeding mostly 4 hourly. When it gets to part 4 hours my bbs get all sore and pretty swollen and then I wish him awake - can't win can we ----- one minute we worry because they are constantly awake and we want them to sleep, next they are sleeping too much and that worries us as well..

With him going quite a while between feeds and sleeping well at night (for the last couple of nites) it has meant that he has only fed 5 times in a day ---- do you think this is a problem ??????

Prama - sorry to hear about your bubs still being unwell! Hope things improve soon.

[jenjams]

Well my DD has decided she doesnt sleep during the day. The last couple of days as soon as the sun rises then so does she. This morning I tried exactly what we do for our night time feed and nope she wasnt having a bar of it. She will sleep extremely well at night. We have the night time routine down pat. She has been going to sleep about 730ish then we wake her at 930 for a bath, feed and then bed. She will wake between 2-5 for a feed then straight back down to bed and then will wake between 8-10. I am not wanting that to change... But then during the day the only time I get sleep out of her is if I am holiding her. We go through this vicious cycle of trying to get down, then her stirring 5 minutes later and this goes through to the next feed.
We had our MCHN 4 week appointment today. She has put on 312 grams in 2 weeks, has grown another cm and her head is 0.8cm bigger. So she is healthy, very alert and doesnt sleep. The nurse didnt seem too concerned about the day time sleeping because she is healthy. I did let her sleep on me for half an hour today so she could get some in. I managed to get her to sleep 20 minutes in her rocker today (after an hour of rocking) and she may have slept for 20 minutes while we walked to the health centre....
How does everyone get their babies to sleep during the day?

Sorry for the selfish rant above but I do worry DD doesnt sleep enough. She is also feeding every 2-3 hours.

Jacki- I reckon as long as Luke is happy then you are doing the right thing. He would let you know if he was hungry.

Minky- Well done on the weight gain. Makes my DD seem small... But she is over 5kg now at 4 weeks. Hopefully Noah will give you a good nights sleep soon.

Carley- This weather is terrible this week. There is nothing we can do but keep as cool and as sane as possible. Hopefully it will be the end of the heat. Hopefully Lysander has a better day and night.

Bun- We got the fess drops. Its funny watching DD after I put them in. She must snort it in and it runs down the back of her throat. Men dont have the instincts we do with kids. Hopefully Catherine has turned a corner and you have it a bit easier. I think my DD likes tummy time. She grizzles after a few minutes and grunts her way through it. I am waiting for our proper smiles too.

Prama- Poor Lakshman. Hopefully his sniffles get better very soon and you get some good rest.

Ash- Yay on the weight gain.

Marie- Maybe we can swap our weathers for a few days. You guys can have the heatwave and we have some snow? Sounds fair! Hopefully TJ's finger isnt too bad.

Well thats my novel over for now. Hello to everyone I missed.

[leebee81]

I'm so far behind I can't remember who posted what questions but I'll answer them anyway.

Expressing: I read that 20 mins of expressing from when let down happens should be ok, any more than that is pushing it. I express after a feed from the same side, or if he misses a feed and the missed boob feels like it will explode. I haven't fed Oliver any EBM, its all been 'on tap' so far, as I'm scared of nipple confusion. I don't want to muck up the BF when its going so well.

Feeding in public: I've fed Oliver in the parents room at the shops three times - they have private cubicles if you need them. I've also fed him at mothers group (but lots of babies get fed there so no biggie), at a cafe and at a restaraunt - both times I just draped a wrap over and got on with it. I'm careful not to flash anyone because that would make me uncomfy, but if Oliver is screaming for a feed I feed him. Personally, I think its more distressing to hear a baby crying in public than it is offensive to see it being fed.

Day Sleeping: Oliver cat naps in the mornings and usually has a long sleep in the afternoons. He sleeps in his pram bassinet in the living room with me so I can keep an eye on him, though I did put him in the cot yesterday for the afternoon sleep. He sleeps pretty well at night so I put up with cat naps - don't want to mess with anything for fear the night sleeps will get mucked up.

Night Sleeping: It seems regardless of what time he falls asleep Oliver will wake for a feed between 2.30am and 3.30am. He has started going down for the night earlier though, it was a feed at 11.30pm before and now its more like 10.30pm

Grunting in sleep: Oliver started doing this on Monday night while hubby was away on business. I kept thinking he was awake but nope, he was sound asleep and grunting, snorting, sighing, squeaking... he kept it up for 2 hours until he did a poo at 6am, but even then he didn't wake up.

Baths: At the moment Oliver gets a bath every second day in the morning as I can't make it fit in the evenings. He sleeps ok at night anyway but I do eventually want to move baths to the evening as part of the bedtime routine.

We had mothers group at the child heath clinic yesterday and Oliver put on 300gm last week which is great. I can see it on his cheeks and his arms have those wrinkles of baby fat now which is so cute.

[Bun]

jen - wow, is DD a good sleeper at night! I wish I got that much of a break overnight. Maybe she just doesn't need sleeps during the day because she gets so much at night? (although of course that is a huge pain for mummy not being able to get anything done during the day!). My DD is heaps more alert and awake a lot more during the day, but still usually wakes up every three hours at night for a feed. She goes down fairly easily for most feeds except the 5-6am feed when she decides it is getting up time and will not go back down unless I hold her. And unfortunately I am not a morning person!!

I get her to sleep during the day by singing, rocking, bathing, playing music, wrapping her really tightly, sitting in the rocking chair... but often she will wake again after a few minutes too, usually right when I am trying to have a shower and get dressed (and it is often midday by the time I can even attempt a shower!)

I still haven't BF in public, other than around friends/family, at mothers group and in a parents room at the shops. Not looking forward to having to do it at a cafe or something, but I guess the time will come!

ash - DD has a pretty severe case of acne too!

I am exhausted today. DH is still sleeping in the spare room most nights, so I get no help at night, and in the evenings after work he gets so frustrated with her so quickly that I often end up taking her off him and not getting much of a break then either (except to cook dinner, eat, and then clean up). Last night he kept yelling what is wrong? at her, when she just needed to be rocked to sleep! He just refuses to stop what he is doing and get up and then of course she gets more and more worked up. Why can't he see that if he tried to settle her sooner, she would never get that worked up and wouldn't be as much of a problem?

[Mommyof2tob]

Ladies,

Jenjams - i'd love to swap weather, i'll take that heat wave. we got even more snow today ugh. it's supposed to be spring time and still we're getting snow. even Cree is getting tired of the snow, she asked today if spring was coming anytime soon lol. as far as the sleeping during the day Zoey sometimes does the samething and i just keep trying because otherwise i'd never get anything done, i find that eventualy she'll get so tired that she just passes out. but it does get frustrating.

Minky - it was nice and now i just found out my Aunt wants to have a welcome Zoey party this sunday so maybe my other sister will be there. my Mom asked will you be offended if i just get you a package of diaper's. poor lady i feel bad she's already done so much. she made Cree and Zoey big sis and lil sis matching blankets and made about 6 other blankets and gave us a couple of other things. but like she says she's Oma so she gets to spoil them. if you guys keep going at the rate that your going your gonna have a big boy on your hands lol. that's awsome that he's gainning so well.

Carley - thank you, i know what you mean about considering formula, but just think hun you've made it this far. but if you decide to formula feed i'll support you. just keep the coffee brewing, my friend told me that she used to just stick her boob out and her hubby would get the baby and just stick her on. maybe you and DH can come up with something like that then you could just stay asleep lol.

TJ's Finger Update - he was told to go on light duties for 3 days and to keep it wrapped. well my dear husband has a problem of not listening to doctor's. so he decided to decline his light duties and went out today on 6 deliveries. so that meant that he went up on a roof and delivered hundreds of 100lbs bundles 6 different times. am i a bit upset with him damn right i am how is it going to heal that way??? but here's the best part he's decided that it only needs wrapped when he's at work, and his definition of wrapping it is putting a band aid on it. men ahh.

other than that i bought a BF pillow and Zoey has decided that she doesn't like it. so we're going to keep it to help her sit up once she's ready. Cree is home for the week because of March break so hopefully i'll be able to keep her busy. but nothing here exciting except the whole TJ being stubborn.

take care mommy's and baby's, to bad mens nipples weren't functional then we could get some sleep lol. but i'll check in with you wonderful ladies later!!

[Snowgirl]

Sorry to crash your thread girls. I just wanted to poke in my head and say:

OMG Kerrie (Katkins)! I can't believe you had your baby and I missed it *blush* so sorry!
Congratulations!!!
So happy for you. How is life with three??
Gawd, I can't believe I missed your birth announcement. I can only blame serious pregnancy brain.
What do the girls think of their little baby brother?? Wolf is so excited to be having a baby brother or sister. He keeps cuddling my belly and blowing kisses on it. So cute. I hope the girls are good big sisters and are doting on their little baby brother.

Snowy

[danda]

Hi All,
Man...i have way too much to catch up on. I obviously don't get in here enough...there is just too much going on.

Zoe is doing ok. Sleeping well MOST of the time but when she is unsettled, she stays unsettled for a long time. It took me 2.5 hours last night to feed and settle her (succeeding at 1:30am) and then she slept until 7am! So I suppose it tired her out...and we got a few hours sleep!!

I had (am having) a brush with mastitis. I have one very red and sore boob. Went to the doc yesterday and got some antibiotics but he said not to start taking them unless i absolutely can't get it to resolve itself....as it turns out, it is looking pretty good today. Just lots of feeding on it, massage and hand expressing if Zoe doesn't do a good job on it. I think my other boob is suffering from neglect now though! we'll see.

hope all is well with the rest of you.

[prama]

Danda - oh no.. sorry to hear abt the mastitis..
Hope it sorts out soon.

Hope everyone is doing ok. I've got a few mins online today!

[Esme]

Hi everyone,

Will only post a little update, as little man is awake again... Since last post we have had a few good nights, and some less good with a lot of feeding and waking up and some vomiting. He has been quite unsettled those days, with lots of feeds during the day (2 hourly) and 3 hourly at night. I had the feeling my bb's couldn't keep the supply up, so have taken Motilium again. Just when I thought we could do without . We'll have an appointment for the six week checkup for monday, so will talk with the dr. about that. Roundabout 6 weeks they say they go through a growthspurt, so I hope it will settle again.

On the other hand, he is just getting so much more awake! Very nice to be able to play with him a little! Still waiting for that first smile though... Weighed him again at mothergroup on wednesday and he put on a very healthy 270g. So very happy with that.

Sorry, got to go, little man crying again...

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Alex has jumped on the 'cold' bandwagon, and caught mummy's stupid cold.
Poor little man
My nipple hurt from the constant need to reattach with the on & off because of his breathing, and because he's already doing ti so much i havent got the heart to make him do it when hes not on properly cos seems he just cant get on properly at the moment. I think im going to express for the next few days and EBM because it looks so hard for him on the boob. At least with the bottle i have a bit morew control too. He was drowning in milk this morning from my let down poor bugger.
Just as we were getting him to feed&sleep better too... murphy's law ain't it?

How do some of you say so positive about the BFing? Im ready to give up already.

[Ambah]

Popping in to say that I am still around, and reading what everyone is up to, I just havent had the time to post, so sorry for the lack of personals, as there is so much to catch up on!

Eva is doing so well... growing heaps. Last week she put on 210g in one week, and she has now grown 4cm since birth, and gained 1 kg since birth (that was at one month old!)
BF is going really well now, and she has been drinking fully from my boobs for two weeks now, so I dont have much need to express, but sometimes like to do it before bed so I can go to bed with empty bb's, and I feed her the EBM if she still wants it.
The past 3 nights she has had sleep stretches of 5.5 - 6.5 hours without waking! So that is awesome too.
We were all sick with a virus last week, and I think she came down with a mild version of it, as she was getting very snuffly and clogged up overnight, and also had a low grade fever for a few days.
Something that worked wonders for her breathing/stuffiness was putting a small cushion wedged under the side of her back as she sleeps - so she is tilted slightly sideways, and OMG the difference it made to her ability to breathe clearly was amazing. I am not too worried about safety as she is sleeping right next to me, so I am always aware of what she is doing.
Anyway, have to go, she is hungry!

Hope everyone is doing well!

ETA - Feeding in public: I never thought I would get to this stage, but so far I have already fed her at a coffee shop, at a bus stop, and on the bus too LOL!