Babies Born February 2008 #3

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Minky - the sleep was wonderful, but i still woke at 4ish expecting him to be up, when he didn't wake til six, and then still slept til half seven i was amazed, lol!

Totally understand where you're coming from about the BFing, it already feels like a chore, i don't enjoy it at all, and even though the attachment is fine it still hurts. And my nipples tingle and sting when it's COLD!!! lol

"AF" has stopped, so i ordered some tests off the internet just to be on the safe side. Didn't want to go buy them from Safeway because i don't want people talking (small town, grandparents around the corner...) lol.

Is it normal for them to drop a feed this early?? He seems to be down to five already (probably why AF has arrived if it was), guess we'll see what happens over the next two weeks...

[*MinKy*]

Ash, dont you hate that, when bubs is having a decent sleep but you still wake up every now and again to see whats going on..lol.. I think its okay for them to maybe drop a feed at this age, with DD she started sleeping longer at night at 6 weeks, she was sleeping for 6-7 hours at night, but mind you we had just put her on formula for the majority of her feeds so that probably helped! So if Alex is getting a full tummy and he is happy enough, I cant see why it would be a drama that he is sleeping for so long! Lucky you!!

[prama]

Esme - thanks, tehy looks so angelic when they sleep dont they? esp when they smile in their sleep..
we're still waiting for Poopy's birth cert, before we get his passport. it will be interesting taking those pictures! I've just booked our tix to Kuala Lumpur in June, will be nice to have family fuss over him amd for me to ahve a rest. and escape the winter.I'm not looking forward to the long flight tho. But i have 8 hrs, you have much longer...

Minky - they do look complicated but after a few tries it gets easy. Ive only tried it for walks and the taking it off. Tomorrow im going to try tying it and driving out.
then picking him up from the capsule and popping him in when we're out. the idea is that you can leave it tied, and put them in and out. im going to see if it lasts or if i need to keep retying it. i dont want to park the car then spend another 5mins tying it. i rather have it on all the time and just grab him out of the capsule and plonk him in.

Ash - thats happened to me too, when Poopy slept longer and i kept waking up cos i thot he'd be waking up soon. just disturbs your sleep doesnt it.

[kirsten74]

Hey ladies, have been watching everyones progress, but haven't had time to write anything!
Ben is currently lying on his playmat with his big sister trying to entertain him. He is starting to sound a bit grizzly and I think DD is starting to get a bit pi$$ed off!
Ben is now exclusively on EBM, with a formula bottle before bed. I thought we were into a nightime routine, but of course, he decided that mum and dad were having too much sleep and might actually be thinking about DTD. So last night playtime lasted from 2am- 4am. Not happy.
I have stopped BF and am expressing and giving a bottle as it is so much quicker. I was finding that while I was BF for 45 mins or so the older kids were running amok (DS od'd on rice crackers and had a pain in the tummy for an hour afterwards as he stole the crackers while I was BF!) So I now express whenever I get a chance, which is good as I can do it wherever and still watch the others. Also, it means that I am only up for about 20-30 mins at 2am which is heaven! The motilium is fantastic and my supply seems to be keeping up with Ben's demands.
Started the mini pill on Friday, but told DH that he would have to wait 2 weeks for it to be effective, so I have bought myself a 2 week window, then I will run out of excuses!
Ben's circumcision went well with the skin falling off 6 days after the ring was put on. His wi!!y looks normal now (to me anyway!)
Well, novelty of DD has worn off and we are now screaming our head off.
Good luck to everyone.

[Bun]

roquen - thank you so much. My tummy muscles did separate quite far up but seem to be ok now, so I have just been walking with my tummy sucked in so far. I think I will see a physio to make sure they are ok now and to help with my sore left side so I can then start to exercise some more! DD has her needles tomorrow, and then I can start a mums and baby swimming class which is supposed to be good. I am looking forward to it!

I can understand the spray jet milk - mine does that too when DD decides to suddenly pull off after my let down! Very messy and embarrassing!

jen - I am trying the same routine with mixed results so far, but today is the second day in a row that DD has slept on her own - yay! I am so stoked and have gotten so much done!

Ambah - I don't like the feeling of the let-down either, I find it really uncomfortable, but it seems to be getting better now thank goodness!

sueby & ash - what a great night you both had!

I'm glad to see that we are not the only ones who haven't DTD yet! I am a bit scared too that it is going to hurt, plus it is the last thing I feel like doing with the lack of sleep and DD in the room with us! But poor DH probably won't last much longer!!

must go - DD crying...

[*MinKy*]

Prama, yeah they do look super comfy, and I have heard nothing but good about them!! I am loving my Baby Bjorn at the moment, its just so simple to put on! I know that the type you have are meant to be so much more comfy for bubs, so I might check out thier website and maybe they wont look so complicated..lol..

Kirsten, oh your DD sounds like mine..lol...she loves her lil brother but after about 15 minutes you can see the tension..lol...gotta love them!!! Its sounds like you are so much more happier expressing, you seem to have it all down pat! Thats fantastic!! I am going to start my mini pill this week too, I am going to go and get it tomorrow, must put DH out of his misery...lol..

Bun, I hope that the needles go well tomorrow!! The first lot is always the scariest!! Swimming lessons will be great!! I did them with my DD when she was 10 weeks and she LOVED it! She slept for a good two hours after each class!!

Better go!!

Have a great night every one!!!

[Ambah]

Just another quick one.... having the worst day here... my 3yo is having toilet refusal/constipation issues & is in agony, yet absolutely refuses to poo. Have been sitting with him for 9 hours since I had to pick him up from kindy early.

We have just realised that our sewage is backflowing up the pipe into our SHOWER!!! YUCK!! So DP is currently investigating where the blockage is... so we can't flush the toilet or shower atm.

Eva is being so good though, thank god.
Had her weighed today and she is 5.4kg now, so gaining and growing all the time!

Just on slings - I ordered an Ergo to use for Eva, and I think its great! For newborn up to 3-5 month you have to use an extra insert and have them sort of cradled sideways, which felt a bit odd at first, but now I'm used to it its just fantastic. It gives brilliant back support, as all of the weight of the sling is distributed down around your hips/waist, and is very comfy! I use for when I walk Aidyn to and from kindy, and she always falls asleep in it nearly instantly.
I wanted to get a HAB, but being a Feb baby in Brissy, I just knew it would be too hot with all of those layers, plus DP wouldn't have used it because its so complicated to learn.

Good luck with Catherine's needles tomorrow Bun, that can't be good to look forward to (Eva is next week), but I hope the swimming makes up for it!

Kirsten - sounds like you are going great with the expressing! I found when I had to express fulltime earlier on that it was much quicker and faster than BF as well.

Argh, DP needs my help outside with the plumbing... I would rather be in bed right now!

Night all...

[Sueby]

Hi Everyone,
Ambah -- hopefully you have managed to get some sleep and are having a better day today.
Did you get your plumbing fixed.?? Has your 3 year old had a poo??
I work in an Emergency Department and we see lots of kids that are constipated it is not nice let me know if you need any tips to help make them poo!!
Having / had an alright day DH has just let me know he might get stuck in Melbourne because of the wind/ storms. Great!
DD has been asleep since 3pm but was awake alot this morning just feeling a bit housebound but don't want to go outside because it is sooo cold and windy. Its not even winter yet!

Talk soon
Sue

[Esme]

Good afternoon everyone!! Hopefully y'all had a good night..


Minky - still waiting on his birth certificate, but I showed the lady at the post office the photo's and she said they were fine, so lets hope the best. It is going to be a very long trip, especially since we have to travel from country NSW to Sydney first. From Sydney it is going to be a 29-hour trip to Amsterdam; hopefully we'll survive and don't inconvenience too many other passengers...

Ash - My nipples still hurt too, this is mainly because the strong letdown that DS prefers to hang on the end of the nipple to catch whatever runs out and when that stops, he attaches himself properly by sucking the nipple in properly, this is what keeps causing the cracks... Sometimes he does this a few times per feed. If I try to get him to attach properly from the start, he coughs and chokes. Are there ways to slow the letdown?

Prama - If you have a digital camera; try taking some photo's at home when he is happy and awake and then get them resized in town. That's what we did and lucky we did, because at the post office he decided he had a pain in the tummy and didn't want to settle... We don't have his birth certificate yet either; they are soo slow. We rang them a couple of times, but they don't want to fasttrack the process. Apparently we should get ours this week. Is great to have a chance to escape the winter, isn't it? I am looking forward to catch up with everyone and spend quite some time on the beach!

Kirsten - I second you on the motilium! It got us going and now I don't need it anymore.

Bun - Congrats on DD sleeping on her own!! It makes life so much easier! Hear you on the DTD trepidations; got a pap smear done at the six-week checkup and that hurt like nothing else, so I am not too keen... Have to get started at some stage though; especially since we would like another little bubby at some stage LOL. DS had his needles on Monday, and coped really well; if anything, it made him sleep really well that night. He didn't cry too much and didn't have any nasty side effects. I think it is harder for us than it is for them.

Ambah - Sorry to hear you are having a difficult time. How is your 3 yr old? Hopefully he'll get better soon! Did you get the plumbing fixed? Lucky Eva is going so well.

Today we had our last new mothersgroup meeting. I don't think we are the group that is going to meet up again, but I might stay in touch with some people. Jasper didn't sleep too well tonight, but that was because he hadn't done a poo for 6 days and was trying to get it out from 4 am onwards; lucky he decided to wait till after mothers group, because I don't think it would have fitted into a nappy and could have been a disaster LOL! He should sleep a lot better tonight.

Have a good day everyone!

Tried to post this one at 2.49 pm, but because of the bad weather didn't have a phone connection, gggrrrrr Telstra doesn't care about services in the bush!

[prama]

esme - pmsl on jasper's poo!
will try to take Poopy's pic with a digital camera. how long does the passport last? they change so much so quickly
we're still waiting his passport too. finally got the baby bonus, they took so long cos they created a ghost account as centrelink was having problems with their sys.. sheeesh!
Thats a long flight to amsterdam! hope it goes ok. are you taking stuff to help jasper. im thinking of taking a dummy JIC the pressure gets bad. i might feed him during take off and landing, else use the dummy. we havent used one on him yet.

[Esme]

Prama - there are a few good websites with advice for flying with babies; this is one of them; Flying with Baby I was thinking the same; take a dummy just in case. Jasper doesn't have one either. Are you planning on introducing the dummy to Lakshman before the trip, or just see how he goes? I don't really want him to get used to a dummy. I just hope he's not like me; my ears don't adjust until an hour after landing.

Government departments; they are all the same! Hopefully his birth certificate doesn't have any mistakes on it. I think the say passport applications will be processed within 18 days, so that should be a bit quicker. Passports for kids are valid for 5 years. Lucky, I don't think DS would not be too happy to have to travel on a passport that has his baby photo's in it when he is 10 years old!!

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Well i think Alexander has entered the six-eight week terror period i keep hearing about...
The last two days all he has wanted to do is cuddle. He screams when i put him down...
He also normally only feeds every four hours, and 6-8 overnight.
Today he fed at
00:30 & 1:30 - our normal night feed, then top up feed.
7:30 - he originally woke grizzly at 4:30, but kept patting him back to sleep until he finally cried.
13:30 - 6 & 6 is not unusual, he had two nights of 8 & 4
15:30 & then 17:00 & 18:15... and he would have fed more frequently if i'd let him... it's like he's refusing the dummy and using me as his pacifier today.
And he's getting wakeful now.
I know the closer together "cluster" feedings to get my supply up because he's going to want more, but i don't need it! He only feeds on one side as it is now... very rarely on both, even after his big night sleep... I can express almost 160 from one side if i get let down... and at most he's been drinking that if he has EBM.

i don't know what i'll do if he decides he needs cuddles every day for the next week or however long... he won't sleep unless he's in an upright position... and i don't know why... there's no wind so its not that! Maybe i will have to get the hug-a-bub after all... was just money i didn't want to spend just yet.

I got so tired of it this morning, after me having been up since 430, when he wouldnt go back to sleep after his 730 feed i took him to the shower with me. He actually loved it... even with the water in his eyes.

Sorry for the selfish post.

Question... (this should be in the rant room lol) can someone please tell me how "insert name here", a popular baby products brand gets away with being in business, and is so popular when their products are so bad for our skin, let alone babies... It's sad that so many people are oblivious to it I know i was, and poor Alexander had a riproaring red rash from his bath soap until my MCHN explained why.

[prama]

ash - love the pic of alexander!!!
hope you get more sleep soon....
we've switched to QV cos bub got excema, paed said not to use J&J top to toe and use non soap based stuff.

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Thanks Prama! How cute do they look as they get more distingushed features!!
Lakshman is gorgeous too! He looks so content!

I'm going to have to get some Hamiltons or QV too. I would never have known how bad it is for bubs (im not a chemical analyst so i can't exactly read labels and make sense of them) but apparently it has liquid parafen (?? i think ??) in it... The nurse from mothers group told us today.

[Esme]

Hi Ash,

I use Gaia baby products; all organic and lovely for bubby's skin.

I found that Jasper's 6 week growth spurt only lasted about a week; after that he slept much better. He is more awake now during the day though, with only 2-3 decent sleeps and a lot of awake time. During the awake time he is usually quite happy to play on his blanket and look outside or at toys. He also started a definate witching hour between 5 and 7 and the only way to settle him then is to cuddle him or feed him.

[katkins]

well girls, I think there is an 8wk growth spurt too. I now have DS on formula as he has refulx and kept projectile vomitting my booby milk back. I do put booby milk in with the formula also and I try to give him one feed a day that is just booby milk. Anyway, he's been feeding every 3hrs and unsettled during the day. He wants cuddles all the time and he won't settle unless he's in my arms. He's talking soooo much and he's so cute. Trying to get him to sleep in his swing atm. Hope it works. Have DH home today with a sore back so I effectively have 4 kids atm. Yay.
I hope everyones unsettled bubs get back into a more enjoyable routine soon. *hugs* to all the tired mums out there. We are doing super jobs. Just remember that!

[Sueby]

Hi Everyone,
Ash -- I found I had to change to QV products with my first bub as he got eczema and I have just used it with the others! Your little man is gorgeous.

Katkins -- I reckon there is a growth spurt all the time -- I swear sometimes DD grows overnight. Am trying the feed play sleep thing -- she only lasts awake about an hour to an hour and a half and then will have 40mins or an hour and then awake for another hour and then another quick 40mins before next feed. Last night she had a bottle at 6pm and then went to bed at 7pm asleep by 7.45 and then she woke at 3am! WOW! Had her drink at 3am and then went back to sleep until 7.30!! Doubt wether that will happen again. Definately can deal with the awake during the day thing though as long as they sleep at night.
What is it about men when they are injured they are big kids LOL.
Have a good day everyone have to go to the Dentist. GGGRRRRR
Sue

[danda]

Hi All,

I am a bit behind...but as far as public BF goes, I don't worry too much about it. I fed at the airport in a cafe and didn't bother covering up. I haven't had to do it often yet though. I also haven't had any comments. Do people really care? i can't believe that strangers would say rude things to BF'ing mothers! but some of you have come across this have you? maybe i'm naive!!

We use Weleda products in the bath for Zoe...but only really a bit on a face washer to clean her head, then we just wash her in water. The mw's at the hospital told us not to use anything. My mum talked me into washing her head with soap to avoid cradle cap.

Nothing new here....same old stuff! i suppose i should be happy with that!!