Babies Born January 16th ~ 31st 2009

Hi girls, well im extremely emotional today, my little neice was born this morning and its just killing me that im not there (my family lives in NZ)
I cried this morning about it and i just want to cry about it all day, its ripping my heart. I want to take my boy and fly home for awhile, i want my family to meet Caleb and I want to meet my neice Maddison. I feel this horrible ache, almost like she were my own baby and Im not allowed to hold her!

Im not sure what to do with this feeling, i know i really want to spend more time with my boy because of it only because he gives me such joy just looking at his little face but i cant keep him awake forever....

I cant go home, not right now, we dont ahve the money and i have to apply for Caleb to get citizenship in NZ (which also costs $200) cos Australia wont accept him untill he is 10 years old because we are both NZers. and without his citizenship sorted he cant get a passport :(

my poor hubby doesnt know what to do with me, he cant fix it and thats all he wants to do.....

Hi everyone

Sorry I haven't been posting much - busy times for us atm.

My nurse said that at first if you can just get out of your pj's, look after Bub and have a shower & wash your hair or something then you are doing well. That is all I really did for the first 6 weeks or so. I do more than that now but I think for the first month or two you shouldn't expect too much from yourself (nor should anyone around you).

Jo - Big Hugs. Can't imagine how hard it must be for you.

Ren - 100g weight gain for Ava in 1 day?!?! That is FANTASTIC. :dance: Well Done to both of you.

orange - We've been sleeping Sam in his bouncer too; for at least 2 sleeps during the day. He just seems so much more relaxed since we've been doing it. He likes to be elevated. And, he has a terrible flat head on one side because he favours that side. In the bouncer he sleeps on the other side so hopefully his flat side will start to disappear soon.

Mel - hope you all stayed safe down there. Sounds so scary.

We're doing well. Can't believe how quickly they grow, Sam was really unsettled for about 72hrs after his injections last week but he is settled again now. Poor little man, it was awful seeing him so unsettled. Saturday he didn't sleep for about 6 hours straight. I was very nervous about that!

Just a quick one to say that I uploaded some pro shots of Dash at 3 weeks in the members gallery....it was hard to choose because I got just over 300 different shots as my friend was practising. Anyway, they were taken just over 4 weeks ago. 2 days after the photos were taken he lost the hair from the top of his head and looked like an little old man lol. It is growing back now but am glad that he had his hair for his photos awwww.

Jo: I don't know what it feels like to not have your family close by but I'm sure it stinks. Hope you get to see them soon....at least Caleb and Maddison will be at the age where they will be able to 'interact' with each other when you do get there....that will be soooo sweet. You might even be feeling a little anxious and protective for the experience your sister had with failed inductions etc - and then not being able to comfort her???? Anyway, I get emotional when a baby is born into our family...it's just a natural response - moreso when you are a mother yourself.

AJC: Sam sounds like a gorgeous boy. We have our needles on Monday so will report back on how we go. Bet those smiles melt your heart!! If you don't mind me asking (nor does it really matter, just curious), is Sam hitting milestones at his birth age or corrected age??

GTG!

Just a quick update from me, we have had some challenging times over the past few days, Owen does not seem to be liking to sleep at the moment. He was up all day Sunday and yesterday only had two naps of 20 mins and 45 minutes. I've been naughty in terms of settling him to sleep and letting him fall asleep in my arms and putting him in the basinette once he's asleep. Up until yesterday that had been working, but yesterday every time I put him down he would wake up and start crying. I've been bf and bottle feeding due to issues with my supply and we've increased the amount of formula he's getting, so we'll see if that helps any. Once he went down last night woke him about 1.30am for a feed and thankfully he went to sleep again until 5.45am.

Runner - glad to hear Amara has been doing well since you've been home, sounds like you're starting to work things out with the reflux.

Jo- must be hard for you with your family so far away and the issues with Caleb's citzenship would make things worse. My family live over 200 kms away and I have little support here, so must be even harder for you. Do you have a webcam so at least you and your family can see one another?

Well, we're off to the Maternal Child Health Nurse today to check on his weight gain and how his development is going. DH has just told me Owen's woken, so off to feed him.

Shellsie - no we dont have a webcam, im trying to make a dvd for my family though of the footage we have of him so far.

guess what girls, this morning i put Caleb on his tummy and HE ROLLED OVER!!! so i put him back on his tummy againg and he did it AGAIN! I cant believe it, it was so cool and the best part was i was filming footage for my family when he did it! so i have it on video. Im not sure when they are supposed to roll over but it was just so cool to see.
and also last night he slept from 7.30pm - 7.15am only waking once for a feed at 4am, so far i have had a fantastic day!!!!!!!

hi girls,

It is lovely to hear some of you back on the forum. I look forward to reading how everyone is at least every other day if I can.

shellsie - don't feel back about the way you put your bub to sleep - at times when we are just so sleep deprived and cannot stand the crying anymore - we do anything that works.. i understand this!

Ren - I am so happy that the meds are working on Ava. I hope that your nipple heals well soon - it is very painful - I had this with my first born.

Jo - can i please ask - what do you do when your little one wakes up well before the next feed is due? I do try to resettle, but occassionally, it does not work and I want to give up!

Also, we were told by the nurse who came here that Amara needs to go back to bed/sleep straight away for her first sleep of the morning - so, i was told to wake her AT THE SAME TIME EVERY MORNING (between 5.30am and 6am) feed, then straight back to bed.......now we are finding in the last 3-4 days that she is unsettled and cries when put back to bed after this feed. Maybe the routine will just take some more time?

at least she is sleeping in her cot much more often now. Reflux is not too bad, she is having Mylanta on the advice of the nurse. but I have to be SO GENTLE after feeds with her so she does not chuck it all up!!

Orangefeather -t hanks for the advice - yes, we are doing all of that.

Has anyone had a spicy meal lately and found a reaction to bubs sleeping/unsettleness? Boy, did I ever!!! Amara cried and complained about that meal.

I wish I had time to figure out how to change my ticker......... Amara was 4 weeks yesterday...

Quick update from me pretty much just so I can brag - Max slept 6 hours last night!:) I fed him at 10.15 (after leaving him with MIL while we went out for dinner for a friend's birthday) and then I didn't get up again till 5.30!!!!! So it was a great night.

Runner - I just clicked on someone else's ticker, which took me to a website where I made myslef a new one, then pasted the code into my BB signature.

Shellsie - Max went through about a week where he wasn't sleeping as much too. I'm not sure whether he's better now or I'm just used to it:dunno: But since then we sometimes have to put him to sleep in our arms too. Didn't used to do that, but hey - whatever works, right?!

Good luck to all you girls dealing with reflux, colic, etc. I can't even imagine how difficult it must be at times. Max has become a bit fussy at the boob - often pulling and squirming. I'm not sure if there's something wrong or just him. He also seems to get lots of tummy pains anmd farts a lot, but rarely cries cos of it, so I figure it can't be too bad. Ah, might mention it at the health centre next visit...

I had my 6 week check up today - all good! So I'll be able to swim when we go away this weekend for the long weekend. My physio has recommended not water skiing yet though - apparently that might be a bit too much for the old pelvic floor muscles. Also, my pelvis is still playing up a bit, so I think I'll just stick to swimming.

Runner - im trying to msg you but it says your inbox is full, can you email me on justjo@iinet.net.au plse? I am having huge issues with the bellybelly website today, its taken me half an hour to get this message to you and some of the messages arent even appearing when i go to the forum....grrrrr

Shellsie - I've had issues with my milk supply too and are BF, expressing, feeding EBM & formula.... mainly formula at the moment because I can't quite express enough BM to feed DD. We are getting there..... I'm determined to be exclusively BFing again soon... very soon. So glad I've had the help of my Lactation Consultant. My R nipple is healing too as it was so badly cracked so haven't been feeding from this side until it heals. Waaaay too painful.... (I have a BF thread in the BF support section if you want to read about my problems LOL) and don't worry about settling him.... sometimes we put DD down once she's asleep and other times we put her down when she's dozing off but still awake.... we just do whatever works at the time!

I put Ava on her tummy this morning and she was happily lying there on her playmat on her tummy for 20mins!!! She would lift her head, hold it up for ages and then turn and look the other way then turn look the other way. It was soooo cute. Got some cute pics.
She's so very strong.

My DH has been so wonderful and supportive (always is!) the last few weeks I don't think I could have done it without him. Before he goes to work he gets my lunch for the day ready, makes me breakfast, folds the washing or puts washing on, gets my pump ready for me to express and makes sure i have a shower! He's been so awesome I am just so lucky to have his support. :D All i can focus on still is getting my BF'ing right and sleeping!!!

Anyway Ava is having a nap and I think will wake for a feed in about an hour (seeing as she threw up the last one!!! :lol: ) so better go lie down while I can. ;)

Ren, good work by your DH! I'm blessed with an awesome DH too, but unfortunately he can't help his work hours so I have wake up/breakfast and bedtime by myself which is a bit of a challenge at times.

Shellsie, I don't think I've ever put Jared down to self-settle in his bassinette! It just doesn't feel right to me, so I wouldn't feel guilty about cuddling your little one to sleep once or twice :lol: It's a common occurance here.

We've had a really good couple of days. Jared has been sleeping for at least five hours at a time at night and Ben is thankfully, still back to sleeping through too. Yesterday we managed a trip to the park, just the three of us. It was good actually because the England and West Indies Women's Twenty20 teams were playing down there so I got to see some of that - when I wasn't playing chasings with Ben :) I also did two loads of washing, the washing up and still managed a lie down for 20 mins in the arvo. Today my mum came over to give DH and I a few hours by ourselves which we haven't had since Jared was born. We were going to go to a golf driving range but it was too windy so we just went shopping and out to lunch. It was still lovely, although Ben hasn't had a sleep and is now being a grumblebum!

All in all though I am beginning to feel human again. I've been out every day this week and will meet up with friends tomorrow too. It makes such a difference to be out in the real world again :)

Dis - so good getting out and about again hey? We've been back in normal routine for about 4 weeks now. Very full on but kids need it. We have something on every morning - either kinder, playgroup or storytime or something and then stuff on most arvos too. IKWYM about dinner time being hard when it's just you - I dread those nights!

Ren - good luck with getting the supply up - you're doing an awesome job!

Gypsy - 6 hours - whoohooooo!!!

Jo - rolling over, what a clever bub :clap:

Runner - don't stress, routine will happen. Our bubs are still very new and sorting themselves out!

Sorry, i'll try and keep up with personals

H slept allnight in his cot last night instead of our bed - I missed him :redface: DH doesn't like him in our bed though, but i do!

Just back from the MCHN, she seems to think he's hungry and has advised me to increase the amount of formula he's getting to 90mls, up from 70mls and change the formula to Nan as he seems to be throwing up quite a bit. He doesn't seem to be crying in pain, so unlikely to be reflux, but we'll see. She also thinks that him being unsettled is related to him being hungry. You feel so bad as a Mum when they're hungry, even though it's not your fault, so we'll see how we go.
We're off to massage class tomorrow and new Mum's group in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I'll feel more human and less guilty!!

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Just back from the MCHN, she seems to think he's hungry and has advised me to increase the amount of formula he's getting to 90mls, up from 70mls and change the formula to Nan as he seems to be throwing up quite a bit. He doesn't seem to be crying in pain, so unlikely to be reflux, but we'll see. She also thinks that him being unsettled is related to him being hungry. You feel so bad as a Mum when they're hungry, even though it's not your fault, so we'll see how we go.
We're off to massage class tomorrow and new Mum's group in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I'll feel more human and less guilty!!

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Ohhhh Shellsie! I can totally relate..... DD has been starving for weeks and I had no idea!!! :( breaks my heart.... I had no idea she wasn't getting enough BM from me!! She seemed to be feeding well at the breast but turns out she wasn't sucking effectively!
What formula is he on? I've got DD on Karicare Goats Milk but thinking now we're going to change to Karicare HA (as advised by my Lactation consultant) because she seems to vomit up sometimes even when we feed her slowly in stages.....
You're doing well... it's not easy this baby business is it!! ;)

Ava hasn't slept since 9am!! She went down again at 10:30am but woke 30mins later and then at 2pm but woke 30mins later.... FINALLY she's asleep and has been for an hour YAY!!! :dance: hehe I have quickly run around the house putting stuff away, wiping things down (milk all over the couch hahaha) and the house is looking rather decent again!!!!!

Disgirl - it's wonderful when you leave the house and get out and about isn't it?? I have been doing that more the last 2 weeks, makes me feel more human! Even just going to the chemist to pick up something is a big trip out for us :lol: and I feel great afterwards.....with Ben you would definitely need to keep him on the move hey.... they get bored so easily little ones.

What a gorgeous day it is outside! If you're in Sydney (or have similar weather elsewhere), I recommend going for a walk or something. We just spent a lovely two hours at the park with the girls and bubs from Ben's mum's group and it was just lovely. The naughty girls spoilt Jared by getting him lots of lovely gifts - totally unexpected :D

There's another mum in that group who had a baby girl two days after Jared was born and she is the tiniest little thing!!! I can't believe that she is the same age as Jared :lol: None of the other mum's could believe it either :lol: My boy is definitely a chunk!

We've had such a good week here and I think the difference is that I've been out every day this week. Whether it was to the shops, doctors, park or whatever, it just makes a difference getting out and about. Most times it's been with the kids too, but I must be getting better at it, I don't get as stressed anymore and I'm definitely not dreading each outing like I did in the beginning. The weather is probably helping too - sunny but not too hot. Now if I could just get a nice 12 hours sleep.... :lol:

Dis - was a beautiful day! I even did some gardening. Sounds like you are all doing well :)

orange - no idea guess will just have to wait & see. All kids are different anyway, friends of ours whos Bub was 2 weeks overdue was really late walking (no stopping her once she got going tho) so I guess it can vary for lots of different reasons. Sounds like you had fun with the photographer, so fantastic to capture them when they are so small.

Had a great night last night, 2 x 5hr sleeps! Yay, we slept from 10.30pm - 3.30am, then from 4.30am - 9.30am. His sleeps during the day have been shorter and feeds are more frequent but if this is the routine continues to develop I will be more than happy.

Ren - wow, your DH sounds like an angel. Don't mean to be hard on my DH as he works 12 hr shifts but I would loooove him to help like that. Hope things are improving for you and little Ava. Nothing can quite prepare you for the lack of sleep and all that goes with it eh? And especially with the reflux problem on top of that. You are doing fabulously though.

Jo - how is your little rolley boy today? Wow - what a clever little button! So lovely that you got it on film so you can share with your family. Sounds like you have been enjoying the baby massage classes (think I read that on fb). Sam loves his massages, Mum bought us a lovely parcel of aromababy products and they're great. Sam loves his massages and is soooo relaxed afterwards.

runner - re: food and BF. The only thing I seem to get a reaction to with Sam is dark choc. Unfortunately! I make this savoury mince type stuff which has curry powder and a few other spices and he's fine with that. I ate heaps of spicy food when pg so not sure if that made a difference.

Big Hi & Hugs to all.....

Hey Girls,

Here is the link to my BIRTH STORY if anyone would like to read it.... you may need to grab yourself a cuppa, it's LONG!! ;)


https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...rival-ava.html

I got a new Avatar made today!!!! :cheer: I love it!!! It's so pretty hehe

BBL for personals.

Ren- your BA was wonderful, so well written and what a stellar job you did!! Congrats! :D

Thanku Gill! Have u posted yours up yet? Trying to remember if i've read it?
Your little girl is soooo cute!!! Don't ya just love little girls ;)

WOOOHOOO!!! Ava now weighs 4.11kg!!! She has put on so much weight since Monday. She was 3.78 then!! I'm back to breastfeeding again as my nipples are healing and not sore anymore, and i'm still expressing to top her up with incase she doesn't get enough from me as my milk supply still going up. I'm on Maxalon.
Well thats my update!

Everyone has been quiet in here last couple of days. Hope you're all going well and all bub's going well.... look forward to more updates from you all xx

Guess who...:p

Finally I have made it back to the bellybelly site. Obviosuly I don't have the internet at home, but even when I get to a computer I havn't been able to get onto the site. So frustrating!:doh:

I have tried catching up as much as I can with you all, but I have clearly missed a heck of alot.

So, overall I have been blessed with an extremely placid, non-crying playful baby who makes me smile every single day. In regards to BF, I only managed to BF for two weeks before having to switch to formula. Not only were my boobs bleeding for the whole two weeks but they became infected and I was crying everytime I got Caiden attached. The pain was indescriable. Give me labour pain anyday over that! I also didnt like the idea of him sucking on infected nipples! YUK! So I know two weeks doesnt seem all that long but it felt like forever so I had to make the switch. He is a very happy formula baby, feeding generally every four hours during the day and sleeping 7hrs at his longest which is fantastic! (In regards to the gals talking about formula, we have Caiden on S-26 Gold and havnt had any probs-althought I know every bub is different!)
He very very rarely cries and has only had 2 really big tantrums due to being overtired-too many visitors!! Although I do admit I dont give him much of a chance to, as soon as I hear those hungry noises or his sucking his fist a bottle goes in.
So I can't believe its been 7 weeks almost since he was born! His not a newborn anymore but practically a little boy sniff sniff! He is ALL smiles this week smiling everytime he wakes up and I go get him or after feeds he just smiles smiles smiles! He is also starting to make talking sounds which is a lot of fun! Sigh..I could talk all day about him hehe..couldnt we all!!

I really hate not sharing this journey with you guys and still intend on getting the net at home asap. I am at my parents this week as my dp has caught the nasty gastro bug that has hit sydney and we had to get Caiden away as it has already killed a few babies!:( But dp is much better now and Caiden and I both escaped the bug thank god!

I'll be on as much as I can until I head back home. I am just about to finish my birth story so I will post it a little later.

All your beautiful babies and so precious! Love all the photos!

Much love to all

xx

Havent had much time to get on here and everytime i do it crashes....grrrr

Well we are going good,slowly sorting nixon out and in a routine though tonight im copping it,he went to bed at 730pm,screamed til 8pm,went to sleep til 830pm woke up n screaming til now..we have done the nappy check,more food as he only 80ml at 645pm,burped him and now he just plain ovetired and wont settle.
I got the book secrets of a baby whisperer,its certainly informative and the bible,theres 2 books so im keen to get the other...apart from a rough one tonight we are going well..
My boys starting to smile and coo at me flat out and is attracted to my tv,lights and colors....Hes so inquisitive....and hes had a major growth spurt and is in 000 and reckon wont be long he be outta those...
Well dunno if i told you i was gonna sell my house as over the past few days dh and i bought a house and land package and anyway we got the land we wanted and the house,my house is not officially on the market and my clients took the 1st buyer through even though its not ready and it sold straight away for a way bigger price than i expected,wow sold in 1 day...
Now poor Nixon and us has to go live with our brothers for about 3 months til house ready,so 2 moves in 6 months,hope that dont upset him too much..But its a better quality of life for him and thats why we are doing it..i think my brother in laws cant wait for us to move in so they can bond with their nephew,lets hope they prepared for a few sleepless nights here n there on the odd occasion
Anyway we are hitting the 2and a half hour mark of not going to sleep and not settled so i better go see whats making him scream this bad...
Chat soon
bon

well another great night last night!! put Caleb down at 7.00, he woke up at 4am for a feed and back to sleep till 7.00.... I love nights like that, feel like i can accomplish anything!!

Have started sewing nappies again, trying to get them really absorbant by using bamboo and have just bought some waterproof material for the outer layers. I find that ive got heaps of nappies (i think i overbought!) and i dont have to wash for about four days which is quite good.

Decided not to go to church today, wanted to stay home and clean up the house, started making dinners again last week, feels really good to be getting back into the swing of things, our routine is pretty much set in concrete with Caleb except for the growth spurt here and there or a day of too much activity and getting overtired but nothing we cant handle. have invited people over for afternoon tea and for dinner tomorrow night.

Oh and i dont know if i already said but IM GOING TO MEET MY NEICE!!! wahhoooo. I prayed so hard to be able to go and then i got flights to NZ for $200 return for both me and Caleb!!! so im going in May and i cant wait but am also scared poopless about travelling alone with a baby eeek! Im so happy, my family will get to meet Caleb and I get to meet my neice, i was so excited that i couldnt sleep the night i got the flights hahaha, good thing Caleb slept through that night!!!

Sonya - whereabouts are you moving too? i cant beleive your house sold so quickly, thats so awesome! It will unsettle Nixon a little bit but babies are so adaptable, just give him lots of extra cuddles and kisses :)

Felicity - so good to see you on here, hopefully you can get back on again soon, sorry to hear about your experience with BF, we gave up at 11 days and i think of it as at least they got the best of our milk, its better than nothing at all!

If anyone wants to check it out, i have posted a link to a video on my Facebook page of Caleb rolling over, its just a quick 2 min video but im so proud *gushes over her little man*

allright, im going to go and attempt to make a trifle, Caleb still has an hour of naptime left so better make the most of it :)

Hi girls :)

Caidensmummy, great to hear from you again :)

Ren, I don't have much time right now, but I'd love to read your birth story, so hopefully later I'll be able to pop back on. I have written mine, but it's so long (nearly two pages on word!) that I didn't think anybody would be interested in reading it :lol:

Us, we've had a good weekend. It really makes a difference having DH home to help with the boys (I just love saying 'the boys!'). Jared is far more settled during the day now and I've been able to bring the house up from 'bomb site' status to 'messy' :lol: It actually looks a bit like a toy store most of the time, but I finally managed to get some of Ben's toys away without him dragging them straight back out again.

I'm a bit concerned that Jared is having another growth spurt though - he was over 5.5kgs two weeks ago, but yesterday he was back to feeding every two hours during the day! He's almost outgrown all of his 000 clothes and is already in some 00. He's growing up far too fast for my liking :(

Oh, forgot to mention that I've started Jared in cloth about half the time. I just got sick of chucking out so many nappies - so expensive! We are going through at least 8 nappies a day with Jared - thank goodness Ben is fully in cloth, I think they'd send us broke otherwise!!!

Wow Jo u doing well with Caleb,,,
i wish,however we are getting there with nixon,this mornings nap straight down,asleep in 5mins,no dummy no crying...however last nyt took from 8pm til 10.30 to go sleep but once out he sleep most of night,just waking for 3am feed,had midnite dreamfeed then 330am feed but back to sleep hardly woke,then slept til 8am,we have tried 7am starts but too early and hes way too grumpy and so am i..hes not sleeping right through the night without waking but im happy with hes night sleeping,we are still working on the 730-8pm bed issues,some nights great others not so great,hes growing lots so maybe growth spurt..
We are moving out to Laurimar at Doreen towards Whittlesea,very queit and country feel even though in the burbs,we moving twice in 6 months so hope it dont effect my boy.
We have figured nixon loves movement,he will sleep in car,in pram or any movement,a lot of that i think was when i was preggo and working and in car a lot,i feel bad that sometimes he has his 2 hour nap whilst we out driving in car,my friend said i shouldnt do it as he should be home in his cot not asleep in car whilst moving as this is not self settling,,,
Hes a total spunk today,went for lunch and he got his little jeans and ladies man top on,yep all the ladies love him....hes just too damn cute with the dark hair n blue eyes
anyway im off
cheers bon

Ren - Yep just posted my Birth Story!

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ml

Hi ladies,

yes i still lurk around to read all your posts, just don't have much time to post myself - seems i've given birth to the most demanding Little Miss!!

Glad to read you are all doing well - especially you Jo, sounds like you have been blessed with a near perfect bubba!!! - would love to say Ella is in a routine, but nope, her routine is "i want what i want when i want it" ;p

well must go the lady is calling - keep smiling everyone :D

i would love to post my birth story,its quite comical but sincere at the same time...sums me up perfectly...do i do it in birth stories and how do i post the link here..

Well the routine or EASY as Jo and i call it is starting to work,tonight only took Nixon one hour to go to sleep instead of 3 hours,not bad for night 2...I have discovered the little tacker setled to music,put his musical seahorse in his bassinette and put it on,he settled n went to sleep,gonna hook up the cd player with all my rainforest,ocean type music,,i might even put it on my ipod and go to sleep with it too..

Ren-was great readinf your birth story,you have such incredible strength and determination..
My brain is fried so no personals for me,im suffering mumnesia..hehe
ok off to bed for me,one thing a baby cures is insomnia...
Cheers Bon

Have posted my birth story in birth stories,how do i click the link to read it here?sorry dumb blonde/mumnesia
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...-new-post.html


Also im wanting to post a photo on my profile and for the life of me forgotten how to do it,someone talk me thru it in laymans/blonde terms...hehe

Gill & Sonya - will read your birth stories today at some point when I get the chance!!

Last night we went to an engagement party (on a Sunday!) and I b/fed at the venue near people, i'm soooo proud of myself!!! DH helped me to stay covered up so i didn't flash my boob :lol:I also b/fed at my Mum's place near about 30 other people at a gathering last weekend. I was so impressed I did it! It's getting easier now.....

I'm so excited.... last night put DD down at 11pm after her feed and she slept til 4am!! 5hrs :dance: and then fed her and put her down 5:30am finally and she's still sleeping.... what a little angel!!!! :D

The sleep deprivation I feel isn't too bad now, I just get up and just do it.... I used to really struggle getting up to DD in the middle of the night (2 or 3 times) and it was hard, but now it's a bit easier.... bit more routine.

OK gotta go, she's hungry!!!! She just woke!

Ren, isn't it great when they start sleeping that little bit more? Well done on the bfing in public! I don't bother to try and cover up anymore, I'm fine with it and if people don't like it they can go elsewhere!

Bon and Gill, I'll add your birth stories to my 'to do' list. I still haven't read Ren's or posted mine either. One day...

Us, we had a good night again. Jared went down at 8pm and I gave him a dream feed (something I could never do with Ben because he always woke up) at 9:30, which let him sleep until 2am! I usually find feeds between midnight and 2:30 the hardest, but it was alright last night for some reason. He then slept until 5am before going straight back down again until after Ben was up. I usually struggle to get him down after that second morning feed, but today was easy. He's been asleep nearly all day too, which is unlike him, but when he's awake he's really alert. I think he's having yet another growth spurt. We'll go to the nurse tomorrow for his 6-8 week check up and I'm a little scared about how much he will weigh!

A good friend of mine came for a visit today and Jared turned on the charm for her. I've never seen him smile so much and she even got some giggles. Jared's first laugh came the other day when Ben tickled his foot. I cried and DH couldn't stop smiling to see our boys interact like that :D

Ren, isn't it great when they start sleeping that little bit more? Well done on the bfing in public! I don't bother to try and cover up anymore, I'm fine with it and if people don't like it they can go elsewhere!

Bon and Gill, I'll add your birth stories to my 'to do' list. I still haven't read Ren's or posted mine either. One day...

Us, we had a good night again. Jared went down at 8pm and I gave him a dream feed (something I could never do with Ben because he always woke up) at 9:30, which let him sleep until 2am! I usually find feeds between midnight and 2:30 the hardest, but it was alright last night for some reason. He then slept until 5am before going straight back down again until after Ben was up. I usually struggle to get him down after that second morning feed, but today was easy. He's been asleep nearly all day too, which is unlike him, but when he's awake he's really alert. I think he's having yet another growth spurt. We'll go to the nurse tomorrow for his 6-8 week check up and I'm a little scared about how much he will weigh!

A good friend of mine came for a visit today and Jared turned on the charm for her. I've never seen him smile so much and she even got some giggles. Jared's first laugh came the other day when Ben tickled his foot. I cried and DH couldn't stop smiling to see our boys interact like that :D

We have a good weekend, my sister and niece came up from Melbourne Saturday afternoon and went home this morning. My sister babysat while we went out for dinner, did some housework for us that I hadn't gotten around to doing as well as mowed the lawn, phew. She also showed me how she patted her kids to sleep when they were babies and I've used it on Owen a few times now and seems to work like a charm. Don't need to worry about the potential for him to wake when I put him in the basinette and he seems to settle much quicker :). I've told her she's a baby whisperer.
We've also changed formulas to Nan HA 1 from S 26 and am offering him 120ml as well as the breast and have really noticed a change in him. He was obviously hungry and is better now he's getting what he needs.
Will have to post my birth story soon, it's a bit of a comedy of errors!!
Glad to hear everyone's managing.

Good evening everyone!

Just a quick one to say that Dash is now a big 8 weeks (and 5.5kg!!) and had his immunisations today. Not bothering him at the moment so that is great!! Uploaded a couple of photos from when he was 3 weeks old in members gallery....not quite sure how to post a link and no time to really.

Felicity: Welcome back.....another happy bottle feeding mummy here!! I think there is a wonderful mix of mums in this thread - bottle/breast, routine/demand etc. - everyone seems supportive of each other and the different choices we are making as mothers! It's a nice 'place' to visit. Glad your DS is a dream!!


I think it is great reading how we all 'do' what we 'do' with our bubs and love reading about the different ways we are bringing up bubs....just goes to show that there isn't one right way!! I think we are all doing such a wonderful job!!

Got to go...

Linda

PS - Got my photobooks back and they are just wonderful!

hi ladies,
may I ask how many of you are using dummies? We got one a few days ago and have used it a couple of times when Amara was very unsettled, but to be honest, I am so scared of her developing a reliance on it. We only used one very occassionally with our first born son, he now sleeps well.

the couple of times I have used it during the day, when it comes out, she cries and cries again. this is why I don't want her to use it at night - I don't want to get up every 40 mins or so to replace it?

any thoughts of yours is appreciated.

BTW - sorry for no personals, like everyone, I am not getting heaps of sleep. It is hard, hard work some days with a newborn AND a child with ASD (Autism).

i use a dummy,,,or all hell breaks loose,we do pull it out of his gob though and he doesnt get it all the time....

photobooks-where u get em done? im lookiang at doing mine at harvey norman,some of em are awesome and better than the pro stuff we used to do for our wedding couples....i got some canvases done too of nixon but i got them done through a pro-lab,am waiting to get em back

anyway im off the bird(nixon is awake,time for mum to help re-settle,shyt of an issue at the moment)we are winning and the routines are working,,,we have 2 more weeks of the EASY routine and if he wont self settle by then we are going to sleep school as im reading his crying cues etc and seem to understand them quite well

cheers to all,i love our group,yeh we are a mixed bag of bottle/breast and routine/wingers(lol jo u know what i mean) and nobody judges

hey bon....i got bigw photobooks when they were $9.99. they have cheap canvases at the moment, you should check it out - not sure how good the quality is but the photobooks were great. you are limited with backgrounds, borders etc so wont be doing too many there otherwise all my books will look the same.

Runner: My GP advised me to use a dummy to help control Dash's reflux....it worked but be didn't like the dummy and I found myself holding it in so we no longer use it. It wasn't used for sleep/settling though so never formed an attachment. I say if it works for Amara, does it matter if she forms an attachment to it??? You don't see chidren rocking up on their first day at school with a dummy in their mouth so I say no harm done. The getting up all the time to put it back in would be annoying though. So, I don't really think I answered your question but there are my thoughts lol!!

thanks orangefeather for your thoughts - I do feel OK using it, but not at night as like you say, who wants to up all the time to replace it? We used it this morning as we were rushing around trying to get relatives to the airport and my son ready for school and that was bad enough - as every time she dropped it, ahhhh......crying.

yes, you don't see children going to school with dummies, it is just the night issue I have. I will work it out I suppose!

Photobooks - ohhh, I so want one!! I cannot do the softwear thing online however, I am just not good with that, and I am also sleep deprived. I mean, I have not even changed my ticker have I and Amara is almost 5 weeks old....tommorrow.

I love this forum too, and agree, we do not judge, as we are all different at parenting and we are all DOING A WONDERFUL JOB!! It not easy, but the most rewarding.

p.s. despite the chaos, I am getting my fitness back really well - went for a 10km run on the weekend and running about 5 times a week. I have also been swimming in the ocean and our pool for 3 weeks now - not public pool yet. hoping to go out for another bike ride too.

thanks orangefeather for your thoughts - I do feel OK using it, but not at night as like you say, who wants to up all the time to replace it? We used it this morning as we were rushing around trying to get relatives to the airport and my son ready for school and that was bad enough - as every time she dropped it, ahhhh......crying.

yes, you don't see children going to school with dummies, it is just the night issue I have. I will work it out I suppose!

Photobooks - ohhh, I so want one!! I cannot do the softwear thing online however, I am just not good with that, and I am also sleep deprived. I mean, I have not even changed my ticker have I and Amara is almost 5 weeks old....tommorrow.

I love this forum too, and agree, we do not judge, as we are all different at parenting and we are all DOING A WONDERFUL JOB!! It not easy, but the most rewarding.

p.s. despite the chaos, I am getting my fitness back really well - went for a 10km run on the weekend and running about 5 times a week. I have also been swimming in the ocean and our pool for 3 weeks now - not public pool yet. hoping to go out for another bike ride too.

Runner, you're amazing! 10kms! Wow!!!
As for the dummy thing, I WISH Jared would take one. I have tried seven different types of dummies (spent $17 on a pack of two that were supposed to be 'just like mum' the other night) and he spits them ALL out! Drives me nuts because he likes to suck to go off to sleep and usually my breast is his dummy :(

Orange, I agree that it's a nice place here. So many different people and parenting methods and no judging. If only the whole world could be like this!

We went to the community nurse again today for his 6-8 week check. He's even more of an oompa now, 6.2kgs - far out! He's almost off those growth charts. No idea how I got such a big baby! Jared is now the same weight at seven weeks that Ben was at three and a half months. What a chunk! He seems to be having a growth spurt at the moment too - last night he fed at 10pm, midnight, 3am, 5am and then again at 8am. And when he feeds he really, REALLY feeds. Poor starving child - obviously he's fading away to nothing :lol: