Babies Born July 2006

Hi Ladies,

Congratulations Yummy!! well done - Xavier is a fantastic name - you must be so pleased.

Has anyone heard from Dee? I've checked the Aug Belly Buddies and the birth notices - but haven't seen anything about or from her. She must be about 42 weeks by now, so maybe will be induced soon - or perhaps she's already had her little man. Not sure whether to text her or not - she might be sick of people asking how she's going!

Cyn - Charlie was exactly the same as Jensen - unsettled at night, he still has some bad nights - but like Bubs I just try to feed him as much as I can at the last night feed - which for us is between 10 and 11pm - then hopefully he sleeps until about 2 or 3am. I found with all the top up feeds I was actually making his wind worse - he had wind but thought it was hunger pains so woudl make that open fish mouth thing and I would just top him up - but that just made him really really windy - I would say you may have to spend a good 45 minutes burping him - or get DH to do it so he can't smell your milk. Apparently settling on DH's chest is a good thing for wind - it's warm and doesn't smell like milk so he will settle a bit and then all the wind will just seep out. Anyway - that is the extent of my experience summed up in a paragraph!!

everyone is so chatty - and I'm forgetting who said what! so here is summary

Good idea about chopping ends off gro suits - Charlie is into 000 now - he looks so strange and contorted in the 0000 - I feel bad if I try to squeeze him into them!

I have a hugabub and it is the best thing ever - it's a sling that you tie around yourself - it's basically just one long piece of material that wraps and ties around you - it's so comfortable and Charlie falls asleep every single time I put him in it - even if he's cranky beforehand.

Skylights went into the extension today - flooring goes down tomorrow and shelving goes up the next day - so hopefully by the end of the week the extension will finally be finished! yaay yaaay yaay

hope everyone is well -and babes are all sleeping!

Em

Bubseykel - Danielle's done well this week. Do you weigh her at home or take her somewhere? I don't have any scales at home so will have to walk down to the ECHC when I want to weigh Oskar.

Cassie - Sounds like you had a lovely time by yourself. You reminded me I really want to see Memoirs of a Geisha (loved the book). I will have to get it out soon, but we have a huge fine at the video store as we got a dvd out the day before I had Oskar and with all the excitement forgot to return it for almost two weeks - not good.

boybump - That is such a good idea to cut the feet off the 0000 outfits. Oskar only fit some for two weeks and some not at all. I remember he was very unsettled one day and I realised he couldn't straighten his legs in one outfit! Very annoying about the smoking woman you had near the pram, but I figure if smokers' don't worry about their own health and wellbeing, they're unfortunately not likely to care about someone elses. Best wishes for you appointment on Friday, it must have been very scary when you fell - but sounds like things are healing without too many problems.

yummymummy - congratulations on Xavier's birth!! Can't wait until you post a picture, I love looking at all the baby photos on here.

AJ - I'm glad your c/s incision has healed well. They took my dressing of when I was in hospital and it was weeping heaps one night after I had been laughing a lot (which hurt heaps at the time!). I can't wait until it is completely healed as I really want some waxing done and I'm scared if I have it done to soon it will damage the incision.

kmh - Oskar only sleep 3-4 hours too. It is fine for me at night as I just sleep until later in the morning, but it must be harder for you with Madison too.

Boisey - Sounds like Jensen is a typical newborn, don't worry if he is hard to settle, every week has got easier for me. It felt like I was feeding Oskar continuously in the first two weeks. But now he must be more used to the world and doesn't need to be comfort fed. Don't feel you have to put Jensen to sleep at a certain time. Oskar is always awake from around 10/11 pm until 1 am! The midwife I spoke to said this is just his cycle and you can't change it yet, so just go with it. If I try to put him to bed he just gets distressed, so I bath him, feed him and have play time until he gets unsettled, then try to put him to bed close to 1 am. No one thing seems to settle him, every night something different works. I try to get him to a transient stage be rocking, patting, or sometimes playing music. I then put him in his bed before he is fully asleep so he learns to fall asleep in his own bed - that was a hint the midwife also told me, otherwise the babies can panic if they wake up in a different place to where they fell asleep! Some nights are harder than others - there is a gelato shop open until 12 am near by and Jeremy and I have pushed the stroller down there near closing time before to occupy ourselves while waiting on Oskar to get sleepy!

Fraser - I really need a sling or something like you mention. I feel like I waste so much time carrying Oskar about when I could have my hands free to do something else. He has a rocker/chair-thing, but sometimes prefers to be held.

It's so chatty in here! I just realised today Oskat can fit a gorgeous pair of sneakers my sister sent from the US, so put him in the stroller for a walk and a coffee at my fav. local cafe. He got compliments too - there's nothing like a new pair of shoes is there ;)

Found out my mother and dad are coming over for a week in the second week of September, so that is exciting (all my family and Jeremy's live overseas). My mother was here for three weeks around when Oskar was born, but misses Oskar already.

Becca- the hugabub is a beautiful baby carrier - babe is held comfortably and close to your heart -so they feel very secure and you have both hands free. They don't wobble too much like some slings. Comfortable for mum or Dad to wear too.

The ECN told me it takes babies a while to develop there circadian rhythm thats why they may be unsettled at night - they want to be awake when we want them to sleep.

We get about 2 -2 .5 hrs between feeds overnight , they feed 3hrly but takes 1hr to change/feed/ resettle. I do Sammy (BF) and Dh does Joel (bottle EBM).We also put them in bed with us - Sammy especially likes to sleep very close to me. It is so easy to feed him lying down in bed too.We both fall asleep LOL.

Though they will sleep through all noise in our arms - even loud drums/musicians in church.

Ohhhh you girls are the best!!! Thank you Thank you sooooooooo much! And Kel....I turned my mobile phone on this morning at recieved your text msg... your kind support nearly made me cry...sending you a big hug from me honey!
All your advice has been great! I think Jensen has bad wind too Em...as he has these turbo poos and I can feel them through his nappy...so Ive stopped the top up feed hopefully that will help...
So we got alot more sleep last night and not so many visitors now either...so feeling heaps better!
Sending you all lots of love...I will write personals soon I promise!
Cyn

Cyn - you are very welcome. Even though I'm on the other side of the country I'm always here to help in some way. I'm glad that some of the advice from everyone here helped you.

Becca - I go to the ECHC to weigh Danielle. I don't have scales at home either that will do the job. Yay for your Mum and Dad coming over. You must be thrilled!! I wish Danielle had a cute pair of shoes but I can't find any here that will even remotely fit her.

Em - Have you read the birth notices lately. Dee had her baby this morning at 7.07am. Yay for the skylights and the extention almost finished.

Had a great workout at the gym today. And I've lost 1 kilo already without really trying too hard - yay yay yay!! I know it's not much but it's a start. I better go - it's the grizzly time of the day!!

Evening girls,
Ben and I are having a rough day. I was rang by my doc yesterday and told I had to have a test today. It involved having a fluid injected that would show up my kidneys on an xray. AND I wouldn't beable to breastfeed for 24hrs - would need to express enough milk for Ben. I was told this at 10am yesterday - had to disturb Ben's morning sleep to go to the hospital to pick up some tablets - which I later found out were laxatives - didn't work on me but were very effective on Ben. Also raced to the chemist and bought a pump and bottles - I asked the midwife what pump I should get and she said the Avent Isis - I tried using it yesterday and over 3 separate sessions managed to get 120ml - a struggle. Found it really hard to get a good seal on the pump and my milk just dribbles out. so I ended up buying a tin of formula and poor Benny is suffering (after the laxatives yesterday!) constipation and a very sore tummy. And me? I haven't breastfed since 7.30 this morning - tried expressing but had probs getting a seal so have resorted to just using my hands - can't empty them - just easing the pressure ... think we are going to have a long uncomfortable night.I am really looking forward to our brekky feed tomorrow at 8.30!
Has any one else got an Avent breast pump? any advice? I spent $100.00 on it and I really want to beable to use it....just finding it so frustrating. WAAAH!
The good news is Benny has taken to the dummy - he is finding it a great comfort between feeds. For some reason it really seems to help him with his sore tum, and it has stopped him from screaming the house down while I change his nappy before a feed.
Hope someone out there can help me with the expressing prob. Sleep vibes to you all...Cle

hi girls just thought ill say hi bailee is doing really well he has put on 500grm since being on the bottle and is just a wonderful little boy dose cry as much as he did when he was on the brest which is good and it proves i did the right thing by putting him on the bottle
talk to ya soon girls
big hugs

hey Cle - Sorry can't help you with the breast pump Q - haven't used one myself - but would be interested to see what people say - I'd like to get one so that I can go out for longer than a couple of hours - so at this stage I should hold off on the Avent Isis until I hear more from others!

Had a good night with Charlie last night, he was very sleepy and wind blurted out of him easily! DH went to bed at 6pm and didn't wake until 5am - which was good for him - he's pretty run down - I got about 7 hours - disjointed of course - but still nothing to sniff at!

Bubs - yaay on the workout - I'm glad you enjoyed it - I find it really hard to make myself to stuff like that - I kilo is fantastic!! you don't want to lose huge amounts right away - slow and easy means the weight will stay off

Cyn - hang in there!

Baiza - that's great - 500 grams - wowza! Is bottle feeding easier? seeing as you've done the breast and now the bottle - which is easier?

Yaay yaaay yaaay for Dee - well done on the VBAC hun - can't wait to see pics of Adrian.

Speak soon ladies

Em

I haven't been on for a while!

OMG what a day yesterday. I'm sure I'm just being dramatic though. I know that newborn babies can feed up to 12 times per day. But I'm so used to Cooper feeding every 4 hours on the dot and longer at night. But yesterday was just so weird for me. I felt like I was not giving him enough milk or something! And a lot of feeds were short – he just wouldn't have more. But then of course he would be grizzly just 2 hours later. I did 9 feeds yesterday.

So yeah, yesterday was weird because the day before he was so sleepy and I had to wake him up for all his feeds.

I think he must be having a growth spurt or something. Today is looking to be the same as yesterday. He's very grizzly.

Baby~amore – I can't believe the boys are 5 weeks old! It goes by quickly doesn't it?

boybump – You asked if any bubs going into a trance at the boob – no, not Cooper. He gets all frantic and claws me! As for breast pumps – I have the Avent Isis but I haven't got it out of the box yet! Hope it's going okay for you.

Tulip – How exciting about getting your hair done. That will be a nice treat!

Becca – Sorry to hear you were so sick. Sounds awful. How cute about Oskar wearing little sneakers! He must look adorable!

Bubseykel – Cooper is in 000 too (with some clothes). I think he's going through a growth spurt now. He's 3 weeks old.

Cassie – Hope your bowels are becoming more regular!

~yummymummy~ - Yay for the arrival of Xavier! I love that name!

AJ – Hope your c-section wound is healing well. Does it hurt much?

kmh – Cooper seems to be restless in the morning too – just recently. I just keep feeding him! Sounds like Charlotte is doing very well otherwise.

Boisey – "Night" for me means when it's dark. That's when I go back to feeding Cooper in his room with a lamp. I won't feed in front of the TV during the night. Cooper is pretty good at settling after feeds during the night. I'm not sure what advice to give! I hope Jensen settles for you soon.

Fraser – Sounds like it's all happening with your extensions! Yay! How exciting.

Baiza – Sounds like Bailee is doing great on the bottle – that's fab!

Yay for the morning!!:p
Ben and I got back on the boob at 7.30 this morning. What a relief! He slept really well and I struggled to pump som milk. At 2am I had success with my left boob, but none with my right. Got to sleep at 3 ,was woken at 4 by Ben for last bottle. Had another go with the pump and found if I ignored the instructions on the box and did my own thing I got a reasonable amount. I will persevere with it as I have no idea what is going to happen re the kidney thing and if I have to go to hosp again it will be handy to have a supply for Ben - but if not I know the formula is there too.
Baiza That is such good news about Bailee's weight gain. I will see the community health nurse next week - I am guessing Ben may be about 5 kilos...not sure!
Fraser Isn't great when you get a reasonable nights sleep? Ben usually goes for about 3 or 4 hours at a stretch - so if I go to bed early I can sometimes get 8 to 10 hrs which helps me feel like a member of the human race in the morning!
Fee I hope Cooper is a bit more settled for you today.
Have a good day everyone!

Cle - yes I have an Avent Isis pump and I must be the pumping Queen as I have to pump for every one of Danielle's feeds. Which seal are you having trouble with? The one around your boob or the one in the actual pump? Here are answers to all. With the seal around your boob - I noticed that I need to press the pump surround quite hard into my boob to get a good seal around my boob. I have also found that sometimes the little White Round Valve may come down and not sit up against the Pump Funnel -just make sure that's sitting in the hole properly. Also - If the Silicone Diaphragm and Stem has a little water or air under the seal it will not suck properly - just make sure it's all dry and you've pushed any air out from under the seal. It helps if you hold the top of the funnel against your boob with one hand and pump with the other. If you see a good stream coming out it seems to help if you just keep the pump pressured and let the milk stream out instead of keep pumping. Once the top is full undo the pressure and take your boob out and let it run into the bottle. I hope this helps you. I has trouble expressing to start with. I only got a little out at a time to start with but after a while I started to get quite a bit out. I never had enough for a full feed for Danielle as I don't seem to have enough milk but keep going with it as practise makes perfect.

Baiza - yay for Bailee!! Sounds like he's doing great!!

Em - good for Charlie having 7 hours sleep. Danielle only went for 4 hours last night from 9pm to 1am. She wouldn't settle last night very easily. Then every 3 hours. I'm going to try and feed her earlier today and see what happens. She alwasy seems to wake at 1am whenever I put her down. But I still wake up before her and startle myself as she hasn't woken yet and I can't get back to sleep! Breatfeeding vs bottle feeding - I find bottle feeding a whole heap quicker - about 20 minutes vs 45mins to an hour for me but you have to clean the bottles, sterilize the bottles, make the bottle, heat them up, make sure they aren't too hot afterwards so there is quite a bit of work involved and it's probably takes the same amount of time if you breastfeed or bottle feed. I just find Danielle takes to the bottle better. I also have the added bit of expressing so that takes 20 mins too!

Fee - Danielle has those feeds every afternoon. It usually starts from 4pm and every hour she wants something but only takes about 60mls when she usually takes 120mls every 3 hours. They are such a pain during that time but if that's what they want that's what they get. I hope he settles down again. Maybe it is a growth spurt.

Baby Poo Question - has anyone had their little one do a hard poo yet? Or is everyone still getting that soft mustard poo? Don't know if I should be concerned or not but Danielle was very windy in the rear yesterday and didn't do her normal poo until 5pm just before her bath. When I took her nappy off I noticed a harder piece of poo than normal in her nappy. Is this normal or is it a sign that the formula is clogging her up? I'm going to ask the nurse on Friday but any advice would be great.

I'm getting a bit concerned - my boobs seem to be drying up. I was upset to start with that I couldn't breastfeed Danielle and she's only 5 weeks only and my boobs are drying up and I won't be able to give her expressed milk anymore. Does anyone know how to increase the milk flow again? I'm trying more frequent expressings but it doesn't seems to help.

I better go - we are off for lunch today at my aunty's new house. She's just like another Mum/friend to me. I love her to death.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Hi girls

Dylan had a visit to the MCHM today and we also got a letter inviting us to our parents group starting next Monday which will be good, although the nurse today told us we wouldn't be going until he was 6-8 weeks old and he will only be four weeks old but I am going I have been looking forward to the parents group. Anyway Dylan has grown three centimeteres and is 54.5cm, weighs 9pd 1oz which is past his birth weight which was 8pd 10oz and his head is now 38 cm and was at birth 37cm, what a little fatty! I have been told not to keep any of his 000 clothes for Sunday best as he will be out of them soon, how sad cos I have sooooo many 000 clothes and in fact he is still fitting a couple of his 0000 clothes but has grown out of two of his 0000 grosuits. We have laos been told he is very alert and advanced for his age, well we knew that. He is holding his head up already and looked straight towards the music when the nurse put it on as I was dressing him. We are very proud parents. Oooooh and he is sooo cute too.

Boybump I have the Avent Isis Manual pump and find it works very well for me, you just need to make sure that you put it together properly as per the instructions it comes with as I have put the seal in incorrectly before and it doesn't work when this isn't in properly. I usually lean forward when doing it and it looks as though it is pushing my breast in but this works the best. I do 5-6 quick pumps with it to start with to form a seal and then when I have doen this I alternate between slow pumps and quick pumps. This seems to work for me. You need to be seeing your breast/nipple being sucked into the petals and if this is happening you have a good seal and it should work. Also sometimes for me lots comes out and then not much and then lots in one session, I think this is natural. Be patient and it should work for you. I hope this helps but if you have any more specific questions feel free to ask.

Fee Sometimes Dylan does that frantic clawing thing at my boob too I am sure it is normal. He does that milk drunk/trance thing also. And he sometimes has been feeding every two hours and then overnight it can be four or five I can't keep up with him.

Bubseykel - How do you tell if your milk is drying up?

Hi,

I've just discovered this thread and am relieved to read that some of you are going through the same learning experience as I am!

Quick introduction : I gave birth to our new baby daughter, Sarina, on 7 July 2006 so she's 4.5 weeks old and every day is different with her! She had a tough entry into the world - being induced, having a 14 hour difficult labour and then emergency caesarean.

Yesterday, she was screaming on and off and I couldn't work out why. It would happen from a resting state or whilst she was dozing then suddenly a piercing scream would happen.

But today, she's been happy, relaxed and not struggled too hard to get to sleep.

I tried the hug-a-bub with her for the first time today and she fell asleep within 5 mins!

I've not really been doing a strict routine with her just feeding and playing and sleeping when she wants but was thinking of starting nightly baths with DH tonight.

What sort of routine did you have at 4.5 weeks - what worked best for you?

Kel -you best bet is to ring ABA - or ask Fiona (BBmember & ABA counsellor) - or ECN -try drinking more water, having Danielle nearby when you pump (for letdown) and also you can get medication to increase supply too. You are doing so well to perservere - and a wonderful job so don't give up.

welcome Roya and Sarina - my boys love the hugabub too - sanity saver !

welcome Roya - our routine is that we don't have a routine...... well we sort of do, but Charlie decides what he wants to do - at night we have a late evening feed (9pm or 10pm) and then an early morning feed (1am or 2am) and then morning feed (5am or 6am) - he doesn't vary much from those times for feeds - but the amount of time taken to settle him varies every night, sometimes only 10 minutes, sometimes hours. During the day he varies between 2 hour and 4 hour feeds depending on how settled he was the night before. So I guess that is a routine to a degree!

Bubs - I was a bit worried my milk was drying up my BBs seem very floppy and I don't seem to lactate everywhere before a feed anymore - but I think Charlie has had a growth spurt - he still seems to be getting milk, I know this because when I give a squeezy cuddle and kiss some milk oozes out of him..... perhaps I shouldn't squeeze so hard...

Fee - cute pic of Cooper in your ticker! he's so sweet looking!

Flooring is in, shelving is in - roofers just have to do final work around skylights and then we're finished - yaaaayyyyy - we can move furniture in on the weekend and that means we get the study back and perhaps we can live in a normal house again - without so much dust!

fingers crossed everyone has a good night tonight!

Em

Thanks for the pump advice everyone. I will try it all.
Bubs - The breastfeeding association has a website which has heaps of useful info on it as well as contact numbers for counsellors in each state.
Ben is still constipated from his day on formula yesterday - poor little chook is very windy and in a fair bit of pain from time to time.His last bowel movement was yesterday at 11am.He is only producing tiny skid marks every few hours now. I am hoping being back on the breast milk will help move it through as he is usually extremely regular (with very soft wet poos sometimes twice a feed). I do have some cooled boiled water in the fridge but Im not sure if I should give it to him .
Welcome Roya - I think the rule is there are no rules with newborns! Just go with the flow and relax and bubs will let you know what to do!

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I'm getting a bit concerned - my boobs seem to be drying up. I was upset to start with that I couldn't breastfeed Danielle and she's only 5 weeks only and my boobs are drying up and I won't be able to give her expressed milk anymore. Does anyone know how to increase the milk flow again? I'm trying more frequent expressings but it doesn't seems to help.

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The best thing you can do is too increase your expressing sessions. I know you say it doesn't seem to be helping but honestly just keep doing it. Even if you only pump for a few minutes at a go. you don't need to sit there with the pump attached all day. Do your normal pumping sessions & then add some more into them inbetween. You may like to try & do a "top up" pump about 1/2 an hour after you finish.
You may even like to look into the different natural remedies available to help increase your milk supply. Fenugreek tablets taken at 3 tabs 3 to 4 times a day helps some mothers. You need to take alot for them to work. BUt you should notice a difference with in 48 hours. If you look on the ABA website & search for GALACTAGOGUES in the breatfeeding information pages you will find some info on other prescription drugs available to help with milk production. One of the is maxalon. If you go to your GP with a print out of the info from the ABA website he should give you a scrpit for it.
Breastfeeding works on supply = demand, so the more milk you can take the more you will make. Also around 3 tp 6 weeks is when many mothers feel that their supply is dropping because they no longer feel "full" but often it is just because your breasts have gotten use to their new job & have settled down to making just what is needed. Also in the early days of bfing your breasts are also "fuller" feeling because of the increase in blood flow to lthem also. This also settles down giving you that empty feeling.
Rememeber lots of stimulation is the key.
HTH's

FionaJill - I started taking Fenugreek tablets yesterday and drinking heaps of water and seeing a slight improvement already. I'm managing to get 60mls per over night session (every 3-4 hours) instead of 20-40mls. She's just taking so much - this morning she wanted 180mls so I gave her the 60mls I had and had to give her 120mls of formula. I would rather swap it to the other way around. I found that a bit of massage helped. I'm going to stick with the naturals for a few days and see what happens. If I don't get any joy I'll make an appointment with the doctor (I'm going next week anyway for my 6 week checkup). Thanks for you advice Fiona and to Trish and Cle.

Cle - I think Danielle might be a bit constipated too. That's another reason I want to give her more breast milk. She's grizzly and windy and I haven't seen a decent poo since late Tuesday night. Hopefully there's one for me now.

Hi Roya - we don't have a routine. Once I think we've got one she changes it on me. The only one we really have is at night where I bath her around 5ish and feed her almost continuously (well it feels like it - every hour) until 8-9 then she goes to bed and hopefully stays there.

Cassie - Dylan is going great guns!! You must be very proud of him. For some reason everyone bought Danielle 00's so she's got heaps of clothes to grow into but she's got enough 000's to last - Mum (me) can't help buying things!!

Fee - I'm very upset with myself that it looks like drying up. I was very hard on myself that after breastfeeding her heaps that she wasn't getting enough and I had to express and now that I don't seems to get much out expressing either, I'm being very hard on myself again. I was very up beat and bubbly about everything - now I feel so upset and a bit depressed because of it all. Most of the ladies in my family had the problem so I knew I have it too but I so wanted to do it the right way but I can't. I'm trying to look on the bright side that at least she's getting enough now and growing but I still feel bad that I have to give her formula.

I have to go - she's grizzly again. I'll try and check back in later.

Kel - remember you are doing a great job and it is good your supply has improved, around 5-6 wks babies have a growth spurt too.So they demand more. Don't be upset -be proud of yourself. It doesn't matter she is getting some formula as you are giving her BM too.She is doing fine.

Thanks Fiona- I was trying to remember what those medicatiosn/Fenugreek were.

Fraser - great your renos are nearing the finish line.

Cassie - Dylan is doing well ... I agree don't save any clothes for best - they grow so quickly at this stage.

We don't have a routine either - they cry we change / feed / cuddle / play / hugabub (not necessarily in that order) and then they go back down ... and it starts again LOL. I don't know where the hours in day go.

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FionaJill - I started taking Fenugreek tablets yesterday and drinking heaps of water and seeing a slight improvement already.

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ABA recomends that you just drink to thirst. It has been shown that drinking too much can also have a bad effect on your milk supply. Personally I think its one of those things that would be different for everyone, but don't force your self to drink more then a normal healthy amount.

Good morning all,
Ben had some huge sleeps yesterday - from 11 -til 4pm yesterday and then last night from 9.30 til 3.30am. It will be nice if he decides to keep it up but I have a feeling its just a one off!

Bubs Try not to be too hard on yourself darl, know that you are doing the best you can. Being stressed and worrying won't help your milk supply either so try and relax ( I know it's easier said than done!). FionaJill's advice about increasing your expressing times sounds like a good idea. I hope you have a better day today and little Danielle has a poo soon - Ben has gone back to regularly filling his nappy to the brim. Seems to have developed a liking for his dummy too.
Have a good day everyone

FionaJill - I'm drinking more than I normally would as I ignore my thirst. I normally only drink 2 glasses a day but I do find myself more thirsty and just ignore it. We'll keep with it and see what happens.

Cle - Danielle had a poo this morning!! I'm so happy (it's funny to be happy when you see poo!). I have Danielle her dummy yesterday afternoon and she took it for about 10 mins and after that she spat it out. I tried it again last night when we were trying to eat dinner but she didn't take it at all. He had some good sleeps yesterday. Danielle had one when we went to the bank in her baby carrier and in the car. She's awake now but quietly playing (tummy time) on her play mat.

Trish - thanks for your kind words but I still feel upset. DH can see somethings wrong with me but I can't tell him. He's normally very understanding and I'm sure he'll be about this too but I know if I start to tell him I'll burst into tears like I am now. Luckily you can see me!!

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FionaJill - I'm drinking more than I normally would as I ignore my thirst. I normally only drink 2 glasses a day but I do find myself more thirsty and just ignore it. We'll keep with it and see what happens.

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I am the same. I don't drink any where the amount of fluids I should.
All I mean though is there is no need to exceed the recomended 8 glasses a day.

Hey Gorgeous Girls!

Kel- Big :hug: to you sweetheart! Man this motherhood thing is such an emotional roller coaster ride...I had a few issues with my breat milk drying up and my lactation nurse said...'express, express, express' so about 30mins after each feed..I express on the same breast I fed on and that really worked for me, plus I drink hepas of water....I now wake up with massive hooters every morning!Just know that we are all here for you Kel....and Im thinking of you babe! Have a chat to DH tonight ...Im sure it will make you feel better!

Roya- welcome! :hello: This is a great group of girls...Im sure you get alot about of it!

Em- hi sweet! Glad that those renos are almost done! I hope at the very least that the tradies are cute and that they massge your feet!

Cle- glad to hear that thinks are getting better!

Trish- your amazing...I often wonder how on earth I would manage with twins ...when Jensen seems to more than I can handle at times!! You must be so organised! Do you get much sleep?

Cass- how are ya honey? Hows things with DH? Is he still at home?

Things for us are great! Jensen is feeding well...and is settling a bit easier now at night...Ive been giving him a few drops of wind tonic at night and that seems to really help...plus I burp him alot more too...so when hes happy Im happy!

Quick question....Ive been washing all of Jensens clothes in Lux flakes which cost about $7.50 for a small box...b/c I was told that I shouldnt use normal laundry powder...what are you guys using??

love Cyn

hi all
things were going great for us until i woke up at 3am on Wednesday morning with Mastitis, it is so painful, tim had to take time off work yesterday and today to look after Madison, i had temps above 39 degrees, and achs and pains, and my boob is so sore, its very painful to feed her on that side, but i am startinf to feel a little bit better.
We went to the helath centre yesterday and Chalotte put on 195 grams in a week and she has grown 2.5 cms. She now weighs in at 3.495 kg's or 7 p11o.
Charlotte is still in 0000 clothes expect for bonds jumpsuits she is in 000, she will fit in 0000 for a while yet.

Bubs- you poor thing, i know what you are going through. I went through the same thing with Madison, but i couldn't even express for her, so she went on the bottle, you are doing very well.

Cyn- i just use normal washing powder but was her clothes by them self.

Charlotte has woken for a feed, must be off.

RoyaUK – Welcome to our group! And congratulations on the arrival of your daughter. We don't have a routine with Cooper. Basically when he wakes and cries I feed him! During the day I only let 4 hours go between feeds. So if he sleeps longer than I wake him (this doesn't happen that often). The midwives in the hospital told me to do this. He sleeps well at night though and can go up to 8 hours between feeds. DH baths Cooper every second night – just around a feed which is somewhere between 5-7 pm.

Fraser – Sounds like Charlie has a good little routine going there. Let's hope it continues!

boybump – Sorry to hear Ben is still constipated. I hope he improves soon! That's great he has been having such big sleeps!

Bubseykel – That's great you can see an improvement in your milk supply. Sometimes I wonder how mine is going. How can you really tell?! Cooper is wanting to feeding all the time at the moment and I'm not sure why.

Boisey – I use Amolin Sensitive Liquid for Cooper's things. But I have read that you do not need anything special for bub's clothes. You can just chuck them in with your washing.

kmh – Oh no about mastitis! Isn't it awful. I felt like I was going to die when I had it.

Kmh - you poor thing - hope you get over it soon.I heard it is very painful.

Cyn- we use Purity (liquid) on the boys clothes -sensitive and hypoallergic.

MY Dh feeds Joel during night and gets up to both. After first feed Samuel stays in bed - because we both fall asleep b/fing.Mum has been here in day time -but not today - so I felt (heard ) it when they both cried at once. I get about 6hrs overnight with 2-3 feeds in between.

boybump - yay on Ben's long sleeps

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Baiza - that's great - 500 grams - wowza! Is bottle feeding easier? seeing as you've done the breast and now the bottle - which is easier?

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i found bottle is easier because you can be more comfy when feeding you can eat wat ya wont to eat and drink wat you like as well baby is more full and happyer and sleeps better and someone else can feed bubs when you cant like hubby feeding in morning so you can sleep in when your out you dont have to flop out you boob to feed etc i found it easier

After a tough day yesterday it was a good night. I am thankful for that – Cooper is great at night. At least he has his day and night sorted. Yesterday he just wanted to feed, feed, feed. I felt like I was permanently stuck to the couch! But then last night he fed at 10.00 pm, 3.00 am and 6.30 am. And he settles down in his cot immediately after the feed. I wonder why it's different during the day?! I'd love to understand it! I'm hoping it's just a growth spurt.

After his 6.30 am feed he went straight down in his cot and then woke up 4 hours later on the dot for his 10.30 am feed. He then fed for 35 minutes! Much better than his 5-10 minute efforts of the last couple of days.

Unfortunately he grizzled and didn't want to sleep after that. He then had an hour sleep around 1.30 pm and woke up at 2.30 pm for his next feed. He is now sleeping soundly – yay! Hopefully he stays asleep until 6.30 pm.

Mark is picking up our Baby Bjorn carrier tonight. Hopefully we like using it. I think it will be handy for when Cooper won't settle. Then I can carry him around the house in it and still do other things. We are going to test it out tomorrow when we go grocery shopping. I haven't wanted to take the pram to Coles. I really miss grocery shopping with Mark!

Tulip – Sorry to hear about Lucas. I hope everything is okay when you take him to the doctors.

Baby~amore – You and your DH are doing a great with the boys. It must be such hard work. I definitely admire anyone with twin babies as it seems so tough with just one baby!

Baiza – Glad to hear it's working well with the bottle feeding. The only thing that seems like a pain to me is all the sterilising. Otherwise it sounds quite easy!

fee the sterilising is quiet easy there are machines that can sterilis your bottles and i find it easier with the water you make up bottles the night befor for how many youll need for the dayand the same time every night you change water sterilis bottles then make up wat you need for the next day it great i love it

Hi girls,

Just a quick check in today. My milk supply has definately improved and it's almost back to the way it was when I started expressing. As Cyn puts it, I woke up with 'massive hooters' this morning. They felt like they were before - hard and full. Looks like the extra water and Fenugreek tablets are all helping. I feel a whole lot better now.

Danielle had a weigh in today again - another 300gms - now up to 4.45kilos. Everyone said she's big for her age. We also went to a Parenting Expo today. Not much there so I didn't really enjoy it but it was good to go out.

I've been called up for Jury Duty!! Do you think I'll be excused being a full time carer for Danielle??

I better run. DH and I had a barney on the phone earlier about his new mobil phone. He bought a flip phone but the buttons have scratched the screen so I've taken it back now twice and finally came to an agreement with the store that they'll give us the new modle but it doesn't come with a hard cover case yet. So DH spat it at me that I took this new phone. So I told him to sort it out himself and take it back tomorrow but now he tells me he's going out tomorrow! First I heard about it I told him. So we left it at that. Seems like I can't do anything right!!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Hi girls

Geez it is hard to get on to do a post I do have the time to read everything but then to actually write a post it can be impossible, on well that comes with having a baby I suppose. One of my older friends from work came to visit us yesterday and bought Dylan so many presents you would think she was his grandma, and she was wearing so much prefume that he stank all day until I changed his outfit. Plus she was kissing him heaps which is kinda ok I guess but then she licked her finger and smoothed his hair do you think she went a bit far? Should I be grossed out? I don't even think I would like my own mother doing that to him. Am I being overprotective? I really appreciate the interest and the visit and gifts but that was a bit much.

Fee I use a sling with Dylan and he settles really well in it so I hope your baby bjorn helps with Cooper, I think it should.

Boisey I am going well and yes DH is still at home, he has one afternoon a week work with a friend which is good and he is playing gigs (he is a guitarist) which sometimes pay. The plan is he will be looking for full time work early next year as he is getting some of his super money which should last us til the end of the year. Thanks for asking. I am using normal washing powder which doesn't appear to be affecting Dylan's skin so far. We were told by our MCHN to get wind drops too but haven't go them yet will get some over the weekend.

KMH Sorry you have mastitis hope you are feeling better soon.

Tulip Dylan like to lay on my chest too. Have you tried Lucas on his tummy on a flat surface? That seems to calm Dylan down if he has wind and also carrying him in an airplane position on his front helps too.

Boybump Hope Ben is doing ok and you are feeling better.

Fraser Yay for your house starting to come together. I wouldn't worry about your milk as my BBs seem to go floppy at times too and then Dylan feeds and seems to get heaps.

Babyamore We don't have a routine as such yet either every day it is different. I am worried Dylan won;t have worn all the 000's by the time he grows out of them. We were given a size 1 outfit for him for next winter and it just looks so huge I can't believe he will ever be that big.

Bubs Dylan's got lots of 000s and quite a few 00s may have to buy some more of them once he is in them.

Yay have finally done my ticker properly with a photo, I figured it out yayayayay!

Bye all.

:hello:
well i am feeling a whole lot better, thanks to everyone sending your well wishes. feeding is not hurting so much today which is great. Charlotte is sleeping really well, last night it was 9:30pm, 12pm, and then 5am. i settled her in her cot last night until about 2am then she was in bed with us. she seems to be streching her feeds by 1/2 hour during the day.

Bubs- i am so happy that you milk is increasing, i have started to take milk thislie (spel) as i think my milk is starting to decrease in my right boob which i had mastitis in, as i have expressed before a feed and only got about 15 mls out of that side and then got about 50mls out of the other side, so hopeful with the masititis clearing up my milk supply will increase.

Biazar- glad to see this are going well for you.

Tulip- i hoe things improve with lucas, i have a swing that i use for Charlotte she is asleep in there at the moment and loves it also Madison loved it too, its great when they are unsettled.

Caais- i wouldn't be happy with anyone licking their fingers and rubbing their fingers through Charlottes hair.

Fee- Can you let me know if you like your Baby Bjorn carrier, i have been looking at them for Charlotte.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, tim is at work at the moment and madison is with my mum until tomorrow night so its just me and charlotte at the moment. Also i have lost 14 -15 kilos i am so happy

Hi guys,

ohmigod what a day - Charlie would NOT settle at all - bit colicky - Mum got me some infacol and that seems to have done the trick - so tired - only got two hours sleep last night and then dealing with him crying all day today - I feel like a zombie - but I don't want to go to bed for some reason

frustrated with SIL - my bestest friend is over from Melbourne - there's a long story in there surrounding SIL and hanging around talking about breasts and 'feeding' when I just wanted to spend time with my friend - too long to go into - might write it up on the Boo Hoo forum later to get it off my chest

KMH - who hoo on the weight loss! that's fantastic. Hope you're feeling less ouchy

Cassie - My aunt cuddled Charlie for an hour or so and then for the rest of the day he smelt of her perfume - it was nice at first but then over powering - yes I think licking your finger and smoothing hair down on a baby that you're not blood related to is a little OTT

Bubs - did you work stuff out with your DH? I would tell him to shove his phone you know where..... Good to hear Danielle is doing so well and the one stop tuck shop is working again!

Fee - you wont know yourself once you get the Baby Bjorn - we have a Quinny front pack and a hug-a-bub - Charlie settles right away once he pops into one of them

Hey Tanya - Hang in there, you know you're doing a great job - I think it will be a while before any of us can think straight again! Is it wind? have you tried Infacol?

Cyn - I just wash Charlie's clothes in normal washing liquid (Surf I think) Start as you mean to go on is my motto - may as well use normal stuff now - he'll have to get used to it at some stage

Trish - you're a gun! - I don't know how you do it with two - I'm struggling with one!

Cle - fingers crossed that Ben decides to keep that routine!

I'm off to watch the Bombers beat C'wood........

have a great weekend all - Em.

Bubseykel - I am sure you would be excused as a breast feeding mum of an infant.Great you have hooters again - I have a great emoticon on MSN of hooters that is.

KMh - hope your mastitis has heard the call ... it's time to go ... and your milk comes back in gallons.

I am just checking in quickly off for a bath with DH while the boys hopefuly sleep. A friend gave us some radox bath salts/ foaming stuff etc so better try it out so I can thank her properly.

Em - things were OK with DH until this morning. He had a really bad day yesterday and that's why he was so cranky. We went food shopping and to the chemist to sign my Jury Duty Excusal form and get some Colic Relief which is meant to help with wind as Danielle has heaps on wind. After buying it I put it in the trolley and we did our food shopping. DH put the groceries in the car and I put Danielle in. I unpacked the shopping and started to feed Danielle when I asked him where's the colic stuff? He said I took it out the trolley and put it in the car. I said no - I put Danielle in the car and he put the shopping in. He checked the car and it wasn't there. He told me it was a silly place to put it and I told him it wasn't hard to take it out the trolley and put in the car. He stormed out and he's off to his mate's place to work on a car now. I'm so angry and so upset. I'm so game to gather a few of mine and Danielle's things and go for the night but I know it will be worse later. He makes me feel so bad. All we seem to have done for the last 2 days is fight and argue. On these talk shows ladies have written in saying all they seem to do is fight after a new baby is born. I can't believe it's happening to us now after I asked him when I heard that is do we fight heaps now. I know I shouldn't be spilling on here but I don't know who else to talk to.

We weighed Cooper at home last night. I just jumped on the digital scales and then I jumped on with Cooper and just subtracted the amount. He's now 4.3 kg at age 3w4d. We will be going to the clinic for his 4 week check up on Tuesday. So hopefully he's put on a bit more by then. He was 4.02 kg at his 2 week check up.

Baiza – Sounds like you have a good routine with your bottles and sterlising. Makes it sound quite easy!

Bubseykel – Yay for your improved milk supply. That's fantastic. You must be so relieved. As for Jury Duty, I would imagine you could be excused. I got called up once and I just got my work to write me a letter! How are things going with your DH? Settling down at all?

Cassie – Poor Dylan being smothered by your older work friend. I would be a bit grossed out too I think! BTW your ticker looks great. Dylan is very cute!

kmh – Glad to hear you're feeling better. And yes I'll let you know about the Baby Bjorn. I haven't tried it out yet but DH wore it this morning at Coles. Cooper was asleep the whole time. DH just loved it – he looked so proud walking around!

Fraser – How is Charlie today? How do you tell a baby has colic?

Baby~amore – Hope you got your relaxing bath with DH!

Hey Bubs - I would say if you both had a full nights sleep under your belts then it would be different.

I find myself getting snappy with SImon over stupid things - he doesn't do things the way I want them done, or he can happily sit in front of the computer and ignore the fact that Charlie is screaming his head off. I get so so mad at him - but I force myself to not say anything to his face - I try and remove myself from the situation and look at it from a different angle - deep breaths - what's the worst thing that could happen, you or your DH have to jump in the car and go and buy some more Colic stuff. It's so hard but I think the only thing you can do is change your reactions to what your DH does - you're not going to be able to change the way your DH handles things - that's up to him.

Has your DH had a good nights sleep since Danielle was born? last week I let Simon sleep from 6pm until 5am - and it made the world of difference in how he handled things - he was calmer which made me calmer. I know it seems unfair because you can't get a full nights sleep - but hey if one of you can then you may as well.

It's so hard to laught stuff off when you're really tired - but if your DH told you it was a silly place to put something, when you weren't pregnant or had Danielle how would you have normally reacted? told him to f*ck off or laughed in his face and agreed with him? Try not to take things to heart and accept you are not in the right frame of mind to make big decisions like packing stuff up and taking off.

You'll be fine, I bet it's just a rought patch.

Chin up! Em