Babies Born July 2007 #7

[Ngala]

Thnks for all your opinions everyone!! I will probably FF for that weekend. I am sure Avaleigh will have no probs going back on the boob but I will test it out the month before the wedding, just in case she doesnt need it and I will need to madly express!! I would express, but I find it soooo boring and just dont have the time these days.

So when is everyone planning on introducing solids??? I guess the norm is about 6 months? My mum said that I could start giving Avaleigh a teeny taste of apples and bananas but I am not too sure if I want to, might be a little early?!?!

[Michaels Mum]

hey all - i jump off for a day and omg 4 pages pop up - i've been madly doing wedding stuff - 3mths to go and i'm already panicing - how are the other brides to be?

Sara - Michael has developed an obsession with his tongue as well - i thought it was one my friends kids had taught him but then realise he was rubbing his gums as well as playing games - he'll poke his tongue at you until you poke back and he giggles his head off then starts again - i thinks its all part of discovering different things

Sacha - thanks for the advise with the needles - i think i'll wait til i get back to take him (that and df will be home to play the bad guy and help me - not michael - through the trauma - I HATE needles at the best of times - i was a mess with michaels first lot)

V - i bf michael til he was about 2mths and then i just dried up and had no choice but to ff - i had planned on bf for 6-12mths but thems the breaks - i miss it terribly and i think michael does too - he still roots around occassionally when he's on my chest - you have no need to worry they still carry the instinct so a few days ff wont hurt

megan - michael has his good days and bad - there are days where he only has two naps of about 2-3 hours then others where he'll sleep 2-3 time for 20 min or so between feeds (they are usually the nights where he wakes around 4 in the morning - can't wait to finally get rid of them)

well ladies i bid you adu - happy days

[Tracey]

V, This is purely my opinion so take it with a grain of salt..
I'd express a bottle a day starting now & freeze it to give her EBM during the wedding, plus you will have to express the day of the wedding atleast once or twice anyways (if your not gonna be able to feed her in the dress), due to engorged breasts if you dont...
I would avoid the formula as it will/can then mess with your supply & you will probably then regret it.?
also I'd not advise introducing any solids/apples etc at this young age, esp not sweet foods or she wont then try blander foods later on, like veggies..

I will be introducing solids after 6mths if Zy seems interested, I also hope to breastfeed him til 2yrs, I got to 14mths with Indah 2-3 feeds a day still, but when I found myself preg with Zy she refused the breast, as we arent having anymore, I plan to feed my baby (hee hee) as long as possible...

Sacha, I have taken fenugreek tabs to assist in breastmilk & also a drink of aktavite, but I drank it early on with Zy & it xcaused a severe reflux reaction, so I have avoided a lot of dairy since, I demand feed him & let him suck whenever as the more he feeds the more milk I make.
He sleeps 6-7hours at night & I feed when he wakes in the night, but when he wakes at 7amish he plays for an hour or so before wanting another feed...So offering brwast more pften will increase your supply..

I am off to mchn shortly...to see how big the boy is now..

ok bbl...

Mel how's jacks reflux?

[mrscricket]

Hi everyone! Well, dinner was lovely - fresh garden vegies, yummy dessert etc but gosh i dont know if i am hormonal or something but i had to bite my tongue so many times. MIL has started speaking to me thru Tom, saying things like, "Has Mummy got enough milk for you?" Clearly not, thats why i have to supplement feed with formula! Dont get me wrong, she is lovely but sometimes she just doesnt think before she speaks!

Ok, little vent over. Sorry about that!
Sacha, Tom loves drinking his bath water. It is a battle to keep his head above water some nights. He licks at it like a little cat drinking milk.

Zofia - good luck with looking for a new job. My work is making noises about me coming back, which i am trying to ignore. Some days i think i would love to go back - just to have a bit of adult conversation! I will think about it properly after Christmas.
Megan, isnt it funny when they do those big sleeps and you weren't expecting it. I wish babies came with a timer on them that showed 'today i am going to sleep for 2 hours and 40 minutes - sit down and relax mummy!'

Now just a personal question - is anyone else's hair starting to fall out?? Mine is falling out by the handful all of a sudden. I had it cut and coloured a few weeks ago and loved it, now it is like straw. i dont have very thick hair- I fear i am going bald! I did read that this would happen, but its one of those things you pray wont happen to you!
Good luck to all the girls that are getting married! It makes me want to do my wedding all over again (with the same husband of course, unless Brad Pitt wants to dump Angie).

Have a good day mums and babies x

[BhoysGirl]

Hi Em – how was dinner at your PIL?

Mel - how are you feeling today? Did you manage to get a bit of sleep in, or did you just pack boxes? I feel so sorry for you, packing up is such a hideous job, cos just when you think you’ve done most of it, stuff appears from nowhere…I think that there’s an evil packing fairy that creates work.

Tracey – woo hoo on Zyon rolling, and great to hear that his reflux has settled. Maybe it was the holiday that did it for him  This could be just me, but I get excited about going to the MCHN, cos I love seeing how much he’s grown, so I hope your visit is good.

Megan – I’m a bit behind with all the pram talk, but I know that Liam won’t sleep in the pram unless I’ve put a sheet over it, to cut out all outside stimulation. He used to scream in it after about 10-15 minutes, but is getting better.

Relle – congratulations on becoming a fully fledged Doula.

V – I’m going to BF Liam for as close to 12 months as I can, or as he will take it. I’ll be introducing solids at the 6 month mark. I know that in the olden days (like 20-30 years ago), they were putting kids onto solids from around 3 months, but these days I think the theory is that their digestive systems aren’t really ready for it this early, and that 6 months is about the right time. I’ve also heard that babies “tell” you when they’re ready for solids – by being able to sit unsupported by themselves (which Avaleigh is doing??), and by looking really really interested in what you’re putting into your mouth when you eat.

Sacha – how hysterical that Autumn likes to drink her bath water, so cute!! I have heard that Guiness is good for bringing milk in when they’re born, but hadn’t heard that it increases production afterwards, but maybe by extension it would. I’m an aktavite girl myself.

Well – we had our first all night sleep a few nights ago, from around 7.30 to 7am. When I say we, it was just Liam, cos I woke up at around 2am with a really sore back, and couldn’t really get back to sleep comfortably, plus, by about 5.30am my bb’s were ready to explode. We then followed the all nighter up with wanting to feed every 2 hours or so over the next 2 nights, which wasn’t so good. But last night he made it through from 7 until 5, which is much more civilised.

[Tracey]

back from MCHN, we had Indah's 2yr & Zy's 3mth checks..

Indah is great & her spedch is amazing appatrently (drives me nuts) but putting 5-6 words together in sentences.. Everything else is perfect too..

Zyon now weighs 6.4kgs... ( I knew he was a big chubster!) He is still a short ass, but oh well... good things come in small pkgs!?

all in all was a good appt...

[kungfubecca]

Hi all,

Em, Lol on your bubs sleeping al day and changing their own nappy. Xavier would be getting pretty good at it by now if he did, we go through so many. At least your hubby tells his own mum how it is, so many are too scared to. Next time he can suggest his mum starts saving for all the dental work your bubs would need with that much sugar.

Megan, I do feed Xavier when he wakes at night, but he so rarely wakes before about 5am that it's time to feed anyway.

Danielle, well done oscar on rolling over. Can I ask everyone, when your bubs started rolling did they show signs they were getting close or was did it just happen one day?

Veronica, Hmm, I hoping to still be feeding after I return to work, and hopefully will be able to express to do so. this will be about january at the moment. Don't know how i'm going to manage yet. But you wouldn't need to express 4 days worth of milk before the wedding, because you will need to express out what your not using, or risk leaking in your wedding dress. Maybe enlist your mums help so each time you need to express she can collect the milk and make sure it's stored well, then Avaleigh can have fresh milk every day. You would just need to have one days worth, plus some spare as a back up and then put the formula on standby. Just make sure you express just before you put your dress on oh and you can half half mix your formula and ebm, but once mixed if not drunk you have to dump it, even if ebm was fresh.

Sacha, I hope you enjoy your hair cut. I just left DH with several small containers of ebm so they could be drunk either all at once or on semi demand. It does feel great to get stuff done, however I can't be bothered straightening mine everyday, so I don't look quiet so spesh anymore. I know lots of 4 month olds that have been started on some solids at the advice of MCHN because BB milk wasn't filling them up. They seem to advise starting solids at their discretion. on licking bath water. I'm not sure about the guiness, 'cause you would have to follow it up by dumping some of your milk. Besides the Irish will use any excuse for a good drink

With Solids, I would too wait till 6 months. However as I said above the MCHN seem to recommend at their discretion, and usually to start off with a bit of rice cereal, probably because it is much easier to digest, and the reason for changing the starting solids age to 6months was because the bubs tummy is not mature enough yet. And also as Tracey said you don't want to introduce sweet things right away, apparently they sometimes reject the savory. I've heared sweet potato is a good starting point.

Tracey great news on the kids. Clever little indah. Does she speak english and Indonesian?

well My lil man seems to be sleeping,makes little cry noises every now and then. Had to take a break half way through this to shush and dummy him back to sleep. He isn't fond of the dummy, but takes it half the time, enough to keep me sane.

[Tracey]

Ve, if you are gonna be drinking at your wedding then you will have to pump & dump so it may be worth having some frozen EBM on hand!

When I was feeding Indah & returned to work I expressed 3 bottloes per ady whilst @ work for the follwoing day but at 1 stage we had about 2-3litres of EBM in the freezer! So far I have about 1 litre in freezer as I am only going back to work for 4 hours a night in Jan, so hopefully Zyon will be asleep during those 4 hours & less need to express!?


The girls can speak a little bit of Indonesian, I have actually told Dh to only speak Indo at home, but ofcourse it doesnt happen!?

Zyon hates tummy time & so his rolling came outta the blue, he just did it!??? So there was no huge lead up to it! LOl

[Megan76]

I officially cannot keep up!! Thanks to everyone for getting back to me re the sleeping and feeding stuff...seems like they all have little minds of thier own when it comes to day time sleeps! We had a great night last time...9pm - 8.15am woo hoo! Will not get used to it though as he changes every night at the moment!!

V- i was a bit naughty and tried to give lucas some rice cereal when he was sick cos he wasn't taking the bottle, but he screwed his face up and had no idea what to do with the spoon---definately not ready!! I think you are fine to ff for the wedding. I did both for a bit and he was fine. I hope you are not getting too stressed, i was a massive stress head before mine...so much to do!

Em - my hair is ridiculous, falls out in chunks! My friend told me its really common around the 3 month mark due to something the hormones are doing. BTW my MIL does my head in too, she is convinced Lucas isn't sleeping through the night cos he is not taking rice cereal yet, cos of course her kids did!!

Jan - don't you hate it when your baby sleeps and you don't - happens all the time!

Tracey - glad all the kids checks went well! Lucas is a chubba too!

Sorry that's all my mummy brain can remember now, must get back to Oprah...

One thing....if your babies sleep through till 7ish, how many feeds do you do a day? Lucas normally feeds four hourly (he is formula fed) and if that's the case i only fit four in but not sure if that is enough and if i should squeeze another in? Also, how do you get babies to bed by 7 (very respectable) and still get enough feeds in????????????

[Tracey]

Megan, the side of the tin of Form,ula should say the amount of feeds per bottle or something?? hee hee
I demand feed, some days I feed every 2hours & others it's every 4-5hrs!??? I just go with the flow!

[Megan76]

Thanks Tracey, it does say 5 but sometimes it is hard to fit them in, if he is not hungry, he's not hungry and he just talks through the bottle--very cute, funny and frustrating!!

[mrscricket]

Megan, i have the same problem as you now that Tom has changed his sleeping pattern. To put him down at 7pm he only has 4 feeds and i just dont think its enough. I was wondering maybe if i should start waking him at 10pm for a bottle. Just not sure how he would like that though..

[Tracey]

If they are gaining weight & have wet nappies & are content I'd say they are fine... I guess the tin is just a guide???

[Megan76]

Em - i know its a tough one! I hate waking him and find that if we do he ends up unsettled anyway.....i just feel like 9pm is too late for bed but who knows! How long does Tom sleep if he goes down at 7pm?

[mrscricket]

He was sleeping from 7pm-7am, but now i have found he is waking at 4am. He was sleeping on the couch in Dale's arms from about 7pm to 9pm before being put in his own bed, so Dale could have cuddles after work, but now that he has started cricket training (grrr!), its just me home in the evening so i put him in his cot at 7. I might see how he goes over the next few days.
I think i forgot to order the baby that comes with a manual on how to work it

[Megan76]

Tell me about it! If he is sleeping from 7 - 7 i would not worry about the 5th feed at all! He must be content if he's not waking so that is just awesome. 4am is not the best of time though is it! Do you normally feed him if he wakes then? I hate waking Lucas and have found that if we do and try to feed around 10pm he just gets unsettled anyway. I know how you feel about cricket training, Daniel has basketball and i hate it when i don't get a break of a night!! Is Tom bottle or boob?

[mrscricket]

If he wakes at 4, i normally feed him. I try to stick the dummy in, but he generally spits it out and then i know he is really hungry. I get up and feed him & watch the American Today show! Once he is feed, he goes back down and sleeps until about 7-8am.
Tom is actually both BF and bottle. My supply just wasnt enough for him and i tried expressing etc but it just didnt work for me, so i started supplementing with formula. I think it wont be much longer until he is completely on the bottle. Tom has reflux and just keeps down so much more of the formula milk. When i breastfeed him it tends to come straight back up.

[Ngala]

hey everyone.

Thanks for all your thoughts regarding my wedding and how long you will all be breastfeeding for. Sounds like a lot are in for the long haul!!

i am planning to be drinking on my wedding day so that is why I am finding it so difficult to figure out what to do.... this is my weekend...

Friday - hens party
Saturday - day spa with my sister, not sure what is planned for night but I will be staying at mums house
Sunday - ceremony at 3.30pm and reception at 6pm through to midnight

So yes, On sunday I am going to need to express and dump my milk and I probably only need to do this until 10pm as Avaleigh sleeps through the night. But how long would I need to wait for all the alcohol to be out of my system to bf?? Would i need to have enough milk stored for the monday or will I be able to feed normally?? And I guess the same thing would go for the saturday after my hens party...

What would be the best way to store EBM?? I bought some airtight containers that would store maybe 500mls or more.. would that be ok and we just thaw out one container at a time????

Megan - I am actually not too stressed about the wedding!! I am fairly calm and maybe I feel like its
really not happening??!! LOL I was like that before Avaleigh was born too..

Anyway, better go, at mums at the moment so I feel rude being on her laptop!