Babies born in June 2006 #7

Still dealing with an unsettled babe here...still feeding very poorly...I am almost 100% it is the reflux, just need to find a new way of dealing with it.

Dee, I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. DH and I have never fought as much as we did the first 6 mths of DS's life. We couldn't believe how hard it was, and were angry that noone ever tells the truth...all you hear is "oh, babies are such a joy" but when you have an unsettled one, as much as you love them, it is the complete opposite of joy. We thought we resolved all the issues ready for Freya's arrival, but we are still having the same arguments, just not as often. I have to say though that your DF sounds like he is making it hard for you...you have 2 babies to look after instead of one. Please don't worry about venting in here, do it as much and as often as you like.

Bath, congrats on your new niece, look forward to hearing the details!

Freya crying, be back soon...

Hi girls,

Sorry to barge in but I need some advice from Mums with bubs similar ages to my Scarlett, she is 11 weeks today.

My concern is that when I put her on her tummy to play, she really doesn't lift her head much. I am starting to worry that there may be something wrong??

Could you lovely ladies please tell me what stages your precious bubs are up to in regard to lifting their heads???

Thanks so much

Alicia xxx

Hi Alicia, no need to apologise :) You're most welcome to join us anytime... sorry I might not be of much help in easing your mind though: my 3 children were all born with unusually strong necks. Niall, like the others hold his up well however will occassionally fling his head backward when we are holding him upright so we've got to be careful. When he is on his tummy he can hold himself up and look around. Now this is just one end of a spectrum of normal neck strength... I'd say Scarlett has a few weeks to go yet until it would be considered a concern. what does your MCHN say?

Jo: Thanks :) When I know more details I'll post them... only spoke with my BIL... who said both mum and bub are well... (it was an induction due to being 10 days overdue) and that Ebony has pitch black hair like her siblings. I'll speak to my sis next week no doubt and get all the important details!

hi girls:

Bath - most of DFs mates are single which doesnt help my case, i try to tell him that i need a bit more help but he cant understand why, dont get me wrong i dont want you all to think that DF is a monster he is a lovely man.we are having a few difficulties making ends meet whic is causing us both alot of worry on top of everything else. DF did help out alot in the beginning but now thinks that i should be doing more around the house. the only thing is that lachlan is no more settled than when we bought him home from the hospital! im sure this will all work out, im just glad that i have you ladies, all my friens and family are in sydney so its not like i can just call in and see mum for a break etc.

alica - lachlan doesnt lift his head a great deal, i wouldnt worry, scarlett will do it when she is ready. good luck.

jo - i know what you mean about the reflux, i think this is mostly why lachlan is so unsettled, have you tried zantac? it didbt really work for me but it has for heaps of people. Also, when lachlan is in alot of pain and quite distressed i give him mylanta. sometimes i give it to him just after a feed. this seems to help a bit too. oh and keep it in the fridge, its really soothing on their little throats.

oh forgot to say congrats Bath!!!!!

Hi ladies!

Aleise is stirring so I won't be long.

Dee Sorry to hear about your DF - sounds like he needs a good slap on the head. If he were mine I'd tell him I'd be on laundry strike and he'd have to do his own! I've threatened Matt a bit with that one!

Candy: The world is full of highly opinionated people - sorry to hear your mum is one of them. Just tell her you know what's best for your kid!

IK: Good on you for being able to fit into old jeans - just don't remind us too often chickster - I've still got my jelly belly and my gym has the good classes when Matt's at work so I need to organise a babysitter to attend. Am going for walks though.

Bath: Ohhh a formal occassion - how nice! hope you have fun darls.

Update on me: NOt much to report really - poppett is doing well and for the first time in ages she woke at 3am for a bottle today. I think its because she didn't have much before her bedtime last night. We only have a week until her Baptism and it looks like 30 people will be attending. Ordered the cake today and it will be special since we've kept the flowers from our wedding cake for the occassion! (yes after 10yrs in the freezer they're still good). Well no biggie plans for the weekend - just our local church fete so that will be fun. We always win some alcohol at their lucky ticket van - whoo hoo!

Hope everyone is doing well. Take care and will catch up soon. :)

Oh yeah I forgot - Thanks Bath for the compliment of the ticker photo - but those chubby arms in the pic are my MIL's as she was giving Aleise a bath last time she was here.

Tulip - what was the medication that they put lucas on? was it Zantac? i tried that with lachlan and it didnt make much difference (probably because he spat most of it out each time, it tastes grose) im glad you are having an easier time, babies are supposed to be enjoyed!!

Neeny - hmmm laundry strike eh? i think ill try that one!!and as bath said, it is a gorgeous piccie!!

Ok, question for all you ladies that have other children. Have any of you breastfed one and bottle fed another and did you find that there was any difference. the reason i ask is because everyone is telling me to put lachlan on a bottle and he will be more settled but im a bit hesitant. Do bottlefed babies still have the colic/reflux problems and are they still unsettled?

i sometimes think that i should just do it, its the one thing that i havent tried yet and ill just be so happy if it works but on the otherhand ill be devastated if he is still really unsettled hmmm what to do what to do!
Is it possible to do breast and bottle?

Dee, please, please, please call the Australian Breastfeeding Assoc Breastfeeding Hotline before you even experiment with bottle feeding. I have had a busy night, but meant to advise this anyway, seeing as you were interested in giving the mini-pill a go. If you milk supply does diminish, call the ABA about re-lactating. It's a little known fact, but most woman can relactate if they have boobs! Many people think you need to fall pregnant but it's not so. Go to the ABA website and get info . It is so important to have the right information or you'll end up upset unnecessarily, or for longer than necessary. I woudn't have half the breastfeeding confidence I have if I wasn't in touch with my local group, thanks to DP's aunt and uncle who subscribed me - but you DON'T have to be a subscriber to call them up and get help. It might, however, help you to subscribe and have a local group to catch up with and bounce ideas off at other times. I have made some great contacts already (even some farming contacts!) and know that if I'm at wits end, I've not only got a hotline, but people with faces and names I can call on any time who live nearby.
No-one wants to think of their partner as a monster, and I'm sure, Dee, that yours is not! It does, however, sound like he needs to give you the hell a break. Women stopped happily (although unhappily) doing ALL the work in the house a long time ago. Many men say they do an equal share in the house...but when it comes down to it, they're dreaming. My own DP realises this now, after he took on the washing and the 'cooking' (mainly reheating, or just frying up stuff)...never mind the regular vacuuming, kitchen and bathroom cleaning, folding laundry, grocery shopping (he never had to do this after Oscar was born), and the list goes on of things they don't see but get done pre-children. Your DF may not be a monster, but he sure sounds like an oaf! My own DP has had oafish moments, but he's starting to see the light...
Had a LOVELY impromptu dinner party tonight! whipped up a roo stroganoff, enjoyed wine and now everyone's gone and there's not even a huge clean up to do.
Ok, DP's gone up the road with Oscar in the hug a bub to get MIL's dog for the weekend.
Better finish the kitchen and have a long cool drink before they return!

Hi everyone, well I'm nearly better, I ended up having Pharyngitis. Kids loved it as I lost my voice and could speak let alone yell, lol.
No real personals, Hi to those who have poped in hope to see you around more.
This is my candid opinion.:eek: :hugs:
Donna, I recognise the behaviour your DH is displaying it is called "Nose out of joint itis" lol. Or a little case of sibling rivalry (I don't care how good they can be they never grow up)
He's jealous and resentful of your attention being taken up by the new man in your life. It is very common for first time dads to feel this way. He used to be your entire world and now he's not. He now has to share you and he doesn't like it. And may even be resentful towards Lachlan. For taking you away from him.
Michael had a case of this and a little touch of denial (No I'm not a Dad I'm a big boy) lol. when I had Brianna. He would come home from work long enough to drop off the lunch box and pick up the golf clubs, come home just on dark and say what's for dinner, eat, shower and fall asleep infront of the telly. I mean I was only home all day by myself with a screaming baby. It lasted for a couple of months until I really let him have it and confronted him about the issues, He saw what I was saying was true and came to his senses somewhat, lol. You need to include him in your activities, Don't get him to do things get him to help you do things and soon he'll be doing them for himself and loving it. Maybe get him a couple of books about becoming a dad (Can find some good ones at the library)
I really don't think they (MEN) really have the capacity to understand fully the attachment we have with our children especially those first few months. We are totally consumed by them and have to be and they don't like it. They are the biggest kids we have and they need to feel nurtured and loved and appreciated by us.
I think they get better with each one. Michael's a great husband and father, he's very hands on and will do any and everything for his kids and I think he know gets that I am very thinnly spread although I try to make him feel loved and appreciated, the kids come first.
Now contraception, No the mini pill shouldn't dry your milk up. It a very common choice for breastfeeding mothers as it is safe to use and shouldn't effect your milk. EDIT... Just wanted to add that it is a sensitive form of contraception and needs to be taken at the same time each day or it will not be effective and you may fall pregnant.
I have the mirena inserted. It is excellent, I had a little cramping on the first evening and a little bleeding but that has all subsided. I still haven't had a period and no I'm not pregnant, lol. Well Nate's up so I better go see what the problem is, I'm betting on a stinky butt. lol
Night girls
Dee

Yup stinky butt it was. I'll have to go and feed him and go to bed myself very shortly but wanted to add
Donna I have breast and bottle fed my children and yes they still get colicy with the bottle and actually I think they are worse with the bottle as formula tends to be heavier and harder to digest. I have comp fed (Both at same time) and my milk dried up . Have you tried the activite recipe or that root herb thing, thinking thinking Fennelgeek??
supposed to boost your supply. I swaer by the activite . Although this week used sustagin as there was no activite at the shops. Personally I believe my milk is richer and certainly ample There is a thread about it in the breastfeeding/bottle feeding forum. Recipe is 1 litre of skim Milk, 1 cup of skim milk powder and 1 cup of Activite, mix together and drink over the day or two. I have used full cream milk and powder and sustagen this week since we didn't have the other stuff at our shop IGA. Milk is still ample and baby is very contented. Talk to a Maternal health Nurse, or a Lactation Consultant or ring the ABA as IK has suggested. It's worth a go before you change and possibly regret it. In saying that it is totally your own choice whether you breast or bottle feed so don't feel pressured either way. Do what you feel is right for you and yours.
Hi IK
Bye Girls
Dee

hi girls,
HUGS to you Dee - my sister was in the same situation when her first was born, I guess Men have difficulty in knowing that it will not always be like this, soon the sleepless nights will be because they have taken the car and it is past midnight! Perhaps you can explain this to your DH, that just for the next few months you need a bit of help, a bit of slack, you know he is tired but so are you, together you can get through this..dinner may need to be late for a while, the house not clean, the sex not as regular - but is a a temporary situation that you can get throught together.... ********HUGS*********

Congrats to your sister Baths - how cool for you.. wish my sister and I had bubs similar ages. They will be great cousins.

Nenny - I hope Aleise's Baptism goes well..I'm getting Alexandra baptised in late January at the same Church were we were married, I can't wait.

Candy - hope your doing OK, I checked out yoru pictures the other day - nice Tats!

IK - Co-sleeping did not work for me, Alex likes me to stand when she sleeps!!!! When I lay down with her she wakes up and head butts me, telling me to get up and get moving (she likes movement).. Tad sad actually, I really wanted to co-sleep, I'm sure when she gets older we can co-sleep, right now, I'm happy for any kind of sleep! Tad jealous you are in your old jeans.. NONE of my clothes fit and I have no money to buy new ones, I look like such a dag I don't want to leave the house.

ME: well, this is the first time EVER that I've been up at this time (it is 1am). The hammock is good as Alex sleeps during teh day now, but it seems the cost is that she is now awake at night...she sleept from 7.30pm till 12.30am so that is five hours (my boobs ached!), but now she is wide awake... ahhhhhhhh, why can't there be a simple solution for everything.. Oh well, at least she is not crying. It is now offically 1am I'm going to wake DH and tell him it is now offically the weekend and his turn.. He heee

Oh, before I go, can I ask a question? How long does your baby sleep during the day / during the night.. I'm more curious with breast feed babies as I hear there is a difference. Well, time to wake DH... take care girls...

(1.10am - OHHHH, she is back asleep - yeah)... chat soon...

Good morning everyone. Another hot day on the rise for us ere in Sunny Central Queensland. We have been having 32-36C during the day and dropping off to 8-15C overnight. Off to Moranbah later today and we're sleeping over. Hockey Presentations today, I am so glad the season is over for another year. I hate doing the 3 hour round trip just so the girls play hockey for an hour. Atleast I get to see my sister, that is the payoff so Like that bit. It's all good by March and I'll do it all again next year. Allanah gets to play Minkey next year, It's going to be so much fun watching her.
Cee Cee Nathan usually sleeps from about 8.30pm to 5-6.00am every now and then he wakes up in between that but only to have a nappy change and to check that his booby is still there lol. Two sucks and back to sleep. During the day he will snooze on an off between feeds mostly for about 2 1/2 hours. I can now put him down without him screaming the house down, wasn't possible a few weeks ago. Sleep all night scream or feed all day. Now he's very contented and growing like nothing, aaaggghhhh until the next growth spurt, lol.
I have converted back to cloth nappies.... kinda...at night he is in a disposable, but during the day he is in AIO nappies. I love them I bought a whole heap of them before he was born they are so cute and really work, no leaks, no rash. spewin though as the lady who makes the one I really like isn't making them anymore I only bought one off her Should have bought more. Now that we are having hot weather he can really show that cute little tush of his off. I should post some photo's. Melissa driving me crazy already. Teething babes don't we just love them...bye girls better go
Dee

Dee- 8.30pm till 6am - that is fantastic - the 2.5 hours during the day is that say 2 long naps and a few shorter one or all short (say 20 mins)? I would be sacred my milk would dry up if I did not feed three times during teh night? (Sometimes I wake her for a feed), but your not having problems... maybe I will see if what happens if I don't wake her? I will aspire for longer sleeps....

I'm going to buy some new jeans today - my butt is not any bigger, just wider? My whole body seems to be a different shape, my shirts all seem too short and tight and don't cover my jelly belly or "muffin top"... There is a seconds shop around the courner so hopefully I will not have to spend too much...

Alexandra woke at 5.30am, DH took her (what a jem he is) they walked the dog, went out for breakfast, and I got to sleep in till 9.30am!!!!!!! How cool is that (I went to bed at 9pm). Feel great!

dee - i think you are right, what you say about DF being jelous, it does make sense! as for the feeding, i think i will just keep breastfeeding and think about the bottle later, i thought giving a botttle might help to settle him more at night but it doesnt seem to work.

IK - thanks for your advice, i have spoken to the breastfeeding association and they really didnt help me that much, they pretty much told me what i already know and that is that i have a really fast let down which is causing him to gulp and giving him wind, there is nothing i can really do about it but persist, she did suggest that i put lachlan into bed with me to see if that helps him to sleep better, i have tried this in the mornings but am still too scared to do it all night, i might try it tonight, does oscar have a snuggle bed or anything? how do you do it??


You girls are so luck to have babies that sleep that long during the night. Last night Lachlan woke at 11.30pm, 2.30am, 5.30am then 7am, he stayed up until 9.15am (wouldnt feed just grizzled) and then slept til 10am and is now in my arms asleep as he wont go back into his bassinett!!

Cee Cee - Oscar's sleep is erratic during the day. Sometimes he'll sleep for 2 hours, other times he'll sleep for half and hour to 45 mins. It just depends. He tends to sleep longer when he's being worn. At the moment he's in our bed and has been sleeping since about 10.30am (it's now 11.40). I tend to find that the sleep he has during the day has no bearing on his night sleep - it's not an indicator of how well he goes down!
Donna - Formula is supposed to settle babies because the milk takes longer to digest. This seems like a good thing on the surface, but it's not ideal. Human babies are supposed to wake more often, especially at night - evolutionarily, it's a survival mechanism. Cow's milk (from which formula is made) is higher in protein and fat - cows and other such animals feed much less during the day and need their young to be able to sit tight in a hidey spot for hours on end and their milk helps achieve this. Human babies are meant to be kept close to mummy, close to the source of food (boobies), so our milk doesn't need the same 'stay quiet for a long time' properties. SO, the milk digests quicker and babies need to feed more often. Again, a survival thing. You see it in primates - babies are carried all the time by someone in the group and feed often. Primates I think are the only other mammals who don't tuck away their young into hidey spots for safety and the only other mammals who have similar feeding patterns...makes sense, no?
As for ABA telling you what you already know - that's a GOOD thing! You're in tune with your baby and yourself :) I also have a very fast let down and Oscar gulps and ends up terribly windy. Not every time (like if he feeds every 2 hours or less it happens less cos my boobs aren't as full), but it actually hasn't happened for a week...since I took up posture feeding at night, and during the day when I'm home. Posture feeding is when you lie down completely flat (can raise your head with a pillow, you wanna be comfy), lay the baby down either leaning over your side or lying on you and let him feed. He's then sucking up and not having milk pumped into his mouth. He can regulate it! It means that when you hop in the shower you will need to massage your milk ducts and get out any remaining milk to avoid mastitis, because with posture feeding they may not suck out all the milk from the ducts further behind. It's awkward to start with but I really got used to it and at night it's so easy - I don't even need to burp Oscar after a feed at night, although I do keep a soft bunny rug as a chuck blanky over my chest for his face to rest on...in case some milk doesn't want to stay in there...but at least it's not a violent burping, then hiccuping then chucking.
My co-sleepingis not exactly according to the 'rulebook' anymore (I mean, no-one gives the Inuit or the Kalahari bushmen the 'guidelines' for co-sleeping, do they?). I started by keeping our pillows well apart from another (hanging over our respective sides of the bed, actually!) and laying down a bunny rug on the bit where his head would be. We were wrapping him in a blanket, sleep suit or cocoon thing in between us and he slept well like that. I would hear his hungry noises while he was still asleep, then sit up and feed him...often falling asleep with him feeding, then waking up again to burp him, change his nappy, rock him back to sleep and put him back down between us. Then I took to keeping him on me, under the doona and needing to strip him down cos he was getting sticky from sweat. So, in his cotton one-pieces (as he sleeps in now, any more and he gets too hot, even with head uncovered) he'd be on me, make his hungry noises and I'd slide up for a feed (great ab workout cos I wouldn't move him and the art was to keep the movement smooth!) and slide back down again. Much less production than getting him up from the middle and back down again. Sometimes I leave the nappy change if he's woken up within 2 or 3 hours of going down and we just go back to sleep. NOW, since I took up the posture feeding, he's on me, makes hungry noises, I slide my top down (sleep in a cheap crossover top from Kmart cos the nights are still a bit chilly to be in a singlet), flip down the bra and move him over, keeping an old hand towel handy for when I get the bubbling fountain effect (still get it sometimes even lying flat!) and he can't stay on. Put him back, (sometimes massaging upwards from the bottom ducts so he can somewhat clear them) to finish his feed, pat or rub his back whilst holding the back of his legs or his feet (seems to settle him more to touch some part of his legs whilst patting his back, legs wriggle far less and he goes kind of nice and relaxed/limp), spread the bunny rug under head and he nods off...and I nod off! Even if I do a nappy change, by the time I get up I am nicely not-quite-awake, but not stumbling over things on the floor, we have a quiet change and go back to bed really easily. Sometimes he'll throw up during a feed, but calmly! Also, I find that with such peaceful feeds now, I don't need to find the floor lamp (dim lighting) and can use the main light in his change room without unduly stimulating him. So, not 'guideline' sleeping, but I know he's safe with me. Sometimes he'll slide under the doona, but he's on my chest and his head nestles into the curves where his nose is free.
This is a bit detailed, but it might help you to find your own rhythm to read about mine and others', even if you do it very differently in the end. I think it's also important to remain calm especially in the face of the baby's frantic crying. They'll still cry, but I think it lasts less time when I meet his upset with an equal amount of calm from me. It helps me think clearer as to what to try next, too, when I relax to counteract his upset. Early on, when we had the tongue-tie and I was crying from exasperation, Oscar would be so upset and we'd both feed off each other. DP had to rescue me once when he heard Oscar cry and cry and cry...and still no return from the nappy change (at about 3am)...so he got up to check and I was standing over Oscar, half changed, sobbing and telling Oscar 'sorry' and Oscar was wailing. It never happened again because I realised that if I didn't control my reaction I was only going to keep the cycle going. I still cried until sometime during the week he got the tongue snip (when feeding improved), but haven't cried since and Oscar cries now only when hungry (and I've missed all the signals!) or windy.
Anyway, if you're a bit wary, do wrap up Lachlan in a blanket if you don't have a cocoon thing, or a sleep suit, and keep him on the bed with a small clearance from pillows. When not on my chest, I keep Oscar level with my head so that my breathing can regulate his (babies who co-sleep have far less incidence of holding their breath during breathing because they synchronise, more or less, with their mothers' breath).Also, it's so lovely to open my eyes and be looking at my cherub.
Dee (Heaven) also co-sleeps - how do you do it, Dee?
ETA: Donna, do you have the bassinette on an angle? We've angled ours (Oscar sleeps in it during the day) with a pillow under the basket part (it's on a stand with wheels) and it's supposed to help the air come up...

Hi all

Can't be online long - mum is feeding Aleise and I've gotta tend to furbaby.

Won a botlle of Shiraz at the fete today - pretty cool for only buying 4 tickets! Bought some sweets and generally looked around.

Colic and bottle feeding: A friend of mine bottle fed her baby and she had colic in the early months so Its not just BF babies that tend to get it.

Jelly Bellies: Yes I have one unfortunatley. Wish it would just vanish - must find that Harry Potter wand - is here somewhere.... Well I'm determined to go to the gym on Monday as they're haivng an Abs, Butt and Thighs class. Got a friend to babysit. Just hope I can move afterwards!

Well not much going on here - Matt is at work and our DVD player is on the blink so you can imagine my fun evening! Sorry for no personals am in a rush.

Take care all and *Hugs* all 'round!

Hi girls... just a quick one while the potatoes finish boiling for mashing... there's nothing else in the house until shopping tomorrow! Niall's about to wake up too.... he's stirring in the pram beside me... Co sleeping: He sleeps in the cradle beside me until about 3am then I bring him in with me until morning after a quick feed that occurs while I lightly doze. He just sleeps next to me... not wrapped or anything... I don't generate too much warmth and we have a summer weight doona so he doesn't seem to get too hot (I check frequently) DH generates more heat so i wouldn't let Niall sleep on his chest under the doona for too long unless he really needs to warm up.

Ok... Niall needs feeding now might pop back on here after The Bill tonight.

Hello everyone, gotta start off with WE FINALLY GOT BROADBAND!!!

Now that's off my chest, I'll give you an update of my past 11 weeks with Flynnie. Flynn is a great bub and very placid - so placid that I used to worry he was autistic because he cried so rarely. The usual screaming cues of nappy and clothes changing didn't bother him as a newborn (even now he only cries during either operation if tired or hungry). DH is fantistic with him - because he was home in the early weeks he has a really good idea of how much time bubs can take out of your day. For the last seven weeks DH has been working with his dad (who is a builder and staying with us at the moment) full time so I am a full on SAHM - something I never thought I'd get to be.

As you other SAHMs will no doubt agree, it can be at times a little mindnumbingly boring (wake up, feed baby, make bed, calm baby, unpack dishwasher, feed baby, vacuum floors....) but for me, more often than not, it is wonderful. My days are often filled with walks with pram, baking biscuits, visiting friends, cruising shopping centres with mum - just insanely great, really! Only bummer is when 4pm hits and I realise I haven't even started thinking about dinner and I have to get it on the table for poor DH and FIL (who have been up since 6am and spent all day carting around bits of wood and using a nailgun). FIL is great to have around and doesn't interfere with our childrearing at all, other than to say "why don't you just give him the dummy if it makes him happy" when DH and I go through those flashes of trying to limit its use.

So all round life is pretty special ATM, but DH and I (or more to the point, I) still have some personal issues to resolve, but I am confident I can do it. Now for personals:

Dee/Donna : With the "overflow" issue, have you tried expressing milk and feeding Lachlan from a bottle? A firend of mine has twins and has only always fed them EBM in this way - they are 8 months old and her supply hasn't yet been compromised. On the sleep though the night thing, are you waking up to feed Lachlan each time he wakes? Flynn was waking on a simialr pattern to Lachlan, but the MCHN said simply "have you tried settling him rather than feeding?" and it worked a treat for me. Flynn now has a final feed anywhere between 9 and 11.30pm and wakes for a feed at 5am-ish. He does stir at 1.30, 4.30, and so on but I stick a dummy in his mouth or re-swaddle to settle him.

IK it sounds like co-sleeping is working well for you - I am still to scared to do it - I am mostly worried DH will roll on him, not me! We do a version of co-slpeeing I guess - Flynn is in own cot next to our bed and at night I feed him in bed with dim or no lights. I take it from your earlier suggestion to someone that you are into babywearing? Flynn doesn't seem to like it much - I have used a home-made version of a hug-a-bub and a baby bjorn but he always seems to crack it - I wonder if I try when he is too tired or whether Flynn is at that in-between head stage - too young to hold it up but wanting to, and too hold to be comfortable just flopping into my chest. How have you got Oscar used to it?

CeeCee I am with you on the feeling blah about clothes front - was it you or someone else who mentioned going back to weight watchers? I did WW a few years ago and found it really great, but I am not sure how many points I should be on while BFing. and I am a little reluctant to do the whole WW "I'll eat white bread cause it's only one point rather than multigrain which is 2 points" thing which I KNOW I will fall back into.

Alicia I do hope you join us regularly! I have not been really good with putting Flynn on his tummy (BAD mother!:p ) but rather give him lots of lying on chest "in your face" time instead. He lifts his head about 5cm of ground when on tummy, sometimes more, and the MCHN seemed pretty stoked with that.

Girls, gotta go - fish and chips to pick up. DH is painting the kitchen so I can't cook the planned stirfry - what a shame!!!

Ciao bellas - it's good to be back!

Rory- it was me who has goneback to weight watchers. I was doing it right up untill I was 5 weeks preg, when I had to stop because you are not allowed to do it. Anyway you can have between 26-32 points while breastfeeding which is heaps, I find that I am just making it to 27-28 points a day.

Sleeping @ night- Tori generally goes down between 7:30-9 depending on her day naps and sleeps till around 2-3 wakes for a quick feed and then sleeps till 6 or 7. I have started feeding her in bed because she is generally done with feeding in 15 mins. Any other time she stirs in the night she has learnt to self settle.

We went and had our Pixi photos done today, we got a couple of family shots and then some of Tori on her own.

Anyway, I had better go, friends have just come over for some dinner.

IK - thanks for your daytime sleep routine, that is exactly like Alexandra, my friend was telling me: feed, up for one hour, two hour sleep, feed etc.. - which freaked me out as Alex was not doing that..in fact it was anything but that!!!!

Ali - thanks for your routine as well.. it is 5am and Alex has woken (I'm rocking her as she is awake and bored), I put her to bed at 6pm which I think is too early, it seems 7.30pm would be better -(if she can last that long)...hope to see your Pixi shots soon...

Rory - I'm so glad your enjoying being a Mum, that is fantastic news...sometimes it is the best job in the world (while other times... well, you all know!!!!!!!!!). I'm so happy to hear there are more good times than bad for you. I have to say I was a tad jealous when you spoke of shopping malls with your Mum, neither DH or I have any family in Sydney which is such a shame, it is like having a holiday by yourself, not as much fun - I wish I could share Alex with my Mum - but she is coming to visit next week, I'm so excited...

Neeny - oh, a gym class, your good. I've done nothing.. I'm only about 3 or 4 kilos heavier but when you are only five foot, it shows! And the belly is so wobbly... DH and I tried so many pairs of jeans today, and none looked any good...it maybe easier to exercise and fit into my old ones that try to buy new ones to cover the new ummm curves!!!

Alex has been alseep in her hammock for 11 hours (with 3 quick feeds then straight back to sleep) - it is like she has waited her whole life for me to get this hammock so she can finally sleep...DH complained last night "I never see her, since we have the hammock all she ever does is sleep, I miss her". Isn't that cute...Sorry to keep on and on about it, but the hammock really has changed our lives and I want to make sure no one else suffers like we did...

Hope you all have a nice day...

Bedtimes - Oscar doesn't have one! He'll go to bed with us when we're ready, and hopefully that is sometime before midnight...otherwise, it's after midnight with us too! He sleeps equally the same anyway because he'll be asleep while we're awake and if he's not then he's hungry, windy or being a bit playful before getting sleepy again (he spends a few more minutes each day gurgling and chortling). In fact, I was reading that in Japan, at least until recently, kids don't have enforced bedtimes that are separate from their parents. They stay awake and cuddle up to an adult if there's company, where they fall asleep or put themselves to bed. Of course, you'd have to be responsible about this and not stay up till 3am entertaining every night! But I can see how it could work. Kids get to learn the conventions of adult conversation to prepare them for later life and they are integrated into their parents' lives. We may unconsciously doing this with Oscar - we are still the last to leave parties! We got home at about 2.30 this morning and Oscar went to sleep the same as when we get to bed by 11pm. He sleeps on one of us when we're out, wakes for a feed, looks around for a bit then drops off again and does that till we bundle him in the car to go home. A criticism of attachment parenting is that the kids run the parents' lives and this couldn't be further from the truth. The kids are more integrated and involved in their parents' lives cos they aren't sent to bed, they aren't separated from their parents and kept on a different schedule to which parents feel obliged (for the sake of 'consistency') to keep no matter where they are (you know, when people with kids come around and say "we have to go now because this is ...'s bedtime/naptime/cranky time etc). If we start leaving social occasions because of Oscar then we're going to teach him to hassle us later when we're out and he's bored! Anyway, that's my spiel about bedtimes. I say go with the flow and it's not critical to have an early bedtime at this age. And if they do, don't stress if they don't get to bed at that time. Parents are creative and find a way to have 'mummy and daddy time'...or we'd all be from one child families along with Africa, India, Latin America...etc

Hi girls, just thought I would let you know that I have added some photo's to Tori's website

Time for a new thread girls.