Babies Born in June 2006 #8

[simone]

BAth, i know what you mean by the weather, im debating whther or not to do my washing. The weather stuffed up our plans for yesterday, but we still had fun. We were planning on having a picnic in the Botanical Gardens, but it was pouring, so me, DH, our 3 kids, my SIL and BIL and their 2 went for a massive drive. We went from home (Tullamarine) along the Ring Road/Princes FWY to Geelong, then Tourquay, then down to Bells beach, then down the Great Ocean Road to Lorne. It was breathtaking, and the weather made it even more spectacular. We wanted to go to the 12 Apostle, but once we found out it was still 100kms from Lorne, we decided that was enough driving!! On the way back stopped into Geelong to visit some family, then home. Slept well last night, as DH went out with BIL sat night (to Bar20, naughty boys... (strippers)) They had both had abit to drink, and being p-platers, couldnt risk being the slightest bit over... Still had a ball. Got DH a new suit, shirt and tie... That boy costs me a fortune!!

[jaspen]

Ceecee - talk with your anathestist - when I had my gallbladder out I expressed enough for the 24hr stay and pumped and dumped the feed after the op (probably the equivalent of two or three feeds I was so full and had skipped a few while prepping and op etc) and then cause the nurse freaked out (she was completely unsure about whether I should be feeding that soon after anaesthetic) the following feed as well but once home the next day was feeding again. The painkillers I was given by the anaethatist were bf friendly. my surgeon told me the anathestist is the key.
hey Ik - hope the infacol works for you - I think with some bubs just everynow and then they have a bad couple of days with wind etc for no apparent reason and then everything is fine again - mine have both done this everynow and then but otherwise are generally placid bubs who digest, regurgitate and poop with relative ease and only get worked up about things like - not being able to hold their fist in their mouths or "I've been in this spot long enough" - stop what you are doing NOW and come get me.
Anyway hope little Oscar is feeling better soon.

Bath - sounds like you had a great Father's Day. Interesting point you make about Verity and peer pressure. I must say I find I am most scared about making it through the teenage years without major incident - it just seems to be getting more and more common for young ones to go off the rails so to speak and how do we avoid this is constantly on my mind even though there are a few years yet.

Anyway I hear the call of I've had enough time in my bed please so had better go play.

Hope your week's are off to a good start.

[Bathsheba]

Awww don't worry about the Father's Day thing too much IK... it took my DH a few years to get into it, been a few "write offs" with Mother's Day as well. Also maybe the walk in the sling will help Oscar's wind... Niall doesn't suffer from it usually but when he does it's because I've laid him down too soon after a feed.

CeeCee: Why do you have to have a colonoscopy? For piles or polyps? I've read about them because polyps are sometimes genetic and they are on my mother's side and every time i see blood in my poos I wonder... hopefully it's just the piles of pregnancy. Hope the anaesthetic doesn't interfere too much, let us know how you go and what the ABA say.

Just got back from the newsagency where we collected our free Wiggles DVD using a token from the Herald on the weekend... as soon as we got home Wade took himself to the potty! Good boy, he's almost trained now, just has a nappy overnight.

Niall's napping and I hope Wade has one too... he's just starting to get a bit ratty...

ETA: Jaspen: yep, it's already getting a bit tricky (Peer pressure) and the best advice I can give is to talk about values and moral behaviour from a very early age. Be a good role model.... the "do as I say and not as I do" won't work; your kids will pick up on all your bad habits! (it has embarrassed me on occasions). It's just starting to show results with Verity: she seems to have absorbed alot of what we have discussed about honesty and "doing the right thing" from when she was as young as 3yo. Also it REALLY helps to make sure that the school your children go to focus on morals and ethics. If children see poor behaviour being ignored or that kids "get away" with poor behaviour such as bullying they soon learn to simply "look out for number one" which really isn't a good message. Verity's school is especially onto bullying and negative peer pressure so it's not so much as simply wanting to wear inappropriate clothes etc.

[Cee_Cee99]

Baths - what a great fathers day! We did the foot print on canvas, you were right, the hands were just too hard! DH LOVED them regardless.

We were all on the Northen Beaches however the drive home took almost 2 hours as Ally decided to scream the whole way.. we stopped three times to console her and nothing worked... She hates the car...as such we have decided that I will fly to Byron for Xmas (not drive as planned). DH will take the dog in the car I will fly with Ally.

Candy - you poor thing! Maybe get him to try some nasal sprays as you need your sleep!

IK: ummm... wonder what is wrong with Oscar, do you think it is wind, it maybe a growth spurt? In the book baby love they write that it is common for babies to go through an unexplained crying period at 6-8 weeks, which they put down to a growth spurt... I know he is just over 8 weeks, but maybe he is just a little late?

I think everyone thinks it is wind when a baby is unsettled, mine rarely burps (but does loads of farts), my sister, nana, and mother all told me "she has wind", but she will never burp for them so they still say "wind"...just the other end! Hopefully the infacol will help, if not, lots of cuddles in the HAB is sure to at least comfort him till he gets over it..

So, we are calling our little girl Ally now, it seems Alexandra is too hard for the family to remember (they call her Alexandria, or Alex). Alex is an 'adult' name, so Ally it is till she grows up and can choose whichever version of her name she wants.


OHHHH... three posts since writing...
Jaspen - re: anathestist - that is an excellent idea, I will definately do that..thanks for sharing your experience, it sounds like I should be able to BF still...

Baths - I need the operation as I have had somach pains and blood in poo.. Also both my grandfathers and father have bowl cancer, so it is in my family.... darn! If you have blood in your poo, you should have it looked at...it is not too bad an operation and it is better to be safe. Bowel cancer is very treatable if you catch it early.

ABA just wrote back and said "There are only a very few medications that are problematic while breastfeeding, but it is best to check with your health professionals and the drug information line." So I will see what the medications are with my consultation and let you all know how I go.

[nickers]

whooo just went on a walk along the nw path they FINALLY put in near my house! i chose to go the steeper way today, wow was it steep! only went for 30min cause forgot to take the rain thing for the pram and wasnt too sure if the weather would hold off. it did thankfully.
have sent out the christening invites now, next is to find a nice outfit.
oh darn Nixon is grumpy , be back later....

[Bathsheba]

Ooooh Neeny! gorgeous piccys! Wonderful to be able to put a face to the name! Looking great there darl! What a lovely group photo and Aleise looks so relaxed And what cute cousins she has! Looks like you had a lovely day! Well done!

Nic: yeah, we had a brief show of sun... I'm going to be optimistic and hang out some washing soon... probably should check the BOM site first though... Good on you for tackling that hill LOL a good walk can do wonders

ETA: also we got a humungeous water bill the other day! $120!!!! guess it was all that time I spent under the shower when pregnant trying to relieve varies aches/pains and itches! Am doing our nappies today... using the grey water to rinse them... wish we had a hose to connect it to the garden too!

ETA #2 Ok Melbourne girls the Bureau of Meteorology site shows no rainfall for this afternoon... bit of sun ATM... get that washing out now... could be a wet week ahead!

[AmandaJ]

Just a quick one I'm back online and will catch up soon.

hugs xoxo

[Bathsheba]

Rory: Regarding dummies, from my experience they are a two edged sword (continuing the WMD theme hehe) fantastic and frustrating. Both Verity and Wade used them and were reluctant to give them up.... infact Wade still demands one at bed time. If you don't mind them ruling your life (for good or bad) then stick with them and you will probably bless them as much as blast them! Let me do a list of pros and cons for you (my usual strategy when making tough decisions like this LOL):

PROS:
* Brilliant in the car especially when you are on a freeway and can't stop or during a long interstate journey and just need to get to where you're going because you're exhausted etc.

* Excellent on Public transport especially when people are giving you foul looks because your baby is throwing a tanty.

* A God send when you've both had big days and need to crash immediately and just can't face hours of pat pat patting on the bottom etc.

* Useful in the supermarket, and other shopping expeditions when you need to stretch them out just a little bit longer.

* Soothing when teething, although you will need to replace them more often because the child will chew them.

* Excellent in raising immunity because they will introduce many germs into the mouth which the body will contstantly fight!

* A good alternative to thumb-sucking because at least you can wean them off it... although i guess a child could then go for the thumb if he was insisting on sucking something... though mine never did.

CONS

* Incredibly infuriating as you find yourself being woken up every time the dummy falls out of the child's mouth at night... this goes on until they can put it in themselves... however then you will still have to get up several times a night to find the lost dummy that gets between the blankets or falls onto the floor. This is a huge issue.

* Replacement cost. Our children only liked NUKs which at $6 each are not cheap and I'd say we've been through 30 at least for the 2 children.

* You will spend a lot of time looking for them. They will turn up in the most unlikely places. We found 2 in the garden recently... pockets of jackets/cargo pants pockets/toy boxes/ underware drawers/ kitchen cupboards/ behind fridges/ laundry baskets/ under lounge chair cushions etc are all likely places.... you will be looking in all these places frequently and when you least have the time to!

* Many people will tell you that they are "not recommended by dentists these days". You will hear conflicting information... you will then hear (like I did recently) that your child has developed a lisp because their front teeth don't close properly.... this was by our dentist.... but good news is that the teeth will improve if he stops using it.

uh oh... gotta go... Wade is having trouble on the potty.... that's a bit to get you started though rory!

ETA: oh BTW Niall has shown no interest what-so-ever in a dummy so far and I think this time around we might have a go at avoiding them. I never judge people for using them though! As I have said above, at times they have been invaluable. I wonder though, if as a compromise, you could save them for, say, car use only... avoid the sleep association thing which seems to be the worst aspect of them.

[simone]

DUMMIES... Xander used them, Declan wouldnt go NEAR them, spat them out whenever we tried to settle him with them, and xander would run off with them, as we "traded" his for a toy when he turned 18m... Anneliese sucks on hers for a lil while, then spits them out... Its all personal preference, im lucky ours like the cheapie $1.60 ones

[Smoke Jaguar]

Ahhh, dummies! I have 4 and I think that's what I'll stick to at any one time, just so that I can keep a track of them and use my photographic memory to find the colour that's missing! Also, fortunately, he seems happy with the Happy Baby dummies ($2 each!) and we don't have the issues with nipple confusion that we worked through during the first week of dummy use. I just found that whilst Oscar is not a whingey baby, when he's windy he can work himself up - this means that even if the wind has subsided he is still upset...and I can't give him the boob to settle cos it will start the windiness all over again! SOOOO, we caved in and opened the gift Happy Baby dummy I had put away and the sucking action immediately calms him down. If it doesn't it's because there is still some physical discomfort, not just the momentum of the upsetness. I wasn't against them, I just was hoping to avoid them. Anyway, I figured that it is easier to wean a child off the dummy than the thumb (which, when found, becomes hardwired into the brain as a physical reflex...) and not all dummy users have orthodontic problems. DP and BIL have great teeth and both were dummy users. I had overcrowded teeth (and eventually had 8 wisdom teeth extracted, on top of the 4 removed for braces!), but that's not caused by dummies.
Also, I don't have the problem of having to get up in the middle of the night to replace a dummy for two reasons. THe first being that he sleeps either next to me or on me and the second is that because of the first he doesn't get upset when it falls out - it's enough to get him to sleep and he's not fussed when it comes out.
Moral of the story is "you gotta do what you gotta do"!
The book sounds interesting, by the way - might look into getting my hands on a copy and showing to DP to let him know that it's ok to be me!
Sad news about Steve Irwin Would never have attributed mortality to him, for some reason, so it's a bit of a shock trying to get my head around the fact that there is no life there anymore.
Going to post some new photos of Oscar that I took today with him amongst the daffodils in the garden - I got his white suit dirty, but how else do you get a cute garden shot when you're on your own and there's a large dog dropping a tennis ball under your feet???

[Roryrory]

Thanks girls! I especially put Flynn on the cheapie Happy Baby dummies, partly cause of cost (my SIL warned me off the expensive ones) and partly cause the "cherry shape" is rec for BF babies. IK and Nickers, Flynn is like Oscar and Nixon in that he settles almost immediately with dummy, and is a great "sucker". A lactation consultant in hospital actually noticed this in him at 2 days old and actually suggested we use a dummy at some point. Heck, his 13 week ultrasound even shows him sucking his thumb, and we're not talking a "gee I think he has his thumb in his mouth" action, but a full-on, rhythmic sucking action.

Bath, my main concerns was the whole "my dummy is lost" wail in the middle of the night but then I remembered Dr Phil's mantra "is it workin' for ya?" Well, at the moment it's workin'. He is in a cot next to us so popping it in during the night is early enough, and like Nickers and Simone I will try the wean thing when it stops "workin".

Re: Steve Irwin, I was thinking alot about his death last night, about how "unfair" it is. Then I came to the realisation that I now feel life is not about "fair" or "unfair", but rather living every day in a way that you are proud of, and happy with. We never know when our time is up or why good things will happen to bad people, these are things we have no control over. What we do control is us - our own emotions (to some extent) and actions. We can choose to live in a way that is good, regardless of what life throws at us.

enuff musing from me - off to buy a battery-operated lint remover from Coles for my friend mel - the best piece of s##t gadget I have every found. It seriously works and only costs $5.

ciao bellas

[nickers]

Nixon never used one in hospital but then took to them once home. i was very against them b4 having Nixon but it really does help comfort him, i hope to start weaning him off the dummies at around 12months though (maybe only use for bedtime if thats possible)
Hi Amanda, good to see u back! Hope u are going well with the boys.
got the wiggles dvd with the sunday paper aswell, i know it will come in handy sometime soon!

[Bathsheba]

Just back from PlayGroup... Wade's watching his Wiggles DVD and Niall is still sleeping (he slept through most of PlayGroup too, gave him a feed there too for the first time).

IK: Red sounds great for a front door, very good Feng Shui. I love painting things too... looking forward to giving some of our furniture another coat of paint when it warms up. Good on you for asking your DP to help out last night... it's the only way they will appreciate the never ending nature of looking after babies. Also there's many a fulltime working mother who still has to tend to crying children in the middle of the night. Admittedly I only ask my DH to help out in the middle of the night if both boys are awake and won't settle... when that happens I have no hesitation. Occassionally I'm feeding Niall in bed beside me and I'll hear Wade crying and I'll shake DH awake. He doesn't mind but gee it seems to take him ages to wake up and get going... I wonder if all men are like that? Another interesting thing my DH said last week on the day he took off work to watch Verity at her athletics day: "Why am I so tired? (at 3pm) All I've done is go to a sports day as a spectator..." My reply: "Well we were also constantly watching Wade to make sure he didn't run off or go through the rubbish bins or wet his pants... it's the constant vigilance that's tiring". Him "Yeah, that's it... the vigilance!" We were also trying to talk to other parents and I don't think guys can deal with this kinda thing very well... he's outta practice anyhow... the whole multi-tasking thing. Anyhow when he rings me up during the day and asks me in that way that seems like he thinks I've got it easy I just say: "Yeah, you know how it is... constant vigilance...."

Dummies: oh yeah I definately agree: "whatever works" however remember that ATM with a very young baby you are largely in control of things like dummy use... refuse to offer it and they might not protest too much... however as they get older babies will want to do things in a way that you might not find easy to work with. For example; say you forgot to pack a dummy for an outing... probably no big deal... though in a few months it will be a biggie and you'll find yourself needing to buy another one because otherwise they won't settle. Just a soft warning... I mean, I agree, they are great... but the degree of dependancy does change as they get older and it's kind of an all-or-nothing thing.

Niall awake... whew! getting sore (too full) on my left side....

[neeny]

Hey there!

Not up to much lately - got another cold and its starting to go away.

Sun has finally come up so I'm going to take Aleise for a walk soon to get more formula.

Thank you to everyone who's commented on the photos! I don't have all of them back yet - like ones with my family so standby for those!

IK: I guess a "name day" celebration is what you're after. Don't know how it works but I know its non religious.

Rory: I use the dummy all the time for Aleise. Luckily she sleeps all night so I don't have the problem of getting up to give it to her then - just have to keep putting it back in when we put her down for the night. Remember if they don't have one they'll probably suck their thumb which can lead to buck teeth! (DH used to be a dental nurse). A friend of mine swapped the dummy for a bike - so the swapping for toy seems to work when its time to wean them off it.

Nickers: When is your baptism for Nixon? Did you go overboard with invitations like I did? My mum made the gown - pity you don't live closeby 'cause she could make one for you. There are "Baby Christening" shops so check the yellow pages. Hope everything goes well darls.

Tanya: Did you get your parcel? Hope Lucas will fit into the jammies before it gets warm!

Well not much else to say - take care all and will pop in again soon.
*Huggies** to all.

[Bathsheba]

Speaking of parcels did you girls know they are organising another Secret Santa in BB this year?! I was in last year's one and it was so much fun... it would be nice to be "given" another Junie to buy a gift for hey?

Also, I think something has died under our house (possum/cat) and the stink is wafting up through the floor boards... this will sound like a really dumb question but what do you think I should do about it!? DH reckons he should do the "manly" thing and crawl under there to investigate... but I can't see him being able to do anything about it until the weekend because he gets home so late... and what should he do anyhow? Drag it out? Ugh! take a small shovel in there and dig a hole and bury it near where it's fallen? I'm burning insense to cover up the smell but it's just repulsive. If it's only a small creature like a possum how long do you think it will take until the smell goes naturally? Actually we'd better check to make sure it's not somebody's beloved pet, if it has a tag we'd better ring the council I guess. Hope nobody pops around to visit... i'd be too embarrassed to let them in as it's died right under the foyer i think... very bad Feng Shui!

Time for a cuppa....

[*Jo*]

Hi gals, have been MIA, had a shocking cold all weekend and felt horrible. Then did the markets on Saturday and got sunburnt....silly, silly girl! Feel much better now.

Freya is still randomly having good days/nights then bad ones. No rhyme or reason.

Dummies: DS is still using his at 20 months, but he only ever has it for sleep. This is something I implemented as soon as he started doing all his sleeping in a cot (around 4 months)...dummies don't leave the cot, except to be washed of course! In hindsight, I wish I'd weaned him earlier, because he is emotionally attached to it now (the promise of a dummy has him leaping into bed) but he is such a fab sleeper that it was a "if it aint broke dont fix it" scenario. Freya has her dummy for day sleeps, but goes off without it at night.

[*Kristee*]

Haven't been in this thread for a while and boy did i have some catching up to do....i have been surfing the other forums too.
Ali25 I have many of those sad sack days. I feel forgotten a lot too as a lot of my friends disowned me when i was pregnant. What makes it worse is i don't have a drivers license so i can't just go anywhere i want whenever i want.
7th Heaven I'm glad Makayla's Birthday party ended up being a blast. 24 kids WOW how did you manage to control them all. LOL at only putting 7 candles on the cake.
Roryrory Fathers day was crap for me. All my father did all day was whinge about anything and everything!! Unfortunately didn't get DF a Fathers Day present as he said to keep my money for the wedding and honeymoon.
I have the same proiblem with the dummy issue. My DD acts exactly the same way.
Littlerigger Hope Matt gets better soon! So you can get some much needed sleep.
Cee_Cee99 Your holiday (even if it was only a couple of days) must have been nice. It is sooo great to have an extra pair of hands.
Poor Alexandra and poor you. Isn't it so hard to see your little one in pain. I hated taking Tarleha to get her shots.
Hope your colonoscopy goes alright for you and that it is all good news.
Isn't the book "Baby Love" great, It is the bible to parenthood IMO.
Bathsheba I also like Mondays. Funney hey. It may be a cancerian thing as i am also a cancer. LOL not that i believe much in that stuff.
Sounds like you all had a great day on Fathers Day. Thanks for the info on dummy use, will definately consider it.
Great idea about the Secret Santa- another Junnie would be excellant.
That's nasty- hope you get the smell out of your house soon!
Nickers Good on you for going for a walk. I have been meaning to go for one for days now as the weather has been lovely here. I have lost 8.1kg but if i want to keep loosing that weight i better keep exercising.
There are so many cute outfits for christenings these days...have fun picking one out.
Neeny Hope your cold goes away and stays away!


Us I didn't realise peer pressure started at such a young age!
Well the little discussions between me and DD about sleep time don't seem to be working now, she has decided that there is no need for sleep and just wants to play.
She has had a bit of a gastro bug lately, poor thing.
I am starting to feel a strain on mine and DF relationship now. It just seems like he is soo tired all the time and when he gets home from work he just wants to cuddle and play with DD as if i don't exist!! We haven't even DTD yet....partially i am a bit worried about how it would affect my ceaser scar (anyone know anything about that?). It just seems we have no quality or quantity time together anymore, it's just about Tarleha and it's really starting to **** me off.
Anyway enough venting from me...

Kristee-Lea - 21
Tarleha Maye - 29/06/06
Tying the knot 7th April (Easter Sat)
TTC around wedding time

[Cee_Cee99]

hi kristee, good to see you again... re: DTD, I did it for the first time last night and it was almost as if to get it out of the way IYKWIM? Poor DH... I'm out of practice.. I'm sure it will not impact your C-scar, however some of the other girls will know first hand.
I'm sorry your not having any quality time... could you perhaps put Tarleha to bed before DH gets home??? I know it is a bit sneaky, but it may give you some much needed alone time.

Baths - you definately need to get someone under your house to have a look.. that kind of smell takes WEEKS to go. It could also lead to other animals coming to eat whatever it is that is dead. I used to live in the country and we had heaps of dead stuff and the smell took FOREVER if Dad could not find it.

Hi Jo, hope your feeling better... I bet it is no fun looking after your two with a cold...did you have someone to help?

Hi Nenny - glad you had a great day.. loved the photos, thanks for sending them.. re: Name Day: my sister went to one and they all took a bead and threaded it onto some fishing line, then made a necklace for the child... it was cute.. Not sure Oscar would like a necklace though???
:-)

Dummies: Ally refuses to take them..I've tried every brand, every day for weeks to no avail, she prefers to shove her hands in her mouth! Darn, I bet she sucks her thumb later and it costs me a fortune in dental bills!