Babies Born March 16th - 31st 2008 #2

If you can go voluntarily and able to leave it might be worth a shot. they may have some ideas and hopefully they will be understanding when you say that him crying stresses you out more. They may have ideas for dealing with it and making it less plus tips for dealing with sam. I jsut re-read your post, no sleep makes things worse, getting through th day seems impossible and trying to keep on top of stuff. Beleive me I know. Maybe by going and getting more rest that will be a miracle cure too.
E is back in bed, I did the leaving him for a min or so when crying and going back in to comfort and suddenly the crying just stopped when out of the room! I went back in and put the dummy in and he has gone to sleep. Now I am worried I have broken his spirit and have threatened the attachment bond. Stupid I know. I didn't leave him long though and it wasn't very long till he went to sleep from when he started. It worked, doesn't make me feel any better though.

Luey: IMO i wouldnt worry about the possiblility of breaking an attachment bond after a few mins crying, poor james has done a lot of crying in his 6 months (with the karitane idea and in general) and i have to say he just adores me lol my mum says it all the time, no matter who is holding him his head is cranked around looking at me and smiling, she says he loves you so much that boy !

Laura: if you are uncomfortable going to a mother and baby unit then it may not be of benefit to you, my thoughts are babies are changing so often that if you manage to "teach" Sam to sleep better while in there the next week he will be doing something else anyway and you will be back at square one, as you know James has been a dreadful sleeper and i did a bit of karitane stuff with him and sometimes it worked other times it didnt and he just started sleeping 2 and 3 hours during the day by himself (but is hopeless at night), i dont know if im making any sense but what im trying to say is it wont solve all your sleep problems from now on (although it might improve them for now !) also i wanted to let you know there are patches you can buy (look a bit like nicotine patches) that numb the skin so they babies dont feel injections as much, they are called Emla and can be used from 6 months (and sam is close enough) they are around $16 for two so you put one on each thigh )or wherever you get the injections done) about one hour before injections, might take away some of your anxiety about immunisations, i use them once they are 6 months old because i hate getting them done too (even though i give the ones at birth in my job !)

Melinda

Luey , I know what you mean!! But don't worry,he was just tired and went back to sleep.Ha and that coming from me!

Mel, I agree with you about the babies changing so frequently.Sam has fantastic weeks then horrid weeks.It's not really the sleep issues I was considering going in for.More for me.But still...I don't know if it would even benefit me.I guess I can always leave if I don't like it.I just feel that there isn't enough support out there for me.I have tried and tried to work all this out and to some degree I have.But I don't feel like I am coping.I'm sure it's from lack of sleep......
I did the Post Natal test again at my last MCHN appointment and scored a lot higher than I had in the past few months.The questions are quite silly though.There is one that asks 'In the last week have you thought about hurting yourself' Answers are something like "all the time' , 'some of the time' etc etc.I answered some of the time and the nurse freaked!! But it's not like I am going to do anything.Just thoughts that I would like to smash the car into a tree.They are just thoughts and I have no intention of following through with them.Does that even make sense??
I just don't know what is going through my head.I feel lost, and not like me.I feel waves throughout the day.One minute I am fine the next I feel like life has no hope.I don't know why I have to feel these things, this is not how it was meant to be.

Gosh...I have just started talking gibberish on all of you! sorry I am very tired!!I am OK.

Just want to say thank you as well to all of you for being so welcoming of me and my very selfish posts.BB and all of you have been my lifeline.xx

Hi everybodeeeeeeee did ya miss me??? My goodness what a few weeks I have had. We had our trip home to NZ and it was cold and wet. Enjoyed it though. It was great to see our family there and catch up with my girlfriends. No big raging nights on the juice but it was good none the less.
Scout was good.His little routine that he does have was completely thrown out of whack but he was happy enough with it. He was fantastic on the plane. Had a bit of a scream on the take off but after that he slept. He was almost too big for the bassinet but he obviously thought it was comfy cause he slept like a trooper. Especially on the way back again.
Wow we have some chunky monkeys in here dont we? I thought I had a heffa lump at just over 8kgs but I think he would be out boxed with some of your treasures. :bellyrubs::bellyrubs:
In general my boy is doing well. :D He has his crappy days which are compensated by his absolute "I love you so much days" He is rolling heaps both ways which is really annoying actually as he is all over his cot especially when he doesnt want to go to sleep. He is also sitting unsupported. He does get the wobbles sometimes but usually when he is tired. No teeth yet either which I am pleased about.
I thought I wanted to give up the BF once we got back from NZ but now im thinking im not ready just yet so I will play it by ear. Maybe when he is sleeping through again as it is so easy to just "flop" my boob out to feed him when we are both half asleep, I cant be arsed getting up to do the bottle thing at that time of the night.
Well ladies I had better get going and do the school lunches and hang out my final load of washing (does it end??) but i have to say how much I enjoyed reading all the posts I had missed while I was away. Great effort :clap:

Good night all

Phew have I got some catching up to do!

Laura you are most certainly welcome, we absolutely love having you and Sam with us! And I'm sure we have all felt that this thread and BB have been our lifeline at sometime. It's what we are all here for, to give, and get support. :grouphug: your posts are not selfish at all, I love to hear how you are going with your PND especially. I find it so interesting to hear about it from your POV and TBH, most of what you say and how you feel I know I have felt at sometime in my mothering life, so please don't feel like it's gibberish. It's real and honest and we understand :)

Why are the dr and mchn wanting you to go to the unit? If it's not exactly for sleep? Why don't you feel you are coping? What don't you feel you are coping with? Sorry if I seem nosy I'm curious, and like I said before, I really have honestly felt or do feel the same a lot myself. Beleive me there are times when i feel I can't cope either and I want to just run down the road! Not that i would but I feel like it!

Ooooh fluffy mail! Those Minkees sound divine, I love minkee! At night I use a BBB or BBH, with a booster in between the nappy and cover. Never had a leak. DH always complains about the smell of Jakes nappy in the morning but I haven't noticed it. Although last nights was a shocker, must be the teething, that can make their wee stink! A strip wash wouldn't hurt anyway ;)

All-boys welcome back! Glad you had a great trip and that Scout was a trooper for you. Would love to see some pics if you get a chance?

Luey :hug: for you, I understand how you feel re the crying. But as Mel said, he will still love you :) I'm not one for crying, especially when I know I can make it stop and make him feel secure. You wrote: I just want to say whatever you choose you are doing an awesome job and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. What we choose to do with our children is our decision and we are the ones that deal with the consequences. And I couldn't agree more.

Mel great point about the ever changing behaviour of our bubs! And also on the Emla, never used them myself but I've heard they are good. How are your night battles going?

Catherine Jake has been difficult in the day too. I cant put him down or walk away without him crying, I wish some teeth would cut! The mixing of BM and formula sound like a good idea.

Jo glad you had a nice weekend and a lovely dinner. Makes such a difference! I also hope Isabella's results are all good too. She is doing really well, you should be proud. you are also doing a fantastic job with DH away for some long, holding the fort at home alone.

Argh!! hgotta go, Jake is awake again.....suffice to say we are NOT having a good day!! lol. BBL

xxx

Ok.....

Hiya Macca! How are you guys doing??

Nic, LOL at Dusty's wet fart!! I think I need to be a good Mummy like you and put the pillows out around Jake, he got his first war wound today. He was sitting really good and I moved away for one second and plop, down he went and hit his brow bone on a stacking cup.:rolleyes:

Not much here, DH and i are ok at the moment, all going well. Jake is being a rat lately, I'm convinced it's teeth though. Took him for his immunisations today but couldn't get them done as he still has a little cold and a cough. He has been very yellow in the coloring on his face lately particularly his nose but the dr said it was normal. I'm not so sure so will book him into a different dr in a week or so for his needles. He is now getting up on all fours and rocking as if he's gonna crawl but he doesn't yet. The commando is faster, lol. I'm looking forward to catching up with some girlfriends and their kids tomorrow, one has a nb, who is abour 3 weeks old.....cluck, cluck, cluck! lol. gotta get some sleep now, Jake has been sleeping until around 2:30am the last two nights so here's hoping it happens again.....

xxx

just a quick one from me

Bec: do you think Jake is starting to experience seperation anxiety and that is why he is crying when you put him down, on the weekend i went to visit my friend with 2 month old twins and she held james while i held one of her babies and james snuggled into her resting his head on her chest and then he looked up and realised he could still see me so he realised it wasnt me he was snuggling and he SCREAMED, the tears we flowing in mere seconds, so i think he is a bit clingy to me, im certainly the favourite ! im also the favourite with DD, its cute but driving me insane, daddy can't do anything, not get her dressed, run a bath etc its tiring !
last night was a slight improvement sleep wise, james still woke 3 times between 11 and 5 but he went straight back to sleep and for the last week he has required rocking that can take up to an hour and thats awful 3 times a night !! he didnt sleep well today because i had him at the dr and other things were going on so he put up a good fight tonight and im expecting him to wake any minute, he always likes a feed around 11pm no matter how long he has been down for

also like i said im sure Jake's colouring is from starting solids, i found this link for you (are we allowed to use them on BB ? Is it normal for your baby to have an orange nose? - Yahoo!7 Answers hope you can view that, if you google yellow baby and solids you will find some info about it

Laura: its hard to know what is best for you, if you go into the clinic can you take DH along too for support, i guess its worth a try if you can leave whenever you want to

as for me i had my test done, results apparently arent consistant with carpal tunnel, specialist who breezed in briefly said it must be muscular or ligament pain as pain isnt usually a symptom of carpal tunnel, when i get this pain its REALLY bad (and thats coming from a woman who got to the hospital 20 mins before my boy was born so i can tolerate pain lol) so not sure what will happen now, i dont get it bad often but when i do its excruciating and no medications help and last about 24 hours, i know it will stop when i stop breastfeeding but that doesnt help now......


Melinda

Hello All,

Quick one from me....Ari has 2 teeth!! They are through the gum now so I hoping he is less cranky tomorrow and maybe he will actually sleep.

He digested his first piece of food today (6mths today) which was a small piece of spiral pasta that we had for dinner.

I have put an updated pic on my blog that I cant seem to link on here :(

Loving the pics through email - and I promise to try to get back here by Friday to leave some proper responses.

thinking of all of you,

Hayley.

Hi ladies,

Laura, you are definitely not speaking gibberish & a lot of it I can relate to as well. Trisillian sounds very similar to the mother & baby unit as it does concentrate on lot's of different things depending on what you need help with. I would mainly be going for the sleep thing but who knows what they might discover when I get there :lol: I wonder if it is the right thing for me to go for a few reasons. As Mel pointed out they are going through so many changes ATM that can really throw them out so I don't know if sleep training will help with that? I don't know if I can handle controlled crying which I am pretty sure they do, I don't know if I can cut out feeds or structure feeds more - which I also think they do. I want to give them a go & I don't have to stay if I don't want to but I wonder how long do I give their techniques a go, if I don't like them, to see any results?
Luey I also worry about breaking that trust that I am working so hard to build up again. I did some things when D was little that I really regret & wish I hadn't done, I read Robyn Baker's baby love book which talks about avoiding eye contact during the night feeds & before sleep time & I did that for a few days & then D wasn't looking at me through the day & I realised what I was doing was soooo sooo wrong, I also left him a few times to cry for over 30 mins - out of sheer desperation but a tiny bubba how could I do that :( So it is really important to me that I don't do anything to jeapardise (sp) the trust we have built up. But Mel you are right as well will a few minutes of crying really hurt?? I just don't know :rolleyes:

Hi Hayley, I knew I missed someone the other day. Are you feeling better? :dance: for the teeth, it makes it easier to deal with the crankiness knowing that teeth are coming through. I understand about not knowing who me is. I have gone through all these years secretly jealous of people with kids cause when you have kids you have a sense of purpose & reason for being here, at least that is how it seemed to me. I didn't want to have kids for that reason but was hoping when the time come that it would fill that .....something.... don't know what it is but it hasn't so off to the drawing board again, that probably hasn't helped but I empathise with you.

Mel, don't you love specialist, you pay all this money for them to do j@ck**** & spend so little time with you. Have you thought of trying accupucture or something like that? I think they must be getting to a clingy stage as D is starting to reject DP & I doesn't like me to be too far from him. Ahh the phases, hope this one passes quickly though :lol: The b/f sounds frustrating for you ATM, I hope it settles soon, biting & scratches are not fun. I thought D was bad as he has started to pump his arm or move his legs while feeding but he sounds great in comparison.

Bec, the pillows are from experience, I think the reason he sits so well is because he has a bouncer that has pictures of red cats, blue dogs, yellow birds etc... & when he wasn't sitting in it he always wanted to eat it so I started to sit him in front of it because he could hold onto the buckles etc... but would sometimes loose his balance. So hence pillows are always handy. Just when I think I can start to get rid of them he goes down plonk & it is a carpet square on tiles so it isn't very soft poor kid.

Hi Allboys, welcome back. Glad the trip to NZ went well. In terms of b/f :crossfingers: I'm hoping to make it in baby steps to 12 mnths so my next goal is 9 mnths but the teeth thing scares me.

Catherine, you might have to get DH to give him the bottles until he is use to them as they can get fussy with when they can smell your milk apparently.

Jo, glad DH was home for the weekend, sounds like it was nice to have everyone at home. Sounds like Isabella is really starting to put on the weight which is great :crossfingers: for the EEG scan.


Time for TU, we definitely have 1 tooth & I think I can feel the edgs of another tooth coming through. It must be really painful for them cause the other day I went for walk with him in the pram & we were nearly home & he would stop crying (he usually likes the movement of the pram especially the bumpy bits) in desperation I put my fingers in his mouth & he shut up instantly poor thing, I am going to have to make sure I have some bonjella with me at all times JIC. I defintely jinxed our sleeping so the Sun night he was up from 1.30 until about 4.30 before finally falling asleep exhauted in my arms & then last night he was awake from about 2 until 3.30 am, I thought it was bad that he woke for feeds but at least he doesn't want to play & is happy to dream feed but this is absolutely shocking. We did go to sleep this morning from about 7 until 10.30 so that was something. I am definitely glad for napisan, lot's of soaking going on here. I'm a bit shocked at how big he is but we have some giants in the family & DP is pretty tall so he must be a throw back or something gawd love him.
I finally made it out of the house & to another mothers group today that is run by the hospital so it is the info sessions at the moment. Not to sure about the mums but they are probably as shy as I am so I will keep going & see how it goes.

Well it is that time of the morning again & I best be off. See ya lovely ladies another time :grouphug:

super quick post from me this morning, Mel i had thought separation but I don't think it is. He is fine a lot of the time (like now) where I disappear and get stuff done while he plays on the floor. But just when the teeth are niggling he doesn't like to be put down. All normal of course and I would want cuddles too ;) thanks for that link, I looked at it, hopefully it should fade now we are just giving him what we are having.

gotta run supposed to be going out today but I was up with Jacob last night for ages and then Chloe had a horrible cough too.......YAY :( not sure if we'll go.

xxx

HI girls!! WOW you guys have been busy!! Good to hear that everyone is doing well.
Cohen had his first solid food yesterday....well semi solid. He has pureed carrot! WOO HOO!!! He LOVED it! He had his mouth open waiting for more as soon as he swallowed what he already had in his mouth, I couldn't believe it. It was so much fun, he had it all over himself from head to toe. He even tried to feed himself. He also had a rusk, what a change from a few days ago, it is amazing. Just goes to show all they need is time huh? It concretes the fact for me that I can't force anything on him (not that I did) but that he will do everything in his own time.
Not sitting unsupported yet, only rolling one side...the right, no rolling back onto his back, no signs of teeth as yet and still wrapping him to got to sleep. Oh well.....I'm hapy to have him as my "Little" baby for as long as he wants to be.
I'm sure Cohen is 10kg. He is in size 0 and some size 1's just depending on the brand of clothing. The suit he is wearing at the moment says 12mths!!! Holy cow! What a heffa!
Had better get to doing some house work. All I seem to do is put it off. Naughty!
Talk soon
xxxxxxxxxx

rustygirl - I hear you on the housework. I have a massive pile of ironing starint at me.

Laura - How are yo utoday? Hope last night was better

Mel - Ithink I have read too much. I know logically that a few mins of crying, not lots and more a whingey cry 'won't hurt'. When he is distressed I don't leave him, unless I need a break. I read Pinky McKay's sleeping like a baby, and it is a good book but it has scared me of leaving him to cry at all because I will break attachment bond and cause baby depression. There are some real horror stories in there. Grrr doesn't matter what I try it still takes an hour for him to get to sleep of a morning. Maybe we should leave him up longer but he is so whingey and unhappy. How was last night? My little man thinks 5am is wake time. I keep putting him back to bed and dummy back in, after trying feeds etc and go back to bed myself. I am not encouraging that one.

all boys- glad you had a good trip.

Robbo - Yay for teeth. Still no more here, I think I see some but then they go again.

Hi Bec - Hope all in your household are better soon

Luey: i really havent read much about it so you would know more about it than me, i think it all comes down to what you feel comfortable doing...dont get me wrong i hate it when James cries too but i had reached the point where i couldnt take the whole 45 min nap thing anymore (wouldnt of cared if it was enough for him but he would be so whingy all the time and an hour later i would be putting him back to bed again so i had to do something for all our sakes) as bec quoted back to you he is your child you do what you think is right.

what time do you put E back to bed in the mornings, james is usually up about 3 hours now (he is also an early riser) i find if i put him back too soon he does the 45 min thing and if i hold him out (it helps he has a big sister to entertain him!) then he sleeps better and longer. last night he went to sleep at 8pm woke at midnight and 4 am then all up for the day at 6 (that was a sleep in for him) thats a good night for us as he went straight back to sleep without a sound.
this morning he has been asleep 1.5 hours, he could wake anytime or sleep another hour, i never really know with him

Hayley: Ari is so gorgeous. you must be so exhausted with the 4 kids though !

Laura: sometimes the responsibility is overwhelming and i cant switch off, even if im not with them (although those occasions are rare !) i hope things start to feel more positive for you soon

welcome back all boys

Melinda

Hi all how are your Thursdays going?
Scout has had the worst few nights ever. He has been waking at least 3 times a night, then deciding 5-530 is a great time to start the day! Aaarrrgggghhhh. Hating the sun and birds at this time. Little bugger is asleep now and has been for an hour, I guess he is tired!!!:rolleyes:
I keep telling myself its not going to last but wow its not easy.
My poor older boys copped it big time this morning which then of course started the guilty mother syndrome. Sending my boys off to school in a bad mood because mum didnt get enough sleep, im such a b$#@h. :(
Who would do this thankless job? I am currently defrosting chicken for their favourite dinner and have a jam slice in the oven for after school to make up for yelling at them. Oh bring on tommorrow, I can start again.

On to a wee bit more personal front sorry in advance if its TMI. Did your periods (for those of you who have them back) come back regularly straight away? I have had one but thats it. Is the BF still affecting it? Its just so worrying. We are not on any contraception aside from condoms (sometimes:redface:) because we havent decided if we want another baby yet so would rather wait till we work that out an then hubby gets the chop!:clap:
However if Scout continues this non sleeping thing he might decide it for us. Sex is the last thing I feel like let alone the thought of another baby!!:lol:

Hope your days are better than my nights
TTFN

Hi everyone,
Just a quick one.
All-boys, we had a patch of really shocking nights too but they have gotten a lot better. He is now only waking once (usually) overnight, thankfully!! I only lasted about a week and a half. That was more than long enough tho!! On the period front, mine came back straight away, even tho I was exclusively BF (TBH I was a bit annoyed, I had hoped for a little reprieve :()...anyway it is back and very regular. Don't know if that is normal.
Flynn had his 6 mth needles today and has been great. One of the mums form mother's group was there and we had lunch together which was lovely. Flynn is being a lot more like his 'old self'!! Which is just delightful! He has been taking bottles too. I don't hold him while I give it to him, I just prop him up on some pillows. I didn't put any EBM in the last bottle I gave him. It took a few goes but he eventually took nearly the whole bottle!
Hope you are all going well,
Take care :)

So this week has not been so great. Will was sick on Sunday and started throwing up after every feed. By Monday he was throwing up in between and had really runny nappies so off we got to the doctors. Turns out he had tonsillitis and a suspected UTI. Because he had kidney dilation at 21 weeks gestation they thought the UTI (possible) could be a sign that dilation was still a problem. So no worries we just need to do a wee test. A guess who won't wee! thats right, even with me ,two nurses and the doctor (all girls so Will turned the charm on) and nothing. they ended up putting this little bag over his bits to 'collect' some wee. We get home 20 min later and there is 80 ml in the bag, go figure. So anyway he is better now, no UTI thank goodness, just one very sleep deprived mum. Will is back to two night feeds a night at the moment but I think that is because he has been sick and teething (did I mention 4 teeth now?). Plus I just never get to sleep before midnight. Oh well at least he is healthy, plus I love the midnight feed cuddles when he is drowsy, warm and just want to snuggle. Lately he has started putting both his hands on my cheeks and pulling his face up to mine and then making really cute little noises. He usually does it after a sleep. I like to think it is his idea of kisses. So cute!

Anyone else just stare at their bubs and wonder where the time has gone?

Ewol - Great that you and Mick got some couple time. It is amazing how it can be so easy to forget to make time for ourselves and our partners, or just not possible. I hope that Isabellas EEG results come back ok.

njd - I ended up ditching one of the baptisms. the mum came to our mothers group lunch and announced she had found a gold cross she wanted and told us she had put it on layby and we could all just pay some off for her. I could not be stuffed after that. I have a close frinds name day this weekend. Our sons are best mates (so we say) and for him I made some yummy organic baby food in reusable containers. Its stuff that is practical and helps her out now I figure.

Melinda - :hug: for you in this trying time. I hope things settle for you and James soon. Does expressing and putting it into a bottle help?

catherine - Teething can defiantly mess with their sleep so I say go with your instincts on that one. If he is gagging on the formula it might be the teat. Will is funny with teats and still uses a newborn teat during the day as he gags. At night I use a medium flow. Also I found with Will when he went to the bottle I had to try a few different types till we found one he would take. Hope it all goes well for you.:)

laurab - DH and I are thinking of just letting Will make his own mind up about baptism etc. We don't go to church so I don't really see the point. He is here in the world and that is what matters. Your nephew sound awesome!

Luey - great that DH can help you out with feeds. I still give Will a dream feed on occasion and it helps get him through a longer block of sleep. I try to take advantage of that when I can. Sleep rocks (when you can get it ,lol).

All boys - Scout sounds like a great traveler. Can you collect frequent flyer miles for him yet, lol.

Robbo3 - :dance::dance::dance:Yeah on the teeth, way to go Ari!

rustygirl :clap::clap: For Cohen. Sound like he is liking this solid business!

Anyway hi to any one I missed.
Please excuse my typos, I have fat finger syndrome.

Hello

I have finally had some sleep!! Wednesday night Sam slept for 5 hours then 4 then 3!I couldn't believe it.His naps were awesome yesterday,better than he has ever slept during the day.He had a 2 hour in the morning an half hour at lunch then another 2 hour in the afternoon.Last night I'm can't quite remember feeding him because I was half asleep but I think he woke up once in between 7:30 and 5:30, at 5:30 he had a feed and now he's back to sleep!WOOHOO! I think he's catching up on all the lost sleep he had so I'm not expecting him to continue,but I feel a whole lot better for it.
And I am on tooth watch.I found an suspicious looking lump on his bottom gum yesterday.Exciting times! He also sat for about a minute yesterday without my help.

He is still not back on the solids, he completely went off them when he was sick and now the second I put something near his face he clenches his jaw and turns his head.I think he thinks I am trying to give him more medicine.Boy, does he hate being made to have medicine!

I am doing ok,feeling a little better now that I have had some more sleep.Still very up and down though.It's strange that I can go from being fine to being desperately depressed and back again within 15 minutes.I called the Mother/Baby unit on Tuesday just to talk to them and ask exactly what goes on there etc and the said they will organise a phone appointment for the 7th of October! WT!So none of my questions were answered.I understand they are busy and there is only 4 beds but gosh, I wouldn't have thought it would take that long just to speak to them on the phone.pfft I don't know that I can be bothered with that.

Dh is doing crazy hours at work for the next 4 weeks, like 16 hour days.So I am pretty much on my own.Lucky my mum and sister both work in schools and will be on holidays from next week otherwise I think I'll go insane!

Anyway no time for personals as I am out today and need to get things ready.Hope all of you have lovely weekends.

Laura
xx

YAY - Its the weekend :dance:
Just popped to wish everyone a great weekend. Not sure what we are doing. Mick won't get home from work till the early hours tomorrow morning.
Take Care
Jo
PS - LauraB - Sorry I didn't have you on my mailing list, I have added you now. :)

I second that Jo, happy weekend everyone! Will try to make an effort for personals over the w'end.

Jake was 6 months yesterday.......makes me just so sad :(. I'm proud as he is doing so well, gets on all fours now ready to crawl. But SO SAD my baby is already halfway to 1. Went to the MCHN today, all is well wieghs in at a whopping 6.85kg (;)) is doing well but isn't making any real attempts at mum, dad or bub or anything, he's fairly quiet. i'm not bothered though :) Poor old Chloe had her 3.5 yr check too and she didn't even make the graph on her height and weight for age, LOL. She did well on everything else though and totally aced her eye test ;)

Thanks for the pics Catherine, he is just divine :D

xxx

hi there ladies! sorry i've not been in more often to post, just trying to keep things in line at home. I've been trying to do something 'extra' every day, just to get the house back in order and get some spring cleaning done. I finally got around to cleaning some windows that had mildew on them after the winter :redface:.

Jake is a ratbag again today, I think he's in the process of dropping his early morning sleep. yesterday he didn't go back to bed until 11am and then I had to wake him at 1:30pm to go to the MCHN, and he NEVER sleeps that long in the day. Today he had had maybe 45 minutes all up until he crashed around 2pm. I'm hoping he'll have a massive sleep. He's still so good though, doesn't get all crabby, just spits it now and then and as soon as he is given attention he is fine. So it's more of a hassle for me than him!

Hayley nice to hear from you as always! You must be SO busy, and from what i read on your blog you are also into 'cleaning' mode like me! Yay for Ari's teeth, he is growing so nicely and you are right, he has the biggest infectious smile! :D How are things going with you?

Nic, sorry Dusty wasn't very compliant with all your sleep hopes! It never repeats itself does it? I had a great night with Jake the other night but last night wasn't terrific, was up from 3am-4:30am with him :rolleyes:. Most nights when he wakes I can just put him in with me and he feeds and sleeps no problems and with minimal interruption to my sleep.

Rustygirl hooray for the solids! :) You are totally right, you can't force anything on them, but when they do take to it it's usually with a passion! Jake is getting so good at eating, when I give him a piece of bread for dinner (with avacado or banana or something on it) not much of it gets on the floor or in his crutch anymore! it all goes in!

Luey ironing?? What's that? :cryinglaugh: I DO NOT iron in this house unless we are going somewhere special. Gosh, my days would be SO long if I ironed!! lol. You are a better housewife than me :) On the crying, I really believe if you aren't comfortable with any parenting 'tips' or styles, then don't do it. You are the best judge of what works, and it has to work for both of you. No good letting E cry it out and getting him to sleep if it's going to make you feel like you have abandoned him in some way. It's also no good rocking him to sleep if it only frustrates you. Not much help I know but I've learnt 3x over now, just do what you can handle and don't let anyone criticise you for it. I'm sure heaps of people would say I'm wrong to put Jake to sleep on the boob and to bring him into bed to co-sleep and feed. Sure it doesn't always work perfectly, but it suits us and that's all that matters.

Arghh!! there he goes!! lol
bbl
xxx

now where was I?

ahhh....yes....Luey! Of course it all gets difficult when you aren't happy with the way things are but you don't know what else to try. You've just gotta try and pick and choose which bits of advice you are comfortable/happy with.

Mel, hi :hello: can't think of much to say as I usually speak to you the most! Hope James is keeping up his change in habits for you.

All-boys I haven't had any AF here to speak of. I have a Mirena in so had a fair bit of spotting but now I've had nothing for ages. I don't know if it's the BFing or the Mirena. I also have guilty mother days where i feel terrible for being angry with the kids because I'm tired. I've been making a real effort lately to be a lot calmer myself (I get a real temper with the kids!) and it seems to be going better. Ben especially is being a really angry little boy at times and me being angry back just isn't helping things only escalating them. How do you cope with the 4 kids? I'm still thinking I'd like another but I'm just not 100% sure yet.....

Catherine glad Flynn went well with his needles. We went to get Jake's done but he was too unwell. Glad Flynn is taking the bottle for you now, I don't think there's a problem propping the bottle up on pillows as long as you are always there to supervise ;). Did you go back to work? I was thinking about this the other day and I thought you said you went back for a couple of days a week?

Macca glad to hear all is well now in your camp. Sounds like a shocker of a week though! I LOVE the smooches too, Jake is much the same, it's just too cute! and Will with 4 teeth!! what a champ! i would have ditched one of the baptisms, it's all a bit much really!! It's ok to want to have guests there to witness the occasion but it loses the sentiment when it's all about the pressies!!

Laura glad to hear from you, I am thinking of you often! My best friend was telling me of a friend of hers who is doing it tough ATM. She has a 2yo not long diagnosed with Autism, a NB who has some issues with her legs and on top of it all she has PND also. Makes me think of you and how much tougher this whole mothering job is for you guys. I really think Mums with PND need a medal! :cheer: I feel so honoured that you can and do let us in on it all and I just hope wel all help in some small way.

Hmm....who have I missed?? Reenie??? Where are you girl? ;)

Ok I'm off, I've got all my work done for the night, about the get Chloe into bed (she slept this afternoon), do some nappy hunting (TOO addictive) and then hit the hay myself. I'm HOPING Jake will have a good night tonight :rolleyes:

xxx

Hi all
Bec- Thanks for your advice, Although I always try for him to settle himself first I do find i end up giving him the boob to settle sometimes. It makes me feel better that I am not the only one that sometimes puts E to sleep on the boob. WE don't co-sleep. I don't let him cry it out at all, Usually I run to him as soon as he starts to cry and try and comfort him in the cot. If that doesn't work I do pick him up and give him the boob. I am starting to leave him a bit longer to see if he will settle himself, like he did the other day but it doesn't always happen. It takes ages for him to go to sleep, he fights it so much, regardless if I watch his tired signs. He often lays there and plays with his toys or stares into space. I hae been wondering about dropping night feeds, as I sometimes feed him 2 hourly overnight. He knows what he wantsn though and I think once solids are firmly established then I will think more about it. We have worked out that if DH gives him a bottle at 11/1130 he will sleep till 3, then anything is possible after that. The only problem is when DH needs to go to bed earlier or E feeds at 930-10 so is too early to give him a dream feed. I notice it the nights we don't do that. He feels better too I think as he gets lots of solid sleep.

Jo - Hope you have had a good weekend. I can't believe it's sunday. Where does it go? Weekends are no different for me though. I still have to wake when his royal monkeyness does. DH is sometimes around a bit more which is nice. Yesterday I sort of craked it, when E wouldn't sleep, was fighting it and DH got him up ( for the third time) and said 'I am going to bed, you do what you want with him'. Ithink DH cuddled him to sleep , oh well they got their bonding time.

Laura - Glad that you have had some sleep and Sam is feeling better. E is only starting back on solids after me taking him off them after being constipated on monday, so didn't have any. Tuesday he was fine and he had some sweet potato and didn't have any till yesterday as he had a funny tum, a bit unwell but every time he ate it would go straight through him. HE had a bit of a temp, only 37.3, I didn't even give him panadol, for once HAHA. WIth solids for now I am just treating it as fun and if he wants it, good if not that is fine. Loves his rusks though.

MAcca - poor Will. All our bubbas have been sick.
Hi to everyone else
Sorry so long, will maybe write more later, NEED SLEEP. I hope E has gone to sleep, he has been really quiet in his cot for a while. He did fall asleep on the floor yesterday, with a dirty nappy. being the neglectfull mama that I am I left him there;). tHere was NO WAY I was waking him. I figured he was comfy.

Enjoy your sunday

Sorry luey, re-read my post and went a little OTT on you! ;)

Jake has not been sleepin in the day at all!! He's not grouchy really but I just hate knowing he hasn't slept! Today he slept about 1.5 hrs from 8:30am (so up at 10am) but then only had about 20 minutes all up from then until he crashed around 7:30pm. That's a long time! I don't know what's going on with him! He hardly ate at all today and BF SO much but never for long. It must be teeth right??

hi girls

just a quick one from me, will do personals another time

our babies are all so different, big difference in their weights and sleep patterns etc Bec James has slept about 6 hours on and off during the day a 2.5 hour sleep and 2 other almost 2 hour ones, will be interesting to see how the night goes, he wasnt great last night !
but the night before he only woke at 3 am and the night before that slept 1045pm-0545 so things are on the up and up i hope, he is back on the boob (never off completely just not interested) and behaving much better, he was nearly botted it off last weekend so he came good in the nick of time lol

Catherine: great pics of Flynn, i cant believe how big he looks and so grown up sitting up ! and standing too, wow !
we dont sit let alone stand lol no teeth and no rolling !

Macca: how are you and Will doing, is he all better now ? poor little thing, he must have felt awful, have you managed to catch up on any sleep ?

Hayley: yay for Ari and his teeth, he is such a smiley little bub (have you had him weighed recently ?)

i managed to sneak a few personals in, hi to everyone else !

Melinda

Hi girls!

Just a quick one as I am trying to do bottles and washing tonight (I always seems to end up doing housework at night). Will is heaps better which is great and I have been able to get a few catch up naps. I have put Will back in cloth nappies and am loving it, it will just save us a bit of money which we need right now. I have also made a big effort to go organic lately which is going well. Will loves the food I make that comes from a local producer who sells veg and stuff real cheep at a local market. Will has even gone back to eating pumpkin which he went off 3 weeks ago. The other bonus of shopping at the market vendor is that it is half the price of the local Woolworths store. Still have to pay a bit for apples and pears but mangoes and paw paw are in season now which Will is loving. I have even frozen a few long mango pieces that I give to him to suck on when his teeth are bothering him.

Anyway I hope everyone had a good weekend.
Catch up soon on personals.
Jen

Hi, how is everyone?

I'm Ok, had a weird dream involving Dean Cain(Superman in the TV show Lois and Clarke) last night.Damn night terrors!That might have been my worst.:lol:

Yesterday I had a visit from the CAT team, not t hat I am in crisis but just because they wanted to see how i am going in the new area etc.They have organised for me to go and see one of there doctors today to sort out a possible change in medication.Dh has the car so I couldn't get there but they are going to come pick me up.Pretty good services in the area obviously.Unless they are just tricking me and are going to commit me!:lol: In all seriousness I am really hoping that something can be done about it,maybe a change in the type I take.I really don't think the one I am on is the best for me.And I am soooo sick of these side effects!I'll let you know how I go.

Sam's been getting better and better.Still a slight cough but that's about it.He is so cute! He has been doing strange things with his mouth the last few days.Sucking on his bottom lip and making the weirdest sounds.Although those day sleeps didn't last:( he is back to 40 minute naps.

Catherine , Thanks for the text the other day.I tried the Vics thing and it worked!

Bec,Tell me about that damn nappy hunt! i am so addicted! I have found 39 so far, but am stuck on most of the rest.I am a bit sad about Sam hitting the 6 month mark too.I still have a few days though.

Macca,Yay for going back to cloth.I'm so addicted!Housework? pfft what's that?

Mel,I am so glad to hear that sleeping is getting better for you.You must feel like a new woman!

Luey, I pretty much always put Sam to sleep on the boob.I know they say not to but it's the easiet way.He's happy and I'm happy so who cares! I tried Sam on the rusks yesterday and he loved them.

Anyway that's all for now.

Laura xx

Hello, hello hello!! I'm going to post before I get too behind again ;)

Jake didn't sleep much today again, he did have a good 1.5 hrs over lunch time but that was it for the day :rolleyes:. I SWEAR he said 'mama' today, it made me sit up in bed this morning from shock! He's done it a few times but I don't think it's really a mama.....more like a variation of the 'mmmmmm' sound he makes lots!

Mel I really hope James sleep keeps on going like that! That's great! It's a pity Jake's lack of sleep during the say doesn't translate into sleeping more at night! And yay for James getting his act together on the boob! Maybe 6 months is a real turning point for him. I spoke to the LC today about my worries over less wet nappies and she assured me it was the solids, so we are all booby too ;)

Macca (or it is Jen? ;)) good on you for the cloth. I just love sailing down the nappy aisle at the supermarket and not buying nappies. What are you using? Terry flats? That's great about the market fruit and veg. That's the one thing I don't like about my area, there is nothing like that here. Because we are the 'apple valley' there are always plenty of cheap apples, and also pears too. But the rest has to come from Woolies, otherwise I need to travel about 20 minutes. Doesn't sound like much I know but when it takes me so long to get out of the house between feeds etc. going to the local supermarket 2 minutes down the road is more preferable. I DO need to make an effort to go there though. It's always much cheaper. We usually have our own grown veggies (my Uncle just up the road here has an organic veg farm ;)) from our massive patch at my Uncle's house but at this time of year we have run out and need to plant more again.

Laura what is the CAT team? I hope you get onto some different meds.....those night terrors sound terrible. Like you aren't getting enough sleep already???!!! This CAT team sound fabulous the way they are prepared to transport you too, they sound very supportive. And damn nappy hunt, lol (that's where I'm headed next!) I've found 41 and 2 extremes but I am running out of time!! So frustrating but satisfying when you find one! I took the easy way out and searched the hint forums for the sites with the least amount of hints.....figured they'd be the easier ones, :cryinglaugh:.

Andie, hope your trip is going well!!

Hi to all!!

xxx

Hi All
Becstar: I thought I would let you know that Reenie is doing well. This is what she wrote thru facebook
Hey Jo, So sorry I haven't posted on BB for so long. Can you please let them know that I am on a wireless net connection, we are still waiting for our ADSL. We had some major drama's with Telstra and it took 6 weeks to get connected. So as soon as we are connected with ADSL I will be able to post. The net connection is really flaky. So whenever I have tried to post it drops out and I lose my post. Very frustrating!! Our new house is great and we are all very happy in it! Let all the girls know I am still alive and well and so is baby. Look forward to posting soon!
Take care
Reenie

Isabella has had a bit of a cold and a cough for the last week. I have been giving her stewed apples in the afternoon and she is liking them. Isabella wasn't too keen on farex. Isabella is due for her 6 month checkup and needles. We are going to the clinic on Monday (29th Sept) and Riley is having his 2 1/2 checkup as well. We have a paed appointment on Thrusday to get the results from her EEG.

My niece had her 4th baby today - a little girl RUBY ALICE, 5lb 9ozs and she reckons that is her biggest baby so far. Both Mum and baby are well
I had better go and do the dishes before I go to bed
Take care
JO

Thanks jo!

Glad all is well with you, and GL with the check -ups we still need to have the medical and the needles....ouch! GL for the paed appt on Thursday too.

Congrats on your great-neice (is that right??) being born, and that's SO tiny.....awwww :)

Did you have a nice weekend with DH home?

Just a quick one from me.

Thanks for the update on Reenie Jo.

Bec, the CAT stands for Crisis assessment & treatment team.Quite serious usually and only come if someone is completely off the rail but being in the country now, I don't think they have much work because I certainly don't fall into that category.I had my appointment yesterday and the Psych is going to have a look into what meds will be the best for me while breastfeeding.I should be collecting the prescription today.I am a little scared about the change because it will involve going off all medication for a few days and I don't think I can handle being like I was before I went on anything.It will be better in the long run though so it's worth it.

I'll keep you all updated.

xx

Hi girls, flat out here at the moment, so much to do and very little time...doesn't help that I procrastinate either?!?!?! I'm a SHOCKER!!! Anyway, just a quick post to let you know that I have just uploaded pics to my blog for those who are interested!
XXXXXXXXXX

Ahhhh....thanks for the explanation Laura! I hope your new meds go well then, and of course we are all here anytime you feel you aren't doing so well :hug:

Nina, nice blog posts! :) It's good to see Cohen, he's growing so fast! I love the video too!

I had hoped Jake would sleep well today while the kids were at daycare but no.......:rolleyes:. I discovered he loves oranges though :D

xxx

BEc- Don't worry about what you said, I know you were being helpful. I just clarified what I said as I didn't make myself clear in my original post. I don't let him scream himself to sleep, some people do but I don't. Can't. But as we have said " whatever works for you". It was "interesting" to read the Huggies forum about sleep. Totally different attitude to child rearing. Not wrong, just "different".

Jo- Not long now till the EEG results. Get well soon ISabella.

Laura - WE will be here if you need us. Do you have MSN (microsoft messenger? ) I can PM you my addy for that if you like. Hang in there. You are doing so well. It will be ok this time going off the meds as you know you will get better.

Nina- WHy are you busy? A 6month old and other stuff doesn't make you that busy. HAHAHA Jsut kidding. I had to get DH occupy E the other day so I could vaccuum and mop, I don't normally as we have a cleaner. I don't know how people manage without a cleaner:doh: . OF course they prolly spend less time online.

Things going well here. TOUCH WOOD. E is getting another tooth, bottom left, that will be 3. Not sure if there are some up the top.

HAve a great day

A cleaner Luey, now that sounds like the trick! lol That's what daycare is for, I use my tuesdays while the kids are gone to at least mop the floors if nothing else. Let me tell you you think you are busy with one bub.....;). I look back now and think how did I do it? I had a 9mo old a 22mo old 2 jobs and planned our wedding....phew!! I WAS crazy back then!! As a firend said to me the other day, it's just amazing what we women can do ;)

Laura, I'm a MSN lady too....usually hiding offline but I'm always at home. :)

xxx

Hi girls, I've lost track of this forum again!
Bec: I work one afternoon a week for about 3-4hrs. It is nice to get out of the house. Flynn stays with my mum which she barely endures:lol:!! I nearly have everything I need to be working at home, I'm expecting some money ($$$$) from the ATO which I will be putting towards a few more tools and supplies! It is very exciting. How did you give the orange to Jake? I have been looking at what else I can give to Flynn and have thought about oranges but I'm not sure how to give them to him. He readily takes anything and everything and shoves it into his mouth but he tends to just keeps shoving and then nearly chokes, as a result I mash everything and I can't see mashing oranges working that well:redface:!!
Melinda: yes they are all so different! Flynn is not really standing by himself, it was about a second! DH let him go and i snapped the shot! He does love to feel his feet tho!
Luey: glad things are going well for you, hope it stays that way!
Jen: I love going to the market for fruit and veg, unfortunately it is very far away from me. I get some of my fruit and veg delivered but Aussie Farmers Direct. It is so convenient and I get a surprise each week as you never know quite what will be in it! We have been getting delicious strawberries and pineapple, the other week we got a beetroot which I had no idea what to do with but ended up roasting which was quite delicious!
Nina: I don't know how you can do anything without DH around! I'd be a mad woman! :hug: Cohen is gorgeous BTW :)
Jo: Hope the paed appointment goes well and that there are no dramas with Isabella.
Laura: :hug: Hope you are going ok. Are you making the most of your mum being on school holidays? I hope so. Glad the vics worked. I tell everyone about it!
Flynn had his 6mth weigh in on Monday and he has not put on 'enough weight'. only 300g when they would've liked to see about 500g. Anyway she has stressed me out a little and made me feel like a bad mum, but Flynn seem quite happy and certainly doesn't look malnourished so I'm trying not to worry about it but I am a little... Other thing to report...Flynn is right at this moment wearing a cloth nappy !!! Yay for me! I bought some terry flats probably 3 weeks ago and they st in the laundry waiting for me to wash them. i finally washed them and they have been in the folding pile for about a week. Yesterday i tried putting one on him but they only way I knew how to fold it wasn't working so i resorted to a sposie! But today I got online and Googled (what the heck did we do before Google???!) how to fold nappies and now Flynn is wearing a cloth nappy. Yay! Hopefully I can stay on top of the washing!
Anyway hope I 'personaled' everyone. sorry if I missed you.
Take care

Just need to have a whinge before I explode. ;)

I have a MASSIVE headache today. Had it since last night. I want a sick day, lol. So DH just left for work, Benji is whinging about his finger (nothing wrong) in between being incredibly rude and I can barely keep my eyes open it hurts so much. ARGHHHH. Thankfully Jake and Chloe are being champs, despite Jake deciding that the day started at 4:30am. This is one of those days that it all just sucks :( Part of the job.....

oh and Catherine, Jake only put on 200g too. I'm not worried, as you said you know they are doing well. :)

:hug: Bec, Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks Laura :) how are you doing?

I'm feeling much better now, sorry for the whinge.

Catherine, I give Jake orange in eighths, so i cut it in half, then each half in quarters, peel the skin off and give it to him. I do have to keep an extra eye on him though and pull it out once it's all stringy and he's sucked all th juice out! Well done on the cloth too:) You will notice a difference in your hip pocket! Even if you manage one cloth nappy a day that's 365 you have saved from landfill too. I used a terry flat for the first time today on Jake. I much prefer my MCN, much easier to put on a squirming baby!

xxx

HELLOOOOO!!
So sorry I have been absent so long. What's it been like 2 months? SLACK! Well in my defense I have only just gotten back online properly so I hope you haven't thought bad of me too much :)p

Hope you and the babies are all doing well! I will email some photos shortly when my ADSL kicks in. Here's the scoop anyways: We moved into our beautiful new house on the 12th of August. Are soooo much happier here- yes even my stubborn husband who didn't want to move in the first place!! Can't believe we almost divorced over moving, but he really is much happier too. Which makes me want to kick him up the claccka and say "Seeeee!" LOL
The phone line took 6 weeks to get connected because Telstra have a bunch of slack jawed yokels working for them. Looong story but finally here we are. Now I am waiting for ADSL and I will be able to upload pics for you guys. Am on wifi atm and it powerful sucks. Have been watching all your little bundles turn into chubba bubbas :D ALong with my own. Although Seraya is still in some 000's and has a lot of room to spare in 00's. She is quite small. Am getting her 6 month needles this arvo and will weigh her then. I think she is about 7kgs. A nice little package. She is so much smaller then her big heffa sister was. India was about 10kgs at 6 months!! Into 0's and 1's! She was a buddha obese baby!
So I am enjoying still being able to carry Seraya around quite comfortably and cuddle her with ease. Yes she is crawling ( I think she was doing that when I last posted) But I have managed to slow her down by sticking her in the jolly jumper and her play station. She is trying very hard to squeeze out "Dada and Mama." She did say "Dada" at 4 months but never did it again. lol. She is cutting her bottom two teeth. They are poking through quite a bit but not fully out. Oh and a bummer of a thing- she has excema!! :( India has it too along with bad asthma and allergies. I have a feeling that that hers is unrelated to asthma or allergies though. Since it is just confined to the sides of her beautiful little face. But yes I always have to later her up and make sure she doesn't scratch. She has woken up with blood all over her before because of the scratching which made me upset. So she is miss mittens at bed time. As for her sleeping, she still sleeps right through TG! Goes down at about 9:30pm and sleeps until 9:30, but amazingly will lay in her bed without crying until we go and get her. I can't understand how well behaved she is. Whenever she wakes up she will lay there for hours before she starts to whinge that she is hungry. Her tummy will be rumbling when you pick her up but she doesn't make a peep! Strange child! But a good one! Oooh and she looooves her solids. She probably only has 3 bottles max a day but I can't force any more into her so the solids are starting to help beef her up a bit. Doc's aren't worried as she is gaining, just slowly. She follows me. I was a 6lb baby and always tiny for my age. I kind of like having a petite sized baby this time. It was like carrying round a pre schooler with India.
As for me, I was starting uni as you all know, but because of that nasty stalker business I ended up deferring. Am doing voice over work now for some radio stations and am returning back to part time work just for something to do. Am interviewing this week for some account exec roles. Well I am not even gonna bother reading the last 50 pages of posts to catch up. If you could just fill in the blanks a little like I did,that would be much appreciated! I have missed you gals and catching up on the baby buzz!
Nice to be back!! xxoo

Oh I forgot- I got the Mirena fitted. Am not sure if I like it or not yet. Keep hearing bad stories. I have felt a bit moody since and really grumpy for no reason. Plus I keep getting my period every 2 weeks ARGH. They aren't heavy at all like a lot of women apparently get. I am waiting for it to settle down. If it doesn't in the next few months I think I will get it out. Plus I am feeling a couple of kgs heavier and I don't like that one bit! Thank goodness we are setting up the home gym. I need to run a few miles to feel human again! Is anyone else on Mirena? How do you find it? :rolleyes: