Babies Born March 2008

I am sorry to hear that some of you are having such a hard time settling your little ones, Jake is such and angel - he rarely fusses and only if very hungry. I've been so blessed as he's sleeping well, the only problems we are having is BF but I am seeing the child health nurse tomorrow and we will see what she says about it all but the idea of expressing my milk is growing on me as it's very conveniant for anyone to be able to feed him for me.

My stitches are starting to come out now and the area seems to be healing well, I've booked a GP's appointment though to make sure all is well and to have Jake's first health check :redface:

(((((hugs))))) to everyone who's having so many dramas :cry:

thanks teachmum, you made me feel better.
It's hard to know how much play time to give at this age. He's too young to grab stuff and listen the different noises. maybe it's too early for him to feel textures and stuff. I squeak the different toys and he seems to turn his head.

I guess apart from talking to him and cuddling him at this stage it's quite limited.

lisa - glad all is good with you!! you deserve it after all that you went thru.

Yay for the weather change coming through!!!

Re the play time, i read to Molly Jane after a feed in the morning and from what i can understand, when they are awake, it is time for interaction, that is cuddles, a bit on the bouncer and also loads of talking or any other form of play that you can think of or combine with what you are doing. I dont think that it necessarily has to be structured and shouldnt keep them awake if they are tired. If i am cooking, i bring the bouncer into the kitchen and tell Molly Jane what i am doing...
I read a pamplet when i was in hossy re settling and they were saying that it should be sleep, feed, play... that way bubs is not relying on the feed to get them to sleep all the time. I try and stick to that, but sometimes she just falls asLeep straight away and there is no waking her! (at night time it is feed, change, feed back to bed - or a quick cuddle first, no talking or playing)
I too have been lucky and Molly Jane is really settled and have not had a problem getting enough sleep.

Prama, i think that you are doing a brilliant job, you have had so many hurdles that you have had to get over, you are not a horrid mummy, you are a great one as you are continually thinking of what to do and making sure that your beautiful boy gets all that he needs

Mum and Dad have just left, Dad and i went and got some mulch and he did all the garden beds, mowed the lawns and walked the dog... Mum did hung out and then brought in all the washing, took me shopping, to the CMHN for our 2 week visit and helped me wash the dog. I am so lucky to have them. I have declared that Tuesday is now Grandparent day, and i will visit them or they can visit us each tuesday.
Dad now has a new name, he wanted to be called 'Pop' but was talking to Molly Jane and called himself 'Tic Tock Pop' as he has an artificial valve in his heart and when his heat beats it sounds funny and 'tick'... so dad is now Tic Tock!!! :lol:

Health Visit went well, Molly Jane has put on 125g (now a whopping 4.08kg - she will be out of all her clothes so quickly), she is also 2.5cm longer and her Head Circ is 1cm larger. All other health checks were great and the 'explosive poo' is her way of getting rid of excess BM so all is good :)

Easter we are braving it and going away, not sure if you remember (the girls from the old group) but we go away ever Easter and Cup weekend with several other families (my parents and sister go too) waterskiing,motorbike riding (the boys) and 4WDing etc... anyway, we have decided to go as we dont want DSS to miss out on his Easter holiday... its going to be a chanllange, but i have so much support (i think the thing that i am most worried about is having enough nappies - still on the cloths!)
I am looking forward to showing her off as the other families havent seen her as we will be going away so soon together...

Jade - dont worry about taking the P/Forte, it is only one, and you have to rest. Is there anyone that could come and help you a bit or is there a day that both the boys are in playgroup etc that you could get a bit of you time?

Sorry for the long novel - im very talkative today (must be all that adult interaction i had!:D

Prama :hugs: As the others have said, you need to look after yourself and at this stage Lakshman would be getting all of the playtime he needs just while he is awakw and feeding. It is only in the last couple of days that Caitlin has started to interact with her playmat and that is purely looking at herself in the mirror and smiling. She prefers tummy time laying on my chest than to laying on the playmat and her neck development does not seem to be affected at all.

We had our "4 week" visit to the M&CHC today (kind of funny seeing as though she is 7 weeks old). We had a great fortnight, she put on 430g and is now 3180g (7lb), her head is 35cm and her length is 49cm. I knew she had gotten bigger as some of her clothes now don't fit her which is exciting! She is even wearing some 0000's now - although they are a little baggy but if she keeps packing on the weight like she has she will be caught up in no time. Based on her corrected age she is on the 25th percentile curve for her head, 50th percentile curve for her length and 25th percentile for her weight so she is still a little small but definitely better than she was.

SJ - Your post popped up after I posted. Have a good weekend away - at least this time you will be able to ski - that is if your Ceaser wound will let you.

Thanks so much girls..
I;m sorry for constantly whinging. I feel incompetent sometimes.

SJ - enjoy your time. It's so wonderful to have your parents there..

Jo - yaayy for Caitlin doing so well. well done to all of you!! im so happy..

I think im going express for a day or so instead of directly bf-ing. the shooting pains are getting more frequent and painful. maybe giving it a rest might heal it better.

hope all of you are doing ok. xoxo

Nope no skiing this time - i was so looking forward to having a ski again... bloody ceaser, i am still really angry about it all - after a lot of reflection, i am pretty sure that i was pushed into it due to the time, sure her heart rate was decelerating a bit, but i think that the picture was painted worse as my OB didnt want to be called back at midnight when i was likely to deliver. I am so angry and feel like i was cheated out of a normal birth... anyway enough of that, Molly Jane is healthy and happy, but i dont feel like i gave birth - more like she just arrived and was handed to me. Hard to explain and i am getting better, looking back, given the information that we were given, we made the right decision, but we were not told the whole story and blah - you dont all need to hear this... Sorry

Prama - you are not incompetent... whinge away, thats what we are here for. Have you got anything to rub onto your nipples? the lanisoh is really fantastic and my nipples are feeling better (still sting on attachement, but better)

Jo - Glad Caitlin is doing so well, it must be such a relief for you. I cant believe that it is 7 weeks. has it flown for you? these last 2 weeks have been a wonderful and magical blur for me!

SJ - yup, been using lanisoh.

sorry about not being able to ski.. hopefully you'll be able to do it again in a couple of mths.
i know, it sux that our delivery didnt go the way we planned. i am upset that i was a bit out of it, i had sleeping pills when i first went at 4pm and with the gas, i wasnt a 100%, plus that it was 2 weeks early and i wanted more time.
It's so annoying that doctors/hospitals do it at their convenience and suggest ceaser to make things easier for them. and we have to live with our disappointment.
i wanted to deliver on all 4s but lakshman's heart rate kept dropping so i was seated, propped up.
time to express, gladys the cow is busy now.

Great news girls, we went to see the lactation consultant and she weighed DJ and he has put on 250gm overnight, so now weighing 3.3kg. His original birth weight was 3.5kg then he dropped down to 3.05kg so I was over the moon when I saw the result :dance: :dance: I told her I expressed breast milk 9 times in 24 hours and she said that was way too much and to cut it back and to feed him 6 times in 24 hours or let him demand feed. I wasn't sure how much breast milk he was getting so that is why I was expressing. But another bit of great news, we headed to the shops and he was searching around for my boobs and then sucked them dry!!!! :dance: I was so happy that my milk is finally coming through. The LC also gave me script for molitin (excuse spelling) so started taking that this afternoon and in his feed tonight, I sprayed him on his chin haha so they have already kicked in. Yipeeeeeee DJ is a bit unsettled tonight though, keeps wanting the breast, and I have given him so much, so we tried a dummy and talk about a duck to water, he loved it and it settled him down immediately.

Since DJ is settled I have time for some personals kehehehe

SJ - I haven't felt like it yet only because I was so tired from expressing all of that milk. I always thought you had to wait 6 weeks after the birth even if it was a c-section??? I have a bit of thrush and what feels like a UTI arghhh so I am thinking I will hold off from it for a few weeks. We have both been so busy with DJ we haven't even contemplated sex yet.

Jade - sorry to hear you had a terrible night, I hope you get a good night tonight so you can catch-up on some sleep.

Prama - don't beat yourself up, you are the best mum and I agree with SJ, you are always looking at what you can do to make sure he gets what he needs, so don't feel upset. DJ has thrown up his milk a few times and I am like, you know how long it took for your mummy to express that milk haha As for playtime, we were told to give him DJ 5-10 mins tummy time. He doesn't enjoy it for that long, but trying to do it everyday. Going to start reading to him as well, when I put him down for a sleep.

Lisa - yeah expressing is great providing you have a good pump. I was originally using Pigeon but it was soooooo sore to express, so I bought the Avent Electric Breast pump and it pumps it out much quicker and painfree. I am going to Babies Galore at some stage this week to get those ice-cube trays to freeze the breast milk for emergencies.

SJ - that is sooooo good that your health visit went well and Molly Jane is putting on weight as well. It feels great to see them putting on weight :) And what a nice idea to go away for the easter weekend. We have my mum and brother moving in temporarily (for a few weeks) so it will be a bit chaotic for a few days but going to a bbq on Easter Monday which will be good and mum offered to look after DJ if we wanted to go out for dinner or something.

Jo - wow that is a fantastic weight gain for Caitlin, you must be soooo over the moon. I know I was when DJ was weighed today.

Question - has anyone gotten thrush or a UTI? I spoke to my mum about it and she said that can happen, she got thrush and a UTI after the birth of me as well. Mine is more of a burning sensation when I pee though....

Sorry if I missed anyone.....

Big hugs to all
Shell xxx

Shell - I have the Avent one too, an electric one......Love it!!!!

Shell - your urethra will be a bit irritated from the catheter and it will feel a bit weird to wee for a while, also the filling and then empting of the bladder is a weird sensation as we have not been able to do it for a while due to pressure of being pg. HOWEVER having a catheter increases the risk of a UTI as it is introducing a 'foreign body' to the area... try cranberry juice. if it is just a burning senstaion, it may well be trauma and will settle although it still feels a bit weird to wee for me and i am 2 weeks down the track... if your frequency of going to the toilet increases and you are only doing a tiny bit, it may be a UTI and you may need antis.
Also try using a baby wipe or something similar after going to the toilet to help clean/freshen and relieve the area.

HTH :)

Prama if you can't whinge to us then who can you whinge to? Thats what we are here for we all take our turns anyway. You are doing a great job xoxox

SJ bummer on not being able to ski have a great time though.

shell i haven't had uti or thrush after could it be from catheter when you had c sect? Not sure SJ probably could tell you more.

Jo glad caitlin is going well and growing away, can't believe she is 7 weeks.

Jade, you poor thing you are having a tough time, like you i have no help sux hey? Hope you get some sleep, at least i have no kids during the day i remember how tough it was having 2 in nappies not much sleep was had. Big hugs to you.

Hope i haven't forgotten anyone, so damn tired. Went to mothers group, was pretty good lots of mums there so i'll keep on going and see what happens. Summer got weighed at the end and has put on approx 250- 300g in 6 days she was clothed (lightly) and weighed 4250g so it makes you feel good knowing they are getting enough. I knew she put on a fair bit i sent dh a pic and he couldn't believe how big she was. Also had to drive to Mum's place to pick something up then straight to pick the girls up from school then to soccer training for 2 and then home to cook dinner then make 2 hats for an easter hat parade tomorrow, only just finished and off to bed, Summer has been dragged everywhere she is such a beautiful little angel.

SJ you are so lucky to have such great parents, none of my family or dh family apart from mum have bothered to come and see Summer or any of my friends either, oh well it's their loss.

Hope you all have a good nights sleep xoxoxoxo

shell - so glad everything is falling into place!!
wow, all that milk. do you really squirt?
all i get when i squeeze my boobs are little drops. :(
what's dr. ginsberg like? ive heard the name, does he share the same office as dr. wardena?

Hi all.

Jazz and I hit the shops today for a few hours. Had so many comments about how cute and small she is.
There were a couple of women who I overheard saying "that poor little baby, it's not good for it to be out, it'll get worn out" I didn't say anything coz they weren't talking directly to me, but it really didn't bother me. If they'd said it directly to me, I would have commented and told them to mind their own business! She slept through the day, plus I don't mind if she gets worn out, it means she might sleep heaps well tonight! Ah well, guess people always have an opinion about how we should raise our kids.

The other thing I noticed is that people want to touch the baby. One woman tried and I noticed heaps of dirt under her nails. I just asked her to let her sleep, she respected that and didn't touch.

I have to go now, my husband has told me I should be sleeping while Jazz sleeps (and he's right). So even though I'll probably be up feeding in about an hour, I might be able to get an hour's worth of sleep before then. Goodnight.

PS: Sorry I haven't done any personals at all, just haven't had a chance to read any posts. Perhaps I will tomorrow.

While DJ is sleeping I thought I might take a bit of me time so put a mask on my face, with the hormones going crazy etc I have broken out heaps around and below the chin line. Felt so nice afterwards.... If you need some 'you' time I recommend taking a few mins to put a mask on while bub is sleeping because I felt like a new person ;)

Thanks SJ I didn't even think about the catheder being the culprit for the UTI. I will get some cranberry juice tomorrow because normally if I do get an UTI that clears it up..... Hopefully I can stay clear of antibiotics. Thanks again for the advice. And yep being using baby wipes to clean up the area as well. Another question, can you have a bath after a c-section?? I was thinking that would be a good way to clean out the area.... But wasn't sure with the scar etc.....

Trina - wow that is fantastic, Summer is growing so well :) DJ loves going in the car, sends him straight to sleep. Does Summer go straight to sleep in the car as well? I think if we have a really bad unsettled night, we will put him in the car keheee

My mum and brother move in this weekend, mum is moving to another place but it won't settle until 21 April, so she will be living with us for 4 weeks. Not sure about my brother, could be as little as 2 weeks or 4 weeks..... It will be very crowded in our house over the next four weeks. My brother will have to put a futon bed in the family room - just told him he will have to fix it up in case we have visitors so it isn't too messy.

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shell - so glad everything is falling into place!!
wow, all that milk. do you really squirt?
all i get when i squeeze my boobs are little drops. :(
what's dr. ginsberg like? ive heard the name, does he share the same office as dr. wardena?

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It was only a little squirt after I squeezed my boob so nothing too much mind you.... And don't worry after feeding DJ my boobs just sag arghhh I miss my perky boobs.... haha

Dr Ginsberg is fantastic, so down-to-earth and we both felt so comfortable with him. He has a sense of humour and I am pretty sure he shares the same rooms as Dr Wardena. I didn't even ask for a paed he was just given to me. We are seeing him again in 9 weeks time because he will be away for 2 weeks. I have to make an appointment tomorrow as well as to see Dr Wardena for 6 weeks time. How do you find your paed?

By the way, if you decide to do postnatal yoga with bub at Hills Yoga, let me know because I plan on going there. I have to wait until 6 weeks until I can do it though. But really looking forward to it, and I think DJ will love it as well. We can go together if you like.

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There were a couple of women who I overheard saying "that poor little baby, it's not good for it to be out, it'll get worn out" I didn't say anything coz they weren't talking directly to me, but it really didn't bother me. If they'd said it directly to me, I would have commented and told them to mind their own business! She slept through the day, plus I don't mind if she gets worn out, it means she might sleep heaps well tonight! Ah well, guess people always have an opinion about how we should raise our kids.

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Ignore these people Danni. We took DJ to the shops today and he is only 5 days old and he was asleep the whole time except for when he started to get hungry so I breastfed him.... How can they get worn out if all they do is sleep in the pram.... I bet they were much older women......