Babies Born May 1st ~ 15th 2009

[Pandora]

Oscar doesnt always have an awake time, some days he sleeps all day til the afternoon when teh crazy cluster feeding begins. This morning though he was nice an alert for an hour or son in the morning from about 10-11.

Milo loves him even though he is finding it hard to be patient with the crying and constant feeding, and misses mummy telling him his betime stories every night

[amazed]

Hi everyone! Can I join?

Baby Jonah was born on May 15th. He was 7 lbs 1 ounces. He's my first and I can't believe how sweet he is.

He was jaundiced by birth so he was put under the lights immediately for one day, appeared to get better and we were sent home. Next day, his levels were very high again and we were on the verge of being sent back to the hospital -- I was told that once my milk came in he might be able to pass the bilirubin quickly so it was a race between whether his jaundice would get much worse or the milk would become more plentiful first. And, yeay, my milk came in and the baby nurses like a champ. I pretty much fed him on demand and today he weighed 7 lbs 4 ounces (he is just seven days old)! And no more jaundice! Don't ask about my nipples.

I read the thread and am looking forward hearing and chatting about our babies!

I'll look into my ticker going too.

[*Dee*]

AMAZED! glad ur little one feeds well and didn't need to go back to hossy!

Ray - I kno wat u mean. I had my first 2 18mths apart. It's hard to divide yourself between the two especially with constant breastfeeding. But once u get oscar into a routine u will have more time for milo. As long as milo gets a bit of mum to himself it should avoid jealousy. Well the worst kind of jealousy anyway. There will always be a small amount of jealousy in siblings.

Last night my big boys helped me bath Ethan and then they massaged him and my 7 yro put him to sleep in his swing. So so cute! They love him and keep telling me how cute he is.
Everything seemed to be going so well till 4am when Ethan decided it was play time and wouldn't settle back to sleep till 6am!! I'm sooo tired! So my sister is picking my 2 older boys up and taking them to a drifting comp for the day so dh and I can try catch up on sleep when Ethan naps.

[Toomanytoomany]

Dee, that's lovely about your boys It is certainly helpful to have those little extra pairs of hands to fetch and help!

Thanks for your comments re my anxiety. I'm fortunate in that I have had lots of counseling in the past that has given me some good coping techniques, so I will have to brush up on those! I need to drag out my hypnotherapy CDs as well. My psychologist records all her hypno sessions and it's brilliant.

Amazed, welcome Glad your little one is recovering from the jaundice.

I don't have time for much chat this morning - dh has gone in to a conference in the city and I was up all night with Major Tom who has his first cold and is not enjoying the experience. My boobs are so sore - he fed and fed and fed all night. I'm going to try to get to the library today - no mean feat since the baby is sleeping in the room where all my clothes are. Sigh. At least the other kids are dressed... I could always just go in my pyjamas, I suppose. I'm only slightly kidding.

[*Dee*]

AMAZED! glad ur little one feeds well and didn't need to go back to hossy!

Ray - I kno wat u mean. I had my first 2 18mths apart. It's hard to divide yourself between the two especially with constant breastfeeding. But once u get oscar into a routine u will have more time for milo. As long as milo gets a bit of mum to himself it should avoid jealousy. Well the worst kind of jealousy anyway. There will always be a small amount of jealousy in siblings.

Last night my big boys helped me bath Ethan and then they massaged him and my 7 yro put him to sleep in his swing. So so cute! They love him and keep telling me how cute he is.
Everything seemed to be going so well till 4am when Ethan decided it was play time and wouldn't settle back to sleep till 6am!! I'm sooo tired! So my sister is picking my 2 older boys up and taking them to a drifting comp for the day so dh and I can try catch up on sleep when Ethan naps.

[SareBear]

Hi

It took a while to find the baby group but glad I finally have. Oliver was born on May 5th, at 11.09am, he was 7lb 11oz. He was 12 days late so I was in the April belly buddies, nice to see a few of my buddies in this group too!

Ollie is wonderful. He hasn't put on as much weight as expected but the nurse said it may be because he grew quite a lot. So we'll weigh him again next week to make sure. I am having lots of trouble with feeding at the moment so I was worried he isn't getting enough, he seems satisfied though so don't really know. Feeding is just hurting SO much, hoping to get it sorted soon because I can't last much longer. My nipples are quite flat so he really chomps down to attach and is making them really raw and bleed, owwww! I've been playing phone tag with the feeding clinic so now have to wait till after the weekend.

I look forward to chatting with you all and hearing all about your beautiful babies

[Pandora]

Oscar is still asleep, and its coming up to 8.5 hours.
Ice expressed a little but I dont know whether to go in there an wake him up..I had to cehck he was stil breathing when I woke at 6am and realised he'd missed a feed.

Milo didnt start sleeping 8 hours til he was 2 months old so Im thinking its a one off but Im not sure what to do??

[Nat :D]

Amazed and Sarebear Great to have you both with us!
I have added you both to our may babies list https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ml#post1784958
As you can see, some of us came early and some had to be extra patient, but it's a great group. So even if we missed the exact May 1st-15th window... we stuck together!
Glad to hear feeding is going good so far for the both of you... it's a tricky business!

Rayray - Yay for 8 hours! It's a weird feeling tho isn't it?!? Part of you wakes up in a cold sweat thinking something must be wrong... they they are fine and you are relieved... then you think about how it'll affect their next feed... it's a rollercoaster! I hope tho that this is a sign of things to come! Wouldn't that be brilliant if he slept through early for you

Dee - Lol at the grunting! I'm picturing a little "Tim the Tool Man Tayler" Arrh arh arh arh noise

Toomany - still sending you 's

TattMama - Ooo Ouch! I hope you get some pain relief!

Oh I have to go - it's 6 am and I can hear Mia waking up! Will do more personals later - xox

[megs]

Rayray: Wow at 8.5hrs, your boobies must have really been feeling it. Jack has gone 6 hours several times overnight, but nothing consistent yet.

TM: Go the nipple shields, I am a bit on the flat side, and I am using them, they are great. Hope your pain is settling down for you

Sarebear: Welcome. I hope the attachement thing is getting better for you. I am quite flat in that dept, with my first son I had to use a nipple shield for a few months as he had a really short tongue and just couldn't maintain a latch. With 2nd son he had a long tongue so was no problem. With Jack, he has slight tongue tie, and short tongue so no hope of latching so it is the shields again for now. Just keep your options open, some lactation consultants won't recommend them as they think they decrease milk supply but I haven't had a problem with that. Jack put on 320gms in 6 days.

I know with Oscar I was that stressed about trying to get him to attach without the shield that I was losing my milk. In the end my lovely Maternal Health Nurse told me to use them for as long as needed. Anyway just giving you an option. I use the Pidgeon brand, but I have heard the Medala ones are also quite good.

Dee: How cute are your boys. So loving. Oscar keeps giving Jack his dummy, even when he isn't crying. And the other afternoon I was trying to have a nap on couch, Jack was asleep in Moses basket and Oscar was singing to him whilst he was playing his guitar. Was very cute, although put a stop to any plans for a nap that I had.

TMTM: Hope you are getting on top of your anxiety. Sounds good that you have things to refer back too. I know when DH was at his worst with panic attacks it was meditation that got him through. The mind is such a powerful thing.

Nat: Just letting you know that my little boys name is Jack, you can add that to the list if you would like.

[nelly]

Hi girls!

Sorry I have been mia just enjoying my little family of 5 (including the cat!). I was so prepared to have another reflux baby constant crying no sleep and was convinced that something wouldn't go right that to have a "normal" baby is quite refreshing!

Sophia is beautiful, so precious and I thought we had hit the jackpot in our first 2 days when she slept 6 hrs the first night and 7 the next .... then my milk came in. Night three was a feeding frenzy of constant sucking and unsettledness from 9pm to 4am and I was cursing myself for jinxing us and saying how great a sleeper she was lol! Feed-wise she is a trooper and apart from a little graze yesterday wen I tried a (stupid) breastfeeding pillow and the usual tenderness in the first few days my nipples are great. She tried to attach in theatre but I was in a silly position but as soon as I had my arms back in recovery she attached straight away and has been going great guns ever since. I think it helps being my second that I myself am so much more relaxed and know that these feeding frenzies and crying jags are normal baby behaviour and that I am not running out of milk, rather she is turning it up.

Didn't get my vbac but almost got there went into labour on Friday morning after irregular contractions all Thursday night kept me awake. Unfortunately her position was really really bad and when my contractions were about 3 - 4 mins apart (9pm ish) we did the caesar bcos her body was in a L position with her head jammed on my hip but her body being pushed down by the surges. My waters broke as I climbed up on the theatre table (I was trying all the way there to turn her by sheer force of will lol) and it was fun curling up in a ball to get my spinal when I was contracting. I am healing really really well - walked down to the lake today to the markets and back with no pain or pulling and am hoping to be driving again soon.

TMTM - I am not going back to work in the foreseeable future but Darren is and I would love to keep him at home forever he is an absolute gem.

Sleep here is a little erratic but last night had a 5 and 4 hour block, compared to the 2 hr blocks the past few nights, and I am trying to make sure I get a sleep during the day even if it is only 20 mins.

Ray I know what you mean about Milo - my heart breaks when Jake gets upset that I can't play with him bcos I am feeding but at least at the moment he has daddy to play with him.... not looking forward to when it is just us but I am sure we will get there.

Have been slack in the photo dept but will get some posted shortly...

Love and hugs to you all xxxxxx

[Toomanytoomany]

Nelly, glad your recovery is going well - a shame that she couldn't get into position but I'm glad it all went well regardless. You are so right about having the second baby - it's a pity everyone has to have a first baby before they can enjoy the relaxed-ness of a second (Or sixth!!)

Megs, good luck with the shields and everything. Dd4 had a tongue tie that no-one would do anything about and it played merry hell with my supply - I wish I'd been more insistent about getting it snipped.

Nat, thanks for what you are doing keeping the list up to date!

Rayray, I'm madly jealous of your sleep. My little stinker was up every hour last night. He has a cold and is finding it hard to sleep. I really hope he's going to sleep this afternoon as I'm very grumpy and need a rest!!

Sarebear, ouchies on the boobs - I'm sorry you are having such a hard time b/fing. I hope the clinic are able to help - sometimes just having someone watch you and give you a few pointers can make all the difference.

I think when dh goes back to work, I'm going to work hard on getting the baby into a decent daytime routine. I suspect once that happens, the nighttimes will settle down a bit. Mind you, once dh stops snoring the baby might sleep a bit better too... !

[tattoo_mama]

Hi all, feeling a lot more refreshed today, Jade was cluster feeding last nite but I managed to sleep from about 1130 to 3am and then 5am to 7am and 730 til 930am. I worry cause she constantly has the hiccups and is grunting (but not crying) but I go to burp her and she never spits up any milk and hardly ever burps...but hiccups after almost every feed and grunty noises all the time...any ideas? I think I stuffed her full last nite she had two 40ml EBM bottles and 2 short BFs, today she's had 2 bottles but only drunk half of each which is annoying caus then I gotta pour it down the sink. But im expressing about 200ml a day so about 5 bottles and have enough left for her to have a few short BF's for comfort.

She's such a good girl hardly ever cries unless she's hungry but so grunty!!!

Going to my mums today nervous about the car trip she's only been in the car once and I was in the back next to her so I could watch her I worry she will tangle herself or something!!

[*Dee*]

on my phone so will be a quick one.
Tatt - I think the grunting comes from wind. Ethan grunts constantly! And he also rarely cries. I found that since I started giving him infacol and brauer colic relief (not at same time, I alternate) he brings his wind up really well and if u fold his legs and push his knees up to his chest and sort of roll his hips he passes wind easily too. Maybe try that. But yeah the grunting wakes me up at night, i'll go to check him but he's still asleep! Lol

Megs - that is adorable with ur little boy. So so cute! I was worried DS2 might get jealous of Ethan but he's smitten by him. He's my little helper!

We slept well last night. He only woke at 2.30am and 5.30am then 8am. So I'm feeling great today. I had a nap yesterday and fri which made me feel so much more refreshed and more energy. Anyway gotta go, got family coming over! Will catch up on more persies later!

[Toomanytoomany]

Hi everyone - we're plague city here at the moment. Thomas, me, dh, Clare and Genna all have colds. Clare's got her second one in three weeks. I think Major Tom is on the mend - he slept from 8-midnight last night, then til 3, then he was awake on and off from then until 6. But we're getting somewhere - he went back into his own bed and went to sleep at 5 for the first time - normally after 3 or so he stays with us. And this morning he didn't want a breastfeed to go down for his nap, he just closed his eyes and went to sleep in his cot. Wahay!

Dh goes back to work on Thursday. I'm kind of looking forward to it because he gets very housebound and I don't, so I've been going out with him most days and I'm a bit tired. I am looking forward to establishing my daytime routine, which will consist of getting dinner in the crockpot after breakfast and getting the kids off to school, getting my errands done, having lunch, sleeping with the baby in the afternoon, then all the other kids stuff when they get home from school.

[butterfly*kisses]

Hi Girls!

Sorry I haven't been round much - been a little difficult to get to the computer.

Reuben feeds every 2 hours during the day, for an hour at a time.....so that only gives me about 45 minutes between each feed, which is seriously draining. But on the flip side, he sleeps well at night - 7.30; 12.00; 3.30; 6.30. So, that gives me a bit of a chance to recharge.

Yesterday afternoon, he cluster-fed from 2.00 - 7.00pm, just in time to have his 7.30pm feed! I was completely exhausted, like I have NEVER experienced before. This was somewhat due to not eating, and just drinking water during this time. DH was out at a meeting, and had cooked dinner for the kids and put them to bed, but I had not eaten.....first mistake! So, I had to wait until I had showered, massaged and put Reuben to bed before I could then cook myself dinner.....that was about 9.00pm! I was pretty stressed that I might have thrown out my electrolytes, cause I was feeling seriously faint and had bad pains in my chest. DH came home and escorted me straight to bed, and I feeling much better this morning.

Sorry for no persies - gotta go and make beds, and general housework before Reuben wakes again. Community Care nurse is visiting tomorrow, so might have a weight update on Reuben.....from all this feeding I am expecting some big numbers from him.

xx

[Maruschke]

Hope everyone is doing well.

Does anyone have any suggestions to encourage X to settle straight back to sleep after her night feeds? Last night she was up and awake for 2 hours between sleeps.

[*Dee*]

Candice - I've had the same thing. Yesterday i put him in his basinett when he was awake but sleepy and covered from the hood down with a blanket and he put himself to sleep, then I tried that after his night feed and it worked. I find that going in his room to change him with the light on wakes him up so I put a really low night light on and that is working.

Well last night he was an angel. I bathed him just before 10pm and fed him at 12:30 then he slept till 5:30am fed and changed then went down again till 8:30am... I'm going to bathe him at 10pm all this week then next week start making it earlier to see if he might (fingers croosed) sleep thru.
He woke up with big smiles today! So adorable made my heart melt!

The night before last he was a terror! Dh sat up with him till 4am so I could sleep and I took over at 5am. He just had terrible wind. Poor Dh was exhausted at work yesterday but we're both more lively today after the little champ slept last night. I offered to sleep out in the lounge room with him last night incase it was a repeat but Dh said he so cute I dont mind... awwww

Sorry for the me post, gotta run
Hope everyone is doing well.

[Toomanytoomany]

Hope everyone is doing well.

Does anyone have any suggestions to encourage X to settle straight back to sleep after her night feeds? Last night she was up and awake for 2 hours between sleeps.

Candice, you may already be doing this, but my only advice is to keep the lights low or don't turn them on at all, only change her bottom if she is dirty (not just wet), don't talk to her, and keep the stimulation to an absolute minimum. Do you swaddle at night at all? I tend to have Major Tom swaddled for night feeds, but not for day feeds.

Everyone seems very busy at the moment - new babies are certainly hard work, aren't they?