Babies Born May 2007 #2

Lulu - yay for Isabelle - can you get her to come over and talk to my Isabelle please!! We are a star form about 6 at night until 8 in the morning - feeding well, burping, playing and sleeping for anywhere from 4 -6 hours. DUring the day is a different story - we havent slept for more than 45 mintues at a stretch for the last 4 days. Thanks for the tip - I think Ive been letting her cry for too long and by then shes all worked up. Will see how we go. 16kgs???!! I was impressed with my 13!! Hope you are eating well too though although I can talk - its hard to fit in food around everything else that has to be done!

Kelly - Hope you are going ok today with DH back at work and I hear you on the new life. For the first week or so I was really down - I felt like I was just a feeding machine and I couldnt even enjoy it because of my nipple pain. Feeling pretty housebound with Al back at work too - cant wait to start driving again. Anyway hope you are ok - we are all making these adjustments to being full time mums - its huge isnt it! Man they make it worthwhile though - i was talking to Izzy today telling her she had to go back to sleep and called her Missy moo in a weird high voice and I swear she smiled and gave a little laugh because when i did it again she did the same thing! Makes all the pain and frustration just fade away!

Hi to everyone else!! Hope you are all ok - pretty quiet in here!

As I mentioned having some issues with day time sleeping - not sure what to do other than trying to settle her when she cries. Funny how she gets it at night - although she is obviously exhausted by then. A friend is giving me the name of a sleeping and feeding consultant who comes to your home who is apparantly fabulous - so will keep that up my sleeve if it doesnt get any better.
Anyway ladies - hope you are all well!! Oh my gosh i think shes actually asleep so Id better go do what i can while i can!
Talk soon!

Hi to all the May mummies!

Sorry I have been MIA (haha... didn't realise the play on words there!!) as Mia has been really unsettled in the last few days and it's been hard trying to put her to sleep. She's normally quite good but of late, she's either refusing to be put down (she'll be asleep after feeding or burping etc and and as soon as we put her down to sleep she screams) or if she goes go down, she'll wake after 45 mins/1hr and refuse to settle herself to sleep again!! Very tired, but I know it's all a learning experience for her to get used to the world, and she'll be ok. It's me that has the hard time!! LOL

The BEST part is Mia has started smiling about half a week ago. It's this gorgeous full open mouth smile and at first I wasn't sure if it was wind or not but it's definitely smiling. She's doing it more and more each day and today she was sitting there smiling with me for about 5 mins straight... HEAVEN!! I was laughing so much I starting crying - SO ADORABLE!!!

Tan - yay for Isabelle being such a good night baby!! You're very lucky to have her be so good during the hours you need sleep! I suppose that's the positive... so you can at least have a decent rest while she does decide to sleep! Who is the person that your friend recommended re: sleeping/feeding? Can you email me the details? As for settling, we try the patting, shhhh, then dummy and then finally pick-up (unless her cries indicate she has wind, then we pick her up straight away to burp her... we're using the Dunstan Baby language DVD).

Lulu - 6-8 hours??? OMG!!! What an absolute little angel - pass the tips over here!! What is the secret?!

Kelly - you poor thing! My nipples are still super sensitive at the moment but thank GOD they have stopped cracking and bleeding. Now they just hurt like hell all the time (I actually feel like I'm back in puberty again when my boobs and nipples were sore!!) so you have my sympathy! As for EBM, my MCHN said it was 150ml x their body weight / number of feeds per day. So, for example a 4kg baby would be 600ml per day / 6 feeds = 100ml per feed (as an example).

Sarah - Glad to hear that the DVDs arrived all safe and sound for you hon! Are they good? Worth the buy? So sorry to hear about Justin's friend though... that's so sad. :(

Heather - So sorry to hear about the mastitis. I hear it is absolutely horrid. Good luck with the LC - let us know how you go.

Sez - How did your appointment go with Nicholas?

Lis - How did your appointment go as well? So lucky that you have heaps of milk - I am still having issues with this. I barely get anything when I express after a feed, and if I express instead of feeding I only ever get about 80/90ml MAX!

Hey Kris - will email you details when my friend gets back to me! Do you recommend the dunstan baby thing?? I kind of have worked her out already but wondering if i should get it anyway?
Sarah- is 55 plus $10 postage a good price for the baby einstein stuff??? 23 dvds.

Tan - will email you!!

Hey girls!

I've just finished moving house (Boooo!! it sucks) and got my net reconnected today finally.

I'll jump in from here if that's ok, sorry for being a slacka$$.

Blake is being very clingy lately during the day, I just can't put him down or he cries. I try patting him etc but by the time I've done all this he is just screaming the house down, I'm not sure what to do. Also, getting him to go down is just terrible, he indicates he is still hungry after 200mL (which, by the way takes no less than an hour to drink), but the Paed said he isn't meant to have more than 150mL per feed...so we try and settle him but he just screams for at least 2 more hours. We've tried Infants Friend, rubbing his belly and cycling so I just don't know what to do. He sleeps like an angel during the night, going around 4-7 hours after he finally goes down then 3-5 hours for subsequent feeds (and no that doesn't mean he sleep for that long, that's the time from when he started the last feed).

Hey everyone,

I've been feeling a little overwhelmed to post in here, I'm sorry. I'm just reading when I see a familiar face/name and saw your post Ash :hug: (I miss you!)

To me hun, sounds like Blake is having a growth spurt. I was asking the midwife/baby nurse the other day about Leo, I was saying to her 'why is it that babies are so calm for the first few weeks and then the crying/clinging/not sleeping starts' (as I've learned from experience not to get excited about my happy baby atm lol ). She said it's because around the 4 week mark that babies have a growth spurt and are unsettled and clingy because they are simply hungry. She said to me to demand feed and it will be all good. But that's BFing though, I don't have any idea on formula measurements and growth spurts. Can you ask your paed what to do if he's still acting hungry? Because Leo was a big bubba, he's having some days where he feeds every 3 hours, but last couple of days he's been eating on the hour and cluster feeding at night (constant feeding from 8-10pm) and that apparently is very normal.

ARgh, it's not easy working these bubbas out! But I reckon your instincts are right, he's hungry. I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

Leon has a cold :( I feel like a horrible mum that he's caught a cold so young. I've been so careful not to take him out anywhere, to ask people to wash their hands with the dettol wash before touching him (including me) but I got a cold from DS1 over the weekend and now Leo has it and can't breathe through his nose which means he can barely suck as he can't breathe. It's been really scary and I've been too scared to sleep in case he chokes on mucous at night, so we've been up all night even when he's sleeping to keep watch over him, taking it in turns. He isn't sleeping at all in the day at the moment, probably because he feels rotten and I've got nothing done. If he wasn't sick, i'd have him in the baba sling to do things but I am worried about him feeling worse if I am carrying him around. He's such a brave boy, not crying hardly at all, just looking around at things and getting upset if I put him down. Poor bugger having a cold at 10 days old.

I'll have to get in the swing of things to catch up in personals with everyone, especially girls from our old May group. I'm sorry if I sound like a snob!

Tan - I paid $65 including the postage so yeah it is good ;) Better than the $375 in the states that they are selling it for.

Will try to catch up later, I am so not coping today, I had a breakdown in front of the MCHN everything is starting to take it's toll. Better wake up the little booger before he has his long sleep now...

Tara-I think I'm just going to cluster feed him before bed, it works and he sleeps longer when I do. Problem is, he takes 300mL+ and I know this is extremely excessive, but I just don't know what else to do. Don't feel bad about Leon having a cold, Blake has had a snuffly nose for a couple of weeks now, but the doc said there isn't much to do except maybe get some saline drops to clear his nose out, think I might go get some actually. How are your other kids with Leo? And how is your proud DP???

Sarah-Big hugs sweetie, I'm about at the same point as you right now so I know how you feel. I hope you feel better soon, maybe DH can look after bubs this evening so you can just have a rest?

Well hi there strangers. I'm finally connected to the internet again. YAY!!!!!! Moving house was a complete nightmare. They didn't connect the gas so we had no hot water, heating or able to use the stove for 4 days, didn't connect the phone until yesterday, a burst water hose in the kitchen cabinets and the plumber wouldn't come for 4 days all with a new born baby. It was a horrid experience and you could not have imagined how foul my language got with telstra, gas company and plumber. Now I have to unpack this house :angry:.

I'm not even going to attempt personals because there is just way to much to catch up but I promise to go back and read over all the posts so I'm all caught up.

Olivia is growing beautifully and she has set her own routine which she changes at least daily. So in other words Olivia does what she wants, when she wants and how she wants and I just try to keep from losing my last drop of sanity. LOL!
It is so reassuring to hear how other mums are having sleeping and settling issues as well. Olivia is perfect during the day but at night she turns into Princess Fiona (an ogre). She will sleep soundly in our arms but not her bed but during the day no problems. We use the same methods and techniques at night as during the day but they just don't work. I really feel like I'm banging my head against a wall.
I agree that this broken sleep is killing me. But at the moment sleep would be great. I've only gotten 1 -2 hours a night for the last 3 nights and during the day doctors appt, LC appts and visitors all seem to come when she is asleep so I can't.

All that being said I adore my little princess and love being a mum. I try to keep saying to myself "It is going to get better" but at 3am in the morning nothing works.

Catch up soon lovely mummies and bubbies cause I gotta go and cook dinner.

Luv Dan (and Olivia)

Now lets see if I get the time to type this before Noah wakes up, I am worried he is down for his long sleep now though.

Dan - Great to hear from you again! That is terrible about your moving experience, I hope the unpacking goes smoothly for you at least. I know how you feel about everyone coming over when the bub is sleeping, it is so annoying I agree.

Ashlee - It is good to hear that other people feel the same but you wouldn't wish it on anyone at the same time. Reading your post made me think I typed it myself except for Noah feeds every hour or less with the cluster feeds being every 15-30mins apart. My MCHN said to not worry that Noah's actions will get worse over the next 3-4 weeks and then taper off slowly after that WTF??? How reassuring eh?

Tara - Sorry to hear little Leon has a cold, you should be fine to carry him in the sling, he will more than likely fall asleep and rest will make him better. (My uncles name is Leon so good choice!)

Kristen - The smiles are so precious aren't they? They seem to melt away the sore nipples and sleepless nights. The Baby Einstein DVD's are totally worth it and Noah even watched one! I had him layed on a blankie on the floor and he was staring in the direction of the TV so I will assume he was watching it...

Tan - It isn't easy taking it easy, I go for a walk nearly every day now to try and shed some of these kgs, I only lost half the weight but the other half wants to stick. I suppose it has only been 3 weeks though. Did you get yourself a set of the DVD's?

Lulu - It is great that Izzy is letting you get sleep! Maybe I need to try your tactics..

Kelly - I thought I was the only one still in bad pain, maybe we do need to slow down :doh: I wish I could help you with the expressing question but I can't express for some reason, I think I need to call in the LC to teach me.

Wow Noah just woke up, perfect timing! I think I have about 5 more minutes of him stretching, he is such a bear when he wakes up.

It looks like we can go to the appt on Thurs because the funeral is on Friday but now it looks like there isn't an appt available :rolleyes: Too much screwing around with the referral..

Ugh! Now I have a nipple attachment again!!! Now, the breakdown...it started with jeans not fitting, my only pants that fit are my maternity pants, then Juz making several comments about how messy the house was which ended up sounding like an attack on me. Add lack of sleep last night with a shopping trip for pants that fit making me feel super fat and unfashionable. Then getting home to feed Noah to have him projectile vomit all over my only pair of pants that I had just washed and take ages to dry when you don't have a dryer. It all seems like a bunch of very whiney stuff now reading over it but it has thrown me for a loop and I don't even feel like myself anymore and here I sit while Juz is out rehearsing with the band for the next 2 hours hoping I can keep it together. Well enough about my rant anyway.

My post is long enough for now and the laptop battery is about to conk again so i will try to pop in before bed. Good Night to the lovely yummy may mummies!!

Hi girls - yay i can finally join this group!!!
Beck - a huge congrats on the arrival of Alexis.....yay our girls are born on the same day!

Thanks sooooooooo much for all the congrats too everyone!

We got back home last night......with Tia too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How brilliant is that - end of Day 4 and our strong little girl is able to join her family at home. How lucky are we!

I have heaps to share but will leave it for another time (will add Tia's birth story to my preg journal asap), but wanted to say that i'm on cloud nine. I have absolutely no regrets about not getting my VBAC (12hrs of full-on drug induced labour was enough of an experience for me to feel like i achieved all i needed to). Tia has blown us - and the medical staff - away with her fantastic condition....we couldn't ask for a better outcome. And she's feeding fabulously too

Ella was sensational the whole time we were absent - and has been great since we brought her little sister home. She made life so much easier for us.

I'm also recovering well - unfortunately i have got an infection in my wound but the antibiotics and pain killers should sort me out in no time.

I have put pics of Tia on my website too!

YAY - my little princess is here, beautiful and safe in my arms.

Hi everyone!!!!

Augh, talk about having o time once you become a mum and along with us doing up our new home its just crazy!!! There arent enough hours in the day I swear!!! LOL

I will do my best at personals and see how I go, but Im sorry if I miss anyone, I dont mean too!!!

Ash Hmm Im not sure about the feeding and growth spurt thing!! Jade does the same thing, everything points too that she is still hungry, but if we try to offer her more she wont have it!! I think what your doing should be fine, I mean its only the last feed of the night where he is having more... so I wouldnt see a problem. Plus if he wasnt hungry/didnt want it he wouldnt have it! I dunno I think your going ok about it. But if there is ANY doubt in your mind ask the pead :)

Tara Poor little Leo and his cold!!! Like Ash said try get some salien drops! We had to get that with Jade when she caught the cold :( her nose was VERY blocked up and we had to use that and then clean out her nose with the sucker thing that it comes with! It worked well. Also, do you have a vapouriser?? We brought one to help her as well and put in on in the room for her. That also helped.... just some ideas. Jade still has a stuffy nose, but the cold is gone. The dr said to me it is quiet normal for babies around this time to have stuffy noses as they are getting used to being outside of mummies tummy. So keep that in mind as well for when he gets better and if its still a bit stuffy... ok now Im babbling!! But its good to hear from you in here, I was wondering where you were :hug:

Sarah :hugs: Im so sorry your feeling that way!!! Its no fun when everything starts to get on top of you and you dont feel yourself! I hope that things pick up soon! Also regarding you hubby, if he makes comments about the house, wether its an attack on you or not, just say, well your more then welcome to clean it if its bothering you so much!! My Justin makes the same comments and I just through that back at him, haha, he hasnt made the comment in awhile now!! :lol: but honestly hope your feeling a bit better today!

Dan Great to hear your in your new house!! Hope you manage to get your house all unpacked and sorted too!! We brought our first home and moved in the week before Jade was born.... though I was induced 4 weeks early so I thought i had heaps of time to get things sorted!! Wasnt the case, lol, and Im STILL trying to unpack things! But Ill get there!! Its good to hear Oliver is going well, we have the same problem as you,, Jade will sleep FINE during the day, but come night time its all over, she will only sleep if we are holding her. We normally just put her in her swing and let her have a bit of a whinge, unless of course it gets serious then we pick her up and settle her etc. But Im sure in time they will work it out............. wont they?! LOL

RAE Ive been waiting for you to come back *HUGS* Im so excited that your here and little Tia is doing so great!!!! Its fantastic!! and she is just gorgeouse!! Cant wait to hear more about how you are all going and how Tia settles in!!

Ok thats it for me!! Think I did an alright job!!! Its raining and cold here today!! Ive got housework to do cause tomorrow is my birthday!!! So I want to have the house nice and clean so I can just have tomorrow to myself and Jade :D

Sorry no personals, my man is very fussy ATM! Hopefully it's a growth spurt ;) Will try to get back later........

Dan - I can sypmathise on the moving front, we did it over the weekend. I don't know how you went 4 days without gas you poor thing. I hope you're all settled now.

Sarah-Hey don't ever think you're being "whiney", this thread is to share ou experiences, good and bad, and believe me we've all had days such as the one you had. I hate feeling unfashionable, but I m too scared to go out and buy new clothes for fear I'll not look "mummy" enough, or on the other end, I'll look like a try hard, ykwim?

Rae-It's so good to have you here, I missed you immensly :D So happy Tia is home and safe with you, Paul and Ella!

Ange-He actually demands more every feed, and I usually give in and he gets 170mL, but is then sill being hungry. I dunno what to do! I'm going to see my GP sometime this week, maybe she can shed some light. Yup it's cold but I love the rain, if only I got a sleep in lol Whoo hoo for your birthday, lucky girl going to see Pink, I'm going to come rob you for your tickets lol

Sez-Grow lil man, grow :D How much did he put on at your last appointment, sorry if I missed it!

Well last night I totally broke down. Blake wouldn't settle, so I just cried and cried and so did he. Then my sister came and took him, praise the lord for her, so I could get some rest.

Am I the only one who isn't getting anything done? Some days I am like superwoman and can do washing, cooking, wash and make bottles, clean the house, but other days whe I can't even do anything except tend to Blake. Today is one of those days as was yesterday. Ugh.

Oh Ash, I hear ya! Some days I really think I AM superwoman LOL, and then others (yesterday and today!) I can't get a single thing done! Nicholas had put on 140g in a week, so he's going okay. I think they would like him to put on more, but the MCHN thinks that he's just going to do his own thing! He's certainly 'woken up' a lot in the last week (his EDD was last Sat) and feeding alot more frequently, so hopefully that will help. He's now a whopping 6lbs 7oz (just under 3kgs) LOL! And we can now consider him 'born' :p

How's Blake's weight going?

Oh man - i was just halfway through the biggest post - doing personals for all- and I lost it - stupid d*** computer...grrrrrrrr

Well after an unsettled night I need a nap so will try to jump on later and attempt again - when will I learn to do my big posts in word and copy them over??
Have a good day ladies.

Dan - you poor thing. Your move sounds like a nightmare. I hope little Olivia starts sleeping at nights for you very soon so you can catch up on sleep. And maybe when you get a visitor you should give them a cup of coffee, a couple of boxes to unpack and then leave them to it and go for a nap!

Sarah - sorry you're feeling down. Much better that you do have your breakdown with the MCHN though - although doesn't sound like she gave you anything positive - why can't people understand they need to soften what they say?! As for Juz, tell him to clean the house himself if he's got a problem, the naughty boy.

Rae - so glad your beautiful little Tia is home with you. You must both be so incredibly relieved.

Anyway, I'm off to wash my breast pump and bottles so I can give this expressing another go - really not having any luck with it at all. Hope everyone has a lovely, restful day.

We got an appointment for tomorrow!!!!!!!!! So we get to wake up at 6am and get ready for the 3 1/2 hour drive to Melbourne. I am so relieved that Noah will get his little gimp foot looked at and tended to. I compared the size between the 2 and the club foot is 3/4 of a cm smaller than the unaffected one, I hope it doesn't get more different than that :(

I am going to try shopping again today, the funeral is on Friday and I really need something to wear.

Tan - When you hit the back button on the browser is your post gone? I had the net conk on me after I typed my post and when I hit submit the page came up as not being able to be displayed but when I hit the back button my post was still there. There would have been nothing more frustrating than to lose all of it.

Ashlee - My only pants that do fit are a pair of black dress pants so I can't dress them down so I went shopping in heels (the rest of my may babies group will know I wear them all the time anyway ;) ) and my winter jacket is a Christopher Chronis wool trench so I definitly looked like the trying too hard to be yummy mummy. You are not the only one letting things lag, this place is a sty on some days and gleaming others, more often like a sty though.

T4AA- I will try that one on Juz, I think with his friend passing everything was grating on him as he usually isn't like that but if it happens again I will snap back at him. Happy Birthday for tomorrow!!!

Rae - Welcome back! Great to hear that everything is well with you and Tia and i can't wait to read your story!

Ok little man is howling, so much for that shower :rolleyes: Hopefully I can get out for that shopping trip...

Lulu - Hope your expressing goes well.

As an afterthought, those Baby Einstein DVD's on Ebay are region 1 so make sure your dvd player can play them if you are going to buy them. I didn't realize until today when I looked at the box, thank god our dvd player plays all regions.

Anyone else have reviews about Dunstan Baby Language, I am aquiring a copy atm and curious at how good it is.

Right take two on my personals for today.
Isabelle is still so unsettled during the day so hopefully will get this all done!

Sarah – Yay on the appointment hun! Hope all goes well for gorgeous Noah. Not sure about going back- I just cracked it and had a little nap before she woke again. Don’t forget that we are recovering from major surgery hun and its 6 weeks. I can only wear Bonds trackies right now because everything else hurts my scar – not that I go anywhere anyway, but I still feel like a slob and I still don’t think I fit into pre-pregnancy clothes anyway even with the weight I’ve lost - my belly is still gross! Only a few more weeks and we will be out and about and feeling a lot more normal I guess.

Lulu – good luck with the expressing I hope it works for you. I’ve given doing it regularly - I just feed when she wants it and it seems to be working for now. Especially as its 2hourly during the day and I’m scared I will express and have nothing left to give her…

Sez- Great news on Nicholas’ weight gain!! And yep – I hear you all on the house work stuff!!

Ash – don’t stress about the housework – as I said before within a few weeks we will be back to a normal routine etc and will be wishing we made the most of the time we have now I guess. Easy to say though I guess – my dishes are calling and this rug is gross but I cant vacuum! Don’t you love family!! My mum turned up after our evil night last night and let me have a bit of a sleep in thank goodness! After all my bragging about how good our nights have been! Serves me right! Hope you have a good day with Blake!

T4AA – Hope you don’t overdo the cleaning today – and I’m sure you and Jade will have a great day for your birthday tomorrow! You girls who all moved before and after bub is born are amazing!! Not sure how you do it!!

Rae- Welcome back hun!! So good to have all the May mummies together! You must be so happy to have Tia home with you too – what a star!!! Cant wait to read your story. Hope you can take it easy and recover well from your c/s.

Dan – good to hear from you and OMG at the move! Cant believe you didn’t have gas! I would be ropable too – good luck with the unpacking – try not to over do it though. Olivia must be sharing her routine with Isabelle – just when I think we are in a bit of routine it all changes…. Oh well – it will happen soon enough I guess. I read the other day that up to 6 mths sleeping in arms is fine as they don’t get too used to it until after this time….we are going with this anyway coz DH comes home from and hates that he has hardly any time with her now so she falls asleep and he just sits with her and watches her..so cute. Hope you can get some solid sleep soon though hun.

Tara – don’t feel horrible hun – these things happen and bigs hugs to you and Leon though, poor little thing. :hug: Im sure you are doing everything you can to make him comfy, could you try the sling – he might like moving around and feeling you close by??
Also don’t feel bad about posting – god its overwhelming in here and there are some mummies who are posting much either. We are all here to help and support each other regardless of personals etc…

All other mummies huge hellos – have to say where is Danni??? Very quiet right now- hope you and Mason are well babe!!

Well like I said we had a rather yuk night – up every 2hours for at least 1-1 ½ hours. After our 4-7 hour stretches for 2 weeks it was a bit of a shock. Shes been unsettled during day sleeps again too – so have resorted to a dummy, she so sucky, she will attach for literally 30 seconds and fall asleep if I let her – so a dummy it is. Seems to working for now. Also our attachment troubles are still coming and going, not sure whats going on there.. Anyway she is finally asleep so I should get a nap in too while I can.

What is a cluster feed by the way??? Im so clueless?!
Hope you all have a great day – big hugs to bubs and mums!!

im here!! sorry guys.... Mason barely gives me 5 mins during the day and thats when i try to go to the toilet, do washing etc!

Tan: do you live near Box Hill?
Next week I have an interview with tinlids who want to meet Mason for their modelling agency! I am so excited :D

Mason is definitely sleeping longer and better at night now. He must finally know the difference between day and night. Im so glad.

BUT he still sleeps rarely and very quickly during the day. Its so hard to get things done around here. Im very much looking forward to the long weekend to catch up on some housework while Dale can tend to the little prince.

Hope everyone is going well...its way too hard to do personals in here.

P.S KELLY and LULU, dont forget we are coming to town on thurs 9th-mon 13th august :D

Sez-LOL I'm glad I'm not the only one! That's a great gain in a week, you should be proud, your lil man only has a small tummy. Blake became way more alert around his due date too, and much more of a handful I must say! Blake's weight is going well, he was 9lb 11oz last Thursday, such a lil porker nowadays, he even has chubby legs and arms starting to form now hehe!

Tan-I hate it when that happens, I always type my posts in notepad so I don't lose them cos god it sucks when you do!! God, I hope things go back to some sort of normality-I'm not really holding out much hope lol Oh my mum just went back to work after haing 2 weeks off, I want her back lol I miss having some daytime napping, but with Mr cranky pants I just can't. I'm so sorry about your night, I think I'd die if it were me.

Lulu-Anymore success with pumping? What pump are you using?

Sarah-I'm so gad you got your appointment for today, good luck!! Lol at you shopping in heels, I haven't even attempted heels yet! Did you find anything at all?? I wanted to try the Dunstan stuff, but I can only recognise one of the sounds ad that's hungry...I've tried and tried but it all just sounds the same to me.

Danni-Mason is a supermodel hehe how cute!

Blake was better yesterday/last night, he went to sleep within 15 mins of his last feed at 8.30pm, without fussing and crying! I gave him infant's friend 30 mins bfore his feed, so I think that definitely helped. He slept til 1.10 - He likes to wake up around this time regardless of when he went to sleep...not sure how to get him to go longer!

How was everyone elses night?

Hello to all the Mum's of May babies. I don't have time for personals, unfortunately--newborn plus almost-three year old to look after--but I hope all the May mum's had a good night, well, a not too bad night.

I never managed to find the pregnancy thread like this, and was lucky to stumble across this thread yesterday. I am spending so much time on BellyBelly for reassurance and advice and information, I thought I better join up.

My details are:

Mum to Theo James, born 6.55 am Tuesday 15 May 2007
Vaginal birth, gas, second degree tear
Mum to Sylvie Mina, born 7.19 am Monday 16 August 2004
Forceps birth, epidural and pethidine, severe pre-eclampsia, episotomy plus various other recovery issues that i wont go into.
I have been waiting to get to this forum and introduce myself since I discovered it last night, but alas, went to bed at 8am. Sylvie is now standing by my side eating sultanas and Theo is asleep at my feet and stirring and my brain and everything I wanted to say has gone to mush.

Managing to BF after a week of cracked, bleeding nipples and all that fun, though bbs and nipples still very very tender. I dont' remember this from last time. We are getting through nights okay and so far Theo seems a pretty complacent baby. Sylvie I think cried more, but it is still early days.

I think BellyBelly is such a wonderful resource, I learn so much every day and get lots of ideas to try out, but I think the main thing is reassurance from mothers going through exactly the same issues at exactly the same time.

Yep, brain is definitely not functioning at present. Can't remember anything.
Have written my birth story but not tidied it up enough for posting yet. Now my daughter Sylvie is playing 'babies' and lying in my arms drinking from her tippie cup while I type.

Great to meet everyone, have an excellent day

Mel

Will post again soon, have a great day everybody.

Welcome Mel, and congrats on the birth of Theo!

****Warning - Vent - sorry in advance for being a downer***********
:(Ok - please all tell me Im normal. I just cant stop crying and Im so scared because Im just feeling so clueless about everything....like when she wont sleep for more than 1 hour at a time during the day for the last week, when she wont attach properly when Im feeding etc etc etc......My mum and sister are such "natural" mums and here i am crying down the phone to my mum nearly every day because I dont feel like Im coping and dont know what to do. DH is great but he think i need to be "stronger" and "have i been drinking enough water- maybe my milk is running out etc...like I need that pressure too. I also feel like Im never going to be able to leave this house - even when i can drive - Im too scared to take her anywhere in case it messes up whatever routine we are in....
Anyway just wanted to share with you guys because hopefully you will understand, Im sure its not PND?? i dont have any bad feelings about Izzy, more jsut about myself and the fact that I feel so clueless when things go a bit pear shaped ?? maybe baby blues - dunno.

Sorry for lack of personals although i will say welcome Mel and congratulations on the birth of Theo- and sorry for this crappy post.
Thanks for the vent ladies and hope you are all well..talk soon.

Hey guys dont have much time except to say welcome to Mel and Theo and massive hugs to you Tan. Give youself abreak honey you are a great mum and you are doing so well. Things will fall into place and you will start to feel more confident soon. Lack of sleep will send you balmy so im sure that is all that is up, but maybe you can give your health nurse a call for some advice? As for routine, just enjoy your precious bundle now cause they grow so quickly, while its important to have some things in place just understand that its early days and nothing you do at the moment will ruin anything. Do you have a friend or someone who can visit you and maybe take you out? Big hugs!!!

Hey girls,

Well I've been reading but haven't been able to post as every time I do Elena wakes up and screams lol! She has a gift of screaming at bad times like just when I sit down to eat!

Ok there she goes again, be back later I hope.
Have a great day mums and bubs!

Rae glad you are back online, missed you heaps hun!

Hello!

Wow, it's just so hard to keep up and find the time to post atm!! Crazy, so sorry again for the lack of personals - I'm slouching at the computer with Luke asleep on my chest - its an interesting position to be in and I'm sure my back is going to be killing me by the end of it - must be quick!!

The reason Luke is asleep on me is that he's got a terrible blocked nose and he can hardly breathe the poor little man. Not sure if its a cold or just blocked sinuses but he's not a happy man this morning. I was trying to feed him before and he couldn't breathe, so I think he's still hungry too - it's all very annoying and I don't know what to do - anyone have any ideas. He just sounds terrible.

Tan - big hugs to you. Don't be too hard on yourself, it's not an easy thing to adjust to - this being a Mum thing!!! I know I've had some pretty tough moments too, it's only normal and please use us as much as you need to - thats what we're all here for. Thinking of you.

Sorry, it's far too hard to type like this. Am just waiting for Mum to come pick me up again (god, I can't wait to be able to drive again). We're heading out to my old work to visit them and show off Luke today, so I hope he's not too sick to venture out!!

Talk soon.

Kelly xxx

Thanks for the welcome, ladies.

Little Theo is having a sleepy day. Lucky me. He has a sleepy one, followed by an active one.

Tan, I have been crying just about everyday, at some point, the exhaustion just gets to you. Something helpful the home visiting midwife said to me was that the first six weeks post birth are a serious roller-coaster. You have pregnancy hormones in your body for six weeks after birth, plus breastfeeding hormones (which I reckon are the teary ones). When I was engorged, when milk first came in, my tears came in on the same sort of a scale as the milk, if that makes any sense.

The midwife informing me of all this really helped, because I have felt, on a daily basis, incredibly up and down. Put it down to hormones, sleep deprivation (which can send one insane), the massive adjustment of a new baby on every level of your life--nothing in the world quite equates to the first year of your first child's life I think.

Hugs to you and you're doing wonderfully from what I have read so far. It's totally normal to feel overwhelmed and teary.

Mel

Tan-I feel exactly the same way you do 90% of the time. I definitely feel where you're coming from.

Heather-Hello sweetie, how's Ivy going??

Lis-I got your email, she is such a gorgous little munchkin!

Kelly-Have fun showing Luke off, I ill never tire of people goo gaaing over him (except I'm sick of people saying "Wow he has so much hair" like I don't already know?) lol.

Blake has been sleeping most of the day, I hope to god this doesn't mean he won't sleep tonight. I managed to get a load of washing done (it's still raining here so I can't hang anything out and don't want a giant electricity bill using the dryer), do some dishes and catch up on everything like emails etc. Booked me and Blake in for a check-up, I have a sneaking suspicion Blake has reflux, as he will only settle in an upright/semi upright position, and he vomits at least once per feed.

Welcome Mel and Theo!

Tan hun don't be so hard on yourself, you are definitely not alone! If there is anything I can do then please let me know, I don't live too far from you. I know its scary leaving the house , I've felt exactly the same but I managed to make a few small trips on my own and now I'm feeling better about it. When you are up to it maybe we could meet up somewhere??

Hey Ash I hope Blakey doesn't have reflux, poor little guy. Sounds like you are doing a fantastic job hun. Not sure how to get these little ones to sleep longer, ha ha think we just have to wait until they are a bit bigger. Well done at getting some housework done, my place looks like a bomb at the moment.

Tara I hope Leon gets over his cold quickly, poor little guy. I bet your kids adore him!

Kelly sorry Luke also has a cold, enjoy showing him off though and I hope he gets better soon!

Hey to everyone else, sorry can't do personals for everyone its just too overwhelming lol. I will try harder next time!

Well I'm having problems with bf still, for some reason Elena just won't stay attached and then she fusses and screams and pushes me away even though I know she is hungry. I just don't know what to do!! I've been expressing and she is fine drinking from a bottle. Sigh its so much more time consuming bottle feeding and then expressing and I'm scared my milk may run out if I'm only expressing??? I'm going to try seeing a LC and see if they can help me out.

Lis-Your milk won't run out, but it is a very time consuming process. If you're adamant to give her breastmilk the I say try and persevere with booby feeding. Danni, on the other hand, would disagree, as she has a huge supply and only takes a few minutes to express enough for one feed. Everyone is different though, and I'm weak and ended up bottle feeding. You can go on maxalon or motilium for supply issues also.

Belly belly is so awesome....thank you all for your support and Danni for the call. Mum came over and helped me today too- thank goodness and again a few pointers should help over the next few days.:rolleyes:

Ash -you are not weak - you are doing the best for your little man and by the sound of it he is absolutely thriving so dont be down on yourself hun. Good luck with the check up too = fingers crossed its not reflux and just wind babe

lis - Ive got no advice really although your milk shouldnt run out if you are regularly expressing though I wouldnt think... i know the stress is awful too but hang in there and good luck with it the expressing.

Kelly - poor little Luke - hope your day was ok and he was fine at your work - I cant wait to go to my school and show her off - am going to ask about driving at my appointment next week - i dont think i will last another 3 weeks housebound i will go nuts. Hope his snuffles clear up soon.

Sarah - how did your appointment go today babe??? Hope all went well.:hug:

To everyone else - big thanks again for your support and sorry for the slack personals. As I said mum helped heaps today and my sister is coming to see me tomorrow so that will be good. God these ups and downs make me feel like I really am nuts because Im in a totally different head space to this morning right now - like i could deal with anything....stupid hormones.:cryinglaugh:

Anyway gorgeous mums and bubs - big hugs - talk soon.

Ash hun you are certainly not weak and by the sounds of it Blake is thriving! I rang the hospital and booked into bf clinic tomorrow afternoon. I really hope they can help as I want to keep bf but the constant expressing is just getting too much.

Tan glad you are feeling better, stoopid stoopid hormones hey. Yay for mums, mine has been a godsend!

Ok gotta go arm is getting sore. I'm typing one handed as little miss here screams when I put her down today.

Oh guys, it's my turn to have a whinge!! I'm having a really terrible start to the morning and it's all just getting far too much. I've been sooo good up until this morning and now I can hardly stop crying. I woke up at 3am with an INCREDIBLY sore boob. The bloody right one that I've been having all the nipple problems with is now absolutely killing me. It's the actual boob now and I'm thinking that I have a blocked duct or even mastiatis (sp?). Its sooo painful and I have no idea what to do. I'll have to give the health clinic nurse a call because I just can't handle it. To make it worse, right when I was trying to express some milk from that boob, to ease the pain a little, Luke did a MASSIVE power spew all over his bassinette (which we borrowed from a friend) and all over himself. I just sat there crying and didn't even know where to start. Eventually when I composed myself, I bathed him and tried to clean up the spew as much as possible. Thank god Mum is coming over today. But just bathing Luke made my boob even worse, it just kills when I move my arm - how am I going to get through this.

Plus, DH is having issues at work - their company was bought out and the new owners have offered him a really crap salary - worse than he's on now, for a much higher role. So he's really down about that and feels like he's letting us down (now that we don't have my salary too). So, I can't even talk to him about my crappy day coz that will just make everything worse, I have to try and be strong for him right now and it's so hard.

Damn it, Luke's crying again - I have to go. Will be back later.

Kelly xxx

Oh Kelly - you poor thing - BIG :hug: to you hun. I would get your mum to take you to the GP so you can get something prescribed... my sister had mastitis and she was given an injection that eased her pain almost immediately. Good luck and I hope your mum arrives soon. xox

oh kelly, you need to get to the gp straight away, If it is mastitis you need antibiotics asap!!

Mason has reflux im sure of it. the poor baby has been choking all morning. I am beside myself. I have to wait another hour before the doctor will see him. i pray he can give him something to help. I feel so helpless watching him scream, gag, choke, spew etc :(

Danni - big hugs to you both too, you poor thing.. must be awful - heres hoping the next hour flies by for you..xox:hug:

Tan - you are absolutely normal. My gauge of whether or not I'm having a good day is (A) did I have a shower, (B) did I pull up the doona on the bed and (C) did I get through the day without bawling at some point. I've had some moments with my DH too that have left me both angry and devastated at my uselessness as a mother. I'm sure both your DH and mine were just trying to be supportive but they're not helpful when what we need is their unconditional support and encouragement. I'm sure you're an amazing mother and your Izzy loves wouldn't trade her mummy for anyone. Maybe Izzy is having a growth spurt? My Izzy did at about 3.5 weeks and it was hell - no day time sleep at all for her, and feeds 1.5 to 2 hours that lasted up to 40 minutes. Hang in there - it doesn't last forever.

Kelly - you poor love. I agree with the others - you need to get to your gp to get it checked out asap. If your mum can't make it for whatever reason, please call me and I'll take you. I can leave Izzy home with her daddy and Luke can use her baby seat.

Danni - I hope your doctor can give you something to help Mason. Iz had the worst reflux ever yesterday so I feel for you and him. Poor little pumpkin.

Sarah - how did your appointment go? Not as important, but I hope your shopping trip was successful too.

Lis - I don't have attachment problems but I do have problems with Izzy writhing around and screaming sometimes during feeding when she gets reflux while actually feeding. Just expressing won't dry your milk up - great idea so you can keep persevering with BF if that's what you choose. Have you tried to feed Elena "up hill"? This was suggested to me for Izzy to try to reduce reflux and colic. Basically, prop Elena up so she is higher than your breast and lean back a bit - she has to put more effort into sucking but it goes down more slowly so less reflux and wind issues. HTH.

Expressing over the last couple of days has gone quite well. Couple of questions for you mummies that are expressing though - how much do you get each time and what temperature do you then feed the EBM at, ie room temperature, rest in boiling water to heat? I feed her and then express and get anywhere from 30ml to 80 mls each time. Is that normal?

Hi to all the other mummies - sorry I couldn't do more personals but there are so many of us and Izzy is waking up.