There are many issues that you will encounter as a new parent. We have put together this list of useful articles and threads in order to assist you with some common questions or issues you may have, and to provide you with bit of extra support that we all need as new parents:
Please contact the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) or a Lactation Consultant if you are concerned that you may have breastfeeding and/or supply problems, and before the introduction of solids.
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Just thought I would post since it is a new thread!!! I did post one 5 minutes ago, and then I went and changed Angus's photo on my ticker and came back and there was a new thread!! I took heaps of photos today cause he has been so happy! So thought I had better update my ticker as well!! Anyway, I hope everyone is OK since it is so quiet lately!!
Kelly - sorry you weren't able to go to the catchup. It is frustrating missing out on things isn't it. I hope you have had a better day today.
Dan - how did the movie go? I had trouble at first too going out, but have found that now i am much better about it. Julian loves my mum and brother and they love spending time with him so I'm happy to oblige. How did Olivia go?
Sarah - my skin has changed since having Julian too. Mine used to be really oily but now it can be very dry. I've had to stop using some of my old products as it was making my skin worse. It could be from the lack of sleep and stress that could be impacing your skin, I find that it affects mine.
Michelle - I've been thinking about work and what to do. I talk myself round in circles. One minute I am convinced that I would like to go back part time, then I think i'll wait and see how I feel, then another moment i will be convinced I want to be a SAHM while Julian is little. I am expected back at work in February 07 and wouldn't go back before then but if I did go back it would have to be part time so i'm not sure if that is possible. Do employers have to offer a part time position to mothers by law? Someone was saying that to me but I'd never heard of it. I'm still unsure as to what I'd like to do. What about everyone else? I'm afraid that I will lose perspective at home or go crazy, though I do love being here for Julian and spending the time with him. So confusing!!
I have been feeling really depressed these last few days. I've got no idea why. I have this sinking feeling in my heart and a feeling of apprehension with me all the time. I've been really snappy at DH and I often feel close to tears even if I'm having a good day. It is so not like me. I have been one to have mood swings in the past, but not like this. Does anyone else feel like this? I feel guilt from feeling like this too, it is a vicious cycle.
Hi Jan - it's fantastic to hear from you. I have had a few days like that but an outing anywhere by myself or a sleep helps. Doen anything help you? It might be worth a chat to someone incase it is PND. please look after yourself.
Michelle - i love the new ticker photo of angus he's so cute. As for work I have to go back on 7th Jan full time for ten weeks to finish off my midwifery course clinical hours. When i'm finished those i'll be`going part time seeing how it goes and then taking it from there.
Kelly - how's your little man going?
Sorry for the quickie post and very minimal personals but I feel like crap and Olivia had a really bad night which is very unusual for her so I was up all night so I'm off to have a sleep.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Catch up later,
Luv Dan.
Dan - Sorry to hear that you had a crappy night - is Olivia ok?? I hope you managed to have a good sleep!! Thanks for asking about me too. We're doing ok. Actually, I'm feeling quite a lot better about everything now but Luke is still having trouble at feed times. He still screams when I try and feed him on the right side, it's certainly a struggle, so I'm not convinced the medicine is working.
Jan - I've been feeling a bit down lately too but as Dan mentioned, you really should get it checked out. I had a good talk to my health nurse and feel a lot better now. I think I was just all stressed about Luke's reflux! Hang in there and make sure you talk to someone!
Lulu - I'm dying to know how the catch up with Danni went??
Michelle - Love the new ticker pic!!
I hope everyone else is well!! As I said above, Luke is still struggling at feed times but he's certainly not quite as bad. Its really frustrating though and he just hates the Zantac. I'm back to the pead on Thursday though so we'll have another good chat to him about it. Thankfully, I'm feeling much better about everything and am dealing with it all really well again. I think all the screaming at feed time just got to me and now that I've been able to have a good cry and get it out, I'm able to deal with it again!! The weather is just goregous today too, so that certainly helps. DH and I are going to take Luke for a nice walk along the river this avo!!
Anyway better fly, have heaps of washing to get done while the weather is so good!! Talk soon.
Im baaack!!
We had a great time away! We visited wineries, cheese factory, chocolate shops, antique shops etc!! Lots of good food and laughs! Izzy coped well - she slept for 11 hours the first night and then the last two nights woke after 6 hours - so am hoping she will go back to her normal pattern now that we are home! She was great in the car though and generally kept her routine- just adjusted her naps to car seat naps!! The only bad thing was that it went way too fast - especially as Al came up on Friday night and we had been there for a day and a half already - ah well.
Jan - great to hear from you hun but not so great to hear about your illnesses. I hope you and Julian get better soon. As far as the apprehension goes maybe you should speak to your MCHN or someone you feel comfortable with about it?? I go through phases of up and down- alot of it for me has to do with not working and feeling a bit like "is this it?" and then the guilt associated with that. Its amazing how much guilt we feel as mothers isnt it? Cloth vs disposable,FF vs BF, dummy vs thumb, going out/staying home, letting them cry/not cry and the ridiculous list goes on - Ive stopped thinking about what anyone else thinks and at times that includes Al (sounds awful I know) because he isnt home all day every day and really - the saying mum knows best really is true. Anyway after that very long ramble what Im trying to say is - I hope you can talk to someone and we are all here for you.
Kelly - sorry to hear you didnt make it to the meet up. What a bummer. I hope Luke settles back for you and his cold doesnt last too long. Good luck at the paed on Thursday too - it really is weird how he doesnt like that side hey - you poor thing - must be frustrating for you. Yay for the nice weather- makes a big difference doesnt it when its sunny! I find the weather directly affects my mood and how Im feeling so today was great!!
Dan - Hope you were able to have a rest today and Olivia has been more settled for you. Have you still been dreamfeeding? How is it going??
Michelle -Angus is gorgeous! Love the pic! Weekends are pretty slow around here arent they. Especially when lots of people are away!!
Danni and Lulu! How was your meet up!! I wanna hear all about it and see pics!!
Everyone else!! Big hugs and hellos to you all - hope you are all well!!
I was just talking to Al about when I will be going back to work- and we still dont know! There are days that I wish I could go back right now because I have these awful days of feeling quite depressed and very bored, but then I haent been apart from Izzy for more than about an hour and a half so not sure how I would cope. I guess we will just decide in the next few months before I have to tell my shcool what Im doing next year!
Well ladies - I have to say I admire all of you co-sleepers! Ive had the worst 3 nights sleep with Izzy in our room! If shes not grunting and sighing in her sleep, shes kicking her legs, sucking her fist etc!! I think the bassinette she was in kept waking her too when she tried to stretch out! Im glad we are both in our owns beds tonight! Speaking of which -Im off to bed! Talk soon!
Hi everyone. Sorry I didn't get on earlier to tell you about the catch up with Danni but I've been a bit busy with Izzy, who has been really unsettled for a few days.
It was good to see Danni and have a bit of a chat and meet Mason. I didn't think to take my camera but I think Sushee took some photos which I assume she will post.
Kelly - sorry to hear you're still having problems. From what I've heard, Zantac does take a couple of weeks to really kick in so don't give up hope yet. Otherwise, maybe try the Losec - talk to your paed about it on Thursday. The Losec I got for Izzy was in a "liquid suspension", so pretty easy to squirt it down her throat. I hope you got out for that river walk yesterday - it was such a beautiful day.
Jan - so sorry to hear you're feeling down. Yes, I get those feelings too. I took the PND indicator test and my score was horrendous - they were trying to shuffle me off for counselling. It was at the height of Izzy's reflux being out of control and I know I was very depressed, although I don't think it was actual depression if that makes sense. Given what you've been going through its no wonder you're feeling bad. Like Dan said, try to get a bit of time for yourself. As for the work thing, the laws here (and presumably nationwide) are that your employer is required by law to give you your old job back, but they are under no obligation to give you a different job (ie part time). Basically, unless you can continue as before they're not required to do anything for you.
Dan - how was your movie with DH?? My DH and I did that last Thursday - went to Gold Class to see Die Hard 4.0. it was great to spend a couple of hours together alone but I missed Izzy so much. My parents had a great time though!!! I hope Olivia is ok and it was just a one off. Hope you get a nap too!
Tan - sounds like you had a fabulous time. I'm very envious - would love to get away for a couple of days. You're absolutely right - we all have to just trust our instincts with our bubbies and try to put everyone else's views (and can you guys believe how many people feel they have a right to tell you what to do!?!?!) out of our minds.
Michelle - Angus is sooo gorgeous. You're not back at work yet are you? Not sure if you are given the wording of your post.
Who was it that went to the "Babes in Arms" movie? How did it go? I've really wanted to go but haven't made it yet. Might try this week. They haven't had movies I've wanted to see yet but now I think maybe that's better - if Izzy's bad I won't mind missing the rest of the movie if I have to leave!
I'm not sure about the work thing either. To be honest, I planned to have Izzy and never go back to work again but after a few weeks of her having long day time sleeps I found myself bored, so after a coffee with my old boss I'm taking on a bit of work from home, which will start in a couple of weeks. Perfect timing given that for a few days now Izzy won't sleep for more than half an hour in the mornings and not at all in the afternoon unless she's back on my shoulder!! Oh well. Will see how it goes. I think by the time No. 2 comes along I won't be working at all though. I am genuinely amazed at how tired I get looking after Izzy all day.
Enough from me now - was going to be a short post and as usual I've rambled on. I'm going to visit my new nephew for the first time today - for one reason or another I haven't got there yet so am dying to see him. Hope everyone has a great day - enjoy your last day in Perth Danni!
Lulu - Its great to hear that the catch up went well - I'm still so annoyed that I couldn't get there. We'll have to have our own little catch up at some stage!!! In the end, DH wanted to go to the beach for a surf, so Luke and I went with him and had a great walk along the beach!! It was magic!! Just what I needed. Luke was supposed to sleep though and of course, there was too much going on and he just happily looked around for the whole walk. Cheeky monkey really doesn't like sleeping much!! I'm going to try and get out again this avo and make the most of this gorgeous weather - apparently the rain is coming back tonight!!
Tan - So glad to hear you had a great time. We're thinking about taking a little trip down south soon!!
Well, I'm afraid I'm really tired today. Luke's sleeping is all over the place. The night before last, we had another 6 hour stretch but then again last night, he was awake every 3-4 hours. So, I'm only getting 2-3 hours of sleep at a time. I need more than that!!!! Its driving me a bit mad. Then he had one of his screaming episodes at 5am - not nice!! He's still pulling off the boob screaming, so we'll see what the paed says on Thursday. I've also booked Luke into a Chiropractor on Friday, so hopefully that will help too. I'm coping with it much better this week, so hopefully that lasts too. The funny thing is that as soon as he stops screaming, he's all happy and laughing again, its so crazy!!! I've heard reflux babies are quite miserable all the time, so I'm starting to wonder if it really is reflux all the time. I know he does have reflux but I'm not convinced thats all it is.
Anyway enough babbling from me - I really need to try and get some housework done while Luke is asleep - it doesn't last long for us!!!
Hi gorgeous mummies and bubbies,
Kelly - I'm so sorry that Luke is still screaming and fussing at the breast. I'm sending you huge big . After three days of Olivia screaming I'm losing my mind so I have no idea how you are surviving. You are incredibly strong to keep going and keeping your head above water. Your walk along the beach would have been gorgeous. Aren't our bubbies gorgeous with how they take everything in. It's just amazing to see them taking everything in and being there with them the first time they see and hear things. Hope you are able to get some sleep soon.
Lulu - Fantastic to hear that your meet up with Danni went well. Isn't it great catching up. It is good that Izzy is being good for you and the moment and good on you for doing some work from home. I've started reading my textbooks and some clinical experiences to try and get my mind working again.
Tan - Great to hear that everyone had a great weekend away and Izzy was good for you. At the moment I have stopped dream feeding because Olivia is not sleeping for long enough for me to worry about it. I'm going to start again after I have sorted out our problem with her sleeping. Just when we getting somewhere. Has Izzy gone back to her full night's sleeping since getting home? Isn't it funny how much noise they make when they sleep? I couldn't believe how much better I slept when we moved Olivia to her room.
A huge to all the other mum's and bub's.
What are our babies doing to us at the moment?!?!? Olivia has gone back to not sleeping for me at all during the day. She is sleeping overnight but today she had two 20min sleeps and that is it. For some reason she is waking up from a deep sleep hysterically screaming and crying. I have no idea what is causing this. Any suggestions?
We had our paed appt today and Olivia is perfect and we don't have to worry about her heart murmur at all as it's an innocent one . She is both physically and motor skill developmentally right for her age and is a healthy thriving baby . It was so great to hear that she is perfect. Made my day.
Anyway I can't believe the one week that I am so busy that I don't have a second to spare I get sick and Olivia is not sleeping. GGRRRRRRRR!!!!!! We have Olivia's baptism on Sunday followed by a BBQ for 55 at our place. And on Saturday night we have a combined birthday dinner and good bye out. Olivia is going to be so tired. At the moment she is going through a phase where no one can hold her except me or Dave so this weekend is going to be very interesting.
Anyway my dinner is cooked so I had better duck off and eat it while it's hot,
Catch up soon ladies,
Luv Dan.
Hi girls!! I only have a few minutes so personals will be very limited. I have laid down a new household rule that internet and computer use is only 1 hour in the evenings and for a few hours on one day in the weekend. Our relationship has been really suffering because of these bloody computers.
Dan, a couple of mothers in mothers group brought up nightmares today and the nurse said that it is because they are growing brain cells at a rapid rate now and storing memories and they have nightmares as a result, nothing to worry about at all, totally normal. Great news about Olivia's heart murmur
Tan, glad to hear you had a fun trip, I am very jealous
Michelle, love the new ticker pic
Lulu, sounds like a great gig with the working at home, I really don't intend on getting another job in the near future and would prefer not to at all. I guess that is why I am trying to finish my website and get my business going so there is a little extra cash coming in with minimal work.
Kelly, I hope the appt with the chiro helps with Luke, I know what the lack of sleep is like, Noah only recently has been sleeping better but for the first 2 1/2 months he was up every 1-2 hours, it is not good for the sanity.
I don't know if I said in the last thread about Noah sleeping 11 hours straight on Thursday night, if only I didn't wake up in anticipation of him waking up. Otherwise he has been getting up once in the night now, usually at 4am. This is a great treat for me. I am trying the solids again, just the rice cereal because milk is just not satisfying him again. My nurse initially objected a little but then recanted and agrees that he needs more than just my milk. Alright my time is up and we are heading to bed. Will try to catch up more tomorrow, sorry if I missed anyone!!
Oh yeah and a quick question, I am going to be doing shower and bday invites and birth announcements etc but now I have been given the opportunity to sell photos printed on canvas at a great price as well, what do you all think about photos printed on canvas? Is it a good idea??
Have a great night!!! Sending out sleep vibes to all the babies!!!
Hi all - a quick one here before I have to start dinner.
We have had a few unsettled days since coming back - Izzy has been grizzling and straining - leading me to think she might be constipated but apparantly not, as babies this young who are exclusively b'fed rarely get constipated, so Im not sure what it is. She is definately not herself, strains really hard and gets red in the face and has only done one poo today and that wasnt the result of straining.
I went to the chemist and she started to give me something but basically she ended up saying that I should just wait and see what happens over the next few days- then went on to say that because Ihave central heating I should be giving her water!! I just nodded to her and thought to myself - you've got to be kidding? If she is thirsty arent I better off giving her a little 2 minute feed than a bottle of water? Pfft anyway - will see what happens over the next few days.
One good thing though she slept for 10 hours again last night so I think being back in her own cot has meant she will go back to her brilliant night sleeping! She then woke up 2 hours later at 7 though and I was so tired I put her mobile on so I could catch a few more zzz's.
Well better go - might jump back on tonight for personals - hope you are all well!
hey guys...a quick one from me. we are home from perth safely but unfortunately Mason is really sick. Im not coping at all...I am so devestated watching my baby in so much pain. I just feel so helpless
He has an ear infection and urine infection. He spent most of the days in Perth crying non stop and when we got off the plane last night he was hysterical. So we went straight to the hospital and there again today. Hopign the medecine kicks in soon.
I am so scared about DH going back to work tomorrow. We have had him home for almost 2 weeks and im gunna be upset.
Danni - sorry to hear about Mason not feeling well. I hope he gets better soon. It must be hard watching him in pain Let us know how he goes if you can
Tan - Julian has a similar thing. He didn't do number two's for 3 days and then I took him to the doctors. He was dong some nasty farts that actually smelled like an adults one. The doctor recommended for me to use a suppositary to avoid a tear when it would have all come out by itself (due to the force and volume of it). I couldn't bring myself to do it so my Aunty did it thankfully. Within 5 minutes so much poo came out it was unbelievable. I don't really believe all the books saying the can go 7or 8 days after what I witnessed. I think it depends on the baby as to what is normal etc. He is still backed up as he was straining today too and did a few more smells so tomorrow I'm going to try to give him some cooled boiled water. This was recommended by clinic and baby love. Hopefully that does the trick. I'm also cutting down on central heating use as I think this dries them out. Hopefully our bubbas do the business soon. Julian looks uncomfortable
A big hi to everyone else. I'm feeling abit better on the moods front. I came up with a few changes that would make me feel alot better. I've decided to join a gym and go once a week (Pay as you go system) and to come up with a schedule of what I can do in a week, a couple of outings to make me feel better. Be back soon for more personals.
Very quick one from me too - I'm in desperate need for some sleep!! Luke just isn't sleeping well at all - I think I got a total of 4 hours sleep last night and it was in little blocks!! Not nice. I'm so jealous of everyone getting 10 or 11 hours of sleep, I just can't imagine that happening. Luke's started going down quite early, tonight he fed at 5pm, had play time and then went to bed at about 6.15pm and he's still asleep at nearly 9pm!!! I've been doing the dream feed before I got to bed but its not helping and I'm wondering whether I'm just making it worse. I just don't know what to do anymore. I really need some sleep.
DH is away tomorrow night too and I was going to go to Mum's but we've had some bad news on that front too - Mum's got a blood clot in her leg (basically has deep vein thrombosis (sp?)). Luckily they're onto it now but its potentially fatal, so it's been a bit scary. She can't walk on that leg, so I don't know about going to stay with her. She was a bit better today though and able to hobble around but has to go to the doc every day for injections to help thin the blood. It's all very scary.
Anyway must go work out whether to do another dream feed or just go to bed and pray for the best. I can't work this little boy out sometimes!!! Lucky he's so damn adorable - I love him to bits!!
Kelly, I would drop the dream feed, it wouldn't hurt, I don't dream feed Noah anymore although I did last night only because he fell asleep on the sofa instead of the cot and I didn't want him to wake up as a result of the move. Not sure if I should keep it up now though because he slept from 9pm to 11pm dream-feed then until 7:30am when Juz's alarm went off. It is all about playing around and experimenting, and babies never keep a steady schedule anyway. Sorry to hear about your mum, I hope everything goes alright.
Jan, Great to hear you are feeling more up, I found a daily walk has made an improvement on my mood, if only it would make an improvement on my waistline as well
Danni, to you and Mason. Poor thing, it's not fair that someone so innocent and small has to go through so much pain is it. To my recollection with my ear infections, once I was on antibiotics, I was only in pain for 3 days max, it's about the same with a uti as well. I hope it passes quickly for you.
Tan, it isn't unusual to have less poo's every so often, it is usually the result of a growth spurt, they can go for up to 10 days without having a poo. The fact that she slept through could be a sign of a growth spurt as well, is she sleeping more in the day? I wish I could describe what we were taught in MG to lengthen the bowel so you can help them poo, I guess you have them facing away from you and have them sitting with your index and middle fingers behind their knees so they lean up against your tummy and they are seated, you bring their legs into a frog leg position so kind of spreading and pulling the knees back. It does work.
Well, I forgot to report about Noah's weight and length on Monday, my little man went from 6.3kg last week to 6.5kg this week and 62cm last week to 64cm this week. I can't believe how fast he is growing, imagine if I was feeding him solids on a regular basis. How much more convenient is it to just BF hehe I am too slack to be mixing up the rice cereal so Noah still isn't getting it regularly, it just means I am feeding him every hour, but at least I can still do things while BFing unlike feeding from a bowl.
I made a chocolate mud cake last night, OMG it is the richest cake I have ever tasted, I felt sick for an hour. I did accidentally put 100 more grams of choc in it though. Oops! I swear I added an extra few inches to my waistline from one slice as well Well I have to feed the little man again then I need to get ready for my walk. Talk to you all later!!!
Just a quick update here - will be back later for personals - thanks for the advice ladies.
Well Izzy woke up with a little poo in her her nappy this morning after an 11 hours sleep and I just changed her now and she had done a big poo - all normal runnyish poos - no hard bits or pebbles.... so shes not constipated. She IS still making straining and grunting sounds like she is pushing something out and I wonder if she made that noise one day and has decided it sounds pretty cool so she does it all the time now! She isnt terribly upset or cranky so Im at a bit of a loss.
Gotta go - will be back later ladies!
I was just working on a MASSIVE personals post and yep you guessed it - this piece of cr&p computer sh@t itself and came up with an orange screen. Weird and annoying so will have to do it later...... so angry right now
Babies Born May 2007 #6
I hope Luke settles back for you and his cold doesnt last too long. Good luck at the paed on Thursday too - it really is weird how he doesnt like that side hey - you poor thing - must be frustrating for you. Yay for the nice weather- makes a big difference doesnt it when its sunny! I find the weather directly affects my mood and how Im feeling so today was great!!
. After three days of Olivia screaming I'm losing my mind so I have no idea how you are surviving. You are incredibly strong to keep going and keeping your head above water. Your walk along the beach would have been gorgeous. Aren't our bubbies gorgeous with how they take everything in. It's just amazing to see them taking everything in and being there with them the first time they see and hear things. Hope you are able to get some sleep soon.
to all the other mum's and bub's.
. She is both physically and motor skill developmentally right for her age and is a healthy thriving baby 
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