Babies Born October 2007 #3

[~kellie~]

thanks Celtic - I've got a cloth nappy on top of her sheet in case it happens in bed. I'll mention it to the MCHN on Monday and see if she thinks I should see a GP about it

[ninja_turtle]

kellied... james is doing this right now. he did it last night too. goes through a phase of feeding every hour, getting dozey on the boob, then waking up as soon as he's put in the bassinette.

he weighs so much i can only rock him to sleep about 3 times before i have to give up. i hate hearing him cry in there but there's nothing i can do. i know he's buggered...

they're good at making you feel like a bad parent.

then he'll turn around and do two 3.5 to 4 hour sleeps through the night. i suppose i should be grateful he's having his spak in the day/early evening and not at 3am.

sigh.

[LadyRaven]

I make sure I prop Ryan on his side a little, not sure what they are called but I have those things that hold them in plce, like a big sausage either side of him. It makes his head lay on it's side a bit if he does spew then he wriggles himself to a on back position eventually. He's not on his side much only enough to ensure his head is to one side for about 15minutes . I found sitting him a lot more upright for feeds helps a lot. Definately ask they just wanted me to rule out anything phsyiological he didn't tell me what it could have been though. I lay him on his tummy for a little bit after each meal till he burps a few times on a matress protector I have on the single bed in his room before moving him to his cot. He's on it next to me at the moment burping and farting away lol

[nickers]

thank you everyone! feeding still going well even bf out in public yesterday!

but my boobs have so much milk now i need to stop expressing and let them get to a supply that Tyron needs and not the pump. I S#*t you not when they are rocks i can express 100ml within minutes.... its so messy my bra, pj's everything got soaked last night, im chaging breast pads like a heavy flow maternity pad!

im going to take Ty to the docs next week, he is also very unsettled and spewy. Nix was a reflux bub so i can kinda see a similar pattern, but he does like 5-10 spews after a feed, doesnt like being laid down and u can tell when he is in pain.
ive used the infacol yesterday but hasnt made much difference, harder to give him the thickener now he is on the boob, might go try the "Brauers" colic releif next see if this helps.

[~Trish~]

Yay Nic! I'm glad it is still going well for you! Well done for feeding in public!!! Re: Infacol, the MCHN said to use it before every feed (she said you can use it safely up to 12 times per day if needed) and that it takes 24 hours for it to really kick in and work for their digestive system as a whole. So it may be worth persevering for one more day? He does sound like he may have reflux though the poor little man .

Had a pretty good night last night. Kieran stretched his o'night feeds to between 3.5 and 4.5 hours which was nice and I didn't need to settle him at any stage so I finally got some decent sleep! He was quite happy after his morning feed this morning and even smiled a few times, though I think it's too early to smile so it was probably just wind? Is anyone's bubs smiling yet? I can't remember what age they usually start. He is really good at reaching out and touching toys already, but Joel was the same. Pretty much with both boys as soon as they were home from the hospital and we dangled toys over them, they were trying to work out how to touch them! Joel has excellent hand/eye co-ordination so I reckon Kieran will as well.

Anyway, think I've rambled on enough! Have a great day all.

[visitor1]

We had a much better night. Wrnt out for tea with friends...Jasmine's pram kept getting knocked so she was so upset the whole time. Came home and fed...she slept from 11pm-5.30am. Then slept 6.30am til 11am!!

So far Jas isnt a spewy baby like Chelsea was.

That Bruers releif worked wonders for us Nic, really helped Chelsea alot.

[ninja_turtle]

*bleary eyes*

so... i can't believe the kid who snuffled awake at 1am for a feed and fell straight back to sleep is the same kid who has given dh and me absolute hell this morning. he has been cluster feeding (hourly), sharking on my right nipple, refusing to sleep...

in the end, dh sent me up the road for a break because i was losing it. james tanted for a bit longer and the cycle started again. then he got the hiccups... then he criiiiiiiiied for half an hour. now he's fast asleep and we are thoroughly buggered.

so much for 5pm. the poor little guy still can't breathe so well at dusk and dawn because of that cold, and i'm guessing he's going through a growth spurt with all this feeding.

not impressed about what he did to my R nipple this morning. am considering getting a pump and some bottles so i can bail out of the house on these desperate days and let dh feed him.

can't hurt to have some spare ebm around the place.

i have a HAB on the way, since he hates the babyrock. let's see if i can wear him to happiness. god knows he's too heavy to carry in my arms for too long.

today's questions:

1) what are you doing for thank you notes/cards?
2) when your baby is inconsolabe do you put them down to cry or carry them to cry?

nickers: lol at soaking yourself. i did that yesterday. i note that if i get even remotely frisky with dh it's fire stations in the boobs... haha. awesome.

[visitor1]

Qu 1. I got some cute cards from Kmart with a pink carriage on the front and sent them to all my friends who came and visited and sent gifts. With a nice message inside.

Qu 2. I let Jasmine cry. If it gets to much i leave the room....go outside, calm down (or have a cry myself), come back in and rock her. If that dont work, Craig tries. Eventually she will learn i wont pick her up everytime she cries. Worked with Chelsea so im using same tactics again this time.

Theres a large number of people who dont like letting babies cry, but crying helps develop thier lungs. Of course i dont let her cry for ages...but a little while (10-15 mins) and by then she usualy settles ok. Picking her up doesnt seem to do a real lot any way. Dummy she hates (bugger they were my saving grace last time).

Gee Nic...100ml within minutes! Thats great....

[nickers]

1. well ive been super organised and already done my sent those out who have already given things and have ones ready for when ppl do. What i did, ok its a bit naughty i scanned in the prof photo we had done at the hosp. i used photoshop to write on it his name dob, weight, length, time and a generalized comment "Thank you for your kind words and gifts"
i then burnt it onto a cd took it up to the local photo shop and printed 30 copies for $12!
the photographer did thank yous which costs $99 for $30 so quiet happy with myself.

2. i do a bit of both i suppose, if im in the middle of something important (on the loo say) well i wont jump off to his aid! but if im roaming around i will try and settle, sometimes he gets the better of me and i have to let him go for a while.

[Saffi]

Hi all

Well we have found L's arsenic hours - 7pm - 9pm. It is so awful. This is the time when we are trying to have dinner, which after I do a feed at around 6pm usually ends up being at least 7pm by the time he is asleep enough to be moved to his basinette. We might get half an hour of peace and then the screaming starts. By the time dinner makes it on the table it is close to 8.30pm and I am usually crying because his screams are too much. DH attends to him, and then I do it and so it goes. I agree with you Kim to let him cry,once you work out that everything is ok, but it breaks my heart to hear it.

Yesterday was horrible. Went grocery shopping and had lunch out and while L usually falls asleep he stayed awake the whole time and had this bug-eyed look on his face. I think he was overstimulated. Lessons learned yesterday. 1) need to find a quieter time to do my grocery shopping and 2) don't think you can just change him without doing a feed as well.

Rabbit Photos do announcement cards. I was thinking about doing that and writing a note or something on the back or enclose a separate little note. That way people get a photo and a thank you note at the same time.

L is stirring so better get going. He has been asleep for 3.5 hours so I guess it is about time for him to wake up. I wouldn't even wake him up when his grandparents came to visit so they could have a cuddle.

[kitten2b]

warning - never wake a sleeping baby for visitors, they can come back another hour, day, year or whatever but I would never wake Maria for anyone, even grandparents.

[visitor1]

All my friends know i wont wake Jasmine...they can look but not touch!!

[ninja_turtle]

i'm glad you guys said you'll let them go sometimes. i get wracked with guilt if i let him cry. sometimes i have to let him cry off the hiccups (only takes 5 minutes usually - when the boob won't work). with his arsenic times we've let him go a couple of times.

i hate letting him go because i feel so guilty that i should be able to carry him and rock him and keep him happy. the crying doesn't necessarily work. sometimes he'll crash out straight away other ties he'll cry like he's being stabbed.

today motherhood is a massive trial and i am feeling jipped. it feels like it will be like this forever... *voice trails off*

tell me it changes....

[visitor1]

It gets better Viv.....all takes time....he is young and hasnt worked out the world on the outside yet!!

[~Trish~]

Vivienne - It does change and get better . By 6 weeks of age they become more alert and happy and interesting and by 3 months of age things get pretty cruisy. Babies are just so dependant on us at this early stage to make them feel comforted, fed, happy, etc... It DOES get easier I promise! With my first DS I remember crying heaps in the early days and saying to DH, "why do people do this, what were we thinking?". How terrible do I sound?! But as DS got older, things got easier and I started to really enjoy being a mum. This time around I can cope better because I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel soon!

Re: waking bub for visitors...absolutely NO WAY will I wake him for anyone, even the queen if she showed up!

[nickers]

hey viv, ive been thinking about your post how james wants to feed so often and has been unsettled a lot lately. Please dont take it the wrong way im just thinking out loud but do you think maybe when he is feeding so often he is actually getting too full and then getting pains from that?
Rather than feeding him if its only been an hr could yoou try doing something else, like bathing or nappy change with some tummy time? Not sure just thinking how Tyron seems to "over eat" and then pay for it later with pains....

[Tiff+2]

NT - My mum make cards and invites, etc, so she will be making me birth announcments/ thank you cards. Tiera has recieved sooooo many prezzies of people, I think mum might be making for a while!
Q2 - Ido too much of the holding whilst she crys. I will be starting the 'controlled crying' when mum goes home this week. I won't let her go too long before I pick her back up again for a few minutes.

Tiera had a terrible night sleep last night. I'm supprised we didn't wake the town! lol Poor little bub had such a build up of wind, she bearly slept. Fed at 10:30, woke at 1:20am, then pretty much staid awake until 7am this morning (only had very short sleeps). I staid up with her most of the night, but by 6:40, I was stuffed and asked hubby to get up with her as he had to get up for work soon anyway. My mum then got up to her when Josh went to work so I could have a bit more sleep. Got up to feed her at about 8:15 and staid up. NOT NICE!

At this time of the day it is her 'witching hour'. She is usually most unsettled at this time of day, luckily mum was able to get her back to sleep after only crying for about half an hr (at this time of day, that is great!) Mum goes home on Tues and I am freaking out! I am trying not to rely on her now, but she is such a great help I just don't know how I'm going to go without her. It also doesn't help that I have so many people say to me 'How will you cope without your mum?' and 'I'll give you one week and you be down in SYD with your mum'. People keep saying to her "When will you be back, Friday?' Arg! So disheartening!!!

Sorry for the vent people, not the happiest little camper today.

PS forgot to add.... I have one breast full of lumps and is soooo painful. Tiera wont feed on it. Its as if she is trying, but its too hard for her or something?! I have been expressing out of this breast and feeding on the other. Has anyone else had this prob? Do you know of anything I can do? Thanks ladies

[Saffi]

Viv - I hear ya! I keep asking myself why I have done this, and when will the good times start that all my friends with kids tell me about. I know it will get better in a few weeks and better still in a few months but so focussed on the hear and now.

Tiff - My mum was only up for a week and I was so upset when she went back to Melbourne as she was moral support and helped around the house . What I am really scared of is when DH goes back to work in 4 weeks time. I can't tell you how frightened I am about being on my own all day. So by then I hope that I will have a routine set up and he is a little more settled. I hope..........

DH and I went for another long walk today. Got to where we were going and started to walk back and L started to scream his head off. We found a bus stop and changed him but stopped short of pulling my boob out.

Oh well 7pm nears. He's just been fed and is out for the count. Don't know long it will last........