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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Morning, I've alreadt had a cry this morning coz I am so tired, but how can I be so miserable when I go into Olivias room and she gives me a great big smile? At least I have had coffee and have a load of washing on. Makes the day feel more productive!
I have a bit of an ebay addiction atm, I just got all these clothes for Olivia for $100 and they are all new with tags, yay!
Danni, Olivia ALWAYS cries at tea time, even if the time is different from the previous night. I think they have an inate way of knowing when mum is about to eat.
Kristie, sounds like you had a relaxing time, thats great. What area are you thinking of moving to? Adams grandparents have a huge property in Maldon, near Bendigo, lots of fun with dirt bikes and paddock bombs. Only problem is there is no power- actually thats the fun bit. We sometimes think about buying out Emerald way, just a dream!
Well today I am going to my Dads, to see the family dog whose had a big operation, oh and to catch up with everyone!!!
Better run, hope you all have a great day.
Love Melissa
We had a pretty good night! At least Dylan spent most of it in his bassinette - except for this morning when I wanted to stretch him out until Louis woke up at 7.30. Was meant to go to the gym this morning but instead mums coming around so i can do the food shopping. We have nothing left in the house and after being away all weekend it just makes it hard...
Danni - I just usually plonk dylan in front of the tv, wrapped with his dummy in and he sits pretty quiet while were eating dinner. Then it's bathtime for him...
Melissa - Big hugs - sorry to hear your so tired! Hope you get some rest today. How great you got all those clothes!!
We're going to Bonnie Doon!!! (anyone seen the movie "The Castle") Yep - Michaels family have had holiday houses up there since he was a kid and now they've semi-retired up there...it's his dream to live there and I'll really love it as well! All that space and fresh air! Although we won't be roughing it...we're going to build our dream home - we've kind of designed it and it's around 28 square!!! We've lived in units always so will be a big shock when the time comes - probably more for me cleaning it! hehehe. Emeralds beautiful as well...I have a friend that grew up there and another friend thats just bought land in Gembrook. It's very expensive there though...although Mansfield/Bonnie Doon areas aren't half as cheap as they used to be unfortunately. Anyway...I'm blabbering away cos I'm excited - hehehe. Have a fun day!
hey melissa, cant believe you got washing on already!
Mason and I are still in bed
I have never heard of Bonnie Doon unfortunately..no idea where that is.
Mason slept from 9 til 5, then from 5:30-8:30. Now he is blabbing away! Mum is coming soon so hopefully I can have a shower, do the washing and get a start on tonights dinner.
Danni I am very jelous. I try to put Charlie into bed with me to stretch him out in the mornings, but he hates it. We've been up since 6am!! of course he's having his morning sleep now but I can't as i've got to get ready to head out when he wakes up.
Charlie is always in bed before we have dinner, he always has a big arvo nap til around 5pm, but stuggles to stay up past 7pm so he's always snoring by the time we want to eat.
mason doesnt sleep in my bed but he lays here with me watching the laptop screen or the tv. i try everything to stretch him in the mornings between foods but cant
Wow, am envious of long sleepers I got 2 loads of washing on before 730am, have done bottles and put the washing out. Didnt get much more sleep this morning, coz Olivia decided she would grunt and groan and fill her pants and then cry (as you would). I actually have her down for a nap now
Bonnie Doon sounds great, my BIL was talking about a property in mansfield, coz they are all snow bunnies... dont know if you remember me snowboarding at 9 weeks pregnant!!!!! All property out that way is expensive, but I can see how excited you are, I would be too, especially if you're talikng about dirt bikes.....fun fun. We do loads of camping and weekends away, I love it. Our next trip is up to Maldon in 2 weekends away. I am a bit anxious that there wont be a microwave for bottles, but we have worked out that we can fill thermos' and do it like that...I hope!!!! Thankfully Olivias not up to toileting yet, coz the outside dunny is a treat!
Anyway, I still have to get ready to go to my dads....
Chat later
Melissa
Just left the kids with my mum and did some shopping. The house looks like a bombs hit it. She just gets here and turns on the computer and does her own thing and doesn't play with the kids at all. I mean I'm grateful that she comes here but for the 1 or 2 it's for each week I would think that she could play a bit iywkim?? Louis has pulled out nappies everywhere and toys everywhere...He hadn't even eaten when I'd got home and now he's feral cos he's having such a late nap...anyway - enough of my whingeing...
Melissa - Enjoy the camping while they don't move!!! It gets a lot harder when they start running around. You're so brave going camping at this time of year!!! I'm sure it will all work out ok...you could just heat up a saucepan and sit the bottle in that water couldn't you?? Yeah - it's really beautiful up there...we want to have chickens and a couple of cows, goats, sheep, horses etc...just for fun.
Caro - She was really good the week I had Dylan - I think because MIL was around and I'm sure if she was closer would do those things - it was a bit of a competitive thing iykwim. Now she's just annoying...about an hour after she left she called me and started arguing with me because I'm not being supportive of her with her big ideas on investment properties etc (she's 58, self employed and living with her sister - how she thinks she's going to be able to afford spending hundreds of thousands of dollars I don't know...) Anyway after 10min of her yelling I just said I don't have time for it - I'd finally got the kids to bed after the chaos when I got home and I just can't be bothered. I have enough on my plate at the moment without worrying about her silliness...
Sorry for the vent...actually having a pretty rotten day...
my mum came today and did my dishes, played with mason, cleaned up the clothes and crap laying around on the floor and made lunch! I dont know where I would be without her. Although she is going to brisbane for 4 days tonight...we are gunna miss her!
My mil on the other hand barely knows how to get to my house. so so so slack
Operation side sleep school is going well! Mason is down for his 3rd nap today! I am so happy I finally worked him out. Now just waiting for my wedge to arrive in the mail so I dont have to keep checking on him every 2 seconds
eta: Oh kristie Dont let her get you down! You are doing a marvellous job and dont let anyone tell you any different. Go and grab some big cuddles off your gorgeous boys and forget everything about today
Kristie, so sorry to hear you've had a horrible time.
I don't live anywhere near my Mum at the moment, but when we went home to have Charlie she was a great help. Cooked tea everynight & washed everyday. I don't think I washed any clothes for about 4weeks. Was a big shock getting home & having no help. Hope you have a better day tomorrow.
I have worked really hard with Charlie since DH went back to work & I don't want to jinx it but I'm making progress. He's been having morning & afternoon nap & usually a mid morning cat nap too. Best thing is he now does it wherever, I don't have to feel silly when I'm out & he can't be put down cause he's screaming cause he's overtired. That used to really frustrate me, I felt like all I ever did was hold him - day in & day out. I'm convinced it's got something to do with almost being 3months. I really want to keep it going this way as it's extra hard when DH starts night shift. He's either working or sleeping & I have to do most things alone, an arvo nap comes in real handy then.
kristie: please try him on his side. Just once. If it doesnt work for longer than 40 mins, then dont worry about trying it again.
If it does work, it will make things so much easier for you. I still dont know how you do it all with a toddler as well
Mason slept for 3.5 hours and I woke him up, changed his nappy and gave him some EBM. He only took 50ml and went straight back to sleep on his side again. 3 hours later...he is still there!
Well, we have had a good few days. DH has been home, so we have had some help from him. We have been shopping up a storm in the sales, buying me and Lily some new clothes. Lil is up to 00 now, she's growing so fast....she'll be in 1's before I know it!! I had to get some pants as I have put on weight . I am sooo uncomfortable in my skin at the moment, I feel horrible. I have been good these past few days with eating, trying to make sure I don't have too much. Tomorrow I will go to the swimming centre to see how much that is...anyone else feeling so horrible uncomfortable with themselves?!
Another question, or ten... how do you all get your bubs to sleep at night? And in the day? And how do you know when to put them down? I know what tired signs are, but how do you catch them at the right time? If I get Lily too early or too late, she screams the house down and I have to pat and rock/walk with her. She doesn't feed to sleep and usually wakes when I put her to bed in the day and will not resettle, even at night we have to settle two or three times before she's really asleep, no matter how long I wait to put her down. (Tonight I caught her at the perfect time, she went to sleep easily, but I've had to re-settle her twice already- started this post at 8.45!! An to re-settle I have to get her out of bed she won't stay in her cradle to go to sleep at all.) Though in the middle of the night feeds, she goes right back to bed...She did self settle and go to sleep by herself in her cradle for a few weeks after we came home, but after all of my bf problems, her sleeping changed, but she can do it. I don't want to do any method that invovles crying like control crying. Although she cries now it's cause she's tired not cause she's unattended or distressed. Only I can put her down at night she won't have a bar of anyone else not even DH, though if I could put her down more easily I wouldn't mind that.
Oh no gotta go re-settle her......gggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............
Hey Kellie, yep I feel really horrible in my skin too - your not alone there. Living somewhere with no shops makes it ten times worse as a lot of things don't fit & i'm forever wearing the same thing & feeling gross Also with all the Mum's stuff I do it seems we are forever having coffee & that equals bad food!
Sorry to hear you are having a tough time getting Lily to sleep, it's definately a tough task. I whish someone had told me we had to teach them to sleep, I stupidly just presumed being a baby they would want to sleep all the time - how wrong was I!!!!
We had a terrible time with Charlie to start off, at night after his feed I would pace his room with music playing to get him to sleep then put him down ever so gently so not to wake him, 3hrs later he'd feed & it started again. Then I read that great book & started with a routine & it's slowly fallen into place. I'm not that strict with it that I don't go out, but try to keep to it most of the time. Now he naps in the arvo til approx 4 or 5 & is in bed by 7pm without a fuss. I found a good thing to do was take note of what time Charlie got up in the morning, then when his tired signs start I look at the clock & see how long he's been awake. Now after 1.5hrs I start to watch him for the signs as watching the clock I found within 2hrs of getting up he started getting grumpy.
I agree with you & don't like the "controlled crying" either & have been advised it's not good to do at this age anyway. We just took it one day at a time, looking for the signs & soon as we saw it we'd wrap him & pop him into bed. Then if he grizzled I sit in a chair beside him giving gentle pats til he calmed then leave the room - if he cried I'd go back & do it again. After 20mins if not settled we got him up & and tried again later. Soon he learnt that going into bed meant sleep & he wasn't going to be picked up as soon as he grizzled. It took a week before we had a break through & we noticed a real change around the 10wk mark.
If your interested I really recommend, "Save our Sleep" by Tizzie Hall.
My CHN also recommended we do something each arvo so he knew it was nap time, like at night he gets a bath & gentle massage. During the day we put music on in his room. This might sound silly (but was in the book) - I put a teddy down my top for a while so it would smell like me & we pop that next to him too when he sleeps. Unlike a dummy that falls out & needs to be replaced, this is always there & it smells like Mummy.
Now that I've just written what feels like a novel, I hope some of this helps & it works out for you soon. I now how frustrating it is & especially if they won't sleep during the day either, it makes it impossible for you to nap & catch up.
Babies Born April 2007 #6
We've been up since 6am!! of course he's having his morning sleep now but I can't as i've got to get ready to head out when he wakes up.
Dont let her get you down! You are doing a marvellous job and dont let anyone tell you any different. Go and grab some big cuddles off your gorgeous boys and forget everything about today
born 16/04/2007 
Also with all the Mum's stuff I do it seems we are forever having coffee & that equals bad food!
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