Babies born~April 16th-30th 2010 #1

Maranui when i read your posts i feel so overwhelmed!! you seem to have everything so organised and things down pat... and it seems like i have so much i should be learning/know.... and yet i know nothing about what you have said lol! Good on you for being so organised!!
This will be a quickie cuz bub is about to wake!.....still making feeds consistantly three hours during the day....starting to be four hours at night... yay for me...not every one is four hours but most.
William hasn't been settling during the day :( so therefore is awake alot and then sleeps for 5 or 6 hours in early evening (he's completely out of it and you cannot wake him up by trying everything!!) and then wants to wake up after his 1-3am feeds :( not cool. had a little sleep today so will hopefully be diff tonight. He likes to be cuddled to sleep during the day - which is nice but its so frustrating to get things done!!
'Neh' is dunstan for hungry - I was under the impression that most babies wanted to cluster feed in early evening ?! Therefore extra feeds are good; and they pretty much want them.
Thanks for the nappy tip Maranui....
Haven't heard from the newbies in a while?? Are you all still out there?
AFM - I think my vaginal thrush problem got passed onto baby during birth and now back to me thru breast feeding :(.... even when attached properly i have sore nipples (right one is worse).... bub has a rash on his bottom that is consistant with thrush rash... and i have a really deep pain underneath my boobies which means apparently the thrush is in milk ducts!! it's never ending...
neway gota go bub calls!!

Hi everyone
Just typed a massive post and cyberspace lost it, so not so many personals now, sorry!

shona - I can remember from my DD that there is quite a few growth spurts up until about the 12 week stage where they have unsettled periods, but I remember once hitting 12 weeks everything seemed much easier!

Maranui - thanks for the tummy time tip. I actually did that with my DD but had completely forgetten about the method!

Kirley - sorry to hear about the thrush problems, not nice!

We had Mr L's 4 week check and my boofa is already over 5kg. He has put on 985grams in 2 weeks and over 1.5kgs since birth! No wonder the poor little thing has wind, he has a full belly all the time! He is in the 95th percentile for weight now. I keep telling him if he'd like to drop an overnight feed he can, but so far he isn't listening!
We are off to check out the new baby bunting store that has opened near us today, hopefully they have some good specials!
Hope everyone else has a great weekend and gets in some extra naps!
Talk soon

Oh Kirley - lol - it couldn't be further from the truth. I am totally all over the place with Louis. My memory of good days quickly gets eaten up by being overwhelmed by his bad days. I would burst into tears at least a couple of times a week for no apparent reason other than pure exhaustion and L is developing an aversion to his pram that has me housebound and going slightly stircrazy (hence the frequent BB posts ;). I am sure you are doing a fantastic job. In the wise words of that Shona - "it's a bit of a whirlwind this motherhood thing!". Amen to that! :)

xx

Kirley: I'm sure you are doing a great job, organised or not! We also have issues with Elliot being held to sleep and also not going down during day, as soon as we put him in bassinet he wakes up! Like you said makes it hard to get things done, I am praying that when we pick up the swing that he wants to spend time in it! As for bed time, sounds like you may have to flip his routine like we did. I offered 2 hourly feeds during the day and then kept him awake as much as possible during the day, he was so shattered that he slept between feeds during the night. I have also found that if you get him from crib and do not make eye contact or speak to him he will be much more disinterested in having playtime with you, it's really hard but making night feeds boring seems to work. Also doing nappy change half way through feed and making sure lights are dim makes them stay sleepier at end of feed. I have found that introducing bathtime after evening feed and before bed seems to cue him for long sleep. Having said that, last night he was 2.5-3 hours between feeds all last night, 6 hour gaps disappeared into the abyss. Hopefully they will be back tonight!

Maranui: sorry to hear that you are housebound, naughty little Louis for not liking his pram. I wish that we had a rearward facing one so that Elliot could see us when we push him, he has limited patience with the pram and it's a bit hit and miss! I'm sure things get to a point where there are more good days than bad, we'll i'm hoping so anyway!

Kellie: good news on the weight gain, well done! Hope DD is adapting well to being a big sister. Good luck with the bargain hunting!

We had a much better evening, no inconsolable crying which was great. Unfortuntely up for 2.5-3 hourly feeds, grrrrr! I assume that we are in another growth spurt, next one at 8 weeks which is when we are headed back to UK. Not looking forward to 2 hourly feeds on the plane, i'll shrivel up like a dehydrated raisin!!

[QUOTE=shonalouise;2319909 last night he was 2.5-3 hours between feeds all last night, 6 hour gaps disappeared into the abyss. [/QUOTE]

haha welcome to my life :P although i must admit the last two nights, except for his morning (like 6am-ish) feed, he has been going 4hours between feeds yay!! but i still wake him up consistantly for three hour feeds during the day. Shona i couldn't possibly do two hour feeds during the day... they already sometimes take over an hour per feed!! i would be permanatly fixed to the couch if that was the case....

neway he awakes... gota go

Kirley: hour long feeds, you poor thing! Is William a lazy feeder? Or is he just a big fan of booby time (typical boy, lol!)

Maranui - While I wish only good days on you it is reassuring to know I am not the only one bursting into tears.. I have had a super horrible day as DH went away last night and Ethan just cried all night.. I was lucky if he slept for any more than 1/2 an hour between feeds and has been like that all day.. I think it is wind but he has been pretty good up until now.. I am so exhausted and just want to sleep but as soon as I put him down he screams, so I am at the computer with him in the Hugabub with my eyes hanging out of my head.. My parents are arriving at 6.00 and DH will be home about 7.00 and at this rate I will hand him to his grandmother and collapse into bed.. It's not his fault but I still feel the need to plead with him to please be quiet and go to sleep.. I take my hats off to you ladies who have very unsettled babies regularly,..
Tan - I hope that Archer is recovering well.. hopefully he will have a quick recovery and be back to putting weight on in no time..
Shonalouise - I'm jealous of your good night.. Amen on the whirlwind..
Kellie - I'll swap babies.. lol.. Mine is nearly 6kg at a month old.. I have RSI from trying to pick him up and burp him.. I may as well not hired a capsule as I really can't lift him out very well anymore.. Didn't last long.. There are so many clothes that were 000's that he hasn't even got to wear because they don't fit...
Kirley - In the first week Ethan had mouth thrush.. You can get Daktarin oral Gel from the chemist for his mouth and ask about a treatment for you.. If they offer Nilstat instead ask for the Daktarin cause apparently a lot of thrush doesn't respond to Nilstat anymore..
Bellamia - great news that your BP is coming under control.. I don't know how I would cope if I had to spend that long just waiting at the hospital with a newborn let alone a toddler as well.. You go super woman...
Ayapi - Great to hear that Milly is putting on weight.. It canh be so worrying..
HC - How is that scar going.. i hope that it is healing well..
AFM - Tough day and night.. I can't complain too much though.. Comparatively my boy has been pretty good.. You ladies whose hubbies have been away for more than one night.. I am in awe.. My IVF clinic rang to see how we went and to ask about our baby and it was during this conversation that my nurse pointed out to me that while I was thinking my angel was 10lbs 1oz at birth he was actually 10lbs 12ozs.. OMG that nearly 11lbs.. I finally freaked out about his size... I got on the scales and weighed him while holding him and he was 5.7kg.. He looks 3 months old.. lol.. Well here's to hoping we all get some good sleep tonight and Hello to anyone i've missed...

:leap: We are home :leap:

Archer is recovering well but we have some obsticles ahead of us will do a big post when I have had a touch more sleep - he slept for 6.5 hours last night but that is thanks to the panadol and him having a 'virgin' stomach again - I was awake watching him sleep, may take awhile for the panic to settle I think!

LIL I did wonder the other day when you mentioned he was 10lb 1oz at birth because I remember you saying in your first post that he was 4.8something kgs and A was 4.72 and 10 7! Blame the baby brain!

Tan - glad to hear you guys are home, and I can understand why you hovered with the poor little might going through so much. Fingers crossed for the next wee while. Was DH able to come home to support you?

xx to you over the next while. Take care of yourself if you can too.

no he's not a lazy feeder.... the LC said that apparently that is normal....in hospital they kept telling me to wake up but when i went to the LC she watched him and said that no babies have that slower sucking pattern after letdown and it helps them digest their food better. He has anywhere from 15-30minutes per side per feed. Plus i think he likes that speed because last night he missed one side at a feed and the next feed i was super full and my flow was way to quick for him then, he refused to stay attached and kept spitting out and choking on the milk.... so i guess both things combined make my feeds that long *sigh*

Kirley - I hope your feeds get more manageable as William gets used to the flow.. we've gone from 20mins each side to about 20-30mins total as my flow has got faster & that makes it easier to get him back down within an hr. A friend said it can eventually get down to 10-15 all up :-)

Tan - so pleased to hear Archer is on the mend & you can start enjoying your little boy without all the worry..

Lil - wow what a big boy. hope you had an easier day & night yesterday.

Shona - sorry to hear about the difficulty settling, I'm glad you've found what works at night - we're the same, dark & quiet & no talking/kisses/play at night. I'm with you on the not wanting to go down - Shea was going down easily but past cpl days wants be held all the time & wakes up if put in hammock (in day & evening anyway, thankfully he's ok at his 2 middle of the night feeds). It's been a curse having DH home thru it as he gets frustrated & thinks we've 'spoilt' him (he's 2 wks old!!!) & that he's just fussing to be held, i thought it was all due to hurting from gas from ab's - but i also read some of the wonder wks this morning & while i think a lot of his crying has been wind/gas, it seems he's prob at the first cranky development stage - altho it's around wk 4-6, it's based on conception date so prems have the stages later & Shea being 2 wks overdue is due it at wk3 i.e. now.. hopefully DH will listen & accept it's temporary & we just need to hold him more for next few days..

Bellamia - glad you're surviving love. don't know how you guys manage every night alone - days are fine but on evenings DH not home (eg text when on his way home on thurs 'meeting mate for a few beers' - stayed at mates & came home 6am fri) i find it's about 9 or 10pm before i can eat dinner as he won't settle!! reassuring to know it's possible to cope if i get over it & kick DH out.. finding everything harder since bub & crying about it all the time.. i almost think it'd be less painful not having him around than here but not available..

Maranui - sorry you're housebound.. can you take him out in a sling maybe?? that's what i was doing when going to hospital etc - haven't tried pushchair yet..

Majella - how's it going out there???

Kellie - 5kg wow!! great to hear he's feeding well... i though Shea was a chubba at 4.1 kg at 2 weeks after he gained 340g last wk :)

Ayapi - glad Milly has picked up on the formula & that you're healing from CS & driving again. Yes, it's frustrating they didn't check. Last wk the iv ab's made little difference and wound started weeping thurs so i insisted a doc check me out, she suggested starting back on oral abs too at dbl dose, saw improvement immediately and had last hospital sesh on friday. oral ones unfortunately cause constipation (me and bub..sigh) so lots of farting happening with our poor lil man & his sore tummy :( I'm hoping to stop oral ones soon tho bit scared of stopping & it not fully healing so gonna keep on for cpl more days and see how it goes, looking a thousand times better tho..

Question re nappies.. Shea is very precious about being wet or dirty and fusses as soon as he's done anything - he'll even stop mid-feed.. he'll often wake mid sleep etc and we are getting thru so many disposables (i'm going to wash & trial our mcns hopefully this wk) & outfits too as he wets thru everything! often he'll wake for a feed and grumble so i change him then boob change time he'll fill his nappy so another change then i'll just settle him & he'll either wet or mess again & wake self up & complain etc - can go thru 4nappies or more in one feed cycle! anyone had the same?? help!!! i opened a 36 bag yesterday and is half empty already..

well, i have a sore arm as shea is sleepimg in one arm while i type 1 handed so i'm going to try transfer him to hammock so i can shower & brush teeth & start day :rolleyes:

Can't help you on the nappy thing HC, sorry - will is usually pretty good unless it's totally full. I usually change him in the middle of every feed (so every three hours) and he seems fine with that arrangement.
As for wetting clothes- are you remembering to 'point him south' :)

We are going thru the cuddles to sleep and wont go down to sleep. He just keeps wanting to be held. So you're not alone in that! We love cuddles with him, but like today we are just soo tired and want to sleep and yet he wont unless we cuddle him!

Hi everyone!

Quick post from me to tell you all I have my first mothers group this afternoon and I am PATHETICALLY nervous about me and Louis making a good impression. WHAT A DORK! Shows how little I have been getting out and about recently. I have makeup on for the second time only since I had Louis (first was a party on Sat night) and I have spent more time thinking about his outfit than I did my own wedding dress. I could only admit that to you guys!

Logistics is a nightmare. The little boy is awake (lying in his cot) but not hungry (its been 4 hours!). I wanted him to feed 30mins ago before we hit the road. LOL! He has other views! ;)

I have rung DH 3 times this morning to consult him on the big issues. Brown pants or beige (DH didnt know the difference lol!), pram and walk, or carseat and drive, Baby Bjorn or just pram etc etc etc. Poor long suffering man.

Will let you know how this pathetic adventure goes! See I have a perspective on things when our poor old Tan has been through the mill this week....

xxxxx

lol Maranui I did the same thing the first time i took William to church... haha took ages to plan his outfit - unfortunately i didn't have many to choose from, however by last week i had a few more cute boyish outfits that i could pick from and i think i tried nearly everyone on to see what fit lol.
Good luck xxx

BAHAHAHAHAHA Maranui! and Kirley... I do remember being like that with Cooper when he was a newbie! And than you come to realise that if they are dressed and their outfit doesn't A) have spew on it (mmmm hope them days are over) B) have poo or wee on it or C) you haven't dropped beetroot on it while feeding yourself, him, hanging out washing, painting your toenails, vachuming the floor and logging onto BB all at once (cause thats what us mummas do best) than you're right to leave the house :lol: Looking forward to hearing of your adventure Maranui..

I will get 5 mintues on day soon I hope to do a real post... what the hell is "me" time again?????

Hi everyone

I know you have all been waiting anxiously to know how my mothers group went ;)

It was really good. A nice bunch of woman (about ten). Louis was one of the youngest but they were all March babies. Nice to see a different range of shapes and sizes of bubbies. Also pleasing to see that Louis was not the smallest, in fact, he was a good size for being the youngest in the room. I did a sneaky weigh while I was there and he was 5.3kg! Wahooo!

So Louis behaved well enough. Of course, he woke just as we arrived and was cuddly and awake, then a little grizzly and awake for most of the 2 hours. Funnily enough no one commented on the beige pants through I am sure they were noticed lol!!! I am pleased I went with them rather than the brown even if DH didnt have a view ;)

He slept on the walk home in the pram and then the fun began! When we got home he was so seriously overtired. He had a small feed and then I put him down. He work ten minutes later STARVING! But he was so overtired that he refused the breast. This began 3 hours of trying to feed and him pushing away. It culiminated in DH coming home and forcefeeding him some EBM from a bottle while I expressed my now rock hard boobs. He took 120 mls then finally feel asleep......for eight hours!!!!!!!!!

When he work at 4am he feed beautifully but is back to being very anti Mr Righty today. I suspect its going to be a long one!

But it was a small price to pay to get out and about. I will be interested to hear whether any of the other mums had the problem as all the babies were wide awake through the session.

Anyway - a very ego-centric post (again!!!!). Hope everyone is well. Tan - hope Archer is going well post surgery.

Love to the rest of you!

xx

Maranui i'm glad your group went well :) I'm really too tired to write anything but just thought i'd pop in and see how you are all doing...William is at 5.1kg today (but that includes nappy and suit) so hes really just shy of it. yay...chubba bubba...got his first origin jersey today for those of you who have facebook there is a pic up there :) so cute!
neway i've come down with the flu it seems.. as well as a cough...hoping bub doesn't get the cough cuz i dont want it to turn into pertusis (whooping cough)....talk later....

Glad to hear that most seem to be having the same fun and games as us. We have had a hellish few days, awake and crying, feeding or asleep. No happy awake time and it has been taking its toll! Thankfully we have had a little happy awake time today for the first time in days, phew!

Six week check yesterday, now 4.35kg now been told perhaps I should try and stretch out between feeds with dummy as 350g in 9 days is a little much. Will keep going as I have and demand feeding as didn't agree with the advice. Little man decided not to lift his head for the child health nurse (does it heaps at home!) so more tummy time ordered which he still hates. Swing collected on Tuesday and he is asleep in it currently, such a big load off to have somewhere for him to be that is not in our arms! Bassinet is still a no go during the day for some reason :( Also has a granuloma in his belly button which needs to be frozen off with silver nitrate, does not sound pleasant!

Out of interest, does everyone offer both boobs each feed? I am still only doing one per feed and he doesn't empty it and I know that he is getting heaps of milk from just the one. Just wondered what the general concensus was, I have yet to have a one boob feed where he is still hungry afterwards. Some people have advised offer both and some offer one, confusing.

Anyone found anyone good remedies for wind problems? Elliots seems to be getting worse and is incredibly frustrating, I am going to start an elimination diet and see what helps. Brauers colic relief doesn't seem to help and neither did Infacol and he gets so distressed it's heartbreaking. They use a different remedy in the UK which is a naturally occuring enzyme to help them break down the lactose in milk as their immature gut cannot do it very well which causes it to ferment and produce gas. Apparently more common in oversupply, which sounds about right. If it works I am bringing back a caseful!

Hope everyone is well, better get back to my whirlwind life!

Shona - i didnt' think breast fed babies could be overfed!! William put on 550g in a week and both the LC and the Health Nurse said thats alot but its great! Why would they not want bub to put on as much weight as he can? strange to me... then this week William put on about 300g, so it will fluctuate according to growth spurts but even out in general i wouldve thought.

As for boobs... i also was only offering one boob per feed and William was getting plenty and i was still quite full... Most ppl said to drain one boob per feed and then next feed the other... When i went to the LC she said that i should offer both that way i'm not extremely lopsided... and express off the excess just so i'm comfortable (not so i'm draining it cuz it will just produce more)... so to start with i put him on one side for 20mins, then took him off and burped and then offered him the other side to which he'd take about 10-15mins, so then next time i'd offer that one first... after the feed i'd express for about five minutes each side (got about 50ml of milk usually) just to be comfortable - didn't need to do it every feed though... and just froze those little bits of milk in an ice-cube tray for a later date....
now sometimes he still only takes one side but he usually takes both... doesnt' quite drain either side but i'm not hugely engorged like i was either.

hope that helps....as for wind... was on infants friend but havent' given that to him in over a week - just burping more i think so therefore it doesnt get to wind point.
crappy day here - mummy had a huge teary :( so very tired and sick and really hate it! gota go, hes awake and grumpy again

Kirley: thanks for info, sorry to hear that you are not very well, have to say that in my current state that would probably be enough to tip me right over the edge! Hope you get well soon x I too am trying to burp Elliot regularly but he still ends up with terrible tummy pain and wind, we are trying to exercise it out by cycling his legs and helping him to pass it but doesn't seem to be terribly successful. Heat pack seems to be most effective thus far.

i found that cycling his legs didn't work either... instead we just held his legs up to his chest like when you change his nappy.... if we couldn't be bothered holding them up we would just put pillows and blankets to hold it there... that seemed to work for him? worth a try....

Shona - Benjamin is the same at the moment; he hardly sleeps during the day and at night he grunts and grunts to the point that I can't sleep. I remember DS1 going through the same thing and he doesn't do it anymore, lol, but I can't remember when it stopped. We are using Infants Friend too, but doesn't seem to do much. I second Kirley on the 'knees to the chest' method; works for 20 minutes or so...

Thanks guys, we are doing the lifting of the legs too and taking the nappy off seems to help too although I may get poo spray sometime soon! Woke him up at 3am this morning and he couldn't go back to sleep was quite upset so had to feed him, that seems to help him pass it too.

Hey guys

Kirley/SL - Sounds like everyone is having wind problems. I still have them with Louis as he seems to be struggling with the flow again (after being really good in week 7 and early part of 8). I found pumping his leg while he sucks my finger (yes you need 3 arms) while he lay on a hard surface (dining table) works at getting him to move some wind if its an extreme situation. Otherwise I just persevere with the old fashioned over the shoulder until he give me three burps (seems to be three thats the magic number). Am still using infacol. It doesn't seem to make it hugely better but it is far worse without it (if you get what I mean).

My boobs are all over the show with timing and frequency. Because he sometimes rejects the right breast due to fast flow, the left is far bigger and filled with milk. I start on one, but usually after multiple let downs and a face full of milk, a change of scene to the other breast has him feeding better. Probably not that good for my breasts (they rarely get a full drain), but its the only way to get him to take a big feed.

For those at 6/7 weeks, I noticed a change in L's sleeping at the end of week 7. He definitely started to sleep for shorter bursts during the day, and longer bursts at night. We are now doing something like a 45 min morning sleep, a 3 hour afternoon sleep, a 45 minute later afternoon sleep, then 5 hours and 4 hours. But who knows whether this is start of something.

Was suppose to go to a breastfeeding association coffee morning this morning, however have a painter here and L was v grumpy yesterday as we have visitors and lots of cuddles. He finally went to sleep on me in the lazyboy for 2.5 hours at 3pm yesterday. I got freezing cold as the evening came and the house got dark - but I dared not move lol! Today is thankfully going much better.

Hope the rest of you are travelling well.
xx

Hi everyone

Tan - how are you and Arch doing now? How did his weigh in go?

healthychick - at his 2 week appt, L was 4.1 also... so maybe Shea will be the same at his 4 week check!

maranui - glad to hear mothers group went well. I can remember going to my 1st one with DD being exactly the same as you, but ended up having a great time. I now still catch up with 2 of the mums weekly, they both also have newborns too

shonalouise - i would ignore that advice too... feed them whenever they want I say! I also only do 1 boob per feed, I figure with the weight gains he has been having it must be ok. Also did the same with my DD. In regards to wind remedies, we have been giving Lewis Infants Friend (which you can only get at the chemist) before every feed and it seems to make a difference.

Kirley - hope your feeling better

AFM - nothing much new here, still contemplating getting an amby hammock to help with the wind problems. Been getting real smiles the last few days which are nice, and we even got a 6 hour stretch last night.

Hi to everyone else!

re: poo explosions..... on wednesday will went thru five outfits!! i caught poo in my hand twice (i saved my clothes)... it even went on the floor... then he saturated another outfit with pee and then he was wearing blue so he had to change for origin lol!!

Hey everyone, how are you all??
Me - I'm still sick... I believe that I have pertusis (whooping cough) again this year... apparently once you've had it you don't get it again....hence why the doctor said I don't need the immunisation.... however I rekon this is the third year in a row i've had it now!! On antibiotics....not guna help the thrush situation *sigh*..... had no voice at all yesterday - and every time i try to talk i have a coughing fit till i choke...and it seems every time i feed Will the same happens again... i rekon it must be the way i sit when i feed brings on a coughing fit :(....so frustrating. I just want it to go away. But going by last year it will prolly linger for about a month -- although i got the antibiotics this time within three days of the cough taking hold... last time it was about two weeks into it before they gave me the proper ones.... so fingers crossed it won't stick around that long.....and also that William doesn't get it!!

No help from daddy though it seems in terms of him feeding William so i can keep away *sigh*.... an angry conversation will be happening very soon... thankfully he is going to work tomorrow so i can maybe get Will and I into our own day routine which might help the sleeping mentioned in the next paragraph.

Having so much trouble getting William to sleep during the day... it seems the mummy cuddles are what he wants still rather than to be put in his cot.... he's had maybe an hour since 7am this morning (its now nearly 4.30) and that has been five minute intervals... every time we put him down he wakes up five minutes later.... atm we might be down for 15minutes and that is the longest all day....guna wake him up at 7 for his next feed and then hopefully he will do a five or six hour stint... he's done a few lately for the same reason cuz he is that knackered by evening cuz he won't sleep during the day. Cuz of my cough i'm not going to church tonight so hopefully i can get some sleep in there!!

Anyway hope you are all well xxx

Kirley - hope you are feeling better soon. There is nothing worse than having to look after bubs when your sick. Sorry to hear about the dh troubles too

Kirley: hope that you are feeling better soon. With you on the day sleep issue, Elliot will now sleep in his swing which is great and means I can get things done. He also wakes up as soon as he is in bassinet, we haven't found a solution to that one yet!

Hi everyone

It's gone pretty quiet here - everyone must be busy with their bundles of joy ;)

Kirley - hope you are feeling better. I do hope its not Whooping Cough.

ShonaLouise - good luck on the swing and bassinet combo. We moved Louis to his big boy bed (ie the cot!) yesterday. I was sure he would notice and protest and was feeling nervous about it. The little squirt didn't bat an eyelid. In fact, I would say he probably is sleeping better in the cot now he has a bit more room.

And room he needs. He had his immunisation today, they weighed him and he is up to 5.5kg! So another 300g in a week! He has gone from the 10th percentile to the 50th. His shots themselves werent that distressing - he screamed but calmed really quickly. However the poor little blighter was so clinging today. The only place he wanted to be was in mums arms so he slept in the baby bijorn for the afternoon and went down early tonight with a dose of panadol as his temp was up slightly. Poor wee man. But as DH says, he thinks its harder for me than Louis!

Other than that, nothing much to report. L is smiling a bit more every day which is lovely. He is still a little pensive man, staring intently all the time and looking surprisingly thoughtful with his big eyes. Yummo!

Not many personals as not much to comment on! Hope you guys are all well. Tan - thinking of you and Archer hoping he is ok.

x

Hello all

sorry it's been a while, lots going on here...

re the bf discussion, i was giving shea each boob, i'd do one til he fell asleep or screamed for a nappy change then i'd changenappy & switch boob - seemed to work well however milk has massively increased in last few days & poor lil man is drowning. I'm trying to recline or have him almost on top of me but he's getting distressed. most feeds he's only managing 5-10 mins but he's still hungry & crankyb so won't sleep or not for long. the only time he's doing good feeds tends to be at night and then he sleeps for 2.5-4 hrs which is good but they days and evenings are loooong. we also think he may have oral thrush folowing my long courses of antibiotics (now stopped thankfully! wound is almost healed) so he often rejects the boob and the ebm we try in a bottle.. he's still putting on good weight though with 500g in the last week & a half, now at a mighty 4.6kg at 3.5wks :)

as for gas, we're using the brauer stuff and seems to have helped, though it could also be because ab's now stopped too. if he is windy i go with lying him on belly and rubbing back, sometimes it'll put him to sleep too :) and over the shoulder patting back pretty strongly tends to help. the legs thing is good, cycling can bring on some good farts LOL!

kirley - hope you feel better soon! i sympathise with the cough, my pre-baby cough STILL isn't gone :(

AFM - DH has said he wants a divorce and to sell house, said he'd sort both this week. this was at weekend, seems to be talking to me little more now so still got fingers crossed he'll hold off on both and we can carry on living here togethre for a while but who knows... it's all pretty crappy right now - as you guys know, i really wanted everything to work out & i'm still confused about how we got to this point as for me i could switch it all back on tomorrow if i had the chance..sigh.. but i guess now i've got to focus on the future for Shea & I. don't think i'm going to make any big decisions to move location or anything, if we sell this place, i'll see if DH will agree to help me get a mortgage on a small house locally so we don't have to rent and then just sit tight for the next 18 months. downside is i guess i'll now have to look at going back to p/t work sooner rather than later which i really didn't want to do. at least DH is a good father and completely adores Shea so little one won't lose out in that sense. While i really didn't want to end up here and as a single mum, I'll take strength from the fact many of you are, if not single, living with partners away and doing a great job.. ;)

sorry for massive lack of personals, Tan - glad to hear that Archer's weight is going up, great news! rest of you, big hugs & good luck with the ongoing breast / gas issues.. hopefully by the 12 week point it'll all have settled down and we'll all be feeling human again :)

off to try get lil one into his hammock so i can shower & brush teeth before MW arrives in 45 mins!!!

Hey, it certainly has gone quiet... everyone must be busy busy....
HC - I'm so sorry to hear about you and DH *hugs* You must be feeling terrible. I wish you were a little closer so i could help you out a little! You will be a great mum no matter what i'm sure....
As for oral thrush - ahh so i told you all that bubba had that... I was using daktarin gel and it was making a difference in terms of bubs rash and it wasn't so painful for me to feed or in-between feeds (deep breast pain)... but now that i'm on ab's for whooping cough....his rash is a million times worse and instead of just around his bottomhole (sounds nicer than bumhole lol)......it completely covers his bottom :'( and the deep pain for me has returned too.... I feel so terrible for his rash; it looks sore. Makes me feel pretty lousy!! Other than giving him nilstat there is nothing else from the chemist i can take (can't take diflucan)... so it looks like its back to the diet for me... ahh i want this to end!! To combine with my diet; i'll have to grab some more tablets off you when you have more time to think HC.

Maranui - yes i agree immunisations are prolly harder for mummies than babies... plus we remember them!!

AFM - 5.5hr + 5 last night yay for me :).... but days are shocking... he refuses to stay asleep *doh*.... andhe's soooo tired. This morning he woke up at 6 for a feed, fed him... it's now 9.35 and we have been in bed all morning and its time for another feed - in total he's had about 15minutes sleep. *sigh*
Anyway hope you all are well.

HC: so sorry it has come to divorce talk so soon after baby being born, if he's not commited to you then you are certainly better off alone as hard as it may seem now. Sending lots of hugs your way, it will get better in time. Well done with the weight gain, booby bar seems well stocked! When I was having oversupply issues Elliot would only feed for short periods and sleep less too. I believe that this is due to the vast amounts of foremilk which is quite watery and more of a thirst quencher, if they don't get through all that then they don't get to hind milk which satisfies them for much longer and is nice and creamy. When I was expressing I always did so at end of feed so that it would be mainly hind milk, if floats to the top int he fridge. I am not convinved on the Brauers but will continue even if it is working just a little.

Kirley: I have read about using cooled chamomile tea for severe nappy rash, not sure if it actually helps but is supposed to have healing properties. Hope you are feeling better soon x Well done on the good sleeps overnight!

Maranui: Good news with weight gain, he really seems to be coming along! We too are having more smiles and coos, it is lovely! Elliot had his immunisations at the weekend, I pre loaded him with Panadol and then gave it intermittently over the following day too. He was also clingy and grizzly, I also found that his wind pain was much worse after the rotavirus vaccine, got to be loving the contagious poo for the next week.....

Kellie: I have been reading that you are having wind issues on FB, it breaks my heart to see Elliot in such discomfort and we are as yet to find a solution. He has been in our bed the last few nights as he persistetly wakes up squirming and in pain it's easier to have him with me then I can try and settle him straight away. Trying all the exercises and tummy massage day and night with minimal success. Infacol did squat, its function is to turn lots of little bubbles into one large bubble which can make symptoms worse if you don't get the bubble up and it then passages into their bowel. He seems to do a good burp after feeds but still has lots of bowel wind, I assume that it is bowel wind and not stomach wind that is causing you trouble. I have read that stomach wind should not be painful just give them some mild discomfort and a feeling of fullness, but once it is working through the bowel it becomes painful. I have ordered some different medication from the UK, which will be there when we arrive home. Their research seems more promising than some but we'll see.

I have been doing a lot of reading on infant wind and one theory is that it is a failure to adequately breakdown lactose which is the main sugar in milk. Babies with their immature gut do not have the necessary enzymes in abundance and therefore the lactose is not broken down and as it travels through the bowel it ferments and produces gas. It also says that it is common in breastmilk oversupply as the foremilk has a much higher lactose content that hind milk.

When it's quiet I can actually hear the bubbles moving around Elliots bowel, I can also feel them when I have my hand on his tummy, so that theory makes sense to me as it would be impossible for him to swallow the amount of wind that comes out of the other end. The medication I am going to try is called Colief and it is made up of these enzymes, you express some milk at the beginning of a feed and add the medication to it and then give it back to them before the feed. It can therefore begin working in breaking down the lactose and allowing it to be digested rather than fermenting. I'll let you know how we go although I have heard great reports and read a research article which also was promising too. I am at a point where i'll try anything......

We have had a crap couple of nights and days with wind pain, only content when asleep! Seems a little better today, we'll see! Really fussy at the breast too, squirming and pulling away (with my nipple still in his mouth, ouch!), seems to do this when the wind is on the move and is doing some immense farts during feeds. Seems to have recovered from vaccinations, he was a brave boy and didn't cry for long at all. Not been weighed this week but has outgrown 000 and into 00 due to very long legs! He can wear vests suits that are 0000 still but if it involves legs, has to be 00 which he certainly does not get from Mummy unfortunately! Only 6 days till we go home, flight out of Sydney is running but looks like connecting flight in England is not but we can work that out. Hoping that he is a little more settled for the journey but i'm not hopeful. We are due another growth spurt at 8 weeks, hope it holds off until we are back!

Has anyone read any of the Pinky McKay books? I have bought a couple in the UK to read when I get back, her stuff gets good feedback on this site, hoping to get some useful info. Also ordered the Wonder Weeks book, a recommendation from this site which should give me info on behaviour through growth spurts and how to help him through them.

Anyway, sorry for raving on. Hello to everyone else :)

:

---

Kirley: I have read about using cooled chamomile tea for severe nappy rash, not sure if it actually helps but is supposed to have healing properties. Hope you are feeling better soon x Well done on the good sleeps overnight!

---

Unfortunately not nappy rash - its from thrush :(

quick one cos one handed with bub in arms...

kirley - i'll try remember tabs tomorrow - i'm taking double dose too to try help thrush.. we were goven some yellow liquid-he hates it & makes my nipples sticky! but i reckon his pain is diminishing already (got yesterday)

sl - thanks for reminder re fore/hond milk.. you're right if little feeds he's not getting good stuff.. am trying to express bit before feeds so boobs less full plus can top him up with bottle at end when gets narky.. wow, are you excited about trip?? bet your luggage will be huge! be keen to hear bout how uk stuff is.. yes i've got wonder weeks, is good & great reviews..

trying to stay positive about future & focus on getting ourselves a little house & settling into life just the two of us.. i'm sure in the future we'll find ourselves a lovely guy & give shea a little brother or sister - with a less stressful pregnancy next time ;) telling myself dh is the one losing out on an amazing family...

HC what is yellow liquid called??

hi everyone

healthychick - so sorry to hear about you and your DH. You are definitely right in saying he is the one missing out on a beautiful family

kirley - you sound like your having similar sleep issues to me... generally not bad at night but shocking during the day. I actually got a 7.5 hour stretch from lewis on Sunday night... thought I was going to explode, I had to express a bit just so he could latch on! In regards your rash issue, I read on here somewhere that someone rubbed some EBM onto nappy rash and it really helped, even though yours is caused by thrush it maybe worth giving it a try? With my DD and also with Lewis, I've used EBM on gunky eyes, infected belly buttons and blocked noses and it always works.... they dont call it liquid gold for nothing!

shonalouise - thanks for all that info on wind issues, it does really make sense when you think about it. If I come across any solutions I'll let you know ASAP! I have two pinky mckay books, one on sleep and the other one is toddler tactics. I even went to see a seminar she did on toddler tactics. I think she is great, her methodologies are exactly what I agree with

AFM - if you've been on FB you've probably seen that I am having a horrible time with wind problems. I was in tears last night cause I couldnt stand hearing the pain cry and not being able to fix it. Spoke to my GP and she reckons he is constipated (even though he poos every feed) and that he just needs to grow out of it. I didnt like that advice, so I've made an appt with an osteopath that specialises in bubs tomorrow so hopefully that helps. I figure it cant hurt and if it helps then I'll be a very happy mumma!

Hi to everyone else!

Hello All

Sorry it has been awhile but it has been busy, i have had non stop house guests since Taz was born and a demanding toddler.

Tan, How is Archer doing? Glad that his op went well and that he is recovering and putting on weight, that must be such a relief.

Maranui, Glad to hear things went well with you mothers group meeting, you can make some really great friends. Our mothers group from when DD was 5 weeks old is still going but there is only 3 of us left now, but probably wouldn't of made it through some crappy days without them.

Kirley, Wahooo on the good night sleeps, i hope he starts to settle a bit more during the day for you. Hope you are feeling better and that your cough is going away.

HC, Crappy to hear about things with DH, you are so right that it will be his loss. You are a strong women and we are all here to support you. Let me know if you ever need anything as i am not that far away from you.

Shona, thanks for the info on the wind issue, it makes sense. I hope things have been getting better and you are getting some more sleep.

AFM, Taz is doing great still, he is being a dream baby so far (touch wood) he is sleeping really well at nights and does about 3-4 hours during the day. He is sleeping with us and most of his day sleeps are in the bouncer or in his capsule as we seem to be out and about most days. He is so much easier than what DD was not sure if that is because we are more relaxed this time and he doesn't seem to have the issues that DD had.

As for the wind issue i think there was a chemist in Perth (i think it was in Padbury) that was making up this stuff for babies with colic that had alot of people giving it great reviews and they would post it to you. I think i found it on a thread here.

Hope all babies are behaving and start sleeping better

Hello to everyone i missed.

Kirley: it will not eradicate fungus, that needs anti fungal but should help to sooth and heal broken skin, just a thought that may help. Manuka honey also has great healing properties although again not anti fungal. The yellow stuff is called nilstat or nystatin. Having lots of nappy off time also helps to air and dry skin but not particularly convenient. Fungus just love warmth and moisture to thrive so nappy covered bottoms are perfect breeding grounds. hope it clears up soon.

Kellie: good luck with osteopath, fingers crossed it will help. shame on gp, that's why i haven't consulted one. do they understand what constipation is?! i have been told that they will grow out of it though so I suppose that's one small mercy but not much help now. I have been giving occassional Panadol which whilst doesn't strictly help it allows him to relax and he passes more poo and wind. Heat packs have also been helping in that regard too. Eliminating gas producing veggies from your diet can also help, I had been advised to try and eliminate dairy but not gone that far just yet.

Bella Mia: well done on dream baby, long may it continue!!

HC: very excited although have to find alternative domestic flight due to strike but at least we will be in the country! Thankfully Elliot has full 23kg baggage allowance plus hand luggage so should be ok!! You are so right that DH is the one who will miss out on your beautiful family and I am sure that you will in time find a lovely guy who will be so much more deserving of your love x

Kellie - yeh i've heard that EBM works wonders for all sorts of things - i'm not game to put it on his rash though because the Thrush is already in my milk ducts therefore in my milk so it will just make it worse i rekon. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Shona - Yet to try Nilstat... going to wait till i finish the round of antibiotics... figured it wasn't worth spending the money and time just yet when they are going to counteract anything.
Bella - nice to hear from you - Glad your bub is giving you an easy time :)