Lani - Amelia won't take a dummy either. She took it a few times, but has gone back to spitting it out. Part of me is relieved as at least I won't have to wean her off of it later. On the other hand, she still wants to be rocked to sleep which is getting hard on my back.

BS - It may be a hindmilk issue if she isn't finishing her feeds. Have you tried holding her in the underarm hold while feeding her? I found this really helped Amelia when my milk first came in and would gush at the beginning of a feed. I was able to lean back to try to slow the flow a little, plus hold her more upright. It might help Eva as the mid=feed crying could be due to reflux. It sounds like you had a perfect Valentine's day. The time with DH could have been just what you needed right now.

AFM - Still doing the nightshift here. Our bedtime routine is going well though and Amelia sleeps really well from around 7-11pm for the last 4 nights (although last night she woke at 9:30). It makes such a difference having that time in the evening to myself...I can at least have a good meal and maybe I'll even start cooking again. But the night marathons are exhausting. She'll feed, then be smiling and chatting, then sleep for one cycle (40 mins) at most, then we feed again. It lasts until 7am. I shouldn't complain because she doesn't spend much of that time crying. I'm trying to talk to her during the day when she's awake and to ignore her at night, but its so hard when I'm so exhausted during the day....it's becoming a vicious cycle. I hoping its a growth spurt and she'll settle back down soon. I don't need her sleeping through the night, I just need her to sleep between feeds so that I can sleep.

I feel so bad about this morning though. About 5:30 I started feeling nauseous (have had an upset tummy today) and I needed to lie down. Amelia had just fed and was happy so I put her down in her bassinette to watch her butterflies. I remember listening to her cooing and squealing happily. Next thing I know she is screaming her little lungs out. It was almost 6:30! Of course I had fallen asleep. I have no idea how long she had been crying, but the poor thing was turning purple in her bassinette. I picked her up and tried to calm her. It took 15 minutes of cuddling, rocking and singing to calm her, she was so upset she wouldn't even take the breast. Eventually she fell asleep but I felt so awful. I took her back to bed with me, but was too scared to sleep for quite a while.

I've asked DH to see if he can get a couple of nights off of work. Then we can take shifts and I can hopefully, get some sleep between feeds. I want to feel able to go shopping with Mum tomorrow. Her doctor has given her something to increase her appetite and she has more energy now that she is eating. She wants to check out the Big W baby sale.