Babies born~December 1st-15th 2009 #1

Hi Willow - god that is super super sad, I can't even fathom how his parents must feel, very very tragic. Like you said, it's not fair when all these other idiots who hoon and drink and drive wrap their cars around trees and survive! Something wrong with that equation. I hope the other two are ok at least. :pray:

DH's friend whilst very sad given his age and not to sound awful but unfortunately he was a bit of a time bomb really. He was a big boy, I'm talking probably a good 200 kgs and a very heavy drinker, I'd go so far to say he was an alcoholic. Lovely guy though....his dad died in his 30's of a heart attack and he wasn't over weight or a drinker! He has been working and living in Vietnam for the last 5 years and was riding his scooter home drunk and got hit by a car and was flown to Bangkok for surgery, he broke his leg so bad he spent almost 5 months in hospital having various operations, he'd get a break fixed then get an infection etc.....probably being so big didn't help in the healing I'd say. He only just came home the day before New Years but was still pretty well bed ridden and had a nurse looking after him. He had apparently lost some weight as they had him on a diet and obviously he couldn't really drink whilst in hospital. I did hear too that whilst in hospital you know the deep vein thrombosis things they put on your legs that automatically pump up (I had them after my c-section), well they didn't have any big enough for him so he just didn't get any. His mum flew over recently and begged him to come home for the last lot of surgery but he wouldn't. I dare say that given his size would not have helped at all and then they let him fly home from Bangkok to Vietnam for New Years! Anyway sorry that was long winded but that's basically the story. I was looking at his FB page and he has so many friends it's not funny, he was a very jovial guy, but of a smart a*se actually but in a funny way. Life's too short some times huh.

Hi Carmey - don't worry, my house is pretty much the same, don't have time to clean, if I'm not feeding I'm doing washing or trying to get out of my pjs or something. I didn't even eat lunch yesterday!

As for me, I have mothers group this arvo so looking forward to weighing Amelia. Only got 4 hours again last night so the 5 and 6 hour nights were short lived, grrrr!

Hi girls.

Carmey. Ditto on the house front. Our place is pretty much a bomb site most of the time now. But I am blessed with a cleaner that comes once a week who does an absolutely amazing job of restoring order! I think the $$$ are worth it for my sanity (and back).

Alison and Willow, I'm so sorry to hear the sad news from you both. It's just devestating when we lose a young person. And now that I'm a parent I really just can't comprehend what it must be like to lose a child.

Lani, I haven't got the snapfish cards yet, but they should get here by Monday I hope. Things take forever to get to Hobart!

Brussels- I've been trying the hot wheat pack too LOL. It helps for a minute or two, but then she realises she's been put down and we're back to square one again. Grrr. I think its a combination of wind, the awful bassinet that has a hard mattress and is really narrow, and that she does like a cuddle. Shopping for a new cot tomorrow!!!

Alison, what a bummer the long sleeps were short lived. But as quickly as they disapear they're likely to reappear again just as quickly.

Oooooh. I hear a hungry cry. Will try and get on again later. Hugs to everyone.

Hi girls, how did everyone's day go?

Question: does anyone's little one have a rash or pimples on their face? Jack has this pimply rash all over his face, scalp and even on his neck, chest and back. I have the early childhood nurse coming over tomorrow so I'll ask her but was interested if anyone else has experienced this? Some of his little pimples even have little white heads on them. :(

Carmey it sounds like Jack has similar pimples to Jett. The community nurse told me they are hormonal pimples. She told me there is nothing you can do n they will clear up on there own.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

:hug: to all xoxo

Hi Carmey - yes, Amelia has a couple too - I was just at mothers group and like Lani said the health nurse said very normal and hormonal. Also can be from the milk....milk pimples apparently.

Well Amelia is now 4.4 kgs and has grown 4.5 cms in 5 weeks, she's now 56.4 cms!!!!!!

Gotta run, she's hungry, will write more later. Off to the block again for the weekend tomorrow so will be offline until Sunday. :lol:

Thanks guys re the rash. Good to know it's all normal!

Got another question! Because Jack is exclusively BF it's hard to know how much he gets. I expressed today (I had so much milk this morning!) and got DH to give Jack some tonight so I could take a rest. I filled up the bottle (125ml) but he only drank 80ml. Is that normal do you think? I had a feeling he was already a bit full because I had given him some about two hours before to settle him after he was crying...

For those of you who sometimes use the bottle, how many mls do your bubs generally drink at one sitting?

Night girls!

x

Willow, that is terrible - to die so young - his poor parents must be heartbroken:( - Eva refused the dummy a few times and the bottle as well but we kept trying and she finally took it and takes them with no prob now...Maybe keep trying and not when he is stressed - I noticed that she took her first bottle when she was not stressed for a feed, and same witht he dummy...so try when he is relaxed and just whining for the boob.

Lani, you lucky girl with his sleeping! You are so lucky! Eva gives me 5 hours in the evening and I am jumping for joy - 7.5 is a full night!!!

Carmey, my house looks like a daycare hit by a tornado, but I have a cleaning lady come in once a week (I need it!) to change sheets and do the bathrooms and vacuuming - one of the luxuries I give myself during this period! Yuo should consider having a cleaning service in once a week - it is such a huge help! (I agree with Tilda - TOTALLY worth the money!) Eva is pimply too, whitehead and rashy looking things- totally normal - it is your hormones in his system and it will clear up on it's own. Just keep his face clean and don't use any acne products on him ever :)

I usually pump between 2.5-4 oz and Eva does not finish every time - on the breast they take what they need so they stop when they are full...don't worry - she sometimes drinks and asks for another bottle so i top her up an ounce or sometimes she does not finsh and I cry for the wasted milk :ROFL: but it is normal - I find that Eva eats big meals in the morning and smaller meals at night ....might just be his light supper time that he took the bottle ;)

Tilda, another thing you can try which I do now is I put a small pillow or stuffed animal up against her belly or side while she sleeps (sort of tricks her into thinking there is someone there) so maybe try that? It can't hurt to try...

Alsion, great growth for your princess! She sounds like she'll be a tall one like your DH!!

Getting stuff done today and have an appt for her passport next week! I am feeling productive so let's see if I can continue this with getting a shower in!

kisses to everyone!

Hi Carmey - I don't express enough to get a whole bottle, the most I've ever expressed in one day was 80 mls and that was a miracle, it's usually around 40 mls. But, I have given Amelia a full formula bottle a few times now and she drinks the full 125 mls! Just goes to show why she needs top ups. Although on the formula tin it does say between 120 and 125 mls, not sure if breast milk is different. I know formula has more fat in it which is why it fills them up more. I'm going to try some fenugreek to see if it increases my supply because at the moment I'm pretty well topping up after every feed except the first morning feed around 6.00 am as that's when I'm at my fullest. I have no choice, although I'm just about over the whole worrying about it thing, had a good chat to the health nurse today about it so feel better. There's a couple of girls in my mothers group who no longer BF as they had the same problem as me, one even gave it away as she just didn't like it, at least she's honest! I personally think it's a bit over rated as well but I know it's good for Amelia so I will persevere for a little bit longer. I'm finding it far too time consuming, I'm either BF'ing or expressing which half the time is pointless. You girls with big milk supply are very lucky.....it's quite hard when you feel like it's not working properly, it makes you feel like a failure. Great not only did I have to have a c-section but I am having to do FF comp feeds. Never mind, like I said, I'm really getting over it now and just more concerned that Amelia gets a full belly so she can grow! We shall see how the fenugreek goes, be funny if I ended up with too much milk, but I doubt it!

Hi Alison. Juat a quick post. Middle of the night and BF Matilda. When my supply was slow yo come in they got me expressing after each feed for 5 minutes one side then 5 on the other. Then 5, 5 again switching between the breasts again. And the lac consultand also got me taking fenugreek. This all seemed to help and I started producing copious amounts. But I hear you on the time consuming bit. Its time consuming even if you're supply is up. But if BF doesn't work for you and Amelia, dont beat yourself up. The main thin is that you're happy. Happy mummy, happy baby. Take care hun! And good night. I'm going to attempt to get bac to bed!

Hi Tilda - thank you for that info, definitely going to get some fenugreek, I really want to continue for the goodness side of things. :) Hope Matilda settled well for you last night. xx

AFM - Amelia slept from 10.00 pm to 5.00 am - 7 hours!!!!! Typically though we're off to our holiday house down south today for the weekend so I was up getting organised and didn't get to bed until midnight so I didn't get to make the complete most of it but bloomin happy. Probably a fluke but I'll take it!!! She fed and went back to sleep and it's now nearly 9.00 am and I'm going to have to wake her for another feed and then get going. I wonder if going out yesterday knackered her or her growth spurt is over. Who knows!

Anyway will be offline until Sunday so have a great weekend girls. Sunrise has a story on now claiming Formula is almost as good as breast milk so must go listen!

Hope everyone is is doing well too.

Thanks for the info on supply, girls. I have the nurse over in five mins so will speak to her about it too.

OMG, worst night last night. Jack was up every two hours crying. He never cries at night and I knew something was up. He kept projectile vomiting, poor little darling. It was really horrible. So, he slept in our bed and we all had a terrible night's sleep. I thought his temp was up too and when I took it it was up ever so slightly. I think he was just feeling off.

Will write persies after the nurse goes.
x

Hi girls!

Carmey - we had a night a bit like that last night, too. I think that our bubs are possibly moving into a growth spurt perhaps.

Re expressing - I try to express some milk every day (building up a freezer stash) - I have to try to nab time in between feeds, so I don't usually manage a lot - usually about 60ml (and most of that from the one side). The one time we've gotten Liam to take a bottle he drank about 50ml and was happy.

Alison - I am in deep envy. Liam's had a couple of nights where he's done four to almost six hour stretches of sleep, but most nights the most we get is his first sleep (which is usually at least three hours).

AFM - Rough night last night (and day yesterday). Liam was just really unsettled and overtired and would *not* go to sleep. Frustrating for everyone. He's napping right now, for which I am very grateful. I hate seeing him when he's so overtired and grumpy. I think he's definitely going into another growth spurt, so I expect a few more unsettled days. Hard to believe that he'll be six weeks old next week!

Rose - Yes, that's just like Jack! I thought something was wrong, like he was sick, but I think you're right. I hate seeing him like this too. He's usually so calm and never cries at night. Fingers crossed Liam has a better night for you tonight. x

Alison - 7 hours is just a dream! Lucky girl! Have fun on the block. I'm jealous. Oh, and I was going to say that I found that drinking lots and lots of water helps with my supply. And Tilda's tip is really good, too.

ATM - the nurse came over today and Master Jack is doing really well. He's put on 1.9kg and weighs 5.5kg - my little buddha! :lol: He has also grown 4cm, which is nice to know.

Thanks for all your advice on supply. I think I'm going to do what you do, Rose, and freeze some of it. I have so much milk that when I express I can fill a 125ml bottle in 5 minutes and that's just from one boob. And after that I have enough to still feed Jack! :o What do you freeze it in?

Alison, don't beat yourself up over the Bf thing - you are a great mother so just do what you feel is right. Formula is not bad, and it is stupid that people keep making it into a demon. Just do what you feel in order to not be stressed...and as far as supply goes, the expressing after feeds helps, I did it at the beginning when I was worried about supply and it def went up.

Carmey, Rose - it sounds like a growth spurt - I am just getting out of one! There is supposed to be a whopper at 6 weeks, so that might be it...The vomiting might be because he is overeating to up your supply and since he is fussy it comes up. I had a few projectiles on the sofa during Eva's last weight gain :)

Rose, your new pics of little Liam are great - I love the one in the chair - he looks like a little man at work :)

Carmey - you're lucky to have so much milk - FREEZE as much as you can! I try to get a bottle pumped into the freezer every time Eva has a long sleep - I call it my freedom stash! I hope to get a day or overnight trip out with DH soon once I have enough supply! But not sure about that since last night I left a double portion for Eva and went to dinner with friends who are visiting and 2 hours into dinner MIL called to tell me she was hysterical so I had to come back home! She had eaten the whole two portions in one sitting and was hungry again (and had serious gas) so I got in fed her and rubbed her back on the hot water bottle for half an hour, then she settled into sleep...but not until crying with gas again for a while...I am happy to say her "colic" if that is what it is (I think it is a hindmilk problem) is passing but we still have a day here or there where she has gas and is miserable...she fell asleep on my chest with the hot water bottle between us...I woke up to put her into bed with sweat on my chest and she was also a bit sweaty; which stressed me out - I did not plan on leaving her on there so long and hope I did not overheat her! :(

Going to be productive!

Wishing a wonderful day to everyone!

xoxo

Carmey - I'm currently freezing milk in 30ml portions using breast milk freezer trays that I bought online - I like the idea of freezing in small portions, so it doesn't get wasted. I am planning on filling a few bottles to freeze as well, just so I have some options for when I'm going to be away from Liam.

I think that Liam's definitely in a growth spurt. He's been fussing at the breast a lot, and his sleep is all over the place (he's been fighting naps again all day, and is overtired and cranky now.) Oh well, it's not going to last forever. I weighed him yesterday and he's 4.9kg. Going to be interesting to see how he goes next week when he gets weighed by the community health nurse.

Rose - I'll def look into those trays, they sound good. It seems that Liam and Jack are going through the exact same thing. Fingers crossed it ends soon.

BS - What a shame about your night out! Sounds like Eva didn't want to miss out on all the fun. Poor little lamb, it's horrible when they have wind like that.

I also think that you're right - he is overeating to up my supply. I was only just saying to DH that usually my boobs don't have this much milk at night. They're both full - I should express, huh? But bed calls. I'm so tired from last night.

Oh, and when you say "hindmilk problem", what exactly do you mean? Do you mean she's not getting enough hindmilk (is that the creamy milk at the end?)? I read yesterday that some people need to express out a little of their milk as they get the let down before they let bub on the boob so that their bubs don't get too much lactose. Apparently if they get too much all the time they can get upset tummies.

Anyway, here's to a great night's sleep tonight! Night girls. x

Hi gals

Alison - hope you have a great trip down south. My sister is getting married down in the Margaret River in May. Can't wait to come home for it!

Carmey - 125mil is 5 minutes!!! OMG, that's awesome. Freeze, freeze, freeze. The best I get is about 50mil in 10 minutes usually. I use special purpose plastic bags you can buy at the pharmacy. But you can get little cup types things too. Its very stressful when you think something isn't right with bub, isn't it.

BS - Sounds like the invisible umbilical cord yanked you home the other night. We nearly left Matilda with my parents and went out for dinner last night. But the same thing would have happened. She went through a complete feeding frenzy. I couldn't get her off me. In the end I gave her the bottle of expressed milk I was going to leave Mum and Dad because I was just exhausted. And you just know they're going to get gas!!

Rose - Hope Liam isn't too unsettled tonight for you. You never know, sometimes its a one off.

AFm - Well we had a very unsettled day yesterday too. Must be the "age". Oh, I hear her now. See you later everyone......

Carmey; yes exactly - I had the lactation consultant tell me to change sides often to feed Eva and ended up going through a 2/3 week period of HELL, with constipation, green poo when it came and gas every night where she would scream in pain for three or four hours (it was in my opinion misdiagnosed as colic...)...you can read about that here: LLLI | Foremilk and Hindmilk

Carmey, just be careful not to pump too much...because you might end up with wayyy too much milk and engorgement...I found that pumping one bottle during a long sleep gives me one bottle ahead...so if I do pump and she gets hungry I at least have that back up bottle to hold her over...but last night she ate two bottles, so I am back to square one...My frozen stash is not so huge.

Tilda, you just got over the one month mark...It gets easier after this. I had a hard time the first month with my clinger too! She will settle a bit now, I am rooting for you! Keep strong - it is just a bit longer... :) I hear you on giving an expressed bottle - I did that few times in the beginning to get some sleep...But these days I cannot get a bottle pumped for my life - she eats it all! She has been draing one and a half to two boobs in a sitting during some feeds and a full boob during night and "afternoon snack" feeds... I keep trying to squeeze in pumps though.

Hi girls.

Re milk supply. I feel I am lacking some. I have been giving Jett some top up of formula as he seems to be still hungry. When I express the most I have gotten in one sitting is 30mls. This fenugreek where do u get it from? I may need to try some.


Well I have had Jett to the dr tonight. His belly button has started bleeding. My gp was closed when I noticed it so I went looking for a dr but our local medical centre had over a 2hr wait so I called the hospital and they told me to take him to emergency at the hospital so we were headed for Liverpool hospital however I didn't feel it necessary for emergency dept so I stopped at the medical centre in Liverpool n saw a dr straight away who cleaned it up took a look at it n said it has a raw part deep inside the belly button which is where it is bleeding from. He tapped a cotton wool ball on it and said if it was still bleeding tomorrow to take him back and they would burn that skin off. We bought Jett home n he has just awoken from a 6hr sleep. It doesn't seem to be bothering him at all. I didn't touch the cotton wool when I just changed him I just left it. It doesn't appear to have any blood on it so hopefully it has stopped on it's own.
Has anyone else experienced this?

Sorry no persies Jett needs to be burped now.

:hug: to all
xx*

Hi Lani I haven't had any problems like that with the belly button, but I'm sure it's not uncommon. Hope it fixes it's self up, the thought of them having to burn it off sounds yucky for little Jett:hide:

Hi Rose I'll check out those trays too they sound good, I had a friend who used to use ice cube trays, do the ones you have have a lid?

Hi Carmey The other day when I read your post I thought you were writing about my house! Right down to the baby spew all over the bed sheets!:rofl: I was going to post straight after I read it but Harry projectile vomited on me it hit me right in the middle of me chest got my top and went all the way down my cleavage to my stomach:o:lol: ...so I was off to the shower, Harry was unsettled all day then with more spews, and what seemed like 100 changes of clothes and spew cloths! I felt like wearing a green garbage bag just to protect myself.
I think it is a growth spurt like we all seem to going through at the moment, but I was starting to think something was wrong too.

Hi BS glad to hear Eva is coming through the hindmilk fiasco now, stupid LC woman! If she was older and not up with the new methods then she really should re think her job or re-train I wonder how many other mums and bubs suffered because of her?!

Hi Alison Sooooo jealous of the long sleeps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I should go and do something other than play on the computer while Harry's sleeping the morning is the longest sleep we get:hello:

Happy Saturday everyone!

Lani - I got a "lactation herbs tonic" from pharmacy that specialises in naturopathic remedies. It includes fenugreek, goats rue, fennel and aniseed. But I know that many of the vitamin companies sell fenugreek capusles. So any pharmacy should be able to help you there. I've had friends that have just taken straight fenugreek capsules and have had big improvements in supply and in settling their babe. I'm actually wondering if its helping Matilda's wind. I've increased the dose again after getting slack and she's been a lot less windy. Haven't had any belly button issues. But it sounds like something that could easily happen.

Willow - how's your pile of laundry going with all the spew attacks? Matilda isn't very spewy but she tends to wee or poo all over the change table and me mid nappy change. I've never had so much laundry!!! BTW remember I ordered those Bambooty all in one nappies? Well they're great. But the small size is quite small and will probably only fit her until she's about 6kg. Then I'll have to buy the next size up. But they are really easy to use and look after.

Carmey - how did your run go? I bet it felt good to get moving again.

BS - thanks for the words of hope! I think I've seen some improvement in the wind situation like I was saying to Lani. And the sleep situation too. So hopefully things will start to feel a bit more regular. BTW, you've been posting some gorgeous pics of Eva on FB. Good luck on finding some pump time. Its hard when they're going through such a feeding frenzy isn't it??

Hellos to all the other lovely Mums and bubs. :hello:

AFM - I had to say goodbye to Mum and Dad who went back to Perth yesterday. I felt so sad for Matilda and for them more than for me. It's the worst part of living so far away. They change so quickly and I hate that they're going to miss out on so much. I think if DH doesn't get a particular job he has his heart set on we might think about moving back. Anyway, better go rescue DH and offer the other boob....

Tilda - I hear you on living away from the parents. It's so hard and they do miss out on so much. My friend suggested getting Skype so we can still see each other every day. The funny thing is that her daugher, 2.5 years, now calls her grandpa Skype as she always thought they were talking about him when they said, "Do you want to go and talk on Skype?":rofl:

How do you feel about the possibility of moving back??

Willow - OMG, I know how you feel. Jack's room has these white spots I'm about to scrub where he has projectile spewed across the room. Let's hope this spewy stage ends soon! It does sound like a growth spurt thing, plus the nurse told me yesterday that newborns have such immature digestive systems that just the slightest upset can bring their dinner up again. It's all very common I think. Hope you get a good night tonight! x

Lani - poor little Jett's belly button! Have you checked it yet? If he slept six hours he must be feeling okay, poor little man.

BS - thanks for sending that link. I'm about to read it. There's so much to know with BFing, huh? How did our grandmothers and great grandmothers get along I wonder? I know my grandmother only BF for three months with each of her bubs (4 of them) and she remembers her nipples bleeding and it being excruiating to feed. Anyway, that's a whole other tangent. I'm so easily distracted these days! :D

Mum also told me to be careful not to pump too much, so will take that on board! I'd hate to get mastitis!!

It sounds like Eva is doing really well now and has feeding all sorted. Good work!


ATM - Had a nice day with DH and Jack. We went for a big walk this morning and then put him down for a nap, which ended up being 5 hours! That's a lot for him during the day. I did give him a dream feed halfway through so that probably helped.

I went for my run, if you can call it that. I took it very slow to say the least. I only did around 1.5km but that was enough. I'll slowly build it up to back to where I was. My goal is to get back into triathlons and do a local duathlon with my tri and running club by my birthday in July. We'll see! :D

Anyway, Jack's down now for the night so it feels great to get a few things done. We've brought our routine forward a bit so we have time together at night and he sleeps. I'll give him a dream feed when we get into bed.

Anyway, have a great night girls!

Hi Carmey, I highly recommend skype. We've just upgraded our computer and got a new webcam and tried it out today with mum. It was great and it really surprised me how clear the picture was. But babies are such tactile things and you can't beat a real cuddle. Still at least they can see her in real time. That's hilarious about your friend's 2 year old calling grandpa skype :rofl: As for moving back, I'd miss the proximity of the east coast, but it would be great to be near my folks right now. I never grew up near grandparents and really missed it. And well done on the run!! Sounds like you'll reach your BD go worries.

ATM - had an awful evening. Matilda has been feeding like such a demon the past few afternoons that I think she's overstimulated my supply. And now its gushing out and drowning the poor thing. So she was on and off crying inbetween with frustration. It was awful. There' milk everywhere. All over her, me, the BF pillow and the couch. Andall over our bed where she projectile vomited. I tried BF lying down but its really uncomfortable for my neck. And I'm worried I may have even strained it a bit. That would just top things off. Just when you think you have teh BF al sorted it goes pear shaped again! :wall: Anyway I'm hoping it will settle down now that her feeding frenzy seems to have slowed up a bit. She's asleep on DH now, so I think I'll go and have a shower and get ready for bed. Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Hi everyone hope you all had a good weekend:)

Hi Tilda The laundry is a nightmare! Nappies, wipes,washers,spew cloths changes of clothes, sheets....LOL and throw in two teenage boys with their stuff as well:o DP has been very good while he's been off work he does a load of nappies in the morning and hangs them out, so that's a big help.
Glad the Bambooties are good, it's a shame they are sized and you have to buy more. I've been using terry flats and bamboo prefolds, the bamboo prefolds are really nice good fit and soft on his bum, but they are also small so won't fit him for much longer. The terry flats are good too and he won't grow out of them! They just aren't very trim if you like a trim fit, I kind of like the big butts on the babies they look cute:D
Hope you get milk over supply sorted soon, I'm sure it will sort it's self out pretty quickly your body should work it out.

Hi Carmey Well done on the run! You'll be back into the swing of it before you know it. How'd you go with getting the white projectile marks out? Was it in the carpet? DS1 used to projectile too and the acid from it permanently stained the carpet! It was old cheap crappy carpet but I could never get the marks out completely. The projectiles seem to have settled a bit here, still little spews but not launching across the room so much, how bout Jack?
BTW I'm very jealous of your routine with Jack! We're miles away from anything like that with Harry, he's still very unpredictable!

We'll Harry's calling better go.

Hi everybody!

It's been ages since I have been on here, so please excuse my lack of personals.......I have had a little look over and thought it was time to introduce myself to the newbies. (or encourage new mummys who just had little babies to come in and chat with us!)

On the 3rd of December I had my second baby girl, Sienna Poppy, via an emergency c-section. She was 3.97kgs and awesome.
I have a 22 month old girl Lila - born on the 10th March 2008... and am trying very hard to split my time between the two.!! So far Sienna will sleep after her 6pm or 7pm feed, sleeping at around 7.30 till anywhere around 12 or 3am. NOTHING like my first who was up every 2 hours for the first few months. :(

I also just completed my birth story if you would like to read... https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...-prepared.html

Hope you are all well and getting some much needed sleep.. :)

Love Kanda. (Kath)

Hi Girls - I've been down at the farm house all weekend so have missed heaps!

Hi Tilda - come back to Perth and we can catch up! :D

Hi Kanda - great to hear from you! Glad Sienna is being so great with her sleeping, that's awesome! I'm going to go ready your birth story, as a fellow c-section"er" I'm interested to read how yours panned out. :D

Hi Willow and Carmey - how are you both lovelies? :lol:D

AFM - I think my roids or fissure (I do think it's more likely the latter) is getting a bit better with the cream, doesn't hurt as much but I still look forward to the day I can go to the toilet without grimacing! Sorry if TMI. I'm going to get myself some fenugreek today to try and increase my milk supply, it's been ok but still not good enough to avoid the formula feeds at nearly every feed now. Not that I mind doing that but I really want to continue BF'ing as much as I can but still happy to do both. Some is better than none huh! Amelia is doing great though, she's 6 weeks old today, I can't believe how fast the time has gone, does everyone else feel the same? It just feels like yesterday that I was waiting for her due date to come, it's quite scary how fast it's going. She is really smiling heaps now, especially when you talk to her, it's so adorable it makes my heart melt. I can't wait for the gooing sounds to go with it, had a couple but nothing obvious. She's also still sleeping well at night, getting on average 4-5 hours now, got 6 again last night, she went down at 9.30 pm and woke at 3.30 am, then fed and went back down until 6.30 am. It makes such a difference when they sleep a little longer, hope it lasts!

Today I'm off to the OT, haven't been since before I had Amelia and I'm hanging out for it, my neck, back and shoulders are so sore from BF'ing, most probably my bad posture, I'm taking Amelia as the therapist wants to meet Amelia, I've been going to her for 5 or so years, she's excited to meet her. I hope she's quiet while I'm there LOL! Then I'm off to see a friend for an hour. I have a busy week this week, hope it's not too much for Amelia, now I can drive AND lift the pram I'm going to start getting out more. Tomorrow I thought I'd take a trip into the city to see my work crew - might catch the train though, hate driving into the city, parking alone sux! Then Wednesday catching up with my aqua class girls for morning tea. We're going to discuss doing a mums and bubs swimming class, I really need to get into exercise now I can, I've got 8 kgs to lose! Who said BF'ing made you lose weight, I'm still waiting!!!!!!! People say I don't look like I need to lose it but I've got 8 kgs, got a pudgy gut still and I think my thighs are looking a bit sad ha ha.

Oh and I think I might have gotten AF, my bleeding stopped nearly 2 weeks ago and just a few days ago started again, it's not very heavy though but I'm sure it's proper AF as I have some slight cramps and my boobs are a bit sore - although what's new there ha ha! I didn't think you got AF while you were breastfeeding so there you go....just shows how much I don't know!!!!!

Sorry, I have totally rambled on, hope you're all having a fab day with your bubs. xx

Hi Kanda Have been wondering how you were going, I assumed you were super busy with a new baby AND a toddler to run after! Glad to hear things are going well, excellent that Sienna sleeps so well:thumbsup: wish I could say the same about Harry:rolleyes: he's a lot like his oldest brother was.

Hi Alison Hope all goes well at the OT . I hear ya on the bum problem!! Glad it seems to be coming good. You can get AF while you're BF, not everyone gets lucky and skips it the whole time, maybe they'll be lighter and shorter for you ...oooh you better be extra careful if your DTD urge has returned!:lol: Could be waiting for your next due date sooner than you thought:lol:
Sounds like you're another lucky one and Amelia is settling into a good sleep routine at night, Amelia's got a week or so on Harry so maybe he'll catch up next week...or the week after:pray:

We had another chiro appointment this morning. Harry looks so cute on the table I even took the camera today I'm sure Michael (the chiropractor) thought I was an idiot LOL Harry's still not wanting to tilt his head all the way to the right side but getting better, we have to encourage him to turn to the right when he's having tummy time, but at least it's improved enough so my nipple isn't bleeding any more and he feeds a little more efficiently, although he still gets a bit lazy sometimes.
He's gulping some air too when he feeds just gets lazy and breaks the suction then sucks some air in when he gets back on properly again grrr anyone else had this problem? For those who use the Infants Friend does that help with wind from gulping air? Or is it more for wind caused by other factors? I'm sure if we can get it under control Harry would be more settled all round, well hopefully!
Stinking hot here today 38 I'm glad our chiro was at 9am wouldn't like to be going out now.
Also Harry seemed to be straining a lot the last few days when trying to poo, he never used to do this before,his poos are still yellow and runny though, has anyone else noticed their bubs have a change to that as well? I must say though he's pooed 3 times today without much hassle maybe the chiro straightened that out too he might have been a bit crooked in that area too.

Oh and Tilda on the washing front, we're having visitors for a week tomorrow so DS2 needed to clean out his room so the guests can use it while they're here, well the dirty clothes that have come out of there is ridiculous! There was even clean still folded cloths that obviously he was too lazy to put away and they've ended up in the dirty washing basket:angry: Not happy Jan!

Well I should get back to the washing machine I suppose, it's not getting done while I'm on here chatting:D

Hi Willow - do we have matching bums? LOL Mine is getting better but still not 100% yet, hurry up cream!

On the poo front, considering Amelia gets some formula top ups I'm surprised her poo is still very BF runny - I'm glad though as I'd hate for her to get constipated. Today at the OT she did a massive poo and then bawled for pretty much my whole appointment as she hates a dirty nappy - great timing Amelia! (By the way, my neck and shoulder muscles are hard as rocks so I'm back to square one like when I was working, maternity leave did wonders for my neck and shoulders but of course my back was crap, also, my sciatic nerve is also playing up again so guess everything is still working it's way back to pre-pregnancy!) Anyway, I went to put her back in the car and as I picked her up I felt wetness...................it was a massive poo explosion, all up her stomach, back, you name it so I had to go home and change her before heading to my friends. It was gross and runny and very very yellow!!!!!!!!! No wonder she cried ha ha. As for AF, yes, guess I will have to be extra careful, the urge to DTD hasn't returned yet, does it ever? Poor DH must be wondering but the week and a half in between bleeding I couldn't anyway, technically I've had to wait until today (6 weeks) anyway and now I'm bleeding again LOL! Perhaps I'll have to take that mini pill after all. I really hate the idea of condoms to be honest. Hope you survived the heat today, it's going to be 42 on Sunday in Perth........yukkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk! Thank god we have ducted aircon and my sister has a pool!

Oh and I bought some Fenugreek tablets today - gosh they're pretty expensive really aren't they - $25.00 for a bottle that probably won't last long, oh well, hopefully they'll do the trick! No-one can say I'm not giving everything a go!

Hope everyone else is well today. :D

Hi all,

Won't have time to do personals but just thought I'd pop in to say hi. Had Jacob weighed this morning and he's put on 400g in a week. Now 5.2kg and 59cm long. He's starting to stretch 000 clothes as he's so long. He's feeding well and sleeping well (:hide: um, 7 1/2 hours last night) and seems happy enough.

I guess the beauty of being a second time mum is not stressing (as much) like you do with the first bub. OMG ... first time round, I used to get very anxious and stressed about breastfeeding - why was he "on and off" all the time, why did he take so long to feed, why doesn't he want to BF?? Second time round I'm much more relaxed cos I now know that sometimes bubs go through little phases when BFing, and it's just a matter of persisting (no matter how frustrating) because things tend to return to normal sooner or later. Currently Jacob is "on, off, on, off" the boob every second or third feed - and he gets quite crotchety when he pulls himself "off". While I find it frustrating, I figure it'll sort itself out eventually. Hopefully soon, cos it can be a total PITA. It's probably that my milk is flowing a bit too fast for him ... hmm, maybe he'll just have to learn to swallow a bit quicker :o yeah, just joking!

One quick personal ... hi to Kanda - your toddler is just a few days older than my DS1 (Cam). How is your household going? My DS1 just wants to smother "babe jay" with love and kisses ALL the time! Fortunately Jacob still sleeps a lot, so I can spend a bit of time with DS1 but trying to juggle an attention-seeking toddler when BFing is a challenge all in itself!

Anyway, I'll jump back in later all being well to do "proper" personals. Stay cool those of you sweltering and stay safe if you're in a catastrophic fire zone.

Andie

Hi girls and bubs!

Hope you're all doing well :)

Had Liam's 6 week health nurse visit today. We had the nicest nurse this time - stark contrast with the horrid woman we had last time. Liam's just over 5kg now, which makes me happy. Everything else was okay with him, apart from the fact that he lies with his head turned the same way all the time, so his head is developing a flat spot. We just need to encourage him to turn the other way as much as possible now.

The only other thing we need to focus on is his sleeping, especially during the day. The CHN said that at his age, he shouldn't be awake for more than an hour at a time (including feeding time). He's been awake during the day for 2-3 hours consistently, and getting grumpy because of it. We're trying to change his napping routine to see if it helps - mostly putting him in a quiet, dark room (we've had his bassinet out with us in the living room most of the time, just so we can keep an eye on him). Fingers crossed that it works - if he naps better during the day, he'll sleep better at night. He's been up every hour the last two nights, which gets exhausting.

Hi Rose - glad Liam's appointment went well, sounds like he's coming along fantastically! Sounds like you are feeling much better too which is great. Amelia has days when she's awake for more than an hour during the day as well so was wondering about that. She has her 6 week check with the child health nurse tomorrow as well so might ask about that too. She generally sleeps at night now between 5 and 6 hours, last night was 4 but I visited work yesterday for a few hours so it was pretty full on, I think she got overstimulated!

I went to visit the girls as I said, the house we were at today was not airconditioned and it's 35 in Perth today - it's going to be 42 on Sunday! Anyway it was pretty uncomfy, the girl whos house it was has 10 week old twins, a boy and a girl and a 19 month old girl, she's such a trooper AND she wants another! A real natural, I don't know how she does it, one's enough for me at the moment ha ha. We took another pic of all the bubs like we did last time, only problem was Amelia was bawling so she's going to be the only one who wasn't looking nice and quiet in the pic, typical! Amelia's the youngest out of the group anyway but they keep commenting how little she is, I didn't think she was overly small, I think it's just that she's long and skinny ha ha! She looks big to me!

As I said, tomorrow is mothers group, I will go a little earlier as it's Amelia's 6 week check with the health nurse, got the paed next week. It's so hot in Perth this week. Tomorrow will be revolting as well as it's only a small room and it's also not properly airconditioned, it has one of those little wall aircons that you can only feel if you stand in front of it. We're doing baby massage tomorrow too, great in the heat, mmmmm! Caught up with my swimming friends and their bubs today, was nice as always but the house was unairconditioned so was horribly hot and sweaty!

Hi girls,

Kanda - so good to hear from you! Loved your birth story, thanks for sharing!

Rose - Great news that everything went well with the nurse. Sounds like things are going along well. Good luck with the new nap routine.

Willow - re: Infants' Friend and the gulping - Jack does that too and it seems to help him. I've also found it helps him sleep at night. Have you tried it yet?

Alison - Don't you hate those poo explosions? Jack had one at a cafe the other day when I went to have brunch with a girlfriend. It was everywhere and in the end even my friend had it on her!

Andie - 7.5hours! That's just showing off! :lol: Honestly, that's awesome. You're very lucky indeed. Jack is still doing the exact same hours, which aren't too bad but even an extra hour here or there would be nice!

ATM - had mother's group today and spent ages with the girls at one of their houses. Came home with one overtired bub (he wouldn't sleep!) and he was restless for the rest of the day. Have him here now in our bed trying to get him to sleep. He's been crying on and off and I just know it's because he was too overstimulated today. It sucks because it was so great to get out and see the girls. We can't win them all, can we?

Anyway, hope you're all doing well and speak tomoz.

xx

Hi everyone

Carmey - going out is a double edged sword isn't it! It nust have been fun to get to mothers group and catch up with some girlfriends though. Worth it for your sanity even if there's a bit of payback in the short term.

Alison - Poo explosions. Yes. We had one ourselves today when I went to see the lactation consultant. All over their change table and her onesie (and I hadn't brought a spare). Luckily teh lactation consultant and myself were spared! And I'm rooting for a Perth move - wouldn't it be fun to get all the Perth girls together!

Kanda - great to hear from you. I really don't know how people cope with a newborn AND a toddler. It must be intense. Especially after such an intense delivery! Your birth story made me cry! I'm so glad everything worked out and Sienna arrived safely in the end!

Rose - let us know how your new sleeping regime goes! I'm very interested because Matilda likes to stay up way past her bedtime too. Its great to hear you sounding so well too.

AndiE - it was great to read your post. Matilda has been going through a phase this week of coming on and off too because she'd built my supply up rather too well and it was gushing poor thing. I felt much more relaxed after hearing you had similar issues and it usually resolves itself.

Willow - Matilda was straining when doing a poo for a few days too. And was very crotchety. But it seems to have righted itself now and she's happily exploding everywhere. I can only imagine the amount of laundry you're dealing with. I feel like I need two machines on rotation with just the three of us.

I hope everyone else is well and happy!

AFM - It seems like its been a really busy few days. Matilda is growing and growing and growing. She's basically been putting on about 300 grams every week. And she's grown 4.5cm in length. I took a trip to the lactation consultant today to go over a number of small issues. We weighed her again and again 300 grams. The LC said "oh, well that's why she's been cluster feeding, she's gone through a growth spurt". Well, she must be on a permanent growth spurt (pity my aching back). Matilda has been "cluster feeding" every afternoon/evening ffor the last week or so which means non-stop feeding. She has been so cranky too coming on and off because she keeps choking on the fast flow. I felt quite upset about it for a couple of days but it seemed to improve a lot yesterday. I also got a bit of additional advice on getting Matilda to attach properly on the left (still got a sore, cracked nipple). And also some advice about my thrush. I don't know if anyone else has had any issues, but I've had such bad thrush all over my breasts and now on my hands too. Yuk!!! I'm going to go and get some diflucan today because the creams are only doing so much. I have actually managed to make a cake today (only a packet one but a cake nonetheless). But the house is a pig sty so I'd better actually go and do something about it.

Hi Tilda - Matilda is doing so well, she's so adorable, I love seeing her piccies on FB, her little face brings such a smile to mine. :D I haven't had the pleasure of having thrush anywhere for that matter but I'd consider swapping it for my roids believe me!!!:o Go the Perth move!

AFM - Amelia's 6 week check with the child health nurse went really well. She passed with flying colours She is now 4.5 kgs - almost exactly a kilo heavier than her birth weight, so her weight and head circumference is right in the 50th percentile. She is 57.9 cms in length which puts her in the 90th percentile so definitely a tall girl! DH said, well at least she won't be a short a*se like you and I said yes and luckily her head is small like mine and not massive like yours LOL! He has a big head ha ha....polish genes! That shut him up.

Tomorrow I'm going to call and see if I can get into a mums and bubs aqua class, I miss my aqua class and I desperately want to get rid of some weight, I haven't shifted the last 8 kgs and am now starting to feel depressed. I can't fit into any of my pre pregnancy skirts if they have zips, I can't do them up and I have this gut that makes me look a little pregnant only floppy!!!!!! Who said BF'ing drops the kilos, doesn't for me, unless it's because I'm not producing enough to burn the calories, typical, just my luck!

Oops, Amelia's farting which probably means poo so I'd best go.

Hope you're all well.

Today has been an "interesting" day. I've been trying to get Liam to settle down for more naps, without much luck so far - he's had a couple of catnaps, and nothing more. I think the heat's really unsettling him.

I don't remember if I mentioned that he's been having some feeding issues as well - especially on the right side, he's been choking and screaming a lot. I'm pretty certain that I have an overactive letdown on that side and oversupply in general. Spent most of today engorged because he wouldn't empty the breast, and ended up pumping instead for comfort. He ate happily after that, but he's still not sleeping. Poor little guy is really overtired but just won't settle down. Keeping an eye on his tired signs is hard - often he's giving tired signs only a few minutes after waking up (which indicates that he's chronically overtired). He's just too interested in the world and gets overstimulated. Oh well, I'll keep on trying with the napping, anyway, hopefully it'll work sometime.

Hi girls,

Alison - Fear not, hun. I'm exactly the same as you re: the weight. Though, I think I've actually put on a bit again. My tummy was looking quite flat and now it is bigger again. :wall:I'd dropped 11 at the birth and then had around 7 to 8 to lose but the scales are now telling me 9. How rude! BF sure isn't helping me yet eitehr. One of my girlfriends told me that the weight only started coming off for her after six months, then it just melted off.

I am eating a lot and not really watching what I'm eating, I must admit. My skin is also breaking out, which is always a warning sign for me to back off on the junk. I reckon those aqua classes will be great. Do you know DH booked Jack into swim classes for him when we found out we were pregnant? I think the woman booking us thought he was mad. We're booked in for March because at our pool they have to be three months. As soon as Jack has his immunisation shots we'll put him in the pool here in our apartment. Will you take Amelia to your sister's pool?

Tilda - That doesn't sound fun re: the thrush on your poor boobs! What does it actually look like? Does it hurt? Does that mean that Miss Matilda has it in her mouth? One of the girls in our mother's group has that problem and her bubby had it in their mouth.

That's good you got the attachment sorted. There's nothing worse than a sore nipple when trying to feed when they're cluster feeding!! She really must be growing, little darling.

Everyone else - how are you all? Oh, and I have a question for you all:

During the night, do you wait til you hear bub cry for a feed, or do you get up when you hear them waking? I never actually get to hear Jack cry and simply get up when I hear him starting to stir. It gets me thinking, if I left him, would he sleep longer?

ATM - All going pretty well right now. Jack seems to have really settled and is a very happy bubba. As long as I keep him from being overstimulated (like yesterday!) he's great and doesn't cry and cry at "aresonic hour".

I took him to visit one of the magazines I used to work for today to see all the girls. Was so nice to see everyone and they all couldn't get over how big he is! My little buddha. :D

I've always patted or rocked him to sleep and I have read that from 6 to 8 weeks you should try and get them to put themselves to sleep sometimes so they don't get reliant on you and making it easier when they're older. So, I put that to the test today (not thinking it would work) and the little angel just shut his eyes after a few mintues. I'm sure it won't always work and I do enjoy the ritual of rocking, but it may work out to be a good thing.

Man, I'm really rambling today. Sorry girls!

xx

Hi Alison - what a tall girl you have!! She'll be hitting the catwalk in no time with those looks and long legs! And we've all got a few kilos that decided to stick around so don't worry. I'm sure we'll need the reserves at some stage when they go through a crotchety phase and we're walking the floor for hours at a time. Hope those pesky roids clear up soon.

Hi Rose - I was having similar let down issues I think over the past week. When I called a midwife about it she suggested I pump a bit before putting Matilda on and that seemed to help and now it seems to have settled down anyway. I think eventually your supply and baby get back in sync. Its so hard with the sleeping isn't it. We haven't been at all good at getting Matilda to "self settle". We tend to cuddle her to sleep and do anything that works. But might start trying to get her to self settle more now that she's about to hit the six week milestone. Good luck!!

Sorry Rose, just saw your post. Poor little Liam. It can't be much fun being an overtired bub. I'm not sure if this works, but I've read that if you're flow is too fast at the letdown, hold back and let it spray into a towel, then put bub on. That may help?

I was at my mother's group yesterday and there were two there with the same problem as you, with their little ones not sleeping well, only napping. So, it's really common and thankfully it doesn't last long. Hope you get lots of sleep tonight. x

Hi Carmey - you must have been posting while I was posting :D The LC thought Matilda probably had thrush too which is why I'm probably having a hard time getting on top of it. Her tongue is a bit white and patchy so I started her on some treatment today. As for my boobs, they were red and rashy looking (but that's now improved) but my nipples are still quite red. :DI really, really hope we can get rid of it. :pray: I don't wait for Matilda to cry to get her up for a feed. When she's hungry during the night she'll make a lot of lip smacking and fist sucking noises and that's when I'll get her up. And that's only once during the night at the moment (unless I'm sleeping through the rest??). That's awesome that Jack will self settle. A little budda in more ways than one :D

Hi Carmey - I'm the same as Tilda with Amelia at night, she'll start making sucking noises and other little pre hunger noises. I was told not to wake them at night now as they are old enough to tell us when they're hungry. Amelia made the "pre hunger" noises for an hour the other day before she really gave me the "I'm hungry feed me now" vibes. :D Well, she's crying now so best go! I haven't even started dinner or had a shower yet! Grrr