Hi mums and bubs,

Sounds like we are all slowly slowly adjusting to life with out new babies...

Dr T - great birth story. Loved it. Thanks again for sharing all that with us - will say it again, you are an amazing woman. My DH commented that he had no idea I was that strong - I bet your DH is thinking the same thing

Which MCNs are you using? Maybe its a boy thing - we're using Tots Bots fitted with PUL covers and although we have had one poosplosion leak, I don't think any nappy on earth would have contained that one! The huggies we used for a bit when we first came home from hosp were useless - we had heaps of leaks. Must be a boy thing - we used the same MCNs with my DD and I don't think we had any leaks at all!

We're in them full time but I'm finding the washing a bit stressful - I think we're going to end up washing nappies every day, DD's one day and DS's the next. At least that way we keep the two sizes separate... easier to sort out...

6-8hrs - yeah I guess that is a bit long!! Little baby only has little tummy, I'm surprised his tummy lets him sleep that long Definitely take advantage of the long stretches at night while they last!

Emma - he will settle down! You're doing a great job! Are you getting lots of support during the day? Can someone take T for a bit so you can rest during the day, to prepare for the nights? I found that worked best with DD when I was completely exhausted and she was up all night. As far as the poos go, I think at this stage they still poo fairly regularly, but once you get into a regular BF routine (if you do) and things settle a bit, he might be one of those once a week pooing babies. There is hope yet!

X does the exact same thing though - I feed him one side, change nappy, then generally without fail while we are feeding the second side he'll do a big squishy poo. Its like he holds it in til he's in a nice clean nappy and then lets rip We are going through so many nappies - so glad we're in cloth.

As for feeding lying down, it doesn't really matter what size you are - my sister went up to about what you are and she taught me how to do it! She has a pretty sweet deal, as an aside - when my nephew wakes for feeds, she sends my BIL up to get him from his cot in his room, BIL gives him to my sister who feeds one side, BIL changes his nappy at the end of the bed, back to sis, then BIL takes him back to bed. My sis just lies there dozing through it all. Can't see my DH going for that one somehow!!!

Anyway, basically I lie X on the bed, on his back, with his head roughly where I think my BB will be (getting better at judging it...), then I scootch in beside him on my side, with the arm that is closest to the mattress sort of tucked up under my pillow and with the other arm I sort of roll X onto his side into me... and then I have to shuffle him up or down a little bit so he is lined up properly with BB.

The important thing is to still get the chin to breast attachment thing going on... I was a bit lazy the first night and got a little graze on one nipple and a crack on the other. I find I have to squish my nipple a bit to get him to attach properly but once he is on, I close my eyes and doze...

This morning I fed him at about 3am and he wouldn't go back into the cradle so he came back into bed with us, I'd done my PJ top up but he kept trying to attach, so I just undid it and let him suck, when I woke up at 6am he was still attached

I always put X on the outside of the bed, so I am between him and my DH. DH is too heavy a sleeper to risk having him roll onto X if X were in between us. I was putting a pillow next to him but I confess I have not been doing that recently... the pillow would just fall off and he's always tucked right into me so he's not going anywhere. Hope some of that helps...

AFM: we had a bit of an unsettled night last night which continued today - lots of long stretches of wakefulness (like 2hrs) followed by short sleeps and more being awake. He's asleep now, has been since about 8pm, so I'm now waiting for him to wake up before going to bed. Would have gone to bed at 8pm but we hadn't had dinner...

He made the most noise today that he has in just about ever. I think maybe gas/wind pains? He'd let out these real squawks of pain and go all rigid, then relax. Poor little bub. Happened a few times...

Aside from that, he is generally happy to just be, when he is awake I mean. Doesn't seem to like being left alone while he's awake, but if you're holding him he will quite happily watch the world without crying or anything. So that's pretty good. We did have a time today when neither him nor DD would go to sleep and DH and I were getting pretty snippy with each other. Thankfully they finally got to sleep and DH had a little nap on the couch... or else things would have gotten nasty.

DH working tomorrow Got family coming round so hopefully they can amuse DD for a bit...

How is everyone feeling physically, now that we are a week or so post-natal? I'm still struggling with digestion... I get really gassy/windy and am struggling to be, ahem, regular, if you get my drift. Might need some more natural fibre...

Hope everyone is going well... I'm off to bed... maybe...