hi everyone! i can't believe it's October already! this year has flown (in comparison to last year anyway - bloody MS lol)
to whoever was asking about changing nappies without holding at the feet. due to my dodgy wrist, i can't grab e's feet like i see a lot of people doing - well, i can, but i don't tend to have enough strength most of the time to hold her like it - them little legs are strong enough to break free! so i tend to slide my left hand under her left knee, hold between her right knee and ankle and lift from there. that probably makes no sense, but essentially i'm holding one leg and lifting, and the other is going up because her knee is over my wrist. that's when she doesn't do it herself - from day one we've said to her to lift her bum up for us to change her - she can't get her bum up, but at least half the time her little legs shoot up in the air (then the nappy gets under her, she plants her feet on the ground/table and shoots herself backwards OFF the nappy - and we start again - rat bag!)
Amy - the ouchies last night are still hanging around but no where near as bad. couldn't pick E up at all! was holding her and leant down (from sitting) to grab the puke rag that fell on the floor - she twisted in my arms so i changed my balance so she didn't fall, but my arm got hooked on the arm of the chair and strained the muscle in my shoulder. felt like it had torn, but after a night of sleep it's just achey, not feeling so bad anymore. i made DH carry E around last night though until it settled - and after all the talk about nurofen when inflammation happens - i don't have any in the house! lol. today i just have a residual headache - it's annoying me, but i'll get over it
Wooooohhoooooo! My clever little girl discovered how to roll from her back to her tummy this afternoon! Poor DH wasn't there to see it, but she did it at mother's grp so had a very big audience who all cheered and clapped when she did it for the first time. She looked so pleased with herself and then did it 5 more times just to prove it wasn't a fluke! So proud of her. It almost made me cry!! Can only imagine what I'm going to be like when she starts to walk!
Naomi - I read on FB that you're sick. Hope it clears up really fast and you're feeling heeeeeaps better soon hun. Until then... milk it. DH should be waiting on you hand and foot!
I just wanted to let everyone know that we wont be able to come to the November meet up. Logans specialist is going to cost us and I dont know how many trips down we will have to do. I really wish I could still come. Im so annoyed we cant.
Oh no Bridg - completely understand though Hope everything turns out fine mate
Quick question as am madly packing as driving to Shepparton this arvo - for the Breast Feeding Mums, how long do your babies actively suck for during a feed? I think Bailey is giving up on the boob, I'm lucky if I can get 5 mins of decent sucking out of him during a feed (and thats both sides). I am at the point were I am swapping sides constantly so I can get him to start sucking again - and then he only sucks for maybe 30 seconds. Then the more I try to get him to drink, the more upset he gets until he is at the point of screaming. I just dont think he is getting enough food and am seriously thinking of putting him on the bottle so I can monitor how much he drinks. Its not worth me persisting with the boob when his growth is already not what it should be. We've almost reached the 6 month point of BF which is pretty good, but want him to keep growing. When I give him the odd bottle he is clearly more satisfied, happier, content etc. I am going to start giving him a regular bottle at his 3pmish feed as this seems to be when he feeds the worst (probably my milk supply is at its lowest). He's always been very lazy on the boob but its got to the point of almost disinterest now. I know its easier to drink from the bottle but if it means he drinks more I think this might be the right thing for him. Any advice would be appreciated
Naomi- Thanks. Im sorry to hear Bailey isnt feeding properly. U HAVE NOT FAILED at all. If hes happy to take a bottle, ur happy to bottle feed, and he's putting on weight, then maybe it is worth a try. Maybe u could try expressing (not sure if u have told us or not) and see how much u get out? GL with what u decide, and remember, U are his Mummy, and if no one likes the decision u make, then stiff bikkies to them!
I just got fantastic news - Sean won an annual award at work today (Optus) and won us a $2500 flight centre voucher - its the same one I one last year (but they must be cutting back with the global financial crisis as it as $3000 last year LOL). Now its Baileys turn to bring home the bacon LOL
How awesome - I am so soooooooooooo proud of him, he works so hard!!
Naomi - I am also having feeding issues with Allira. She's not feeding for long periods at all, (she's never fed for a long time though), she's very fussy at the breast and for the first minute or 2 before let down, she's HORRID. I'm sticking it out as long as possible because the same thing happened with DS when he was 3 months old. I comp fed with him and we didn't havea great time of it, but ended up dropping the formula around 6 months and continuing to BF until 10.5 months.
I know exactly how frsutrating it is, and how much you worry if they are getting enough. Would be nice if our boobies has clear windows in them.
For me at the moment with Allira, she's having enough wet nappies, a pooey nappy pretty much every day and is happy and content between feeds, so I am taking all those signs in that she is getting enough and probably cranky because she needs to boost my supply. I've always found my kids have fed better on a bottle because they don't actually have to work very hard to get the milk out (lazy buggers, LOL). So, I am digging in my heels, feeding her when she wants to be fed, and I keep wacking her back on the boob until she either feeds properly (which she does a fair amount of the time) or until I'm so frustrated and worked up that I need 5 minutes to cool down before we try again. That doesn't happen very often thankfully. one thing I tried when either child was really worked up, was to pop their dummy in their mouth until they calmed down, and then whipped it out and my nipple in. It worked probably 60% of the time.
In your situation, where you have a few worries about bailey's growth, I think I would also probably lean towards formula. Allira's growth is slowing down, but she's a pretty reasaonbly sized girl for her age and if she were to continue like she did the first 12 weeks, she'd be my weight by the year's end. Bailey's also started solids aswell hasn't he? I wonder if that has anything to do with his grizzling. I really can't remember what Lachie was like when we started solids... I think he dropped most of his day feeds, but upped his night time ones.
As Bridg said, you are his mum. You know what's best for him and for you. This feeding thing is a 2 way street in my book and you both need to be happy doing what you are doing. If you are comfortable trying to continue the breastfeeding - awesome. If not, that's awesome too! If you can find a way where you are both comfortable, Bailey's putting on plenty of weight, and it all feels right, then that's what you should aim for.
Good luck with it hun!
Bridg - bugger about not being able to go to melbs. I'd happily offer you a lift if we could work out some arrangement. I can talk to you about it on MSN or FB if ya like, but I'm sure my Hubs won't be worried about not going, and then I don't have to worry about Lachie, and only have Allira with me (and someone cool to talk to). Let me know what you think anyway, and we'll see if we can work anything out.
I've got a blocked duct here at the moment. It's most likely from Allira's fussiness of late. She's been better the last 5 or 6 feeds, but we'll see how this arvo goes. She's also pretty bad around 3-7pm feeding wise. The joys hey!!
Gotta tend to the kiddies, but will pop back later!
And huge apologies for my horrid spelling mistakes and punctuation... haha I'm mortified at how terrible I am now, but I just don't have the motivation to fix it. LOL
Oh Bridg I'm sorry that you can't make it to Melbs. But totally understand that coming down for the appointment/s needs to be the priority. Will be disappointing not to see you IRL, but we get along so famously on here... I feel like I've known you forever already so nothing lost, LOL!
Naomi: Sometimes P snacks and sometimes she dines. LOL. By far her best feeds are overnight/early morning, when she'll suck for a good 15 minutes at least. Day feeds are shorter and she usually has both breasts, but my RHS is a complete dud - I've no idea how much she gets from that side, but she only spends a couple of minutes on there before she gets twitchy, so I swap her over. She gets VERY impatient for the letdown in the afternoons after her second sleep particularly, I think because she is very tired as well as hungry. So sometimes they can be troublesome. Sounds to me like Bailey likes the rapid delivery of the bottle, LOL. My suggestion would be to feed him more often, but this of course may not fit in with your daily routine and/or be something Bailey and yourself are willing to do. My next piece of advice would be to follow your instincts. If you feel Bailey would thrive better on the bottle, on the understanding of course that there's nothing wrong with your milk and that Bailey's behaviour is certainly age-appropriate, then go for it. You are savvy, you've got your head screwed on. Do what feels right. Hope you guys have a GREAT weekend away, and congratulations to Sean! What an awesome prize
Nicky: Sorry about the blocked duct! What a pi$$er. I agree with the wishing boobs had windows. It's only cause Phoebe's so much chubbier than Natty was that I'm confident we're feeding fine...
Went to the Drs this afternoon for Phoebe's needles. She HOWLED when they went in, poor little darling! Nearly had me in tears. Then she stopped crying and started "biatching", much to the Dr's amusement. She gave her the rotarix and P spat out a fair bit, LOL. Then she asked me if I'd noticed Phoebe's pupils are uneven...? first I'd heard of it. I still can't see it... Anyway, we have a referral to the paed, and I'll ring for an appt tomorrow.
We're gearing up for the long weekend, but it's looking like raining for the entire time! Not happy.
Naomi I second what Amy said. Jemima is doing the same thing and drinking solidly at night and her lunch time feed, but the mornings there is too much to look at! LOL! Same in the arvo.
I think you have to really decided what you want for Bailey. How you want him to get his nutrients. I think Amy put it really well that if you think that he is better off on formula then go for it honey! You are the only one looking at Bailey and able to assess his needs best. But don't let your fear that you arn't able to supply his needs make the decision for you. It is really hard sticking to this BF gig when they try to up your supply. Jemima practically howls at me when she can't get it as quick as she wants! She isn't any more patient than Bailey, but I just take her off and offer it again later. It's not about whether it is good or bad to go formula or bf, it's just really important to acknowledge why you may want to swap over to formula. If you are really honest with yourself about your reasons then you will be content that you made them for the right reasons. NOT because anyone told you to or any other reasons but because they r YOUR reasons. My gf was so sure she would BF but she was having a really hard time doing it and stopped. it was the right decision because she started to bond with her baby when she stopped, because she wasn't killing herself with worry about how much her baby was getting. Both her and her baby were so much happier with that decision.
I think you do have to be really careful to not think that because Bailey is fussing that you don't have enough milk tho, or that formula will help him gain weight cos i know girls who have done that and it hasn't worked either. I am LOVING bfing and i will do anything to make it succeed even on the days that it is realy hard. please don't take that to mean that I don't think that you are enjoying it. But maybe you are finding the stress of worrying about Baileys growth stealing the joy of it for you. I don't quite know what I am trying to say here cos I think I am getting a bit impassioned and I am so worried about offending you I am going around in circles!!
I believe that you can BF successfully and what Bailey is doing is normal. I also think that if you want to stop for what ever reason you have my full support cos you are a lovely mummy and care about him so much, that you will make a decision that encompasses the whole of both your lives, and fit you perfectly. If you have doubts about your ability I want to uplift you and make sure you know that with good support you can meet Baileys needs and still bf......... I really hope that came out right.
Right well this will prob be my last post before I go to the UK - will prob get more time to post when at mum and dad's because they will want to look after CJ all the time.
Bridg - Disappointing about the BB meet up, hope all goes well with Logans appointment - not the same area but I have found RCH great with CJ's hips.
Bella - I think what you have said to Naomi is great - and put very well. I had put something similar but now I look back it doesn't appear to be there.
Naomi - The length of active sucking for CJ varies alot from feed to feed as the others have said. If I feel she didn't take much I just put them away and try again a bit later, if I am at home tend to do the next feed lying down as she seems to take more then as less distractions. Well done Sean, I asked DH why he hadn't won us an award like that :-) (he works for Optus too)
Nicky - The feeding on all fours (positioning bubs chin over blockage) really worked for me in sorting the blocked duct out. I could also feed sitting up on sofa with CJ laid out sideways from me instead of across me as normal and that put her chin over the blocked duct.
Kat - How were the Grampians? How did the Ergo go? Any walks you would/wouldn't recommend with an Ergo? I tried mine out yesterday by walking too and from Mothers Group (about 5km) was good only issue is CJ seems to suck on it and it left a mark across her face on one side where wet fabric rubbing. Well done to Ivy on the rolling too.
Amy - Hope P is ok after needles, CJ had hers on Monday and no issues at all. DH and I had it too for the Whooping Cough bit and my arm ached for days though! I still find it weird that different states have different holidays, last year we went up to Sydney for NRL final to see Storm lose - hope they do better this year!
BG - Hope you are all mended now. The book your friend made E was just fantastic - and has inspired me to be creative when back from UK - not sure in what way yet though. My sister has made a dress for CJ.
Krystie - Love the vid of Kyson in the water - I take it pools here are ok with you using cameras etc? Was talking to my sister about taking CJ next week in UK when she is visiting because she is good at photos and she said wasn't sure if were allowed - I know our local pool here says none in changing rooms (which is totally understandable) but haven't seen signs around pool.
AFU - We fly tomorrow at 10:00pm, am quite excited now about going - and feeling ok about the flight, I am sure CJ will be good and if not she will get boob in her face! She is pooing once a week at moment so fingers crossed we are clear till Tuesday - I don't want to deal with a massive one on the flight. The last one she did was when she was having nappy free time and was on her stomach it was quite weird seeing it squelch out her bum and I was amazed at how long she went on pooing for. I haven't actually packed yet but have a pile of stuff to put in and a list too, DH is at work till 16:00 tomorrow so want something to occupy me. Went to hairdressers today CJ was great until hairdryer time, she didn't scream but whinged alot so put her on my lap, hairdresser said he didn't care for the drying bit is only the cutting is more awkward when she is there. It was really cute watching her face in the mirror when she occasionally got a gust from the dryer, she would scrunch up her eyes and put her hands up as if trying to protect herself. She has really found her voice this week, screeching and just noisy chatter - good timing for the flight!
Thanks so much guys - I am in the car on the way to Shepparton with the laptop and mobile broadband so hopefully this message will post LOL
Sean and I had a good talk about the feeding and I think I'll just give it a few more days and see how we go, I gave Bailey 2 bottles today as he just would not feed and even his go to sleep feed was dodgy, however this was in the car earlier so its no real indication. Sean said he's really proud of me for breastfeeding but he is happy for me to do whatever makes me and Bailey happy and healthy. I must admit I am leaning towards the bottle currently. Overwhelmingly I am worried about his growth, and because I can see a marked improvement in his temperment after a bottle feed I feel this indicates to me that he is satisfied and full, whereas the breast is not satisfying him, and I think its his laziness as I think my supply is fine when he is feeding well. As he only has one night feed now I am not satisfied with only 2 good BF per day. My instincts are telling me to give it a few days and if the BF doesn't improve to go to the bottle, but I might still be able to get him to have a sleepy feed, hopefully!
Amy / Bella, have tried the more frequent feeding and he just has a tanty - he is just not up for it and will create the biggest fuss and refuse to attach - sigh!!!!! I love breastfeeding, but the enjoyment has gone currently and I dont want to turn what has been a lovely, touching and bonding 6 months for us into a nightmare either.....
Naomi - have you thought about trying to express more while giving him the formula and giving him a full BF feed to see if he has that same contented reaction? it might not be the most efficient method of feeding him, but if you want to keep making sure he gets the immune factors from your milk, and you think it's purely laziness on Bailey's behalf, it may be a way to keep him getting the milk, keep your supply up, and maybe once he's stacked on a bit more weight and has more energy, you migth be able to return to BF as you would still have the supply (i hope that make sense!). you've done fantastic to get this far, and whatever decision you make, we're 110% behind you - i think we're all reading your reluctance to give up BF altogether and want to offer whatever suggestions we can to help you on your way!
Vic - hope you have a fantastic holiday. i don't envy you the long flight but i do wish i could have a long holiday somewhere different! to get away from every day life would be awesome at the moment - esp given every day life is so blah at the moment
sorry for no more persies - have a sleeping bubba on my lap and can't be bothered looking back (call me lazy lol)
AFU - had a meet up at lunch time today witha couple of the local-ish girls - was nice to be out with other adults that don't share my blood line! had a lot of running around afterwards to get DH from work (he was an hour late grrrrr) and i spent the time trying to entertain a very tired E, an equally tired five your old niece - and a nine year old niece that was going crook at her sister to "stop whinging, E is trying to sleep!"
am probably heading to the outer suburbs tomorrow to drop off a set of drawers for a fellow BB'er copping a crap time - if you haven't already, there is a thread by bloominroses and another by Lulu in plat explaining the situation. i just can't NOT help when we have stuff sitting here kwim? we're not flush with cash by any means, but i'm giving furniture that we don't need to help her out. sigh - so tired - will be a looooong day tomorrow i think
ooh, just to add - DH has at least another week of work with this mob he has been with this week - and the agency apparently told him today just to let them know if he gets bored there - they've got plenty of placees he can go. yay for my man! might mean money is tighter for a while, but he's HOME!
Well Jemima is having a rare long daytime sleep so I have a chance to post just quickly.
Amy- it is really normal to have uneven pupils in adults, never heard that there is a problem with children having the same thing. If I were you i would save the money of going to a paed and just ask another gp or CHN. honestly it just sounds like your gp is a bit precious. That is only my opinion, but I spent 6 yr staring into eyes everyday whilst doing neurological observations on emergency patients and it is REALLY normal. plus if you can't see it, it probably means that it was a really small difference and it isn't going to make any difference to Phoebe. Sorry but I don't have a high opinion of most GP's...... I'm sure yours is lovely tho.......
Vic- good luck on the trip and have a great time!
BG- very kind of you to be so supportive!
Naomi- I agree with BG. I don't think Bailey gets more nutrients from formula, quite the opposite. I do think he will get it more easily and I know that after Jemima has an EBM bottle she is more fussy at the breast. It isn't that formula gives him more energy. He just gets what he wants when he wants and that makes him happy. If he has to only get milk from the breast he will work it out again, if you make it so he has to. He would still probably have days or feeds where he fusses, Jemima certainly does, but in the end she is hungry and so she just gets on with it iykwim? Congratulatons on DH winning that prize!!! Also I hope the trip went well for you and you enjoy your time away. Thankyou also for the advice re the swimming. I think I will take her to a few classes, if for no other reason than it gets me working out a bit too!
Nicky- sorry to hear that you have a blockage! I had one two when J was 5weeks old and it was a killer.. I ended up with a fever and was miserable for days. I agree with Vic's advice, even if you just use lots of different positions.
Krystie- the video of Kyson was cute! He looks like he is having a lot of fun.
AFM- Well I am making lots of wraps today cos the FBC, need them for a stall tommorow at the baby welcoming ceremony! Jemima will be welcomed by the mayor and given some gifts and a tree to plant! Which i think is kinda cool. I am enjoying the peace here today. She has been down for 21/2hrs already... spoke to soon
Oh BG you are lovely. I've been reading Shari's thread - what an awful situation. She is very blessed to have friends like you, and all the other wonderful BBers who are volunteering their help. What an amazing community we have here.
Bella - shining with generosity too, I see. Enjoy making the wraps, I'm sure they will be much appreciated. The baby welcoming ceremony sounds really special.
Naomi - hope you're having a ball on your road trip and that Bailey is coping with the long car ride.
Vic - have a wonderful and safe trip.
AFU - well, I spoke too soon. The rolling continues. Over and over and over to the point where the squirmy little worm won't stay on her back to let me dress her or change her nappy and keeps rolling over in bed. She's very pleased with herself, and there's been lots of squeals of delight. BUT lots of grumpiness too. It's like now she's discovered she can move, she just wants to get up and run. She's managed to pull herself up onto her haunches a couple of times and then cracks it because when she tries to push off to crawl, she just goes SPLAT on her tummy! Then she starts yelling in frustration. I've barely been able to leave her side for the last 2 days as she's getting really angry and teary on the floor whenever she wants to reach something or go somewhere. Cute but exhausting for both of us. On top of that, her sleep has gone absolutely haywire. From sleeping all night (with a feed at abt 5, but straight back to sleep), to being awake 4 times over night last night and flatly refusing to nap this morning. Finally asleep now, but if the last 2 weeks are anything to go by, she'll sleep for 40 mins max. It was kinda building to this... I'd just hoped that it would pass with the shift out of 'wonder week' but it seems that her new skills have come with a fresh desire to be active and awake all the time. I've just borrowed the 'No Cry Sleep Solutions' from the library and have been reading every little chance I get. I've been charting sleep - or lack of - and attempts to settle and am going to sit down with DH tomorrow to try and formulate a sleep plan. Gotta get on top of this and at least get back our 2-3 day sleeps. I'm happy to roll with a few night wakings but it seems that lack of day-sleeps actually makes night sleep worse, so I'm on a napping mission!!!
Kat: Wow @ Ivy moving! I'm sorry for the sleep regression - I've heard a lot of people on here say they've experienced the same thing when their child learns to do something new. Hope you find the NCSS useful. There used to be a whole thread on it on the ABA forum. (But while I contributed every now and again on the ABA forum I didn't find them anywhere near as supportive as the people on here...) You must be trashed. Hope that Ivy gives you a good sleep soon.
Bella: It actually wasn't my usual GP - she's on Lord Howe Island atm. She did say to me that there may well be nothing wrong, and told me her SIL has uneven pupils and is fine. But I mentioned to her that Phoebe sometimes goes all stiff when I pick her up (I attribute it to being tired, but who really knows?) so she suggested the paed. I don't mind going and just getting her checked over. No biggie. But thanks heaps for the reassurance. I am glad that its a common thing. (And I did notice it earlier this morning when we were in less light and they were more dilated.
That baby welcoming ceremony sounds way cool! Will look forward to seeing your pics on FB (Make sure you take some, LOL.)
BG: Glad your DH is around a bit more! Must make so much difference. I haven't caught up with those threads as yet. Good on you for helping her out though. Hope the trip out was ok.
Naomi: Hope you have a great weekend away!
Vic: Have a great flight out tonight. Will look forward to hearing all about your time os. We had the whooping cough vacc too and yeah, ouch! LOL.
Well, I got a bout of food poisoning last night. Had reheated chinese and it was just wrong. Was feeling crook when I went to bed and woke at 3:30am with tummy cramps. Fortunately DH was able to take the day off work and look after the girls. Phoebe has been sooooo sleepy - I wonder if its the needles? But she slept for 12.5 hours last night And then DH put her down for her nap this morning and she slept for 4 hours! And then put her down an hour and a half ago and she's still not awake. It is just weird for her (particularly the long day sleeps) but it has made it a lot easier for DH today. It's been raining so poor Natty has been housebound and is going a bit stir crazy. To only have to entertain her has made it an easier day for him. My tum isn't quite right yet and my head's throbbing from low BSL but am feeling a billion times better than this morning. I'm hoping my milk supply doesn't drop too much from the lack of feeds this past 24 hours, but moreso I hope Phoebe doesn't decide to be awake all night long.
Hope the rest of the weekend is good for you guys.
Hope everything turns out fine mate
- Sean won an annual award at work today (Optus) and won us a $2500 flight centre voucher - its the same one I one last year (but they must be cutting back with the global financial crisis as it as $3000 last year LOL). Now its Baileys turn to bring home the bacon LOL
I'm sorry that you can't make it to Melbs. But totally understand that coming down for the appointment/s needs to be the priority. Will be disappointing not to see you IRL, but we get along so famously on here... I feel like I've known you forever already so nothing lost, LOL! 
first I'd heard of it. I still can't see it... Anyway, we have a referral to the paed, and I'll ring for an appt tomorrow.
And then DH put her down for her nap this morning and she slept for 4 hours! And then put her down an hour and a half ago and she's still not awake. It is just weird for her (particularly the long day sleeps) but it has made it a lot easier for DH today. It's been raining so poor Natty has been housebound and is going a bit stir crazy. To only have to entertain her has made it an easier day for him. My tum isn't quite right yet and my head's throbbing from low BSL but am feeling a billion times better than this morning. I'm hoping my milk supply doesn't drop too much from the lack of feeds this past 24 hours, but moreso I hope Phoebe doesn't decide to be awake all night long.
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