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I was wondering why I couldn't get on!
Hi there, ladies! I am doing ok.
At around the 3 - 3.5 month mark, we officially became horrible parents, and started controlled comforting (formerly known as controlled crying...) to see if we could get Joshua to stop him from waking up at the 2.30 - 3.30 mark.
The first night, he cried for 5 minutes (almost to the dot - which is interesting, given that we'd decided to leave him crying for no more than 5 minutes, and I was walking to his bedroom when he went silent ... I checked he was still alive - which he was, and awake! - and then left him) and then slept for ab out 9 hours!
The second night, he didn't cry at all, but he woke around 2.30am ... in our sleepy stupor, we forgot we were doing CC and resettled him ... oops! And then he slept until his usual time.
The third night, he cried for less then 10 minutes and then slept almost 10 hours!
And since then, each night he has cried for less than 10 minutes (usually either not at all, or 3-5 mins) and then has slept for 8-10hours, depending on when he goes down (ie: he usually wakes between 6 and 7am, but goes down some time between 9 and 11pm.
So we're doing well, and getting a reasonable amount of sleep.
And my milk is basically back - not totally, because my expresses during work hours are all over the place, between 140 and 240mls! But I'm generally getting enough pumped in the morning (and occasionally in the evenings) that we're almost even for intake and output :D
I might just have to pump every night anyway ... half an hour less sleep is worth it, I think. I really, *really* want to get Joshua to 6 months exclusively breastfed. Maybe I'm making it something it isn't, and putting too much worth on it, but it just feels like so many things have gone wrong, that I want to know that I've done him right in this aspect, and not given up.
I know that some times there are circumstances beyond our control, and breastfeeding at all (let alone exclusively) just isn't an option. But with my body, it seems to be the case that extra effort equalls extra milk. So for me personally, not making that effort wouldn't be the right thing to do by Joshua (unless I wasn't getting enough sleep, and might end up getting sick, etc).
I just want to be really clear that I know that sometimes more effort DOES NOT result in more milk, and I would hate for any of you to think that I was being judgmental of other people who can't (or choose not to) breastfeed exclusively. There's enough judgment and hate out there, and I wouldn't dream of adding to it!! This is just really important for me, and makes me feel good.
I think it feels particularly important for me personally, because I'm not with my son during the day, and providing milk for him is a big way that I show him I love him, and am thinking about him all the time - even if I'm not there. He's much too little to understand that now, and maybe he never will, but I understand it, and it's part of what (for me) being a mum to him is: getting him his warm mummy goodness.
Anyway, that's all a bit deep and introspective for a Wednesday!!
In any event, it's all in God's hands, and I trust Him that He'll keep Joshua safe and healthy, no matter what happens to me and my milk ...
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Just a :hug: for you Peanutter. You do what you need to....you won't see any judgement from me :)
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Hi ladies!
Nice to be back online. I wasn't aware of the drama's, just thought it was my account! Not to worry, all fixed up now.
So, we did our first roadtrip on Sunday & Monday with Aly. She was really good. We did a 7hr drive from Sunny Coast to Armidale, NSW. Massive drive with feed stops in between, but we got there & she didn't complain tiill the very last leg. Poor little thing, she'd just had enough of being in the car.
Peanutter I completely understand what you're saying. Good on you for taking the extra time & effort to ensure Joshua gets breast milk. I still have moments where I wonder if I tried hard enough with the breastfeeding, but then I think I'm doing the best I can & so be it.
Well hopefully everyone else will be back soon too! Chat soon girls! xo
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Oooh, I was the last one to post, but also meant to ask, has anyone else started their little one on solids yet? I have started giving Aly some rice cereal & then some of the mixes you can buy. Are we allowed to say brands? I won't just in case. She's not to hot on just rice cereal + milk, but she does like the mixes with other flavours. Poor little tike had her 4mth immunisations today. Then we have her Baptism on Sunday. 56 people coming! Subway are catering for lunch so that should be easy enough, I just put "light lunch" on the invites so I'm sure that will be ok.
I hope you're all well.
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Peta - I'm not going to start Darcie on solids till 6 months (it's what I did with Max) 4 months just seems too little for me. A couple of girls from my MG with Max did it early and it doesnt seem to make much difference. Max didn't rate rice cereal so we went straight to cooking up plain pumpkin, apple, etc and freezing them in cubes. I used Raffertys Garden food (I think you can say it!)
How did Aly cope with her immunisations....i hate them, but that will be next with Darcie too...yuck!
Have fun at her baptism....I'm yet to do any of that stuff with either of my two....just dont know what to do. I'm not in the slightest religous, but DH would like them christened (I don't even know the difference between christened and baptised!) as his grandmother wants it done!!
OK girls.....who out there has AF back!?
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HI Ladies
Aly went ok with her immunisations. She was more grizzly this time than last though so I gave her a couple of doses of panadol. She slept 11hrs over night, then on & off today with little naps. She is mostly her usual cheery self though.
Yules the only bit I know is different between baptism & christening is that Baptism is the term the Catholic Church use. My DH is a Catholic so this is where Aly will be baptised. We are definitely not religious either but I thought it was a nice thing to have done. I only got christened because they thought I might die during my open heart surgery as a bub so they got the priest in quickly & did it. No one even knows for sure what religion I am (its not Catholic though)!
Yep, I've had AF back for a few months now. Dr put me on the pill again fairly early since I was bottle feeding. I hate being on the pill. For me there is no sensation or desire when I'm on it & I'm alot more moody & sad than without. But, what do you do?!
Rafferty's Garden!! That's the ones Aly loves. They have such great variety. She has taken to lining the spoon up with her mouth & sucking the "food" off it. She is happy because she is feeding herself & I'm happy cause she's eating easily.
Anyway, I should go finish the bottles & mop the floor ready for tommorrow. I am making fairy bread, vegemite & peanut paste sandwiches in the morning for the kids who don't like subway. There are a surprisingly large number of kids going to be here - weird!! We've never had that many children around before. Wish us luck!!
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Hi Ladies
Well Alyssa is now baptised. It was a beautiful day (not so much weather wise though) & it was lovely to show off our little girl to the family. She was so good all day, but has crashed now. She hasn't had much to eat today though so I am half expecting to get up to her a bit later. My fairy bread was a hit with the big kids & little ones!! I didn't realise they all liked it so much. I'd love to share a pic, but can't work out how to attach one on here.
Ok, have a great week everyone!
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Congrats, Peta! So glad that it was a nice day for you : )
Re your earlier quetion about baptism: I'm not sure about all different denominations, but my general understanding is that christening is just another name for infant baptism. At some churches, this is when the child is officially named, godparents may be appointed, or may become a member of the church officially, and other things traditional to their denomination/family/ethnicity/etc.
Churches which only do adult baptism (ie: when it's the person's own decision, called "believer's baptism") often have a dedication instead - where the parents make a committment about raising the child in a way knowing about God. The child can become a member and get baptised when they are old enough to make the decision for themself, and understand what it means. At my church, this happens anywhere between 12 years old to over 60 years, depending on the person! There's no strict rules about it.
Some people believe that the act of baptism/christening causes the person to be saved, others believe that believing in God & Jesus, and accepting God's forgiveness is what saves - and baptism is simply an act of obedience, to publically demonstrate your belief.
I hope this answers your question? :)
guess what ... Joshua has learned to laugh!! Most beautiful thing ever :loveshower:
afm - ugh! I'd been having horrible diarreah and been basically unable to eat since late Friday afternoon and I've no idea why. I didn't eat anything unusual, I don't feel sick (just not hungry) so I don't think it's flu or a virus, I've just not no clue. I have a very sensitive stomach, so really don't think its food poisoning, because I spew like Vesuvias any time I eat anything even vaguely suspect.
At any rate, I decided to let it run 24 hours before taking any medication (figuring that if something needed to get out, I should let it!) but when it was still just as bad by Saturday night, DH went off to the pharmacy to get me something ... they sent him home with Hydralite or Gastrolite or something to keep my hydrated, but nothing to actually fix the problem, saying that there wasn't anything safe for me to take while b/f ... :p
I found that hard to believe, so DH swung by another pharmacy after church to ask them, and bless their cotton socks, they had an old guide from the Royal Womens' which lists the active ingredients in all different medications, and says what effect (if any) it has on foetuses and milk supply - and only a miniscule amount of the active ingretients from good old Gastrostop passes through - not nearly enough to be a concern.
In fact, the pharmacist said that as long as I wasn't having the maximum dosage for more than 48 hours, it wouldn't be worth worrying about at all - and if I was still having problems by that stage, I should be getting to a Dr anyway.
So I took two pills around lunch time yesterday, and after 2 hours I've had no problems at all. :D
So I'm at work (with the pills, just in case!) and am avoiding anything which might have a laxative or diuretic effect ... a little annoying, since I normally have lots of lovely coffee and decaf with artificial sweetener, and so am planning from now on only having decaf with real sugar, to help my tum-tum get back to normal ...
But it seems to be ok at the moment :D Let's hope it lasts! :crossfingers:
I totally need it to be because I'm booked in for the op this Friday ...
Please say a prayer for me ladies!! I want to be well enough to go in for this operation on Friday, but have the surgeon find that it's healed itself, and Joshua and I can go home and relax :pray:
Happy Monday everyone - would love to hear how you're all doing!! :D
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Hi Ladies
Peanutter - hope you are still feeling good today. I will be thinking of you on Friday & am sure everything will be alright.
My wonderful SIL gave us a whole ton of toys today including a little push along bike & a rocking horse. Alyssa is so lucky & spoilt. She is loving the toys. Lots of sounds & textures.
Hope everyone's week is progressing well. The Sunshine Coast is the Rainy Coast as is usual lately. Go away RAIN!!! DH finishes his month of hols on Monday & back to a new job on Tuesday. Still with the same company just a different department.
Ok, take care & have fun xo
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Hi mummies
Peta: Yay to getting lots of toys for Aly :dance: Glad to hear Aly's baptism went well. We're still tossing up whether to do anything like that for Deacon. We will most likely wait until his first birthday and combine it with a party.
Peanutter: Yay to Joshua laughing. When Deacon laughs it is soooo infectious, just makes everyone within earshot smile. I've got all fingers and toes crossed that your little op goes well today and it is found that your body has healed itself nicely. :goodluck: Hope your tummy upset is better too. I hate feeling like that. I must also say I'm am truely impressed with your perserverance in continuing to express while working. I am going to try to do that when I return to work. Deacon will be on solids by then (7&1/2 months) so I need to talk to my local ABA counsellor about a bit of an action plan about how much to express or whether I'd be better of just weaning him off breastmilk.
Yules: No AF for me yet. I did a POAS the other day to make sure that it was only from breastfeeding and not cause I'm preg :redface: We have decided not to use any contraception as it took us so long to fall last time and we both like the idea of not having a big age gap for our next child. I'm not looking at starting Deacon on solids until around 6 months either. He is still growing great guns and has only in the last couple of days looked the least bit interested in food when he sees DH & I eating.
Miskilla: Glad to hear you were able to increase your milk supply and go 160mL :clap: Hope bubba Z is doing well.
Krikkit: I say you gotta do what you gotta do. Nothing is a no-no as far as I'm concerned. I've had to go back to feeding Deacon to sleep the last week or so coz he has been a bit harder to put to bed lately. Only for his daytime sleeps though. He is still putting himself to sleep at night (I'll give him a feed, have a bit of interaction/talking with DH and I and then put him to bed awake and he'll be asleep generally within 5 mins). I'm with you on the hair falling out too. Mine came back okay after about 2 months and just in the last couple of weeks has been falling out by the hand-full. I have been a bit more stressed than usual though, so I'm thinking that has something to do with it.....
:hello: to everyone I've missed.
AFM: Deacon had his immunisations yesterday and he reacted worse this time. After the nurse gave him the first needle I got him settled back down in about 1-2 minutes and she came over to give him the second one and as soon as he saw her his little bottom lip stuck out and he started to grizzle. After I got him calmed down enough I gave him a feed and he was all better. That was until bed time.... I bathed him, dressed him and was playing with him with his little toy puppy dog and all of a sudden he started bawling. After about 5 minutes we realised that he wasn't settling down with anything we tried and he was all clamy so we gave him some Panadol and he was fast asleep within a couple of minutes and slept for about 10hrs. He has woken up perfectly fine this morning, which is good :)
Growth wise he is going well. He's now 7kg!!!! At the rate he's going he will be double his birth weight within the next couple of weeks. Quite a few people I talk to can't believe he is still only breastfed. I have a giggle to myself when they say "he comes from a good paddock". Makes me feel even more like a milking cow.....
I am sooo looking forward to the long weekend. We are going over to the coast and spending the time with some of DH's dad's side of the family. We've bought Deacon a little life jacket if we decide it's safe enough for him to go out in the boat and this blow up whale thingy if it's warm enough to go for a swim. I've got the number of a good swimming instructor here and will be ringing her later today to book him in for swimming lessons. My parents had me going to swimming lessons from 4 months and I reckon it's one of the best things they did. We go to the coast a lot and swimming in the local rivers and dams so I think swimming lessons is a must.
I've also seen my bosses and have booked in 10 January as being my start date to go back to work. I've also checked and Deacon is enrolled to start day care the week before that so that we can do a couple of half days and make sure he is right before I start at work. The ladies at the centre are so lovely and Deacon was smiling and cooing at them when we went in the other day. Such a bitter-sweet time. I'm looking forward to getting back into work and using my brain again and having the money come in so we aren't living week by week and scrounging every last cent, but am a bit sad about not being able to spend more time at home :(
Well, I'm being called so I'd better choof-off before he works himself up. Take care.
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Wow Cass! Everything seems to be going well for you guys. I definitely agree on the swimming lessons, though I thought 6mths was the earliest they let them go. I want to get Aly in before I go back to work in January too. Are you going back to work FT or PT? I'm just going 3 days per week, I think that will be a nice balance between being at home & some "big people" interaction.
Peanutter I trust today went well.
Hi to everyone else (I wonder if you're all back on the system?).
Ok, well its the NRL footy final tonight & then AFL tommorrow night, so I have lost DH for those 2 nights!!! Time to go internet shopping. Speak soon xo
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I'm losing DH too!
Will BBL!
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Peta: I wish going back PT was feasible. With child care fees being taken out of what I would make only working 3 days it wasn't going to be worth it. We have decided that when the next little one comes along then I will be a definate SAHM. Hope your internet shopping went well. Will you be losing DH next weekend too??
AFM: ebay rocks!!!! I have now won 5 gorgeous little outfits and some summer shirts for DS all for under $30. And a brand new Grobag for half price. Bargain!!!! Can't wait for them to turn up :)
Hope your weeks are all starting out well. Only 4 days till we go over to the coast. Can't Wait!!!! :dance::dance:
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Ha ha Cass, not only will I lose him next weekend, but the one after for Bathurst too!! He has told me he will give up some of the coming weekend to do something if I want but definitely not the Bathurst weekend.
Peanutter I hope you're ok and the fact you're not on here doesn't mean you're in hospital.
Who knew babies liked jolly jumpers so much?! We got one a week ago & Aly absolutely loves it. She spends an hour at a time in there bouncing & laughing. Then she sleeps for an hour or two to recover!! Not much other news from me.
Where is everyone?? Come back girls, its been quiet in here again.
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woo hoo! I'm on here on my phone so won't be a long post cos it is too difficult to type! I hope everyone is well, especially Peanutter. Have been reading every now and then, but struggling to find the time to read and post! Jett has hit the terrible twos BIG TIME! So my placid little angel is being a daredevil squealing monster! Luckily Emmelyn is still a placid little angel! Ok, that's it, gotta go before my kitchen is destroyed by the afore mentioned monster!
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Hi there, ladies
As you may have guessed from my litterary absence, yes, I sadly had to undergo the surgery.
The surgery apparently went very well, and I am now at home. Sore, bruised, pincushioned, miserable, but at home.
Praise God - I didn't go into the red with my milk! There were times when I pumped though, and the milk was so thin it was almost blue, and so0 Joshua had to be topped up with older, creamier milk, but we got through it.
Josh has been about as upset as me - whether it's that he's picking up on my upset and pain and responding, or whether it's that his routine has been stuffed around and he hates the hospital - I don't know. But I'm praying that a few days of homebodiness will sort him out.
He's been a bit clingy as well, but I don't want to just keep him with me all the time, because then he'll be all upset again when I go back to work! So we're balancing that out in a way that responds to all his needs, but doesn't give him something he'll get used to which won't last.
So we're balancing in ways like doing extra breastfeeds and less bottle feeds of EBM, but still not solely breastfeeds. And lots of active time together (not that I can do a whole heap just yet) but not too many naps together (but one a day here or there won't hurt, as we sonetimes have a nap together on the weekend).
And of course we're playing it by ear.
Poor DH though - having two babies at the moment ... I wonder whether it will cause him to cahnge his mind abnout wanting another straight away!!
Sorry but no persies today - really exhausted.
xoxo
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oh, and Joshie has a *great* (not) little game he plays now, when he feeds great guns for 2 - 5 minutes, and then arches his back and screams, then drinks a few more sucks/swallows, then turns away and screams, and keeps on doing that ... then I change sides, and he repeats the process.
then either I end up giving in and giving him some EBM in a bottle, or I end up bawling (so exhausted from the surgery) and DH has to take bubba.
fun times.
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Peanutter I did reply to your other thread but I remember this phase with Max too...I also remember wanting to give up BFing him....but thanks to my Oct 07 BabyBuddies here on BB I persisted and I'm glad I did. This 'fun time' will pass soon.....you are doing a great job...
MT Max has been pushing many boundaries with me too....."no, dont want to go to bed" or doesn't want to do anything I suggest.....It's a tough gig, but we are getting through it. What tops it all is that he now spontaneously tells me he loves me.....so all is good in the world.
Peta How good is a jolly jumper...Max loved his too :)
Cass I'm not going to start Darcie on solids till 6 months either...same as what I did for Max. Eeeek for you going back to work on the 10th of Jan....and a bum you can't go part time...but how will you pay for your e-bay purchases that way!
Hi everyone else, I"ve been pretty busy at the moment. I've started getting crafty at home, DH just signed the contract to go to Jersey too....so I've been researching getting Charlie overseas! My first baby (furbaby that is) is pretty high on my priority list at the moment!
Darcie is going really well....doesn't sleep much during the day but I'm OK with that...I cope. I got her weighed and measured the other day ($35 bucks later) and she was 6.06kg, 61cm long and HC40cm. Max was almost 1.5kg heavier, and 1cm longer at the same age! I think my little girl will be a petite one! YAY!
Not long till my Mum gets here and Max's Birthday. THEN some more friends are coming up and we are all heading to Phuket for a holiday! THEN....I"ll be leaving Singa for good, living down in Perth probably from November to December then after Xmas we will head off again for more of the expat life! aaaahhhhhh! Busy Busy!
xxx
