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

[Tecopa]

Hey GTBIA

Good to hear how it's all going. Think I'll stick with this group cause I know you all here now even though I'm one day over ha ha.

My mum left on Saturday so I've had my first two days of doing everything including cooking and cleaning. But I'm coping I think! Even with at least two night feeds between 7pm and 6am. Mum had a pretty good routine going so I've been just modifying that and including baby when I can or waiting until he sleeps.

My family had Xmas on Saturday and my Nanna flew down too so four generations. Was madness with my sister and her four month old and a hungover brother in law too. But fun. Though it's quite relaxing now not having to discuss all the baby decisions with one or more people like "Oh, I think it's wind." "No,he's hungry" etc etc.

Elliott has bad milk pimples and cradle cap at the moment but lucky doesn't show in photos. I just got sick of the cradle cap and did the olive oil treatment thingo and it worked wonders. He's not looking quite so "special" now ha ha.

Since my mother's helper left and mum has gone I've decided to take advantage of the full backpackers hostels and rent out the two rooms. I've got two 18 year old dutch boys in one room and a married couple in the other - but my house is so big I still have almost my own section of the house so unless we are all in the kitchen it's fine! Renting the rooms means my entire rent is paid and might allow we to stay home a full year with kiddo without working so I think it's worth it - as long as I pick "safe" travellers like kids or couples. Plus I think it's good for Elliott to be used to other people and being held by others too.

I even had my first baby free time yesterday. Gunkle and another friend came over and walked the dogs, cleaned my bathroom, made my bed, cooked dinner and looked after baby for two hours while I went to the pub for one stiff drink haha. I expressed milk for them to give him but it's really too much effort. I had expressed 170 mls over two days and the little bugger drank it ALL one hour after a feed when I left. And I think I'd expressed a bit too much and Elliott was a bit hungry yesterday - feeding all day on and off.

Wow - long post!!

x

[~me~]

Hi.

Jody: Glad to see you sticking with us Ahh, it's nice to have a stiff drink again I do enjoy mine at the end of the day

Barb: You should have been advised on check out from the Hospital to make an appt for a 6wk post natal check with an OB. My OB prefers 8wks so that's when I am booked in. So perhaps check with the Hospital where you had Poppy and see what they say and what appt's they make for post natal checks. It would be best to have things checked out before you go back to Vietnam especially with the problems you had post natally. At this appt you would normally have a discussion about birth control options and also they may do a pap smear if you are due and generally check out everything and to make sure things have gone back to normal and also be given the all clear for you and DP to make love again if you haven't already

Nae: So glad you are back! Have you tried propping Shae up a bit when she sleeps? That is supposed to help with reflux. Would need to register with memento to have a look at your Thankyou's..may do that later. Hope things are settling down for you..they sound like they are.

Well...just had Tess's 4wk MHN check. She has put 200grms on so is doing well. She is a clingy baby during the day, still ok at night. I am trying her in her Cot, she would normally sleep in the bassinette as the Cot has been full of her clothers Managed on the weekend to finally sort her things out and move Ben's out to his room that he shares with Oscar. Tess's wardrobe is bigger than mine!!
She seems to be in a set routine at night of waking between 11pm and midnight and then 3am for feeds. Then after that feed it can be anywhere between 6:30am and 8am before she wakes. She is hungry during the day so I haven't had any time to express yet for mine and Bernie's night out on Saturday..better get onto that!
We had a pretty rough weekend in that Bernie and I both had a 24hr gastro bug. Bernie's was on Friday night with me playing nurse and he was fine on Saturday and mine all day Saturday. Bernie went into work late and came home early so I only had to manage a couple of hours on my own on Saturday and Oscar made Ben's lunch for me and kept Ben entertained!! So he helped out too I still had to contend with Miss Tess and praying that I didn't pass it onto her . I lost 3kilos in the process so I am now trying to make up for lost time
Tess has been very unsettled today, only cat naps when I hold her and wants to feed constantly. I think my milk supply was affected by the gastro and she hasn't been getting enough from yesterday as well as today as I couldn't even keep water down on Saturday, so now I am trying to rehydrate and eat to try and build it up again. So hopefully a better today tomorrow.

Hope everyone else is doing well..Merry Christmas to everyone !!

x Heather
xx

[NaeNae]

Howdy all,

Well Shae has Silent reflux - which I had suspected but its all confirmed now. We have everything except the snuggle bed angled as she only sleeps in the snuggle bed between midnight and whenever she decides to get up. She officially HATES the hammock which is such a shame. I s'pose she is basically on her head when we put her in it and we even have her feet right down the very end but still her feet are higher than her head Still it will be handy when she is big enough for the Jump Jump.

We have two slings and I have no idea how she is meant to sit in them. I have decided the Close Carrier is too much effort and wearing it hurts my back with her in it. We got the new born insert for the Ergo carrier but I have NO IDEA how she is meant to be positioned in it I really need to be shown how to use these things in person I am useless following instructions.

We FINALLY got our Christmas tree - DH went to a farm to get it and its so lovely its about 7ft and really bushy and has branches all the way to the floor. I have to go out tomorrow to buy some new lights for it and to get DH birthday present.

OH BTW - we got Air conditioning - after all the cuffuffle from the jerk who came out and told us that we couldn't get it installed the way we wanted it we found someone who would.

Thank goodness because its gunna be so hot tomorrow.

Anyways DH is having a nap, Shae is still screaming so probably wants a snack so had better run.

love to all

Nae x

[lou123]

Hi everyone
Been a while since I've posted, it's hard typing one handed and lately DS has been very clingy, so he's constantly needing to be picked up.
Sounds like everyone is going well, love hearing all your updates.

Heather - hope you are feeling better, it must have been awful being sick and looking after 3 kids!! I'm in awe of you - I'm just managing with one, can't imagine having another two as well. Hope Tess is having a good week so far.

Jody - love reading your updates, always get a good laugh about the placenta. Sounds like you have awesome friends, glad to hear you are getting so much help. Hope the room renting works out too, it must be good to have interesting company all the time. Elliot is seriously gorgeous.

Barb - glad you're feeling happy and getting into a routine. I agree that things are starting to feel a bit more under control now at 6 weeks. The last month and a half have been a complete blur. Your trip to Brisbane sounds lovely. How much longer are you in Oz for? Love to pics of Poppy and I agree that she looks like a little doll - so beautiful.

Nae - great to hear from you! Hope Shae's reflux gets sorted out and you get some answers on managing it. Have been thinking about you.

Emma - glad Alyssa is sleeping well, it sounds like you've got a great routine going.

Hi to everyone else!

AFM - this week has been heaps better, Thomas is 6 and a half weeks old now and a lot more alert. His smile is gorgeous and melts my heart. He's making lots of little cooing noises - seems to like to chat most in the middle of the night...I was trying to avoid eye contact during the 3am feed to help him get back to sleep more quickly but I can't resist him when he makes that cute noise and gives me a big grin. Getting him to sleep is still a big challenge - sometimes I feel like with all the rocking, swaying etc I am doing my own midnight aerobics routine. No need for Zumba here (anyone else sick of 3am home shopping on TV?!)- putting him to sleep is enough work!!
Went Christmas shopping today and ended up with so many things that I had to put the bags in the pram and hold Thomas instead. Also bought a few things to wear as my clothes from pre-pregnancy aren't going anywhere near me...I've gone from a B to a DD cup and a size 10 to a size 14. I have a wedding this weekend and tried on a dress this morning that used to be quite roomy. The zip didn't go anywhere near me...was considering wearing it with zip gaping open and put a cardigan over the top but decided to go shopping instead. Also bought some new board shorts to cover up the thunder thighs that I developed over the past 9 months.
Have been expressing like mad to get enough milk to leave Thomas with mum and dad on Saturday night, looking forward to having a night off with DH at the wedding. Am a little worried about how engorged I will be by the end of the night though - have visions of expressing off over the toilet at the reception...classy!!
As far as routine goes, I sometimes think everything is starting to be more predictable...some days are like text book with 3-4 hourly feeding, but then I have other days/nights that are an absolute nightmare. The other night I don't think I even got half an hour sleep, little Mr Night Owl decided to flip his day and night routines. Then last night was heaps better and he only woke up once at 3am. So I'm just going with the flow at the moment. I'm wondering if I'm doing too much during the days and that is making him unsettled. I go out most days either to catch up with friends for coffee/go to shops/appointments etc...I don't want to just sit around at home and work around his sleeps though as I would go crazy. Things are working out pretty well most days so I'll just stick with being flexible at the moment I think. A couple of friends are using a book called 'Save Our Sleep', so I had a look at it. I don't think I have the discipline to follow a strict routine, although that is possibly why Thomas has such random napping patterns. Anyway, blah blah sorry, what a lot of waffle. I'll put some pics up on my Flickr site now and bbl to share them.
Sending lots of cuddles to all your beautiful bubs!
Lou xx

[~me~]

Hello

Nae: I am glad you have worked out what was going on with Shae...at least now you know you can actually do something about her being unsettled. Do you have to give her something like Zantac to help? I have a baby bjorn which I have inherited from Sister inlaw. It works pretty well and seems easy enough to use. Hope you get the carrier sorted out soon! Glad you got you air conditioning..is it refrigerated? You need it today!!

lou: Does Thomas sleep while you are out? If so, that shouldn't make him too unsettled. Although I do find with Tess, the days I tend to stick around home and potter she gets better quality sleeps? I reckon they sleep when they need it at the moment. I am waiting for Tess too to drop a feed at night. She at the moment does around 11:30pm then 3amish, would love her to drop the first one! I go to bed between 8:30 and 9:30 most nights so I cope ok with the night feeds. I also shut my eyes during the night feeds and nod off while she is feeding so the 20mins -1/2 half hour she takes flies

Barb: So nice to hear you had some you and DH time in Brisbane with Popoy! Does your DH find our food a little too much? We are so lucky in Australia to have so many cultures that you really can find any ingredient you need to cook whatever nationality you want And in pretty much every major city. I love Victoria Street in Melbourne, a Vietnamese street solely made up of Vietnamese grocers and restaurants.

AFM: My milk supply was definitely affected by the gastro I had. So I have been giving her extra feeds to build up supply again and it's worked,thankfully. She is much more settled these last two days..back to her normal self. I took her back to the Dr yesterday for her eye as it's still mucky, so now have AB drops for the eye. This weather today really knocks me for 6..I just don't like it School Holiday's starts tomorrow, have been making lists of things to do on odd days to keep Oscar entertained. We always have days at home too planned I just want to make sure we have enough of both so as he doesn't get bored. Christmas will help as him and Ben will have new things to play with. Bernie built the boys a sand pit too and they spend ages in that playing imaginary games with each other and also on the trampoline.

A quick question..did everyone get the whooping imm? The MHN mentioned it and booked in next week to have it after I spoke to my GP about it. If you had it did you feel ok afterwards?

Hope everyone else pops back in soon..would love to know how you are all going.

bye for now..enjoy your bubs first Christmas's

x Heather

[NaeNae]

Just a quicky before bub wakes up as I have to get ready to go shopping by myself for DH birthday present.

Heather - DH and I both had our whooping cough vaccine done when Shae was 2 weeks old. It was combined with tetanus and diphtheria (I think). Dh was fine after his, My arm ached for a few days but that was due to the tetanus component of the injection and is a common reaction that I have.

Shae will be having hers done but I figured even if just a small amount of coverage came through the BM then anything is better than nothing. We also asked about the Swine flu vaccine but decided to wait as my GP suspects that it will be part of next years standard vaccine (which I have done anyway).

Must run and get showered.

Love to all

Nae x

[mel_thekiwimum]

hi everyone

thought I'd pop in and say hi to everyone - sounds like everyone is enjoying their new bundles of joy and delight

Nae - hugs to you with Shae's reflux our DS #1 was a happy little vomiter and it looks like DS #2 will be going down the same path, I tried a few different remedies and none really helped but its horrible to see them in so much pain right

Someone asked ages ago about hearing that some kiwis (NZ ers) eating the placenta - its not something that we as a family do but a lot of maori famiies will take the placenta and bury it, its to do with returning the body to the land. I remember seeing a documentary on ABC about women in some african civilisations who eat the placenta but it certainly wasn't something I would consider

Tecopa - love the term Gunkle - so cute glad to hear you had some mummy time

AFM - Ty is still waking every 3 hours at night, we need to start getting into more of a night time routine but DH has just started a new job and has shifts all over the place making it a bit tricky, sometimes we do get a 4 hour stretch from 9-1am but that is usually followed by Ty being awake every 2 hours so we don't win
he also looks like he's got the beginning of cradle cap so I'll pull out the moogoo cream I got for DS #1 as that cleared it up straight away and has the horrible milk rash just like his big brother did - just hoping that its all cleared up by christmas fingers crossed
other than that he is a pretty happy little boy starting to get some gorgeous smiles now which no matter how tired I am melt my heart

sorry for not many personals the master of the house is waking up

love and christmas hugs to all
M

[emma8108]

Hi all,

I've started typig this everyday for the last week and just as I get started little miss gets the vibes that Mummy's busy and wakes up!!! Let's see how we go this time.....

We're still in a great night time sleep routine. Getting 5 -6 hours straight from 9/ 10 to about 3/4 then feed and straight back to bed till 7/8. Feel sort of guilty really not being sleep deprved like so many other new mums . She actualy scared me the other day. She fed at 6 and DH managed to get her to go to sleep at 7:15 (unheard of in this house) thinking we'd have time for tea but not much else. When we went to bed at 9:30 I debated waking her and feeding her but decided not to wake a sleeping baby so went to bed sure that I'd be awake in an hour or so. Next thing I knew my boobs were so sore they woke me up so I checked the time and it was nearly 3. I jumped out of bed in a panic and rushed to the bassinet to check she was still alive in there (which of course she was) and unwrapped her cause I figured she must have needed a feed!!!!

She's still not in a routine of sleeps through the day but she has about 3 a day and one usually lasts 2-3 hours and it's working so i'm not going to try and fix it!!! Lets just hope it stays this way

Apart from that everything's pretty normal around here. Rushing around getting last minute christmas things done. We're hoping we don't see the inside of a hospital again for a while though. Last Friday DH had his wisdom teeth out and that night I was rushing around trying to get too much done before Alyssa woke up and tripped down the stairs. Managed to dislocate (mangle) my little finger pretty bad so that was a trip to emergency with my mum while my dad stayed with hubby cause he wasn't meant to be on his own after the op. makes life interesting looking after a baby with a splint and fingers taped together!!!! Got an appointment on Tuesday so I'm hoping they tell me I can take it off by chrissy!!

I've put a link to photos of Alyssa. Hope it works..... Emma Haigh's Photos - Alyssa Maree | Facebook

Lou - I had a look at save our sleep too but i decided she's a baby not a robot and if she doesn't want to sleep at 8:15 in the morning for an hour and a half it wouldn't work anyway and i'd spend that time trying to settle her instead of giving her an extra 20 minutes awake time and having her go down easily. too much fuss and bother really!!!

Heather - We bpth got the whooping cough injection. Didn't even feel it or have the numb arm i was expecting. DH had it not long after i found out i was pregnant.

i'll be back later. got to try and cook tea before missy wakes up!!! don't like my chances though - hubby might have to do it if i can wake him up. poor darling got to sleep through last night but astill acts like his world is falling apart cause he's tired!!! so know why men don't have babies now!!

[~me~]

Ooooh, it's gone quiet in here

Nae: Hope Shae has settled down for you now and you are into the swing of things.

Emma: How is your finger? How are you coping with the lifting and feeding with your finger out of action? I agree on the Save our Sleep. I like routine, but at this age it's the best time to get out and about when you want rather than when you can.

Jody: How are you house guests going? You sound like you are coping nicely!

Mel: I have never heard of moogoo cream? Must remember that if Tess ever gets cradle cap.

Barb: You must be on the countdown to going back to Vietnam?

lou: How was your night out? Did Thomas need the bottle at all? I find that my size is ok except for the boobs! Tops need to be a size bigger to accommodate

AFM: All is well here. Had a horror night that day we had the 39deg day here in Melbourne. Tess slept all day( so did my husband )and went to bed as normal. She woke at midnight for a feed and was awake until 3am then slept till 8am, she wasn't grumpy, just awake! I can't complain as that's only one bad night in her short 5weeks The other night she did a 7pm-4am then slept till 8am waking up happy, so that was a great one. Now she is back to her usual midnight and then a 4amish then awake at 8amish still all smiles.
We had our night out on Saturday and she was very good. Didn't wake so didn't need to use the bottle. I still haven't tried her on a bottle as yet..
Tess is having alot more awake time during the day so have been making use of the play mat and bouncer. We are getting lots of smiles and sort of giggles. She gets excited as she is about to feed which is funny. She also will muck around sometimes with feeding..plays with the nipple rather than suck and give you a smile in the process, the little devil
I am booked in next week for the whooping cough imm. Was going to do it this week but didn't want to risk having a sore arm or reaction on Christmas Day.

Well..Merry Christmas and Safe New Year everyone, will catch up again after

x Heather

[Tecopa]

Hey!

I am still here - just been too busying with kiddo to write about kiddo lol. My family has already done Xmas - had my Nanna visit from Brisbane as well as Mum and went to my sister's house - she has a four month old. It was chaos. I did crack it at one point to my Mum and tell her that to be honest, even though my grandmother looks all sweet and innocent that she was a c*nt. Ha. Ha. Sleep deprivation equals honesty.

Mum has been gone about 10 days now and I'm coping - some days JUST with a bit of tears and frustration and other days I think I'm really getting the hang of it all and enjoying it. Even made it to a Mum's and Bubs movie!

Elliott is smiling now and laughing a bit and I'm loving that. We sort of have a routine of sleep at 7pm, and up at 7 am with feeds at 10.30, 1.30, 4.30ish so it's pretty crazy to be a solo mum coping with all of that but I'm determined to feed on demand so whenever he wants he he gets it. The main issue is the noise he makes from 1.30 till 6 am or so - grunts, moans, squeals, sleep cries even. But after a week of trying everything I realised he is happy and content and asleep - just LOUD. So it's ear plugs for me since there is no where else to put him except his nursery which joins my room.

I am doing okay I think but I tend to forget to eat, and my puppies are a bit neglected. But the house is clean and I now have four backpackers in the spare rooms - pays the rent for the whole house LOL. I ask them to do the odd chore so that helps too.

I'm a bit frustrated with my body - back still sore so can't wear Elliott in my ergo too much which is hard cause it's great. Plus still got the last bits of bleeding from birth. And I think I have thrush on my nipples - went from being expert breastfeeder to massive pain and shiny pink nipples and me crying etc. But using a cream for that now and seems to be working.

I'm now down to two regular support people which sucks - all of those dozens of offers for help from my friends and it's fallen off pretty quick - from maybe 10 or more visitors in hospital down to Gunkle and another girl. I may have to look at hiring someone but at the moment I don't know what days or what time of day would help the most.

Elliott is now massive too - over five kilos at five weeks old lol. That's like almost 1.7 kg gain since birth! WOW.

Well that's me updated. Love to hear from everyone else!!

[GoingtobebiginAsia]

Hi all,
Not sure I will have time for personals... several storm fronts on the horizon, in the sky and with Poppy.

I loved reading the updates, have been offair for several days. For some unknown reason dad's acceptance of a Bigpond offer to upgrade his ADSL meant the internet didn't work. He spent a frustrating two days of the phone, poor bugger.

Poppy is still growing. She's not really giggling and smiling yet. She does a little hahaha occasionally but it's not really a proper smile. The last few days she's also stopped sleeping in the day and has been demanding a feed every two hours or so. Last night at 11pm she was still awake, after about three 10 minute naps through the day. She wasn't unsettled, just awake, kicking and squriming on the bed next to me. I know if I put her in the hammock before she's asleep she'll start crying. It had cooled down a bit so I wrapped her up and within seconds she was asleep. I tried it again this morning and she slept for two hours. But it's been too hot this afternoon to wrap her. Now it's raining and one of mum's dogs is barking at the thunder so she's not going to get to sleep, wrapped or unwrapped. Mum is now saying I should start feeding her solids if she's that hungry. But I think she's just having a growth spurt. I also think now she's more aware of her surroundings more things wake her up. Maybe her hearing's improved or something too.

We are on the countdown to returning to Vietnam. We haven't worked out where we're going to stay. That's making me feel a bit unsettled. I'm really going to miss mum and dad and having DP at home. He's just fantastic. He doesn't need so much sleep and because I've been so tired he's been doing most of the night feeds and taking her for extended periods during the day. I've just got back from the hairdresser! And I went and got a facial on Saturday with a voucher one of my friends gave me. It was bliss but far too short.

I'm going to get some blood tests done before I go back. I really don't think I should be so tired after seven weeks. I'm getting enough sleep and eating well and I don't feel so stressed but I feel so run down.

Anyway... there goes Poppy again. Time to "change actors" as DP says. I hope everyone has a wonderful first Christmas with their bubs.

[emma8108]

Hi all......

Heather - Alyssa is awake more through the day now too. hard to keep her occupied somedays but a walk outside usually does the trick. she just loves looking at everything happening around her. so bright and alert. my grandparents are here for chrissy and can't believe her. think they were expecting the sleepy little thing they saw when she was a week old and she does the same thing playing around when she's feeding then smiles and all the milk she's got in her mouth dribbles down mum. she also makes a fist and punches my boobs though and i can see that's going to get painful as she gets bigger!!

Tecopa - sounds ike you're doing a lot of nighttime feeds...... hopefully he'll drop one for you soon so you can have a bit of a longer sleep in the night somewhere!! Alyssa is a really loud sleeper for the second half of the night as well. usually after her night feed so from about 3 - 6. sounds like you're doing a great job!! if i was on my own i think i'd be living on toast and i hate to think what the house would look like. most days i've just got enough time to do a load of washing!! did clean my wardrobe out though. took 3 days and in the process every piece of clothing i owned was in the loungeroom!!!

GTBBIA - some days they just won't sleep will they!!! We had one sleep yesterday (it was a nice 3 hour one though so it meant mum could clean up a little bit before we have everyone here for chrissy) and then dozed on my grandmother while i was at mums for tea last night. it's amazing as they get more aware of where they are isn't it. i keep forgetting it's the first time they've seen things.. lucky you on the hair cut and facial. i'm planning a facial in january with my mum to say thankyou for how amazing she was through my labour and the first couple of weeks after the birth (and still is of course). DH can have a little bit of daddy daughter time. your iron levels might be down if you're really tired. mine still haven't come back to anywhere near the level they were while i was pregnant let alone before (that's thanks to me hemoraging after the birth thoug) and i know it's affecting my tiredness. mhy GPs just mointoring them and i'm on iron tablets and eating plenty of red meat.

AFM - we had our 6 week checks on monday. everything all good with mummy and daughter. Alyssa had her 8 week needles early (we've got a whooping cough outbreak so they're doing the needles at 6 weeks instead) and only screamed for a minute when they went in but she must have realised a couple of hours later that they were sore and then the wailing started. her poor little legs came up all red and hot. i gave her some baby panadol (which i was glad i went and got after she had her needles) and she calmed down pretty quickly and we managed to get her to bed. she was clingy all afternoon though so i held her from about 4 to 9 while she cryed. very stressful afternoon!!! she pretty much slept through last night. cause i wasn't home until nearly 10 by the time i gave her her last feed, changed her and put her down it was nearly 11 (lucky she'd been dozing on people while i ewas out) and she didn't wake up till 540 this morning which was pretty good.

Can i have some opinions - i want to know if i'm being over sensitive and should just get over it........ my inlaws are difficult about where we have christmas every year and won't budge on them doing lunch. if we can't make it (cause we want to spend some of them with my family) we get to go in the afternoon and see them but they won't even save dessert for us (offered to one year but we were 20 minutes late so they ate it and opened all the presents including the ones we'd bought them without us) which means my family who are more easy going usually get the raw end of the deal....... just a bit of background.. This year being Alyssa first we wanted to have both familys here to celebrate together. easier for us and we don't spend the day in and out of cars. they are refusing to come because there's too many people - there's 9 of my relatives and would be 6 of his making 18 with us. my mil lost her mum 3 days before alyssa was born and she says she's not ready for crowds. i'm just a little hurt that they don't want to share her first christmas and such a special time has to be all about her when to me christmas is all about being with family and especially the kids (alyssa is the only grandchild on both sides). they are going to come around but not till 4 or 5 and i don't want to feel like i should kick everyone else out just cause they show up. my grandparents have travelled down from grafton and it's a big trip for them when they're in their 80's and my uncle has come from brisbane so i don't want them to feel guilty about the inlaws not coming either...... such a mess!! but i guess christmas always is with familys (especially DH's)

anyway, must go and have a shower before she wakes up again. my best friend had a little boy yesterday so i'm going to try and get to the hospital today and visit Alyssas new boyfriend and still have to finish cleaning 9or as much as i can with a finger in a splint (not that i'm playing on it or anything ) so the house looks decent for chrissy.... thankyou for listening to my vent/whinge!!!

Enjoy your first christmas's everyone!!

[NaeNae]

hey everyone

MERRY CHRISTMAS

just a quicky -

Emma - familes are difficult aren't they. I can completely understand how you are feeling and also understand how your MIL feels. Last Christmas I was in no mood for celebrating etc after losing Nikita six months earlier and I was by no means ready for big social gatherings. You do not have to kick anyone out, if your PIL decide to come late maybe just explain (or not and just leave it) that maybe some people would have left by the time they get there but you cannot promise them that. Its so so hard when you are missing a family member at this time of year - even though we have Shae, I barely feel like celebrating because we are missing our first born and quite frankly Shae is a constant reminder of what we don't have and all we have missed out on.
I am sure it will work out, maybe don't say anything to MIL and just let the day pan out as its meant too

Just wanted to quickly share, I took a piccie of Shae infront of our first family christmas tree Login | Facebook she screamed just after I took it

love to all

Nae x x x

[~me~]

That's a tough one Emma. If you have family coming from alomg way it sounds reasonable espec with a new baby to stick around home on Xmas Day amd perhaps catchup with DH'S family on boxing day...especially since DH's family don't save any Christmas festivities for you anyway. (Hope that doesn't sound too harsh).

We now take it in turns..as in 1yr Bernies family for lunch and the next mine and don't usally do both in one day. Unless it's with my family and we will see DH's family for dinner as it tends to be a very speedy visit if we can (my family don't all get along together well).
In fact this year we are at my Sister's and last year we had them here. My Mum suggested DH & I don't come down for Christmas as my Sister who I and my other Sister dont get along with will be down at her house for Christmas. I am the youngest of 6 and not many of us get along really.
I took a hard line a couple of years ago and we both decided to do what suits us..everyone is fine with it and understands as we all have kids and that's what Christmas is all about these days.

Perhaps Emma you could do something similar...as in take it in turns where lunch is? It sounds like your DH's family is not very easy going??

Good luck Emma!

Nae: Your words sound very sad ...hope you and your DH have a lovely first Christmas with Shae and make some beautiful memories for the years to come. I couldn't view your pic of Shae..she looks sooo cheeky on your ticker

bye for now..Miss Tess is calling

x Heather

[NaeNae]

Nae: Your words sound very sad ...hope you and your DH have a lovely first Christmas with Shae and make some beautiful memories for the years to come. I couldn't view your pic of Shae..she looks sooo cheeky on your ticker

becoming a mum after a loss has been pretty hard emotionally, lots of things come to the surface plus its a difficult time of year and people (family) seem to forget about Nikita or expect that because we have Shae that we are no longer saddened by her passing.Its a wonderful christmas because its our first as a real family but its difficult as well because I miss Nikita.

Caught between a happy and sad place it will get easier with time

[GoingtobebiginAsia]

Oh Nae - my heart goes out to you. I can imagine it would be hard. Family gatherings are always difficult when someone is missing. Rather than having forgotten her, maybe your friends and family are not mentioning Nikita because they don't want to upset you. Since reading your post I've been thinking about one lovely post you wrote about your little wombat. I hope you can make your way through the next few weeks without too much pain.

Emma - It's a difficult one. I think for your own peace of mind, just do what's best for you. Alyssa is going to pretty oblivious, so its still about you and your feelings. I've really been amazed at the range of reactions people have to a baby. I've always been quite disinterested in babies, although I made an effort to cluck over my sister's kids when they were younger. So I think a disinterested reaction to a baby is quite normal. I find my mum's ultra-eagerness a bit weird. She's had a cold for the last few days and so she hasn't held the baby. So she stands at the door with her arms open and a tragic look on her face and talks about how terrible it is to have had empy arms for days. What I'm trying to say is that you should try not to take it personally if grandparents are not centering their Christmas plans on the baby. Unless they're being complete cows about it, of course.

Oh, and I loved the Sanda photo with Alyssa. It's adorable.

Tecopa, I'm glad you've decided to stick with us. How's the lodgers going? I think we might open our house up when we get back to Vietnam as a kind of homestay. You've inspired me!

Hi Mel, looking forward to an update.

And Heatherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! I love reading your posts. We're suffering with the heat here on the Sunshine Coast too. That's one of the sleeping problems we have. Shutting the bedroom door turns the room into an oven so we leave the door open for the breeze and then get blasted with noise.

So... learner plate mum just got told today that the baby is supposed to be asleep for 16 hours out of ever 24. THAT's going to make life a bit easier (and less boring). We were both getting sick of "entertaining" Poppy, who just didn't seem to get the hang of hanging out on her own. I mentioned sleep patterns to the midwife today at the newborn clinic and she told me were we'd been going wrong. So Poppy's asleep now, wrapped up tightly. And the little miss will be doing a lot more sleeping from now on so DP and I can get on with doing other stuff. It sounds a bit mean, doesn't it. I just thought she'd fall asleep when she was tired.

So ... Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you all have a fun day with the new "toy".

[GoingtobebiginAsia]

It was the night before Christmas and all over the house
Nothing was stirring, not even a mouse
Well, except for Poppy May who just WILL NOT GO TO SLEEP.

So much for 16 hours a day. Grrrr. I'm on my second glass of wine, wondering what I'm going to do without my mum and suddenly so thankful I'm not BFing!! Things might seem better after another glass. Although I can hear Mum running out of patience too.

Tomorrow we're off to see if my lovely Nannan remembers who I am. If she does we're going to introduce Poppy. Merry Christmas.

[Tecopa]

Don't feel bad about things not going to plan. I ended up at the midwife drop in centre in tears today thinking I had some breast infection since my nipples so sore - only to be told I've been doing BF wrong. My nipples are skinned and raw with some nerve damage! So I'm up trying to teach Elliott to get out of his new lazy habit of bad attachment. Also cause of my super fast flow he's been bloated with gas and I just thought he was fussy. And his vomitting all the time also related. Bloody hell. So been taught how to massage his belly. Side effect of the lots of milk thing is also he is 5.5 kilos already!!

Gunkle came over and we had a couple of bourbon while I just let it all out how I'd been feeling about how hard feeding is!