I wont be able to get on here as much as I would like anymore..the reality of having 3 kids under 3. Even though we are at my parents house and have extra help there still doesnt seem to be much spare time in between feeds,changing,playing and household duties.
My personal advise about the space between your kids would be to wait at least 12mnths before getting pregnant again...yes there are pros with having kids close but I look back and wish I had spent more time enjoying baby no.1 before being pregnant again so soon and being preoccupied with that and being to tired etc Thats my personal opinion anyway not everyone will agree
Indigo is 4kg now and is fully bottle fed, she is sleeping quite well at night Im not sure whether its her or that Im more relaxed as a mum this time around. I gotta go its the boys bath time and they are not happy. Bye for now
Nicola - I guess the reason for me is that I have 3 sisters, and all 4 of us girls were under 2 years apart and it was fantastic for us growing up, we could play together and were at school together etc. I realise it will be hard work, but for us it's what we want to do... I know it wont take away the love I have and the enjoyment I get from watching Emily grow, and it will be great seeing them grow up together. We want a 3rd within 2 years of the 2nd as well. My DF has a big gap between him and his brother and was always too old to enjoy the same things and to really enjoy each other as siblings. We're starting to try again in June/July in the hope of falling pregnant within a couple of months trying.
I have an absolute angel on my hands this last week. She has been pretty good for awhile but is really stuck into a routine now. She feeds at exactly the same times every day and is always asleep by midnight, and gives me at least 7 - 9 hours sleep every night. I am so grateful and lucky, so my mum keeps telling me! I realise it's unrealistic to think she'll always be like this, but as long as she keeps this up most of the time it'll be heaven! She still has an unsettled period at night between her 7 & 11pm feeds, but during the day usually only cries if i'm taking too long to get her food, or she wants to be put to bed.
Everyone is different I guess when it comes to timing of siblings.
Nicola- I understand where you are coming from in regards to the amount of work and being tired and preoccupied. My SIL has 3 kids under 5 and I have seen first hand how she copes, but really doesn't give enough attention to each child, especially now that the last was a girl after 2 boys. It is awful to see her put the boys in childcare and only take her "besotted" daughter on outings etc. I'm not saying everyone is like her but I think they just wanted too much too soon and it really shows in the kids behaviour and temprement that they're Mum simple doesn't have enough time to share between them equally. She still thinks cause she is 25 that she can have a social life where she stays out all ours of the night, numerous nights a week while family members look after all 3 kids. Just breaks my heart.
Janine- Am not even considering trying for another child for at least another 2/12 3 years! Hopefully by then I have enough Long service leave up to take some extra on top of my maternity leave and would really like Frazer to be able to be old enough to be helpful and understand what's going on. Obviously you are really close to your sisters and want the same for Emily, which is nice.
It's funny though cause my DH and I experienced the exact opposite to you and your DF.
My sis and I are 2 years apart and really have never been that close. When we were littler maybe but from about 12 and onwards we kinda did our own thing and went in really seperate directions in high school. My DH and his oldest bro are 16 months apart and again, never really bonded the way you would think siblings so close together would. Especially once they hit high school. Now he can't stand the sight of him (for reasons I won't get into. one being the SIL i spoke about before) yet is really enjoying socialising and feels closer to his youngest brother that has just turned 18 and they're 9 years apart!
Everyone's different and I reckon as long as they're gonna be loved to bits it doesn't matter when the next one arrives.
Taurean, you are an absolute champ continuing with the BF after all your troubles. I hope the new pill will solve your pain prob and it is smooth sailing from now on.
Kelly, I hope your supply recovers soon.
Janine, that work roster sucks. Do you have other family close by? Must get quite lonely with him away so often.
Nicola, my computer time has been the biggest loser in adjusting to life with 2 kids, there just isn't as much spare time to get on here now. Hope all is going well in Brissy.
Sanchez, you have hit upon the secret to enjoying your baby - having the serenity to accept that which you cannot change. Do you think she will be more settled when she gets the brace off? It must be a bit uncomfortable not being able to stretch out and kick around. One of the girls in my Sept 07 buddies group did some modelling for some BF clothing - her name is Ginger if you PM her she will tell you the brand.
Sangie, I hope E is settling a bit better now, it is rough when they have a 'mum must hold me at all times' day when you have other things that you need to do.
Pooley, sounds like F's sleeping is going really well. I am still wearing maternity stuff, my other pants fit on but I still have too much belly wobble to do any of them up. If only I would stop eating chocolate and biscuits all day long I might fit back into them.
Ruth, still only getting 3-4 hours at a time here too.
PB, hope you found a dress that hides all the tummy flab. I am thinking of investing in some of those gut sucker undies to keep it all hidden lol
Age spacing - I am loving the age gap between my two, which is 5 days short of two years. William is old enough to understand and do what I tell him (most of the time) and is capable of independent play when I am busy with Amelia. He is also mostly past the tanty stage and is quite helpful with the baby.
All is well here. I am finding having two children far easier than I was imagining. It helps that W is a very good boy, he does have his moments but is generally well behaved. Amelia is a very cruisy baby too, she doesn't cry except if she wants fed/picked up and I can usually put her in the swing/on the couch and do a few jobs before she cracks it.
I do remember the days when W was a newborn, when it would take forever to get ready to go anywhere - feed him, change him, then he would have a nap (heaven forbid that I should wake him! lol), another feed, another change and we would be out the door 1.5 hours after I started lol. He was bathed religiously every night and I held him for his naps if he wouldn't stay asleep in his cot. Poor Amelia gets carted around regardless of whether she is asleep or awake because W has activities to go to etc, she has a shower with me every second day (with W in the bath below us - bathtime is a family affair here) and if she needs to sleep she either stays sleeping on the couch when I plonk her down there or she goes in the sling. Second children just have to fit in lol
Taurean - you are doing a great job with keeping up the bf hun, well done and fingers crossed that these new pills do the trick!
Art - bathtime is a family affair here too lol! I figure its faster and easier for all of us to just hop in together. Only problem I have is gettting DD out, she absolutely loves the shower.
Kelly - I hope your supply picks up soon. I think I've had the same issues and may explain why E has been so unsettled. Having mastitis and then a cold has really affected my supply.
Ruth - lovely to hear from you!
Sanchez - I just wear stretchy tops that can be pulled up easily and a belly band to hide my tummy flab. I'm more worried about flashing my flabby belly than a nipple!
Janine - bummer about your DF's roster but lucky you that your little girl is in such a good routine! She must know that her mummy needs her to be well behaved when Daddy is away lol!
Pooley - I'm dying to do some exercise too. Just don't know when I'm going to fit it in yet.
PB - good luck finding a dress!
Nicola - I think you are doing an amazing job with having 3 littlies and still getting on here occasionally!
As for age gaps I think there are pros and cons to having them close or further apart. There are 2 years 3 months between my two and to be honest I wouldn't want them any closer than that. DD is at a great age where she can play on her own while I feed and she understands that sometimes she needs to be patient while I attend to her little brother. We aren't planning any more kids but if we were I would definitely be waiting at least another 2 years. Just my two cents worth!
Second attempt at posting while Miss Izzy is snoozing - finally! Damn computer froze before. Grrr.
Sangie - I hope your supply gets back on track soon hon. I didn't get mastitis (touch wood!) but I know all about supply issues and it sucks! Hopefully little E starts getting a fuller belly soon
Art - cute pics on FB! I love that one of the two kids asleep. What a champion mum you are! I am super impressed at how often you pop into our thread while juggling two kids. Nice work
Pooley - how's Frazer doing? Glad to hear the waking him for feeds worked at shifting his long overnight sleep to a more reasonable time slot! I'm going to try it with Izzy tonight. She did almost 7 hours between feeds last night but sadly it was from 7pm - 1.45 so I missed half of the precious sleep time as my parents were over for dinner. Bugger!! At least I know she can do it, now we just need to push it out a little later.
Janine - must say I'm very jealous of Emily's sleeps!! Izzy has it in her (see above) but I just need to move her sleep to a more appropriate time slot. LOL. As for your supply, can you get Emily back on the breast yet? She will help increase your supply again, a lot more than a breast pump will.
Nicola - you've done so well getting on here as much as you have. I'm struggling to post and I only have on child to look after!! Indigo sounds like she is doing really well and I'm pleased to hear that your move went well and you have extra help close by now. I am SO glad my parents moved to Perth last year. I don't know where I'd be without them.
Sanchez - how's Violet going? Bet you're super excited about the brace coming off! Will she fit into some of her smaller clothes she hasn't worn yet once it's off? As for breastfeeding clothes, I'm pretty much hanging out in Bonds maternity singlet tops and shorts, skirts or jeans. In the cooler weather, I've been wearing my long sleaved mat tops which are actually really nice and reasonably flattering so I don't mind. It is hard looking at all my nice clothes in my 'pre-baby' wardrobe though and knowing they are just too hard to tackle while breast feeding.
Kelly - Izzy has had quite a few days like you described Tadhg having and they were due to my low supply. We are still working on increasing my supply (we have doubled my does of Motillium as of yesterday) so hopefully it will happen very soon. Izzy is a right piglet so she has at least one formula top up a day, often more. I had to give her a bottle of formula this morning as she breast fed pretty much constantly for two hours and kept waking when I put her down so I gave her a bottle and she has been asleep now for almost 2 hours. Woohoo!!
Ruth - welcome and congrats on the arrival of your little man! Did you get the belly button issue sorted? One of the baby boys in my mothers group had a strange belly button and it turns out he (or his belly!) was actually trying to reattach with his mum!!! So bizarre but not that uncommon apparently.
AFU - thanks so much for all your supportive words girls, you are all so lovely! It's been a damn hard slog for Izzy and I but I think we are getting there. My nipples are still sore but I think that's a combination of the vasospasm and BFing in general. Most new mums I have spoken to are experiencing very sore nipples too. So much for the 'breast feeding shouldn't hurt' line I've heard numerous times. It sounds more normal for it to hurt than not! Most of the mums in my mothers groups are experincing pain and BF issues - boy was I glad to hear all their stories and know I'm not alone at all!
We have our 6 week checkups tomorrow - OB and PD. Hopefully things are all ok with both of us. I'm hoping my OB can give me a script for the new drugs I need so I can get onto of the vasospasm. I'm so tired of going to the doctors! Seriously, I've spent more money on doctors and at the chemist in the past 5 weeks than I have in the entire year! Crazy.
We had our first mothers group last week and it was fantastic! We have about 17 in our group and I hit it off with about 4 girls immediately so that was great. Really looking forward to our next session this Wednesday.
The weather has finally improved in WA (was so hot on Saturday - 37 degrees!!) so I plan on getting back into my walking again. I've always been a big fan of exercise but struggled during pregnancy due to all the back, pelvis and groin pain I experienced. It will be so good to get back into it again and get back into shape. I'm actually quite happy with my post-pregnancy body. I only gained 10kg and had lost all that by the 5 week mark so I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight which is great. I do have a 'muffin-top' for the first time in my life though so I'm keen to get rid of that. I fit into a lot of my old clothes but some of them are a little tight in the boob area. Oh, and the muffin top isn't such a great look in my skinny jeans. LOL!
Izzy is going well but I'm struggling a little to get her to sleep during the day unless she's in the pram (so at the shops or our walking - it must be moving), in the car seat or in someones arms. I think she's still been a bit unsettled due to my boob issues and low supply so hopefully that should all improve with the new meds. We upped my does of Motillium yesterday so she should be getting more milk within a few days. I'm more than happy to give her formula to fill her up though and I'm so glad she's more than happy to take a bottle. What a godsend!
Izzy is sleeping brilliantly at night but tends to do her massive stretch (between 5-7 hours) from 7pm so I tend to miss a good chunk of it as I'm having a bit of 'me' time once she goes down. I'm going to attempt to move that big sleep to a later time though by waking her for a last feed around 9.30pm. Hopefully that works. Izzy has a tendancy to start her day around 4.30am too which is a real pain. Given she has that massive sleep earlier on though, it's not surprising that she is wide awake by 4.30ish. Fingers crossed it will sort itself out if we can push out her long sleep to a later time slot.
I was a bit worried over the weekend as Izzy hadn't pooped for 3 days but low and behold, it came thundering out yesterday morning. It started small in her nappy but then she downloaded the rest of it on the change table. There was so much of it I had to call for backup! DH came armed with plastic bags to dispose of the mess. It was like a very stinky version of Mr Whippy! DH decided to nickname our poor little girl 'Stinkerbel' after that episode. It really was hilarious.
When are we planning our next baby? Not for a good couple of years! We had always planned to have roughly 3 years between our kids and we are definitely sticking with that plan. My sister and I are 2.5 years apart and my bro and I are 3.5 years and that was good growing up as kids. I want to enjoy not being pregnant for a while before I consider any more kids and more than anything, I really want to savour the time I have with Isobel. Not saying you can't do that with more kids but I just want to be able to give Izzy all my attention while she is little.
Well that's enough from me. I'm off to upload a few pics of 'Stinkerbel' into FB while she is STILL sleeping. Oh this is bliss to have some 'me' time during the day!!
Lovely pics Taurean, it looks like Izzy's eyes are a dark greyish blue still very much like Charlottes. I can't figure out what colour they will go?! Lol about the poop. Charlotte only does one a day and its usually at the same time each day. I think up to a week between poops is pretty normal as well!
Art, that's great having the two kids is going so smoothly! Its sounds like they are very relaxed little ones.
That sucks about DF's roster Janine, he is really going to miss Emily It must be really hard. I freak out if DH has a big week of hours and he gets home after 8!!
Kelly - I really feel for your with Tadhg's unsettled periods. Hang in there as the so called 7/8 week changes should be approaching. Does anything really happen during this time?? He may settle down then
Sangie and any of the other girls battling the tummy budge..its a bit of a shock hey.. I lost 8 kg in the first two weeks but these last 4 kg's are hanging on. I've really gotten stuck into the cheese and red wine since giving birth so I'm sure that hasn't helped!! Lol.
I did find a great plain LBD that seems to cover the tum and I have lots of flowy dresses and tops ready to go for our holiday.
Our first plane trip!!eeek.. hope all goes ok!
AFU - Lottie had her needles today and was such a brave girl! I just hated the look of shock on her face at first, it was heartbreaking.
We are pretty much on 100% formula now. My supply has really dropped off since finishing the motilium but she is now 4.04kgs so we are thrilled. At least she got the breast milk for the first 6 weeks and I'm really trying to squeeze a bit more out.
Anyway, better run.. desperate for a cup of tea and a good chat with DH!
PB - sorry hon, just realised I'd left you off my post! Things sound wonderful at your end! Lottie looks adorable in your ticker, would love to see more pics of her. She sounds like a little angel! Which formula are you using and how much and how many feeds? We are topping up with S26 Gold. Izzy lives it but we haven't tried anything else. No point changing a good thing I guess! Izzy's eyes are a dark grey too so we are thinking theyllbe dark brown eventually as both DH and Ihave dark brown eyes. Can't wait to see how they turn out and how her hair turns out too for that matter! DH and I both have brown hair and were both born dark but both went blonde until we were 3 so anything is possible for Isobel I guess!
Well after my whinge about Izzy not sleping well during the day, she ended up sleeping for 4 hours this afternoon! Woohoo! The bottle of formula must have hit the spot for her.
Must run. I have a snoozy bubs in my arms. Night all!
It must be really hard. I freak out if DH has a big week of hours and he gets home after 8!!
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