2005/2006 mummy's

[josiemack]

Hi everyone - what a beautiful bunch of babies!!! Smita, Dhruvaa looks so peaceful - and I love seeing the babies in their winter gear - we have the opposite, trying to keep Tilly cool enough - went for a walk on the weekend and had to go really early, because it was going to be 38 degrees in Melbourne.

The Commonwealth Games starts here today, with the opening ceremony tonight - we are off to the athletics on Sunday, have to take Tilly in the sling, because you can't take prams into the stadium - DP will have to carry her, as the sling throws my back out - the big kids are starting to get excited, which is fun.

Panic on Sunday, as DS (12) fell off his bike - he walked home and burst into tears - had graxed his leg, hip and shoulder, then said his arm hurt-- 2 hours and 2 xrays later, he is in plaster for 4 weeks wiht a broken arm - it doesn't get any easier when your babies grow up, you still want to wrap them in cotton wool!!

We are really letting Tilly dicatate her own routine, luckily her biorhythym (sp!) seems to need her longest sleep from around 8pm to 1-2 am - only problem is that I don't feel like going to bed at 8! Has anyone else fallen asleep while feeding? We have a chair in the nursery and many is the time that I have woken up a couple of hours later, holding a sleeping baby that is almost ready for her NEXT feed....

Off to do some dreaded housework - my parents are coming tomorrow for about 10 days to see the Games (and to see Tilly...), so some of those jobs that have been put off for a while need to be done.

It really was lovely to look at the photo site - it makes everyone seem much more real!

Take care
Jo

[Smita]

Hi all!
I'm doing fine as of now- though last night I slept for only an hour and a half- am offto bed after I finish posting- Have become a zombie, but only have to look at d's face to forget all tiredness.. she looks so cute even when she's feeding- I just keep smiling at her!Poor kid, she looks for my breast as if its got some sort of nectar from heaven and I find that so amusing!!

Susie,
Your Ryan looks so cute- he's pretty tall isnt he?
in that picture he looks as though he's standing!are you and dh very tall?

Minnow,
I'm looking forward to see a picture of Ned online!It must be nice to have a good nights rest.

Kim,
Breastfeeding is a lovely experience- though I do wish in my most groggy moments that I could formula feed her too..And about expressing milk- it sounds like a great idea- maybe when I'm back in Bahrain, I'll try that- I'm off the coming Wednesday- its so close now- both dh and I are so excited about being together as a family again- esp dh- he keeps askign about dhruvaa and how she is..
No housework for me here as this is mom's domain( am darn lucky) but have to figure out a routine in Bahrain.
I will go look up babycentre when I get a moment next.
Has Jenna started to lift her head up or does that come much later?

Dhruvaa's already had her first vaccines- on day 4!!
In India, the first vaccinations are given in the first week itself and then booster shots at week 6..

JO,
Enjoy your time with your parents-Tilly will be getting pampered with lots of attention for 10 days I guess!
We have summer here too now, though its not as hot as 38 degrees here. Bahrain will be loads hotter in July/August when the temperatures hit 48-50 degrees and strolls outside the house will be unheard of!

Sher, HOws Siena today?

Hugs to all the babies.
smita

[Smita]

HI all,
can colic come on suddenly?
The baby book says it starts around the end of the 1st month and looks like Dhruvaa is a classic example- its heart breaking to see her cry- last night I gave her colic aid-she quietened down and went to sleep right after that.. thing is, how do I know when to give her the medicine- she's not been crying for hours on end- in gat not even for an hour, but been crying every night around the same time..If I put her over my shoulder, she stops- then I rock her to sleep, but the moment I lay her on her bed, she's up crying..I thought that colicky babies cried for at least an hour inconsolably..
any thoughts on this?
hugs to all,
smita

[k]

Hi Smita

I keep reading that it is colic if it happens in 3's, such as crying for at least 3 hours, at least 3 nights a week etc. Although like Dhruvaa, Jenna hasnt done this, she does get quite fussy on an evening. She will start crying as if she wants a feed, then when I try to feed her, she wont. She just wails louder, kicking and punching. Its really upsetting at the time. Sometimes she will pass wind and then calm down, other times she eventually will fall asleep on my shoulder, or it will take walking around or rocking her in her bouncer. I havent given her any medicine (although I do have infacol if I need it). I guess go with your instincts as to when you give her medicine. Ive read that colic can be due to their digestive systems developing. Maybe that means many babies will still get some discomfort/pain but not as bad as others, who are then said to have colic? I dont know, just a thought.
What does everyone else think?

Smita - Jenna has more strength in her neck muscles now, so does have more control over her head. She can lift it a little.

Jo - Your poor DS! I hope he feels better soon. What a brave lad to walk home with a broken arm!
I havent yet fallen asleep while feeding Jenna, but it can be an effort to keep my eyes open on the occasions shes fed in the middle of the night.
Have fun at the games! I saw the firework display on T.V.I bet its fantastic to be there.

Susie - How cute is your Ryan? I love his outfit! Cant believe he is growing out of 3-6 month outfits already!!! Thanks for your advice re the housework. Dont worry, I dont do too much! But I am aware of how quickly she will grow up, so enjoying every minute with her. She has just started with really 'gummy' smiles, where she is almost laughing. Her whole face lights up, its wonderful to see.

Hi to Sher, Minnow and anyone else!!

Take care all
Love Kim

[Sher8]

To the girls who have had issues with fussy babies during evening hours,

I looked this up on the Internet and it is quite common and my doctor confirmed this today. Newborns babies will tend to cluster feed and basically they are doing this to store up for the evening sleep so you may have to feed quite often from 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. It felt good to find out that this is the norm and just to go with it. This tends to taper off at 3 - 4 months so in the meantime it says to sing, rock, feed and do anything to relax baby. The reason I found is that their nervous system is not completely developed. As far as colic, it is as Kim says - crying for 3 hours straight, 3 days a week for 3 months. Colic is more extreme than nighttime fussiness and is due to digestive / intestinal issues. Not that I'm a doctor, but I thought I would share what I discovered.

Siena is sleeping quite a bit today. She decided to go to bed at 8 p.m. so we will see how the evening goes since I usually put her down a bit later. We still give her a bottle of formula in the evening and I breastfeed the rest of the time. My personal plan is to wean her to formula during 3-4 months, although breastfeeding is to be quite beneficial up to 6 months.

I enjoy reading updates and love all the photo postings!

Sher8

[Smita]

Hi all,
Home sweet home!
Back in Bahrain at last!!
Got some time to sit at the computer..
Dhruvaa's doing fine- still on the night time schedule though, now I've come to a stage where I dont feel sleepy until 2 at night, so its ok I guess.. able to sleep until 11 in the morning so the 5 hours from 6 am(when she finally sleeps,) until 11 are refreshing.

have help in the form of inlaws- mom inlaw takes care of cooking etc and also carries her around if needed during the day, so I'm frankly very happy and relieved..also mom has accompanied me from India, all is hunky dory here.
Sher, can imagine your frustration in having to deal with everything alone..

Kim,cant belive Jenna is 2 months old now.Time's flying huh?

dh is not around- he's travelling a lot - so havent been a family yet.. but still lovely to be back home!

[Susie]

Hi all
Smita - I'm only 5'3 but DH is 6'2 so I think Ryan gets his height from his daddy! Glad to see you're back home. It makes me giggle that you live with your in laws. I see mine twice a year and then try to get out of it as we dislike each other so much. What does your DH do that hes away so much?
Hows everyone else?
We're all OK Abby is still good with Ryan, but she moans a liitle about the attention Ryan gets and that she has to wait for Ryan to be asleep for me to spend time with her, so in the Easter hols I've promised to take her to Blackpool tower while my mum has Ryan, I think I'm lookin forward to it more than her as it means I get a day off and a break from the routine. Mum cant wait either to get Ryan alone for the day.
Ryan has taken to waking at 5.30 am every day, as that when it gets daylight, so this weekends job for DH is to put a blackout blind in our room! Ryan is still good though and alot more alert. If I take him to the supermarket he stays wide awake in the trolley just looking around, and hes the same in the pram too. Luckily hes still sleeping thru, but during the day hes so nosey he wont go to sleep as hes too busy looking round, but eventually he gets so exhausted that he'll just fall asleep anywhere, but doesnt stir for 4 hours, so I whizz round then and do the housework, and wash bottles etc. Hes so good really I cant complain!
Little P and Esther - Looking forward to hearing all about your babies
Luv Susie

[k]

Hi everyone

Smita - Great to hear you are back home now. You can enjoy settling down with your new little family at last! Its good to hear you are been looked after. You can then just concentrate on yourself and your little girl.

Susie - Going to Blackpool sounds good! I am looking forward to when the weather (hopefully) gets better and I can get out more as Jenna gets older. It will be nice to have a change from been inside most of the time. Im not inclined to go out much in this weather. Got caught in a snow shower last week! Ryan sounds like a very contented little boy. Its great once they become alert and interested isnt it?

Sher - Thanks for the info. Jenna does seem to be more fussy and feed more in the evening. At least its when DH is here, so he can cook and wash up while Im feeding, then take over and play with her to give me a break. She does go down to sleep when we put her down and we manage to get some decent sleep ourselves.

Jenna's doing great. Shes still feeding and sleeping well. Shes also started to become very interested in some of her toys. Her eyes practically come out on storks in her excitement sometimes! My best moments are when she stares intently at me and starts smiling and cooing. She did however develop a cold yesterday. I think shes coping with it better than me! I hate hearing her coughing and sneezing, poor thing.

Take care
Love Kim

[k]

Hi everyone

Hope all mums and babies (and Dads of course!) are doing ok.
Ive not had the best week. Got Jennas cold Sunday. Quite hard dragging myself out of bed on a morning. Im glad she allows me a few hours sleep on a night! The weathers been awful here, cant believe its nearly April. Id had enough of staying in yesterday, so went out in the rain to the shops. Felt better for it though, even though I got quite wet! Jenna loves been all wrapped up in her pram, sling or car seat, so as long as shes moving shes happy!
The mums from my NCT antenatal class are meeting up tommorrow. Felt quite fed up because I thought Id have to cancel because of my cold. I am feeling a bit better though today, so hoping I can go. I wouldnt normally let a cold put me off doing anything, but would hate to spread it to the other mums or babies.
Looks like its a nice day here so far today, so determined to go out and get some fresh air!
Take care everyone
Love Kim

[Smita]

Kim,
Poor you, having the sniffles..
Get well soon dear!
The weather here is not so good these days- dust storms blowing daily, so cant go out anywhere..
Druvaa is still sticking to her nighttime schedule, though it is changing for the better daily.
Am only concerned if my feed is enough for her or whether I need to start her on formula.
The thought arose because shewakes up every hour on a few nights, feeds for about 5 minutes, then back to sleep...
during the daytime its about 2 hours , even 4 between feeds- I dont know what to make of it- her weight gain is steady so far though..

oh well, am well on route to becoming an obsessed mom..
Sher,
Am glad to hear you are going to have some help at home with Siena and hopefuully some time off for yourself..

Hope everyone else is fine.

hugs,
smita

[k]

Hi Smita

Do you have any breastfeeding helplines/counsellers you can contact for advice? Ive found after talking to mums from my NCT antenatal group, all our babies are so different with feeding. The NCT (National Childbirth Trust) are very much in favour of breastfeeding and try and encourage mums to exclusively breastfeed, but some of my friends have had problems like you have. I always thought that most problems were with 'latching on' and correct positioning, but Ive since discovered that babies feeding for a long time and still been hungry seems to be the common concern. One of the women had a c-section and I remember her husband saying that can affect the milk supply, so he had found out afterwards, which none of us had heard before. (Im not sure though if this was mainly just that it can take longer for the milk to come in?). Anyway, their baby is fed on both breast and formula milk. However, Ive also heard that feeding both can reduce your milk supply!
Sorry Smita, Ive not answered your questions and probably added to them!! Its more complicated than I thought though after talking to others. If shes putting weight on well though, shes obviously getting a good supply. Could it be feeding for comfort??
Hopefully some other mums can help advice you!
I know what you mean about been an obsessed mum, same here!!!
Take care
Love Kim

[Smita]

Hi all,
Quiet here..
I'm doing fine..
Kim,
Thanks for the points.. no breastfeeding counsellers here that i know of- anyway, dhruvaa and I are managing just fine- she's gaining weight, so its a relief..
The weather is getting hotter here so have to take mom sight-seeing before it gets too hot to enjoy anything.
On things non-babies, dh went and got us a Cadillac STS V8 on sunday- its got all the bells and whistles so he's like a boy with his toy! ITs too huge for me to be comfortable driving it though..

Have been posting on and off but on the other side mostly..

I'm yet to take any picture of dhruvaa( how non- adoring mommy like I know!) but cant find the camera, and I cant find enough energy to look for it, though I keep telling myself that I need to capture more of D before she really grows..

Hows everyone else doing?
hugs,
smita

[ogr1]

you have got to get some photos. even if you dont share them.
i love to do scrapbooking and photos are a must. babies grow and change so much so fast.
i know my grandaughter changes just about every wk.

[CC]

Hi all - gosh it's all a bit of a shock isn't it? Emily Ann just wants to feed 24/7, she never sleeps and I'm exhausted. We've both been ill with chest infections and life's been hard for first 2 eweks. However, I wouldn't swap it for the world - she's everything I've ever dreamed of - i just wish she'd let me have a bit of sleep! Siorry haven't posted for an age - am finding it all rather difficult but hopefully will settle down soon and I can be moe active again. Love to all

Cherylxxx

[k]

Hi Cheryl

Good to see you over here!
Sorry to hear you've both been suffering from chest infections - that must be tough when you cant rest and recover.
I do remember the early days, me and DH taking it in turns to sit up with Jenna, although he had to wake me up to feed her. I remember trying to nap during the day and getting frustrated on those days when I just couldnt drop off even when Jenna was sleeping! I know I didnt look forward to evenings wondering what the night held, but it does get better!
Although I think I have been fairly lucky with Jenna re sleeping and feeding (Compared to other friends), DH reminded me just the other day about early feeding problems and how worried I was and I had forgotten!
Take care of yourself!
Love Kim