[leita]

Hiya December Mums!

OK, so I'm not really a December Mum, but was hoping to stay in contact with all the lovely ladies in our Dec 2011 DIG!!

Shall we start with introductions??

My little man is Lucas Matthias, born 22/11/11, a whopper 4.2kg, but fortunately a planned caesar so it was a pleasant surprise how big he was!!

I have a daughter Amalia who is 2 and three quarters, who so far is loving her little brother, but I'm waiting for that to change!!

I'm a stay at home mum, and a part time fitness instructor, but planning on taking at least six months off from that- I have an abdominal separation of between 4 and 6 fingers width thanks to my massive boy, so it'll take some time to repair that before I can get back into the exercise again.

So far Lucas is a dream baby- very easy going, feeds well, settles well, only catch is he likes to feed every 2 hours, both day and night, so DH and I are a little sleep deprived, and my nipples are killing me, although to be fair they are getting tougher already, and I hope they'll be good soon. And I figure it's a small price to pay for such a chilled out baby. Very different from DD who used to cry a lot. Or at least a lot more than Lucas.

Looking forward to getting to know the new mums, and sharing this challenging but wonderful journey with you all. Here's to many a conversation about nipples and baby poop. :-)

[Bec_M]

Hi Fellow December mums

Hi Leita! Nice to see you in here!

My little guy, Declan, was born 6/12/11 so is not even 3 days old Was it really only three days ago that I was wishing he was here? He was 7lb 13oz (3.55kg) and 53m long. Had a very quick labour of about 4 hours 20 minutes. He did a bit of damage on the way out so just recovering and enjoying our new addition.

I have a DD who is 22 months, Abigail. So far she is facintated by her little brother and gives him lots of kisses and cuddles. It is very sweet Gotta keep an eye on them though, she can get a little enthusiastic!

Declan is a cruisey baby so far. Like Leita, my DD cried a lot, had reflux etc so was a very different baby to the one we have brought home this time. Am enjoying the difference but I'm sure things will change as they do. He is not sleeping too bad at night but I am still catching up from not much sleep the night of the labour etc. And the constant stream of visitors is keeping me busy!!

So, just adjusting to life with 2 children. I'm sure there will be some interesting moments ahead! Look forward to sharing the months ahead with you all

x

[katevin]

Hello Leita and Bec! Great to see you both here and looking forward to more Dec mummies joining soon!

So a bit about me and my lot... I gave birth to our second daughter, Maya Jean Handley, on Friday December 2nd at 2.38am. A beautiful big girl at 9lb11oz, with chubby cheeks and lots of spiky dark brown hair (explains the heartburn!). I was rapt to have had a natural birth this time around, after a posterior birth with DD1 that led to an epidural and vacuum assistance, followed by a big blood loss. Much better experience this time!

DD1, Elle, was born on Christmas Day in 2007, so is nearly a big 4 year old! She has been so beautiful with Maya, always wanting to touch her soft cheeks and give her cuddles Can't wait til Maya is a bit older and they can interact with one another.

So far I'm coping ok with being a Mum to 2. I suffer from anxiety and had PND with DD1 so have to keep an eye on that. Definitely finding motherhood easier this time around but it's certainly busier, and I really don't cope well with sleep deprivation! Thankfully Maya has started doing 3-4hr stretches overnight so DH and I feel more human during the day!

Anyway it's booby time at the moment so had better leave this here! Typing on my iPhone with my left hand is a bit tricky

Looking forward to sharing this amazing yet challenging (as Leita said!) time with you all

[feather12]

Hi girls, I have popped in here too, even though baby was a November one! Hoping to stay with the same group of ladies.


So Abigail Mae was born 29th November 2011, 11 hours of induced labour. Very happy with how it went now but if you had asked me the day after I would have said I am never doing that again!


Abigail is very well, growing before my eyes which is so scary, cannot belive I will have a two week old tomorrow. She has her first newborn shoot tomorrow too and we are taking ink prints of her little hands (actually they are big hands for a baby, long fingers!) and feet. We had initial problems with breastfeeding, where she just wouldnt latch on and I had no idea what I was doing which was only complicated by a million different midwives coming in at all times of day and night whilst in the hospital giving all different opinions and some even just grabbing my poor babies head and my boob and just shoving her on which just made her scream poor thing. We started getting the hang of it last week and things were starting to go very well and she was feeding every two hours and we were getting into a routine. Then on Saturday night I woke up at 1am with a huge fever and chills and intense lower back pain. Had the doctor called out, he didn't get there till about 4am, to be told I had a UTI which has turned into a kidney infection so I have had to stop breastfeeding, Abby is on formula and I am expressing (which is like feeding two babies on different schedules, I am exhausted!), whilst I finish a course of very strong antibiotics. Hopefully by friday everything will be back to normal and I can get my baby back on the boob. I cried so much when I realised I wouldnt be able to feed her. But on the plus side she sleeps longer sometimes, three hours instead of one or two, so I get a small break. Only thing is with the expressing and sanitising of bottles it's not really much of a break. And I feel so guilty that I cannot look after her the way that I want to or with as much TLC because I feel so sick still.


Looking forward to sharing more about our little bubs as time goes on. Must admit she's not as scary as she was the first week. Falling head over heals with her every minute.

[leita]

Morning!!
Feather- wow, that's been a tough run for you. Well done on expressing through your ABs so you can go back to BFing though, that is really hard work. I know what you mean about only sleeping an hour or two at a time, Lucas is like this too. Yep, I found the hardest thing about bfing was all the different advice from each midwife. In the end (after I had it figured out) the best advice I ever had was "if the baby is getting milk, then you are doing it right, there is no such thing as a wrong way to feed". Particularly because I had such sensitive nipples everyone tried to tell me I was doing it wrong... but that is just me. Sooo much easier this time around. Hope your UTI clears quickly for you, what horrible timing, as though you don't have enough to deal with atm.

Kate- how did Maya go with her EBM in a bottle the other day?? I swore I would teach this bubs to take a bottle early on this time (after DD always refused one), but he's three weeks old tomorrow, and I still haven't touched the breast pump.... I tell myself that his feeds are so frequent I don't want to mess with my supply... but truth be told I think it's more a mother guilt thing. I'll have to get over that if I want to ever leave the house though won't I? he he he. Is Elle still loving her little sister??

Bec- how are your recovering?? Gosh, I know how sensitive my scar is, and I was just thinking the other day I'm glad it's on my belly, and that a difficult natural birth would be a whole lot more uncomfortable during the recovery phase. How is little Declan going? Hope you are getting plenty of cuddle time, it's tricky with two now isn't it? I still haven't left the house by myself with both kids- though DH has, he took them both to the park the other morning so I could have some sleep don't know how I'm going to survive when he goes back to work!!

AFM- I have to say I continue to be pleasantly surprised by how much easier the recovery has been for me this time around. I was still on pain meds at three weeks post caear last time, but this time around I haven't taken anything for well over a week, and I can drive again, and can take a half hour walk around the park.... which is really lucky. Lucas is just beautiful, though I was at a bit of a loss yesterday when he was awake for almost 5 hours, I just couldn't convince him to go to sleep!! He wasn't crying, just a little grumpy (tired??) and I very quickly ran out of things to do to entertain a little fella!! There is only so much tummy time and playgym time you can do, and then I just ended up carrying him most of that time, my back was killing me, he's such a hefalump. He he he. Oh well. At least he managed two three hour blocks of sleep last night, 730-1030 then 11-2, so I at least got a half decent bit of sleep .... he he he he, isn't it funny how quickly more than two hours in a row becomes "decent" sleep. He he he. OK, must go clean the house while DH is out with DD and Lucas is asleep otherwise it will look like a bomb hit all day.

[krystledawn]

Hello to all you December Mummies,

Im not really a December mummy either but after sharing all my pregnancy journey with you ladies in the December DIG I wanted to stay in this group.

A Bit about me: I gave birth to our second son, Jack on November 20th at 6.15pm, One week and 2 days before his due date. He was a big chubby boy weighing in at 9lb 8oz (4.4kg). I did everything i wanted to do with this labor with the help of my dear partner and my mum in the labor ward. A drug free labor and no stitches Although there was complications as his shoulder got stuck. My gorgeous sister took birth photos for me and my dear fiance one night when he wasnt able to sleep turned them into a beautiful slide show. I cry my eyes out everytime i watch it. Still can't believe his 3 weeks old already, time flies.

My first son Cohen is 4 and half, born on 30 June 2007. He loves being a big brother and always wants to be a part of everything to do with his baby brother. I have half a box of newborn nappies that jack grew out of in the first week that Cohen now has learnt to put on his teddy bear. Very Very Cute

Although its been 3 weeks I am still getting into the swing of things of being a mum to 2. Most days it is a bonus if i can get in and have a shower. Jack is still working out his days and nights so mum is getting a lack of sleep and to go with it i have had a bit of an upset tummy so jack is feeling the effects of that because im breastfeeding. He is a real mummies boy, aways wants to be held by me. (I keep telling his daddy its because i have the boobies)

He is already a big boy, 3 weeks old and in 00 clothing. Its crazy!!!

Anyways, I gotta get organised to go pick the other half up from work. Im looking forward to sharing many stories with all of you.

Krystle
x

[Bec_M]

Hi All

Feather - wow, you have had a really tough start! I take my hat off to you for expressing so you can BF your little one after finishing the AB's. A friend of mine had her gall bladder out when her bub was only weeks old and she did the same (she had a few complications so couldn't BF). I certainly don't think I would have the same dedication so I really admire those who can stick at it.

Krystle - That is so cute of DS1 My DD loves her little brother. He was in his swing yesterday and I was hanging out the washing, when I came back in she had put his wrap over him - including his face but the thought was there

Leita - I am starting to feel a little more normal. I was quite uncomfortable for a few days after Declan was born. My doc said I had complicated tears, I think they were just all over the place. And considering he was out with 20 minutes of pushing I guess I'm not surprised! I had an episi with DD and I can tell you, that was MUCH easier to recover from. Ahh well, we do what we do. I haven't been out with both kids by myself either other than to drop DD to my SIL's while I took Declan for his hearing test Thursday. DH isn't off work til Jan - can't wait for that!

Kate - so glad this birth went better for you I second it being busier! Seems like some days I just go from one to the other! But at 6 days in I think we are still finding our groove!!

AFM - I am a little worried about my milk supply He feeds for hours (pretty much non stop) and will still take a bit of a top up to help him settle. I'm not really sure what to do. He is quite sleepy so I am constantly waking him up but surely I should have a bit better supply by now? I express after feeds and so far today have not even got 50ml (3 expresses). I feel like I am failing! We gave him a tiny formula top up and he settled straight away the other night. I was really upset about it! But I had to put him first and he wasn't pooing or weeing so was dehydrated and we didn't know what else to do for him. I tried to feed him first and DH gave him the little bottle. He wouldn't take it if he wasn't hungry right? I never had problems with DD so am a little unsure what to do about this!!

This has been so different to when I had DD. Certainly been a bit hard at times, she doesn't understand I can't just jump up and get her something if I am feeding etc. Wish I could split myself in two.

x

[katevin]

Morning all

Hope everybody got some decent rest last night- think I got about 5-6hrs all up which is pretty good I guess...as far as newborns go! He he Leita I definitely know what you mean re what we consider good now, in comparison to what was a good nights sleep prior to baby coming along! Very different standards these days.

Bec sorry to hear you're concerned about your milk supply- its so hard to know whether you're producing enough isn't it?! Maya was having a really unsettled day yesterday and never seemed satisfied so I was questioning the same thing. Wish there was some way we could gauge how much they were drinking! As far as expressing goes, I don't think that the amount you can express really indicates what your supply is like though, so try not to beat yourself up about that. If I were you, I'd give the ABA a call and see what they have to say about it. I'm a massive worrier and always find speaking to an 'expert' reassuring. Hope it sorts itself out soon anyway. Breastfeeding can certainly be tricky and trying!

Krystle great that your birth experience was everything you'd hoped for! And how sweet that DH put together a slide show of images, no wonder you cried your eyes out! I would too I reckon.
Wow DS is already in 00! He must be a beautiful big boy like DD2. She's 11 days old today and mostly in 000, wonder if she'll graduate to 00 in the next couple of weeks?! Gotta love chubba bubbas

Leita I'm so hearing you on the sore back! Babies are so tiny yet take such a toll on our backs/necks! And Maya had a wierd, unsettled day yesterday too so required lots of holding, mostly by DH thankfully! Drives me nuts when she doesn't settle all day, makes things really tough.
That's great that your recovery is heaps better this time, I'm sure that makes life much easier. I feel a lot better this time around too, I was in a really bad way after DD.
Maya took to the bottle pretty well actually, although DH and I are very confused about how much we should be offering her. My midwife said about 70ml x 2 (so 140ml in total) but each time she has taken less than 80ml in total. And the first time (we've given her 2 bottles now) she must've been a guts cause she did a massive spew and I ended up BF her afterwards anyway. So we're getting there with it I think

Feather as the others have said, hats off to you! Sounds like you're going through such a tough time, good on you for persevering with the BF. Hope it continues to get easier for you and you're able to get some rest.

AFM as I said, Maya had a pretty crappy day yesterday- would only settle when held and didn't even settle very well then. We've been putting her to sleep in our arms and then putting her down but during the day she only lasts there for up to 10mins. It's very tiring but don't think she's old enough to learn self settling or anything...? What are your bubs doing? The same thing or do you have some settling advice/tips for us?
We took the girls to have their photos with Santa yesterday, can't wait to get it tomorrow! Maya was due a feed but managed to not crack it when Santa was holding her thankfully. She did try to latch onto his beard though which was pretty cute and funny

Anyway time to rest my eyes now while the little one sleeps and the big one is watching Playschool

[deejie]

Hi girls

Well I don't technically belong in here yet as I am still incubating Hopefully I will be able to officially post in a few days! But I have been stalking to see how you are all doing and hoping to catch some more baby pictures lol

I just wanted to say feather12 you are a star for hanging in there with the expressing. It's hard work-- I had to express a lot for DS in our early days of feeding and it is exhausting. I know it seems a long way off, but your little one will come back to the breast. If you have some trouble with the transition going back, I found my local Australian Breastfeeding Association counsellor to be wonderful. I also hired a private lactation consultant as well who was worth her weight in gold. Hopefully your little girl will come back with minimal fuss

katevin I ended up buying a sling for DS to carry him around in. He lived in there the first few weeks, but it did mean he slept for a couple of hours and I had my hands free to do other things. He got a lot better at sleeping lying flat I think around a month old, which was great because he was a chubster and my back was very sore

bec Sorry to hear you are worried about your milk. I know my early expressing efforts were pretty poor too-- what kind of pump do you have? Electric hospital grade ones tend to get the better yield, but they are still nowhere near as efficient as a baby at getting milk out. I was especially poor at getting milk out after a feed too. The LC I saw said you make the most milk overnight and first thing in the morning (hormonal changes) and to try pumping then, or part way between feeds (the problem being then you don't know when the next one will be!). Of course that's the last thing you need to be doing in the middle of the night, but maybe give it a go. Have you tried calling the ABA hotline? 1800 MUM 2 MUM, maybe they have some more suggestions and sometimes its just nice to hear someone say "that's normal, don't worry" too.

I am so much in awe of you all juggling babies and toddlers. I don't know how I am going to do it! By the time I have my baby you have to have it all figured out so you can give me all your hints and tips-- I think I will need them

[Kindle]

Hi All,
Lucy Maree was born on the 8th of December at 41+1 weeks and I am proud to say she was a VBA2C.
We were due to go in the morning to have my waters broken but contractions came on that evening after a big walk and a stretch and sweep so I couldn't be happier with her arrival (albeit a little later than I would have liked .
She is absolutely gorgeous and I am just trying to get used to the whole newborn thing, along with having a 7 and 3 year old. So far everything is pretty good.
Well I look forward to sharing our adventures with our December bubs.
Now I'm off to change my sig