Well, thought we should get this topic started. A little late, but better than never.
Hoping that people from the Due December thread will come and join in, but please don't be shy if you didn't find that thread.

My DS was born 14th December and is doing well after an initial scare with a heart problem - pulmonary stenosis. Had a procedure called a pulmonary valvuloplasty to fix that up and will need to have another look at his heart in a few weeks to see how he has responded.
I have a 3yo DD who is loving being a big sister but at times acting more like another mother "My baby is crying mummy, he needs a feed". Still have DH home though so that might be helping.

Breastfeeding settling in OK so far but hoping he will sleep a little better tonight - 2nd hourly feeds overnight was not so much fun last night, but did mean I was awake at midnight for what that was worth!

Hope you are all settling in with your new additions too!
A&A

Bub was due 23rd Dec... Still waiting though.

Well, thought we should get this topic started. A little late, but better than never.
Hoping that people from the Due December thread will come and join in, but please don't be shy if you didn't find that thread.

My DS was born 14th December and is doing well after an initial scare with a heart problem - pulmonary stenosis. Had a procedure called a pulmonary valvuloplasty to fix that up and will need to have another look at his heart in a few weeks to see how he has responded.
I have a 3yo DD who is loving being a big sister but at times acting more like another mother "My baby is crying mummy, he needs a feed". Still have DH home though so that might be helping.

Breastfeeding settling in OK so far but hoping he will sleep a little better tonight - 2nd hourly feeds overnight was not so much fun last night, but did mean I was awake at midnight for what that was worth!

Hope you are all settling in with your new additions too!
A&A

Found it smile

I hope the breast feeding settles down a little for you.
I'm not breast feeding this time, had 2 failed attempts and 3 operations on breast last time due to abcesses, I didn't want to even attempt to do it again.... all in all, Cohan is a happy little man and happy mummy makes a happy baby smile

My little Girls are 4 and 3 yrs, and they are both little mothers to him, telling me he needs a feed or nappy change - bath etc... cute, but can get a little over the top.

Daycare back up into full swing next week, So it will be nice to get into more of a routine - at the moment DH has been off since Cohan was born and going back to work on the 9th, also with DD's home - it's been FULL ON....

Hope all is well with all new little bundles x

Bub was due 23rd Dec... Still waiting though.

Do you have an induction date yet??? you must be a little over it ha! Wishing you all the best though, not long now smile

I'm getting my waters broken at 7 tomorrow morning. Then if I go into labour good, if I don't, they'll give me a few hours then will be a drip. Will be 11 days over.
Have a 21 month old DS. He was induced at 10 over. He gives my belly hugs, kisses and toys to play with but don't think he actually understands.

Hi
Little Amelia Jane was born Chistmas eve. She was our little surprise with DS aged 11 and DD aged 8. She really is our little angel smile
DS and DD are both doting on her, though DS won't touch the nappies!
I struggled to breast feed DS and DD so bottle feeding. This is great for DS and DD as they can help out with this.
Hubby has gone back to work today, good to start getting into a routine, but he is really going to miss not being with her. Will be strange when DS and DD go back to school, not looking forward to that....
A&A glad that heart problem is sorted. Must have been scary at the time x
Lunaticity as I am writing this your waters will have been broken....all the best smile

Oh, lunaticity! Thinking of you and hoping you have your baby in your arms as I type. I went 4 days over and was heartily sick of it! And I remember the start of your pregnancy (and well into it from memory!) was pretty tough. Will look forward to hearing your exciting news!

Congratulations 3rd time round! So were you in hossy for Christmas? I guess at least the other kids are old enough to kind of understand why, even if they didn't like it too much!

Ange - Sounds like breastfeeding was a bit of a nightmare for you! My Dd is the same. Glad she is caring about her new brother but being told every 30 seconds that the baby is crying (just in case I didn't hear!) gets old pretty quickly!

Hoping the day/night reversal improves soon! So far he is having his longer sleeps during the day. Doesn't seem so bad this time though, probably just knowing it really doesn't last forever and his sleep pattern WILL settle. Some time!

Had my boy yesterday afternoon. We named him Sawyer. Perfect health.

hi everyone,

I had my ds on the 28th of december, and he is a dream baby......YAY!!!! He normally sleeps all day, and is awake all night, but he is just looking around, he doesn't really cry that much. But, he spent the whole morning up, so he might be adjusting to the real world. smile

however....... my other two toddlers are having more problems adapting to the new situation, especially my 2 year old son. I guess it's just a learning process for all of us.

well, I hope you all have lovely days with your brand new babies, because as most of us know, they don't stay little for long.


xx

Congratulations Lunaticity and 97nc!
Yay!

Lunaticity - just read your birth story and sounds like it went like a dream really. Glad it was pretty straightforward for you, would have been nice to not need the drip but though!

97nc - what are your other 2 getting up to? I have noticed my DD (3 and a bit) is a bit more whingy than usual which really gets on my nerves when I am a bit tired, and tends to ask for things when I have just settled down to feed bub. Most frustrating! But, has been giving him lots of kisses and is very gentle with him so all in all has been pretty good. Will see how things go when DH goes back to work next week!

Oh, saw the shild health nurse today and bub is now 4.2kg. Was down to 3.5kg before we left hossy on the 19th so he is packing it on!
A&A

Yeh, I'm so happy. Couldn't really have asked for a better labour (if you tried telling me that mid contraction, I would have probably bopped you in the nose) besides the drip, it went exactly as I'd have asked. No drugs, no forceps or vacuum. No distress to kiddo. Pretty lucky.

Couldn't really have asked for a better labour (if you tried telling me that mid contraction, I would have probably bopped you in the nose)

He he!! Yeah, How you look at things is definately different after! I think I spent contraction time moaning and groaning and the other times telling DH I was OK. Or asking for water. Or sleeping, actually between pushes - the midwife said that is the hormones, very odd!

Hi ladies I'm from the due in dec group, I was due boxing day! Our little man arrived on the 5.1.12 at 12.10am. After a 3hr labour he arrived in the birth centre shower. We were home later that evening. Milk came in this morning & he's feeding, sleeping well smile both our girls love him! Hope u are all doing well smile

Hi Everyone!

Nice to see that everyone is hatching smile and they are doing well!

I can't believe that little Zara is nearly 3 weeks old already!! Where is the time going?? She is going really well and sleeping well at night which we are really thankful about! She is not sleeping through but only waking once! she is also feeding really well too...if it wasn't for the witching hours (anywhere between 3-7pm) life would be rosy...it is amazing how much the witching hours take out of you!!

A&A - thankfully the monitor hasn't gone off again since we turned the sensitivity up!!!

How long is it taking you all to breastfeed?? It is taking about 45 mins to do both breasts?? Does that sound about right?

A few things we have learned....she HATES being naked and chilli is not a good thing.

A few things we have learned....she HATES being naked and chilli is not a good thing.

Haha!! I can only imagine the reaction to the chilli!

I know what you mean about the tiem flying! DS is already 3 1/2 weeks. I have realised that nearly 2 months of my mat leave is gone already!

My bub can take 30 min to do each side so 45min sounds about right to me. Some of my friends have had bubs that can do a complete feed in 15min but DD took up to 1 1/2 hours too. I will often give DS one side then change nappy, keep him up for a while then give him the other before he goes to sleep. Sometimes he ends up having a second go at the first side too. He will often nod off on the boob and be milk drunk sleepy for 5 min or so then wake up and act like he is starving! We are up twice a night so far but for some reason he decided he has wanted 2-3 hourly feeds the last couple of days - had one 4 hour stretch overnight last night though so not too awful. I don't mind lots of feeds during the day but would not cope well if he decided to do it overnight too!


Sofiesarasmummy - congratulations!!!! Glad you had a reasonably 'nice' labour after having to wait so long. Glad he is settling in well!

A&A

Thanks A&A that is great info!! Sounds like we are on track then, although I have noticed in the last couple of days she has sped up a bit and now feeds one side, nappy change and feed the other side in about 30 mins!! yay, more sleep for me!! Night are going well too but I agree, if she was feeding through the night like she was during the day it would be awful!! Last night she went down at 10:30 (for the last time) and didn't wake up till 4, then fed her and had her back down at 4:30 and then she didn't wake up till 8!! I feel like life at the moment is eat, poo and sleep!!! I seriously think I am going to start mooing soon!!!!

It is really nice to have the rest of you ladies to talk to about stuff!!

Kris

Hi ladies I'm from the due in dec group, I was due boxing day! Our little man arrived on the 5.1.12 at 12.10am. After a 3hr labour he arrived in the birth centre shower. We were home later that evening. Milk came in this morning & he's feeding, sleeping well smile both our girls love him! Hope u are all doing well smile

Congrats - yay, you must be so happy that your little man is out!!
Cant believe you went home that evening! I milked my time at hospital, as it was time out for me - lol!

Kris001 - sounds like you have a happy little bubs there, sleeping like that for you smile
Although My boy done a massive stint last night - put him down at 7.30 and he slept till 4am! Massive effort, not expecting it to keep up though, he was really over tired last night, and was really over it throught the "witching hours"

A&A - I hope the 2-3 hour feeds dont last for long sad ok during the day - but night must be tough, Good on you for keeping at it - I wish I could do it xx

Cant believe my man will be 1 month old this week! gone so fast and it feels like just yesterday that it was all happening. He's been a lovely little baby, sleeping nicely - (most times) of course there's the times you just go ahhhhh, but aside from that, just great smile
DD's are little mothers to him - getting him nappies and even putting used ones in the bin! lovely little helpers, but often wants to smother him, which can be a little annoying, lol.
Hubby and kids have gone back to work and daycare today - OMG I got So much done! it's amazing how much you can get done when theres no one there to mess it back up again.

I hope that everyone is doing well and I love reading everyones updates, Its nice to still keep in touch now that our babies are here smile

Will go now, and enjoy a nice wine - been missing it for the last 10 months smile

see you

Hi ladies I'm from the due in dec group, I was due boxing day! Our little man arrived on the 5.1.12 at 12.10am. After a 3hr labour he arrived in the birth centre shower. We were home later that evening. Milk came in this morning & he's feeding, sleeping well smile both our girls love him! Hope u are all doing well smile

Congrats - yay, you must be so happy that your little man is out!!
Cant believe you went home that evening! I milked my time at hospital, as it was time out for me - lol!

Kris001 - sounds like you have a happy little bubs there, sleeping like that for you smile
Although My boy done a massive stint last night - put him down at 7.30 and he slept till 4am! Massive effort, not expecting it to keep up though, he was really over tired last night, and was really over it throught the "witching hours"

A&A - I hope the 2-3 hour feeds dont last for long sad ok during the day - but night must be tough, Good on you for keeping at it - I wish I could do it xx

Cant believe my man will be 1 month old this week! gone so fast and it feels like just yesterday that it was all happening. He's been a lovely little baby, sleeping nicely - (most times) of course there's the times you just go ahhhhh, but aside from that, just great smile
DD's are little mothers to him - getting him nappies and even putting used ones in the bin! lovely little helpers, but often wants to smother him, which can be a little annoying, lol.
Hubby and kids have gone back to work and daycare today - OMG I got So much done! it's amazing how much you can get done when theres no one there to mess it back up again.

I hope that everyone is doing well and I love reading everyones updates, Its nice to still keep in touch now that our babies are here smile

Will go now, and enjoy a nice wine - been missing it for the last 10 months smile

see you

I was going to hop on today to say night time feeds were down to 12MN and 4am then about 6am but last night was a bit of a shocker! Not entirely due to bub!
He went down about 7pm and foolishly I was expecting him to wake about 9 so stayed up until then. No, didn't wake until 11:15. Had him back down by 12, so not too bad... Then DD woke at 1 am, DS at 2:30 and then he stayed up with wind until 4:30. Was therefore a bit cranky when DH's alarm went off at 5:30, then DD wanted her bottom wiped at 6 (while DH was in the loo), just back in bed and DS woke at 6:15. Tired me here! Mostly because the times I have tried to lie down when he has been sleeping today have been catnaps and the ones I decided to do some housework have been the long ones! Ah. Oh, well, I will be in bed early tonight and hope I catch that longer sleep this time!

Ange - I agree about the hospital time! And yep - I got plenty done yesterday with DH and DD out of the house too! Can't credit today though, although I have been up there hasn't been too much actually done!

Has anyone tried those drops for wind with any of their kids? Worth it? I am tempted to give them a shot if he keeps having trouble getting the wind up - had been gulping at the boob but not sure I can change that bit!

I was going to hop on today to say night time feeds were down to 12MN and 4am then about 6am but last night was a bit of a shocker! Not entirely due to bub!
He went down about 7pm and foolishly I was expecting him to wake about 9 so stayed up until then. No, didn't wake until 11:15. Had him back down by 12, so not too bad... Then DD woke at 1 am, DS at 2:30 and then he stayed up with wind until 4:30. Was therefore a bit cranky when DH's alarm went off at 5:30, then DD wanted her bottom wiped at 6 (while DH was in the loo), just back in bed and DS woke at 6:15. Tired me here! Mostly because the times I have tried to lie down when he has been sleeping today have been catnaps and the ones I decided to do some housework have been the long ones! Ah. Oh, well, I will be in bed early tonight and hope I catch that longer sleep this time!

Ange - I agree about the hospital time! And yep - I got plenty done yesterday with DH and DD out of the house too! Can't credit today though, although I have been up there hasn't been too much actually done!

Has anyone tried those drops for wind with any of their kids? Worth it? I am tempted to give them a shot if he keeps having trouble getting the wind up - had been gulping at the boob but not sure I can change that bit!

Ohh I hope you get some sleep tonight then. Makes it hard when you other kiddies are waking during the night too, My DD (middle child) loves to come visit us most nights usually around 1am - not to sure why - but comes and has a cuddle and then heads back to bed...... so I guess thats not too bad.

Have you tried Gripe water for the wind?? it's really common here - are you in Aus or NZ? Go the the chemist and ask for Gripe water and they can give you some more advise, but I've used it with my other 2 when they were babies and worked a treat.
Thankfully Cohan brings up wind like a trooper! Man, I wish I could burp like him!!! lol

HEading to bed now, hope you have a good night sleep. take care all xx

Have you tried Gripe water for the wind?? it's really common here - are you in Aus or NZ? Go the the chemist and ask for Gripe water and they can give you some more advise, but I've used it with my other 2 when they were babies and worked a treat.

Thanks Ange! I will be off to the chemist tomorrow! I am in Aus, have read other places that there are a few varieties. Think I will get some though, had another session trying to get him to burp this afternoon (only 10-15 min this time though!)

Well, 2 causes for celebration.....
1. Had a 5 hour spell between feeds overnight!
2. Went to the chemist and ended up coming out with some infacol - worked like a charm last night! Not so much different today but will definately be keeping up with it overnight!


Oh, and 3. - One of my good friends had her baby overnight. IN THE FRONT SEAT OF HER CAR! On the way to hospital, just didn't make it quite in time!

Hi all.

Does anyone mind if I crash this thread? I wasn't in the due Dec thread, because my DD was actually due in November!

Eliza was born on 9th December, induced 10 days overdue! She is my 3rd little girl. The others are Kaylin - 10 next week, and Amelia, 5 in April.

Eliza is a lovely little thing. Nice and round and cuddly. I BF her until about 3 days ago, but with AF top ups. The BF have been getting less frequent, and the last few days she has been sucking only once a day or so to relieve my discomfort. I BF my other 2 girls for a short time, as I didn't have the supply, so between expressing and BF, and no sleep, I didn't really enjoy the newborn period at all. This time, I decide when I first got pregant, I was going to bottle feed top up, and BF as long as there was milk there. I want to enjoy this little one, since it is my last!

A&A - I have just strated using infants friend for Eliza for wind too, and coincidently? she slept 6 hours overnight for the first time. I don't know if it was the drops that did it, but I will definitely be using them tonight again!

Hope everyone is enjoying their little bundles of joy.

Welcome Coffeeholic - I'm glad little Eliza is sleeping better for you.
I struggled breast feeding with my other 2 DD's - absecess and operations were very painfull, I could only breast feed from one breast and well, it got me in hospital for a week removing 3 absecess. not nice at all. so I am AF aswell, but all and all, I and baby are very happy and he's such a lovely little bubs.

A&A - Glad you went to the chemist and found something to help, did they have gripe water there?? I was in Aus for my first baby and never found it there myself, not at the 2 chemists I tried anyway. Just glad it was successfull for you.

Cohan will be 1 month old tomorrow - can't believe it! He's doing well, smiling and gooing at me. so rewarding isnt it!

Hope everyone is doing well - off to bed for me smile

Hi coffeeholic - more the merrier! Congratulations on Eliza - I really like all your names! Newborns are just made to be snuggly aren't they? I am finding though that my snuggle times are a bit harder to fully enjoy all the time with a toddler running about. Just a bit distracting! Does make me realise how fast it all goes by though so trying to make the most of it! Did your induction go smoothly? I ahd been booked for an induction with DD (my first) but went into labour the same day on my own.

Ange - I did see some gripe water but the pharmacist talked me into the infacol. If it is not having a great effect I will give the gripe water a go.

hi everyone,

angestocks, i can't believe your baby is a month old! I remember waiting around for the announcement. In fact, are you sure??!! smile

my ds is a dream child, I am so lucky. It honestly takes him about 15 mins to breastfeed! He likes being with us all the time though. he wont sleep in his cot throughout the day, but will sleep like a dream in his pram, in the same room as us.

A&A, i was going to suggest infacol ! I used it with my last two, and it worked a treat. I'm pleased to hear its working for you too.

I'm really loving the newborn stage, I think I'm really appreciating it, as it is more than likely (but not set in stone!) the last baby I'll have.

Hope you all get a good nights sleep!

xx

Hi all

I know 1 month already - it has gone really fast!
He actually had his first sleep throught the night the other night - 7.30 through to 6.30 - I woke up and worried and went straight in and poked him to make sure he was still breathing!! not expecting that every night - but all and all he has been a good little sleeper at night, waking once a night, going down at 7.30 through till between 2.30 and 4.00 am, and then going back down again. little trooper!

A&A - hows the wind problem going?

I've started back up at the gym - OMG! that sux! gotta a lot of weight to loose and I am in pain from the trainer! but looking forward to getting out there again and feeling a little better about myself - I'm definatley not one of those girls that pop back into shape after having a baby, would be nice though!

I hope all is going well with new babys and everyone is just enjoying it smile
bed time for me - take care

Holy moly ange, abcesses and surgery is drastic! You poor thing. Mastitis is bad enough No wonder you wanted to AF this time. It makes a huge difference in enjoying bubs when you don't have to struggle to BF. I'm all for BF if it works, but (shoot me down now...) sometimes it's more effort than its worth, especially if it causes you to not enjoy your time with baby. It's great you and bubs are happy. And having you little one sleep the whole night is just magical. Hope it lasts for you!

A&A I can imagine trying to snuggle would be difficult with a toddler running around. I don't know if I would cope with any less than a 5 year gap between kids! I love their independence, and (sometimes) helpfulness. Makes the newborn period a little easier. Although, with such a difference in ages, I can see how fast they grow up. My nearly 10 year old used to be that little once *sigh* Makes me feel old!

I would say in hindsight, my induction went fairly smoothly. I was so nervous coming up to it though! My previous 2 girls, I went into labour naturally, and ended up with a 6 hour labour for the 1st and an 80 minute labour for the 2nd. I really was expecting to go naturally again with this one too.

My membranes were ruptured at 8 am on my induction day, which did not do much at all While the dr was doing that, he mentioned that baby was a hand presentation, and advised me we would go ahead, and hope baby moves her hand, or we will be going for a c section. Then the drip started at 830am, and my contractions started within a few minutes. They got intense pretty quickly, which I was kind of expecting anyway, because of my previous quick labours. When I asked for the epidural, the midwife called the anaesthetist, and examined me, only to find baby was a face presentation instead of a hand- from one bad position to another! She called another midwife to have a look/feel, THEN she called the dr just to make sure. Meanwhile I was 10 cm dilated, and ready to push, so when the anaesthetist arrived, they sent her away – again! Same thing happened with my 1^st labour too! Worst feeling ever to have them in to room, and just turn and walk away, without delivering the goods! Ripped off I say.

Anyway, the midwife asked me to start pushing to see if baby would turn the right way, and while I pushed, the midwives collectively gasped, and I even heard one say “oh my God!” – (NOT want you want to hear from the trained professionals while giving birth!). It turns out they saw babys head turn over like a bowling ball they said while inside me (ewww – glad I didn’t see that), which sounds horrible, but luckily it made her just slide right out.

It sounds pretty unpleasant at the end, but all in all, I feel it was the easiest labour I have had, and I am lucky to be able to deliver quickly and with gas only and no tears each time. Sorry if it was TMI.

Ange..I'm with you on the whole weight loss thing. I just lack motivation at the moment. I'm finding it a little difficult to keep up with things with all the girls home, and DP back at work. I am hoping my get up and go comes back when the kids are at school again. Thankfully, they are generally good girls...makes the holidays more tolerable.

My Eliza in now 5 weeks old...we are in a bit of a rhythm now, and she sleeps beautifully...except for after the bath/bedtime routine at night. When that sun goes down, we end up with feral baby - you all know the one - the one that screams whenever she is put down? We usually end up cuddling her for a few hours, then either do a dream feed before putting her to bed, or we just put her to bed, and she generally stays asleep. I'm hoping I'm not making a rod for my own back, but on the other hand, those cuddles are my favourite time of day . Any suggestions welcome.

Anyway, I have rambled on enough. Take care.

That does sound dramatic Coffeeholic!
I am pretty lucky - my toddler (3 1/2, almost) is pretty independent. She takes herself to the toilet and is pretty good at fetching and carrying. Does need attention though, usually just talking about what she is doing is enough. Have started trying to pack a lunchbox for her to put in the fridge so she can get it herself so I stop hearing "I'm hungry!" every time I sit down to feed DS.

Wind is still a bit of a problem, but is better. Will give it a few more days then try the gripe water if still haven't found a rhythm to it.

Ange - Yay for sleeping through. We are getting about 2 wakes a night so far. But DD slept through from just before 6 weeks so figure we get payback this time! Although isn't really that bad so far!

Have to go see the cardiologist for DS's follow up appointment tomorrow - bit nervous about what the echo will show but he looks pretty good and doing well so think it should be OK. I hope! WIll let you know.

Time for bed now!

Hey Guys

It's been a week of hospital visits, Gyno for me and orthopedics for cohan, nothing major just follow up appointments. It just mucks your day around, trying to juggle 3 kids in and out of hospital, sleeps and just annoying winging....lol, but I got there in the end.

Cohan has just done another sleep through the night smile very pleased with that! but I know how often they can change on you, so i'm not getting my hopes up just yet.

Finally enjoying some sunny weather in Tauranga now, unfortuantly the wrecked ship RENA doesn't really make it too safe to take kids to the beach, more oil washing up and even if it looks clear I wouldnt want to risk it. So its the paddling pool for us or the sprinkler - which the kids love anyway, so all good.

Have another trip to hospital this morning, but luckily this time the girls are at daycare so I only have to deal with Cohan, just happends it'll be feed time when he has and xray, so feeling it could be a grizzly visit, he's just getting hips checked, as my 2nd DD had some issues so they are just double checking everything.
I also have Doctors tomorrow, to get the Marina placed (contraception) So i'll be glad when this week is over and I can have a normal week next week not to interupted.

Anyway rambled on for long enough, just thought i'd check in smile Hope all little bubs are doing well and mums and dads are loving it. xx take care