Im doing well Had another bought of contractions last night and thought it could have been the real thing, but they faded off after a couple of hours and never really had a consistent rhythm to them. Hoping it could be a sign things are going to happen soon! *crosses fingers*

Im glad to hear you are all doing well! I dont think we will TTC for a long while, at least a couple of years after this. I told DH he would be lucky to get a second one out of me any time soon after how sick i was with this one! He laughed at me

Popping on quickly...

Gaia - congratulations!!! I'm so pleased you got your home birth and that he's doing well.

Pusscat - PLEASE try not to worry too much about her weight gain, they all have spurts etc and don't follow 'the curve'. I had a huge battle with my HV with my first daughter, she wanted me to supplement and I really didn't want to ,the pressure/worry really upset me, I can already feel it starting again. Eat things like oats and other things that are supposed to help milk production. If you're worried, get referred to a specialist, don't just go on hv's advice.

Han - exciting that you'll have LO here soon!!

In answer to some of the questions. There is an age gap of two years between my girls, I think I'd like another but will likely leave a longer gap next time, maybe closer to three years. 2 years is great though, DD1 absolutely adores her 'baby'!

I got AF back at about 4 months last time (while EBF), be warned, it was HEAVY! much heavier than I had pre-baby, a few friends said the same happened to them.

Anneliese - how are you feeling? I'm so excited for you!

Oh, and dream feeds, I did this with DD1, it really helped her go through the night, it worked for me (and was probably against what hv said too, but as you can probably tell, I generally didn't care much for her opinion!). The one thing I have found with babies is that your maternal instinct is usually spot on, so trust it! I haven't started dream feeds with V yet, she's a little night owl in the evenings, so I stay up until about midnight with her and then go to bed when DH gets home, but then she's been going a good 5 hours before needing another feed so I'm happy with that! One night it was 6 - bliss! Last night it was 3 though, so not all brilliant!!

Thanks Seaweed, I know what you mean about having a good pregnancy/baby experience. I think I'm itching to do it again and I've had bump envy when I've seen pregnant women recently!

How's Munchkin doing with the sleeping?

A is still waking a maximum or 1 or 2 time in the night. I've done the dream feed a few times since I posted and it works well. It does depend on the times of her previous feeds though so I have had her refuse the boob in her sleep filled state!

Have your in laws arrived now? Hope you have a nice month with them!

Hi Shh! I keep getting thrown when I see your new username!
Eugh not looking forward to the heavy AF! Luckily it was just spotting I had last week so hopefully I can be AF-less for a few more months!

Pusscat - how are you and your beautiful girl doing? Have you had her weighed since?

Hey Ladies...

Hope you're all doing well. We are getting close to December again...hard to believe a year ago we were all getting ready to TTC!

I'm doing ok. Feel like I'm struggling a little bit feeling down, exhausted and overwhelmed. Newborns are so much more work than I ever thought, and as much as I love love love him I feel SO drained! Literally, lol. It feels like all he does is eat, which is awesome for his weight gain but so tiring! I know he is using BFing as a soother to go to sleep, which is normal I know, but then how am I supposed to ever be able to leave the house? Did you guys introduce a pacifier at all? I'm so conflicted about that...

Also the constant worry worry worry about everything. He has been congested since birth and is so sniffly and I worry about that, plus he has a blocked tear duct which I hate, and also since yesterday he has started spitting up WAY more than he ever has before. Ugh, I just feel anxious all the time. Like I totally have no clue what I'm doing!

Obviously being tired doesn't help, and I know now is the time that women start feeling the 'blues' so I'm sure that's it.

I feel so guilty though because I feel like if I don't feel positive and happy it is unhealthy for him!

Ugh sorry to vent I just feel so overwhelmed by it all!

Been having cramps and off and on contractions (or at least what I think are contractions) since yesterday morning around 5 am. Still crampy and was up this morning about the same time with contractions. Had my membranes stripped and been crampy and my back is hurting something fierce now. Doctor said I am still 3-4 cm dialated. He did seem confident that I would deliver soon though.

Gaiagirl - Make sure you get some rest whenever you can

I had the same where A would often want to be on the boob just to confort which I didn't want to get in the habit of doing so I introduced a dummy/pacifier quite early on and it's been a real help. At first she wouldn't take it but now is fine and I've been able to give it to her and put her in her crib and she's gone to sleep on her own for a nap.

Its so normal to worry, especially being first time mums! Have you been doing anything for the blocked tear duct? A had a really gunky eye which I was wiping with cotton wool dipped in cooled boiled water and also breastmilk which make it clear up quite quickly!

Try to relax and enjoy it. Don't ever feel like you need to apologies for getting it off your chest, it's what we are here for!

Han - good luck! sounds promising.

As for me, we are still expressing every couple of days so DH can give a bottle in the evening. The last few times she's been a bit more reluctant to take it, I think it's either because she's taking too big a gulp and choking and being scared of the bottle or it's because she's forgetting as we've been giving the bottle every 3rd night. Hmm dont know. I'm going to try the bottle again tomorrow so hopefully she will be ok.

Hi ladies, I feel like I never behave time to write a proper reply on here!

Gaia - it's the lack of sleep and raging hormones that are making you feel like this. Both will pass soon and you will realise things are feeling more normal. I think people who tell you to enjoy every minute don't know or have forgotten what it's like looking after a newborn. I found this blog reassuring when I was wondering why I ever wanted a baby!- http://cleverevans.com/blog/?p=174
It really doesn't take long until you're out of that newborn fog and your baby will seem more like a person!

I tried a dummy a number of times but she has never taken to it. It just makes her more frustrated. From what I hear it is best to introduce it as early as possible.

Emilia has turned into a brilliant little sleeper. 6 hours is her norm but she went for 7 and a half last night! Our night time routine is to take her to bed when we go, usually at about 10. If she's crying and needing a feed at about 9 then we'll go then. Then I usually feed and settle her until 11:30,when she usually falls asleep. Even if she's not asleep, if I put her down at that kind of time she will go to sleep after a bit of thrashing about!

AF returned for me a week after starting the pill. Lighter than before and only lasted about 4 days.

Not had Emilia weighed. Will do next Wednesday. I'm less worried now after talking to friends. If she's happy and alert, which she very much is, then that should be my main indicator of her well being, not some generic chart.

Smawfl - what's the URL of your 2 month bf ticker?

Hi Pusscat

How did E get on with her jabs? A's are tomorrow not looking forward to them!!

Love that blog post, I was nodding reading most of them!!

Here you go: It's not actually a ticker which is annoying, just a img

[/img]http://i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff393/milky_mommy/Andie-21.gif[/img]

Make sure you remove the first /

They are all here : All the Cow Blinkies here!