(TEAM) Aphrodite - delivering Tigers in 2010

[Joli]

2016 - I forgot to mention, great idea about expressing for Harrison's middle of the night feed...but... I can't pump enough during the day to make enough! He feeds once every 3 hours, so I get no time in between to pump any extra meals. I guess I could consider giving him formula for his middle of the night feed... but I seem to have some so far solely with bf, I feel strange for thinking about formula, plus, as you said, I'm not sure how it will affect supply during the day. I too want AF back by Autumn - will you be ttc again?

Britt - Your DH is right about not overdoing it - I was silly and moving house made me go into labour a day after! I can't wait to see your pregnancy pics, I bet they're going to be gorgeous! I think you're right, if I have 2 kids, I will need to go part time, I couldn't keep up what I'm doing with a baby and a toddler. Hopefully by then, DH will be further on in his career and I can just be a good mama!

 

[Joli]

Harrison is 6 months old today!!

 

[GossipGirly]

happy 6 months harrison, libby wont be far behind x

 

[Britt11]

are you flippin serious?? 6 months old already??!! where has the time gone sweetie, it sounds and looks like you are such a natural momma

thanks for the advice, you are right I need to relax. DH and I got into a little scrap this morning and LO did not like it, we really cant be arguing while pregnant or when she arrives, will make sure we both smarten up

anyway pretty soon I will be at the big 30 week mark!!

 

[Ladybird28]

hello ladies.....sorry been M.I.A for so long. Just cant seem to get 5 minutes to sit down at a pc or anything at the mo. Zac is going to wake for his last bottle any min so will have to be quick!!
Ive missed out on loads of chat so will have to try n have a good read through everything.
Joil - wow 6 months already, time flies doesnt it, happy half year Harrison!!
britt - fab bump pics, you look great and nearly 30 weeks too, wont be long before she makes her appearance!
I will catch up with everything else when I get chance to read through the previous pages at some point
As for things with me, I started weaning Zac a couple of weeks ago and its been surprisingly easy. He loves all his food, opens his mouth for the spoon and so far hasnt turned his nose up at anything. Just hope he stays this good although I think he probably wont.
We are having very stressful times with our 7 year old at the mo, it is suspected that he has Aspergers Syndrome and school has become a nightmare. We are currently waiting for the local childrens mental health unit to supply us with a referral appointment but its really been getting us down, especially as Zac hasnt been sleeping well to and my 12 year old has gone all hormonal and turned into a stroppy teenager!!!
gotta go get zac his bottle now and try and settle him for the night (wishful thinking!!!) as he's crying xx

 

[LittleAurora]

Ladybird, my son is 8 and and has high functionaing autism and aspergers. feel free to pm me or ask any questions. its a hard road! ((((hugs))))

 

[2016]

Joli...I bought one of those seats off eBay and Stewart loves it so thanks! I've tried Stewart on butternut, carrot, sweet potato, baby rice and recently a tiny bit of pears even though I wanted to hold off fruit for a while but the rice especially made him soooo constipated. He loves to eat and opens his mouth wide every spoonful often grabbing my hand to help shove it in then fussing in between if I'm not ready with the next quick enough!
I stupidly forgot it's tricky for you to express with other demands on your time. I might consider the odd bottle of formula to try bring AF back come October. I figure, with all the solids he will have by then it could just be considered a different taste for him, like a special milkshake!

Short on time again got to go to bed in a hurry. When does the 4 month regression end? it's killing me!

 

[Joli]

2016 - I'm glad Stewart likes his new boy boy chair! Harrison tried pear yesterday and it's a big yum yum! Try Stewart with avocado - it's a great thing to make if you're in a rush or on the go without time to heat up his food. Harrison loves it with some banana too. We're going to try him on swede and parsnip soon. Do you know when you can start meat? I'm conscious that Harrison isn't getting any iron in his diet, since he won't eat rice cereal. I think you're right about the formula - once Harrison is on 3 meals a day and he's still getting up in the middle of the night, I'm going to get DH to do a formula feed. I don't know how it will affect supply, but hopefully my body will figure out to make more during the day and not at night. Last night I tried (stupidly) to wean him from waking up at night, on the advice of the pediatrician, I did the whole pat pat routine, tried to get him to sleep, then when that didn't work, I fed him water, which he then chucked up - we were awake for an hour before I gave up and just gave him milk, and he was asleep straight after his feed. I give him 200ml (6.5oz) for his dream feed, but he's still awake 3.5 - 4.5 hours after. Oh, the joys of motherhood!! PS - I really like how you put having a formula feed like a milkshake - it makes me feel not so guilty to think about!

Britt - 30.5 weeks now!!! Wow!! Time is ticking - are you taking it easier now? When you do you fully stop working? Have you thought about what you're doing for your birth plan?

Ladybird - it's great to hear from you! - I keep thinking how adorable your profile pic is of Zac with his bubbles!

Harrison went into the pool for the first time today, he did well considering the pool was freezing!! I think we'll have to take him again in a warmer pool. I think he's teething now (finally!) - his gums seem super itchy, he's frantic to be gumming anything he can get his hands on, and underneath his gums feel quite hard.

He had his 6 month check up this week, and he's doing well. He's now 8.93kg (20lbs), so he's nearly trippled in weight since he was born. Poor thing had his vaccinations and then had a mild fever, but he's much better now and as lovely and smiley as ever!

I've just bought him a Vtech first steps baby walker - have any of you used one of these or know if they are any good?

 

[2016]

Joli...not heard of the walker but we've borrowed a jumperoo which he lives.

I've had to supplement Stewart with Aptamil these last couple of days. Due to teething, the heat and just plain noseyness he's been refusing the boob for some or all of his daytime feeds and biting hard/screaming if I try fees him! He has been refusing the last feed of the day (my lowest supply/slowest letdown) for at least a month now. Since he was in hospital I have really been struggling with my supply. I am on the maximum doses of Domperidone and fennel and have oats twice a day, lots of water blah blah but I was still only able to pump half what he drank expressed. Then this two day refusal and that was the end of my freezer stash!
My big problem is stress - ive been quite depressed and anxious since his breathing incident, having panic attacks and nor sleeping. Domperidone lowers the stress hormone but clearly I'm making more than it can counteract.
It all came to a head this Thursday when I went to a baby group and Stewart refused for the first time ever during the day. I had nothing on me to give him in a bottle so ended up running the 1.5 miles home with him screaming the whole way. He'd gone 4.5 hours from his last feed and was so starving. I decided, while I would prefer to give him breastmilk, I never want him to be so desperately hungry ever again. Now I will carry a sterile bottle and a couple of cartons of Aptamil in his change bag wherever I go. I gave him one bottle of it yesterday morning to check if it triggered allergies or reflux and he was fine. It even tastes remarkably close to breastmilk which surprised me as I was always told formula tastes disgusting. It took such a weight off knowing I had a reliable alternative for him while I try rest, destress and try regain my supply. He's only needing 5oz of it a day and im able to pump the rest.
I now wonder why I've been putting so much pressure on myself to give him only breastmilk when it was clearly making me go mental with the effort! I do hope it's just a phase and we will be EBF again soon but formula can be excellent stuff of used properly.

...bet AF comes back now!

 

[Joli]

2016 - I had no idea that you were struggling with the bf, I thought you had managed to get supply back up. I can imagine how distressing it must have been when Stewart was hungry at 4.5 hours between feeds! I have some friends who are using Aptimil and they swear by it. You have done such an amazing job so far with the bf - I think you should just do what you can manage but don't let it stress you out because (1) you will have the chicken and the egg scenario where you stress about not being able to make milk, so you can't make enough due to being stressed; and (2) you've gone for 5 months with bf, which is fantastic! It's all supposed to get easier from here - Stewart is starting on solids, so his milk supply will gradually decrease, the hard part for you should be done. Do you have any thoughts on how long you wanted to bf for? The doc told me that after you finish bf, it takes about 2 months to get AF back. If after I get Harrison on 3 solid meals a day, he's still waking at night, I need to either give him formula (as I do want AF back, if she'll come back!) or I need to keep tryin to wean him from waking up at night. It's so hard - when he wakes at 3am, I can either feed him for 10 mins and he's back asleep straight away or I can try to wean him, which means we're up for hours whilst he's crying and upset.

If you will continue bf, although it's gross, I'd highly recommend drinking chinese fish and papaya soup. You're supposed to drink 5 cups a day (literally everyone here in Asia who wants to keep bf drinks this!), and honestly, the days that I don't take it, I put about 5oz every 3 hours and the days that I do drink it, I pump 6oz every 3 hours. It's strange, but it does make a difference! If you don't fancy it, then at least make yourself a papaya smoothie - you have to use a green papaya (i.e. it's unripe) rather than a yellow one, and just blend it with some soya milk and honey if you want it sweeter. For some reason, the enzymes in the green papayas help to make milk. Salmon is also good for helping with milk supply. When I was in the hospital, they gave me Salmon and papaya broth soup every day.

 

[Britt11]

HI Ladies, just a quick note as I have to get back to work.
Joli thanks for the happy 30.5 weeks, yeah! it feels great, she sure is a wiggler. I decided to incorporate her wiggles and kicks into my dreams last night ha ha, I was that exhausted, I dreamt that she was kicking me and doing weird stuff and then I woke up to her doing that. SHe has got day/night backwards it seems

wow Harrison is a great weight he is so darn cute and happy, glad he is getting a taste for all types of foods.
Well I still have a big business trip/mtgs next week aggghh not sure if I will fly for that one or drive...will play it by ear
actually my due date is June 30th and I start mat leave on July 1st lol, yeah dont ask , obviously i will need to take some vacation before then.
as for birth plan, no not really, I think those who plan everything out to the last detail are just very disappointed when it comes down to their labour experience, I am just going to go with the flow. I am delivering in a hospital with a GP doctor and I would like an epidural if possible, thats all I know. Hopefully I wont need a c-section but if I do, than I can accept that also

2016- I am so glad you got the BF sorted out and what a positive outlook you have HOw exciting that you may get af soon to try for #2
hello to everyone else.

 

[Joli]

Hey Britt! Happy 31 weeks!! Aww, you're in the home stretch now! A friend who I've known since I was 5 years old just had her baby girl, she lives in Alberta and the Canada connection made me think of you How are you feeling? Is your bump starting to make your back ache and feet swell? Have you been keeping up with any exercise throughout your pregnancy? I can't believe you're taking a business trip, that's insane! You should be staying put and near a hospital, because you never know! I had a birth plan, but it was really flexible. I went on www.birthplan.com and put one together from that, and it turned out to be really useful for our doc. I was able to have the lights very low when the baby came out, and I he knew I didn't want an epistiotomy, so he did perinial massage (which I swear is why I had no cuts or tears of any kind). I know it doesn't usually all go to plan, but it was a useful process to go through in my head. But by the sounds of things, you have it all under control and I'm sure it's going to go smoothly!

DH is angry with me, cause the last 2 nights, I've been trying to get Harrison to go at least 5 hours between his dream feed and then waking up again in the middle of the night to feed. At the minute, I'm feeding him around 11pm, but then he wakes up at 3am - so I'm trying to get him to go back to sleep by any means other than feeding him, but nothing works. By 4am, it's been 5 hours since his last feed, so I give in. For those of you out there whose babies sleep through the night - HELP! How did you do it? I have tried water, feeding him tons for his dreamfeed, letting him cry (though admittedly I don't let him do this for long, as we share a bedroom with DH) - but even when I let him cry I'm still trying to get him to go back to sleep by doing pat pat and shhh. I just think that he's big enough now to go through at least 5 hours without a feed.

The other things is he has been constipated the last 24 hours - he pushes, but not much comes out. I think it's from eating too much solids one day. I've read some articles that say give a little bit of prune juice, and others which say that's way too strong. Anyone know of any natural foods that can help and foods to avoid whilst he's constipated?

 

[Joli]

Here are some updated pics of Harrison now at 6 months old!

 

[Britt11]

what a handsome boy! You know Joli, I am not just saying this- I see lot of you in him, I mean a lot!! He may have light eyes and hair but his expressions and features are you. What a perfect combo ahhh you better watch out for him when he is older, he will be a ladies man for sure

thanks for the birth plan info, may not be a bad idea to put some ideas down...problem is our healthcare system is very taxed and you are lucky sometimes to get a room and an epidural if you request it. Our healthcare may be free but I do find myself saying a lot, you get what you pay for

Gosh I hope the girls have some suggestions for his dream feeds. I have some gf's that their babies slept through the night early on at a few months and unfortunately i have some friends that their babies still wake up at over a year old (well one little girl in particular)
I think you are right to try and get him on track now otherwise it will just continue

I had a weird dream last night that I had my baby girl at the hospital but DH gave her a pickle to eat instead of waiting for me to BF and then she stuck part of it in her nose.... lol wtf??? nice dream!!

 

[GossipGirly]

he looks so grown up! Joli libby still wakes for a 3am feed, longest I can go till is 4am and then she is wide awake xx

 

[Joli]

Britt - you're so sweet I think Harrison is starting to get more of my features now as well, but clearly not my colouring! Your dream made me laugh a pickle of all things!!

GG - it's so good to know that Harrison is not the only one! What time is Libby's last feed before she gets up at 3am? I love your pic of her next to Minnie getting ready for the wedding, so sweet!

What did you ladies think of the wedding? I thought Kate looked lovely, but William looked ill to me (or half asleep!).

 

[Britt11]

I was sleeping during the wedding, but just caught some pics online just now. I really think she looked gorgeous, I am so glad she didnt go for boring old traditional. I guess i will be seeing highlights of the wedding for the next month now on tv lol....I'll have to check out William
I feel so sorry for her though, she will be heavily stocked by the paparazzi for the rest of her life...

how's work going Joli?

 

[Joli]

Hey Britt - yeah, William didn't look that great compared to Kate - she seems to have a good head on her shoulders. Poor thing will totally be stalked and adored at the same time. Work is still tough - my boss wants to have lunch with me next week to discuss my career, I think they want to make me counsel next year and partner within 2 years after that, and it's all good and well, but I wonder how it will interfere with ttc#2! Of course I won't tell them any of that for now, I'll take what they give me and then I can make decisions at the relevant time. Since I came off maternity leave, I've literally had 1 weekend where I haven't had to work. It's exhausting being awake with Harrison at 3am every night, then getting up at 6:30am and not going to bed until nearly 12am! I feel like I'm aging by the day! Are you still planning on taking a year off?

 

[Britt11]

its tough hey Joli? my goodness, on one side how exciting that they think so highly of you and want to promote you so quickly but on the other side that sounds like a buzz killer for #2. I really feel us career women are in a tough spot. I know if I have a second it will kill my career as well and I am the main breadwinner and sometime the sole breadwinner in our family. Your DH does have a great career as well, is he on the same path you are with your career or is it a bit longer? I have to say your schedule sounds so gruelling, omg you are going to burn out soon...something has to give a bit soon
actually i never planned taking off a year, always 9 months, which is still great. I would start July 1 and go back on April 1, 2012
I think I will have to play everything by ear, but at the end of the day my family should really come first. I dont want to regret not having another child because of my career- if we want #2 we have to start cracking on it right away because I am getting old

cheers,

 

[Britt11]

OMG I just moved up another box!!! yeah, second last one!
i had a doctor's apt yesterday and despite everyone saying how "big" i look my belly is actually measuring 1cm small. I know thats not a big deal but I like that I was on schedule for every apt so this one bugged me.
also my nipples are starting to really hurt, they feel like they are on fire with shooting pains, is that my milk starting to come in?