babyblog

OUCH

I have some kind of boob infection. Not sure what it is, Mastitis or something. I need to go to the Dr to get some antibiotics otherwise it won't clear up. It bloody hurts :( And nursing is REALLY PAINFUL INDEED.

In comparison

I found Dylans Health Record and at his 6 wk checkup he weighed 14lb 5oz and was taking 8 x 7oz bottles of Cow & Gate 'For Hungrier Babies' daily!

Quite a big difference between these two guys in terms of size and hunger level, although to be fair D did go 4 hours between each feed whereas H has about 2 or 3 hours between his.

Checkups

H and I went for our checkup appointments with the Dr this morning. He's now a whopping 10lb 11oz! Dr said he's clearly a 'glutton' .. no kidding! I'm still amazed by his ability to thrive on what food my body can provide for him. I think he's having a growth spurt right now based on his waking every 2 hours or so during the night. Tiring, but I'm persevering with the bf'ing. The idea of bottle feeding him is tempting but I'm reluctant to put any formula into his system seeing as he's doing so well!

For me...my c/section scar is healed well and my uterus has shrunk back to almost normal size. Wish I could say the same about my stomach!

Yesterday was great, btw. G and D bought me some lovely presents including a very swish Burberry handbag, and they arranged a surprise get-together of a bunch of mates who turned up out of the blue! I had sort of suspected something was afoot as D has a bit of a big mouth ;-) but it was great all the same.

Happy Birthday

To me.

The Italian Job

G and I decided, after purchasing a cool gadget last weekend, to buy an entire bushel of tomato's and attempt to make a vat of pasta sauce which we could then freeze and have readily available for months to come.

Have you any idea how many tomato's are in a bushel?

We got down to work yesterday morning and surprisingly we had them all scored, dipped in hot water, chopped, and processed through the thingapurpose within an hour. We borrowed a giant saucepan from an Italian neighbour, prepared some other ingredients to go with it, and set it to boil and reduce. This was 1pm.

Turned off the saucepan last night at midnight to go to bed. 11 hours it had been on. The house stunk of pasta sauce. Turned it on again this morning. Turned it off at lunchtime when it looked finally to be about ready and the smell had permeated every corner of the place. Decanted it into various plastic containers. Decided to taste it. Tastes like shit. Threw it away.

Ho Hum.

Meanwhile, I ordered a Miracle Blanket for Harry. Various people have raved about these and given his fussy behaviour in the evenings and preference for sleeping on his dad we decided to give it a try. ITS A MIRACLE. I tussed him up in it during his mid morning feed and lay him down in his pram for a nap (he always cries if you put him down when he's awake). He gazed around peacefully and fell asleep. Still there 3 hours later. MIRACLE!.

More news. I WENT OUT. For 4 HOURS. H happily guzzled the bottles of breastmilk I'd expressed for the occasion and was as good as gold. I came home with my boobs achingly full of milk for the little guy who then decided to do a first & snooze for 5 hours in a row. Typical! G tells me a couple of our neighbours were astounded that I could possibly leave the house and leave a 5 wk old baby with his dad. DADS CANT LOOK AFTER BABIES, DONT YOU KNOW YOU WICKED MOTHER YOU!!! OohKay.....

In other news, we're supposed to be going to Darrien Lake in a couple of weeks with some friends. H needs a passport. In order to get a British passport he needs a birth certificate. These take ALMOST 9 MONTHS TO COME. Should I have registered his birth before I got pregnant???? I'm going to have to get him a Canadian passport and travel on that but that is not without it's own problems because border officials are likely to be curious about 3 brits travelling with a canadian baby. After a few calls to various embassies I've established that we'll need to bring some form of proof of parentage....... this of course being the document which has been sent off to register his birth and WONT COME BACK FOR 9 MONTHS. Did I mention it takes 9 MONTHS?. So what can I use? Do I have to flash my stretchmarks and c/section scar to the border guards and hope they accept this as proof, or maybe I should bring a DNA sample?!

Trying to keep the house tidy in the presence of 2 human atom bombs (G & D)

Wanted, Sleep. All donations gratefully received

H is still having this 'fussy' period from around 9pm to 1am and then sleeping more in the morning.. really need to try to adjust this somehow but I don't know quite what to do about it!

He's also back to sleeping on daddy and not on *his* back, in *his* bed. This is a mixed blessing, it means he sleeps more and longer, but obviously G doesn't get a great deal of rest (although I do!)

My social life is supposed to resume this week but so far I've only managed to express a couple of 2 oz bottles for G to use in my absense. Not to mention the lack of actually seeing if H will happily accept them. Hmm.

Why Honda make many different cars and call them all a Civic?

When you turn to the subject of Harry

Dear Harry,

You are now, incredibly, 1 month old. I don't know where the last four weeks have gone but they've been truly wonderful.

Being pregnant with you was enjoyable. You were no trouble at all, and thankfully you seem to be continuing along the same path now that you're out here in the big wide world :-)

When your daddy and I laid eyes on you for the first time we were both completely overwhelmed with love for you, and every day I think how lucky we are to have had such a gorgeous little boy. Even your big brother loves you to bits and can't wait for you to be awake so he can talk to you and kiss you.

Thinking back four weeks to when you were born, you've changed alot already. You are growing up so quickly. You're beginning to smile at me which is lovely, your little body is filling out and your features are becoming more animated every day.

The last couple of nights you've kindly given your dad and me a break by sleeping in your own bassinet for a couple of hours at a time (instead of on top of dad) thanks to a dummy. I don't like dummies, I hate them, but you do and it's a measure of how much I love you that I'm letting you use one!

What else can I tell you about yourself......

You love feeding, and I'm constantly amazed that my body is able to produce food to make your body thrive and grow.
Your bottom is definitely inherited from your dads side of the family because it never stops farting and pooing, but even this is oddly endearing because you're so small and cute.
You hate having a bath.
You love firing your weapon at your dad every time he changes your bum, covering him in wee.
You love your teddy which plays a little tune.
When you're fussy you like to go in your swing and it can send you off to sleep when nothing else will.
You love to be awake and complain from 9pm to midnight which you really need to learn to do earlier in the evening!
You find the dog extremely amusing and have smiled at her a couple of times already.
You love going out in the car.
You don't like it when dad nearly drops you on your head in your car seat because he didn't attach it properly to the stroller frame.
You love being pushed around outside in your pram in the fresh air.
You like going to nice restaurants and demanding your mum gets her boobs to feed you.
And most of all, you like being held and cuddled!

You've brought lots of happiness and joy into our lives and we all love you very much indeed. We're enjoying watching you grow and becoming aware of the world around you, and we're very glad to have you here safely with us :-)

Love Mum Dad & Dylan xxx

Cute little Patriot

the fact you can't lose weight overnight.

baby stuff! it's so fun to buy.

Actually no, for once.

PPD + other medical related things.

I was worried I'd get a bad case of Post Partum Depression after I had H. I was somewhat depressed last year and I thought I'd be at risk for it to happen again due to the hormones. But I feel great and I think I know why....I think it's because having H has actually given me some sense of purpose again. With D being at school for the majority of the day now I'd begun to feel slightly lost for something to do or concentrate on, and as a result very stupid insignificant things were getting me down. Now my day is full with taking care of H and I have a focus. Everyone needs a focus!

Yesterday I had my 4 week followup appointment with the Haematologist. He is pleased that nothing nasty has happened (reminded me that 3 wks after D I had a PE and H is 4 wks old so that milestone is gone!). He thinks the main danger period is now over and I should not worry too much. He wants to keep me on the Fragmin for a further 3 weeks, bringing me up to 7 wks post partum before stopping. I can stop without tapering off which is good. He's also scheduled me for an ultrasound on my legs to double check there are no nasty clots lurking around, and that is in a couple of weeks. I then go back to see him in 3 wks to discuss, and then come off the Fragmin.

Another discussion I had with him was about Plastic Surgery (!). After my first c/section my tummy was ruined. There is a bulge over the scar area which will never go away no matter how much in the way of diet or exercise I try. It's no worse after this 2nd c/section, but it's no better either. The only way to get rid of it is through surgery to get rid of the excess skin and tighten it up. Anyway, I'd basically ruled this out due to the Protein S Deficiency and the risks with abdominal surgery... but I thought I'd check with him to see what he thought. He surprised me by saying it is much less risky than a c/section and that it'd be perfectly do-able as long as they manage me with anticoagulants,! So I can fix my body at some point in the future after all - hurrah! This is not an immediate goal for me, I'm not even completely sure that we're done having children yet, but it's nice to know that it's an option for the future.

In other news, H has a bit of a cold. A neighbours kid sneezed on him the other day and as a result he started yesterday to get sneezy and snuffly, and has a mild fever. I too him to see the GP as I wasn't sure if I should give him anything for the fever, and he gave me some baby advil (ibuprofen) to give him.

One bit of good H news is that last night he did actually accept being put into his bassinet to sleep for the first time, with a little help from a dummy. He slept well in there until he required feeding.. although unfortunately the feeds were every 1.5 hours (and there is one tired me here as a result!)

D, on the other hand, is in fine spirits. He bought himself a 'Whoopee Cushion' from the dollar store yesterday and is hilarious asking us where we're going to sit next and then putting it there as if we won't notice. Toilet humour appeals to him - must take after his dad!

Making the most of it

Tomorrow is G's last day of 'paternity leave' after 4 all too short weeks at home. It's been very good to have him around while we get the hang of this parenting thing again and I'm not really looking forward to him not being here. I'll cope though, and I suspect it'll be alot easier once D is back to school as well!

I'm planning to resume a little of my life again next week which means I've got to start expressing milk for little H (should that be 'h' ?) so that Daddy can feed him in my absence. This is, of course, assuming he'll accept a bottle. I'm not sure how I feel about leaving him for those hours yet though!

Today we went out to the mall and there were lots of comments from people whispered to each other as we passed: 'Ooohhh look, a Bugaboo'. Funny.

I'm now knackered and looking forward to relaxing infront of a movie tonight. I forgot what it's like when you can never sleep for more than 3 hours at a time, it's very tiring! Someone tell me when they start sleeping for longer periods? :)

Why

Why won't my baby boy sleep in his crib unless it is day time?

Why do my boobs leak even through the rolls royce ($40 worth) of breast pads I bought yesterday in desperation?

Why does the dog seem really pissed off to be home from her mini vacation at some friends house?

Why did I gain 3lb overnight?

Why does G have to go back to work on Friday?

Why, despite the above, am I happy as Larry ? :)

Back

Great trip (we got back sat afternoon, sorry Aka & Steve!)!

Spent the first night in Gananoque at a rather nice Inn. The next morning we went on a boat trip around some of the Islands which was lovely, D particularly enjoyed it. Then on to Montreal for 3 nights where we had a great time pottering around, walking the city, driving up into the mountains to Tremblant for a day, and generally just relaxing.

H was good as gold. I'd been concerned about a) lack of sleep and b) being evicted from hotels due to screaming, but he allowed us some (albeit broken) z's and didn't scream us out of town either.

He's much more alert as he gets bigger and his features are changing so quickly. I'm thoroughly enjoying him, as are both D & G. D managed to sleep soundly through the night despite his brothers feeding sessions right beside him in the hotel!

H's not settled into any discernible sleep pattern as yet, but I suppose it's early days still. He's decided that he can't possibly sleep in his bassinet, and will only sleep on top of G, or beside me with easy access to my boob (or in the car or pram on the move). I'm wary of this, I know alot of people do this 'co-sleeping' thing, but it's not a habit I particularly want to get into for the next few years. Having said that, it's easier than not sleeping due to him crying. I'm hopeful that he'll break himself of these 'habits' (as he's too young to really know what he's doing yet) and that it's OK to just ride it out and give him what he needs right now. He obviously needs comfort and closeness.

He's also very keen to suck on something, anything, all the time. If it's not me, it's a finger, or if allowed... a dummy (pacifier, binky, whatever you call it). I really don't want to go the dummy route, I find it more tiring having to pick the thing up and put it back in his mouth after he drops it every 2 mins than other options. I also don't like the look of them! D was never that 'sucky' so this is a new phenomenon for us. Hopefully it'll pass? (please tell me it'll pass?)

I have no idea when breastfed babies begin to settle into a night time sleeping routine of extended snoozes, but I hope it is soon!

My boobs are still enormous and absolutely not my own. They leak constantly and require padding, which embarassingly remains visible through my clothing and looks ridiculous. I may have to investigate other brands of these things.

The bleeding continues, sometimes worse than others.

So far I've managed to lose 21lb .. .but I still have a long way to go. I don't fit into my regular clothes and my maternity clothes are too big. Ugh. I don't want to feel 'fat' any more. I'm wanting my body back to normal but instead it is enormous and sore and leaking fluids from all sorts of places!

Off

With H completely confused between day time and night time (sleeps during the wrong one, is wide awake during the other) we are, blearily eyed, attempting a trip away for a few days. It is quite possible that we are insane. Suspect hotel room + screaming baby all night long is not going to be a good combination, for us or surrounding guests.

Anyway, we'll be back sometime between now and Sunday depending how horrendous it is.

I won :)

So, we finally won the katie.com battle yesterday after 4 yrs. Dunno if it's all over, but I'm pretty floored that they've actually admitted fault and changed the name of the damned book.

More importantly, yesterday, Harry smiled at me for the first time :)

A mofo of a Migraine

My body is getting it's own back.

Having had the most wonderful reprieve from the axe-in-the-head monthly migraines that I have suffered from for years during pregnancy, they've returned with a vengeance. I've had one now for nearly 48 hours which is pounding throbbing agony and won't go away despite taking Tylenol 3's every 3 hours. Stress?

H shows an early interest in Computers

H took an interest in G's brand new tablet pc latop yesterday and wee'd all over it. G, as you can imagine, was none too impressed.

breast and bottle

Much is made of confusing babies if you offer them both breast and bottle. One theory is not to do it too early (to avoid this), but I've noted that many of my friends who tried to introduce the bottle later on had enormous troubles getting their babies to accept the bottle at all. I suspect the theory of not doing it very soon is propaganda put forward by the boob nazi's to prevent you ever being able to bottle feed :)

I'm very determined to breastfeed H. I couldn't do it with D past 3 wks due to the PE and being hospitalised and put on various nasty medications and I was extremely upset and depressed by this and felt like a total failure as a mother. I blame much of this sense of failure on the boob nazi's, they apply so much pressure to you to breastfeed that if for some reason you can't, you can't help but feel that you're doing something wrong. None of the classes I attended during my pregnancy with D, none of the midwives or health visitors, told me that there were occasions where you might not be able to do it. They implied that everyone can do it, regardless.

After I came out of hospital having been pumped full of radio active drugs and serious pain medications I was told by the DR's not to breastfeed because of all the stuff in my system. By then my milk had dried up anyway after a week in hospital. I was in serious pain, finding it hard to breathe, trying to cope with the emotional trauma of what had just happened, trying to cope with the fact I'd been forcibly separated from my baby, trying to come to terms with his now being fed by totally different means which his dad and nanny had established and I had no idea what to do with. The NCT midwife that took our classes prior to his birth then tried to make me feel bad about this and told me that I should consider using a breastpump and pump out milk and throw it away for the next 3 months or so until my system was clear of drugs at which point I could resume feeding. I remember coming away from that conversation in tears and G telling her never to offer an opinion again!

Anway, D thrived on formula and as hard as it was to come to terms with at the time he did infact change from a whingey whiney dissatisfied big baby boy to a contented peaceful happy one.

Anyway, I have nothing against formula at all. There are circumstances in which you may need to use it, and your babies do thrive and grow and do very well....... contrary to opinion from those boob nazi's. My sister in law when her 3rd child was born, after seeing how content D was compared to her two sons, decided to supplement her daughter with it as well as breastfeeding and thought it was marvellous.

Having said that, right now I want to breastfeed Harry. I want to do what I wasn't able to do last time, although I am open to the need for formula should it arise for any reason. And more importantly I'm actually enjoying it. I remember with D he would sit at my breast for hours at a time sucking furiously and never seeming to be satisfied. Harry will go for 10 or 15 mins then 5 on the other side and then fall peacefully back to sleep. He seems much more satisfied by it than D ever did.

What I don't want, though, is to be completely dog-tied to him 24 x 7 for the forseeable future. I want G to be able to feed him if I have something I need to do or want to get out of the house for a few hours. To this end I bought myself an expensive Medela Breastpump which is apparently the best on the market. I've been a little too nervous to use it until now, I haven't wanted to start draining out all the milk only for H to want a feed 5 mins later. Plus there's this nipple confusion thing to worry about so I've waited until my milk supply is well established and H is on an almost predictable feeding routine.

So I tried it for the first time this morning, and G fed him the 2oz I managed to drain out from a bottle. He was quite confused by it to begin with, lay there with his mouth open and didn't suck, but after a little encouragement took to it like a duck to water and drank it all up. Afterwards he had his most wakeful spell to date, and then requested more so I breastfed him..... this time he looked confused by my boob! So I dont quite know if weve done the right thing or not, but at least he took the bottle so I guess the thing to do is persevere and give them to him periodically from now on.... maybe once every day or every other day, Im not too sure!

Due Date

Today is Harry's actual 'due date' if you believe the DR's (I think it should be 5th August based on my cycle). I have noticed a difference between him and D at birth, D was full term and this little fellow was almost 2 weeks early. Harry is still covered in the fine downy hair which is common with babies who come early and he's alot more 'fragile' than D was... D seemed a whole lot more sturdy.

Having said that, Harry is definitely thriving. He's filling out, gaining weight, and his features are changing a little as a result. His face is fuller and his legs and arms are a little less chicken like than they were!

Today his cord stump half broke off and it's very wet and icky underneath. I bought some rubbing alcohol and applied it with a q-tip as recommended by 'What To Expect The First Year' (the bible) so hopefully it'll dry up.

The breastfeeding is going extremely well. I'm a little tired of course, last night for some reason Harry decided to wake up every hour and a half for a feed at which point he would nibble for about 5 mins then go back to sleep leaving me awake and trying to drop off again. Other than that he's obviously thriving, I'm not suffering any pain or other problems with it (touch wood), and I'm enjoying the closeness with him!

Bed Rest

Bed rest is extremely boring.

Yesterday we had our first major outing with H. We wanted to take D to 'Chuckie Cheese' restaurant, a kids place where there are zillions of electronic games and similar for them to play and one of D's favourites. I decided to go rather than stay at home all day so spent 2 or 3 hours following D around the various game machines and pushing H around in his pram who, despite the noise and lights, thankfully slept through the experience.

After we were done we had to stop by the car dealership - our new car is ready on Tuesday so we had to sign some final paperwork and we got to look at it and sit in it and play....and although I was a little dubious about the whole minivan stereotype I have to say I'm thoroughly impressed by this vehicle, it's very very luxurious inside indeed! Typically the paperwork filling out session took forever and I had begun to feel very tired indeed and then noticed a huge increase in my post partum bleeding (sorry if TMI there!)

Coming home I read in various books and on the web that the bleeding should have almost stopped before 1 week after the birth....9 days after and mine is no less, still very heavy, and gets worse the more I do. Obviously I shouldn't be doing anything like as much as I did yesterday, so G has confined me to bed rest to make sure this doesn't get any worse and has a chance to heal and slow down. So far today things seem a little better. If it's not significantly better by Tuesday, though, I will have to call the DR. I hope it is nothing more than having done a little too much, combined with the anticoagulants I'm taking making it a little worse than it might otherwise be.

Anyway - here I am, in bed, bored, getting up only to feed H who is lying beside me (asleep, unlike his 12-3 grumpy time last night as usual!) and surfing thanks to G's spare laptop and wireless network.