Violet Crossley 11/11/2013 - Last member of our brood

[Dotty_woman]

Good for you Fliss. I'm going to try going to one of those new mums groups when it doesn't clash with any of my appointments. Need to get my hair sorted as I have scary old lady grey roots to attend to and really need a bit of a pick-me-up. Feel a bit of a mess at the moment. xxx

 

[flisstebbs]

Ikwym dotty, I looked crazed yesterday when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror...
Have fun today. X

 

[Dotty_woman]

There's me trying to be good by going to the clinic for Vi's hearing test on the bus instead of driving but the bloody thing never showed up. It was either leg it back home and take the car or miss my appointment. My insurance company did say that it was ok for me to drive as long as my healthcare professional okayed it and they didn't need a doctors note.Midwife said as long as I could safely so an emergency stop that was classed as ok. I had wanted to leave it a bit longer before driving but a quick attempt at an emergency stop on our road didn't cause me any grief so didn't really have any choice but to try. All was fine but I am annoyed as it was unnecessary stress and clashing round. Still can't move so fast at the moment so it was quite an effort. Smegging public transport! What a joke!! Grrr!!

 

[Dotty_woman]

Actually managed to grab some time to have a bath this morning. Just one if the little things you take for granted normally. Really enjoyed my trip to the hairdressers and was pleased that Vi stayed asleep for most of the time I was there, despite one if the hairdressers in the salon desperately needing a cuddle! Better luck next time Mandy! Feel much better now I don't look like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards. Just managed to get finished as Vi was waking up and she bawled in the pram all the way back home (only a 5 minute walk though).

 

[Rebecca89]

Just read the who.e journal and sounds like your doing just great max is not due to be weighed again until Monday but he seems to have doubled in size recently so I'm hoping his gain is good!! Xxx

Good luck for your weigh in today Rebecca! I'm sure you'll be fine especially if you can tell he has grown. xxx

Thanks he was upto 9 lb 1 oz from 7lb 8 in 2 weeks!! Been worrying he wasn't getting enough from me but obviously he is!! Xxx

 

[Dotty_woman]

That is an excellent amount to put on Rebecca! Well done. Sounds like you're doing a great job. Keep up the good work. We will all still worry but that's what weigh ins are for. xxx

 

[Dotty_woman]

So tonight, OH says he wants to try putting Violet in her own cot in her own room. I was worried this would be a big change too soon and was worried about not hearing her when she started crying. I was feeling a bit stressed as I put her down (must have been about 01:30) but decided to give it a go. She seems to have slept on her own for about an hour which isn't bad for a first attempt I suppose. Just fed her now so I guess we'll see his it goes for a subsequent attempt. Wish me luck as she's just finished her first feed! xxx

 

[flisstebbs]

How's it gone getting vi in her own room? Jess won't settle in her cot yet, apart from afrernoon naps. She really doesn't like the dark/quiet of night!!

 

[Rednursie]

Hiya Dotty, sorry I've not checked in here before now. Just read your journal from the start, sounds like your doing great. Delighted to hear Violets gaining weight, and delighted you've managed a trip to the hairdressers! Have you been to a new baby group yet? Xxx

 

[Dotty_woman]

Hi Rednursie! How are you doing? I've not updated this for a few days as I've been knackered. We went to our local baby clinic on Tuesday. 11 days ago Violet weighed 8lb 3oz. On Tuesday this week she weighed in at 9lb 6oz. I've not been to any baby groups yet. I was going to go today but had a rubbish night's sleep and my OH took the day off as he was knackered too (although he is self-employed) so we went out for lunch and to do some last bits of Xmas shopping. I'm going to go next week and the midwife also told me about a breastfeeding group that's about 10 minutes drive away so I might try that when I start driving again. Not going to get my 6 week check until January unfortunately so that's a couple of weeks away. xxx

 

[Dotty_woman]

How's it gone getting vi in her own room? Jess won't settle in her cot yet, apart from afrernoon naps. She really doesn't like the dark/quiet of night!!

Hi Fliss! It's not going too bad with Vi in her own room thanks. The big challenge is getting her to go down in her own cot without waking up. Semi-swaddling has helped though. Our baby monitor has built in lullabies and that helps settle Vi a bit. I've got a couple of low wattage lights in the bedroom so it's not completely dark so not sure if that helps. xxx

 

[Dotty_woman]

Right, that's another 70ml expressed. Not a great amount but now I have 1x80ml, 1x70ml & 1x100ml stacked up in the freezer in preparation for leaving Violet with Chris whilst I go to a Fields of the Nephilim/Mission gig on Sunday. I've got a couple more days to add to my stash so hoping I'll be ok for 3 or 4 hours (fingers crossed ). I booked tickets about a year ago after my miscarriage before I knew I was pregnant again. Never thought I'd get to the same gig a year later and have a healthy little girl. I've a lot to be thankful for. xxx

 

[Dotty_woman]

Finally managed to get Vi to go down at about 3:40am having had no sleep last night. Was awoken by crying. Checked my clock and it's 04:20 so that's the amazing total of 40 minutes sleep so far tonight. One pooey nappy changed and now trying to feed again in a vain attempt to get her off to sleep again but my nipples are feeling sore from trying to feed for the last 3 hours. Zzzzz...

 

[Rednursie]

Oh I hope your getting some well earned sleep by now Dotty. Well done with all that expressing, and fair play going to the gig! I hope that's the way I am after giving birth! I'm good thanks, just over 5 weeks before I start my mat leave so really looking forward to that xxx

 

[flisstebbs]

That's amazing weight gain for vi, well done! That's also a fab amount 8f expressed. I can't get more than 20mls both sides when I try even with medela pump. I think its lettibg down that's my prob as Jessica is now finally putting on some decent weight.

 

[Dotty_woman]

Glad to hear that Jess is getting some weight on Fliss. Do you express whilst feeding or before/after? Don't know where I read it but you're supposed to get better flow if you express whilst actually feeding. It is a bit of a challenge but I've had Vi on a cushion next to me on the right hand side for right boob so she feeds from the other side of my boob. Feels a bit weird at first but I soon got the hang of it. Then you have a spare hand free to express on the other side. Just a bit tricky if bubs falls off the nipple as you need to stop to reposition. xxx

 

[Dotty_woman]

Can't believe it's time for you to go on maternity leave soon Rednursie! I'm sure it will feel like it is for you though hun! . I just hope I've expressed enough so they my OH doesn't end up using all the breast milk in one feed! I'm a bit nervous about going out but definitely looking foward to the change of scene, not to mention seeing my friends that are over from Oz. xxx

 

[Dotty_woman]

Had a great night out on Sunday night with my Aussie mates. First time I have left Violet for any amount of time albeit with my OH. Sounds like he managed OK with the expressed milk. Vi slept from 02:30 until about 80 which was a welcome surprise. On Monday she was very sleepy. My friend from work came over to see me and we had a chat and went for a little walk and some lunch. Sleep seems to be all over the place though. She finally woke up for the longest amount of time at about midnight and didn't settle until about 3am. Hope this isn't going to become the norm!

 

[Dotty_woman]

Weigh in day at baby clinic. Violet is up to 9lb 13oz so that's another 7oz on since last week. There were about 12 people queuing in front of me. Got there at about 10:30
and didn't get out until 11:45! Still, it's a good excuse to get out. We're going to attempt to go to Mums and babies group tomorrow. Hope that goes OK. I'm hopeless at meeting new people! :s xxx

 

[Dotty_woman]

So this is the third night in a row that everyone has gone to bed and I'm sat with bubs trying to get her to go to sleep. She's been sleeping a lot during the day and now I need some sleep she's wide awake. I'm passing the time watching aovie and can hear my OH snoring obliviously upstairs