Monday, November 13, 2006

Evening all

Just thought I would do a quick post to say hi... whilst Rachel is asleep on her daddys shoulder.

I am stil in the process of writing up Rachels birth story - taking longer than I thought but then it is the fact of finding time without being interupted for feeding or a nappy change etc... but will share it with you all once it is finished :)

I meant to say in my last update, that when we took Rachel to the hospital last Wednesday for her hip check that she was the only babe there that didn't cry during the check which made her mummy so proud :) Oh all was ok with her hip check :)

She was weighed last Thursday and her weight was down to 2800gms (greater than 10% of her birth weight) hence the increase in feeding and topping up with formula etc... MW came again on Sunday morning and in the 3 days Rachel had gained 255gms which is fantastic so obviously the extra feeding and formula is working. Next weigh in is on Thursday so I am sure by then she will be over her birth weight.

Rachel had a fantastic night last night - sleeping from 11.15pm till 5.45am! She started stirring about 3am but just dosed back off to sleep. We are finding that the co sleeping is really helping all three of us get good nights and we are all a lot happier during the day. I was shown in the hospital how to breastfeed laying down - but it just didn't seem to work for me then but think I will mention it to Edith on Thursday and get her to show me and I will try again now that we are co sleeping to save me having to get up to feed her.

Today, I took Rachel to see a Cranial Ostopath due to her birth circumstances and a few of her muscles/nerves were out of alignment so had a good session there and slept through most of it. We go back in a fortnight for a follow up session. I was told that for the next 24hrs Rachel would have be real sleepy or real grumpy whilst the healing is working... so far she has been both! I think we may be in for a long night but hopefully it won't be too bad.

Nothing planned for tomorrow and the weather is supposed to be real crap so it means I can go back to bed with her when she sleeps :)

Right, time to get moving as Rachel is starting to stir so no doubt she will be hungry again! :) Oh Sally you asked where we got the name Rachel from - it was just a name that both Steph and I liked... and yes Judith is after our special friend who passed away in Jan of this year.

Catch ya all later.

11 comments:

Kate said...

Wow! What a great sleep :-)

Well done you, on the breast feeding. It's fantastic!

The lying down feeding thing takes a while to get the hang of, I only eventually learnt it because I had a few nights where I physically could not sit up any longer. It also might be harder because Rachel is such a wee thing. I know now with Natalia it's really easy.. I just lift up my top and she finds the nipple herself - woohoo, hands free, lol.

Can't wait to hear the birth story :-)

Lynda said...

What is a cranial ostopath? I've never heard of this so am curious. About the co sleeping you said you bought something to make it safe - what was that, again just curious. Rachel will be back at her birth weight before you know it.

One other comment about babies stirring that I only learned when Jo had Fletcher. Babies have an approx 45 min sleep cycle and they stir then go back to sleep. Many mums misunderstand and get the babies up when in fact they are still sleeping. It was so helpful when we were told this. You sound like a dab hand at being a mum already!

Lynda said...

Me again... I just looked up co-sleeping beds for babies. Sort of like a bassinet but attached to the side? If that's what you've got I think its fantastic, never seen them before!

Kate @ Loving Life said...

Looks like you're a natural Karen, it all seems to be going along swimmingly! Rachel's weight will be up before you know it and boy what a great sleep she had last night!!!

Anne said...

What a great night sleep she had. You seem to be all settling into life with your little girl.

Have a great week!

Chris H said...

You are doing great, and what a good night's sleep you all had. Long may it last...

Jules said...

How did I miss all this excitement?? So glad to see your gorgeous wee girl arrived safe and sound and you have settled into motherhood so like a fish to water. And an 8 hour labour is fantastic!! Am extremely zonked so will catch up soon. Jules

Yummy Mummy said...

We had co-sleeping first child and I loved feeding while lying down. I found with all three kids.. they had to be a couple of months old before I could get them to attach well while lying down... WELL worht the effort!!!

Crafty Japan said...

Hi Karen,

Just checking in to see how you two were doing. Ryder seems to sleep in a similar pattern - regularly 4 hours at a time, but longer at night. Has me a little worried as some people say to feed every 3 hours around the clock...but hey, if they're hungry I'm sure they'll wake up.

Like you, I'm a little worried about their weights and would like to have a check up before 1 month. Think I might have to find a way to do this...

How's the feeding going now?

Anonymous said...

I think the issue with not feeding at night (ie between 1 am and 5am)is that this is when, in those crucial first 6 weeks milk production hormones are highest, in order to help establish a healthy milk supply.

Mothers with really bountiful supplies don't need to worry about night feeds after a couple of weeks so long as the baby has happily abandoned asking for them, but if you have been struggling with supply then feeding sometime between 1 and 5 in the morning is pretty standard prescription.

Kellymom.com is a very good breastfeeding site (for those who are serious about wanting to breastfeed).

JustJo said...

Just do whatever the hell is best for you and baby.. listen to others and take from it what you will, but dont get too hung up on what people say you "should" be doing - just because it works for one, doesn't mean it is gonna work for you. Be safe :)