CHARRUP's profile

CHARRUP
	Age: 34 Country: ZA Province/region: Gauteng City: Johannesburg Partner: Rod Children: Yes, 3 Pregnant: No Due date: 09 0 ,0000 Occupation: Housewife
	Online: 7 days ago. Last updated: 121 days ago. Member since: 514 days
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The birth of Stephanie Mae......

As I woke up on Saturday, 12 January at 6h30, I felt pain like contractions – not too sore but not something to be ignored. Started timing them but they were mostly irregular again but sometimes a few would be 7 minutes apart. This carried on until about 8h30 and then nothing. For the next few hours my belly just felt tender but no more contractions or cramps.

So once my little boy woke up from his morning sleep, we got ready to go do the usual Saturday morning grocery shopping. My tummy started paining a bit so I decided that I’d call the hospital when we got home. As I got in the car, around 11h30, the pain felt more like the contractions again so started timing them. No sooner did we arrive at the shop that they were coming 4 to 5 minutes apart and more intense than the earlier pains. So I told hubby that we must rush through the shop cos I didn’t want to risk my water breaking here as I’d just die of embarrassment. Before even arriving home, I noticed that I was getting 3 contractions in 10 minutes that were really painful so started panicking. Got home and grabbed suitcase whilst trying to sort out my little guys stuff too… was crazy getting everything organized so quick and crying in pain with every contraction.

Arrived at the hospital at about 12h00 and they hooked me up to the foetal heart / contraction monitor and took blood pressure – since it was high it indicated that my body was dealing with pain!! And the foetal machine was indicating there were definite contractions. The nurse did an internal and said I was 4 to 5 cm dilated. So they took me over to the labour ward and contacted the doc who said he’d come now since my last delivery was so quick that I was sure to deliver soon – he got there like 10 minutes later and said that it would be quick, as the nurses said too that I’d dilate quickly. Not too much longer and I was given my epidural – heaven.

Around 13h30 they did another internal but there was no change and said they only check every 2 hours so we must wait!! Finally the next exam at 15h30 showed that I’d dilated to 6cm and the head was right there with the water bulging around it. The doc decided to speed things up so they put some drug into the IV and broke the water as they felt that this was slowing things too. Within an hour I was at 8cm and ready to start pushing. The fourth round of pushes and my little girls head was out. The doc was really pulling on her head to get the rest of her body out which wasn’t coming too easily. Finally there she was on my chest screaming those little lungs out – she didn’t stop until she ate and boy did she eat ;)

So my Stephanie Mae was born at 17h15 weighing 3.30kg, 50cm tall and head circumference of 35cm and the most beautiful shade of pink I ever saw.

a few minutes after birth
later after a cleaning

My little boy 14mths
Stephanie 2 weeks old
Weighs 3.9kg (+600g) and grown 2.5cm

Already 4 weeks old.

2 months

Chunky arms - and - Cutey smile

Stephanie - 3mths

3april08 12april08

I made a little video with my cellphone of her chatting away taken on the 3 April......

*removed

Tummy time - 7 May (almost 4 mths) Little sit.... 8 May (almost 4 mths)

DSC00382.jpg tummytime picture by charrup1973 DSC00395.jpg sitting picture by charrup1973

Sebastien playing on the stairs Short hair!!! First cut :)

DSC00399.jpg stairs picture by charrup1973 DSC00414.jpg shorthair picture by charrup1973

She's 5 months old now.....

Floor time....
DSC00452.gif Rolling picture by charrup1973
DSC00456.gif tummy time picture by charrup1973
Brother and Sister
DSC00437.gif Brother and sister picture by charrup1973
Loving solids
DSC00467.gif Loving solids picture by charrup1973

Movie of Steph eating.... and a poohy interuption :)

*removed

STEPHANIE - 6 MONTHS

A video of her sitting and making a loooot of noise :)

*removed

Her first attempt at a Cheese Curl

dbn1.jpg cheese curl excitement picture by charrup1973

dbn2.jpg 1st cheese curl picture by charrup1973

Sebastien -- was hot so we had to roll up his pants (just love the coast!!)

dbn3.jpg Sebastien outside cottage picture by charrup1973

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hawaiimommy - Thursday, 29 May
thanks! yeah, i take pics almost every day! lol i wish he'd slow down with his growing up, but at the same time i'm so proud! lol

hawaiimommy - Wednesday, 28 May
aww stephanie looks adorable!

ClaireC - Sunday, 25 May
Hello,
Love Love Love the new pics of your 2 littlies....absolutely gorgeous!
I finally updated my page - I added 4 new photos and I wrote a whole page about how Ella's going. But the writing vanished....i was so annoyed!! Oh well...the photos stayed! I'll do the writing again soon.

Awesome news that Steph is keeping her bottles down and the screaming has stopped! U poor thing...thank goodness thats over!
Ella went through a yucky stage where she was grizzly and cranky most of the time and feeding a lot more than normal. But for the past 3 weeks she seems to be back to normal. She has 4 bottles a day and she still has 1 during the night, usually around 3:30am. Thats the only time she wakes up now....she's not waking every hour anymore thank god!
I'm really loving this age - I love how she grabs at everything and can actually play with her toys now. She can roll and thinks thats great fun :-) We've just had the busiest weekend - she was so good though so that made the hectic schedule easier to manage.

Thats so cute that Sebastien and Steph play together...how sweet.

I'm looking into some local day cares for Ella next year. If I go back full time, she'll go to a child care centre 3 days a week and then to my Mum's 1 day and Chris's Mum's 1 day. But if I go back part time she'll probably go to child care 2 days and then we'll work out a fortnightly thing with the Grandmothers for the other day.

Anyways, I'm going to head off to bed. Hope u have a good week! Ella has her 4 month needles this week....yuck!

Chat soon,
Claire :-)

ClaireC - Friday, 16 May
Great news about Steph's hip...what a relief! Yes...better to get checked than ignore it as it could turn into something worse!

How many bottles does Steph have a day?

Ella is doing MUCH MUCH better...thank goodness. She's back to a great day routine with good naps, 2 solids meals a day & she's drinking her bottles every 4 hours....I'm so glad we're back on track!!! I think it must have been a growth spurt coz she's not grizzly or unsettled anymore - back to being calmer and happier!
She's also sleeping much better at night too. Not sleeping through....but nearly getting there.
I haven't done the 'dreamfeed' in weeks....in hope that she'd miss that feed and eventually get through the night. Once i stopped it, she was waking up herself between 9-11pm for a feed. Now...she goes to bed at about 6:30pm, wakes for a bottle around 9:30ish and then sleeps through til about 2am. I've tried not to feed her then - I've tried ignoring her, giving her water or trying to get her back to sleep...but she's still hungry and a quick 120ml gets her back to sleep til about 6:30-7am. She sometimes wakes at 4am....but i give her a dummy and she's straight back to sleep.
So...I'm much happier with that - much better than getting up every 2-3 hours!!!!!

She's very happy with the solids. She likes the rice cereal now...as long as its mixed with pureed fruit. She has that for breakfast and pureed vegies at 5pm. My Doc is happy with her progress and agreed that she was ready for foods.
And its not solving her sleep problems...but its definitley helped.

Yuck....I just got a call from my work asking me if I'm coming back in August when my leave ends or if I'm extending my leave!!! I told them I'm extending it to have the whole year off....but I'll be back next year! Argh...already not looking forward to it! I just keep thinking about how much extra work I had to do after hours last year with assessment, lesson plans, report cards etc and juggling that with a toddler.....eww...seems a little overwhelming!! Oh well...I shouldn't think about it until I have to !!!!
Anyways, I better go and get Ella's bottles ready for today. We're going on a picnic with some of the girls from my Mother's Group today...trying to make the most of this gorgeous weather before winter kicks in.
Take care,
Have a good weekend.
Claire x.

ClaireC - Monday, 12 May
How was your Mother's Day?
I hope u had an awesome day and were spoilt rotton!!!
I had a lovely 1st Mothers Day. I brought Ella into our bed at 5am that morning and she slept in til 7am which was nice - Chris brought me coffee in bed and a beautiful present (a charm bracelet with 2 charms), we then went to some markets and had a walk around and then had lunch out at a restaurant. We then went out for dinner with my parents. The restaurant was a little noisy and Ella was pretty unsettled...but she fell asleep in the pram after my Mum pushed her around for a few mins. So overall....a great day!
How did Steph go with her vaccinations?
Argh...i'm not looking forward to Ella having hers!!
Ella is still having a 'solids' feed at 5pm each day - she loves pureed vegies!!!! But its not fixing her sleeping problems unfortumately - she's still waking a lot at night!!! We've tried changing her evening routine but nothing seems to work....oh well.....i'll just have to hang in there and I'm sure Ella will settle with it soon....i hope!
Anyways, i hope u r well.
Claire xo.

ClaireC - Thursday, 8 May
Hey Charmane,
Well...the last week and a half have been exhausting! My little calm, contented baby has been a little monster...heee. Her sleeping is getting worse....not better.
She's been waking every 2 hours. The last 2 nights has been slightly better but I was still up 3-4 times wtih her after 10pm. Maybe a growth spurt or teething. My hubby and I both teethed at 3.5 months and she has all the symptoms!!
I would love to see a more recent pic of your bubbies.
How are they going?
Good to hear that Steph isn't screaming as much....i think Ella has taken over instead :-)
Umm....Ella drinks about 150ml every 3-4 hours during the day. I offer her 200ml every time but she only drinks more than 150ml at some feeds (usually the lunch time feed and the 10pm feed). Yeah...we did introduce her to Farex Baby Rice Cereal (i know they say to wait til 4 months...but she's nearly 4 months - she's over 7kg, can hold her head up easily and we felt she was ready!). She wasn't a huge fan of the cereal...she would open her mouth to the spoon and swish the cereal in her mouth but spat most of it out. But today, we gave her some pureed pumpkin and sweet potato (on its own - not mixed with the cereal) and she LOVED it - she devoured the whole bowl and is now having a great nap afterwards!! So I'm going to continue that at about 5pm each day...hopefully it'll fill her up enough to sleep more!!
Have u thought about starting Steph on any foods yet?
I'm taking Ella to get her 4 month needles in 2 weeks...not really looking forward to that!!! She was great with the 8 week ones, but a little unsettled the next few days after.
Anyways, glad to hear all is going along ok with u. Let me know how Steph goes with the scan of her hips.
Take care,
Claire x.

ClaireC - Monday, 28 April
Hello,
How are you going?
Thats nice that u have family visiting - I love seeing people's faces when they meet Ella for the 1st time and I love watching my family interact with her.
Thats also good that Steph isn't crying as much...hopefully the stuff for the reflux will help. I was a little worried at one stage that Ell had reflux coz she started doing massive power spews after a bottle and was really unsettled during bottles....but that stopped aftr about 5 days so i'm not sure what it was.
Don't stress about her hips. When the doctor at the hospital did Ella's medical check when she was born, I was told she had clicky hips and may have to be in a brace for 12 weeks.... i started to stress. Anyways, we had a scan on the hips when she was about 2 weeks old and they're fine...no click or displacement. But get it checked out anyways.
So its cold there is it? Yuck I hate winter! The weather is still warm here. The days are gorgeous and sunny and warm but the nights are a little chilly. I've put a heater in Ella's room and she's wearing winter pyjamas now. When I get up for the 3am feed...its actually really cold!!
Anyways, i have to go. Off to Mother's Group this morning.
Have a good week.
Claire x.

ClaireC - Wednesday, 23 April
Hi again...sorry....I accidentally pressed 'add comment' before I was finished typing my message....so here's the rest :-)
I updated my page tonight (finally!!!) so check it out coz there are some recent photos of Ella. She is doing really well....getting so big though! It feels like ages ago that she was a newborn! I'm really enjoying this age that she's at - its amazing how much they change each day. She's constantly doing something new...so cute.
I tried to add a video of her...but my computer wouldn't let me...I'll have to work on that!
Anyways, i better go and have a shower and get ready for the 10pm feed.
I hope Steph calms down soon. Have a glass of wine and just chill out! How is your husband? Is he supportive during this hard time? Chris is great...but because he is working full time - Ella is my complete responsibility - i do all the feeds, nappies etc. He spends a lot of time with her (play time) but I do most of the gritty stuff.....haaaa! But I have started doing back to dancing on Tues nights which is nice...a night off fro being MUM! But I still bath and feed Ella before I go so Chris doesn't have to do much there...hehehe.
Take care,
Claire xo.

ClaireC - Wednesday, 23 April
Hey Char,
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that the colic has started up again with Steph. The poor little thing and I feel horrible for you - it must be awful to have her screaming. Ella has been hysterical a few times and I know how upsetting & stressing it can be. Hang in there - I' sure it'll pass soon....I hope! I guess its easier said than done though - if it was Ella that was crying from bad tummy pains...I'd probably be a mess! And sorry to hear about Sebastien too. He probably just feels really bad for her when he sees her cry & scream. But i think you are doing a super job - it must be hard to have 2 bubbies...a lot of work. So keep up the great job! I struggle to balance everything with just 1 bub. My house isn't as clean and organised as it used to be, our dinners are usually a baked recipe like lasagne etc coz its quick & easy and I can prepare it while Ella sleeps in the arvo and I occasionally feel very overwhelmed with juggling it all.

ClaireC - Thursday, 17 April
Hello,
How are you?
Sorry I've been a bit slack lately and haven't replied to my messages in a while. Time just seems to get away from me now that I have a little bub to look after....the days just aren't long enough...haaaa!
I'm going well and Ella is doing beautifully. She's completely back to her normal, happy self now and her big spews have stopped. She's getting all of her burps up again so I haven't had t change formulas and I haven't had to use the burp drops. She's such a happy baby....oh except when she's hungry, overtired or has a pain....but thats to be expected.
I'm really enjoying this age that she's at. Its so nice to watch her and see her do things for the first time...like grab at toys and hold them, and giggle and roll to the side (not all the way over yet!). She's spending more time awake during the day and is happy to play by herself for longer periods of time. She's also sleeping wonderfully during the days now. As soon as she shows the tired signs...I put her down with her blankie and dummy and she's out like a light within in 2 mins.
No...she still hasn't slept through the night yet! But I'm ok with our nightly routine at the moment. I'm still bathing her at 5pm and giving her a small top-up bottle at 5:30pm and then in bed by 6pm. The last week she has gone to sleep with no crying or protesting (fingers crossed that continues!), then I feed her 10pm b4 I go to bed and then she wakes at 2am for another feed and then sleeps til 6am. The feeds are very quick at night and she goes straight to sleep after. This morning was a little different though - she woke at 5:30am so I fed her and she then went back to sleep til 8am...so that was nice!
She's sleeping in her big cot in her own room now! We started that a week ago. She has been fine with it...she loves her room coz of all the pictures and her mobile to look at. Chris and I were the ones that were sad...hehehe....we loved having her in our room...but it was time. She's getting too big for her bassinette now.
My only whine is that I think she's feeding too often. She's drinking about 140ml each feed and during the day she's feeding every 3hours...sometimes every 2.5hrs. But the Health Nurse said that that's ok! She's very big for her age (not overweight...just long!) But most of the other bubs at Mother's Group that are on formula are feeding every 4-4.5 hrs. Oh well.
Anyways...thats my update. I really should update my page with new photos etc. I'll get round to it soon.
Oh, I love the video you put up of Steph talking. So CUTE! She is a chatty little thing isnt she...thats great! Haaa...the video cracked me up, she just kept going! So gorgeous. I love the pics too.
I hope you're well.
Claire xo.

giftsfromgod - Monday, 14 April
thanks for the advice! i decided to put boats that match the bedding around the room, ill put picks of it up when im done. wow france that sounds nice! we're going to the one in california. i havent been to disneyland since i was 11 and my husband has not been since he was 7. are outher kids are 3 and almost 2. so they may not remember but were going with my sisters family and my parents so its a big group thing. your little one looks so cute!

giftsfromgod - Saturday, 12 April
im glad your little one is doing good.
Logan is doing good. we last had him weighed 2 weeks ago and he weighed 12 LBS 4 OZ. , so he is doing good with weight. he is such a strong little boy, he smiles and loves his dad's voice. he is a very calm baby and still nursing, so im glad at that. i posted pics of his room, im trying to decide what color to paint the room. my 2 daughters are doing good, growing. my husband still has not got staralized but still wants too. we know we have been blessed and so were good. my 2nd child turns 2 next month, also in may were going to disney land so that will be intrusting! i cant belive how fast time goes, its like the end of the pregnancy went so slow and not that he is here i am so bizzy and time is going so fast! is she already out of her 0-3 month clothing? logan still wears 0-3 month but by the time he is 3 months i bet he will start to wear 3-6

giftsfromgod - Wednesday, 9 April
hi, how are you? its been awhile! hows your new little one? i cant belive my baby boy is 2 1/2 months!

ClaireC - Tuesday, 8 April
Hey Char,
How are you going?
What are you up to this week?
I'm going good....not stressed anymore!! Long story but its all good now!
Ella hasn't done one of those massive spews again since I wrote to you last...fingers crossed they have completely stopped. I'm thinking about changing her formula though. Lately she's been arching her back and screaming after some feeds and I think she has pains. She is burping but obviously not getting it all up. 'm going to get some "Infants Friend" drops today which is meant to help babies burp easier...if that doesn't help I will try another formula.
Our routine is getting back on track this week. We had Mother's Group yesterday and lunch with friends and today is just a lazy day at home. Ella is finally sleeping properly today! I read somewhere that babies between 10 weeks and a few months should get 4hours and 45mins of day sleeps in total. Ella was getting that some days but not often. She was only napping 30 - 45 mins each time and it wasn't adding up to over 4 hours! But today she slept in til 8am and has had a 40min nap and a 2 hour sleep and its only 2pm. So I'm happy with that!
I'm going to a sleep and settling session tomorrow at the Health Centre. To get some tips of settling baby to sleep and making them sleep longer.

You said that your teenage daughter was visiting for the hoidays. I didn't realise she wasn't living with you. Where does she live most of the year? It must be nice to have her home for a visit. And what a lovely time for her to be with her little brother and sister!

I had Ella weighed again yesterday. She's 6.40kg and 61cm long. She's put on 240g in one week...eeks! But she doesn't look chubby, she's just very long! Her thighs are pretty chubby though...hehhe.

Chris's work is in the process of moving offices so he's had a bit of time off work lately. Its been so nice to have him home a little bit more than normal. We were going to go on a picnic the other day but it rained so we went to a friend's house for afternoon tea instead. I love getting out and about with Ella and Chris - our family days :-)

Anyways, hope you're well and everythings going along great with your bubbies.
Claire xo.

ClaireC - Saturday, 5 April
Oh...I'm feeling really exhausted this week. The sleep deprivation is starting to kick-in...haaaa!! Every night I think "Oh will this be the 1st night that Ella sleeps through or misses a feed?" hehehehe.....but it hasn't happened yet!
How do you keep Steph up til 9/10pm?? Ella is stuffed by 6pm and can't stay awake any longer (unless we're out). She has her last afternoon feed at about 4:30ish and then bath at 5pm and I try to keep her up as long as possible but she's usually in bed by 5:30-6:30pm. She usually wakes at about 10pm for a feed - but if I'm going to bed and she hasn't woken, I'll give her a 'dreamfeed' - I feed her but don't waker her up - ever tried that? Haaa...its so cool. And then she'll wake again at 3am for a feed and then up for the day at 6am! I'd just love for her to miss that 3am feed...I'm hanging out for that day!!!!
Ella's sleeping patterns during the day are a mess though. She rarely has a really long day sleep. She'll only nap for 40mins...sometimes an hour on a good day! What are Steph's day sleeps like?
Thats so cute that Sebastien is a doting big brother...gorgeous!
How about your teenage daughter? How is she with the bubs?
I'll put some photos up soon of Ella.
She's going great. She's been a little unsettled this week and all of a sudden started doing massive spews. Not projectile ones....but she'll spew the whole bottle...it just keeps pouring out of her mouth like a fountain...so gross. She's done it 3 times this week! I will talk to the Health Nurse on Monday about it. I've been a little stressed out this week so maybe she's sensing my stress and thats why she's been a little unsettled...??!!
Yeah...my fury kids have been fine with Ella. I still lock them out at night (in the laundry where they have a cat-door) but there has been a couple of nights where I have fogotton and then found one of them asleep on her change table or in her cot (the big cot she's not sleeping in yet). So then I have wash everything again coz it's covered in cat hair...argh! One of my cats spends most of the time outside and isn't too phased my Ella...the other one, loves Ella. Always rubbing up against her when she's on the carpet!
Anyways, I have to go.
Take care,
Claire xo.

ClaireC - Saturday, 29 Mar
Hey,
Great to hear from you.
Wow, thats awesome that Steph is sleeping through!! What time is her last feed in the evening & what time does she go to sleep for the night?
Ella is still feeding at night! Usually around these times: 5pm (goes to bed at 6pm), feeds at 10pm, 2am and 6am. But last night was a little different coz we went out - she fed at 6pm, then at 9pm when we got home and then at 3am & 7am. I hope she starts missing a night feed soon!!
She had her needles on Thursday..she screamed for about 1min and that was it - then slept most of that day! She weighed 6kg (that was with a nappy & clothes on) and is now 60cm long...wow she's massive...haaa! 000 clothes (3months & up) are now fitting too tightly so she'll be in 00 clothes soon...hehehe!
I remember looking at 00 clothes and thinking that they looked massive - now my little girl fits them..ahhh!
I'm loving being a Mummy and finding it a lot easier now that she is a pretty consistent routine. She's a really good baby...thank god! And once she starts sleeping through...that'll be awesome!
Anyways, I have to go.
Glad to hear you're well.
Claire xo.

ClaireC - Friday, 14 Mar
Hi there, how are you?
I love the new pics of Stephanie...she's a cutey! Great to hear that everything is going well & that Steph's tummy is better. How much does she weigh now? Ella is at 5.18kg already...haaa...she's a biggy alright! She's in 000 clothes now and the infant size nappies...ahhh, my little girl is growing up!
Everything is going well with me. Ella & I go to Mother's Group every Monday which is run by a Health Nurse & then some of us met up today at one of the girl's house for morning tea which was fun! And we go to Mum's & Bub's Fitness class every Thursday...trying to lose my final kilos of baby fat! So overall, I'm a happy mumma & Ella is a happy baby....(most of the time!)
How's little Sebastien? Is he being a good boy for you?
Chat soon,
Claire xo.

ClaireC - Monday, 3 Mar
Hey,
How are you?
How's Motherhood going? Busy Busy I'm sure.
I'm good and Ella is doing great. She now weighs 4.53kg which is great...she's obviously thriving on the formula. I went to a Mother's Group this morning which was run by a Health Nurse. All the babies were similar age to Ella except a few were about 4 months old. Ella was the youngest - most of the bubs were about 7weeks old.
It was good to chat to other mums and talk Babies for 2 hours. Next week's session is about sleeping and settling so I'm definitely going to that! Ella is still sleeping really well during the day and wonderfully at night...once she's asleep :-) Evenings are still her unsettled time where she does not want to sleep and does not want to be left alone in her cot. We've kind of given up trying to put her to sleep by 7pm coz it was a constant battle of dummy spitting and crying. Now we just keep her happy til about 8 - 8:30pm, feed her and she then goes down without a fight. I'm not sure if thats a bad habbit to get into but its working for now. But I would like to have some Ella-free time in the evenings - a chance to wind down and spend time with Chris....so we'll see how it goes.
How's Stephanie's sleeping going? How often is she feeding at night now?
Ella is still waking to feed every 3 hours at night...but 2 nights last week she missed one of the feeds so that was nice!!
Anyways, I better go and get some dinner ready while I have the chance.
Claire xo.

ClaireC - Tuesday, 19 Feb
How are you?
Awww...I love the recent photos...very cute!
How much does Stephanie weigh now? I'm taking Ella into a child clinic today or tomorrow for a weigh-in. She's finally fattening up - her face is filling out a lot too.
I hear you on the sleeping issues...it sounds like Ella is similar to Stephanie! She's sleeping quite well at night but it takes forever to get her to sleep in the evening...she has her bath time, cuddle time and a feed and then snoozes for 10mins so I put her down and then she cries! We are constantly having to give her, her dummy back or re-burping her! Sometimes it takes up to 90minutes to get her into a deep sleep. (Although on Saturday night - she went down very easily and slept soundly for 4hours!)...very inconsistent! During the days, she naps instead of sleeping and snacks instead of feeding properly which is a little frustrating but she seems happy during the day and I'm still getting stuff done around the house! Oh the joys!!!
And...I'm sick...woke up yesterday with a shocking sore throat and runny nose and it seems to be getting worse! I hope Ella doesn't get sick!
Yeah, Chris is still completely besotted with her which is so nice to watch! But because he works quite long hours & still does triathlon training too...he only gets to enjoy her in the evening (when she's whinging and unsettled) and on the weekends. He is back in our room but still occasionally sneaks off to the spare room :-)
We booked a holiday yesterday - we're going to Thailand for 10days in August..I can't wait! We're taking Ella with us (Yay..our 1st family holiday!), Chris's parents are also coming so they can baby sit whilst we go scuba-diving etc.
Anyway, I better go & get some washing done while Ella still naps!
I've saved your email address into my computer - I'll email you soon so you have my email addy too.
Chat soon, take care,
Claire xo.

ClaireC - Friday, 15 Feb
Hey,
How are you going?
What have you been up to this week?
I'm good! Everything is going along great and I'm so much happier now that Ella is feeding well and sleeping well. I've ventured out everyday this week - coffee with a friend, shopping with the mother-in-law and I even popped into my work to show off little Ella...ahh it was so nice to visit and know that I won't be back there for at least the next year!! Today Elle and I are going down to my Mum and Dad's for lunch and if the weather is nice a walk along the beach! I was so nervous the 1st few trips out, but now I'm fine with it! As long I've got a couple of bottles with me, I know that I can take my time! I actually enjoy it - walking through the shops and all the little grannys stopping to look at Bub and all the pregnant woman stopping to ask me questions!!
Ella slept really well last night but took forever to go down at 7pm! She doesn't really like to be swaddled but I've started to do it again during her night sleeps to let her know that it is SLEEP time..not play or cuddle time :-) She woke early this morning but is still napping now so I've been able to get things done around the house! I'm glad we're developing a routine now...and I'm not stressing about breastfeeding..haaa!
Anyways, hope all is well with you and your lovely little girl.
Chat soon, Claire xo.

ClaireC - Monday, 11 Feb
Hey, How are you?
Well...I finally gave up on breastfeeding! It was just sooo hard and I was getting so stressed and frustrated! Ella was feeding every hour coz it just wasn't filling her up. I'm still expressing 1-2 times a day and feeding her that from a bottle once a day but my milk is running out coz I'm not using my boobs anymore. I was getting 150ml in an express...this morning I got 20 ml :-0
But...Ella is thriving on the formula...she's happy and in return I'm very happy! It fills her up for a good 3-4 hours which is nice! She's burping really well now but I've still experienced the occassional projectile vomit after a bottle feed...lovely!
The scan on her hip went well. The lady doing the scan said that from what she could see it was fine...thank god! But she said a Doc would call with the results over the next few days!
Wow..how do you do it with a toddler and a newborn! I'm exhausted and I've only got one..haa! I wouldn't have ventured out much either if I was you! I'm only starting to venture out now. I'm meeting a friend and her baby for coffee at the shops today...I'm already feeling a little nervous....silly hey! Ella loves the car trips....I'm just scared she'll be screaming in public and I won't be able to calm her! But at least now I've got the feeding sorted out...I don't have to whip out a boob in public...so I'm feeling a little more confident that I can just give her a bottle if needed!
What kind of sleeping routine does Stephanie have? On the formula, Ella has been sleeping in 3 hour bursts at night..but last night she went a whole 6 hours and then a 4 hour...so that was nice! It was probably just a one off thing though! I'm hoping over the next few weeks..she'll drop one of her night feeds!
Anyway, I better go and have a shower while the Princess snoozes!
Claire xo.

ClaireC - Friday, 8 Feb
Hey there,
Great to heat from you. Wow...sounds like you're busy - there's no way I could manage Ella with another child too...haaa!
Ella is great. Breastfeeding is still a drama. I've put her on formula during the evening and night feeds and then breast milk (from the boob and expressed in a bottle) during the day feeds. But the breast milk just doesn't seem to fill her up enough - even when I giver her a big top-up of express....she's hungry 30mins later! I'll give it another week or so and then I'll probably do just formula! Ella gets bad wind pains after each bottle too....oh and the occassional projectile vomit...yuck! I have to spend so much time burping her! Haaa...my hubby is doing the same thing - sleeping in the spare room! He was home for the 1st week and would get up with me during the night to help with the nappy change and feeds but now that he's back at work, he sleeps in the guest room and gets a full night's sleep! In a way I don't mind coz he has to get up to go to work so he needs his sleep but it can be lonely and tiring doing it alone! But..its Friday night tonight so no excuse...no work tomorrow :-)
Yeah, I've had a few trips out. The 1st one (a drive to my Mum and dad's house) was a little nerve racking but Ella was great..she slept through the car ride both ways. Once I get the whole feeding thing sorted out..I'll venture out more! Ella has to have an x-ray on Monday coz she has a 'click' in her left hip...I really hope its nothing...I'm stressing out that she'll have to be in a cast or splint...that'll break my heart!
Wow..thats great that you have lost your baby weight already - good on you! I put on 25kg during the preg so am expecting it to take a while to get back to normal but I weighed myself last week and I had lost 11kg. I think I've lost more since then though coz my face is looking thinner and my clothes are fitting a little nicer! I can't wait to be back to my normal weight!
Anyways, I better go.
Chat soon,
Claire :-)
P.S. I love the recent pics you put up...so cute!

giftsfromgod - Tuesday, 5 Feb
thank you. my sister -in-law did them, it was nice because she came over to our house and we did not have to go out anywhere. she did a good job. im enjoying my new little one.

giftsfromgod - Sunday, 3 Feb
i put one pic of my son up at 5 days old

giftsfromgod - Sunday, 3 Feb
ya, he's young to me too.... i hope he changes his mind. thanks for the site... ill have to look into it. ya im busy but i do love it. it helps that i can be home w/ them. im a homemaker right now and later when there all in school, ill go back to work.

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