State of War

I know, the post title sounds a bit dire, doesn't it!! Everything is going fine really.

But, what is it with the cluster feeding?????
Last night Elke fed from 5pm till 9pm straight - well practically. There were brief little "I'm so tired/ drunk on milk/ windy/ I have no idea what's wrong with me" moments in there too. She fed again at 12.30, then 4am then 6am (reasonable). From the 6am feed, however, till about 11am, she fed almost constantly again!! Arrgh!

So.

I caved and bought a tin of formula.

I bathed her and dressed her this evening as usual, then breastfed her as usual. I then gave her a bottle (60mLs) of formula and ...

she was settled and out like a light by 7pm.

Hmph.

I don't know. I feel mixed up about the whole thing. On the one hand I feel like a failure. On the other hand I feel relieved. I am determined to keep on breastfeeding though. I will just add the odd bottle of formula in to the mix.

It's a slippery slope though, comp feeding.

Ah well.

On a brighter note, my two girls are just lovely and we are all clicking a way as a family of four.
Bridget is starting to really respond to Elke now. She demands to cuddle her at least twice a day. She talks to her and kisses her and even on the odd occasion tells her she loves her. So sweet.

Below is a photo of Elke at 3 weeks. She has just had a bath and is having a nudie kick. She loves this time of the day.

Below is a photo of Bridget holding Elke. Elke is having a good old cry and Bridget looks less than impressed - poor thing. She finds Elke's howling to be a little stresful and often gets upset too.

The photo below was taken last week and again, Elke is crying. Poor Bridgy. She hasn't stopped asking to hold Elke though.

Rob just brought Bridge into the kitchen and put a bandaid on a little bump on her forehead. Are all toddlers fascinated with bandaids like mine is? Any bump, bruise, scratch or imaginary injury requires one. They last about 20 minutes before they are peeled off.

OK. Off to phone my mum.

Well it's day 11 and all things are still going well. Elke in fact gave me a "one feed night" - which I don't expect to happen again for a while. She was fed at 1am, I was back in bed at 2.30 (I think I dozed off in the rocker) and I woke up to Bridget calling out at 7am!! My boobs were killing me!

Of course, Elke made me pay for it today. This morning she fed almost hourly and cat napped in between. Ah well.

Elke is in her cot at night now and therefore I am sleeping a whole lot better! yeehar! Some of her sleeps during the day are in her rocker bed. We will get there.

Bridget is going alright. She was very sweet this morning and read a couple of stories to Elke while I had breakfast. Sometimes, however, she can be a real ratbag. There have been a couple of occasions where I have had to lay down the law about what she can and can't do. Definitely can't go banging her little sister over the head with a maracca!

Newborn days are so easy - we have been out a few times as a whole family and E has slept the whole time. We went out for dinner with my cousins on Saturday night, then to my cousin's Nanna's 80th Birthday Lunch on Sunday. E just slept.

I expect her to "wake up" soon! LOL

Introducing sweet Elke Mae!

Here she is! Isn' t she the sweetest thing?

She was born 9th July at 8.50am after an amazing labour and birth.

I wont go into the details here - I will post my birth story on EB soon.

Elke about 6 hours old.

1 Day Old

First Bath

In her cot 11th July

With big sister Bridget 12th July

With Bridget 13th July

Things are going well - it is a lot easier second time round. Bridget has been a bit tricky at times. I think time will improve things there. Poor chicken has been the absolute apple of our eye for 2.5 years and now Elke is here to share the limelight. It must be hard for her.

I am getting enough sleep so far but it is early days yet. Fingers crossed Elke turns out to be a good sleeper like Bridget was. Currently we are co-sleeping but I will start having her self settle in her cot soon.

I have been spending a lot of time just cuddling her while she sleeps, which I didn't so much of with Bridget. I was so anxious about making sure she was sleeping in the "right" place. Right now Elke is asleep beside me on the couch after having had a big feed. I am just going with the flow and taking each day as it comes.

I plan on enjoying it all a bit more.