New Mum Support Thread - Colic, Sleepless Nights, Allergies, Weaning and Everything Else!

[user666555]

Hello,

So I've decided to create this space for any (new) mums that are struggling or just want someone to talk to.

I'm a first time mum to a little girl who is 14 weeks. She has CMPA and has really been struggling. She's quite a 'high need' baby - I'm assuming as a result of her CMPA. We've just started Neocate after her being on Aptamil Pepti 1 for the past few weeks. Symptoms didn't fully improve so we've been prescribed Neocate.

I've found motherhood quite difficult (mainly due to her allergies I suspect) it feels as though we've been robbed of the 'newborn' stage.

I guess I've been reluctant to admit that I've found being a mum quite difficult so far, as I saw it as a personal short-coming. However, I've decided that I'd like to share experiences (even with mums whose babies do not suffer with allergies) and have a space where we can talk as I feel as though being a new mum on maternity leave can be quite lonely. None of my (close) friends have babies yet and it would be nice to talk to other mums and share tips/experiences.

Anyone else?

Anyone else?

Hi @user666555! I'm sorry to hear you're having such a hard time. I'm also a new(ish) mum of a nearly 10 month old, he doesn't have allergies but he had colic for the first 3 months and I had a terrible recovery post emergency c section and really struggled too. I found the first 6 months way more difficult than I ever thought, and it's only in the last couple of months that I'm really starting to enjoy him, I'm very happy to share/chat about anything :)

@CatMad22 Hello, thanks for sharing.

Another C-section mum here! Although not an emergency one. However, I did have my DD at 37 weeks due to issues with my placenta. I guess from that moment on my anxiety kicked in because I was really not expecting her to have to come early. They tried to induce me and it wasn't working, so I opted for a C-section as baby was becoming distressed when they'd insert Propess (I think it's called)?

How did you cope with colic? One of her CMPA symptoms is colic. Usually they say that babies grow out of it around 12ish weeks but my DD still has it (again, I'm assuming due to the CMPA).

What's sleeping like with your LO? How many night feeds does (s)he require?x

@user666555 Ah my baby also went into distress and I had meconium in my waters so that's why it was such an emergency.

Sleep was great for a few weeks around the age your daughter is now, but since then we've been in a constant sleep regression that is only just improving now! We cosleep and he still wakes at least twice throughout the night for feeds, sometimes more. The stretches are getting longer though and I feel so much better now we sleep together. Forcing the cot was making us both unhappy. How does your little one sleep?

For the colic I used to do lots of bouncing and singing/music and eventually found that baths helped a bit but to be honest it was just a matter of time when it went away on its own. We used to give infacol and gripe water every day which maybe helped a little bit but in hindsight I'm not sure it was ever a stomach issue. It's very hard to deal with but it does end, I really had to think about it then to give you some tips.

Hi. Just wondered how you're getting on now OP? I am in a similar situation and really struggling. Baby is 17 weeks and has just been diagnosed CMPA due to inflamed bowel. She's been on Aptamil Pepti for a week now and nothing has improved, still crying and fussing all the time. It's utterly draining and no- one around me seems to understand at all :(

@Exhaustedmummy2024 Hello. How are you getting on now? I've name changed and this was my thread.

I know it sounds cliché but it will get better - that's not me trying to undermine what's happening as I remember it like it was yesterday however, also know that there is light at the end of the tunnel and your LO will begin to settle.

My daughter is now 9 months and is far more settled. Aptamil Pepti wasn't the right milk for her. She needed to go completely dairy free and is still on Neocate LCP. Give the Aptamil Pepti a few more weeks and if the symptoms continue I'd ask for Neocate - you just have to go through the process of trying it out for long enough to say you've given it a fair shot.

Doing little bicycle motions with her legs would help her, pushing her back and forth in the pram would also help, rubbing her tummy would help. The problem is that these are all temporary things you can do to ease baby's discomfort, hopefully if the milk suits her the symptoms will slowly go away. I'm always here to talk if need be because I found it VERY lonely during those days and hearing things like 'go for a walk' didn't help. I was too drained to go for a walk, but for the sake of baby I'd go back and forth in the living room with the pram.

Any improvement since you last posted? x

Thanks so much for your reply.
She's been on the Pepti for nearly 3 weeks now and the bowel inflammation has gone down. I still feel she's very fussy but I'm starting to think it's just her. We don't seem to have the really long episodes of crying but rather just fussing/ moaning and grunting a lot of the day. I did speak to the Dr about completely dairy free but he said he didn't think she needed it as the inflammation gone down significantly.
Yes, it is very lonely, I think it will just be time that helps :(

@Exhaustedmummy2024 do you think she has reflux issues? My LO had terrible reflux even when we switched to Neocate the reflux symptoms didn't really ease and she'd still be in some discomfort and I'd have to give her Omeperazole but I slowly weaned her off of it as I don't think it's great long term to be on medication for such a small baby (personal opinion) she still has some of the physical symptoms of reflux such as frequently spitting up feeds and not being able to drink more than 5oz at a time (max 5oz but rarely ever consistently 5oz) however, she's not in pain anymore hence why I stopped it.

If you wanted you could trial Neocate yourself and see if that helps? You'd need a few tins to fully see if it helps? I'd say colic is a part of the newborn stage but I don't think you should just settle for this without exploring the above avenues first as I missed out on the blissful newborn stage due to being fobbed off by doctors but if I could go back I wish I fought harder earlier on and actually got to take it all in and enjoy it more.

Hope that all makes sense xx

I don't think so as she doesn't mind laying flat and sleeps relatively well. It's definitely spoilt the last 4 months for me and I'm still constantly wishing time away in hope that as she gets older things will get better x