feb babies - it's time to glow and grow :)

[angels1]

Hello all,

I just realised I put the 1000'th message on our last thread (uh oh, I think that's the limit), so in my at not realising I'd reached the limit, thought I'd better start a new thread if anyone finds it.

eaurouge odd question and maybe slightly obvious to those who know - but if you don't use soap on newborns, what exactly do you clean them with when bathing them? Just water?

Yes, just water is fine. It's not as though they are out playing in the mud at that age and bathing them is mostly a matter of just cleaning and drying all the creases (NB: don't forget neck folds if your baby is at all on the chubby side. They aren't typically something you think bout having to wash but milk collects there and it can get quite sore if not kept clean and dry).

My MW told me not to bathe DD for the first couple of weeks because the vernix protects their skin. You just top and tail them every day, they don't really need a proper bath when they are newborns. I live in a hard water area so DD still doesn't have a bath every day, it dries her skin out something chronic if she bathes too often.

oooh yes and my MW told me not to bath the baby til he was at least a week old as his body temp wouldnt be able to regulate itself and he would get a chilly bum bum

Also, angles another option instead if wipes is just to use soft flannels wetted with water - you can buy them in bundles from www.thebabycatalogue.com I think

Like professor I really didn't have any issues with BF other than the initial sharp intake of breath when DD first latched on for he first few days - I was amazed how big my boobs were when the milk came in (so was DP!) and stupidly went clothes shopping with my mum - I couldn't fit them in anything and ended up getting quite upset but soon got used to them! Your boobs do shrink when you've fed baby - I've got a photo of myself in a bikini when DD was about 7 months old with one big boob and one smaller one - only I notice it though! Once you get used to it you feed off both so they end up roughly the same size most of the time and it doesn't take long for them to fill up again! I've been wondering if breastfeeding will be easier this time or if it is like starting from scratch again as it's a new baby? Anyone shed some light on this? Forgot to mention that BFing knackered me out (never knew real tiredness before!) but snuggling up to DD while she did it was the best thing ever and she always smelled delicious!
As far a preparing for things goes - I seem to have forgotten everything that happened last time! Hoping DP remembers something! :)

I haven't properly bathed either of mine before the cord stump has fallen off -- you can do it before but I was paranoid about keeping it properly dry afterwards. They've coped fine with just topping and tailing before that.

I have been startled by how much American babies (may be generalising horribly here, but based on friends' experiences) are bathed almost straight after birth to remove all the vernix. And how many American mothers on US boards react with horror to the idea of not bathing a newborn, or of using just plain water. It seems a whole other world...

I was advised not to bathe my older dds more than once a week, obviously upchuck allowing . I only used water but Johnstons do a top to toe soft baby wash or something like that, you usually get a sample with Bounty pack!!

I'm a very unenvironmentally friendly mummy and think baby wipes are one of the wonders of the modern age but I have always used supermarket/Boots own (fragrance free). I also use them for make-up removal, freshening up, wiping hands etc, cleaning stubborn marks off walls!!

DD2 (2.11) has her first day at playgroup later today and was just getting her uniform organised, can't believe my baby has a school uniform

mumby, you've just reminded me of last summer when my friend and I would get ready to go out in our summer clothes and I would give DD a last minute feed to make sure my boobs weren't wonky

I am a bit nervous about breastfeeding too, it'll be weird feeding a newborn after feeding DD for all this time. I hope I can get her to share nicely

The best thing about breastfeeding a newborn is that you can lie on the sofa all day watching TV or reading a book and getting people to bring you tea and cake. And it's true about breastfed babies' poo not smelling bad.

How old is your DD eaurouge? I'm jealous you will be sharing the feeding between her and your new baby as my DD weaned herself off me at 16 months so no more 'mummy milky cuddles' :( I'm looking forward to the lazing around bit - will make sure I have my mobile to hand so I can go on here too! :)
Ha ha the wonky boob thing is so funny, I went to buy a bra yesterday and there is already a difference!
Might have to buy a chicken fillet for the smaller one which will be ridiculous as I'm already a G (i can see the look from the shop assistant now, probably followed by an embarrassed, lengthy and rambling explanation about my wonky boobs!)

Wow - thanks so much for the list Tarlia, that's a huge help. And newdad mangaged to cadge a crib and car seat off his sister and brother yesterday, so that'll cut down on shopping too. Phew!

And zero, I dreamt I was having a girl last week (even though I was sure it'd be a boy before that) - I guess we'll soon see how accurate our subconscious' really are!

Ooh and I bumped into Myleene shopping in Soho a few months ago - she was lovely and has the most perfect skin, was very jealous.

I hear it's magic.. cake in = milk out..

I'm so pleased that others are thinking about BF too. It's never been a question if I would or not when the time came, but I've never considered the logistics until now in in the position where I have to.

Hope first day at nursery goes well wiggles

Yes I bf'd both bubbas and would highly recommend it as you dont have to sterlise bottles or go and warm them up in the middle of the night when its chilly.

Something I would recommend is making sure you have a warm 'something' for the nightime feeds as I often got cold shoulders even when feeding in bed. Just a blanket or cardi next to the bed would do. My eldest loved being in our bed and still does and I am sure this is because of all the night time cuddles he had as a bubba. Although DS2 never wants to be in our bed now so could just be a personality thing.

Even if you do BF though it can be a good idea to express even an ounce or so and feed from a bottle early on, as sometimes the transition from boob to bottle can be tricky. My boys both accepted either or, but some friends had BF babies that hated using the bottle, even though the milk comes out easier. Or if you are knackered it means DP can do one feed and let you catch up on some sleep.

Only downside is that what I ate REALLY affected the baby wind wise, so curries were out for a while, as was chocolate! But that wont be the case for everyone.

Yes, the only thing that affected DS was fenugreek capsules, which I took in an attempt to "boost" my supply when he was feeding All The Bloody Time. Of course there was nothing wrong with my supply, just some babies do feed All The Bloody Time, and the fenugreek capsules gave both me and him a nasty case of wind and the squits. So still have half a jar of fenugreek capsules knocking around the place somewhere...

Other than that nothing I ate or drank made any difference.

someone mentioned they took 45 mins to bf - is that how long it takes? So you feed them for pretty much one in every three hours all day and night? eek, I hadn't really thought about how long it took, but i guess in my brain I thought it only took maybe 5 minutes...

Btw thanks to americanexpat - I'm currently enjoying watching 'arrested development' :)

It varies. DS would have some little snacky 5-minute feeds and then lose interest (so I'd promptly think "Aaaargh, he can't be getting any fatty hindmilk like that. He's going to waste away to nothing and it's all my fault for not bfing him properly") and some 45-minute-plus feeds (so I'd promptly think "Aaaargh, if he's feeding for that long he must be hungry and it must mean that my supply is terrible. He's going to waste away to nothing and it's all my fault for not bfing him properly"). I should point out I now realise that both of these were perfectly normal and nothing whatsoever to be concerned about, and that the foremilk/hindmilk thing isn't anywhere near as clear-cut (or, whisper it very quietly, as important) as you would get the impression it is from some sources. And DS signally failed to waste away even a little bit so I've had to find other things that are all my fault...

But, yes, prepare yourself for feeding on roughly that scale for around the first 6-8 weeks. Then the feeds space out and it gets quite easy and convenient. One of the sad things is that there's such poor support for breastfeeding in this country that the vast majority of those who want to and are physically able to breastfeed have given up before they get to six weeks, so they put themselves through the most difficult bit and never get the payoff (although of course even breastfeeding for a few weeks is good for the baby, so the baby gets a payoff -- just the mother never hits the easy bit as a reward for her hard work in the first couple of months).

Yes, everything is normal when it comes to BF Don't worry too much about a routine, breastmilk is made on a supply-and-demand basis so while routines are OK for FF babies, it doesn't work for BF babies.

I wish that I'd been told about cluster feeding in the evenings (completely normal) and growth spurts- every was trying to get me to wean at 4.5 months because DD was feeding so much but it was just a growth spurt and it only lasted a week.

I would definitely recommend going to a BF drop-in or NCT/LLL/BFN group so you can talk to other BF mums as well as a BF counsellor or other expert. I was lucky to have a brilliant HV when DD was tiny but my new HV is crap and knows bugger all about BF.

Mumby DD will be 2 in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping she will wean before she starts school it's lovely to still be feeding her but tandem feeding will be new territory, I've never met anyone IRL that has done it and only a few people that have even heard of it.

I nearly did, but DS cut down over the last few months of my pregnancy with DD and then stopped completely when she was born (I can remember feeding her when she was two weeks old and he said "I used to do that when I was a baby", and I thought "Yes, about three weeks ago... ")

Have you read the Hilary Flowers book?

Yes, it's brilliant. I was a bit worried about the 'how to wean if your nipples fall off' chapter but so far, so good. I've found that I've had to drink loads to stay hydrated which has resulted in even more trips to the loo but other than that I've been OK.

I wonder if DD will wean in the last few weeks of this pregnancy? I'm hoping she won't but she has cut down a bit recently. She still asks for it at night sometimes but I'm sticking with the night weaning so I just tell her they're asleep. The alternative suggestions she's come up with are priceless So far she's asked for cheesecake, playground and Timmy Time, all at about 3am. She'll always settle for a cuddle though.

I did get the "feeling seriously weirded out by bf" feeling that she talks about when bf in the second half of my pregnancy, and was so glad I'd read about it first and knew it was normal or I'd have wondered what was going on.

DS was a little bit older (38 months when DD was born) so every chance your DD will keep going, I'd have thought.

Tarlia yes we are definately going to find out the sex next month so we'll see if the dreams were truly prophetic or not. And the sign was in a mothercare shop, as a kind of plaque/poster on the wall. It might have been OK if it was "what you will need for the first fortnight" but it was titled "what you'll need for the birth in hospital" (or something like that) and it had SO much stuff on it.

I agree about America. I find them very odd in their attitudes to birth and babies. Has anyone else noticed on tv shows the babies always seem to end up away from their mothers, all in a room of cots? What's with that? They could try to take my baby from me in hospital but they wouldn't get very far!

Hi
Gosh it's taken me a while to catch up from yesterday but some great posts about bf. I'm planning to try it as I'd love to be able to do it - just hope I can. I have a few questions for those experienced ones!

1. Do I still need to buy sterilisers and bottles even if I BF?

2. Should I wait and buy a pump after I know I can successfully BF

And then I have a question about baby wipes! If I can only use water, are baby wipes ok? Or do you wait a while before using these and use kitchen roll / flannels before?

And finally sorry for all the questions but what is top and tailing? Washing the head and feet?

Its weird because I'm good at my job and (like to think) relatively intelligent and I feel SOOOO lost with all this stuff! Totally out of my comfort zone!

Hi everyone

I've found myself stranded in bed with flu, which strikes me as the perfect time to finally join the thread!

I'm 18+3, due 19th Feb and it's my first baby (husband's 3rd...and I think he and his girls are more excited than me!).

Some of the posts I've been reading have had me laughing out loud - it's brilliant to relate to other people's experiences. I've had trouble putting on weight as well, which is hilarious considering my very obvious bump and that my boobs have gone up three cup sizes already (though I think some of it is just the boob fairy realising she'd missed the original delivery slot twenty years ago). All I can think is that to have only put on a pound of weight overall, my back must be looking really, really skinny!

Does anyone else feel that as soon as you get a grip on how to handle one pregnancy symptom something else starts happening to completely confuse you? And can someone please tell me when the 'energetic and blooming' phase is going to begin? I'd diaried it in to start in week 13!

When it comes to feeding the baby, you will know what to do. Everyone will offer advice but there is an expression 'Mum knows best' and its soooo true!

Whether you breat or bottle feed or a combination of the two, do what works for for you. And agree with Prof even feeding for a few weeks is better than nothing. Even just their first ever feed is better than never having had any. MW cant make any recommendations when it comes to formula apparently, because they shouldnt be encouraging it at all (hence how you never see adverts for baby milk unless is from 6m+) but on the flip side remember that if you choose to go to formula, dont let anyone pressure you otherwise. The MW are just doing what they are told to and its not a direct pop at you.

Ok rant over

Welcome Oneof4 - wow only a pound. V envious! Muct weigh myself this week actually. Am nearly 18 weeks (on Thurs)

Welcome Oneof4! Same boat - my first one as well but DH's 3rd! Was relying on DH to know everything but he can't remember as his will be 12 and 9 when she's born!