December 2011: Scratching, squeezing, hatching and latching...

[LittleMissHumbuggery]

...and those of us left are doing a fair bit of bitching:o

I wonder if we could get a [pompoms] going on? Do we have the energy for a campaign?

Right, come on! We're a third of the way through the month and Nickelbabe needs new recruits for her advent thread. Get squeezing:o

Have been sat here crying this afternoon danny just gets so frustrated on the breast he then refuses to latch and we both get upset. DH is being very supportive bless him as he sees how frustrated I get when pumping and hand expressing generates a few ml at most.

On a lighter note Major achievements today were that I drove without feeling I was being stabbed in the nethers and my normal jeans did up woop woop.

Me too figgy - mine either gets upset, twists head frantically and can't find latch or latches and then falls asleep. I have had many frustrated moments of crying. Interested to talk to bf counsellor and see if she's any more suggestions. If not I may have to concede defeat at some stage. Much as I don't want to. It's upsetting but on the other hand a stressed out mama is not what this baba needs. It really is one of the toughest things ever.

Figgy, our DS is the same, he'll twist about frantically & ignore the wopping great boobie infront of him in favour of screaming/whimpering the house down, so you're not alone in it all! It's fricckin frustrating though!

Congrats on fitting into normal jeans! I 'snapped' back into my size 8's 3 days after birth, but am still 20lbs heavier than pre-pg weight?? .

Hi Ladies! Just thought I'd check in & wish you all a Happy New Year.

Haven't managed to catch up on posts as sleep deprivation has gotten the best of me & I'm struggling a bit this past week...think I have an overactive letdown. It's really distressing seeing Rocco cough splutter & cry :( It mainly seems to happen in the evening & has gotten steadily worse or at least he's gotten more frustrated with it. On advice from the LLL BFing book, last night I tried feeding exclusively from one side which seems to help him but feels really uncomfortable & weird for me. I've been really lucky as BFing has felt natural from the start but using just one side left that nipple sore & the other side full & achey. Does anyone know any other way to deal with this? Or why my letdown seems to be stronger in the evening? Is that even possible? I'm at a loss to know what else to do

On the brightside, we weighed Rocco on Friday & he's gained almost 2lbs in 24days. Birth weight was 8lb 14 & he weighed 10lb 12. :)

Heaviness is muscle tone from hefting all that baby about

Spent the afternoon being unwell. Trying to watch Sherlock and still feeling too unwell to concentrate. This makes me sad, as there was a Sherlock mostly in a sheet to drool over. I may have to concede defeat and try tomorrow when I am feeling less digestively insecure:s

Sorry that so many of you are having problems with breastfeeding. My problems with the older two were mainly me learning how to manipulate my boobs (large) so that the tiny things could get on with it. I hope that at some point things work out for you all:)

I think I will head up to bed now. I have decided I am not having a baby tonight, so am off to sleep off this lurgy.

LMF I think I'll need a large haddock for DH!

Air Congrats on your dishwasher.

Sorry to see some of you are having BF problems. Sky seems to be a natural at it. She's in her Moses basket for the first time tonight. Have laid the top I was wearing today on the mattress so it helps her settle as smells like me. So far so good!

Been quite emotional today. Would that be a hormone release thing?

figgy just read your post...you're not alone in your tears either :( I cried today when DP passed Rocco to me because he was trying to suck on his neck & I realised I didn't want to try to BF because I was scared of his reaction if my letdown was too strong for him. I know it's early days but for the first time BFing feels like the harder option to me & it's making me so feel so stressed & ill. I'm sure I'm making it worse as he must feel the tension in my body when I try to feed him. :(

Hi girls and (((hugs))) and postnatal pompoms for those of you with BF issues, I've always been told it takes 4-6 weeks for mum and baby to really settle with BFing, so be assured you are not alone, and ultimately every feed your LOs get is something positive: do focus on what you've achieved and give yourself credit for your efforts. If you feel strongly that you want to keep feeding them some breastmilk then mixed feeding is an option, but it's got to be what works best for you and keeps you sane, don't feel pressured/guilted into a decision either way.

No beeb yet exiting at this end: I've taken down the Xmas stuff, went for a walk in our local woods with the DDs (including a bloody great hill. Mad woman alert!) and you should have seen the comedy contortions necessary to do up me walking boots! I think I've
done everything I can to encourage eviction of the premises, so hey ho.

air, there's a great free website that the DDs use lots of stuff from when at my great childminders: it's called Sparklebox and is huge: covers from
3yrs-key stage 1 (age 6-7). Includes seasonal and crafty stuff, lots of different levels of things. Take a look.

sparklebox link

_

honeyI have a fast let down and was told to hand express for a minute or two before a feed (I presume until the milk stops spraying and starts to drip), and also not to feed in the cradle hold as that will make it worse for the baby, and instead to do the biological nurturing hold that msbuggy told us about before www.llli.org/faq/positioning.html

honey you can also try just block nursing for say 4hrs at a time, feeding in a position where you are leaning back so milk is flowing against gravity can help, as can taking him off when you first let down (the first let down is the most forceful!) and catching the milk in a muslin or nappy, then putting him back on when it slows down again. It is something that Rocco will be able to deal with just fine as he gets older though.

lmf baby size vs boob size was my main problem too (although it ended up causing all manner of other problems with DD1), GGs that were 3 times the size of the tiny baby's head...I'm convinced that Miri being bigger is why I have found it so easy this time round, for me it is like feeding a 3mth old.

We are all up, fed and DP left for work on time...I am even dressed and so is Miri! The healthy eating here starts today, we all had mango smoothies for breakfast and I will be making tomato and bean soup form lunch in a little while. Clearly my military level of organisation works!

Morning Ladies.

School run went well this morning how we didn't get blown away with this weather I don't know!

God bless the swaddle blanket and all who use them

So far so good with the bfing although not sure how i'll cope when DH goes back to work. I know a couple of amazing bf counsellors who cover south London and Kent I think and would be happy to pass on their contact details if anyone is interested. pm me and i'll send them over. They used to work in the neonatal unit where DS was for 4 months and were really supportive as well as knowing their stuff.

Not too sure how these things are viewed by MN HQ so if I'm not supposed to post this please report me!

Morning Ladies.

DP is back to work today so Rocco & I are enjoying breakfast in bed; & for me, gigantic right booby for him as I block nursed on the left all night. we're actually up now but it took me 2 hours to post this

What I don't understand is why my let down isn't a problem now when he wailed on & off for an hour last night if I pointed a nipple in his direction :(

Thanks for the advice Bee & MsB I've tried everything except the expressing (as taking him off at let down seemed simpler) so I guess we just have to keep working at it. Good to know he'll learn to deal with it but I wish he didn't have to get so upset. :(

Another question I've been nursing in the laid back position (& keeping him upright for at least 30 mins after nursing) for the past week now as Rocco was really suffering with trapped wind & it really seems to help but I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to nurse him on my side for night feeds in the future? The first few weeks were blissful as I barely woke to nurse him but now I'm sleeping upright with 4 pillows & I'm not sleeping as well...sure I'll get used to it but it'd be nice to think it wasn't permanent.

morning girls. Pouring rain over here in Surrey, need to get DD2 to a hospital appointment this morning (just a monitoring thing as both my DDs have glasses) and have no motivation. PLus DD1 is having an unsolicited grump for no appreciable reason. Now day 7 post dates which is when DD2 appeared, but only the odd unconvincing twinge at this end. I am SO thankful that DH is fielding all the phone calls, motherinlaw rang AGAIN to say she wanted to visit on Sunday if we'd had baby (but not if we hadn't, thanks MIL!)

hope you're still intact LMF and hopeful, we're really pushing this December boat but at least we'll be there soon....

honey - just keep trying with the lying down feeding every now and then and see what happens, some babies take to it and some don't. I could never get it to work with DD1 but DD2 seemed quite happy. I think it just varies.

hawthers - well done! 6 hours sounds blissful..

Danny was scouting devil last night we started "bedtime" at 9.15 with the commencement of last feed finally got him to sleep at 1.22 after making another bottle for him he then woke at 4 for another feed and I had to get him up at 8 for an appt at 9. He not due another feed for an hour as we had been on a 4 hour-ish cycle last few days which was working well but he's screaming house down again so got him latched as I type.

If the BF does improve I'm dreading taking him anywhere I hate doing if with clothes my boobs are still the same size as pre pregnancy 36a/b and nit easy to manipulate with bra and clothes and letting him get access I sit stripped to waist now whenever feed him can't exactly do that in public. For next couple weeks think I'll be staying in or doing swift dashes out in between feeds plenty of time for adventuring when weather bit better and hes a bit bigger,

Not sure what a scouting devil Is (see me previous post) but he was certainly a little devil last night.

thanks aethel it seems the answer to most BFing questions is keep trying & I will because it's so worth it when it goes right :) Your MIL sounds just lovely, sure she meant that she didn't want to bother you on Sunday if the baby isn't here & not that you without LO are not worth a visit

figgy I'm with you on not being able to BF discreetly, sleep deprivation helps though as I'm past caring if someone gets an eyeful, so be it

Btw sorry for all the me me me posts after such a long absence...meant to say, congrats to all the new arrivals & good luck & labour vibes to those still waiting.

I've flashed boobs all over the show in my time, coldest was in an ice arena. With my first I wouldn't feed in public until the day I got caught in town where there was nothing at all open and my daughter was inconsolable. I bit the bullet and sat on a bench and got on with it. For most people there's the lightbulb moment and it just clicks:) Here's waving pompoms for those moments:)

I'm having a coffee at the minute, then I'm off to go sort my daughter's room out. Need to sort the stuffed toys out and then we can shift all the Christmas presents:o

Anyone else still waiting??? I was due on NYE and still no sign... induction booked for 11 January

hopeful, aethel and I are all still hanging on:o Grab a pompom and a curry

hi all,

not sure I am going to get my lightbulb moment LMF, baby just doesn't seem to want to feed. I have her on my breast for half an hour eight times a day and she still needs 90-100ml of ebm/formula each time as well after the half hour at the breast, so she must be getting very little from it. I can't cope with the breastfeeding for 30 minutes, followed by bottle feeding ebm/formula, then expressing for 30 minutes plus changing her nappy on my own, it takes 2 hours out of every 3. So I am going to have to resign myself to mixed feeding I think. Going to formula/ebm feed during the day and only put her on the breast sometimes, when it's convenient and then try and bf/express in the mornings/nights when husband is around and see how I get on. At least she'll still be getting some breastmilk and I want to continue that as long as I can. Just saw the midwife who is a massive advocate of bf, but she said that I just seem to have a problem with a slow let down and baby not liking it and that mixed feeding for the moment seems like the best solution.

I feel sort of like a failure but I can't force the child to my breast. And she is gaining weight (is now 1oz heavier than birth weight - yay!) and seems happy and healthy so maybe I should stop worrying so much. I am certainly trying my hardest so I am not sure what more I can do. Reducing the ebm/formula won't be helpful as she won't be getting anywhere near enough nourishment. Please reassure me that I am doing the right thing, it's such a hard decision.

Hi all, sorry to hear so many of us are struggling at the moment. Mopsy you seem to be having a very hard time of it. I'm impressed you've stuck at it for so long already, it certainly sounds like mixed feeding is a good decision.

Another gloomy 'me' post coming...

DH goes back to work tomorrow and I'm absolutely shitting myself. I keep bursting into tears, and have been seriously wishing on occasion that I still only had one child. The few brief times I've tried looking after the two of them so far haven't gone that well, and I just don't know how I'm going to cope on my own.

DS is a bit of a nightmare with feeding too. Any time he's awake he thinks he needs to eat. It's not too bad in the daytime, particularly if we're on the move in the car or buggy, or I have him in the baby bjorn. We can stick to 3 or 3.5 hour feeds then, and he settles fairly well after each one. At night he's getting worse rather than better. He's up and unsettled for a good 2 hours with each feed, then willl only sleep for an hour in his basket before wanting to start all over again. The only way we've had a little more sleep the last couple of nights has been when DH has resorted to letting DS sleep on his chest (it doesn't work for me, I smell like milk). I'm exhausted in the day and then have to entertain 20 month old DD. I keep getting terrible headaches, similar to the menstrual migraines I used to suffer from, which just make coping even harder.

I know we'll get there eventually, but I'm worried what damage it will do to me and the kids in the meantime.

In other exciting news, I think I may have had some sort of prolapse. Lochia has pretty much stopped, and my stitches and graze have healed, so I've braved looking down below and have discovered that there are bits of me on the outside which were formerly on the inside. And I don't just mean the piles

Kate sounds like you're having a mare, but right now I think you need to ring your GP and get an appointment for seeing about your prolapse. It's one of those things you can mentally tick off and put in a box until appointment day, if you see what I mean?

I get the feeding cycle. My son was the same:( Half an hour on, ten minutes off for a burp, trump and a nappy change then on to the other side. I eventually caved and gave him a dummy, as it became apparent that he wasn't actually feeding as his weight rarely increased (whole other story right there). I can't offer any constructive advice, I used to put him in his pram and walk for hours just to get some peace, but only after my daughter had gone back to school.

Mopsy it took me a lot of mental energy to get my head around mix feeding. I had a terrible health visitor who disapproved of breast feeding and she really pressured me to give up. You seem to have much better support in place than I had and you know what might work best for you. If so, go for it. At the end of the day all we can do is our best, and regardless of how we manage to feed the children they'll still grow, poo and smile:)

mopsy please don't feel bad about mixed feeding and don't give yourself a hard time about it. I wasted so much energy doing that with DS and I so wish I'd been easier on myself. Someone else will know the stats but the number of exclusive bf ers at 3 weeks is really quite low because it can be so tough physically and mentally.