January 2014 Thread 17 - and the final babies will be here any day now!

[Frizz1986]

Thought i would start up the last thread before we move over to postnatal thread.

fly we've got the same here. I think we've hit the 3 week growth spurt. Hungry, crying, constipated, clingy!

Just had the check up. Henry is 4kg, so 8lb 8. He was 8lb 5 2 weeks ago not 8lb 13.5 which doesn't make me feel confident with the HV! They got the kg right, but not the conversion.

he's only put on 3ozs in 2 weeks which isn't good. He's fallen from the 9th centile to inbetween the 9th and 2nd. He is 21 inches so between the 2nd and 9th centile for that, but his head is on the 91st centile. Which isn't good. Even allowing for his dad having a massive head, there's too much of and a difference. We have to go back in 4 weeks to check weight and height. If he hasn't grown/put on enough, he'll be referred to a paediatrician. The Dr said he was "concerned" about it. Actual words. He said to try giving hungry baby milk, but i thought it wasn't good for small babies? Henry has 5ozs 4 times a day, he wont eat more than that and you can't force him to eat as he just spits it back at you.

frying we were told the wrong conversion in the hospital too

We tried hungry baby dh bought wrong formula and Henry had bad wind but may of had that already, can't be sure. How about trying frizz tip about keeping their socks on so they conserve calories but stripping them off so they eat more?

My Henry still only eats max 4oz at a time but as you said if they don't want it they don't want it!

I'll try the sock idea. He's just drained 6ozs, but that required effort for him to have the last oz. Full on burp him, jiggle him while standing, then trying again

Frying we also tried hungry baby milk as DP bought the wrong one and it made Sylvie really windy and constipated. 5oz 4 times a day doesn't sound like much but you're right that you physically can't force them to eat any more if they don't want it. Fingers crossed he gains a decent amount next time he gets weighed. It must be worrying for you how many weeks is he now?

frying or how about feeding him more regularly? Wake him up every 4 hours for a feed? That's what we did when they were worried about his weight

He's 7 weeks tomorrow. I feel really bad because i wasn't worried, he's very happy and active, was smiling away at the Dr. So whilst i knew it wasn't loads of milk, he is happy with it.

this is the second time this week i feel like a crap mom.

You're not a crap mum! You've just said yourself he seems a very happy baby so how are you meant to know if he's not gaining enough weight, when he's showing all the signs of being perfectly happy? Don't be so hard on yourself did they give you any advice about getting him to drink more?

frying don't feel bad. The hv and mw said the most important thing is that they've got good colour, alert and plenty of wet and dirty nappies. The weight will sort itself out I'm sure. My Henry only has max 2/3 of what he's supposed to according to the guidelines but he's happy enough so I'm not worried. You know your baby so I wouldn't worry. Isn't your ds1 small too? Might just be how they're built

If he's very active he might be burning off lots of milk frying. My friend had a smaller baby (now smaller toddler) and the health visitor said it was fine because of how active she was.

The Dr didn't give me any advice. He said just to try giving him more.

ds1 is 83cm high and 10kg so on the light side too.

I'm expecting the hv to come and visit as she'll get a copy of the report thing.

Haven't been on here for ages as struggling with sleep deprivation! Leah is very colicky, at best she sleeps for 2 hours at a time, at worst she doesn't sleep at all! Last night she slept for 1.5 hours on my chest and screamed the rest of the night.

What amount of sleep is usual at 5 weeks?

RE babies not putting on weight fast enough, my cousins baby was always very petite, the hv kept suggesting formula top ups but my cousin ignored them. She now has a very healthy, hungry and active 5 year old who is still very petite. Definitely get it checked out just in case but if they seem happy and healthy try not to worry.

Also when I did the baby & child first aid course, the instructor kept stressing that we know our babies best. If they seem fine to us they probably are (and vice versa).

frying you're not a bad mum at all - if he didn't seem hungry how were you supposed to know.
Can you try feeding every 3 hours? And waking every 3-4 at night if he hasn't woken? This was what a friend had to do with her baby when he wasn't putting on weight. It was hard because he didn't seem to want it either and it seemed like he was overflowing with milk! He's now a chubby, but petite toddler.

Lara will be weighed tomorrow for her 6 week check on Thursday. I think she's put on weight but I don't know for sure, so don't beat yourself up frying.

Actually frying, 5oz 4 times a day isn't much less than what Sylvie is taking now I think about it. She grazes and only drinks a couple of oz at a time. I really wouldn't worry too much if he's happy. The examples others have given about petite babies/toddlers sound reassuring - not every baby is the same and follows the same pattern.

Hi all,
Does anyone mind if I join this group? Not sure if it is the done thing to join so late? Having lurked a bit during pregnancy, I now find myself with quite a lot of awake time mainly in the middle of the night and some people to talk to would be most welcome! Anyway ftm with a 8 wk old gorgeous lg born by emcs 4 weeks early. Enjoying it all so far but every day seems to bring a new challenge! Today we are continuing our battle against wind/colic and have now bought almost every single option to help :-) our local chemist is doing well out of us!! Fingers crossed something works tonight - I could do with sleeping before 4am!!

For those with colicky babies, have you heard of Bowen technique? I was told about it during pregnancy and during my research I read about a practitioner helping relieve a baby's colic. I can't vouch for it but might be worth looking into?

mrsgsr I'm not sure there's really a normal as such. I seem to have a rather sleepy baby compared to most though. I did read on baby center to expect them to be awake up to 10 hours at 2 months. Dd is prob only awake 6 hours at 6 weeks.

toby it's here. The nap/sleep begets sleep advice seems to have worked so far with the exception of last night ugh.

Re making new friends, I'd recommend a bf cafe if you have a local one; ours is really welcoming and you just chat to everyone around you. Would be easy to make friends.

frying well done your mum and FIL on the money front. We've all been there (nine years of being a student, so I've plenty of experience!)

pidgy I ask Alex if she's catching fairies when she goes spacey and waves her fists.

Who asked about diarrhea? I have a similar poo related question (yay!). Did anyone else get piles from pushing? I did, and they are still here nearly 6 weeks later, and although they are shrinking, they're more painful now than they were, and bleed with every BM. That's not good, is it? Got 6w check on Monday, I'm going to have to show doc my bum, aren't i? Thought I'd resigned myself to loss of dignity, but it seems there are new depths...

space was thinking of you the other day, how are you?

Thank you for replying Blue, I know all babies are different; just trying to figure out how much of her not sleeping is normal 5 week old behaviour and how much is down to colic etc as in really not coping!

Hi spged!

humpty I do have one too! At the beginning it bled but when I mentioned this a doctor prescribed me lactulose to help. It did help and it's stopped hurting. I haven't actually looked to see how it looks but I don't think they ever go. This one has been around since DS! His big head took a lot of pushing, but had paved the way for Lara's equally big head.
You can get given the lovely sounding anusol! Cream, or wait for it...suppositories! Had these with DS but not sure they did much. Might be worth a try - you can get them prescribed.

blue I'm really not sure how much Lara is awake. Awake and happy/looking around is increasing but still the minority. Feeding I suppose counts as awake, as does crying! She was awake a lot then yesterday as couldn't nap from 1.30pm onwards. She'd sleep for a few minutes then jolt awake. Meant a lot of over tired crying just as DS was having his tea. DH was late too but he managed to calm her - feel bad but I'd tried everything and my patience was very thin. Damn...should have tired the little bastard song!!

*tried! Not tired. Freudian slip.

Hi everyone, havent been on here in ages, have been busy trying to occupy bubs as she likes to feed in small sessions every 2-3 hrs, then play for a while and then sleep for 45mins, then we start again.

Sounds like everyone is still having highs and lows.

Wrt to weight gain, i would second trying to wake baby every 4hrs to feed and the socks (double them up too). We had to do it to start with. Not sure if 5oz is good or not as aurelia only feeds for 10mins or so every 2hrs and doesn't like a bottle so we are lucky if she has 3oz if she takes any.
She is 9 weeks now and was 9lb 14oz last week for her jabs (total gain of 3lbs 9 but she did drop over 12% in the first week so we had to get that back too) Hv said she is on track weight, height and head size so.....

We still aren't sleeping well and she is still v gassy. She is very alert now and is always looking around the room or staring into space.
She wont follow a noisy toy with her eyes yet, or turn to look at me when i talk to her. She does lock eyes with me though. She also hasn't really smiled much yet, the occasional one every few days, but am starting to worry about her development. Am i being silly as she is still only 9 weeks old?? Am going to mention it all to hv at her 3 month check as she should be able to do some things to check all is ok. Toys also don't interest her at all so our play time is me singing and talking to her.

Anyone else's have clicky shoulders? We mentioned it to gp at jabs and she didn't seem sure. It sounds like when i have clicky knees when bending down. She has full use of her shoulders and no pain, but they click a few times a day.

Lots of cradle cap here as well but think i might have started to solve it with a baby comb and a lot of baby oil.

Finally get a car next weekend so i can go to some baby groups.

Jabs went well and she didn't cry at all. Just a few days where she was extra unsettled.

Have had our first vomit projectiles! Out her nose and mouth all over both of us. We were both in tears.

Sorry people are still having a tough time. I try and remember that the norm is a baby who is awake at night until 6 months or so as its just how they are designed. We were told at nct to remember that as you are one of the lucky ones if baby sleeps through as most dont. It helps me to remember that i am not doing anything wrong, i just wasnt lucky.
We do a bath and story every night for bed and then the lights go down and tv is quiet, but she is still in the lounge in her basket as she wakes up so often (clingy baby) that its useless leaving her upstairs alone as i would be stuck up there with her holding her.

Have nct meet up this weekend and am v excited but nervous. Will be great to see everyone and meet all the new additions, but am worried everyone is just going to be outdoing each other....my baby can roll over, well mine smiles all the time and mine can almost talk etc etc (none of which aurelia can do)

Hi there, my little boy is 7 weeks now and it sounds like we are all having similar issues! I wanted to share what has helped me. He was crying allllll day whenever awake and waking every 2 h at night with tummy ache, so I kept feeding him. However I read up a bit and I think I was over- feeding him (ebf). So now I never feed him more than 3 hrs - if he grizzles between he generally needs a nap. Now he is much more content and less tummy ache. I read that a feed takes 3 hrs to digest and so feeding every 2hrs can just make the wind/colic worse as it all piles on top of each other in his tummy. I had tried all the colic meds with no luck.
Also the only way I have got mine to settle in his own bed at night is to make sure he sleeps on me in the sling for an hour or two after bath so he isn't over tired, then feed then he will settle in his own bed for a few hours.
Just thought I would share anyway, wish you all bit of non crying today and a bit of sleep tonight :)

Harley is now 6 weeks and I am finally getting the hang of this! Have had more than a few wobbles, feel like I am constantly worried if she's ok, although have a feeling that won't ever go away!

We are now in something resembling a routine, if we time it exactly right, she will only wake for one feed during the night! Which means DH and I are getting something resembling sleep! Which is making it a bit easier.

Humpty I got one and it bleeds although is less sore than it was, have been taking the lactolose, so that's helping. Although I feel like its not getting smaller. Think it's making itself at home. Also have my 6week check on Monday so will say about it then.

Frizz all babies are different. All the books say baby's develop at different rates. Although its hard not to compare especially when there is a bunch of babies around the same age.

Oh an my period is back. I thought I would have got a longer grace period...excuse the pun.