May 2017 #15 No sleep, night feeds and the newest arrivals

[Tickyboovicki]

Fingers crossed this works, no idea how to make a thread but giving it my best shot. Let the May babies continue!

😁 tea! At least you know it's not dairy ;)

Congrats to all new mummies- we must almost all be there now?

Any thoughts on silent reflux? Baby sonnet a terrible sleeper with wriggling, squirming, coughing and spluttering...had a 3am Google and that's what came up. I've been giving him infacol for a good week or so now but he seems very unsettled. I am sure by the time I works out what's up with him he'll be over it and on to a new issue...but just wondered if anyone else has experienced the silent reflux?

Huge congrats raspberry! Certainly worth the wait! Wishing you a quick recovery.

@Sonnet18 we've got a wedge for the cot. Make sure your burp them really well. You can get baby Gaviscon or ranitidine on prescription if they're really distressed with it. It passes too, once the muscle at the top of the stomach matures.

Is my baby the only one that came with a time sucking machine - I have no idea where time goes!!

Baby Rise seems to have found her voice, even while she's sleeping! she's developed a real throaty growl (for want of a better description) which is accompanying every stretch during the day it's quite amusing, at 3 am not so much!

Baby W fussed all afternoon yesterday, then cluster fed all evening, and refused to go to sleep. After a mammoth feed at midnight I ended up getting DH to take her and cuddle her for a while and she eventually fell asleep - then slept amazingly for the night! We woke her at 5 and at 9.30. She had just got so worked up before that! So frustrating.

@teainbed I think that's helpful! If perhaps a little restrictive...

Yeah time is weird and hazy with a newborn rise

Is there anything I can be doing to help my lady bits heal nicely? I appear to have pulled a stitch. It doesn't really hurt but I'm worried that every time I slouch on the sofa or sit with my legs akimbo or wipe after the loo that I'm making it worse.

Congratulations raspberry!

fox lavender or tea trea oil in the bath is supposed to really help. Or a few drops in your pads if you're still wearing them.

I've had a couple of lavender baths ghost although baths really aren't my thing. Bit scared to put it directly on a pad as it's strong stuff!

@teainbed that's brilliant! (I say, digging pasta out of cupboard). Are tomatoes considered villainous? I might knock a ricotta cannelloni together with a bit of sauce. I say that only because I have help today...! Otherwise it would be ready meals...

Last night was such a disaster (DP late on taking over and baby had crap sleep) that I 'slept' in milk encrusted clothes on a bed with no sheets, next to an unbathed little one. 

The nipple direction advice was basically to look in a mirror and assess which way they point. It's subtle but I've got one that looks slightly lower and outward, and the other is more 'straight ahead'. It's helped me position him against my body to get a better latch, a little differently for each side. I'm still pretty much holding him lying facing me against my body (above my scar) but have also tried him sitting up by my side, facing my boob. I'm looking forward to scar being less sensitive then I can try some slightly more 'upright' positions for the wind...

@1004Rise I've officially given birth to a truffle pig crossed with a parakeet. We get the full range of sweet sighs and squeaks through grunting, snorting and squawking, and my personal favourite: the dirty old man 'Sid James' chuckle (most common when coming off boob). Creases me up in the day, but likewise not so amusing when relentless from 3.30am onwards...

@Sonnet18 sorry to hear you're having this too- for what it's worth mini M has been on infacol for over 2 weeks now and it seems to be slowly improving- I think it can take a while as cumulative (if there is any truth to it at all!). The other advice I had is to give it ten mins before a feed to like their stomach, rather than immediately before a feed. It hasn't solved everything here but we get some better stretches, MM is a month old tomorrow. Could just be the muscles maturing as tea said, but who knows...it's all a dark art to me.

@MrsJW15 well impressed and jealous!!
I started expressing yesterday so hoping DP can do a boob milk dream feed tonight.
I got 75ml from my first session!! Was so amazed to see it come out...

I do think the little bit of mixed feeding we've been doing has already affected my supply though, so I need to get pumping regularly today after or between feeds. Baby just seems hungry after leaving the boob but gets immediately bored if I put him back on which makes me think he's not getting quite enough. I am v small boobed so don't know whether that affects it, but lactation consultant suggested it might lead to very frequent nursing, which is where we were last week on the hourly schedule, with me teetering on the edge of sanity as a result.

For anyone expressing or FF, how many ml would you expect a 4 week old to drink per feed if approx every 3 hours?

His dad has a MASSIVE appetite and in his baby days, his mum was advised to put weetabix in his bottles to fill him up, which she did, and he was still hungry all the time (nothing has changed). Advice best left in the 1970's I should think!

Advanced warning of a vent, so feel free to skip this post!!

In laws are still visiting and because we're staying at my parents it's all getting a bit stressful. They're only up til tomorrow and MIL just wants lots of cuddles with Baby Rise which I totally get but she's happier in her donut. They're staying about a 30 minute drive away because it was the only place they could find that would take dogs so it's an hour round trip so in the evening they're tired but the don't want to leave. My Mum has anxiety problems just now which she's on medication for so while she can cope with me & dh the extra people are stressing her out and then DH isn't in til 18.30 so FIL bombards him as soon as he's in the door and he's still trying to get his head round new job and... and... and... you can see where this goes. Dogs are playing up because I think they can sense the tension, Baby Rise who doesn't really have a routine still seems to have been knocked off it so she was awake almost every hour last night and she won't really settle this morning. I think my Dad might be the only one that is still feeling sane And I feel awful for wishing them away already. It's just an intense situation made more intense.... it feels harder than the nights of eat, poo, sick, eat, poo, sick

I'll stop feeling sorry for myself now!

Congrats @RasperryInAMelon

@teainbed I tried the swaddling for night feeds to stop arms getting in way and it makes him more upset, so just fighting onto boob at moment and he's fine when latched. I'm hoping it's just a phase.

@mightymouse76 I am expressing 60ml for baby vanillas feeds and have read by 4 weeks they can take between 80ml-120ml per feed
DH has been doing one night feed with the bottle which has helped give my nipples a rest!

@mightymouse76 that's interesting, will have to get them out in front of a mirror? My left side still stings a bit and I'm wondering why.

@1004Rise that sounds really hard, no advice as I hate having visitors and only have a very select few to stay who I can tolerate!

@vanilla8 you can also wedge one flailing arm under your arm and hold onto the other one.

Mighty I like feeding her lying down but I do have to protect my scar with a duvet as her little feet like to kick! It's hard to get a good feeding position with the scar I find, even though she latches easily. Planning to express at some point so that DH can help with feeding, but waiting a few weeks. And he's good at waking up to help during the night - he's not working at the moment.

Rise that sounds like a nightmare. Far too many people and things going on. Not surprised you and baby Rise are finding it tough. Hugs.

@mightymouse76 my LO is just over 2 weeks old and can easily down 80ml of expressed milk and still want more in one sitting (and then wakes up 2-3hrs later hungry again). He was born quite small so I don't know if he's playing catch up...

@foxmulder my GP recommended sitting in a saltwater bath for healing - I have no stitches left at all unfortunately!

@1004rise I feel your pain - whenever baby manages a long nap he gets really loud at least half an hour before he's awake enough to be woken and fed!

@mightymouse76 'truffle pig crossed with a parakeet' we have a little warthog here. Lactation consultant says it is 20ml per kilo per feed (assuming eighut feeds a day, or adjust accordingly). So a 3.4kg baby will take about 68ml per feed.

I have a noisy noisy baby too! Grunting, snorting, and really wriggling around - she doesn't stay still when she's awake or asleep!

The last couple of evenings she's started to get quite fractious between about 6-9pm. Not really full on screaming but crying, fussing at the breast etc....I guess this is quite normal from what others have said?

@mightymouse76 laughing at a parakeet crossed with a truffle pig 😁😁

Have an appointment with my mirror later to check the direction of my nipples 🤔 might explain the baby grump on one side versus the other!

Can someone turn the sky tap off, I'm bored of the rain!

Oh and in addition to my earlier moan FIL has bought the Daily Fail and is trying to read it to us.... may have to go and buy the guardian and the independent to cleanse the house 😜

I'll try that too cox

In a bit of a spin so can't catch up properly but had to share this, first thing to make me belly laugh in a while...FFS indeed

The many stages of the night feed
http://guides.letsmush.com/guides/212

Thanks ladies for the expressing info, mini mighty just bashed down the results of two pumping session (110ml) with no arguments. One 75ml bag was not enough! I'm going to have to get pumping every couple of hours...Where are those fenugreek seeds...

On the nipple tip (pun intended) @teainbed And @1004Rise yep have a good look, or get OH to if you trust them to concentrate. Made a huge difference to my comfort levels, and such a small adjustment too- stops them 'pulling' your nipple away from its natural sight line with their gums 

Rise the daily fail would be my deal breaker for sure. That or the sun (we're an Liverpool FC household for starters!)
I wish London would follow suit and ban both those hideous rags.

@Sipperskipper Yep that sounds 'normal' to me, in this upside down universe of newborn rules..my boy seems to be most fussy between sundown and sun up. Marvellous!

@MrsJW15 When was your LO born again? My scar is feeling a lot better 4 weeks on, but that just makes me more likely to aggravate it by a silly bend or movement. I still find holding baby for any length of time sets off the discomfort (like right now) so still partial to the odd painkiller. Off the constipation inducing codeine for now though which is a relief.
Hoping to spend the next few (make that 12) hours in bed on feeding duties (me biscuits, him boob) - not going to fight it this eve!

Oh and @1004Rise someone recently defined middle age to me as when you look at the rain and think 'oh good, great for the garden!'. Guilty as charged...

I'm wondering if gravity and age have affected things for me @mightymouse76 So that would make a lot of sense. I had very little trouble feeding my other DC so I'm desperately trying to trouble shoot this with BabyTea.

I am pumping as baby Red won't latch on, on average I can pump a full 8oz from both boobs in about 45 minutes. Per feed, she gets around 2.5/3oz which is about 75-100ml. Sometimes she leaves a little bit, other times she guzzles the whole lot.