November 2017 #5. You wait ages for a baby, then 3 come along at once. Ante/post-natal chat ...

[Zampa]

No specific post-natal category so I've added it to the normal ante-natal category ...

Glad your daughter is home again @butterybollocks. Hope she is soon on the mend.

We have a very old oil boiler & no thermostats so the heating is either on or off. Last week it decided to breakdown so we had no heating for 4 days, it was decidedly chilly! Thankfully it's been sunny & we have a south facing house so the sun has been keeping it pretty warm during the day & ive not needed the heating on much. DS is always hot & I don't like the heating on when I'm in bed as it makes me feel ill being too hot, so we leave it off overnight & layer different blankets on Iris to keep her toasty. I thought I'd be cold getting up for feeds but I've been surprised at how warm my hoody keeps me & Iris has a lovely merino wool blanket to keep warm while she feeds. It will be good when she's big enough for a grobag as she keeps kicking her blankets off.

I decided to try driving again yesterday. I only went to the local Sainsbury's 5 miles away but it was fine. It was so nice to be out by myself & have my independence back. I was only out 45 minutes & everyone was asleep when I got back!

Got lots planned for next week now I'm on the road again. The sling library will be one of my first stops, Iris has decided that 9am - lunchtime is exclusively for her to be held so a stretchy wrap will hopefully free my arms up so I can still do things & give her the comfort she's looking for. It will also come in handy for dropping DS at the childminder & preschool.

@Topsyloulou I started driving again on Wednesday, the sense of freedom was unreal! DH was at home looking after Bea so I went for a really long drive, including a quick blast up the motorway.

At night time I cover Bea in a folded over cellular blanket and then s homemade knitted blanket also folded over, that seems to keep her warm.

Does anyone have any breast feeding safe cough remedies? Hacking away next to DD2 is not conducive to her sleeping restfully. Honey & lemon not really doing it for me!

Expressed for the first time today so going to see if DP can settle babycakes whilst I sleep. Wish us luck!

Thanks ladies I’m at my parents this wkend, our first trip away with Liliana and I am missing being in my own home and away from lots of unsolicited advice :-/mastitis still there and because we are away and visiting family I am not pumping/ looking after myself as much as I should be

Zampa strepsils and paracetamol or ibuprofen. Just getting over a respiratory infection and have an ebf 2.5 week old, not fun! Loaded up on antibiotics, painkillers, cough sweets and staying hydrated.

Ah, thanks @foggymist! I will start sucking some sweeties ASAP!

Just make sure they're bf friendly, no decongestants etc.

How do you cope with cluster feeding? Matilda falls asleep feeding on me, I lay her down to sleep and then she wakes up and cries and only calms down when I pick her up again! I’ve been pumping milk to get us through the night so DH can help with feeds but now they aren’t sending her back to sleep it takes over an hour every 2-3 hours in the night to coax her back to sleep but last night she was awake again after half an hour! Google tells me this can last 3-4 months! How am I not going to go insane 🙈

@Hazandduck I can't offer you advice on cluster feeding but have come to join you trying not to go insane.

Bea was awake for 13 hours yesterday, every time I put her down she screamed. I was reduced to a sobbing wreck by the evening. This morning she would only settle if she was lying up right on me and I her breathing was raspy.

I took her to the walk in clinic fearing she had a chest infection. They diagnosed reflux and told me to go back to GP to demand gaviscon. "D"H is having a nap after the events of this morning, I want to kill him. I'm tired too but once again dealing with the worlds worse tempered baby.

Sock she must be so overtired (you too!). Is there anything that really helps her sleep, like going in the car, a walk in the pushchair etc? If so, do that asap and try to keep her asleep that way for as long as possible. Sleep begets sleep and I think in the same way, being overtired means they find it hard to get to sleep and stay asleep. Kick your DH out of bed and get him to drive/walk her to sleep!

Haz cluster feeding comes and goes as they have growth spurts and need to build up supply. You need box sets, and lots of tea and biscuits Freddie takes an hour to settle again at night after a feed, I keep trying to put him down sooner but I always fail!

We're realising that we have to keep F really warm otherwise he doesn't sleep as well. But obviously I'm then fretting about him overheating

@butterybollocks we have had 2 car journeys today. Which had bought on some blessed nap time! And from tomorrow onwards we are going out every day for a walk. Hopefully this can be the behind of a routine for us.

I've now shouted my husband and he has redeemed himself by making me lunch.

If I put my ds down after a feed during the day and he sleeps where I put him then I leave him there, if not I just pick him back up and let him feed more or just hold and cuddle him. At night we cosleep, he sleeps either beside me on his empty bit of bed (no pillow or duvet) or in the crook of my arm (duvet is down at my waist anyway for cosleeping). He sleeps 3-4.5 hours at night, and goes back to sleep straight after a feed, I feed lying down which I didn't know how to do with ds1. Ds2 cluster fed yesterday evening for 4.5 hours, so we just sat or I put him in the sling.

With my first ds I was concerned about trying cosleeping so put him in his cradle after every night feed. Took 30-60 mins and usually lots of crying and fidgeting out of him and frustration out of me to get him to sleep every time, then he'd wake again an hour or two later. If I had my time with him again I'd have gone straight to cosleeping, it's where they want to be and where nature intended them to be, makes feeding and sleeping much easier for everyone!

YY to the benefits of co-sleeping! We've done it with all of ours, mostly because I'm lazy & can't imagine how annoyed I'd get at having to get out of bed several times a night! As it is, at 10 days old, last night DD slept from 1-6.30 & then for another 4 hours in the morning! She's more than made up for it this afternoon though - she's been cluster feeding & I feel completely drained! She finally went to sleep about half an hour ago, having been awake for about 6 hours. I just want to be left alone!

Generally, she's a really easy baby so far. Other than having to get the latch completely perfect or it's agony. Even with the right latch I get really sore after a couple of feeds. It seems to be working to express & bottle feed when it gets too bad. Not ideal & am hoping to go see an IBCLC to investigate potential PTT. I'm expressing twice as much as she'll take in a feed - I certainly don't have a lack of supply! I'm a bit concerned about going completely EBF without expressing for her - her poos are developing a definite green tinge that they didn't have when I was mostly expressing. It means she's filling up on foremilk & not getting enough hindmilk out, probably because of the TT! Hopefully once my supply settles down & we've got the TT sorted I can stop obsessing & just enjoy her!

Quite jealous of those with sleepers! DD won't be put down without a huge fuss and then only goes about 90 minutes before waking up again (although will sleep on me for hours!).

@hazandduck DD has cluster fed 3 times since birth and it is hard work. I'm just reassuring myself that it's not a permanent thing!

MIL doesn't like the name we've chosen for DD. When she visited today she said she was going to call her something else! Our response was, please don't, that's not her name ... We'll see how things transpire ...

Hi all.... is anyone else still waiting for the Labour to start? I'm 40+3 here and have just had some mild cramping and that's it! Am very uncomfortable and slightly fed up... Going for a sweep tomorrow and then being induced on the 12th if that doesn't start it but that sounds so far away! Hope everyone is well. X

@zampa my MIL gave DS a "nickname" which both DH and l disliked, DH casually turned to me one day she was here and said "remember when we registered DS's birth, do you remember us putting {nickname} on his birth certificate?" I said no, and the nickname in question has never been mentioned again since! Honestly, it's your DC, who do people think they are to go against the name you have chosen?!

Hi all

Sorry for being so quiet for so long.

Pleased to announce the birth of our boy Frederick Donald Baring Flower.

Born on 15th Nov by emergency C.

We had a 3 day labour and I was induced at 38+6 as they suspected I had a hind water leak.

We have spent 5 days in hospital since his birth as he had a suspected infection, lost too much off his birth weight and got treated for jaundice twice. On track now and have been signed off by the midwife yaay.

It’s been a struggle with breastfeeding too but as DH took an extra week Pat leave to be with us we really feel we managed to make the most of having him here before he goes back to work tomorrow. Hope to be able to stay more active on the chat room between a feeds.

@valentinefizz Relieved it's not just me! MIL has form for this kind of thing. BIL was called out for using a "Jewish" name, which was pretty shocking, even coming from a staunch Catholic.

Congratulations @izzibee29! Love Frederick Flower as a name! He's gorgeous.

@Zampa your MIL is unbelievable! The childish part of me suggests that you call her by a different name. The adult side of me says ignore her!

@ValentineFizz - congratulations! He is gorgeous! Make sure you rest as much as you can in these early days. Seeing your pictures has made me realise that Bea no longer looks like a fresh new born. Enjoy this why it lasts, and take many many photos!

I'm counting down the hours until I can phone the doctors to get an emergency appointment to get a prescription for something to help Bea's reflux. The walk in clinic said they are unable to write this prescription. Bea is screaming in pain, I've been crying, and my big tough husband looks like he is about to cry too 😢

I am getting really stressed at night because just can't seem to get him to settle before 11ish and I have so much I need to do in the time between my daughter going to bed and us going to bed.

I have been trying to get him to settle in his cot since 8.30 and he is still not asleep! Because I am back working more or less full time again (roughly 8.30am until 4pm) I need the hours in the evening to get regular jobs done.

I have absolutely no food in the house as night been able to do an internet shop, we still have no Christmas presents at all for anyone and I have yet to iron my daughters uniform for school! Oh and my bloody year end is overdue and I haven't idea how I am going to fit that in!

@Motherhippy16 Hang in there, hope you don't have too much longer to wait. Is it weird that I'm a teeny bit jealous? I loved being pregnant, and she was so much easier to look after when she was inside me

@izzybee29 congratulations! He is gorgeous.

Felicity was finally discharged from the midwife on Friday as she was back to birth weight and no more signs of jaundice. It's a relief, but at the same time it was a bit of a comfort blanket having all the visits, someone else to have a look at her and check I haven't broken her .

My mission for this week is to make sure we leave the house every day. Last week I went from Sunday to Friday without going outdoors (combination of awful weather, laziness and being apprehensive about taking the pram out on my own) and I started to go a bit loopy.

Oh @MotherHippy16 you must be fed up... and with all us here prattling on about our little ones making it even worse! I hope he arrives soon.

Well done @izzybee29. He looks so precious.

Sorry my congratulations in my earlier post should have been to @izzibee29 instead of a @ValentineFizz - thank you sleep deprivation!

@AccrualIntentions I also start to go a bit loopy if I'm trapped inside. I'm on a mission to get out the house every day now.