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 ...

@butterybollocks yeah I have seen it and the result was the tongue tie caused issues and she ended up on formula as a result :-/ we had tongue tie cut at 6 wks so it isn't that but it did reinforce for me that formula may be what we need to do.

@butterybollocks impressive re tummy rolling - we also have an insane amount of dribbling and hand chewing!

That is amazing about the tummy rolling! I’ve been so bad at doing tummy time, I need to do it more. I took Tilly to get weighed yesterday and also to ask the health visitor for advice re her sickiness, and the lady saw Tilly be sick as I’d just fed her and said she had “significant reflux” and I need to keep an eye on her weight and try to feed her more to make up what she sicks up. I didn’t realise that she wasn’t meant to be as sick as she was until my sister in law saw her cover herself and my leg, and said she shouldn’t sick up that much. You always hear babies are sick a lot so just assume it’s normal! Poor girl. I weighed her and she is still smack on the 50th percentile though so I’m not too worried.

She’s teething badly now too and has had a cough and sniffly nose. She’s never been a big cryer but she has had screaming sessions this week :(

I agree the hormones are still bad, my periods aren’t back yet, and I still hate DH half the time lol. When will I love him again and want him to touch me?! 😖 x

@Hazandduck I agree with you re: DH comment. I can't stand him at the moment but I want to love him. He actually hasn't committed any significant crimes to deserve my hatred!

Does teething make babies sniffly?

Do any of you ladies how any tips for increasing day time naps? We are only getting one sleep cycle of around 30mins at a time. It would be so much nicer for both of us, me if she slept for a couple of hours at a time.

Omg I just wrote the longest post to you sock about my plan for longer naps. Then I lost the post!
Shortened version - I stubbornly refuse to let Freddie get through the day without one long nap (ie multiple sleep cycles). Patting is my current technique which seems to be working for now.

Yes teething can make them snotty and sniffly (and can cause some grim nappies!).

@theotherendofthesockportal I would love to increase Iris's naps. She currently has 3 or 4 20 minute naps a day. She'll only go longer if we're out of the house & then she can do 3 hours! I thought we had some success this afternoon, I'd put her in her cot in the nursery so I could sort out all her clothes & I put on Ewan, 5 minutes later she was asleep. That never happens, she normally only falls asleep on me & then I can't transfer her. It only lasted the normal 20 minutes but I managed to get loads done in that time. Tomorrow I'm going to try it in her crib & put her gro bag on her as well & see if she can go a bit longer. DS was an amazing napper & was doing 2.5 hours 3 times a day at this age. If I could get her doing an hour lying somewhere other than me that would be amazing. She's still sleeping 11 hours at night and as much as I want to improve her naps I don't want to disturb her night sleeping.

11 hours?

Christ.

I'd kill for that.

Seriously.

Thank you @butterybollocks and @Topsyloulou my other thought was to put her in her next to me, which she sleeps in at nighttime rather than have her sleeping in the Moses basket downstairs.

@Zampa sorry to hear you aren't getting much sleep. I hope this changes for you soon

Hoping that lo doesn't get the memo about the 4 month sleep regression .... Not sure there's anywhere to regress to!

@zampa hope you're OK, sleep deprivation is hell. Maybe all will improve for you at 4 months (I do know someone who this happened to) and you'll be blissfully sleeping while some of us are up wringing our hands over babies who did sleep but suddenly don't!

Ah, we're ok, really. It's hard work but I've moved on from being tearful in the evenings as I was dreading overnights so much!

DD1 was bottle fed so it was much easier to get OH to do an overnight with her or for him to give me an hour or two to myself. DD2 is mine alone to feed and doesn't really like being held by anyone but me or her elder sister (who's only with us EOW).

This too will pass!

We are having a rubbish time and I am quite emotional with reflux, constant crying and feels like since Christmas there has been less support from my parents. Not getting much sleep but could always be worse I suppose :-/

Ah @lydia and @zampa sorry you both aren’t getting much shut eye. Matilda has started sleeping for much longer, on average 6-7 hours a night but for some reason my anxiety is through the roof and I wake up every hour or so in a panic that she’s not breathing. Last night she slept from 8pm until 7.30am which is ab absolute miracle but then I woke up multiple times with a racing heart and had to keep touching her. At about 4am I woke up and get her chest and thought she wasn’t breathing and grabbed her up. I don’t know how to relax. It’s so draining, and my sister who is also a worrier said she still does that every night and her youngest is 4!! Feel a bit like I’m going mad. I don’t want to wish away these days but the nights scare me so much x

I am really sorry to read that a few of the group are not getting much sleep, without sleep things always feel so much harder. We are so fortunate that J sleeps because working 8am until often 9pm wouldn't be possible if he didn't. These last few weeks I seem to have reverted back to working every hour god sends and missing out on my children but after next week I am going to try to be more selfish and say no to people.

J has been sleeping from 8pm to 6am every night, but last night he took ages to settle because he hadn't had his usual 2 hour sleep in the day so was absolutely exhausted and beyond sleep. So we need to make sure he gets this sleep because he is obviously a baby that thrives on routine.

@lydiangel83 I understand how you feel about reflux. For us it started at 6 weeks and i has the worse day ever where Bea cried pretty much for 13 hours straight. I cried my eyes out too.

Go back to your gp and ask them to help, especially if it's affecting your wellbeing too. You aren't alone.

@sock Matilda’s reflux started at 8 weeks. Before that she suffered with terrible wind, now it has been replaced with her being sick loads! Her clothes are literally soaked. They say it resolves itself at 6 months usually, I guess because they start having a bit of solid food too? X

@theotherendofthesockportal @Hazandduck have you got medicine and is it working? I'm really down about it as everything feels difficult. I'm exhausted but persist in going out and about a lot because i refuse to be on my own in the house with her all day

@Hazandduck and @lydiangel83 I hope the reflux starts to resolve itself at 6 months. We give Bea omeprazole which she hates but it does hold the worse of the symptoms at a bay. Apart from yesterday which was a bad and I feel miserable now :( I've come to the local swimming baths to have a swim to make me feel better. It doesn't open until 8, so I am sitting in my car eating chocolate.

@lydiangel you sound exhausted. Considering how you feel, have you thought about just trying a bottle of formula to test if the constant crying is hunger? I hate even typing that to you as I know breastfeeding is important to you and you've worked so hard but I traumatised myself breastfeeding my first for longer than I should have and didn't realise that I could have mixed fed to give myself a break.

Haz I don't think you ever stop fretting about them but it is better when they get bigger and stronger.

Sock enjoy your swim (and the chocolate! That sounds like a very good idea).

Swimming and chocolate sounds ideal @sock.
I agree @buttery you sound so drained @lydia. You are doing such an amazing job getting out still, you should be really proud. We haven’t gone to the GP yet, I took her to get weighed and the health visitor saw her be sick and told me she had reflux, and said if she loses weight or I can’t cope to go to the GP but as she seemed quite content in herself I should try to avoid medicating her as much as I can. I’m just feeding her as often as possible really.
Just been round my brother’s as it’s his birthday and she had a complete screaming session. My SIL’s mother is brilliant and took her off me and cooed her out of the screaming fit. She came back to me and screamed. It just makes you feel so inadequate and like you’re doing it all wrong doesn’t it! What is most annoying is she doesn’t do that at home with me. She is happy as anything when it’s just us at home :( Xx

@Hazandduck I'm glad Bea doesn't have horrible screaming fits often, they are what drove us to meds, can't watch her writhing and screaming in pain. The first time DH heard it he was shocked and said we need to go to hospital it was so bad, I guess I have got used to it ;( touch wood the ranitidine is helping. Had no idea it was so common!

Hi @butterybollocks thanks for your kind words, I am exhausted but have gone so long I just want to push a bit more as I don't think formula would help other than let other people feed her (which realistically would be mostly me and occasionally DH at night).

@Hazandduck Matilda sorry not Bea!

Ah that’s ok @lydia well I saw the GP yesterday as Tills’ has had a bit of a cough (really loud and really dry!) and she saw her be sick and prescribed gaviscon straightaway! It’s such a faff giving it to her but the last 2 feeds she has kept down touchwood. She absolutely covered me this morning, just washed my hair and put on clean clothes and I picked her up and it went all down my back, my hair, and somehow on the back of my trousers?! How do you give the medication? I’ve been expressing a bit of milk in to a bottle and mixing the sachet in to it then spoon feeding it in her mouth, which is ok but means sterilising bottles and spoons and all sorts. Can’t imagine how it will be when I’m out and about 😖 x