The babies are here! September 2020

[LatteLover12]

Hi all 👋🏻

Here's a new thread so we can keep chatting through the sleepless nights and the many outfits they've already grown out of... 😄

[ShiningStarz]

Omg @glasha87 you really have had a tough time. Hope you are feeling stronger. 🤗

Yep I'm Combi feeding.
Our little one is 14 days today.
I had flat nipples I think from all fluid so I hand expressed colostrum first few days and also used aptamil in mam bottles. She now takes 100-120 mls per feed. Generally feeds 6-7 times per day (4 hourly).

I then bought Medela pump and I express twice a day. Should really be doing it 8 times a day but she hates being put down and my DP isn't always here!

Iv started more breast feeding from yesterday as my nipples are now not so flat and she latches on! I had to give her around 30ml aptamil tho after the BF to settle her as don't think she got enough on the boob

I would say just feed as often as she needs.
Full formula for us is around 100-120ml or I'll do some boob and then top up with 30-50ml aptamil x

[Sara7455]

@glasha87 that sounds awful you poor thing!

I’m combi feeding as well, I probably express 6-7 times a day. Like @ShiningStarz says it’s really tough to hit the magic 8 when you’re also looking after LO by yourself, especially as they get bigger and stay awake for longer! I’m demand feeding and he’s having 70-100ml ebm for his day time feeds and 70-80ml formula overnight as they digest formula slower so I figured I might get longer sleep. The formula I’m using has recommended Feeding amounts on the bottle depending on baby’s weight. So for example if baby is 3.5kg it suggests 90ml every 3 hours. He’ll take slightly less formula than ebm in a feed - I think because formula is sort of thicker? Good luck with it and hope you’re feeling better really soon!

[MostlyAmbridgeandcoffee]

@glasha87 gosh you poor thing - yes i remember - so glad you caught it and managed to get help and wish you a speedy recovery

[glasha87]

Thank you for the well wishes @ShiningStarz, @Sara7455 and @MostlyAmbridgeandcoffee - it was terrifying but feeling okay today 💕

Really great advice ladies, thank you. You’ve made everything less daunting. Felt so much guilt initially but it is so right for our situation and firmly of the belief that fed is best xx

[Sara7455]

@glasha87 definitely don’t feel guilty! Fed is absolutely best and you’re going through such a tough situation it’s absolutely the right thing for you both. You need to give yourself chance to recover too

[Lilice]

@glasha87 oh my god you poor thing, how scary. So glad you're OK in the end. Hope you manage to get some rest and have a speedy recovery x

[LatteLover12]

Oh wow @glasha87 that sounds horrific. Pleased to hear you're on the mend now.

I'm definitely making progress with recovery but I still have so much pain! I swear I can't remember being this immobile after my other two! I'm still walking like a little old lady.

I've just started using a nipple shield on one side too, I definitely need some time to heal!

Baby is feeding really well though & we're plodding along nicely.

[Smilymami]

Thanks for this thread @LatteLover12
Quick question.. do I have to change babies nappy immediately he does a poo or can it wait a bit? My baby likes to poo after I have just put a new nappy, or just as he is settling to sleep and I feel bad waking him to change his nappy.. he really hates nappy changes, that's when he cries the most and it wakes him up fully. I think it's the feeling of cold air on his butt he doesn't like.. lol

[LatteLover12]

We've been having the same dilemma @Smilymami if he goes in the middle of a feed we change and then go back to feeding but if he's just gone off to sleep we tend to leave it and change when he wakes up.

Can I just say thank god for nipple shields. Today has been a much better day! 😂

[ShiningStarz]

@Smilymami @LatteLover12 I bought nappy changer liners x 4 from mamas and papas. They give some warmth when lie them down for a change! Also I try and use warm water and cotton rather than wipes! Wipes are so cold! I put them down my bra or waistline to warm them up before a change if that's my only option!! My LO scream house down too when being changed!

[flameprincess]

Hi ladies - can't believe we made it! George is feeding like a trooper but still very much has his days and nights flipped seems to sleep all day and want to party at night. I'm getting a few hours sleep here and there though. Even when he does sleep I can't get any shut eye as I'm so hyper aware of any noise or whimper he makes cant switch off so partner has to literally take him to another room - anyone else finding it hard to rest?

I had my c-section on Tuesday so this is day 4, just woke up from a nap with aching all over almost like you get when you have a bad cold/flu - has anyone else had this? Don't know if I should be concerned or it's normal. I am breastfeeding regular and feeling like I constantly need water so maybe I am just dehydrated

[flameprincess]

Oh and I haven't managed a bowel movement yet (tmi) I'm passing wind ok but no other joy. Had some stool softeners and orange juice trying to move things along, what day is normal to have had this happen?

[flameprincess]

@ShiningStarz mine screams when he has his nappy done too - instantly stops once his clothes are back on I don't think he's a fan of the cold air on his bottom

[MostlyAmbridgeandcoffee]

@flameprincess think it’s normal to take a few days! Think I was day 4 or 5. Try introducing some peppermint tea and then try a mild laxative if that doesn’t do the trick!
Yes very normal to feel pretty awful after a section at this stage!

[Lilice]

@flameprincess my baby sleeps all day long, she wakes up, cries, feeds and goes back to sleep. I keep her in the living room until midnight while my husband is sleeping (im a night owl so I don't mind) and when I take her up to our bedroom, I change her nappy and give her one last feed. Im breastfeeding. And then guess what: she's wide awake!! 🙄 So I leave her with my husband and go to sleep in a spare room. He tells me it sometimes takes him 2 hours to get her back to sleep 😱 but at this point I really need a break and can't deal with it. He's rested so it's all right for him. I feel a bit guilty though. Then she wakes up at 5 am for a feed or i wake her up because my boobs are too sore and I take over again. I wish she would have that 2 hour window of awake time during the day, not from midnight to 2am.

[Lilice]

@ShiningStarz when I was formula feeding my other two, I would boil the water in the evening, have it cool down a bit and fill up the sterilised bottles for the next 24 hours. Then at night, just add the powder and warm it up in a bottle warmer.

[flameprincess]

@Lilice that's kind of the strategy we are taking tonight I've sent DP up to bed a couple hours before me to have a head start so he's more use to me early in the morning. Baby was always really active in my tummy from 1am and it seems like he is mimicking that pattern outside the womb now - see his eyes open at night more than any time in the day! Little monster. Seems to save his worst nappies for middle of the night too I can deal with it as long as I'm well rested and know I can hand him over at 6 to get a snooze.

[ShiningStarz]

Watch out for mastitis @flameprincess my health visitor said it can cause flu like symptoms and easily treated with antibiotic. Might be worth ringing your GP

[ShiningStarz]

Lol lol @flameprincess as soon as I start buttoning you the vest she calms down haha!! Thankfully our babies aren't jan babies! Would be so much colder !!!
Re stools lots water and fruit juice. To be honest I went straight when catheter came out and didn't stop for almost 2 weeks! Only now I'm feeling more normal. Again your GP might prescribe something to help you along x

[ShiningStarz]

@flameprincess @Lilice I'm laughing out loud!!! Our little girl generally sleeps very well during the day (in our arms!!).
Night is a whole different story as she's not a fan of being put down! However last night she slept from 2-430am in her next to me without waking!! Miracle. We are getting there slowly!
I sleep 9-1 and then partner brings her to me fed and changed and then hit or miss if she'll settle! Some nights Iv held her for hours cause she just cries and then last night was a miracle! We haven't introduced a dodo yet. BF isn't always guaranteed to work but I managed when she woke at 430 and she fed for 40 mins and is now asleep on my chest!

[ShiningStarz]

I think my little girl is out of NB size today!!
It's a struggle to cover her hands with the food over but and her toes are right at the end of her babygrow! 🙁 I'll try her I'm up to 1 month today. She was 7lb 2oz on Thurs!

[emma278]

@flameprincess i went 9 days!! 😳 had some laxative satchets and they worked a treat. Was not painful in the slightest x

[Emmy2020b]

I had my little girl! Went in for my induction at 8.45am on Thursday 24th and had her on Friday (yesterday) 25th at 6.24am. Couldn’t cope with the pain so had an epidural and it was the best thing ever especially as I was so exhausted so I could sleep! Even when they were telling me to push I was saying I could just have a nap now! 😁
She is called Sienna and is 8lbs 5 💕 Just sat in my hospital bed now having cuddles with her 😊

[emma278]

Anyone else really hate BF?! Really honest post but i hate it. Its been relatively easy but its relentless and i feel like i cant enjoy baby as its all about feeding. Even just a cuddle and she smells milk and screams. I just want to feel normal again im still in such discomfort from my stiches. Ive had enough 😢 xx

[kersh33]

@emma278

Anyone else really hate BF?! Really honest post but i hate it. Its been relatively easy but its relentless and i feel like i cant enjoy baby as its all about feeding. Even just a cuddle and she smells milk and screams. I just want to feel normal again im still in such discomfort from my stiches. Ive had enough 😢 xx

Breastfeeding isn't always easy. I'm the same with cuddles, as soon as I pick her up she starts head butting my chest as she can smell the milk. I have to get DH to try to settle her. I'm also struggling with over production and a fast let down so having to hand express before every feed which is great when you have a newborn crying for England!