Due August 2021 - Welcome to the World!

[PurplePansy05]

Welcome to the chattiest birth club on MN! Newcomers always welcome 💐

14 gorgeous new babies have joined us already, welcome to the world 💖💙🥳

@Smurf123 - Welcome to the world, baby Sophia 💖
@wimbler - Welcome to the world, baby boy 💙
@Jessicapebbles - Welcome to the world, baby Ebony💖
@Inmypjsagain - Welcome to the world, baby boy💙
@PurplePansy05 - Welcome to the world, baby Leo Alexander 💙
@WinterBabyof89 - Welcome to the world, baby Rosie 💖
@Winecoffeeteamum - Welcome to the world, baby Emily 💖
@Ready2020 - Welcome to the world, baby Rowan 💖
@Magik01 - Welcome to the world, baby Isaac 💙
@Hoares3 - Welcome to the world, baby Ellis 💙
@Daffodil21 - Welcome to the world, baby Elliot James 💙
@sarah13xx - Welcome to the world, baby Freddie 💙
@Biscuitcat - Welcome to the world, baby Rowan 💙
@Whatshouldbemyusername - Welcome to the world, baby Arya-Nyah 💖

Counting down until we welcome 20+ new arrivals:

@MrsB2019x - Induction w/c 9 August, Girl 💖
@Dia12 - EDD 8 August, Girl 💖
@Aaaaa1519 - EDD 13 August, Girl 💖
@Angelesque - C-section 16 August, surprise 💛
@lucyrp - EDD 16 August, surprise 💛
@livingwithbees - EDD 16 August, surprise 💛
@BertieBotts - EDD 16 August, Boy 💙
@WolfMother - EDD 17 August, Boy 💙
@Caz1226 - EDD 17 August, Boy 💙
@Millymay13 - C-section 17 August, surprise 💛
@RandomCatGenerator - C-section 19 August, surprise 💛
@Smallbean27 - EDD 19 August, surprise 💛
@Sheisfee - EDD 19 August, Girl 💖
@Alittlexmasmagic - EDD 22 August, surprise 💛
@LottSE20 - EDD 22 August, surprise 💛 @notinthestarsigns - EDD 23 August (but likely to be brought forward induction/C-section), surprise 💛
@Fran919 - EDD 25 August, surprise💛
@Ava50x - EDD 25 August, Boy 💙
@ame88 - EDD 28 August, Girl 💖
@HopefulB - EDD 29 August, surprise 💛

It's officially THE month! Watch this space! xx

Oh I wanted to ask as well, mums to boys, any tips re how to avoid boys peeing upwards??? Leo wakes up with a wet patch on his back regularly and I need to change his vest bsbygrow, muslin, crib sheet, THE LOT. 3 times a day at least! I'm obvs going wrong somewhere 🤦🏼‍♀️ Willy is always down, btw. Nappies suitable for his weight and not too small around the waist. Lost for ideas!

He also has a bit of dry skin here and there and some nappy rash, even though we change him a lot. When do you change your babies, before and after every feed? Every few hours? Whenever you see the obvious signs? I'm not really sure what's best?

We're using Sudocream and Weleda on his bum, any othef nappy rash tips? Xx

Wet patch on back means the wee is pooling in the nappy and coming out the top. I'd look for a brand with elasticated backs. Some of them don't have that in the smaller sizes. Willy down is right but you might have to experiment with different brand and tab placement, at the moment we have to overlap the tabs to get them tight enough and fold down the top of the front. Some people like to pull the tabs down in a v or even x shape.

Also try a size up or down.

I'm always a bit lax with changing... Unless there's obvious poo noises then I tend to leave it a few hours. I wouldn't change with every feed but we are in that really intense feeding every 5 mins kind of phase so that wouldn't really work. When in hospital they wanted a change every 4 hours to keep an eye on output so I would check the clock and aim to change again after about 4 hours had passed. I think that's a good rule of thumb actually although I try not to change at night unless they seem uncomfortable.

Best thing I've found against nappy rash is allowing the bum time to dry out before the next nappy goes on. You can also pat dry with a muslin before you put the next one on. I never use cream unless they are sore, as it just makes them damp which is what causes nappy rash in the first place. But my kids tend not to be prone to nappy rashes.

I saw a post today that said about make sure the ruffles are out round legs on the nappy to avoid leaks.
Re nappy rash @PurplePansy05 with ds we found certain brands of nappies tended to bring him out in a rash so he could only really wear the pampers sensitive ones
During day I tend to change nappy when she wakes before a feed or when it needs done/ feels full
During the night I don't change after/ before every feed only if it is dirty or feels very full or of course if she is crying/ unsettled after a feed

@PurplePansy05 Definitely try a different brand of nappy, with our first baby we used the ones in the hospital and were constantly having leaks. Once we changed brands our washing pile decreased dramatically.

For nappy rash giving them nappy free time as much as possible is good. Our first baby was prone to it (and eczema) and we found using coconut oil (or any neutral edible oil) on his bottom worked as both a barrier and moisturiser. Re changing, I tend to change him if he's fussy but not looking for milk, if he's done a poo, or if he's been asleep for a while. Depends a bit on your baby, our first did a poo every single feed so we had to change him a lot or he'd get a sore bottom.

For those who are breastfeeding, has anyone tried block feeding (offering the same breast twice before switching sides)? My midwife recommended it after I complained about all the cluster feeding DS2 has been doing and it does seem to have helped him settle for longer periods. Might just be coincidence though!

Thanks girls. I just looked at his skin and the Weleda calendula cream seems to have helped a lot, nappy rash still there, but less angry. I saw online some mums recommend Huggies nappies for little boys. I hated their wet wipes so am a bit reluctant. We've been using Pampers in size 1 and Pampers wet wipes, but DH bought Mamia nappies tonight, as well as their extra sensitive wet wipes. They won all the awards so maybe they are better? Which brands worked best for you?

I am still aiming to switch to Cheeky Wipes long term, just waiting for his poop to become more established! xx

@afictionado Re block feeding, how do you do it, do you mean offering the same breast after a little break in cluster feed or after a slightly longer break (if we manage to put DC down for a bit)? xx

@Magik01 It sounds like we had very similar nights last night too. DS was crying and rooting every time he came off me from about 7.40 pm until 5am. It was relentless.
So hoping we all get better nights tonight!

Block feeding is usually recommended in cases of oversupply so do be careful as it can reduce supply. Cluster feeding I am just going with at this age, I know it's annoying but it really does help get your supply up and established so well worth doing. If there's the odd night you need to be doing anything else then do whatever gets you through but for the most part it's breastfeeding boot camp for the first six weeks or so and then gets a lot easier.

But that said, feeding from one boob twice in a row is not really what block feeding is and won't reduce supply! So worth a try if you want to. I am a bit lazy with tracking sides because IME if it matters which boob you feed from the difference will be very clear, the full one will be much heavier.

Block feeding is normally allocating one boob for a "block" of time and only feeding from one side during that block, then reversing. It reduces supply because each side is going long periods with no stimulation.

I appreciate this is a crappy photo but would you say this sleeping bag is too big? Guidance on the back would indicate she's too small for it but on her it looks fine.

The arms look big but there are poppers inside the arm holes that make the hole smaller.

@PurplePansy05 After a little break in cluster feeding, so they're draining more of the breast.

@BertieBotts Thanks for reminding me about Sarah Ockwell-Smith, I read her Second Baby Book early on in pregnancy but had forgotten that she talks about these feelings.

@BertieBotts Oops posted then realised there were more messages. Thank you for the clarification re block feeding. My first experience with breastfeeding was quite different (triple pumping 😭) so a more "normal" first six weeks is new to me! I had to remind myself how to latch on a newborn as I'd totally forgotten, when they're older they do all the work for you. 😅

@Ready2020 I personally think the bag looks fine, but obviously a picture and in real life could be quite different. I think you’ll know if it’s too big so follow your gut. Or maybe try it out for naps first where you know you will be awake just incase? Then if it is, you know your good for nighttime sleeps. Xx

@PurplePansy05 we are currently using pampers nappies which we are finding fine but Isaac seems really long and slim which I think works with the brand. I know Tesco own brand has an elasticised waist which is a snug fit- however they aren’t as soft as pampers nappies. Aldi nappies are meant to be really good, did use them with DS1 but not the newborn size.

I change Issac every few hours or if I know he’s done a poo. I should probably change him more as his bum is also a little sore but it’s tricky with another child changing so often!

@Millymay13 hope your night is going better than last night! I’ve managed to get a few hours sleep so far and DH has just brought baby upstairs so the night shift has started lol

I had totally the same experience with DS2. Forgot about having to guide a newborn to latch and couldn't work out why it wasn't working easily. I've been much more hands on this time! Actually it was funny because in hospital I was sharing with a lady who was on her second baby and I could hear her telling her newborn nice big mouth, aaaaah, open wide etc.

It's all about the head hole opening for sleeping bags. Arm holes can be big with no problem.

@Ready2020 To me it looks big around her neck. Could she slip down through the head hole opening? If so then it's too big for her as that would mean there's a risk she could suffocate herself in it xx

@Ready2020 Actually no, sorry, I just zoomed in now, I thought at first it was your DD's neck but it's her babygrow. It doesn't look too big but just check if it's small enough so her head won't go through it when it's done up xx

@PurplePansy05 yeah it's a crap photo sorry. I did a wee test with it and I think it's grand. Can't fit her head through it. But she shared her thoughts on it over night by peeing on it so that's that for the night anyway 😂

I managed to sleep from about 4 to 7.30! Not sure how that happened really. I'm hoping we both slept through it and she didn't need me during that time and I didn't hear her. When I woke up she was cranky and needed changed and a feed. Sometimes I worry about being so tired I just sleep through her crying.

Ladies whose babies are a bit older - when does it get easier? I was proper snotty crying in the small hours of this morning when DS just would not go to sleep, and I just can't imagine doing this for weeks and weeks on end. Rowan is 12 days old today.

We had SIL plus family around yesterday - it was a bit awkward!! Very glad the visit is over. Actually mostly she was on best behaviour, but at one point she was passing Rowan round her, the nephews and her husband without asking me if it was OK for them to have a hold and I was amazed by the urge I had to just take him away and snap that he's mine! Lovely MIL was there and could tell I was feeling tense so provided reassurance and the second he got a tiny bit grouchy I took him off for a long feed and a cuddle - but my goodness I wasn't expecting to have that feeling of get off him now!

@lucyrp fingers crossed baby is ready to make an appearance soon!!!

@PurplePansy05 oh I was saying the same thing, his little newborn outfits don’t fit, his hat is too small etc I can’t believe how quickly that has happened! I know everyone says enjoy when them when they’re tiny because they grow quickly, so true!

As for changing nappies, we change before every feed at night, whenever we think there’s a poo and probably every 3 hours max during the day? Wonder if we over change. We started with eco by naty but that seemed to give a nappy rash, we moved to Sainsbury’s and boots own brand- boots gave us leaks- we’re now on pampers with a liberal use of bepanthen.

I read on another thread to use a sanitary towel inside the baby grow for leaks- we did use a panty liner (the yoni organic cotton ones) as a secondary back up when we kept getting leaks. @BertieBotts I know you say it’s cos it’s wee pools at the bottom but I don’t really understand, so it doesn’t get absorbed by the nappy cos it’s the wrong angle? 🤔 Sorry for being stupid but I’m trying to understand and see if I need To adjust how I put them on!

@bertiebotts that picture 😍 what a cutie! So sweet he’s bought his sibling a present. Can imagine it’ll take a while to adjust but I’m sure you’ll get there soon!

@Ready2020 aw Rowan, so sweet! I smiled when you said she weed on the sleeping bag though 😂 typical!

We’ve been using Mori sleeping bags and they’re great!

These memory bears are such a cute idea, I didn’t know they existed.

I was going to ask about awake windows- so yesterday he was awake for 6 hours in one block, then 2 hour blocks, today he’s been awake since 4:15 and is sort of dozing now. He’s so awake and wide eyed normally, surely he’ll get over tired? And we do skin to skin every evening and he gets boiling, think we warm each other up! Don’t think it’s adding to any bond though!

I'm sure you'd wake up if she really needed you. Alex slept quite well last night too. I went to bed at around 11 but he was really active and engaged in trying to find his thumb to suck. Would not keep a dummy in or stay latched on so I asked DH to take him if he was staying up, which he was. He brought him back around 1am, he fed and then immediately fell into a deep sleep, I even put him down in the bedside cot and he slept through until 6am despite there being a raging lightning storm outside! Another feed at 6 and he went back down and slept through all the DS2 birthday excitement until about 9.

BTW I can't remember if I said this before but DS2's name is Leo so you can see why I liked your name choice so much Pansy :o

He was so pleased bless him. DH went and got him when he woke up and said it was his birthday today and he said "Yeah!! Can I have a present please?" We had totally been in a fug the night before and hadn't wrapped any but I remembered one was in a bag on its own so gave him that - just a sticker/colouring book but he was soo pleased. He thought that was his only present and was happy just with that. I managed to wrap the rest while DH got him dressed/breakfast and the big hit was a Playmobil rubbish truck and DS1 got him a Peppa Pig car so he's been playing with those all morning. He made us sing Happy Birthday 3 times already :o

@BertieBotts Ah no way! I don't think you've mentioned your other sons' names, what can I say, great minds So is it your Leo's birthday today then? Happy Birthday!

@Inmypjsagain I would have never thought about using a pad, thanks for this tip! We're on Aldi's Mamia since yesterday eve and fingers crossed, no leaks yet. His little bum is looking better again too. I bought baby oil from Weleda as I had a discount and it's worked wonders on his dry skin. He seems to have inherited sensitive skin after me and despite my intention not to use anything on his skin for the first few weeks/months, he needed a bit of TLC and it's doing him good so I'm rolling with it! xx

It was a couple of days ago but we decided to celebrate today instead of it being overshadowed by the baby.

We have torrential rain here. He is a bit disappointed because he wants to go out. In theory I would take him, but can't take the baby as well.