August 2021 Babies - Final evictions and the fourth trimester

[BertieBotts]

Time for a new thread! :)

29 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 💙
@MrsB2019x - Welcome to the world, baby Ella💖
@Biscuitcat - Welcome to the world, baby Rowan 💙
@Whatshouldbemyusername - Welcome to the world, baby Arya-Nyah 💖
@notinthestarsigns - Welcome to the world, baby Erin 💖
@Aaaaa1519 - Welcome to the world, baby Anum 💖
@Angelesque - Welcome to the world, baby Isaac 💙
@Millymay13 - Welcome to the world, baby Ethan Benjamin 💙
@WolfMother326 - Welcome to the world, baby Alasdair William 💙
@BertieBotts - Welcome to the world, baby Alexander 💙
@RandomCatGenerator - Welcome to the world, baby Solomon 💙
@lucyrp - Welcome to the world, baby Evelyn Rose 💖
@HopefulB - Welcome to the world, baby Chloé 💖
@Mmr224 - Welcome to the world, baby Alasdair 💙
@Smallbean27 - Welcome to the world, baby boy 💙
@Fran919 - Welcome to the world, baby girl 💖
@Caz1226 - Welcome to the world, baby Dougie 💙
@Ava50x - Welcome to the world, baby boy 💙
@dirtyfries - Welcome to the world, baby Frankie! 💖

Counting down until till they welcome their munchkins:

@Dia12 - EDD 8 August, Girl 💖
@livingwithbees - EDD 16 August, surprise 💛
@Sheisfee - EDD 19 August, Girl 💖
@Alittlexmasmagic - EDD 22 August, surprise 💛
@LottSE20 - EDD 22 August, surprise 💛
@ame88 - EDD 28 August, Girl 💖

@Daffodil21 I would absolutely love an outing to asda in the car but like you, I’m too scared to drive before 6 weeks if a doctor hasn’t said I can 🙄

We’re formula feeding (using hipp) and I’m now just completely ignoring what the box says. I found when I was giving 4oz bottles he needed fed far more often so we changed just the ones at night to 5oz bottles and he was stopping wanting one every hour for the few hours before bedtime. Ours are obviously the exact same age and I have no clue what the box says he’s meant to be on now, the health visitor told me just to ignore it and feed him when he’s hungry so I have. I make most bottles as 5oz now unless he’s not long had one then I make it a 4. The one at 11pm I make a 6oz so there’s no real limit on what he takes and he won’t wake up starving a couple of hours later. He doesn’t always take it all, he might only want 4 or 5 but it just saves making a whole new bottle if he wants a tiny bit more. I usually make the 3am one a 6oz too so he’ll last til 7am.

At one point we were doing 12 feeds a day on the 4oz bottles but only now am I noticing it dropping a bit, yesterday he took 8 feeds and his sleep during the day seems to be increasing again and he’ll have proper naps. I don’t know if the hunger was causing him to get himself overtired and it was just a whole vicious cycle everyday. Just checked my app (which is quite rough) but he seems to take between 900-1000ml per day. It sounds loads but seems to be what he needs! x

@Daffodil21 that’s between 31 and 33oz per 24 hours so quite a bit more than what he’ll be meant to have! Just checked the box and it says 5-6 feeds per 24 hours and 4oz bottles. He’d be starving!

@sarah13xx this is really good to know, thank you. We were doing this too until we looked at the box last night and started monitoring today. We are currently up to 24oz and still another 5 hours until midnight so I suspect we will be at similar levels to you. We just wondered if maybe he was feeling uncomfortable because we were over feeding him. I guess we'll have to see how he gets on with the stuff we bought today

@sarah13xx same about the driving - I am definitely able to drive and have been for a while, but if anything happened I would hate for my insurance to be void. We do live in a little town so I can get out and about, so I should just suck it up really! But I would have liked to have been the one to have gone out in peace and left them both at home for once 😂

@Daffodil21 I put a post on when we were on 4oz bottles saying he was always finishing them and crying a few minutes later wanting more but the box said he wasn’t to have more and I was worried about over feeding. All the replies said he’s a baby and can’t read the box so will need fed if he’s hungry basically and you can’t over feed them if you follow their cues. I give him loads of chances to stop drinking during the bottle and try to give him breaks then offer it again and if he doesn’t seem fussed I’ll presume he’s finished. I’ve stopped being so worried about it since reading the replies 😂 hopefully you’ll get on better with that

Can anyone recommend audiobooks? I got myself a pair of blue tooth earphones for during the night when I can't sleep between feeds. They are 2 wee individual plugs so I can wear one and still keep an ear out.

I'm looking for something relaxing. Baby related is good or fiction.

@Ready2020 do you listen to podcasts? I loved maybe baby when I was pregnant. I listen to the good motherhood now when I’m out a walk. Used to love run pod (a running podcast, obviously of no interest if you don’t like running 😂). Happy mum happy baby too!

I have little fires everywhere downloaded on audible but haven’t started it yet. Have listened to the couple next door by shari lapena and it was brilliant! It’s a similar story to Madeline McCann but it’s a 6 month old baby that’s taken

Definitely ignore what's on the box and feed baby when they're hungry. Every baby is different, with different needs (and different requirements from day to day/month to month).

@Ready2020 After my nappy changing marathon he then had a couple of hours of screaming inconsolably, nothing helped -- nappy was dry, he pushed the boob away, cuddles weren't acceptable. We both cried. DH took him for a bit so I could grab something to eat and he got so worked up that he was finally exhausted enough to fall asleep feeding when they came back. Since then thankfully he slept for quite a long time. Did you manage to get any more sleep while your DH was out for a walk?

Can't remember who was asking about PF exercises. How long I can hold them for varies during the day, even a short walk weakens them again. I can hold up to 10 seconds if I've had a very restful day and have been diligent with my exercises (almost 4 weeks postpartum). I start getting a mild prolapse when I go out for walks so I've been referred to physio. 😕 I wish I could remember how long it took to recover fully last time, it's a pain not being able to be that active.

Dd has been really unsettled this evening it's really not like her. She normally cluster feeds in the evenings but tonight she's been breaking off crying, pulling her legs up so I think windy (I am hoping it's wind and not a tummy bug) and bringing up milk which she's never really done before but then she instantly wants fed again. She know back breastfeeding again and seems relaxed on me atm so I'm hoping it eases off for her as I think at this point she's also very tired

@Smurf123 my DD does that sometimes and I find it's because she's a bit windy but also over tired. She just wants to keep feeding for comfort but is too full so just brings it back up. I find if she is getting really agitated on the boob I take her off, wind her and give her the dummy if she is still rooting. Then try again to feed once calm. If she's honestly hungry she'll feed or will fall asleep if full.

@sarah13xx I'm not that big into pod casts but can give them a go. I'll look up Good Motherhood thanks.

@afictionado I didn't really go back to sleep until my evening nap at 8. I'm up now on night shift with DD dozing on chest. Hope to transfer to cot in 5 minutes so hope it goes OK.

Loving my ear phones. I'm not one to spend much on stuff like this but £40 bought me a good pair on amazon. Seems cheap when you look at what you could spend on them.

Anyone who is BFing find they just can't quench their thirst? I'm always thirsty.

Pelvic floor muscles not too bad here. Still got soreness but can clench well. I find that I can hold my pee fine but when I do pee it feels different then before. Less a direct stream more a free for all gush. Way TMI sorry!

I'm finding these days I'm having to rely on her dummy to get her to settle at night. I never wanted to use a dummy with her but she seems to like it. When do they become a problem?

Is face rubbing a sign of tiredness? I find DD does this a lot when put down.

Also I'm I the only one that doesn't swaddle at 5 weeks old... we've never swaddled and feel like we missed out on a useful technique. It's too late to start now I'd say.

Thanks £
@Ready2020 that's reassuring to hear. She eventually fell asleep and managed to transfer midnight. She's awake and feeding again now.
Ds just woke up crying and real tears shouting I want my baby sister back he must have had a bad dream. He starts preschool today and I think he's a bit anxious about it, I think he will really enjoy it but he doesnt like the idea of me not being there too.
I drink a lot at night though I always have at night. I've just finished a 750ml bottle of water since coming to bed at 11 and of I had more up I would drink more.
Anyone who has acid reflux/ heartburn in pregnancy

Posted send too soon..
Anyone who has acid reflux/ heartburn in pregnancy still have it? Mine is going mad tonight .

@Ready2020 we use a dummy when she is going to sleep if she will take it often it gets spit out though
It's only a problem if they wake to find it when it falls out or if used extensively when older as it can interfere with speech and language development. That's more of used constantly during day. I think speech and language therapists day up should start weaning off a dummy around 6 months/ a year old.
My ds refused one so I don't have much experience of it tbh
I think as dd gets more awake times I want it to only be used at sleep times but we will see what she decides. My brother used one to he was 4.5 but from around 2 it was relegated to bed time only and had to start stay in his bedroom.

@Smurf123 no, my heartburn stopped as soon as he was born. Thankfully. It was horrible during pregnancy. I hope it goes for you soon.

@Ready2020 when I was pumping more than I am now (about 6oz a day) I felt like I could never quench my thirst. I don't formally drink squash but I did find that helped a bit. I can't imagine how thirsty I'd be if I was ebf!!

DH is only just asleep after Elliot was sneezing and coughing up mucus and phlegm caught in his throat and 'ugly crying' because of it. I did tell him he should have woken me but he didn't. he has to get up for work in 3 hours. Baby has finally just had a feed but hadn't had one since 10pm (very unlike him) and spat the last one out when DH tried to give it to him. Not sure what's going on. He seems ok now, but sounds a bit snotty. hopefully he'll be ok if I put him in his crib now.

DH has just started snoring again but I suppose I'll let him off this time!

I drink litres and litres of water. And a fair bit of coffee to keep me going too, then need more water to rehydrate I said like 5 threads ago that I read an average BF mum drinks 3 litres of water per day, I think I'm past that. My skin has never looked better despite the obvious poorer sleep!

@Smurf123 I still had heartburn till DS was around 3 weeks old, but only sporadically.

So I've learnt something new again, it probably is an obvious thing, but no one has told me that I should be exercising pelvic floor muscles after CS...I never have Did some Kegel exercises today and fortunately it feels ok, different, but ok. I'll make sure to do more of them. xx

@Ready2020 I did swaddle the first 2 weeks or so but it ended up being more hassle than it was worth. I’d looked up every technique under the sun to do it and he still would wiggle an arm out every night. We’ve now just got the love to dream swaddle bags which he seems to really like since he can keep his arms up. When it’s been warm at night he’s slept in a lighter newborn sleeping bag which has his arms out the holes at the side and it didn’t seem to make a difference for him waking up earlier or anything so I don’t think he’s too fussed about the swaddling thing! Just wish I’d known about the swaddle bags when I was pregnant instead of going through that crying every night as he escaped

@Smurf123 oh no, how unfair 🤦🏼‍♀️ I’d never had heartburn in my life before, had to explain the symptoms to my DH (who gets it all the time) and he confirmed it was heartburn but literally from the second he was born I haven’t had it again since. Cannot imagine living with that long term so I feel for you

A lot to catch up on ladies!!

@Smurf123 bless your DS with his dream, I hope his first day goes well and he’s not too nervous.

@Ready2020 I’ve never swaddled Isaac so your not the only one. He just didn’t like it so I never bothered. The midwife at the hospital even commented when she tried that it seems he doesn’t like being confined and liked a stretch. All babies are different, DS1 used to love being swaddled.

In terms of dummies being a problem it depends, if they have it all day and all night then they can get quite attached to them. I read that it takes 3 days to break a habit with a child which seemed around about right when I got rid of DS1 daytime dummy. He cried and cried and cried for about 2/3 days then was fine after that.

We also have a lot of phlegm on his chest again, the most he slept in one go last night was as hour. 😭 He would wake up making the most unholy noses I ended up putting ear plugs in just to drown him out a bit (could still hear if he was distressed though). So looks like we are going to have a very tired day, both me and him.

No swaddling here, I don't like it so have never done it with any of them.

I think the amounts on the formula box are meant to be a starting point and then you feed on demand and follow your baby :) If worried about overfeeding you could try paced feeds - there is loads of info if you google paced bottle feeding. It slows the feed down and puts the baby more in control so in theory they will self regulate like with BF.

We had to go to hospital last night. We had been out for the day and I went to change Alex in the car on the way home and noticed his foreskin was incredibly swollen (like there was fluid under the skin) and red. I gently tried to move it back and forth as I seemed to remember reading sometimes wee can get trapped inside if the foreskin is tight (his is) but nothing shifted so DH dropped us off at hospital and I got him checked out. They didn't seem too concerned but we have 2 creams for daytime nappy changes and one for putting on at the start of the night and to keep an eye on it over the next few days. Apparently the ballooning and fluid wasn't wee, even though it deflated the next time I changed him after he weed all through his clothes (and poor baby had to wear a 3-4 year t-shirt as a dress as it was all I had in the changing bag!) I read if it keeps happening they will probably recommend circumcision. I just hope he can get to an age where it's safe for him to have decent drugs as I hate the thought of him having something like that done unmedicated!

I've got another stupid question about formula feeding.

So far we've been using the tommee tippee prep machine but I want to stop for a bit to see if that helps him.

So I know to make a bottle up, the kettle has to be booked and cooled for 30 mins so it's 70 deg and therefore hot enough to kill bacteria in formula. But you don't always get 30 mins notice for a feed, so what happens then?? There must be a quicker way? Or can you prep them in advance and then warm them up/allow to get to room temp at least? How long can they stay out of the fridge for?? 🙈

@Daffodil21 I just boil the kettle and fill the bottles to the right amount and leave them on the side to cool then add the formula when we need it. I don't warm the bottle she just takes it cold 😳🤷🏼‍♀️ once the formula is added you can use that bottle for 2 hours then Chuck

@lucyrp I thought you had to add the hot water to the formula while it's above 70 deg so it kills any bacteria that's in the formula? 🤷‍♀️

@Daffodil21 you're probably right, this is what we do when we're going out of the house because if we add the formula and she doesn't drink the bottle within 2 hours we have to Chuck it. When at home we add it when it's hot. Although with DS that's how I always gave him his formula and he's fine😂 to cool a boiling hot bottle down you're supposed to run it under cold water which takes ages when you have a screaming baby. How come you're trying without the prep machine ?