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 💖

Thanks I'll order one then!
She's always had her arms out anyway. She likes to sleep with them up in the air.

@wimbler I understand where you're coming from. I kept having flash backs to the birth, certain parts of it and also the night in hospital and having to go to the ward alone as it was 5am and OH wasn't allowed in. I found a group called birth trauma Scotland where I could go and speak to someone if I wanted. I didn't in the end but there are similar groups around the UK. My sister went to one after her first birth.

DD is so restless tonight. I'm sitting in the lounge with the TV on pause and mute so she doesn't wake! OH is out and it took me 2 hours to settle her myself! I had her out in the pram for a bit. It was a lovely cool evening.

@Smurf123 these bags are weird sizes. I have a 0 to 6 months that is getting too tight on her chest! But they are all quite long on her. I still have her in a tog 1.0 and long sleep suit at night. I wonder if I should add more layers.

Oh this was linked on the MN development email this week. It's the Boba wrap that I have and really like. I have a Boba air too but I think he's too small for it still as it's supposed to be from 4 months.

www.mumsnet.com/reviews/baby-carriers?utm_source=agesandstages&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2021-09-22&utm_term=Ages+and+Stages%3A+Your+baby+at+five+weeks&rei=138583

Haha yes I love it when they put their arms up, like superman baby!

What tog do you have?? She usually wears a vest and babygrow and Room is normal about 19 degrees. So should it only be a 1 tog?

I meant to ask, I've been using the haakaa (well the lansinoh one) but I really don't get much out with it at all. Maybe 5ml at a time. If you're getting much larger amounts than this have you always got more or was it something that built up over time? I have tried the different techniques like inverting the nozzle to stick it on, suction, both at the same time (ouch) but no different results.

I think maybe I'm just a very efficient breastfeeder and don't make any excess... :o I like that description better than low supply and anyway the weight gain would suggest no problems. Just no expressing? I've never been very successful at it to be honest. Don't know if I can be arsed to faff around getting 5ml at a time.

@Ready2020 I'm glad I'm not the only one finding the sizing word! I think each brand seems to be different too.

Don't know if it will help your wee one but the other night dd was also incredibly unsettled and in sheer desperation I tried this white nose on Spotify and it worked wonders
open.spotify.com/track/4Ze6o3X0U8NFNYza1FCytw?si=eIW6ZLLqRPWwv1ehaJdqVw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6IHbwDYV9iwFqsbSCpXrIy&dl_branch=1

I've got no idea as the German ones don't have tog ratings sorry. I go by wing it and see if they seem too hot or cold... I've never got very worried over temperatures. IME you can easily tell if you've got it wrong.

@Smurf123 we've got a dream egg for white noise that is on now. I just think she's having a restless day. I'm not sure if I'm making things worse by spending our afternoons tucked up on the sofa where she snoozes on me and feeds when she likes in her sleep. I love doing it but I think she uses the feeding between sleep cycles to get her back to sleep. So not sure if she's looking for boob now.

@BertieBotts I didn't use the hakkaa at first but now I love it and use it more than the pump (which I've slightly abandoned! Good use of vouchers that was!). But I find the haakka is only useful when I'm fuller in the boob. I do find certain times of day my boobs just get huge and DD really struggles to latch on so I use the hakkaa for a bit. It is a bit sore to use but I do the suction plus the bending back of the top bit. I got 70mls a couple of nights ago but I had missed a feed so was very engorged.

No problem thanks, I think I'll probably go with 2.5 tog then just vary the layers in all likelihood. Checked my grobag and it's 0-3 months which would explain the length , have put it on her for tonight and will add a muslin blanket if she's cold. The. Go to the shops tomorrow and pick up a 0-6 months bag.
Brexit has really messed up deliveries to ni! Whereas I used to be able to order from Amazon prime tonight and it would arrive tomorrow everything now takes at least 2 days usually 3/4 days

@Ready2020 dd tends to do that in the evenings here so from about 6-10 she tends to be on me feeding and dozing , I have been trying to delay it to 7/730 with a bath but I only do a bath every other night unless she poops and needs an extra one or something. But after 10 when we go to bed she seems to sleep fine in the Moses basket between cycles and feeds most nights. I think they just sometimes figure it out (for my ds he was 18months before he figured it out!)
There's an American woman (she is a nicu/ paediatric nurse) on Instagram I follow who runs a course for getting them to sleep through the night etc but even she says until 12 weeks you help them get to sleep when needed in whatever way they need whether that's a dummy, being rocked or nursed. Give them the opportunity to try and settle themselves but if they cry you should go to them at this age. But she also talked about active sleep cycles and showed a video where baby is crying and you assume awake but is actually still sleeping and after a couple of cries settles to quiet sleep again.
I won't be paying for her course and I take everything baby sleep related with a pinch of salt tbh but some of what she says is useful. Dd definitely does the odd cry in her sleep between cycles but doesn't seem to be awake. Most of the time by the time I even roll over in bed to get over to her to lift her she's settled back to quiet sleeping again.

@Smurf123 I definitely think my issue is me! I see her rolling about and think that she must be uncomfortable so I feel really unsure if I should be doing something about it though I know she is asleep so I shouldn't really disturb her, instead I just lay in bed in an anxious mess until I get so tired I fall asleep. So I think if she's not right next to me it'll help though then I'll probably just start worrying about something else like SIDs if I can't see her!

Our pain in the ass cat has now rejected l taken to chasing and going for our other cat at pretty much the same time every night. No clue why. He's always been a bit of a dick to her but this is new. I think he's maybe not getting enough attention.

@BertieBotts stupid question probably - what’s the MN development email?

On the Hakka - I find it really varies. I put it on while pumping (not BF, so not directly comparable) and sometimes up to 40ml will come out and sometimes it will collect not a drop. Agree with @Ready2020 - it’s only really worth it when I’m fuller of boob.

That said I don’t use it to manually pump - just to collect excess. You do have to put it on surprisingly hard though for it not to fall off.

Sorry, I don’t know if any of that is helpful.

@Ready2020 have you got a monitor for her? It absolutely isn't for everyone but I have the owlet sock and dd has been wearing it since day 1 but I find it helps me massively with regards to my own anxiety. I was exactly like you describe with my ds. And still am anxious with dd but less so. I still won't let her have any sleeps in a different room from us until she is 6 months. But I'm a bit more relaxed to say run to the toilet or put her to bed and go down and make a quick cup of tea before bringing it up with me. During the night I find the owlet helps because I can look at it on my phone if I wake and check her breathing rate and o2 and it reassures me rather than me poking her and walking her up like I did her brother! Which means I am getting more sleep too. But as I say I know it's not for everyone and we got it for a fifth of the the rrp I don't know that I would have been able to bring myself to pay full price though having used it a while I think it's worth it's weight in gold.
I do like having her in her own Moses basket space though also, she's close enough I can reach in to her if I need too

@Ready2020 our PITA cat is attacking our other lovely cat much more too. I think it’s not just not getting as much attention, it’s also seeing that my attention is so clearly diverted elsewhere. It’s horrible :(

@Ready2020 if you are interested in a monitor but don't want to pay the price for the owlet, I really recommend the Snuza Hero (I know @PurplePansy05 does too!). We got ours off market place but I think they retail at £80/90. It doesn't have an app and it only monitors breathing, but for me personally that's all I wanted. If it doesn't detect movement from their belly moving up and down for 15 seconds (you put it on the nappy) then it vibrates to stir the baby, and if nothing for another 5 seconds it sounds a beeping alarm

I'm tempted to get one of those @Daffodil21 especially if I put her in the moses basket so can't see her directly from my bed. I know OH will scoff at me and say its a waste of money but he's far too more relaxed than me.

@Ready2020 another vote for the snuza hero here too 🙋🏼‍♀️ Definitely think the owlet sounds amazing and I’d maybe consider it for a future baby but I love the reassurance of the snuza hero. I’ve found myself putting my hand on him to feel if he’s breathing but I know if it’s still flashing green he’s okay. The only downside I’d say was at the start when he was tiny and the weather was good he didn’t wear as many layers to bed and I remember just seeing this green flashing light coming from him constantly which I thought was probably annoying for him. Seems to be fine when they’re in a sleeping bag though!

Freddie didn’t go down til 9pm tonight so trying to keep my eyes open as long as possible to give him his last feed late enough that he maybe won’t get up during the night 🙈🤞🏼 Probably just doing myself out of sleep here when he’ll get up the same time as usual

Yes, Snuza Hero is a good buy.

Re Moses baskets, I thought they're usually smaller than N2Ms? So not much use left out of them now?

@Smurf123 I use this table re togs:
www.emmasdiary.co.uk/baby/baby-sleep/baby-sleeping-bags

I have a 0.5 tog bag, 1.5 tog and 2.5 tog at home and in my view it's not cold enough for the latter. I'm sticking to 1.5 tog atm. DS is fine in it.

@BertieBotts Haakaa works best for me if attached during the bf session or if I'm pumping using my electric pump, I atrach it on the other breast. I just squeeze it well to attach it and once it returns to its normal shape I squeeze again to create more pressure. This has worked for me, even if the breast didn't feel very full I could usually get 20-30 ml. A full breast would produce 60-70 ml. However, at the moment I find DS has grown and is getting so tall and strong that I struggle with attaching it now and don't use it as much. I also leak less, think we got into our routine now bf-wise. Maybe that's where you are now too and the Haakaa doesn't collect very much? xx

@Ready2020 we have a playmat I bought when pregnant and have used it a few times when I get her toys out of her basket and play with her. On the bed subject DDs crib is at the end of our bed so we can't see her when we're lay down in bed either which is a bit odd but we can't fit it anywhere else

So annoyed tonight as I fell asleep on the sofa so didn't come up to bed with DD like I usually do so have missed out on a good chunk of proper sleep and I'm so grumpy with OH already. Can tell it's going to be a shjt night

@lucyrp snap re shit night. I'm only off to bed now as OH is back from his night out. He's got work tomorrow and DD will end up waking up for a feed in the next hour. He suggested he do the night but I need to feed her plus I hate the spare bed so looks like I'll be down a whole 4 hours sleep so will miss my breastfeeding group in the morning as I'll be too tired.

Our bedroom feels so much colder tonight. Definitely autumn!

Oh my gawd. I told my OH about 5 times before I went to bed to bring DD up to me to let me feed her when she next wakes as otherwise my boobs will be brick hard if I miss a feed.

Woke up to find it's almost 4am and went downstairs to discover him feeding her as he didn't want to wake me! Thanks but it's far more hassle to now get rid of all this milk in me plus she'll be less easy to settle off a bottle than my boob.

Off to find my hakkaa then!

@Ready2020 it was indeed a rubbish night for me too. DD woke an hour after I went to bed for her feed as predicted and I was so tired. Even though I had slept on the sofa it felt like I hadn't slept at all it was horrible

@RandomCatGenerator you can sign up for them here:
www.mumsnet.com/member/about-you

It can be a bit fiddly when adding a child, I think I had to add and then opt in to the emails as two separate actions. They are great though.

Thanks all for haakaa info. I never really get those big boob moments as he's always feeding so perhaps that's why! Even when I feed on opposite side I still only get a few drips at the start, and I never get anything off the first boob when I swap him to the second. Will keep persevering for a while.