How to stay awake during night feeds part 2, sleepy mice need not apply

[technoduck]

Hello!
Carrying on are good work from the first thread , how do we keep are selfs awake? By chatting to each other sleepy heads!

That's ok marbles I had my own freak out over bubble bath swallowed and ended up at the out of hours docs but all was ok
If your ever worried call NHS direct they are good at putting your mind at ease

I think its a shame that people can not just accept others decisions without becoming self righteous. I dont believe a mother who decides to breastfeed is necessarily a better mother than a woman who chooses not to!
We (as mothers!) should stick together - its such a demanding, difficult, doubtful time that i think its a damn shame !

What advice would you like regarding formula feeding? (iam a formula mum and dont feel a bit guilty, i admire breastfeeding mothers but its simply not for me!)

If I were formula feeding I would need loads of support - there is no way I could get organised with the sterilising, boiling etc! Plus remembering to take all the right things when I go out. I would have thought the formula companies provide helplines or something though, since they should be keen to help people use their products? Maybe try their websites and see if there is anything offered.

I'm not sure tbh.... I'll just spill out all my thoughts lol feel free to suggest anything that might help

Currently I breast feed and he falls to sleep so its easy to know how to settle him. So if I bottle feed I don't know how I'll settle him/ get him to sleep.

I have combination fed for a while but he now seems to scream and arch away from the bottle so if I stop breast feeding and he still does that then what do I do?

I've been wondering if he would sleep longer if on the bottle

funchum I take sterilised bottles, a flask of water and pre-measured dispensers of formula with me. Really no fuss at all.

Vicky Iam not sure but, iam sure someone very wise will come along in a moment and give you the support you DESERVE.

Well said milky :)

Lol that's fine mocha I'm an over thinker lol

I had trouble with hv coz I asked if I should swap onto ff as he isn't gaining weight very well and they just said they couldn't tell me not to breast feed. So I had no idea what to do. But I hoped that if ds health was suffering they would say

Hi all, missed posting last night as babylump slept half 9 to half 3, then fed and went straight back down until 7 so I didn't even get time to catch up on everyone's posts! Expect I won't be so lucky two nights in a row but still, it was fab!

susie she's coming up to 3 weeks now, so although too early for real patterns the early/late evening does seem to be developing into a habit.

mrsn I'd love a photo box recommendation if it means free prints, I've got tonnes to do and haven't used online printers before.

smicha I've got a Widgey bf pillow, its quite handy, I got it half price off eBay so have a look round as they can be quite expensive.

I'll try and catch up on the rest of the thread tonight, think I'm a few pages behind but it looks like some good sleep has been had here & there, long may it continue for everyone :)

Last feed before bed with a very over tired babyloo who has had hardly any sleep today at all so will probably be awake every two hours.

While we're talking about bottles and breast I'm still no closer to getting babyloo to take a bottle, he uses it as a gum massager and just spits out anything that he has in his mouth!! I've tried different bottles and we are trying to give him one everyday but I'm starting to panic because I have to go into work for a morning at the end of the month and I don't see how I can leave him if he won't take a bottle.

How did it go today minipop?

Scattering sleepy dust all round and hoping the sleepy mice catch up with everyone

vicky that's awful your hv should be supporting you whatever decision you make. Hope you get some proper help soon, I think most of the formula companies have helplines but I don't know how useful they are.

How was it today minipop?

marbles irrational emotional meltdowns are becoming a bit of a fixture in my day now, I think a mixture of tiredness, hormones and worrying are to blame :(

Hope the sleepy mice are on their rounds tonight and there are lots of babies getting ready to let their mummies have some well earned shut eye :)

Susie- have you tried the medula bottles?

I've fed baby evil at 1900 and he is still not settled. :( I think I'll be here most of the night.
Evil

heffalump of course, as long as you don't mind giving me your email address?

Health visitor came today and gave me a lot of advice so we are trying infacol before every feed for a week. Hopefully it helps his poor little tummy.

He has had quite a lot of sleep today so not sure what tonight will bring.

Hope you are all ok today and we all have good nights

Thanks mrsn, I've pm'd you :)

DH has just gone to the pub with my DF, he's left me and babylump settled on the sofa with crisps, lucozade & Red Dwarf X so both happy at the minute :)

9 days worth of poonami just happened
On DHs shift

I'm far too busy watching Rock of Ages to attend said poonami

Hi everyone, wow, I am really behind with all the news now, not having posted last night! I was so tired I was literally cross eyed andcouldn't even see to read! Feel better after accidentally falling asleep this afternoon...

Went to the prem group this morning - for the first hour I was the only one there! Then one other mum turned up. It was great to talk to her, as her LO is 7 months but both at exactly the same gestation as Kid. Interesting that the bf v ff thing has cropped up here on this thread, as every single mum I gave talked to whose LO was in this NNU tells exactly the same story - absolutely pot luck if bf support was in place. Apparently there was one night nurse who worked one night a week who was great and those who came across her have done fine. The rest of us have struggled. An example of the interesting level of knowledge... I expressed a syringe of colostrum and gave it to a health assistant to take down to NNU. She didn't know what it was, either by sight or by name... Really made me feel I was in good ha DS!!

Will read back properly over posts in a bit and respond better.

Good hands. Nothing to do with DS!

goat that is shocking about the lack of bf support.

milkymocha I still take my hat off to those of you using formula, three extra things to take out (and presumably the water is cooled boiled water so requires forward planning) would cause me space issues and organisation problems. Clearly I haven't got it together very well yet for leaving the house but I can't be the only one a bit overwhelmed in the early days - they really really ought to support mums with whatever feeding decisions they make; vicky I am quite shocked at the hv attitude if they won't help you with queries about formula. Are they on commission for keeping people bfing or something?!

I will have to crack the bottle thing at some point as I am going back to work and DH is taking over when babyfunch is 4.5 months. susieloo I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the battle of the bottle! When did you start trying a bottle?

Happy long sleeps to one and all!

2 hours since last feed. Seriously?

Early first feed here tonight cause he went down at about 9. Didn't even make it into his sleeping bag so will change him and put him in that now too.

goat I'm glad you met someone new today and found it useful! It sounds like everyone has a different story to tell re breast/bottle feeding. It's right that everyone should feel supported.

vicky good luck with the bottle feeding - I hope you manage ok without your hv support - that's awful!

Any interesting snacks tonight? I have a protein bar and an apple

Baby evil has done a poonami. DP did this turn, and Appently it was even on
Lo face.
No snacks at the mo, just tea.

Tonight's motto: just keep pumping.
Evil

We haven't made it up to bed yet, but DD now snoozing in P&T cocoon and if she's still asleep in five minutes we'll be headed upstairs at last.

Snacks here tonight are chilli & lemon crisps DH brought back for me earlier, yum :) Also eyeing up a millionaire shortbread my friend made and came round with earlier but trying to be at least a little bit disciplined. Dried apricots not getting a look in tonight!

Aargh! And she isn't even staying asleep when lifted back into cot. Ewan not working tonight. The only place she's sleeping us on me and I don't need Ewan for that.....

Still on DH's cereal bars here. Also had them for breakfast while heading out with babyfunch in the sling as I couldn't find anything else I could both prepare and eat with one hand.

I went to her hearing appt by tube in the end to avoid hospital parking costs and it went fine - she slept in the sling the whole time save a few squeals when I was almost home. Anyone else using a sling?

babylon I dread to think what 9 days worth of poonami looks like lol what a relief though lol

marbles hope you get her settled, nothing worse when Ewan doesn't work.

heff yum they sound delicious! Definitely give the apricots a miss

2nd feed of the night already and we are always up got the dreaded 3.30 feed.

I feel your pain marbles babyloo did exactly the same a couple of nights ago then I thought we were getting back to normal the last couple of nights and now weved done 8-11.30 and now.

evil no not tried medula bottles, have tried tommee tippee and maam so far so thanks for the tip.

fun I think we tried to introduce a bottle at about four weeks, it was a couple of weeks earlier than recommended, the early tries were successful and we should have kept it up but we didn't, even as recently as three weeks ago he was taking one and now not interested.

Would love to go through till half five but not convinced.