Aaarrrggghhh!!

[plannedshock]

I'm just soooo efffing bored!! I'm ebf my 3wk old. I feel really bad saying it but all she does is eat, I've been sat here for 2hrs solid, on a bed staring into space!! She always wants to be held screams to be picked up, don't get me wrong shes a baby but its just one of those days I've half hoovered upstairs and the washing machine needs unloading and she has screamed all day,just off loading my frustration!

Try not to explode - breastfeeding does improve with time and it is worth it! Here are a few tips to help you keep sane. First of all, don't sweat the small stuff - the washing, the hoovering etc, nothing is more important for now than feeding your newborn. In time, she will feed less often and more quickly and you'll be able to get things done, but for now, you have to go with her needs. To manage this, I found it useful to set myself up before starting a feed: have some magazines or a book and the tv remote etc to hand so you won't get bored. Take the opportunity to ring a friend and catch up if baby will let you. Also, remember to vary your feeding positions so she feeds effectively and you don't get sore. Hope this helps!

Thank you! You know when you just have one of those days? She hates being put down so screams all day, I always get caught out at the mo, she feeds so constantly I think I will just pop her on here, seen as shes only just fed it will be quick and lo and behold its an hr long feed!! I was going to be a Mother Earth I had it all planned!! Haha now I'm more like waynetta slob living off crisps and not brushing my teeth!!

Get a sling. Then she can be held and you can feel like your doing stuff or have a rest. Make the most of sitting and watching tv while feeding it only lasts a short time then you only feed then for five mins at a time a few times a day!

You need a sling! Get yourself a moby wrap and look on YouTube for videos of how to use it. It saved my sanity with DS who was also a Velcro baby.

Then alter your mindset - honestly, this stage feels like it lasts forever whilst you're in it but once it's over you realise it went in the blink of an eye. Before you know it she will be rolling, crawling etc and you'll be chasing after her - for now, make yourself enjoy sitting down and watching DVDs! You've got the rest of your life to sort the washing out...

It is totally normal, although frustrating. I had a stretchy wrap sling for my second baby from a few weeks old and it meant I could make lunch for me and my toddler and get some washing sorted.

It definitely gets better, honest!

This was me what seems like a few short weeks ago! I just remember being so frustrated at doing half a job of everything and my mum saying to me that each day/week youll realise its getting easier and that you are getting a little bit more done around the house. I remember crying in frustration on more than one occasion because my ds was screaming and i had only managed to get half dressed. I remember people saying he would "settle" and me thinking that he never would. I remember the hv saying to me that it probably feels like "you are at the mercy of ds" but that in a few weeks it wouldnt just be him constantly demanding my attention and boobs, but that id start to get so much back from him like smiles etc. I didnt believe them at the time, but they were all right!

In the meantime rest assured that from what ive heard and experienced, its normal for probably the first 6 weeks, maybe a little bit, but not much more. I got through it by hanging onto the advice id been given, whilst passing the time watching loads of tv snuggled on the couch, going online/facebook etc and having my dp help me by bringing pillows, food, drinks! I also found that regularly having ds weighed spurred me on and gave me something to aim for and show for all these endless hours of feeding!

Haha, 3 sling votes!

Getting a sling is a great idea - just remember, it'll mean you can still get stuff done instead of curling up on the sofa with the tv. I know which I preferred! Especially as, with an active toddler second time round, there wasn't any choice. As others have said, this phase will soon pass!

My son was exactly the same. In the end I'd carry him round in the baby carrier whilst I did housework etc...he also loved being pushed about in the pram so maybe plenty of walks will help :)

Agree get a sling. It does get better. I even baked a cake today. And I have 11 week old twins and am EBF.

I've got the baba sling and the baby bjorn but she looks awkward in the baba sling! Thanks so much ladies its nice to think there's a very faint light at the end of the tunnel!! I guess I'm my own worst enemy thinking I should be doing things, when I guess I should chill!!

Don't stare into space while feeding, that's what DVD box sets were invented for!

Baby Bjorns aren't great as they're bad for babies' hips, and uncomfortable for you to wear after a while. A wrap sling like a moby is much better for a newborn. Google sling meets to see if there's a session near you where you can try different ones - you might be able to buy one more cheaply there too.

Over there is the ironing pile, staring at me.

Over there I can see that blob of porridge on the carpet that ds dropped this morning, staring at me.

The washing machine has just finished and the morning is sunny and breezy.
I'm dying for a cup of tea.
I'm still in my pyjamas.

But when I look down I see the perfect round peachy cheek of my baby girl, the translucency of her quivering eyelid, her tiny tiny ear.

And time stops.

The baby bjorn website has lots of doctors saying that baby Bjorns are fine for babies' hips.

I couldn't use the babasling until DS was a bit chunkier- he looked lost in it. Now we use it all the time. I recommend getting a wrap sling- I used to stretch my big waterfall cardie round him and support him with one arm.
Those early weeks are often like a nightmarish parallel universe. Gradually, gradually things will get back to normal!

Did I forget to mention youtube/Facebook/twitter?

Noble, of course it does! They're hardly going to say otherwise are they? If you google it there are lots of independent studies showing that the baby Bjorn position (all the weight on baby's crotch with their knees lower than their hips) isn't good for them - their weight needs to be supported across their bottom and thighs and their knees should be higher than their hips (the frog position).

Dvd box sets are your friend

That's one reason I haven't used my bjorn, she was breech and needs a hip scan so didn't want to use it until then! Such conflicting views on the bjorn, update on today, had her in the baba sling not a peep!! Yey!! Although I don't know what my excuse for doing naff all all day when my partner gets home!

This evening, when the "witching hour" begins (as my HV referred to the time between 7.00 p.m. and 10. p.m. when new babies eat and eat and eat and eat) make sure you have a piece of chocolate cake and a small glass of wine within reach- you will feel adult and human within no time.

Yes, the witching hour(s) - don't miss that much. Now there is a 60% chance that they are both down and out for the count by 7.30 - amnd then I am freeeeee for a few hours. Also have a fully charged phone/iPad/tablet, a large bottle of water (as well as the wine!) and the remote control.

But the Bjorn instructions specifically tell you to frog the baby's legs up not to leave them hanging out, for that reason (this was also confirmed by my midwife). I much prefer it to the cloth ones because as it clicks into place in four places there's not that worry you haven't knotted it right. It's also symmetrical in how it distributes the weight unlike those over the shoulder things. Each to their own though!