August Babies

[Katherine]

Wills, Marina, Musica etc I miss us all chatting together. Time to pass on the mum2be moving on thread - so shall we start up again, and anyone else of course.

Still in cloud9 after last night. Poor DH had to spend the morning getting the holiday cottage ready and then I had to go and help him!!!!! But its OK because I feel great. Not even a little bit sore down there. Just these dratted afterpains to contend with - always think this bit is so unfair! You go through all that and get the reward of a lovely baby but the afterpains don't really give you anything do they. Oh well mustn't complain. MW said I'm back to a third already so thats why it hurts so much.

Wills how are those stitches doing? Hope you are not too uncomfy.

Well just changed 3 merconium nappies so no problems with Bea's bowels at all! And the cloth nappies are doing great - just ordered some more girly ones. Even my cloth sanpro is bearing up - much admired by the MWs.

Oh well better go and get the tea ready. Packed DH off to the park with the kids for half and hour for some peace and quiet so just been wallowing in a lovely bath. Time to return to domesticity now

Wills - breasts do "stabilise" but it does vary I'd say some 2 to 3 months after the birth BUT ALSO if you cut feeds right down that will also make a difference !

As for when they sleep through the night.... well my two were excluslively breastfed, on GF too and DS slept 10 to 7 at 9 weeks and DD at 6 weeks (she was small too born at 7lbs and is 2 centile now but tha's her) so I don't think weight is a factor. Neither is formula... it just takes longer to digest but has less calories than breastmilk.

Wills, in my case, my breasts were pretty settled at about 3 weeks, when the breastfeeding all settled down - I guess once you feel that your dd has settled into a pattern of feeding then your breasts will settle to their 'feeding' size.

As an aside, I'm dreading what's going to happen to them when I stop feeding dd - I'm not particularly well endowed at the best of times, and after feeding ds for over a year, they were a shadow of their former (small) selves - I'd like to feed dd for at least a year, and I think they may disappear completely!!!

Musica - I certainly don't have small breast - quite the opposite and unlike you they didn't shrink last time (mores the pity!). Instead they simply emptied - they were like big bags of nothing - rather like native african women image etc. AWFUL. But.. they did refill eventually (3 years) so how long was it between ds and dd? I get the impression they will come back to almost "their former glory" if you've used appropriate bras all the way through. HTH

Hi Wills - ds and dd are 2 years apart. How's your feeding going - any improvement? Hope the creams are working!

Got to be quick but will post more later. Wills at least you know what it is now. Thats half the battle. Now its just a matter of finding the cream etc which works for you. I know lots of people who use canestan and BF. I use calendula and BF.

If DD2 is continually sucking it will stimulate more milk production. MY DD2 is doing this at the moment and my boobs feel huge. So once you crack the feeding thing then I think your boobs will stabilise but before then they will probably feel very full. However some of the bras you can get now (see jojo) have adjustable cup size. The bravado one does and so do a couple of others in the jojo catalogue. Waiting for mine to come but hoping it gets round the changing breast size thing.

Survived the camping. Was a bit chilly at night but all the kids seemed happy. However I will say that sleeping bags and BF do NOT mix. First feed was OK. Then kept her in my bag as worried she might get cold (and didn't want to keep coming out myself) but when I tried to move her over to feed from the other side I ended up with the bag wrapped round me and completley stuck. Had to wake DH to release me!

Better do DD1 lunch now before DD2 demands hers!

Hi, Breasts are still incredibly sore but I was warned by the NCT bf counsellor that it would be at least 48 hours before anything started to change so I'm not disappointed yet. Also dd2's bottom has improved so at least I can see something working which gives me a lot of faith that this is the problem and that we are already applying the solution. She also gave me the number of my local bf councellor although as she lives at least 20 minutes drive away I'm skeptical that she will come out. I will give her a call in another few days as I'm still having big problems with satisfying dd2 on the rhs and now feeds regularly take an hour - which is fine when everything is relaxed and dd1 is occupied but is awful when dd1 wants my attention or its during the night. Sometimes at night the whole process (including nappy changes) takes over an hour and half! I read in a book the other day that you should try not to change their nappy during the night - great if you can persaude your little one not to fill it with "crap"!

What's the reasoning behind that? We always do it as a matter of course, just so that it doesn't wake her up later on, which would be too annoying for words!

It sounds like things are improving anyway Wills, and that you're on the right track. You've got that wonderful moment to come, when you suddenly realise you're feeding and it's not hurting!

Quick one as dd has of course decided to wake up, boo...so pleased you now have a reason for the problems Wills, and hoping that once the Daktarin has worked you will both be feeling better.
I must admit I change dd before every feed, even at night, as she is producing a little something in every nappy.
Katherine, glad you survived camping!
Maybe dd is approaching 10lb (due to be weighed again tomorrow). She went through the night on Friday but that was after howling the place down for nearly five hours (or so it seemed ) first.
Can I ask, is anyone else's baby reluctant to be put down? Dd is very happy provided someone is cuddling her or she can sleep on the sofa on a pillow (thank goodness the HV didn't see this). She also enjoys sleeping on her front, given a chance, which she isn't at the moment of course, except for being propped on a parent's chest.
I am beginning to wonder if dd was quite severely traumatised by her c-section birth. She went into shock about half an hour after the birth (which was an uneventful elective, not an emergency) and ended up in SCBU for two days. She does seem hard to settle unless slung over my shoulder...
Are other people's babies happily spending waking time in their crib/moses basket/cot? Or am I being an unrealistic amnesiac in expecting a five week old baby to be any different?

Hi marina - dd is fine being put down for sleeps, but really doesn't like being put down when awake! She is starting to tolerate it, but would much rather be cuddled and talked to. Ds was very independent, and loved being on the playmat almost from day 1 - I've been wondering if it's a male/female thing actually - ds is very 'engineering' minded, and likes to investigate things, whereas dd seems to be a bit more of a socialite.

Marina dd2 is very like your dd. Like you dd2 likes to go to sleep when cuddled or on a pillow (or in our case the soft sofa cushions ). I've also noticed that she would prefer to sleep on her front. She's managing (in her crib) to roll onto her side and seems to prefer that. HV was horrified but short of using restraints (which I refuse to do) I don't see how I can stop her doing this. She's not rolling over - no where near, just onto her side and I'm completely baffled as to how she does this as we don't see it. However I've taken to putting her to sleep on her side now and it works better than her back - but she'd still prefer it if she was on someone's chest/sofa etc.

Marina - on another note... I thought of you yesterday when reading a book advised to me by Bobsmum. The book "Eat well, Loose Weight and Breast Feed" is extremely good at teaching you how to balance your eating habits (not that I'm suggesting you need to - I was looking for something to help me not put anymore weight on) but there is a section in there on Colic. It describes quite a few research projects done on colic and concludes that for 30% of women cutting out cows milk until baby is 3 months resolves their colic. If it were a short paragraph I'd type it in but its rather long (i.e. 4/5 pages). The author says that some babys have problems digesting the protein in cows milk for the first few months and that mothers that had removed cows milk from their diet for a week noticed a marked improvement and also noticed that it came back when cows milk was re-introduced. If you want to know more then let me know and I'll try and dig out the references to the research projects.

So far dd2 is not colicy but.. she is extremely needy in the evenings and I feel as though I do a marathon feed that starts around 6/7ish and goes on anything up to 11 ish when I can finally get her to sleep. The nights are ok (for only 3 weeks 7lbs etc) and the mornings and afternoons are good too. The evenings are a slog though. dd1 wants me to put her to bed, dh would like to say hello and I would like my dinner etc. However within 10/15minutes of taking off the breast she wakes up and demands to go back on. So no crying (like you Marina) as long as she has a nipple in her mouth but it still feels like a marathon .

Katherine - I'm impressed over the camping and very glad to hear it went ok. Have to say that even without a new baby I'm defnitely a light weight camper. From about mid September onwards there'd be no way you get me into a tent in this country - too cold at night! Looking forward to some trips next year though. We bought a new tent last year and only managed to use it once. Looking forward to getting it out again.

Musica - dd1 sounds more like your son. She actively didn't like being cuddled from day one. dd2 appears to rather like her cuddles and in some ways (although not in the evenings) I rather like this fact as I always missed it with dd1. dd1 is very tomboyish and already shows distinct similarities with her engineering father so rather than male/female possibly the trait towards maleness etc iyswim.

Hi All. Oh its so nice to read the descriptions of everyone elses babies and realise its not just your own being difficult. Hurranh for mumsnet

DD2 likes to sleep on her side too. I wonder if its because I often feed her this way at night. She also likes to be cuddled a lot. Often she'll cry and you only have to pick her up and she stops. I think this is why she was late - she just loves the contact!

Evenings are a marathon for us too. She sleeps most of the day and is not too bad at night but in the evening she's constantly demanding cuddles. Can't begrudge her I suppose but it does make things tricky.

Neen - DD2 still only feeds for stort periods. At first I thought she was snacking but now I've realised its more that she likes several courses. I think because she's tiny she gets tired and falls asleep. I have found that changing her nappy between courses helps to wake her up again otherwise I would just get her settled when she'd want more. Oh and for the first week she refused to sleep in her crib, wanting to be close to me, but it has improved now.

Wills coming back to what you were saying about the Dr and expressing milk. As I understand it if you have thrush all milk is contaminated and can reinfect. However if you both have treatment together then you will both heal together so it doesn't matter. BUt expressed milk might be used later and so reinstate the infection. Thats my understanding anyway.

I'm still convinced that we have thrush but the calendula has failed to shift it this time. I'm using canestan on me below although my symptoms have more or less gone and feeding is not painful. But DD2s bum is red raw and was even bleeding today. When I changed her I could see the marks followed her "tideline" exactly so I'm wondering if its just nappy rash afterall but it looks really sore. Going to try chamomile tea tonight and I worry the canestan is too harsh even though I know other people use it.

Katherine. I'm using Daktarin on my nipples and dd2's bottom. Its gradually clearing up her bottom. To describe it, it really does have the blood blisters etc and that's supposed to be the significant sign. I'm using Daktari gel on her mouth and I know that's available over the counter. Good luck!

Hi all.
Harry seems to be settling better at nights, not every night, but we have had a couple of nights where he has slept for 4 hours between feeds (bliss!).
He is so sleepy in the day though. I don't know if this is typical of very young babies, even though ds1 is only 18 months old, it feels like ages since he was this small, so I can't remember if he did the same.
He literally just wakes for feeds, and then drops off again a few minutes after.

He also seems to love being cuddled against my chest, hopefully I'm not setting a habit of him wanting to sleep on his tummy when he gets a bit bigger. It's just such a lovely, cuddly time with him snuggled up to me like that, I can smell his gorgeous baby smell on the top of his head too! Mmmm... just waking up now so I'm going for another cuddle...

neen, I think lots of babies will sleep up to 22 hours a day, just waking for the feeds. As long as they are waking to feed, it's fine!

I know what you mean about snuggling up with them - with ds we used to spend long lazy mornings in bed dozing - something I obviously can't do with dd, unless I want 2 year old ds jumping on the bed going "Boing!!!!"

Hi all. I am SO KNACKERED. I don't think I've ever been so tired, not even with the other 2 so much closer together. I'm trying to run a biz from home, driving 27 miles a day on the school run(s), look after the house (3 loads of washing a day!), holiday cottage and look after the children. Got a govenors meeting tonight where I've got to sound intelligent. Fell asleep on the sofa last night so hope I don't do that tonight. DD2 is a star though. The last 2 nights she's only woken once for a feed although of course I have lain awake the rest of the time wondering why she's not feeding Bum no better though. Might try some of this Daktarin. Thanks Wills

Doing well! dd2 was weighed today and now weighs 7lbs 6ozs that's almost a pound and a half in 3.5 weeks so dd2 is doing incredibly well at the feeding even if I am still finding it painful. Also starting to get some long breaks - unfortunately not always at night - but nevertheless they're there - 4 hours without feeds!!! Evenings are still difficult - I can hear her now and I've only just taken her off. but we're getting there

Katherine. 27 miles!!!? Ugh

I know. I was horrified when I worked it out. Its only 3 miles to DS school but by the time I go there and back and then to nusery and back (5m) and then do the home trip - school, nursery, home - it all adds up. I just feel so exhausted. Like I'm rushing round everywhere and still can't get everything done.

DH is helpful as always. On Monday arranged to get dog clipped at 5.30pm. Kids teatime. Got home from School and not enough time to cook and them to eat it so shoved it in rayburn with spuds on top, left kids with neighbour and dahsed off. Got home - spuds not even hot, chicken overcooked. Aghhh. So chucked some alphabites in. Phoned DH to get him to collect dog on his way home only to discover he had decided to get the later train so only 20 minutes before had go back for dog. Grabbed alphabites out of oven and dropped them on the floor. Cleaned up. Kids back to neighbour, dashed off again. Back home to make scrambled eggs this time. Was 8pm by the time they were all sorted. DH got home and when I told him all he did was complain about the washing up.

Then yesterday vet phoned to call dog back in for check-up at 4.10. Didn't do a clinic during school hours so had to collect kids, go home collect dog, dash to vets. Couldn't park nearby so had to walk miles with dog, baby and 2 kids. Nightmare. Then dash home and get them ready for bed and go out to a meeting with DD2 in tow.

Trouble is every day feels like this.

Still at least DD2 only fed the once again last night so I got a bit more sleep. Doesn't feel like it though. How is everyone else managing with the morning school run?

Katherine, I know you're a tough cookie but I think you are trying to do too much....Sorry that might not be very helpful if you can't see a way to do less, but it sounds to me like your DH should be doing way more to help. Please try and cut as many corners as you can and leave as much as you can, or I fear you are going to be submerged....even superwoman has her limits

Oh a cleaner would be lovely. I know its too much but can't see what else to do. DH does his best but he just doesn't think and because I always seem to manage he now expects me to manage. I suppose it will get easier with time. Just a matter of getting super organised. And the holiday cottage bookings die off soon so at least I'll have a break from cleaning that one - give me more time to clean my own! Just needed someone to agree with me that it was too much as DH seems oblivious to everything I have to do.

Katherine, it is indeed too much. Just thought I'd agree with the others.

Katherine, you officially are superwoman (but not in the Cherie Blair sense of the word!!) Seriously, are you managing ok, or are you just exhausted?

Do you want to know something really unfair - I think my periods have come back!!!!! Talk about mean - that had to be the best benefit last time - I had 6 months off. And ironically, I'm feeding dd exclusively, whereas ds was on mixed feeding from 2 weeks. Dd will be 6 weeks on Monday - I can't believe it! I'm living in hope that it might be a one off....any thoughts?

I had one at 6 weeks both times. 1st time had another about 3 weeks later and then not until ds was 5 months old. Both were exclusively bfed.

Mention it at your post-natal check up just in case.

musica. My bleedings almost stopped and then came back for a week so I already suspect that like you my periods have come back! Let me know what they say at your postnatal checkup.