April Babies

[MrsDoolittle]

Well there had to be one...
Thought I might as well start it at Fennels suggestion.
You have all read enough from me how about you?

Hi everyone,
I am still around, although as i am practising typing and breast feeding at the same time my typing is deteriorating!!!
Mother came to help last week. She was brilliant ans very sympathetic, making surely I rested and took my time to look after myself but sadly we differ on some fundamental issues. I am imagining she shares opinions with GF! Mother is very disapproving of demand feeding and thinks I am picking dd up too often, by not allowing her to cry I am making a rod for my own back!!!. And I should be looking to move the crib out of my room now to prevent difficulties later. Now all this goes against the grain with me, am I being soft? Any ideas anyone?

Hi Fennel - I think it is colic !! He seems in pain when he's feeding and often in the early evening he screams for no apprent reason whoch is symptomatic of colic I think. I went to the doctor today and am just taking one iron tablet for the next 2 weeks and then having a blood test to see if my iron levels are back to normal. The health visitor seemed v. impressed I'd managed to keep taking 3 tablets a day for the last fortnight! Mrs Doolittle - lol at your mum's ideas. My sister read GF and freaked out that she should be waking up a 6 week old babe at 7.15am for a feed. Demand feeding is what I've been advised to do but I know others have had success at 'training' their babies early on...

Colic is nasty. I have never experienced it myself so I wouldn't recognise the signs but dd was griseling the night dm sent us out for an evening together and baby-sat for us. I never settled and badgered poor dh into returning 2 hours later. It appears that dd had suffered colic probably due to strawberries from the night before. Seems she was over the worst by the time we got home but anyway, judged by it's description I am sorry I wasn't at home for her, but also glsd I didn't see her in so much distress. That night dm was trying to persuade me to leave her in crib (once she was over the worst) to cry herself to sleep. I was so distressed I snatched her out of the crib crying myself!! However, my actions were justified because she stopped crying and 5 mins on the boob and she fell asleep.
I still beg the question can you pick them up too much? Dd won't be put down atall unless she si asleep.

Hi all, have hardly had any time to post. I know dd was an end of March babe but I couldn't resist posting as we all struggled through on the April thread for pregnancy.

We are bf OK although I am bottle feeding the 11pm feed as there seems to be no goodness in my milk by that time...dd will feed for ever and just not get full. It did take a long time to get it sussed though.
MrsD dd seems to be a 'windy' baby too and we are using infacol religously. A sign for dd is she kicks her knees into her stomach in jerky movements and the cry sounds like she is in agony compared to the i'm hungry feed me now angry cry.
Overall we are coping well and loving almost every minute of it. The time certainly has flown.

hi Mrs D. As far as I can tell ALL the advice about breastfeeding recommends demand feeding at least in the early weeks.
And all the advice about baby sleeping and cot deaths recommends baby in your own bedroom.

Personally I go with demand feeding, and cuddling whenever you feel like it. But I'm not a routine person so would hate having to live in a routine. dd3 hasn't even made it to a bedside cot she's in bed with us. Much easier to feed and settle without even having to move - it works for us though obviously not everyone wants to co-sleep. dd3 is already a good sleeper (most nights is doing 5-6 hours as her longest night-time stretch) and dd1 was a great sleeper so it can work as well or better than the Gina ford style routines. and both dd1 and dd2 graduated easily to their own cot and bedroom in time.
I love the phrase "rod for your own back"!

lucy, sorry to hear about the colic. I have no cure for it but it peaks at 6 weeks typically so it can help to see it as only a short term thing, if awful at the time.

Hi Ladies, Dh, (bless him) is on paternity this week and I am dismayed to discover that to some extent he shares dm's opinion that dd will cry. This saddens me, and I have told him so, because I believe that if you accept the fact that baby crys so easily then you won't feel the need to find out why she is crying. He just thinks I am soft and keeps asking me to explain to him why he makes me grumpy and upset but I seem to have great difficulty (if you can believe it) vocalising what is making me feel so down.
To be honest when she crys desperately it makes me feel sick and no man could stop me picking her up. The fact of the matter is that she stops crying when I pick her up. She also feeds relentlessly, which can't be a bad thing can it?
Does anybody understand what I am trying to say here or does it all sound like gobbledegook?
We also went to look at a nursery today for September and I cried, is that sad? Dh thought I was mad.

Hi Mrs Doolittle. How old is your dd now? I did nothing but cry in the 1st couple of weeks and poor dh was mystified I think it's okay to hold your baby all the time as long as it isn't wearing you out.

Mrs D, she's still tiny tiny tiny. I'd say pick her up and cuddle her and feed her, and things will sort out later - honestly, I don't think a baby this age will "learn" from any different treatment.

September is a LOOOOOONG way off. Worry about that later.

Hugs
xxxxxx

I agree with Lucy and MI.

Hi everyone, isn't it a miserable day?! Actually got some sleep last night - ds fed at 1am and 5am - just twice in a night!

Are things getting better with the feeding now Lucy? I went to a breastfeeding clinic this morning and fed without expressing or using nipple shields for the first time since Sunday - which is a step in the right direction. Need to work on positioning though, or will get sore nipples again (ouch!)

Yes much better thanks HD. Cant believe ds is 4 weeks old today!

hello
I think this is the one time in our lives where we should trust our own instincts for a change , Mrs D , if want to cuddle and it is not making you tired , cuddle , so soon they will b too big etc
things ok here ds bit grisley last night , think it may have to do with bellybutton falling off and ds was playing withi it , think was sore

Thank you for your support Ladies!
I have been thinking of you breastfeeding, hewlettsdaughter, I hope things are picking up for you.
MW discharged us yesterday - dd is now 8lb 10oz. a whole pound bigger than her birth weight! I am very proud, so we must be doing something right.
And I decided I will go with my instincts and cuddle, cuddle, cuddle - she is gorgeous. I think we are all happier when this is the case, she doesn't cry and I am not upset which makes for an easier life for dh!! So there!!!
I am tired, but I am happy tired. I can't stop crying when I am miserable tired (ie yesterday) but we are doing much better today!

Things do change from day to day (or even hour to hour), don't they. Managed to breastfeed ok at clinic today but didn't get on so well later at home.
Still, I've finally managed to post my birth story (it's on the Anyone due in April thread).

Have just read it HD - sounds really positive.

dd is griseling in my arms at the mo (bless her) so best go - cheerio !

Just want to send love to you all and say S*d the rod. Do what you feel is right. If you want to do something else later on you can do that then.

How is everyone doing ??

HD - is the breastfeeding getting any better? I think you're doing v well for perservering with it especially with all the pain.

Lucy - I can really sympathise with the colic. DD1 used to suffer terribly from it and would cry constantly from around 5pm - around midnight. Unfortunately, ds now seems to be getting rather windy too. I went to the bf clinic today to check if the positioning I was doing was causing some of it and to ensure I was bringing up his wind correctly. Its such a shame as he seems to be happy other than when he is windy

LOL fennel at your dd and the cabage. My dd thought my breast pads were T bags !

MrsD you sound like everything is going well for you. I've found that once you have a baby people will always have different suggestions and ideas, so the best thing is to Trust your instincts and do what you reckon is right. I find it v hard to leave my ds crying. I am dreading when dh goes back to work and when I will have both dd and ds to look after. Fennel - how are you finding it with 3 now ?? Has your dd got over her chickepox ?

yes , yes cuddle , cuddle , that the way ! it won't b long b4 they r 2 big for it !
ds is mucusy at the mo and seems to sort of gag , and not bring anything up though ! if he was bigger i thing he might clear his throat , any ideas?
ra on the BF front ( so to speak ) for something that is supposed to b the most natural thing it ai'nt half tricky !
we have also been discharged by MW and graduated to the HV managed to put her off until after the weekend though
off on my 1st outing without ds 2night . bit nervous but should b ok

hi all, like others I'm posting half here and half on the "due in april" thread still.

we are doing mostly very well and then sometimes I just feel overwhelmed and 3 small children seems an awful lot. Metrobaby, thanks for asking, dd2 got over chickenpox, she had to have a few days off nursery but at least DP was off on paternity leave so it could have been worse and she loved being at home with us and the new baby (though we'd have preferred her gainfully employed at nursery of course). then she got a stomach bug - two illnesses in dd3's first week. still, dd3 is a cutie and very easygoing as long as allowed lots of cuddling. but we found out last night she doesn't digest curry we have had a very disturbed and windy night.

dolbear, yes BF is a hassle isn't it? even when not too painful I find it hard work. at least it gets easier, the longer you do it though, that's the good thing.

I always thought (before having children of my own!) that with breastfeeding you just aimed the baby in the general direction of your boob and all would be fine...
Things did get better when I breastfed ds, although we got off to a shaky start. Things are slowly improving with dd, I think - hope to reduce use of nipple shields soon.
Fennel - I trust dd3 didn't catch chicken pox or the stomach bug?!

HD - dd3 hasn't caught them yet! chickenpox has a long incubation so she might get it but it's usually extremely mild in young babies. we can't do anything about it anyway.

once again breastfeeding makes me ravenous. I told myself that THIS time I would actually lose weight while breastfeeding. suspect I won't as am eating whole packets of biscuits as light snacks in between quite hearty meals! does everyone get this hungry?

ooh - just found this thread! I usually only have time to check the pregnancy thread - to see if Lesley's had hers yet! But ds1 is out with one set of grandparents and ds2 is with the other grandma, so I've got FREE TIME..!!!

ds2 is now 3 weeks and 2 days, and sooooo beautiful... I have to admit though (gulp) he went in his own room a couple of days ago... very early I know, but we're all sleeping much better - he's so noisy - and starts shuffling and snuffling about 15 - 20 minutes before he actually wakes up, so dp and I thought it was better to get some sleep in that precious time! I go and feed him in his room - it's all cosy - and dp can carry on sleeping so she's in a fit state to look after ds1! Anyway, I know some people will think it's completely shocking, and I did cry for most of the first night at the thought of being separated from him, but then I kind of had this realisation that the 'umbilical cord' between us stretches far further than from our bedroom to his..!

At the moment I'm feeding him on demand - we followed GF with ds1 quite strictly, and it worked a treat, but to be honest I can't see us having the time or energy to do it with ds2... so at the moment it's just whenever he wants a feed and is awake - which is usually from 5.30am each day, although sometimes he'll have another sleep after his feed, until about 7am. We're giving him a formula feed at about 10.30pm - dp stays up to give it him - I've gone to bed at 8.30pm, so I can sleep until 3am - although I generally wake up at 11pm-ish and express a bit, or I'm overflowing!

He's quite colicky, I think - is generally unhappy from about 5pm onwards - completely heartbreaking - especially when he won't even latch on for a feed, he's so upset... But I'm hoping he'll grow out of it and we're giving him infacol - makes us feel like we're trying to do something at least.

Anyway, I'll stop wittering, but glad this thread's here!

Dot, I remember when we moved ds into his own rooom I was very unhappy the first night and then I never looked back! Don't feel you have to justify moving him - if it's what works for you, go for it!