May Babies

[GeorginaA]

Have we got enough that I can officially open this thread yet?

How are your little ones doing prufrock, twiglett, snowbird?

I think mine is going down with jaundice. Dh isn't convinced, but it's either that or he's got a lovely tan sigh. I remember all the stress associated with that last time with ds1... hoping ds2 doesn't get it as badly.

He's still being a very sicky baby, about a couple of teaspoons a few hours after each feed (which is odd - I'd have thought if it was a reflux type thing it would happen immediately after the feed?) Midwife seems to think it'll settle after the milk comes in but if not then we'll look at some sort of baby gaviscon. Poor little mite, can't be comfortable for him... and we're sure getting through a lot of laundry!

Feel so bloody knackered at the moment, fed up of bits leaking and being sore, and it's only day 2! How long is it before you start feeling human again? Please tell me that it's sooner than the 2 week paternity leave dh gets!!

About 9 days I reckon.
Shove him into whatever sunlight there is. Check his hands and legs and feet - if they are pink he's OK, and remember that bf babies take longer to get rid of the totally normal physiological jaundice - and if you are still worried get the midwife to test his bilirubin levelswhen she does the heel prick for the guthrie tests.
The sick sounds like he's just a bit muccussy still - does he sort of gag and retch when he brings it up? It took ds a week or so to stop doing that. If it is reflux you will be able to tell the difference - I though dd had it until I saw a baby with real reflux vomit. It went about 2 feet away!

Now any tips on how to cope when ds chooses the day dh goes back to work and I am left in sole charge to start demanding feeds every 2 hours through the night. I just don't understand it - I've put a copy of his spreadsheet on his wall, clearly showing that at 2-4 weeks he should be waking at 2.30 and 6am, an he obviously hasn't read it yet - maybe I need to move it closer to his cot to bring it into focus.....

9 days - okay, can cope with nine days... that sounds liveable. I feel like I'm recovering quicker than I did first time around - but that might be down to me refusing point blank to take iron tablets (using Floradix instead).

Sunlight?! looks out of window His hands and feet vary in tone from purple (okay, that's when he's stripped off when a bit sleepy for feeding, so the extremities are a bit cold!) to pinkish. It's his face that is looking a litte "tanned". He also has that slight sweet smell about him from time to time that I remember associating with ds1's jaundice. Hopefully you're right and it's just the normal physiological jaundice. Boobs feeling a bit tingly this afternoon so maybe the milk will come in shortly and solve the problem.

Yes, he gags a bit, if I catch him in time and sit him up and burp him he doesn't sick, otherwise the stuff oozes out of the side of his mouth - it's not projectile (thank god, that sounds horrific!).

Have you changed the spreadsheet to black & white rather than colour coded? I believe they can focus on black & white better

Hi! Just been reading your other thread Georgina and made me feel all broody, and thinking about my ds2 who was never forced to abruptly grow up due to the sudden arrival of a younger sibling. He's my May baby, and he was 5 years old last week

Hope it goes well for you both!

THE MILK BAR IS OPEN... YAY!

breaks into the hallelujiah chorus

hello (she says butting in)
whey - we have a MAY BABIES thread
i want to join i want to join
hope all is well and well done on milky milky georgina.
hope the sicky sicky stops.

Oh god, so do I (re: the sicky sicky)! Hurry up and get that baby out, Egypt

Feeling a bit shit today, after yesterday feeling I was on the mend and having things under control (hah, should know better after only a couple of days really!)

Breastfeeding was going really well last night, thought I'd got the latch just right, ds2 feeding well and enthusiastically (all bloody night!), then this morning back to having to tickle him to keep him awake and interested, back to bleeding nipples... can't work out what I'm doing different. Buy shares in Lansinoh... Funnily enough, although I'm sure the milk is in (can feel the letdown, squeeze out milk etc) I didn't get engorged this time around.

Bits seem to be more sore today (having trouble sitting comfortably whereas yesterday I was fine), and bleeding more, just as it seemed to be dying down and my white sofas weren't so much at risk...!! Feeling knackered and a bit teary. Day 3 ... baby blues kicking in perhaps?

Ds2 looking a bit more yellow today, although it depends on the light/hour of the day. Still can't make up my mind whether I should be concerned or not. He was up all night and fairly alert so not really the signs of an ill baby, surely?

Ds1 cried his eyes out saying he didn't want to go to nursery this afternoon. I feel like such an evil mother.

Midwife due soon. Hope I don't end up sobbing all over her...

How are you coping now dh is back at work, prufrock? Did ds read his spreadsheet properly last night?

butting in again! there was a woman in this morning, this morning, who claims to be able to solve any b/f problems, if they are solvable. she seemed to be a real no-nonsense, clear cut woman, ex-midwife i think. anyway, one mother on there was singing her praises, as her babs couldnt latch on and she was getting sore, etc. this woman cured the problem in minutes. anyway, she has a book and dvd available. i've ordered the dvd. if you fancy a look it can be ordered here: book
and there is info on the book and the woman is on the this morning website
this morning

thismorning

bums. it is:

www.itv.com/thismorning

Thanks for that Egypt ... I feel some shopping coming on

Midwife been and gone - she thinks ds2 looks a bit yellow, but also pointed out that he was lying on a yellow blanket which makes it look worse On prodding him he's a satisfactory pink apparently - she's coming around again tomorrow to compare.

I haven't burst any stitches or anything so that is good. Ds2 has had his little tummy peg removed, bless him!

Dh is out in the garden mowing the lawn... smell of cut grass is great therapy, I love it!

Only 3 feeds last night, and dd slept through for the first time since ds's birth (dh was going in to get her back to sleep though). I'm doing really well - until 5pm, when ds seems to want to start a marathon feeding session and dd gets annoyed because I'm not available for her. Thank god for cBeebies.
In a way it's easier without dh around - lovely and helpful as he was. ds gets pretty much ignored during "social times" unless dd wants to play with him. So different from first time around when dd's every waking moment was filled with me trying to stimulate her :0

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Had a panic last night. Ds2 does NOT sleep at night... he has a feed (about 1.5 hrs worth), dozes off in my arms, I pop him in Moses Basket and he promptly wakes up.

Have tried EVERYTHING, will only go to sleep when being cuddled upright with a boob in his mouth. We tried leaving him in the basket and reassuring him, we tried ignoring him for a few minutes to see if we were just overstimulating him when he was over tired and he got so hysterical, he was sobbing for ages afterwards.

And then he HELD HIS BREATH for a few seconds, completely freaked me out. So I spent two hours sitting upright cuddling him just so he got some sleep.

Ds1 was a dreadful sleeper as a baby and we had to end up letting him cry down for ten minutes before a nap - but because he had jaundice that wasn't until 4 weeks or so... was so hoping ds2 would be more laid back!

Swaddling worked the first night, but now he fights it. Second night gently holding his flailing arms did the trick. Last night was just a dismal failure.

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Sometimes ... but is this "safe" from a cot death point of view?

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Actually my bigger concern is that he likes to sleep tummy down on my chest rather than sleeping on his back. Plus we have a duvet on our bed which we like having which also complicates co-sleeping matters...

Not easy though. I don't sleep well myself with him on me, but then bad sleep is better than no sleep

Hello, room for another?? Got out of hospital yesterday, after having ds on Tuesday just before midnight. Had emergency section - my 2nd - and am feeling achy and have had a few coughing frights! I can't remember how long I took to feel "better" last time - I don't remember getting in and out of bed being so painful and having this saggy tummy lolloping around!
I'm having a go at breast feeding, having given up at 6 weeks last time round. Nips are already a mess so have tried nipple shields today and successfully done 2 feeds with them. However, bf success meant that routine got shot at and ds wouldn't settle down to sleep this evening. Hence he is sleeping in dh's arms to the soothing sound of Terry Wogan and the Eurovision SC!
DD comes home tomorrow - she's been with her grandparents since Tuesday, although she came to visit me in the hospital on Wednesday and seemed happy with the new arrival...although it could all just be a big act! I'm really looking forward to her being here because I think that she will completely change the course of the day and I've missed her so much!

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Oh boo, twiglett! I suppose just taking it gently is the name of the game then...
I'm ashamed to admit I'm just having a little weep about breastfeeding. It seems so early on to feel this bad about it - is everybody else managing OK? Perhaps its just intermingled with baby blues as well and anticipation about DD coming home.
Right, I'm off before I get too gloomy. Hope everybody has a good night (we ended up sticking DS in bed with us at 5am when he wouldn't settle after his feed last night).

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Sorry twiglett, don't know about dds ... am so glad i got another little boy

Had a better night last night thanks to the Slumber Bear. Still was hard work, but with a combination of womb noises, lots of picking up saying "sh sh sh" while patting back and rocking then putting straight back into the moses basket when calm, he eventually got to sleep. Result! We're hoping that by repeating the ritual each night it'll slowly become quicker to settle him (please god).

Sorry to hear about your bf difficulties Judd, I can really sympathise as my nipples are only just starting to heal now I finally seem to have the latch right. They do look a bit war zony still though. Left hand side is much better, only hurts midly for the first few minutes before it gets "used" to being pummelled... right hand side still draws tears and gritted teeth until it subsides to manageable - but it's healing.

My top tips: Lansinoh, take the time to get the perfect latch, lots of yoga breathing while latching (if you're not calm it makes it more stressful and difficult for babe), lots of support from a bf counsellor or midwife. Give yourself small goals - I'll see how I'm doing by the end of the week... end of a month ... end of two months. From last time I remember loving breastfeeding by two months as nipples had toughened up and both of us had sussed how to do it. Was hard work though. It is worth perservering - purely from a selfish point of view, once it's working well it's the best feeling in the world. Even before ds2 arrived I'd still get teary and nostalgic every time I saw a baby at the breast!

Besides... woo hoo ... cleavage!

Good evening! Just wanted to pop on to tell you my thoughts about cleaning girls' bottoms! Now...be warned that I may talk about this as if I am still in the playground...I really don't know biological terminology, so rather than get it wrong, I'll resort to the "familiar".
With DD, we clean bottom crack from back to front, and then for front bottom we do a "credit card swipe" type manoeuvre with a pointed edge of fairly wet cotton wool. Just do that front to back until it comes out clean and I am sure that that is enough. Hope that makes sense!!
Talking of little girls, our 2.5 yr old DD rejoined us today after holidaying at grandparents. She is absolutely huge and weighs a ton! She was very kind to the new baby, fetching his nappy, dropping (soft, thankfully) toys on his head and even giving him a goodnight kiss (ooooh, the grandparents loved that one!)

Sorry to butt in.
Twiglett - I have an April baby. I was advised in hospital to leave 'inside' the labia when cleaning little girls. Apart from the mucus that comes out the rest can be left to be reabsorb. HTH

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