Late October 2020 babies - Support Thread

[Mc3209]

Graduating from Pregnancy forum into Parenting one! I feel almost grown up.

And of course everyone is welcome to join!

@DressingGown87 @Jaffas22 @DogCatDex @EmmaA96 @Parks11 @LadyB90 @Strawberries4days @LST87 @sls668 @plentyofplants @Uppsydaisy
@sunbreak @FirstSurprise001 @WaveStreet @roarfeckingroar
@Mc3209 @KitKatKit @1990shopefulftm @Lolllyf @HelenMarie1001 @Freddie1987 @BS9790 @hmeadow24 @Ghostworld @roarfeckingroarr @Glooorb @mamavee @UpsyDaisy1234 @Samk93
@60sPony @Monkeyseesmonkeydoesnt @AdventureAhead @Elizag20 @justtb @Clalou83 @SJR86 @Flora20 @Watersintheclouds @Jaffas22 @justtb

I am sorry if I missed anyone!

Glad to hear it isn't just us having nap issues! I've only just got DS to sleep so not looking forward to tonight 😅. I think I need to get ds out of bed earlier in the morning but I'm always just knackered and lie in as long as possible

@GhostWorld we’re exactly the same, she doesn’t wake til 9am but often doesn’t sleep until 9pm ish. I always consider trying to change it but her dad doesn’t always get in until after 6 so I think it’s nice they can see each other plus that lie in makes such a difference for me in the morning! They’re still only little, I wouldn’t worry about it too much if you think it works for you

Yeah, we are doing 10pm - 10am (with x2 wake ups for feed). I need that morning lie in! Will change it after 6 months or later if it doesn't change by itself.

@Mc3209 my Ds did 10pm to 10am with one feed last night, I think I ll do the same as you and only change it if needs be at 6 months so that we don't have trouble doing breakfast when he's weaning.

We generally do 8-8. Only as she hates naps, but is ok at night sleeping. It’s also gives me 4/5 hours once she is in bed to work / housework.

She starts at the childminders next week (4 months old), just one day a week to begin with. As my support bubble is struggling to help due to her own DC, and my sister who was my childcare bubble has her 3rdDC next week.

Hopefully will have gas by the end of the day! And we’ve just had a 1 hour nap! Celebrating the simple things.

Hope you ladies don't mind me joining you - I've been lurking a little bit the last few weeks as so helpful to see other mums going through similar things! I echo anyone else on this thread about how difficult it is at the moment with no baby groups and no one to talk to. I feel very isolated as a first time mum and haven't seen my friends who have children in nearly a year.

We've also just hit sleep regression the broken sleep is bad but the worst bit is the napping! He screams and screams hysterically and it takes forever to get him down for one even though he's so so tired. It's often an hour to get him down and then he wakes up after 10 minutes I've thought about just not putting him down but he screams as he's tired then so can't win! That, alongside his terrible reflux which means he's upright after every feed and feeds little and often means I've barely got any time for tummy time before we're supposed to be napping . He absolutely hates it though.

I can't wait for this leap to be over. I want my smiley boy back, this one just screams and screams it makes me feel a bit better to know some of you are also having nap issues.

@BlueLilyLilyBlue Welcome! And congrats on your little boy. I agree this leap is awful. It’s so frustrating when you spend an hour fighting them to go to sleep, when they are clearly tired and screaming. To get a short nap, and then repeat the whole process all over again. How long do we think this will last? I just keep thinking what can I do to help? Is there something I’m meant to be doing to help her learn the different sleep cycles and to settle easier, buts it’s just a minefield.
Is your little on any medication for the reflux? How you finding getting the weight to dose ratio correct?

Thanks @DressingGown87! I'm exactly the same - thinking what on earth should I do?! There's so much info out there about what you should and shouldn't do and it's all conflicting . I'm using Huckleberry which is so so helpful. Otherwise I've tried everything- I'm shushed out

Just gaviscon for his reflux although really have to watch it for constipation. Spoke to GP as he's really struggling but she doesn't believe in medicalising it and thinks we should just push through which is helpful when he screams in pain if he's flat too soon after eating. She mostly spent the call saying I was making it worse by topping him up with formula and I'm overfeeding him. He's on the 0.4th centile so I'm not sure that's possible but ok. The mixed feeding is honestly going well for us though so I'm just going to continue for now and reach out to the HV if he continues to struggle.

@BlueLilyLilyBlue I feel for you. Reflux is just awful. I have tried so many things for reflux.
I also tried infant Gaviscon and had to stop it as it made my little one constipated which made her scream more!
I pushed to get omeprazole to be honest and ended up speaking to a different doctor as I was also told just live with it. We have been on a low dose for about a week and I think it isstarting to work. I am going to ask to go on a greater dose though next.
In terms of over feeding, I was worried about that too but my little one is staying on the 25 percentile. My little one is much worse at night. So, what I have found that has helped is that I make sure I give the last bottle feed (I also to combination feeding) over a long time. So, I wake her up at 10pm (she goes to be bed at 7pm), I then give her milk slowly and then put her to bed at about 23.30-midnight. She then sleeps until 7am. This allows her to digest the milk slowly and burp her as I go. Its a bit of a long process but stops the screaming and seems to help her sleep more peacefully. Also, as she doesn’t eat then sleep straightaway I can keep her upright for longer.

Also, thanks @DressingGown87 for saying how omeprazole helped you. It give me the confidence to go with it for my little one xxx

@BlueLilyLilyBlue I use Huckleberry too, and it has improved stuff. But agree things are so contradicting. I’m trying to stay consistent and hope things get easier. Gaviscon gave DD constipation too, so we are on Omeprazole now and have been for a few weeks. It’s helped so much, and her weight gain is so much better. Just have to get her weighed a lot so they can calculate the dose as you can see when she needs an increase with the symptoms. I would speak to your HV if things don’t improve.

@parks11 glad it’s helped! Sounds like you’ve found a good way of managing it. Just keep an eye on your little ones weight, as it can really change things if they don’t get the right dose. I tend to weigh her just before I order the prescription so I can get it calculated.

@parks11 I hope omeprazole is starting to work for your LO, like you say it's so tough, especially when you really had to push for it. The constipation is a worry and so far isn't too bad but you have made me think I should push for the omeprazole if it continues. I think it's been worse the last week or so as he has been going through a growth spurt i think and eating a lot. The slow feeding sounds like it's really helping - my LO is also worse at night but tends to be the middle of the night breastfeed rather than the 11pm bottle feed.
@DressingGown87 I'm with you, I'm just staying consistent and seeing what will happen! I'm trying not to focus too much on the self settling and just trying to get him to sleep any way any how!

@BlueLilyLilyBlue we’re also going with the theory that sleep is sleep so it doesn’t matter how you get them there! You never meet an 18 year old that needs their mum to rock them to sleep!

@Sls668 how true!

so we had probably the worst night sleep wise since Lewis was born. he has gone from sleeping through to up for bottles at 1 and 5 (same times as a newborn) and crying multiple times in between this. sometimes he can be up for a bottle at 5 but he dropped the 1am feed about 8 weeks ago. I had read that when they start to wake up during the sleep regression to try not to feed them as this develops into a new routine. when he was awake at 1 I got him up twice cuddled him back to sleep but as soon as he was put back down he woke up crying so I gave in and gave him a bottle. is anyone else feeding their babies when they're waking frequently during the night? I obviously dont mind feeding him if hes genuinely hungry but he already has 5x 7oz bottles a day

I'm also not sure if its teething either that's causing him to wake up he was so unsettled this morning crying when I got him up. i gave him some calpol and hes settled down. the dribble is pouring out and when hes lying down hes coughing on it quite a bit

@krissy12 I think we might be in the same boat as you now. I thought earlier it was regression but I think it was an odd night. Last few nights, she goes to bed for 8.30/9pm after a feed and normally she doesn't wake up till 3/4am for a bottle and then again at 7am for wake up time. But past few days she's been going to bed normal time, then up at midnight/1am then 4/5am and then 7am for morning 🙈 I try and not give her a bottle at mightnight but I did last night because she fell asleep before she even done half the bottle before bed, so thought she was hungry. But then up at 5am and then 6am after the soother didn't work🙈 we're thinking about putting her bed time early or something so she gets some sort of sleep (like 7.30/8pm) so if she wakes up at mightnight, that's fine for a bottle and pray she stays asleep till morning. Just guessing and going with the flow at this point. Even naps are a nightmare, thought had it all figured out after she slept for 45 mins each time (normally 10/20mins) but now she's gonna back to 10/20 min naps unless she's on me which is a pain when I need to empty washing or in general pain cause I can't sit so long😂 Really hope this doesn't last long for anyone whose going through this regression!

@Strawberries4days its so hard isnt it. I'm also going to try an earlier bedtime tonight and also some teething powder before sleep to see if it makes a difference. he has been sleeping for 2 and a half hours so far this morning after being out in the pram think he is shattered after being up most of the night

@krissy12 awwww bless! Pram walks are the best way to get a good nap as well. Mum says it's the fresh air that knocks them out. Is it heavy snow in your area? We tried going out with the pram but did not work with the heavy snow and wheels. Got stuck on a path so DP had to carry baby while I had to drag the pram back🙈😅

@krissy12 aww hope you’ve managed to get some rest today. The fresh air and pram always seems to tire them out. People always say I should put her to sleep outside. Sometimes if she wakes at 5 she will settle back with her dummy, others I have to make her a feed. But like you say, trying not to establish a new night routine. We are on 5 x7oz too through the day.

@Strawberries4days I can’t sit for long either. I either need to pee, or sit there thinking about everything I need to get done. Usually try get one long nap on me in the afternoon. But just going with the flow, but think the childminder will find it difficult if she doesn’t nap, but she will take her out a lot for walks. Hope the snow clearers soon so you can get out.

@BlueLilyLilyBlue I know. I bounce on my birthing ball most days to get her to sleep, in the dark with white noise. Or pace up and down. Then try put her down after she drops off, but doesn’t last long. It’s the transition between sleep cycles, that I’m trying to work on. Because once that cycle is over she is wide awake, and can’t settle into the next cycle, hoping it’s something that just comes with time.

@strawberries4days yeah the snow is quite bad still but I live near a main road and one side of the roads have been cleared so once I'm out of my street it's not too bad. I've used the baby carrier the past couple
of days because of the snow but I need to wake him up to get him out of it when we get home so thought I would brave the pram today

@DressingGown87 thank you I ended up doing my cleaning when he was asleep to get that out the way. my mum said me and my brother would always sleep outside in the pram when we were babies and I have a secure back garden but we have a lot of foxes around here that wander about during the day and I have a fear of them coming up to the pram so I always bring him in

I am so over this snow now, I want clear paths back! Walking in the mushy wet snow with a 7kg baby in a carrier is a pain, and the snow is not wet enough/melted enough for a pram.

@Mc3209 I feel your pain it feels like the snow has been here forever.

I know I asked this a while back but is anyone formula feeding and still not had a period?

For the mamas who are breastfeeding, how are your LOs feeding at the moment? Oscar is now super distracted on my boob, will spend most of the time babbling and pulling on my nipple, coming off and then latching back on again, barely eating at all. Just wondering if anyone is the same and whether you have any tips to help?