AUGUST 2010 - welcome to post-natal :o)

[CherryPie3]

I know I'm not around a great deal lately but we don't yet have a PN thread - so here we are.

Love to all xxx

:)

Think Infacol will only help getting air up from the tummy (burping) rather than gas from the intestines (farting). DS is quite farty too, but it doesn't seem to bother him much.

Yes, infacol basically coagulates the little air bubbles into big air bubbles, which helps them to come up. S is still very farty, but at least some of it now comes out the top way! Yes, you need to give it before every feed (though doesn't matter if you miss some, IYKWIM). Don't worry about them having quite a lot (apart from the cost factor . They don't absorb it at all - it just lines the gut and passes straight out again. HTH.

LCRLCR - midwife told us that breastfed babies tend to be a bit windier and have looser bowels lol DS was a bit like this too, tho its been fading a bit over last couple of days. Didn't seem to make him uncomfortable or anything tho...

And yep, I sleep in bra and pads too - my bra is v comfy tho and I usually get up after middle of the night feed to use hot water and vinegar and daktarin cream and change pads since i've already got thrush (joy of joys!) think id def be more uncomfortable without the bra tho tbh

neenz - DS has been sleeping in my old moses basket from when I was a baby. My auntie got it for me in Kenya so its longer than the usual moses baskets you can but here but D has such long arms and legs its just no good any more!

moonunit - that looks like an interesting position to try. i tend to do a version of this at night propped up on loads of pillows in bed but not hands free IYSWIM? glad its working for you!!

D had his first full night in the big boy cot last night at the end of our bed. Initially it was hard to get him settled but once he did fall asleep he was grand, he has a lot more space and everything. Big wrench tho, having your 3 week old baby big enough to sleep in something you thought they wouldn't need for 3 months!! Right, better go throw some clothes on and get kettle on before HV shows up - it's sunny today, hurray!!

soontobefatnat if it's any encouragement Sam's 8wks 2 days and we're just about getting there with the feeding. It took 8 weeks with DD and with Sam now it only hurts on one side for the first 2/3 sucks and then it only burns for maybe 15 mins afterwards. I no longer feel like giving up bf 8-10 times a day so it will get better but it might take 8+ weeks. I have got Raynaud's syndrome though so that's why I get the burning and that just takes time to clear.

moonunit we used the bio nurturing for a bit, still do sometimes if I'm in the right place at feeding time, bit tricky with DD cos if she sees me reclining it's an open invitation to clamber all over us! It is one of the comfiest (sp?) positions I reckon.

lcrlcr if your LO is farting without any straining/crying that's fine. Infacol is to get wind upwards so wouldn't make a difference to farts except that if she burps it up it won't need to go down iyswim. If she's not uncomfy though I wouldn't bother tbh, farts stink regardless of how old you are (unless you're my sister who has never done a smelly fart in her life that I know of ) I'm quite lucky in that I don't leak unless I'm really full.

littlemiss glad you had a good time at the wedding. I'm a bit at you feeling good in your outfit - I've got a stone and a half to lose and feel really fat/ugly at the mo [sigh] I'm looking forward to putting Sam in his cot once we've moved, he's getting a bit long for his basket now.

I forgot, DD also tells me Sam needs milk everytime he cries, and comes running over if he throws up saying 'uh oh!' so I always know when to get the muslins out!

I have my 6 week postnatal check up with the GP today - anyone who's had theirs know what it entails?

I haven't bothered this time, with DD they poked my stomach to make sure everything was in the right place, checked my cs scar and asked if I felt alright/had any concerns. Might be different at different GPs though.

No, just got back from mine and it was pointless! She didn't even want to check my stitches, just tried to persuade me to get a coil

Oh, and despite exclusively breastfeeding my period seems to have returned

LCR I hate wearing a bra in bed too but after a few very leaky incidents I have come to a compromise - I wear my proper huge nursing bra during the day and at night I wear a sort of stretchy t-shirt bra thing which is all one piece of fabric - a lot more comfy than having all those straps.

I haven't done any public bfing since DD was put in the harness for her hips but think I've mastered a way of holding her which keeps her hips out and doesn't require millions of cushions. Also I expressed for the first time yesterday and managed to get a good 5oz - which she guzzled down at 3am. Think DH was v chuffed to be able to feed her for the first time. anyone else who is expressing so their other half can feed, which feed does he do?

I dream of DH doing the 10/11/12 feed (whichever one comes first) but it never happens. I'd love to go to bed at 9 and not have to wake up until 2ish. Finding time to express with DD running around is a bit of a challenge at the mo too.

bellygazing - I didn't get on with expressing, but we have tried DP giving a bottle of formula instead. DS was feeding 8pm, going to bed at 9pm and then feeding again at 2am, so the plan was for me to go to bed at 10pm and DP doing a feed around 11pm/12am so DS would have his longest stretch of sleep 11pm-5am instead of 8pm-2am.

Unfortunately it hasn't worked out like that! DS is taking the 11pm feed from the bottle, but then still waking up to breastfeed at 2am/3am anyway Though I think he's having a growth spurt at the moment, so hopefully we'll get back to 8pm breastfeed, 11pm bottlefeed and then 5am breastfeed.

I can't believe you have a pattern already! Sam's so unpredictable :(

Only a night time pattern, and it's entirely DS's own doing so I can't take any credit. I'm feeding on demand day and night, and the day is totally random. The only thing we do every day is a bath at 7.30pm, which I guess naturally leads to a snuggly post-bath breastfeed at 8pm. DS falls asleep for the night somewhere between 9pm and 10pm - if I try to get him to sleep any earlier it just won't happen.

Moonunit, it's so annoying when MWs try to thrust the baby onto your boob , I tried BN position last night in bed cos I couldn't be bothered to sit up and it was pretty good! MWs should be taught this as an alternative to a 'regular' feeding position, like you say if it helps latch then fab. I had my 6wk check today too - pointless here as well, when I asked him about contraception he said ' oh yeah I need to talk to you about that' but he didn't know anything about what you could take when you are BFing or whether the implant stops you OVing (I'd rather avoid one that stops OV as I had trouble in the past getting my OV regualar). He told me I should go see another GP 'who knows about these things'. Annoying thing is I tried to book my appt with her anyway but receptionist said I had to go to my actual GP! Grrr. I have booked a phone appt anyway cos getting all 3 kids to docs not fun! Daniel has a good nightime pattern too - he feeds around 1.30 and 5.30 which is OK. I would perservere with 10pm feed cos I know a few people who let their LOs sleep from 7pm-2/3am but 7pm-7am doesn't happen till 6m-ish. 10/11pm - 7am is much better - the DTs were doing that at 12wks .

LCR, prob worth giving Infacol a try. It can't hurt. Daniel seems to be doing much better now he has been on it a week or so. We can get it free on Care At The Chemist but not all PCTs do this. ASk at your pharmacy. I sleep in bra but no pads as I don't leak, and my boobs are small so not sore - sorry can't be more help!

Littlemiss, how sweet that your LO sleeps in your old moses basket [cute]. Does eating bio yogurt help with thrush on the nipples? I've never heard of nipple thrush till this thread!

Bellygazing that's great that you have mastered feeding with the harness. 5oz is very good - was that all in one session? DH did the 10pm feed once and the 3am feed once but both times Daniel needed me to get back to sleep so I haven't bothered expressing since. Like Chulita it is hard with the other LOs around.

Daniel has been snuffly the last 2 nights. last night I gave him some saline drops but they made him vomit massively (they are mega salty). So I propped him up on a pillow again but in the moses basket. He went from 1.30-6am which is not too bad.

neenz - have you tried running the shower really hot in the bathroom and sitting in there with Daniel with doors and windows closed for 5 or 10 mins? meant to be very good for sniffly wee chests/noses but haven't tried it myself yet! yeah, i'd never heard of nipple thrush either but after two weeks of taking antibiotics im not that surprised we've got it but yeah, i'm trying the bio yogurt and actimel as well, can't hurt to give it a go...

Re: expressing - I've done this a few times with manual pump if I need a bottle to take out somewhere with us or on the two occasions my mum has minded Dara for a couple of hours. How much is everyone expressing? I've managed to get 120ml on one occasion, but usual is more like 60ml and that just does not satisfy DS's (bottomless!) appetite at all so I'm not sure if it's going to be something that's going to work for us...

MoonUnit We kind of have a night time pattern too - feed about 6/half 6, change, bath, we grab some dinner, b/f again about half 8 or 9, stick on a movie or some trashy tv, formula bottle at about 11 or half 11, then glorious sleep til about 4ish, breastfeed again and then sleep til about half 7. Doesn't always work out exactly to schedule and during the day is very much feed on demand but its nice to have some idea of when you're going to get a bit of sleep isn't it?! Evenings are pretty much out in terms of going out or having people round for more than an hour at a time, but being able to get some sleep at night makes it all worth it :)

After a good night in his cot last night and weighing in at 9lb 14oz (!!!) at his HV appt this morning, Dara was fussy from about 10am til half 2, wanting fed all the time, wouldn't sleep even when I was holding him, crying constantly. Managed to get him into the buggy and out to the park at half 2 and just back now and he's still asleep in the buggy. Bliss!! And in-laws for dinner tonight so no cooking for me!! Now if I could get rid of thrush and stretch marks and get my funding application finished ahead of the looming deadline everything would be perfect

Yeh, at last I've found the thread. How dumb am I

Hope everyone is well. I'm having a nightmare of a time, my LO gets colic every afternoon, starts between 3 pm and 4 pm and goes on until about 10 pm. My only respite is when my DH takes him off me for a short while

I will try and catch up with everyone once I get the chance.

Take care

dogwalker we expect you to read the entire thread and respond appropriately of course welcome back! They do grow out of colic eventually - not much consolation but he will get there.

Dogwalker what about massaging his tummy see if that helps - the only thing that is important is you do it clockwize

Caz - hope you are OK honey. Take it easy goin back to work...don't be offended if people don't know what to say. I (We) are thinking about you all the time...glad you are going to church - my friend said when i had a miscarriage god just needs your angel now... who knows what happens in the whole scheme we have yet to see the big picture

hi dogwalker, sorry about the colic, sounds miserable :( Maybe you could start a thread about it (or i imagine there are some already) and you might get some useful tips/advice.
Does anyone know when babies start getting colic if they're going to get it or is it totally random?

Hi I've managed to read all the posts chulita lol

Kcoffin and Elusive I feel your pain on the colic. I've tried infacol, it helps sometimes but not always. Saw a BF counsellor today who suggested, keeping my DS in a more upright position when feeding and using a sling, to keep him upright between feeds.

well I've ordered a sling and I fed DS sitting up and he's now been asleep over 2 hours when he is normally screaming his head off. I'm not counting my chickens but this short time off is fab.

Marzi, from the reading I've done on colic, it normally starts in week 3 and can go on until LO is 3 months old.

Aussie SEX , not yet even considered it. My DS decided to have his arm up during labour and I decided not to have any pain relief, which resulted in me having a lot of internal tearing and then having to be cut aswell to get him out, so sex is not yet on the agenda.

Aussie how jealous am I regarding your routine . Wow that is amazing.

Alice* Hope you are feeling better.

CazEM Great to hear from you, my thoughts are with you.

I am still BF, perservering through it. Had sore nipples at the beginning, but apart from that it has gone pretty well. Thank goodness, couldn't cope with BF problems as well as colic.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to catch up with all the posts I'd missed.

Take care xx

dogwalker, hope colic eases soon. Interesting what you say about feeding in more upright position - we'd prob have digestion problems too if we ate lying down so it makes a lot of sense. Have you asked your GP about colief or tried it? It is expensive but it;s not forever.

I decided to try putting Daniel to bed in his cot in his room tonight after his bath (7pm). He went down fine and just woke (8.30pm) for a feed and has gone back down again so I am well pleased. Am hoping he will start taking all his naps and nighttime sleep in his own cot soon!

Feeling pretty tired today - finding it exhausting running round after two 2yos (they think it is a game to run away from me when they need their nappy changed or to refuse to go upstairs at bathtime etc, which means I am constantly chasing them, catching them and carrying them everywhere.)

Oops, spoke too soon - Daniel is crying

Evening

Dog F is suffering with the colic too. Things that help him are a warm lavender bath, massage (only likes his feet and legs done though) and mad as it sounds, when he is at full scream, gently blowing on his face seems to really calm him, kind of distraction i suppose.

Feel like i am coming down with a cold and tomorrow i am travelling to see family for the first time since having F, it is ony an hour away but the logistics of being that far away for a whole day with 2dc on my own could be challenging!

Off to bed now, night

Morning

Not going to see family today, i have man flu. Attempting potty training and getting F to see the nurse for the gunky eye instead. Oh, and eating whatever i feel like today because I Am Ill

alice you're a man??

both mine have colds as of last night so we're stuck at home today...it's going to be a long day

Sorry to hear about the colds ladies!

After saying how good DS is at night, last night was awful! Think we're experiencing a growth spurt at the moment (is there one about 6 weeks?) and after waking for a feed at 2.30am instead of feeding for 10 minutes and going back to sleep he was still feeding at almost 4am So much so that he made himself sick and I had to change his nappy twice. Finally fell asleep on my chest before I could ease him back into his cot.

I am not a good night time parent though tbh - I like my sleep too much and get very impatient. At one point last night I did think "he's fed, he's changed, he's lying right next to me - maybe I'll just let him cry himself to sleep" I didn't though, I felt bad just thinking it - plus whenever DP has suggested leaving him to cry I've given him a right old lecture about how cruel it is!