April 2011-kicking back drinking lactulose cocktails and riding the maternity surfboards

[Petalouda]

Post-natal thread for all the antenatal April 2011 Family!

Share the birth stories, the baby blues and everything else.

Yeah I can see how it would get very tedious! Got an electric avent that my sister won in a raffle. Was very excited to have reached the 60ml mark only to see in the book they have 150ml per feed! Blimey!

Also any tips on getting him to take the bottle?

I haven't tried expressing yet but have the same questions as you Lucie, so am watching with interest.

I'm a bit confused by the whole expressing lark though. If I manage to express enough for a feed and she'll take a bottle and I then leave her with DH and go out somewhere (therefore missing a feed), won't I get horribly engorged? Does it mean that I'll have to express when I'm out and about or is ok if I just feed as soon as I get back?

I've tried reading up on expressing but am finding it really confusing. I really want to get expressing and the occasional bottle feed established though, otherwise I'll never be able to go anywhere without her!

Well he took the bottle well on the whole. Couldn't finish it in one go so was cold by the end and doesn't seem to want the rest from the bottle but is still hungry. Can I warm it again?

I find if DS goes longer than expected between feeds my boobs get like rocks so I would need to express if we skipped one!

DS is currently napping in his bouncy chair and has been for an hour!

I wish G would nap during the day. He will only sleep if out and about in pram, or in sling. As soon as the motion stops he wakes and starts crying!

Today he has developed a widespread rash all over his tummy, neck and face. It looks like a viral rash to me, and he doesn't have a temperature. Dd has a cold and he seems to have a snuffly nose. He has also wanted feeding a lot but fusses and keeps pulling off the boob all the time. I feel shattered, and I just want 5 mins peace.

Dd is being really naughty and disobedient at the moment. I think she is majorly jealous of the attention and time G is getting. She constantly wants to kiss and cuddle him, but will grab him in a strangle hold and squeeze him really tightly. On the rare occasion he sleeps during the day she then goes and wakes him up by kissing him and cuddling him, despite me asking her not to. Yesterday I caught her trying to pick him up off the bed! I have tried putting him down in the cot so she can't get to him but she will climb up the side and reach and pull his hand through the bars. She is really pushing my buttons and I end up shouting at her, which is counterproductive. I'm really struggling actually to discipline her. We tried the naughty step but she just gets off it and runs off. The only thing that works is telling her that we will put one of her toys on top of the wardrobe every time she is disobedient or naughty, she gets one warning, then toy goes up. The other day there were about 15 soft toys on top of the wardrobe! Is anyone else having behavioural problems with an older child? If so I would love to know if you have any tips as I am pretty much at my wits end. [frown]

I don't have any advice about expressing as I haven't done it so it means I am pretty much tied to G. I gave up expressing milk with dd as she wouldn't take the bottle and it made me really sore, so I haven't even tried this time round. My other breast feeding friends are pretty surprised that I am not expressing at all, but I didn't think it would be that unusual not to.

Jen - I have no tips about older DC, we are struggling too!
I'm not expressing either. I had to with DS1 for about 8 weeks because he wouldn't latch and then to help with supply. It is just one more job, and easier to just feed rather than faff pumping and then dealing with bottles IME.

frakk - yay on the nap!

Not expressing here either, as agree it's a faff.
(though of course have at least 3 pumps, 2 sterilisers & various bottles that i've acquired over the last 5 years )

One rule I followed when DS2 was born & DS1 was 20months was never to say 'no because of DS2' so i had to say, no i can't play that game as i'm having a 5minute sit down for example. But it is a tough time. DS1 is pretty cool with DD's arrival, DS2's SN means he's more complicated but seems happy enough so far.

M really loving bathtime at the mo (long may it last), we hold her floating between her brothers :)
Planning on some baths with just me & her after halfterm, have loved that with the boys.

Good news, think lochia has finally stopped, 5weeks in. Seems like forever. Oh and waaay TMI but think i had my first normal poo without laxative-help today!

Hi all, Apologies in advance for not name checking, am on my I phone.

S also sicks up infacol, might have to stop using it which is a shame as he doesn't wind well.

I also want to express but don't know where to start. When do I do it? How much? How often? I have a meddle swing standing by.

S still has a cold. :-(

T will NOT settle this evening. DH has just headed out with him for a walk to give my nipples a break - I am so sore! Poor baby is full up, he has a few sucks and then comes off gasping and leaking milk, there is literally no room left in him, but then 2 minutes later he is pecking and rooting.

So I am going to pack the incredibly indulgent changing bag I bought for myself today. It is big enough for all the stuff for both boys and I love it

Well, B slept through his first Champions League final on DH! He was due a feed an hour ago and is still zonked now! To go to bed or not go to bed, that is the question!!

Thanks for advice re infacol, will look at alternative that Lucie mentioned. I'm trying to express mainly because I'm going to see Take That on Monday and need to leave some bottles for Nana to give to L.

Whaddya get Ali?

I can't believe how much sleep we've had here today. Just resettling after 4am feed (aka practically feeding to sleep), fingers crossed he'll go another few hours!

staying in a hotel, wedding later today. F decided not to sleep. Surprised we've not been asked to leave!

morning ladies,
having a very horrible weekend, which is such a shame as it the first with no visitors.
Have a stinking cold and to top it off BF has become a bit of a nightmare.
I have been BF I since birth, so four weeks not but for the past few days it has become increasingly uncomfortable and still really painful.
Feed times are becoming stressful as im dreading the pain and he just doesnt seem to be settling at all after feeds.
I started to express last week, for the DH to do a night feed, but DS seems to settle alot better after this bottle feed.
I am becoming increasingly desperate as every HV and MW i seem to speak to say that BF shouldnt hurt AT ALL , so there is still something i am doing wrong ????!!!!
Im thinking of moving towards just expressing and leaving the boob out completely, but feel that this will make me a total failure.?!!!
Im due to go to the breast feeding clinic on tuesday but dont know if i can hold out.
Kitty I first expressed in the morning , expressing the boob i hadnt fed from then every feed i expressed from the boob i didnt feed from again, but still alternating the boobs i used/expressed from.
I hope that is of some help.

Hi what is the pain like? Is it nipple or whole boob? At the start of the feed or throughout? Pain doesn't necessarily mean that you are doing something wrong, but hopefully it's something that is fixable?

hi, lucie
its just on the one breast, i can feed perfectly on the other.
We have a good latch on the painfull one , the pain is when he latches but calms down after the 20 second count.
But throughout the feed its more of a constant grating on the underside of the nippple, so the part thats on the toungue.
The whole feed usually consists of taking I off and putting him back on again , numerous times.
My actual breasts arent sore its definately a nipple thing.

cookie - it sounds like you might just be holding him slightly differently on one side, or perhaps he isn't as comfortable so is holding his shoulders/neck/jaw differently. Can you try using cushions etc to get a more comfy position?

frakk - I got an Il Tutto, the Stella in red. I have lovingly packed it this morning, and I can even fit my sling in it!

Just checking in. Laptop is knackered so not been on for a few days. All going well though. Did my first ever DSS and R on my own day yesterday!! Thankfully R obliged and slept almost all day except to wake for feeds!!

Finally stopped expressing now too, so boobs are v. sore today. Still tempted to do one last pump but know I would just get into a vicious cycle so am resisting the urge!

Chilli R was breech in the last trimester so routinely here you go for a hip scan for that reason and they diagnosed it then. 2 nappies is going ok tho for now although you're less likely to smell a poo so having to check nappies more frequently just incase!!!

We had a family day in Cambridge today. Baby I was a delight and slept the whole time, ds2 however was a bit of a nightmare. It was one of those days that you think 'why do I bother?!'

However summer shoes have been purchased for ds and we got to walk around a beautiful city.

Lochia stopped here this week as well - good riddance I say!

Baby J keeps being sick. Been once today but twice yesterday- it's extremely scary projectile forceful vomiting that comes out of nose and mouth. Is this normal to have once or twice a day? Have had for a few days now on and off but had also coincided with me struggling to wind her... Starting to worry a bit now.

I'm currently typing this as I wait for J to fall asleep on my lap so I can transfer her to Moses basket. I'm delighted that she is starting to self settle in the day in her pram but no such luck in the evening. I'm hoping that the skill will eventually transfer and in the meantime just making the most of the cuddles.

H regularly projectile voms but he's just sick all the time frankly. Thank God for muslins, they're fab!

He was really out of sorts all morning, screaming with inconsolable crying. After a long nap and three huge poos he's a different baby and was chuckling with grandad. Why do they scare us like that?!

cycle - I don't know! T had a day like that, and the cure was the same - lots of pooing!
DS1 is now old enough to tell us what the matter is in a reasonably coherent manner. Only 2.5 years to wait with T!!

Hi all. Daisylulu Joanna has also had a couple of scary projectile vomits coming out through her nose, a couple of days after starting her on formula top-ups, so I assume it was either the change in diet or that she gulps it down so quickly. It scared me as it seemed so violent, but she seemed completely unfazed by it.

Well on top of our other woes we now have thrush. I've had burning nipple pain and feel like I've been punched in the breast for a couple of weeks now, but consulted with a couple of midwives and they said probably not thrush unless the baby showed signs of it. Then yesterday she got the white tongue. Would have to be a bank holiday Saturday, of course, so we spent three hours waiting to be seen by the Walk-In Centre. I have Daktarin cream and she has Nystatin. Reluctant to use the cream, though, as the leaflet has dire warnings about not ingesting it - is it really safe for breastfeeding? Really don't trust the nurse I saw at walk-in - she first of all refused to acknowledge it as thrush because I didn't have a rash on my breasts (?!) - only convinced when I showed her the printouts from nhs choices website describing symptoms. The label on my prescription just says "take as directed" but she didn't "direct" me anything, so I don't know how to use it or how often. just another thing that has gone wrong this week. So far have been at either the hospital, the GPs, the baby clinic or the walk-in centre on 5 out of last 8 days. At least I'm wringing my money's worth out of the NHS.

Need .

On the plus side, whilst I don't like feeding Jo formula, the couple of days break from relentless breastfeeding has made my nipple pain so much better (thrush notwithstanding) and she sleeps like an absolute dream now.