August 2011 - a place to wAit until the rest graduate !

[MrsVidic]

Hi,
Thought I would start us a postnatal thread. Were still in hospital, here till Tuesday monitoring dd (now named Eva) and giving her the anti biotics. Im missing dd1 loads as I only get to see her at visiting and trying to contain a toddler on the ward is tough.

Well I let Grace sleep on her front last night, she stirred when I put her down - but re-settled herself (at about 10.15pm) then she stirred at about 3.15am and re-settled herself again. then she got up at 5 for a (mammoth) feed and change. Cuddled in with me and slept from around 6-8am.

But why do I feel so guilty when she is fine and more comfortable?

To be honest, Morgan sleeps on her belly at least 50% of the time. I think it soothes her belly and provides some comfort since she slept this way for the first 5 1/2 weeks of her life in the NICU. We try not to don't do it when we will be sleeping, which makes sleeping hard for us. I completely agree that colic is about survival. Morgan was hitting her head against the crib rails when she was wiggling in pain. This terrified me and the recommendation from the NICU outreach nurse AND the health visitor??? Use a crib bumper!

Speaking of travelling with babies, Morgan has already been to London twice (from Cardiff), spent three nights in hotels, been on train, subway, taxis and public buses. But the true icing on the cake is we are flying to Florida Oct 3rd - Oct 17th!! My DH can not make it so I am bringing our 16 year old niece to help. We are staying with my family (my parents' house in Ft Lauderdale) so there will be plenty of breaks and attention there :) I am worried about the flight especially because although my GP and health visitor said go ahead, the NICU nurse told me that Morgan's pediatrician would have told us to wait a bit longer before flying but that there was no medical reason not to. Did she really need to tell me this? Now I am paranoid. They are concerned about the reduced oxygen and recycled air and the stress of flying on her body. She is 15 weeks now but only weighs 9lb 4oz. I am in two minds over this - I feel like she will be fine but if anything were to happen, I would never forgive myself.

Sorry for the self-centered post. it is nice to get some of this out....

ive been thinking of putting Willow on her front, as its how she is the most comfy on me and as soon as i try and put her down on her back so i can get on and do something she wakes up and i have to start all over again.

I need Breastfeeding advice of any of you,
The breastfeeding is starting to do my head in, from 5pm every night she just wants to use me as a dummy, she sucks well for a couple of mins then just "pretend" and falls asleep but as soon as i put her down she wakes and gets all niggley and it just goes on and on, i think she just wants to be held, the HV suggested colic but she isnt screamy, just wants cuddleing and to suck the life out of my nipples, also in the eve my boobs feel and look empty and last night i gave her 2oz id expressed earlier and she wolfed it down and was still hungry then she had 2oz of formula she still wouldnt be put down but it shows she was hungry, i think my boobs have just had enough by the eve? Shes really hard to get to go in her crib when i take her upto bed, which is usually around 10pm when she seems to of finally calmed down downstairs, she usually feeds again in bed but then it takes at least an hour to get her to go off in her crib and then again in the night after her feed, any ideas??? I think im going to give up and start bringing in the formula, she is 3weeks and 2days old, i havent bf in public yet i have basicallly avoided going anywhere and im sort of becoming a prisoner in my own home cos of it, dont think im cut out for it!

wishwales id say go for it on the flying, if all those other professionals have given you the go ahead im sure she will be absoloutly fine and you will be too, flying when they are tiny is way way easier than when they are crawling/walking x

wishwales if it helps you my friend took her 5 week old to Italy and all was fine (younger than Morgan is - but her baby was not pre-term). Also I think as the HV and GP said they think it is fine I'm sure will be okay

neverlookback I know how you feel but don't give up yet, week 3 is really hard still.
I understand the emptiness at night thing, I often express early in the morning - for using that evening - this combats the emptiness and me feeling like I am spending the whole evening feeding and feeling like I am being used as a soother. I would suggest you try to keep doing this for a while. My sister sometimes gives her son a formula feed in the evening when she is feeling empty.
Have you tried a dummy? I have - Grace won't have it for longer than a few moments but at least it's a few moments less on me and she will get used to it.
Also, if she is not screaming - try putting her in a swing/bouncer chair and leaving her for a few moments, even if she is a wee bit grouchy. I do this when I feel like Grace is just suckling for comfort, there are toys hanging from the swing to entertain her and distract her, the swinging motion she likes and I switch the music on. I can sometimes get 30 minutes befoe she cries to be picked up. Or my other option is get soemone else to cuddle her for a while. Grace will have a dummy for longer when DD1 holds her. She will also settle and sometimes drop off to sleep with DH - I think without her associating milk/BF with them she is more likely to settle without it.

This are just ideas for you to try - I hope something will help you

And regards getting out - I suggest you practise feeding with a shawl or muslin to cover you - at home so that when you go out you will be more comfortable doing it. Oh and I promise 99.9% of people either don't notice/don't care or discreetly just away if they do notice what you are doing. I had to feed on the bus the other day and I used my jacket round my shoulder, it was slipping of a bit to the old lady next to me just tucked it back on my should for me and smiled.

Took Grace to be weighed today (4 weeks old today) - she is 10lb 2oz now :)

sarge I feed DD1 until her 1st birthday - I promise it does get easier!!

Wishwales - no experience of premmies but we took DD to my Mum's in Spain when she was 10 weeks. It was a doodle and she slept the whole journey - much easier than having a toddler.

It was Alex's 8 week check and jabs today. He was a trouper and cried for less than 10 seconds. He now weighs 14lb, 7oz and is 62cm long. The doctor looked at Alex and said 'you're a big boy aren't you' and as a reply Alex gave him a lovely gummy smile.

We had another 10 hr night from him last night and in fact I had to wake him up this morning in order to get to our drs appointment on time. I think I will have to start bringing forward his bed time from the current 10.30. I guess the way to do it is bit by bit - will try for 10.00 tonight and see how it goes?

Quick question...

DS was 4 weeks premature so on everything they are doing his 'corrected age'.. So for weaning would I go from actual age or his corrected age? I will ask HV when I see them next but it's a question that's been bugging me all day

Hi all, not been on for ages - haven't managed to master getting a hand free from bf yet as I'm still quite sore. Edwin is 2 weeks old tomorrow and weighs a hefty 12lb7. No wonder I'm starving all the time :o

Hope you're all doing well xx

winter I have been told that weaning (and lots of other things) is by the 'corrected' age. If you think about it, the premature weeks are really supposed to be time in the womb so their digestive systems are only as developed as the time from due date. Did that make sense, lol? I am on the antihistimine tonight. Terrible hives and they are multiplying.

Thanks wish that was my thoughts.

My mum suffers with hives, you have my every sympathy.

Sarge - Alex started smiling around 4 weeks and little giggles about a week later. He will now smile at anyone who talks to him and says how beautiful he is - it's like he knows what they are saying!! I love getting him out of bed in the moring, giving him his feed and then we just have a cuddle. It's lovely as he always smiles at me when I get him out of his basket and startes up at me the entire time he is feeding.

Following Alex's jabs on Thursday he has been super sleepy. I managed to get him to bed by 9pm - he settled himself to sleep within 5 mins and we didn't hear a peep out of him until 8.55 this morning!! He guzzled 7oz of milk, had a sit with DD and we got lots and lots of smiles and baby talk out of him, but by 10.15 he was asleep again and he is still there. I've read this is normal after immunisations but have no experience of it as it never happened with DD. Apart from the sleepiness he is fine, not grizzling, no temperature etc so I think he is otherwise fine. Has anyone any experience of this?

sargesaweyes we used colief for ds from 3 weeks till he was 4 months old, to cut a long story short he was lactose intolerant but the doctors are very dismissive about this and dont like testing for it, i did persuade them to give me coleif on prescription, it is fabulous and ds was calmer and not in as much pain from the 1st bottle but prolonged use can cause quite bad runs, which is what ds had and then he finally got diagnosed with being lactose intol after my 10th visit to the doc about it and he was put on prescribed formula until he was weaned off it onto cows milk at 12 months, he is now fine with dairy.

Ive been feeling a bit better about the bf, my boobs do just seem and feel empty in the eve so have given her some formula but she does seem a bit upset after and im worried its not agreeing with her or worse still that she has lactose intol too, but she has gone down at around 10pm 2 nights in a row and slept for 6 hours then 30min feed and down for another 3 so shes doing fab in that dept!!!

sarge Are you sure it isn't reflux?

Sarge if your bfeeding just cut lactose out of diet- just by switching my milk to lactose free my dd is so much happier!

Hersetta my dd1 was the same after jabs and always sleeps loads when she's coming down with something

Well baby Eva is doing well- just finishing a major growth spurt! She will not take a bottle thou so I'm getting worried about my return to work!

Sarge re your quetsion what is your favourite time/thing you do with your newborn bundle? I love when she has had a huge feed and is lying really content and staring up at me.

Today I took DD1 out shopping and left Grace with DH - I was away for a total of 4 hours, was hard I felt so guilty but as soon as I got back in I cuddled her and she was ready for a BF so that was great - I felt soooo full!! (I fed 30 mins before I left and she had taken 120ml of expressed milk from DH too).

I was the best feeling getting back to her. DD1 also needed my undivided attention for a while and she is going to go stay at my sisters tonight (my sisiter is younger than me so of course is cooler and DD1 loves staying there) - so all is peaceful in the poo family house tonight and if Grace settles then it's TV and snuggles for me and DH - I've jinxed it now huh?

neverlookback with regards to feeding when out and about - I wear a vest top underneath another top, then lift up top, pull down vest and there is hardly any flesh bare. once baby is latched on a muslin or shawl can hide the small bit of boob on show. Don't be too scared to try, you'll soon be a pro!

i jinxed myself by bragging about Willows brilliant sleep!! she fed like crazy yesterday and then every 2 hours in the night too! drat maybe its another growth spurt, my other 2 dc have had a bug in the last week, really high temp and swollen glands etc hope shes not getting that.
ive got a couple of bigger vests to wear under tops i breastfed her in the car after shopping at asda on fri!
been getting a few beautiful little smiles in the last few days they are gorgeous x

Catching up again, some of you are asking about different types of milk coming in at 3 or 4 weeks, I'd like to know about this too - anyone know?? One of the messages above says something about "when your boobs stop feeling like they are going to burst". Is it true that they will stop feeling like this soon then? I was resigned to the fact that they'd feel like this until I stopped Bfeeding....

Alibaba as far as I know (and I may have read / be explaining this wrong) what happens is that your milk supply transitions from being hormonally driven as a result of your not having a placenta anymore, to being solely demand driven and production is based on how much your DC is feeding. I'm not sure if the quality of milk changes but there is definitely a change as to why it is produced. I've been looking into this a bit as I am still exclusively pumping for DD and paranoid about my milk drying up. I'll try and find where it was I read that so I can link you. DD is 4 and a bit weeks now and I am finding my boobs are more comfortable now and it's not such a big deal if I am 30 minutes late to pump. Which is nice as no matter what I do in an attempt to have them not coincide, it always seems that DD needs fed/changed/danced around the room just as I am due to pump.

I've been quiet recently but I check in on here almost every day to see how you are all doing. DD is a sweetheart and is probably a dream baby but I still find it quite hard going from time to time. I feel pressure when looking after her during the day on my own - I just want to do right by her and have her grow up healthy and happy. It's silly as I am pretty sure if she is feeding, pooing, putting on weight and sleeping (sometimes!) then I am doing OK at this stage. Hope you and your babes are all well :)

nice to see how everyone is doing, this had dropped off my active threads so didnt realise there was so many replies!

not much update from us really. i was supposed to go for his 6-8 weeks check today but ended up missing it so i will have to get another one...

i weighed him at home the other day though and i think he is 5kg which is over 10lb. seems a lot as he was only 6lb at birth but he does seem to have grown a lot, and got chubby cheeks now! someone was telling me they normally double their birth weight at 6 months, but that does seem really long time. im sure mine all have doubled it by more like 3 months and it seems like rafiq would aswel cos he's nearly doubled now at 7 weeks if he's 5kilo

what are most people doing about having babies in their room or own rooms?? my other 2 i moved them to sleep in their own rooms at about 2 months old.. im thinking of just keepin him in with us so i can continue having the other 2 separated dunno if this will make him less likely to sleep through though by being in with us as i found the other 2 slept way better in their own room less disturbance etc, n i was gonna move him out once he outgrows moses basket but thinking might just move ds2's small cot into my room & give it to him to keep him with me for 6 months+. i feel guilty for treating them differently tho by having him in my room for more if i only kept the other 2 for 2 months... dont know whether that is just being silly?!
will have to start putting him down earlier though i think to give him bit of routine.. still just keeping him with me in the living room til we go to bed

and as for this different milk at 3-4 weeks thing i have no idea i never noticed a diference with mine??