september edd new babies arriving come share the ups and downs here

[ssmile]

Hello. Think i was first to deliver off the September EDD thread so waving to see if anyone else out there yet to join me :)
Had my 2nd DD on 26aug by C-sec. We now home but struggling with BF and baby lost 10% body weight in 3days. Started to top up with formula in syringe to try give cracked. Bleeding nipples a rest, but milk is starting to drip out now leaking everywhere! Hoping for a better night tonight after 3nights of hourly feeds and snatching 2-3hrs of sleep.
Anyone else struggling too?

bumpy your nipples should heal fast, have you got some lanisin cream? Plus airdry with breast milk is gd. Mine went from day3 blood filled nipple shield to completely healed in 4days with 2days of rest &shield use. It does make my toes curl when she latches on for less than a min then doesn't hurt. But boobs tender in shower etc. Last time 5wks was the magic turning point from chore feeding to oooh this easy not thinking about it feeding and at the BF workshop I went to last month they said 5wks is common time for milk supply to 'settle down'

Think ive managed to put a picture of my 2girls on my profile from my phone!

Just had horrible engorgement, couln't even get out of bed. On the plus side, LO is getting easier to satisfy and the feeds are not going for 2 hrs anymore. Hope it lasts.

I went to my MW appt today. Sorry to say this but I really dislike the community midwives. They're so mean and have no empathy for mothers at all. I often wonder why they're even midwives! I thought I would be honest about the BF and latching on and used the wrong words of 'Nipple Shield'. I thought she was going to rip my head off at that point or laser me with her eyes!!!! When she weighed DD she was a little surprised. She was filling in my postnatal booklet and then looked up and asked: oh she hasn't really lost much weight. Have you been supplementing her feeding with formula?. This was after I had told her I was ONLY BF. Anyway, she had no success in getting DD to latch on, instead she managed to make her cry so hard she had her first BFmilk poo, which stank the room up (teehee clever DD).
MW arranged for breastfeeding MW to come and see me who was actually really nice and didn't ram the whole BF thing down my throat. She also had no success and agreed with me that DD is just plain lazy and will not suck. She was fine about me using nipple shields and bottles but advised that I used a certain type of teat. She said what was important was that baby was getting breast milk and not to let her get too distressed and don't lt her cry for more than 5 minutes. Phew! She is coming out to see me again on Wednesday.
DS has also taken on the role of Nosey Parker. 'What's that thing you're using on your boobies?'; 'How does the milk come out from your boobies?'; 'What is the woman here for?'; 'Can I pump the milk out of your boobies for you?' 'Why has my sister got that thing and not a willy?'; 'Why is her poopoo so manky?'; Oh my goodness! He really does know how to make me laugh. I think he will he glad to start school next week. I kinda feel guilty as he has had a boring Summer holiday due to me being the size of a whale.
A quick few questions; How long should they feed for around this age and how much do you manage to express (if you do). Also how long do yours sleep for? DD is sleeping for 4 hours!
Oh dear, I hadn't realised I typed so much out. I shall await more arrivals (hopefully) and your stories of your days.

Had first rough eve. LO had hrly feeding cluster from 5-10pm which I thought ok if it means like last night she would sleep 4hrs, I was SO tired as had missed arvo nap. Instead LO cried and cried for nearly 3hrs think with wind. I fell asleep for 10mins in middle as exhausted as DH tried to passify her. It was nearly 1am I eventually got her to sleep next to me on the bed, then half hr later moved her to her basket . She has only just woken for a feed ay nearly 4am! My poor DH goes back to work today and we had hoped for a quiet eve, early night as DD1 was staying with granny. It scared both of us a bit as this babe had been SO easy compared to DD1 who we had months of crying evenings which was horrid. Hope we don't get a repeat tonight.

summerpixie sorry you had poor MW, sounds like you have been unlucky we have gd team here, its the healthvisitors I didn't get on with last time. Hope you can keep LO latching. I still using shields here they are not ideal but I know it works for me. Last time I just lied to HV when they asked if I was still using them as they gave me a hard time but I would have stopped BF if I hadn't I made 9mths in the end with DD1 so they were wrong :)

LO's poos are now a darker greenish colour again. Should I be concerned? They were a nutty yellow yesterday. I've got an appointment with my GP for my annual health check today, so might ask him. I've got so many questions. LO also has these muscle spasms in his legs sometimes, which I could feel when he was in my tummy. Is that normal?

summerpixie I've just been collecting milk in the non-feeding boob and freezing it rather than expressing, so I can't help you there. I'm completely new to this as well and have no idea how long they should feed for. According to my MW, around 20 minutes is average, but our feeds can take up to two hours. He keeps falling asleep during the feeds, take himself off the nipple and just as I've packed my boobs away, he'll want to suckle again. Sometimes he seems to want the other boob. I was told they feed for hunger and thirst and foremilk is more thirst quenching and hindmilk is more like food. So maybe he's just thirsty when he's going from boob to boob.

As for sleep, I've been going to bed at about 9 and I just sleep when LO sleeps. Sometimes, when I'm feeding, I will slowly slide myself down the bed and have a snooze while I wait for him to finish. I find if I do it very slowly and take deep breaths before each subtle movement, he hardly notices and won't fuss. Hope it helps. Would like to know what works for you.

DD decided to have her poo late night again. It was runny green not the yellow nutty one she had at the appointment, so pretty much the same as your LO's [bumpy]. However as I was wiping she decided to strain and poop on my hand and all over the side of the bed and my pj's!
I had to wake DD from her deep 6hr sleep to feed her. I'm sorry but I think she stole all your sleep [ssmile]
She's still not latching on but I've been using different bottles and nipple shields to feed get now to avoid nipple confusion and because it gets tiring trying to get her to latch on. I think I'll just end up doing my own thing with the feeding.
Hope you catch up on sleep today [ssmile]

It's gd their poo is changing it SO much nicer once its just Orangey but our LO does lots! She seems happy to sleep in it for couple hrs as habit if doing about half hr after fed &settled in basket so I've just left her.
I write down on notepad time of feed &side fed off each time. It helps me 'feel' slightly more in control as I can't Rember and generally wait for her to fall off one boob satisfied wind for upto 10mins then if she stirs again offer other side for 'top up'. On next fed I offer the previous snack side first. I did have to massage through lump on one side this morn as I was engorged after odd nights feeding. I collected the 20mls that came off in sterile cup for emergency top up tonight if need DH help. Sounds like you both doing really well. BF is an art not science all babes &mums r different we just muddle through together!

We tried couple different things last night and had much better night not sure if if made any difference. I had lumpy boobs so hand expressed off 20mls of milk this allowed me to crash out 10-10.45pmcat nap whilst my DH bounced on ball and watched football with babe, she had been feeding again mostly hrly from 5pm, so lots of upright winding time, he held her off with my ebm in a syringe. Then I fed her at 11pm off one boob, winded her, changed her nappy which woke her up again, then fed off other side, wind and she was asleep by 11.30pm and slept till 3am fed, slept till 6am I was wow I didn't realise a new babe could go so long between feeds, we never had this with DD1 just shows how different they all are. My gd night also meant I could get DD1 up, fed and dressed and out door for preschool at 7.20am as DH was dropping her enroute to work this morn.
My goal today is short walk to postoffice to post photos and thank-you notes as didn't leave house yest! Hope u all did ok overnight x

ssmile - Wow to your DD sleeping from 11:30 to 3. Just when I thought DS had established a routine, he wanted almost hourly feeds again last night. DH has gone out for a walk with him, so I'm going to try and get some sleep now.

Hi bumpy I am still doing a mix of 1,2,3 hourly feeds during the day. I don't think its anything I'm doing just babe. I too had vrough time with DD1 endless2houy feeds, so you have my big hugs it IS tough going all u can do is clear the schedule and just rotate bed, boob for a while and it will start to settle. Even with my 'hardwork' DD1 I eventually after 3-4wks got into habitat of daily walks and afternoons spent dozing on bed having cuddles :)

Just got to break my biscuit habit as eating half packet bourbons a day at moment and other sugar snacks. I vowed I wouldn't do this again but they so nice after not being able to eat them for most 9mths and easy one handed dipping in tea whilst feeding babe.

Hope u get some rest bumpy and DP enjoys his walk x

I'm having a bit of an off day. MW came again today to help with BF. DD is still refusing to latch on properly. She is sleeping 4 hourly and therefore not feeding as much. MW weighed her and is convinced the scales were wrong the other day and DD has now lost 10% of her birth weight. She is coming again to reweigh on Friday and if weight has dropped again I will need to see the paediatrician and DD will be put onto a mixed feed diet every 3 hours.

I am trying to express every 3 hours but sometimes I am only getting 1oz of both breasts. I feel like I should just give DD a feed of formula milk once a day just to get her weight up so the MW stays off my case and I won't need to go and see the paediatrician who will only make me do the same thing anyway. What do you think?
Otherwise everything is normal with DD. just the weight loss is an issue and not latching on which can be rectified with EBM in a bottle. Why do MW have to cause so much stress?

Oh dear summerpipixie my sympathies. My DD lost just over 10% of her body weight by day3. I topped her up with formula 10-20ml via oral syringe for days 3-6 whilst my milk cane in, &babe weight steady climbing now. My MW gave me the syringe but you can buy them at chemist too. I can't recommend what u do as they all different and if there is a problem with latch I'd try to get that sorted too. Have you tried calling NCT breastfeeding line or la leche to find out if local BF counsellor can visit you at home. It's worth trying someone else as different people can offer different advice. Also get babe checked for tongue tied. Gd luck sending you hugs [**]

BF counsellor has been coming out to me. She's a MW too. DD has been checked for tongue tie and she doesn't have it. MW has concluded that DD will just need time to learn to latch on. She's coming back on Friday to weigh and try one last time with latching. DS took a while before latching due to issues at his birth and was mix fed but nevertheless latched on eventually. I think I may just give one FF a day to build her up a bit. Just tired of pumping.

I had SO much guilt around using formula but ti be honest its really taken the pressure off me this time at key stress points. my DD1 neverer took a bottle as we fed her by the book it was nightmare at times for me as I couldn't leave her with anyone for longer than an hr and I felt I never got a break it was 7mths before she took milk from a sippy cup. this time around I am getting BF established but I gave every intention of mixed feeding mainly so babe can have a bottle in eve with DH so I can get some sleep in if needed

excuse typos phone playing up!

Night 13 not so good in our hse both DDs up down all night. Poor DH looks shattered at least I can have some down time today he has busy day at work. Babe just kept wanting to feed last night most of night boobs ache from stimulation Ho hum hopefully just growth spurt.....

Just had massive row with OH because I was in the middle to cooking a stew and LO wanted a feed. OH said he didn't feel like stew so would take out some meat and grill it. Whilst I was BFing, he asked if I want him to finish cooking the stew for me and when I said yes, he said he didn't want to. I then called him an effing c* and he responded with: Where will you be without me. Reminding me of my dependence on him. I completely lost the plot and threw the pot across the garden. Really feel like taking LO with me back to Australia right now and have my mum take care of me. Still sad and sobbing. Sorry to offload, feel like this is the only place where I cam do it.

Big hugs bumpy. Men have no idea at all. Could your mum not come over? Do you have any relatives or friends who could come round? Concentrate on healing yourself and nursing your LO. DH can Cook his own meals if he's going to be like that.
I'm lucky having my mum here and being chinese we have to go through a months confinement where we have to stay indoors and get everything done for me, well most things. DH has had a week off and another to go. He has been taking DS out to keep him occupied as DS doesn't start school until Tuesday.
Attempted to BF DD again who clamped on but then didn't stay o. She whinged when I moved her away from my breast. She then made an attempt to suck on the nipple and I could see milk in the corner of her mouth so I guess she is getting there. It'll make it easier for me not having to express. I have been making her have a feed every 3 hours in hope she gains weight to avoid a grilling from MW.
Hope things get better for you both and looking forward to seeing PrincessScrumpy joining us on here.

Oh bumpy huge hugs hope you &OH can sort it out. It's hugely stressful having a new babe life changes SO much for both of you. My DH and I were not married and living in 3rd floor one bed flat 4.5yrs ago when we had DD1 at times we went to hell and back with a colic baby and first time parents who didn't have a clue. But we did survive and ended up married and now with DD2. Keep talking to each other acknowledge that sleep deprivation makes the saneness person go loopy and find ways that work for you both. My DH isn't sleeping in same bed as me at mo so we ensure one of us has decent sleep to support the other one and take it in turns. He kindly got the sofa as its only 2bed place. I cook dinner in morning when I most alert and we heat up when we hungry as babe is having hourly feeds in eve from 4pm I can't cook in eve with out getting stressed too.
Gd luck hope you can clear the air x

Thanks for your encouragement summerpixie and ssmile. I'm feeling rather smug this morning as OH had DS for a couple of hours last night so I could get some rest and realised how hard he can be at night. He was meant to take LO for 4 hours, but I woke up after 2 as my breasts were sore. We've been sleeping in separate rooms since the third trimester, so he has no idea about the sleep deprivation and he only gets DS when he's all sweet and fed and sleepy.

Summerpixie I'm Chinese too, but I've decided not to to the confinement thing asthe ingredients for the recipes are hard to comee by in Cornwall. I'm also not sure I want my mum moving in with us at this time as she and my OH are very alike and tend to get into huge rows. I might get her to come overwhen we're a bit more settled though.

Do your LOs feed more at night? Mine seems to and he take about 30 minutes to an hour before being satisfied. I've been using breast shells to collect the leakage from the non-feeding boob, but it's just occured to me that perhaps this is draining the milk from the boob and LO is not getting enough and that's why it's taking him so long at each feed. What do you think? Must ask midwife, but will try not using breast shells and see what happens.

Glad your OH had a taste of what it is like to deal with a new born in the middle of the night bumpy. I have tried to keep to feeding DD every 3 hours but this mornings 6am feed was too much for me. I'd expressed some milk at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep (same as during 3rd tri) so stayed up catching up on Waterloo road on my sky +.
DD seems to feed more in the morning. She insists on an extra feed first thing in the morning, most probably because she has done a huge stinker in the middle of the night!
Last MW visit today (thank god!). Hope that DD has gained some weight.
I have started reusing the shells on the other boob whilst I express as I was getting a lot of leakage.
So you've decided against all the ginger baths and ginger tonics and ginger vinegar eggs bumpy?

Glad your OH bumpy experienced a rough couple hrs with Lo its horrid when its middle of night they crying you exhausted and sleep deprived and you are drained from BF which in itself is tiring.

I had one of my worst unsettled nights with babe, she just refused to settle in her basket from 1-5.30am, so I got 2hrs sleep 11pm-1 and then crashed 5.30-7am when DH went to work and it is my first day ay home with both DDs. Also got primary school teacher coming soon to visit us as DD1 starts school on Monday. I was vclose to waking up DH up if babe hadn't settled and just handing her over so I could get hrs sleep in before he left for work. Lucky she crashed eventually and I rolled her onto bed next to me. Alas the two nights when she went 4hrs between feeds have not been repeated last 3nights but I live in hope!

Fingers Xed tonight gone better as babe has settle between feeds. I've started using infacol to help wind as babe was so upset last two nights from trapped wind as she was gulping down my gushing milk. It appears to be helping.......? Hope your nights gone better too x

I've also started sitting on her cot blanket whilst I feed her so it stays warm and smells me (its under my knees:) so when I put her back again her bed not cold. Who knows if it helps I'd try anything to keep sleep going :o