April 2011 - Food Glorious Food, Sleep Glorious Sleep <subtle key change> They're our babies, we'll obsess if we want to!

[fraktious]

Thread 4 - that's one a month!

MrsW that sounds awful :( When either of the boys have fussed and yelled with feeding, I find that taking them off to a darkened and boring room often helps because it removes distractions.

Another trick I keep meaning to mention for screamers, is finding a corner that is just plain wall, white if possible and standing with the baby over your shoulder so that all they can see is the wall - stand right close in. It has worked really well for me in the past when DS1 has just had a total meltdown for no apparent reason - removing most visual stimulus seems to help get them down out of the stratosphere.

Frak - well done on finishing . ?

Warning - I am going to use the C word later in this post, you may want to look away now :o

Aw MrsW sounds like a nightmare. If you don;t get anywhere with the HV got your GP and mention silent reflux, you never know.

B is a nightmare to feed right now, he wants to look at everything all at once! I might try your white wall trick Ali.

We are still not napping during they day. But he's sleeping 8-5/6ish then back down until 10ish. i've currently abandoned sat him in the bouncer in the hope he will drop off, but it's been over an hour and he's showing now signs of sleeping. Ah well, I'll prepare myself for a meltdown at bathtime.

We went into Edinburgh today to "visit" DH for lunch and went to Waitrose on the way home. I've never been before, felt like a bit of a fraud. Had B in the sling to "fit in" with all the earth mothers of Morningside. They didn't have any, gut-ted! So we left without buying anything and went to Ikea! We now have a Antilop highchair in preparation of weaning! What a bargain £15. I got some frames too for paintings DFiL had done when he was in the hospice. They are really good, a skill he only found out he had just before he died. We also had some more sad news, SIL had to have FiLs dog put to sleep. It's so sudden too. I think he had a broken heart :(.

Right, here is where the C word comes in look away now ladies! Christmas! Do you go mad and spend a fortune on stuff they will probably never use, or get one present from "santa" and let grandparents spoil them ? I'm thinking he's not goign to know whats going on, so if he doesn't get a sackful from Santa it's not going to scar him for life.

Fizz - :( about your FIL's dog.

Christmas - for DS1's first Christmas he was only 5 months so we just got him one or two things and we were glad we did because he had a mountain, and has had at every birthday and Christmas since
I personally wouldn't go mad, especially this year because they come so far developmentally in the first two years that there are always things you are going to want to get them. That is just our take though - and family members who have wanted to be particularly generous, we've encouraged them to put money into savings for the boys rather than spend tons on toys.
Poor T is going to get next to nothing this year, from us anyway, the house is already bursting

mrsW I'm sorry to hear you LO is having feeding issues. It's heartbreaking to watch. Your LOs feedjng sounds almost identical to J before she went on her hypoallergenic formula. Although it could be teething, and I'm not a doctor, I do think a baby being in pain whilst feeding is something a GP should take seriously. J is worse when teething but she tends to just eat less and want to play with the teat. It was very different from her hellish reflux days when she would desperately try to eat then arch back and cry in pain. There is a reflux support thread which you might want to look at in more detail to see about symptoms (sorry can't post link as on iPhone). Won't bore you with all the details now but J has cows milk protein allergy (not sure if you are bf but it affects bf babes too if dairy not totally excluded from mothers diet) and her symptoms to name but a few were arching back, feed refusal, wanting to feed then crying in pain, gurgly tummy, lots of wind, funny nappies. If you want to know anymore just ask. I hope you get to the bottom of it.

fizz I think we are going down the grandparents spoiling route. Knowing J she'll be happiest with the paper. We've got her loads of lovely toys but to date her best one is a packet of space invader crisps(unopened of course). She likes to play with the crinkly metallic packaging!

Sorry J has cows milk protein intolerance not allergy. Allergy far more serious....

Argh, Christmas! Part of me is so excited because I love Christmas but we'll have to decide what we're doing (go up North or stay in Oxford? then who do we have dinner with? How long to stay?) I'm sticking my head in the sand about that little minefield a little longer!

As for presents I know that both sets of grandparents (and the two great grandmas) are already buying things for S so I think we're going to go for a few little things and try and get most people getting things that he'll want in the future like books. Thankfully my sister works in the Waterstone's children's section so gets a good discount But I'm also thinking the paper will be the winner whatever S is given as his current favorite 'toy' is a piece of space blanket!

Fizz so about your FIL's dog.

MrsW sorry to hear you're having so many feeding woes. I haven't got anything I can suggest but hopefully things will calm down soon.

Frakk wahay for finishing! Your word counts have made me nostalgic for many tea gin fueled essay writing nights!

Oh, and S actually had a nap today, a proper 90min nap, most of which was in his pushchair!! He's not dropped off in the thing for months but today he and DH came and met me after physio (DH hasn't mastered using a sling on his own hence the pushchair) and on our way home S suddenly zonked. Typically this was the stop before we got off but he didn't wake up when we got to the house or when I badly bounced the pushchair inside!

It was great timing as he was just getting sleepy by bath time. He was even in a good enough mood for me to practice some new ways of wrapping My boobs on the other hand were as I hadn't fed since I'd left for physio at 10am! When he did wake up for a feed at gone 2pm as soon as I unclipped my bra milk was literally shooting across the room!

MrsWajs - feeding problems are so hard to deal with. What about if when it happens you treat it as though it's caused by teething (give calpol and rub gums with teething gel/powder) If after 20 minutes (think that's how long calpol takes to kick in) things are no better than perhaps you can rule out teething being the problem? At least if you can get a better idea of what the problem is, then you can try and work out what might help. How old is R?

As for Christmas I WILL NOT BE BUYING LOADS OF PRESSIES FOR G. (I just need to keep telling myself this between now and 25th December)

mrsw hope u get some help, sounds awful. Hugs.

fizz I think you are right.

Sorry for not name checking. On phone.

I felt fine this morning and took S to the library rhyme time, and when we got home I started to feel ropey. Hot and cold. Tired. Headache. Made dinner but hardly touched it and then S projectiled like a child possessed. I've never seen anything like it. So he must have caught whatever sent me off colour. I feel fine now and S is happy enough. We had our first bath together and it was the most he's enjoyed it, no smiles but concentrated very hard on splashing. Feeding him now. Really hope he keeps it down. I sympathise with those of you with reflux. Must be a nightmare.

Bought the feed up as soon as he pay down

Lay down. Just bought up his next feed too. I'm scared now. I'm cuddling him on the sofa. I'm worried he'll choke on sick in his cot.

Oh dear Kitty, sounds grim.

Hope last night was ok. We started putting H on his side because he was sick in his sleep continually, it meant if he was sick it flowed away from his mouth.

Glad to hear you got a good nap success MrsW.

I put him in his cot eventually as he tends to sleep on his side and he was fine. He wasn't sick again after the half 12 feed until just now as I typed

Thanks for all the sympathy guys :) Managed to get 2 good feeds yesterday without screaming so wasn't all that bad.

Cycle think you meant Dairy with the nap success, although in saying that R went for a nap at about 6pm last night and obviously thought that it was bed time as she was still asleep at 8pm!!!! Had to wake her up for bath and feed and she went back down at 9.30 until 7.30 this morning - practically a long lie for me!!

Daisylulu I have a few questions for you about the cows milk intolerance. How old was J when she was diagnosed? I keep thinking that if R had something similar surely she would have been symptomatic before now? Or can it occur at anytime? R is nearly 20 weeks. I am FF so it's not got anything to do with what I'm eating. And also was J like that at every feed? R can feed ok sometimes and then not others. Agree with what you say about the teething, when it's her teeth that are bothering her she doesn't get so distressed, just chomps on the teat and plays with the bottle and doesn't eat as well. I think I'll see how things are over the weekend and if we're still not getting anywhere I'll make GP appt on Monday.

Kitty Hope you and S are feeling better soon. I've been a bit off colour this week too, headaches, feeling sick and just generally lacking energy. I was so concerned I did a pg test as wasn't too dissimilar to how I felt when I had morning sickness!! Thankfully it was negative! Will ask GP to check bloods on Monday too I think, maybe have low haemaglobin.

Thanks mumtomoley I've been trying that too, sometimes successful and sometimes not.

As for Christmas, we won't be going mad buying R stuff either because a) we're bloody skint!! and b) she'll get ruined by everyone else anyway. I've seen a mamas & papas rocking horse I would like to get her and probably some other bits and bobs but that's about it. Obviously just around about christmas time we'll be needing a new car seat for her and als for DSS!! It's never ending the stuff you need to buy!

MrsW I sympathise with how you're feeling, I too have been feeling zapped of any energy and just not right. I was thinking of getting iron levels checked as haven't been since day I left hosp after having L and they were slightly low then. Hope you're feeling better soon. It's not easy looking after a lo when you're feeling under par!

L just rolled over for the first time.

MrsW glad to hear you got some good feeds in yesterday. J was diagnosed at 12 weeks . However she was on reflux meds earlier at 6 weeks. I think the symptoms build up over time as the intolerance causes issues and soreness right down to their bowels. My consultant said that one of the give aways that J had cows milk intolerance was that, although she was always a pukey baby, the pain seemed to come later. She LOVED her bottles to start with and the pain built up over time as the milk worked it's damage through her little system he said that vomiting in babies is completely normal and shouldn't hurt them. IME GPs are totally ignorant on this subject and they just prescribed reflux meds. In fact my consultant said they are told not to prescribe the hypoallergenic milk as first port of call as it's so expensive (£37 for 400g tin which lasts 2 days!). My consultant also said that reflux is a symptom (like colic) and you need to treat the route cause. I would recommend reading up on CMPI (NICE guidlines) if you think it could be that and make sure you don't get fobbed off.oh and sorry your other question, no It wasn't at every feed. At some feeds (pre treatment) J would feed so beautifully I'd wonder if I'd imagined the whole sorry experience and then suddenly she would be back to writhing in pain again. hope you get some answers soon. Let me know if you want to ask anything else.

kitty sorry to hear about your LO. Having witnessed projectile vomiting coming from Js nose I know how scary it is. Hope you both feel better soon.

J has decided she doesn't like sleeping anymore. We get cries and screams before every nap despite cuddling, rocking etc. I'm hoping this phase passes soon!

Congrats Sassy! H rolled twice this morning after the solitary roll last week. Am ridiculously proud of him. What a PFB mum I am

Hi May I come back in? I'm trying and trying and trying to catch up on posts but I've only reached that there's a FB group now. Could I join?

Arch I was just thinking about you!! PM me you email address and I'll try to add you to the FB group. :o

Hi Arch

How's it going?
Dairybeetle created the FB group for us, i'm not that savvy re: FB and don't know if she has to invite you or if anyone in the group can, sure someone will tell us.

:D

I'm ok here. I've been trying to catch up with posts for the past week and a bit...I'm still not up to speed.
I've been entertaining guests, fretting over a lump in the breast (after second drs visit they have decided that it's ok and just something to watch), getting physio for maternal related injuries, going to Glamis Countryside Show, visiting a friend who lives in a Treehouse (has to be a highlight of the last month), campaigning the NHS to improve maternity services and generally pottering and fussing over the little ones. I promise to persevere with reading posts. I hope you're all well!

Hello arch!

Cycle - PFBness is great. I am PFB about T and he isn't even my first!

MrsW - glad you got some better feeds in.

kitty - oh you poor thing, and poor S :( It is awful when they have an upset yummy so young, because they still want to feed and then it just all comes up again.
DS1 had a yummy bug at 3 months, and I had it at the same time - grim.
Can you spread bathtowels on your bed and co-nap with him if you are worried about his being on his own in the cot?
We had to resort to electrolade with DS1 in the end after we ended up in A&E with him dehydrated. Dioralyte or something similar. IIRC we used to give about 20mls, wait 5 minutes and then I would give him a little BF - it is a faff because you have to sterilise the cup or bottle you give it in.

I knew it wouldn't last, T has been really unsettled the last couple of nights. The main issue actually is that I'm falling asleep feeding him, waking up about an hour later and then he is disturbing as we put him back in his bed, so then he wants another feed. V.tired today.
I think it might be a lot to do with his teeth also, there are two just cutting now which is a bit ouchy when BFing!

We had a great day for naps yesterday - about an hour in the morning, another just after lunch and about an hour and a half at 4! In the evening it was like having a different baby - she was in a great mood and very cure and chatty with it :) Unfortunately all the naps were on me rather than in the cot but we were out most of the day at breastfeeding group then for a birthday lunch.
And we're currently got a nap going on in the cot! Nearly 30 minutes so far, I'm trying to start a nap routine for the cot as she responds so well to the evening routine, even if it's just for the morning nap it'll be useful.

Arch tell us about the treehouse - it sounds interesting.

Well done to all the rolling babies this week :o

that should have been 'very cute and chatty'.

DH was being wierd in his sleep again last night and randomly got M out of the crib and passed her to me for feeding she'd only had a feed an hour before and I'm sure she hadn't made a noise or I'd have woken up. I think we were all very but she went back to sleep quite happily.