November 2011 - early birds, just in time and late to the party, all welcome!!

[TwoJackRussellsandapumpkin]

Hi all,

just starting up a post natal thread for all the due in November peeps on the antenatal forum and anyone else who would like to join in too, hoping to see my arrival by the end of the week, so officially an early bird I hope :)

Cali hope sprout gets better soon. I will be thinking of you.

I have lost most of the weight but have a jiggly tummy still, although I am fairly sure that was there before I got pregnant . Back into all my clothes but my biggest issue is finding things that let me breastfeed when out without exposing myself to everyone. I don't have much of a problem with BF in public, and if I accidentally flash I honestly don't care too much but I don't want anyone else to feel uncomfortable IYSWIM, BF in public can be a difficult issue for some people and I want to make it as easy as possible for everyone to accept.

Taking DD to get weighed tomorrow, I think it should be ok as she has lots of wet and dirty nappies but she sleeps for long periods at night - 5/6 hours but 8.5 hours last night (she did cluster feed from 7pm-11pm) - I am loving it but a bit worried that it might affect her weight, if it does we will have to wake her to feed and really don't want to do that! FX she has gained some

Oh Cali that sounds awful - hope she's on the mend.

Well you've made me feel better about looking such a state - even the gorgeous boots I treated myself to last winter won't zip so I must have put weight on my calves. Over the years I have been every size from 8 to 16 & I'm a hoarder so This weekends mission is to see if I can find some trousers that fit.

Terrys loved your blog post about things you'd forgotten about newborns

Forgot to say I find button through shirts best for discrete bf as I can leave the top button or two done up and drape some of shirt over LO. Annoyingly my boobs are bigger this time (DS almost 3 weeks, does anyone know if they'll settle down or if this is it) - I am bursting out of H cup bras & most of my shirts are gaping - don't know whether I need to go & buy some new stuff or whether prob will go away...

Sending my best to Cali and Sprout. I hope all goes well. It's horrible to see you little one ill.

Not much sleep happening in this house. Tried everything (swaddling, warming crib etc) and DS just screams all evening and won't sleep, even on me, until utterly exhausted.

I'm knackered as is DH. Thank goodness we both respect the other is tired too. Friends who have 2 DCs have been dropping of home made "ready meals". They clearly knew how tough it was going to be. We have been moved to tears with their thoughtfulness.

Of course DS is asleep now!!!

Seriously, anyone else got sore nips? I have been working hard on getting good positioning and latch but one of my nipples is totally raw and won't heal. I actually cried yesterday it was so painful. I remember it took a while to toughen up with dd1 but had hoped it would be easier this time.

Did flick through a La leche league book that I got from a charity shop and found a good tip about pushing down ón baby's jaw a little to get a big open mlouth before latching. Has helped but I am starting to dread bfing.

Hello TJuice. As DS only latches for about 20 seconds my nipple erosion was due to the pump. Healing now. My BF friends either turned to shields or found they suddenly toughened up (the nipples, not them personally).

To be honest I was weeping as I expressed it was so painful. I've stopped it now.

Do you put lanosil or similar on them?

Morning ladies, congratulations on the births of your babies. Maximilian was born on wed 2nd november. He is rather scrummy but has now found his voice and cries to get to sleep and just in general now. Have you tried wiping breast milk over your nipples katiebeau or tjuice to see if this helps?

Tjuice sorry to hear you're so sore - Breast milk & lansinoh are both good calls. Can't offer a lot of help but sending moral support - sounds like damage done early on with poor latch maybe so you just need to heal before you benefit from better latch. Only tip I have is to remove LO, breaking latch 1st with little finger, every time they latch on badly

Hey guys,

been lurking a bit recently, can I join in the sleep deprivation club? J is a good lad but the effect of weeks of disturbed sleep is getting to me a bit. Anyway, compared to others I have nothing much to complain about!

Cali, hope Sprout feels better soon, it's sounds like a really hard time that you guys are going through at the moment, so fingers crossed she gets better soon.

Hope everyone else is getting on okay, I can't comment on bf as J is mainly on formula and my expressing is literally drying up

Hands out hot mugs of coffee and membership badges for the sleep deprivation club.
Well Willow does have reflux. Thankfully because of her size my HV told me to get an emergency docs appointment, and the docs took us seriously at once so after giving Gaviscon a go for about a day, her paediatrician recommended we ditch it as its a mare for BFed babies to take and also likely to cause constipation which is likely to make her puke more, and put us on Domperidone and Ranitadine. So seven new doses of meds to give her. However I'm not complaining as before we got those meds we had two hours sleep the other night - with her asleep on her tummy :( asleep on my tummy :( because the acid had burned her throat so much she couldn't be laid down flat on her back. That eased last night with the new drugs and she slept for two hours propped up on her back on my legs, and for an hour here or there back in her carry cot!! Yey!!! She's also not holding her breath anymore everytime the acid burns back up which was hideous to watch. I have so much respect for those mums who've dealt with this condition before. It's evil - the very thing that's supposed to soothe and calm your wee one becomes more like pouring battery acid down their wee throats. Awful. However Willow's much more comfy, less pukey and has just done a mahoosive poo so am on tenterhooks we might be on the right track now. My paediatrician said it's likely to be mechanical - its a consequence of spending so much time lying down and most adults would get it too if they were bed bound. So we're breaking in the sling like never before! There's also a risk it could be due to a dairy intolerance so I've cut that out of my diet and will then try to reintroduce it in about 2 weeks time.
Cali Has anyone talked to you about Abigail possibly having a dairy/cmpi (cows milk protein intolerance)? From what you're saying it's really ringing alarm bells for me. I think Willow's reflux is largely mechanical because it took a while to emerge (four or so weeks into bfing, and about 11 weeks of receiving milk in one form or another, but Sprouts discomfort was fairly instant wasn't it? That could well have been her reacting to any dairy in your diet when you were BFing. You're also of Scandinavian origin aren't you? There's a huge link to it in that part of the world. The real things to watch out for are, her being very stuffy and mucousy nasally, and for blood and mucous in her poos. Now the blood in her poo could have been from being constipated from the gaviscon but if it keeps happening I'd pester the docs. If she is intolerant she'd want a soy (not ideal as some babies are also allergic to it) formula or ideally a hydrolysed one (where the proteins have been broken down so aren't allergenic). Neocate I think is the one to ask for. Anyway good luck, as its' just horrid seeing them in pain isn't it.

The Nutramigen is a hydrolysed fomula - it's made a difference but it tastes poo, so Sprout is not impressed. But she's not waking up screaming like she was before, so I deem this success.fingers crossed it holds up!

Hi ladies

Cali am glad sprout is on the mend. Fingers crossed she will improve each day.

Welcome free angel I can't believe how loud ds's voice has got already. He goes absolutely mental when changing a nappy. Have to ignore it and work as fast as possible.

Can I also join the sleep deprived club. Over the past couple of days ds has possetted more (but not every feed), and has very pained cries. I hate seeing him in so much pain. He sleeps fine in the day but is v unsettled at night but he does sleep in his Moses basket. Prob is when the pain wakes him and he can't get back to sleep no matter what I do. Have got infancol now and am hoping it will help.

He does have very violent burps which sometimes brings up milk or not. Also he dry retches every so often which is really horrible to see. Left a message with mw but no reply as yet. Will prob ring tmw when we are all asleep .

Hope we all manage some sleep tonight.

Thank you, sorry to hear regarding Willow's reflux. Hope you get the support whilst you get though it. Its always very worrying when they go through this. The little girl i look after had some sort of reflux but was much older when she had it. She has grown out of it but does like to throw up in the car for mum! Max is sick after most feeds and seems to have tummy ache sometimes. Max sounds like he is doing the same as your lo Mooseymoo I have put him back on infacol to see if this helps. Max was born by c-section as he was breech so is likely to be more phlegmy, he is better but still seems to be gagging on something. Good luck with the mw, let us know how you get on.

moosey the v loud burps and dry retching are something Willow had. If anything though she's much less possety than her big bro - but then he was a happy puker - whereas hers obviously hurt. Her silent reflux took about a week to appear from first symptoms. Prob the biggest clue was she'd sleep really well upright but woke in pain v quickly after being laid down on her back - as the stomach acid escaped up her throat. It has to be a pain /agitated cry though - not just being pissed off at being 'abandoned' in the carry cot. Unfortunately, given W's tough start in life i'm only too aware what that one sounds like.

Hello ladies, is it ok to join you. I joined the ante-natal thread late on and found it very supportive and informative.
My DS was born on Wed 16th. He is b/f at present but we will have to see where that goes as he has been very unsettled and showing very similar symptoms to his older brother who had dairy, gluten intolerance and egg allergy!! I am hoping that this isn't the case with DS2 as we went through a long period of gettiing fobbed of with DS1 however I will be speaking to doctor on Monday if there is no improvement in symptoms to see if we can get any meds or alternatively to ask for special formula.
I do feel for you all with colicy or reflux babies I know what it is like.
Have to dash now but will catch up with posts soon annd wishing you all sleep filled nights

Thanks for the support, ladies. Lanisoh is helping and now getting a better latch but I get the fear an hour before I feed her. Would like a day off, just expressing but also trying to get supply up in time for the three week growth spurt.

Sorry to hear about the reflux for sprout and willow, i guess it's good to know what you are dealing with but it must be a stressful especially with the meds.

poppet interesting about the Scandinavian milk intolerance. My daughter was diagnosed lactose intolerant as a toddler and they said it was because of our combined Caribbean and African American background and that it was less common here in Denmark. But I have to admit, the doctor was a bit weird.

poppet that sounds horrible for willow. You've been through so much with her.

The loud burps have calmed down since we started infancol so fingers crossed it's getting better.

Does anyone else have a small gap between dc? I've got 18 months and finding it v difficult. Mainly because DD doesn't understand why we can't play with her when we're feeding ds, why the milk is not hers and can't explain we're too tired to play. Would love to sit and watch DVDs with her but she's not interested.

DH is going back to work on monday. Feeling v emotional about it but do have lots of support from family who are dropping in on various days or taking DD out for half a day.

Can't believe ds is 11 days already.

Hi all! Have become a bit of a lurker at mo....don't seem to have had any time to post! Massive sympathy to all those with sore boobs. We're combined feeding here...stuck at bf as long as I could but did so much damage to nipples early on that it wasn't an option anymore and I was spending the days crying and dreading the next feed, and feeling like I was missing out enjoying my baby. So after the initial feeling of having majorly let Ella down and being the worst mum in the world we're a much happier house on the bottles of expressed breast milk & formula. On infacol last few days as she has a bit of tummy ache/painful wind. Feeding every 3 hours in day and usually 4 in night, although tummy ache has upset a few nights. Dh was back at work this week n had a shoot so I did all night feeds this week, in return he did all last night...weirdly tho I had a crap nights sleep when I didn't have to get up! Sods law! Missing driving (c-sec) n being able to pop out, there's not much walkable from our house. Going to ring insurance co next week and see what their policy is, as I think I'll be up to driving sooner than 6 weeks! Sorry for not name checking, have missed so much!

Absolute disaster happened earlier - as I was making Sprouts feed I dropped the bottle of water and scalded her arm - she's suffered a 3rd degree burn the size of two 50p coins on her arm. Luckily we were still in hospital, so she was treated very quickly, and we are now being transferred to the children's burn unit at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

I'm still in shock and tears, luckily DP got here quick and Abi is now sleeping on Calpol.

Cali oh my lovely!!! You poor thing, you are going through an utter nightmare right now. Wishing you a well deserved turn of luck. Hope A's arm can be dealt with simply and heals well. They do heal very well at this age. In the meantime I hope you're getting some TLC too.
Moosey we have a pretty close age gap too. Was supposed to be 2 and a quarter years, but turned out to be two years and two days! DS is pretty good at um, watching TV, and ended up being very abruptly weaned from the boob on the day I had Willow, but he got over his ownership after spending weeks watching me pump milk - before he saw me feeding his 'rival' :) I'm finding it v hard dealing with two too, I'm too tired to do the fun imaginative play DS needs, and after our worst night DH had to take him into work with him as I couldn't cope with him and Willow when her reflux was at its v worst. It's worth it when I see him patting her gently, or kissing her goodnight. And he says she's 'funny' and 'nice'! We're on a better footing with DS now I'm recovering a bit sleepwise - last night DH did help with one of her nightwakings, I did the 11, 1 and 3 ones then he gave her a gaviscon and held her upright for the obligatory 30 mins to give me a bit of a run of sleep before the 5am one. Then bless him he got up with DS so me and DD had a snooze until 9ish! Felt like a new woman.

So sorry Cali hang in there

Cali sorry to hear about Sprout. Thinking of you. as Poppet says it is amazing how quickly little ones heal.
Take Care

Cali, please try not to worry, it was an accident and am sure that Sprout will be fine, I'm sporting a couple of fine burns due to screaming bubs, overtiredness and trying to make a bottle at three am, plus she is in the best place to get the right things to heal as fast as possible.

Kate, I called my insurance company about driving they said that my doctor had to agree that I was fit to drive, which thankfully she did, hope that helps :)

Cali hope you & A are home soon, the pair of you have been in the wars, you really deserve an easy run now.

On driving after CS, I was 4 weeks each time but had to see my doc & show him I could stamp hard enough for emergency stop.

Moosey & Poppet DS1 & DD are 18.5 months apart & I love how close they are and how they play so well together (now 4.5 & 3) to the extent I now worry that DS2 will be left out. It gets so easy when they start entertaining each other. that said, the 1st 12 weeks were tough - I relied heavily on DH, other friends & family & cbeebies to keep him entertained & DD did have to be left to cry a bit when his needs were more urgent. It does get so much easier as you get into a routine with LO so start having proper windows of time to spend with big ones

Sorry to hear re sprout Hope shes doing ok today.

Wanted to ask you a few questions re Max, hes two and half weeks old and sleeps lots during the day. I know they like to sleep lots at this age, but apart from waking him every 2-3 hours to feed is there anything else i can do. (But falls asleep again) Why i would be crazy enough to want to wake a sleeping babY? He has spent the past two nights crying from 7-11 pm ish, not sure if he had tummy ache. He is on infacol and wasn't bring his legs up, but didn't really poo last night. The only way to settle him was to rock him with a dummy at angle walking around and keep feeding him. Is this normal for newborns to sleep most of the day and then cry lots at night?