The brookers post graduate thread

[hawthers]

We've got so good at brooking no argument for no pregnancy complications and sneeze births, we're going for our Phds in big fat babies

Thanks for setting it up Hawthers - just nipping in to mark my place.

So, I have some questions for you lovely lot:

1. May I ask how long you bled for after the birth. I'm so fed up of yucky maternity pads :(

1. How long do I have to stick with frigging cotton wool and water for nappy changes? I swear this is some cruel joke started by the mw / hv professions just to laugh at us. It takes so long to clean dry his wee bottom that inevitably he's wee'd or poo'd all over the mat / his clothes and I'm fed up of these nappy changes! Plus his little bum is going red anyway :(

1. Everyone I speak to seems to say the following to me: 'How is he feeding?' swiftly followed by 'is he in any sort of routine yet?' Should he be? Really we've just been eating and sleeping and then playing with him (well really cuddling) or letting him lie on his mat if he's awake, unless it's night time in which case I try to settle him off to sleep. But there's no feeding routine or bedtime routine yet. I mean when he's asleep all afternoon, wakes up for a feed and goes back to sleep it's kinda hard to have a routine no? Are you guys all 'in a routine'?

Here endeth today's questionnaire. :)

If people asked me if we were in a routine yet they'd get short shrift! No routine here!

Also still bleeding here two and a half weeks in but I have slightly overshot my inr level with my warfarin which will be making it worse I think.

Currently feeding baby on sofa and letting dd eat Dunkers and cocktail sausages for tea in front of the gruffalo. I'm retreating back to the safety of meals in front of telly again post lunch time!

Hello yummy mummies! Hope you're all well. Just wanted to check out the new abode. I like it. A lot.

Please save me some glittery pink maternity pads for when I join you :)

I bled for a week or do then stopped but started again and then finally petered out after about 5 weeks I think.

We stopped with the cotton wool at about 4 weeks but we didn't go anywhere si I would have stopped earlier out and about.

We've only just got into a semblance of a routine at 11 weeks. Basically DS2 fits in with DS1 a lot of the time and we work around his routine. I started putting DS2 to bed at the sane time as DS1 last week so have regained our evenings which has made a huge difference.

DS1 still asleep for his nap... Oh dear going to have to hoick him out of bed.

With DS, I think I bled for 4 weeks, but with DD, I bled for 8 weeks.

As for routines, I like having a routine just to keep me sane, although it clearly was adaptable, but it just gave me a structure to the day.

Remember that a lot of people are just trying to make conversation and don't really care about routines. I suppose it is like the inane comments when we are pregnant along the lines of "Oh you have a small bump/big bump/do you want a boy or a girl/whatever."

Hello everyone!

Biscuits, not sure I know what a routine looks like, or not yet. So definitely not, and I think it's ridiculous for people to expect you to have one at just over a week old!

Am still bleeding - can't remember how long it took to stop last time. 4 weeks rings a bell, but it came down to basically nothing (or very little) on the pad and lots would come out on the toilet paper when I went to the loo.

Maia's bum has gone red too with the cotton wool and water. Am persevering as long as we don't have to go anywhere. Don't most baby-change places have taps in, though? But yes, when can I start with the wipes and what type are least likely to bring her out in a raging nappy rash?

too you've just made me well up with your nice words. Feeling better now - part of being a good mum is making good decisions for my baby and that is what I'm trying to do with the feeding. Just need to keep reminding myself of this.

We use huggies pure wipes which feel most like water and we haven't had any issues with nappy rash

I've bought some eco nature wipes for out and about although I haven't used them yet. I think I used cotton wool and water until about 8 weeks last time so will see if I can get that far this time too!

Is there a way of helping babies get rid of hiccups? Maia keeps getting them - am I not winding for long enough, or something?

Oooh good question Too - we're getting lots of that here as well. Often after he feeds - I thought maybe I was winding wrong and giving them to him

I've had two very hiccupy babies. Sometimes a bit more feed can help.

Abbie has spent her awake part of the evening screaming with rage at my breasts. I think the flow is too fast. Am trying hand expressing off a bit and leaning right back but it's not helping much. She's doing some man size burps!

She's finally fallen asleep on my shoulder now. Need to pluck up the courage to do the transfer to basket!

too - in maias basket do you put the sheepskin under her and a blanket on top? I have been given a sheepskin and am unsure about how to use it!

When DS1 was in the nicu I think they said hiccups were a sign of tiredness or over stimulation, is that a possibility? Or is could just be hiccups!

Still attempting sleep here... 5th or 6th attempt at transfer now in action! She has just managed another feed though. This is definitely our worst evening so far.

Fingers crossed she stays asleep for a bit this time. She looks exhausted. Now to manage the difficult 'turning the light out' moment!

Hope everyone else is having a better time of if.

Did it work pomme? We had a tricky time transferring to begin with but started using a hot water bottle to warm the mattress first before I put farley.into it and that took the chill off. Now I can pop him down awake and he'll pop himelf off to sleep!. No idea how we've managed that one, we were rocking and patting DS1 to sleep for ages.

Hawthers - what a genius idea with the HWB! DS2 doesn't like it when he's plonked in the cold crib particularly (understandably). I was hoping that would improve once I could get him into a grobag. In fact I'm kinda hoping if he's regained his birth weight tomorrow that we might start with the sleeping bags at night then.

Hope the transfer worked Pomme - like they say '5th or 6th time's a charm...'

Still it sounds like you've got sleeping nailed Hawthers I think it makes it seem so much easier getting up for the night feeds if you can just pop them back in bed when you're done rather than still having to spend ages patting or rocking them or whatever (when you just want to nod off yourself!)

Now if only I could stop waking him up at night to feed...

I used a blanket in the end to help with the warmth in the basket thing and wrapped it round her while she fed. She's been okay about settling until last night...

I hadn't thought about gro bags yet... Good idea biscuits! Just need to check they fit in the Moses basket.

And happy mothers day everyone!

Pomme, yes, put the sheepskin underneath her like a sheet. I think it stops her feeling the cold of the mattress, because so far she's been going down pretty well. Of course, the 3 hourly feeding, top-ups and jaundice worries are making up for that. Have you got a nightlight? I've been turning the bedside lamp off before I try to put Maia down so she doesn't get startled by the change in light, after watching her eyes pop wide open the first few times. Weirdly, DH does that too, if he's asleep and I turn the light out, he often pops awake totally confused and disorientated, so it was quite familiar to watch Bean do it.

Happy Mother's Day!

Or is it Mothers' Day?

too sorry you are having a tricky time with jaundice. Feed feed feed and find the sunlight. Fingers crossed the numbers look better tomorrow

ummm, just checking it out here and have a query- I thought babies weren't meant to sleep on sheepskins?! This is from a GP married to a paediatrician (they have 4 pretty grown up children, think youngest about 17), who was saying they were all the rage in NZ, and she had them for their children, til they realised NZ had three times the rate of cot death and thought one of the reasons was the sheepskins were overheating the babies?! (none of her babies died- well, not from that) I'm really curious as I'd like to get sheepskin liners for the boys' buggy to cosy it up for summer. Is she talking anecdotal tosh about the SIDS then? NB I am not trying to worry anyone, just see whether if I get sheep skin liners I can use them at night myself if you lot have already looked into it

Hot water bottle did bugger all to help DD go in her basket. Neither did wave music 'to mimic the circulation sounds she heard in the womb' or any other suggestion we tried! I would probably end up trying it all again though!!!!!!

Hi dream nice to see you this end but we're not ready for you quite yet! Hang in there hope the movements are better. No idea re sheepskin but we have f on a fleecy blanket no idea if this takes the chill off but think it helps.