April 2012 newborns: the insomnia continues...

[LaTristesse]

Hello fellow April mums. Following on from our lovely ante-natal threads, here's the first of the post-natal ones. Join us as we work out how to handle nappies, feeding, colic, crying and all things newborn, or just to celebrate the joys of a new baby!

thaleia - I'm sorry you're having such a tough time with the tyranny of the scales, it truly is horrible. Neither of mine gained as they should at the beginning and I found it distressing both times, even though, like you, I could see they were healthy and had wet nappies etc. I had to supplement my first baby with formula, but I didn't have to do it for long and was able to go back to exclusive breast feeding fairly quickly. I did use a cup though - how are you getting it into him? I could never see the sense in pumping either as I seemed to get so little. Second time around I understand it better. You pump for the extra stimulation to your breasts, not so much for the milk to give to your LO. Most people don't get that much out pumping, at least in the beginning and this is not representative of your supply. You can also take fennel tea or fenugreek seed extract for upping your supply. Keep going with it, you'll get there in the end - I now have issues with oversupply!

LaTris I know what you mean- every time we give DD more formula my heart sinks, but then I look at DH & see he's worried about her and I panic & say 'ok, give her a bit more' but I hate doing it....still, will keep pushing on with the BFing!

What LaTristesse says! Especially about breasts not ever being 'empty'.

Also - try not to give formula in the late evenings. This is the peak time for your milk production hormones. This is the best time to up your milk production. With DD I gave her a formula bottle at 11pm and it ballsed up my supply completely.

Also don't restrict the length of a feed (say to 20minutes) - a normal feed is between 5 and 30 minutes, perhaps considerably longer during a growth spurt cluster feed!

Breast feeding really is the most stressful thing about newborns, isn't it? Or at least it's what we're mainly all talking about :).

Francesca us def going through a growth spurt, she's been having her regular 3 hr daily feeds and back for 10 min top ups after 30 mins! She's still 4 hrs at night though, thank god!

She has also mastered the farting while feeding trick, I try really hard not to laugh but it's too funny hearing these awful teenage noises coming out of my dinky little girl!

Thaleia don't be down hearted lovey, YOU ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING WRONG. Latris is right the pumping is more about breast stimulation. It would be entirely normal to only be able to produce maybe 1/2 oz pumping from both breasts after a feed. Also, when you are tired & stressed it's hard to get anything at all.

Re getting back to birth weight I'm sure it is considered normal to take up to 3 weeks to get back there.

Start a thread in breast/bottle feeding & ask for advice from Ticktock. She is v knowledgeable & will give you sound info on your situation.

latris I believe the growth charts are now WHO ones & are representative of bf babies (I think!)

Buns I am typically pumping around 20ml after a feed, which is nearly 1oz - that makes me feel more about it.

Feeling more cheerful about feeding in general this evening as DD has been feeding on and off but without the usual evening gripes & grizzles that accompanies it...it's a relief to have a slightly more chilled baby for a change!

I just wanted to say that I have my baby back after she spent two nights at her grandparents in order to give us a break. The difference in her is amazing, and is making me wonder if I've got everything all wrong. She feeds every four hours instead of every 2.5-3, she went a whole five hours from 12-5am before waking up and she settles herself in her moses basket after a winding/cuddling session.

I need to get the tricks off Grandma.

Boomer you're doing nothing wrong. Babies often react differently to their parents (particularly mum) as they feel most secure with them. This usually manifests itself as being quieter/crying less around other caregivers - they save their true 'selves' for mum and dad, which usually means we get the brunt of the knackering 'behaviour'.

Sleeping for only a couple of hours at once, or feeding more often than every 4 hours is normal (in fact, scheduling feeds every 4 hours is no longer recommended), so if your lovely baby reverts to that pattern then rest assured you're not doing anything wrong, Granny doesn't have magic answers but your baby is just finding her own pattern

Fliss - that's so interesting. I thought that Bill was a little unsettled around me sometimes because of the milk. But then at other times, it seems no-one but me (or his Dad) will do.

He's currently in the midst of a growth spurt, I think, as he is feeding more frequently (up to every 2h instead of 2-3, and every 3-4 at night instead of 4+) He's growing out of his 'tiny baby' outfits too! Well, he will be a month old on Thursday. Man, he's all about the boob! :)

I think Raphael isn't well. I wake him every 2.5/ 3hrs to feed and he only feeds for 20mins before falling asleep again. We don't have any wakywaky time and he is not responsive. Great, just when I need to get more food into him for the weight check. I go to the baby clinic in 2hrs anyway but it's not something serious if he's still waking up and feeding, at least a bit?

spanner Francesca is exactly same this week! feeding like a little monster. We went to HV today and she's gone from 7.9 last week to 8.2 today! She too is all about the boob!

Anyone else having cord issues? Her cord came away in bits (!) but was all gone on Sat. Then yesterday there's a new scab. HV said that she's the nappy is rubbing it so it's not clotting properly. No infection and I should wash it gently with cotton wool. I've not bathed her as I've been told not to until her cord had gone (been topping and tailing her).

Thalia sometimes Francesca only feeds for 20 mins. It's mainly at night that it's longer. Let us know how you get on at the clinic.

Hope all is ok with Raphael Thaleia what did they say at the clinic?

holly I always kind of fold the nappy top down away from the cord/freshly revealed belly button. Might help it dry out & heal ?

Does anyone else ache? My back and knees are killing me by the end of the day. I'm sure this is worse than when I was pregnant - thought I suppose I didn't really move around that much at the end of pregnancy due to spd. Don't remember it from last time round, but then sleep deprivation means I don't remember much of that time anyway...

My knees were bloody agonisingly painful last time, not a twinge this time...

buns that's what I've been doing but she's such a bloody wriggler! I've taken to folding the top bit of nappy over and taping it down with the tabs of the nappy. That should do it.

Am annoyed as lochia has gone from being White-yellow for days to red in the night. Nothing major just a small amount. I'm doing too much, aren't I?

Holly I find my lochia seems to know before me if I've done to much: serves as a pretty good reminder to slow down. I'm annoyed as the horrible all over body rash I had at 40 weeks is resurfacing. So itchy & depressing. But still no idea what is causing it. Back to the GP I guess...

UniPsychle; yup, 5 weeks on and I feel like I've done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson every day! Everything aches. Thought I was the only one.

Aching here too. Have been to the osteopath a couple of times taking this 'rare opportunity' while my body is full of relaxin to get everything aligned properly. Feel like I've been soundly beaten though really. Backache mainly, from having DD in the sling all day every day I think!

Yes the aching, snap for carrying baby round in a sling all day. My cs exercise leaflet says that a woman's back remains curved for many many months after pregnancy so back is weakened. We all need to be doing our pelvic floor exercises to help support our backs or get babies that will be content to be put down a bit plus it's all the bending down to change nappies etc.

Oh spanner poor you with your rash again. Hope you find what's causing it or get some relief. A friend & I both suffered from terrible hives post pregnancy. Just stopped eventually, not sure if they were a hormonal thing or allergy but only had them after having ds1.

I ache too....neck shoulders wrists & hands are worst. I know it's from holding my now bruiser-like daughter so much though. Still keep falling aslp after the 3am feed, waking up holding her, or with her on my chest. That's what's doing it. Anyone else's LO difficult to settle then? Still think it's wind causing her to squirm & waken again an hour after she's been put down. Maybe I'm not winding her properly at 3...would soooo love a longer stretch then. Feel like I've been run over by an articulated lorry this am. After your LO feed, how long till you can put them down? Em's feeds last an hour or so even if she's only been actively drinking for 10-18 mins which is happening more now..she seems to have become pretty efficient at feeding. But still takes a while to settle. She has a dose in the middle of a feed lots & then wakes up & burps & has another drink. It means though, that even if her feeds are 3 hours apart, the most she's asleep for between feeds is 30-40 mIns.'
La T: never thought of that!
Spanner, my Lochia did that too, but after nearly 5 weeks seems to have stopped finally. Thank goodness.

I've come out in a really itchy rash in the last 3 days & have been taking domperidone since Friday...seems like it might be a side effect of that. Don't want to stop taking it as it does seem to be helping the milk volumes but the itching is driving me mad!

Thaleia how did you get on at clinic yesterday?

20 minutes is absolutely fine for one feed. As long as they are feeding for more than 10 mins on one breast, you can be certain they are getting plenty of hindmilk.

Also, you do not have to follow the advice of the hv. You do not even have to go to clinic on certain days just because theyvtell you to. Babies do not need to be weighed so frequently - there will be weeks where they put more or less weight on. Babies do not all put on weight at the same rate and follow beautiful curved lines on charts. And even if there is a problem with your ds not getting enough milk from you (unlikely), formula is not the answer - it will only interrupt the delicate supply and demand system and undermine your milk production. Your hv should be directing you towards proper bf advisors, not 'making' you give formula.

What I'm trying to say is that you are the best judge of how well your baby is. You see him every minute of every day and if he wasn't thriving, you would know and you would seek help. Don't let the hv undermine your confidence in knowing your own baby.

Sorry for the rant. They tried to 'make' me give dd formula too. I resisted. Funnily enough, 4 weeks on, she is absolutely fine.

Ah, thank you all for your kind words.

I have been back to the GP, and he looked it up in his 'big book of rashes' and has diagnosed Post-Partum PUPPPS. Lovely. So he's just prescribed me with more of the same. This is not great, as it is all spreading rather rapidly.

On the plus side, I did see Kate Rusby (the singer) and her 2 week old baby girl in the surgery. Her little girl is very sweet. But Kate's stomach is far too flat for my liking!

Sorry for all those who are having feeding/weight issues. I wish I had some wisdom to impart, but I think that bushy is right: our maternal instincts to know what is wrong or if anything is wrong is worth so much - so an HV's opinion shouldn't necessarily be the last word in the matter.

Well said Bushy!

I like that sometimes they don't put on any weight but grow in length instead; very clever!