October 2012 babies - we meet them at last!

[YompingJo]

Getting thread in place in readiness!

Huffle yes the wind going thru tiny bean is quite incredible, hence her usual evening screamies - you can feel it bubbling through the poor critter on a bad night :(

Livvy glad you got out and about - it really does make a huge difference to morale :)

Smorgs I found expressing hard until week 4 as at first I only tried hand expressing (still hurts like a bastard even now) and hand pump (got nothing first few weeks). Then all of a sudden I was able to express loads. I've cooled it because of the borderline mastitis - want to let things settle a bit as someone told me it's about 7-8 weeks before the milk thing all starts to settle into place. So don't give up hope just yet! Also the Medela swing is a nice pump and the calma teat that comes with it is great.

Reading all, commenting little. livvy and huffle, your late night support session a couple of days back broke my heart...

Nursing bclothes: have found options, VERY wide price range, here:

Milkandmummy.co.uk
Izzysmum.co.uk

Brands:

Mothers en vogue
Mozelle
Milker (££££)

Bugger. I knew I was tempting fate to talk about our great day. She now won't settle. The dummy works for five minutes, then she spits it out and we start again.

This is going to be a long night.

I've finally caught up on all your posts! Wow, what a lot of different experiences with birth and feeding and sleeping. It's so reassuring to read everyone's worries and victories and know we're not alone.

We're definitely into a pattern/habit of feeding loads in the mornings and again in the evenings. Seems impossible that DD can want milk that often, but it's the only thing that settles her.

Lots of to all those with sore boobs, girlbits and medical issues for selves or baby. You're absolute heroines for getting babies here safe and feeding and caring for them. It's so hard, esp on no sleep. I really struggled with my stitches (episiotomy plus two tears - and knots on the outside which didn't help) and have been hating lochia (anyone else think it smells like womb? Grossing me out, really want it to end but it keeps restarting).

There is nothing worse than the loneliness of painful nightfeeds, so good to know others are out there feeling the same.

Anyone else who's BF finding it's really hard on DH? He really wants to be supportive and let me sleep, but gets really upset and cross when she cries and he can't calm her - no matter how often I say she's just hungry. Makes me feel bad that she screams with him then chills out as soon as I give her boob. She's coming up for 5 weeks so I'm wondering about expressing so he can do occassional feed, but don't want to disrupt milk supply.

Re dummies, I give her my finger to suck if she's grizzly (every evening at the moment...) which seems to work, although DH worries it's not a good idea - I reckon if it helps, it's good.

Sorry not to namecheck (one handed on phone), thinking of you all lots and in awe of how everyone's doing.

Wow. 5am and asleep since 1130........,. Grizzly evening. Wrecked momma so tired I did that feed as a lying down one which I find so uncomfy on body but nipples loved it. And did not even wind him as he so content. Baby back in basket and off to nod we went....... Just awoken by grizzlies but he still asleep. No bra on, milk everywhere. Nice. I shall now go back to bed and half sleep and await the wake. I do wake if v long sleep in day but not going to waken him in night here...... Flip me. Is lying down feeding our answer?! Off to hav a choccy digestive to celebrate!

What an amazing sleep huffle!

Little miss here is feeding again, wokem by nappy leak and currently feeding in just nappy, snuggled under my dressing gown as she got into such a sxreaming state during nappy change that I couldn't face dressing her. Poor little thing.

Ooh huffle that is a champion sleep. Do you feel much better as a result?

mrsconfusion i take the opposite approach and often have to get her nearly naked so she stays awake enough to feed. I too hate the smell of lochia.

Well after a bad start to the night, with her grizzly for two hours, I was astonished to wake to her cry and see that it was 6am (having last fed at 2am). Champ!

i'm bloody well fed up with breastfeeding

Fed up with having sore tender boobs, nipples on fire and never knowing if he is getting enough milk. Also hadn't realised that my body wouldn't feel like my own just as much as in pregnancy, constantly aware of these bloody boobs.

Have been googling bottle feeding to see just how much of a faff it is, even though I feel I should continue breastfeeding.

Nappies r a pain MrsC!! Our mammoth sleep led to mammoth feed which led to mammoth pooh exploding nappy. Dripped right down mummy's jammies!! Nice. In the dimmed light I had a bit of a panic, thought my leaky nipples were bleeding!!!! Doh! Soiled babygro, Soiled vest, nice chilled feeding session ruined!!! Ah well, think we nearly asleep, if the snuffling nose doesn't drive him to distraction!

Decent night here too - 11.30 till 2.30 then loong feed (mind you they are all fairly long) and asleep again from 3.30 to 6.30.
Tried to persuade her to get interested in a dummy yesterday but no luck. Anyone got any tips? Also tried expressing after a feed yesterday afternoon but only got about 40mls. Going to take a while to get enough to leave her at that rate!

Yay!! for (relatively) better nights all round. Huffle that is an epic sleep, so sorry it then ended in poo explosion. Someone asked which nappies I was using as not had a leak yet, but have only been using what's on offer in the supermarket (huggies or pampers mostly) so nothing clever! Maybe jess just has a fortunatley shaped bum... I have reusables to try for when she's a bit bigger and I'm motivated enough to try and learn ANOTHER new skill

crzypaving massive sympathies, things sound so hard. Really hoping ofr a break and better days for you soon

Lots of sympathy for those missing their older children, that must be very hard - hadn't really thought of it that way.

congrats beccus!!

thanks loads for the clothing sites planktonette will take a look

livvy pelvic floor feels fine after run, yes. I am 5 weeks post birth today though and I think they usually say exercise is fine from 6 weeks... and my birth was straightforward. I have been doing sneaky bits of exercise since about 2 weeks though (walking and this postnatal exercise dvd I have, and LOTS of pelvic floor exercises). I'm getting there! still haven't had proper sex though and am a bit nervous
massive boobs are a massive pain in the arse. MIne have gone down a bit though from the last few weeks. Hope yours do the same.

october big sympathies, breastfeeding is bloody hard work! Everyone tells me the first month is hell and ff is much easier at that point, but then after that it becomes easy for most people and ff is just an (expensive) pain in the arse. That's what I'm hoping anyway! I'm at 5 weeks now and am finding it LOADS easier. It has only been the last week that I've been feeling ok about my boobs again (totally agree it's crap feeling like they're not yours, after we've spent the whole of 2012 with our bodies not ours too...) But good luck whatever you decide chuck.

wantanorange sorry about the sleepless night, but so cute! about the dressing gown...

I had a decent night's sleep too - epic sleep from 9 to 1 in the other room with dad which was bliss, then needed a couple of hours settling, but slept again till 5 and we have been dozing together till now, a bit snuffly and twitchy but not too bad. It is so cold I have found myself using poor jess as a hot water bottle!!! not that she minds the cuddles

had busy day yesterday - brother and his wife and kid came round, we went to the fire engine museum, then went out to a mate's for dinner (and had a glass of wine AND champagne, terrible mum) ... relieved I am still standing. Wnat to go for another run!!

Londonlivvy I totally missed your post last night about sleeping from 2-6!!!!!!! Brilliant!!!!!!!! So delighted!! You will feel so much more human today!!!

Post exploding nappy we went back to sleep well from 6-8 then when he grizzled took him in to warm up beside us and slept til 9.30 while mummy had lovely shower, not even fed!!

V amusing.... Out of shower, leaning over bath to dry hair. Drip drip drip. Assumed hair, twas milk from boobs, could not stop it!!

October poor u being pissed off with BF. I too wonder when I will get some semblance of life back!! But it is getting better. Bad nipple day again yesterday but feel nicer again this morn. My parents really surprised me yesterday by suddenly being supportive, they think I'm mad, making life difficult for self. They really don't hav understanding of benefits. But yesterday they started talking about how handy must be not to hav to wash, sterilise and make up bottles, not to mention cost!!! So of course, I'd your call but I do think will get better!!!! Quite how I will get back to work in Feb is another story tho...........

Squid as ever u r an inspiration!!! Doing great chick!!

Oh and nappies, I find pampers much better than Huggies for leaks. Believe me, the size of that pooh last night, a bloody adult size nappy would not hav held it!!!!!!

smiley We have been using a dummy just to help her get off to sleep, the only thing I'd say is if she's even remotely hungry she won't be fooled so I have to feed her till she's definitely just mucking about with my nipple and not feeding. Then we put her down and (usually dh) spends an hour popping it back in her mouth until she's off. Takes perseverance and is the source of much mummy guilt and the feeling that we making a rod for our backs but has saved my sanity and nipples!

Ditto on the nappies huffle pampers never leaked on us but the huggies have, I think their newborn ones are slightly bigger? Lol on the bathroom floor - who got to mop that up?

Sympathies October it's bloody hard work but it does get easier. You've given them the best start even if you switch though so give yourself a pat on the back for that x

Glad to see better nights abound, we had sleep from 1 till 6.30 which was lovely and makes the 3 hour constant evening bf session worth it

Oh meant to say. I know blankets create heat and need not to have bubba too warm. But past 10 days hav got so much colder here at night and bedroom was down to under 16 degrees. Little dude sleeps with arms out and he was getting cold. We bought a wee oil heater from argos rather than having central heating on all night. Warns room up to a comfy level. I am convinced he sleeping better when room warmer. Still only 18-20 degrees. Worth a thought for any Moses basket sleepers.

I'm setting myself target of bf for 4 weeks and reviewing then. Small goals these days. Wk 2 much better than Wk 1 and i'm hoping it will get easier over time. I expressed 70ml yesterday, maybe that is why my boobs were so sore and perhaps i should leave off expressing for now.
huffle my mumalso does that thing about why am i making life hard by bf when i could do bottle, it didn' t do you any harm etc which isn't terribly helpful when i'm struggling through.

squid wow where have you got the energy to go for a run?! I'm hoping to get back to yoga at some point but my core strength still feels shot to pieces.

I've definitely found pampers better than huggies for containing leaks, but do remember with DS1 there were some mega poos that required cutting him out of babygro and binning everything!

hooray for better nights all round! very babypaving's bodyclock is firmly set to wake at 3am [despair] His unbelievable snottiness doesn't help. I also can't wind him at night - he screams madly and can't risk him waking DS1.

huffle i leaked everywhere after my shower yesterday - leads to v sticky bathroom floor!

Iam so shattered i am existing on chocolate then feeling depressed about fatness. crap or what.

DS1's 2nd birthday yesterday, had a lovely little party. Made loads of fuss over him and he got some really fab presents, lucky boy!

sorry very random post, brain not working.

Huge congrats & welcome beccus!!

Tranquil hippy skintoskin mum and baby time in bath this morning, well pleased with myself... then baby did beautiful, epic yellow poo swirling through all the water...

Got out bath, gave baby to boyfriend, had a shower.

Time for . Might shelve run till tomorrow.
Hope sundays are easier on people.
Right now feeling it's a shame we don't live near each other.

ps. lots of people have vanished no doubt pinned to sofas and beds by velcro babies... hope Cwest and Fjordmor are doing ok

YOmping hope things are settling down for you?

Londonmrss how are you and bubs, are you feeling any better, is bubs doing ok with the jaundice, have you died from breastfeeding/expressing madness? :( Much love

Hello everyone - sorry not to be more individual in my posts, but our first half-term has been as frantic as I was warned it would be. DD requires a lot of entertainment and the Ben and Holly magazine workbook doesn't get done on its own. We are at the stage of fascination with counting things and establishing the first letters of words. 'Why doesn't cucumber begin with q?' Why not indeed?

I will echo squidkid: bf really does get easier with time - the leaking, engorgement, letdown discomfort, difficulty latching on when you're on the bus/ having a pint/ sheltering from rain in a freezing bench in the park etc all get easier and IME it comes to be a great way of soothing baby to sleep and an excuse for a sit or lie down. Not having to lug bottles etc around and worry about milk going off is also a boon. I'm acutely aware that I haven't had to endure mastitis or thrush, but I have an idea from a friend's recent experience how awful mastitis can be - she gave up bf almost entirely for a while. So glad people are having better nights. I was thinking of having a bath with DS but squidkid's experience has put me off for a good while! Maybe with a swim nappy...

smileyhappymummy Have you tried expressing in the morning? Usually you can get more then.

DH has taken DD to Staples on the North Circular. He loves Staples. To be fair, the weather is so vile that anything outdoor would be silly. But. STAPLES.

PS With jaundice, at least the mild variety both DD and DS had, I was told to get them out in the sunshine (ha!) or at least by a sunny window - maybe that would help?

huffle It wasn?t quite as good as 2-6 as she fed for an hour of that, but I think I must have got to sleep at about 3. But three hours consecutive sleep in these early days definitely constitutes a miracle as far as I?m concerned!

Agreed re pampers, huffle, we are having far fewer leakages since I bought some of those yesterday.

October I know what you mean sometimes. Breastfeeding really isn?t the sexiest, particularly when I end up (as last night) leaking, then holding flannels to my boobs whilst I massage them cos they?re sore. A faff. But I think that sterilising and making up billions of bottles would be more faff. Particularly as I never know exactly how many times she?s going to feed ? some days as many as ten times, others only 8. I?m lucky though that family (mother and DF) are very supportive of me doing this. I do think it gets easier though, so I think you?ve made the right call to stick it out for a month and see how you?re doing then. Woolybob is right, that even if you switch, you have given bean the right start with loads of antibodies so that?s already brill!

smiley ooh that is good going. Re dummy, I just kept putting it back in, and back in, and back in. Stubborn madam that I am. Seemed to work. As Woolybob says, it can take up to an hour or more. Fun. But better than massacred nipples.

squid I try to remember the pelvic floor exercises regularly. Let?s face it I have HOURS every day when I?m sat on my arse feeding her and I have plenty of time!

crazy Sorry you?re having a tough time and huge respect for the juggling of two kids! I find one enough of a challenge, frankly!

Re expressing ? I am unsure about this. I can?t even fathom the enthusiasm to put the blasted thing together it looks so complicated! And not sure I want to boost milk production as we already have a lot of leakage and boob swelling already. Instead I?m tempted to introduce a bottle of formula at 10pm so her dad can feed her then. I?m told trying to introduce a new flavour and concept is better not left too long. But then I remember I haven?t actually got into a routine yet so that?s a nice idea but still a fair way to go.

RIGHT. Going to try and get DF and bean and go to the café for lunch. It feels less terrifying to go places with DF and the bean than on my own. God I will feel bereft when he goes back to work. I feel teary just thinking about it. It?s felt like a mini honeymoon having so much time with him. I luffs him.

Well there was something going round last night as we also had a relatively good night with a couple of three hour sleeps. I expressed yesterday so dh could give a late bottle which he gulped down in record time apparently. Fed him a clister of feeds again about 1-1.45am then not till 5am?! He also finally did some poos - first for almost 48 hours I was beginning to get worried even though the midwife was fairly relaxed about it.
However, this morning I had an angelico moment and he puked in my bra. Yup loads of sick down the cleavage and collecting in my favourite bravado bodysilk
Tried expressing again today but its so sore, really hurts the nipples. But am convinced it helped him to sleep better last night having some of the morning milk as its meant to be richer/ creamier right? DH's reaction was we should start giving formula once a day before bedtime, but I'm not convinced we've given this out best shot yet. Dh has been great on the whole but is a little too keen to shove the dummy in or say he needs feeding if he's crying, when sometimes I think he needs attention and interaction? Or is he still too little?
Dad went home yesterday and mum goes tomorrow morning and dh has to unexpectedly go into work so I have my first day alone! Scared and a bit

Livvy just be careful with bottle of formula in case it leaves you engorged. I understand the temptation though... Friend did this from about 6 weeks and was fine but I am probably being cautious after the near-miss with mastitis...

Just a quickie here - quiet night after quiet evening = unbelivable. We felt so much more chilled without any evening screamies, gave us a glimpse of how things might be in another few weeks or months... Wish we could wave a wand and make the bean's poor tum bigger. She is squawking now mind you, just dozing contentedly, then gets a pain for 10 seconds and screams, then dozes again. Overall trend: she is definitely getting better, bar the odd day or evening of madness Holding out hope to all of you at the 3-4 week stage!

Sling wearers - I need your help. I have a short torso and gigantic boobs (normally E, currently G). Our baby bjorn sling arrived yesterday and I loved the sturdiness and how I didn't feel the baby's weight at all in back BUT - it just doesn't fit :( It sits directly on my boobs squishing them (not risking more blocked ducts!!!) and isn't adjustable to move baby's head higher up on my short torso so she alternated between slobbering on my boobs and nearly suffocating in cleavage Have a Kari-Me but haven't got to grips with it yet for keeping her upright rather than lying. A Manduca was suggested - anyone got one? Is it good for big floppy boobs?!

X-posted Smorgs Sympathy on the puke in bra front, I feel your rage pain :) On the first day at home alone everyone feels the fear - but you will get through. Is there anyone you could get over for lunch or could you nip out for an hour in the middle of the day? It helps to have some company to break day up. If not though don't worry - you will be fine Expressing I didn't find easy until 4 weeks and that was after a morning of engorgement which forced me to do it, after that I knew I could IYSWIM? Don't force it because it will come. I still can't hand express at all, it's just too sore but can use hand or electric pump. Hand pump killed me the first couple of times I used it when bean was 2 or 3 weeks old.

Thanks angelico yes I've been using a Philips Avent hand pump my cousin lent me which works ok, but just sucks my nipples something horrendous. Good to know it might get better in a few weeks. Am currently calling, texting and facebooking people to see if anyone is around for coffee tomorrow. Going to call my big sis and cousin for support too([if I get time between wails)