November 2012 - losing sleep and losing weight

[StuntNun]

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/postnatal_clubs/1640937-November-2012-sleepless-nights-aplenty

Stats list: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/1485512-November-2012-Stats-List

www.google.co.uk/search?q=asda+baby+bath&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=7AHjUPyKLMKM0AWuioGwBQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=672#biv=i|0;d|pfjoWA5IS14JtM:

Why do you have to wait two months for paracetamol? Calpol is paracetamol isn't it? Over here we give it from 3kg up at any age in case of fever over 38°. I double checked that with the doctors when LO was in hospital at 4 weeks.

Right, LO coughing her poor little guts up but no breathing issues, so am reasting easy til tomorrow now. She's not drunk massive amounts but she often eats more in the evenings.

DD1 is making progress. They have decided to stop the physio, and right now are seeing how she goes with no oxygen, just for an hour or so. Tey are also hoping to get her walking around a little this evening.

They'll put her back on oxygen this evening of course but the fact they are trying is positive, so I am still feeling optimistic she may be home for Friday. Which of course is a disappointment compared to Wednesday, but it's still this week.

I'm feeling more positive. She has had excellent care - can't fault the hospital - and I am just looking forward to her coming home now.

In fact I was sent home from hospital after giving birth with a whole bag of pills and potions for me and LO and paracetamol suppositories were in there, along with vit D drops and various creams and pain killers for me.

Happy new year to you all. Not had a chance to catch up on the thread yet but hope everyone had a good new years eve, DP and I fell asleep on the sofa and woke up at 10 past 12! Rock n roll! :)

DD1 has come down with chicken pox today! Only 2 spots so far but I fear the worst is yet to come, now I just have to try and keep her away from LO in the hope she won't catch it too

Marking my place and asking a quick question...

M and I have been ill with a bad cold since Friday. Just found out that DHs auntie has whooping cough. We spent most of last sudsy with them and some of Boxing Day. I don't know what the incubation period is. Should I do anything or just watch how M is?

Fatima when will your LO be having the jabs? I think whooping cough is in the batch? Did you have the jab during your pregnancy?

Apparently it starts as a kind of cold normally. I woudl guess you can't do aything until LO shows symptoms of a cold. I would start doing the saline nasal drops though so you can reduce risk of a cold turning into anything nasty.

With DD1 being ill I was told to regularly clear LO's nose even before she started showing any symptoms.

Lnk to NHS page about it: www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Whooping-cough/Pages/Causes.aspx

Just re-read, and see M already has a cold. I'd see the doctor tomorrow. The sooner it is caught the easier it will be to treat. Fingers crossed though you'll both be fine.

Bugger, I was hoping you'd say I was worrying about nothing. She is very snotty and quite raspy today. We both started with it on Friday but I haven't got a cough.
She's 5 weeks 4days so she's not due her injections for another 2.5-3 weeks. I did have the injection at 35weeks though

Ah well if you had the jab she should be OK. That's what it was given for :)

Would be worth taking her in and being checked out though. The Dr will listen to her chest. Colds can turn nasty on newborns (and toddlers grrr) so it is always worth keeping on top of it. In Luxembourg and France some doctors automatically admit any babies under two months with colds. Overkill IMO but always worth checking.

Calpol is safe obviously, but I think they like you to get a Dr to oversee use before 3mths because a) potential liver damage & b) it could mask more serious issues causing a fever.

DS was prescribed

Darn it. Damn phone having buttons too close on webpage....

Paracetomol at 12do, with the dose calculated for his weight. He was 8lb 3
2oz iirc & had a 0.6ml dose. Hth Sophia.

Going back to read thread again.

Marking spot, had a crap NYE and day due to not feeling well, constipated and stomachache. :(
Slept a lot, hopefully it will ease soon

DD1 has been off oxygen for several hours now and has walked around a little. Sats are good. Fingers crossed.

HAPPY NEW YEAR - to all you gorgeous mummies and darling bubbas!!!

We had a lovely day yesterday going for a Thai lunch then a walk along Sarfend sea front and down the pier, then home to warm up. Dh works as a medic in a nightclub so he was at work for 9 so me and kids were snuggled up watching downton abbey, eating thorntons chops and watching the fireworks and paper lanterns!!!

Today we've taken the dog for a walk and found a couple of geocaches and now Dottie's watching the wizard of oz for the first time while we wait for the pork to roast!

Wishing all the poorly babies and mummies better xx

MissLaugh best time of day is morning (I express one side while J is having his first feed of the day on the other side using a rugby ball hold). Worst time of day is tea time. The advantage of tandem feeding and expressing is that the letdown reflex occurs in both breasts simultaneously so you should get more milk (it also saves time). To letdown you may need your baby present although apparently a photo also works. I have a recording of J crying on my phone to aid letdown. I also find imagining the sensation of feeding/letdown can be enough to trigger letdown!

I would aim for 4-5 fl. oz. initially and see whether this is too much or too little. It may take two sessions to get this much or it may not.

If you miss a feed and give a bottle in the afternoon/evening you will probably be fine. If it's in the night then you may find your breasts get full and you'll need to express. If you miss two feeds then definitely express as your supply could be affected.

My routine is to express 3-6 fl. oz. every morning. If it's a small amount I top it up from the next expressing session so all my bottles are 5-6 fl. oz. I leave them in the fridge until the next day then freeze them so that I always have a full bottle in the fridge for if I'm going out or need to feed when I have a visitor.

I'm using Avent bottles with storage lids to freeze milk since I don't anticipate keeping much in the freezer since we only have a tiny freezer. If you want to store lots then buy milk freezer bags BUT these only store up to 4-5 fl. oz. so you'll probably need to put 2-3 fl. oz. in each and use two per bottle.

HTH.

Hello all, happy new year everyone.
Here is hoping that tonight will be miles better than last night. Met a mother at on my walk, she has the same age baby as me. She is also a having the same problem. It's very comforting to know I'm not the only one.

Horsey- I hope your horse is ok, and not too frightened of dogs. Some people are idiots.

PR- I'm glad things are on the way up.

I'm very interested in the 5s.

I hope all the sick babies get well soon.
Evil

I googled the 5 S's

They are:
Swaddling
Shooshing
Sucking
Swinging
Side/stomach

MissL I agree with all stunt has says about expressing but to add;

1. I have found a photo of A feeding on my phone v useful for pumping
2. Lansinoh milk bags are good, as are Boots. Just check they're suitable for freezing.
3. freeze milk in small amounts & laying flat, as it defrosts quicker.
4. a good guide to feed volume is 150-200ml per kg of weight per day. If LO has 10 feeds a day, and weighs 5kg, that would be roughly 100ml a feed, so approx 3.5oz.
5. you should, in theory, keep pumping for a minute or 2 after the last drop of milk is out. I assume this increases the amount you pump/maintains supply. However, I only pump for as long as I can be bothered!!

glenda sounds like a lovely day.

PR tentatively saying things are looking good.

I am hoping the lurgy has finally left through house!!!

My LO keeps trying to put his fist in his mouth, is this a normal behavour?
Should I stop it?

Evil

That's normal Evil.

DD1 back on oxygen for the night.

Oh no PR. wishing you the best.
evil

Those of you who's babies have had jabs are lots of sleeping and reduced appetite normal. He had them yesterday at 3 and ran a fever yesterday. He slept a lot and ate about half what he usually does.

Today he's not got the fever, is more alert but is sleeping more and again not eating much. He also appears to have another cold so has been sick a bit.

He's obviously feeling sorry for himself. Should I give him some calpol or leave him be? If he's still the same tomorrow I'll call the dr but they said he'd be grizzly. Hes not, just sleepy.

Stunt and Chunky thank you so much for the advice. I don't know quite why I'm so nervous about expressing as I'd love to be able to give DP one feed a day to do. Our HV suggested that he should only ever be the one who feeds her with a bottle, so that she associates it with him and still bf with me which I guess makes sense. Will let you know how it goes next week!

Evil our LO also tries to shove her whole fist in her mouth. She pulls a really cute face when she's trying!

That's excellent news PR. You've really been through the mill. I hope she is home for Friday!

Paracetomol suspension can be given from birth. We give it to newborns who display certain signs of distress from a traumatic birth - usually forcep or ventouse births. But it is prescribed and calculated based on weight. I'd ring OOH GP and go that way if you want to give it, they can give you the dosage.

Toomany We have that bath! Am going to get something better though as he loves the water, and it is uncomfortable holding on to him, so he only gets about 2 minutes! I'd prefer a proper soft chair type thing, but put it in a big baby bath rather than the main bath? Not sure! Just going to keep looking for something! I am looking forward to having him in the bath with me! I just don't like 'warm' baths though...! Hot hot hot please!

We have had a very sleepy baby today. Am worried he will be up all night! He has slept most of the evening now... I woke him at 5.30pm, as he was due a feed at 5, but had been asleep since his last one and I didn't want him to stay sleeping all day. So now he is due another soon, but he is still snoozing, and when he did wake, he didn't want to be awake and grizzled to be put back asleep - so now he is back asleep! He is otherwise fine, so who knows. It is like he has gone back to his brand new baby ways!

Oh, we also cracked the day time sleeps - it's the car seat . He likes to nap in the bloody car seat, well, second to being on me anyway! He likes the cocoon feeling, and being rocked with my foot while I MN. Little monkey! Why do they never like what is best for them?!

Am wondering if Oscar will ever be a 4 hourly feeder? He is usually 3 hours, unless we are out and he is knocked out by the fresh air! You can set your clock by him. After his feed at some point between 10.30pm-midnight he will then go 4-5 hours, but then it is back to 3 hours on the dot usually! He has been doing that since about 3 weeks. Except today, clearly!

I would like him to do a bit of a longer stint at night, but I really can't complain, because he does go back down straight away, and sleeps for 12 hours. It is just I am just having a lot of trouble going back to sleep in between his feeds, and I'm not sure why. It is as if I can't relax when he is there? As soon as DP takes him downstairs, I can easily go straight to sleep. As a compromise, I've been kicking DP awake to do the middle of the night feed so I can get 6 hours, as I can fall back asleep when I've woke DP, where as once I've woke properly to feed, I can spend 2 hours trying to fall back to sleep. It is the same when I go to bed - struggling to fall asleep. So I do the early morning feeds, so I can feel more rested and be ready for the day ahead. Even Ewan isn't letting me drift off any more!