October 2012 babies - over here nobbers!

[Smorgs]

This really will be the thread where all our babies start sleeping through the night... right?!

Glad to hear that London

Oh dear london, it's really distressing when they behave like that isn't it? Glad to read recent good feed. I think at this age as vision etc improved they do get distracted more easily, we are finding the same. Also she is suddenly much quicker so I keep trying to put her back on thinking she can't possibly be done and she gets a bit grumpy. Sucks her hand more and more seems to mean hungry/tired/this is a tasty hand so given up on signals, if she grumbles I offer boob and if she doesn't want or falls asleep I put her down or let her sleep on me lazy mummy Had this lovely Madonna & child vision of bf and not quite like that is it

huffle we've just started baby massage course, do you do it before bed or do you find better sleep even if done at other point in day? We normally have bath, feed, bed and she's usually quite frantic for feed after bath (even if fed right before bath, I think she just knows it's coming) so doubt would be in the mood for massage then. Another rubbish night here, either growth spurt or too cold, have been putting down in think sleepsuit and grobag but think vest might also be needed. Paranoia about overheating and sids thou .

Going to see friend and her 2 week old today, hope she's not getting more sleep than me!

can I all those of you who are completely baby led breastfeeders, how after do you feed? I just offered again because she was sucking her hand about 2 and a half hours after the last feed and she was furious with me... assume she wasn't hungry so will try again on an hour. she's 11 and a half weeks. is 3 or 4 hours now a reasonable time between feeds?

Oh and health visitor came today, baby wooly now 12lb 10 so back just above 25th centile. Am officially off the hook about her weight now! Just up to me when to have her weighed again at the drop in clinics! yay yay yay!

I meant how often...

fantastic wooly (auto correct wants to call you willy). great news!

Wooly mini huffle also frantic for Feed post bath so screams if try any massage then. I have done it either mid afternoon or early evening when fed, clean and happy! Does not calm if already grouchy.

London I assumed we would be at 3hrs+ by now. Still 2-2.5 mostly here during day. But I think several others are less often? We are pretty much 8 feeds in 24hrs.

And great news on weight Wooly! Well done!

london I feed whenever she wakes at night which is anything between 2 to 6 hours. She tends now to want feeds closer together in the morning and evening, maybe every 2 hrs in the morning and sometimes every hour in the evening. Lunchtime and afternoon we will usually have at least one longer gap of 3 or 3.5 hours but depends if she sleeps and how long for. So day feeds prob go 7am, 9am, 11am, 2pm, 4.30pm 6pm, 7pm, 8pm although maybe a couple of these are very halfhearted feeds where she seems to want food (does rooty type things) but then almost immediately falls asleep on the boob. I probably feed more than usual thou - I've encouraged frequent feeding to help her gain weight. I'm not bothered enough to try and stretch the gap, I find feeding is a chance for a sit down when I don't have to think of ways to entertain her, plus in a few months it'll be weaning time and all change again. Anyone else ridiculous excited about the idea of giving them food btw? Can't wait, just the idea of finding out what she likes, feels like a big adventure... or am I a bit sad?

Thanks huffle, was thinking will try afternoons, only done leg massage so far though!

london about 2.5 to 3 hours here too. We had similar problems - latching issues, we had to wake him too every 2 hours, we had to syringe colostrum/milk into him, and it was very difficult so i fell into this clock watching every two hours habit.

I have the same anxieties - is he hungry, is he not, especially given he's gaining weight slowly. I don't really know the answer - he sometimes feeds for only 3 mins per side, other times it's longer. He can sleep for an 8 hour stretch overnight and still only feed for ten mins on waking and I wonder if I should force a feed a bit more. But he won't take it and i'm scared to express and bottle feed in case i end up forcing an unsustainable situation of expressing exclusively and losing my supply.

I have many anxieties about feeding him, which he probably picks up on. I generally just always offer him my breast as a first solution to any upset, and every 2-3 hours. I assumed a hungry baby would tell me but he doesn't and I've never quite got over the first night home and leaving him to sleep for 9 hours without realising he needed to feed :(

So I don't know - I wish I did. He has plenty of wet nappies, poos a lot and seems content and happy so i try not to sweat it - unsuccessfully!

Forgot to say, DS is only a day younger than your DD and has similar patterns.

Hey, I will catch up properly later, but just popping on to say that DD is nearly 2 foot long. Thats 89cm. She is 8 weeks old, and thats not even tracking a centile! She's off the chart! Going to be a giant like her daddy...
Right. I'm off to spend DP's money see if i can pick up some bargains in HMV.. Catch y'all later. X

London, we feed 1.5 - 2.5 hours. I'd say she's probably hungry.

Thanks for encouraging me to go to baby massage, it was good. She was quite fractious, but the instructor was great and I think we'll enjoy practicing the tummy and leg massages we learned today. The instructor said that I seemed to be really in tune and sensitive to DD's needs, which I think is exactly what I needed to hear right now. Worth it just for that.

Oh, and whenever she even looks at me funny I pop a boob in. She usually eats so I'm guessing its the answer, even if it might not have been the question

Turn west here is the recipe

3 medium sized eggs
160g ground almonds
150 golden caster sugar
Zest and juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Separate the eggs with all yolks in one big bowl and whites in another.

Beat the yolks. Add 130g of the sugar until pale and creamy. Fold in the almonds, zest, juice and cinnamon to make thick paste.

Whisk the whites to form soft peaks, then add in the remaining sugar, keep whisking until stiff peaks.

Stir a third of the whites mix into the almond paste to loosen it up. Then fold in carefully the rest of the whites, in two batches, taking care not to over mix and loose the bubbles.

Grease 17.5cm tin and add greaseproof paper. Cook for 35 mins at 180 or gas 4

just had first injections which were postponed because of chickenpox. Thought I would cope better second time around but it was just as horrible. Poor little lamb actually smiled at the nurse immediately before she did it. :'(

ok I tried again half an hour layer and she fed perfectly and calmly. it helped that it was almost nap time and I let her get a bit sleepy.

ok so it seems that I just have to leave it 3 hours between feeds out she isn't hungry. or does that sounds too long? I know I'm being very insecure about this...
but my milk flows fast- I can pump 200ml in 5 mins if they're quite full so I assume she gets a big meal during her 10-15 minute feeds...? meaning she might only need 6 meals a day...?
ugh, I wish I found the feeding stuff easy but it was a battle from day 1.

sorry for being annoying and neurotic.

You're not being neurotic, it is really difficult. It's better to ask than to worry by yourself.

I'm afraid that I think the answer is that it's different for each baby. Mine would probably be hungry before three hours. Plus she sleeps better if she eats more during the day. I'm assuming because she's met her calorie needs so doesn't need to wake up as much.

Can you experiment between 2 and 4 hours and see how she goes? As long as she's having wet nappies she's probably fine.

thanks bora. it's not actually that I worry she isn't getting enough. it's just that breastfeeding can be such a lovely experience when it's calm, but with a screaming baby rejecting the boob it's terribly upsetting and stressful for both of us. I want the lovely feeds.

I wonder whether she's picking up on some of your anxiety? You say that she feeds calmly at night, what's different about those feeds? Are there some aspects of night feeds that you cold reproduce during the day?

Londonmrss DD feeds better at night too and can be very fussy during the day. My let down reflex is very powerful. She coughs and splutters then gets upset. She seems to take in a lot of wind too.

She feeds roughly:

Early morning
Mid morning (when we get back from school run usually)
lunch time (much longer feed)
Mid afternoon
Constantly on and off between about 4:30 and anywhere up to 11pm
Once or twice for quick top up in the night

She gets easily distracted if there are other noises but there's not a lot I can do about that. I'm hoping its all just a developmental phase.

londonmrs I feel your pain, jess is mostly a good feeder but the stressy feeds are upsetting. A typical 24hrs of feeds for us would go like this: 5am, 6am, 8am, 10am, midday, 3pm, 6pm, 6.30pm. Feeds range from 5mins to an hour! And as you can see she doesn't feed overnight... it all seems a bit random to me but it works for us. I totally understand you feeling this way but I don't think on-demand feeding can be "worked out" in the same way as ff, etc.
bora glad your class was good, jess loves baby massage, though we tend to do it at home more (I have been to a class a couple of times)

Am I being unreasonable to struggle socialising in a baby group because everyone there is so bloody skinny and groomed? Of course I walked there for an hour in the sleet and looked like a drowned rat. How do people look like that after having a baby anyway? I have been exercising almost every day since November and I eat healthily and I did the same during my entire fucking pregnancy. What am I doing wrong here? Aren't we all supposed to be covered in sick and out of shape? bah humbug.

Still Jess enjoyed it (she loves seeing other babies) and it was 2 hours exercise I guess!

I'm going to find me a sofa and a coffee....

Hi all, been reading but not posting for a few days as often holding baby and no good at typing one handed on an iPad!

London we have some stress feeds to, a new thing but upsetting. Often she feeds ok for a bit then pulls away, then turns straight back for more, then pulls off immediately again...this would go on for a while with me getting stressed til I realised the pulling away means she needs to burp and or spit up a bit. It has also sometimes meant there is no more milk coming, so switching sides fixes it.

I have just got back from the GP who has given us ranitidine for reflux (Gaviscon was making her really constipated). I have just given her first dose but she screamed horribly for two mins and then was sick....anyone else had similar? She had just had a good feed and 5ml of gripe water, then the ranitidine. I am assuming she hasn't actually had any ranitidine hit her system since she was sick, only a moderate amount came up, not the whole feed, but the ranitidine went in last so I assume it came out! Not keen to try again really but I will....vomiting is not listed as a common side effect so wondering if it just tastes awful? Any advice would be really welcome from the collective wisdom of the nobbers!

Squid I can almost guarantee that those women feel the same as you do and that you probably look slim and capable in their eyes.

I never look tired, regardless of how little sleep I've had. I think it's skin tone. Sounds daft but it galls me to hear "don't you look fresh?!" as it belies just how difficult it all is.