December 2012 - the sleep and poo thread (too much of one, not enough of the other)

[PurplePidjin]

..... hmm good timings but George was WIDE awake from then on - he couldn't decide if he wanted milk or not, then fussed and strained, then wanted it but then did book shouting then we 'read' books, stared at lights, had two changes before finally having an hour long feed at 6, a doze another feed and NOW dropping off.... but I've got to get up. there was no crying at any point but threats if I put hi down ....

welcome hales!

Morning all. Not a bad night here as Z is sleeping pretty well now that I let him sleep next to me. However the night is obv still interrupted by feeding - not as much as when I was breastfeeding more, but because I'm trying to get my supply up I am doing bottles AND giving him the boob AND expressing whenever I do a bottle. So it's kind of the worst of all worlds for me as I'm not getting the night-time advantages of the bottle but it's all in a good cause as I am sure he is getting more solid.

Welcome hales . For colic, to add to what the others said: I've not tried colief but I use infacol and that seems to help. I second the advice on keeping the baby upright during the feed and also for a good 20 minutes afterwards. Also, youre probably doing this already but if not, wind a couple of times during the feed, not just at the end. If you are using bottles for any of your feeds, i have just switched to Dr Browns and there is a marked difference. For bottles it also helps to stop while there's a tiny bit of milk left in the teat so that the baby isn't sucking on just air.

Clarella - staring at lights is a popular activity here as well :)

spotty see I'm always disappointed when I shop online. I get wrong things, I order wrong sizes or they substitute stuff. I find it much more fulfilling going to the shop thankfully dd and ds1 are really well behaved and some days I don't even have to bribe them with chocolate in the supermarket so it's not a problem. Just me being lazy. There's only so many times I can rustle up dinner from tins and the freezer though!

Oh a cool thing happened today - I was changing Z's nappy in the cot (currently used as nappy station and baby wherewithal repository only) and he's got a toy in there that lights up and plays music that I sometimes put on while changing him to calm him down, and i hadn't turned it on today as he was calm but then I noticed he was reaching out and touching it! I think that's probably the first time he's tried to touch an object (excluding the hair-pulling).

Eek, this is just the kind of thing I would have been all "so your baby touched something? Big whoop" about before giving birth

Stacey and spotty I probably physically went to the supermarket about once a month before birth, but I've found myself going more now as I am finding it a useful Thing To Get Us Out Of The House. A friend told me the supermarket was good for stimulation for babies because of all the lights and bright colours, although it does tend to have the opposite effect for us of sending Z to sleep.

MaMaPo - K was fussing yesterday evening, pulling away, crying, wanting to latch, not wanting to latch....I think she was tired as whenever I jiggled her she went off to sleep but not for long. At 10pm I put on my white noise app on my iPad, I put the heartbeat sound on, her body relaxed in my arms immediately ad she fell straight off into a deep sleep (she clasped her hands together and minutes later they were in the air above her head).

I kept the heartbeat noise going all night, she woke at 2am briefly and 5.30am. Feeding wasn't as easy as she kept falling asleep on me.

It could be a coincidence of course but I'm going with this womb noise placater! This ne'er worked for DS, oly the Hoover would.

Point being mamapo, maybe try some noise like that for baby in the evening, K was giving me some hellish nights and not wanting to settle, worth a try?

Welcome hales! Just to add to the other advice, this article has some good tips:

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2005/mar/30/familyandrelationships.healthandwellbeing

afro which app do you have with the heartbeat noise on it? I have a white noise app but it doesn't have a heartbeat and I really want to get one to try on O..

Welcome hales - I had mastitis, have you got anti-biotics? It took 2 doses to get rid of mine. It does ease after a few days just keep feeding (and gritting your teeth) through the pain. Also hot compress as you're feeding makes it easier. Also massage your boobs when you're in the shower - wish you better!

seymore great link, a couple of friends have been to the oxford clinic and speak very highly of it. there's some interesting stuff in the article though without having to go to oxford.

peony i co-sleep (reluctantly -started when C was ill and couldn't breathe lying down - now he won't sleep anywhere but with me) and take DS with me to the bathroom in the morning - pop him in his rocker and the noise of the shower lulls him back to quiet if not sleep.

must get DS to sleep somewhere else soon, DH has sadly said he misses me even though he's next to me all night.

would love to fb too, will try to pm

hope today's a good day all around

Thanks Afro - I do have an app but she's not been interested in it before. She's normally quite easy to feed and settle - I suspect this is a growth spurt and hope it doesn't last too long. There's a limit to what I can cope with.

Welcome hales

DD's at nursery and I should probably sleep but all I want to do is clean the kitchen!

I could start an AIBU today and probably get flamed and hundreds of posts... I just pulled up opposite my house and there was an elderly (not frail) lady walking past. I got out of the car, got the changing bag out of the back and went to get DS out of the car and she asked me for a lift to the shop (not far, just round the corner). I said no, because ds needed feeding and I wanted to get him in. I was a bit UR wasn't I?

My reasoning is that she could walk better than me. I had just got in, if I had been going out it might have been a bit different. I only have one spare seat in the car and that's in the back and covered in everything I own important stuff. By the time I had walked to my front door she was already at the end of the road (halfway to the shop). Are the whole village going to hate me now?! I have never seen this lady before....

I am tired today!

Edward was hard to settle and was on a feeding mission! I feel knackered and like I am on a go slow now!

Thank you Secondsop i'll be trying that today, fingers crossed it works. Seymour that article is interesting i have rang the breast feeding support lady and she is coming out to check that Heidi is latched on properly.

Bella, i'm on the 1st set on antibiotics now, they've helped with the redness and sorted my temperature out just waiting for the breast to return to normal and the pain to stop.

This thread is really interesting because my family all seem to blame me breast feeding for Heidi's poor sleeping and the amount shes up to feed. Constantly quoting if shes not getting enough shes going to try and feed from you. This is despite her gaining weight and having ALOT of dirty nappies. So its really reassuring to see that other mothers are up just as much as we are. Although at the time i feel like we're the only people up haha

spotty a complete stranger randomly asked you for a lift when you had just got home with a baby in tow and were in the process of getting him inside? You were not unreasonable AT ALL to say no. Did she say why she was asking, eg was she struggling to walk in some way and was in desperate straits? If so, then not entirely unreasonable of her to ask for help, but neither was it unreasonable for you to say no.

No, she just kept asking me! She was completely able bodied, didn't have any walking aids and it's not raining

Spotty don't feel bad for saying no, its weird that a stranger would ask for a lift anyway. Plus in this day and age you can't trust strangers. They managed to get from their home to near the shop so they were obviously mobile enough. Plus everyone knows a hungry baby takes priority

It IS weird for a stranger to ask for a lift, yes. I think this is the thing I struggle with about it - it wasn't a normal "putting somebody out but hoping they'll help anyway" request. It was a weird request!

spotty I actually laughed that she expected you to! I could understand if she was in a LOT of pain having a heart attack
Right will attempt honey I'm crap at linking and stuff like that.
4 weeks old today eeek.
Welcome (on phone, forgotten name, so sorry )

Thanks for the article. I had got a bit lazy with his latch, as he appeared to have it spot on, I will be doing the nipple to nose again and see if that helps.

And yes it is weird for a stranger to do that!

Seymore thanks for the article! It looks really interesting, I will definitely be giving the advice about letting baby terminate the feed a go!

Eggs I've been shown to sort of squeeze my nipple and then tickle him with it, shoving it in at the right moment (when his mouth is big and wide) and supporting (almost pushing on) his head at the same time. Latch seems fine here but I'm going to experiment with letting him terminate the feed.

Thanks everyone I don't feel bad anymore! Just eating some mini eggs. Ds has been awake all morning so no nap for me!

Nutella that's the way I've been taugh too, but to tickle just under the nose so he can smell the milk. I've had a practice, and I'm sure his latch is spot on but I will continue and see if it makes a difference tonight.