April 2013 - We've all had our babies now. Let the (hard work) fun commence!

[HadALittleFaithBaby]

Thought I'd take the liberty of starting a new thread since the last one filled. So mark your places, get comfy and prepare for a few sleepless nights!

In particular we think of Empress and little Sam - hoping and praying he's coming home! :)

Baby Essex slept well, just fed again but I on the other hand hurt-a lot! I did buggy boot camp yesterday, the first bit of exercise in probably a year, every muscle in my body including those I didn't know I had hurt! Also off to a day hen do of a 'Beyonce dance class' today, not a good look!!!!

Well I can't believe my luck. N slept from 10.30 to 6.30. I still feel tired. Couldn't get to sleep until 1am.

I had my postnatal check at 8 weeks, midwife/hv didn't mention it and when I booked it, receptionist asked who's it meant to be with?!? Standard checks re maternal physical and mental plus family planning.

Faith - hope you feel better quick. I share your pain. I've had to have root canal over 3 weeks whilst BF - not good. It's hard enough!!

I've stopped dream feeding - didn't feel it necessary. LO makes up for it.

Hope you all had a good night. In laws popping round early this morning so no rest for the wicked and then heading off to a performance car show.

P.s I absolutely love my new post baby booty (junk)... It's almost Beyonce... Shaking it with an achy stiff body is another thing. X

enjay they did my postnatal check at the same time as H's 8 week check. Mine was totally pointless. She asked how I am and about contraception. Doc didn't check my CS wound or do BP. Luckily H's was more thorough!

Did another run last night. That's three this week! Didn't even manage that when I only had one child - never mind two!

Seriously impressed with those of you doing all this running and stuff! I am still two dress sizes bigger than pre-pregnancy, joys.

All good here, DD still doing eight hours or so every night, just goes to show it is luck as we haven't done anything different to when DS was that age.

Not much else to report, but am enjoying lurking!

enjay I had the same experience as sneezy, the Dr asked if I was depressed and if I needed any contraceptives! No checking of c-section scar, no check of BP even though I had preeclampsia!

ellies I'm still a bit too big for most of my pre-preg clothes too. I was never into sport / running/ gym and I can't see it happening anytime soon! I might get my hula hoop out again though.
I treated myself to 6 vests today, I'm doing the vest under top method for breastfeeding, but still haven't managed to buy any real clothes!

I'm looking for some help/advice and support really. Have also posted this in the feeding thread.

My DD is 7 wks and I breast feed on demand except she has one bottle of formula before bed and has done since week 2. (Please don't critisise me! It means she sleeps for 6 solid hours at night and I feel more human for it!)

All has been going really well until this last week, she is breast feeding from both sides untill it seems that there is nothing left and then still seems totally unsatisfied.

So at one feed (2.5hrs since the one before) I expressed and fed from a bottle to see how much she was getting. The problem being I only got 1 - 1.5 oz off each side! Surely that's not enough for her, I have done this a couple of times over the last few days and it is pretty much the same each time. I feel like I should give formula top ups to make sure she has enough but I know this will effect my milk supply even further.

HELP!

I feel like I'm beginning to fail her and I really want to carry on breastfeeding.

faith and pear I hope you feel better soon. It's tough enough without feeling rotten/having a root canal, sending you positive vibes.

Hats off to all those doing exercise. I was meaning to go to an active mums group the other day and then found myself sitting on the sofa scoffing biscuits while BF instead, whoops.

Well we made it to the wedding in Manchester and lived to tell the tail. It was a 5 journey that involved 3 trains and getting across London but T was a dream and it was really easy. She has been great all day and is now asleep on me in our hotel room while I await the return of a tipsy DH from the reception.

Fingers crossed we all get good nights x

Keys - I'm doing the same thing, BF on demand (approx. every 3-4 hours) plus DH gives DS a bottle of formula in the evening so I get a break and he sleeps for a longish stretch.

It sounds like your DD might be going through a growth spurt at the moment. If you keep on BF as often as she wants, your milk supply should adjust after a few days. Expressing milk is less effective than when the baby feeds directly from you so the amount you can express is less than your DD will be getting when she is BFing IYSWIM. I wouldn't worry about expressing but just keep feeding, feeding, feeding for a few more days and you'll probably find it will settle down.

Above all, BFing is hard work, so well done for getting this far. The first few weeks are the hardest but it does get easier honestly!

Keys is she putting on weight and getting lots of wet nappies?

Also agree on growth spurt, baby Essex at 6 weeks had a couple of days of crazy feeding, literally like every hour then it stopped as soon as it started and he became a lot more regular. Apparently they get you ready to give them more milk by feeding more often so in a couple of days you are producing more milk then they regulate that until the next growth spurt and they do the same again, quite magic and amazing! So def stick with it unless you think baby is not putting on weight then speak to HV.

keys the amount you can express bears little relation to the amount your baby will be getting when they feed! Babies are super effective at getting milk out of the breast, a pump (even a fancy hospital grade one) can't latch & suck even half as well! If baby is gaining weight and plenty of wet / dirty nappies then all is well.
I can't express much at a time and in the last 2w my baby put on 20oz!
You're doing a great job :)

keys excellent advice above. Your breasts are never empty as such and some women can't express a drop. It's your baby's way of increasing your supply as her requirements increase. Keep feeding as much as you can.

teapig glad wedding such a success!

I am utterly exhausted after a 6 day 'holiday' with the girls, DH working. We drove down to visit my parents which was lovely but quite stressful as dad had a big op 7 weeks ago so I had to try and stop them disturbing him, take them out lots etc. Then we saw my old antenatal group on the way back home which was lovely. We stayed the night with one of them. The 'babies' are now 2 (April 2011) and it is wonderful to watch them growing up together.

enjay 6 week check for you should be BP/contraception/ check bleeding settled, all healed if tear or C Section scar/check for PND/discuss when smear is due as a minimum.

C is feeding every 2-2.5 hours during the day. She seems to either be totally content or screaming with hung, not much in the middle. I drove back home today and stopped at services to feed both girls. As soon as I took C out car seat all hell broke loose and I ended up joining the queue in costa with them both crying, sigh. Lovely lady behind me asked if I was by myself then told me to sit down, ordered me a coffee and brought it over while I fed C and refused to let me pay for it! :)

keys, I can't really add to everyone's great advice but I do know how it feels. You're doing a great job, keep on going. Wet nappies and weight gain are what I rely on to gauge things. When I think how little I can express I find the weight gain amazing but as others have said that doesn't correlate with how much baby gets per feed. Keep on going it does get easier.

too, it sounds like you need a holiday after your 'holiday'. I hope your dad is doing well. Thank heavens for the lovely lady at Costa.

Well it's 2am and T and DH are both sound asleep while I'm wide awake. DH got sozzled at the wedding reception so I expect he is going to struggle with early morning happy changes whilst hung over, that'll teach him

Keys - I would add to the others advice with 2 points:

1. A lot of women feel the same as you around the 6-8 week mark, and give up breastfeeding as a result. Don't! Your body knows what it is doing! (Unless baby isn't weeing/putting on weight normally, in which case speak to your GP/HV). Also ignore any lack of engorgement, s again that is totally normal at nearly 8 weeks as your supply will be regulating itself by now.

1. If anyone is giving you grief about giving one bottle a day, just breathe deeply, and remind yourself that at least you will be very unlikely to have a bottle refuser in a few months time.

Keys when did you last get her weighed? It might help to see how she's gaining. Fwiw I express daily for an evening bottle and average getting off 3oz. I'm happy she's getting enough - she tells me if she's still hungry! I doubt anyone will judge you on this thread for giving one FF a day! We are all just doing the best we can to feed our babies.

I am currently doing a feed - can't quite believe she went down at 8.15 and woke to feed at 5! I worry she goes too long overnight but again I'm sure if she's hungry she'd say. We're getting plenty of wet and pooey nappies (managed two days without gaviscon and she pooed for England!). Think ill get her weighed tomorrow for reassurance. I know she's gained but maybe not as much as previous weigh ins where she jumped centiles,

Thanks for the get well wishes, I think I'm over the worst. Will have a quiet day today though!

too what a nice lady! Restores your faith in people, doesn't it?!

tea hope you got some sleep!

Well, I can confirm that a dream feed doesn't make a blind bit of difference, F just wants to play the dummy game for an hour instead! I feel more tired than if I'd jst let her sleep thru and wake to feed her at 4. Ended up feedin anyway to settle her again!

keys sounds like your doing a great job. Can't really add to advice already given!

tea save the smelly ones for dh jst so u can feel better!

Keys - all good advice here nothing more to add other than my experience. i thought I was going mad when LO was feeding every 45min - 1.5 hours for 4 days of week 8-9!! Turns out it was a growth spurt and my boobs started to feel full again soon after it was over. I too tried expressing and only got 1.5 ounce from each boob but that's no reflection of what he's was sucking out. Nappies were healthy and weight gain good. i Let my LO go on the breast as often as poss, these cluster feeds didn't last long and my boobs adjusted to his requirements.

Not a great night last night for me. 11.45-5am.

Kudos to you ladies who are managing to get holidays / weddings in. I'm still a bit nervous of long journeys with my LO and I only have 1.

Thanks for experimenting enjay! Not sure I will bother!

keys you definitely won't express as much as baby is actually getting.

S had been difficult these last few days and seems unsettled. We have lost our longer periods between feeds overnight, has been taking smaller but more frequent feeds during the day and harder to settle/get to sleep. Suspect this is a growth spurt? We are knackered! (7weeks).

hi everyone still lurking and not having a lot of time to post.
can I ask aboit pnd? can it manifest in different ways, I feel like I have to worry about something to stay sane but my anxieties sre getting on top of me now and I cant enjoy ds2. anyone feeling the same?
ds 2 had his 12 week injections then came out in a rash and started coughing. thought he was having an allergic reaction to it but then a few days later ds1 started with a rash and is snotty now so must just be a virus.
does anyone else co sleep? when are you looking at getting your babies into their own cot. ds2 sleeps reasonably well but wakes up for a cuddle from time to time just thinking if I'm going to get him in his own bed maybe I shouldn't cuddle him in the night

giddy I was diagnosed with pnd at about 3 weeks. I felt overwhelmed and constantly anxious, being exhausted also didn't help. If you are finding your anxiety is taking over I would encourage you to speak to someone (dr/hv/local support group - I did all 3!) - everyone I have seen has been very supportive x

giddy yes it can manifest itself in different ways. My GP was a bit concerned because when I went for my 6 week check my anxiety was sky high and I was having invasive thoughts (I have to say this is 'again', I had anxiety issues in the past with invasive thoughts). I went back two weeks later and the sleep and feeding had improved radically so I was better in myself. I would go to your GP to discuss your symptoms - they'll get you to do a depression and anxiety questionnaire and take it from there.

Delighted to say Faithlet settled at 8.15 and slept til 5 and my symptoms subsided overnight so I'm feeling loads better today! :) enjay I too thank you for the wisdom of your experience - for now at least I'm just going to continue on demand feeding.

thanks faith and photo wjat are invasive thoughts are they that voice in your head that keeps saying that something is wrong even though it's not. the one that makes you worry unnecessarily?

I keep thinking that I have some heinous life limiting illness and keep symptom spotting of course the more you look the more you see I know its ridiculous but just cant seem to shake that dark cloud. but I dont have the courage to tell anyone the hv asked if I was ok last week my head was screaming to tell her what was going on but all that came out was oh yes im fine

giddy mine are like mini films in my mind. I imagine cutting my wrists (I never have) and when I had her I imagined stuff happening to her - like me dropping her on the kitchen floor tiles are smashing her head in Those have stopped now I'm getting decent chunks of sleep. Panicked thoughts about baby sound like a similar process. I actually found just telling my GP reduced my symptoms. Please, please tell you HV or GP! If you can't say it, try writing it down for them. Whether its PND or health anxiety this can be managed if you ask for help. Oh and it's not ridiculous. Having a baby is the most intense experience I've ever been through (and I've had some knocks including losing a parent) so it's understandable that sometimes there can be things just can't just shake off.

giddy it's definately best to share how your feeling. You may find that the very act of sharing your feelings in RL helps and your GP or HV can help make sure you get the right support.

FWIW I think this is a time of anxiety for a lot of women with or without pnd. I often find horrible scenarios flashing through my mind: dropping baby, her being snatched, even worrying about bullying when she's older. You name it I worry about it. I find though sharing these feelings really helps so do talk to your hv or gp x

Giddy, you are not alone. I had terrible anxiety after DD and it was getting worse as I tried to ignore it and cope. I am not the best person at expressing my inner feelings and felt awkward telling the GP, as though they'd de me incapable of looking after DD. but it did help, not straight away, I did see a counsellor who had some really helpful ways of managing my anxiety. I talk to my DH about it and a good friend and I took up Pilates as a good way to calm and centre myself. It is rearing it's ugly head again the last two weeks and I have an appointment to see the therapist/counsellor privately in two weeks. I think everyone has it to varying degrees, sometimes it just overwhelms you. You aren't a bad person for having these feelings and you aren't alone.

Wilf is on day 2 of no poo at 8 weeks old. He is on a growth spurt as he is demand feeding quite often and my boobs are feeling full and achey.

I had a bra free Sunday, it was lush. Joggers and an old tshirt, bad weather, so loafing about the house. DD went to grannys house to play

giddy - I think the experts agree that you can't really spoil them at this age, and actually you are probably really helping your little one by cuddling back to sleep rather than always feed