July 2013 - Part 1. Remember your pelvic floor exercises!

[TotallyEggFlipped]

Time to start the post-natal thread.

And start those PELVIC FLOOR EXERCISES!

worse 24 hours ever! DH was away, I was on my own for the day.. I picked up a bug (really, really, bad..'both ends') I had to get my mum to come home from work to look after LO because poor thing was screaming when I was being sick.

DH came back around 5ish and hadnt had any sleep (really grouchy), he's looking after LO all night. Im really worried about BFing I think my supply has stopped because Im not leaking?

I feed elka at the start of this sickness (1pm-2pm sunday) hopefully she's got a bumper amount of protection from it.. DH keeps making me stay away but I read if I bf her she will have protection

also, being sick postpartum- no stomach muscles and two broken ribs? yeah..really fun.

Nexus - try to keep up your fluids if you can. Dehydration will reduce your supply. Bfing will give Elka some protection but you need to be scrupulous about cleaning your hands thoroughly before holding her, not kissing her, not having her near you when you are being sick. Really hope it was a 24 hour bug and you feel v better soon.

Persuasion - the more your little one feeds, and the bigger she gets, shell get better at coping with your fast let down. Am glad the first bottle experience went well for you.

Pants, Nexus. What a nightmare. I hope you're feeling better and you haven't passed it on.

Sounds like you had a great weekend, dinky. I hope J slept as well as his big brothers.

Both girls still getting temperatures over night, but responding to paracetamol/ibuprofen. Better night than the one before. Up with each of them twice. DD1 has been up since 5 though, so we're going to head to my parents for the day so I can get some help from my dad if needed. (my mum's away).

How sell nexus. Godly it'll be over soon for you. Apparently stress can stop your milk letting down so it doesn't necessarily mean your milk has gone altogether. If you do try to feed try to make sure you are as relaxed and hydrated as possible (and all dinky's advice sounds good)

Dinky that's what I keep telling myself about the let down. It is getting easier and I'm desperate to keep going. How did J sleep, any improvement?

I've had a great night, she went for hours between feeds, twice. Sleep is underrated, I feel very much perkier than I remembered was possible!

I should really read posts through I have no idea what 'how sell' was supposed to be, something sympathetic! Godly=hopefully.

And cross posted with totally. Glad you had a better night and have some support.

It was less than 24 hours luckily- my whole family have got it, super rubbish. I've been bfing this morning, she didn't feed off me in the night and I've dettol'ed the bathroom. Such a bloody nusance!

Thanks for the info and the support- ill stay calm and bf her as much as I can. Hope dh doesn't get it too!

This place has gone so quiet! Glad the bug was only 24hr nexus, and I hope the temperatures go quickly for you totally.

We had a better night. C's going through an endless feeding phase where she's on and off the boob for 1.5hrs at a time, but last night we got some decent sleep chunks which has refreshed us all

I hope everyone's days are filled with naps and smiles

DS1 and DS2 had to battle with my fast let down too Persuasion - I bf DS1 till 18 months and DS2 till 26 months old (morning and night only when I returned to work) and they didnt blink an eye at the let down after 4 months old.

Glad you've recovered from the bug Nexus - sorry the rest of the family are down with it though. Hope the girls are fully recovered now Totally.

Last night J finally succumbed to sleep just before 10, woke at 2 and then 4 then just before 6 so a good night. Though did an explosive poo across mat clothes and DH when DH was changing him this morning which was less good!

Hello ladies!
I haven't been on here for a while. Just been catching up.
Shelley hope you feel better soon.
Nexus glad you are well.

I'm struggling with the bf milk supply and currently mixed feeding. I have upped my fluid intake and hopefully that will resolve soon. I was so desperate last week and visited holland and Barrett in search for supplements that can help but found none.

Hi just wanted to say to those who have been having problems with milk supply that stress really does affect supply. When theo was in scbu and stopped breathing I was expressing and that day I barely got any milk! I know it's a bit of an extreme example but really showed me what a difference it can make!

N seems much better this afternoon. She's much less clingy than yesterday and normal temperature. DD1 still getting a temp when she's not fully drugged up, up to 39C & pretty cranky (as you'd expect), but eating well & in good form when her temperature is down. So hopefully N is over it at least.

Glad you're over the bug, Nexus.

I've no advice to add for those who are struggling with supply.

Check out the Dr jack Newman website and kellymom Silver - some great advice on increasing supply on there. Fennel tea and cardamom tea good for supply too.

J is 6 weeks old and has spent today feeding, choking, chundering and mostly screaming. Ho hum. Did do his footprints with ds2 at arts cafe today(J mostly screamed through that too).

Dinky Theo has screamed every evening for the past week it's very stressful and horrid listening to them cry when there is nothing you can do (although I still blame the reflux!) isn't it! I've decamped to my mums for a few days as I've found it hard to juggle cooking and eating while holding Theo, not had screaming this eve so hoping its just been a short phase.

Utmost sympathies Beginning. J basically screamed all easy today - including screaming himself to sleep on me twice (and then screaming himself awake too). I feel sorry for ds2 who just wants to play with me (no nanny at present as she's on holiday and ds1 can entertain himself) but can't play as trying to pacify j, do house stuff and sort out stuff for our holiday on Friday. Evenings aren't too bad here as j has usually screamed himself to sleep on me by half eight.

Thanks for the advice re: milk supply.

J screams when he is hungry and can't get any milk from the breast. It's very frustrating and on many occasions I've come close to crying but have managed to compose myself. It makes me feel inadequate.

Beginning hope the screaming stays away.

Dinky, I have managed to keep DS2 engaged by involving him in the baby care activities such as passing me a nappy or singing for J. Though this only works when J is relatively settled as his screams just upset Ds2.

Totally glad to hear that N is feeling better.

Checking in so the thread doesn't disappear. Sorry to hear about the unsettled screaming babies.no advice really just sympathy - ds was like this for four long months. Was awful that we couldn't do anything to calm him. He's still over emotional now!

Second the advice given about milk supply. along with lots of StS, feeding on demand, fenugreek, drinking and resting lots I'm not really sure what else you can do without medicine! I've also read that dark chocolate is good . Feeding F seems to be going ok as far as weight gain goes, but she feeds so little (compared to big sister) that I still worry.

Hope you have a good holiday dinky and hope those with poorly older dcs are doing well now.

Checked N's temperature this morning and it was 38.5, so we're waiting for a call back from the GP. She doesn't seem to have any other symptoms though and is feeding well etc.
DD1 still has a temperature too, so I don't think I can send her to nursery tomorrow. I like nursery days almost as much as she does because it's the only one-on-one time I get with N and my only chance to get things done.

Hope gp gets back to you quickly totally
I didn't have a screamy Theo last night I had a smiley chatty boy, unfortunately it was 3am! Good job he is cute!

My angel child seems to have morphed into a grouch, not sure what to blame, 3 week growth spurt well and truly gone and way too early for 6 week one. Think perhaps she's just getting more awake and I haven't managed to work out how much stimulation she can cope with yet. When she's crying its not hunger or tiredness and she doesn't really seem to be in pain, just fussing, am hoping its just another phase that will pass.

Saw the nurse practitioner & got N checked out. Probably just a virus like I suspected, but glad I got someone else to look at her.

Beginning - DD1 did that 3am thing the other day. I kept telling her to go back to sleep (she was in my bed after a bad dream & feeling unwell), but half of me was happy to see her so happy and playful. It's hard to mind too much when they're smiling back at you, even when you are completely knackered.

lancs - it will pass. She might just be overtired. We had a day like that when N suddenly transitioned from being sleepy all day to being wide awake.

Glad you got N checked out Totally and hope the virus passes soon for both your girls - and you and DH avoid it too.

Lancslass - remind yourself, its all just a phase! Your littleone will be back to smiley and cooing soon.

Shelley - glad F's feeding is going well. Maybe she's just a more efficient feeder than her big sister. J feeds more than DS2 did, less than DS1 - but they were all exactly the same weight at 5 and a bit weeks according to their red books.

Thanks Silver - DS2 loves J and distracts him during nappy changes, tells me what to dress him in, "reads" to him and plays with him (including trying to get him to stop crying) but he also wants quality mummy only time playing too which I just cant give him as much right now as trying to cram everything into the few hours a day I dont have J in my arms. However, keep reminding myself this too is just a stage which will pass... eventually.

Sorry no personals...sounds like a few of us having some stressful times at the mo. DD is getting a bit better at the feeding but wants to comfort feed constantly in the eve and even if I let her she still comes off and cries. It's pretty much either continuous crying all eve but then she'll sleep quite well over night or encourage her to sleep but then the nights are much worse! We're still finding bedsharing the way to go at night. More sleep all round. Also been getting more and more smiles in response to things (not just randomly at blank wall etc). Makes all the tricky bits not matter v much!

Hope you had a better night than us...

Sophia is 6wks today and I think we've had our worst night yet!
Bless her she was suffering from trapped wind in her gut even though we thought we'd massaged it out of her in the evening ( lots of farts and a nice soft belly), she then slept in her swaddle pod for 2hrs (or when I woke up she was already squirming away so don't know how long she slept). I rubbed her stomach and she did a poo and I thought we would finally all get some sleep but no - she woke 45 mins later and continued on/off for the rest of the night.

Have picked up gripe water and started that last night but think the gas was already in gut so didn't help. Spoke to hv this morning and she said about using infolcol as well - tried giving her this before but struggled getting it into her. But going to have to be really strict with it for all our sakes.

Not a great night here either. J soaked his bed twice, and was quite fussy about his feeding. It got really humid then poured with rain, which came through the bay window roof into the living room.

Dh is home for a fortnight after being offshore and is driving me nuts. Anyone else's never seem to see what needs done and have to be asked/told? He good at making the dinner, but even then all my sleep deprived brain can see is the mess in the kitchen...

We're going Edinburgh for the weekend and the idea is stressing me out a bit.

Must go, just heard a large squelch...