Martians 2014 (and the February early arrivals)

[LyraSilvertongue]

I expect it will be quiet in here for a while with only four Martians born so far and it not even being March yet

Those who have popped so far:
Coolhand
Dabarai
LyraSilvertongue
Wuxiapian

Just back from the docs - mastitis

Picking up anti-biotics now...

mrsm snap! I've got it too, went to the docs yesterday about it. Hoping the antibiotics kick in quickly! On top of that DD has hit her 6 week growth spurt a few days early so my "good" boob is getting ravaged. I can't feed off the infected boob as it's too swollen so am having to express.

Aww hugs for you Mrsmugoo, I hope it clears up soon.

Hope the mastitis clears up quickly for both of you - it sounds horrible.

Puggywug - I found expressing very slow at first but it's now much quicker, whether due to practice or increased milk production I don't know.

Hope the mastitis clears up quickly for you both!

Thanks folks.

On expressing, the lactation consultant said you'll never get as much out expressing as you would feeding and a low yield is not an indicator of low supply - some people just don't respond to expressing. She said you'll always get more first thing in the morning and the least at night.

Thanks Imeg and Franken I'm glad there is some light at the end of the expressing tunnel.

Hi all
So, potentially controversial question... would anyone think of putting their LO into their own room at the tender age of 8 weeks?
DH asked me this morning - after another night of waking briefly every time DS snorts/fidgets/gurgles in his sleep - what the purpose of having the baby in its parents' room actually is. He wonders if we can't start to think about making 'the change'.
We have a good baby monitor, and a friend assured us that they made 'the change' at 2 months and never looked back... their LO was a noisy sleeper and the mum was getting no sleep as she was a light sleeper. We'd obviously still hear him, but would only need to get up for the noises we're now familiar with as meaning 'attend to me, parent!'.
Our DS usually goes down for 3 hours between feeds/waking now... I don't know what to do. DH has been amazing since the beginning, so for him to broach this subject must mean it's important to him.
What are your thoughts?

I am struggling with this too - lots of noise in his sleep, and I'm a really light sleeper, even when exhausted, and I'm doing all the nights on my own so the tiredness is really getting to me now. I am quite certain I would wake up if he cried next door. Might ask health visitor about it.

Hi all, hope those of you with mastitis are feeling better. Think I may have given my last bf this morning. Was 21 hours since I last fed him, and was a bit full but not too bad, so he just had a few minutes on each side followed by a ff. Am planning to start medication in the next couple of days so was planning to stop bf over the weekend. Feeling a bit sad but it's for good reasons.

Re sleeping arrangements I think the reason the advice is to have baby in with you is that there is a theory that hearing you breathe regulates their breathing pattern, and may reduce the risk of SIDS. Think this is why the advice is also to have them near you during the day. So it's not just about hearing them if they wake. Is tricky though if they are noisy sleepers and disturbing you.

Yeah, Once, that's the reason I have when DH asked why they have to be in with you! I don't want to risk it if it's too early tricky.

Im lucky that i only hear him when he stirs amd wants feeding, unless of course he is just a quiet sleeper lol but he is only 4 weeks old so perhaps will start to explore his voice a bit more as he gets older!? I think ill feel a little sad when he eventually goes into his own room and havent really thought about when that will be yet....
I have been putting Jack upstairs to sleep during the day (well pm really) then he goes up for bath feed and bed around 8pm ish, im worried now that he should be with me more according to the guidlines!?? I wanted to try and get him into a routine (i know it seems early but my dsil had an absolute nightmare with hers as she didnt adopt any routine) so i was keen to avoid that!

once Im pleased to hear the change over is going well, sorry your feeling sad about it!
I found it so painful coz he wouldnt latch correctly i couldnt wait to stop it was such a relief but i can understand why you feel like that.

Well we experienced a full on poonami today!! ds hadn't had a poo since yesterday afternoon - very unusually. Filled his nappy this morning - when I looked was literally a lake of poo in his nappy and was everywhere! Was just debating whether it would be easier to bath him when he went again!! I was too slow to cover him up and a jet of runny poo shot across the changing mat, across the room as far as the wall!!! Don't think the carpet will ever recover and it was definitely a bath job for ds!!

mummytobe we did exactly that with ds1 he always slept upstairs in a dark room. I am keeping ds2 downstairs as per guidelines but its not ideal. 4 year old ds1 finds it very difficult to leave ds2 alone when he's asleep, or to be a bit quieter!!

Lol once thats formula feeding for you i believe. Jack went two days without pooing then went a bit crazy. Hope your carpet and walls survive

Its really difficult knowing whats best as im sure as babies we were all left upstairs to sleep and my mum says we slept on our fronts...its amazing how much things change!

I think it's so confusing as there is so much conflicting advice on everything and it is constantly changing, I think we just need to remember it is only guidelines and every baby is different.

Edward is now doing one ginormous poo explosion per day which invariably takes out his whole outfit. He spends hours straining and griping and then out it comes. Bless him.

We've avoided poo explosions so far but I feel today could be the day with C meeting my grandma in her nice Easter outfit!

Re the sleeping - it's so hard to know what to do but ultimately you know what's best for your family. C is such a noisy sleeper and while I'm definitely not ready for her to be in her own room just yet I really can't see us making it to the recommended six months.

Yesterday we managed a bath without blood curdling screaming, progress!

Anyone still struggling with BF? Almost 6 weeks in now and I really thought it would be getting easier now but he is still fussing and taking multiple attempts to latch each time that public BF is such a gamble of if it will be a nightmare!

I'm also suffering from mastitis and recurring plugged ducts that are agony plus over supply means I'm uncomfortable between feeds and he chokes and splutters on the boob and gives himself wind.

I've tried expressing a bit off first and laid back nursing - nothing makes a real noticeable difference.

For the plugged ducts I'm doing hot compresses, massages in scalding baths and hand expressing but they just come back. I always do block feeding as he only ever takes one side at a time anyway.

I'm really down in the dumps over it this weekend :(

Re:sleeping - I enjoy having him in our room next to me and am edging closer to co-sleeping as I alway seem to bring him in with me and its getting earlier and earlier I might as well just snuggle in with him at the start of the night!

Oh mrs :(. I'm sure other BFers will be along with advice or just to tell you they're feeling the same! Have you had any support from a lactation consultant/la leche etc?

Not yet, just advice from HV and MW at the local BF support group - I don't really want to pay for a LC but getting really desperate now! I'm not going to give up but it's so draining :(

Mrsmugoo, we are also 6 weeks in and
I had a rubbish few days of feeding this week but some information from the kellymom website seems to have helped us. I tried the breast compression as baby ticked three of the boxes from the page below (poor weight gain, long and frequent feeds). It has helped me tell when he's really swallowing and when he is just sucking without actually drinking. I also think it's made him open his mouth wider and so helped the latch. Since I've made sure he keeps actually drinking the feeds have been much more efficient - average 40 mins rather than hours of feeding continuously. Admittedly this would be tricky to do in public but I don't seem to need to do the compression so often anymore so I think he's getting the hang of it for himself. I'm sure we will come across some other hurdle but for the moment we are doing better.
www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8:breast-compression&catid=5:information&Itemid=17

mrsm you are definitely not the only one struggling. DD is 6 weeks tomorrow and we've had, quite frankly, a horrid week. Like you I've had mastitis and while the antibiotics are kicking in now I had a few really bad days. DD won't latch on to the infected boob as the nipple has been stretched flat by the swelling, so I've no choice but to pump by hand and massage in the shower.

In the midst of all this DD hasn't pooed for 3 days and is obviously uncomfortable as she cries a lot then let's out a massive fart! The lack of poo doesn't bother me yet, she went 5 days without one when 2 weeks old, but she's obviously uncomfortable.

The thing that has helped me today is staying in my PJs and alternating cabbage leaves in my bra with warm compresses!

Can you get to a local BF support group? There are lots around and they might be able to watch you feed and help out with any issues.

Hi Frankel, yep sounds like we're in a similar boat!

I went to the BF support group last week and was told latch and positioning fine. They advised to try nipple shields to help heal my cracked nipple but he flat out refused to have them in his mouth!

At the moment I am horribly engorged because my supply has gone up to accommodate this massive growth spurt he's been on for the last week or so and I'm away from home with no breast pump (lesson learnt!) so I am abut to retreat to the bath to try to hand express. Doesn't help that he is getting horrible tummy gripes after every feed which result in an hour of fussing and grizzling after each feed to try to get his farts out. I've been giving him gripe water. I tried infacol but it didn't do much.

Small mercies is that he all of a sudden seems to be latching easier and without me having to shove my boob in his mouth and hold it there.

I just wish I wasn't in such horrific discomfort all the damn time!

Hugs to you Frankel