September 2006 babies

[Lysettes]

Start of our september 2006 post natal thread!

Hiya!!
Congrats to everyone!! Yay a post natal thread
Katie's doing great. 8 weeks old tomorrow & should hit 8lbs this week (last Wednesday weighed in at 7lb8ozs). She's feeding every 3/4 hrs (depending on how long she's awake for during the day). Little madam has decided after a huge feed, to lay there, smile & coo for a good couple of hours instead of sleeping lol.
Oh there she goes, feeding time.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Love & hugs to all xx

yeah apparently it's easier to stitch up that way.....

also even though jacob was a section baby they still had to use forceps on him - the surgeon said "we're using them because technically he's what's referred to as a wriggler!"

night feeds aren't so bad - he's pretty much 3/4 hours and we're weaning him onto 3/4 hours again during the day. we have to bottle feed him at night because, like his mum, he takes a long time to wake up properly - i'd be BF all night!

Heard from the dietician today that we don't ahve to use the fortifying powder any more which is one less different bottle to prepare, as he's put on so much weight. Weigh in this afternoon so we'll see if he can pee all over the nurse again

Marls I heard the same thing for stitches.

We tried me in the bath with Jacob yesterday and he was a little better - part of the problem at the moment is that he's sleeping so much still when we bath him we do it when we catch him awake and it's basically when he's hungry....

hairdryer to help heal? hmmm. I'm sticking to lavendar baths, much nicer...

LOL about the "wriggler"!

Lysettes, you're probably right about the crying at bath time and feeding. Fraser managed to even sleep through his bath the other night. Interesting tactic. I hope Jacob has put on more weight today, and that he gets the nurse in the eye!! . F is going to be weighed tomorrow. He has an increasingly fat chin, so I'm hopeful of progress. Certainly feels like I have turned into a milk machine again with all this feeding.

Just wanted to stick my head in. Lizzie is very hungry and as my milk hasn't come in yetshe is on the breast almost constantly so I'm shattered today.

Luckily, I don't have stitches to worry about but I do have the worst piles imaginable! It is literally like there is four large grapes sticking out of my bum! Ouch!!! Hope they improve soon.

I'llcatch up better tomorrow, promise

Phew found you all
Luckily no stiches here, just a tear that isn't giving me any trouble as yet. Beth is 5 days old now. Likes to sleep a lot in the day and settles well after a feed but at night is harder to settle. I find that if I try and wind her after a feed it wakes her up and thwen she's hard to put down again - how do others manage this? We've resorted to the dummy so far and swaddling at night.
Think my milk is in now. Feel tired and weepy a lot, ds is being a star but I miss having my evenings after he goes to bed already!! Guess it just takes a while to get used to the newborn stage again!!

i didnt know about this!
how do you lot find the time to get on?

ds just feeds and feeds all the time!! luckily im not too sore but am very tired. he doesnt go 3/4 hours between feeds at night like most of your los do. he sleeps better in the day.
he was weighed today and has gained 400g in 4 days so i must be doing something right!!
im so pleased especially after what happened with ds1 and his jaundice.
i give him a boob and goes for about 15/20 mins then comes off of his own accord, deep asleep, then wants more 10 mins later. this is what is tiring me out so much, also he wont feed with me lying down, i have to sit up properly.
if anyone has any tips on any of my issues they would be greatly appreciated! i didnt get this far with ds1 so dont know what to do past 1 week bfing!!
hugs to all.

x

1B1B well done for getting on further with BF! I have found jacob did the same thing to start off with and he does tend to still do it a little now, but generally once he pulls himself off it's because that side is empty. We then wind him which wakes him up and then put him on the other side. After that's done (!) he has a formula top up (this from the woman who swore that her baby would never have formula.....)

He's put on 6oz this week and is now 7lb 3oz - very well behaved and no crying today in the clinic at all! Still between the 9th and 25th centile so he may just be small going forward. How are everyone else's weights going?

Hi all

will try and get up to date with this thread when I get chance, but just thought I'd 'pop in' before DS2 next feed!
Things seem to be going ok with us, he is so placid compared to DS1 (so far anyway). DS1 is trying really hard with him giving him lots of cuddles and kisses, but he is just too rough with him and I have to keep warning him, I am trying to be so careful not to upset him though.
The midwife came round today and said just just could not get over the size of him (he was 10lb) and where was I hiding him? He does look about a month old already and none his newborn clothes are big enough.
My stitches seem to be heling ok ( i had a tear and they are mostly internal stitches), and 'jump for joy' I have managed to do a poo! - I know tmi - but you don't realise what a trauma it'll be til you give birth do you!
my milk has come in and my boobs feel like rocks - v. uncomfortable, I can also feel some lumps under my armpits, not sure if this is just normal, or the beginnings of mastitis - I really hope not..
My nipples are quite sore as DS2 has got a really strong suck on him, I am hoping it will improve now my milk is in and it's easier for him to get it.
Anyway - I realise I have gone on for ages - congratulataions to you all, hopefully it won't be long before I get to catch up with you all properly!

Homemama - That hapened to me with DS1 (hemorrhoids) thought they were more painful than the stitches. Hope they heal soon.

Scrambling trying to line up flu shots this year. DS2's all-important 2-month appointment should include a flu shot - which he cannot receive until he turns 2 months - but have been told there may not be any left by Nov. 8th! Would've hoped they'd be saving some for newborns. DS1 and I will be getting ours but must call back October 1st. Everyone wants one and everyone is afraid of a shortage, as there have been in years past. I only know that the year I didn't get one, I got the flu.

DS1 started a new school today. We're 5 for 5 now when it comes to smoothly being dropped off at a new place. Very proud of him.

Mom leaves tomorrow and MIL comes in, all in one airport trip, just enough time for them to compare notes ... Mom has been a lifesaver to DH and me by taking night shifts. On the downside she's been kind of messy, and leaves lights on everywhere in the house ... Didn't realize DH & I were so uptight about cleanliness and energy! "I'm glad we can joke about this," he says.

Piles - I have them too... as well as the tears, but I think the piles are worse too Marls - so makes going to the loo a bit of a trial.. Still taking lactulose as I can't bear the thought of a "normal" one..!! sorry, tmi.

Re. breastfeeding - Mabel, I had a lump under my right armpit too that was v. sore when my milk came in, and my nipples were v. sore the first few days as well - but both have died down as my boobs seem to have worked out how much they need to produce. The boobs still get a bit sore when the milk "lets down" at the start of each feed, but that only lasts a few seconds. The underarm thing is just an extension of breast tissue, that normally you're not aware of.

iBiB, your lo sounds completely normal, and you're doing really well with that weight gain. Fraser does the same, he manages only 10 mins before dropping off usually. I then lie him on the floor, undo his clothes and blow on him (sounds nasty, but it wakes him up!), then we carry on. If I don't, then he'd constantly be asleep for 10 mins, feeding for 10 etc. etc.

mabel I too had small lumps under my armpits to start off with - all gone now.

lansinoh lanolin gel is a life saver and i haven't had to use it too much despite jacob's hard suck!

could have screamed this morning when he tricked me into feeding him at 550am (having fed at 350 well!) and then threw it up all over his own face, in his eyes as well, poor little man! and then started bellowing (understandably!). we are on 3 hours at the moment, long may it last or stretch out to 4 hours.....

Thanks for the info re: lumps under my armpits. It is reassuring to know. I am terrified of getting mastitis and being put on antibiotics, as last time they made BF a nightmare as they upset DS1's tummy something chronic and he screamed constantly. I really don't need that again, although so far DS2 doesn't even seem to be particularly windy or colicky, whereas DS1 suffered badly.
1B1B - I think the lying down and feeding position takes loads of practice and is definately an art! It took me ages to master with DS1, and I've attempted a couple of times with DS2, but he didn't seem to be getting my milk, even thogh he latched on, as 10 minutes later he wanted feeding again, I think perseverence is key!
Also with the feeding thing, DS2 is the same he falls asleep on the boob once it's empty and I really struggle to wake him up to get him to latch on to the other side, I think it is worth stripping them down to feed them to keep them awake.
Oh we have a squawk! see you later guys!!!

jacob has just finished his course of antibiotics for his infected hernia wound and the did seem to upset his tummy a bit - very trapped windy! we are using infacol before every feed and it does seem to be helping although hes not suffering from classic colic symptoms yet (she says with fingers crossed that she's not tempting fate!)

Infacol is fabulous. We use it before every feed too.

I have managed to get them both asleep again at the same time!!! OMG!!!

another vote for infacol here! used buckets of it last time,
i tried expressing and getting freddie to take a bottle last night, he took it fine, but then suffered with terrible wind afterwards and kept crying out - i felt so guilty for trying. i did it with ds, but he was colicky however he was fed, so it made no difference, whereas freddies not really suffered so far just being bf. do you think i'm mean for trying? I really want the flexibilty of being able to leave him with someone else to feed, or for DH to be able to feed him.
He's got his guthrie test this morning - not looking forward to that...

hi Mabel, Poor Freddie - what teat did you use? I found it made a difference - maybe Freddie needs a slower one or something? I use the Avent bottles, and always loosen the lid thing a bit - apparently that helps as the air can escape (or something??). Fraser's gone straight onto no. 2 teats, as he's such a guzzler - he downed 3 oz last night in about as many minutes. Not quite so fast off me!!

Mabel - why would you be mean to try?!! Of course you deserve some time out!! I'm tempted to do a bit of mixed feeding to be honest. Dd is now to be known as Lizzie it seems She is doing really well but I still have moments of panic when I wonder where my life has gone. And I dread the nights - does anyone else feel like that? After ds both me and dh were adamant that he would be an 'only' for about 18 months as we both hated this newborn stage so much. I am enjoying it more than last time but it's still hard to give up your evenings etc isn't it? I keep telling myself this bit doesn't last long!
The midwife came yesterday - Lizzie is now 8lb, was 8lb 3 oz when born a week ago so not lost too much. Guthrie test made her scream!! They aren't coming again until Monday - they reallty leave you alone 2nd time round don't they!!
The midwife said b/fed babies don't need winding - I've just been ptting dd down when she's finished as if I try and wind her it wakes her up again and then I can't get her back off to sleep without feeding again. Does anyone know if this is a load of bunkum about them not needing to be winded?

Just thought of a couple more things while I get chance to be on here... is anyone managing to catch up on sleep in the day? If I do get a rare 5 minutes I can't switch off enought to sleep!
Also is anyone avoiding any food while breast feeding. Was wondering if to go back to my cup of coffee a day or not?!!

Hi claire - I used a slow teat on a wide neck bottle, I think he may need a faster teat actually, as i think he was sucking so hard that he was probably taking air in.
Compo - I have not been winding Freddie - he doesn't seem to need it. I don't know if it's true about the winding thing, as DS1 always had wind - tbh I think it's down to the individual baby.

oh and foodwise the only thing I've ever been told to avoid is anything to spicey and lots of onions.

Just posted this on the other Sept thread but thought I'd copy it here too and then I'm off in search of all the birth announcement threads. Will pop back in here later to read everyone's news. (isn't this exciting!!)

OK, here are the gory details.

I went to bed on Thursday night and was having a few tightenings, but nothing particularly sore. Went to the loo at 11pm and was alarmed when I had quite a heavy bleed. Phoned labour ward and they were keen that I went straight in. Got my brother to come and sleep here with ds. Was in hospital about 11.30pm, still bleeding. I was very very relieved to hear baby's heartbeat. I was stuck in a horrible admissions room and they monitored the hearbeat for about 45 mins. Doctors eventually arrived (first doc looked about 12, thankfully she called her senior to come too!) and they did an internal. Only 1cm (which I'd been about a fortnight before). So clearly not in labour and yet they didn't want me to go home. That was about 1am.

About 1.45 they decided to move me from the horrible admssions room. The contractions had kicked off and I had my TENS on so they decided I could have a room in labour ward, but I think the midwife thought it'd still be hours as she left me for about 30 mins. Contractions very quickly got very sore but as I'd been 1cm less than an hour before I thought I was just being pathetic and I was trying v hard to hold off gas and air and just use TENS. 2.15am started on gas and air which can i just say is FANTASTIC. I love it. Can't remember a lot from then on except it was sore. Felt a lot of pressure "down below" the whole time. I was standing at the side of the bed. Dh was great passing me the G&A and the water and being positive.

Lucy was born at 3.37am and weighed 7lbs 8oz. The placenta got a bit stuck which wasn't fun, but it eventually came out too. And i had NO STITCHES!!! I can't believe what a difference that makes. I just feel so much better than last time.

We got home about 6.45am.

Lucy is gorgeous with a head of black hair. She had an unsettled first couple of nights but since then she's been a dream baby. She breastfeeds pretty much 3 hourly and sleeps most of the time in between. We're completely smitten!

ah, congrats Tassis, sounds like you are loved up well and truly!

I did try having chilli last week - BIG mistake... Apparently, stoned fruits like cherries are bad too.

Fraser definitely needs winding. Some of his burps would be worthy of his dad. As would some of his farts!! If I put him down without winding, he might sleep for 10 minutes, but then he'll need to be lifted out and a big burp'll come. Guess they're all different.

Good luck with your bottle tonight Mabel.

Any of you done bathtime and bedtime yet with 2? Any tips on how on earth to manage it?? So far, DH has been here every night, but the time will come when I have to do it alone. Not sure how to juggle it...

Compo - Someone else (MIL now) still taking nights, but I dread the nights to come. Agree with Mabel that every baby must be different, as DS1 had large burps but this one hardly needs burping. DS1 was BF for first 3 months. This one has been FF from day 1.

congratulations Tassis Your birth experience sounds very similar to mine and I agreee that no stitches this time has definitely made a difference.
Thanks for the replies re. winding. Even 2nd time round I seem to have lots of questions!! I guess cos I b/fed ds for 5 weeks only and it was very painful, I'm keen to get it right this time. Although I do keep thinking I'll try for 6 weeks and then see!!