September 2006 babies

[Lysettes]

Start of our september 2006 post natal thread!

we too are using the baby einstein dvds - jacob loves them.

jacob was 32 weeks born - so he's just on 8 weeks corected age. we only use corrected age for weight and obviously this growth spurt.... also last night he was much better - fed at 830, then 3, then 6, and he was in a 1 tog gro bag, so I wonder if he was more thirsty than hungry!

liquid well done for the 6 weeks, and also the controlled crying!

cruise - we were very lucky that jacob had to be fed expressed milk with fortifying powder as soon as he left hospital (neonatal unit), so he really had to take a bottle from 3 weeks. Also he's such a greedy little thing that he takes food wherever it comes from. We went to visit a friend today and her little baby (5 weeks) put her hand a bit too close to jacob's mouth and he started sucking on the knuckles!!!!! [completely embarassed mum emoticon]

lol and have a great week everyone!

shall we start a new thread? let me know and i will

Lysettes - re new thread - where you go - I shall follow!!!

liquid - I love the sound of the praise baby dvd. Where was it from?

To those of you who suffered tears during birth - I hope you are now fully recovered.. I had a rough delivery with dd1, 40 hours, forceps, ventouse, episiotomy, 3rd degree tear, two weeks later a tear into my back passage as a result. OUCH . ds however, was a textbook four hour labour on gas and air and not a tear to be found! My thoughts are with you!

We used Baby einstein DVD's for DS1 (haven't used with DS2 yet), he hated being left lying down, so was laways sat in his chair, I used to put the DVD on, so I could get myself some lunch.
Cruisemum - keep going with the bottle.If he's not had forumla before, it may be the taste he doesn't like, maybe try a bit of EBM first to get him used to the bottle, then try him with formula in it once he's got used to the bottle.
Liquid - hmmm - you don't need those sort of comments about feeding formula do you. Agree she should join the BF police (with my MIL!!! )
Well we had an interesting night last night - we had all the granparents over for a few fireworks. MIL turned up squiffy as usual - repeating herself constantly and making DH really embarassed. Then DS1 choked on a mince pie and ended up throwing up on DH. At bedtime he wouldn't gp til about 8.30pm. Got up at 4am to feed DS2, DS1 woke up at 5am crying so came into bed, at 5.10am DS2 bought his entire feed back up all over me and the bed. So consequently I have a tonne of sicky washing to do, and DS1 got hysterical at nap time (over tiredness and teeth I'm sure) and eventually (after a dose of medised) he fell asleep on the sofa (which he never does unless he's ill), So we will now miss playgroup this afternoon. Fortunately I've managed to get DS2 off as well, so grabbed myself some lunch and thought I'd have a quick catch up on MN.

Hello,

Cruisemum, re: the tears. I had a third degree one with DS who is now 6 and a half weeks. How long did yours take to heal? Mine is still bleeding a bit sometimes when I go to the loo and this morning it was so painful and sore. Every time I go, it feels like its tearing again. I have 6 week check up at hospital on Thursday so I guess they'll have a look then. (ouch)

We had fireworks in the garden last night and DS loved them, he wasn't at all bothered by the bangs. He is so inquisitive. I'd like to get him a baby gym as he doesn't have any toys yet and seems to get bored easily if not being entertained. What does everyone recommend?

Myrtle, re: tear - so sorry you are still suffering . tbh it was quite a while before i felt 'right' afterwards. Everytime i was sitting and had to shuffle to get up/move i too felt as if i would come adrift! I guess it was about 10 weeks before i felt kind of 'confident' about the whole area but it healed really well and when i was having ds i was given a 5% chance of it recurring which is only 2% more than anyone else so don't fret if you are considering having more children.
re: gym - i have just bought one on ebay which is baby activated and has sound and lights plus usual hanging toys. i think its called tiny love sound and lights. i'll let you know what it's like

myrtle, lysettes and mabel - ta for reassurance re: bottles. I am intending to bf for at least 4 - 5mths but the occasional bit of freedom would be lovely! I shall try again (or dh will!)
ds had jabs today, very sleepy and grumpy

Cruisemum - I am with you on the bottles. I just started my 2nd floristry course last night - it is 7pm - 9pm and I wouldn't be to do it, if DS2 wouldn't take a bottle. I have friends who have BF exclusively, and when the time comes for them to go back to work they are panicking because their baby won't take a bottle. You have to start early or they are less and less likely to take it - so keep trying!
Had a great night last night compared to the night before - DS1 slept til 7.30am without a peep and DS2 had 1 feed at 4.15am. Lovely. DH dropped DS1 off at MIL's this morning, I got DS2 down for his nap and had a long soak in the bath - BLiss!

sounds lovely Mabel! Hope you enjoyed the soak and had some fluffy bubbles in there.

Agree about the bottles Cruisemum...

Had a good night too last night - DS1 and 2 woke up around 7.30 this morning, and DS2 fed once at 3.45. The night before, he made it to 5.25!! I think it's easier over the weekend as I have time to sit and feed him properly in the day. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, he has to get on with it, as DS1 is around too and I'm on my own.

DS1 is rifling through the cupboard under the stairs, best go before he finds a nail or something...

crikey Liquid, what will you do all next week? I've been doing my nut this morning without going out apart from a quick cycle for DS1 up and down the pavement. Would love tips for amusing 2.5 yr old in the house for a day!!

Re the gulping - I've noticed that F seems to feed really well sometimes, and really fidgety and gulpy other times too. Could you try different positions for him - more or less upright perhaps? Or lots of different flow speed teats? I tried the variable flow ones with F yesterday - disaster, it all dribbled down his chin into his neck! Also, he tends to calm down a bit if I hold his head fairly firmly and stroke the top of it. This is while bf though so I don't know if it would work with a bottle.

Today DS1 has had a nap - HURRAH!! - for the first time in 3 weeks... hope he isn't getting ill again... Oh how I hate winter!

Hi I'm new to this My baby is 8 weeks and she fights sleep all the time. Yesterday she woke up at lunchtime then sI couldn't get her off until 10pm.

Hi Jods and welcome!
wow! that is some stretch to be awake!!! The only advice I can offer is to look for the signs of your baby being tired - I read somewhere )think it was the baby whisperer) that when you see that 1st yawn, get them down for a nap, if you leave it til the third yawn you're too late and they will then be overtired - which means too tired to sleep. I thnk at this age they don't tend to stay awake for much more than 2 or 3 hours at a time, so if it's been that long, try and get her down, even if she dosn't seem tired. Hope this helps...
I am thinking of introducing a bottle of cooled boiled water for the night feed - DS2 has been going for the same stretch (usually til 4am ish) since he was born, even though he's almost 14lb now he doesn't seem to be showing any signs of going any longer, and when he does feed, it usually a bit of a half hearted effort, i don't think he's really that hungry. Anyone got any thoughts or advice on this?

Try it and see mabel - he's certainly big enough to give it a go, who know's you might get lucky! The only thing I could add is perhaps could you cut down before cutting out and make up the remainder with boiled water? That's what we did with DS1 and it took 4/5 days I think to get rid of the night feed - I'm hoping for the same with DS2 but we'll have to see...

Claire - I'm relying completely on brio and his little wooden thomas and friends characters - that and a good dose of mummy attention doing shape sorting, jigsaws and singing! (also hoping the weather is fine so I can do the afternoon walk to the playground which is 10 mins away)

Jods - hi, welcome, and I secod the tips about putting them down for naps at the first yawn. I also have a little 'nap' routine that makes it clear to baby that it's sleep time. for us it lights out, cuddle, cot, kiss on forehead and then I'm out the door. Friends use mobiles. light displays etc - basically just pick a quiet activity/toy that they'll learn to associate with sleep and stick with it - but think about what you choose, you'll be doing it for a long time! Good luck.

Just got my new breastpump in the post - avent 'IQ' - hope it makes pumping a bit more 'mobile' rather than being attached to the hospital one - before I had to use the hand pump which is so tedious. DH is going to boots on the way home to buy faster flow teats so hopefully tonight will be easier. Why is it that I used to get excited about receiving books and crafty things - now it breastpumps and teats!????

Mabel - Going to pediatrician TOMORROW for long-awaited immunizations and check-up; am planning to ask about dropping midnight feeding and how large baby has to be before stomach can handle 6 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours without a feeding. I'll report back.

Jameson seems like such a calm baby. Said this to DH this morning; he reminded me that noisy, messy, super-energetic DS1 was the same! Uh oh. At least only 1 at a time will be 3/4 years old.

Hello all, just a quickie.... ds still feeds more or less hourly in the p.m. and i am getting worried a). that he will get fat and b) that it will never end! He has started going 9 - 10 hrs at night so the by-product is great but surely this is not normal feeding for 8.5 weeks. I must confess i have been known to offer the breast when i want to have dinner in peace or need to get dd from school . any suggestions??

Cruisemum - Wish I could help re day feedings. You've got a great night system in place, sounds like!!

For any who haven't invested in bottles yet ... don't know if I'm too late, but we've loved the Playtex drop-in system. Bottles don't have to be washed or sterilized; drop-in liner is just thrown away. Microwave sterilizer can handle nipples, rings & tops for 10 bottles at a time; we prepare them all at once, sterlized with water already added. So all we need do is grab a bottle, add the powder and shake it. When they're all used we just sterilize all nipples at once again. Used with DS1 because worked so well with pumping and storage for BF; also the liner lets in less gas as it deflates. (Should've probably posted this a month or two ago. )

cruisemum - sounds like my dd! She feeds on and off til 9pm/10pm and then zonks out til 4/5am - makes the evenings very stressful but then I do get some sleep. She's 8 weeks on Thursday so I'm hoping she just grows out of it

cruisemum, sounds like your ds just likes snacking in the pm? If you're happy, just carry on as you are and he'll probably go for longer soon. Or you could try to extend the period between each feed by a short time each day, say 10 mins, to try and eek him out a bit - he'll learn that he's got to take what he wants when it's there, and maybe take more each time. But if he isn't taking as much, you could ruin your fantastic night times! And don't worry about him being fat - a baby can't be too fat. Esp. a breastfed one who takes what he wants - he'll only drink what he needs, no more and no less. I don't mean that to be a slight to formula feeding at all, just you can tell what a ff baby is taking in.

Mabel, what a weight!!! You could def try the boiled water - although I think I'd echo Liquid - cut down on his night feed perhaps by offering a couple of ounces of water before you offer the breast/bottle (sorry, can't remember which you're doing!) - and increase the amounts of water gradually. I remember with DS1 trying this, and he totally refused to take the water at all though...

Hi Jods, the thing we've found that works for day naps is the dummy (which I really didn't want to introduce, but hey..) - it gets DS2 off in seconds - he obviously needs to suck, and if I put him down in the day without it, he often cries for AGES. Good luck!

Marls, the disposable system is incredible popular in the US, infact the market is spit 50 50 with the reusables. Here in the UK it isn't as popular..good for travelling perhaps but more than 95% of the bottle market is reusable....gosh what I'm I like...sorry work scpiel..

Cruisemum, both DD & DS were given a bottle at 3 weeks old with EBM to avoid any problems later on. I know people who have had a really tough time becuase their babies were only used to nipples....my MW also told me of one couple she knew that had to go 17 hours cold turkey with their 7 month old as she refused anything other than the breast...tough love eh?!!

Jack is still with his one bottle of formula...& my, haven't the poos changed! You wouldn't think 4-5oz would make a difference would you?! It has given me much breathing space although I do feel guilty about giving into formula at such an earlier stage...silly really as he's fine but I'd have just liked to have held out a bit more. DH gave him the bottle at 12.30am last night & has been telling me how tired he is all day....I just want to scream at him.."get over it"...arrgghhh!!!!!

Still without gas..

Lysettes, go ahead!!!

Liquid, let me know how you get on with the IQ...

Cori - I got the iq because I really get on with the isis hand pump and I have to say I'm finding it great - done 3 expressing sittings with it now and it's loads easier than the hospital pump - though I'm still attached to a plug socket as I can't find any batteries for the portable pack! I'm liking that you can set the rhythm and suction really easily and change it easily as it goes on - the pump is assisted when you're doing it by hand soit's really light - I could do it with my little finger ! Do you think you might get your gas back before the weather goes really cold?

Cruisemum - the BF 'experts' will tell you that cluster feeding in the afternoon/evening is totally normal and they'd be right BUT if you're finding it really disruptive try Claire's suggestion. Don't worry about the getting fat thing, BF babies take exactly the amount they need and your supply changes to fit with them.

I had an awful night here- nothing to some of you (especially Pol - how is DP doing btw?) but less sleep than I'm used to so have a migraine starting this am - hoping my meds kick in soon. DH doesn't seem to be able to feed DS2 at all - either DSD2 gulps, can't be winded etc so DH comes to tell me - or he just closes his mouth and won't take anything at all, and DH comes to tell me that too - Don't know what to do, feel like just doing it all myself would be easier but know I've got to make DH persevere or I'll end up not being able to leave them at all.

Sleep at lunchtime today - can't wait!

Poor you Liquid, with the wind and the migraine - I hate it when DH has to give me a commentary on how the feed went when he comes back to bed... and I'm half asleep... I don't do that to him at 5 in the morning...

Have you sat with DH to see whether it's his positioning of DS or something that's causing the problems? I wouldn't have thought that DS was old enough to know that it isn't mummy giving him his milk and protesting..! Guess you're trying all your different flow teats already! A tip DH taught me for winding - he always does a couple of mins over his shoulder, then puts DS down in the cot for a minute or so before lifting him out again (if he hasn't gone straight back to sleep that is!) - often that makes a burp come. But Fraser did go through a couple of weeks of being really windy when he was about 6-7 weeks old (now he is much better at nearly 10 weeks) - from memory, that's how old Alex is? So maybe it's just a phase that will pass. We found putting him back in his car seat often worked a treat for the wind. ANy way, I hope it gets better, as it's a bit distressing for you all.

We had a great night (sorry!) - I was on my own as DH is in Copenhagen - both in bed by 7.10, F fed at 10.45, then didn't wake until 5.40!! Felt like a whole night's sleep... Fed for 20 mins, then back asleep and I woke him at 7.15 as we had to have a feed and then get DS1 to nursery for 8. I am hoping that the illusive all nighter won't be too long... DS1 slept through from 9 weeks and 4 days (I remember it so well...) - which in Fraser's terms is tonight... That would just be too weird.

Cori, how about DH does the 3/4/5 am feed tonight, then he'll know about tired!!!!! ho ho!

Pol, how were the houses at the weekend?

Hi everyone. Wow, great night Clairemow. Ours was much better too - took a while to settle but once she did at 9pm not a peep til 4am - woo hoo!
Coriander - know what you mean about poo changing with formula. dd goes about 3 times a week and when she goes boy does it go everywhere!! Usually requires a bath and change of clothes Don't feel bad about formula. I felt like that too when we introduced the first bottle. But now she's on 3 a day and when she's 3 months old I'm hoping to have stopped altogether. It does seem to make her more settled I have to say even though I know it's not the best thing it has made me much happier and I feel happy that I'm still breast feeding as well atm. Just wonder though if she'll settle again once b/f is offically over as often after a bottle she uses me as a dummy just to get off to sleep - she won't take an actual dummy anymore unfortunately. So she'll be in for a shock I guess!!

P.S Liquid - hope you get some sleep and keep your migraine at bay. My sister gets them too and really suffers looking after 2 children (3 and 1 year olds). She's looking into alternative therapy but I suggested going to the gp. What medication are you on if you don't mind me asking/ Do yu have to take one a day to keep them under control?