November 2014 - newborn thread!

[Greenstone]

Welcome to all the November 2014 babies! Let all the post partum rejoicing and angst begin...

Gosh its ages since I posted on here. We are doing well DD will be 5 weeks on Tuesday, its been manic with toddler DS too. DD has reflux and colic so on gaviscon and infacol/gripe water. It is always worse from 4pm till bed.

How is everyone else getting on?

It's so comforting to hear about everyone's growth spurts. Another long night here and LO also grunting and latching like she's starving every hour or so... She sleeps 3 hours for the first stint though so I'm not complaining that much!

Nessalina She's also cluster feeding on the afternoon/evening at the moment, I have watched so much bad telly. She does seem to do it in phases though then stop for a couple of days. You are not alone!

What has made me feel bad this week is a friend who is formula feeding updating me everyday with how much her baby sleeps and eats (4 hours between feeds....). I have no problem with how people feed their baby but she doesn't realise how different breastfeeding is. It wouldn't work to breastfeed every 4 hours, it's not that my newborn is naughty!

winter we also have the belly issues (as DH calls them) before bed. Does gaviscon help a lot? It's the time I find hardest, seeing her so upset.

Toniwol H was in Nicu the first day and a bit too so I couldn't feed her, but persevered with bf and she has now regained her weight. I don't know about how you found it but she fed non stop for 2 days when she got the hang of it, making up for lost time I guess but I was exhausted! Lots of chocolate cake. X

Lisad I sometimes think half the battle with trapped wind is getting them calm enough to bring it up...Don't know if you've come across this but have a look at Dr. Harvey somebody who has a book called the Happiest Baby on the Block - he does the 3 Ss, I think it's swaddle, shush and suck to calm them down quickly..otherwise the anti colic bottles sound worth a try for sure.

Meant to say have a look on YouTube

Toniwoni - similarly DD was in NICU for 3 days and was nil by mouth for the first 16 hours of that. She dropped 9.3% of her birth weight by day 5 and then languished/declined a little more for the second week. Thankfully since then she has started to gain at a good rate but still has 6oz to go to get back to birth weight (she is a big baby so has more ounces to regain). 4 weeks today.

I'm another one who deals with screaming fits by just shoving a boob in his mouth. If in doubt - FEEEEEED!

But yeah stopping the screaming long enough.....a Midwife once showed me that you have to rock them way more agressively than you think. I get good results by literally rocking him aaaalllll the way from the left to aaaaalll the way to the right whilst bouncing your knees. It makes you look like you're doung a Jane Fonda workout with the baby. Works though!

We are also having good results with the Dentinox. Good burps/farts and he seems to be getting used to the taste. I got a 5ml syringe in the chemist which is so handy for shooting it into his little mouth.

I expressed for the first time today, for 2 week old DS, so I could leave him with DH while I attended a service of remembrance for my grandad, who some of you might remember died fairly early on in my pregnancy.

I was so worried about leaving him, whether I could express enough, whether he'd even take a bottle, but it was absolutely fine- I got 3 and a half ounces in about 20 mins of pumping, which was amazing! Apparently he took about half an ounce, then zonked out for the rest of the time I was away :)

Definitely agree with you about feeding whenever they cry, Nessa. "If in doubt, whip it out" is always my breastfeeding motto!

Well DD seems to have discovered an appetite. So much so that a couple of times today we've had eyes bigger than belly syndrome complete with spectacular vomits (plus going through Muslins like nobody's business). Hopefully this means she'll have started gaining when she's weighed on Tuesday.

She has a temper as well. Major crankiness twice yesterday. Once at DMs (brought on we think by the heat. DM has the house very warm), and then because we dared give her a bath. All peaceful now though.

It's so annoying when they vom isn't it?? It's like they spend their energy crying for it, your time eating it, then sick half of it back up!

Anna - you're so right, you need to jiggle them with a fair bit of gusto! My mum stayed for a couple of days and she's a pro at rocking him to sleep, but I was genuinely concerned at first at how much she was bouncing him up and down. But he loves it! Much more than my pathetic jogging Takes quite a bit of energy mind you.

Had a big blow up with DH today after a very sleep deprived night All ok now, but I was a bit hysterical. I am currently an expert at making a mountain out of a molehill!

DD had her first expressed feed today too. She had about an ounce, she didn't finish everything in the bottle and had boob as well but I figure it's a good start! She hasn't quite got the hang of feeding from the bottle yet and dribbled a bit but going to try and give her one feed a day from the bottle until she gets the hang of it. I can build up to longer expressing that way too hopefully - it's a bit of a weird feeling!

DD having a feed now but slept from 7:30ish until half an hour ago. I think this may be a sleepless night coming up...

I just looked in the mirror and I've a proper cold sore!

And I've been kissing him all over his little face all day!

I've slathered it in Zovirax & am telling myself its not the end of the world. Some people say you pass on immunity in the breast milk if you've been getting them all your life. Am choosing very determinedly to believe that!

Quite sad I won't be able to kiss him for the next few days though. I love his little soft cheeks.

A has a horrible cold, but being only 2.5 weeks old all we can do is keep feeding as much as possible and give the saline nose spray. I keep trying to find him a better position to feed in tonight, which is pulling a bit on the section scar. Ouch. Ruddy stupid damn section.

Oh anna I've been there too when ds1 was small. He hasn't caught it yet though?weeonion, good to hear from you again, although it sounds like you've had a bit of a time of it!

Dug out the medela swing so I need to try expressed bottles with A. Mostly for the fact that I need to get to a site meeting on Friday - let's hope it works.
dh took both boys for a client meeting yesterday, and was fine for an hour though - thankfully the sling has the same soporific effect on A it has on O/ds1!

His breathing is awful tonight. We were at the ooh doctor at 9pm, so he's been checked for anything worse, but it sounds awful for him. He's in our bed where I can get absolutely no sleep for worrying keep an eye on him, going through calm phases and then getting frustrated because he wants to feed and can't breathe well enough to do much at a time. Poor tiny man.

Poor thing utopian! J is still sniffly, but the saline drops seem to be doing the trick and keeping it at bay for now. It gets bad when he cries though, so trying to keep him chilled out (ie. feeding every 5 mins )
Really hoping he might sleep for a bit after this next feed...

Anna, have you tried compeed cold sore patches? They are stickers you put over the cold sore to prevent them spreading. I had 5 when I gave birth to DD and I couldn't help but kiss her! She's 4 now and still hasn't had one despite me having plenty. Stops them being sore too.

Am so pleased. DD woke herself for her 3am feed and she's spending longer at the breast. Am hopeful that if the HV weighs her today she might have started gaining.

Am slightly nervous about the HV visit though. I think I've seen too many negative threads here on MN about them and I'm aware that the house isn't the tidiest due to the lack of storage space. DH and I are having a tidy before she's due though.

horispondle I ran out first thing and got those patches. Thank goodness we've a pharmacy nearby & DH didn't have to be gone until 10.

Here's hoping they do the trick, I've been like Howard Hughes all night, seeing virus germs everywhere I touch. And of course we had a bad night here so there was a lot of messing around. Full clothing change at 3.30am for a start.

Also Baby is going through this phase of gulping at the breast and refusing to latch properly and then screaming, then latching badly and gulping, then detaching and screaming....and then of course he gets trapped wind and screams the house down.

I was trying to calm him for half an hour during the night and may have wept a bit myself.

Problem is that I try every hold under the sun and none of them make much of a difference when he's in those moods. I shuffle him around from one position to the next and all it seems to do is stress both of us out! I wouldn't mind but he was a bloody fantastic latcher until this week. I was terribly smug about him.

Fucking awful night here. Dh and I both need gin. Baby feeding constantly and refusing to settle, so maddening when you need to sleep, I could feel myself getting angry which is of course incredibly counterproductive! She's sniffy again too so that was part of it. Meanwhile dd1 (2.10) was up at least 8 times for a wee so dh was in and out to her the whole night. We can't decide if it is attention seeking or.a uti or something.

Awful night here too! 7:30 when J finally went down, after feeding pretty much solidly from 4am and only slept for 2hrs then.
He only had about 6hrs sleep the whole of yesterday - surely he should be sleeping more than that??

My dd seems out of sync with everyone else's! Got 8 hours sleep last night. Admittedly not in one go but just 2 wake up, feed in bed, back in basket. She was screaming most of yesterday so was probably knackered!

Hey folks. We all deserve medals and some TLC!

annarose - it could be a really strong letdown which means he finds it hard to stay on??? I think the laleche league website has good info on it??

toniwoni - some HV can be a bit manic but others are great and a bit more tuned into the reality of newborn life. I have been assigned a trainee who is male which is interesting!

i was gonna head to breastfeeding group this morning but after a full night of feeding - i am chilling with rubbish tv.

the mantras i keep repeating to myself are " things will get better" and "this is just a phase"......

Hello everyone! Milo arrived finally at 42 weeks on 24th Nov and weighing 8lb11oz. Took aaaaages getting out too - 51 hours from the first twinges to baby. Only just got home last night - 5 days of iv antibiotics followed by the hospital doing the 5 day weigh in and he'd lost 11.8% - no surprise seeing as I'd been badly fed, poorly supported on breastfeeding and he'd only had milk properly for the last day or so - got strong-armed into giving small formula top ups as he was dehydrated. Back home now and trying to just stick on boob as much as possible. Will only give bare minimum formula as I fucking hate the stuff (sorry). Aim to be off it by end of next week.
Anyway, amazing to be back home where it's a normal temperature and I can eat nutritiously.

How's everyone else getting on?

Welcome amy! You must be shattered. Hopefully a 42 week baby will make up their weight fairly quickly. Mine was 8lbs14 at 41&3 & he has gotten so fat! The flip side is feeling like a milking machine, but hey ho.

He's 3 wks tomorrow and I'm probably deluded but he's started smiling a lot in the last day or two. And just now he was staring at a lamp (his favourite thing) and he was smiling and out burst a distinctive giggle!

Poss my sleep deprivation talking, but I hope not as its adorable.

Hopping aboard! Poppy was born on 26th Nov, 8lbs exactly.

It seems we've been blessed with her - day 3, she'd only lost 2oz and today ( day 5) she's above birth weight at 8lbs 3oz! The midwife said she'd have discharged us today if I'd had a poo (TMI but still no poo, I'm terrified my insides might fall out or that my stitches might pop!) Breastfeeding is certainly working well for us and I'm feeling very lucky we're finding it easy - fingers crossed it stays that way.

We are, however, co-sleeping. The midwife said as long as we do it safely, it's fine ( and actually, a lot more people do it than they let on). She just wouldn't settle in her basket for more than an hour where as she goes 3.5hrs in the bed..

Congratulations to all the new arrivals to the thread!!
OhMjh I wish our hospital wards had been set up for cosleeping! Didn't get a wink of sleep there, although luckily we only had tostay one night.

We're Christmas shopping today and testing out the feeding rooms in Kingston... bentalls is OK, next up John Lewis...