November 2014 - newborn thread!

[Greenstone]

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

I have oversupply too and hv said to express before feeding... argh, conflicting advice!!

Thanks for bra advice, ladies... will have to have a look online at some places.

Back from the weighing clinic, and DS has now gained a total of 1 and a half pounds, at 18 days old. No wonder my arm has started to ache when I feed him!

Well done! Thats even better than my fat puddin'!

ladydolly some people say that if you have forceful letdown if you express a bit off first you'll avoid the spluttering choking reaction.

But the problem is that boobs work on supply + demand, so if your boobs are being milked a lot, they'll create more to fulfill the demand.

So I'm trying to find other solutions such as block feeding one boob for a few hours so my body thinks "oh, Lefty hasn't been used in a while, obvs its not needed that much, may as well dial down supply accordingly"

That said I've still soaked through two muslins today as every time DS dislodges to draw breath the milk goes everywhere. I hit him in the face with a gusher earlier, lol.

pink that's great! The HV has just been here and DD has gained 12oz since last Thursday! I did think she was feeling heavier. And she's growing out of some of her smaller clothes including my favourite very hungry caterpillar one that i bought at 7wks pg... Guess it won't be too long before she's in the gro bag after all!

anna thats what I thought, that by expressing my supply would stay 'overstocked' but hv said no. Dd is fine for 1st 10 mins but after that she can't stay on, and like you we end up soaked by a milk shower! hard to know whats right...

I have over supply/fast flow and was advised the biological nurturing technique of Breast feeding... The NCT site has the information on it. I always use it in the morning when the flow seems fastest. (Plus it's perfect for in bed!)

We've tried that position but he hates it. He still splutters anyway & he gets smothered in my boob & can't breathe and when I hoick him up higher he just slides down my body again. And I find it hard to control his head from lolling all over the place :(

Same here, my massive boobs smother her and then she kicks me in the belly and around my c section wound. ouchy!

OMG - at breaking point. M has fed all fucking afternoon with no nap (9days old) - had his dreaded formula top up, wolfed it down. Won't settle, feel inadequate in feeding him, or is he really tongue-tied? Mw at the group yesterday had a look in his mouth but didn't say anything either way.

Don't even know why I'm posting. Wish he'd just learn to speak so he could tell me what he needs. Aaaaargh!

Amy, it was exactly the same for me around that time. Constant feeding with seemingly endless wakeful periods.

It got better for us, so hang in there. My baby is now 3.5 weeks and she'll have the odd afternoon of constant feeding but for the most part feeds are now 3-4 hours apart, and occasionally longer. I think she's getting more effective at feeding, holding more in her belly, and therefore going for longer periods between.

So there is light at the end of the tunnel! Keep going!

(However, how to resolve my babys ongoing wind issues is anybody's guess!!)

M asleep on me having blatantly fed as a means to fall asleep. Sitting stock still whilst DH makes a hot water bottle to warm the moses basket. Not taking any risks with this transfer.
DH took him off me before and tried a load of tricks including playing guitar to him. Sooooo cute!

Famous last words..... We're in for a long one here I think!

Amy, that's prime growth spurt time so it's most likely that! It will get better again before too long. Also a quick reminder that if you manage to get a few hours sleep, be prepared for whopping norks again when you wake up after all this suckling!! Have a change of breast pads handy for in the night - I had this problem during DDs growth spurt at around 10 days and woke up bloody freezing from having soaked pads, pj top and sheets during about 90 minutes asleep!

Same here amy. dd acreaming since 6 when dp got home.... my head hurts.

Oh Lord, I remember Day 9.....

Its the "Day 10 growth spurt". I was very put out he hit it a day early. I wasn't ready!

Proud mummy moment: DD, who never latched on and breastfed until I introduced nipple shields, managed without them today for a couple of feeds. I put her to the breast without the nipple shield just to see what she would do. I did not expect her to successfully latch on and feed straight away. I assume she was successful at transferring milk anyway, as I'm sure she would have complained otherwise.
Good luck with your nights everyone. I would most like to get to lie down tonight after spending nearly all of last night sat up feeding or holding her ,upright as she cried like she was in pain if I tried putting her down.

Hello Ladies, finally made it over here, for reasons I'll explain shortly. Never got round to posting my birth story but we're probably way past that point now! Congrats to those of you I missed on the antenatal thread.

Had DS on Saturday 15th at 4am. Was discharged the following day, no problems so far! Got home and finally had my longed for shower. Had massively swollen feet when I got out and checked my blood pressure which appeared normal. Monday morning I woke up as normal and went to feed DS. Suddenly felt very woozy and gave baby to DH. Stumbled to the loo and DH followed as I bumped into loads of things on the way there. I still felt woozy and shouted for him to hold me, just as I was about to tell him to call an ambulance I went down and woke up in the back of an ambulance. DH later told me I started fitting violently and collapsed.

Spent an eternity in A&E whilst they checked everything, I was later readmitted to the maternity ward after a doctor confirmed I was suffering from postpartum eclampsia. After seeing a blur of maternity consultants I was referred to the high dependency unit where I was placed on a drip of magnesium sulfate for 24 hours. In this time I couldn't leave the room even to go toilet. Luckily DH was able to stay and help look after DS.

By Wednesday I was back on the maternity ward for more tests. There were worried as one of my blood test results was still out of kilter which lead to more medication. I saw a neurologist on Thursday who wanted to check if my seizure was due to the eclampsia or undiagnosed epilepsy, so referred me for a MRI scan. Scan on Friday went well and no epileptic activity was seen. I was finally discharged on Friday 5 days later. I'm still have more tests to be completed including more scans to rule out neurological causes so in the meantime I can't drive just in case. I've got my 2 week follow up tomorrow so hopefully I get the all clear for the eclampsia.

So far BF is going okay. I managed to keep breastfeeding whilst in hospital although I did express while I was on the drip. DS feeds perfectly well and latches on to my right, but makes a completely faff of my left. I think it's due to my positioning, but the end result is my left is is in agony with a cracked nipple and slightly engorged breast. Feeding using the left means I either get frustrated and feed him on my right or put up with the pain. Went to a BF clinic yesterday as it was getting me down where I got some positioning tips, but it went to pot as soon as the consultant went off to help another mum. She was so busy I never got a chance to have a follow up chat before the session ended. I suppose I can't be doing that badly as my greedy boy has gone from 7lb 9ozs to 8lb 5ozs!

Sorry for the essay

No problem with the essay, very glad you're home and on the mend now! That post baby shift in hormornes is brutal - I haven't had blues as such, just sporadic crying over 3 evening over a bunch of stuff ( baby/moving house/over tired etc) but seem to be perking up now.

My little lady seems to prefer one boob over the other too - the left is perfect, no pain, perfect latch but the right causes a bit of frustration and a good 10 seconds of 'owwwwwwwwwww', especially with how chilly it is! Erect nipples are no breast feeding woman's friend!

Hi all
Got my mum visiting today which is lovely! She's so good at settling him, I've managed to get loads of bits done round the house for once
Used the breast pump for the first time this morning - expressed 1.5oz on the left whilst J was on the right! Felt a bit weird and a bit tender, but ok... Tried him with the bottle tonite and he happily scoffed it Hurrah!

Pink - I've bought nursing bras from Bravissimo! There's one in town so I rang them to ask about sizing coz I couldn't get in. They were very nice and asked what my size was when preggers, and put together a selection of 6 bras with different sizes and styles and DH went to pick it up for me. One fitted, so he took the others back and got me one more of the right size! They're good, very comfy, about £26 I think.

Plum - J had a green poo day a couple of days ago, on googling it could have been because he was under the weather (bit of a cold), or because I'm on antibiotics, or it can just happen for no reason!

Amy - you have my sympathy! J has had the odd day like that, it's so frustrating He's still cluster-feeding like a boss most nights at the moment.

WorkFree - gosh what a time you've had!! Glad you're on the mend, that must have been so scary for your DH Impressive that you've managed to keep going with BFing throughout!

Workfree sounds v scary but glad you are ok n home now.

Think we have thrush sore pink shiny left nipple feels like razor blades when feeding and pain in breast Inc for couple hrs after been like it few days and cracked nipples had cleared up, baby frequently pulling off during feeds and upset n has sore bottom, wish had said something to midwife on Mon as think it had started then but she is back tommorow n hoping she can prescribe treatment or sort out with gp.

Still feeding frequently although did sleep for 3hrs yesterday while went to shops with my mum.

Workfree - how scary. Glad you're home now and on the mend.

Pink - I got measured at an independent store (mainly to spend the voucher MiL gave me last Christmas), so I've two expensive bras on order from there. I got a couple from Mothercare as well.

DD seems to be having less issues with wind tonight. Hopefully the Fennel tea is doing its job.

So. Tired.

I was really hoping J might go down a bit longer, but he seems to have decided it's day time.

Eastmids - sounds rotten! Hope you can get into GP today

Work free - what a scary time you've had. Your DH must have been terrified when he had to call the ambulance . Glad you are feeling better. Do take care.

Workfree - how frightening! Glad you're here and doing well!

I had a rotten night, he slept from 10-2.30 BUT he didn't settle at all well after that. If I moved my hand off him he started squealing. Then at 4.30 he woke fully for a feed but after that I was awake trapped in this endless feeding/winding/trying to put him down/sceeaming/feeding/winding cycle.

At 7am DH took him downstairs where we had a bottle of EBM & I put in earplugs slept till 9. But Lord I'm fucked. And have to pack Baby into the car & go down & take care of my Dad who's just come out of hospital again (he was in around my due date & is still very poorly so was readmitted a week ago).

Oh and I tried block feeding last night but I don't know how people do it at night cos the boob that wasn't being used became agonisingly engorged. You can't sleep like that! I had to get up and express into a towel at one point to get relief. Whats the point if it keeps you awake? Won't bother tonight.

workfree- bleeding heck. that sounds really scary. Glad you are on the mend.

We are trying our reusable nappies for the first time today. Just need to see how they go. Haven't had a blow out yet. He does have the habit of pooping mid change though. He's lucky he is cute.

Night was not awful but not great so we will see how we go. I am discovering I feel absolutely awful when I first wake up after a short nap but even 20 mins snatched here and there make a difference. x