July 2015 - the very beginning, what's going on!!

[MissTwister]

Hi all

I couldn't see a July 2015 thread so thought I'd start one. My daughter was born on the 6th and the last two weeks have been fun and tiring - with not much sleep!

Anyone else around?

X

Small I hear tongue tie can be a nightmare when not picked up which happens all the time. It's so easily fixable once identified though, doesn't hurt them at all. My niece had it and my sister was way more distressed than she was.

My lo has a tongue tie. It isn't affecting her breastfeeds but she drools a lot when she bottle feeds and is incredibly windy no matter how she feeds. Her cousin had the same and whilst he didn't have problems feeding he did have problems when he learned to speak. He had to have it reversed at 4 yrs. so we asked to be referred to have it reversed now just to get it over with. She can't stick her tongue out past her lower lip so it could effect later... The health visitor also mentioned simple things later like french kissing etc can be affected.

So cluster feeding has started here and it's exhausting! Any tips for dealing with it? I feel like I'm just trapped in the same position for hours while DS eats what seems like impossible amounts.

Sorry to hear about the LOs with tongue tie. From what I hear getting it corrected is far worse for the parents than it is for the baby.

'Breastfeed,' they said. 'It'll be fun,' they said...

Hope sorting the tongue tie resolves your problems small. Are you still BF despite the pain? I couldn't! I'm not that much of a hero.

clstow cluster feeding is nature's greatest sanity test. I'd never heard of it with DS1. Thought there was something wrong with the boy. I remember feeling trapped and cow-like, hence I quit at 4 weeks and put him on the bottle. Wish I'd had more perspective about how fast it goes, but I was a first timer, I was in agony with bleeding nipples, and I was miserable. I wanted to BF for longer with DS2 but couldn't find a resolution to the nipple pain. This time, I didn't mind the inertia of the cluster feeds, and the nipples shields were working wonders for me, but little miss is not gaining enough weight, so now I'm faffing with both and bottle, and I'm not yet sure how the story ends!

Keep smiling, ladies!!!

DD is 5 weeks old today! Can't believe we made it this far... the 6-8 week improvement time is close now... fx

We are learning how to bf all over again with DD's new mobile tongue after the tongue tie snip. I felt quite tearful when I saw immediately how she suddenly had a tongue that would move around her mouth and stick out. I can't believe we struggled for so long, but it does seem that things have improved already - touch wood. She is much more efficient so sucks and swallows properly, causes me much less pain as her tongue mostly covers her gum, finishes more quickly and doesn't fuss when the flow lessens so she does not tug (ow) and now falls asleep afterwards, rather than ending up frustrated and inconsolable. These improvements are most evident on one boob (which was always the better one) and we are trying to get things better on the other one too.

Her tongue movement is still a bit lopsided (better on one side). We're going to the osteopath next week to get her jaw released as she's been using all the wrong muscles for so long. Bless her. It's amazing how much I care for her and feel so sad that she struggled!!

Literally dozens of professionals missed the tie. I even asked in the hospital for her to be checked and they told me it was fine -- probably because they don't "count" posterior ties. But let me tell you, they DO COUNT.

I'm cautiously optimistic that we can continue to make improvements and not go backwards or re-grow. My goal is for her to feed well on both boobs, and for me to be able to wear a bra (yes, it's been so painful I haven't be able to stand material touching my nips).

Hope everyone is doing well.

Oh! This will make you laugh - I was changing DD in the middle of the night, when she squirted poo 2 feet from the changing mat all over the wall. It was extremely impressive I thought! Could poo squirting be an Olympic sport?

That's interesting smallgreenbanana as our daughter has a posterior tongue tie that was missed by a midwife that 'specialises' in tongue tie then diagnosed by a lactation consultant. We were umming and ahhhing about getting it fixed as although she doesn't feed that well she has put on lots of weight. Think we have decided to do it though as she's getting more fussy at the breast - good to hear it's made a big difference

MissTwister I would say the improvement is noticeable but slow to improve further. The consultant did say it could take 2-3 weeks for significant improvement and only helps in 80% of cases. She does not open her mouth enough for latch. It's not a miracle but worth doing. I think I would make the same decision again. Good luck!

Hi, just checking in. Realised this morning that I never made it back to the July ante-natal thread to update about my baby, so hoping to find you all over here.

Baby Alexander Thomas was born on 15th July at 40+14. I was induced at 40+12 with a miserable 42 hour labour including overstimulation and failed pushing resulting in a ventouse delivery. He developed an infection (source never found) and spent 5 days in the neonatal unit in an incubator with breathing support, NG tube for feeding and antibiotics. It meant I bypassed all the early feeding stages as I expressed for the first few days, but we are home now and managing to breastfeed well.

The misery of the labour has been more than made up for by the fact that he's one of those easy babies. He sleeps really well, regularly goes 6 hours through the night, is easy to put down, and we have had no problems with breastfeeding. I do feel guilty when I read about difficulties other people are having, but I wanted to share that not all babies are difficult (the same as how I want to read 'positive' birth stories, if there is to be any chance of a second one!)

Last thing is that he was 11lb 2oz at birth - do I win heaviest baby of the July club? Fortunately he made it out without a major tear (tiny internal wall tear only), but not sure what that says about my bits really :-)

Congratulations to all the ladies for the new arrivals, I will keep following the thread.

Wildfire great to hear your news. A bit of a dramatic labour! Glad he is an easy baby. I wish my DD was one of those!

Very quick catch up now that I've reset my password! Just over 4 weeks now. Very very tired but hoping some stability isn't far off. We also have a tongue tie, unfortunately it's another two weeks before our appointment. Interested to hear of feeding improvements.

Otherwise our DS is doing well and suitably adorable:)

Very quiet here, I've just had to re-reset password.
We're settling very well now, 6weeks old. big kids are back at school 2moro & Thursday so can get an actual routine set to try and sort myself out more than Franky.
We had a spontaneous nite away at the weekend which was lovely, Franky's first of many visits to Scarborough.
He's doing really well, having a few grizzly days but it seems he's just too nosy to sleep through the day. He's doing well through the night so it's not too much of an issue.

Hope everyone is well.

Hello all, I'm a bit late to this party as didn't realise these threads existed. I was on the august ante natal thread for a bit but mostly the 'old birds' one.
DS was born by elcs on 24/7/15 he was firmly wedged in a breech position.

He was 9lb 1 and we had some weight loss issues which a variety of professionals gave me conflicting advice and opinions on. Al sorted now though.

I am ebf and hoping to start expressing next week. Its all a bit demanding isn't it? Much more so that i was prepared for, but i seem tks have adjusted my expectations on how my days Will be so its easier now.

DS doesn't nap well at all. Best nap are in the car, or in the sling when i'm walking. He also wakes every 1 - 2 most nights with the occasional 3 hrs stretch late evening. The last two nights he's been awake from about 1am til 7 with a few minutes dozing. Ugh.

So I'm cream crackered. Any sleep tips gratefully received!

Hi misstwister seen you on some other threads. :-)

Hi all, checking in as it's been a while.

DS is nearly 6 weeks now. Feeding and sleeping had all been going well. But we've had a week now of colic (maybe), fussing, hard to settle, lots of feeding and crying I love him to pieces, but he's testing my patience and feeding hurts Not sure if I want to carry on BF or whether I just need to add in a few expressed bottles for a short break?

In other news as DS is nearly 6 weeks I'm going back to slimming world this week. Need to shift the baby weight...I need a kick in the right direction and away from the cake

Sherbet I'm starting slimming journey this weekend. DS will be 7 weeks on Saturday so me and my mam are off to weight watchers, simply because it's a convenient time and place. If we don't feel we're getting on with it well change to slimming world. Mam has done them both many times but I've never dieted in my life. I have about 2stone to lose in 8 months as we have just booked our wedding.

Hi everyone! We've had some ups and downs - I'm back on antibiotics this time for mastitis , DD has intertrigo as she has such a chubby neck! Sleep has been in short supply but she is smiling, smiling, smiling aw!

6 week health check done and immunisations booked in Some things are definitely easier including bf but DH and I have had lots of arguments Anyone else feeling the strain in their relationship?

Notta it's not advice as we had a rubbish night with DS last night. But our best nights are when he's not over-tired to start with. Easier said than done but I often let him have a long sleep on me during the day. Also we've got him in a sleeping bag as we think he was too cold. When I'm feeling strong I keep persisting in putting him down in his bed but don't let him cry if he wakes up straight away. But some nights I end up with him sleeping on me when I can't take much more of the game....

Chunky boy was weighed yesterday, 7weeks & 3days, 13lbs 3ozs. I was expecting first injections next Tuesday but not on the list so must be next week. As much as I don't want his injections I'm annoyed at having to wait as my docs do mans 6week check at baby's 8week check. So I have no contraception (with me & OH having developed a high sex drive since birth this is scary lol) no check on belly so daren't start any exercise and no checks/advice on healing of 3rd degree tear (which certainly seems to be fine thankfully)

Hello Ladies,

It's been a while. Baby Dara and I are doing great he is 9 weeks on Thursday, weighs over 11lb, the GP did not weigh at 8weeks appt. He is feeding well, and putting on weight.
Now that my mum is gone we have started on the Gina Ford routine, slowly getting there- settles at 7pm wakes at 6am. He is still walking up around 2/3am for a night feed though it's more like a snack as he does not stay long on the breast. We have started using the sleep suit, great innovation.

I am still exclusively breast feeding, and my heart goes out to the ladies that have tried and not working out, its hard. I am producing more than Dara takes, so express regularly for his dad to feed him.

Relationship wise... It's gone downhill, conversations are about Dara, we have been like this since birth

My CS scar has healed and I am ready to hit the gym again to get rid of the belly fat, the belly bandit left a bit for me to work off . Totally recommend for anyone that wants to get rid of post partum belly - belly bandit.

Sorry for the long post...wanted to give a sans brief update. By the way, when is the right age to start attending play groups and/or events to meet other mums?

Goodness my guy is still little. Nearly 6 weeks and hovering around 8lbs is guess. But he was small at birth and growing ok. He certainly seems healthy. 6 week check coming up as well as tongue tie snip in Friday. I hope it helps as in still ebf but with some pain and I think he'd feed faster with a better latch.

Sorry to hear of relationship strains. Ours is mainly ok but we certainly are very single topic right now.

Ugh to mastitis Small. I'm just getting rid of an abscess. Let me assure everyone that having a needle stuck in your boob to drain out pus is exactly as horrible as it sounds :(

Other than that things are pretty good. Is there a FB group you are all using? Is there much middle of the night chat?

Lovely to hear everyone's news. Smallgreen I really feel for you hon. Can't believe how many problems you've had.

Joy start going to mum and baby groups when you are ready. Kids don't really play together until they're about 3, so it's more for the mums than the kids anyway.

Sherbet you may be passed this now, but have you tried nipple shields? Medela do different sizes (based on the width of the base of your nipple, as I learnt by trial and error) for about ??12 on amazon. I can't do without them. I've gone from cracked and bleeding to completely pain free.

Baby Raines is 5 weeks old and is now 8lb 7oz. DS2 weighed more than that at birth! She's perfectly healthy, though, following the 25th percentile curve nicely, and HV is happy. I'm BF except for one bottle of formula a day, usually at 11pm. It's just handy to have her taking a bottle so I've got a bit of flexibility if I need it. I'd express but I haven't got time. She's amazing at night- goes until 3:30am and then 6am. DS2 just didn't sleep at night, so this is fabulous by comparison.

The boys got her smiling pretty quickly and are providing her with a constant stream of entertainment. Getting ready for the school run has been a bit hit and miss. We've had days where she's been happy enough in her bouncy chair, watching the boys get dressed and me shower and days where she's screamed, and I've had to let her or we wouldn't get out the door . Not loving that.

As for DH and I, we're ok. My tear got infected, so normal bedroom service did not resume fast enough for his liking, and it's still a bit of a struggle to find a window. Also, he's getting fed up with coming home to a fussy, cluster-feeding baby that doesn't want to know him when he's desperate to bond with her. Both issues will resolve themselves soon enough. I keep reminding him it's just a case of time. Most blokes feel a bit redundant at this stage, and most women feel a bit resentful of their freedom, but by three/four months old, the hard part will be a distant memory. I'm determined we're going to go away next year. By then, she'll be a bouncing 9-month-old, sleeping at a reasonable hour and delighted to play with daddy. It's a nice picture to paint to a grumpy hubby!

Raines thanks. DD has improved slightly in the evenings so that DH gets to see her not be quite so awful. Also sometimes I deposit her for a few minutes with him in the morning so he can see her smile. After several days of arguing last week (he was on leave), we finally got into a nicer place towards the end of the week, and he got to see her at her best rather than just screaming in the evenings.

Poor you muddy I dislike antibiotics, but I've taken them as the thought of an abscess is worse!

DD has just started to sleep longer at night, which at first caused bullet boobs, but now has settled down... except I'm worried that my supply will be affected. We have enough trouble getting the milk out as it is! The last couple of days she's also been really sleepy so feeds have not been as frequent during the day either. We had been getting into a good routine and all yellow nappies, but last night she was fussy again and this morning green nappies again... so a bit disappointed our improvements have been so short lived.

I can't wait until I can wear a bra again. I just want to wear a bra. Is it so much to ask!!

I am impressed with all you who are DTD again. There is no time to do it, even if I did feel like it! Where do you find the time??

joy How do you have the time to go to the gym?? My belly muscles haven't knitted back together again yet. I'm not used to being soft in the belly area - used to be almost flat and my favourite bit! Anyone know if there's something you can do to get the muscles to join back together faster?

muddy You could try warming up the cot with a hot water bottle first (bit of a hassle in the middle of the night, but if it's hot enough to start with, it'll still be a bit warm a few hours later if you wrap it in a blanket). Seems to help with DD - less of a shock and maybe she thinks she's still lying on me? Bless her.

Hello everyone! I was on the antenatal threads with you (fattymcfatfat)
My DS was born 10 days late on the 1st of august. He was 10lb 10!
Hope everyone is well and babies are all doing good too

Morning Ladies,
Thanks raines, lol at small not started in the gym yet, planning to start on Saturday. Then take ds to cr??che gym during the week when I do go. The intention is to do it around 9-11 during his first nap time.... Will let you know when I eventually do .

For tummy, you have to do specific exercises to work the core and the TVA, I am going to use a personal trainer to help out on it, however you could try your hospital. I happen to know that Epsom do a physio session every week for new mums for core muscles. That is the only area I am bothered about, so will definitely be engaging the services of a personal trainer. You could try this website www.pregnancyexercise.co.nz for tips.

I second the hot water bottle, been using it for ds and it helps in settling him. We tend to even put the hot water bottle in his sleep suit and then place in his crib, so after his night feed we wear the warm sleep suit and tuck him in, helps in reducing the drastic change of body warmth from us to a cold crib.