August 2015 - Let the Sleepless Nights Commence

[nolongerwaitingfornumber2]

My DC2 was born on 5th August and I'm up in the wee hours feeding away. Anyone else with their August babies care to join me?

I still can't believe he's here and in my arms!

Today has been fuelled by digestives here. I can't stand Jaffa cakes - chocolate and orange together is very wrong and should be made illegal in my opinion

Sorry you had a shit night as well magrat.
And sorry you're feeling ill jockstar. All signs of being run down. Take care of yourself.

I'm definitely in the bollocks to following plans camp as well. Ds is only 3 weeks old today. Way to small to do anything with other than going with the flow.
He has been so sleepy all afternoon. All snuggly and lovely and only just waking for feeds. Very cute - but I do wander if he's setting up for another night of being awake. Dh thinks we should try to wake him - but you never wake a sleeping baby do you?

Ps also love the name piper. V cool. And fatty really like Nathan. Was on our shortlist. We went for aidan but if DS2 ever happens, Nathan is in the top spot.

Oh no to all of you who had bad nights. It's so sucky, there are no words to make it better.

Little Piper has behaved today. Been out and about today and fed regular when she wanted it. Took her to my mums in the afternoon and we both a had a lovely long snooze there. So with the extra sleep overnight and today's nap I'm feeling like a new woman. I really needed it though. Going away for the weekend with dps family so would have been a nightmare if I'd felt as sleep deprived as I did yesterday. I can't believe how just one fairly decent nights sleep can make u feel so different.

She's gained 5oz in a week too which is brilliant news after I've pretty much been exclusively breastfeeding bar the one bottle of formula at night time. It would be great if at some point I can build up some expressed milk supply to give her instead of the formula but for now I'm happy to continue as it helps her sleep at night time. It's been nice not having to express this week. I didn't mean to stop doing it, I just didn't have the time but it's meant I've fed her a lot more so my supply has definitely increased now. Just need the time it takes her to feed to cut down and then it'll be even easier.

Not sure how the weekend away is going to go. I'm used to what we do on a daily basis now so fitting that around other people is going to be interesting. I don't know what his family have planned but one of his brothers has hurt his leg which is kind of a godsend because at least he also won't be wanting to lots of things all day long.

joskar I love that you have trialled so many types of jaffa cakes. Made me laugh. I like all kinds, I'm not very fussy so would happily eat them wherever they had come from.

kbro Aidan was on our shortlist!
dozy Piper is a gorgeous name. Glad you managed some sleep
Hope everyone else is OK and fingers crossed these babies sleep!

Thanks :)
Took us ages to decide on a name. I always liked piper but dp needed persuading. When we told his mum what we were thinking of calling her when she came to visit us in the hospital she actually laughed out loud! I was so upset especially as I'd just gone through giving birth etc. She really suits it though. I wanted something different but not too unusual and I don't know anybody with that name. I didn't know how hard it would be to choose a name.

Love hearing the names on our little ones :) all so cute.

Joskar I missed the part that said you were unwell. Sounds horrendous. I've still got a uti, on my 3rd lot of antibiotics to try to shift it. Luckily it was only really bad for one day, it's just lingering at the moment. Hope u feel better soon. We have enough to contend with without getting ill on top of it.

Oh I wouldn't ever actually refuse a Cadbury one but, you know, given the choice it's Lidl every time. Dh went to register dd2 today and he stocked up while he was in town. Good man. I think we must have mice or poltergeists or borrowers or something. Every time I go to get another we've run out. Odd...

Frolic, I'm disappointed by your anti-Jaffa stance but on the other hand it leaves more for me so that's good.

We've been sleeping lots today. Dd1 was at nursery so we had some peace. Back to the madhouse tomorrow. She's dropping her nap at the moment so there's quite a bit of overtired tantruming crazy. Poor dd2. She has a considerably less peaceful babyhood!

Hope the girls don't get my cold. I'm not sure if we'd cope with all the females in this house being ill.

frolic I will join you with the Digestives (preferably chocolate ) as I hate Jaffa Cakes with a passion - don't like the jelly orange bit and sponge texture!

Had a rubbish night last night so hoping it's a bit better tonight - DDs blocked nose has seemed much better today but everything always seems to get 100x worse in the middle of the night. Hope everyone else has a good one

DD has her 6 week check tomorrow - part of me can't believe it's 6 weeks already whilst another part of me feels like we've had her forever and can't imagine life without her. Will be interesting to see how much weight she has gained considering she feeds non-stop........

All you Jaffa cake haters are wrong. Fact! Chic and orange is a winning combo, but I'm guessing you'll not be wanting any of the Yuletide Terry's chic orange either!!

Well done on BF dozy, sounds like you've turned a corner!
So DH said he'd give me a break tonight so I could sleep but mini mzzzf has been in fifth gear of crankiness all evening. Super shrieking crying and DH just doesn't know or is able to settle her. I can see him getting more and more frustrated that he can't soothe her. So I have to step in for both their sales! Cue me, upstairs alone (drinking full fat coke and eating Galaxy!) calming her down in the dark and giving him a 'break' from her . It's gonna be a looooong night!!!
All character building stuff though eh?!

And a massive good luck to all of us tonight for a few more ounces of sleep!!!

Supposedly sleep begets sleep Frolic - so let sleeping babies lie! I have found that DS tends (but it's definitely not a hard and fast rule) to sleep better at night if he's had a good day of napping.

Sorry to hear you're so poorly Joskar, you deserve all the Jaffa cakes. In fact you can have my share - give me a good old hob nob anyday

So back to weigh in clinic today and despite DS having his larger ever gain (7 oz), the HV now wants me to top him up after every feed!! After reading what you guys had to say last week my plan is to try to express as much as possible so I can top up with BF milk rather than formula - and keep my supply up. But expressing takes me ages and it's hard to find the time so think I'm looking at spending the next week stuck at home with either a baby or pump glued to my breast. I know it sounds so selfish but I will really miss going out and about each day.

Also have our 6-week check tomorrow love, and am going to a baby massage class first thing so will hopefully learn some techniques to help with DS's wind.

For those wondering about growth spurts I have quite an interesting app called Wonder Weeks that lets you know when to expect funny behaviour and feeding frenzies. Might be worth a look - wasn't free but wasn't expensive.

Love the name Nathan Fatty and Aiden was on our shortlist Kbro, it took us days to name DS as he didn't suit any of the names we were thinking of - we ended up going for Alexander and it's perfect for him. He's now asleep so I'm off to bed. Night all

clstow my DS1 is Alex.
We certainly have good name choices on this thread!

I've just eaten half a pack of Jaffa Cakes and 5 chocolate digestives so I'm not fussy when it comes to biccies!

Hard to reply properly I'm afraid as still at in laws with dodgy reception.

Loving all the names. My DS is Dexter and my DD Eliza. Piper is beautiful and a fav of mine but my DH vetoed it when I was pregnant with DD.

We've had reasonable days compared to the colicky screaming in the early weeks but as DH's family live on the coast I wonder if the sea air is helping him sleep better in the day.

Sending good night vibes to everyone and coke and chocolate if those fail...really want some Galaxy now Mzzzf!

Clstow- Why do you have to top up? If there is a problem you should be referred to an actual, qualified doctor like a nutritionist or paediatrician or what have you. Hv are not specialists and I would be taking this with a massive pinch of salt. If you're feeding when baby asks for as long as baby wants with plenty nappies then I'd be really dubious about topping up. Pumping is less effective than your baby feeding. Did the hv say what has led to this advice? Maybe you could ask for a second opinion before you give up your freedom for a week.

Mzzf - have you a sling? Put sling on your dh and send him out for a walk with the baby. He could go to the shops for supplies (Jaffa cakes and gin or bread and milk or what have you. Just the essentials.). We used to sling dd1 and it was great for keeping her calm. Dh is a sling ninja. He can have a small wrapped before they reach the second syllable. I've been using a Sa-Be with dd2. Very comfy and affordable.

Do you think if I cut off Dh's nose it would stop him snoring? I'm lying here listening to it and I'm thinking it's maybe the only answer. It's that or a pillow over his head. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.

I have to top up because DS still isn't up to his birth centile. I do BF on demand and wait for him to come off but here's the thing - when I offer him the top ups he does take them. So I don't think he's getting enough when he's at the breast. Have had concerns and issues with feeding from day one and this suggests something isn't working - if he weren't hungry he wouldn't take the bottle I guess.

Clstow no that's ridiculous. They don't have to get back.to.their birth centile. Mine was born in the 75th centile but is now following the 50th. Plus who cares about those bloody centiles. Ignore the hv and carry in doing the amazing job you are doing. Did he put 7oz on in a week? If so that's a perfect amount. Seriously don't listen to her. Just carry in breastfeeding as much as you can. Nothing wrong with expressing occasionally to be able to give that as a top up but no need to top up all the time. My dd weight gain was bad at the start so I did express and top up but once I felt I had a good supply I just bf her as often as she wanted which was hard going because it was constant but my supply is definitely much better and she just has one bottle top up at night now. She put 5oz on in a week.

Oh and also my dd would also quite happily take a bottle if I gave it her after every feed even now, it doesn't necessarily mean that they need it or that they've not had enough breastmilk even though it feels like that because I thought the same. She b would drain a bottle after every breastfeed but I just stopped giving it her and if she woke up soon after a bf then I'd just bf her again. It was time consuming and u feel glued to the sofa but I did that for a week and it's helped a lot.

Clstow they're really hot on breastfeeding where I am, and my HV said that they are only concerned if they drop two whole centiles, and that if they drop a centile and then track that one it's fine. I'd ask around for another opinion. We've got a breastfeeding support worker who will visit if there are concerns like yours, might be worth asking about?

How are we all doing this morning? We had a much better night. Two 2 1/2 hour stretches so far and he's just dropped off again. It's amazing how appreciative I am of such little sleep.
I hope all your nights were successful.

Sounds like you had a good day yesterday dozy. I hope you have a lovely weekend away.

I'm glad you haven't thrown me off the thread for my Jaffa cake dislike ! You can have them all as far as I'm concerned jockstar. Lidl biscuits and chocolates really are great, aren't they? I love the cookies and the little kinder like sticks at the moment.
You can share my digestives loves.
Definitely no chocolate orange for me at Christmas or any other time mzzf! Evil stuff! I do love a good Galaxy and fat coke though.

You're right about sleep causing more sleep clstow. Ds slept like a log all afternoon and it seems to have gone on into the night. Hopefully we'll manage the same again today.
Sorry you are having this stress about formula top up's. I think I've said before that my only advice is to go with what you feel is right, whatever that is for you. There is so much conflicting advice about this baby business that it's very easy to feel pressure from all directions imo.
Thanks for the wander weeks app recommendation as well - will definitely download it later today.

Happy Friday everyone

Dexter is such a cool name and Eliza is beautiful.
As for babies dropping centiles I was told they only worry if they drop two as well. My DD (Bernadette, considering I've shared my boys names ) dropped from the 50th to between the 9th and 25th. She has stayed there since and is quite happy and healthy.

Thanks for sharing the digestives frolic Glad you got a bit of sleep - it's amazing how any sleep feels like a luxury. We had a good night - managed to go for 3 hour stretches - co-sleeping thou - feel quite refreshed this morning!

Just had 6 week check up and all good. DD has gained 11oz since birth and length and head measurements all ok - she didn't even cry when getting weighed and measured - very chilled today. clstow I would get a second opinion about topping-up. My DD has dropped from her birth percentile (50 down to 25) but HV said she looks well, wet and dirty nappies, alert etc and just to keep breast feeding her as I am doing. I honestly think as a mum you know your own baby and you do what you think is best. I'm not advising you not to listen to your HV but I would question it - you are doing a great job - surely you don't need to top up if baby is ok.

Clstow - top ups?! Are you getting enough wet and dirty nappies? I thought babies has to be designated as 'failure to thrive' before talks of extra nutrition are had...but I'm not a BF-er so I may be talking bollocks!

Baby massage is lovely and dd is really getting into it. She likes the chest routine best and just lays there like "stroke me peasant"!! I really recommend it.

Nolonger - hope it's going ok at the in-laws! Lack of contact with this thread for a week would be tough for me - you're all a blooming lifeline!

Joskar - yup we have a sling. He's used it once. I think he needs to get more comfortable handling her. He treats her like she'll break, nappy and clothes changes take him FOREVER!! But I'm going to get him to sling her for a dog walk this weekend! We've got a close caboo and it does rock, even over my sizeable norks!

Oh and don't talk to me about the snoring. Nothing makes me resent him and his sleeping body more than hearing him enjoy it by snoring - the git!!

Frolic - five hours in total?! You bloody show off!! DD is snoozey so far today, let's hope it rolls over into tonight!

Love - 3hr stretches?! Have a blooming word!!! You're all smashing this sleeping infant malarkey.

DD took a while to settle (again!) and took her 10.30pm feed at 12.30am. I managed to get her down to sleep just before 2am and we both managed an hour before she woke again. So another top up after dispatching DH down for a bottle at 3am ish then more sssshhhing, a nappy change, settling etc for about an hour and then boom she slept for 2hrs. I felt like I had an 8hr sleep, lush!!!

We tried a grobag last night in the moses and I think it worked better then me faffing around trying to wrap blankets around her in the dark. And she seemed relatively comfortable too.

Also for any of the other FF-ers I massively recommend the perfect prep machine. I was sceptical at first but it's amazing!! And it's on offer for half price at the moment in John Lewis

Today is Friday - tomorrow is the weekend and DHs are on hand as well.

Mzzzf my DH is the same treating DS like he might break. I have to bite my tongue not to scream for the love of god hurry up or I'll do it when he's changing him. He also, when giving a bottle, stops to wind DS after about every 3 seconds, leaving DS to start crying in frustration. Have tried to gentle explain he can have more than one mouthful before he needs winding.
Just realised I have moaned about DH a lot. He is really lovely - think fatherhood is a steeper learning curve than for him than either of us thought it would be. But am pleased to know he is not the only one. And looking forward to things changing as DS grows.

Clstow sorry to hear that about the feeding. Sounds like your doing really well. Have no advice other than just do what you think feels right for your baby. Hope it gets better soon.

We had 2 sets of 3 hours sleep last night. First 3 hours was bliss. Second I couldn't get back to sleep. Just lay there awake next to sleeping baby. So annoying. Don't understand why. Not like i am not tired. Grrrrr

All this talk of Jaffa cakes has made me crave them badly. If it ever stops raining I might have to venture out and get some. Seems chocolate orange is a very devisive topic. I am firmly in the yes camp. Give me a Terry's chocolate orange any day

Thank you Fatty. Bernadette is lovely and underused too.

Mzzzf, to be honest I have to bite my tongue with MIL a LOT! All her kids were potty trained by 18 months apparently - well I'm sorry but DD is only just 2 and had her little world turned upside down by the arrival of DS so I'm not even attempting it until Christmas. She has opinions on everything and most of them are very outdated and/or go against mine and DH's way of parenting. She was telling DD about God and Heaven and death the other day. We're atheists! She also said she'd give her a smack on the legs if she kept being naughty. I was but luckily DH nipped both those in the bud sharpish. My SIL is pregnant so luckily she gets the brunt of MIL's "advice" at the moment!

Oops sorry for the rant!

We're heading to the beach in a mo as the sun has finally come out here and DD is loving the sand even if she has to go on the beach in her wellies and puddle suit! DS goes in the sling and sleeps like a log. I also agree that sleep begets sleep as he does seem better a night following a good napping day.

Clstow, I would also take your HV's advice with a pinch of salt. If baby put on that much in a week you are doing fab!! There is nothing wrong with dropping from the birth centile provided weight gain thereafter is steady. Agree with Joskar btw that baby is much more efficient than a pump so please don't think that if you can't express they aren't getting much. It really isn't the case.

Oh and sympathies from me to those with DHs who go slow/snore/are scared of breaking the baby. Mine is the same. He put him in the car seat the other day and the straps were under his armpits not over his shoulders! It had taken him ten mins to figure out the clasp too...and it's the same car seat we had with DD! Love him really though