February 2016 - our babies are here!

[IslaMann]

New group for those graduating the ante-natal thread

Oh sorry it's 10 weeks here and my nipples are really hurting while feeding. Oh rufus have some chocolate and a hot water bottle

Clumsy mine have the odd painful few days too. Think sometimes her latch slips and I don't notice until it hurts a few feeds later.

Liberty I have measured and I think the longest a baby could be is 55cm from crown to rump. Possibly longer without bum being on mat bit but don't know if that would be uncomfortable.

Thanks troika DD was 57cm at birth.....

Hells bells haquoi what a hideous journey! It's my ultimate fear getting stuck in traffic, and I know exactly what you mean re wanting OH to pull over (and on one occasion with DS I did that, as I could cope with his crying!)

Is it worth going to the GP/speaking to the HV re the flooding rufus, as that sounds pretty tough?

Booked DD's nursery properly yesterday, and we'll get a free trike! Strangely excited as I loved mine as a kid

I suppose it depends how much of her length is legs liberty and how long her body is. Dd has quite long legs but is only 35ish from head to bum so still loads of room

Good point troika. I'll have to measure her...

Hmm... Note to self: going to sainsburys in search of cake while hungry and tired is a terrible idea. Cake plus every sweet treat I never let myself buy... DH was horrified. Worst thing is I've eaten half of it already!

Hello all! It's been a while sorry. 7 weeks here and I think I need to start a gradual return to some kind of normality, have two cakes a day is not good! We also don't have any time as a couple. I seem to remember things getting easier around the 12 week mark but can't remember why exactly!

I know the feeling yesterday I had sweets, 2 choc bars and sausage and chips takeaway.....

DH just met someone else with a 10 week old who slept 7 hours last night! Gah why me, why did I get the non-sleeping, non-napping baby! Anyone else LO seriously unhappy when they're awake ATM the moment too - mine is crying all the time and hardly smiles  - I feel like I am seriously harming her and ruining her development

haq and liberty I hope you enjoyed all of your sweet treats.

I have decided today that being pregnant was awesome as this period pain is horrific! Not sure if it's anything to do with the coil or just normal post birth 1st period but I am not a happy bunny anybody got any good tips for the pain that are compatible with bf? I've had paracetamol and got a hot water bottle but they are not helping.

Oh clumsy I feel your pain! I get terrible cramps anyway but after ds1 was born I thought I could have been in labour again it was so terrible. I've heard the coil can make then quite intense. I usually dovetail paracetamol and ibuprofen, very hot water bottle on both front and back, lie in bed and try not to move too much. Breastfeeding and with a baby I'm not sure if any of that will work, sorry. You've got your period even though you're breastfeeding?

Liberty, that sounds so tough. Have you got anyone nearby who can help you out? Have you tried a dummy? My MiL kept saying to me before bubs was born to remember that a newborn is not a settled baby and it does get better. Another person urged me to ask for help if I needed it, that was their only advice to me. Not necessarily helpful, sorry, but I found some comfort in it. Would you consider a cranial osteopath? You could try some baby massage. You've probably done a number of these things, please ignore if they aren't helpful. Thinking of you

I went to a 2 hour yoga session today - a friend babysat for us as DH was working and I felt so emotional leaving him! It was utterly worth it though. At first I though that £20 for 2 hours was a bit steep but there was a good 20 min relaxation at the end and blooming heck, I'd have paid £20 just for that!! Amazing. Bubs was a dream at my friends and then started to cry as soon as I walked in the door. Ah, worth it though!

Stiff gin? period pain is the pits. I'd say just double up with ibuprofen.

Liberty, I can assure you 100% you're not harming her or her development. DD here is a howling ball of rage at times, for exactly the reason you've identified, sleep, or lack of it.
In a majestic design flaw, the little sods don't appear to be able to just fall asleep, they need enticing. If they don't nap enough, then they're cranky as hell. Plus it's a downward spiral in getting grumpier and sleeping less.
It's worth knowing babies' sleep cycles are half ours, so 1.5 hours, or even half that, 45 mins. Try and keep an eye on the clock for these periods to get them off to sleep.
I'm currently dancing round the kitchen with DD in a sling to try to keep her asleep for 45 minutes; she's just getting into the pattern.
I'll have buns of steel at the end, and a knackered back, but I sure deserve the drink I've got!

Thanks all! Yeah I've tried baby massage but not cranial osteopath. She didn't have forceps or ventouse birth so just the normal run of the mill vaginal...so not sure it'd work and it's so expensive!

She doesn't even seem to sleep for longer than half an hour on me/in sling anymore (she did at about 6/8 weeks, I could keep her asleep for 2 hours in the sling by jiggling about when she woke) - now nothing works and she just wakes up. We've tried patting/pressure on tummy etc when the 30 mins are coming up but it doesn't work!

Oh liberty don't get disheartened. Everything is so transient at this stage. DS2 is also super cranky a lot of the time. I tend to attribute it to this, that and the other- eg growth spurt/ vaccinations/ wind (wind is the fall-back reason for eveything!) but in reality they're just unpredictable little beings for the first few months. I think we just have to ride it out.

I do work hard on the sleep side of things though! I do everything I can to enable the daytime naps. What works for me is having a pram in the kitchen at all times and DS2 goes into it for his naps. If he is finding it hard to drop off, or if he wakes up before he's napped for enough time, I rock it back and forth a bit. I also have the extractor fan on in the kitchen for his naps as the white noise helps him sleep (and drowns out DS1!)

I did the same for my other two and then transitioned to the cot for nap times when they were about 6 months.

liberty you are doing fine baby is probably not wanting to miss out on anything it's an exciting new world. I know that doesn't help you much though, is it worth going for a long drive and then you napping in the car too when you get back?

haq yea really pissed off about them coming back so soon, thought bfing was supposed to stop them am I allowed ibuprofen when bfing?

clumsy the midwives are fine about me having ibuprofen after my labour, so I assumed so...

Nap times? I've not done anything like that... :s

Every time I think we're starting a little pattern with relation to naps, we have a day where he just refuses to sleep at all, or sleeps all day. Thursday and Friday we went out (finally able to drive again!) and so any idea of afternoon naps was destroyed. I'm not too about it though - as long as overall he's getting enough sleep I'm trying not to worry about the days where it all goes wrong.

That said, last night he slept unail 5.15am before waking for food (and even then only took 60mls) and after a funny couple of hours resisting sleep he's been solidly asleep for 2.5hrs so far so I've got my fingers crossed for another good night tonight. If only k wasn't getting up at 3am every morning to pump!

Hello all,

I lost this thread for a while and am SO comforted to find it and read similar frustrations and worries.

I'm a lone parent and have been struggling with guilt over my mums help - crazy!!! Had a rough day DD doing lots of high pitched crying that makes my ears ring in between naps. She loves the bath though and it knocks her out for a good sleep thank GOD but it kills my back - ouch!!

Epidural back pain is horrendous - anyone else had an epidural and suffering?

It's really just "survival" at the moment, any plans I had for controlling sleeping and feeds etc have just gone out of the window! DD is on the 9th percentile for growth so I'm demand feeding at the advice of the midwife, should I worry about not having a more set three hourly feeding routine or is this normal for a 9 week old?

I'm also thinking of getting a baby swing that she can sleep in, any recomendations? Currently have a moses or she's sleeping in my bed on a soft blanket folded with cushions surrounding and I sleep lower down, getting 5-6 hour sleeps occasionally in the night with this method so wondering if a sleepyhead is a safer option? Just don't want to splurge on things and waste money, amazing how much I bought and haven't used - typical!

Oh and Gripe water is my new best friend yipeeeeee!!

X :)

Hi ladies, have any of your lo had conjunctivitis yet? Did you bother going to gp?

After my hardcore bouncing session, she actually slept the rest of the evening, joy! You could tell she'd needed to given her crying the previous nights.... Still absolutely no overall pattern whatsoever, but like you Maisie, I'm going to be a bit more forceful on ensuring she gets her daytime naps.

Hi newmama, you are doing brilliantly to survive, and take all the help you can get. Re the feeding, it's quite 'advanced' if your DD is following a pattern, mine certainly isn't! Definitely feeding on demand, and as long as she's tracking her centile she's fine.

The only thing I'm keeping in mind is the pattern DS fell into last time which turned out to be a 'thing', the EASY routine. Hoping DD is as amenable....

clarabellski I would go to the GP at this stage yes. Admittedly potentially a bit PFB but all the sites say it could cause damage to their eyesight if it's bad. DS had a sticky eye for his first few weeks and I read up a lot on it. Decided it was just tear duct issues and he's fine now, but if it was yellow crust and ginger I'd have been going to the GP.

New,amatobe by swing what do you mean? I have a Graco swing chair that plays music or noises and swings him back and forth. He's asleep in it now, but only for a nap. I wouldn't let him spend long in it for the same reasons they're not meant to be in a car seat for too long. Definitely useful for the day.

I have a sleepyhead, a play mat and a bouncer chair too. My lounge has no space left, but he cycles between the different things and my arms. He seems to get bored easily, and the change every so often keeps him calmer. He loves the play,at, it's his favourite thing, but he's started to like the bouncer chair too. Very handy while eating to be able to put him in the bouncer and rock him with my foot while using both hands.

clara I just put breastmilk on my DDs sticky eye and it cleared up quickly.
Thanks all

Thanks Northern, I've just bought the EASY book on my kindle, look forward to investigating that!!

Handbag - yes that's what I meant, have bought a Graco too yipee! I think I'm missing a trick without some of these accessories - and I forgot about the playmat I bought so have set that up too - quite looking forward to using all these things with her! Tonight, after her bath, I played a piano compilation of Incy Wincy spider - she tried to sing along it was the sweetest thing...

What are fellow OP opinions on self settling: I have instinctively and naturally stuck to waiting to the very very last moment where DD is asleep on my chest to then put her in her Moses and gently rock it when the movement of laying her down disturbs her to get her back off to sleep. Also I'm amazed at how quickly she goes to sleep when I use a heat pad on the mattress so she's not going from my warm body to a cooler room temp Moses mattress (thank god for my mums back wrap for her sore back!!) BUT am I denying her what she needs? More cuddles and contact with me??? God I hate the thought of not giving her enough nurture!! She's so tiny and vulnerable...