March 2016: the one where Indomitable gives birth...

[vroc81]

I hope I haven't duplicated a new March thread in my sleep deprived state.. Went to reply and found thread was full!..

Hello! DS2 now has a name: Flynn

Oops, pressed post accidentally!

We've survived the first 24 hours, but I have a question. He's found his fingers and has started to suck his index finger.

Everything I've read says not to introduce a dummy till 4 weeks, but should I replace finger with dummy? I'd rather not have him develop a finger sucking habit.

Feeding is going well, he has a good latch and I'm fairly sure milk is on the way in too.

Ooh I love the name indom, no idea what to suggest on the finger sucking I'm afraid.

Thanks MrsE!

One more question: he's got really dry skin too, hands and feet are really bad. They were really wrinkly when he was born and now are still wrinkly but now the skin is really dry and about to crack.
We've left it alone for now, haven't bathed him at all. Should I moisturise it or bathe him or what?

I feel like I should know these answers, but DS1 didn't have these issues.

Lovely name Indom! I was told regarding the peeling it was because R was overbaked and numerous midwifes said she was just going to peel whatever we did which so far seems true, when it looked a bit like it was going to crack we rubbed some free sample of some thinner than normal sudacreme on it that came in a bounty bag and that seemed to help it..

Flynn is a great name, Indom.
They used to say use olive oil for dry skin (DD spent a few weeks smelling like a salad ) but the advice now is to leave it and it'll peel off.

Thanks MrsB, I just googled and found that exact advice on the NHS site. Reassuring!

I've also just remembered the fold-over mits on the sleep suits, which (along with more feeding) have solved the finger-sucking problem.

Flynn is a lovely name indom
Dex has dry skin on his feet mw said its because h e cooked for longer, she told me just to leave it and when it peeled off the layer underneath should be fine.

Welcome to the world Flynn! Indom we were advised olive oil for E and I remember doing this for ds too. E's skin was flakey for at least two weeks and is still a bit today in places but apparently that is all normal. With the dummy, we gave E one right away because she was sucking her hands. I did check with the midwife and she said it shouldn't cause confusion but not to let the dummy disguise hunger. However as you might remember E then refused to breast feed and I do wonder if it was the dummy even though people say it wasn't. But if I was doing it all again I probably wouldn't have given her one so soon.

Q for you. Please try not to beat yourself up about feeding. I've done that but you have to tell yourself the best way to feed is the way that keeps your baby full and keeps you happy.

Beaut it's late so for you. How were you to know your 3yr old would play mummy? It isn't your fault at all, well done for not screaming which is probably what I would have done.

Well tomorrow E, ds and I are getting the train from London up to my mum and dads for the week. Dh is taking us to Euston so we don't have to get the tube alone and then my parents are meeting us at the other end. I'm used to travelling by train with ds but bringing a newborn and pram, rucksack etc all feels a bit nerve wracking. Wish me luck!

We have been advised the olive oil on cotton wool trick too, agreed he does smell like salad though (actually sing a rory the salad song while im doing it) seems to stop it flaking away so much.
Not sure on the finger sucking but d's has taken a dummy on about 3 occasions since Birth. If he's not happt he spits it out and longest he took it for was about 15 mins haha

MrsB that is so interesting about the skin! It's no wonder us mum's spend the first weeks like with all the conflicting advice

Thanks Purple. I'll try to hold off with the dummy for a bit longer. Wow, good luck with your adventure!

It's funny isn't it, Purple? I think it changes all the time.

Best advice I ever got was in the discharge meeting that you have to go to before you can leave the hospital (I did ask if I needed to go as I'd just had DC3 - but apparently it's mandatory) "If your baby is hot, take a layer of their clothing off. If they are cold, add a layer of clothing"'-'I have written that gem down in case I forget . There were six of us sitting in the day room like this -

MrsB that is amazing advice!

Hmm dh went out with his mates tonight, I'm normally pretty relaxed about him going out but he's still not back so I know he's going to be precisely no use when ds and dd wake up in approximately 4 hours time. Really not looking forward to dealing with 2 kids and a tired/hungover dh all day.

That's terrible behaviour on his part, MrsE. I never understood the 'wetting the baby's head' school of thought for exactly that reason: you'll have at least one child to be sorting out in the morning!

I hope he surprises you (positively!) with his hungover-parenting effort.

Oh mrse, how annoying! Suggest you books lie ins for both days next weekend!

R has terribly flaky skin too. He looks like a snake shedding its skin. It's taking ALL my resolve not to pick it off... We're using olive oil but not convinced it's doing anything. I put lansinoh on his face and that worked a treat but is too £££ to use all over

Thanks for the info re expressing. I'll wait another week or so, as the boobs are a bit engorged at the mo, although a bit of me thinks it may be an idea to pump sooner, so they get used to an extra feed/pump. All of you exclusively pumping are superstars - there's no way I could keep that up!

MrsElls

Hope 'D'H is back now.and suitably contrite. I would not have been impressed either. It's not fair at all when you're running around after two DC

Crispy Martha has dry skin too - mainly on her scalp now but her hands and feet were terrible when she was born. Try some bottom butter from Waitrose - it's lovely, dead cheap and worked on Martha.

Dh arrived back st 3.30 just as I put C back in the cot and she was promptly sick, he had the good sense to help me deal with that but when she wouldn't settle he was sound asleep and it was me up again rocking her. Feeding again now and he is snoring away next to me. By the time she finishes I might get another hour sleep before ds wakes up. Makes me feel better that you all agree I'm not being unreasonable to be annoyed.

Ok so I feel slightly bad about moaning about dh as I'd forgotten that he is taking ds to his dm's this morning he sees this as helping but he knows full well that he won't have to do any parenting while he is there so whilst it is only leaving me with dd I do feel like he is getting off lightly. We have visitors this afternoon so he will definitely be on tea making duty!

MrsE I totally get where you are coming from, dh went out the other week and wanted to leave at 6pm so I could negotiate dinner, bath bed alone. When we had ds and he was a bit older if I was off out somewhere (on the rare occasion) he would disappear to his parents for the day. It used to wind me up as I thought the same it would be his mum doing everything and him not really getting to grips with the hard work of looking after a baby or child all day!

Congrats Indom! Well done you on a speedy delivery, bringing up the rear with an April fools baby and a brilliant name! Crazy that there's 4.5 months between Zach and Flynn the first and last babies on our thread! Hope you're coping and recovering ok.

With regard to the peeling skin DS1 also looked like a snake for several weeks, we used olive oil too (although this time I was recommended veg or sunflower oil as less risk of allergy..advice changes all the time doesn't it?)

I'm in awe of all you ladies pumping exclusively and with a baby to look after and feed. Having exclusively pumped for 2.5 months with no baby to look after I have no idea how you are doing it while looking after newborns, big respect!

Time, Zach I sounds very much like Calais in his puking and size. He's also still in a lot of his tiny baby clothes but us just starting to grow out of the smaller ones. At last weigh he was 6lb 5oz. He has just recently gone onto gaviscon as his weight gain is slow, although he's still following the same centile-just below the 0.4! As long as Calais' weight gain is consistent and she's following her line then the vomiting shouldn't be an issue, apart from with laundry!

On the train. Think I'm using my sling right she feels secure. So proud of ds he really is a helpful big bro.

Hope the rest of your journey went well purple I need to have a go at the sling this week, my backs been a bit achey post CS but think I should be ok now..

Missi the pumping is nessecity not choice, it's the middle of the night pump that's the worst after R and DH have gone back to sleep and DH had been helping while he's been off putting her back down while I pump so suspect it's only going to get worse when he goes back on Tuesday, I have however mastered the boob wedge so can type at the same time, skills!

Do they have a 15 day growth spurt? Feels like R hasn't slept all day, I think she has in short chunks around feeding and feeding and feeding... Ran out of breast milk and hoping the formula I have just given her might fill her for a bit and give us a break..

indom E also has flaky skin and was told it was due to her being overdue. MW said it would go away but not to use olive oil. She recommended grape seed oil if using anything, but its pretty expensive so I haven't bothered. She's also a finger sucker but tbh when I see her doing it I just offer the boob... My standard response to anything haha.

Poppins I personally wouldn't bother with formula which could intefere with supply but do what suits you best - sometimes bf babies do just go through unsettled periods when going through a growth spurt etc but in my experience it passes. Depends whether you can deal with riding it out though.

E has had two terrible nights on the trot being v unsettled and not sleeping on her back. I've offered more boob but she hasn't been interested so its not hunger, but I think its more trapped wind. Not sure how to deal with it. Annoyingly she has then been sleeping loads during the day- have had to wake her to feed every couple of hours today as my boobs have been very engorged. We were out today with DD1 at a country park and E just slept in the sling all day, had to periodically get her out to change nappy and feed and she'd basically crash out straight away. She woke up around half 6 and has been wide awake ever since so hoping she gets her awake time in this evening and not overnight!

mrse not surprised you were annoyed! I've never really got the wetting the babies head thing, DP hasn't done it with either of my children thankfully as I don't think I'm a big enough person not to be resentful if he went out and got pissed up leaving me to deal with kids by myself this early on!

vroc I've read growth spurt can come between 2-3 weeks so could be that?