August 2016 - early arrivals to the newborn cuddles & graveyard feeding shifts

[rumisyum]

So many August bus babies have arrived already! Anyone else fancy a chat during night feeds or wondering what to make of the contents of tiny nappies? Might as well get comfortable...

I generally don't know anymore how many hours I'm up and how many winks I get It is like one big blur and I know DH will ask me in the morning...again

Hope TT appt goes well today Alfie

Brilliant news on weight gain Pear. Well done to you :) I have no idea how long I'm awake for in the night but thankfully my DH has the sense not to ask! I remember being much more aware last time, this time I don't see the point.

Am doing okay here but tired and feeling a bit deflated (not disconnected am sure).

DS got us up before 6am so there may be a requirement for a nap later on.

Pear I thought it was 3 weeks but don't take my word for it. I found it utterly miserable and found it made no difference so just ate dairy again and was far happier. Brilliant news about the weigh gain. We are hoping to see gain tomorrow when the midwife comes back. We have no routine here tbh, seems to work for us. Means I don't stress about things being done at a certain time and I can try to relax.

Alfie that's great news, hope it goes well today. While we were in hospital a lady had her baby's tongue tie snipped. It seemed to work really well.

Lots did you get much sleep last night?

Biscuits it's so hard dealing with a lack of sleep and older children as well, hope you manage to get a nap today.

We had a decent night. Freya was awake on and off through the night but settled well after an unsettled hour or two around 3am. Finally up at 7am which isn't bad! Had tea, breakfast and hoping to shower soon. Managed to drag dd1 (14) out of bed just now and the others are already up and had breakfast.

So glad it's cooler today, yesterday was awful. Did anyone else see all the Lightning last night?

pear i have Dr Brown bottles but the milk seemed to come out too fast? Teat size 1. Tried to look at their site but it wouldnt load on phone or macbook? They were also recommended to me as the best for non windy feeding. Have actually been reusing Aptimil disposable bottles, steralised in Milton for one or two expressed breast milk night feed top ups.
Ready made formula bottles were a god send last week when nips were red raw and she couldnt latch. Too expensive for everyday FF id say though.

My DH is another one who always wants to know how much sleep DS and I have had. I find it better to not take too much note, as there is nothing I can do about it anyway. We got a stretch of about 3 ish hours from 11, but another very lengthy wake up with only short dozes from then on until 6 again, but the three hours at the beginning of the night was good!

I've no experience of dr Browns bottles, but they have them in most boots and mothercare I think.

I've heard good things about Dr Brown bottles :)

So my random and unexpected discovery of the day: both of DD's big toe nails appear to be ingrown. The skin/toe is growing over the nail on both feet. Do you reckon this will just sort itself out? Or is it going to get worse the more the nail grows? Bearing in mind how teeny tiny newborn's toes are, it's tricky to manoeuvre the nail or the skin. Seems like a bonkers thing to ask a doctor about!

Feeling a bit better today. DD has given my nipples a break after oodles of cluster feeding over the past few days.

Cheese you're probably right with the 3 weeks theory. 1 week seems way too short to me! I'm aiming to continue for 3 and then slow RE introduce. I've done 1 week on Sat, how pathetic am I. It's only dairy

Biscuits thanks for the Dr brown feedback. DH has brought 1 bottle for us to test tonight. I've reached the point where I'll try anything.

So, I'm going to go back to writing feeding times in my book. I just now feel totally out of control and with giving Gaviscon I should probably keep a record if I can't remember!

Now that DD is putting on weight shall I try and lengthen time between feeds to 3hrs and not 2? Maybe 3 hours will help with her digestion?! I know it will blinking help my sore nipples My problem is she doesn't feed for very long at all so that's why I've got myself stuck in this 2hr rut My due date is Monday so we're close to not being in the prem category.

Big failure here...DS is still napping and it's 5pm already

Brit and Lots thanks for your Brown bottle feedback too. I guess it's just trial and error! Lots I'm glad I'm not the only one with a DH who asks the wrong questions

Posterior tongue tie snipped. Poor DD cried a lot. I felt so bad. Hoping it makes a difference though.i feel the same about sleep - I've stopped counting!

Onwards and upwards Alfie

Biscuits - pretty sure that DS's toenails are the same. They'll sort themselves.

Alfie - hope it helps, can't be fun to take your wee one for that. Sending positive feeding vibes!

pear is it normal for them to be fussy going into the great for s bit after it's been done? DD is managing on the right but basically keeps screaming and pulling off my left. In so worried she's in pain from cutting her tie cut. I hope I did the right thing.

Alfie it might be a bit uncomfortable for a couple of days. That's what I was told. Try and remind yourself of the long term benefits at times when you feel guilty (better feeding habits long term and less likely to develop speech problems). However, what your describing sounds like my daughter when she's in pain from the acid in her stomach or bad wind. When your DD is screaming are her fists clenched and legs drawn up? If I was you I would call the GP in the morning and make an appointment for Tuesday morning. Just because if the TT hasn't fixed your DD then I suspect there is another underlying issue and you don't want to get to Tuesday and then have to wait a few more days for an appointment! In my experience it's better to be a step ahead.

Right, taken matters into my own hands and I've now put DD on a 3hr feeding schedule. This surely has to be better for her digestive system and for administrating medicine less frequently!! Wish me luck everyone!!

Alfie also maybe you could try the rugby position on your left side whilst she heals?

Woohoo I got 3 hours sleep instead of 2 in the night! Yay big improvement. Had she not woken up screaming in pain doing her leg crunches a minute a go I would have got 4 hours maybe So, it looks like the 3hr feeds is helping!!

Does anyone actually put their baby down when she/he is awake and they fall asleep on their own? Does that really happen at this stage like the books suggest?

DD will fall asleep in her Snuzpod sometimes. There needs to a lot of stars aligned for that to work. We borrowed Ewan Dream Sheep from friends which helps a bit I think. But mostly she falls asleep mid feed

Does anyone actually put their baby down when she/he is awake and they fall asleep on their own? Does that really happen at this stage like the books suggest?

Rugby has helped 😄 I think she just needs a bit of time to figure this new tongue out! Also got some more sleep last night woohoo. DD only falls asleep at the breast or in some bodies arms. She doesn't self settle st all. They are still so little though so I wouldn't expect her to. My mum always says - babies don't read the books.

Hi, can I come and play on this board now that Ruaridh is here? 👍🏻

Hi Lainey, of course!

I got a better nights sleep as well last night, 2 stretches of 3 hours and a 1.5 hour bit in the middle. Feeling so much better for it.

DS doesn't fall asleep unless fed to sleep or in the car/pram at the moment. I don't think our elder 2 fell asleep on their own until quite a bit older, although my memory has faded from this period with the others, probably a good thing!

Pear not pathetic at all, it's surprising how much difference dairy can make. Freya usually goes down awake but is fairly good at settling. She's used to a lot of noise during the day so doesn't tend to wake at the slightest thing either, which is good.

Alfie I hope the snip has made a difference to feeding.

Lots a couple of 3 hour stretches sound great. Having a bit longer in a row makes such a difference. Freya is going 2-3 hours with a 3 hour once last night.

We had the midwife out again today and have been discharged. 10 days old and she's put on more than her birthweight! I'm so pleased. She lost and went down to 6lb 8 at 5 days and today was 7lb 1 so that's 9oz in just 5 days! It's good to see all the feeding is working.

That's great news Cheese.

DD was weighed yesterday and is now a whopping 9lbs5 at 6 and a bit weeks. Clearly all the feeding is paying off.

Congrats cheese, that's great. We've had some feeding and weight gain issues as DD dropped back below birth weight. However, since we switched to formula last week she's gained a pound and is 7lb1oz today (5 weeks). HV was very pleased with our progress and I can definitely see her filling out.