October 2016 #1

[Afreshstartplease]

Don't think we have a thread yet so here we are!

Ds arrived here 18/10 @ 5am one day before due date

Congrats tea!

Hi everyone. I was due in November but DD arrived 5 weeks early on 15th Oct! She's still in NICU but is getting stronger every day. She's our first and I'm just amazed at how I completely overwhelmed by love I am.

Boobs are also overwhelmed and engorged! I'm expressing for most feeds then get to breastfeed her a couple of times a day. Yesterday was the first time she managed to stay awake for longer than 2 minutes! I'm really hoping that when she's learnt to bf properly then my boobs will calm down. It's awesome though because whenever I feed her, there is a lactation consultant available to help.

Congratulations to everyone. How amazing are we?!

Kariana 10/10/16, DC1, boy, 6lb9
TaffetaMuttonFudge 10/10/16, DC2, boy

lokahsamastah 13/10/16, DC2, girl
Bollyroo 15/10/16, DC1, girl, 2.2kg/4lb13
Fraggleface 16/10/16, DC1, girl, 7lb10

Afreshstartplease 18/10/16, DC4, boy, 8lb9
MyBreadIsEggy 18/10/16, DC2, boy, 6lb9
milkshakeandmonstermunch 18/10/16, DC2, girl,

Dizzy08 19/10/16, DC1, boy, 7lb14

Welcome new babies!

DD was weighed this morning and has lost 1oz so

Yey well done milkshake!

And welcome and congratulations to everyone with brand new beautiful babies, hope everyone is recovering well and taking things slowly.

So DD2 currently manages to stay awake most of the morning, then a mammoth feed around lunchtime, followed by a three/four hour sleep... then cluster feeds in 2 hourly sessions all blooming night, gah! I haven't managed a sleep in the afternoon for the last couple of days so I'm headed towards the wall of exhaustion pretty quickly. Nap time for me has suddenly become a priority!

DH back to work today, coinciding with half term and a 4 yr old DS1 to watch as well as having no sleep is making me anxious. Theme of the day is coffee coffee and more coffee! Hope everyone is well, and congratulations Tea!

Oh my gosh!! I've just been catching up on recent posts since my last one.. sorry for this long post (please skip by it if you wish..)

Things have been really stressful here on the breastfeeding front. DS got weighed on Saturday morning (just 2 days old) and he had lost 12% so we got sent to the hospital that afternoon under the guise they would help me with a feeding plan. They told me to supplement the actual breast feeds with expressed milk and had no plan better than what I suggested so they were happy for me to go with that which has left me attached to DS or the pump pretty constantly because they also did a test of his electrolites and urea and found them to be low. I managed to fight off being admitted to hospital but I had a deadline of the following morning to get his levels up (15hours to make a change) the next test showed improvement in one but a worsening in the other of the two tests they do.. I don't understand why one can get better and the other worse and they didn't seem to be able to explain it to me either so their only suggestion was to carry on with the feeding plan, tying to top up each feed with as much expressed milk as either I could produce or he could manage and they gave me another 24 hrs to work on it, which takes me to today... when I have to go back at 2pm.

It seems a bit harsh that I've had all these deadlines and threats to be admitted putting a strain on my desire to breastfeed.. especially as milk only came as proper milk on Saturday morning and day 1 all DS did was puke up all the colostrum due to a large amount of mucus swallowed.

I thought I was doing well at this breastfeeding malarkey but as I sit here attached attached to the machine again for the gazillionth time I'm starting to see why so many women just do not do this! I had a horrible labour and since giving birth have had no more than 3-4 hours in each 24. I don't know what I'm existing on right now but this is hell and I feel I've no quality time with my gorgeous little guy..

Dizzy that does not sound fun at all. You don't sound like your being well supported by the professionals involved.

I will admit sometimes I read posts from those struggling with breastfeeding and cannot imagine how hard and frustrating it must be. I don't know how I'd manage breastfeeding and 3 other DC.

I've just had a mad run round tidy up before the mw appears although knowing my luck now it'll be about 430! I hope not as we need to get out of the house before the DC end up scrapping!

Welcome bollyroo!

Dizzy that sounds horrendous. Did they not suggest toppling up with formula or are you not keen to do that?

And congrats bollyroo!

Hi Afresh

Oh Dizzy I empathise so hard with you right now!

I had a yucky birth (DD1 by emcs 18/10/16 at 41+6 and 7lb 11oz ) - which delayed skin on skin, milk production, and made poor little DD lethargic and sleepy, mucous-y and disinterested in feeding for two days.

On day two we started topping-up with formula - which she also rejected until day four. She didn't cry for food, she just slept. We had to strip her to wake her to feed her. I had every intention of EBF but it just hasn't been possible for us.

We're getting there - I'd say that she's now 80% formula fed, 20% breast now (day six). We still find latching difficult and stressful (the joy has been sucked out of it a bit). What she really wants to do is suck her hands and my shoulder, bless her.

She is so very lovely I could stare at her for hours, but it's difficult to enjoy these early days when all I want is six hours sleep (please).

Welcome thinkpink!

Day 6 here, ds was weighed today and has lost 85g so next to nothing really

My boob's still haven't got the message about not breastfeeding and are really sore! Hopefully they stop soon as ds likes to lie on my chest and it bloody hurts atm

Oh thinkpink, it's awful isn't it. I'm in the same situation with the breastfeeding except the hospital feed her with my expressed milk through her nasal tube. We get to take her home when she has 5/7 breast feeds a day for 2 days so yesterday we upped the bf to 3. The first 2 went really well and I was so confident. So last night at 11pm we went to the hospital (singing along very loudly and emotionally to Aerosmith's "don't want to miss a thing") and she just wasn't interested. Gaaahh, I was beyond disappointed. We want her home so badly - it's been 10 days now - but I know it'll happen when she's ready. I cried basically the rest of the night. God, this is so tough.

Congrats on the new arrivals!!
After having my wonderful home birth 6 days ago, we ended up spending the night in hospital last night because DS needed phototherapy to treat jaundice was a bit of a kick in the teeth, but he's all fine now, no longer yellow and is feeding like an absolute champ! Think my boobs are now realising they are feeding a rather small human instead of the entire population of a country DS has only been sprayed in the face once today and I haven't had to express as much off before latching him on, so all is good. He was weighed on day 3, and was 6lb 4oz, which is a 4% loss in birth weight. As weighed again yesterday (day 5) and is now 6lb 7oz a nice little gain

Thanks everyone! Tonight is our first night at home with DD1, but she won't settle unless she's being held. Any suggestions? I can only hold her for so long because my tummy can't take the weight after a while, and my OH can't hold her all night as he needs to get some rest.

Kariana 10/10/16, DC1, boy, 6lb9
TaffetaMuttonFudge 10/10/16, DC2, boy
lokahsamastah 13/10/16, DC2, girl
Bollyroo 15/10/16, DC1, girl, 2.2kg/4lb13
Fraggleface 16/10/16, DC1, girl, 7lb10
Tallblue 17/10/16, DC2, boy, 9lb10

Afreshstartplease 18/10/16, DC4, boy, 8lb9
MyBreadIsEggy 18/10/16, DC2, boy, 6lb9
milkshakeandmonstermunch 18/10/16, DC2, girl,
TDizzy08 19/10/16, DC1, boy, 7lb14

Morning all!
Just catching up on the new thread.
I've added myself to the roll call above
Hope you are all doing well. DS is 8 days old and the sleep deprivation has come as a
shock, I must have blocked it out after DC1!
Feeding/latching has been a problem so I'm currently expressing all of DS's milk, which has become a full time around the clock mission- it was the same with DC1, and I vowed not to do this again as it's exhausting, but I seem to be back in the same situation again. Have bought some nipple shields so will try again today with direct feeding.
DC1 is 2.2 and finding it hard having a new brother, lots of crying and challenging behaviour. I really hurt my back this morning lifting her in the middle of a tantrum, nerve pain at my epidural site. Now trying to take it easy with the help of Peppa Pig!

Congratulations on all the new arrivals and wishing us all at least a few hours sleep in the coming days....

I almost feel like the only one who seems to be feeling better sleep wise? How much sleep are people getting?

Last night I think I roughly slept

11-12pm
2-4am
5-7am

Looking at it it's only five hours which isn't a lot but I feel fine! Certainly better than when pregnant!

Ds is one week old today and I feel like he's been here forever! He has so far fitted in to our family really well! So far my 3-4 jump is going smoothly! Feeling very positive indeed!

That sounds really hard, Dizzy. I don't really have any words of wisdom - I am (physically) not able to bf but I remember back previously with older DC and it was such a strain. Maybe La Leche league or similar could advise?

Fresh, it's good to hear you're feeling positive! I'm still up and down, not too good emotionally but still recovering from birth. Very much in love with DS, though.

I just slept 11-4.30 and then 6.30 until 8 am. The longer stretch DS was with my husband. I'm not sure what we will do when he goes back to work though.

I think I feel a bit relieved to have reached day 7 and not had any hormonal meltdown. I had a few really bad days when I just cried after my last baby. But I feel I'm past the point of it getting me now. Hopefully I'm right!

Dp is off work here too but I do the night wakings pretty much full stop. I have done with other DC too. We tried with DC1 but he's such a heavy sleeper I was having to wake up to wake him up and it just seemed silly! He is back in work next week too but older two DC will be back in school so I atleast won't be refereeing their disputes! Just have to hope to fit feeds in with school runs! Morning feed tends to be between 7-8 so that should be fine

I feel so awful for saying this, but my toddler is honestly driving me to the brink of seriously losing my shit I full on screamed at her this morning.
She seems to love her brother, but her behaviour in general is shocking. She as had probably an hour max this morning where she's not been tantrumming over one thing or another. She's literally destroying the house, and my DH is being about a switched on as a broken light bulb.
If my stress levels stay this high, god knows how this is going to end feeling very very low today.

I've just booked DD1 into nursery for an extra day from next week so 3 days instead of 2. DD1 has not taken kindly to mummy having another DD. DD2 is actually sleeping alright (up every 1-2.5hrs for a feed but will then go back in her cot) but it is DD1 who has been up crying all night. I'm feeling irrationally angry with a toddler

eggy x post! Oh I could hug you for writing that!! DD1 is driving me mad. I feel like the world's shittest mum but I really just want her to leave me alone.

Oh dear eggy how old is she?

3 year old dd has been trying at times to say the least mainly not wanting to do things. I am trying to keep thinking of things to distract her so getting out toys we haven't played with for a while or things like play dough, empty boxes etc. I've bought some Halloween biscuit cutters and fairy cake stuff so can do that two days. Stocked up on treats popcorn etc and will have some movie time with her.

We haven't ever had any behaviour problems with her before, she's very aware of expectations. But recently she has had a lot of tantrums and even thrown things at me on one occasion. I tend to be quite firm. I know some might not approve because she's adapting to change of baby etc but to me it's completely unacceptable to throw things at people so yes she did time out for that. If she tantrums I will not console her with hugs and kisses until she stops. She generally stops pretty quickly.

Jesus I bet I'm well pissing you all off.

I have enough sleep to feel good
I am not having bf struggles
I appear to have tamed the 3 year old
I am literally high on newborn

Sorry