March 2017 babies

[purpleviolet1]

So my 9 day old baby boy was delivered by emcs at 37+5 gestation due to presenting breech (waters broke and contractions started). First baby so lots to learn!

Currently giving him expressed milk and formula topup. We tried breastfeeding but there was latch issues, he got very frustrated as he wasn't getting satisfied and my nipple was cracked and bleeding within a couple of days. I then got blocked ducts and the whole thing was a disaster really. I feel like a bit of a failure and did get help from bf clinic for the latch but it was little too late. With the c section recovery I just feel too exhausted to have him on the boob constantly and least with formula he is getting some decent sleep (although I'm usually expressing during this time so don't get a proper rest).

Oh and his fussy time is between 10pm -2am. He tends to feed and need winded on repeat between this time. It's exhausting but tonight I had a nap from 7-10pm in anticipation.

Come and join me for some chat...

See I thought they said no baths until my check up in 6 weeks but thought that was a long time to have to stick to showers. Think I'm healing Ok, little tender now and then no stinging, pulling or smells , too chicken to take look

Lol, me too - I didn't look for ages! I think it took me about 2 weeks to pluck up the courage and it didn't look too bad by then.

Well I'm 9 days in so might wait a bit longer

DD just had another bottle, no surprise she had it all after this afternoon's projectiles. So far so good.

Isn't this thread reassuring ?! I was a little paranoid about the vomit also but now I am not . . Hope things continue to improve for everyone .
Yes I think the 24 hours must be correct for the bottles !

Yay going to my DM tomorrow it's her 60th and didnt want to restrict how long I could stay.

Keep finding myself rubbing my "bump" out of habit when my LO has been sleeping a while lol.

Sorry to hear about the reflux ladies. What a wee shame!

So I managed to buy the baby probiotics today. Will keep you posted on progress. Poor ds is very windy, lots of smelly farts and can feel the vibration of the air bubbles when massaging the tummy. He can appear totally content and then start shrieking and kicking his legs. Then go quiet again just as quickly. Poor soul. Noticed he only had 1 dirty nappy yesterday so moved him back to the formula for colic and constipation and he's had more dirty nappies today but also farted loads 😳 I was giving him breast and formula every feed before but last few days been giving breast during the night and formula during the day. I was told formula is generally constipating whereas breast is a laxative. Maybe because of this change he wasn't able to go as easily.

On a separate note we got a bit of a fright today - was told by a paediatrician that ds lips are blue and when pressing his skin, an imprint is left indicating congestion - both signs of potential heart issues so he is referring us to a cardiologist. Hopefully get an appt quickly. He said it was more precautionary so hopefully just get the all clear....

purple sorry the hear, fingers crossed all will be ok

Gosh purple I hope everything is ok. Good that he'll get a proper check up.

Has anyone's LO been diagnosed with tongue tie? I've been told that DS likely has one. mw said she can snip it - really hoping it works and all our breastfeeding issues are magically fixed!

Daphne
Yes my DS was diagnosed with tongue tie on Monday and we got it snipped on Thursday. It wasn't diagnosed straight away but he was feeding constantly and a breastfeeding counsellor at a drop-in I went to suggested that it could be tongue tie making him less efficient, and it was. It's only been two days so it's too early to tell - he needs to relearn how to breastfeed using his tongue and muscles properly - but it does seem to be a bit better, touch wood. He still feeds a lot but he's big (9lb4 at birth and 9lb7 when we last got him weighed, at 2 weeks) so I guess he needs a lot of milk. It's absolutely exhausting for me though! I'm using a Haakaa pump to express from the other boob when feeding him, but not doing that all the time so not getting enough milk to give him a decent amount in a bottle and give me a proper break.
If you have any questions about the tongue tie division itself just let me know. It was very straightforward.

My ds was suspected of having tongue tie, 2 midwives saw it and felt it was but when I went to the bf clinic (where the referral would be made) the midwife there said he didn't have one. Apparently tongue ties are notorious to diagnose sometimes so I'm not convinced really. He did have trouble latching and I've given up with trying now and just expressing and formula feeding.

purple
Have you seen a lactation consultant or tongue tie specialist? Tongue tie isn't even covered in the standard midwifery training and even if midwives are trained it's likely to be limited. A lactation consultant is definitely your best bet if you can see one - maybe at a breastfeeding drop-in or clinic?

Namechange it was a bf clinic ran by the NHS where we took him... do you think getting him seen privately would be better?

In my area there are some breastfeeding drop-ins run by voluntary organisations and private lactation consultants - they are free to attend. So if there's anything similar in your area it would probably be worth going along. We got diagnosed at a drop-in but I think we lucked out with the BF counsellor who was there. We then paid to see a private tongue tie practitioner to actually divide it (got an NHS referral but didn't want to wait 10 days and drive an hour to the hospital).

purple
www.lcgb.org/find-an-ibclc/

My eldest DD had a tongue tie which was diagnosed when in hospital for something else , it was snipped no problems after .

Any of you had problems with your stomach muscles separating ? I did with DD1'and lucky for me I got a midwife who told me about the "stomach vacuum" exercise. If it wasn't for her I would have spent forever looking pregnant or having to have surgery .
I found this amazing article online which I would recommend for natural or c section births . I bought a tummy support band off Amazon !

yourpostbabybody.com/exercise-after-a-c-section

Well projectile vomiting is back, how are you ladies who are mix feeding coping with it? Just gave my LO some express while waiting for her formula to cool. Was told by MW to give expressed first.

Ds just cried for 2/3 hours after every feed last night which meant he hardly slept. He seemed to be in pain, like he had a sore tummy. Stretching out and not allowing us to put him in a sitting position. We just kept trying to burp / soothe him but felt totally helpless will be phoning the hv tomorrow.

He is having cow and gait comfort milk and expressed breast milk. I wonder if it's the change between the milk. We don't really have a routine of when he is having what.

Thanks mother will look into that x

Hello ladies, my LO is 4 days old and hates to sleep anywhere apart from have skin to skin contact. Got a bedside sleeper (Chico next to me) but refuses to go down in there. Hope this makes sense. Any suggestions?

Welcome sweet pea, no suggestions I'm afraid...

Interesting thanks name. I hope you continue to see an improvement. I'm hoping to have the division done next week as DS is really struggling to feed. I think if the division doesn't help we'll probably have to stop bf.

I've had various people look at DS purple but I think tt is quite hard to diagnose. Might be worth getting a second opinion?

Thanks daphne. I think I'm going to give up with the breastfeeding. I've got no energy whatsoever. I had pancreatic cancer a few years ago and had 80% of my pancreas removed along with the spleen and since then my 'batteries' run out a lot quicker. I think the pregnancy and these first few weeks are taking their toll and I really need to be sensible. As soon as I get overtired and run down I usually come down with infections (especially since not having spleen - I take antibiotics everyday to prevent which ofcourse make you feel run down anyway!) and I've had already had thrush, and come out in a rash which is very sore and itchy. Even the expressing is too much now so I think I just need to call it a day and exclusively formula feed. I almost gave up a week ago but still carried on but I think it's truly time now. Especially if it's contributing to ds's sore tummy.

I feel sad but I know I've given it my best shot - he's had 18 days of some breast milk and that's better than nothing right? Sorry to go on like a broken record but the feeding has been a big issue for me!

By exclusively formula feeding it means I can start taking supplements again to build my strength and maybe start getting out for walks and things. Hopefully heal properly from the c section!

Mother that was a fantastic article! Really interested in getting something to wear to hold it all in - the one linked in the article isn't available anymore on Amazon. Do you have any recommendations