May 2017 #17 the fun continues

[teainbed]

Hope everyone will continue to chat about their beautiful May 2017 babies!

@Barnes79 if you're already doing the top ups then maybe it would be easier but agree it would be sad for you. What do your nights look like at the moment? Is DH is getting a good chunk of sleep? I've heard couples where mum goes to bed at 8-9ish and dad does feeds until 12-1ish and then dad goes to bed from 1-7ish so each parent gets a decent stretch of sleep works well.

Tea neither of us get a decent night. Before the bad wind issues, LO would go to bed at 11pm after me doing the last feed, and we'd both go to bed then too. DH would do formula feed at about 2am and then I'd get up at 4.30am with LO (with an hour nap at about 6.30/7am if I was lucky). Now LO is going to sleep at about 9/9.30pm, waking at 10.30/11, 12.30/1, 2.30, 3.30, 4.30/5, 7/7,30. DH typically does 12.30/1pm as LO is hungry then and I feed at 4.30/5. I've been doing the majority of the imbetween wake ups as they're wind related and if DH did them he'd try to feed LO, fail, but think that meant he didn't need to feed him at 12.30/1pm. As ff is quicker than bf I'd rather not do 2 bf a night as each bf can take 1.5hrs including settling time. With wind it takes about 0.5-1hr to settle him again, with lots of screaming on his behalf.

DH isn't that great at differentiating between LO being hungry and having wind so I have to get up each time to tell him what to do and I struggle to get to sleep when LO is screaming, so I kind of don't see the point in us both being awake...

Tea I forgot to say DH gets up at 5.30 each day for work

You poor thing it sounds very tough. Those are very long breastfeeds, what would happen if you shortened them a bit? I think you need to carve out a 3-4 hour sleep most nights for you at some point if things don't get very much better soon. DH must really feel the pressure with the early starts too. Do you get any rest during the day? Does DH have any leave he can take?

@Barnes79 That's the brochure www.ndr-uk.org/item/153/AllergyorIntolerance/Milk-Free-Zone---A-Resource-for-Older-Children-and-Adults.html. I could not find the online version but may take pics of the table with replacements this evening and email it over to you. Can you pm me your email address?

@Barnes79 I have also did a diary free product order from ocado (you can browse by diary free category).

Placemarking - must have a proper catch up! 🙈

Newbie Thanks. Will try to remember to send you my email.

Tea. As he's being monitored due to weight issues I have to offer both breasts and a formula top up each feed. This (plus a nappy change to wake him up a bit) and his wind issues means it takes that long from wake up to back to sleep (although sometimes it takes over an hour just to settle him). I don't really want to shorten his feeds as I'm currently trying to follow the HV advice re: boosting his weight, to the letter, even if it's just so I can say I did exactly as asked and it's had no impact and prove he's just a small baby. Although I am wondering if a dairy allergy/intolerance would contribute to low weight gain...

@Barnes79 could you ff for a week and still pump to keep your supply up then you could get a bit of a break? Although thinking about it that might mean when you're not feeding you're pumping.... or can you pump so you're bottle feeding breast milk at night, if it's all in a bottle would it be quicker? Then you might get more rest? I'd be gutted if I had to give up so just trying to think of random strategies to help you ((((hugs))))

I had my last exercise class with the physio today.... I need to find something else to do on a Tuesday now. I still have about a finger width of separation on my abs but since I started with 3.5 at least I know it can get better 😊

Has anyone been swimming with their babies yet, I'd like to but I have no idea what we need 😳

1004Rise I used to pump to get one bottles worth for night time but some days that could take over an hour. I gave up pumping so I could try to nap during the day 😕

@Barnes79 that's rubbish for you.... I know I've been really lucky with baby Rise she's just always known what to do. I'm all out of random suggestions  remember what @teainbed said everyone fed and no one dead (tired) you have to do what keeps you sane!

@1004Rise best thing is huggies little swimmers nappies, size 2-3 does like 7-18lbs babies

Thanks for the new thread @teainbed

Molly is 8 weeks old today and growing and changing every day, she really is such a happy little girl and a pleasure to have around, it makes being a mummy easier each day.

We've been seeing a Cranial Osteopath on a regular basis and are also doing a baby massage course at the moment. It's really improving her sleep more than ever and in fact over the weekend she slept 10pm-6am, fed and went back to sleep until 9am

We still have some very unsettled periods during the day, she's extremely dribbly and constantly wants something in her mouth.

Interesting read about the different feeding positions on the last thread - I'll be trying some of those!

@coxsorangepippin I hope you're feeling better now post surgery

@Badgerbird we go up to bed with Molly too, but that's around 10pm for us and DH comes up too. She'll have a feed and then go down to sleep

@jennymac31 I bet you look beautiful! But I do get where you're coming from. DH and I have a wedding to go to at the end of September, I assumed I'd be able to wear one of my pre baby dresses from last year, but I've put so much weight on it's unreal and I feel as though I've given the term 'mummy tummy' a whole new meaning. I hate my 'pooch' and cannot find anything to wear.

@ClaireSunflower I too got a bollocking at my 8 week check. The dr told me my BMI is 26 and point blank said that puts me in the overweight category. I've not been overweight in a long time (I was anorexic and suffered with eating disorders for a number of years as a teenager) so this is was really hard for me to hear.

When I was overweight, that was what triggered the ED to start. DH couldn't believe the state I got myself in when I got back from the GP so we've agreed that I will let him know if I have any urges at all. It's scary how such a historic problem can tear it's ugly head so quickly.

@Tiggermama Welcome to the madness!

Molly seems to nap a lot here, so much so that I worry she sleeps too much and that she's not developing fast enough. When she is awake I pop her on the play mat but she seems so disinterested - any ideas on what else I can do with her?

@newbieho I hope all went well with the dietitian?

@KLane Molly has started having one nap per day in her room, usually her mid day nap and I draw the curtains but still allow some light in and shut the door. At night we turn off the lights and pull the blackout curtains whether she's asleep or not, she usually self settles to sleep. Like @crazyzooo We don't really have any routine though, she just sleeps when she wants and wherever. It's been known that I've gone to put a nappy in the bin and she's asleep on the changing mat or the sofa!

@Badgerbird 😍 she's too gorgeous!

@Barnes79I'm sorry to hear you're having a tough time. It sounds really stressful - fingers crossed it will get better sooner rather than later.

@1004Rise We're hoping to go swimming soon but want to find a pool warm enough.

Really looking forward to seeing everyone next Friday! What's the actual plan?

rise not this time, but I took dd1 swimming at about 3 months. They get cold really quickly so you need a baby wet suit and a swimming nappy, and go to a warm pool. She always loved the (stupidly expensive) lessons but getting changed afterwards always caused wailing.

Barnes I'm just so in awe. No suggestions but you've done amazingly to continue breastfeeding with the top ups too and with so little sleep. Hope you get to the bottom of the wind issues too. You need to look after yourself as well as the little one though.

No idea what the plan is Raspberry but morning would be better for me as I'll have the toddler with me and she naps in the afternoon.

@EsmesBees thanks! I guess they don't need rings or anything yet as I'll be holding her? Trying to find a warm enough pool is my sticking point at the moment 😳

I have to share my current favourite photo... DH just looks like she knows so much more than she should 😁

Gorgeous rise, she looks very alert. This is the wetsuit we had, would really recommend: www.splashabout.com/baby-snug-navy/ no rings or anything for a while.

@newbieho Thanks for that info 👍

@newbieho - sma lactofree still contains milk protein so it seems counterproductive to cut dairy from your diet if you're still giving bottles. Presuming the dietician thinks it's cmpa rather than lactose intolerance anyway.

If anyone else is worrying about intolerances I'd be wary of stopping bfing. I'm on various support groups and it seems you're at the mercy of the GP or HCP as to how much formula you're allowed, how long you can feed it for etc. Plus it smells horrible! Maybe that's just me being a control freak, I just want to be able to decide what my baby eats.

I'm going in circles with potential intolerances. I've cut out dairy, soya, eggs and wheat and yet DD is getting worse with really mucousy poo, reflux, wind, congested, hates feeding. The GP says maybe she's just not hungry

For swimming I've got the splash about fleece lined suit, haven't tried it out yet tho.

Bloody hell barnes that sounds really tough going I don't know how you haven't both go mad already! Fair play to you for sticking with bf for so long, is there any way you can do formula at night and bf daytime? I don't know if that would help at all, may make the feeds quicker at night at least? Maybe you could pop on a Nature bond to collect excess breast milk whilst bottle feeding? Just ideas anyway..... thinking of you up and down tonight

cox so sorry to hear healing is taking its time, how frustrating

newbie I hope going dairy free helps situation. I've been dairy free for 19 years so if you have any particular questions about substitutes or whatever I may be able to help :) I can't remember who else had gone dairy free recently but of course same applies.

Thanks @Badgerbird I am sure I will be back with more questions.

@Acorncat the dietitian suspects cmpa but does not want to change everything at once so we can see what is helping. Formula change would be the next step. She is also very pro bf so I don't feel the pressure to give it up. Hope baby Acorn gets better - have you tried speaking with the dietitian instead of GP? We've got dietitian drop in group in the local children centre.

@1004Rise my little boy has got happy splash neoprene pants for the swimming classes, however the pool is very warm and the instructor said no further protection is needed.

@newbieho - a drop in dietician group sounds great! I've had a google but don't think that's offered here. For DS he had to be refererred to the paediatrician and then she referred to dietician so it was about 5 months before we saw them. And then they were pretty useless. I wonder if the health visitor can refer her, that would save some time. The osteopath said to also cut out corn but that is in almost everything in one form or another.

@rise I didn't even think about a wetsuit (haven't taken baby rocky as our local pool baby bit is a bit manky!) Will have to have a look around.

@barnes echoing others' sentiments - serious kudos to you. That sounds like an incredibly tough situation to be in. Have you tried feeding in different positions? Baby rocky definitely feeds more efficiently when laying down (and generally seems happier throughout the day with less wind) I try to feed laying down during the day if I can too.

All the chat about nutramigen is bringing back bad memories. I was dairy free when little and had to have nutramigen up to the age of about 11. Baby rocky had quite bad wind and some odd poos but GP suggested moving to dairy free was only necessary if there were more symptoms than that (I.e. skin problems and issues with gaining weight). She said dieticians very often encourage a move to formula as it is so hard to completely remove dairy from your diet. Luckily we have seen an improvement in the wind just over time.

@raspberry that sounds really tough to hear - especially for you. As someone said, it took nine months to make these babies, I think it is reasonable that we have 9 months to get back to our normal selves!

@coxs get well soon! Hope you've got lots of support around you.

So rocky is sleeping very well (maybe too well as my boobs end up like boulders) at night - now doing stints of around 7 or 8 hours. Last night it was more like 9 but (possibly as a result) not sleeping during the day particularly well. Any suggestions for getting the balance a bit better? I am happy to do a feed or even a couple through the night if that means she naps better during the day. I worry that she still isn't getting enough sleep overall. Thing is she doesn't seem tired during the day!

Blimey @Acorncat 5 months of waiting time! Kudos to you.

@Rockyroad17 no advice just pure jealousy! Newbie boy wakes up every 3 hours, does not sleep particularly well during the day and feeds every 2 hours in the day. My boobs are falling off. What I would for the little one to sleep a bit longer in the night!

@RasperryInAMelon I don't believe that! A GP told you off for a BMI of 26 8 weeks after giving birth?  I'm speechless!

@Barnes79 you might end up with a paeds referral if you don't have one already. Hope the weight gain picks up. Agree on continuing breastfeeding but when you're so exhausted something has to give at some point.

Do we get baby probiotics here? I know they're in some brands of formula. All the Americans on a FB group I'm in for something else seem to give them to babies with digestive issues.

Think we're in the middle of a regression or something. Or maybe just extra hungry? Up for 3 feeds overnight. But has a decent feed and then goes straight back down so is it really a regression or just hunger?

@Rockyroad17 baby W was awake from midday until 9 yesterday 😮 other than some 10 minute cat naps. We tried all the things that usually make her sleep, but even on me she woke up. But she was happy and playing, and went to bed more easily than usual, slept well and is very smiley this morning. So we are going to keep encouraging her to nap when she should but not stress too much as she seems so happy!