July 2007 - yet starting in June!

[Jamantha]

Well, I can't see a post natal July 2007 thread, so will start this, even though Charlotte, my DD was born 4.5 weeks early in June. I'm sure the other July ladies will be along soon enough.

Have had 2 nights at home now. Yesterday afternoon was fairly distressing as Charlotte wouldn't latch on, and if she did she wouldn't suck. But have got loan of electric pump from hospital, and support from midwives and now managing with comination of breast, expressed and formula milk, sometimes all three in the same feed. Finding it quite emotional, with all the issues associated with feeding one's baby, but trying to stay calm as found out yesterday that getting self into a state doesn't help anyone.

Dh has just gone out to get some things we're still missing, and I'm putting my feet up for a bit. Phil & Ted has just arrived so we might try a stroll down to the ante natal class tonight!

Any how, hope there are lots of lovely birth stories to come from July ladies, and that we can swap advice, give each other moral support etc over the coming weeks and months.

more nap questions....does your nap routine go out of the window at weekends because LO doesn't want to sleep when Daddy is around?

I spend the week telling dp what a good nap routine we have and at the wkd ds is having none of it and will scream the flat out rather than go in his cot like he normally does.

JAM have only done blw so can't really comment, but seeing as you don't have to spend extra time preparing food different to yourself, and can take your lo anywhere and there will be suitable food for them, and you don't need to worry about moving from slop to lumps, and you end up with a non fussy eater at the end of it....I would guess so.

This is the original paper about it

This is the forum

And listen to this. It's hilarious. Annabel Karmel practically choking herself

All of the above links can be found though on the blog csb linked to though.

Had second lot of jabs on Friday (not incl BCG) and i think ds suffered over the weekend. I over did it last week and felt pretty tired so this weekend we didn't go out the flat.

Feeling much better now, followed pulapula's advice to someone else and swaddled ds for his morning nap and got an hour instead of 20mins.....

BLW sounds great, apart from the mess!

Hello! Feeling better now...I met a mum in the park and have been going to lots of baby groups that she knows about. Her HV told her all abut them, mine didn't.

This morning is yoga with a creche and baby massage this afternoon. I think I am going to be tired.

jennster the soup was delicious thanks - thinking of making some carrot and parsnip soup later if you want some.

my fairone dd will take a bottle - well she'll let us put it in her mouth but she can't seem to work out how to get the milk out! i think we left it too long after trying before. what age can you start trying a cup?

dd is exclusively b'fed and is now 16 wks. she has slept through from 7pm to 6/7 am 4 times i think, but usually wakes between 3 & 4 for a feed. Although she nearly always gets trapped wind then and I am up for another hour trying to shift it! We were up for 2 hrs last night... Any tips anyone - I thought bfed babies were meant to be less windy!

Oh and I think she might be teething - left her with mil for 1/2 hr while I went to get a prescription for her and she screamed the house down the whole time I was away. I tried everything I could think of when I got back (including feeding) to calm her down and the only thing that worked was rubbing her bottom gum with my finger. Poor thing was distraught.

Hope everyone has a good day.

MelissaM - my ds sleeps the same as yours and is bf. I find lifting him up with my hands underneath his armpits, then leaning him forwards sat up will shift stubborn burps...

MelissaM, never too early to start a cup. It's what they use for bf prem babies. Think you need to persevere with which ever method you choose though.

And that soup sounds lovely thanks!

Is anyone else hiding from trick or treaters tonight?!

I haven't been on MN for ages so hope everyone is doing well. I can't believe how quickly the time is going and how Little O is growing! DH is out tonight so I have a ready meal in the oven, DD went down like a dream so I have the evening to myself!

Little O is generally a good sleeper - usually settles herself in her cot (sometimes after I've shhh'd and patted a couple of times) but is being put to the test because she's developed eczema. It's on her chest, tummy, legs and arms and now spread to her neck and ears. She's been prescibed some cream called "Unguentum M" but a week later it doesn't seem to have shifted it. I seem to remember someone here mentioning their DC has eczema and just wondered if anyone had any advice. I've had to put scratch mitts on O for naps and sleeps and this really frustrates her because she likes nothing better than chewing her fingers!

I know there are many babies out there with worse problems, but I'm feeling fed up with O's vomiting. She's formula fed and is constantly sick throughout the day, sometimes while being winded, sometimes 2 - 3 hours after the feed. It's not just posseting - proper sick. She's on Infant Gaviscon for suspected reflux but this doesn't seem to keep it down. My doctor doesn't seem worried because she's putting on weight well and doesn't seem bothered by being sick - I think it bothers me more. I'm getting through muslins, bibs and clothes (hers and mine!) by the bucket load. I'm starting to wonder if she may be lactose intolerant - maybe the eczema and sickness are linked? I've had a quick look at some other MN threads and think I might have to return to the doctor.

I like the idea of the BLW having read your link Jennster, but see that it's a bit of a grey area for formula fed babies. I'm finding the whole weaning thing a bit confusing tbh. My doctor says I should start O on baby rice when she's 17 weeks, but this seems to be against the guidelines. Like you JAM I would love a non fussy eater!

Sorry for the long post. Got to go now as someone is having a firework display and O is a bit distressed by it all.

Happy Halloween !!!

Catstar - Aitch who runs the sites ff so don't worry. The principle is a bf baby has modified their own food intake for 6 months and then suddenly you're shoveling food into their mouths and they have no control. No reason why you can't do blw after ff. After all I can't see any ffs FORCE feeding it!

And yes am not answering door now, sitting scoffing the Refreshers and Drumsticks.

Hiya all, hiding while DP does DD's physio...He's not at work for once so being roped in.... DS is protesting a bit... she's got into a (bad) routine of not settling until really late and then we can't do her physio til an hour after she feeds so bedtimes are really late (like gone midnight) and we are really getting tired...especially as DD still quite often wakes at 5am and DS is waking quite often at the moment. DP's now trying to speak baby language to her to keep her entertained while 'tapping' which seems to be working!

Anyways... Happy Halloween everyone! Had a wee pumpkin party for DS...oh how excited did he get!

Catstar- my DS has pretty bad eczema, although he didn't develop it until he was a year old. We are currently trying a lactose-free diet (we would resort to anything at this stage) which seems to be helping.... You can buy goats milk based formula from good health food shops, and I also think Cow & Gate make a soya-based formula. You could try this as they can't do any harm...although I was told by my GP you have to try for at least 2 weeks to see any effect. As I'm sure you'll find there are lots of different creams/ointments to try out but trying to find an allergy/food intolerance is going to offer a better 'cure'. I recently posted about my DS's eczema- take a look at this MN thread. Also the Eczema Society are great: www.eczema.org.
My best tip is to not bath them in anything except porridge oats!! Put oats in a sock in the bath...seems to really soothe & soften the skin- and apparently will still clean the skin & hair. Good luck- I really empathise with you (((( ))))

OK better call my Mum...finding I never speak to anyone much at the mo...time just disappears! Have sent her a card painted by DS to apologise.

One quick question- is anyone's LO using a Bumbo seat yet? Mairi seems nearly ready for one (she's 18 weeks old now) and her head/back control is pretty good. In fact she keeps trying to sit up...
Thinking of trying the BLW too, sounds great, wish I'd heard about it with DS... he was a puree-weaned baby (butternut squash & spinach!!!) and was not keen on finger foods or lumps for AGES... although finally at 2.5 he's a pretty good eater.

Much love to all xxx

Hi to you all, Have returned from my 2 weeks at costa del derriford (only joking it's just the local hospital) both LO and I managed to catch Norwalk (rotavirus) whilst we were there, but other than that was pretty uneventful. Just now have to normalise dd1 who is being excessively excited about having mummy back all of the time, "missed YOU mummy" "missed you lot mummy" very cute but now getting v wearing!

LO is geeting better at sleeping but I have noticed that when my fluid intake is low i.e. I don't drink gallons of water, then she will wake for an early morning feed, I am also waking to feed her about 2230 ish although last night she went through from 2130 to 0600 and I think she would have gone longer but she was disturbed having her antibiotics.

Someone was asking about cows milk protein free formula/ latose free/ dairy free... what ever you want to call it. dd1 is CMP intolerant (as is DH) so I did the dairy free diet with her and BF exclusivly to 5 1/2 months (made a huge difference, from screaming crying red face shouty demon
baby to (almost) angelic cherub....i digress

Was recommended Nutramigen formula (on prescription) by HV as soya based forumlas (Wysoy etc) are v sweet (bad for tooth formation)and contain phyto-estrogens (not sure what they do but there are some question marks) took dd1 a few days of protest to get onto nutramigen but (I'm very persistant!!) once on it no problems as a bonus, it was on prescription so milk was free....

I'm now dairy free again for dd2 as didn't want to put any pressure on her bowel after the surgery.

Anyway happy halloween to you all have managed to avaoid trick or treaters the first lot knocked when I had just served tea so shouted VV loudly to dd1 that tea was ready ( she looked a bit perplexed as she was stood next to me) and second time was getting dd's into nightclothes so had another v. loud "TIME FOR BED MILLY!" think we should be safe now (totally gratutious smiley but desperate to use it!!!!!)

PS MMN will email you soon have not forgotton and would love to chat about our LO's

Nannygoat formula milk has had it's license withdrawn in Europe and so should no longer be available in shops. I believe that soya milk is actually quite allergenic so do please speak to your GP before you start swapping.

But hello MMN an DOD. Hope you and yours are both doing OK.

Oooh Jenster had no idea Nannygoat formula has had its license withdrawn ...do you know why? I bought some from DS when I was weaning him off BFing just under 2 years ago... he seemed to quite like it! I agree soya can cause lots of probs too... There are other non-lactose non-soya formulas but like you said best to speak to GP as I think most of these are only available on prescription.

DOD- really glad you are back home and LO is doing ok. I hope DD1 adjusts to you being home without too much difficulty. Have to say I dread being away from DS for any length of time as he found the 2 weeks I was in hospital having DD pretty hard and it took him some time to settle when I got home... lots of waking in the night etc. checking I was there, bless him. Would definitely love to chat about our LOs

Right off to clean the floor...it really needs doing and DD is snoozing finally! xx

Lack of clinical evidence to justify it's use I think, but I'm not sure.

Was I the only person looking forward to the trick or treaters coming round? I like to make friends with the kids on our estate, they're our version of neighbourhood watch. I've had teenagers knocking on the door before today to let me know I'd left my car unlocked.
I'd made a load of little ghosts by covering lollipops with a tissue, (I have too much time on my hands) I didn't make enough though. We missed 2 lots of kids as I was putting DD to bed and DP didn't hear the door, but we still had 16 kids call round.

madmum - I've been putting DD in the bumbo occasionally, she's 14 weeks now. She's not overly keen on being in it though. If she's in her bouncy chair or laid down she'll jabber away and fidget. When she's in the bumbo she sits very quietly then starts grizzling after a couple of minutes. She's such a fidgety girl that I think she feels a bit trapped by the bumbo.

Thanks for all the information ladies - I think a return to the GP is in order. she'll probably curse the internet but hopefully will recommend giving lactose free a go. Who knows, maybe it'll cure both the sickness and eczema in one go! MMN I read your other post and DS's eczema sounds awful - I really hope you are able to find a way of making the poor little thing more comfortable.

Better be off as Little O shouting next door for attention - which means she's woken up and is bored of looking at herself in the mirror!

MMN & DOD - thinking of you and your little ones and all that you are going through.

Catstar- I think with BLW (from what I've read) if you are FF then you need to make sure that LO drinks water too so they don't get dehydrated. As breastmilk is a food and a drink, its not necessary.

We sit DS in a bumbo in the kitchen when we need to do chores but he doesn't last long and tries to force his way out of it by throwing himself backwards! At first (maybe about 14 weeks) his head would wobble around, but he's getting so strong now (18 weeks) he can nearly sit up unaided.

Ended up co-sleeping with DS last night (haven't done that for a long while) as he wouldn't settle after his 10.45 feed and by 12.30 I'd had enough of trying. Maybe because I was there "on tap" he woke at 5.30 and wanted a feed when usually he doesn't have his first feed til after 7. I thought he'd fall back asleep after this, but no, he was still awake at 6.45 when he had a 30 min nap before starting the day properly. So not a good night for either of us. He's got a cold though, so that probably affected his sleep. He's been very grisly which isn't like him.

Hello everyone. Have been on holiday - have just printed out thread so I can catch up reading all your news in bed. Hope you and all your little ones are well.