February 2019 babies - thread 1

[Celebelly]

Let's go ladies! Share your tales of cluster feeding, cracked nipples, poo explosions and sleep deprivation!

I feel for you @DeliberatelyGinger. We aren’t cluster feeding but baby A just won’t settle after her last feed around 3pm. She will be due another feed shortly so don’t think she will settle any time soon! I also have visitors tomorrow/today who are travelling a fair distance to meet her and therefore we are also hosting them with lunch (I still need to buy all the food) 😢 x

Baby R is asleep in my arms and my cup of tea is just ever so slightly out of reach We've had a couple of longer stretches overnight (10pm until 5am!) but only power napping in the day.

Hugobearsmummy same here with being unsettled in the evening. It's hard to do calm tea/bath/bed for the toddler with R being upset so we've been trying a dummy to help with reflux too. I've also tweaked the feeding times so he's having his last 2 feeds a bit closer together (7.30 and 10pm ish) because he genuinely seems hungrier in the evening.

Lookingforadvice I'd say the GP is wrong about sticking exactly to what it says on the tin. We have used Sainsburys and cow and gate in the past and they have very different guideline amounts. For his age our Sainsbury's formula tin says 4oz 4-8 times a day so that would be anywhere from 16 to 32oz per day. Cow and gate say 5oz 5 times a day so that's 25oz. Baby R is currently having roughly 6oz 6 times a day so 36oz. Both my FF babies have always fed over the guideline amount but both following their own centile lines perfectly. Have you got a good HV you can ask about winding down breastfeeding etc?

Baby D is 3 months old today and im stopping the breast as im going to do 1 day at work 6 hours a day and to be honest i just find it easier to bottle feed i done the same with DD1 after 3 months...partner isnt too happy but its not him that has a baby hanging off his nipple 24-7. I got my first period today and its honestly the worst one iv ever had! So painful

4months

Thanks all for the advice on formula! To be honest DS2 has had less at his bottle feeds the last couple of days anyway, so it's been a good reminder that things vary any way! I think this will be the last few days/week of BF for me as I definitely feel like my supply has taken a hit already. DS2 has had 3-4 bottles of formula the last couple of days so I don't suppose he's getting all that much from me. Still BF in between though. He's 6 weeks today and I'm really glad to have got to this point as it's 50% longer than I fed DS1 and I've actually really enjoyed it this time round. Would love to just keep one or two feeds for ages to be honest as I enjoy the closeness. But I do find bottles more convenient and it's good to be able to share the load with DH as I would like to get back to exercise soon ish and the odd couple of hours out in the evening with friends.

Lulabell1 wow 3 months already! Well done you for feeding this long. My DH is probably in the minority but deep down he's looking forward to me stopping BF as he felt like he didn't bond as much with DS2 the first 4 weeks as he was constantly feeding and cried whenever anyone else held him! Whereas now he's combi fed he's much happier to go to others and seems to have bonded well with DH.

@Lulabell1 - Emma is nearly 10 weeks and I haven't had af yet either - not looking forward to that one.

Today we've started packing up the house. Safe to say, I HATE IT! It's going to be hard but will be worth it at least. X

Hi ladies. Just wondering if any of you have little ones that scream from about 6pm until bed time. She is changed, fed and burped but every night she is a little gremlin. Seems tired but fights it and just seems to cry for no obvious reason. Is this normal as I’m feeling a bit frazzled after 8 weeks of having no peace in the evening 😬 xx

Is it the 'withing hour' (but not an hour). We have a really fussy hour or two every night x

Glad it’s not just me then! Do they ‘grow’ out of it at any stage? I feel for my DH as he works long hours with a long commute. He literally gets home and the fussiness begins! X

@bubblybrit - that was supposed to say witching hour! 🤦‍♀️

I think so? My son has at least! I'd rather it this way over them being unsettled during the night x

We have the same issue. Struggle to get her in bed before ten as she takes so long to settle. We'd get so much more sleep if she went straight down after her last bottle! I also feel bad for my husband, he only sees her on evenings during the week and she is almost always miserable 🙄

Apparently it's quite normal and they usually grow out of it at around 3 months... 🤞🏻

On a positive note, for the last week or so she's slept 10-10 ish with a bottle at 2 and 6 ish. However the last two nights she's only woken for ONE bottle at around 4-5. Really hoping it's not just a freak and she'll continue to do this! Even waking just for two bottles was a huge improvement. She's also much more reliable during the day (feeding at around 10, 14:00, 18:00 and then 20:30 or thereabouts). So happy to have started finding our own routine.

I've had the opposite worry to some mums - I'm worried she's not having enough formula. The last two days she's had 5x 5oz bottles but never finishes them. Before that she was having 6x 4oz but also not draining them. She seems to be outgrowing her clothes though and doing lots of wet and a daily dirty nappy so I'm not too worried.

They do grow out of it but it's hard at the time. It's taken dh by surprise because DD's witching hour was late afternoon/early evening and usually ended 10 mins before dh got home. Ds choses some time between 7 and 11 pm.

@Yakadee. Yes that’s true. She is pretty good overnight once I get her settled. Usually only wakes up once or twice so definitely cannot complain on that front x

@detachablehoof. We start her bed time routine around 10pm but she usually doesn’t settle until 11.30-12. She gets up between 4 and 5 and then she sleeps for another 2-3 hours.

Would just be nice to sit with DH for dinner/watch tv for an hour in the evening without a little screamer! I swear he doesn’t believe me when I tell him that she has been really good in the afternoon.

I would worry regarding formula. Anna usually takes 6 bottles at 5oz but she doesn’t always finish them. So some feeds are more like 3-4oz. She is gaining weight and the health visitor has no concerns x

@lanalawr. I’m glad that there is an end in sight! It’s pretty hard to hear her cry and I can’t soothe her no matter what I do!

@bubblybrit that sounds really tough and a pretty short night too. Not being able to soothe them when they are crying is so wearing, makes me feel like a total failure. Let's hope we get over this stage soon!

I find baby massage works really well when Emma is a bit grizzly in the evenings, with the added bonus it sometimes sends her to sleep!

@detachablehoof. I feel exactly the same. I keep thinking I must be doing something wrong when she won’t settle 😢 hopefully it’s only a phase!

@Celebelly. Have you been to baby massage classes?

@Celebelly. Whoops...posted too soon....there are baby massage classes in my local area that I can sign up for but wasn’t sure if it was worth it hence my question

@lookingforadvice123 i was meant to press 4months not 3! I got too 3 months last time so glad to get to 4 this time i think its time to stop now before she gets too attached plus my HV said she thinks i should introduce baby rice or porridge couple times a week now!

@yakadee Its so heavy and painful to think its been a year since iv had one, because i reduced the breastfeeding it came back better start being extra safe again

@detachablehoof
I had the same worry my LO is 4 months old now and she still only drinks 4Oz i asked my midwife and she said baby dont starve themselves and if they wasnt eating they would probably be ill or coming down with something but if thry have wet nappies then they are well and feeding enough!

@bubblybrit Yes, our NHS trust does them but also signed up for private ones. Emma loves it!

@Lulabell1 - Mine's actually really not bad (so far). Not painful or heavy. I didn't even know I was starting until I had! Maybe this is a new type for me? ( 🤞).

I've woken up with a bloody sore throat though! X

So I couldnt do it. I couldnt leave baby. Just been in absolute floods tears at thought of it. What is wrong with me? Was only nipping out for a 40min appointment.

She is only 9wks old though I guess. Think being a single parent as she is so reliant on me. It puts extra pressure on me. As I know I am her sole source of care.

Also on a happier note baby M managed to role from her back to her front this morning. Shes been rolling from her front to her back for a week or 2 already. Need eyes in back on my head now. Hearing her grunting away and clenching her fists as she does it is the funniest thing. Pure detirmination and stubborness haha.