The March-ers 2019 - Baby Talk #1

[Angelmiracle]

Congratulations to all the mamas with their new babies 🌸

Now the fun really starts 😄

@toastfiend - baby boy - 28/01/2019
@TheWanderlust - Baby girl - Althea - 7lb6oz - 16/02/2019
@PurpleFlower1983 - Baby girl - Matilda - 17/02/2019
@Wineandchoccy - Baby girl - Lois - 6lb12oz - 19/02/2019
@Harley8888 - Baby boy- Logan - 7lb4oz - 01/03/2019

@SquirtlesMumAgain oh no hope you are ok x

@cardboard33 Have you tried raising the head end of the crib on something? DH has made some wood blocks for ours they are about 2 inch high and have made a massive difference.

Back for scans today so will see what that holds.

Not been told to call for any jabs @cardboard33. Ours were booked in at the surgery last time I think

@cardboard33 my older two got the BCG automatically but they don’t do that in our area anymore - I think round they only offer it to high risk communities. The HV told me that DS won’t need it

@SquirtlesMumAgain sorry you're back in hospital again. I hope the scans go well and you can put it all behind you soon!

@cardboard33 we're big fans of the Aldi nappies - I was a tester for them with DD1 last time and never looked back! We've got a pile of reusable nappies we're going to try this time but are using Aldi ones at the moment while we find our feet.

We've co-slept the last two nights (DH on the sofa bed) and it's been so much easier than trying to get DD2 to go in her snuzpod. I also feel like I've slept better and it's nice to see her little face up close in the night We've always been quite flexible with sleep arrangements with DD1 so it looks like that trend will continue!

DD2 is off to nursery this afternoon and I plan on lounging around and doing NOTHING about feed and sleep until pick up time!

@cardboard33 we live in a high risk area so were offered bcg in the hospital & had it done straight away.

cardboard33 I’ve put a couple of DD1’s nappies under one end of the mattress for DD2. Smallest incline ever but I think it makes a difference. Re: jabs in our area the GP contacts you with a pre-arranged appointment for them and you just go.

We also loved the Aldi nappies with DD1 (got given some at baby shower) but we don’t have a store close enough to get them frequently. Boo!

Tiny one actually slept a little bit during the night!

About to go and pick the big kids up from school... DH has been back to work for a week but he’s been finishing early to help out with teatime/ getting the older ones to bed etc. Tonight he’s working until 7.30pm so I’ll have all 3 on my own for tea/ bath/ bed... bit apprehensive!

Good luck @Hermagsjesty !

@SquirtlesMumAgain hope the scans went well for you today, sorry you're back in the hospital.

@Hermagsjesty hope the tea/bedtime routine goes ok today

@cardboard33 do you think the hiccups is a sign of reflux? I've noticed he gets hiccups a lot during the night after a feed and therefore can't settle well.

We're another with a little one who wont go in the bedside crib/snuzpod. I think maybe he feels a little too small in there? We're taking the downstairs moses basket up to bed each night and although I wont say he sleeps well in there as he's quite unsettled during the night, he does drop off occasionally.

We have had to start giving formula overnight. He just wasn't settling at all with me feeding him myself for some reason. Not sure whether he wasn't getting enough and was frustrated or what but his latch was becoming worse and became very very painful. He still wakes up on and off throughout between the midnight ish bottle til about 3am when he has another bottle and then seems to settle for a few hours. In between the 12 and 3 bottle I do feed him myself if it looks like he needs it but seems to be more of a comfort thing for him. During the day we are breastfeeding. I did feel a bit guilty about not doing it all day/night but I got to the point I was so tired that I started hallucinating that I was back in hospital and he was still in my belly and I knew I couldn't carry on like that!

Does anyone have any tips on how to avoid the baby weeing all over themselves and you during a change? Not sure if it's a boy thing but I'm started to dread changing him as for one he really really hates it and screams constantly and I worry hes really distressed, but every other time I change him pretty much he starts to wee while I'm doing it and it either goes all over his clothes or sometimes up into his face/hair. So more distress/screaming while we strip him off and change him

Open the nappy for a few seconds then close it usually does the trick. It's usually the cold air that encourages the wee.
DD hasn't got that message, she holds it in until DH is wiping her bum!!!

You have to do what you have to do @melissa112, but do ensure it doesn't affect your supply. They don't settle as well because they are working up build up your supply often. The sleeplessness is very hard!

@MistakenHoliday she's now in her cot at night and still doing decent stints. Obviously we've had some crying sessions as well but having a block of 3 hrs at any point in the night is pure bliss compared to my first! Hoping it will be a regular feature - she slept for 4 hrs straight after a feed at 10am today so I'm bracing myself for a bad night lol.

@BadBadBeans you really have to be vigilant with the latch - I had a lazy night where she wasn't feeding properly so I just let her get on with it rather than fight for the latch and really paid for it. Spent yesterday and today being more careful about latch and it's been far better. I think it's the main reason people quit (I'm far too stubborn lol). Lanolin is your best friend and allowing your nipples air time in a warm room helps too. @LovelyFishy I'm with you on the arms - Melissa has a knack for squeezing my nipple between her hands / scramming it with her nails and it's torture!

@Hermagsjesty I'm glad you managed to get a good block of sleep. It just resets you doesn't it?

@SquirtlesMumAgain yikes! I'm glad it's all ok.

@melissa112 don't feel bad about the formula - I know several people who have mixed from the beginning and it's not been a problem for them. I have a 200ml bottle of premixed formula in my changing bag just in case too. Just make sure you're doing as many feeds as possible so it doesn't affect your supply.

Yep I'm cautious about affecting my supply. I have an electric pump which I'm using when he's having the formula as I'm finding he sometimes needs top ups in the day. I just feel like I've done it all wrong maybe? I wanted to exclusively breast feed for at least 6 months but just haven't been able to do that. He's being breast fed on demand at all other times and my supply seems ok so far. I'm finding it hard to know what to do for the best.

We've tried the nappy back over after being exposed to the air but as soon as we have to remove it he has a wee. I'll try and keep it over for longer. It's worse if hes had a poo as by the time I've cleaned him he's had the air on him for a bit and then has the wee!

@melissa112 despite now having two boys I haven't totally solved the wee while changing thing! Best tip I have for you is to put a big chunk of cotton wool over his willy (can dab it with water first to make it stay) while you do his bum. It won't catch all the wee (DS still got his vest wet at the bottom when I did this earlier) but it does at least prevent it from fountaining all over the shop.

@HidCat yes I think I am being vigilant and then I realise it hasn't worked, by which point I can't bear to take him off and start again. I've got a raw patch on each nipple now and it was all I could do not to cry when he latched on earlier. Smothering with lanolin and had a nice warm bath earlier too. I would still say it is a lot better than with my first son though because he actually can latch well!

Anyone else still in disposable knickers a week or more after the birth? I am so not ready to go back to normal pants with the c section scar as stingy as it is. Unfortunately the Boots knickers DH picked up aren't as roomy in the elastic as the JoJo disposables I had, and I am a tad uncomfy.

I am also perturbed by how pregnant I still look - I remember having a soft pouchy belly for a week or two after DS1 but this time I've got quite a solid- feeling bump that makes me look about 5 or 6 months pregnant. Don't know If I am just misremembering how quickly it sank down last time or if I am genuinely bigger this time round! Also, my boobs are so huge that I can't fit in any of the button down nighties I bought for night feeding!

Regarding nappies, anyone else having regular leaks? I have been using kit and kin ones, but after a couple of epic leaks in the last day, I had a go with pampers. He promptly leaked through that one too! He does seem to be producing a phenomenal amount of wee...

@BadBadBeans thanks, I'll try the cotton wool tip. Thought it was too good to be true that there would be a magical solution 🤣 we can go through 2 outfit changes per night!

I've had the same pain with the latch. For a few days when he started feeding I would be crying at the same time as they were so raw. We hadnt got the latch right at the hospital and he was just getting the end of my nipple and the damage was just getting worse. Its a lot better now we've sorted out the latch but another peril of the mixed feeding is that he sometimes wont latch properly and gets frustrated with how slow it is compared to the bottle.

Not in disposables but still in the massive knickers. I really wasnt prepared for how much I was going to bleed for some reason!

Have you tried the Aldi nappies? We don't seem to have had any leaks with those but maybe just lucky.

@melissa112 we are using reusable baby wipes which are basically little square flannels. We place one of these over baby's willy while changing & airing his bum, to catch any wees. He sometimes resists but we've caught quite a few thus way. Other times he's managed to pee on his face so it's not 100% effective!!

@BadBadBeans @HidCat It's so hard with the latch isn't it? We're generally doing okay as long as I'm strict, but when he starts grabbing my nipples with a razor sharp finger nail in the dead of night I sometimes let him get away with a bad latch just to get on with it. Definitely a false economy in the long run. We've started folding over the little mits at the end of the babygro for night time which definitely helps...

@BadBadBeans great that you have support from the in-laws & enjoy living with them. I don't think I could handle that at all (even though I like them a lot & not that it's an option)!

@BadBadBeans I'm not in disposables & didn't have a CS but I'm feeling quite bruised still & enjoying wearing very large M&S high top pants in a very soft & stretchy material. Not sure how they'd sit with your scar but I bought 2 sizes up and it's working well.

Hi everyone 👋🏼

Just checking in to say hello as I've been somewhat occupied trying to get to grips with this parenting thing in the first week of baby Charlie being in the world and us being a family of 3.

We've had a really difficult couple of nights where little man just won't settle. It seems to be a mixture of wind, either not enough or too much formula and basically I'm feeling beyond useless that I can't seem to know what he needs. The wind seems to be a real issue, especially at night. We are so thorough in doing it, usually half way through a feed but it doesn't seem to fully go.

Also, for bottle feeders on here, did anyone else struggle knowing how much they should be giving baby? I'm feeding him every 3 hours minimal but now wondering if he needs more at night, but perhaps smaller doses than the 60/70ml he's sure to taking. I just feel like I'm getting it all wrong 😢

I was so sore feeding this evening that I was losing the plot. DS just wanted to keep feeding, boob after boob after boob. I ended up in tears and handed him over to DH in the spare room so I could have a break. That was at 10.20pm. I woke up at 3.10am with very full boobs! Had visions of DH having squashed the baby... went to see what was going on. DH, bless him, had been sitting up awake in bed with the light on for nearly 5 hours, reading, with baby snuggled next to him, so that I could get some sleep. What a love.

@BadBadBeans what a star your other half is! We forget I think that the men also have their fair share of things to get to grips with. Glad you managed to get some sleep.

Little man had his early morning feed at 2:30 and was expecting a repeat performance of not settling and being awake until 6am. He fell asleep at 3am and slept right until gone 6. Meant I managed to get 2 chunks of 2 hours sleep which is a lot more than I had the previous night!

I managed to shrink my other half's woollen jumper yesterday as I accidentally put it in the normal wash. Cue much sniping at one another and me having a sob in the bath whilst trying to bathe my stitches. Felt like the end of the world last night! No one can prepare you for what the lack of sleep does to you.

Hope some of you have managed more sleep 😴

@ballanj sorry you are struggling. You aren't doing anything wrong - the not settling and being colicky is very normal. No-one really knows why babies suffer it seems but they can do for no obvious reason. Have a look at the tiger in the tree pose to offer another option to try for a bit of peace/comfort for both of you.

Thanks @SquirtlesMumAgain I had a proper catch up read through the feed last night and made of note of the tiger in the tree pose so I'll give that a shot. I'm glad this is just normal behaviour. I guess with all the sleep deprivation it makes everything seem harder. Other half has been struggling a bit with it aswell in spite him saying he's okay, we're both very tired. Seem to have turned a corner last night so we'll see how the next couple of days pan out.

So grateful to have this group!

@ballanj you are not doing anything wrong the first weeks are really hard work. Both my girls have had colic dd1 stopped about 8 weeks so I’m hoping Lois is similar.
The tiger in the tree hold is really good, do you have a sling? I find having them close and upright really helps.