February 2019 babies - thread 2

[Celebelly]

New thread, ladies!

Re ranitadine. We've been using it for a week and have seen a small improvement. Less choking episodes, more settled and feeding better but still very sicky. DS1 had more severe reflux than DS2 so for him it took a fortnight on maximum dosage for us to see any improvement.

Definitely go for a weigh in. Ranitadine is quite weight dependent so the dose will need increasing regularly as baby puts on weight. It's prescribed as 1, 2 or 3mg per kg so there is also room to increase dose that way if it's not effective. Or omeprazole is an option if ranitadine isn't right for your baby. Can you tell l had a hard time with reflux with DS1!

Notquite sounds a bit complex. Good thing they're playing it safe and kept her in overnight.

Can I ask a poo question if it's not tmi? What colour and consistency is normal for your formula fed babies? R is varying between mustard yellow poos and dark green very runny. Is occasional green and loose normal? I've looked online and it seems to suggest green is ok but I don't remember DS1 having green loose poo and it's not like this every day.

Thanks to everyone who posted supportive messages when I was struggling. It was very comforting. I've been on antidepressants for 2 weeks now. (Sertraline) I had a really bad day on Thursday (coincided with dose increase) but since then I've been feeling way better and have got enough energy to look after my little girl again. I'm hoping we'll be able to go home this week! I am suffering from insomnia and have very little appetite (have lost a lot of weight) but I'm hoping once those two things are sorted I'll be back to my old self. I see the mental health Dr on Friday. Looking forward to showing them how much I've improved!

My little girl seems to have settled into a pretty good routine. She's so much more interactive/fun and also a lot more predictable than she was. Also sleeping really well at night. And has stopped crying incessantly in the evenings. Long may it last 😊 seems like it's true what everyone says about them being easier after the 4th trimester!

@detachablehoof fantastic news. You are doing so well 💪🏽

Home now. Once theyd ruled out water infection and dehydration. They agreed she would probally be happier at home with open accedd to return if need be.

We have appointments with gastro team, dietician team, and lactation team to follow up. Which is reassuring.

Reflux is the most heart breaking thing isnt it. Glad to hear others experience.

As shes on the bottom 0.4% line we get weighed every couple weeks and get her dose reviewed. But tbh think its not helping much. Only thing thats improved is nappy rash. As think her poos where so acidic making her sore.

Hard as alot of stomach meds are high in salt and M cant have them because of her kidneys.

Last night though in hospital was 1st time since she was born ive properly been able to sleep (survive on couple broken hours a night)as I didnt feel I needed to watch her like a hawk and sit up terrorfied shed choke. As knew others where keeping eye out for her so wasnt all on me. Sounds silly I know. Its annoying as shes a good sleeper. I had alovely 3hr sleep last night. Longest had since shes been born.

powkin I really feel for you, that sounds relentlessly hard work and the lack of sleep will only exacerbate it. Does she weigh more than 11lb? If she does she should be able to sleep at least a 6 hour stretch at night. Is she wanting feeding at every wake up? My DS2's sleep stretches didn't seem to have improved a couple of weeks ago, but then when he disturbed one night I settled him back off with a dummy instead (spat it out as he doesn't like them, but it was enough to realise he didn't want feeding) and we detached his co sleeping crib too. Now he sleeps 8-9 hours at a time! We were being way too quick to get him up to feed so he was in the habit rather than being ravenous, if that makes sense.

@detachablehoof I am so pleased to read your update and hear that you are feeling better. Hopefully you will be going home soon and can then create your own little routines.

@Notquiteagandt glad to hear little one is ok and you've been discharged . Hope you managed a few hours tonight!

@detachablehoof so glad you are doing a bit better! In admiration of you tbh.

@notquiteagandt glad she’s on the mend and you get to go home soon!!

Having a hard week here - DD2 is an angel tbf and still only waking once a night so I feel awful for being so tired but the threenager is v hard work and DD2 wouldn’t nap well yesterday so it all went a bit wrong. Gah! Her sleep is SO much better than her sister so why I am so tired?!

@powkin I’m sorry you are struggling. I’m sorry to say this but 4 hour stretches even for a ff baby aren’t unusual at this stage. She’s still got a lot of growing to do. But v hard if you’re struggling with it - I couldn’t imagine having to get up to make bottles etc... in the middle of the night (a large reason of why I bf!) so I assume that contributes. As pp have said - this bit doesn’t last that long although your DH should help a bit more to give you some you time. You’d be amazed at how much better an hour or two alone can make you feel!

Hello everyone. Sending hugs to those of you struggling - it’s HARD having a new baby and you’re all doing so well.

Baby O is 12 weeks old today and I am feeling a little triumphant as we are STILL mixed feeding despite me posting at around 6 weeks that we were stopping breastfeeding). I’d always planned to mixed feed but he was so fussy and difficult on the boob, and I had such anxiety after our failed BF experience with my first son that it all looked as though it was going pear shaped. But despite all of that he is still BF at night and 2-3 times during the day, as well as having about half his bottle as expressed milk.

I can’t tell you what an achievement that is for us.

In other news my tear hasn’t healed and I’ve got to go to the perineal clinic. Has anyone else got problems down there?

Sympathy to fellow threenager parents. I was hit five times and bitten once before nursery today, all because I was trying to get him to brush teeth. Wonder when things will improve!

@AmberRose17. Well done on the mixed feeding! I started ebf then had to move to mixed feeding due to poor weight gain. Unfortunately baby didn’t take to mix feeding and my supply dwindled quite quickly so DD is ff now. Great that you have been able to continue.

My DD is 12 weeks and showing signs of teething - lots of dribbling, biting on anything in sight, flushed cheeks, fussiness when feeding and constant crying! I’ve heard that the first tooth may not appear until 6 months even although she has all the symptoms now. Please don’t say that she will be like this until the first tooth appears 😢!!

I’ve tried teething ring, dummy in fridge, washcloth in fridge. I’ve ordered teetha powder at the recommendation of my friend which I’ll collect tomorrow. Not quite sure how that’s going to work though as she won’t let me near her mouth!

Anything else that has worked for you ladies?

The constant crying is a struggle as literally don’t get 5 mins to myself during the day or early evening. She cries unless sleeping or being fed. This is the 5th day in a row and I’m exhausted. Thankfully she does sleep better at night or else I’m not sure how I’d carry on!

Oof that sounds tough. Baby E is dribbling a lot but I think that's just to do with her saliva glands maturing and not teething thankfully.. I've heard good things about Ashton and Parsons teething powder. The Crysis website might be worth a look - it has some good stuff about babies who cry. E isn't really a crier but I was looking at it for a friend who has a very unsettled baby and it seemed pretty useful.

We've finally completed the transition from pumping to breastfeeding. I'm still doing a pump or so a day as she goes to bed at 8 so I do one about 10, but it's such a relief not having to pump every three ihours or in middle of the night! My nipples are a bit bruised but think they just need to get used to baby sucking after so long with just pump. She seems to be pretty efficient at getting milk out and satisfied so hopefully she's getting enough!

Thanks @Celebelly. It’s really difficult to watch her being so upset. We have just cracked the silent reflux with carobel and now this. I’ll have a look at the website as well as the teething powder. Great news that bf is going well for you and baby E!

@bubblybrit - we have a teething baby here too. We've used anbesol liquid and that seems to work x

Wow @celebelly that’s a fantastic achievement, well done! You must feel incredibly proud of yourself.

Yes @bubblybrit mixed feeding is difficult to maintain without an effect on supply. I’ve been pumping 3x per day with a double pump, which is a bit of a bore and not sure how much longer I’ll do that.

I was listening to this podcast the other day about the evidence base around various aspects of parenting, including breastfeeding and sleep training. Was pretty interesting I thought, given that we are all bombarded with so much conflicting info.

Good luck to people with teething babies. From my first experience I found that good old Calpol before bed helped a lot. X

Ahem, would help if I actually linked to the podcast . I blame the night feed.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/data-driven-parenting-economist-on-breastfeeding-sleep/id1289880441?i=1000436787413

amberrose17 and celebelly congratulations to you both that's amazing!!!

My dd been teething on off few weeks now. Swear by weleda teething granules. As well as her sophie to chew on. Shes like a constant stream of dribble and runny nappies. Feel for her as tooth pains the worst.

Thanks for all the teething recommendations. I’m willing to try anything at this stage as hate to see her in so much pain. I wasn’t really prepared for teething as stupidly didn’t think it started until later!

My baby doesn't seem to want to be left with Daddy in the evenings anymore (9 weeks old) anyone else had this issue?

Should mention she is breast fee +expressed bottles

@DeliberatelyGinger - sorry, I haven't. I have noticed that my lo cries sometimes when other people hold her, like my mum and Mil?

Anyone have issues with their older ones waking REALLY early and just being wide awake and ready for the day? Today's wake up call was 4:20! Not sure what to do really as he's still getting like 9 hours sleep. I've tried putting him to bed earlier and later (not sooner than he's ready) and it doesn't seem to make much difference? X

She’s over 13lbs now and was 3 months this week (she was 15 days early). She still feeds 7 times a day. My husband helps a lot at night - he works at home and has taken to working at night - so I do get sleep, but during the day until she goes to bed it’s 90% me, and we hardly spend any time together as he gets up at 11.30am and I go to bed around 8.30pm and I take her out most days as she enjoys being out.

Her usual schedule is 12, 4, 7, 10, 1, 4, 7 (I say this with an enormous pinch of salt obviously). So she goes 5 hours, sometimes a bit more from 7pm - Midnight, but that’s obviously not the most helpful time! We really want 12-5 so we can spend some more time together. Today/yesterday she was really unsettled (we both have colds) so it was all over the place, with 7, 10, 1, 3.30 then wanting half bottle, bits of extra food and fussing until bed at 7, 12, 3, 6. I’ve been up since 4.30 and she’s been awake in her crib most of that time, needing a poo and snuffling. I went downstairs to get myself a drink and she was wide awake on the monitor. I figured she must have done a poo so got her up at 5.30 to change her and she was super awake, I let her wriggle on the bed for half an hour and figured she must be getting hungry and she was ravenous when I gave it to her. Cue another huge poo. Now I’ve put her back to bed for a bit in the hope she might sleep a little more, she seems more settled but we’ll see.

We’ve maybe had one or two days ever with less than 7 feeds, but if she does go a long stretch she usually wants to catch up that bottle later. She’s always been on more than the packet and is around 75 percentile, although now she finishes her bottles less regularly and often leaves a bit. Her whole body, head and face seem to be changing loads at the moment, every morning she looks different.

We are planning to move her out of our room but we are both so tired we never get round to sorting what will be her room. It will be darker and quieter in there which I hope might help, and as neither of us are really sleeping in our bed she she’s asleep it makes no difference.

powkin 7 feeds a day at 3 months is normal. Our rough feeding times are 7am, 10, 1, 4, 7, 10pm, 4am so R does nearly exactly the same feeds during the day as you. But we wake him up for a feed at 10pm (which DH gives and I go to bed). Could this work for you? He then lasts until about 4am for next feed, although it could be anywhere between 2 and 6 am when he wakes for it if he's having a growth spurt/reflux/teething.

You do have to be realistic though and accept that babies work to their own schedule. So it's taken a few weeks for R to gradually stretch out from 10-2am to 10-4am but we have had the odd night when he's gone a little longer so I'm hopeful at some point he will do 10pm until 6am, but he will do this at his own pace. What I'm trying to say is if you do try giving a 10pm feed don't expect an immediate change in night time feeds, baby needs time to adjust to a new routine.

I had a breastfeeding assessment done as weight gain is not on track. Breast fed babies should be feeding 8-12 times a day apparently! Not sure if it's the same for formula fed.

Baby E feeds a lot on and off during the day. It's hard to break it down into number of feeds as she just likes to be on the boob, sometimes for food, sometimes just to comfort suck, so sometimes she can be on boob for two hours in an afternoon but only actively feeding for like 30 mins. Sometimes it's the only way to get her to nap!

I think she probably feeds every couple of hours during the day if we are at home. If we are out and about in car and pram or at classes she goes longer as she tends to sleep more. Nights are very variable at the moment - anywhere from 5-8 hours for the first stretch usually, although last night she was up every three but just wanted 10 mins of boob and went back to sleep. Her sleep has changed a lot in last 10 days - she seems to be cycling through light and deep sleep a lot more and stirring and resettling herself in the night whereas before once she was out, she was out!

Well isnt leap 4 fun 😴😴😴💤