August/September 2019 Babies (Due in Sept 19)

[IVEgottheDECAF]

Couldnt see a post natal group so have taken it upon myself to start one! Will obviously still keep up on antenatal also until babies have all arrived!

Shall we start a list of arrivals?

IVEgotheDECAF - DC5 - boy - 07/09/19 - 9lb1oz

[Stroan]

@IVEgottheDECAF you are an absolute hero. I think I've done an hour alone with both kids so far.

[IVEgottheDECAF]

stroan i dont know about that but i feel so much more able to function now i have my body back

[DustyDoorframes]

Blimey decaf you are about two days post partum!! Stop showing the rest of us up please!!

[easterbuns1]

Evening all! Congrats @IVEgottheDECAF and any other announcements I've missed. I've not been able to keep up with here and fb since baby arrived.

[kyles101]

Missing sleep is so strange - all day I'm fine with it and then hit a wall at about 7pm. 3 hourly feeds which as he takes an hour to wake, feed, Change etc. Doesn't leave a lot of time for anything else 🙄 another weigh in tomorrow morning so fingers and toes crossed for a bit of a gain please everyone. I'm sure we must have done it (please!!)

[ShowerTheHorse]

Was due 21st September but had my boy 10th August weighing 2lb 11oz. 3 weeks in the nicu and now we're finally home!

[IVEgottheDECAF]

BabyDECAF has discovered his lungs overnight and is making his presence truely felt!

I have finally had back pay of maternity allowance!

[kyles101]

Ha ha, he's just letting you know he's there! The only time ds really howls is bum change, then we get it!! Had our first poo-nami in the middle of the night too- fun!

Weigh in today, keep everything crossed he's turned into a little chubster in the last 2 days...

[IVEgottheDECAF]

Good luck for the weigh in kyles!

BabyDECAF was changed 5 times between 3 and 530am. Poo machine!

[boodles101]

AHH man the twins really ganged up on me last night. Alex is the noisiest baby I've ever heard, just grunt and strain and makes general noise all night long. He would not settled back down after his 12am feed. Then Erin decided to throw up all over the both of them. I think I managed about an hour sleep.

[IVEgottheDECAF]

Oh no boodles! I feel much more grateful for my 3 hours now!

[Tefiti2]

@Stroan did I read on a previous thread that you have experience with refluxy babies? Fairly certain DD has it - she is 17 days old and is so so unhappy when I try to feed her lying down at night. She frequently gags in her sleep and can vomit out of nowhere, gets hiccups multiple times a day and has terrible constant nasal congestion, and lets not dwell too much on her painful cry 😢 What has helped you? Please say it gets better!

[kyles101]

120g on in 2 days - yay!! Health visitor very pleased, next weigh in 2 days then hopefully back to feeding on demand 🎉

[maternityleave234]

@Tefiti2 have you tried infacol? That plus winding really frequently whilst feeding- every 5 or so mins worked wonders for my first. Might be worth a try!

[Stroan]

@Tefiti2 yes, DD had reflux and we think the baby has it too, but very mild.

Things you can try:

Carobel milk thickener (over the counter, not medicated. You mix it with a bottle of FF, it's a faff for BF babies though)

Wedging the cot/crib somehow. We bought a foam wedge from Amazon that lifts him up slightly, it lets gravity stop the acid from rising.

Keep her upright and still for 20 mins after a feed. It's guaranteed puke here if we don't do this.

Medication wise, some doctors don't "believe" in reflux so it can be a challenge unless there is a concern over weight gain. They will normally start with gaviscon which made DS horribly constipated so we've abandoned it. Next step would be ranitidine which worked wonders for DD. It builds up over time and really helped with her pain. Omezaprole is another option but I think it has to be serious for that to be offered.

Is there a pattern to it? Is it the same time every night? If so, it could be a little bit of colic. The symptoms can be similar.

But solidarity. It's awful, especially at night. We struggle to get DS down after cluster feeding and his tummy is clearly hurting him.

Oh. And a million muslins.

[happydays00]

Ah found you all!!

@kyles101 - I'm exactly the same with the tiredness. Takes me a little while to get going in the morning and then hit a massive wall from about 6/7pm.

@boodles101 - I have a grunting/straining baby too!! Particularly at night. The past few nights have been pretty shocking: feeding every 3 hours (not too bad), but taking about 2 hours to feed/wind/settle back to sleep so I'm getting about 30-60 minutes between feeds 🥴 I don't remember it being this hard the first time round??!!

Max is 4 weeks on Thursday and I was hoping he might have started to stretch out his feeds a bit. Am I being way overly optimistic here?? Have I just blocked out what life is like with a newborn?

I've survived 5 days with the in laws and CANNOT wait to have my house back tomorrow!

[Stroan]

@happydays00 we are in a similar cycle just now. The feeding is fine but getting him back into the crib can take hours and he only settles for me. If I move him too soon, he gets frantic and I have to start feeding again. Staying awake while holding a baby in bed is absolute torture. He rolled off me the other night when I must have dozed off (it was fine, he didn't wake up)

Even worse, as soon as he stirs, I'm awake and then can't sleep again until he's fully awake for a feed. That can be an hour sometimes

[Geegrl19]

Hi everyone, can I join? Had a bit of a lurk on the due board but never posted as was far too superstitious to as I'm officially old at 44 and felt like I was tempting fate in thinking that all would go well!

Little man was born on 27/8 and had some jaundice and a trip back to hospital due to losing more than 10% breastfeeding was super tricky to get right but we've progressed well with good support (I'm in Australia and their follow up heath care is great compared to when I had my daughter in the UK many years ago) but still topping up with formula.

Hope everyone is doing well.

[kyles101]

@happydays00 well done for surviving - i'd rather go through labour again!! Ah, not really I only have DMIL sadly and she's ok most of the time. 5 days though... 3/4 weeks - are you sure max isn't having a growth spurt? DS is 8 days and I'm pretty sure he's having one - wants feeding every 2 hours - which is taking an hour - tiredness will be at a new level tomorrow I fear. Oh well we'll have a housey day tomorrow

Think I'm going to try a first proper bath tomorrow- should be fun as he's not a massive fan of being naked 😳 any tips other than getting the room nice and cosy warm?

He's so funny at he minute, lots of longer alert periods. He's also decided that he needs to do an elaborate series of pecks before feeding off the right breast. Just the right one, and only if he's not too hungry, if he's gotten too hungry then he's just straight in with angry sucking. And I swear he chuckled earlier - everyone heard it!!! It was just after I'd laughed at something!! (Ok, I suppose it could have been a burp coincided with a hiccup at the exact right moment but it really did sound like A chuckle!!)

@Stroan I've had to come out if the bedroom to feed - the snooze temptation is too great. Bless you re the putting down - that must be hard going. Hopefully you find some magic system ASAP.

Welcome @Geegrl19 congratulations on your little man!! Mine lost 11.2%, we're back to 8% at day 7 - how long did it take you to get back to birth weight?

[Geegrl19]

@kyles101 was 13 days when weighed on Monday just gone and still not near birth weight. Calculated lost nearly 13 % overall, this was back to 9% at Monday's weigh. hopefully another weigh in tomorrow when following up with the lactation consultant. He is a bit too chill for his own good I think. But of a lazy feeder so always having to tickle feet, ears etc. It's hard not to get hung up on the numbers, doesn't help anxiety. You wouldn't think I've done this before it's been a long time though!

[Tefiti2]

Thank you for that @Stroan
The GP prescribed Carobel yesterday but what a nightmare to get it into her as she’s breastfed! Going to persevere with it because I think it definitely made a difference as we had a much more settled night, although I agree in that I think there’s an element of colic to it too so just making sure she’s winded very frequently! Her weight gain is okay - 8oz in a week infact!! Which is making me doubt if it is really reflux...

[Stroan]

@tefiti2 they can have reflux and gain weight - depends how much of feeds they bring back up. DD didn't have as many physical symptoms but was very sick after every single feed so had slow weight gain. But I've got friends who had reflux babies and they always gained well.

We tried Colief last night, huge difference. No hard tummy or squirming baby at midnight. It's a total faff as well, have to express milk to mix it into but seems worth persisting with.

[kyles101]

@Geegrl19 that's my boy to a t too - he is getting a bit better though, and as I say, feeding frenzy today! It's not anything anyone warns you about is it? Where I am they re-admit you to hospital if they lose over 12% so that's why. Was a bit anxious about it. Excellent that both our boys are back on the up now though 🥰 well done!

[happydays00]

@Stroan interesting to read your results with Colief - so I have panic purchased some from Amazon. Last night was a dreadful night: Max fed at his usual 3 hours but would not settle so I think I slept about 90 minutes all night 🥴 he isn't crying but is squirming, grunting, stretching and generally not sleeping. The in laws have left now so we have our spare room back so DH is out of the bed tonight and I'm going to try co-sleeping. Didn't do it with DD but getting desperate now.

[Geegrl19]

So had a weigh in at the lactation consultant today and only gained 45gms in three days. Feeling like a bit of a failure to tell you the truth as he is nowhere near birth weight and is 16 days today.

I do wonder if there is a discrepancy between different scales used at different places. Got to keep feeding and topping up and also been advised to go to docs for some stuff called domperidone which apparently boosts milk supply. Nothing like not gaining to make an overthinker over think!

Hope you ladies had a better night last night. Sleep deprivation, killer.