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

Not co sleeping here either. I'd be too paranoid, but he settles in bassinet at night so haven't really had to. If he didn't, I'm sure I would be tho!

No cosleeping here either - I’ve got a soft memory foam mattress so even the pro-cosleeping resources say it’s not safe. She either sleeps in my arms (mostly) or in her Moses basket.

No cosleeping here! Luckily she sleeps pretty well at night in the snuzpod next to me (with the sleepyhead in, which I know isn't officially recommended). From the first feed after 5am she won't go back in it though, so from then on she comes in with me and I just doze next to her.

Oh!

Not fully caught up, had a hectic couple of days, both our boys have hand foot and mouth

We also cosleep, all 4 of us, DS1 age 2 is still in the bed and was from day 1, he now snuggles with DP and baby is on me and has been from day 1 also, he slept on me in the hospital. Breastfeeding both too. Often one on each side with toddler holding babies hand in the middle haha. MIL likened me to an orangutan

I also couldn't be without my sling but SO important to have the right one for you or it just won't work out

I'm not, well I sometimes take her in with me just after 6 for an hour or two when dp gets up for work as his alarm tends to wake her, and it means she goes straight back to sleep. We are all in same room, we don't have a spare. Last evening feed is always between 9-10pm, then goes down in cot between 10-11pm and sleeps to around 3-4am. In with me at 6 if she wakes with alarm then sleeps to 8-9am.

So many babies sleeping for good chunks of time at night.... I'm very jealous! Baby is like clock work and wakes every 3 hours day and night without fail!

Not co-sleeping here either. And he’s a good little chap. Has slept 9.30 to 6 twice. So good I’ve started trying to establish a proper bed time for him. Put him down last night at 8. He slept in his little cot on monitor until 1 (I went up at 10.30), then 4 and I’m impatiently waiting for him to wake up and feed so my boobs can deflate a little at 7.30.

We had our worst night yet last night: DS was awake from 1 until 4, then stirred at 5:15 and 6 to be fed. It's the first night where I've sat in the dark crying. Not helped by the fact that my DH was away with work last night so I have both the baby and the 2 year old today all day.

We also had our worst night yet!

The silent reflux has really ramped up and she was either awake and distressed, or screaming in her sleep every 2-3 minutes so we struggled to sleep. GP won't prescribe ranitidine without us seeing a paediatrician, and our appt isn't until end of November. So in desperation last night I found a consultant paediatrician gastroenterologist and emailed to see if we can get a private appointment ASAP to try and sort this out. The constant crying nearly broke me 2 years ago when we had the same issue and I'm terrified of going through the same thing for several months again

Big hugs @happydays00 and @RolyHappyNorrieTagBetty, I hope you manage a chilledish day. Does your 2yo still nap happy?
Roly - have you already stopped dairy and caffeine? Not sure if you already said, sorry. Those were the culprits for my older boy and as hard as it was it was worth it long term - worth noting it takes a couple of weeks from completely quitting to it getting out of your system and even a cup of teas worth of milk was enough to set my big boy off. I stopped all dairy from 6 months pg this time bc just wasn't up for chancing it and going through it all again!

No co sleeping here either

I usually go up with baby around 10, he has a bottle upstairs and goes in his basket. He then wakes around 230 and 530 to be fed/changed. I do all the night stuff. DP sleeps like a corpse!

No toddler jealousy here, i assume because we already had 4dc everyone is used to having to share already!

@Myspiritan We have a bit of jealousy too. Dd is 2 and she adores her new baby sister but she is definitely more clingy and emotional at the mo and we had a regression with potty training.

@danigrace I've only started the last couple of days, really hoping that's the cause and then at least I can control it. Luckily I don't drink tea/coffee so the caffeine part is fairly easy (apart from chocolate!) but cheese is a hard one for me to give up! Worth it for a happy baby though... and no cheese & chocolate can only help with shifting the weight I'm holding onto!
2yo is luckily a champion napper and sleeper in general so at least we don't have to cope with two grumpy kids at night.

@db92 you're not alone! We're every 3 hours too. 2h40 is the longest stint of unbroken sleep I've had since baby arrived according to my fitbit

Oh @happydays00 why do the worst nights always happen at the worst times. I hope you manage a snooze today.

@RolyHappyNorrieTagBetty that sounds really hard. I hope you manage to see someone soon.

I want to try and get some expressed milk in the freezer - but how do I get a decent amount? In 24 hours I've pumped after 3 feeds (assume my boy needs to feed first - I don't want him to go hungry) and only got 1.5oz... it's gonna take forever to get a decent amount at this rate... how long before the pumping increases supply? And should I pump after every feed or can I just do the ones where I have time? Say, 2 or 3 per day?

Oh, also, yesterday ds slept for 1.5 hours in his Moses basket!! The difference in myself was amazing. Obviously I love him more than life itself but having that time just to go and do jobs was incredible!! I cleaned and tidied the kitchen and lounge and got all of his laundry folded. If I get one or 2 stretches like that a day I'll be so very happy!!

@kyles101 not pumped this time yet but with DS1 my best yield was always first thing in the morning with medela pump working on one side whilst he fed on the other, could almost always fill a bottle that way but got much less in the day for some reason.

@RolyHappyNorrieTagBetty I really hope that's your solution too in the small hours with baby screaming waiting a couple of weeks seems impossible but you will get there. Mums have crazy superpowers!

Well we are in the process of moving house, DP come to do work on the new house today and we have a viewing here this afternoon and the place looks like a tornado passed through and I have two clingy poorly boys - wish me luck!!!

We're co-sleeping sometimes but DD is quite happy in the bedside crib until after the 5am feed. I loved co sleeping with DD so quite happy if he wants to come in.

We had a 6 hour stretch last night, I'm sure it's a fluke and my boobs were less than impressed!

@happydays00 will the 2yo watch a movie? I rely on a bit of morning telly while I muster up the energy for something else. I'd get under a blanket on the sofa and hope everyone falls asleep. I hope nights improve for you soon.

@kyles101 I think pumping can take a while to build up. In theory, your body is producing the right amount for baby and now needs to gear up to produce a little extra. Have a read of KellyMom, there might be tips on there.

I'm building up a stash now but I'm only using the Haaka silicone pump. I pop it in the best boob during the first night time feed and get around 3-4oz in 10 mins. Find it's much better during the night, it's just a pain to have to go downstairs and sort it out. I've also found that DS often only wants one side now so plenty of opportunity to use the haaka on the other side, but I can't be bothered!

@kyles101 if you can manage to pump one size whilst feeding baby on the other you should get much more, and don’t worry about baby going hungry if your boobs are empty, when they’re empty they actually produce milk quicker than when they’re full!

Sorry to hear about people's rubbish nights!
And argh re full boobs waking you up when the baby does sleep a bit more, you can't win!
DC2 has been home from nursery with a fever the last few days, by supper time last night I was beyond touched out, she climbs all over me and prods and pokes all day long, and is such a chain of demands (hold my hand while I walk! Watch me use the potty! Read me a story! Give me a cuddle! Literally without pause...) I know it's totally reasonable for a poorly 3 year old coping with a new sibling, but coupled with said new sibling being unputdownable , I was not a kind and lovely person by the end of the day.
Still torn about visiting MIL at the end of next week. DC3 will be 4 weeks old, and it involves an hour's bus journey with a change, two hour train, 15 min walk then 30 min bus. The plan was for DP to just take the bigger two but I keep wondering if we are just being wimps and should all go. And I'm not particularly looking forward to being solo at home either. Ho hum.

What is the visit to mils likely to be like dusty? Helpful relatives who help with dc and give you a rest? Or interfering ones who give shit advice, fill dc with sugar and make unrealistic demands?

@kyles101 I also found that pumping first thing in the morning off one boob as DS feeds off the other would easily fill a bottle but pumpkins every morning also meant that my boobs get crazy engorged over night and even if he feeds from the boob in the night and I pump from the other I never get very much until morning (even though I feel like I could fill 50 bottles!) Very strange.

Sadly my DD doesn't nap anymore, even though she is in dire need of one on a Saturday as she always seems exhausted from 3 days at nursery. She's being utterly vile today and DS has only napped for 40 minutes in the car since 8;30 this morning so I'm just trying to get through the afternoon without screaming!

Hahaha pumpkins?! That should read "this also means"

Oh I give up. Pumpkins should be pumping. You can see I'm not dealing well with today 😂