August/ September 2019 babies #2

[kyles101]

Thread number 2 for our August / September 2019 due date babies.

DS is having a regression on nighttime sleep since moving over to combi - seems to want to wale at 1am whereas before would always go through until 3am...

@db92 Arlo hates all bottles too!

Think I might just discuss the emaprazole tomorrow and see what they say at least I won't have to try and give it to him 6 times a day like gaviscon.

Yes the list is interesting, same with us loads of comments of how strong his neck was literally as soon as he was born. Always has hiccups and sneezes.

Just tried to put him down in his cot after he'd been fast asleep on me for a good half an hour. 30 seconds later and he's crying and coughing 😩

The Living With Reflux Facebook group is a really good resource - every experience possible seems to be covered and some very knowledgeable mums on there.

We gave up with Omeprazole as they gave us the dispersible tablets (the liquid version is very pricey) and he just kept throwing it back up. He wasn't actually getting any medication so his pain returned. Lansaprazole is also dispersible but he actually seems to like it, it's not as much of a battle to get it into him. Plus, another day of very little sick (such a novelty to not end the day soaked in puke...)

Ranitidine was great for DS pain-wise (and worked well for DD) but it's kind of the second step in trying stuff after gaviscon so don't be too disheartened that it's not an option. The next step meds are probably even better.

Sorry for all those struggling with reflux, it sounds rough and I hope it eases up for you all soon! :( We are coming out the other side of a horrific week, Ruth's cold is easing up and she's beginning to go longer stretches (3 hours) again at night instead of every hour thank goodness.

She's also taken to shrieking when she's happy. So high pitched and the more excited, the higher and louder the scream...

I've heard about the early weaning and IBS research. It's so difficult because I want to do what's best for E and not cause extra problems long term but am struggling with the sheer volume of sick everyday and fussing at bottle times.

My DPs step mum is a health visitor and recently attended a seminar with a children's dietician who actually recommends weaning from closer to 5 months mark quoting research regarding the possibility's that the risk of allergies reduces. I'm fully aware of the NHS guidelines though so do want to hold off as long as we can but not sure that'll be 6 months.

God it'd be easier if these babies came with instruction manuals wouldn't it !

Aw, sounds hard @Horehound I really hope everyone's ok and it's not affecting this time too much for you.

Have a meeting at work tomorrow to discuss my flexible working request. For some reason my boss has asked a junior member off staff to be present as a witness and note taker - fair enough if he wants someone but this person is a member of my team so it kind of restricts certain discussions in my opinion. Oh well, we'll see how it goes. It has been playing on my mind a bit so he please when it's done with.

Ds is so interested in what we're eating and drinking. He's 5 months next week and I'm starting to wonder if letting him have tiny tastes of bits would be terrible. Need to do some reading I think.

@db92 there is so much we are still learning about guts, whatever you do is only ever going to be a best guess! I really like the baby led weaning principle of "if they can grab it and eat it when sitting up, it's ok for them to do that" (obvs doesn't work if they are grabbing at a vodka!) because it seems reasonable that we should be wired that way... but reflux is pretty unreasonable wiring so that doesn't really help!
@kyles101 argh your boss is such a nightmare!!! Make sure you ask to approve the notes, and take comprehensive ones of your own...
@yevans DC1 was a shrieker! We never did figure out what to do about it. Another "it will pass" situation...

So dr was only willing to give me the gaviscon 🤦🏼‍♀️ just given the first dose and he screamed as you have to mix it with 15 ml of water so 3 calpol syringes full I had to get him to take. Has anyone mixed it with less water?

@dustydoorframes it's just a complete minefield! I'm going to see what the doctor says tomorrow and go from there I think.

Out of curiosity.... do many of you still see/ hear from your HV? I've only met mine once and whenever we call or text for advice regarding reflux/ CMPA (or anything really) we're told it's best to just make a GP appointment.

@pollyroe16. E is bottle fed so we just used to put it in his bottle. Sorry I'm not more help that that!

@pollyroe16 total nightmare. I would be inclined to add it to expressed milk if BFing. But I'd also be going back to the doctor to discuss how ridiculous it is to give gaviscon to an EBF baby...

@db92 we had a weaning chat at 14 weeks and nothing since. To be fair, I would never contact her. She's as useful as a chocolate teapot....

Omg. Please. Send. Sleep. ☹️☹️☹️ So terrible daytime sleeper that he is, Nate always went down well at night and has a great bedtime routine.

He's picked up a mild cold from daycare. Last night he woke at midnight and eventually went off after a bottle at 3.30 (all milk felt like it was sucked dry). He went back to sleep for an hour!!! I ended up sleeping sitting up with him on me, just awful. He wasn't too bad in the day today but is now refusing to sleep tonight. Have given him medicine and he isn't even that snotty. He's killing me. He hasn't slept properly since that bloody four month regression hit. How long after a cold do they settle again? How on earth am I going to go back to work next week. Help!!!

Aww @geegrl19 that's tough. I always think it feels so much worse when they've been a good sleeper before because you've got used to getting some sleep. Hope the cold goes soon and he gets back to normal.

Breastfeeding mums - what do your evenings look like? I keep feeling like I should be trying to get DS down at night, but also can't be bothered! At the moment, he has a big feed around the time we are putting DD to bed - 7.30-8. Then sleeps on or near me for a few hours. Occasionally, he'll cluster feed. Other nights I'll wake him when I go to bed - change him, feed him and we all go to sleep. Very rarely, he'll be wide awake and have a play with DH.

I'm really not inclined to attempt a putting him to sleep upstairs until I think he will reliably go down at a similar time to DD, otherwise I'll spend my evening running up and down the stairs. At least this way, I get some form of time to myself, even if I am just watching TV under a sleeping baby. Plus, the cuddles are pretty lush.

Anyone else? I'm not worried as such, but have this niggly feeling that we "should" be doing something differently. I hate that "should" feeling.

@Stroan
We spend evenings cuddles and feeding in front of TV downstairs until I feel she starts to get fractious- usually between 8 and 9pm.
I get her dressed for bed early eve, so that when we need to go up I just have to put night nappy on (clothes changes always lead to tears here).
If I’m not tired enough I feed and watch TV in bed for a bit first. When I want us to sleep I put her next to me in bed (crib makes her scream still-have given that up for good) lights off except a dim nightlight. I sing the same 4 gentle nursery rhymes in order (something our Music Bugs teacher recommended) and I offer boob and don’t talk. If its a good night she falls asleep within 15 mins. If it’s a shocker like last night then could be hours....
I was playing white noise but actually it seems to make bugger all difference!!

I am not going to try putting her to bed earlier before 6 months and not until she will nap in cot on the day. We are going to move cot (its a cot bed) in to bedroom soon as it is clear the crib is hated so we may as well move on to trying the long term bed solution instead!!

@Stroan we tend to start bedtime around an hour and a half after she last woke up which tends to be between 8 and 9 usually. Bath, story, feed and bed. She's not cluster feeding anymore so evenings are pretty chilled, but she's still feeding about every 2-3 hours at night. Only have the one kiddy though so I reckon keep on what you are doing if it works for you!!

I think everyone gets the 'should' feeling about something. I get the 'should' feeling about not giving her enough tummy time.. 🙄

Should add that although she is up so much during the night still, she's mastered going to sleep in the crib which makes up for the many wakings. I feed until she's drowsy then pop her down and she will suck her thumb and shake her head to get herself to sleep. Sometimes she wakes up a bit and needs an extra bit of feed but past 5 nights she's gone down without a peep!

@yevans yes, I think that the fact he goes down really easily helps, I don't have an issue to try to resolve if that makes sense?

I feed him, pop him straight into the co-sleeper and that's him. Sometimes he likes to hold my hand. Same through the night which makes the wakes up almost bearable.

Oh gosh @Geegrl19 that sounds hard! Hopefully it's the unsettledness of switching into a new rhythm with nursery, so should get back into his stride shortly??
@Stroan my evenings sound very like yours. Sometimes DP does bedtime with the bigger ones and I feed the baby, sometimes I do bedtime and he bounces her along (this is between about 7:45-8:45). Sometime we all do both and end up falling asleep in the kid's room. Then mostly I sit under a baby until I go to bed! Sometimes she has a play and a kick at some point, sometimes not. And @yevans ... I've never bothered with tummy time with her at all! She's in the sling a lot which works some of the same muscle groups, or so I tell myself.

We've fallen into an ok routine for evening, no cluster feeding here anymore which helps. Bath, bottle and bed anywhere between 6 and 7ish which works with DD too as if I'm doing bedtime solo she just watches her iPad after the bath whilst I get DS down. What is less ok is after the 2/3 or 4am feed (whenever it is) sometimes he's wide awake. Shouting and screeching away happily but for about an hour and a half 😳 I have always said 6 months is a magic number but we're fast approaching 6 months (on the 15th Feb) and I'm not feeling like much magic is going to happen between now and then 😂 how is everyone else doing on night wake ups and feeds?

@dustydoorframes I'll be honest, he's currently snoozing on my legs while I watch Harry Potter and there is nothing I'd rather be doing! Glad I'm not the only one, I've not been worried about routines so far but I do question myself sometimes.

@happydays00 DS typically sleeps from 10-11 (when I go to bed) until 3 or 4. Then he either sleeps until about 6.30 or wakes up every 45 minutes. I'm incredibly grateful that he feeds quickly and goes straight back to sleep in about 10 minutes or I would very quickly not cope well with the lack of sleep.

Your evenings sound lovely @Stroan! I really struggle with lack of sleep so I try to go to bed quite early which means DD2 goes down around the same time as DD1 but mainly because that’s when she’s getting super tired, if anything we’re a bit late for her by 7pm. I sit in her room and feed her to sleep which can take up to an hour. She’s consistently waking up 45-1hr after this but feeds straight back to sleep. Then a good night @happydays00 would be a feed at 11/12, 2, 4 and 6..... but sometimes she won’t resettle and I just bring her into bed, this past week she’s been with me 5/7 nights, but it’s been a hell of a week with us all getting a horrific stomach bug, my low point was definitely lying in bed not able to keep anything down or really move, having to keep pulling DD off the boob to be sick in a bucket. I was trying to work out how long I had before I dried out completely!

@Myspiritan that sounds absolutely horrendous, you poor thing!! There are some really nasty bugs going round it seems.

@stroan that makes me feel better, DS is similar in that some nights he'll go back to sleep until 7, some nights it's every 45-60 minutes, and some nights it's 5am when I just bring him into the bed with me. The lack of sleep is really getting to me at the minute. My DDs behaviour has been pretty shocking recently too and I'm just feeling a bit down about it all!

@stroan Nate always has a bath at 7.30, sometimes a fraction earlier if super cranky. This just fell into place as he was getting over stimulated keeping him up later. I then give him expressed milk (boobs just feel empty at this point in the day and he'd get frustrated) and he goes down to sleep. Before sleep regression he was going till about 5am till a feed. Now is maybe a 2am, 5am and then awake from maybe 7/7.30 (pre cold which I'm hoping to get back to!). I might try to cuddle him back to sleep for a while then.

@spiritan hope things ease up for you soon. I'm with you on the sleep deprivation he'll at the moment
Honestly do whatever works for you, not what you think you should do. There is plenty of time to introduce an evening routine and like you say, who wants to be up and down stairs all evening.

@Myspiritan that stomach bug sounds horrific!!! You poor things, no wonder it's been a tricky week!
@happydays00 my oldest is in obnoxious mode big time, and my middle one is pushing limits too. I was away for a couple of nights last week (with the baby) and I think this is fallout for that, but I'm failing miserably at keeping calm in the face of it...
@Stroan here's to sogging under a sleeping/feeding baby! It's just lovely (if occasionally inconvenient)

@happydays00 it’s so hard when you’re tired to deal with behaviour, I know I really beat myself up about not being patient and getting stressed but I’m really trying not to!! Easier said than done!

Dd1 is meant to be at nursery on thurs and Friday but she's off today with conjunctivitis 🙈 Was so looking forward to a chill day with baby! Hopefully the drops will have started working by tomorrow and nursery will take her cos I'm meant to be taking Catherine to meet my grandparents for the first time!

Fuck sake I am at the end of my tether. Arthur has been soooo difficult to get to nap and he's only been going down for 30mins pretty much exactly. It's not bloody worth it. Spending an hour rocking him to sleep or whatever either for him to wake up being put in cot or just for his thirty mins.

I think I'm on the verge of trying the cry it out method as much as I was against it.