Ttc first baby catch up with our babies!

[Fivebyfive2]

Just putting this on in case anyone wants to catch up? We're all at different stages, so might be able to help each other out?

@Delilah7 @RanchoRelaxo @MrsR16 @thumper59 @trashkitten10 @Bostonfern @crossfitgirl sorry I know I'm missing people, I'm blaming newborn brain!

I'll leave the link on the 'pregnancy' catching up thread xxx

@Fivebyfive2 we dont really 'do' valentines day so had no plans to go out yesterday. I went out for dinner the evening before with a friend though so that was nice. Weather is so awful today I think we'll just be hibernating and watching a movie...do you have much planned?
I don't bottle feed but my friends who do all have prep machines.

@stormtrooperjulian, hibernating sounds awesome, we're the same I think, just have pjama time 🙂 Glad you had a nice time with your friend! Xx

I can see us getting a prep machine to be honest. Although I want to try and carry on breastfeeding, having some like that for when he won't feed from me would take the pressure off!

@thumper59 Thanks lovely. Yeah that seems to be the advice I’m reading about bottles! It’s such a minefield. Especially when you’re doing it for two! How are you getting on with formula, which do you use? I’m definitely going to try and make the most of this newborn time now and start napping when they do!

@Trashkitten10 I feel exactly the same. I found breastfeeding so hard at hospital and then to find out they’d really been struggling (and Ruairí just clearly straight hating it) I just don’t think it’s for me. At the mo I am still expressing but I think I’m gonna call time on it very soon. How are you getting on with formula? Do you do any prep for the night feeds?

@stormtrooperjulian Thanks lovely - I’m feeling a lot better and much less weepy now. It’s made the world of difference to just be at home again!

@Fivebyfive2 We’re doing okay! Some unsettled moments but they are settling in to similar nap times which is fab. I got a full 3 hours sleep this week! Oh bless Joe - how old is he now, is he well past that sleepy newborn stage now? A friend of mine said baby massage is good to get baby to sleep - I don’t know anything about it though.
We have a prep machine and also a small stash of ready made formula for if we are going out/need a top up fast. They’re stupid expensive though but just using them for now while we’re still finding our feet.

Did any of you have issues with your babies losing weight/struggling to gain? The midwife called yesterday and in the 2 days since we left hospital Conor has gained weight but Ruairí had lost a little. I’m really surprised at it as he’d been doing so well. She’s put us all on a feeding schedule so they can’t go 3 hours without a feed so I’m constantly waking them and sometimes feel I’m force feeding (lots of spitting up/crying). It just feels so wrong, I hate it. She is coming back tomorrow to weigh them again and I’m terrified it won’t be good enough.

I also ended up at hosp again yesterday (can’t bloody keep away!) started very suddenly feeling really poorly - had the shakes, went very pale and had a fever. My temp reached 39 so we called 111 and I had to go in - had checks for all sorts and turns out I have a bad kidney infection. I don’t think I’ve been looking after me very well and have been really dehydrated and run down so I need to nip that in the bud really!

Hope everyone is having a fab weekend. We’re hibernating with this weather and just watching films around feeds!

@fivebyfive2 I use a perfect prep it's a god sent. Then the ready made for being out although he gets a bit fussy now so I've been using a flask when out so they're a little warmer

@MrsEG look after yourself!! I use aptamil and have since he was first born, he gets on with it well and it's easy to get from literally any shop which I find better 🙂

@MrsEG Bless you. They will have got so much goodness from your colostrum and milk already so feel really proud of yourself for doing as much as you have. The feeding schedule sounds really tough, hopefully they've both made good progress tomorrow and you can go back to more responsive feeding. Daisy isn't feeding through the night anymore (although we haven't got to the four month sleep regression like @stormtrooperjulian is battling so might be speaking too soon!) but the perfect prep is fab. We also bought a little milk powder dispenser pot that has 3 sections and you measure the right amount of scoops in in advance then just tip into the bottle when you're ready to prepare. Saves a minute or so of trying to count scoops whilst being screamed at. With that and the perfect prep you can easily have a fresh bottle made in a couple of minutes. Sorry to hear you've been poorly, definitely a wake up call to make sure you're looking after yourself! Watch your c-section wound as well, mine got a bit infected as I wasn't taking enough time to properly clean and dry it. It's so hard to remember your own needs amongst the newborn chaos. How it's practical to wander around or lay on the bed air drying your wound when you're bleeding and have a screeching newborn or two I don't know but wound infections can be nasty so do keep your eye on it.

@Fivebyfive2 hey lovely, I was using our prep machine religiously and loved it! However, Ethan started being really quite sicky and was down a centile. I also noticed that the formula update (I use Cow & Gate) has made the powder difficult to dissolve and so i had to shake it like anything, meaning lots of air bubbles!!! So I have stopped using the prep machine and taken extra care to mix the formula up without shaking it (bloody difficult!) and it seems to be working! I use 3oz of recently boiled water and then use 3oz of cooled boiled water from the fridge to cool the bottle down enough for Ethan to drink pretty much straightaway! Kind of the same premise as the prep machine!

We didn't go out last night either - we don't tend to celebrate Valentine's Day either as my birthday was last Monday so it's super close! 😂

@MrsEG I'm so sorry to read you've had such a rough time!! Goodness, you definitely need to take 5 mins to look after yourself, lovely... an unwell mummy won't help those beautiful baby boys! Every 3 hours for feeding even if they're not demanding it? Goodness that seems a lot, bless you! I can't offer any words of wisdom re: breastfeeding as I have always bottle fed, so I think you've done amazingly well!!

@stormtrooperjulian I hope you're enjoying your hibernation 😂 it is far too windy/wet out there to do too much!

@thumper59 Ethan's not keen on the ready made stuff anymore... I have it for dire emergencies but I know he won't take it as well as formula! 😂😂

@TrashKitten10 aw that's great that Daisy's sleeping through!! Hopefully the 4 month regression won't hit too hard 🤞🤞

@mrsr16 Freddie is like that with the ready made stuff now he's a bloody pest!! I think it's just if it's been in my changing bag and it's a bit cold.

My mum did a valentines afternoon tea yesterday for the ladies and babies in the family it was lovely 🙂 Freddie was my date!

@thumper59 We’ve switched fully to Aptamil now - there’s a Lidl a 5 min walk away and they have it fully stocked too! Oh my gosh - how cute does he look!!

@TrashKitten10 We’ve got a perfect prep now, my sister had one she never used and it really is a godsend. Took me a while to ‘get’ it and not end up with lumpy formula! I know - my would is still causing me a wee bit of jip to be honest, just feeling sore especially in the morning after being up and down out of bed all night!

@MrsR16 Yep - every 3 hours, waking them even when they’re sleeping soundly - I hate it!! They’re slowly getting there though - Conor now 5lb 7 (born 5lb 14) and Ruairí has even less to regain so they’re just a few ounces off now. It’s hell doing it though!

Ladies I wonder if anyone can help - my boys don’t seem to settle after night feeds at all, Conor being the worst. We feed, burp and change bums which sends them right off in the day but at night they’re screaming bloody murder as soon as we put them in the Moses baskets. It can sometimes take a full hour to get them to drift back off (and I’m sure that’s just because they tire themselves out) - did anyone else experience this? We keep the room low lit with white noise etc. We are just SO tired!!

Hope you all have a lovely week with your babes - we have our in-laws from Ireland arriving this morning for a flying visit (home tomorrow) to meet the boys - hoping I can shoot off for a few naps while they’re around!!

@MrsEG I don't know if feed, wind and change bums is the order you do it in but if so could you try bum changing first? We found that nappy changes were quite stimulating and properly woke Daisy up. I was also hopeless at doing it in the dark so needed a light on which didn't help. We did the nappy change first and then fed and winded which seemed to send her off better. Transferring her into her cot was still like handling a live bomb mind you

I think I spoke too soon about sleep regression, Daisy has been getting really rubbish nights sleep and was awake pretty much every hour last night 😴 I don't think it's hunger as she falls straight back asleep with her dummy but then an hour later it's fallen out again and she fusses for it back. I'm going to try feeding her tonight to see if I'm just misreading her cues but has anyone else battled dummy issues? Apparently once you've introduced one you shouldn't take it away before 6 months for safe sleep as I did think about just going cold turkey. It's constant, she's addicted to the bloody thing, pulls it out of her mouth, flings it across the cot and then demands it back. I despair haha.

@TrashKitten10 Yeah we do bums first! I think I just need to accept for right now they’re so small and it’s gonna take a while for them to ‘get’ it - we’re going to trial them sleeping in a cot together in our room tonight though and not separate Moses baskets and see if that helps. They’re just such sleepy babies though I struggle to keep them awake/alert during the day so they take all that energy to bed with them! Whenever I’ve seen an open eye today I’ve been pouncing on them with the black and white book the health visitor gave me!

Oh bless her - growth spurt perhaps? We use dummies (only way to placate one if both scream at once!) and Conor does the same - spits it out then screams for it; on repeat. I feel your pain!

@MrsEG I think it's fairly normal for newborns to be nocturnal. It takes them a few weeks to figure out the day/night thing. We mostly took it in turns to stay awake and hold Dex for the first few weeks and among my NCT group that seemed to be standard.

@TrashKitten10 how was her sleep last night? I tried offering a dummy but Dex wouldnt take it, just spat it straight out again no matter how many times I tried, so I gave up eventually.

Hi ladies, how's everyone getting on this week?!

Joe and me have been staying at with my parents this week as dh has been on a course for work; leaving early and coming home late so it's been nice having company and extra support! Can't wait for the weekend though, we'll all be back together 😀 Joe has slept a little better recently, we've had a few nights in a row where he's slept for about 3 hours, fed and had a change etc and then slept another 3ish hours! I know it doesn't sound much as he's 10 weeks old, but for us it feels like a break though! Here is a picture of smiley Joe (he's smiling more and more now!) just because 😍

@stormtrooperjulian Yeah the midwife keeps telling me this and just roll with the punches the first few weeks. I keep forgetting they were a bit prem too - my 40 week due date isn’t until this weekend! So they need their sleep to catch up a bit - I just wish they would save it for the night times!!

@Fivebyfive2 He is adorable! I know what you mean - a solid 3 hours sleep is our gold standard at the moment!! Enjoy :)

Formula feeding mums - how do you prevent getting bubbles in the feed? Is there a knack to it? Doesn’t seem to bother Conor but I think it’s making Ruairí a bit windy.

@stormtrooperjulian Thanks for asking, she's still being really restless at night. I tried a dream feed last night hoping a nice full tum would settle her but she was still grizzling for dummy within a couple of hours and then again every 30/45/60 minutes after that 😣 she had been managing 6+ hours solid sleep then awake briefly for dummy or feed and then back to sleep. What happened?! Are you heading out the other side of the sleep regression yet?

@Fivebyfive2 Look at that cheeky little face ☺️

@MrsEG Im not sure what the answer is with the bubbles, if we don't shake ours enough to get bubbles it's still lumpy. Could you give Ruairí a bit of Infacol before his feed to help with the wind?

Well tonight is the night, after nearly 4 months we are going on our first evening out without Daisy! Really looking forward to spending some proper couple time together but a bit apprehensive about leaving her. It will be so nice to enjoy a lovely meal without holding her in my lap or trying to entertain her though! We went out for lunch with friends earlier this week and Daisy is at the awkward age where she's awake for much longer periods, wants constant attention, isn't ideally old enough for the pushchair seat yet, doesn't want to be laying down in her pram as it's too boring and she can't sit up in a high chair as she's too wobbly. So she has to be on someone's lap whilst they try to eat dinner over her head ☺️ Luckily everyone wanted a cuddle so they were happy to take it in turns and I could eat :)

@TrashKitten10 Yeah I’m finding that too - it needs such a good shake to avoid lumps. I’ve actually tried almost decanting it between bottles tonight to try and get rid of some bubbles and it’s worked a bit!
Hope you enjoyed your first baby free evening - how did it go? We have ours earmarked for our wedding anniversary next month.

We’ve had a rotten night tonight - Ruairí slept and fed really well but Conor has been a nightmare - refusing and being fussy with his bottles and crying mid-feed. They’re both windy babies and were a bit prem so I know their little digestive systems need time but god it’s frustrating - I’ve been awake with one of them since 2am. It’s been one of those nights where I really wish they could just tell me what’s up!

Hi ladies!

I hope you don't mind me jumping in..I was part of the TTC First baby threads last year briefly before coming off as I caught myself becoming obsessive with everything! (old name TTC34). Pleased to say I fell pregnant May last year and our little boy arrived a few weeks ago

It's so amazing reading through this thread and seeing all the little faces - congratulations to you all! What a journey so far. It would be great to join you all again in the crazy newborn journey! Xxx

@Gembopx, welcome and congratulations!! How are you getting on with the first few weeks? Xx

@MrsEG, hope you had a better night? Joe is sooo windy, in fact we had an 'up since 2am' time last night because of trapped wind. We really need to keep up on his infacol I think. Have you tried your boys on it? Xx

@TrashKitten10, how was your night out?? Hope you had a fab time 🙂

@stormtrooperjulian, how's Dex getting on with sleeping now? Better I hope! Xx

@MrsR16, does Ethan have his next set of jabs soon? Joe has his in a couple of weeks, I'm dreading it 😲

Went on the pregnancy thread today and saw @purplefig and @pippapug have had new arrivals, made my morning a little brighter 😀

Well, I'm getting braver with taking Joe out, we've done public feeding in 'regular' cafes and I braved public loo baby change on Friday as well...he'd done a massive poo so couldn't wait 😮 Tomorrow he's getting weighed again and might go shopping with the parents after, need to get a couple of bits for dh's birthday next week!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend and staying dry! Xx

@Fivebyfive2 thank you! And right back at you
First few weeks have been a bit of blur really! We've had a few challenges with breastfeeding etc which seems to be common, we've decided to switch to formula and I'm slowly weaning off the pump too.
For those that aren't getting on with the perfect prep machine, I can highly recommend this little kettle. Keeps the water at the perfect temp and you just pour and add the formula. It's been one of our best purchases as had heard about the foaming issues with the Perfect prep machine.

ÜneeQbaby Baby Formula Kettle with Built in Thermostat, for Bottle Feeding https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KRH1RSF/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_9zMuEb42GPEJZ

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday!

@Fivebyfive2 hey lovely! Glad to see you're finding it easier feeding while out and about 😊 yep, Ethan's got his next jab on 5 March! My mum's coming along 😂 although I was alright last time, I'm not sure I'd be ok on my own! My MIL won't come along - she got her mum to take my DH and his brother for theirs because she couldn't cope 🤣

I did see the new arrivals!! They're all so beautiful 😊😊

Congratulations @Gembopx on your little boy! How are you finding weaning off the pump?

@Fivebyfive2 Were still having very mixed nights! They both get bad wind after a feed - we have started with infacol which takes the edge off a bit but it takes a while to settle them after feeding. By the time all is said and done I usually have 1.5 hours max before I know we’ll be up doing it all again!
Well done on braving the world - we went out for brunch yesterday, by some miracle the boys slept through the whole thing!

DH goes back to work tomorrow and I am absolutely terrified - officially outnumbered by babies as of 7am! I know realistically the worst that will happen is one will just have to cry while I tend to the other but I’m still so anxious about it. Have set myself a very small goal of getting us all in the pram and our for a 15 min walk at some point. Fingers crossed!!

Hi guys! I've been lowkey stalking this thread for a few months and it's been great reading about how you and your beautiful babies are all getting on. So many cute chubby cheeks and infectious smiles!! Now I can finally join you as I had M last Friday...I'm over the moon and completely in love with her 😍💕

Quick Q for those of you further down the line - She's breastfed and for the last few nights has been on a cluster feeding frenzy. Obviously I'm not expecting any huge amount of sleep atm, but when did your little ones start to go for a few hours sleep over night? I ended up co sleeping with her last night which meant I got a bit, as she hates her Moses basket at night!

@MrsEG, hope your first day's with dh at work go well. Try not to worry, you may find it will help you guys get into more of a rhythm.

@purplefig, helloo!! Baby M is adorable! Good luck powering through the cluster feeds... If I can give some tips? Get some snacks, make yourself comfy, put on a box set and take alllll the help 😀 I basically sat around the house with no top on when it was possible, saved me lifting my shirt up all the time! With the sleep, I don't want to worry you but Joe is coming up to 11 weeks (although corrected he is 7 weeks) and it's still an achievement when he sleeps for 3 hours in one go. They're all different though so don't despair. A girl in my NCT group has a baby younger than Joe who already sleeps about 5 hour stretches. Not that I'm jealous or anything 😂

@MrsEG I'm thinking of you my lovely! That first day on your own is petrifying, but you'll be doing so amazingly well! Those boys are lucky to have you as their mummy 😊 some days I still don't manage to make it out the house with Ethan 🙈

@Gembopx congratulations on your LO!

@purplefig oh my goodness, she is just so adorable!! Congratulations! How was the birth? And how are you feeling? I'm bottle feeding, so probably not much help! Ethan is doing good with overnight though - I've had him sleep from his feed at 10pm (so lasting till about half 10) till 5am a couple of times! It's very much hit and miss though and I still panic if he doesn't wake me up before 4ish! I sit there and watch him breathing 🙈🙈

@purplefig She is beautiful! Do you have your day 5 midwife appt tomorrow? Just mention it to her and maybe get her to look at your latch etc. I totally mistook cluster feeding for a struggle to get enough food. I know cluster feeding is totally normal as well though and a lot of my NCT pals have been through it!! But always worth a check with the midwife - it’s totally what they come round for so make the most of it!

@Fivebyfive2 @MrsR16 Thanks both - it’s been okay so far, feeding is a military operation but I’ve managed! I hope it will help me find my rhythm a bit!

Had the midwife over today and the boys are finally above birth weight, by 3oz each! Chunky boys. We are now officially discharged and I can start feeding them both more reactively instead of timing and waking for all their feeds so I am so happy about it. Waking a sleeping baby is just not natural!!
I am being referred to the GP though as we think I have the start of PND so want to get some help. Looking after two has been harder than I ever imagined and the baby blues haven’t ever really left me, so I am glad I’m being sent to the GP as I know it’s normal and I know I need a little bit of help right now.
Other than that I am desperately willing the weather to shift so I can start getting out a bit more!! Surely spring should be just around the corner?!
Pic of the boys as they are too cute :)

@MrsEG that's amazing news!! Well done you! And you've done so well recognising the first signs of PND - so many women miss it and then think they're bad mummies, when they're really not! I'm so pleased you're doing really well and the boys are just simply adorable!! 😍😍