Septermber 07 poppers.....please meet here!

[dal21]

Hi ladies - cannot see a thread for the sept ladies who have popped. Thought I would start one (hope I havent been totally blind and missed one already set up)

we can share our trials and tribulations of our LO's here!

Sorry, quick question.

those of you who are expressing, when do you do it and how much are you getting?

anna is sometimes quite unsettled in the evening and I wonder if a bottle of EBM would help......

Hi canadianmum, quick reply before I catch up with everyone's news.... I've started expressing after my lunchtime feed (before 2pm when milk is at it's richest) to give Luca in the evening. My hv has said the reason Luca is on my boob most of the evening is that the quality of breast milk isn't as good in the evening, so giving him a bit of stuff from earlier in the day will help him get fuller more quickly.

Last night was my first go, I'm not very good at expressing, it takes me half an hour to get 2oz, but I use it after my late evening feed (around 10.30pm) as a top up. Last night despite having been on my boob for nearly an hour he guzzled down the 2oz in seconds. Of course minutes later it came back up again, I think he'd taken it a bit too fast, I'm going to give him the same again tonight, but I've got a teat with just one hole tonight. Last night I used a two hole teat (for 1month plus, he's four weeks now so I thought that would be ok, obviously not!) The one hole teat is from birth, so maybe it'll deliver milk a bit more slowly. I'm also going to make him take a break every few seconds, so he doesn't guzzle too fast.

I also think that he brought it back up because I'd given him some infacol, and I've read that that can make babies bring their feed up again, as it relaxes the muscles in the digestive tract, which helps the wind too pass, but also loosens the valve at the top of the stomach. Of course that could be rubbish. Mind you, despite having brought much of the ebm up last night, he did have a fantastically contented face afterwards, which he never gets from my boob, it takes him ages to get to sleep (the night before I was feeding almost continuously from 7pm to 1am!) so I think it must help. He slept from 11.30pm to 4am which is pretty good for him so it must have worked a bit.

Sorry for ramble, it's not often I get to type with both hands so I'm a bit type happy!!! Good luck, let me know how you get on!

Righto, now I've got two hands to type with I'm going post bonkers!!

I hope everyone's well. I've had a great day, it's amazing what a difference a good sleep makes. I gave Luca his first bottle of ebm last night before bed and he loved it, and I'm sure contributed to a good nights sleep. This morning we had our mummy and luca time (ie after his early morning feed, he gets in to bed with me and we cuddle and doze until lunchtime!) and I felt great afterwards. Of course, it wasn't so great when he brought up his feed all over my chest and in my hair. We then had a bath together and he pooed in the bath... hmmm maybe he's trying to tell me something!!!

I'm feeling much more positive about the bfing now, I've made an appointment to see the breastfeeding advisor for monday. Knowing I'm going to get things sorted so soon has made a massive difference. I had to make a private apppointment as her NHS clinics were fully booked until mid November !! It's going to set me back £120 - double !!! but to get this feeding cracked will make such a difference! I'm not sure I can handle much more of these 90 minute feeds. I haven't washed my hair for two days (yeuch!) and I'd like to be able to take more than three minutes to eat a meal!!

Twit - you're very wise getting married away from family, I still break out in to a cold sweat when I think of the trouble my wedding caused, and I invited EVERYONE (actually I think that was the problem!) Good luck if I don't "speak" to you beforehand, have fun!

Does anyone know what a proper let down feels like? I don't think I've had one really though at certain times, often before a feed is due, I get a slight pulling sensation down the front of my boobs. It's not a warm feeling or tingling as others have said, but a strange tugging. I wondered if that's what it was.

Anyway I'm off for another feed, it's only been 45 mins since I finished the last one but his nibs is grizzling away! Take care everyone xx

Hellooo all - hope you all have a lovely weekend !

DH late again tonight and has told me he's got to work all weekend too - oh goody ! Its DD2 birthday party on Sunday so hopefully he'll be able to break away from work for that !She had a lovely birthday on wed in the end as my FIL drove over with her cards and pressies to beat the strike (2 hr round trip - what a lovely grandad!)

Eloise had a bath with the DD'S tonight and didn't scream all evening for once - maybe that's the magic formula !

Enjoy your family visits canadianmum!

Good luck with the BF session Mrsmar. I think alot of babies do feed alot in the evening to get them stocked up for the night. Eloise definitely wants to feed almost constantly from 5 until I put her to bed at 10pm. Hope Luca enjoys his bottle tonight without bringing it all back up !

Kinki - hope you are ok and please don't take any notice of the silly old doctor - honestly I don't think they realise how worried we get by their slightest comments. Hope all ok with your DH too !?

love to you all xx

Re: the question about expressing. I am very lucky and manage to get about 120ml in around 15 mins. My supply is very good normally with milk squirting in Millie's face but sometimes if she feeds loads it pretty much goes which is annoying...does anyone else get this? It's happening now and she is grizzling away in her moses as she is hungry. It's horrible.

Evening all!

MrsFish & kelmcd - loved your account of the births and your pics are gorgeous!!

MrsMar - glad you're getting the bf'ing all sorted, well done for persevering, I didn't!

LLL - glad you're sounding more positive, keep taking each day at a time - sounds like you're doing really well!

Hammer - how was the Ben & Jerrys then? I must get mine out of the freezer Also loved your account of the birth of your DT's...

Twit - always interested to hear even if we've heard before! I reckon it should be a mandatory part of being on this thread (only joking!). Seriously, even if you've posted it before, I missed a whole load when we were in hospital so go for it!

canadianmum - hope all goes well with your dad and stepmum coming to stay. Hope Anna's cold is better now? Cerys has had a bit of a cold too .

amyclaramum - Cerys loves having her baths now bless her but the first few were a bit traumatic. When we wash her hair, her face is a real picture! Glad to hear Eloise is getting used to it and hope you get through the weekend ok!

kinki - how did it go with PIL's? Hope all is OK with you and DH?

dal - Hello!! Hope all is well!?

As far as expressing goes, I would sit there for a good half hour or more with the machine in the hospital and only ever got a maximum of 1oz(30mls?) but then I never was any good at it. I found I got more if I was sitting looking at Cerys but still nothing substantial I'm afraid. I guess we're all so different really! Hats off to all those who have been successful!

Sorry I haven't been on much but we've had a few groggy days. We're all full of colds including Cerys bless her. The nursery nurse came (as you know) on Wednesday and she had been doing so well. Lo and behold, Thursday she was quite usettled but I just put it down to having a cold etc. I have to say it was like she had colic only in the daytime. We've had a few more emergency bag changes due to leaks again but she just doesn't seem right. We've had quite a few episodes of vomiting and I'm concerned she might have acid reflux. Either that or she's having a growth spurt but I'm baffled! I've startd giving her colief (sooo expensive but worth a try!)and we're keeping her upright as much as possible so we'll see how she goes...

We've got a full week ahead of us - Monday is our six week check, Wednesday I've got the hv coming to do the check on pnd, Thursday we're off to S'ton for a checkup and a flush. I'm tired just thinking about it!

Have a good weekend everybody ((((((hugs)))))))

PLP xxx

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't been on much recently; things have been busy around here!

PLP, sorry to hear that Cerys has been feeling a bit unwell, especially as you've got such a full-on week coming up. Hope the colief helps - I might look into using it as well.

Amyclaramum, it's a shame that your DH is so busy at the moment, and hope he makes it to the birthday party. I must admit, I feel very lucky that my DH is a teacher, so at least he's around a lot of the time, even though he has to do lots of work at home.

MrsMar, very interesting in what you say about expressing. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm quite tempted after you said that it helps to settle Luca in the evenings.

Things with Paul have been up and down. On the plus side, the MW was finally able to confirm that he's gaining weight, so at last I'm happy he's getting enough food, even if he still isn't pooing all that often. And although my nipples are still very sore, I think the cracking is slowly beginning to heal. So on that front, I feel like we might be turning a bit of a corner.

On the downside, the crying is really getting me down. In fact, I think I might start a new topic on it and see if I can get some advice. Basically, Paul has at least two 'sessions' a day, and sometimes three or four, when he absolutely screams solidly for two hours or more. One of these is always late evening, but other times are unpredictable. And when I say screams, I mean he really really screams, to the extent that absolutely nothing will comfort him (you name it, I've tried it!). I'm sure the problem is pains in his tummy, because of the way he behaves, but I don't know what the root cause is. It's very distressing to be so completely unable to comfort him. What's more, he's now really unwilling to sleep on his back, I think because it makes his tummy feel worse. He was already refusing to go in his moses basket, but now he's not even that keen on co-sleeping - he constantly moans and twitches in his sleep, as if his tummy's hurting. The only way he sleeps deeply is face down on my chest, and I'm too scared of suffocating him to fall asleep myself in that position, so I'm not getting much sleep at all. Sorry about the long post - if anyone has any suggestions, they'd be very welcome!

Mrsbumblebee i amin the same boat as you and you have my absolute sympathy Arben does the exact same with the crying, it is usually late night up unyil 1.30-2am but he is inconsolable and it is heartbreaking. He ends being taken from me to my DH and back again quite a few times. Milk, dummies, rocking absolutely nothing works until he wears himself completely out and as quickly as he started he stops!!! Also he is a tummy sleeper to. He is in his cot now as he cries in his moses. We now setlle him on his tummy and, with an alarm set, turn him over when deep asleep if we can. We are getting a angelcare sensor thing because he is just so much happier asleep on his front it is scary and i constanly check but a happy baby and mummy and daddy are the result!!

Hi everyone!

Have done a quick scan of posts. Had another fab few days at my mums and then got back to London this morning and have been shopping for some new togs - i love being out of pregnancy clothes and back into my normal ones! I feel human (and sexy) again.

Canadianmum - jury is out on the amby for me in all honesty. It hasnt lived up to expectations. I have tried nighttime sleeps in both the amby and the moses and he is just as cranky/ settled in both depending on his mood/ how he is feeling. The place he is happiest is on my chest face down - he can sleep for hours there!

Re. the expressing, I do it twice a day - am trying to build up a stash in the freezer. i do it after the first morning feed and then once again when DH is giving him the evening feed by bottle. It doesnt take me long - maybe 20 mins tops and I can get anywhere from 3 to 6 fl. oz. Am using the medela swing breastpump and it is superb. I find that Ryan can go 4-6 hrs after taking a fed from the bottle - at 5 weeks he can take up to 6fl. oz! I am stunned - but not knocking it!

Re. the inconsolable crying - one of my friends found that taking the LO's out into the fresh air always helped - it did help that that was in the middle of summer - but is it worth a try? Hopefully your LO's grow out of it.

Hugs to everyone, hoping that Hopey and Holly are ok. Have great weekends everyone.

Dal - so that you are back in pre-pregnancy clothes. I am gutted, weighed myself this morning and am only 9 pound less than the night before I had Ben... seeing as he was 8 pound 11 ounces born, then there was the placenta, and extra blood too, I was hoping to have lost far more than that by now. Doesn't help that I had to have the emergency c-section as I can't start exercising (doing anything really) to help it along. Also this being my second my tum seems to have taken a battering, and also I'm not bf this time round either so everything is going to take longer to spring back into some semblance of shape, am NOT looking forward to trying to find something to wear in 2 weeks time for a black tie do

OTOH - Ben is doing well with his feeds going 4 hours between and he doesn't cry much either so I should be grateful in that respect

Oh and as a matter of interest - for those of you that also had c-sections, was your tummy numb to the touch above and below your scar, and if so, has the feeling come back yet and how long did it take?

Kelm, that's really interesting. I'm going to at least try him on his tummy and see how it goes. What do you do - just plonk him face down with head turned to one side? Also, I thought I'd share a new discovery - a friend lent me a CD of white noise called Little Sleepy Head, which has just put him to sleep during a crying session. Could be a blip, but worth a try with yours??

Dal, I'm of your new clothes. I've lost most of my weight too - must be combo of sleep deprivation and stress, given that I'm living on KitKat Chunkies . But all it means is I can now see my stretchmarks .

Hi all, sorry to hear about those having crying problems. I can't really say Luca has a real screaming fit, but he's definitely a grizzler in the evenings. I've taken an executive decision and now I do everything I can to comfort him and sod routines and Claire Verity et al. I cuddle him all evening and feed him almost non stop and it keeps him happy. One book I read (Babies by Dr Christopher Green) said that babies just go through a phase of crying for no particular reason in the evenings. Sometimes it's wind pain, sometimes it's just grumbling, whatever it is, they do grow out of it. I'm sure it's something to do with the gut maturing by about three/four months so they calm down. I've decided that I'm going to do whatever to keep him happy until that stage. I'm sure it's all wrong but it's for my own sanity. The sound of crying for four hours each evening does not a relaxing experience make!

I've also found Luca likes to sleep chest to chest with me. He usually settles in his moses basket in the evenings, but most mornings after his early morning feed he refuses to go back in there so he sleeps on my chest. Again, I'm sure all the baby gurus would shudder but sod em. They don't have to listen to a crying baby all hours. What I tend to do is put my v shaped cushion and a few other pillows in a v shape behind my back and wedge myself in there. I then put him on my chest and we sleep like that. Maybe I don't sleep that deeply cos it's early morning, but I haven't turned over yet in my sleep. I think the cushions stop me, so Luca is quite safe there. I do feel a little bit nervous, but being so close to him, and the fact that I wake up at every sniffle and cough he makes, I'm fairly confident I won't squash him in that position. Besides, I'm convinced it's a phase he'll grow out of. I read a brilliant article Tanya Byron wrote in The Times about how babies need a few weeks after birth to learn to trust that their parents won't disappear, so they get really clingy in this early stage. That makes so much sense to me, I'm pinning my hopes that once he learns I'm not going anywhere, he'll be happier to lie in his cot a bit more.

We have had a bit of a breakthrough though, yesterday he did a whole half hour in his proper cot in his room without screaming. Previously he would scream the house down, but now he's happy to sit there watching his mobile for a bit. It's such a relief to be able to put him in there for a bit during the day and get on with other stuff without having to carry him round all day long. I'm sure the next step for him is falling asleep in there.

On to the top up bottles at night, last night I did another 2oz after he'd been on the boob for about an hour but this time with a smaller teat, one with only one hole. I also kept him upright and didn't move him about too much afterwards and he kept the whole lot down. The upshot was that he slept from midnight to 5am which was brilliant! This morning I even managed to express 3oz in 20 mins which is a bit of a record for me, so I'm going to keep giving him his top ups. It's always morning milk cos I have tons at that time and the hv said it's better quality. I'd like to try and freeze some too, but it takes me so long to feed I haven't got the time yet, but hopefully seeing the bf advisor will fix that and I'll have time to accumulate a bit for freezing.

Dal, I'm v of you in your non maternity clothes. My cs scar is still a bit sore and I'm still a right fatty (a stone over my pre pg weight) so there's no chance of that yet.

MrsFish, My cs scar is numb around it, just about a centimetre each side. I'm sure it's normal cos the skin around where I had a knee operation a few years ago is still numb 7 years later. I think all the nerves to the skin are cut when they make the incision.

Right, better dash, Luca has just filled his nappy, I could hear it from across the room!!

Take care everyone xx

Great post MrsMar and I agree with you totally. I have been cuddling Ben lots too and he is much calmer, doesn't cry too much. I am having probs sleeping though as like you I am awake at every slightest sound coming from his moses basket, he isn't a quiet settled sleeper that's for sure. I am going to try and swaddle him up nice and tight tonight and see if that helps.

Hi everyone,

sorry haven't been on again in ages and find it so difficult to keep up with the thread.

Mrs bumblebee, kelmcd, I am having similar issues with crying, I seem to have a baby that won't settle at all for most of the morning and sometimes afternoon. she sleeps a bit better in the night but every so often has a crying spell then as well. Nothing seems to console her and suddenly she will stop (probably from exhaustion). I am feeling very down about it and find myself just wanting to escape from the whole thing. Sometimes the dummy helps but most of the time it doesn't. She does alot of grunting in her sleep and we have found she likes the tummy position too which is scary.

Mrsmar, I am still persevering with the breastfeeding but am unable to improve on my ten min sessions and am worried that at my next weighin on tues Bella will have lost weight as for the past week she has been really unsettled during the daytime and I'm not sure if she is hungry or not, she refuses the bottle so I don't think she is but I just don't know any more. When you express do you do it off the breast that you've just fed from or the other one? Sorry if you've said already but I'm finding it really difficult to get time to read all the updates on the thread.

Dal, great that you can fit back into prepregnancy clothes. I was over my usual weight before I got pregnant and so can fit back into my 'fat' clothes as I have lost most of the baby bulge (from lack of appetite mostly which is probably stress related) but I still have the prebaby bulge that I put on to lose so don't feel too sexy at the moment!

Purplelost, hope little cerys is doing better, Bella is also throwing up alot of her milk feed so I am trying not to wind her too vigorously. How do you know if they have reflux or not?

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I am really worried as my dh goes back to work tomorrow and he has been helping me so much with the constant crying, I don't know how i'm going to cope without him. Also has anyone met up with friends yet, what do you do if the baby constantly screams? I am really scared that I'll never be able to meet up with people because Bella screams so much during the daytime. I am starting to think I am suffering from pnd as I am scared of being left alone with Bella when she is crying so much, I just feel so helpless with her.

xx

on the plus side, I gave bella her first bath yesterday (she had a stubborn cord which wouldn't drop off) where I took her into the bath with me and she didn't cry at all , haven't tried her in the baby bath yet though!

((hugs)) to you laksa, have been thinking of you lots... I know what you mean about the crying in the daytime - Cerys has been crying since Thursday morning but has still managed to settle at night-time which is really weird. Last night though, she didn't settle at all and I was going out of my mind with worry - we just couldn't figure out what the problem was! She settled in the end and has been OK this morning but now I'm confused as to why she is OK. It could be that we have changed her bag, it could be that the cold is starting to fade, it could be that the colief is working or it could be that she was having a growth spurt and it has eased off. Either way, I'm just pleased she is settled! Fingers crossed, we haven't had a bout of vomiting for about 24 hrs...

She used to take some milk from me, then about half an oz to an oz from the bottle, then it gradually built up to her taking an ounce from the bottle. Since I have stopped bf'ing , she has started taking anything up to two ounces from the bottle. Before, she would take an ounce, pause for winding etc, then have some more in smaller helpings but this morning she downed 2ounces in her first 'sitting' as such!! This is making me think she is having/has had a growth spurt.

As far as reflux goes, I'm still a bit confused as to whether Cerys actually has it, but if you do a search on here, you'll find lots of people who have been through it and the advice that they have been given.

My current frustration is making up bottles - I'm considering doing it the 'old fashioned' way and making up a batch of milk for the day and putting it in the back of the fridge. This has come out of having to make bottles up in advance in order to put the colief in them. Having done a search on here, it seems that many people are sticking to the old way on the proviso that they are of course being careful (is proviso the right word!?!?). Its all sooooo confusing!!

BTW, Cerys seemed to cry and feed all day yesterday and it was neverending so we changed her bag. I picked her up afterwards and was talking to her when she actually smiled properly at me!!! All that exhaustion seemed to melt away and I started crying. Cerys then started crying but I was pleased to have had a glimmer of hope and feel that it was all worth it!!!!

Cerys could also sleep on my tummy for hours but I haven't tried putting her asleep like that yet - might try it! Afterall, thats how our mums were told to put us to sleep!

We'll look back and forget these days in years to come ladies. I for one am trying to hold on to the good bits and don't mind forgetting the tough bits!!

Glad Bella enjoyed her bath! Hope you are pleasantly surprised when she is weighed...

Bumblebee - glad Paul is gaining weight. I wish I could offer some advice about the crying - looks like there's a few of us in the same boat!

dal - glad you had a nice time at your mums. I have taken Cerys out for a walk a few times now and I have to say it does help!

PLP xxx

P.S. Love to all those who are having fun with their lo's! I'm hoping you get the chance to at least have a read even if you can't post. Oh and also love to hopey and holly.

Hoping emj will be joining us soon too!!!

Right, I'm going now, honest!

Just popping on the catch up with the girls from the due oct thread who popped early!

MrsMar read your last post with interest. Agree with you completely about doing whatever it takes in the early days. Ds1 slept in our bed for the first 6 weeks and it didn't stop him settling into his cot when he was ready (and we were surviving!) So sod anyone who says otherwise and also anyone who uses the words rod, own and back in the same sentance - listen to what feels right for you and your lo and you won't go far wrong!

Ds2 seems more happy in his moses basket and I sleep better too so this time I'm doing that but we had a couple of nights early on of co-sleeping and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if necessary.

Hi everyone - I am not in all of my pre maternity clothes; wish I was! My very skinny stuff is still a no no, so sorry if I was misleading in my post. I meant I went and got lots of new non bfeeding/ maternity tops to accomodate my more ample norks! . My old tops make me me look like a page three bird - not the yummy mummy look i am striving for. But equally all the nursing tops I have are baggy and not fitted; fed up with them!

MrsM - re the co sleeping, I have had two or three nights of Ryan falling asleep on my chest - pillows are piled hight around us and like you, I wake up hours later and we havent moved.

Last night I actually gave up with the rooming in and moved Ryan into the nursery. Unbelievably - as soon as he was put down for his feeds; he settled and I didnt have to go back to him. When he is in with me; I have had to pick him up at least once again to settle him. I am glad I have got to 5 weeks; but he is just too noisy to persevere with him in the same room as me. We can still hear every snuffle from the nursery - so hopefully all will be ok. As many of you say - we just have to do what works for us.

MrsF - re the csar, yes I have a little numbness above the scar. I was advised by the physio to rub oil into the scar every day - encourages the scar to heal flat and also encourages feeling to come back.

Re. the recovery from c section - I am ahead a few of you and in recent days my energy has surged. Been for a lovely long walk this morning which was unthinkable a few weeks ago. am just over 5 weeks. Have my 6 week (fingers crossed) cheack up this friday coming and am really hoping I get the all clear to start some exercise. There is a pushy mums near me and I would love to start using the cross trainer too - running is going to have to wait.

Laksa - hugs to you! I have had only very close friends to see me - and yes, you cannot predict whether you will have a crying baby or not, but your friends will be supportive I am sure - whether your bub is crying or not! Don't let that stop you from meeting them - you must have the company to stop you from going mad.
This week; I am getting more social and am seeing quite a few of my friends and really looking forward to it.
I really do think that when the mum is stressed, our LO's pick up on it and cry more. Handing the baby over to a non stressed friend will often completely silence them. But please do not let a crying baby isolate you - not at all. And if you are worried about PND, please speak to someone sooner rather than later.

Re. the expressing - I tend to start with the breast that hasnt been fed off then take the rest from the one that bub has been feeding off.

Hugs to all. Hope you are all having fab weekends.

Hi everyone sorry I haven't been able to catch up for a while, my mum has been staying last week but went back on Saturday and no I am very nervous as DP is back at work and it means I will be left with Poppy on my ownfor the first time tomorrow!.

I am also finding it hard at the moment. She was really good for the first week and a half but in the last few days all that has changed and she just screams if you put her down. She doesn't seem to sleep at all, in the last 24 hours I think she has only had about 6 hours sleep!. The only way she will sleep at all is on her tummy and me and DP have made the decision to put her in her crib on her tummy as she is right next to us and we can hear her breathing but it still makes me nervous. Do you think this is really seriously dangerous? When I was born mothers were told to put their babies on their tummy.

I am also worried because the MW told me she is putting on too much weight and to only give her 4ozs every 4 hours but this doesn't seem to be enough and she is just screaming all the time for more. I give her cooled boiled water in between feeds but it is milk she wants and it has completely unsettled her. Surely at 2 weeks she is too little and young to only be fed every 4 hours. I don't want her to be fat but it's so hard listening to her scream when you know that giving her milk would solve it. Sorry for long rant just wanted to discuss it with others who understand.

xxx

Laksa, poor you, I really sympathise. The only time I've met up with friends so far, Paul was actually pretty good after an initial cry, but I'm worried too about what will happen next time. The people I was meeting are all new mums, so they're pretty understanding, but none of them have got a crier, so they don't really know what it's like. We're having dinner with them next week, and I'm dreading it a bit, because the evenings are Paul's worst time. I second what Dal said - if you're feeling really low, talk to someone as soon as poss. Do you have anyone else who can come and help? I was adamant I didn't want help, but having mum and MIL around a bit has been a godsend. Also, it's worth getting out to various support groups if you can - I've only been to a bfing clinic so far, but it's so nice to have someone be sympathetic, even if it does just make you burst into tears. And when you're on your own, remember that you can put Bella down to cry for a few minutes while you do something else - the first day I was on my own I didn't eat anything until about 4pm because I wouldn't put Paul down for a minute, but you really need to make time to look after yourself. Also, try taking a look at the other thread I posted here. Some of the replies were really helpful

Anyway, big hugs, and best of luck tomorrow. Come on here if it help and if you can!!

Right, Paul's screaming again, so I'd better go - sorry not to reply to others.

Nicki, I have never heard of anybody being advised to limit feeds because of putting on weight too quickly !!! My DD1 put on weight at an astonishing rate and nobody told me it was a bad thing. I'm not an expert but I'd say you should go with what you feel is right and sod the mw - she doesn't know Poppy as well as you do!

Mrsbumblebee, thank you for that link, I found it very interesting & helpful and I think Cerys may be suffering with signs of birth trauma due to the fact that she came out so quickly. I'm going to see if we can get some cranial osteopathy, especially with everything she has been through since the birth; not to mention the fact that I'm sure she has a funny shaped head (not noticable with all that hair!).

Hello and hugs to everybody else - hope you've managed to get some respite inbetween crying sessions!?

Well, the daytime went well today but she rapidly went downhill this evening. She's definitely in pain bless her! My mum popped round and said she certainly isn't 100%. She has now settled (kind of) into her evening sleep so fingers crossed for now...

We've got our 6 week check first thing tomorrow so I'll seek help from the GP. Also, the stoma nurse called today so we're popping to the hospital later in the day - Cerys has some broken skin around the stoma that could be the source of all this pain so they're going to have a look at it.

Take care, PLP xxx

Hi everyone...

MrsFish, thanks! Luca's the same, he's such a noisy breather, every little sniff wakes me up, but I've been going back to sleep pretty quickly thank God. It's amazing what exhaustion does for you! I've been really indulging Luca, during the day I've been putting him in the sling if he won't settle in his cot, and carrying him around while I do the housework and bits and bobs. He loves it and sleeps all the time in there! I'm probably going to end up with the clingy-est child ever, but who cares, they're only babies once!

Hi Laksa - sorry to hear you're having problems with the bfing. I'm no expert, so much so that I'm paying through the nose to have a private bf advisor coming tomorrow. However I have found that expressing has really helped up my supply. I usually express after my late morning feed, or if I can face it the early morning feed as the milk is best quality in the morning. The hv has told me to look at Luca when I'm doing it as it helps the letdown. That of course is easier said than done as i'm usually looking at him bringing up the feed he's just had and I get all frustrated trying to clean it up while holding a breast pump to my boob! I usually express from the second breast, if you see what I mean. I'll do about 45 mins on breast one, then about ten mins on breast two, then express for another 20 or so minutes from breast two. I usually only express until I've got 2oz for his late feed top up. My milk supply seems to have really picked up, so much so that I used to only really leak in the mornings when they were really full, but I seem to leak at every feed from the other boob, even during evening feeds.

The other thing that the La Leche League advisor told me is that even if Bella is just sucking and not feeding, it can stimulate more milk production. The sucking action stimulates the production to increase. Only do that if it isn't too painful, I left Luca on for ages initially, just over an hour, even if he was just comfort sucking. Bear in mind if you do this, that it does take about three days for your body to understand the signals and stimulate production. Good luck, I hope Bella's weight is good this week. Luca's due to be weighed on Thursday, he's finally above his birth weight at 4 weeks, so I'm praying he's kept up the good work. He's been feeding like a trooper! Great news about the bathing... sounds like Bella is a water baby!

Hello to everyone else, I hope we all get a lovely long night's sleep tonight (yeah right, hope springs eternal! hehehehe!)

Night night xxx

morning!

good night sleep? . Ryan seems to be getting into a routine of sorts and is feeding every 3 to 3 1/2 hours for last 2 nights. was kinda hoping he would be getting into a routine of 5-6 hours by now, but oh well - I think that is called wishful thinking.

Hopey has posted on the baby blues thread - more of us need to go on there and press gang her into posting on here so she has our support.

hope everyone else had good weekends and for those about to go it alone as dp'd/ dh's head back to work - good luck, but really you wont need it, we will all be fine.

Hugs to all - off to have a shower before my little man is up demanding more booby time!

just a short one - plp - I am making up whole days bottles on a morning. Don't think I could managae if I didn't!
laksa - emilia really enjoyed her first bath too. no tears at all and I was expecting a disaster. I am finding that it is me getting stressed about things and then they don't even happen! Hope I'm not going to be like this forever.
off to search for hopey - thanks for tip off dal didn't know she was struggling.
love to all
x