June 2020 Babies - newborn snuggles, recovery, milk and night feeds!

[LillianFullStop]

First post natal thread for June 2020 babies! Looking forward to seeing our birth club thread members here soon!

Joining in now bubs is here.

We are having feeding issues. She would not bf in hospital- either fell asleep after one or two sucks or became red and enraged. So gave syringes of colostrum then formula when that ran out. We are still on mostly formula but she managed to latch on twice today for short feeds, formula for rest and then one expressed bm feed- only 30mls as day 1 of milk coming in!

The problem is, our feeding plan states she needs 70ml of formula every 3 hrs or slightly less of EBM. She isn't waking to feed so we have to get her up and then she just doesn't want that much- she is only 3/4 days old!

Is anyone else combi feeding/expressing ?

I started to hand express because I was so engorged at the end of last week and could get enough for one feed but it was quite an effort. So I bought a pump which arrived yesterday. Omg it's brilliant. I get 130ml across both boobs in 15 mins. I have so much milk! So we're going to be giving him 1 or 2 expressed feeds a day to take the pressure off me as he's a hungry baby and I'm exhausted. I also get a bit of freedom to nip to the shop (like I did today...was great!) knowing there are a couple of feeds in the fridge. He seems more content after a bottle feed so DH going to give him that tonight instead of me before bed to see if we sleep better tonight. I've just come up to bed to try and get some sleep knowing I don't have to do the next feed. I think it's the only way forward for us. Oh and baby is 13 days old today.

@Andddddherewegoagain it's really hard to find the time! Some of the advice is to do an overnight pump to increase supply but honestly unless I need to feed/change my newborn I am not getting out of bed!

@APD1981 130ml in 15 minutes is amazing! I want to get mine up to 60ml if I can

@Pegase I'm combined feeding too. 70ml sounds like a lot for a 3 day old! My DS is now 2.5 weeks and is taking between 60-90ml depending on how sleepy/hungry he is. At day 3 when we got discharged from hospital he was only on 40ml 3 hourly which they were happy with.

Yeah I was shocked how quickly it filled up. I'm so milky. My boobs get really sore and lumpy so I'm worried about mastitis. I think expressing can help stop mastitis so doing it partly for comfort and well as top up feeds for DH to give. The relief now I can pump is immense!

Just checking in on here!

Baby girl is 6 days old today, feeding well and midwife was happy with her yesterday as she's put on weight!
Struggling with getting her to sleep in-between feeds as soon as I put her down she will last a few minutes before getting grizzly and then crying. I end up feeding her lots of short feeds or letting her sleep on me for a bit! I

Silly thing posted before I finished writing!
Has any one else got similar issues? I know cluster feeding is normal just wondered if others aware struggling to settle their little ones or had any tips?

@Busylizzie85 that is par for the course unfortunately- all newborns want to sleep on people constantly! We are currently allowing that during the day but persevering with getting her in the crib at night with a bit of snacky feeds and needing to be picked up and put down. No choice really as the only safe way to sleep! For crib making sure they are stuffed and then white noise/ warming sheets with hot water bottle first/taking hands away slowly all worth trying.

For day either go with it or try a sling...

Google fourth trimester theory for an explanation of the first three months - you basically still have a fetus not a baby!

Same with us @Busylizzie85 - he normally is a lot fussier in the evenings from about 8pm for some reason (in our house we call it the witching hours). He's happy to sleep in the cot during the day though with our household buzzing around I suspect he doesn't like the silence!

We learnt from DD (now 3) that in the early weeks it's no use fighting it as it can be frustrating and exhausting to keep trying to put them down so we lined up some Netflix shows to binge on while we park ourselves on the couch with him in our arms. I remember it got easier around the 1.5 month mark.

Thanks I'm glad it's normal she's been better this afternoon and has settled for longer! This is a big leaning curve for me and it's useful to bounce things off others for reassurance.

@Busylizzie85 a full belly always helps as they get milk drunk and pass out lol but if they're a snacker like mine it doesn't always work!

Agree with @Pegase some white noise might help in the evening as they seem not to like complete silence.

Freddie was like that at first, we spent the first couple of nights tag teaming it: one held and one slept. It's like torture at 4am and all you want to do is shut your eyes! However we had a wooden crib my mum wanted as an heirloom but thankfully baby hated it (so did I but felt obliged) so I Amazon Primed a Next to Me and it has been a game changer. First night he would go in it for short bursts (cried immediately at the other crib) and since he's happily slept in it. We are getting him used to day time naps in his pram by taking him for a walk in it. Seems to be working. And we're lucky he's liked his bouncer from the off. It has a vibration function which he likes.

E has cluster feeding periods at random times of the day, fortunately not too many during the night so far. We have a gro-snug to swaddle her in, which she settles really well with. Her brother hated being swaddled! She was really unsettled yesterday evening and last night. Her cord stump came off this morning and she's been great since, so it must have been annoying her.
We went for a nice family walk this afternoon (even though it was raining) - good to get a change of scene!
My blood pressure is still misbehaving slightly, but GP happy to just keep an eye for the next week or so.

Checking in. Sorry I've been quiet. I've been reading but not commenting.

Charlotte is 10 days old today. We had our last midwife appointment and they are very happy with her as she is 9lb now (birth weight was 8lb12, then she lost 5% by day 3 and was already gaining it back by day 5). DH and I are also very happy because I've finished the course of anti-clot meds and compression socks today as well.

@Busylizzie85 another one here who likes to sleep on people. She is better at going down in her carry cot during the day (so much so that we tried it inside the next to me for 2 nights to see if that helped), once she has had a good cuddle with someone, though sometimes she wakes up and wants more cuddles/to sleep on someone. This is normal though. As Pegase said re: fourth trimester. We learnt this with our toddler so are just going along with it. I want to look into getting a sling and baby wearing now I'm starting to recover more. I have a ring sling already but not sure how good it is with a newborn.

As I said, Charlotte is quite happy in her carry cot during the day but she's very hit and miss in her crib at night. Sometimes she stirs within minutes, sometimes half an hour (I had a great night the other night where she fed, slept an hour, fed, slept an hour from 1 until 6am) and sometimes 1-2 hours. There's no predicting it. I'm hoping it's just a case of mistaking day and night and sorts itself out soon. We've just got a sleeping bag for her, to see if that helps, and I've reclaimed one of those toys which plays white noise or music to see if that does as well. Otherwise, I have Netflix, cordial and biscuits to help keep me going during the night, and I try and nap when I can during the day as well, though this has been hit and miss a bit thanks to balancing supervising our other 2 boys with Charlotte and my need for sleep.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Oh, a little bit of combi feeding here too, though less in the last few days as I start feeling very full and uncomfortable quite quickly now. I'm hoping to give my pump a clean and start collecting a bit soon, and then the odd bottle won't make as much difference to how they feel. At least my nipples are almost fully healed after some bad latches at the beginning.

Are baby's are really similar @HaichMal same weight at birth and then she lost 5% of weight and had midwife yesterday and she's put in 3% back I'm hoping she's continuing to be good at her 10 day check on Tuesday!
I'm also on the anti clotting injections I can't wait to finish them and my antibiotics fed up with taking so many drugs.
I'm definitely taking all the tips on board 😊

For those combi feeding, are you designating certain feeds to be from a bottle? I think I need a pattern so my boobs know what to expect. We will top up if after a bf she is still hungry but also want to keep a couple of formula feeds a day.

I'm not yet confident enough to aim to bf exclusively - because she gets sleepy so quickly so often won't feed for long enough and because of her tongue tie.

Another one on the last day of the blood-thinning injections. They're so bad! Can't wait to be done with them.
I've got a stretchy wrap which is great - have been out for 2 short walks with it so far. Took the pram today to walk round the park, which was also lovely. From c-section recovery point of view, I feel I could walk miles now, only problem is my hip is still playing up. Not ready to stop painkillers altogether yet though, didn't take any overnight for the first time and regretted it slightly this morning.

Hi all! Just found this thread, what a relief to read other people's experiences as I sit here still awake with a little cluster feeder!! I've bought a pump to try and get an extra feed expressed to top him up at night but I think I'll end up using formula as he always seems to hungry!

My c section recovery has been a bit of a disaster, ended up back in hospital with a fever and infection for three days which was incredibly hard. Home now and trying to achieve one new thing a day. Haven't got Benji into his pram or sling yet but that's next, he's be so happy to sleep on someone all day and all night!! Xx

I'm at the end of my tether. Freddie sleeps well during the day either in my arms, his pram or his bouncer and seems to feed well too. The past few nights though have just been complete screaming fests. I I cluster feed , rock him, used white noise, even given him a dummy but after a few mins asleep in his next to me he wakes again screaming. I feel like a total failure because i don't know what's wrong. DH wants to use formula to try and make him.sleep longer but it makes me feel like a total failure and that I can't give my son what he needs. I'm worried it'll affect my milk supply too. I know he's only 17 days old and so it's early days but the night thing is just exhausting. I should probably try and sleep more in the day to make up for it but I want to enjoy these unique days with a newborn, not sleep through them. Does anyone have thoughts or advice? X

@APD1981 sorry to hear you had a bad night. This was completely normal for us with our first born and new baby is showing signs of heading in that direction too unfortunately - we also had a similar night.

Formula doesn't really make a difference necessarily. Our baby is combi fed and was howling and screaming refusing to be put down after her bottle of formula last night.

Is she showing any signs of wind/tummy pain? Other than that almost all the time the answer is to keep feeding at this age.

Different white noise sound? Womb/heartbeat does nothing for ours but rain seems to work.

Have you looked up fourth trimester?

@APD1981 when he screams is he arching his back? If so this is probably silent reflux.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/reflux-in-babies/

If he's squirming its more likely to be colic. You can get over the counter medication for this such as infacol or colief.

My son had both, i remember the sleepless screaming nights well. Sending you all the hugs and coffee you need.

Its also worth looking at your diet if your breastfeeding as lots of food upsets babys systems, especially fatty foods, caffeine, onions but it will be trial and error to find what could be the trigger for Freddie.

Does he get constipated?

He gets loads of wind and farts a lot. He gets agitated and can also cry/scream before farting or pooing and so that wakes him and it can be difficult to get him back off then. Definitely no constipation, he does lots of poos. I got some infacol the other day but have wondered whether I'm doing the right thing giving it to him. Maybe I should persevere.

Infacol joins the bubbles together so makes one big burp instead of lots of little ones.

How do you burp him? Ive found the best way to get trapped wind up is to flop their head and arms over a shoulder and rub their left hand side.
How quick is your let down? Sometimes the first few seconds can spray them and thats when they take all the air in. If you have a good supply it might be worth pumping just for a minute before feeding to take the edge off.