December 2007 - Santa's come early for some of us...

[Housemum]

Thought I'd start off the new thread as I've never started one before - congratulations to those of you who are on here now - hope I'll be joing you in the not-too-distant future!

hello all,
sorry to hear about your BF problems. Nobody tells you just how hard it is eh?
We have given millie formula once, when i had nothing else to give her, but she hasn't had any for the last 4 days as my milk is now flowing very freely. We have also used a dummy as millie is quit a sucky baby. One time she used it for too long and then got too tired to ltach, but actually i think i misread the signs and she needed winding, not the dummy.
Can i join the windy club? Lots of pooey nappies, farting and burping required. The most difficult thing for me is still reading the signs.
I have decided to try and chill ou about what i should and should not be doing as all the advice is soo contradictory. So she gets cuddles if it settles her, but i will always try putting her down first to see if she will settle on her own.
EBM at night is my slavation. Sleep at 11.30 last night and woken up by night nanny at 7.45 when she left. Absolute bliss. Has given me the energy to take millie out this morning, give her a proper bath and wash her hair and give her naked time. Would thoroughly recommend getting DP/DH to do one of the middle night feeds if poss with EBM. I am so much clamer today and millie is much mroe content. She also lost her cord yesterday which i think was making her a little sore.
Am also dreading DH going back to work next week which is why i am trying to do all of these things on my own to get used to them. It is all soo awkward- how to manoeuvre the buggy etc, but i think i am getting there.

Can I just say the dummy is a godsend! We used it from day 1, she's a really sucky baby and was sucking her fingers til they were bright red, the dummy really settles her. BF is fine - no nipple confusion at all, although wouldn't recommend giving the dummy before a feed cos she latches on like a pirhana, ouch! Was a little paranoid about comments from others but actually no longer care as it works for us, plus me and DH had them as babies so we're happy to use them.

The baby judges don't half make you feel like pants about some of our choices don't they!! I know some of you have felt it about FF, I felt it about having an epidural - like I'd failed being able to do it naturally. But I have my baby now so sod the judges. I have a feeling that it won't stop as time goes on either, even if its mostly in our heads!

Ambi I don't think it ever stops, dd is 19 months and I'm getting pressure to take away her dummy (only has it for sleeps so who cares anyway?!) and to potty train her which is the last thing I want to be doing when I have a newborn to contend with!

DS's night wakings were almost identical to the night before which has made me feel a bit better-looks like he is starting to get into a pattern (for how long I wonder... ) but at least if I am prepared to be up for 2.5 hours at 2am it's a bit easier-last night I put him in the sling and read a book as I walked him up and down!

His wind is still a major problem-screaming for ages after every feed then puking everywhere but hey ho-I think i was just very lucky with dd as she never even posseted(the colic was another story though...)

V jealous of those of you with placid babies, was really hoping for one of those this time but it wasn't to be. Would love to be able to feed/change ds and then just plonk him down somewhere sometimes though!

Oh and I've tried ds with a dummy cos it was such a godsend with dd but he has only taken it a couple of times-the rest of the time he just screams harder-as if he is really affronted that I'm daring to offer it to him!

My wonderful baby fed like a trojan from 10pm to midnight - both sides 20 mins or so each but then slept for 4 hours uninterrupted, quick 10 min feed then slept another 2 hours....she goes down no grizzling or crying very rarely screams at all...lucky me fingers crossed

macdoodle. can we swap for a couple of nights? I don't have a prob with feeding ds cos he is quite good at spacing out his feeds and feeds well but its the screaming and sick afterwards I find it hard to cope with!

Hello. I had my baby Elouise on sat 29th December. 6lb 6oz and very sweet!

Would like to join in the chat on this thread if thats ok!

Just wondering, how is everybody coping with pains "down below"? Mine are agony, especially with a cold, as every time I sneeze or anything, everything contracts! Also, having a little problem with bladder control when I sneeze! Anybody else having this trouble?

Congratulations to everybody on the biths of their babies!

Hey all,

LO has not arrived yet, but just wanted to pop on and say hi and hoping to be joinging you all soon altho I will be a Jan mummy masquerading as a December one...

Since I have some time am off to read some of the birth stories to cheer myself up. Sweep booked for Tuesday so hopefully will be here soon.

hi eberyone
thanks for all thje good wishes, m.eans a lot.

ambi - uyes the judges dont go away, nexct thing will be weaning, that one can be a vicous discussions by some!

we havent used a dummy yet but i have them at the ready. as we've been in hosp i hjavent liked to use it until Fin's better and home.
hjis cord looks quite solid still, i remember an old friend had a baby and his cord didnt go properly and had to get iot chopped off at 6 mths and that apparenmtly its more common in CS babies?

For anyone worrying about co sleeping i thought i would tell you i was talking to one of the paediatricians yesterday who still co-sleeps with her 11month old.

anyone else just want the decorations down now? if DH had some help i would ask him to do it before we come home as i sort of want to put Christmas and New Year as far behind me as possible.

MixedMama dont worry i'm sure you'l be joining us soon, fingers crossed for the sweep.

CS mummies - do you put a pad by your scar when you're wearing jeans etc? i am healing well but sometimes feel like i want a bit more protection. Also, my bleeding (lochia) has stopped now, is that the same for all cs's? with Dd i bled for 6 wks.

Just popping into say hello. Haven't been on for a while, as I've been feeling low, due to lack of sleep, trying to spend any 'free' time with DD1 (feeling guilty as most of my time is spent feeding DD2) and just got back from doctors today and been diagnoised with mastitis

Blooming BF is still to tiring, but at least DD2 is feeding ever 1 hr - 1.5 hrs as opposed to the initial 20 mins as well as a complementary formula feed at night.

We've decided to give DD2 the dummy as well, as she was on me for comfort.

Agree with Suey - no one tells you how bloody hard BF is - the amount of times I cried because of it....

Quick response think feed about due then will be time for bed...my bleeding has stopped as well day 6 post section - bonus but scar still sore especially bending lifting etc..had staples out today which has helped....baby still a dream can't believe my luck haven't even needed to consider dumm as she cries so rarely and goes down like a star

Hi everybody, catching up at last. I just got out of hospital yesterday, after having a home birth. Matilda had everyone very worried, after she was born her breathing and temp wern't great, so the mw called an ambulance and we were taken into hosp. Oncew we were there they seemed to find something different wrong with her every time the last problem sorted itself out. First it was her breathing, then her blood sugar, then she went blue all over, then they found a heart murmer, then she had some seizures. She has had antibiotics, antivirals, a lumbar puncture, ultrasounds of her heart and her brain, has electrodes stuck in her scalp and been on oxygen and moniters strapped to each hand and foot.
And now she is absolutely fine and they just want to follow up on the fits in 2-3 months time! The stay in hosp was very worrying but the staff were great and really helpful, and let me catch up on some sleep and taught me to bf really well, she is sucking like a dyson for 20 mins then sleeping for 4 hours at the moment (long may it last, I am poised for her to turn into a 'real baby'). I am glad to have her home now, she is 'my' baby and I dont keep getting told off for crossing my legs or not wearing slippers, though my mother is staying. She tries to help by constantly cleaning and tidying, but I can never find anything and keep bursting into tears.
Anyway lots of good vibes to everyone having problems, here's the list with my details updated.

Hailbop - Boy 2 Dec (due 1/12)
Wizzska - Boy, Rory, Due 2nd Dec, arrived 2nd Dec, 8 lb 5
Bimblin - Boy, Alexander, due 14/12, 4th Dec 8lb 2oz
RGPargy Ellie Rose 5 Dec Due (27/11) 8lb 6oz
Loopymumsy Orla, 5 Dec 30/11/07
CHOCOLATEPEANUT Joe 5/12 (due 01/12)
NBG - Ethan 6/12 (due 28/11)
SarahPT Boy 6/12 (due 2/12)
Beanstermummy Girl 6/12 (due 30/11)
VNMum - Caitlin Louise 8/12
Caz10 Ella 9/12 (Due 12/12)
Claireybee Douggie 10/12 (due 10/12)
Claraq Martha Erin 11/12 (Due 01/12)
Shells 12/12/07 - Roisin Eleanor (due 6/12)
Littleoldme 12/12 Thomas James 7lb 9oz Due 28/11)
Fifisworld Ethan 13/12 (Due 17/12)
Mellymooks - 13/12 Kaesha Ophelia (Due 7/12) 7lb3oz
Louise76 - 13/12 (due 9/12) Ailsa 8lb 5.5oz
Mad4Girlsplus1 - 13/12 BOY Zethan 7lb 10oz
Cazzybabs 14/12 Evelyn Mary (Due 30/11)
Skidaddle - 14/12 Milo (due 11/12) 8lb9oz
Insywinsyspider - 16/12 Toby Simon (due 11/12) 8lb5oz
bambino1andbump Charlie 16/12 Due 15/12
Ambi - Louise, 17/12 (Due 4/12) 6lb 4oz
Suey2 Millicent Kate 21/12 (Due 10/12)8lb10oz
BunnyBaby - Michael Peter 21/12 (Due 28/11) 8lb 15oz
Amani 22/12 baby GIRL(Due 30/12)
Lizzer - 22/12 Dexter Robin 10lb4oz (Due 10/12)
FurryFox - 23/12 (Due 10/12) Imogen Holly 7lb 14oz
Lucy/Loucee 23/12 (due 17/12/07) Finlay 8lb 12oz
Thingamajig 25/12 (due 21/12) Matilda Margaret 6lb4oz
Curlygirly 25/12 (due 24/12) Lois Maisy 7lb 14oz
Bouncingturtle 27/12 (due 23/12) Daniel Edward 6lb 6oz
Awen 27/12 (due 31/12) Samuel Owen 8lb 14oz (VBAC)
Macdoodle 28/12 (due 26/12) Lily (no middle name decided yet) 8lb120z planned section for breech
Chloemegjess - 29/12 (due 23/12) Elouise 6lb 6oz
Ozzymoomoo - 30/12 (due 30/12)Ruby Michelle 8lb
Buzzybee 30/12 (due 22/12) Beatrix Amelia, 7lb 11oz

Great to hear Matilda is doing so much better Thingamajig, must have been so worrying for you!

I too am feeling very blessed (crossed fingers!) Macdoodle - little Bea slept from 1.30am to 8.30am last night, could hardly believe it. She sleeps loads during the day too - which I was worried would stop her sleeping at night but although she is wakeful in the evening only that seems to be enough.

Milk came in today so have been expressing madly, and hope now we can revert to 100% EBM for a week or 2 anyway. I know from last time that my supplies will dwindle over time as expressing not very effective at maintaining supply but long may it last.

hey everyone

am another addition from the ante natal club
Henry born 6th dec so w weeks old today!

sorry 4 one handed typing but trying 2 keep him upright with other arm in attempt 2 wind him rather han letting him fall asleep

congratulations to everyone else who's made it over from the ante natal thread too

am pleased 2 c so many people expressing as am reaching end of bf ing tether as ds has fed at 1am and 3am and 4am and again just now and taken ages to settle so have had about an hours sleep

similar pattern every night since xmas when relatives descended. before then he'd sleep from midnight to 5.30 / 6 am evey second night or so which was great

am going 2 buy pump today and from other mnet post avent isis seems to be popular but not sure if better off splashing out on electric pump instead? will i get too annoyed with manual one if i want to express enough 4 one feed a day?

also - how much do u need to express to be enough for a feed?

any advice from anyone already expressing would b great!

other than that am loving being 1st time mum. ok loving may be too strong a word but love DS to bits so hoping everything else will eventually fall into place

Hi Sarah, health guidelines are that babies under 4 months need around 70 ml (2.5oz) of milk per day per pound of body weight.

So a 4 week old baby weighing 11lb (say) would need 770ml per day. Assuming 6 feeds per day that works out at about 130ml per feed (5oz).

However, don't be discouraged if you can only get say 50ml to start with.

Having done this with DD1 I'm fairly adept and use the Avent isis which I like as I can control the level of suction and speed of pumping. I tried a hired electric one last time and didn't like how impersonal it was, but I think its quite a personal thing.

Hope that helps!

congrats to all new mummies!
and glad baby matilda is well (don't we all pick such nice names!!)

re expressing - i tried and failed last night with the tommy tipee thing - not a drop came out and i just had big red marks round my nipples -OW!

Hello everyone -
Caz - I agree we have excellent names, no Chutneys or Satchels arouns here lol

Pumps - there was this thread on pumps.

Walked to Asda with DS in buggy, only just under a mile, but was soo tired when I got back!
Daniel was sick on himself and me this morning, just after I bathed him! So we both had to have a change of clothing.
Saw BFC yesterday absolute Godsend, she has helped enormously with position Daniel, liking the football hold.
Breastfeeding is now much less painful - did have slightly cracked nipples but they are healing up nicely with the Lansinoh.
Must dash, got BIL&SIL visiting shortly and still need hoover.
I find I tun around doing stuff but get tired very quickly - normally because I haven't had enough to eat! But getting better though.

Oh BT, did I not tell you we've changed dexter's name to Satchel Chutney

I'm planning the first walk out in the pram today, oh i am scared! Its been crap weather giving me an excellent excuse to drive but today sun, sun, sun! Btw our first trip in the car to anywhere other than relatives was to dp's kitchen suppliers! (He's a joiner) All the men were cooing over ds in the office, cue one v proud dp

Glad to hear Matilda is all better now Thinga, must have been so worrying

Caz10, me too on the whole expressing front, I think its just practise as it took a while with dd but then I remember getting quitegood at it eventually, but doesn't it make you ?!

Sarahpt, hope you can catch up with your sleep a bit in the day, can you distract Henry a bit in the eves (eg bath, walkabout) to see if he can stay awake for longer and try and extend his night time sleeping?

Buzzy, would you mind if I asked you why you're fully expressing feeds? I hope you don't think I'm being rude asking that as I'm not remotely bothered how people feed their newborn-its their choice, its just a more unusual choice and I wondered how it worked for you? Oh and thanks for your good wishes re:scan and sending you them back for beatrix's one tomorrow.

chloemegjess, your pains should ease soon and I'm afraid the only answer to the sneeze/wee is...yep you guessed it..pelvic floor exercises!

Claireyb, have you tried 'colief' to ease your ds's pains, its an enzyme that breaks down too much lactase, google it for more info but its safe from birth and on the shelves in boots, it saved my friend's sanity and I've got some in already just in case!

Insy, LOL yes ds did pee all over me at scan, but I was willing him to pee all over the sonographer - she was a right moody cow!

caz10 - same here, tried expressing last night with the avent manual pump and got an ounce out. mw said to give it another week before expressing again.

hey - have mastered the art of typing left handed and bfing!

anyone who is bf - how long do you take feeding?

Hi Lizzer, no I don't mind at all!
My version of "mixed feeding" is probably pretty unusual I guess but it developed out of circumstances with DD1 and I just decided to go with it for this LO as well as seemed to be what worked best for us last time.
Basically I struggled to BF DD1 last time - couldn't get her to latch or suck effectively at all despite obviously having plenty of supply. So started expressing and found I was able to feed her quite well with EBM.
However I also know that I won't be able to maintain my supply and the "mix" will start to become more and more formula.
Bottles are a PITA regarding sterilising (also the pump) but they do have the advantage that you always know how much milk your LO is getting.
Actually its 2am here and have just got up to express some milk even tho Beatrix is still asleep....

Lizzer, I do have some Colief but havent used it yet-mainly because you have to express some milk to mix it with before a feed and at the moment its all I can do to feed ds without having to express as well! Will try it soon though, especially as I've also been told that expressing until after the initial letdown (have v v strong letdown) will stop ds gulping so much and taking in so much air and should also help with the wind. Only problem is that I never know when he will want a feed so would have to keep him waiting while I pumped the first part of the feed-all seems quite a lot of hassle!!

Bouncing I havent used the pram yet-it scares me! I remember taking dd out in hers at 2 days old but the tandem is sooo long! So far I've been using the sling for ds and dd either walks or goes in her buggy depending where we are going. Other reason I haven't yet is cos ds isn't too keen on lying down but settles really well in the sling so am worried that pushing him in pram will lead to screaming!

Buzzy wow I really respect you for expressing full time-I tried it when dd was 5 months and started to refuse the breast but found it such hard work I gave up within 2 weeks!

Had bloody awful night last night. ds was settled from 6.30 until 9pm but was up pretty much constantly after that. I'd get him to sleep (walking up and down living room) then try and lie him down and he'd wake within seconds. Even lying on me the longest he managed was 1.5 hours. On the plus side the fact that he was snacking all night rather than taking big feeds did mean he wasn't sick and he did settle fairly quickly after some of them-had to walk him up and down between 9 and 11 and between 2 and 4 though-I suppose I could consider it good exercise?! Even today he is v unsettled and will only settle in the sling-as soon as I try to put him down he screams

amani i try and get millie to take 20 mins from one breast and then about 10 from the other. Have to wake her up and burp her a bit in the middle and sometimes she will only take 15 mins from one breast. But she does also seems to need different amounts each feed so it is very difficult to tell if she ahs had enough.

oh whoever was asking about CS: my bleeding has almost stopped after 13 days. The scar is at a bad height for jeans- am still wearing my early pg ones. No other issues though, and have been rubbing in arnica cream. Even ran to the doctors yesterday as i was late! But then my abs were very strong and i had no diastasis at all- but if the physio doesn't get it right who stands a chance!

yes DD is actually not just ella but ella chutney...

she is a muddled up little thing, yesterday she had me practically in hysterics as she was awake not feeding 0r sleeping just crying from the wee small hours till 3pm! then had a great night, it is just so unpredictable! the sleep makes such a difference, she slept 12 - 3 then 4 - 8 and i feel like a new person! even went out today!!!

amounts - about the same as you suey, 20-30 mins one side then 10-20 on the other, although very occasionally one side is enough. then at other times it's 30 mins each side! again, so unpredictable.

latch, and therefore pain, so much better after bfc though.

ooh and i bf in public today!!!! it was fine, and def attracts less attention than dd screaming!

oh clairybee i feel your pain - last night was our 1st good night since hospital!!