Babies due September 2021

[FTEngineerM]

WE HAVE ARRIVALS 🥳🥳
Since we’ve had babies arriving I thought we could have somewhere to carry on after the babies are born and we tackle our new mum lives

I hope I tag everyone but ones arrived so far:
@kat1112025
@kirky685
@sillysocks998
@jay3004

And everyone else when your bundles of joy arrive:

@Noodles4Me - 26th Aug 💙
@Scotti84 - 30th Aug 💖

@Sceptre86 - 1st 💖
@primhutch - 1st 💖
@RaeRae84 - 1st 💙
@KHR1 - 1st 💙
@CherylLW - 3rd 💙
@GWhiteley - 3rd 💖
@deedeebythesea - 3rd 💙
@Allicit - 3rd 💙
@Poppins2016 - 4th 💛
@2021mumma - 5th 💙
@Squibble84 - 6th 💛
@leftitlate37 - 7th 💙
@SillyBry - 7th 💛
@LouiseJayne23 -7th 💖
@bewitchingnight - 8th 💖
@SK28 - 8th 💛
@Taralweaver - 8th 💖
@AdventuresAwait - 9th 💖
@mumof23188 - 9th 💙
@Bubbles1st - 10th 💙
@Catkin7 - 10th 💖
@FTEngineerM - 12th 💙
@CobleCloud - 13th 💙
@Maybebaby29 - 14th 💙
@Taybz - 14th 💙
@Bigdreamer9 - 14th 💙
@Eppy123 - 14th 💛
@Newmum110 -14th 💛
@Hopefulmummie - 16th 💖
@Mamabearwhere - 17th 💙
@HollyMoore - 17th 💖
@aurora2021 - 18th 💖
@Bluespace - 18th 💙
@ErrolFinn - 19th 💖
@xsjrx - 19th 💛tbc
@unicornpower - 20th 💖
@Moominmiss - 20th 💙
@Sophieandtiger - 20th 💛
@bluemagicalsky - 21st 💙
@Clouless - 21st 💛
@Suma2021 - 21st 💙
@SP2Bx - 22nd 💛
@Geegee20 - 22nd 💙
@Holly91 - 22nd 💛
@Rach921 - 23rd 💙
@LittleCatDog - 23rd 💖
@SproutingSprout2021 - 24th 💛
@LittleAurora -24th 💙
@RadDarwazeh - 25th 💛
@crobo87 - 25th 💙
@d0nut - 25th 💖
@GummyBear91 - 25th 💖
@AdriannaP - 25th 💛
@MrsTD88 -27th 💖
@MrsBrett20 - 27th 💛
@marshmallowmode -27th 💙
@Mrssernalewis - 28th 💛
@ams92 - 30th 💖

@Scotti84 omg last night was an absolute nightmare for us too! To be fair I think it was mostly my fault 🤦🏻‍♀️ Niamh woke for a feed around 3 and then lay in her crib whinging and making noise for what felt like hours after, I changed her and tried her with another bottle/her dummy etc etc and eventually OH took her into the living room and told me to get to sleep.. I was just sitting crying and crying because I felt like I didn’t know what she wanted. Turns out she was just looking for a cuddle and some attention so I was definitely overthinking it 🤦🏻‍♀️

Can anyone let me know what’s best for a little bit of wind? Niamh usually brings up big burps but it’s been difficult to wind her the last two days, doesn’t seem to be in pain but I think she’s straining a little and bringing her legs up plus actual burps are non existent - have tried over my shoulder and also moving her legs about but no luck ☹️

@CherLW this is what I do. Pretty much bf all day and night feeds but I give him a top up before I sleep around 11 of formula then if he gets very fussy middle of the night and not satisfied with boob I give him a little more formula. It’s not really recommended to do what I’m doing as the less you bf the lower your supply gets (unless you pump those feeds your give formula which I haven’t been doing).

Maybe your little one is going through a growth spurt hence the more waking? One thing I know after having two kids is babies never tend to stick to their routine. Just when you think you’ve cracked it they decide to change things up

@MrsMcNtobe have you tried massaging her tummy ? It does the job for us almost instantly he starts farting away! Massage in circular motions just around belly button area

@Mamabearwhere I’ve literally just tried that and she’s been farting like mad and they STINK 🙈😂😂😂 OH says her tummy is quite soft now aswell so he thinks she’s ok wind-wise, do you think that’s right? He’s a second time dad so he’s much more clued up than me 🤣

@CherLW could you express breast milk? Billie has 90ml of breast milk for each feed and then 100ml before bed as she’s greedy but we follow her lead, if she’s hungry for more we offer more. Don’t worry about him not getting enough, 2hours is fine between feeds isn’t it? B will go 3.5 sometimes but then sometimes barely 2 hours!

@MrsMcNtobe a warm bath can help too! But massage is so good!!baby farts are so funny aren’t they 😂

Hi @CherLW, yes Hetie is exclusively breaat fed. She can go between 1 and 3.5 hours between feeds, usually around 2-3. I think they say just to feed when they want it so I agree with others that 2 hours between is fine at this stage. Hettie is feeding loads at the moment but apparently there is a growth spurt between 4to6 weeks so maybe it's this. I agree it is so hard to know how much they're getting but she has lots of wet and dirty nappies and is definitely putting weight on which are the signs I'm going by that she's getting enough even though she can sometimes want more after an hour!

@Bubbles1st @AdventuresAwait @unicornpower @Mamabearwhere thanks ladies for the tips and replies 😊

I think I’m just too overthinking things, he’s putting on weight and seems pretty content most of the time (unless his tummy/wind is playing up) so he must be getting enough.

I did think of the upset tummy due to formula and that definitely puts me off… I’ll carry on and maybe look at expressing as another option.

❤️

@MrsMcNtobe hope your little ones wind is settling… My Jesse has some trapped wind.. maybe from the bottom end but I’ve been giving him so gripe water which seems to help him get them out. It’s recommended after when they reach 1 month but I think it’s the best thing I’ve tried. Swings and roundabouts tho as I’ve got friends who said it did nothing for their babies x

@CherLW I'm behind you as we're 3.5 weeks but just to echo the others, 2 hours is about standard here, but sometimes only an hour and sometimes pretty much back to back for a few hours at a time. She's gaining weight and loads of nappies, plus I've started leaking a bit as well so assume all is fine and she's just either having a growth spurt or bumping up supply ready for one x

@CherLW it sounds like he's doing great, and every 2 hours can be normal for a while, sadly 😩.

We've found swaddling helps keep him settled at night so he sleeps a bit longer: 3-4hours and does a big feed when he wakes.

This weekend I also expressed a bottle for my husband to give as one of the night feeds so I could get 5 hours straight sleep, absolute bliss! We're not planning on doing it regularly but if you are exhausted and really struggling then I would recommend it to give yourself a break from the constant waking.

@Kat1112025 we do that, express so DH can feed her too, but we do it every night atm, its nice for me as i get to sleep through and for him as he gets to have that time with baby. He goes back to work in two weeks though so that will stop then. Trying to work out how we can do it that he can sleep through the night, I get enough sleep too but also that we get some time together. I know it won't be forever but there's a lot to juggle isn't there.

My washing machine conked out on us today too, thought it was broken until I cleared the filter and found two mushed up nipple pads in there 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ i shouldn't put washing on in the middle of the night.

On the sleep front, Lillys slept loads the last couple of days, she seems fine otherwise and is eating normal, midwife isn't concerned but it makes me laugh, when she doesn't sleep we do everything we can to try and get her down and when she does sleep we worry like hell because she's sleeping too much!

And on a last very happy note, I'm allowed to take a bath again! Midwife had said i shouldn't until the bleeding stopped due to risk of infection and its finally stopped! I love a relaxing bath and can't wait to ease my aching back!

Hi ladies, baby Tyler came last Monday in an emcs. I've been struggling with the pain of the c-section and adapting. Mobility is still really difficult and feeding quite tricky. How are you ladies with c-sections coping? Sleeping is an absolute mission and I can sleep on my back or side. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Baby Tyler is absolutely lush yet I can't enjoy him the way I want to because of the pain. I'm also finding breast feeding really difficult and he feeds a lot. Sorry to be all doom and gloom 😔

@Taybz congratulations on baby Tyler 💙 I didn’t have a c-section so I can’t help but I hope things get easier for you very soon x

@Kat1112025 @bewitchingnight thanks ladies… every night is different… last night I couldn’t work out if I had slept or not!

@CherLW Have you considered a silicone milk catcher if you've not got time to express? I picked up one of these - www.boots.com/nuby-silicone-breast-pump--10283340
Rosie is only 3 weeks at the moment, so I'm resisting expressing for another week or two so my supply can get established... but I suck this onto the boob I'm not feeding off for 1 feed a day and tend to get 2-3 oz between the two boobs. It's far slower/less efficient than an electric pump, but it requires no effort/can be done whilst feeding.

We had the health visitor today - Rosie has gone up to 10lb7oz... and she's only 3 weeks! She's on the 91st centile and 0-3 month clothes already feel quite snug! I'd make a good dairy cow at least hey! ;-)

I have to say, first time round, I found breastfeeding SUCH a chore... I didn't enjoy it. This time, it feels easy. BUT, expressing was a massive game changer for me. Just giving me some freedom - and letting hubby do the bedtime feed so that I could get to bed and sleep earlier made such a difference.. and I also felt as though my first slept so much better overnight for having an expressed bottle dream feed at 10pm :-)

I try and limit Rosie's sleep to 2 hours a time in the day to help get longer slots at night... whether it works or not, who knows. On a good night, she'll feed at 10-11pm, 2am, 5-6am... but then some nights, they all merge into 1 it seems!

@SillyBry that’s a good idea, didn’t think about that.. plus I already have one as I got bought it as a gift 🤦🏻‍♀️. Seems silly but do they have to be sterilised like a bottle would?

I think my main concern is if I express and give him a bottle I bed fo buy everything like bottles, steriliser etc and it’s another minefield. At the moment all I have is a boob!

@Taybz congratulations! My first was an emcs and this time round was an elective, the recovery has been like night and day. I am two weeks post op and haven't had any pain relief in a week. I honestly think the recovery from an emcs is so much tougher. Make sure you really keep on top of your pain relief, don't let yourself be in pain before you take it. Did they send you home with strong painkillers? I was sent home with dihydrocodeine. If not, get on to your gp or contact maternity assessment to review. Don't try and push yourself, it is a six week recovery time and your body really does need that time to heal.

@CherLW I just pour boiling water over mine prior to using it.
I totally feel that pain… bottles are a faff and boob is so easy to just sling out as and when needed! With my first, I knew I wanted mine to take a bottle as I knew I’d be going back to work at 9/10 months, so she needed to take a bottle for nursery. And I didn’t want to leave it til she was too old to not know what to do with it… so just giving her one bottle a day - or every few days meant I could chill/not feel tied to her at every moment. (With my first, I felt super anxious being apart from her as i was the only one that could feed her in the early weeks!)
For expressing, i do have a steriliser, but you could just buy Milton cold water tablets to take less space if you weren’t doing it much. Then I used to pump into the bottles that came with the pump, then pour into milk storage bags to either freeze for future or keep in the fridge. Then I just had 2 tommee tippee bottles for the feeding, so it didn’t feel a big palaver.
Happy to answer any questions anyway - I weaned Naomi at a year… and I can’t see doing anything different with Rosie as she seems to know what to do with the boob! 🤣

@SillyBry that’s good to know about the boiling water, makes things a little easier.
So could I pump into the Nuby handheld thing, pour into bags for fridge or freezer and then when needed use a bottle which I could sterilise with the Milton cold water tablets?

Thank you, I always feel bad asking too many questions when they could seem so obvious.

@CherLW they aren’t obvious when you don’t know the answer. If I had to feed formula, I’d be asking the most obvious questions… like how the heck do I know how much they drink? How do you mix it? Etc 🤣🤣
Exactly that! The nuby one comes with a bottle with a teat and a screw lid, so whilst it’s not a lot of milk, I’m sterilising that and storing it in there. But the bags don’t need sterilising, so yup, you could use the Milton tabs just to sterilise a bottle when needed. Or, you can get microwave sterilising bag, which is super easy and doesn’t take up any space. There are loads of them - but this kind of thing - www.boots.com/munchkin-6-pack-microwave-steriliser-bags-10210616?cm_mmc=bmm-buk-google-ppc--PLAs_HeroCompare--Mother+%26+Baby-_-UK_Smart_Shopping_Mother_Baby&gbraid=0AAAAADrIajWE8l2v69xtBIYphZpwUAvTX&gbraid=0AAAAADrIajWE8l2v69xtBIYphZpwUAvTX&gclid=CjwKCAjwzOqKBhAWEiwArQGwaIPG6JKXWDpgwexQye_14f-g50xqT7Dj1I3cLlsVsWqwEq9pl8EDGBoCxyoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

@SillyBry oh goodness, formula is a massive minefield which I’m going to avoid as long as I can!
Thank you 😊 that makes things sound a lot easier. I think I’ll look into those sterilising bags as that seems easier and I won’t be using it all the time.
Do they drink it straight from fridge? Room temperature? Warmed?

I really do have no idea about this 🤦🏻‍♀️

@CherLW so I stick the bottle in a jar of boiling water for a few minutes to take the fridge chill off… I think I would start with it room temp because if you offer it warmer, they’ll probably want it warmed every time 🤣

@CherLW I have the MAM self sterilising bottles. You stack them with 20ml water and then put them in the microwave. No need for anything extra.

You can also buy sterilising bags for the microwave. Each bag has 20uses and you just pop the washed nuby/haaka in there (plus any bottles if not using self sterilising ones) with a bit of water and microwave for 3mins.

If you're planning to use the milk within a few days you can just keep pouring the expressed amounts into a sterilised bottle in the fridge, topping it up. No need for storage (unless you are making lots extra). This is what I do over the course of the day.

Safe storage is: 6months in the freezer, 8 days in the fridge, 4 hours at room temp.

I wouldn't give it straight from the fridge. Either room temp or pop the made up bottle in a bowl of warm/hot water

Ahh rubbish internet, just seen @SillyBry has covered all of this!

@Kat1112025 not at all! You have actual facts and figures… much more useful 😁🤣