August 2021 Babies - They Had To Be Gorgeous, Just Look At Us

[PurplePansy05]

Welcome to the chattiest post-natal club on MN!

We spent a year together chatting about all things pregnancy and baby...

...we've tried and tested countless baby products...

...exchanged hundreds of tips...

...talked about all the big things in life, all the little things, the good times and the tough times...

...we had a good laugh together 😁...

...and somehow we now have gorgeous 3 month old babies without looking a day older ourselves 😅 (must be that good laugh!)

Graduates of the August 2021 (and thereabouts) thread:

@Smurf123 & baby Sophia 💖
@wimbler & her baby boy 💙
@Jessicapebbles & baby Ebony💖
@Inmypjsagain & her baby boy 💙
@PurplePansy05 & baby Leo Alexander 💙
@WinterBabyof89 & baby Rosie 💖
@Winecoffeeteamum & baby Emily 💖
@Ready2020 & baby Rowan 💖
@Magik01 & baby Isaac 💙
@Hoares3 & baby Ellis 💙
@Daffodil21 & baby Elliot James 💙
@sarah13xx & baby Freddie 💙
@MrsB2019x & baby Ella💖
@biscuitcat & baby Rowan 💙
@Whatshouldbemyusername & baby Arya-Nyah 💖
@notinthestarsigns & baby Erin 💖
@Aaaaa1519 & baby Anum 💖
@Angelesque & baby Isaac 💙
@Millymay13 & baby Ethan 💙
@WolfMother326 & baby Alasdair 💙
@BertieBotts & baby Alex 💙
@RandomCatGenerator & baby Solomon 💙
@lucyrp & baby Evelyn Rose 💖
@HopefulB & baby Chloé 💖
@Mmr224 & baby Alasdair 💙
@Smallbean27 & her baby boy 💙
@Fran919 & her baby girl 💖
@Caz1226 & baby Dougie 💙
@Ava50x & her baby boy 💙
@dirtyfries & baby Frankie 💖
@ame88 & baby Lily 💖

Sorry if I've missed anyone, please join in! xx

Also, still using aldi premium nappies and I did think they were great but he sleeps 12 hours and in the morning they are literally swimming. It can’t be comfortable sitting in something that wet ☹️ A couple of times recently the back of his jammies has been a bit wet too. I didn’t want to use aldi during the day and pampers at night though because the hospital told me only to use one brand or they can get nappy rash 🤷🏼‍♀️ Although he’s probably more likely to get nappy rash in a nappy that wet!

Me again 😂 still thinking about having to share something they’ve done every week at the baby group. The parents with older babies actually must feel that pressure to say something so much more than I do. Especially if they’re around walking age and all the other parents round about are saying he/she walked etc. It’s definitely a sensitive subject with big milestones like that. I think they should maybe angle it more towards anything you’ve been doing this week rather than a developmental thing your child has managed 😕

@sarah13xx I'm planning on doing exactly that and using Aldi premium during the day as the pampers you all suggested at night. After last night I refuse to do another middle of the night nappy change. So I hope the nappy rash thing is bollocks.

Asda have pampers half price atm. I'm not sure if it's all types and sizes but just a quick look shows the size 3 'dry' as half price. I need to check back though and I think general consensus was the premium ones so hopefully they're on offer too but at this point I don't care anymore!

@Daffodil21 I think it’s maybe the way to go when they sleep for longer. It can’t be good sleeping in something that wet. I’ve never changed him during the night since he was tiny because he’s just never awake so he must be soaking but not awake at least to notice it. The cost is fine as well since it’s just one nappy per night so a pack would last ages

The aldi premium ones are good and definitely feel more luxurious than the normal aldi ones. The annoying thing is he’s in size 3 and when he gets to size 4 I don’t know what we’ll do because our aldi doesn’t stock them 🙄 They’re fine for leaving on for an hour or two I’d say and I do like to change him quite a lot so that suits me 😂 but the other day we had to go to a shop that was half an hour away then went straight to meet my friend for lunch. Rather than change him in the restaurant toilets before we left I thought I’ll wait 10 minutes til we get home. By the time we got home his trousers were wet in the car seat. So that was probably 3 hours it had been on for and is the first time that’s ever happened during the day but I think I’m just going to try and change him every hour or two

Sorry for splitting my post, had to feed him and settle for a nap. @WolfMother326 what's that study about paracetamol? I only ever knew not to give them aspirin (or take it when bf) due to the Reyes syndrome. Ibuprofen and generally speaking NSAIDs are not advised to be the first line of treatment even for adults because of the known side effects eg on liver/kidneys if taken regularly as painkillers over a period of time. My understanding was that they are only ever first line for adults if there is a specific reason, say inflammation, post-op recovery or like in case of aspirin, blood thinning etc. Even in pregnancy they're a bit tricky, some are advised ok depending on your circumstances, some aren't, whereas paracetamol is always considered safe if taken correctly. So following from that I'd think ibuprofen wouldn't be a better choice than paracetamol for babies? xx

@sarah13xx I'd risk a guess half of these parents are making things up just to say something! I would probably say something funny to try to diffuse the situation a bit, like this week he farted so loud that the neighbours could hear 😂

We're still in Aldi nappies size 3 and very rarely get leaks. If we do it's usually because DH put it on him a bit too loose. Agree re changing regularly though, for us it's probably every 3hrs on average, but varies between 2 and 4. I never change him after 11pm though, he's fine until the morning, but the nappy is heavy and feels damp then. What are these Pampers ones for the night, please? I'm a bit reluctant with Pampers cause he had awful nappy rash when he was tiny and we were using them regularly xx

Ignore my earlier post - the pampers dry aren't half price at Asda but they are on a roll back price of £4.50 for 44 size 3

@PurplePansy05 she's OK just really really congested which is making it very hard for her to breathe properly/ feed. Still managing to get some smiles though.

@Daffodil21 check out Amazon too we get our pampers in a monthly pack delivered from them. Price seems decent for quantity. We are mainly doing it because of the issues getting stuff in our stores here because of brexit.

Thanks @PurplePansy05 that's really helpful. Someone posted a medical study in another group I'm part of suggesting acetaminophen/paracetamol (same thing) might raise risk of ASD/Autism. I know it's just one study but it spooked me! www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7017213/
Probably safest to stick with Calpol. But I might ask our GP at 16 week shots.

Thanks also for your reply about the regression- glad you're through it now!

Sorry to hear some of your littles ones are suffering with colds and post jab blues!

A question for the ladies who are BF as I’m not sure if I should be worried. Do your boobs get lumpy/ have dips in when they are airing on the side of full? Just my left boob gets really irregular when it’s quite full. I’ve booked a GP appointment for Monday but don’t want to waste their time if it’s pretty normal.

For those mentioning sleep regression, we’re with you! He’s still ok at night touch wood but day time naps are a nightmare. Then he gets overtired and cries and is hard to settle- honestly we’ve been so lucky we haven’t had this before because we’re only a few days in and the overtired whines makes my blood pressure rise! I hope it will pass soon…

We’ve also had a huge growth spurt, suddenly his 3-6 baby grows don’t fit and his trousers look like board shorts. He’s in size 4 nappies and we’ve got size 5s on standby for night time. Think we’ll go and get him weighed and measured soon because he suddenly feels like giant baby.

Also while he’s been sleeping through, he always worn normal pampers during the day and the baby dry over night (they’re great) and he’s never had a rash. Only time we had a rash was when we tried eco by naty nappies. Nct babies wear different brands for day and night too and haven’t heard anyone complain of rash xx

@WolfMother326 that paracetamol article is really interesting! I’d heard about taking paracetamol in pregnancy and autism (my mum says the advice in the 80s was no paracetamol so I never took any when I was pregnant just in case) but I think the studies are small and a bit controversial, but didn’t realise the potential postnatal link!

@Magik01 I definitely get a lump in mine when they're really full! The past few days we've been super busy and Rowan is feeding really inefficiently when out at the moment as he's so curious, so I've really noticed it - for me, it goes down after a really good feed.

That sounds so stressful about having to share new achievements at baby groups! None of mine do that thank goodness - maybe I'd say how many outfits he's ruined with sick/poo since the week before!!

I’ve missed so much! Been a hectic few days here

@PurplePansy05 you said Leo had his jabs, we just had 16 week ones this morning and ds has been a very unhappy boy and is screaming unless he’s on the boob and then he just sleeps. Don’t remember dd being like this although I’m sure she was

@sarah13xx We’ve been using a few different nappy brands and no rash so I don’t personally believe that. The Aldi ones have been leaking at night so we switched to pampers for night and they’re better. We use the size 3s in the yellow packet. Actually the best ones we’ve used were the eco by naty ones. Rarely had a leak in those overnight but they’re expensive. Also harder to get as most places don’t actually stock them and I can only get them in the big sainsburys

Oh sending love to your DS @wimbler. Leo had his jabs in the afternoon and so I've just given him his final dose of Calpol in the 24 hrs since. He's still not quite back to normal, happier, but very tired and just wants his mummy ❤

@Magik01 @biscuitcat I don't feel any lumps at all, even if breasts are full. To me it feels more like there are two large stones inside them, they get hard and heavy. But I wouldn't say there are any lumps. I would go to the GP. I'm not gonna be sharing some scary stories I read on SM because that would freak you out unnecessarily! But it is true that with bf, some changes can be quite easily put down to hormones etc and go unnoticed as a result. So definitely go to be on a safe side. xx

@PurplePansy05 ahh your way of describing it is probably better - like a stone in a particular area, it's a bit like when my supply was still establishing when he was brand new. I'm not worried as when I had help from the lactation consultant back then she felt my breasts when they had one of them, and said it was an engorged milk duct (and to be careful not to get mastitis!)

I was going to say exactly that, it's that feeling of them being nearly engorged @biscuitcat, not a lump.

Love to all of you going through the sleep regression with your LOs - may the force be with you! xx

I am somewhat reluctant with regard to this paracetamol study. It seems pretty clear to me that if the impact was indeed causative then we'd be seeing very significant numbers of children with ASD, much more significant than we do. The use of low dose paracetamol in infants has been widespread in the UK and in the EU, I was given it in the 80s. The study does not explain why males are supposedly more affected than females. It doesn't explain why parents with ASD children also have non-ASD younger children (who presumably were given paracetamol too). It doesn't focus on environmental and ethnic elements which are clearly key in ASD diagnosis, and most importantly on genetics which is likely to be the biggest contributing factor. It's also incorrect in saying that prenatal use of folate has no link to ASD - 2020 studies indicate a potential link between high dose folate in pregnancy and ASD (but still, only a potential link). The 64+ doses is very vague too - I recall reading few years ago that some parents used to dose up their kids on Calpol to get them to sleep longer. If those parents participated then 64+ means nothing - they would have likely used it hundreds of times which would create bias in the study. I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned and the participants were not dismissed on that basis.

Sorry - I don't mean to sound harsh and I think it's right to explore, be cautious and limit use of any meds if not required. I'm just not convinced this particular study proves anything, and it raises more questions than answers to me, that's all. xx

I thought folate was suppose to reduce the risk? I have autism in my family anyway (brother and others) so if he's going to have it I'm sure it won't be down to the paracetamol! Apparently high strength vitamin d, omega 3 and choline in pregnancy all help to reduce autism risk, all of which I took (not for that reason), but I guess we'll just have to wait and see! I'm certainly not going to not give him paracetamol but I can see why others might be cautious. He doesn't have it often, so far only for the jabs. I did buy some calpol ibuprofen for the cupboard though I've not used it yet

the hospital told me only to use one brand or they can get nappy rash

Ehhhh??? That's a new one on me :o Where do you find these HCPs Sarah! They must have gone to the same training school as your HV :o The only thing to be aware of I'd say with changing brands is that different brands often have slightly different sizing bands, so check what it says re kg/lb weight or clothing size or estimated age (which will link up to clothing size more than actual age) in case the brand you pick are different. We are needing to look at size 4 in our normal (shop brand) ones but size 3 in pampers premium are bigger and the size 4s on those are huge. Pansy we use Pampers Premium Protection overnight. I like the mesh in them that keeps the wet/dirty part away from the baby's skin.

Autism is pinned on all kinds of bonkers things but it's looking more and more likely it's just genetics. Do be careful, because some of the natural type baby groups have some dodgy links sometimes, anything autism related is generally a red flag unfortunately, I think because it's such an emotive issue and often something parents are scared of. Another red flag is if they are sharing lots of personal anecdotes plus tiny/flawed studies as "evidence" rather than large scale, peer reviewed studies. There is a book by Amy Brown called Informed Is Best, which is meant to help you understand studies etc and notice the difference between false vs legitimate claims, although to be perfectly honest I'm finding it a bit much for my sleep deprived/ill/baby addled state at the moment.

I will say I have ADHD (diagnosed as an adult), and being neurodiverse really isn't the terrible thing a lot of people make it out to be. There are benefits to an ADHD brain (and an autistic one!) as well as the challenges. But I don't think either of them are things that can be caused, I think we're born with them or not.

Def good advice not to overuse any medication, but I would give calpol for pain or fever. We gave our first dose this week because he's just been so miserable bless him. I don't get people giving it to induce sleep, it's not a sedative? Though I suppose it can have a bit of a placebo effect, I know my older ones calm down as soon as they have it even though it takes 20 minutes or so to start to work. I did used to give DS1 squash in a syringe some nights because he'd ask for "medicine" and it would send him to sleep so I guess calpol could have the same effect and maybe parents think it's the actual drug effect of the medicine rather than just a calming effect of having medicine in general.

Lumps in BF boob if they come and go can be a bit of a clogged duct, try to stay aware of them and massage towards the nipple to clear as if the clog gets infected you can get mastitis which can be really nasty and need antibiotics. If it's consistent over several days then it's worth getting checked out.

@Daffodil21 Calpol is paracetamol though? There's another thing called Calpofren or something like this that's ibuprofen based I think. Not sure how/when it can be used.

I wouldn't freak out about folate - no one actually knows for certain atm. The studies I saw were related to prolonged use of the extra high folate (the 5mg one - you may have been told to use it with everything else for recurrent MC) and it was a potential link. They're basically looking into anything that high numbers of babies are given, but the truth is ASD is still a bit of a mystery, as I'm sure you'll know best with your experience. I am positive my father is undiagnosed and on the spectrum and I've sometimes questioned if I'm mildly affected too. Not sure if there's anything that can be done to prevent it tbh. xx

@BertieBotts I only just read your post, couldn't agree more with everything you've said about neurodiversity, calpol and Amy Brown - I follow her on insta and found her excellent. So, so useful, particularly for bf I find. xx

@PurplePansy05 just looked and it's neurofen not calpol - I thought it was an ibuprofen version of calpol 🙈 oh I'm not worried about the folate link. I didn't take 5mg of folic acid anyway, I took 400mcg of methylfolate and 400mcg of folic acid all the way through so double 'normal' dose but not 5mg. I've always known if we have a child there's a higher than average chance of them having autism, but what will be will be. I'm not worried either way tbh.

Oh yes she's very good with bf info as well :)

She has just released a book about having a baby during covid times. It's not something I've felt particularly affected by, but since we all have done that it might be of interest to some.