January 08 - shiny new-year babies!

[Naetha]

Thought I'd start this thread now as I think there's already a couple of people to go on it, and I know there'll be an awful lot more!!

Will update when I get a chance

thank goodness Katy agree with you completely. She had such lovely skin when she was born but now it feels really dry, sometimes they have yellow heads so def like acne. Oh well at least i had her photo done with dc's before they arrived , never had them with other two. Dp thinks they will go if she has more frequent baths

hello, DS still has milk spots some of which have turned red - only seen in certain lights - it's weird!

I am co-sleeping part of the night with DS on a sofabed (without DH) while we have been having so many visitors. I put the duvet only over me and he lies next to me in his Grobag - so heis lying on the sheet, not on top of the duvet . But I still get a bit nervy and have been putting him back in his basket when he settles, which he does really easily after lying by me.

We went to John Lewis today with intention of buying the Loola pushchair with our winnings but they were out of stock . DS cries in the pram we have and I can't carry him yet in the baby carrier as it makes my tummy hurt. so have to wait 2 weeks for our smart new one .

It's really difficult to wind Alek, even after a few days on Infcol, he hardly every brings a burp up and I read if nothing comes up in first few minutes don't bother carrying on trying (?). He seems to get the odd attack of the gripes but also passes loads of humungous farts without it seeming to bother him . So anyway, if I feed him lying down at night, I don't bother winding. It is quite easy but I have found he is pulling my nips a funny angle and starting to hurt, so am doing it less.

lilyloo, cherry dummy a big hit - he actually takes it for a while! ta! I realise now the newborn ones far too small for him. Anyone else (first timers I guess) keep having these D'OH! moments when you suddenly realise what you've been doing wrong re: baby care!

Good evening ladies. I have had a few days from hell. I seem to have the ultimate 'will not sleep anywhere except in someones arms' baby and its driving me nuts. If George is not being carried he is in his chair screaming and screaming. Any advice ladies> Quick!!
Also those of you expressing. When and how do you do it and when do you give it to baby? I have never bf past 5 weeks so although this is baby number 5 for me Im stumped with the whole expressing thing. I have an electric pump and two Dr Brown bottles at the ready. Do I have to sterilise the container the milk is going in to? Do I express a bit at a time through the day? Do I express while feeding or after? Sorry but Im thinking if I can get the hang of it andgiving George a bottle before bed time. Its still taking up to an hour to settle him and thats finnished off with a dummy. Ive decided to give it two more weeks and if no improvement Im switching to formula.
Won't feel racked with guilt like before though as my others all had formula and they are all fighting fit and no where near obese
Anyway sorry to rant on just need a shove in the right direction.
Thanks ladies.

gingeme - I express after feeding off both boobs, although sometimes I 'save' one if I think I'll need it for direct feeding soon. I express 3 or four times during the day but the early morning one produces most milk. I sterilise everything each time. There are some good tips on expressing on the Ameda website. I put a link on here a day or two ago. The main one I remember was to do it half an hour after a feed or at least an hour before one.

I give her an ounce or two after a feed if she seems hungry. GP told me that this should not affect an established milk supply as long as it is not given instead of a feed, although she said this would be ok on the odd occasion. I think this just helps her sleep because she feels full so may well work for George before bed.

I think I'm in for a long night - sabela seems to have excruciating wind. she keeps waking up with a real scream of pain. i think I'm just going to park myself in front of the telly and ride it out.

Thankyou susiemj. Iwill get a sauce pan out now and get sterilising. George has got into a routine at night with his feeding its just the initial getting him to bed bit.
Got a letter from gp today. George has his developmental check next Fri and his first jab on 10th March

Hello ladies. Thanks for all the comments on dummies!
Dd is more often than not sleeping a stretch of 4-6 hrs at night but remains incredibly unsettled 7-midnight. And she is formula fed (can't breastfeed for medical reasons). So any tips? And for all you worrying about unsettled evenings being due to breastfeeding, let me tell you it has little to do with it in my book! Dd fed at 10 last night, wouildnt settle till 1 (grim) but then slept till nearly 7. With no feed between 10 and 7!

Sounds like we have had a very similar night VV! My LO slept 1-6 last night. I don't like to leave it this long as my boobs get full but sometimes just nice to have a rest!... Think he sleeps long strecthes as he needs to feed less little and often as he is a bigger boy?

He slept 8-10pm but we had 3 hours getting him down til 1am, lots of whingeing / wind?.

Unfortunately he has just started throwing up after feeds too. I think he is getting reflux, I never realised that this can present at about 3 weeks,

BTW as of this week I have eliminated his formula feeds (he was only taking a couple of oz anyway) and he is now 100% BF, it took a while but I think my milk supply is now much better established!

Well done Angechica though dont feel bad if you cant Or dont want to. Like I said I only did it roughly 5 weeks with all my ds's and their all fine strapping boys. Guess Im trying a bit harder with George because hes my last baby.
Oh by the way Susie I expressed with my Madera pump while feeding and got an ounce. Is that good? If I do that each time should have around 5 oz by bed time. What bottles do you use? I have my Avent ones left from ds4 ans was going to buy some new born teets but I also bought two Dr Brown bottles whichhave a special valve in them to make it a bit closer to breast feeding and reduce colic.
Thanks...

Following on from Gingeme's expressing questions, where do you keep the breastmilk you express - in bottles in the fridge? (Can you freeze bottles?), do you have to buy special containers/bags, or can you use ziploc bags? If you use ziploc bags, do they have to be sterilised first?

Am STILL trying to get an appointment with the GP to look at my stitches!!

re expressing - i had some questions on this and had some great advice from other mumsnetters - here is link:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/1364/477436 that was to do with getting more milk out when expressing. i am now expressing once a day and saving up bits, don't have time to do more and not going to stess myself out with it. the milk shells are really useful though, just add a little bit that would otherwise have landed in the breast pad. and drinking fennel tea which seems to have helped a bit too, think that helps with let down reflex

you can get milk shells and bags from www.expressyourselfmums.co.uk - i cldn't find them in mothercare/other shops

one hand typing with velcro baby on other hand - she seems to have a very sore stomach today and just screams with real distress if i put her down....

also got this website from another thread, had some helpful advice:
www.kellymom.com/index.html

dd waking and starting to cry again, just don't know what to do to help her today

Thankyou BWmum Ill have to get some breast shells too as I always leak when feeding and feel its such a waste being soaked up in a breast pad. Im realy tempted to get the formula out but Ill try to persivere. As for resting ha ha ha love it with a nearly four year old and a 16 month old in the house ha ha ha oh very funny

Hi gingeme - an ounce is fine - often what I get tho sometimes more, sometimes less. sounds like you should be fine to get 5oz. You may need less if you feed first {perhaps this is not the point?}

I have avent bottles but dd hates them. I use some a friend from Belgium lent me - not much help to you. I've heard NUK (or something - you can get them in boots)are good if dr. brown's no good but not tried them. I'm amazed at how fussy dd is with teats so maybe try a few?

BFC recommended a little medecine cup tho I haven't cos loads will spill and I'd be so peed off!

I think fennel tea is good. brewer's yeast is also supposed to be good. it's b vitamins really. I neck the stuff!

HTH

has anyone on here tried fenugreek?

sorry - the medecine cup was to feed milk from. apparently it goes everywhere and i find it's enough hassle to expresswithout that!

Oh bum dh just been Asda could have got him to get me some fennel tea. Its not the my supply that Im worried about. Its pouring from me just would like to see if he settles better at night after a bottle feed. Used to work with formula, bath bottle bed....

sorry gingeme - meant to say I think the fennel tea is good for encouraging let down on the pump. i'm not sure it increases supply really

ok. expressed another oz earlier just hope he takes the bottle ok later.
He hasn't been crying so much in his chair today and actualy slept in it for 2 hours solid for first time ever.
How long do you let your lo's cry? I know that seems a silly question but when Im busy and dh is watching George it doesn't seem to bother him as much as me that hes crying...

Hi all

Guess you knew from the silence that Nathan did indeed come home on Wednesday. Routine has gone straight out of the window and he is feeding all the time. Which means his daddy is changing him, as he has just vomited on his clothes and pood a third nappy in the space of a handful of hours. Guess it is a bit of a shock going from every four hours to whenever you want and as much as you want.

Feel like proper first time parents walking around the house with an inconsolable baby. Almost a pleasure after worrying about all the big things. He is good at night though. I wake him four hours after his last feed for a nappy change and quick feed, then he wakes me again two to three hours later. The only pain is a six am alarm clock to give him his medication. DH is very good at fiddling with a syringe in his cheek and gets it all in.

Nathan's hearing has been given a clean bill of health, which is important if he is visually impaired.

Sorry, best go rescue daddy, Nathan is apoplectic with rage at being changed.

mm - so pleased

must get organised like so many of you and get expressing, have got to clean steriliser first, it's filthy from being in the loft!

can hear ds2 stirring on monitor and nearly bedtime for me anyway, was hoping to get to end of 'choir' prog on tv!

sounds good Madmouse.

Is it just me but i cannot BEAR to let DS cry - his crying really upsets me. I think I need to toughen up!

MIL leaving tomorrow, she minded the LO and let us go out for a quick pub meal tonight. mind she said "He's been windy|" when i got back, and had been completely oblivious to the fact he had been lying in a very leaky full nappy for a while!

MM - amazing news, so pleased for all of you ...keep on enjoying those sleepless nights and niggling concerns that have the rest of us tearing our hair out

Gingeme (and everyone else!) - Boots sell plastic milk bags for expressed milk, they have double ziplocs and are freezerproof, they're just Boots branded, not cheap but really good. I'm just expressing once a day, in the morning straight after the 7.30am feed - I find 10 or 15 mins effort early in the day produces way more than later on and it saves the faff of having to wash and sterilise everything more than once a day!! I get between 6-10ozs in one batch that way, so stick about half in a bottle for the night feed and freeze the rest.

OK, off to bed, had another appalling night with Tamara last night - it seems as though her 'unsettled' window is 2-5am, which means that we get lovely relaxed evenings and first bit of the night but is a bugger from a sleeping perspective. Oh well, this too shall pass.....[fingers crossed, living in hope emoticon]

Oh, and thanks for the cherry-dummy tip - she actually seems to like them...hurrah!

G'night to all, xxx

just popped on as been caught up in the throws of entertaining 8 year old on half term, and juggling an 8 week old feeding/changing/comforting etc.

Madmouse absolutely FANTASTIC news so glad he has been given clean bill of help. xxx

Lilyloo - samuel spooty here too. Think it is partly the milk spray isnt helping. Re the co-sleeping. Have taken duvet completely off of bed and sleep with sheet and 2 fleece blankets. Samuel either sleeps unter with me or in his own sleeping bag. It is not recommended to use duvets with under 1's.

Frag - good luck with the stitches. I have an appointment at gynae on Tuesday as i didnt heal right and may need some repair work. Really nervous about it.

Re bleeding - I dont have reg periods etc and i have only had at most 4 days without bleeding (now over 8 weeks). Have started again quite heavily. Am exclusively bfeeding so that coupled with the fact i dont tend to have more than 1-2 natural periods a year i dont think this is one (also havent got cramps). Anyone else bleeding still (sorry if tmi).

Samuel is doing great, was 13lb 4oz yesterday (8weeks). Has imm's on Wednesday which i am dreading. He is smiling lots more and making new noises. He has messed around with feeds today, pulling off and crying. Think is overtiredness and also the cold he has and tummy ache.

Best go and give him feed now and settle him to sleep.

Hope everyone ok. Sorry i am crap at catching up properly.

Wow what a night - I'm guessing Ben is having a growth spurt - he's taken 25oz of milk between 7pm and now. I thought he was crying because he was overtired as he'd just drunk 10oz milk in 2 and a half hours, but after he'd been crying for 5 minutes when left alone in a dark room with white noise he wolfed down 7oz milk - I felt like such a terrible mother!

There's no way my milk supply could have coped with this - expressed 4 times tonight to try and keep up, but I've had to resort to 5oz of frozen EBM and just given in and given him 3oz hungry baby formula. He's finally gone to sleep, so I'm going to get some while I can - needless to say he'll be awake again soon if earlier is anything to go by!

Been tough as well because DH is poorly, so been having to look after two grumpy babies all night!

Madmouse - so glad you've got Nathan home, must be lovely, although hard work!

Hugs to everyone else - I do think of you all at 4am when I'm feeding/soothing/winding/crying - it makes such a difference to hear that you're all going through the same thing!

morning all, new day, new start and all that

i'm still bleeding (nearly 5 wks now) keeps almost nearly just about stopping, then carries on... getting fed up with it, though c-s meant you bled less? i only bled for about 3ish wks with ds1.

can we make a group rule? let's all accept that we can't keep up with everything on the thread and not beat ourselves up about not doing personals all the time, or is it just me? that way we don't need to keep apologising - as i feel the need to do every time i post! - and acknowledge a group apolgy from now on?? any thoughts?

oh and in the middle of the night when ds2 has his awake time, i'm picturing all of you guys too, pacing the bedroom, jiggling the baby, pleading for an hours more sleep, etc.

this too....

Hello all, got chased back in here by SusieMJ .

Fab that you're home and doing normal new-parent things, Madmouse!

We weighed ds2 last night and he is 10lb9 which is humungous, surely? He is 10wks / 3wks. Maybe we did it wrong. Both my older children were/are on the 9th centile.

And still waking 3-hourly which I'm bored bored bored with. I want to sleep again! Whinge moan etc. The novelty has worn off and I am remembering that dd and ds1 were still waking for night feeds at 12 months. Sigh.

But starting to give us the occasional smile now.

right, must get showered before dh gets back with the kids and wonders what I've been doing.