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

well done Mixedmama!

amani - i think 1.5 oz is fine - i get about this. i think maybe more comes later - when 'established'. thanks for tip on rooms. i was so pround of getting her off to sleep - now i have to keep her awake! how much do you ytry and keep LO awake?

MrsMc - i'm sure you'll make more! at teddy bear.

got a very snuffly and hungry girl today. am awaiting nap chance!

Susie - sorry, didn't mean to panic you with the keeping awake thing, obviously there's a limit to what you can do (and how long they can stay awake for) at this stage...and anyway, an overtired baby becomes an unhappy one very quickly!

I guess the main things I remember from last time (its all a bit of a blur tbh!) were trying really hard to keep DS awake for a little bit after each daytime feed, even if it was just for a nappy change and 5 mins on a baby gym,and making sure all his daytime feeds were in well lit rooms etc and then making the night times feel different by keeping him in dark rooms from the evening, feeding in low light/darkness, not doing a nappy change after the feed if at all possible, no extra noise in the room (so no TV or radio at night!), not chatting or singing to him at night and putting him down as quickly as possible after the feed. It really helped to get the night/day thing established and maybe that would help with how he's fussing with your dh?

They're only little for a very short time and then these things all start to settle down - by 6/8 weeks they will happily play on a babygym for 20 mins at a time after a feed and you'll be fighting to get them off to sleep for a nap...and wondering why you worried about it all now........so try to roll with the flow as much as possible - it sounds as though you're doing brilliantly!!

oops, "she" not "he"!!! Sorry Sabela!!

thanks for the advice fluffy. feel like a fool trying to keep her awake with funny faces.

do you recommend playmat?

Only me. Just to let you know Ive downloaded some pics of George now.

what a little sweetie. gorgeous, gingeme!

Gingeme - he's a proper cutie...but you knew that, of course!

Susie - playmat is worth a try for 5 mins, if you have one, but to be honest, at this age 'activity' is a nappy change and 3 minutes of tickling, singing etc as well. I do remember feeling really frustrated at trying to keep DS awake after his feeds the first couple of weeks during the day, in an effort to get the night/day thing a bit sorted out, and finding it really hard, then realising after about 3-4 weeks that he was suddenly much more alert for 20-30 mins after a feed and in fact we hadn't been doing anything wrong, he had just been being a new baby ! So don't drive yourselves too mad...

MixedMama - sorry, completely missed the previous posts....well done hon!!!! Can't wait to hear all about it soon And pictures please!!!

OK, I've really got to go back to lurking rather than posting on here for a bit...but LOL at MrsMc having a shock !

Sabinar - boobs feeling normal is good! You couldn't live with the watermelon feeling for months, could you? The only way to tell if you're making enough is if your baby seems to be satisfied after a feed.

The worst thing about having a small baby is the way that "bedtime" becomes a fictitious event. Normally, you have a long, maybe hard day, but at bedtime you get changed, brush your teeth, settle down in bed, turn the light off - and thats the end of the day. But with a small baby, you get changed, brush your teeth, settle down in bed, turn the light off - and carry right on doing exactly what you've been doing all day. Just in the near-dark and wearing pjs.

Oh well, repeat after me - "and this too shall pass" !

Barristermum! That's cr*p! Childbirth is the only branch of medicine where you are expected to put up with pain. Imagine if you showed up at hospital with an illness or injury that was causing you the amount of pain you were in, and they refused pain relief - you could sue them for millions couldn't you? But if you're having a baby you're expected to get on with it. Unreal. (rant, rant, rant)

Amani - I never get much when I express either. 90ml was a really good haul and 45 more usual (which was ok as ds2 needed 45ml per feed!). Its about getting the "letdown". Hormonal reaction in your head. Without that you are just squeezing out the milk that is in the ducts and you don't get much. Don't ask me how to get a letdown though! How much you can express is no indication of how much the baby can get though.

Naetha your mum sounds as helpful as mine. Her top comment recently has been "oh I wish we lived closer so I could help". They live 1 hour away. MIL, who has been to stay for weeks to help while I was in hospital, lives 3 hours away on a good drive. Heigh ho.

MrsMcJ - you can freeze the colostrum you know!

Ooh, Congrats Mixedmama!

Hey guys - it really does make me chuckle to catch up and realise how many of the same issues we are all going thru together and when you are wondering if you are coping you find a whole discussion has been had on your issue. We are finding it amazing how cerys will happily feed, then go staight down to sleep in her carrycot in our sunny lounge during the day but her night time behaviour is COMPLETELY different. She starts off the same - at about 11 after an hour of feeding she goes to sleep and will be there for 3-4 hours but when she then wakes up the next feed takes anything from 2-6 hours and involves numerous puttings of her down in her cot next to me which wakes her up enough to want to feed again then she goes to sleep as soon as the npple goes into her mouth, move her to the cot and restart cycle! I don't find co-sleeping restful and also feed with a big v pillow that just gets in the way of my sleep so do want to try and persevere with cot. My milk is coming thru but not quite there yet - cerys seems more satisfied lately but I don't have huge engorgement or let down or any of the other things described. I wonder whether expressing would speed that up and if it might speed up the middle o the night feed - but maybe the middle of the night needs to be a couple of hours to make her sleep for the rest of the night - not that she does! It's all such a learning curve.

Love the photos of gingeme and beller's beauties and so pleased for mm. Amani - don't fee bad. Naetha and susiemj - you are very restrained over your mothers - but it is so hard when you are growing into such selfless and loving mothers that they are such a contrast in their care for you. Mrs Mc - how's the finances? Good to have you on board here as well as in the old life. Flufy - are you over your cold? Do pop round, and I owe you for the mats as well - how much?

Hugs to all and sending out vibes for peaceful sleep-filled nights for all of us.

hi mums, no i haven't had mine yet, just wanted to add to the milk discussion.
i fed ds for a year and didn't get the letdown feeling for quite a while, can't remember exactly when i realised i could feel it, but once you can, you will know! it's kind of like pins and needles in your boobs, sort of

when expressing, try things like
looking at a photo of LO, or at LO if they are there,
thinking lovely maternal thoughts
really relaxing,
getting in the bath, etc.

to start with, expressing is not something you can really do while you are doing something else, like watching the news on telly. there is a big emotional side.

hth, and tho i'm not looking forward to the messed up sleep, i want mine, NOW!!!

oh and big sympathies to those with mother issues, becoming a mum/new mum really brings these things home, makes you understand (or not!) your own mum so much more...

keep up the good work, kt

Hi all.
Congrats Mixedmamma!

Amani - well done for keeping going with the bf. You're a star! and don't feel bad for giving in just once, you're doing really well. Have you tried expressing from one side while feeding on the other? It's a bit of a juggling act to start with, but if you can get the hang of it - i found i could express loads more when feeding as well cos the let-down reflex worked.. worth a try anyway.

My boobs are less huge now - phew! but I'm still finding the latching on excruciating! Ok once Patrick gets going but bloodyhellfire! I don't remember it being this bad with the other two! Have got Lansinoh for cracked nipples - think it's helping?! and am off to local babycafe tomorrow. Lets hope someone will tell me that I'm getting it all wrong, to do it like this and it'll all be better... i doubt it!

On a more positive note, DS2 seems to be able to sleep through nearly anything! an entire White Stripes album, played not v quietly, after he'd already been asleep for 3 1/2 hours! Took him to DD's cornet lesson today, and he slept through that too! Incredible! Mind you, with the amount of racket usually in this house, it's not a bad thing. Think he must take after his dad!!!

bm - am sure it's just a phase, and things will change as she gets bigger. i read somewhere on mn that someone had tried raising the head end of the cot/mattress slightly (on reams of paper i think), and that helped to settle lo.

oh good. feeding time again. have my ouch ouch ouch face at the ready!!!!!

Hello all - nice to see lots of action on this thread now

Not much new to report really other than that Ben is definitely smiling, regardless of what any baby development books say. He's given me and DH several big gummy grins today. I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing as well, as he will look us directly in the eye, and it's usually when we're playing with him or tickling him.

He's having another one of his nights again! He eventually settled last night at about 2am and then slept through until 7! Tonight he's been cluster feeding since 6pm and still not settled, so hopefully he'll settle soon and sleep for a long time again

When he's asleep though, he'll sleep through anything! Took him to DH's work today and he slept through being handed round everyone, not to mention heavy metal in the car there and back. If anything, he really likes heavy music, preferring Metallica and Tool to Carmina Burana and Mozart! He's also slept through several episodes of Band of Brothers with lots of bangs and explosions without a peep!

Having a good BF day today - only used the shields once, and doesn't seem to hurt as much. Hopefully my nipples are toughening up a bit! I still get nipple blanching though - I think this is because he clamps down to slow down the flow a bit. My let-down is stupidly forceful. Gave DS a feed in the back of the car when we popped into M&S (needed a bra - I only have 1 that fits me!), and he pulled off my boob, and two jets of milk sprayed from my boob (I was sat in the back seat) across DH's shoulder onto the windscreen - no mean feat!!

Congratulations Mixedmama - hope you can come on and post soon!!

As for everyone else, keep going with the whole BF thing - one day at a time eh

Morning

SusieMJ - DD2 - very roughly stays awake for about 4 - 5 hrs during the day, about 1.5 hrs in the morning, 1 hr in the afternoon and 1.5hr in the evening.

Sabela is a lovely name - what are it's origins and what does it mean?

Lol at Neatha and her spraying!

Dotsie - might try expressing and feeding at the same, although it sounds like a bit of a juggling act.

DH back to work now, house feels soooo empty and quiet as DD1 off at nursery....

Hello - have sort of moved back to this thread now - mostly posted on Dec antenatal as was due 29 Dec but as Amelie arrived Jan 3 have come back to Jan (I posted occasionally on the jan an thrad). Excuse typos as doing this one handed!

Re expressing - unless I've expressed first thing in morning with v full boobs still after feeding, I've never produced great quantities so don't worry (this is memories of ;ast time, only expressed once so far this time, 1oz) I bought some milk freezer bags from mothercare - I express into sterilised bottle then pour into the saterile bag to freeze - that way you aren't using up your bottles for small amounts. When u defrost, just pour a few of the little amounts into the bottle to make a full feed.

mrsmcj - don't worry you'll make more colostrum! It's the hormone change when your body knows it's not pregnant that changes the milk,

congratulations mixedmama - look forward to hearing more from you.

Suppose I should post a birth story - I will get round to it!

Have put some pics on my profile

housemum - lovely pictures of all dcs!

amani - sabela comes from the celtic part of northern spain - galicia - where dh's mum is from. it means 'pure water'.
some people say it comes from isabella - which originally comes bfrom the name of the babylonian god of health - 'bel'. i like either explanation.

sabela and i slept 6 hours in a row last night. yay!

Birth story here: Amelie Rose

How about a roll call on this thread like the AN one so we know how old all the LOs are?

03.01.08 Housemum, girl, Amelie Rose 9lb 1oz

Great story housemum -

Just popped in to say - when we need a new thread - I've got a name

'12pm and still in my jim-jams'

anyone else? I've got a very spitty baby this morning. three clothes changes already. health visitor coming so don't want to look like a slummy mummy!

I can't be in my jim-jams as I have to do the school run! (My friend in America with 4 kids admitted to me the other day that she has done the school run in her PJs, though admittedly they are more like the stuff Next calls "loungewear" ie jersey pull-on trousers and a sweatshirt-style top)

Have spent all morning alternating feeding with trying to clean yellow poo off a cream carpet after Amelie farted explosively this morning - straight off the changing table and onto the floor.

finally! cleanish house, clean me, clean baby.... sabela just gave me a totally blissed out expression when i stroked her cheek. priceless...

lol at amelie. one day she will live up to her ladylike name!

Obviously we never farted, pooed or sicked like that when we were babies!!

Got Ben registered today, so he's now official

Other than that he's been a bit of a pain to feed! He keeps on rooting and giving obvious feeding cues, but then as soon as I get a boob out he either loses interest, falls asleep, or frets and fusses so much until he loses interest or falls asleep. Very frustrating. Last night we gave him a little bit of creme egg fondant to suck from our fingers (literally only a tiny bit!) and I'm (probably irrationally) worried that he's rooting for that taste now and isn't interested in milk any more!

I'm really not looking forwards to DH going back to work tomorrow - it's been absolutely lovely having him around, not only for the support with Ben, but also for the company - it's been a lovely two weeks

Right, off to the hospital for his hearing check, speak to you all later

Anyone else having problems with weight gain?

Thought Sabela was feeding like a trooper but HV just weighed her and she's lost 20g and is still 200g under birth weight. I've been told to feed every two hours, stop expressing, eat more and top uo four times a day with formula. Feel absolutely awful. She looked so healthy I was sure she had gained wieght.

susie - you have to go with what you feel is best of course, but i would say no to topping up with formula - it will only mess around with your own supply by changing her demand.
lots of hvs with no specific bf knowledge will say the same. can you speak to a bf counsellor of some sort???
I would follow the eat more advice tho - my mw told me last time to eat like it was christmas.
think of your body as a milk-production factory. you have to put in lots of the right input to make lots of the right output....

and you are her mother - if you feel she is healthy and happy then she most likely is

there are lots of threads on here about bf advice and slow weight gain.

hth

Hello all - really interesting discussion on feeding/expressing, I'm feeling a lot better just following the thread and realising I'm not alone.

I finally feel as though I'm managing to give Francesca enough milk even though it still takes hours sometimes. For me it has taken around 2 weeks for my milk to "come in" properly, but according to my mw this is not unusual as you get "older". I even had a bad case of baby blues at around day 10-11 when I finally started to produce some milk. Of course I won't know how we're going for sure until we get her weighed.

On the downside, she had an explosive green poo last night. Fortunately it wasn't my turn to clean up but I read somewhere that this can still mean she's not getting enough nutrition - possibly because I'm not leaving her on one breast for long enough and she's not getting to the hindmilk. Things have been better today but I suspect that when I'm expressing I tend to juggle from one boob to the other coz I don't feel I'm getting enough and as a result the bottles of expressed milk aren't as good nutritionally. Anyone had similar problems? How do you make sure you're emptying each side, particularly when expressing after a feed?