July 2023 babies

[Summermeadowflowers]

Hello everyone! So this is a continuation of the pregnancy thread(s) as we’re almost full.

DD was born by elective section on July 18th. Her older brother was born following an emergency section after a failed induction in December 2020 and I didn’t want to go through that again! It was a lovely chilled experience and I was a bit nervous waiting but felt like I was in good hands. I was also home the next day.

Feeding has been tricky for us. I really wanted to breastfeed but as with DS, DD hasn’t taken easily to it and struggles to latch. Nipple shields help to an extent although are not a cure all but she doesn’t get much milk and ends up frustrated anyway. I’ve mostly been expressing for her but realistically don’t know how long I can keep it up. It’s a shame as I do really want to breastfeed but it isn’t happening!

Oh and my wound is infected … lovely!

How is everyone else?

I think routines are brilliant for toddlers but I honestly am not sure babies really understand them. DD has sleepy days and more alert days, hungry days where she feeds loads and days where she doesn’t feed as much. I don’t object to GF at all if it works but I know it just literally couldn’t have with DS because he was such a refluxy baby he could only have 3oz at a time until he was around 5/6 months. So trying to stick to feeding and nap schedules in the ways recommended would have been impossible.

One helpful tip from GF is that babies need a long nap soon after waking in the morning which is surprising really!

But I wouldn’t stress @VivaVivaa . DD is a pretty easy baby but even so we’ve had a couple of days where she’s presumably been growing or something and she’s just been super alert, can’t sleep and gets increasingly frustrated. Walking with the sling does help but I really can’t do that for several hours so I do what I can to help her. It’s only been the odd day, so I’m rolling with it.

DH is away 12th-15th September so I’ll either boss it or have a nervous breakdown by the 14th (which is also DDs first set of immunisations!)

So, formula fed DS hasn’t pooed since Monday morning.

Has anyone else experienced this? For the five days prior his poo was green and sunny… seven weeks old today.

DS1 isn’t a useful point of comparison for me as he has always had a bad tummy, so not sure if this is normal…

@RandomCatGenerator One of the babies in my NCT group has a routine of pooing every 4-5 days. The midwife concluded that was ‘normal for them’, if everything else is usual and they’re not in pain.

Thanks @BackOfTheMum5net! He is doing lots of straining and is obviously very uncomfortable when doing so, but he is eating and sleeping normally

We have lift off - the three day poo has landed. Sludgy and dark green (sorry TMI) but it happened at last. Poor thing.

@RandomCatGenerator Not happened here personally but Health Visitor has just been and she mentioned some tips and tricks to try if Tilly did for any reason get constipated.

• Hold her feet and push her legs back slowly

• Bicycle movements with the legs

• Rubbing their tummy in a clockwise direction

• Tummy time (as babies are so sedentary tummy time helps them be a little more active and gets their digestive system moving)

All useful things to try if anyone needs it 😊

Wow. Reflux is so hard.
DS's reflux has got so much worse the last couple of weeks.
He was put on gaviscon, which I wasn't convinced was doing anything, but didn't want to take him off it through fear of it getting worse.
On Monday, we had a terrible day, DS literally screamed in pain all day or was asleep and when he wouldn't take his bottle of expressed milk at bedtime (which he loves) I rang 111 just for advice. They got us an appointment with the out of hours doctor within half an hour and that doctor was so concerned at how inconsolable DS was, she sent us round to paeds A&E.
After obs and LOTS of waiting, we were sent home at 1am with a prescription for omeprazole and lactulose to take alongside the gaviscon.

He has been on the omeprazole for 2 days now and I'm not sure if he seems happier yet or not, but I expect it to take a few days to kick in anyway. But he is now badly constipated. He was going for a poo (breastfed) 3 times a day and he now has not had a poo for 42 hours. He is screaming in pain each time he trumps and doesn't want his tummy touched, he is grunting and straining and nothing is coming out :( he has been on lactulose for 2 days as we were told to start it as soon as we started the omeprazole but it's not kicked in yet.
I don't know what more I can do for him, I'm doing bicycle legs, pushing legs up etc, I can't tummy massage as I can't touch his tummy, warn baths and he is just so uncomfortable :( any other tips appreciated!

Also, DS is 8 weeks, technically 2 months tomorrow and is obsessed with his tongue. Constantly moving it around his mouth, sticking it in and out and just sometimes sitting with it stuck out for a while, but he's got it out all the time! He had to have his tongue tie cut AGAIN after it reattached and this was done last week and this time, he really can move it a lot more, so think it's worked properly this time. I don't know if this tongue obsession is a normal thing for his age, normal after a tongue tie cut or not normal at all? Anyone else's little ones love their tongue? Nearly all photos I get of him, his bloody tongue is half stuck out!

DS has his 6-8 week check and immunisations tomorrow. I am absolutely dreading them. With his tummy pain he already has, he is awake every 2 hours in the night on a 'good' night and I just fear the jabs will make him feel even worse so I will have even worse days and nights!

I’m sorry @AnxiousAnnie94, that sounds so hard. no advice on the constipation but my older daughter had her tongue tie cut and she too was obsessed with sticking it out for a while afterwards. My younger daughter had her first jabs today and if it helps, she’s just slept since, so hopefully your DS will have that reaction instead and it’ll be better than you’re expecting. Good luck!

@SkyBlue20 thank you! I wonder if it's just because it moves freely now and he's wondering what it is 🤣

@AnxiousAnnie94 it’s so horrid isn’t it. Our DS2 is 8 weeks tomorrow and he’s had such a tough time. Milk protein allergy confirmed by reintroduction which didn’t go well and also terrible reflux. He’s on the same drug as your DS but we’re using Carobel instead of Gaviscon and it seems to have stopped any constipation. I’m not sure how much better it is with these things but I don’t want to stop them to find out!

He had his jabs today. Lots of sleep but very unhappy when he’s awake. Hope it passes soon.

Good luck and sending hugs

@Hippomumma thank you! It's just so sad seeing him in pain and physically screaming through the pain and knowing there's nothing we can do to help. It can be so hard to settle him, no matter what position we put him in and don't even talk to me about trying to bring up a burp! He will not burp no matter of position 😭
Good luck to you too

Oh @AnxiousAnnie94 how awful for all of you. That must have been so stressful. Reflux is just hideous.

Naps are the primary source of stress here! I do sometimes have a grumpy overtired baby but with a LOUD toddler I can’t do much about it!

We had our six week check today, DD is perfect apparently 😇 She is down as breastfed despite it being expressed breast milk!

I am getting into a bit if a rhythm with two. We’ve had some nice days, although DD is so unpredictable in the car it stresses me. We went to an event at a museum half an hour or so today and DD howled must of the way there and then DS dropped his toy and joined in! The day was good though despite a slightly unhealthy lunch for DS of a slice of cake stolen from me half a ham sandwich, a banana, a biscuit and a mini milk. (Bribery.)

DD has pretty much outgrown her newborn outfits. I have shed a little tear but equally I’m so glad I had a baby bubble but also don’t think I want to experience it again, unless I have a full time nanny 😅

Congratulations @RandomCatGenerator !

@habiller ugh, i am dreading tomorrow. DS is already an unhappy little boy so don't want him to be even more sad :(
Hope you don't have a bad night

@RandomCatGenerator so glad you had results today. So stressful when they stop pooing!

@AnxiousAnnie94 so so sorry you are having such a difficult time. DC1 was really unsettled and it is soul destroying seeing them so sad 😥 did they definitely want you to continue both the gaviscon and the omeprazole? Is the main symptom lots of crying or is it more vomiting/poor weight gain? If it’s any consolation DC1 slept for about 8 hours straight after his 8 week jabs, so it might actually give you a bit of a break. DC2 is also obsessed with his tongue btw. He had a tongue tie snip at 3 weeks - I’m not sure if it’s related.

@Summermeadowflowers i hear you and I see you 😂 DC2 regularly has days of ten minute power naps due to being permanently woken up…and then DC1 is cross when DC2 is crying hysterically with overtiredness when he is trying to watch Octonauts 🙃 we can only try our best!

@habiller ah it’s so hard but I just remember how awful it would be if either DC were truly poorly and needed multiple needles/cannula in hospital. Impossible to always prevent your DC from being upset so I’ll take it on the chin for something like a vaccine.

We are a poorly house at the moment with a nasty cough/cold bug. Poor DC2 is so bunged up I suspect I’ll be up most of the night holding him upright 🙃 and no doubt DH will end up on DC1’s floor - the joys of parenting!

Silent reflux babies - what are their main symptoms? I think Tilly has developed it in the last few days 😫

She's so unsettled, crying more, screaming as well as crying, coughing often, bringing milk up, sounds mucus-y when she cries, drooling, fussier with her bottles... Mentioned it to HV and doctor today as we had appointments and both said it could be reflux but to see how it goes for now

On vaccinations, check with your doctor / nurse if you want to be sure of NHS stance, but I was advised in India (by a British-Indian friend, not a doctor) to give calpol before the vaccinations - so that it will stop them being so sore and will kick in quickly. I’m going to check it out with my GP surgery before DS2 has his vaccinations on Wednesday but just a thought.

I am sorry to say that in my experience and anecdotally, meningitis is the worst. Just to prepare. A fever through the night is likely - basically, plan nothing for 24 hours after the injection.

I reconcile myself to the pain inflicted by vaccinations because it is temporary pain. They won’t even remember it. Whereas I have a friend who is permanently disabled by polio, because he didn’t receive the vaccine as a child in rural India. So avoidable. So it is worth it. But it is really horrible that the babies are so so sad and so hot and uncomfortable after them :( I am dreading next Wednesday.

Thank you for all well wishes on our grand poo success 😂 sadly DS is still blocked up. Still lots of straining and crying - he gets a proper sad wobbly chin and downturned mouth, he’s having a horrible time with his guts. I really, really hope it isn’t a CMPA allergy like his brother (and all my sisters, and my dad….)

We had a health visitor earlier this week @RandomCatGenerator and she emphasised several times that we were not to give baby Calpol before the injections- which seemed to be the logical thing to do too.

We also have vaccinations coming up. Definitely agree that the temporary pain is better than the alternative! My sister in law’s mum had polio as a child and she couldn’t go to normal school as a result, was a wheelchair user and in her later years had an awful quality of life because of associated conditions.

I was advised to give calpol by the GP today - how strange.

Sleep is a bit of an issue here. I think I need a bit more of a routine, I don’t mean a rigid Gina Ford one but DDS wake windows are way too long. It took forever to get her to sleep tonight and was 10pm when she eventually succumbed. But then she does sleep fairly well at night.

She will only sleep reliably if I move around constantly with her in my arms or the sling in the fresh air which is exhausting and not always practical but maybe I should try tomorrow and see if it helps - sleep begets sleep as they say!

@Summermeadowflowers The advice is to give Calpol after the injections, but not before the injections. I have no idea why!

@BackOfTheMum5net my HV said it was because the nurse wants to make sure baby is well enough to receive the vaccinations and calpol can hide a temperature etc but I’ve also been told by the gp to give calpol before 😅 so I’ll probably do what @habiller did! It’s what I’d do for myself if getting flu vaccine

@VivaVivaa yes he said to give omeprazole once a day and gaviscon six times a day and it's bunged him up badly 😭 it seems we are more silent reflux than reflux, all reflux symptoms but rarely sick. Always screaming in pain and cannot bring wind up and screams when wind comes out.

I woke up with a cold yesterday which has got worse today. So far only sore throat, slight bunged up nose and headache, but I am already feeling guilty about DS getting it from me and he doesn't have it yet. He's got his jabs this afternoon, but am I horrible to let him have them and feel rubbish from them when he's also likely to get a cold from me in the next few days?!
Feel like the worst mum