March 2008 births

[MarchNowFebMum]

Welcome March Mums (and late Feb/early April Mums!) from the March 2008 threads.

We've been thinking about cranial osteopathy, and I was going to ask if anyone had any thoughts. I will definitely look it up tomorrow.....

Thank for all the support guys....

It is so nice to know I'm not alone (even if I wish none of us was dealing with squawking babies), as I'm having a terrible day made worse by knowing DH is back at work tomorrow so I have to deal with continual feeding/screaming on my own very soon.

Is it possible for a baby to have their 3 week growth spurt when only 2 weeks old? DS has been feeding non-stop since I last posted at 5pm. And I pretty much mean non-stop - I have just enough time to go to toilet between feeds, and DH has just taken squawking baby for as long as he can so I can have 15 mins to shower and check email / get on here and moan! I do have to go though as he is really upset and DH doesn't have breasts (even if DS keeps trying to suck on his nipples)! I've made up 2 bottles of formula in case it gets too much tonight but am going to try not to use them if I can as I guess if it is a growth spurt then I need to let my milk supply know that and respond.

He is so cute though, even when screaming/feeding. Sigh...

hope to catch up properly later today. just nipped in to laugh at this news item with you on how we are damned if we do and damned if we don't feed toddlers fruit/veg!

hello,
I've been lurking on the ante-natal and post natal threads for quite some time now and decided to join in. DD born 26th March by c/sec which is giving me an excuse to loll about on sofa while she sleeps.
I can't believe that we are now getting in trouble for being too healthy. My 3 (nearly) yr old DS will only eat veg if he doesn't know it's there and the stealth approach is so time consuming and now I feel like I should just be giving him lard!
Praise the Lord for avocadoes, that's what I say.

Used my sling for the first time today and can't believe how much I have got done around the house, it's positively sparkling. I feel like a real 1950's housewife today as have spent most of the day cleaning and just prepared a leg of lamb with rosemary and thyme for dinner that is slow cooking. All I need is a flowery apron!

Sorry to hear about those of you with grizzly babies and growth spurts etc. I am still mixed feeding so don't have that element to deal with but still v jealous of those of you who are excl bfeeding. DD is almost a month old and is starting to grow out of her first babygros but is still too small for any 0-3 months ones which is a real pain!

If anyone local to me (Surrey but am in SW London and West End a fair bit) fancies meeting up/going for a long walk/glass of wine etc then do let me know. Am going to go to my local baby group tomorrow which should be fun as I have exhausted most of my friends now with regard to daytime activies. Am going to a gig tomorrow night and had my roots done yesterday so starting to feel like the old me again, well, like the old me with a bit of a jelly belly still.

Talking of jelly belly, is anyone else grossed out by it? I'm back in my jeans but my stomach just feels horrid. Hoping to get to the gym after 6 week check which may tone it up a tad but won't get rid of the disgusting stretch marks

DD also is starting grow out of her newborn stuff - made me a bit sad and nostalgic for the 'early' days! U had my NCT group over today and she was rhe biggest baby.

My stomach has gone down a bit but it does fee weird, kind of like it's not mine or numb as others mentioned. Any idea why this is?

Immunizations on Wednesday, eeeeee!

anyone got any experience of their LO showing tooth buds already? LO has had 3 white dots on upper right gum for a couple of weeks now, and today noticed a new white dot on upper left... confused as should be front teeth coming through first and not so bloomin early, but can't see what else they are apart from teeth?

ds1's teeth were clear (see thru) when they first showed...anyoen else?

I'm finding my tummy really weird as well - very floppy, normally numb but occasionally really sore and itchy. I've dropped a lot of my pregnancy weight now (about 5-6lbs to go) just through breastfeeding and daily walks (but then I was a bit overweight when I got pregnant anyway so really want to drop more than that) but my belly is still humungous. It is only my even more humungous boobs that are disguising its size

Anyone tried/trying Gina Ford? My LO is getting some sort of rhythm to his day, despite mum and dad's very haphazard attempts at wrecking it (for some reason we decided to bath him last night at 9pm and paid the price overnight!) and his 3 favourite naps coincide with 3 of her 4 naps so I thought it might be worth trying to get him more into that kind of routine. Just wondered if anyone has any tips on following Gina Ford without becoming a mad woman who gets upset cos they have only got round to having tea and toast at 8.05 rather than 8 on the dot...

MMH - I was going to ask if the Surrey ladies wanted to meet up, but you beat me to it. Shall we organise something? I think most of you are closer in to London than me so perhaps it's better if you guys come up with a location.

I'm cautiously optimistic that LO might have turned a corner. She still cries a lot, but has come off the boob looking drunk and happy a couple of times in the past few days and slept until 5am last night. She's colicky again today, which isn't nice for any of us but we're having more good moments. I think she was even trying to smile at me last night!

Meet up thread - please have a look and post and we can try to sort something.

I went clothes shopping today - don't recommend it! I am starting a no carbs after 4pm and low fat diet as of NOW! I need to drop at least a dress size or two.

Morning all - great news: Prisci can now join us on this board - see here for details!

I'm very proud of myself, DH and DS this morning. He's been grumpy and grotty for 3 days now - not feeding properly despite being constantly hungry, crying lots, not sleeping after a week of only one night wakening etc. - and we think it has been a growth spurt. It has been particularly rubbish because it coincided with DH going back to work so I've had to deal with it on my own and DH has come home to wife in tears. Anyway, we implemented what we would like to be a bit of a bedtime routine last night - bath at 6.30 with dad, feed from mum, then bed until 10pm before a nappy change and another feed (formula so we could be certain he was getting a decent amount as he's been so fitful when feeding this week). The first feed went a little awry as he was really windy and starving so fed for ages, but we persisted and woke him to get a 10pm feed into him and he then slept until 4am, fed for an hour and then slept until 8am. The alarm (DH set it in a fit of optimism) rather than the baby woke us all!

And then he fed well at 8am and I was finally able to get both my pump working and enough free time (no scriking baby for a change!) to pump 2oz. Hurrah! If I can get the pumping to work again then hopefully we'll be able to make the 10pm feed a bottle of EBM rather than formula if possible.

Speaking of which, does formula actually makes a baby fuller than EBM and therefore more likely to sleep? And I'm assuming that I can mix formula and EBM in the same bottle so that if I have say only 1oz of EBM then he can at least have that and just be topped up with formula?

HQ - hurrah! That sounds great, long may it last. You can absolutely top up your EBM with formula, I did it every feed when DD was in SCBU. Formula takes a little longer to digest apparently than EBM so it can make them feel "full" a little bit longer, although lots of people say that's a load of rubbish so I don't think it makes a huge amount of difference.

Looks like the March babies are finally getting themselves sorted with more sleeping and less grizzling!

Went to a gig last night, Elbow at Brixton Academy, it was awesome! (Richard Hawley was the special guest) If anyone is looking for some new music to listen to get the new album. Looking like a gorgeous day today so am going to head to Clapham Common for a long walk!

Hi all. Things here seem to be less muddled now than they were, but we're not quite sorted yet. After 3 trips to paed day ward, 2 catheter urine samples (all clear) scraping poo out of nappies into sample jars, checking dd's latch and bf position, it seems the poor girl is hungry! Gobbles down top-up bottles and is much more content after too.
I was really frustrated this weekend after realising that she would gobble precious ebm straight after a feed, as I'm not great at expressing yet, and noone would suggest or tell us how to give her formula! Fortunately, saw a great bf counsellor on monday who agreed with me that dd needs more milk. I'm trying a course of domperidone to see if my milk supply will increase as 2 weeks of marathon feeding did not seem to do the trick. It's been so nice to finally see her with the milk-drunk look instead of fussing after over an hour at the breast! Really praying the domperidone works, but need to give it a few weeks to see.
dd is one month tomorrow and we have to check she's not still losing weight, but i think we're getting there now. after this, no scales for us for a while!
So, to all you who've been struggling, i have been lurking and sympathising.

At the risk of jinxing myself- is there anyway I can keep a 3 week old awake? DD sleeps like a dream in the morning- 2 2 hr naps most days. But, in the afternoon, unless I take her out she really struggles to settle. Yesterday she was awake from about 2 till nearly 9 and having to be jiggled and shushed etc. Tomorrow is the first day I have her and and a boisterous 3 yr old to look after by myself and I am getting very scared.
Or should I just take the gifts the god provides and feel pleased that she is at least providing me with some down time? She's formula fed so I am reluctant to feed her too much but she's showing no signs of hitting the 4 hr feed cycle just yet either and yesterday evening it was more like every 2.5 hrs.

Thanks MMH! I figured I could mix the two but just wanted to check there wasn't some weird chemical reaction between EBM and formula that caused them to self-combust when mixed Enjoy Clapham Common - I'm off round the parks of Ealing while the sun is shining and DS is in a good mood!

e14mum - good luck with feeding your DD - sounds like you've had a tough time and you are being brilliant to keep going with bf! We've just started one bottle of formula at night as DS has been fussy with feeding in the afternoons and we wanted to make sure he was getting a good feed at night. We just bought ready-mixed newborn stuff in cartons until we see whether I can express enough or whether we should invest in a tin of powder and he seems to take in about 2oz/60ml at about 10pm following a breastfeed about 3 hours previously. I've got an Avent bottle and teat and a Dr Browns one and we're just alternating to see if there is any difference in how he feeds/winds etc. It's all a bit trial and error so no idea if that helps, but just thought you might like to know how we're muddling through if you choose to add in formula Having said that, if you are trying to up your supply I guess you might want to hold off on adding in formula until you see if that works. Good luck either way!

wearehips - has your DD been like this just the past couple of days or for a week or so? My DS has been exactly like this (great in morning, crotchety in afternoon, feeding fitfully every 1.5-2 hours and only sleeping when out in pram) since Sunday but midwife reckons it's a growth spurt and we're hoping that today he might be coming out of it as he slept well last night for first time in a few days.

If just a few days then hopefully she'll be out of it soon. If not, then maybe try her in a sling. My DS always sleeps in a sling and it seems that has been working for lots of people on here. Good luck!

It's hard to tell if this is what she's always been like as I've had people down to give me a hand so we've gone out most days but now I'll be on my own I'm a bit more house bound until I recover from the c-section. I have a double buggy but it's a bit hard to manage at the mo.
Hopefully it's a growth spurt and she'll settle down. I thought with a second baby you'd feel a bit more competent but the first couple of months with my first were so hectic and stressful that I think I have erased it from my memory.
Would so like to go out to a gig or even just the pub. DH is making meaningful noises about the fact that Glasters hasn't sold out but I don't do communal toilets!

Thanks HQ. We are using formula and EBM now. I found it like pulling teeth to get anyone to suggest it or tell me how to give it to her though! I felt like saying- look, my baby is HUNGRY and I obviously am not giving her enough, so help me out!

Breakthrough last night when DS had a feed at midnight for 1/2 hour then didn't wake until 5am! Also, he slept on the beanbag beside the bed for the whole time instead of in the bed with me...now just got to wean him into sleeping in the cradle which cost a fortune but he currently hates
Can't believe how much milk he gets through though, around 27oz a day now which is way above the "suggested" amounts on the back of the box of formula. Would that he conformed to the laughable 4-5 feeds a day, it's still around 8.
Winding him is a challenge every time as he insists on sticking his neck back to look around instead of flopping his chin down into my hand. No wonder he was deflexed for the birth, obviously spent months in the womb strengthening those neck muscles!

e14, completely agree with ou on the formula. Even when i was having the dilemma on expressing and topping up with formula, noone would tell me anything about it, then when i switched completely they were a little more informative but only if i asked the right question!
Even now, the only way I'm assuming my LO is ok with formula is a) he's gaining weight and b) he isn't throwing it all up each feed. Have to find your own way of guessing what amount he needs

Argh! dd just shot out a goose poo special during nappy change! travelled about a foot and went all over my jeans - better than carpet though!

Glad most of you are feeling more sorted. I've been so focused on trying to get 6 week old dd into a feeding routine that i hadn't even thought of a sleeping routine. i don't have a clue where to start! dd is most active/jolly after a feed so i tend to 'play' with her then or put her in sling and then when she gets or bit yawny/grumpy she has a snooze/scream. but sometimes she slleps after her feed. she feeds every 2 1/2 - 3 hrs so her naps are pretty short. but sommetimes she just screams till the next feed! pretty good at night though. could this lack of pattern be the cause of her grumpiness?

how many naps and for how long should a 6 week old have?

Argh! dd just shot out a goose poo special during nappy change! travelled about a foot and went all over my jeans - better than carpet though!

Glad most of you are feeling more sorted. I've been so focused on trying to get 6 week old dd into a feeding routine that i hadn't even thought of a sleeping routine. i don't have a clue where to start! dd is most active/jolly after a feed so i tend to 'play' with her then or put her in sling and then when she gets or bit yawny/grumpy she has a snooze/scream. but sometimes she slleps after her feed. she feeds every 2 1/2 - 3 hrs so her naps are pretty short. but sommetimes she just screams till the next feed! pretty good at night though. could this lack of pattern be the cause of her grumpiness?

how many naps and for how long should a 6 week old have?

I mix fed dd1 and can sympthise with the lack of info - isnt it stupid that you make informed choices all thru pg until it comes to how to feed your baby - then zip all info dries up!

e14 have seen this www.breastfeedingheaven.co.uk/low-milk-supply/cat_5.html?ccSID=c543549b8f3a5cfa91bd26cee4228f3a recommended to increase milk supply but not tried it myself. You could also tyr stage 2 formula for hungrier babies if the top up doesnt seem to do the trick.

My ds suddenly decided not to latch on 1 side last week but thankfully after much stress and tears i took him to a bf clinic (baby cafe) and we now seem to be back on track altho still notback to birth weight.

btw cananyone recommend any supportive nursing bras for the (ahem) norkier mum (am thinking industrial strength scaffolding)? Mine dont seem to provide much support and keep poppining open! Im a size 42 G tho so dont hold out much hope

I sympathise with everyone who is mix feeding. My HV did not believe that Matthew got through 125ml of formula after spending an hour at my breasts. So last Friday I had to take him to be weighed at the clinic, then breast fed and then weighed again to see how much he had taken in - which in a word was nothing as the amount of breast milk I produce would not feed a flea.

After he had a bottle of formula he gained weight.
So I'm still giving him a bottle after I breast feed him. I'm drinking fennel tea three times a day, which has increased my milk slightly but still not enough to sustain my precious son .