March 2008 births

[MarchNowFebMum]

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

Here's a weird one...panicked that LO was teething as he had sore mouth and little hard white thing poking through gum. On closer inspection(read:when he was out cold got a better look) it seems to just be a hard white thing. It's like a little burr or something, anyone have any ideas?

Thanks guys for all your support. Really helps. Doing a lot better now I've realised that mix feeding is ok and I'm enjoying Hero a lot more
btw- how do you settle a baby in the middle of the night when you don't nurse them to sleep??
turtle- I've read somewhere that those little white bumps are normal, just can't remember at the mo what it said they were...

e14 - glad you are feeling better and enjoying your baby - definately the most important thing. just read a paper (first time in 8 weeks) and there was an article quoting clare byam cook saying there was too much pressure to bf and that ff is fine, it was in the sunday telegraph - maybe online still.

turtle - i've read about mouth bumps too, seem to remember that they are called something-or-other pearls and that are quite normal and fine.

my dh has taken leave of his senses and got 4 lambs which he is bottle feeding!!!! i'm wondering if he feels a bit left out not being able to feed dd! i'm having nothing to do with them as i just can't bear the thought of anything else milk related. had to laugh this morning though when he had to get up at 6 to feed them - before dd woke up! he thought he would only have to them for a couple of weeks but actually it's a couple of months. only just changed mn name from piggyp and really didn't want to be lambyl.

Our baby acne phase seems to have passed now. I was having to sit on my other hand while feeding him for a while - the temptation to pick those big white heads was overwhelming at times.

Isn't it just fantastic not being pregnant anymore, what joy can be had in tying shoelaces and cutting your toenails without getting out of breath - bliss!

I'm hoping to bf for about a year, that's what I did with the other two. I'd like to try the extended feeding thing, but I remember with the other two that after 12 months I was just ready to stop. But being about 99% sure that we will stop at 3, the thought of never doing it again might make me more determined to carry on. But, I'm still taking each week at a time, I had a few nasty blocked ducts around weeks 3 and 4, and the pain was enough to make me forget about the benefits, and almost stopped. I've started expressing regularly now so he gets between 4 and 6 oz to have at 10pm ish, it definitely seems to help him go longer at night.

Had a really annoying dream last night, someones baby was crying and they were just leaving it, in dream shouted to the parents to sort out their bloody baby. Then DH nudged me and said I think DS needs feeding - please say that someone else has done this. All other mums say that they never sleep deeply once they have children and jump out of bed at the smallest whimper - am I a neglectful mum or are they lying?

Hugs to all struggling. I hope you are getting plenty of support from folks around you.

have figured it out now...bohn's nodules

Tilly was 6 weeks old yesterday - I can't believe it! Am reactivating my gym membership today - hurrah - so should be bikini ready for my summer holidays. If any of you have dropped your weight very quickly any tips would be very welcome. I feel sick when I look in the mirror at the moment.

Went out for a friends 21st on Wednesday, great fun but having to wake up at 6am after a couple of cocktails was not so fun but very worth it. Really enjoying being able to take some time out for me - highly recommend it to those of you who are feeling a bit low and really hope you're feeling better soon.

I am also starting to work one day a week from home to keep me busy from next week, bit scared that I'll forget what to do but also very excited at the prospect of doing something again.

My laptop is rubbish so not on so much at the moment but am buying a new one at the weekend. Also, has anyone done a long car journey yet? We're going away for the bank hol weekend and it's about a 2/3hour drive, wondered if anyone had any anecdotal experience of it.

Also, bit personal, has anyone sorted contraception yet? Period is back, boo

Hi all

Sorry for not posting more regularly but have been struggling over the last couple of weeks. Big hugs to all those feeling down, I had no idea that a baby could evoke so many emotions and tears...

My LO generally feeds for 5 mins at a time, before coming off my boob. Up until the last few days I think I had been misinterpreting his cues and thinking he was crying with hunger, when actually it was wind. The end result was having him thrash about screaming as I tried to squash my boob in his mouth. I was so certain there was no way he could possibly take all he needs in 5 mins that I was probably force feeding him, resulting in projectile vomits! After me crying during recent HV visit she has assured me that 5 mins can be enough for some babies and if he's putting on weight then not to worry.

So now, each feed (every 2 - 3 hours) is generally 5 mins long, followed by 20 - 30 mins of winding and often screaming after which he might take a few mins more. He is still very colicky in the evening when he has an extended screamathon...The strange thing is that on the couple of occasions he's had EBM from a bottle he doesn't seem to get the same wind issues - I think because the flow from the bottle teat is slower, whereas I have a fast letdown which he gulps down. He is also on infant gaviscon, but not sure whether it's having any real effect yet.

Has anyone else encountered the same?

For those of you with spotty babies, my LO had red whiteheads for about a week but it quickly cleared up and was apparently a hormonal rash which is very common a few weeks after birth. I just kept cleaning with cotton wool and water, and actually a little bit of my clinique moisturiser which seemed to do the trick.

LO is 5 weeks and 5 days now and we have been getting proper smiles over the last few days, although they are still few and far between, but lovely

hello all,how are we this morning? I hope everyone who was feeling down is cheered up by the sun (assuming they have it!)
e14, just have to say, I gave up breastfeeding after a week for what sounds like exactly the same sort of reasons that your struggling with it so all I can say is well done for getting this far with it. Sitting in tears with a baby who was on hour 4 of a feed is no way to bond.
I feel much better for having DH to share the load of feeding with, although I'm not sure he feels the same!
Felt quite miserable myself this weekend for no real reason. DD seems to have taken against the formula she's been on and went 12 hours without having a poo which wasn't a whole heap of fun for any of us, as she refused to be put down and just seemed to move from uncomfortable to downright distressed. We changed the formula to the aptimil for sensitive stomachs and she has had 2 poos and is now fast asleep in her basket. hallelujah!
We had some viewings of the house last week, over the weekend and 1 more lined up for 2moro which is also stressful. I got quite cross with DS for having the temerity to get more than 1 toy out on Friday. DH took them out for 30 mins and I listened to husker du at full volume. I felt 16 again. All I needed was a Marlboro red and a vodka and lime.

2wasgood- I never hear either of my children when I'm asleep. At least that's what my DH claims: when I say it was an easy night last night he gets all humpy and says HE got up 4,5,6, times. I have no way of knowing whether or not this is true . He could just be winding me up.

hiya, thanks for your kind words, its nice to talk about it or type about it. everyone else thinks i'm coping amazingly and have no idea how i am feeling apart from midwife and health visitor anyway. The sun has definately helped as well, lovely just to get the bouncy castle out in the back garden and mess about with dd1 !

I have also discovered that i have the MIL from hell! I always thought she was a lovly lady and was always quite proud of our relationship but after having dd2 she has turned into this bossy and patronsing woman. she is forever moaning or bitching about me and keeps going on at me for what i'm doing "wrong" .

On the bright side its my birthday this saturday and dp has booked a day off work to babysit the kids for me whilst i go off shopping with his credit card! i finally have a flat tummy (ish) to shop again!!!

studentmum - the sun makes a huge difference for me as well. I've already told DH that any other children need to be born in the March-June window as I already know I couldn't be cooped up with a baby in autumn or winter.

I'm in a happy place today for the first time in about a week. Had real struggle last week with bf - DS increasingly unsatisfied with feeding on top of only just being back to birth weight last week and me feeling huge guilt because of milk supply being hit by anaemia and me having said no to transfusion which would probs have solved it. There was some kind of miracle this weekend where I suddenly felt like my boobs actually had milk in them and DS suddenly fed well, slept well and pooed for Britain... When I got DS weighed by HV this morning he had put on 260g and I burst into tears!!! Plus I have worked out that he is definitely smiling at me rather than just being windy. Great way to celebrate him being 4 weeks old today

I'm going to dig out that article, LFTS, as I've been finding bf very tough and giving a bottle of formula at night has saved me from completely quitting although the pressure to exclusively bf has made me feel quite guilty about it. Lovely HV (also bf counsellor) has asked me to come to her bf clinic tomorrow so she can spend some time with me then - going to talk through whether a 2nd bottle of formula is a good idea to just make me feel less worried or whether I should persevere as we are for now.

yup, can recommend taking the family credit card out for an airing as a blardy marvellous way to increase cheerfulness levels. i got a miracle skirt: it a) fits, b) looks nice and c) has pockets. so i can do the school run with keys and phone in my pocket and no bag hassle.

and BTW my body hasn't been bikini ready for about 15 years ;)i lost 5 lbs last week though! how? no idea..must have been GG's growth spurt feeding. my main problem area this time seems to be bum, saddle bags and chunkster thighs. stomach is pretty rubbish, but nowhere near as bad in comparison. hoping general activity will sort it out. no chance of gym/swim with dp's current workload.

glad to hear everyone is working out coping strategies...would like to hear from derah, mind, how are you?

Missingmyheels - DH and I drove London to Dorset when DD was 4 weeks old. She usually sleeps like a dream in the car but decided to scream practically the whole way there (4.5 hours!). The only thing that would settle her (once she was fed and changed) was sucking on my knuckle. I was crammed in the back seat next to car seat with pram wedged into my hip with my little finger knuckle in her mouth for over an hour!

On the way back we bought a dummy and haven't looked back! In fact, having never slept on her own (not in pram or sling) during the day, she now kips quite happily in her seat if she's sucked herself to sleep on dummy. Bloody miracles those things. Never thought I'd use one but wouldn't leave home without one now.

studentmum1, {{{hugs}}} to you, must be horrible going through all that. I don't have PND, but I do still get weepy and over emotional every time i think about the actual birth. With no prior experience, i don't know what's a normal hormonal reaction and what isn't!
e14, well done for managing so long bf already, i had to give up at 2 weeks but luckily my m/w team all said that it was more important to have a happy mum than to bf and be unhappy as that is more distressing for the baby in the end.
Also just saw that write up in the Sunday Telegraph and could have cried for joy...i dread posting anything bf/ff related in the relevant forum here as there are so many rabid supporters to the point of excluding any other options.
Btw HQ, when i was still expressing, my m/w said i had to express at least once overnight as that was when most of the hormones were active to keep the supply going, so one night expression was worth more than any of the daytime ones, so maybe doing that after you've fed your LO formula might up your daytime supply?

spugs yes, lots of spots on my LO, though they come and go more like a rash when he gets all stressed out with wind issues. Got a lovely spot ready to pop on the tip of his nose though, definitely tempting! Have had one proper looking rash, typically on the day the HV called, but decided it was possibly due to the vest he was wearing not having been washed beforehand. Looks like he'll be sensitive to everything like his mum! I wash clothes in Ecover or use soap nuts and so far haven't risked using any fabric conditioner on any baby stuff.
turtle. my m/w and HV both said the white bumps were teeth buds! Oh, have just googled bohn's nodules and my LO doesn't have them there, they're in the teeth position so prob are teeth after all.

periods: false alarm, think it might have been ovulation though...Contraception, hah, he's 6wks old and sleeps in the same room! Will not be going on any form of hormonal contraceptive though as i'd been on it for so long before ttc...

6wk (+2) checkup tomorrow, then going to a cranial osteopath on weds am to see if they can do anything with LO's wind/colic/habit of sleeping with his head back and head in the deflexed position.

mmh - we really struggled with contraception descions. lots of the methods seem a bit long term and we know we want another lo fairly soon - 18 months or so. so decide on the pill, gp prescribed progesterone only pill as this is supposed to be fine when bf. i've had the packet a fortnight and not opened it yet - now realised that i don't want to risk putting chemicals in milk when i am carefull to avoid chemicals in other areas of life, i just couldn't swallow them!. so it's yucky condoms for the time being (not that we've exactly been busy in bed!)

some questions
If ff, how do you know if water needed rather than milk? It's been quite warm lately and have heard ff babies need additional water.

Also, hungry baby formula, picked some up by accident when buying ready made cartons, but it says you shouldn't give to the baby except on advice of GP/health professional, anyone know the reason for this?

Is it normal for them to go bright red and scream blue murder when filling their nappy, or is this more a sign of colic?

How do you break feeding to wind them if they decide they don't want to stop and scream at you for more milk, but you know if you don't stop you'll get projectile vomit?

Right, got to do a nappy change, take LO and dog for a walk then collect DH and go drop LO off with MIL. We're having a night out at the cinema and pizza hut, can't wait!

FN41 - my DD had hungy baby formula from about 8 wks cos normal formula left her hungry - difference is the part of the milk it is made from - HV should be able to explain. The downside was constipation - which may explain the screaming when pooing - again I'd check with HV. Before solids I added extra water to feeds (just 1/2 oz or so). After she was on solids we gave her some diluted prune juice every day (she still has that now age 21/2).

fn41 - think the normal ready made also has this warning. think it is probably a standard thing due to not being able to promote ff over bf and therefore need to suggest you should only use it on advice.

thanks for advice on expressing. i might try that tonight - at 11pm feed rather than 3am feed (don't think i could bear to pump in middle of night and bet it would be a surefire way of DH hotfooting it to the spare room...)

I feel like it's the end of an era - I just deleted the March 08 PG thread from my watch list. It makes me a bit sad, actually. I really loved waiting to hear who was going to be next . And as much as I'm so happy to finally have my DS, there was a lot of fun in the anticipation of meeting him. Anyway, THIS is the new chapter!

OK, enough sentimental nonsense! spugs I have the same with Griffin - spottiness, dry and flakey between brows, etc. Think it's pretty normal and will pass, although do notice it's worse at various times. Perhaps to do with gas, as someone else mentioned. turtle I though Griffin's white bumps were tooth buds, but will Google your "nodules".

Griffin is so very gassy these days. He does gulp his way through feeds but then fusses at boob with wind. I think he's still hungry at that point, but definitely won't get back on boob without a burp/fart. I feel sorry for the little chap. Trying to work on latch to improve gulping/taking in air, but only works occassionally. Any tips?

poor memory alert...go look up if going for hungry milk, dont rely on this...

hungry mik has different protein content to hungry milk. think the calories are the same. normal formula is something like 50:50 whey to casein, where hungry milks are more like 20:80 ratio. casein is slower digesting, curdles in the gut and has you feeling fuller for longer and i can' remember why but i think body builders prefer it in their shakes (here i am probably really confused).

i am pretty sure i remember that the caution with casein rich milk and young babies, is it can over tax their kidneys as its much richer in minerals than whey. which is why most milks are whey based. but i have the impression that is a concern for sickly babies not so much for healthy ones. one of my mates used it and baby was clearly happier in terms of feeling empty, but had some probs at other end - sorry can't remember what

Evie still goes bright red, screams blue murder for a good 20 min round the 'poo window', I'm thinking it's not a sign of a healthy digestive systm but whether it's a 'that's just the way it is' colic type sign or something else I don't know. Like I say, I just switched formula brands (4 feeds ago) and she's just had 3 poos in 45 min. considering they're the first since 6 o'clock this morning 'bout bloody time.
My SIL was talking about my niece's bowel movements on Sunday which was scarily of interest but I did feel sorry for my niece who was sitting next to her at the time (and is 12) I would have been mortified .Of all the things I never realised about motherhood I think long conversations about poo would be up there (have just finished toilet training DS so have been having this kind of conversation since September!)

I've just had my first proper projectile poo. Any tips for getting it out of the carpet!!?

MarchNowFebMum, welcome to the club, I think I have a platinum membership by now (he just seems to time perfectly for when we are about to put the new nappy, and it is truly amazing how far it can go) the best thing I have found is washing up liquid, a few drops, then add a bit of water and suck it up with kitchen towels, it is not quick and easy but it does not do any damage to the carpet and it works for me.

On the subject, of poos, everyone recommends for LO, to have playtime without a nappy before bath time but is there any miracle way for him not to start peeing, pooing all other the place etc...apart from using very large plastic sheeting.

On the subject, of feeling so much better not being pregnant, it is so true, being able to climb stairs without struggling, not having to know where is the nearest loo at all time etc... bliss indeed, can't beleive I go to the loo less in the night than LO wakes up.

So please that the weather is improving in the UK, makes such a difference, big cheers.

before gg has naked play time i play with hm in old nappy first...stripped down so cold stimulates wee as well...and by play i mean folding legs up to tummy loads while singing daft song. probably for a full 5 minutes of playing. sometimes its really funny and you can play him ilke a little trumpet: legs up PARP legs down gurgle legs up PARP legs down gurgle-coo. it's magic.

that usually gets him going if he is going to go. then i put him naked on pampers bed mat and let him get on with it on bathroom floor, as everything in bathroom is wipe clean if he sprays anything everywhere. and it is always warm in bathroom, even without heating on so that's our way.

prisci we are just ahving a few days of rain - but we need that to make us green and reduce risk of having water rationing in the summer! i rather like it in a perverse way, a wet spring. quote me once i've hauled that phil and ted's onto bus and around crouch end shops and toddler won't play in the rainypark...just quote me.