Sept 08 - newborns, milk, nappies and all the rest ....

[Sassafrass]

Hope noone minds me starting our post natal thread now that the babies are arriving so quickly.

Arrivals!
28-May - Johnworf ? Katherine, 1lb 8oz
30-June ? KashaSarrasin ? Felix, 1.39kg
26-July - Jenbot - DD, 3lb 6oz
11-Aug - Crabby - Lilah 2.34kg
13-Aug - Sassafrass - Katie Rose, 7lb 2oz
20-Aug - Sunshinemummy - Effy Marilyn, 6lb 3oz
22-Aug - Talia1 - Anna, 6lb 2oz
26-Aug - Jenpet - Samuel, 3.166 kilos (about 6lb10oz?)
28-Aug - Potxola - Lorea, 7lb 6oz
31-Aug - Digitalgirl - Alfredo, 7lbs
1-Sept - Debithescot - Andrew, 8lb 10oz

Hello everyone, I'm also finding it really helpful to read everyone's stories of sleep deprivation - it truly does help to know you're not alone! Our worst night was when ds was up 1:30-3:30am, which I guess isn't too bad for a 6 day old...except that dd woke up at 4am. In the end dh slept on her bedroom floor so settle her, and we spent the day taking it in turns to have naps. Ds is also a 10min feeder, which is handy with a toddler around, but he seems to have his body clock about 6 hours out - he sleeps solidly from about 2am to 4pm, waking only for feeds, then has a more wakeful time with short naps - like you would expect during the day. He is a very happy baby though, so mustn't complain.

I have a question: what's the deal with piles? I have one large pile as my reward for pushing ds out. I have been using anusol which relieves the itching and pain, but it still bleeds a lot and isn't going away. Is it something that will just disappear with time? I'm having to wear two pads - one for the back and one for the front

Here's hoping for sleep for everyone

I would be quite happy for ds2 to keep me up all night breastfeeding

thanks starlight

lollyheart I understand. Despite feeling absolutely knackered, I'm very grateful that DS is breast-feeding even if it's through the night.

It's the colicky fussing that gets me down, when he's obviously upset about something and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to make it better.

crabby I get the woodpecker head bobbing when ds has cried himself awake after a nap. does that mean he's still tired?

mine are the opposite leonie ds1 hated being swaddled, no matter how tight you did it he'd have his arms out in seconds. So I bought more sleeping bags thinking ds2 would be the same. But no, he wants to be swaddled and sleeps so much better if he is, esp as he is quite twitchy too.

OK, - so can anyone remember the ergonomic back-friendly way to reach across a table to get a paper-towel in a hurry, to then bend down and lift your toddler off his child-height seat at a playgroup to clean spilled milk off of him and the surrounding area whilst holdind a newborn under your arm that is currently attatched to your breast.......

Something about bending your knees if I remember correctly.......

moonlightmckenzie
i think you have to get your dexterous toes to do it all and you have to alternate feet so as not to lose the latch your baby has.

;)

The last couple of nights have been better for me, thanks to DH. After my meltdown the other day he has stopped going into the spare room to sleep and instead is doing the middle of the night nappy changes (DS poos at every feed!) and settling him after the feeds. So I am getting a bit more sleep. Last night wasn't good though, DS would not settle and kept crying so in the end DH brought him down. Apparently he then fell asleep on DH's knee with a dummy in! So DH didn't get much sleep but I slept til 5:30! DH then brought him back up for a feed and he (DS) is now wide awake so I've taken him downstairs again as I want to let DH get as much sleep as he can before DD wakes up! Sometimes this feels like a relay race.....still trying not to think about when he goes back to work!

On the negative side my nipples are very sore, particularly one of them, although you wouldn't know to look at them. I'm sure he's not opening his mouth wide enough and that's why - poor latch basically. On the worst side it gets so sore that one particular place on my nipple feels like it's on fire when he tongues it and this still feels sore for a few mins after I take him off. Anyone got any tips for making him open his mouth wider? It's still a struggle to get him on at all a lot of the time cos I give him the infacol first and his mouth is all slippy so he can't grip.

digitalgirl don't let it get you down about the rest of your NCT group. If they are FF/ mixed feeding that's probably why the babies are sleeping better. I don't know if your experience is typical - a friend of mine had a baby 4 months ago and she FF - her baby slept well from the start! But she was the only one in her group not BF which I think made her feed quite bad. In my group last time only 1 person FF after the first couple of weeks. The next person to stop was at 5 months and 6 of us carried on for a year! So you're not really a hippy mum!

Moonlightmackenzie talking of multitasking I answered the door with DS clamped to my boob yesterday! I'd only started the feed 5 minutes before and really didn't want to take him off. I didn't reallise I could walk and BF at the same time until I tried it (and no I wasn't wearing the carrier!)

Just popping in to get this on my threads list.

Only read the last few pages but feelinbg so much better that I'm not alone in all the baby crazy things going on in our house! Kind of feeling like I'm not a person anymore, just the one who had a baby for everyone to fuss over. Is it bad I feel like that?

Mel - it's v normal to feel like that. IME by week 12 most things seem to slot into place and you start to feel more human again. And ou'll be surprised how quickly week 12 comes around.

so breastfeeding gurus,

how mant calories do you burn by breastfeeding a day? and is it the act of feeding the burns the calories or the production of milk? any idea how many calories are burned per ounce? and do you lose the same amount of calories when expressing?

also, is it normal to get period cramps during breast feeding?

Jearund, I remember walking round Debenhams looking for something for DH to buy me for my birthday (it was just about to close) with DD(1) clamped to me - it's amazing what you can do while BF isn't it!!

Eandz I have no idea of specifics, but I believe BF burns something like an extra 500 calories a day, and presumably would do so if you expressed rather than fed (it's the calories in the milk, rather than the act of feeding that add up), but if you express extra in the hope of burning more, I believe you run risks of monster engorgement and all that that entails. not that I'm such a diet geek I've researched it...

Last night was quite good - Teddy slept again for one 3 hour stretch, and another 2 hour stretch, which was brilliant.~ my mum's visiting too, and did a bit of a floor walk with him, so dp got some sleep too. She also thinks he has colic, which makes sense, anyone got any advice?

thanks hopefully

so about colic now...how do i tell if Noah has it? he cries constantly, thinks he's hungry all the time but then won't latch anymore...even if he's been fed before...

i really should have saved the money and hired a night nanny to help me with getting into the swing of things...i think. my step mother came to visit/give me a hand with adjusting to being a mother but i'm quite shy with her so i just went to the other room to feed (which in hindsight seems quite dumb)

i'll definitely hire a night nanny next time!

Hi friends.
Positive news
I want to share these news with you in the hope that it helps you too.
Yo know I have had to sleep with Lorea because she refused to be put down in the crib. Well, I made sure that crib was irresistible with bumbers all around, lambskin fleece under the sheets etc..... and nothing. Bought the grobag swaddle, the miracle blanket and nothing.......
SUSPENSE
I bought th Swaddleme wrap and..... BINGO
Lorea last night slept in the crib all night and she did not complain about being swaddle, she really liked it and she did not want to get her arms out!!!! . She woke up 2 times to feed and I was able to change her nappy only removing the botton part of the wrap. She is a different baby girl this morning. Extremely happy and contented and I am a very happy mother after not sleeping more than 3-4 hrs a night during the last month.
So I feel I need to spread the word. If you like me have had sleeping nights this is the solution: Swaddleme. I bought it new from a shop that sells through Ebay.
I remember an article I read a while ago about Angelina Jolie buying it for her babies. It really works!
Hope this helps!
I forgot Lorea has lots of wind and I have problems winding her, well, The wrap really helps her as well and calm her down.
Jearund You are doing great and you will be fine when dh goes back to work, but give swaddleme a try.

eandz its completely normal to have period cramps while feeding - its nature's way of getting your body back into shape and your uterus back down into your pelvis where it belongs. Its often called 'after-pains'. I had some so bad the first couple of days that I was breathing through them like labour pains, but that quickly passed. I found it helpful though coz I know my milk has let-down at the start of a feed when I start to get period pain.
If Noah won't latch on and has recently fed, chances are his cries aren't hunger. They could be wind, dirty nappy, or just being very tired (see what other people have put in other places on this thread about mis-reading hunger cues when they were actually tiredness cues). HTH.
potxola I'm so pleased for you that you found a solution and that Lorea is happier for having had some good sleep, hooray! Hope you feel better soon too!

And can anyone answer my earlier question about piles?

carrieon I also have a pile (or three...), but it's not bleeding or terribly sore, just a bit itchy. My initial thoughts are:

1. Are you taking anything to keep things soft and moving? Sorry for TMI, but straining does aggravate them I've heard. I'm still on lactulose and fybogel, originally because of the tear, but also to prevent me aggravating the bottom. Doc says there's no harm in staying on them at least until 6 week check up, to make sure everything's got maximum chance to heal.
2. Are you dry wiping - seems aggravate them, I am still using a jug of water with a bit of witch hazel in for every wipe!
3. Are you doing pelvic floors? I was told in hosp that they significantly improve blood flow to the area, helping heal piles, stitches etc.

As far as I'm concerned, if piles are still significant after that check up, when stitches are healed and everything, I'll talk to the doc about it. I think they can do surgery in extreme cases, but it's only worth it if you're done having children. AFAIK, most piles heal themselves with appropriate care, but you may be prone to reoccurance in future...

how to tell when babies are hungry and they are hungry more often than we think they ought to be.

Alice seems to have been sucking her thumb in utero as she already sucks it v. effectively. DD1 never thumb sucked.

i had/have no patience with after pains. i drink ibuprofen tabs every 6 hrs or so. I have enough aches pains and leaks to deal with without that one on top.

hopefully that REALLY helps. I'm rubbish with pelvic floors, but that's an extra motivation to do them. Water and witch hazel sounds like a great idea (sorry, do you dip the loo roll in the water - can't quite work out how to do it...!). After searching for other threads on that topic too, it seems that going to the docs for something stronger than anusol could also really help. Thank you!