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

Right. I'm popping into Holland and Barretts too. I need all the help I can get!

me too! i do a lot of the breast compression thing and sometimes i think i'll squeeze out powder instead of milk since i feel my breasts are soo dry,

I feel like ive got no milk left!!

eandZ what makes you think you are drying up? pls explain. not seeing yr milk is not a sign of drying up.

same Q for biglips. fwiw, breasts are not supposed to feel 'full' after the first few weeks. they are supposed to go back to soft.

foxy
nothing comes out! ever! and then Noah cries and cries and sucks and sucks and i have to breast compress before he can sip ... and this has just been recently. (since saturday) before i could actually feel i had stuff in them.

saw it earlier when it was 3 posts long and thought

"However, once breastfeeding is established we should be trying much harder to get our babies to sleep in the day" snurk

"Babies need a quiet, dark, comfortable environment and many need help getting to sleep." snurk x 2

I used Fenugreek for about a week and it did do wonders for my milk. You need to take at least 6 a day though of the capsules from Holland and Barretts. Oats are also supposedly very good so I think I'll try out the recipe I found for oaty shortcake biscuits =)

I went to visit a good friend of mine today who has just had twins. They were so sweet and little and it made me realise just how much Katie has grown. She smiles now, tries to bat at things and makes little chatty noises.

for those worrying they don't have enough milk see what happens when you accidently pull your baby off the breast mid-suck. Milk everywhere!!

Alfredo still hasn't settled into a routine but I've sort of given up worrying about it. He eats, he sleeps, he poos, he soaks his nappy through several times a day we're running out of babygrows (and bed sheets - what are the rest of you co-sleepers putting down to prevent these 3am bed sheet changes?).
I can't believe he's 5 weeks already, so cute and growing so quickly. I'm constantly reminding myself he won't be this little for long and we really must treasure this time (even with all the feeding and sleeping problems).

Going to attempt the mother and baby screening this weds - I wonder how much of the film I'll get to see?

my breasts were full, hard & painful till 3 days ago and since then they are feeling the opposite and hardly get anything out of it! (im expressing btw)

update - had an hours walk in the fresh air, now have a GP for Squirmy, fed for an hour after we got home and the latch was i think a bit better. he's now sleeping as long as he's upright or face down on my lap, so we're both calm. mrnc has just had a couple hours rest and the plumber has just arrived, so life is good.

i'll probably run out of steam again soon but in the meantime i'm a happy mummy - which is why i don't think it's SAD yet. i might go to the doc tomorrow to get his cold checked out though - the only thing that all baby books agree on is it's ok to be neurotic and use your gp lots.

met neighbor from antenatal class today - her baby is a week younger and visibly smaller - A has definitely grown this week. i used to feel rather scruffy at our meetups as the others were always smart and i was sleeping in my clothes as i couldn't get my shoes off. so i was most relieved to see her looking as dishevelled and tired as me

can anyone talk me through the idiot's guide to expressing? it seems such a waste to have so much milk lost from one breast every time A feeds from the other, and it might give me a bit of a break for my skin to heal.

foxy when you mentioned 'crying it out' is dangerous? why is that? (not that I'd ever leave my baby to cry it out, but there was one time in the car when he cried and I couldn't stop to tend to him and by the time I could he'd stopped so I carried on)

NC an electric breat pump can make life easier, but I found hand-expressing at first less painful. You can hand express into a sterilised bottle and then put it in the fridge. Should keep for 24 hours. Or you can buy pouches to put in the freezer. I'm sure foxy will have a great link though.

I've decided not to start expressing until perhaps next week. Then just to do it in the morning after his feed if I plan to go out that day/evening without him. I think while we're co-sleeping there's no point in expressing for DH to give a night feed as feeding him in bed is no hassle and I sleep so lightly anyway that I'd probably be watching DH feed. I'm not at all concerned about bonding as DH gets lots of cuddle time with DS, especially when he gets handed over for winding after my hassle-free night-time feed.

HELLOOOO! i'm here! i'm here!
Sorry couldn't reply sooner, gals! i've only just returned home today.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

As planned, we had a lovely boy thursday, Oct 2nd ((i knew one of you were gonna go on the same date as me!)) We thought he was to be called Toby Linus ((the middle name is something special to dh, so i've left it )) But now, we're having doubts on the first name..so watch this space ((or the post natal thread)) for an update. ;)

OHH!!! how could i have forgotten! the best part, his weight!!!
11 lbs 4 oz!!!!!
((although i don't think i hold the record of our thread...blimey still reigns supreme!))

He's lovely! and was the talk of the maternity unit of the hospital (being the biggest they've had in a while). he's quite a solid little chappie!

but i have to cut the story short for now...and i'll be totally honest with you all. since i've been home this afternoon, i have been sooo weepy and sad . i have missed my ds1 sooooooo much and now that ds2 is home, i feel like i can't and/or won't have enough time for ds1. i'm sure its just the first day home blues or something. i hope this passes and the family dynamic falls delightfully into place.

will be back later on tonight with a little bit of the birthing action.

11lb 4oz (gulp!! )!! did u have a natural birth? as even though my dd2 was 9lb 3.5oz..i felt like i was giving birth to a 15lber!! (my first natural birth).

Well done Munki

im still feeling sore of bruises and grazes too...i wonder how long does it takes to recover totally?? but ive been feeling so good since i gave birth as whilst i was pg, i constantly moaning about my loose pelvic joint, how heavy i was feeling etc...i feel great in my body but in my head is all mashed up as expected

Hi all, sorry tried to do this from hospital but it wouldnt wotrk!

Had my beautiful baby boy yesterday at 6.46pm! Went in for induction at 8, pessary at 9, walk round hospital, fry up, painful contractions by 2pm, checked at half 2, 1cm dilated but fully effaced (was 3cm long) so broke waters. 20 mins later (!!!!) it was too much for me and i asked for an epidural!!! Felt like such a wimp at the time as had planned to use tens and gas and air and yoga breathing but as it turned out i was justified! Had epidural about 4.30pm, only worked on 1 side but better than nothing. I had been saying i had been feeling loads of pressure like it was the head but they ignored me. Eventually checked at about 6pm and was ready to go (i think had been like that for a while) 45 mins later there was my boy, just as the epidural was wearing off. lovely midwife made it a really calm and quiet birth and left us for almost an hour of skin to skin before weighing etc. Onto the ward bout 11pm, he fed all night and home by 11am! No stitches, feel fine, would reccomend induction as you can labour through the day and not miss a nights sleep.

Oh...he's called Alfie Thomas and weighed 8lb exactly.

Want to thank foxy in particular for all the bf tips, its really helped me to get it right so far this time.

jenpet I fear only one mini-snickers won't be enough

digital please tell me you didn't tell your mum why you left the baby with her?!!! Well done though, I'm impressed!!

Off to bake a cake for Pidge's party

congratulations and wlcome to the new additions!!!

munki - i understand, felt the same and still does 1 month on, but trying to make ds1 bedtime a priority and helps... he's started big school too, so as soon as I dd sleeps and he's at home i try to spend time with him

I'm sorry if I upset a few people, but I just wanted to check whether what was suggested to me was the right way to do things for elliot. It obviously isn't for him but could be for another baby.
and I didn't mean to slag off DH but he dose rely more on what his family say rather than listen to me. he is normally v good and does the fetchy carry thing, and is really good with elli,i've not changed 1 nappy today!
well i'm off to buy some champs for pidge's party, love having virtual money

foxy i saw your sling advert but i'm only 5 foot ans slowly returning to my pre preg size 10 so i ordered one from ebay.
but thanks for all the sleeping advice

when my step mom was here she ordered us to leave her the baby and get to our bedroom to make love.

i vehemently refused the offer.

Still catching up with the posts while feeding (DH is now changing Dougie between breasts) but.....

Digitalgirl I'm no expert but you can start expressing once BF is 'established' ie you're confident he's got the hang of it and that having a bottle isn't going to stop him BF. In your case I think you've already proved that!

As for when, you should express when your breasts are at their fullest, ie overnight or first thing in the morning. I find they are very full either after the 6/7am feed or the following one (9 or 10ish) and it's a relief to fully empty them!

Ooh, forgot to say, we had him weighed today and he's put on just over a pound in a week! I'm really pleased as he's sick after every feed so now I know he is still keeping plenty down!

LOL eandz if my step mother suggested I go have sex I'd probably faint!

I can report some success: DS has been feeding well all day, which makes me think maybe my milk supply is beginning to stabilise? He seems content after every feed and falls asleep. I've just put him in his basked after a bath and a feed and he is blissfully asleep.

Will this last tonight, or is it too good to be true? I hope it does, as the exhaustion of previous sleepless nights is accumulating and I feel I'm succumbing to weepyness and the baby blues...

BTW, I was meaning to ask: once one starts expressing, which is the best pump and bottle to use? I really want to avoid the dreaded nipple confusion.

DG I can't speak for Foxy but I don't think she is talking about isolated incidents.

Congratulations Plusonemore and Munki

LOL at eandz's stepmum