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

Glad to hear other people are having similar but different problems - good to see I'm not alone!
lollipopmother, Charlotte sounds alot like your LO - she is an absolute angel in the day and tnds to sleep through from about midnight to 7am (I know we've been just very lucky) but at night, from about 8pm to 11pm, she just cries and cries and will not settle. Even with the rest of the day going so well, it is so hard to listen to her and not be able to comfort her - so i do understand what it means to have to listen to it all day.

Did laugh at whoever mentioned leaving LO with mum/muminlaw and having sex (imagines handing DD to mum and saying, please mind her while DP and I have a quick bunk up!)

Also, hats off to those who have newborns and other LOs. I ould love another child but the thought of managing a toddler whilst barely managing to function with a newborn is something I can't do - my admiration is yours.

Oh, and whoever said the housework is not getting done and it bothers them (mamamuffin??) - please just ignore it - it'll still be there when you get a bit more organised...at least that's what I'm teling myself!!!!

From Kellymom:

'Are the dishes going to get unhappy and depressed by not being attended to?'

yes, i hear the dishes crying through the night. the unmarinated chicken in the fridge however stops panicking as yet another day goes by and no one has been able to cook him...i hear his cackling through the night.

morning all!!....couldnt get out of the bed this morning to take DD1 to school (by foot) as dd2 kept us awake literally all nite!! as from 3am - 6am she was wide awake and smiling at my dp's funny faces . i feel dead!

sp dp took dd1 to school for me as he got his van

OK, some questions please, may have spoken too soon bout feeding well!

1. its starting to hurt as he feeds- a pulling kind of pain- incorrect latch?
2. His breath smells a bit acetone- is this ok?
3. He's doing loads of stinky trumps- OK?
4. He fed off and on in the evening, then slept 12-3am, then fed constantly til 6 ( ) then i kept him entertained by sucking on my finger for half an hour, then he fed again off and on (but mostly on) til just now (9.30!!) Oh dear...is he getting enough?

He has had 4 dirty nappies, last one at 7am, i have seen him wee a few times and otherwise seems ok.

Thanks to all great wisdom givers! Ihave midwife coming for first home check today but if past experiance is anything to go by it may not be great advice xx

leonieD E had bad colic when we brought him home my mum suggested a dairy free diet as well as infacol which seems to work, but has to be completely dairy free, ie no milk products, check ingredients of everything you eat, it takes about 48 hours to kick in but i found it helps, we only have an hour or so of the screaming instead of the all night sessions. hope this helps

Leonied

No poo for 4 hours - not unusual.

Milk supply - your supply will lag behind the demand put on it. That is normal.

Fussing at the breast - ds does this but it's getting better with time. I also find he doesn't feed as efficiently when we're laying down. DS also drips milk out of his nose when he falls asleep on the breast with a mouthful of milk.

Weight gain - they are worrying you unnecessarily. If your dd is putting weight on, is producing wet and poo nappies, and is alert then she just needs some time to do it herself. DS lost 9oz and has yet to regain his birthweight (he's 4 weeks old), but he is going in the right direction, albeit slowly!

However, if you feel things aren't ok then do speak to someone, just don't let them stress you out because your dd isn't following a line on a chart.

For co-sleeping I keep a handy supplies of towels and little baby bedsheets by the bed, when there's been a nappy leak or a leaky boob I just put a towel down and then go back to sleep and wash everything up the next day. I'm way too tired to change the sheets in the night.

Katie has gotten into the awful habit of crying and fussing every evening. It usually starts at about 7 and goes on for at least an hour until she finally falls asleep. She doesn't want to feed but fusses at the breast. I think she wants to suck herself to sleep but gets upset when lots of milk starts squirting into her mouth. I then end up carrying her around while singing oasis. Don#t look back in anger seems to be the favourite. Finally she will feed a little bit and then fall asleep.

I'm sure it's down to her being overtired and she's not napping well in the day. She'll hardly ever fall asleep in teh day unless she's in the sling and she often gets woken up by dd1 screeching or me sitting down. So, I'm thinking I might have to work on getting her to sleep on her own in her cot during the day, any tips on how would be gratefully received.

sorry i've gone awol. i finished a chicken & leek pie, had my tea, put dd1 to bed fell asleep with dd2 by 8pm and wok at 2.30 am and been bfing fairly constantly since then.

dh has taken dd1 to nursery for the 1st time since accident. have to go out later to return tens machine and get new glasses.

plusonemore get latch checked preferably at a bf support group. mws are notoriously useless with bfing problems.

google: nct bumps and babies / babycafe to find a good grp in yr area

google/ search mumsnet with: biological nurturing and baby led attachment for self help in the meantime

Had a terrible experience yesterday afternoon - all OK but DH and I have learnt a big lesson. DD wouldn't settle despite feeding, burping, nappy change, etc, so DH said - why don't you have a rest, I'll take her out in the car for a drive and see if she settles in the car seat? So he did.

Then an hour later he still wasn't back and I went into PANIC. Tried to phone but his mobile went straight to answerphone. I imagined them upside down in a ditch on a lonely country road and went hysterical. Over the next hour I kept trying his mobile every 5 mins and leaving hysterical messages. I was completely beside myself without my baby, and didn't know whether to phone the police and start a search, or what. I was sobbing hysterically and hyperventilating with panic.

It turns out that DH was having a lovely time with DD. She settled so well that he thought he would give me a rest so I could get some sleep etc, so went to visit the grandparents for the afternoon, where there is no mobile coverage. He did try to call but the phone was engaged so he thought I must be fine and left me to sleep / relax for a few hours without the "hassle" of DD bothering me!!

Well, we both learned a lot. A new mother should NOT be separated from her baby without knowing she is safe and everything is OK! We were both quite shocked at the force of my separation anxiety, and he promises to keep in touch by phone any time he takes her out in the future!! Lesson learned!

eandz and everyone else who is worried about supply, fenugreek and drying up etc. Please, please don't worry! Don't get me wrong, fenugreek is great stuff but i don't think anyone here has a need for it really or I would have said get in touch with a bfc on the phone instead.

for the first 4-6 wks supply is driven by your hormones. From about wk one when the hormones are at their peak it starts to tail off gradually till about wk 6 when supply is driven by milk removal.

In the early days frequently putting your baby to the breast, it is the sucking, not necessarily how much milk is being removed that tells your body to make more milk, hence even comfort sucking is beneficial to establishing a good supply. Of course active drinking rather than just fluttery comfort sucks give better weight gain.

So, as long as you are having a baby who is pooing and weeing well, over a course of days and weeks not just blips where things may not be text book 'right' then please don't worry about supply.

By about wk 4 give or take a week, your breasts ought to start to stop feeling engorged and you can't blame yourself to worry taht you are losing your supply but honestly, you aren't. It is a sign that your body has now become really efficient at making milk. So, by your baby feeding (removing milk) it tells your body to 'make milk' Going soft means that you will not be suffering from mastitis or blocked ducts - a good thing! It also means you stop the gawdawful leakage and can ditch the flamin breast pads.

Soft breasts make milk faster than 'full' breasts.

If you go to the MN archives and search the with the phrase 'soft breasts make milk' and put the username 'Tiktok' about 10 useful threads will come up which will address these issues brilliantly. Tiktok is a bf counsellor for the NCT and is the gem on MN, imho.

In fact, the MN archives with Tiktok as a username is a fount of knowledge.

sorry got to run and get a shower. someone is cuddling dd2 for me at the mo.

foxy i'll go look up tiktok...thanks

leonie - i dont have any leakage at all!. and never had. went to hollands and barretts - they ran out of fenugreek tabs! so back tmrw.

i spoken to my MW and i would like to give DD2 breastmilk 9/10 as she is very windy but unsure if that makes a difference to formula. Mw said that cos im not in a pattern of expressing, im actually all over the place she said it best for me to express in the morning and at night as i seem to cant express whilst my energetic dd1 is around me as i need concentration whilst expressing or otherwise if no pattern then my milk will dry up - eeek!

ive gotta collect my breast pump tmrw from the main post office as they arrived whilst i was out this afternoon.

otherwise im ok...but ive decided to go to bed at 9pm every night whilst dd2 is asleep too as i feel abit ill and snappy with no help around me!! as my mum had got a sore leg.

oh my dd2 is now 9lb 10oz - she had put on 7oz in 8 days. Even though she sleeps for England at times!!

Had a visit from MW, Robyn has put on two whole oz's, not off the hook yet she is back on Friday and if we have another weight gain then we can go to weeklt weight checks. Feeling much better, think it was all the late night cluster feeding we have been doing this weekend. On the plus we have been getting some good 6 hour chunks of sleep in the early mornings.

I think we all have to step back, look at what we hace achieved this year and give us all a bloody great big cheer. Being pregnant is hard, especially witl lo's to look after. Then when we think it can't get any worse baby finally comes along, and that is when the problems come. Sleepless nights, sore boobs and bits, hormones all over the place, and that is just you. On top of that we have dp/h feeling pushed out dc wanting attention and family giving us conflicting advice. These first few weeks are tough but we will get through them. Be strong, ignore the advice you don't want, get dp/h to do more, love your lo's and overall enjoy your baby.

Hello all. I know I'm not technically September, as Effy was born in August, but feel like I know you all so can I join?

Been off-line for the last month as our laptop died a sudden and unexpected death. Just bought a new one so back in action.

Things here are going really well [she types as Effy decides to start screaming in the background). She's a really good baby and doesn't cry much. She sleeps through most nights, waking up only once on others, and DS loves her to pieces. In fact main concern is that he will kill her with kindness as he's a little firm in his kissing and cuddling technique.

Despite not really wanting to breast feed, it's going really well and we've settled into a good 3 hour daytime, 2 hour evening rythym. I'm also mananging to express regularly so we've had a couple of kids free nights out, and we're off to a wedding on Saturday leaving he kids with lovely nursery babysitter.

I've lost all my pre-Effy baby weight and now need to lose the weight to get down to me pre-DS size (which I never managed last time round). I've also managed to fit into a pair of jeans I haven't worn for two years!

All in all going great guns here. Haven't had chance to read through thread but hope everyone is well and happy.

sunshine
i aspire to your weight loss example.

Sunshinemummy How brave to try nights out without lo and good news on weight loss. I went to slimming group yesterday and have lost 23lbs since the Monday before having Robyn(3 weeks) which works out at 35lbs overall this year. Want to lose another 10 before Christmas so no more cake for me.

Robyn gave me her first smile today and it was lovely, told dp and he then had to spend 10 minutes trying to get her to smile, typical.

sunshine please tell us your secret!!!!