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

Hi Quick question does anyone elses baby seem to cry whenever they are awake?
My dd only seems to be happy if she is being carried or held and cries if we put her in her baby swing, bouncy chair or lay her on a mat? I am really worried that my ds (3) will start to resent her for all the crying and at the moment he is so good with her but it is obvious she is getting on his nerves. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I could do to try to keep her happy when I put her down awake to play with ds?

meglet I would read a book or the paper but don't want to turn the light on in our room in case dh wakes and don't want to go downstairs either.

Hey ofsted - yes my baby seems to be going through a grizzly phase. He snuffles and cries if we put him down - unless he's in a very deep sleep (which can be brought on by a car journey or buggy ride).

workstostaysane thank you! and many congratulations to you and your amazing home birth!!

Alfredo was born during that massive thunder and lightening storm

More progress on my part today. Alfredo and I drove to the pub to meet my NCT ladies for lunch. And I breastfed in public without DH's help. Then after lunch DH said he was in another pub up the road so we drove there to meet him. My first drive since I was pregnant. Feel like I've really accomplished something today!

Alfredo still waking hourly to every two hours through the night. But DH took him downstairs at 6pm after a feed so I could get 3 hours uninterrupted sleep. Bliss!

deb DP is temporarily sleeping on the sofa bed downstairs so I can feed / settle DD in the night. I feel a bit mean but as he is pretty useless in the night and his snoring keeps me awake then it makes sense for him to have decent night sleep downstairs. TBH I think I sleep better without him, even with a crying baby in the room. He's not too bothered though, I think he's just happy we can have sex again soon .

I'm struggling with the feeding a bit at the moment. Thought it was going well but it's still hurting and is starting to get me down. When Andrew latches on I'm still getting the toe curling pain for the first few sucks of most feeds and then usually most of the pain goes away but sometimes, esp in the middle of the night he won't stay latched on properly and I'm constantly getting him off and trying to get him back on properly. Think the feeding in the dark isn't helping at night.
I'm sure he's latching on properly as he does everything the 'instructions' in all the leaflets i've got say he should be doing but it still hurts. Also midwife was happy with his latch when I last saw her but that was over a week ago. Then he sometimes doesn't keep his mouth open wide enough and I have to get him to open it again which sometimes he just refuses to do.
My nipples aren't cracked or bleeding but feel like they are on fire at the start of a feed and then after he's finished feeding they get sore again. Both nipples feel like they are burning with a really horrible sharp pain. This lasts for a while once he's stopped then sometimes comes back again just before he's due to be fed again.
It makes it difficult to hold him upright against me as it hurts like hell when he kicks me as he wriggles about.
Is this normal? He's not quite 3 weeks old, will it just get better soon assuming his latch is fine?

Also, he only put on 3oz of weight in a week, hv didn't seem concerned but I thought they were meant to put on more than that.

And should he be emptying one side completly before going on the 2nd side in a feed? At the moment I let him feed on one side until he stops (usually about 20-30 mins) and then give him the other side which he's have between 5 and 15 mins on.

And how do I know if he's got to the hind milk?

Sorry lots of moans and questions, hope someone can help. Maybe I should put this in the breast feeding bit rather than here.

Maybe I should just be happy that he only feeds once in the night and settles fairly well and sleeps quite well during the day.

Debithescot - I'm sure this is not the case, but could you have thrush? Are your nipples sort of shiny?? Thrush would cause them to be sore.

Deb

the burning at the start and at the end of feeds sounds like a thrush infection in your breasts which mean you and baby will need treatment.

Phone a helpline to confirm what I am telling you. The ABM is open till 10:30 tonight. If she agrees that it sounds like thrush, I can provide some good links to take to a weekend surgery to arm yourself with info in case you bump into a doctor with less than adequate bf knowledge.

Don't worry about the foremilk/hindmilk thing. Too much is made of it by HCPs and they end up worrying parents unduly. How much he is feeding sounds fine and what you are doing sounds fine. As long as his weight is going up instead of down, then don't worry. What was his birth weight and what does he weigh now?

There you go and Foxy is the expert. Do as she says and get it treated properly as it could last a while

Thank you. I'll phone tomorrow as I don't have the energy to do it now and am just about to get ready for bed and feed. Don't think I'd be able to see a doc till Monday anyway.

He was 8lb 9 1/2oz when born and was 8lb 6oz on Wed when he was 2 weeks and 2 days. He did lose a fair bit at start, almost 10%

just done a quick google and I think you could be right about the thrush. Everything in this bit fronm a website is spot on:

Symptoms in the mother include severe stinging, burning pain, which may be on the surface of the nipples, or may be felt deep inside the breast. Pain often continues throughout the feeding and in between feedings -- especially immediately after. Nipple pain caused by incorrect positioning and latch on rarely hurts except when the baby is nursing. Sometimes sharp, shooting pain radiates from the nipple into the breast or into the back or arm.

Nipples are sensitive to light touch, so it may hurt to have clothes rubbing against them, and it may be very painful to take a shower and have the hot water spray touch the breast. Mothers describe the pain as "liquid fire", "'hot needles", "razor blades", "a piece of glass stuck in my nipple", etc. I've heard many mothers say that they would rather go through labor again than have yeast on their nipples or in their milk ducts, which gives you an idea of just how painful this condition is.

There are a few threads around about Thrush at the mo.

The recommended drug is Flucanazole (not officially licensed for BF so you need to get the leaflet from Foxy to convince your doctor to give you the CORRECT dose). I did a candida diet (the drugs didn't work) and some people are recommending Grape seed extract?? (or soemthing like that).

Good Luck!!

Reassured to hear I'm not the only one with a nocturnal baby... I really shouldn't have made that long post last night with sleeping baby on my lap, as he then grouched his way through the next five hours. Luckily we've had people stay each night willing to do an odd bit of babyjiggling, so at 4am I could hand over a fed baby for a guaranteed 90 min kip and some sanity-relief. Just me tonight though.

I left the house today! Went to chemist and corner shop - excitement!! A got taken out by MrNC in a carrier we were given, but it's not very good, so I don't think he's going far until our pushchair is delivered. (Maclaren XT - turns out it's the same as the XLR only no footmuff which is why it's lighter, and better colours).

Now to actually follow that 'sleep when your baby sleeps' advice...

Morning guys

Just popping in to say hello. I really was hoping to be on here with you all by now. You all seem so happy with your little ones, though its a bit of a reality check hearing about all the sleepless nights.
Enjoy your babies, my turn next please. I ll keep you posted.
Sending big hugs xx

Ofsted, for the first three weeks, Katie would cry as soon as she was put down, I simply held her constantly and dd1 who is 3 didn't mind but her dad has made a great effort spending lots of time with her.
I can really recommend getting a stretchy tie on wrap to carry the baby in. It's comfier than a regular sling and keeps the baby very close to your body so you can get on with things while baby is happy being near you and being held.

have just phoned the helpline and spoke to a helpful lady who said that she thinks it probably isn't thrush as I don't have any reason to have got it- haven't had it recently, didn't have antibiotics etc. Se asked me about his latch and what my nipples are like when he comes off and thinks he probably isn't latched on quite right and has suggested I try leaning back rather than sitting upright and moving him over slightly so that he has to stretch a bit more to get the nipple and his chin is denting my breast.
She thinks the pain I'm getting afterwards is probably the blood rushing back into the nipples after he has stopped the circulation flowing properly during the feed. She said that can feel very much like the thrush symptoms.
So she has suggested giving it another couple of days with an improved latch and if the pain is worse or any other symptoms appear to then get it checked to see if it is thrush.

I got a good sleep last night and then when Andrew went back to sleep after his 6.30am feed I did too and we then both woke at 9.30 so I feel a bit better today anyway.

in that case, look at these 3 links: baby led attachment

and this leaflet
and this article about it may be useful.

thrush is horrible so I kinda hope it is a latch thing that can be more easily solved.

Deb - I really hope it isn't thrush too. Did you look to see if your nipples were sort of shiny, when I had it that was a tell-tale sign

thanks foxy they all look useful, I like the 2nd one!
I think I'll try see if he likes being more up and down than across me.

ninja they are a bit shiny but not really shiny, could just be because he's been putting more pressure on them than he's meant to though.

Hi everyone, haven't had much time to catch up with you all, as we have had guests to look after. Just wanted to reassure Deb I had a very similar propblem with BF'ing, although maybe not so bad as you are going through - my feet actually started to become sore as I was curling my toes so much at the start of each feed!! It was only on the left side though...It has now cleared up though, it lasted maybe a week or so? (all the days are blurring into one now!) but it did get better, perhaps Sam and I just got better at fitting together somehow...so 'm sure it will pass for you as well.

Unfortunatley we had a terrible night last night too, Sams' snuffling away with a stuffy nose which kept him awake, he's been very unsettled so I'm worn out (more worn out) today and DH's daughter is flying over today for a few days - so that will be me back in the kitchen cooking & making up beds etc argh!

Deb I have that similar toe curling needle pain esp at first latch. I feel reassured by the feedback you have that it is hopefully not thrush - no-one wants that, do they? Mine seems to have got more prolonged as my breasts have become harder and fuller, and was better after I expressed yesterday. Definitely going to do some more expressing today.

And here's some feedback that might hopefully help someone out there get a better night's sleep. Last night was a real improvement! There were three things we did differently:
(1) Forced her to feed more during the day, even though she didn't even wake up properly for this;
(2) Expressed milk so that DH could do one of the night feeds;
(3) Most brilliant of all: we put the moses basket ON THE BED. We put it between us at the foot of the bed so she was facing us. Just being a little bit closer and feeling us move must have helped, and I didn't have the staying awake fretting worries I had when I was holding her in bed to help her sleep - after all, she can't come to harm in the basket. I would definitely suggest this as something to try if like me you have been trying to find a compromise solution to "baby wants to be close at night, but I am afraid to fall asleep if we are co-sleeping".

Hope this is useful for someone.