Nov 2008 - sleepless nights and exploding poo, dear oh dear now what do we do??

[Dozymare]

Sorry that is soooo crap but we needed a new thread!!!!!

I think I have broken my little toe I knicked the corner of the sofa really hard andnow it is purple, Just when I had decided to treat myself to some shiny heels for xmas - damn it

hi daisy

He did have a little bit of formula a week or so ago. He didn't like the bottle so I never tried again but last night i was feeling desparate!! I did wonder whether he woke up with a tummy ache - he had been feeding from me for hours then he gobbled down the formula - I wondered if he took it too quick he never got the 'full tummy' cue to stop and got over full. He wasn't bothered about feeding in the night either (although he stayed awake from 4) and didn't want to lie on his back so got cuddled into mine and dh's tummys - tummy to tummy. I couldn't figure out why he would be hot if he had tummy ache though?

My boobs are still sore but I know that I have to keep going apparently it gets easier??? I haven't had blocked ducts since the two episodes a little while ago (God the days really do blurr into each other don't they?) Perhaps it is latch but when I look at him when he is feeding his mouth is wide open, nose flat on ma boob and chin squashed and I hear him gulping the milk down. I do have to take him off from time to time- he gets sleepy and pulls off a bit so he's on the end of my nipple (owowowowo)

Thanks for asking

oops hit post by mistake

hello again mrsmattie, and congratulations!

HM2J I would love to homeschool, personally. Having worked a lot in education it sounds like fun. But DS wants to go where his buddies are, so didn't get the choice. I'm glad, really. I was bullied a lot right through my schooling, so I'm pleased DS seems to be enjoying some popularity, he's taking after hie dad in that respect.

ooh barbs sorry you are still sore. It will get easier

Hi MrsMattie

I'm also contending with a toddler (18mo) and a newborn, so you have my empathy. Mind you, I think DD has forgotten that there was ever not a baby already and she is generally pretty good now, after our initial teething troubles. The older ones will still remember when they had mum all to themselves.

Pinkee, you'll get back into the groove soon I'm sure. I'm with you on the socialising though. When DH was working away I missed out on lots of nights out with friends due to lack of babysitter. It's tough sometimes.

Well, my ten minute catch up has stretched to nearly an hour ....better get the washing up done before the school run.

later lovelies

Hi MrsMattie - congratulations!

Hi Pinkyminkee

jinglebuzz Youch! Can you get to casualty? That sounds so painful

Oh - think my lo is stirring. Oh well - got an hour, had nice chat with yous, ate naughty sandwich from shop and naughty coke and choc, washed up so cannot complain!

quickly before I go, I find that DS has to be at an angle such that his nose is free of my boobs, itherwise I get sore. try adjusting his positioning a wee bit; either further round towards your side or the other way and see what happens.

It's quite common to get a wee bit sore again as they grow as one keeps their body in the position you have been used to, but of course the baby is getting longer so needs a wee adjustment to keep thier mouth where it needs to be...if that makes any sense.

Thanks daisy - I'll have a little experiment with positioning!

Pinkee - it's impossible not to do anything when your pets are ill. My friend thought we were nuts!! She is one of the family and me and dh are soft - we brought her home from the vets last weds and thought she was going to die in the night but she perked up and is almost back to her old self again!! How lovely that you will be getting kittens have never had a kitten - our cats have always been waifs and strays!
rE: body - am still in maternity jeans - have fat arse and thighs. Feel like complete mess! crappy hair, no makeup, leaky boobs! gah!

oh big me me me post coming up.

wel, i suspect that sophie has eczema. her milk spots are very dry rough and scaley and remind me of dd1 skin at a similar age but this time they worse. saw the HV today who said if the spots dont start to calm down in the next week/over xmas new year, then see the dermo at my local gp surgery. usually she wouldnt worry but due to all my girls having eczema and dh also having it, she says to keep a close eye. atm have been told to put nothing on it, as sophie is so young and it covers all of her poor little face, she may rub the cream into her eyes.

i do feel guilty, as i followed the new advice this time of NOT avoiding nuts in pregnancy and breastfeeding. so far none of my girls have a nut allergy, but am worrying a bit this time due to the severeity of sophies skin right now. its so red and angry looking, one cheek is completely covered in spots/scales/flakey skin.

if it is eczema then will be contacting the team at st thomas's for the LEAP programme, to see if there is a link between peanut allergies and eczema.

Also, have been asked to speak to new mums.mums to be tomorrow night about breastfeeding. i am v pro-breastfeeding, and so far this time, am not having any problems. but its not without differculties especially in the early days as we all know. am worried i will be too negative and put people off. has anyone done this and got any good advice to pass onto me/the other mums?

gotta go, sophie has woken up. so will NAK and read the other posts now

Misdee I took Will to drs today and she told me that he has the beginnings of eczema - he has cradle cap and has dry flaky skin on his face. I didn't eat any nuts at any time as I don't like them so if he has eczema it will be just bad luck I think. Therefore, I think what I am trying to say is it probavly isn't anything to do with you eating nuts as I didn't and it looks like Wills got it x

misdee, sorry to hear about sophie's skin . Hopefully it'll settle down a bit or that you get a quick referral to a dermatologist.

Both of mine have been bad when little but grew out of it thankfully; although DD has the odd flare up every now and again. DS2 has the clearest skin of all of them so far, he hasn't really had any milk spots, but he does have some teeny tiny pimply looking spots around his ears which is concerning me as it looks just like the DH rash that I get from eating gluten, and I have lapsed quite a bit since my pregnancy (bread and bread products are just too convenient when tired and hungry ). I wonder if gluten proteins can be transferred through milk in the same way that milk proteins are?

Hello all . Haven't had a chance to post due to the non-stop nature of a nearly 3 year old and a 10 week old premmie... but just a quick hello to everyone.

daisy sorry you are feeling a bit rubbish. The way you describe your depression is exactly how i experienced my pnd after ds1 so i really feel for you. I have felt like that again this time but thankfully just briefly on and off (so far at least).Ihave been really mindful to keep talking this time (especially about my premature birth etc and especially to dh about my fears etc) as i really feel i didn't last time and that may have contributed to the pnd. Not sure i have made much sense other than to say keep talking if you can (even just here on mn)

dozy i hope you have given yourself space to talk too, really really important i reckon, after your bf experience. Am so jealous of all the meet ups at yours but you are just that little bit too far away from me.

jinglebuzz ouch!!! toes are excrutiating!

misdee and barbareeba was also at hv this morning... ds2 also has nasty dry skin/cradle cap all around his eyes/eyebrows, poor soul. misdee so sorry about poor sophie's skin Also re; breastfeeding talk - I just wish that someone had been more honest with me at the bf workshops/talks i went to before ds1... there was never any mention of how incredibly hard/painful/draining it is at the beginning and although i managed to bf ds1 for a long time and again am so far successfully bf ds2 i think it would have been better to have had more realisyic expectations beforehand. Also loads of info on where to go for support for bf issues after

barbs how worrying no ideas i am afraid but hope all will be well now

hello and welcome mrsmattie i think i remember you from a pregnancy moan thread way back...seem to remember us having some crazy similarities but that is as much as my sleep deprived brain can recall

Aaaaggh, I am so behind on all things christmas. Have so much shopping to do and so little time.

Rheumatologist tomorrow morning for me to have my psoriatic arthritis confrimed

hi zonedout.....good luck tomorrow. Waht are your symptoms? and how is it managed? sounds pretty horrible.

misdee, meant to say, try starting a thread in feed the world, but I see there is one already in active convos which I assume is you . From my POV, I would tell them to research as much as possible and be aware of the initial problems beforehand, as forewarned is forearmed. I would also tell them to get as much local support as possible and to have the numbers of the BF helplines with them when they go into hospital and to find out beforehand the name and extension for the hospital's infant feeding co-ordinator.

Hi all! Quick post as LO is about to wake again by the noises she's making.

HM2J I also struggle getting Plumski to nap in daytime in moses (she always goes to sleep in buggy when out for daily walk) but bizzarely found yesterday that starting the hoover in the same room as her sent her off to sleep! Worth a try?

Misdee you shouldn't beat yourself up about the nuts. If none of your other DD's have had any allergies then you would be forgiven in assuming that you were safe. And it is probably completely unrelated anyhow.

Hello Mrs.Mattie and congrats on arrival of your new LO!

Lacks and Dozy you are feeling down. You both have an awful lot on your plates right now, and are allowed to feel off. The short days and cold weather don't help either. Sometimes I just burst into tears looking at our LO. I feel overwhelmed with love/responsibility/high hopes etc.

After a great evening, had awful night. I expressed loads all day, and gave DH a 5 fluid ounce bottle for her 10:30pm-ish feed. He came back from the nursery literally 5 mins later saying she had finished it - I was in shock...turns out the teat lid wasn't screwed on properly, and most of the milk was all over her little body - she was absolutely saturated and screaming her head off poor thing. Was so upset as was terrified she was going to catch a chill or something worse. Plus annoyed that all that milk had gone to waste. Cross with DH but tried not to show it - he is really trying and does lots with her.
Poor little girl. She screamed so much, I couldn't stop crying. After drying and changing her asap, she spent the night smelling of sour milk and we bathed her again this morning. Of course she was also hungry and luckily I had enough breast milk left for her. But she was unsettled all night. Still, forced myself to get up at 7am (ish) - Dozy - am trying to get into a good habit!!

However, today, when she cries, I've noticed she sounds like she has a really sore throat. No other signs of a cold, but I'm concerned. Could she simply have a sore throat from so much prolonged screaming? Our HV is coming tomorrow for first visit, so i guess she can check her over?

DH has gone out for a work lunch at Soho House, so will no doubt be useless fatigued ce soir...

hello to everyone else.

Anyone seen Sparkle recently? Has she changed her name and I'm being dim?

margot, there's nothing worse than spilled breastmilk...and whoever coined the phrase "there's no use crying over spilt milk" obviously never spent all day scrimping enough breastmilk together for a decent feed!

also.....your supply should be getting pretty well established now and it's unlikely that you'll run out/not have enough as plumski should be pretty adept at stimulating your let down by this time

Thanks Lacks...it is frustrating when you've been pumping like billy-o...

Hi peeps. Barbs, just a quickie on positioning...breastfeeding lady in hospital (Mikaela) helped me with a top tip (even tho' I bf'd my ds1 for 11 mths, I still hadn't quite got it right!!). Aim your nipple at the top/back of the roof of their mouth, not the back. It really made a difference to me (I was aiming in the middle) and I haven't been sore at all this time. May help anyway. Glad cat is better.

margot, so sorry about the spilt milk...I doubt she got a cold from it. My babies puke all the time over themselves and I often don't notice for ages and they're freezing, poor mites. She may have a cold, a lot of babies, both mine have now and ds2 has a sticky eye as well. If she gets snotty, buy saline nasal drops and use liberally, keeps everything wet and running instead of sticky and blocked.

I am really tired today. I have had to dump my afternoon sleep for the past week. Babies are sleeping a bit better, but weirdly enough it's made me feel more tired. I am 11stone still. I was 10 before pg . Dh failed his exam today, I'm a bit gutted cos had to do a lot more for babies while he's been hogging computer in front of TV/ revising for past 6 weeks. I wouldn't have resented it if he's passed. Oh well.

Now to catch up on all other pages!

Merri thanks for advice on colds. Her breath smells off aswell so I think she may be coming down with something.

P.S. Snap - I am normally 10 stone and am currently 11. The "miracle" weight loss of week 1 post-birth has come to an abrupt end . But I am eating like a horse.

Margot I wish I was eating like a horse, it would be healthier than what I am eating . I have discovered calorific cereal bars. Mmmmmmmmm. I am eating about 2 of my 5 a day fruit and veg! I seem to be making up for that in plain chocolate digestives and hob nobs. I was on the 10/10 threads for a while about 18months ago...(I never made 10 but was on 8-9 frequently and I felt fab, but it is hard work). Must try and get back to it. I'm a bit rubbish at taking care of myself though.

Barbs, I really love the baah humbug name, it's brilliant! It's vouchers all the way for mine and dh's family...or maybe those charity cows etc. I got ds1 a Lazytown CD and I know he will not care about anything else he may get!

Daisy, I know EXACTLY what you mean about the detached feeling and then detaching further. I was like that for nearly all of pg, and for the first 2 years of ds's life (mostly worse). I have felt better than usual since babies were born but thanks for reminding me of that feeling cos the anti-d's take 6 weeks to work, so need to start as soon as I spot the problem rather than later. Not sure how they work with bfing though...will ask doc if/ when I ever get a postnatal check.

Welcome mrsmattie. What is your dd's name?

Hope obs is fine too. Did she have any family plans?

misdee, sorry meant to say sorry about your dd. It's really hard for them to be sore so young. I have noticed that my ds gets more milk spots after he's had a bath with e45 in it, so he is only having one every ten days or so and his skin is lovely again. Not sure if this is due to lack of baths or fluke.

Evening all

Merry sorry for your DH - I bet he is gutted aswell if he put in a lot of hard work to pass the exam. What is the 10/10 club?? Have seen the threads but not ventured on to them? How do you get to 10???

Margot Sparkles is still here but is not posting very often- I think R is a nocturnal baby plus she has DS1 during the day to look after (she has changed her name to a Christmas one but it still has Sparkles in it). Hope Plumski isn't coming down with anything - I am sure, even if she is, it won't be because of the spilt milk. I think you did very well not shouting at your DH - I know I would have

Daisy and Dozy - sorry you are feeling low and I really hope for both of you that it is not PND . You are both amazing having 3 children - 2 is definitely my limit so I am full of admiration for you both (and Pinky of course!)

Welcome MrsMattie I remember you from the AN thread as I think our due dates were quite similar. Iirc from other threads, you had an elective cs didn't you? How are you finding the recovery? Mine definitely seems to be taking longer this time round for some reason.

Buzz hope your toe is not hurting you too much - ouch for you!! Lol at DS1 sitting with his foot on J's head - my DS1 is obsessed with putting his hands in the moses basket doing god knows what - he would happily stand there for hours with his hands in. I try not to worry about it unless Sam starts shrieking!!

Had a good day at the Trafford Centre although we were only there for 4 hours and 1 hour of that was having lunch - I was completely knackered towards the end so we came home although we had got most of the shopping done. Sam slept the entire time (no surprise there!!)

Busy day tomorrow aswell - HV coming round to do a mood assessment questionnaire (whatever one of those is!), then I am meeting my mum and sis for lunch and then going onto work to show Sam off - poor baby is going to be mauled, prodded and passed around all day!

Also, has anyone else's AF come back yet?? Just wondered as I can't remember how long it took last time but I have got a splitting headache which is exactly the same headache that I always used to get just before my AF starts - is 4 weeks too soon??

HM2J and Monkey I thought it was only M that didn't like his moses basket in the day - I thought he was a proper wierdo as he sleeps fine in it at night! I have nothing fixable to suggest - have been reading The Baby Whisperer in addition to GF, more on that in a mo.

DM and Daisy so sorry to hear you have both been feeling down - I thought you two sounded like the most "together" ladies on here so you have either been hiding it well or are super-women! I hope you have better days/moments ahead. My HV said to me that PND is when you are down all the time not when you have ups and downs. I have some awful moments - last night M wouldn't settle at all and after 2 hours of trying (as he was def tired) I said to him "I'm going to throw you on the floor in a minute" under my breathe . DH was in the room and wasn't impressed. (Just to reassure you although I feel like I could, I never would!)

Monkey my 10 day/2 stone weight loss has also come to a very slow trickle and I want to lose another stone - the cakes and biscuits probably aren't helping!

Gotta go as DH is nagging me to watch a film with him while M is in bed - and suppose that would be nice but I will catch up again later when I've paid my other man some attention. Hope everyone has a good evening! x

merry, if you do need ADs, I am taking sertraline and did so when BFing DD as well. It's the drug of choice at the mother and baby unit I'm under the care of. Some ADs are OK with BFing, inspite of what some HCPs would have you believe, and the concensus among the BFing charities is that it's better for mum and baby to continue BFing on ADs than to switch to formula as this might have a further detrimental effect on mum's mental health.

Information can be found here and here.

I managed to keep DS2 awake for a few hours this afternoon (Yay!), by letting him kick on the mat for a while and then giving him a big bath (with DD, it was really funny she was helping me by pouring water over him). He then fed for nearly half an hour and is snoozing gently in his carrycot.....now if we can only keep up this for the rest of the night!!

choco, wise words from your HV about PND. If I had sought help sooner,I might not have been as ill as I did get.

daisy thanks for the good wishes for tomorrow . Basically, i have suffered from psoriasis for most of my life. A small percentage of psoriasis sufferers go on to develop psoriatic arthritis. I also suffer with very bad nail bed psoriasis, which is a huge factor in going on to develop pa.(Mmm, how attractive do i sound?!!?) Like most auto immune diseases, my psoriasis clears when i am pregnant and then flares out of control after giving birth. This time some of my joints have also become swollen, red and painful. Gp diagnosed arthritis. My brother happens to be a rheumatologist (but can't treat me for ethical reasons)and, although he hasn't seen it, thinks from my description it is psoriatic arthritis. I think the treatment is pretty nasty (def no bf/pregnancy etc) as is the diseases' potential (can affect intrernal organs). Combined with my likely osteoporosis (most women in my close family, including my mum, are sufferers) i feel rather when i think about my 2 ds's and the future.

btw, I really admire and appreciate all of your bf knowledge... wish i had found you when bf ds1 (thrush/mastitis/non-stop round the clock feedin for months/poor weight gain/allergies...)He is a lovely,healthy almost 3 yeaer old now though

Re; weight loss...i also have a stone (or just over) to lose but can't quite see it going anywhere with the quantities of chocolate i am eating on a daily basis