January 09 - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4......and we're off

[fourlittlestockingedfeet]

Here's a brand new thread for the early party poppers!

dog havent actually got around to trying the Lily Padz yet. Got them out of the drawer on Sunday morning but didn't get time to put them on! Will definitely try to get time before I have to venture out again though.

ray I feed pretty much on demand, but anything under 2 hours just tops her up so she'll just need another short gap next time. It also seems to give her more wind, which is probably because she would mainly be getting foremilk, so I'm the same as Tink and only feed if its been 2hrs since the last one. We do have a dummy to stretch out feeds if necessary though.

Just spent an hour sorting through all DDs clothes as a lot of the gifts were still in their gift bags. OMG she has soooo many clothes now, she'll never get to wear them all! She definitely has more clothes than me.

Funny story ... I was feeding Elizabeth first thing this morning, when my eldest son came dashing into my room panicking and hyperventilating. Apparently he had a piece of paper stuck up his left nostril and said he couldn't breathe, but he was adamant he didn't shove it up there?! So, I despatched him to my make-up bag to fetch my tweezers and he promptly returned with the baby's nail clippers! Eventually he managed to get the tweezers and I had to remove the offending item! Unfortunately he had pushed it right up so I almost couldn't reach it! It was huge as well and all neatly folded up! After a long chat about why we don't put things in noses or ears etc he finally admitted he had pushed up there himself but couldn't explain why. (Although tbh what posible reason could there be?) I cannot believe it was my almost 7 year old that did this - isn't it much more 3 year old or toddler behaviour?!

hey all. well have just about survived the last week but i came close believe me! ds1 still randomly vomiting in his bed at night but dh back which is fab and bought me nice a&f pressies. he was so jet lagged yesterday that he woke at 2am when he fed ds2 and stayed up until morning doing 630am feed too. feel human again today. sleep is awesome!
ds2 is doing really well. had 8 week checks and jabs yesterday (mummy cried). he is 12lb 4oz the little fatty. still feeding at 11/2/6ish but no too horrendous and getting used to it now.
have caught up a bit and sounds like evryone else is just as mental.
oh spoke to hv re swaddling as was worried about when to stop as the ONLY way ds2 goes to sleep and can put him down awake when swaddled. she said fine until rolling too and just to be careful with overheating. i tend to use the swaddling blanket which is fairly thin and then a sheet to 'pin' him into his cot to make sure it doesn't come undone. i think he goes to sleep out of boredom as he can't move
love the sling too and a life saver in afternoons when ds1 wants to play. main problem is he falls asleep if on my chest so tend to prop him on my shoulder in high burping position so he can see. he looks so cute! hugababy website has pictures of different positions.

I just feed on demand literally. There is reason for this - we have a fairly odd lifestyle with DH's business and lots of needing to be out and about so is important that babies are flexible so I don't do routines. If I had done routines then it wouldn't be fair to be out and about at nap times and feed times and things, we tend to do most things on the fly so I have made sure DD is able to wait an extra hour for meals if she needs to and can stay up later and it not throw her sleep out. During growth spurts I have fed DS hourly/every 90minutes during the day, otherwise I found I was up every 2hours in the night too so better to fill him up during the day. When they are spurting they need time on the breast to stimulate extra supply so even if you aren't feeding often then maybe worth leaving them on for longer than you would normally.

Dog - I have a bit of an over-supply issue as have been expressing the last week which has upped my supply. I am keeping it up as DS 6wks so prob will spurt again soon and will save me having that awful day of constant feeding but means I am leaking quite a bit - will the lilypadz work on me? Seem to vaguely recall it being Tree who had some??

Oh and I have a friend whose babies are a year apart in age almost exactly. She was bf her DD (DC1)... don't think she was expecting to conceive her DS quite so soon! So wouldn't rely on bf as contraception! Plus you would ovulate 2wks before you had a period so for those 2wks you would be none the wiser that periods were coming back.

Spink - hello! Glad all ok. I do the splayed on your chest hold with DS - I wrap him quite tight though. He took to it quickly, but DD was a different story, she took a few goes before she liked the sling. Someone said your mindset makes a difference too, so if you hold them in a position you are confident with they are more likely to settle !?? Not sure how true that is!

Hi Tink

MM - interesting about getting lots of foremilk if fed more than 2hourly, I might try and string DS out longer with a dummy if his feeds go that close again. He's 3-4hourly now fortunately, finally my nipples feel ok again!

LenniEd DD definitely spends longer time latched on when having a growth spurt. She usually is over and done in 15 minutes but when she's growing she'll feed for 30-35 minutes.

I've done the same as you and increased my supply by expressing. Unfortunately my supply hasn't adjusted to the longer time she is going between feeds at night yet and I am waking up in agony, the other day I couldn't even get up to fetch the breastpump as my boobs were so heavy!

How often are you expressing? I have been getting 6oz in the morning and was getting 2-3 when I expressed off the feed that DH is giving her by bottle at night. (I've stopped doing that now though as I we intend to stick with one bottle a night and I need my supply to adjust accordingly.

I'm sure I must've expressed more with the boys though as I had a literally stuffed with little bags of milk! I think that was probably from when they were older though as could express 9-10oz in one go. I seem to have a mental block around expressing this time, can't decide on the best time or how often. Really want to get it sorted out, as its so handy to have a freezer-full if you get a cold and want to take some medicine, you fancy having a drink or (god forbid) you actually have a social life and need a babysitter to feed the baby!

Am no expert re the foremilk, just heard it somewhere and it seemed to be borne out by DD getting colicky every time she fed under 2hrs.

For those feeding lying down, interesing article:

here

MM - If I express first thing in the morning or last thing at night (anytime between 10pm and 7am seems to do it) I can get about 5-6oz in one go off one breast. I tend to express whilst feeding as I have an electric pump and if I do it while feeding I get a full bottle off one side in about 10mins so I don't feel like I'm having to find extra time to express between feeds. If I express during the day I get 3oz max off one breast while feeding. If I express at any time when not feeding from the other side I'll get about 3-4oz but takes me 20 minutes maybe.

I'm trying to express more than DH gives him to build up a bit of a store and to up my supply but like you am suffering a bit with sore boobs mainly in the morning and early evening. I'm letting him cluster feed most evenings to fill him up for the night and to stop me being too full overnight but even then I'm pretty engorged in the morning. I know women who have expressed during the night to relieve that, but can't say I'm up for any more night time interruptions than I've got already! Is meant to be excellent for your supply though but still not a chance of me doing it!! If my supply doesn't settle down soon I'll drop the evening expressing I think and just express in the morning.

Have also found that its handy to have a couple of ounces of EBM in my changing bag in a bottle if I make any trips out with them and know there might not be anywhere convenient to feed handy. Then I can hang him out half an hour or so on the EBM while I get myself and DD settled in a cafe or the car or something to give him a good feed. Plus I don't waste any precious EBM if I only take a couple of ounces.

Which pump have you got LenniEd? I have the manual Avent which has always suited me fine, but am thinking of buying the new IQ electric version as I would stand a better chance of expressing and feeding at the same time if I was able to do it more handsfree.

I used to always take EBM with me if I was going out somewhere like shopping with the boys, as being larger chested makes it difficult to feed discreetly in public. Think I may have to do that with DD as well she favours the rugby ball position which is not that easy to do when out and about.

It generally takes me about 10 minutes to get the 6ozs in the morning and the same to get 2oz last thing at night. Don't think the anaemia is helping my evening supply, or the fact that I never seem to get time to eat or drink during the day, especially since the start of half term!

missed that. what has happened to connor and elkie.
how is tree?

Yep - I have the same problems with discreet feeding. Also I look horrendous in big jumpers at the moment (big enough without extra bulk!) so can't really hide under loads of layers. Although my coat covers side view. That said I fed in the feeding room in Boots yesterday and a woman was sat in there topless feeding with everything out!

I have borrowed a Medela pump from someone I know from my other PN thread. It is fab. Another lady on my other PN thread heartily recommended the Avent Isis (i think that is what it was called??) which starts off manual and then mimics your rhythm. If you feed rugby ball esque then you should be able express off the other side fairly easily.

Qumps - Elkie was having bf issues after what sounded like a fairly difficult labour plus emcs. Baby lost more than 10% weight so they were admitted.

EPPM- kari me seems really comfy, was wearing it today for quite a while and didn't get the usual sling back ache...more importantly DS seemed very comfy too.

Those of you who are expressing, how long does your bm last in the freezer? how do you defrost it? Do you express off each boob each time or just the one you are not feeding off at the time?

hkz By coincidence I had just looked up how long you can keep EBM for. La Leche reckon 72 hours in the fridge but up to 8 days at a push (not sure I'd leave it for over the 72 hours though) 3-4 months in an upright freezer and 6 in a deep/chest freezer. They do also say however, that its obviously a case of the fresher the better to retain all its valuable immune properties, although its still nutritionally ok after being frozen or chilled.

You can defrost it to body temp by running under warm water or in a jug of water like you would with formula.

When is the best time to begin expressing? (I mean in terms of baby's age, not time of day! )

EPPM - I started last week so DS was 5 weeks. Before that I was feeding so often I wouldn't have had opportunity really and am not sure I'd have had enough to make it worthwhile.

hkz - I have expressed off the side I'm not feeding on in morning first thing. If I express between feeds then have done both sides as don't get as much. It's funny to do, feel a bit like a dairy cow, and funny to see how the let down works - if DS cries I suddenly have a full bottle of milk!

Moose- Thanks for that... DS is 4 weeks tomorrow, so i think I'll start expressing... I'm 30 in a few weeks and would love to go out for the evening and have a drink or two...would just be too depressing to stay in..so need to get expressing.

I have an electric medela pump which is great, but have not used it much this time around. It works really well, although it is really noisy and makes me feel a bit like a milking cow!

Qumps- There is an update about Elkie and Conor on the april 2007 post natal thread... it seems her and Conor are doing well and are possibly allowed out of hospital on Wednesday as Conor has gained enough weight.

DS has suddenly decided he doesn't like being put down to sleep in his crib so am just preparing for the next long session of settling him...just dug out baby whisperer and seem to remember her advice worked last time so am going to give it a go... settle him, pick him up if he cries, put him down when he's calm...repeat as necessary!

Feel exhausted today, DD is ill, I am tired after growth spurt weekend feed-a-thon and Jude's reluctance to sleep in his crib... hopefully we're in for a quiet night tonight...

evening all! I've got the avent isis and think its great, but haven't started pumping yet; I'm waiting for 6 weeks (was pumping up until July last year, so not keen to start until I have to!). Also second the pumping in the morning - if you don't do it at the same time as a feed, treat it like an extra feed and you'll get a good amount of milk eg I used to feed at 9am, then pump at 10. While its building up you may start with 2/3oz and then withing a couple of days it should go up to 6 or 7 (or once, memorably 10!). I also think the amount you get depends on how hydrated you are so if you drink a pint of water 1/2 an hour before, you'll get more out.... but its not all about amount, otherwise you'd get less milk, but more concentrated. MM lying down article interesting!

sorry, rambling, off to bed, night all.

EPPM - breastfeeding councillor from our NCT course seemed to say you shouldn't start feeding baby expressed milk until breastfeeding is "established" which she quoted as usually around 4-6 weeks.

Think i let Esme sleep too long this afternoon, she was a nightmare to settle after her bath and has already woken twice since! Uh oh.

the problem with leaving it though is getting a bf baby to take a bottle... as I found to my cost with DD.
I was going to try ebm in bottle earlier this time round, but am worried about messing up supply.
Moose- how old is your dd now? when did you begin to express?

EPPM she is 4 weeks and 4 days old and I started expressing last Saturday. I started just expressing off the side she didn't feed off in the morning and kept it in the fridge for DH to give to her for her last feed of the evening. I also expressed the feed she took by bottle for a couple of days just in case she didn't take to the bottle and I still needed to feed her at that time. It's been worth it, she's slept 5 1/2 to 6 hours after her bottle then taken a quick feed and slept 3 1/2 to 4 more hours every night so far.

I was advised with DS1 to get him to take a bottle sometime between 3 and 6 weeks if I was going to want him to accept bottles. Have introduced all three of mine to a bottle at around 4 weeks and had no confusion or rejection problems with any of them.

According to what I read today expressing as well as breastfeeding can only increase your supply, as emptying the breast gives your body the signal to produce more milk.

Thanks mm
I have a feeling DS is likely to manage a bottle more easily as he has managed a dummy, whereas dd never did.
(got to get through that colic screaming somehow!)

DD is 10 weeks today and i'm only pumping... be back...dd needs dinner

chefswife- is that more due to prematurity than personal choice though?

Increasing my supply is what I'm worried about really- he needs more hindmilk, less foremilk I think.

I need your advice, lovelies, about the mastitis - things seemed to get much better, I shifted the fever and the nasty red patch on my boob. But today the (same) boob is really sore. There isn't a clear patch of redness and I can't find any lumps, just the whole area under the nipple is very tender. i'm on my last day of antibiotics. would you go and see your gp again, or wait & see what happens? we're in to see the GP for our 6 week check next tues..