jan 09; dream feeds, sod mummy's needs, shes on her knees...the one where it all starts to get better (hopefully)!

[fourlittlefeet]

here we are; a bit early, but one more task done. tick

Haven't had time to catch up on thread, as just got in from long day in London town but wanted to share 2 things:

1. At 5pm we met a couple of OH's friends in an All Bar One, had just sat down with drinks when one of the bartenders came over and said no babies allowed! We kicked up a fuss and were allowed to finish our drinks. I could understand if it had been 10pm at night and full of drunk people, but it was a quiet time and we were sat right at the back. Grrrr...

1. If you are ever shopping on Oxford St, then John Lewis has a lovely 'parents room' with changing mats, bottle warmers, and seats for feeding - even magazines to read! I have always loved JL but this has sealed the deal for me...

Elkie- Mix feeding at every feed sounds hard work. If he has wet nappies/ poos and seems to be happy and thriving then maybe they will say its ok and he doesn't need formula as all babies must gain weight at different weights... I have no idea really, but that seems logical to me. When have you got to go back to the hospital?

DS really really windy at the moment and really bobbing on and off the breast when I am feeding him... guess that is because of wind, but making feeding a bit of a nightmare.He's not having a proper feed each time so is hungry every two hours...but can't get him to stay on the breast. My letdown is quite fast/strong, so don't know if that has anything to do with it. Am sticking to a pretty bland diet, not much dairy, so off to scour (sp?) Mumsnet talk boards to f ind osme answers..

MissJ- I got chucked out of a pub the other week because babies weren't allowed after six...which I thought was kind of fair enough, made me feel like a bad mum but not for long! It is essential for sanity and a social life to find pubs that allow babies!

Have caught up a bit now... I can second the advice of suckling to increase supply - there was a point a few weeks back where LO was obviously really hungry and I just let him go for it on my nipples - got a bit sore and he sometimes seemed annoyed that there was not much there, but after a day or two we were back on track.

Maybe some babies are just more efficient feeders - my LO seems to have no regular pattern of feeding during the day, he just likes lots of it! I nearly always feed both sides; I find that when he's finished one, if I wind him and then change his nappy and offer the other side, he will almost always have a good go on that side, although not empty it - then I start again with that side next time.

I suppose I am lucky in that because he is my first, I don't really have anything else to do that's more important than just feeding him - so he can afford to take his own sweet time. I am sure that if I had another baby, it would be a different story!

Will be interested to hear what you find out hkz as sometimes my LO does the same thing, bobbing on and off and wriggling around. I usually get up and walk around holding him upright for a bit until he calms down.

MissJ- If you are interested, after an hour of extensive research I have come to the conclusion that the bobbing is either:
a) due to wind, in which case just take him off and wind him

or

b) (Which I think is my case) You have a fast let down which causes the baby to panic a bit and bob on and off the breast, sputter and take in air...which in turn causes wind and means he doesn't get a full feed so is hungry a few hours later rather than lasting three or four hours between feeds.
To counter act this apparently you can try using a nipple shield at the start of the feed and as the milk flow slows down during the feed take it off or hope your baby gets used to a fast flow.

or
c) I have eaten something which makes my breast milk taste different or done too much exercise so my milk tastes funny.

I still don't know what makes the let down fast, because its not always fast. Will give the shield a go and see if it makes a difference.

MissJ- Two links to kellymom here and here

hkz - will be reading those. I also have the bobbing thing and know I have fast letdown as DS gags quite often esp on right side. Interesting about the not lasting between feeds as I feed 2 hourly during the afternoon - I thought he was just tanking up for the night, but perhaps not. Thank you

at the pediatrician, DD rolled over and today she brought her toy to her mouth to chew it! ah, the milestones.

Thanks for the links Hkz, I am now pretty sure that forceful letdown is the problem, especially as he is making the 'clicking' sounds mentioned too. And like you LenniEd I am feeding easily every 2 hours, sometimes more.

So will try out some of the suggestions, there's some good advice about feeding positions.

LO wouldn't settle last night, obviously had some bad wind as he was rolling his legs up and crying every time we tried to lay him down. Finally got him down about 9.30pm and he slept until 6am so a good night achieved eventually! Had to wake him up to feed again though, as boobs were aching!

Sounds like violet is doing well chefswife!

about bfeeding, i have a slow let down and so no probs about LO choking on the milk. basically, first thing in the morning, my boobs have a lot of milk and so LO has a full feed, then i express milk. i only have enough milk to give LO his first 2 feeds of the day. the other 2 feeds are SMA as my milk just isnt enough. better than none the doc says.

another lovely day here today! hope everyone go out and enjoy the day.

Tried feeding in a reclining position which helped a bit, but just tried with a nipple shield and he had a really good long feed and no wind! Hooray!

What does bright green poo mean with seeds in? Was quite an amaazing colour, ds had been storing it up for a few days!

Hope y'all enjoy the sunshine, we are off out to road test the buggy board...

ope everyone has a nice sat

Hi all. Am batting the mother of all bad moods, its lasted a week. Am determined to enjoy today.

I have an..er...enthusiastic...let down, when I feel the milk comein, I take out my boob - giggle as the milk sprays all over, and when the fountain show is over [about 20 secs] we carry on. There can be gaging though.

H fed every 2 hours last night, and refused to be put down the rest. Putting it down to the jabs, as it's FAR too like the 1st month to be dealt with!

Buggy board was a reounding success.... so am going to seell the phil and teds sport and stick with my battered old maclaren.. if anyone is interested in the p and t with doubles kit and a ton of accessories let me know!....

Thanks dog, it just takes up so much room in our flat! But I think you are probably right, I was just getting over excited about having more space!

hkz - green poo can mean the little one has been drinking too much fore milk, something to do with the high levels of lactose and lower fat content than the hind milk. Having too much fore milk also make your baby more windy. Apparently it is more common with mothers who have a lot of milk and forceful let down..
if it is just a one off I wouldn't worry, but if it happens a lot then you can do a few things to sort it out.
Who knew bfing could be so complicated?!

we got a buggy board which we were going to use didnt fit our quinny glad not using now as

1. dont go out that much with both of them as dd1 @ nursery
2. think i would trip over it and bang feet on it

Violet is doing great missjackson. i think she is having a growth spirt. she's been up in the middle of the night feeding and extra feed in the day. today i noticed she is bigger. it happens overnight. they do grow fast.

hkz we have green seeds sometimes too! Glad to hear the nipple shield went well, I will try too. Hard to sterilise though when you are out and about.

Happy Mothers' Day to us!

Had lovely card this morning with my tea in bed, made me cry!

Yesterday day from hell - spent 4 hours in Car Giant buying a CRV, then 5 hours on M4 getting home! Lots of roadworks. But glad to be home and love the car!

Happy Mothers Day.

Got 2 cards today instead of one. Fab.

Extra especial day to the first mothers day ladies. Enjoy! Hope you are ruined. x

Yes, Happy Mother's Day everyone. Hope first, second, third and seventh timers are being spoiled.

I never thought I'd cry getting a card with daffodils made of scrunched up tissue

Evening all!

Happy Mother's Day!

Had a lovely day in not-so-sunny Lancashire yesterday. Beach was freezing and windy but kids and dogs had a whale of a time. They were all really well behaved for the whole day and for once we managed a day out with no arguments. In fact the only problem was that halfway up the M6 I realised I'd forgotten the Moby so we had to go to Tesco Extra to try and buy a baby carrier to carry DD on the beach. The only one they had was a Tomy thing which was so over-engineered it was untrue. It took longer to work out how to get it on and put DD in it than it did to walk on the beach! DD also really hated being in it despite being happy enough in the Baby Bjorn and Moby.

Went to visit the house we lived in when DS1 was born and drove around the local area for nostalgia's sake. Felt a bit sad but DH and I came to the realisation that we moved at the right time, but not in the right way and now we need to try and think about what we loved about living up there and try to incorporate it into our life down here. (Still intend to retire up there one day though.)

We didn't get home until 1.30 am with the result that we are all zombies today!

The boys brought me breakfast in bed this morning and gave me a beautiful card each that they had made at school and DS2 wrote "I love my Mummy Love from DS2" all by himself which made me so proud as he could barely form a letter less than three weeks ago.

My beautiful necklace with their names on arrived in time as well, despite the lady that makes them saying there was no way she could get it done in time.

After that the day got away from us and we ended up rushing to get round to my Mum's in time for a Sunday meal which was being cooked by my little sister but was 2 hours late so that the boys ended up in bed really late again - dreading tomorrow already!

Btw, Dog glad I could help, just wanted you to know I understand and that you aren't alone.

Awww at your sons Moose.

We had a lovely day out yesterday too, but rather closer to home - a local Children's Centre put on a Day with Dad (mums allowed in too!) with various activities and lots of playing space - DS1 just ran around the same area like a mad thing with dp chasing him for most of the time, while I sat feeding C. They included lunch and it was all totally free. What a lovely thing for the Children's Centre to put on! I know it doesn't sound exciting but I do love seeing ds1 so happy.