June09: the one where we learn to type with one finger

[Tee2072]

Hi all and welcome to our first post-natal thread! Nappy's, colic and burping OH MY!

Come join the conversation as our baby's grow and grow.

worried, reading Doris's post just reminded me - knowing when to stop the feed is really important. With my 1st I'd let her stay on for literally hours because every time I tried to move her she'd start chomping again. But that's just a little survival technique they do unconsciously - help, she's taking away the snack bar, pretend we're still actually feeding - and can make for sore nipples. So when Arthur is clearly asleep and just making occasional sucking actions I break the vacuum by sticking my little finger into his mouth and save my nipple from being used as a dummy!

Morning Juners!

Wow, I'm behind

Worried, my nipples started bleeding day 3 and they were really cracked and of course excruciatingly painful... I dreaded each feed I couldn't go on feeding like that, I was staining all her clothes with blood, it was just impossible. For me it was either using the shields until they healed or stop the BF. I really wanted to go on BFing so I just went out day 5 and bought them. She fed instantly and the relief was just heaven. My MW was not supportive at all and told me I had to stop using them as Mila would get nipple confusion, so I got all stressed again and felt awfully guilty, something MWs are experts in making you feel sometimes I just kept using them every other feed once the nipples had healed a bit so that she would get both things and wouldn't get "confused" For me it worked, she latches well now and I use the sheilds if she's just too impatient and gets crossed. I agree with the girls, whatever you may choose to do, get help, call a BF counsellor or someone who can offer the support and help you need. You're not supposed to be in such pain, sweetie ((another gentle hug))

Laura, how's Sarah feeling? Please please call the NHS if she's still under the weather.

Silk, hi!!

Ermin, hi!! LOL at fajita

Doris, rain here too! I guess we're all having a bit of rain this wkend Nice weight gain, Annabelle! And yay for you being able to go out a bit and leave dad in charge

Mrsmc, no rolling desires here, I think

Choccie, Elina is an angel!! HOpe your BP settles soon; no experience on coils here, unfortunately.

June, hi!

Yesterday I had tea with cake with my translator friend. She came home with her LO and we had a lovely time, then she invited me over to have dinner at their place as DH had to leave and was going to be back late. Very rainy day here and DH went to play football so I guess it'll be an indoor day

Hope you have a lovely day, Juners! (((waves to all)))

morning all

laura, lovely pics! Hope Sarah is better this morning, definitely phone your doc or NHS direct if she's no better, especially if she's running a temperature.

doris, yay on getting the garden sorted, hope it didn't turn into too much of a faff and a belated happy birthday to your dd. Great news on A taking the ebm, none of mine ever would before they were 3 months old

MrsMcJnr, Edward's trying to roll (I think!) he really pushes on his feet and arches his back right up which normally starts him leaning over. He never fully gets on his side though, maybe too much weight to shift I honestly can't remember when they are supposed to start with the rolling!

daisy, hope you're feeling better, mastitis is no fun

llynnn, happy birthday to your dd, hope the rain holds off for the party, it's still relatively nice here

worried, hope you find an answer soon, it shouldn't still be that painful now, another one sending you gentle ((((hugs))))

better go, my little man is calling, waves to all

Morning!

Re rolling Alex is definitely looking like he could do it soon. Dd didn't roll til about 4 months but my little brother did it at 6 weeks! Right off his nappy changing table, pretty horrendous for my parents, however, he was fine. (Although that is debateable now!)

All is well here, although I can't believe it is the weekend already! I remember thinking on Monday I can't believe it is Monday already and now it is Saturday! Lol.

Got my phD app in, really doubt I'll get it. I actually think it is a good idea and not a bad app overall but I don't necessarily think it is right for the dept. It is a weird one, centre for social informatics! They deal with information flows so journalism does fit in (and has been done) but this dept usually looks more at computer info flows, much more statistical, technical stuff. The reason I applied here btw is because my tutor reccommended it AND because your fees get paid by the uni! Anyway, it is good practice for next time if nothing else.

Doris - Glad to hear EBM is working out. Alex has been taking it since wk 4 and it is fab. We are going out for a few hours this evening, uncle and auntie in charge. Birthday BBQ thing, although doubt the weather is going to hold!

Laura - Hope Sarah is better! So worrying at that age!

MrsMcJnr - Sorry to hear about your difficulties with your dh. I know it must be dreadful but I think I would try and tough it out, it may be his work pressures combined with a new baby is just getting him down and you are bearing the brunt! Hopefully in a few months things will even out. Definitely should try and talk about it if he'll do so rationally. Keep your chin up as best you can! I feel horrible for you.

hey mrsmc Calypso goes on her side too.
I noticed our changing table has a ledge (we'd put it against the wall but changed it a couple of weeks ago so it stops her from falling.)

laura hope Sarah is better, it's so worrying isn't it...
naat 10 pooey nappies! Eek. I've got an angelcare bin which someone recommended here and it really keeps the smell away.
Did you sort out your re-usables nappies?
worried sounds painful, I hope you can get some help with a face to face counsellor. Have you tried laleche.co.uk? they're supposed to be really good.

meeting up with ou AN nct group today and really looking forward to it!
right lo calling for food, speak to you soon

hiya everyone, just a quick post as my mum is giving Sarah her bottle. Sarah's temp stayed down and she got a not bad length of sleep last night, still got the sweet smell to er urine which i will be keeping an eye on. Thanks everyone for your replies about Sarah if this continues i will be taking her to the docs or requesting a house call.

I hope you all have a fab saturday and hope the weather isn't as wet as it is here

thank you all for your support and ideas on how to make this feeding better! Cant message in as much detail as I would like to, but didnt want to seem ungrateful! Hope you all have great days x

hi June!
Yes, that was not a good day for poor Mila We have a tomee tipee nappy bin as well, it's brilliant as it catches any possible smell We're buying the reusable nappies this Monday, really excited about that! Hope you have a great time at your NCT group meeting today!!

Laura, good to know Sarah didn't have any more temperature

Mrsmc, I just remembered! No rolling wishes here but the crazy lady is always trying to "sit" Whenever she's inclined she pushes her neck forward as if wanting to sit and gets really cross when I put her back down and say a gentle "no"

LittleS, hi!! Fingers crossed for the PhD!!

xxx

Woohoo, dp has set me up his old laptop from work, so even though I HATE laptops, it means I can finally get on here!!Yey!! Trying to get a quick 5 mins in between the frenzy of feeding we have from about 8 til 11 every night where Caelan just wants feeding non-stop!!!

Doris- the symptoms that I have of thrush are the stabbing pains in between feeding, the pains during feeding, cracks that wont heal in the nipple, blanching of the nipple after feeding, sensitivity in cold and pain when water goes over my boobs in the shower, is this the same as you?? Caelan has no white spots in his mouth though, or any other symptoms really.

lol ermin at the fajita!! I will have to keep more of an eye out for when Caelan seems to have finished a feed, as I pretty much just let him stay where he is until he either falls fast asleep or comes off. The breastfeeding counsellor told me that the little fluttery actions towards the end of a feed is when the baby is getting the fattier milk, so I have been leaving him on there for up to an hour and a half sometimes??? My mum says that because he is so strong and a decent size when he was born, I might just be struggling to keep up with feeding him? He is putting on weight though, now 8lb 14ozs, and was 8lb 6 at birth- do you think it is more tough feeding a baby that is overdue because they are so strong and demanding?? And your Arthur was a fair weight too wasn't he?! You do sound like a b/f pro though!!!

MrsMcJnr- Caelan can roll from his belly to his back, but not the other way just yet, but I dont think it will be long!! He is just so strong!! If I put him on the bed, he almost tries to slither along on his belly, and has been lifting his head pretty much straight away! That strength is what makes the fighting at feeding time extra difficult!! Re expressing, I managed to get 120ml off a couple of weeks ago hand expressing, and it took me about half an hour. Caelan finished it off in about 5 minutes, and then wanted more!! I think if he doesn't have the action of sucking to tire him out, he would feed 24/7!

LittleS good luck on the Phd!! I really want to go back to go back to uni very soon, I'd like to do a doctorate in Educational Psychology!

June- Hope you had a good day with your NCT group. I went to a breastfeeding support group at the local childrens centre last week to meet people, and I was the only one there!! Fun times!!

Silk- if you can keep b/f after your shreaded nipples, I'm sure I can!!!

Naat- I think the nipple shields will be the next option if the thrush treatment doesn't work. Its good that you managed to avoid nipple confusion, that was one of my main worries. Caelan has been so good at getting on the boob from the start, I would feel so guilty if I interfered with that. Don't you find though that so many things are one big huge guilt trip?

Hi to everyone else!!!

Gala day from work tomorrow, and definetly not confident enough to feed in public yet, so hopefully there will be somewhere me and Caelan can go to feed!!! Its a good 6 hour thing, so going to stock him up before we go, and will hopefully only need to feed him once while we are out then! I had a look a couple of those breastfeeding tops a few people were talking about- might invest in some when I get a bit braver!!!

hiya everyone looking for some advice and comfort.

After saying Sarah was better she has had a bad night. She never has takn a dummy but she has been taking it more today and comfort and also 'chewing' in the teat of the bottle. She is hot one min and cold the next. She has been very irritable crying all the time apart from a spell of 20mins sleep, her droll is thicker and more bubbly if you know what i mean and she has been very VERY clingy to everyone today, but even hugs and cuddles doesn't console her me heart is breaking. I know this could be flu/cold so I will be calling NHS24, however my mum pointed out that some of these signs are related to teething. Is it possible for early teething at 6 weeks??? I have read online and seen that it can be possible so could this be what is wrong with Sarah? Any help/advice greatly appreciated.

Hope everyone else has had a better night than i lol xx

lauraloo Some LOs are born with teeth but it's very unusual to see many babies with teeth before 3 months. The symptoms of teething are always a bit vague and could mean other things so I still think it's worth checking out with a doc as soon as you can - that's what they're there for.

worried glad you've got a laptop to communicate from! Arthur was 10lb at birth and is nearly 5 wks now so must be well over 11 by now. All that stuff about big babies not being able to get enough milk from their mothers isn't true - they've still got tiny stomachs and it's not as though they need gallons more than a baby who's 2lb lighter, and we produce as much as they suck for. It's always said about boy babies too; I've never heard anyone being told they can't produce enough to feed their DD however heavy she is. And it's always mothers and MILs who say it . I think it's one of those 'big strong boy' myths which older women like to say. If Caelan is growing and lively and strong he's getting enough milk.

erm - That's really interesting you say that. The doctor said I had no choice but to go on antibiotics, but my cranial osteopath raised an eyebrow over that one and I see on the Internet there is the 'riding it out' option, and I am believer that antibiotics are overused these days and don't help the body build up immunity.

The pain has gone away after only one tablet, and Fraser is completely constipated and obviously not enjoying it, I am really tempted to come off them now.......but.....I don't like playing doctor.....however there are so many tablets in there, it looks like about 2 weeks worth!!! Is it because thrush in the breast is more seriously in need of antibiotics that any other infection?? Fraser didn't poo all of yesterday and he is a 15 nappies a day man.

Now I have lumps coming up in my mouth and am wondering if that is thrush. The Cranial Osteopath said to use Tea Tree Oil.

Naat - yes midwives do seem to say some things that you know just aren't right...such as Breastfeeding babies don't get wind. I'm certain what I eat does influence Fraser. Even though there is no 'proof' about he eating theory his tummy is immediately sore first feed after eating dairy. I slipped up and had mash last night and am regretting it.

It is so exhausting....Colief, reduced dairy, now tea tree oil breast cleansing - how exhausting

actually thanks naat - I will try eating apricots and see if that helps him to poo

Daisy, just don't make the mistake I made Don't eat more than 3 or 4, I ate 6 and the poor lamb pooed every 30-45min. Try with a few and see how it goes Glad to hear the ABs are working and making you feel better but hope Fraser's constipation goes away.

Ermin, hi!

Worried, please don't let anyone make you feel guilty I spent days worried and feeling like that and now that I look back some weeks I realise I'm not going to let that happen next time or now with any other matter wrt Mila. Mums have a lot to deal with esp in the first weeks and the thing we need more is support, of any and all kind, not conflicting advice and feelings of guilt (((hug)))

Laura, no idea whether teething can occur this early but if Sarah is unsettled and esp with a temperature, don't hesitate, just call NHS24.

HI everyone else!! Nice weather up to now over here, let's hope it holds!!!

(((waves)))

evening all

littlesarah, fingers crossed for the phD application

worried, must be great to be back on line! Hope the day out was a good one An hour and a half sounds like an awfully long feed, if you are getting the trembling jaw followed by a couple of sucks and then a gap before a repeat then it usually means your lo is asleep and using you as a dummy which means you would probably be better off removing him. The foremilk when he first latches on is the thirst quenching stuff, the hind milk that comes in after is the rich belly filling stuff If he's feeding really well he should be dropping his jaw right down and holding it down for a split second (iyswim) and you should see the muscles moving just in front of his ear. If it's any help Edward does about 15 minutes a side for a feed, usually the first 5 minutes is the really strong suck followed by near enough continuous sucking for the rest, usually when he gets to the few sucks followed by a gap, few sucks followed by a gap etc then I take him off if he doesn't do it himself. Hth.

I agree with ermin on the myth stuff All mine have been big and apart from Edward, late, and I've not had problems keeping up with demand. Edward is a real lump strapping lad at just over 14lbs at 9 weeks so is obviously getting enough milk. You're obviously producing enough milk if you can manage to express that much Parenthood has the potential to be one huge guilt trip, the hard bit is learning to trust your own judgement and not giving a stuff what anybody else thinks

laura, hope Sarah has had a better day, I'd definitely be calling the doctor if Edward was running a temperature. It is possible to teethe this early but it would be unusual.

daisy, hope you're feeling better, fraser too

Well, I managed to make dh laugh today I was feeding Edward in the front seat of the car at Sainsburys this afternoon, wasn't being particularly discreet latching him on, noone was near, so what did it matter? Erm ........ just the cctv camera that was over the next parking bay pointed right in our direction ........ ho hum, never mind, lesson learned

hope everyones had a good day, waves to all

Yikes, I hadn't posted in so long I lost the thread!

Hope everyone is doing okay. Adam's had a hard day of not sleeping. I'm exhausted!

I'll try to catch up!

thanks Tee for the tip with the thermos, we bought one yesterday and used it last night, much quicker to cool down that freshly boiled water...

We had a hectic week but today was the first day since birth that we've had no one round at all all day: Nice! (sil and bil are on hols which is also a hol for us in a way...)

I've had a migrainy headache all day and quite looking forward to my bed. And looking forward to a time when Calypso sleeps more than 3 or 4 hours in one stretch :S

The nct reunion was very good, even though we had a bit of a puke/poo nightmare before we left and ended up over an hour late!!!

worried glad to hear youre back online, I often check our thread from my phone but gave up posting from it, it's too much hassle.

mrsmc hope you're feeling better.

time for bed me thinks, take care everyone!

Hi everyone. I posted on here earlier but it disappeared so don't know what happened there.

I have finally managed to upload some photos of Elina. It's only taken me 7 weeks!!!!

Laura - I would check Sarah out with the DR asap. Beteer to find out what is going on so you can help lo feel better. Let us know how you get on.

Worried - those boobies sound sore. Hope they are a bit better today.

Hi to everyone else. Must dash to try and get some things done around the house. It's bank holiday here today and dh has taken the boys to the movies so its just the girlies here now

hi everyone-feeling really bad today, yesterday Caelan got sunburned We didnt realise it was even sunny, I had my leather jacket on, and it was overcast all day, but when we got home we realised he was red across his nose and cheeks, I feel awful this morning I have noticed he has a couple of blisters under the skin I cant believe how naive I was to think he wouldnt burn! When I realised he was burnt I put some sudacrem on his cheeks, and have given him some boiled water along with trying to feed him every two hours. I read though that if he has blisters that I should take him to a&e because of the risk of infection? Oh I keep looking at his poor little face and feeling so stupid I cant believe I didnt even think that he would burn...

sorry, forgot to say... Thanks bigcar, thats really useful. You say Edward finishes one side in 15 mins- how do you know that the breast is empty, other than it feeling less full? I never know whether to keep him on the same side to keep getting the fatty milk, or to swap him over?

sorry, forgot to say... Thanks bigcar, thats really useful. You say Edward finishes one side in 15 mins- how do you know that the breast is empty, other than it feeling less full? I never know whether to keep him on the same side to keep getting the fatty milk, or to swap him over?

worried I would at least call NHS Direct and see what they say. And don't feel too guilty, these things happen. At least you didn't drop him on his head!!

called nhs direct- Caelan rubbed his nose with his mitt, and now a blister is weeping they said not to worry, but I can't help it!!

oh worried! so sorry this happened but don't worry, if the people from NHS direct said not to, then it's because he'll be ok. As tee said these things happen. Don't punish yourself honey, you're having hard days as it is (((hug)))

Worried - babies have delicate skin but are pretty robust all the same and Caelan will recover very soon. And I bet he'll never be allowed out without a hat and suncream until he's 18 . Easily done in this sunny/windy/cloudy/rainy weather we're having...

I thought they still recommended Calamine lotion as the best thing for baby sunburn but maybe that's just for eczema suffers like me (I once used Sudacrem on my own sunburn and it really stung, but do have madly sensitive skin).

Re: emptying breasts - no more milk lumps to be felt and general softness all over the breast usually means he's ready to move onto the next one. Arthur takes around 15-20 mins on each side, sometimes with a pause in between, but can do it in 10 mins if he's had a longer sleep and is really hungry. Maybe try moving him to the other side after half an hour if you're not sure?