August 2009 Welcome to the world all of the little princes and princesses!

[OonaghBhuna]

I would like to say congratulations to everyone that joins us on this thread and I am looking forward to hearing lots of birth stories and interesting developments of about our beautiful babies

Thanks all for your messages, it's great to hear other people have successfully moved from shields to latching, fingers crossed for us.

My friend used BM on her daughters eyes for conjunctivitus and it cleared up. Apparently as it's sterile you can use it on any cuts baby gets too.

Hi CoonRapids, DD had conjunctivitis too last week, it cleared well by putting some EBM on her closed eye and letting seep through...

otherwise, struggling with the growth spurt (DD is 3 wks tomorrow) - due back at work episodically in 2 wks time, she is taking bottles of EBM but gulping them down so fast she gets in a right state afterward, even with slow teats...
I also struggle to find time to build up a freezer stash, as she seems to feed constantly these days and i don't want to rob her of her food...

and for the sleeping, same here, DD will only settle in my arms and starts screaming the minute sheis put down, not matter how deeply asleep she looked...

hiya guys...
hope all is well...im struggling with 2 so close together...
so knackered...
hope u all better then me

Mimile, do you really have to go back to work in 2 weeks? I can't imagine going back so soon. Hope you are ok.

Hi guys

This is my first post on the post natal thread - I've been lurking a bit but been a bit preoccupied with my (first) baby. Don't know how those of you with more than one are managing!

I was interested to read about the rugby hold for breastfeeding. What's the logic for why they take more milk in this position?

Cheers

Hi forester, I was told its down to which milk ducts they are acting on in whatever position they are in and how big those milk ducts are.

Someone else may know for sure. I can only say that all 4 of mine go for longer between feeds and my boobs feel emptier iykwim if I use a Rugby hold.

Its not very practical when you are out and about tho bit too exposing for me

I've had a very nice weekend, thanks, kk. M seems a bit more settled suddenly. Smiley and alert for slightly longer and sleeping and eating better too. I think the probiotic drops might be doing something as she is pooing more regularly once or twice a day instead of having loads of movements one day and then having a drought. We've been pretty active too- trekked to the west end today and she managed lots of sleeping in the sling and being breastfed in the pub without much fuss. Anyway, I've packed the lunches and got the breakfast stuff ready for tomorrow morning as per your advice so hopefully there'll be no repeat of our total fiasco meltdown when tomorrow comes.

I find the rugby hold works really well on my less easy to feed side. M seems to find it easier to latch that way. Brings back lots of memories of feeding my twins too. I used to have one on each breast using rugby holds.

Good luck with sleep tonight everyone. I will be thinking of you all during the night feeds.

Morning all!
Kk, i'll only go back to teach a few lectures, thank god! FT or even PT work would just be too much at the mo.
I'll be in 3 half days in a fortnight and 2 full days in november... need to prep said lectures now, and nap time is never long enough!
Just trying to build up some EBM stocks but it feels like robbing from DD since she is so ravenous all the time (and I end uo using said stores to top her up when both breasts are empty and she is bawling for more! hope supplies go up soon...)

coon-am very jealous of your dh can you send him to me to show my dh where hes going wrong.He only does a bit of housework on his days off and thats after a lot of nagging but he does look after dd when unsettled/colic between 11 -2am so i shouldnt complain & takes ds2 to nursery two mornings so i can have a lie in ,still reckon he has got it too easy.

SM-ooo im hoping you may have saved me from insanity,dd suffers badly with colic,have tried all the products in the shops with not much joy although the dentinox drops were the best,so im now off to order some of them drops in the hope they will work.Although DD has not been on anti-biotics i have been & she was so much worse then as they said it passes to the breast milk.It cant hurt to try.

for all of those struggling with the night feeds,dd was waking every 2 hours for feeds,then thursday & friday night she slept 5 hours & i felt worse the next day for having the extra sleep.So now im going to stop begging for the extra sleep & remind myself its not going to be like this forever.
I do feel guilty about the two nights she did sleep as she is terrible in the night with wind & we were just so exhausted we ended up putting her in her bouncy chair,far from ideal & i know its not good for her back etc but i think it helped with her tummy pain as it was the longest she had ever gone between feeds & was definatly a happier girl the next day,am going to try the rugby hold tonight after reading all your experiences with it.

phew mimile- I was quite aghast at the thought of you going back properly at 5 weeks postnatal!

x post, fairy. Good luck with the drops. I have noticed a difference already with the bowel movements as I say, though I suppose it could be a coincidence. 6 weeks is supposed to be a bit of a milestone for babies starting to settle anyway but the drops have also coincided with M starting to show more of a definite pattern of sleeping, eating and alert wakeful periods, or at least me being more able to tune in to that.

Unfortunately I think I'm coming down with a cold, otherwise everything in the garden would be super-rosy.

Am doing the fussy baby evening jiggle routine here! Thanks for the advice on the eye infection and bm. Luckily it has gone away quite quickly.

Will be trying the rugby hold - have had some green poo nappies here too so maybe as kikat says not enough hind milk. I tend to swap sides after 10-15 mins, maybe too soon.

Glad you had good weekend SM. We had lovely time with my sis over from Oz. Kids so excited to see her. And she was here for the post school nightmare time today and they were really good moods as a result (so was I praps that helped!)

Our washing machine broke! Even that is a blessing in disguise in my current positive mood as excuse to get new 8kg drum one! Not that we need the extra expenditure though whilst on SMP.

fairy girl you can have dh - he was a bit moody at times this weekend so lost his shiny halo...

ooh, ds2 is now asleep on shoulder!

CR, How bizarre! my tumble dryer started to sound like a road drill today and i've been looking at 8kg drum ones, I can't afford it either and they all seem to be c rated for energy too! Very annoying, am off to check ebay...

Quick question for those who have Connecta slings (ScummyM?) - how is it working out with a newborn, is there enough head support for them to sleep comfortably?

I have a bjorn but DS doesn't like it much, yells when he goes in it everytime. He like to scrunch his hands up under his chin to sleep, and bjorn prevents him doing this. Looks like he could do this in a connecta?

He is a big baby (nearly 6kg) and 8 weeks old.

I am a bit scared of the stretchy wraps and not being able to tie it quickly enough and get him in it before he goes beserk!

Am going to post is sling section also, but doesn't seem to be much activity there.

Mellin, stretchy wraps are fine you get used to them quickly also I wear mine around the house so I can just pop him in as required. I have a Kari me.

Ollie has started to chat coo and smile, it brings tears to my eyes, he is so sweet.

It makes up for Dd2s awful tantrums I got kicked and bitten yesterday oh yes and slapped.Its incredible, DH and I dont smack so where on earth do children learn this behaviour??????????!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Mellin. I actually just posted about the connecta on this thread about slings for newborns in case it's a useful thread. I really like it. I think L would definitely be able to put his hands in his favoured position. However, I'm not sure any sling is that great when you're trying to get it on super-fast while your baby threatens to go beserk- I've had some dicey moments trying to tighten the connecta straps quickly enough just as I did with my wilkinet! Still, it is easier to put on than the wilkinet and though we don't always avoid berserkathons she definitely seems to settle more quickly. I do think a stretchy wrap might be more supportive of a young baby's head but M definitely has no problems sleeping in the connecta- she just snuggles onto my chest. It's actually the only place she does sleep properly during the day. She only likes her buggy when she's alert and chatty so unless she falls asleep on me during a feed (like now!) it's the sling or no sleep. I see that they also do one with a head support thing for naps now, which I'd go for if I hadn't already got mine. I do recommend it and think it will last for a while- it's well made and comfortable to wear.

So agree about the grins and coos, Oonagh. Adorable.

Arrgh- a back to square 1 type of night. And morning so far. Screaming abdabs when not at the breast. Luckily lunches were all packed up last night!

Oh no SM - sorry to hear that. We had a rubbish night as well. Neither of us can seem to stay awake long enough to make sure he has a proper feed, then he's awake again 2 hours later or less. During the day, he sometimes only feeds for 10 mins, then stops and after nappy/winding takes another 5 mins and then that's it. Not sure that's long enough...

That's almost exactly what happened to us, coonr! I fell asleep sitting up feeding her at 2am- woke around 3.30, an ache in my slumping back, tried to put her down and minor mayhem followed for the remainder of the night with her refusing to sleep, feed for longer than a minute or so or even just stop grizzling for a while. I was too tired to work out whether she was hungry, tired or in pain or all 3. And something bad happens to my patience and optimism at 5 am, I find.

Does A fall asleep at the breast? If he's awake and seems pretty satisfied when he stops feeding maybe he just knows his own fullness levels or is a fast efficient suckler? Marianne seems to need both breasts and 30 mins plus per feed before we have much chance of a good stretch of sleep. Once we're in a nip at breast fussily, sleep fitfully for 2 secs, cry cycle the night goes pear shaped!

Went to baby massage today. Didn't actually do any massaging as we were a bit late and M woke up wanting to feed. Other mums seemed nice though.

A bit pived and sad here... hence the rant
I've been commulating an infection on my section scar, which just looks gross at the mo, forgot monday was a bank hol in Scotland, and ended up having to go through NHS24 to get refered to dodgy local day hospital were DD and I got coughed on by random people during our 3 hour wait. Walk away with my antibiotics, which sadly do not seem to have made any difference so far.
I've been having real bad constipation & piles too (sorry TMI), which drives me mad as DD screams her head off if left in her cot longer than 10 min during the day. ended up very stressed this morning, having to call DH back from work to hold her while I cried in the toilet - pathetic.
Got my HV visit yesterday too, she seemed only keen to bogger off as fast as she could after weighing my poor screaming baby. I tried to speak to her about a bout of fever DD had the day before (we had no thermometer at the time, I was a bit worried), the fact i'm on antibiotics and wondering whether this could be a cause for her diahorea (quite mild), her nappy rash, refusal to sleep in the day etc... she just shrugged, that was it. Didn't want to look at my scar, or speak about anything. Just sat there.
Went to GP this morning re. scar and constipation, the HV was there chatting away in the reception area, seemed a bit surprised to see me there, and asked DH what was wrong, which prompted me to have to spell out my bowel pb in front of a room full of patients. Nice. She commented that I looked tired (no shit - I have a 3-wk old baby!) and when I said that the nights were short and DD was cat napping during the day, she actually said "well of course, you are nursing her to sleep" - I'm still fuming about that, and very sad too. I try to feed my baby when she is hungry, sadly, she falls asleep on the breast most of the time and seems ravenous whenever she is not asleep (she feeds for quite long, and good amounts too, several times a day). I'm fed up on the contradictory advice i get on the BF, getting told off for following a feeding routine, getting told off for "feeding to sleep" or whatever. And the HV is actually going to host the breastfeeding gp I went to last week (felt v. out of place, knew noone, new kid in town kind of feeling etc), which i was trying to convince myself to return to.
My DH keeps telling me "not to take it personaly" and that "I am the one who knows best" but it's bloody difficult sometime.
Sorry about the long rant - I wish it was easier at times.

mimle hugs
im so sorry...your hv seems like an ass to say the least. re= bf, i go with the flow, sometimes i have 2 hours between feeds, sometimes 1 hour, sometimes 45mins, i dont care, i just feed her..and make sure she is happy, routine will come later.i just want to get to the next day...
my dd1 who is 14 months, i use to just say bf her for one more day, and i did over a year, up until i gave birth, and wanted to tandem feed too but she self weaned.
i found kellymoms brilliant, and the feeding section of the forum a life saver.
what i follow, is supply and demand...try co-sleeping more sleep, i did with dd1..was a life saver.

p.s your doing a brilliant job.

Mimle,
What a tough time you are having. I found the 3-4 week mark hard too, the newborn glow is wearing off and sleep deprievation and exhaustion of constant bf kick in.

I think what your HV said about catnapping is bollocks - my is DS 8 weeks will only catnap during the day, 30 mins max at a time. Doesn't matter if I rock him to sleep, carry in sling, pram, or feed to sleep. I think it just takes some babies longer to get the hang of napping than others.

When they are so little it's hard because it's just one constant cycle of feed, sleep, repeat..... But even now at 8 weeks DS has improved, he feeds for shorter periods, will kick on his playmat for a little while and then have a catnap. And I am getting better at recognising whether he is hungry or tired when he cries.

I agree will M2L, during the day I feed him whenever he seems hungry. Routine will come later (I hope!)

I hope it gets better for you soon.

mimle
just a quick note will post later as dd unsettled.
your doing a great job,if possible retire to your bed for a day or 2 just sleeping when dd does,go with the flow ,i demand/feed & feed my dd to sleep & dont care what people think i love knowing i comfort her.
section infection will be holding your recovery back so dont expect to do too much.I was told some of the anti biotics go through to the breast milk & gives them tummy ache/poos,i know they did for me,was also told she probably wouldnt put on much weight while i was on them,took about 4 days of them before my scar started looking better & dd was 5 weeks before it healed & i felt normal again.

what fairy and mellin and mamatoleah said, mimle. Please don't take your health visitor's rubbishness to heart. I don't think it's possible to avoid feeding to sleep at this age, even if it's desirable, which is debatable. M is 7 weeks and cannot get herself off to sleep. She's completely dependent on us to help her do that. Breast is the only failsafe. Rocking/sling sometimes work too but not always. I try her in her cot/buggy regularly just in case but take her out if/when she starts to get distressed. I think fairy is right that we should try and take pleasure in the fact that we are their comfort at the moment. I don't think M is developmentally ready to settle without lots and lots of contact but she will be one day. Really hope your scar will heal v v v v soon- bet you will feel a lot better about things then.

It is bloody hard when you can't do other things though. Had some hairy moments trying to make a stew for tea today. M was very cross indeed when I put her down in order to chop the onions but didn't want to be in the sling either. Fed her whereupon she fell asleep but then woke up again when I put her down. It took about 3 different attempts including rescuing the meat from the cat and chucking away one set of burnt veg to get it assembled and simmering away... Feel ridiculously pround to have managed it!

ha ha,i know what you mean sm, i started to cook proper meals again 2 weeks ago & remember feeling so pleased with myself i had managed to make a stew.If im not doing anything in the day i try to prepare/chop things in the morning when dd is asleep.Im also going to take up the tip someone posted of making myself a packed lunch the night before as am going to end up putting on weight at this rate,as dd tends to be awake at luchtime i end up picking chocolate/crap.
I think i must be lucky with my health visitor as she came last week to do my depression screening,and was telling me how it was still early days & to keep feeding on demand,i was doing great & should be making sure dh helps so i can rest & when i feel she isnt feeling well if possible take her off to bed for the day & concentrate on just feeding.As my husband was listening to this i could of kissed her with joy ,so now on the 2 days when DD2 is at nursery & the others are at school i lounge around doing nothing but feed & enjoy lucy,knowing that dh wont moan about the house being a mess etc as i will tell him "its what the midwife said"
mimle-as i said before my scar was infected & after 3 weeks i still couldnt sit up without feeling like i had done 100 sit ups but after about 4 days on the anti biotics i started feeling better & by 5 weeks i felt like a new woman.Although i could of done with out having to argue/convince people my wound was not ok as they kept telling me ,it wasnt untill it split open the 2nd time & wouldnt stop bleeding that they listened.After 4 sections i did know what i was talking about,you know your own body & if your not happy that its healing then go back.
i used the rugby hold feed last night as dd suffering with a cold and it was easier to breathe and she slept 6 hours ! so thanks for the tip and i will be doing it again tonight,hope its not just a one off .