Nov 09 and we're feeling fine, feeding, burping, not enough sleeping - that's us!

[BeckyBendyLegs]

Just thought I'd better create a new thread.

Raggie how about a trip to Burford?

KAtster random crying...hmmmmm i had lots of this with Charlotte and DD1. But things are a lot better now that I've stop breastfeeding. It seems that what I ate or simply my milkflow was not good for Charlotte. I really miss it tho and hope she won't suffer for it..
Does Sam cry before or after his feed and have you tried gripe water?

Hope your LOs are ok after thier jabs..I'm dreading mine.

Scarlotti great to hear about your LO..do you have to rock to sleep or do you just put him down and let him sleep..I have to rock..i know i should start training her to settle herself a la venus but I will wait till she's 8 weeks old.

TOK* good luck with the training...let me know how it goes. Will want to start with DD1 soon.

oh dear. Reuben has had a mammoth 3.5hour sleep this evening. He has just woken to 2 very full boobs (ate too much and was sick!), and is now wiggling his arms and legs happily, so i think we are in for a night of wakefulnes, rather than down for a few hours at 11pm! Oh well, at least he is happy!

pav not good on the oven front, hope you're not up for too long now.

sleepless I tend to feed him so he's sleepy then put him into bed with his dummy and stroke his head a little. 8 weeks is a good age to try I think.

Going to have to buy a pump. Been using one borrowed from a friend but the motor is starting to go - it's been well used by others too. Guess it's a good investment but they are pricey.

scarlotti what type of pump are you looking for? I got my Medela mini electric on ebay for £15 plus £4 postage. It was used only twice, in mint condition, with all the original items it came with, the spare valve cover thingy and spare nipples for the bottle it comes with were all unopened. It comes with box and instructions so i can sell it on. Mostly they are going for around £30, but if you keep an eye out, you might get lucky like i did.

My boobs are leaking. Reuben has drank less this evening, but also, i seem to be producing much more milk atm. yesterday i squirted him in the face even though he fed all evening without a break! He fed from one while thje other leaked, a good long feed, then he wanted the other, and the one i just fed from leaked! I am just about to pump as he is now asleep and both boobs are full again! And i have been leaking all day .

I am sure the oven thing will sort itself out, will just mean we have to have take away til the guy comes to sort it

oh and he is alseep so technically i should be too, but i am not convinced he is out for the count, his breathing is not quiet enough, and he does not look like he has passed out, rather, catching some zzz before the next feed! As soon as my head hits the pillow he will wake up. i know it

scarlotti this one looks good although you might want the bigger better Swing?

Aw my little man is dreaming! Either for the first time, or the first time i have noticed, certainly he has not been this vocal! He is wimpering a little, making little 'oohooh' noises and his hands are twitching and his eyes are rolling, and his eyelids are fluttering! Oh he is so so cute!

I have the Swing, I think it's a nice compromise between power and portability. Also mid-range in price.

I guess LO is growth-spurting lately... she never seems satisfied after a feed - anyone else have this? She comes off and immediately starts fussing & sucking on her hands. I put her back on as many times as my nipples can stand but it's been a while since I've seen her come off with that milk-drunk look. Not sure there's anything I can do

Pav thanks for the links, will def check out ebay. I have the one you've linked to - that's what I've borrowed from a friend.

I'd be interested to hear whether people think the Swing is better? It takes me about half an hour to pump 6/7oz with the small pump, and the advert for the swing says the letdown is better and it's quicker. Is this borne out by your experience?

Not sure this one will last out long enough to get it from eBay but I have vouchers for mothercare from some friends so might get one there, and then sell it on when I'm done and save some money that way! I suspect it will get a lot of use here.

Off to London today to see some old Uni friends. Both are pregnant, one about 34 weeks and the other about 30 weeks - for once I will be the skinniest ... well, maybe I imagine there will be some very neat bumps as it's both their first.
So best get on as it's going to take me 2 hours to get us both up, showered, dressed and out of the house!! Let's hope today goes smoothly on the trains etc.

Thank you ladies for the support . Another bad night. DH has taken DS to preschool this morning to give me some rest whilst by baby boy decides he wants to sleep the morning away! Just seems to be getting harder lately. Baby isn't sleeping well of a night. I've changed his sleep habits of a day, getting rid of the formula of a night as it was causing him griping pains, having a bedtime routine, but nothing seems to be working.

I'm now wondering if he's suffering with constipation. He was going 2 times a day up until 2 weeks ago, now he goes once/twice every 2/3 days. There seems to be a routine with this where he isnt sleeping, fussing over feeds etc and then BANG! he goes to the toilet and becomes my happy fella again (for about 2 days). I'm confused as I thought bf babies rarely got constipated. Waiting for the HV to get back to me on this. Anyone else with this issue, or had experience of it before? I'm wondering if I should offer him water?

Can't remember who was asking about breastpads and how to help sore nipples, (my brain isn't working!) I also like the Johnsons pads, but they are expensive, I found these when I had really sore, cracked nipples. The pads I had been using would rub and make things worse. I still use the johnsons and alternate with Tesco ones at night.

Pav sorry you are having cooker issues. Last thing you need! Hope it gets sorted out without too much expense.

Scarlotti or anyone else.. I have a Medela Swing. New and used very little . I loved it and it took about 15 mins to get 4-5 oz..i used batteries...I bought it new a month ago only...

Pav how annoying??? can u get the gas people to have a look?

Hearing lots of wind coming from a sleeping baby.. I hope this means something

Have the Medela Swing as well. Had one issue with it, but now rectified. The milk ran into the tube whilst I was expressing, my fault though as I had a kink in the tube. DH washed it out and it still works - phew! Would have been rather an expensive mistake to make! I expressed for the 1st time in ages last night. Want to build up some stores in the freezer. I got 3oz in half an hour which is good going for me, as I 've never managed more than that.

we've been having cooker issues too. it just wouldnt heat. dh and fil opened it up and noticed the element inside had broken so luckily managed to order anew one off the 'net for £20 rather than having to buy a whole new cooker.

fruitpastels how old is your DS? I'd been worrying about DS as he's started pooing less frequently, but then I read that it does become less frequent after the first month or so. I'd also heard that breastfed babies rarely become constipated. I don't think you should offer water unless advised to by the HV.

Amazing that changing breast pads can make a difference to sore nipples, I thought they'd all be the same - will have to give the Johnsons ones a go.

Skorpion we only keep so busy as it's a nightmare staying in with a 3 yr old. We're in a flat with a small kitchen and bedrooms we only really sleep in, so we're stuck in the sitting room all day long. We definitely did too much yesterday though, from about 5pm onwards I had DD and DS both crying. DH didn't get home until 7pm by which point I was totally exasperated. I put sausages on for dinner at 5.30 and finally sat down to eat them - cold - at 8pm! Today we are taking it more easy.

longwayaway, oats are great for getting your milk supply up. Try eating porridge for breakfast every day, and see how you go - my mother also swears by oatmeal biscuits!

After DS 1 being ill for nearly a week now, cabin fever is decidedly setting in. The house is a tip, and it's driving me crazy that as fast as I pick stuff up off the floor, he's strewing new stuff merrily behind me. I feel like the Sorceror's Apprentice.

Arthur is still being utterly adorable. He's giggling properly now, and the smiles are just wonderful (all the more so, perhaps, because he's not as cheerily indiscriminate with them as his older brother was - everyone else gets suspicious stares!)

I suspect however that the reason why I'm all blissed out with Arthur while at twelve weeks with my first child I was ready to chuck myself off a bridge is the sleep. It makes SUCH a difference to have a child who lets you sleep for decent chunks. Last night we were in the crazy position of having our toddler's screaming keeping our baby up - Arthur quite clearly wanted to go to sleep, but we had to wait to put him down until his brother stopped howling furiously and fell asleep at 11 pm. Arthur then slept until 4.45 am, giving me five uninterrupted hours.

It is INSANE that our twelve week old sleeps better than our two year old, and I think that if anyone had told me as a new mother that my horribly-sleeping baby would still be sleeping horribly in two years time, I'd have topped myself. Still, I suppose it's better to have the more demanding child first..?!

Tamlin Do Hobnobs count? Because I eat lots of those

fruit, this might be TMI but you could try to clean his anus with a cotton wool with warm/hot water. We did that once when Paula seemed to really suffer and my husband had to take a shower afterwards . When he is changing her nappies she poos more often than while I am doing it and I think it is because he uses more water so I really think it works (not always though).

fruit it's perfectly normal so don't do anything. Ioan is exactly the same, goes about every 3rd day and the afternoon of the 2nd day tends to be a bit more unsettled. Day of poo and day after he's much happier. Oh, and we get an explosion one when he does go too!

Tamlin great to hear all is going so well with Arthur, typical now that DS1 isn't sleeping, tag team children!

Sleepless are you using your swing or would you want to sell it?

Good breast pads make all the difference I find, ones that draw the milk in and have a stay dry layer are much better.

Fruitpastels - i was concerned also as my DD went from 100 poos a day to none for a whole week! but apparently its just as they get older body can process it or something so they just save it for one MASSIVE one...

Thanks everyone for the toileting advice! DS is so cranky when he hasn't gone for more than 2 days. We're on the 3rd day and - hooray! he went tonight before his bath. Spoke with the HV and she advised to have a bit of OJ to drink every day. This is something I had cut out since I started to bf because it was causing him tummy upset, but now he's a bit older it should just help to move him along a bit.

Scarlotti Sorry to hear of both your DS's incident. Our older son's are the same age and this is what I worry about when DS is having a mad moment. I think our babies will have to be tough and resilient with their older brothers around! Hope you had a good day up town

Erica Hope you're ok.

Hello all...haven't even been lurking as there are so many posts it's impossible to keep up!

Whoever was saying about breast pads...try the Lansinoh ones for a packet. They are a bit like nappies in that they absorb all the milk and pull it away. They are ferociously expensive but are sooooooo much better. I leak 8 oz a day, though...

oh longwayaway i can certainly vouch for tamlins* sound advice re: porridge. I was about to post about this earlier and completely forgot, its so spooky! I have been eating porridge for the last 3 days, and the night before last night, the day i started eating it, my milk supply was increased. So much so, that I squirted DS in the face from the same boob he had been suckling from at 11pm, after he had been feeding for the whole evening. And I have had to start wearing my breastpads again. And today, i had to express as while Reuben was feeding my other boob was leaking loads, and then when he finished and I expressed, the one he had just fed from was leaking that has never happened before. I am certain it was the porridge and had said so to DH, he said 'pile of xxx' but I am convinced. Give it a go!

fruit Reuben has started to go to the toilet less, noticeably so. He started at hourly, went down to several times a day, then to daily where he has been for a while. For the last couple of days, he has been every other day? He has not been since tuesday night, but MW said it is normal for breastfed babies to not go for up to 4-5 days at a time . Reuben is almost 7wks old. He has been doing a lot of farting though, some of which smell and I keep changing his nappy to find nought there but wee! I am not too concerned at the moment, and will expect an enormous one any time soon! I have been told not to offer breastfed babies water unless on advise of gp, it is not necessary.

scarlotti i do not know about the Swing. I have heard good things about it, but decided not to go for it as I was not intending to express too much, and not sure if i even could as had trouble with it last time around, did not want to spend so much. I am able to express 4-6oz from both sides with the Medela Mini, takes about 30-40 mins. So not as much as you, but significantly better than the manual one i had last time where i was hardly able to express anything! But, as you say, if you will get the use out of the Swing, you will most certainly get excellent resale value from it.

Nice to see you turtle. I hope you and your boys are keeping well. Thanks for the advice re the Lansinoh pads, I'll definitely try them as I get quite sore. Although I'm just realising that it must be getting better as I've been feeding all evening and feel ok. Fingers crossed this is it.

Agh. We have the neighbours from hell who scream at each other, bang walls etc every day. There is no man around or I probably would have called the police by now (that is very sexist isn't it? And I hope not stupidly naive) but the mother and daughter seem to fight constantly. There has been screaming now since 5pm, which we can hear loudest in DD's room. I hate the fact that my kids have to grow up next door to these idiots and think it is normal to listen to this every night as they're going to sleep.

turtle sorry my lovely I did not respond to your post. Hope you are well and your LOs are doing ok.

Ha, farty nappies here too but no presents!!
I had some lasinoh pads and they are fab.

Pav I might look into the swing then as I'd like to speed it up really.

Fruit we'll have strong boys wrestling with each other in a few years time I reckon!

Had a lovely day. My friends are 32 and 35 weeks pregnant so was lovely to catch up with them. They loved Ioan too and cooed over him beautifully I even bf on the train and then again in the restaurant!!

Oh, and am loving 'What Mothers Do' what a brilliant book. I bought one for my friends to read too