FEB 2010 Valentines, pancakes and BABIES!!

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

Here it is, then - the post natal thread for the Feb 2010 gang - let the poo/bf/nappy rash/sleeplessness/crying

OMG whatdoIdonow!! conversations commence...

Not been checking this thread because was totally knackered. If I do things with dd1 then dd2 sleeps too much in the day and is awake most of the night (night before last she was wide awake and refusing to settled from 2 to 5!). If I go out less with dd1, then she goes up the walls in boredom... Also, they don't sleep at the same time, so I get no rest in the day. Moan, moan...
On the other hand, LO has gone from 6lbs 6 (2890g) to 8lbs 8 (3860g) in four weeks... Feeling strangely proud of that although it did mean supplementing with formula.
Did the swaddling thing until she was about three weeks, then she turned into an escape artist and got both her feet and arms out. She's also one of the noisy sleepers with grunts, snores, squeaks..

Ooh, bethylou your poor friend, how worrying. Fingers crossed for them.

sunnybump what's the proper burping technique? I'm doing the left-side only rubbing/patting and that seems to be fairly effective, are there other methods worth trying? Hope the thrush clears up soon, poor you.

Noisy sleepers, tell me about it BabyGiraffes!! I get her off then find it impossible to sleep myself because of her racket. I s'pose I could try earplugs, but can't quite bring myself to do so yet...

Hi all,
Congratulations on your babies.
I finally found you and had time to check on you (not enough to read all the thread though). Can I still be with you even if DD2 born on 28th of january?
Been off, the recovery from CS is doing well, but had trouble with Breast feeding, this time enough milk (might be the problem, ironically! ), and baby very good latcher. I had trouble having milk in the first place, being separated from baby. No place in maternity so I was put in general ward, but they don't take babies down there, so they kept her in nursery. But I finally managed to solely BF for a week before having a lymphagitis, 2 weeks antibiotics, 5 days of shivering with high fever, expressing between feed the left breast that DD2 refused,... Now baby mixed fed, every time I decreased the bottle feeding, my breasts gets really hard and sore due to constant feeding of hungry huge (5 kg at 5 weeks) baby. I won't even talk about my neeples (sp? baby brain )
Scared of over feeding now, but would you let your baby getting hungry? Her BMI is fine so she should be getting what she needs and not too much?
OK my little hamster is awake and hungry again...

I've managed to find a few minutes to post! I've been trying to keep up but as soon as I start writing Henry wakes up or DS1 needs my attention.

Had a very fussy baby yesterday afternoon, he didn't want to be put down at all, luckily though he had worn himself out by night time so would go in his basket then.

H is nearly 5 weeks now and I'm physically feeling pretty much back to normal. I'm actually looking forward to being able to start doing some exercise. Need to start working on the wobbly tummy!

Mamaloco - not sure about overfeeding, I have it in my head that you can't overfeed a breastfed baby, I guess because they have to do the work, but don't know if that applies if mixed feeding.

IC this burping technique is what's worked for us. I don't think there is a right way though but the side to side movement before the patting seems to help him get up air without loosing milk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xcGbd8xWGI&feature=related

Bethylou, 26 weeks is so early, hopefully they're getting all the care they need for their little one even though it's so far from home. My heart goes out to them.

Mamaloco yes stay with us!

I've been using my babasling and it's making my upper back sore . What carriers are you using and can you bf in them? I think I need a different one and advice would be most welcome. I want something I can wear round the house mainly but use outside if I want to leave the buggy. It would be great if I could do hands free bf-ing then I could actually get some non baby stuff done!

Hi all,

My heart goes out to your friend bethylou my baby was born at 37 weeks and that was bad enough, the separation after birth is just horrendous. I hope she is in a good hospital and they let her feel part of what is going on with her baby. I felt like such a spare part in the special baby unit and even got angry with the nurses for looking after my baby without even acknowledging me, they were just doing their job though and I was very hormonal/emotional.

Wheels fell off a bit this week. Otto's weight has not gone up at all over the last week. I was crestfallen as I thought we'd been doing well so far. He is only just scraping 6lbs at 5 weeks so I am back to expressing and topping up again. I started taking Fenugreek to increase my milk suppy too and it seems to have worked within the space of two days! Fells like we are back to square one again....

getting fed up with breastfeeding now, cracked nipples stil havent healed in 3 weeks, still painful, she latches on right but pulls away during the feed to just suck the nipple. constantly having to pull her off and put her back on. which is hard to do when she gets sleepy and doesnt want to go back on.
fed up with leaking everywhere! with my nipples being damaged they would stick to my breast pads and pull off skin! ouch! tried disposable and washable same happened with both. now using lily padz but i still manage to leak everywhere. constantly having to change my clothes! i want to do the best thing for her but im hating breastfeeding at the moment so much!

at nearly 4 weeks how well shud she be sleeping at night? she very rarely goes longer than 3 hours before her next feed. usually she wakes every 2 hours. is this totally normal? is there anythin i could do to help her last longer?

sorry for the moaning post! hope all are having an easier time with the sleeping and bf!!

Hi Ems, you are doing really well. slap on lanisnoh cream like it is going out of fashion, and when possible go topless round the house to let the air at your nipples.

As for your nights that is very normal. I find not clock watching at night helps. bedside clocks have been banned from the bedroom.
you still know you have been up na few times but not stressing about how long there has been between feeds def makes it more bareable(sp)

HTH

Good tip, sunnybump, thanks!
On the subject of slings, I can speak from experience about wrap slings (I've got a Kari-me - Moby is the other popular make, but there are other brands too). Basically, they're good ergonomically because the weight is spread evenly across both shoulders and you can definitely BF no-hands in them if you get the knack. this is a great site for video demos on how it's done.

clappedout I know I would feel equally crestfallen about lack of weight gain in your position, but I've noticed other mums saying "ban the weekly weigh-ins, they just make you paranoid", which suggests weight gain doesn't uniformly go up, even if you're baby's feeding well etc. I'm sure little Otto's doing just fine and he'll soon be jacking up those extra ounces...

ems my LO doesn't go for longer than three hours without a feed either - she's almost six weeks now. I suspect the majority of babies under 3m are still high-frequency feeders, but let's hear what other mums say on that subject! Poor you with the ongoing nipple issues - I hope it resolves soon. Rosie's latch has similar issues to your LO's, so I have some sympathy with you there. No, BF definitely isn't the easy option for everyone, no matter what people say. Mind you, dealing with bottles of formula is a right bloody faff too, so it's swings and roundabouts IMO...

After reading the sleep threads, a little light bulb went on when I realised that one of the things causing Rosie to wake is her straining to pass wind. I've started to do a few leg-cycling and other exercises to help her and last night put her to sleep in her car seat as a temporary measure (apparently, it helps the digestion if their position is more elevated) - seems to have helped a bit, she definitely went longer before waking.

DH has made Rosie a mobile to hang above her bed - it's awesome! Reminds me of something you'd see in the Glastonbury Festival Green Fields!!

Ah, she's snoozing now - time to grab a bit of corresponding shut-eye, methinks...

Sorry to hear about BF issues. Cracked nipples sound so painful, I admire anyone who carries on in such a state.

I'm not a great fan of the weekly weigh-ins, and have only been once since my initial HV visit at 10 days (DD2 now nearly four weeks). I'm next planning to go in a couple of weeks, as I want to keep an eye but not get obsessed. The trend is key, as opposed to the weekly figures - and you'll probably find that in another couple of weeks the weight has shot up!

As for nights, it sounds as though quite a few of us are now over the initial adrenaline surge that you get when a baby is born, and are suffering from sleep deprivation! DD2 does a maximum of four hours between feeds at night, but sometimes it's three or even two and a half. It doesn't seem related to the amount of milk she has drunk (we're now more or less entirely on formula). I think six to eight weeks is more of a turning point, so I'm trying just to get on with it.

Tired and weepy and sleepy here.

I think you're right about the sleep deprivation Watercress. We're on 3 hourly feeds right now with the occasional longer gap. He's only done his sleeping for 5.5 hours trick the once (It was bliss).

Ems I second the Lansinoh for your sore nipples. I'm on my second tube and the doc nicely prescribed this one for me. Worth asking as it's a tenner. Thrush can make baby's mouth sore making them pull away, could this be a possibility?

IC the wrap slings scare me with their complicated instructions. I've decided to get a few different ones off ebay to try. Starting with a ringsling, which I like the simplicity of and there seems to be a lot of good comments in the MN reviews. There's no slingmeet near here so buying them is the only way. At least secondhand I'm not breaking the bank.

DH has offered to do the supermarket shop, hooray, I get to stay at home, what a treat

watercress could have written your post myself.... . Also now pretty much completely on formula but this time I won't let it upset me...
DD2 is 4 weeks and suddenly went from about 4ish hours at night back to waking every 2 . Read somewhere that babies need at least 3 hours to digest a full feed or else end up with tummy ache if drinking too much too soon, so tried to 'delay' her for half an hour or so with a dummy. Backfired completely and she got so cross with me she wouldn't settle for hours, even after I did feed her. So now she gets what she wants...I find it really hard not to compare her to dd1 who slept through from about midnight to 6ish by the time she was 9 weeks. I am sort of hoping for the same with dd2 but try not to get my hopes up.
Anyway,rambling on due to severe sleep deprivation...

Thanks for good wishes for my friend. clappedout I agree with the others about the weekly wiegh ins and the disappointment when it doesn't go as you hope it will. Hope things settle again soon.
Night feeds? Our little one is a bit variable but generally has to be woken after 3 hours for a feed so I'm thinking of extending it a bit to see if we can have more sleep (and whether he is more awake which would make getting the feed started easier) I feed three hourly (roughly) during the day and am not sure how long I'm supposed to do it at night for if he doesn't wake for it at that point. He went 4.5 hours the other night when I slept through the alarm (oops - rubbish mother alert )but then only 2.5 hours after that so was obviously catching up again. He'll be three weeks tomorrow and I suspect about 9lbs 12 by now.
As this is our last baby (we assume...), I'm finding it quite hard to see him growing so fast as he's no longer fitting in the newborn stuff. I hope this doesn't offend those of you with tiddlers, as I know that some of you are really keen for them to gain weight and working really hard to achieve it, but I am so keen to make the most of these precious early days and don't want him to 'grow up' too soon.
Time for another of our three hourly feeds. Will check in again in a day or two. Big hugs to those struggling with sore nipples/lack of sleep/awkward toddlers etc...

Ems DD1 was sleeping trhough the night at that stage but she was feeding all day to compensate, I am not sure what is worse.. DD2 (5 weeks) does 2 times 4 to 5h, but not during the night which is every 2, may be 1h early in the morning. I thing they can't really sleep well until they reach a certain size. (bigger tummy?). They are supposed to have a growth spurt at 3 and 6 weeks, then 3, 6 and 9 months, where they feed constantly if BF.
Babygiraffe my pediatrician said not to feed every hours but every 2 is OK. she also said to start giving camomille tea (milupa have a baby one) in between feed to make them wait and stop colic (??? ). I personally don't follow the advice though mainly because I am lucky not to have a colicky baby. But DD2 is still mainly breast fed, with bottle when she has finished both breast and wants more.

Thinking of those with baby weight worries. I also been advise not to weight too much but to count nappies If enough dirty and wet nappies, then baby is having enough. (but honestly it is easier to do with a good weight to start with)
DD1 went down too much after birth and I had to wake her up to feed her more often (may be that why she learn to feed constantly during the day later on)

Good luck with your day. hope everybody will have some sleep including me (selfishly! )

Ooh, that 0300 post-feed grizzle-a-thon is a killer! Almost lost it last night.

Thank goodness for a DH who babysits during the day to allow for some zzz.

Looks like pretty much all of us have moved onto sleep as our current big issue. What happened to the dozy baby I could scarcely wake up in the early days, huh?!

You hit the nail on the head when you said that we have moved passed the exhilarating early stage into sleep deprived numbness.

DH is now on his pat leave and we decided to go an stay with friends before going on to see his mother. This is lovely for DH but a panic for me. LO slept all the way in the car yesterday - so went 4 hours between a feed. She fed on arrival and then settled well, fed at 11pm, 4am and 7am. This morning she fed well and then slept for another long stretch when we went on an outing. We are back at the house and she wants to feed all the time and wont sleep.

I find it so confusing knowing if she has fed for the right amount of time/slept for the right amount of time - if I let her sleep do I risk messing up my supply? Why are her feeding patterns so erratic? Is it wrong that she settles and sleeps like a dream in the car/pushchair but at home is constantly awake and wanting to feed?

Also - expressing and feeding ebm to a baby - should we or shouldn't we be sterilising everything?

Aaaggghhh- I thought I was going to be the world's most chilled mother and every now and again I step back and see that I am a raging panic machine...

Seems almost universal that babies settle to sleep happily in their transport! Perverse little things...

You only need to sterilise EBM containers etc. once a day, flying

As for what's the "right" amount of sleep and feed, well I reckon that varies from baby to baby and day to day...

I'm pretty certain your supply can cope fine with the kind of variations you describe.

Enjoy the change of scene, if you can!

Oh my! I think Poppy has hit the six week growth spurt marker, she wont stop feeding! Constantly have her stuck to my boob, day and night! Maybe I should have put 'I hope Poppy has...', because if she carries on like this for ever I think I will end up rocking in a corner somewhere .

I can't seem to get her settled between feeds either, maybe it's because she's back on every hour if I'm lucky so she see's no point in getting comfy in her moses basket, or letting me get comfy in bed! (okay, maybe thats a bit of an over exaggeration, she only feeds hourly sometimes , feels like more though).

Where has my baby from last week gone who slept for six hours between one of her feeds?

Hope your all well and the sore nipples etc. are healing

xx

Have just waved goodbye to my mum who has been visiting for 5 days... must admit though helpful to have her around there's something very relaxing about just being myself and Iris back on our own during the day.

We veer wildly between horrendous days and good ones. On the down side, there are days where she pretty much doesn't sleep for 12 hours at a time and cries persistently unless feeding or out being walked in the pram. It's heartbreaking. She is so upset. But then the following day she is often tired out and catches up with lots of sleeping. If only we could even things out. Thankfully she doesn't cry so much in the early hours, and we get anything between 2 and 4 hour feeding patterns overnight.

I'm giving up worrying about her weight too much. Having got myself all upset when at the three week stage she dropped from 25th percentile to 9th percentile, at the latest weigh-in the HV conceded that maybe she is simply more of a 9th percentile baby, and just happened to be a bit heavier at birth. And now I'll wait until the 8 week check for an update... though, ludicrously, we can't get an appointment for this until 11 weeks!

Quick question for you all! What are your babies wearing? At the moment we're pretty much sticking to a vest top and babygrow, and a light snowsuit when out, but I don't want to miss out on some of the 'separate' clothes that have been bought for her in 0-3 mth sizes. But what about her feet? When they are trousers, do you have socks that you put on? Or use tights? (I'm guessing tights with a vest underneath for the more dress like combos). Wish I'd paid more attention to baby's clothing in the past!

I've got a book tip. Sent: 'Your baby week by week' (by Cave and Fertleman) by a friend with a 9 mth old. At first I thought it looked a bit naff, but have found it brilliant and incredibly insightful on a weekly basis (rather than other books which cover months or longer... a four week old is very different from a 6 week old). I found lots to recognise, reassuring to read that at 4 weeks "it's normal for a baby to cry more than ever" and that's it's usual for the dummy or not debate to kick in about now. Yes! Also not too heavy to flick through.

Good luck all, especially those with sore nipples. Ow! me too.

Anyone has a smiley baby yet? I think it's from about six weeks they really focus their smiles?
My little one is a bit too young (5 wks on Wed) but has smiled to herself a lot since she was born. No idea what she finds so amusing (probably the family she has ended up in ) but it looks hilarious.

Comeonbishbosh - I have the 'Your baby week by week' book and think it's brilliant, I bought loads of books when I had DS1 and that is the only one I have got out again this time.
I'm just putting Henry in babygrows and sleep suits still, I hate messing around dressing babies so am a bit lazy about getting him changed , unless he is covered in sick or something.

I think I have a blocked milk duct, it's really sore, I'm hoping it will just go on it's own

BG - I think Henry smiled this morning, while we were at the library at one of those rattle, rhyme and roll things, his eyes seemed to smile as well instead of just the usual grimacy smile. He is 5 weeks today.

My friend has leant me a swinging crib and we moved Henry into it this weekend as he's not far off being too big for the moses basket (yes he is a giant baby!). Problem is he keeps wriggling to the edge and getting his arm stuck through the bars which makes him wake up and cry. Not sure what to do about it.

I mentioned it on the ante-natal thread but when you get your Child Trust Fund vouchers remember that you can get £50 cashback (into your account not the trust fund). I used Topcashback last time, this is the link. You can move the trust fund whenever you like although I would wait until the £50 goes into your bank account, which takes a few months.

Vest plus babygrow here too. We usually add a blanket plus hat and mits when we go out - she's in the sling, which gives her extra warmth from its layers, not to mention the warmth of my or DH's body.

Your Baby Week By Week sounds interesting - although I'm not sure how it would apply to my DD because she was born 4 weeks early. Apparently most of her developmental milestones have to be applied from her due date, so we're currently living with a six week-old who's more like a two week-old in some respects. Most confusing.

Better sleep for her last night - partly because she's able to hold more milk and mainly because she was on my tummy on her tummy. I've come to realise that most of her noise during sleep comes from her straining to pass wind - which is much easier for her to do on her tummy. Of course, it meant I slept worse because I was constantly watchful that she was sleeping safely. Ho hum, swings and roundabouts!!

By the way
News of mawbroon...

Hi all! So excited to be on the post-natal thread! Just a quickie to say George is 11 days old now and I'm loving being a mum in this sunny weather. Out and about with the pram I could just burst with pride :-) Still having the BF issues and he has dropped from 8lbs 15 oz to 8 lbs 2 oz so the midwife insisted we top up my expressed milk with formula... So far managed to get 300mls into him today and going to be weighed tomorrow so we shall see... You wouldn't think they'd starve themselves would you?? Bloody midwives and their charts get you all mithered though don't they? He's a bit jaundiced but otherwise I think he's doing really well, but what do I know I'm just his mum?!?

Rant over anyway. Hope you are all well, I'll have a proper read of the whole thread when I get a bit more time (2020??).

Anyone else taking a million photos a day?

Silly question - what is the difference between a sleepsuit and a babygrow? I use the terms interchangeably, but wonder now if I'm missing out on something...

I'm using a vest and white babygrow for Shona at night, and a coloured babygrow or an outfit during the day (I have this ridiculous obsession with distinguishing day and night, but I'm also one of those people who has to get dressed each day - no PJ days for me). If it's an outfit (and they are only just starting to fit), then it's usually trousers and a top over a vest plus socks. If we go out, I put a light snowsuit on top. I can't be faffed with cardigans, and dresses and tights are still too big for her tiny frame (probably around 7.5lbs now).

Very tired today. After a sleepless night (due to DH, not DD!), I went into London to my new office today, then stopped to do some shopping on the way back. So Shona saw my office, work colleagues, and went on a train, tube, bus and tram. Shame she slept through the whole experience! Then when I got back, I did a load of washing, put a dry load away, emptied the dishwasher, put dinner in the slow cooker, picked up DD1 from nursery and got both girls fed and to bed. Cream crackered now.