June mummies 2 - the gangs all here!!

[katzguk]

one crisp new thread!

hiya,

talking of feeding...those that are bottle feeding,how much and how often is everyone feeding? just wondered if perhaps i wasnt giving ds enough milk and maybe thats why he's been a bit grizzly the last day or so.

uwila-i noticed you said you were giving alex 7oz's now.what weight is he now?
oscar has about 6oz's every 3-4 hours but i dont know what he weighs as the health visitor is coming on monday.i would imagine about 10lb10 though.

Bub, Toby only takes about 3-4 ozs at a feed (is 9lb 9.5 just now) but it's very hard to tell accurately because he will tend to snack when his colic is bad - which sometimes is all day, sometimes is just in the evening. Today he had a good 5 ozs at breakfast time, was grumpy for 2 hours, wouldn't sleep in his Moses basket (of which more later) cos he wanted to be on his tummy, i.e. on me, then crashed out, came to at 11:30 and had only an ounce and has completely zonked out again.

Basically I aim to make sure I am always throwing some formula away at the end of a feed, so I can be sure he's had enough. If you see what I mean.

Another question for the bottle feeders: we are off to a wedding next Saturday so will be out for most of the day. How do you manage to take enough milk out with you and keep it chilled (esp in light of the snacking comment above!)? We have been using the pre-mixed cartons of Aptamil, so could take a whole load of those but would end up wasting a lot of stuff. I have a small ice bag thingy from Avent for 2 bottles, was thinking about maybe also taking a bigger cool bag and leaving it in the car?

MrsW, the only place we'll be going on holiday this summer is Leeds Househunting will need to start soon so I will be in touch for your advice shortly.

Still haven't caught up on the thread properly, hope all are well and enjoying the weekend.

thanks for that trib.
i also buy the pre-mixed stuff(sma gold),but thats due to lazziness as its so much easier!
i make up 6 bottles in the morning,all with about 180mls in them and keep them in the fridge ready to use as and when.
oscar does tend to finish his feed most of the time but since yesterday he's wanting a bottle about every 3 hours,whereas before it was about every 4.last night he slept for 7 hours without a feed so im really confused-just dont want a repeat of yesterday's screaming.

when you go to the wedding next saturday why dont you ask if you can keep the milk in the fridge at the venue? those advent coolers/bags are really only meant to be used for upto 3 hours i think.i bought a thermabag one which is meant to keep bottles/food hot or cold but found it didnt work when i put a hot bottle in there.im sure a cold one would be fine though.

mrs w-we're also not going far this year.just holidaying in great yarmouth,for a week in sept.

Lipstick, I?m b-fing only. Just to repeat Lynny, I?ve used Infacol, which comes with a pipette which you can squeeze directly into the baby?s mouth. Oh, and if you locate that instruction manual, may I borrow it???

Bub, sounds like Oscar's having a growth spurt, I'd see if he'll take more food. I assume you're feeding him on demand? Toby will also go for 7 hours at night sometimes, alas this tends to be more like 9 til 4 than, say, midnight to 7 But I think that just means Oscar's getting the hang of the difference between night and day, a Good Thing.

Yup, thought about asking the caterers. They must have somewhere for keeping the champers chilled after all!

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trib-our 7 hours last night was also 9pm-4am.

lynny-your method also sounds just as easy as the pre-mixed stuff.my steraliser only does 6 bottles at a time,so i normally do another 6 just before going to bed.

hiya juniey mums wow were all having same problems i am breast feeding william and finding im still feeding on the hour sometimes but he will sleep for about 3 hours in the afternoon, so i gave him a top up bottle last nite his first bottle which he took 3 ounzes no problem im wondering if im not producing enough milk for him im very upset about this and i can see william is not settling at times. As well as that he hasnt put any more weight on grrrrrr i could really do with some advice.

As for wind we use infacol that does the trick

Babies are so worrying just want him to settle more although hes really content baby and doesnt cry hardly at all.

Anyway lest hope we all get some sleep tonitexxxxxxx

Lynny, excellent tip about the powder dispensers, it is on my action list for next week. Honestly, I am preparing for this wedding almost more than the bride is - I just want to make sure we can cope with anything that might happen!

Bub - the 7 hour sleep is a good sign, even if they may need some adjustment to figure out when the 7 hours should begin. I must say I do find having to get up only once in the night to be most civilised, particularly as I seem to have persuaded dh to do the night feed. I get the bottle and a drink for him, and then crash out whilst he gets on with it, only waking up again if advanced winding is required or a nappy change.

Lippy, I have the instruction manual for newborns. The pages are blank

Lynny, sorry to hear Jess is suffering Hope she is not milk intolerant - my little nephew was (allegedly) milk intolerant when he was adopted, my SIL says the soya formula smells bloody awful. Still, if it helps her little tummy ...

Kudos to all with two - or more. My cleaning lady has FIVE children and is currently pregnant with number 6, the mind boggles. Mind you, the older ones are old enough to help out. I think we'll be very lucky (again) next time around as we'll both be at home full time with the two nippers - it must be nightmarish trying to feed / change one whilst the other one charges about the place? I wonder how my SIL ever survived the arrival of a 1 year old when she had a 2 1/2 year old already. I daren't ask.

Bero, hope you're doing okay, I've never heard of this German tradition about birthdays. I don't think they have it in Sweden too, although will check in with Swedish friends on that one.

My afternoon perambulation to the pub today was marred by Mad Drunk Bloke (at 5:30 in the evening) who offered me a thousand quid for the baby. Fortunately for him Toby was not crying, so I was not tempted

Coop - belated happy birthday!

Hope all are well.

EYM, I was v opposed to the idea of a top-up bottle of formula back in the halcyon days of pregnancy before I had failed to breastfeed at all All I will say now is that ds also has spells of seeming to be very unsettled even on formula, so don't assume it's a milk supply problem. I think babies generally sleep longer on formula because it takes longer to digest, this is part of the seductive quality of formula feeding for new parents!

I'd suggest you post a new thread under Bottle/Breastfeeding so the real experts will see your concerns. I know from what I've read on here that the fact the baby will take a bottle of formula doesn't necessarily mean they were hungry.

Try not to be upset, I know that's easy to say, but it will also make the situation more difficult. Best of luck to you. xxx

Trib, would it be helpful if I sent you the local property guide so you can see what's available at the moment? Just CAT me and I'll stick it in the post (it will stop DH from looking at houses when we can't afford to buy a new one).

Perhaps we could have a virtual holiday on here? You know, try and type in Spanish, pretend to be on a beach not stuck at home with crying babies, that kind of thing?

EYM, I've read on here that taking a formula feed after a breastfeed doesn't mean that the baby isn't hungry, it's just that it is easier to drink from a bottle. There are lots of experts on here who will be able to give you some good advice, but I really hope it gets better soon.

Right, off to try and finish last Sunday's newspaper before the next one arrives.

Hola amigas!
Que tal?
Mas una margarita?
ninos, que ninos?
Hasta manhana!

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Mrs Wednesday - yes i am finding it quite hard with 3 atm!!!!
They all want my time in different ways and there is sooooo much washing and housework and cooking as well.
If we had the room (which we dont) we would seriously consider getting an au pair for the summer holidays just to help me out!!!
It is ok when DH is around - but if not the house just goes to pot!!!!
It is reassuring to know that everyone else is finding it as hard as me.
I am sure it has to be this hard to appreciate it when it gets easier

Tessie

Get a cleaner, get a live out au pair, get someone to help you if you can afford it!!! It's flipping hard isn't it????

I just drove 20 minutes to retail park to buy stuff for holiday from M'care and Boots, only to discover I didn't have my purse with me, it was sitting next to the computer at home I had to sit in traffic for ages too because there is a Next there and so it was chokka due to their sale What a waste of an hour

Really need to move on and dwell on all that lost time while dd2 was sleeping. To rub it in dp is having a nap, had a good mind to go and wake hime up. Also we have no food in the house as we are going a way soon and I am starving!!! I'm gonna make hime go to M&S for me when he wakes up!!!

Bloody hell. Move on, move on, think positive thoughts!!!!!!!

eym, don't worry. Samuel is 9 1/2 weeks and still feeds hourly for at least a short phase of every day. At other times though he'll go 3 or 4 hours, sometimes longer. He gained 180g last week and 200g the week before and is weeing and pooing for England (and often all over beds, cars etc. ). If you want to give a top-up bottle then go for it, but if William is gaining, weeing and pooing well then you almost certainly don't have a milk problem. Samuel is a very feedy baby, but I'm happy with it atm.
Thanks for asking Trib. We survived the bday party, followed, however, by the night from hell - it felt like I fed all night, but Samuel might have been upset as dh and I had a row - yes, on his bday. I feel pretty awful but morning fortunately brought calming down on all sides.
All being well, we are off to Berlin for 6 weeks tomorrow . I won't have as frequent internet access as I do now, so don't worry if I seem to 'disappear' for a time

¡Saludos de la playa virtual mis amigas!

Lua, keep those margaritas coming chiquita.

Tessie, I definitely vote for looking for a live-out au pair or mum's helper or similar. The daughter of a friend of my parents is doing this as her summer job this year, also for a mum with three little ones. Fortunately for me, she is going to uni in Leeds in the autumn - hello babysitter! (Every time I hear from her mum she reminds me how keen Lucy is to babysit, bliss - and presumably student babysitters will work for food and/or beer).

MrsW - thanks, I've sent you a CAT.

Bero - enjoy Berlin, you are certainly travelling around just now! Do you not miss being at home?

Lippy - nightmare about your purse, I would definitely 'accidentally' wake dp up from his nap.

Lynny, we have a couple of slings but haven't really got to grips with them yet, esp as the weather has been so hot. (No danger of that today).

Right, back to the beach I think, ¡hasta pronto!

EYM I am by no means an expert on breastfeeding, perhaps you should start your own thread on what you think the 'problem' is. I do know that the only way to produce more milk naturally is to feed more, breast milk production is based on supply and demand. This is very tiring and at times infuriating. My dd2 was feeding like crazy yesterday evening from about 6 until at least 1030 (she was also very unsettled because of something I had eaten). I'm not sure that giving a bottle of formula before bedtime is a miracle cure for a nights sleep. And I think if you miss out that feed, your body will think the milk isn't needed and produce less, causing you distress!!

I don't think there is a 'formula' for breastfeeding. As Berolina said, sometimes William will want a snack , sometimes a long meal, sometimes a drink, sometimes a comfort suck. It's confusing for us when they don't fit into a pattern. But try not to worry about it. What's also hard is the demands it makes on our body all the time.

Also, make sure you are drinking plenty of water throughout the day and especially towards the late afternoon early evening when you feel your supply might be dwindling, that worked for me (and was good for my well being in general).

Good luck

Btw all, had a laugh yesterday trying to take a photo of Toby that would meet the rules for a passport photo. Here are the current candidates:

Toby's passport photos

Trib, Toby's pictures made me spill my rum and coke all over my bikini (if we can dream about a beach, I can dream about a bikini...)!
I have a silly question for you.Do you have to establish him as a british citizen, before you apply for a passport? We have been looking into getting DS a passport but are very confused about the procedure.

EYM, just to add to everybody else...frequency of bfing is not correlated with your milk quality or quantity. My 71/2 weeks ds feeds every hour or 2 and is becoming monstrous - 13 lbs as of friday , and he was born at 7lb 14oz...

Lippy what a frustrating trip. I am a total air head and have done similar more than I ought to! I particularly hate when I go grocery shoppping and have a full cart before I realize I don't have my wallet!

Lippy I'm right with you on the many and varied ways babies like to consume breastmilk, so hard to establish any kind of pattern - ds pretty much does as he likes although I'm trying to make him wait a bit longer between some feeds as I think too much snacking might be exacerbating his wind and my goodness was that bad last night. He was uncomfortable and noisy beween 1230 and 0630 - really hard to get much sleep at all as the poor lamb was obviously feeing horrible. I think it might have been chlli sauce I'd had or a decision to give him less colief as he was doing so well. Needless to say he's back on colief big time now and the sauce is in the bin!

Lua, just been looking at the passport application stuff again (god it's complicated). For a child born in the UK of British parents who are married to each other, we have to supply a full birth certificate and then proof of nationality from one of us (if dh were to sign the application that would have to include the marriage certificate, if it's me, just my passport or birth certificate).

I assume you don't have a British passport? What about your dh? It seems incredibly complicated, v pleased ds wasn't born abroad as that would make things even worse!

Trib, DH does have a UK passp. but as he was not born here I think things can get even more complicated! But just to be sure, once you have a birth certificate, the next step is to get a passport, right? or is there anything else that needs to be done before to establish citzenship?
How annoying!! we would like to travel, but it is becoming such a hassle to get a pass. for him! The other 2 nationalities that he could claim, require that we go in person to London, which is usually not easy with a newborn and a toddler in tow, but now is extra scary. Let me know how you get along!

Lua I think you can go ahead and apply for a passport, although it might be worth giving the adviceline a ring - 0870 521 0410, or Passport Office website . You don't need to do anything else for the baby, just dig through masses of your paperwork!

According to the notes for the application, your ds should be able to get a British passport provided either or both of you and dh were British at the time of his birth, or were settled in the UK at the time of the birth (granted indefinite leave to remain).

So I think you would need to supply your dh's passport or Home Office certificate of naturalisation, plus your marriage certificate.