April 2010 - our little bundles are here!

[lineky]

Thought I'd start a Post-Natal thread as there are so many of us now sorry about the uninspired name.
Well I am slowly realising the sleepless nights thing is no myth - VERY tired!

Thanks guys. I googled it & it is quite common for periods to restart when babies start on solids or stop feeding at night i.e. when bf'ing reduces. So must be because G has started solids. I was just surprised as last time didn't have a period until a few weeks after completely stopping bf.

Had a bad day with George today. He wouldn't settle for his nap this morning (not helped by big brother blowing a whistle loudly every few minutes!) When he eventually dozed off it was only for 20mins. He then didn't sleep again all day even when we went out for a walk this afternoon. He normally has a 2hr+ nap in the afternoon, so this was really unusual for him. He has been miserable as sin as a result. At bedtime he didn't feed for long and then grizzled for half hr before finally going off to sleep whereas he usually has a good feed and goes off quietly to sleep. He has one red cheek so think he must be teething. We're either in for a terrible night coz of the teething & overtiredness, or brilliant night coz he's so knackered!

zeeky since there is no post from you in the middle of the night does that mean George slept all night?

DH and I went out for dinner last nite. It was lovely. Very relaxing :)

I think J is allergic to milk as his blotches came back after my mum gave him a bottle of formula on Friday when I was feeling ill. He was also sick twice after having it. I'm going to make an appt with dr to discuss it. I had a lot of allergies when I was young but am OK now so hopefully if he is allergic he will grow out of them.

Hello.

I'm new to this thread and wanted to just float something by to see if anyone else is experiencing similar patterns with their April babies.

I am bottle feeding (stopped BFing at 6 weeks) and weaning. DS is still not sleeping thru. Our day goes something like this:

Anywhere between 4-6am: wakes for milk. Takes around 5 oz typically. Usually goes back to sleep but lately this has only been after an awful lot of shouting.
Get up around 7 - after a lot of encouragement from DS (so tired that can usually sleep thru the chatting which starts much earlier than this)
Breakfast at 8 - currently HIPP banana and peach breakfast followed by fruit if still opening mouth.
Lunch at 11.30 - whatever I can throw together. Plus a fromage frais.
Milk at 2
Dinner at 5 - similar to lunch.
Milk at 6.30
Bed
Dream feed whenever DH decides to come to bed (betw. 10-12)

Can you feed them ham at this age? What about Philadelphia? What if you think you've given them plenty of solids but they still open their mouths for more? Should you just keep shovelling it in regardless until they refuse any more? DS is already on the 91st centile so a big boy. He loves his fromage frais and has been known to complain quite loudly when it stops coming!

Sorry or butting in. Thanks for any advice.

That should have read "Sorry for butting in..."!

Hello HopHop, just checking in while I try to get DS to have some carrot and pea puree (yum :)). I certainly wouldn't give ham until a year or more, as it's so salty and really isn't good for babies. I don't know what the salt content of Philadelphia is, but I imagine quite high, so I wouldn't give that either. Their main source of nutrition at this age is milk, not the solids, so maybe try more at the milk feeds/milk after meals?

welcome hophop dont know if this will help but Kacie was born 1st april her routine is:

7am - wake and 8oz bottle
9.30am - jar of hipp creamed porridge
1pm - lunch and fruit
3pm - about 7oz bottle
6pm - tea and yoghurt
7pm - bed

we tried dream feeding her but she wouldnt take much and it seemed to make her wake in the night then presumably because we'd disturbed her, as once we stopped she slept right through.

No George didn't sleep through. Woke at 11.40 for a feed then not until 4 (better than nomal). He fed fir ten mins then coughed & threw up the milk all over himself & me. After a complete change of nighclothes for us both he was wide awake but left him & he must have gone to sleep. Then had to wake him at 8 to get ready to take ds1 to school! Not sure what caused the sick as that's only the second time ever that he's been properly sick. He's been happy enough today- back to normal on the napping thank goodness!

Tried G with a bottle a couple of times today without much success. He liked playing with it, pulling my hands holding the bottle in & out. He sucked a bit and spat some out & generally messed about. Put him to the breast straight after and sucked away no problem so was obviously hungry! Think I will just try every day and hope he gets used to it.

Hello HopHop! welcome to the thread. Your routine sounds great. Wish I could say I had any kind of routine going. Agree with bettymum about possibly upping the milk in the daytime. Alternatively the nightwaking could be habit rather than hunger, so maybe try just settling him back down instead of feeding?

Thanks ladies. I have to say that I recently dropped a few day feeds as he just wasn't taking it - and this was before the weaning. It was quite disheartening to prepare a 7 oz bottle, for him only to take 1 (especially as the stuff is so damn expensive!). Given the advice I've received, can I assume that the feeling is that the constant mouth opening after the food's gone is possibly also due to not enough milk?

Hophop!- meant to say that in theory you can't overfeed a baby - they will let you know when they are full. DS1 used ti keep opening his mouth so I would just keep ladling the food in & sometimes hebwoukd be sick cos he'd eaten too much!! Only a couple of weeks into solids with G and he won't open his mouth at all! You could try bulking out the purees with some baby rice - might fill him up a bit if he's not interested in extra milk?

or you could try some finger food after the purees if he still seems hungry. sometimes if Kacie still seems hungry after her porridge i give her some toast which she quite happily munches on

nicnacinoonoo, thanks that's a good suggestion. I will try that next time.

Last night, I thought I'd try not doing a dream feed and just feed him when he wakes but the little blighter woke up at 10.30 crying anyway so DH went in and he polished off 7 oz. He then went thru till 4, when he woke shouting so I went in and he polished off another 7! But I did have to wonder (after I'd already started administering said bottle) if he might have gone back to sleep if I popped his dummy back in... I tried this several months ago and it didn't really work, just kept us both up from 4 till morning, so I started giving him the bottle again. Now he's on solids, it might be a different story. As Zeeky suggested, it could now be habitual.

BTW, looked up a bit about Philadelphia. It is crap as it turns out. I thought it was a good source of calcium but no. Parmesan has 12 times the content of calcium. DH compared Philly to Primula so I think I'll abandon that as a bad idea.

Babies at this age should (according to experts) be having at least 1 pint of formula. If this is not the case, try making milky foods with formula. Billie is BF, but I add expressed milk to her meals to get the consistency right etc.

Greetings HopHop - when was your DS born, and is he your first?

Perhaps it is time for a roll call?

Stinkypinky, 41. DD1 4, DD2 Billie, 21/04/10

Stinkypinky, 41. DD1 4, DD2 Billie, 21/04/10
nicnacinoonoo, 24. ds Ajay 4, dd Kacie 01/04/10

Thanks stinkypinky. He's averaging about 25 oz (about 1.3 pints) of formula a day at the moment and he's also having fromage frais after his lunch and tea so I think he should be getting enough.

No, DS not my first - DD is 2. I BF her until 8 months so had a different experience weaning (just popped her on the boob whenever I thought she might like some!). DS born 8th April. I take it the number after your names is your ages? If so, me = .

HopHop you cannot be as old as me

Maybe I'm younger than nicnacinoonoo...

I'm just toying witcha. I'm quite "average", I can assure you.

Stinkypinky, 41. DD1 4, DD2 Billie, 21/04/10
nicnacinoonoo, 24. ds Ajay 4, dd Kacie 01/04/10
Harverina, 28. DD Eilidh , 05/04/10

Hi everyone and welcome hophop!

Hophop, agree with the others about increasing the milk feeds during the day - you don't necessarily have to increase the amount of formula, but you could maybe try and add a bottle throughout the day. Your baby will get most of his calories from the milk feeds and if he isn't getting enough calories during the day he will waken during the night.

We have no feeding routine at the moment! Last week Eilidh seemed to be feeding more but over the past few days she has decreased her milk feeds big time. I keep thinking "she must be hungry" and offering her a feed and she creams the place down. I am a bit worried that she isn't getting enough as her solid intake seems so small! Just trying to go with the flow and hope that she is getting enough. She has been so unsettled in the early evening the past week. She used to always be in bed between 7.2.30pm and 8.30pm but the past couple of weeks we have been lucky if she is in bed by 10pm some nights. Anyone got any ideas? She always has a feed and her solid dinner before her bath and then refuses to latch on after her bath but won't fall asleep. I'm just wondering if I need to give her her tea earlier? This is our rough routine:

7am/8am - milk feed
9am - porridge
10am - top up milk feed before nap
10/11am - nap for an 1 - 1.5 hours
12.30 - milk feed
1.30 - solid lunch

For the rest of the afternoon she has been totally unpredictable and sometimes won't feed at all!

5.30pm - milk feed
6pm - solid tea
6.45pm - bath

After her bath she used to feed until she fell asleep but now she would rather just sit and chatter but will eventually take a milk feed before falling asleep.

Sorr for the long post everyone!

And sorry for the typos

harverina just wondered what porridge you give Eilidh because of her milk allergy? J just has fruit mixed with baby rice at the moment because I'm sure he's allergic to milk. I have a drs appt for him tomorrow morning.

haverina Sorry to drag out the age-old excuse but do you think it could be teething? It might be more painful for her to suck nearer to bedtime (just guessing here as I know when I'm under the weather evenings and mornings are the worst) but then she maybe gets so tired and hungry that she has the feed and falls asleep. That's probably not very helpful and I probably sound like everyones grandmother!!

Well DS took two full 7 oz bottles at bedtime and at the dream feed and then another 5 oz in the middle of the night (4am) so I reckon you ladies must be right. I'm going to try giving him more milk today and see if that helps. As he, historically, hasn't taken much milk during the day, I thought I'd try offering him little and often from a free flow lidded cup, along with the main bottle feeds, which I'm currently doing after lunch nap and before bed.

Oh, and gave him some toast this morning, nicnacinoonoo and he loved it! So he had that along with ready brek and pureed mango. Hates the tommee tippee cup so I'm trying a soft spout free flow cup next time.

HopHop - ready brek and mango sounds fab! As soon as B has finished the pack of baby porridge, I will get ready brek as I think it is better personally.

Have you thought of a Doidy cup? I have one on order - ebay £3.35 with free postage is best price I have found.

Billies routine:

6.30am full milk feed
7.30am porridge and fruit followed by swig of boobie
9ish nap until 11ish, followed by full feed
12.30 veggies with baby rice, fruit for pud, swig boobie
1.30ish nap until 3.30ish, followed by full feed
5pm veggies with baby rice, plus swig
6pm feed until drops off (baby not boobie)

Usually sleeps until 6.30 next day, and only wakes then as little whirlwind DD1 gets up and ensures everyone else wakes too.

She woke at 3am as she has a cold, poor little mite, so I did feed her then.

She is on a fairly limited diet at present, as not quite 6 months, and only been on solids 2 weeks, but she loves it, and would happily eat more. Introducing pea puree today..

stinky am laughing at your post, I had the most horrible dream the other night where my nipple started falling off in chunks (it was bigger in my dream). Much relief when I woke up and found it was still there, just a bit chewed.

Ha ha stinkypinky! Although bet it sometimes does feel like it wants to fall off (as I remember from BFing DD).

Haven't tried Doidy... Another friend is using one of those with her 8 month old and says she loves it too so maybe I'll give it a go.

Since breakfast, DS has slept 9.30-10.30, then we went out for a bit so took a 7oz bottle with me to give around 11.30 ish. He only managed 2 and that was with a lot of encouragement from moi. Then he slept 12-2 ish so I gave him some food on waking (a jar as was to hand - bit rushed today - followed by mashed banana; loved banana, not so keen on jar). Had some water from one of those Avent soft spout cups with the valve removed so free flow and am now trying to get another few oz of formula into him... He's not overly bothered, I have to say. Onwards, as they say...

Hi there,

I've just joined, and thought I'd say hello while my little one is asleep. Would like to meet other mums. I have a 6 month yr old daugher.