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!

Lineky remember that bf is their food and drink... so on hot days, milk is more watery as they need more fluids, as do we all.

Billie has only had a few bottles of expressed (DH unable to stay awake until 11pm to feed her ... never a problem pre DC2!) She has had from 60mls to 250mls at a sitting I express up to 250mls a day as building up a supply for when I return to work, plus live in hope that DH will get his finger out! I am aiming for 1 bottle given every 2 to 3 days so she doesn't forget how.

Do you ladies give baby the EBF bottle yourself? Has there been any problems? I was told never to be even in sight of baby, let alone give it, but from looking at BF threads it seems this may not be an issue after all.

had an awful night last night. kacie was fine but i could not sleep properly and in the hour that i did sleep i had nightmares! i've not had a nightmare since i was a child. i was really burning up through the night too. i've just come on my first period post baby so dont know if its related to that maybe or just a coincidence. feel unbelievably rough today

nicnac hope it was a one-off and you feel better today.
stinky Alexander is definitely feeding more in this heat, I ended up feeding him in a turret of a castle, a National Trust tearoom, on the beach and in a beer garden over the weekend . Luckily for me he latched on fine in all those places, it's just at home he fusses and fights which is odd. I am having to remind myself to down a pint of water every now and then so that I have enough fluids to make enough milk.

I have found the opposite - DD fed less on hot days and slept more. Tried to wake her for feeds and she didnt seem interested, but fed alot more later when it was cooler.

Both me and my DH have fed DD expressed bottles, with no probs at all.

I was wondering how many find their baby comfort feeds. My ds seems to need a lot of comfort feeds. I don't remember the other two feeding so much.

Also, do many of your little ones settle themselves?

Hi mistymoo. I have found that my DD comfot feeds when she has wind, but that is the only time. Her feeding when she has wind is more frantic.

Eilidh manages to settle herself well. I look for cues - i.e yawns, hands up at eyes etc and will put her to bed even when she is awake. She chatters for a while sometimes but is generally able to settle herself. If she has not shown any cues, then generally she wont settle and will want back up for a short feed, or two!

I have a feeding query - Eilidh ois 7 weeks now and very rarely empties my breast. I have big boobs - is that a factor? She will either fall asleep on the breast or will simply stop and refuse anymore food. Sometimes she only feeds for 5 minutes - some days she will then cry for more food an hour later, other days, like today, she lasted 3 hours even though she only fed for 5 minutes. She had gained weight last week, but Im starting to worry slightly that she isnt getting enough food. I have started expressing and she took 5 oz for her dad over 4 hours - 3oz then 2oz two hours later. Have expressed 4.5oz for 11pm feed tonight, so will see what she takes. I assume if she takes it all, she must be getting a similar amount from by breast before she stops?? So many questions sorry! Going to pop along to breastfeeding goup tomorrow I think. Need some reassurance aand guidance.

Sorry for long post!

Anyone else having trouble getting their DC to take a bottle of expressed milk. I've been trying with DD2 for 5 weeks now ans=d she hates it. On the 3rd type of bottle and feeling a bit trapped. Does anyone have any tips? I never give it to her and stay well away, have it 'blood-warm' too.

finally managed to catch a picture of Kacie's big smile. have put it on my profile.

neeko, have you tried Nuk bottles with a brown latex teat? DS1 wouldn't take a bottle & I tried loads of different ones until I came to the nuk ones. The teat is shaped slightly differently & the latex is much softer than silicone so more nipple-like. Tried one with George last week when we were having probs bf'ing & he took it no problem.

George is now back to feeding in a normal position with no problems latching on . Got no idea why it all went wrong for a few days but very glad that bf'ing is back on track. He is feeding much more frequently now though, every 2 hours-ish. Not sure if this is due to hot weather or if he is just trying to catch up from last week. Going with it at the moment as will also help my milk supply if it had been affected by his infrequent feeding last week.

Nicnac - hope you've had some better nights of sleep.

neeko when I first gave DD expressed milk, I fed her the first half of the bottle and my DH gave her the other half - not sure if this helped or not, but maybe worth a try?

lovely photo nicnac!

Hiya, I think I'm the only one on here not breastfeeding? Sorry I can't offer any advice or anything on that subject.
33 degrees here today in BG, and gonna be hottest summer for 100 yrs apparently. Gotta give Valentin lots of water in between feeds, I'm scared of him overheating and DPs bloody family still insist that he needs more clothes/hats/blankets on.. ARGH!!!
As most of DPs family are our neighbours (unfortunately), I have a special hat in the pram that goes on when we're leaving the house and comes off a lil' further down the rd! It's mad!
Can I ask what's happening to everyone's periods? Almost 6 wks since birth now and I've not had a period, I wanna start my contraceptive pill but supposed to start on 1st day of period. Unless there was a period straight after the after bleeding and I didn't notice?! Otherwise is 6 wks normal?
nicnac gorgeous smile! i haven't had any big ones like that yet.. still can't tell differnce between smiles and wind at the mo!
Hope everyone's doing ok and enjoying the sunshine

thanks guys, sleep was much better last night and feel loads better today for it.

rumple i am not breastfeeding either, i gave it a go but found it really difficult and my nipples were bleeding so worried about her getting blood in her mouth. + she was feeding on me constantly and when i tried her with formula she went for 4 hours so i just took the easiest option which i feel quite guilty about now as she has reflux and has to be on special staydown milk for it. i blame sleep deprivation, i just cant cope without my sleep and i had none whilst breastfeeding as it takes me a long time to get to sleep so i never managed to get any before i had to feed her again.
i came on my first period on saturday which was 7 and a half weeks post section.
dont worry it took Kacie over 6 weeks to start giving proper smiles that were a reaction from us. you can tell the real smiles as we see them coming before her mouth turns up by her eyes, they go all bright and happy and you can tell that she's going to smile at you. we do lots of high pitched baby talk and big grins at her to get her to smile.

Kacie has her 8 week check and jabs today

rumple haven't had a period yet, with DD it took 8 months for them to come back (in the middle of a camping trip, aargh) but I was BFing so it probably takes longer to come back than if not.
I am getting big smiles now first thing in the morning when Alexander wakes up, it's really nice.

Nic don't feel bad about the b'feeding. I managed 6 weeks with DS and have just done 3 weeks with DD - for much the same reasons as you; DD is on hungry baby formula and was in quite a state when it was breast feeding alone. My DS had to be "topped up" with formula when I was b'feeding him. Some people find it harder than others.......and I also suffer from not the best sleep habits .

rumple you are not the only person here not breastfeeding!

I actually find the whole subject (in real life) really emotional and prefer to not discuss it. Tomorrow though I have a shedload of relatives visiting from far away and with DS they practically interviewed me before and after the birth regarding feeding. This time when they ask me I'm going to say "yes" to the b'feeding question!
I'd rather talk to people about my lady parts than how i feel about breast feeding my kids - its so personal.

Nobody should feel bad about how they choose to feed their baby. Mums are generally made to feel preasured and guilty about pretty much everything I think!
Basically if you are happy and relaxed then your child will be too and that makes for happiness all round!
Romy is really good and can settle herself most of the time although seems to be put to sleep in our dark bedroom most of the time so almost forgotten about poor thing!
I am really struggling with my DD1 who is full on displying attention seeking behavoiur! She is so naughty and keeps running off when we go anywhere so i feel housebound. I have a buggy board but she is too wise for that and so I am trying to get hold of a second hand maclaran double so I can strap her in to (ironically) try and take her to nice places which I know she will enjoy!!!
I feel sad that most of my time with her is telling her off......hope it passes, luckily she loves Romy and is really lovely with her.

If you don't want to go, don't go Dwayne. Simple as. You have a small baby who is beyond precious, even though you already have another child. Do what is right for you and yours.

Don't believe in Jinx though. What will be will be.

If you are worried about upsetting your friend... how about bending the truth? If I had a friend in that situation, I would not be offended.

Jenny my DD aged 3 is beyond challenging at the moment, and all I seem to do is tell her off, then reassure her. I am soo patient with her, but certain behavior just cannot go unchallenged. It is a phase. This too will pass!

hi ladys dds baby is doing really well he was 6lb 13 oz lost an ounce ,now weighs 7lb 9 oz ,hes 2 weeks old on fri ,has 4 ounce bottle 3-4 hours very alert as well.

I felt very guilty about not b'feeding, I did try and it just wasn't happening. I still felt like I'd 'given up' though and all the information we're given straight after giving birth and even the Aptamil TV advert made me feel really crappy about it. There is too much pressure, especially when women are very vulnerable and full of crazy hormones.
I now feel ok about it as Valentin is a very relaxed baby and he's never screaming with hunger, as he was the first week of his life, bless him. And the scabs on my nipples have finally healed!
I'm very impressed by all of you that are b'feeding, it is damn difficult! If I have another I will try again but won't beat myself up about it if, again, it doesn't work out.
dwayne glad your friend was cool with your decision, you'll naturally know the best thing to do and going to a party is no fun if you can't relax!
I've been invited to another Bulgarian wedding! The bride-to-be asked me who will look after my baby! I said I'm bringing him along! He'll just sleep, and if he doesn't sleep he'll be watching the chicken dance!
Hope everyone has a good weekend and thanks for your menstruation info.. eagerly awaiting my period (never said that before!), I'll hold off on the camping trips for a while!

...oh and eagerly awaiting proper non-wind-related-smiles!

i know what you mean about it being an emotional subject adelaide i look back now and think i shouldnt have quit. but its easy to say that now that we're in a routine and she's sleeping well. at the time my sleep deprived brain was sure stopping was the best thing, and as you say jennysbean if im happier then the baby is happier. just makes me a bit sad as this is our last and i would have loved to have breastfed her for as long as possible, i have momentary thoughts of having another in a few years just so that i can try breastfeeding again and then realise how stupid that is ha. 1 of each is definitely enough for us

Kacie's 8 week check went well and jabs were a lot better than i expected, just a momentary scream and then she calmed down as soon as i cuddled her and went to sleep on the way home. hasnt had a temp over night so all is ok. ds came with me though and as soon as he went in the room he made sure to tell them he wasnt having any injections. he's not long ago had his pre school ones so he remembers it. much harder to calm them at that age, he started screaming that he didnt want it before they even jabbed him and then had little crys again for sympathy when telling his grandparents about it ha.

Hi all. Thanks for the advive on the bottle. The battle continues. I've been lucky both times to have no probs bf but the bottle refusal is making me feel trapped. I think motherhood is often one big guilt trip and we should all try to remember that we make the decision that seems best for our family at the time. As long as the babby is fed, the method shouldn't matter.

Having a terrible time with DS1 hitting and generally being rough with the baby. Has got worse over the last week since been staying at my parents. I've been giving him lots of attention in between feeds as gave my parents, but it doesn't seem to matter. I'm praying that once we're back af home with DH & things get back to his normal daily routine that he will stop being so violent. It started with him being a bit rough with kisses and cuddles but is now full on violent including biting and headbutting! he pretends to want to kiss George & before you can stop him he's butted him or slapped him or something. I tried not to make too a big a deal about it to start with but am now having to shout and punish him as it is getting so bad.

Anyone got any advice or tips on how I should handle it?