Due May 2024? Part 3

[Sa11yCinnamon]

Just kicking off a new thread, hoping no one else does it at the same time!

@Athena1984 hope all is ok, keep us posted xx

Interesting reading some babies don’t have regressions as we have been nervous about the supposed 4 month one. My little one is an amazing sleeper and has slept through since week 5- he goes down about 11 and is asleep until 7.30am which is the dream. I hope it doesn’t change. 🤣 On the downside, he has been a bit of a tricky feeder with tongue ties and getting used to feeding without nipple shield etc- but the last week I feel we have finally made progress. But omg I find it so painful when he initially latches without the shields on!

Those whose babies sleep through, are you breastfeeding? My wee one slept for eight hours straight last night but I had to get up at 5am to pump as I was in agony which feels like it defeats the purpose! Does your supply adjust in time?

@Sa11yCinnamon yep, my son started off doing 2-3 hour stretches. Now he typically does about 6-7 hour stretches. Initially I was engorged but it adapted within a couple of days.

@PeppedUp ah that's good to know! He's not done it two days in a row anyway 😆

Does anyone else have issues with conflicting information from Health Visitors?
I know they have to advise & are doing their jobs, but I'm fed up with each person telling me something different.

My little one has been struggling with reflux this last week, we have started the formula swap as Gavison isn't working. It's now been suggested that I'm over feeding my little one because she's changed centiles. BUT on the other hand I've been praised for following the little ones lead for following her hunger cues 🤦‍♀️
I know everyone says you know your baby best, but when it is your first sometimes you want a bit of guidance/help. I wish I'd not taken to get her weighed now.

Sorry for the rant 😂

@Clarkey34 we had this weeks ago. My little girl couldn’t latch properly so we struggled with breastfeeding and she lost a lot of weight. I put her on formula then got told I was over feeding her but at the next weigh in she’d dropped 2 percentiles! We get a dedicated HV in my area but luckily she was on holiday when I had to call for a weight check because she had never bothered to check up on us again despite having suspected CMPA and reflux too. The HV that came to me and found she’d dropped so much weight was so much better and so helpful I requested a permanent change to her. Go by your babies cues as mum really does know best.

We’ve still not totally nailed the reflux but have another check up next week. I’m hoping my baby has gone back up to the 50th percentile as well as she seems to be thriving now we’re doing responsive feeding. Sometimes she absolutely smashes a 180ml bottle but other times she has as little as 30ml but I think she’s taking in enough as her night time sleep is great and she’s on track with day time wake windows and nap times, nappies all good now too.

If you can, can you request that you have continuous service from one HV?

We do have an assigned HV here, but she is useless. The baby clinic I went to today turned out to be her clinic, if I had known that I wouldn't have gone 🤣

It just baffles me how advice changes so much. I swapped to responsive feeding a while ago and her sleep has been fab, she's been soooo energetic, alert, playing etc but i was also told today that I'm leaving her to long between feeds, so that could be causing the over feed. I did try to state that baby refuses when she's had enough. Like this morning she only had 5oz, but last night she had 8oz, because she was still starving & this evening she has had 4oz and fallen to sleep for the night, so I'm expecting lots of waking up tonight.

Everyone I've spoken to today has said ignore the HV & I know best, which I do. But i'm also a over thinker/worrier, so it's eating away at me.

How much milk is everyone's babies having roughly throughout the day?

In other news the new milk seems to be working 🤞

For those of you whose babies are suffering from reflux, what were the symptoms and what age did they start?

My son has had periods of bad discomfort over the last couple of days with lots of wriggling and distress. I was wondering if it’s reflux because he’s also been bringing up a lot more milk that normal. It is also much more watery than usual.

He’s always brought up a bit of milk after feeds but never seemed that bothered by it before so I’m wondering if he is developing reflux now at 10 weeks.

@Clarkey34 I’ve heard mixed messages from HVs before, which makes me more inclined to listen to my own instincts. We haven’t properly tracked centiles either but my son seems happy and healthy otherwise so I don’t feel too worried.

@PeppedUp does he go rigid and arch his back during or after a feed? That’s the telltale reflux or silent reflux sign. When it happens to my daughter she generally cries a lot too, we don’t get it with every feed now that we add carobel but it’s still not totally under control. A refluxy baby also won’t enjoy lying on their back and can be difficult to stay down at night due to this. Also spluttering on the milk like it’s too much but then wanting more as sucking helps the reflux feeling but then they’re sick from having too much. Reflux was there from pretty much day one, it doesn’t really develop I don’t think.

If your baby is wiggling about it sounds more like trapped wind in my experience. My daughter gets trapped wind and writhes around and makes noises, sometimes crying with it, she just needs farted then she’s fine.

@PeppedUp My son's was from birth. It was horrible and it wasn't even that bad compared to what other babies had.

Thanks @SarahB88 and @TheBirdintheCave. I’ve been messaging the health visitor and she thinks it might be that he’s taking in more air than normal when he’s feeding. I thought it would be unusual for him to develop reflux now but the NHS website made it sound like it can be normal to start anytime before six months.

I’ve been struggling with his latch over the last week or so, which is annoying because I wasn’t having any problems before. He’s started bouncing with legs when he feeds and then gets frustrated when he comes off the nipple. Unfortunately he also gets frustrated when I try to lift up his legs so he can’t push off on them anymore 🫤

@PeppedUp apparently now is prime feeding distraction time so maybe he’s getting distracted by something, maybe try feeding in a darkened room when possible. If the HV thinks he’s taking in extra air what you’ve described deffo sounds like trapped wind. If you can’t manually wind him with moving his legs I find a bath helps to relax things and get it on the move. I do a little tummy massage for her in the bath to try and help. She was literally screaming this morning but it was just wind and once I got it out she was fine so give that a go.

Has anyone experienced cracked nipples before? Mine have been tender for the last couple of days and just noticed one has cracked this morning. I’m hoping I can try to feed more on the better side and have bought some silver cups but wondering if anyone has any other tips? His latch has gone back to normal so I’m hoping the underlying cause has now gone.

Yes I’ve had cracked nipples and the only thing I can advise is lansinoh cream and literally apply it after every single feed. Mine was better within a day and completely back to normal within 2. It really does work. It’s worth bearing in mind that neither of you had any signs of thrush as that can cause nipple pain etc. I also kept feeding through the pain on both sides as normal as I didn’t want to end up with mastitis or anything.

I had cracked nipples and the only thing that sorted them was hand expressing some milk then rubbing it on the nipple. It was recommended by the midwife and honestly did wonders.

@PeppedUp my baby is 9 weeks and I'm experiencing similar to you both in terms of bringing up more milk than usual (and it's more watery - this is happening immediately after feeding) and a worsening latch. With the vomiting it's been so hot I wondered if he's been feeding more because he's thirsty but then taking on more than his stomach can handle. Not sure what's brought on the bad latch but he's generally a lot more wiggly and distracted by things recently so will try and be patient with getting him back sucking efficiently. Thankfully my nipples seem to be coping OK. We also get plenty of trapped wind so need to try help him with that. Any improvements your end?

I hope everyone’s little ones are doing ok? Just wondering if anyone has had to move their baby into the parent facing pushchair part of the pram yet?

DD is 14 weeks and very quickly getting too long for the bassinet. Our prams pushchair is lie flat and I know can be used from birth, so all good there, she just seems so young for it yet 😂

@Dexnt15 12 weeks here but we're still in the newborn pack (up to six months). There still seems to be enough room for her but I can see us not making six months 😂

@Dexnt15 I was thinking about changing soon as my son seems to prefer the car seat on the base to lying completely flat in the pram, he likes to look around! He's only 10.5 weeks but I think ours is also suitable from birth. I'll hold off a few more weeks.

@Dexnt15 We are in the same position as you. We are at 16 weeks now and rapidly running out of room in the bassinet bit. Everything I've read online makes it seem too early to move her onto the pushchair bit, but we will be doing very soon.

@Dexnt15 @Sa11yCinnamon @Clarkey34 the girls in my baby group swear by this insert for the pram seat https://babymoov.co.uk/products/cosymorpho-newborn-cushiontravel-insert it’s ideal if baby needs a bit of support, you can slip the straps through so it’s nice and secure too. I’m actually using it in the bassinet too as we do a lot of forest walks and although my prams meant to be “off road” capable I still felt like she was being bounced around and this keeps her more stable and stops her head bobbling about.

So after all of our weight gain struggles, 12 weeks later she’s now back in to the 50th percentile 🥳 she’s feeding better since having the tongue tie cut and the carobel thickener is reducing her reflux sickness so she just be taking a lot more in. The HV was so exciting when she saw the number on the scales because she knows how hard we’ve been fighting to get here. One more additional weight check to ensure she’s tracking on the 50th in a few weeks then we’ll be put on the regular visit schedule. It’s not going to be regular for too long as the next “regular” appointment will be to discuss weaning and we’ll be back on to an increased support for that for her cmpa and working through the milk ladder but I’m just delighted she’s back to thriving. She’s finally able to fit in to her 0-3 month clothes now at nearly 3 months old 🙈

@SarahB88 That's great news about her weight! :D

@SarahB88 that's brilliant news, well done! Must be such a relief x

@Yourowgirl sorry for taking a while to reply - has his latch improved?? Mine became less wriggly after about a week; however, I’m still having nipple issues, which makes me feel like there is still a latch issue. I final got some balm delivered yesterday so hopefully that helps.

In terms of wriggling, HV suggested he may have been taking in more wind, which can contribute to the watery posset. She suggested this could be due to him becoming more distracted as he becomes more curious or due to a bit of congestion as he was occasionally sneezing up mucus.

Has anyone’s babies started showing interest in toys? Now that mine is starting to wake for longer it seems he needs a bit more stimulation than just cuddles. For now, we have a piece of cardboard behind our sofa that he can stare at for literally an hour and becomes very absorbed in!