💙🩷From Bumps 2 Babies & Beyond!🤰👶🍼🤱🤱

[MummyTo4BoysXXXX]

following on from the Due February 2024 thread 7.. now this shall be thread 8! For us all to continue our pregnancy&postpartum journey together 😊

Thank you will have a look on vinted I think it would be so handy when your trying to get bits done, I could easily sit & just have baby cuddles all day but then nothing gets done 😂 x

I need a sling too! I’m also thinking it will be nice for walks in the spring weather 🤞

Yeah, I'm so excited to go on little walks, I think it will be so enriching for baby to hear the birds singing and breathe the fresh air etc.. Right now where I am it's a mild temperature but there's a bitter cold breeze, I feel like baby would be so uncomfortable in his buggy, even wrapped up.

I recommend the Close Caboo soft sling for this stage (used it with my first and again now) then ErgoBaby Omni as a more structured one for later.
I'm finding the Caboo great even with my c section scar, it sits well above it and is soft

@Cheetocat @RachLeeds Just ordered one from vinted £15 thanks @Hankthehonk can’t see daddy wearing it 😂 but I will especially as weather improving will be able to take boys to the park & have hands free

Just incase anyone is struggling remembering feed times/sleep times etc I’ve found the huckleberry app great for keeping track of it all. I forget which side was last etc but it records all that

Going to have a look at slings too, thanks ladies! Little man has reached 10lb now, I can't believe we are moving into a new clothes size already!

Just wondering what everyone does bath wise? How many times a week are you giving baths and what products are you using or are you still using water only? A lot of conflicting advice out there!

@Meeting
I found so much contradictory information online so I'm just using my own intuition!

4 week old bubba here. We give a proper bath 2-3 times per week and use gentle fragranced soap/shampoo and. On other days, a wipe down with warm water and cotton wool. I use child's farm coconut oil to moisturise everyday. She's not reacted badly to any products so I'm happy with this regime for now! Will adjust if and when needs be :)

Might start doing nightly baths at 6-8 weeks as she loved it and think it would help start a nighttime 'routine'.

Thankyou everyone for your responses, how terrible some of us have had the same situation!! My friend who’s training to be a midwife said some just do their jobs like a box ticking exercise but why do a job like that if you’re not interested :/ some of the things that happen during our births effect us a long time after. I’m under the perinatal MH team I think they were concerned about me initially but I saw her the other day and she said I looked a lot better and seemed in a better place which was nice to hear

I’m using infacare baby bath ultra mild they used it in neonatal so assumed it must be good Noah gets bathed twice a wk and a wee wash on the other days he’s not getting bathed 👍 x

3 weeks old and having 2 baths a week, just water and a little Johnson's on her hair.
Top and tail wash the other days.

Cant remember when I started doing daily baths with my first?
I reckon will be afew weeks yet but will up the baths every so often as she's very chilled in them.

I’m feeling like a failure. I just can’t cope with the lack of sleep. Little man is 3 weeks old today. Wouldn’t settle this afternoon so didn’t get to nap until 5:30, then only for an hour when husband got home. He’s offered to take him until 5am so I’m going to bed now to get 8 hours sleep in the bank. Nearly all mums I speak to don’t have to do this. Why can’t I cope….

@redxlondon you're not a failure! It's really hard, and I hope you feel better once you have sleep.
My husband and I are doing shifts of 4 hours each, every night. We did the same with our first daughter. It's a good thing if you can be a team and aim for everyone to get as much sleep as possible.

@redxlondon the lack of sleep is awful! I’m counting down the days until Saturday when it’s daddy’s turn and I’m sleeping in the spare room. Trying to keep on top of the house work as well is a nightmare 😴😴😴

@redxlondon don’t be so hard on yourself your exhausted, you can cope, your just having one of them days you’ll feel loads better after a rest x

@redxlondon aren't a failure by any means.
Sleep deprivation is a form of torture.
We're all winging it, as much as people like to say they have their shit together.

I hope you enjoyed your long sleep.

I ended up doing the 4:30am feed, which took an hour to get him fed and settled. I could have ignored message from husband but the guilt kicked in as he is working today.

During which my cat threw up.

I don’t feel better…just broken.

Oh, and does anyone else wake up REALLY smelly. What the heck is with this post partum body odour. It’s vile.

@redxlondon I've done shared shifts with partner, this baby and last. I feed, he settles and changes nappy. It's a lot for one person to do alone

@redxlondon you need to both take turns. Could he do the one/two later feeds? Like either side of midnight
You go to sleep early and then do the next feeds?

I breastfeed baby before his 11pm top up bottle which partner gives him and then I go to bed, then he gives him a big bottle at 2am and then I wake up around 4:30 to breastfeed again so I get a 5+ hour stretch, partner comes to bed while I'm doing that feed and I take over while he sleeps. I've never slept the entire time, I wake up constantly but it helps a lot to rest and know baby is fine.

@redxlondon I totally understand how you're feeling, I was the same few days ago after a couple of really challenging nights in a row. I'm doing all the feeds too but baby is now only waking up every 4 hours which means I only have to get up twice in the night and get some good sleep in between. Hopefully things improve for you too x

These all seem like such excellent set ups where the couple are working as a team. it’s lovely to hear.

Due to EBF I am doing every feed and at 16 days old, the last couple of days have been my first block of 2-3 hours sleep, she’s been hourly before then. With 2 older children and all of their emotional needs (and them not going to sleep until 9-10pm) it’s been killer. We are a blended family so the baby is my partner’s first biological child. It’s been really intense and difficult emotionally for my partner and children which has resulted in a heavy load for me, especially given I am taking the full brunt of sleep deprivation as well.

Just thought I’d share in case anyone else is having a less idyllic experience as well. My partner and I had some conversations around day 10-13 as he was constantly complaining about being tired (sleeping full nights in another room) and having to do more housework. He is usually the best partner who contributes more than his fair share so I think it was the huge change of having a baby and juggling being a step parent. He sorted himself out and has been a huge support the last few days. Thankfully, we’re already laughing about it and all the ridiculous things he was complaining about.

@redxlondon yep I relate to feeling extra stinky post partum! I kept putting my dressing gown through the wash because I was blaming that... but now I think it's just me!
I'm mostly doing the night feeds on my own at the moment as well, but little man tends to sleep 2 to 4 hours which helps. If we have a difficult night I'm waking my husband to step in.
I did feel like my head might fall off yesterday though, but little man has started smiling and that is helping me feel better.