MSE Parent Club

Snaggles

I think the guilt is the worst thing. I wonder all the time if anything I have done caused Ryan to have the problems he has. But you drive yourself crazy if you let yourself think like that. I hope she will find a way to let go of the guilt and concentrate on finding a positive future for them both.

Dormouse

That's scary Heather38... Did your friend and her daughter not suspect anything?

Alex is nearly 3 months old now and obviously I assume he can see, but I guess you can never be sure. He smiles - but he might be smiling just because he hears familiar voices. He looks at things - but I don't know what blind babies look like when they look at things, IYSWIM. As I said, it's scary.

Snaggles, you feeling any better? :grouphug: I don't really have any advice, sorry - I remember the feeling when they turn their heads but forget to let go, ouch! :eek: I BFed DS1 after he got teeth as well though, so guess I was lucky.

The only thing I can suggest is getting as much air as possible on the nipples (just remember to cover up before you answer the door ), and I also found rubbing some breast milk around the nipples helped for soreness. Good luck.

SusanCarter

Dormouse wrote: »

Alex is nearly 3 months old now and obviously I assume he can see, but I guess you can never be sure. He smiles - but he might be smiling just because he hears familiar voices. He looks at things - but I don't know what blind babies look like when they look at things, IYSWIM. As I said, it's scary.

When you are born, your eyes don't move together at the same time but as you learn to focus on things your eyes "fix" so that when you look at things with both eyes you don't get double vision. If you can't see (or can't see properly or your brain is unable to put the pictures from the two eyes together properly) then your eyes will just fix randomly (which is why a higher proportion of children with some kind of learning difficulty have wonky eyes) so that could be one sign. Another could be that their eyes do not seem to follow anything.

heather38

they knew because when the dr shined a light in his eyes his pupils didn't dilate.
she never noticed because he turns his head to noise and they assumed that he could see.

Snaggles

Dormouse wrote: »

Snaggles, you feeling any better? :grouphug: I don't really have any advice, sorry - I remember the feeling when they turn their heads but forget to let go, ouch! :eek: I BFed DS1 after he got teeth as well though, so guess I was lucky.

The only thing I can suggest is getting as much air as possible on the nipples (just remember to cover up before you answer the door ), and I also found rubbing some breast milk around the nipples helped for soreness. Good luck.

Thanks, yes I'm feeling a bit better today, the ducts have unblocked themselves again, so even though I'm still a bit sore, I'm generally much more comfortable.

You don't know how true the bit about covering up before you answer the door is - I have inadvertently flashed the postman TWICE due to Ryan opening the front door at inopportune moments! :rotfl:

Lu_T

Oh Snaggles, you make me laugh out loud!! Bet you make the postie's day!!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

The only advice I can give on the blocked ducts is to change the angle you're feeding at. I had a blocked duct for more than a month when I was BF Imogen and the only thing that got rid of it was BFing rugby ball-style.

I have also heard about putting baby down when they bite for a few minutes - not sure how long. I found Lansinoh good, and also Kamillosan - which you can also use for nappy rash when you're done BF.

Have you tried getting OH to give her a bottle? She may take it better from him as she won't smell your milk. Worth a try.

Heather - what a shock. I hope they can come to terms with the situation and learn to adapt. It must be awful, but there is absolutely nothing your friend could have done about it I'm sure. Hopefully the docs will reassure them of that.

We had a scare last week when I took Imogen to the docs. She often gets very cold feet and the even go blue, one more than the other. We're tried to find a pattern to when it happens (nappy on, sitting, tight socks etc) but there was nothing. I did mention it to the HV and she said to mention to the DR next time we were there. When I told him he starting talking about heart complaints :eek: I nearly fell off my chair. He had a good check of her pulse in her groin and said he expected it was just that some of the veins hadn't developed properly. He said once she's toddling more it should sort itself out, but to come back in Jan. We're hoping it's nothing to worry about and consoling ourselves that he'd have done more if he seriously thought there was something wrong with her heart.

Re thermometres - we spoke to my MW about this before buying one. She recommended not spending a lot of money. We also got the Nurofen one from Lloyds when it was on offer and it seems fine.

Sorry for the long post - just catching up after a busy couple of days.

Dormouse

Hey Snaggles (and other BFing mums), look what I just found (I spend way too much time on different forums )!

http://www.tickled-pink-designs.com/

A breastfeeding necklace; the idea being that it will keep the baby busy while feeding so they don't pull away (with boob still in mouth). The site is Canadian but apparently there are loads on Ebay. Or you could make your own. :money:

Snaggles

Lu, I'm sorry you've had such a fright about Imogen, I hope the doctors are right and she will just grow out of it, but (((hugs))) as it must have been horrible to hear that.

I've tried getting other people to give Natasha her bottle, in fact I've only ever tried to do it myself once, and I usually stay out of the room so she can't even see me, but the little monkey is soooo stubborn.....I can't imagine where she gets it from....:o

Oh and our postie is quite a young lad....I don't think I so much as made his day as terrified the life out of him!! :rotfl: :rotfl:

I like the idea of a breastfeeding necklace - I had a necklace on today and she had it clamped in her little fist throughout the whole feed, but I was a bit worried about it breaking, so a proper (unbreakable) one with nice chunky beads would be great.

Js_Other_Half

There are some of those sort of necklaces on ebay - I think some of the seller will let you design your own?

As for thermometers - I am ready to chuck our Summer Infant digital ear one in the bin! There is no way a human being can be 33C and 38C in the space of 30 seconds...

I have considered a dummy one - something like this? http://www.babysecurity.co.uk/p/333420/summer-pacifier-thermometer.htmlHas anyone else used one successfully?

I also came across this on the same site: http://www.babysecurity.co.uk/p/333421/thermofocus-infra-red-thermometer---no-contact.html
There are more details on it here http://www.lilimay.com/baby/thermofocus.php

Becles

heather38 wrote: »

i know i feel so sad for them, my friends daughter blames herself.

I think it's natural to do that. I lost a baby was convinced it was something I had done, but really it was just "one of those things".

I hope the baby and the parents get the support they need.

I used to travel on the bus with a blind lady, and she lived a pretty independant life - she worked and managed her home well. Her guide dog learned that I usually had dog biscuits in my pocket, so he always used to guide her to seat next to me on the bus so he got a biscuit