MSE Newborn to 1 year (& beyond!) baby club 3

lazywife

Well done AP, you're obviously producing some good milk and LO is clearly loving it!
Sometimes a night can surprise you, if they're ill sometimes you're up all night and sometimes they're so shattered that they'll sleep a bit more. If you do have a rough night, at least you'll get some rest in the day tomorrow when he's more tired. Lots of mummy cuddles will do the trick. (and lots of Cadbury Dairy Milk for you ... got to keep up your calcium intake!)

Nice to hear all is good Sunshine, sounds like a nice break. Must seem strange that your next holiday will be with 4

Nutella? Where are you? I've a sneaky suspicion she may have been lost in the Sainsbury's clothes 25% off, but that's finished now!?!?

Saf, i've resorted to febreeze and time, seems to dull the smell of sick over time. T was sick in the car too on Saturday night, 1 hr in to a 3 hr journey. We carried on, everything smelled of sick in the end, seemed to disperse everywhere.. eeeeew! Hopefully not carsickness here too.

L.xxx

BeNiceToMySelf

Aunty Pickle one of my friends used nipple shields and her baby was fine too! Sometimes the advice is more about best practice rather than what works for you. Sometimes I think parenting is all about survival and you just do anything to get by and if your baby is alive then you're doing well!

Lazywife I was waiting for some amazing tips about cleaning car seats then but I guess the smell will just wear off!

Hi Sunshine hope it's going well for you. Did you find out if you're having a boy or a girl?

I bought an Olaf costume in the TU 25% off sale

roses

My 2.5 year old has just figured out how to climb out of his cot (whilst in his sleeping bag). This is not good news (but funny)

Saffagal

Lol roses, mine did that at around 21months! Although there are definite perks to her coming through to me instead of me having to go and get her although this also has a definite downside when it is at a crazy hour of the morning

hope that everyone (and all little people) are well

We've had a tough week as A was poorly; had her at the doctors on Tuesday, had to collect her early from nursery on Wed and she was so miserable on Thursday I had to take a day's leave to keep her home. Fortunately she seems to finally be on the mend today

Hope everyone has a good weekend
Saf x

Aunty-Pickle

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone!

lazywife wrote: »

Sometimes a night can surprise you, if they're ill sometimes you're up all night and sometimes they're so shattered that they'll sleep a bit more.

You were right, he slept for 4hrs straight!

ashtray_heart

Hello all! Some familiar names from pregnancy threads. Baby is 8 days old and me and DH are exhausted. She arrived at 38 weeks following an induction for pre-eclampsia and we were not all prepared. Went in for a blood pressure check and was told I was having baby in the morning. Breast feeding is nowhere near as easy as I thought it would be and I was prepared for it to be tough. I have a crazy milk supply so much so that she chokes, gags and resists during feeding. Then afterwards she hiccups and vomits everywhere. Midwife told me to try and collect excess milk as I leak everywhere all the time and to try and let 1st bit run in to muslin cloth. This has helped somewhat but although day feeds are generally ok at night she seems to be a different child and won't latch on properly so can take several hours to feed her. I suspect it is because I feed her when she cries whereas in the day I do it at the first signs of hunger. My house is really messy and I'm exhausted. I have to go to the hospital every day for an outpatient appointment and it takes all my energy to get ready and attend the appointment. It doesn't help that I had a long and difficult labour and I'm still sore after my forceps assisted delivery.

BeNiceToMySelf

Welcome to the thread ashtray, sounds like you've been through the wars

I had the opposite problem from you, I had to increase my milk supply!

Something I've heard works is hand expressing a bit first, so you may get rid of the initial gush, before feeding baby. I think it's called a strong letdown - the initial part of the milk comes out very quickly. You could look on https://www.kellymom.com for advice, your local baby cafe or ring the breastfeeding network 0300 100 0212 . Babies do seem to get fussier in the night - between 12am and 6am is especially important for regulating your milk supply as that's when the important lactating hormones are highest.

Safa I hope A is feeling better

Roses I hope mine does that soon as it's a pain in the bum to get him out of the cot at 5am to come into our bed. He's 20 months, how do you know when they are ready to sleep without cot sides?

lazywife

BeNiceToMySelf wrote: »

Roses I hope mine does that soon as it's a pain in the bum to get him out of the cot at 5am to come into our bed. He's 20 months, how do you know when they are ready to sleep without cot sides?

Saf, hopefully A is feeling better now.

AP great news for the few more hours in bed, hopefully LO has learnt from it, and has tried another 4hr rest for you?!

Roses and BeNice, T (24 months) has spent the whole morning delighting in climbing in and out of his cot, head first, gambolling over the sides, head first.... the sides have come off tonight! I'll fill you in on what happens! (BeNice, he's shown no intent of escaping before, so we kept the sides on until he figured it out)

Ashtray welcome and well done. The thought of getting out of the house at all in the first 8 days was pushing it, to get out daily for appointments it particularly commendable! The soreness will subside as will the fountainous milk supply (I had alot of milk and T has it sprayed over his face many a time, always fed with a muslin on my tummy to catch the excess) It did calm down but does take time (don't know if it gets any less, seems like he just got better at managing it). I always fed holding my breast and him, to support it in the right place for him IFYKIM... if I just held him to the breast he'd guzzle to quickly and be uncomfy after. On the plus side it does mean that she feeds quickly. As for night time, try changing things about a bit. Give her a quick burst of feed when she's first desperate for some milk, then do a nappy change, and go to the other side and back to the first . May just help sort her fussing, maybe make no difference at all and will take another week or so to settle. Is there a reason you're waiting for her to cry before you feed her at night? Is it just that that's when you wake, or are you holding off? She'll get a pattern, T was about 11-12 ish, then 2-3 ish then 5-6am, but again not within the first month. If she's next to you in your room in bed and you wake with her snuffling, and it's about the sort of time she'd be due (if it's atleast every 2-3hrs in day, then work to that at night for now) try to feed her then, even if she's sleepy? The messy house, messy you, shattered DH is what everyone expects (and your traumatic labour could mean those horrible tearful hormones could mean you feel awful for another week or so). When family come round sling them the hoover and duster, hope they don't stay long enough to go the the bathroom and definitely don't let them look in the washing machine where the endless soggy muslins are stashed! (lazywife by name....?!) Remember you can always buy more pants, and all your clothes look scummy for a while (even if their fresh on) with milk stains, baby dribble and lansinoh cream grease blob in the corner. It will get better, I promise, you'll look nice again, your house will look nice again, DH and you will not always be tired and most importantly you'll never hold a grudge against LO for it all. Honestly.

L.xxx

Saffagal

Evening all

Thank you, A is now fully recovered and has asked both yesterday and today if she can go to nursery please. Unfortunately for her, the answer is no, not till Tuesday - I do appreciate that she enjoys it!

Welcome Ashtray, lazywife said it very well above. Honestly, to be getting out the house daily in the first 8 days after birth is AMAZING; even more so to attend an appt so at a specific time!!! :T For everything else, it will come and the bad bits will fade over time leaving you with a rosy memory of newborn sweetness that may make you consider doing it all over again

As Benice said, have a read on kellymom; some good advise on there re breastfeeding. It is hard to breastfeed, particularly in the beginning but after doing so for just over 2 years, I can honestly say that it will get easier. At 6 weeks it got easier and by 12 weeks was so second nature.

Benice, seriously... as nice as it is not to have to go and fetch A out of her cot in the mornings... with the sides off there is nowhere to safely contain her and she can get out of bed whenever she wants to which is definitely not a bonus! Enjoy the cotsides as long as possible. The ONLY reason her sides came off when they did was because she climbed out. I have a bumper on the open side so that she cannot roll out, but it goes about 3/4 of the way down her cot so she can safely climb in and out.

A is getting more headstrong... specifically with regards what she wants to wear... I can mostly still convince her to wear what I want by consistently allowing/ disallowing certain things for certain activities ie "nursery clothes" "home clothes" but I foresee a day in the not too distant future when she wants to leave the house in an "outfit" (read getup such as princess dress over t-shirt/jeans (with pockets) and gumboots with a sun hat, fairy wings and sunglasses to top it off) and I won't have the strength for that battle.

Hope that everyone has a great week ahead
Saf x

Aunty-Pickle

Hello ashtray heart! Congratulations on your lo - sorry you have had a hard time.

As someone who also had a hard time I can truly say it DOES GET BETTER. Little by little you realise that you aren't quite as tired and you aren't crying multiple times every day and that there are moments when you can actually smile at your baby. Our ds is 5 weeks tomorrow and it has been a long hard slog but I think (hope) things are kind of settling down now.

Breastfeeding is hard - I don't think anyone can truly be prepared for how hard it is. It is exhausting and draining and you are tired in a whole encompassing way that you never thought imaginable. This gets better and more manageable too.

I used hypnotherapy techniques for birth and they do a "Fast Post Natal Recovery" and also a "Breastfeeding Companion" set. I can recommend both. You can download them straight to your laptop/computer. http://www.natalhypnotherapy.co.uk