Having one of those days.....

[MummaSue]

...where I am struggling to trust my body.

DD is really unwell with a chesty cold, she seems hungry but doesn't want to feed much. Isn't sleeping that well either, awake every 2 hours in the night and was up for the day at 3.30am this morning

I am worried about my supply. I hope that it's enough for her. She's had 2 colds now in 3 months. I thought my breast milk was meant to ward off illness. Her nose is running like a tap and the poor wee sausage sounds like she'll cough up a lung any minute. I heard her tummy gurgling too, I do hope that she isn't hungry

No need to respond, am just venting.
Sue x

[dusty]

that's no good sweetie. I don't have any advice but hopefully there will be some other experienced women to set your mind at ease.

Poor little missy. I hope she is better soon. I hope she is still cuddling even if she isn't feeding as much. xx

[tellytubby]

Oh MummaSue,
Please don't stress too much. My little man (13 months) has had 7 ear infections and 1 bout of tonsilitis, and hasn't touched a drop of formula. I think some kids are just sickly kids, iykwim. There is nothing you can do to prevent it. Your bmilk does an awesome job, i try to think of it like - imagine how many he could have possibly had, had we decided to go down the formula path
Your milk supply will be fine, once your DD gets her appetite back she'll be gobbling up her milk, and your body will know what to do

[MummaSue]

Thanks guys. I hate seeing her sick, it really throws me. Just given her a feed just now and she's fallen asleep Poor wee darling!

[tellytubby]

Oh sweet
Enjoy the peace!

[Manhattan]

You're doing just great MummaSue, and you need to trust your body and boobies more. I don't think it's possible to ward off every single illness, I mean there are so many germs everywhere that your DD comes into contact with, and like TT said, u very well could have protected her from being sick more than she has been.

My DD is fully breastfed, and has had her fair share of chest and ear infections, and colds. I dont think you can prevent them.

Know that you are doing a great thing for your wee one, and your body and supply will adjust again when it needs to.

Big hugs to you and I hope your little one is better really soon for you x

[MantaRay]

You can trust yourself hun. Look how far you've got already!! You are doing a fantastic job. And imagine how sick she would have been if you weren't bfing

Hang in there hun - this is a common age to be fussy with eating even without a cold. Some days you would swear they will fade away - but they never do.

[Lily Dust]

Oh MummaSue trust yourself, trust your body and trust that gorgeous bubba to tell you what she needs. You are doing it all perfectly hun, absolutely perfectly. I had the same thoughts about BF babies not getting sick much too when DD was sick but think of it this way, she has your antibodies and she may have been all that much sicker has she not been getting booby. No doubt in the next couple of days when the poor little miss starts to feel better she will be ravenous and there will be no doubt those boobies are workin just fine And WOW-EE 8 1/2 months you go girl!!!

[MummaSue]

Thanks everyone. She's still pretty poorly and is vomiting up bits of phlegm all the time I hate seeing her sick.

Just tried to get her over for the night and she was almost asleep but had another coughing fit. She's now sitting with DH on the lounge playing - happy as Larry! AARRGGHH! Cheeky monkey!

[UsPlus2]

lol cheeky monkey, making mummy worry then happily playing like nothing is wrong. Have you tried sitting with her in a steamed up bathroom, to help open her airways? That worked a treat on my DS when he couldnt feed properly because of his nose. Hope it passes very quickly, nothing worse then a sick little bubba.

[MummaSue]

She's still really quite sick. Am taking her back to the GP tomorrow.

[OceanPrincess]

Oh Sue, big hugs. Hope the GP can help.

[peanutter]

that everything is ok, mummasue ... I know what you mean though, but take heart - apparently babies generally get coughs/colds/etc 6-12 times per year!! so if your and my booby-babies have only had this one, we're doing well

I hope you're able to stay calm, get enough sleep, etc, and that your little girl will be feeling (and feeding) much better again, super soon xo

[briggsy's girl]

hun, you know yourself when you're sick, the crap runs down your throat, into your tummy, and often makes you feel worse (ie, chucky) - you automatically change your eating and drinking patterns to help relieve that, and your DD is too. she's having trouble breathing, her tummy is horrid, she's trying to keep up her energy to fight this bug - so i would say what she's doing is perfect. drink a little to settle your hunger and keep energy up - regularly. don't overfill your tummy cos it will make your hurl - which makes you feel worse.

the thing with BF is that they get SOME of their immunity from you - not all of it. if they're going to get a cold, they're going to get it. if you get the same cold at the same time and you're actively fighting it, your immune response is up at the same time, so she will get more immune factors - but if she is the only one unwell, she will just have to fight it herself.

trust that your body knows what it is doing. the consistency of your milk will have changed so that she gets the milk she needs - because she is unwell, it may be more watery to keep her hydrated, and not sit so heavy on her tummy - but this means she needs to feed more often to keep up her energy

hope that makes sense!

if you are concerned, definitely take her to the GP or your child health nurse just to be checked and put your mind at ease - but trust in your body to step up and help her when she needs it. it's heartbreaking when they're unwell and you just can't fix it. rest up while she does - last thing she'd want is mummy falling in a heap and getting sick too - you can only care for her so much when you're unwell yourself!

massive hugs - and hope your princess gets on top of this soon

[MummaSue]

Thanks guys.

She's feeding for around 5-10 minutes every hour or so just now. She looks exhausted but is struggling to sleep lying down because of the coughing, poor wee thing! She had a good sleep in the sling earlier.

Last night she was awake every hour, she was fairly easy to settle but that was feeding to sleep very briefly as she couldn't breathe through her nose.

Will let you know how she goes tomorrow.
Thanks for your kind words!
S X

[peanutter]

are you able to elevate the head of her cot a little? might help her sleep more easily?

[MummaSue]

Peanutter, we co-sleep. We have her cot with the side off attached to the side of our bed so elevating the head would be a safety hazard.

It's a good suggestion though, thank you xxxx

[briggsy's girl]

Peanutter, we co-sleep. We have her cot with the side off attached to the side of our bed so elevating the head would be a safety hazard.

It's a good suggestion though, thank you xxxx

can she sleep with her head on your arm to get to top half of her body elevated a little?