Greenslaw (makes me think of coleslaw - yum!)

i assume you have been put on a restricted diet?
are you able to have DEECAF COFFEE? beofre being preg, i thought decaf was yuck, but i did get used to it. do you like herbal teas? they don't have caffeine.

my nb had big wind problems too, and no-one i asked had much idea, then by pure accident, a stranger in a chemist mentioned how good Gripe Water had helped their babies, so i tried that. There were five brands to pick from, and i had no clue what made them vary, so i tried the first one i found - that had 1% alcohol in it, and my baby HATED it, but it had the desired effect. The next brand i chose had ZERO alcohol in it, and my baby gulped it down like it was yummy. About three minutes later, a loud gurgly stomach sound would happen, then splurts and a big sigh of relief on her face (and a nappy to change LOL) but it relieved her pain (and very promptly). So for the first six months, i carried that stuff with us EVERYWHERE cos it became our "magic bullet".

i',m not saying it would work for EVERY bub in EVERY situation, but it's a cheapish soluation that might be worth a try. Woollies sells the zero alcohol version we ended up suing it. Pink and white label on a brown glass bottle. (under $10).

it is a big shock to the system, to be suddenly looking after a tiny baby

the first part of breasdtfeeding is called the Attachment Phase, and it's a big learning curve for both the baby (to learn to suck efficiently) and for you.

being on call so much, ALL the time, you DO need to find SOMETHING that makes you feel good. For now, it might have to be something non-food based.

i CRAVED orange juice like crazy in the first few months, and it did awful things to my baby's bottom, so i coudln't have orange juice, and a little thing like that, AT THE TIME, really upset me. Of course, my first priority was making sure her bottom wasn't sore, but being sleep deprived, sure did mess with my head.

i found the first four months, really hard (establishing bf-ing). it did get easier. (we're still bf-ing and my child is now three years, two months old.)

You NEED to find out, somthing to replace, whatever you're going without.
If you really like your water in a certain way e.g with a slice of lemon in it, make sure you have lemons in the home. Whatever makes you feel a bit better -(cos you need to rehydrate EVERY time you breastfeed). Make it a priority. You have to look after yourself physically and emotionally, so you can be the mum you want to be. When you're giving out so much for your bub, it's easy to forget, or put in the TOO HARD BASKET, stuff to do with looking after yourself. SHowers became really important to me. Having nice comfy cloth breastpads that stopped me leaking wet circles on my t-shirts, just getting those lifted my mood. the little things that suddenly mean so much.

and later on, i got nice bf-ing tops, that were easy to feed in and covered my tum, that made me feel better too.

hormones going crazy after you've had a bub, it's a BIG adjustment, so don't expect heaps from yourself right now, time to be gentle with yourself and be happy with smaller things, cos having a tiny baby to care for, means you will get so much less done. they need feeding and changing and settleing - ti's a full time job just doing that - let alone cariring for yourself as well, and keeping a household going (food, washing, clearning etc).

it feels so overwhelming at teh start

big hugs to you Greenslaw