Sorry but persies are going to be short and sparse. Excuse - fussy baby!!!!
Green - I hope the breastfeeding settles down after 6 weeks! We are still cluster feeding and if not doing that we are feeding at most hourly. I don't know who these babies are that feed every two hours but mine doesn't!!! Two hours would be a luxury for me! I do however usually get three hour blocks of sleep through the night so I cannot complain too much. Although last night he was very fussy before going down and woke up two hourly through the night. Hope this is a one night phenomenom!
BW - hope bubs is better soon and you and DH don't get it too
Grub - well done on the exercise. Running to have a shower or go to the toilet in the five minute breaks I get from holding bubs is the only exercise I am getting now.
AFM - attaching still sort of a problem. Don't know if I am doing it right but on his fave boob 9 times out of 10 he gets on in a way that doesn't hurt and on the 'cr*p' boob he gets on without hurting about 5-6 times out of 10. Now I am worried that my boobs are slow flow because he is on for sooooo long and wants it soooo often. We tried pumping last night and today and I don't know if it is because we have a rubbish manual pump but we only got 30 ml even after DH's vigorous pumping!!! He is putting on weight so he is getting enough but it is just turning into a trial getting it to him!!! Some days I love breastfeeding and other days I just want to cry and I feel a failure. One nurse at the hospital said it looked like he had a bit of a tongue tie but said they don't often correct it unless they are losing weight. I need to see my original midwife but I have been discharged from her. I am a little scared of the LC who told me off last time but it might have to be her I see about it.
As for the settling, we are getting more and more minutes where we do not have to hold or carry him. He enjoys his bouncer for about 20 minutes which is a lifetime compared to the early days! We use the sling at home when he won't settle and we need to do stuff. I feel bad because I am pro gentle parenting and always planned to hod and carry but I fee guilty when the health visitor makes the whole 'rod for your back' comments. We are co-sleeping all the time now. I have given up the drama of the mosesbasket. I just need to be less influenced by people who do not share my philosophy! Very hard when you are vulnerable and tired though!!
Poppy - please don't see the amount you're expressing as any reflection on how much milk your baby is actually getting - expressing just isn't as effective as bub feeding - when you're feeding, you have the emotions of bubba being there, so you will let down etc where a lot of people have a minimal let down (if any) on the pump. even now, there are times when i struggle to get more than 20-30ml expressing - can completely drain my breasts according to the pump, but DD will get a full feed straight after...
Poppyfairy i feel your pain, I was pumping like no tomorrow for a week and only getting 10-30mls but not for 30mins I did 5 on each side twice. No more pumping for me for now. I'm getting bubs weighted tomorrow and if he's putting on weight I'm putting the pump away. Do you have a lactation consultant? if not phone the hospital and get in touch with one, mine is a legend and the only reason I'm still going. Glad you're doing what works for you.
KellyD thanks for the ray of hope. Lincoln fed well for 90mins last night without falling asleep I was over the moon he still got back up in 1.5hours but I felt like his belly was full. Then back to sleepy feeding. When I can no longer wake him I just let him sleep.
ATM feeling confident with a good feed last night. I seam to be full of milk thanks to frequent feeding and bubs is feeding better. He has a fav boob too same one as DH. He can finish a feed in 15 on that side but the other I don't really ever feel like he finishes.
Back to the lactation nurse tomorrow for a weigh lets hope he's over his birth weight and I can forget the pump and top ups for good. I HATE PUMPING! Cuts into sleep and life and I feel like a dairy cow.
poppy and green big hugs as i could not do that so i take my hat off for trying ,my little cherib is on the bottle and has been from day dot so 10 points for trying girls.
oh poppy! your bub is putting on weight and i assume bright and happy. so bbllaahh to anyone who boo-hoos what you are doing. You do what is right for YOU and YOUR baby not what suits someone who has no connection to your life or circumstances. And i also had a moment several weeks ago where i thought "oh he's upset because i have slow flow and not enough milk'' ... so i pumped to "see how much was there''. Got 40mls and was very worried. But the next day found bub had put on about 500g in 2 weeks and just put that worry aside.
You could not possibly do anything more to increase your supply! oh maybe some regular skin-to-skin if you are worried. As for attachment, for us every time isn't perfect but i make sure to take him off. I figure if it doesn't hurt and he's getting fed then we got it right!
I really found it was helpful to stop watching the clock on how long the actual feeds last (kellyd) because Ash is putting on weight like a buddha but his standard feed is 5-10mins to drain a boob! i was told this wasn't enough but it obviously is for him.
I did another successful dream feed last night... so ash slept for 8 hrs! only they weren't the 8 hrs i wanted to sleep doh! from 7pm to 3am with the dreamfeed at 9.30pm. Then he had lots of belly pain at 3am and didn't really got to sleep until 5am.. then up again for more food at 6am! bbrrhh. He's laying in his bassinette whinging now. so best go and see wht the fuss is about.
hope you are all well. And you are doing an amazing job! look how far you've come in the past year... and when i am low i try to think of the positives - putting on weight, happy, gorgeous etc. No one lese knows our bubs like us!
Poppy - you're doing fantastically! If you still need help with breastfeeding, I hope you can find a different LC (there must be more than one around...) because that one you saw sounds pretty ordinary.
As for the tongue tie - they said the same thing about A and we had real problems till he was 11 weeks old. I would strongly suggest you find a doc who will get it done for you. I wish I had.
I would forget about pumping at this stage unless you really need to do it - 30mls is actually a pretty decent result, but it's not worth the effort
Just a quickie. It's been a rough couple of days, but just par for the course. I actualy think I have solved the problem of what is making Jazz crook, dehydrated and green poo and sore red bum this week...chilli sauce. It's a theory but I think a possibility, and it makes sense. Now I've heard that anything warm fo us is ten times warmer for them...ahhh, curses, now a fatwa on pad tai!!! Today's been brilliant though...and coincidence or not, no chilli sauce for two days and she is perfectly healthy.
Grub...me too, me too. Not the nails, but that won't be long. I didn the snappy thing on the change table..too funny, you did the same asking what was wrong. Ouch, what a scream hey? Doh! I also managed to get the side of teh box of wipes imprinted on her forehead when I slid her past it??? Bad mummies aren't we. Oh and I tried the gripe water again, figuring the novelty factor had passed so she may tolerate it. Oh my goodness, I can't tellyou what her reaction was like. sometimes you just have to listen to your individual little person and this one screamed and cried, vomited and spluttered..I made DH get rid of it so I can never do it to her again and then i nearly cried.
Poppyfairy, I have been following you and I feel that my situation closely resembled yours at first. I never knew when one feed started and the other one ended, they were round the clock. Not quite your 24 hour efforts, but I'd say al ot of that is comforting as well as feeding. You sound like you are doing everything right and once you get the hang of it, you will know yourself better than anybody. People may give you advice, or dumb comments, but you don't have to take it. that rod for your back thing...well that's just somebody's opinion and if you agree that's okay. My husband and I personally agree with the line we were given, that you can't spoil a baby at this stage, they are all about needs and not manipulation. We keep that at the forefront in making decisions..you can't spoil them too much at this stage. It can still be frustrating and time-consuming and you feel a bit tethered like a milking cow, but it's our job at the moment and it won't last forever. Hope you get a bit more support from helpful quarters. Midwives come in all shapes and sizes just like anyone and you won't always agree with everyone. I had, oh roughly about 500 and I only wanted to punch out about half of them...and I am a very peace loving individual
Better go, the lovely man jagged an interview for Kangaroo island and now has to work on a presentation for the trip down on Friday.
Just a quickie from me, wanted to let you all know that Tara achieved her first unassisted back to tummy roll today . She hasn't quite worked out how to get back again but still a major milestone at almost 4 months.
Anyway off to Mothers Group tomorrow and then Tara has her weigh in, will be so interesting to see how much she has grown in a month. Also this is scary but I have had to start putting her into size 0 all in one sleep suits, her legs and feet are getting to big for the 00's already. Fortunately all her other 00 stuff will last for a while (hopefully) as most of it is summer stuff and are tops and pants or dresses, but it made me sad to think my baby is getting so big so fast and when I see all the little babies at Mothers Group it makes you realise how fast they grow.
wow kelly!!! that's wonderful. I can't wait for ash's first big "he did it!" lol. you must have been sssooo excited.
murph - poor jazzy. hope you got it right with the chilli sauce.
Just home from my mothers' group... they are all really lovely and i enjoy it so much.
Ash is not having a good few days. having trouble feeding again and a few green poos. not sure if its the ABs or something else. feeding is a battle... it's like the wind pain and fussing a few weeks ago. He feeds for a few mins then pulls off screaming,, then back on, then off etc. Anyhoo i managed to get him on for a decent feed buy reclining on the lounge and having him straddle my leg iykwim while patting his butt.
but he's still got plenty of wet nappies and most of his poos are normal so just feel a little confused. just have to persevere i suppose.
but on the positive he slept from 8pm to 4am last night!!! Not sure if it was cos he was extremely unhapy and unsettled all day that he just konked out after our shower hmmm
What are your bedtime routines? Do you shower/bath bub before or after the feed? Read stories? What time to do do that? When do you put bub 'down for the night'? and What time do you start your day?
sorry lots of questions just wondering. WE put Ash down 'for the night' anywhere from 6.30pm to 10pm - we save his bath for the night and quietly read him books just before bed. But can't say we really have a strict 'routine' (he is only 7 weeks). Would like to get an idea of what others are doing and at what age/stage.
Sounds like you're on top of things grub! I know ABs did awful things to A's stomach - hope it settes down soon.
We didn't have a routine at that age - just whatever we could manage. Things started to settle down from 12-ish weeks, but that routine didn't last long - only till the next unsettled phase. Some people find routines are great, but honestly they've never done us much good. I guess we have patterns, where we tend to do things in a certain order, but that's about as far as it goes.
What a strong little girl Kelly
Damn, no chilli sauce?! But it's good if you can find an easy fix like that.
We sort of have a night time routine, but I'm a bad mum and we only do bath's every second night and wash hair, mainly because we use the big bath...
On bath night, Tara will have half a feed about 7pm then has a bath and a play in the water (she loves bath time) then into p.j's and has the rest of her bottle and she is generally in bed between 8-8.30pm.
On the other night, we do pretty much the same but instead of a bath we generally have a play with her on the floor until she shows her tired signs and then into p.j's and bed.
She tells us when she is tired and is pretty consistent with her bedtime, as when we put her into bed she will take her dummy and within 5 minutes she is crashed, dummy is then spat out about 30 mins later.
She generally wakes about 6am and we go and put her dummy in and she will sleep until about 7-7.30am and then nappy change and into the big bed where she might have a bit more of a play and then she goes back to sleep again (without an early feed). Then depending on what time she wakes up (this depends on how long she plays for in the morning sometime 10 minutes, somtimes 40) so anytime between 9-10am she has her first bottle and our day together starts. This is great for me as I get a chance to do everything in the morning and leaves the day for us together.
But remember every baby is different and Tara was sleeping through at 8 weeks and also has 3 large feeds a day (240mls each feed) so she happily sleeps for longer, where some babies still wake for a feed during the night. Just keep doing what you are doing as Ash seems to be adapting and it won't take him long to start to get into the swing of it and will be letting you know when bedtime is.
Kelly - that is great, well done Tara! Adam is not quite there yet, just getting onto to his side and staying there for a while - when I see him doing this, I flip him over so that he knows how it feels!
Grub - I didn't worry about routines with Adam, just went on trying to read all his signs,demand feeding etc. But pretty much at the 12 week mark, he seemed to decide on his own routine which was down for the night between 7pm and 8pm, and 5 feeds during the day (7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm). so i have fitted in with he what he wants, and at night time at 7pm, I pop him in the bath, put his pj's on and give him his last bottle, then straight in bed. He also has a little sea-horse/night light thing that plays soft music and glows when you press his tummy, and this has turned into a real sleep cue for him. It works for day-time naps too!
This does vary a bit depending on the day and if anything has thrown the routine, but he gets back on track pretty well. I went back to my running club training night last night, and got home at 8pm to find DH and Adam asleep on the couch, a lonely, full milk bottle sitting on the coffee table grrrrrr. So I had to wake Adam up, give him his bottle and then bed, so it was quite late. However, it really doesn't seem to bother Adam too much, and I'm just to darn grateful to DH for letting me have some mummy time that I don't say anything!
At the end of the day, I'm using this 'routine' that Adam has set as a guide, and don't get bogged down if the plan doesn't work. That way there is far less stress and pressure on me, and I am trying to just go with the flow.
It sounds like you are doing a fabulous job, so just keep on keeping on!
AFM: No major news, Adam doing well, having a big arvo sleep at the mo, and I've started back at uni today......feeling very overwhelmed but hopefully I will feel better once I get my head around tings.
Now, this reminds me - For those who haven't done so already, perhaps when you get a bit of time (say, sometime in the next 6-12 months for newbies) you could share your success story.
I know LT TTCers (past and present) love to read them
BG sorry I didn't reply to your very helpful input regarding solids. Unfortunately my diet is very bad, high in salt and fried stuff... if not that it would soupy stuff so not so good for Lyla. But she show such eagerness to eat food that are not mashed that now for dinner I generallty just cut up fruits or steamed vegs for her to munch on. She now recognises (or understand the word water vs food) food from drinks. She loves drinking but doesn't like certain food and I would often have to give her both, alternating so she would continue to eat. The other day DH was feeding her and after a few spoons she clamped her mouth shut and wouldn't have any more. He then said "water" and she automatically opened her mouth for daddy to pop in a spoonful of water. What DH doesn't know was she wouldn't understand conditional sentences so when he said "eat a spoon of this and daddy will give you some water" she opens her mouth expecting water but instead got a spoonful of food. She gave him such a look, which I interpreted to be "what the? Why did you deceive me?" DH got a no no from me.
BW - hope your little one feels better.
Kelly - wow Tara seems like a very strong girl...bet you she would be an early roller, crawler and walker as well.
Grub - no set routine but generally, Lyla would have her bottle at 5 pm, play, dinner at 7 follow by shower and then bed at 8 or 8:30ish with or without a bottle. I generally feed her more often even though I know she would not wake to ask for it, ie I dream feed her at 9 or 10ish pm and then again at 6 am (or else she wouldn't feed until 8 or 9am - if she is awake at 6am she would not feed, outright reject the bottle). She is one of those lazy feeders in the morning. She wouldn't have a decent feed until the afternoon. I would be lucky if she feed her normal full bottle (230ml) before 1pm. I tried once to wait until she ask for her bottle as well as dropping the dream feed at 9pm and she went for 13 hours without a feed. Now that she is eating solid I am not so worried about how much she feeds so I play it by ear...if she feeds well in the morning that I forgo the dreamfeed.
Poppy, I am so very proud of your efforts. I gave up after 3 weeks. I learnt my inability to express milk is not a reflection on my milk supply but by then it was too late, Lyla was so used to the bottle she outright refused to take my boobs. The other day, while playing she accidently pulled down my top and saw my breast. I waited to see what she would do. She leaned down and smell my nipple but other than that had no idea what it is or what it could have been. It made me cry for the wonderful thing we both missed out o, for the what could have been. I just thought, "these boobs could have been her world" but it was not meant to be.
Sorry really have to go to bed now. But just a quick report, Lyla is now walking! For the past 3 days she had attempted to walk around the play pen and cot, supporting herself on whatever she could hold onto, cot rails. Fell a fair few times but just kept at it.
Wow Kahlan, how advanced is Lyla both with recognising words and also with her walking. Mmm, I also think Tara is going to be advanced as in those areas as well. My feeling is that these little ones had to work so hard to get here to start with that they must be very strong willed beings.
Was interested to hear about your solids adventure, I started Tara on solids last week just a couple of times to see her reaction and have moved onto giving her solids and 1/2 a normal bottle once a day now. She is getting the hang of it and I know she is ready as when she sees the spoon she has her mouth open ready. I must say (TMI) it has also helped wonders with her BM's as well, they are no longer runny explosions but now have some consistancy to them and we don't seem to have had an upset tummy with adding the solids. To start with I've been giving her rice cereal mixed with formula and also pre prepared food (rafferty's garden and organics) to see how she goes before I start prepping vegies to cook and freeze. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for her to start wanting more solid food.
Anyway off to Mothers Group this morning, but of course little miss has only been asleep for 15 mins so might delay leaving for another 15 to give her a least a 30 minute sleep.
murph wow you're really serious about KI. goodluck to DH
Kelly D for Tara well done little one.
Grub I can't wait for those sleeps. Sorry to hear feeding is still a struggle, hope it gets easier for you soon.
Neptune goodluck with going back to uni supa mum
ATM Lincoln put on weight but did a BIG poo right before weigh in so he was 30gms under birth weight oh well. DH found a lump on his collar bone the other night which is making both of us worry. No pain and he's still using his arm on that side but doesn't like to sleep with his head that way any more (in hosp it was his fav side). My pediatrian is away so I'm going to a clinic today. (worry mum alert).
The lactation nurse said I should wake him 3 hourly during the day to get his calories up so he sleeps more at night. Well we tried this for three feeds yesterday and nope 3 hourly on the dot. Maybe it takes a while.
I had two marithon feeds too last night. I was so tired at his 5am feed I got a little distressed and decided to try feeding lying down (not a good idea) made me more tired and didn't really work.
Bubs has a bit of an upset tummy too. Not uncontrolable but he's bringing his knees up and is unsettled for a few minutes, seams to calm down when on me. Just need to make sure he's not really screaming when attaching (ouch!!!!!)
i feel your pain, I was pumping like no tomorrow for a week and only getting 10-30mls but not for 30mins I did 5 on each side twice. No more pumping for me for now. I'm getting bubs weighted tomorrow and if he's putting on weight I'm putting the pump away. Do you have a lactation consultant? if not phone the hospital and get in touch with one, mine is a legend and the only reason I'm still going. Glad you're doing what works for you.
same one as DH. He can finish a feed in 15 on that side but the other I don't really ever feel like he finishes.
with the dreamfeed at 9.30pm. Then he had lots of belly pain at 3am and didn't really got to sleep until 5am.. then up again for more food at 6am! bbrrhh. He's laying in his bassinette whinging now. so best go and see wht the fuss is about.
. She hasn't quite worked out how to get back again but still a major milestone at almost 4 months.
) you could share your 
murph wow you're really serious about KI. goodluck to DH 
for Tara well done little one.
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