Parenting after LTTTC #2

[onthefly]

FG - I'm glad to hear that you're feeling good about feeding now. That makes life a lot easier. Wow at a single-handed roadtrip!

Janie71 - it sounds like you both are doing really well! Glad to hear an update. that age is often bad for sleep - DS was the same, but he got over it after we shifted him from the cot to a mattress on the floor.

He's finally sleeping quite well these days. Only one wakeup usually, and now four times he's slept all the way through the night!

Gotta go, he needs reading to.

[Megan]

Like Janie, it has been a while since I have been here too!
Congratulations to Lily Dust, Farmgirl and Kelly on your new arrivals!

Neptune, I completely agree with you! I thought I was so prepared for breastfeeding. I went to an ABA education class, did lots of reading, joined the ABA and thought I knew everything I needed to and it would be perfect. I was in so much pain for the first month. I was tired of being told that if he was latched on properly it wouldn't hurt, and I was over different midwives in hospital doing things differently which made it harder. Things did improve after a visit at home from a LC, but I really don't think anything could have prepared me for how hard and painful it was going to be. I agree with everyone else - you do what you need to to get through. I hope the pain settles for you soon.

FG, how many hours to canberra for you? DS isn't a fan of being in the car for long periods. Half an hour is about as much as he can handle! Occassionally I drive to my mums which is a bit over 2 hours away, and it's hard work just the two of us.

Janie, lovely to hear from you I'm so happy to hear Jasmine is doing so well. We're going through sleep issues here too, so it definitely seems like this is the age it happens!

We're going ok. I can't believe Noah is 7 months now. Time has flown. Apart from a few sleep issues, everything has been smooth sailing lately. He has two teeth through, we've started solids which he is enjoying (but creating so much extra washing and cleaning!). He has just started sitting up for short periods by himself, and he's a little chatter box! He has also started waving hello and good bye which is very cute! He gets very excited when someone waves at him and starts flapping his arm up and down! lol

I must go. He has just woken from his nap and I need to get us ready as we're off to the mums and bubs movies session.

[TaRhLi.]

Hi Everyone

Hey Neptune so good to see you over here now, wow the BFing for you sounds painful. Tara never really got into the hang of it, probably didn't help that it took 5 days before my milk started to come in (due to my anemia) and she was taking the bottle from day 2 so got used to that pretty quickly. I was expressing for her, but at my peak I was only getting 80mls a day and at that time she was on 60mls per feed. She is now 100% bottle feed now as my milk dried up almost 2 weeks ago, but she is absolutely thriving.

FG: What a trip to have to make with Archer, if I remember correctly you live around Beechworth, is that correct. I remember from the fires this year, plus we live in a fire prone area so always looking out for our country cousins...

Janie: I can't believe that Jasmine is 7 months old, wow time flies. I remember going through the LTTTC & TWW journey with you with my other unsuccessful pregnancies.

Lily Dust: Big hello, hope to get to know you better.

Marcellus: Big hello to you as well

Megan: Wow I can't believe that Noah is 7 months old already. It is scary to see time flying by so fast.

AFM: Tara had her first day yesterday with only 6 feeds (normally 8) and even has had some big blocks of sleep in the late evening, around 4-5 hours which is fantastic. Only problem is that after her 2am feed she wants to stay awake. Even in a dark room with no stimulation she is happpy to gabble away to herself for a good hour or more. Anyway she had her 4 weeks check today and she has put on 280grams in 7 days, so in the past 2 1/2 weeks thats 600grams in total. At least I'm doing something right as she is piling on the pounds now.

Anyway, I'm going to get something to eat while she is asleep. Oh, Tara will be 1 month old tomorrow...

[farmgirl77]

Hi all,

KellyD - congrats on Tara's 1 month birthday (ish) - it is amazing how quickly it goes, even if it does not seem like it at the time! Sounds like she is doing really well - must be because she has got such a great mum!

Lily Dust - hope that all is going well at the moment.

Megan - hope you enjoyed the movies - what did you see?

Janie - Jasmine sounds like a little angle - even with her sleeping habits!

Nic - hope you are getting a bit of rest, and managing to do some holiday planning! Nothing like a plan to help the saving!!!

Marcellus - yay for sleeping through the night - hope it lasts! Archer is doing that too, I feel like a new person!

Neptune - how are things going? hope that you are getting less pain with the bf - take care of yourself.

to everyone else!

AFM - yep, we are in Beechworth, so it was a big road trip to Canberra. Took me 6 hrs up (stoped for a big feed for both of us), and about 4 1/2 back. At least now most of the roadwork on the Hume is over, so there is only a few spots where you have to slow down etc (although then you do have to get down to 40km)! We also drove up 2 months before I was due, and as we left Albury there was a sign up that said 'Roadworks, next 125km'! It was a nightmare and not a fun drive, especially coming back at night in the rain. Well, at least this time I travelled during the day. It was a long 2 days, but I was glad that I made the effort to get up there for the funeral.

have a radio on in Archers room during the day to provide background noise - started off with ABC local radio, and then switched to Triple J. Yesterday I though I would try something different and put on a Baby Bach CD, as he was really grizzly...did not work at all as he just go worse! Clearly he takes after DH and thinks that classical music is crap and Triple J rocks!

Had Archer at the peds on Mon as well, and have finally been told that we are doing a good job...well at least of keeping his ezcema under control! Is is just me, or do you find that the people that you come across (eg maternal health nurses, midwives) are quick to point out what you are doing wrong, or differently, but very rarely say that you are doing a good job at raising your child? I think it even applies to friends/family etc, they are always quick to say 'Oh, you are doing x, we did y...' etc, but not often do they say, 'wow, your baby looks so healthy and happy, you are doing a great job'!

So on that note, I would just like to say that everyone here is doing a great job with their little ones - we all have beautiful babies who are growing and doing fun stuff, and they are all the more special because of the difficult journey we have all been through. So to everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well in the heat.
FG

[briggsy's girl]

Beechworth to Canberra is a decent old trip - i lived in Canberra and used to visit family in Beechworth every couple of months. i loved going down there - such a beautiful place!

so glad you're getting somewhere with Archers ezcema - my niece has some after a nasty bout of hand foot and mouth - and they seem to be fighting it all the time - at least she is five and kinda gets what is happening

not sure if it's a small town thing, or the fact that i have a decent backbone - but i've not copped many comments that are negative about DD's development so far - my family know i was worried about her when she wasn't gaining weight at the start and i told them i didn't need negative BS, i needed support - and it's continued. one negative "you should be doing this" comment from the MCHN and me telling her to pull her head in, i was doing it my way - and she hasn't gone there again - in fact, when i mentioned BLS she said "thank you for being prepared to parent as you intend to go on - we have to support people introducing food as they wish, but my personal opinion is that BLS are the better option" - yay!

AFU - DD is going really well - she seems happy most of the time - had a couple of days of grief with her teeth, but nothing bad yesterday (still no teeth, so it's sure to come back to annoy her again!)

must away - she's been awake nearly an hour and now has the hiccups so is bound to ask for a drink any second

[onthefly]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to mess with you BG It's great that you've demanded support from those around you - it's very hard to do that.

FG - I know what you mean and it can be so true. I have to say that the health professionals I saw were all supportive and told us we were doing well, even when DS' weight gains were slow early on. Sometimes we have to demand support (like BG) or go find different people to help us (well, can't get different family I guess, but health professionals at least).

But you're right - you have a beautiful little baby, who's growing and thriving, who loves you and will one day be a wonderful adult!

Of course you're doing things right Kelly - the proof is in the pudding!

Awww, Noah sounds so cute! Solids are sooooo messy, hey?

[briggsy's girl]

small towns do make it hard to pick your care providers too - we had no choice on mchn, and thankfully, the regular mchn is lovely, but when she got sick and had a couple of months off, the fill in's were absolute cows - so i just got DD weighed and measured and said "ooh, she's upset, i best go feed her, see ya" - i wasn't listening to their crap! at one appt. DD was wearing an MCN and cos she'd been sitting in her capsule, she had a mark on her leg from it - i got told i was putting her in nappies that were too small and i needed to get her bigger nappies - she was two months old - those nappies still fit her comfortably at almost 6 months! grrrrr

[Megan]

Awww, Noah sounds so cute! Solids are sooooo messy, hey?

I am just happy the weather is warm so he can be stripped down when he eats now! If only i could take him outside and hose him down!

FG, We went and saw Michael Jackson at the movies. I love those sessions and try and get there every week if I can.
I have been pretty lucky with regards to negative comments. The only person who has made negative comments so far is MIL, but that's her nature. She's never one to point out the good in anything. The last time she did it, I told her if she had nothing good to say then dont say anything at all. (I was sleep deprived and she told me he was starving at 4 months old because he was only getting breastmilk, and she kept waving cheese in front of him like she was going to feed him) She's been fine since, but some people just need to be told to back off. I'm lucky in that I have a good friend who did everything I havent (ff, disposables, jarred food, cio) but she's supportive and always says what a great job we're doing. Sometimes you really need to hear that.

I have my hands full with a wriggly baby so better go...

[MissMagpie]

Good afternoon girls

Have been lurking here for the last few weeks but havent had a chance to post.

I had a beautiful baby boy on 4 November via an elective c-section at 37.5 weeks. Cant believe that was nearly 4 weeks ago now, how time flies!!!! Trent was conceived after 3 IVF/ICSI attempts. He is our pride and joy

I had been finding breastfeeding difficult from day one. I wasnt producing enough in hospital so he was being topped up with formula after every feed. My left nipple was cracked and bleeding by the time I left hospital so that put me off breastfeeding when I got home so I expressed every few hours and feed him that and formula. After a week of that I went and saw a lactation nurse and put Trent back on the boob and sure enough he feed PERFECTLY! He is a very lazy feeder and thats all I heard the MW say while I was in hospital. I have now persisted with breastfeeding him now as I really want to as all I hear is "breast is best". Although Im now finding that after feeding him on the breast for close to an hour, he is sometimes still hungry. He falls asleep at the boob so I think, he must be satisfied so I put him down only for him to wake a short time later crying for more so I then give him formula. Feeds can sometimes take anywhere from
1-2 hours if not longer. I told my DP last night that we need to do something as on the weekend Trent was up from 11pm - 3am which is ridiculous!

Last night I decided to give him formula at 11pm and then express for the next feed. This seemed to work as he had his 100mls which is what he is drinking and then he was asleep by just after 12am.

However, the problem I am having is that my express milk quantity varies. Last night I got 100mls, the 2 times I have expressed today I have only gotten 50mls each time so Ive had to give him 50mls formula as well. Im thinking of persisting with doing it this way as I know how much he is getting compared to him sucking at my breast and then him being still hungry.

Any suggestions would be GREAT! I am trying so hard to enjoy him but the stress of feeding and lack of sleep gets to me sometimes. He also has LOTS of wind and seems to constantly fart the poor little man. Have heard of drops you can give babies but the chemist said we cant give them to him until 4 weeks which is wednesday so will try them out. Am hoping it will help him as thats the other problem, after feeding he doesnt always go straight to sleep. It can take him up to an hour sometimes!

Sorry for such a long me post. Its hard to know where to turn to for advice. I LOVE belly belly and it has helped me through our TTC journey and I couldnt have done without it.

I look forward to getting to know you all

Thanks again girls,

Tania

[briggsy's girl]

welcome and congrats miss magpie! i would probably jump into the BF general chatter thread and they'll give you some advice - the ladie in there are so very supportive and helpful! i will say though that what you get when expressing is not indicative of what trent is getting when he feeds direct from you. a pump is not as efficient as a feeding bubba. from what i have experienced the only way to get your supply up is to have your bubba on there all the time if need be. when i was struggling with supply i was putting DD on the breast for at least 20 minutes every 2 hours around the clock. if she fell asleep i would tickle her feet to get her to stir and suckle again. it's hard work. and it can take a lot of time and patience (and lets be honest, tears and frustration) - but by feeding him from the bottle, he may continue to be a lazy feeder as the bottle is much easier than the breast.

good luck

BG

[onthefly]

WooHoo! Congrats on your ST TTC Mako

Hi MissMagpie and congratulations on your little man! I second the recommendation to visit the breastfeeding problems & support area.
If he's a lazy feeder the best thing is probably practice. You could try taking him off the breast after 20 mins or so. Burp him and give him the other side. Switching him back and forth like that might get more milk into him quicker.
For what it's worth, A also fed for a very loooong time when he was that age. He gradually got faster. then around 3.5 months he suddenly got very fast (i mean it was like an overnight change) and would only take 2-3 minutes to feed. It's quite normal for babies to want the breast all the time when they're little if they feel tired or uncomfortable or whatever. It can be quite trying for mums, though, so hope you're getting plenty of help and support.

[TaRhLi.]

Hi Miss M, so good to see you over here. I'm happy that you have now got Trent b/fing, I had the same problem with not enough milk for Tara and she was having formula top ups with me expressing, however she was such a lazy feeder that after having a bottle there was no way she was going to go on the boob as it was just too much hard work for her, where having a bottle not much effort is needed to get fed. I think due to this and my anemia my supply started to dwindle and by 3 weeks my milk was all gone, so congrats on being able to b/f and bottle at the same time.

Another question from me, seeing as I am not b/fing I was wondering how long it took for AF to come back?? I was very irregular before getting pregnant (hence the IVF) and was just wondering if/when I could expect it to return.

Hi Mako: I haven't met you but congrats on your BFP. I noticed that you only stopped b/fing 2 months ago, well done you and DH. Looks like you body has kicked into gear for you. Hope you have a h & h 8 more months.