This thread is for parents who's baby was born March 2012
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There are many issues that you will encounter as a new parent. We have put together this list of useful articles and threads in order to assist you with some common questions or issues you may have, and to provide you with bit of extra support that we all need as new parents:
Please contact the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) or a Lactation Consultant if you are concerned that you may have breastfeeding and/or supply problems, and before the introduction of solids.
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Last edited by Phteven; April 14th, 2012 at 09:23 PM.
Joining you in here, DD was born on the 7th too PN
All she wants to do is feed, feed, feed! And cluster feed for hours in the middle of the night, 2am-6am the other night was so not cool. Luckily we've had my parents here to take DD1 in the mornings so that we can catch up on sleep and now DF's parents are here for 3 weeks.
So apart from being tired and a bit sore from pulling my stitches I am pretty good. DD has just fallen asleep after being awake for a really long time so I'm gonna take the opportunity to lay down with her for a nap.
fuzzy, that sounds like Ds. he was cluster feeding from 1-5 everyday for the first week but he's gone down to being awake from about 2:30-4am now so it is getting better. obviously he wakes another couple of times to feed too, but he's been going straight back to sleep those times. I've worked out that its usually because he's got the farts or wants to poo. farting is a huge drama for him. ouch about the stitches! happened to me with ds1. did they stitch again? enjoy your nap.
its my first day without help, older two are in cc though so the real test is tomorrow.
I had my in home visit today, and they took out the stitches. Felt weird, but was ok. She said that my tummy is looking a little pink, so perhaps I should see a GP to check it out, but that there's no urgency (today is a public holiday). I hope it's all ok ... Did anyone else have any issues with a sore / pink / itchy tummy after birth? And after a c-section?
I'm also a little bit wheezy, no idea why. The midwife wasn't sure what that was about either, so will ask the Dr.
Baby blues have kicked in well and truly. Not nice. I'm still processing things, but my head is above water.
DS2 is feeding well, expressing is going well too, he is a delight. Not great at sleeping at night just yet, but he'll get there Cluster feeding from around 10-11pm until around 2-3am which is brutal - we're trying to feed him a couple of decent feeds in the 6-9pm window, in the hope that we can bring that cluster forwards ... but between those times, he just wants to snuggle and if you put him down, he cracks it bigtime. I need sleep! But I don't feel comfortable sleeping with him yet (worried I'll drop him, roll onto him, etc...) But after about 3am, he sleeps nicely until about 7am.
DS1 however wakes up and wants to get up between 5.30am and 7am ... I really, *really* need sleep!
FX soon DS2 will be able to sleep a little longer and DH and I can get at least a solid 6 hours sleep in...!
He's just perfect though ... DS1 is completely in love, and just wants to cuddle and kiss him all the time!
Looks like I'll be joining you all....DS arrived on the 8th of March,
Peanutter, I had a CS with DS1, The stitches coming out does feel a bit weird but I don't remember my tummy being pink it was tender and I was really uncomfortable and felt really awkward though, it will get better! I'm a bit teary today too... feeling quite guilty about not being able to do as much with DS1 because of all the time I have been needing to spend with DS2, My Mum is here to help but it's not the same.
Fuzzy (stupid question..sorry in advance) I have stitches too how did you know you pulled them/what happened? Mine are sore and I'm wondering if I will ever feel normal down there again? It hurts to sit down anywhere except on our lounge so I have been hanging out there mostly.
Hope your day went well Loulabelle, good luck for tomorrow ... I had DS1 in pre-school today and he goes again tomorrow so mine will be Wed/Thursday ( and the in-laws arrive on Thursday too) so testing it will be lol!!
peanutter- I haven't had a cs so can't answer your question but the itch could mean its healing. either way id go get it checked. about the weezy feeling, I've been getting it too so maybe its a weird post birth thing.
bronzd- congratulations hun. looking forward to getting to know you. if you're worried about your stitches perhaps have a look with a mirror. that's how I found out with ds1- although it was 6 weeks post birth and it was clear that it shouldn't have been gaping open at that point ( sorry for tmi) seriously though, if any stitches have come out too early you risk infection and that's painful so its better to find out.
thankfully I didn't have any stitches this time, I had two tears but they were borderline needing to be stitched so I decided to see how I went and they've healed fine without.
feeling for all of you going through baby blues. I've just gotten over them and it was horrid. big hugs to you all.
feeding? DS is feeding well, but has lost weight ... not quite 10% but he hasn't started regaining yet, so we've been told to up his feeds to 3 hourly (4 hourly overnight) and do little top ups of EBM (as I'm expressing anyway).
boobies? mine hurt!! how are yours? the skin is peeling off them, particularly on old faithful (my left boobie...) and latching is incredibly painful ... but once he gets on properly, it isn't too bad ... expressing doesn't hurt as much, as I am in control of pace and pressure! still hurts, but hopefully my nipples will toughen up really quickly, and we'll have a lovely long bf relationship ... I've been using a little ebm to rub into them after feeds, air drying, and then slathering on Lansinoh in the hope that they'll heal up quickly, and not get any worse ... expressing is good because I can get all the lumps and hot spots worked out ...
wheezing? has almost disappeared altogether. I have s bit of a sniffle today, and got a coldsore yesterday, a so it's possible I'm just run down and a little sick!
tummy? it's still pretty sore, but not obviously a different colour any more, and not hot or anything. keeping an eye on it, but it's looking ok. pain killers aren't doing much to be frank, but we'll get there. the stitches are looking fine. no gaping, no bleeding, no obvious discharge. looking good.
baby blues? they suck ... need to organise to see my counsellor.
older kids? DS just loves "his baby" to pieces! I need to spend more time with him - and find ways that he can't hurt me! he's very active, and is always climbing or crawling or whatever, so there's always a hand or a foot in my tummy or boob or whatever, and it hurts! and I can't lift him, swing him, or even chase him around right now ... I need to figure out some creative ways of playing around without getting hurt! in the meanwhile, I'm making sure to give him plenty of love...
My stitches are feeling better, I knew I had pulled a couple because they were extremely painful and got a bit more swollen and red. I have been checking everyday with a mirror in the shower, got my midwife to have a look and she said it looks ok and didn't need to be restitched, I had a couple of tears in different directions and they all were stitched down to the same spot where it was tender. I've been using a donut cushion to sit on and focussing on sitting with my legs together. I think sitting with my legs up and crossed while feeding is what pulled them in the first place.
I haven't had any baby blues yet, maybe because I haven't had a chance, haven't really been by myself since the birth. We'll see how we go once we go home tomorrow although we'll still have DF's parents with us and my parents will be dropping in most days.
I have also been feeling guilty about not spending time with DD1. The first night DD2 slept really well, I think we were all exhausted after the birth, then the next 2 days we were up most of the night and DD1 spent the whole day with my parents. She had a ball though and came home super tired. She also calls DD2 "my baby" and has been practicing breastfeeding her toys
We had a good night last night, fingers crossed it keeps up and all of the other bubs follow suit! Slept from 11pm-9am waking up for feeds every couple of hours and 1 nappy change. I feel so much better after a good nights sleep. Especially seeing as i didn't get my nap yesterday, As soon as I put her down she was awake so I ended up putting her in the sling and she had a good couple of hours sleep on my chest. I think the fact that my milk has settled is making the difference, she is having more awake time and last night was only feeding from one side before going back to sleep.
My boobs are still sore too. Mainly my nipples from the constant sucking! I've been doing the expressing a bit of milk at the end of feeds and air drying too PN, I don't know if it's making a difference but hopefully they'll feel better soon. Also been focussing on getting DD2 to open her mouth wide, yesterday when my mum was here I was feeding her and she opened her mouth the widest she has ever done and then kept it open for a few seconds and latched on perfectly. It was almost like she was showing off that she could do it, if only she would do it every time!
We're having our last home visit from our midwife this afternoon before heading home tomorrow, will be a little bit sad as she was the midwife who delivered DD2 and she's been to visit us everyday since the birth.
Good luck today Loulabelle and tomorrow Bronzedbabe for your first days on your own. Hope your older kiddies are good for you!
I had a nap this morning for about an hour, and then a nap this afternoon for almost 4 hours!! I fed DS at about 6pm, and then stayed on the couch when DH took him to change his nappy and pop him down, and I fell asleep (had intended to check emails etc, and then do some housework) and DH woke me at 9.55pm saying DS was awake and hungry ... I feel quite good for the nap, but could easily go back to sleep now, and sleep for another 14 hours I think ...
Nipples completely caning though ... I've just emailed a friend who is an ABA Rep to see if I can get any tips ... I think the problem must be attachment related, but DS just has such a little mouth, there's a limit to how much areola he can get in there! The midwife suggested I try different holds, to see if having him just in a different position helps, but no other holds have felt any different, yet. I'm now getting a small amount of bleeding from my left nipple, which is a bit of a worry ... but I think "resting" that nipple or usng a shield or something are just likely to hurt my supply ...
Midwife comes again tomorrow, so we'll see what they say ...
Otherwise, DS is en route back to me, as he's not liking his cot tonight ... more cuddles it is
feeding? DS is still feeding well, bless his cotton socks. he's put on weight, and we're quite happy. one of my boobies has started being temperamental in terms of production ... I'm hoping it was just a glitch last night, and it will go back to normal now - I'm really not sure what exactly is going on ...
boobies? mine still hurt! but no where near as much. they're behaving better, and have stopped peeling. Old Faithful still hurts when DS is latching on, but not as badly or for as long. FX it will all be ok very soon!! expressing is going great guns too - I already have about a litre stored yay boobies!!
wheezing? all gone. yay!
tummy? well, it's still pretty sore, but no real discolouration. I ended up going to the Dr to have it looked at and they're happy that there's no infection or anything. there's a little overlapping, but apparently that's just cosmetic - no increased risk of infection or anything else. so still all looking positive on that front too.
baby blues? still quite noticable, but I've been crying less for the last couple of days, and the Dr said I'm fine to drive - meaning that when DH goes back to work on Monday, that *won't* mean I'm stuck at home all alone. I can go out to the shops or the library or the park or to visit people, if I want/need to.
sleeping? DS isn't great at sleeping at night ... great during the day, though!! but not so much at night ... we are however getting on average 2 x 2hr sleeps at least, though ... often more, but sometimes he is just perpetually restless for lengthy spells between 11pm-4am ... sometimes he'll just be up for a cuddle/feed at 9, 11, 1, 3, but sometimes he'll feed at midnight and 3.30 and otherwise be fine ... other times, he'll need to be resettled 10 times between 1-2am ... I'm really, really looking forward to him settling into a routine asap! we're keeping DS out of his cot as much as possible during the day, so even when he's sleeping, he's getting natural light and is out of bed ... this should help his circadian rhythms get in sync soon, which in turn will hopefully help him sleep better at night!
older kids? Our first baby DS is still doing fabulously. a third big big yay!!
Our third DD Helena Kate arrived on the 17th, our own little St Patricks Day Miracle. We had a wonderful water birth and got home the next day. She is gorgeous, 3.81kg and 55cm at birth. Her birth story is linked to the 'my boo' in my signature. She was due the 3rd of April and is my first bubba to make it to term
She has taken to the boob like a champ the little piggy! My milk is in and my poor bb's are soo engorged, lots of feeds, expressing and cold packs are helping. Helena is looking a bit like a pumpkin but all my girls did,they had breastmilk jaundice and it eventually went away. Poor Helena has had a bit of wind from the over flow of milk but I'm hoping feeding from one side each feed for a four hour block will help
Looking forward to meeting some more mummies and babies
How are you going with DH at work PN? Wow, that's an awesome expressing effort! Are you stockpiling for when you go back to work? I hated expressing first time around so I'm not going to do it unless I absolutely have to.
DF has been doing night shifts the last 5 nights and is on days off now. DD has been sleeping really well, waking for feeds every couple of hours then going straight back to sleep, but DD1 hasn't been coping well without having him home for the bedtime routine. We had lots of tears every night. DD spends alot of time in the sling during the day, that way she gets a decent sleep instead of catnapping
I've developed an infection at the incision, so I'm on antibiotics now (oral and cream).
Yes - stockpiling for when I'm at work. It's also not much fun, and is a lot of work, but very worthwhile for me personally. I've got 4 litres now, and another 6 weeks to pump!
Boo to night shifts - I hated it when DH worked nights ... I'm so glad those days are behind us! It was like ships passing in the night sometimes!
Bub is starting to sleep better at night, and to settle more, too ... Last night we only had one bad hour. Fed three times (evening, midnight-ish and dawn) and only had to resettle a few times after the midnight-ish feed. Praise God!! Praying that this is a sign of things to come, and that we're improving ... Last night I got about 5 hours sleep, then a 2 hour nap in the morning - much much better.
He sleeps quite well in the glider or on his mat. Neither are doable when DS1 is home though - he loves DS2 much too much to leave him be and let him sleep!!
Hi all, I've been meaning to pop in and say hi for a while........ Just haven't got there.
Congratulations to you all on your little bubbas.
Mr Lachlan was born on 12 March and we're all at home and pretty settled. DD absolutely loves her little brother (a little too much sometimes when she decides to cuddle and you can see how much weight is getting put on him) but no real dramas. We'll see if that stays when everyone else is back at work next week and there's just me......... but I only have a week and then DH is off for another week so should be able to cope!!
The last 4 nights we seem to be in a pretty good sleep routine of down at 7, up at 10 then 2 then sleep through til about 6 which is when DD decides it's time for mummy to get up anyway so I really can't complain at all (and it's a welcome change after DD who took 2 hours to get to sleep then slept for 40 minutes at a time and who was still having 4 -5 night feeds at 12 months). And he pretty much eats and sleeps day times with a little bit of play time each time he's up. Seems all a bit easy really so I'm waiting for the wheels to fall off.
Glad to hear everyone else had their blue days as well. I thought I'd escaped when I got to day 4 without them, then DD was naughty and I snapped at her which made me feel guilty because I decided that DS was getting too much attention and that I was somehow going to ruin my relationship with her. Tried to give her a cuddle and she wouldn't (don't you love how 2 year olds are such knowing little things) and I spent the next 2 hours sobbing while DH tried to bath DD and keep DS happy. They've gotten better each day since then (sleep helped seeing as I went 5 days without sleep after he was born cause all he wanted to do was be held).
Hope everyone is doing okay. I'll be back later for a catch up. Mum will be home soon with DD from day care so I'd better go and get ready for the night time dinner bath and bed thing seeing as I told DH he could play squash tonight cause he hasn't played for quite a while........... Could be fun if DS does his normal cluster feed from 5 - 7
almost finished antibiotics - feeling much better, and all the pink and red is gone.
still a bit sore though - but not enough to justify taking pain killers. how are others doing, pain wise?
DS has had a very hungry few days - feeding much more often, and not settling very well at all ... but at least last night we still got two good lengths of sleep, which was nice. and he had a long enough nap in the arvo that I was able to have a loooooooooooooong hot shower, which I appreciated too!
FX we get a proper sleep tonight. The last few nights have been progress, but I'm still lagging way WAY behind in terms of my needs for sleep.
BellyBelly Life Subscriber & MPM
Babies Born ~ March 2012 #1
Cluster feeding from around 10-11pm until around 2-3am which is brutal - we're trying to feed him a couple of decent feeds in the 6-9pm window, in the hope that we can bring that cluster forwards ... but between those times, he just wants to snuggle and if you put him down, he cracks it bigtime. I need sleep! But I don't feel comfortable sleeping with him yet (worried I'll drop him, roll onto him, etc...) But after about 3am, he sleeps nicely until about 7am.
how did you know you pulled them/what happened? Mine are sore and I'm wondering if I will ever feel normal down there again? It hurts to sit down anywhere except on our lounge so I have been hanging out there mostly.
I fed DS at about 6pm, and then stayed on the couch when DH took him to change his nappy and pop him down, and I fell asleep (had intended to check emails etc, and then do some housework) and DH woke me at 9.55pm saying DS was awake and hungry ... I feel quite good for the nap, but could easily go back to sleep now, and sleep for another 14 hours I think ...
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