Babies Born January 1st ~15th 2009

The link to Kirstens story: https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...rth-story.html

Wow....you lost alot of blood Kirsten! I lost around 300mls....

Thanks Kim..Yeah I know your telling me. Lol.

Hi All.....it seems like everyone is doing well.
Isabella had a terrible night last night...she has been sleeping in 3-4 hour blocks but seems to have this constant unsettled period between 6pm to 10pm.
Apparantly this is common?
During this time I have been giving her top ups of the breast (I am soley breastfeeding) for about 10mins...it settles her for a bit then she starts screaming again.
I was scared I was overfeeding her and that she had a upset tummy.
Anywayz, went and saw the health nurse this morning and she has only put on half the weight that she is supposed to. She said it was because I should be feeding her every two hours during the unsettled period.
The only problem is that she falls alseep after 10 mins on the boob....any suggestions to keep her awake?
Jeez, breastfeeding can be hard at times....
The nurse also suggested that I express some milk during the day and give it to her at night during the unsettled peroid.
Feeling a bit down today as I feel like its my fault she hasn't put on enough weight.
Hope everyone is travelling along well.
Paula, I might give you a buzz and ask you for the name of your lactation consultant. Did she help?
xoxoxox

Gincasa,
MIL suggests having a wet face washer near you when you feed and when she falls asleep you gentle wipe her face, head, legs feet etc to wake her up gently. JD hates being messed with when feeding. I am happier bottle feeding him cause I can see what he is getting exactly. Even expressing into a bottle is better, it gives me peace of mind that he he got the 100 ml etc. The hospital told me to fed him the first breast uncovered and when you go to change sides change his nappy so it wakes them up for the next breast as well as the burping. Then wrap and let them suckle to fall asleep. It was taking me 30 minutes or more to feed this way but I now prefer to just bottle fed and it doesn't take as long cause I can see he is getting his milk.

So far the lunchtime feed and 5.30pm feed has gone well today will pray that the 9.30 and 12.30 feds go just as well and of course the 3.30 feed. DH is off to work tomorrow and my mum is coming to visit in the morning (I hope she is not a pain in the butt, I cant deal with her at the moment). But the nurse will come at 1pm and I am looking forward to knowing how JD is growing and if we are doing things ok. Just wish DH was there to hear advice from the nurse. But ah well.

Well I am off to relax and have some dinner while JD is sleeping. I pray we all have a good feeding, settling and sleeping night tonight, we sure could all use it!

Gincasa sorry you had that experience today with the health nurse. I imagine it must have been quite confidence shattering. I really dislike how much with babies relys on how much weight is being gained. Very often these charts are based on formula fed infants so are unrealistic for breastfed babies anyway, so please dont beat yourself up about it. Having said that, I know its difficult when bubs is falling asleep at breast and you not knowing how much baby is actually feeding. I find feeding from one side, then nappy change then offering other side to work well. This way baby wakes during the middle of the feed and often has more gusto to continue feeding from the other breast. Cluster feeding is very common during the evening, especially if baby is sleeping more during the night (mines not!). Expressing may give you some confidence in seeing how much baby is feeding, as well as increasing your supply. Best of luck..sounds like you are doing everthing so well...and we all have periods of doubt so dont second guess yourself. I have done this 5 times already but still worry about what i am doing wrong..think its a mummy curse!

Amanda like i said in earlier post, its not recommended to use control crying in infants under 6 months. Crying is their only way of communication and letting us know that something isnt right. Hope the visit tomorrow goes well..they can be a wealth of knowledge so ask away!

Kim and Kirsten have yet to read your birth stories..will go and have a looksie now.

We had a lovely day today down south with just Sammy and Ruby. The girls are staying with their granma til Friday so its been so quiet. I had such a shock though as I started bleeding sooo heavily while we were away...i could literally feel it flooding (sorry tmi) and panicked thinking I was going to have to rush to the dr but its since subsided so am thinking it must have been from sitting for 2 hours in the car. I hope its slowing down now though..arrgh!

Jo

Ladies I need some HELP. My little darling has decided that she likes to sleep on her tummy :doh::doh::doh: She has been really unsettled since Sunday and I kept finding that during then night she would roll from her back and sleep on her side ~ yes that's right she can roll on to her side already. Any hoo now the only time I can settle her and keep her asleep is when she is on her tummy or side, but she prefers tummy. As everyone know's tummy sleeping is a big no no so what do I do?????

Xavier rolls to his side already too and this morning I found him on his tummy. My middy said it is okay for day sleeps if you are watching and checking in frequently but I remember with Noah that I rolled up 2 cloth nappies and had one at his back and one at his belly to keep him on his side so he was more comfortable.

So sleep deprived it isn't funny. Xavier spends the better part of his days and nights screaming like he is in pain. I have tried Infants Friend and it isn't working, I will give it the rest of today as well though. Tomorrow I will try Gaviscon Infant and see if it is reflux. All he wants to do is feed every 30 minutes, Noah was never like this. Juz has just woken up now so I might go down for a nap. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Thanks Amanda, that wet face towel helped heaps.
We had a bad evening last night. Isabella was feed every 2hours from 5pm to 12pm....and screaming inbetween. Its like they are in soooo much pain.
Tried everything to settle her....warm bath, massage but she just cried till her next feed.
BUT she did sleep from 12:30pm to 8:30am this morning. Thats 8hrs....I really don't know if that a good thing or not. I slowly woke her at 8:30am this morning as I was concerned she needed a feed. Is 8hrs too long?
Also I am getting different advice about breastfeeding. My health nurse has said that she should have 20-30mins on the first breast that chnage her nappy and offer the second breast and if she only take it for 5-10min don't worry coz you have offered the first breast for a long time. I have other people telling me that you should even out the time offered at each breast...try and do 15-20min on each breast.....help
Any advice?

Seenabeena...Isabella is rolling on her side a bit too....but not on her tummy. I haven't woken her and just left her on her side.

Thanks JO for the advice.....its all so new being a first time mum.

Hi to everyone

Hello ladies!!! :D

Sorry to hear some of you are doing it tough atm, but it does get better!!!

I feel a little guilty, Harmony has been a dream so far.... ;)

gincasa, your health nurse is spot on babe..... big feed one side, change butt, usually a short feed other side.... when its time for the next feed, start on the side bub had a short feed from, change butt, short feed the other side... and so on..... each side needs to be "drained", and then you'll make more for next time!! ;)

Harmony cluster feeds between 8-10pm, and is on off on off the whole time, but then sleeps for hours.... so if you have the time to just sit and feed of a night, you most prob will be rewarded with a big sleep..... I hope!!!!!

well nurse came and stayed for ages as JD started screaming because of wind so she tried to help me settle him. But he was still crying by the time she left. It seems he may have settled now though at last, God I pray he stays asleep for a while now.

Good news is he has gained 400gm since he left the hospital so she is happy about that. God this is hard how can you other mums have done this more than once?

Amanda well done on JD's weight gain...thats awesome! It gets easier each time i think that why i went back for more..LOL. Doesnt mean i dont have my fair share of worries and stresses each time though.

Zach has been good today. We are pretty much all formula now. I just cant handle him feeding so often on the breast, i enjoy expressing and dont find it a pressure or time consumption, but breast milk just isnt cutting it for him. I mayas well give him no milk at all cos it has the same effect. Goes in and comes out straight away. Doesnt settle him or help him sleep. With 2 toddlers to alo look after (and who are demanding) i dont have time to sit my butt on the lounge all day and night feeding.

Ive given it my best shot, i was given some great advice in a thread i started, but i tink our final attempt of mastering BF has come to an end. Ill express for a few more days then im hanging up my pump and BB's for good :(

We have our first MCHN visit next Tuesday.

Kirsten how did you go at Centrelink today? I have to go see them next Thursday.

Kim, I'm very torn atm as well... I really wanna continue BF but I just feel it takes up to much time as well, and having Charlotte full time, it isn't fair on her not giving her enough attention... I've been expressing as well, and only have the hand pump and getting sick of it, if I had an electric or battery one I don't think it would be as bad...and still don't know whether to get one, or just put him onto formula..so many choices to make...doesn't help I still have the midwifes coming out and I just feel to much pressure to BF from them... So hoping I can have a good day where they feel they don't have to come out anymore... I just can't say to them, look i've given BF a go but don't want to continue!

So big hugs hun and u are doing a real great job!!

Amanda, great news on JD weight gain...hope he settles alot better for u tonight... and yeh I think it does get a bit easier, although once I've sorted out how I'm feeding Harley, things will be heaps easier!

How long should it take to get wind out of bub? Is an hour to an hour to 2 hours normal? Nurse said it can take up to 1-6 hours to settle a baby. God help me if it was 6 hours!

Whats a huge bummer is that the earliest I can get into a new mothers group is May! I need one now, or at least in the next couple of weeks or I will go mad! I will call again tomorrow and see if there is another one that can fit me in that is somewhere else since the one in my town is booked out! I pray that I get a group, I really need one!

Deb - I understand where you are coming from. I experienced the same feelings with DS regarding the midwife coming and being full-on about bfing. Except that time I didnt even have another child! I think you just have to trust whats right for you this time around. I agree that the electric pump makes life so much easier.

puppies - HUGE Bummer about mothers grp - a new mother should not have to wait 4 mths - thats so bad!

kim - dont beat urself up about bf - ur doing a great job with ur 3 little ones!!

purplemamma - what is clusterfeeding?Is it several feeds in a short amount of time? I do that 2 in early evening - just hope i get that stretch of night sleep sometime soon.

gin - have sms'd LC details. A long sleep is ok at night but sounds like isabella was justexhausted cos of her previous lack of sleep!!! take it easy hun.

LMS - hope u got that nap hun - & some solutions too! i feel like a zombie too..not fun.

hi to jo, seena, salad & kirsten - sorry for lack of persies - bub is crying & this keyboard is playing up!!

Hello girls and it sounds like you all doing well..

Puppies-I agree I also finding it hard with just one and I only going to have just Ryley I think I couldn't more than one..That's good about JD weight gain..

Kim-good luck with Centrelink next week..

Deb-whatever decision you make will be up to you as long as your happy about it that all that matters..I found that out when I decided to formula feed Ryley..

gincasa-I found that out with Ryley that he is pretty unsettle when it comes to night time. Party time for him. :lol:

Hello to everyone else..

Centrelink went really well and I was only there for a hour and a bit as they were putting it through and dad was there because Ryley was due for a feed. I now getting single parenting and family tax benefits payments and the baby bonus in installments so I am quite happy with that..Now waiting for the Birth Certificate which is a long story which I won't bore you with as I am having ah issues with it. Lol. Had a bad night Ryley wouldn't sleep even after a feed and a poo until 2am this morning he finally settled..

Hope you all are well.
Kirsten

ah stupid internet stopped just as i was posting my massive reply! Hope everyone is okay. We've been looking up visa and passport stuff today for going back to the uk in june, Its all very complicated!

I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice about expressing? We're going to be out all Australia day and I dont want to keep having to get my boobs out to feed larissa so think that expressing might be the answer. I've been given an electric pump but will need to get some bottles so any recommendations? Also are there certain times when I should express like after a feed or something? For me to get a few feeds worth do I need to spread the expressing over say a few days? And then should the milk be frozen or kept in the fridge? How long is it ok out of the fridge? Sorry for all the questions but I have no idea about any of it!

I have an electric breast pump. Its a travel pack costs about $259 not cheap but great for me as I will be going back to work at three months and besides that i like to know what JD is having exactly. It came with the bottles and bag etc. You will probably need to express a couple of times a day and save it for the weekend. Opps I hear crying better go

sorry brunette for leaving you out before in my last post - electric pumps can be hired from your chemist - much nicer in my opinion than manual ones. Just mind also that if you are not expressing or bfing at all on aust day, your bbs might get uncomfortable (something you may be aware of already). Express after a feed - it's a great way to empty the bbs!!!

ETA - sorry just read that u have ur own pump - I use avent bottles and have not had any problems at all with them.