Babies Born October 2007 #3

Good work Nic! You are a trooper for keeping going all this time!

Hello to the new mums!

Well Hayley had a reasonable night - woke for a feed around midnight, then didn't really settle so had another feed about 3 when DH then got up and took over so I could get some sleep - she settled down to sleep in about 15 mins and then didn't wake until 8! DH was very happy with himself :)

I never know what to dress her in though - its been a bit cool here the last few days so i put her in a bonds bodysuit last night, and i think she might have got a bit hot.
I am wrapping her in a muslin wrap for each sleep, then with a light waffle blanket. I'm finding it so hard to know!

Great news Nic..well done :D

We had an ok night... but Jasmine has hardly slept all day, but, has screamed and cried. Think she had a bad belly ache cos not long ago done the crap from hell, full clothes change and bath! Now sleeping though...due for a feed soon but NOT waking her!!

ETA: Both kids have new pics on their sites now!!!

Welcome Louise - congrats on your new arrival!

way to go Nickers - congratulations! You should be so proud of yourself for sticking with it all this time

Tahlia is also a little unsettled this afternoon - she keeps waking, and I put her back on the breast and she sucks for about 5 mins then falls asleep, as soon as I put her back in to her bassinette she wakes up again... don't know what else to try, and settling techniques would also be welcome... DH is having a go at the moment

She has also just started projectile spewing, which worries me... what happens if they do that when they are lying on their backs in bed???

Kellied, I had that because of reflux and Ryan drinking too fast. I was told to take him to the Dr because they look for a few things they could have that may make them spew but Ryan didn't have them was just because he is a pig lol

Celtic - was Ryan doing it after every feed or just occasionally? she did it this morning at her 10.30 feed, but didnt do it at her 2pm feed. yesterday she only did it for 1 of her 5 feeds.

Does he still do it? I'm trying to take her off every 5 mins to get a burp out of her to see if that helps... we'll wait and see! It makes you worry that they aren't getting enough if they spew it up again!

Did Ryan ever do it while he was in bed? I'm worried about her choking on it!

He does sometimes, and it was only every now and then. He did it a lot in bed I kept putting puke clothes under his head when Id lay him down. They check their tummy and intestines and suggested a half feed, a burp, then the rest, he still sometimes projectiles but not much or often

thanks Celtic - I've got a cloth nappy on top of her sheet in case it happens in bed. I'll mention it to the MCHN on Monday and see if she thinks I should see a GP about it

kellied... james is doing this right now. he did it last night too. goes through a phase of feeding every hour, getting dozey on the boob, then waking up as soon as he's put in the bassinette.

he weighs so much i can only rock him to sleep about 3 times before i have to give up. i hate hearing him cry in there but there's nothing i can do. i know he's buggered...

they're good at making you feel like a bad parent.

then he'll turn around and do two 3.5 to 4 hour sleeps through the night. i suppose i should be grateful he's having his spak in the day/early evening and not at 3am.

sigh.

I make sure I prop Ryan on his side a little, not sure what they are called but I have those things that hold them in plce, like a big sausage either side of him. It makes his head lay on it's side a bit if he does spew then he wriggles himself to a on back position eventually. He's not on his side much only enough to ensure his head is to one side for about 15minutes :). I found sitting him a lot more upright for feeds helps a lot. Definately ask they just wanted me to rule out anything phsyiological he didn't tell me what it could have been though. I lay him on his tummy for a little bit after each meal till he burps a few times on a matress protector I have on the single bed in his room before moving him to his cot. He's on it next to me at the moment burping and farting away lol

thank you everyone! feeding still going well even bf out in public yesterday!

but my boobs have so much milk now i need to stop expressing and let them get to a supply that Tyron needs and not the pump. I S#*t you not when they are rocks i can express 100ml within minutes.... its so messy my bra, pj's everything got soaked last night, im chaging breast pads like a heavy flow maternity pad!

im going to take Ty to the docs next week, he is also very unsettled and spewy. Nix was a reflux bub so i can kinda see a similar pattern, but he does like 5-10 spews after a feed, doesnt like being laid down and u can tell when he is in pain.
ive used the infacol yesterday but hasnt made much difference, harder to give him the thickener now he is on the boob, might go try the "Brauers" colic releif next see if this helps.

Yay Nic! I'm glad it is still going well for you! Well done for feeding in public!!! Re: Infacol, the MCHN said to use it before every feed (she said you can use it safely up to 12 times per day if needed) and that it takes 24 hours for it to really kick in and work for their digestive system as a whole. So it may be worth persevering for one more day? He does sound like he may have reflux though the poor little man :( .

Had a pretty good night last night. Kieran stretched his o'night feeds to between 3.5 and 4.5 hours which was nice and I didn't need to settle him at any stage so I finally got some decent sleep! He was quite happy after his morning feed this morning and even smiled a few times, though I think it's too early to smile so it was probably just wind? Is anyone's bubs smiling yet? I can't remember what age they usually start. He is really good at reaching out and touching toys already, but Joel was the same. Pretty much with both boys as soon as they were home from the hospital and we dangled toys over them, they were trying to work out how to touch them! Joel has excellent hand/eye co-ordination so I reckon Kieran will as well.

Anyway, think I've rambled on enough! Have a great day all.

We had a much better night. Wrnt out for tea with friends...Jasmine's pram kept getting knocked so she was so upset the whole time. Came home and fed...she slept from 11pm-5.30am. Then slept 6.30am til 11am!!

So far Jas isnt a spewy baby like Chelsea was.

That Bruers releif worked wonders for us Nic, really helped Chelsea alot.

*bleary eyes*

so... i can't believe the kid who snuffled awake at 1am for a feed and fell straight back to sleep is the same kid who has given dh and me absolute hell this morning. he has been cluster feeding (hourly), sharking on my right nipple, refusing to sleep...

in the end, dh sent me up the road for a break because i was losing it. james tanted for a bit longer and the cycle started again. then he got the hiccups... then he criiiiiiiiied for half an hour. now he's fast asleep and we are thoroughly buggered.

so much for 5pm. the poor little guy still can't breathe so well at dusk and dawn because of that cold, and i'm guessing he's going through a growth spurt with all this feeding.

not impressed about what he did to my R nipple this morning. am considering getting a pump and some bottles so i can bail out of the house on these desperate days and let dh feed him.

can't hurt to have some spare ebm around the place.

i have a HAB on the way, since he hates the babyrock. let's see if i can wear him to happiness. god knows he's too heavy to carry in my arms for too long.

today's questions:

1) what are you doing for thank you notes/cards?
2) when your baby is inconsolabe do you put them down to cry or carry them to cry?

nickers: lol at soaking yourself. i did that yesterday. i note that if i get even remotely frisky with dh it's fire stations in the boobs... haha. awesome.

Qu 1. I got some cute cards from Kmart with a pink carriage on the front and sent them to all my friends who came and visited and sent gifts. With a nice message inside.

Qu 2. I let Jasmine cry. If it gets to much i leave the room....go outside, calm down (or have a cry myself), come back in and rock her. If that dont work, Craig tries. Eventually she will learn i wont pick her up everytime she cries. Worked with Chelsea so im using same tactics again this time.

Theres a large number of people who dont like letting babies cry, but crying helps develop thier lungs. Of course i dont let her cry for ages...but a little while (10-15 mins) and by then she usualy settles ok. Picking her up doesnt seem to do a real lot any way. Dummy she hates (bugger they were my saving grace last time).

Gee Nic...100ml within minutes! Thats great.... :)

1. well ive been super organised and already done my sent those out who have already given things and have ones ready for when ppl do. What i did, ok its a bit naughty i scanned in the prof photo we had done at the hosp. i used photoshop to write on it his name dob, weight, length, time and a generalized comment "Thank you for your kind words and gifts"
i then burnt it onto a cd took it up to the local photo shop and printed 30 copies for $12!
the photographer did thank yous which costs $99 for $30 so quiet happy with myself.

2. i do a bit of both i suppose, if im in the middle of something important (on the loo say) well i wont jump off to his aid! but if im roaming around i will try and settle, sometimes he gets the better of me and i have to let him go for a while.

Hi all

Well we have found L's arsenic hours - 7pm - 9pm. It is so awful. This is the time when we are trying to have dinner, which after I do a feed at around 6pm usually ends up being at least 7pm by the time he is asleep enough to be moved to his basinette. We might get half an hour of peace and then the screaming starts. By the time dinner makes it on the table it is close to 8.30pm and I am usually crying because his screams are too much. DH attends to him, and then I do it and so it goes. I agree with you Kim to let him cry,once you work out that everything is ok, but it breaks my heart to hear it.

Yesterday was horrible. Went grocery shopping and had lunch out and while L usually falls asleep he stayed awake the whole time and had this bug-eyed look on his face. I think he was overstimulated. Lessons learned yesterday. 1) need to find a quieter time to do my grocery shopping and 2) don't think you can just change him without doing a feed as well.

Rabbit Photos do announcement cards. I was thinking about doing that and writing a note or something on the back or enclose a separate little note. That way people get a photo and a thank you note at the same time.

L is stirring so better get going. He has been asleep for 3.5 hours so I guess it is about time for him to wake up. I wouldn't even wake him up when his grandparents came to visit so they could have a cuddle.

warning - never wake a sleeping baby for visitors, they can come back another hour, day, year or whatever but I would never wake Maria for anyone, even grandparents.

All my friends know i wont wake Jasmine...they can look but not touch!!

i'm glad you guys said you'll let them go sometimes. i get wracked with guilt if i let him cry. sometimes i have to let him cry off the hiccups (only takes 5 minutes usually - when the boob won't work). with his arsenic times we've let him go a couple of times.

i hate letting him go because i feel so guilty that i should be able to carry him and rock him and keep him happy. the crying doesn't necessarily work. sometimes he'll crash out straight away other ties he'll cry like he's being stabbed.

today motherhood is a massive trial and i am feeling jipped. it feels like it will be like this forever... *voice trails off*

tell me it changes....

It gets better Viv.....all takes time....he is young and hasnt worked out the world on the outside yet!!

Vivienne - It does change and get better :hug: . By 6 weeks of age they become more alert and happy and interesting and by 3 months of age things get pretty cruisy. Babies are just so dependant on us at this early stage to make them feel comforted, fed, happy, etc... It DOES get easier I promise! With my first DS I remember crying heaps in the early days and saying to DH, "why do people do this, what were we thinking?". How terrible do I sound?! But as DS got older, things got easier and I started to really enjoy being a mum. This time around I can cope better because I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel soon!

Re: waking bub for visitors...absolutely NO WAY will I wake him for anyone, even the queen if she showed up!

hey viv, ive been thinking about your post how james wants to feed so often and has been unsettled a lot lately. Please dont take it the wrong way im just thinking out loud but do you think maybe when he is feeding so often he is actually getting too full and then getting pains from that?
Rather than feeding him if its only been an hr could yoou try doing something else, like bathing or nappy change with some tummy time? Not sure just thinking how Tyron seems to "over eat" and then pay for it later with pains....

NT - My mum make cards and invites, etc, so she will be making me birth announcments/ thank you cards. Tiera has recieved sooooo many prezzies of people, I think mum might be making for a while!
Q2 - Ido too much of the holding whilst she crys. I will be starting the 'controlled crying' when mum goes home this week. I won't let her go too long before I pick her back up again for a few minutes.

Tiera had a terrible night sleep last night. I'm supprised we didn't wake the town! lol Poor little bub had such a build up of wind, she bearly slept. Fed at 10:30, woke at 1:20am, then pretty much staid awake until 7am this morning (only had very short sleeps). I staid up with her most of the night, but by 6:40, I was stuffed and asked hubby to get up with her as he had to get up for work soon anyway. My mum then got up to her when Josh went to work so I could have a bit more sleep. Got up to feed her at about 8:15 and staid up. NOT NICE!

At this time of the day it is her 'witching hour'. She is usually most unsettled at this time of day, luckily mum was able to get her back to sleep after only crying for about half an hr (at this time of day, that is great!) Mum goes home on Tues and I am freaking out! I am trying not to rely on her now, but she is such a great help I just don't know how I'm going to go without her. It also doesn't help that I have so many people say to me 'How will you cope without your mum?' and 'I'll give you one week and you be down in SYD with your mum'. People keep saying to her "When will you be back, Friday?' Arg! So disheartening!!!

Sorry for the vent people, not the happiest little camper today.

PS forgot to add.... I have one breast full of lumps and is soooo painful. Tiera wont feed on it. Its as if she is trying, but its too hard for her or something?! I have been expressing out of this breast and feeding on the other. Has anyone else had this prob? Do you know of anything I can do? Thanks ladies

Viv - I hear ya! I keep asking myself why I have done this, and when will the good times start that all my friends with kids tell me about. I know it will get better in a few weeks and better still in a few months but so focussed on the hear and now.

Tiff - My mum was only up for a week and I was so upset when she went back to Melbourne as she was moral support and helped around the house . What I am really scared of is when DH goes back to work in 4 weeks time. I can't tell you how frightened I am about being on my own all day. So by then I hope that I will have a routine set up and he is a little more settled. I hope..........

DH and I went for another long walk today. Got to where we were going and started to walk back and L started to scream his head off. We found a bus stop and changed him but stopped short of pulling my boob out.

Oh well 7pm nears. He's just been fed and is out for the count. Don't know long it will last........

Hi All,

Sounds like all the babies have well and truly "woken up" LOL. Happens around this time. Amara is also getting a big festy period usually from 7-10 or 11pm. Sigh...this too shall pass....

Saffi - re settling I try her in the snuggle bed or hammock or cradle whatever she is going in at the time and if it just isn't working I pick her up. All totally personal but I don't let my babies cry.

Viv - Thankyou, have not done a thing but have thougth I should get to it soon. I will probably just buy a pad from Big W, I am hopeless with that stuff.
When inconsolable I put her straight in the HAB I borrowed from a friend it is the BEST thing ever. She goes straight to sleep every time. You will LOVE it. Biggest trick is learning how tight to put it on at the start so bub does not end up down on your tummy. They start of high at your chest and should end up at about boob height when the fabric stretches.
Re - James feeding evey hour, I would go with it of you can, he must want/need it or he is stimulating you to make more milk for 2 days time when he will need it??? Amara fed like that fpr a day here and there too.

Louise - I hear you I never wake bub for visitors, they are not toys right. I am sure some (inlaws) woudl like to wake her but I am strict. If I know they are coming I will put her to sleep up in our room so they can't "accidentally" wake her.

We are in witching hour/s now and DH has her trying to calm her if it does not stop in 5 mins I am going the HAB!

Question from me for the day - To those who have other kids, what do you do with bub when you drop child 1 at preschool or daycare. Ours is a pit of germs and I am terrified of Amara getting something BUt I have to take Eliza and no-one can help out. I was thinking put her in the HAB and hope no-one pokes at her? any ideas?

Hi Ladies,
question for the BFing mums - how many bubs out there are using dummies and how old were they when you introduced it?

Kellie - We are using a dummy when he wants to take it but it is very often!! Takes him about 20 minutes for him to latch onto it but once he does you can't get him off!! We started intoducing it from 2 days old!!

Kellie - We gave Tiera a dummy for the first time tonight! Took a few seconds and latched on it and wouldn't let go. I found it quite sad giving it to her as I thought we were doing so well without it and I am quite against them. On the up side she is a lot more settled and I have been told it helps settle wind (a bit). I'm not sure if I am going to keep her on it, but we'll see how it all goes.

Not BF here (yet...we will see how the LC goes this week) but we gave dummy from 3 days old..Jasmine hates it!! But offer it when she is in tears...spits it out most of the time.

Leah when we drop Chelsea off at care Jasmine stays home with me. I guess its easy for us cos we both always at home. Id put Amara in the HAB...but cover her over..people are less likely to wanna touch if they cant see her IYKWIM??

now bf and being using a dummy since the begining, mostly to try and encourage Ty to suck in the early days.

Louise- how is Sophie doing? Thinking of her... Hey i also ment to mention there is a NICU/Preemie mums thread with some very lovely ladies which you might find helpful to chat to about what you guys have been going through, there is a range on bubs born between 25-36weeks and everyone is really supportive.

well im going to attempt my first grocery shop with the boys today! plan to put Ty in HAB and Nix in trolley fingers crossed. Its only been 4 weeks since c/s but i think im right to drive... driving me insane not going anywhere!

and yeah im still learning how tight the HAB needs to be i tried to go for a walk the other day pushing Nix in his trike and poor Tyron end up his head below my boobs! gotta work on getting it on right first up!

Hi girls !

I never wake myles ever! If he is asleep i leave him!
We wont be controll crying, but its a personal thing!I have read too much info on how it can affect them but there are always 2 sides to it so if its for you go for it! I try not to let him cry, he doesnt really cry much anyway!
Myles doesnt have a dummy adn he doesnt really need one now!

Nic good luck shopping today!
x

Nickers - haven't got around to posting in the premmies section yet, I posted there when Maria was born, but kind of felt a bit odd as my girls are and were only 5 and 6 weeks premmie, so nothing compared to some of the little ones.

my MCHN nurse told me last week to avoid the dummy for a while, but while she was screaming last night between 8 and 11, I was very tempted... she kept wanting to comfort suck at the breast, so I would let her, she'd suck for about a minute, fall asleep, I'd move her, she'd wake up and be back at square 1 again! I think if the dummies I'd bought had been sterilised she would have had it for sure! Does anyone know what is a good brand of dummy for a breast feeding baby?

Kellie - We have been using a dummy since Kieran was 3 days old. He was sucking his thumb, but kept gouging his eyes with the rest of his fingers so I thought it was safer to use a dummy! I gave Joel a dummy at around 5 days old. With both boys there weren't any problems with b'feeding since introducing the dummy because they were already feeding well. The MCHN said she was glad we were using one because it is a great way to settle bub (she is an absolute expert on settling babies, I didn't want her to leave!!). I wouldn't be without a dummy! Don't feel bad if you have to use one, sometimes your sanity is more important. With Joel I used the Nuk dummies which are a good shape, this time I am using the Avent dummies because they are a bit cheaper and seem to work fine. I was told those cheap Happy Baby dummies are fine too, but they used to make Joel choke because they are so long.

Vivienne - Re: what Nic said about possibly feeding too much - I rang the maternal child health line last week because Kieran seemed to be in so much pain with wind and was really unsettled all the time. I told the nurse that I was feeding him every 2.5 hours and she said that is probably too much and to try to stretch him out to 3 hours. She said his tummy probably wasn't getting enough time to recover and he was getting wind pain. He seemed to want to feed all the time, but she said this is a natural reaction when they are in pain. She said if he wakes early to try putting him in the pram or baby carrier and going for a walk, or giving him a bath until 3 hours comes around. We did this and he was so much more settled after that feed. I am not saying you have to try this, I'm just passing on the info that the nurse told me! I hope things settle down for you soon.

Kieran is sleeping really well at night now, we are getting between 4 - 4.5 hours between feeds overnight! I am feeling much more human at the moment.

I'm back we decided to go visit my sister, nieces & nephews in NSW, we just got back yesterday.
Maddi went really well during the car trip only crying a lot towards the end of the trip :)
I've read back but can only remember a few things you girls are so chatty.

As for more children i would love more but Phil has never been a big family person, So I'll have to wait & see.
As for Dummies Maddi has had one from about a week old, but doesn't really use it now.
MCHN i use to really like mine till she said i was feeding Maddi too much because she put on 420g in 2 weeks & that i should give Maddi baths to calm her down even tho we told her Maddi hated having baths & would scream the entire time she was in there.

Congrats Nic on the b/fing that's great news.
Welcome to all the new Mums :D

Off to check on all the new baby pics :)

Good morning all! I hope everyone's weekend was lovely!!

I quickly had a read through all the posts - and I can't remember who was asking about supply and expressing and baby feeding often (maybe Saffi?). If you are constantly emptying the breast and finding your supply not increasing, it could be due to diet and lack of water intake. I find that if I haven't had enough water to drink through the day, my supply seems to be a bit on the low side. Plus you need to make sure you are eating enough and resting. If I do too much during the day, my supply seems to pay the price in the late afternoon/evening.... I find having a nap after lunch and resting in the afternoon helps my supply in the evening. If it's none of those things, my friend who is a mothercraft nurse recommended Fenugreek. But I found the rest and water sorted me out!

If we have visitors, I always pick Rochelle up so they can have a cuddle... Rochelle doesn't stir at all and happily goes back into her bassinette. We don't tip toe around Rochelle and I'm not going to not go out and do what I have to do just because she is asleep.

DTD - OMG, I am so scared about it! Even though I had not stitches or tears, I'm still scared it's going to hurt or something. I know it's different down there and things have been moved around... Since the bleeding stopped, Danny has been bugging me and bugging me... so much so you wouldn't have thought I just had a baby only a few weeks ago! Eek! Did it hurt when you guys DTD those who had a vaginal birth?

Just a question about the BF mother's using dummies - How come you don't let them suckle at the breast? My baby is probably different to your babies... Do your babies scream? I just find it mean to deny them breast.

Right, I'm off to make those yummy peanut butter choc cookies of Vivienne's! Hope everyone has a top day!

Hi,

Re Dummies - always a toughie! Eliza had one and we introduced it at abotu 5 weeks after feeding was going well. She on ly ever had it to sleep and weaned off it when she was about 2, no problems.
This time I have used it 2 or 3 times but Amara does not like it. I might try the Avent though as we are having the same prob someone else said that she gags on the dummy 'cos it is too long. For now I am holding out and giving boobie.

Catherine - I am like you and give boobie first but I used the dummy when even feeding didn't work. Sometimes they just get so up tight they don't know what they want and a dummy can help to settle things down LOL!

new thread time girls :) Babies Born October 2007 #4 - BellyBelly Forums ~ Pregnancy, Birth & Baby