Babies Born ~ November 1st -15th 2011 #1

Well Little Mister's eye is looking heaps better this morning - yay!

We made it through his first really hot day (got to 39 yesterday) without too many dramas, had to wake him to feed as I didn't want him dehydrating while we were out doing his paperwork and he slept in a singlet and nappy. Amused me a little while we were at the doctors, Murphy's Law says he will be unsettled and hungry while waiting so I settled down to feed him thinking we were quite early and will have plenty of time only to be the next ones called. So I stood up with him still attached and walked in - which made the docs and the nurse doing our injections laugh and the doc commented how nice it was to see me so relaxed while feeding him.

AM, is he finishing the first side before you offer the next? Sometimes it can be hard to tell, I usually let Alex feed till he pulls off or turns away by himself, burp him then offer the same breast again just to make sure - if he's drained it, he'll fuss and spit it out till I give him the other one. That way I know he's getting the really good filling hind milk.

Lolpigs, you'll probably find you have good days and bad days - but you're still going in the right direction, so try not to let it bother you too much on those days you still need to offer the bottle :hug:

Spoke to the community midwife today. He' gained 200g (100g over birth weight). She's Happy with that. I was feeding him wrong so she's helped with that.

Boobs a little sore again today, just airing them as much as I can.

Good news Amumma, hope it gets better for you soon :) Well done with the weight gain your doing so well :)

Thanks CK :hug: hard to stay positive sometimes. Good news is she went down for sleep after her afternoon feed and that one has been a bit touch and go. Completely confident with over night and morning feeds.

Bring on the evening!

CK- thanks for the advice re breathing- thats so good to know! I was worried about it, so it's nice to know its normal!!

So, DH's mother called and left a voicemail as I havent spoken to her yet (lives in Sydney) and she said "I just wanted to say congratulations on the birth of MY granddaughter" - I was SO angry I was in tears the whole night- how dare she say that, it's like, um she's MY daughter before she is your granddaughter!!!! How rude! And it was the way she said it too, possessive like. I was furious- she's always been really hard to handle but now I'm just so angry.. I haven't spoken to her yet and don't intend to! It might sound a bit like I'm being a bit dramatic but if you knew her, you'd know what I mean! Everything is ALL about her and she has such little respect for anyone else- I was thankful DH agreed with me feeling upset! Anyway she's trying to arrange a time to come to Adelaide to visit and I'm dreading it! She's very irrisponsible and I hate the idea of her even holding Violet! Uhh...

Does anyone else's baby have a nappy rash type thing under their neck folds of skin? Poor violet does and it looks very sore, so my mum got stuff from the chemist to try heal it- it's hard cos her head is always in a spot where air can never get to under her neck so it stays moist and gets sore!

AM, the soreness apparently goes away after a few days- hope it starts healing for you soon! I haven't got chapped yet but I haven't been feeding as long as you ladies, so we shall see!!

Sounds a bit like heat/sweat rash - DD used to get it something chronic, Alex hasn't as yet though. Tricky as it can be, try to keep the area as clean and dry as possible and maybe pop on a bit of barrier cream if you can. Best way I found was to lay them with shoulders on your forearm and head tilted back while your arm rests on a pillow as this exposes the neck area nicely but they're still supported enough in the head/neck area. It does eventually clear up, but may come back periodically especially in hot weather or as she starts dribbling.

And as for the MIL - ugh, weird? I'd be peeved too with that kind of thing!

It's meant to be heating up over the weekend. Will be interesting to see how he goes.

Amanda you must have the attachment spot on cos you'd be grazed or blistered by now I would think.
I think Abby has a small mouth or something is going on cos attachment is making my toes curl in pain but then it eases and is ok for the feed until towards the end when I think she changes the position of her tongue or something and is ouchy again. Strangely enough the nipple that isn't as damaged is more painful so I'm really not sure what the go is there. She also woke with a gunky eye this morning so I'm just putting drops of breastmilk in her eye and will monitor it over the next day.

mil are weird mine is doing that too... its the first grandchild. She's doing the same thing going on about how Lilly is there's.. not. It is so frustrating

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Amanda you must have the attachment spot on cos you'd be grazed or blistered by now I would think.
I think Abby has a small mouth or something is going on cos attachment is making my toes curl in pain but then it eases and is ok for the feed until towards the end when I think
she changes the position of her tongue or something and is ouchy again. Strangely enough the nipple that isn't as damaged is more painful so I'm really not sure what the go is there. She also woke with a gunky eye this morning so I'm just putting drops of breastmilk in her eye and will monitor it over the next day.

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Sounds like Lilly, watch how you hold her Lilly slips off and that happens to me to

Danni - I had that exact pain like you describe and it turned out she wasn't attaching properly. Though she was also making a clicking sound that I thought was her drinking, turned out that it was her slipping off and on and not attaching correctly. I hope your breasts feel better soon

Amanda - Sorry your MIL is such a pain. Best thing would be not to let her get to you. Hard though I know. There are some people that just don't get it and she sounds like she falls into that category. That's great that your DH could see where you were coming from. Is she going to stay at your place when she visits you?

Lolpigs - it sounds like you are going great, there is going to be the odd bad day here and there but as long as your progressing in the right direction that's wonderful!

Jessica was very unsettled again last night. Didn't go back to sleep after her 8pm feed, then fed her at 11pm and wouldn't sleep until after 1am. It was exhausting as she cries, screams, then you think she's going to sleep then her eyes pop open and the whole thing starts all over again. She did quite a few number 2's yesterday but today so far nothing. Is that normal? Not sure what I can do about that? I wish I knew why she was so unsettled.

I hope everyone else is doing well

Thanks sweetpea. Glad you are doing well too. Looks like I'm down to 1 bottle a day. Cluster feed 4:30pm till 9 and then she gets really frantic and hungry. Takes about 40 or 50ml and then relaxes and sleeps.

Yeah I think the reason we have issues at the end of the day is becuase Lilly dosen't feed well then. She makes that clicking noise and slips off the breast more especially when cluster feeding. Lilly dosent attach properly half the time becuase she wont open her mouth, gets frustrated.. gah its an annoying cycle. It is probably why the end of the day is when she needs the bottle because she still isnt great at sucking yet. Hopefully that will improve as she gets bigger.

Poor Jessica. I find Lilly really unsettled before No. 2's and she then screams afterwards becuase she hates the feeling in her nappy or something. Lilly does that too sometimes, does a few in one day and then nothing the next day. So long as she isn't constipated, from what I've read it's normal they don't like the feeling or sensations associated with the BM and interpret it as pain apparently.

I hope she is more settled for you tonight xx

Edit: Hmm even though Lilly took 40ml of formula tonight, I think she was giving us the wrong signals and it was for a BM? becuase she just did one and now she is all happy. However we get hungry signals from her when she is in pain.. does anyone else get that? is there a way to tell the difference.. gah. Perhaps she isn't actually hungry? so confusing. :wall:

OK weird, just had too offer bottle because Bubs kept slipping and not drinking and screAming ... this is starting to get perplexing :wall:

and she still isn't settling :( oh dear.

Sweetpeajan - Sounds like you and I had similar nights with our munchkins. Aubree as unsettled most of the night. I wouldnt worry about her poo's though the clinic nurse told me that breastfed babies can go 5 days without doing a poo because there isnt much in the breast milk to pass through and most of it is absorbed into them.

Lolpigs YUP YUP YUP! When Aubree has a tummy ache from been a guts she looks for BM. Im still finding it hard to differ between Aubree's cries!

Well I had a shocker of a night last night.. Ended up in tears and just thinking that maybe I wasnt doing something right... Aubree was so unsettled wouldnt go to sleep after feeds and I for the life of me couldnt work out what was wrong.. Eventually she went to sleep at 4am! At least its not raining here today so if she has an unsettled day I can put her in the pram and take her for a walk.. I talked to some of my friends they said that babies can have unsettled days sometimes, even though that would explain why Aubree was unsettled it doesnt make me feel better, because when she cries I just want to be able to do something to make it better!!!

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Sweetpeajan - Sounds like you and I had similar nights with our munchkins. Aubree as unsettled most of the night. I wouldnt worry about her poo's though the clinic nurse told me that breastfed babies can go 5 days without doing a poo because there isnt much in the breast milk to pass through and most of it is absorbed into them.

Lolpigs YUP YUP YUP! When Aubree has a tummy ache from been a guts she looks for BM. Im still finding it hard to differ between Aubree's cries!

Well I had a shocker of a night last night.. Ended up in tears and just thinking that maybe I wasnt doing something right... Aubree was so unsettled wouldnt go to sleep after feeds and I for the life of me couldnt work out what was wrong.. Eventually she went to sleep at 4am! At least its not raining here today so if she has an unsettled day I can put her in the pram and take her for a walk.. I talked to some of my friends they said that babies can have unsettled days sometimes, even though that would explain why Aubree was unsettled it doesnt make me feel better, because when she cries I just want to be able to do something to make it better!!!

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Oh Mollie poor thing, that was me last night too ;( :hug: We tried food thinking that is what was it, but even though she drank it she wasnt hungry as it didn't settle her, and it made her cry more. So not a lack of food issue. I am thinking gas and tummy ache now. Screaming until 6am :S I was so upset. I know how you feel hun, I was so frustrated.

I gave her some gripe water this morning as after her morning feed it started again, this helped her settle to sleep, she is in my sleep carrier atm at least my arms are free! She won't sleep lying down atm without crying after about 10mins. Her stomach is gurgling so much I can hear it when I hold her.
So, so much for thinking it is my supply, I think she is getting a stomach ache everytime she eats now, and possibly some reflux as i've heard liquid come up sometimes and then she screams afterwards like its burning. Glad we are seeing the Pead next week. Poor poppet :(

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Oh Mollie poor thing, that was me last night too ;( :hug: We tried food thinking that is what was it, but even though she drank it she wasnt hungry as it didn't settle her, and it made her cry more. So not a lack of food issue. I am thinking gas and tummy ache now. Screaming until 6am :S I was so upset. I know how you feel hun, I was so frustrated.

I gave her some gripe water this morning as after her morning feed it started again, this helped her settle to sleep, she is in my sleep carrier atm at least my arms are free! She won't sleep lying down atm without crying after about 10mins. Her stomach is gurgling so much I can hear it when I hold her.
So, so much for thinking it is my supply, I think she is getting a stomach ache everytime she eats now, and possibly some reflux as i've heard liquid come up sometimes and then she screams afterwards like its burning. Glad we are seeing the Pead next week. Poor poppet :(

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At the moment Aubree is settled, she brought up a lot of wind after her last feed. I have her on her bassinet sleeping on her side. After her next feed if she is unsettled Im going to put her in the pram and walk and walk and walk... and if that doesnt work Im going to try a nice bath. Its such a huge learning curve! Im so glad that my mum is around to help me out.... Although my MIL is certainly putting her 2 cents worth in over the phone... THANK GOD she lives 10 hours away, otherwise I would probably murder her! lol

Mum got Levi asleep in 2 mins lol. Need to learn to master this art.

Deciding if I should go to sleep or clean some more.

We had a poo explosion while mum was changing Levi lol. He ended up pooing all up the curtains lol. Mum said she had never seen it before, she took the curtain home to clean lol.

i think its a Nana thing... :)

In the great question of cleaning vs sleep, the answer is always sleep.

Alex has a little quirk where he doesn't like pooing in an already dirty or wet nappy. Waits until I've just changed him and settled back down again before doing his biggest ones. Means we're going through a lot of nappies, but does make me think I might wait a bit before trying mcns. Otherwise I might be buried under the mountain of washing. He makes enough with all his spitting up anyway.

:rofl: Amumma that is quite a feat up a curtain!

I'm off to have a nap now, but looks like bubs probably has reflux :( every feed she screams regardless of how much we burp her and has to sleep in her sleepy wrap upright. Poor dear. Gets no relief when she burps or farts either. Hopefully the Pead visit next week can sort something for her. Going to call them monday if it is still the same.

Hugs Lolpigs.

Levi had a nap this morning, so I had one and again this afternoon so I did housework lol.

Feeling a little more awake during the day but still struggling with night time wake ups.

I seem to have my settled bubba back!

Also the ladies that have made albums on here, is there anything special i should be doing... I cant seem to get to the upload photos part :/

Your lucky Mollie, I haven't been able to get Lilly to settle since 9:30pm, she has screamed all day after every feed and I'm at a loss really. Trying formula to make sure it isn't hunger but no idea now. :( Nothings working anymore

Edit: She drank the whole bottle of formula but still isn't settled. Tried a bath, tried massage, tried dummy (which she is now just spitting out). Comfort sucking on me is the only thing that seems to calm her but I think that is making it worse becuase she is getting milk and gulping air at the same time.

I can hear her throw up into her mouth and then scream.. many tears now because she is in so much pain and I can't stop it :cry:

Lolpigs we had the same with Abby about 5 days ago and we ended up taking her for a drive.... and it worked a treat, poor darlins end up so tired they find it so hard to settle.

Feeling pretty crapola today :(. Had to go and put Abby on formula cos my nipples are just so bad, there not healing the pain was getting worse each day each feed. The expressing is just as painful plus I suck at it majorly, was feeling so depressed about it all but DH told me I'm an awesome mum so really trying to think about that everytime I feel I have let Abby down. I just don't remember being this bad with DS2 and he was breastfed till 10 months. I have noticed though even when she feeds from the bottle that she collapses the whole teat though, her suck is so strong.

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Lolpigs we had the same with Abby about 5 days ago and we ended up taking her for a drive.... and it worked a treat, poor darlins end up so tired they find it so hard to settle.

Feeling pretty crapola today :(. Had to go and put Abby on formula cos my nipples are just so bad, there not healing the pain was getting worse each day each feed. The expressing is just as painful plus I suck at it majorly, was feeling so depressed about it all but DH told me I'm an awesome mum so really trying to think about that everytime I feel I have let Abby down. I just don't remember being this bad with DS2 and he was breastfed till 10 months. I have noticed though even when she feeds from the bottle that she collapses the whole teat though, her suck is so strong.

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That's the next step if we can't get her to sleep, pop her in the car for a drive. It is just so upsetting. Then she will drift off, then get hiccups and burp and wake up and it starts all over :cry:

:hug: don't stress about the formula. I felt the same way every time I had to offer the bottle and still do sometimes. Are you sure they haven't gotten infected or got thrush in the wounds? That would cause the lack of healing and constant pain from what I've read.

Hope you can get it sorted soon xx

Had a terrible night, miss L screamed until 2am and finally fell asleep after finding her thumb and shoving in her mouth. She slept on me in her wrap till 7am. Here is hoping for a better day. Hope my milk is OK going tha long in between feeds, think it was 6 or 7 hours? I don'r remember I was too tired and not willing to wake her once I got her asleep. :wall:

If your worried about your supply you can always express to bulid it up, although I dont think going that long will effect it too much Lolpigs. I hope Miss L is more settled for you today.. Maybe you could try some tummy time, that sometimes helps them bring up wind, or even lying her on her side, and I found with Aubree if I heated a wheat pack up lightly wrapped it in a nappy and then put that on my chest and her on her tummy on it it helped with the pain.. Just some more suggestions that might help next time!!

We had a pretty good night last night... So my mum is over here today looking after Aubree between feeds so that DH and I can go do some groceries! Hopefully she will be alright!

Abby seems to be reasonably settled on the formula we have put her on, think i will try and keep to a pattern of 3hrly feeds for her during the day atm cos she only takes around 60mls at a time, so she's by no means a guts at all. Makes you realise that she really wasn't taking much at the breast especially when she was doing alot of cluster feeding from lunch time till bed time at night around 9pm. She pulls a face every now and then like a bit of acid comes up but nothing comes up with it, she has never had an actual milk spill/vomit yet which is really weird for me cos both the boys were complete reflux babies.

Danni- wow that's good to know - I thought the blisters etc were probably still to come! With attachment, the only thing I was told by a midwife was to make sure their lips made the "special K" sign (like the K on the breakfast cereal) by making sure both lips went outwards instead of tight around the nipple, and I haven't had any problems yet?!

Lolpigs, I know hey, MILs are so frustrating.. Sorry yours is he same! It's so unsettling to me hearing her try to somehow lay claim over violet, it makes me feel sick. Poor you with last night, awww... You must be exhausted!!

Mollie- I like the heat pack in a nappy idea!! I might try that!

Jan, aw thank you :) yeah I'm heaps glad DH agreed- he said she only ever thinks of herself which definitely seems true! She will definitely try to stay with us when she comes to Adelaide but I told DH no way cos it'd stress me out too much and babies pick up on stress... His dad who also lives out of Adelaide is tying with us next weekend, which is fine cos his dad is lovely- so I compromised by at least saying he could stay with us.. I'll try not to let it get to me! It's so aggravating when you have such a stupid issue like this on your mind!!

CK ha, Violet has that tendency too, to wait till I've either changed her completely or have jut taken off her nappy and he will go to the toilet!! Very messy when it's the latter! And yeah SO many nappy changes! I think we go through like 12 or so a day!

Does anyone know, with allergies, when do babies develop those? Cos I know children with a peanut allergy can't be around other people who have eaten peanuts for example- and the other day DH was kissing Violets face after eating nuts (not peanuts) and it got me wondering how quick allergies become present?

We had an annoying feeding night last night too- Violet wanted to be fed every 5 mins from about 4pm till about mid iChat! It's weird hey.. Was so relieved I could finally settle her before i went to bed...

Danni, awww poor you with the sore nipples- have you tried the nipple shields? Myodwife said as long as the baby at least gets your colostrum then that's heaps beneficial, and you've at least breastfeeding for a few weeks! That's more than lots of babies would get of breastfeeding! But I totally get your frustration, how upsetting for you!

AM lol @ the curtains! I don't know if I'd have laughed or cried if that were me!!

Glad things are going better Dan. Maybe the break will help you get her back on the boob. x

Amanda, MIL do suck my whole family is being really understanding about visiting, essentially no "visits" till I can get this feeding issues under control. My mother pops by occasionally to help out but that is is. My husbands father is also being super pushy. They dont care I'm up all night and cant feed her properly they just want to play with her. ****s me.

Well I'm not Dr but looks like Miss L has reflux. I have to feed her upright, sit her upright for 15mins after a feed, and she leaks milk out of her mouth. I could hear her regergitating last night before bursts of screaming so that must be what it is. I've started waking her ever 2.5 hours to give her smaller feeds which seemed to work the last 2 times, as she setttled to sleep.
I've also propped one end of her bassinette up so that she is sloaping downwards.

Good news is, she settled twice and is now asleep for the second time today with no screaming :)

Danni I had that same pain you describe and it was because she wasn't latching on correctly. She also made a clicking noise when feeding. The formula has worked for us. She is overall happier and that is the main thing. Don't feel bad, sometimes things happen that are out of our control. I'm doing 3 hourly as well.

Lolpigs how are things going today?

Lolpigs Glad to hear the Miss L is settled this afternoon :)

For those that are still breastfeeding, when you are feeding are you offering both breasts or just the one?

Going well sweatpea :) Thanks for asking. Aside from last night being crazy I'm getting the hang of everything and so is Lilly :) How are you going ?

Both breasts here, I get whinged at if I only offer one LOL

Hmm Im worried.. Aubree is only taking the one side (although I look something like pamela anderson cross with a cow!) she is content afterwards, and settles and goes to sleep...

What should there out put be?

Good to hear Lilly is settling better with being raised etc Lolpigs - have you got a Dr appt soon to get her checked over? They may be able to come up with some other suggestions that help as well.

With the allergies Amanda I don't know how soon they'd manifest, I think normally it'd be when they'd start solids etc - does your family have a history of severe allergies? I know some studies suggest not delaying the introduction of the usual culprits as this can make them worse as the body doesn't recognise the proteins as "food" instead seeing them as a threat but if you do have concerns you're probably best talking with your Dr or child nurse about it?

I get the feeling I'm pretty lucky with my ILs as they're pretty good about giving me space or allowing us to come to them rather than they come to us - makes things easier as I'm not then responsible for entertaining them or catering for them. SIL is trying to convince us to "catch up" with DHs father and his family who I've never met and DH doesn't speak to though...I tell DH it's up to him. Not going to be drawn in to family politics.

Alex is still very settled and cruisy, he does tend to spit up a bit after a feed but it doesn't seem to bother him at all. Went shopping with the ergo yesterday, worked a treat as he slept the whole time snuggled in against my chest. It is very warm though, so definitely going to be an aircon only option I think.

Mollie, for me it depends on him. If he's hungry he'll take both sides, if he's just after a top-up before a nap (we usually feed to sleep or till he's very close to sleep) he may take just the one side but I do make sure I alternate sides each time so he's working both equally - I have one boob bigger than the other already so don't need to make it worse :lol: So long as you're getting 5+ wet nappies in 24hrs (disposables) and putting on weight they're pretty well fine.

Far as I know 6-8 wet nappies a day and 1-3 dirty ones.

So long as she is content I wouldnt worry. You could express the other side each feed or just alternate, from what I have read some babies have preferences and you might just have great supply and she only needs one :)

CK , yeah going to the GP tomorrow and have the Pead on Thursday so hopefully someone can help. Poor poppette. Glad Alex is still doing well ;) Yeah I find the ergo really warm too. The sleepy wrap is alot cooler.

Thanks girls i feel alot better today about the whole bottle/formula feeding. I've switched over completely, my boobs still have big massive cracks in them this morning don't really look as though they have healed significantly in 24 hours and Abby is happier on the formula as well. She has been sleeping through the night for about 5 nights now but when i was breastfeeding she would cluster feed from about midday to 9pm with a small sleep slotted in there about half way through - i think she was exhausting herself with so much feeding in the arvo.

Jan what formula are you using?? I was tossing up yesterday between the Bellamy's organic and Heinz nurture gold, i ended up going with the Heinz and she seems fine on it, have noticed she only drinks about half the amount suggested for her age though but i'm sure she will adjust over the coming weeks.

The one I have been using to comp with is Nan Gold HA and Nan Gold Tetra packs it is what the hospital used as it has Whey protien in it so apparently easier on their tummies if they are used to breast milk.

This feed wasnt as good, we had a longer reflux attack, it wasn't as extreme as last night but still in pain. Thankfully she took the dummy today as she has been refusing it all week and wanting my fingers instead and felt better quicker and is trying to get off to sleep now. Poor dear. I definatley think having the smaller feeds is helping keep the symptoms to a minimum. Dan any suggestions at all? I saw you mention your sons were really refluxy?

Edit: 45mins to get to sleep :(

When you guys count time between feeds do you count from teh end time of the last feed, or sleep time? I generally count sleep time (or the end of the feed if she goes down straigth away) otherwise with this issue she would be constantly awake to feed.

I'm having trouble getting Levi to settle. Hubby can but I haven't had much luck. I think because it's not working for me I get flustered easily.

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I'm having trouble getting Levi to settle. Hubby can but I haven't had much luck. I think because it's not working for me I get flustered easily.

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Yeah that was happening to me at first. Now its the opposite, because I'm better at remaining calm. Stick with it, once you figure out what works for you and Levi you will be fine :hug:

Lolpigs we used alot of gripe water with DS1 but by 4ish months he had come good. DS2 was harder nothing settled him, didn't matter what I changed I did a bit of comp feeding with him and breastfed till about 10 months and he was still puking getting pretty close to 12 months of age. He wasn't bad enough for medication, we just basically stumbled through his first few months the best we could. Sorry really no help am I? Have you tried natural brauers I think there called? I've also heard alot of positive story's from people seeing a osteopath.