Babies born ~ September 16-30th 2010 #2

[Buzzie]

Omg I thought I was lucky with my DP not saying anything stupid yet but he threw a good one at me last night.. We were talking about our next baby and I said you do want more don't you and he says of course but not right now, don't know if I could go thru all that again! WTF!!!! I said go thru what?!? Coming to appointments with me and watching ME push her out!! I did it all thankyou.. And he comes back with, yeh and I had to hold the shower hose for 4 hours! PML u poor thing! Thankfully for him we had a laugh about it after but geees what a dumb thing to say when I did all the hard work lol

Bec - hope issac is ok now, I wouldn't of thought infocol was too dangerous maybe, good thing you called them. I prob would of felt bad too but I feel
Bad about everything I do wrong with the kids, it's so tough when we are just trying to help them.

[CoNNiE_Melb]

Bec - I hope Issac is ok, I'm sure he will be, I dont think infacol is too dangerous. Don't feel too bad I have almost drowned George twice in the bath. He wriggles so bloody much he ends up putting half his face under the water and I freak!

Fuzzy - No dandruff, but my hair is coming out in massive clumps. Everytime I put my hands through my hair, I get a handful!

George was weighed again today (every 2 weeks so we know how much Zantac to give him)... he's 7.3kgs! The doctor said he has definitely caught up for his age. Based on his corrected age (when he should have been born), he would be in the 97th percentile. If he went to full term he would have been 9-10 pounds... OUCH!!
Anyway, his paed has said to try introducing him to solids in 2 weeks time. Basically because he will probably start to need something more than milk soon, because it could help the silent reflux, and because we dont want to hold him back because he was prem his whole life. I can't believe he is 4 months old today and will be almost 5 months when we start the solids. Time flies. His development is definitely still at the rate of a 10 week old though. He isn't holding on to toys as yet and hasn't rolled at all. He is still at the stage of realising his hands are the best sucking tools in the world!

[fuzzy]

Connie - yep Chloe is 11 weeks old tomorrow and has just discovered her fists. Cant quite figure out how to keep them in her mouth yet tho. So cute to watch. That is a great weight!! He certainly has caught up LOL. Cant believe you are at the solids stage already. I guess we will be there too in about 7 weeks. Yikes. Let us know how you get on. I bet he will love it x

[Chuckie]

Hi girls,

Gosh it's soo hard to keep up with all the chat in here, will give it a go.

Bec - don't worry about the Infocol - it would be super safe otherwise they wouldn't let little bubs have it. I'm glad you had fun in Perth - I don't know how you do everything on your own - I take my hat off to you! Sounds like it was a good thing you moved out of the house where your mum's partner was - what a jerk!

Dory - How annoying of your DH! Everything does seem soo much worse when you are tired as well - I find myself getting really irratable and wonder why, then I remember that I am stuffed and try to calm down. My DH ALWAYS suggests Pearl is hungry! Always!!!

Fuzzy - no hair loss here but did have dandruff - I reckon its gone away now though.

Hi to everyone else (sorry in a bit of a hurry)

AFM - someone was asking about DTD well we have twice and it REALLY hurt both times like worse than the first time ever!?! v strange since I have a c-sec. We haven't had a go for weeks because I have still been struggling with this vasospasm thing and have enough pain to deal with. I reckon I will just bite the bullet when we do start again and go for it everynight for a few weeks until I get past the pain. Pearl had her first bottle the other day when I went to a meeting and was out for 7hrs - she was fine and I expressed - all good. DH then did the middle of the night feed Sat night and I reckon he will do it once a week on the weekends so I can try to have a sleep.

I have now gotten onto another LC who has put me on a very weird diet to try to change my milk because (this is where it gets complicated) Her theory is that Pearl's tummy is upset by my milk (and has been damaged) so towards the end of every feed (when she is in pain) she chews on my nipple causing nipple damage which causes the vasospasm!!! will see how it goes but I am very limited with what I can eat (even heaps of fruit and veg are out, as is dairy and any processed foods and a bunch of other stuff. I also have to eat meat at every meal! Pearl is doing well and hopefully when her tummy heals I can slowly introduce some foods back into my diet.

[PanthaLily]

Just a quick question from me.... do your bubs bring stuff up after almost every feed?
Lottie does. Most times it's just a mouthful or so, but she's has had a couple of power-spews.
She's also been pretty unsettled, both on and off the boob. She'll feed for a little while then just start screaming/pulling at my boob.
I've got scratch marks all over my neck from one of her upset episodes. I get punched/scratched/kicked in the boobs while she's feeding a lot too.

I'm just trying to figure out if this is just a phase/unsettled period, or if it's something I should bring up with our GP (no rashes or temps thank god!).

Me... yeah, I'm not doing too good. Not so much the guilt now, more sliding down the depression scale again *sigh*
We'll have to have a GP appointment within the next couple of weeks to review DH and I'm planning on asking for some help then.
Was kinda hoping I'd dodged the PND bullet - doesn't look like I have.... wow, I think that's the first time I've actually admitted that I'm depressed again.

Big hugs for everyone, thank you all for being so wonderfully supportive and understanding. It's nice to have people to talk to that *get* it.

Bec - I can just imagine how awful you would have felt! How's Isaac now?

[bec293]

thanks for making me feel a bit better about the infacol thing. I still feel terrible though, and I know I'm going to be super careful about checking doses in future! When I first realised it scared me so much. I don't know why they put such a big syringe in the pack when the doses are so tiny. But still I should have read it properly in the first place. Isaac was fine, and even after so much Infacol he didn't even burp! He did a weird spew afterwards though, it was really thick and bubbly. I think that was the infacol coming back out maybe.

Pantha - I've been meaning to say I totally understand about the c-section, I kind of feel the same way. I know all that matters is that Isaac is here and he is healthy, but I feel very sad that I will never get to give birth the normal way, the way that should have come naturally but didn't. It's totally normal to feel disappointed. So sorry to hear about your depression, and it must be so hard to admit it
Isaac has been really unsettled as well, pulling off when feeding then wriggling etc. I put it down to the week 8-9 wonder weeks though. No big spews, just little bits after feeds.

Connie - wow great weight for George! I'm scared of doing that too, dropping Isaac in the bath. I bath him in the laundry tub, and he's started pushing his feet against the side so that his head hits the other side if I don't hold him properly.. very hard to do in slippery bath water.

Chuckie - You're so lucky to get your DH to do the middle of the night feed! I'm so jealous. That sucks about the weird diet, hopefully it helps.

fuzzy - Was it Chloe who rolled over? Sorry I think I remember reading it somewhere! Isaac hasn't done that yet but I think it's not far away.. during tummy time he lifts his bum right up and pushes off with one leg and looks like he's about to topple over sideways.. so cute. He's started reaching and swiping at things with his arms and making lots of new noises which apparently is what this wonder week is all about.

Tomorrow mum is taking Isaac for the afternoon to give me time to study or sleep. I don't know how I feel about it. Usually on Tuesdays she comes to my house, but today she said she will take him to her place (around the corner). I don't even like him being in a different room from me, let alone a different house! I will get heaps of study done though, as even when mum is looking after him here I still feed him and keep checking on him and talking to mum etc. It's going to be weird to be away from him

[belfie]

Aah so much to say & so little time to say it! Hi everyone, have been reading but haven't had time to post... trying to do xmas shopping etc.

Just a quick question from me.... do your bubs bring stuff up after almost every feed?
Lottie does. Most times it's just a mouthful or so, but she's has had a couple of power-spews.
She's also been pretty unsettled, both on and off the boob. She'll feed for a little while then just start screaming/pulling at my boob.
I've got scratch marks all over my neck from one of her upset episodes. I get punched/scratched/kicked in the boobs while she's feeding a lot too.

I'm just trying to figure out if this is just a phase/unsettled period, or if it's something I should bring up with our GP (no rashes or temps thank god!).

Pantha - tbh, I reckon that sounds like reflux. Now maybe I just think everyone has it cos Annika does... but arching back during feeds & getting very fussy part-way through is classic reflux. Basically they bring up & then it burns their little esophagus and they cry. Silent reflux can also happen where you don't see them spit, but it travels up inside and same result.
This was a list of just some reflux symptoms I looked at:

• He has continual spilling after feeds, with or without distressed crying.
• There are signs of spilling on his pillowslip or sheet.
• When you pick your baby up from the prone position, he spills a mouthful of milk over you.
• Your baby may grizzle a lot and arch his back in discomfort.
• not to mention spitting up, hiccups, coughing, ruminating (chewing on "something" in mouth a while after feeding - usually a small spit-up)

And of those, this is how I described Annika:

• Lots of spit ups (and yes frequently in bassinet) – after every side, during every change and during every sleep (and every car trip). She is constantly in a bib.
• Hoarse voice
• Semi-constant grizzling during any day sleep... but conversely BEATIFIC sleep if upright
• Grizzles, arches back, fusses a lot on second side. Has been better since I’ve only been giving her the first side each feed.
• Falls asleep at the drop of a hat but can’t seem to stay asleep (particularly during the day – apparently this is reasonably typical of reflux babies) – nearly always falls asleep when being burped on our shoulders and ALWAYS (thank goodness) in the wrap.
• Episodes aren’t predictable... ie.. not same time every day. Often 6-7am – 9am isn’t great... then her “unsettled” patch will start at any time during the day.
• Squeals & cries in a way that sounds to me like she’s in pain – Xander didn’t cry like that. She would be fast asleep then scream like she'd been jabbed in the foot.
• Hiccups & coughing (definitely does both most days)
• What she doesn’t have – HUGE spews, weight loss, feeding aversion.

What you risk if you leave it untreated is that they can develop feeding aversions, so it's worth getting onto. If you do think it's that, talk to your dr. Let me know if you wanna know more about the meds. As Dory said earlier this page, Losec is great, Zantac is ok... but a bit more problematic to get the dose right. They both basically suppress the acid in the tummy but don't actually stop them spitting up. For us, Losec is a lifesaver but we've still had a bit of mucking around to get the right dose & method of giving it. Basically you want a tablet which is halved & dissolved in liquied (1-2ml). Our GP put us on granules, dissolved in 7.5ml of liquid which was a nightmare to get into her! BIg hugs, unsettled babies (& depressed daddies) are TOUGH

Bec - big hugs to you too. For some funny reason s'one warned us about infacol and said that overdoses of it are REALLY common. I think the labelling and that stupid syringe is really confusing myself. I think you did absolutely the right thing. These things happen but at least you picked it up

Hi everyone else, hope you're going well. Oh and Annika weighed yesterday by LC, 6.36kg

[CoNNiE_Melb]

Pantha - I agree that it sounds like reflux. George has silent reflux so he doesnt throw up, but after drinking for a little bit he used to scream during feeds. I could tell he was hungry because he would suck really hard, but after 2 sucks he would scream again. He was also drinking less than normal, and became very irritable. The doctor put him on Zantac which solved all our issues, but because the dosage is based on the baby's weight, every 2 weeks we notice it playing up again - we take him to the GP, she weighs him and adjusts the dosage. Within a day, he is fine again.

As for the PND, just remind yourself that you have got through this before so you can do it again. There's no shame in it and getting help... just do whatever you need to be healthy and feel good about yourself. After getting some counselling I feel 1000 times better than I did in those first couple of months. I feel like ME again, and I needed that so I could bond with George properly.

Bec - I'm sure you'll be fine. He is just down the road and you can call to check in as many times as you like. You may even find you enjoy the time on your own. I know I love when DH takes George out or my mum babysits. Sometimes it feels good to be able to do things without a pram and nappy bag and baby to carry around.

Chuckie - the first few times hurt for me too... actually its still not completely normal. It takes a while before he can go all the way in IYKWIM? I think it's because we're not as lubricated as we used to be, for a while.

[wite_wickah]

Buzzie- LMAO @ your DP saying "Yeh but I had to hold the shower hose for 4 hours"..MEN!!! David whinges about any little pain & I always say "yeh, well try push a baby out without any DRUGS-then talk to me about pain" and..After I had Harlow he complained his arms were hurting because he was fanning my face with a magazine in the last half hour of labour..and the look I shot him after complaining was priceless!!! I love how men make out that they did the hard yards of it all...!

Connie- Amazing that George would have been a 10pounder if he went to term..ouch indeed! That is So fantastic he is putting on weight & thriving- How exciting starting Solids aswell!!!

Pantha- I formula feed-but- Harlow has started fussing on feeds aswell, she will have a few sucks of a bottle then scream and fuss and it takes me awhile to get her calmed down enough to continue drinking again..maybe it is just the age? She doesn't bring up any milk aftr a feed (Maybe once every few days) but she does cough & hiccup alot..the health nurse told me hiccuping is normal..

As for the depression..You know talking about it is the first step to recovery-so well done!!! Definatly talk to your GP and see what help you can get, getting onto it early is such a good thing because you will benefit from early help in the long run..My Anxiety/Panic attacks are slowly creeping up on me..bloody hormones!

Belfie- just a quick question...You mentioned Annika coughs & hiccups after her feeds aswell..Harlow coughs after a feed aswell! Do you knwo why they d that at all? My MCHN didn't say anything aout it when i told her Harlow does it... I'm pretty certain she doesn't have silent reflux or anything-she does fuss and scream on some bottles but not in pain, just more a frantic "I'm F&^%ing HUNGRY WHY DIDN'T YOU FEED ME 5 MINUTES AGO WOMEN" cry, settles then feeds fine but she doesn't spit up (Maybe once every few days) and she doesn't scream/cry like she is in pain at sporadic moments of the day..Just wondering what the cough part could be about..Its normall just after a feed as I am burping her she lets out one or two little coughs..

[fuzzy]

Pantha/Belfie - Chloe often spits up a little amount. And she will cry and scream and pull off the boob - go straight back on - pull off, kick me etc (usually at the end of the day). For Chloe, its not reflux - its really bad wind. My let down is really really fast and as a result she often gulps at the breast and takes in air when she is feeding. If I dont burp her enough at each feed at the end of the day she has bad wind. So from 6 pm I feed her lying down with a heat pack between us pressed against her belly. I stop frequently to pump her legs up to her belly to get farts out. Last night before her bed I got 7 farts out of her!! Her wind has been particularly bad this last week - waking her up during the night. They are supposed to grow out of this 'colicky' phase around the 12 week mark. So nearly there..

[Buzzie]

Connie - I'm the exact same with dtd, it's the depth that becomes an issue now. And we had to start using a lubricant. My gp said all that will change with hormones. Plus being on the pill now of course.

Wite - that's funny with David, only 1/2 hour of it! Lol I'm always saying that about pain too lol

Injections in 3 hours

[CoNNiE_Melb]

How does everyone go during the day? Getting George to sleep is a struggle. If I leave him in his rocker so he can determine when its time for a nap, he seems to cry like crazy. During the day our time is spent as follows: Feeding - 20%, Playing 20% - Crying 30%, Sleeping 30%.
During the night he is so perfect. Feeds at 6:30.. goes to bed at around 7:10, sleeps till we wake him at 11 for a dreamfeed, goes down at 11:40, and sleeps till 6am. Betwen 6 and 7am, he is so much fun because he has clearly had enough sleep. The rest of the day, he is a nightmare.

[fuzzy]

Connie - wow 11:40-6 am is a huge stretch! Chloe wakes at 11, 1:30-2, 4:30-5 and then 6:30-7. but when she wakes she is generally back asleep within 15 mins (she is a guzzler).

I would say during the day time is spent as follows: 35% sleep, 10% feeding, 45% other (ie playing, looking around), 10% crying. She will generally sleep between 4 - 5 hours between 7am and 7pm in any day (not at once but broken into 3 or 4 sleeps). I cant put her down and have her go to sleep but I can put her down mostly asleep and if she wakes in her cot I can usually get her to sleep without having to pick her back up. Thats progress on last week when she would only go to sleep if I was holding her!

Deanna - how is Blake going?

[dory]

Connie - Hannah doesn't really sleep that much during the day either and can struggle against sleep. I've not worked out the percentages of how we spend our days, but a lot of her day is awake or feeding. Today she had 3 naps of about 45 mins each. She was pretty happy throughout the day, that's not to say there weren't grizzle periods, but I assume she had enough sleep. I still go through the sleep routine though, just to give her the chance to fall asleep if I see her tired signs or if I think it's about time - about 90 mins of being awake. She is having a couple of days where she needs to be held more than usual and to be honest, I am happy to oblige, as this won't last forever and I know I am going to miss just holding her, and nuturing her and looking at her perfection and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Sometimes she will go to sleep when I put her down and others not. Sometimes that is as frustrating as anything, and others I am better at coping.

Hannah does seem to have developed a routine that no matter what time I start her evening sleep routine, she will be asleep by 7.30/8pm and won't usually wake til 12/1. Then she's awake at 3/4 and 5/6. She is awake for about 30 - 45 mins each time at night - 20/30 mins of feeding and 10/15 of settling. Dreamfeeds don't work anymore for us.

Do you see an Endo for your PCOS? I have a first appointment in Jan 2011...I am curious about fertility, though that doesn't seem to be an issue for me more recently, but I am worried about the longer term associated health risks. Was also thinking maybe the PCOS was contributing to my lack of breast milk supply. Anyway, just curious.

Buzzie - hope those injections went well..

Bec - How is Isaac and you after your fright?

Deana - how's Blake? Hope you guys aren't in hossy.

I can't remember who wrote about farts, but maybe that's Hannah's deal sometimes, as she does pass a lot of wind. I think I even got a recording of her cute farts today in amongst all the cute gaaing and squeals of delight.

[belfie]

Pantha/Belfie - Chloe often spits up a little amount. And she will cry and scream and pull off the boob - go straight back on - pull off, kick me etc (usually at the end of the day). For Chloe, its not reflux - its really bad wind. My let down is really really fast and as a result she often gulps at the breast and takes in air when she is feeding. If I dont burp her enough at each feed at the end of the day she has bad wind. So from 6 pm I feed her lying down with a heat pack between us pressed against her belly. I stop frequently to pump her legs up to her belly to get farts out. Last night before her bed I got 7 farts out of her!! Her wind has been particularly bad this last week - waking her up during the night. They are supposed to grow out of this 'colicky' phase around the 12 week mark. So nearly there..

This is such a good point - the difference between colic & reflux can be hard to tell. And as I said, maybe I just see reflux everywhere cos of Annika lol... I know what was different for me over normal wind/colic was the hoarse voice (which is now back to normal), WAAAY more spits, the timing of the distress (yowling right after a burp/urp/spit etc) and the sharpness of the crying (so saying, colic crying can be pretty darn unhappy!). I also noticed the reaction to feeding... as in really arching back in pain part-way through the feed when she'd been perfectly ok to start with, as opposed to a fussy/fretful feed which I reckon they probably all do at some stage (with Annika she'll still do that in the evenings most often). With X, when he had colic/wind, lots of pulling legs up & unsettled crying but I guess just not that specific pattern that I described above. She would burp/spit, then just YOWL. I wouldn't expect to see the timing of the burp + yowl with a colicky/windy bub. Oh and lots of distress when laid down flat. Classic "pick-me up velcro baby", whereas now she's soooo much happier to lie & watch the world (not always of course, but before she NEVER would let us put her down flat happily). Hope that helps for anyone who is wondering.

As for growing out of colic, yeah, love the magic 12 week mark, but then there's the growth spurt... lol.

Hi to everyone, would love to post longer but bed is calling. Enjoying the reading though. Must say, I couldn't even estimate percentages either. Our timing has settled down though. Standard day is feeds at roughly 7am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm & 9pm. Seems to work for her. We don't dreamfeed and that's mostly based on what she wants. She sometimes has quite a good big sleep through the middle of the day (which I'm loving for Xmas shopping! 3.5 hours the other day, heaven). Sometimes I try to stretch her a little... ie if the second last feed is too early, I know I'll struggle to get her through till 8.30ish or 9pm... so I'll often go for a walk or wrap her in the evening to get us through.

Oh and Deana - hope Blake is doing ok.

[Buzzie]

Dory - I have suffered from PCOS since I was 12! I've had shocking 'attacks' where the cysts have burst and cause me to not be able to walk or straighten my legs even. I was told fertility was slim if it didn't improve in 2007 little did I know when it was at it's worst I had actually fallen pregnant with Ash. So it's a very strange thing, and lucky to say I haven't had it since him so I can't comment on it effecting breastmilk.
I saw lots of Gps and you can get referred to a OBGYN.
Hope you don't have it cos it's an awful thing to have if it causes pain!

[CoNNiE_Melb]

Dory - I was diagnosed by an Endo when I was 18. The PCOS has never caused me any pain though, I think that is quite rare. Mine came about when I was getting laser hair removal and it wasn't working... a hormone check was suggested and it along with an ultrasound showed PCOS.
I don't know about it affecting breastmilk, but it would explain why I couldn't produce enough.
In terms of fertility, there are different levels... some people don't get periods at all and dont ovulate at all, some get irregular periods and only ovulate sometimes - I got my period each month, but only ovulated every 2nd or 3rd which is why Clomid was perfect for me.
Anyway, it is now managed by my OBGYN, but there really isn't much that needs to be done, well not until I want to have another baby. The only thing I do to manage the symptoms is take the pill (Diane - it helps with the hair and acne). Apart from that, it doesn't seem to cause me any issues.
I think the biggest health risk is diabetes and high blood presure, and those come about if you are overweight - usually a symptom of PCOS. Thankfully that's the only symptom I dont have.

I dont know if anyone has explained to you what the cysts are?? When you ovulate once a month, your body matures eggs and eventually one drops from your ovary (ovulation). In someone with PCOS, the eggs dont always drop so they just hang off your ovary instead, creating cysts.
The cysts clear up when you are pregnant (because your body doesnt try to release eggs to ovulate), but it usually comes back afterwards.

[dory]

Buzzie & Connie - thanks... I was diagnosed by an gynaecologist in 1998 after my period becoming irregular, weight gain, hair (on the back of my thighs - thank god not my face). I had loads of bloods taken and eventually the cysts were evident on u/s. Tried Dianne but it gave me the most terrible cramps. I was taken off the pill in 2003 after ongoing nausea andGP thought it might have been the oestrogen. Never went back to the pill and had no probs conceiving, phew. But I do have to watch the weight and BP. Looking back I had probably had it ages before that with the symptoms I had...Buzzie the cramps sound awful!

Connie - interesting that the hormones caused the hair removal not to work! But it makes sense.

Hoping to go shopping here today ....get a pressie for DH and some ingredients to bake with. And if I can manage it some things for the christening, some coke and beer and bubbly... I might even have a tipple... probably not as the boob is a very convenient way to settle Hannah, so will need that more!