Babies born~April 16th-30th 2010 #1

[maranui]

Hi everyone - quick one from me, we are having a windy day due to gulping feeding

As the elder of the group, Louis had pooey naps every feed for the first 4 weeks and is now a once or twice a day boy - still lots of peeing though - and he gains about 300g per week so is a good feeder. Well, he is a gut - I wouldnt say he latches that well as he still doesnt like the fast flow of Mr Rightey particularly in the middle of the night when mum's technique isnt that hot.

Loved your birth story Bella Mia - isnt it amazing how when you are ready to push you just push - and with no drugs! Weird. I didnt realise in the antenatal class that you couldnt have the wonder gas when you were actually pushing - errrrr dudddhhh! Logical now!

Had my 6 wk OB check this morning. Everything is good and we talked contraception (other than abstinence lol!). I am getting an IUD as I hate hormones (or rather my sex drive does!). She remarked that as everything had gone so well I should have many babies. Hehehhehe I left my run a little late for that!

I had a lovely Mday. Beautiful bunch of roses (I love trad roses) and generally pampered by my boys with a lovely walk in the botanical gardens. I'm into my walking now. I reckon it was 25 kg at delivery - 13 kg to go at 3 week, have lost 4 since then......ideally 10kg to go. Gulp. Not keen to buy in-between clothes but think may need to!

Better run. Louis not settling today which is painful as I have work people coming here for a meeting at 12.30! Dont want to get the booby out for that. Yikes!

[Esme]

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if I can join you girls in this thread. My little boy Benjamin Lucas was born April 15th after a drug free 6 hour labour. He weighed 2.94 kg (6 pound 8) and was 50 cm long. I also have a 27 month old DS who is adjusting to life with a sibling and having to share mummy.

Ben is breastfeeding really well but he has no routine to speak of; sometimes we get 6 hours between feeds (rarely) and sometimes he will feed every two hours; no two days are the same. He has been quite windy, I think because of my oversupply. My b**bies seem to be settling down a bit, so hopefully that will get better soon. I also never wanted to use a dummy, but I have started using one too. Sometimes Ben will have to wait a little for me to do something for his big brother and the dummy helps him with that. The dummy also comes in handy when he has wind and just wants to suck without drinking: gives my sensitive nipples a break.

Anyway, that was it about us for now. Looking forward to getting to know you all (hi to JLeigh and BabyWrangler from BellyBuddies).

[shonalouise]

Hi Esme and welcome. Glad all seems to be going well and welcome to the dummy converts, of which I am one!

Maranui: Good on Louis for his weight gain, BF must be going well!

Phoenix: I get a dirty nappy every feed, seems that the BF stimulates a big windy poo and the frequency depends on how often we are feeding at the time. BF babies are very variable in their poo habits, unless becomes very watery, offensive smelling or big increase in daily amounts, wouldn't be too woried.

Kellie: The whole nocturnal issue is going pretty well. We have introduced bedtime routine, bathtime, feed in dimly lit room and then wrapped and into basinette. We tell him it is "sleep time" then put him in basinette in our bedroom and leave the room (they don't understand the language at the moment obviously but will associate it with bedtime). TV stays on as it seems to settle him a bit better, time it takes to settle can be variable between 15 mins and 1hour usually, we also use dummy as he needs to suck himself to sleep and then spits it out and doesn't wake up for it which is good. He will usually cry within the first few minutes and we go straight in, put dummy back in, tell him sleep time and leave again. We tend to find that the t ime between crying episodes gradually increases until he is asleep. On top of this we try and keep him awake as much as possible during the day with play time and increased feeds to every 3 hours, if he shows tired signs we let him sleep but will wake him up again.

Got my advice from Child Health Nurses who I have found to be great. They have said that newborns just carry on their in utero routine which is nocturnal and if you don't flip it they sill stay that way, she also said the sooner the better and the easier the transition. They also said that for feed before bed and overnight feeds to not make eye contact, she said that by interacting with him I was his "plaything"as all they can recognise at this age is faces and their vision focal distance is about that of when you are BF. After every feed we do nappy change in dim light again and then re-wrap, tell him sleep time and straight back into basinette, again no eye contact to stimulate him.

Fingers crossed it seems to be working great. Last night was a bit more difficult as he must be having growth spurt and milk bar is open every 2 hours, he was also irritable and difficult to get back to sleep but all the other nights have been such a dramatic improvement.

Tan: I have bought some infacol wind drops today, think Maranui uses them too. We too are having some wind problems due to fast flow and gulping feeds. I'll let you know how I go.

[Kirley64]

Hey everyone,
glad to hear you are all doing pretty well at the moment

Poo: William also has a poo almost every nappy - when he doesn't he usually has a tummy/wind ache.

Wind: Poor bubba still has alot of problem with Wind. It seems to be first thing in the morning (after his 7amish feed) and at night before he settles down again. So far I have eliminated Cow's milk, KFC and onion from my diet .... however he still has it. Someone mentioned babies get used to it?? Is that true? I had never heard that before. But I agree that the people who say that don't have the unsettled baby to deal with! I also am giving Will Infants Friend with every feed. Seems to make somewhat of a difference but the poor little fella still has it. I hate it when he does the little cries in pain cuz I can't do anything.

Routine: Wow Shona you are impressive. William is too all over the place for me to consider having a routine. Also with DH at home it just throws me all out of whack to attempt to get anything done!! He takes up alot of room lol. Will isn't too bad with sleeping though. Lately he has been awake for several hours during the day with only a few little naps and then he has a huge 5 hour gap between one feed so i got lucky last night and that sleep was after 8pm feed and i got a few hours sleep yay for me. however DH woke me up . he just doesn't get it yet!! At night though after a feed Will generally goes straight back to sleep. I find that if i feed him - he falls asleep still, so then I change his nappy to wake him up and then feed him again; then he definately lasts the three hours between feeds. It takes at least 40mins to do still though . So very tiring.

BF: I also am doing the footy hold for him; he attachs alot better although at times he fusses and stuffs around alot. I also have pillows galore and time feeds so that I am at home. He just doesn't seem to be attaching properly the front/normal way. Was going to go to breast feeding clinic this morning but it was 9.30 by the time 'windy will' had settled and i could attempt to get ready and they close at 11am so I'm going to aim for Wednesday morning now. Hopefully I can get William weighed also. Last Tuesday (week and a half old) he was 50g above birth weight. Am very interested to know how much he's putting on. Does the pain when bubs first attach for BF ever go away?? Its still at a point that i'm almost cursing while he does those sucks for the first 30secs or so!! Gota stop that otherwise his first words wont be very nice lol.[

Bella: Great to hear your Birth Story; I laughed so hard about the Lamb Shanks!!! haha!!
HC: Can't wait to hear from you! Hope you are well!
Tan: You are also doing well do have a routine starting! Good luck without DH.
Mum's with toddlers: I still don't know how you are doing it!!! I admire you greatly ~ although that being said, it'll prolly be me attempting to handle it in less than two years - still want babies in close together.

AFM; DH is driving me insane a bit. He still has another 3 weeks holidays - hasnt' even started my to do list; has just been playing xbox and started back up on World of Warcraft on the computer I had a teary to myself this morning. i dont mind if he plays while i'm asleep or whatever at night... but he comes to bed at 2am and then sleeps till 10 and i really want him to look after Will when he's awake inthe morning after a feed so i can have time to have a shower etc. I told him before Will was born (in that talk remember) that if he's guna be at home i dont want him to play xbox otherwise he can go back to work - clearly he can't remember. *sigh* I must admit he has helped out alot in terms of giving me water and food and passing me things etc especially while i'm feeding.... but thats the extent of it. When i try to have a nap (which is what i was doing before i jumped on here) i give him Will to look after { who is usually asleep} and he just plays xbox even if he wakes up and doesn't nurse him or anything just lets him get to a state then goes 'here he's hungry' and hands him back to me . I know it's a learning thing, but its sooo frustrating. I'm holding my tongue atm just so we dont have an arguement, but i'm getting to the end of my tether.... in my head i'm giving him till Friday to start the 'to do list'...if he doesn't; then i'm going to get angry!

Hmm well thats about all from me...
Welcome to all the newbies

[shonalouise]

Kirley: you poor thing, I had wondered whether a newborn would inspire your DH to mature a little but it would appear not. I can't believe how some people can think more of computers than they do their families and it seems the number of people having these sorts of problems is really on the rise. I hope that you can sort things out with him as this is such a hard thing to go through, you need help and support! I am very lucky and DH does all cooking, cleaning and nappy changes while I am a full time milk bar! I also do most of the settling as DH seems to struggle with that although he is learning. As for pain when breastfeeding, I find that it doesn't happen at all feeds but it initially is very painful for some. I too use the football hold, cannot manage any other positions. I used to use lots of cushions too but now find that I attach him when he's about level with the breast so he kind of sits on my lap rather than having him stretched out under my arm which I found quite uncomfortable and I ended up with painful wrists. As for "normal" attachment, I don't think that there is any such thing and whatever works is the right way to be doing it. With routine, we really didn't have one at all, hence why I was really struggling and cae close to losing my sanity due to lack of sleep! Went to a wedding on Saturday and he only stirred twice for feeds and still managed to sleep at night, I was amazed.

I have found that getting out and about makes me still feel normal although I did wait a while until I was comfortable with BF. Our local shopping centre has a great parents room with cubicles with comfy chairs for BF and the pub where we had the wedding had one too. Feeds still long though and I was gone for about 30 minutes, longer second time as DH had not put nappy on straight and I ended up with number 3 explosion all down the wall, on the chair and my dress, it was funny! BF is still a challenge for me although we are down to about 5 minutes max for attachment rather than the 3 hours I had initially! With me I realised that I was taking boob to baby and not baby to boob and was also not being "forceful" enough. I have one hand on breast supporting and then other hand behind his head, wait for him to open his mouth and then push his head onto boob, that way he gets a good mouthful of areola. The more areola they have in their mouth, the less painful attachment will be. The nipple should be right back in the throat where the hard and soft palate join. Fingers crossed that you manage to make it to BF clinic, don't think we have been on time for anything since Elliot came along!

Tan: good luck with going solos, sure you will be fine x

Maranui: how nice of DH to buy flowers. I got a lovely card but as DH had a monster hangover we didn't do much!

Hope everyone else had a fabulous mothers day x

[Kirley64]

Yeh i had hoped it would mature him a bit too and he has helped out a bit, but just not how i'd like i suppose and i'd rather him spend time with me and Will rather than on xbox. Guess we will see what happens...

Yeh my wrists kill trying to hold his head up; guess i will get some pointers from BF clinic. I also think i'mprolly not forceful enough but i only have little weak wrists (especially my left cuz i broke it when i was in school) and he has really strong neck muscles and fights back lol.
I'm thinking that prehaps the windyness is because of him not attaching quite properly and getting in alot of air??? Could that be a possiblity?

A friend told me of Pricillia Dunstan this week and a dvd she has in 'newborn language'. Anyone got it or heard of it. Guna try and get a hold of the dvd, watched ashort bit on youtube today. Wrote down the different cries and yay for me i knew that William still needed a burp after his feed even though he had done a couple already - and yay now he seems to be more settled (although still wants mumma cuddles )

[Bella Mia]

Hi All

Yes i am sneakiing in the back door he he he he.

I hope everyone had a great mothers day, we ended up having a big luncheon here with great grandmas, grandmas ect so it was very nice. Of course mum did all the food and organising. Tazman is doing great so far (touch wood) He feeds like a trooper and sleeps alot and very rarely cries, last night he only woke up once. I hope this is something that is going to last. It is a nice change to how things were with DD. DD is having a little trouble adjusting and is finding it a bit hard to not get mummy all the time.

HC, I hope things are going well with you and cant wait to hear all about it.

Kirley, i hear you on the sore boobs but i am sticking to it and clenching my toes. How is your BP now?

Tan, i am sure you will be fine on your own but we are all hear for you if you need a vent of winge.

Shona, good on you for starting a routine.

Hello to everyone else that i have missed, i can here Taz waking up now.

hugs to you all

[Kirley64]

bella, not sure currently what BP is, but last tues when i went to the doctor i think it was about 135/80. so a little lower but not back to normal for me.

[lilmisshavachat]

Hi Ladies.. It's so nice to hear all about what you are doing. I have been reading updates on my phone at 2.00am while I express but have been too tired during to day to do anything but sleep as we are feeding every 3-4 hours and then i'm expressing every 3 hours as well.. Doesn't make for much sleep.. I will say that I had a fantastic Mothers day.. DH left a big gold wrapped box in the lounge room and when I got up at 2.00am to express it was sitting there.. bit of a tease though as I had to wait until he got up the next day to open it.. I was just super impressed that he got me something and he bought me a card from him and one from Ethan which was beautiful.. As for the pressie.. he bought me a Homedics shiatsu massage chair insert.. It is unbelieveable.. I have just finished Ethans birth story and posted it today as he has been sleeping in my hug a bub for most of the day and we have had a massive win for us as I haven't given him any formula since 10.00am this morning and he has had 2 boobie feeds which I am ecstatic about.. he has slept for at least 3 hours after both so I guess he is getting enough milk which is my biggest stress.. As for poos.. Ethan seems to only push out 1 big one once a day and even though he gets formula as well most of what he gets is my EBM.. KI guess he's now well over 5kgs so I don't think he's suffering too much.. Gotta go the lil munchkin is stirring.. i'm just glad I found some time to pop in and say hello...

[healthychick]

Hello everyone, so sorry to keep you waiting but i am crashing the thread with my May 6th bub...LOL!!!

I haven't been able to read any of this thread yet so apologies for no personals but I thought i'd best say hey to the buddy crowd & hi to people i haven't met yet. Anyway, i'm cheating as here's a repeat of the post i just popped onto the belly buddy thread for those of you no longer checking it & I PROMISE to be back very soon.. seems to be so little time when you're home alone with bub all day - I find myself so grateful when DH gets home, he doesn't have to do anything as such (he's more tired than me!) but just having someone there to settle Shea so i can do a few bits & shower etc is a godsend.. I've never seen him so fed up as when he couldn't get back til 7 last night and Shea was already settled & asleep, big change from the DH who was staying out all night eh It was ok tho as he was up for a feed again before DH went to sleep so he got his cuddle time.. Ok BBL, here's my quick update from belly buddy thread:
------------------------------------
Thanks everyone for the wishes.. and yes, you're right that we ended up as far from our homebirth birthplan as it's possible to be - but seriously, considering all the happenings & non-planned events of my pregnancy, was I really expecting anything to go to plan?? LOL! As you all say, the important thing is the safe & healthy arrival of our beautiful boy and I came to terms with everything as it happened so I've got no regrets at all - although I do wish that I hadn't developed a tickly cough last week as it really doesn't sit well with CS pain - omigod, when Amanda Jane commented that anyone who said CS is an easy ride should be punched, she isn't kidding - I'm less mobile than while pregnant & it takes 5mins to get in or out of bed still!!!

Anyway, i've been trying to get my birth story written since 7am yesterday morning but just haven't been able to get it done - you know me and my marathon posts! So suffice to say that me & Shea (pr. Shay - everyone keeps asking) are both well, DH did an awesome job through labour, couldn't have asked for more of any guy & he's the proudest (tiredest) daddy in the world right now and hates that he's had to go straight back to work. we came home sunday in time for mothers day (wow, glad i mentioned you girls & your push presents, shea (&DH) bought me an iPhone for mothers day & think it was combo push pressie ;-) Shea is an absolute darling & sleeps as much as I'll let him - I've had to stop him re-settling as he was sleeping 5-6 hrs after each feed & my MW said I'm not feeding him enough so now when he gets restless & half awake i'm getting him up so that he's getting 4hrly feeds - oh my goodness, how tired am i now that there's 2-3 hrs of downtime instead of 5-6, big difference!!!

So far been thru the cracked nipples (still getting the toe-curling pain on the right boob..), trying nipple shields due to a flat nipple (only had to use once as it's eased now that breasts aren't solid rocks after i expressed 120ml), & trying to find ways to keep him awake on the boob.. so we're on a fast learning curve LOL!

Hope everyone is well, just thought I'd better show my face as I disappeared while in hospy and haven't stopped since back, the downside of no family & a DH straight back to work, however I do have a beautiful clean & tidy house though after a friend dropped by yesterday & tidied everything for me (wow, i could have cried!) and then my cleaner came in today.. if only i could find that time to shower..LOL!

[Tan2705]

Hi Girls

My laptop has sh*t itself yet again - time for a new one me thinks! Day 2 by ourselves and we are still kicking, must be doing something right.

Have three goals for each day:

1) we are all breathing
2) we are all fed
3) we all have clean bums HAHA everything else can wait!

Up at mum's trying to figure out the online familyassist claim - my brain just doesn't want to function and putting it in the too hard basket for now!

Archer has become a 'chucky' baby - YUCK. Have done so many loads of washing lately it is beyond ridiculous. Have started to feed laying down to stop the lil blighter from power puking everytime - thank goodness he gained all that weight initally as not much milk has stayed down. He has quite a suck and still manages to drown himself - not even gravity can stop him HAHA but no power pukes as a result WOOHOO. It does take longer for him to feed and DS#1 is not impressed with that - he has become quite the brat and will smirk at me whilst trashing the house knowing full well I can't get up *sigh* Will have to time outings so we are home for feeds now, can't exactly lay down flat on my back in the parent's room down town now can I!! Am concerned AGAIN about his weight gain because of all the vomitting but really am not liking the CHN, I rang for some advice and she basically called me a drama queen "he had massive gains and you are just being paranoid" WTF aren't they supposed to offer support and besides the gains were before he started throwing up!!!!!!! So have an appt with our GP but not till next week - have weighed him on my scales at home whilst holding him and subtracting my weight and he hasn't gained anything this week (I know it's not accurate but it's darn close) so i will panic till he is on the dr's scales!

Sorry no personals. Must go and prep for dinner. Hugs, kisses n dribble till next time - god knows when that will be?!

Txx

[shonalouise]

Tan: I'm hearing you on the power puking front, we are having same issues. Not been weighed this week but will go next week and see how we are travelling. I too am laying down for BF to try and slow flow down, not that it works great and he still has to gulp but has been better. When we are out we use a hold whereby he sits in my lap and I elevate him a little above nipple, I also didn't fancy lying down in parents room! We were given same advice in that as long as gaining weight not to be concerned, I feel very guilty though for inflicting my huge fast flowing boobies on him and causing his continual chucking. I have also found burping mid and end of feed helps although I was told BF babies do not need winding, Elliot always brings up a huge burp. I was told to express some milk off at beginning of feed but my flow issues last the duration of the feed so useless for me. I have tried block feeding using one breast for 2 consecutive feeds then switch, the 2nd feed is much more comfortable for him but then other boob can become quite engorged and the first feed from that one is even worse. I caused oversupply initially by over pumping then stopping pumping alltogether and whilst it has settled down a bit since then, he is still struggling. Well gotta go, he wants feeding again, only fed 2 hours ago and had to do it in 2 lots, argh!

[Kirley64]

hey ladies,
Well i'm feeling alot better today than I was yesterday. Was very tired and worn out yesterday but I finally went to see the Breast Feeding ppl at the Health Clinic and that has put me in a good mood - plus i got an hour nap today yay.
So the BF lady was awesome!! I wish they would hire her in hospitals to teach you when you have your baby!! Would save sooo much drama and pain! I feel so much more relaxed and confident with feeding now it's soo good!
So William is now over 9lb which means he is gaining weight really well yay for me. She also taught me how to attach him properly - and it's sooo simple. People kept telling me line your nipple up with his nose and run it down over his top lip and he will open his mouth to take the whole areola as well..... incorrect.... push his chin against the outside of your areola up against your breast then he opens his mouth wide enough!! Thats all I needed! So very simple; and yet no one had told me that before!
Also my let down is really really fast and because he is a guzzle guts he doesn't want to let go before he chokes/drowns lol; instead he pulls back on my nipple a bit and slips (hence still hurting lots) - solution, either express letdown before attaching him (although i seem to have several throughout the whole feed) or just recline slightly.... done every feed today that way and he hasnt' pulled/slipped off or choked!! yay. may also help with his gulping air/wind problem. Yay another win.
Shona i also have a baby that burps alot after BF and was also told that you dont need to really burp BF babies. Will doesn't usually swallow when he needs to burp he keeps the milk in his mouth and it goes everywhere... so not quite a puke. If i don't burp him he is unsettled for a long time.
Last win for today with BF lady..... Instead of the offer one breast/side per feed... she said offer him both but cuz i'm quite engorged still to express off the last bit to make me feel more comfortable. Offering him both will reduce the amount of milk im making atm from expressing for that week and get rid of lumpiness starting.... Will also mean i'm not going six hours between emptying one boobie and feeling hugely lopsided. So atm i'm giving him 25mins on first side {usually he pulls off for a burp at 25mins anyway)then burping and switching until he pulls off second side. Then expressing for 5-10mins per side depending on whats necessary just to make me comfortable. then next feed starting on the second side from last feed etc.
Seems to have worked today yay. She also said to wake him/make sure he gets threehour on the dot feeds during the day consistantly - do the cluster feeding inthe evening (which he has done with incrediable amounts today) and then when he wants to drop a feed he is more inclined to drop the night feed cuz he is full (and let him sleep thru if he wants too)... so fingers crossed it all works out. yay.....

sorry no greetings for everyone cept welcome back HC
talk soon xxx

[~kellie~]

Hi everyone

Welcome Esme and congrats on your new bub!

Kirley - sorry to hear your DH is being a bit painful, its very hard when they are like that! Hope he improves soon! I have the Dunstan baby language dvd, bought it when DD was little, must get it out and watch it again. I already know that he definitely makes the wind and tired noises though. Glad to hear your visit to the bf clinic went well, it sounds like she gave you lots of good advice

littlemisshaveachat - I also read updates at 2am on my phone while I have a sleeping bub over my shoulder!

hc - i know what you mean about having a birth thats far from your birth plan... i never imagined that i'd have a caesar either! I definitely know what you mean about the cough... ouchies!

tan - sorry to hear about arch being a chucky bub, my DD was like that too, and I always worried about weight gains, but my worries were always unnecessary! she put on heaps of weight, so I'm sure Arch will be the same

Think I've figured out that Lewis isnt really nocturnal, its just his horrible wind keeping him unsettled. After 4 nights of having very unsettled periods between about midnight and 4 am, I am now considering getting an amby hammock, which are meant to be good for windy bubs. Last night he was so content sleeping on my shoulder in an upright position, but as soon as I put him down, he'd be awake crying again, poor little chicken. Luckily DD was in child care today, so I decided the housework could wait and I had a nice nap this afternoon.

Question - for those of you using any of the wind remedies, do you think they are making a difference? And also, do you only give it to them when they are really suffering or with every feed?

hi to everyone else!

[healthychick]

Morning

I'm a newbie at all this but my little bits on feeding etc so far...

Kellie - I have an amby hammock and Shea has been sleeping in that since we came home. it's fabulous and i wouldn't be without it, once i settle him i rock him gently and transfer him into the hammock and rock that and he sleeps so well, plus if he grumbles mid-sleep you can just rock and he's back out..genius! I also heard it's great for wind & reflux..

I was told about BF bubs not needing winding but mid & end feed i just sit him up on my knee, hold him under the chin (thank god DH hasn't seen yet, it looks like i'm strangling him!!) and he makes froggy faces & usually burps.. since I've done this then he's been doing a lot less windy noises (Kellie, i've also got the Patricia Dunstan and find it great for a lot of his cues to direct me quicker to whether it's food, nappy or sleep etc!) when he makes lower gut pain noises i pop him across my knee and rub his back and that stops the crying but i've found that hasn't really happneed much since i've remembered to burp him.

Re letdown & flow - dunno if i'm just a bit too early on (only a week today) but i don't seem to feel the letdown.. Shea's getting plenty of milk and glugging away and he's just started bringing milk up in the last couple of days, but i wouldn't have a clue how fast my flow is. Boobs aren't getting a chance to get solid as i pop him on one boob until he really fusses (usually 15mins-20mins) then burp him, go change him & pop him on the other boob for dessert which usually lasts anywhere from 10-20mins again. sometimes he'll fall asleep on that second boob, sometimes he'll just stop sucking much. the challenge is then getting him settled again before he's been awake for more than an hour - it's so true what they say, if i get him down in an hour then he'll sleep well for a few hrs but if he is awake 90+ mins then even if i get him down then he keeps waking self up for the whole sleep cycle and we end up on a constant mission to get him to sleep. I think i've found a solution though - if he's overtired i have to hold him for the first 20mins of active sleep til he goes to his deadzone and then pop him down and he sleeps...

anyway, i digressed sorry! That was my little bit of BF experience. Re what Kirley said, yes a friend of mine showed me to use the hand shaping my nipple to also pull down his chin and pretty much jam as much nipple in his mouth as possible!! But I'll try what you say about just pushing the chin against my boob and see if that works as well. i had been struggling to feed lying down as i couldn't lift myself to attach him easily - but last night the whole house was cranky so i thought i'd give it another go - DH seems to have the whole 'if they wake & cry when you put them down, let them cry or you'll be doing x forever' attitude which so doesn't go with what i've been doing. he kept him up over the hour to have cuddles so shea wouldn't go down without crying & i couldn't bear it so i jumped in and took over and got the 'do whatever you like' attitude so DH back on sofa (after a lovely couple of nights staying in the bed to help settle shea etc). I took Shea into bed with me when he woke about 11pm and just fed on demand through the night.. i racked up about 6hrs kip through the night with just a milk chuck (poor mattress) and cpl nappy change incidents.. but SO much better then spending half the night getting up & resettling etc Tho like you say Kirley if i can get him feeding more in the day and skipping a night feed it'll be easier and i can pop him in hammock again overnight. What your nurse said about waking him 3hrly on dot - is that 3hrs since start of last feed (so a 2hr sleep) or a 3 hr sleep? Also re cluster feeds, what does that mean? Thank you

well best get breakfast before i lose the chance!! BBL

[~kellie~]

thanks for that healthychick... do you know how long they can use them for? I currently have the option of hiring one for $88 for 3 months or buying a second hand one for not much more, but was wondering how long I'd be able to use it for?

[Kirley64]

Question - for those of you using any of the wind remedies, do you think they are making a difference? And also, do you only give it to them when they are really suffering or with every feed?

I use infants friend, almost every feed. Now that he's not gulping in so much air while feeding i might do it every second feed to see how he is (cuz when he was first born and on ebm he wasn't this bad).... yeh i noticed a difference. not straight away but usually the feed after when he had the pains was when i noticed it worked and he had more success in emptying his bowels.

Re letdown & flow - dunno if i'm just a bit too early on (only a week today) but i don't seem to feel the letdown.. Shea's getting plenty of milk and glugging away and he's just started bringing milk up in the last couple of days, but i wouldn't have a clue how fast my flow is. Boobs aren't getting a chance to get solid as i pop him on one boob until he really fusses (usually 15mins-20mins) then burp him, go change him & pop him on the other boob for dessert which usually lasts anywhere from 10-20mins again. sometimes he'll fall asleep on that second boob, sometimes he'll just stop sucking much. the challenge is then getting him settled again before he's been awake for more than an hour - it's so true what they say, if i get him down in an hour then he'll sleep well for a few hrs but if he is awake 90+ mins then even if i get him down then he keeps waking self up for the whole sleep cycle and we end up on a constant mission to get him to sleep. I think i've found a solution though - if he's overtired i have to hold him for the first 20mins of active sleep til he goes to his deadzone and then pop him down and he sleeps...

anyway, i digressed sorry! That was my little bit of BF experience. Re what Kirley said, yes a friend of mine showed me to use the hand shaping my nipple to also pull down his chin and pretty much jam as much nipple in his mouth as possible!! But I'll try what you say about just pushing the chin against my boob and see if that works as well. i had been struggling to feed lying down as i couldn't lift myself to attach him easily - but last night the whole house was cranky so i thought i'd give it another go - DH seems to have the whole 'if they wake & cry when you put them down, let them cry or you'll be doing x forever' attitude which so doesn't go with what i've been doing. he kept him up over the hour to have cuddles so shea wouldn't go down without crying & i couldn't bear it so i jumped in and took over and got the 'do whatever you like' attitude so DH back on sofa (after a lovely couple of nights staying in the bed to help settle shea etc). I took Shea into bed with me when he woke about 11pm and just fed on demand through the night.. i racked up about 6hrs kip through the night with just a milk chuck (poor mattress) and cpl nappy change incidents.. but SO much better then spending half the night getting up & resettling etc Tho like you say Kirley if i can get him feeding more in the day and skipping a night feed it'll be easier and i can pop him in hammock again overnight. What your nurse said about waking him 3hrly on dot - is that 3hrs since start of last feed (so a 2hr sleep) or a 3 hr sleep? Also re cluster feeds, what does that mean? Thank you

apparently not everyone can feel let down.... some ppl (myself included) get a real tingly/painful sensation (like over stimulated feeling) in their nipple. I get it not only on the one he is feeding from but also the other side... when i don't have a shirt on i have to keep a towel handy cuz the second boob also leaks out milk. You should be able to tell when you are letting down though by how quickly bub swallows. usually they make a louder gulping/swallowing sound. Then they slow back down a little. AFM Will gets about three or four let downs per side per feed. Poor bubba lol. I think it tires him out.
I'm presuming 3hours from start of the feed cuz thats when he usually wants food anyway when he's awake. He takes it then so i won't make him wait any longer than that. Plus that means more feeds throughout the day.
Cluster feeding - someone correct me if i'm wrong cuz i'm not 100% sure... but for example last night Will fed:
5pm- 25mins one side; 10 other side
6.30 - 25 mins one side
7.30 - 20mins one side
then he woke up at 11pm and went back to three hourly feeds.
So its just constant feeds for a period of time with no regularity like usual. Just whenever they are hungry. I'm pretty lucky with William; he doesn't cry for feeds or even get restless (unless i dont pick up on his signs)....he just opens his mouth like hes looking for boobie or he starts sucking on his hands or whatever piece of clothing/skin you have available.

[healthychick]

thanks for that Kirley appreciate it. Shea doesn't seem to have much wind at mo but I'm a little concerned that he's not pooing much. He's doing a few nappies but the amount is so small.. is that normal at this point? His meconium went followed by green stringy stuff and now it looks like peppercorn mustard (TMI?!) but there isn't a lot.. That's if you guys can remember the 1 week stage by now? LOL!

The cluster feeding sounds good and would fit in well with him sitting with us in the evening so DH can get his cuddle time rather than a paranoid mum thinking he has to feed and immediately go back to bed for a few hours etc!

Kirley - re your DH, is he helping you with William and just playing xbox when he's asleep or is he not involved much at all?? Patient woman, I'd probably have kicked his butt back to work by now!!

Tan (if you're out there??) I saw that you're home alone now, hope that it's going ok and your little men are keeping you happy! DH said he has to go to Adelaide for 1 night next week & to sort out someone to come stay but I thought of you and figured a night home alone is fine to be fair, last couple of nights he hasn't got up anyway, it's just that dinner time frenzy that will be a little more challenging - i.e. actually EATING anything at all