Ok I knew it was going to happen at some stage and i have had my first mental/emotional/lack of sleep/worrying about my baby breakdown. The catalyst being that one of my boobs seems to not be filling up fast enough (well at least I think so). During the day it is always soft, only overnight does it seem to fill. She isn't sleeping as much, she falls asleep on the boob and when I put her down she just wails. She is continually bring up breastmilk....not huge amounts but tablespoons at a time. She does seem to bring up an entire feed though once a day though.
I have no idea what i'm doing.....last night she would only sleep if she was lying on top of me or in my arms. I felt like i got no sleep at all last night.
I haven't had her weighed yet - we go on thursday and now am petrified she hasn't been getting enough and has lost weight....she is doing lots of wees and a couple of explosive poos a day.
For the girls in Brisbane - what are you dressing your babies in?
I have a splitting headache - probably from crying so much - and everyone saying "your doing such a great job" just makes me cry more!
There is nothing more draining than lack of sleep..I think that is the main cause of emotional breakdowns and the pre-cursor for PND - The black cloud. I def have my moments and I think first bub is the toughest because its the whole life change and all the emotions that go with it. 3rd bub still tough but in different ways.
Wyatt would ONLY sleep on my chest on his tummy for the first 2wks of his life and then he was a tummy sleeper and would not stay on his back or sleep at all on his back (which was very stressful!!!).
About the spewing most babies have some sort of reflux because they have an underdeveloped oesophagael valve (entry to stomach) which makes its hard for them to keep alot of the food down esp when they have a big feed..so maybe you could try breaking up the feed and propping bub upright inbetween for 5-10mins for burps..have you also tried having the bassinet/cot tilted with the head end up for sleeping. I have taken the wheels off the feet end of mine so Indigo is constantly on an angle downwards.
Wyatt also spewed after every feed for 10mnths until he was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy (he was allergic to all milk including breastmilk even though he was breastfed for 10mnths) That explained why he power chucked when I tried to wean him onto formula. We thought he had reflux so he had been on medication for reflux. He is still taking Neocate formula as a milk substitute at 20mnths.
I dont think you need to worry just yet about allergies its probably just a small reflux issue and will sort itself as bub gets bigger.
As for bubs clothing Im in Townsville and Indigo just wears a short sleeved suit during day and night and during the day she has a lighter muslin wrap and night the thicker cotton wrap with a sheet or blanket on top. She is also in socks if she doesnt have a full length suit on. We havnt really used the aircon much but I will put it on if it gets a bit sticky.
Im sure you are doing a great job...
Im sure everyone is...remember there is no manual/textbook for this learning experience!!!!!
Sanchez - We had a problem where E wouldn't sleep unless she was on one of us, in the end we used one of DF's unwashed shirts as a bassinette mattress sheet and now once she's asleep we transfer her to the bassinette, and she still has that familiar smell of one of us. E also spits up a bit of milk if she has a bit of wind trapped underneath it... I wouldn't be stressing too much unless it's ALOT of milk all the time. Hopefully once she's weighed and has put on weight that will give you peace of mind, but you're doing a great job and we all have these moments from time to time.. I have them almost daily now DF has gone back to work lol. Also, I have Emily in short sleeve onesies and socks during the day, and at night in a wondersuit because most nights it still gets quite cool in my room, plus I have the fan on low.
Nicola - How did you get Wyatt to sleep on his back? Emily refuses to sleep on her back, she hates it. Even when I do get her into a deep sleep on her tummy and try to flip her, I can only get 10 to 15 mins out of her before she is awake and upset again. I've been using a sleep positioner and putting on her side to get some sleep, but stress out about it because everything you read screams SIDS SIDS SIDS at you and i'm worried about it. Would love to get her to be a back sleeper but she just does not like it one bit and I've given in so that we can both get some sleep. any advice???
I had a good night last night, she was a bit unsettled til midnight, but then slept soundly until 6am then straight back to sleep. Pooley came over today with little Frazer and he is just adorable... and was such a well behaved little lad!!! You did a good job cooking that one, he's beautiful!
3 sleeps til DF is home, can't wait!
Hope everyone else is getting some sleep and enjoying their bubs
Sanchez, I am sure that she is fine Sounds like her nappies are good and as long as she looks alert then she will be getting enough milk. Was it you asking the other day about when the boobs settle down? I would say that it is now for you. Mine are soft and don't look like they have anything in them but if I squeeze them milk comes out and A seems happy enough. As for sleeping on you, I say go with it... they all have a clingy day here and there, life is far less stessful if you just accept that you won't get her in the cot that night and try again tomorrow.
Janine and Pooley, yay for having meet-ups! Sometimes I wish that I still lived in Brisbane (except I think there was a 38 degree day a while ago?? - don't miss that!)
Hi everyone, I am a shocker at posting but I have been avidly reading everyones posts.Congrats to all. I had a very quick labour on 17/09/09. I awoke at around 3.30am to go to the toilet and had some cramping. I waited a few minutes and asked dh to start the contraction timer. First contraction was five minutes, then four minutes and then three minutes. I knew that I didn't have long as my first daughter had been born at home after a an hour and a half labour. Anyhoo my friend arrived and took the older two to my fathers house and dh took me to the hospital. By this stage I was in agony. We got up to the birthing suit and I went into the zone and started pushing. I told the midwife that I was pushing and she said that she didn't think that I was ready and asked if I would like anything. She was checking me and I told her I would like some pethidine and she said " no time for that you are fully dialated". So I continued pushing and at 6.41am Rosalie Christene Elizabeth entered the world. The labour certainly didn't go the way I was expecting however it really couldn't of been any better. So for her stats:
Weight: 9 pound 12 oz
Length: 53 cm
Head Circum: 35 cm
First Stage:1hour 45 minutes
Second Stage:26 minutes
Third Stage:4 minutes
oh wow, I've missed a lot since we've been in our own little world of trying to get some weight on Lottie!
I'll do a quick birth recap to catch up..
4th September, there I was at 8.30pm munching down a mars bar watching gossip girl (sad I know..) and I felt a slight trickle, went to the loo and my plug came out. First very mild contraction started 15 mins after that. They were quite irregular until intensifying at 12am (the was when they confirmed my labour actually started). Managed to have a nice bath at home then headed to hospital at 12.30am.
After 5 hours of contractions using the TENS & gas I was ready to start pushing slightly and 1 1/2 hours Charlotte was born. At the time I wanted to die (lol) but looking back it was a pretty good labour. I pushed her out with no contractions in the last 15 mins and not one stitch so I was pretty damned proud of myself. DH was absolutely wonderful. It was an amazing experience.
Charlotte Elizabeth
7lb 7oz
49cm
6.5 hour labour with gas
I'm going to take the time to read through everyone's posts now but I'm so behind! I really hope everyone is doing well.
We have a plan of action for Lottie's weight gain, I'm pretty much expressing 100% so we can calculate her exact intake and we're doing 85ml every 4 hours (in between she sleeps like an angel).
I'm on the herbs and some script meds (thank god DH is a pharmacist and thank you to the girls who mentioned these things as well!).
I feel my supply is increasing rapidly and I'm actually leaking now. The LC will help me get her back on the breast hopefully very soon (I still put her on for a suckle so we can have that skin to skin bonding).
Finally Lottie gained 100grams in 24 hours!! We were thrilled and so happy things are on the improve.
On the other hand our girl is an amazing sleeper and so easy to settle. She slept from 12am to 5.30am this morning and we actually had to wake her so she didn't miss her feed. In between that she's interactive and alert. We are totally smitten!!
I hope everyone is enjoying their little ones, its such an amazing experience so far (full on but amazing all the same!).
Hi girls,
Wow you get busy for a few days and it takes an hour to catch up reading all the posts!
It's so good to read all the stories about how everyone is going and feeling. It makes you feel like you're not alone, and recognise which things are going really well for us - so at least you can feel great about some aspect of the day ;-)
Tadhg is going really well, mostly a very calm and settled baby - although yesterday i thought someone had flown in and exchanged him as he was really grumpy. He is 4 weeks old now, and i'm finally getting the hang of feeding and burping - we were having a lot of crying trying to put him down to sleep after a feed, and after talking to my girlfriend i realised i was rushing him back to bed rather than calmly rubbing his back and getting burps. Also i started leaning back a bit to feed, as he is a very hungry feeder at the start and guzzles which contributes to wind. Good advise if anyone else has this issue - its called uphill feeding, and i think it makes them work a bit harder, rather than pouring milk down their little throat. My feeding is a little tricky as I need to use nipple shields due to flat nipples. I thought i had enough, but apparently not - especially when my breasts are full of milk. If i try to feed Tadhg without the shields he just keeps searching for something to latch on to. But if nipple shields allow me to feed him its worth it just as long as he doesnt bump them off before latching, they are washed and ready to go (a real pain at night), and you don't forget them when out (thank god he takes a dummy or it would have been a long drive home that day!).
I am really interested to see the various lengths of time people go between feeds. I started out trying to do every 3 hours, but i'm erring towards demand feeding now, as he had a couple of unsettled days and woke every 2 hours for a while, and its so hard to wake them up - especially if they are putting on good amounts of weight. I do think routines and waking would be useful if you have a night owl though, which fortunately I don't. Bring on the night sleeps though - we went 8:30 till 1:30 last night (then 3:30 and 6:30) - woo hoo, hopefully that continues or gets better!
Goodluck mummies!
feel free to add me as a FB buddy - Kelly O'Brien's Photos - Tadhg Anthony O'Brien | Facebook
Registered User
Sounds like her nappies are good and as long as she looks alert then she will be getting enough milk. Was it you asking the other day about when the boobs settle down? I would say that it is now for you. Mine are soft and don't look like they have anything in them but if I squeeze them milk comes out and A seems happy enough. As for sleeping on you, I say go with it... they all have a clingy day here and there, life is far less stessful if you just accept that you won't get her in the cot that night and try again tomorrow.
Bookmarks