Sanchez and Peanut Baby - I have always been open minded about everything to do with becoming a mother. Maintaining this kind of attitude has helped me through the fact that we decided to formula feed because of post- labour problems I experienced. I honestly think it's the best way to be especially with so many differing opinions being thrown our way constantly.
Every baby is different. Our decision to formula feed, tummy sleep, use dummies, demand feed, they are all personal decisions that DH and I have made together regardless of peoples opinions or "the norm". I will never be one to pass judgement on others, parents simply do what they think is best for their baby. Then later we are faced with even harder decisions like immunisation etc. Never ends I guess.
P.S Frazer is my little heffer!! Today at 4 weeks 3 days he weighed in @ 5.24 kgs!! That is a gain of 690gms in 2 weeks!! Think I have a little michilin man on my hands....
Finally a chance to post again!! Things have been mad in our camp.
Breast issues still continue unfortunately but I do think this time we are getting somewhere. I have finished my antibiotics but I'm back on thrush treatment as it didn't clear up completely and I'm taking Inner Health Plus as well to try to increase my good bacteria levels. Isobel is now having the powder in a bottle once a day too as well as the Nilstat drops 4 times a day. I'm still taking pain killers/nurofen for the pain but I'm slowly weaning off them too. Oh, did I mention that I'm now sporting a cracked nipple (Izzy drew blood from it on the weekend - ewww and OUCH!) and have constipation from the antibiotics so have wound up with some nice rhoids on my butt. Fabulous!!
To top things off, Izzy had an absolute shocker of a day on Monday - much like what you've been experiencing with Violet, Sanchez!! The poor little thing was so out of sorts and just wouldn't settle after her 4.30am feed. She only cat napped for 45 mins and pretty much cried the rest of the day and would only calm down for a bit if I held her. It was so sad and tiring. My DH came home early from work to give me a break thankfully and she finally settled into a good sleep at 6.30pm (after a decent feed of EBM) and I had a few hours catch up sleep as well. She ended up having a good night and a great day yesterday so we went to a work function with DH last night. She slept for 5 hours last night so I thought she was back to normal but then it started again this morning after her 4am feed. To cut a long story short, I ended up taking her to the doctors at midday and they think she has colic. The doc told us to get onto the Brauers Colic Relief straight away so hopefully we'll see an improvement within the next 24 hours. Far out - what next?! I guess I should be grateful that it's not a daily thing (well not yet anyway) and she is settled in the evenings (she's asleep now so I'm off to bed very soon!) but just clingy and upset during the day. I will have to master our sling ASAP!!
Pooley - congrats on Frazer's weight gain!! I'm thinking formula might be the best option for us. I may have the supply but all these issues are really getting me down. Maybe formula is the answer to all our problems.
Art - good to hear you guys are doing well. I admire you mum's looking after a toddler and a newborn. I really don't know how you all do it!
Sangie - I hope your mastitis buggers off soon! You poor thing. Sore boobies are awful, especially when you're trying to breastfeed as well. I hope your DD is on the mend soon too. Poor little tacker.
Janine - are you ok hon? What bf issues are you having? Can I help at all?
PB - my BF/weight gain issue buddy (LOL), can you tell me what you're doing? Are you expressing and feeding Lottie from the bottle full time? How many formula comps does she have? How much are you expressing? It makes me feel so much better knowing I'm not alone.
Kosi - woohoo that the IL's have gone! I'm dreading mine coming over. Terrible, I know, but my MIL is going to drive me nuts. Must keep reminding myself that she means well. How's Ava going now? Sleeping well still or was it a once off?!
Sanchez - LOL! Yes, we do what we can to help our little babies! I was never against bottles or dummies and have found both to be a godsend! Izzy loves her dummy but doesn't need it all the time. She often self settles (well that was before the day time spack-attacks that started this week!) and is often content just checking out the world but when she wants a comfort suck, the dummy has been great. The bottles have also been fab to get that yummy EBM into her. She took to it really well and I don't think the bottle or the dummy has caused nipple confusion as she still loves the boobies! At least I know I can hand her over to others for feeding if need be. Bottles and dummies were introduced for a reason
As for expressing, you will generally get a decent amount in the morning, first thing. I often express straight after a feed which will give me a nice top-up bottle for Izzy but if I want a full bottle to give her that night, I express inbetween two feeds in the morning. I got about 170ml at 8.30 yesterday morning and 150 at 10.30 this morning. It takes me about 15 mins to get that. Your supply generally dwindles throughout the day and by 6pm ish it's not so great. I expressed around 7pm tonight and got 70mls. It normally goes up a bit again after 9pm. Remember that your boobs are always producing milk so you will always get something regardless of whether they are engorged or not or if V has just fed. But I do find that early morning express is a winner.
Oh, and for freezing, I'm starting that soon. I have special 'baby food' ice trays with lids which hold 25ml in a cube which makes it easy for preparing a bottle. The past couple of weeks I've just been using everything I express though as we were doing top ups after every feed. Now I'm just trying maybe one top up a day and 2 full EBM feeds a day (one in the morning if she's unsettled after her first big morning feed and one in the evening. That means I can express again at those times and know I'll get plenty. Hope that helps.
OK, I have to go to bed. Who know what the night has instore for us...nigh night!
Hi all,
a quick selfish post for me today, as i dont have time to read all the news.
Sadly i've been in hosptial for the past few days with a bad breast infection It came on really suddenly on Friday night after an awesome dinner out with DH while his parents minded T. I felt a twinge in my breast about 9 and thought 'thats strange' and by 11pm i was freezing cold, shaking uncontrolably. Progressed to vomiting and awful headache and went to the hospital. I had a fever of 40 degrees by 1am so stayed all night with my lovely MIL while DH went home to get rest for the next day. I left emergency in the morning, but was back in by Sunday morning with a really swollen red breast and fevers, eventually getting out on Tuesday afternoon. It was not fun at all, but DH really stepped up and looked after T so well when i couldnt. We're back home now (after thankfully a good 6 hr car trip) and trying to get feeding going again, but its hard work with both nipples cracked and bleeding every 2nd feed, not enough milk and poor T getting sore tummy from antibiotics. Trying to stay positive! Wish us luck, will check in with you all soon.
Kelly & Tadhg
God, you guys are soooo motivated to keep up the B feeding after all you're going through. I honestly don't know how you all cope, I cringe just READing your posts.
If I had to deal with any of the stuff that you guys are, I think I would be an absolute nut case and a useless mother.
Givin' all you ladies props, You all deserve medals!!
Well it's been a not so great week. I've always found BFing a bit painful, but until recently have found the pain manageable and have been able to tolerate it enough to keep going because everyone says it gets better... when?! Early this week however, I had an increasing pain in my left breast, which felt like a nerve sort of pain that shot through my breast and all the way down my left arm to my wrist and was unbearable, then I started getting a similar pain in my right breast, probably not quite as bad. The last time I BF emily was Tuesday morning, when it was so excruciating I was in tears the whole time and had to take her off early. I didn't have a proper let-down because I was so tense and she wasn't getting much milk because of that. So I pumped a bottle of EBM for her next feed. I asked some advice here on BB and also called the ABA, both of whom said it sort of sounded like thrush or a breast infection so I figured a trip to the Dr was in order to get something to make it better again. Mum came over and off we toddled to the GP who checked out my rack and after some prodding and examining determined there to be NOTHING wrong. She said it sounded like a nerve ending that Emily must hit when she feeds, as expressing doesn't hurt at all. I went to see a child health nurse for a 2nd opinion who said the same thing to which I burst into tears and she said to give it a few days and try her again, and if it's still that painful I'll either have to continue expressing, or make the switch to formula. She told me I needed to get more sleep, stress less blah blah blah, or I wont make enough milk to express as it's hard to keep your supply up expressing full time and I wont make any if i'm stressed. I was also screened for PND I think, she was asking me all these questions, I think it was because I was so upset, tired and stressed. I know i'm not depressed, i'm just exhausted.
Since then i've been expressing every hour and have been making enough EBM to have 2 bottles in the fridge at all times, but can't seem to build up any more than that. My biggest problem is that I want her to have BM, but I don't want her on my boobs... the thought of it makes me anxious and I have alot of guilt over the fact that I just don't want to. Even if the pain stopped today I think I still wouldn't want to. I don't really know why either. So i'm going to attempt exclusive expressing and see how long I can do that for until I decide where my heads at and what I want to do. DF flies back in this arvo, can't wait to see him... he has a knack for making everything better.
This prob all seems silly, a couple of you have had way more issues with BFing than I have and have come through it all, and here I am ready to give up after my first hurdle.
Hope you're all doing well, Kelly i'm sorry to hear about your breast infection Will come back soon to read what the rest of you guys are up to and do some persies, have to get Emily up for a visit to Pooley and master Frazer.
Pooley - amazing how hard this feeding business can be isnt it! My mum keeps being so supportive of bottle feeding i almost feel like she is trying to get me to stop BFing! She means well, and just doesnt want me to get sick again. We'll see how we go. I think my problems started when i tried to get T off the nipple shields on advice of my health nurse saying it was better for him to be skin on skin. I think we'll stick wih shields now and hope the cracks go away!
Janine - not to scare you, but my breast infection felt like shooting nerve pain at the start - so just keep an eye on it and if you get flu symptoms, fever, headache etc go back to the Dr for antibiotics. I think your plan of expressing is a good one for now, you will probably feel much better about feeding after your nipples have had a break
We had 6 week jabs today, and it went quite well really. Tadhg only cried for about 30 seconds - but man he went red and had a tiny tear in each eye - the first i've seen from him. The nurse said he is the bravest baby she's seen in a long time, as he was quite happy with a cuddle and dummy within a couple of mins, and asleep in about 10 mins for the ride home. Good luck to all of you about to go through the same!
K
ps. for those expressing - are you washing and sterilizing your pump etc after every time? I am currently, but finding it really time consuming and wonder if its necessary?
Last edited by kellynz; October 9th, 2009 at 11:42 AM.
: added question
Kelly, I know in my hospital we don't sterilise anything anymore. Warm soapy water and drip dry, thats for all pump equipment and bottles. I think the World Health Organisation came out with new research that all the sterilising wasn't necessary. I have a pump and i don't even have a steriliser - I just do the above.
Oh Janine - i was cringing with sympathy pain. You poor love. Do whatever is best for you.
I too am wondering when the nipple pain will go away. My nipple pain is ramped up at the moment because my baby Lucifer will not sleep. She is still feeding hourly I have no idea why. I have become slightly snappish of late with DH baring the brunt of my attacks!
I did take her for her 4 week weigh in - she has put on 1.1kg from birth. I was happy with that.
Taurean - i have tried expressing post feeds and get nothing pretty much. I think maybe i need to pump more to produce more - hard when she will only settle on my chest.
Think I have a little michilin man on my hands....
It came on really suddenly on Friday night after an awesome dinner out with DH while his parents minded T. I felt a twinge in my breast about 9 and thought 'thats strange' and by 11pm i was freezing cold, shaking uncontrolably. Progressed to vomiting and awful headache and went to the hospital. I had a fever of 40 degrees by 1am so stayed all night with my lovely MIL while DH went home to get rest for the next day. I left emergency in the morning, but was back in by Sunday morning with a really swollen red breast and fevers, eventually getting out on Tuesday afternoon. It was not fun at all, but DH really stepped up and looked after T so well when i couldnt. We're back home now (after thankfully a good 6 hr car trip) and trying to get feeding going again, but its hard work with both nipples cracked and bleeding every 2nd feed, not enough milk and poor T getting sore tummy from antibiotics. Trying to stay positive! Wish us luck, will check in with you all soon.
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