Due December 2013

kandr10

Congrats sweet pea! Great news for you.
It's so true that the first few weeks don't seem as bad looking back. It totally gets easier all the time. I'm so glad in not the only one who struggled with the breastfeeding!! So good to know others are having similar experiences. I never went to a support group between one thing and another I never got round to it. Would there be many attending with 2month olds?
Afternoon tea- what does it mean if they're tongue tied? I've seen it mentioned a bit on here. Would it cause feeding to be painful?

fima

Yay sweetpea that's fantastic news Congratulations!!!! It does settle down and It does get easier send as Fairie said, that first smile will be amazing 😄

How are all other December Mamas??

afternoon tea

kandr10 wrote: »

Congrats sweet pea! Great news for you.
It's so true that the first few weeks don't seem as bad looking back. It totally gets easier all the time. I'm so glad in not the only one who struggled with the breastfeeding!! So good to know others are having similar experiences. I never went to a support group between one thing and another I never got round to it. Would there be many attending with 2month olds?
Afternoon tea- what does it mean if they're tongue tied? I've seen it mentioned a bit on here. Would it cause feeding to be painful?

Kandr10 is yours 2months already? Wow! How is it going now? Are you getting much sleep? Good to know things get better!
Yes you can attend the breastfeeding class/group at any age, I went to first one last week and there were a couple of mums there one with a 4 month old, I think people go just to get baby weighed too but the nurses are there to ask questions etc. I'm not sure I'll go every week but its handy especially if you have questions about breastfeeding. I had a particularly bad night as baby is cluster feeding at night so I practically ran to the group that morning and found it really helpful!!
I didn't know what tongue tied was either, but it's where the little bit of skin under the tongue is too tight so they aren't able to move their tongue as much as normal so if may make feeding harder as they can't latch properly. The nurse expected me to have sore nipples which I don't plus he ha putting on a lot of weight so it doesn't seem to be a major issue. Although I've been doing some reading about it and I think I'm going to have the procedure done now just in case it does effect him at a later stage, it can effect eating and speech later on depending how bad the tongue tie is. After the class they asked if I wanted a visit from the lactation specialist, I thought why not! So she called to the house to look how feeding was going, gave me some tips and a referral to get procedure done for his tongue tie (it's quite straight forward -they just cut the skin quickly under his tongue with no anaesthetic and you feed straight away) obv it will b hard seeing him go through that but I think its worth doing at this stage rather than leave it later and they need anaesthetic etc then. Only thing is referral is for doc in clonmel and we are in dublin so that will be a little trek!

uck51js9zml2yt

my wife brought our almost 6 week to be weighed today.

he's coming in at 14 lbs 8 1/2, oz (6.77 kg) and is 2 feet (60 cm)long.he put on 4 lbs and 2,inches from birth.

fima

That's some good gaining tatranska! I never thought I would be so preoccupied with gaining weight, my little boy is up to 10lbs 7 on his last weigh in at 5 weeks on Monday. I was so happy I nearly hugged the nurse! I love seeing the little folds appear in his thighs, arm and under his neck. He's turning into a right little chubster ��

kidcummins

Hi everyone, I hope ye are all well and babies are thriving. My little mam is 4 weeks old today, its hard to fathom. I just thought I'd share a little break through that happened for us tuesday at breastfeeding clinic. I went in with my own issues of suspected mastitis and anyway symptoms were mostly from being run down due to spending up to an hour winding baby after feeding. So at night I would sit up for 2hours at each feeding, midwife showed me the laid back feeding position and I can't even convey to ye the new lease of life I've gotten and Josh much prefers it and even brings up his own wind sometimes. Its just mad the difference, he is feeding more frequent than before, as in he is every 2 hours but night feeds are great. Midwife said if he nods off feeding put him straight into moses basket so I have and instead of 2hrs spent trying to stay awake to wind him, I'm now only awake 40 mins depending on nappy changes. Maybe I was the only eejit that didn't know all this but felt I should share incase it even helped one other mammy. Take care

afternoon tea

kidcummins wrote: »

Hi everyone, I hope ye are all well and babies are thriving. My little mam is 4 weeks old today, its hard to fathom. I just thought I'd share a little break through that happened for us tuesday at breastfeeding clinic. I went in with my own issues of suspected mastitis and anyway symptoms were mostly from being run down due to spending up to an hour winding baby after feeding. So at night I would sit up for 2hours at each feeding, midwife showed me the laid back feeding position and I can't even convey to ye the new lease of life I've gotten and Josh much prefers it and even brings up his own wind sometimes. Its just mad the difference, he is feeding more frequent than before, as in he is every 2 hours but night feeds are great. Midwife said if he nods off feeding put him straight into moses basket so I have and instead of 2hrs spent trying to stay awake to wind him, I'm now only awake 40 mins depending on nappy changes. Maybe I was the only eejit that didn't know all this but felt I should share incase it even helped one other mammy. Take care

Oh that's fab it's having such an improvement on feeding! Funny how one little tip like that can make such a drastic improvement. Does the laid back position mean they don't get as much wind caught as they are facing forward?

Have you tried lying side by side also? So you face each other and they feed whilst you're lying down? Only thing is though we both end up falling asleep like that! Do any other dec mums end up having baby in bed with them? It was intentional at all but everytime I put him down after he falls asleep after a feed he cries in the carrycot, so I end up picking him up and he falls asleep again straight away with me in the bed!

fima

Afternoon tea, I take my boy in bed with me when he wakes in the morning which could be anytim from 5 onwards. I feed him lying side by side and we always end up asleep. Only thing is I get a tension headache from cradling him and lying with my head like that. Is worth it for the few extra hours though At first I couldn't settle him in his Moses basket then I tilted it slightly and he goes down happily now. He doesn't have reflux but it does help him with his wind. Have my pram on a slight tilt as well and he sleeps so soundly in it.

I am a bit worried about him as he is waking with a really stuffed up nose and gets hysterical from it. Trying to use saline drops is impossible as he is so strong and moves his head so fast I'm afraid of hurting him. Does anyone else experience this?

Hello lady how are you getting on with your girls? My boy is 6 weeks tomorrow!! Not fitting in his newborn stuff anymore ... I'm delighted he's gaining weight but .... Wish he could stay tiny as well!!

uck51js9zml2yt

try the little suction bubbles for cleaning his nose. press it in and let go to suck the gung e out.

6 weeks and only growing out of newborn..mine is 6 weeks and in 6-9 months

Elle13

Sweet_pea wrote: »

My beautiful boy was born last thursday, so 11 days over. the labor was long and difficult for both of using the end but is fast becoming just a memory.

Cannot believe he is here and totally underestimated the love you can feel. have had a few moments of sheer panic at the responsibility but things are calming down. we are slowly getting something of a routine and slowly getting the hang of breastfeeding (was not expecting it to be so difficult).

could do with more sleep but otherwise just trilled with the little man.

Congrats sweet pea on the arrive of your little man! Delighted to hear the news!:-)
Breastfeeding is quite a science but if you get as far as 6-8 weeks with it I promise you it will get easier and less painful and you will be able to appreciate the benefits of it!:-)
Enjoy your little man! Those early days are very precious!:-)

Sweet_pea

Feels strange that we were all in the same thread but some babies are six weeks and mine is just 9 days.

Having a tough day today as he's very unsettled. I have him in the bed with me since the start and now he's taking issue with the mosses basket. It works with him in the bed as long as side by side feeding is going well but like last night he just would not latch in that position. Twas a long night.

Seems to be very windy, even with the breast feeding so I dread to think what he would've been like on the bottle. My milk finally came in yesterday so hopefully he'll be start putting on some good weight.

Not to sound too dramatic but I can honestly say that this last week has been one of the toughest of my life, between the breast feeding and the baby blues. Today was the first day also that I really wished I had a partner to help, must be nice to get to walk away from the responsibility :rolleyes:.

kidcummins

Sweetpea im sure your doing great, week 3 was a tough week for me. I think the breastfeeding and lack of sleep really hit you, thankfully this coincided with appointment for BCG the public health nurse gave us a big chat about asking for help so from that afternoon on I began sleeping when baby slept. We can try but none of us are superwomen, our health and mentality is more important to baby than having the clothes ironed or floors mopped!! Regarding the moses basket try putting your used night dress over the mattress, its your scent and warmth baby loves to snuggle to.
I personally haven't tried the lying down position yet quite adamant I don't want baby getting used to the bed as I have a four and half year old nephew who only will sleep with his parents and goes to bed at anytime up to 11pm at night, although they will say its their own fault, he's the youngest of 4 children and they just not ready for him to grow up. However if we are getting stuck for sleep I'll be whipping him in beside me no doubt.

fima

Sweetpea I hear ya, week 2-3 was the hardest week of my life! I didn't want anyone including my partner to look at never mind touch MY baby. I was so weepy and knew I was being ridiculous but literally couldn't help it. My oh then 'diagnosed' me with post natal depression. He's very lucky he didn't get a 'depression' in the side of his head. Just take care if yourself, cuddle up with your baby and do try to sleep when he's sleeping. I was annoyed at that piece if advice at first, I was thinking these people don't realise my house is a wreck and I have piles of washing to get through. Then I crashed and burned and realised I was no good to my boy if I wasn't taking care of myself. Good luck, just know it gets so much easier, it will all click into place one day and you will forget all the hard times!

fima

Also, sweetpea, I second kidcummins moses basket advice, use your nightdress and try putting a hot water bottle in to warm it up. Also a very slight tilt and their legs crumpled up at bottom helps with wind and to feel more secure.

Elle13

Sweet pea, I hear what you are experiencing just want to beckon what girls are saying..
Week 3 is possibly one of the toughest as the oxytocin and other "happy" hormones are starting to return to normal after keeping you excited and "hi" for past couple of weeks as well as your body is starting to realise the lack of sleep is the "norm" now so letting you know it wants you to slow down and take it easy.
The early days with a newborn are hard work and am not even mentioning how hard when you are trying to deal with it on your own.
The only thing you can try to do is rest when the baby is resting (even though I know the urge to have the washing done and house tidy dies not help.. Right now I have about 3 to 4 washes to iron):-/ eat regularly and get as much help as you can from your friends and family.
It all sounded ridiculous to me on my first baby and tried to do it all by myself and up to my high standards (think I even attempted to do it on this baby all over again :$) but I crashed and learned the hard way.
My little guy is 8 weeks now and we have nice little routine in place so I promise you it gets a tiny bit easier every day! :-)
Best of luck with it all and try to enjoy this time with your little man..they grow up sooo fast!:-)

kidcummins

Hi everyone hope all are well!! Sweetpea how you getting on? Baby Josh is 5 weeks tonorrow and just for those still struggling breastfeeding does get easier.... we have had a good week and he has even started taking the bottle for his dad the last two evenings so I'm beginning to get back on top of the house work. And lord does it feel good to be able to sleep on my back again!!

Fairie

kidcummins wrote: »

Hi everyone hope all are well!! Sweetpea how you getting on? Baby Josh is 5 weeks tonorrow and just for those still struggling breastfeeding does get easier.... we have had a good week and he has even started taking the bottle for his dad the last two evenings so I'm beginning to get back on top of the house work. And lord does it feel good to be able to sleep on my back again!!

Hi to all the December moms and babies! The time is flying by Freya is almost 8 weeks now! How good is it to be able to sleep on back again even just to be able to move to get comfortable. The breastfeeding does get easier although my little lady is constantly hungry feel like she is permanently attached to me and my one year old is trying to get in on the action again too She gets so upset when I won't allow her was a bit of a struggle to wean her off don't want to backtrack!

Sweet_pea

We are getting there, we went to a breast feeding group which was great. Have ditched the schedule and am just feeding on demand which I think has helped us both relax into it.

We also did are first outings this week, I was so nervous about it but he was a little trooper in the end and it feels great to be mobile, I know I should be taking it easy but there is only so much lying in bed a body can do.

Hello Lady!

God I would have cracked up if I hadn't been out yet. I was back driving 2 weeks after my section, have since driven to Tesco, to visit my dad and to Ikea plus to the doctors and hospital for check ups and babies BCG. The girls have been to Tesco and Ikea and the local shopping centre (they like shopping ). They've been to town on the train to collect their birth certs and visit my workplace so I could show them off

I try to get them out for a walk most days, weather permitting. Sometimes I just walk them locally, but I have also packed them up and put them in the car and good further afield once or twice for a change of scene.

Would be ready to be carted off to the funny farm if I wasn't getting out and about. It's a military operation getting them ready, nappy bag filled, get the buggy in the car, get myself dressed and out the door, but I reckon the sooner I get the hang of it the better cos it's never going to get any easier!

You are right sweet_pea, you can't lie in bed, the sooner you can get out and about the better. Don't feel too daunted by it, the sooner you get used to it the better, because like it or not, our days of just grabbing your bag and going are loooong gone!

kandr10

I love hearing about all your lovely babies :-)

Hello lady - I completely agree its so important to get out. I've had a week of just visiting people and haven't had my walks and even at that I feel I've missed out after not getting enough fresh air. I don't mind walking in light rain but this morning we were on the way into town and it just lashed at the bus stop so we just turned on our heels!

I've just started expressing and trying to figure out what's the best time for oh to take a feed. I feel kinda bad asking him to do middle of the night one cos hes trying to catch up on rest after work. I was raging with myself during the week cos I pumped and fell back asleep without putting the milk in the fridge, only realising hours later so had to dump it :-(

fima

Hey December mamas, hope ye are all keeping well and your little ones are thriving

I am trying (and failing) at re-establishing breast feeding, I am really concerned at the amount of bottles my baby is getting, he drinks 6 7oz bottles daily, 2-3 oz of water and I feed him myself. The problem is he just uses me for comfort, it is very rare that I can get a good feeding session going. Now when I latch him on he fights my boob and cracks up unless I am lying down although he has started doing this when I lie down also

I can't not give him the bottles as he is starving! I changed him to aptamil comfort last week on advice of GP and he is slightly more comfortable but the guidelines say he should be getting 4-6 oz every 5 hours. I appreciate these are only guidelines but he barely goes 4 hours without cracking up even with me topping him up myself. It should be the other way around!! Very stressed as feel I am setting foundations for obesity/eating issues down the line. My PHN said it's not possible to over feed at this stage while GP said he's drinking too much and try to skim it back. I give him a dummy and he goes ballistic or will only take it for a few mins if we hold it in. Don't want to do this either as I feel I'm gagging him. Been breastfeeding him for last 45 mins to try and combat the need for 1 o clock bottle but he's fighting my boob then falling asleep then I wake him then it all starts again!

Sweet_pea

Fima my understanding is that over eating issues are only a concern when they are fully established on solids. I think at this point they just feed for what they need and some babies are just hungrier than others...although I know nothing about bottle feeding so I don't know if that's a lot. I know my boy feeds off the breast every 1 1/2 to 2 hours and always for over 20 mins per breast. For the actual size of his stomach I can't believe how much he feeds but I'm trusting his body knows what he needs for know.

My boy is finally starting to fill out which is great and apparently does not require much sleep which is not so great.

kandr10

Fima is it possible it's a growth spurt? Maybe he would continue with the same quantity of bottles but less often eventually? With the breastfeeding, when do you usually try him, before or after a bottle?

I'm really trying to trust my instincts. My mam and mil keep suggesting bottles of water as a cure all for anything. Ah she's got wind-give her water. Ah look she's trying to poo - give her water. Ah no she's got hiccups- give her water! I really don't think she's thirsty lol :-)

undecided

kandr10 wrote: »

Fima is it possible it's a growth spurt? Maybe he would continue with the same quantity of bottles but less often eventually? With the breastfeeding, when do you usually try him, before or after a bottle?

I'm really trying to trust my instincts. My mam and mil keep suggesting bottles of water as a cure all for anything. Ah she's got wind-give her water. Ah look she's trying to poo - give her water. Ah no she's got hiccups- give her water! I really don't think she's thirsty lol :-)

I must say I swear water does help so many of these tho:)

kandr10

undecided wrote: »

I must say I swear water does help so many of these tho:)

Do you know I'd say there's Defo something in it all right. I just don't think she's bothered by any of those things. Good to have in the armoury though :-) if it would do something about the stinky man farts she's letting if try it lol :-)

Hello Lady!

I have two babies with stinky man farts so I sympathise. And men who have drank a heap of Guinness and ate a big dirty kebab at that! Make your eyes water it would!!

kandr10

Hello Lady! wrote: »

I have two babies with stinky man farts so I sympathise. And men who have drank a heap of Guinness and ate a big dirty kebab at that! Make your eyes water it would!!

Lol :-) must be a breastfeeding thing!

How are your twins getting on? I bet they have all manner of cute interactions with each other?

I think my baby slept through the night last night...had a marathon feeding session then finally went off about 12, up at 6...here's hoping that lasts! Feels like luxury!

Hello Lady!

kandr10 wrote: »

Lol :-) must be a breastfeeding thing!

I'm combined feeding and mostly formula rather than bottle.

kandr10 wrote: »

How are your twins getting on? I bet they have all manner of cute interactions with each other?

Ha! Are you having a laugh? They can't stand each other! As soon as you put them side by side or in the same cot all hell breaks loose! One in particular goes nutso! Common misconception about twins, but they're just like any other siblings who can go from loving each other to hating each other in the blink of an eye. Will be interesting to see if they get closer as they get older, but for now it's very much two separate cots and snuggling them one at a time!

kandr10 wrote: »

I think my baby slept through the night last night...had a marathon feeding session then finally went off about 12, up at 6...here's hoping that lasts! Feels like luxury!

I'm so jealous! Best we have had is 5 hours with E but A woke a few times during that so 3 hours has been our max to date.

Sweet_pea

I can't get over the farting either, I swear he waits till he's latched on just so I can't get away from the stench. Dreading what he'll be like as a teenager!

kandr10

Hello Lady! wrote: »

I'm combined feeding and mostly formula rather than bottle.



Ha! Are you having a laugh? They can't stand each other! As soon as you put them side by side or in the same cot all hell breaks loose! One in particular goes nutso! Common misconception about twins, but they're just like any other siblings who can go from loving each other to hating each other in the blink of an eye. Will be interesting to see if they get closer as they get older, but for now it's very much two separate cots and snuggling them one at a time!





I'm so jealous! Best we have had is 5 hours with E but A woke a few times during that so 3 hours has been our max to date.

No way! That's interesting. Makes sense when you say they're just like other siblings. Are they identical twins? How old are they now? M is 11 weeks and its taken til now to get that stretch at night. Even the midwife at my checkup a few weeks ago was saying shed start sleeping through and I didn't believe her! Give it a few weeks, maybe they'll be kind and synchronise their sleep too :-)

How goes the breastfeeding for you ladies?