October 2005 Babies.....

[nervousmum]

....thought i'd better start a thread as there are currently 4 of us, with several more to follow!

Joey is now 4 days old (where did the time go?!?), and is doing really well. He actually managed to sleep through with just one feed last night, though i must confess i cheated and had him in bed with me (at my MW's recommendation!) as he was so fretful the night before.

Looking forward in the coming days and weeks to welcoming the other members of the Oct 05 antenatal group to this post-natal club, so i won't feel like Billy No-Mates, talking to myself

[YOKEFLEET]

We will be with you soon NM!!! and we can't wait!!!

[alterego]

I'm here!!!

Alterid now 7 days old. Night times going OK as he's in the bed with me all night. Just can't get him to go back in the cot. But if he's in the bed I just feed him when he cries and we go straight back to sleep again afterwards. Probably fed him 3 times last night.

Under a bit of pressure to get his weight back up as he's lost 8oz. Only allowed to lost anothe 4oz, but as he's now feeding very well, after a slow start, think we should be OK.

How did you manage to do that photo - I presume it's on a special website somewhere rather than on a website you have made. Need to show people my lovely baby too

[mishmash2]

I've found you too! I must admit I don't seem to have that much time now to keep logging in -it has been quite a hectic 5 weeks with non stop visitors etc, but hopefully now I'm more into a routine and the visitors have dried up, DH has finished his paternity leave (boo hoo) and I currently have William sitting on my lap sleeping when he should be awake!!!

I would love to put a pic up as well so please let us know how you did that nervousmum. Joey looks so cute - you must be so proud!

William is doing really well - he is now 6lbs 5oz so gained 9oz in one week. I am having probs with breastfeeding but am now expressing into a bottle and then giving him my breastmilk that way. At least I then know how much he is getting. He is being an angel at night and waking up for one feed only and going straight back to sleep again which is great. Am just loving it and he is so cute! Poor mite has a really sore bottom though and have been putting on some cream that the dr recommended but it still hasn't gone.. will go back tomorrow - his third visit in 5 weeks!!

Hope you guys aren't too tired. x

[nervousmum]

Yay, i'm not Billy No Mates any more

Sorry but i've no idea how to put the picture up - DP did it for me, but i know he had to put the picture in Photobucket(??) first. I'll ask him when he gets in from work.

Joey is now 8 days old (where did that go?!), and as with you Alterego, he is still in bed with me all night - i tried settling him in his moses basket last night and he screamed blue murder, poor little mite.

Just tried expressing milk for the first time too. Very strange. Felt a bit like a cow sat there squeezing the pump. Still, got quite a bit out. How long does it last in the freezer?

Bye for now, NM x

[mishmash2]

My DH wouldn't let me have William in our room let alone our bed so he has been downstairs in his moses basket in his room from day 1. He's fine there and we have the monitor on at top volume so still hear every grunt, groan, squeal etc that he does!

Expressing is odd isn't it!? I have an electric pump luckily but I don't have masses of milk. Approx 2oz per boob at the moment. However, in the morning I fill the whole bottle! It lasts 24 hours in the fridge and then I have read 1 month and also 3 months in the freezer. not sure which one to believe but I don't produce enough to freeze as W is guzzling it all down!

I've just been to the dr's again though as W has really bad nappy rash - it hasn't gone in 3 weeks.... they have now given me different cream and advised me to keep his nappy off as much as possible. All well and good but he is constantly peeing and pooing.... help!

Routine is going well - feeds at 10.30pm and then wakes at 2.30am and 6.30am and goes down straight away after the feeds which is great. Can't complain at the moment...!

Off for a curry tonight with the girls - let's hope W doesn't object tomorrow!

[alterego]

No routines here yet. Tbh I don't really know when he does feed at night, just hear him cry, stick him on and go back to sleep again . Still don't understand why he sleeps happily in the cot during the day but not at night.

Still under a bit of pressure re. weight. He's put on 2oz since Thursday but not regained his birth weight yet. Midwife comes back on Monday to check again. I think they like them to have regained birthweight by 2 weeks old? He's got another 6oz to go.

I've got slightly smelly lochia too so got to keep an eye - or nose [yuk emoticon] - on it as if it gets worse I'll need antibiotics

Otherwise fine and beginning to feel ready to take on school runs etc. again.

[nervousmum]

I honestly don't know about Joey's weight - they seem a bit lax re post-natal care in our area and He's not been weighed since birth yet (He's currently 8 days old). Still, He's feeding well so i'm not too bothered. At the mo, He seems to average an 11pm feed, then sleeps through till about 3am, then wakes again at 6ish. Not bad really, but i bet it won't last

I know what you mean about the moses basket - Joey sleeps like a baby (scuse the pun!) in it all day, yet the minute we move it up to our bedroom and try settling him for the night, he doesn't want to know!

Take care x

[nervousmum]

Technical question - how long does the lochia bleeding last? Only mine appears to have pretty much finished, despite only delivering 8 days ago (albeit via caesarean). The MW's gave the impression i could expect to have it for 6 weeks!

[alterego]

That's normal - anything between 1 week and 6 weeks. Gets longer the more babies you have apparently as womb doesn't contract so quickly.

[YOKEFLEET]

Just a quick message, our little one has arived safe and sound.....a lovely little boy, 7lb 15oz was born on the 3rd at 16.23pm we have named him Thomas James. We came home last night and all going ok so far. I will catch up with you soon! I am so tired!!!

[nervousmum]

Thanks Alterego - i'll stop panicking about internal bleeding now

Huge congratulations Yokefleet, and welcome to the post natal thread!

[mishmash2]

Huge congrats Yokefleet - very exciting that this thread is growing!

My lochia has stopped now - so lasted 4 weeks in total. I was told that as I was a c-section they tend to take out more blood (or you lose more) so that there isn't as much to lose afterwards.

NM - haven't the midwives been to see you at home? They weighed W every week and then the health visitor came and they insist that I go to the clinic every 2 weeks to get him weighed from now on. W was static for 1 week so they were a bit more concerned about him but having put 9oz on in one week I think they feel better about it now. As long as he is feeding well then he must be getting enough so I wouldn't worry too much.

Just been to sign up for a gym. I am now regretting all those cakes etc that I had!!! Over a stone to lose but for some reason my hips have doubled in width - not fun!!

[nervousmum]

Morning

Technical question - how to treat a colicky baby? Joey was fractious (?sp) all yesterday afternoon with a horrible piercing crying and he kept screwwing his little face up as if he was in pain. I fed him, which usually settles him, then when i sat him up he promptly projectile vomited the entire feed back all over me and him. Fearing the worst (well, i am 'nervousmum'!), i panicked and phoned the midwife who came out, looked him over, and declared it to be 'a touch of colic' (which i thought breastfed babies didn't get, but there you go).

He eventually settled, then after i gave him his 11pm feed, he was really upset again, crying, screwing his face up, being very wriggly, and just generally unhappy . DP and i were pacing the room with him, tearing our hair out, till he finally crashed out on his Daddy's shoulder.

Any advice would be more than gratefully received, for our sanity (and peace of mind!), and for baby Joey's, as i hate seeing him so distressed and feeling unable to do anything about it. Thanks Ladies, NM x (sorry it's a long post!)

[mishmash2]

Poor you NM - I'm not sure what you do in that situation so am no help at all. I do have a friend though who said that her baby used to cry non stop for weeks and the dr said it was colic. It ended up being reflux. I have just cut a pasted an article found on google:

Reflux in babies, an osteopathic perspective

As a cranial osteopath, I see many distressed babies, with a variety of symptoms. Parents often have no idea what is causing the distress although it is frequently described as "colic".
Gastro-oesophageal reflux is one of the potential causes.

Reflux involves the regurgitation of acid from the stomach into the gullet, causing severe pain. It is common in the first year of life. By 12 months, it will often spontaneously resolve, although I have treated several older children for this including a child of 6 years old. In my experience reflux seems to be more common in premature and caesarean babies.

Typical symptoms are:
? Frequent regurgitation (or gagging)
? Feeding problems- babies will pull off feeds, often with a distressed high-pitched scream.
? Poor sleep- babies will often wake frequently at night, seeming very distressed.
? Arching back- this often happens when pulling off feeds and can be accompanied by a distressed cry.
? Prone to bronchitis/pneumonia from aspirating stomach acid into the lungs.
? In severe cases babies will fail to put on weight, because they are feeding so little.

How is it diagnosed?
In mild cases, it is diagnosed through symptoms alone. If severe a 24-h oesophageal PH monitoring will be used.

What is the treatment?
If the child is putting on weight well, it will often be left untreated. In more severe cases drugs and food thickeners will be prescribed.

What can parents do?
? It is important to feed the baby in as upright a position as possible; this enlists the help of gravity, in preventing regurgitation.
? Using the same principle, the cot can be propped up on one side, so that the baby sleeps with the head higher than the feet.

Not sure if that helps! Best of luck with it though. Poor little thing.

[nervousmum]

Thanks Mishmash. God, i hope for his sake it isn't that! He's beena little more settled today, so fingers crossed...

Saw the health visitor for the first time today. Joey weighs exactly the same now as he did at birth, which is apparantly normal for a 10 day old. He also has a good muscle tone in his neck already, and is able to partially hold his head up (usually happens around the 4 week make according to the HV, so my boy's advanced). On the downside, he is still a bit jaundiced, so we are being checked again in a weeks time, rather than a fortnight, to keep an eye on things. One more visit from the MW's tomorrow then they will be signing me off their books, yay

Take care all, NM x

[marinda]

Hi delivered caitlyn on monday 3rd - so 5 days old. Bottle feeding but now wish had been more persistant with breasts which are now hard and totally engorged. No routines as yet - Caitlyn seems to sanck and them wake 2 hours later for some more. Trying to keep her awake a little bit between feeds so she goes longer at night. Any advice on "snackers" would be gratefully received. Also does anyone know if I switched to breast feeding now whether it would benefit baby.

[nervousmum]

Congratulations Marinda - Caitlyn is such a lovely name

As far as i'm aware, any breast feeding benefits baby, so it's definitely worth trying. That first couple of days is horrible, but my little boy is now two weeks old and feeding really well with hardly any discomfort for me.

Also, thanks for the support re colic - Joey is so much better now he's got Infacol into his system! I felt like a bit of a failure seeing as i am breastfeeding, but both my MW and health visitor assured me it's not anything i've done, and that he'll soon grow out of it in the grand scheme of things. It's just nice to see my happy little boy again, rather than a scrunched up screamy, in-pain baby that i couldn't settle.

[jessicaandbumpsmummy]

Glad you girls are all getting on well with your little bubbas.... theres still LOADS of us waiting and getting impatient!

Give all your little bundles hugs from me!

[Elf1981]

Hello all!

Baby Evelyn was born on Thurday by c-section due to her being breech. She weighed 8lbs 13.5oz
Came home yesterday and survived my first night without the midwives at the beck and call (not that I liked to bother them, but I always panicked because they could hear if Evie was crying and not settled right away!)
She's sleeping at the moment - just breast fed her, and DH is crashed out on the bed, so I'm just going to order my Tesco shopping, do a bit of cleaning and potter around.
Anybody taking the "sleep when baby sleeps" advice? I struggle so much to sleep in the day and I'm not sure whether I should be having a kip or not? Last night DH looked after Evie while I had an hour or so and pretty much did it in turns. But he finishes paternity leave next Wed so I really need to get sorted.

Anyway, hope you're all well!

[alterego]

marinda - it's not too late to get bf going although if you are engorged it may help to express some before getting caitlyn to latch on, I always found the "engorged" phase the most difficult to bf through because of the difficulty with latching on, but afterwards it becomes much easier.
Re. snacking, I think they're too young at the moment to stop this. Also keeping them awake during the day won't help at night. My ds is very good at night (timed him the last couple of nights and he feeds every 3 hours but goes back to sleep again straight away) which I know is because he's in bed with me. If I try to put him back in his cot he wakes up. That's probably not much help as lots of people don't like having babies in the bed.
Ds has just made it back to birth weight. Has taken longer than my older boys but presumably because he was earlier.
And I have ended up on atibiotics. Spent a day feeling awful but a/bs kicked in quickly and now feeling fine.

[alterego]

Sorry elf - CONGRATULATIONS

and welcome to the club

[alterego]

PS - yes, sleep when baby sleeps. Why not??

[ButtonMoon]

Hi all....had DS on Thurs and things are going fine. Tired through hectic sleep patterns and boobs a little sore and engorged now but we're getting there! Dh has bad cough so I have sent him to bed to get decent sleep tonight so that I can get rest during day tomorrow when DS sleeps. I have to be around DS to feed anyhow so I may as well be up with him til 3am AGAIN. He's a little monkey though the last two nights he has been fussy and windy til around 2-3am then fed,slept again at around 5 ish but then not bothered about feeding and then slept soundly til 10ish!! Would be fine for number 1 baby but DD is wanting to play at 7. At the mo he is in his basket screaming his lungs out...oh the joys!! Hey ho...I am blessed cos he is gorgeous just a bit frustrating with the feeding, windy tummy and sleeping hassle. Bought Infacol today and tried propping up his matress to see if that helps.
Hoping this engorgement goes tomorrow...even when he feeds they are still really full afterwards......really uncomfy....Jordan jugs!! lol Hope we all have good nights x

[mishmash2]

How exciting that we have more on this thread now! Congratulations to all you new arrivals. Do hope the bf is going ok. It sounds like you are all doing great at it. I've been useless at it and my boobs (even though they are huge) don't seem to produce much milk so am busy topping him up as well..... I have a feeling I'll be on formula in a couple of weeks.. but DS is now 6 weeks old so it's better than nothing!

He has been a nightmare for 3 nights running... I think I got 1.5 hours sleep on Sun night...but luckily last night was better so am putting it down to a growth spurt! Am getting him weighed on Thurs so am hoping he might be the size of all of yours now - last weigh in was 2 weeks ago and he was 6lbs 5oz....

He is still as gorgeous as ever and am so happy despite the lack of sleep! My DH has now resorted to using ear plugs at night so he doesn't have to hear the baby monitor! I want some!!

[Elf1981]

Morning all.
Yesterday while Evie and DH slept I was determind to do some stuff in the house. Started doing a bit and then gave up because I was so tired, so lay on the bed and had about two hours sleep. Bliss.
Luckily last night Evie slept a lot better. Fed her at 10:30, put her down in moses basket at 11:00 and she slept until 4:30. Fed her again and changed her (poor thing seems to have a poorly tum, must speak to midwife today), she slept til 6:30 for a longer feed and is still asleep. Hoping it will last long enough for me to have brekkie!!
Not getting too excited as tonight may be a different story all together, but a one good then one bad then one good night situation I can cope with til she's a bit older.