FEBRUARY HEARTS Due in February 2015 , open group all welcome!

[Pens]

Just realised I haven't shared a photo on her of Myah. This was her a few days ago.https://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww300/randemic_x/11036491_361031360750682_2683176714268876129_n%20-%20Copy.jpg

 

[xxshellsxx]

beautiful babies ladies!! x

pens both my boys looked like little old men with receding hairlines lol they are both growing back in now and look so much better lolx

 

[ttc126]

haha shells and pens my little Jude is just growing.his hair back in the front too

 

[SurpriseBub]

Uh oh. We have done a bottle before bed more or less all along, and the occasional bottle at other times. It was all going great... until this weekend. It seems someone gets frustrated at the breast and wants the quick and easy bottle. I had been so proud she would take anything! According to kelly mom, we should put the bottles away for a few weeks (as I don't want to stop breastfeeding). Looks like less sleep and more feeding here for a while.

 

[MellyH]

Good luck SurpriseBub! My mother gave little boy two bottles of formula while I was napping today instead of waking me up and I was so upset. I am trying so hard to increase my supply, I can't miss feeds

 

[bumblebeexo]

We've been getting lots of smiles from Bella lately

 

[MellyH]

We have started getting smiles too!! So bloody cute.

 

[SurpriseBub]

thanks, melly! I would be fine with more combination feeding, but afraid we will end up with her refusing breastfeeding. Also not keen on having to breastfeed and then top up every time... But maybe that is where we are! It seems I really don't have enough milk to satisfy her

I'm sure your mum won't make the same mistake again, melly! This breastfeeding malarkey is tough. Just when I think it is going well, we get thrown for a big ol loop.

I got two big gummy smiles and a bit of a giggle yesterday. I can't wait to see that smile more and more!

 

[Feronia]

Cute babies!

Ahh, midwifery interviews were stressful, but fairly fun once they got started. I hear back in two weeks or so (fingers crossed). Baby boy took the bottle and expressed milk just fine and both kids were alive and well after 5 hours with DH -- yay!

SurpriseBub, if you want to start making enough milk to satisfy her, just keep nursing as often as she wants, do skin to skin, and avoid bottles and pacifiers if you can (though I just realized one of the reasons Oberon has been crying so much is because he wants to comfort suck without milk coming out, so I just introduced a pacifier). Your supply will increase, it just takes a little time! The top-ups will mess up the supply and demand though, but if you're fine with that, great!

No smiles very often here. He still seems to hate that we brought him into the world.

 

[Shey]

Cute babies ladies!

 

[MiniBump]

Beautiful babies! We're getting the odd smile here and there but nothing regular.

SurpriseBub, I agree with Feronia. What makes you think a top-up is needed? Have you fed on both sides and also gone back to the first side (and second side again if baby is still hungry!) before offering a top-up? You might get another letdown or baby might not have drained the breast completely the first time around. It's always worth a try

Good luck Feronia, hope you get in!

 

[SurpriseBub]

Thanks, feronia and minibump. I thought it was going better, but the last few days have been rough! Im Just not sure that my body can make enough milk! (I know that is rare... But we are 6 weeks in and if she has no bottles, she feeds constantly). I have been more or less constantly feeding her for the past five hours (with her cat napping in between)... We have baby scales, and it seems like she gets about one oz per breast after a couple of hours rest in between and then not really anything further if she keeps feeding (have tried 5 mins/5mins back and forth and different approaches). Problem is that 2oz isn't enough and she is frustrated and hungry... And probably hungry because she is working fruitlessly!

I'm going to try my best for no bottles for a few days and hope it improves. Otherwise I really don't know what to do!

 

[Captain]

Sorry to hear that Surprise, hope things get better!

And beautiful photos everyone, I just love seeing pictures of all our little ones

Fingers crossed for you Feronia Actually, the other day DH was talking about the project he's working on ending this summer and the company starting a new one in Delta. He's going to try and get on it which means we'd be moving back to Richmond!

 

[SurpriseBub]

Good luck, feronia! I'm sure your passion came across in the interview. You should be a shoe in!

 

[Izzie74]

Surprise - I tell my friends that breast feeding is brutal. It really can be constant left to right and back again. I have contemplated bottle top ups many times, but so far resisted after Dr said her jaundice was gone and I could stop. If bottle top ups are right for you and your baby then you will know. I was made to feel a failure in the hospital for askinG about bottle feeding. I called the advisors the breast feeding Mafia!

 

[Feronia]

Thanks everyone! I was telling DH that arguing over the internet has been my best preparation. I think I drank enough coffee to have the energy to talk a bit (it was an MMI style interview), but we'll see. Captain, we should have a play date if you move! Actually, if I get in this year I can choose to do the Victoria cohort if I want so we might end up back on the island!

So we spent the morning in the ER. DD fell down like 3 carpeted stairs in the entrance to our apartment and hit her head. I didn't see it and I didn't think it was a big deal since she cried and then ate some breakfast, but an hour later she started vomiting and couldn't walk and then stopped speaking completely... it was so scary.
We brought her right in and after a while she just started improving, they gave her Advil and an anti-nausea, and now she's back to normal. It seems it was a minor concussion, but holy crap having babies is one nerve wracking experience after another! I'm going to be worrying about these two for the rest of my life.

 

[SurpriseBub]

Thanks, izzie! I guess I need to play it by ear. I really don't know what to do!

Glad your daughter is ok feronia! I guess the worry comes with loving and nurturing someone so completely. When my daughter cries I swear it hurts!

 

[MiniBump]

The constant feeding could be a growth spurt Surprise, there is one at 6 weeks and they can last up to a week.

I would seriously ditch the scales if you really want to try going without top-ups because they will just cause more stress and, unless you're weighing before and after every feed, you might only be measuring baby's 'snacks'.

Like Feronia said, the best thing you can do (if you can) is room in, have a couple of days in bed or on the sofa, skin to skin and just feed, feed, feed. Keep an eye on diaper output as that's a much better guide to how feeding is going along with weight gain of 5oz or more per week (try not to weigh more often than that) - if your baby gains more than that then you can rest assured you have full supply.

Maybe give it a week or two and if you're still not happy then reintroduce the top-ups if that's what you want. You can do this though!

ETA: I meant to link to Dr. Jack Newman's videos so you can have a look to determine whether baby is actively drinking https://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=videos

 

[SurpriseBub]

The constant feeding could be a growth spurt Surprise, there is one at 6 weeks and they can last up to a week.

I would seriously ditch the scales if you really want to try going without top-ups because they will just cause more stress and, unless you're weighing before and after every feed, you might only be measuring baby's 'snacks'.

Like Feronia said, the best thing you can do (if you can) is room in, have a couple of days in bed or on the sofa, skin to skin and just feed, feed, feed. Keep an eye on diaper output as that's a much better guide to how feeding is going along with weight gain of 5oz or more per week (try not to weigh more often than that) - if your baby gains more than that then you can rest assured you have full supply.

Maybe give it a week or two and if you're still not happy then reintroduce the top-ups if that's what you want. You can do this though!

I wanted to do a day of weighing feeds to see if she was hungry or just fussy. So I am weighing before and after each feed to see what she is getting (this isn't something I do daily!) So far I agree with her that there isn't enough milk! And the problem is that there aren't distinct feeds... She is just eating, eating, eating... I can see she is swallowing, so it isn't purely a comfort thing either. I really just don't want to end up with her completely refusing the breast. But not sure what to do when she screams for food and also doesn't sleep. She hasn't had any proper sleep in 8 hours now. So, I want to try and keep going/try and up my supply, but not sure it is realistic.

I appreciate all your tips and support, ladies!

 

[MiniBump]

The not sleeping would definitely say growth spurt to me! You wouldn't be the only one going through it at the moment, I am and some of the ladies in the FB group are too.

I would still say weigh baby today, go with it for a week, and weigh again, you'll get a much better overall picture of how feeding's going than with weighing each feed. Babies don't gain weight in a linear fashion so it's better to spread weighing out (My LO hasn't been weighed for 3 weeks but I'm not worried!) Don't let a lack of self-confidence beat you, you won't do baby any harm giving it a week even if it does turn out you have a low supply! x