February Valentines 2012

[swanxxsong]

I had leaks today too!!! lol. I got peed all over this morning. Yuck!!

That sounds like a good plan Joker!! I know some websites I read said you can start earlier - depending on the baby's ability to latch and all. So she may be able to better gauge when she sees you two "in action" next week.

 

[sparklez]

I'm not pumping at all yet and not sure when to start, I've just hand expressed a few times when engorged but not kept it. Tip from my bf support group though - freeze some small amounts like 1 or 2 oz so if they don't finish a bottle you havn't wasted much, also if you freeze in bags, lay them flat as the milk will thaw quicker when you need it HTH

Meghan was up 8.30pm till 1.45am last night, mainly wanting to feed but then sometimes just bobbing her head not latching properly, I think it was saphire talking about this? squeezing my boob like a burger bun shape helped her to latch a few times and then she carried on nursing but oher times she'd keep pulling off and scream, it was exhausting, we just kept swapping sides and changing her every hour or so to give my boobs time to fill up again, so with a few breaks for a change of nappy and/ or clothes it was a 5 hour cluster feed thankfully she was better through the night, just fed without much screaming about it. I did wonder about reflux as she seemed so upset but she feeds so well lying flat at night I don't think it could be that IDK maybe my supply has dropped so now she's having to suck a bit more rather than my strong let down just squirting the milk at her so much

in other bf news we nursed in public for the first time (not counting the bf group we go to as everyone has their boobies out) in toys are us and then in mothercare was a bit nervewracking but she was in the ring sling so just had to slide her over and latch her on quickly to minimise flashing! then used the sling to cover her face, it went really well and the fist time she just nursed back to sleep so was able to carry on shopping

and in other Meghan news we just picked up our baby swing, it's fab, she was waking up a bit when we got home so plonked her in it and she's stayed asleep for an extra hour, this is amazing progress from her only sleeping if held - oh the possibilities! I may even be able to shower without waiting for OH to come home from work have had to turn the lights off so I'm typing in the dark... but that's a small price to pay, havn't had time to write such a long post since she was born!

OK so finally a question - Meghan is nearly 4 weeks old so how long should she be sleeping for and awake for during the day and how long awake each time? it seems to vary and I'm never quite sure if I should be encouraging her to sleep once she's been awake for a while? usually she'll nurse for 30-45mins and be happy alert for 30 mins, she'll also put up with nappy changes, clothes changed, but after a certain point just gets overtired and really grouchy then we have the really long periods of trying to get her settled like last night, even when she did fall asleep she'd wake up crying 5 mins later and really distressed crying not just i'm hungry/ wet cry, so really want to avoid getting to that stage

wow she's still asleep! its been 3hrs 15 now!

 

[sparklez]

oh and...!

Joker maybe he is loosing a bit of his bithweight so the legs are baggier?

swan can you change Meghans birthweight to 7lb 6oz in the op? finally checked in the hospital notes she was 7.6

 

[monkeydo]

How is everyone's LO sleeping at night? J sleeps well day and night but only if he is being held - he hates being in his cot or basket alone. The cot is a co-sleeping cot so I'm literally face to face with him, but he still cries until I cuddle him.

 

[swanxxsong]

Sure, I'll change her info now! I need to add GG anyway, since I just realized that's who I missed. I'm a little more wide-awake now.

Aria tends to be awake in 2-4 hour spurts at a time. It's rarely more than 3 hours but on occasion it can be. Sometimes she'll wake, be changed, nurse and fall back asleep. Then other times, she'll wake, be changed, and then be awake for a couple of hours on end. We'll play, cuddle, whatever until she needs to be changed again, nurses, repeat cycle until asleep lol. So it entirely varies.

Her sleep patterns are whack currently. She sleeps in 2-4 hour stretches, but not always at night. Last night we went to bed around 10:45, and she was wide-awake but I cuddled her to sleep after a half hour. She woke in 2.5 hours, was changed, nursed and again was wide-awake but I was ready to fall over so I managed to get her to fall asleep on my chest. She slept 2 hours, woke to feed again and needed a change and again, tried to stay awake but I managed to rock her to sleep and she slept for about 3 hours. When she woke I cuddled her and she stayed resting another hour before we were up for the day. lol. That was a good night though, normally we have at least one 2-4 hour spurt of being awake in the middle of the night, and sometimes she won't sleep more than an hour before waking. She's a great daytime napper though!

 

[Guppy051708]

Isaiah sleeps all day and eats all night....lots of side laying and drifting off lol

 

[ellitigg]

Finally made my way over to this thread!

It's 7.40am and Josh has thankfully had a really good night as I was ready to drop. I've been up every 2-3 hrs but each time he went down again no problem. I wish every night was like that! I know how many difficult ones there will be so I'm trying to be positive when it goes well.

I have some great baby news Josh had his day 5 weigh in yesterday and he has exactly maintained his birth weight! After all the blood sugar issues, I was sure he'd have lost quite a bit.

 

[mumanddad]

Thats fantastic that he didnt loose any of his birth weight your doing a great job xx

 

[Guppy051708]

wow! thats awesome hun!
I want your knockers

 

[swanxxsong]

Congrats Elli!! That's so awesome!

 

[Jokerette]

Who was it that was having a staring contest with their LO in the middle of the night? I found this article that says to avoid eye contact and a few other things with baby in the middle of the night. Apparently it gets their heart rate going and they have trouble falling asleep! How cute!!
https://www.parents.com/baby/sleep/ti...by-sleep-tips/

There are some other good tips there too. Like cluster feeding in late afternoon so they go ti bed with very full bellies and it helps them sleep through the night longer shifts. I did it with Kenny last nigh, i fed him with a 2 hour interval between his two late afternoon feedings and I got two 4 hour intervals between feedings rather than the usual 3 hour interval.

 

[swanxxsong]

I think it was Redhead. Great article find Jokerette! Thanks for sharing - that's good to know lol.

 

[Junebugs]

So , are any of you giving a soother?? Mason seems to be a comfort sucker, he just does not want to get off. He is not even sucking he just wants it in his mouth and as soon as i remove him it takes forever for him to fall asleep and then he just wakes himself up again!!

 

[Jokerette]

So , are any of you giving a soother?? Mason seems to be a comfort sucker, he just does not want to get off. He is not even sucking he just wants it in his mouth and as soon as i remove him it takes forever for him to fall asleep and then he just wakes himself up again!!

I havent yet... i was trying to hold off a bit. I'm hoping Kenny finds his hands purposefully and that way he can self sooth without using a pacifier. He finds his hands a lot, but i dont think its purposful yet! i do have a pacifier in the diaper bag in case of emergency but i hope to not use it

 

[Guppy051708]

Great article.

We have tried the soother twice...and he does not like it spits it back out. So i guess we arn't...I did use it with DS1 though and he loved it! He figured it out right away. And i was really afraid to use it but then learned that sucking is a huge need for babies. ...with that said, he gave it up easily about the 4 month mark....with Elliot, im not forcing it. He didn't like it (made him mad, it was kind of cute ) ....he sucks on his hands all of the time though.

 

[Junebugs]

thanks girls.. i think i might try it. I just started to changed his feeding and added in 1 feed to a bottle feeding for my DH to have some time with him and for me to get a break. I was so nervous that it would change his sucking and he would have a problem going back on the breast. Well he has had no issue at all and DH loves his time with Mason.

 

[swanxxsong]

Aria is on team Elliot. She refuses to take the pacifier no matter what. So guess she won't be using it either. She has slowly been getting the hang of sucking her thumb though. Lol.

 

[Jokerette]

June bugs do you have ti pump at the same time while DH is bottle feeding so your timing and supply isn't off?

I just pumped for the first time thus morning and only got 0.25oz if that! I was so disappointed I hoped to get more. I think I produce more but it just wasn't coming out

 

[Guppy051708]

@ "team Elliot" lol

Joker- its quite common to not get much out with the pump. Many women do not have the same letdown with a pump because they are not "warmed up" to it like they are their babies. But you are doing yourself a favor by starting to pump now, if you start it in the begining than there is a better chance your body will "warm up" to the pump. The biggest thing while you pump, dont watch it (i am def. guilty of that!). Try to read a magazine or watch TV (TV is always the most helpful for me). You can also pump on one side while the baby nurses on the other. This will help because usually the let down occurs in both breast at the same time and you will have a much better let down while the baby is attached

I pumped today and got about 1oz, but my breast were still full of milk. With that said, i have increased the amount i can get out with the pump, so i do think im warming up to it. I imagine if you stick with it relativly reguarly the same will happen

Also, the quality of the pump will affect how much you get too. My cheap $20 automatic double pump from walmart is...okay...but really i dont get much. Since i have IGT i got a hospital grade pump via health insurance coverage and it works a million times better.

 

[Junebugs]

June bugs do you have ti pump at the same time while DH is bottle feeding so your timing and supply isn't off?

I just pumped for the first time thus morning and only got 0.25oz if that! I was so disappointed I hoped to get more. I think I produce more but it just wasn't coming out

No i just started it. The first time i did but the second time i didnt and i was fine. Did you pump after you BF? I wont get much if i pump on its own but if i pump right after or during BF (he stays on one side while i pump the other) I get alot because my body still thinks it is feeding him. When you pump you really need to think about feeding him at the same time or you will not get alot. When i pump on it's own i get about 20-30mls(each breast) when i pump at the same time he feeds i get about 60mls(each breast)

I found when my husband gives him the bottle he only goes 2 hours after that feed to the next (at which i BF) so my breast dont feel to bad.