From Assisted Conception to...Babies!!!

[3chords]

Welcome Mrs W! Always good to have new blood around here. And some of us will be doing new cycles, etc at some point too.

Star, I'm not really sure how to up supply as I have the opposite problem, namely I have an oversupply. I was pumping like 2 litres, like 70 oz a day at some point. Even now I only pump 5x per day and I'm still getting about 35-40 oz which is insane. Which pump do you have? The one thing I was told early on and I did do (which I now wish I hadn't b/c my oversupply has caused issues) is that if you have a two-phase pump, like a Medela, so a pump that goes on for 2 mins in the suckling phase and then goes to the letdown phase, after you're done pumping and no more milk comes out, go back to the suckling phase for another 2-3 minutes. You may not get any milk coming out but it will increase the supply as it will signal to your body that your baby is trying to get more milk out but not succeeding as no letdown.

I was also told the same thing about 2 cycles before IVF. We have to do another fresh cycle and I also don't want my babies so close together so we will likely do a freeze all sometime this summer and then if we can get some PGS normal embryos do a transfer towards the end of the year.

 

[star25]

I've got a tommee tippee so isn't a 2 phase one, she does feed a lot though and I don't get a lot of time to pump, last night I got 3oz but that wasn't too long after she had fed
I'll just freeze what I can and use it when I need help from dh, I dont think I'll have enough of a stash to last long when I've finished breastfeeding anyway so may as well use it as we go along

Have you had a scan yet Mrs w?
We will keep you company and support you here xx

 

[star25]

About another cycle, I don't mind having 2 close to age but sometimes I think But how hard it will be and get a bit worried but a 2 year gap sounds good, I'm 33 next week so don't want to leave it too long lol

Just had a bad night with madeleine, knew it would happen as she was asleep all evening til after 9 when I changed a d fed her and she napped after that and went properly to bed at 11, woke up at 1:45 for an hr then after that was awake every 45mins to an hr just restless and wouldn't settle
I babysit my 1 year old niece on a Tuesday too, so tired! Luckily I already asked my other sister to help today as need to take them to the clinic to get them weighed, typical this is on a Tuesday morning when
My sister works so can't take her LG and I have them both
They do a clinic on a weds afternoon too but then she has to pick her lb up from school

Wish me luck today!

 

[star25]

Although I bought a double buggy which is fun to take them out in so I won't moan!

 

[3chords]

We would like a 2 year gap as well but that brings us to transferring in early 2017, which is sort of what we're thinking. I think the earliest we'd transfer would be September of this year but more likely sometime in the October-January timeframe. Of course that would be the ideal case scenario...where our IVF goes well and we have PGS normal embryos. Generally things have not gone smoothly for me though!

 

[star25]

3c we were looking to start a fet around September time after the summer as it's busy for dh in the summer but then it all depends on my periods not playing up
Would like to sneak in another holiday after the summer too though so maybe cycle in Oct all being well

We had 4 hrs sleep last night then up for 45 minutes then another 2 sleep, she then fed for a few minutes and is asleep again but trouble is at this point she doesn't let me put her back in crib as will immediately wake up, it was 6am she woke last so not too bad though sometimes goes later, typical when I haven't got to be anywhere or do anything this morning!

We're booked into baby massage on Thurs which should help her with her stomach, straight after that there's a breastfeeding social group for an hour where u take lunch and chat with other mums and straight after that is baby play for babies under 1
I'm already meeting a friend after massage but next week might be there all day, that should tire her out for the night, and me!

 

[CMo]

Hi ladies

How's things? Hope you're all well.

I cannot believe lo is 10 weeks 2mo! It's flown in but also feels like she's been here forever. I actually cannot remember what life was like without her. We got her weighed yesterday and she's up to 9lb14. She's not getting chubbier though just longer, think she's going to be really tall. Her legs are getting too long for her 0-3months baby grows for bed. Keep joking that we'll need to cut the feet of as they're still big round the body lol xx

 

[star25]

Hi cmo, we're well thank you
Madeleine is now 10lb 11 at 8 week, she's putting on around half a pound a week at the moment and the reflux is improving
She's had thrush on her little bot, first thought was just nappy rash one day but second day was so.
bright red took her to Dr and got cream for fungal rash but it's getting better.

She enjoyed the massage course, managed it for 45 minutes before she had enough and wanted to feed
Some babies were crying from the start so we done better than I expected lol

She's also sleeping better too, I'm writing this at 4am but she's just woke up after going down at 9:30 so 6 and half hours isn't bad, she should go back down for another 2 after this
If she sleeps in the evening though too much it will be a 3 and half hours sleep then another sleep so I prefer not sleep too much in the evening bit at least were getting a minimum of 6 hours each night

What is everyones bed time routine? Be good to.share for any tips?

Mine isn't much. I bring madeleine to the nursery about 9pm, if she hasn't had a bath in the morning I bath and change her, if no bath then nappy change and change into sleep suit
Then she has a feed in the nursing chair for about ten minutes as probably already had enough whilst we have been downstairs, then I wind her and rock her in.chair then move her into crib when she's asleep
I can't put her in crib until shes fully asleep
Does anyone elses lo have to be asleep before going down or can you put them in awake?

 

[star25]

Mrs w how is the pregnancy? Xx

 

[CMo]

She sounds like she's doing well star. Glad you enjoyed massage. We've got out name down for it. Just waiting on the next lot of classes starting.

Don't have much of a night time routine. She's naps a little through the day but tends to only want to sleep on us. She can appear sound asleep so we lie her down then the eyes ping open again! I usually let her have one good sleep being cuddled each day, normally while I watch all the rubbish afternoon TV! She's then awake from about 5pm right through until bed time and that's her hungry time, she can have a bottle at 5 then half 7 then still take her bedtime one at half 9! I normally put her pj's on and feed her upstairs then she lies between us having her hyper time with dh then just flakes out about half 10 so I lift her into her Moses basket and that's her for the night. She's still sleeping now at 9:15!

Don't think she'll get much longer out her basket and I can't work out a way to get her cot to fit in my room. Dreading putting her in her own room. Has anyone thought about that yet?

 

[FirstTry]

You are so lucky, CMo! My DS is still up every 2 hours. He will sleep from 8pm-1am, and then up every 1-2 hours.

 

[star25]

That's just like madeleine, wikltsleep on us like a dream, try and put her down and her eyes ping open!
Surprised I get her to sleep in her crib at all lol
Someone said yesterday I'm making a rod for.my.own back but I don't care lol.,I put her down when she does let me and she's started to be happier in her chair when I'm doing something else but I've waited long enough for her and if she wants to be held then that's what I'll do, this time won't last forever!
Most days I'll see my family though so not often someone else isn't holding her anyway
Yesterday I went to work for a management meeting, there were 7 of us and everyone helped holding her and she loved it

I'm dreading her not sleeping in our room but that's one thing i don't want to make more difficult for myself so won't let her get too old before we make that change
This morning after waking up at 6:30 she had a feed and went back to sleep so I put her in between the breastfeeding pillow on my bed knowing if I put her back in crib she would wake up and have none of it so I sat on the bed doing some work on laptop and done my tesco shop so could still keep eye on her

 

[CMo]

I'm exactly like u star! Like you we waited so long for her that I want to enjoy every cuddle so I'm happy to hold her all day if needed. The housework etc can all wait, I'd rather cuddle my baby while she still wants it x

 

[3chords]

Like you guys I struggle with naps during the day. Henry is happy napping so long as you are holding him. Putting him down is a no go on most days. Especially in his crib or pen. He will tolerate the bouncer or swing more.

We bed share at night and probably will for a while. Never did I think we'd be those people but frankly I really enjoy it and he is so good at night. I don't have it in me to do battle with him and his crib. He was in the bassinet for a while but it would take him long to settle back into sleep there after a feed whereas if we bed share he's asleep 30 seconds after he's done eating. That makes for a much happier me. We have a king sized bed so no space issues.

Generally we will give him a bath around 9 pm and then head to bed around 10. He'll have his last bottle then (I still pump full time) and go to sleep anytime between 10:30-11. Lately he is sleeping straight through until about 5 am, then wakes up for a feed and I change him, and then he's back down typically until around 8. He will usually have a longer nap in the morning around 10-12 or so then refuse to nap for the rest of the day. Our bedtime "routine" if you want to call it that is - bath, massage with coconut oil, put on a sleeper, put him in his sleep sack and then give him his bottle until he is drowsy. DH will read him a book maybe every other night, depending on whether he still has some e-mails to answer or other work to do. We do a bath on most days because he had some cradle cap so we were told to try to shampoo him on a daily basis. He also seems to sleep a lot better after a warm bath.

He is generally a great sleeper, my issue with him has ALWAYS been his inability or unwillingness to take proper naps during the day. I am lucky if he goes down for 45 minutes. Usually it's more like 25-30 mins at a time, resulting in major meltdowns in the evening when he is overtired. I have tried everything and the only things that works is if we are in a car driving around (he'll sleep for hours) or in a stroller shopping (he will also sleep for hours, maybe not for as long as in the car) or if I hold him for hours which is unrealistic. At home, no matter whether I put him in his swing, bouncer, playpen, crib or my bed, same story. It's maddening, really. I've read everything I could find and it seems like some babies just take a long time to consolidate their multiple short naps into 2-3 longer ones. I long for that day!

But I try not to complain too much as this is really the only thing that makes him challenging. Other than that he is happy, smiling, laughing, very interactive and alert.

 

[FirstTry]

Be very careful with the bed sharing, 3C. Sheets, blankets, and soft mattresses are hazards, as is possibly rolling onto the baby.

For those who can't put down the baby for naps, that's what everyone else says about my DS, but I just put him in a tight swaddle and he's fine. So, maybe that will help with your little ones.

 

[star25]

Good idea about the swaddle, 3c Henry sounds like madeleine, she's definitely the same.,maybe have a 20 minute nap during the day on and off which can be a pain if she then wants.to sleep all evening
I'm writing this at 4 again after she went to sleep at 10:30 so we've had another good night, I'm hoping to put her back down now for another 1-2 hours
She hasn't pooped since Tuesday though which is not like her at all but could be due to the gaviscon but I haven't given her that since Tues either so see what happens in the morning, 1 thing after another at the moment!

Last night my left boob felt so Full even though she had been feeding off it, we went out for dinner and it felt worse even though I fed her at dinner from side, I came home and pumped but only got a dribble out and my boob felt painful and tight with a hard lump at the top that wasn't there before
I laid down on the opposite side as always sleep on the left to face the crib and a few hrs ago when I woke up it felt worse, it feels a bit better now so do you think it could have been a blocked duct?
Been massaging it when feeding and trying to lean.over to help the flow

 

[FirstTry]

Yes, that sounds like a clogged duct, Star. Try applying heat (bath, shower, heating pad), and massage aggressively until you get out the milk and it stops hurting. Keep feeding or pumping from that side. You want to avoid it turning into mastitus.

So, my DS woke at 1:30am. It's 3:30am now. He has been asleep, but I have insomnia. Argh!!!

 

[Mrs W 11]

Hi all,

Thanks for asking star, its going ok. Had a bit of a hormonal breakdown last night and lots of tears but just feeling a bit moody/fed up! Am waiting for the date for my scan, hopefully wont be long as 11 weeks tomorrow.

My DD was so similar to what you describe as a baby, she only wanted to sleep on us and to get her into her cot I had to let her fall asleep on me and then try and put her down. I felt the same as you in that I enjoyed it and knew she would only be tiny for a short time. It did get tough around 6 months because she thought the only way to fall asleep was being fed milk by me and so at bedtime id feed her, put her down asleep and then she started waking every few hours and wanted to be fed back to sleep. It was a bit of a nightmare then but we dealt with it at the time and I wouldn't change the way I did anything. I thin its all about finding whats right for you as a family. If it feels good then its right for you at this time. xx

 

[CMo]

Have any of you been to aldi today to their baby event? Not sure if yours is the same as up here but all the nuby weaning plates, bowls, spoons, sippy cups are all 99p! Stocked up on them, got my stair gates and a folding buggy for the car for when she's older. Some really cracking deals!! Xx

 

[3chords]

Be very careful with the bed sharing, 3C. Sheets, blankets, and soft mattresses are hazards, as is possibly rolling onto the baby

I always feel bad to even admit we do this because it sounds negligent. But the research is really kind of mixed, particularly for breastfed babies. Henry sleeps on top of our sheet in his sleep sack, no blankets, sheets, pillows, and the mattress is the hardest one you can buy, much harder than his crib or bassinet mattress. It has just worked for us so we will stick with it for now at least. I also think, anthropologically speaking this was done for the entirety of human history, and I notice an enormous difference in how he sleeps. For example, he never, ever has trouble falling back asleep at night, as soon as he sees me or I just reach over and hold a hand on him, he's asleep again.

Never did I think I'd be one of those parents...but in the meantime SO many of my own friends and family have admitted they bed share(d) at least for some period of time, I'd say it's the vast majority. So it is what it is.

star, sounds like a clogged duct. I have one again today. If you have a vibrator, like a Pocket Rocket, massage vigorously, you'll solve the problem in no time. Or if you have an electric toothbrush, the blunt end of that works nearly as well.