March Monkeys 2016: 21 boys and 15 girls born

[Dawnlouise30]

Hi ladies

Hope you are all well.

I had my first episode if agonising leg cramp last night, god it hurt. Took about an hour or so to unknot it, then it was achy and I couldn't put weight through my leg. Even now it feels tender.

Brought baby his coming home outfit today , cute baby gro Isaac chose for him. Sad that I'm buying 0-3 months and not new born lol, none of Isaacs new born lasted longer than a day so just not wasting our money this time.

Ok ladies, thoughts and or experiences on a) breastfeeding and b) co - sleeping.

I couldn't breastfeed Isaac, he wouldn't latch, lost lots of weight was jaundiced. I was scared into formula feeding him. A decision I regret to this day. I think I was too strict and didn't do the skin to skin to help with establishing feeding. I would like to succeed this time but wonder if co sleeping may help us. It would just be me and baby in bed, Nat would sleep on the sofa and I only plan to do till about 6 weeks at which stage hopefully feeding would be established and the Co - sleeping may be less important.

 

[allforthegirl]

Hi ladies

Hope you are all well.

I had my first episode if agonising leg cramp last night, god it hurt. Took about an hour or so to unknot it, then it was achy and I couldn't put weight through my leg. Even now it feels tender.

Brought baby his coming home outfit today , cute baby gro Isaac chose for him. Sad that I'm buying 0-3 months and not new born lol, none of Isaacs new born lasted longer than a day so just not wasting our money this time.

Ok ladies, thoughts and or experiences on a) breastfeeding and b) co - sleeping.

I couldn't breastfeed Isaac, he wouldn't latch, lost lots of weight was jaundiced. I was scared into formula feeding him. A decision I regret to this day. I think I was too strict and didn't do the skin to skin to help with establishing feeding. I would like to succeed this time but wonder if co sleeping may help us. It would just be me and baby in bed, Nat would sleep on the sofa and I only plan to do till about 6 weeks at which stage hopefully feeding would be established and the Co - sleeping may be less important.

Gosh sorry about the leg cramps they suck!

Ok I have done tons and tons of research on BFing. As I had many troubles starting out with my first two, by the time the third time I was pg I read a lot. I may be able to help you out.....Oh and if you want a really good start to BFing then I suggest reading Breastfeeding Made Simple, best information. I knew just as much as any LC that I saw.

My first question for you is why do you say he wouldn't latch?

Also too many BF baby's will lose weight in the beginning as they are mostly getting the colostrum until your milk starts coming in. This is very very normal.

All my baby's had jaundice, so it has nothing to do with you and your milk.

Some LC and nurses will tell you MUST BF baby with in so many hours, blah blah blah. Well that will be a problem if you baby isn't always hungry every 2-3 hours. Sometimes it is a little less or more, and that is ok.

Yes skin to skin will help bring in your milk faster. It can also help you read baby's cues better and allow him to "baby led breastfeeding"
quick video on baby led BF.
This was something that made my last bf experience with baby way easier. I will be doing this again myself.

Now if you are worried about baby's latch and baby is still not doing well, then you can always try flange feeding. I did this after my surgery about 3-4 weeks after baby. My milk dropped because I had low blood volume. I was able to continue to BF him and he wasn't starving.
video

This allows baby to continue to suckle at the breast to help increase your milk supply and allow him to have some nutrition as well.

Now you always must make sure that baby is swallowing well too. A great website to help you with that is.... Dr Newman.

There are also many youtube videos that will show you proper swallowing. Another resource that should be looked into is ILCA. Finding a a group near you so that you can learn before or have the amazing support after birth as well.

As for co-sleeping I do this out of connivence because I don't like getting up out of bed and disrupting baby or my sleep.

I hope this helps you......

 

[KalonKiki]

Hi ladies

Hope you are all well.

I had my first episode if agonising leg cramp last night, god it hurt. Took about an hour or so to unknot it, then it was achy and I couldn't put weight through my leg. Even now it feels tender.

Brought baby his coming home outfit today , cute baby gro Isaac chose for him. Sad that I'm buying 0-3 months and not new born lol, none of Isaacs new born lasted longer than a day so just not wasting our money this time.

Ok ladies, thoughts and or experiences on a) breastfeeding and b) co - sleeping.

I couldn't breastfeed Isaac, he wouldn't latch, lost lots of weight was jaundiced. I was scared into formula feeding him. A decision I regret to this day. I think I was too strict and didn't do the skin to skin to help with establishing feeding. I would like to succeed this time but wonder if co sleeping may help us. It would just be me and baby in bed, Nat would sleep on the sofa and I only plan to do till about 6 weeks at which stage hopefully feeding would be established and the Co - sleeping may be less important.

Sorry about the leg cramps! I got them all the time when I was pregnant with DS but I actually found that it helped them go away immediately if I stood up and put pressure on the leg. I have no idea how but it works like a charm every time.

As for breastfeeding and co-sleeping:

Breastfeeding - I did manage to successfully breastfeed DS for 15 months. It wasn't without its hardships in the beginning though, like most babies he had a bit of jaundice and wouldn't latch properly due to nipple confusion (my mother gave him a pacifier in the hospital). I ended up needing to use a nipple shield to help practice latching (and of course to get him to want to latch onto my nipple in the first place instead of a dummy). I managed to get him completely weaned off of the nipple shield at around 5 or 6 weeks PP, after the first couple of weeks of using the shield I began to first try to offer the breast without the shield for a few minutes before putting it on if he just wouldn't take it until one day he did take it every time I fed him that day and we never needed the shield again. It's normal for babies to lose some weight at first after they are born, this happens to nearly every baby whether they are breastfed or formula fed. It's also completely normal for babies to have latch issues as newborn, unfortunately they are born with the instinct to suckle but not the instinct to latch properly. There are many techniques that you can use to help baby's latch and in the meantime you can use lanolin cream to help keep your nipples from becoming really sore, cracked, ect. Also not every baby experiences nipple confusion from receiving an artificial nipple but for just in case it's best to wait until at least 6 weeks PP before introducing a bottle or dummy.

Co-sleeping - It certainly makes things a lot more convenient while breastfeeding and it helps you get more sleep too. For the first 3 months I slept in the double bed we had in the nursery with DS until he decided that he was ready to sleep alone in his crib and he began to mostly sleep through the night. There are quite a few ways that you can co-sleep as well. If you feel comfortable with the idea you can snuggle with baby in the bed, just make sure you keep baby on top of the blankets or if you would feel more comfortable you can keep a travel co-sleeper on the bed next to you or a co-sleeper or pack 'n play by the bed.

 

[Dawnlouise30]

Thank you so much allforthegirl and mama otter, excellent advice.

Allforthegirl - when I had Isaac I was so inexperienced and under informed over breastfeeding. He never seemed to latch or stay on. He was forceps delivery and his poor cheek very bruised, whether that made latching hard I don't know. In all honesty if we had of kept at it we may have succeeded but the midwife freaked us out over the weight loss.
There was also a misguided perception that because he was big he'd be hungry and I would struggle to feed. In actual fact he was just very sleepy the first few days and not at all interested in feeding.
The good news I guess is there is better support now, the hospital employs two peer support workers Mon to Friday, and I know of a support group I could go too.

Re co - sleeping I think I will give it a try, I'm guessing if it's just me and baby in bed I don't necessarily need a co sleeper crib etc as I would go under covers and baby over covers but in sleeping bag and obviously no pillow near baby.

Thanks so much for your advice x x

 

[DaisyDreamer]

Allforthegirl and Mama Otter, thanks for all the helpful information! I am too a hopeful first time BF'er and seem to have the support of my midwife and WIC clinics, so hopefully that will make things a lot easier too.

Had a pre-natal massage that was wonderful today. My hips are feeling so much better!
Been getting really sore feet these days. Even if I rest, they hurt just as soon as I stand again. Anyone else?

 

[SilasLove]

I'm concerned about BFing. I want to succeed so much at this but I have little support from DH as our first two were FF and they "are just fine". This is true, but knowing this will be my last child I WANT to do this and succeed. I have only 6 weeks until I return to work and I worry that will be just as we are getting comfortable and then I'll have to worry about pumping and storing etc. I have so little knowledge about it, and I am hoping to get a pump through WIC since I am returning to work. I am seeing a LC through WIC and my drs office so I think I'll get plenty of support once baby is here and if we have issues.

 

[Fezzle]

We have our breastfeeding class in NCT next weekend, so I'm hoping that will be informative as that's what I plan/hope to do. We had our first class yesterday and our 2nd class today. So far it's been really useful, and the other couples in the class seem really nice!

 

[Dawnlouise30]

Silaslas - I'm sure your breast design will go just great, as you say you WANT to do it this time. I'm exactly the same and I'm hoping it's this WANT that will get me there.

Fezzle - glad the classes are going well. Will be interested to hear what info you get at the breastfeeding class.

 

[CurlyRose]

We've got our NCT classes coming up, two Saturdays running and an evening BFing class. I am going to be exhausted by the BFing class (it finishes at 10, I'm usually dozing on the sofa by 8!) but seriously looking forward to them, it's good to hear other people are enjoying theirs. I only really booked it for the opportunity to meet other new parents locally, the info is a bonus!

 

[DaisyDreamer]

There is also La Leche League, I don't know if that is USA only or international, but they are a great resource or BF moms too.

 

[KalonKiki]

BFing was just something that I always knew that I was going to do, I was very fortunate to grow up in a family where BFing women was the norm. It's a wonderful experience for sure and I can't wait to do it again. The best advice I can offer is to just be patient with it. It can and usually is very frustrating at first but I promise that it really only takes a few weeks to get baby latching properly every time and then once baby learns to latch properly it's an absolute breeze. No bottles to wash and it's right there anytime you need it and best of all it's free! My son only nursed for 15 months before weaning on his own accord and I'm hoping to nurse this baby longer. She's probably my last so I think I'm just going to let her nurse as long as she wants to and allow her to wean herself, I just hope she's not in a hurry like her big brother was.

 

[Fezzle]

We've got our NCT classes coming up, two Saturdays running and an evening BFing class. I am going to be exhausted by the BFing class (it finishes at 10, I'm usually dozing on the sofa by 8!) but seriously looking forward to them, it's good to hear other people are enjoying theirs. I only really booked it for the opportunity to meet other new parents locally, the info is a bonus!

One of the first things we did was split the group where all the men were in one group and the women were in the other; we had to make a list of what we wanted to get out of the class. We women all said our priority was to meet other first time mums in the area with babies the same age. The men had a much more practical list Our Tuesday one is 7-9.30pm, but one good thing is the classes are held about a minute walk from our house!

 

[allforthegirl]

I wasn't as lucky as mamma otter was with support. I had continual issues BF. My 1st time he had a bad latch and I had reynauds syndrome (but didn't figure this our until baby #3), which cause excruciating pain.... So I could not at the time tell the difference from a bad latch or my Reynauds pain. Day 5 or 6 I went to nurse him and removed my one flap and nipple just about went with my bra.....I stopped BF and went straight to formula.

My 2nd was a struggle because of the shield. It caused problems for the both of us and when I was given horrible information (the nurse told me i had no milk because I couldn't pump any....I know now that just because you can't pump milk doesn't mean you don't have any) I switched to formula....which in turn caused big digestive problems for my LO, and I felt horrible for not continuing.

My 3rd I was so dang determined to get it right, I did tons of research as I explained before. Found out that I have this Reynauds syndrome, got some medication to help with it and nursed him for almost 18 months. Super proud of myself.

4th and 5th still I struggled with the pain but knew what I was dealing with and for me it was very rewarding. 5th was baby led bfing and for me it helped the pain significantly. 4th stopped at bf at 10 months on his own accord, and 5th stopped just at a year again on his own.

Just remember ladies what ever you choose is your choice don't let anyone tell you otherwise

 

[littlelily]

Curly- at home I live in these: https://www.marksandspencer.com/maternity-bird-print-pyjama-bottoms/p/p22418158

I love them so much, I ordered a second pair and the nightshirt as well. They are so comfortable!

Fezzle, I have the exact same ones. LOVE them!!! Just bought a pair for my newly preggers best friend.

 

[Buttercup84]

Thanks so much Kalonkiki and allforthegirl for sharing your breastfeeding experiences/advice. There's so much info to sift through online and personally I find it more useful to hear from 'real' women who have breastfed and what worked and didn't for them. I breastfed my first for 3 months and my first second for 2, though both were combination fed pretty quickly. My second had a pretty bad tongue tie which we got snipped but then we had all the drama with her hips and she ended up refusing the breast when she went into her pavlik harness I probably could/should have persisted but sad to say I don't think my heart was really in it at the time. I'm really hoping to breastfeed for longer this time. There's a lot of support in my area (very low breastfeeding uptake so they're trying to change that) but I think generally i'm going to go into it with a more determined attitude and learn from my previous mistakes

 

[SarahLou372]

Hi ladies

Sorry I've not posted for a while but things been pretty hectic with us these past few weeks, OH as lost his job and we were ment to be moving this month to into our own place.. that's kind of on hold. And been on monitor a few time with baby.

However me and OH have decided we would like Charlie as his first name but I'm stuck between two choice for his middle name it either going to be

Charlie Jacob or Charlie Joseph, I like them both nut I do keep going back to Jacob as a middle name

 

[allforthegirl]

Sarah sorry you are going through a rough time. I know how it feels. My DH had lost his job to and it isn't fun. I am sure things will work out the way they are supposed to. When one door closes a better one opens,

I can understand why you are having a difficult time between names, they both sound good, though I kinda like Jacob a tiny bit better.

 

[KalonKiki]

I'm sorry that things have been rough Sarah, I hope that your OH finds a new job soon.
Also I like Charlie Jacob.

 

[AMP1117]

Awesome morning....felt like I was going to pass out at work and collapsed but didn't lose consciousness....ambulance ride to hospital....blood work....slightly anemic starting me on iron pills and dr. Thinks I got up too quickly and had drop in blood pressure fun times

 

[allforthegirl]

Awesome morning....felt like I was going to pass out at work and collapsed but didn't lose consciousness....ambulance ride to hospital....blood work....slightly anemic starting me on iron pills and dr. Thinks I got up too quickly and had drop in blood pressure fun times

Oh no how crappy that must have felt!! I am glad it was nothing serious. I too am slightly anemic and I can tell when I am not taking extra iron everyday.