~~~November Sparklers 2010 mummies and daddies thread ~~~~

[Pixelle]

I am having a nightmare with Kai tonight. He's been nearly constantly feeding since 10pm and just will not sleep. I'm so tired. He's had around 18 feeds since 8am....I wonder if he's not getting enough but there is always milk left in the shields afterwards so he's definitely getting his milk!

I tried giving him a dummy and he wont take it. Not sure what else I can do, other than try to stay awake until he sleeps

 

[GossipGirly]

dont worry pixelle lib has been doing same all week and she has gained 7oz...

but last night... fed 8-9 i went to bed and daddy kept her asleep downstairs i came down at 12 to take her up she stirred and woke, gave her 2oz expressed and some boob, had 2oz formula in a bottle but she didnt take it and fell asleep so i put her in moses basket and rocked it and 4 and a half hrs later she awakes for a feed.....eeee iv slept! iv actually slept thru the night on my stomach nd not her on my chest! amazing, def expessing for night feed now!

 

[GossipGirly]

welcome girls...oh nd happy due date libby xx

 

[blkhairbeauty]

well hopefully we get to leave tomorrow morning. Hospitals i swear are meant to be torture chambers! Not physically for me but mentally. Plus Im ready to get Madelyn back home to where she isnt hooked up to monitors all the time. Breastfeeding is still going really well. Im thinking about renting an electric pump because these things are AMAZING! i wish i could steal it.

 

[Cocobelle]

Evening ladies and welcome to the new graduates

I am also really worried about Georgie's feeding as he seems to want to feed all the time (almost hourly) my boobs never feel sore or hard and when I tried to express using my electric pump I got less than half a teaspoon out! I am getting worried that I might not be producing enough for him. He is so tiny as well (5lb 11oz when he was weighed on Wednesday) he needs some nourishment bless him and I would be devastated if I was not doing my job of providing it for him. I have a carton of formula in the cupboard for emergencies and am very tempted to give him some of that as his last feed before bed (not that he goes to bed!) but am worried heill prefer it or it will mess with my own supply. Any advice ladies?

 

[GossipGirly]

hmm all I can say is im going through exact same thing, when i express i get 1/2 an ounce, iv managed 2 oz all day and I got that in one sitting the other week. Apparantly baby can get more than a pump could and as its supply and demand it takes boobs a few days to catch up but baby will still get what it needs. As long as he is having plenty wet dirsty nappies a day try not to worry, I know its hard as Im strfessing about it too as libby is feeding loads and I worry Im not keeping up, especially having to use the shields as apparantly the shields can hinder supply... libby gained 7oz in 1 week so at least I know I was doing something right, I just feel this week it seems there isnt as much milk.

 

[lolpants]

Hello Ladies!

I can finally join you Im sure you understand as a new mummy I haven't got the time too catch up on the last 11 pages!

Its so amazing being a Mum! Ive put her birth story in that section if anyone wants too read it?

Everything going smoothly so far - OH is fab and helping me so much

Details for front page are .. Phoebe Isobela 11.11.10 4.43am 7lb14.5oz thanks

Lol xx

 

[Cocobelle]

Welcome Lols, and congratulations once again. I have still not had a chance to write up my birth story as I am always feeding so mostly only get to type with one hand, so that would take ages!

GG, as much as I hate to see any one else struggling with feeding, it helps to know I am not alone. I have only used nipple shields once when they were really hurting but even though we used them all night long, I never once saw any evidence of milk going through them, and that scared me! He must be getting something though or he would not have wet/dirty nappies

 

[anna matronic]

Lol, Welcome finally I'll update tomorrow if that's ok, when I go through all the new births

Coco, to be honest the feeding sounds normal as me GG and Pixelle have all had baby on boob for majority of the time!! There is no real pattern anymore with me and Evan he has milk when he wants it now. What i will say is my supply is pretty good and last night I got 4oz out using the medela mini electric pump (although I spilt half of it on my bed!!)

I was convinced my supply was crap, but with the weight gai i know Evan is feeding well. He hit his berithweight today and the midwife has discharged us

All I can say from my own experience is if you are serious about bf then you need to relax about it and try not to let it stress you out! From everything I have read having baby on the boob all the time is completely normal. It is their way of boosting your milk supply (feeding all the time) Make sure George is having lots of wet/dirty nappies everyday. Evan generally poohs during and/or just after a feed. He also generally pee's all over me during every change! His poo is also a nice bright yellow colour with bits in it (which I was told is the milk that isn't digested)

Is he latching on ok? Can you hear him swallowing when is is eating? So you see milk in/around his mouth when you feed?

Evan didn't start putting his weight back on until after day 5. I was also told women who have sections can get their milk later, mine came in on day 4 and properly on day 5 which is when Evan started to put the weight back on.

I don't feel remotley confident about bf yet to be honest i still feel i am doing something wrong cos their is no routine. But proof is in his weight I guess

 

[Marie1337]

Wow... We do all have the same baby. Flynn is doing the same thing and doesn't want to be more than 3 feet from the boob at all times. I am feeding him as much as he wants and my supply is keeping up. I think Anna had good advice and just keep at it. We weighed Flynn today and he is up 4 oz from Tuesday. The nurse said as long as he is gaining weight everything is great.

Good luck!!

 

[Cocobelle]

Thanks ladies, I know I need to relax but I am struggling not to worry about it. Georgie's latch isn't brilliant, his mouth is very tiny (he was just 5lb 11oz at last weigh in) so not being able to take as much boob in is a known issue, or so said one of the midwifes at the hospital.

He does poo loads and they are yellow but not as bright yellow as I think it should be. He has never weed on me during a nappy change but he is weeing as I did the cotton wool test last night. I have a Medela Swing breast pump but have so far failed to get even half a tea spoon of milk out when pumping! Not sure if I hear him definitely swallowing but I do quite often see milk around his mouth when he comes off.

I think I will relax more if he gains weight when weighed on Monday but Monday is so far away when you are worried your baby is not getting enough.

 

[GossipGirly]

All positive signs coco. Just percever till u see if he is gaining u seem to be doin a great job xx
So we all have the same baby? Well it must be totally normal then.

I cheated last nite while my milk catches up with demand, I could only pump 2oz extra all day
and libby wasn't satified so I gave her 2oz formula and she went off. For 15 mins but started stiring 15mins later so I settled her and ended up with her on my chest till 6am! So we had about 4 and a half hrs just in a naughty way

 

[Cocobelle]

All positive signs coco. Just percever till u see if he is gaining u seem to be doin a great job xx
So we all have the same baby? Well it must be totally normal then.

I cheated last nite while my milk catches up with demand, I could only pump 2oz extra all day
and libby wasn't satified so I gave her 2oz formula and she went off. For 15 mins but started stiring 15mins later so I settled her and ended up with her on my chest till 6am! So we had about 4 and a half hrs just in a naughty way

We did cheat too as I was just so worried and gave Georgie 2oz for his last feed after he had been on the breast, he drunk it all so I don't know if that meant he came off the breast still hungry?

He did go down in his crib and stayed there for about 2.5 hours before waking but from then onwards he refused to settle in his crib so slept and fed in bed with me as usual.

 

[pinklizzy]

I'm so tired! We've been having real problems with feeding-Erin has a tongue tie and her tongue is really short so she has trouble latching and staying attached once she's on. I also have quite flat nipples which isn't helping.
She became jaundiced yesterday and the MW was worried about her fluid level so we gave her formula in a syringe. My milk is just coming in now so I've been expressing by hand every 2hrs and feeding her that by syringe too.
She also doesn't sleep anywhere except on my chest
Going to try with some nipple shields today otherwise will have to give her more formula to stop her becoming dehydrated. It's just so worrying when she can't feed, I don't want my baby to be hungry

 

[GossipGirly]

coco im not sure, but i know baby's are natuarally a little bit greedy I know libby took the formula but she was sick afterwards, and formula in bottles hits there tummy faster than bf so they dont register as full as they would when bf'ing.

Pinklizzy, we have to use the shields, I have flat nipples and libby wont latch even now iv tried to wean her off them but she wont have it, I hate using them, they are so fiddly and yiou have to sterilse all the time but they mean she gets milk so I have to keep them up. I recommend medala ones they have them in small and medium size and large, I think we have medium and she manages fine, cant seem to get hold of large, Iv tried boots brand and advent ones and just find them rubbush but medela are def the best.
Im going to see how nmuch I can pump today as like you coco my boobs dont feel hard and engorged, they felt a lot more full last week, maybe its cos I expressed I dunno. Im going to use combined feeding for the moment and keep up expressing as it means I get more sleep and feel like a different person through the day. God Iv just put so much pressure on myself to breastfeed and I really want to continue for her sake, but formula isnt the end of the world, baby's are still happy and healthy.

 

[Cocobelle]

You are right GG, formula isn't the end of the world and if we need it, we need it as its impossible to function properly when you are sleep deprived. I am going to be really strict though and only use it if I really need it as I do not want to mess with my supply. I need to keep trying to express as that would be ideal if I could supplement BF with expressed feeds.

 

[GossipGirly]

loula how has Ryan taken to the aptimal? Are you finding it better than cow and gate? x

 

[anna matronic]

Hi girls really hope things settle down. Evan has just gone down after feeding since 8am. He had a fab settled night tho so can't complain.

My boobs feel empty. They rarely feel hard. Worried I am not producing enough?? When does supply settle down? Maybe that's why

 

[loulabump]

He has been on it just over 24 hours now and still hasn't done a poo, but last night he was much more settled and didn't seem to be in as much pain, so I'm not sure whether the change has helped or not as of yet... I talked to my HV about it yesterday and she recommended the comfort milk if this hasn't helped him by the time she visits next week... I keep giving him water between feeds, he has 10ml 3 times a day as its so hard to get him to drink the water in one go so I have to split it up! Don't really know what else to do, I feel so bad for him he must be very uncomfortable! x

 

[lolpants]

Hi Ladies
Im reading about all the trouble with BF - is this common once milk really comes in? I think mine will prob come in next day or 2 and Im worried now At the mo things are going very well - calm before the storm?

Also can I ask how long you have all suffered with after pains for? The kinda cramping feeling you get where your uterus is shrinking back too size? I am really getting it bad, especially when feeding

Lol xx