November Sparklers 2012

[morri]

daddiesgift, your oldest birthday is the same as my oh's birthday .
my lo is atm a star in the night, i am expecting every night to be the last so I try to fully enjoy it, as she is getting to bed (her side cot) at about 11pm has a feed and may wake for a feed at about 3 and then the next one only at about 5- 6 .
She keeps me pretty close during the day though, with her constant feeding I prefer it this way round rather than the other which she had before though .

 

[Cridge]

welcome sailorsgirl!

gaia - I agree - don't let others make you feel bad. My first fed every 3 hours during the night until he was nearly 6 months old, then suddenly within a few weeks he was sleeping through the night. So I feel lucky that Ninja is going sometimes up to 5 hours between a feed, but it's usually 3 or 4. Like Morri though, he feeds a lot more during the day. The last few days he's been feeding almost every hour, but it's usually 2-3 hours between.

 

[gaiagirl]

Yah, I think just adjusting my expectations is what I needed. He may not be sleeping long stretches at night but the over 2 hour naps in his crib are AWESOME! I get so much more done and feel so much less stressed about housework etc. He has even woken up and then fallen back asleep with no intervention from me I am pretty impressed with him!

I started swaddling him and putting on ocean sounds and it really helped!

 

[Cridge]

That's great Gaia!! I've started crib training as well during the day and Ninja does pretty well, although this morning he just slept for an hour instead of his usual 3. He's still in his bassinet next to my bed at night and I'm nowhere near wanting to move him at night.

Yesterday I did a test run with him in his crib and me in my bed. I left both doors open and finally woke to hear him faintly screaming his eyes out. Dh had closed his door. So I guess that tells me I need to be sure to leave the doors open when I do move him to his crib at night.

 

[gaiagirl]

Yah...we are nowhere near that either! Probably 4-6 months unless bedsharing isn't working for us anymore. And also not when he's still waking up 2-3 times! One I could handle getting out of bed for but not 3!

I do feel much better about bedsharing knowing he sleeps well in his crib for naps

 

[lilbeanhoping]

Good for u ladies working on moving them to a crib. Lo sleeps next to our bed in a bassinet and I can't imagine moving him to his own room yet.
We just got home from the doc (poor lil man is asleep on my chest as he hasn't had a solid nap today!) and he's doing awesome! Went from starting out when he was born in the 5th percentile for his weight to now being in the 50th percentile at 13lbs 2oz! doc is very happy with how he's doing. Turning into a chunky monkey my boy is!
Doc also okay'd us letting him sleep on his tummy! Said as long as he's on a firm mattress, no fuzzy blankets or toys around him and he's moving his head well then it's better he gets sleep on his tummy then be waking up all the time on his back.

Unfortunately we're going to be totally switching to formula. Doc also confirmed my suspicions lo may have dairy allergy so were going to try a soy formula next and ween him slowly off breastmilk and onto that. I'm still having a hard time With the decision to stop pumping but as of the other day I have yet another mastitis infection so it's time I need to stop. Do what we have to. So we have another appointment in 3 weeks just to check in with how he's doing with the switch, and see how I'm handling it emotionally.

 

[gaiagirl]

That's too bad lilbean, what were the signs of allergy again? Sorry don't remember if you mentioned them...

 

[daddiesgift]

Sailorsgirl- you know its not soo bad some days are worse than others mostly when they fall in sync with the clinginess and melt downs. Two babies freaking out is the worse! Thank goodness for Internet on my phone or I'd never know what was going on in the world as cartoons are on TV all day and getting on computer rarely happens!

Crib training? What is that? we need to figure something out with my oldest as I don't think he sleeps well at night with baby crying at times and me constantly moving though he has had the sniffles last few days so that may be it.

Lilbean- I'm so sorry to hear that sounds like our stories Are the same. Both my los have dairy allergy and both times trying to breast feed was plagued with Infections for me. I will say though it does get better! The guilt of stopping and the allergy. A protein allergy Is what they call it here anyways. To the casein protein in dairy but I'd watch out its in soy too most babies with this allergy react badly to soy as well. Good thing is its not lactose intolerant which babies can't have or diagnosed with so this is something your baby will grow out of! My oldest still reacted till about a month ago when we started slipping him some again once we saw he was having no reaction we tried milk as he was on almond milk and he had no problems At all!! Now he eats dairy and drinks whole milk no problem. Little Anthony has same problem but you know out of everything that could be wrong or go wrong with a child a allergy they'll grow out of is the least thing to worry about! Big and if you ever wonder anything about it or formula feeding I'm all ears :winkwink;

 

[lilbeanhoping]

Daddies-thanx im sure ill have lots of questions! Im still so conflicted. I had resigned myself to weening off how much i pump then tonight i produced so much! So i go in waves where im sick and in pain and producing so little i convince myself ill stop to where im feeling good and produce a ton and feel guilty for even considering stopping.

What type of formula do u use daddies?soy?or something else?

The allergy signs we saw were red puffy eyes whenever he had formula. We tried dairy,sensitive and lactose free all with same reaction. Im also allergic to dairy so it was a worry i had from the begining. The doctor suggested we try soy next.

 

[gaiagirl]

Oh, but no reaction when he had BM? Just asking because could it be one of the other ingredients they put in formula? I'm sure you've thought through everything I'm just wondering! My LO has kinda strange poops sometimes and I wonder if it's dairy in my diet...

 

[lilbeanhoping]

No reaction to breastmilk,but i dont eat or drink dairy which is why we think its a dairy allergy.
We tried 3different brands to rule out an ingredient intolerance. Still could be. I dont know were still trial and erroring it i suppose.

 

[daddiesgift]

I'm not sure if Canada has same formulas as America (you're Canada right? On my phone so it doesn't say) but Dominic was on Similac Alimentum a protein allergy formula. He was breast fed around 6 weeks. He has horrible diarrhea, a bum rash, puked a lot and colicky. Doctor suggested I stop dAiry so I went to soy not knowing it had same ingredients to process it as dairy. I stopped bfing and went to Alimentum where he did great! When he started solids if he got any dairy even small amounts he'd have horrible poo, then rash around anus, sometimes even puking. Soy made him and still a little, really constipated, rash ect.

With Anthony it wasn't as bad as Dominic. While Anthony got. BM he was very gassy, poopy blow outs and colicky. Then I noticed same anus rash. We tried two protein formulas for him once I stopped BM at around 9 days old. He didn't get better symptoms where decreased but not gone. Doctor suggested Nutrica Neocate. A hypoallergenic formula that's really broken down for easy digestion and a range of allergies. So Anthony may have more than the dairy/soy problem its still up on the air.

We all know breast milk is best but sometimes that just can't be given for whatever reasons and in that case formula has come along way and a great substitution for BM. I felt guilty stopping with Domi but seeing him thrive and do just fine I quickly "got over it". Here 16 months later he is a healthy, smart toddler. And I never feel guilt for stopping or wish I could go back and change it. That's why I was surprised I felt bad at all stopping this time, I really think that was hormones bc now I don't feel bad at all and know he will be just fine! It just takes awhile to come to terms with formula feeding but honestly its not horrible like everyone says.

Gaia- it won't hurt to cut out a little dairy from your diet to see if the poos go away. If not it couldn't have hurt to stop the dairy to try. It can take up to two weeks for your body to rid itself so I wouldn't worry if the poos persist for awhile after you stop the dairy if you choose too.

It's really sad anyone has to do this. It's all how our cows are fed, our dairy is processed, our food is processed. Even organic milk still has the protein casein in it which is the problem not the dairy itself.

 

[lilbeanhoping]

Thanks daddies! I will deff ask my doctor about those when we go back in 3 weeks. I'm not sure if we have those here. I don't really know much about formula to be honest as I didnt ever think any of this would take place and thought I'd be able to breastfeed no problem, I mean our bodies r designed to right?! Ha! How wrong I'd been haha

I think if we can find a formula that he does well on I'll feel better about quitting pumping, until then I probably won't be ready to. I'd rather I suffer through all my pain if it means he just gets a little bit of what causes him discomfort. I'd like to just stop now but realistically I know I probably won't.

 

[morri]

oh midwife was here yesterday again, and weighed lo. she is now 6.060 g. (13 lb 6 oz)

 

[Blondiejay]

Hello ladies,
Does anyone do combine feeding with breast milk and formula? Darcy is just constantly hungry and has been for weeks, it seems she is never satisfied after a feed. I feed her from both breasts each feed which can take over an hour sometimes. Then she cries after and routes around for more.
I bought a pump at the weekend, I expressed an ounce yesterday. She fed from both breasts, I have her the ounce which she guzzled in seconds and then wanted more from me. I expressed 2 and a half ounces today, gave her that and breastfed and she is still routing.
I haven't had her weighed since she was 10 days old so I'm taking her to a clinic tomorrow. She is just over 5 weeks old.

 

[morri]

Just feed her more ,the more you put her on the more gets produced. sometimes lo is onboob for hours alternating boob ad then not so much on other times.

 

[charlie15]

Blondie sounds like the 6 wk growth spurt to me, mine was the same cluster feeding and never seemed satisfied, let her cluster feed like morri said and your body will respopnd with more milk for her. It's really tough when they go through growth spurt bit should last a few days, maybe up to a week. Good luck!

 

[gaiagirl]

Blondie also make sure you are drinking lots of water and eating well, which helps supply a lot! I also think frequent switching from side to side might increase it?

Daddies I was going to stop dairy, but then his poop suddenly stopped being stringy without any intervention. Now it kind of is again, but that makes me wonder what the hell!?!! The colours are right, it's just that the texture is a bit mucousy. It's also pretty explosive sometimes...but I always hear about explosive poops so isn't that normal?

He also had no exzema, rashes, colic, reflux. But he can be a bit gassy sometimes...

Im just not sure it's something that requires a fix and I can't seem to find a straight answer on it either!

 

[charlie15]

Gaiagirl, i don't know about the mucous poop, but hell yes for explosive poo, i think typical if breastfed as they don't go as frequently. At the weekend S had an explosive poop that went right through her nappy, vest and babygro!! but that was after 5 days with no poo! thank god we were at home!! it happened to a antenatal class friend of mine in the supermarket...even her blankets were covered!!!

 

[gaiagirl]

Lol yes I hear horror stories about explosions in the car or in public. So far so good but probably because we don't go out much! Lol

F actually poops every day, at least once! Not all are big or explosive but definitely has very active bowels, haha.