Kim's diary of being a new mum

[pjallen1982]

We just used it for the first time and Cole loved it. I didn't want one with a solid back support as we'd still have to lift him to wash his back but this one has a really supportive plastic mesh type back that moulds to him so I put my hand underneath and splashed the water upwards. I think he'd have stayed in there all afternoon, he was kicking his legs like mad

Ooh that sounds good. I need to check this out. Where did you but yours from? X

 

[sarah_lou1981]

Ooh that sounds good. I need to check this out. Where did you but yours from? X

This is it, it was £25 from John Lewis but I first saw it in Mamas & Papas. Xx

http://www.angelcarebaby.com/item/international-best-bath-support-for-easy-bath-time/#prettyPhoto[pp_gal]/0/

 

[pjallen1982]

This is it, it was £25 from John Lewis but I first saw it in Mamas & Papas. Xx http://www.angelcarebaby.com/item/international-best-bath-support-for-easy-bath-time/#prettyPhoto[pp_gal]/0/

Thanks Hun x

 

[Kim26]

Thanks girls. We tried bathing rebecca last night before her last feed thinking it would tire her out make her have a good feed and then she would sleep sleep sleep.....boy was I wrong haha. It's 3.20am and I haven't really slept and she's fed 3 times since we got into bed at 11.45pm!!! She's being a monster lol. Falls asleep on me after the feed and then wakes up when her head hits her crib mattress and although she's not crying (thankfully) she's so flipping noisy with moaning, hiccups, sneezing (so cute as she goes 'ooh' at the end of the sneeze), spitting her dummy out and then trying to find it (lots of lip smacking and rooting around) straining to poo and farting theres no chance mummy is getting any sleep next to her lol. I'm resisting the urge to put her in bed with me so much as if she was in my arms I know we would probably get a good 3hr block of sleep but I've got to be strong! Going to be one tired mummy tomorrow I think!

Ooh I might look at getting the bath suport, Rebecca is currently being bathed in the bathroom sink (it's large!) But she's going to have to move to the bath soon enough.

Hope you ladies are getting more sleep than me haha xx

 

[missy1978]

Thanks girls. We tried bathing rebecca last night before her last feed thinking it would tire her out make her have a good feed and then she would sleep sleep sleep.....boy was I wrong haha. It's 3.20am and I haven't really slept and she's fed 3 times since we got into bed at 11.45pm!!! She's being a monster lol. Falls asleep on me after the feed and then wakes up when her head hits her crib mattress and although she's not crying (thankfully) she's so flipping noisy with moaning, hiccups, sneezing (so cute as she goes 'ooh' at the end of the sneeze), spitting her dummy out and then trying to find it (lots of lip smacking and rooting around) straining to poo and farting theres no chance mummy is getting any sleep next to her lol. I'm resisting the urge to put her in bed with me so much as if she was in my arms I know we would probably get a good 3hr block of sleep but I've got to be strong! Going to be one tired mummy tomorrow I think! Ooh I might look at getting the bath suport, Rebecca is currently being bathed in the bathroom sink (it's large!) But she's going to have to move to the bath soon enough. Hope you ladies are getting more sleep than me haha xx

I feel your pain, I'm currently lying awake listening to Seth making odd honking noises lol Fortunately he did sleep a bit first so I'm not totally unrested but good grief is this frustrating! xxx

 

[sarah_lou1981]

Have you tried without the dummy too? We gave Cole one when we came to bed at about three weeks old but every time he lost it he would get restless so I stopped giving him it. Also, what about a musical light up mobile? That's how we got Cole to start settling to start with then just gradually used it less until he stopped needing it.
Hope you've had some sleep xxx

 

[Danni86]

Hope you got a little sleep in the end! X

 

[Kim26]

I feel your pain, I'm currently lying awake listening to Seth making odd honking noises lol Fortunately he did sleep a bit first so I'm not totally unrested but good grief is this frustrating! xxx

Haha it's very frustrating especially when I know she's ok I still can't sleep until shes asleep.

Have you tried without the dummy too? We gave Cole one when we came to bed at about three weeks old but every time he lost it he would get restless so I stopped giving him it. Also, what about a musical light up mobile? That's how we got Cole to start settling to start with then just gradually used it less until he stopped needing it.
Hope you've had some sleep xxx

Ive tried without the dummy but sadly they used the dummy a lot in special care so she's quite reliant on it. If I can get her to sleep without it and she doesn't wake up when I put her down she sleeps ok without it. If shes awake it's dummy or bf that will settle her not much else works.

We have a slumber buddy that plays music or white noise and projects stars and moons on to ceiling around the room but we use that at bedtime but I worry it will wake mike up so I don't use it during the night. Maybe I'll try it this weekend and see if it does disturb mike. Xxx.

Hope you got a little sleep in the end! X

I got 2 hrs sleep and now she's feeding again lol. Luckily we Don't have much planned today so I'm going back to bed when she's finished feeding! Xx

 

[Dubchick81]

I'm like that Kim. Can't go off til she's asleep. Silly really as we know they're ok n wud prob go off sooner if we stopped lifting our heads to check on them!! Hope u get a good rest... X

 

[Kim26]

Oh wow I think we've hit the 6 week growth spurt....rebecca has fed hourly pretty much all day! I'm exhausted and I feel that she's going to continue this tonight as she doesn't seem like she's going to go to sleep any time soon! *yawn* Oh and if she isn't feeding she's screaming blue murder and no one else seems to be able to settle her today either

Has anyone got any words of encouragement? I can see why lots of people give up bf at 6 weeks....this is HARD!

 

[missy1978]

Oh wow I think we've hit the 6 week growth spurt....rebecca has fed hourly pretty much all day! I'm exhausted and I feel that she's going to continue this tonight as she doesn't seem like she's going to go to sleep any time soon! *yawn* Oh and if she isn't feeding she's screaming blue murder and no one else seems to be able to settle her today either Has anyone got any words of encouragement? I can see why lots of people give up bf at 6 weeks....this is HARD!

It's tough as old boots! 6 weeks was when we started supplementing in ernest, I was too weak and fed up with it all to keep on with ebf. Not much I can say hun other than it does pass. I wouldn't say it gets easier but you get used to it. I still have days where Seth feeds almost constantly but I have days between where he doesn't too. You are doing so well and you are so determined! I wish I was as strong as you. xxx

 

[Mis-behave]

Oh wow I think we've hit the 6 week growth spurt....rebecca has fed hourly pretty much all day! I'm exhausted and I feel that she's going to continue this tonight as she doesn't seem like she's going to go to sleep any time soon! *yawn* Oh and if she isn't feeding she's screaming blue murder and no one else seems to be able to settle her today either Has anyone got any words of encouragement? I can see why lots of people give up bf at 6 weeks....this is HARD!

Good luck and see you out the other side! It's hell but with sheer stubbornness and not giving in you get through it! I just sat down in my feeding place and informed my OH I'm unavailable for next 24 hours and after that just let us sleep I'm lucky it was a Friday night it started and OH was home lol

 

[Kim26]

It's tough as old boots! 6 weeks was when we started supplementing in ernest, I was too weak and fed up with it all to keep on with ebf. Not much I can say hun other than it does pass. I wouldn't say it gets easier but you get used to it. I still have days where Seth feeds almost constantly but I have days between where he doesn't too. You are doing so well and you are so determined! I wish I was as strong as you. xxx

Ahh you are as strong if not stronger hun you've done amazingly well...and look we're both still breastfeeding and that's a huge accomplishment for us both. I think its safe to say we've both considered giving up but we are determined not to if we can stand it. I'm told after 12 weeks it should get easier let's hope so.

Well last night was better than I expected. She was restless but in her crib from 11.30 to 2am then she fed and was out like a light so went straight down in her crib until 4am... she fed again and then wouldn't go down so slept in my arms until 7am when she fed again then we went back to bed until 10.30!!! I feel so much better for having a bit of sleep.

saw The health visitor today....grr they annoy me so much lol. In 2 weeks rebecca has gone from 6lb 10oz to 7lb 2.5oz's but because she's still on one of the bottom centile's they need to monitor her closely and we may have to top up....I just don't understand why! If shes gaining surely it doesn't matter how much she's still gaining. Its all down to those stupid charts. Grrrr. Rant over lol. Everything else was fine so that's good. Xx

 

[Mis-behave]

Sometimes I think those charts are based on FF babies not BF babies .. I had the same problem with the HV 4 years ago and my son was/ is fine .. I stopped going to get him weighted as I was sick of the comments .. Start FF he is not gaining enough weight etc was really annoying! BF babies gain weight more slowly than FF babies
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081120111230AAyvwGj

http://m.huggies.co.nz/baby-care/milestones/development/infant-growth/
http://www.harcon.co.nz/breastfeeding/gettingenough.htm

 

[missy1978]

Ahh you are as strong if not stronger hun you've done amazingly well...and look we're both still breastfeeding and that's a huge accomplishment for us both. I think its safe to say we've both considered giving up but we are determined not to if we can stand it. I'm told after 12 weeks it should get easier let's hope so. Well last night was better than I expected. She was restless but in her crib from 11.30 to 2am then she fed and was out like a light so went straight down in her crib until 4am... she fed again and then wouldn't go down so slept in my arms until 7am when she fed again then we went back to bed until 10.30!!! I feel so much better for having a bit of sleep. saw The health visitor today....grr they annoy me so much lol. In 2 weeks rebecca has gone from 6lb 10oz to 7lb 2.5oz's but because she's still on one of the bottom centile's they need to monitor her closely and we may have to top up....I just don't understand why! If shes gaining surely it doesn't matter how much she's still gaining. Its all down to those stupid charts. Grrrr. Rant over lol. Everything else was fine so that's good. Xx

It gets easier once the growth spurts slow down! Seth can go three hours between feeds now on a good day, it's better than the every hour we used to have! I'll do it for as long as I can but if I start to lose the plot again I will have to reconsider. I just can't even think about what a failure I'll feel like if I give up now! Tbh I wish I'd never started bf at times, the guilt and drive to keep going even when it makes you miserable is immense...

We've had three nights of ebf now, hoping we can manage another night! I really want to stick with exclusive if I can, would be much happier to do that but if they recommend I supplement in the end I'll take their advice.

We're having a similar issue with Seth as he's gone from the 50th to the 2nd centile since birth :/ He is skinny for his age but quite long and tbh the HV doesn't seem that worried as he is still gaining, just not at a very fast rate. I'm attempting to ebf until he's next weighed in a week and a half and then we'll see how he's done. Although I've got myself into a state about giving Seth formula, I think if I they tell me to supplement I will if it's best for him.

Hope today's been a bit easier for you and little madam's given you a break! xxx

 

[pjallen1982]

Just popping in to say hi. Stick in there. Oliver is same age as Rebecca and has had a cold the last few days so an in the no sleep territory too. It's horrible but I just hold onto the thought that it has to end eventually!! X

 

[Kim26]

Thanks girls. She fed pretty constantly again friday .. Every hour or so then solidly from 6pm to almost midnight where I gave in and topped her up with a bottle as I was so sore from all that feeding! It seemed to work and we got 3hrs sleep then fed then 3.5hrs sleep then fed then she's just slept for going on 4hrs (in my arms oops!) Then she fed again.... With such gusto I think she'd forgotten she'd ever eaten! I could hear the milk hitting her stomach she was gulping so much lol.

Yesterday was a better day but all went downhill when it was time for bed. Despite feeding constantly again for what was most of the evening she would not settle come 12.30am so I decided I would try topping her up with a little formula again to see if shes genuinely hungry or just being a monkey. Well it all went wrong I put the bottle in the microwave steriliser and when I took it out the microwave I somehow managed to dislodge the glass plate that sits in the microwave and there was nothing I could do to stop it from falling and it smashed on the tile floor... Thankfully missed my feet and I got away with no cuts despite being bare foot and glass going everywhere. I burst in to tears and Mike came flying in, Rebecca was screaming the place down and all I could do was cry. I still tried to get her bottle ready (stupid mistake) and it was so hot I burnt my hand on the steam from the steriliser...all I wanted to do was stop her crying at this point but in my rush I simply made myself cry more in frustration/anger/tiredness. Bless him mike was really good told me to go and sit down and then once I was calmer handed me Rebecca and he cleaned up the glass and gave me the bottle for her.... The little monkey was asleep by then as she had got her way and was having cuddles with me. So not the best thing to happen at almost 1am. Now we've got to buy a new microwave today unless we can find somewhere to get a new plate thingy. I feel awful that I let a stupid thing like that get to me and I feel even worse that I let Rebecca's crying get to me....I guess it all got a bit too much at a time when all I wanted to do was sleep.

I'm just going to try ride out the growth spurt as much as I can and go to places I feel happy feeding her and accept if I need to top up I will.... No point getting myself in a state as that won't do either of us any good.

 

[sarah_lou1981]

Growth spurts are horrible. I've been on the verge of tears when Cole's gone through them and I've been making him a bottle every hour so I can only imagine how hard and painful it is to be constantly breast feeding. You're doing so well, you should be proud of yourself. Xx

 

[missy1978]

Oh hun, I know how you feel! I've sat sobbing my eyes out at all hours of the morning when Seth's been on a feeding frenzy. And things like that happen when you're tired and stressed. I had a meltdown trying to change his nappy on weds after I got frustrated at the constant screaming! I don't care what anyone says, you'd have to be superhuman not to let it get to you. It's so hard and it gets so painful too when you're bf, especially if you're trying to block feed.

I know people say that you should just stay in one place and feed during a growth spurt but I found that drove me stir crazy after a while and I'd just get upset so I used to take Seth out and walk, making sure there was somewhere I could stop and feed if necessary. It got me out and sometimes he'd settle for a bit. I think they get overtired as well during growth spurts so a walk can help them chill at bit too.

You are doing fab Kim, don't feel guilty for topping up if you have to. I know formula isn't what you want (same for me) but a little bit won't hurt and it shouldn't hurt your supply either. xxx

 

[Kim26]

Growth spurts are horrible. I've been on the verge of tears when Cole's gone through them and I've been making him a bottle every hour so I can only imagine how hard and painful it is to be constantly breast feeding. You're doing so well, you should be proud of yourself. Xx

Thanks hun. I think even though I know it's a growth spurt its hard to imagine it ending and my god she does make me sore when she feeds for 3/4/5/6hrs almost constantly (only breaking to nap for 5 mins then screams like she's never been fed the minute her eyes open). I'm glad to know it's still hard with ff as last night I was so tempted to give up bf but if it's still difficult I will ride this one out hopefully with an ounce of sanity left lol.

Oh hun, I know how you feel! I've sat sobbing my eyes out at all hours of the morning when Seth's been on a feeding frenzy. And things like that happen when you're tired and stressed. I had a meltdown trying to change his nappy on weds after I got frustrated at the constant screaming! I don't care what anyone says, you'd have to be superhuman not to let it get to you. It's so hard and it gets so painful too when you're bf, especially if you're trying to block feed.

I know people say that you should just stay in one place and feed during a growth spurt but I found that drove me stir crazy after a while and I'd just get upset so I used to take Seth out and walk, making sure there was somewhere I could stop and feed if necessary. It got me out and sometimes he'd settle for a bit. I think they get overtired as well during growth spurts so a walk can help them chill at bit too.

You are doing fab Kim, don't feel guilty for topping up if you have to. I know formula isn't what you want (same for me) but a little bit won't hurt and it shouldn't hurt your supply either. xxx

Aww thanks hun in glad it's not just me...id never get angry with rebecca but was so frustrated that almost 5 hrs of feeding and she was still acting like she was starving.... even though I know she's getting milk it makes me doubt my supply (I think that's what upsets me most is thinking I don't have enough for her). She took about 10mls of formula last night then promptly threw it up so I know she didn't need it which did help a bit.

Ah I am trying to get out and about if I can no way I can sit in the house just feeding constantly. Even if it's just going to my mums I have company and someone to talk to while I feed when mike is at work. A walk sounds like a good idea I think I'll try that today. Shes actually not too bad in the day... Will feed 2hrly sometimes 3 if shes in the car as she sleeps. It's from 6pm to whenever I deem it to be bedtime she feeds constantly. I don't think I've eaten a dinner with 2 hands in about a week its always eaten over the top of her feeding with 1 hand lol.

I think I just let things get to me last night but it doesn't help that ppl say 'express so mike can feed one bottle' uhhh yeah tell me when I've got time to express when she's feeding all the time! I barely have time to shower and eat let alone do anything else! I know it WILL get easier just feels a long way off. Chocolate has to be the answer surely lol. Xx