New baby / post birth advice

[Definitelyme]

And drink too. We seem to neglect ourselves. I used to put bottles of water everywhere, by my bed, by my seat, in the changing bag etc so I could always remind myself to drink.

Definitely! I chug like a demon in hospital, not sure if everywhere is the same but mine requires 3 pees of 200ml+ (I think!) before they will discharge you, so I drink like someone caught in the desert definitely helps keep everything moving too

 

[mg89]

Ok so what do you do about nappies at night time? The only time my baby’s nappy really leaks is when it’s too small but he’s stRted sleeping longer at night now (7-8 hrs ish) and everytime he wakes up he’s soaked bless him. Do I get night time nappies or?

We have aldi Mamia ones for the day and then use pampers at night - we just get them whereever they're on a deal for a box and they last us ages as we only use 2 a day!

 

[Icbaaaa]

Maternity pads (the bigger the better) big knickers and if you end up having stitches please please don’t do what I did in the love bubble/adrenaline haze and think you can be up and about and doing everything like normal - take it easy, bed rest if you can but not practical for most. I regret it so much now and the extra pain was not the one. And make sure you have food prepped or money for takeaways that first week or so (at the very least the first night home) our friends brought round some curries etc and To this day it’s the most thoughtful present I’ve ever received because I hadn’t thought about eating and the thought of making a meal was not the most exciting prospect

I totally agree. The best gift we received was my neighbour putting a large pot of spag bol and packets of pasta on my doorstep. So thoughful and so handy!

 

[Definitelyme]

@Hbirdette so glad to hear it all went well and you weren’t too emotionally scarred

@moimoi breastfeeding in the early weeks can feel so overwhelming. It feels like you are the only person who can look after this baby, like you aren’t you any more, just a feeding machine for a small human. It’s exhausting never being able to do what you want, when you want, and never getting the simplest task done without being interrupted. It’s mentally exhausting, and it’s physically exhausting as well.
Have you got a sling? If so, my babies have always settled really well in a sling after a feed, giving me some time to do whatever I need to without worrying about setting them down and then crying and having to feed again. The fourth trimester is so much about baby just needing to be in contact with you 24/7, and that is so much to handle at times, TOO much to handle sometimes.
You should do what you feel comfortable with. If you want to introduce a bottle, go for it. If you don’t feel comfortable, don’t push yourself. This intense time WILL pass. I know it doesn’t feel like it now, but it will.

Do you, or would you consider, bed sharing? My babies sleep in bed with me, usually with a boob in their mouth all night while I snooze away. Even if just for a nap or two during the day to let you get some rest. I also find if I feed a baby lying in bed, I can roll away from them and they stay asleep so I can get some bits done if needed, whereas I couldn’t set them down and they’d stay asleep.

Whatever decision you make will be right for you. You’ll do it out of love, and no decision made out of love can really be wrong x

 

[Heybooboo]

Ok, so I was admitted with reduced movements last night. Diagnosed with preeclampsia and they have scheduled my C-section for tomorrow.


Help
Shocked, nervous, excited..all in one!

Good luck and sending lots of baby love!!

 

[Rlaw1978]

Mine has just had his 16 week jabs, he had a fever, seemed unwell and slept from the injection time until 7 this morning. Only waking to feed. I’d say he had a mild reaction. Similar reaction at the 8 week jabs.
He had a much harder time of it at the 12 week ones. He was very unwell for 3/4 days. The nurse said most babies have more significant side effects at the 8 & 16 week jabs because of the meningitis vaccine. We found 12 week ones worse.

 

[Definitelyme]

Oh bless you do you think it was the heat?

Doubt it- it’s not as warm here as in England! 11C today

We've just left that period and I hope it doesn't return anytime soon, we had 45mins/1hour/2hourly wake ups for 8 weeks straight from 13 weeks old! It was a killer. We had 5 nights where we had a 3 hour stretch and 5 wake ups a night was a "good night".
The wind thing is frustrating, we were just saying here how happy we are that he doesn't need winding forever now! The nappy thing is so tricky, I usually do a change in the night as he's still having 2 feeds a night and we've had some leaks, that wake him up more due to needing everytthing changed. I've become a master of nappy changes in the complete darkness as if he sees me, it's party time What's sleep like usually?

Sleep is usually fine with him, which makes a bad night so much worse! My older son from 9 months - 18 months would have been up for two hours every single night. Talk about being a zombie! He was a shocking sleeper

We can make it all night with no leaks and no nappy change… but not every night so it’s wet sheet roulette

 

[Definitelyme]

We also joke and say that he's been in a sleep regression since birth!! It's so hard isn't it. At what point did you find it improved? I feel so sad that 4 times a night up is considered a good night here!! I just feel like I must be doing something wrong for him to literally never sleep. Naps are so short in the day also!

Thanks for the reply, it's comforting to know that it's not just us!

I don’t want to scare you, but my son only started sleeping all night at 4.5 (years, not months!) probably from about 2yo it improved to only waking 2-3 times a night and going straight back over with a cuddle. The waking for hours stopped about 20 months, and that was fab as even being woken up 5+ times is better than being awake for 2+ hours every night!

Do you, or would you consider, bed sharing? It’s the only thing that saved my sanity with him. Meant a few minutes extra sleep each side of a waking as I didn’t have to get up.

 

[littlepup]

Baby has been in a pattern of waiting up every 2.5-3hr at night, I stopped putting alarms on to wake up to feed him since he hit his birth weight and was getting in a routine naturally, but last night we both slept from 12am to 5am straight! He’s 5 weeks and still exclusively breast fed so woke up feeling so guilty and was so worried he was starving, is it normal for breastfed babies to have longer stretches of sleep this early on? Or was that too long? I think he’s making it up today though. Can’t get off the bloody boob!

Motherhood is so annoying, you crave for more sleep and when you get it, you end up worrying.

We had to wake to feed every 3 hrs from start of last feed as a new born but once she was up to weight they said it was fine to leave her until she asked/woke

 

[HeyLetsGo]

Has anyone else ever taken erythromycin and had really bad stomach cramps and feeling sick? I got prescribed it on Thursday for an infection and all day today my stomach has been a bit crampy and uncomfortable.

 

[HeyLetsGo]

Thanks for the sling info too!

 

[Definitelyme]

Anyone have advice on how to handle/treat Silent reflux?

my 2 week old seems to be suffering from it badly, constantly hiccups after feeds, cannot put her down on her back for majority of the day otherwise its just constant grunting and frustration, we’re barely getting any sleep at night as we have to hold her up right for ages post feed.

i have a toddler so can’t be having baby attached to me constantly to keep her up right, i (as much as I would like that) i know its not recommended and probably early but we have resorted to using a bouncer otherwise we can’t do anything

Have you a sling to pop her in? It would keep her upright cuddling you, but leave you hands free.

Is she breast or bottle fed? If breastfed, silent reflux is usually a symptom of a feeding issue rather than the issue itself. I’ll link to a blog below by a great lactation consultant, but if you are bottle feeding it most likely isn’t relevant.

https://www.carolsmyth.co.uk/breastfeeding-resources/posts/2015/may/reflux-and-breastfeeding/

 

[Definitelyme]

Does anyone else find them self not wanting to eat when they’ve got a newborn? I think I prioritise everything else before eating and then when I have half an hour free, I’m totally past being hungry

I'm never hungry at the minute, I have tea with everyone else because it’s there, but don’t eat much else (other than a few snacks)

 

[HoneyBee29]

I’m gonna sound like a total moron here, but when it comes to using formula and water. What do you do? Everywhere says to use tap water and boil it. But I’d never fancy drinking water straight from the tap (London water is not it!), or does boiling it get rid of all the nasty stuff?

Or do people boil filtered tap water? Or even bottle water? I know I’ve read that some bottled water contains higher sodium and sulphate so to be careful about that.

Not suppose to use bottle water as their is sodium in it and babies aren’t suppose to have much salt. Always tap water and boiled it gets rid of any bacteria

 

[OIM]

Hi just wondering if anyone can give advice on dummies/pacifiers.
I had my third baby on Thursday and haven't used dummy. I'm still nursing my 20 month old and now my newborn in tandem so thinking of getting one for my newborn to sooth her when I'm feeding my other child. I have managed to feed them at the same time (one on each side) a couple of times but it's not always going to be practical and also I like to have the one on one time with them.
I never felt the need to use them before because I would just use breast to sooth but I'm thinking it might be a good option now. However, I had heard that the downsides are they can cause dental problems and also then breaking the attachment when the child is older can be difficult. What's your experience? Any brands that you would recommend?

I used one with my first but took it away at about 4 months. We had a couple of tricky nights but nothing major when we took it.

I’ve now got a 12 week old who has the dummy every now and then. I’m comforting myself with the fact I’d barely be surviving if she didnt have any means of soothing herself. I’ve just ordered a comforter for her as we transitioned my first off the dummy at the same time we introduced the comforter.

 

[Definitelyme]

Omg we’ve got 8 week jabs tomorrow I’m dreading it now! I can’t remember my first being particularly bothered by it? But maybe I’ve forgotten

Selective memory depends how old your eldest is, as my eldest didn’t have the men b, I think it’s the trouble maker. Hopefully your baby won’t be bothered either

I really must make our 12 week appointment. I’m shocking at remembering and they have a one way system in the doctors so I couldn’t go back to reception at 8 weeks to make it

 

[Greys1324]

My little girl is only 3 weeks but she’s so long that I think she’ll have out grown her Moses basket in a couple of weeks. I’ve got a next to me for upstairs but it’s too heavy for me to take up and down the stairs everyday. What do you all use for downstairs/daytime sleep?

 

[Theninth]

Huh I never thought about leaving the ward with no car seat! I would probably just pop baby in the pram/sling in that case and say you have a static car seat if they ask. I’m sure plenty of people don’t use the infant seats anymore so they are probably used to it.

The hospital i gave birth with my first two wouldn't let babies leave without first being seen in a car seat.
A friend of mine gave birth at the same hospital and she didn't have a car seat as she and her husband don't drive but they had to borrow one to leave, the hospital told them that even if she is going home via public transport the baby should be in a car seat so they wanted to see that that was in place.
We're in Wales it might be different elsewhere

 

[WhatABore]

oh bless her, yeh sounds similar to our silent reflux.

what is she like after her feeds?

would recommend holding her up right after a feed for 20/30 mins might help if she has reflux.

During feeds she fights the bottle sometimes. Like she wants to drink it but wriggles and grunts and ends up spitting it out until you sit her up for a little while and then she'll carry on.

Afterwards she spits up quite a bit and that's usually when the grunting and cries start

 

[mg89]

Looking for some advice please! My little girl is 6 weeks and she’s got dry skin on her forehead and some spots on her face (I’ve googled and it looks like baby acne). Should I just leave it or would you recommend to use any products on it?

A lot of people I know whose baby had that put some breast milk on it -that's an option if you're breastfeeding. We've used coconut oil and that's worked for us dry skin wise.