Babies April 2015

Hi Blessedmom - your advise is always welcome and appreciated.

So I tried my best to stretch the feeds to 3 hours yesterday and confirm that for this baby it isn't working...she is a 2 hour kind-of-girl for now... He he he. Strange how my first baby very soon settled into 3 hours very quickly and happily. So for now I am going with my gut feeling and feed when I think she is showing signs of hunger. And yes...those growth spurts....feeding almost every hour!!

I agree that wearing your baby on your body calms fussiness in a lot of the cases, they really want to be close to your body or your partner's. We have the babysense sling (I know many people don't like this brand) and hubby wears baby most of the time as my recovery "down there" is worsened if I carry her for long periods of time unfortunately (long story)...

We also got the Woolworths carrier which is working very well for my husband. Some babies may be too small, especially newborn babies in the beginning for this style carrier:

testhouse.fairlady.com/review/wooliesbabes-baby-carrier/

Forgot to add....thanks for the compliment Gloei. You making me blush here

Just saw your post now and you gave wonderful advice to Faffymum.
Bf is tricky in the beginning and having the right support is crucial but ones you & baby have the hang of it, it's just a breeze.

Sometimes when you really do have a supply issue even if baby is demand fed, you need to check for tongue or liptie. That can cause weight issues, not enough wet or dirty nappies and very very sore nipples. Alot of mommies never even think of checking that out.

Best thing to invest in aswell is a baby wrap, especially on those fussy days where you feel like you can't do anything. There is also a few growth spurts along the way where they basically want to drink ALL day. That is just to boost your supply even more for their growth that they are going through

Okay, I'll keep quiet now

Apologies for just barging in but I thought I would just mention a few things regarding breastfeeding. Hope you ladies don't mind??

Faffymum, firstly, bm digests in about 90mins so don't worry if your lo drinks often. Bf babies need to drink between 8-12 times a day, if not more.
Any La Leche League Leader will tell you that you need to feed on demand, never schedule feed. If your lo drink every 3hours, then that is fine but they need free access of the breast as your breast is a Mothering Tool. Which is there for food, comfort, security and reassurance
Your milk supply will be at its highest in the morning and a bit low at evening but there will still be enough for baby. Your breasts are never really empty. I know it might seems like it, especially if baby is more fussier early evening. The call it the witching hour. Baby will be on & off the breast, seem more fussier & cry more but it's completely normal. Please don't worry about it!

Main thing is to just keep hydrated. Be it water, tea, juice etc. Be careful of jungle juice. It is loaded with sugar and can cause thrush in both of you and make baby more crankier.

My son wanted to feed atleast every 1 to 1 1/2 hours in the beginning and feed about 20mins on a side but I didn't really time it as it doesn't matter. Just make sure baby has a deep latch and not shallow. Offer both breasts per feed if he wants it

The more baby feeds, the more milk you will make. It's all about supply & demand. It takes about 5 to 6 weeks for everything to fall into place. You doing great!!!!!!!!

As for stuffy nose. Drop a few drops of bm into each nostril 2-3 times a day

Please shout if you want to know anything else.

Forgot to mention, I got the baby-vac at Dischem for R215.

Ps: Happy mothers day everyone!! especially the first time moms, such a special day to have for the first time (even though you might only get spoiled by the second mothers day since your partner is running around hanging washing and rocking baby to sleep...).

Faffymum - Yip, it isn't always easy for a mom to admit that she isn't coping and that frankly, she wants to run away (especially while it seems as if everyone is cooing over their babies - that is how I felt with my first child in the beginning!).

Thank goodness for the support of our partners, so grateful for that.

I had a nebuliser that I used for my first child when she was one year old for her first serious cold and I couldn't get her to use it. She screamed so much even though we tried to hold her tight (horrible feeling) we just couldn't really use it effectively. However I think it will be much easier to use with a small baby. Newborn babies often have stuffy noses due to narrow nasal passages. Our pediatrician recommended Baby Sterimar salt water spray should we become aware of stuffiness.

Now with my baby's cold we got the "Baby-Vac" to suck clean the nose (since her nose was completely blocked). I would highly highly recommend getting it for a baby with a cold! See the reviews here:

www.babyvac.co.za/

www.amazon.com/Baby-Nasal-Aspirator-2012-Model/dp/B004JA1XB2


Would love to hear what you think about the Clicks aspirator should you get it.

Thanks gloei. I agree, one must talk about how you're feeling. you obviously don'the want to admit being ovrwhelmed so it's something to be very aware of. My moments have been waves of an empty feeling and then I tell my husband that I feel funny. He tells me I am doing an amazing job...and the tears just flow. But he has a way of calming of down and making me feel safe and Ok that I feel like that sometimes. So ladies let it out over here too if you need to.

My little one has a bit of a stuffy nose..do those aspirator things from clicks work?

RonelleB congratulations!!!!! I am so sorry to hear that it was hectic. I am so glad you and you little princess are okay. The recovery is very tough at first. Please Remember, it will get better. It's horrible not being able to move while your brand new baby wants you to hold her and stuff. I had such a break down the first night. You must be so happy its over. And now you have a sweet baby girl to take home. Well done and please let us know how you feeling.

Happy mothers day to you all. Thank you for sharing your journey and well done for all you do. You are all amazing.

X X X

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Hi Ladies!!

RonelleB - Congratulations on the birth of Baby Laila (beautiful name)!!
Sho, it sounds as if you had a pretty rough time and not to mention the baby's heart stopping twice...So glad that they managed to get your baby out safely although I can imagine it must have been difficult to be knocked out and then later waking up with a baby. Hope you are well taken care of and that you can manage to recover. Hope things are smooth sailing from here on.

Newbiemom - Thank you for sharing your experience. Strange how I did more of what you described with my first baby, trying to feed every 3 hours (and it worked well) but this time round this baby seemed as if she wanted to drink more often (thought perhaps it is due to being a bigger baby). I think I am also going to try and stretch the feeds for a bit longer if possible (not going to let baby scream off the roof). I think when she gets fussy (perhaps due to other reasons for ex the candida or cold) I put her on the breast too easily. This baby of mine wants to be held a lot more than my previous baby and wakes up the moment you put her down...he he he.

Faffymum - Every now and again I have a short cry too...think it is very normal. The exhaustion is hectic at times and our hormones are still haywire after the birth and now with breastfeeding.
I also had mild Post-natal depression with first baby (I have battled with depression previously in my younger years which makes you a more likely candidate for PND - just mentioning it here, since I think it is one of the things we need to speak about as it is real and sometimes moms don't want to speak out about not coping).

Hope everyone else is doing well and managing to get short bursts of sleep.