Newborn and baby advice

Ronel, there's been a lot said on this thread about breastfeeding/topping up with formula/bottlefeeding. I know it's difficult to read everything with a little one but I think some of the advice is quite good. I've been breastfeeding and topping up with Nan HA pretty much since Emily's birth. I will say this about topping up - it does stretch the time between feeds as formula takes longer to digest, but it does make your milk supply go down. There are pros and cons to just about every decision you will make for your baby, but whatever you do is the right decision. Maybe your little girl is going through a growth spurt or something. My baby is nearly four months and there are days when she is so damn difficult I just want to cry! Other days she is such a little pleasure I wonder how I will ever go back to work. So just hang in there - at least she slept at 11pm Emily sometimes also doesn't sleep during the day. The important thing is the night sleep, because that's when Mommy really wants to sleep.

hi ladies

baby measuring exactly as I thought. 6w4days. saw the heart beating

bit disappointed with the appointment.
first she violated me with a pap smear (she couldnt find my cervix...) and then did an internal exam which was SORE because my uterus is retroverted and she couldnt feel without pressing really hard!!!

then she did the sonar and was so quick and just showed us the heart beat, listened for like 2 seconds and it was over?!

anyway I'm glad the baby is doing well

@ Desiree, thanks that makes me feel great:) I'm jsut lucky I guess, my mom exclusively breastfed and all her friends did too (they were very unconventional in those days), so I have had loads of support. My moms best friend even breastfed both of her children till they were almost 3 years old:) I never had a bottle or a dummy! I'm also remarkably pigheaded. I'm one of those people that when I say I'm going to do something will not give up untill ive done it:) I know that even if james had bitten my nipple off I probably would have continued because I hate admitting defeat.
Dont feel bad about things though, you need to make decisions that are best for and work for you with the information that you have. Paediatricians know the breast is best, but although they understand the physiology behind things a lot of them are men who dont realise that exclusively breastfeeding is flipping hard and that often support is all that is needed:)

My doula annie has also been great:)

@Meags - you have to let us know how your scan went, I'm so excited for you!

@ronel - aaaah, yes, I remember those difficult days well and even though I am a bottle feeding mom I have to agree with Claudia here! Your milk supply is not necessarily low, yout baby might just need to be feeding more frequently! Sorry things seem so hard for you now, they will get easier! I remember Connor also having days where it seemed he was awake and unhappy all day - it was very tiring indeed! Look out for growth spurts where your baby will defs need to feed more often than usual, otherwise just try to be patient while baby goes through this phase, its not easy I know, but things do change!

@Claudia - I wish you were around when I just had Connor and was clueless as to what to do when the breastfeeding wasn't going well - I know I gave up too soon! And you are so right, I got terrible advice from just about everyone including our Paed!

@ Ronel, sorry I typed a long reply earlier but my internet went down (I HATE TELKOM).

Why does your paed say you dont have enough milk? Often they are the worst people to get advice from with regards to breastfeeding. Just remembed in the early days you may need to feed what feels like continuously, this doesnt mean you dont have enough milk, it just mean that in the first three months your baby is growing a lot and its natures way of establishing milk supply. The more baby sucks the more milk you secrete. Thats why dummys arent always a good thing:) Formula supplementation often results in a decrease in milk supply. Maybe if you really were struggling with supply eglynol would have been better??

Formula is made of cows milk which has a high lactose content which most babies cannot tolerate (and it will cause cramps).Try giving lactase drops prior to a milk feed to aid digestion.

As for crying it out, i think your baby is too young and might be struggling to self soothe. I used to rock and swaddle all the time and James is now going to sleep on his own, sleeping through the night etc.. At 12 weeks things all of a sudden get easier. Now if hes a little unsettled me just sitting in his nurseryhelps.

haha well thank God all the horrible symptoms seem to be better now So hopefully I can enjoy it from now onwards!! (and then get you broody!)

Morning all

I am in desperate need of advice. My LG is 8 weeks old. Recently we discovered that my breastmilk is not sufficient enough for her so I top up with Nan as per the pediatrician's advice. She is now 1 week on the Nan extra feeds and altough she is struggling with the cramps and constipation it is going good. The last 2 days however she has been difficult. I struggle to get her to sleep. She will fall asleep in my arms or on the boob but the moment I put her down she's awake. I have tried the pram and her carrycot but with no luck. Yesterday she was awake from 3pm until 11pm before she fell asleep eventually. I feel exhausted and ''moedeloos'' and I don't know what to do. Is this just a phase or a growth spurt and I need to be patient? Do I leave her if she moans or cry when I lay her down? I would appreciate any advice!

Thanks ladies!