hellosailor

Thanks Fuschia, I hoped you'd reply.. She had a slight temp first day but not for the last 3 days. I have some calpol in the house but haven't tried it as she didn't have a temp - perhaps I should. She is tired and clearly really needs to sleep as her night sleep is so broken but she is also having alert times between naps as usual. her nappies are perhaps less wet than usual as I would expect because she is drinking less, and that does make me worry about potential dehydration, yes. I have been wondering whether to call seldoc but figure, perhaps pessimistically, that they will just there's nothing that can be done for a cough/cold, and nothing that can be done to make her eat, and to try calpol etc, but maybe I should ring them to see if there is more help they can offer than that. I am about to try to feed her again and hoping she will take some but if not perhaps I should ring seldoc. Surely childrens a & e would say I shouldn't bring in a baby with cough/cold if I brought her in? Or am I underestimating how serious it could get with such reduced feeding? thanks fuschia

Could anyone advise on what to do about this? My 14 week old baby has had a cough/cold for a few days, and it's stopping her being able to feed, (she is breastfed). It's as if it hurts her to feed, particularly on one side, so I presume it's because her nose is blocked or her eustachian tube is blocked etc. Her nose doesn't seem that blocked anymore though, it looks quite clear and saline drops/snot hoover don't seem to get anything out, so am a bit puzzled. She writhes, cries and claws at the breast when I try to feed her, so even if I struggle to get her to feed for an hour I feel she has taken in a very tiny amount. I think it is more that she is finding it hard to feed than that she has lost her appetite, as every so often, during one of these sessions she latches on and sucks furiously for a few seconds before her face crumples and she howls. Even after having a tiny feed she pukes up mucus and she is waking up and crying in the night and is not easy to comfort, which I presume is also because she doesn't feel well? But I'm worried it's also because she hasn't taken enough calories in the day and is hungry. Also worried about my milk supply. A friend just lent me a syringe to finger feed expressed milk, but perhaps because of the time of day/my tiredness/stress pumping is yielding nothing, so don't think I can even feed her this way. Is it dangerous for them to eat very little while ill? Any advice really appreciated.

Health matters sell a powder for this called Bifidobacterium Infantis made by BioCare which is specially formulated for infants. You put a quarter of a tea spoon of the powder into their mouths with every feed if breastfeeding. I used it after having to take various antibiotics for 3 weeks while breastfeeding and worrying about baby sailor getting thrush or digestive probs. It's not cheap - looking at my bottle here it's ?26:15 but worth it if it helps!

bugger! I must have been told that twice already but I can't retain it! having a baby has made my brain atrophy! Is my theory that this would be a way to get hold of tickets generally a sound one though - to keep in mind for next season?

My bloke is a huge spurs fan, we've just had a baby so he can't get out much at the moment and I was wondering how I might go about arranging for him to go to a spurs match with a friend. Last time I looked into getting him tickets for a game that wasn't even a particularly 'big one' I couldn't even get a ticket for that so am thinking using the tickets of someone who has a season ticket but is going on hols or needs to miss a match may be my best option to get hold of some?

meathgirl I had the same problem - both ends are identical - I was going to ring them and ask if it was a mistake - though I suspect not if yours is the same. I did find that by pressing hard I could ram it in and get it working so I could use the pump. though it does seem weird if medela expect you to have to ram it in so hard it hurts your hand every time you want to use it! If you speak to medela people please let me know what they say!

Thanks for the advice everyone, lots of helpful stuff that makes sense and a relief to know that rocking to sleep sometimes etc isn't necessarily a cardinal sin..Kate W what you say resonates a lot! Also glad to hear that having probs with napping independently now doesn't necessarily mean that naps won't get better as she gets a bit older..and even a few days of trying to get her to go down in the cot makes me realise how much I'd miss the cuddles if she did! But would still be good to have her settling as an option so will persevere with one nap a day being in the crib for the time being, and then cut us both some slack and have the longer afternoon nap in the buggy or sling so we don't spend the whole day shush patting in the dark which is knackering for us both!

Thanks so much for sharing that millpond stuff in such detail Moos, very very useful, though I imagine that may be for slightly older babies than my 12 week baby if you're using it with a 6 month old? I know their experts tailor the method very precisely according to age? Sounds like 33 nights well spent tho!

littleEDfamily you are praised for your loan of the bednest about a thousand times a day round our house! Moos, have only been doing it a few days and I imagine it would take weeks rather than days as you say :'( - are you doing a similar thing, trying to soothe in cot and picking up, putting down, repeat to fade? Snowboarder - 'Mine is never 'drowsy' - he's either asleep or awake and angry' = just made me laugh aloud, which is quite something seeing as I'm sitting in a room with blackout blinds drawn trying to work out why she suddenly won't go to sleep tonight! plus I agree, everyone says you mustn't mustn't mustn't feed or rock to sleep but am struggling to find an alternative!! Surely most babies won't happily go down in a cot while awake and slip peacefully into a relaxed sleep...

thanks fuschia, I've recently read the no-cry nap solution, lots of interesting stuff from E Pantley BB100, sadly she also won't take a dummy or be swaddled but thanks for suggestions! Moos, yes, think i will do nap training for one nap a day as can only imagine how exhausted she'll get if I do it every nap...ooh-er....

Fellow forumites, What the dickens do I do about this? I posted a while ago about the fact that my baby would only take naps on me or my partner and I was somewhat at the end of my tether as with feeding added in as well, it meant I literally never even got off the sofa to go to the bathroom! Well, things have moved on a bit at least - she is 12 weeks old and she now does night time sleep in a crib next to our bed rather than co-sleeping which is great as has removed my anxieties about rolling but daytime naps are tricky... I've been putting her down in the crib while drowsy but awake (ambitious!) for naps and doing a version of shush patting to get her off to sleep, which can take 15 mins of grizzling, and then repeating this every time she wakes and grizzles/cries, sitting by the crib for the duration of the nap and trying to soothe her in the crib each time she wakes and only picking her up if the crying escalates from grizzling to a proper cry and then when she stops popping her back down, and repeating process till she drops off etc. Yesterday and this morning we were up there for 2 hour stretches, during which time she did about a 40 min nap and a second 5 or 10 minute stint after the first soothing, but couldn't be soothed on the 3rd or 4th wake up so I called that the end of the nap. The thing is, if I did as I have been doing and let her sleep on me for every nap, she sleeps deeply and for long periods, and she is a baby who can only really be awake for 75 mins at a time and ideally seems to want up to 6 hours worth of naps a day, so I'm finding in the last few days that by following the advice I've been giving on getting her to sleep in a crib means that she is not sleeping anywhere near enough as she tends to only do one sleep cycle if I'm lucky and we spend most of her nap time shush patting and doing this 'nap exercise' rather than her actually having a proper snooze, so she is so tired that feeding her is difficult as she always falls asleep within a minute or two of a feed as she is so tired all the time! I've been trying to ensure that she gets a better nap later in the day by having a nap in the buggy or sling as I know she will sleep properly, but this doesn't seem to compensate for the sleep she's still losing while I do this crib stuff to try to get her to go down for naps, plus I wonder if the inconsistency of doing this crib nap 'exercise' for some naps and not for others is undermining what I'm doing with the crib naps anyway?? I really want to continue taking steps to get her to go down for naps but not at the expense of her being exhausted by lack of the long naps she used to have on me..any ideas gratefully received!

I was scanned on the day I went into labour and told my baby was 9lbs 12oz, and later that day she weighed in at 8lb 9oz, a friend was given extra growth scans because they kept telling her that her baby was small and she weighed in at 9lb 4oz.

Thanks for the advice, all really useful and I will definitely get some mother's milk tea from the health food shop tomorrow! I feel more relaxed about it as I think you're right - if my milk supply was low then she would not be satisfied after a feed which she seems to be, so is perhaps that I'm not relaxed enough to get a good flow going with the pump - will persevere! thanks again! x

Morning forumites, I'm in real confusion about expressing and also my milk supply and would really appreciate any advice or tips.. my baby is about to turn 7 weeks old and over the last 3 weeks I have expressed a few times with very mixed results. On the occasions I've expressed, there has been an occasion where it took 45 mins to produce 1oz, another where it took 15 mins to produce over 4oz and other times 20 plus mins to produce about 3oz. I know there is nothing predictable about the human body but I don't understand why it is so varied? even the occasion where I produced over 4oz I would not say was that productive as that isn't really a full feed, or only just. The first couple of times I tried the let down was quick, even though the yield was drastically different each time. The last couple of attempts, the let down has been very slow or hasn't happened so I have given up. The one time I produced a full(ish) bottle was first thing in the morning, as I know is suggested, so I thought that was the key but I tried first thing yesterday and today and again managed to produce 1oz only. It can't be the pump (medela swing) or I wouln't have produced a semi decent amount on that occasion? I'm wondering if my milk supply is dwindling? I'm really keen to be able to express so that there is the option of her dad giving her a bottle but it doesn't seem to be working out that I can, certainly not with any reliability. Does anyone have any tips?

I know, it was me that bought it! How funny! We are going to assemble it today! thanks saffron!

thanks so much everyone, that's all useful info and reassuring. I'm going to try wearing a sling round the house more and maybe get a swing to see if she likes that better than the bouncer, and perhaps see if she likes her basket any more in a little while, perhaps she just isn't ready as you say. Buggie, thanks for reply, have tried shush/patting but not with the rolled up towel etc, will try that for sure!

Thanks Cuppa tea and trinity, Trinity - she cries if I put her in her bjorn bouncer (you know, the one all babies are supposed to adore!) and I have thought about getting a swing but am confused about the difference between swings/rockers/vibrating chairs. is a swing different from a vibrating chair - is it basically a battery operated chair that swings backwards and forwards? I've tried swaddling several times, the first time was when she was 3 weeks old and she slept peacefully in her basket, swaddled, for a couple of hours, I really thought it was a miracle! But since then, she hates being swaddled and cries until you take it off, so have given up after several attempts.. When I go out with her I do wear a sling rather than take the buggy and she sleeps happily in that for a couple of hours while I take a walk and do errands, so I was just thinking today that I'd start wearing it round the house more. Cuppa tea it's reassuring that eventually your little one was okay with being put down! I'm happy to find more ways - slings, swing chairs etc - to free up my hands as an answer, but just really hoping that if I 'go with' her need to be held constantly for the next few weeks and find ways to accommodate it like wearing a sling all day rather than somehow trying to actually change the habit, then eventually she will be increasingly okay with being put down...

Thanks so much everyone, I really appreciate your reassurances and encouragement! I definitely want to continue to just go with the flow with feeding and I can't really see what the alternative to that is anyway as I would never leave her crying if she was hungry to try and 'space out' the feedings or whatever it is I imagine you would have to do to get feeding into more of a spaced out routine, so she will definitely continue to snaffle whenever she wants.. I thought about everyone's advice on these posts yesterday and tried to work out where my anxiety is coming from and I think the thing that is worrying me most is without doubt the fact that she will not be put down, pretty much ever, awake or asleep, so that I'm pretty much holding her 24 hours a day because if I don't she is either on the verge of crying and constantly fractious or generally full on crying. (except at night when after her last feed she will sleep next to me in our bed between feeds without actually having to be on my chest all night.) Her dad is not at all worried by this (though I would point out that his more laid back attitude must be in part because he is at work all day, using his limbs freely and not holding a baby 17 hours a day from the minute she wakes up, unable to put her down to go for a pee or eat or shower etc unless I'm willing to let her sob for a few minutes while I frantically brush my teeth or something!) as he feels that in time over the coming weeks she will seamlessly start going down for naps at times of our choosing, when awake, in her moses basket or cot, without objection. From my, admittedly totally novice point of view, I can't help feeling that a baby that is mortified if you ever try to put her down in a moses basket even when asleep (she will wake within a couple of minutes and scream to be picked up), let alone when she's awake, will not suddenly be ok with this some days or even weeks later, particularly if you've just given up on even attempting it because it's too upsetting/stressful and so just hold her constantly? If she learns that I will hold her constantly, never attempt to get her to sleep anywhere but my arms and rock her/feed her to sleep, will she really be any different in a few days or weeks as her dad trusts? Because if the answer is that this is likely to be the way things continue unless I do attempt to change it somehow, then I think I would feel the need to do that as not even having times when I can put her down for 20 minutes to wash or eat etc is taking its toll emotionally and physically. I have literally NO CLUE how I would go about that though...

Morning forumites, I would love some advice about my baby who is 5 weeks old now. She is my first baby and I'm still very much trying to get to grips with working out her cues etc, which I'm still finding quite tricky! We have no 'routine', other than we've just started giving her a bath at roughly the same time in the early evening and I tend to go out and about with her in a sling for a couple of hours in the afternoon while she sleeps, but other than that the days are pretty random - and I guess it rattles me a little when mums with babies of a similar age refer to their '7pm feed' or '2pm nap' or whatever as I just don't have anything resembling a schedule that I could refer to! Probably a bad idea as I suspect it's adding to the gnawing feeling of inadequacy but when I dip into the books I've been lent like the baby whisperer, which refers to trying to get your baby into the habit of, for instance, eating, being up for a bit, then napping, I can't really relate to it as my little one naps when she is tired, (or actually quite often, doesn't nap when she is tired! i.e yawning etc, but doesn't go to sleep.) But I guess the point is, I can't imagine how I would decide when she slept rather than her?! It's not that I particularly want to 'impose' a routine on her, it's not as if I have anything else I'm urgently supposed to be doing other than looking after my baby! But more that I'm guessing that having a bit of routine rather than everything being at haphazard times will mean she feels better fed and rested and settled as the days and weeks go by? And also mean that rather than me spending pretty much 24 hours a day lying prone with her on my chest, because she cries if I do anything else, I could do things like, er, have a moment to put the washing machine on, or even have a pee! I suppose I'm also easily rattled by people constantly telling me that unless we get into a routine of sorts, we are 'making a rod for our own backs' etc, and that 'babies thrive on routine and feel more secure if they know things will happen at roughly the same time every day' I'm enjoying the days being random with feeds/sleeps being spontaneous but now that enjoyment is undercut by anxiety that if I don't want everything to be so random for many months to come, I now need to start doing something different somehow. For instance, she won't fall asleep unless it it on my chest, especially after a feed, or her dad's chest, if she is totally conked out then you might be able to pop her in her moses basket by stealth but if she stirred and woke a few minutes later and realised she was in the basket then she would immediately cry as she would realise she wasn't on one of our chests! I have tried soothing her without picking her up immediately but she is inconsolable until she is picked up so I couldn't bring myself not to...the idea of putting her in her basket for a nap at a specific time, when she was awake, and expecting her to sleep, or indeed, the idea of her sleeping in her moses basket at night rather than falling asleep on my chest in our bed and then sleeping beside me in our bed for the rest of the night, feels unimaginable. Similarly, the idea of there being a 7pm feed, then a 10pm feed or whatever, rather than cluster feeding all eve is unimaginable! Is this lack of day to day schedule completely standard for a 5 week old as she's still just too little to think about doing anything else? Does the fact that she won't sleep anywhere but my chest/bed, mean she won't start going in basket, cot in a few weeks? Should I be trying harder to get her to now or just relaxing about it? Ditto with the feeding? Does it matter that sometimes there are 4 hours between feeds, sometimes 1 hour, sometimes a big feed, sometimes a snack? Do babies find their own rough 'schedules' even if you don't do anything or am I indeed 'making a rod for our own backs' by not trying to establish one and will end up with a 6 month old who will only sleep on me, cries if you ever put her down for a minute and feeds several times a night? Sorry for the marathon ramble, my sleep deprived brain struggles to be succinct! I would really appreciate your thoughts....

thanks everyone for your replies, that's really good to know! x

I would really appreciate advice on poo...apologies for those about to enjoy a sunday roast... Our baby is a little over 2 weeks old and ever since she moved on from the meconium stage of the first few days and began normal breast milk mustard poos she has generally pooed several times a day, often during or straight after a feed. However, yesterday and the day before she only did one poo per day, and so far today no poo, though still hoping for one before the day is up! She is however weeing lots, in fact weeing has increased over the same period that pooing has decreased - which I hope is a sign that she is getting enough milk and is hydrated? Also should say that although she has yet to poo today, the lone poo she did do yesterday and the lone poo she did the day before we both 'normal' not changed in any way or constipated. When I consult the web (I know, I know, always a gamble in terms of reassurance!) I find vastly differing accounts of what's normal for a 2 week old - with some sites saying that as long as the baby is pooing once a day then there's no prob, others saying that a 2 week old should be doing 4 or 5 poos a day and yet other baby sites saying that a 2 week old should pretty much be pooing after every feed and therefore up to 12 times a day. If that's the case then it worries me? Is it normal for a 2 week old to go from pooing several times a day to once a day? I'm particularly mindful of it I think because she has cephalhematoma, a hemorrhage of blood between scalp and skull which forms a fluid filled sack on the back of her head from ventouse delivery which tho not common is apparently not something to worry about unless her behaviour changes and should re-absorb in time, but whenever they check it out they ask whether she is weeing and pooing frequently so I can't help worry now that there has been a change...hope I'm just being neurotic...? I know babies can often drop down to pooing once a day or less after about a month but is it a problem that there has been quite a reduction at just 2 weeks old? sorry to fulfill the cliche of angsty poo-monitoring first time parent - but any advice greatly appreciated....

thanks Saffron, that's reassuring too.... x

If anyone has a bednest bedside cot or arms reach co sleeper they would be prepared to lend or sell us then please pm me, thank you

thanks chaps for advice, that's useful it isn't on a ledge or anywhere particularly hot so don't think it's a false reading. am surprised the house is so warm though!

Fellow forumites please can I pick your brains...our baby is less than a week old and I'm getting a bit confused about the room temperature. I know that the temp is supposed to be between 16-20 degs to be within the safety guidelines, and have a gro-egg thermometer. But we have no central heating on and it often reads 22, 23 or even 24 degs. Obviously I can't alter the room temp because the heating is not on so nothing to turn down! The advice I've read seems to say that if the room temp is above 20 degs and you can't alter the temp then you adjust the baby's clothes/remove bedding etc, so strip a baby to the vest or whatever, but it would seem a weird thing to do to strip her to her vest and remove her blanket for sleeping in February? What would you suggest? Advice very much appreciated!