One month baby , exhausted please help ladies !!

Apologies for threadjacking but where did you find the Miracle Swaddle thing? I looked at MOE the other day and couldn't find them anywhere. I have one that you are most welcome to borrow! Y didn't take to it, so we used the Aiden & Anais swaddles ( you actually brought a pack over for me from the UK)! Also happy to borrow you one as they come in a pack of 4 and I have loads! Probably one of our best baby buys!!! So, happy to bring it along when we next meet, or if you are in the area, you are welcome to pick it up :)

I just remembered a great tip Cecile gave me for sore nipples ( I had craters missing from mine OUCH!) after each feed dab gently with clean, cool wash cloth & apply olive oil. I applied it with cotton wool & my nipples healed as quickly as they were hurt. Also air you b$$bs, your husband will get over the fact that you look like something from the Discovery Channel I swear :) i am also a huge fan of the Avent nipple shields.

i didn't know breast fed babies couldn't get stopped up... i guess you learn something new everyday... i wasn't suggesting to give Karo syrup or cereal to a baby without approval from your pediatrician. we only gave the cereal because the pediatrician recommended it... our son had really bad reflux. but it worked wonders and never had a single problem after that. He is almost 4 now and very healthy (not sure what the supposed bad effects are from giving cereal) but maybe it stopped him up which is why we needed the the Karo :) anyways i was just trying to put some ideas out there that you could talk to your pediatrician about... i am certainly no medical professional and wouldn't suggest taking my or anyone advice about giving anything to an infant without discussing it with the doctor first....

Hi Sorry for the late reply.. oh..i started pumping as soon as i can, so that i can sleep earlier and DH can feed later on, to which i wake up 3 hrs after DH's fed DD. that way I can have 6 hrs staight at night :) Yeah, get that miracle swaddling blanket, if mothercare don't have it, try babyshop or even car4... i remember some car4 selling them. with regards to the sling, here's the local site where this lady is selling slings of various kinds http://web.me.com/michelle.lee/BabyWearDubai/Home.html also, if [b'>BFC[/b'> is doing a breast feeding workshop soon in november.. she's a member here as well.. if she's not replying to this thread, maybe you can leave your email here and i"ll get her to contact you directly? Hope all goes well with this tips.. it will pass.. also remember to get nipple cream. I like the cocoa butter ones best as it really soothes mine and there's no need to wash them b4 feedling LO. Good luck S

karo syrup is a laxative, there should be no reason to give a laxative to an EBF baby, they do not get constipated unlike FF babies. giving rice cereal to a 2 month old baby on the other hand, could certainly cause them to become gassy and constipated and is absolutely not recommended for a variety of health reasons regardless of whether your baby is FF or not. not wanting to get at the previous poster, but just not wanting the OP to follow this advice.

My son was a VERY easy baby... so i was a VERY lucky mommy (hopefully this one in my belly will be the same way) so i cant speak for the clinging and not sleeping, (i didnt breast feed he was drinking formula with rice cereal and sleeping through the night at 2 months) etc... but IF there is nothing else wrong (like a reaction to dairy, colic, or whatever)something that might help soften his poop is a little water mixed with karo syrup... not sure the amount to mix... but i know the ped. recommended this to me when my sons poop was making him cry... hope things get better for you.

Ta :).

I bought the some miracle swaddle thingies online and some from Mothercare, but that was over a year ago

Hi Elnino, You are right at the massive growth sput age. Between 4 and 6 weeks of age the babies will be on you 24 hours a day. THIS WILL PASS. It will pass. It will most likely happen again at 4 months and again at 6 but I promise you it will pass. It is called cluster feeding and it is very normal. That said, it can be very frustrating and it can wear any mama out. Do you sleep in the same room or are you comfortable bringing baby into your bed? This often can give mamas a bit of a break at night rather than running from room to room. Have you tried wearing your baby in a sling? Something like a Moby wrap? This allows baby to be close to you and you are able to have both hands free to do what you need to do. Babies who are worn for a couple of hours a day also tend to be calmer and sleep better at night. It is also totally possible to nurse in a wrap also. The best sling to get for this age is a stretchy wrap, one of the most popular brands is Moby wrap. I have found that it is far easier to nurse in public than it is to mess around with bottles. Adding pumping into your schedule can cause your milk supply to increase also and make you more likely to get blocked ducts and infection. Introducing a bottle this early on can also cause nipple confusion and turn the baby off of the breast as well. I think if it is going well without giving expressed milk then wait to introduce bottles for a few weeks. As far as your sore nipples goes, it is normal for there to be some pain in the beginning but anything after a few weeks should be checked out to make sure that the latch is ok. I would recommend going to a Le Leche League meeting or speak with a local breastfeeding supporter or lactation consultant. Where are you located? I can give you some contacts if you'd like. As far as the gas goes, if baby doesn't have a proper latch then he can take in extra air that might make his tummy upset. Upset tummy can also be caused by tongue tie and oversupply. I would first get the latch checked out before eliminating anything from your diet as it might not be needed. To help when baby seems stressed and in pain you can do tummy massage. Counterclockwise circles right at the top of the nappy. Google infant tummy massage for some videos. I hope this all helps. I am a trained breastfeeding supporter so if you have any questions at all feel free to ask. Hugs to you. Just remember it will pass.

Apologies for threadjacking but where did you find the Miracle Swaddle thing? I looked at MOE the other day and couldn't find them anywhere.

Whether or not bottle feeding EBM is easier will depend entirely on how you respond to the pump and how your LO feels about being bottle fed. I found that it took waaaaaay longer to pump than to breastfeed (and several sessions to get one full feeds worth) and since you are already breastfeeding every half hour, am not sure when you'll find the time to pump. Some women respond really well though and get a great letdown straight away. If your baby is feeding for comfort, he might feel a bit ripped off by a bottle feed, I used to find when I gave EBM I had to give the dummy straight afterward so that he got just as long sucking time otherwise baby-KS was mighty unimpressed. For me unless I was away from my baby it was def easier just to breastfeed directly and I haven't pumped at the last 10 months. Do introduce the bottle between 6-10 weeks though, otherwise you might find he won't take it at all. You will feel better once the entourage leave. My mum came for a month which was mostly great but then MIL turned up and I had to play hostess, she only came for a week and by the end of the week I was in tears from the exhaustion of it. Much easier when you can sleep all day and potter around on your own, make them stock up your freezer with meals before they leave though, it was months before I felt up to cooking. For me it was at its hardest at around 6 weeks which is when most babies seem at their grumpiest and you hit a wall tired-wise, then you kind-of start to feel like you are getting somewhere, baby starts smiling at you and it all feels more worthwhile As for swaddles, try the miracle-swaddle thing from mothercare, and do it tight!

Hi Elnino, I remember feeling exactly the same but I promise it gets better! Mine is now nearly 4 months but I clearly remember just feeling so traumatized & in over my head. The best advice I was given was do whatever it takes to make this time easier on yourself & do see a LC & Doctor. Even if it's just to reassure you that nothing is wrong & give you some peace of mind. It's such a special time & it's easily missed amongst all the stress and sleep deprivation. There is a coffee morning tomorrow at MOE if you feel up to it, you might feel better sharing with other Mums :)

I had a similar problem with my 4 weeks old baby. I went to the lactation consultant to realize the baby didnt put on weight for a week, the baby was starving, it is really hard to tell how much they eat when u breastfeed. Please check this. I felt so awful, but now that i am fixing the problem he and I are happier and doing much better.

I remember those days..hahah.. no worries, it will pass. I agree with the ladies here, swaddling is very good, it makes the baby feel as tho he's still in the womb. If not, get the sling. you can move anywhere you want with him in there. have you tried pumping? the more you pump, the more it will produce milk. then you can always get your DH to help feed the baby. :D Also agree with putting a piece of used jimmies in his cot. good luck S

Have you tried infacol? and: checked with Dr. if it could be reflux? If yu think it might be, higher cot on head-end a little with big books or bricks.

Hi, you should try and put a piece of clothing that belongs to you near him something that has your smell it might work.... Good luck and wishing you all the best

Hi I went through the same thing (dd is now 5 months) I did everything I said I would never do! I was so tired and felt like I was at the end of my rope. I ended up bed sharing with her for 8 weeks, or she would sleep on me. She woke every hour or so for a feed. I could not swaddle coz she broker her collar bone at birth. She would not take day naps by herself. Even though she is my second, I struggled with breastfeeding at first. I went to see a LC consultant here in motor city. She checked my latch and went through everything with me(felt much better after seeing her) I went to UK for a month and stupid me did not take a travel cot for dd so once again we were back to bed sharing. To be honest I now feel this was the best thing I did for her and me. Feeding was much easier, we both got sleep. For some reason I felt this made her more secure. When we got back to Dubai she went into her cot easily and slept so much better(she started to sleep through the night when we got back at 4 months) If I were you at this point in time, I would tackle one problem at a time, maybe the milk issue? Then once you get to the bottom of that then the sleeping. I would not worry too much about bad habits. Your little person just wants to be close to you. Enjoy snuggling next to him. It will pass. As moms we put ourselves under too much pressure to get routines in from day one and get so frazzled if they don't go as plan and we often forget to ENJOY the little person we just brought into this world! Trust me they grow way too quickly. I stressed myself too over this and worried I did not have a routine for her from very early. Also I was feeding on demand and had no feeding routine what so ever(sometimes she would feed every half an hour). But I did find at 8-9 weeks things did settle and the routine fall into place, I kind of let her set her own routine. I guess we are all different and what worked for me may not work for someone else or you. Try and get some sleep, even if it is with your Lo, at least you are getting rest one way or another.

Really not sure if you can buy Colief here, I know its sold in the UK and apparently very good for colic relief.

yes definitely swaddle if you are not already!

Oh Elnino We have all been there! It is very tough in the first 6-8 weeks as both you and baby adjust to this new life. It is completely normal to be very tired, and feel like you are struggling, but really important that you ask for help if you are finding it a little bit much. Can I just say, I wouldn't be too worried at this stage if your baby likes to stay close to sleep at the moment, at that 6-8 week mark you might like to put in place a bit of a routine. But in the meantime, I remember DS use to only like to go to sleep on me, then I used to transfer him to his moses basket once he was asleep. I suppose we were lucky that he was happy being transfered and being wrapped nice and snuggly, but every baby is different, you aren't creating any bad habits at this point as it is all so new for your little man. If you are 4 weeks on and still having nipple discomfort, and dont feel like your baby (or you!) are getting proper sleep for longer than 30minutes at a time, can I suggest that perhaps you go and see someone to make sure your latch is correct, and make sure there aren't any other issues that might need addressing. Honestly, it is better to deal with these things early on to ensure both you and your baby aren't stressed. I have never used the following person before, but she has been referred on this site many times, and I have friends who have said she is fantastic, and that they wish they had seen her sooner! I intend to use her when number 2 comes along for us early next year if I have any issues post birth around feeding or sleeping patterns etc. Cecile De Scally 050 694 7938; [email protected]. I have just googled her details, so hopefully they are correct! It does get better I promise! But don't be afraid to ask for help from the people around you, here on EW - or the professionals if necessary. Good luck!

Hi there, I had two babies that were very similar so thought I'd share what worked for us. First, I noticed a huge improvement when I cut dairy from my diet. With my first baby I just had to limit the amount of dairy I had. With my second, I had to eliminate it completely. It made a huge difference in the amount of fussiness and with my second, she spit up less and slept better if I avoided dairy. Also, as my second had a bit of reflux, she slept so much better when her head was elevated. We accomplished this using a swing but I've heard of some people elevating one end of the cot mattress. The other thing that really seemed to help was a really good swaddle. Although she squirmed a lot and tried to get out of it, she always slept better when tightly wrapped. I would suggest checking out the happiest baby on the block if you haven't already. I only watched the video (there is also a book) and his tips really helped. Good luck, and hang in there!!

Poo tends to be pretty explosive at that age anyway and they tend to make hilarious strainy red faces when they go but they shouldn't cry when they poo. If I were you I'd google lactose overload (basically something than can happen when you have too much milk and the baby gets too much foremilk-remedied by pumping off the excess before a feed) and milk protein intolerance, remedied by you cutting dairy out of your diet :(.