Postnatal Help

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I've read often that babies don't form 'habits' as such until around four months, and this certainly proved true for my little man. So don't worry unduly that whatever you're doing now will still be the rule in a few months time! We had Andrea as our birth doula and she was also an amazing help afterwards, and she's a breastfeeding counsellor too. Her website is www.thedotingdoulas.com.

Angie, where about in Dubai are you? I have a great sling you are welcome to, and I was also going to offer some help. I'm by no means an expert...but I have been in your shoes and I can totally relate to your posts. Eldest DS has just started school and DH is on leave, so i was thinking I could pop over and help you for a few hours in the morning if you like? Let me know if you are interested and I'll post my email address.

Here's the Facebook link (I don't know if they have a website): http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Dubai-Babywearing/120317794705638 Don't know about registration - I think you can just turn up. xx Many thanks BFC

Here's the Facebook link (I don't know if they have a website): http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Dubai-Babywearing/120317794705638 Don't know about registration - I think you can just turn up. xx

Oh, having suggested a sling in my post below, I've just received an e-mail from the babywearing workshop people. Their next workshop (where you can look at and try out slings with no obligation to buy) is Thursday September 22nd from 9:30am to 11:30am at the Dubai Mall Organic Cafe. Just in case you may like to go along! xx Hi BFC can you pls post a link to this,do you need to register to attend or do you just turn up? thanks

Have you tried slightly elivating the matress on the basinett, you can do tis by rolling up a small towel and sticking it under the matress. It helped all my three a lot initially as the cribs in the hospital are on a slight angle.

Oh, having suggested a sling in my post below, I've just received an e-mail from the babywearing workshop people. Their next workshop (where you can look at and try out slings with no obligation to buy) is Thursday September 22nd from 9:30am to 11:30am at the Dubai Mall Organic Cafe. Just in case you may like to go along! xx

Congratulations on the birth of your daughter! I hope that you have managed to contact a doula for support. The early weeks can be very hard on a mum. It is completely normal for a small baby to need to be held constantly and fed frequently, but it does get better :). In the meantime, some parents find that a sling helps meet their baby's needs while allowing them to get things done (even basic things such as eat and drink!). With respect to the long feeds, if you're worried that your little one is falling asleep before getting enough milk (this sometimes happens in the early days), you might like to get someone to check positioning and latch and assess milk transfer. A post-natal doula may be qualified in this area; if not, then have a look at the Breastfeeding Support in the UAE (June 2011) thread for details of people who may be able to help. Signs that a young baby is getting enough milk are here: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/enough-milk.html Breast compressions can help keep a baby actively feeding longer (this may help the situation you describe); http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=doc-BC and video: http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=vid-4dayold Hang in there - it does all get much easier to cope with but in the meantime any help and support you can get will be fabulous so that you can enjoy your sweet little one. xx

My doula that i used for the birth of my baby in august is Zanny Gandy. She was recommended to me by one if the popular doulas on here because she was on leave at the time. Zanny was absolutely brilliant - long story short, by birth went wrong in pretty much everyway and I had to first be induced then taken in for an emergency C and the baby was in a bit of distress and in NICU for a day. Through all this zanny supported us brilliantly making sure we had the information and help we needed at each stage. She also did all our prenatal sessions and worked with me on breast feeding which really didn't come easy to me those first few days. She's a lovely person - positive and great fun and very very dependable. She constantly went out of her way yo make sure we were comfortable and wasn't strictly by the book. she does postnatal work as well which I didn't use because my mum is here but I did call on her loads for feeding since she is a breastfeeding peer counsellor. Her email is doulazanny at hot mail dot com should you need to contact her In my research I had found quite a few doula recommendations on here as well a couple of whom I met but Zanny was whom I went with and it was one of my better decisions :) Hang in there, I feel your pain and all I can say is that it does get easier as they pick things up. Good luck!

I'm sure others will be able to recommend some great doulas/ maternity nurses, but in between time, you may find a few of these tips to be useful: - if she's drifting off whilst feeding, tickle or gently pull her ear-lobes or feet to keep her awake. If she really si sleepy, then don't wait for her to actually fall asleep - give her a tickle and detach her, so that shemay well be drowsy, bit still vaguely awake. Then pop her in the moses basket - content, sleepy but not yet asleep. That's the key to teaching her how to fall asleep on her own. Cuddles and your company are absolutely no bad thing though - she's just spent all her life so far, bar one week inside you, so it's a bit much to expect her to want anything else. - who's to say how long a feed should take? The authors of whatever book you may have read certainly aren't stilling next to you, observing your baby! If she's full and content after 5 minutes, then maybe that's all she needs. Both my two were really efficient feeders like that! The big cue as to "getting enough milk" is nice, wet nappies and consistent weight gain. - don't worry about Bad Habits. Really, just don't - and certainly not at this stage. There is not a single habit on this planet that can't be cracked at a later stage, so it's more about doing what's right for you and your baby. Also, everyone has their own idea of what a Bad Habit is, depending on their circumstances and lifestyle. Some cultures wear their babies and cosleep as a matter of tradition, whereas reading some Western books, you'd think it was the worst thing you could ever do to your child! The point is, invariably, the children are no better or no worse off from either method. I got so het up about Bad Habits when I was a first time mum... it was just mad. Gosh. Thankfully, my mum and my very sensible health visitor basically told me the above and once I stopped fretting, I started enjoying to moment a bit more (not the sleep deprivation though!)