[#1]

Hi everyone,

I used this board a lot for support when my ds was born and we managed to feed for 15 months until he self weaned, I found the support invaluable.

DS2 is 3 1/2 weeks old and fully bf but I am a little worried I'm not doing it right! He was 8lb 1oz at birth, 7lb 15oz at 10 days and 8lbs 9ozs at 17 days and today he only weighed 8lbs 15ozs. He has plenty of wet and dirty nappies and fed well to start with. Last weekend I was really poorly and got mastitis in my right breast, I got antibiotics Monday and already feel much better and have no pain when feeding now.

DS2 cries an awful lot more than DS1 ever did, really screaming at times and I am sure its down to wind - I can hear bubble noises in his tum and he shows signs of wind. I tried infacol for 4/5 days when he was 2 weeks and didn't find enough of an improvement to warrant feeding him in before every feed when he can feed every 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours. After a few days I gave him some gripe water, once in the morning and once in the evening which resulted in a calmer happier baby and plenty of releeased wind. The only worry was on day 4 after only 1ml he began to cough a lot and struggling to catch his breath and I tried again 3 times and decided to stop as I didn't like how he wasafter only 1ml being given.

He doesnt scream for hours at a time but has times when for a few hours he just can't settle and is not a happy boy, he doesnt pull up his knees but has spasms in his tum. No two 24 hour spells are the same as its too early but I'm a bit worried he isn't getting enough milk from me. Before I got mastitis he would feed for up to 40 mins sometimes needing a second breast, but the past 3/4 days he has turned very snacky and after 5/10 mins he is asleep and then 45 mins/ an hour later he is yelling for more only to fall asleep again.

My mum is very supportive of most aspects of my parenting but I sound awful saying this, she is just a voice of doubt at a time when I don't need any with comments about my milk, is he getting enough, supplimenting with formula ect.

With DS1 lots of people used to say bf babies don't get windy - this is making me worry he is so windy because he isn't getting enough from me? Hi weight gain has moved from above the 50th centile to just below the 25th in 2 weeks. His length is only on the 25th centile too, and he is quite a dainty looking baby so maybe he just isn't going to be like my ds1 who piled on massive lbs right from the start? DH is from a much more petite family whereas DS's dad is more chunky.

Not really sure what I'm hoping for really just needed to share some of my concerns somewhere where I feel safe from the add a bottle comments.

Something else I have been worrying about is sometimes (not every time at all) he will completely scream when laid down on his back to have his nappy changed as soon as he is propped up slightly he is happier, could this be reflux maybe? Even though its not every time he is laid down? At night he is so unsettled after feeds that from 12 we resort to him sleeping on me as its just too unsettling for the whole house when he cries a few seconds after being laid down. I can normally get a two hour spell from him asleep in his cot between 9-11pm and this is usually after a big 2 hour session of very frequent feeding.

Any advice is greatly appreciated, I hope the exhaustion which accompanies a newborn is just making me worry about everything! thanks a lot, Vicki xx

[#2]

Hi everyone,

I used this board a lot for support when my ds was born and we managed to feed for 15 months until he self weaned, I found the support invaluable.

DS2 is 3 1/2 weeks old and fully bf but I am a little worried I'm not doing it right! He was 8lb 1oz at birth, 7lb 15oz at 10 days and 8lbs 9ozs at 17 days and today he only weighed 8lbs 15ozs. He has plenty of wet and dirty nappies and fed well to start with. Last weekend I was really poorly and got mastitis in my right breast, I got antibiotics Monday and already feel much better and have no pain when feeding now.

DS2 cries an awful lot more than DS1 ever did, really screaming at times and I am sure its down to wind - I can hear bubble noises in his tum and he shows signs of wind. I tried infacol for 4/5 days when he was 2 weeks and didn't find enough of an improvement to warrant feeding him in before every feed when he can feed every 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours. After a few days I gave him some gripe water, once in the morning and once in the evening which resulted in a calmer happier baby and plenty of releeased wind. The only worry was on day 4 after only 1ml he began to cough a lot and struggling to catch his breath and I tried again 3 times and decided to stop as I didn't like how he wasafter only 1ml being given.

He doesnt scream for hours at a time but has times when for a few hours he just can't settle and is not a happy boy, he doesnt pull up his knees but has spasms in his tum. No two 24 hour spells are the same as its too early but I'm a bit worried he isn't getting enough milk from me. Before I got mastitis he would feed for up to 40 mins sometimes needing a second breast, but the past 3/4 days he has turned very snacky and after 5/10 mins he is asleep and then 45 mins/ an hour later he is yelling for more only to fall asleep again.

My mum is very supportive of most aspects of my parenting but I sound awful saying this, she is just a voice of doubt at a time when I don't need any with comments about my milk, is he getting enough, supplimenting with formula ect.

With DS1 lots of people used to say bf babies don't get windy - this is making me worry he is so windy because he isn't getting enough from me? Hi weight gain has moved from above the 50th centile to just below the 25th in 2 weeks. His length is only on the 25th centile too, and he is quite a dainty looking baby so maybe he just isn't going to be like my ds1 who piled on massive lbs right from the start? DH is from a much more petite family whereas DS's dad is more chunky.

Not really sure what I'm hoping for really just needed to share some of my concerns somewhere where I feel safe from the add a bottle comments.

Something else I have been worrying about is sometimes (not every time at all) he will completely scream when laid down on his back to have his nappy changed as soon as he is propped up slightly he is happier, could this be reflux maybe? Even though its not every time he is laid down? At night he is so unsettled after feeds that from 12 we resort to him sleeping on me as its just too unsettling for the whole house when he cries a few seconds after being laid down. I can normally get a two hour spell from him asleep in his cot between 9-11pm and this is usually after a big 2 hour session of very frequent feeding.

Any advice is greatly appreciated, I hope the exhaustion which accompanies a newborn is just making me worry about everything! thanks a lot, Vicki xx

[#3]

HI Vicki - sorry it has taken me a while to see this. Hope you are having a better day with him today. Average weight gain for a breastfed baby of this age is 4-8oz a week so sounds like you are doing great. If I'm reading it right he'd gone from 7lb15oz at 1.5 weeks to 8lb 15oz at 3.5 weeks - that's a pound in a fortnight or 8oz a week. Don't overanalyse that it was 10 oz the first week and only 6 oz the second of those two - a wee and a poo can make such a difference at that age - or indeed a just fed or nearly empty tummy!

Several things could be going on with the screaming and being unsettled. Wind would be the first suggestion and I don't think it's true that BF babies are not windy. The other thing is there is a big growth spurt at around 3 weeks that can make them very unsettled. It's also the classic age for reflux to rear an ugly head. My DS2 had quite severe reflux, which in the end turned out to be due to underlying cows milk protein intolerance, but we had a miserable 4-5 months of it until we worked that out and he was on meds until he was 16m. 70% of newborns do have some degree of reflux and for the vast majority it won't be a major problem. Propping up the change mat/cot mattress/ pram can help, as can avoiding waistbands on clothing and keeping them as upright as possible ( al sling or carrier really helps with this) If you need more advice on reflux please come across to the Little Refluxers support site which has been a complete godsend for us, and read the book Colic Solved by Dr Bryan Vartebedian. My other immediate thought is has he been checked for a tongue tie? This can cause disorganised feeding, and a large intake of air leading to wind.

Hope some of those suggestions ring a bell with you, and hang in there, you are doing a fantastic job. A lot of new babies have these unsettled times which can be so difficult to get to the bottom of, and the answer is not to swap to formula. Jen xx

[#4]

HI Vicki - how are things going this week? Jen xx

[#5]

Hi Jen,

Thank you so much for your msg it really helped keep me sane and to keep going, thank you!

We seem to have turned a corner and I'm much more confident at the moment. Benjamin is now 5 weeks old today and doing well with the feeding (sticking at breastfeeding still). I weighed him last Fri and he'd gone up to 9lb 9ozs which I was happy with! I had a session of cranial osteopathy session last Tuesday and it was great. I talked through everything and decided to give up dairy products and thankfully a week on between the two things he seems much more settled. Far far less windy and what wind he does have doesn't distress him really any more, and the heartwrenching screaming when he's laid on his back happens drastically less. I went to the dr (after reading the site you recommended) about his sick - he was sicking up a lot, lumpy bits about 45/60 mins after a feed and they gave me gaviscon but I've not used it yet as it too seems to be easing a lot without the dairy.

I'm hoping if I keep avoiding any dairy he'll carry on improving, if not in another week I'll try the gaviscon and see what effect that has.

Until I read what you said about growth spurts I'd totally forgotten what they were like to live through, am psyching myself up for the 6 week one next week!

Thank you again!

Vicki xx

[#6]

I'm so pleased to hear things are improving!  Well done for sticking at it. Keep us posted.... Jen xx