Help...Rafe has started teething!
Just when the three month growth spurt and sleep regression ended and we started to get used to having a happier baby and (marginally) more sleep...BAM! Rafe starts teething. Now if Rafe is going to get teeth anything like mummies (large and a bit horsey...although the recent trend for having massive veneers has made them more acceptable...) then it's going to be a painful process.
Last Wednesday the hell began. Rafe cried for the entire day, he didn't take a nap longer than 20 minutes and left me on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Luckily daddy was day off (not so lucky for daddy) so we had some moral support, which basically someone to hold my screaming child while I went to the bathroom for a five minute cry.
On top of the screaming Rafe barely ate the entire day. He had one large feed in the morning then two smaller ones, the last being a 5:30pm. This completely stressed me out aswell seeing as he recently dropped a percentile and I was already concerned about his weight, plus I didn't want him to get dehydrated. We checked his temperature which was fine, but then in the evening he started trying to chomp anything and everything that went near his mouth. We finally twigged he must be teething (yeah we are a bit thick, first time parents) so Rick had a late night trip to Tesco to get some anbesol teething gel. I usually don't like to give Rafe Calpol too often but I did give him some that evening and then finally...after Anbesol application, Calpol, much swaying and mummies singing, he FINALLY went to sleep...at 10pm! You never quite understand the value of complete silence until you have been dealing with a screaming child all day!
He slept through until 4:30am and had a big feed (thank God) and then went back to sleep. By this point my boobs were in agony and I was starting to resemble Pamela Anderson from his lack of feeding so I was up and pumping in the lounge at 5am. The early start meant I managed to get a workout done and some (quiet) cleaning and then Rafe eventually woke up about 7am. When I changed his nappy I noticed his urine was dark (panick!) I checked his fontanelle and it wasn't sunken and he was pretty happy in himself but I still called the doctors when they opened, and got an appointment for half 10 that morning.
In the meantime he fed fine and produced a normal wet nappy but I still wanted to get him checked out.
We saw the loveliest doctor who examined Rafe's eyes, ears, listened to his chest and looked in his mouth. He had said he didn't think Rafe would be teething this early (he was 15 weeks at the time) at the start of the appointment but after looking in his mouth he confirmed our suspicions that he is, and that also his throat was quite red indicating he had a little virus.
He told me to continue using the Anbesol gel and calpol if necessary and just continue with what we had been doing.
I have now purchased a large amount of teething paraphernalia including; A Nuby teether that you can put in the freezer, a wooden teething ring, a Sophie the giraffe, of course the Anbesol gel, a amber anklet and as of today some Ashton and Parsons powders which are a herbal remedy that get pretty good reviews. I will be doing a post on which items I find most useful once we have tried them all out. Since Wednesday we have had good and bad days, sometimes his teeth don't really seem to bother him at all and other days there are a lot of tears. I think he seems more upset by them when he gets tired, but he is very difficult to get to go down for a nap at the moment.
Being a more consistant and regular blogger is something I aspire to be, but I am finding it a bit of a struggle. In the meantime if anybody has any advice on how to stay sane/manage to wash your hair/ shower while your baby is teething that would be much appreciated!
Jx
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Friday, 31 March 2017
Wednesday, 22 March 2017
My true feelings about breastfeeding
Unpopular confession coming up...I don't really enjoy breastfeeding anymore. There we go, I said it, fully prepared for any angry backlash!
I am aware that I sound massively ungrateful and that there are women out there that would love to be able to breastfeed but can't, and I do appreciate how fortunate I am to produce an amount of milk comparable to that of a small herd of Jersey cows. But it's been over three months now and, dare I say it...I kind of want my body back now.
I always planned to breastfeed. I am not one of those people who is adament that 'breast is best' or that everyone simply MUST breastfeed. I believe everybody is different and every baby is different and it's whatever works best for the individual be that formula or breastmilk. I did personally want to do it though and I do feel incredibly lucky and proud that I have managed to do so.
It definitely brought with it a good few advantages. In the very early days post birth breastfeeding really helped my uterus contracted back to it's normal size as well as providing a kick start to shifting the baby weight. Of course financially breastfeeding is much more economical, a one off purchase of nursing bras and a breastpump are going to work out cheaper than formula.
In regards to bonding though I don't think breastfeeding necessarily is better than bottle feeding. I don't think that if I had bottle fed Rafe we would have any less of a bond at all.
I have recently started pumping so that Richard can do at least one of Rafe's feeds, I've left it until he's three months old to ensure that breastfeeding is very well established and to minimise the risk of nipple confusion. Pumping is going well in terms of the amount of milk I can get. I am using the Avent electric breastpump and an hour of pumping on both sides can get me 240ml.
At the moment that 240ml of hard earned milk is getting tipped down the sink though as Rafe simply will not take a bottle. We are using the Avent bottles and teats and I've recently ordered some NUK ones as they get great reviews on Amazon so we will see if we have any more success with those when they arrive! We have also tried Richard feeding him and me being out of the room entirely to no avail. I mean I don't really blame his it's completely alien to him to have a large rubber teat stuffed in his mouth when he is hungry...but I can't wait until he learns to feed from the bottle and I can plan a night out with the girls!
I just feel that through the entire 40 weeks (and one day) of pregnancy my body was not my own, well it was but I was sharing it with precious cargo that was my responsibility to keep safe and bring into the world. You body goes through so many changes, pregnancy is for the most part beautiful, but by the end I felt enormous! I had a varicose vein, I couldn't move around as easily. I was miserable. Then you go through birth and the immediate aftermath is not pretty. I was on the newborn baby 'high' when I had Rafe, but I was also pretty low due some very painful stitches in my nether regions, no sleep at all and some seriously sore nipples. And when my milk came in on day three...OMG ouch! But I got through it and with some determination and large amounts of Lansinoh, we finally got the hang of breastfeeding and Rafe was putting on weight nicely.
I was very happy and I did feel a massive sense of achievement, BUT I was also incredibly tied down. I don't breastfeed openly in public places, I know you shouldn't be ashamed to feed your own child but I personally do not wish to do it in front of people. When you go out there is hardly ever any facilities where you can go for some privacy, and I would not feed my child in a public toilet for obvious reasons. Even my own doctors surgery don't have a chair in their baby changing room! I wasn't expecting a flash expensive, reclining nursing chair but even a plastic waiting room chair would have done. Nothing.
This means I feel very limited as to where I can take my baby and for how long we can be out of the house. I know there are breastfeeding groups but they just really do not appeal to me. Then at family events I am constantly up and down, going out of the room to feed. I cancel or avoid meeting up with people because quite frankly I don't want to end up sitting there with them with my boobs out.
Then theres the guilt. A couple of weeks ago Rafe got weighed and he had not gained as much weight as he should have, meaning he dropped a percentile. I know this wasn't my fault exactly he had gone off of his food after his 12 week vaccinations and I was still producing plenty of milk and feeding on demand. But I still felt enormously guilty and dissapointed. I felt like a failiure. When you are exclusively breastfeeding it's entirely your responsibilty to make sure your child is being fed and growing as they should, that's how I felt anyway. I've calmed down a bit about the situation now. Percentiles don't distinguish between formula fed and breastfed babies and you cannot really compare the two, because when it comes to weight gain formula fed babies will put on quicker than breastfed due to the nature of formula.
Then there's the fact my body still doesn't feel like mine. The varicose vein and baby weight may have gone but I am still wearing ugly nursing bras and breastpads. Putting up with engorged boobs every morning, stained tops and leaky nipples. It just doesn't make you feel very good about yourself if I'm honest.
I am very ready to share some of the responsibility of feeds with Richard too. He currently works full time whilst I am on maternity leave so I don't mind doing the night feeds. But I do feel envious when he gets to go out with his friends whilst I am sat in front of the telly in my dressing gown on a Saturday night. I'd quite like to get dressed up and go out with my friends and just for an evening not feel like a milk machine!
If I could turn back time and do everything differently I would still choose to breastfeed. I am glad that Rafe is still benefitting from the antibodies in breastmilk. I would probably express sooner though so that I was able to get some freedom back and not feel like a lactating recluse most of the time!
Breastfeeding is amazing and beautiful, but in my opinion it also
restricts you. Maybe if society made breastfeeding in public more accepted and embraced it would be easier, although I personally feel that I would still feel uncomfortable.
Jx Follow Follow Pinterest
Unpopular confession coming up...I don't really enjoy breastfeeding anymore. There we go, I said it, fully prepared for any angry backlash!
I am aware that I sound massively ungrateful and that there are women out there that would love to be able to breastfeed but can't, and I do appreciate how fortunate I am to produce an amount of milk comparable to that of a small herd of Jersey cows. But it's been over three months now and, dare I say it...I kind of want my body back now.
I always planned to breastfeed. I am not one of those people who is adament that 'breast is best' or that everyone simply MUST breastfeed. I believe everybody is different and every baby is different and it's whatever works best for the individual be that formula or breastmilk. I did personally want to do it though and I do feel incredibly lucky and proud that I have managed to do so.
It definitely brought with it a good few advantages. In the very early days post birth breastfeeding really helped my uterus contracted back to it's normal size as well as providing a kick start to shifting the baby weight. Of course financially breastfeeding is much more economical, a one off purchase of nursing bras and a breastpump are going to work out cheaper than formula.
In regards to bonding though I don't think breastfeeding necessarily is better than bottle feeding. I don't think that if I had bottle fed Rafe we would have any less of a bond at all.
I have recently started pumping so that Richard can do at least one of Rafe's feeds, I've left it until he's three months old to ensure that breastfeeding is very well established and to minimise the risk of nipple confusion. Pumping is going well in terms of the amount of milk I can get. I am using the Avent electric breastpump and an hour of pumping on both sides can get me 240ml.
At the moment that 240ml of hard earned milk is getting tipped down the sink though as Rafe simply will not take a bottle. We are using the Avent bottles and teats and I've recently ordered some NUK ones as they get great reviews on Amazon so we will see if we have any more success with those when they arrive! We have also tried Richard feeding him and me being out of the room entirely to no avail. I mean I don't really blame his it's completely alien to him to have a large rubber teat stuffed in his mouth when he is hungry...but I can't wait until he learns to feed from the bottle and I can plan a night out with the girls!
I just feel that through the entire 40 weeks (and one day) of pregnancy my body was not my own, well it was but I was sharing it with precious cargo that was my responsibility to keep safe and bring into the world. You body goes through so many changes, pregnancy is for the most part beautiful, but by the end I felt enormous! I had a varicose vein, I couldn't move around as easily. I was miserable. Then you go through birth and the immediate aftermath is not pretty. I was on the newborn baby 'high' when I had Rafe, but I was also pretty low due some very painful stitches in my nether regions, no sleep at all and some seriously sore nipples. And when my milk came in on day three...OMG ouch! But I got through it and with some determination and large amounts of Lansinoh, we finally got the hang of breastfeeding and Rafe was putting on weight nicely.
I was very happy and I did feel a massive sense of achievement, BUT I was also incredibly tied down. I don't breastfeed openly in public places, I know you shouldn't be ashamed to feed your own child but I personally do not wish to do it in front of people. When you go out there is hardly ever any facilities where you can go for some privacy, and I would not feed my child in a public toilet for obvious reasons. Even my own doctors surgery don't have a chair in their baby changing room! I wasn't expecting a flash expensive, reclining nursing chair but even a plastic waiting room chair would have done. Nothing.
This means I feel very limited as to where I can take my baby and for how long we can be out of the house. I know there are breastfeeding groups but they just really do not appeal to me. Then at family events I am constantly up and down, going out of the room to feed. I cancel or avoid meeting up with people because quite frankly I don't want to end up sitting there with them with my boobs out.
Then theres the guilt. A couple of weeks ago Rafe got weighed and he had not gained as much weight as he should have, meaning he dropped a percentile. I know this wasn't my fault exactly he had gone off of his food after his 12 week vaccinations and I was still producing plenty of milk and feeding on demand. But I still felt enormously guilty and dissapointed. I felt like a failiure. When you are exclusively breastfeeding it's entirely your responsibilty to make sure your child is being fed and growing as they should, that's how I felt anyway. I've calmed down a bit about the situation now. Percentiles don't distinguish between formula fed and breastfed babies and you cannot really compare the two, because when it comes to weight gain formula fed babies will put on quicker than breastfed due to the nature of formula.
Then there's the fact my body still doesn't feel like mine. The varicose vein and baby weight may have gone but I am still wearing ugly nursing bras and breastpads. Putting up with engorged boobs every morning, stained tops and leaky nipples. It just doesn't make you feel very good about yourself if I'm honest.
I am very ready to share some of the responsibility of feeds with Richard too. He currently works full time whilst I am on maternity leave so I don't mind doing the night feeds. But I do feel envious when he gets to go out with his friends whilst I am sat in front of the telly in my dressing gown on a Saturday night. I'd quite like to get dressed up and go out with my friends and just for an evening not feel like a milk machine!
If I could turn back time and do everything differently I would still choose to breastfeed. I am glad that Rafe is still benefitting from the antibodies in breastmilk. I would probably express sooner though so that I was able to get some freedom back and not feel like a lactating recluse most of the time!
Breastfeeding is amazing and beautiful, but in my opinion it also
restricts you. Maybe if society made breastfeeding in public more accepted and embraced it would be easier, although I personally feel that I would still feel uncomfortable.
Jx Follow Follow Pinterest
Saturday, 18 March 2017
Three Months post partum update
Going to keep this short as I am nowhere near as interesting or important as Rafe but I thought I would do a quick update on me three months post partum.
Firstly physically I am pretty much completely back to normal. My weight is now 124lbs so only one pound off what I was pre-pregnancy. The last few pounds has only dropped off very recently when I began focusing more on BOTH diet and exercise. Previously my emphasis had mainly been on working out, and although I was doing this around six days a week I was also indulging in a takeaway once a week and probably being a little to relaxed with my general eating habits. I found myself relying on breastfeeding to help me lose the baby weight but unfortunately although breastfeeding was an amazing help with the initial weight loss this soon plataued.
I've really cleaned up my diet now (except for the occasional dairy free ice cream treat) it's been tricky because I have had to find a balance between eating enough to still be able to produce breastmilk and allow my muscles to recover after workouts, but I also needed to be in a slight calorie deficit to lose the extra pounds I had left over. With a bit of trial and error I have now come up with an eating plan that seems to work well for me. I eat high protein nutritious meals and I also use vegan pea protein shakes post workout to ensure I am still able to build muscle whilst breastfeeding.
I would say my shape has changed a bit since having Rafe, I am more 'boxy' and my waist is an inch bigger that it was pre-pregnancy. I have no problem with this because it just gives me a goal to work towards and it's still fairly early days.
I have started mixing up the sort of workouts that I am doing now aswell. I still workout around six days per week but only for between 25-45 minutes so it's pretty manageable to get done. I still do a lot of kettlebell training but I have recently starting doing resistance band work, weights and also kickboxing workouts either from DVD's or YouTube. I also compose my own workouts that combine all the different equipment that I use to target specific areas that need attention (predominantly abs and glutes!)
I no longer have any interest in losing any more weight, I now workout in order to tone up my 'work in progress' areas and for the sake of my sanity!
Breastfeeding is still going strong! I am now using natural, washable bamboo breast pads which I can really recommend. They are a lot better for the environment and they work out cheaper in the long run. I solely breastfed without even expressing until Rafe was three months and I have now started pumping so that Richard can do some feeds and so that it is easier to go out. I have found that public places really lack the facilities for breastfeeding women to have some privacy to feed their babies.
I haven't experienced any post partum hair loss yet, but I am definitely getting more breakouts now. I haven't yet had a period which I am very happy about, thank you breastfeeding!
Mentally I have found things quite difficult recently. Especially the past week, what with the combination of the aftermath of Rafe's jabs then a growth spurt/sleep regression, it has been a struggle. I didn't realise how much a lack of sleep can effect your mood and ability to cope with things. I love being a mum and I feel so lucky that I can be at home with Rafe whilst he is so young, but at times it is very challenging. I have also found that becoming a stay at home mum has really effected how I feel about myself and my self esteem, for me it's as if I have lost my own identity a bit.
Trying to remain positive though because I know this won't last forever and I need to treasure every minute whilst Rafe is small, he will grow up so fast. I am also really lucky that I have some amazing, non-judgey friends who are also mummies, that I feel comfortable enough to talk to openly and honestly when things are getting tough.
I have found there are lots of ups and downs when you are a mum, good days and horrendous days, positives and negatives, but overall it is the most rewarding experience and I wouldn't actually change things for the world.
Jx
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Going to keep this short as I am nowhere near as interesting or important as Rafe but I thought I would do a quick update on me three months post partum.
Firstly physically I am pretty much completely back to normal. My weight is now 124lbs so only one pound off what I was pre-pregnancy. The last few pounds has only dropped off very recently when I began focusing more on BOTH diet and exercise. Previously my emphasis had mainly been on working out, and although I was doing this around six days a week I was also indulging in a takeaway once a week and probably being a little to relaxed with my general eating habits. I found myself relying on breastfeeding to help me lose the baby weight but unfortunately although breastfeeding was an amazing help with the initial weight loss this soon plataued.
I've really cleaned up my diet now (except for the occasional dairy free ice cream treat) it's been tricky because I have had to find a balance between eating enough to still be able to produce breastmilk and allow my muscles to recover after workouts, but I also needed to be in a slight calorie deficit to lose the extra pounds I had left over. With a bit of trial and error I have now come up with an eating plan that seems to work well for me. I eat high protein nutritious meals and I also use vegan pea protein shakes post workout to ensure I am still able to build muscle whilst breastfeeding.
I would say my shape has changed a bit since having Rafe, I am more 'boxy' and my waist is an inch bigger that it was pre-pregnancy. I have no problem with this because it just gives me a goal to work towards and it's still fairly early days.
I have started mixing up the sort of workouts that I am doing now aswell. I still workout around six days per week but only for between 25-45 minutes so it's pretty manageable to get done. I still do a lot of kettlebell training but I have recently starting doing resistance band work, weights and also kickboxing workouts either from DVD's or YouTube. I also compose my own workouts that combine all the different equipment that I use to target specific areas that need attention (predominantly abs and glutes!)
I no longer have any interest in losing any more weight, I now workout in order to tone up my 'work in progress' areas and for the sake of my sanity!
Breastfeeding is still going strong! I am now using natural, washable bamboo breast pads which I can really recommend. They are a lot better for the environment and they work out cheaper in the long run. I solely breastfed without even expressing until Rafe was three months and I have now started pumping so that Richard can do some feeds and so that it is easier to go out. I have found that public places really lack the facilities for breastfeeding women to have some privacy to feed their babies.
I haven't experienced any post partum hair loss yet, but I am definitely getting more breakouts now. I haven't yet had a period which I am very happy about, thank you breastfeeding!
Mentally I have found things quite difficult recently. Especially the past week, what with the combination of the aftermath of Rafe's jabs then a growth spurt/sleep regression, it has been a struggle. I didn't realise how much a lack of sleep can effect your mood and ability to cope with things. I love being a mum and I feel so lucky that I can be at home with Rafe whilst he is so young, but at times it is very challenging. I have also found that becoming a stay at home mum has really effected how I feel about myself and my self esteem, for me it's as if I have lost my own identity a bit.
Trying to remain positive though because I know this won't last forever and I need to treasure every minute whilst Rafe is small, he will grow up so fast. I am also really lucky that I have some amazing, non-judgey friends who are also mummies, that I feel comfortable enough to talk to openly and honestly when things are getting tough.
I have found there are lots of ups and downs when you are a mum, good days and horrendous days, positives and negatives, but overall it is the most rewarding experience and I wouldn't actually change things for the world.
Jx
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Friday, 17 March 2017
Rafe's 3 month update!
It's been a seriously tough week! Rafe has definitely been going through the infamous three month growth spurt and it's been hard work. But never the less I have finally got a spare twenty minutes just me and my laptop so I thought I would do his three month update...a mere ten days late...sorry!
Firstly I will talk numbers...Rafe's measurements to be more specific. I got him weighed and measured on the 9th of March. He is 59cm long, his head circumference is 42cm and at that point he weighed 12lb 9. As I mentioned in my last post his weight was a bit of a concern as it had dropped after he lost his appetite post vaccinations. He has been back on track with his eating recently and although I am not going to be getting him weighed until next Thursday I know he has put on because I have weighed him on my scales with me. Not massively accurate but I know that he is now over 13lb. He still fits into some of his up to 3 months clothes but he mainly wears 3-6 months now...with the trouser legs rolled up because his legs are a bit short for them!
Sleeping has been quite frankly horrendous. HORRENDOUS! It's been like having a newborn baby again recently. Gone are the nights of six hour sleep stretches. At the start of the week he was waking up every 2-4 hours for feeds! I think this was due to a growth spurt because his appetite was ferocious during the day aswell and he was avoiding having daytime naps. Thankfully things have improved, only slightly mind you. He is currently sleeping 4 hour stretches again but the last two mornings he has woken at either 5 or half 5 and refused to go back to sleep! He is back to having a couple of naps in the day though and the early starts have allowed me to be more productive during the day. I am very glad that he has been eating well again, but this week has really tested me and more than once turned me into an emotional wreck!
Rafes likes include; Bathtime, he absolutely loves bathtime and splashing his feet, planning on taking him swimming soon because I think he will enjoy that aswell. He loves music, his Fisher Price rainforest playmat, and his Sophie the giraffe teether. He also still enjoys walks in his pram and drives in his carseat both of which seem to settle him when he's cranky.
He smiles LOADS now, especially at daddy when he comes home from work, we even get the occasional giggle from him. He likes to "talk" aswell, and when you speak to him he makes noises back. He's very good at reaching for things and grabbing hold of things like his burp cloth and mummy's hair.
One thing Rafe was struggling with was tummy time. He just tended to faceplant the ground and scream. A friend recommended a tummy time support pillow and it's worked amazingly! He's turning into a tummy time pro! He can hold his head up by himself now, he is still a little bit wobbly with it though and I recently constructed his 'Jumperoo' but he's still a bit too small for it and he needs stronger head control before he will be able to use it. Going to give it another go when he is around 4 months old.
Rafe does suffer with a bit of separation anxiety when he cannot see me or if I leave the room. This was making showering, cooking dinner, everything really, very difficult so I have remedied this problem by filling a washing basket with pillows and popping Rafe in it when I am in the kitchen etc so he can see me. This has worked a treat, obviously I do not leave him unattended in there and he doesn't sleep in there or anything but it allows me to get stuff done...one of the biggest challenges for every mum!
I don't think Rafe is teething yet. I thought that he was for a bit earlier in the week because he was very irritable and dribbling but I think that was more down to his growth spurt.
I am currently still exclusively breastfeeding Rafe. Ideally I want to continue with breastfeeding until he is six months old if my body allows me. I recently began expressing milk so that Richard can do some of his feeds...plus this mumma needs a night out with the girls...and I do not want to be breastfeeding when Rafe starts getting teeth! We attempted to give him his first feed out of a bottle last night and he was having none of it, even when I sneakily swapped my nipple for the bottle. We gave up in the end but we are going to keep trying until he gets the hang of it. I am using the Avent electric breastpump to express. I don't really have anything to compare it to but it seems to work very well and I can get about 240ml in about an hour.
Rafe still has some mild cradle cap which I am treating with coconut oil and scalp massages in the bath. It doesn't seem to bother him at all, just looks like he has dandruff sometimes. His hair is really falling out at the moment and seems to be growing back lighter. His eyes are still blue but he has patches and flecks of brown in them so we are still not sure what colour they are going to end up. Talking of eyes Rafe now produces real life tears when he cries, he's been doing it for a while now and it just makes me feel worse when he's upset.
We are planning on re-starting a sleep routine when Rafe is 4 months old. The previous one we attempted did not work, he was too young and we abandoned mission pretty quickly. His current routine is basically to be bathed at 7pm then feed until he falls asleep, which can be anywhere between half eight and 10pm. He tends to fall asleep whilst brestfeeding which is a habit we really need to get him out of so that we can put him to bed when he is drowsy rather than fully asleep and so that we can have a bit of time to ourselves in the evenings.
Think I've covered everything. It's definitely been a challenging time, really hoping the sleep situation starts shows some signs of improvement soon or I fear I may go mad!
Jx
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It's been a seriously tough week! Rafe has definitely been going through the infamous three month growth spurt and it's been hard work. But never the less I have finally got a spare twenty minutes just me and my laptop so I thought I would do his three month update...a mere ten days late...sorry!
Firstly I will talk numbers...Rafe's measurements to be more specific. I got him weighed and measured on the 9th of March. He is 59cm long, his head circumference is 42cm and at that point he weighed 12lb 9. As I mentioned in my last post his weight was a bit of a concern as it had dropped after he lost his appetite post vaccinations. He has been back on track with his eating recently and although I am not going to be getting him weighed until next Thursday I know he has put on because I have weighed him on my scales with me. Not massively accurate but I know that he is now over 13lb. He still fits into some of his up to 3 months clothes but he mainly wears 3-6 months now...with the trouser legs rolled up because his legs are a bit short for them!
Sleeping has been quite frankly horrendous. HORRENDOUS! It's been like having a newborn baby again recently. Gone are the nights of six hour sleep stretches. At the start of the week he was waking up every 2-4 hours for feeds! I think this was due to a growth spurt because his appetite was ferocious during the day aswell and he was avoiding having daytime naps. Thankfully things have improved, only slightly mind you. He is currently sleeping 4 hour stretches again but the last two mornings he has woken at either 5 or half 5 and refused to go back to sleep! He is back to having a couple of naps in the day though and the early starts have allowed me to be more productive during the day. I am very glad that he has been eating well again, but this week has really tested me and more than once turned me into an emotional wreck!
Rafes likes include; Bathtime, he absolutely loves bathtime and splashing his feet, planning on taking him swimming soon because I think he will enjoy that aswell. He loves music, his Fisher Price rainforest playmat, and his Sophie the giraffe teether. He also still enjoys walks in his pram and drives in his carseat both of which seem to settle him when he's cranky.
He smiles LOADS now, especially at daddy when he comes home from work, we even get the occasional giggle from him. He likes to "talk" aswell, and when you speak to him he makes noises back. He's very good at reaching for things and grabbing hold of things like his burp cloth and mummy's hair.
One thing Rafe was struggling with was tummy time. He just tended to faceplant the ground and scream. A friend recommended a tummy time support pillow and it's worked amazingly! He's turning into a tummy time pro! He can hold his head up by himself now, he is still a little bit wobbly with it though and I recently constructed his 'Jumperoo' but he's still a bit too small for it and he needs stronger head control before he will be able to use it. Going to give it another go when he is around 4 months old.
Rafe does suffer with a bit of separation anxiety when he cannot see me or if I leave the room. This was making showering, cooking dinner, everything really, very difficult so I have remedied this problem by filling a washing basket with pillows and popping Rafe in it when I am in the kitchen etc so he can see me. This has worked a treat, obviously I do not leave him unattended in there and he doesn't sleep in there or anything but it allows me to get stuff done...one of the biggest challenges for every mum!
I don't think Rafe is teething yet. I thought that he was for a bit earlier in the week because he was very irritable and dribbling but I think that was more down to his growth spurt.
I am currently still exclusively breastfeeding Rafe. Ideally I want to continue with breastfeeding until he is six months old if my body allows me. I recently began expressing milk so that Richard can do some of his feeds...plus this mumma needs a night out with the girls...and I do not want to be breastfeeding when Rafe starts getting teeth! We attempted to give him his first feed out of a bottle last night and he was having none of it, even when I sneakily swapped my nipple for the bottle. We gave up in the end but we are going to keep trying until he gets the hang of it. I am using the Avent electric breastpump to express. I don't really have anything to compare it to but it seems to work very well and I can get about 240ml in about an hour.
Rafe still has some mild cradle cap which I am treating with coconut oil and scalp massages in the bath. It doesn't seem to bother him at all, just looks like he has dandruff sometimes. His hair is really falling out at the moment and seems to be growing back lighter. His eyes are still blue but he has patches and flecks of brown in them so we are still not sure what colour they are going to end up. Talking of eyes Rafe now produces real life tears when he cries, he's been doing it for a while now and it just makes me feel worse when he's upset.
We are planning on re-starting a sleep routine when Rafe is 4 months old. The previous one we attempted did not work, he was too young and we abandoned mission pretty quickly. His current routine is basically to be bathed at 7pm then feed until he falls asleep, which can be anywhere between half eight and 10pm. He tends to fall asleep whilst brestfeeding which is a habit we really need to get him out of so that we can put him to bed when he is drowsy rather than fully asleep and so that we can have a bit of time to ourselves in the evenings.
Think I've covered everything. It's definitely been a challenging time, really hoping the sleep situation starts shows some signs of improvement soon or I fear I may go mad!
Jx
Friday, 10 March 2017
Rafe's 12 week immunisations and weighloss worries
My blog has been very much neglected recently. I am going to try and post more regularly but I make no guarantees of this actually happening. This past week has been testing to say the least. Firstly Richard's car died. Completely died, something wrong with the engine that would cost an absolute fortune to fix (RIP Vauxhall Insignia you piece of crap) so he is getting rid of it and now has his heart set on either a Mercedes, and Audi or a BMW. Great. And until he finds his dream car he is using mine to get to and from work. This wouldn't usually be a problem, we live a 20 minute walk from our local town and doctors surgery and I would usually walk rather than drive anyway, exercise fanatic (weirdo) that I am. But on Monday Rafe had his 12 week immunisations and the great British weather had been living up to it's awful reputation,and as much as I enjoy a good walk I don't enjoy it in a torrential downpoar.
Luckily Monday was the standard overcast day and not raining. After the usual morning battle to get myself and my baby in a presentable state to face the world (cursing myself for booking a 9:30am appointment) we made it to the doctors surgery on time and looking fairly smart...Rafe not me.
Now at Rafe's last injections (when I was driven and had Richard by my side throughout) he was an angel. So brave, no fuss, few tears when the needle went in but that was it. Typically this time when I was by myself he screamed the place down from the moment we entered the surgery. It was like he knew what was coming. Everyone in the waiting room was eyeballing me and my apparently uncontrollable baby (they probably weren't but that's what it felt like). So I went and hid in the baby changing room until our appointment time.
A little off topic here but does anybody else find it so incredibly annoying that despite every doctor, midwife, health visitor, the government EVERYBODY advising that breastfeeding is best for you baby there is never anywhere private to actually whip your boob out and do it? There wasn't even a plastic chair in this baby changing room, I had to put the lid of the toilet down and sit on there and try and feed my hysterical baby.
Anyway he had the 5 in 1 jab again and the Rotavirus liquid to drink (cried the entire time) and we escaped with me on the verge of a mental breakdown. The minute we started walking home he fell fast asleep in his pram.
Now I hate it when Rafe has jabs because last time the aftermath was horrendous and this time was no better. I let him sleep when we got home, when he eventually woke up he was super grouchy and completely off of his food. He had a dodgy stomach all day which is a common side effect of the rotavirus vaccine and I could tell he wasn't feeling well. He did not have a temperature with these jabs, but he would not settle or nap for the rest of the day and I gave him a dose of calpol in the evening to try and calm him down and thankfully he did then have a good feed and go to sleep. We had a good night, he didn't wake up any more than usual but then Tuesday was AWFUL.
He woke his usual time between 7-8am and fed normally, he seemed okay in the early morning but I noticed the injection site was quite red and had formed a hard lump. He refused to take a nap the entire day and he just seemed to get more and more distressed, he was massively clingy and just screamed every time I tried to put him down. He wouldn't feed properly either and I think the combination of feeling ill from the jabs and being overtired resulted in a very testing day. I bathed him earlier than usual to try and calm him a bit. Sure enough he was back to happy Rafe splashing in the tub but then he started screaming again as soon as I took him out and got him ready for bed. I gave him another dose of calpol and he had a medium sized feed and fell asleep at 7pm woke at 10pm and fed again then slept through until 4:30am.
Wednesday was a bit better, he at least had a nap but his appetite was still massively reduced from what's normal for him and I decided to go and get him weighed and the doctors surgery on Thursday morning. His length and head circumference are all fine and on track but he has dropped a whole percentile on the weight chart. I was so unhappy, I am still exclusively breastfeeding so I feel like his weight is entirely my responsibility and we had been doing so well. The health visior that weighed him advised that it's not a drastic drop and to come back in a week or so just to check things are back on track. I decided to start pumping to keep my supplies up whilst he isn't eating as much and to check I am producing enough for him. Well I got 125ml in under half an hour so I know it's not a lack of milk causing the problems, it's his lack of appetite. The rest of Thursday he ate fairly well and today (Friday) he seems back to normal eating-wise, although still very hard to settle.
All in all it's been a horrible week. I am by no means anti-vaccinations but I am considering post-poning his next lot and having them in six weeks time rather than four weeks time. Especially as he has the Men B one again in the next lot. It has definitely taken a good 72 hours to recover from them and he still isn't 100% himself. I don't want to scare anybody who's baby is about to have their jabs, every child reacts differently and some are completely fine. I would however avoid making any plans a couple of days after them just in case.
Jx Follow Follow Pinterest
My blog has been very much neglected recently. I am going to try and post more regularly but I make no guarantees of this actually happening. This past week has been testing to say the least. Firstly Richard's car died. Completely died, something wrong with the engine that would cost an absolute fortune to fix (RIP Vauxhall Insignia you piece of crap) so he is getting rid of it and now has his heart set on either a Mercedes, and Audi or a BMW. Great. And until he finds his dream car he is using mine to get to and from work. This wouldn't usually be a problem, we live a 20 minute walk from our local town and doctors surgery and I would usually walk rather than drive anyway, exercise fanatic (weirdo) that I am. But on Monday Rafe had his 12 week immunisations and the great British weather had been living up to it's awful reputation,and as much as I enjoy a good walk I don't enjoy it in a torrential downpoar.
Luckily Monday was the standard overcast day and not raining. After the usual morning battle to get myself and my baby in a presentable state to face the world (cursing myself for booking a 9:30am appointment) we made it to the doctors surgery on time and looking fairly smart...Rafe not me.
Now at Rafe's last injections (when I was driven and had Richard by my side throughout) he was an angel. So brave, no fuss, few tears when the needle went in but that was it. Typically this time when I was by myself he screamed the place down from the moment we entered the surgery. It was like he knew what was coming. Everyone in the waiting room was eyeballing me and my apparently uncontrollable baby (they probably weren't but that's what it felt like). So I went and hid in the baby changing room until our appointment time.
A little off topic here but does anybody else find it so incredibly annoying that despite every doctor, midwife, health visitor, the government EVERYBODY advising that breastfeeding is best for you baby there is never anywhere private to actually whip your boob out and do it? There wasn't even a plastic chair in this baby changing room, I had to put the lid of the toilet down and sit on there and try and feed my hysterical baby.
Anyway he had the 5 in 1 jab again and the Rotavirus liquid to drink (cried the entire time) and we escaped with me on the verge of a mental breakdown. The minute we started walking home he fell fast asleep in his pram.
Now I hate it when Rafe has jabs because last time the aftermath was horrendous and this time was no better. I let him sleep when we got home, when he eventually woke up he was super grouchy and completely off of his food. He had a dodgy stomach all day which is a common side effect of the rotavirus vaccine and I could tell he wasn't feeling well. He did not have a temperature with these jabs, but he would not settle or nap for the rest of the day and I gave him a dose of calpol in the evening to try and calm him down and thankfully he did then have a good feed and go to sleep. We had a good night, he didn't wake up any more than usual but then Tuesday was AWFUL.
He woke his usual time between 7-8am and fed normally, he seemed okay in the early morning but I noticed the injection site was quite red and had formed a hard lump. He refused to take a nap the entire day and he just seemed to get more and more distressed, he was massively clingy and just screamed every time I tried to put him down. He wouldn't feed properly either and I think the combination of feeling ill from the jabs and being overtired resulted in a very testing day. I bathed him earlier than usual to try and calm him a bit. Sure enough he was back to happy Rafe splashing in the tub but then he started screaming again as soon as I took him out and got him ready for bed. I gave him another dose of calpol and he had a medium sized feed and fell asleep at 7pm woke at 10pm and fed again then slept through until 4:30am.
Wednesday was a bit better, he at least had a nap but his appetite was still massively reduced from what's normal for him and I decided to go and get him weighed and the doctors surgery on Thursday morning. His length and head circumference are all fine and on track but he has dropped a whole percentile on the weight chart. I was so unhappy, I am still exclusively breastfeeding so I feel like his weight is entirely my responsibility and we had been doing so well. The health visior that weighed him advised that it's not a drastic drop and to come back in a week or so just to check things are back on track. I decided to start pumping to keep my supplies up whilst he isn't eating as much and to check I am producing enough for him. Well I got 125ml in under half an hour so I know it's not a lack of milk causing the problems, it's his lack of appetite. The rest of Thursday he ate fairly well and today (Friday) he seems back to normal eating-wise, although still very hard to settle.
All in all it's been a horrible week. I am by no means anti-vaccinations but I am considering post-poning his next lot and having them in six weeks time rather than four weeks time. Especially as he has the Men B one again in the next lot. It has definitely taken a good 72 hours to recover from them and he still isn't 100% himself. I don't want to scare anybody who's baby is about to have their jabs, every child reacts differently and some are completely fine. I would however avoid making any plans a couple of days after them just in case.
Jx Follow Follow Pinterest
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