Erin at Two Months

Erin has changed so much over the last few weeks. She has continued to breast fed well and has been gaining about a 1lb every week. My mother in law keeps telling me its the small babies that come on quickly and this is certainly true in Erin's case!

When Erin was five weeks old I managed to venture down to my local Breastfeeding Support Group where I am one of the Mother supporters. It was really good to get out of the house for a few hours apart from doing school runs. It was lovely to catch up with the other mums and their babies and to see how much they had changed in the five weeks since I had last seen them. Amazingly Erin slept for the whole two hours we were there and I was able to enjoy a cup of tea and the opportunity to chat. I'm still not used to being able to do these things like that so early on. None of the boys would have slept for so early on and I always seemed to have to hold them.

I'm still having to walk to do the school runs too as its only five weeks since my c-section but I'm finding the walking with the buggy and Rowan walking is putting strain on my scar but my double pushchair is still too heavy for me to use as well. So I booked an appointment to see one of my gp's to discuss the possibility of being able to drive before the recommended six week period. I have a good fifteen minute walk to the local primary school but when you add a toddler walking slowly it's longer and coming home again is also up hill. My mum has come to help me walk the boys to school in the morning but I have had to collect Rowan at lunchtime on my own and then have to go its not watery like it is when she has wind. A friend mentions that is could be reflux but I'm not convinced though I have to admit she is displaying some of the symptoms of reflux. I decide to post in one of the breastfeeding pages I subscribe to on Facebook to see if anyone could suggest something that may help. Shortly after posting one of the other members asks if I have heard of 'Forceful letdown' I hadn't so go off to look it up. Erin has been gagging at times when she first latches on to my breast ( she does it more when on the right side) and I've had to slap her on the back on a few occasions to stop her choking but she quickly wants to continue feeding. But then she constantly wants to feed dispute being full and bringing back the milk. She gets quite upset about it too bless her. When I compare the symptoms for reflux and forceful let down I can see the similarities but also know I have a very fast letdown which leeds me to think Erin is suffering from Forceful letdown. I'm relieved there are some simple steps I can try that can ease the symptoms for Erin and r when I get Erin weighed. I'm advised to keep an eye on her feeding pattern but the health visitor isn't concerned at present. However
a week later Erin appears to be bringing back a lot of her milk after Feds and its not watery like it is when she has wind. A friend mentions that is could be reflux but I'm not convinced though I have to admit she is displaying some of the symptoms of reflux. I decide to post in one of the breastfeeding pages I subscribe to on Facebook to see if anyone could suggest something that may help. Shortly after posting one of the other members asks if I have heard of 'Forceful letdown' I hadn't so go off to look it up. Erin has been gagging at times when she first latches on to my breast ( she does it more when on the right side) and I've had to slap her on the back on a few occasions to stop her choking but she quickly wants to continue feeding. But then she constantly wants to feed dispute being full and bringing back the milk. She gets quite upset about it too bless her. When I compare the symptoms for reflux and forceful let down I can see the similarities but also know I have a very fast letdown which leeds me to think Erin is suffering from Forceful letdown. I'm relieved there are some simple steps I can try that can ease the symptoms for Erin and she should grow out of it. So at her next feed I try to fed her in a more upright position and then half way through about 20 minutes in to wind her. I was amazed the difference after just a few feeds, Erin was not fussing at the breast and was bringing her wind up easier without positing. I have to admit though the most challenging part was during night feeds where I would usually fed her laying on my side I now had to sit up to fed her, which meant I couldn't doze as I tend too when feeding in the early hours.

At eight weeks Erin was called to have her first set of immunisations and at the same time I had my post natal check up with the gp. The health visitor attached to my surgery (not my usual health visitor, I live in a flying start area so am seen by a flying start health visitor. Flying start is a government initiative) I mentioned the forceful letdown to the gp who had not heard of it but agreed what I was doing seemed to be doing the trick. I breastfeed Erin during her immunisations something I did with both Rowan and Trystan as breastfeeding produces natural indorphenes making immunisations less painful. Erin was more than happy to fed but when the first injection was administered her little eyes went wide and you could see the shock and pain. But I know having her immunised is the right thing to do to protect her from future harmful illnesses. After the initial shock Erin returned to feeding and seemed quite happy. All three boys have reacted differently to their immunisations, usually displaying a temperature or just been unsettled. Rowan used to develop a temperature and then sleep so we watched to see how Erin would react. Surprisingly Erin didn't seem to react at all apart from wanting to feed a little more frequently.

This last month Erin's bouncer has continued to be a product we couldn't live without, as she has become more aware of her surroundings the toy bar on the bouncer has provided something for her to focus on and reach for. The other item that has been a god send this month is my baby carrier. When Erin was six months old we had the opportunity to test three baby carriers for a magazine. Both myself and dad of three were amazed at how much they had changed since we had bought our old one almost eight years ago. I had just over a week to try out three different baby carriers and give feedback on them. Erin was more than happy to lend a hand and seemed very comfortable in the carriers. She even fell asleep almost immediately in one of them! I had forgot how much using a baby carrier enabled you to do while wearing your baby. The companies behind the carriers have certainly put a great deal of thought into the designs and also the comfort for both parent and baby. We're anxiously awaiting the edition of the magazine to be published so we can see what our feature looks like, it was such a fantastic experience.