u/NoAd9383

Have been doing solids for around a month with my 7mo, 95% BLW.

Understandably, its changing things in his tummy. He used to poop regularly once or twice daily, now its once a day max but often once every 2 or 3 days. This seems to be giving him such a sore stomach. It normally manifests in the night as he wakes up \~ every 2 hours and needs a feed to go back to sleep, but now when he tries to feed maybe 70% of the wake ups, hes just screaming, arching his back, kicking. This is happening pretty much every night and even on nights where he has pooped that day so shouldn't be too backed up, or on days we havent give him any food.

Whats normal here and how long does it last? The 2 hourly wake ups at night are bad enough without adding screaming in my ear to them 😂

I thought we were best to push through and his body would adjust, but if so, how long should we expect this to take? I offer water each time (not sure how much he actually swallows) and 1 or 2 spears of pear each time too.

We have been purposely slow to add in heaps of new foods because of this - we've done apple, pear, potato, sweet potato, avocado, peanut butter, egg, beef and lamb.

Just looking for some light at the end of the tunnel I suppose!

Thanks :)

Hi all, im in search of some cute/casual tops that aren't shapeless, heavy and oversized. I am breastfeeding so need something not super tight that I can lift easily, but with a large bust, anything too oversized just looks like a sack on me 😂

Everything is plain, brown, ugly stripes! Where are the cute tops and t shirts? Preferably nothing really heavy fabric as im in QLD, even in winter, heavy material is a no go.

Any recommendations?

As the title says - 6 months post partum, still looking 6 months pregnant some days and not a single thing from my normal winter wardrobe fits.

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I guess im looking for something that would suit maybe size 12-14, larger hips/mid section and small waist, nothing too tight around the thighs and kind of hides the tummy.

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Looking for a unicorn? Anyone in a similar situation found something similar? Ideally somewhere not too expensive/on sale or with good returns - on a maternity leave budget!

Its getting cold now in Brisbane so im looking to add a few new pieces to my wardrobe to get me through winter. My pre baby wardrobe isnt really breastfeeding friendly and honestly I dont even know what fits anymore.

What is everyone wearing through winter for easy breastfeeding access? Im open to the breastfeeding specific clothes but personally I find just lifting up a t shirt (my normal outfit of choice) much easier/cheaper.

Also in the night i normally wear a short sleeve button down top but its getting a bit cold to have my whole front out 5 times a night 😴 in the bedroom we have the heater on but out in the lounge where i normally feed, I wont have the heater on.

Its getting cold now in Brisbane so im looking to add a few new pieces to my wardrobe to get me through winter. My pre baby wardrobe isnt really breastfeeding friendly and honestly I dont even know what fits anymore.

What is everyone wearing through winter for easy breastfeeding access? Im open to the breastfeeding specific clothes but personally I find just lifting up a t shirt (my normal outfit of choice) much easier/cheaper.

Also in the night i normally wear a short sleeve button down top but its getting a bit cold to have my whole front out 5 times a night 😴 in the bedroom we have the heater on but out in the lounge where i normally feed, I wont have the heater on.

Hi all, i am just at my wits end with my 6 month old. Breastfeeding has been hard from the start due to oral ties which weren't diagnosed until almost 4 months. Recovery has been tough but we have done all the stretches/exercises/bodywork with an osteo and ibclc and theyve both given us the all clear on healing.

Its hard to say exactly when this started, sometime between 4 months and now - after the tie release baby was extremely fussy which is to be expected as they learn to use their new mouth. It got to the point where I was having to feed standing up every single feed to deal with the fussiness.

As some point the fussiness has turned to screaming. He will give off his little hungry noise, I will attempt to feed him and often before he even latches he is screaming. Sometimes switching to the other side helps, but then he will feed a little bit (less than a minute or two) then start screaming again. He keeps signalling to go back to the breast though, pulling himself back down and opening his mouth. Then we just go around in circles. When he is latched he is just whinging and whining the whole time too.

Its started now in the nights - but normally in the night if we go around in circles enough, he will do some farts and then calm down. But we end up awake for 45+ minutes upto 5 times a night doing this.

If he has some sort of intolerance to something im eating, would it be affecting him right in the moment of feeding? I trialled dairy and soy free and saw no change. The screaming episodes started while I was on this elimination diet. I stopped dairy and soy free due to there being no change, however recently upon looking at my diet ive started beef free which does seem to be helping his poops - less mucous and watery, and eczema is clearing up a bit. Ive started dairy free again today incase it is dairy + beef. I myself am gluten and egg intolerant so they are already out of my diet. The only soy i consume is minimal in museli bars.

I assume its not an allergy as we've not had any blood in the stool or more severe symptoms, plus some feeds he is literally so chill like nothing's wrong (maybe 10% of feeds).

Anyone experienced similar? I feel like I spend the days and nights being screamed at and I really cant take much more.

Hi all,

We are working on improving my 5.5 month olds sleep and have ended up in a weird pattern.

In the day he will have around 2.5hrs naps in the day.

He will then sleep a "normal" night, feed to sleep starting around 7 or 730, ending up in the cot around 8-830, and wakes around 530am (i know this is early but this works for us). Wake ups overnight for feeds maybe 4 or so.

Then the next day, he is so tired! Wanting short wake windows (like complaining he is tired after an hr - not bored), longer naps (3.5-4 hours +) and just miserable trying to make it to bed time. But then that following night his sleep is terrible, needing constant resettles and waking hourly.

I assume the terrible night is because of more sleep in the day, however I feel like hes really telling us he is tired in the day so im not sure what to do

Should I bring bedtime a touch earlier every night, maybe start all feeds at 7 and bed closer to 8? I try push this out so his last wake window is reasonable as sometimes hes waking up from a nap only at 6pm. And cap naps at 2.5 hr per day and just deal with the grumpiness, hope it balances out with an earlier bedtime in a week?

Thank you!

Hi all,

My baby likes to wake up at 530am (🙃) and in summer it was ok as there was light filtering into the room and he could see it was light when he woke up. Now, its pitch black and hes waking up quite upset, I suspect because hes ready to wake up but its so dark.

I thought I could try one of those alarm clocks that gradually increases in light, so that its light or light ish when he wakes. I dont really want to buy the nodie/other white noise machines with this in it/that are so expensive. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I have a smart bulb in the lamp between him and I but it will only increase from its lowest setting > a higher setting, so when it goes from off > its lowest setting, its quite drastic and i think would wake us all up immediately.

Thank you!

My 5mo has never been a great sleeper & I feel like we've tried everything. Currently he falls asleep (fed to sleep) around 730-8pm, and wakes anywhere between every 45m to 2h. He wakes for the day at 530am - normally for the last stretch ~430 on, I need to let him sleep in my arms after he wakes and feeds, he wont go back into a deep enough sleep to transfer to the cot, then i wake him at 530.

I keep reading that sleep pressure is the reason for all the wakes, but i just cant get it right where it makes any difference to his night sleep. We follow possums in the day and he either contact or car naps- usually 30m per nap except maybe a longer one at lunch or in the afternoon. He normally wakes from his last nap around 5pm, feeds, and then by 630pm hes whinging and grizzling he wants to sleep. Normally I can push him to ~7 when we feed and he falls asleep, I keep him upright for 15m then transfer to the cot.

Even on days where he has less nap time, it has no influence on sleep. So does anyone have tips on where I can start with adjusting sleep pressure?

My 5mo has always been a terrible sleeper. He is currently in the cot in our room, and we were about to buy another cot to out into his room to try and see if maybe he will sleep better on his own. However im thinking maybe I completely bypass the cot and get a floor bed? Has anyone done this and can recommend either a resource for this or products they've purchased?

We do have a spare bed, can I just drag that mattress to the floor and we both sleep on that?

I have been avoiding co sleeping cause I feel like ill never be able to get away from co sleeping, but he is waking up 1-2 hourly then up for the day at 5am, im losing the plot.

Thank you!

Looking to buy a second cot for our 5 month old and it looks like the variety of cots has changed alot in a year.

I see lots of drop side cots now compared to when we last went shopping. I kind of forgot that soon we will need to lower our cot to the lowest setting, which is going to make transferring even harder.

Does anyone have a dropside cot that isnt loud when you close it? This baby needs to be transferred like a bomb being defused, so im worried about transferring him to the lower setting, but also worried ill wake him back up with the clicking. Ideally if theres one that will convert to a toddler bed that would be great.

Hi all, Looking to see if anyone has any personal experiences with what im going through, as my ibclc isnt quite sure what's happening

Baby is 5 months and at around 3.5 months had oral ties released. Since then, he has been super fussy feeding which is to be expected apparently, and it was always manageable. Our ibclc has given us the all clear for recovery and she doesnt think these problems are related to the recovery.

Just this week he has escalated from fussy to full on screaming during feeds. I will start on my slower side as recommended, but then he gets upset so I move him to the faster side, then after a few minutes he will pull off and just scream absolutely inconsolable. Ibclc said that he shouldn't be struggling with flow at this age if it was too fast for him.

It then takes ages to calm him and maybe he will do a burp.

I then have to stand up and walk around and feed him and he does the same thing but I guess gets progressively less upset. It can take 30-60 minutes to feed him and hes probably only actually feeding for like 10 of those minutes.

Oddly enough this was only happening in the day, but now its creeping into the night.

I recently trialled a soy and dairy free diet to see if it would help with some eczema, reflux etc but saw no change so I have reintroduced them, although the screaming started while I wasnt eating them. Have tried infacol the past few feeds and no difference.

Does anyone have any ideas? The constant screaming all day plus now nights (wakes up 3-5 times each night and will only feed back to sleep) are driving me insane

Hi all, Looking to see if anyone has any personal experiences with what im going through, as my ibclc isnt quite sure what's happening

Baby is 5 months and at around 3.5 months had oral ties released. Since then, he has been super fussy feeding which is to be expected apparently, and it was always manageable. Our ibclc has given us the all clear for recovery and she doesnt think these problems are related to the recovery.

Just this week he has escalated from fussy to full on screaming during feeds. I will start on my slower side as recommended, but then he gets upset so I move him to the faster side, then after a few minutes he will pull off and just scream absolutely inconsolable. Ibclc said that he shouldn't be struggling with flow at this age if it was too fast for him.

It then takes ages to calm him and maybe he will do a burp.

I then have to stand up and walk around and feed him and he does the same thing but I guess gets progressively less upset. It can take 30-60 minutes to feed him and hes probably only actually feeding for like 10 of those minutes.

Oddly enough this was only happening in the day, but now its creeping into the night.

I recently trialled a soy and dairy free diet to see if it would help with some eczema, reflux etc but saw no change so I have reintroduced them, although the screaming started while I wasnt eating them.

Does anyone have any ideas? The constant screaming all day plus now nights (wakes up 3-5 times each night and will only feed back to sleep) are driving me insane

Looking for advice particularly from couples where the working parent isnt in a typical 9-5, but open to all perspectives! This is probably most relevant for small babies too, as my boy is not mobile and needs hands on time all day.

I am a stay at home mum for our 5 month old, he is a real Velcro baby so only contact naps, but also is very curious and gets bored easily, so every wake window I am in full entertainment mode to keep him occupied. He cries if I try to put him down even to eat lunch so I cant really just potter around and do things with him, maybe he will tolerate 10 mins being pushed around the house in the pram while i do the dishes etc.

My partner WFH running his own business, some days he is really busy and some he is super quiet and just does whatever he wants- video games, TV, exercise, sleep (dont even get me started on the day naps when I am up a minimum 3 times every night). Because of the fluctuations, he works 7 days as well.

Generally he is available if I need him to hold baby while I eat lunch, go to the toilet etc. Or entertain baby if I need to duck out for like a drs appointment quickly. Baby is exclusively breastfed and will not take a bottle, so its not like I can be gone for long anyway, or baby is with me if im out majority of the time anyway.

However now 5 months in I am really feeling the weight of being "on" for like, 23 hours 7 days a week. When he naps, I am having to use that time to order groceries, do any shopping or prep or booking appointments for baby. Husband will normally take baby for 1 nap a day (30mins) in the evening but normally this is when its my turn to cook, so it hardly seems like a trade off in my favour - of course id rather cuddle baby while he sleeps than cook dinner and do dishes. I normally have a quick shower while he baths baby.

I guess what's making it hard is every day is unpredictable for his work- i cant just say "ok at 3pm take baby so I can have a shower" and my organised brain feels like every day im chasing my tail wondering if im going to have enough time to shower or eat. Same with weekends - he might have a busy Sunday then nothing Monday, so i dont think we can make an agreement such as "on Sundays ill take baby the entire time between feeds"

So onto my question - for those either in similar or even different situations, do you have a plan or schedule for your "off" time? For couples where one works 9-5 in the week, do you have an agreement for how time is split in the evenings or weekend? How much "off" time is reasonable per week?

Also, its not like im looking to do anything in particular - id just like time to shower without rushing or water my plants without a baby on my hip trying to pull the watering can from me. And explicitly I do not want "free time" to go and do more chores! I actually would love to be able to like, go and get my hair done or go shopping, but with the breastfed and contact nap situations, I feel like they are impossible, so it really isn't anything too extravagant.

I feel like this current wishy washy is not sustainable but I dont know where to start with recommending a plan (or if a "plan" is even going to work - i feel like probably not).

Okay thank you, all advice appreciated!

Almost 5 month old and has always been a terrible sleeper. At best he was doing maybe 3 hours in the cot - 2 hours in the cot - 1 or 2 hours contact nap overnight with feeds in between. Absolutely happy to get up to feed him but since 3 months the majority of the time hes been waking up after 1 or 2 hours, sometimes even 30 or 45 minutes - he'sclearly not waking up from hunger. Weve tried everything- more or less naps, earlier wake up, earlier or later bedtime, nothing seems to help. Most nights currently we are up 5 times and up for at least 30-60 minutes. I'm going insane and I dont know where we can get help? I cant take a child health nurse telling me one more time to just put him in the cot and say I love you and pat his butt and he will just fall asleep! He is exclusively contact napping and has been for ages, and in the night will only go into the cot if I feed him then transfer when hes dead asleep

Theres so many "sleep specialists " etc you see online, i know its all unregulated but theres got to be someone out there that can help? The local government sleep school has absolutely horrific stories pop up if you google them - mums not being allowed to go in to soothe their crying baby, babies crying so much they're vomiting. All the online courses seem like BS or they're just cry it out with a different name on it.

Im about to remove myself from the child health mums group group chat, I cant take one more person whinging their baby woke up once last night, or woke up at 7 instead of 8am. We are well and truly up for the day at 530am 😴 and I think baby just has very low sleep needs.

Happy to spend money for help I just dont know where to start, so would love any recommendations!