1st Newborn Doc Appointment

"Carol Ann" skrev i en meddelelse
news:mr%cc.213748$Cb.1829214@attbi_s51...
My concern with giving her the breast 24/7 is that she uses it to fall
asleep, then I put her down and she wakes up and wants it again. Then,
she
falls asleep and the cycle continues. I'm not sure WHY she is doing this,
but it is the only real problem we've been having.

Remember it takes a small baby 15 minutes to fall into deep sleep. If you
put her down before that she'll probably wake up. Wait a little and she'll
sleep when you put her down.

Tine, Denmark

Anne Rogers wrote:
~Cut nails every other day.

Bite them off if you can - less risk of cutting baby's fingers.

ho ho ho in a perfect world, has he every tried to cut a babies
nails? I still only cut or bite them when I can't bear the scratches
any longer!

I can only trim DS's nails when he's asleep, and he's 13 months old.

--
Belphoebe

"Carol Ann" wrote in message
news:mr%cc.213748$Cb.1829214@attbi_s51... and I snipped:

My concern with giving her the breast 24/7 is that she uses it to fall
asleep, then I put her down and she wakes up and wants it again. Then,
she
falls asleep and the cycle continues. I'm not sure WHY she is doing this,
but it is the only real problem we've been having.

This is *not* a problem. It's normal for a tiny newborn baby. She wants to
be as near to you as possible, all the time. It may seem like she's been
around forever because the days and nights seem so long to a sleep-deprived
mamma, but when you look back on this period in her life, it will only be a
short blip. She *needs* you right now. She will develop a kind of
independence when she's ready.

The other thing to remember is that her stomach is roughly the size of her
tiny fist. It's very small and breastmilk is so perfect for her that it
digests fairly quickly. She's processing the uncomfortable sense of an
empty stomach as pain. She needs you to help her fill it again.
Constantly. This phase really won't last long. The first 6 or so weeks are
like this. Hang in there.

I recommend reading _Your Baby and Child_ by Penelope Leach. The first part
of the newborn chapter has an exquisite, moving description of the world
from your baby's perspective. It might help you to understand better why
she so intensely needs you 24X7 right now.

HTH,
-Patty, mom to Corinne (6y) and Nathan (3.5y)
and stepmom to Victoria (13.5y)

Carol Ann wrote:

My concern with giving her the breast 24/7 is that she uses it to fall
asleep, then I put her down and she wakes up and wants it again.
Then, she falls asleep and the cycle continues. I'm not sure WHY she
is doing this, but it is the only real problem we've been having.

I understand your concern about the sleep association but this isn't
something you have to worry about in the very beginning. I couldn't ever
put Hunter down either, regardless of how deep a sleep he was in. He slept
for longer stints (without nursing) if I just held him the whole time. You
may get a good stint of sleep in for both of you (without being pestered by
nursing) if you nurse her in a comfy chair and then just hold her for 2-3
hours. Rent a good movie, or two. This may be a painless way to nudge her
into longer feeds instead of snacking.

If she settles when you do other things then clearly she isn't hungry. Some
babies will settle for other comforts when not hungry, some will demand to
nurse for hunger and comfort, some just want to suck so if she takes a
pacifier that will work too. It is a heck of a learning curve isn't it!

Two hours from start of one feed to the start of another is fairly
reasonable. The thing to be aware of is that nursing babies sometimes
cluster feed or marathon feed. Most often in the evening, perhaps because
supply is lowest then? Anyway they will want to feed every 45 minutes or
for 3 hours straight. This is normal and they'll likely cry their heads off
if you don't do it. I don't think bottle babies do that so some doctors are
unaware.

Hang in there Carol Ann and don't hesitate to post a vent or a question. I
sure hope you are getting some help to take care of *yourself*. I really
relied on Steve in that first month to prepare food, bring me drinks, help
me find something to *do* while sitting there for hours. That was an
adjustment for me and I bet it is for you too!

--
Nikki
Mama to Hunter (4) and Luke (2)

"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
.ac.uk...
~Gave a prescription for Vitamin D, but said it was up to me to decide
whether I wanted her to have it. He said it was recommended by the
Pediatric something but that he felt it was optional.

You live in the south, no? If so, the baby should be able to get
adequate
sun exposure to
make sufficient Vitamin D.

depends how dark her skin is, pigment filters it before the vitamin D
effect kicks in
nak

in the south, even dark african american, southeast asian kids etc can
manufacture vitamin d from the sun during spring and summer

depends how dark her skin is, pigment filters it before the vitamin D
effect kicks in
nak

in the south, even dark african american, southeast asian kids etc can
manufacture vitamin d from the sun during spring and summer

ok, I forget the south of the USA is rather sunnier than England! I
understand that asian, african origin babies can have a problem

"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
. cam.ac.uk...
depends how dark her skin is, pigment filters it before the vitamin D
effect kicks in
nak

in the south, even dark african american, southeast asian kids etc can
manufacture vitamin d from the sun during spring and summer

ok, I forget the south of the USA is rather sunnier than England! I
understand that asian, african origin babies can have a problem

http://www.mothering.com/12-0-0/html...itamin-d.shtml

Experts say that darker skin makes children more susceptible to rickets.
This is because darker tones tend to protect the skin from a certain amount
of ultraviolet rays, causing an almost natural deficiency in vitamin D.
Michal Young, MD, a noted neonatologist and prominent breastfeeding advocate
in Washington, DC, told us, " 'Dark-skinned' is a relative term and given to
far too many variations. Also, climate conditions, such as cities with a lot
of air pollution, can make sunlight a challenge for persons who are not as
deeply pigmented."

Are African American or darker-skinned babies as susceptible to rickets as
those who live in areas where sunlight is diminished? "Most babies with
light-medium skin tones just need a little outdoor time, while
darker-skinned babies need more outdoor time. Let's get the kids outside
more, instead of giving them vitamin D," says Katherine Dettwyler, PhD,
Adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Nutrition at Texas A&M University

"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
. cam.ac.uk...
depends how dark her skin is, pigment filters it before the vitamin D
effect kicks in
nak

in the south, even dark african american, southeast asian kids etc can
manufacture vitamin d from the sun during spring and summer

ok, I forget the south of the USA is rather sunnier than England! I
understand that asian, african origin babies can have a problem

And, IIRC, Carol Ann is Asian.

My Korean friend gives her baby vitamin D supplements due to the fact that
she is Asian (her husband is of Italian decent and has somewhat darker
skin). Also, he was born in the beginning of December and it's pretty gloomy
here in NE most of the winter/early spring.

--
JennP.

mom to Matthew 10/11/00
EDD #2 10/24/04
remove "no........spam" to reply

"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
. cam.ac.uk...
depends how dark her skin is, pigment filters it before the vitamin D
effect kicks in
nak

in the south, even dark african american, southeast asian kids etc can
manufacture vitamin d from the sun during spring and summer

ok, I forget the south of the USA is rather sunnier than England! I
understand that asian, african origin babies can have a problem

natural alternative to vitamin D supplementation is exposure to sunlight,
but how much sunlight? To make enough vitamin D, a baby in a diaper needs a
total of only 30 minutes of sunlight a week-less than five minutes a day.
Fully clothed and without a hat, a baby would need two hours of sunlight a
week, or about 20 minutes a day. Medium to darker skin tones need a little
more time in the sun.

"JennP" wrote in message
news:tGgdc.215939$1p.2501825@attbi_s54...

"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
. cam.ac.uk...
depends how dark her skin is, pigment filters it before the vitamin
D
effect kicks in
nak

in the south, even dark african american, southeast asian kids etc
can
manufacture vitamin d from the sun during spring and summer

ok, I forget the south of the USA is rather sunnier than England! I
understand that asian, african origin babies can have a problem

And, IIRC, Carol Ann is Asian.

My Korean friend gives her baby vitamin D supplements due to the fact that
she is Asian (her husband is of Italian decent and has somewhat darker
skin). Also, he was born in the beginning of December and it's pretty
gloomy
here in NE most of the winter/early spring.


Darkness is relative. Carol Ann is by no means considered "dark" , most
Koreans arent.
Neither an Italian or a Korean would be considered dark.
Dark is about Halle Berry's complexion and darker.
Judging degree of darkness from a European perspective skews what people
consider dark.
On the scale of human coloration,Koreans, Italians and light skinned African
Americans are
actually "light". They are only dark compared to "white" people.

Experts say that darker skin makes children more susceptible to rickets.
This is because darker tones tend to protect the skin from a certain amount
of ultraviolet rays, causing an almost natural deficiency in vitamin D.
Michal Young, MD, a noted neonatologist and prominent breastfeeding advocate
in Washington, DC, told us, " 'Dark-skinned' is a relative term and given to
far too many variations. Also, climate conditions, such as cities with a lot
of air pollution, can make sunlight a challenge for persons who are not as
deeply pigmented."