July 2010: The end is nigh... To antenatal we say goodbye!

[stac14]

We're all nearly at the end so here is our last antenatal thread

Yeah we co-sleep already, hes on the end not the middle and I put a pillow beside him to stop him rolling out.
It gets him to sleep slightly more but not that much, wonder if its a growth spurt cos he seems to feed alot at the mo too...

tsc I had really bad night sweats for about 5 days - apparently it was the side effect of the infection in my c-section scar. The night sweats stopped almost immediately when I started taking my antibiotics. Might be worth checking out with your GP :)

I had hoped to post more tonight but Iris has just started crying...so gotta go feed her again. She's been feeding almost continuously since 6pm! My poor nipples!

emsie sorry you had such a horrible time. Is there anyone you can talk to about it? It's perfectly natural to feel upset about the way things went. Give yourself time and make sure you enjoy your LO as much as you can. I had a horrific time with DD and I'd always wanted about 4 children so although I knew I wanted more I was terrified at the thought of it...when DD reached 9 months I suddenly just felt ready to go for another. If you do want a big family, you'll settle into this one and come to terms with the way it happened. Since DS ended up as EMCS too I think that's just the way it's going to go for me...

dh it's not much consolation I know but DD woke between 10 and 14 times between 7pm and 6am til she was about 6 months old. I was a walking zombie - it was really, really difficult. At times I really resented her. But she did grow out of it (with a little help to kick the last 3 night feeds at 10 months) and now she sleeps most nights all the way through. It seems ridiculous at the moment but your DS will grow out of it and settle down. Some people swear by osteopathy to help their babies sort out any cranial problems they might have picked up at birth (I didn't find out about it until DD was older). Sleep is just one of those things you never appreciate til you have a baby and you just can't get enough of it anymore...

memphis I'm just washing DS once a week with water and not putting anything on him. We used Johnson's with DD and she developed eczema at 8 weeks - she's been plagued with it every since so I'm really wary of putting anything on DS!

tsc I looked it up online and apparently nightsweats are very common post-pregnancy as your hormones readjust and can last a few months if you're bf'ing...lucky us!

emsie - I hope you feel a bit better for sharing your experience. Sounds like you had quite a time of it. I totally understand about running through the events in your head all of the time and getting upset about stuff. I was the same. Although my birth experience was fine my post natal care on the ward was truly awful and I still get upset thinking about it. I think the bad memories fade a bit with time :) x

We don't co-sleep as a general rule (I'm terrified of squashing her!!) but I often fall asleep with her in bed when feeding for 30 mins or so. We got a bed rail for a toddler bed from a charity shop. It's universal and slots under our mattress so the top half of bed is enclosed. I feel much better lying her between me a rail when feeding than between me and DH (heavy sleeper)

emsie sounds like your birth experience was very similar to my first. You weren't at Lancaster were you?

Discuss it with your GP and HV as soon as you get home. It would be well worth getting some post traumatic birth counselling. Took me nearly 2 years to be ready for next kid, but I promise you it gets better. I cried when I found out I was pg because I was so scared of birth, but second time around was so good that I already think doing it again wouldn't be out of the question!

Sorry you had such a bad experience first time though :-(

emsie congrats on your LO, sorry to hear you didnt have a very positive experience, all I can relate to is having to stay on the bed due to being monitored, this annoyed me as I wanted an active labour.

chulita I did have a better night last night after all my moaning!

Dylan slept from half 11 til 3:45! I couldnt believe it when I looked at the clock and I even whispered well done to him!
After that he slept til just before 6 then didnt go down til half 7 ish which seems to be the worst point as this is when Im really tired.

Hes having a nap now but keeps squirming cos hes got wind so is farting alot and I just know hes going to wake himself up.
In fact he has now woken up...

tsc 4 days after S was born I begged DH to go and buy some formula but he wouldn't. I'd have given in if I'd had some which is why I don't have any in stock! 2 weeks in and I'm getting to the point where I think we might actually make it bf'ing

MW has just been and I am pleased to announce that after a mad weekend of cluster feeding Elle has finally reached birth weight and we are being discharged. Hooray!!

Luckily I expressed durin the first week when she wasn't eating much (an I genuinely thought my boobs might explode!) because yesterday she drank an extra 23oz on top of all her cluster feeding. In factat one point she drained both breasts and then had a further 8 oz from bottle immediately after without stopping or vomiting!

Still, things seem to have settled down a bit today, although she is emptying me at every feed (no more expressing for a bit) she hasn't needed topping up so far today.

my god gracie she's certainly making up for lost time!!
congrats emsie and glad you feel better for writing things down. hopefully wheny uo go through your notes you'll feel even better and in a year or so the thought of having more might not be out of the question!
dh well done to dylan for last night!
stac i know exactly what you mean about wanting a break away! no matter how much we love them or how good they are you still need some 'me' time. hopefully hv can sort something about her puking.
memphis lucky you! hope you really enjoy yourself and relax! lyndon will probably sleep the whole journey! i know aht you mean about all the stuff though! im going to my mums this eve for 2 nights as dp is having the operation on his knee tomorrow and stays overnight. waiting for ellie to wake up for her feed now and then have to get all the stuff ready. have so much to bring with travel cot and steriliser,buggy and tons of clothes. plus extra clothes for me in case she pukes on me and all my hairdressing gear as have heads to do down there! no such thing as travelling light anymore!
well ellie's thrush still hasn't cleared up 2 weeks on so yesterday we brought her to someone who has the 'cure' for it. dont know if its an irish thing but some people have the cure for different things due to something that happened in their lives. sounds a bit weird but i definately believe in them so hopefully the next day or 2 see's an improvement in her! also i think she has colic .the poor thing screamed for ages yesterday eve and the evening before and she was in so much pain.

emsie I hope writing it down has helped you in some way. I understand what you mean about feeling you cant imagine having any more children as like the other ladies I had a horrible birth with dp followed by pnd but I must say this time round I had a much better experience. I hope your ok and enjoying lo despite whats went on.

Sounds like a better night for you dh long may it last

wow gracie ellie hasnt half had a mammoth feed lol that is fantastic news you have now been discharged

Well hv came today and has said that I have to increase the milk thickner and get another gp appointment and ask about a referral to the pediatrician. The hv says she may not need it with the increased milk thickner so keep your fingers crossed. In Rileigh's favour is the fact that she is gaining weight and is still in the top 90% for her age. But of course my gp is doing the 48hr appointment system so I have to phone at 8.30 tomorrow for Thursday but the gp I want to see isnt in till Friday so not sure what to do, any ideas? xx

gracie me goodness, where is she putting it all, i have fed Devon loads today and do worry that he will get tummy ache for eating so much?? Im giving Infacol before each feed for the last few days due to thinking he may have trapped wind. He hasnt had a poo yesterday and today, wonder if its the transition from BF to formula.
emsie I can totally understand that u are traumatised from ur experience, i think u should defo see the consultant, make sure u write some stuff down before hand, i dont know about u but i always forget what i want to say when i meet these people.
stac great that she is putting on weight even with the sick she must be getting some goodness from her feeds.
DH did u do anything different to help LO sleep, bet u felt better for that longer sleep.
KK Is this the operation he had to change from ages ago.......when we were pregnant and life was less complicated!!
My god Mylife sounds like u have done LOADS, Im struggling to even put the washing away, it just sits there, all folded up, just not away. We have been given so many baby clothes, which is lovely of people, but we are seriously short of space and NONE of them fit him yet, so the babys room looks like a laundrett with clothes everywhere!!
Im still expressing three times a day and still spontaniously spurting out milk every time he cries, its weird isnt it. I wonder when my milk will dry up. I still feel so bad when he is rooting when i cuddle him, i have to cover my chest up with muslins!! Poor baby. I do have some shooting pains in my boobs and the mastitis is still there a bit even after the antibiotics, going to try and get in at the docs tomorrow find out whats going on.
Anyone got any expreience with Gina Ford and her routines. Im trying it vaguely just to see if it helps to shape our day. I have only been doing it for two days but it seems to have pointed me in the right direction, be interesting to see if it helps with the night sleeping.

just popped on to say hi! its DHs birthday today so been busy! Took Sam for his first trip to seaside yesterday and he slept for 6 hours straight last night! -recommending sea air! lol!
Days are disappearing so fast at the moment! i need to make more effort to have a sleep through the day as really struggling with energy levels.
chulita thanks for the advice on expressing the other day- not actually expressed since as i think he ended up with loads of wind from the bottle!

MLIC wow you have good reason to be feeling smug! welldone you :)

viksam sounds like you've made the right decision about the feeding- hope the mastitis clears soon :( really feel for you but can honestly say i would have done the same as you if i was having those problems! feeling very lucky that things are going relatively smoothly for me.

DH you are doing so well with those sleepless nights- huge admiration for you!

stac hope the paediatrician can help- poor baby :( glad to hear she is thriving tho. you still up for meeting with LOs? maybe we could arrange for sometime over the next few weeks? how is your sister now?

KK hope things get better with your Los thrush- wee lamb :( can't imagine how it must feel for them.

gracie wow! thats some serious feeding!

becky yeah that would be fab, what do you fancy doing? How are you? My sis is home, they think it may have been a burst ovarian cyst so shes to see the doc.

viksam thanks hun, i think it looks more than it is. I don't think your boobs dry out till you stop using them.

mlic i am glad they are taking it seriously but i am thinking they may eventually just tell me the same but heres hoping its gone by 9wks too x

Morning all!

Erk... Mindy has managed a new best for cluster feeding. 14 hours yesterday I was feeding with no more than 10 minute breaks between sides.

It got to 9pm last night (started at 7am) and she was spending no more than 5 mins on each side, then pulling back while clamping my nipple between her gums before thrashing her head from side to side. Presumably in frustration, as I can imagine the flow was pretty slow by that point.

I had just reached the point of breaking down deciding enough was enough and sending DH down to make up a bottle, when Mindy decided she was finally satisfied, and fell asleep just as DH got back with the formula. Typical?

Fortunately I decided to take an early night at that point, as she then slept peacefully until 12:30am, fed for another 2 hours, before settling down again until 4am, when she only wanted a brief snack before sleeping until 7am.

I'm just thanking my lucky stars that Mindy's latch is generally pretty good, as I'm tender today but not cracked/bleeding. So it could have been worse!

Anyone who's survived through BF a daytime cluster feeding maniac, how long is this likely to go on for? Mindy is 5 weeks tomorrow. If I can just convince myself it's only another few weeks before she settles down a bit, then I should be able to persuade myself to keep going...

Viksam I use Gina Ford for both my kids, but shhhhhhh!!! Don't tell anyone!!

People have really strong opinions about it and you can end up ostrisizing yourself from judgemental mummy groups. My MW and GP recommended I do her routines for DS as I have ME and it was still pretty bad when I fell pregnant. They said it was vital to have a strict routine to prevent relapse and hospitilisation (me) which would be no good for baby.

They also told me not to tell anyone they had recommended it

Everything is supposed to be baby led nowadays, but that is no good if it is going to leave you ill and unable to care for your child.

Interesting thing is it worked really well for DS (I think it depends a bit on the personality of your baby) so much so that I ended up converting several friends and relatives to doing the same. It's really helpful that our kids all sleep and eat at the same times, means we can plan meet ups etc... without someone having to bring a ratty overtired toddler.

Elle is doing pretty well on routine in the day, and I allow her to demand feed at night, as I'm not so sick any more and we are trying to get her to gain weight. I think when she is 4-6 weeks old I may start doing it properly.

I thoroughly recommend her weaning plan too. We did it with DS and I don't know any 2.5 yo who eats as well/such a broad range of foods as him. He eats more stuff than I do and is willing to try pretty much anything you put in front of him. We haven't made him his own food since he was about 12 mo. He just eats a small portion of whatever we are having, even at restaurants and other peoples houses.