April 2011 - we'll shop til we pop!

[GoldFrakkincenseAndMyrrh]

Continuation from our old thread here

So maybe this thread we'll see some babies?! And definitely lots more shopping

Oh thanks re bibs. Will look them up.

My breast pump came yest. i want to breast feed and express sometimes so DH can feed too. I got a Medlea (electric) one which was reccomended to me.

Was Lydia the pool birth? That's the 2nd pool birth i have seen thats been so calm.(wasnt impressed by her texting boyfriend tho!) Am considering it but DH not keen. The other lady was nice too.Cant recall names. She apologised for screaming when she hardly made any noise at all. Great programme!

morning all - am saving OBEM till later when I'm feeling strong enough to watch it!

Opinions wanted though - I haven't had the flu jab and I'm now 26 weeks. Do you think I'm mad? Should I have it? I've never had it before and am usually very strong & healthy, but one thing I've learnt with this pregnancy lark is that my body is quite rightly looking after the baby rather than me so much... so am a bit worried!

On another subject - we think we're going to get the mountain buggy as we live out of town. anyone got any experience with this or any tips to share on off-road buggies?!?!

Ho 1st time i would say have it, i am the same, usually healthy but if we get it while pg we get it bad, AND it immunises bubba up to a year after birth which is great as i dont think you can get a flu vaccine under 6 months poss more?! The only side effect was a sleeping bubba for a day, which others here noticed too. He's fine now! x

It's funny how the MW's chat about it too. I had my 28 week check yesterday and had a catch up with a few of mine they where doing the low down on the MW's like we do on the mothers lol funny to hear the other side . One of my MW actually called me at 7pm last Monday to remind me it was on I'm lucky with having rural community MW's!

Beetle lmao my mum used my step sisters plastic backed bibs for other things too, she used them to clean mirrors lol!

Kitty Also using the same pump, I've never used one before as DD 1 + 2 didn't put on enough weight when I breastfed them so after 6 weeks we had to change to formula, although back then I was 7 stone when I was pregnant so I'm not surprised, 3rd time lucky though!

Vacc are such a personal thing 1sttime, I'm not having the flu vaccine as I'm not a great fan of vacc on the whole, however you need to find impartial advise and stats (which can be hard to find) and make up your own mind.

Oh yes, I also meant to say that I've got the Medela Swing pump. It was much more successful than the hand pumps I used, but then I think a lot of my expressing problems come from the fact I bloody hate doing it and my let down/hormones damn well know it!

1stTime Yes go for it, if you get flu who knows what could happen, baby can't regulate it's temperature inside you and you'll get a high fever IMO not worth the risk after all you can only take paracetamol so it'll hang around longer

There are lots of off road 3 wheeler brands many are fashion buggies, if your talking up a mountain walking, down rocky riverside tracks and basically rural settings, I've noticed that the Jeep buggies are more favourable for reliability and durability, we take groups out on family mountain days (Own a mountaineering company in the Lakes) and I've been checking out equipment and even testing a few products for companies who want to sponsor us, there are many fashionable products out there that fall apart at the bleat of a sheep! If you are the outdoors type, give me a shout if you want the low done on any products aimed at the outdoor life.

Iliketomoveit My limited experience of BF has left me with many questions, you sound like you may have the answers . Does expressing with an electric pump hurt more than manual? Does expressing hurt at all? Do you just wait for the milk to stop? Does it stop on it's own lol sorry if these are sounding stupid but I've never had to do it and never needed to know before? Any tips you may have?

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Swineflu/DG_178075

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Swineflu/DG_177831

Both these pages have downloads with full details aimed at pregnant women.

Expressing shouldn't hurt with either pump, if it does you need to reduce the suction. Or sometimes, start off gently then slowly up the suction the further you get into expressing.

I wait until the milk stops because my expressing offerings aren't that great. But you do what you want, if your milk is still coming, then carry on if you want to because you can always freeze it.

Tips? Relax. Find what helps you with your let down (the initial feeling of your milk flowing). For some people they feed on one breast and pump on the other. Some people look at a photo of their baby to get the hormones flowing. I have to go to a quiet room and be by myself.

Also please please please be aware that your milk output when expressing IS NOT a reflection of your milk supply. I bf ds1 until he was 9mo and ds2 until he was 21mo, but I have never had great success with expressing.

Hi Everyone, I've been meaning to take a look and join the due in april thread for ages hope no one minds me joining in!

I'm 26+4 (I think I'm never quite sure if I work this out right) so due 22nd April. Seem to have finally reached the nice bit of pregnancy people keep assuring me would come, I'm a PhD student and a ton of work to do and major deadlines pre-maternity leave so fingers crossed this keeps up. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Fab episode of OBEM last night, made it look terribly easy and calm, a perfect balance for last week's screamer and panic stations births.

I'm looking into pumps as well as the sister's wedding debacle rumbles on. Plus, DP really wants to be able to 'help me out', but I think it's more that he wants to be involved as it's a bonding activity.

Anyone else having real trouble with the whole sleeping on your side thing? Especially on the left as baby seems to slide right round and kick really painfully under my ribs directly under my arm. Ouch! It helps if I support bump with the Dream genii pillow but he manages to work himself back down there if I move off the pillow in my sleep. If I turn over he does it on the other side too.

On the plus side I was offered a seat on the tube last night AND this morning. Shocking!

OBEM was great last night, I made my DH watch in order to try and start preparing him a bit.

I don't seem to be able to sleep on my side for very long, keep waking up on my front and getting totally paranoid that I'm doing serious harm, baby still hasn't reached my ribs yet though I seem to be carrying quite low and think it's breach most of the time judging by where the kicks are.

Hi furry, welcome to the thread

I have also thought of another reason why I hate expressing. It's a bloody faff with the whole bottles and sterilising malarky. For ME it's like double the work, bf'ing AND washing and sterilising etc. But that's also because I am a lazy cow

I tend to sleep most comfortably on my left side, but I do then find I wake up numb all down one side. I hate to say it, but I think it's just one of those crap things about being pg. If you've got a good mattress and pillow of some sort there's not much else you can do - unless someone comes along with a better idea - which I am very open to btw!

thanks for vacc. advice everyone - I'm seeing MW on friday so will make a final decision with her then, really should get on with it though!

And hi furry, I'm due the same day as you so yes you're right, we're 26+4... how times flies heh!?!! Good luck with getting all your work done.

I'm also struggling with the sleeping positions - trying to stay on my left side, but baby insists on sticking part of itself right under my left boob so comfort factor is low!

And I'm just trying to catch up on expressing chat - I want to buy one of the electric double ones but can't decide which... any suggestions??

1sttimemother I would personally say yes to the vaccination as it's a fairly virulent strain and the reckoning is that, without wishing to sound all Dickensian, it will be a 'hard winter' and a long one. I had no side effects from the vaccination and it has given me peace of mind. Maybe it's slightly different for me as a second time mother though as my daughters are at nursery so on a constant germ rotation. My odds are maybe higher of getting flu? I don't know...

As to buying stuff I'm still hopeless although I will be buying my mountain buggy tomorrow - I'm just about to look online to search out the best deal but it looks as if there aren't many discounts out there. On a plus, I did my hypnobirthing course at the weekend so am now feeling all empowered about the birth this time around. Just need to practise my breathing, etc. Who knows if it will work as there are so many variables in birth but it's amazing how I went in all twisted and cynical and bruised from last time and came out on Sunday thinking "yes, this can happen for me".

Had my GTT last week (300ml of lucozade is a LOT) and another appointment with my consultant. Baby is still breech, although apparently that's pretty normal at this stage. I'm draping myself over my pilates ball every day to see if I can encourage it to move.

Breast pump wise I'll be hiring the Ameda Elite double electric pump which I used last time for the twins. It took about 12 minutes to clear the milk simultaneously from both breasts (no small deal with twins feeding every couple of hours or in the middle of the night when I was knackered and just wanted to SLEEP) and had an valve so you could adjust the suction i.e. start of slowly and then increase once you'd got used to it. Plus it was really efficient at clearing all my milk so I never got blocked ducts or mastitis. I sound like I work for them but it was an amazing piece of kit - was the one thing that kept me feeding my twins against what seemed like an insurmountable mountain of obstacles.

OBEM was brilliant last night wasn't it! I now bow to Lydia and want a birth like hers please

1sttimemother the flu jab is a personal thing but I'd advise to get it too. I got the flu just before Christmas and can say it was totally horrendous. I'm normally healthy and never had the flu before in my life. Fever, vomitting, shaking, sweating for over a week and I'm still not completely back to normal still. Wish I had had the jab sooner!

Loving all the expressing advice. I tried it with DS but never really got the hang of it. It would take me ages to get a few drops out so I gave up in the end. I was using a manual TT pump. This time though I want to put in more of an effort so I don't feel so tied to the baby DH can bond with the baby. Keep the tips coming!

Oh and forgot to say, the bandana style bibs are fantastic if you end up with a child who drools when they're teething! I didn't find them that great for the early puking though as they didn't seem to catch as much, had to change them all the time as they got smelly quickly and they took longer to dry than muslin cloths. All down to personal preference though in the end!

I've been given Medela Swing by a friend as she is bottle feeding and was given it as a gift, so it's nice that it's free and new but is it the best and easiest to use? I know it's the one MW's suggest although they are sent incentives the same as doctors to endorse products so is it REALLY the best?

Who's breast fed before and expressed, what do you:

Like:
Dislike:
Suggest:
If you could buy any product what would it be and why
What to avoid and why?

Sorry but even after 2 children I'm as clueless on breastfeeding, techniques and equipment as a newbie so come on April family help us out please

I'm really keen to make it work this time and as I'm no longer 7 stone wet through and have an appetite of a dying goldfish I think it's possible, but I like to know as much about something as I can beforehand to give me the confidence to feel comfortable with it.

Thanks for confirming 1st time good to know I've finally got the hang of this counting thing, I actually forgot how pregnant I was at my midwife appointment last week which was a bit embarrassing

Had my flu jab at 15 weeks and glad I did there has been so much of it around, would also have been a nervous wreck with the amount of news coverage about it.

To those with expressing experience, I often here tales of babies refusing bottles. Is getting a BF baby to take a bottle purely down to chance or are there things you can do to increase the chances of success?

Midwife question, I last saw mine at 22 weeks (I'm 26+2) and next appointment is in 2 weeks time, is that right? I've only seen her twice since the booking appointment and everyone else on here seems to be more in touch?

I'm alsoa dfirst timer so also interested in the BF tips you all might have, and whether to invest in a pump or not and if it really is possible to successfully breastfeed and express?

Ps the numb bottom is now so bad that I may have to invest in some manner of air cushion for my office chair.....ooof.

My two SILs swear by the Medela electric pump - I think the Swing one is supposed to be good. Both claim that it's the best brand, so that's what I'm going for too. I'm hoping to be able to breast feed and then do the pump/bottle feed now and again so that I can escape out for cocktails with the girls, once I feel attractive enough to be seen in public again.

Where do you hire them from Kitstwins? I was thinking of buying one but the decent Medela ones are about £100. I can't decide to get one sorted in advance or wait and see how I get on with BF and then sort it out after a month or so. I've heard that it's best to get BF well established before trying to introduce bottles if you want to keep BF as the main way to feed.

SarahJinx I got a list of the appointments I should have with all the bumpf from the hospital - might be worth checking whether you have that too. I've only seen a midwife twice and I'm 27 weeks - one was the booking in and one was about 16 weeks, I think. I have another midwife appointment next week. I think it varies from area to area and I seem to share the care with the GP so don't see a midwife at every appointment.

Also suffering from the numb bum. Am thinking of bringing my gym ball to the office, though that feels like making a massive fuss!

I'm fine with sleeping but went to pregnancy yoga for the first time last night and realised that my bump is smaller than most for 27 weeks. Am now deciding whether this is something to worry about. The doctor didn't seem to be too bothered about it when I had my 24 week appointment but they did say that the baby was measuring on the small end of normal at the 20 week scan. I'm quite small and DH isn't stacked either so it wouldn't be that strange to have a smallish bump. I guess I can ask the midwife next week. There's always something to worry about!

Frakk I meant to say, if you want any tips on where to go in SA - assuming you're doing Cape Town/Stellenbosch/Garden Route - give me a shout as my company is based there and I go quite regularly. I am SO jealous. Haven't been out since September and won't be going again now till 2012.

Since booking I've seen my community midwife twice at 14 weeks (classed as 16 week appt) and at 25 weeks (the 24 week appt), also saw a midwife at the hospital to get blood results back after 20 week scan but didn't have any blood pressure/ urine test at that appt.

Next appt is in two weeks time which is the 28 week one, when I'll actually be 28 weeks!

JoEW - I seem to do nothing but worry about the size of my bump whether it's that it's too big or too small or why it is constantly changing size. I was having a chat about it with a colleague today, apparently yesterday I looked like I'd just been at the pies whereas today she was tempted to get in some hot water and towels!

It's hard not to, but not always productive to compare with others too much, at yoga the other day I noticed that I'm smaller than someone a couple of weeks behind and about the same size as someone who is 4 weeks ahead, it seems to make no sense but we all come in different shapes and sizes not pregnant.

Hello girls! Sorry to change the subject (and am avidly reading the pump advice, meaning to bf if I can but keen to be able to express too) but needed to wibble! I have a lovely boss, and he is wanting to involve me in the interview process for my maternity cover replacement, and I have just read through the CVs - I don't know whether to be flattered that such good people want my job or terrified that when I come back everyone will have realised how underqualified and bad I am!!! I know this is probably the hormones talking, and boss has reassured me several times about my irreplaceability but....aargh!! Anyone else feeling like this?!