The CBFM Graduates Vol 1

[StormBird]

We have got to know each other pretty well during our TTC journey's so have created this thread on Chocciechips advice (hope she doesn't mind!!) so we can all contintue to support one another through our pregnancies.

Welcome................

KC so happy to see you being able to post again - with all the procedures carried out, diagnosis made and treatment plan in place. You have a good medical team there so hope it all goes well for you. The fact you may have one tube/ovary connected and working is slightly encouragin too, but agree IVF/ICSI the way to go for now!!

I found having a diagnosis (immune issues and male infertility for us) made it easier to move forwards and onto treatment. Let us know how your cycle goes - hoping you get lots of eggs so you can freeze some if you want to as NHS funds FETs from one cycle also (grrrr - we were made to go to blast with 4 eggs so less chance of FETs!! but am sure you will do what is best for you, not what financial people want for you )

Boba little Zach sounds very sweet - though guess not so little anymore?

I see midwife this week, 2nd time of seeing her. Then scan at 27/8 weeks to see if little one growing ok. And a glucose test - bad timing near Christmas, as was determined going to enjoy some sugar this year, as last year was being ultra-healthy for IVF cycle in Spring!!

Hi Ladies (Harry waves)

Glad to hear that all of you with newborns are doing ok xx

Big congrats to Lychees

And good luck Knackered Cow xx

Thanks for the welcome back!

Keziah hope all is well. Good luck for midwife visit!

Boba that's really encouraging. Will keep you all up to date. Had injection training today! Hope Zach is doing well.

Thanks for good wishes, Harry. Hope you're doing well. Think you were graduating from CBFM thread when I joined way back in 2010!

Waves to harry

Thanks KC - am nervous as my left side of placenta is not working and was showing notching at 20 week scan - but hey, to all be ok would not be me (after all who gets a miracle bfp after a stroke and failed ICSI and after 7 yrs!!). Have growth scan in 3 weeks also - and if not well then will see consultant at 29 weeks to discuss what we do. Am liking the fact they are not doing worst case scenarios now. But had to cut down work lots already due to risks etc with this pregnancy. Not helped at work by 3 colleagues have healthy, perfect 2nd pregnancies and worked until 37 weeks and I have hardly a bump and can't work - grrr....!!

boba - apologies for just seeing your post re jabs, sam only had his on tuesday at 9 and a half weeks! he developed a bit of a fever and was very upset for a few hours but fine by bedtime. how did zach get on? we starting babyswimming next week (same thing different company), iv always been into my swimming and hope that sam shares my passion!

knackered i was really hoping that your post was going to be announcing a pregnancy, im sorry its not but im glad you will be starting IVF. we will all be thinking of you.

keziah its not all that long no, you are fast approaching the very big stage (im still in it and sam is 10 weeks now LOL).

is anyone else addicted to really bad TV? i cant stop watching that australian border patrol programme on sky.

kitty last night was a bit upsetting for all involved. I've never heard him cry like that. He settled after a tepid bath and some calpol though. Not looking forward to repeating the experience in 4 weeks

My guilty t.v. pleasures are 16 & Pregnant, Teen Mom and The Real Housewives of New York, so addicted they're all on series link on the sky +

keziah how did you get on at midwife?

kitty thanks for encouragement.

Boba - didn't get on well, in that no question I ask was answered, apart from "ring the hospital" - main issue is I can't really feel the baby which is worrying me, partly because I know my placenta is notched and not working properly. No reassurance, but all tests done ok and all things in book signed off for 24 and 28 weeks as she will not see me now till 32 weeks as she told me I was having a glucose test at hospital so didn't need to see her till Jan. I came home and cried -silly, I know but am at hormonal and nervous state (even dh says I have been ok till this week!!) Dh rang hospital last night and was apologetic in having to ask my questions, but explained pollitely the midwife told them to. He said midwife at hospital was reassuring, professional (first baby, anterior placenta, baby still too week to kick through it and it is normal not to feel it) but could tell she thought my community midwife was useless and at least it wasn't us being paranoid. She also said I will get all tests done at hospital for 28 weeks, but not due to glucose testing but because I am down for hospital clinic - duh, why couldn't my midwife tell me that!! I would not have worried then. 28 weeks is important as I need quite a few blood tests due to other things hence I didn't want to miss them. I can finish my rant by saying that the midwife assitant literally read verbatim the 4 things that are meant to be "discussed" at 24 weeks, plus "28 weeks" so I am now apparently an expert on breastfeeding and everything else she signed off!! So - NCT classes here I come, just because at least they will be longer than 90 seconds to cover all aspects of everything!!

So - am hormonal, upset, irritable but pregnant.

Boba sorry your little boy was so upset, hope he has a good day today for you and him.

Glad you ended getting the help you deserved keziah some people just shouldn't work in health when they can't be arced doing their job properly. x

How's everyone doing? its very quiet in here. hope all is ok kezia and everyone else. we are fine, sams now almost 12 weeks and very hungry and grouchy, other than that, mummy is finally trying to lose weight realising that not only is she wearing size 16 jeans (something she swore would never happen), they are not even baggy.....

Hello Ladies! Just having a quick scan though, hope all's well and everybody is ok?!
Keizah Hope pregnancy is all ok, it's a worrying time isn't it! I think some midwives can be very flippant , which is so unhelpful, especially when your hormonal and anxious! I know I was!.

KCow So lovely to hear from you! wishing you the very best of luck with the treatment! fingers crosssed for you, it's got to be your turn soon.

IloveKittyHello! Sam 12 weeks already! I am also wearing size 16 jeans! whats that all about?! I also swore I wouldnt! but hey nearly January! new year new start .

Hello boba and harry!! hope babies are all well, are you are doing ok too!.

Jensen is almost 17 weeks! can't believe how fast he's growing, hes almost 17lb!, I was doing great after C-section, but when they opened me up to deliver him, they found a very angry ovary with huge cyst. The biopsy came back that it was dermoid with thyroid cells in it soo it had to come out, so I had it and the ovary removed via a laparotomy last Tuesday, so recovery is just like another section minus the baby to distract from the pain. The worst part is I can't lift the baby as hes sooo big, as well as no driving ect for 6 weeks, my tummy looks like a roadmap!

Anyway it's all done now, just hope losing one ovary isnt going to affect me hormonally , dont suppose anybody has any experience on the subject? any advice would be appreciated, as surgeon was quite sure he could save the ovary, so I didn't really read up on what happens if you lose it.

Thanks ladies, will keep popping in to see how everybody is

Gosh anytime glad you ok but what a thing to go through with a young baby. Hope you're getting plenty of help?

I too have started the diet. Finding it hard to find the time to exercise though. I feel a lot wider than I did before pregnancy so don't know how to get rid of that?

Zach 10 weeks on Thursday and was 14lb 3oz at 8 week check so hell knows what he'll weigh this week?!

wow anytime now what a weird thing, had you had any ovarian cysts before? did you have any symptoms? i have had some weird stabbing pains, possibly around ovulation time (i have had one period a couple of weeks back).

boba what a big lad! did you say 14 3 at 8 weeks? how much was he at birth. i was thinking sam was over-eating and i felt embarassed when i went to clinic as his growth which was tracking nicely on the 50th centile is now back to nearly 25th.

keziah hope you are doing well xxx

everyone else - how are we?

kitty he is huge! Was 9lb 5oz at birth but 57 long so he is very tall. He's been on 91st centile since birth and dropped from 99.6 to 91st for height. I have a sore back from lugging him around! x

So lovely to hear of your babies. I am 26 weeks tomorrow and in 8 days time have glucose tolerance test and midwife clinic (which hospital doing thankfully as my community mw not see me till 32 weeks. At the choosing and ordering stage now, which is exciting, although so far only have sorted a cot and car seat!

Will you be getting a scan then too keziah?

I hope so boba as haven't had so much as a kick yet and although an anterior placenta should have had some movement felt yet. Am going to ask about how to do a kick chart when I haven't had a kick and what else to look for.

Oh - all you ladies who are breastfeeding, did you bother buying a breastfeeding pump, if so did you use it and what would you recommend. I thought I wouldn't buy one, but tell dh which one to buy if I realised I needed one.

keziah - hope all is ok. i hope you get a scan soon for some re-assurance. can't believe after all the struggle you had trying to conceive that your pregnancy is stressful too.

re breast pumps. my intention was always to start just doing breastfeeding and then to do a mix. as it happened, sam wouldnt latch on at all, so i expressed for the first 6 weeks (he had a mix of breast and formula) and since then hes been on formula. i bought everything prior to him being born (more about that in a bit). i have found that very few people end up 100% breastfeeding, and that most people that feed do end up expressing for a variety of reasons - to increase supply, to relieve sore boobs when the baby sleeps through, to share the pressure of feeding.

i started off by buying a philips avent single electric pump (about £80 i think on amazon), an avent microwave steriliser (somewhere around £20 or less on amazon) and an avent bottle starter set (contains some small bottles, a couple of larger, and size 1 and 2 teats), which i think was about £15. i got everything from amazon. i bought all this on amazon before he was born. i have to say, im glad i did. it make it a lot less stressful when we came home from hospital knackered, and had all the bottles ready.

this is probably a good time to share my controversial thoughts on feeding. can i precede this by saying that i do not wish to offend anyone. so, we intended to do mixed and shared feeding from the outset. he then wouldnt take to the breast at all. i went to a couple of breastfeeeding clinics and all that stuff. everywhere people were going on about it. i started to feel like he wouldnt realise i was his mum if i wasnt feeding. eventually i got over it and thought, you know what, we are doing what works for us, we share the feeding, i get some sleep. it was a relief when i finally gave up expressing. since then i have felt much more human. it is also way easier to get your child to sleep through the night, and to do things like controlled crying to get them to not wake up until its food time. since very early on i have been able to have time to myself, and my husband has bonded in a really special way with sam, taken care of him in a way that many fathers dont get to do. i have continued with my OU studies. sams now 12 weeks old and we are very happy. the feeding method we have opted for has worked for us. whilst it would not have been our original choice, we wouldnt change it at all and i would probably do something similar next time (i have very flat nipples on giant boobs, i dont think its going to get easier). i respect and admire people that breastfeed but i personally feel much happier and more human not doing it, i dont have to get my boobs out in public, and i have a happy child too. he has had the early milk and antibodies, and he is perfectly content. i just wanted to share this for people to see that there are positive sides to bottle feeding, those of you that havent given birth yet probably have yet to come the NCT outlook on everything, and once the baby is born you will see that theres an awful lot of support for breastfeeding mothers, but no movement to support people who chose not to, and you somehow feel like a little bit of a second class citizen in all the annoying little mums and babies groups (perhaps another day i will share my opininos on those too!!!). i dont want other people to feel guilty or inferior like i did, and to recognise that you need to do what works for your family, and be proud of it.

am officially down off the soapbox for now....

ilovekitty - thanks for that. I don't even know if I will be able to breastfeed, as am apparently at high risk of pnd, so if need medication (off all since 8 weeks ) that will be that really. Also with my immune condition I don't know yet how birth or feeding will affect that. So, am definitly keeping options open, but would like to be able to give baby that early milk (whether expressed or otherwise) hence thinking of pump. I think my thought is I would like to try and if it doesn't work or want to mix bottle and breast then so be it. My midwife has apparently "discussed breastfeeding" with me - which means she hasn't even used the word and obviously is not pro-breastfeeding. Agree even less information about bottle feeding!!

So - probably best to order before birth. Thanks for that. Definitely will need bottles either way. Am in awe of your 6 weeks of expressink ilovekitty. Yes, my dh will be a hands on dad very much .

Am 6months today - yippee!!!

keziah 6 months, brilliant, im so pleased for you.

having struggled with anxiety i was worried (yes, obviously LOL) that i would be a candidate for PND, which is why i did NCT etc, for all the support. i have really surprised myself to be honest, to realise that im really strong, and have the confidence to do things my way. i hope you feel the same when the time comes. i think being relaxed and open minded and not having fixed inflexible ideas about the type of birth you have or how you want things to be in terms of feeding routine etc, really do help with that. the hormones after childbirth are ridiculous and i can see how people can get into a bad state thinking about everything that has happened and is happening, its very intense, and a time when you really have to be kind to yourself, above all else.

Ahhhh I have awful insomnia tonight hence the odd posting time!

Keziah I waited to see if I was able to bfeed before buying the pump etc. I bought 2 cartons ready mixed formula and some sterilising fluid. We were sent a free Avent bottle from Boots I think. Once I was sure bfeeding was going well (approx 10 days) I ordered my pump. I got the Medela Swing and thoroughly recommend it. I regularly get 5oz in about 10 minutes so now have a good stash in the freezer.

I really love breastfeeding and whilst the first 10 days were really tough with sore nipples and mastitis I'm really glad I stuck with it.

My only advice if you do bfeed is to start the expresses bottle feeds quite early. We waited until 6 weeks as I was following the 'nipple confusion' advice and Zach really struggled to take the bottle. Eventually he took one last week and is getting better now. In hindsight I would have started trying him at 2-3 weeks. Oh and after trying the Medela & Tomee Tipee bottles it was the Avent he finally took to.

Personally I only like him to get a bottle when I'm out but I have a friend whose DH gives their wee girl an expressed bottle every night. Defo great to have the option.

Do let us know how you get on at your appointment. Try not worry too much I'm sure you'll start feeling thing soon then you'll be moaning at the rib kicks in the middle of the night - trust me! I CANNOT believe that's you 6 months already?! I know it'll feel like a lifetime to you though - my pregnancy felt like it was about 3 years long!!!!

Hello Ladies. Lovely to ready how you are all getting on.

AnytimeNOW so sorry to hear about your oopherectomy. Gosh that must be tough with a baby. When I had my fallopian tube cyst removed surgeon originally though it was a large ovarian cyst and so consented me for a unilateral oopherectomy just in case. Fortunately I didn't need one, but although I didn't ask many questions, surgeon didn't seem particularly concerned about fertility or hormonal stuff. But like you, I didn't really ask. Sorry can't be more help.

Boba Zac sounds like a really big boy! Hope your back isn't too sore.

Keziah So chuffed to hear you've made it to six months. You must be feeling quite relieved.

Hope everyone else is well?

I had my egg retrieval for IVF yesterday. It hurt lots, but was definitely worth it. We got 12 eggs, which apparently is very good. We would have got more, but left ovary is adhered in wrong place now so they only managed 4 from that sied. 12 eggs fertilised overnight, but one not the way in which they were hoping so we have 11 embryos on day 1. They would normally expect around 8 from 12 eggs so we've been told this is an excellent result. My oestrogen levels are nice and high and my endometrium is nice and thick, which again is supposed to be good. Embryologist told us to cross our fingers because early indications seem to show it's looking promising for a day 5 (blast) transfer. So chuffed. Even if it doesn't work from here we're breaking it down into hurdles and this morning I feel we've successfully cleared another.

KC - 11 fertilised eggs is absolutely amaing (we got 4 from 5!!) so even with that left ovary not playing happily it is still fabulous news ... blast and even possibly frosties now option, and you know that this stage CAN and HAS gone well. hope you can rest well until your embryo put back!! Keep us up to date if you can ... are you going to take 2ww off work? Know people vary what they do, we are all different.

Boba thanks for advice too. Yes, freezing milk is a good idea - can you use any container or special milk bag thingies? And guess you take it out and let it defrost naturally and reheat in the bottle in a container with hot water? Gosh, lots to learn.

Hi Keziah Feel quite well, although a bit sore and bruised! Took today as annual leave, and have weekend to recover. Have decided to go back on Monday as really busy at work so should keep my mind off it all - I tend to get in a state when I have time to dwell on things. If we get to day 5, ET will be Tuesday, so will work from home as live so close to the hospital - can pop down in my lunch break! Yes, Embryologist is hopeful we'll get some frosties too, which will hopefully give us a back-up plan if first ET unsuccessful.

Just crossing fingers now they grade well enough tomorrow. Eek!

Good luck KC & try relax as best you can!

keziah yes I have pre-sterilised bags which are handy as they have amount on the side so you just seal them up & freeze. Defrost in fridge & serve at room temperature. Good website for all bf info is Breastfeeding Network

KC glad you have a few days to rest. I found I was ok after 24-48hrs. Working from is a good compromise, hope that helps. Frosties sound promising, as they can tweak medication if first embryo goes back etc they told us (sadly no frosties) and NHS fund FETS from the cycle too which helps.

Thanks for that info boba as Ilovekitty was right, no professional tells you what to do if express or bottle etc. Off to read link and save for 3mths time (all being well).