April 2011 - towards motherhood boucing on yoda balls, eating coc pops and riding frozen surfboards we are

[SnapFrakkleAndPop]

Raspberry leaf and all round.

Continuation from here. No Mofo C bombs yet been dropped in the delivery room although our first 2 babies have arrived. Congrats to gormers and Jo, we hope your little ones are still doing great.

Still here! Just a manic couple of days dealing with the girls and severe knackeration.

Congratulations Chilli and glad to hear you're home and well Petal. All these babies are rolling on now aren't they? Mine seems happy where it is. I keep getting braxton hicks and period pains but then they trail off after a bit. On a plus, I did have a postive appointment with my consultant today re: my GBS test, amongst other things. He wearily laughed when I told him I'd done some research only to then practically fall off his chair when I said I was happy to have the IV antibiotics during labour. I think he was expecting me to resist in my usual bloody-minded manner. Anyway, he's happy with things although he did say the baby wasn't engaged yet - apparently this is common when you've had twins as your uterus has been so stretched there's more room for the baby to float about. Strange thought!

The only minor crappy note was that he mentioned pencilling in a c section for past 41 weeks as he doesn't want me to go past this (he started muttering about increased risk of stillbirth past 41 weeks in VBAC mothers) and they obviously can't induce me because of my previous section. It's only pencilled in and I can obviously delay it nearer the time I suppose but it felt a bit strange to have a potential date.

I wonder who's going to pop next. Looking forward to hearing Ali's update.

yAY Another baby !!

Huge Congrats Chilli to you and your little girl Megan !

Had my 38 week appointment today, been told I need to eat better as i havent actually gained any weight during my pregnancy (Did start as a curvy 14 anyway, so no skinny minny here) and need to be as healthy as possible for birth so been told Steak and Veggy dinners for next 2 weeks. DP is very happy but I have such a small appetite since getting pregnant, Im going to have to buy 20 bottles of Gaviscon to cope with the excessive eating required!!

Had update blood test for iron levels and if i come back under 10.8 I wont be able to have baby on the birthing ward in the the birthing pool like i wanted, Ive been taking iron tablets daily so ive got everything crossed that iron levels are back up, if not my birthing plan will now include an epidural ! So trying to think of the postitive if i cant have my planned waterbirth.

My boss came back to me yesterday to confirm if i want to leave an hour early each day for these last 2 weeks, it is not possible. I have to start my maternity leave !! I feel like she is trying to bully me into leaving, so mad ! I dont want to go yet, I feel fine and I dont want to lose a weeks salary, i just dont want to be squished on the tube !! Ive contacted HR to see if this is correct, I even asked if i can just have 30 minutes earlier to avoid peak tube and she said no ! Im sure HR will say im entitled to take 3 hours of my holiday leave to go early as ive accrused the time and havent taken a day off this year !!!

I hate My Boss !!!!

Hoping all is well with everyone and cant wait to hear some more baby annoucements, it just really brightens up your day everytime you read one.

PS Epi-No up to 7cm, woo hoo !!

Thanks for the messages everyone, a c-section is the last thing I wanted - had hoped for a (short) water birth in the MLU but it wasn't to be. The c-section wasn't too bad considering. Throughout my labour up to heading to Theatre for a spinal block I'd only used the TENS machine, and then only just over halfway!
Midwife visit went well, got a bit more advice on latching on - it goes well once we're on, however Megan is still sleepy - only a couple of feeds today so far - the midwife suggested waking her up about 6 hours for feeding but how?!

It really wasn't that bad! It just wasn't the orgasmic hippy serene hypnobirth that in my naivety i'd come to expect!

But it was still ok! And I only had gas & air for about 20 mins during transition.

I really thought all that breathing would make it painless! But maybe it did help? I've never done it before! It certainly could have been worse!

How often are you feeding? If she's sleeping for 6 hours solid then try gently rousing her by stroking her cheek or uncovering her slightly, offering her the breast - she may be able to feed in a semi-sleepy state - and getting her to take a little, changing her nappy and offering the breast again. The aim is to avoid a sudden waking with lots of crying and to feed calmly. At this stage I would be waking 2-3 hourly to feed. Watch for her entering a shallow sleep - she should be easier to rouse then. Talk to her and stimulate her gently.

It sounds counter-intuitive but avoid bright lights as newborns often keep their eyes closed because they can't cope with the amount of light entering their eyes.

If she's struggling to latch and your milk's come in it might be because your boobs are too hard - try expressing a little to get the milk flowing and latching on to a softer nipple.

What position are you using to feed in?

Chilli - I really think you need to speak to lactation expert rather than a MW as I think the advice of waking her every 6 hours is far too far apart. I would suggest at least every 3 hours. Try the NCT breastfeeding line or the La Leche League one.

The problem being if they aren't feeding enough they don't have the energy to wake up properly. They sort of go into hibernation mode to conserve energy, which then leads into a cycle of not feeding and not having enough energy to feed. Does that make sense?

Suggestions:

Strip her off so she's not warm and cosy, tickle her feet and palms.

Switch feed (google it) - as soon as she starts to doze off on one breast, wake her up and put her on the next breast, and keep doing this until she won't feed anymore. This type of feeding will mean she will gets of gushes of letdown which will help keep her awake and interested. It DOES NOT mean she will only get foremilk, she will get the hindmilk to.

Aussie - your boss sounds a bitch. Lets hope she has a boss like herself when she becomes pregnant

Bloody hell! I was expecting a horror show but 20mins of G&A and I'm assuming a tear/episio doesn't sound too bad to me.

Have to say I'm not expecting it to be painless....I'm going for it will hurt a lot but it will be manageable pain!

Did the hypnobirthing help at all, do you reckon? Although maybe 38 weeks is a tad late to start!

Aussie I can't believe your boss. Talk about being ridiculously difficult. Hope HR step in and OK your early leave. Outrageous.

Afternoon peeps, lot's of interesting feeding information this avo!

I am knackered!! Decided today that I would go shopping for last minute stuff - fail!! Managed to have a little look in Matalan and then went to Mothercare, by the time I was paying for my stuff in Mothercare I was practically fainting!!! Obviously am not quite as cut out for shopping as I once was! Very disappointing! However, I soldiered on after a cup of tea and a cake and managed to get everything I needed so maybe not such a failure after all, I feel like shit now though :(

Bump seems to be expanding at an amazing rate of knots just now too, am sure DP will notice a massive difference when he gets home!! I feel huge! And am waiting for stretch marks to appear any second!! Managed to get some nice comfy pj bottoms/trackie bottoms in Primark for a fiver so can't wait to get them slung on and Mothercare were still doing 3 for 2 on maternity wear so got 3 nursing vests too! Don't think I'll be attempting anymore trips into town before baba arrives though, some people are sooo inconsiderate!

Oh yeah and aussie your boss sounds like a complete moron!!! Why can't you just use your annual leave allowance in half hour incrememnts, surely that would be more convenient to her than you taking say 3 days off??

Ladies, we are:

Head down, LOA, plenty of fluid still, perfect placenta action, and wait for it....3/5 engaged!!!

:D

I really couldn't be happier! I'm so grateful.

As the baby is so much further on I actually even saw detail as small as their eyelashes.

I'm going to read back and catch up now, so excited homebirth is still on.....!

Oh I'm so pleased for you Arch :)

Can't believe you could see eyelashes!! Did you see anything else.....??

YAY! That's fabulous news arch. Good baby :)

And Aussie I concur - that woman's a cow and just trying to make life difficult for you...

No stretch marks MrsW?!

Aussie your boss sounds like a prize heifer. If I were you I'd make sure you keep any written correspondence and speak to HR.

Glad to hear that even the births that didn't go entirely to plan have ended in cuddly babies and good recovery.

Had a nesty day again and got a few more things done. Darling mum hoovered the stairs for me earlier, she's so fab. Got all emotional earlier and told her she was amazing.

Am having very uncomfy BHs again, fingers crossed for weekend action!

ooooh is this thread for ladies due their babies in april?im being induced on the 3rd......v.excited!!

Hmmmm nope none yet cycle putting it down to extreme good luck (not sure how cus I got plenty from growing when I was younger) and the fact that bump wasn't growing much the last few weeks - it's definitely making up for it now though so sure a few will be imminent!

A friend who gave birth about 6 weeks ago, had none either and then developed them AFTER she'd had the baby!?

Chilli IMHE, Frakk and ILTMI are both spot on with the feeding advice. DD1 was v sleepy the first 2 weeks as she had mild jaundice and may have been dosed up on the codine I was taking for a tear. 6 hrs sounds like a v long time in between feeds - I remember trying every 2 hrs during the day and with one or two longer breaks of 4 hrs during the night. I stripped her off, switched boobs, expressed a bit/put a hot flannel on my boob to get the milk going etc One MW suggested leaving her in a dirty nappy so she was uncomfortable and therefore mote alert when feeding Good luck x

Lucie I can feel more stretchmarks appearing by the minute I'm gutted as with DD1 I only got them below my navel and found these really east to cover with a high wasted bikini. This time, however, the top of my tummy has also been shredded and I fear I am going to be in tankinis for the rest of my days.

Welcome Zanny

My MW team is also ridiculously over stretched - so much so that they are not doing any hospital shifts at the moment. It's so sad as it means there's v little chance I will have met the MW who actually delivers my baby before the big day.

That's if DD2 ever decides she wants to come out... I am turning into a hormonal wreck while I wait. I just burst into tears when DH whinged that I'd bought him a vindaloo instead of a madras for dinner

Zanny yup we are the April Ladies...though as you will see from the mentions of recent arrivals some are a ahead in the game! Welcome to the club

Cycle I'm with you on the nasty BH, got some very horrible period-y type pains too. I'm telling myself that it's nothing to get excited about as yet. I'm also trying not to make too much of a big deal in front of DH as I think he's getting nervous and I don't want him to be all go until I'm really sure that things are, well, go! He also met a colleagues 6wk old yesterday and has got very impatient for Little Insect to arrive

Arch I'm so pleased that everythings good for the homebirth.

Aussie your boss sounds such a bitch! I was under the impression that they had to make reasonable adjustments while you're pregnant, and that includes being flexible with start/finish times to avoid rush hour if you're willing to make up time at lunch or use annual leave to make up the time for example.

MrsW like you I'm suspicious that my current lack of stretch marks means I'm going to get loads after the birth! (Either that or their all hiding on bits of me that I can't see round the bump!). Though skin elasticity is meant to be genetic and my Mum was saying that she hadn't got any through all four pregnancies (yay) but has made up for it as she got older and put a bit of weight on (boo). I do have a fair few from puberty though.

I'm also hoping the genetics means I follow her example and don't need stitches!

I avoided stretch marks with DS1 & was all smug about the bio-oil i'd used. (had him at 38+1) Then when DS2 didn't arrive until 40+0...yep they arrived in those last 2 weeks!
None yet (that i can see!) but expect them to start appearing soon.
Not something that i will let bother me though as they disappeared wuite nicely after DS2.

Arch - phew!

Aussie - that's truly rubbish, you shouldn't even have to offer to use up holiday, just flexi-time should be fine, grr.

Chilli - Yes 6hrs definitely too long i would say. Though DS1 wasn't interested in feeding for the first couple of days. Has your milk 'come in'? if not, just keep trying to feed. If it has, then are you feeling engorged? see tips previously re engorgement.
Remember, it's natural but doesn't come naturally :)

Great news Arch

I got stretchmarks with ds1 in the last 2 weeks of pregnancy (all below the belly button), then with ds2 I got a few more that went up to the belly button. This time I can defo see my old stretchmarks, but nothing new as yet - although I'm sure it's only a matter of time!

I put the moses basket next to our bed today. It was quite a 'oh I'm having another baby soon' moment. DH looked slightly freaked out when he saw it as well!

Beetle - hope there is some action for you!

Frak - I don't know if the hypnotherapy helped - I think it would have been better if I'd have done a course, rather than not listened to the cd quite as often as I should have. On the contractions when I remembered to force myself to relax and breathe, it was noticeably better - I just wasn't too good at consistency. I found the number of clocks around the room to be one of the worst things, I found I kept clockwatching.

Oops, got to go - squeals from the carrycot.

The stretchmarks appearing in the last two weeks corresponds with my experience. I only had a couple until 38 weeks, now at 39+2 I have what DP refers to as a 'tiger belly'. They're mainly centred around my belly button and I'm hoping they'll fade but I'm sure it'll all be worth it wan baby finally gets here!

I put all the bedding on the cot today and had an 'I'm having a baby!' moment. Good to know it's not just me!

Welcome Zanny, dunno if this is your first but it's mine and I'm loving this group's combined knowledge. Motherhood seems much less scary.

Chilli Also def second the others on the feeding advice. You're right to question the six hours between feeds as that's too long. Every 2 or 2 1/2 hours during the day is probably right at this stage. A baby that is fed every six hours is just going to be too tired and not have the energy to feed. You've been given quite duff advice but I don't think that's unusual from midwives - I got directly conflicting advice about feeding the girls. Definitely call the NCT breastfeeding helpline or La Leche. The NCT will have local breastfeeding counsellors who will support you on the phone and/or visit.

Waking a sleepy baby for feeds is tough, especially if they're lacking energy. However, once the baby is on a 2 to 2 1/2 hourly feed schedule they'll actually be easier to feed. We used to tickle the girls feet, strip them off so they were a bit cooler. It's also worth remembering that you should time the feed from the start of the last feed, not the end. So if your baby fed at 7am then it's next feed would start at 9/9.30am (even if the baby finished the 7am feed at 7.50). If you tank a baby up with milk during the day then you don't have to wake them 2 hourly in the night. A non-premmie baby can be left to sleep/feed on demand in the night and you should hopefully get a decent pocket of sleep. Once the girls were around 5 weeks old and had reached their due date/ term (they were 5 wks early) we'd do the last 'day' feed at around 11pm and then PRAY to the sleep Gods for a good chunk of sleep. Normally we got it...from one twin anyway! (it took us a while to synchronise them!).

Anyway, waffly waffly but hopefully this new schedule will help. She's not everyone's cup of tea on Mnet but I found Clare Byam-Cooks 'Top Tips for Breastfeeding' a really helpful read. It's a small, concise version of her main tome so much easier to dip in and out of.

Well done on all of this though. The first few weeks are pretty bewildering for any new parent I think

Chilli Dug out the number of the NCT breastfeeding support helpline from my phone (have raft of useful numbers saved for my impending fortnight of new baby panic!). You don't have to be a member of the NCT to use it.

NCT Breastfeeding Helpline (8am-10pm)
0870 444 8708

Morning all, just doing my daily check in!

Still nowt happening here, no sign of this baby making a move for the exit. Due date Monday. Midwife appt this morning but will just be a check up.

Has anyone got any nice plans for Mothers day? We can't really plan anything, well that's the excuse that DH will give on Sunday when he hasn't remembered to get a card for dd to give to me! I suppose a mothers day baby would be the best gift!

Aussie I think your boss is really being very unreasonable. you are only asking to leave a bit early to miss the crush on the tube. I certainly couldn't even envisage even going on the tube at the moment, rush hour or not!

Zanny welcome.

Chilli some v good advice from everyone about feeding. I found some of the midwives were excellent for advice/help on breastfeeding and some pretty useless but only feeding every 6 hours doesn't sound enough to me. I can't remember too much about the first few days/weeks when I was feeding dd, other than I think she was pretty much clamped on to the boob continually, especially at night-time.

Arch good news, after your appointment. Bet you feel relieved. Really glad it looks like you will get your planned homebirth

As for the stretchmarks well, I have tons of them, all appeared rapidly over last few weeks, to add to my faded collection from previous pregnancy. don't think I'll ever be parading around in a bikini again (although come to think of it, i haven't worn a bikini for years anyway!)