Still Brewing a March Baby!

[Carlitawantsababy]

Shiny new thread!

Hello all- yes, happy mother's day!

I've a query for those of you who have had your babies recently- when did your milk come in? I'm still on the colostrum (Ivy born last Weds) but seem to be producing far less than during late pregnancy & the first day or two when it was really easy to squeeze out a small trickle.. My breasts aren't feeling full like they were, either- I was expecting the engorgement bit by now. I have the mw visiting tomorrow, so hoping she can advise, but the baby just doesn't ever seem full, she always roots around for more, and this is making sleeping difficult.. Just wondered what your experiences were...? Other than that, we're having a lovely time- the pram should arrive tomorrow! X

Hi kiki, for me my milk came in on the evening of day 3 - he was born Thursday lunchtime and milk arrived Sunday night though day 3-6 is normal so you still have time. Difficult I'm sure that Ivy is not seeming satisfied but on the plus side it'll be doing wonders for your supply, she's setting it up for her specific needs. I never really noticed my colostrum, during pregnancy or post partum, I just trusted he was getting it. Milk coming in felt like tiger balm on boobs by the way!
I know you didn't have a c section but info is the same: www.kellymom.com/bf/start/concerns/c-section.html%23milkcomein

I'm still not a mummy! Had another trip to the hospital though yday after MW found higher blood pressure when she came round to follow up Fridays readings. As it was Sunday, we had to go up to the delivery suite for my assessment - something I thought was going to send my bp into orbit, hearing babies, moaning, screaming ladies and so on!! - but surprisingly, the readings they took were the lowest five I've ever had since falling pregnant!! Anyway, all is good with me and baby so just gotta hang in there.... Still!!

kiki - at our NCT breastfeeding session, our tutor said it could take a week for your milk to come in, so as carlita says, you're still in that time period.

When are/were you due broody?
Also kiki I remember finding it amazing reading that babies are born with enough food reserves for a week, when there was an earthquake near a hospital in Mexico the only survivors amongst the rubble a week later were newborns so stay confident that it is all in nature's design and that a little colostrum goes a very long way when your tummy is the size of a small marble!

I'm due on Sunday so still officially a few days to go really - its just that MWs and consultants all said I'd probably be delivering early naturally so I'd got that into my head (silly me!!)
You're right about the tiny tummies these babies have - they're the size of a walnut when they're first born and only need a teaspoon of milk to fill it up. Also, in some cultures, they don't feed their babies with the colostrum as they believe it's evil liquid so babies get nothing for the first 3ish days - I'm sure it was Bangladesh that our NCT tutor gave as an example of such societies. I found it absolutely fascinating to hear of how different cultures view all this baby malarky!

It's the size of a walnut once your milk comes in I was told, but only a small marble when they're first born! Interesting re colostrum being an evil liquid!

Yeah, we laughed when she told us that Like its seen as worse as alcohol or drugs, haha! Interesting though, isn't it? I live in Leicester, the most multi cultural city in the UK, so I'm wondering how some of the other ladies that will be in hospital at the same time as me will want to do things. Will be v interesting to see...

How's it going kiki? What did the midwife say?

Hi ladies

Phew! Grabbing a few mins to post while I can. This parenting lark is a bit full on, isn't it?! Copletely knackered but very loved-up.

Kiki & Winter - huge congrats on your babies. . How is parenthood treating you?

Kiki, how the feeding going? It took my milk 4 days to come in, in which time Erin managed to pretty much scream the hospital down. She lost just over 10 percent of her birth body weight. It was awful. Luckily it all came right though and my milk is here in droves now. Awful while it's not there though...I just felt dreadful, like my body had failed in the birth and now it was for feeding. I realise now that that was me feeling the baby blues and was a silly way of feeling. Hard at the time though. Mind you, my nips are still cracked and sore from the first week and the baby being such a strong sucker and have had blocked ducts...seems like I ricochet from one problem to the next...but she is putting on weight and doing well, so it's okay, if a bit on the painful side for me.

Broody, any news from you? Sending you mega-labour vibes!

And Carlita, loving the new name! How is young master Fyfe doing? How you coping with your new sleep cycles?

Hi bee! Fyfe is doing really well thanks and I'm loving it! Very lucky with the sleep so far, he sleeps for 2-
3 hours at a time, I find I need an extra 'cycle' of a lie in in the mornings once DH has left for work and I'm okay, just awake now but went to bed at 10 (rock and roll ) so got 8 (broken) hours. How about you?how's your baby sleeping?
It's funny you lot still calling me carlita, on my other regular thread they call me trouble since I changed my name!
bee on the feeding front, glad it is all going well, I found that around day 3 I got very emotional with an overwhelming sense of responsibility that I needed to provide all the food for this tiny person! Watch the soreness though, mine got to the point where I was having to grit my teeth, clench my fists and try and usually fail to hold the tears back..soreness is normal, pain is not, regardless of what friends and family say anecdotally, just because they put up with pain doesn't mean you should! I contacted a local breastfeeding councillor who came round (for free) and helped me get his latch better ( he had put on 12 oz in 5 days so no probs for him, just me) it is now wonderful, I really enjoy feeding him and never get anything worse than soreness, never enough to make me breathe differently, clench anything, count to ten etc. just mild soreness from time to time. Sorry for the long post on that but it has made such a massive difference for me!

Hi bee [waves] lovely to hear your update and that motherhood (apart from nip issues!) is treating you well :)

Current state of play with me - unfortunately, my BP is on the rise which means that a MW has been round every other day to check it (Friday, Sunday, Tuesday) and then promptly sent me to the hospital's assessment area for four hours worth of bp and blood tests as it has remained high. I have an appointment there with a senior MW and consultant this morning to discuss our options - it'll either be drugs to lower my bp or induction. Of course, I'm not really keen on either, with my aversion to drugs and interfering with nature so it's going to be a difficult decision for us. However, we've got to choose what's best for baby, so we'll see... Xx

Nice to hear from you broody! Sorry you have to choose between two things you're not keen on, that's always hard! Do you feel like you're just waiting now? Is it hard to get around/get comfy these days? It's odd missing that whole bit of pregnancy..

Yeah it's just awkward trying to get comfy - I've woken up in v peculiar positions that I must have found comfy at some point during sleep! Walking around and stuff is also tiresome I want this baby out so much now, I need cuddles!! Such a tricky situation balancing my thoughts and opinions with medical advice.... Just got to wait another hour to find out what the senior MW suggests - the junior and another supervisor thinks its the induction route ASAP, maybe even today!!! Will let you all know... :/ xx

Right then. I'm being induced on Tuesday morning!! Saw the consultant and he's advised it's the best thing for us both so we're going for it. Had i been at 36 wks, he'd have given me drugs but he said baby is well down and im ready to go so there's no point. Asked a load of questions - which I think he liked as he had a student with him - and I do genuinely think it's the best option now. I did ask about the opinion that induction results in a more painful labour to which he looked quite cross and said that is totally wrong and scaremongery but is what many MWs tell their ladies! He said the truth is that it's likely a longer labour but pain or effort is just the same as if I go into labour naturally. That means I won't necessarily end up having epidurals or anything I don't want

Anyway, it may well happen all naturally now before Tuesday!! Can't wait to join your mummies club

Yay broody! so pleased for you that you're happy and will have your baby soon! It's so totally amazing, I'm loving every minute! My mum was induced with me and my sister and had great labours with both of us, no pain relief at all.

Sorry to hear about the BP, broody, but good that an end is in sight!

Who else is still waiting? I remember a few more late-March due dates. I've had a few "signs" but nothing happening yet.

Still pregnant, still waiting, no signs yet . Due date today.

Lovely to hear about all these arrivals though!

Well done knitterati for making it! It really is an average, 50% of people don't apparently. That must be lower in first time mums though and higher in those that aren't. How are you getting on? Any plans for encouraging the baby?
It is my due date today too and Fyfe is 22 days old! Still doing marvellously well. I'm going to try to find which box the Wii is in today so I can weigh him (don't own scales) just to see, though they put on around double the amount of weight on the outside I believe!

Thanks arden - im hoping in my little dream world that he/she will still arrive naturally but I know it prob isn't going to happen. What kind of signs have you been getting? And knitterati?

Fact for you - only 5% of babies are born on their due date. That's a tiny proportion isn't it?! Frustratingly so!!

Broody - just to let you know, whilst my induction didn't work (and with the cord being around her neck and her position and size in relation to my pelvis, it was never going to) I honestly didn't find the experience to be a bad one. All the way through it I felt very aware and in control of the decisions being made. The only thing I'd say is to take some sort f entertainment with you. The induction for me lasted from Wednesday evening until Friday afternoon and was a bit tedious, if I'm honest. Hubby and I played a few games of scrabble which was a god send in relieving boredom as well as doing quite a bit of reading. So def take things to do, just in case it's a long one. For what it's worth, before I was induced my MW said that women with high BP often labour really well and effectively. Just think, this time next week you'll be cuddling your little one!

Carlita - latch is good on the BF. saw a lactation consultant who checked for me...just think it's giving them chance to heal, which is hard when they don't get much of a break between feeds! Today has been a better day with them, so hopefully they're getting better. How are you finding your other half being at work during the day? Mine's going back next Thurs and I'm a bit nervous to be honest.

On a side note, used my sling for the first time this evening to take little one to an outdoor fare/ town festival. Love it! Anyone else using one?

Knitterati & Arden - sending you both labouring vibes. Not long now!

Yes, been using a sling every day since he was born bee! I don't have a pram so use one every day to go for a walk plus use them around the house, if he wants to be cuddled and I want to cook/clean/eat etc. it's wonderful, I haven't had to rush a single meal and am still able to cook from scratch every night which is something I love to do (plus my cooking and storing meals in the freezer never got started)!
DH went back to work on Monday and I was a bit nervous too but it has been great, I've felt like it's my first proper week in my new job and it is definitely the best job ever! It's been nice to get in to our own flow, we've been taking it pretty easy and plan to do one thing each day plus cook dinner so there's not much pressure, I think you'll love it!

Hello all,

Sorry been quiet- was in hospital since Monday, just got Ivy back home today. She'd lost 18.5% of her birth weight over a few days plus had really low blood sugar and was very dehydrated so we got rushed back in, and put on a drip & loads of tests & feeding her up, and she's a lot better now. The doctor's said that it's becoming a lot more common now, partially because of lots of advice knocking around on not topping up with formula if your milk hasn't come in after a few days etc, which is actually quite dangerous. She had to have quite a bit of formula to build her back up, and my milk gradually came back in - they say it could have been stress, or perhaps not all the placenta came away, so the hormones didn't kick in properly. Anyway, it's all a lot better now- I'm currently breastfeeding in the day and formula at night (which really zonks her out, we get a good sleep and it gives my boobs a rest & time to recharge) Also saw the Orthopaedic team while we were there, and she's had a tiny hip brace fitted- it's like a mini set of lederhosen. I was really worried it would be uncomfortable, but she's getting on OK with it, and it's just for 3 months. So, anyway, it's been a bit of a frantic few days, and it's really nice to be home again.

Good luck to those of you who still have your bumps! X

Wow kiki sounds as though you've really gone through it this last week or so [hugs]. That's really interesting about topping up with formula, I would never have thought about it or even considered it - I'll definitely be looking out for those signs now and top up if needs be. Glad to hear that little ivy is on the mend now, cuddles for her too xxx

Thanks so much for that advice, bee - we will definitely be packing some games now! I did joke with DH before we were going down the induction route that we'll take some top trumps cards and puzzle books to pass the time but we will definitely be using them now after your advice xxx

Great that you and Ivy are home kiki! Must be a real relief after that week! Great that the brace is only for 3 months and isn't bothering her and that feeding is working out well!
EDD today so weighed Fyfe - he's 11lbs!