We're BROOKING NO ARGUMENT for easy and blooming pregnancies and pain free sneeze births (part 9)

[scarletfingernail]

Here we go again.......

All the brookers who have had your babies- do you have any thoughts on hospital bags now that you have the benefit of hindsight and recent experience? I am going to have to get mine properly sorted out this weekend.

Ah biscuits, it's ok to have a moan. I don't know how you are managing on your own. And the 3 week growth spurt is a killer even when you have nothing to do but feed. But your supply will catch up really quickly and you are obviously doing something right for E to have a 12oz weight gain! Hope your dh gets home soon and that you can have a sit down with someone on hand to feed and water you

Typical, DH been gone 1day and I've needed a man! For some bizarre reason the bathroom window would not close but friends husband just popped around with his screwdriver and sorted it. As we are in a bungalow I couldn't just leave it! I felt such a wuss:(
I havent seen dream today, maybe she is too hot and can't be bothered to move and her phone is out of reach. I remember the last few days of my August pregnancy were cumbersome and I was only carrying 1 baby!(remember when we used to have hot weather in the actual summer months?)

fish - I took far too many pjs for me and clothes for baby as was only in one night in the end. I did however take two bags of chocolate and scoffed it in the middle of the night when dh had gone home and it was the BEST THING EVER!

Blanket for baby was a good bring too as better than the towels they offered.

Too the mw wasn't worried about the small fundal height at all, she thinks the baby is probably still growing at the same rate it always was, but because she's now using the pelvis space my bump isn't stretching as much as it was. Besides, 33cm at 35 weeks isn't a million miles out anyway. I've got my 36 week scan on Monday so we'll get a better idea of the size of the baby then.

Yay for Maia's weight gain and reduced jaundice! Although at the incompetent nurse - grr! At least there shouldn't be anymore blood tests for a while.

Ooooo can I second Fishcake's hospital bag query? Especially directed at Hawthers and Too in my case. I've already packed my hospital, but if there's anything I should add in / leave out your pointers would be appreciated!

Wants that's such sod's law! Glad you got it sorted though.

Biscuits poor you, it sounds like you're having a stressful day! I'll be No Brooking that Ethan follows Farley's excellent example tonight! That goes for Maia as well!

On a totally different note, did anyone watch The Apprentice You're Fired? What the flip was she wearing?

As you were.....

E has now been asleep for probably 2 hours without any screaming

dinner just ready but will try and pop back.

Have read everyone's posts thogh!

I'm just exhausted, in a lot more pain and struggling... that's all. I've told you, I'm having them the day after fishcake, my body actually doesn't know how to go into labour sadly...

Remind me,Fishcake and Dream, is it next week that you two kick off? Wed 3rd and Thurs 4th respectively, is that right?

On hospital bags...mmm...I didn't use any of the cardigans I packed because it was too hot, I didn't use the flipflops because I had a private room and just never bothered, I didn't use the giant fat mat pads because they didn't have wings - went straight to the thin winged ones and they did nicely. Maybe discourage people from bringing in too much food - my family went a bit OTT with the food and I had chocolate, cake, strawberries, grapes, a sandwich, olives, pork pie, bean salad, a smoothie and various other bits and pieces sitting on my tiny table, with my phone and DH's (so I could MN), a jug of water, Kindle, magazines, tea cups etc mixed in. Then someone would bring me in a tray of hospital food and we'd have to spend ages moving things to accommodate it. I found I wanted healthy savoury things, not chocolate and cake. Partly it was too hot, and partly it was fear of the First Poo . Anyway, it was irritating to have to be so careful in case I knocked stuff over. Get some nursing nighties if you don't have them already - I got mine at the last minute and they were much better than PJs would have been for a CS. They won't go near the scar and also, putting on pants is a bit hard because bending hurts, so you don't want to be putting on pyjama trousers as well and bending even more. I got DH to help dress me - he dried my legs for me after the shower, I stepped into my pants as he held them and then he pulled them up. I also took my body pillow in and I don't think it really added to my comfort - just made the bed feel more crowded. Make sure you have a phone for MN, too - it's scary when they kick the husbands out and you're left, immobile, with a tiny baby and have to deal with them on your own all night. MN was a comfort to me at 3am when I felt especially lonely and didn't want to phone DH and wake him up.

Yay for sleep without screaming, Biscuits! I also thought I didn't have enough milk yesterday - Maia was flailing and screaming at my nipple on one side, so I switched her and suddenly I could hear her swallowing again and she calmed down. I then had a meltdown about one boob being broken and not making milk properly even though when I squeezed my nipple, milk shot out . I think she'd just been cluster feeding so much my boobs couldn't quite keep up, and I kept forgetting which boob we'd been on last and getting confused. Also, her latch was getting a bit lazy because she wasn't opening her mouth properly on that side, weirdly.

Good memory too ! (except the 3rd is a tue, and I'm wed 4th but near enough)

Hmm, should get a bf nightie then...

Mmmm supernoodles. Healthy food for pregnant ladies.
biscuits beg, borrow or steal a sling. I hope tomorrow is easier for you
I will come on tomorrow and do a proper post when on the laptop.
Big squishy hugs to everyone even though they are not the mn way of doing things!

I've been meaning to ask for a while - has anyone used a dummy and breastfed? I don't want to do anything that will affect Maia's growth/feeding, but the nurse today was talking up dummies as if they were the best thing since sliced bread. DH then bought a couple and tried one - he says she chomped on it for a bit and then fell asleep and dropped it. (I was through here MNing and eating dinner in peace - I thought she was just asleep!) We did think that she was using my nipples as pacifiers, because she would wail, I would pick her up and she would feed for maybe a couple of minutes, fall asleep, and then repeat when I laid her down. I suppose if she's hungry she'll cry and spit the dummy out. Any advice/experience? Do dummies make me a Bad Mother?

Can you tell I feel a bit conflicted about the dummy?

Back briefly to say I'm too tired to reply to everyone, but will try and keep up better from now on...

too, the pros are they don't use you as a pacifier. The con that every time it drops out of their mouth you have to put it back in (from my dummy using friends- one of whom ended up getting up 5 times a night to replace dummy!!). I persevered without as I'm not a fan, but then had a finger sucking, self-soothing breakthrough at 6-7 weeks so less using me as a pacifier, though sure she still did a bit. I was told go for it by HV, but wean them off it by 3 months for no difficulty at a later date, and if you can;t manage by then, defintely by a year. I don't think there's a problem if they're used properly, but I hate seeing toddlers with dummies in trying to talk etc etc. Thats when they're a problem, when they delay speech etc. If used for sleeping alone, I really don't think its a bad thing at all and if it works, go for it.

I used a dummy briefly for ds1 as he was comfort feeding and midwife suggested it. It did help and it was only for a short time. I had them on hand for ds2 but he was a different kind of feeder so only used a few times. I have some ready this time. I think they say wait a few weeks to avoid nipple confusion but it wasnt a problem for us.

Too as Maia has only just started gaining weight I really wouldn't recommend a dummy, there are more reasons than that, along the lines of a dummy could be fine but could quite frankly wreak havoc and can be the start of a slippery slope I have sadly witnessed. :( I wouldn't introduce until at least 6 weeks/feeding is very well established. I did use a Dummy with DD for sleep only until she was a year. I really hope that isn't mean ^ or hope destroying, my tact is a little hazy with the sleep deprivation!

This period is so hard with the long feeds but it really is only a few weeks, we are all brookers and have got through tough pregnancies and we will get through the fourth trimester too! Hawthers is just through it and reports are good

We are definitely on the third week feedathon, testing times! I too have been feeding for over an hour, feeding hourly all day and probably all night also!

I have been lurking a bit, but I am half dead. Not much sleep and DD has been playing up :( + DH is working hard finishing his coursework so can't give me a break in the evenings either. Finding it hard as literally doing everything 24/7!

I can't believe how close everyone is getting to having their babies!
csectioners I thought these could be a good idea? I used the hospital disposable pants this time for the first day and they were surprisingly useful.

Hospital bag.. hmm now snacks; powerade/isotonic drinks are a must have, I had two separate midwives and the registrar comment on mine and say they were the best thing! I had these from the hosp shop and honestly heaven on Earth! I too was a savoury not sweet person after birth and they are perfect for your bag. I also had eat natural bars that were v. successful. Other essentials as I have said before are; lip balm, hair bands if long hair, thick socks (mine were thermal!) it is normal to have spells of freezing to death in labour so these are so important and a nail file. File sounds daft but your nails might have got long if labour takes you by surprise, I also nearly snapped my nail off squeezing DH so much!

BIG pants and I mean huge. I got primarks finest apple catchers and had to wean myself off them....

Hmm what else. I got incredibly hot at night for the first couple of nights and so a light nightie (not pjs for reasons mentioned by too) would be good although I spent the first night basically topless in order to air myself out more . Check your hosp policy on overnight staying. My pct ran a trial where partners could stay overnight and it got informally extended so DH was in with me all the time.

Cartons of fruit juice and dried apricots were also good and if nothing else helped mentally prepare myself for the first poo.

Will let you know if I think of anything else

of your pct, Hawthers - I would have loved for DH to be able to stay, but sadly there was just no room. The private rooms were tiny and to take Maia away in her cot for the hearing test/bp etc stuff they had to move my bed and the table to wheel her out. There would have been no way to get another bed in there.

Oh yes, Purple, I had BabyBel cheese too in my pile of food! They were great, actually - could have eaten heaps of them. Those JoJoMaman pants seem good - I had massive M&S black full briefs (which I am still wearing ). I suppose the benefit of actual pants is that you can wash them and keep wearing them until you are sure your scar is ready for normal pants. I could probably be wearing normal pants now but I like my massive ones! Nail files are also good if you're scared you will scratch the baby.

Don't worry, Purple, am not offended! I wanted honest opinions. If you've seen dummies cause problems with breastfeeding then I'll do without one for just now. What problems do they cause with bf, though? Is it because you might not realise the baby is actually hungry, so she winds up losing weight? Or is it nipple confusion?

I am slightly in shock - I put Bean down, tried to wake up DH to tell him I was going to have a bath and he had to listen for Bean (don't have the baby monitor set up yet and she'd have to really be wailing for me to hear her from the bathroom), and had a v quick bath with ears stretched. When I went back into the bedroom she was actually asleep! How is this possible? I should go to bed but I've gone all wide awake. Will regret this at 4am when she's refusing to be put down again.

Too - hopefully all this sleep is because M and E are coming out of the other side of this feeding frenzy?

After the screaming earlier, he dropped off to sleep from 6:45 - 9:00 and then after another feed has just woken at 12:30 - I could get used to this!

Am absolutely brooking no argument that the purple household will be right behind us and we'll all be looking back tomorrow and congratulating ourselves for getting through such a feedathon!

Tell you what though I think my boobs have just got used to lore frequent feeding and now they're getting a break they're getting a bit sore!

Lots of hugs all round to everyone not getting enough sleep or whatever reason that might be

Yeah, my boobs are suddenly leaking a lot more, wondering why they're not being used as constantly! Yay for E's excellent sleeping. Hope it's continuing! Brooking for Purple and Pomme to get some sleep too. And all the preggos as well. Sleep for everybody!

Soooooo exhausted! Contentious "discussions" with DH, a particularly bad-tempered/kicky baby, and vicious heartburn are all conspiring to rob me of sleep though! :(

Glad to see Dream and Purple around though! Also thanks to everyone who's given hospital bag advice, all points duly noted.

Yay for little babies sleeping a bit more tonight. I hope this translates to a restful night for all the new (again) mamas!

We've had two three hourly feeds in a row here too! Must be something in the water

Can I add violent puking to my list of reasons for not getting any sleep tonight.

Please can someone explain to me how this baby can be simultaneously small for dates, engaged in my pelvis, and yet kicking my stomach so far up under my ribs that it's impossible to keep either food or acid down?!?! Surely at least ONE of those three points must be wrong?!?!

Scream you poor thing - I'm not sure how you can be expected to suffer any more ailments - its simply not fair!!

And I'm afraid I can't explain how babies manage to move down and up at the same time but E did it too - I distinctly got more heartburn when he was engaged. I'm so so sorry .

Still your fibroids will be able to demonstrate that they have moved out if the way on Monday and then as soon as we get to Wed you can get that CS booked in. And presumably once you're 'approved for CS', if you go into labour they would still do you a CS anyway?

We will get you to the end of this pg. you have done so amazingly well to deal with everything that you've had to go through this far - I'm completely I'm awe of you. You are properly super woman.

I also can't believe that we're going to have at least 3 new brooking babies next week! To be honest, I think if Scream is signed off for a CS on Wed I'd quite like her to go into labour soonish after so that there's an end to all this painful nonsense. What are your thoughts Scream - holding out for a bit more are next week or fast forward to delivery?

Oh scream my lovely hope you are feeling better today.

P.s. too when I said DH could stay in with me I meant they didn't kick him out. He slept the first night in a god awful hospital chair and the second night on the floor and we were in a four bed ward.... Not much fun but meant that he had to deal with the meconium explosion that occurred on the first night which covered f from ears to ankles and I was still bed bound with my catheter.

scream you poor love, I am so brooking for your fibroids to have moved and you to go into labour just after your cs is agreed so you can recover from all the pain. Can you take anything for the indigestion?
Well done all the babies who are sleeping a bit longer too, brilliant news as they get that bit bigger. Its nice to have a reminder in advance of this bean arriving so I can mentally prepare for the first 6 weeks as much as possible! 4th trimester is such a good way to describe it!
dream I am counting the days for you, not long to go even though I bet it feels like a million miles. You can do it, and soon you will have 2 lovely snuffly bundles in your arms, recovery will be quick and dd will start to magically sleep brilliantly. And your mothers help lady will be awesome! Every day is a day nearer.
Brooking for it all to go swimmingly for fishcake as well. More lovely babies!
Got the in laws coming for the weekend, they are staying in a hotel though. And bringing back all the stuff we lent dsil when she had her dd last year, so moses basket, grobags etc all coming. At what point am I allowed to go hunting through the clothes boxes in the garage. I've sort of stopped myself so far as it seems so early. I need to look at pushchair wheels and rain covers too as they need replaced.