November 2013- thread 5 of 100,000 ��

[honey86]

started yet another as im aware were about 20 posts from full again lol!

We're not getting a sterilizer either - just boiled up the few bottles we had in a pan with previous DCs - my midwife suggested not getting a sterilizer might help me stick to breastfeeding if the going got tough - I think it did so we'll try and do the same this time.

Oh dear just reread that we didn't boil the DCs in a pan - just the bottles!!

I'm hoping to bf this time but still have a steriliser somewhere if needs be. Dd wouldn't bf so I expressed for 10 months but I just don't think I'd be able to do that again if bf isn't working. I found expressing pretty easy but time consuming and with a lo already if probably wouldn't be practical.

So sorry for not updating sooner, had a surprisingly busy few days. My scan went well, they put me forward though so I'm now 11+4. The baby was under the measurements for their study so we could still do the harmony test. Back in 2 weeks for results and nuchal.
Dh had a colonoscopy yesterday so the day before was spent doing bowel prep and I was running round like a blue arsed fly! Same as yesterday! As I was almost at the hospital ds1's school called and I had to rush back the 20 min drive to collect him as his face was red, painful and swollen. Had to leave poor dh to it. Ds1 was fine after seeing the dr, thinks he's getting tonsillitis or throat thing but to give fluids and calpol for now. School had me so worried. Dd1 was already off with conjunctivitis that morning so she was given some anti biotic eye cream.
Picked dh up in the afternoon, he was woozy but it went well. Rules out bowel cancer but still no explanation for his frequent bleeding which is worrying still. They saw blood during the colonoscopy in a few areas and he has a follow up appt with a consultant coming. He can't remember anything from yesterday as he had sedation. Back to normal today but sore inside.
Typing this from the bath while I have a spare minute. Hoping today is less busy. Ill catch up after but hope everyone is well.

Agree with Suffolk re. expressing fairy, it can be really really hard!

Initially it is not a good idea to express for one bottle per day - you would want to wait 6-8 weeks until Breastfeeding is established as your supply could be affected. In the early days, if you skip a feed you would really need to be sitting expressing anyway as you would be very uncomfortable, so this defeats the purpose of you getting a break

My dh occasionally gave dd a bottle of expressed milk on a Saturday or Sunday morning so that I could have a long lie. We didn't do that every weekend though (probably once per month) and waited a few months before starting this. But it was wonderful as I would give dd the 5am bf and get to sleep until 10!!!!!

We did take bottles of expressed milk to a wedding when dd was 8 weeks old as my dress was not Breastfeeding friendly so we needed a back up for the ceremony and meal. In between I went to a room to feed as I literally had to whip my dress off! My boobs were massive though and sore and I probably wouldn't do this again so early on. Next time I will find a decent top or dress.

Your dh can get involved in so many other ways - my dh always have dd a massage at bedtime and was involved in every other aspect of her care.

And it all depends on whether you want to give formula once per day too - we didn't want to use formula at all so if I wanted to go out I has to express. And after a few months I did have nights out with friends, i just had to be told in advance so that i could express! Initially I would get hundreds of milk out bit after a year I got literally nothing at all - absolutely nothing which was ok by that point but some women find that they get nothing or very little when expressing from day 1 - but that is not a reflection of what your baby is getting as they are way more effective than a pump.

I actually went away for 2 nights with friends when dd was 9 months old and expressed 60oz of breastmilk beforehand! But that took me a couple of weeks

Oh and agree worth Suffolk re. hand expressing - it's a good idea to look into this before baby is born as you may find you may need to express precious colostrum in hospital if you have a sleepy baby. (Dd did not feed until late on day 3 so I hand expressed colostrum and fed her with a small cup or syringe)

This probably hasn't been very informative fairy, just wanted to share my experience!!

Great scan news cheese and I hope they can sort your DH out. Sounds really stressful for you both.

Suffolk any and all advice gratefully received! My friend went to a bf class through the hospital so I'll ask her what she thought. Just googled classes there and one woman is charging £80 an hour so I couldn't afford that!

V determined to give it a go tho. My friend has shown unbelievable perseverance in keeping going despite a v sick baby and awful pain so if she can manage it I can too (fingers xd!)

Animol!!

Sorry I x-posted as I wrote so bloomin much!

Agree about bf groups they are fab!

I am definitely determined to give bfing a go this time, and as dd was tongue tied I know to look for it with dc2 so they could sort it straight away this time. Formula costs sooo much really want to avoid the expense this time.

V interesting about the nub thing on scans! I have mine on tues so will definitely be looking!!

Harv that's massively informative!

I want to find out as much as I can so I'm prepared with a few ideas (I'm one of those planner people lol). I know my friend will help where she can but as this is all new it's great to get other people's experiences.

Heading to wash my greasy mop before hitting the shops for a nosy!

We had an nhs breastfeeding class that was really informative and balanced, it didn't demonise formula feeding (I hate it when people are made to feel guilty for this) but it was really informative and made me feel more relaxed about it all. Was still hard work to begin with though!

I agree that it can be a bit tricky to get used to expressing, but I had the hang of it within a week, and it was so useful as I could leave DD with exDH. Mind you the hardest bit of that was that she refused to take a bottle, and would only take from an open cup!

Great news on the scan Sperminator, as for bloods I had this with my booking appointment, in fact to the point the ended up springing the bloods out of me (and that hurts!). When I went for the blood test for the screening I told the phlebotomist and she checked my veins and said I am going to use a child's needle on you. Job done and dusted with no problems! Might be worth asking next time for this?

My veins refuse to give also, even the 'guaranteed' foot doesn't work. If the find a vein it closes down within a fraction of a second. I child's butterfly is the only hope although I read just last week that beetroot can enlarge the veins so might be worth eating a jar if the stuff before blood tests.

I have to have child's needles too! it meant when I needed dehydration drips earlier in pregnancy they took forever, but it does make it a lot easier if they use them.

just got my first scan appointment through, not till 16th May that feels ages away, I'll be 13+1 then! bet some of you will almost be on your second scans by then!

fairy I haven't caught up with all the posts yet but this is what we did re expressing.

I would express milk about 3 times during the day (from 2 weeks onwards). The best way to do it was with an electric pump whilst dd breastfed from the other breast. I think the hormones and let down response are meant to help. It's not dignified but it worked for me.

It meant I could express about 7oz of milk for dd a day. So I would go to bed at 7pm for a sleep while dh fed her the expressed milk till 11pm.

It worked really well for us but I think I am a bit lucky in the breastfeeding department. My health visitor was amazed I could produce 7oz when she was only 2 weeks old. I've always had loads of milk if I'd been born 2 centuries earlier I'd have made an amazing wet nurse

Best of luck with it.

when I'm the same with the expressing! I could fill a bottle within ten minutes. I started expressing as soon as DS was born as he went to neonatal. He didn't feed from me very well at first and was very sleepy because he was jaundice so having the milk I'd expressed meant we didn't have to give him formula.

Well, I've painted four walls. Have snuck out to town now to the opticians. DS has been loving putting wardrobes together with his Daddy.

Welcome Yummy & congrats on the scans Sperm & Cheese!

Sorry to see you were upset louby did you not get the answer you wanted re a natural birth?

Obvs its up to you Echo but the risks are greater than the chances of having a downs baby - which are tiny anyway so I wouldn't personally have any further testing done. I suppose it depends a lot on what you would do if it was a positive result.

I haven't been here for a couple of days, tbh have been having a bit of a pregnancy freak out. Does anyone else have this?! I'm 12+1 & have my scan on Tues but am bricking it. Not for the usual worries but because of the finality of it all, I'm starting to panic that when the baby's born I wont want it or like it. I feel terrible for even writing that as I know how lucky I am to get this far but I've been so ill that I think part of me didn't expect I would. I worry I'll feel like I've given birth to a little prison, do people get this with their first, is it normal?!

Saundy I think it's normal and not helped by hormones. It's my second and I still keep getting flashes of panic. Dd has changed my life completely and sometimes I feel like I'm missing out on things that my childless friends are doing but that lasts a micro second because I wouldn't change it for the world. When that little bundle is in your arms I'm sure all your worries will fade away

Thanks guys that helps, I feel terrible for admitting it. I think DP is worried I'm not on board but hopefully it'll turn to excitement soon.

saundy its totally normal! I felt like that and we'd been trying for DS for 19 months. Its just your way of preparing yourself for the enormity of it all I think. and like Busy says the hormones etc don't help. It really is all worth it though, the little person you produce will be so amazing and fun and it makes all the work and change worthwhile. agree that you may have more than one wobble at the thought of it all though!

(today, for instance, I've been ill, and DS gave me a teddy bear which he said was a 'doctor bear' to make me better and then gave me a hug and a made a pretend beaker of milk and looked for a peppa video on his pretend phone (his hand)!)

I went shopping today and got a few things in mamas and papas. A pair of stretchy spotty jeggings, some nice shorts and a gorgeous soft long jumper in the sale. Have to say that the jeggings are a bit gapey around my back tho I might grow into them! They are also v neat on my calves and I have v skinny legs so no idea how they'd fit someone with slightly bigger legs than me!

Was nice to have some time out shopping tho even tho that's me broke for about 2 months!

Oh yes saundy completely normal. When I fell pregnant I though wow what have we done, even though she was planned! I'm not sure anyone is ever 100% "ready" to have children and there will always be some doubts and some reason to put it off - but they don't last for long and once you hold your little bundle of joy....well it's indescribable. My mum used to always tell me that a parents love is the most amazing love but I didn't ever really realise what she meant until I had dd in my arms. Busy you mentioned the feeling of missing out some times in certain things that your single friends do - I feel like that sometimes too but like you say it's for a micro second - I still go on nights out, meet friends for lunch etc and I can go back to dh and my beautiful little girl at the end of it. I've said it before - having a child is one the hardest yet most fulfilling jobs we will ever have it changes your life in every way! Saundy hopefully you will feel more connected to the pregnant when you see the scan picture too, and agree that feeling the baby kicks is really lovely too and makes it all feel so real.

I have has a very nauseous day thought I was over it but it would appear that I am not. Haven't actually been sick but felt sooo sick. Ice lollies have helped a bit but didn't feel up too dinner. Poor dh and dd had spaghetti on toast! I am going to nip out for spicy onions once dd is in bed. I have also had quite a bit of back pain today and quite a lot of stretchy pains in my tummy. Are increased symptoms a sign of a growth spurt?

Hope you are all well.

Haven't said congratulations to those of you who have had lovely scans this week - have been trying to catch up sorry