Graduated Elderberries - Thread 8

[Cavort]

The over 30's expecting/just given birth to their first little bundle of joy.

Thread 8 already!!

I had people telling me I'd have a boy because I had a neat bump, and another friend was convinced I was having a girl due to my newly fatted arse and thighs. She was very shocked!

I still can't get my old jeans past my thighs despite being same weight and having rediscovered my waist. Hoping it will tone up when I stop breastfeeding (as long as I stop eating the extra calories).

Bear - yeah what's with that? How can you be virtually the same weight but can't fit in the same clothes by a mile? Has all the heavy muscle gone and it's all big but light wobbly fat? It worries me!

Hi ladies, sorry for radio silence. I'm still in hospital and signal is rubbish!
Its been a hard tough time but I think we've turned the corner. For one I no longer feel like I've been freddy krugered, I feel pretty good bearing in mind I had major surgery. Still have horrendous memories/feelings about what is meant to be one of the best days of your life but it was out of my control so i'm trying not to think about it.

Harvey is awesome, he was refusing to breastfeed which was tough but a nipple shield seems to have saved the day. He is now feeding really well and sleeping for around 2-3 hour stints. I feel like a new woman!!!! I got 3 whole hours last night although he slept for longer, ward activity woke me up.

My OH has been amazing!! I love him so much for the support and unquestioning love he has shown both me and Harvs (yes a nickname already....naughty) he has been a real rock, when feeding was at its worst he was totally on my side. Plus he is amazing with Harvey a real natural, its lovely to watch. He came in and watched him today while I showered and napped and is always keen to change his bum.

Have had 3 people monitor the last 3 feeds and hope to be released tomorrow as that should prove feeding is ok.

So catch me up on all the goss, whats been happening? Exciting developments?

Hey Mother!

Sorry to hear that you had such a rough time of it. The good thing about having a newborn is there's so much to concentrate on in the early days that you can push some thoughts to the back of your mind, for a while at least. But it's also ok to be mad/sad/frustrated/shocked by what happened and if/when you want to talk about it, please do. It can help.

So glad to hear that your DH has stepped up to the plate, sounds like a total star! And good news on the feeding front... don't worry if Harvs (too cute!) goes on a feeding rampage after day 3 - it helps get your milk in in a way that should stave off mastitis (so my midwife told me after I phoned up in a panic that H was feeding non stop and then puking).

It's knackering but only lasts 24-48 hours, I promise!

Keep smiling newest Berry Mama! :)

Ooh and I have gossip/news... our naughty little kitty appears to have hit puberty. She was spayed a few weeks ago so her really naughty barking mental behaviour over the last couple of days was a bit surprising.

However, our diagnosis was confirmed when DP rubbed catnip into her scratching post and she turned into some kind of feline gogo dancer, preening herself, rubbing every part of her body on it, rolling over with sheer glee... it was astonishing and hilarious.

Bless her. Sometimes she looks like a proper cat, but then a few minutes later she'll be dashing around and will have that kitten look again. She's such a teenager!

#sogladwehadaboy

Thanks brave, I wrote about the sorry tale of events on facebook. Basically the three days of contractions I had were distressing bubs, they thought I had very little waters which could be why, so tried to break my waters to bring on established labour and help things move quicker. Turned out I had no waters, they must have been leaking without me knowing. So all they did was distress bubs further by trying to break my waters and put me in agony so I was rushed for emergency section.....alone as my OH hadnt arrived yet.

One thing I am glad of is that I had a spinal not an epidural. Got feeling back so much quicker! He stretched my cervix from .5 to 3 cm while breaking my waters.....oh my god it was so painful. He must have had huge hands! He got someone to give him a second opinion so they repeated what he did and it was much much less uncomfortable agonising when they did it.

Think my milk is here as boobs are even more enormous and are solid now. He hasnt really fed properly until the last 12-14 hours so think he drew it down pretty quickly when he did start feeding properly.

Well he's three days old and only woke twice for feeds last night....crazy. Hope it continues know full well it wont!!! (head in sand moment)

Love the new baby (and gogo dancer kitty) stories

Harvs sounds lovely, and so does your OH mother! I'm sorry too that the birth was traumatic but it was totally out of your hands. Did the hospital provide the nipple shield or should I pack my own? Also do you need to bring things like a steriliser (haven't even bought one yet) or bottles just in case? Enjoy this special time as a new family. Must be so amazing seeing the little baby you made!!

I had a couple of pains yesterday and in the night, I think bumpy has just got into a funny position but in the night I woke up in pain and my first thought wasn't "oh I can do this, where's my hypnobirthing stuff", instead it was "oh no can't do this, I'm going to need an epidural"! I don't think I'm close yet though really, only 38 weeks. No idea what the stats are but seems that most people go late with their first. I guess it's normal but I also get thoughts about whether all is ok with the baby and healthy, I try to put it out of my mind.

First day of mat leave today!

Oh mother how awful for you!!! However as we always say - the main thing is that you are both safe and healthy!!!
Enjoy the sleep while it lasts and as brave says get yourself comfy for the constant feeding which is about to start! How much did he weigh?
On other news I've been drinking gallons of water and yesterday I managed to express almost 5oz. Am expressing now and have 3 already which is more than I normally get. Only problem is that I got up to wee twice at night and after 9 months of that I'm not feeling it again!
How's everyone else?

Cross post mother but poor you, sounds like it was really scary (and painful!!!) - so glad it all worked out well x

Thanks guys, Harvey Oliver was born at 4.04pm on 8.11.13 weighing 7lb 8oz.

alex you will be fine, even if you need an epidural it is fine that is not a failure. Any safe delivery is a success in my books, especially in light of how Harvey arrived. Panic not, baby will arrive as and how it chooses. They supply all feeding equipment as needed so dont feel like u need to take it, the first night I only had baby grows as I'd come to the hosp with my folks with the one set of car keys and the packed baby bag was ready and waiting in the car. They provided nappies, wipes, blankets etc as needed. I would say take a fair few short sleeved/legged bodysuits and the same number of long sleeved/armed sleepsuits. I thought 6 was excessive but you can go through them so quickly.

Brave your kitty sounds amazing! You made me laugh out loud and I pulled the nipple from right out of Harveys mouth oops. I miss my cats kitten days they can be hilarious

Mother its great to hear from you and know you're doing well now. Sounds like you had a bit of an experience, proving it really is out of our control. However happy healthy baby at the end if it is all that matters, as you say. Bet you're looking forward to getting home x

Congratulations mother and welcome Harvey!

alex there's nothing wrong with wanting and having an epidural. I am definitely planning to have one with the next one.

Over here, Viki is waking up every 2 hours to eat so I've started giving him a little solids. Just a taste yesterday and few spoonfuls today, so far he seems fine, no issues. At least can get some food in him this way when I'm not at home.

Oh and he's definitely in 9-month clothes now, again didn't even get to wear most of his 6-month stuff. I really should learn and stop buying so much.

brave oddly it's quite opposite here, my butt and thighs are slimmer than they usually are at this weight, can wear several pairs of trousers that I had packed away as I couldn't get them past my thighs. But I understand the attraction of mum-jeans, anything low waist and my stomach will flop over the waistband. It's getting flatter though, so hopefully will have my normal waist back soon too.

So sorry to hear about your traumatic birth Mother, but I echo what others have said that you and Harvey are safe and well and that's the main thing. The memories which are currently traumatic will fade with time while you enjoy your boy. It's great to hear your OH is being so good. Maybe fatherhood will be the making of him? How long util you get feeling back after a spinal? After my epidural I was walking again about 6 hours later (although it still felt a bit strange until about 12 hours after birth).

We're all on countdown for you now Alex. I hope you're enjoying getting enough sleep as the days of that are numbered your maternity leave. And i've said it loads of times but I LOVED the epidural and will absolutely have another if I am mad enough to have another baby.

Enjoying hearing about your kitty's sluttish behaviour Brave I am under pre-pg weight but have more of a muffin top than before. I suppose it could have been much worse though.

Good news on the expressing Lol I am ok but not great at expressing. Maybe I should try drinking more but I can't face several loo trips per night again either.

The news in the Cavort household is that we all had a much better nights sleep after 5 consecutive nights of hell! I daren't get my hopes up that it will last but I feel soooo much better today.

In other news, our new family car arrived on Friday. It has a keyless ignition and so far DH has managed to lose the keys INSIDE THE CAR about 5 times. I can see this is going to become frustrating!

Quick question - which angelcare monitor were you all swearing by last week?

I have this one:
www.amazon.co.uk/Angelcare-AC401-Movement-Sensor-Monitor/dp/B0013FW5G8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1384162810&sr=8-2&keywords=angelcare

cavort really boring question - my mum wants a robot vacuum cleaner for xmas, but there are so many models to choose from now - roomba, samsung, hoover etc. Could you check what are the top models that which recommends?

I'm loving my maternity jeans with their little stretchy bits, why aren't all jeans made like that!

On the pain relief side, I'm all set to go with the flow and do whatever it takes but I did hear warnings about asking for epidurals too early/slowing down labour, that type of thing. So that makes me hesitant but then I've heard rave reviews too. Guess I will play it by ear! Totally agree mother that a healthy birth is a success regardless. I'm also going to pack some more baby grows so thanks for that tip, and get them all washed this week!

Cross post but I have the same angel care as hazel although annoyingly it's now cheaper on amazon and cavort that's really interesting to hear about you loving the epidural, what stage did you have yours and did you ask for it? I heard people sometimes lose control of the pushing/tear more etc, but sounds like you're really glad you had it?

cav I had full feeling back after about 2 to 3 hours, didnt get up till morning but was moving up and down the bed etc. Wasnt as bad as I thought.

My milk has arrived, wowsers they are frickin' massive

I wore my maternity jeans several many weeks after I'd given birth, they certainly are comfortable.

I also loved my epidural
Got to hospital and was already 6cm dilated so had it pretty much straight away but would have had it earlier!
I was walking within a couple of hours and felt nothing different. And I also only pushed for about 40min so it didn't affect me!!
Merk keep looking into the angel care as last week it was even cheaper on Amazon. My friend got it for 49 quid!!!!
Got L weighed today and she is now 13lb 8!!! My little porker . Still on 52nd centile so I'm happy this is going well. Cav definitely drink more water if you can bear it. It made a huge difference for me!!!
So I take we are now on Alex countdown!!?!

I'm still wearing my maternity leggings after 15weeks

Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!

Mother, lovely to hear about Harvey who sounds gorgeous, and sorry you had such a traumatic time of it. Must have been very scary to get rushed for an emcs without your DH :(

Alex I think sometimes conversely an epidural can make it go quicker. My sister had an epi after 24 hrs of not very productive contractions having been stuck at 2cm for hours and hours because she was absolutely knackered. She fell asleep for an hour or two and woke up at 8cm and was ready to push shortly after.

Thanks for confirmation on the monitor, I thought it would be that one. Happy enough with the price so have ordered one, Am happier having stuff bought than waiting to save another few pounds at this stage, however Bel your friend getting it for 50% off did a v good job. I'm wanting to get the basics bought soon as we have Xmas and a house move between now and baby so are likely to be skint post Jan, especially with me giving up work.
Next question is about tens machines, any recommendations? Did they def work for you?