October 2013: Newborn snuggles and waddles to the finish line

[FeministInTraining]

Stats sheet here

New arrivals here

Key:
SC - still cooking (pre EDD)
SFW - still f*ing waiting (post EDD)
OWT - on way to theatre (CS)
IP - induction in progress
SWIL - somewhere in labour
LIT - lost in transition

Just checking in, extremely painful and regular contractions last night between 12am-7am which have now died down almost completely.

Trying to remember mrsh experience though who I believe had the same before ramping up again later that afternoon so fingers crossed.

Either way, back to the hospital at 9.30pm (24 hours after waters broke) so we shall see...

Respect imp thats pretty good going

Congrats to Nat on your new arrival - you got there in the end! I was the same with DC2 - determined just to use g & a after epidural with the first and it does feel good having managed it doesn't it?

Good luck shooting that does sound like waters. fx for you

Sounds like things are looking better for you flyer enjoy the snuggles!

Happy anniversary MrsHN

Sorry you had a rubbish night chickie any chance of a nap later?

Sorry i'm rubbish at remembering at what everyone has said/done. So to everyone else as appropriate.

After posting yesterday mw came and weighed Thomas and did heel prick. He's a greedy little monster as has actually put on weight rather than lose it. No wonder my nipples are so sore... and yes to whoever was asking about that, I always had a bit of initial soreness with feeding for a good few weeks, but it seems to get better with time so that its virtually pain-free eventually. At the moment my left side isn't too bad but the right is still excrutiating for the first few seconds. I'm guessing the latch isn't quite so good on that side.

cross-post shooting I would say do as much walking/activity as you can to get baby's head pushing down on cervix to get things underway... good luck v exciting!

Yes untitled it was very stop start. Try not to wear yourself out trying to ramp them up. I made that mistake and it didn't do me any good. If they are ok to rest or even sleep thorough, do that. It might have saved me needing so much diamorphine, which i mostly needed to get some rest rather than for the pain. Of course if you need the pain relief you must do what you need to do and i would never suggest you try to be a hero. No doubt you will get going properly soon and you'll be fine. Good luck! Exciting times ahead :)

Thanks mrsh - very reassuring!

Huge congrats nat im ff H and he can be pretty slow and on off with feeds, but is till 6.5oz above birth wait 12 days on so can't be doing too badly. its early days still so I'm sure he'll be fine.
flyer hope you and A and dp have a good day today.
Health visitor has been here this morning, she was really lovely. booked in for 8week check already and for me to get my implant back in in a few weeks!!!!

Thanks everyone for all of your support/advice re breastfeeding. Ailla drained me yesterday (physically and emotionally), and at 1am after 7 hours of constant feeding/crying, I ended up giving her a bit of formula. Not something I wanted to do, but I had to do it for both of our sanities! She only took about 2oz, and then fell asleep for 5 hours! I then breast fed her again and she slept another 4 hours, and today I am trying to stick to bf again. FF is my emergency back up, but only for when I have genuine concerns about Ailla not getting enough milk.

Thank you again for all of your support ladies!

Good luck to those who are SWIL, SC, SFW!

rox I think mixing feeds isn't talked about much as I think its quite misunderstood but can defo be done. the important thing is your baby is getting her blood sugars up so you can plow on with ur bfeeding. sounds like it helped so will hopefully make things easier xx

Thanks roofio. I went with the whole 'instinct' thing that they tell you to use, and I'm so glad I did! I couldn't see the point in both of us getting stressed and tired, and Ailla getting potentially dehydrated. Woken up today to leaky boobs, which I am really pleased about as I haven't had them like this for about a week! Perhaps that 6 hours of constant feeding did them some good.

roofio I know you said that you're back to your pre-pregnancy weight, but did you also lose your bump almost immediately? My first post-labour wee was a shocker for me because my bump had gone and I could see everything including a very bad bush trim , and I was back in my pre-pregnancy jeans in a matter of days. A GP told me that those who lose their bumps quickest have more trouble breastfeeding. No idea how true that is!

Oh, and another me question (sorry) - any tips for itchy stitches?!

I should point out that I mean stitches downstairs, not CS stitches!

rox yeah to be honest my figure has snapped back pretty quickly!! its great, especially as I haven't tried. glad the feeding and boobs seem better today. H is still a bit trumpy but has been burping and feeding more so fingers xd its getting better.
itchy stitches-aqueous cream feels good. mine have been itchy and turns out I also have thrush which is obviously not helping!

I just love how we let it all hang out here

most of the staff here (including possibly some electricians this morning have seen and/or mamhandled my boobs. Lying on my side on the bed with one leg in the air to get my stitches checked was a high point as well...

rox not sure if the bump/bf thing is supposed to be about supply, but my bump is going down v quickly and I've got loads of milk - or at least on one side

Rox if it is any consolation I am having exactly same problem with B/F. S feeds all day quite happily, feed, sleep cycle as long as sleep is on my chest. but come late afternoon and through the night she can feed nonstop for hours and still it is never enough. I first top up with ebf but have to then end up resorting to ff. I try to limit it to small amounts but she usually ends up taking about 60/90ml of ff in night. I have asked mw, hv, bf counsellors and none of them seem to get just how hungry she is at night. By 3-4am I am beyond despair as to what to do so figure that ff is better than a starving baby. No amount of breast seems to touch her sides and my breasts feel bruised and sore from constant feeding. HV watched me feed and thinks that my technique is fine so I am at a loss to know what to do differently.

My milk seems adequate for her daytime but I just can't fathom what to do if I didn't have the ff to fall back on. This first happened on day2 in hospital where the nurses were worried about her and asked if I would allow them to give her a tiny amount of ff. she seems to be able to switch between bottle and breast ok but I feel as if I have failed in giving her the best start with just bf.

I am using an app to monitor the b/f and basically when she is like this I a feeding her every hour apart from after the ff when she sleeps for 4 hours or so.

She is being weighed again today - as weight static at 11 days i really hope she has gained enough to keep her out of hospital.

I hope just knowing that you are not alone with this helps sorry I don't yet have a solution though. If I get a breakthrough I will let you know.

Hi everyone, I am reading the thread but not posting sorry :(

Rox/Odd - nighttime feeds are the ones that boost your supply. So your babies may just be beginning a growth spurt.

People have been having such a tough time on here that I haven't wanted to post, but things are pretty good here. I feel I deserve it after things were so tough with DS as a newborn (tongue tie, poor weight gain, prolonged jaundice) and we had so much hassle from MWs and HVs. So I know how you guys feel, and i'm sorry you're going through it. Things are so different this time though (so far) that I can hardly believe it.

Dd pretty much sleeps and eats. She has a good latch which is so wonderful after DS. She's 10 days old and is just over her birth weight which I'm so happy about. I averted the blocked duct disaster the other day by feeding feeding feeding and a few hot shower massages.
I can't be arsed to argue with her over sleeping in her Moses basket so she's in bed with us. DS joins us any time after 5 and insists that daddy holds the baby so he and I can cuddle.
DS is scared of her (like your dd Nat) but asks where she is and has touched her a few times. He's so happy that I'm here though and not constantly dashing off to the hospital.

Pseudo it's good to hear positive stories as that gives me the encoragement that it can work out ok so please don't feel bad about sharing something good. I also find that expressing so that I feel completely empty helps avert my breast from becoming blocked.

Hello all
congrats nat good luck to those swil.
mw been today for heel prick, which dd was not impressed with! Tip for anyone who needs it- make sure their feet are really warm and they bleed better (poor little things)

she is doing really well and has put on 4oz since birth.

pseudo know what you mean about having her in with you. It just seems more important that we all get some sleep!

stick With it you ladies that are struggling. It will all come right in the end xxx

Can I jump in and ask a question of the section ladies? I am going demented having to ask DH to do things like Hoover, lift ironing basket and general housework. He says I am nagging him but the house is a tip but obviously not to the male eye. Also school run on my own next week having to ask mum to step in as DH back at work and I can't walk 2 miles to school with a wheelchair and a sling with a toddler in tow.

So basically, am I going to be helpless for a while yet or will I be able to Hoover etc soon. Also. Is it normal for bleeding to stop then come back worse than ever?

Having a bit if a low day today, think I just need to escape this mad house

Jelly often bleeding gets heavier again after your milk comes in. Then you might find you have more bleeding after feeding as your uterus contracts when you're BF.

We're home :) :)

And, more to the point, we've been home half an hour or so and - get this - C is feeding like a trooper from the bad boob and everything. Why isn't there an icon for a little happy dance

Latch is a bit grim in that he's a bit clamped on, but he's clearly swallowing (i can hear it glug :)) and I'll deal with that over the next few days. Its a week until the local bf cafe, so if all else fails we'll go there.

so, so, so happy

i sobbed as we shut the front door behind us and I'm welling up now . Is it normal to cry when you bring your baby home?

jelly I just realised that no-one gave me any verbal advice re post csection care, but via Internet hoovering, pushing prams and lifting anything heavier than your baby seems to be a big no no for around 6 weeks. My external scar has healed v quickly but if I do too much I can feel it inside and bleeding starts back up again too. My gym also said they don't recommennd exercise until post 12 weeks for csections.

I want to start using a sling so I can be more mobile/useful and plan to try it for short sessions first.

I think it's deceptive if the outside is all healed up but remember the real deep healing are the many internal layers of abdominal muscle and that needs more time.

MoN might have some advice - but I think listen to your body is a good starting point.

Well S has gained 2 oz in 3 days so off the hook for now. Phew! another weigh in on Sunday and one more in a week. I am thinner now than prepregnancy HV suggested I up my own calorie intake a bit which might help. Time to buy all those forbidden foods like goats cheese and salami then!

Jelly - I have no time as getting DD's dinner on the table then it's twin and DD's bath etc... But, ill give my answer to your questions during a night feed! I had no choice but to do all house chores and lift 3yo DD 2.5 weeks post CS and do school runs (0.6 miles each way pushing double buggy with DD on buggy board) as was on my own... T'was totally fine but will respond properly in a bit x x x

I tried mixed feeding with DS as he was tongue tied and permanently hungry as you guys are describing. We always did a breast feed first and then a formula top up. However, by the time we got the tongue tie cut at about 3 weeks he had decided that he preferred the bottle and would scream with rage if offered the boob. We never re-established breast feeding, I expressed until 8 weeks, but gave up as my supply was rubbish. Just a warning to people that even if you have every intention of mostly breast feeding, your baby might have other ideas! Perhaps if we had stuck to a sippy cup rather than a bottle it would have been different. I believe the recommendation not to introduce a bottle for the first 6 weeks is for exactly this reason, as babies are clever things and work out that the bottle is so much easier!

News from here: induction booked for Tuesday. I'll be 41+2. Had another sweep today, but not holding out much hope, no change in cervix after Tuesdays sweep. :-( hey ho. Did another 3 mile walk today and will keep bouncing on ball. But at least I have a date now and don't have to wait until 40+12.

horatio congrats on bringing baby home. After all the stress and worry its v normal, and I found myself crying at most ridiculous things since for no reason at all. My DP didn't get it at all but I think our emotions are so on the surface and the world looks v different with a LO to think of now