October 2013: The Fourth Trimester - the bit no one warns you about!

[roxvox]

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

flyer big massive hugs and good luck. Thinking of you. Xxxx
Glad I could provide some entertainment for you all!x bloody hell being stitched up is the worst thing ever.
Clapham hope you are nearly there/ already there and enjoying baby. Xxx

Oh flyer I'm sorry it's so hard but I hope the hospital can finally help you.

Sending positive thoughts to everyone in labour and looking forward to hearing about your babies!!!

Joshie is getting older and he's more alert, more gassy, and bigger. He stretches out his legs more instead of curling them up all the time. It's a good thing of course but I am a bit sad to lose my tiny newborn. It's silly but true.

Glad you're getting her seen Flyer - I'm sure she'll be absolutely fine. FX they will help you get this sorted properly. You're doing brilliantly

I know Ana, I feel the same! And I'll never have another new born again (unless we have another surprise...).

Twins and I had our six week check (at 7 weeks!). All fine with them and me. GP agreed they, like almost all babies, have mild silent reflux... I need to keep them upright after feeds and use bed blocks on cot etc... I'm also going to go dairy free in case that helps.. I'm severely lactose intolerant usually (had it since I was two!!) but (as my ENT consultant always promised...) I can eat dairy while preg and bf because its an autoimmune intolerance and the immune system is v suppressed at those times.... But I think it's not helping H in particular, as he's v snotty (my main prob as a child was lots and lots of mucas leading to acute deafness..). Does anyone know if goats milk products might be an issue re milk proteins? They're ok for lactose intolerance...

Flyer - I meant to say, really try and push them to get up the bottom of why A wont feed instead of letting them fob you off. You need answers then you can move on. Huge hugs x x x

Legally, most of my family can't eat milk. For me it is lactose because taking the lactase enzyme helps, but my 2 year old niece the gp said it is milk protein that is probably the issue - that is usually the culprit for reflux in babies. She eats goats milk and cheese no problem. I can't though. Worth a try. I didn't know it got better in pregnancy - I missed my chance to scoff on cheese and chocolates!

flyer so sorry you have to go back in. Hopefully they can feed her just enough to give her the energy to do it herself. Thomas wouldn't suck at first because the jaundice made him so sleepy then he obviously lost more weight and so it continued.(Luckily we could syringe enough in to him while he slept). This might kick start the into getting you the help you need quicker re tongue tie etc. you must feel so drained but do keep making a fuss about that , don't let them fob you off. Is someone with you?

Who here has the nct bednest? What do you think of them?
We ordered a little green sheep snuz pod but they have let us down and it won't be ready until end of November so I cancelled the order and now we are looking for something else. We have the cheapest Moses basket I could find to tide us over but as they say babies should be in your room until 6 months if we are going to get something better eventually we might as well get it now to get maximum use about of it and get Thomas used to it.

Legally and georgie (I think?) avoiding dairy would only help if the babies were allergic to cow's milk. The majority of babies with reflux do not have allergies. The sphincter at the top of the stomach is commonly leaky in babies and that's the cause of most infant reflux. A lot of babies here get gaviscon and other anti reflux meds before allergy is considered.

If you want to avoid dairy and see if it helps then you'd need to avoid all mammalian milk and traces thereof as though you were allergic as well. You also need to think about your own calcium and vitamin d needs which are high when you're breastfeeding. A calcium and vitamin D supplement would probably be a good idea.

Rant alert...

HV out yesterday and noticed Jamie's blue legs, feet, hands and arms. Said to get him seen at GP ASAP. Called and rightfully can't get an appointment as he's not yet registered. They won't send me registration forms out I to collect in person. Explained I can't drive as post section and can't walk the 3 miles to surgery to collect form. But she wouldn't budge as "rules are rules" do you ever just want to hit your head off a brick wall?

Orange the bednest is nice but nothing like cosleeping. If Joshie wants to be close to me he is not satisfied by the bednest. I'm sure he would feel just as far away in a normal cot beside the bed. It is, however, easier to pick him up and put him back, and I like it as a piece of furniture. I think it looks nice and it's a good size.

Congrats to new mummies, and hope all is going well for those swil.

flyer I hope you are getting the help you need.

jelly, what is the hv or gps suggestion for getting baby seen then?

Emilia has been feeding constantly during the day since yesterday morning, boobs are hurting! She is 4 weeks on Sunday - is this too early for the 4 week growth spurt?

jelly - I had a similar problem today. Meaning I had to walk twice to the Gp with a csection scar - once to register the birth, then they got me an appointment which was later the same day. Too much to ask for them to get me the appointment and allow me to just come early to register at reception, which would have saved me one very ouchy slow trip!

Orange, like Ana said, our baby doesn't prefer the bednest to being close to us - they are still quite far away. Since I had a section it is still difficult for me to twist and put baby in /out. But it's great for checking up on baby without having to move an inch, and very easy to stick your hand out to check baby is breathing or whether it has been sick. The bonus is that it folds up flat and comes with a bag, so we are going to use it for weekend trips away to visit the in laws.

Flyer - hope the hospital trip ends up being a godsend and kicking things in the right direction re feeding.

Nosoold, the same thing happened here. Unfortunately for us, my production hasn't increased enough is we haven't come off ff top ups yet. Unlike legally I couldn't do too much pumping because my nips were in such a bad state by that point in time, so my production suffered I think.

I have no idea how you are supposed to get an appointment. Called HV and she is going to break the rules and get me a form and drop it round but can't hand it back in for me. At least its a start.

Then I'll have a battle to get an appointment with a decent GP who knows family history.

Hope all ok flyer hope you get some answers

Thanks Ana and nippy.

Hi ladies, have really enjoyed catching up with posts. Laughed out loud and nearly burst stitches at "claphams" and "ready's" experiences.
I was so indignant at having to go thru more pain after labour, I enjoyed guzzling on the gas and air though whilst he did the deed.
Wow I had forgotten how hard these early days are, nipples are mashed, nights are awful.
Sylvie does seem much more alert and hungry than the boys were, perhaps it was cos she was late.
Huge congrats sanj and what a gorgeous name, it was on our shortlist.
Congrats too to ready and the other new babes.
Go clapham !y
Loving the doggy reactions! We have a leopard gecko who I am convinced was very pleased to see me when I fed him the other night .
flyer you have been though so much. I really hope you get some answers. Tg. Then you have the aff

Sorry, pressure from health professionals with weight gain. Anyone else with older kids feeling guilty about not being there for them? I get really tearful when I see a certain look on my eldest son's face, he loves the baby but there is a sadness there.

Please those if you with other children don't feel guilty. I was 18 months old when my brother was born and I'm sure it was a shock at first, but even from a young age I wouldn't have swapped him for the world. The first time you see them playing or talking to each other your heart will melt.

Afternoon to everyone.

Really hoping that clapham's lack of posts means she's SWIL! Sending dilating, crowning vibes all the way to London!

flyer so sorry to hear things aren't getting better. Like others have said though they may be able to tube/cup/syringe feed her so she can boost her energy and hopefully begin feeding again. I really hope things improve from here.

Congrats to the new mummies.

jelly sorry to hear the HV was concerned. Isaac sometimes has blue ish feet although they don't feel cold. Please let us know the outcome. Hope everything's ok though and she's just being over cautious.

I've done my first bf whilst out. Scary and of course not straight forward. Using nipple shields and a baby/mummy still learning it was a bit of a faff but went ok. Was only at a soft play centre but I've achieved it! Also been to a bf support group (I know one of the other mums) and my bf support worker runs it.

Have my 6 week post natal check next week. I don't remember having one with dd. anyone know what happens? Do they just want to know about me? Or baby too? I didn't have stitches so will they still need to check down below?

A quick question... Cyrus is 2 days old and his umbilicus is a bit sticky. He is totally normal otherwise. Is this all part of the process? Had to change his vest as it ad brownish stuff from it on, sound familiar to those further down the line?x

Sounds normal to me ready just keep it clean with cool boiled water and cotton wool :-)

ready yes sounds totally normal. I worried about H's belly button because it was quite pussy and smelly but it was all normal and fine. It's still a little like it now af nearly 4 weeks but is just still healing.
hayley I have to go back to hospital for my 6 week check as had 3rd degree tear. not sure what else appointment is for though.

letting agent coming over tomorrow for our annual house inspection. fortunately my parents came over today so my dad watched H while me and mum cleaned and tidied the house!! so glad they were here!

ready yes, perfectly normal. Even a little bit of pus is normal. If it gets really red and inflamed or baby has a temp then see your GP. My DS (and now my DD too) had a really thick cord which annoyed the midwives as they can't discharge you until the cord has fallen off. They used to call and ask if it had fallen off yet, without so much as a 'how are you'.
legally yes, I suspect poor latch too. S

ready yes, perfectly normal. Even a little bit of pus is normal. If it gets really red and inflamed or baby has a temp then see your GP. My DS (and now my DD too) had a really thick cord which annoyed the midwives as they can't discharge you until the cord has fallen off. They used to call and ask if it had fallen off yet, without so much as a 'how are you'.
legally yes, I suspect poor latch too. Something to work on.
hayle my 6 week check last time was a waste of time, didn't really check anything and just talked about contraception.
flyer hope you get to the bottom of what is going on.

ready my midwife says not to clean if at all as the drier it is the quicker it falls off. X

hayle from what I recall they ask how you are, and what contraception you want - its just a box ticking exercise. I had stitches last time and would have quite liked them checked, but gp didn't seem to think it necessary and felt a bit weird asking.

Thanks everyone. A bit gross on my otherwise perfect baby! X