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

Isaacs cord was on for two weeks!

Ah the contraception talk... I have the most reliable form of contraception I will be relying on for at least another few weeks!!! Too sleep deprived.

ready, T's cord came off last friday during mw visit. She cleaned it with a sterile wipe, but said water's fine. It oozed a bit like you're describing until last night when she had her first bath and a last residue of fine cord came out and she's not bled today.

6 week check- it's with both health visitor and GP here, and i think it is just to make sure everything is in working order- pelvic floor, mental state etc. I think i even managed to DTD beforehand last time to make sure even that was working. (caution- that's how my brother was conceived!)
Contraception talk too- like we need that! I keep pointing out that my bubs are miracle kids...
HV told me they do a 12wk check here too to make sure Mums aren't suffering from pnd.
I got T's BCG appt today, and booked in for registering her birth. We need our marriage certificate- it'll prob take me a week to find it! Is that normal? (the needing it part, not the lost it part...)

Clapham & Smitten, where are you??

Lucinda's cord came off really quickly- after about 5 days.

congrats to all new mums and babies, and Good luck to Clapham and Smitten

So, we got on ok at the hospital, they decided that as long as i was happy with her feeding, they would let us wait and see, as he said her jaundice was border line in his opinion, and (thankfully) was reluctant to put her through blood tests needlessly. we agreed that I would get her weighed today ( which I did) and as long as she had put on some weight, he was happy for me to just see mw again on Sat.

and she has! She was 8lbs 9oz today, so has put on 8 oz in 5 days

Flyer am so sorry you are having such a hard time, hope you have had a better day today. xx

x posts Pink - we registered Lucinda yesterday and didn't need ours!

Contraception! Ha.... mw talked to me about it while they were still here on the day she was born!

Not that it did any good, no idea what we will do. I can't have anything hormonal, and not keen on a permenant solution..... ( i know, i know we have 6 and that's enough, but just feels so final!!!!)

Honest opinions needed ladies. I'm reaching the point where I think I need to abandon bf
I have had Al bf for the last two hours, latch fine, he comes away with a milky mouth, but he then comes off and guzzles 4oz of formula with no posseting or vomiting afterwards. Is he actually getting anything from me at all (other than comfort)?
He's 23 days old now. I can't imagine giving 2hr feeds for much longer - it means we're near hostages in the house (I have no car, so no quick trips out are possible).

What should I do?

Hi all, just to let you know Baby Smitten arrived at 15:04 this afternoon weighing 10lb 1oz. I had to have 2 small stitches, so got lucky there.

Just had a water birth and gas and air, which I had to fight for as no one believed I was in established labour because they couldn't examine me due to waters breaking early and infection risks, so was dying for a good few hours until they swapped midwives and I got 2 lovely ones who gave me the gas and air straight away.

We have to stay in for 12 hours in case he has an infection from the waters breaking. But can go home tomorrow morning.

OMG Smitten what a whopper, well done you and Congratulation xx

Shire Sorry I don't know what to say, no experience of mixed feeds/to ups, but you need to go with your gut feeling and do what you need to for you and A xxx

Harrison's cord fell off on day 4 I was shocked I texted the midwife to check it was ok for it to happen so quick x

Can't remember who aSked but dh and I didn't need our marriage certificate

Congratulations smitten I hope u didn't buy too much newborn

Good news u didn't have to be admitted for Lucinda's jaundice caz hopefully it fixes itself .x

After dd I wasn't wanting to dtd for ages but this time I can't wait to get back too it, how long do u need to wait? I had a 1st degree tear but it didn't require stitching

shirehobbit - why are you feeding for 2 hours, and then topping up ? Genuine question - does he seem overly hungry ?

If he has a milky mouth then he is getting milk out. Rather than feed for 2 hours - maybe feed for 1/2 an hour and then have a break - and if he seems hungry again in an hour then feed again. And try and do without formula topups for a day to start with. Formula is very easy to guzzle down - even when not hungry.

Try and have faith in your body.

Yay Smitten! So pleased you got your water birth. 10 lb 1 oz, wow! Boy or girl?

Shire I was in a similar position with DS but he took the decision out of my hands and screamed blue murder when offered the breast. Do you express at all, we moved to expressing and formula mixed feeding, then formula only eventually.

Things are very different with Eloise, she so far appears to be a boob monster and is seemingly getting on very well. However, I wonder if her weight will have dropped a lot from the birth weight on next weigh in due to the amount of poo she has been producing...I know she was 42 weeks gestation but you would not believe the amount of mec she has produced! On day 3/4 now do hopefully not much more of it to come.

Shire - I know I always suggest this on the thread but has he been checked for tongue tie (including posterior)? Long feeds can be a sign. What happens if you don't top up?

Congratulations Smitten - what a size!

Hope Clapham is doing well....

I'm celebrating as I have been taken off one of my BP meds, just the other to go now! Hopefully it won't shoot up. Tarlia how is your BP?

Wow smitten well done!
Wonder how clapham is getting on....
Hope hospital can help you flyer
I have decided to completely abandon bf which has made me rather sad as little B is quite good it seems and I have good supply but I just can't cope with the time needed and looking after my crazy super active toddler. I literally can't take my eyes off him or sit down for a second when he's awake so I was bf at nap times and night and using bottles at other times but it just isn't working for us so I've given little B a teary last feed and am on bottles as from now. I'm sure he won't care at all but I so enjoyed feeding ds1 and feel sad I can't do the same for this little chap.

If I don't top up he roots like mad and cries a lot.
If I stop after 20mins/half an hour, the same happens.
I can express if I stop after 30mins but not if he feeds longer. Pumping between feeds is unproductive (5-10ml at best).
He has been checked for tongue tie by various people.

I cannot conceive of ditching the formula in one foul swoop - he is just too hungry.

Congratulations smitten - wow!
Shire would you be happier if you kept doing both?

Congratulations Smitten, and I thought Charlie was big!
Breast fed in public (with a blanket) for the first time today, felt scary but good :)
Shire I had the same problem with DD, however long she was there she seemed to come away hungry. I ended up expressing so I could monitor what she took, and she took to the bottle so quickly I never went back to bf with her.
I felt pretty sad about it at the time, but she's happy and healthy, and once the pressure was off me I got to really enjoy her.

Does anyone else's LO have hiccups a lot? Thought Charlie was going to hurl earlier they went on for so long

Oh Shire, it sounds like you're really stuck with these long feeds. I hope you find a feeding/life balance soon x

Smitten- fantastic news, well done you!!!

Pseudo- that's great about your drugs, does that mean your BP is finally behaving itself?

I've lost track of the thread- who was worried about undescended testes? My Friend's son had that (they thought he was a girl when first born) but they came down ok. I don't think they needed any surgical help. Good luck with that xx

I had my first hormonal sob on DH/DS. The former most unsympathetic the latter gave me lovely hugs. I'm a long wAy from DTD with DH. At the moment we feel more like strangers than lovers. Stupidly I'd just like to have some acknowledgement of what I've had to go thru the last 3yrs- my body has been violated by so many needles and drips and tests and undignified probings and I haven't even had a bunch if flowers.
Sorry for the rant- I just needed to let that one out.

Shire, to keep me sane and my baby content, the doctors and breast feeding experts advised: 30 min max of boob (split between the boobs, or on one only, doesn't matter), then formula top up. Make sure there is almost constant sucking, using breast compression to maintain sucking until compressions don't work anymore. It means baby gets the good stuff from breast milk, but isn't hungry and lets me live/sleep between feeds. And the whole feed takes about an hour, leaving me with 1-2 hours until the next one.

Also could someone please add me to the arrivals list? I'm no good at it.
Charlie Alexander
25/10/2013
9lb 3oz

Thanks :)

Pink - . Lots of sympathy. I didn't realise my relationship with DP would change as much as it has done. Not stupid at all - our men should treat us a bit like goddesses from time to time to show appreciation of what we have been through!

Congrats smitten!

shire, have you tried phoning one of the helplines? It might help, nothing to lose.

I've tried to add myself to the spreadsheet but made a total arse of it, sorry.

We're planning our first solo excursion tomorrow, to one of my nct friends for coffee. I can't imagine how we're going to coordinate feeding, changing etc and get out of the house for a specific time but at 15 days old, I really need to try it. We can't be housebound for ever.

Congratulations Smitten

Who was asking about hiccoughs? C has them a lot and they really upset him - they seem to shake his whole body.

Congrats smitten xx

Congrats smitten,what a whopper, I bet that stung a bit
soup you will be fine - I realised today that with a manic 3 year old and a baby my life will be lived with constant low level stress and anxiety for the foreseeable future. I feel a bit calmer now I've acceptedthat.

pink and all those struggling with DHS, lots of sympathy to you. Do and I split for a time when ds was 8 weeks old, as we just couldn't deal with the massive upheaval and our expectations of each other. We worked through it, but all I can suggest is keep talking to each other, both be honest but realistic about what you need from each other, and make some time for your relationship, as its so easy to loose touch with your adult life. Hope you can work it out xx

"I realised today that with a manic 3 year old and a baby my life will be lived with constant low level stress and anxiety for the foreseeable future."

Amen to that!

Thanks everyone. I don't actually know what supposed to do with him now though. Keep passing him to DH.

Clapham are you in labour?