TTC 10+++ Months Grads Thread

[sweetgrouch]

Decided to start the new thread seeing as the old one is filling up.

thanks buzz I am fine. No sign of the child arriving yet. but checks at the dr this morning showed heartbeat is fine, placenta working ok although a little bit of calcium starting to form due to aging of placenta which is apparently normal at this stage, baby's weight is ok. I haved to go to Dr again on Thursday. How are you all this week?

free - here it is up to the attending physicians if they wait 1 or 2 weeks before inducing, it depends on their personal comfort levels with the pros and cons of waiting vs inducing. I had several appointments in the last 2 weeks (weeks 40-42), but as long as the placenta is doing well and you have plenty of fluid there are no major worries. How are you feeling?

buzz - did bb get her upper teeth yet? or is she still sharting like a champ?

sea - how are you doing?

euro - I saw that centime is home. She is so adorable! Are you enjoying the cuddles now? How is feeding going?

AFM - just passed a busy weekend where I enjoyed putzing around the yard. Mini finally figured out how to go from being on all fours and crawling to sitting on his own and back without face-planting. I am slowly getting the house and yard in order to host a small event in our yard this weekend with mine and mr's families.

waves to everyone else who seem to have gotten busy with their RLs I hope everything is going well.

free I'm getting really excited, do you know what you are having ??

sea do you know what you are having, how are you getting on??

sweet well done mini sweet :) no more teef, although lots of ear pulling, red cheeks etc, I think the sharting is finally over, it got quite bad and her bum was red raw and she was miserable, I took to washing her bum in a tub with bicarb soda, but today has been better bar 3 green poos, can I ask are you a native to the country you live in ??

euro hope you are enjoying being at home with centime

bunny how are you getting on

lemon hope you are ok with lembie

waves to everyone else

free - I am also excited to hear what you're having! I am also hoping the silence means that things are moving for you. The wondering "is today the day" at the end gets tiresome.

buzz - I am native to where I live. I am currently applying for jobs a little all over the world, as is mr sweet. I'm pretty sure the expressions I use give it away

Morning all,

Free not long to go now! Just wanted to let you know that my friend used the epi-no and had her baby very easily. Just a couple of stitches where his nail caught her on the way out. I didn't use one as read lots of conflicting things and I also had a very easy (if not long) labour and birth. No drugs (not even gas and air), 9lbs10 baby and maybe 7 stitches for a graze that the midwife caused when checked mini bunny's cord. Also, I wanted to say that because DH is self employed he was back at work when mini bunny was a week old. I was largely on my own, bar a couple of visits from friends. I didn't find it too bad but we relied on lots of pre-prepared meals. In fact, the best thing anyone did was when my mum turned up with two fridge bags of m&s food and drinks to last us a week. I stayed in bed all morning feeding and watching telly with her whilst she slept, got up and put her in her Moses basket downstairs and if she was asleep had a shower (our bathroom is downstairs) and made a sandwich. Or I'd take her for a walk to our nearby sandwich shop and buy lunch. In the afternoons, I sat under an umbrella in the garden or went to bed to nap or watch a film. I really put myself on "essentials" only activity (sleeping, eating and trying to wash). DH would then come home and stick something in the oven, I'd ate whilst feeding or when she was as asleep, then he'd hold baby, let me sleep or wash and then we'd all go to bed early and watch TV / film / watch her sleep. I've done ALL the night wakings (and still do) as she is bf. I just wanted to reassure you that it can be done. I have very find memories of the first few weeks with mini bunny. In fact, I loved the new born bit very much and am really looking forward to it again. Sorry, that was long! Good luck, anyway :)

euro amazing that you are home. She is so adorable. You must be so proud and brilliant that she's feeding so well. Congratulations, again

buzz and grouch argh! Teeth! We are in molar (first set) hell at the moment. She has 3 coming through. Nurofen and loads of boob is the only thing that makes it any better. We've also had some pretty rank nappies and sleep crying, which is horrible.

sea I hope you are ok at the moment, how far are you along now?

So me, I'm 7+4 today. It's still early days and each day seems to drag and drag! I feel like it was years ago I got my bfp. I'm extremely tired at the moment compounded by the constant bf'ing and terrible teething night wakings and having to run around with a toddler. We're on minimum activity at the minute and there's a lot of cbeebies and story reading going on! I felt like a super hero when I walked the half mile to our local petting farm yesterday and sat in sandpits and played on play equipment for an hour. We normally do that and several other things but I'm just too wiped out right now I'm constantly hungry, which seems to be staving off the ms. Nausea is terrible but manageable with lots of small regular meals. In fact, apart for being tired and having nausea I feel in rude health. I should be booking my booking in appointment at the end of the week (fingers crossed) and I'm really lucky to have the same midwife as last time and she's really lovely and very supportive of the choices we made last time as well as being thorough and on the ball.

Waves to all :)

sweet I did wonder when you said 'yard' oooh moving is very exciting

bunny symptoms are good, although hard when you are so tired, I have to say that is what worries me, coping with a toddler and being pregnant if we go back for the frostie

at the moment BB is watching nursery rhymes on tv with the tubing from the old breast pump in her mouth

bunny that all sounds very positive. I remember how the first trimester drags - every week felt like a month.

buzz I'm glad the bee seems better.

sweet applying for jobs all over sounds very interesting. I'd like to live abroad again, but it's hard now as mr euro's job is very UK specific (he does tax law).

free it sounds like you are very nearly there!

It is really lovely having C home (although the night feeds are a bit of a shock to the system...). It is lovely to be able to do normal things, like go for a walk or give her a bath. She still doesn't quite get bfing. The mw came yesterday but didn't have any magic solutions. We will just try lots of skin to skin, but if she doesn't get it, I will keep hooking myself up to the pump. The mw weighed her yesterday and she has just tipped over 4lb. :)

euro bfing can be hard to start with and can take some weeks for them to 'get it', is there a BFing clinic near by, I went to one that were great and supportive, just a bit unrealistic with the whole logistics of having a newborn and expressing, BB never got the hang of it but is happy enough, the nights do get better and yay to her gaining weight :)

Thanks ladies :)

Euro yes, the night feeds are a total shocker. Do you have her in a basket or co-sleeper cot by your bed? I found feeding mini bunny in bed and then putting her back down when she was asleep fine and that I was able to get back to sleep quite quickly and wasn't disrupted by having to get up and down all night. Saying that I couldn't relax the first few nights as I was very aware that there was a little human next to the bed and it just seemed weird and the responsibility totally mind blowing! Bf'ing takes a while to establish, remember you're both learners. It took mini bunny a while to perfect her latch. She cracked my nipple at 2 weeks and I had to feed her in a different position to let it heal. It got much easier for me from about 4 weeks. She's a pro now saying that, I wished I'd introduced expressed bottles earlier and got DH much more involved with bedtime because it rests entirely on my shoulders now.

Buzz bb cracks me up! She's so cute! I wouldn't worry too much about the tiredness when you go back to get your frostie. It's manageable. I'm just having to be slobby about housework and DH is having to do more housework / cooking / childcare after work. We're just knocking along in "survival" mode! Church type groups are ace cos I can just sit around and be bought tea and let mini bunny go freerange! We're doing as many as I can find at the moment :)

Euro - Delighted to hear you are back home with C now. Amazing news. I am so happy for you. I hope you are loving these first weeks with your newborn.

Free - How are you? Are you anxious or excited? I imagine you must want the baby to come now - no? Personally I am counting the days.

Bunny - Sorry about the nausea. It must be tiring dealing with early pregnancy and looking after a baby at the same time but you sound like you are managing so well. I am going to sound v silly now but I thought it was almost impossible to get pregnant when you are still bf-ing. Is that not the case?

Buzz - Are you thinking about going back for frostie soon? Mr Sea is already thinking about number 2. I really can't imagine being pregnant again. I have found it v tough and in my mind I am so happy to have conceived finally that I can't even think about number 2 right now even if we do have 3 frosties stored away.

Sweet - Applying for jobs and looking after little sweet - what a supermom!

I think someone asked up thread how far along I am. I am 33+4 today and I am expecting a boy. I am counting the days until it's over. I am waking up about 6 times a night with cramp running through different parts of my leg, thigh, calf and foot and going to the loo every 30 mins. I woke up a few nights ago with a pillow full of blood (nosebleed). The good news is sickness seems to have subside again. I am eternally grateful I have got this far but I really don't think pregnancy is for me. I feel terrible most of the day and my baby never ever stops moving. He's been doing the oddest moves that feels like knee bending or leg stretches for days now. It is really reassuring that he is moving so much but it's quite freaky at the same time. I have limbs poking out the side of my bump - it's the oddest feeling.

sea the nurses in NICU kept asking if she was my first and if/when I would have more. I was very open about her being a hard won IVF baby and just wanting to enjoy her now she is here. I can't imagine going through this again. I do feel sad about missing the end of pregnancy and labour, although it wouldn't have been fun in the recent heat. I was robbed of part of something I had waited so long for. This has been so stressful though, that I never want to repeat it. My first section date was 33+4, but that was cancelled due to lack of NICU capacity and it ended up happening at 34 weeks exactly.

buzz establishing bfing is mainly for my benefit and convenience. I'm happy that she is getting the milk, whatever the delivery method. Expressing plus feeding will be hard, particularly at night, when mr euro goes back to work. At the moment, he is in charge of input while I deal with output!

I agree that bb is incredibly cute. I love your pictures of her. I need to get my proper camera out. All the photos I have so far are on my phone. I did take some of her in hospital, but they were just snaps. It didn't seem worth trying to take "nice" portrait pictures while she was all wired up as that is not how I want to remember her babyhood.

bunny we have a Bednest co-sleeper crib. It's of limited benefit when bottlefeeding though, as I still have to get up to sort bottles and expressing kit. Plus she almost always poos during a feed, so we have to get up to change her anyway.

euro its bloody hard to express and feed, they told me to me express 10 times a day, and look after a baby , I found it made me miserable in the end, I did hire a hospital grade double pump to speed the process along. It is a faff with bottleS and sterilisers but it does become apart of your routine, I also have a babycino machine www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BG6304A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which I highly recommend to anyone:), when BB gets imaptient for a feed I take her into the kitchen to look at it and to calm her down. I used to sit in the living room to feed and express and change nappies.

seaYou are having a rough ride, big hugs it is all worth it honest I can understand that you want it to be over, I'm 41 so have to go back next year, the thought of being pregnant again terrifies me, I like you had a shit time and if I could afford a surrogate I would use one, I don't fancy all the immune drugs the sickness etc not to mention all the stress and worry if all is ok, but I have to go back for the frostie to see what happens but first I want to enjoy BB and go through all her 'firsts' before we try again

euro great to read that you are home - that is wonderful news. and hooray that C is gaining weight

sea I am fine. I am really hoping to avoid an induction so yes, in that respect I am keen for the baby to arrive soon. Also there is less kicking and movement as I imagine things are pretty tight in there but that makes me nervous. I am trying to focus on positive thoughts but honestly I won't feel any relief from nerves until the child is born healthy and in my arms. Sorry to read of the hard time you are having. The leg cramps can be very painful, I shoved my legs at MrFree shouting "Cramp, Help" many times in the middle of the night. He got quite good at stretching out the cramp without even opening his eyes.

bunny glad to hear things are progressing well with your pregnancy. That's great and thanks a lot for the reassurance that I will cope. The freezer is full of pre-cooked meals I made during maternity leave in those metal trays so we don't have washing up, the cupboards are stocked with one-hand snacks. Our place is clean enough.

sweet we don't know 100% if we are having a boy or a girl the kid is camera shy. I think a girl and have been referring to "her" with a girl's name throughout pregnancy and our chinese doctor who helped me get pregnant said it was a girl. If we have a boy, we'd be surprised.

bunny - It's so nice your pregnancy is progressing, the first trimester was just so slow for me. I imagine it's much more tiring with a toddler who is teething.

free - Not long now and you will know . Mr. Free sounds lovely taking care of your leg cramps.

Euro - feeding was really hard for me and mini at first too. I pumped and fed him around the clock and I found it exhausting. He got the hang of it after a while, but still uses a nipple shield out of habit. It seems you're succeeding at the most important part of feeding her as she's gaining weight. Just remember, the sleep will get better. The getting up was very hard for me at first

sea - it sounds like this pregnancy was very hard on you. You're almost there. Keep in mind that every pregnancy is apparently very different. So the next one, if you want another, might be completely different. I got nasty postpartum nosebleeds, I agree that there is not much worse than waking up to one.

buzz - mini seems to have started sharting when bb stopped. Maybe the teeth will come sooner than expected... Expressing 10 times a day on top of feeding, nappy changing, etc ! I'm amazed you managed it for any length of time, Mr Nestle would have come out of my cupboard the second the consultant completed that sentence.

sweet it was friggin misery, many a tear was shed in the wee hours of the morning, I have to say the breast feeding clinic were great and really supportive but I just felt there weren't enough in the day to pump 10 times, they also didn't take into consideration that she was a big eater, I was technically supply what a normal baby would consume but BB is a piglet and wanted 300 mls more, she was on a litre from about 7 weeks.

Sorry about the sharting, I do recommend bicarb soda and a bum bath if it gets too bad, hopefully his first tooth will be here soon :)

Sea I'm sorry to hear you've had a very tough pregnancy :( you're nearly there now. I'd forgotten about the agonising leg cramps, constant needing to wee through the night and I had the most god awful indigestion. Funny how quickly you forget and look back with rose tinted specs! No, you can get pregnant when breastfeeding. Very unusual in the first 6 months if you're ebf, not using a dummy, not going more than 4-5 hours between feeds and baby isn't having any other nutrition / drinks. My book said that bf is 99% effective as a contraceptive under these conditions. My periods came back when mini bunny was 6 months, I was quite surprised because she wasn't eating loads of solids (she started paying with food at 4.5 months) and still feeding very regularly. But they came back, to start with very light and cycles very long. I got ovulation pains (never had them before) for the 2 cycles before I got pregnant and lots of EWCM, which I didn't really have before doing the brown diet. I haven't been following my diet at all since I was about 8/9 weeks pregnant with mini bunny. We're still that it happened though. A total surprise!

Euro I'm sorry if my post was insensitive. Constantly expressing must be exhausting and on top of caring for a newborn. I hope things ease up for you soon. When does me e go back to work?

Free any more news? Sounds like things are getting going!

buzz poor bb :( I hope her bums ok today and you get a bit if a rest too.

Terrible night with mini bunny last night and I've got constant hunger today. I'll be glad when her bloody molars are through. She went down at 8 last night and woke at: 9, 11, 1.30, 3.20, 6.20, 7.30 and was up for the day at 8. We've been to play group this morning which was full of obnoxious twunts (not usually there) in addition to the nice mums / grandmas I usually hang out with. Then someone put the heating on?! And then baby bunny had a boob denial tantrum. She's napping now. And I've sated the hunger with feta and spinach parcels. I'm going to be huge again! I'm very grateful for the symptoms though and feel very jammy to be back with you guys. I think it's finally starting to sink in but I'm still terrified of something going wrong in the next few weeks. Sorry for long rant. Kinda needed to get that all out!

buzz - big hugs to first weeks you. The first few weeks are hard enough without adding in extra work and stress. I found trying to keep up with my minis prolific appetite was such a challenge. I will definitely try a bicarbonate bath if his little tush gets too raw.

bunny - poor you, you must be shattered after such a rough night. Interesting that your periods started up around 6 months. Mini is eating solids like a piggy in addition to all his normal feeds and I have not have a hint of mine returning... I am hoping it will come back at some point, its absence is worrying me because of the PCOS.

sweet most people I know haven't had theirs back until they've fully given up breastfeeding or are down to one or two a day. So I don't think you need to worry. My mum is uber fertile and fed my brother and sister well after they were one and didn't get hers back til she'd finished. I was very surprised when mine came back so early. I'm still feeding through the day (she's on and on maybe every 2-3 hours) and through the night. Although I'm sure she only actually feeds properly 2-3 times a day and the rest is little comfort squirts Fertility is just one huge mystery. I guess in this house babies are like buses. You wait forever for one and then a troop of them turn up! Hope mini sweets teeth are not being too much of a pain today :)

Hello! I'm sorry to have posted and then run, was very sad to hear about Critter's loss, but congrats to Euro - sounds like quite a journey, lovely to be home now - and Wow! to WBunny !
We've actually been in hospital with babyM on and off for the last month with an infected joint (finally outs myself completely to anyone who knows me in RL!) and it has been utterly shit. But he is much better and we are on the home run to recovery - I say roll on Autumn!
I was late this month and had some symptoms of pregnancy and then when finally plucked up the courage to do a test had the faintest of bfp's, but over the next 24 hours all symptoms disappeared and a repeat test was negative followed by a v heavy period. I'm diagnosing a chemical pregnancy?! But it did give me some hope. Although reading WBunny 's post fills me with anticipatory fear!
sweet I had the mirena put in at my 6 week check (actually at 10 weeks, confusingly ) and then removed in June when I stopped breastfeeding and my periods came back straight away in a seemingly normal fashion. In fact i have had two normal length cycles (31d) for the first time in my life (PCOS meant they were previously 42+ ). I am starting a low GI diet to see if that helps. I'm a lean PCOS, but wasn't ovulating prior to assistance in the long run up to babyM pregnancy.
Buzzy expressing for 8 weeks is heroic. Baby poos are an unfathomable mystery.
sea the leg cramps are awful, I only had them when I was dehydrated - the never ending trips to the loo as an alternative were worth it though

I was thinking of starting a thread for TTC number 2 when number 1 took 10months plus thread... but am not sure there'd be that much company?!!
And I seem to come on here in fits and starts with work, baby and life intruding on my relaxing mums net experience

Not insensitive at all bunny! I'm just a little frustrated about the bfing. There was so little support for it in the unit, despite the walls being plastered with posters about how it is best, and I knew it would be a challenge to establish after bottle feeding for a while.

The midwife is coming in a minute, so I will see if she has any more ideas. C actually seems to be getting worse at latching on, having finally "got it" a week ago. She was getting terrible painful wind during feeds, so we are trying an anticolic bottle. It seems to be helping her, but it has a flattish teat, so I think she is getting lazy about opening her mouth wide.

buzz I agree that expressing for 8 weeks is heroic. I've done 4 now and am getting very weary.

mrsm as we are such a small band, I imagine the second time round ttcers will hang out here - ? I'm glad that BabyM is much better now. An infected joint sounds nasty.

mrsm so sorry to hear about minim, he has a tough time but glad he is on th emend, its a constant worry, sorry to hear about your CP too, you are always welcome here even with TTC #2

euro I am a big fan of Dr Brown, they helped BB with all her 'wind ishoos' we did start with the MAM ones, actually we have MAM teats on Dr Brown bottles ooh just re read your post, sounds like MAM teats to me, although I was told it didn't matter I would have thought the shape did, I found with BB that some days she would get it and I'd be delighted and then others it all went to pot. Forget breast is best a happy mummy and baby is best, and she really just needs to gain wait, where it comes from doesn't really matter, when you've had enough just call it a day.

mrsM - sorry to hear about mini. That sounds like it was very tough. I'm also extending the welcome. Interesting about the periods being regular, sounds like the pregnancy hit some kind of a reset button for your system.

bunny - thanks for the info.

euro - We used the medela bottles at first (birth until 4 months) and switched to the aventi later on. The medela's are supposed to help teach them to latch it may be total crap. I remember the stress and frustration of miniSweets "getting it" and then the next day not. We used the nipple shields because it was the only way he could consistently feed on his own. He had difficulty fully opening his mouth due to some bruising and a stiff neck after birth and now the little devil can latch but prefers the shields. I agree with buzz that a happy mummy and baby is what is best. Don't make yourself sick killing yourself to get the baby to breastfeed. Do you have medical specialists there who specialize in breastfeeding? We have Drs who only work on these issues and are available 7 days a week without appointment.

free - I hope you're doing well

sea - I hope all is well and that the leg cramps have eased. I found a nice bath would help with mine.

AFM - Mini is 7 months today and being particularly devilish. He just crawled over to the animal's water bowl and tried to drink from it, resulting in him dumping water all over himself and the vacuum. I think the fun is starting now that he is moving everywhere.

free hope you are busy pushing out a little free :)

sweet Happy 7 months to mini sweet, and yay to crawling around, I have just saved BB from eating the cats biscuits, I,m looking at it in a positive way that I should lose some weight with all the running around :), how is weaning going ??

Thanks buzz - I sent you a fb pic to show you the size of the "chunks" I am giving him. Weaning is going well, he loves peanut butter, melon, homemade sugar-free baby biscuits, baguette, beets, meat, etc. pretty much everything except peas and eggs. How is bb liking her food? It sounds like she is also very adventurous.

I am also wondering if there is a miniFree making an appearance today

still pregnant :-) by the doctor's calculations I am only 40+2 by friday. by my calculations I am 40 weeks on saturday. reading you all but resting, eating out, going to the cinema and doing last minute things like taking bottles to recycling, clearing ironing pile, opening up nappy packets and cotton wool packs, showing MrFree where everything is, getting MrFree's favourite shirts dry cleaned, stocking fridge with fresh fruit and veg, washing anything that isn't fixed into place including door mats. clearing the kitchen counters and sink of any last stray crumbs, wrappers, equipment and teaspoons every night before bed has become inordinately important. I say it's because I want to come down to a totally clear kitchen in the morning. But really it's because I don't want the doula to come round if it kicks off in the night and think we're messy.