Due October 2006 - part 4

[nowanearlyNicemum]

there we go - I did it.
just need for you all to find it now...

Hello all

The symptons are getting to us all aren't they! We're on the home strait though.

I am sooooooooo tired. the buidling work is coming along nicely but it is so stressful and I can't get to grips with anything else. The guys we got in are brilliant, the downside is they are at the door 8am sharp so means no lie ins yet, I might as well have stayed at work a couple more weeks!

I did start doing some baby thinking yesterday and have a question for the non first timers. Any advice on electric breast pumps? I would like to express and have this rosy idea that dh could do one feed a day of my expressed milk - am I completely naiive?

I'm escaping the house today, the dust is terrible, lots of drilling going on already so I'm off to buy a dress for a wedding I am going to this sat and do lunch somewhere or if so tired might fall asleep on the circle line for a couple of hours

Now having to get up through the night every 3 hours for a pee - I suppose it's good practise fro breastfeeding - and having started my mat leave yesterday am finding it impossible to stay in bed after 6.15 - is driving OH mad - he told me this morning he is going to make me stay awake until 12 to try and get me to sleep later - have told him it won't work!! I does mean I feel quite lively first thing so have a chance to get bits and pieces done before the OMG I am so huge and can't move about very well sets in - thinking about it it might be because it is that bit cooler in the morning - it is still really warm at night - god knows what it will be like in the hopsital - can't really do the sleeping naked wedged with pillows thing there!!

Good morning! Yes I am finding the perineal massage very uncomfortable... apparently to do it propertly you have to keep pressing until the stinging goes away and you feel numb... takes about 2 minutes of continuous pressing. Ouch.
Re: the hiccups, my baby gets hiccups at least twice a day as well.
I wanted to ask about scans, has anyone had a scan to check the position of the baby? I have only had one scan (at 22 weeks), I thought they offered them at 36 weeks to check position but my midwife says they don't unless they can't tell by feeling the bump... but surely they can't be accurate 100% of the time just by feeling? At my 36 weeks appointment my midwife didn't even touch the bump, she just wrote on my notes that the baby was head down... how can she tell!? I had some reiki done on Sat and the reiki master thought the baby's head was right up by my ribs...
I am really scared of going into labour and then finding out after 24 hours of pain that the baby is actually breech and I need a section. I think I'm going to have to pay another £140 for a private scan (had 2 already, one a 4D bonding scan at 26 weeks and one a sexing scan at 22 weeks as NHS woman told me it was not policy to tell me what sex the baby was!).. a lot of money but I think it will put my mind at ease. Or should I just demand one from the NHS since they've only given me one scan so far?

Good morning clon. I tried 2 breast pumps with ds3 and found the best and most comfortable one was the Avent petal pump because it has a little petal shape around the top of the pump that is very very gentle. It is a hand pump though but is very easy to use. I used it while breast feeding ds on one breast and pumped the other. Sounds a bit cow like but yes it made dh feel much more involved. We used it so I could sleep through one of ds night feeds while dh fed him with the bottle.Have you got a steriliser though? Might be worth getting one of those cheap microwave ones just for things like the pump and couple of bottles youll need.
Someone asked what wed miss about being pregnant. I had a thought about it last night and could only think of 2 things. 1 Feeling the lo moving about in there. I think its a wonderful feeling. 2 The excitement,all be it very tired excitement,of the prospect of meeting the little fella.
Never actualy seen an electric pump and wouldnt be sure where to get one from tbh.

Hi Gingeme - thanks for the advice, I have a friend who offered to let me have her steriliser that's what got me to think more about it so just need to get some bottles.
I feel a big order going into Kiddicare later!

Your welcome.Trouble is you do have to buy Avent bottles to go with it which can be a bit expensive! Dont buy little bottles and think baby will move up to big ones eventualy. Buy a couple of bigger ones from the start. Saves money in the long run.You can freeze breast milk too!

Morning ladies,

7 days till due date. Woohoo.

Luboo-thanks for the advice on the ZANTAC thing-will give it a go tonight-anything for a bit of sleep.

The breast feeding thing-I plan just to express and freeze my milk- OH can get involved more then. I don't fancy breast feeding at all-personal choice. I have got an AVENT hand pump to start-if I get on with it then I wil pay out for the electric one. Apparently it is hard work but I will give it a go. I have some SMA formular at the ready! MW didn't seem to have a problem with my plans. We shall see!

Lisamarv- I had a scan at 36 weeks on NHS as MW was unsure of babies position. She thought the head may have been under my rib as I was in so much pain. When I walked into the scanning room the lady said instantly the baby was head down just by looking at me. Perhaps your MW did that. Thought MW checked position by feel every time though? I had my scan and baby was head down and round bottom stuck under rib! Still in so much pain because of it.
It seems unfair for you to pay out for more private scans-talk to your MW either ask her to examine you or ask for a scan-trust your instincts.
BTW I had a 4D bonding scan-great experience.

Have a good day all.

thanks for the advice re the ridiculous rash. good idea about helios milliee, taking a homeopathic remedy that i have for allergic reactions seems to have been helping-i get an hour's sleep after taking it each time. mercifully things are improving and wasn't awake as much last night. i tried asking for eurax gingeme but they wouldn't give it to me.
i think raspberry leaf tea does work, if i drink 3 cups in a day i notice a huge increase in braxton hicks. on the perineal massage, i really do think that is helping as well, it no longer even feels uncomfortable when doing it and the obstetrician said that he was surprised considering the surgery on the perineum i had last year that it was so stretchy-sorry if tmi. that being said, i appreciate that it's not everyone's cup of tea. also there's no way i could do it myself now what with hugeness so am lucky that dh is not too put off (maybe his farming background helps?!)
i really sympathise with all of you knocking back gaviscon, only have awful problems if i bend down so count myself lucky.
totally floaty how long did you stay in at st j &e?

Clon- I also used the Avent hand pump. It's fine to express for a feed once a day - first thing in the morning is best as you have loads of milk and is easy to express. The only thing is that it is a LOT more effort to do this for a feed a day - you have to feed baby in morning then express off the other side (although you may get the hang of doing this at the same time), sterilise bottles, pumps, reheat milk etc. I expressed and froze milk so I could go out some evenings and then it's definitely worth the effort.
Pmoore - i think it would be hard to only express for any period of time - it can be difficult to express unless you are very full. Also I've had friends whose milk dried up when expressing as the baby stimulates the milk flow in a different way to the pump. However, it may work for you but it's double the effort!

Just to let you all know that im being admitted to hospital with pre eclampsia - my BP is now 170/90... gutted cant have my home birth... Im due on Oct 11th, but maybe she'll be a September baby...

Hi all
Clon I used a hand pump to express last time but it wasn't very successful for me. We tried DD with a bottle when she was tiny and she took to it like a dream. Then we left it a few weeks, and after all my efforts at expressing, she point blank refused to take a bottle. She didn't take a bottle until we got her to take formula when I stopped breastfeeding at around 6months. I thought I would never be able to go out again! This time around I am determined to introduce a bottle (of either expressed or formula) very early on. I didn't have trouble using the hand pump but it did feel like a lot of effort when she consistently refused to take it!
Pmoore I agree with Popsi. Hand expressing may be fine for 1 feed a day but do not think it would work for more than that. An electric pump I think would be the way to go if you are planning to do lots of expressing. My best friend used an electic pump. Her son wouldn't breastfeed but she wanted him to have breast milk so she did lots of feeds this way- she got loads of milk out of it. REALLY noisy though! It was a real hassle for her (as you have the sterilizing to go along with the expressing and the actual feeding) but she stuck at it for 3 months.

Lisamarv I had a scan at 35 weeks at check the position of the placenta as it was low lying at my 20 week scan, but otherwise would not have had one. I assume a good midwife can tell pretty accurately what position the baby is in and would refer you for a scan if it was hard to tell. It seems a bit odd they didn't check the baby's position at 36 weeks. Maybe if you have the cash a scan would put your mind at rest, or perhaps you can demand one?

Told today my BP is high so have to go back to midwife again on Friday. Have been feeling odd so not surprised. Also found out they now induce here after 10 days (was 13 days three years ago when I had DD) so I need to get on with my curry/pineapple eating.

emzickle crossed with your post. Hope all goes well for you. Shame about your home birth, but the most important thing is that they have spotted the pre-eclampsia and can monitor you and get the baby out safely.Take care.

emzickle - sorry to hear about the pre-eclampsia. Good luck with everything.

Majormoo - yes I had the same thing with the bottle when I left it a few weeks and again this time I'm definitely going to keep it up. I just wonder whether I will have chance to express with DD around too!

emickle - hope all goes well at the hospital, shame about home birth, but better to be safe.

Well, it is official - I am an IDIOT - turned DOWN a seat on the bus this morning - what on earth was I thinking. Well, I know what I was thinking, it is only a couple of stops to a tube station where most people pile out, and I stay on, but still, should always take a seat when offered. Sorry ladies, feel like I let the side down!

3.5 days left in work (counting this afternoon), so next week my aim is to sort out hospital bag - have most stuff, just need to sort it into a bag or two. Seona - thanks for the list, very very helpful - I am going to add energy sweets (dextrasol or something) plus energy drinks for afterwards - but my labour started by me puking so had no energy left afterwards! It made me feel better as I realised I do have most of the stuff already, just not organised!

Hope everyone finds solutions to the various ailments that we all seem to have, but not long to go now!

Martha,i stayed in for 3 days.
I had high BP for the last 6wks of my 1st pg and they still let me go 10days over,they only induced me when my bp reached160/140.This was at the Whittington hospital though.My BP is 160/74 at the moment,but my mw not worried,she said top number always goes up if stressed.So hopefully your bp will go back down and your birth will be fine

thanks for expressing tips gingeme: I'm also intending to try and get the baby used to one bottle of expressed milk per day and get dh to feed him/her in the evening. I bought the avent hand pump thingie and 3 big bottles to start with. There was a very long thread somewhere on this site about it not actually being necessary to sterilise bottles and how in hospital prem baby units they just wash them in hot water and air dried, and how in America people just bung them in the dishwasher but don't sterilise: but wonder if I'd be too nervous to risk it..

When do you freeze breast milk though? and do you have to heat it up if it's not frozen? for example if I express it in the morning, and it's going to be fed to the baby that evening, I'd imagine it would be kept in the fridge, but how would you heat it up? (I'm such a novice!) And would it keep overnight in the fridge?

marthahm, I'm thinking that the r leaf tea is giving me period pains, so will carry on drinking it (odd logic in a way!!), and maybe will try again with the perineal massage. I tried it for the first time this morning and just thought 1) OW!! 2) There is NO way a baby's head is going to fit out of here without major damage as it's so small! and 3) this would be easier with some kind of large tampon type thing.

But I suppose it's supposed to hurt a bit, yes?

I just can't imagine I'd be able to do it violently and energetically enough to produce a hole big enough not to tear, given how big a baby's head is... is this just me?

Right, enough being defeatist, I'm going to get off to the park and do step ups on the steps of the bandstand, thus getting tutting noises from lots of Belgian grannies..

I was hoping that I would get some thoughts about only expressing milk from the non-1st timers and people that have friends and relatives that have tried. Thank you. Maybe I'll try and have a rethink. I think I'm just being selfish by not wanting to breastfeed but I know that there are lots of bottle fed babies that do well. Why I am I stressing over this?!

Good luck to emzickle hope all goes well.

GemmityGem - I'd keep breast milk in the fridge for up to 24 hours or else freeze. From the fridge you may be able to get baby to drink it cold but most like it warmed up - put the container or bottle in a bowl of hot water until the milk is lukewarm. From the freezer - defrost fully in the fridge then heat as before. As I said - more hassle!
Pmoore - I wouldn't stress about the whole feeding thing. Why don't you want to feed (you don't have to say if you don't want to)? I guess the only thing I would say is that however you think you will feel after baby comes you probably will actually feel very different (about everything) - and that it may be worth just waiting to see how things go.

pmoore, I'm a first timer, but just to say please don't worry, no-one should judge you whatever you decide. especially if you're expressing the milk into bottles and giving the bottles to the baby: that's just as good as b-feeding!

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Milliee, I'd heard that the baby won't get confused as long as it's only one bottle feed per day in the early months.. but others probably have actual experience of this..

My SIL had terrible trouble getting her baby to accept a bottle at 3 months, and recommended I try to get mine used to having one at least occasionally right from the start..

I thought you were supposed to wait a few weeks (4?) before introducing a bottle aswell- because of the different action and also because it takes a while to get breastfeeding established. Also when they are feeding very often at the very beginning if you do miss a feed then your boobs will soon be in agony! But then i wouldn't wait too long either as then baby may decide not to take the bottle. I found that unfortunately the whole expressing etc becomes easiest when baby is having feeds at regular intervals (so the milk builds up enough for you to express) but by that stage you can fairly reliably wait 3 hours or so between feeds so you can escape anyway!
Also Millee I'd agree it is an acquired skill - it's not been easy for lots of people I know. I don't want to put anyone off but I found it very very painful at first but after the first few weeks it was much better and I was really glad I'd persevered.

Emzickle - poor you hope everything goes well.

Has anyone tried the booby shaped bottles? I bought 2 as I would really like to breastfeed but would also like my DH to be able to share the feeding now and again. I thought the breast shaped bottles might be less confusing for LO?

Clon - I read a review on breast pumps and the avent hand pump came out the best - apparently it is easy to disassemble and fits into your bag easily - if you need to express when you are out and about.

Majormoo -My BP was getting scarily high too and I was terrified of being admitted to hospital and being induced. I ended up being even more of a couch potato and resting loads. I also started going for baths with lavender, ylang-ylang and marjoram essential oils (Make sure you add them to milk before you put them in the bath though)- as these all help lower high BP. I don't think this very hot summer can be helping with the BP though!

Popsi - I've been trying to massage the perineum - not every day though, and it was very uncomfy to begin with - but it seems to be getting a bit easier now. It is very awkward though as giant bump is in the road! Oh how I long to be pear-shaped again! (never thought I'd say that)

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Evening all

Has anyone had a major attack of the collywobbles yet? As in I dont think I can do this....
Or is it just me?