The due in September crew head into the second trimester! :) (Thread 6)

[Treaclepie19]

Hi all! Stats sheet here :)

shin your story about the two nice chaps made me well up a little bit! Hormones eh!? xx

I've had a 13 year break between my youngest and this baby and I'm really looking forward to breast feeding again.
My question to you second/third timers - how do you get a baby to take expressed milk from a bottle ?? My two were not at all keen and I ended up feeding them exclusively myself... Any tips?

Get one of your other kids to feed them the bottle toffee.
Mine refused all attempts at bottle feeding and then my toddler asked if he could feed the baby and the baby then downed a whole bottle!

We started feeding DD expressed milk at 2 weeks - the midwife was cautious because of possible nipple confusion but she was fine. I know a few people who waited until later and had more problems getting baby to take a bottle. My DD is a bit of a gannet though - she rarely turns down food in any form!

shin being cold all the time can be a sign of anaemia, are you anaemic?

Haha coffee table maybe I'll try that.!
Any decent bottles anyone recommends? And if I leave it too late ( baby not adaptable!!) how early is advisable to start with expressed milk? Vaguely recall worrying that if my baby wouldn't take expressed milk there wouldn't be enough left. ExH lost his rag one night when asked to feed the baby so I could sleep. I probably didn't bother asking again after that. New DP will ask to get up and feed baby I'm sure.

Have to say I think the one thing missing from all the pro-breast info on the antenatal classes is the setting of a realistic expectation that for the majority of women (IME) it's bloody hard to start with and some examples of why and all the ways you can get help. We had an awful time between jaundice, delayed milk coming in, slow weight gain, reflux and tongue tie before you even start on blebs and nipple cracks!! However thanks to MN and the drop in clinics we got there in the end and by 12 weeks loved it. Will be doing my best this time round to BF again, I'm hoping that because I know I managed last time I'll have a better mental state this time

I think with my first we started feeding him from a bottle at four weeks. DH would do the ten o'clock feed by bottle (sometimes as a dream feed) while I slept. He wasn't able to do that with DS2 so I just used to bf him which is why I think he turned into a bottle refuser.
DS1 would have drunk milk from an old smelly sock I'm sure!

Have Tea - yes it is hard to start with, but perseverance definitely worth it I agree - it quickly gets easier. My Ds 2 was a premmie and needed an op at birth (TOF /OA) he was in an incubator 3 weeks and I expressed all that time. They fed him my milk through a tube and I worried he would take to breast feeding. Turned out I fed him until he was one. Only once on solids did he stop gaining weight quickly enough. He's 12 now though, and full of energy..!

I know Sauv. Those blinkin hormones. I sobbed for ten minutes earlier after we got turned away from stay and play and DD had then fallen and cut her head.

Toffee do you mean how early in case of nipple confusion and supply etc? I think I remember reading tons of conflicting advice about this but that the general consensus seemed to be when your feeding was really well established (usually after a few weeks). Someone else might know better though and some women do it earlier or later with no probs.

Worry I have actually half wondered that myself. It's getting silly how cold I am. I'm also so tired all the time to the point where I can't believe my pregnant friends with toddlers of the same are managing to do stuff like go out in the eve. I literally feel weak if I move from the sofa! Do you know whether the standard blood test you have at your midwife appointment would pick this up? I think I presumed it would therefore presumed I don't have it as they've not said anything!

toffee you sound like you had a bit of a similar experience to me. DD was in SCBU tube fed at first and by the time we were discharged we were exclusively breastfeeding. Was so difficult though as our hospital is pretty poor for encourage breastfeeding. Can totally understand why others don't manage it. Was very lucky to have family who are breastfeeding peer supporters who kept pointing me in the right direction!

Shin I was very lucky as I had a very supportive family and hospital. In fact I was given a room to stay in with ds to establish breast feeding before we went home. It was like a hotel but with midwives on call of I needed them. Also they helped me administer ds's medication.

Glad your scan went well snowflake. Mine did too, my EDD has been moved forward to 28 Sept so back in the September group Annoyingly my blood test results weren't back so have to wait for nuchal results, but hopefully will hear back this week.

shin yes pretty sure those blood tests are fur absolutely everything.
And thanks for answering the bf questions. Think I tried too soon with ds1, then waited too long to try again...

I'm trying to read through as we've come on nearly 2 pages since I last looked but pleased could we leave the debates out of the group? Everyone has different opinions and everyone will do something in their pregnancy that other people may not agree with. It's actually a bit stressful to read through for those of use who suffer with anxiety and some who doon't.

I don't think it's bad to have debates as long as we're all supportive of each other. I haven't joined in but have enjoyed the beast feeding talk as it helps me feel like I won't be alone if all doesn't go to plan. I think it's important to hear the good and the bad, as long as somebody isn't really negative about something (I.e. breastfeeding is too hard - don't bother). Just my opinion x

I like the debates / differing opinions too! As a first timer, I often feel I know zilch so all this chat is really helping! xx

Shin yeah if they requested a FBC mine didn't so I had to ask my GP for one, you can become anaemic as your pregnancy furthers. Unless you're suffering with low bp? That can often make you feel cold and tired.

It can be too much though that's the thing. I'll just stick to the FB group I think as I just can't deal with it being 'full on'.

I don't think you can really stop debates or reasonably ask people not to have them especially as people don't usually set out trying to start a debate. But that's just my opinion. We could have a poll! I do agree it's not nice to have it end up as a big 'am I being unreasonable' thread but the trouble is where do you draw the line saying what people can and can't discuss. There's stuff on here I don't really like to read at all but I just skip past it cos everyone is entitled to talk about anything pregnancy related I would have thought.

Ooh look we've started another debate!! . I do think some of my posts were probably a bit blunt today so I apologise. Not for what I said but for not wording things better. Pregnancy hormones, feeling ill yet again and a demanding toddler don't help.

Thank you Worry. I think I might actually call the midwife just to run it past her. My blood pressure has been slightly off in the past so will mention that too.

Haha, debates galore today.
I suffer from anxiety too but a healthy debate is always good in my book :)

I intend on breastfeeding but am aware it's not always easy. My friend gave up after a few days, she found it painful and just couldn't get the hang of it. She had also had quite a horrific birth experience so she was feeling particularly vulnerable and I'm not sure how much support she had

My mum breastfed me and DB, my MIL chose not to so I don't know if I willl have any judgment from family on what I decide.

In other news, I may have got myself another job interview, I'll be getting a phone call on Wednesday to confirm. The recruitment agency representing the company asked me a few questions including the following:

Do you have any holidays planned in the next six months?

I said no, and that's true I don't, but what will be happening in six months and possibly before if baby is early, is childbirth Not sure how else I could have answered that question though.

I bf ds. We really struggled the first couple of days and I stayed in hospital until we could manage on our own. It was much easier once we got home. Had I decided it was too much in hospital or midwives were concerned then in my trust they provide formula at first if bf doesn't work out. I'm in a trust with v low bf rates and they've thrown a lot of money at it so I was lucky to have specialist bf midwives and peer supporters on the ward. That being said the two girls opposite me had decided to ff from the start and they were also supported by the midwives.
If you're hoping to bf definitely find out what support groups operate in your area, common ones are La Leche League and Breast Feeding Network.
Also have a read of Kellymom as it's a mine of useful information.
Be prepared to get conflicting advice from everyone, including hcps, they're not all specially trained.
Also be prepared to spend a lot of time feeding. Not sure how I'm going to manage this time as can't just plough through boxsets but will have to entertain ds!
And finally, if you're not happy then keep an open mind and don't put pressure on yourself-easier said than done I know!
Hope I've answered some of the questions from above.

Scan on Wednesday. Getting quite jittery.