April 2016 babies. Nausea, bloating and wind - feeling HOT!

[Definitelysometime]

Thread two ladies. Hopefully this one will see us through into the long awaited second tri...

I will bf if it works, but not feel bad if it doesn't. Though I know I'll catch a lot of judgement from my side of the family if I can't, they'll just have to deal with it if so!

I will have to research it a bit though, I have enormous breasts which I think makes it harder, and I'm on some medication that can cause problems with supply.

My supply wasn't great and I'm a pre-pregnancy F cup. Found it hard to see what I was doing!

There are lots of videos on YouTube. I've been watching some recently. Apparently, after your baby pula away from feeding the nipple should be fully rounded and not the shape of a lipstick as this will result in sore cracked nipples/blisters. Mine were always that shape and did indeed crack and blister!

Maybe third time will be lucky .

pulls

April, I'm also a bit worried as have heard having bigger boobs can make BF harder. I'm wearing 32GG bras now but they're already too tight so don't even want to imagine what size I'll be when I'm BFing... Especially wondering how I'll ever manage to discreetly BF in public!

Think I'll have a look on YouTube too Mazzle, hadn't even thought of there being videos about BF but sounds like it'd be helpful preparation.

It really makes me sad to see how many of us are worried about being judged by family or friends for decisions about how we feed our babies. Seems there's far too much pressure on new mums sometimes.

How's everyone else doing? Any more 20 week scans coming up soon?

Big boobed ladies (mine are also humongous and get to comedic proportions during bf), check out the 'flipple ' technique. Is the only way I could get a good latch. I also managed to permanently damage myself first time round so was very careful second time. My other top tip is to have formula and bottles on hand so if you feel yourself start to get damaged, make the next feed ff and pump to keep your supply up. Once you've got open, bleeding, pressure sores on your nips, it's agony to feed and will be kiss of death to bf, so it's worth being pragmatic about methods to manage and fix damage as early as you can. Flipple technique is also v good if you have small nips (also a problem of mine).

If you're big of boob, you might find that you have to keep hold of your boob whilst your baby feeds. They encourage you to let go but I always found that if I did then it would pull the boob out of my baby's mouth meaning feed gets interrupted or you end up with a crappy latch. The trick is to hold your boob as lightly as possible so that you aren't blocking any milk ducts as your baby feeds. Remind me when we get that far and I'll try and post a video of how I do it so it's another method in the arsenal of trying to make bf work.

I still think the most important thing is that your baby is fed however that happens, and that you aren't a basket case by flogging yourself to bf if it's not working. Prepare yourself that it's probably going to be hard, and will likely hurt a bit whilst your nips get used to this new job and most importantly, be kind to yourself.

It's a shame isn't it?! There is just so much pressure on mums to BF, one of the things my MIL said was that she had mastitis (if that's how you spell it) and she said that it was the worst pain ever but 'it's just what your willing to do for your baby' that was what made me feel so down, it's not that I'm not willing to do it, but I'm certainly not willing to cause damage to myself and stress out like mad in the first couple of weeks.
I'm just going to do what's best for me and best for my baby because in the end... Everyone else's opinions don't matter.

I have my 20 weeks scan on the 2nd of Dec, I'm really looking forward to it. I find scans so reassuring and I love seeing our little one wriggle about.

Is anyone else finding choosing a name hard or have you all sussed out names?

Oh yes, the feeding in public one is a worry. I was 32HH, now a 36GG but I think they get even bigger when full of milk. I'll check out the videos and techniques, get prepared!

My scan is next Wednesday and I'm already so nervous!

I also started to feel kicks two days ago.

Thanks oops, I'll definitely check that out. For me as a first time mum it's really helpful to hear advice from mums who are already experienced with BF.

Poppy, I never really understand people who want to tell you how they went though whatever awful experience because 'it's what's best for the baby'. As if having a mum who's happy, healthy and able to cope with looking after a child isn't also important for a baby's wellbeing.

We haven't decided on a name yet. We have a pretty good idea of what the middle name will be, but for the first name we're still totally undecided.

Good luck to those with scans coming up. I was a bit nervous before our scan earlier this week but it was lovely to see the baby bouncing around on screen. Suddenly seemed to make everything very real as well!

Raluca, glad you're feeling movements now, it's so reassuring when you can feel them moving around isn't it. I found out at the scan that my placenta is at the front so I'm still not feeling proper kicks but am feeling bubbly or rolling feelings most days - normally when I'm sitting in a meeting at work (very distracting!) or sitting on the sofa in the evening.

We have no idea on what we are going to call this baby. We find out on Monday what the sex is and will start discussions then. At this point we want to cut the problem of naming the child in half!

WRT BF - I totally agree with everyone that there is no point in doing it if you are really suffering. The amazing Indian nurse who helped us with DS was telling me about links between PND, exhaustion and BF. She said that as a nurse she saw it all too often and when you stop the BF, you can then deal with the exhaustion which in turn often helps the PND without medication.

I completely relate to that want2b. I was in hospital for five with DD1 and it was a really tough time.

DD was in a different ward and was so tiny all she did was sleep in her incubator. She had to be tube fed every 3 hours, so I had to set my alarm, go through to her ward, top up her tube and then go back to my room to express. I couldn't sleep. I was in a room on my own and it was very lonely staring at the same 4 walls all day. In the morning they'd wake me up, insist I got dressed and did not go back to bed. I was exhausted!

After 5 weeks later she was allowed in my room, though she still slept all the time. I remember the midwives would come in and strip off her clothes, shake her, dangle her upside down and ram my nipple into her mouth.

Finally another midwife threw me a lifeline and said that breastfeeding wasn't for everyone. By the next morning I was like a new person skipping about the corridor with my hair done! Then another midwife criticised me for 'giving up so easily' 😡.

When DD2 was born I had more of the same: midwives barging in deciding that now was the perfect time to get baby to latch on - when she was sound asleep! Que the stripping and shaking routine.

This time I'll tell them politely to piss off!

five weeks

Ladies, I know I only just joined the thread so my participation was limited, but it is with a heavy heart that I must leave. On Remembrance day I went in to preterm labour and gave birth to a tiny baby boy at just over 16 weeks, most likely caused by a UTI, BV and thrush all at once. I had started taking antibiotics on the Friday night but it was probably too late. I won't go on as I don't want to add excessive negativity to the thread, but if anyone has any questions they can message me just in case I can be of any help to anyone.

I hope you all have happy and healthy pregnancies xx NorthernStep xx

NorthernStep Im so sorry to read that you have lost your little one. I burst into tears reading your comment. lots of love and hugs your way. xx

Northern Huge hugs and more hugs to you. Take care of yourself. So sorry to hear this news. Must have been very hard to write it on here.

Oh Northern, what terribly sad news. I'm so sorry. I had no idea that those sort of infections could be so dangerous - you poor thing. I'm so sorry for your loss, and am thinking of you and wishing you every strength xxxx

Northern so sorry to hear your news. It's all so unfair.

Purple I have my 20 week scan very close to yours on 1st Dec and after 3 (much earlier mcs) I am starting to feel quite nervous. A scan can be the best thing in the world, but I'm starting to worry like I always do before a scan. My bump isn't that big (it's my first) and I'm not feeling any 'flutterings' just the odd sharpish ligament pain. Ugh the constant need for reassurance!

Hope everyone is doing okay. So sorry again Northern

I'm so sorry Northern. What an awful, awful thing to happen.

There really are no words.

Please continue to post if it helps.

brookeberry I know what you mean - this is my second pregnancy and I didn't have any problems with my first but I am so anxious this time round - I have a sense of dread before every scan (have had 4 including one yesterday) and can't feel calm until they've said they can see the heartbeat. It's so silly and irrational, I don't know what's driving it. Basically I need to man up! :-)

My 20 week scan isn't until 4th of December. First consultant appointment on Monday though and he normally always gives me a scan. Started buying, waiting to see if my favourite pram goes into the black Friday sale!

I decided against amnio, just going to wait and see what happens but I will be incredibly nervous come 20 week scan I think.

Thank you for the kind words ladies, think it sounded a bit odd to tell people to message me if they wanted, I just didn't want to go into detail about what happened in case of upsetting people, but still want to help anyone if there is a question to ask.

Thanks again ladies for the words, they mean a lot x

Oh my god, Northern, I'm so sorry.

Sorry for your lose Northern
Take care of yourself xx

I had my 20 week scan Thursday.
Baby was an active one and didn't want to let us see its face
Found out the sex...another boy, so DD and I will be outnumbered now

northern so sorry to hear that, make sure you take care of yourself.

My 20 week scan isn't until December 7, seems like an age away. Had a midwife apt on Thursday so heard the heartbeat which calmed my nerves for a bit.

I'm also very nervous about BF, but am going to be very pragmatic about it. My mum is a bit of a militant BFer, but I'm used to standing up to her if I need to! A girl at my pregnancy yoga class recommended a local lactation class which I've signed up for in February so that should be interesting.

We're not really thinking of names at the moment. We've got a few in mind but since we're team yellow, I think we'll just wait till the day!

For young baby things I always got wierd pattern stuff. I had an amazing skull and crossbones onsie which was unisex. The pattern hides any stains!

Sadly I gave all my baby things away last year so I'm just going to get 4-5 outfits from the circle that flows around town!