August 2016 number 5 - waddling towards the third trimester!

[Mslg]

For the August 2016 ladies and babies!

I had a section, was encouraged to feed in the recovery room. I was lucky and had a breastfeeding support worker who helped me get him latched on well. Then he fed little bits on and off all day.

You have the colostrum the first few days, the baby just takes little bits of this, so you only produce little bits. The proper milk comes in after a few days, that's when you get properly engorged!

So will she need formula aswell for the first few days?

Nope, just colostrum. The more baby has of that, the more stimulation of the hormone which triggers the 'proper' milk to be produced. If that makes sense. Just be prepared for little and often feeds at the start.
DS (because he was a total bottle refuser, rather than full-on idealistic choices on my behalf) never had formula at all.

Christine at my antenatal classes they explained that babies' tummies are tiny for the first few days (size of a cherry!), therefore tiny amounts of colostrum are ok to keep them going.

I was a bit confused and bought little bottles of formula for the first few days, but they said it's not encouraged as babies can get used to the bottle and also your milk production doesn't ramp up if not stimulated. I think we all fear that our babies will be hungry for days, but in reality they should be ok!

Why is everyone packing their bags so early? It's scaring me

Sadly I had a really tough time breastfeeding at the start. My son was so hungry he screamed all night on day 2 in hospital and I was petrified.I Wish I had known that it takes a few days for the milk to come in. It took exactly 4 days for me. I also wish someone had spotted that he had tongue tie. A midwife managed to squeeze some colostrum out which my mum was appalled with because she was present and it was painful. However, a week later I saw a lactation consultant who spotted that my son had tongue tie and as soon as we got that treated he breastfed until 22 months old. I never planned to breastfeed past 6 months but both of us didn't want to stop. I just want to say to all the first time mummies that initiating breast feeding can be really tough but if you persevere and seek advice from a lactation consultant if you need help out of the hospital then you have the best chance to succeed and as some lovely ladies have said on here...it can be really easy for some fortunate ladies. Some babies latch on straight away and some don't. Some mums produce loads of milk and some don't (like me) but whatever happens your baby will be well loved and just remember that hormones can fly about and make you feel so guilty. Just do whatever is right for you and your baby and you won't fail

Yep, as the others said, as long as baby latches on and suckles regularly you shouldn't need any formula at all. I was lucky with both of my others and breast feeding worked out to be plain sailing. Getting them to drink out of a bottle on the other hand...

sophia Go ahead and paint the nursery!

What Pear said :)

There's no right or wrong way to feed a baby (so long as it isn't gin!). Just whatever is most right for you and your family.

We used local bf-ing support at the hospital too when he was a few wks old. It was a tremendous help.

Good post peardrop

Hi, welcome and congrats to the newbies! Good to have you with us.
bear cute baby bits! Hope antenatal went well
Owl sorry you're having growth stress fingers crossed the measurements were just a bit out - or bubs was about to embark on a growth spurt and has caught up by next scan! Can imagine it's scary for you but they're obviously keeping a close eye - they'll look after you and baby.
Fizzy depends on your midwife - agree that if it's important to you, write it down/make them aware. In my experience midwives will do all the necessary checks (blood pressure, checking down there for tears, etc) and then leave you to it. They'll probably ask how you're planning to feed baby and offer help if you feel you need it - just let them know what you want and they should be fine with it.
Christine exactly what biscuits said - breastfeeding works on a supply & demand basis so the more you feed, the more you make. You produce colostrum at first, which is plenty enough for baby - a newborn baby's tummy is the size of a marble, so they really do only need the tiniest amounts! Literally a few ml will fill them up. The flip side is that their tummies then empty as fast as they filled up - hence why you feel like you're constantly feeding at first! One of the biggest worries new mums have is that baby isn't getting enough, but that's incredibly unlikely. Frequent feeding is not a sign that they aren't getting enough - it's a combination of the 'tiny tummy' issue and the whole 'supply/demand' business - they're making sure they'll have enough for all that growing they've got to do! It's completely normal for breastfed babies to be on and off the boob what feels like constantly at first. The first few weeks are knackering and hard, but after that it's great! And whatever you do, don't compare your bf baby to someone else's ff one - it's not like for like and they won't have the same patterns.
Off the soapbox now, but I know a reasonable amount about this (not an expert of course!) so if anyone has any practical questions about how any of it works, fire away and I'll do my best.

No bag packing done here, not ready at all - cot isn't even set up yet and a mattress is a distant dream! Really need to sort it as we're not having a Moses basket/crib this time round so baby will go straight into the cot. Feel like once I see the midwife next week it might feel a bit more real and kickstart me into action. Did blow the birth ball up today though! DD has spent all afternoon rolling around falling off it, she's had more fun than me! Baby is still pretty back to back a lot of the time so hoping this will swivel him a bit.
Cant get enough ice at the moment - bought one of the big 2kg bags of ice cubes and am steadily crunching my way through it! They're just so addictive anyone else got any cravings??

Colostrum is all a baby needs at first & it's optimised for your baby. Packed full of antibodies & laxatives to help clear meconium & & all the nutrients the newborn needs. It's true that's what's produced for the first few days, before your milk comes in fully, but our bodies are designed that way specifically! There are some great links on establishing breastfeeding that I had from last time - I'll try to remember to look them up & post them tomorrow. I was as concerned about my boobs as I was about my bits!

A really, really helpful thing to do is to go to an antenatal session on breastfeeding with a lactation consultant. I found 2 local, free ones that I attended. One run by the local Baby Cafe breastfeeding support service, another run by the La Leche League. There's probably something within striking distance if you google it. No matter what you plan to do longer term, they were so informative about establishing breastfeeding that I think it made a massive difference to my comfort & confidence at first. For us it also helped that my son seemed to know what to do (most babies will want to feed within the first hour after birth & that is what the hospital midwives should be encouraging, but often then are too stretched to be as attentive after birth as they might like), but it was really helpful to me to have some vague idea of what latching a newborn might be like & what I should be sort of aiming towards. I really couldn't recommend that type of session enough if breastfeeding is something you're even vaguely interested in. Also, it gives you a valuable heads up on what support is available locally if things aren't going as well as you'd like after the birth & you need help.

Sorry, meant to say breastfeeding within an hour after birth is what the midwives should be supporting - it won't be everyone's choice, I know, but if it is, you should have the support you need.

Great info/tips, Coco.

Thank you ladies!

Brilliant advice, thank you wise ones. (Partic the breastfeeding and the undercarriage aftercare!).

coco like you, I'm obsessed with ice. Or ice lollies if out in public.

Oh god I forgot about when your actual milk comes in after a few days 🙈

The pain is so bad, I wanted to cut my boobs off 😂😂. They were literally two giant sized swollen footballs I thought they would burst.

Have some cabbage leaves at the ready....

They really do help.

Salane Yes...even if they're smelly :-)

I really liked using this www.mothercare.com/Lansinoh®-TheraPearl-3-in-1-Breast-Therapy®/495206,default,pd.html&q=Breastfeeding&loadMoreCurrentStatus=1&returnCgid=&returnSrule=null&start=30&returnScrollPos=949

I will need to buy another one because I was a bit careless and have no idea where it's gone

www.mothercare.com/Lansinoh®-TheraPearl-3-in-1-Breast-Therapy®/495206,default,pd.html&q=Breastfeeding&loadMoreCurrentStatus=1&returnCgid=&returnSrule=null&start=30&returnScrollPos=949

Sorry I don't know why the link is not working www.mothercare.com/Lansinoh®-TheraPearl-3-in-1-Breast-Therapy®/495206,default,pd.html&q=Breastfeeding&loadMoreCurrentStatus=1&returnCgid=&returnSrule=null&start=30&returnScrollPos=949

for the first timers out there, just in case you experience the same as me....with both my DCs, they had a great latch and were doing great with bf until my milk came in. Apparently I had a forceful let down and they'd just let go and cry. It was really stressful, but nipple shields saved me (slowed the flow of milk down for the baby) until they were a bit stronger and able to feed normally. I got some help from a lactation consultant first time around, second time I remembered what to do. After a week or two both were feeding without the shield and I continued to bf until they were a year old each. Just sharing as I assumed bf would be no problem, lactation consultants are really fab and can help sort out loads of problems.

salene I just noticed your question on a transverse lie. I've had this in all 3 pregnancies, with this one I can make out the head and the bum. Makes sleep impossible as he doesn't let me lie on my side and I end up snoring on my back and feeling exhausted in the morning. Anyway, I wanted to reassure you, they can turn right up to the last moment. DC1 turned head down at 37 weeks, DC 2 left it until the very last moment. I was booked in for a c-section and had an appointment the day before for a scan. He turned head down as I drove to the scan appointment, in rush hour traffic at 39 + 3, it was very uncomfortable!!!. He was born 2 weeks later and weighed almost 10lbs and 24 inches long. I'm only 5ft 3 and about 8 stone normally, my consultant was left scratching his head wondering how on earth he had room to turn....

Thanks you experienced lot, loads of good tips for feeding here. Am I right that I won't be able to hold the baby straight away when they get her out with the section? The idea of no skin to skin for 40 mins is the biggest thing I'm worried about, I'll just want to hold my baby!!

Love all the different BF stories, so helpful for first time mum's to hear our different experiences It's just amazing how different it can be for everyone and now friends are telling me to be prepared for it to be different second time round too. It seems an open mind is helpful for every birth!

To the person who asked about painting a nursery with normal paint...IMO if the baby is not going to sleep in the room for like you say months then I don't think it's too bad. Plus when you have sunny days you could make sure the windows are open often which will surely help?!

To the person who asked about skin to skin after a c-section. Just like a natural delivery...unless the medical team need to look at your baby then there is no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to hold your baby. Write your request down in your notes and say skin to skin ASAP after birth is very important to you. Also make sure your birthing partner knows this and instruct him/her to remind them if it doesn't happen.

Oh and lily for what it's worth. I had a natural birth and then went off to surgery to have my 3b tear repaired. First I was given baby to cuddle skin to skin before I went. I don't know how long this was for but I'm sure it wasn't shorter then 20 minutes as they had the placenta to deliver etc. When I went to surgery DH sat with the baby and did skin to skin which was rather lovely for them both. I'm sure your hospital will encourage you to hold the baby X

christine I am a first time mum too and I went to a breastfeeding class last weekend. It was really helpful and supportive and answered a lot of the questions I had. I would really recommend looking to see if there is one in your area at all.

Thanks to everyone who has left undercarriage and boob tips! Very helpful.

lily my NCT classes said you can still have skin to skin after a section but you do need to make it clear that you want skin to skin and get your birth partner to remind them.

I'm on my phone so losing track of everybody - hope all this or having scans/positioning issues are doing ok! Keep us updated.