May 2017 #9 3rd trimester!

[Rustler74]

Hello all! Now to find a way to guide you to the new thread...

Hm. Just checked and our trust is supposed to be only first timers or 'extra surveillance'. So will need to check if they just booked me by accident or if they still have me down as shared care following my consultant chat after my 12 w scan (offered to me due to previous tear, as far as I knew he'd signed me off following the chat).

Now I know why so few women keep breastfeeding in this country.... that was 3 hours of my life I'll never get back

She started 20 minutes late with no apology, spent far too much time talking about formula being a money making racket, basically told the two husbands in the room that when they came to feeding they were no use. If only 50% of women in this country breastfeed after 6 weeks surely someone should be looking at the reasons why they give up and enable them to carry on.... not tell me that I shouldn't expect to be able to leave the house without the baby for more than 30 minutes without expecting a phone call to tell me the baby is looking hungry and I need to come home. Or that expressing is unlikely to work as it will disrupt my milk supply so I'll be chained to my baby for the next year...... I was expecting practical advice... It wasn't breast is best rammed down our throats but that might have been better

Now I am rational enough (and have heard good things from you experienced ladies) to know that most of this is nonsense but it worries me that this is the "education" that the NHS is rolling out.... Surely these sessions should be more around these are the reasons people give up, here are ways for you to help yourself avoid them

Sorry for ranting, I'll go an have some well deserved chocolate to take my mind off it.

My emotional hormonal state cannot cope with my chocolate being stolen! Aww photo evidence of husband thinking this is a laughing matter!

- 1004 that's a terrible session.

The NCT one we did was fairly useless as well, it was done by a different person to the rest of our antenatal classes and was all rather 'wooly'.

Did she really say expressing is useless, even later on!? Disrupting supply is only an issue early on (i.e. very early on).

Don't blame you bean! Don't make a pregnant lady angry!!

Savage I asked (what I thought was a perfectly reasonable question) along the lines of at some point we're going to leave the baby with someone else and if I want to continue ebf then I'm going to have to express at some point- how do we do that? And she said no you're not, many women ebf for a year or more without expressing, but didn't explain how.....I think at that point I was getting beyond ** so gave up.

Badly answered then. Perhaps she was trying to reassure you that you had no need to express if you were leaving baby later on & for a short period of time (eg once they're also having food!)...? But yes, leaving an under-6-month-old with no milk for more than (max) 3 hours is not going to work out unless you express, IMO! (and even then, useful to have some 'just in case' in the fridge!)

Hm. I declined the bf session this time as I didn't think I needed it but perhaps I should go to be the annoying person who asks pertinent questions

Rise that's a shame. I found the antenatal breastfeeding education pretty poor. So much so that I still thought it was as simple as putting the baby on your breast! Postnatally though the midwives were very good. And a hospital bf clinic helped me loads as well as a breastfeeding group.

1004Rise - that course sounds bloody awful. I would have become a bit obstreperous and dismissive after that comment. I might also consider putting in a complaint too. How is that supposed to help anyone, teach anyone or push the service on for the better?

May I ask you all how much you’re being charged for these NCT courses? I’ve gone private (which was cheaper than our local NCT and because I'd left booking so woefully late). Just hope cheaper doesn’t mean worse!

I might give the iron /B vitamin tablets a go. I, too, am battered at the top of a flight of stairs.

coxsorangepippin - Thanks for the congratulations. We’ll see how well it goes, considering I’ll be looking like a spinnaker in full sail by then. Nothing more attractive than an 8.5 months pregnant woman with rancid indigestion trying to look ‘demure’!

As for appointments; my trust seem to be quite hands off considering I’m a first timer. My next MW appointment is at 34 weeks - but I do have an appointment with the GP in a few days -so nearly 32 weeks. Who knows… Certainly not me!

Wow Rise that sounds awful, and not at all what we have learned last night. Have you heard from other ladies in your class whether they felt the same? Dads already feel,excluded from that whole process so why are we bothering? I hope our nct class on bf will be better, although it's ladies only and I find that wrong!

Hello ladies!! Wow I have missed so much! Been totally consumed with house moves and decorating.
I have ALOT of catching up to do on this thread (and the previous) but I did just want to say......
It's crazy that I joined this thread at 4 weeks pregnant, and now here we all are in the 3rd trimester and despite all our complaints we are all so so lucky to have beautiful babies soon to be in our arms. I am so proud of what my body has done, I think preganancy is incredible and we are all incredible. Hats off to us all - we are doing amazing jobs growing and protecting our little ones

....oh and thank you all for helping on my journey so far!!!

Just thought I'd let you all know, I was.very cheeky and just phoned Mothercare, I asked what discounts they had on the pram I want and she said none, I said do you have any other discounts across the store are she said no so I pushed and said about the expectant parents evening 10% and she said it was valid until the 12th of March of I went in before then they would give me a voucher to use!

I felt so cheeky but I was annoyed because they put the price of the pram I want up by £50 when they brought out the new catalogue so I didn't want to buy it without some form of discount 😂.

Wow rise that sounds quite intense! I'm not sure what to expect from nct as I know they are very anti formula and pro breastfeeding. I intend to breastfeed but would like to express too if possible to let dh feed the baby too. Not quite sure how it all works but hoping nct will be useful. sanitysake ours cost about £300 so quite pricey but think it's a bit more being in greater London than elsewhere.

A supportive partner is supposed to be one of the most crucial factors in successful breastfeeding, so telling the men they have nothing to do with it is total crap.

Rustler there was another couple there that I think felt the same. He was the one that started the expressing conversation and she basically said there wasn't anything he could do, so at that point he slumped back in his chair like well what am I even doing here

Being kind I think what she meant was in the early days the best thing is baby feeding off mum because it establishes your supply. Which I get is the important part but her messaging was just all over the place. I'm just disappointed because I see it as a wasted opportunity to enable women to breastfeed for as long as they want to, where DH and I just left feeling pissed off and thinking she was totally out of touch with reality

Part of me is just glad we didn't pay for it and the other part of me is thinking about what looked like a teenage girl on her own and being annoyed on her behalf.

Well done for your cheek walker they put the pram we bought up by £50 in the new catalog too so I was grateful for that 10% voucher!

rise I would def give feedback, that sounds horrible!!

Our NCT courses were about £200. We are doing the 'essentials' course whatever that is.
5 sessions and then 1 after the babes have all arrived.
We have the second one tonight, looking forward to it.

I did NHS parent craft course 1st time around, the breastfeeding advice was not very good at preparing you for the reality of breastfeeding but then in my opinion nothing someone says/shows you in a 1.5h class can really prepare you.
If I was having number one again these are the things I wish someone had told me; to watch someone latching a baby, either a friend, or at a group or there is probably videos on you tube, I literally was clueless which looking back is actually a bit ridiculous on my part. Learn what nipple shields are, buy some and be prepared that these may be your saviour early on, no midwife at the hospital ever suggested these to me when he refused to latch. Babies can feed for hours and this is normal, there is nothing wrong with your or your milk they are just getting supply established. Oh and it can hurt like hell!!

Sanity wow! Congratulations! How are you finding the wedding planning along with everything bump related?

MissMoo hope you didn't find the Jab too bad?

Vanilla my nose bleeds have stopped for now but do seem to come and go. Super annoying!

Rise have fun at class tonight!

Bean poor you! I literally would have strung DH up!

Sanity we paid just under £300 for our NCT classes and have 6 sessions Claire where are you doing yours?

We have my FILs funeral tomorrow followed by an NHS antenatal session called 'Birth Preparation'

Breastfeeding support and information can be very hit and miss. There are drop in support groups some of which are run by amazing people who give great advice. I would try and find a good one through reputation. The national breastfeeding phone helpline is also great.

If you want to know more the la leche league womanly art of breastfeeding is a great book (apart from the name).

Kellymom.com is the best online breastfeeding resource I have found.

I found breastfeeding with dd1 a real struggle is was in agony for weeks as she had a severe undiagnosed tongue tie. Hence all my advice above on where to get good information.

I then went in to do a mother supporter course.

I found breastfeeding dd2 much easier as I knew how to access good support!

Sorry for the brain dump in just frustrates me that people want to feed and give up due to poor info and support.

grow good luck for parents evening... hope you get time to relax afterwards.
I had an emotional melt down at work today... finding it really hard now and getting really tired. I also think I stretched something in my bump carrying a pile of heavy books... Feels kind of stretched and tingly in one spot.
Can't wait for maternity leave to start.
Hope everyone with 31w appointments went ok today

raspberry ours are in chislehurst and are starting on the 23rd march so not long to wait. Where are yours?

My NCT classes were also £300 (alas no discount for booking 9 days before they start!) looks like that's a fairly standard price for the 'signature' course. I've definitely heard they are a little too skewed to breastfeeding, but hopefully they will discuss bottle feeding too.

Those worried about babies positioning, have you heard of the website 'spinning babies'? It's got lots of recommendations on how to turn a baby or get them settled in the correct position. Obviously we all still have time for our babies to move about but anyone wondering may like a look at their recommendations?
I had my 31 wk appt today (at 31+6) and baby is still head down (but as my MW said he may move!) so that's positive. She was happy with my measurements. I talked to her about my back pain and she thinks it is because he is sometimes resting on my sciatic nerve... which is decidedly unfriendly of him!! Not much they can do about it so I just have to hope he doesn't try to get comfy there at any point!