Due April 2007 - Pregnant women aren't just walking wombs on legs

[Ellieump]

We all seem to be having a tough time of it in one way or another so this seemed quite appropriate somehow!

I NEED BISCUITS!

What a huge post mmk - if anyone manages to copy it and save it could they please email it to me??? I really struggled with my first.

Have finished tidying teds room and put border up! Show home here we come! (err not with two boys!)

YvieE - no guarantee but top of the list with then being a local sibling.

Emmymummy - that is terrible for you - well done for calling the police - would keep a camera on the side and if they come back take a snap of them so they can catch the little bastards.

School run time - catch up tomorrow - midwife in morning xoxoxoxox

the best place for info is La Leche league, they have counsellors and a help line too. i got their book 2nd hand on ebay.
This bit is about twins.

breastfeed.com/resources/articles/bftwins-ed.htm here is the site

Breastfeeding Twins Series
Educating Yourself
By Melissa Clark Vickers

Mother Nature is pretty smart. She equips our bodies with more than what we need them to do. Most of the time, humans have one baby at a time, and we come equipped with two straight-from-the-factory milk delivery sites. As it turns out, either of those "sites" is capable of providing enough milk to fully nourish a baby ? and that means that Mother Nature has already covered the possibility that more than one baby might be breastfeeding at a time.

The Principle of Supply and Demand
Milk supply is based on a wonderful supply and demand principle: The more milk that is removed from the breast, the more the breast will make. It stands to reason that if there are two babies removing that milk, then the breast will just respond by making twice as much milk. So, in theory at least, there's no reason that the mother of twins shouldn't be able to fully nourish two babies at the breast.

That's the theory. The big question is, though, is it practical? Can you breastfeed twins and still have a life? Can you do anything but nurse those babies ? round the clock? Does sleep become a non-priority? How in the world can you manage all this, day in and day out?

The good news is that it is possible to breastfeed those two babies and still have a life. The keys to making it work are education, planning and prioritizing, support and flexibility.

Education
Preparing for the arrival of twins is much like preparing for the arrival of just one baby, only more so. The more you learn ahead of time, the better prepared you'll be when the time comes. Chances are good that you'll learn ahead of time that you are carrying twins, so you'll have at least a little time to adjust to the idea before your babies arrive. In order to prepare for breastfeeding twins, take time to learn as much as you can about:

Normal breastfeeding ? Read all you can about how breastfeeding is supposed to work. Learn how to tell when things are going well ? and when they are not. An excellent source of information is La Leche League International's The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (Plume Books, 1997). Remember that all the benefits of breastfeeding apply to twins ? doubly so. They'll be healthier, you'll decrease your risk of breast cancer and you'll save time and money by not having to deal with formula!
Breastfeeding preterm infants ? Chances are greater that your babies will arrive early, and it helps to learn ahead of time what that might mean ? and not just for breastfeeding, either. For example, there is evidence that you can decrease the chance of a preterm delivery by increasing your calorie and protein intake during your pregnancy.
Expressing and storing milk ? Depending on whether your babies come early, how early and whether they require special hospital care, you may need to pump your milk and store it so it can be used as the babies are ready for it. Check out pumps in your area. The best ones ? especially if your babies won't be ready to go to the breast from birth ? are the larger rental hospital-grade pumps, such as the ones made by Medela, Ameda/Egnell (Hollister) and White River.
Managing twins ? Let's face it. Having twins automatically implies a big investment of time, energy and money. But you get double the return on that investment! Regardless of how you choose to feed your babies, much of your time for the first months of their lives will revolve around baby care. Your goal is to make this time as easy as possible. Read as much as you can about twins. Two excellent resources are LLLI's Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding & Caring for Twins or More (La Leche League International, 1999) by Karen Gromada (now being revised) and Having Twins: A Parent's Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Early Childhood (Mariner Books, 1991) by Elizabeth Noble.
Selecting health care professionals ? Now is the time to talk to your doctor or other health care professional about your desire to breastfeed your babies. Find out how your doctor feels about breastfeeding twins and preemies and what you can do to ensure that your wishes are known and followed by hospital personnel.
Want to see more?

Breastfeeding Twins: Planning and Prioritizing
Breastfeeding Twins: Support and Flexibility
Breastfeeding Twins: Keeping Track of Who, What and When
Breastfeeding Twins: Sleep and Supplements
Talk about it!

About the Author: Melissa Clark Vickers, MEd, IBCLC, is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and freelance writer. She is also an accredited La Leche League Leader with two children, both of whom were breastfed.

Oh and if you fancy buying my house go to www.rightmove.co.uk - type in Colerne and we are the one on at £295k with red garage on Nursery Road - but the photos were taken last year and things have changed a little bit.

My friend rang me about anhour ago to say she had an email from the estate agents and we were on it!

Shit - late now!

just managed some sleep, now I have woken up starving!!!!
octo - yes I am in derriford and they have no intention of inducing me
thanks for all your well wishes, it is hard to type on something which 6 by 2.5 inches!!!!

mmk - thank-you! Will copy & paste it and go through it all tonight. I've hired a post natal doula who is also a BF counsellor so really hoping that getting consistent help & advice from one person will help. Octo, let me know your email address & I'll forward it to you.

Emmy - I'd have sh*t myself if that happened, the little f8ckers!

Eddas - big hugs to you.

Nutty, sympathies! Not what you need. My mum wound me up recently by more or less saying that the whole reason BF didn't work out for me was becuase I didn't listen to her advice . Her ability to rewrite history knows no bounds. I don't know what it is about mothers - I love mine to bits by she can really push my buttons sometimes!

liath
my biological mother (absent for most of my 45 years) turns up now and then. She turned up recently just as I was preg, and I was totally shocked that she was so supportive.

However, she told me recently 'why do you read all the stuff about bf etc, don't listen to anyone' 'I'm not getting any maternal feeling from you about this coming baby'....well, of all the people in the entire history of the universe, she should be the last one ever given a chance to comment on anyone's maternal abilities- what a cheeky bloody mare!

ahhh, that feels better, I haven't been able to tell anyone about that..

Emmy- that must have been horrible for you, you poor thing, I would have been shitting brick's if that happened to me.

eddas- at your DH, he sounds the same as mine, who has been killing himself trying to finish our extension and when I say I need some help I get the same reply "i'm just trying to get the house finished" I just tell him to change the record, cause it's not like I am doing anything.....having 2 babies looking after DD cleaning up all the dirt and crap he has left about the place.

MEN!

Liath and mmk sympathies with your mums. Why is it that they have the ability to wind you up with a single bloody comment. I feel bad whinging about her sometimes as she is good to me but I often feel like saying to her, ffs I am 33years old and perfectly capable of sorting myself out! If I want your help or comments I will ask for them.

Emmy, I would have absolutely freaked with what happened to you last night. Little b**tards.

Eddas, can really understand your frustration at your dh. I think that they assume clothes just wash and iron themselves and then fly back into cupboards and that the fairies make the dinner (amongst other things). My dh is exactly the same and it drives me insane sometimes.

Right mammyjo please don't feel bad, you have done me a huge favour in telling me about the swelling being a possible sign of pre-eclampsia, I have called my MW and told her about it and she has told me to go down to the hospital to get checked out, as I have some other symptoms which are a bit of a worry plus the fact I have a history of high blood pressure in pg.

Thank you mammyjo I wouldn't have thought anything of it if you hadn't said anything to me.

Have to wait an hour for DH to get back from work then we will be off to the hospital.

Hope everything goes ok for you, and like bramshott said if it turns out to be pre eclampsia then you should get to meet your dt's pretty soon!! Just felt bad for mentioning it earlier when I had made you panic! Will be thinking of you xxx

I wasn't panicing (sp?) earlier, it's my bloody MW that has made me feel a bit on edge now, she was asking me all these questions and quizzing me like she was a bloody lie detector, and then after all that which no doubt made my blood pressure go up a bit, running through which symptoms I have had over the past week which are related to pre-eclampsia.
I don't know where they find these people, I would have thought that it would have been a better Idea not to try and worry me until I was at the hospital, not while I have to wait an hour to get there.

No idea if that made any sense , the silly cow has scrambled my head up with worry, NOW I am starting to panic!

emmy! Hope you and emily are ok today. That's awful!

mmk - that's the biggest post I've ever seen! Gonna print and read, thanks.

Eddas - sorry to hear dh is being such a PITA!! Grrr...

Ooogs - good luck to you!

1b3 - so is the m/w sending you to hospital??

1 becomes
They quizz you over a bent fingernail these days! They have their insurance to worry about!
Hope all is well.

GOOD LUCK Oogs and Mammyjo
Hope you ok Emmymummy[grrr to the little sods].
You are entitled to feel upset Eddas.I keep weeping at our storage situation..as in we have none[cardboard boxes and a clothes rail]Because i am the only one that notices cos i do the washing and hanging up etc...i think dp has found it hard to ubderstand.I think he ubderstands now tho'.Ordered a few bits from Argos as furniture is so overpriced over here and i am desperate and the first thing was collapsing as dp was assembling itGot refund..ain't worth it.I need to get things in perspectiveIt is the raging hormones.
1b3 don't forget to mention to the midwife that you are very itchy as well.
Hope we all have a relaxedish evening[haha]

Still waiting for DH to turn up, I'm sure it is nothing but I just want to be sure.

here is a funny thought.... funny how some dh's are so um what shall I say um... hopeless, and yet we are pregnant by them...?

PMSL mmk so true
What are we like!

Thanks for all the messages, very kind bunch you are

After i wrote my post i thought right lets go to the park. So we did and it made me feel better and dd loved it, although came back caked in mud She's now hd her bath and tidied her room, just dinner to go and then bed at 7!

DH is lovely, i try so hard not to be mad but he has such different priorities to me. eg, i want the storage cupboard on the landing sorted so that it can be used, just needs another coat of paint then some shelves/shelving unit or chest of drawers so not too much work. I'm planning on doing that whilst dd at pre school on friday. Then want to get all of the crap into it asap. DH's next thing is to box in some pipework in the dining room. But why, it's not been decorated yet and they don't stand out.The grey paint where the old owners had a huge fish tank and couldn't be arsed to move it before painting the rest of the room yellow stands out a bit more So why not paint the nursery instead? I don't get it? I have said and he says so we can get the plasterboard out of the dining room as i requested. I can see his point but it's just another thing.

Actually, i think i'm just in a foul mood?! What i really need is some family helpers but mine are crap and we are always asking MIL and her man and don't want them to think we're taking the p. My dad has said he'll paint the nursery but is in Brazil at the moment and pinning him down to a day is tricky as i get the impression step mother likes to keep him away maybe imagining it. Any who, feel better for offloading but sorry to bend your ears. Not sure who else to say it too really, sorry.

lol mmk! Think you have a good point there!

1b3, hope dh gets to you soon. More than likely you will be fine but once thoughts have been put in your mind they just escalate dont they (they do with me anyway). They do quiz you and would send you in to hospital just to be on the safe side (and cover their own arse) I think. I am a nurse and if people ring me asking for advice about their symptoms I would always be cautious. Better to be seen and go home than have anything untoward happen.

mmk, it only takes the once thoughI should know

Dont apologise Eddas. This is a great place for venting! We all do it and I feel quite lucky that everyone on here is always so supportive and has a clever knack of making things seem a bit better!

1b3, i hope all is fine but better to get checked

DH is back so I'm off.

Hope that everything is okay 1b3.

Emmymummy at those little b*ggers throwing stones, you must have been so frightened.

Eddas and dooby Grrrr to your dhs, so frustrating for you both.

LOL at comment mmk

How did the sky+ go MIABT?

How are doing ooggs? Are they looking after you well? Hope so.

Have got more people viewing the house tomorrow so had better go and tidy up all the mess that my three have made
Good luck with yours Octo, any more luck with yours Katy?

Have finally started packing my hospital bags today, thanks for the inspiration MIABT

1B3 good luck at the hosp. Hopefully all is well & that it'll make dh all the more appreciative of what you're going through right now.

Eddas - sounds like you're nesting! I think all the unfinished jobs are 100 times worse when you're pregnant - you just seem to notice every little (and big) thing that isn't right with the house, garden, car etc. Am dreadul for this myself and find it really hard to just sit and look at untidiness. It's all the more frustrating when you can't do it yourself, much as you probably want to. Mammyjo is right, the dhs just think that the laundry does itself, the floors are self-hoovering, that existing children are magically clean & dressed, that the fridge just self-fills...!

LOL at comments about mothers - mine has rose-tinted spectacles about my & my brother's babyhoods - apparently she can count the sleepless nights she had on the fingers of one hand, and we never needed to be entertained, we just got on and amused ourselves, and I came out of the womb being able to read....you know the stuff.

Thanks for comments about the little window-breaking gits. They'd better beware the hormonal pregnant lady if they come back. The police have been dead good - they are coming round again tomorrow afternoon to talk through what happened so that should be interesting. Not so pleased with the window-fixing firm appointed by the insurance company - they can't come out til Monday. Oh and £50 excess - great.