July 2017 #6 - labour here we come

[nat2311]

I think this is how you make one?

Thanks @glitterglitters - been too full on to keep up and post on here but you must be so glad she's finally here! So glad it all went well for you in the end.

@rhodes2015 thanks and good luck! I found the sweep super painful and managed to cope with quite a lot in the end!

Ahh thanks seahawk that's made me feel better, it does sound like you went through the mill. Wishing you a quick recovery!

God I'm going to sound really ungrateful now but I went to go upstairs to run a bath at 10:30am but my parents turned up. Looked an absolute state still in nightie, no underwear on. I'm obviously not bothered about looking like a state in front of my parents but can't people just give u a quick text before so u can be semi dressed! So let them in and rushed upstairs to change into some acceptable lounge wear.
An hour later an just as they were leaving my Dsis and Dbil turn up and so parents stayed. They all left at 1. So I managed to get in the bath at 1:20.
Get out the bath, hair dripping wet, nightie back on, no undies and Dmil, Dfil and Dbil show up!
I ignored the door
We saw them last night for BBQ at their house!
I'm getting anxious this is how it will be when the baby comes. I don't mind so much but I'd just like a quick text first.
God I'm awful both our families are lovely and so excited I'm probably being unreasonable.
How are you dealing with influx of visitors?

Thats really late to be turning up
Id just tell people that they need to let you know if youre coming because you might not be free. But then ive made it clear that if i dont want to answer the door i wont be. I live further away from most of the family so they do usually check we're in but when i lived next door to my dad he'd often just pop in and so woukd step mum.x

@rhodes2015 we've just a) not told many people and b) pretty much said we won't answer the door 🙊

All "direct" family have been and gone now.

We've also told people we have lots of appointments (true) so might not be home if they just show up.

That would drive me mad though. I would not be happy at people just rocking up.

Seahawk - congratulations. Hector looks like a very lovely baby.

Mawita hope you and the little one are ok, hopefully the heart murmur will be a very minor issue.

Rhodes glad you finally got your bath! I don't have anyone that would turn up unannounced thankfully, as that would do my head in. I've already started warning people that I will get annoyed by "is the baby here yet" texts. I'm sure there was a website my sister liked to divert people to - this one:

haveyouhadthatbabyyet.com

I can see it getting some use!

lally i love that link..ill defo be saving that and putting it on my facebook. Some of dhs famiky were getting a bit miffed with me i think because i wont tell them my "due date"
I just keep saying she'll be here when shes ready and i refuse to give them a date.

@rhodes2015 how frustrating! We've been quite lucky so far as people haven't turned up unannounced! Hopefully it will stay the same after he's born!

Came back in for more monitoring this afternoon and they're still not overly happy with how he has been moving etc and now I've got protein in wee and very swollen feet/legs so it's been decided that I will be induced. A sweep was attempted but she wasn't able to burst my waters - jeez was that fun!! 😷 Just waiting to hear now if there's a bed to start the process tonight with the pessary.

Scary stuff but happy that he's being watched!

Oh @nat2311 bless you. Hopefully everything will go nice and smoothly.

I thought I'd managed to avoid the day 3 crash, but my capabilities are being tested.

Toddler bedtime/newborn cluster feeding fussing/toddler meltdown/hot flashing.

I can hear the baby screeching, the toddler is refusing to calm down and I'm dripping with sweat. Dh wants me to keep my bedtime with the toddler if possible (for "our" time, it's also quicker etc) but I just can't see it happening.

Rhodes: that must be stressful. It seems rude to me to turn up without warning but glad you managed to have your bath in the end.

Nat: keep us posted and I hope things goes well. Glad you're being watched and looked after.

Glitters: good luck but I would try not to worry about getting toddler down at usual time (or let DH do it if he's that fussed). I would assume that the toddler is trying to adjust and wanting attention and reassurance. I understand it will be making things so much more difficult and you feel so much more stressed but just concentrate on what you can do. One thing at a time. Get DH to help as much as you can.

This baby has been sleeping since 7pm and still sleeping and I know I should also try and get some kip myself but the lure to watch love island is stronger.. I think I'm in for a long night.

lol I'm fannying on my phone as dd sleeps soundly in her crib. 🙈 sleep you silly woman

Nat hope everything goes ok,you'll be meeting baby very soon!

I'm getting the hot flashes too, jeez all of a sudden I am literally dripping with sweat!!

George fell asleep at 8pm and me and DH decided to lay on the bed and sleep too. Woke back up at 20 to 10 a feed and change and I'm here trying to settle him back in to the moses... unduccessfully. Here's to the start of the grueling night shift! At least I've got a 90 min sleep under my belt to kick start me.

Just keep telling myself... it will get better it will get better it will get better

Hey @LuciBee231015 I'm the same. Fell asleep at 8ish and we came up at 9. She's just having a feed and I'm hoping she'll go back down so I can get a cold drink from downstairs. I live in hope!!!

Wow Sea that was a long Labour. Good thing they didn't fuff about with vontouse and forceps only to end up emcs. Congratulations on the arrival of Hector! He is gorgeous.

Rhodes I would have lost the plot with all those unannounced visits. Maybe get dh to fend off the unannounced. Only my mum forced her visit on us 3 days after baby was born but she kept herself out of our way by ironing our huge mountain of laundry(including dh's boxer shorts). She also diced a 5kg bag of onions and froze it in portions to make our cooking easier with less prep. She stayed for 3 days cooking and cleaning so actually it wasn't too bad. The only thing that I hated was her seeing me an emotional mess on day 3 and 5. I am not like that with her normally so it felt like an invasion.

Luci I hope night shift isn't too gruelling for you. We have just got up now, changed her filthy nappy (which she hates-screams the whole house down) and now she is ffeeding. Hope to go back to sleep by 4am but only if she feeds off the other boob as it is very full too so needs emptying.

On the discussion of breastfeeding, like now, I am tempted to wind her after about 15mins and then putting her on the other boob but I worry she will only get the foremilk and miss out on the hindmilk from both so I normally stick to one until she empties it just be sure that she got some of the good stuff at the back. I then express the other to empty it and get some comfort. Is this theory correct or have I misunderstood the science of milk production?

@Notyetthere I've heard that the whole foremilk/hindmilk thing isn't actually a "thing".

Regular winding is definitely a good idea though x

By a thing that it's not what ImUs considered now. I'll try and get a link. X

@glitterglitters @mynameisnotlinda @lallypopstick

Thanks for your kind words and reassurance, I think I just needed to let it all out.

I called my parents and my DH very early and said I was struggling, they all came early and took over I had a shower and went for a long walk in the sunshine with my mum.

The dictors did another test regarding the murmur and they are happy to treat it as an outpatient, so in 2 months or so they will check again, their hope is that itvwill correct itself.

Jaundice improved overnight and currently waiting for another test at 7:00 am. fingers crossed the level dropped again and we can go home.

We are also back to the more natural demand feeding, so trying again to get him to BF, can't get comfortable with the latch any advice? The midwifes here are well meaning but they don't really help, they are either too forceful or don't know enough and just repeat the same old advice. Have been reading the la leche league website which is super helpful .will try some of the techniques tomorrow.

I had an appointment at the hosp for the heel price test on Saturday and I was talking about breast feeding to the support worker. She said about the 1 boob only (I was doing both once he had fallen off the first one) and said stick to one boob per feed, feeding has been better since then and also less taxing on my sore nips! When George falls off the boob at the end Of a feed I give him a little burp and the offer the same breast again, sometimes he takes it for a bit longer and sometimes not, but at least then I know or he's had enough.

Also... we've had cracked the gruelling night feeding/settling issue!! I had a bit of a meltdown in the early hours and we tried swaddling George then putting him down. The result was radio silence for 90mins to 2 hrs, until the next feed. Last night was the first night I actually got in bed between feeds instead of being stuck to the feeding chair for the entire night. The relief i feel is amazing.

seahawk your labour sounds similar to mine! I!had 24 hours of string regular contractions, vontouse, forceps and then a c section! Very traumatic to say the least!

We managed to sleep in our crib all night. Wooohooo!

@Mawita is there a lactation supporter you can request at all? I currently can only feed with a pillow to rest baby on. Had the same with dd as well. Just while i need to support the head etc it's one of those things you're both learning at the same time. Pleased your parents came to help and that sounds positive about Shea's heart 

@LuciBee231015 that's really positive. I tried swaddling dd1 but she hated it. I've not tried with #2 but she spread eagles a lot (like in my tummy) sounds like it shits George to the ground though. It's funny how much they already have their own likes and dislikes already. #1 liked being on my shoulder whereas #2 wants to be cradled.

@LuciBee231015 that sounds awful. And to then follow it with sleepless nights! I'll. e forever grateful to the consultant for being honest and going straight to c section. I had a really bad night with H on Saturday- he just wouldn't settle. My sister who breastfed both her children (well still is youngest is 4 months) said she occasionally resorted to formula for the midnight feed as it fills them up more. We tried it last night and had to wake him up at 3.30! DH gave him the bottle which was lovely for him and I pumped a little bit with a hand pump to try it out. So now we also know he will take a bottle. It's not for everyone but worth having up your sleeve. I just have a few of those ready made aptimil bottles in case.

I'll also post you a link to a swaddle that my nct friend swears by - have just ordered it.

@glitterglitters yay! Also - it shits George to the ground

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B010G02YES/ref=pdawwsimsbss75_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3J0N0H4VERW81DS6MPZF&dpPl=1&dpID=51tqYCjF69L

@Mawita I second the idea of finding out if there is a specialist who can see you.

Haha! Omg sleepy brain. 🙈