July 2017 #6 - labour here we come

[nat2311]

I think this is how you make one?

What a wonderful day of firsts @ButterflyFree

Hope everyone is well!
butterfly oh my god his hair, how cute!!
We also had day 5 check today.
Baby fine but I'm in quite a bit of pain with stitches in episiotomy. I cried to midwife. I can't sit down so I'm finding it really hard to feed baby or just generally enjoy these first few days. She made me an appointment with my gp straight away. I cried there too!
When I got there they agreed with midwife that wound isn't infected, very clean and neat but it is gaping open!? And very bruised and swollen. Got better pain relief but It does still hurt a bit! But better than it was.
It's annoying, I don't think I have baby blues but I was very low yesterday. It just came over me But It did coincide with pain increasing . Hopefully things start getting better though now and I can start enjoying it!

Hello all,

Baby Shea is now 16 days old! Wow where has the time gone...?

We went to the beach yesterday with his grandparents, is was warm and lovely and the clean ain made him relax he eat and slept all day he looked so chilled.

We have had a couple of difficult days as he had a lot of gas and was struggling to poo so those days I got virtually no sleep also so upsetting to see him struggle.

have tried my best to go to BF only but sometimes it isn't enough, and he is still jaundice.

He was weighted on Monday and he gained another 70grs since last Thursday which puts him 120grms above his birthweight.

I do however have to go to hospital se on Thursday to get his Jaundice test to see where are with flushing it out.

@buttleflyfree love baby z's give me milk face.
here is a picture of Shea chillaxing.

I love all these gorgeous baby photos - Baby Z and Shea look so cuddly. I hung out with a lot of babies the other day in the hope it would get something going for me but that hasn't happened. So today is sweep day. Wish me luck!

Ooo good lick, Lally. I have to confess I'm quite glad I didn't need sweeps this time round - wasn't a hugely pleasant experience - but it did get things going last time, so worth the unpleasantness!

Mawita good weights! And love the very chilled baby.

We all made it out the door to do the school run this morning! Showed DS off to the playground parents and kids, then sat in the little wooden play hut and fed him (again) before turning round and walking the ten minutes home. School is down a hill, so DH's arms got a work out pushing the buggy on the way home!

I think next time we go out I might try a sling. Any thought on stretchy vs connecta vs woven for a teeny one? Last time I never got the hang of feeding with the stretchy pre tied - I'm not large of nork and there was just too much fabric to get a decent latch! Maybe I'll work on that.

Day 5 check and weigh in today. Hoping DS has gained - he's certainly pooing enough to suggest he's getting milk in.

Rhodes I'm sorry you are on discomfort with regards to the stitches. I almost purchased one of those small doughnut shaped cushions to sit on. Hope the stronger painkillers give you some relief soon. As for the baby blues, mine also coincided with the breastfeeding challenges I had so I cried when midwife turned up.

Butterfly loving the Mohawk. As for the cheek prick test, our girl here screamed blue murder! It was distressing watching her.

Lally hope the induction gets things moving.

We had our first proper outing yesterday. We went to Leeds castle for the afternoon. She slept throughout the journey there and back. She fed for 30mins while dh bought tickets and then slept in the stretchy wrap while we toured the castle. Overall it was a good day.

We took baby Glitters out whilst toddler Glitters was at her nanny's.

Vvvv important trip out as you can see coughTacoBellcough

Just waiting for the health visitor now. She's about 45 minutes late 🙈

Eeek all these gorgeous babies 😍, good luck lally - had my 2nd sweep today but she said she only used 1 finger and didn't want to be too rough incase she caused another bleed - so I'm thinking it wasn't really worth it...

Booked in for induction Sunday morning so I'm praying I have baby sewing before then as I'd very much like to avoid it. My MW weighed me today and I've gone from 7st 13lb pre-pregnancy weigh to 12st 11lb, I knew I had piled a lot on but this has completely shocked me!! From my hips downwards I have a huge amount of retained fluid so i'm putting it down to that - yup definitely not the calories I'm consuming...

LittleCiara - 7lb8 born today with the speediest labour

Oh bless you @rhodes2015 you poor thing suffering with the stitches. I only had 2 stitches put in to a tiny perineal tear but it still stings quite a bit when I go to the bathroom, especially if I've had some acidic fruit juice... I don't know if you're familiar with the little hoses you find installed next to every loo in Muslim countries, but I absolutely can't live without them since moving to Dubai. Had them fitted in all the bathrooms at my mum's house in London, and it's been an absolute godsend being able to squirt myself with cool water as I pee 😅 makes a world of difference.

Very impressed by all these adventurous babies making their first big trips out! Hope Baby Shea enjoyed the beach @Mawita and wow Lil Notyet certainly is a princess having her first outing to a castle @Notyetthere - I like your style! And I love that Baby Glitters went to Taco Bell @glitterglitters 😂

Baby Z had another big day today; went to Chelsea Town Hall to register his birth this morning, then to Snappy Snaps on the Kings Road to get his very first passport pictures 😩💙 Then we went to the UAE Embassy to apply for his passport, which will be ready next week, and finally a pit-stop for lunch at Nando's. Little man slept through the ENTIRE thing!!! Literally didn't wake up once until we got home and I prodded him to feed. He's so chilled it's unreal.

@Spindelina I bought one of the stretchy cloth wraps from Je Porte Mon Bébé but I haven't used it yet... My friend swears by it with her baby girl but it looks complicated to tie it. I need to sit down and watch a YouTube video about how to do it properly because I failed with my one attempt to follow the instructions in the packet.

@Sewingbeatshousework I hope the second sweep gets something going for you. Don't stress about the weight gain - I had a lot of water retention too and my face in particular was looking rather puffy in the last few weeks but it all just disappeared straight after giving birth. I've lost over a stone so far in 6 days. Still a way to go to get back to pre-pregnancy weight, but I'm not putting any pressure on myself. As you were clearly petite before, I'm sure a considerable chunk of the pregnancy weight will fall off quite easily after you deliver.

Omg how scrumptious! 😍💕 congratulations @Littlejayx and welcome to the world LittleCiara

Butterfly they do seem complicated to tie at first, but it becomes second nature - like shoe laces.

Littlejay congratulations on the arrival of Ciara! She is gorgeous.

Butterfly definitely YouTube videos for the stretchy wrap. I have now gained some confidence in using it having only used it a couple of times before. I plan on learning how to use it while breastfeeding so that baby can feed on the go if it helps to settle her while I'm on the move.

Congratulations to all those who have had their babies!
I've only just found this thread, I was due yesterday with my first baby and although I know it's daft, I feel a bit deflated there are no signs of labour, midwife tried to do a sweep but cervix is still closed :(

At least I know I'll meet him/her this month!

Congratulations LittleJay, how are you all doing?

My sweep was unsuccessful like yours @ajb17 and like @sewingbeatshousework, I'm heading for an induction. Feeling a bit down about it all, wanted to spend as much time as possible at home before going into hospital but that's not going to happen unless there's a miracle in the next 24 hours. I didn't realise that sweeps just might not happen for some people - I assumed they either worked or didn't so felt really down yesterday about it. They should tell you these things!

@ButterflyFree I'll be sure to put a squirty water bottle next to my toilet - the far less glam equivalent of a dedicated hose!

Thanks @Spindelina @Notyetthere for the reassurance about the stretchy wrap. I'll definitely try to get to grips with it in the next few days as Baby Z loves nothing more than to be close to my chest.

Sorry to hear you're heading towards an induction @Lallypopstick but don't lose hope yet - I was less than an hour away from being induced before my contractions suddenly kicked in (and went from 0-100 almost immediately) so it could still be avoided! & A squirty bottle by the loo would definitely do the trick as part of your aftercare regimen

I've made it to Day 7 without any hint of baby blues but DH has just left for the airport to head off to his 25-day pre-season training camp with the team, so the waterworks are well and truly on now... I'm hugely grateful that he was able to be here for the birth & to spend 6 days with us, and we could have been facing a muuuuch worse situation than this, but still I'm struggling to deal with the fact that we'll now be separated for another 25 days. Especially as DH has been so amazingly supportive and hands-on with Baby Z. It's a bit daunting to think I'll be doing the night shift alone for almost a month now.

Morning all. Long time with no check in but finally made it home late last night having been admitted on Thursday!

Following a long drawn out miserable induction, I had a long drawn out labour with 2 hours of pushing to no avail and an epidural which partly failed half way through pushing - little Erica was finally born with forceps on 17/07 (10 days before due date) at 01:05am weighing 6lb 7oz.

She was massively tangled in the cord (which is why they think pushing failed). I suffered a bleed (just under a litre lost) due to my cervix tearing at some point.

Baby however is a deliciously sweet little thing, feeding well from the breast but will wail like a banshee if she gets hangry!! Terrible sleeper at night but KO'd during the day!! Struggle to believe she's only three days old - feels like a lot longer. Suppose 7 hours of sleep in the 7 days in hospital makes the days feel unnaturally long!!

Hope those due/overdue go into labour soon so you can avoid induction.

Oh she is beautiful @CatRash and I love her name. Sounds like a hectic labour for you guys. Hope you're feeling better now. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

CatRash looks like she was worth all the hassle. Hope you get some sleep now you're home.

Very scared for my induction now

Hi ladies, I haven't caught up on posts but pleased to announce Baby Luna arrived yesterday at 16.02 weighing 3.3kg ❤️Nothing went to plan and we've both gone through the wringer with infections and blood transfusions. She's totally worth it and I will update more in a few days for those interested congrats to those who have also had their babes!! X

Well done CatRash! Sounds like you deserve a medal for that... or at least some sleep.

Butterfly I think what you're going through would have any of us in tears, never mind the hormones. Huge unmumsnetty hugs.

Congratulations @Algebraic!!! Love her name and sorry you've been through it all as well.

Hopefully you'll both be comfortable and home soon as possible. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Congratulations @CatRash Erica is beautiful. Sorry it was such a difficult birth but look how strong you are; you did it! I can completely relate on the 'wailing like a banshee when hangry' and terrible sleeper at night but KO'd all day parts too!!

Yaay @Algebraic another one who deserves huge congratulations! Baby Luna 😍 what a gorgeous name; it's one of my favourites. I can't bear that so many of us are having really traumatic and painful births - I wish we could all have sailed through labour like a breeze - but every lady on this thread is so incredibly strong, and our little ones make it all worth it.

Thanks for the unmumsnetty hugs @Spindelina 💐 Just counting down the days till 14th August when we will be reunited as a family of three again.

Community midwife came to visit today as she had to repeat the heel prick/blood spot test again; her bosses told her she didn't collect enough blood on the paper 2 days ago despite the fact that she filled all 4 spots and more. Hopefully they'll accept today's haul. Baby Z was a trouper once more and didn't even flinch, but even so, nobody likes to see their baby bleeding do they?! Good news is he's gained weight since Tuesday - he was 8.7% down on his birth weight but now only 2.4% so I'm feeling relieved that my EBF is doing the trick. The midwife also told me I seem so calm and emotionally stable...... as soon as she left I sobbed for about 10 minutes 😩😅😅😅

Just been trying to catch up on this thread - so much poop, cluster feeding etc. - all of which I can now relate too - feel like I've been initiated into a club of sorts - parenthood I guess lol!!

@Rhodes2015 how's your wound doing? Mine is absolutely killing me but I'm pretty sure it's infected. The hospital gave me antibiotics yesterday but awaiting results of a swab to confirm. Have you found anything to soothe it all?

@Littlejayx - congratulations - well done on the speedy labour too!

Thank you all for your comments. I'm not fully out of the woods yet as looks like I have an infected epi-wound and still have BP issues. Midwife should be here shortly for post discharge appointment and I'm hoping BP is behaving.

Sorry @lallypopstick I didn't mean to scare you. I think the issue with mine was that I was only 38+1, only 1/5 engaged etc. so baby wasn't really ready to come out. Plus because of pre-eclampsia I was already an in-patient and therefore couldn't just go home and chill and wait for things to work.

Congratulations @Algebraic - sorry to hear you've been through it too - I imagine she was worth it though!!

Baby Z sounds so brave @Butterflyfree - taking it in his stride like that! And you're allowed to worry and feel sad on his behalf - you're his mummy after all!! I know all about heel prick tests as Erica had to have three in the first day due to BP meds I was on - the hurt, shocked look on her face was the worst :(