November 2017 #4: Bump botherers, nesting and maternity leave!

[GingerHanna]

In which we swat away unwanted hands, perform military operations every night to roll over in our sleep, clean the kitchen cupboards for the eleventy billionth time and count down the days to our maternity leave!

Previous thread here.

Click here for The List.

FYI, breast milk makes a fabulous sinus rinse! Just 1ml was enough to make a huge difference. I feel more human now than I have all day! Doesn't last long but 10 minutes of relief is completely worth it. Plus, it's got antibodies/anti-viral properties so should hopefully help to fight the infection too. I may end up inducing labour with all my expressing to keep clearing my sinuses!

@AGnu that has made me chuckle.

Hope you feel better soon though.

@Hazandduck fingers crossed it’ll
Happen soon.

It’s fits and starts on this forum now. Babies appear and then we have a little break. Won’t be long until it seems to be raining babies😍

Induction officially set for 11/11 It sounds too soon! I managed to hand express my first bit of colostrum, a whole 0.2ml At least it's proof there's something in there.

I still can’t believe he is here and have had such a lovely day just cuddling him... my lovely husband has sent me to bed and is going to do the next feed and then come to bed. He seems to be cluster feeding in the evening???

DuRezidal cluster feeding in the evening is completely normal, he's putting in his order for milk at the same time tomorrow. Nights 2 & 3 are renowned for epic long feeding sessions.

@Foggymist I’m gonna remember your comment about day 2 and 3 for when bubs appears

@Foggymist I wish I had known that when I was in the hospital. That is such a useful bit of knowledge. Please share your other wisdom

kellymom.com/ages/newborn/bf-basics/second-night/

Sorry can't do proper link but read that. Read up about the fourth trimester too, all baby knows and wants is you, and their stomachs are the size of a marble so need tiny volumes very often rather than taking a huge feed and drifting off into a food coma. When they suck and suck and suck and get a little bit of amazing fatty thick colostrum that's all they need, baby's frustration at the breast is what sends the signals that baby is here and wants milk! So when they feed say from 10pm-3am your body thinks "right baby is really hungry at this time of day, make sure we have that for him tomorrow/the next day". That's why unnecessary top ups can hinder milk arrival, because your body doesn't get the memo that baby had a feed, so it doesn't know to make it at the same time the next day.

Short version is: totally normal for baby to be on you and/or feeding almost constantly for the first few nights and days And weeks lol.

Thank you @Foggymist 😊

I think one of the useful things to think about with cluster feeding is that it's part of baby getting to grips with circadian rhythms and knowing to fill up at night.

I've been getting a bit stressed about my c section next week. They've told me I have to drink high carb drinks a few hours before which I know will spike up my blood sugar levels with gestational diabetes, and I'm worried about the risk to the baby. I've spoken to midwife specialist who says it shouldn't be a problem but it's still worrying me. I think I'm also a bit anxious about the section and being in hospital.

Have any of you ladies with GD been advised to harvest your colostrum? Just had an appointment with the diabetic midwife and have come away with syringes and instructions for expressing colostrum prior to birth.

@Bearest17 I have, which was only mentioned to me for the first time on Monday at an antenatal class. My own midwife and the hospital have never mentioned it.

So far I've spent hours and only got the tiniest amount so unless it picks up next week I'm not too confident I'll have anything to take with me!

I’ve been thinking about doing this but know that my left boob is better at producing currently than my right. Have worked this out from clearing ducts and prepping my nipples for breastfeeding(roughly drying after a shower and then moisturising in the evening)

I don't have GD but after DS1 struggled to feed I'm terrified of it happening again so have been expressing to build up a stash, just in case.

Google galactagogue foods - they're supposed to boost milk supply. Other than that, I'd recommend doing it at the same time every day so your body gets used to it & will learn to produce milk at that time. It does take ages to start with but it'll build up over time. I do it while watching TV in the evening - it's a good excuse to sit down & not do anything! I've been doing it every few days for over a month now & just the last few times I've been getting up to 6ml which should be about enough for a whole feed! Before that I was only getting 1-2ml over about 1.5-2 hours. The key is to be relaxed & patient. I really notice the difference if I'm putting pressure on myself.

Keep at it - you'll get there!

La Leche League website has a page on pre-natal expressing with advice and tips.

I've had a batch cooking marathon today; Chicken Balti, Irish Stew, Spanish chicken and bolognese all ready for the freezer. A fortnight of dinners ready to go (although meal times may get repetitive!).

Hope all the new mothers and babies are thriving.

@Bearest17 I have GD and have started expressing colostrum today. I probably should have started earlier but have had a workman in the house all week so no privacy! Managed to fill a 1ml syringe today but I only have a few more days before my section so may not get enough.
Diabetes team haven't been any help at all, I just read up about it online.

Thanks for all of the great advice - much appreciated! I’ll definitely be giving it a try. I still have 4 weeks till my due date so will hopefully have plenty of time to get the hang of it.

Thanks all :) baby Liliana doing well. Born Tues 3:15pm (induced at 9:30am same day!). Had no pain relief before full dilation as they weren’t expecting things to move so fast. I think in reality my membrane sweep on Monday had started things off more than we realised, but from full dilation to forceps delivery (baby was distressed) was about 1.5hrs, inc transfer to delivery ward, 10 mins gas and air, epidural prep then forceps. Mental! I was genuinely shocked when I saw my baby. I was told induction could take 5 days not 5.5 hours! I think our experience was unprecedented tho. All ok now recovering at home xx

Congratulations @DuRezidal I also had no time for pain relief and it’s funny how my carefully prepared birth plan didn’t even get looked at! I hope you’re doing well xx

Gorgeous little girl @lydiangel83! Beary cute indeed! 🐻

@lydiangel83 congratulations! I like the name Liliana, a beautiful name for a beautiful baby. How much did she weigh? And how are you?xx

Lovely photo @lydiangel83. Liliana is beautiful. Hope you are all doing well.

Oh hello Liliana! She is so scrumptious! Congratulations @lydia, wow that is a speedy birth! Hope you are doing ok and not in too much shock. Well done, hope you are all doing ok :) xx

Congratulations @lydiangel83 she is beautiful!

Just a quick update... Joseph came home Thursday afternoon having got the all clear. He is now gaining weight and going from strength to strength.

His umbilical cord fell off Thursday night so he is no longer a stinky baby! First bath tomorrow which DH and I are looking forward to. Have had to hold off for a while as it takes a lot of their energy when they are little and he hasn’t had any to spare.

Lactation consultant coming tomorrow morning to look at what is up with his feeding. His latch is perfect and suck is strong, my supply is good and freely flows but for some reason he is not getting enough each feeding so we are topping up with expressed milk via syringe. Hopefully we can fix soon.

For those expressing colostrum - I did it two or three times a day near the end and it made a big difference. Maternity nurses are convinced that this is why my milk supply has come in nice and strong and the extra stash I had was a good send when he went down hill and I didn’t have any expressed milk in reserve.