Due in June - TA your baby WILL be here soon!

[bumperlicious]

Just in case we get locked out without realising!

Calm down honey!!

not sure i can add anything, other than her top and bottom lips should be folded out (if that makes sense) when are you seeing the mw next bumper? can you call them to come out tomorrow? or did you do an nct class? is there anyone there who can help.

when things were bad with em i used nipple shields to get me through a couple of rough nights. if there's a big sainsbury's nearby they;'ll sell avent ones

god em is a milk monster this evening. she's fed on and off since about 5:30....and has been awake for over an hour. she doesn't realise that awake DOES NOT automatically mean feeding!

holly...missed your post....how bloody exciting little miss "the sweep didn't work, i'm gonna be here for weeks"

O Holly thats great - how convenient too! After tea & hollyoaks & the DD's in bed!! Considerate baby - happy birthing

TA - well done & welcome back. Looking forward to your birth story

just sent dh out for nipple shields. will try anything! typing one handed with dd in the other!

good luck holly, be calm, u'll be fab! and thank god that you have your pool & r at home.

u know those little private rooms on the wards u guys were talking about - igave birth in one coz delivery unit was full!

Hi everyone just doing my very sporadic (sp?) posting.

Congrats to all you new mums, we're steaming ahead now!

Bumper- do not worry about feeling like shit bodywise with all your aches and pains, I do to and its been 7 days for me, i feel like i've done 10 rounds with mike tyson with him aiming most of his punches at my breasts and pelvis. Got some co-codamol tablets yesterday and they have worked wonders and totally safe whilst bf.

I will try and offer ladies some advice on bf, as I'm a bf advisor in rl and have my own baby consultancy businesss, so I will try and offer you some support.

Even though I know how to latch a baby on, I have still suffered with cracked nipples, and excruciating pain with the initial latching on as my skin is super sensitive, so it doesn't always mean that your baby isn't latched on properly.

Anyone in this situation I would advise like Holly did to use nipple shields, they are frowned upon in the medical world, but they do offer amazing relief and is better than giving up. First of all smother the nipple with lanisoh cream and then put on the nipple shield. Nipples do recover very quickly, so once they have you can lose the nipple shield, in the meantime do keep boobs out in the open air as much as possible.

If you have any specific questions , i will try and answer them for you.

Good luck Holly

Bumper! Thank God you weren't turned away!! Would have been more comfy than the horrible del suite tho...

claire, that makes me feel sooooo much better! so do feed with the shields on? will it be obvious what to do with them?

Thanks Claire, thats really good to know

I'll definately be seeking you out when the time comes!

How is it all going with you?

yes very obvious, do sterilize before using them, and a good tip is to lick the ends so they stick to your skin.

If you haven't got time to steam sterilize before next feed, just pour over boiling water and wait til cool!

is it hurting throughout whole feed?

i'm loving my little man and dd1 is made up. When I last posted we didn't have a name, we have decided on Joshua Daniel.

Thanks Claire, good to know that you're around (and can offer much better advice than my half baked attempt at describing...)

Congratulations on Joshua Daniel.

lovely names! glad u r doing well.
hasn't been hurting throughout, just when latching on, and she definitely is better with the right breast. now I am getting so anxious we are having to make lots of attempts to lstch. problem was that we thought i was doing it properly & appeared fine in hospital so didn't get much help then as didn't seem to need it. mw coming tomorrow though so just got to get through tonight without too many tears (hers & mine ).

thanks for the advice claire.

that a good sign, if its not hurting throughout, it may mean that the damage was done very early and you have both corrected it and she is latching on well, it will just keep being painful until they have properly healed the lanisoh cream and shields will help with this. No signs of blocked duct? or of very hot red patch on the breast?

Bumper, latching on hurts at the beginning! And Claire has just confirmed that (yea for her voice of reason!). Too many people say "If it hurts you aren't doing it right". to which I say "Bollocks".

Don't get anxious Bumper, it makes it so much harder. Swear, grit your teeth, it will stop! x

Wow Holly!
Wil she be posting from her pool do you think?

Would second what Claire says about cracked nipples being normal, and what Foxy says about the fuck fuck fuck moment. Don't worry, it will get easier. I'll also repeat my reccomendation of aloe vera gel, it's really instantly soothing.

echo foxybrown!!!

It can take up to 2 weeks for them to stop hurting with the inital latch , i'm 7 days in and know he's latched on right, but can't bloody go out anywhere as can't comfortably bf in public yet, as my pained look and squeals when he first goes on would just be far too embarrasing - so at the moment have to go out just after feeding ...boring.

Sputnik, the pool has a puncture!

You have inside information Foxy?

here's her live birth thread

poor Holly if she can't have a waterbirth - you wouldn't really want your dh spending most the time re-pumping the pool, would you?

She's just posted that there's meconium in the water. Her MW is with her and they are going to the hospital

What a bummer for her. Hope all goes well

Just popped on to catch up - can't cope with such excitement!

Poor Holly - I hope all goes as well as poss for her.

Think tomorrow I'm going to get some nip sheilds as recommended by everyone - don't trust DH to get them after the event - god knows what he'd come home with!

Welcome home TA - can't wait to hear all the gorey details!

Hiya to Sputnik, Claire, Annobal, Foxy, Bumper, Daisy - and anyone else who's about tonight.

help....em has been alternately feeding and screaming since teatime. she's voracious at my boobs and has only dozed for about an hour. it's starting to get to me a little bit as i can't put her down. should i keep feeding her....she goes on for five mins then is dozing with my nip in her mouth but when it falls out she goes mental! why is she doing this tonught when dh isn't here?