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Original poster

babies due in june!

826 replies

megi · 08/10/2004 10:59

I know it is very early - but somebody needs to do it! Still not down from cloud nine yet!
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
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LipstickMum · 03/11/2004 12:09

I plan on breastfeeding like last time. But I also plan to express some and give it to babs in a bottle. Dd never really experienced bottles in her early life and i regret that, she wouldnt take from a bottle until she was about 6 months. Then she had some formula some breast.

I am completely open-minded about this time round. I hope the breast feeding will go ok because I have done it before, but if I feel I wasnt to introduce a night time formula or something, I will!!

LipstickMum · 03/11/2004 12:10

that should read " if i feel i want to introduce..."

sweetheart · 03/11/2004 12:11

See this is the other thing. My dh leave the house for work at about 3am. If I introduce formular it means he can do a feed before work and I will get a few decent hours sleep each night.

I found expressing to be a bit of a nightmare last time. You sit and pump all day for 1 bloomin feed!!!!

teabelly · 03/11/2004 12:13

I bottlefed ds and plan to do the same with this one...I was the blacksheep of my anti-natal class as I was the only one, but tbh I feel sick at the thought of b/f myself - no probs with anyone else doing it but I just really don't want to do it myself

sweetheart · 03/11/2004 12:15

teabelly - I found that midwives are very quick to nag and tell you how great breastfeeding is - BUT for me personally it was a horrible experience. It hurt so much and was causing both myself and dd alot of unneccesary stress - thats why I'm unsure about trying it again.

I totally understand any womans decision NOT to bf!!!!

LipstickMum · 03/11/2004 12:16

I have no idea how expressing will be sweet because I didn't do it last time. I'm going to give it a go, but not beat myself up about it iykwim. Mainly because I will also have another child to look after!

MrsWednesday · 03/11/2004 12:19

I'm going to try to breastfeed - I managed it for 12 weeks with my DS and am aiming for the same this time round. I didn't enjoy it though, I found it really hard and uncomfortable. Will also give bottles though - not sure I'll have time to express, it does take ages!

As for a boy or a girl, I really don't mind either way. I really like the idea of having another boy (would love my DS to have a brother, and I know what to do with little boys) but would like a DD too. Just a healthy little baby at the end of all this please!

Have found one good thing about this pregnancy so far - my nails are growing really fast! They are much stronger than usual too.

Sorry the morning sickness has found you Tessiebear.

sweetheart · 03/11/2004 12:20

LM - If your going to express I'd splash out on one of the electric pumps. I had a hand pump and it took FOREVER!!!!!!

Plus you get cramp in your hand!!!!

MrsWednesday · 03/11/2004 12:22

On the other hand - I had a go with an electric pump and absolutely hated it. My nipple stretched out along a very long tube and I was worried I would never get it back again!

teabelly · 03/11/2004 12:23

thanks sweetheart, there's so much pressure at the moment to b/f and sometimes I like the worst mum for not having b/f ds or wanting to do it with this one...but like you found, I have alot of friends who did try it and for one reason or another couldn't get on with it, and yet were pushed to persevere even though they were in severe pain!

And I have to say that whilst I was in hospital all the midwives were around my bed constantly asking if he needed a feed so that they could get a cuddle...which for obvious reasons they couldn't with other babes

sweetheart · 03/11/2004 12:23

I don't really mind what we have either - I guess same as MrsW - I'd like another dd because I know the ground and it's all familier.

Agree about the nails thing too. I gave myself a french manicure at work yesterday to cheer myslef up!!! My nails are now about the only part of me that look great!!!!

MrsWednesday · 03/11/2004 12:24

PS I'm reassured to read that I wasn't the only one who struggled with breastfeeding. All this 'breast is best' stuff conspires to make you feel like a failure if you don't take to it.

sweetheart · 03/11/2004 12:26

hee hee hee MrsW - lol

Tessiebear · 03/11/2004 12:55

Teabelly - i have 2 DS's and am making no secret about the fact that i would love a DD this time! But at the end of the day if this one is another DS then that is the way it is meant to be IYSWIM
Sweetheart - re Breastfeeding - i had real trouble feedind DS1 and gave up after 4 weeks. In the long run i regreted not trying longer. DS2 - was determined to crack it and despite having Mastitis 8 times in the first 8 months i b/fed him until he was 3 !!!! But again totally respect anyones descision not to b/feed. A good friend of mine chose not to try and feed either of hers and i appreciate that it doesnt work for everyone. The reason i liked it so much was pure night time laziness - i would bring DS2 in bed with me for a feed - he would latch on to feed, i would fall straight back to sleep and he would fall asleep with me as soon as he had finished feeding. If he woke again in the night i would shove the other boob in his mouth and that was hopefully it until morning. If i woke up i would put him back in his cot. I found this was the only was i could survive the tiredness of the first few months

sweetheart · 03/11/2004 13:03

The feeding in bed thing is a big +

Tessiebear · 03/11/2004 13:11

Sweetheart -I once tried to stay awake at night to feed and i just couldnt do it. When DS was a baby i slept in his room so as not to disturb everyone else. When he cried from his cot i would literally just get out of bed lift him out and bring him in with me. The bed had a guard right round so there was never an issue of DS rolling out. With DS1 i had to go and get the bottle out of the fridge, warm it up etc and then by the time he had finished and i had settled him back down i was wide awake and found it harder to get back to sleep.

muddaofsuburbia · 03/11/2004 13:56

I b/f ds for 17 mths until he self-weaned. I plan to b/f this one but I'm not looking forward to the pain. I'm hoping that experience will have taught me a lot! Looking back now I realise I had recurrent mastitis for the first 3 months, but had never heard of it and just thought that a temperature/red lumps and pain was all part of b/f. I used to take my post c-section painkillers for the pain of b/f rather than the pain of the wound!!!

Having said all that, it did suddenly improve at 3 mths-ish and I found that being on a routine (GF) really helped. I expressed in the evening and dh did the late feed feed while I had an early night.

And not having to be awake during night feeds is a big bonus! But then I'm a lazy person and couldn't stand the faff or the expense of bottles.

£500 a year for formula feeding - we just can't afford that, so I really have to persevere with the b/f again.

I really enjoyed it once it "clicked" into place and would love to b/f til the recommended 2 years this time round if possible.

muddaofsuburbia · 03/11/2004 13:59

Oh and my parents are convinced I'm carrying a dd too!!! I'd quite like another wee boy though - but that could just be because of the huge amount of boy clothes I've got which are hardly used!

Tessiebear · 03/11/2004 14:00

Wow Mudda - you suffered Mastitis without even knowing it!! I had to have antibiotics every time!

muddaofsuburbia · 03/11/2004 14:04

I know TB - I'm such a thicket now I look back. I'd read every baby book under the sun, but it somehow didn't click that this wasn't normal. I would sit in the bath bawling my eyes out for hours, with red lumpy swollen boobs desperately trying to unblock myself with wide tooth combs and then foul smelling milk pouring across the bathroom once I'd "popped". Next time I'll be banging on the GPs door with a big stick!!

Tessiebear · 03/11/2004 14:11

I got to the stage where i had antibiotics ready "just in case". !

sweetheart · 03/11/2004 14:36

TB - re - getting bottles ready in the middle of the night.....

The best piece of advice I was given with dd was to give her milk at room temperature - that way they gets used to it being that temp and you don't have to mess about with heating etc etc etc

This is also very handy when your out for the day or can't find a place to heat a bottle.

Obviously there are limitations. The mile can only be made up 4 hours in advance - but most babies wake more than ever 4 hours.

I found this to be a godsend with dd

Tessiebear · 03/11/2004 14:54

Good idea Sweetheart - i was so naieve with DS1!!! I used to take a kettle up to bed with me and a jug - when DS1 woke i would boil the kettle and stick the bottle in the jug of water ... wait for what seemed like ages with DS wailing!!!! Didnt even consider the fact he would take it at room temp

sweetheart · 03/11/2004 14:56

I got given so much advice from "do-gooders" when dd was young but this was the one piece of advice that stood out and really made sense.

Tessiebear · 03/11/2004 15:18

OOOHHH GOD! Feel soooo rough - m/s has got worse as the day has gone on!!!! Dont fancy eating anything but have forced a roll down at lunchtime - cant even bare to think about any kind of food. The only thing i vaguely fancied was a can of coke and even that doesnt taste right! Remind me how many weeks this hell goes on for someone? Is it like childbirth in that we selectively choose to forget how bad it was before? Sympathise with those of you who actually ARE being sick though ... although sometimes think it would be a slight relief to bring something up!

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