Due June 08: less of the hens hatching, more of the cows milking?

[bitofadramaqueen]

Lets hope it's not too long before everyone is hatched and milking season is in full swing!

Morning. Finally things seem to be moving - T+16 today! Had lots of show last night, and waters went spectacularly at 4.30 this morning. Have had a few irregular contractions, ouch!!! Have been dozing off and on, but feeling better moving around/sitting up than lying down.

Will call hospital soon, cos I think they like to check you if waters have gone, but I have a feeling today is going to be a long day!

BDQ - hope things are going well with you.

Good luck Whinegums

Thanks Sophie. Hope you catch up on your sleep.

at last whinegums - looking forward to hearing your baby news, you must be so relieved that it's all happening.

good luck

ohh, a baby whinegum on the way - good luck

Good luck whinegums!!

Good luck Whinegums and BDQ

This is a long post about our breastfeeding problems. Probably far TMI. Sorry.

Good luck Whinegums!

Good luck BDQ and good luck Laura! Hope you're both doing well, and able to see us on patientline if you want. I am thinking of you. xx

Great story Fungle

COngrats Ktpie

PP, how's the feeding going? We have been having a shocking time but have had amazing support over the past few days from the NCT and from a breatsfeeding consultant. She is in Croydon and costs 40 pounds an hour - worth every penny. Let me know if you want her details.

Essentially, I bf DS and never had a problem, but Dorothy has been finding it really hard to latch on. On Friday, I phoned the NCT emergency line and spoke to a lovely woman (based in Aberdeen!!!!). She advised me to work on keeping Dorothy calm. And the next three feeds were perfect.

We were still having a problem with nighttime feeds and I was expressing and syringe-feeding. The NCT lady gave me the number of a lactation consultant (works at King's College hospital) and she came for a home visit yesterday. One of my nipples is very flat and hard for Dorothy to get in her mouth - particularly when it's full of milk. So she gave me some tips and advice about what to do. She also reassured me that it's OK to give Dorothy bottles of expressed milk - providing they are the right kind of bottle (Dr Brown's or Tommee Tippee nature), and providing I keep up the expressing. So yay, no more syringe!

In a few days, she reckons that Dorothy will have got the hang of it properly. In the meantime, I feel much more confident and am not worrying about the bottle-feeding.

The lactation consultant phoned this morning to see how things are going - which I thought was very nice.

I have to say that I am so amazed and impressed, firstly, by the kindness of the NCT lady, who, for free, gave me some really good tips and found me the lactation consultant. She also helped me feel much more positive. I am also really impressed by the professionalism and kindness of the lactation consultant. It's so lovely that all this support exists.

Back from hospital - thanks for messages. Am feeling a bit down actually. Baby's head is still high - 4/5ths palpable - and contractions have stopped - although waters keep on coming.

Been told to call hospital in the morning before going back to be induced. Feeling that this baby is never going to come out, and v disappointed about potential induction. I'm petrified that I'll have to labour on a drip, be continuously monitored and not be able to move.

I know that the main thing is that the baby and me are both ok, etc etc, but I really thought that things had kicked off naturally today .

Quick post while I can ... Edie still gorgeous but absolutely exhausting (and fee. bad for saying this as she is really a poppet as she is feeding like a demon and sleeping ok so know I'm very lucky.. still feel wiped out by it all!! Think its the shock fo realising that she is actually here). Bout of mastitus slowly
getting better but sure that is not helping (have been on three sets of antibiotics this week plus 2 lots of painkillers post birth/mastitis so not adding to things). UDC glad you've got feeding problems sorted - was having a nightmare when I came out of hospital and I don't know what I'd do without dh (third time round for him so not phased by baby ways) or the absolutely fab private midwife I've had (anyone in London area who wants her details just ask - she really is fantastic).

Loads of luck whinegums laurat and the other hatchettes- am sending you nipple tweaking/pineapple vibes to try and hasten things along.

para completely agree re that book being fab - very reassuring and nice style to it I thought from someone who knows

To whinegums and bitofadramaqueen good luck and hope all goes well...whinegums i have exactly the same fears i don't want to be flat on my back hooked up to every monitor going. Wishing you all of the best it sounds like things are starting and you might just need some extra help to move things along...
Thinking of all of you inductees as i will be in the same boat on Tuesday.

sarahpo and whinegums - just a quick word.. I ended up hooked to monitors etc - its not as bad as I thought .. got them to move bed etc to ease pushing - I know its not ideal but just wanted to reassure you its not the end of world (and there is something kind of hypnotic about hearing the baby's heartbeat and knowing when contractions coming/when to push as I got a bit zoned out).

whinegums good luck! You can insist on a handheld monitor you know. I let them establish a CTG baseline heartrate for my birth (20 mins of monitoring) and then had handheld - against hosp policy but it was my decision and I'm sure it helped my labour progress quickly. And don't forget you can move around with CTG - you simply pull the wires out of the monitor! I did it several times when they put the monitor back on while I was waiting for my section (when they said it was likely she'd get stuck). Staying in one position for a long time was too uncomfortable for me. Anyway, I really hope it goes well for you.

amber it was me with the sheepskin (and yes, my name's not really TGF - haha). I've put a fitted cot sheet over the top of it to prevent any reaction to the lanolin in the wool (I'm allergic and worry Storm may be too). Also means I don't have to wash the sheepskin if she spews on it.
I REALLY recommend it - Storm is a different baby since we started using it - so much happier and sleeps so much better, whether in her cot or in my arms. And yes, I want one too - cos we've got a drop side cot I tend to lie partly in it next to her if she's unsettled and it's sooooo comfy.

My other success story re Storm's sleep is this fisher price soother. The 'nature sounds' button on it plays chirping crickets/trickling water/tweeting birds and really helps Storm to settle. I actually got it for the light projector thing on top as I thought she'd like it (and it's handy for feeding in bed at night) but the sound player has been the real success. And it runs on a 15 minute cycle so (unlike the radio) you don't have to turn it off. I think it was about £25 and really worth it.

Oh whinegums - a lot can happen in the time between now and tomorrow morning. Hope things start again soon.

Hope Laura and BDQ are having their babies now!

UDC - glad your bfeeding difficulties are on their way to being sorted out and v impressed at the great help you've had. What did the lactation consultant suggest about helping Dorothy latch on (we're having a similar problem on one side)? Interesting about it being ok to use bottles so early as well. I've been holding off expressing partly becuase I am rubbish at it and also because I thought I was supposed to wait until 6 weeks. But DH really wants to give Thea a bottle so I'd like to give it a try.

Poppy 34 thanks for the encouragement i am so large now that lying down= struggling to breathe for me but i am sure the mw's will see that it is a problem! Trying to walk around now to get things going...

Hi all,

Good luck to those of you still waiting. Whinegums - it could still happen naturally for you so don't be down.

Re breastfeeding, I do echo the sentiments that it gets easier with time and is a very special time once you and the baby have it cracked. It is something you both have to learn so I totally agree with those who say just take it one feed at a time. I found it used to be toe curlingly painful when my ds latched up but then one day I realised it had stopped. This time round I'm still finding the first 30-60 seconds painful but it does ease off.

Anyway onto the reason for my post....slings. For those of you who bought slings which one did you buy and are you finding it any good. I have decided that I desperately need a sling as it's a challenge running after my ds (22 months) and still trying to look after my dd. I know I've left it a bit late as my dh is going back to work tomorrow and I'm not really sure how I will manage both of them when we are out in the garden etc.

Sorry for long post....

I started my ds on 1 bottle a day of expressed milk at 4 weeks and he took this readily and it never affected our breastfeeding either. To me it was a godsend as it meant my dh could do a 10pm feed and I could get to bed early for some extra rest

I'm sure you are in labour, whinegums - I had a show on the friday, and contractions for 3 days (but none on Saturday) before things actually got going.

UDC I got to see a breastfeeding consultant (lactation consultant - whatever!) too and she was really superb. Don't be jealous - she's free. And she's got an MBE for services to breasts! But it made such a difference, and she really helped. I've just fed lying down now, like she taught me, and it's really lovely. My supply seems to be settling down too.

Can anyone tell me, though, when things start to improve re: night feeds? Iestyn is still on three-hourly feeds. I'd love to get bigger gaps... Mind you, last night was a first - he refused to settle after the 3am feed, and went back on for more at 4am. (Never 7am, or midnight, is it?!) Shattered today, We took him to church for the first time. (DH was organist and warden here in London, and so we were like celebrities!)

X-posted Josie. Sling: we have a more conventional one (unlike hotslings - DH felt they were too girly). We bought on a Mumsnet recommendation: a Bush Baby sling (got it from Boots online).
It's easily adjustable for different heights, and it has a removable pod so you can leave him in the sling and it attaches to the car seat.

Mind you, if you're not fussy and your baby is bigger than Iestyn, I'm trying to sell a sling - Lidl, BabyComfort (!) on e-bay but it doesn't look like it will shift. I'll pass it on for free if you want?

Josie - I'm a fan of the hotslings but they're not always as hands-free as I need for DS1 (24 months) so I've bought a close baby carrier www.closebabycarrier.com/ and I love it. It's comfy for Fraser and it's definitely hands-free.

Essie - night feeds for us started to really improve when DS1 was about 8 weeks old. He was at 4 hour stretches from 4 weeks to 8 weeks though. It does get better - just slowly. Fraser is still on 3 hour feeds too...

lol at MBE for services to breasts .

Hi guys, Alex is settled after some infacol which seems to have helped his wind, so I thought I'd catch up on some posts.

Essie, thank you for your comment on my sign in name! Describes me to a t at the moment I'm afraid - no bf means no dramatic weight loss for me and I have a long way to go before I'll be back in my pre-pg clothes . However, have just ordered a Wii fit today which should be something I can play on while little man sleeps.

Alex seems to be feeding constantly at the moment - my HV has reassured me that I can't overfeed him if we're demand feeding cos he'll only demand if he's hungry, but he is taking an awful lot and is already up to 150ml per feed and feeding every two to three hours. I don't know where he's putting it!

Have the out laws here for a few days and they are slowly driving me mad - not helped by the appalling weather meaning we are all stuck inside!

Well, Little A has just woken up so I'm going to have some cuddles.

Good luck for all the births this weekend - won't be long before we move to the post-natal threads!

Hey - who's complaining about 3 hourly feeds?? This was last nights and todays schedule so far - 19.30,21.30,23.30,2.20(amazed at that gap - nearly 3 hours)4.45, 6.30,7.30,9.00,10.30,12.30,13.30,15.00 and so it continues......

I am struggling to get other things done between feeds, only the bare minimum and we have guests next week and loads to do and the wedding the following week. HELP!!!!

services to breasts! Rolf, one of my nipples doesn't quite fit her mouth and 'needs time to mature' - by which she means that Dorothy will stretch it and mould it to her mouth over time. They also get quite swollen if they haven't been fed off, so I need to express off about an 1 oz before feeding.

I feed lying down too - it's so relaxing!

Debs, omg, what a nightmare! I hope he will calm down soon.

Good luck Whinegums.

Ooh, Deb, I feel bad now! Three hours is good compared to that! Poor you, it must be really draining. (I find my skin is drying out like fury too.)
I imagine it won't help if I give the local midwife's answer to anything tiring/stressful/unusual - it's a 'growth spurt'. (After several bad nights with both me and Iestyn in tears, I was ready to deck her for that bit of bollocks.)

Sponge - you're a better woman than I am if you're even thinking of exercising when Alex is asleep! I'm not back in my own clothes (and I have the profile of a glamour model...although the stretch marks prevent that option which means that I have to be careful with tops). But as for doing exercise? Would rather sit on the sofa eating chocolate...and I do! On the topic of your name...the big pants (Spanx), do work. I was complimented on my amazing weight loss today .