Due April 2009 - Chapter 32: Shake your pom poms, Shake your pom poms, Shake your pom poms!!!

[BabyBolat]

Hope no one minds I gave Nutty the vote after her epic birth!

hey people hope you are all ok, I am now into the 'enjoying' bit as opposed to 'just coping' (i bet i spoke too sooon.. )

how's everyone doing? Boff Amelia is currently 'Milliepops'....

Is it bad that I am flolopping around braless all the time? Am I knackering my bosoms?

Juwesm - I don't think it is that bad. But does it not make you leak without a bra? If I take my bra off - 2 mins later I have milk running down my belly! . In fact, I only have to pull my bra away from my boob and it starts coming out! LOL.

Hello everyone, I have been having painful cx all afternoon which are now 4-5 mins apart and I quite fancy being close to some G&A so off to the hospital once DS is in bed.

Hopefully will have a birth announcement for you in the morning, keep those pom poms going for me!

GOOOOOOO MEG!!!!

Soon2be - lol , I am fairly leaky, but I keep forgetting! Keep leaking all over poor Hugo when he's feeding

Yay Meg! Pom-poms! Pom-poms! Pom-poms!

GOOD LUCK MEG!!!!!!!!

Ok am really REALLY annoyed, just spent a lovely hour in the bath, feeling vaguely human again (kara is blissfully sleeping) get out, line up all my lovely moisturisers and then spot a stretch mark - well a little path about 5cms in a circle to the bottom right of my belly button - I had NONE in pregnancy in anywhere and now this has appeared! HOW? My skin isn't stretched anymore!!!

i realise that sounds vain and i am incredibly lucky to have gotten away with just one tiny patch but am still annoyed that it appeared one-month post birth!!!

Ok am over my stress now!

Especially for Meg - let's get that baby out now

I am cracking up!!!

oh auld - what can we do to help?

BB - don't talk to me about stretch marks! I have the all over my tummy, all down my thighs, even some on my calfs!!!! I would kill to just have on stretch mark!! And btw, my first set on my belly appeared during labour with DD1 - so know what you mean about going through the whole pregnancy thinking you are lucky to get away with it!

OK I need your help. Midwife asked me ealier, when assessing the whole weight loss, jaundice thing, if Talia was alert when awake. I said yes, without really thinking. But since then I am starting to doubt my answer. I really don't know though. I don't know what she is meant to be doing! She crys when I change her nappy/clothes etc and she has periods where she just sits and has a look around. But the majority of the time, she just sleeps. She just woke up just now, didn't cry and might have gone back to sleep but I got her up as I want to feed her. She has fed and then brought a bit back up. Then she lay with her eyes opening and closing, and I could see her eyeballs rolling back and then she went to sleep, which is where she is now. How do I know if she is alert? How long should she be awake for in the day? I have put her in direct light ever since she came - but it is too cold to leave her naked unless she is cuddled up with me, which I can't do for that long as I have DD1 to sort out as well. I might get DH to have some skin to skin time with her in the light tomorrow while I spend some quality time with DD1. ALthough it is meant to be chucking it down with rain here tomorrow - so I guess not much sunlight time?

I also want to give her a bath for the first time. Have any of you worked out a good time to do this? I find that DD2 is usually either hungry or tired! I was going to bath her with DD1 (with DH helping!) but she was hungry and then went back to sleep after the feed.

Thanks Nutty. Oh Auld, sorry to hear you're having such a difficult time! Can DH help at all?

Meg - will do a little labour dance for you good luck!

DH called to say he'd be late home. He said "If there's a real problem..." and I thought he was going to say "I'll come back" but he said "I may have to spend the night on this case, I'll call and let you know if I'm not coming home."

Poor DS1 is looking sad, as I've spent the day trying to pacify Alex. I am torn between giving him the boob, since that calms him for a bit, and not making things worse by feeding him, since he's having such bad acid reflux. He fed at 7, it's now 8:45, am trying to keep him off the boob until 9.

He slept one and a half hours this morning, then 20 mins in the sling and 10 mins in his bed this afternoon. He must be exhausted... Am going to call and make paed appt tomorrow. HV don't exist here, and I don't have a MW to call, as I just saw whoever was on duty when I went to the hospital.

Oh AUld he (and you) must be shattered! Fingers crossed for appointment tomorrow! I really hope Dh can come home tonight for you xxxx

poor you auld - sounds like you could do with dh being around - hope the paed can help.

boffin - your mw sounds like a goddess - sure she wouldnt like a job as your ap instead of midwifery?

meg - really hope this is it for you [shakes pom poms].

cinema times were advertised wrongly so the film we wanted to see wasnt on - made use of the ds free afternoon instead but so far, not sure the prostaglandin is really doing it's job - grrr. still having on/off cx - nothing regular enough to get excited by.

Ds arrived 40+6 and I have been convinced (for no great reason) that I wouldnt go any longer with this one, but its fast getting towards 40+6 (tomorrow) so all my expectations will have to change soon. Waters went at 11.15 on 40+5 so am hoping this one wants to be just like its big brother [hopeful emoticon].

soon2be - ds lost 12% of his birth weight and unfortunately we hadnt escaped from the hospital by that point so we ended up having to stay in for days. hope that the sunlight and extra feeds clear it up. I'd go with the waking for feeds in the night till it clears too - there is plenty of time to get sleeping sorted later, but echo BB - go with what you feel is the right thing.

posted in childbirth about some pain I've been having if nutty or boff, or anyone else with pain knowledge could help at all (if anyone has time in between feeding/burping etc etc )

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childbirth/747530-sweep-now-stabbing-pains

Just running in to catch up as 'Lellie' is stirring.
Oh Conker - am hopeful with you! did I read that right, that your waters have broken? yay!
Just saw soon2be you are having jaundice worries so thought I would share, as I have now had 2 that have had it. Ds really bad and was under light for 1 wk and Dd who we kept at home as she was under the hospital treatment line.
Anyways jaundice is caused by high levels of bilirubin due to bayy's immature liver and getting rid of their feotal blood (if I remember rightly?). Most babies will have a certain degree of physiological jaundice and have no problems.
Babys should sleep lots anyway 18 hrs+ for 1st month is my thinking, so difficult to tell if it there is jaundice related lethergy. The fact that Talia is opening her eyes and crying is great. Lellie was so tired that she didn't cry very much in those first few weeks and rarely opened her eyes - so MW and docs found it difficult to see the sclera of her eyes. Should also be able to see the yellow colour in her mouth and when you blanch her skin. We also found that photographs made us realise how orange and glowing she was.
We left Lellie to sunbathe lots. Sunlight is great works like the phototherapy lights at hospital helping the liver out by penetraing the skin and breaking down the bilirubin so that it can then be excreted (this is why another sign of jaundice is darkened wee and poo).
Sorry really garbled answers, don't have time to correct it though as Lellie demanding attention.
Love to all else

very of your midwife boffin!