Due May 09 - May Day! May Day!! Read All About It - Babies Dropping Everywhere!!!

[divedaisy]

Here we go ladies... over to you all!

all this talk of possible bf problems has reminded me I must look up the phone no of our local la leche group as I plan to get as much help as possible this time. I had a combo of milk supply probs and latch probs last time.. determined to go for it!

afternoon all.
pula, forgot about your scheduled cs. so hope/am sure baby will wait for that .

jenn, must've been pancake day today as we made a huge batch of american ones as well. ran out of maple syrup though so had to switch to honey. no prob with that!

reebee, saus, others with MIL probs... at some of the things said. not very tactful eh? try to let it bounce off you if you can.

BF: i think diff foods affect mums/babies differently. i'm a spicy food person and haven't restricted my diet. am not sure that it's affected my babes but will try to take note of any reactions from Harper. my sis restricts dairy from her diet (i could never do) and believes it has helped hers avoid colic , it's possible, i suppose.

at moment my milk hasn't come in and have very sore nips (ouch) so possible latching prob? it seems like H is latched on ok but if this doesn't feel better in a couple of days, I'll ask my MW/NCT contact or la leche like fiK suggested.

how is everyone this afternoon?

Momino Don't wait a few days, ring now. If it gets worse, then might take more determination to carry on.

BfN 0300 100 0210
LLL 0845 120 2918
National Breastfeeding Helpline 0300 100 0212
ABM 08444 122 949

We didn't have any maple syrup either, so ended up using golden syrup.

Dandy Thing is, until our abysmal breastfeeding rates get better in the UK, then the message isn't getting across.

momino having an afternoon catching up on chores.. dh is finishing building ds's new chest of drawers.. now we have exchanged the cracked bit at ikea this morning. could have done without the 40or so mile round trip to do that though.. dh has burnt the candle at both ends over past few days.. keen to get everything organised now the workmen have pretty much finished and we're in the any time from now arrival time!

Re BF hmm... I think the info I had beforehand tended to pressure towards breastfeeding. However, what I think was lacking from the info, classes etc was a realistic view of just how hard it can be, particularly in the first few days when baby can be sleepy and you cant tell whether they're getting anything or not. I really wish I had been prepared for that - what with post-birth hormones, tiredness & overwhelming desire to ensure baby is fed it would've been so, so easy to give up & reach for the bottle (of formula!). I was lucky that the mws in hospital were so committed to bf-ing and gave me lots of help. Even then I had a few wibbles & made DH get some aptamil (thankfully untouched!).

btw Jennster (or others) what's the advice re bf-ing & alcohol? Not that i have a problem, you understand but I've been having a small glass after feeding some evenings, which is much enjoyed, but obv i don't want to harm H.

Momino - Get silicone nipple shields if your nipples are sore. They are great for the initial days when nipples hurt, until baby figures out how to feed without chewing on them.

Momino always worth getting your/H's latch checked>I had one sore nipple even though he appeared to be on ok & was clearly getting plenty of milk, but the health visitor had a look & gave me some advice re positioning and it's been much better since.

spangle, our breastfeeding counsellor from our NCT class said it was absolutely fine to have the odd glass or two when BFing, not an issue at all.

Advice I'm looking forward to taking!

Jennster, thanks for the numbers. I will call to get advice. cote, my sis has sent me shields but I haven't had a look. Just spoke to her for advice as well so will try them. Spangle, it does seem like she's latched on ok (eg getting a big 'mouthful') but something must be wrong for it to hurt like this each time. right? I will get advice as I intend to carry on.

Spangle, about alcohol and BF, not sure advice either but i'd usually have a small glass of wine after evening BF with DD1 and 2 to wind down. apparently, relaxation for the mum is also very important for producing milk .

Fi, impressed with your DH's chest-building ability. could you send him round to us? we need to get another chest of drawers.

Momino probably... in my case it was because I'm small & have large-ish norks so there isn't so much room between my nipple & my lap HV advised supporting the boob with my hand. She also thought he didn't have enough boob in his mouth so i had to make sure he had his mouth really wide. Could be worth checking position & 'mouthful'... are H's cheeks full as she sucks?

Spangle, have you tried lying down? I am large of nork and lying down on my side works very well, and is comfy too!

Spangle, I see her swallowing properly so think ok. however, i do hear air going through almost like a sucking noise and think that means she's not latched on properly. last feeding, i tried to support the boob like what you did and that seemed to help. i'm not sure she's opening her mouth enough.

Spangle - I agree with Reebee - went to an NHS breastfeeding workshop last week (4 hours worth, I ask you) - and a small glass of vino most evenings is fine (woop woop!) I can't wait!

Am in agreement that there's more positivity towards breastfeeding these days, in comparison to our parents day. Mum had terrible trouble trying to express for my brothers in 1968 - they were twins and were 6 weeks prem, and quite tiny. Mum exhausted herself, as they didn't know she was having twins until number 2 popped out (I mean, honestly, she was HUGE!), so number 1 had already taken the hospital's only incubator, so number 2 had to be whisked off to another hospital. She was running herself ragged going between 2 hospitals and trying to express. She said she got to one once, handed over an ounce of milk, and couldn't believe it when the midwife poured it down the sink. However, Mum said that it was the best thing someone could have done, as from then on the boys were FF, and the pressure was off her to stop being supermum. I'm afraid I'm of the opinion that I will try my hardest at breastfeeding, but if it doesn't work for some reason or another, I won't beat myself up about it, I'm still a good mummy, and I have seen hundreds of babies and children thrive in my clinical practice on formula feeds, so.... ahem, off my soapbox! You get my drift....

My tummy has gone all wonky, all up on one side and down on the other. Very odd.

Fi She had five but two didn't make it. She's not really coping well with this motherhood thing so we've been out to get lactol in case we end up having to hand rear them. Just what I need at 37 weeks pregnant!!

Blotted that seems a big litter is that normal??? I hope she manages the bfing|

I didn't think it was that big? Same size as our other cat's first (and only) litter. I hope she manages too She's seriously going to need a bath, I can't believe how messy she is (she's a semi-longhaired)

Afternoon everyone,

No babies last night then. I managed to prove dh wrong again! My mum has got the mother of all colds, ds too, so the perfect environment to have a h/b and newborn... I've been really tired all day today, I tried having a nap and my dd curled up with me on the sofa, but I kept waking myself up snoring

All that talk of b/f is making me long to do it again. It's something I enjoyed very very much. I think spangle is right that the bf courses/workshops tend to be optimistic. It's something we often discuss at work: how do you paint a realistic picture without scaring people off. It's a very difficult balance to strike and I think it's something we're still working on. The drive to increase the b/f rate in the UK is after all relatively new. I must say that I do think that there is still the subliminal message that it will fail. When asking women about what method of feeding they'll choose they never say, I'll ff if I can, but when talking about b/f it's nearly always in a I'll try to b/f, see if I can b/f, etc... sort of way. So yes I do think a lot of women assume it will fail. The thing is not everyone struggles or has trouble. I never did, honestly.

momino Does it hurt for the whole feed or is it just after latching and then eases. The latter is quite common and normal. Sometimes a baby goes on well and then during the feed slips off, so double check several timed during the feeding. Oh and spangle I also think that if your quite large then a rugby ball hold or side lying position can sometimes be easier, otherwise definitely support your boobs. The side lying position is also brilliant at night. Gives you a chance to doze while lo feeds.

sausage My bump is doing the wonky thing too the last few days. Today I was worried it was transverse again, because for a while I had to equal bumps either side and a big dip by my belly button, actually I had a belly button again, it was that big. Luckily it's stretched out again in a more wonky, but longer shape again, so I feel a bit more at ease, phew...

blotted so you've got 3 live kittens then. Hope your cat gets the hang of motherhood soon.

Belgian I too am looking forward to BFing again. I only stopped in Novemeber with DD and really miss it. Definately lying down on my side worked for me and in the early days the rugby ball hold was good. My left nipple hurt more than my right but only for the first 2 weeks or so. Wipe breast milk on your nipples after a feed and allow to air dry. It works as well as lanisoh IME. You end up with your norks out a lot in the early days .

Just popping in quickly. Had a good day at a local farm park with some of my family. The weather wasn't great, but ds thoroughly enjoyed it!

Re breastfeeding, I think it depends on the your local hospital and their breastfeeding policies. Dandy, its great that you got that level of support in scbu, ds was in scbu and although they had me expressing every 3 hours they really didn't like me breastfeeding and the comments I'd got when I tried to do it, weren't helpful and they made it clear they felt I was undoing the work that ff was doing

On the other hand the hospital my mum works at is the complete opposite and they are militantly bro breastfeeding, which is good in one way, but not helpful for people who can't/don't want to breastfeed!

Also if you live within a surestart area they should have a breastfeeding support worker...

I have my growth scan tomorrow. DH has just informed me that he can't come with me. I realise that this is my decision - its just a very difficult one to make have c section or not. Everyone keeps teling me that its my decision, but on the other hand everyone has an opinion, usually to have a c section!! Men and spinsters usually tell me this!

I have to say that I am looking forward my 1st proper day off tomorrow and ds is at nursery for the day. I have a list as long as my arm of things to do. Packing my hospital bag is top

Frazz how are you feeling today?

Blotted Sorry I misunderstood and thought your cat had 7 kittens. 5 seems pretty normal -shame that 2 didn't make it though but I guess it gives her less to look after now. Post some pics when they have stopped looking slimy and started looking fluffy .

Evening all,

re bf I do think dandy is right, simple time and space can be so helpful, especially if you have someone supporting you and can relax about it. In Belgium it's standard to keep you in for 5 days after the bith, and I was calling on the midwives for help with almost every feed during that time. On our last day there things just 'clicked' and we never looked back, and like belgian I never found it that difficult. But having said that, it was hard work even so and I called our breastfeeding cousellors quite a few times over the next few months. If you're having any problems at all I really recommend calling on someone straight away, as it does help.

Also, it's good to be realistic about how hard it can be, but I'm convinced it makes a difference to take a positive/determined attitude to it too, just to decide that's what you're going to do and not think too much about the alternatives. I was pretty determined to bf no matter what and although I was lucky in finding it easy, I also know how easily I could have given in if we'd been having problems.

Also agree with sausage that in the end it's like pretty much everything else in parenthood, if you're really exhausting yourself trying to be supermum, it'll probably do you and baby a whole lot of good to go for what can seem like the 'worse' option when you're in the thick of it - because realistically none of the options actually are that bad and babies are generally happy when their parents are happy.

Anyway, I really hope for all those getting to grips with bf now or looking forward to/dreading it soon, that you get on well without too many problems - and most importantly don't beat yourselves up about it, whatever happens .

Hmm, having said all that I am now worried that I have jinxed myself and will get a grumpy little boy who feeds like a nightmare and isn't happy no matter what I do . Mind you I have been worrying about that since we conceived him!

Yes spangle meant to add - do hold your breast! With large norks + small frame, the rugby hold was a total lifesaver, plus one of those huge sausage-shaped bf cushions that I swore I wouldn't buy because they are a gimmick...

Don't be afraid to air your boobs A LOT in the first few weeks. Best thing for 'em!

I am hoping to BF again, but i can't say it's something i really enjoy or look forward to .

I had difficulties getting DD to latch on properly, but luckily I got lots of support from the hospital MWs but felt a bit like a cow whilst they manhandled my boobs, squeezing them to check for milk, shoving them in her mouth etc. With DS he latched on straightaway, and never really had problems- if he had a bad latch, i would just break it and try again.

With these BH making me feel sick, it just reminds me that my letdown makes me feel sick, and is really painful, for the first few months at least. I have to bite my lip and breath through the letdown - i don't think its that common, but i started a thread on this with DS and i did get someone else who had experienced this. As it was worse with DS than DD i am dreading it being even worse this time

Hey all,
You know what, you guys are fab thanks so much for all your replies and comments earlier, sorry I only responded to Cote specifically but popped into town to get last bits for hospital bag. I should add that MIL is usually really fab and I love her and FIL to bits (even lived with them for a bit but thats another story) I think with everything else plus pg hormones last night was a bit last strawish.

I can hardly walk now, sorry if this is a bit tmi but after a few metres it feels like I've got a watermelon in my pants! I am guessing this is a good thing and means the baby's head is good and low. Also got tummy wonk going on - big pointy bit which is either a knee or a foot keeps jutting out just below my ribs and is v ouch if I slouch forwards.

blotted aww about your cat, shame that 2 didn't make it, hope she takes to motherhood with the other 3 soon.

euromum lol at 'airing your boobs' for some reason an image of pegging them out on the washing line popped into my head