Due May 09 - patta cake, jaffa cake, bakers man bring me a baby as fast as you can!

[Momino]

Here we go....

fi Happy birthday! Hope it was a good one for you! Mine is tomorrow and I totally forgot about it lol

Rosie Oh god so sorry you had to go through something so aweful! Hope you are feeling better today.

We decided to name baby Sara Addison R.

Figured I would post my birth story now before it gets foggy

I started my breast pump at 2:30. After 10 minutes I was getting regular painful contractions. Called the hospital at 3pm and they sent someone out. She said I was 3cm so called the other MW to come out. FIL came and took DD to his house for a bit. I stayed walking around and was managing until about 6:30 when they were getting quite bad with no break inbetween. DD came home and had her bath. I was able to stay calm and help get her to bed which helped. At 7:00 the MW suggested I take diamorphine. I really didn't want to as I was afraid it would slow everything down. However, I decided I needed a little break and I am soooo glad I took it at 7:30. The pains slowed down to about 4-6 min apart so I was able to relax between. The pain was still quite high but it took the edge off. DH lit candles in the bedroom. I laid in bed with my heat pad on my back, a cold rag on my head and cuddled into DH's back. My friend sat on the bed and we just tried to have a laugh.

By 8:30 the pains came back fast and strong. I managed to get into the living room. The MW said I was 6cm but she thought it would go quick from here. Glad she did as within min I was starting to push. I couldn't help it, my body just did it. I was scared I would tear but they talked me through it and I just listened to my body and let it take over. I started on some gas and air which was great and let me rest a little in between. DH sat behind me and was so great talking to me and giving me drinks. The crowning was not nearly as bad as it was with DD. I was in total control and even at the most painful was just thinking 'I am doing this...it is amazing!' At 9:45 she was born and I felt great! No tears or anything so I was thrilled.

I think I am still in shock that I did it to be honest however the high is wearing off now and I feel like I have been hit by a bus. My whole body is sore and I am very tired. Been sleeping a lot today and will go back to my bed again soon!

Sara seems to be very settled yet very alert. She is not feeding to well but I am still trying. Going to go try again!

Thank you also to everyone for the well wishes and congrats. So nice to have those kind words after such an experience

jennster hang in there. glad you've got some help coming and like you say it'll hopefully get easier when your milk comes in.

emmab wow! what a great home birth.. i'm v would have loved to do any of the home births our due in mayers have had. get as much rest as you can and congrats again on sara

rosie how awful, glad you, baby and the little girl are okay

fi happy birthday

emmab congrations!!

ladyhelen sorry to hear about your bf problems. If its any consolation I'm still having problems too. Half the time M can't latch properly and just fusses around the nipple I've had to ff quite alot. Then we discovered she had thrush -poor love so now she's having medicine and is a little better at latching on but I just don't seem to have for her, despite the fact that I wake up engorged
I have hired an electric pump from nct and have started expressing for top ups, this worked okay for a couple of days but today I am hardly getting anything out

Don't know what else I can do.

real quickie gals - we're home!! Had a slight extended stay due to naughty placenta and blood loss.
GOt a slurpy pink thing on my shoulder. Will post birth story tomo when the bus has gotten off my body - but it was bloody fast!! Lotti loves her baby at the moment - long may it last
ina nutshell 8lb 5oz, 9.58am oon 15th May called either Archie or Henry - DP set on archie but i'm still wavering
Can't name check - staying in touch with frazz dev on phone - think emmabemm also popped so congrats and love to you too
xxx

Looby So sorry to hear bf isn't going as well as you want. Have you tried getting naked for a day. You and lo? The problem is, the less you feed, the less milk you make, and a pump is just not as efficient as your lo. Have you tried hand expressing? Anyway you have the numbers. I really feel for you. Hope you make the right decision for you all. xx

Happy Birthday Fi and Emmab Emmab Congratulations. Sounds like you had a fab birth.

Oh crap I'm rubbish at name checking now. I'm sure I've missed people. I'm really sorry.

Milks in! Or so the vomit on dd2's face is telling me.

jennster yep sounds like it's in.. lol!

detsy glad to hear you are home safe and sound.. hope you're not to washed out with the blood loss. take the iron and get loads of rest. anemic is v tiring so i hope you avoid that. huge congrats and love either of your names

looby I found my milk supply was affected by how birth of ds went.. to keep going to any degree is awesome esp when you're body is still trying to put you back to rights. go with whatever works for you. but if you do want to continue bf you'll produce as long as you continue to try.. the more m tries to feed and the more you rest the better your supply should get.. but don't beat yourself up if in the end if you do need to give up bf [like I did with ds].

jennster- my milks just in too-luckily no vomit yet though! got my cabbage leaves in my bra!

Evening all. So much catching up, apologies if I miss anyone.

Fi - I'm really sorry to hear about Douglas dog, hugs.

Sorry tohear some of you are having bf problems, there's been a lot of good thoughts already posted, can't add to them.

emmabemmasmum - very well done you! congratulations,and what a lovely story. And detsy too, great to hear from you.

rosie - what an awful thing to happen, I'm glad everyone is ok but what a shock.

We're co-sleeping too. Never did with DD1 one (too scared) but have decided that sleep deprivation is not necessary this time round. Working well so far, although I'm struggling a bit with lying in one position for so long. And DH has developed an amusing talent for sleeping with his bum hanging out of the bed.

euromum - good luck with the move!

A had her 5 day check today, all good, and she's only lost one and a half ounces. I'm feeling fine, but a bit down this evening - still worrying about DD1 and how I'm managing with her. My mum arrives tomorrow (for a week) which will help in some ways, but in other ways I'm worried that it's just prolonging the artifical environment iyswim and that we'll never settle into the new 'normal' for our family. Am I making sense? Feeling confused.

A question for those co-sleeping. Do you generally hold your baby or put your arm round them or keep your distance? i am trying to work out what is safest. i have borrowed a "snuggle nest" which i will test out tonight. its like a mattress with raised sides which you put in the bed and i guess makes it harder to roll onto lo or cover them with duvet etc.

pula - here it tends to be a bit of both, A falls asleep after a feed so she's snuggled up to me for a while, and then she ends up further away. I'd seen about those snuggle nests, but wondered if it would make some of the good things wbout co-sleeping more tricky (bf lying down, cuddles etc) - it'll be interesting to hear how you get on.

yes flippineck i might find it disturbs S to move him into it but will give it a go. i relegated DH to the spare bed last night (not that he needed much convincing) as i dont like having S in the middle and i wanted to feed lying down on the other side.

Bit of both for us, too.

We have a firm mattress and pillow. I put DS's head next to the pillow so he is well clear of the duvet. Next to the bed is his cot so he can't fall out. I tuck the duvet under me so that he can't slip under it. I also put my arm under the pillow so I can't roll over onto him.

When he wakes at 3am I usually sit up a bit and sleep with him on my shoulder.

We do have a kingsize bed so plenty of room!

pulapula our ds hated being swaddled.. didn't like a dummy and fell asleep on me often in the early days.. then he found his hands and sucking them did the trick.. along with a small comforter which I'd worn a fair bit in my bra helped settle him.. until it needed washed and then I'd have to wear it as much as possible asap!

Evening everyone,

just checking in before bedtme to see if there are any new babies today. I had the 3 dcs at home on my own today. The weather was to horrible to go out for a walk, so the 2 oldest were being hyper inside the house, which wasn't great. C is OK, but seems to be going through some sort of feeding frenzy today, feeding every 1.5h. She used to go 3h, so not sure what's the matter with her, it feels like a growth spurt sort of behaviour, but it seems a bit early for that. The others dcs didn't mind me sitting in the sofa feeding C most of the day. So can't complain really.

Congratulations Emmab Lovely birth story. Sounds like you're still on a high from the experience!

Frazzled hope things speed up again for you soon.

cosleeping C tends to sleep with her head around my chest area in a little cocoon formed by my legs, which are pulled up and my arm which is underneath my head (I always sleep like that). I pull the duvet down, so it's not over her. I slept in that position with the other 2 as well and it worked well for me. I also keep her just in her vest as I'm a bit worried about overheating her.

Euromum Hope your move goes well.

Detsy Enjoy your first night at home.

Pula I'd love a postnatal thread. That title sounds fine to me.

Tomorrow dh should be home again somewhere in the afternoon. Yay, I'll have survived 3 days on my own!

Goodnight everyone. May those of you without babies all go into labour overnight and those with babies have a lovely sleepy baby tonight

I was too worried to co sleep most of the time.. and the times we did was by accident.. I'd mostly fallen asleep half sitting up in bed early am or in a position much like llareggub describes.

Evening everyone. G finally has gone to sleep after a 4.5 hour feeding frenzy this evening. So I'm cream crackered and my nips are v. sore ! I just hope it means he will sleep for a fair bit now.

Congrats to Dets and Emmabsmom. I love reading birth announcements and stories... makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

Hugs to all struggling with BFing, very difficult and stressful situations for you all. I am half thinking of switching to FF simply because it takes ages and is un-flexible because only I can feed G, I am feeling a bit tied down to him, so much so that I am not spending much time with the DDs as a result. I have given myself a month to see how I feel then because it is easier at night, in some ways.

Frazz really hope things move on for you

Belgian you should be very proud of yourself for coping with 3DC for 3 days, including a weekend. Well done you.

Jenn hope the nips improve. I thought mine would be hard and leathery after DD2 chewed them but had the same old sore nips this time around too. It sucks. Hope you get some good advice from BFN and the milk helps.

Flippin take care of yourself & ((Hugs)) because you are feeling down

FiK so sorry to hear about Douglas. V v sad. ((Hugs)) to you too.

Sorry if I missed anyone. I can't keep up as broadband has been down for 2 days.

Sleep well all.x

My waters have definately gone and are still going.... Going to hospital to be assessed so hopefully things will kick off and I have LO tonight. No major contractions yet but have had a few minor ones. Wish me luck!!

good luck febes ! be thinking of you and sending quick labour vibes.

belgian, well done for making it on your own with 3 DCs. my 1st day is next wed and even then it's a nursery day for dd1&2 so just have to time feeding right and somehow get the older 2 dressed without them stalling.

emmabsmom, great birth story. ikwym about being hit by a bus... take lots of baths (tea tree oil), arnica, glass of wine...

sorry not name checking anyone else. have just fed Harper and am falling asleep on this keyboard. good night.

belgian, well done for making it on your own with 3 DCs. my 1st day is next wed and even then it's a nursery day for dd1&2 so just have to time feeding right and somehow get the older 2 dressed without them stalling.

emmabsmom, great birth story. ikwym about being hit by a bus... take lots of baths (tea tree oil), arnica, glass of wine...

sorry not name checking anyone else. have just fed Harper and am falling asleep on this keyboard. good night.

Good morning - am not that happy to see I have the unfortunate honour of being the first one awake! Can't sleep as I'm stupidly worrying about today's move/cleaning house/sorting it all out. Feels like it'll never be ok but of course it will.

Belgian very well done on your 3 days without dh, you should be very proud of yourself for managing especially over a weekend. Sure it'll be a relief when he gets back though.

Detsy congratulations! Both names are lovely. Hope you're recovering ok from the blood loss. And great to hear that dd is happy! Dany congrats too - PE and hospital cock ups sounds truly horrible, I hope you are ok and things go well now you're at home.

Well had better head back to bed in the hope that I have chilled out a bit. Hope none of you are awake for a good while yet and all get lots of lovely sleep.

Meant to say good luck febes!

Have just sent fb friend requests to a few of you and feel like I have been spamming everyone. So will stop there, nothing personal to those I haven't asked yet! Def off to bed now, happily the brain is shutting down again.

Just a quick one from me, am gutted to say that things are going nowhere here. Can't believe it, have had such a bad experience this time and I'm starting to foresee a c-section. I've had 3 applications of prostin gel, two days of regular but non-progressive contractions so I'm exhausted and just so upset that after all the contractions of the last week nothing is moving on. Bah. Maybe today things will be better.