June is approaching, the end is in sight, time to sort our lady gardens so the midwives don't get a fright - Due June 2010

[ConservativesShouldWinSurely]

30/05 GoodName, 31, #1 BOY
31/05 RnB, 31, #3
31/05 dinosaurinmybelly (DIMB), 37, #3 GIRL
31/05 - mampam, 30 #3
31/05 - minimoonumbertwo, 33, #2, BOY
1st - Appu, #1 Girl
1st - ELM, 29, #2
1st - whenwillisleepagain, 42 #2
1st - PogueMahone, 36, #3 SURPRISE
1st - madamefreckle, 34,#2 GIRL
2nd - meggymegmegs, 31, #1 SURPRISE
2nd - Justbeme , 41 #3
2nd - AlwaysHopeful, 35, #2 SURPRISE
2nd - roundabout1, no 2,
3rd - nickytwotimes, 35, #2
3rd - Jenba, ?, #3
3rd - Flossysmum, #4
3rd - marmiteaddict, 31, #1 SURPRISE
7th - MrsC09, 29 #1 SURPRISE
7th - perkster, no 1, SURPRISE
7th - Zeel, #1
8th - LittleRobbo, 35, #3 GIRL
8th - Saucepanman, 31, #4
8th - MrsAlwaysRight 31, #2
9th - greensnail, 28, #2 SURPRISE
9th - Boobz, 30, #2 SURPRISE
9th - Petitfilou, ?, 1
11th - shipsladyg GIRL
11th - woofie, 33, # 2 BOY
12th - Georgee, 38, #1 GIRL
12th - Elena67, 43 #1
13th - sobloodystupid, 34, #3
13th - WaiteH, no 1
14th - Fillybuster, 36, #3 - NOT TELLING!
15th - Ponymum, 41, # 2
15th - Millymollymoo, ?, #4 BOY
16th - NizzyNoodles, 35, #3 BOY
16th - Flossie69, 40,#2
17th - Bluesnowfalcon 28 #1 BOY
17th - Summerhols, 31, #1
17th - Barbeasty, 31, #1 GIRL
17th - chestnut100,30 #1 GIRL
17th - LateforWork,#1, SURPRISE
17th - Plum100, #3, SURPRISE
18th - Virgo1979, SURPRISE
18th - theperfectbaguette 34 #1
21st - Gizmo, 40, #3 GIRL
21st - Bubs1,?,SURPRISE
21st - Sunworshipper, 36, #1
22nd - gaelicsheep, 33, #2 - NOT TELLING
23rd - Bobolana, 29 #1 GIRL
24th - GibberingGinger 34 #2+3 BOYS
24th - lifeinthesun #2 BOY
25th - Ilovemyterrier, 38 #1 BOY
26th - herewegrow 31 #2 GIRL
26th - imkeepingmum, #1, SURPRISE
27th - muchchocolate, #2
28th - Wheredidmyfeetgo 32 #3
29th - CantSleepWontSleep, 36, #3, SURPRISE
29th - MrsDmamee #3
29th - playftseforme, 36, #2+3 BOYS
30th - MonkeyMargot, 36, #2+3 SURPRISE
30th - LaTrucha, 36, #2 BOY
30th - NotGrownUpEnough, 29, # 1, SURPRISE
30th - EssieM, 37, #1, SURPRISE
30th - Monthlymayhem, No.2, BOY

Congrats on the new arrivals

Anyone on here drinking/taking raspberry leaf tea/tablets? What are people's thoughts? Any midwives saying good/bad idea?

Look forward to comments x

Hi BSF I'm taking the raspberry leaf tablets from Holland and Barret and they don't half bring on the Braxton Hicks, which seems like a good idea at 38 weeks plus! Haven't mentioned it to the mw - I suuppose I should so I'll tell her on Weds.
Congratulations to all the new arrivals - we've been VERY busy for a June board!

Hello,
home from the hospital now with baby Fergus. He was 8lb when he was born and is so cute (in my opinion). Turned out I was in labour after all. Posted on here at 3:00 and had the baby in the pool at 9:00. Got to go to the midwife led unit at Ninewells and it was fantastic. They very much let you do your own thing and just help out where you want. Ended up doing the whole thing in the pool with no pain relief, there was just no time to think about it really. Got gas and air for the stitches (2nd degree tear when he shoved his little hand out) and that was rather lovely. Stayed in for 2 days as he was very sleepy and did not want to feed so they wanted to make sure breastfeeding was established. Was hardly like being in hospital though as its a very small unit with just 4 beds and I was only one in on the second night. Very impressed with the whole place and the midwives.
Felt quite freaked out going home today though, it was like the whole world had changed hugely in 2 days. Its is nice to be home with Fergus though. Have not slept since the birth for longer than 10 minutes so sorry if this makes no sense. the first night I could not sleep even tho he was good and last night he just fed and would not go in his crib at all. Will see what tonight brings, will be nice to have DH to help out (he is very smitten).
Am managing to BF and it seems to be going alright but it is a little painful and I have a couple of little blisters on each breast. Midwife said my positioning looked fine but I am not sure. Any advice gratefully received.
Thats all for now but have posted photos.
OH huge congrats Mampam, Tilly's a lovely name, I have niece called Matilda so she gets that for short. Hope evrything is going wonderfully for you.

Congrats goodname on baby Fergus - cool name! Just peeped at your profile and seen the pics - he is a real cutie!
Your birth story sounds fantastic - well done you for doing it all without pain relief! This will give all the other first timers some comfort that a first labour isn't necessarily long, laborious and painful.
If you are unsure about Fergus' positioning on the breast, I would contact a breast-feeding counsellor. You will get very sore with blisters and it would be a shame to be put off BF due to discomfort. (A friend of mine BF for 4 months with the baby not properly latched on - and suffered terribly. It was only when she went on a trip to Australia that a BF counsellor got her sorted).
Don't worry about the sleep deprivation - the body is a wonderfully resilient thing and hopefully you will get a chance to catch up and have some daytime naps now you are home. Congrats again!!!!

Goodname - Well done and congratulations! Fergus looks so adorable! The unit where you gave birth sounds lovely. I really hope you manage to get some sleep - but you were making complete sense! The only advice I can give with the feeding is to just keep persevering. At the beginning, the only time I could get ds to latch on properly was when he was really screaming so had his mouth REALLY wide open. For me it was pretty awful for a few weeks but, however long it takes, it will get much much easier.

Congratulations Goodname - Fergus is gorgeous!

Congrats to gizmo, meggy, greensnail, mampam and goodname! Fab pictures - what beautiful babies.

Just checking in really. No news, just a few tightenings/pains on Friday and nothing since. Still, have a whole two weeks to go.

Fingers crossed for some more lovely new arrivals this week (particularly for those that are really uncomfortable!). I was at the end of my tether with discomfort last week mooching about the house but a weekend at the inlaws has proved a good distraction so feel a bit more able to cope now.

Congratulations goodname! And Fergus is indeed a good name. I was trying to remember just the other day who on here it was who was also considering using it (is off our list now, but I still love it).
Re breastfeeding - if it's still sore then please call one of the breastfeeding helplines, as latch is really something that needs to be checked in person, not over the internet . The numbers are all on the RHS of this page.

Nothing much to report here. Still breech .

Congratulations Goodname. He is a cutie! Well done you. Lovely birth story. I agree with CSWS, plus bear in mind that MW get very little bf training (I have this from a recently qualitfied MW). I would add that one thing that is very good on very sore nipples is Jelonet. Your DH will find it in the burns section in a good pharmacy. It comes in a sheet but you can cut of a square and keep it in your bra between feeds. It's very good.

Have you got a local BF group? A quick google found this, but it's from 2008

Cupar Breastfeeding Group
c/o 14 Kirkgate, Cupar. KY15 5AL
01334 655526
Updated 20/03/08

There do seem to be a few in Fife, but I don't know the geography. Willing to look further, if you're interested.

Huge congratulations to you goodname- I was wondering what was going on after your last post, which sounded so promising! It sounds like you had a brilliant experience for a first time labour and Fergus looks lovely. Good luck with establishing breastfeeding-I won't offer advice as there are others on the thread much better qualified. Hope you manage a little more sleep now you're home, but your body does just deal with it somehow.

I've had millions of painless braxton hicks today, but no other signs, so don't think labour is imminent, tho dh seems to be finally grasping the reality of the situation and going into organisational overdrive... He's been a star this weekend actually, looking after the boys while I lie in, getting house move stuff sorted and keeping up my supply of ice lollies.

Hope everyone else is doing well, especially those of you newly home with little ones

Hooray goodname! Fergus is absolutely beautiful. Really glad dh is smitten too, isn't it an amazing feeling?! Am very jealous of what sounds like an ideal birth, the unit sounds fab. The nipple blisters sound horrendous, as another first timer I'm afraid I've no advice but lots of sympathy. All I'd say is that IME it does get easier.

Now try and get some sleep whenever you can and keep enjoying it!

thanks all for congrats and advice, really appreciate it.
another night with no sleep and somehow i dont care too much. fergus cant seem to sleep flat on his back, he seems to have really bad wind and makes a gagging noise, he was quite distressed last night. we took turns with him lying on our chests but dh kept going to sleep and sliding down til he was flat and baby would choke again so i mostly had him. seems better this morn but think he is getting too used to sleeping on us. ahh is this normal? midwife coming today so will ask her, will ask about bf groups in area too - thanks la t for contact, will check it out.

feeling hugely overflowing with emotions today, love and fear being predominant.

oh also wondering what to do about visitors, so many people want to come over, had about 15 in 1 hour in hosp and full house, yesterday lovely too see everyone but they all want a hold and worried this could be contributing to bad sleeping at night. should i be mean and just not let anyone hold him or should i just get over myself? so many things as a new mum, you never know if you are getting right or not, its terrifying

hope many more good birth stories to come

You need to assign crowd control to one person (dh most likely) goodname, and limit visitors to a number that you're comfortable with for the first week or two, until you feel settled.

Ds slept on dh or I for the first 13 weeks I'm afraid. Whilst not 'normal' per se it isn't uncommon. After that we discovered that he would sleep on his front, but absolutely not on his back. Obviously not ideal, so I wouldn't recommend it until everything else has been tried, but it was that or nothing for us! Remember that he has been inside you for 9 months, so it's a big shock to him, and sleeping on you is his way of staying close and feeling secure, esp as he can still hear your heartbeat that way, which is a familiar sound to him.

Congratulations Goodname Fergus is adorable and well done on such a positive birth experience

Congtatulations on all the safe deliveries! Tilly and Fergus... so cute! I am very envious. Had a very painful afternoon with BH contractions yesterday and thought maybe it was my turn, but feeling normal again today. Not my due date until wednesday and i went 5 days over last time so i guess i just need to settle back down and try to relax

I wouldn't worry about him getting too used to sleeping on you at this stage goodname. ds was very similar inthe early days- he needed the security of lying on a nice warm body and hearing a heartbeat, as csws said. He'll figure out about night and day in his own sweet time, and sleep will come more easily once his digestion's settled down a bit. It wasn't long at all in the grand scheme of things before ds settled in his Moses basket (swaddling helped). It sounds like you're giving him the comfort and reassurance he needs to adapt to the outside world at this stage, so just sleep and eat whenever you can to keep your strength up. If that means turning visitors away, that's fine. They'll understand, especially if they've had kids themselves. Good luck

Congratulations goodname - welcome to the world Fergus. Sounds like you had a really good birth.

greensnail got my souffle and it was lush!!

Starting to finally get organised this weekend. Baby clothes and bedding washed and cot built. DD1 seems to be settling into her new bed really well. Need to get hospital bag packed still.

Congratulations Goodname what a gorgeous little boy you have. So glad you had a good birth experience too.

DH is just putting together the new barbecue so he can take over kitchen duties once the baby arrives. Could murder a glass of rose now.

Congratulations goodname he really is gorgeous. You sound very much like me after the birth of DD1. I also developed blisters a couple of days in, I think my latch wasn't great to start with but quickly got better as DD and I both got more experienced and confident. In the meantime loads of lansinoh helped and definitely if you're not convinced the latch is right keep asking people to check until you come across the right person to help you. Sometimes tiny adjustments can make a huge difference.

I also managed no sleep at all for the first 3 nights when DD1 was born and I felt fine, but the hormones and tiredness really kicked in on the 4th night and everything fell apart a bit and I think DH thought I was going mad. I hope this doesn't happen to you (although I quickly recovered from my minor breakdown the next day), but please do try and get some sleep when you can.

Lots of babies this age will only sleep on you. Its very early days so don't worry about getting him into bad habits, he won't be this tiny for ever. DD1 was exactly the same and we managed to get her sleeping on her side next to me in bed at about 5 days, and then swaddled in the moses basket a few days later.

All still well here with the new arrival, but have just found out one of DD1's friends who we saw on friday came out with chicken pox spots on friday night. Hopefully we're not about to get it here too!

Congratulations Goodname and well done on the safe arrival of baby Fergus It sounds like you are both doing brilliantly together! You'll get lots of support for baby sleeping on you on MN, but if you want to try something else, we found that propping a folded up towel under the head end of DS' crib, so it was at a slight angle, really helped. DS also suffered really badly from wind, especially at night, and things improved no end once we got better at getting the burps out...which sometimes took twice as long as the feed!! The advantage was that once he had got the wind out he slept really well, which didn't happen, even on us, when he was still a bit windy.

Small blisters on your nipples are fairly normal (use lansinoh too!) as they toughen up, but anything worse and you should def get your positioning and latch checked

I've picked up a flu bug from somewhere and am feeling utterly run down and pants...hoping it passes by tomorrow as I've got an afternoon in hospital for another growth scan and consultant check and can't face it whilst feeling like death warmed up....

thanks so much for saying blisters are normal everyone. midwife was reasuring also and suggested rugby ball hold for a little while to let them heal. you just want to make sure what you are doing is ok all the time cos everythnig is so new and scary. thanks for sleeping stories a;so, feeling much more reassured now

Congratulations Goodname!! Fergus is utterly adorable!

Well my due date is today and no signs of anything yet Getting a few Braxton Hicks but they're not developing into anything. Really want my baby soon!

Congratulations mampam on Tilly and goodname on Fergus. I think all the other advice you've had goodname about bf is really sensible, so won't add anything. And same with the visitors!

Can't believe DD, Alice, is 12 days old today. MW back tomorrow and as long as she's back up to birth weight, I get discharged to health visitors (will be interesting to see if they've improved in the last three years since I had anything to do with them). I think bf is going ok - had forgotten just how fast everything goes through a small baby and how watery it is. DH says it was definitely the same with the last one.

DH is back to work tomorrow for a couple of days, home again Thurs and Fri, and then really back to work. Am feeling fine about days when I'm at home with Alice, but worrying about the other days when both she and DS are around together.

Mamatomany - Thanks for the link to the sheepskins. Great stuff.