Well hello from the other side ladies! So sorry not to have been on earlier- I cannot believe that looking after a wee one takes so much time. I?ll fill you in on all the deets soon, but first off sparkly - how are you doing? Getting a wee bit nervous or just super excited? I am soooo excited for you ? more so than I think for Jack?s arrival! Are you getting birthing ball practice in the bath?!
And yellow - yes to swollen bits ? not uncomfortable for me, but definitely ?engorged? shall we say. I too was quite freaked out by stuff coming from boobs and had to keep reminding myself it was for a good cause.
mrsb - awesome to hear from you and glad that your appetite is back and that you have a pink one brewing. Keep well and keep us posted too.
worm - not long for you now m?dear. How are you feeling about the ELCS? Hopefully the info below might help a bit. What is this nickel thread you and sparkly mention ?could be a good thing to get me through the night feeds!
And kool and wellie - how are you both getting on? Hope all is well at your various stages of the journey.
Soooo?. Where to start? Perhaps the birth! I didn?t sleep at all well the night before but was surprisingly relaxed going into hosp and into theatre ? lovely anesthetist who I chatted to almost the whole way through the op. It was very business like, but the staff were lovely and relaxed which helped enormously. The epidural starts acting dead quick from the toes up, but it wears off from the chest down which was kind of weird, but glad I was told about it. The epidural made me feel a bit sick, but apparently that?s normal. When they started the op, it was fine but as they got into it, it was a very strange feeling - no pain, but could really feel the tugging. DH couldn?t see the area itself, but could see my ob/gyn and her assistant?s shoulders and couldn?t believe the strength they had to use ? he said it was like a rugby scrum 
. Jack came out hollering at 08.36 and they showed him to me quickly before getting DH to cut the cord (he hadn?t particularly wanted to but it was assumed he would) which he said was like cutting a bike tyre ? pretty tough! He was weighed etc (8lb 8oz!!) and then handed back to me in a towel. I got a bit panicky at that point as they had started with the syntocin (sp?) drip to help with the uterus contractions which I felt really high up towards my chest and really felt I was struggling breathing and something was very wrong as I could feel them so strongly, added to which they put Jack on my chest above my boobs which didn?t help with the feeling I couldn?t breathe. Lovely anesthetist gave me a shot of pethadine which really helped and put me in a lovely floaty feeling! Got wheeled through to recovery for a while (looking back I have no idea how long) before going through to one of the maternity rooms and get this ? none of the ?normal? rooms were available so we got to go to the presidential suite!! Hilarious! Think gold sofas, a separate sitting room, huge spare double bedroom, pantry and wet room! Unfortunately we were turfed out of there at around 8pm into a ?normal? private room but still a lovely big size with a sofa bed for DH. We stayed in 3 nights in the end ? could have stayed 4 but we were keen to get home. Pediatrician was happy with Jack and ob/gyn happy with me, other than keeping telling me to take it easy. It was odd as I really wasn?t in any pain with the wound at the time and for about 5 days after but it must have been the pain relief as after that, it was quite sore ? not the wound itself, just my insides ? like I?d done loads of sit-ups. It?s still a bit tender now, 2 weeks later, but I think that it partly my fault for trying to do too much. One of the big plus sides that I hadn?t thought about was the catheter ? I thought I?d hate it, but after months of going to the loo countless times in 1 day, it was a delight to just lie in bed for 24 hours and not worry about it! First time out of bed I was a bit shaky and had a nurse help me in the shower, but otherwise ok. The bleeding wasn?t half as bad as I?d expected and I?ve been on just liners for about the last 5 days. I think they suction some of the blood out during the op. Not sure I?ve covered everything here, so any questions, do ask.
Now, onto the star performer ? young Jack?. What a gorgeous bundle he is! We have renamed him guzzleguts as he feeds so much (well, it seems like that to me, but after reading some threads on mn, he?s perhaps not that bad. Sometimes goes 4 hours without a feed, at other times, barely an hour. The midwife weighed him here at home after 9 days and he was back past birthweight and it will be interesting to see how he is on thurs this week when she comes again. It?s still quite hard to believe that he?s in our lives ? a couple of times, I have forgotten about him and just remembered when I see a piece of baby stuff lying around ?does this make me a bad mum?! 
I got 3 separate nurses giving me advice on b/feeding in hosp, none of which was particularly helpful and they do seem to just shove the boob in his face ? not entirely their fault as they don?t necessarily have the time to spend with you. So, I got a lactation consultant to come and see me at home and it was the best money ever spent. She had over an hour with us and just some small changes made a big difference. I think you guys have La Leche, b/feeding cafes etc. over there which I would really encourage you to use. The other thing she said was that some women give up b/fing because of the loneliness and I can really see what she meant ? at times, I have felt manacled to the feeding chair in the nursery at night and feeling resentful that DH can?t do anything so I?ve made sure that whenever he is around, we feed with him, not by ourselves and that?s really helped. I?ve also made sure that the ipad is close to hand for night feeds, I?ve been reading lots on mumsnet ? only one hand required! ? and it really does help me feel as if I?m not alone.
So, this is all the ?hard? stuff! The great stuff is watching Jack grow and change, even in the short space of 2 weeks. I love the way he pants like a marathon runner after he?s had a big feed, his ever-changing facial expressions ? from Mr Magoo to an almost smile to shock to curiosity to contentment. I love the way he waggles his face from side to side when he?s approaching the boob and the way that I am his entire world. I love the way DH looks after him and talks to him and to spend the time wondering with DH what Jack is thinking and how he?s going to turn out. He feels so brand new and at the same time as if he?s been with us forever.
Top tips from me so far ?
- sleep when they do (hard, as you want to get on with all the other bits and pieces of every day life, but it?s so essential)
- Keep going with b/feeding ? it?s a skill to be learned by you both and it doesn?t come overnight. I haven't got it cracked quite yet, but everyone tells me it gets better from around 6 weeks.
- Try and do only 1 thing a day i.e. one trip out, one lot of visitors, update facebook etc.
- Enjoy the snuggles ? you?re not just there as a feeding and changing machine!
I?m sure there are more, but I think I should post this now before you all drop off from boredom. I have written this in word to copy and paste into mn as I?m sure I?d lose it all!
I do think of you guys often and again, sorry not to have posted before. Hopefully I can do one handed short posts now that I have posted this epic one! Lots of love and heaps of buttered crumpets to you all xx