Angels and Rainbows - The beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. But it can provide colour and hope.

[Whatevertheweather]

“Rainbow Babies” is the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn’t mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath. What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counter balance of color, energy and hope.

too thankyou for sharing your birthing story. I really hope the dog gets used to maia. Make sure you spend some time with the dog without maia, aswell.

too Thank you for sharing your precious first moment with Maia Bean. I hope today passes calmly for you both.

Happy 1st Birthday Thea, hope you have a party in the clouds.xx
I will light a candle for Thea today, I am thinking of you both.xx

Happy birthday Thea xxx
Too a section is fine isn t it? I was surprised at how easy it is. Glad all went well just keep an eye on your wound mine became infected as I hadn t been drying it thoroughly enough. Wasn t painful just a bit smelly !! Nice!!! So I self treated with a week of AB been fine since. Enjoy your " babymoon" xxxxx
Love & cuddles to your dog also. Xxx
Hi all xxx

Ah Too thanks for sharing Maia's birth story. Can't believe you can still get bumped when you're sitting in the operating theatre! That must have been hard. She sounds so perfect. Hope your dog will get used to her soon. What type is it?

I seem to have done something to be my back/hip/buttock area. Keep getting shooting pains and aches from there down my leg into my knee on left hand side. Very painful couldn't sleep last night at all and am walking with a limp and struggled to get my knickers on this morning Came out of nowhere yesterday early evening. Am working from home this morning but supposed to drive and see a client this afternoon but am having serious doubts whether I'll be able to use the clutch properly. Ouch!

Meant to say Happy Birthday and floaty kisses to Thea. I hope today passes as peacefully as possible Too. I will light a candle for her here this evening xxx

wtw sounds like sciatica, o had horrible pains on my left hip into my bum and down the leg. It wad worse when either standing up or going upstairs and putting my weight just on that leg. My midwife did say she could have referred me to physio but as I struggled along with it for 32 weeks was s bit late

too thank you for sharing your story and so glad maia is doing so well. And happy birthday thea xx

I am doing ok, just really tired as rose is a constant feeder, sometimes I think it would be better to just go to bottles as maybe I am not feeding her enough but then feel guilty for thinking that would be best.

On sat it will be a year since Grace was born and we still haven't done anything with her ashes, I am finding it really hard to decide what to do and not sure I am ready to part with them yet.

shakey sympathies on the tiredness, its a killer. Entirely your choice on the bottles, but just wanted to chip in and say constant feeding is completely and utterly normal in a young BF baby. You almost certainly will be making enough milk. Their tummies are just tiny and BM is very easily digested so they can be hungry again very soon after a feed.

Nearly a year for you and Grace It was only by Bobbie's birthday that we'd managed to order her gravestone. These things take a while. No need to part with her ashes if you don't want to. Have you considered getting a nice urn or similar to display?

too lovely to read your birthstory. Happy birthday lovey Thea xxx

I am shocked. Just went on the wii for first time since Freya was about 2 weeks old. Since then I have lost 1st 7lbs!! That has officially gasted my flabber. Sitting down with choc to repair damage. I am lighter than I have been in years by some margin. Magical (scary) breastfeeding

Shakey- we still have Zoe's ashes, we keep them in her bedroom. Although we are saving for a memorial plot in the crematorium and we are thinking of burying them there. But there is no rush.

Spilt- wow! I will defo be breast feeding the next baby (if it ever happens).

Too birthday wishes to Thea for tomorrow, I hope you don't get too weepy but then a good cry is sometimes what we need > Really enjoyed reading your birth story, keep us up to date on how Maia settles in with the dog, if you get time... you might remember we've got a dog / puppy, he's 10 months old now and quite big and hyper so I'm a bit worried how he'll be with a baby. We keep him in the conservatory most of the time unless he's pottering around the kitchen with me, which I feel guilty about, but he chews wires and shoes and the kids toys otherwise. And he jumps up all the time which is also a concern with my expanding bump.
wtw I've got that in my right hip :( had it with Jacob too. It's not crippling but is rather painful. Physio might be a good idea, I'm going to try aqua-natal. I did yoga for it last time but I don't really want to do that again - it helped with my back but i'm paranoid about yoga and pregnancy now!
shakey ditto what spilt says - constant feeding is par for the course and a good sign... she'll be getting enough milk for sure.
spilt that's good going :)

Shakey I constantly fed Phoebe for about the first 6 weeks!!! We still have Georgie's ashes. We scattered some at a park near us & near my mums but we ve kept the rest . Sending you love for Grace xxx oh & Rose.xxxx
Spilt you Jammy bugger even when I was breastfeeding I didn t loose any weight. My weight is the same as it was 3 months ago , well now ,4:5 lbs lighter since re-joining Slimming world last week!!! I m so envious of you!!! I wish I had lost it through breast feeding

Shakey just to say the same as everyone else totally normal to feed so often (bloody exhausting though!) How is her weight gain? Katie was a boob monster (didn't lose weight like split though, wow!! Definitely prescribe some chocolate ) Do you have any plans for Grace's birthday?

I had a look a sciatica and it does sound like that - followed a link to pelvic girdle pain which is apparently common in pregnancy and it sounds exactly like that. Apparently the midwife may be able to give me some exercises to do. Found it totally impossible to turn over in bed last night. Aquanatal is a good idea August think I might try that too. Sorry you're suffering too.

too candle lit here for Thea. I hope you have had a gentle day today.

Just been to be weighed for slimming world and I have lost three pounds, so pretty happy with that. Going to start cycling three times a week, going for the bronze medal.

wtw really feel for you with the sciatica, I had lower back pain for the second half of my pg with Fi, I coughed at work one day and pulled a mucsle, that ended up going into spasm and I got admited to hospital as they were not sure if it was a kidney stone. Crazy. So take it easy as you get heavier, dont want you pulling something and being in pain.

wtw hope it's not PGP, I've heard about that . Did you have it with Katie or Erin? Def talk to MW and I would ask for a physio referal if I was you.

Sorry all, just a bit at the weight change. Though having thought about all afternoon a bit, I've remembered I used to weigh this much back at university before I went on the pill. So maybe this is what I should be and have been carrying around an extra lump due to that for years... and then the babyweight as well. Ho hum. And Freya is always bloody feeding which possibly contributes!

Re the BLW, I meant to respond to angel and fan about this. Angel as I say I'm terrified about choking but from what I've read, BLW carries less choking risk than traditional weaning with purees. The logic to this is explained in this book which I recommend if you're considering it. The logic goes something like this:

• A baby's gag reflex at age 6 months ish is triggered by objects quite far forward in their mouths, so they will gag and spit up foods that are actually still quite some distance from their airway. Over the next few months this reflex slowly moves back towards the back of the mouth, so when finger foods are traditionally introduced after some time on purees (say more like 9mo, not sure tbh) the baby is more likely to get food further back in their mouth when they don't know how to chew it/move it around safely. Gagging is protective, and helps get rid of objects that are choking hazards.

• When weaning with purees, spoon fed, the baby learns to receive the food and swallow straight away, and then later has to learn some things need chewing and can't just be swallowed (presumably by trial and error). But with BLW they have to chew from the start.

• If they get to pick up and handle something before it goes in their mouth then they have a better idea of the shape/size/texture and aren't taken by surprise.

-There was also some stuff saying that a baby's ability to pick up and put small bits of food in their mouth develops after their ability to chew it and control moving it around in their mouth. I think the first thing is they can pick up big things and gnaw and chew (but everything falls out/is gagged out), second they can chew and move food around their mouth (which they can then swallow), third they develop the pincer grip (thumb and forefinger) that lets them pick up peas, berries, bits of rice etc - ie the small bits we fret about.

So whilst I am nightly crapping myself in terror at the dinner table I keep trying to remind myself that she can't live on milk forever and this is alledgedly a very safe way to do things.

And she is learning very quickly. Occasionally the odd bit gets eaten now. We started just with cucumber sticks, tomato quarters, entire halves of kiwi, hunk of pineapple, so stuff she just gummed for juice and flavour. She's now happy to gum an oatcake - it disintegrates and she chews it, and most falls back out onto her bib but I think some was eaten tonight. Scary, but soon she'll get it and then can relax. So goes the theory. And I have learnt how to deal with a choking baby. Remember that dangerous choking is silent. Gagging comes with noise and usually they can sort that out themselves.

Sorry that was long and waffly, but just thought would share what I had read. It's scary though! Good luck when the time comes, sure it will all be fine and we are panicking unnecessarily like mums! xx

I think I had similar with Katie but right at the end maybe 36 weeks plus. I remember having to do some dances to try and get my knickers on With Erin I was 34+6 when she was born and hadn't had it by then. I wonder if it's the 2 pregnancies close together. I am more hoping it'll clear up not get worse.

Split I did BLW with K after reading about it on here. Don't remember her gagging on anything and I have never had any problems with her eating. She's totally unfussy with food and never rejected lumpier meals as she got older. May have been more luck than judgement though. I did do some jars/purees if I needed her to eat quick and did things like porridge in the mornings. Lots if variety is good and gets their mouths used to all different ways of eating.

Hello people, thank you for all the birthday wishes for Thea. We've had an okay day, all things considered. MW came out at 12 to see Maia and me, and Maia has slept almost all day, with a couple of hour-long feeds in between. We went down to the cemetery and introduced Bean to Thea, which was very sad and we all cried (Mum and stepfather were there too). Then we went for a little walk to test-drive the pram. DH and I had a nap and got 2 hours sleep, only to wake up panicking because Bean hadn't cried...we are totally neurotic! The doctor from the hospital called and said they'd decided in hindsight to put Maia on antibiotics until she can be seen by the kidney specialist, just in case, and we've to pick up the prescription tomorrow. The dog has been a bit of a pest - whining constantly, running around the room and generally being really disturbed and miserable, and making everyone else disturbed and miserable too. We're going to call a dog behaviourist that helped Mum sort out her puppy tomorrow, just to be sure that we're doing the right things. He's a whippet cross Staffie, Wtw. August, I'll keep you posted - his problem seems to be anxiety (he also suffers from separation anxiety), but I'm a bit stumped about how to deal with it.

Spilt, that is an amazing weightloss! I know what I weighed in kilos last Thursday, but it doesn't mean anything to me - I'll have to put it into a converter. I want a 1 stone 7 weightloss too, please! Angel, are you still breastfeeding?

Wtw, I had sciatica and SPD in both pregnancies. It was worse earlier with Maia, but it calmed down a lot towards the end, weirdly. It was very bad at maybe 25 weeks. I was really not very mobile at all last week - I can walk much more easily now despite the CS scar. Get thee to a physio ASAP and hopefully they can help.

My boobs have grown massively today! Think tomorrow they will be practically square . Tomorrow is the first weigh-in and heel prick for Maia. Not looking forward to that!

Too glad today was ok. Tomorrow will be fine they re very resilient & tough our babies. Hope you get some answers with your dog , luckily our remaining cat has been fine. A bit clingy at times but sniffs Phebs but not really that interested. There again she was always more interested in her food!!!! Yes, I m still breast feeding but intermittently maybe once a day to put her on. My milk on it's own doesn t seem to be enough for her. It's lovely to take your little girl out in the pram for the first time Ian t it? Though your circumstances today were sad also. Our first trip out was to a pub!!! It was a lovely sunny day we walked through a lovely park near us & sat outside the pub having lunch & a gorgeous cider. ( it was bliss considering I hadn t had a drink for nearly 2 years!!! Of course " Little Angels
" rung ( a local breast feeding support service) I didn t answer as didn t want them to know we were at the pub with Phebs 4 days old!!!!
Enjoy xxxx
Fan well done. Get you going for your medals!!! I didn t declare any exercise to go for any of them as couldn t be bothered!!! Makes you feel a lot better doesn t it? I feel thinner!! Stupid I know & today I wore a coat I ve not worn for a bit as was way too tight. . Keep it up xxx
Spilt thanks for that advice. The literature is all very confusing & conflicting . She is fine on her milk at the moment I ll put it off as long as poss I think!!! I asked my HV & got told " read your leafet" yeh, thanks for nothing!! Crap, crap, crap!!!
Another momentous step tomorrow Phebs is leaving her pram & going in to her pushchair!!! Been considering it for a couple of weeks and today she was so bored in her pram when we re out she just sleeps. So, we ve tried it in the house & tomorrow the outside world!!!
Oh, my baby is growing up too quickly !!
Love to all xxxxx

wtw great to hear from someone out the other end of this weaning malarky, and fab that you've got an unfussy eater and at the lack of gagging. Is a frequent feature here and makes me sweat!

Glad you've had an ok day too, that first introduction of your babies is very bittersweet and strange ((hugs)). Hope the ABs are easy to administer. What do you have to do? Argh yes, the mad engorgement when milk comes in!! That does calm down after a bit when your body figures out that you don't have triplets or something. I found it helped to express a little bit off at the start of each feed as I was so full Freya couldn't latch on - nipple had half disappeared. If they'll do the heel prick whilst she's feeding she'll hardly notice it - a tip from my MW who was great.

fan congrats on the medal! Hope you enjoy the cycling. Do you do on or off road?

Aaw angel sad days packing away the pram top, it goes so fast. Hope she enjoys getting to see more of the world

Love to all xx

Split I was thinking back to weaning K and I remember that when she did have something too big to swallow she would fairly elegantly and calmly do a retch type thing and bring it back into her mouth and chew it some more!! I think because she didn't panic I didn't and I got more confidence she would be able to deal with bigger bits. I do remember constantly chanting 'chew chew chew' in case she forgot though

Too glad yesterday passed 'okay'. Ouch to engorgement though. Hope Maia's weigh in and heel prick go okay today.

Moving on to a pushchair Angel big day xx

Think I'm going to have to try and go to a physio. My leg is actually throbbing even when I'm sat still today. I wonder if my gardening efforts on Sunday have triggered it.

Spilt I did blw with both my 5 year old and 8 year old and it went really well, I plan on doing the same with Ella when she's ready. Won't be for a while yet though obviously! I wouldn't worry too much about the gagging, it's a natural reflex.

Angel we waited until 6 months for weaning, there wasn't any need before that, any increased hunger is better filled with milk imo as there are more calories in it than the tiny amounts of food they'd eat for of all. The food is for fun until one phrase always helped me :)

Too once your supply settles down then your boobs won't be so full don't worry! Mine feel almost empty sometimes now but it's all normal and doesn't mean that you don't have enough milk either. Happy birthday to Thea, sorry I missed it. I hope you were ok. How much does Maia weigh now and hope the heel prick test went well. Lovely birth story but how disappointing to get bumped when you were so close! That must have been awful, all that build up and having to do it all over again.

Whatever I had pgp with Scarlett but not this time, it was quite painful and had some physio.

fan That's a great weightloss, well done!

shakey could it be a growth spurt? Some babies do just feed a lot and it's perfectly normal, as long as she's alert and having wet and dirty nappies then you will be giving her plenty :)

razz hope you're ok, numbers sound low to me

blizy oops, that's really embarrassing!

I have a feeding app on my phone which helps me remember which side do use and also how long she feeds for and how long between etc, it's called ibaby feed if anyone's interested. You can input manually as well as as you are feeding, I find it really helpful.

Ella had her hospital checkup today, it all went well and she now weighs 6lb 13 :) She'll be 6 weeks on saturday so with her adjusted age that will make her just a newborn baby! She's staying awake a lot more now which is good and still feeding well, sleeping for between 1 and a few hours between feeds which is all normal and she's nice and alert.

Bean failed her weigh-in...sort of. She's lost slightly more than 10%, so we are now doing 3 hourly feeding. She went down from 6lb 5 to 5lb 10, and the MW is coming tomorrow to weigh her again and see what effect the 3 hourly feeding is having. It was really hard to wake her up the first time to feed. I think my latch wasn't the greatest last night, so she was feeding ineffectively, so DH and I are both totally focused on latching now. The heel prick made me cry!

Cheese, that's great that Ella is doing so well! Will that be her at 40 weeks equivalent, then?

Love to everyone else. Razz, getting close now!

Too Arh bless xxx don t worry about the weight loss .Phoebe lost 12% of her body weight initially was told to feed her 3 hourly!! Now we re told that's too much feed her 4 hourly!!! Xxx
Cheese all sounds well. sounds like you ve had good experiences of BLW. X
Love to all xxx

Great news on Ella cheese perfect size for full term

Too am sure Maia will quickly pick those few ozs up with 3 hourly feeds. Hope the mw visit was positive today.

I made a positive step and ordered a dress from Isabella Oliver for a wedding at the end of April - it was in the sale and I couldn't resist. Must be starting to think I might actually stay pregnant! It arrived today along with a top I might also have ordered makes my non existent in normal clothes bump suddenly look 6 months gone!!

Hello ladies
Sorry i havent been about much, life seems to have become an orbit of hospital appointments and last minute organisation!!!
too Im so sorry I missed Thea's birthday, really pleased you got through it and managed to introduce baby Maia to her big sister. Lovely to read your birth story and hear that you have coped with the section well, Im really nervous about mine.
cheese that is a fab weight for Ella, think mine will pop out at that tomorrow
angel I remember the pram to pushchair swap, it comes round way too soon.
I am in a real rush so must dash, am taking my ipad to hospital tomorrow so will update as soon as I can. So bloody nervous!!!!

razz good luck, you will be fine, and your little one will be in your arms before you know it. Cant wait to hear the news and the name. All these rainbow babies being born its crazy! I will keep my phone updated cant wait to hear.

Ive taken today and tomorrow off, been feeling really down this week, had a little break down at work, managed to hide it from the guys. But Im struggling a bit, feel like a big fat failure sometimes. The thoughts of not being a proper woman coz I cant have a live baby, and then I cant carry a baby due to the cp last year. And now I cant get pg, its all to much sometimes. DH has been very supportive today (hes off aswell) and we went for a little shopping trip to ikea and got some things for the house. I feel better this evening, its all thanks to DH. Just wish I could feel happier, Im trying, really trying, keeping myself active. Maybe its because its Ophelia's birthday next month, I dont know. I just keep thinking about what I was doing last year at this time, waddling around, not a care in the world, enjoying the warmth of the spring sun. So unfair! Sorry for the downer girls!

Razz, tomorrow, wow! What are you doing tonight? Are you all packed? Hope you manage to get some sleep and don't spend the last hour before leaving for the hospital freaking about movements. What time is your section booked for? I hope you don't get interrupted by any emergencies. I can't wait to hear of LO's safe arrival! Everything will be fine.

Fan, you are NOT a failure (and you are NOT fat). I'm so glad you have your DH to help you. Spending money always makes me feel better, even though it's shallow and counter-productive because then we get broke. I felt like that a bit coming up to Thea's birthday and it must be so much worse for you.

Maia has put on 20g, yay! In 22 hours, because it wasn't quite 24. It's not much but it's heading in the right direction. She'll be weighed again on Saturday and hopefully this will have continued. She did this despite snack-feeding for hours between 11pm and 4am - waah, feed for 5/10 mins, sleep for 30 mins, waah again. I fell asleep for an hour with her balanced on my chest, but the instant I woke up and tried to put her down she cried again. My right nipple is all raw - ouch. I got maybe 2 hours sleep and then she woke up again at 5.40 and fed properly for about 40 mins - result! She went back down at nearly 7 and then woke up again at 9ish and fed pretty well in 15 minute chunks until 10.30 (nappy changing, burping etc in between). Her nappies went back to slightly greeny, which the MW says means that she wasn't getting enough hindmilk, just snacking on foremilk. Still, her weight gain is encouraging and since then she's fed and fed and fed. Had a marathon feed between 3ish and 5 - every time I thought she was finished she woke up again and wanted more. She's sleeping slightly restlessly now and we're trying not to let her feed for close to 3 hours so she's properly hungry and won't snack. Her nappies are bright yellow chicken korma again now, so it must be working! Am having wine now. I am exhausted and my boobs are enormous! Shakey, is this how you were feeling with Rose?