Feb/March 2023 Birth Club

[TeddyBeans]

Hello my lovelies! I thought I'd make a post birth thread so we can continue our chats now that our little ones are earthside. Feel free to tap out!

20/1 - botleybump 💓 (due 23/2)
10/2 - Amy1303 💙 (due 27/3)
12/2 - Babynum2 💙 (due 5/3)
12/2 - Cams50 💙 (due 2/3)
13/2 - LizziBee 💙
14/2 - BabyNumber3OnTheWay 💙 (due 28/2)
18/2 - Ubbee 💙 (due 27/2)
19/2 - beatingheartbaby 💓 (due 14/3)
21/2 - suchardchoccy 💓 (due date baby!)
22/2 - muminlndn 💓
24/2 - saltandpepperr 💙 (due 6/3)
24/2 - mrs2022 💙 (due 24/3)
25/2 - JTB123 💓 (due 1/3)
25/2 - Splashh 💓 (due 8/3)
26/2 - GreenIsle 💓 (due 7/3)
26/2 - LaForza101 💙 (due 3/3)
27/2 - EastyBaby19 💙 (due 4/3)
27/2 - Katdemar 💙 (due 4/3)
28/2 - TeddyBeans 💓 (due 26/2)
1/3 - Franklin123 💓 (due 13/3)
2/3 - Thirdtimesacharm3 💙 (due 6/3)
2/3 - allthingssparkly 💙 (due 6/3)
3/3 - Blondewave 💙
3/3 - June628 💓 (due 8/3)
3/3 - Noodle20 💓 (due 7/3)
6/3 - Shep21 💓 (due 18/3)
7/3 - MoronikaFaceache 💓 (due 1/3)
7/3 - Room4onemore 💓 (due 17/3)

I have my 6 week check next week and I'm going to try my hardest to push to have my tubes tied. The mental health midwife said they should let me do it due to my PTSD and anxiety but may question it because I'm only 28.

I'm absolutely petrified of getting pregnant again as Arnie was conceived on the copper coil after only having it in a year after a miscarriage which was conceived on the pill. I have such hard pregnancies and I am high risk because I had a bloodclot in my first pregnancy which also means I cannot have estrogen now so limited to what contraception i can have anyway.

I've not stopped thinking about this conversation I'm going to have with the doctor since I've given birth!

@havananana i was just googling this to see what the guidance is! It’s really not very clear 🤷🏼‍♀️

@GreenIsle thank you, I seriously hope it doesn't last long for her, it's terrifying!

@havananana in wondering this too. So far tummy time is just on me or DH but I think we're a bit behind in getting some proper tummy time on the floor. I haven't a clue how to do it as she lifts her head quite a lot bit then let's it flop down fast! I don't want her to headbutt the floor.

@BabyTalbot1 I don't dare let her in our bed, seen after reading the lullaby trust advice on it. Luckily she settles well in her next to me at night but will not tolerate it when it's light outside 😂 I'm reassured it's not just me that gets worried about things

@havananana we started tummy time when she was about 3 weeks old. She has a proper polar bear mat with toys and a kidney bean shaped cushion to lay on. It's adorable! You can start with a couple of minutes a few times a day but even them laying on you counts as tummy time so all the cuddles are perfectly adequate

@Babynum2 I can't see a single doctor with an ounce of common sense and compassion refusing your request. If they make any noises against what you're asking for just reiterate that it's what you want and you don't want any more children

@Babynum2 , I want to be sterelised too (Ive been lucky with 5 perfect children, 1st being v.prem, a miscarriage next and I have HG too....and at 37 this time, I really struggled physically in pregnancy so Im done!) I asked after my 3rd pregnancy at age 22, it was a straight ' no you are too young' ex Dp at the time was 26 & had no problem getting a vasectomy- still annoys me that! Im glad I didnt have it at 22, as I met my Dh and we have the 3x children together ! Anyway, there is a 3-4 yr wait list for sterelisation where I live ( west wales) vesectomy there is a 2yr wait, private sterlisation is 3-4k, private vesectomy is £700....
How ridiculous and unfair!!!!
Im now back on pill , this was discussed 3hrs after birth and I was back on it a week after birth!

@Cats23 sounds similar to me all 3 babies were born prem and I had HG numerous admissions to hosp this last pregnancy. Ontop of the blood clot and also PGP in previous pregnancy also. My DP is also not wanting a vasectomy I've tried to talk to him about it but he just won't.

Have just posted this on the other thread but found this one too ..
I thought the other thread had gone quiet! Happened to find this whilst on many of the night feeds.
baby girl was born 29/3 and I’m utterly besotted but having an internal struggle with the breast feeding. I’m beyond exhausted. I try sleep when baby sleeps and leave her with DP but I miss her so much when I’m not with her. We had to top her up with some formula today so I could sleep because I felt so poorly. Can’t help but feel so guilty and not ready to give up BF however I think expressing will be the only option.
any advice or anyone going through something similar would be appreciated

@firstlittleone at first I was breastfeeding, then topping up with formula or expressed milk then expressing for the next feed and it was exhausting. I'd literally just finish, lay down for 5 mins and it would be time for the next feeding cycle. One thing that's quite good is a haakaa, I've pretty much cut out using my electric pump now because when she is feeding on one side I put the haakaa on the other side and it collects enough for my partner to use for a small bottle later so saves some time rather than feeding and then expressing after. My partner either gives expressed milk if I've got enough or formula for 1 feed before bed and 1 morning feed when I'm sleeping and then I do the rest. Baby is 6 weeks tomorrow and I feel we only got in the BF groove in this last week so it did take time for us. I wasn't prepared for how hard it actually would be, not just physically but mentally too.

@beatingheartbaby thank you for the reply!
i’d ordered a Hakka and a electric pump in the midst of feeding lastnight. My Hakka has come and managed to get enough let down for at least a top up 🤞🏼
how do you go about warming breast milk once it’s been in the fridge?

@firstlittleone when I was in hospital they said to hold the container in your hand for a few minutes to warm and we've put some bottles into cups of hot water for a few mins also but my baby is happy to drink it at fridge temp now think she's just like omg milk give me it 😂

I seem to be getting a diaper rash myself due to constantly wearing pads, is there anything I can use to soothe this as it’s quite uncomfortable

@Rainbowbaby23 aloe. Aloe is good for everything 🤣 it might sting a bit, I don't know, I don't think I've ever had nappy rash as an adult

@TeddyBeans thankyou! Definitely some sort of irritation from wearing them so much when I never usually do😂

I got a sore at the top fron constant pad wearing I have only just stopped wearing one at 7 weeks I just used sudo cream.

Breastfeeding question 🍈🍈....

My left breast seems to flow too fast. DD coughs/chokes every time she feeds from the breast. When I move her off the breast, we both get soaked because the milk is still flowing out. I have to quickly cover it. My breast pad gets full quickly from my left breast. I have tried to express it a little before she feeds from it to relieve the initial pressure. I have also changed the baby's feeding position to more of a sitting to try and stop the coughing etc.

Any ideas?

Any advice on helping baby sleep in the cot please?

My baby is 10 days old and we’ve been holding her while she sleeps. She twitches and coos as soon as we put her down the bassinet/bed side crib doesn’t matter day or night. We have been trying for the last 3 days, but it failed every time and it’s exhausting trying to settle her again and she seemed to sleep for shorter stretch after that. Last night I didn’t sleep for more than an hour at a time 😢

The room temperature is always 18-19 degree so not too cold. We warm up the crib with hot water bottle beforehand, shushing, and leave the muslin cloth with breast milk in it. Nothing works!

She might lie down and sleep on at a certain spot on the sofa if we sit near by (albeit some twitching). I’d normally sleep next to her on the sofa, but it’s uncomfortable and my DH doesn’t think is safe.

@BabyTalbot1 i have this too, my letdown is so fast and I can hear baby swallowing as quick as he can but if he unlatches milk goes absolutely everywhere. I’ve found the rugby hold helps a bit and when I hear the letdown coming, I tip him a bit so his head his higher than the rest of his body. I don’t have any other solutions other than being armed with a muslin to stop everything from being soaked

My babies dads mother is driving me insane.
she keeps buying things for his crib at her house which are unsafe after I’ve told her countless times that nothing should be in the crib and she thinks she knows best. She tried to buy him bumpers and pillows and heavy blankets and it makes me anxious the thought of him ever staying there

@Rose429 unfortunately this is typical for newborns, they don’t like sleeping alone! I found for the first couple of weeks my baby slept better in the Moses basket than the next to me, maybe it felt more enclosed, not sure but it meant I could sleep an hour here and there! Sleeping together on the sofa isn’t very safe, have a look into safe co sleeping in bed because that might work better for you! I’d deffo co sleep in bed but have my 2 year old so sadly have had to preserve with putting her down in the next to me! It does get easier when they get more settled but can take weeks unfortunately

@Rose429 have you been swaddling her? My baby will go down in the crib for the first part of the night, swaddled. But after her first feed during the night she just ends up in with me because she doesn’t settle in there again quickly and I want to go back to sleep.

Only way Archie will settle is when just fed and has a full belly with white noise playing and his blanket tucked tightly under the mattress. If he isn't full you have no chance and even then it sometimes takes 30 mins of him fussing etc. NCT scared me with the swaddling and safe sleeping stuff so we are persevering with it!

I know this might be a controversial one, but has anyone started post partum fat loss?

Are you watching what you eat, counting calories, trying to move more or have already been cleared to exercise?

@havananana yes weight loss is on my agenda of things to do. I managed to lose weight whilst pregnant so actually 21lbs down since pre pregnancy weight and I feel so much healthier. I have not started any exercise or specific eating plan yet but have maintained past 5 weeks. I'm going to start this week actually. I just use myfitness pal and walking etc very basic stuff, wbu.

@havananana I haven't started yet but plan to. 2 weeks post birth today and I'm already at my pre pregnancy weight, but that's still quite overweight 😂 we get married in August so want to lose around 3 stone. Once I'm feeling a bit better physically I will be calorie counting and going for daily walks while my older 2 are at school!

@havananana I want to but I just don't have the motivation 😂 I'm the worst person when it comes to exercise