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)

Yes!

Yes my baby sleeps practically anywhere lol

We're only 3 weeks in....still feel in a fog adjusting to life as a mum of 3 🤯 Calla doesn't like to be put down much during the day and has a bottle every 2.5-3 hours but at night she only wakes once (bed about 11, wakes about 3, then we're up about 7 with my 3 year old anyway) and I put that down to us co sleeping!
Body wise I'm back to my pre pregnancy weight (still overweight 😂) but feeling rubbish about my body after 3 c sections and down about never having a natural birth 😑

Does any breastfeeding/expressing moms have any tips for lopsided boobs?
I feel like my right boob is ALWAYS engorged and generally looking bigger than my left. Is this something that will settle after breastfeeding? And how do I try rectify in the mean time?

Nearly 2 weeks, c section scar had healed well, just got to be careful now as can get a bit warm under tummy and don't want it to go bad! Waiting for scabs to come off.
Lochia bleeding had pretty much stopped by the end of week 1, they did say it can be on and off though.
I struggle to nap when baby does so more tired than I have to be. Was generally feeling good about things until this morning when piles got worse and I've pretty much been stuck in bed all day in pain as the creams aren't quite working nor pain meds :( Dr is just saying to keep working on softening everything and applying cream and using suppositries but I'm so scared of the pain and if it doesn't get better what could have to happen to treat it :( I'm just glad it wasn't a vaginal birth as my body wouldn't have coped with that I don't think and I'd have had this issue sooner (& without the numbing of body to make it easier)

Baby content other than some nappy changes or if he does struggle to latch (he's been a lot better) or if I can't feed him when he needs it like earlier when I was struggling in the toilet 🙁 luckily he had his Auntie to hold him but he wanted the milk and had to wait!
He sleeps most the time but we get some awake time where looks at us so we sing and talk to him. Hardest thing with him is being tired during his long night feed and trying not to fall asleep while holding him plus he tends to cry more with the night time nappy changes xx

My partner has to go away so first night alone with the baby! Wish me luck 😂

Hi All,
Not been on in a while!
All well here, Astrid is just over 4 weeks now..settled right in!
Life as a mum of 5 (4x at home) seems reasonably chilled- Laundry ofcourse never ending, as has been the last 19 years...., I seem to take forever to get us out the house without share chaos and a good 2-3hrs needed, how I managed school run for a week before easter I dont know! Did manage to get me and the 3xyoungest out by 8.20am last sat for Ds football match.... still smug about that!
oh and we have a 4.5mth old puppy, puppies are 100% harder than babies and we are experienced dog owners !
Glad to hear everyone is well!

We are 8 weeks pp now and I feel like it was so long ago I gave birth. I feel sad this is my last baby I hope it passes.

@Babynum2 this is .y last one too ( Did say that about #4 mind!) but Dd really is our last, pregnancy is awful ( HG) then ive appts constatntly dur to dc1 being prem , this time I struggled physically ( Im nearly 38- much harder than when I had pregnancies aged 18,22,30 & 32) The worry of reduced movement was constant, I had to inject my stomach daily from 26weeks to 6 weeks pp(2 weeks left!) and I had a little complication after birth this time- placenta got stuck to womb....and labour bloody hurts!!!
I am so greatful to have 5x healthy children but Im 100% done and if I could be sterlised tomorrow, I would!

@Cats23 sounds exactly thr same as me I said last time was my last but this was a little surprise baby on the coil. I had HG, PGP, injecting daily (I do anyway I have a blood disorder and constant apps at hosp. If I didn't have such hard pregnancies I would go for number 4 but it's not fair on my body. I'm 28 now and I'm having my tubes tied due to all of the above plus poor mental health after this baby which is still not great.

Lovely to hear about everyone’s babies 🥰

Are there any breastfeeding mums that have introduced dummies? If so, has it affected feeding?

Baby is 5 weeks now and feeding is going well, he just doesn’t settle to sleep particularly well and I was wondering if a dummy would help?

@Marfs10 yes I started around 5 weeks with my first, we use the mam ones. It did really help settle her, it can reduce reflux and didn't interfere with breastfeeding at all. I think by 5 weeks your baby will be quick to tell you if they want comfort or milk! The risk is more for small or sleepy babies that the dummy stretches feeds too much

@muminlndn oh that’s good to hear, I did read that it can help with reflux, can only be a good thing! Did you introduce just before nap/sleep times or did you just use it as and when?

@Marfs10 i breastfeed and we introduced a dummy after 2 weeks. Hasn’t had any impact on feeding as he’ll spit the dummy out if it’s not what he wants! We mainly use to settle to sleep or if he’s in his pram and isn’t loving life to settle him down a bit. We use Mam dummies too, he seems to hate any others

My husband gave both our daughters a dummy at nighttime when they were about a week old haha. At first my first didn't like it and kept spitting it out but accepted it after a few weeks. Same with our second, she still hates it and spits it out, I'm sure she'll accept it at some point.

I didn't really have many stretch marks after my first but now I've got quite a few. Postpartum bodies aren't spoken about enough and there should be more of a celebration of stretch marks and c section scars. After all, these are the scars we have achieved from pregnancy and childbirth and I think that is something to be proud of!! But you're never going to see bikini models with stretch marks or c section scars.

My husband and I have got a tummy bug but I've been affected more than him it seems, I'm worried about my milk supply and dehydration.

Anyone enlarge felt overwhelmed when their partner returned to work ?

Thanks @BabyLimey i think if we end up using one it’ll be similar situations.

@havananana completely overwhelmed, but for me, the thought of him returning to work was worse than it actually happening. If anything, it’s got me into a bit of a routine (there are still overwhelming moments but they are becoming fewer and farther in between)

@havananana DH went back to work on Tuesday. I was dreading it but it's actually been okay. I've made sure I have something to do each day, even if it's just a walk. But between feeds, cleaning bottles and trying to grab breakfast and lunch for myself too, the days have been flying by! It's really lovely seeing DH come back and rush to cuddle DD too, he really misses her

@ChristmasJumpers same!

My partner WFH so luckily for us he's only next door but he has been away for 24 hours and I was really worried about it being just me but it was fine... again the thought was far worse than the reality.

Time flies though, blink and I miss chunks of the day!

Worried about baby overheating
staying with family tonight and the house is 24.5 degrees in every room because heatings been on all day but I’ve now switched it off. I’m not sure what to dress him in for sleep?

@Rainbowbaby23 they say 1 more layer than you but I would just do vest babygrow and thin blanket.

I've tried for 4 weeks now to get baby A on the bottle/dummy but he's just not having it. I've spent a fortune trying different dummies and bottles but he just spits it out. I wanted to introduce the dummy because he cries everytime we put him down I thought it might help. I wanted to try expressing and giving in bottle so I could leave him with someone for a couple hours and take the other kids out alone but doesn't look like it will be happening anytime soon. Was supposed to be going back to work next month

@Babynum2 thankyou!

I have no advice but I hope someone else can help I'm sure that’s hard on you!

@havananana yes overwhelmed and panicked.
I haven’t actually been on my own yet as my parents have been to visit me each day for a few hours and DH has worked from home a couple of times.
Next week will be first time. Still worried but I’m getting a lot more confident in how to care for little one and that I’m not going to freak out when she cries.

I'm very confident with our baby now, so for me getting overwhelmed in weekdays is more to do with lack of me time that's very needed for introverted people
But luckily baby is a fantastic sleeper and overwhelm like that only happens if shes due a poop after a few days of no poop 😂😂

I had about 2.5 weeks of mat leave by myself. However husband has started a new job and is now working from home (except a couple of days a month). I’d felt fine by myself, except the days when she wouldn’t settle unless on me, or just cry the day away.

It’s only been 3 days of him working from home, but I’ll admit I’m much calmer when she’s crying endlessly. It’s also so nice to see another adult, even if I’m determined to still parent mostly alone whilst he works!