IVF Pregnancy Club - now IVF Baby Club!

[CloudyIvy55]

Hello again ladies!

The IVF Pregnancy Club thread was so helpful for me throughout my pregnancy — there’s nothing like the support of people who just get it. Now that our babies have started to arrive, I thought it would be nice to start a follow-on thread so we can keep chatting, sharing advice and supporting each other as we adjust to life with our little ones 🥰

@Nosejug the midwife called today and she spoke with a neonatal nurse as she’s still not poo’ed.. they said they can go up to 5 days without poo and as she is doing lots of wet nappies (6 a day) and other wise well/ settling well they are not to bothered, I did mention to my friend and she said she had the same issue when her breastfed baby was around the same age and her baby went 8 days without a poo , some online things says even 10 days .. so yeh .. your right it’s confusing when they give you leaflets etc home with you after birth saying they should poo twice a day or be concerned, then tell you not to be concerned when they don’t do any in a few days 🤨 just give me a leaflet or advice that says ‘they may not poo for a week so don’t be alarmed’ and will save all the worry 😅.. oh yeh and hopefully as you say you have been blessed with a easy going baby..☺️

@Sara237 awh sounds so exhausting , hope you will get more pockets of rest soon, sounds similar to me at the moment but I am only day 7 into it .. (she is a week old today yay !!) I can only imagine by day 17 how you are feeling .. this won’t last forever ladies WE CAN DO THIS!! We are bad ass and just keep telling ourself this 😅🥰💪🏽 in only a month or so time things will be much different with more established routines 🫶🏼🤞🏽 (I hope) hehe

@AmberRose26 I think with breastfed babies anything goes in regard to dirty nappies 😂 baby boy has been doing about 60 million dirty nappies per day since day 2… now we are starting to spread out slightly and we are down to about 20 million (lol jk, it’s about 5) but midwives and health visitor both said to me anything up to a week is fine so long as they are comfortable etc

I can’t believe baby is 3 weeks old tomorrow! Currently his feeding is going well, he feeds lots and brings his wind up easily enough. Pain is getting less with feeding, just first 10-15 seconds and then no pain so that’s a relief, nipples are looking in good shape too. So anyone who’s nipples are still ruined keep at it, it does get better. Mine were awful and I was in so much pain and didn’t see an end but now we are there. I still don’t have the confidence to feed in public so I time going out the house around his feeds, so far it’s working but I know I will have to get over it, I just need to learn how to feed discreetly and not have my whole boob out 😂

his sleep is also good, he does a 4-5 hour stretch and then a 3-4 hour stretch at night. And normally 2-3 naps during the day but with lots of awake windows where he’s so alert.

I have introduced him to Tesco (aka my fave place) and we are trying to get out for one walk a day.

he’s so cute and I just love him so much but I want him to stay this small forever, time is going to fast already! Xx

@pastelheart awh I needed to hear this so much ! I was actually at a point through the night last night where I was going to just give a bottle of formula as my nips as so stingy, sometimes it’s like you, just that initial latch then it goes away but she is good at getting the latch then pulling away with her head slightly back so it’s not such a deep latch, and I have to take her off and reposition her again which is the stingy part all p er again 😵‍💫 your baby boy sounds like he’s in a great routine, he’s making up to his mana for all the pregnancy contractions etc you had for days 😅 hehe 💛✨

my weleda cream arrived today so I’ll swap to use that instead of the lanolin cream and see if there is any difference in relief to my chapped nipples 🤞🏽.. they are clearing a bit I think 🤔(hope)

@Nosejug did you notice a strong smell when you used the welded nipple cream ? I just used mine for the first time there and there is a strong smell .. like paraffin or oil from it ? It does say fragrance free so not sure and just wondered if your smelled at all ? Thanks

@AmberRose26 honestly it does get better, baby boy latches on and off a few times at the start too and I have to deal with the pain a few times but it is getting less and less. And it’s deffo more comfortable the less full my boobs are so I find expressing first so around the nipple is softer helps too as he can get more breast tissue in his mouth. A hot compress for 5 mins before also helps with fullness, if that could be an issue for you as well

have you got any breastfeeding midwives near you? Or breast feeding clinics you can go to? It may be worth speaking to them just to see if they have any tips etc, they might be able to suggest a feeding position that can help

breast feeding is really hard but you are doing a great job, and it has got easier for me and I didn’t think it would and I hated the pain a couple of weeks ago but now I do really enjoy feeding him 🤍 but formula feeding isn’t the end of the world either so make sure you put your wellbeing into the equation too

sorry I haven’t used that cream so can’t help, I use the purple one but forgot the brand name now lol xx

We had a bit of a nightmare today…. I thought baby was looking a bit jaundiced again last night, and this morning I was sure he was looking very orange. Obviously on a Saturday….

so been to out of hours GP, who did sweet F all other than send us to children’s hospital (I literally just wanted his levels checked) so they checked his levels at hospital and they are fine. So maybe I just have an orange baby who knows lol

but he was weighed and he’s gained 1 pound in a week, he’s 9lb 14oz now! He was 8lb 7oz when he was born 3 weeks ago xx

She poo’ed !! 🙌🏽 she done 4 poos today so panic over ☺️.. that was 4 days without .. hopefully she will be a bit more regular now and her wee digestive system has developed and got use to the milk coming in.
@pastelheart awh it’s so good and reassuring that there is a light at the end of the tunnel .. yes there is the breastfeeding team but midwife round tomorrow again for her ten day weighing ( although tomorrow is day 9🤔) so she can look at my latch etc then, we do get it the majority of the time, I think nipples just got destroyed from the last few days cluster feeding .. they are actually healing a bit today more so that’s good 😊
that’s great re babies weight gain .. its so satisfying and fulfilling when you know they are putting on weight and thieving ! ✨💛

@pastelheart are you still using the nipple cream daily if itje pain is easing or are you scrapping that if you don’t need it any more ? My ‘good’ nipple I am thinking to try without but don’t want to chapping to start again, scared to stop using it now 😵‍💫😅

Great seeing all the updates even the ones about poo 😂😂

Callie will be 6 months on Wednesday 😱😱 she has settled into a nice routine and is loving being on solids. Practically fed herself her dinner tonight which was good. Close to sitting unaided too which is good.

Sleep is great, 3 naps a day and then goes down between 8.30 and 9 and sleeps until about 6.30 - gets a bottle and then back down until about 8/8.30

@dubkitten Glad to hear Callie is doing so well; that's amazing re her sleep, you got lucky there!
I'm glad to hear this as been up every 2 hours feeding last night but he's 3 weeks today and 3 weeks is a world away from 6 months. 6 months was when my son started sleeping 7-7 and suddenly I was enjoying it! So your post has reminded me that it's going to get better! Enjoy.
@AmberRose26 Glad feeding is getting easier and you're healing up. The cream isn't going to make the biggest difference it's just the skin getting used to feeding. I do find it a great cuticle softener though! Yay for 4 poos and one less
worry!
@AmberRose26 Glad to hear no jaundice and that weight gain is epic. You obviously have gold top milk!
I've got to do school drop off today as husband back at work. Not looking forward to rushing out the house at 8.20 when he'll prob suddenly be in a deep sleep for the first time all night...i read at 3 weeks there's a growth spurt and nights can go back to cluster after week 2 being better. Have others found this? I'm SO tired!

Love to hear this @dubkitten - you and Callie are an inspiration to keep us all going! :)

Hello everyone!

how are we all?

and how are all our babies?

we are still breastfeeding and baby is getting chubbbbby

xxxx

All good here .. breastfeeding is becoming less sore .. with still the initial toe curling pain 😵‍💫 I have been feeling so dehydrated with the heat the last two days and baby has been feeding more also prob as she is thirsty with the heat also .. apart from that just sleeping when I can with baby .. I have the health visitor round tomorrow as graduated form the midwife’s visits now .. will be good to see her weight tomorrow and see how much she has put on 🥰

hope everyone is good ✨

@AmberRose26 yay I’m glad it’s getting less painful. I still have the initial pulling pain for the first 10seconds but it is getting less and less and I find it more reassuring now as it’s how I tell he’s latched correctly!

oh update us on weight tomorrow. Baby boy was weighed last Saturday and was 9lb 14oz so had gained 1lb in a week. He must be over 10lbs now… maybe even closer to 11!

it was my birthday on Tuesday and baby treated me to a 7.5hr stretch of sleep that night 😍😍 thought it was a fluke but we had another long stretch last night too… wonder what tonight will bring, he’s not settled very well in his crib so probs be up ever 15 mins lol 😂 xx

Also not sure if any of you have the owlet sock for your babies but I just bought the owlet camera and it’s soooo good and works with the sock so well! X

Happy (belated) birthday 🎁🥂.. hope you had a lovely day .. wow 7 1/2hours .. that’s amazing for so young .. long may it last !! The most baby girl has done here is 3 1/2 hours nearly 4 ☺️ which is good .. I woke the other morning with leaking boobs as she hadn’t taken the right side from over 6 hours by the time she got up and had the other side etc ..I bought the ‘medela in bra’ pump as the hand pump was sore .. so expressing is easier and hands free .. yeh will keep you updated .. she was 7lbs 15 at birth .. then dropped to 7lbs 3 .. went up to 7lb 5 then last time was 7lbs 10 so she should be back to, if not over her birth weight by now ? I can see her wee fingers look fuller and her cheeks are getting rounder so she is defo putting on the weight .. 🥰✨

Oh my @pastelheart im jel of your 7.5 hr stretches! I had once an hour wakings the other night and once every 2 hours last night, her best nights are along every 3-4 hrs. I am dreading bed time a little every night! She’s putting a bit of chub on though which is lovely. She was 3kg at last weighing (was 2.5 I think at birth but had a drop to regain).

have had a few trips out and about which is fun, fed in the park for the first time today! She woke up hungry while we were out and I found a quiet bench. What’s peoples clothing plans for bfing in public? My neighbour recommended this tent thing you wear around your neck but I’m not sure about it.

Hey everyone,

I've been a bit quiet on here recently but I've been reading all your updates.

Baby is now 11 weeks and while I still feel like I've got no idea what I'm doing at times 😂 things definitely feel calmer from when I posted on here struggling with my first day alone with him. I'm enjoying it much more and hopefully things will continue in that way 😊 I really hope everythings OK with you @magpie234

I am absolutely sleep obsessed and constantly thinking of ways I can get more of it, currently trying to convince the husband to buy some black out blinds 😂 baby sometimes wakes up every 45 mins/1 hour but has also managed 4 hour stretches on some nights. We dont seem to be in any sort of pattern or routine and I hate not knowing what the night will be like to be honest.

Still breastfeeding and the heat is annoying me now 😂 before baby I would of been loving it, sunbathing in the garden with a beer but now I'm struggling with all the sweaty skin on skin. I am managing to pump 1/2 bottles a day which husband can use when I nap or pop out which is lovely! Might even attempt a gym session next week...

Ooh a cold beer sunbathing in the garden.. a new mum can dream! Maybe we can all cheers remotely next year! Glad to hear you’re enjoying it more @CloudyIvy55 I feel you with the nights though sounds like I’ve had it a bit easier, but I do dread going to bed when it’s been a fussy day. Wish it was safe to just snuggle up and co sleep as I think she’d be much happier!

@CloudyIvy55 glad things are going in the right direction albeit the night sleep, yeh I feel you with the heat .. I really struggled the last few days .. thankfully yesterday was much cooler here in Scotland 🥵.. @Nosejug that’s great you are out and about more, I have not yet fed in public (this time round, did with my 1st daughter lots) I never used anything to shield /hide the last time with my 1st daughter I just discreetly and quickly would have her latch and once latched you can’t see much, I ordered some nursing tops/dresses of shien and they are quite good they only expose small amounts of skin with zips at the side of the tops give access so once baby is latched I can bring the material around to cover a bit if you know what I mean ! 🥰

we had the health visitor round and baby girl has gone up to 8lbs 3 which she is now above her birth weight from 7lbs 15 so that’s good for two weeks old ! she did go over loads of things including vaccinations, she asked if we are wanting to opt to get them, a few times, which I was planning on but with her saying this the way she did it kinda made me think she was expecting us to say we are opting out ?! I know it’s very personal but anyone any thoughts on vaccines? They do get so many new ones these days and i have read some articles re bad outcomes of babies the next day after having them etc so it’s send me down a rabbit hole and now I am swithering as to I might wait till she is older to get some and opt out of others .. we did get the vitamin k which we are swithering about but because she had some bruising after her speedy delivery we decided to get it for any bleeding /bruising .. but I am just so undecided now after health visitors visit, she also said on her initial phone call would I like the appointment as they are here to ‘offer’ health visitor services, I wasn’t even aware this is an optional thing and a lot of people actually opt out of health visitor services.. I personally wanted her to come round but it was like she wasn’t trying to push us to anything and made us aware a few times we can opt out of these things .. just wondering what anyone’s thoughts are on this (if any I know it’s personal and not something everyone will want to share there thoughts) I just worry we have been though so much to get our healthy baby here to the world and would hate for her to get her vaccinations and then something terrible to happen like the articles I have read 😢 it’s just put my anxiety up !! 😩

@AmberRose26 just reading back messages and realized I doubled up your name on a message - the second message was directed at Pastel - sorry if confusing! Glad all went well with health visit and weight. Re vaccines, I've not even thought about issues. He'll have them all as I'm not convinced they cause issues but it's a personal choice. I'm inclined to see the evidence for them as more robust than against. Interesting how health visitor gave you option of visit I thought was just automatic too.
@pastelheart That sleep is amazing. Did you get 7.5 hours too? What are they like in day? Mine is the far less rejuvenating 2-3.5 hours plus really active sleep at night which I can't sleep through. 1 month on Monday! I feel ropey today but my new approach is to get out more. Did a couple of baby groups last week which were good just getting other mums' experiences plus seeing how different 2,3 and 4 month babies are. I'd forgotten!
@Nosejug I hear you re the night dread sometimes. It's so hard and there's the constant state of alertness which I don't think we really can come out of. We co-sleep which I think helps a bit with better rest but you've got to feel safe with it.
@CloudyIvy55 I remember the sleep obsession with my first. I basically simultaneously dread and long for bedtime pretty much all day! I think it's not having to be juggling so much with two children now. It's harder than I thought. Once I'm lying down it does feel easier! Good luck with gym session. I've managed some walks just to get out and about.

My view is that the nhs wouldn’t offer vaccines whose safety was a concern, most especially to little babies, and even though such things can’t be regarded as risk free, the risk of not having a vaccine and getting whatever corresponding disease is likely far more definitely harmful. That being said I’ve not read anything specific in advance of them—what articles have you read? I do hate the idea of my little one being unwell after them but then if she contracted a rather worse illness from not taking them I’d never forgive myself. Part of me also believes it’s my social responsibility to uptake vaccines. It only really works (eradicating certain highly infectious diseases) if a larger % of people take them. And not everyone can take them. The fact that measles is back after basically being eradicated is awful. But then there are so many factors that go into a parent’s decision to do it, and reasons for distrust of vaccines that go so far beyond just fear of the vaccine itself that I can only do what’s right for me and accept other ppls choices. I read an amazing book before the pandemic that helped keep my thinking very open and (I think) informed a lot of my thinking around vaccines, by Eula Biss called ‘on immunity’. Helped me understand other people’s perspectives that can be so entirely reasonable even though different to mine. (You can tell I think a lot about it! I was obsessed by the plague for a while hah, I was expecting the pandemic when it came!)

@Sara237 how do you go about co sleeping? Like curl around your little one? I’d so love it for restless nights as she settles so beautifully lying literally next to me (I can only hold her hand in the next2me!)

I found a video on youtube of a woman giving her baby a (gently) rigerous tummy workout that her baby managed a huge toot from. Been enjoying coaxing gas out my wee one’s butt with the technique haha. Doesn’t work as well as the video tho. Does anyone have a favourite resource for burping? We get so few but I think it would reduce her uncomfortable toots if I could get more burps.

oh and @AmberRose26 yeah I kind of feel the cover up is bad as it might make other bf mums feel they need to, and why should we. But sometimes baby headbands my boob a bit and I need to just expose my whole breast to reset our position, mostly when she’s really hungry and flustered.

@Nosejug I didn’t want to share the article as it’s a really sad sad story that was in the news just recently 😞 about an 8 week old baby in Glasgow had had vaccinations that morning, I can PM you if you really want I don’t want to share it publicly as it’s really sad, but these things can be coincidence I know and most of the population get vaccinated etc with no issue, including my 1st daughter I had her vaccinated, I just worry and I am really anxious this time round for this precious wee baby girl that I am still going to loose her somehow after everything and think I might ask to wait until she is a little older to get her vaccinations when her immune system and body can handle it all a bit better , or even ask for them singularly.. ?! Maybes it’s over anxiety after so many miscarriages I dont know, and just the way the health visitor kinda said things, it made me overthink and then google things .. 😵‍💫 you just don’t know what to do for the best these days I think there is too much information out there it’s worse I think. Aaahhh maybes I am just worrying to much 🫣

We are also co sleeping here and she just sleeps beside me (without covers /duvet over) as it’s been so hot lately but on the not so hot nights I have the baby sleeping bag suits that she wears so she doesn’t need a blanket 1.5 tog just now but have 2.5 tog also prob for when autumn /colder nights come .. she is probably about a foot away from me and I sleep ‘down wind’ of her so I am not breathing my breath into her space so she gets fresh oxygen (my head is below hers when lying down if you know what I mean) as she is still so small she pretty much stays in same position but I know she will soon start to wriggle more as she gets stronger .. but for now it works pretty well .. for gas /wind I have been doing bicycle legs, sitting her upright on chest and rubbing back and also sitting her upright on knee and then holding her ‘rugby ball’ hold with tummy facing down on my lower forearm, head nearer elbow and her bum on my wrist .. she loves this one the best 💛✨