The Final Fruition of the Frolicking Forays for the First Time Frolickers

[Spirael]

We came, we saw, we frolicked.

Now our PFB has arrived and we can begin the stressful befuddled guiltridden exhausting wonderful journey of parenthood!

(Or at the very least we can stop bothering the antenatal bunch until they join us!)

[WhiteRoses]

Hi everyone,

Back, like I said...

Spireal - I was hoping LO would start feeding less! Lol! Using today as an example, he woke at 6.30am, had a bottle and then 5 and 3 minutes with me, that took us up to 7.30am. Another bottle at 8.15am, followed by 10, 10 and 5 minutes with me, taking us up to 11am, because he had a bath during that time too. He then had a nap till another bottle at 1.15pm, and had another 5, 7, 5 and 5 minutes with me before he fell asleep again at 2.30pm. So all in all, it's felt like he's been feeding constantly whenever awake.

At that thing on Saturday, there were a few other babies and none of them fed like mine. I almost missed lunch, in that LO fed before, during and after. I wasn't best pleased either, because I'd sat up expressing the night before, so that DH could take a turn of feeding LO if it came to it, but when we asked the waiter for a jug of hot water, health and safety dictated that with children around, we couldn't have one (difference between that and a pot of tea?!) Anyway, the waiter offered to warm the bottle for us in the kitchen, which was fine, but when I tested it on my wrist, it scalded me! Not exaggerating - I have three blisters where the drops of milk hit my skin! Anyway, result was that I had to have DH cut up my food while I sat with my boob out at a table full of strangers who had already finished their meals! Grr! Stupid waiter! Aside from that though, the day went well. Interesting to talk to other families, though the cookery demo was a bit far into the future for us I think, and therefore a waste of time. But LO was brilliant, aside from the feeding! Main thing was that he slept in the car there and back. Like you said, Spireal, he was very interested in all that was going on, so didn't sleep at all whilst there (6.5hrs), and was shattered by the time we got him to the car.

We liked the name for the reasons you said, but my gran was also called Josephine, which makes it ever more special for me. :)

Oooh, a Halloween baby... I see no harm in celebrating, just as long as you never tell Mindy why! Lol! My LO was conceived in the early hours of Christmas morning - it's quite nice being able to date it, isn't it? See, in previous months, we were SWIing daily, but in December, we'd given up trying, so barely had sex at all - I think we were both enjoying the rest!

Hermya - gosh, you jinxed yourself with that post, didn't you?! I was reading on the other thread that you've got mastitis - you poor thing. :( Hope you're starting to feel better now. x

Hi Chance! Nice to see you here, albeit briefly! x

Worrisome - I know exactly how you're feeling. It IS hard. But it will get easier. Gosh, during the first few weeks, we barely left the house! And it's only really in the past week or two (LO is 7wks now) that I've felt confident about taking LO out on my own. Even then, that's been mostly down to my mum and dad's, once to the supermarket, once to the doctors, and a couple of trips to the post box! Nothing at all adventurous or risky!

Actually, yesterday I was feeling pretty pleased with myself, because DH was going to nip out to the supermarket, and, at last minute (and only because LO was due a nap!) I decided to go with him. It felt like a real achievement - not having planned the outing at least 24hrs in advance! So at 2wks in, trust me, you're perfectly reasonable to feel the way you do - don't for a minute think otherwise! x

Oh, and, to ease my guilt in the beginning about not taking LO out as much as I felt I maybe should be, I just told myself he was well off not being exposed to all the cold and flu germs going about just now! No matter what way you look at anything, there always seems to be a right and a wrong. Just look for the right!

Oh! Aaaand! Why do you think the health vistor comes out to see you for the first six weeks? It's because no one with a young baby is expected to get anywhere at an appointed time - it just isn't possible!

The other thing that a midwife in the hospital showed me, that I find helps with popping LO down during the day, is to roll a towel, very tightly, pop it into an upside down "U" shape, and pop LO into it. (Does that make sense? The two "arms" of the U go down the sides of his body. That way, LO still feels like he's being held, cause he can't move about and those scary arms aren't able to go flying backwards...

Hi November - nice to see you here too - bet Matilda's starting to get big?! :)

Worrisome - gosh, I can see where the name came from! I WISH my LO would take a dummy. Have you read about recent studies into SIDS? Apparently giving a baby a dummy overnight reduces the risk. My LO is also a comfort sucker (was born with a blood blister in his mouth from sucking his fist whilst inside me! ) Anyway, he eats and eats till he throws up, but will not take a dummy. If there's no milk coming out, it seems he sees no point in it! Always gives a couple of sucks, frowns, spits it out, and starts looking for the boob again! I've tried and tried but just no luck at all...

Anyway, I hope you're having a lovely afternoon with your mum now. You should try asking her how she found the adjustment to motherhood... Some of the things my mother and my mother-in-law did were downright daft! Found it quite reassuring to think that I'd never be so stupid, and yet look at them... Couldn't imagine better mums if I tried! Just shows, every new mum is the same. :)

Okay, long post, but I have one last question for you all...

What's the 6wk post natal check for Mum supposed to consist of? Aside from having my blood pressure checked last Friday, there was no physical examination whatsoever. I had assumed that with a third degree tear, there would have been, though admittedly I feel fine now... ???

[YorkshireTeaDrinker]

Just a quickie to let you know that baby Eleanor arrived by emergency c-section at 7.00am on Friday 5th November.

Will catch up properly / fill you in on the details tomorrow. Was a bit of a trial, but she is well worth it. :)

[WhiteRoses]

Hooray for Yorkshire! Well done! And what a really lovely name. Sorry to hear that you went through a bit of an ordeal but at least it's all behind you now. Congratulations! xxx

[WhiteRoses]

Oh, and news from me... My poor little darling's gone and caught himself his first cold. :( Poor baby's totally miserable and it seemss that because he's so young, there's very little I can do for him. :(

[Spirael]

Congratulations, Yorkshire!! What a lovely name for your LO... It's one I'd have considered for Mindy, except my surname starts El- so it wouldn't have flowed nicely! What a fabulous birthday date for her too, a firework party every year!

Sorry to hear your LO has a cold, WhiteRoses. :( One of the Calpol meds is safe in reduced doses from 8 weeks, dosage listed on the bottle, that you might be ok with? There's a Calpol saline nasal spray that's safe too, and the NUK snot sucker is pretty effective from any age. Humidifiers are meant to be good too... Or take him into the bathroom with you and sit him nearby while you take a steaming hot shower!

[WhiteRoses]

Oh, I hadn't twigged about Eleanor's birthday! That's great! :-D

Spireal - unfortunately my LO's still not 8wks old, so he can't take anything... I took him to the GP on Wednesday though, just to have him checked over, and he sent us up to the hospital, where they decided LO has broncholitis. They kept us in, just for observation, and if LO's oxygen intake was too low, they could've given him some. But he was alright that way, and, like me, they could do nothing for him. So we just waited till he perked up a bit, and now we're back home. He's comfortable enough, though as soon as you lie him on his back, even to change him, he starts choking, and being sick as a result. So he's spending all his time either in my srms or in his bouncer. Poor little man. Still, he is getting better.

Problem now is he hasn't had a dirty nappy since Tuesday lunchtime and I don't like that. He's never gone one day, let alone three days without being dirty before...

Ah, the joys of motherhood! All you do is worry, isn't it?! My mum was saying it gets no better either, cause she's worrying about me now... I caught LO's cold, and with him in my arms so much, I've barely slept since Tuesday, and with being in hospital, I wasn't able to get my iron tablets, so am probably quite anaemic again! She's been great though, coming over, making me eat, sterilising bottles, starting the washing machine, and (best of all!) taking LO and holding him so that I can go and sleep for an hour or two. MAkes me think I hope I'm half as good a mum as she is, and that my LO'll still be able to rely on me like that when he's 25! :)

Anyway, hope everyone else is well - you're pretty quiet!

[Spirael]

Sorry to hear your LO hasn't been well, WhiteRoses. :( I'm glad to hear he's recovering though! I'm not looking forward to the first time Mindy gets sick.

However, don't worry about the dirty nappies. :) Perfectly normal for them to begin to happen less frequently, but watch out as they tend to explode out when the do happen!

I think at that age Mindy was filling her nappy once per week, though her record was 10 days! As long as you're still finding plenty of wet nappies, it should be fine. :)

[bunnygirl80]

Just poking my head in now I'm here in an official capacity

Sounds like Will is starting to wake up though, so I'd better go start expressing to get my boobs soft enough for the poor thing to be able to latch on to them.

Having big boobs always seemed like a bonus, until I had a baby whose head is only on the 10 percentile. Poor thing's whole head is about half the size of one of my boobs at the moment

[Spirael]

Hi Bunnygirl! Welcome to the other side!

Glad things seem to be going well. Will (short for William..?) is a lovely name. Frolickers seem to have very good taste in names! How did the birth go? :)

The boob thing gets better. Mine are only solid first thing in the morning now, but no-where near as bad as they used to be and probably only full at all because I've been blessed with a 7:30pm-7:30am sleeper!

[WorrisomeHeart]

Hi all

Had a shite week - have been feeling increasingly upset, emotional, not eating or sleeping and m/w sent me to docs who thinks I am suffering from PND. He put me on sleeping tablets (poor DH had to do all the night feeds) to combat the initial sleeping issue and I am seeing him again tomorrow to discuss meds for the depression. I feel horrendous, crying all the time - I sobbed throughout Lochie's nap today, and just feel completely hopeless and that I'm never going to be able to get past this. I feel weighted down by everything and just want to go to bed and sleep until it's all gone away. DH and my family have been fab and have rallied around, but I am so sad that I can't shake this off myself.

Sorry for the dump all, it helps to put it in text. Hope you are all ok

[Spirael]

I seemed to be lucky enough to be spared PND, but what you describe does sound a lot like the signs DH and I were warned to look out for.

Just remember that feeling this way isn't your fault, and PND isn't something you can just shake off as (far as I'm aware..?) it's caused by hormonal imbalances. Like the mother of all PMS, is what I was lead to believe.

So try not to feel bad about taking meds for it if that's what the doctor recommends. They're just there to stabilise the hormones. Once they've sorted that out for you (and it'll only need to be controlled by medication temporarily with any luck), then is the time to start trying to bring yourself around. :) And I'm sure you'll manage without problem!

A bit unMumsnetty but... [hug] It'll be fine! Let people help you, they're all looking out for you, and before you know it you'll be back to your normal self and able to see all the wonderful things you have to look forward to. :)

The first few months are a struggle, but they'll pass so quickly. Before you know it you'll be getting lovely laughter and hugs from your special LO and for those moments all will be right in the world and nothing else will matter.

[NovemberAli]

Big hugs to Worrisome - motherhood is such a rollercoaster, good to hear your getting the support from your DH and family, make sure you use it. It's good that you got diagnosed early so you can get treatment, you will get through this. Feel free to vent anytime. x

Sounds like your excursion was a bit stressful Roses but worthwhile, at the waiter for the no hot water thing. At the six week check I prompted the Dr about my tear as they'd told me on discharge I would be seen by a consultant but apparently not. The Dr did agree it needed checking though so examined me there, all was okay fortunately. She also took bloods to check my iron levels were back up after being anaemic so maybe that's something you should get checked as well?

Big congratulations yorkshire - welcome to the world Eleanor!

Bunny I know how you feel. Mine seemed to have settled down a bit now so I don't have to express before latching, hopefully yours will be the same.

[bunnygirl80]

worrisome I'm so sorry you're struggling so much. At least you've been diagnosed early, and I'm sure once your treatment is sorted things will get better.

spirael birth was really good - I've put the full details on the other thread. It was similar to yours I think - pretty quick and didn't even realise I was in labour until the obs saw me at my rountine appointment and suggested that the cramps I was having were contractions rather than having eaten something dodgy cos I was 3cm dilated!

Had a disatrous night last night, as my milk fully arrived and Will was completely unable to latch on. Ended up with DH and I having to unpack steriliser and breast pump and read the instructions at 3am so we could get him a bottle of EBM. Then spent the rest of the night panicking that he would never latch on to me again.

Thankfully we had a fantastic lactation consultant come round today, who said that at the moment his mouth is just too small to latch on to me at the moment, so we're using nipple shields for the next few weeks until his head's a bit bigger!!

Fingers crossed I can get the hang of it tonight

[WhiteRoses]

Hi all,

Spireal - I know, it's so awful seeing your LO ill... :( I keep wondering as well if he'd have been better off were he exclusively breastfed... Although obviously he wouldn't have been. He'd be severely disabled. But I wonder if he hadn't had PKU and hadn't had to take the formula, would his immune system have coped better? No point beating myself up I suppose. It's not like I have a choice and he gets as much "good" milk as his little system is able to cope with. Still. I think it's part of the job description to feel guilty, even when you shouldn't!

God, that's very reassuring about the dirty nappies. Especially hearing it from you, cause I think your girl and my boy appear to be equally as greedy! I ended up phoning NHS24 on Saturday, just to ask should I be worried, and they had me take LO back to hospital to have his tummy felt... I felt like such a silly, overreacting first time mum, with a baby clearly not bothered about anything, smiling away at the doctor! But in my defense, I never expected to have to see anyone, and it's what they're there for anyway, isn't it? They're being paid...

Bunny - welcome "in an offical capacity"! Lol! I know what you mean about the boob/baby's head thing! Luckily my little man's on the big side, but my boobs are too - 36K! Couldn't believe it when I had them measured! Surely that's got to be some sort of record?!

Worrisome - I'm so sorry you feel like you do. I'd be surprised if you were the first frolicker to experience PND, and I doubt very much that you'll be the last. I'm glad you're getting good RL support though, and I'm sure I can safely speak for all of us when I say that you'll get all the support we can possibly give on here too. x

Is DH back at work yet? How are you getting through on a day to day basis? How's feeding going? And is Lochie sleeping?

Oh, and, like Spireal, I don't care about MN etiquette - have a hug from me too. x

November - thanks for the reply about the six week check. Particularly interesting as you were also third degree, weren't you? :( Odd that they appeared not to be going to check you either... Maybe it's not routine, like I'd assumed. But I'd have thought that considering that the last time I was checked was on Day 3, when I was still swollen, bruised, bleeding and full of stitches (TMI - sorry!), a little look wouldn't have gone amiss. just to be sure everything was as it should be...

That's something else that surprised me at the check up... Just remembered! The doctor totally assumed that DH and I had "resumed relations" already since the birth... I thought it was quite normal not to have done that, six weeks on from delivering a 9.5lb, back to back baby and experiencing a third degree tear, not to mention the ventouse, and being anaemic and not having slept properly since he was born..? Am I wrong?

Gosh, Bunny - poor little Will! That doesn't sound much fun for you and DH at 3am either though! Glad you have good support.

Right, I'd better go. I can hear LO stirring and I'm BURSTING for the toilet. Don't want to be trapped feeding him for another 1hr 25mins like earlier - - I think I'd explode! Lol!

[WorrisomeHeart]

Thanks guys, really appreciate the support and the hugs. I saw the doc again today and he's prescribed me a low dose of Prozac to help me start to feel better. He's also told me to stop expressing as it was just stressing me out and the little benefit it was having for Lochie (he was only getting 2 feeds of b/milk a day really) isn't enough to warrant how stressed I was getting with it. I feel sad about it, but mostly sad about how the b/feeding thing has gone throughout the whole process rather than being told to stop now.
I'm just really glad that we have a plan of attack now, and hopefully the prozac will start working soon and I'll start feeling more like myself again.

whiteroses Yes, DH is back at work, but family and friends are rallying around and this week I'll only have had one day on my own. The doc asked if people would be around and I thought he was asking because the pills were going to give me some horrible side effect, but it was more that I had people to talk to and be with. Lochie is sleeping like a gem - about 3-4 hours each stretch at night. He is starting to have more wakeful periods during the day when he lies on his playmat and coos. I'm trying to enjoy those times with him too rather than just sit and watch him.

[WhiteRoses]

Worrisome - I'm glad to hear that you have and are taking advantage of plenty of support. You obviously have a lot of people in your life who love you. :)

As for the feeding, I can understand how you feel - I definitely feel down at times thinking that my LO is having to take some formula, and wishing that I could do more. But you should really be proud of youself, persevering this long. Like me, it was medical reasons outwith your control that got in your way, so nothing to feel guilty about. If you could've done it you would. And besides, it's not like formula babies grow up to be any different. My MIL had six boys and thought breastfeeding was "weird" (). So all of her boys were ff and are now big healthy six foot tall men. And when you compare me (bf) to DH, I seem always to be ill! Even this week, I'm full of LO's cold, DH has escaped completely! There are so many other factors that come into play. Breastfeeding's good if you can do it, but if you can't, nothing terrible will happen.

I hope you have a good day now today and manage to enjoy your beautiful baby as much as possible. :) (I still haven't seen the picture by the way - don't know what's wrong. :( ) xx

[Hermya321]

Worrisome I'm so sorry that you're feeling so down. I'm glad you have a lot of support though.

Bunny I think we've got that problem, I'm trying to teach DS to open his mouth wide by staring at him and saying 'open' and then opening my mouth wide. My friend who had horrendous problems with her DS recomended it to me as it worked for her. I figured I had nothing to loose, so we've been doing it all day today. He did start to open his mouth a little so you never know.

Gosh this motherhood stuff is one giant guilt trip isn't it. I went to a coffee morning today with a couple of friends and ran into someone who was in the hospital at the same time as me. She was using a dummy as her DD was basically using her as a giant dummy and she wasn't getting any kip. The HV clocked this and gave her a big speech about how she shouldn't be using it in tandem with BF. I think she felt very relieved when she saw the dummy that I'd popped in DS's mouth (DS uses me as a giant dummy as well).

I've just come to the conclusion that you do whatever you need to do to get through and retain that last shred of sanity.

Has anyone else still got baby brain? I was super duper organized the other day, I had everything ready to go out including the baby. I even managed to put mascara on and I felt just a tad pleased with myself. Well; I did until I realised when I got to the car that I was still wearing my slippers. You can't win them all can you.

[bunnygirl80]

worrisome glad you're getting sorted. Don't feel guilty about stopping BF - I have the upmost admiration for anyone who is exclusively expressing who. The 24 hours I had to do it for were so stressful, either being on the pump or feeding - I can't imagine the amount of commitment it must take to keep it up for weeks and weeks.

In a few months we'll all be worrying about whether we're giving them the right first foods and BF/FF worries will be long forgotten

hermya I've spent the whole of my career telling people to open wide.......was hoping to avoid having to spend my mat leave doing the same

The lactation consultant advised me not to try latching him on to me without a shield until he's at least 5 weeks and his mouth has grown. Apparantly my milk ducts are quite far back so even with his mouth open as wide as it will go, he's just not able to reach yet.

Will will definitely be getting a dummy as soon as we've got BFing established- he is a little boy who loves to have something to suck and I'm not going to have my nipples used for that purpose!!

We went on our first trip to the pub yesterday - got to get him started young

[YorkshireTeaDrinker]

hello fellow Mums,

Just clocking in to try and preserve my sanity as Eleanor has been feeding almost constantly since 9.00pm. I'm pretty sure my boobs must be empty by now, but she is still tugging away. Everytime I think she is getting sleepy and I try to put her in her basket she starts shrieking. It doesn't help that DH goes back to work tomorrow. My mum is coming over in the afternoon, but I am dreading a long spell on our own. My c-section scar is still pretty sore and inflamed (has been bleeding a bit) making me not as mobile as I need to be. I was really hoping for a good night tonight, so I'd not be too knackered for my single handed stint tomorrow.

However, catching up with this thread has done me a world of good, as I realise I am not alone and most of you have been in the same boat.

Worrisome glad you've got a prompt diagnosis for your PND. Take all the support that is offered. PND is a medical condition, there is nothing you can do to prevent it, so don't blame yourself in any way, just take all the help that is available to treat it. It will pass and you will start to enjoy your LO.

I am sharing your dummy dilema. Eleanor is quite a sucky baby and I object to her trying to use my nipples as a dummy (I think there's been a bit of that going on tonight), but I suspect 12 days might be a bit soon and we need to get BFig established a bit more firmly. I'm going to try and push on until 4 weeks, but it's bloody difficult. Was also told by my health visitor to leave expressing for another couple of weeks, as it might interfere with supply. Has anyone else been told this?

Whiteroses re 6 week check, my health visitor told me it would be pretty cursory, so if there was anything in particular I wanted the dr to check then I would need to ask.

bunny your 3am expressing session sounds like a bit of a nightmare. I totally understand why so many mums give up BFing in the first 6 weeks - it is bloody difficult!! I've promised myself that I won't make myself a martyr to the 'breast is best' cause and won't feel guilty forever if it doesn't work out; but equally I can decide to give up in the middle of the night.

Right, i have a sleeping baby in my arms now, so I'm going to attempt to put her in her basket. If you hear no more from me tonight, assume all has gone well and I'm about to get some sleep. If it doesn't work, i'll be back a bit later to carry on catching up!

[bunnygirl80]

yorkshire having spent a few hours with the lactation consultant the other day, this is what she told me about expressing:

1. try to avoid introducing a bottle before 4 weeks just in case baby decides it's easier and rejects the breast (this certainly wasn't the case for Will - if you put something near his mouth he will suck it and if Eleanor's a sucky baby she may well be equally unfussy!)
   

1. expressing at the end of a feed during the first couple of weeks will just tell your boobs to make more milk, and before you know it you'll be back to being massively engorged and in pain. Once your supply's more regulated that's less likely to happen
   

1. if you drop a feed to give a bottle (particularly a night feed when your milk producing hormones are highest) then your body might start decreasing your supply.
   

The short version of all that is to leave it until baby's 4-6 weeks (no longer than 6 or they might reject the bottle!) and be careful if you've had any concerns about under supply. I think expressing for occasional feeds if you're out is less likely to have an effect on supply than dropping a feed regularly.

Hope that makes some sense

[Hermya321]

Yorkshire No one really tells you how hard breastfeeding can be, it's so strange. We talk about all kinds of other stuff, you would think that people would be more open with their experiences. For what it's worth, DS is a sucky baby and we've given him a dummy at night to settle him off after he's had a big feed. It doesn't seem to have done him any harm. Nuk and Closer to nature ones seem to do the trick with him.

Bunny My friends baby sucks her ears if she puts him near there. If we express Dh will give DS the five o'clockish feed or the 8pm feed so I can grab a bath or some extra zzzz's. We've only done this a few times but I'm aiming to do it a few times a week so DS gets used to taking a bottle. I don't give it him though as I don't want him to get confused as to him Mummy equals breast equals food. I may be wrong on this and I know other Mums give bottles. But I'm lazy and it's just less faff to whip the boob out.

[bunnygirl80]

hermya Will seems to think mummy=food from whatever source - when I had to express the other night he would only take the bottle from me. He screamed and screamed if DH came near him with it - I'll have to get him out of that habit once seeing as in the long term the whole point of me expressing will be so that someone else can feed him while I'm in the pub resting

We ventured out to the local shopping mall yesterday as Will's 0-3 month clothes actually fall off him, so we had to go and buy a load more in newborn size.

Went in the parent's room to change him and it was the most amazing facility I've ever seen - spotlessly clean, and there were 8 BFing rooms with the most comfy chairs ever and a fridge full of water to drink while feeding as well. Might go and live there, as the feeding chairs were so much nicer than mine at home

Mistimed the drive home though, and poor Will ended up screaming for food, while DH managed to take the most stupid route home and got us stuck in a traffic jam. Was on the verge of just getting him to pull the car over so I could take Will out of his seat and feed him, but we got home just in time. Definitely need to be better at time keeping next time we venture out

[bunnygirl80]

Oh, I forgot before, I've put a pic of Will on my profile so you can all admire his gorgeousness

[OneOf8]

Hi all,

Worri sorry you are suffering with PND - really hope the treatment helps.

Its good to hear you have plenty of support in RL also.

Bunny commented on the other page, Will is such a cutie!

As far as breast feeding goes - seems to be a popular subject! even my midwife has highlighted to me not to get to stressed if it "doesn't suit you or you are unable to breast feed".

Am taking notes of all the "treid and tested" advice you are giving, but at the same time after the experience my friend had (and the guilt after BF failed to become established) have already decided to do my best to roll with the punches (so to speak) on this subject

Real reason for my post rather than have a nose how you and your beautiful babies are doing! (hope you don?t mind!) I wanted to ask if any of you noticed your tummy go numb after week 30? Thought may be best to ask here than on the other page.

The last couple of days there is a patch of skin, middle of the bump about the size of my hand - which when I touch it feels like your foot does if you have numbness (like a pins and needles feeling). This is the best way I can describe it.

Haven't noticed it before - baby seems to be moving fine - after giving me a little scare yesterday! and no stretch marks on that bit (yet - sure the are coming!)

Has been constantly numb for a few days, but didn't want to make a fuss and call the GP or midwife in case it was normal!

Thought may be to do with the skin stretching or similar but cant find anything in the book, and want to stay off google...

[NovemberAli]

Ooh I had that exact same thing one, completely numb patch at the top of my bump from about 7 months (I think, memory fading!), I used to get quite obsessed with pinching it to determine how far the numbness went.. think it is perfectly normal though something about pressure on nerves I think. Anyway all my feeling is back now.

Will is soo cute Bunny - such tiny newbornness!

So true about breast feeding it took Matilda a week before she was able to latch on properly. I had to express and bottle feed to begin with, cutest thing was her lapping colostrum out of a cup in hospital. I did find it very stressful though, I really thought that she would just pop out and instinctively know what to do. It definitely took time to get breast feeding established.

I tried Matilda with a dummy one night and she just spat it out - I was most upset as I think she does have a tendency to use me as a human dummy

Glad to hear you've got some treatment Worrisome sounds like you are doing all the right things, keep going and you'll soon be out the other side. x

Sorry to hear Joesph was poorly Roses, it's horrible when they're so tiny, you feel so helpless don't you?

Hope you got some sleep Yorkshire!