March 2011 - we made it!

[Muser]

The waiting is over, the babies are arriving. March 2011 mums, come on in your time is up.

p.s. is there a way to permanently mark your place? If I don't post after a few days, I have to go find the original thread again or is that what you have to do anyway?

"Watch" the thread, Larty, and even if you can't see it on your Threads I'm On, you'll have it on Threads I'm Watching.

I want to come on and share my story, but after hearing of Tooimmatures devastating loss I just dont know what to say. I'm sobbing as I type, day three baby blues just isnt helping!

Hope all you new mums are doing well and I will catch up in a day or two when I've shaken myself down a bit.

Best wishes to you all

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd come and join you all over here now. We came home yesterday afternoon after me recovering from C-section and little Bethan (the name we finally settled on last night!!) being given the all clear from her heart scans!! , she has a very small 1mm gap in the duct which they wanted to close off, but it is so slight that they are sure it is causing no promblems, she has follow-up apts in April.

Bethan had problems suckling and therefore is not interested in breast feeding, it took a little while to get bottle feeding established and she did have some feeds through syringe. She is now happily taking Expressed breast milk - which although a bit of a faff... it is helping with her weight gain (she can't afford to lose much!) She had blood sugars closely monitored for a couple of days and had a special hot cot to maintain temperature, but all is good now.

She really is a true little fighter and I still can't believe that she is finally here after all the heartache and worry from this pregnancy.

I read the news from tooimmature on the other thread and I just can't begin to think how she must be feeling. We enter pregnancy with hopes and dreams and it just goes to show how tough it can be... no pregnancy is without risk and my heart goes out to those who have been through a loss like this.

I feel truely blessed that Bethan is here... she is tiny and absolutely beautiful and I am so glad we made the decision to continue with the pregnancy.

Hope you are all well and coping with the sleepless nights.... xx

Purple I bet you are glad to be home! Lovely name, and you must be over the moon with the all clear.

We have our new addition, little Bethany (hence why I like Purples name choice so much!) arrived Monday 14th March at 5.55pm after a fast and furious labour that totally took the midwife by surprise as she thought I would only be 3cm dilated so decided not to examine me and tried to tell me to prepare for the long haul, 10 minutes later she was born! Two huge pushes and mad panic as cord round her neck twice, me screaming the hospital down ( I'm so I never thought I'd be a screamer - imagined myself serenely panting and smiling through labour lol)

So now we are on day 5 and getting to grips with the breastfeeding, have struggled somewhat as Bethany was taking half an hour to find the latch and then the feed was fine, so after some discussion with mum I decided to go with the 10 minutes from each boob at each feed instead of 1 boob-1 feed.
I am aware that it goes against current advice guidelines but it has made life soooo much easier and I think happy mummy = happy baby...

Went to local NCT sale today and bought lots of scrummy baby clothes and a couple of treats for DD1 so she doesnt feel left out, and can definitely say retail therapy is helping to alleviate my baby blues. Just a bit hormonal and weepy, which i remember from last time, feel daft but know it is short lived, poor DH never quite sure what he has said/done to upset me but its not him!!

Have MW visit tomorrow morning, am going to as her to check my stitches (2nd degree tear) as I am still feeling VERY uncomfortable down below. Anyone else? How long has it remained sore??

Hi all. Welcome sitting and purple and many congratulations on your little girls.

Sorry sitting can't help as I didn't tear at all so was perfectly comfortable straight away (pretty much) - didn't understand why they kept bringing me painkillers . Am sure your hormones will settle down but hope your dh is being understanding.

purple she sounds amazing - and like the Turner's is mild which is great news.

Just logged on as am full of the joys of spring. Took LO on a long walk in the sunshine today and now admiring her sleep before next feed. Still can't believe how lucky I am to have someone so wonderful (when she's not windy....) and the miracle of the whole thing. Less than two weeks since she was a bump. Still can't get my head around poor tooimmature - makes me even more thankful but her pain is unimaginable.

Hope everyone is doing ok.

Anyone else got one of those really clingy ones that doesn't want to be put down EVER? That's why I have only been lurking and not posted since Ollie was born!!!!

Get yourself a sling cherub, then at least you can have your hands free. I have one who doesn't want to stop feeding at the moment. She has spent nearly the whole day on the boob. Thought I'd just got her off to sleep but she's grizzling again. I have no idea where she's putting all this milk! And I know there's lots there as I keep waking up all soggy!

sitting my stitches were a bit uncomfortable for 2-3 weeks I think. Sometimes painful, sometimes just there. But do get them checked.

sittinghippo - great minds with our little Beths!!

Just to update, Midwife visit this morning and really helped to put my mind at rest. Nothing in particular, just that uncertain feeling of not knowing that you are doing it (parenting) right.

Breast feeding although tricky, is going fine and Bethany clearly getting what she wants as fills nappies frequently and all signs of jaundice gone.

Also checked stitches, no sign of infection and she did say, as muser said, it will be uncomfortable for a couple of weeks but nothing untoward down there! Phew.

Enjoyed a nice gentle walk in the woods this afternoon, was so lovely to get some fresh air and a bit of sunlight.

So all in all I am feeling a bit perkier today and nowhere near as tearful as the last couple of days.

Hope you are all enjoying your newbies. x

Hello everyone -

I think I might have a quick 5 minutes whilst LO is sleeping! We are struggling a bit with feeding, I'm down to one breast as the other got shredded to bits and have been giving it a rest for last 48 hrs only pumping from it. Have gotten MASSIVE support from midwives and am hoping to turn the corner in the next day or so. as a result LO is losing weight, but they are not desperately concerned yet. Vaseline is my new best friend.

We managed our first family trip out yesterday to Boots and Mothercare and gave the maclaren a spin. Held out well until last few minutes and he started screaming which didn't matter so much as it was Mothercare and there were about 5 others doing the same. That might be the only place I go for the next few months. tee hee.

I am desperate to get out for walks but can only go so far w/ c sec recovery and feeling tied to feeding/pumping. It's been really difficult but am trying to remain optimistic. Still loving my little man and my big one so much in ways I never realised I would!

Love to you all and hope all is well.

sitting glad things are getting better with hormones settling - and the weather really helps mood too.

larty that sounds agony. I had a midwife who made me "practise" feed LO for two hours (3-5am!) on one breast and it was agony afterwards. I was saved by Lansinoh - expensive but worth it's weight in gold!

On dh, I agree - was worried it would be difficult no longer just being a couple but am now in love with him in a whole new way as I watch him caring for our dd - and me!! He's moving back to UK permanently in two weeks - am counting the minutes...

Morning ladies,

well it seems that this breast feeding malarkey isn't as natural as nature intended!! My boobs are like Jordans!! Its just tthe initial latching on which makes my toes curl and also if she fusses in the middle of the night i get bored and if after 30 mins she not feeding well and feels like she using me like a dummy i give her the dummy and put her back to bed!! Mummy and baby both happy then
I agree with NPAFO Lansinoh fab stuff!!

Am back into hospital for a repeat blood test with Cassie this morning apparently this is common in babies and not to worry, have to feed her an hour before hand as its for liver function due to on going jaundice the fat content in my milk can do somethng to the results?????

Am getting out every day for walk as its such lovely weather feel cooped up if i don't get out!! Its a slow wander,but scar getting better each day and doesn't feel as if they stictched me up too tight now i thought they had given me a tummy tuck it was sooo tight !!!

Well, best start to wake Cassie up for feed before the walk to hospital, a real pain in the arse not being able to drive!!

Take care ladies xx

Hello ladies,

Finally able to move over from ante natal.

Baby boy EMIR arrived 1.26am on Saturday 19th March. Was induced on Friday but no established labour until a MW did a brilliant sweep. All in all 1hr 19 mins. Emir got quite distressed as he had the cord round his neck. All now well and we are working on feeding. It is going well but still a bit painful so keeping an eye to make sure I dont end up getting too sore and then giving up.

His big brothers absolutely love him. My 5 year old has been holding him for the last 1 hour whilst he is sleeping.

We are just over the moon.

About to catch up.

Congratulations mixed well done!

Hi everyone,
Just checking in!! Had Midwife visit again this morning and she weighed Bethan. Very pleased to say that she has put on the tiny bit of weight that she lost and is even now weighing more than her birth weight!! She is now a whole 5lb 5!!

Everything else is good so now discharged and handed over to the health visitor!!
Bethan is such a chilled baby and apart from a little bit of unsettled time at night, she is fairly easy going!!! Long may it continue... fingers crossed!!!

Congratulations to mixed

Hope everyone is well.

Hi quick msg as on phone. Baby thomas was born 18th march at 10:07 weighing 8lb 13oz. Long labour ending in emerg section. We are still in hospital but doing well. Will catch up when home.

Congratulations mixed and superpenguin

I think we will be having a load more joining soon as seem to have had a flurry of births over last couple of days.

purple so dinky bless her! Are you feeding her yourself? Wondered how she gets on with it, my 6lb6-er struggles with a fast let down so i feel like I'm drowning her poor thing!!

sitting she had problems suckling from birth so wouldn't take to the breast and it was even a problem to get her to take from a bottle initially!! I was so keen to breast feed because DD1 (5) took to breast like a dream and it is was so handy (not having to worry about bottles etc)... but Bethan is so small and seems terrified of my big knockers!!! They encouraged me to express in hospital which was initially hard as my milk just wasn't coming in... luckily now I feed her Expressed breast milk the whole time and now even have some in the freezer!!! It is a faff, but seems to be doing her some good!! I am trying her on the breast at most feeds and she is trying to suckle but is not quite able to latch correctly yet... it may come as she gets bigger

Hope all is well everyone!!

I failed miserably to catch up so I think I will admit defeat and just continue on from here if that is ok.

MW visit tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing how she thinks we are doing.

Hi folks! Posted on the ante-natal thread about Michael's arrival at home late on Saturday night. He is feeding now but with the skill of being able to do it lying down I can still Iphone! Looks like there aren't many off us left now.

Ok so here goes a more in-depth birth story. Went to MW on Friday as was 41+1'by then for a sweep. Not much happened excprth the BHs became a bit fiercer but they died down at bedtime again.
Got up on Saturday had a bath and a quick rummage up their where I was able to detect a bloody show. This was rewarded by a contraction which started at around 7.30 once every 10-15 mins. Got up walked around, got DS1 his breakfast - mild contractions kept coming, more frequent when moving. About 9ish I phoned Mother who had agreed to look after DS1. 10.30 Mother turns up and so do the contractions which are about 3 every 10 mins. DH suggests it's time to phone midwives.
On examination I am 3 cm at this point so it is still pre labour. I use this time to do gardening, bake some cakes and relax with DVDs once we get the living room and the pool set up. I appreciate just being able to relax in ones home - since we are not yet in established labour, the midwives continue doing antenatal visits. Had another sweep at 16.00 this time around 4cm dilated with the result that things really started going- I couldn't walk through cx now! We put on some amusing DVDs to watch to keep amused between cx as they got stronger- they were every 3 min for 45-60s.
18.00 I finally got in the pool satisfied I was in established labour -it was a relief and I was able to hold off the Entonox for another 2 hours.
By then breathing out alone wasn't cutting - it was time for the growling and mooing too. Just as well we were on the ground floor since the walls are good and thick.
Contractions got fiercer and I got to 8cms and stayed there for about an hour or so. Meanwhile the membranes still hadn't broken and there were ketones in my wee. There were worries about hospital transfer which would have been a PITA since I was too far gone for any other pain relief.
Their solution was to have me drink as much isotonic energy drink as possible and rupture the membranes - it worked as it speeded things up but I had to leave the pool for that.
By then I was standing and swaying between contractions and when one hit grabbing DH or one of the midwives and yelling on breathing out while fighting the ever increasing urge to push.
Finally I was asked to get down on the floor on my bum with my back propped up on beanbags for the pushing. Hard to believe it was only for 4 mins but those were some very long 4 mins especially as he turned out to be 8lb9! at 23.41.
I remember having to push his body out which was a surprise since DS1 simply flew out. I had him placed on me with an overwhelming sense of relief and could see that he was breathing and moving as he slowly pinked up.
After the placenta was delivered I went back in the pool as it was good and warm since exhaustion meant I was shivering uncontrollably. DH took over and put Michael next to his chest under his dressing gown while he got me a cup of tea. Meanwhile I got dried and dressed and sat on the
sofa. Michael did have a short feed at about half midnight and by then it was time for the midwives to go home and for all of us to go to bed.

Michael is proving to be a very relaxed but very hungry baby. I think that not having to come home from hospital helps.

If you got to the end of this mammoth post then well done!

Oh congratulations Geeklove! What a LOVELY birth story. I'm welling up lol.

I'm so glad you got your home birth and well done you.

As for me... day 10, discharged from midwife care now. But tell you what - I'm bloody knackered! Will be in bed in next hour I think after a warm bath.

Hope all you other new mums are doing well, and looking forward to hearing the stories from all the latest arrivals.

Congratulations to superpenguin and GeekLove, lovely birth story Geeklove.

I am just back from taking my LO on her first holiday. The two of us went up to Scotland to see my family up there. She was brilliant on the train and plane both ways, I was so glad. I did pretty much feed her for the entire flight which helped a lot!

She is currently fast asleep in her sling attached to me. She's finding it a bit tricky to nap when she needs to so I decided I'd rather she slept in her sling then didn't sleep at all. She sleeps well enough at night that I'm not worried.

purple
you are doing well to EBM your little daughter. My 6ish DS1 frequently got overwhelmed by the let- down - chances are that your little girl will get the knack of it as she gets bigger.

muser
Brave of you to go on hols already! Mind you I think train + plane to Scotland is more sensible than driving. Hope you enjoyed some of the weather up there!

Meanwhile I am having th dreaded 5-day crash. Perhaps having the ILs and the nephew and niece over wasn't the cleverest idea but DS1 enjoyed it immensely and I didn't have to do anyhhing other than feed Michael. Keep having fantasied about quitting my well-paid job to move to the coast and pop out more DCs. Already feel a little sad that I am unlikely to be pregnant again and a little DD probably won't happen. I hope this is just the hormones talking for now.