April 2011-kicking back drinking lactulose cocktails and riding the maternity surfboards

[Petalouda]

Post-natal thread for all the antenatal April 2011 Family!

Share the birth stories, the baby blues and everything else.

Aha! Turns out reason H was demanding and screamy last night was because he was bunged up. He was on the boob for ages over night and he had the world's most enormous poo this morning and is back to being a happy little (sleepy) chap this morning. I cleaned him up but he also went in the shower with daddy and loved it. Was SO cute!

Milk is coming in H still won't feed on my left side but am pumping and it's definitely getting easier. The amount of formula is steadily getting lower so if anyone else has problems keep at it, get encouragement and it will get better.

Oh and Lis, after being peed all over again this morning I too am looking at pee pee teepees with fresh eyes...

hi Ali, I had the same. Cold flannels whilst feeding really helped as did massaging the milk down. took 3 days to go for me and was honestly more painful than labour!

Morning all,
DH is back to work after paternity leave today so today is my forst day on my own, so I have to do the nappy changes as well as feeding!
Health visitor is coming for a first visit later this afternoon.

I can't believe some of you are back in pre-pregnancy clothes! Not that I've tried to get in any yet but I don't think it'll be happening for a while - maternity wear is so comfortable!. I also weighed myself the other day and am about a stone and half more than pre-pregnancy.
I think my c-section is healing pretty well - I've not taken pain killers for a few days now but between my belly button and my scar still seems swollen and a bit achey. I'm also walking much quicker than last week, though not up to full speed yet.

Has anyone else had baby hallucinations in the night? A couple of times I've woken up convinced I'm holding her and can't get a proper grip to pass her to DH to put back in the crib, then eventually realised she's fast asleep in the crib

Morning (ok, afternoon!),

Good luck with your first solo day Chilli - luckily my DH has his days off for this week and a lieu day to go so he's still here till Thursday.

And to clarify re: pre-pregnancy clothes - I just tried on my other pairs of jeans/trousers, and none of the others fit at all! These must have been slightly big before! And I'm struggling with tops to find anything that disguises the belly and/or gives adequate access!

Haven't weighed myself yet. Not sure if I'll get round to that!

With the hallucinations - I've had something similar - we've had F in bed a couple of times, he sometimes gets really grumpy but will eventually drop off if he's close by and has a little finger to suck. At least once I've woken up convinced that I've lost him, started searching the bed, and then realised I woke up and put him in the crib earlier! I've also found that my brain will see baby faces in any random pattern ( is that DS under the crib?! No, it's a box of tissues)! It must be some evolutionary mechanism of hyper-vigilence to make sure we look after these little things!

Cycle - glad to hear H is happier, and your milk's doing well. Similar to happycamel's suggestion, I bought some breast nurse things. They're brilliant!

With the pee-pee tee-pees, I'm not sure how much benefit they'll be - it'll stop the fountain effect, but there'll still be wee everywhere! So not a lot different to having a nappy/cotton wool/wipe/cloth on hand to redirect the flow. I'll wait for someone else to try them and report back!

Well, F's having a lovely morning asleep on DH's chest! But he's starting to get a red bottom . I've been using cotton wool & water to clean him, and have now started to use a spare nappy booster to dry him off with. It's not around his bits or anus, so I don't think it's to do with ammonia or anything. Just little red sore cheeks. Hoping that going overboard with the changes will help. Suggestions welcome.

Thought it was about time I got onto this thread :)
Have given up with the breast feeding, felt a bit :( about it for a day or two but I just couldn't get it to work (clearly not stubborn enough lol). Managed for longer than with DS1 so at least T got a bit of good stuff even if it was the tiniest of tiny amounts. (I am actually still expressing what little there is for the time being)
Plus side of bottles is the ability of getting a reasonable amount of kip in between and being able to share the feeds.

As far as the tearing vs massage etc issue, I used almond oil from about 25 weeks ish and only had grazing (and only labial, nothing on the perineum) which has healed nicely. T was only 6lb 7 but did come out like superman, one arm up so I class the oil as a success.

T has this amazing trick of peeing out of his nappy, I have tried a couple of brands so far but somehow, whatever I do we get leaks at the back on his left side, I spend ages fastening and re-fastening every nappy to make sure there are no gaps but we frequently have to change clothes and sheets or dry out his bouncy chair and the nappy is left virtually dry Hopefully he just needs to grow into them a bit.

Lovely to hear more birth stories, I turned to DH immediately after the birth and said "I don't feel the need for any more!!" That lasted about 2 days lol would do it again tomorrow now Even hearing the worse aspects of some experiences makes me want more babies

Hi ladies. Just popped in to read your birth stories. Will check in every now and then as it's great to hear how you are all doing.

Gosh Stuffed, am starting to wish I'd tried almond oil

RE the feeding thing, I thought the colostrum was the most important bit anyway? And if you're still expressing I'd say he's still bfing TBH as he's still on boob milk. H has thrived with the formula top-up and I'll admit it's dislodged some of my preconceived ideas about bottle feeding.

Can't believe you're attempting reusables already! I haven't started yet Am hoping to start phasing them in soon. Oh and with the peeing thing, I find I actually have to place H's willy pointing down when I put the nappy on or he ends up peeing up the front or out of the side. Oh the joys of tiny willies!

Yay, three attempts and I've finally had chance to sit down and type this!

After the two day family invasion it's now just me, DH and S along with my Mum who is a total star and is staying to help for a few more days. I'm so so lucky and, given that we wouldn't have any family help around it's brilliant having someone on hand who can keep the washing going, take S when I just need to calm down and she also has the ability to reassure me and DH that things are normal and not to worry!

My milk is really coming in and between my flat nipples and boobs S isn't able to latch properly. (Not that he trys all that hard, he seems to prefer hoovering up the milk that is just streaming from my nipples!). I've been hand expressing to ease the pain and also try and make things easier when latching. It also means that I'm reassured that S is getting some milk whereas on the boob he spends 45mins screaming and by the time he's latched on he falls fast asleep after a couple of sucks.

We went to the drop in breast feeding clinic today, and while S slept the whole time (typical!) and they were just so lovely and reassuring that we're going back on Thursday in the hope that S won't be asleep and they can actually help. Cycle if you're thinking of going, don't be nervous, I found it so relaxing just knowing that it isn't just me that has problems as there was a room full of other mums there too!

Oh, and we've had the baby right of passage that is not only peeing on the Doctor but he also managed to poo on her while she was doing his initial baby check this afternoon. Thankfully she was very jovial about it and even gave him a quick cuddle after I'd cleaned him up!

Well, this is epic enough for one post, hopefully I'll be back with the actual birth details soon!

It's so much harder to keep up now babies are here!

My milk came in yesterday and my boobs are now massive. I have flat nipples too, Beetle, so am goung through the painful process of DD2 drawing them out. I could kill the woman in M&S who measured me as a D cup as it's far too small and keeps squashing my nipples back in. I also seem to have 'lipstick latch' so am working on trying to get more nipple into her miniscule mouth (how?? ). I am glad I put off most of our visitors for a while as I spend most of my time walking around with my baps out, I almost opened the door to the postman like that yesterday .

The great thing about being a second timer is that I am able to learn from the mistakes I made last time and keep telling myself "this too shall pass".

Cycle Pumping is a great way to preserve your nips and I mix fed both my DDs through the colostrum phase (and this time I didn't even feel guilty ).

NANN - I think you mentioned the "this too shall pass" mantra before - It's getting me through everything at them moment! Thanks!

F seems to be getting better at latching, but worse at sleeping. Although I think that's because he's becoming more alert, and starting to know what he wants a bit more.

Maya Wrap arrived this morning, just in time for DH to pop F in while I had a shower. He's now crashed out and back in the carry cot.

Got first health visitor visit today - my sisters HV was (is) massively rubbish and quite racist! So I'm interested to see what ours is like. I'll let you know...

Good luck with the nips everyone!

I really must try the mantra, but it's really hard in the middle of the night desperate for sleep with a baby who won't settle. I think Megan was almost constantly feeding from 8pm-2am last night, or at least rooting and suckling. I really hope she wants all this food she's ordered or my boobs might explode. I'm not entirely convinced she wanted feeding as she didn't complain when I detached her when she just had my nipple and went to sleep. For some reason she just wanted to be close to mummy, but mummy wanted to sleep and i think i did drop off with her in my arms while i was propped up with pillows. I think she finally went into the crib at 3am.

Happy to help Petal, I think I picked the phrase up from a kind m'netter last time Have you tried sudocream on F's bum?

Re baby halucinations: Last night I woke up and thought my pillow was DD2

Rosie has mild jaundice so she will be spending lots of time sunbathing today. I still haven't left the house - far too sore. I keep looking out the window and thinking how lovely it would be to go for a walk but then I get up and realise I'm still limping.

Hi April people! I am desperate to read everyone's birth stories but haven't had time yet. I don't think I'm going to write mine down as, for some reason, the birth element of my experience feels like such a tiny part of the bigger story. And it was seven weeks ago so I can't even remember! It can be summarised as: blood pressure scared everyone, I got sliced, out popped Conor.

Conor has been home for just over a week, so I feels as though I'm back on the same page as you guys as going through the 'ohmygodwillyoueversleepphase'. He's hungry every two hours at the moment and I am expressing everything as I didn't ever manage to crack breastfeeding while he was in NNU. Almost had it at one point and then he had to go 'nil by mouth' for three days and then start feeding back through the tube in tiny amounts, so by the time he was on full feeds again he was screaming hungry and was much happier with a bottle.

I am still trying him on the boob now and again but finding a time when he's not shouting the place down for food or I am trying to express to make sure he has some for the next feed is rather impossible. I am going to start using formula alongside expressed milk as I am struggling to keep up with him. Not ideal but I can't really beat myself up about it as his arrival has hardly conformed with any ideas I might have had. I still feel rather guilty about it.

It's actually really hard to get proper advice on formula feeding as no one is supposed to talk about it and I've also been told by the health visitors 'not to worry about what people think'. It had never occured to me that someone might judge you for using formula. Does anyone know if it's ok to take cooled boiled water out with you and add formula powder to it when you want to feed? I can't seem to get a straight answer but it would be useful to know as I might need to use formula when I'm not at home. All the advice now seems to say that you have to use boiled water that has been allowed to cool slightly but not to less that 70 degrees. Frankly anyone suggesting this has not tried to feed a hungry baby - who the hell is that organised? Help!

Otherwise, he's doing brilliantly. He has just had the HV round for a weight check and comes in at a hefty five pounds and three ounces. Well chuffed. He's starting to fill out now and his little legs have got a teeny bit of chubby to them, and he has round cheeks. So, so cute. He's a little poppet!

Got mum and dad coming tomorrow, they haven't seen him since he was three days old and in an incubator so this will be a big moment. Am going to try to clean the bathroom today. Yeah, right.

Lots of luck with naps and baps, all.

PMSL at your birth story Jo. I don't think you can take cooled boiled water out ad it will not remain sterile - but you can take just boiled water in a flask then allow it to cool while you're out. I know this doesn't help when babu is screaming for food and the watet is still too hot!

Glad Conor is doing well Jo, no idea about formula, I'm afraid (except the 'birth to five' book the HV just gave me says the same 70C thing, rather unhelpfully) - despite the situation, I can't even begin to fathom how anyone could get a bottle made up and ready before LO's screaming. I struggle to get my baps out in time!

So I'm hugely impressed Jo!

The tears won't stop pouring today, just adding to the perma-leaking boobs.

MW came this morning and weighed S, he's lost 16% of his birth weight so she said to stop struggling trying to latch him on while my nipples are so flat and boobs engorged and the syringe feeds weren't enough so to express every two hours. I feel rubbish as S has guzzled the milk we've given him from the bottle. The MW said to 'try' and get 30ml down him each feed, so far he's had more than that each time which means the poor thing had been tiring himself out trying to feed from me and then sleeping hungary.

I also managed to forget to take any pain killers this morning and have spent the day in agony until I remembered around 4pm. I think this is the bruising coming out as (from what I can tell) my stitches see ok, though having never had stitches of any type before I've no idea what to look for. I was surprised that the MW didn't check them this morning actually but given I was in tears and a bit of tizz I forgot to ask.

Meh, I know I'm right on time for the day of feeling total poo but it would be that little bit better if I could just give my baby a cuddle without my boobs soaking the pair of us

Jo - friends who have used formula swear by the cartons for trips out - it is just v.impractical to make up bottles on the move I think.

Hello to all fellow flat-nipplers! It's a bugger isn't it? Mine are getting there, DS2 is slowly drawing them out and they aren't getting savaged at feeds any longer.
I cannot recommend swaddling to feed enough, it makes it so so much easier to get them latched. My lovely big muslins arrived today, they are in the wash now and I can't wait to try them out!

Just to clarify about the pre-pregnancy weight/clothes thing. I am not back in my clothes - one pair of linen crops fits me and that is it. Doing better with tops but I'm limited on what I can BF in. Managed my first feed 'out' today - went out for lunch with my Mum and a jumper over a feeding vest worked well and I showed no nips to the world.

Beetle - bless you, the post-birth come down blues are no fun. They do pass though :)

Meanwhile, I'm amazed/shocked by how many of you are having babies weighed so early. The latest advice I thought was to wait until Day 10. So if there has been some weight loss already you wouldn't even know about it if you lived here.
So please don't stress too much about it if you can, wait a few more days and see how things are looking.

Still wishing I was here not 'over there', lol!

F's been weighed on days 3, 5, 7, 10 and today on day 15. He only made it back to birth weight on day 10, and is now a chunky 9lb 2oz.

MW's were very matter-of-fact & reassuring about it all though.

Jo - I 2nd the cartons for trips out, but I did find that the cartons made DS more sicky than powder formula (he was a very refluxy baby) so I did take out ready made powdered formula too.

They do advise that you make them with freshly boiled water each time but HV said it was fine to make in advance. I was mixed feeding and used to make up the days bottles with boiling water in the morning and then cool them quickly and put in the fridge. I'd take them out in a Tommee Tippee Insulated bottle holder and heat them when I was out or give them cold if necessary. Ideally you should make them fresh each time but I found it a lot quicker to make them in advance especially when my baby was suddenly screaming for a bottle at 3am.

Beetle sending you a hug.
DD has lost half an ounce in 3 days and HV is already doing the sucking through the teeth and has arranged a visit next week to see if she's improved but as DD is a pretty content baby and feedind regularly and sleeping well (in my opinion) I am determined not to be bullied into topping up with formula [stubborn face]

I've had a good day today, took DD into the library where I work this morning to be cooed over and it's also DS's 3rd birthday today so we had a family tea party with his uncle and both sets of grandparents. Then on Saturday it's his party at the local soft play, breastfeeding or not I will definately be needing a Sat night.

Megan has been weighed on most midwife visits too. She was almost back to birth weight last Friday and will be weighed agin this Friday - hopefully she'll be above birth weight then.

Hugs for Beetle

I've mainly had the tears at night with sleep/feeding issues. I knew I'd find the lack of sleep the hardest thing to cope with.

Can anyone with a girl recommend a nappy which won't leak wee out of the side? Or is it a case of once she's a bit bigger it'll be better?

Also what do you do about leaks onto the crib or carrycot matress? I can't find any waterproof protectors for them so I'm asssuming it's not recommended but I don't really want to put the baby back onto a damp matress.

At all you skinny minnies who are back to your pre preg weights. I keep wincing my enormous self in photos but it does feel fantastic to have lost that 45cm tummy

Beetle Sorry you're feeling delicate. Try not to watch the news/read the paper for a while.

As for DD2's birth story, here are the basics...

Waters broke with a massive gush at 3.30am. We went straight to hosp (because of the polyhydramnios) and my contractions soon started coming every 2-3 mins. However, I was only 1.5cm dilated, DD wasn't moving at all anf her heartbeat was a bit flat for Dr's liking. He therefore explained that the best thing to do would be to get baby out ASAP and recommended hooking me up to.the syntocin drip. At which point I shouted EPIDURAL! As I knew it would hurt like hell and there was an increased chance it would end in an assisted birth or even EMCS.

It turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. Taking the tens off and sitting still for the needle wasn't fun but once it started to kick in the relief was incredible. DH went a bit green and had to rush off to the loo immediately after I could still feel the contractions but they quickly grew less and less painful to the point where I could almost snooze through them.

I drank half a litre of fat coke to try and get DD moving but she was having none of it. The obs were muttering about assisted delvery when at mid morning I had a bleed.

The Obs ran off to call for the pead and find the assisted delivery trolley while the MW turned to me and said "If you don't want an assisted delivery, then push for your life NOW!". Imagine my surprise when just 3 contractions later, a tiny 7lb 5oz baby girl was delivered onto my tummy (scan predictef she'd be 8lb 14oz). I immeduately begsn sobbing with relief as she was screaming the house down and had an apgar score of 10

The epidural was amazing, I can honestly say I've had poos that were more uncomfortable! I did pause to birth the head but I still ended up with a second degree tear and piles. Grr...

To put this all into context, DD1 was 8lb 5oz, took 10 hrs to deliver (almost 2 of pushing) and I did that all on tens & G&A and it bloody hurt! She went blue shortly after birth and had to be whisked away and given oxygen

So the birth was a big relief to me and I am so happy that Rosie seems v healthy and there was no obvious cause for the polyhydramnios. I also feel a huge sense of relief that I never have to do it again as DH and I only ever wanted 2 children.

The postnatal ward was shite - but that's another story altogether!

Thank you all for the unMN-etty hugs and sympathy, it's much appreciated and things seem to be calming down on the tears front today.

Very quickly while S gives me chance, here is my birth story:

Contractions picked up all day on Wednesday (6th) but I decided not to get my hopes up and cleaned the oven(!). By the evening I was in quite a bit of pain so got a bath which eased the pain but the contractions carried on and started to become more regular. Told DH to go check everything was in the bags, got on the Yoda ball and started timing the contractions properly. As things picked up I got the TENS out and started listening to Belle & Sebastian to distract myself. At around 9.30pm rang the MLU who were full and suggested that I carry on at home and call again when things picked up a bit (contractions were 4mins apart at this point).

I carried on with TENS and Yoda ball, and decided to get a shower as I couldn't face getting in and out the bath (and had the urge to wash my hair!). By 11pm DH insisted I ring the MLU again who agreed that I should get myself there but would have to go to the delivery suite as the MLU was full.

Got to the hospital around 11.30/45pm (can you tell things get hazy from here?!) I was admitted, lost my temper with the TENS machine so pulled that off and then was examined and told I was 5cm. MW then went to get gas and air and see if the pool was available.

Pool was available so went round, as the MW started the water running (and I finally got on the gas and air!) my waters broke and I pretty much straight away felt the need to push. It felt like I dived into the pool I was so keen to get in and if started to relieve the pain straight away, mostly because it calmed me down so much. MW examined me again to find I was 10cm and I started pushing.

An hour (just!) of pushing Sam was born in the pool at 2.27am, weighing 7lbs9 . He was back to back (even after all those Yoda ball hours!) and I have a 2nd degree tear. He was absolutely fine but I started to loose a lot of blood so they got me out quick and I had to have the injection to deliver the placenta, but the blood loss slowed down and while DH and I had cuddles with Sam they stitched me up. Annoyingly the post birth tea and toast didn't last long as the syntometrine for the placenta made me vomit but I thankfully managed to avoid the baby!

The MW's were brilliant and I am so pleased to have had a waterbirth as it was something that worked very well for me. Like NANN I found the postnatal ward was shite and probably the most stressful bit of the whole process. I was home by 9.30pm with a snuggly baby and a decent cup of tea!

Great story Beetle, well done.

I found it impossible to get any sleep overnight in the ward as it felt about as safe as nodding off in an airport lounge and leaving my PSB (precious second born) unattended. Also, C&W are building a new wing plus renovating the postnatal wing, so I was trying to settle my newborn to the sounds of endless drilling, banging and sawing.

The highlight was when I had to limp through a group of builders, wearing my BF nightie and carrying a bowl of my own blood tinged piss. After that I managed to speed up my release by threatening to discharge myself for the sake of my mental health and, in a satisfying rebersal of roles, almost made the MW cry

Sorry for all the typos BTW - I'm typing on my phone while DD2 is on the boob.