November 05 Babies - They're here!

[rodeo1]

Well, some are here!

congratulations LilJ, welcome to 'the other side' .

We're only just working on Natalie having one night feed, she should be going for at least 5 hours between feeds at night now she is 8wks old. Did you know that 5 hours is considered 'sleeping through' for babies? She gets a dream feed at 10.30, then another feed at 3, then her breakfast at 7.30. It's hard work keeping her going until 3 and 7.30, she usually wakes up at least an hour before these times so I spend a lot of time awake trying to get her to wait. We've only been doing it for a week so far, and DH slipped up last night, but I think its working.

We got a new bath support today from Blooming Marvellous and it's great. We had been using a tummy tub but she's getting a bit heavy to hold over it to wash her hair now. With the new bath support we can use our big bath and have both hands free to wash her. She loves being in the bath which makes me very happy.

CONGRATULATIONS CHA CHA.!!!

Glad to hear everything went well and that you are enjoying your new little boy. Does he have a name yat? Sorry if you've already posted about this!!

Nova do you feed her every 3 hrs in the day, cos that's what makes mine go longer at night.

ds hates the bath - one of those red in the face times!

no dreams again!

Morning all!
Been a bit of a caotic week here, dp has been off work with a bacterial stomach infection, so I have been madly cleaning the bathroom after every trip so's I dont catch it too!

I rang up the local paper on monday to get birth announcment done-well, what a let down, paper came out thursday and I was very p*ssed off, our announcment was the only one all in the same font, alfies name hadn't been highlighted/made bigger, so you had to scan the announcment to find his name. I paid to have a little teddy by the side of it, and that wasnt there...basically, it was the plainest one on the page(the rest had balloons round, teddies/storks etc etc) and looked more like a memorium announcment than a birth one, rang them up, and they werte useless-said they couldnt see anything wrong with it-so I said they can go stuff themselves because i wont be using their paper again

Today is the 2nd night in a row, alfies gone for long period over night,friday night was #
11pm-8am!!!!!!!! and last night was 12.10pm-7.00am!!!! have found that if he continually feeds in the evening, he goes right through without waking! and when he woke this morning, he literally had about 10 mins if that off one boob, and has gone back to sleep!!!-if im lucky, i might have anougher textbook child on my hands like alex was!(but saying that, ive probably spoken too soon and jinxed it!!)

the feeding is going better now and am no longer sore, although when he feeds all evening, my nipples feel like their on fire by 10pm!!!
Im finding that the only way to get through early evening is to feed him with a bottle of ebm,as his feed co-insides with alexs bath/bed time, and theres only so many things i can do all at once!! am finding thats fine though, and havent had any problem with him getting nipple confusion or anything although hes only 2 weeks today.

all the boys are still bunged up, poor alfie is currently sleeping propped up on a pillow(tut tut!), covered in olbas oil- otherwise hed never sleep!

congrats to lilj and chacha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone heard from kristina? poor thing!

hello to everyone, sorry i cant be more specific, but i havent been online since wed/thurs and its taken a while to catch up posts and im hastily writing this as i know someone will be awake for anougher feed at any moment! will probably post again later as theres usually lots of stuff ive forgotten to say!

L + alfie-2 weeks today!

Morning ladies. Please forgive me for gate crashing to ask your advice, but I am now in real panic about having to be induced tomorrow. I know that once your baby is born you put all that labour and delivery stuff out of your mind and just focus on the baby, so I?m sorry for bringing it all up again in the postnatal thread. But there is no one left on the antenatal thread now??

I?m to go into the hospital first thing tomorrow (Monday) to be induced, as I?m post term. 40+20 by LMP date (which is rubbish) and 40+13 by scan date (which I know is accurate, as I know when I conceived.) They have let me go this long overdue without a fuss as last baby was born at 40+17 and wasn?t post mature. But I had a lot of stitches after an instrumental delivery and took a long time to recover. DS1 was also very traumatised by delivery and had problems feeding & therefore gaining weight. He had reflux and developed clampdown bite reflex. I had so much pain on feeding for 14 weeks & I got terrible mastitis and damage to my nipples. I couldn?t walk without supporting my breasts or have a shower and it was very painful to drive. It was much worse than the pain from the stitches. (Sorry I know its TMI, now you can see why I didn?t want to put this on the antenatal thread )

DH is now in a TOTAL panic about all this happening again, and feels I should go for an elective section tomorrow. At least that way I will limit the damage IYSWIM. Last baby was 8 ½ lbs and DH believes this one is a lot bigger. And who can argue with him ? consultant has admitted that this baby will probably be bigger, but admits that they are notoriously bad at estimating the size of unborn babies! He also feels that we have given baby every chance to come on his own and that this is the time to give up hope of a normal delivery.

So my options are:

Elective section ? limited damage and clearer idea of recovery time. Less chance of trauma to baby. This will DEFINITLY be my last baby so not worried about risks to fertility from CS. In fact, would probably ask to be sterilised while they are in there. Disadvantages ? having to recover from surgery with hulking great stroppy toddler to look after. Only person who can be here in the day to help is DH, who would need to take weeks off work. He can do this, as he?s self-employed, but obviously no paid leave. Have relatives and friends who could help out at night and weekends, but they?re all working or have their own young children. We live in the middle of nowhere so would be a problem for me not being able to drive.

Induction ? they won?t use prostin - they are going to put in an epidural first them do ARM. Only if this doesn?t work will they use syntocinon, as last time it made me dilate very very fast. So I?m not worried about getting to 10cm ? I am worried about another large baby getting stuck and having another instrumental delivery and bad tear etc. Or ever worse, a failed instrumental delivery and then a CS. Seems like the worst of both worlds to me. But then, on the other hand, I could have a normal delivery with few or no stitches. Well that?s what everyone wants isn?t it? But then what are the chances, with a probably large baby at 42 weeks????

Advice please? I don?t know what to do?????

Kristingle - what about talking this through with your midwife or consultant? At the end of the day only you and your DH can decide, but talking to midwife/consultant may help to clarify things for you.

Sorry not to be more helpful. I've been induced once, which ended in an emergency c-section, and I've had two further c-sections, one elective and one not. Never had a 'normal' labour - apart from getting to 8cms first time round, so don't feel qualified to comment on what you should do.

Good luck.

Golden - consultant says its up to me. While its statistically likely that I will have a normal dlivery (no statistics given!!!) there are no guarantees. If I want to be "certain" I need to opt for the CS.I can have one if I want , no problem.

I'm probably a bit sceptical, but i think that most consultants don't know the real level of problems that many women face after a "bad" delivery. Most of us dont even tell our GPs. They only know about the ones who come back for reconstructive surgery. Even then, in our area they go to a specialist colo-rectal surgeon.

They dont know about problems with the baby as these are the responsibility of the paediatricians. I dont mean they dont know about the research - just nothing of the reality of BF problems, having pain on intercourse for the next 6 months etc .

Thats why i find mumsnet so useful - I knwo most of us are not medically qualified, but we do know about how it can affect your life , your partner and your kids. And pepole here tend not to BS you so much, you know the way friends who want to reassure you just say " oh you'll be fine".

I had an instrumental delivery and am still sore (5wks) so I can understand that bit of it. Sounds like a hard decision, and no real right way. Mine was also 8.5lbs. But I think I'd do it again, cos I wouldn't want a c-section - but then I haven't had one! Also I haven't had probs bfing, but I hear there can be probs with c-section too, like drowiness etc. But then if I was as anxious as you I might go for section - doesn't anxiety make labour worse? Sorry I haven't had both so hard to tell! If DH strongly feels to go for a c-section I would go with what he says tho - husbands are often right, and at least you can have peace of mind about going with his wishes, and less likelihood of future rows if it did turn out bad!

Oh Kristingle, sorry you're feeling so anxious and worried Hmmm, only you and dh can decide, I've only had sections and have recovered really well everytime. Out of bed next morning for shower, and quite capable of most tasks when home again. Have to say if it were me in your situation, I would go along with dh and have the section.

Thanks Beartime and Rodeo. Dh is just anxious for me and the baby. He's not putting me under pressure and wouldn't bring it up later if thinsg go wrong.......he's not like that. I knwo its my body but its his baby too and he remembers how bad I was last time.

TBH a section is much more hassle for him as he has to take more time off work initially. I think he feels that with a section, although you need more support in the first few weeks you are back to normal in the medium term much quicker. My SIl has had one bad vaginal delivery, 2 elective CS and will have her 3rd in jan. She expects to be back at the gym in 3 months. Last time i coulndt even shower properly at 3 months!!!!

Sory Beartime, I really hope you heal better than i did.Even if you do, you need to take it easy on your furlough - you cant expect to do as much as you could before with a small BF baby and stitches and general new mummy exhaustion!!! Otherwise you will be too tired to enjoy anything.

Kristingle - Like Rodeo - I've always healed v. quickly after sections. Always out of bed by the next day, discharhed within 48 hrs, and back to normal almost as soon as getting home. never needed more than paracetamol for pain relief after 48 hrs either.

Hey maybe you'll go into labour naturally b4 your appointment tomorrow

Let us know how it goes - by the way, I really want to talk about labour and stuff cos it was such a way out experience, so talk abt it as much as you like!

Thankfully I should have less to do in America, as I won't have to cook as much (DH likes revisitng his favourite places to eat, and its a lot cheaper than here) and I won't have to clean cos I'm staying with other people - yippee - no more bits on the floor!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad you said you didn't heal for ages, cos I was wondering if something was wrong with me - I don't sound as bad as you, but I can't wash with soap cos it stings, and it still stings when I go to the toilet, and I still find it hard to walk upright cos it hurts more - I waddle around with my bum sticking out!

Anyway hope you figure it out OK - at least you'll end up with a baby, either way!

kristingle. difficult decision. what does your gut say? (I could make a joke here about mine and 'cake' but think it's probably inappropriate).

If it was me, I would be quite worried about being induced and the knock on effects, i was very worried about tearing before i gave birth (and I did end up tearing quite badly - haven't tried sex yet and bit frightened of what i will discover when i do. ..........so to me a c-section next time does sound tempting, and Rodeo, Golden and others who have had c-section seem to have recovered very quickly. it's a very personal decision...which way are you leaning?

GOLDEN - how bout next thurs, dpending on whats on, for mums and baby at the RIO? I have my appt to register finn this thurs (15th)so cannot do it this week

LILJ - congrats, hope to see you and your little one sometime soon

good luck tomorrow whatever you decide kristina - i'm logging off for the evening

Jen - the parent and baby showing at the Rio is on Tuesday this week - Mrs Henderson Presents (12A). Any good for you? The next parent and baby showing is not till Jan!

Jen - meant to say that there is a place on Essex Road - opposite the Sainsbury's metro, that delivers Christmas trees.

Did you find out about Surestart?

I can't do tues as Natalie has her hearing test - they ask on the leaflet that you try to make sure they're asleep for the test, pmsl!!! If I could guarantee getting a baby to sleep for a certain time, I could be a millionaire!! Be up for it in the new year though.

It will be very short notice for you, but some of us MNers are meeting for coffee and chat at the British Museum tomorrow from 11ish, if anyone wants to come?

Horrible day visiting IL's who live off the M1 so lots of traffic jams and detours which is not good when you have a crying child in the back. Any time the speed dropped below 70mph she started crying.

Thanks Nova - it's twins group on Monday mornings - if I can get out of bed before 10am that is!

lol, this is nuts!! (turn your speakers on!)

christmas lights

Hellooooo..

Karma, lol at Ella's noisy eating at SIL's! And your Jimmy Osmond dream, lol, lol. Lovely image too of Ella asleep on DS lap, sooo lovely, a really touching image. .. Advice you gave about sleeping on side has been brilliant, have had much better luck with her staying asleep if I put her down that way, thanks so much.. also that piece of info you gave Jen about 'why babies cry' really helped me too as Elizabeth is 6 weeks... you guru!
beartime, hope your dreams are giving you a break this week? Have the wraps arrived yet? Where did you order from in the end? Let me know what you think... With bf, I alternate which side I start on at each feed and let baby feed for as long as she wants, maybe stopping for a bit of a wind and then returning to the same side. I don't usually offer both at each feed........ would only offer other side if baby seemed really really hungry after a full 'gut buster' from one side.....hth?
nova lol about eating with sling on and a muslin over Natalie's head... good tip.... I'll try it....... Elizabeth ended up covered in bolognese sauce the other day, lol!
LilJ, Nathaniel sounds like a little cherub! Congratulations! Busy, wow, Alfie sounds like a dream baby, you must be serving up gold top too! Must be great! Poor boys with their colds, how is everyone today?
Kristingle, I know it's probably too late to say as I think you're already on your way, but will be thinking of you, good luck. Looking forward to hearing all about you and your baby....

good morning all,
DIEGE
i will get into picaddily at 10.12am and will meet you in the entrance if thats ok????? do you still have my mobile number??????
Well the wedding was fab!!!! kids behaved so well i thought they must be drugged/someone elses!!!! it was a lovely day. Sunday was good as we got round all the people we need to see in the ne and delivered all the pressys!!!
I am now knackered though,never mind.I hope you are all well,i will try and read through the posts later
twinkle & josh

beartime - i think it was you that asked - yes i do feed 3 hourly during the day.

to those that use reusables how often do you end up changing nappies? I currently change after every daytime feed, so thats about 5 nappies a day, and am thinking about trying reusables during the day.

nova, nappy changes sound about the same....... wish I'd discovered them before, we love them! What d'you think you'll get?

Thought of you last night Londoner when I almost brushed my teeth with an old toothbrush now used to household cleaning

I have tried to moisturise my teeth instead of using toothpaste!

-- Re. nappies, have reuseable nappies (mothercare) but too big for ds yet. At night we don´t change him and he lasts well in one nappy. Used to get up every night with dd - sometimes more than once. She did not stop poohing at night till 10 months!!!
My midwife never changed nappies at night and her kids both stopped after 3 weeks to poo at night. I have my fingers crossed.

Ha ha lol Paps! YUK! Glad you didn't actually use that toothbrush....I'm with you on the baby not being changed at night... mine sleeps through from @11.30pm - 6.30am and so altogether has her nappy on for @8-10 hours sometimes and no leaks, smells or nappy rash here. Remember having to wake up and change leaking disposables on sleeping contented baby at this stage last time round so am really pleased with washables.