October 2012 babies - we meet them at last!

[YompingJo]

Getting thread in place in readiness!

Hey! Can't wait to catch up soon. Still in hospital, things still bit mad. Bean baby is wonderfully perfect, I am however not. Thank heavens and lord for medical staff!! Internet connection v poor and so want to hear how u all are. Over and out, hope everyone good. And yes, day 3 and my boobs are feckin hot 'n hard!!!! But at Least I've got midwives on tap!!!

Evening peeps :)

Lizzie good to know you only had exploding boob syndrome for a couple of days lol Acupuncture was for post-CS pain and it REALLY helped - would recommend it wholeheartedly. I had 2 sessions in 6 days and it just accelerated the healing. Also got some totally disgusting Chinese herbs - not sure what they did tbh! Maybe they helped too :) Sympathy on Moses basket thing - I did read something about warming basket with a hot water bottle, removing it and then putting bean down on a toasty mattress (just check not too hot). Might be worth a try? And if that fails - swaddling is magic for us!

Beeble congrats on your wee one and ouch on the stitches - big sympathy! Hope you are feeling okay

Orange thanks for encouragement and the pumping tip. I tried hand pumping left boob today twice as was engorged on that side only. Took about a minute to get an oz off and felt much better!

Badgerina welcome and congrats on your chilled out bean - hope he stays that way! :) It sucks when the DHs go back to work doesn't it :( Wish they had longer but at least you are a second timer and know what you are doing. Good luck next week!

Hey lisbeth - hope all is well with you, Paul and family :) Good to 'see' you :)

huffle glad bean is well and hope you are okay! Not sure what you are dealing with but am thinking of you On the hot boobs - I know Squid found the cabbage leaves good.

CWest are you out there? Hope everything is going well for you and your new arrival x

Squid and Planktonette hope you aren't missing your mums too much

Out for lunch today, had to pump some milk off my massive left boob first. Last fed from it 9.30pm last night, bean had v long sleep, then fed off right, then another long sleep so realised it was 10 hours between left boob feeds. Woke up with cannon ball boob and nightie, bra, sheet SOAKED with milk Haven't used the Medela pump yet, going to wash it all tonight as I've got engorged ON for the last 2 Sat nights and I want to be ready this week!

Bean has slept and fed beautifully all day and was good as gold for visitors this morning - so gearing up for the night of hell.....!!!

Hi all

Crikey I must admit I'm struggling to keep up. Badgerina hello and very welcome, congratulations on your baby! Beeblebear hooray, congrats and welcome to the other side! Really hope your stitches heal quickly and well. I had a very long 2nd degree tear last time and it was really no fun - hope you have a better experience.

angelico how long was your sleep last night? We had a grim one last night, DS2 basically awake from 2.30-6.30am, and DS1 who's a bit under the weather atm was up when DS2 was asleep. Total zombie today.

huffle hope you're ok? Sending healing vibes your way. Glad your baby's doing well!

Hi lisbeth! Remind me how old your toddler is? How's he/she coping with the new baby?

Hugs to those feeling abandoned by mothers!

Elpis missed you on the news, but wow, cool!

Had a lovely day today. Went for a walk en famille with DS2 in the moby successfully for once. DS1 was as pleased as punch to have us all out and insisted on holding my hand to cross roads rather than DH's It was lovely DS1 then went swimming with DH (one of his favourite things in the world) while I saw an old friend, and then we went into town and gave the double buggy its inaugural run. Felt like I was pushing a bus but manoeuvred well at least. Having 2 kids in a buggy is full on, was terrified of getting too close to the road - the responsibility!

Now just waiting for both boys to fall asleep so we can go to bed. Yes, it's not even 8 but my god I'm dead on my arse.

beeble - congratulations and OH MY GOD. I was 5h15 mins, about 2.5 hours from 2 cm dilated to 10, but your speed (and, I assume, intensity!) put me to shame. Welcome to the other side!

Hi everyone! Can I join as well? I had my DD1 on Thursday evening so she's just 2 days old.
She's so gorgeous - feeding well, although my nipples are very very sore already and my milk hasn't come in yet so I'm worried about that. Really really want to breast feed so am determined to go through the pain. Just a bit down heartened because in the hospital the midwives kept telling me that if you're doing it right then it won't hurt but I'm sorry my nipples have never been subjected to Such vigorous sucking before so they're bound to be sore aren't they?
Also don't know if it's just me but I've becomeabit obsessed about my birth story - I want to tell everyone about it whichisn't always appropriate - PIL coming tomorrow!! It was really positive I think - I managed on TENs at home then in the pool and just some gas and air at the end when I pushed. It's just it was such a strange experience - I knew it was going to be hard work but I found it so exhausting, my whole body is still aching - I even have a bruise on my nose where I was pushing the gas and air mask onto my face so hard! Also did anyone else find the pushing out bit very surreal - I can't quite understand how it all worked and the feeling of doing it! I guess I just need to process the whole experience!
Sorry to splurge - have just fed and now holding sleeping baby, I've got a few hours to go before I hand over to DH - she refuses to be put down so currently sharing the holding baby duties at night!
Hope everyone else is having a good night.

olivess. I'm so with you on the labour and especially the pushing bit. I found it amazing. When you watch labours on tv and they say 'I need to push'. For me, it wasn't that I needed to, my body was just pushing. I couldn't control it. What I could do, was push more on top of it. But the pushing was just automatic. Amazing!

Congrats Olive :)

Supposedly DH on duty tonight and just bringing bean for feeds, then taking her back upstairs to sleep. So why are they both lying sleeping in the guest room (where I was sleeping) while I sit here waiting to see if she's settled?

And the real question... when it's supposedly 'my turn' tonight do I let him sleep or let him see what it's like when you think you're going to get a night to sleep and then don't...???

Crazy know I sound like some kind of evangelist but have you tried swaddling? When we don't swaddle or when DH does a shit attempt at it because he can't be arsed learning how to do it properly bean will sleep for about 2-3 hours. When she is swaddled well she will do anything from 3-5 hours. Really is worth a try. We got the Miracle Blanket which is okay but to be honest although more hassle I find a big Muslin swaddle gets a tighter job and thus a longer sleep... Weegoamigo ones are my brand of choice and then swaddle the Harvey Karp way (posted a blog link showing it up thread). Hope you are getting a better night tonight

All sounds quiet on the western front... back to bed I think! x

And Olive it will feel a bit tender the first few days so don't worry. I found the MWs will talk any old bollocks in their desperation to get people to BF, then wonder why so many people give it up within a few weeks. Frankly they'd be better being honest and saying, "Once it's established it won't hurt MOST of the time unless beans are not latched properly but sometimes it will still smart no matter what you do because of let down / engorgement / the fact that an infant is voraciously sucking your tender nipples at least 6 or 7 times a day..."

Thanks Angelico....the midwife visited this morning and reassured me that DD was latching on properly and that it often will hurt at the start. She also said that some people's nipples are particularly sensitive especially if they aren't normally pointy-outy nipples as they are being sucked out of their normal shape if you see what I mean!

Yay, I can finally join you! Alice Jessica born 6pm last night weighing a very healthy 9lbs! More detail on ante-natal thread but need to process birth story myself before I share it, it's all a bit of a blur at the moment.

Yay Yomping many congrats :)

Nice afternoon out, had lunch then planned to go for walk only a) Bean started waking up wanting fed and b) we couldn't figure out how to attach the car seat to the buggy base :o Home now and feeding time at the zoo so more later...

Hooray yomping!! Huge congrats and welcome to Alice! Well done you.

We've had a day where DS2 has screamed since 11am with less than an hour's sleep. Looks like we're being hit resoundingly with the colic stick again; if so, you may not see me here for a while

Congrats yomping! That's really good news. Will write more later but currently stuck in middle of early evening feeding frenzy/toddler bathtime saga.

Ps please shoot me!

Bang bang lizzie. Consider yourself 'whacked':o

Just spent half an hour cuddling colicky daughter while she squeezed out a poo. The glamour that is my life just keeps on amazing me...

Gosh I've got a lot of reading/catching up to do!

My news: BabyFjord is now more or less completely off formula, feeding better and has had 2 days free from colic (was it the formula??). My syntocin nasal spray is working a treat (although making my nose itch so much that I'm always caught by DP looking as if I'm picking it!). We actually had a 'fairly relaxed' day today which is a leap forward.

Thank you for worrying about me squid. I'm ok. Finding ways and getting used to each other now. I still have her on me so much that getting on the computer is nigh on impossible (and typing MN-length messages with one, often left hand is super difficult let alone reading it all that small without going cross-eyed or falling asleep!). On the upside, I got about 5.5 hours sleep altogether last night (in dribs and drabs) so I was headacheless today for the 1st time in days! :).

DP's not working tomorrow so hopefully that will 'buy' me the chance to sit down at the computer and catch up with this thread (although sadly LO is still not accepting Pappa as a replacement for Mamma and is rather boob fixated - she likes to sleep with one hand and cheek on it even when not feeding ). Still have that birth story to tell...

Morning everyone! Pleeeeeeeease can I join now????

Firstly, massive congrats to Yomping, Beeble & October & well done to you all!!

Just a quick note to let you know that Baby Loopy has arrived!!! I had a little boy yesterday, 1 week early & delivered via emergency c-section - long story, definitely not in the birth plan !! Weight is 6lbs, 10oz.

Will write a longer message in the next few days, update f/b & catch up with everyone else too to pick your expert Mummy brains [in hospital for a few days now] but he is just gorgeous & scrummy!!

Loopyla & my little prince, lying next to me

Hey

Struggling a bit in the squid household. Have been feeling very low, feeling it creeping up, then get panicky about feeling low because I've had a couple of bad bouts of depression before and the things I do to counter it are not really available to me right now (being very busy, lots of activity/exercise). I feel really... detached from my baby like I didn't really give birth to her. Sometimes I feel like I don't love her. Then I cry a lot. I wanted this baby so much... have been counting down all year to this. Boyfriend is a bit worried though he thinks it will pass. My mum thinks I am not so bad when I am less tired and thinks I will be ok. I am trying.

Then, not great timing, last couple of days Jess has gone from a fairly placid baby (if one who refuses to be put down) into a crazy screaming one. I guess it's colic? Saturday she screamed for nearly 24 hours, from 2am to 9pm, it was awful. Yesterday was not so bad in the day but again screamed inconsolably from 6pm to 10pm. I feel really rattled. I know colic is common and harmless but I keep thinking about months of this when I don't even really feel like I love my baby any more and... I don't know, I am a bit low I think. I hope it will pass. This is my first week alone, I am going to try and use it constructively. It's only been two nights of the screaming but I am absolutely dreading the evenings now. And they were mine and my boyfriend's only time together really --- he takes her in the late evening till about 1,2am (she tends to just sleep on him while he watches tv) and I take her in the early morning when she sometimes kips a bit and other times needs a lot of cuddling/feeding. Daytime he is at work, and if the evenings are now going to be colic I just... I feel a bit despairing. I really miss him.

We have tried loads of things and some stuff helps a bit temporarily - bouncing on the gym ball, rocking and cuddles, swaddling, feeding, putting her in the sling and walking... we bought some "colief" from the chemist but it was very stressful expressing breastmilk while she was screaming, I'd not expressed before. I will try again. Boyfriend took her out at 10pm last night after hours of it and drove around the block for 45 minutes after which she eventually fell asleep. I went to bed when he did but I couldn't sleep because I was upset. Is this really sustainable for months...?

I don't mind being woken up endlessly and I don't mind the feeding and I don't mind holding her all the time... I just want to get that feeling back I had after the birth when I loved her so so much... I don't know where it's gone.

Sorry for such an awful monday morning post. I will try and make it a constructive day.

YOu are all being really supportive and thanks and I will write back personally in a bit.

smileyhappymummy I did go and get a leg wax thank you, that was the one nice thing this weekend!!! had sex with boyfriend yesterday as well which was so lovely it made me cry, I miss him so much. We spent 2.5 hours settling baby before hand and took about 10 minutes! Didn't have full sex in the end because I chickened out, but everything but.

Congratulations to Yomping and Loopyla. Lovely to have you guys here. Hope you are both feeling ok, recovering, being looked after.

Hey squid,
It isn't sustainable for months but it honestly does get better. And feeling like this about her now doesn't mean you don't love her or that you won't gt thwt feeling back - you will. When dd1 was about 4 weeks old I seriously wondered whether I'd done the right thing having a baby and thought how nice it would be if I needed to go back into hospital for a wound infection or something so I could have a break from her. She is now the absolute centr of my world.
Please be gentle and kind to yourself. You don't need to aim for a "constructive day" just getting through the day is an achievement - focus on that. Try and fit in something nice each day even if it's tiny, just a little treat. Also, don't feel bad about feeling this way. It's ok. You will get there.
Congratulations to loopy looking forward to hearing more from everyone.
First day for me without dh today - bit nervous..... Have become a bit stupidly paranoid that I'll drop the baby or somehow fail to look after her properly. Need to phone car insurance too and see if they're ok for me to drive post section too - otherwise am v isolated as we live about 3 miles from anywhere with no public transport.
fjord sounds like you are doing amazingly though v hard work.
Wishing you all good Mondays.
Xx

squid your situation sounds a lot like mine last time with DS1, and I fear the direction I'm going again this time. It's good you're so aware, I think it's bloody hard to love something that screams non-stop - but keep a close eye and get help sooner rather than later. i wish i had, DS1's 1st year was possibly the worst year of my life because i didn't.

Morning. In need of a bit of reassurance - hoping someone can help - really just want to know if a few things are normal.

So without doing a complete birth story (as it's all a bit confused in my head still), I got to 8cm dilated at home but then midwife spotted meconium in waters and we were ambulanced to hospital. Got to 10cm then it all went a bit off plan... 4 hours of second stage labour with really strong contractions not getting me anywhere as her head was in an awkward position and I was in masses of pain as her head was on a nerve I think, and my back had been agony for 24 hours by that point. I was totally spent, nothing left, all I could do was push as hard as I could (DH said my face was red and my ears went purple and I carried on doing it for 3 hours) then sob . Eventually I begged for pain relief and it took another hour (with more pushing and a syntocinon drip to try to speed up contractions) for that to be sorted. Then I was taken into theatre and given a spinal block (oh my god, the relief) and finally pushed her out with the aid of forceps and an episiotomy, then stitched up.

So I have stitches and 2 "small" piles from all the hours of pushing.

What I want to know is whether, after that, these things seem normal:

• Any kind of movement involving my lower body hurts - walking (I'm slower than a zombie), standing up, sitting down, stairs, turning over in bed, getting in and out of bed - you get the picture!
• Being sat down is very uncomfortable.
• I'm terrified of the toilet. Not the going, but the wiping (TMI, sorry )
• My lady bits feel like a warzone, and the midwife said the swelling would get worse before it gets better.

Is all this normal?

Thank you in advance!

Oh geez, squid and crazy, hope you feel better soon. crazy your advice is good, will try to remember it myself...

yomping WELCOME!!!!

1. Yep, my lower bits killed for about four days. TMI: what used to be inside got squeezed outside, making walking damn painful. It goes back in eventually.
2. Do yourself a favour - send DH to the supermarket for 'ansrex moistened toilet wipes'. You won't regret it!

Hello ladies, having a sneaky peek on here to see what to expect for the first few days/weeks.

Fjord yay you sound like you're doing really well, I'm sure it's still hard work though, but well done!

Squid and crazy lots of hugs to you, and anyone else suffering, I'm sorry I don't have any advice having not gone through any of this yet, but I'm thinking of you.

yomping >clueless but helpful face< I had a long chat to Big Sis 2 last night who remembered being told to keep sanitary towels in the freezer so they are more soothing when you wear them. Although do remember to take them out months later when you are vacating your rental house, unlike my darling sis who forgot and got some funny looks from the estate agent doing the inventory

(clarification: it took about a week or so for the outside bits to go back inside, and even then they still hurt and my walking distance is still pretty low.)