Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Post-natal clubs

Join our Postnatal Clubs forum to find parenting advice for newborns.

May 2013 thread our new and not so new arrivals

750 replies

BeauticianNotMagician · 24/05/2013 07:47

Hi ladies

Just thought we could all really do with this. Rather selfish a its mostly for the thousand odd questions I have and things I'd like to share/ vent that no one else would understand.

We've all been together so long I even talk about you all to DP Smile

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Boodstress · 07/06/2013 09:45

beaut I put distance between my MIL and I post birth if I can because her annoying comments plus my emotional tired hormonal self mean it usually ends uncomfortably. I read a really funny thing on FB once for MILs saying something like ' I'd take advice from you if I thought you did a perfect job with your son' lol!!
10 just shows how important communication is, I wrote this long post on here after getting back from hospital and then collapsed in front of the tv, my DH was asking how I was and I was going to just keep it brief cause I knew he was worried & tired but in the end I read what I wrote here and he had no idea it had been so stressful. We had a good chat. No substitute for a good old chat ...& a bottle of champers!!

BeauticianNotMagician · 07/06/2013 13:46

I'm going to try and think of one liners to answer MIL back in preparation for tomorrow. If she says anything whilst out I will most definitely be getting DP to have a word.

T had his weigh in today. At 19 days old he is 8lb 4oz so has put on a lb since birth.

OP posts:
purrpurr · 07/06/2013 17:07

Is there any room for one more? I popped in on the ante natal thread right at the very last minute (think it was the day before I was induced). I've been struggling a little bit since I had my DD.

Boodstress · 07/06/2013 17:29

Of course purrpurr . Welcome aboard. Is DD your first? How was the birth? There is bucket loads of advice & understanding on here.

purrpurr · 07/06/2013 19:18

Thanks for the welcome :) DD is my first yes, and I think only. I went in to be induced because I went two weeks overdue. As I was already contracting on arrival, they went straight to breaking my waters, then the Syntocinon drip. The induction went... wrong. After 4 hours of the kind of dark, vicious, inescapable artificial pain that only the NHS can provide, I ended up with an emergency c section and major PPH that was very nearly missed. I still can't really think about it properly because I have remembered every single bit of it like a film reel. I was never about the 'birth experience', I didn't have a birth plan, I only ever wanted my DD to come out healthy, and I got that, but I still feel like I paid for that, somehow.

My DD came out pink and perfect at 8lb 4oz. She dropped to 7lb 8oz and is now, at nearly 3 weeks, up to 8lb 9oz. She's deliciously chubby and pink with a little rosebud mouth and lovely blue eyes.

tasmaniandevilchaser · 07/06/2013 19:29

Hey purr! I was wondering how you were doing? I was hoping no news was good news, really sorry to hear that induction went so wrong. Are you saying you had the drip with NO epidural?!? Good lord. That is wrong. I had the drip WITH epidural with dd and that was ferocious. Be very kind to yourself and take it very easy. Sounds like your dd is doing really well with that weight gain, well done!

Boodstress · 07/06/2013 20:52

Sounds so like my first purrpurr. I know exactly what you mean about it being like a film reel. Talking about it - later on- really helps I found. She sounds perfect though and that .. Is what it's all about. X

TigerSwallowTail · 08/06/2013 08:56

I had the drip without an epidural on Monday purr and the pain was utterly terrifying, the anaesthetist came in and offered me an epidural (there was no time as I pushed out dd about 15 minutes after being offered one!) and she said that she's never had anyone that's been on the drip that hasn't needed an ep. 4 hours is impressive, I was only on the drip for about 30 minutes before dd came, I definitely couldn't handle 4 hours of it.

cuppateaandagingersnap · 08/06/2013 13:42

Hi all, just finally got round to posting here! Have been trying to read to the end of the thread for the last week but wee Thomas always seems to know when I'm sitting down with a cup of tea and my iPad! Don't think I've finished a cup of tea since he was born!
Hugs to everyone who's finding things challenging at the moment.
Thomas is now 2weeks, I'm doing my best to EBF, I have been doing occasional formula top ups especially in the early days when he was clearly still hungry after emptying both boobs. Trying to express as well so DH can do some feeds and he keeps up his bottle skills for later but finding the time to express is hard! I've been surprised at how I can function (more or less) on about 3 hours sleep a night and the (very) occasional nap.
I've just got all the thank you cards I ordered and the thought of writing them all is leaving me cold!

Bunnychan · 08/06/2013 16:45

Help ladies, I'm so confused about Breastfeeding!
LO lost too much weight so was put on a plan of feeding 20-30 minutes 8 times a day. She put plenty back on after two days but was constantly sick. Now I'm trying to do 8 feeds but she only wants to be on for 10-15 minutes and I'm struggling- I'm having to wake her/ force to feed. My breasts are sore and she spits half of it back up. I'm seeing a breast feeding support on tues but I'm worried about her. She's wetting plenty of nappies but hasn't pooed today. How much/ how long do u feed for? X

Bunnychan · 08/06/2013 16:57

Forgot to put, my milk literally pours out x

Boodstress · 08/06/2013 17:33

My boys did a full feed in 10 mins and nothing could have enticed them to stay on longer. If I managed it they would just bring it back up shortly after. FF full time with DD but my guess would be more feeds of shorter length but that's hard if you're sore . My two both got to the hind milk in minutes so were putting on weight steadily.

Artichook · 08/06/2013 17:51

Bunny, my DC1 took 40 minutes to empty one side and liked to hang out on the breast, she would have stayed there all day! DC2 would empty a side in 7 mins and refuse to suck for a moment more. DC3 takes about 15-20 minutes per side and always falls asleep so can't be made to suck more. So basically they are all different. BF babies often go several days without poos its nothing to worry about. If your LO put weight back on and is alert with wet nappies I'd relax about the feeding regime.

FrustratedSycamoresRocks · 08/06/2013 21:23

bunny when you say it pours out, am I right in thinking you have full breasts, they never feel empty, refil quickly, leak forcefully, squirt milk across the room when dd pulls off ? If it is, I would hazard a guess that you have oversupply and forceful letdown, (2 different things, but usually occur together).

My dd1 used to feed in less than 10minutes. And only ever took one side. (Oversupply and forceful letdown)
Dd2 fed for about 45minutes, took both sides. (No o/s or f/l)
Ds1 feeds pretty much continuously on and off all day. Gorges himself and is sick after every feed. (O/s and f/l again)

Dd1 only pooed once a week until weaning started.

The best thing (ime) to combat the sickness that Ive found is to keep offering the same side (during the same feed,) so ds gets enough of the hindmilk. And regular burping.

Bunnychan · 08/06/2013 21:36

frustrated that sounds about right. It doesn't squirt but tend to run everywhere, my breasts are constantly full and I can express til the cows come home. When i feed from one side, i get through a breast pad on the other during the feed. She always coughs/splutters milk back up after feeds. I feel like I'm drowning her x

FrustratedSycamoresRocks · 08/06/2013 21:50

You could try expressing the initial "umph" off before you feed her?
Other thing that might help is positioning. Keeping dd above the nipple. So gravity helps her and she doesnt choke ao much. (And if they are gulping to try and keep up with the milk they take in more air so will be more windy and sicky)

Lying on your back with her on top, feeding lying down with her next to you, leaning back when feeding.

It also gets easier when they get bigger and can feed in more of a sitting position as you can get them higher than the breast easier then.

TerracottaPie · 08/06/2013 22:07

What frustrated said ^^

I've always had a forceful letdown and probably oversupply too. I've had the choking, coughing, gulping it down babies alongside the leaky, squirty boobs with all of mine.

Definitely regular winding through the feed. Some other things that have helped me in the past are lying down to feed - as then any excess can easily get dribbled out the side of her mouth rather than gulped down - and feeding in a more upright position.

Kellymom is a great website for all breastfeeding worries. (I've linked straight to the oversupply page)

Also, bfing, no matter how many times you've done it has its challenges. I'm on DC4 now, I've bf them all and I still don't have it right with one!

hopefully you'll get some good help on Tuesday

Bunnychan · 08/06/2013 22:19

Thanks ladies! I'm going to try leaning back when feeding on my next feed. I've gone and googled it and definately seems like I have both problems. Will it settle down or will it always be this way? X

shelly81 · 08/06/2013 22:28

Ladies is anyone struggling to get there babies to feed for long in this heat ?? My LO just wants to sleep & wake up for a 10 min feed then back to sleep .... The heat has really wiped her out xx

TigerSwallowTail · 09/06/2013 00:03

Yes shelly I'm having problems keeping this little one awake for her feeds. What I've found that works is not changing her before her bottle, then when she falls asleep halfway through taking a bottle I'll then change her which wakes her up enough to finish off her milk.

purrpurr · 09/06/2013 00:39

Tas I kept meaning to come back and update on the Overdue thread that we were on, but finding time to do anything is really rather tricky! How did things work out for you? I need to go find the antenatal thread and see if you posted there - could do with another hour in the day :)

Bood I had no idea it could be that bad - I can't ever see myself going through it again, particularly as they've warned me that I'm pretty much guaranteed to have a major PPH in subsequent deliveries :( It's good to hear that you can move past it, to a certain extent, in order to go on to have more children. Right now that seems impossible :/

Tiger I did forget to mention that after 2 hours, I asked for pain relief - I went for diamorphine (sp?) which seemed to take away the bleak wraparound effect of the pain so I was at least in the room and able to talk to my husband and the midwife between contractions. By the time it all got a bit scary and they said I'd have to have a c section I was secretly so relieved that it was soon going to be over. I remember gibbering madly to the midwife/my husband/everyone in the room about the pain, which had become something like thick black smoke everywhere, and almost being obsessed by the fact that when the diamorphine had kicked in, it's like it hunted down the pain and gave it a postcode so I could actually deal with it. I do wonder, if they could provide a relatively accurate simulation of the pain you experience on the drip, to men, to non-pregnant women, to politicians... To human rights activists... Whether we would still be so bloody keen to use the drip to induce, without automatically offering significant pain relief as part of the drip itself.

Well the last few days have been tiring, I've got a horrible dry cough which is keeping me up and unfortunately wakes my DD up too. I try to nip out into the hall to cough but that does get in the way of trying to sleep! There have been lovely moments with DD though - I bathed her for the 4th time today, I've been giving her a wash on the change mat because being undressed, and wet, for any fraction of time, reduces her to chin-quivering sobs (which breaks my heart) but today I filled her bath deep enough for her long body to be able to float in, and she was super spaced out baby, really chilled, just staring up at me and gently kicking her legs underwater. Me and my DH were peering down at her little face and making (no doubt very nauseating) 'awww hello' type cooing noises, and she was peering back up at us like we were the most interesting thing she had ever seen. Sooo sweet!

Oh and we had our first poo explosion today - when I was changing her, she did a fair few farts and suddenly a river of mustard poo wooshed up the changing mat, off the edge and up my trouser leg! And the SMELL! Dear oh dear. Nuclear baby!!

Bunnychan · 09/06/2013 08:40

purr we had that last night, got through about 3 nappies as everytime I put the clean one, she went off again. It's always when DP is asleep too! Lol x

lollypopsicle · 09/06/2013 11:51

Hello everyone. Finally had DD 11 days overdue on 3rd June. Can't believe that was almost a week ago! Not had the chance to check in here until now. Having said this, I have been keeping up with the thread and finding lots of the advice useful. Grin

Just marking my place, really. Will add my birth story when I get a chance.

10storeylovesong · 09/06/2013 12:13

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at poster's request

FrustratedSycamoresRocks · 09/06/2013 13:58

Haha 10 I (ds) had poo explosions this morning. I had to put my pjs, dressing gown, and my bed sheets in for wash this morning. Grin that's what I get for being cocky about his wee fountain missing me.