October 2014 // thread 3 // Maybe we'll get some sleep soon.

[MundayCakes85]

Last thread is full so here's a shiny new one

Thanks mrs, yes had that problem too but sorry my question wasn't quite clear, was meaning that if they don't drain the boob in one feed then do you offer the same boob first the next feed even if it is 3 hrs apart?

Happy if baby had green poos or was showing other signs of lactose overload then yes I would, otherwise probably not.

errr I have got gp appt this week (have been seeing them weekly) my Bp has come down to normal again but if it spikes again I'll make appt sooner as it's not till Friday.

I'd like to DTD but need to do some deforestation first. Anyone know if it is ok to use immac cream around the section scar? My scar is very low.....

happy I was advised by lactation consultants to do that - try and get to the stage where the baby is just flicking / tickling the nipple with their tongue as this is them shaking the fat drops off the milk ducts (ie the high quality hind milk stuff)

Thanks yellow, will monitor and see. May have been a one off as I know he had two short feeds in quick succession ( one from each boob) which may have caused it. On the topic of deforestation does anyone know when you can have a wax, obviously not on top of the scar! But just underneath it and then the other bits further down.

Sore I bought some KY but we didn't use it- it didn't seem like we needed it but may try discreetly applying some next time how am I going to do that??
And no, I didn't hear DH say that to the doctor, but maybe she thought she's be helpful after shoving her hand up there and pulling a baby out like a magician!!

Baby unusually calm today. Rather than enjoy it I think there's somethng wrong!! Anyone else like this?

Thanks sazzle and fedup, will try same boob within 2 hrs or other boob if over

Bloody hell my right boob is AGONY. Been on antibiotics since Wednesday - most of the hard and red bits have gone, but it REALLY hurts today. Doesn't hurt to feed, since it's not nipple related, but the rest of my boob... ouchy. Just had to take a mega painkiller combo.

Also having body image issues today.. I'm still hating all breastfeeding clothes, they are so ugly and unflattering, nothing looks good on me - in terms of how I feel about myself in public, I may as well go out wearing potato sacks with boob holes cut out. None of my jeans fit properly - I'm below my prepregnancy weight, and they actually do up around my 'waist', but my hips and arse have changed shape, so all of them give me camel toe. Pity party going on for me... luckily in laws still here dealing with Pip. Actually, it's just as well I'm too busy with her every day else I'd just sit in my room wearing PJs and not eating.

I've not bothered with breastfeeding clothes. They struck me a bit as a marketing ploy. Just wearing a vest I can pull down with something I can pull up over the top. I'd do anything for an excuse to dress up right now though. Working up the courage to take baby on the tube so I can visit some people and go to nice places.

Is five weeks too early for a six week growth spurt? This morning the infant is fractious and just wants to feed, or at least the offer of breast calms her down, although she's not doing many long feeds. She's notbeen like this for a while.

tatty - my problem is that I have enormous boobs - the pulling top up, vest down thing doesn't really work that well - mostly because I don't really have tops that are short enough to pull up - much more likely to have tunics. Also, tops are no good when your bottom bits like jeans and skirts don't fit yet, and you didn't buy any maternity jeans etc because you were pregnant over the summer and just wore dresses the whole time.

Meh. I'm just in a bad mood because my boob hurts. When the drugs kick in I'll be less concerned about my sack-like clothes!

No, I get it. I am also overly endowed in the tit department, but it means I feel like the nursing tops I've tried feel like they don't fit properly (as well as being the sort of thing I'd never normally wear). A lot of my pre- pregnancy tops were tunics, so I've had to buy some cheap-o t shirts, as well as one very expensive, totally gratuitous jumper to cheer myself up. I really sympathise with the body image thing. I struggled with it while pregnant and I'm still finding it difficult now, made harder by the fact that a lot of the time there's no point not wearing pajamas. I'm dosing myself with a combination of managed sulks (because sometimes that's the only thing that helps) interspersed with bubble baths. And I know it will get better when I can do some proper exercise again, so holding out for the six week check.

Sympathy to my fellow mastitis sufferers. Hope it clears up soon Smooshie and Goats. I'm just coming down with it for the third time, but at least mine usually clears up quite quickly once I start antibiotics. I'm delaying starting my latest lot of antibiotics as I hate seeing how uncomfortable they make ds. I'm persevering with heat and massage but I feel like crap so I think it's fairly inevitable.

I use the top up vest down method and it works OK despite having big boobs, but it helps if the top is quite loose so I usually look a shapeless mess. I don't like nursing tops and resent spending money on them so I haven't bothered.

Hell yes, me too. 6 week check is a week tomorrow at 9am. I can't wait to exercise properly again - I stopped at around 28 weeks because I ended up not being able to do half the exercises at the classes I was going to. I did aquanatal up until the day before I had the baby, but that was more about bobbing around in the water having a chat to other pregnant people!

Me and boyfriend have a plan - we'll go to the gym three times a week - he'll leave me in the café feeding Pip for half an hour/45 minutes while he does his exercise, then when she's hopefully all ready to sleep for an hour, I'll go and do my exercise while he sits there holding her and drinking coffee/reading the paper/watching telly. Nice. I genuinely can't wait. It's my secret plan to get boyfriend back to the gym too - he's moaning about being unfit and constantly having a cold, but never does anything to help either of those issues.

Then I have a deal with someone else from NCT too - mutual babysitting so we can run in daylight - probably just once a week for half an hour, but that's fine.

At 3 months I can use the crèche at the gym - not a great one, but I can go in when she's asleep during the day and just leave her in the corner in a car seat.

Hopefully I'll only be in my sack clothes for a few more weeks.

I usually look a shapeless mess

Especially when those shapeless tops are hanging off boobs that are encased in completely unsupportive nursing bras. Mmmm.. sexy. Look, I'm a massive mammary.. not in a good way!

I actually really like running in the dark so my plan is to get the hang of expressing, which I've put off because it's a faff and the reason I like breastfeeding is that it gives free rein to how shoddy I am, and then run in the evening while the man does baby massage/bath routine. He does that every evening anyway because he's much nicer than me at that sort of thing but she always wants a feed right after so I can't just leave them to it.

I agree with the not buying nursing clothes, I refuse to spend what little spare money I have on something I really don't like and won't wear ever again. I generally do the old top up vest down job too. Not tried too much public bf yet either.

Fatpony yes it's ok to use, I asked my doc and have used it twice since my c section...all completely fine, I went v close to scar too, was completely fine :)

Hate the clothing situation too. Have two maternity skirts and one nursing dress. The dress makes me feel smarter and at not quite four weeks post section hope other skirts will fit soon- think my jeans etc are a bit smaller. I have the added bonus here that the weather has really changed drastically since having dd. temp has gone from plus 40c to about 15-19c so maternity wear is now not suitable for the current climate. Finding duvet or blanket works wonders

I'm planning to BF for 18-24 months depending, entirely selfishly, on when I cave in and want to eat dairy again (mmm cheese, chocolate and a brew ) so buying a few nice BF bits (I like boob and frugi, the latter do nice tunics BTW Goats) makes sense for me. I get all mine on eBay. I can get in my prepregnancy jeans but the seam rubs right on my CS scar so I'm going to get some more err, "generous" ones! I used to have awful body image issues from being really skinny, being a Mum has actually made me more confident as its left me a different shape. I didn't expect my rib cage and hips to change shape permanently .

I'm v envious of all the exercise plans. Sadly with two and no family nearby I'm going to be limited to dog walks, swimming with the kids (which has zero exercise value!), toddler chasing and once I've toned up my pelvic floor and Lil has a bedtime, some nighttime running. I bet I am beetroot red for the first few weeks so doing it after dark is probably for the best.....

Ow with you Goats on the right boob in agony. DD refusing to nurse on it. It has a large white spot at the end of nipple - blocked duct? I'm doing everything I've read to shift it but nothing working so far (apparent from ibuprofen which I'm tempted to combine with some strong alcoholic beverage!)

I have one bf top that was a gift. Its a bit of a faff tbh, so tend to wear tops I can just pull down sufficiently to wap a boob out of. I think it really is all about confidence. My whole boob is often out and I've decided o just don't care. I'll use a muslin or scarf to cover up if I'm around someone I think will be uncomfortable but otherwise not. My friends Muslim husband who I only met for the first time for example.

As for clothes, I'd love to invest in some nice new things but I want to lose a lot of weight first. I have clothes in many sizes due to getting very heavy. Moving down into clothes that currently don't fit will be a nice start. When I'm close to my target weight, I'll treat myself to some new bits!

Sounds like a milk blister Captain, there's some info here. I've never tried the soaking method in that link but you can often get them out by squeezing around it and gently poking/scraping it. It's very satisfying when the blockage clears and you get a massive spray of milk!

Yeah, I've discovered I don't really care about flashing myself around. It's a bit like getting changed on the beach- in principle I want to be dignified and do artful shenanigans with a towel, but when it comes to it I can't be arsed. Laziness: presenting itself as a principled stand since I got old enough to care.