March 2016 babies! The (hopefully) graduation thread!

[hayleycookie]

We reached 999 posts without making a new thread - woops!

Park your bums and continue the newborn chitter, and due date whinges

Don't google any more Suz, it will always come up with the worst case scenario when IRL it is usually nothing to worry about. As the others have said, they just need to be extra careful with newborns to make sure they catch any potential problems.

marmite argh what a rubbish time for your dd to start teething. At least it gets it out of the way now though.

Indom The heartburn has got worse for me too recently. I suppose by this stage our babies are so big it probably doesn't make much difference whether they are engaged or not, our organs are getting squished anyway. Are you going into work tomorrow or have you finished up now?

I seem to have blanked out a lot of the hideousness of the early days of bfing too, but I agree if you decide to stick with it then its definitely worth it (or was for me anyway).

My dh has just texted to say he's going to swap round his days off for this coming week so instead of having tomorrow and Tuesday off as usual he will have weds and Thurs off. This is because he's decided I won't be giving birth until at least weds so this way the other guy he works with will definitely get his two days off before dh goes on paternity leave . Which is very nice of him, but I do feel a bit let down that he hasn't really considered that I might also like a bit of a break! I've been really struggling all week with contractions day and night (I know its only early labour but its as painful as established labour!) whilst looking after ds - who is very, very hard work at the moment. He is out of the house on work days from 9.15am until 10.30pm, so its not like an 8hr day where he can cook dinner/do bedtime. My DM has kindly agreed to come over for a couple of hours in the mornings from now until the baby is born but she can't do Mon and tues. I tried telling him last night that I'm really not coping well and that I needed a bit of moral support from him and he couldn't even be bothered to look away from the TV . I don't want to sound precious/self-centered, but I wish he wouldn't keep assuming that I'm completely fine to carry on as usual doing fulltime housework/childcare just because this is my second baby. Sorry for the mega rant .

trinpy that sounds really hard for you, and it's a shame your husband doesn't seem to be listening to what you say. It can be even harder with your second baby! There doesn't feel like any time to relax when you have another one to look after

The midwife came round and it turns out I had the latch and hold all wrong which is why it was hurting so much (which I had sort of guessed). She showed me different ways of doing it, although Eleanor still didn't latch on even with her help. Have just tried again now and although she's hungry she's showing no signs of getting the hang of it. I'm trying to be patient, but it's difficult when I know she needs something! I have managed to express some colostrum so I'll have to try and give it her in a cup of she won't take it from the breast yet. It's just so hard

Oh Trinpy

My DH has a habit of watching the tv when we're supposed to be talking about something. So annoying! Two more days, two more days... you can do this!

Ugh trinpy that sounds frustrating and really annoying of your DH... Hope your early labour kicks off sooner rather than later.

Charley good that you got some decent advice re latch and hold. I would also recommend YouTube videos for looking at holds - I've looked at some today to refresh my memory of the football hold as it's the one I'm getting on best with at the moment. Unfortunately damage is already done with my left boob cracked so planning to just keep going and treating it with gel packs etc and wait for it to get better. Dreading tonight's boob fest though!

Has anybody got the sleepyhead? Tempted to buy one tomorrow to try to get El to sleep in her bednest but its expensive if it doesn't work...

Me and DP decided to get married in May just a quick registry office thing for legal reasons (mainly as I realised that if anything were to happen to one of us We aren't currently each others next of kin). Anyway we told DPs parents today and his DM went a bit overboard, gushing about it being wonderful news, asking if they could host a celebration etc. Was a bit awkward as we really arent that fussed about marriage and so didnt want a fuss made but also didnt want to tell people after the fact as that might make it a big deal. Anyway so I said they could but we weren't really going to celebrate it as just doing it for legal reasons and she said 'oh not because you love each other then' DP cracked a joke about it being a marriage for a visa - I think to try and make light of her comment - but she didn't get it and thought he was being serious haha which confused her and he had to explain that no, I don't need a visa as obviously I'm British so it didn't quite diffuse the awkwardness. After they'd left he said to me she reacted exactly the way he was dreading. Am kinda worried that his parents see it as all me denying their son a proper wedding or something but oh well. Me and DP are on the same page about it which is all that matters. I'm also sure my family (ie my mum, will react in the same way). Sigh.

On the plus side his mum is a health visitor and I asked her to bring round her scales to weigh E in advance of her weigh in tomorrow as in my area they only allow a 7% drop in weight before they start on at you - when DD1 was born the threshold was 10% and she lost 7.5% so was worried about E's weight. But so far she's only lost 5% so unless she has some mega poo before the weigh in tomorrow we should hopefully be ok. Fingers crossed!

Sympathy, Trin. Come up the A30 and share my cough well trained DH! (The children would entertain themselves too!) Hope you have a baby soon though.

Marmite, I saw the attached pic/post on here a while back and screenshotted it to Pinterest. Worth a try before spending money?

I like your wedding style. I've got no romantic notions about marriage & children - it's a practical protection I think every woman should have if she has children (having seen those not married be royally shafted). Try not to worry about what the folks think. If you want to have a party in the summer, why not. But, it's no big deal really!

I've been Resting today. DH has been brilliant and as well as entertaining DS (it helps that he's nearly 5) he's washed the his car and cooked a roast and got a couple of laundry loads through too. Coughing continues though. Getting really sore in a C-shape round the top, left and bottom of my bump. (The side octo-baby is lying on)

Have been very sick and run down post birth but Didn't want to read and run marmite check for a tongue tie with either an LLL tongue tie specialist or anyone specialising in tongue tie diagnosis and snipping. Have just been through all this.

feel cross on your behalf trinpy only 2 days but I totally feel your pain. First baby you getting treated like a.precious snowflake, second baby lots of people telling you to rest, take it but not actually taking anything off your plate!
marmite DP and I did exactly the same thing after DS was born, £50 at the registery office with 2 witness and DS, then had breakfast (a real breakfast as it was only 1000) in the local.cafe and DP went back to work. We had a lovely day mainly because I told no one!!! Totally secret. My folks were really angry when I told then afterwards and DPs folks made a huge fuss sending cards and flowers and going on and on about how they wished they were there. Which all in all proved to me we did the right thing, as we did it.our way and they never would have been able to get on board with that! Sorry realise that's not v helpful in your situation! Just remember it's your thing not theirs.
Am currently lying in the bath hiding from everyone (my parents are here as emergency toddler.care). Had another sweep this afternoon (just rang the midwives and they slotted me in!) all v favourable and 1 or 2cm dilated, and walked up and down lots of steps but nothing is happening and I might have to kill my mother if she asks me one more time how I feel. I can't pull any sort of facial expression without her asking and then going on about how I have form for keeping things to myself (see above marriage) it's bringing on preggo rage! I'm even having in the bath too! Desperate times...

Oh no trinpy and bump, you both have my sympathies!

All was fine with the midwife, nothing worrying going on. Still being sent for a hip scan at six weeks but nothing to really worry about. I know, rationally, that doctor Google is a scaremonger, but it's hard not to panic!

My goodness Eddy is a little milk monster today. His hardly slept since 1.30, just wanted to guzzle constantly between nano naps; 5 mins at a time. Managed to get him down for an hour but he just woke up! Fingers crossed the epic feeding leads to a solid block of sleep tonight. Dh is back at work tomorrow; 6-10 and 4.45- 9, so will have to get up with dd and try to get us all out the house to toddler group. Then there's the challenge of getting dd to bed during what I remember as prime cluster feeding hour.

dobby dex has been the same today, just fed non stop. He's finally settled now so I'm in bed just in case he wakes up again soon!!

Suz that's great that everything's OK. I'm actually a complete hypocrite because I probably would've googled and worried too, but its hard not to when its your own baby, isn't it?

Bump sorry to hear you're in a similar situation . Fx your sweep worked and labour gets going for you soon. I had a bath earlier too and feel 1000x better for it, but definitely would've been better with . I hope you're feeling a bit better now.

Ha Indom that's the first time a stranger on the internet has ever offered to share her husband with me is he good looking?! Glad you got a rest. The cough must be on its way out soon (hopefully).

marmite I agree its definitely better to ignore the parents and do your wedding how you want; you'll only end up with regrets if you're forced into doing things their way.

Thank you for the support Beaut and Charley. Charley I also had to do the feeding from the cup thing with ds when he was a newborn (I also remember being given some tiny syringes to feed him with, which were also useless) and remember it being the most frustrating, painstaking task imaginable, so you have my sympathies . I wish I could give you any decent advice to add on what has already said. Did the mw suggest why she thought Eleanor was still struggling to latch even with correct positioning, etc?

Spoke to dh again tonight and told him I needed more help/support from him. He's going to come home in his lunch break on both days to take ds out for run around in the park. He has been making more of an effort tonight and has been bringing me drinks and checking I'm OK every time I get a contraction, so I think he's trying to be more understanding.

I'm glad your husband is listening to you more now trinpy, you need his support now more than ever!
To answer your question, no she didn't give a reason, she just said some babies are slower at picking it up than others and that she'll get it. It all sounds very familiar from the first time around She's rooting and trying but just can't get to grips with opening her mouth wide enough and latching on. I agree about the syringe- useless suggestion! Tried her with the cup and poor thing nearly chocked so that didn't go well! Currently expressing what I can as my boobs are getting hard and sore, so whilst I'm still trying with the breast feeding I can at least be getting something down her in the meantime. Luckily I seem to have a knack for getting a lot out when expressing so it's working ok at the moment. Just feel like a cow when hooked up to it

Up for first feed of the night, E let me sleep for a grand total of two hours after cluster feeding all evening. She's now asleep on my lap and i am wondering what i can do with her that wont wake her up but will mean i can sleep! Havent been hugely successful in even transferring her to lie next to me after feeding and i haven't quite got the hang of lying down feeding yet.

charley hope latch etc is improving for you! I definitely feel E got better at latching as the day wore on but now it's night time all has gone out the window

Thanks for the lifehack suggestion indom, will show it to DP!

Thanks Sher hadn't thought of tongue tie. I've got the womanly art of breastfeeding so will re read what it says on tongue tie and see if I can get to the bf drop in clinic at my local hospital.

bump sounds very frustrating - my mum would be the same if she was staying and it would do my nut in! It was bad enough this time with her ringing me constantly. Hope things get moving for you soon. I'm also starting to regret our decision to tell people our marriage plans rather than after the fact - would have possibly been easier just to deal with the anger. I'm dreading telling my parents. My dad is going to moan like mad as he's always gone on about wanting to give me away blah blah (which tbh even if i did have a proper wedding, i wouldnt do as I'm too much of a feminist to include a ritual in my wedding which passes me over from the property of one man to another!). Also, my parents are divorced - extremely acrimoniously - and will make it about them ie that we're not having a wedding to avoid having them in the same room together. Which is definitely an added bonus of not having a wedding if I'm honest! Ugh. But me and DP are definitely going to stick to our guns and just have our wedding our own way. I don't see why we should have to conform to others expectations and I have form in my family for doing my own thing so I'm sure they'll all get over it.

Glad your DH is making more of an effort trinpy. I agree with bump - first time round people seem to be much more sympathetic to pregnancy difficulties but second time round they assume you can just get on with it even though it's harder once you already have DC!

marmite a phrase I've started using is that "I didn't have a wedding, we just got married". It has helped when the MiL starts going on about anniversaries etc...
Nothing going on here other than the not insignificant achievement of not killing my mother or bursting into tears when she asked how I feel!

Suz glad to hear that the check with your midwives went well.

Marmite your wedding plans sound really lovely. You should stick to your guns and do what you want to do.

Charley hope you had a better night?

Bump and Indom really hope something starts for your guys soon.

We had a quiet day here yesterday. Dh is still ill so spent most of the day resting as he is back at work today. I took the kids (still can't believe I can use that plural ) to the local park with my parents so ds could have a run about and E for some fresh air. Now my mum has this cold too. I honestly feel like we have been bloody plagued by this cold/cough since E arrived. Hope mum doesn't get it too bad as she has come for an enjoyable week and I know it is selfish but I'm not relishing the thought of another ill person in the house.

Morning all,

Glad the midwife had no concerns, Suz.

Bump, what gestation are you now? I think there's only a handful of us left without babies (I'm 39+5).

Can't believe the cough's still hanging on for you Purple. Actually I can, I've had it for nearly a fortnight now.

I've called in sick. Feel a bit of a fraud as between coughing bouts I don't feel too bad (though I can't remember what normal feels like). But I'm planning on begging the doc for something to take the edge off. Also, , I think my pelvic floor is starting to give up. I'd bought some incontinence pants for the lochia, but it's looking increasingly like I might need to use them for their intended purpose! And I'm pretty sure my abdominal muscles are separating . Another thing to ask the doc.

Also, today would have been a good day to have a baby (logistically speaking). Very disappointed I didn't wake up in labour.

40+1 and nothing yet here Indom. Starting to get royally fucked off with waiting, I'm not patient and the longer things go on the worse my DH's anxiety is getting. Few twinges yesterday - that went absolutely nowhere and I actually had a good night's sleep in the end.

Indom you've been a complete trooper through all of this. I really hope the Dr can help and that labour will start for you soon.
marmite I agree about doing things your way. I know it's easy for me to say but stick with what you want to do- you'll look back on it and regret it if you let any one else get their way!
Thanks purple, we did have a better night, managed a couple of 3 hour stretches and DD1 didn't wake until just after 7 which was great. She's still fussing at the breast but my milk is coming in now so am hoping that will help, and in the meantime we've been giving her expressed milk in a bottle. I am aware this may be a bit counter productive as she'll get lazy and used to a teat, but so be it, at least she's having my milk regularly one way or another! The only thing is she is bringing some of it back up, and am not too worried as it always looks more than it actually is. I think she's just taking more than her little tummy can probably cope with at the mo but she seems quite content between feeds it just makes a fecking mess and more bloody washing.
I am waiting for the hormones to hit now I'm on day 4 and my milk is coming through, so am expecting to be a bit weepy over the next day or so My DM is coming round later for a couple of hours to do whatever jobs we feel need doing- housework, entertaining DD1, washing etc so that'll be helpful.

Sorry you and DH are feeling it, Tri. I'm trying not to think about there being possibly another two weeks to wait. Although, avoiding DSs birthday is my main priority. You're half a week ahead whatever happens.

Think it might be a pineapple and ball-bouncing day for us?!

Just seen the cover list at work, half our department's off. I'm glad it's not just me being a pussy with this cold. We were all worked into the ground last week too. (Feel sorry for the ones left in though).

Thanks bump i may have to start using that phrase ! Hope baby bump makes an appearance soon.

Glad things have improved Charley. When my milk came in I was teary overnight but it wasn't too bad at all - I think it massively varies from woman to woman though!

Latch seems to have gotten better on right boob (though not perfect) but left boob is an absolute mess. Might try to get an appointment at breastfeeding clinic for support.

DP held E last night from 4-6am, so I managed to get some sleep. He's knackered but wisely not complaining! DD is going over to her grandmas today as is usual for a Monday so we will get a little break. Very relieved though still feeling guilty about feeling relieved!

indom glad you're taking the day off - you are most definitely not a fraud!!

Sorry you're struggling trijo, hope you get to meet your baby soon!

The drama continues for us. Oliver is on antibiotics but his bloods showed signs of increasing infection so the poor little mite had to have a lumbar puncture (where they put a needle into the spinal column and remove a sample of spinal fluid) to rule out meningitis. The paediatricians say he'll have to be on antibiotics for at least a week, so we're still in hospital. Feel like a bit of a fraud because we're actually both doing really well.

Oliver has also started cluster feeding marmite, Dobby and wooden. He fed from 19:30 - 11 fairly solidly, then slept for 2 hours before feeding from 1 - 3. But then he let me sleep for 3 hours so I've forgiven him!

Indom & Purple you have my sympathy with your cold, think I'm getting one now and coughing/sneezing with an episiotomy is not fun feels like the world is going to drop out of my fanjo!

Charlie & French the breastfeeding thing is a struggle isn't it. Think we've just about got the hang of it (tried the rugby ball hold yesterday which was a minor breakthrough) but Oliver has a tongue tie which is making it a bit more tricky for him. Hopefully they are going to release it this week before we get discharged.

Sorry to those of you still waiting, I know how frustrating it is. Wow, that was a long post - hospital is so boring!

Hi all,

How is everyone?

I haven't checked I'm since Feb as last month of work was utter madness. I was working until 8/9pm every eve so needless to say first week or so of maternity leave was spent sleeping!

Can't believe there's been 2 new threads and a zillion posts since then! Well actually I can with the rate you lot chat ;)

I've skimmed through posts and so delighted to see lots of beautiful arrivals! Congrats to everyone who has had their babies!

I'm at 40 weeks now so just playing the waiting game!

Feeling apprehensive about birth but also excited to meet my little man.

missi so glad to see Zach is doing well xx

doc poor Oliver :( hope you guys are out of there soon.

marmite I didn't get too weepy either, was v surprised as generally I'm a cryer!

Indom yay you stubborn girl so glad you've taken the day off!

Charley hope breastfeeding goes a bit better for you today. I think everything seems worse at night!

As for me... I did it! I got up at 6:50, got myself ready, had breakfast, made sure the three big ones were ready, got Nancy ready, fed her, did a bit of housework... even let DH have the car for today and walked to school - and got there early!! AND Nancy's nose is still ridiculously blocked up so she was bothered by that all night. So so proud of myself!

We've got a playdate later and then obviously school pick up and I'll have to make tea and will probably crash and burn then but yay :)

indom and tri I'm still here and waiting! 40+11 today and being induced tomorrow if he doesn't make an appearance today. Ds has a rotten cold and kept us up most of the night so kind of hoping nothing happens today so I can get lots of rest in preparation for tomorrow induction.

Well done on the school run beaut! Bet you feel like superwoman right now!

Not much to add I'm afraid. Might live post from the hospital tomorrow though

Well done Beaut! I'll be needing your tips in a few weeks!

Hello neh, glad to have you back! (Yeah, we are a bit chatty, some of us have incredible procrastination skills and no real hobbies!)

These colds going round are utter bastards, hayley. Hope your DS shakes it off soon and you avoid it entirely. (Especially with the prospect of perineal injury - you poor thing doc!)

I've spoken to the nurse and the midwife, the only thing I could take is codeine linctus. I've never taken opiates before and I'd rather not start now, so declined. But now I'm thinking about it... At least the option's there. They were both very sympathetic, which was nice!