we did it, we did it, the babies are here, now come and join us and we will give you a cheer!!!!

[Dozymare]

Hope this works

thought i would start a thread for those of us already in the heady World of motherhood, so we can share the trials and tribulations of the early days....

I shall start with my birth story and hope other's follow and I haven't started a dud thread

As you know I was dreading a 3rd CS, almost to the point where I was having panic attacks - we went in on the Thursday and after waiting for an EMC we were taken to theatre where I was DELIGHTED to recognise the aneathatist (sp!!) who helped deliver DS2. Now, one of my major fears about a 3rd CS was the fact that having had a "perfect" excperience with DS2, it6 wouldn't be possible to experience the same thing again...I was wroing, it was better The whole thing was started at 1315 and Tallulah was born at 1344 weighing 7lbs 2oz. She has a shock of dark hair but seems so small compared to the boys who were 9 and 10lbs respectively. The care I recieved was absolutely 2nd to none - no complaints or gripes.........So far so good.........

HOWEVER.........my god, do you forget the pain of breastfeeding before the milk comes in - I am in absolute agony and have had to top up with aptamil as the poor wee thing is so, so hungry...I am literally BF for up to 2 hours (the point of pain in both udders ) and then topping up with Aptamil. She guzzles 30ml and then settles.......As for sleep - sleep is for wimps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with pinkyminkee CriCri; although it seems relentless at this stage it does settle down and they need to stimulate your supply to meet their growing needs.

Also BFing is so much more than just getting calories from a baby's point of view; it's about closeness and comfort and adjusting to the big bad world.

Hi again zonedout ; I wondered where you had disappeared to. Wow five weeks already!!

Dozy, re the mastitis, if you have already got red patches then it would seem that you have blocked ducts at the very least. Several things can be done

1. feed tiger yourself as much as possible from the sore boob (agony I know, but it is the best thing for clearing it), preferably with her chin pointing towards the blockage...this may involve you lying her on the bed and feeding her from above so you can rotate round her like a clock!)

1. hot flannels as suggested by zonedout and massage from the blockage towards your nipple.

1. combing your boob (yes with a hair comb) from the blockage towards your nipple (hurts like f*** but works).

1. Make sure the blockages aren't caused by ill fitting bras or lying funnily in bed or your pumping equipment. With DD I had loads of blockages. It took me months to discover that it was expressing that was causing it as the Avent pump wasn't draining my boobs properly. I stopped expressing and the blockages disappeared.

1. Make kellymom your homepage. Lots of great advice and links and answers to all the common problems.

Cricri, bf as much as you can.
But do NOT feel guilt , or sadness, (PROMISE ME YOU WON'T)or anything else, for giving a top up of formula.
Actaully in thses first few days, I might even recommend it. Else you will be exhausted. AND one top up will not make that much difference to your supply and demand. But might make a BIG difference to how you feel/whether you feel that you can cope, if you manage to get a few hours sleep.

Try to hold out. Try to bf. But don't beat yourself up about formula. It will make very very mininal difference.HTH. Big hugs. Obs.

Welcome Zonedout, to the dark side

not my intention, either. I've just seen a few of my friends lose confidence in their Bfing because of top-ups, that's all.

hi everyone.
i haven't read the full thread (sorry) but was recommended to come on here as I have just had my first DC (7th nov) and chat with the lovely november club!
so hi all

Thanks for your messages everybody.
Dozy I will speak to mw tomorrow about thyroxine and bf. I'm on 175mcg of levothyroxine so slightly more than you so it could be interfering with milk production.
DH is just giving Elise a top-up of formula - 8 hours almost non-stop feeding has worn me - and my boobs! - out. Hopefully this will enable all of us to get some sleep for a few hours. Elise is much calmer already and I'll BF her again when she wakes up in the night like I did last night. Expressing may also be the way to go.
I really do want to persevere with the BF but it needs to be right for her and for me and if both of us are exhausted then that's no good either.
Night night all and thanks again

hi again mum2bean.

It's a bit quiet here at the minute, but more will be joining us postnatal soon and the chat will pick up as we get into the swing of things.

Is this your first baby?

My DS is my No3.....and boy is it hard work.

Oooooh, pinky; meant to ask how you were coping with 3? I'm doing OK cos DH is looking after me at the minute, but I'm not looking forward to him going back to work. We have a few more weeks though so hopefully we will have some sort of normaility restored by then.

Kellymom on thyroid issues

hi Lackadaisycal.(again)

im surprised im already back on MN ybh, but it is addictive!

yeah she is my first, and having vowed never to have any, well worth it and fairly hard work, i cant imagine 3!

Welcome mumtobean how are you doing? Is this your 1st baby??? I am also on number 3 like lacks and pinky and also dreading my DH going back to work next week. However, have dsome respite as my mum is coming for a week and then DH has another week off so not to bad really........

Cricri got your text at 04:05AM - Thought I would reply on here in case you were sleeping and my text woke you up!

How did it go last night??? The link to Kellysmum is good - I also have some more which looks into the physiology of breast milk and how thyroide function can hinder this. I would say that if you are Bf for 6 hours constantly and that DD is still finishing formula, that your supply is low like mine. Having BF successfully both DSD's, I just knew things weren't right almost immediately - I have had no let down, no engorgement and quite literally, if I squeeze my boobs nothing comes out after a 10 min feed.......Like obs says, you shouldn't feel guilty about using a bottle - at the end of the day, the most important thing is that you are happy and that DD is nourished. I am totally pro breast feeding but not at the expense of the mother's sanity. A good guide would be to see how DD fares at her weigh in - also is she doing lots of wees and poos?? I would say persevere for as long as you can, get a strategy into place (which will definately make you feel better).

My strategy on the advice of a BF councillor who also suffers from thyroide issues and my endocrinologist is to BF to increase demand but offer a top up afterwards so that Tiger isn't get malnourished. YUou have to remember, a baby won't take wither the breast or the bottle if they are full and don't want it......can you speak with your endocrinologist? You need to speak to someone who has experience of thyroide issues and it took me a while to get there, as midwives were saying to me "just keep feeding". Erm, no...you are not listening to what I am saying!!

Hopefully you had a better night and feel a bit more posditive about it all today? If not, then give me a buzz and we can discuss in more depth. Perhaps give yourself a week to see what happens?? If DD is still guzling formula after a BF then it is obvious that your thyroide is interfering with BM production. YHou would then need to make the decision on what is best for all of you as a family. I am giving it another week and then I will switch to formula as I just haven't got time for 2 hour breast feeds, followed by 20/30 bottle feed.

Good luck

I'm feeling really down today, I have definately got a UTI and am on strong antibiotics for that, I'm starting to weep from my scar too so am keeping an eye on that one for now but I woke up in the middle of the night soaked to the skin with sweat I had to change the sheets and my jamas it was so bad which was what signified the start of the infection last time and it is twinging which it hasn't done yet
I don't want to BF anymore - Jay won't latch on anymore he will only take the bottle he just screams if I try to feed him and i'm finding expressing agony and not expressing agony too, I also don't ant him to be poorly with the antibiotics like DS1 was last time.
I feel so sorry for DS1 as I seem to spend al of my time telling him to behave and not touch things. He cried last night and said stop shouting mammy and put his hands over his ears its not fair on him.
Sorry for the me post I jut needed to get it off my chest.
Hope everyones feeding problems are starting to settle down.
Good to see you Zonedout and Mum2bean

ladybuzz chin up petal, as well as the UTI sounds as if you are going theough the guilt thing concerning DS1 and breast feeding. My DS1 is absolutely fine bu DS2 who is 2 is being a little s*d. Very loving towards Tiger lemonade, but horrible to me.......I seem to be constantly holding the baby or feeding and I am sure he feels pushed out. When you can perhaps do some "mummy and DS1 time" I started this a few days ago and have seen a vast improvement andhe is now very clingy and wanting "mummy cuddles". I think they are going through a period of adjustment as well.....

As for the breast feeding, as I have said on here lots of times, you have to do what is right for you and for your family - if you are upset, Jay is unsettled and not happy then you need to weigh up the pros and cons of switching. Please don't beat yourself up over this though.

Can you perhaps go for a walk today as a family? Some fresh air and sunshine might be just the ticket...

Big hugs xxx

Thanks Dozy a walk would be lovely but unfortunately it is torrential rain up here!
I am going to try and be calmer with him and like you say spend more one to one time with him, it must be strange for him too.

remind me how old he is again???? I am sure about the same age as my DS2............

Hes 2 and 4 months

exactly the same age as my DS2 who was 2 on the 18th July How is he reacting to the baby????

Bad night. Max up ALLL night. Yes really. Dh and I at wirs end. Shouted at ds1 and pulled him by the scruff of the neck of his pyjamas. Not good.
Max is in pain. From wind. And we are nortmally good at getting it up. Dh is fab. But no. Maybe because I have changed bottles to avent ones, with teat too fast - it is a number 1.
Because the old teats that I 'stole' from kings from theose tiny expressing plastic conatainers, fell apart. And I threw one out by mistake - and it was binman day. Shiot shit.
Off to start a thread. At wits end.

Yep he is 24th June
Hes fine with the baby (a little rough at times) he loves giving him cuddles and kisses and holding him and he tells everyone that he is a big brother!
He doesn't seem fased when anyone comes round and holds the baby either!
I think its just me!

Thanks Dozy for your reply re thyroid issues. I'll do some more reading into it. I doubt the mw will know much about it so perhaps I should make an appt to see the consultant and discuss it with him. Thanks also for the link to Kellymom Lacks.
We had a good night - DD slept for 4h after her formula and I then fed her for 40 minutes during the night and she went back down for another 3.5 hours. She had a feed this morning which lasted just over an hour but has now been asleep for 1.5 hours so she's obviously had enough milk to satisfy her which is good.
Sorry to hear you've got a UTI Ladybuzz on top of everything else I really admire you ladies who have other LOs to deal with on top of the new arrival - don't know how you do it. Hope things sort themselves out soon.
Obs It seems to be one thing after another for you at the moment. Hope you get some answers from the thread you start.
Welcome back to Zonedout and welcome to Mum2bean
Right, off to check the AN thread to see if Rutho has had that baby of hers at last

X posts, Sory you are having more issues Obs hugs to you

Pinky/Daisy, re top up advice to Cricri, hope you didn't think I was implying guilt to either of you two. God no, I wasn't. Was purely talking from personal perspective. Just saying that it made me sad to HAVE to give top up to ds2. And to make sure that Cricri felt no guilt or qualms about doing it.
That was all. Hope we haven't misunderstood eachother, any of us.

Hi ladies

Sorry not regular at the moment, just grabbing 10 mins whilst DH prepares sunday roast

Sorry to those havng difficulties with BF, only advice I have is happy mummy = happy baby.

Merry your twins look so alert x

Ladybuzz hope UTI clears fast, I finish my anti biotics today and am dreading it as come off them once and then all infection symptoms returned.

Rebecca is feeding well, doesn't like giving me her wind though - minx!

Ordered dress for Bridezilla's wedding, a wrap one so stretchy for feeding really pleased with it. Need some suck in underwear now!

Obs sorry you having hard time hun X

cricri, I think seeing te consultant is a good idea and ask if he knows of a good brest feeding counsellor who has knowledge of thyroid issues. I know women who have successfully BF with thyroid issues so it is possible.

I'll see if I can point bumperlicious from my June PN thread in this direction. She exclusively BF for six months then continued until her DD was 15 months old.

Dozy, I know you and Cricri are in a different situation because of the thyroid issues but it's well documented that BF babies will guzzle down formula even after a good feed as it comes out so easily, so them taking a top up is no indication that they aren't getting enough milk. I don't want to bang on about BFing evengelically but as a peer supporter I kind of feel duty bound to dispel any myths. Either that or just bite my tongue, but that's not in my nature

no worries Obs; I'm just aware I can be a bit too keen sometimes.

Sorry things aren't too great for you either and hope you can get things resolved.

Finbo fed all night last night as well, I managed to fall asleep with him still latched on twice for about half an hour, and then when DS got up at 6:30 I just handed him over to DH and got a few hours kip. Every time I put him in the crib he started mithering for more milk. I think he was just happy to be able to feed without any pain so was taking full advantage. I've resorted (temporarily) to nipple shields as I'm still very sore, but hopefully now his thrush is clearing we can work on his latch and get past this blip.

Right, off for a shower (BFing makes me incredibly sweaty at night, bleargh) and then we are off to the park to give the older two a good run.

DS1 is writing a letter to Gordon Brown this morning as he wants him to come to our house for tea and is going to cook it himself....bless him. We are going to send it as well so hopefully he will get a nice letter back.

hi coolkat, sunday roast sounds yummy.