April 2007 - Hanging out the Bunting for BIG baby Connor .......

[CaptainDippy]

Congratulations!! to Elkie and family!!

Dear all

This is Mr Elkiedee, writing to you all with an update on Elkie and Conor.

Elkie and I had a really difficult and traumatic time with Danny, our first. He ended up exclusively on SMA gold and I still feel that I helped push that as I am sure Elkie has said to you all, and feel awful over that and I took the Health service side and was quite wrong.

This time the NHS has invested a lot of resources in Elkie and Conor, and in getting breastfeeding to work. Having said that, the following are the bare facts:

Conor is picking up and his weight is now 4.01 kg, when at birth he was 4.528 kg: which is 10 per cent less than he was at birth
When he was admitted last Sunday he dropped to 3.72 kg

The hospital and medical professionals are now saying he has to have top ups of formula milk after every feed--despite having pushed breastfeeding rightly and invested a lot of time and effort into supporting Elkie. I feel they are saying this in order for them to feel safe to not "release" but discharge the two of them!

They were very concerned about his dramatic weight loss of 17 percent being "the biggest drop" they (the breastfeeding consultants) "have ever seen" (this is something I would seriously question). This was said by a lactation consultation this morning after she had previously been very supportive.

They are also making noises about the necessity for them to have "support mechanisms and packages" in place for Conor and Luci, and I guess that that is fair enough but it leaves a tatse in my mouth about them ensuring they are okay.

There is a big meeting in the afternoon tomorrow so that we can all come to a "team decision" and I and Elkiedee have been invited after I accused them of holding secret meetings.

Elkiedee and Conor are now not getting out till Wednesday at the earliest, and potentially later, its just that they have Conor and Elkiedee's welfare at heart (lawd bless the NHS)!!!! Now I can run with the thing about weight loss but do feel this is all a bit OTT--especially as when Elkie was released on Friday 6th February Conor was not weighed at all on the Thursday on a ward called Cellier Ward.

Anyway, I have tried very hard to be supportive and Danny, our other son is now beginning to show signs of the strain even calling a bar of saop "mumma". He desperately misses Elkie and hardly knows his little bruvva even though he has visited the hospital four times and I am constantly telling him about baby conor

I am sorry for the length of this post and know that Elkie would messages.
We can be contacted via facebook or email me at
[email protected]

I know Elkie likes all of you and finds your support invaluable and have to say how scary C-sections of a crash nature are...all those thoughts about the bad things we say go through your head and all your demons haunt you

Thanks for listening anyway

Mikey

OOPs

Some of that came out wrong.

I meant to say the following:

Elkie would love messages and they can be sent via facebook or via emailing the address I gave for me

Danny calls a bar of soap "mumma"

It leaves a taste in my mouth, not the soap, but the whole thing, and that I feel a lot of this is about the service protecting itself...

Mikey

Thanks for updating us Mikey - will be praying about the meeting tomorrow and holding all of you very much in my thoughts.

Will post properly tomorrow - my mum is staying and she needs to go to bed in our computer room now!

Morning all,

Thanks for posting Mr Elkiedee. You both sound a bit trapped by The System . Pooor Danny, missing his mummy. I hope the meeting goes positively. We're all here to support Elkie as much as possible.

Not much happening here. I've started running and cannot belive how unfit I was!

So lovely of you to pop by and update us Mikey - thank you. Hoping and praying things improve for Elkie and Conor soon. Hugs for you all. Will send meesage soon! xx

Bit manic atm, have friends staying and not much time for anything.....

lovely to hear from you Mr elkie, i'll be thinking of you all today and hope that they let elkie and Conor come home soon. It must be very hard for little D to understand {{{{{hugs}}}}} to you all

whilst i'm here, I haven't posted for a loooooooong time I have been reading but haven't had much to post

I met with Bramshott last thurs and it was very nice to meet someone i've been talking to for 2 years or so, but isn't it strange to finally meet IYKWIM! I was glad I left when I did as the snow nearer home was quite heavy and the lane I live in was very slippery. Thankfully it'd turned to slush and not ice by the morning!

I seem to have quite a busy few months ahead, and actually have some lovely plans which makes a fab change from last year, which was pretty dire. I'm acutally really excited about this year and can't wait to see what it holds I think I was quite depressed after all the events of last year but thankfully seem to be coming out the other side

Sorry for not posting often I will do now i'm not so depressing to listen to

Thanks for updating us Mr Elkie, really hope they are out soon, it sounds as though you are both really missing them. What a pity to be separated when C is so little. No, elkie hasn't said that you pushed formula on to her with D as far as I'm aware, and it is natural to trust the professionals! I obviously don't know anything about the weight loss issue but it sounds like a good solution to continue with the top ups until C is a chubby little thing, and then replace them with more bf. I have had supply issues in the past (although my DS was older) it is worrying but it can be reversed and there will be as much support on MN in general as she needs.

Glad you are feeling postive eddas, what are the things you hvae planned, if you want to say?

MW says I'm somewhere up to 11 weeks. Scan soon hopefully. Everything still fine and low risk. I talked about a HB but DH says no Am telling people now in RL , maybe stupid I know...

blimey elkie - makes my moans seem really insignificant thinking of you all (when I have time to think!!)

Luke is being weighed again tomorrow so will know more then, I am mix feeding and expressing. He seems so content after ff but not after bf, but like to bf and use me as a comfort. I am just trying to get by however we can.

Caz - poor molly cool new hoover

my washing machine arrives on friday (I'm sure my mum will be pleased )

dh has started decorating not much else to report except that I am shattered - still - just incase any of you had forgotten

oooggs, can I send you a hug

(not a kiss though as I'm full of cold and that'ss the last thing you need!)

Hi everyone

Been a little while. I am feeling pretty tired and run down at the moment and more than a little blah about situations I can't control - namely my parents, but I'm not going to bore you with the details. Except to say that tomorrow G and I are travelling to the North East because I am so concerned about my mam's state of mind.

Have been lurking a bit and wanted to say that I'm thinking of Elkie and Connor and hope they are home soon to Danny and Mr Elkie.

Oooggs I hope that Luke's weight is ok. I think you're a wonderwoman!

SPB - if it feels right then let RL know.I know (we ALL know) that you can think of little else when you are pregnant

Eddas - glad you've got a positive outlook for 2009.
I'm trying my best too. Lots to look forward to. A new LO of our own and my brother is expecting his first in August and DH's sister has just told us she 's pg too! Due in October - it's early days but fingers crossed for little brother or sister for Eva.

Spoke to my mw about homebirth on Monday and she was very positive. Dh has mostly come round to the idea, but we have yet to tell the ILs. Staying with them while up in NE so I'm looking forward to that conversation

hi oooggs, lovely to see you you sound happier today

leaky, sorry to hear your worried about your mum poor lady, she must be having a very hard time, I hope you have a lovely time

SPB/Leaky I hope you both get your hb's. SPB you have a while to convince your dh, so keep going with it, men do tend to cave if we just keep on nagging

My plans, well I seem to have booked tickets for a million things, well ok not a million but quite a few! We're off to Disneyland Paris over dd's bday in June, which she will love and I have always wanted to go since I was little and I am very very excited about. Also, I got tickets for Wimbledon and they're court no1 on the 2nd tuesday(ladiers qtr finals all being well) so that's fab! I'm off to see Hairspray in London with my friends in april and we have a girls night out booked in too, it's been a long time since our last one.

And if that wasn't enough dh's mate managed to get them tickets to watch England(football) in march, that's not for me, but it's hard to get England tickets so i'm excited for him!!

well, that's it so far but 2008 was complete rubbish for me in everyway so I am very excited about all my plans for 2009 so far, may there be many more!

Hi all

Please excuse post which is all about me again, will try to join in thread and respond to people again soon, on new posts if not on all the old ones I've missed.

We're home on staggered discharge tonight! His weight was up from 4.01 to 4.16 kg this morning (if we can keep up the pace rate he will be over birthweight by the weekend at 17-18 days old).

The all important meeting still hasn't taken place because the health visitor couldn't make it again, but is at 9 am tomorrow. We have to return to the hospital with Con by 10 am and are invited to the meeting if we can make it in time. Danny's fab CM will take him at 7.30 am (usually between 8-8.30). I hope that we'll get home again tomorrow from the hospital but will be taking the hospital case and other bags just in case they keep him in again (in which case I will be staying with him)

I'm having on hospital instructions to top up breastfeeds with an offer of formula (so like Oooggs I'm having to mix feed), but our first feed back here went very smoothly and he is getting the benefits of being mostly breastfed, plus for tonight and for a few feeds when we next get home, we have small disposable readymade bottles from paediatric ward, with their own teats - so no faff with powder and washing up and sterilising though I know we'll have to do all that soon for a while.

Have missed mumsnet and especially you guys immensely, hope not to be detained in hospital further.

Ooh, SPB/Leaky, hope you get your homebirths and that they go well too, I don't suppose I'll get to have one if I go for baby 3 given age (would be 40+) and now childbirth history (1 assisted and 1 CS) so I'll have to vicariously enjoy other women's hb stories!

Congratulations to Leaky's SIL and family, fingers crossed.

Hi to Maveta and Eddas.

Lots of other babies being born in real life too - my cousin's wife gave birth to dd3 of 4 dcs on Friday 6 February, and my sister R is expecting her first baby (flavour not known) due on 14 February (no news yet).

Hi and best wishes to everyone I haven't mentioned by name, as said before hope to catch up soon.

Great to see you Elkie!!

Praying all goes well for you and your boy tommorrow. You know you have done brilliantly don't you? It must have been so hard but you've hung in there and done what you wanted to do - what a hero!

Oooggs - good to read you are hanging in there too - hope you get good news at the weigh-in!

Leaky - thinking of you as you go to see your mum. Fantastic that dh is coming round to your ideas on homebirth though!

All well here - I've got tommorrow off work so thats nice. Also Friday when I'm going to take the girls to the railway museum as B is mad on trains She said 'Daddy gone to London today' and 'Come and sit down' - she says the latter sort of thing quite a lot as she is very bossy. I've no idea where she got that from

Oooh and Eddas - wimbledon tickets - am very

Gosh am rubbish tonight - SPB - missed your midwife post - glad all going well. There is time for dh to channge his mind. I've had three hospital births though and have very happy memories of all of them. As you know the most important thing is to be comfortable with what you get - which I was. But then I actually preferred to be delivered by somebody I hadn't met before and wouldn't have got in a pool whilst in labour had you offered me many millions of pounds so I suppose that all helped

Elkie - glad you are back home - Luke is now 29 days and isn't back to birth weight yet (well he may just be when he is weighed at midday)

eddas - wow a fun filled 6 mths - how exciting

leaky & katy - hope you get the births you want. HB has never appealed to me

NL - love York and the Railway museum is the best part (well except for the shops )

Only managing to mn cos I am expressing!!

Good job I liked my hb.... cos with 3 of them, I wouldn't have made it to hospital if I'd tried!

Wishing you lots of luck today Elkie xxxx

Elmajo and her two should be coming over today, and Molly has the doctors soon, to see how she is going, but am really struggling to get her to take her medicine. It is foul stuff, and have tried mixing it in yoghurts etc, but you just can't hide the taste, so hopefully they might give her something else

Caz - is it cherry flavoured amoxycillin? Dd1 had that last year and we tasted it too - it is apalling. We actually rang fil - the pharmacist - and he tried his stock and confirmed it was minging. If she needs abs again I will ask for pills for her because she is old enough to take them. With that awful stuff I gave her a jellied fruit sweet after each dose - they are big enough to take the taste away.

no it's called clorythrymycin???? it's white and gritty, and leaves a horrid aftertaste

targets differen bugs to amoxycillin apparantly,!

Ugh! The problem is they took out all the additives (which is usually a good thing I'll admit) and left the drugs - which taste awful! Molly won't get any benefit from it if it's too foul for her to taste so it won't matter what bugs it's targeting! Be firm with the doctors - ask them to ring and discuss with the pharmacy if necessary - the pharmacist should have some idea what tastes half way decent.

Hi all!

Oooggs, glad you sound a bit brighter today. Don't feel guilty for using formula. I can remember doing that with ds as I really struggled with bf him so I know what you mean, but with hindsight I know that I did the best thing for him at the time.
You are doing an amazing job in managing four children by yourself a lot of the time, you deserve a very large pat on the back (and maybe a break in the Maldives if dh is feeling generous?!) Failing that perhaps we could arrange another meet up in horseworld when the weather gets a bit warmer

Elkie, so glad you got home. Hope the meeting has gone ok this morning for you all xxx

SPB, good to hear all was well when you saw the MW. HB was never an option for me, but if it's what you want then definitely go for it!

GM, very good date for a wedding (my mum's birthday), have a great time dress shopping

Leaky, hope your mum is ok. Sounds like she is having a tough time lately. Hope you are doing ok too xxx

Maveta, good to see you, hope you are well

Off now, busy week with half term hols although it is going well so far!

Caz, I don't blame Molly for not wanting her Clarithromycin. Very manky stuff, but is very very good at attacking chest infection bugs! It's a good drug, but not much good if you can't get her to take it. Hope you get something else for her

Just crashing in from May 07 post natal to send a big ((hug)) to Elkie. Sorry things are tough. I'm not sure if you remember but I was forced persuaded into bottle feeding J in the end as she was still not back to birth weight by 4 weeks. I hope you get the support and help you need and that what you really want is able to happen. Rest as much as you can and I hope you & C are fighting fit soon. x