Due end of June/start of July - Thread 2

[Millettmum]

@Bikbikmum @Goodgoodthings @LassoOfTruth
Think the other thread is now full so started this one, please tag who I've missed in the group.

@Millettmum Thats made me feel much better and reassured me, thank you :) So nice to know I'm not alone in these feelings! I will definitely be relying on help from the midwives as much as I can!

Wow can't believe there's so many of us due within a week or so of each other!
What areas are you lovelies from?

Myself and my partner will be assembling the cot today just can't wait to see it ready waiting for him and then just need to wash and sort out all the teeny clothes !

Has anyone bought a baby bouncer that they would recommend? X

Thank you@ Milletmum, I do appreciate.

Hi @mazcroz and @PandMmum So nice to have more ladies to chat to! I hope you’re both feeling well.

@Sophie1326 I live in Birmingham, how about you? So exciting to have your cot together! We have ours hopefully arriving on Monday - I’ve felt a bit bad ordering things with the way the world is at the moment but will also be so nice to have everything “sorted”. Must figure out a way to thank our kind postie who is here most days at the moment!

I’ve had a really hard time sleeping past 4am for the past couple of weeks - a mixture of 3rd trimester hormones and general stress I’m sure. All the extra hours I’m awake are making it hard to think about anything but baby, I feel like I’m losing the plot! Is anyone else struggling with this?

^ And @Koo33 ! So nice to have you here

@Goodgoodthings so lovely to be here and chat to you all. We are going to start to sort out babies room this weekend then I will hopefully have some kind of idea of what we still need x

@Goodgoodthings We ended up mowing the grass yesterday instead while the weather was good.. when I say 'we' I mean the other half did and I sat back on my garden chair with an ice lolly 🤣
Cot should be going to today and I have a mirror which I'm dying to put up too!

I've been feeling the same about ordering espeically off amazon but I've not ordered anything unnecessary only things we really need and have no choice! Especially having 8 weeks left and going into lockdown for at least another 3 😱

@Goodgoodthings ooo sorry I live in Bedfordshire !

@LassoOfTruth thanks for the list!! There is a lot to put in a bag, I should arrange a bag first :)

Welcome everyone! It is amazing to see lots of people due same/closer days. I am due on 29th June.

I haven't started shopping for myself yet, just finished for the baby. Button down nightie sounds so clever! I will look into one. Do I really need a gown? i have never used one myself.

Be aware online shopping deliveries are a bit tricky at the moment, things might arrive llater than usual, even Amazon have expedited deliveries now.

For experienced mums, when is the best time to start expressing? I am so confused, lots of info out there. Some sources advice not to start before 6-8 weeks. Some sources advice to start expressing immediately after birth, claiming it would help with milk production but not bottle feed the baby until 6-8 weeks.

I was hoping to hire a pump so that down the line, my husband can take care of some feeding.

Xxx

@Sophie1326, that sounds like a good way to supervise the lawn mowing! I keep telling my DH that I'm burning the same calories just waddling around the house as he might going climbing or rowing or something (I think I read this somewhere?) so that's why I'm having another choc ice - it's science.

My list is by no means comprehensive but it's what I used last time - probably found on here somewhere - tweaked a bit to reflect what I actually brought/wished I had brought!

Stupidly I didn't think breastfeeding would be hard last time, and didn't bring a pump or a pillow. However, having a long labour followed by an EMC made both me and baby very sleepy for the first day and she just hardly fed for the first week - latched fine, then fell asleep! She lost a lot of weight, so we had to go back into hospital the weekend my poor mum had flown over from Ireland to visit. DD was fine but it was all a bit traumatic. DH sped over to mothercare and got a pillow and a pump to help me express. The hospital also loaned me a pump at one point and were really helpful. Every midwife in Oxfordshire has seen my boobs . We topped DD up with formula too so she put some weight on - then she just 'got it' one night at about maybe 14 days old. In her case giving a bottle didn't stop her from breastfeeding successfully - but every baby is different. I know I cried with joy anyway - for nearly 2 weeks I was in a cycle of expressing (40 minutes), cleaning bottles, then back to bed (45 minutes), then waking up to get milk I'd previously expressed plus formula from fridge, waking baby if not already awake, then trying to bf for a while, then feeding the expressed milk, then formula, then cleaning up all the sick from very full tiny baby, then burping, then baby back to bed, then expressing for next time ... even with a lot of help from DH, it was murder, I won't lie.

Then I couldn't get her to bloody stop breastfeeding until about a month ago (she's 2.5). Even now if she catches sight of a nipple she gets a glint in her eye.

Hiring a pump is a really good idea if you plan to give breastfeeding a go - because even the hand-operated ones aren't cheap! You can hand-pump colostrum and that first milk pretty well though without a device. I think my midwife mentioned trying to express colostrum in the last few weeks of pregnancy this time but I will ask them about again at the next appointment.

I've tried not to feel guilty about ordering stuff online. Just trying to stick to things I really do need. It's so sweet hearing about how all your baby rooms are coming together - it's a lovely time and we should feel entitled to enjoy it despite the current situation!

@LassoOfTruth thank you so much for sharing with us. Indeed your experiences are very valuable and helpful.

I am planning to hire medela symphony (hospital grade) to see how it goes for couple of months. Then I might invest on a pump later on. I think I will add couple of ready to drink formula in tetra to my hospital bag to be on the safe side for emergencies.

We don't drive and we don't have a car. It would be a challenging and interesting / probably very stressful journey for me to go to hospital when I am in labour. We will call a cab or uber, it is 15 minutes journey. I am not planning to pack that huge pump and pillow for now and if DH need may be he can bring those later on?

Ohhh, this is very stressful :) Honest answer is I don't know what I am going to do. May be I should also add a hand expressing pump on the bag which is small and less complicated.

Sorry my last posts have been so long! You're quite right @Bikbikmum, managing the logistics of getting to the hospital can be a pain/stressful at the best of times. Good idea re adding the little hand pump to your bag instead of dragging something massive. I hand a hand-operated pump first and found that totally fine for the first few times, especially before my milk properly came in. It'll all be okay!

I don't recall needing a pump until I wanted to go for a night out months later, but my memory is terrible and it's been nearly 14 years! I have seen on the bounty app a double pump which is incredibly cheap anybody else seen them? I'll attach a picture, but it says £15.99 plus postage.

I sorted the nursery out at the weekend, obviously a lot of mixed emotions as this was my eldest daughters bedroom, there's still hints of her in there and odd little bits to do but it feels better and not just sadness.

I'm keeping on top of the gestational diabetes with just what I eat so the nurses are happy, I'm next in clinic for a growth scan etc on the 5th May so will ask about not being induced early if I can keep on top of it for the duration.

29+5

It's been quiet on here. Everyone ok?

I just popped on here to say the same! How is everyone feeling? @millettmum how has your week been since getting your nursery sorted? I know that must have been bitter sweet - hoping you’ve been able to enjoy the thought of your babe to come with the room being ready.

I admit I have been moping a bit this week - I think with the weather being so nice I’ve wanted to get stuck into jobs at home but my body is definitely slowing down. A few well meaning family members have started asking about my weight gain/body shape too (I’m assuming because they can’t see me?) and it’s sent me on a bit of a stupid spiral. Determined to make this week a better one! I have a midwife appointment tomorrow lunchtime which I’m looking forward to, and hopefully the last of our baby bits being delivered.

@Goodgoodthings
Yes like you said bitter sweet but at least I don't avoid the room anymore and feels a little happier.
I've also been in a slump, working from home seems more difficult as I don't have the motivation.
I'm still doing pregnancy yoga which helps with the hips, don't think it can for the pelvis though.
I got myself worried at the weekend with reduced movements, went and got checked out and she's still very happy in there but having a scan tomorrow just in case even though I've got one next week.
I'm seeing lots of people recommending to get a stretchy wrap sling. Anyone got one or had one before that they recommend, there's so many to choose from!

Hi all! I've been a bit distracted this week with work and also my DH's lockdown birthday (poor lad) but did manage to sort through some baby stuff at least. All those little clothes look so tiny! I have no memory of what to do with a newborn, even though it was only a couple of years ago . All very exciting though! 32 weeks and counting.

Mainly at the moment I'm trying to weigh up possible birth options and trying not to confuse myself. Hopefully I can think of some good questions for the midwife next week. Although I'm booked in for an C-section I am not sure this is what I want anymore. I don't really want to be in the hospital at all. It's so far away from us though - so if I go to the local midwife-led unit instead (assuming that's an option) and then need interventions again that can only be done in the hospital etc ... it's probably at least a 40 minute ambulance ride. I wish I had a crystal ball!
Hope you ladies are all feeling well and enjoying some sunshine where you are.

Hi ladies! Glad to hear you are all ok. I get bigger and bigger each day. It is like walking with a watermelon attached to my belly now ;)

This weekend we washed all of baby clothes and made them ready. We are cery exciting. I have a 32 week scan next week, hopefully they wont cancel again this time, I will also see my midwife 2 days after

@Millettmum this is it I think working from home is great for being able to stay comfy etc but I really miss the atmosphere in the office and just chatting to people. I sort of feel back to the first trimester like I’m pregnant in secret again? But it will be worth it in the end I know! How did your scan go? Hope all is well with you and little one.

I’ve been looking at wraps too and am totally confused what the difference is between brands etc but want to save £££ if I can! Anyone got any recommendations?

Hope you’re all having a good week x

@Goodgoodthings
I'm thinking about starting to have the radio on today, tv distracts me but might feel a bit like at work.
Scan went good thank you. Little madam has gone breech which isn't helping the breathlessness. She's not a big baby which is good with the gestational diabetes (still only diet controlled), I have another scan on Tuesday so going to ask the consultants about not being induced and see if it's set in stone.
Had a midwife appointment this morning, felt like a waste of time! Was in just over five minutes and they don't talk about birth plan until my next appointment in three weeks
I actually splashed out on a sling this morning from Freerider co. I should really stop spending ha x

So glad the scan went well and that you get to see her again next week @Millettmum ! I’m very envious, in a way it would be nice to see how mine has grown but I will just have to wait a little longer. My midwife appointment on Monday was a little bit useless too, just no extra information and then she told me she’d had corona virus in the same breath that she was describing the safe hospital birth situation like it was no big deal! Very odd.

Oo very nice I have seen the free rider ones online! They do look so comfy and I like that they’re a bit prettier too than some of the others I’ve seen.

Wondered if all of you ladies are set on names or if you think it’s too early? My family are driving me mad asking, and seem so out out when we don’t want to share it. I’m just conscious that they won’t like the name we’ve picked out and I just don’t want to hear it at the moment haha.

Put out even!

Hi everyone, I’m due on 6th July with my first baby so it would be great to join these chats 😊

@Goodgoodthings
How odd for the nurse to bring that up when there's anxious mums out there!
If you think family will be unsure of your name choice would it take the 'special' out of telling them when baby is born? Would telling them now get them used to it? Or do you think you might change your mind? Everyone knows our name choice.