June 2021 - part 6 - the final push!

[swiftt]

We’re coming to the end of our last thread so here is, hopefully, the final instalment of our journeys. I’m going to compile a list of due dates and births from the last thread and I’ll post them below.

Hopefully we’ll have lots more baby announcements on the way! How is everyone doing?

@PinkPlantCase I has a ball for a vagina after 1st due to not listening to the MW at the end 🤣🤣🤣 I don’t know the degree of the tear but needed 7 stitches but seemed to just be on the inner lip 🤣🤣🙄🙄 The poo is funny, your body must have been like oooooooo space!!

@AlRRRR I’m so glad I’d been taking a stool softener because it just slipped out then I was horrified that something that big could just slip out 🤣🤣🤣

Hopefully you can avoid the stitches this time!

@PinkPlantCase Oh gosh! hahahhaa How funny!!!

Yes, I’m actually going to listen 🤣🤣🤣🙄

@PinkPlantCase Oh the stool softener has been a bloody blessing. That combined with fresh pineapple, cherries and my mother in laws insistence that I had a tikka masala for tea has given me the relief I’ve been desperate for since day one 🙈 I’d been absolutely dreading it happening and would be shaking on the loo but when it eventually happened I barely even noticed 😂 Yes, I had the midwife over yesterday and she checked them. Nothing like stripping to your nuddies and lying on your own couch to make you feel like you’re finally getting some dignity back!! I’ve found ibuprofen to be my new best friend, just takes the swelling right off. Did they mention that your stitches might rise to the surface and scratch a bit, that sounds horrifically uncomfortable, especially in an area as sensitive as ones bottom 🙈

@Whywontitname @Lovethatjourneyforme we had 2 good days of 3houry feeds, it was dreamy. But she woke every 1.5hrs last night. Screamed every time she was put down and will only settle if held. The at 3am she did a poop explosion whilst changing her nappy and ended up clearing yellow liquid poo off the walls. Safe to say I'm so exhausted this morning

Hi everyone, please can I join your chat? I'm 40+3 with another boy (DS will be 22 months on 2 July) and I'm keen join in with post partum, newborn chat. Sort of hoping it'll be less of a shock to the system second time round yet I'm still nervous and excited all at the same time. I'm booked in for a balloon induction on the 26th (41+1)!

@serenfach1 I’m having the same feelings as you! Currently 39+5, lost the plug this morning, have a 4 yr old. Hoping it will be easier on mental and physical health this time as have to be busy with 1st, not so much time to dwell, i did with 1st!

@Fishingforhappiness that sounds like bliss 😊 - the 3 hour feeds, not the poop explosion! 1.5 hours at night has kind of become our standard at the moment. Hopefully your little one just had an upset belly and you'll be back to 3 hourly after that mass clear out!

We're starting to intro formula and go towards combination feeding now. Honestly I've found breastfeeding far harder mentally than I anticipated. I never intended to do it exclusively for long anyway so we're just adding formula a little bit earlier than I had planned!

@Lovethatjourneyforme @Fishingforhappiness we had 2 days/nights of constant feeding, last night though he did a couple of 3 hour stretches but he wouldn’t be put down for long so I still couldn’t sleep!

How’s everyone splitting it with their partner? I was up most of the night last night so I’m sleeping now and he’s bringing the baby to me for feeds but baby is 3 weeks 4 days now so we’ll have to stop when he’s working again, not sure what to do really if he won’t sleep alone. He was really farty last night so hoping it’s just that…

It is really hard, I’m going to try expressing this week so my partner can do a feed and I get a decent sleep stretch (hopefully) but not sure where to start with it really. It’s so difficult having no more than an hour or so at a time it’s like torture.

@Whywontitname partner split for us is I forget and just do everything and my husband panics because I'm probably doing to much 😣

We started using both boob and formula as my boobs neeeed a break and I can't seem to express enough dispite. It makes nights easier for us.

@Whywontitname Hey, breastfeeding is quite a lonely/demanding role, you often find even if you express, baby still wants mummy’s boobs and they stimulate the boobs to produce the right amount of milk and the night time milk is different to the daytime so you’d still need to wake up and express in the night anyway as baby regulates the boobs whereas expressing doesn’t - it is soooooo hard but if you can just get to 6 -8’weeks baby does find a pattern and you’ll start to feel a bit more human!!!! You can do this mama!! :)

@Whywontitname we’re only on day 5 but so far my DH is the one who gets up when he fusses and he does the changes (which I can half sleep through) and then he gives him to me to feed him.

Then DH sleeps as I do the feeding (which seems to last hours)

It’s working pretty well so far. I’ll probably do a bit more of the settling when DH goes back to work.

@whywontitname I'm doing pretty much all of the night stuff, unless she gets very fussy and then my husband takes over and tries to settle her for a bit. Then we're both just sharing it during the day really, he's taken her out for a bit so I can nap etc. He's back to work next week so I'm trying to get into the swing of it being just me. Plus it's impossible to split things when breastfeeding obviously.

The short sleeps are awful, just a 2 hour stretch makes so much difference on the odd occasion I get it.

Also wondering, how much spitting up is normal? She spits up after every feed, mostly a small amount. But I also have to keep her upright for 10 mins after every feed or she'll throw everything back up again. And even with the 10 mins upright she'll still spit up some. She's very clearly distressed or uncomfortable after feeding and arches her back, wriggles and groans a lot. Is this all normal or should I be asking the HV about reflux?

Our boy arrived at 39+3 on Saturday. Went through all the different scenarios possible in the books aside from induction and episiotomy, didn't get my water birth although I was about to step in. Ended up with emergency c section but it's all worth it in the end... I hope

@Lovethatjourneyforme a small amount of spit up after most feeds is normal. Our lady vomits projectile, ane large every few days with regular spit ups too. Upright post feeds and winding should get easier. The muscle at the bottom of their oesophagus is weak and can't close off, and their liquid diet can easily come back up. As long as its not large volumes, I'd try not to worry. She does scream passing a poop and curls herself up, which isn't ideal either.

I'm DH has now gone back to work and works until midnight. I soley do the night shift and wake if I need him eg will not settle at all, and he will take over for an hour. He does have her whilst I shower / get ready in the morning so we can get moving quicker

[quote AlRRRR]@serenfach1 I’m having the same feelings as you! Currently 39+5, lost the plug this morning, have a 4 yr old. Hoping it will be easier on mental and physical health this time as have to be busy with 1st, not so much time to dwell, i did with 1st![/quote]
@AIRRRR how are you doing? Sounds like things have started for you! Are you getting any contractions?
I think the same. I know it's going to be a real struggle to juggle the eldest whilst tending to the youngest, but I plan to have the baby in a sling as much as possible so I can be with my eldest as much mobile as possible. Things I'm dreading the most are the effect it's going to have on my DH (he's such a light sleeper and if my DS wakes at night which luckily is not that much, it's me that tends to him). He's far less patient and understanding of normal tricky toddler behaviour when he's tired. I'm much more able to stay calm, cool and collected! Also, worried about routine going out the window because ATM I always get up with DS in the morning and husband does bedtimes. Also worried my son is going to be disturbed by his little bro during the night. We're going to feel like we're utterly winging it in many respects.

@serenfach1 I’m with you on all that!

My 4 yr old goes to sleep in her bed but comes to mine in the night around 2 am ish, so I’m going to have baby in the next to me crib for safety and I also wondered will another child sleep through any crying etc 🤣🤣🤣🤣.

I also live alone with the kids few days a week due to partner staying at his brothers to do his own thing (it works) but I’m hoping we get into a pattern, the only routine we have is bedtime is 7/7:30 for my sanity and own time and I’ve bought a sling so I can be mobile and have hands to deal with the other haha,

I’ve been having some tightenings but no contractions, with 1st, plug went and then they started the next day or day before haha, what about you? :)

@AIRRRR I hope my child will get used to the crying very quickly and won't get disturbed. I expect your daughter will be fine after a short while. She's close to you and that's all she wants. If anything it might make the bond between her and her sibling even more special and happen even more quickly! I haven't got a single niggle. My first was a week late and he only came because I did a MASSIVE walk up hills and stairs which I'm sure caused my waters to break. He wasn't ready even then. No contractions started and I had to be induced... 20 hours later I had to have a c-sec. Don't want the sweeps or any intervention really as feel like he'll come when he's ready and due dates are so arbitrary, but they don't like you going much longer than 41 weeks so I've agreed to an induction at 41+1. Already moved it back once!

@serenfach1 I’m with you on the natural thing too, I’m declining the sweep on Sat, if nothing has progressed, I’m doing too much sitting down, maybe I should do what you do and walk around 🤣🤣🤣

Does your little one come to sleep with you? I tried the whole putting back to bed etc etc for 2 years and nearly killed me so I gave up and now get 7-7 sleep haha

Where abouts are you from? I’m in Yorkshire :)

Im in Manchester 😊

Still impatiently waiting. Torn between wanting induction to get it over and done with, and waiting to allow natural labour to begin. Being overdue is such a mind game!

@Taylor1896 Oo not far from me! How many weeks are ya now? x

40+5 so possibly another week until they will induce me but thinking ahead!

@AIRRRR the idea of a sweep grosses me out a bit. Would rather try and get in the mood to have sex even though I feel like the unsexiest person on the planet right now! I don't have time to do big walks this time round. I'm on my feet a lot but theres too much going on to be walking miles in my rare minutes of spare time. My son sleeps in his own room right next to ours. He was just over a year old when his sleep settled down. It was hard, broken nights up until then. He's generally been pretty content aside from the odd week or few days when he's teething / sick/ going through a funk. I'm worried about sound travelling but we're lucky and we have a spare room which I will probably camp out in with the newest addition. I co-sleeped with him for about 5 months and still sleep on a mattress with him in his room if he's really unsettled. In Surrey. Was meant to move to Herefordshire 2 weeks ago to be closer to family but it fell through at the 11th hour. It's part of the reason why I'm so chilled about waiting. The house stuff took up so much energy and emotion I need time to recover before being catapulted into newborn motherhood!

@Taylor1896 it's lovely that you're able to go to 41+5 without an induction. They're not keen on me going that far. I'd like to but I've got low papp-A which can affect how well placenta works. Had a scan at 40 weeks and everything is looking fine but they're still not keen on me going much beyond 41.

Being overdue really sucks. Far too much time in your own head going over every possible scenario.

I'm only 41+1 and I've already been referred to antenatal clinic from my midwife because I didn't want to book a date for induction today. I'm not dead set against induction, I just feel it's a bit too early to be put on the clock.

I accepted a sweep today, but midwife only had to examine me for a second to determine my cervix was nowhere near favourable, so I told her not to bother with the actual sweep.

Feeling a bit deflated, but just keep reminding myself it could all change anytime. Fingers crossed 🤞