Baby January 2023!

[TTC24]

Anyone else due January 2023?! Found out yesterday I'm pregnant with baby #2. If my dates are right, I'm 3+6, due 27th January! My daughters a Jan baby, but was due feb (she was 3 weeks early). May just must be a very fertile month for us! We fell pregnant last May too, but never met them😢.

I can't remember if I updated this thread? I don't think so. Had my baby on Friday. Overstimulated on the pessary within a few hours and was in agony. Begged them to take it out. The moment they did I went from 2cm dilated to 6cm in under 5 minutes and after another 5 or 10 minutes I was fully dilated and being rushed to the delivery suite while I screamed my head off. No pain relief! None! Active labour to delivery was under a half hour.

Very dramatic. Extensive damage to birth canal obviously as it's my first baby. Baby is fine and so am I other than the obvious. Hopefully I'll make it home from hospital tomorrow.

First of all, Congratulations!

Secondly, Oh my gosh! How are you feeling now looking back ? Its good to talk about these experiences, have you had any sort of debrief or conversation about it with a consultant or midwife. I dont blame you for screaming your head of, i would defo have done the same! Thats a very quick dialation!

In ref to your birth canal , is there any aftercare from the hospital ?

Fingers crossed you get home tomorrow so you can have your comforts x

I'm so glad baby is here safely!

But sweet Jesus, that birth sounds horrendous. I am so, so sorry you went through that. I'm questioning again in my head now whether I want to go ahead with the pessary tomorrow. The damage to your birth canal is particularly concerning! I really hope you get home tomorrow and get to rest xx

@Jusmakingit thank you! I don't know how I'm feeling to be honest because I'm still in hospital, she's not feeding well and it's just manic. It'll take a while to sink in I think.

Re aftercare, I had to go to theatre for the six tears so they should be fine. I was numbed from the waist down for that. The surgeon is supposed to check on them before I leave hospital so I'll ask if there's anything else I should do. There's online physio at the hospital so I'll check that out maybe. If I have any issues I'll ask for a physio referral.

6 …. I repeat 6 tears ? You poor thing . She clearly was in a rush to get out but I’m glad they are looking after you. Yes please do not let them let you leave without checking you over. Do you have any numbing spray etc for your bits ? Cool pads aswell help. I had a cut when they did forceps on me and that was painful enough to recover from, I had the midwife come and check it out down there cause it generally feels numb anyway but you can never tell if it’s healing right etc. and ask for pain relief !

someone said to me not so long ago when your body and mind go through so much in such a short space of time your body is in shock still for a few days , one person referred to the effect of giving birth in a traumatic way the equivalent of being in a car crash. Which I agree with . And then add a baby into the mix and everyone expects your to just get on with it like your body hasn’t gone through a major change.

be kind to yourself through this changing process and always ask for extra midwife visits and check ups etc. look after yourself xx

@Jusmakingit thanks so much for that. You're very kind! I haven't really even thought about the tears because I'm still kind of traumatised by the labour but they said today that it was pretty bad. The painkillers are doing their job at the moment so I'll make sure to have adequate supply of them for when I leave!

Thanks again for taking the time to respond!

@Somatronic congratulations on your new arrival! Sorry to hear you had such a traumatic experience though, wishing you a very quick recovery xx

Update - we got discharged from the hospital again this afternoon as all is well (other than me being a bit stuck with what to eat 🙈). We’ve been referred to a dietician so I’m hoping to get some help and advice from them.

Because of Evan being made nil by mouth right as my milk started properly coming in I’ve been suffering with engorged breasts and now cracked nipples from him struggling to latch on them. It’s agony, thank god I bought a breast pump the other day which got delivered tonight so I’m trying to express often to get on top of it and my DH has been bottle feeding to give the nipples a break but it seems like the milk just pours out the bottles and that’s with three different kinds of teats. Is that just because he’s not used to the flow of a bottle do you think? I really want to do a combination of expressing and breast feeding but he’s literally getting soaked whilst trying to feed from a bottle (he is taking it).

Any advice welcome 🤣

Im stuck for replying this morning but just wanted to mention/ask if you have the slow flow teats, tell me to shut up if you have but i never realised there was like 3-4 different flow of teats.

You can get the 0-3 month teats but some brands sell slow flow as well as the smallest holed teats. Most supermarkets would sell them but amazon would be your best bet if you dont want to head out on a hunt , my DD started on anti-colic as well cause she was drinking so much so quickly and made her have colic and reflux (she was greedy but they need to be controlled feed wise).

@LA9610 also to add, in hospital i used the pre made forumla bottles with the teats, if you google that you will see some come already with the teats on and my DD had those for the first few days when my boobs packed up after two days so they may even be smaller holes. Those are the ones the hospital provide as well if you request milk and most brands do those . You can also buy those types of bottles from boots/amazon without milk in if you want to put breast milk in them x

Hi ladies. Just came in here to say, baby boy is a week old now. And we are finally home from hospital, after a terrible week of both of us very poorly after the emcs. Went though a lot , the pair if hs with blood tests, lumbar puncture, injections, drips, antibiotics and not sleeping well. So happy to be home by still recovering from the pains of having an emergency c section. Will get there in the end. Can't wait to read all your posts on here to see who has had their babies and who are still waiting.

Wish you all nothing but love and best if luck and a happy safe delivery with a new healthy baby !

The pair of us* not the pair if hs

@Somatronic firstly Congratulations! And secondly sorry to hear it was such a traumatic experience too! As previous people have said, be kind to yourself and look after yourself. You will get through this and if it helps to talk about it to process it feel free to do that here with us if you want.

@LA9610 glad your home now too! How was your first night? Did you manage to get much rest? Sorry I am totally clueless re bottles right now. As justmaking it said you can get diff teats I didn’t know about. Not sure how much of a diff they make yet. My friend said the slow flow or vari flow ones for newborns as I also want to combi feed. I got the tommee tippee anti colic ones but there were some specific slow teat ones for 0 month ones I got too. Again I am clueless so guessing here, maybe as your milk has just come in it takes time to regulate the amount etc but I’m not sure. Apparently the lanisoh nipple cream is good too. They also do some cold compress pads which may give you some relief too? Remember don’t be hard on yourself… it takes a little time to find things that work for you!!

sending love to all you amazing ladies ❤️

Hi everyone.... don't know where to start as have just been catching up on a lot of posts I've missed. Sounds like a whole mix of huge congratulations to those of you who now have your babies and a lot of admiration for those of you who have got through what sound like extremely traumatic experiences.... especially the lack of pain relief etc!!

We women really do go through a lot. I have been convinced this weekend that she's arriving. I felt so weird on Saturday, like I was getting discharge (sorry) and just feeling quite spaced out. I hardly slept all night as I felt so much pressure pushing down and then woke up with the start of period style cramps. Today I feel the same and I wish I just knew if it means that she's on the way or if this could go on for weeks....

I am back in on thursday to see what's happening and then I've got an induction booked for 20th which I'm really hoping I can avoid!! I don't want one at all... it's a mix of reasons, some of the experiences I've read and a page a midwife wrote about (which I can share if anyone wants it).

Someone mentioned mood swings etc... I feel like I'm being so irritable and grumpy at the moment. I feel like no one can do or say anything right. I know I'm being like that but I just can't help it. Literally just feel anxious I think about the birth knowing it's within 2 weeks max and just really want to get on with it and don't know what to think about how im feeling... anyone else feel like that!

@Brightonbelle87 I'm also in Ireland... Dublin... from U.K. with Rotunda hospital.,, but depends where you are if that means anything.

Anyway, I hope everyone is okay... oh and that's the thing. I'm so irritated with everyone's advice about breast feeding and bottles etc. but to the point I don't want to ask any friends or family but for some reason I feel I take it all in better from this group cos we are all going through it and learning. But I don't know whether to buy a breast pump or not. Maybe I'll do some research as I think by the sounds of it, it's a good idea. And I bought a bottle heater thing yesterday. Even though I don't know if we will use it. Xx

I'm so glad you're home! I'm sorry about the sore boobies, though. I've joined a few breastfeeding pages on Facebook and the advice on there is to only tip the bottle so that it becomes horizontal, rather than tilted upwards, so the milk only half-fills the teat to slow down the flow of it going into baby's mouth xx

@PopsicleHustler Oh Popsicle! What a week. I'm so sorry you've had such a rough start. I'm glad you're home but take it easy. You poor thing xx

@Pickle0901

Im not sure if its any different in your hospital but when i was in with my 1st DD i wanted to breast feed so hadnt really planned bottles, formula etc but by day 2 DD wouldnt latch anymore - every midwife had a good play with them , moving baby into different positions etc and my boobs got really hard and heavy and they brought out a pump machine and they said you can actually borrow them from the hospital if you need one for a few days! Not sure if its still offered but maybe ask your midwife, also you can get hand express ones which are cheap to see if you would need one long term until everything gets going. (apparently my nipples were too flat for baby ?!)

@PopsicleHustler so glad your both home too! Hope you manage to get better rest at home for you and baby!

@Pickle0901 totally get where you are coming from. I’m only 37+2 so think I have a while to go yet but like you wouldn’t want an induction if possible. Similar too in that I’m over hearing everyone else’s advice (friends +family). I have just said I don’t want to know as what will be will be, nothing I can do to change whatever will happen.

And I have stopped worrying about if I have everything needed or the right things because again I’m over it but I think there’s so much out there it’s a minefield and different for everyone else! Just remember if there is anything when baby is here shops are always open, Amazon prime etc. I always had the intention of combi feeding so bought bottles, machine etc but wasn’t going to buy a breast pump as so expensive and unknown if I would use them! My hospital has a website which they refer to pump hire from Medela etc, is that available in Ireland for you? I think it was around £50 for 6 weeks which would give you time to try and decide whether to invest in your own if you wanted. Luckily my friend has lent me her breast pump but I don’t know if I will use it.

Being on this group just makes me realise so much more how much us ladies go through! But we get through it because we are so strong!

@H44123
We are strong , not to be rude to men but there's no way they could do what we do lol . I saw this video of a man explaining how a womans body during pregnancy and childbirth is the equivalent of running a marathon! Shame my body wont look like i have ran a marathon lol

Pretty impressive!

nypost.com/2019/06/11/pregnant-women-are-basically-endurance-athletes-study/

Thank you.... I didn't know that and will check. But maybe a cheap manual one to start with and can upgrade from there if necessary... thanks

@Jusmakingit Ha yes totally true for me included. I always wanted to get one of those Labour simulators men can try to see how my partner would be. I haven’t been through Labour yet so I don’t know how I will be I just know I will do it (I have no choice at this point) !

I'm in at 12:00 today for induction and just feel so sick with nerves. I don't know if I'm making the right decision. I'm frightened because of baby's estimated size and don't want to cause her any damage by leaving her in until she's too big to get out. But then the stories of inductions terrify me.

DS was also incredibly emotional leaving for nursery this morning and I feel so conflicted. I can't describe it. He doesn't know baby may come today/tomorrow but he was utterly distraught which is unlike him and in my head I told myself it's because he knows that was our last morning together just me and him before his life changed forever. Jesus I'm crying again now. My biggest worry all of the way through pregnancy is him feeling rejected or replaced and I just feel so guilty this morning.

I'm blabbering here. I'm not really saying anything of substance but just needed a little vent as my head feels all over the place.

@TokenGinger please vent away. Pain relief is your friend and every induction is completely different. Ask for epidural if your worries and then the majority of the pain element is taken away. Please tell them how anxious you are about the induction as well, is your partner going with you ?

personally my induction for my first DD was bad and they admit that it’s really rare for what I went through to happen again , I had a bad midwife who did not listen to me. Speak up if at any point you are anxious or worried or anything. They are there to take care of you as well as baby , I wish I had more confidence back then to stand my ground and speak up so please don’t think you’re being difficult etc . It’s your experience and your body !

Yes you're totally right and for ages I've just let it all go over my head and said what will be will be and I'm not going to over think but this last week I think I've got myself a bit stressed out.

I'm 38+2 feeling really different and think it's very real that it's happening soon, which is driving me into overdrive. But I'll take your advice and agree Amazon is always there!!

@H44123 haha that’s the worst bit I found with my first birth I was induced and was long (cause they fucked it all up) I should have just had a c section but anyway, I literally begged them to let me have a break lol 😂 obv I was of my face on every drug I could get my hands on included epidural lol, hooked up to machines and drips and I just said ‘can we just take a time out so I can get a cuppa and some fresh air’ if only you can just have a break and come back in an hour to carry on lol once your in it , there’s only one way out lol 😂 my partner fell asleep as well but I didn’t sleep for three days !

however I am having really bad lower back pain radiating up my spine right now . Fml 🤦‍♀️