Due in June - Thread 13

[CurryandSnuggle]

Will add tags separately as currently feeding bubba xx

@laurenGame when I had my first sweep with my DC1 I bled a bit and then had my bloody show that night. But it was never period amount. Personally I would call triage and ask the midwife!

To all those ladies struggling with BF and/or hungry babies… I feel for you. It’s so hard when you’re trying to crack BF but you feel like you can never satisfy baby or they’re losing weight. BF can be really hard, and whatever ‘fed is always best’. I breastfed DS1 for about 2 weeks and then changed to formula only. I felt such guilt and anger with myself that I’d “given up”. But now I think - when your kid is at pre school or primary school, you’re never going to know which kids had formula and which kids had breast milk. Saying that, there is a lot of help out there for breastfeeding (which proves that a lot of women must struggle!!). Ask your midwife/ HV/ lactation consultant 😌

@Prema112 - Hope the weigh-in went well today!

I can’t fault the care I received - I’m still very hormonal and cry every time I think about how amazing all the NHS staff were.

@fpeg - Yes - was destined for the sun roof & I’m all good with that - although I do think my mind is struggling to link that I’ve had a baby because I didn’t have to push. I keep looking at him in disbelief that he’s my baby. He makes me so very happy.

@destiEos - Not sure how many milestones I will remember to photograph him on the mat for - but I’m going to try! Haha!

Today's 4am wake up involved stress buying an air con unit from Argos for the heatwave this week. might have gone overboard, but wasn't fancying getting started with a 3 day old in 28 degree heat.

We're booked in tomorrow afternoon, which is super exciting! Hoping we don't get bumped. I'm loving hearing how everyone is doing - keep the updates coming, they're so useful to those of us who are a week or two later than the early starters.

@CurryandSnuggle I'm sure with my daughter it just shrank back really quickly, I don't remember it being so droopy haha. Its definitely less already than a few days ago, I'm just hoping it goes almost fully.
Oh @Prema112 that sounds so hard, glad you went in and are on a plan now. You are doing amazing, remember that.
@Roxystar23 congratulations! Take the painkillers until you feel like you don't need them any more, if you are in pain or achy just keep taking them. Peppermint capsules or tea are good for trapped wind pains if you are getting those.
@fpeg I'm 10 days in, tend to get around 1-1.5oz per breast during the day expressing, and 2-3oz per breast if I express first thing in the morning. I'm using formula overnight though as I'm not confident latching in the dark so probably why I'm getting more. If I just catch the let down from the non feeding breast in a morning I can get about an oz too. Are you doing paced feeding for the bottles? Charlie takes about 2oz per feed if from a bottle and is happy for 2-3h after that currently.
@RoseValleyRambles good luck for tomorrow!

Breastfeeding people, how are you planning to manage time specific commitments?
When DH goes back to work I'll need to be leaving home between 8.15 and 8.30 for the school run for my daughter. What do I do if Charlie needs feeding?

Thanks @Roxystar23 weighing went well he's put on over 200g over night! Midwife shared some wisdom I thought would be useful to pass on. She said for breastfeeding I should be drinking 3L water per day not including other drinks like tea and 3 good meals with snacks in between and as much sleep (haha) as I can get. She said breast feeding is a hormonal process that relies on the mum being and feeling well. So more naps, snacks and drinking for me!

@Octoblockisadick thank you!

I have no idea how the school run is going to work!! Feed before I leave and hope for the best?! Might have a screaming baby for 10 mins until big brother is dropped off

@Prema112 good to know about the drinking. I do tend to drink quite a lot of water in general, but I do count tea as part of it most days. I tend to drink about 2l water and 1-1.5l tea a day.
For our school run if walking I'll be out about 50 mins total so not ideal if needing to feed 😕. When I can drive it won't be too bad as I'll only be out 20 mins or so. I'm just not sure how to balance things haha.

Just a quick update regarding my circumcision dilemma with DH. We talked about it more this weekend and I'm 99% sure we won't be doing it. DH is feeling upset because it's so culturally important, but he's on board with not doing it if it's not something we both want. He's also agreed on telling his parents that we won't do it and is actively trying to not dwell on feeling stressed/upset. So overall good outcome.

DH is most worried about our baby not being accepted by his family and wider culture I think. He's asking things like "What if my dad says he can't pray because he's not circumcised?" Which is annoying because in any other circumstance, he would see that as his dad being an asshat, rather than a valid concern to be appeased. I think he's feeling generally insecure about his culture/language/religion being the minority one because we live in the UK, so is imagining worst-case scenarios. But his family have been largely very accepting of me and of the idea that we don't have a totally typical Egyptian marriage (at all!), so I'm optimistic that this won't be the absolute catastrophe he fears.

@InvisibleDragon glad you have managed to talk about it and agree.
If your husband is worried about his dad's reaction do they need to know? Will they be doing nappies or anything to actually see if he is circumcised or not?
Not saying you should hide it from them but it might not need to be an immediate conversation?

Those who have experienced spontaneous labour, what was the run up like? I’m 40 weeks have since this morning had low down menstrual cramps combined with having to empty my bowels, pretty much every hour. I feel like this is my body getting itself ready, my mum who was a midwife in the 70s says it’s Braxton Hicks. FTM so nothing to compare against!

@Rolledthedice that is quite similar to how my labour started - I think the only way to really differentiate between BH and proper labour is whether it's progressing. Have the cramps got worse, and if they come and go, are they becoming a more regular pattern? That's how I twigged it was the real thing. Hard to tell over an hour or two, but over the day I could see the change.

@Rolledthedice I agree with @RooSut25. In the morning I felt crampy and was having contractions but couldn’t tell if it was braxton hicks. Only thing I noticed was a slight niggle with the contraction that started from the sides and worked to the front. Over the day they got stronger and I could feel a pressure sensation in my bum. They started to develop a more rhythmic pattern, in early labour this was 40 minutes apart at first, then 20 mins apart, it took me a couple of days to enter established labour though (ie 3 in 10 minutes).

Thanks @RooSut25 and @CurryandSnuggle - they have definitely progressed beyond braxton hicks and my doula thinks I’m in latent/early labour. Now the sun is up I expect things may slow down a bit so I’ll try and get some sleep and rest in between! I wasn’t expecting to feel cramps so low down on the front but apparently this is a good sign.

Hey guys! Thought I’d drop by here to see how you are all doing! Congrats everyone on welcoming their babies into the world!
baby Vimto was readmitted to hospital two days ago after losing 13% weight. No one had told me a c section means your body is slower at getting milk flowing, so she was constantly hungry. She wasn’t settling at all and had pink in her urine which is a sign of dehydration but no one has picked up on it despite me telling midwives whilst I was still in hospital.
thankfully transitional care was amazing and gave me a plan which is breast feeding, expressing and top up with formula, I got her from 13% loss to 10.8% in 24 hours, she now falls asleep after a feed for a good two hours and no long screams like a banshee and most importantly is content and well fed! I hope my milk comes in eventually, I wish people had told me this from the start.
hopefully that’s the end of our rocky road, other than further thyroid tests I’m hoping we are doing well. 🥰
just an fyi for anyone out there that has a c section planned or not that you may find you need to top up your feeds with other sources. Baby Vimto has no nipple confusing; she just pulls a face at formula, and is gassy and has smelly poops. Worth it to see her so settled. 🥰

@Roxystar23 I’m struggling with the term gave birth, too. I know it was out of my control but sad I didn’t get a natural birth. Nothing I could have done, and c section was needed to save her life so worth it , just like you trying to wrap my head around it.

@Octoblockisadick yes have been doing placed feeding, but she just keeps going and going in the last feed of the day with her bottle! She's just a gannet! She feeds really well on the boob, lots of good long sucking and swallowing, sleep for 2-3 hours afterwards. I've just been amazed by that last feed though. Thanks for replying, I was getting similar amounts at your point and 3 oz settled here at night at that point, so not far of what you're saying. Thanks ☺️

Paced not placed 🙄

Just checking in at 40 weeks today! Congratulations on all the babies that have already arrived, all so beautiful and fab names too. I'm starting to really struggle in this hotter weather, getting very swollen if I stay still for too long. Hurry up baby please

Finally catching up on the thread as I've just finished work today. Congratulations on all the arrivals, they're wonderful and make me very excited to meet ours! I've a C section scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 39+4 as my baby is still breech but it still feels very surreal that we're going to have a baby! Keep waiting for it to sink in!

@Vimto1991 similar experience here with Jesse losing almost 10% body weight. Apparently large blood loss & induction can cause milk supply issues which I didn't know and I had both. Good for others to know, keep an eye on those nappies and get formula down them if you need to!

Vimto your experience sounds stressful ❤️ I hope you're feeling better now and so glad baby Vimto is doing well now too! First few days after birth can be so hard xx

We're waiting on the ward to see when we go in! Fibroids are making it a more complex one so I'm hoping they put us early. So odd thinking baby will suddenly be here. But everyone's great and giving lots of info which is useful.

@vimto1991 thanks for the feeding intel - I imagine we might be in the same situation, so good to know what to look out for.

@fpeg that's good to hear that he is about average for his age.
@Slanketeer good luck for tomorrow! Hope it all goes well for you.
@RoseValleyRambles if they think it might be complex they tend to put you first on the list i think. Fingers crossed for you!

@RoseValleyRambles very best of luck!

@Vimto1991 if it’s any consolation, I spent ages after my natural birth (my daughter’s) really regretting that I didn’t have a c section. My pelvic floor was such a mess, my bladder all over the place, it took me so so long to recover, I spent so long going to hospital for check ups and doing physio, not being allowed to walk, etc.

I think there’s no easy way of giving birth, and all that matters really is the health (physical and mental) of mother and baby. I didn’t feel I gained anything particularly through the experience of pushing a baby out vs having it taken out by section - except two lovely babies - and this is the only thing that matters!

@RoseValleyRambles Oh my gosh so excited for you!!! All the very best for tmw, I remember early on when you had that big bleed and everyone assumed you'd lost the baby and then that little miracle heartbeat was seen on the scan! Such a wonderful story ❤️

@Rolledthedice thinking of you! Hope all is progressing well!

@Slanketeer good luck for tomorrow!!