Due in June - Thread 13

[CurryandSnuggle]

Will add tags separately as currently feeding bubba xx

@Rolledthedice what a beauty. Congratulations. Hope you’re doing great and enjoying your new bundle.

is anyone else really emotional? Haha. I’m pretty emotional anyway, but I feel like I’m just crying happy tears constantly. I don’t want this baby bubble to end. It’s just the best time. Tonight I cried because my 2 babies (1 of those babies being nearly 3) were all washed, clean, cosy and content and my heart was just full. What a lovely feeling it is.

anyway, does anyone watch tv on these night feeds ? My friend though it was strange I would watch tv through the night instead of just feeding then back to bed. She’s up about an hour when she wakes and takes a while to settle but I enjoy a series to watch through the night. No wonder I’m tired I suppose

Huge congratulations to all those who have their beautiful babies in their arms.

@Bango2019 My son used to struggle with poohing when he was first born but it turned out he had a milk allergy, he used to get sick quite a lot too. Even when we cut out milk he still struggled until his tummy got stronger. Hopefully he’s done a Pooh for you today.

10 days left for me, due the 29th. Baby was measuring 90th centile 2 weeks ago and is now measuring 22nd centile. Had a growth scan today and they said to ignore my 90th centile measurements, which seemed strange. I’m not worried as baby seems happy but I’m not going to have any more appointments now until after my due date. Seems a long wait if baby isn’t going properly.

Hi all,

Congratulations to everyone who has had their babies.

My baby girl arrived early (39+2) on the 16th June, name still to be confirmed. Unfortunately, I did not have a very nice birth and I am struggling to comprehend what I actually went through. I ended up having a failed forcep delivery which ended in an emergency c section which is just the short version. We are both home now but I am struggling with the aftermath, finding down below very painful and don't have much control of my bladder and struggling with the pain from the c section. My milk hasn't fully come through yet so trying to combine feed. It is all just a lot and I want to feel like myself again. I absolutely love my baby and I am so happy she is here, just wish I could be on better form for all her new experiences.

Congratulations @Katiebaby13 - so sorry you had a tough birth. Really hope the trauma and the pain become a distant memory asap for you.

Did you expect baby girl to come early?

Hope you're being looked after well xxxx

@Katiebaby13 so sorry for your traumatic birth just to let you know your not alone I had ELCS 17 days ago and on day 3 I had a complete meltdown as my mind was working but my body was broken. My advice to you would be this is only temporary you will heal and after about 7-10 days post c section you will turn a corner and become more mobile and feel loads better. I am now fully mobile still tender on wound but I got an infection. Don’t be to hard on yourself you laboured had a traumatic time then had major surgery that’s so much to go through. Just sitting on sofa with your baby and having cuddles and feeding (breast or bottle fed is best) is all they need at this stage. In about 2 weeks time this will all feel so long ago.

Thanks @beansprout55 no not at all. I had a date to be induced on the 23rd as they said she was measuring large. She was 7lbs7 so was pretty average.

I know everything is very fresh right now and time is the best healer. My partner is being absolutely amazing and I know the whole experience has been extremely traumatic for him too.

Thanks @Flowerbug1994 that's made me very emotional to read. It really does help not to feel alone with this. I know lots of people on this group have had cesereans but I don't know when they were discussed and the chat moves so fast.

Hey everyone,

Just catching up on the thread now. So lovely seeing all the pictures of your wonderful babies!

BabyDragon was born on Thursday morning by ELCS weighting 8lb. We spent a night in hospital and came home late the next day.

C-section recovery has been ok so far, although I had 1L blood loss, so I'm quite tired and have to take iron tablets. On the other hand, omg the pain when my milk came in was awful. Far worse than anything to do with the caesarean! My nipples were already quite sore, then suddenly my breasts tripled in size and became rock hard and solid. Baby then couldn't latch because the nipples went flat, so I couldn't get any of the milk out and the baby was hungry and screaming. My mum unhelpfully told me this was all normal and that it would last for about 2 weeks! (And that I had to try and relax so that the let-down reflex would work. Honestly, she was trying to be kind and helpful, but completely missed the mark this time!) After about 4 hours of stress, we gave him some formula and the look of relief on his little face was heartbreaking.

Called the community midwives and they were SO helpful. They advised an electric pump to draw off some of the milk, to feed him expressed milk while he is having trouble latching but to practice latching before each feed. And it's working! I have significantly less pain already, Baby is fed and content and I've been able to successfully feed him from the breasts rather than using expressed milk twice after 1day! Hoping to get back to just breastfeeding (because when it works and isn't painful I like it) but pumping and then feeding from a bottle is also reassuring because you can see how much milk he is getting.

Thanks for all the kind messages! Like many on this thread I’m finding it quite an adjustment having a baby to feed round the clock. 🙈

@InvisibleDragon congratulations on baby dragon! 🥰 I am exactly the same with the milk coming in! Omg it’s so sore and painful! What pump are you using? We have been combi feeding since day 1 as Faith is so little and we can’t afford for her not to gain weight. I’ve struggled with getting her tiny mouth to stay latched but we are getting there. Does anyone else feel upset that they can’t solely breastfeed? I feel like the message is breastfeeding is the only / best way and that is very unhelpful for new mums. Definitely having baby blues wobbles now and again.

@laurenGame I don’t know if you’ve been doing hypnobirthing but using your breathe through labour is key! It kept me focused through each contraction and especially in the last stage (I did mooing to help baby descend, which I had read about but never imagined doing!) The TENNs machine was an absolute godsend and I managed with that and breathing for most of my labour. I also had a doula who was wonderful at helping me focus in the pool.

@Katiebaby13 I'm so sorry to read that your birth experience was hard. I can't imagine the stress when the forceps failed and then having major surgery, it will take time to process that. I'd advise maybe having some counselling when your hormones have calmed down a bit, I think it's important to process what's happened properly. I am delighted to hear that your baby girl arrived safely though.

@InvisibleDragon Congratulations!! I'm also pumping on the right boob as it's just too painful when he feeds off it.

@Rolledthedice I was a bit gutted to not be ebf but I was so happy that he was fed and settled. We've managed to move away from formula with lots of pumping and he just has it once or twice a day when he's very hungry and boobs can't keep up

@Letsbekindplease what day are you? I cried everyday sometimes multiple times from day 0-8. We've waited for this baby so long and I'm just trying to drink up every moment but it's going so fast! My big one and little one had their first sleepover last night! (Until we sent big one to his bed so we could sleep!)

@Katiebaby13 I couldn’t just scroll past your message. Firstly, I’m so glad baby is ok and you’re both home!

What you went through sounds so traumatic and I’m so sorry you went through that. I had a traumatic first labour with my son and remember just feeling so empty and unable to process what had happened for ages. You need to be kind to yourself, physically you’ve gone through so much - assisted vaginal birth and emergency c section. Rest and heal as much as you can, take all the help you can and when you’re ready, talk to someone about it. I think most hospitals do a ‘debrief’ for women to talk about what happened. My heart really goes out to you as I remember feeling so broken and you’ve still got this little baby to look after! Look after yourself x

Little update from us - currently pinned under a snoozing BabyRambles so have been able to play catch up!

@katiebaby13 you sound like you've had a horrendous time. We were also c section, although a planned one, and I've found it really hard being so immobile. It's harder to feed because of the scary, and just basic chores are tough. Yesterday I had the first dressing changed and things have become easier since, so probably 5 days in? But it sounds from others like the 10 day mark is a bigger improvement. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to be well. There will be all the time in the world once you're up and about again. Big hugs.

For those asking about c section belts etc (@lostintranslatio ?, Sorry, read too much and can't remember), I asked the midwife yesterday and she strongly recommended letting things hall naturally until at least the 6 week appt - and she didn't seem the particularly judgy type.

She also suggested expressing 4-8 times a day, even if only for 10 mins, to keep supply going, for those who can't bf but want to in future (again, can't remember who to @).

We're doing ok, tho evening sleep is a little tricky. I suspect BabyR is trying to cluster feed, but it's tricky with a bottle fed baby as they just glug it all down then sick it up and demand more... Any advice appreciated! I had my. Section dressing changed yesterday, and it turned out part of it had stuck on an unshaven area, so I got a free wax too. As a non-waxxer, this was absolute agony and I screamed the place down much to the amusement of my DH.

My boobs have started literally dripping so I'm going to try some breastfeeding today. BabyR has a tongue tie, but if I use nipple shields he can make it work - a smart suggestion from one of the feeding experts on the postnatal ward.

Loving reading how everyone's doing and the solutions you're all finding to the problems of the first weeks! Keep them coming!

@Bango2019 just chipping in to say my first baby only used to poo once a week for months! Doctors said it was normal although he was EBF so don’t know if that makes a difference. It was pretty explosive after that week…

@Katiebaby13 likewise so sorry to hear what you went through. I’m 38 +5 now and nervous about what lies ahead. With my first I had a pretty good labour but the recovery and newborn phase still knocked me for 6. It’s an incredibly tough period at the best of times.

@annie1994 you're SUCH a sweetie! Please stay on this thread for when I've had my birth 😂 xx

@Rolledthedice I'm feeling sad I'm not EBF and it started due to the same reason too, baby had jaundice and lost 10%. But fed is best at the end of the day and we need to bear that in mind :) I am with you on the baby blues too , I randomly get teary for no reason!

Anyone else have a massive discrepancy in milk production?! My right boob is massive and I get 50ml pumping for 10 mins, left is a lot smaller and I get less than 10ml out, so strange! I give Jesse the smaller one first at every feed, doesn't seem to make a difference though

@MrsTwentyNine @Rolledthedice the jaundice/losing lots of weight combo seems to be quite common, happened to us too. Jaundice makes them more sleepy so they feed less which I didn't know. Has your milk come in now? Through pumping we were able to get back to EBF as of yesterday, when he screams that he wants more we can now give him my bottled breastmilk, still have some formula to hand JIC though

good morning.

is anyones baby very unsettled at night time? My little one cried and unsettled from 5pm - midnight last night. Just seemed in discomfort but managed to wind fine so not sure what was going on. It was very stressful. My son had colic but surly 1 week old it’s so early for that? I have midwife today so will speak to her. Not nice seeing them so upset.

@letsbekindplease Same here, but starting later in the evening. I'm wondering if it's cluster feeding, but might also be gas - not sure why particularly in the evening, but he's doing the gassy things... Going to pick up some infacol today and see if it helps.

@beansprout55 haha bless you 😂

Tomorrow is the day! I’ve got my ELCS 😖 not really sure what to expect, just hoping it’s calm and controlled! So weird to think today is the last day I’ll be pregnant and tomorrow I’ll meet my baby 🥰

If anyone is already using having to pull baby vests over baby's head, I've just discovered h&m do a wrap version: www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.0827318001.html?pr_oyster=jFgPcae0fW&hier_id=go_cmp-12796663563_adg-126516120412_ad-516052907650_pla-1437635554729_dev-m_ext-_prd-en-0827318011001_sig-Cj0KCQjw2MWVBhCQARIsAIjbwoMMoZBR504jAIsfGc6MGSSz0etyryEFnFlXWAHf0x2AP3EQO0Wt4woaAg5HEALw_wcB&utm_source=Google&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2MWVBhCQARIsAIjbwoMMoZBR504jAIsfGc6MGSSz0etyryEFnFlXWAHf0x2AP3EQO0Wt4woaAg5HEALw_wcB

@annie1994 It should be very chill. Distraction is the name of the game, so prime your partner to get you chatting once you're on the table. I didn't feel the incision at all, which was my worry, just the tugging and pulling as they got him out (which lasts a while, but it's not painful, just weird.) It's over fast and then you have your baby to distract you :D

@annie1994 my ELCS was so so calm the only person remotely anxious was me. All the staff where just laughing and joking even the surgeon was guessing the weight when he was out. They do this about 6 times a day in my hospital so it’s just a days work to them. Good luck am sure it will all go amazing. (Little tip: take all the painkillers like clockwork so that way you’d never in the worst pain)

@Rolledthedice we have a Nuby pump. It works great, but I put exactly 0 thought into it as I didn't think i would use one. Dispatched my husband in a panic to get one from the supermarket and there were 2 options. The Nuby or another brand that is apparently quieter, but you have to charge the battery before you can use it. We got the Nuby because you can use it immediately!

I'm currently feeling massively fortunate that I can afford to drop money on something like that, which has really got me out of a mess. I was upset in my previous post about my mum telling me I should basically expect 2 weeks of sheer hell. But actually for her as a young mum below the poverty line, even if breast pumps had been available she couldn't have afforded one. She couldn't have afforded formula either, so really for her there was no other option. It's a cliché that when you become a parent, you see your own parents in a whole new light, but holy shit that one really got me.

@Prema112 that's so good you could get back to EBF. I've ordered an elvie pump so hoping I can maximise pumping!