Due July (Thread 6)

[Lianna93]

Thread 5 is about to fill up, here's another one!
Wonder how many more babies we'll meet before we get to July 🥰

@NamelessBaby1 I can't remember the exact time we arrived, probably about 10ish (maybe) but baby came at 4.21pm.
Lanarkshire have a breast feeding team that can help so will maybe see about contacting them. I'm currently expressing my milk but still trying to get her to attach.

Baby has been checked multiple times for a tongue tie but that doesn't seem to be the issue. She's making all the right movements & has successfully latched once and fed for a good 30 minutes but we haven't been able to recreate this

@CaptainCarp @Mattieandmummy Yknow - I have nipple shields & she latched absolutely perfectly onto those but she gets frustrated because my milk isn't flowing fast enough for her yet but hoping once it does, it's maybe something I can revisit.
It's been so much 'try this way, try that way' and also the 'don't worry this is all normal' but when she's screaming bloody murder because she can't latch, it's upsetting & I've found myself in tears out of frustration. Pumping seems to be working at the moment though - I'm averaging about 30ml per 15 minutes of pumping so at least I know I can still feed her, even if I need to top her up with formula.

@JNGO21 @beetree1 @KizboBaggins congratulations to you all on the birth of your babies. Crazy that this thread will no longer be a 'due in July' thread - we'll need to think of a new name if we continue the thread! 🥰

@Lianna93 good that she has latched & fed. I would definitely contact the breastfeeding team see if they can come see you at home.

The only other thing I can suggest is trying to catch her needing a feed before the crying/screaming phase. Have you noticed her mouthing before she wakes?
(Sorry if you are doing this) when the a screaming it stresses both you & baby!

Also my milk let down happened on day 3-4 & baby found it a lot easier to feed after that!

@CaptainCarp I've been doing tons of skin to skin with her & she'll gradually move herself over to my breast and then she'll start nuzzling & licking and she'll take the nipple in & suckle in but it's not a proper latch.
My midwife is coming tomorrow so will speak to her tomorrow & then contact the breastfeeding team.
Im not nearly as frustrated as I was a few days ago just purely because expressing is working 🙂

@Lianna93 OK she's reacting to the breast / smell of milk.
The infant feeding worker who saw me in hospital said to touch the nipple to the top lip / under the nose & then when baby open wide you "push" baby onto the breast as most of your areola should be in their mouth.
They will probably pull their head away & you have to let them but then they will hopefully accept & latch after a few tries. It apparently helps with the draw. (I don't know that I've really explained that very well at all so probably not much help)

Anyone breastfeeding though this lady on Facebook has some useful information / videos. Reassured me abour feeding with the heat the last couple of days! Also has some videos about positions & latch
www.facebook.com/LMJinfantfeeding

Wanted to add it does seem like you've got a good handle on expressing & baby is well fed!
I am hoping to bottle feed breast milk so need to try expressing soon!

Congratulations @JNGO21 @Lianna93 @SamanthaVimes @beetree1 @KizboBaggins lovely to read about all your births! @JNGO21 I had a suction cup on the final push, and a second degree tear but no surgery afterwards. You will be so glad it is all over and done with now.

Wishing you speedy exit from hospital @SamanthaVimes I agree you recover much better away from hospital.

For everyone still waiting I'm so glad the weather has cooled down, it's been a tough time to be heavily pregnant, as well as a tough time for feeding babies in the heat. 19 degrees where I was today and it felt wonderfully cool after the recent heatwave! It's been lovely sharing this experience with you all and exchanging much needed advice 🙂

Congratulations on all the bubbas born!

After a 3 day labour baby Amelia was born at 21:01 last night weighing 9lb 3oz 😱😱 it was not a good labour and ended in emergency c-section. All of my worst case scenarios happened. My labour started at home on Monday with pretty strong contractions, Tuesday my midwife gave me a sweep and that really ramped things up so we came to the hospital Tuesday evening. I was 5cm at this point and they tried to send me home but I was in absolute agony with pretty much all back labour. I managed to get admitted to the delivery suite in the end.

Contractions were 4 in 10 and intense but I was managing on gas and air. When they examined me 4 hours later I had only dilated another 1cm and they were worried baby’s head was tilted which is why my cervix wasn’t dilating despite really strong contractions… this then went on until around 4pm on Wednesday. I had an epidural and they allowed me one more hour to if baby moved but ultimately it didn’t had at 21:01 I went down for an emergency c-section.

Everything was ok with baby to begin with then once we were transferred to a ward her oxygen levels dropped and she was taken down to neonatal for monitoring and a chest X-ray.. all seems ok but this one definitely likes to keep us on our toes!

Any of the c-section mommas have any recovery advice, i hadn’t prepped for this at all

@ChinChilly congratulations on your baby girl!
Hope all is OK, is she back on the main ward or still in NICU?
Can only say with regards to the c-section is take your recovery slowly & don't over do anything.

@CaptainCarp she is still in NICU, a quick check over turned into the entire night with a chest xray

Feel like I've missed so many baby announcements - congratulations everyone who has given birth in the few days!

@Lianna93 glad you're feeling better about breastfeeding, I think the main thing I learnt from first time around is not to give up. It can be a right struggle for lots of different reasons and scary wondering if your baby is hungry but definitely keep going.

@ChinChilly sorry to hear that you ended up with an emergency section but congratulations on your little one - hopefully NICU is a precaution and she is back with you soon.

I had a section 3 days ago and I would second the advice above on taking it slowly. Be prepared for the day after the section (when they will generally take out the catheter and encourage you to get out of bed) - the pain came as a huge shock to me. Not telling you this to scare you but actually to encourage you - first walk to the loo and back I cried with the pain and didn’t know how I could bear it. But a few hours later it was totally manageable - the first steps really
are the hardest and you will be shocked at how quickly you start feeling better. I honestly believe that the more mobile you can be the faster you will recover (by “mobile” I just mean hobbling to and from the loo / walking slowly to a chair and sitting there for a few minutes - obviously no lifting etc).

Practical tips:

1. Get a belly binder (a Frida mom binder bought via Amazon has been a lifesaver for me) - it helps so much with walking around because it supports where our core muscles used to be!
2. Drink lots of water.
3. Try to sleep propped upright if you can - going from lying down to sitting up was one of the worst parts for me!
4. Take all pain relief offered.
5. Take a stool Softener (lactulose was a godsend).

good luck!

I am having a terrible time trying to breastfeed - my little guy struggles to latch (had a tongue tie which has since been divided) and then gets frustrated and screams and I end up spending an hour like this and then another hour hand expressing from my poor bruised nipples to get the milk out for him. Any advice gratefully received as I also get conflicting tips from every midwife / LC that visits us…

Congratulations to all the new mamas and best of luck for those still waiting!

Congratulations to everyone who's given birth lately

@ChinChilly I had a section, although it was planned so slightly different but agree with the advice of take any and all pain relief offered. I had paracetamol and one other every 4ish hours and I could also top it up with diamorphine if needed. And once catheter is out, move. I sat up in the chair a little bit and was advised to stand up wherever possible. So stand up for nappy changes, to get stuff out of your bags, whatever, it all helps.

I'm having difficulty with breastfeeding too. My boy is latching and drinking perfectly every 3ish hours (sometimes sooner, sometimes later) but he's losing weight. He had lost 8% of his birth weight when he had his day 5 check on Monday and they suggested topping up with formula. But my baby doesn't want it, refuses the bottle and if he does take a bit he spits it back up anyway. He only wants breast. He was checked again yesterday and he's lost another 60g so he's down to 7 lbs 1 oz when he started at 7 lbs 14 oz. Like idk what to do. I feel really disheartened when the midwife comes around, makes me feel like I'm failing my son 😞 but I'm doing everything that has been suggested, it's just his weight isn't picking up. My milk didnt come down until day 4 so we are playing catch up a bit and he has been sweating during the heat, especially when feeding. But he has wet/dirty Nappies so hes getting fed. We also had a jaundice scare yesterday as his eyeballs went a bit yellow but he had a blood test and his level was well below the treatment threshold thankfully. Being a mum is hard!

Hi all,
Congrats everyone on their new arrivals!
My baby daughter Nóra was born on the 14th weighing 9lb 5oz(not expected!!). I was induced and Unfortunately got hyperstimulation at home so went from making dinner with no pain to having contractions every 30 seconds 15 minutes later-I was 4cm and screaming like a banshee by the time I got to the hospital!Just incase anyone is getting the pessary in future this is a risk!Baby was slightly distressed but I got an epidural(the best thing ever invented)and all settled and I got to 10cm in 5 house.Unfortunatley as she was so big I ended up with a trial of forceps in theatre and a 3rd degree tear despite the episiotomy.We had a few extra days due to me losing quiet a lot of blood,needing transfusion, developing an infection post manual removal of placenta and baby also being treated for infection.I do think deep down I'm a bit traumatised esp as I am a medic and knew from all the drugs being thrown at me in theatre that I was losing significant and startung to become unwell BUT im.okay and we are home now and I would do it all again in a heartbeat!

I am also breastfeeding and was so delighted that at least that was going right but she hasn't pooed now in 2 days and just about getting the 4 wet nappies a day even though she is super content post feeding I felt the need to give her a few drops of formula so I knew for sure she was hydrated! I think I'll buzz the midwives today to see what they say!

Best of luck to all the mamas to be still waiting x

Congratulations @Peters27 Glad your little one was delivered safely, hope you're both recovering well.

Sorry to hear there's other struggling to breastfeed their babies too - midwives all seem to push for us to breastfeed but don't actually tell us how difficult it can actually be to do it!
I tried again this morning about 7ish with my nipple shield - baby latched perfectly fine & fed for like 45 minutes but now she won't go to sleep and I've had to top her up with formula too 🙃🙃🙃 Baby girl has been awake for 3 hours +
She isn't fussing or crying but just won't go to sleep 😩😩
Feel like I'm in for a long day with her as she's got her heel prick test today too 😞

Completely missed your post @ChinChilly 🙈 Congratulations on the birth of your baby! Hope your recovery goes well 🥰

For anyone struggling with feeding these are the things I found helpful:

position:
tummy to mummy (Assuming your nips point forwards and not down!)
arms out of the way as this can stop then getting a deep latch, you want them one either side, not between your bodies
chin to skin (because their chin helps press the milk out)
nipple UP nose (Not nose to nipple as that can get you a shallow latch)
they open their mouths like a pez dispenser rather than evenly each side so have them more towards their feet than you think if you’re using cradle hold

I second the recommendation of following LMJ infant feeding on Facebook, another good one is Lucy Ruddle IBCLC

frequency:
basically if the baby makes any noise/ move I see if he wants boob. It’s much easier to latch them when they aren’t really hungry so turning head / gumming their hands are good signs to watch for but if in doubt whip it out!
The 8-12 times in 24 hours is a minimum not a maximum, lots of babies will want it more than this, especially if they’re snacky feeders so always offer just in case. If they don’t want it they won’t take it, you can’t over feed at the breast.

Anything up to 10% loss on day 5 is normal and not a sign on its own that you need to supplement (they should offer to observe a feed and check your position etc to see if they can improve milk transfer)
In between weighing keep an eye on nappy output

If you’re struggling with weight gain look up breast compressions and switch feeding. Anyone going on about foremilk/hindmilk and leaving them on for x minutes is out of date as that’s old advice!

That’s my essay on the subject 😅

@SamanthaVimes Haha thank you for your essay on breastfeeding! 😂
I've managed a second feed with my shields so I'm thinking if that's what's gonna work for her then I'm doing it! I know shields can divide the opinions but I'll do anything to ensure she's happy & latching onto my nipples just makes her incredibly frustrated. Plus, I'm already bottle feeding from my expressed milk - so shouldn't need to worry about nipple confusion.

In other news: Ladies don't look at your vaginas, it ain't worth it 😩😂 I have the biggest load of bruising ever which I think is probably causing me more pain than the actual cut & tear itself 😂😂

@Lianna93 well done on feeding with shields. I know they’re a bit controversial but I know someone who used them their whole journey and fed well past 6 months

In related news my milk has come in and my tits are ridiculously huge, I’d forgotten how uncomfortable it is until the supply regulates!

Congratulations to everyone who’s already had their babies :)

@Lianna93 Shields were the only way I could feed my first baby for at least a month, but we weaned off them eventually and fed for 2 years so please don’t be put off them! Definitely no nipple confusion, she never took a bottle despite me trying!

I had a sweep today (40+2) and have had a bit of bleeding since. Hopefully a good sign 🤞🏻

@ChinChilly hopefully she's out of NICU soon & you both can get settled.

@Peters27 congratulations on your baby girl!

@Lianna93 if it works go for it!

@missv556 sorry to hear you're struggling as well. How old is he now?
Hopefully now your milk is in he'll start gaining.
Does he have a habit of dropping off a bit dozy & then going to sleep? Skye does that a bit but I found if I keep her by the breast she'll sometimes start feeding again. If I move her she'll just go into a deep sleep.

@CaptainCarp he's 8 days old. I think he's affected by his tongue tie more than they thought at the hospital. I've booked an appointment next week to get it corrected but if he doesn't gain weight by tomorrow I think he's gonna be readmitted to hospital

@SamanthaVimes that is soo super helpful thanks a million!

@Lianna93 ya my midwife told me have a look down there too with a mirror,I was like no one needs to witness that carnage ill pass!!I'm stiched from here to god knows where I'd be traumatised!!

Congratulations to everyone who has had their baby! So super exciting 🥰 I’m 39 weeks now and no signs of baby yet!

Congratulations to all new arrivals! And for those of you going through a rough patch feeding or otherwise, you got this mamas! It will only get better from here on out! We’re all rooting for you! Sending everyone a big virtual squeeze!

I just had my 38 w appointment in the birth center (which is where I hope to have the baby) and it was so wonderful! I had no idea the atmosphere was so relaxed and homely in those! The midwives I saw were also amazing, I really hope everything goes smoothly so I can give birth over there. 🤞🏻🙏🏼🤞🏻 They didn’t say anything about inducing me or booking any sweeps or anything, told me “if baby hasn’t come we’ll see you for your next appointment at your due date”. I guess if still nothing by then that’s when they could offer me a sweep or something? I forgot to ask, I was so enamored by the room 😂🙈

Shields are definitely staying. That's another feed done with them 👌🏻
She's still needing to be topped up after a feed with either milk I've expressed or formula as my flow isn't still quite fast yet but we're getting there 😁

@missv556 Im sorry to hear that. Hopefully you little one with have gained comes tomorrow 🤞🏻 Keep us updated 🥰

@Purple1181 Oh good luck lovely - hopefully we'll see the arrival of another July baby soon 🥰

@Peters27 Yeah it ain't a pretty sight 😂 Even before birth it was a pretty sight from all the swelling, now it's even worse 😂😂😂 I proper regret ever saying I had an ugly vagina prior to pregnancy, I take it back! 😂

@Coco9910 Hopefully you won't have much longer to go 🤞🏻