Due January Part 4! 🎉

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I can’t see a new part 4 as part 3 is now at 1000 replies!

@Onedayatatime24 you're welcome. Other thing they can help with is walking around with gassy and crying baby lol
6 weeks is good, better than some can stay home.
My OH is staying home for 2 to 3 months, depending how my csection goes and how badly to they need him back 😁

I really hope i can breastfeed this baby. I breastfeed my second daughter for about 9 months and i prefer it over bottles. No worries about sterilising, correct temperature for water, correct formula, carrying all the stuff with you when going somewhere etc the start was hard, my nipples were raw and sore, she wanted it basically 24/7 but i wasn't going to give up because i really disliked the bottle thing with my first lol
But different things work for different people.

@Onedayatatime24 I struggled to breast feed ds, it nearly broke me, he was getting enough milk, and he didn't lose weight when they did the 5 day (was 4 for us) check up and heel prick, but I was so engorged and my boobs were solid, they put me on the hospital pump and I decided there and then to express. My mum had already bought me a manual pump to try and release some of the pressure in my boobs, I used that for 6 months and ds was bottle fed. Dh loved being able to grab a bottle out the fridge and feed ds while I expressed (he drank cold milk) we also used bottles of ready made formula as my supply didn't always keep up with demand. It meant when out and about, especially for meals he could be fed by anyone, and it was so nice to see his grandparents having that chance too.

I've been looking at electric pumps because I want to try breast feeding again, but I'm not going to put the same level of pressure on myself again and will revert to expressing if I can't cope (also going electric as I don't want to give myself rsi in my thumbs again)

Hey ladies, is it normal for the urge to pee so much during the night to die down a bit at this point? (I’m 15+4) - I did look it up and saw something about the uterus ‘popping out’ of the pelvis allowing more room for bladder, but I was under the impression that pressure on the bladder just gets worse and worse!
The past 2 or 3 nights I haven’t needed to get up. Having my weekly panic 😅

@Onedayatatime24 I’m the same about breastfeeding. I know for some it’s easy and others it’s a strain both physically and mentally. My plan is to give it a go but I won’t be too upset if I have to move to formula. As long as baby is fed and doing well I’ll be happy.

I do think breastfeeding will be easier in that I won’t be traipsing down to the kitchen multiple times in the night to make bottles, there’s less paraphernalia to take when you go out and it’s easier for travelling (and of course it’s free). I haven’t looked into everything I’d need so far (pump etc) but I’m definitely going to give it a try.

@sashastuck yes I think that’s normal. I’m still getting up 2-3 times and I’m at the same stage as you (also 15+4). It has eased though as it was 6 a few weeks ago!

I read it comes back with a vengeance in the third trimester so enjoy the undisturbed sleep while you can.

I hated bottle feeding my first, we breastfed for 2-3weeks but had lots of issues along the way. He was in NNU for 2weeks with E. coli meningitis and NG tube fed so I battled getting him off that, only giving breast milk (I did antenatal hand expressing so had 100ml colostrum in the freezer in syringes) but it was a heat wave, we had to come to hospital for a week every day for antibiotics, I just couldn’t keep up and ended up stopping which I still beat myself up about. Second time much easier and fed for 2.5yrs. Once it works with a lot of perseverance, it’s the lazy way in life for sure!

on the finding out the sex of baby, it’s still more common overall to find out. I would say 90% find out in advance, a surprise is super lovely though 🥰🥰🥰

You don't neeeeeeed a pump @Lightningrain Unless you plan on pumping or, end up needing to as baby struggles with latch etc.

I actually found the best way to pump was by hand, rarely used the hospital pump (I pumped for 6 weeks exclusively whilst DS3 was in NICU) and then often either used my Haakaa or hand expressed if I wanted to get a bottle or two made up for DH to feed DS3.

Ended up feeding DS3 until just before his 3rd Birthday. DS1 I only exclusively breastfed for 4 months, swapped him slowly to formula so by 6 months he was solely formula fed. Done so because everyone kept telling me that formula would help DS sleep and most family members made me feel like a freak for BFing 🤦‍♀️ I was sleep deprived and went back to work at 4 months so made that swap.... to no success for him sleeping through 🤦‍♀️ DS3 actually slept through before DS1 did. I'm sure there's plenty of stories that will be the other way around too! Saying they're babies slept through once formula fed. But I just wanted to share my story of that on here because it really upset me that I followed my family members advice and now I know from further research and more experience with DS3 that I wasn't a freak etc.

Sorry! Feeding babies can be an emotive subject!

Anyway, bloody hoping to BF again, I found it so convenient and it didn't stop me from going on weekends away without DS3 or date nights etc.

@LittleAlien24 2-3 months is good! Definitely worth having that extra help if you are having a c section too, another thing I didn't think about. Can you tell I actually haven't thought about giving birth at all yet 😂

@Hummusanddipdip this is why I like the idea of using bottles as well! Takes the pressure off me to always be the feeder. I don't think I'd mind exclusively expressing but as you say, can be tough with supply so we'll see.

@Lightningrain yes the convenience is definitely a plus side of breastfeeding! I imagine it's so much easier for night feeds too. But not going to put either of us though pain just to say I did it, as you say whatever keeps them fed and happy is always best!

@Mummyme87 gosh that's such a tough situation, sorry to hear you still beat yourself up! You really shouldn't, that sounds so stressful anyway without that extra pressure on yourself. Did you go back to work with your second/how did you find feeding for so long?

@sashastuck I got up in the night for a wee every night until the day I turned 13 weeks. Haven't needed to get up in the night since! It's been so nice to finally sleep through, not going to lie. I also read that as your uterus moves up, it takes pressure of the bladder so guessing that's what's happening. Still weeing a million times in the day though.

@Onedayatatime24 went back to work at 13months on shifts, baby adapted to me not being there, pumped once a shift at work but he never took it. I hated pumping, it’s hard and time consuming, I take my hat off to the exclusive pumpers!!! Not for the faint hearted!!

my OH has only ever had two weeks off work. First time had a few days then went back whilst I was in hospital as pointless being off. Then had another week off when we were home. This time he needs longer, we always said next time have an extra week

On the feeding front, fed is best and I think we put too much pressure on ourselves. I have been very lucky to feed all 3 of my children, my last ds is 2.5 and I am still feeding him now! Not planned at all but it’s been god send at times and at other times a bloody nightmare! But I’ve saved a fortune on formula (can’t get over the prices in comparison to when my other 2 were little)
I am hoping my milk dries up in a way so he weans before the baby comes but I also don’t want to stop him, I want it to be a natural process. He only has me a few times a day now unless he’s poorly though thankfully 😅

@Dannic2018 toddler weaning is a mixed bag isn’t it. Sometimes it’s the taste that changes and puts them off, would be nice to just have some respite before the next one wouldn’t it. After I stopped with my youngest I despised the thought of breastfeeding again for about 2yrs. Honestly it made my skin crawl, luckily don’t feel like that now 😂😂

im in maternity jeans today. Need to get some tops as my t shirts all just ride up which I wouldn’t mind but I also have a reasonable mummy tummy still.

sickness feels like it’s eased the last couple of days!

@Mummyme87 know the feeling about beating yourself up. 18 years later and i still do that to myself about my first one that i should have tried harder and not give up so easily.
@sashastuck i'd say its normal. Im going once during the night, always around 5am lol
@Kalodin my first 2 were born in my home country where most women breastfeed and when we moved to ireland i felt like im from a different planet lol when i told people i breastfeed my second for about 9 months then omg the looks i got. Im lucky now in spain because breastfeeding is really common here even in public places no one stares or says anything.
And yes if not planning on pumping then pump is not needed. I pumped with my hands for my first for a bit.

If feeling pressure in your boobs then pump out just a bit until you feel better and a really cold fresh cabbage leaf in your bra around your boobie is a heaven send lol

@Onedayatatime24 it's not that you haven't given thought 😁 I've experience with 2 previously and my OH has 4 previously 😂 it's just we have discussed things how and what to do even before i got pregnant because he really supports and wants me to breastfeed 😊

My feeding experiences are:
My first two were bottle fed, tried with the first but then went onto bottles straight away, I was young and exhausted! Second went straight onto bottles. I did think about it when my milk came in but I’ve always been weirded out around things touching my boobs.
Third one, 12 years later, told my husband I would give it a go to appease him as I was sure I wanted to bottle feed again and still hate things around my boobs. Tried and kept going but gave the odd bottle due to very sore nipples in the first few weeks. Then had covid at 6 weeks and my supply dropped right off and had to combi feed. Baby then took a bottle preference and I ended up only feeding at night. Hated it and hated other people feeding him and spent the next 4 weeks pumping by day and offering breast every feed trying to get him back on. Finally one day he stuck with the breast and stayed on until 10 months with just one bottle a day which was expressed.

I plan to exclusively breastfeed this one, I’m totally a convert! I will catch any letdown from the other breast with a haakaa so I can save a store in the freezer for if I have an unexpected night away.

Thanks for sharing everyone! I love hearing about everyone's experiences with feeding! I never even knew you could hand pump 😳 I've only ever seen people with the electric ones on.

Also can't even imagine breastfeeding for 2 years or more - wow! I just assumed it would be for like the first 9 months or so until they're onto food properly. I feel like we should learn this in school or something! 😂

I wanted to breast feed my DD. She really struggled to latch at all. I feel like this is partly due to my flat nipples and also she had to be manually turned during labour so struggled with the positioning. I really tried for 8 weeks but during that time I don't think we had one successful feed, I expressed 6-8 times a day.

I would like to breast feed, but I am not going to express this time round, that plus feeds a day was too much and was probably to the detrement of my mental health and I would sooner bottle feed again.

Another one with a bumpy breastfeeding history here.

DS1 bf exclusively for the first 6 weeks but then hit that first growth spurt and I was young and inexperienced so started topping up with formula. He was combi-fed from then and stopped entirely at about 8 months old. No regrets though, I did my best based on the knowledge I had at the time.

DS2 was in Neonatal for the first three weeks so I pumped at first. He came home exclusively breastfed. I then had months of problems. Ductal thrush, recurrent mastitis and an abcess that landed me in hospital with sepsis after very poor care from my GP. Somehow fed through it all and he never had a drop of formula, mainly because I was so nervous of not emptying my boobs properly and getting mastitis again that I was reluctant to ever skip a feed. He self weaned at about 22 months when I was pregnant with his brother.

Youngest was a 25 weeker and had an ileostomy stoma plus short gut so he was fed intravenously through a long line until 7 months but he also had prescription formula too. He couldn't tolerate breastmilk at all with his stoma, made his output go far too high. I pumped throughout even though I was chucking most of it because we'd run out of storage space at home and hospital. He came home on Pepti Jr formula and if any of you have had the pleasure of smelling that you will understand my determination to get him off it 😂 I also really hated making bottles and found it really stressful personally. I was so used just getting a boob out in the night too plus we were lugging around oxygen and sometimes a sats monitor too, formula felt like so much additional work to me. We started with an SNS initially, then shields and after a quick tongue tie snip eventually dropped his last bottle somewhere around his first birthday (he was still very much like a 4 month old developmentally and weight wise at this point). He fed until he was nearly 4 in the end!

Planning and hoping to breastfeed again this time round but I don't/won't feel pressured or guilty if we can't for whatever reason. My youngest son absolutely would not be here without formula and I firmly believe that maternal mental health is a much more important a factor in raising a child. I know which my feeding preference is but like everything that is different for everyone and that's absolutely fine 👍

Hearing all your stories is making me nervous. I think I've always had in my head I would be breast feeding but as this is my first who knows how well end up 🙈 is it wise to get formula as a back up in before birth just incase?

@Flossiepot all you can do is try, do your research. One thing I would say is I was naive first time round thinking I would exclusively breast feed and did no research into bottle feeding. And it's a lot more difficult to learn about bottle feeding and make decisions about brands, machines, teats etc when you're exhausted and have just given birth. I'd tell any parent to research both prior to giving birth regardless of their preferences.

@Flossiepot I was also wondering whether to buy formula prior to giving birth in case I decide not to breastfeed. I definitely intend to do some research so I know what I’m doing if I need to but it’s hard to know what to buy beforehand.

I wasn’t aware that you could hand pump either so thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences. More research definitely required!

@Flossiepot for me I don’t recommend getting formula and bottle paraphernalia in until and if you need it. It’s expensive and on a personal level I felt I was more likely to give in to it if it was there. I mean I did on day 3 or 4 at 3am drive to Tesco and bought pre-made bottles of formula, gave him it, he vomited it back and didn’t do it again. But for me you can get it in so easily and readily I don’t see the point of having it ‘just in case’. That’s me though, you will get loads of personal opinions on it.

look into the fourth trimester… it’s a thing. A massive thing

Also, antenatal hand expressing from 36weeks. You can get syringes from your midwife or Amazon, label and pop them in the freezer. Can be a life saver

I agree with @Mummyme87 On the 4th trimester thing. I was clueless about that with my first and it really surprised me. (Didn't help with the comments by my mum on how I should stop holding him, keep him flat on his play mat, let him get used to being alone 😭). DS3 was maybe a lot different because of how premature he was and that Kangaroo care played a massive part of NICU journey as did Covid Lockdowns, but I really felt able to look after DS3 how my maternal instincts wanted me to and it all felt so much easier.

I will get one pack of ready made but nothing else, no bottles, teats or anything else bottle related. Just for emergencies.

I’m determined for baby to be exclusively breastfed this time round.

It is a hard slog breastfeeding but well worth it. My 19 year old niece ebf and had no issues whatsoever.

At the end of the day, fed is best.

I've just had my 16 weeks midwife appointment and luckily my trust does listen for heartbeat - baby is doing so good! He has a nice, strong, regular heartbeat and easily found by midwife. Next is whooping cough vaccine, consultant appointment and anomaly scan.

I tried and failed to BF my 2. My thyroid made it so difficult even with medication and supplements, babies lost weight so they went on formula. I'm going to try again with #3 but will also attempt not to feel guilty and disappointed if it doesn't go as planned

@Vikki7 congratulations!! I had my 16 week this morning too and heard a nice strong heartbeat 🥹 its amazing isnt it!

Whats everyone's thoughts on the whooping cough vaccine? I think I'm going to have a further look into it as never heard of it before pregnancy!