Due Dec 2023 - part 6

[Nclktnntt]

Follow-on from part 5 heading into delivery and motherhood.

I was due 19th of December and I'm still waiting lol 41 weeks and 3 days! Induction is booked for NYE but praying I go into labour naturally before then! X

@mkwar that is almost the same as me. I was due 17th and still waiting for her to appear. Had a sweep on 26th, not really a negative experience but didn't really do a lot. My induction is booked for tomorrow after being moved forward from NYE. Fingers crossed you don't have to wait until then. I have been so uncomfortable the last two days so hoping the end is very much in sight.

Has anyone's braxton hicks changed / or did they before labour started? Mine yesterday switched to being slightly less strong but lasted like 2-3 minutes. By last night they'd switched back to super strong (rock solid) but about 40 seconds.

I think I've lost the plug thing, and baby is right down (I'm walking with a rather wide stance now) so I'm hopeful I go into labour naturally because ill be getting booked for being induced on the 6th jan if they don't come before.

induction ladies! I hope we go natural! Im due today had 4 sweeps already and have got period pains but nothing seems to stick for a long time. Im 2cm as of last Saturday, also booked for an induction on the 2nd of january, im tempted go have a 5th sweep today but i really just think … they come when they want and if they dont eviction! Sending love to you all and no matter what, we will have our babies no matter what happens at the end 😄

Congratulations @ThomasinaLivesHere glad all went well! I had my c section on the 27th too, all went well though I hated the whole experience tbh, felt extremely claustrophobic not being able to move my legs! But it was all worth it… baby was born at 1:02 on 27th December weighing 6lbs11 so pretty small but he’s doing very well. Left hospital as soon as we could yesterday afternoon after getting signed off! Physically I don’t feel too bad but definitely constipated so taking all the laxatives I possibly can! Good luck to those still waiting to have their babies its all worth it, completely in love with our little baby ❤️

Had my sweep today, she did a bloody good sweep, felt like she was having a right rummage around 😂 not painful though - apparently I'm already 2-3 cm dilated , she was really surprised and said I'm doing amazingly well, I don't get period pains so she's told me to time the tightenings as I'm definitely in the latent phase now and she's adamant we'll have baby by tomorrow at the latest.

I got really excited and nervous both at the same time. Very strange feeling lol.

Congratulations @gurlwhaat glad you are both doing well 😊

@gurlwhaat Congratulations to you too! I can understand the claustrophobia feeling but it’s not too long to getting the feeling back. I stayed in two nights mainly as I have a toddler and worried about how it’d be around him though recovery for this c-section is much better than last. Best of luck to those still to go.

Those waiting for inductions I hope they go well. My Induction was booked for 11am today. We didn't make it to the appointment, contractions started at 3.30am and little lady arrived at 1pm this afternoon. Was very surprised, I was expecting to go all the way through the induction process again as I did with my first. Can't believe she is finally here 12 days after due date

Congratulations my lovely!!! So glad to hear i! ! I'm hoping to have the exact same scenario as you haha I'm being induced Sunday! Xxx

Good luck @Nclktnntt - I hope things are progressing nicely for you!

im currently struggling with breastfeeding 😞 I’m combination feeding with formula as my little one lost a fair bit of weight and my supply isn’t enough on its own.
I think I want to move solely onto formula, or atleast exclusively bottle with pumping.
my feeding schedule at the moment feels relentless and leaves me exhausted physically and mentally

Congratulations @GL1987

@SMG1992 thank you, I thought we were but then it seemed to slow down again so went to bed , just woke up for a bit and thought I'd check the group chat. One of my clients had to see a lactation specialist before she and her little one made progress, our antinatal midwife also said to make sure you speak up and make a fuss if you're struggling with breastfeeding so they get you the help and support needed and don't accept 'just keep trying' as an answer.

Breastfeeding is hard, and a damn site harder than it's made out to be that's for sure.

@Nclktnntt it really is hard, it’s completely humbled me as I thought it would just be so simple. I’m seeing someone next Wednesday but will almost be 3 weeks by then.

frustrating you’re progress has slowed down. I’m sure you are really close!

@SMG1992 I'm sure your Wednesdays sessions will be the turning point for you. Fingers crossed 🤞

@SMG1992 same, my supply isn't great either so I'm also combo feeding. I tried to express and I barely for 1oz which was disheartening.
Also feeling so exhausted mentally and physically.

Hope everyone is doing okay and those of you still waiting are feeling okay! Hopefully you don’t have to wait much longer now.

We’ve also moved to formula. Ironically he took to breast feeding really well after being born last week but as he was a c section baby and I had a PPH he lost weight from the fluid he was born with and my milk was a bit late coming in so we’ve felt pressure ever since the first weigh in at home to get his weight back up which meant switching to formula so we know how much he was getting at all times and then I express to top him up but I just can’t compete with formula. For the night feeds we’ve made life easier for ourselves by using the ready made bottles. Not the cheap option but short term we decided it had to be done to get his weight up and to help with feeding as soon as he showed the cues as doing it with the kettle was taking too long and we heard mixed things about the prep machine so we are going to use that when he’s a bit bigger.

He’s feeding well, alert, going to toilet as he’s meant to. There’s nothing wrong with him but they keep weighing him after he’s been in his nappy and before a feed which is really bad timing so I’ve just bought my own scales so I can monitor it and I can see he is putting on weight. Crazy how they tell you to breastfeed but then when the weight isn’t high enough they put you under pressure to just give them formula. We’ve essentially been told to overfeed our baby which is the opposite of what we were told in NCT. They have told us to give him 120ml if he will take it but the feeding plan is 65ml which is far more realistic at least. I’m using the Huckleberry app to log everything which has really helped me keep track of his nappies and feeds

@SMG1992 Same here! I planned to breastfeed but found myself drained from the caesarean and a very mucusy baby so she wasn’t the best at taking to breastfeeding. I’ve really annoyed myself about not being able to exclusively breastfeed (low supply) and we are now exclusively formula feeding. I will say she’s 10 days old thriving on Aptamil and currently past her birth weight, myself and my OH have been able to shift switch for feeding which means we’re getting sleep and she has been signed off by the midwives and onto the health visitors today.

Thankfully I didn’t feel much pressure from the hospital or midwives about having to breastfeed but I’ve definitely put pressure on myself but to be honest I don’t know if I’d of coped mentally breastfeeding, as @Nclktnntt it is a lot harder than anyone tells you. As long as the baby is fed that’s all that matters.

@mkwar good luck for tomorrow.
Hope things have progressed for you @Nclktnntt

Breastfeeding is so tough to get established but it really does improve after the first 6 weeks and becomes way easier for anyone stuck in the trenches at the moment. I’ve found it much easier this time but i know what to expect. No expert but happy to share advice if I can help anyone fed my first till he was 18months and I was 10/11 weeks pregnant with baby 2.

@RG84 @Vsah22 @GingerJanee im sorry you are all having issues with breastfeeding too. It is good to hear im not the only one, in fact the more open I am about it the more I hear other people are finding the same issues.

im now exclusively bottle feeding - still combination but it means I know exactly how much he is eating.
im pumping 4 times a day so hopefully that will be enough to keep my supply 🤞🏼

im going to look at the huckleberry app too

No progress from me - still very much in the latent phase over here. Completely lost the plug thing this morning though - that's some progress I guess (I thought I'd already lost it) We only told our parents the updates so thankfully not getting bombarded with 'any news' messages. Well my mom calls daily but my husbands mom is better behaved and trusts we'll tell them when there's anything to tell 😂 gonna go get checked today though just to see if there has been any progress in cervix land as I'm not getting any pains at all I don't know if anything's really changed or stayed the same.

I hope things start to progress for everyone left waiting to meet their little ones!

My little boy decided to arrive two days early, in the middle of a storm! My due date was the 29th but my waters broke 2.40am on the 27th and went into spontaneous labour with contractions from around 1pm and he arrived at 7.50pm weighing 7lbs 6oz I spent some time in the birthing pool and stuck with some gas and air for pain relief. It's definetly an experience, and very true how your body just takes over all control.

Been home for a couple of days now and I'm also trying to breastfeed but struggling especially with having only a couple of hours sleep since giving birth.
He roots for the nipple, sometimes quite aggressively, but then let's go or he doesn't latch on properly.
The midwife just said to keep trying as my milk is now starting to come in but both my husband and I are seriously contemplating getting some formula.

Hope you had a lovely Christmas one and all congratulations on your Xmas day babies.
My little one is now 5 weeks old already how did that happen?! Happy New Year everyone x

Congrats @Beans1982 ! I felt like that in the first 5-7 days of breastfeeding. It's so frustrating when they latch on and then come off straight away! I was being impatient though and not waiting for the wide latch and ended up with sore blistered nipples and felt like giving up. It just took a bit of patience and time, and waiting til my baby was actually hungry rather than waking him when he might not have been ready. I also found taking off baby's sleepsuit and even vest sometimes woke him up a bit to get him to latch properly. And even just rubbing his head/back whilst feeding kept him awake and latched on. We're still not perfect at it, but it's definitely a lot better! Hope you find what works for you!

Happy new year everyone!

Congratulations @Beans1982

Happy new year everyone!

Did we have any new years babies? I was hoping our little one might try making an appearance but nope - they're still happily hiding out in there, it's warm and comfy evidently 😂

Well officially no longer due in December lol 6 days over due now and having 6th! sweep tomorrow 😑 induction Wednesday x