💙🩷From Bumps 2 Babies & Beyond!🤰👶🍼🤱🤱

[MummyTo4BoysXXXX]

following on from the Due February 2024 thread 7.. now this shall be thread 8! For us all to continue our pregnancy&postpartum journey together 😊

@Meeting my doctor's no longer do the check at 6w, they do it at 8w with the first round of vaccinations so our appointment will be next week. I don't know if this is common?

@Ebonythoughts conversely I'd say persevere with the bottle if you want to. Your partner giving it and you out of the house. One of my antenatal class with my first had a mum who was a midwife and lactation specialist. We almost all, on her advice, introduced bottles of expressed breast milk early on and continued. I EBF for more than a year and managed to be away from baby for several hours from early on. Past four months and it's very hard to re-introduce a bottle, as they lose the sucking reflex. I would have continued EBF and bottles of expressed milk at nursery but I wanted to get my cycles back to prepare for having the second.

@Mismatc ah ok that has got me thinking.

@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 I’d love to that but I haven’t been able to express enough for a single feed. I’ve tried several pumps with various flange sizes and can never pump more than 1oz 🥺

@Ebonythoughts are u collecting the let down on the opposite side when u feed? That’s all I’ve been doing so far, you’ll be surprised how much comes out when ur feeding ❤️

@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 That’s really good advice, I didn’t even think of answering from the perspective of how to help them take a bottle. My brain failed me! I also introduced a bottle early with expressed milk for this reason on this baby but found it all a chore for the twice that I did it 🙃

@Ebonythoughts I also find that paced feeding techniques are better for breastfed babies. Let the baby take the bottle into their mouth and have the baby more upright and the bottle horizontal so no milk is passively dripping into their mouths. Then, they only get milk when they suck and can take the size feed they desire (in a more similar experience to breastfeeding)

I googled to find a video to explain visually:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iKSSi5pi57I&pp=ygUUcGFjZWQgYm90dGxlIGZlZWRpbmc%3D

@Mismatc I haven't done it with this baby yet, and my partner will be trying it for the first time tomorrow when I have to be at a work event 😬 I'm very worried about this, as it would have been nice to have some practice runs. But hopefully it's okay - she's five weeks old and my pump etc was in storage so I had to wait for a new one to arrive. I'll feed masses in advance and masses afterwards and plan only to be gone for 4-5 hours (coming straight home after my bit is all done). If it wasn't important, I wouldn't go. I don't really fancy it, travelling into London, and I don't have any clothes that look nice

@anony1111 you tried white noise machine? Been an absolute game changer for little one self soothing and allowing me to pop her down.

Thank you @Sunshineclouds11 I'm dreading it as she was really judgemental when I first met her!

Still 6 weeks for us @LavenderSweetPea but isn't it strange how things vary depending where you live

Has anyone had their first period since giving birth yet?
Been getting period pains (forgot what they felt like 😄) & I've had spotting a couple of days last week and today but no full on period yet

@Meeting Really? That's awful. Ask for someone else is you cba with her

@CheeseAndCrackersx I had this last week! I put a pad on thinking it was time but nothing! Thankfully haha

@exileinsunshine no I haven't actually, we have a Ewan the sheep which works on a night but not the day. I will give it a try though, thank you!

We got out of the hospital today after the 14 day course of antibiotics was completed. Unfortunately I came home to find mold in the bedroom and even in the baby's bed, partner hadn't been opening the window even though I mentioned it to him, he thought the dehumidifier being on for an hour a day would be enough. Now I'm going to be sleeping on the couch and baby in his buggy until we can tackle the mold properly and make the bedroom safe again.

I'm 5w post c-section now and my wound finally seems to be healing up how it should be, I also have a lot of energy back, been walking and moving around a lot more.

@anony1111 exactly what we do. You will get free playlist on Spotify etc and use your phone to try it out first before spending.

Glad you are on the mend @Cheetocat, you have had a time of it!

Mould is a bugger to treat but safety first!

@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 Wow, I’m impressed. I can barely read emails at the moment let alone be functional at a work event. I hope it goes well and you enjoy getting out and being able to use two hands

@Mismatc I laughed at ‘being able to use two hands’ 😂😂 so true!

@Mismatc 🤣 I'll be enjoying a glass of wine or two also I reckon. Have my pump in my bag to pump and dump later.

C section ladies, has anyone overdone it and got pain, swelling and redness? Had to rescue my toddler from some climbing equipment yesterday, and wrestle him into a seat, and predictably I've hurt myself doing it. Woken up to area being very sore on one side and a bit lumpy. Not infected I don't think, just wondering if anyone has some tips or advice (besides rest and avoiding lifting a heavy toddler for a while)

My first period since pre-pregnancy started last night and I have not missed it one bit! Why do I have worse cramps today then my first day home post section 😳

@Ebonythoughts Oh that is unfortunate, hope the cramps are just this time during your first one and not every time.

I'm wondering if I can use a cup when mine returns or if I should wait one cycle. I have not missed it either.

I anyone doing a dream feed yet? Or considering it? X

I don’t think you can decide to do it can you? It just happens if the baby doesn’t wake up. Or have I misunderstood what they are?

@redxlondon dream feed is when you intentionally get baby out and give them a full feed at a time that suits you. Eg my baby sleeps best between 8pm to half midnight. If I wanted to dream feed, I'd feed at say 10pm when we went to bed and hope it pushed out the next wake up until 2am etc, so we get the good stretch of sleep there.

@CheeseAndCrackersx I hadn't actually thought to do that yet, as I like having a new dinner and a couple hours of sleep! But I might try it tonight and report back. Let us know if it works for you also!

I guess I was doing this in his first month when we had to feed him every 3 hours minimum because of weight loss. So he’d often be picked up from his sleep, take a bottle and go straight back to sleep. Not always though…sometimes he’d wake because of wind or a poo.

I'm starting to feel so burnt out 🥺

I feel I may as well be a single mum cos my partner does absolutely nothing.
Im the 1 taking care of baby, cooking and the house.

I've given up trying to speak to him about it cos I think last time it changed for a night and then back to being the same.

@CheeseAndCrackersx oh I’m sorry, it’s so so hard, I feel ur pain. I only spoke to a friend about this today. My DH does bits and pieces but now that he’s back at work he’s not home until late and often goes to the gym after work, by time he’s home and showered etc it can be 8/9 pm and Ive been alone with baby since 8am. When I give baby to him she just cries as I suppose she’s not used to him and so he brings her back to me 🙈 he does try and he’ll change and wind her but when it comes to feeding, soothing her to sleep etc.. its all on me even when he’s there.
I find he’ll commit to helping ppl with things if he does have ‘free time’, like I need to give xyz a lift somewhere or he’ll moe the lawn..

it deff falls more on me as the mum to do 90% of the child care. He doesn’t think about popping out to do something whereas I’d have to organise how I can leave the house if I were to do the same.
Sorry that turned into a bit of a rant but I just want u to know ur not alone ❤️