Due July 2024 - part 4

[Oatmilktea]

The other thread was filling up so thought I would set up a new one!

@Sophie3003
@ceruleansky
@Amberellaella
@wannabe123
@glasshalffull0
@Morningcoffeeaddict
@missmoosh
@Jess725
@AnonymousXXIX
@Busyhedgehog
@Nocoffeenotalkie
@justanotherlaura
@Honeymint
@Savvy21
@hopingfor23
@chilliflakesmum
@ExpectantEs
@AimeeLou84
@Welshgal85
@TooHappyToday
@Bali200

I’ve tagged people from the last few pages of the previous thread, hopefully everyone makes there way over here when the other one fills up!

Congratulations @AnonymousXXIX !! I hope it all went okay and you and baby are doing well!

I wish I could manage a five mile walk right now, it feels like it helped last time but this time around pelvic girdle pain is wiping me out.

Also has anyone else experienced this - I rang the number the midwife gave me for reduced movements this morning. I was on hold for almost an hour during which time I went from #3 to #2 in the queue. But when I got to #1 I got an automated message telling me the line was busy and to email them or call another time and the line hung up. (Baby decided dance around for the entire hold time so I didn’t ring back, but it’s also the number I’m meant to ring in an emergency, I’m suddenly feeling very anxious that in a pregnancy emergency my best bet is to email someone…)

In an emergency or if you have reduced fetal movements again, then just go straight in. You can always stay on the phone whilst on the way in but waiting an hour is ridiculous.

@TooHappyToday

This was my plan but the baby had such a party while I was on hold I thought I might be jumping the gun a bit.
The real issue is I’ve never noticed any pattern, some weeks are big movement weeks and others are quieter. I guess I’d been hoping to talk to a midwife about it.

They’ve removed the reception area from our local triage and replaced it with a screen to check in for pre-booked appointments, too, which makes things so impersonal and tricky.

@Cattattack yes I read that someone else recommended it in the group and it was the first time I heard of Sarah Wickham. My friend did this and she had hers kids 41w - 42+w she had big babies 9lbs - 11lbs and she is only 5'1!!! Home births for all 4.

Yes baby releases a hormone. Not fully understood how it works but it means if baby not ready then no matter what you do it wont happen. Even forced induction may end up not working / dire consequences.

DS came 39w & 5d wonder if this one will follow suit or not.

@AnonymousXXIX you hear so many things being more active is a sign / being tired is a sign etc. 😂

I had some MP come away today after a TMI big BM. Anyone elae experince big BM now? 😂 no idea how or why as I can barely eat theae days.
Hope that is a sign all is good and heading in the right direction.

Omg just read further down. Congrats @AnonymousXXIX 🎉🎉
🎉🎉

Aww congratulations @AnonymousXXIX 😍

@Honeymint I would rock up to triage and on an emergency emergency call 999! That is so bad!
Ours is a central traige/switch line and then they contwct each hospital/ birthing center. Sometimes I have to leave a message but in an emergency I know the main cwntre escalate it and make sure you get through to someone.

@AnonymousXXIX
Congratulations!!!! 💛💛 hope you and baby are doing well!

I thought pregnancy or delivery was difficult. Oh, what I would do to go back. 😪

Congratulations @AnonymousXXIX

@ceruleansky oh no 😞 are you ok? The newborn phase is so incredibly hard.

Congratulations @AnonymousXXIX .
I'm currently sat in MAU waiting to see the midwife as my waters have broken, was hoping she'd wait til my booked section on Thursday but clearly not!

Congratulations @AnonymousXXIX! A big walk got my firstborn out as well so I’d also recommend it 😂

@MixedCouple2 and @ceruleansky you say that, but even though I’m not getting much sleep since baby arrived, I can sleep on my front when he lets me sleep, I can eat a whole meal with a glass of wine, my trainers fit again and I can (mostly) feel my fingers. I’m short, I feel like I’m better off with my lovely baby on the outside rather than being pregnant ☺️

yaaaay! Amazing news @AnonymousXXIX

@Bali200 I eventually got a wonderful doctor and he pushed induction to tomorrow (still not as good as Saturday 🤭) I ended up having a sweep today finally too! Just feeling a bit sore. hope it’s enough time to do something.

I’m glad to hear your second sweep has got some things moving, I really hope it happens for you before Sat 😀 you feeling ok?

@MyNameIsBatty exciting, all the best for the upcoming delivery!!

@AnonymousXXIX Congratulations! Hope you're doing well.
@MyNameIsBatty I feel for you - I was not impressed that my little one couldn't wait for the section date either. Keep buzzing them if you need to - I was worried I was going to have the baby before they sorted a team for the section!
@ceruleansky the newborn stage is a slog but it won't be long before they're into a routine and you will feel better. I have never felt this tired!

@AnonymousXXIX congratulations! Enjoy the newborn snuggles 🥰

@ceruleansky newborn life is so difficult isn’t it. I hope you’re ok and have plenty support around you. How many weeks is your little one?

@ceruleansky Oh no! ☕🍫🍰 That sounds tough. 🥺 Hope you're okay. ❤️

I got told that my baby is 10lb 7oz today! Then I spoke to a consultant who scared me half to death talking about all the things that could go wrong if I didn't have an induction or decided on a c section. She wanted to do a stretch and sweep asap. I felt really overwhelmed and asked if I could think about it, so she sent the midwife back in, who was a lot more understanding. I did end up crying, so she went and told her off! The midwife gave me some more information about induction and told me where I could find out even more. I'm going back in tomorrow after I've had some time to think.

@SapphireSeptember Drs ate insensitive arses. Worked with them for years they have issues for sure! Hope your doing ok.

@ceruleansky I know Mama newborn stage is a shock and can ve super hard. With DS1 he had silent reflux and was super unsettled for the first 10weeks. Do what you have to do to survive. Don't have expectations. Have mercy on yourself and be kind. Take it easy one day at a time. If available get help and ask for it. Get DP yo take over.
One thing that kept me sane was having 30mins to myself daily. If I could do my skincare and have a shower then I felt better.

It gets better and with time you will establish a routine and structure to your day.
You can do this Mama!

Congratulations @AnonymousXXIX! You inspired me to go for a 5 mile walk last night but it’s not had any impact so far, apart from waking up with achey legs 😂

Good luck for your induction today @Jess725! Can’t wait to hear of her arrival 💗 hopefully your sweep got things moving first and it goes smoothly for you. The sweeps have only made me lose my mucus plug, absolutely nothing else going on! She’s being a stubborn little monkey so I’ve lost all hope of her arriving on her own accord and have embraced the induction date of Saturday 😆

@wannabe123
Just learning that nothing goes according to plan. I pump 2 bottles, he needs 3. I've resorted to formula when I can't manage his demand. I'm also going to town on nipple cream. Never knew it would be painful! I can deal with the lack of sleep but breastfeeding has been awful. He screams bloody murder if he doesn't have milk as soon as he wakes up. Doesn't let me take 30 seconds to sit down to feed him. And he gets angry and refuses to feed after that. I can already see the attitude, lol!! How are you holding up??

@Amberellaella
I'm happy that you're feeling better in this phase!! Hope you and baby are doing well! Some pregnancies are so hard..

@Savvy21
I hear you! Sending you positive vibes! We need it! I've just been watching something or listening to music while cluster feeding him to avoid focusing on the pain on my boobs lol. It's almost every hour at night. But at least he's feeding well.. How's your little one doing?

@Oatmilktea
Oh I was not prepared for this part. He's a week+3 days. He was due July 31st. I had a planned section but he came even before that via emergency section lol.
I have so much support. My mother and MIL are here, DH is home until Sunday. So I really shouldn't complain but he's cluster feeding at night and it's difficult, with my section wound I'm unable to sit up to feed and put him to sleep, but I'm the one on night duty so I'm doing it 4 times a night just to be sore all day. He's also bitten into both nipples and I can only pump.

@SapphireSeptember
Trying to hold on to my sanity!! Obviously I'm so grateful that he's perfect even though he came so early. I'm trying to keep that in mind and just get through. The days are absolutely manageable. It's the nights that are tough as hell.

I know that's not the birth plan you had in mind, keep your mind open and do what's best for you and your baby.. your safety is what matters most. Everything else will fall in place. 🩷

@MixedCouple2
it is really hard i was crying non stop the first few days just feeling very overwhelmed. I think I understand him better a little now, but ha, he doesn't let me think I can have any kind of pattern or plan. So you're right, no expectations.. Every day and night is a different experience. Thank you for the encouraging words!! How are you doing??

Does anyone have tips to make a new born sleep better at night? He sleeps long stretches in the day (2.5-3hours), with a lot of noise and light but he's waking almost every hour at night. Should I just interrupt his daytime naps?

@ceruleansky so glad you have support around you, but I understand that even with all the support in the world it can still feel overwhelming. My baby is 4 weeks now and the first two weeks were hell for breastfeeding. I didn’t realise how hard it would be. Cluster feeding is so mentally and physically tiring isn’t it!!! I also had a c section, I hope your recovery is going well.

I don’t have any tips for sleeping longer, I have been responsively feeding my baby which does mean frequent wake ups during the night. Reducing day time naps at this age won’t have an effect on their night time sleep. 4 weeks in and he has developed a pattern of feeding around 10.30pm, 12, 2, 4 and 6. The whole process of feeding, burping, changing takes an hour so unfortunately I’m still only getting an hour sleep at a time. I have gotten used to the lack of sleep tbh and I know it’s cliched but the best thing I’ve done is sleep when baby sleeps during the day.

You’re doing so well, I promise it gets easier!

@ceruleansky that sounds tough. Sorry to hear you’re going through it! Just remember that IS just a phase and it WILL get better.

Have you tried nipple shields re: the pain?

I’m another advocate for sleeping when baby sleeps, a hour here and there in the day really does help the nights become more manageable. I also cap his day time sleeps at two hours to stop him getting too hungry.

Another way of getting a longer stretch of sleep is for DP to do a shift where if baby gets hungry he just hands him over to you for feeding, then takes him back for winding/changing etc. You could do the feed lying down, and you wouldn’t have to properly wake up (as long as DP keeps an eye on you).

@ceruleansky it is so tough and babies definitely like to keep us on our toes. Have you got any support from an infant feeding team or anything to help with feeding? You could always look at getting some help from an IBCLC as a couple of tweaks might make a big difference.
We're slowly getting there with feeding. Baby has mild jaundice and had urates in his nappy on day 4 so we got weighed early. On day 4 he'd had an 8% weight loss so did 24 hours of triple feeding (breast feed, 20 minutes pumping, 30ml breast milk top up from a bottle) and he put 50g back on so only a 6.9% weight loss which is classed as normal. Baby also has a high palate so I have to be extra careful to make sure he is getting a good latch because otherwise he can't feed effectively and it is more sore.
Thankfully my cracked nipples are healing and most of the time is painfree now. I'm also grateful to be getting about 2-2.5 hours sleep between feeds but that didn't happen until feeding improved.

I'm struggling with a bit of a pain from where the stitches end on my episiotomy scar and I think I have haemorrhoids which are uncomfortable (isn't pregnancy glam!). I must say though it's a much easier pain to deal with when feeding than when I had my c-section. Having the use of my abs has definitely made things easier!

@SapphireSeptember
hey ❤️ I’m really sorry to read this. I’ve been going through a similar thing due to high BP (cough anxiety cough😂) and ‘late’ (10 days now eek)
Take your time to digest everything, your midwife did great to listen to you. How are you feeling after a sleep?

@Bali200 aww thank you, super sweet. I am also finally embracing non spontaneous now. (No baby in the night, feel fully again normal after the sweep cramps 😂)
It feels like a diplomatic dr finally understood why most want to wait a bit longer and now I can unclench (if only cervix could unclench too 😂)
Good luck in the next few days ❤️

@Bali200 ahh my sweep didn’t even happen as baby’s head was too low and cervix to posterior for the midwife to reach it! Have one more attempt tomorrow to avoid the induction Saturday, but if not will be right there with you!

Any VBAC attempts made?

Will potentially have a sweep tomorrow.