Pregnancy after Miscarriage Part IX - Knicker Checkers etc

[dan39]

New one! Thought I would make my mark!

Hey all!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!! I am so sorry for the lack of update, we've JUST got round to getting the internet put into the new place so i am now going to do the birth story....

James Peter was born on 18th August at 12:02 weighing 7lbs 6oz... He was born by C Section after he remained breech. Unfortunately they couldnt get a spinal block in so I was operated on under epidural only, was a strange sensation but after lots of tugging and splattering he arrived and was gorgeous, the anesthetic reacted badly and I was sick a lot during the operation and fell asleep pretty much straight after he came. Spent two nights in hospital and now we're all settled in and tomorrow he will be 3 WHOLE weeks old.. he is exclusively breast fed and has already put on a lot of weight, never dropped any, we're very lucky.

I just wanted to say to all of you ladies that I wouldnt have managed to get through the past 10 months without you all... you were all absolutely fantastic and all of you just beginning your journey, please stick with the knickercheckers, its fantastic support and you were the best virtual friends i could have asked for, I really mean that.

I wish all of you the best and will update again when I can.

Thank you all xxxxxx

ash hurray! Welcome James! So glad to hear of your safe arrival. Poor you, ash, having a reaction to the drugs, but it sounds like everything else is going so well

So good to hear. And I second everything you say about this thread. I couldn't have gotten through the last year without you all, and I miss having the time to talk to you all so much.

xxx

Oh Ash that is fabulous news, well done and congratulations on the safe arrival of James Peter (lovely name!).

Sorry to hear about the reaction to the anaesthetic, might be worth having a debrief about that as it may be the pre-med stuff they gave you that made you vom (have had this before when I had an eye operation...) Anyhoo, wishing you a speedy recovery!

Such good news that he arrived ok! Lovely news like that keeps the rest of us hopeful that this time it will work out and seconded, the ladies on here are the best !

Crunch hope all is well with you, good to "see" you!

ash fantastic news, many many congrats. xx

Lovely name too (my boys middle name). Time goes so slowly in pg after mc but so quickly when you're snuggling into your little bubba. 5 months has flown by!!

Sorry to hear you had a bit of a time during the section but glad everything going well now.

Ash - fab news - congratulations! Beautiful name. Hope you're feeling okay - I'm finally starting to feel human again, although still have some residual spd symptoms.

Preggo - saw your question about bloating - I was really bloated in the early weeks - lost half a stone because I just couldn't eat normal amounts (could plenty afford to lose the weught so not a concern). Anyway, it didn't last long - and from the searches I did on here, it seems pretty normal.

Blondie - well done on the moses basket - hope it's lovely.

scarlotti - hope the budget review wasn't too unpleasant, and that you're feeling less rubbish.

Would like to recommend the Moby wrap to all of you. DS2 looks so cosy in it and it is really handy to have both hands free to eat cake and suchlike.

Yay Ash !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratualtions! You?ve made me blub all over my keyboard, well done you and welcome to little JamesBee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like quite a dramatic delivery, well done you for getting through it so positively and for the breast-feeding. Am hoping for the same myself! Also feel exactly the same about all you KnickerChecking friends, this thread is a lifeline and no mistake.

Now (gulp) I?m 39 weeks tomorrow so looks like I?m next up (I'm pretty sure Nemo/Lola will be on here in a few days with a birth story too) ....

Hugs to all of you

Ash, well done you! I like the name, too - James will be the middle name for this one.

Sydney, I can't believe you're that far along - where has the time gone?!

Ash congratulations glad to hear you are all well and I hope you can now relax and enjoy being a mum.

Thanks for suggesting a wrap Cornflake is on my list to look at so will have a look at the Moby one now (was about to do very boring shop for paper pants and pads etc and any excuse to look at something that will make me think "baby" rather than "pain and unpleasantness" very welcome).

Ash woohoo!!! and a huge warm welcome to little James (my brother's name, great choice) am so pleased for you and tears are now plopping on my keyboard
Sounds like a bit of an ordeal for you but also sounds like you were a proper trooper throughout it all.
Hope you're all settled in nicely in your new home now and it's a wonderful start to the new chapter in your lives.

crunch and scotlass lovely to hear from you and glad all is going so well, if so quickly!

cornflake I've just got a BabaSling on eBay for half price which has only been used 4 times so am thrilled. Apparently you can feed with it so am hoping it helps build my confidence to feed whilst out. Hope your little one is still doing well
Budgeting has been done and things will be tight but we should be ok.
Feeling much better today as managed a full night's sleep last night - amazing the difference it's made!

Suze 39 weeks?! Hope you're all prepared and taking it easy during your last little wait. Not long now

Am nearly 32 weeks here and just trying to use the surprise free time now to sort the house out. Figure if I make plans too for stuff at home, some work is bound to turn up!

Will echo everyone else too, this thread has been a lifeline for me and I certainly couldn't have got through the first 20 weeks without all your support

Oops, meant to say blondie great find on the moses basket

alana - you can't really be planning paper pants, surely?! a cheap pack of supermarket granny pants would be so much kinder to your ravaged body...

scarlotti - allegedly you can feed in the moby too, but as this relies on a) holes in your clothes at nipple height and b) having sensibly sized boobs that a baby can stay latched to whilst in motion, i'm pretty sure the whole "discreet feeding whilst doing the school run" scenario won't be happening for us! tbh, wearing the sling does slightly complicate feeding, as have to hoik clothes from under wrap to get boob out. but it's worth it for the freedom the rest of the time.

Hi all Scarlotti oh that's great news, glad you've got things a bit more sorted. Its such a relief to know what you'll be doing eh. And congrats also on your bargain sling! . Am thrilled with the basket - the woman also added some sheets as she said she wouldn't be using those again. Hurrah for NCT small ads and Ebay!!

Alana I read on one of those "what shall I pack in my hospital bags" threads that matalan/primark/supermarket knicks work out about the same price as paper ones so you can happily throw them away but that they are much more comfy than the paper ones. Worth taking a look next time you're in town?

Suze hope all is well with you, can't believe how quickly you've gotten to 39 weeks - fingers crossed all goes smoothly for you hun

Oooh Tamlin long time no see - hope all is well with you and bump?

cornflake not sure I'll actually manage feeding in the sling either, but thought it might save my aching arms!

I bought some cheap pants from George (Asda) last time and they're much more comfy than paper ones.

No don't worry not actually buying them, they're just the most depressing thing about the whole baby experience! Have ended up with far too many maternity pants which I don't ever want to wear again, so will be using them up. Granny pants sound useful too though - contraception after the event?

Have ordered my sling - thanks Cornflake you gave me the final push towards the Moby which a few other people have recommended to me.

Scarlotti hope the budget worries can take a back seat now and you can try to "enjoy" the next few weeks!

Blondie where are NCT small ads then? Would quite like to buy some second hand stuff but I haven't had much luck on ebay so need alternatives.

I've been given some spare paper pants from a friend but not sure i'll use them, can't be nice surely?!
Bought some mattressess maternity pads yesterday for the first bit before normal towels. I read somewhere that the normal towels can inhibit healing due to the layer on top of the pad - anyone got any info on this?

Lucked out at Tesco yesterday as the steriliser I've been thinking about was half price

alana might be worth checking the NCT website for where there nearly new sales are - they're supposed to be very good.
Am feeling a bit better about the enforced time off, more acceptance than anything I think. Hoping to get the house sorted so that my last few weeks can be more restful!

Scarlotti paper pants are horrible (memories of slight rustling and worrying they might tear and fall down after 1st birth) but if they're free it sounds like a good emergency supply.

I was wondering the same thing about maternity pads last week - still a shock to see how big they are - and looked on the childbirth section. Saw various comments about normal slim pads being too effective and sucking every last drop of moisture away from wounds which isn't great, plus many of the pads containing bleach and other chemicals which apparently maternity pads are relative free of. Don't know if any of the comments are backed up by fact but it does sound reasonable.

Yeah, they're not slim that's for sure! I've bought a pack of 12 and think I'll just use those for the first few days then move on to slimmer ones. Haven't had any problems with using normal pads in the past and let's face it, they're much mreo comfortable!

Am hoping that all the stories of waterbirths that avoided tears will come true and I'll be much more comfortable than last time ... I can but dream!

Alana in our area there is an NCT newsletter which is delivered to members, and it has a small ads section at the back... If you go on the NCT website you can also see when the next nearly new sales are in your area. Apparently you have to get there early, bring cash only and get your elbows ready. I'm going to one on 3rd October so will report back!

Scarlotti I know this isn't your first bubba but if you get a chance do read Pat Thomas's book Your Birth Rights, its very informative and talks about the pro's and cons of each drug and intervention. Basically a lot of what she says is that "active management" should be avoided in favour of supporting the mother progressing through labour at her own speed as many studies have shown that the more drugs/instruments used in a birth, the more liklihood there is of complications for both the mum (tearing etc ) and to the bubba (side effects of drugs etc). Reading it has made me feel much calmer about the birth. Interesting about the towels thing. Isn't it so unfair that we basically get 9 months worth of period all at once after our poor fanjo's have just gone through such a traumatic event? So, which steriliser did you go for, and well done on the bargain!

Thinking of Suze and hoping all is well.

Hi to all!

Blondie there's a nearly new sale near me on the 20th so I'm thinking of heading over to that. Not a member though so don't get the first pick - do you think it was worth joining?

Funny actually as I've been researching a little more about DS' birth, as I was monitored due to meconium in my waters. With hindsight though, I don't think there was much in there at all (I didn't know the water itself is slightly yellow) and all the facts point to him never being distressed. I tore as his heartbeat dropped at the end and I was told to 'just get him out'! It turns out that all babies' heartbeats drop when being pushed out and so was probably perfectly natural. Had I not been strapped to a machine it would have been a much more controlled pushing stage, and I'd have been able to remain mobile the whole time.

Anyhoo, hopefully this time the pool will be free and I'll just loll about in there

Went for the Tommee Tippee Closer to nature one, as decided to use those bottles too for any mixed feeding. Apparently they are designed to minimise any nipple/teat confusion. Will wait and see if that actually proves to be true

Free tummy butter samplehere girls!

I do think NCT was worth joining (£39 for 2 of us for a year's not bad isn it!), as me and DH are first time parents we're doing the classes. I like the newsletter too and they organise lots of events as well.

We're hoping to do mixed feeding too (have also chosen TT Closer to Nature!) but our Tesco only had the microwave steriliser and I wanted the electric one - but I picked it up in Asda and got a £5 off the £35 tag with a Bounty voucher, result! According to the Baby Whisperer (current train book!) as long as you establish mixed feeding before the bubba is 3 weeks old it should be fine. Have got to talk to my MW about putting my name down to borrow an electric pump (which frankly sounds grim) but at least then I'll have a bit more freedom to go out. Oh and apparently you can freeze your milk, which I never knew before - but it has to be defrosted in a bowl of warm water and never in the micro (apparently that does something weird to the proteins in it!). We have a wedding to go to 6 weeks after our due date so am hoping one of the nana's will have the baby for us!

Why are you all dissing maternity pads? Lovely mattressy softness on your traumatised bits - what's not to like?!

blondie - would suggest you get some advice on the feeding boards if you're planning to introduce bottles that early. BW is fab, but she wasn't quite so hot on her breastfeeding knowledge. (My understanding is that there could be a couple of issues that early, nipple confusion because bottles are easier to suck from and require a different technique, and also that your milk wouldn't be established, and without frequent feeding it could dry up. But I'm not an expert.)

Thanks Cornflake, I am working up to joining a thread on the feeding board! . Like Scarlotti I'm hoping that using the TT Closer to Nature range will minimise any nipple confusion (I know that phrase shouldn't make a 30 year old snigger but I can't help i...1)

Lovely mattressy softness is good, waddling as you can't quite put your legs together is not so good!!

My understanding is similar to cornflake, think you need to wait a little longer than 3 weeks to introduce anything 'fake'. 5 or 6 weeks should be ok though and would be in time for your wedding Blondie. I've even read that a dummy can mess things up - I've used one with both of my dc's, one fed beautifully and the other didn't so not sure on that one.
Definitely wait until your milk is established though before skipping any feeds. Expressing will help that though.

I managed to get the electric one in Tesco and I've bought the manual pump too so fingers crossed now I'm ready to go. Just need some freezer bags!

ah great stuff, result on the steriliser then! I read somewhere that you have to have special freezer bags for breast milk, if that's true can you let us know which ones you choose?

I am going to give combined feeding a try after the first week I think, really want DH to be able to give the bubbba its bottle and for others (eg the grandma's) to be able to feed, especially for when I go back to work. Will see what the baby makes of it all and take it from there I think...

Yes, Lasinoh do some but I haven't managed to find them yet in supermarkets. Will let you know when I hunt them down!