Summer 2012 Babies!!

[Posie]

So satisfying when you do the first feed in public...the poor lifeguard at the swimming pool probably gets fed up with me as it's always feeding time at the same time as Willow's lesson! Mentioned it to the teacher though and she hadn't even noticed, despite sitting down and talking to me mid feed!!

Hope Charliw feels better soon superkat....

Peridot, I am pleased I had a VBac, but think I also would have been fine if I hadn't...and if I were to have another one, which I'm not, I honestly can't promise that I wouldn't opt for a section. Just remember that you can stay mobile. Has your hospital got a wireless monitor? I got in the pool with that too...so there are more options than you are sometimes led to believe.

Right , I need to go rescue Sebastian whi has woken up in his pushchair after the school run...

[Dancing Queen]

I had a private room but had to pay for it. They put me straight on the ward the morning after my surgery but I spent all of about 30 mins there before I asked DH to sort out my own room Couldn't bear the noise and lack of privacy!

I've been fortunate enough to have had this with both girls, for free, as MIL worked in the mat unit She has since retired but keeps in touch with most of the MWs etc so am hoping she can still pull some strings for me!! I think I've been spoilt & would hate it on a ward now..... Although I did feel a bit forgotten about at time, so who knows.

[Peridot]

I had private room for free with Thomas as he was in NICU and there's no way I was going to go in the ward without a baby Last time I was there they shoved a woman on the ward who's baby was in a complete different hospital, just awful!
i was on the ward with Oscar and literally didn't sleep the entire time there...given my 2 nights in hospital will probably be the most rest I get, I really could do with at least getting something!

Thanks Posie, that's good to hear, last time I only had to be monitored 1 hour out of 3 and was able to pace back and forth with the monitor on so hopefully that will be the same...I just don't think it's going to happen at all though I think I'm okay with a csection although terrified of going through the same scars for a third time and terrified of the recovery whilst ds1&2 will be on their holidays, can't stop crying every time I think about it, I honestly don't know how I'm going to get through this summer

[Eliza79]

Hello. Lovely to see how you're all getting on. Flo is 3 weeks today and so far so good. She seems reasonably chilled and is feeding well. Given her initials are FIG (poor child), she's now known as Figgy Pudding on account of the rolls and extra chin.

Not much of an idea on the sleeping side as she's in a bedside crib - now I can sleep on my side/roll over etc after the section, has become much easier. We've finally relented and bought a baby monitor so she goes upstairs after her mammoth cluster feed and I feel better about not subjecting her to DH's TV choices and giving her a bit of peace, quiet and darkness.

School run is just about do-able. If she starts showing signs of needing a feed just before we leave the house the sling usually sends her back to sleep for the 20 minutes or so.

Only thing I must get on with is attempting to express. I have all the kit but couldn't get a drop out last time when I was engorged (when my milk was coming in properly), so will try while I'm relaxed and feeding this evening. Have a fair few 40th birthday invites on my fridge and would be lovely if I could reach the point of leaving her with DH for a couple of hours in a few months' time.

Haven't noticed caffeine (or G&T for that matter, thank goodness) upsets her that much, but seem to be off coffee for the time being and am just having 3/cups of tea a day (and/or the odd diet coke). Found that one small slice of DH's spicy pizza set her off though, so will not be trying that again.

[Posie]

I'm now expressing the 10pm feed for OH every night...haven't gone for formula for that feed yet, but I threaten it most nights!

Bubba, I saw your thread about breast feeding and time between feeds. It's one of the things I really struggled with when I breast feed, which is part of the reason I enjoy having a routine in place. You got lots of great advice on that thread, and I hope it made you feel better. From personal experience, I have found it successful to space out feeds a little for my sanity, and it hasn't affected supply or Sebastian's weight gain (he'd gained 2lbs in the last 3 weeks at his weigh in yesterday)

Typically during the day he'll go minimum 3 hours between the start of a feed and the next one. I have used a dummy twice when he's been inconsolable because he's been exhausted after not sleeping well, but not to space out the feeds.

Something I've noticed is he becomes very sucky when he's overtired. Perhaps,Alexa does this? He would stay on the boob forever, but if I put him down to sleep, he'll have a grizzle (full cry!) and then sleep. I'm just not the sort of person who is happy to sit and nurse for hours...and I would have given up by now if I had to do that. This has been the case with all 3 of mine.

Anyway, sorry for the essay just thought I'd let you know I empathise x

Eliza, good to hear from you!

[bubbasweet]

I do want to get some sort of routine going but I think at the moment she's just too little to go any longer between feeds. If I try and tank her up a bit she just vomits the whole lot up and we're back to square one. Hopefully in a couple more weeks things Will be better. Strangely nights are much mire predictable than the days. She'll feed about 11-11.30, 1.30/2, 4ish and 6ish.

[bubbasweet]

Dear me we had an exhorsist style vomit moment at 1am Thankfully Alexa was lying on a muslin on my chest at the time so it was reasonably well contained, but she was really upset and screamed for about half an hour. I think having stomach acid coming out of your nose can't be nice and she was coughing and sneezing for ages poor little thing

However she did then sleep for nearly three hours

[Amyb]

Hi ladies,

sorry I have been awol but a small person seems to squak everytime i even look at the laptop!

Rough weekend here- Al is still feeding every 2 hrs and with 2 very exhausted parents, tempers were very thin I can't seem to extend the hours in the night. Sometimes he can sleep for only an hour! I tried some formula for 1 feed but he yacked it up all over the bed so will stick to breastfeeing for now!

Just been to the baby clinic and Al is 9lbs 11oz! so we must be doing something right!

Hi Bubba, I read your breastfeeding thread and could have written it word for word myself. I would love to extend the hours too. Al also is a really noisy sleeper- moaning and groaning really loudly 1/2 an hour before waking. I have started wearing earplugs.

Posie, thank you so much- I read about Sebastian having a cry before sleep- Al usually falls asleep on me after feeding and when I put him down he sometimes cries. My first instinct would be to console him but have left him last night and he cried for all of 20 seconds then fell asleep. Yay!

Hi ELiza, I like the idea of the bedside crib. Al is still sleeping in bed with me which I know is not great but if he was in the crib I'd be doing a hell of alot of milage up and down every night!

Peri, sending you lots of labour vibes, if Al doesn't wake up I'm off to reply to your birth thread.

Impressed with all the breast feeding in public. On Sunday night we went to our local Thai restaurant- I was really nervous about feeding there but I did- I popped Al up my large T-shirt as opposed to hoiking it up as usual and it was absolutely fine. I am finding that people in shops/restaurants/out and about are pretty friendly when you have a baby

Yesterday I went to my local NCT bumps and babies meet. I was quite nervous about going but I braved it. Not many new babies unfortunately just loads of toddlers so i ended up chatting loads to the bumps who were due in a matter of days- I felt that I had more in common with them. Chatted to a couple of Mums with 4 monthers and was shocked at how much they grow up so quick. Felt proud that I went though as I am quite shy! Everyone kept staring at Al though, he lay on the baby mat with all the toddlers crawling around him looking ever so angelic on his back with his arms in the air as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. Everyone thought that he was quite placid (until his devil baby waking hours in the night )

xx

[Posie]

Glad some of my drivel helped Amy All of my children have needed to cry to settle themselves...but have grown out of it. Sebastian less so, than either of the other two but when he's overtired he really cries...and if I catch him 'just right' which at the moment, is about 1.5 hours after he's woken up (max) then he lies there quite happily and falls to sleep on his own.

Well done you on going to bumps and babies too - I haven't gone to any this time, but they were a godsend for me with my previous babies.

OH breaks up from school tomorrow, and I cannot wait to have him home and able to help out with the kids...all indicators are that the weather is supposed to get hot next week, so I'm hoping for paddling pool, lots of barbecues and going on a last minute caravan holiday. Bring on the sun!

Last night, Sebastian made it through to 5am before he woke...he'd been grunting for a good hour before that, and hadn't even woken up properly when I want in at 5, but I just wanted to stop 'waiting' for him to feed, and thought I'd just get it done. I wish I could say it was something I was doing right, but it's a very big case of luck - which I'm enjoying for every day it lasts!

Peridot - how are you feeling? I saw your thread...it's easy to say stop worrying and what will be, will be. But I remember how I felt about it all only a month ago, and I just hope either way your baby arrives safe and sound. That's the most important thing. I also know, I wouldn't necessarily choose to go for the birth I had again, over the ELCS I had last time with Willow. But I do empathise with wanting to just try...have one of these

[Peridot]

I presume (& hope) your OH is a teach and not a school child Posie how lovely that he will be off for the summer

Hope you are all coping with the tiredness, seems like ages ago that any of you were preggers now!

Im doing okay, I absolutely 100% do not believe I will go into labour, absolutely no way And I am still gutted about it but trying my hardest to mve on from it, there's nothing I can do, absolutely nothing, so I just hope I can move on. Have my pre-op assessment tomorrow, hoping I can get through it without beeping in floods of tears...I didn't manage that last time with Oscar when the mw was smugly telling me she'd get my baby out and wrapped up etc and all I wanted was Oscar delivered straight onto me not for her to rub it in that she would be the first person to handle my child - I know this all sounds so ridiculous just feel like I'm always the person things like this happen to. I'm absolutely sick of everyone from friends to complete strangers giving me sympathetic looks and telling me how much they want me to have a girl...absolutely sick of it, I just want to hide away for the next 2 months and be left alone away from everyone's negative reactions. It's also stressing me out already the amount of people that descend on you as soon as the baby arrives, demanding to hold it when they don't really pay much attention to you at any other point in your life. honestly just had enough at the moment.
also trying not to panic already over the next 2 years of my life taken up with me obsessing over whether or not this baby will be autistic, just feel a bit like I'm drowning in my emotions at the moment.
am also COVERED in the most horrendous mozzie bites from a walk down by the river the other evening, I have about 30 and they are all about the size of a 10p coin and unbelievably itchy. Sorry, really self indulgent me-me-me post, hopefully when all of this is over in a few days I will be ok and happy with my choices. It's my actual due date tomorrow by my dates, I keep wondering if I'm doing the right thing by effectively having a csection 3 days later ??