From Spotters TTC thread to BFP! Success at last!

[CaT1285]

Chloe - The doulas around here are generally $700-1000 depending on level of experience. It includes usually 1-3 prenatal visits, phone/email contact throughout pregnancy, and then they're on call the 4 weeks around your due date and will provide continuous labor support throughout your labor. It also includes a postpartum visit 1-2 weeks after the birth.

sbmack - I'm glad you like the doula you're interviewing! I hope the meeting goes well today. Hopefully I'll like one of our options as well.

I always hear about G&A and TENS machines on here from UK ladies. Wish we had that in the US! Oh well.

 

[MrsPTTC]

Thanks ladies. Chloe gabby is just gorgeous! Love her 5month pic! Funny how the US &
UK are so different! So what do they offer you in the US for pain relief? Nothing?? Do you have epidurals over there?

Doulas aren't very common over here, they're like birthing partners am I right?

x

 

[daydream]

We have epidurals and those are the most common. Some do IV narcotics, but usually they would rather you do an epidural in the case that you need a c section they can just up the dose on the epidural instead of doing a spinal. Then we have plenty of people who try to go natural who do hypnobirthing, lamaze breathing or waterbirths.

Yep doulas cannot do anything medical, they are just there as support.

Today is our last day at our first daycare, actually going to pick H up now and will formally "fire" them. We found a new much smaller one that I LOVE. It's an older mother and her daughter who is in her late twenties. The mother is so very loving and I called a bunch of other parents that go there and they just had wonderful things to say. Here's hoping this goes much better!

 

[Chloe597]

Yep, as daydream said, narcotics or complete numbing for us wimpy Americans . I do know a lot who have gone natural tho. It's the way I was planning. I bet gas would be a nice compromise between the two extremes, tho.


Good luck at the new daycare, daydream! I hope u have better luck and H enjoys it

 

[yum]

thanks 4r all the wishes ladies..

i'm feeling better after takin to my cousins( physicians) & they said it wud most probably move upin coming weeks & even if it dont,everyone dont bleed..so, keeping my fx crossed & praying all goes well..

chlo- s, they will monitor myplatelets all thru & also my placenta..gabby luks great !

my new job is gud so far..knok on woo ! its tiring bcuz i'm not used to wakin @ 6.30(i used to wake @ 9) & feelin sleepy but hope i'll get used to it..on my 4rst day, my manger tuk me 4r lunch & topic of kids came up so i told her & she dinnt mind..she congratulated me.. i told her that i hadnt told my othr frns yet( which is true)so, she thanked me 4r sharing..ppl r very nice there..lets c wer it goes..

not supposed to chek intetnrt 4r personal use @ wrk so, couldn't chek u guys..i was so exhaused by the time i get home..

hope all r doin great ! i'm 19 weeks today !

 

[Jellycat]

Daydream hope the new daycare goes well always good with other parents happy

 

[Sbmack]

I'm glad you found a new daycare, Daydream! Sounds like a better fit. I really need to start looking at options. I wish I could cut back to part time when the baby comes. My boss would not be happy about that though and I'm not sure if it would even be allowed.

Yum, I'm glad the new job is going well.

Jelly, your getting so close! How are you feeling?

 

[Jellycat]

I've been getting alot more frequent bh this pregnancy and had a growth scan Friday showing baby is head down but is back to back at the moment, but also a pound less than JJ at this time. Finishing work this week so can finally Find time to get organised.

 

[MrsPTTC]

Lol it's funny how things are different over there, especially when it comes to pain relief!

Daydream I hope the new day care goes well.

Jellycat, how lovely you're starting your maternity leave. I would say pur your feet up but I had the busiest maternity leave ever & didn't really get time to enjoy it, then Miss P came along reasonably quick after EDD!

x

 

[Jellycat]

I went 12 days overdue with JJ so keep thinking I'll be the smart this pregnancy but dh says if I think like that baby will come early. I'm hoping to be busy first couple of weeks so can then just take each day as it comes and relax whenever needed

How are you getting on now mrsP with feeding are you still breastfeeding?

 

[MrsPTTC]

Yep I'm still bf'ing though I think next weekend I'm going to introduce formula so I can start having a social life, a break & some alcohol. Wow that sounds selfish! I'm pumping but nowhere near enough for over night. I feel guilty, like I'm poisoning my child giving formula which is bloody ridiculous, it's perfectly safe & the only alternative! You know I never thought I would feel like this, I thought I'd be happy to start formula! I'm not sure how often to give it to her yet, do I give her a bottle a night so that when she's babysat it's not strange to her It's my birthday on 18th & I'm really looking forward to a nice meal & drinks, perhaps some too haha!

x

 

[MrsPTTC]

Oh & because of her colic I've invested in some dr browns bottles x

 

[Jellycat]

I think moving from breastfeeding was one of the hardest things I had to do with JJ it broke my heart. Good idea on dr browns that is what I used last ime when JJ had terrible reflux

 

[MrsPTTC]

How long did you bf JJ for? x

 

[Chloe597]

Isn't it funny, MrsP, how protective we feel about bf? I also feel like formula would be letting her down, even tho that is super silly and is not the case. Dr Brown's seem to work really well for Gabby, she hardly burps when she uses them. They are a pain to clean tho. I broke down and bought a special basket that you can put all the parts into and then load the whole thing in the dishwasher. I got sooo sick of washing bottles by hand every day! Have you ever given her a bottle? I would suggest starting with one a day at least a couple times a week. I was lucky in the Gabby took to the bottle quite easily and I didn't really have to work her up to it. Every so often she has picky days at daycare where she only takes 2 bottles all day, but other days she takes all 4 that i pack for her.

I can't believe gabby is approaching her half year mark! its still 21 days away, but man does time fly! We have been having lots of fun going on walks with the nicer weather, and we keep practicing sitting up, standing and rolling over. DH is going to Las Vegas for a work trip for a whole week in early june. That will be interesting, being alone with her, seeing if i can get anything done. My mom may come stay with me for a day, and I may stay at my parents house for a night as well.

Jelly, I hope baby does not stay back to back...I think i have heard unpleasant things about labor that way. I can't imagine having gone 12 days overdue! I was happy to have her out 2.5 weeks early!

 

[Sbmack]

Mrs. P, that is not selfish to want to be social and have a drink. My friends joke that they will bring me Champagne in the delivery room!

Do any of you ladies 'pump and dump' if you are imbibing? I have so much to learn. Also, what are Dr. Brown's bottles?

Chloe, I can't believe Gabby is almost six months either. Time does fly!

Jelly, I hope the LO moves for you!

 

[Chloe597]

I have pumped and dumped! It helps when you have a giant freezer stash. At first i was so protective of my milk and I didn't want to waste any. Then i realized i had a huge supply and could afford to dump a few. It still makes me a little sad to do, but I get over it!

Dr Brown is a brand of bottle that is supposed to be really good at eliminating air which is good for gassy and colicy babies. https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Browns-Polypropylene-Natural-Bottle/dp/B001LENCUE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1367947234&sr=8-4&keywords=dr+brown+bottles For what its worth, I would recommend the wide neck over the standard neck as I've heard its more like the boob and some babies choke on the standard neck nipple

 

[daydream]

Jelly - so close! That's good baby is head down, but yes we hope you don't have to go through back to back labor!

MrsP - Yay for a birthday coming up! You deserve a night of fun, bd-ing included I hope the transition to part formula goes well. My friend with twins did part time formula because she couldn't keep up with both babies (obviously! lol!) All went well, they maybe had a little bit more upset tummy with the formula and she said she could always tell the formula poops from the breastmilk poop lol! But really wasn't too hard on them. I agree with Chloe though, keep practicing with the bottle, we did with H and now he's a pro! I can even feed him a bottle and he'll take it.

We had our first day at the new daycare yesterday and WOW what a difference! There were three kids with 2 adults. H took two naps and his afternoon nap was almost two hours, much better than at the previous daycare. She sends us home with a list of everything: naps, bottles, diapers, mood. He was in such a good mood last night. Last week he was just so overtired by the time I got home we could barely make it though bedtime routine before he passed out. Last night we even got to do a little playtime. I'm sooooooooo happy with our new caregivers.

Speaking of breastmilk, I signed up yesterday to get started on donating milk. I'm running at at least a 4 oz. a day surplus above what he eats at daycare and my freezer is at capacity (when I started work, I was at over 400 oz and now I've just been adding more.. we haven't used any of it). So I'm going to start donating. I'm pretty excited about it, little preemie babies will get milk because of me! I never would have thought I'd have a "problem" with too much milk lol.

Oh and with pumping and dumping, I have a couple times. Same as Chloe, it's not too heartbreaking when I have a ton of it to begin with.

 

[MrsPTTC]

Thanks for being supportive on the formula ladies & thanks for not thinking bad of me!

Yes we give Penny a bottle of expressed every now & then, she's fine & even took it off me no problem! We had tommee tippee bottles, now I'm so pleased I've got the dr brown

I'm sure I've asked this before, but how much did you ladies manage to express when you first started? At most I've got 3.5 - 4 ozs, but now I'm only managing 2.5 as I'm expressing less on advice of the health visitor. I need to add this is with the medela mini electric pump, I had a TT electric one previously which was USELESS!

Daydream I'm so pleased you are happy with Harrison's daycare! it's great that you've got so much milk you're going to start donating!

Sbmack, I thought you had to pump & dump after drinking alcohol, however I was reading the kellymom website yesterday & it said you don't have to unless you're uncomfortable! I find this rather odd!

Sorry to hear you'll be on your own Chloe! I'm sure you'll be fine though!

x

 

[daydream]

In the morning I get between 8-14 ounces depending on how much H eats. Then I get around 4-6 ounces each time after that.

As for pumping and dumping I've only done so if I've been out long enough to need to pump. The alcohol in your milk is the same as your blood alcohol and dissipates as your blood alcohol level goes down.