June Bundles of Joy - 2016

[Teeny Weeny]

I hope your appointment goes well Rhi and a gorgeous bump too. Xx

 

[Dory85]

Starlight that sounds tough I hope things are progressing quicker now and hopefully you're very close to being able to go to hospital.

Rhi - I hope your hospital appointment goes well and no protein this time!


AFM - I started expressing two days ago for 10/15 minutes a day, I'm going to up to twice a day in a couple of days time as I'm planning on building a small stash of colostrum before she's born as I'm hoping to combi feed on expressing and formula again. I got a few drops last night so I'm hoping I get a bit more today.

It looks like it's going to be a too hot week

Vanilla - I might be wrong but I think the theory of pumping to increase output is only applicable after birth. I have a feeling that during pregnancy the hormones make it decrease if you pump (but doesn't impact supply post birth). You may be better off resting and keeping your expressing efforts until after baby is born

Afm - I've spoken to the GP and they are going to see Georgia again this morning about her reflux. I want them to give her something to help but at the same time I want to avoid any more medication (she already had to take 2 syringes daily because she was prem).

 

[Boo44]

Starlight fingers crossed things are hotting up for you and that it's over soon! Keep going you're doing brilliantly

Vanilla good plan, combination feeding is working really well for us at the moment what with the other boys and the school runs and play group drop offs it allows a bit of planning and timing! How will you give baby the colostrum?

Tinkerbelle that made me laugh. I have ridiculous arguments with OH all the time and I nearly always overreact especially when I'm pregnant or sleep deprived haha. Sure your neighbours didn't notice....!

 

[Becyboo__x]

Hope this is it starlight!

Just remember you'll have a baby at the end I know how painful it can be

I used my ball to get dilated more and it did help a lot! So did aromatherapy oil they mixed jasmine and clary sage and on my back and belly it seemt to do a good job!

 

[Boo44]

Gorgeous term bump Rhi! Am almost jealous of al of you getting to term! He's 3 weeks old and I still can't believe he came at 35 weeks...!

Dory good luck at the Drs I hope whatever they and you decide that Georgia gets some relief bless her x

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

Tink. I think my neighbours must hate me too. I'm awfully loud. My husband always says "bloody hell I could hear you when I got out the car down the street. What's up?!" I'm such a fish wife haha.

 

[vaniilla]

Little early but .... full term bump pic!! =)

Lovely bump

Starlight that sounds tough I hope things are progressing quicker now and hopefully you're very close to being able to go to hospital.

Rhi - I hope your hospital appointment goes well and no protein this time!


AFM - I started expressing two days ago for 10/15 minutes a day, I'm going to up to twice a day in a couple of days time as I'm planning on building a small stash of colostrum before she's born as I'm hoping to combi feed on expressing and formula again. I got a few drops last night so I'm hoping I get a bit more today.

It looks like it's going to be a too hot week

Vanilla - I might be wrong but I think the theory of pumping to increase output is only applicable after birth. I have a feeling that during pregnancy the hormones make it decrease if you pump (but doesn't impact supply post birth). You may be better off resting and keeping your expressing efforts until after baby is born

Afm - I've spoken to the GP and they are going to see Georgia again this morning about her reflux. I want them to give her something to help but at the same time I want to avoid any more medication (she already had to take 2 syringes daily because she was prem).

I'm expressing so I have a few early feeds in advance, I know it doesn't affect supply but it does make things easier.

I hope the gp appointment goes well and that they take it more seriously this time, maybe they'll be able to refer her for allergy testing?

Starlight fingers crossed things are hotting up for you and that it's over soon! Keep going you're doing brilliantly

Vanilla good plan, combination feeding is working really well for us at the moment what with the other boys and the school runs and play group drop offs it allows a bit of planning and timing! How will you give baby the colostrum?

Tinkerbelle that made me laugh. I have ridiculous arguments with OH all the time and I nearly always overreact especially when I'm pregnant or sleep deprived haha. Sure your neighbours didn't notice....!

I'm glad to hear combi feeding is working well I'm expressing into tiny syringes (yanking the pump off super fast at let down so I can collect the tiny amounts or it'd be lost to the pump ) so will feed her either directly from them or I'll use a cup as those first feeds are so tiny.

I know people will say it would be easier to just breastfeed but I just can't get comfortable with the idea and I refuse to pressure myself into it like last time.

 

[Lil_Pixie]

Starlight. I had contractions like that with both babies - with xander they lasted you days and with Georgia they lasted 4. I coped much better this time because I wasn't waiting or hoping for them to progress- I wanted them to bugger off lol.

Both times I felt like by the time labour really got going I wouldn't have anything else in me after no sleep and being in pain for days and days but I did and it was fine. And you honestly will forget all about it I really hope things are moving along for you now.

I'm jealous too! I know it's stupid but I feel really sad that I lost the end of my last pregnancy and sad that the whole thing was full of worry. I'll never do it again and I just wasn't ready for it to be over yet. I mostly feel cheated that I'll never be able to experience a normal birth and the joy that comes with it.

Rhi you look amazing! Is that almost everyone full term now? The babies will start coming thick and fast now I can't wait to see what team tink ends up in!

 

[Lil_Pixie]

Vanilla the easiest thing for you is whatever you feel the most comfortable with - my entire family feels uncomfortable with breastfeeding. My mum has only just stopped leaving the room

Have you tried hand expressing? The feeding support lead in the hospital told me it was more effective than a pump but since I couldn't get anything no matter what I did after the day I delivered I don't know if that's true

 

[vaniilla]

I didn't know that! I need to look up how to do hand expressing, I didn't get any feeding advice with ds, the good thing about the pump is that it does both sides at the same time and hands free whereas there's probably some skill in hand expressing, I'm very willing to give it a go though if it works better.

 

[Lil_Pixie]

What? How is it hands free?! I hated pumping so much, but the thing I hated most was sitting there holding a pump with both hands - I couldn't even read on my phone apparently I don't like to be sat with my own thoughts!

For colostrum she was very sure hand expressing is better - I can imagine it's easier to catch the drops at the very least. I was only able to get some colostrum the day G was born and then I had nothing until my milk came in but I was told to hand express either straight into a syringe or into a clean pot and the suck it into a syringe.

 

[mommyxofxone]

any news from starlight? i'm sure she's next! eek! someone should be lol

rhi what a gorgeous bump!!!!

mine is now officially pretty purple, covered with a million purple stretch marks. oh well. nothing i can do about all that.

would like to be done incubating here though any time now lol!

 

[vaniilla]

What? How is it hands free?! I hated pumping so much, but the thing I hated most was sitting there holding a pump with both hands - I couldn't even read on my phone apparently I don't like to be sat with my own thoughts!

For colostrum she was very sure hand expressing is better - I can imagine it's easier to catch the drops at the very least. I was only able to get some colostrum the day G was born and then I had nothing until my milk came in but I was told to hand express either straight into a syringe or into a clean pot and the suck it into a syringe.

A hands free bra is brilliant,it means you can feed baby whilst expressing as doing both separately made me want to pull my hair out!


mommyxofxone - I have loads of stretch marks on my belly, I didn't think it was possible considering how many I got with DS but there are quite a few new ones that have come up in the last week or so.

 

[GeralynB]

Starlight- getting into the shower helped me last time with contractions

 

[ehjmorris]

We are all so close to the end!

I can sympathize with the stretch marks, my belly and legs are covered in them

 

[Lil_Pixie]

My belly is like a road map from having Xander
My belly button is inches lower than it was before and the middle of my stomach has a crease down it like a pair of curtains. Georgia jumped ship before she could cause any more damage but to be honest there wasn't much scope for further damage

Neonatal nurse has just been. Little G is looking fab, jaundice looks loads better and she's up to 6lb 6oz she's over a pound over her birth weight!

Boo has Arthur been weighed again? Did he get back up to his birth weight?

 

[tinkerbelle93]

Dory I hope the appointment goes well and you get something for Georgia's reflux, sounds really tough x

Fabulous bump rhi!

Yay for Georgia's gaining weight so well and jaundice going

I wonder how starlight is getting on???

I have my scan tomorrow morning to see if they want to induce before my due date, so potentially only a week left for me. I'm so nervous.

 

[Boo44]

Vanilla the easiest thing for you is whatever you feel the most comfortable with - my entire family feels uncomfortable with breastfeeding. My mum has only just stopped leaving the room

Have you tried hand expressing? The feeding support lead in the hospital told me it was more effective than a pump but since I couldn't get anything no matter what I did after the day I delivered I don't know if that's true

This is an extremely good point! What may seem easy to some people like popping a boob out might just not be easy at all for some if it makes them feel uncomfortable. Is such a personal thing and different for literally everyone! I have millions of friends with kids and babies now and I don't know anyone who does it exactly the same as me and also anyone who has done it the same each time with their own kids even!

I'm a funny one, I haven't really ever found breastfeeding physically difficult (although Arthurs latch has never been great) and breastfeeding in public doesn't bother me a bit, so far with Arthur I've fed him in coffee shops, in church, in a park, at a fun day on a picnic blanket etc etc. So I can do it and I don't mind doing that. Yet still, exclusive breastfeeding just isn't something I enjoy or feel totally comfortable with due to cluster feeding and just the complete unpredictability of it. Each time with my children when I've gained some kind of order about it by combination feeding is when I've felt happiest and most relaxed and really enjoyed parenting.

I'm keeping going with breast milk until at least 1 month for Arthur although he's getting some formula now too. Then I'll just see how it goes.

I admire women who BF until their children are toddlers. I admire those who can make the decision to not BF at all. I admire everything inbetween. I would never have known what an emotional and difficult thing feeding is until I experienced it!!

 

[Boo44]

Pixie that's great Georgia is gaining brilliantly!

Arthur was 6lb 10oz last Friday (born 6lb 3oz) so he's over birthweight but still not particularly gaining brilliantly!

 

[Teeny Weeny]

I'm so glad to hear the early babies are going well. Boo, the gain looks good to me but then I'm no professional! Xx