LTTTC/Assisted Conception - Due Autumn/Winter 2012

[Dis3tnd]

Congrats Teta! How amazing! Guess our babies won't be sharing a due date!!!

He's beautiful!! How much did he weigh???

 

[Teta81]

Thanks! Did what's going in with you?? Any progress?? Evan was 8lbs 6oz!! Shocking since DD was only 6 lbs 13 oz. Noone could believe it!

 

[Dis3tnd]

Wow that is a nice big baby!! Must be lovely to snuggle!!

No progress with me!

 

[kleinfor3]

Teta-Congrats, Little Evan is so precious! Nice weight too! I know your thrilled. Please write us a birth story when you get enough time!!!

Care-Thanks for telling me! The last thing I want to do is make things harder than they need to be!

Dis-Your so close now!!! Any minute could be it!!! Any updates or anything new???

Quick dr visit for me. Got my results back from group b strep. It was negative so that's a plus I guess. No cervical change since last week so still a fingertip dilated Was sorta hoping for a bit more lol. Dr did say he was checking to see if the baby was head down and yes he could feel the head and its head down. If they can feel that...how low is the baby then??? He did it when he was doing my internal so one would think he could actually touch whatever he was feeling for? Anyone have any ideas? My wishful thinking is maybe baby is getting lower...who knows though!

DH is so excited. We pass by the nursery door on the way to DD's room. When we went to tuck her in last night he took a detour to the nursery door, turned on the light and said...nope, still no baby. He used his little kid pout voice and it was cute lol.

 

[sarahincanada]

teta congrats!!! he is gorgeous and love the name! how was the birth?
ooooh cant wait for the rest

sorry ive been MIA, Ive had a tough time with my recovery and issues breastfeeding....its all such a long story I just dont have time to post yet. plus of course the lack of sleep! but cieran is an absolute angel and he only cries when he wants food or a diaper change, otherwise is sleeping or calm, alert and looking around. perhaps it will change but right now he is being sooooooo good. i will post soon about the breastfeeding as its been very frustrating, urch please tell me your experience if you get a chance!

I had to have a c section as I had an intense pain in my upper bump that wasnt contractions, and so they did bloodwork and said I had elevated liver enzymes and so the obstetrician said with my age he recommended a c section. when my midwife went to ask if he would allow me to labour first he said no I would have to be transfered to a high risk hospital 45 mins away. he had obviously made his mind up and I feel conservative type who favours csections. he even mentioned 'it wasnt worth risking your life' which did scare me and so I felt I had no choice

however they did find his cord was around his neck which is often not a big deal but his head was not totally engaged and the cord was a bit lower than head which could have been a problem. so in the end he came out safely. he was 8lbs 15!!! 21.3"

 

[Care76]

Sarah he is so gorgeous! And you did name him Cieran! That must have been scary. Did you know the doctor at all or was he the OB on call and you never met him? It must have been hard if you didn't have trust in him. In the end you are all healthy and safe and that is what counts.

Are any of your midwives lactation consultants? I was told at least 2 of mine are and would be able to help with any issues that could come up.

Klein, I am not sure about the head feeling. They always feel around my pelvic bone and say how far his head is engaged that way.

I go to my midwife today but I am not expecting any changes as I don't feel different. Yesterday we went for a bumpy drive (my DHs idea) and looked for a natural spring about half an hour away that is rumored to have healing properties and could help bring on labour. We couldn't find it, it was way out and nobody was around. Eventually we saw a man taking a walk so we asked him and he knew exactly what we were talking about. So my DH went and filled up my canteen and I drank the water. It tasted great. No labour though. But I slept last night and never woke up once. Not even to pee! And I wasn't woken in pain all night. It was wonderful.

 

[Care76]

Sarah, I meant to ask you. Did you find your hypnobirthing helped when you were having contractions?

 

[urchin]

hi Sarah
sorry to hear you had a rough time - but your wee man is here safe and sound which is the main thing.

I'm also having trouble breastfeeding - i dont think i was prepared at all for how tough it can be
i'm still doing a combination of direct boobie feeds and expressing - which seems to be helping to give the poor norks chance to recover. the downside is that its very time consuming; i spend literally hours every day pumping

I'm also eating porridge every day and taking fenugreek to up supply, which seems to be helping

the other thing i did that helped was to go to a bf group last friday to get my latch checked

hope this helps

 

[Teta81]

Sarah, I am so glad everything ended up well in the end. Not like you imagined, but your little guy is just as perfect as you imagined and thats all that matters!

I'm sorry that you guys are having a hard time with the breastfeeding. With DD I had a much harder time the first few days than I am this time around. Evan latched on a few minutes after coming out (or should I say falling out!) and hasn't looked back since. I def think its all about the combo of the mommy and baby, and it has helped us 10 fold since I am totally confident after almost 18 months of experience with DD. I can say I promise it does get easier! If you guys have any questions please let me know and I hope I can help!

So heres how my story went...I apologize in advance for the TMI, but I think we are beyond that by now And also sorry if it is very long!

As you know I have been having every sign and symptom in the book that it was time, but nothing for real! On saturday morning I noticed that I was having much more discharge than normal. I thought it was left over monistat since I finished that the night before. I had been wearing a panty liner all week because of that, but all morning i kept getting little gushes of "discharge" (I thought), enough that I changed the liner every time I went to the bathroom (and you know how often that is!) So at 230 I got myself and DD all ready to take a nice long "lets get this baby out" walk. Before we left I went to the mailbox because I saw the mailman coming, and as he was handing me my mail.... GUSH. There was really no mistaking it as my pants were wet down to my ankles. I still didn't believe it though. DENIAL! Since I was GBS positive I didn't want to take the risk and knew I needed antibiotics asap. So I called over my cousin who was to watch DD when it was time, Called DH, called the OB. Took a quick shower and was too the hospital by 4:00. I still didn't believe thats what it was bc my contractions weren't much more than they have been, maybe a little more often but not painful. The midwife took one look with the speculum and said "oh honey there is fluid gushing out of you. You are in major denial if you don't think this is for real" I was 3 cm at that point, still the same as I was in the office 4 days before.

I was trasnfered to my room in L and D and they started the antibiotics. My contractions were every 3-4 minutes, but I still did not feel them. They were intense, but not painful. The Dr checked me again (an hour or two from the first check) and I was at 4cm. They didn't want to start piton until I got my 2nd dose of antibiotics, since that is what is needed to effectively cover the baby from GBS. So we pretty much just hung out for a few hours while I contracted, not feeling much of it. After my antibiotics went in, my nurse asked if I wanted the epidural before the pitocin started which I gladly accepted. I got the epidural then started the pitocin around 10pm. I was so happy I never had to feel a painful contraction! Well I was wrong....

Around 11 I started to feel the contractions. Started as mild period cramps and by 1150 it was bad. All on my right side, so I knew the epidural needed to be fixed. They tried a few tricks and nothing was working. My nurse checked me again and I was still 4cm! I was so frustrated I almost cried. It had been almost 6 hours since I got there and I hadn't made any changes! So frustrating. The anesthesiologist came and worked on my epidural. She repositioned it and gave me extra medication to make me numb. As this was happening my contractions were coming every 1-2 minutes. And they couldn't find the babys heartbeat with the monitor. They knew it was there and it was ok, but the baby "was going crazy" as they said and wouldn't stay in one spot. So my nurse said, "this doesn't make sense. Let me check you. I know I just did less than a half hour ago, but I want to again" she didn't even get a fingertip in and said oh this baby is coming out, its time to push. That was at 1215. 25 minutes from when I was 4cm. I PANICKED!!! I was totally not mentally prepared for it. It was all such a blur. The Dr ran in, along with 5 nurses who all couldn't believe what had just happened either! I started to push at 1216am. The first time I pulled my legs up the Dr said, "Wow the baby has some dark hair" I didn't even push and his head was right there! After 6 minutes and 3 pushes Evan was here! Oh, and a 2nd degree tear too. He came too fast to prevent it. And was also 2 lbs bigger than DD!

So theres my story! We are all healthy and happy, no one is more thrilled than DD though. Hopefully it keeps up she is doing great with it! You are probably wondering why I have time to write this loooong post. DH took DD to school and DS is sleeping in his swing. Im drinking my coffee and typing away.... waiting for the chaos that is now my life to start!!!

Cant wait to hear all of the stories to come!! And see lots and lots of baby pics. Here is my favorite so far of my babies

 

[sarahincanada]

care no I didnt know this man, he was a real character too not in a good way. as I had the pains and elevated liver enzymes I was changed to care of the hospital as thats not in midwives scope of practice, so technically she was just there to care for bub not me. he was very cocky telling me about his 40 years experience and had made his mind up already.

due to the pains / elevated liver I didnt really go into labour so I didnt end up having many contractions just mild ones, as they sent me pretty much 30 mins later for the csection. but I did the hypnobreathing for the spinal, that stuff terrified me and my hubby had to wait outside till everything was prepped so it was horrible. but it wasnt as bad as I thought. I did have a bit of a panic feeling nauseous when my legs went numb and they strapped my arms down, then the gravol kicked in and I did some more breathing.

my BF story is LONG...bub came out and went right on the boob, it was great. everyone saying what a great suck he had etc. pretty quickly my nips got cracked and sore, the whole top on both was basically one big scab (I have very sensitive pale english skin, bruise and rash easily etc, so its not surprising). it was painful but I managed. then he had a bit of jaundice and lost weight, so the nurse made us supplement with formula one night (again felt no choice). the lactation specialist at the hospital was annoyed the next day that the nurse had added formula (in fact my whole 4 days at hospital was frustrating as everyone had different opinions and we felt we had to go along as I was in their care). as she felt the weight loss was normal and he was feeding fine so said no more formula.

by the time Id left the hospital I was in a lot of pain from the scabbing, so mw me a prescription and a nipple shield. that helped a little but we found Cieran had lost more weight, so my MW told me to start feeding every 2 hours not 3, and to pump as well. telling this to someone who was already in pain and no sleep was so overwhelming, but I did it all day sunday. the changing/feeding/pumping took an hour so then I would have an hour to do things before starting again, it was insane. in the middle of the night I couldnt physically get up for one of them and he didnt eat for 3.5 hours that one.

by friday I had also formed a different pain, more like a bruised feeling right around the base of the nipple where it meets the areola. this has gotten worse over the weekend until monday I was crying in pain and finally said I cant have him at the breast, probably aggrevated by the 2 hr feedings and pumping. I have 2 sets of midwives and on monday it was my main one, when she watched him she could tell right away his latch was too narrow and said no wonder I was in so much pain. I was so annoyed, why hadnt the MW last week seen this. And then she said something I had waited to hear all week 'look we need to get you healed and some rest' and I just started balling crying. I felt all week people hadnt really cared how sore the BF was for me, let alone the csection incision, and painful gas bloating, afterpains when feeding etc. I think most people would have given up with how much pain I was in.

So she came up with a plan that I did all yesterday:
• no more feeding at breast until the bruising is gone (she cant fix the latch when Im in so much pain)
• feedings every 3 hours (or less if he wakes up)
• top up with forumla if my pumped milk is less than 3oz
• me to get 6 hours sleep so for one feeding she wanted hubby to feed pumped milk or formula.
this has been an amazing change! the plan is to get him back on the breast but I do like the pumping and feeding as he is getting my milk but others can feed him and you get to see how much he is getting. So Im hoping after a few days of this he will be gaining.

luckily I am so in love and its all worth it when I look at his face! did have a few 'i cant do this' moments mainly as I felt people were acting all week like 'oh that pain is normal' and I was just complaining. Its really important for me for him to have my milk, I dont mind topping up with a bit of formula but I want mainly it to be my milk. what is everyone elses plans for feeding??? if anyone is still reading this

urch I am getting some herbs today, one of them is the one you listed, to try and help supply too. Im pumping about 1.5-2 oz per 15 mins right now, she doesnt want me doing more until the pain eases. how much do you pump? I rented a double breast pump and going to buy the hands free bra so that I can do something while pumping, do you just sit there holding it? I find that frustrating.

teta will read your post later, love that photo melts my heart!!

 

[kleinfor3]

Sarah-Bless your heart. Your boobie pain hurts me. I was given the nipple shield from the get go. Mine don't really protrude to give any type of proper latch. I think using it from the start helped mine not get so sore. I also think you are a trooper for hanging in there so long. MAJOR pat on the back!!! I can't believe it took so many people seeing you until you got the 'right' person to look and see what the problem was and wanted to help you. So glad things are on the right track now. I hope you heal soon and feel more like yourself. Love the pic. So precious.

Teta-Crazy birth! I can't believe how soon you progressed to pushing. That's crazy lol. Your DD sounds so sweet and excited about her new brother. So amazingly perfect! Love the pic of them together. So glad everything is going well. How is the tear healing? Ugh...I dread that part the most. I suppose I need to find me a doughnut pillow handy.

Urch-Goodluck with your BFing as well.

 

[urchin]

Teta - you're right; by now there is no such thing as tmi! Thanks for sharing your birth story, sounds a bit scary in places but that fades doesn't it when you hold them in your arms

Sarah - I really feel for you hon and can see a lot of parallels. My problems started in hospital while aoife was on icu... The nurses were insisting that I hand express and I tried so hard for literally hours and got nowhere - I just bruised my breasts
and I've also had a hard time trying to get people to understand that the pain I get now is from bruising (in the exact place you described) rather than the nipples themseves.

I would love to be able to get 1.2-2 oz in 15 mins though - I only have a single pump but it takes over an hour to get that much

 

[Care76]

Thanks for sharing your story Teta. At least when things got going he came right quick for you after all that. I absolutely adore that picture! No wonder it is your favourite.

Sarah, wow I feel for you. I am sorry your midwife didn't mention something before it got worse. The doctor sounds like a dink, but at least everybody is happy and healthy.

Urch and Sarah, I got a tip the other day from a lady. I have no idea if it works or not, but I wanted to share it. Buy a head of cabbage and whenever you can take a leaf off and put it on each of your breasts. It is supposed to help relieve the pain and keep it in the fridge so it is cold. Sounds weird and crazy, but this lady swears it saved her boobies when BFing.

 

[urchin]

i've heard that too Care, maybe there's something in it?

I already smell like curry from the fenugreek tablets, so adding a bit of cabbage to the mix won't hurt!

 

[marie44]

Teta - he is gorgeous & love the name.

Sarah - sounds like quite an ordeal. I plan to bf for at least the 1st 6-8 weeks but i'm likely going to be supplementing with formula. I'm trying not to put too much pressure on myself bc things don't always work out how you plan.
Klein, care & dis - hope the babies are here soon!

AFM - i had a dr appt today and the babies are 4 lb 14 oz & 4 lb 8oz which he said was great for 33-1/2 weeks. My major complaint is shortness of breath which has been getting worse. They tell me it is normal & i should be taking it easy. I guess things could be a lot worse.

 

[Care76]

That's great Marie! Those are very good weights IMO.

I keep wondering if anybody else has went into labour! I guess not?

Today is my due date and no signs yet. Went for more acupuncture and my husband is doing moxa with acupressure that the acupuncturist showed him every day.

 

[urchin]

hmmm no new babies come on littlees

 

[kleinfor3]

Marie-Those weights sound great to me as well. That's 9lbs of babies! I hate that your short of breath. I have heard its worse with multiples so I guess that means its normal. Doesn't make it any easier though. I can't remember what you've told us. Are you planning a natural birth if they are head down or is it a scheduled c-section?

Care-Hang in there, your so close!!! Its so exciting!

Nothing too new with me...DH started outage today. for overtime lol. I picked up some slow nipples for bottles, sports bra for labor tub, full butted panties, baby wash cloths, nursing pads. Almost done getting all of the last minute things together. I've been having lots of irregular BH's today and last night. Also having more pressure or heavy feeling in the cervix area. My bladder feels sore so it could be another UTI coming on but hoping things are getting in gear.
I hope this LO comes a little early. It feels so so big. I could be wrong but I think I'm carrying a large whale in here at times lol!

 

[urchin]

sounds like you're all set klein hope your wait isn't too much longer xxx

 

[Care76]

I have had false labour for a couple days. I guess it is false labour because there is no pattern and the contractions are 2-3 mins long which is considered false labour. Hopefully though my body will be more prepared when active labour starts, FX.