March Mamas 2012 Baby Group (Closed Group)

[firsttimer1]

Im just looking into Meptid (that new drug they offer at my unit - based on pethidine but without the side effects for baby) vs epidural...... having an epi scares me a little....

mitch / loo / others who had one - was there ANY negative side effects? xxx

also was anyone sick on G&A?

sorry if people hv put the answers in their birth stories... ive got major memory loss going on lately

 

[waula]

Hi FT - epidural had no side effects for me at all...just didn't have complete pain free-ness despite it being put in twice...had some pain in my bum which just got worse as they ramped up the Syntocinon drip so had to have lots of bolus top-ups... Could feel my legs but couldn't lift them. The only slightly annoying thing was that i'm now left with pain in my coccyx as I was laid on it for bloody days but not sure thats the epidurals fault. I absolutely LOVED G&A - had it to get through the contractions that were coming through the epidural. It was like the best bit of being drunk. After my first swig of it I turned to DH and told him his face was swimming and I couldn't feel my eyes. Delicious. Didn't have pethidine - heard good things about Meptid. Had spinal block for surgery as epidural not good enough cover - it was completely different to epidural - completely dead from chest down. Which was immense at that point. I didn't want any of this pain relief but always said I'd keep my options open and honestly FT I wouldn't worry about needing/not needing them - you'll know when it comes to it what you will need. xxx

 

[firsttimer1]

Thanks waula, i just want to be prepared as i had kinda banked on my natural water birth....which is obv not a total possibility now. Meptid does sound like good option but if not i wont rule out an epi. and thanks for the G&A info... i HATTTTTEEEEE being sick so nice to hear you werent

 

[x__Hannah__x]

I had an epidural with Amelia and didn't really have any side effects, I was sick not long after she was born but I don't think that was linked to the epidural. They do say that the epidural can slow down labour but I don't know how true this is. You can't feel anything when you're pushing which is kind of good
I didn't have the epidural with Leah because I was too far along, and I felt everything and the pressure was horrible

 

[lauraclili]

FT - I found G&A a complete life saver. As Waula said, it's a bit like the best bits of being completely off your face but without any of the sickness (for me at least).

I had a spinal for surgery too which was amazing although it's a bit like getting really painful pins and needles for a while and then you don't feel anything. Pretty much amazing!

x

 

[x__Hannah__x]

Laura - That's a good way to put it

 

[lauraclili]

I felt sick after my spinal too but that was a stress response and not to do with the spinal.

 

[mitchnorm]

Ft.....i had pethidine on saturday night to help me sleep through the contractions that the pessary had given me..this was well before labour. I had it again to bridge a gap to getting epidural....no side effects apart from extreme drowsiness...so could be a problem if you get tired whe it comes to.push....for me not a problem.

G&A...agree a lovely drunk feeling between contractions...made those times ace but didnt not help me with the contractions and made me throw up 2-3 times which i hated. Hence i had pethidine to bridge gap to.epi rather than just gas and air. Oh yeah pethidine lenthened tine between contractions for me therefore not great for non induced labour i would think.

Epi.....was A MA Z I N G. No side effects for me....felt legs but they were numb...i could move them but would thave felt safe standing. Was numb from top of uterus down.....i 'felt ' contractions but no pain....very strange how that could be. So i knew when to.push for sure.....catheter was a pain to manover around for 24 hours afterwards but more inconvenient than anything. Epi wore off for me within 20-30 minutes...had feeling back.

Quick question...hope not too personal for mums that had vaginal birth...how long bleeding for and how heavy? Clots?

Blimey i thought discussions would be less personal after birth...after swamp crotch.etc etc

 

[emera35]

FT i had no pain relief with Roh, tried gas and air but got pissed off with it as the mouth piece kept falling off and i couldn't get it close enough to me for some reason, so threw it at the midwife. I had it for the stitching afterwards though, and oh my its lovely stuff! I was off my face!
I would have LOVED some gas and air this time round to be honest, it really took the edge off with the stitching, and i had planned to use it. Sadly it just didn't arrive in time, so i had another birth with no pain relief! Was pretty intense!


Mitch, bleeding for me, its still going, but its very watery now, like the very end of a period. It was watery and red and heavy for a few days, then went a bit like a regular period but a heavy one. Its really slowed now, i'm using about 4-5 pads a day and they aren't full at all, i just change them for freshness! I have had some clots pass. On day 2 or 3 i think i felt pretty unwell and felt some pressure, not so nice. Went to the loo and nearly fainted. that was a clot i guess about the size of a tennis ball, it freaked me out! Apparently its something called cervical shock where your cervix spasms when the clot passes and it can make you feel a bit ill and dizzy.
Anyway i had some tenderness on one side of my uterus after that and the midwife warned me it might be some more clots. I passed those about day 5 and again they were about tennis ball sized and 4 of them. I felt better and better after each one, which was good because the MW was concerned i was brewing a uterine infection. Happily not, and actually i am feeling pretty normal now! I have a little graze i think that the MWs didn't mention, and weirdly that hurts more than my tear, which seems to be healing fine! The only thing i'm struggling with still is crouching down to play with Roh as it seems to put pressure on my lady bits, maybe with incresed blood flow or something. Sitting, walking and standing are all fine though

Wow, that ended up being weirdly detailed!

 

[buttonnose82]

hey girls

hope your all doing ok

quick question ...... is anyone else struggling with their labour/birth? it is really bothering me alot of late

 

[MsCrow]

Buttonnose, in what way? I found it hard to deal with the reality of what the outcome of a distressed baby can be. It's only talking to the community mw that I realised the reason for the episiotomy.

Mitch, my bleeding is very, very light now, hardly there and only really prompted by breastfeeding now. The bloodiest stage ended after 48 hours and its steadily dwindled since.

 

[buttonnose82]

my little dude was born by emergency section when i developed severe PET & HELLP. you know when people go 'i almost died giving birth' well i literally did, my liver has shut down, my kidneys had shut down, my entire blood/circulation system was shutting down, they were discussing sending me to intensive care & starting dialysis, then they just delivered him ....... I literally went for mu regular 32 week appointment and he was born 24 hours later. I think I am still kinda shocked too be honest. I didn't get too see him for a couple days and even then I don't remember the first time I saw him. Thhe day after he was born hubby literally thought he was losing us both as we were both so poorly, we were told if they hadn't have delivered him then then neither of us would be here now. I am still waiting almost 10 weeks later for my follow up appointment with the consultant that I was meant too have at 6 weeks, I have chased it up once and my GP has chased it up but I am still waiting

 

[citymouse]

.

 

[firsttimer1]

right all u new mamas..... was there anything you DIDNT have in your hospital bag that you wish u did? xxx we are about to check ours to cheer me up haha

 

[MsCrow]

Well, I started the day optimistically and it's all gone to pot. The midwife never came due to a family illness, it was for Edith's 10 day weigh. The replacement visited the wrong house so no one saw us. I'm worried about signs of nappy rash, that she has dry skin on her hands and cradle cap. MrC and I have had a massive rolling argument because I'm fed up with him buggering off out to the shop/city/pub (however briefly) leaving me to constantly feed. He likewise took my general breaky downy about the midwife and Edith worries to be a sign I can't cope. Effectively we've both undermined each other but apparently he doesn't care anymore (text).

In the meantime Edith has not stopped comfort feeding, probably because of the bad vibes and I'm downstairs, praying I have 30 minutes to make dinner, as I'm on my own, before I have to go upstairs again. I'm tired and fed up, dehydrated, hungry, and feel very much alone.

 

[Glowstar]

Mrs Crow - firstly do not worry about dry skin or cradle cap...both mine had it. Use some Olive oil on both. I always used Sudocrem on bums and always worked fab...are you using that? creates a really good barrier

If you are constantly feeding her put her down....it really won't do her any harm to cry for a few minutes whilst you get 5 minutes of 'me' time and get something to eat! if you don't eat/drink your milk supply will dry up.

With regards to Mr C....not sure what to suggest really. To be honest though that is the role of Motherhood and whilst we would like to think that fatherhood plays a 50/50 role it doesn't always work like that. Why not express some milk and get out of the house for an hour tomorrow...even if it's to just sit in a coffee shop on your own with a book.

Also speak to the Health Visitor about how let down you feel and unsupported

 

[emera35]

MsC - Big Its horrible feeling alone Definitely talk to MrC about staying home for a solid evening so you aren't by yourself, even if its just for short periods, you need support right now
Really sorry your MW didn't show, are they coming tomorrow instead?
As far as nappy rash, Freyja has a bit of a sore bum, as she poos so much and as i'm with Roh i often don't catch it, so she sits in it a bit. There is a cream called Metanium which is by far the best thing for sore bottoms! I recommend grabbing some asap
Roh had cradle cap, and actually still has patches of it now from time to time. The important thing with it is not to pick at it, but to stop the build up of dry skin. Best bet is to get a soft baby hair brush and some medicinal olive oil. (can use other non-nut derived plain oils as well) Massage the oil into the scalp and then leave it a couple of hours, then brush over the scalp in a circular motion to loosen all the flakes and brush them away. Its not something you can get rid of immediately, but if you stop it building up you can manage it. It gets better after a while
Also, if Edith is about 10 days now, she could well be going in for the start of her first growth spurt, so her comfort feeding might just be her trying to signal your body that she's going to need a bit of extra milk in a few days time. They sort of put in a pre-order like that. Its tiring, but the good news is that the feed-a-thons are followed by a couple of sleepier days when they get busy growing.
Try and see the lack of weigh in today as the chance for an extra day to fill her full of milk and so make sure she's a good weight when they do weigh her.

Wish i could come hang out round yours and cook you up a nice meal and have a chat!

 

[emera35]

I definitely second what Glowie said about making sure you eat/drink, even if it means you get shouted at a bit by Edith, you need a good bit of fuel to make good milk. Also agree with the getting out of the house on your own, it will make you feel a ton better, even if its just a quick walk round the park, or something

 

[citymouse]

.

 

[firsttimer1]

its funny, so far we have 13 baby boys and 13 baby girls

crow - obv i cant help, but wanted to send you much love, hugs and reassurance that you are doing a GREAT job