Mid June and July Firecrackers Group Due June/July 2017!

[Mummafrog]

Hello loves

Our little one was born at 11:49pm on the 24th in the pool at home. I had a gentle early labour but from 5cm and my waters breaking to her being born was only 49 minutes so it was fast and furious and extremely intense but I did it! I couldn't slow down her coming at all and made a lot of noise haha. She came out strong and healthy and was 9lbs 7oz! Placenta came out naturally 13 minutes later and my bleeding was normal. She latched to the breast after we moved to the mattress on the floor in the living room. We got to leave the cord attached until long after the placenta had come out and then use our cord tie rather than a clamp which was what I wanted. Then they checked me over and I had a small minor tear that they decided didn't need stitches and I was so happy I could have cried. I was worried after she flew out and was so big! Phew.
So perfect really. Couldn't have gone better and I feel so blessed for that.

Her name is Kayla Robin

I've had some very bad after pains this time and I'm a bit sore but I have lots of drugs so that's good haha.

Breastfeeding seems to be going well, she has a good latch. She fed every 2 hours from birth but last night from 9pm till this morning it was at least every hour because she's trying to get the full milk in I think. I've just been letting her go for it and swapping breasts as and when my nipples need a break xD she's just had a feed now and my breast felt bigger and she was gulping more so i think she might have achieved her goal haha.

You're all doing amazingly. The thing that is important is doing what's best for your family and getting milk in your babies tummies. I think it can be harder sometimes to make the decision to stop when it's right than to keep struggling on, I think you've been very brave for your baby gag.
I can't imagine how shitty it must feel when they won't latch and you deserve to enjoy this time together xx

So glad people are well and I hope those still waiting have wonderful births. Lots of love

 

[lesondemavie]

Gag - I fully support your decision. It sounds like you are doing what's best for you and baby, and that is always the right decision no matter what. Formula has come such a long way, and your baby is going to just thrive with such balanced nutrition and a mama who is healthy and there for her in every possible way. There are so many judgments and "shoulds" out there and us (eek I get to say us!) moms get guilted for so many things. Honestly we're damned if we do, and damned if we don't. In reality, all any of us needs to do is take care of ourselves and baby, and what that means is different for each baby and mom.

Also your L&D story is so similar to mine. From the contractions getting close together and then spacing back out to the pitocin not causing much progression at all to them breaking my water (only I didn't realize in advance how much the contractions would intensify so I went another 4 hours before getting the epidural) to having an incredibly heavy reaction to the epidural (I had zero movement or feeling from the belly button down) to them inserting the monitor in my cervix in order to adjust the pitocin to things progressing from there and not needing to push much to baby's heartrate dropping (for me during contractions for the last hour or so of laboring) to using the peanut ball to help baby turn (my girl was sunny side up during labor but flipped for delivery) to baby having meconium in lungs when born (they didn't see it when they broke my water so I'm guessing it happened in that last hour or so when baby was stressed). No fever for either of us though. I missed the immediate skin to skin bc they had to suction everything out, but I could see her the whole time and there was no need for NiCU. The details are different, but the progression of things and how our doctor's responded so, so similar.

I'm so jealous you didn't tear much! I think I pushed too hard, but I was under threat of them needing to turn down my epidural more (they had already turned it down a bit for delivery). The nurses and ob just kept saying things encouraging me to push harder. Seems they just care about getting baby out, not the damage caused. I have a level 2 tear. Could be worse, but what really worries me is how bad my hemorrhoids are now. I literally just want to stay in bed. The pressure on that whole area when I stand is unreal. I'm so happy. Charlie is just my everything. I'm really still struggling with the recovery bit though. It makes me worry about having a second child. Will definitely be more careful about prevention and expressing those concerns to my ob from the get go the next time around.

 

[lesondemavie]

Congrats mumma!

 

[second.time]

Oh, congratulations, mumma! I'm so glad you got the birth you wanted. Congratulations on your little girl. I'm very impressed with her birth weight.

I've been reading here and even wrote a response but my 4-year-old managed to hit something and delete it. That's been my life lately ... adjusting to two kids. Luckily my baby is super-mellow and sweet-natured so far. He is starting to get a little more angry about being in his cradle/podster instead of being held, but mostly he's a chubby little sweetheart. Last week he'd gained up to 8 lb. 9 oz., so 5 oz. above birth weight. Breastfeeding has been going well, I just feed on demand.

I know it's just sheer luck that makes bfing easy for me ... so many circumstances or other factors could make it difficult. I agree, nobody should feel any guilt over doing what's best for their babies and for themselves. If you gave nursing a shot and it just wasn't working, being flexible and adjusting is a sign of a good mom. Your little one will be perfectly healthy and loved and well-nourished whether you nurse or formula-feed.

I'm sorry for those of you who are struggling with physical recovery. I had a third-degree with my first and was terrified it would always hurt and would cause lasting damage. The first week or two WAS tough, but I promise it got a lot easier and I healed really well with zero issues. As for second births after tearing, a LOT of women have much smaller tears the second time or else no tears at all. I did a ton of research during this pregnancy. I wish I'd pushed in a different position, but it was happening so fast! I think if I'd been able to work with midwives or a birth center, I may have not torn at all or had even smaller tears. There are ways to minimize the risk.

I've come to terms with my second-degree tear this time. The recovery does feel quicker and I trust my body to recover and heal.

 

[lesondemavie]

Second - I'm actually more worried about the hemorrhoids 😂. Those never really go away (as my mother likes to remind me). I have them so bad this first time. They'll shrink up eventually I'm sure, but they could come back easy. I just imagine they'll all come back and way worse with a second baby.

 

[second.time]

Second - I'm actually more worried about the hemorrhoids 😂. Those never really go away (as my mother likes to remind me). I have them so bad this first time. They'll shrink up eventually I'm sure, but they could come back easy. I just imagine they'll all come back and way worse with a second baby.

Oh right! Well, I don't think mine are any worse after my second baby, and he came really quickly and was pretty big, if that's any comfort? Just about the same. And they do get better with time, though mine were never too uncomfortable. It is hard to deal with all the changes after birth, but I've found most of the changes have vanished or gotten much better over the years, and other changes I've just learned to live with. I figure my body would change anyway as I get older, which helps me put it in perspective if I get discouraged. I hope your recovery gets a lot easier and goes smoothly! The first week is tough.

 

[Weebles]

Congrats mumma! So glad you got the home birth you were looking forward to!

Gagrl, just chiming in to add my two cents. There is absolutely no reason for you to feel guilty so don't worry about what anyone may or may not think. You're doing what's best for you and your child and that's wonderful. There's a new slogan I really like: "fed is best" and it's so true!

DH and I have been fighting. I feel horrible that it's around the baby. I think the lack of sleep is catching up to us, it's so hard to have a baby that you can't put down. I can't even pee. Some people keep telling me that we're spoiling her but I know she'll grow out of it. I just wish we weren't so stressed and tired and I wish we wouldn't fight. Don't get me wrong, I'm super happy but I wanted this to be a happy time and it doesn't feel like that right now.

 

[DobbyForever]

Momma that is so excellent! Congratulations!

Re hemmies mine flared up this morning T-T

Weebles can you sleep in shifts? Employ some friends and family for help? I took the baby downstairs when he was cluster feeding and SO got a solid night's sleep, and he has been so much more agreeable since. Don't feel bad. I think lots of people fight. SO and I were practically screaming at each other when we had car seat trouble at discharge.

 

[lesondemavie]

Thanks for the reassurance second. I expected recovery to be hard just not in the ways that it is. I'm thankful to have such an easy baby and wonderful partner. It makes the tough recovery as easy as it can be. I had my emotional break down over it this morning, and then modified my expectations. I think I'm maybe even feeling a bit better this evening fx! Helps me see the light at the end of the tunnel . Now back to some sweet, sweet baby love

Does anyone else have more food than they know what to do with? It's only day 3 home and our friends just won't stop bringing us food. I mean it's great, but since it was a scheduled induction we were all set with our own food for the week and we don't want it to spoil! I told my best friend that for lunch tomorrow she can help me make sandwiches (since being up is still hard for me) instead.

First pediatrician appointment tomorrow! Hope it's not too hard for me to get there and back!

 

[DobbyForever]

No lol can you mail some over? I live 40m away from everyone so nobody is going to brace traffic to bring me food. I have the energy to cook but my swollen limbs won't let me

 

[Weebles]

Dobby, We sleep in shifts, I get about 4-5 a night which is much better than nothing but still not enough, iywkim. I hope you're right and it's normal to fight, I worry about every little thing scarring her for life.

Lesond, glad you're feeling better and I hope you heal up quick. Our issue isn't too much food, it's too many clothes. (Can you freeze the food for later?) My house is kind of small and so many people have given outfits as gifts it's unreal. I've washed them all and have them sorted in bins by size but it's overwhelming. I'm legit worried about Christmas and not having any room to move around in because of people buying her toys. Hopefully the excitement wears off. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, it is just hard to store and I worry she won't even wear them all before she's on to the next size.

 

[Girly922]

Sorry I've been awol, but my yellow bump turned pink last night at home in the pool as planned.

I saw the midwife around lunchtime who offered me a sweep, and despite thinking I would decline, I accepted. She did a very thorough and rather intense sweep. I bled quite a bit, but the cramps were irregular.

At 8pm my waters broke, and almost instantly the contractions started. They were 3 minutes apart and lasting around 30s from the start so I called delivery suite and DH started filling the pool. I stayed out of the pool until I felt myself hit transition as I was afraid of getting in too early, and I waited until I felt the urge to push before accepting the gas & air. I put complete faith in my body, and let my body push when the time came. The midwives respected my choice for no cervix checks during labour and just monitored me by sight. I managed to breathe her out, it took about 15 minutes of pushing before she was born.

We then sat and cuddled in the pool until the placenta stopped pulsing and delivered. I was lucky to only have one small tear that didn't need stitching. Just feeling a little swollen down there today.

Baby is latching and nursing like a trooper, I can't believe how well she's picked it up. She does have a slight posterior tongue tie that may need snipping but we'll continue to assess as my milk comes in.

We haven't yet decided on a name yet, but baby born at 22:47 on 26th July weighing 7lb 13oz



I hope everyone else is doing well. Those worried about the breast/formula debate, please don't. There are a lot of sanctimommies out there, but as long as you're doing what is best for you and your baby, that's all that matters.

 

[second.time]

Congratulations on your baby girl, girly! It sounds like you had a wonderful birth. So glad you were able to trust your body and do things the way you wanted.

Weebles, I'm not fighting much with DH, but sometimes the tiredness hits me and I feel a lot of anxiety. We had family visiting for a week and a half after the birth and I know I felt short-tempered with them and had to withdraw from some activities and just rest or spend time by myself. I'm also short-tempered with my 4-year-old sometimes, which makes me feel terrible. It's a big adjustment. I'm sure your LO will be fine ... it's more that the stress might be getting to you, so I hope for your sake, you can get some more sleep and things feel easier soon.

 

[Mummafrog]

Wow girly sounds like we had really similar experiences I'm so happy we got the home births we were planning.
Welcome to your little girl

It's my milk changing day today so I've felt low and irritable, especially with my toddler because I just want baby snuggles and chocolate. The after pains are so annoying too. But it's nothing like the baby blues I had with my first, I think just because I knew what to expect and I had a short labour so was less exhausted this time. Thinking of you first time mummies I know in a day or two I'll come up again as well.

Kayla is a little jaundice and hasn't pooped since her meconium poos on the first day but midwife isn't worried at the moment and says it's normal and once she starts going it will all settle.

I'm really looking forward to going to register her name, it was so special the first time. I think I'll book the appointment tonight

Also I've found a great plus size nursing bra! Going to order another one haha. X

 

[DobbyForever]

If it helps, people in my family screamed a lot and my dad's side has some serious bipolar and I turned out ok . But it's totally normal. The hormones, the exhaustion, the change in general. Just remember it gets better, and you are amazing parents. Obviously if you can try to take arguments to another room or have them in a fake happy tone/different pitch than angry yelling that's ideal but I promise you are not scarring your baby.

Girly congrats on your little girl!!!

G2G at the doctor's again to check his jaundice (low risk) and low birth weight/weight.

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Congrats on all the recent births.

In terms of BF/formula, I agree that first and foremost, it's important that they're fed. I've been doing BFing almost exclusively. The only time we've given Alex formula was a couple nights ago, partly to help top him up after BFing cuz of his low-ish weight at his Dr's appt, partly cuz my nipples needed a rest between him and pumping. He's never spit up after drinking my milk, but he did bring up a little after the formula. And then, yesterday morning, we gave him the last of the ready-to-use formula (which I'd been sent for free) and he, in one heave, spit up at least half of the whole bottle. So, I think we're done with formula. He put on like 5oz in 2 days, according to the Dr's scale, but my milk's coming in better, so I think we'll just be sticking to that. We were also having an issue with hardly any wet or dirty diapers, but he's now making up for lost time on both fronts.

I don't think the baby blues hit me, but I did get pretty emotional last night. It was BD's last day off and I figured he was gonna want to spend the night at his place. So, we were cuddling on the couch after dinner, him sleeping, Alex sleeping, and me silently crying and using a spare pair of Alex's pants to contain my snot (whatever, I do his laundry, lol). BD asked if I(we) wanted to come back to his place, so I said yes. Alex was being really fussy and I apologized that BD wasn't gonna be getting a good night's sleep. He said "if I wanted a good night's sleep, I wouldn't have invited you over. I like it when you're here." So, that made me feel good.

But anyway, I'm now just hanging out while Alex naps beside me, after doing 3 loads of laundry, and I'll probably grab a shower in a bit. It's still early days, but I feel like I'm killing this mom thing.

 

[lesondemavie]

Ahhh congrats girly! I knew you wouldn't go past 41. I think I went the latest 😂

Just back from our first pediatrician appointment and little Charlie is a rockstar. She's up 0.5 oz since we left the hospital (say what?) and zero signs of jaundice. I am just thanking our lucky stars.

Pretty - Charlie hasn't had more than 10-15 ml of formula 4 days ago. Today after a night of two 3 hour plus cluster feedings, there was plenty of spit up for all - breastmilk only.

DH and I have been a pretty solid team, but last night DH got a bit cranky and I got a bit snippy. He's just really struggling with the cluster feedings. I think bc we had a great night Tuesday, he was hoping last night would be easy too but it was probably the hardest yet (besides our first night when we realized the baby just really needed to eat that much). I was totally calm and chill about it. I expect my not-even-one-week old to cluster feed and wake often during the night. DH on the other hand was groaning about the cats, and fussing about the nursery, and moaning about the frequent wakings. I finally told him that he needed to take a deep breath and relax, or he could head to the guest bed and I would take care of the rest of the night. Whatever he did, I needed the negativity out of my space. There were a few other moments earlier in the night when he complained and I just snipped back at him. I think it's just frustrating for me, because 1) it disturbs my zen that I am very much enjoying, and 2) I'm in way more pain and getting way less sleep than him so it's just kinda confusing as to why I'm the calmer one with less to complain about.

I'm up and about more today! Still sore, but that awful pressure is easing some. Whelp baby girl has been asleep for 3 hours (gee I wonder why she's so sleepy after last night ). Time to wake her and get her back on the breast.

 

[Girly922]

Thank you everyone! She's slotting in well with DD1, not that we've kept too much of a routine today. DD1 is beyond smitten with her though.

Leson, I really thought I'd go to 41+ as I did last time. The mw who done my sweep came today though to complete all the newborn checks as she's the only one qualified to do them without us having to take baby into hospital for it. She said she'd called the mw on call last night and delivery suite to warn them that she thought I'd be going into labour that evening and she knew they were short staffed. I'm just grateful they could accommodate me at home.

 

[DobbyForever]

Pretty he is so handsome!!! Sorry about the spit up . I found Aiden made s weird face when I started adding more and more breast milk to his diet but after a day he got over it lol. But I have heard some babies just don't take to certain brands or ingredients with formula. Also that is so sweet about BD.

Leson that's such excellent news! I hear you though when SO complains I'm like insert eye roll here.

Afm had our recheck and we got the all clear to get back on healthy baby check schedule! He was up 2oz from two days ago, down only 2.5% now . His jaundice is down from 11 to 8.3. Mid power pump right now and my nipples do not like it. We have a consult with another lc on Tuesday so until then I'm determined to do what I can to get my supply up.

 

[lesondemavie]

Dobby wish I could send you some food and milk. My left breast hurts. Baby only stayed awake long enough to feed from the right. For now, I'm going to hand express a bit and try to get her up again in a bit. They told me to wait 30 days, but may start pumping soon just to prevent engorgement when needed.