Question for ladies who've had babies!

[anjadoem]

My bubs is due aug 7th. My close friend is getting married sept 10th. Have booked grandparents to babysit!
Question is, wedding is at a hotel. Should we book a room so that I can nip up to see bubs if needed or suggest they stay at home ( about 15 mins from venue) so in home environment?
If bf can I express so feeding not a prob?
Can you help a clueless mum to be????
Would need to book room pretty soon if that is best option, but would def go home to sleep.....

 

[wilkie23]

Personally I would let them stay at home, that way you can just enjoy the wedding without feeling like you have to keep checking on baby, you'll probably need a baby free evening by then

 

[nov_mum]

If you are keen on breast feeding and you want to stay for the whole day, I would book the room. If you are early and bubs is born two or three weeks before DD, it is probably no issue but if you are overdue (which is common with your first) potentially bubs could be only two or three weeks old by the time the wedding takes place. Breast feeding is a skill that takes a few weeks to learn and establish and for some, expressing isn't all that great. I have a few friends who are great breast feeders but get very little in the way of expressing. Around the week 3-4 mark post partum, the hormones that make milk settle down and fade in to the back ground and the milk is made via supply/demand. At such a young and crucial stage for breast feeding, being away for a whole day could impact on your supply. If you have bubs upstairs and can go and hang out with them whenever you want/need to, then you will save the issue of boobs leaking from being over full, baby wanting to feed and perhaps not take a bottle and also it may be nice for you to have a place to rest. You will still be recovering yourself.

 

[jacks mummy]

Yea defo let them have responsibility for 1 nite, trust me when u not ur baby is in the same house or wherever you are you can't help but worrie even more and can't switch off mummy mode uv got to remember you mum and dad have done this before so they will be fine, just enjoy ur nite off!! Xx

 

[Niamh22]

if you bf you're not supposed to express for 6 weeks till your milkhas settled down. have them stay at home and if need be one bottle of formula will not harm. also don't forget edd are not exact i was 10 days late with my first x

 

[tannembaum]

When lo is here you might not want to be apart. I havent left Elsie yet and shes almost 8 months!
Also some bf babies will refuse bottles.

Probs best for now to arrange for lo to be looked after at home and then see how you feel about things nearer the time

 

[bluey]

I would completely echo what nov-mum says. If you plan to BF then a whole night away from your potentially 2-3 week old baby will be too long too soon.

 

[tannembaum]

if you bf you're not supposed to express for 6 weeks till your milkhas settled down. have them stay at home and if need be one bottle of formula will not harm. also don't forget edd are not exact i was 10 days late with my first x

I dont think thats right?! I was hand expressing from day one and machine expressing from day 3 when my milk came in. I had to do that for 6 weeks and cup feed/ebm bottle feed as lo couldnt latch on properly. I had to pump every 2-3 hours to keep my supply up. I think its not normally recommend that you give babies ebm in a bottle early on so as to prevent nipple confusion or them rejecting the breast.

A bottle of formula wont necessarily harm the baby but it might harm her supply if she isnt expressing to keep her supply up.

 

[Miss_Bump]

Id say book a room

If you are BF I would strongly recommend NOT giving a bottle for at least 4-6 weeks to avoid nipple confusion

Also if you do give a bottle it could harm your supply especially in the early days.

If you change your mind you can always cancel the room.

Enjoy the wedding
xx

 

[babyblessed]

yeh, i would say book a room too, it will give you piece of mind that your baby can be there or at home depending how you feel on the day.

a lot of factors can make you feel differently so best to leave flexible options for after the birth then you wont feel fraustrated that you havent managed "as you planned it".

also i would choose a dress you can feed easily in, wrap dresses are really good and flattering for post baby belly..

 

[Mama627]

I say book a room now so you're sure that you'll have one if you need it. After the baby is born, practice expressing milk and give him a bottle at least once to see how he takes it. BFing is a skill that must be learned... so is latching on... so is taking a bottle... so is expressing milk. It'll be a rough day if you don't try it ahead of time.

If all goes well and you're comfortable pumping and leaving your LO at home with a bottle, you can always cancel the room.

Who knows, maybe BFing won't work out for you and this will be a moot point anyway. My daughter was born a few weeks early with severe jaundice. Everytime she latched on, she just fell asleep. The bottle was the only way to go. I pumped, but couldn't keep my supply up (pumping is very time consuming... I felt like I constantly had a machine hanging off my boobs to keep up with her demand).

 

[helloeveryone]

hi i would say if you go over by 10 days or 2 weeks, baby is to young to be left with baby sitters i wouldn't of wanted to leave my babys that young so if you are aloud to take baby.( i would take baby to wedding...)

 

[anjadoem]

Wow - really conflicting advice there. But thank you so much for your comments.
I will book the room to be on the safe side. Wow the BF stuff sounds scary and a nightmare!! (as a novice I had no idea !!!)
Have every confidence leaving a newborn with the grandparents. Nanny herself has had 4 children, and has 5 grandchildren and is literally like supernanny with babies - she just knows exactly what to do. In fact LO will probably be safer with her than me!!! LOL

But you are right, at least if the room is booked I have options and can always cancel.

And thanks for the what to wear tip too! (I will be singing at the wedding so really don't want to let my friend down).
Thanks again x

 

[tannembaum]

From all the replys bf does sound hard BUT its the most wonderful and most rewarding thing you can ever do if it works out for you

 

[tannembaum]

From all the replys bf does sound hard BUT its the most wonderful and most rewarding thing you can ever do if it works out for you

 

[nov_mum]

BF is made easier when you see all the benefits the LOs get. Lower rates of diabetes, asthma and allergies etc. ALso, it's beneficial to prevent breast cancer in you and your babies. It's worth the first few weeks of getting it right. Once you are sorted, it is so much easier than bottle feeding. Having to wash and prepare bottles and screaming babies while you warm it up etc.... boobs ares so much easier

 

[lucilou]

definitely don't be put off breastfeeding! If you go into it ready for a few hurdles, and it's easier than you thought, then what a bonus. But if you expect it to be easy and it isn't, that's when people give up.

As for the wedding, I would seriously consider taking baby with you at least for the day, then maybe leave him or her with granny for a couple of hours in the evening. If they are good friends, I am sure they won't mind... new born babies often sleep pretty much from one feed to the next anyway,

I bf'd and couldn't bear to be without H for more than a couple of hours at first, even though he was fine with daddy or granny!

hope you have a great time, whichever way it works out!

 

[Miss_Bump]

BF is only hard if you don't get the right support.

It's a wonderful thing and creates such a special bond

 

[jett]

I would completely echo what nov-mum says. If you plan to BF then a whole night away from your potentially 2-3 week old baby will be too long too soon.

I'm also feeling the same here, this might be my first, but my twin sister (mother of two) tried to express milk for her first night out, and the baby just would not take the bottle (not used to it).

With them up stairs I would think you would worry less as you could just pop up there. If they stay at home, even only 15 mins away I can see it ending your night early.

Updated: ah, did not see your update, glad you got the answers you were looking for.

 

[Lea8198]

I would book a room and pop out for feeds etc. My daughter refused bottles until she was 5 months old. Also, even if you do go to the wedding alone you would have to express ideally every 3 hours so as to keep your supply up so even if just for that the room might be useful. Personally with a baby that young i would prefer to be in control of the feeds, just in case but that's just me. Something may suit you better