Some Advice girlies!

[Leopard]

Just popping back with some early advice for my sister girls. I'll add more advice as I get it :wave:

1. This is for the ladies who want an epidural. Contemplate the fact that there are a lot of things you will not feel. I absolutely begged for one, was told to wait and see how it goes, and am bloody glad I did. The best coping device is breathing and mastering the 'cow' moan, which is preferable to screaming as screaming actually makes things hurt more due to adrenalin. You will feel a contraction building up, and it is best to start the moaning at a sound that is equivalent to the pain (ahh...Ahh..AHh...AHHH etc). Remember there is other pain relief, and even though it made me vomit, G&A is amazing.

2. Don't let anyone fool you, breast feeding may be one of the hardest things you will ever do. Not saying this to put you off, and I say that if you atleast get your 3 days of colostrum/transitional milk you are doing well, but have no doubt that you are in for a lot of effort! Some babies latch well to begin with, my LO did not and as a result I have a blister on my right nipple, I have to hand express out of it, tried feeding her with it once and ended up balling my eyes out. Do not be afraid to ask for help, you are not a failure if your baby won't behave, you are both new to this and you cannot be expected to know exactly what to do. Buy nipple cream and start massaging and toughening your nipples now!

3. That thing called sleep? Lets just erase it from the memory bank, k?
but really, you do get sleep, but not much. The first 2 days are by far the hardest, with day 2 being often half an hour feeds. 3rd day is normally cluster feeding and long sleeps so get yours when they are down for the count!

4. Want to cry? Go for it, nobody will think less of you and it makes you feel a lot better than keeping it in.

5. Try to clear your bowels asap after labor, your bladder does not need that extra pressure when it is trying to reform.

6. Breastfeeding causes your uterus to contract to normal size, quite often you will get pains very similar to early labor contractions and will have to remind yourself you already have the baby. Don't be afraid to ask for pain killers, you'll need them.

That's about all I can think of for now. If you want to ask for any advice just leave it here, any questions welcome!

 

[trinaestella]

lovely advice, said it in a nicer way than my friend; i think she just wants me to dread having a baby lol.
Also congratulations! I didnt even know you had her already :O

 

[samisshort]

Thank you for the advice, it's awesome!

I am honestly so excited for labor. I know it might suck as there can be complications or just downright painful, but I assume it's so worth it in the end when you have LO in your arms.

 

[beanzz]

Thank you for the advice and congratulations on the birth of your LO!!

 

[Elizax]

Thanks for the advice hunni, bookmarked this thread

 

[jemmie1994]

omg didnt know Kezzy was here :O Congratualations! and thanks for advice

 

[x__amour]

Great advice.

 

[Leopard]

Day 3 & 4 update

Putting baby on boob before they start screaming their lungs out is the way to go. Pre-settling I like to call it, because bub will not attach if they are too distressed and this makes it very exhausting on mum. So the moment LO is stirring awake, or starting to show signs of feeding, see if you can get them back to sleep first (I find either having her chest to mine and a hand on her back/neck and a hand to lightly pat her bum gets her to settle the best! Or have her cradled in my arms with the same bum pat). If they are not going to sleep then it usually means they are hungry, so squeeze a little of colostrum/milk out of your boob and put it near their mouth. Often you will have to compress your nipple a bit flatter for them to latch properly. Often a gentle pat to their bum or gentle shaking/rocking can help them want to feed longer, often baby will disconnect and need help to reconnect to boobie.

babies will scream bloody murder and sound like they are dying. Do not stress, and believe me it is harder said then done, all you will want to do is ball your eyes out with them. Don't fear though, they just need to be calmed, so try what I said above, if this doesn't work, try putting your pinky, nail side down, in their mouth, their sucking reflex will kick in and they will begin to calm. If you don't want to use a dummy your pinky is the next best thing!

For girls that want to exclusively breastfeed do not worry if you feel the need to express. They actually suggest that for the first 3 days after birth you express milk at least 8 times a day, more if you can, it helps with production. To begin with baby can take the expressed milk from a syringe, though usually by later day 2 it is a bottle. Don't worry about nipple confusion, just try to use breast as much as possible in between bottle feeds, also letting LO suck boob when they cannot seem to get to sleep, are stressed etc is a great comforter, hence it is called comfort feeding. As I said, don't feel bad for using a bottle, it is also a great way to get your OH (if you have one) involved because he gets a chance to help feed.

Make sure OH is doing things like changing nappies etc more often because it helps him bond with baby, you have feed times (if bfing) he has nappy change time!
Don't worry if you are scared of baby disappearing when you wake up, or dream that you will wake up pregnant, until the hormone shift (which I have started to get today) things just don't feel real!

About day 3 expect LO to start sicking milk back up. It's totally normal and doesn't do them any harm, just clean it up with a spit cloth quickly because otherwise it smells wrong

Car trips are often a great way to settle a screaming baby. Most babies love the vibrating sensation of the car and for most it will put them to sleep.

When you first take your baby out in the pram, make sure you have a full shade cover, or blanket to go over, the sun will burn them a lot quicker at this age because of how tender their skin is!

The best order in which to dress LO for going out (dependent on how hot or cold it is of course) is a singlet, onesie and then jumpsuit. Also a beanie if it is a little cool because they lose a lot of heat out their head. Remember wrapping is a god send. Babies love to be wrapped mostly because they feel safe. However some babies will stop at nothing to get their arms out. Don't worry too much about them waking themselves up with their arms waving about, on the off chance they do, they will usually self settle in a few moments. Also remember babies are not made of glass and often you will freak out thinking you have hurt them, but a bit of man handling does not hurt them, because goodluck getting a nappy on them by being awefully careful

Lots of eye contact and kisses girls, baby doesn't understand affection, but this helps them connect and recognize you, and ultimately helps both of you bond more.

That's all I can think of now, oh and most babies at this age will be awake for 1-3hrs before needing sleep, so if they seem to be screaming for no reason after this amount of time it usually means they are just really tired and telling you to settle them to sleep!

Will add more when I get more to add

 

[KiwiMOM]

I'm loving these posts, you should do a parenting blog or something. Did you ever post a birth story? *stalks threads started by you*

 

[Leopard]

I'm loving these posts, you should do a parenting blog or something. Did you ever post a birth story? *stalks threads started by you*

Yeah lol, on third tri under 'introducing...' lol. I realised i forgot a few things tho lol

 

[Amber4]

Great advice. You should defo have a blog like suggested

 

[MaybeP]

I LOVE this, thank you so much and please do continue to update us on the things you've learned. We all know we have a lot of learning to do and it really helps to hear someone learning in the same situation