*~*~* The Decemberists! *~*~*

[Pusscat]

Aw, I can understand how you feel. Does he work very far away? I wouldn't worry too much though. You'll just known when things are properly starting and will have plenty of time to get hubby home/ not let him go to work! My dh went to work in the morning when I was having contractions. I coped OK on my own, bouncing on my ball. I was glad when he came back at lunch time though! Luckily he only works 10 mins away. I would have felt differently if it had been further away.

 

[seaweed eater]

It definitely sounds like your body is getting ready! I had virtually nothing before labor, could still barely feel the contractions when they were regular at 5 minutes apart, but I know it is very common to have a lot happen beforehand. Please keep us posted!

 

[smawfl]

Sounds like something is happening!!!

Mine started off as mild period pains!!

 

[HanyouMama]

Aw, I can understand how you feel. Does he work very far away? I wouldn't worry too much though. You'll just known when things are properly starting and will have plenty of time to get hubby home/ not let him go to work! My dh went to work in the morning when I was having contractions. I coped OK on my own, bouncing on my ball. I was glad when he came back at lunch time though! Luckily he only works 10 mins away. I would have felt differently if it had been further away.

He works about 20-30 minutes away from home depending on traffic. I can always have him paged at work for medical emergencies and they know he is expecting a baby very soon. I just am afraid to be home alone dealing with the labor in case something happens. My husband wants to set up a net of people I can call in case he isnt home. He wants to make sure someone can be with me until he gets home.

It definitely sounds like your body is getting ready! I had virtually nothing before labor, could still barely feel the contractions when they were regular at 5 minutes apart, but I know it is very common to have a lot happen beforehand. Please keep us posted!

Sounds like something is happening!!!

Mine started off as mild period pains!!

I will keep everyone posted on if anything happens. I have had mild cramping still today and have been very tired. Guess we'll just have to see what happens

 

[FeelSoBlessed]

Hey Ladies! Just wanted to let you know that Finley arrived last night at 10:53pm! He was 6lbs 11oz and is so absolutely perfect!

We did manage to have the home birth we planned and I'll update a birth story soon!

We have had to be admitted to the hospital because Finley had trouble with feeding and had low blood sugar. He's doing great and we should be back home soon! Will update when we are!

Congratulations Gaia!! And welcome Finley!! Hope you are both well and home soon to start your magical journey together!

When you ladies would get contractions, did it feel like pretty intense menstrual cramps the the occasional sharpness or increase in intensity? I was up with those for quite some time last night and am still getting some crampiness this morning along with a backache. Im not sure if the back ache is related to the cramps or if it is just because it is cold and snowy here where I live and being unable to be comfortable with sleep.

I got bouts of this cramping twice yesterday evening and it did seem to help a little bit to move or do something else, but not too much.... I think something could be happening or preparing to happen, and soon.

Hey Hanyou... You'll be meeting your little cherrub in the not too distant future!! Exciting!! I had menstrual cramps from the Wednesday and they became more and more intense until LO arrived on the Friday. Wishing you lots of luck!!

Afm - still enjoying the joys of motherhood and just so thankful everyday to have this lil bundle of love, laughs and pure ecstasy! He's amazing!

Hope everyone else is well! I'm really dated unfortunately and I don't have FB - but use my husbands from time to time! Setting up an account is on my to do list!

Take care ladies x

 

[FeelSoBlessed]

I've been trying to get a pic of LO in my signature to show you all... Any ideas?
If not, I'll have him has my profile pic for a very short spell!

 

[HanyouMama]

Still cramping Hoping it could mean something soon.

 

[Pusscat]

Fsb - lovely to hear you're still enjoying every minute of mummy-hood! Not sure about getting a photo in your sig. Would love to see a photo of your little one though. Get on Facebook, that would be the easiest option, then you can see all the millions of photos of our babies that we have on there!

Han - have the cramps stopped? Saw on Facebook you have a doctors appointment. Hope they shed some light on what's going on (most likely they won't, but we can hope!) Sorry to hear about the nausea. Another reason why you want baby out now!

Gaia - hope you're getting on OK with those early days. They're pretty tough but amazing!

Hope everyone else is well.

I had Emilia weighed today and she's only put on 4lb in 2 weeks. It's upset me quite a bit as I thought feeding was going much better and she seems happy. So I don't know what's gone wrong. It might be the thrush in the mouth as that still hasn't cleared up. But she doesn't seem in pain when she feeds. After coming through all my battles with bf I really really don't want to be forced into supplementing with formula. It hasn't been mentioned yet but I know if she continues to not gain much it might be suggested So I'm feeding her as much as possible and also going to make sure I eat and drink enough. Has anyone heard of the pill effecting milk production? I've been back on the mini pill for the past 2 weeks so perhaps that's effecting it?

 

[seaweed eater]

I'm sorry about Emilia's weight, Pusscat. (but do you mean 4 oz? or .4 lb?)
She looks so happy and healthy in photos, it's hard to imagine things could really be wrong. Some babies are just smaller. I'm glad formula hasn't been suggested so far, but even if it is I think there should be room to discuss continuing with EBF, if she seems healthy otherwise!

 

[Pusscat]

Oh yes, I meant oz! Thanks seaweed.

 

[HanyouMama]

Han - have the cramps stopped? Saw on Facebook you have a doctors appointment. Hope they shed some light on what's going on (most likely they won't, but we can hope!) Sorry to hear about the nausea. Another reason why you want baby out now!

The cramps were just mild before, but since I had my cervix examined today I have been crampy again and having a few mild contractions, but nothing regular. They didnt offer me a sweep this week because I saw a nurse practitioner and not my doctor since he isnt there today. But she said I have an "awesome cervix" , baby sounds good, is down low and head down, and I am 3-4 cm dialated! She said I could easy deliver naturally without induction. Didn't really give me any ideas on when he could come, but DH and I are going to try DTD and stuff (After all, it is our 4 year wedding anniversary )

Hope everyone else is doing well!

 

[Pusscat]

Han - have the cramps stopped? Saw on Facebook you have a doctors appointment. Hope they shed some light on what's going on (most likely they won't, but we can hope!) Sorry to hear about the nausea. Another reason why you want baby out now!

The cramps were just mild before, but since I had my cervix examined today I have been crampy again and having a few mild contractions, but nothing regular. They didnt offer me a sweep this week because I saw a nurse practitioner and not my doctor since he isnt there today. But she said I have an "awesome cervix" , baby sounds good, is down low and head down, and I am 3-4 cm dialated! She said I could easy deliver naturally without induction. Didn't really give me any ideas on when he could come, but DH and I are going to try DTD and stuff (After all, it is our 4 year wedding anniversary )

Hope everyone else is doing well!

Wow, that all sounds very encouraging Happy anniversary, have fun!

 

[anneliese]

wow good luck hanyou! sounds like you might have a baby pretty soon

 

[gaiagirl]

Hanyou - sounds like you are really making progress! I was only dilated to 1 before labour and it took me AGES to get to 3 so your labour could be pretty short and sweet if your already there!

Pusscat sorry about the weight gain stress...I've had experience stressing over that already and it's no fun at all. The thing to remember is that all babies are so different and they just don't always fit the typical model. I hope you are able to continue EBF You really have put so much work in!!!

AFM - wow, I definitely never understood the work a newborn requires! Lol People can tell you but until you're there in the trenches it's just not the same.

Mr F (a little nickname we use) gave us such a hard time that first day because he didnt want to eat! But after 24 hours in the hospital, which I'm still not sure was necessary, he is a champion eater. We went in to rule out any pain or issues he might have that were interfering and they measured his blood sugar to be low, and wanted to admit us. We went with it but I was a bit crushed that they insisted on supplementing him with some formula overnight and having me pump. After the night and a bunch of good blood sugar readings I refused any more formula and insisted and going colostrum only. They monitored us all day and we were home by evening. All in all, we did what we had to and wouldn't want to take chances especially because he's such a little guy...but I was NOT thrilled with the whole thing. Ah well, onward and upward...

Since coming home he has eaten well and my milk came in which really made everyone happier, since he could actually feel satisfied!

Nights are tough, he sleeps much better during the day but hopefully he will be sorted out a bit soon! I'm pretty sure he is cluster feeding every night from about 2 to 5am! Yikes, nice timing buddy!

He gained an ounce a few days ago and gets weighed tomorrow. I'm hoping for a few ounces so I can maybe stop waking him up to feed so often!

Did you ladies try to always maintain 3 hrs Max between feeding in the first little bit? He's so sleepy during the day it's SO hard to wake him!

 

[seaweed eater]

Gaia Munchkin was given formula for 2 days until my milk came in, and we haven't had any trouble EBF since then. I was really worried about how it would affect my supply, but it has been totally fine. I know it's not ideal but I bet, for you too, it will be like it never even happened.

We did wake him to feed every 3 hours, day and night. A lot of people say you should stop once they regain birth weight but our pediatrician said to continue for an extra week because he'd had low blood sugar. I didn't really mind it that much so I kept going. We increased it to 4 hours when he was 2 weeks old, but by then he was far less sleepy and almost never went that long anyway.

It is a lot of work but it sounds like you are adjusting well do you have much support from your partner (or anyone else)?

 

[gaiagirl]

DH has been AMAZING! Seriously I am so impressed with him, he has cleaned and cooked and kept our house totally manageable. Not to mention getting me anything I need. He's such an awesome dad too I feel so lucky!

My mom has also been around to visit and will be staying three days next week when DH goes back to work. He actually has to work a half day today and I'm a bit nervous but I think Mr F and I will just go back to sleep after this feeding and he will be home shortly after we get up again!

It's so crazy how fast the days go by, I don't get ANYTHING done.

Ahhhhh so in love though

 

[smawfl]

Hi Ladies!

How is everyone doing?

FeelSoBlessed - You must get on FB! Would love to see a piccie!!

Hanyou - how's the cramping? Happy anniversary!

Pusscat - Sorry about Emilia's weight issue, how often is she feeding? Definitely keep eating well and drinking lots of water Not sure whether the pill effects milk supply, the mini pill is the only one you can take while BF isn't it so I dont think that would be an issue? When will you get her weighed next?

Anneliese - how are you doing? How are you feeling? Any sign of a bump yet? Would love to see a piccie

Gaiagirl - How is Mr F doing now? Is he feeding well? To start with I would feed her every 3 hours but then she seemed to naturally stretch herself to every 4 hours and I wouldn't wake her to feed then.
Glad you're getting lots of support from your DH!

AFM - all well here, A is growing well - had our 6 week check on Wednesday (she's 7 weeks) and she passed with flying colours! She's now 10lbs 5oz so doing really well and is still tracking nicely between the 25th and 50th centile. She's above average height wise and is on the 75th centile but I knew even from her scan pics she was going to be long!

She has her first set of immunisations next Friday so not looking forward to that!!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

 

[smawfl]

Oh I keep forgetting to ask a few questions! Hopefully they aren't too personal!

Probably too soon to even consider, but when are you planning to TTC for your second if you are having another? We've discussed it recently and definitely dont want A to be an only child and would like a 2 year gap between them so will probably start TTC once A is one or there abouts.

I know most of us are BF, have your AF returned yet? My lochia stopped after 2 or 3 weeks and I had some spotting earlier this week which I was quite surprised with as I know AF doesn't usually return quite so soon if BF but looks to have stopped now.

Think that's is, I'm sure there was something else I wanted to ask but can't remember.. baby brain!!

 

[smawfl]

Oh! Here's the 3rd question!

Have any of you tried a dream feed? I've done this a few times where I've given a dream feed between 10-11pm and she's only woken up once in the night around 4am. My HV didn't really seem to approve when I told her as she says it will mess with A's natural body clock but it seems to be working for us so I'm going to keep trying it if I can.

 

[seaweed eater]

Smawfl, glad to hear A is growing well, sounds like things are going great

I've been meaning to ask you all about TTC again, too! We are absolutely hoping to have another child, perhaps two, but because of the timing of some upcoming milestones in our careers, we are planning to wait a few years -- probably until 2015. I have mixed feelings about it...I don't mind the age gap (and both DH and I had large gaps from our siblings) and I am young enough that hopefully we will still have time, but I've really had a great experience with pregnancy and baby and feel impatient to do it again...but I also don't want it over with too quickly, either!

I haven't had AF yet. My lochia was on and off until about 5 weeks though, so I know it could happen in a week or two at the soonest...I really hope it doesn't, since we're not TTC and I have no plans to stop BF anytime soon...and who wants to get a period when you don't have to?!

I think a dreamfeed is supposed to be fine starting around this age. I've been thinking of doing one myself now that Munchkin is sleeping slightly longer some nights, but I want to wait until his pattern gets a little more consistent first. But it sounds like A has been sleeping consistently longer for a while, so I would say go for it!

Munchkin did that naturally last night...for some reason he wouldn't go down until almost 10, and then he woke just once at 4 and then slept until 7. I was soooo excited. Definitely the longest I have slept since he was born. I would be so thrilled if he did it again!!

We are doing well, he is growing like a weed and has been super chatty the past few days, which is very cute. And we survived all the challenges of last week (working a bit, DH being away for the weekend). DH's parents are coming today from abroad and will be here for a month, and I am anxious about that, but SO glad we asked them not to come any sooner. Every week I feel a bit more like a functioning person.