Ttc #2

[Shaele]

first off thank you for all the good thoughts and we'll wishes sent my way! guess they worked =) and of course thank you for all the congrats. zach is doing so well! couldnt be happier. hes nursing great esp for this being my first time doing that and hes got a reall chill personality. even though hes a big boy considering average babies hes still really tiny in my mind! esp when compared to dd. today they had me up and walking around. I'm very sore but meds help lol. dh has been great with helping me though. anyway enough about me......rose omg I am so excited....I hope this means baby girl is coming! good luck to you can't wait to hear updates!

Pompey I'm glad you found a middle ground with your doctor and made peace with what happens will be. I hope you get your natural birth but if a section is necessary that you still are good and happy.

I am looking forward to seeing all your bundles soon!

 

[rose.]

She arrived yesterday by 1pm!! I got my water birth which was lovely although intense as the contractions were only really painful for about 3 hours. It was a world away from my birth with DS. She's feeding like a pro although she won't stop, so my nipples are super sore. Will update and catch up properly once we are home

 

[slammerkin]

Shaele - sounds like you're both doing great! Glad to hear he's nursing well already!

Rose - Eeeeek! Congrats!! So happy your birth was quick and that she's already feeding well!

Gah, I can't wait to have my baby, lol.

 

[slammerkin]

Pompey - sounds like you have a great plan in place! I hope baby boy comes on his own, but with good timing for your DD's school. I was so worried about an induction with my first. Thankfully she came on her own, but I'd be torn up about the decision too if I were you. Still worried about it with this one too. I just shudder at the thought of a failed induction followed by c-section, so I'd strongly consider going straight to c-section too.

 

[Shaele]

congratulations rose!! I'm so glad you were able to have your ideal birth and nice and quick! glad to hear she's nursing well! can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[pompeyvix]

Congratulations rose!! The birth sounded perfect and I am glad she has taken to feeding so well Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Shaele]

omgoodness ladies....my boobs hurt from all this breast feeding! does it get better? please say it does x.x

 

[slammerkin]

Is it your nipples? You didn't nurse DD, right? Some people will say there should be no pain at all with a proper latch. I don't find that to be realistic or true, but severe pain is not normal. Are you still in the hospital? Do they have lactation support? If so, get a lactation consultant to come by. Otherwise you can look for an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in your area: Find a Lactation Consultant Directory or find a La Leche League group/leader. Things like tongue tie, lip tie, and high palate can cause pain.

I had some pain with DD - she has a very high arched palate so my nipple was getting squashed up into her hard palate instead of going straight back and hitting her soft palate. It started to get better at 5 weeks. The first 6 weeks is seriously the hardest, but most women find improvement after that. I would say some soreness is acceptable, but if it's really excruciating and you're seeing nipple damage then you definitely need to be checked out by a qualified professional (IBCLC).

 

[Shaele]

wow thanks for all the good information slammerkin. yes it is my nipples. and correct I did not nurse dd. this is my first time trying it all out. but last night in fact little dude made one bleed. nurses gave me some lanolin but now I feel like he can't use that breast cause I don't want him to be eating blood too. it's the latch I'm having the problem with. he latches on but it's not a good one. he just has the nipple in his mouth and no matter how many times I break the seal and retry it he never wants to grab more. I've talked with a consultant here at the hospital and she has given me a few pointers. I guess I just have to keep practicing....

 

[slammerkin]

I'm sorry you're having a rough start of it! It's OK if he swallows blood - it won't hurt him. But of course be careful to try and avoid more damage. If he can't nurse on that side without making the damage worse then I'd still pump that side to avoid plugged ducts.

Things to Google that may help (replying on mobile right now so can't link): ecological/laid back breastfeeding (though may be hard with the csection wound), flipple technique, and Dr. Jack Newman (should have some videos about getting a good latch).

 

[Shaele]

just a few updates...baby boy has jaundice so we've been having to get him tested every day for bilirubin levels. and pediatrician told me to stop nursing until they go down =_( and solely use formula because have to make sure he's eating enough because him pooping and peeing is how to get the levels to go down. he lost over a pound of weight and the nurse testing him couldnt believe he was born at 9.5lbs. she thought he weighed around 7 because hes so tiny now lol. so I have to just pump to make sure I keep up supply until I can resume. I dunno why but it makes me sad. I was really psyched to breastfeed this time. I know it won't last forever and I can resume again but I'm afraid he will get used to a bottle and be lazy when it comes to the breast. obviously just doing what's best for him. he was so good at it in the beginning but he slacked off a bit...even my lactation consultant said the same.

how is everyone else doing?

 

[pompeyvix]

Sorry little Zachery has jaundice What a shame it's put a short term stop to breastfeeding. I hope you'll be able to resume when he is better. I exclusively pumped for Anabella for 3 months and combi fed until she was 6 months, but I am hoping actual breastfeeding will work out better for me and my little boy this time round. I found the pain excruciating and literally couldn't bear it. I had bleeding, cracked nipples and I cried at every feed, so I decided to express. I am sure you will be able to get him latched on again when the time is right, it may just take a bit of perseverance.

 

[BSelck24]

Oh no Shaele! Glad you are doing what's best for baby Zachary but I also can understand what a let down that is to your breastfeeding plan! At least you're sticking to it and pumping and hopefully he will jump right back on when ready!

Pompey- thank you for being honest with your breastfeeding experience! This will be my first time exclusively breastfeeding as well (I was able to exclusively pump with my first son for 3 months until my supply dried up) and I don't want to be naive. I know it's going to be hard, and hurt, and I will be super paranoid if he is getting enough!

 

[slammerkin]

Shaele I'm sorry the jaundice has thrown another kink in your BF experience! I personally would probably still put Zach to the breast as often as possible even if supplementing, or at least give him the milk you pump. Breastmilk has a laxative effect, so it will help keep up his diaper output. It's very hard to get BF off to a good start when you have issues early on. I'm sure you can make it work though!

Oh, pompey that kind of pain BF sounds so rough! I really hope things go better with this one!!

BSelck - pumping for a NICU baby must have been a challenge! That's awesome you made it to 3 months! I hope you have a smooth experience this time!

I really hope we don't have any major BF issues with this one. I did have some pain with DD, but no actual nipple damage/bleeding, thank goodness. She was so quick with nursing that I think that helped - she wasn't on there for long enough to really damage me, despite it hurting! And thankfully my mom and sister were good supports - my mom nursed 4 and is actually an IBCLC herself, and my sister has nursed 5 and is a La Leche League leader. I might not have made it without them. I distinctly remember at 3 weeks thinking "I understand why people give up and go to formula - this sucks!" Cluster feeding during that 3-week growth spurt was HORRIBLE.

I want to know how Rose is doing!!

37 weeks tomorrow! Seriously need to pack my hospital bag and reinstall the carseat now that I've cleaned the cover and gotten it all adjusted for a newborn instead of DD.

 

[rose.]

Sorry I've been absent ladies - we have had a busy few days of visiting family etc hope you all had a lovely Christmas!

Slammerkin and Pompey not long for you now can't wait to hear that you've had your little one!

Shaele sorry to hear that Zachary has jaundice. I would also recommend letting him suckle whenever he's up for it, extra breastmilk on top of the recommended formula certainly wouldn't hurt and I'm sure it would actually help too. I had really sore nipples until my milk came in. Now it has come in, I get some pain at the initial latch and then it stops. My boobs are still a bit lumpy and sore where there getting used to the milk, but feeding has become so much easier I hope you'll be able to get back on track once Zachary is better - would recommend putting the lanolin cream on as much as possible as that saved my nipples in the early days although it was still very painful.

Ladies who had trouble feeding last time, I also had a tough time with DS. He had a very bad latch and it took us month to be able to feed easily. Even then he would only ever feed in the rugby hold which was quite difficult if out and about!! DD has taken to feeding 100x easier. I hope things will be easier for you too

We had a rough couple of nights when we first brought DD home. She would fuss and want feeding until 4am and only sleep if she was on my chest or eventually, after 4am, If cuddled up in our bed. Again now my milk has come in she seems much happier in her crib and is going down at about 11.30ish and then sleeping in until 9am with feeds every 2-3 hours in between. I am finding it strangely easy - maybe because I've become accustomed to 2 hourly toilet breaks in the night sure the tiredness will catch up with me soon.

 

[slammerkin]

Glad to hear from you rose! That's great that feeding is going better this time around. I remember those early days when days and nights were turned upside down. It was definitely a relief when I managed to get DD going to bed at a more reasonable hour. She slept on my chest for a couple weeks. I'm actually sooo looking forward to the bliss of a baby sleeping on me, lol!

 

[rose.]

It is lovely, I had forgotten how much I love the snuggles!! I worry at night that she will roll off though, or I'll squash her. So prefer to have the snuggles during the day.

We just gave her a first bath, right afterwards she weed all over the towel and then I fed her and she threw up!!

 

[slammerkin]

Hehe the joys of newborns.

 

[hunni12]

Happy holidays ladies!

I commend the ladies who are able to update their journals on a daily basis. I have started back working so in between work, school, and two kids I am beat. Christmas was wonderful! This was us. It was actually pretty hot here on Christmas.


Congrats to all the beautiful new babies that have been born!!

 

[BSelck24]

Rose- oh how the messiness of a newborn can still be so adorable!! Lol

Hunni- omg I love that picture! Sums up your life perfectly! Lol

I'm getting there ladies! 6 weeks or so and I hope to have my baby in my arms as well!