**May Mummies**

[soffphie]

Had a bad day overal i think, been super tierd and fussy with food. Gagging to be sick at one point but luckily didnt trigger anything (get very panicy at idea of being sick after HG, sounds stupid im sure!) Heres to a better day tomorrow. Uploading this (even tho it was from 19 wk scan) as it looked to me like baby was smiling & made me feel a bit better

 

[SugaryIris]

It’s a gorgeous picture, all the sick will be worth it and completely forgotten once baby is here! X

 

[maythe4thbewit]

Lovely pic soff x

 

[maythe4thbewit]

jesus! How ridiculous is that?!?

I know. Absolutely ridiculous isnt it. Especially considering midwife wanted my iron status checked at 26 weeks when I had GTT due to being anemic in he past and feeling similar again, and the midwives at antental wouldn't take them a week and a half ealry despite my midwife asking for them to be ealry. Baffling x

 

[SugaryIris]

I know. Absolutely ridiculous isnt it. Especially considering midwife wanted my iron status checked at 26 weeks when I had GTT due to being anemic in he past and feeling similar again, and the midwives at antental wouldn't take them a week and a half ealry despite my midwife asking for them to be ealry. Baffling x

honestly, some people are just jobs worth’s, I hope the iron makes you feel a lot better quickly.

 

[SugaryIris]

30w and 2d, I can’t believe it’s less than 10 weeks until baby is here! I’m so excited! I’m not quite ready for the arrival but I’ve got my baby shower next week then I can work out exactly what I’ve got and what I need and get all the last minute bits I want. I’ll also pack my bag then too and write my birth plan so my 32 weeks I should be good to go!

I just remember crying on the floor during TTC thinking it would never happen and there was something wrong with me, and now I’ve had such a wonderful and perfect pregnancy, I’m just so grateful. We only want one so I don’t think I’ll ever do this again, I’m just feeling very humble and blessed this morning.

 

[soffphie]

30w and 2d, I can’t believe it’s less than 10 weeks until baby is here! I’m so excited! I’m not quite ready for the arrival but I’ve got my baby shower next week then I can work out exactly what I’ve got and what I need and get all the last minute bits I want. I’ll also pack my bag then too and write my birth plan so my 32 weeks I should be good to go!

I just remember crying on the floor during TTC thinking it would never happen and there was something wrong with me, and now I’ve had such a wonderful and perfect pregnancy, I’m just so grateful. We only want one so I don’t think I’ll ever do this again, I’m just feeling very humble and blessed this morning.

Lovely words x
Agree with you here, if someone had told me after 1.5 yrs ttc and 1 miscarriage id be pregnant i wouldnt believe them. I especially wouldnt after the miscarriage. I dont think ive taken much time to enjoy the pregnancy or appreciate it as it will be my first and last as well, i need to enjoy & appreciate it more!

 

[maythe4thbewit]

I know what you mean. I was the same, lots of tears and frustration through the 7 years never thought it would happen.

We want two but not desperately. More in a way of it would be nice to have two, but one is perfectly enough. I wont be doing this any time soon though, cant say I've had the easiest pregnancy. People are already asking me if I'm going to have another one soon and saying things like "why dont you just have another one straight away, get it all out of the way with" . 1)its not that simple with pcos. 2) I have felt like pure shite for the past X amount of months, I am in no hurry to do it straight away again.

When I saw my midwife yesterday, she point blank said to me, 'oh theres no point us doing a birth plan because you'll be getting induced anyway so wont have much choice in the matter '. great. Also not seeing her till 37 weeks now as I've got consultant appointments at 32 and 36. She said "I'll see you at 37 weeks, just so we can go through where you go if you go into labour early.". Helpful.

I feel like absolute rubbish this morning. These iron tablets seem to have had the opposite effect TMI and have given me a really bad tummy and diarrhoea. Also feel really sick. Apparently they give this version to pregnant ladies because its gentler and doesn't cause constipation as much. I've had constipation all the way though so you think itd be a relief. But no, I feel awful now. Hopefully it settle down soon and before I go back to work.

I explained the pain I've been getting when walking to her yesterday as well and she thinks babys head or shoulder is pressing on a nerve. Ouch. Explains why it hurts so much. Either that or could be start of SPD/PGP. Advised to go to walk in physio if t doesn't to away as apparently thats quicker than her referring me.

Currently curled up in bed trying to distinguish baby movements from gurgling upset stomach .

I'm always moaning. Sorry ladies. Xx

 

[soffphie]

@maythe4thbewit so strange youve had people say have a second, ive had opposite a lot of people saying 'only baby youll have then?' haha, but i think thats cause of sickness and hospital trips. My mum said to me you need to remember this in 3 years time when you go Aw but another one.. (i wouldnt anyway!!! a) money!! b) it would really worry me the HG)!

Got my 4D scan a week today, my last private scan of the pregnancy & potentially last chance to find out gender???

 

[Jetina]

@SugaryIris baby moves more when I'm on my back to but I've never slept on my back anyway so it hasn't been a problem for me. My problem was I always slept on my tummy.

It's my hips and knees that hurt when I try to sleep. That maternity pillow has been a saviour for it.

I want to breastfeed but DH really wants to be able to feed him to. I've got a breast pump ready aswell to Express so he can feed him breast milk as well. I am thinking about combi feeding tbh. Like breastmilk all day and then a formula bottle at night just for bed time feed. I've heard others say this works well for them. And DH is really really wanting to feed him and dont want to deprive him of that. It's easier if you do it from the start apparently as baby gets used to both breast and bottle. At the end of the day though, it's hard and you shouldn't feel bad if it doesn't work out xx

My boy moves a lot more when I'm lying on my left too, I think it's just because his head is somewhere down by the left of my pelvis. I'm getting much better sleep having normal pillows supporting my bump and one between my legs, especially now that he's moved off my sciatic nerve, so sleeping on my side isn't as painful. I still get uncomfortable and have to shift sides, but it's so much better. I got the Cool It Mama spray from Boots too, I use it on my swollen ankles and shins, they don't feel quite as tight and prickly with it, it's great stuff.

I'm also planning to breastfeed, though everyone recommends taking some of the ready made formula into hospital just in case baby doesn't latch right away as it takes some practice. Also been hearing lots of recommendation to not express for the first 6 weeks or so, because it can overstimulate and make you produce too much, so you get blocked ducts and possibly mastitis. It feels like a minefield to be honest, with 11 weeks to go I'm really feeling like I'm clueless, especially when I see woman discussing so much on the baby groups. Does it just all come naturally?

 

[soffphie]

My boy moves a lot more when I'm lying on my left too, I think it's just because his head is somewhere down by the left of my pelvis. I'm getting much better sleep having normal pillows supporting my bump and one between my legs, especially now that he's moved off my sciatic nerve, so sleeping on my side isn't as painful. I still get uncomfortable and have to shift sides, but it's so much better. I got the Cool It Mama spray from Boots too, I use it on my swollen ankles and shins, they don't feel quite as tight and prickly with it, it's great stuff.

I'm also planning to breastfeed, though everyone recommends taking some of the ready made formula into hospital just in case baby doesn't latch right away as it takes some practice. Also been hearing lots of recommendation to not express for the first 6 weeks or so, because it can overstimulate and make you produce too much, so you get blocked ducts and possibly mastitis. It feels like a minefield to be honest, with 11 weeks to go I'm really feeling like I'm clueless, especially when I see woman discussing so much on the baby groups. Does it just all come naturally?

I find it overwhelming as well. was very shocked when a retailer told me not to buy a breast pump till know for sure need one etc..! :/ When i see midwife Tuesday ill try & ask about that and birth options :/

 

[night owl]

Hope you don’t mind me crashing this thread ladies but I see there’s been a bit of discussion about breastfeeding and how it works, I bf my little one exclusively, we are still going strong with it now at 10 months, I’m part of a bf support group and see many women who really wanted to bf but didn’t get the right information and have been gutted when it hasn’t worked out for them: definitely try not to express prior to 6-8 weeks, this is the time when you body is working out your regular milk supply so try to avoid confusing things by adding in pumping aswell, also baby will want and need to be on the breast as much as possibly during these early weeks and you may find pumping just adds extra stress and work for yourself, keeping baby to the breast is the best way to make bf successful, it enables baby to practice their latch and your body to get your milk supply right, if you want to combi feed I wouldn’t introduce formula before 6-8 weeks, it can really impact your milk supply, you would basically have to pump while the baby is getting formula otherwise your body will just think it doesn’t need to make as much milk - this has caused many women to have to stop bf before they’ve wanted to, google the formula top up trap, you may find you are just too tired to pump while baby is getting a bottle from dad and would rather use the time to rest - but then your milk supply starts to become compromised, so what I would say is if you are 100% certain that you want to bf and feel it is very important to you then leave the formula or pumping milk out the equation completely until the baby is a bit older if you are able too, this is the best way to make sure bf is successful x

 

[soffphie]

Hope you don’t mind me crashing this thread ladies but I see there’s been a bit of discussion about breastfeeding and how it works, I bf my little one exclusively, we are still going strong with it now at 10 months, I’m part of a bf support group and see many women who really wanted to bf but didn’t get the right information and have been gutted when it hasn’t worked out for them: definitely try not to express prior to 6-8 weeks, this is the time when you body is working out your regular milk supply so try to avoid confusing things by adding in pumping aswell, also baby will want and need to be on the breast as much as possibly during these early weeks and you may find pumping just adds extra stress and work for yourself, keeping baby to the breast is the best way to make bf successful, it enables baby to practice their latch and your body to get your milk supply right, if you want to combi feed I wouldn’t introduce formula before 6-8 weeks, it can really impact your milk supply, you would basically have to pump while the baby is getting formula otherwise your body will just think it doesn’t need to make as much milk - this has caused many women to have to stop bf before they’ve wanted to, google the formula top up trap, you may find you are just too tired to pump while baby is getting a bottle from dad and would rather use the time to rest - but then your milk supply starts to become compromised, so what I would say is if you are 100% certain that you want to bf and feel it is very important to you then leave the formula or pumping milk out the equation completely until the baby is a bit older if you are able too, this is the best way to make sure bf is successful x

Thanks for this nightowl very interesting. Do you know at all how painful it is to express over breast feed?
I still find myself quite torn over it. Part of me would like hubby to be able to feed but then i havent discussed with him if thats wot he actually wants to do yet.. i do worry about pressure put on me to always be available and ready if exclusively bf, thats why i thought perhaps having express milk onside would be good? But im extremely green to all of this as im sure you can tell

 

[maythe4thbewit]

My diabetic midwife at antenatal wants me to try and Express some before baby is born because of the GD, dont know hows that's gonna be possible. My boobs havent even grown a cm

I cant take DHs wish to feed him away, so I'm just going to have to try my hardest to combi feed unfortunately. Lots of information on it from birth and topping up with formula. Your right, it will be extremely hard and I will have to Express whilst baby is having a feed from DH. We tried for this baby for 7 years and I dont want to exclude him by not letting him feed him. Dont think it's fair when he wants to do it so much. If he wasnt arsed, it would be a different story and I was just EB. But as that's not the case I'm just going to have to try my hardest. God help me lol

Feeling awful after these iron tabs. Been lying on the sofa in pain all day xx

 

[night owl]

Thanks for this nightowl very interesting. Do you know at all how painful it is to express over breast feed?
I still find myself quite torn over it. Part of me would like hubby to be able to feed but then i havent discussed with him if thats wot he actually wants to do yet.. i do worry about pressure put on me to always be available and ready if exclusively bf, thats why i thought perhaps having express milk onside would be good? But im extremely green to all of this as im sure you can tell

expressing should never be painful, it is a pain in the arse tho to be honest lol, some women really enjoy expressing and get tonnes of milk, personally I just always found it a chore and it took me ages to get a decent amount regardless of what pump I used, even tho my milk supply was great - a baby is far more efficient at getting milk out then a pump, and if I had a spare 10 minutes I just wanted to eat not pump!

I will be honest if you exclusively BF the pressure is all on you, you won’t get a break as much as a mum who is formula feeding might, it is a lot harder to leave the baby for more then a couple of hours, every now and then, also my partner didn’t get to be involved in feeding but he was fine with that - we both agreed that the baby being breastfed was more important to us - we knew we would only get this chance once, if you tank your milk supply early on its very hard recovering it, he held her and played with her a lot, he hasn’t missed out on anything

I did start pumping at around 4 months and putting it in freezer ready for if I wanted to go out anywhere for a couple of hours, I always found the most I could go out anyway was 3 hours as then it would mean a missed feed and sore boobs, that is the reality of exclusive bf so I think every mother has to weight up what is going to work for her and her family, I was lucky in that I didn’t actually need to go anywhere and be away from the baby so I was happy with all of it being on me, if you wanna be able to go out and stuff and really feel a burning desire for your hubby to be able to feed the baby then you could start expressing after the first couple of months or even before then and see how you get on with it but it you have to be aware that every time you give the baby a bottle instead of the breast you are risking affecting your supply and getting engorgement issues

Also put your own welfare at the highest priority - you can’t pour from an empty cup, if it’s making you miserable, or hurting you, or you just feel like you can’t go on with it even after getting support then don’t, formula is an amazing alternative to breastmilk, that’s my advice anyway!!

 

[SugaryIris]

Thanks for the info @nightowl that is really helpful x

 

[MoominGirl]

I want to second almost everything night owl has said. My boy was EBF and we stopped when he was 14 months.

I think the only thing I would add to expressing in the early weeks is that in a lot of cases it's best avoided but in our case we had a difficult labour and lots of problems latching which combined with poor support in hospital meant we had a very difficult start to feeding. So for me, expressing and syringe feeding was vital to making sure my supply got established while we worked on the latch and meant we avoided the formula top up trap. Like night owl, I also know plenty of mums who have fallen victim to this and ended up stopping breastfeeding before they wanted to.

I also agree completely that expressing isn't painful but is a pain in the arse! When I was pregnant, I really thought that I'd want to express to give myself a break and hubby was really keen to feed so it felt win win. The reality was that it was just extra faff and hassle on top of everything else we were trying to get our head around. Like night owl, I had better things to do with a spare 10 minutes than pump milk! After a few weeks, we pretty much abandoned expressing completely and didn't regret it. As night owl says, EBF is a lot of pressure on you but we don't have local family etc so I didn't have a need to be away from my baby for long periods so it worked for us. Though I can totally see how that amount of restriction wouldn't work for everyone.

As for dads needing to feed to bond with the baby - not needed in the slightest for us. My husband made great use of a sling to keep little man close to so I could have a break etc. Honestly their bond now is amazing and our boy is totally daddy's little guy despite 14 months of feeding solely from me.

The right thing to do is always what's best for you and your family. Nothing else matters. There is so much focus on breast is best which isn't always helpful especially as support can often be quite poor. The reality is that there are pros and cons to all feeding methods.

 

[maythe4thbewit]

I would totally EBF if hubby was comfortable with not feeding him. But hes not, he really really wants to be able to feed him and has expressed this wish a lot. I'd love to EBF but as he wants to do it that much I cant. Also dont know how I'm supposed to pump before baby comes as GD midwife wants me too, I have no signs that I'm going to be able to at all, breasts havent grown at all so I'm quite worried I'm not going to produce any milk at all at this rate. X

 

[soffphie]

@night owl @MoominGirl
Quick Question: was considering buying a Tommee Tippee complete feeding set. (does apparently also warm baby food for the future). is it worth it, if we decide going to just try & breast feed only?

 

[night owl]

I would totally EBF if hubby was comfortable with not feeding him. But hes not, he really really wants to be able to feed him and has expressed this wish a lot. I'd love to EBF but as he wants to do it that much I cant. Also dont know how I'm supposed to pump before baby comes as GD midwife wants me too, I have no signs that I'm going to be able to at all, breasts havent grown at all so I'm quite worried I'm not going to produce any milk at all at this rate. X

oh I wouldn’t worry at all - my breasts showed absolutely no sign of any milk coming in before I went into labour either, they actually weirdly deflated towards the end of my pregnancy, you will produce colostrum for a few days after the birth then your mature milk starts coming in, so there won’t be any milk sat in your breasts right now basically, the colostrum can be squeezed out of your nipple into a syringe, some women start doing this at 37 weeks onwards, I’ve heard it can trigger labour so not to do it until 37 weeks xx