Loula's Little Man Is Here!

:hug: :hug: Loula :( So sorry you are going through this now!
Sending all my love William's way xo

I guess 2 hrs sleep for me is a start. I can hear the other babies cry but have yet to hear my own little ones as he is still too weak. Time to express again. At least I am able to do that well. But William is only allow fluid from a medi tube all synthic. Will he take my milk again?

My throat is still sore from the general and a reminder I never saw him enter the world. Is any of this real?

Oh sweetie hang in there. I'm so sorry you are having to go through this and yes with time I'm sure he will take your milk when he is able to. Well done you on expressing for your wee William it will be so worth it & good for him.
If you need to chat about his birth I'm sure there are others on BB who can share how they coped with delivery under a GA. As you said you fully dilated yourself beforehand & experienced those sensations of birth which are very real.
Sending you lots of love & support,

xx DW

Oh, huge hugs Loula :hug:. Please know I'm praying for your little man (and you) today.

Thinking of you Loula, and your little man. He is a fighter like his mummy - and now that he is getting the care he deserves, will start to thrive.

You are in my thoughts always - i'm only a text message away if you need to vent/talk/whatever

love to you
BG

Oh Lou, I am so sorry you are going through this. How amazing are you though to be expressing so he can get that milk when he is a little stronger, he is going to be so much healthier for it.

I wish I was closer to do something concrete but I am sending you every ounce of strength I have and praying with all my heart that he is in your arms quickly.

Lou, sorry to hear things are not going 100% with William. Sending you both much love and positive strength. Hang in there. He will be in your arms soon. Know that every drop of your liquid gold is doing him the world of good, and that is the best thing you can do for him atm... Stay strong, and know we are all here holding you up. xo

Update. Still no real improvements. Last blood test at 2.45 am showed that he will still be on high dose iv antibiotics for at least another 48 hrs as there is no change. And the pead at Jessie Mac said there was nothing wrong without looking at him. Of course this child was dumped on him!

Lou - firstly, congratulations on the birth of your amazing little boy.

Secondly - I am so incredibly furious at reading what's gone on with the care your boy is receiving! I had to sign a form to allow the hospital to give formula to my son. Without it, no matter how much they thought he might need it, it would have had to be a glucose drip.

Finally - keep expressing! I've heard of many, many bubs who go through NICU and SCN on drips and formula and all the rest who have gone on the breastfeed fine with no problems at all.

Hang in there! I really hope little William is well again soon.

BW

:hug: Lou I'm so sorry you have had to deal with such incompetence :( I'm in tears here reading what has happened and I can't imagine how you are feeling right now.

Love and strength to you and Sim :hug: and all the get well vibes I can muster for William :hug:

lou hun im heartbroken to read you little man isnt well, i will be thinking of you today and hope you get to hold him again very soon, sending you lots of love xxxxxx

Loula - that is absolutely horrible - and what a horrid thing to say to anyone let alone the mother. I hope William is doing better today and that both of you start getting the care you deserve and need.

Hope your ob is able to step in and give the pead a big wrap over the knuckles. There seems to be a lot of babies with unexplained fevers atm, there are three others in the scn with us as well. Keep expressing so your milk comes in, it will make a big difference and see if they will let you check his temp and change nappies so you have some contact.

:hug: Big hugs hun! I'm so sorry to hear little William is in NICU :( I hope the i/v is working and he is on the mend. Keep expressing and I'm sure he will be able to take your milk soon. Sending you all love and strength xxx

First up, Congratulations on the arrival of your beautiful boy, Im so sorry to read what youve both been going through, sending you so much love and all the strength, energy and wellness vibes I can muster, will be thinking of you all xxx

Loula, nothing is impossible. you have overcome what at times you may have thought impossible just to get him here, so getting him to BF will be a cinch :hug: Just keep expressing that milk, because he is going to need every ounce of it. I'm so sorry that this wasn't the amazing experience that you longed for, but I know that you will have the rest of your lives to make up for it :hug:

And don't be afraid to ask for help - I'm sure that there would be loads of BB women who would be able to help you out in a flash, so use them if you need to.

loula - congratulations on the arrival of your beautiful little man.

i am so angry reading of the incompetence & flippant attitude of some of the medical staff you've had to deal with. i hope the monash staff are far better.

i know you don't 'know' me, but i'm only a 15-20 min drive from monash & know it well from having my DS there....if there is anything you need (and that includes a steelcapped toe to connect with any bums that need it), please let me know.

hang in there hun, sending you & your DH & little william much strength & love :hug:

My lovely friend..

I really do share your tears. To be treated like you were leaves me without words.

I am so sorry William is struggling. Keep the faith girl...he's going to be ok..remember what stock he comes from!!!

My mind and thoughts have constantly been with you since I read your comment on FB.

Hang in there and as hard as it is...you have to keep yourself in good shape for your milk and William. So eat all your meals even if you're not hungry and sleep whenever you can.

xxxx

Update. He will now stay at monash as he has started to improve with breathing. He is just about to have a lumber puncture and sent for more test. He looks so big in there. I got to bf and he was a machine. I will go back to do the other side later. It's a different world there they are truly wonderful caring staff there at the newborn unit. He still has a long way to go and may be in for up to two weeks after me.

soooo glad to hear hes doing better and you were able to breastfeed! he sounds like hes in good hands :hug:

:hug: hope he's home with you very soon Loula. You've been through so much :hug:

I have found that hospital excellent when children are very sick.

:happyforyou: Great news that you were able to feed him and he feed so well. Nothing like a cuddle of your newborn to make life just that little bit better.

I am so, so happy to read your latest update...that is great progress, and you have already been an amazing mummy - protecting and looking after your dear son like you have.

I can't stop thinking about what I'd like to say to that pediatrician - he should have his license taken away if that's how he feels about babies put under his care.

Please continue to keep us updated.

Wonderful news that he has fed Lou :D I hope the tests go well and he keeps improving :pray:

I'm so glad to hear he's being cared for better now.
Congratulations on your first feed! Way to go mummy.
Please be well soon William

That is such great news Loula. I have been thinking of you. Like you I had a c/s under GA for foetal distress and then DD was in SICU for 3 days. So I did not see her for 18 hours after she was born. But she also was a champion breastfeeder so while I hardly got to hold her for the first 3 days, each time she fed it was really great. I am thinking of you as I know how horrible it is to watch that helpless little babe and not being able to touch them.

Thank goodness you are being treated better and you sound so much more positive and happy. Glad you got to snuggle and bf.
:hug: to you and the whole family too, and especially William

I'm sorry to hear that he'll be in there for a bit Lou, but it's great that he's improving (is he off CPAP now?), and that he's breastfeeding like a champ :D I know how important that is to you, keep up the good work! Ask for them to let you have as many cuddles as he can tolerate. The staff at Monash sound wonderful though, so I'm sure they're doing everything they can.

:hug: my friend

That is such a positive step that he is breastfeeding! And wonderful news that his breathing is better too :hug:

Still waiting on results. Was left again today for 12 hrs without help expressing and he was not strong enough to feed and sleep the whole time the staff are encouraging in nicu. But not where I am. Apparently it was mw tea break so she couldn't help me express and no one else was around as they were not my charge? So I just got given a pot and left for the 12 hrs.

I'm now bringing in my pump from home tomorrow. Will needs to stay in nicu for the next 5 to 7 days on drips and I leave Monday. So sad.

Oh and I think living on two hrs sleep in two days maybe what is effecting my supply so will try to rest now

Hugs Lou
I hope you get some rest and the staff start taking care of you properly.

Hun, I've had telstra issues since our phone conversation this morning & my phone hasnt been working :(

All sorted now, & just going to get bubba sorted & i'll give you a call xxxx

:hooray: on the breastfeed!!!!!! :hooray:
Well done little man :hug:

More hugs Loula :hug:. You are doing a wonderful job despite the lack of mw help :). If you find you need a double electric pump (not sure what type you have), please let me know. I have an Ameda double electric breast pump I am more than happy to lend you while you are building up your supply. It is much quicker than a single pump. Just PM me if you need it :).

Oh darling. Your milk won't have even come in yet, please don't fret. Feeding/expressing frequently is very important in helping it to come in, especially after a c/s, but you're nowhere near worrying stage yet. Just keep on expressing (hand is very effective before milk comes in, if someone can show you how to do this. Jan? Rach? if no midwives available) and before you know it your milk will be here. What you are producing now, although it may seem so little, is like liquid gold. Every drop will aid Will in his recovery. Allowing him to have breast contact is great, given that he's not well he may not be strong enough to feed effectively at the moment, but that's okay, that's where your expressing is important. Depending on what you've got at home, PLEASE take Trish up on her offer of a double pump, it will make your life SO much easier. I'm happy to organise to drop it at your place (or bring it in, but I know you don't want visitors right now) if that helps.

But rest is so important for many other reasons, as you know, so try to sleep AMAP inbetween expressing sessions. I know it's very hard when your baby isn't with you :hug: you feel very torn.

Here for you Lou, Andy sends his love, he especially wanted me to tell you that xoxo

Hun I am so sorry you seem to be getting the run around from the midwives on the ward....that just sucks.......I found you have to be really proactive and assertive with them and keep nagging for things/service. Like you I was also left alone for most of the time...It's almost like they don't know what to do with you when you don't have your bubba with you. Try asking for Ellyce hun...she is the main lactation consultant on the ward is really really lovely...she helped me lots.

It sounds like he is getting the care and attention he needs now. That's great that he had a breastfeed and did really well.

Not so good for you though, wish I could help with the expressing, i have had to remember it all very quickly. it sounds like they need a lesson in patient care.

Congratulations hunni on the birth of you beautiful little man William!!! So over the moon I am for you!!!! Big hugs sweetie, enjoy your precious little bundle :p

Loula, firstly my heartfelt congratulations on the birth of your baby boy - what an amazing day that must have been for you and DH!!

I am so sorry to hear he is not well. I will keep him in my prayers and hope he is well enough to go home to his amazing mummy and daddy as soon as possible. Hang in there honey, you've come sooooo far. :hug:

Loula I'm sorry to hear that William is having some difficulties and that you've been treated so poorly, its just not right hun. It sounds like he's improving though which is great, but trust me, I know how hard it is - we're on the NICU journey right now. But put your foot down and get some help from the staff - if the midwives won't listen in my experience the NICU nurses will, so talk to them and get them to arrange some more help for you. Keep expressing! And ask for as many skin to skin cuddles as you can, it will all help with your supply. And congratulations on your first breastfeed too. You're doing an amazing job but your rest is so so important right now. Take the local girls up on any offers to help. I wish I was closer. Good luck and I hope little Will improves every day. You'll have him home soon.