Hello there everyone,
I have been lurking and reading to catch up with you all but I'm still far from being up to date. I just wanted to stick my head in and introduce myself before I get trumped by others in the PALTTTC

I thought that I had a traumatic birth and a bit to work through, having had my little girl Jasmine Lucie on the 29th of October via caesarian. She was breech all the way through the pg so although cs was elective, it could not have been any other way as at the birth it was discovered that not only was the cord wrapped around her neck 3 times, but my placenta was thin and my uterus the wrong shape to have a vb. Owing to all this, she came into the world with a rude shock and it took a bit to get her little life started, which gave us a hell of a scare to say the very least. She was blue and APGARS were a bit sluggish but I can happily report that at 10 minutes, she scored a perfect 10. It really was a terrifying experience for those few minutes of not knowing, but overall my birth experience was actually really good and after debriefing myself, writing it all down and revisiting the scary photos, I have decided I will write my birth story to give something back to those, like me that want to see all sides of the story (especially those with happy outcomes regardless of a bumpy beginning).

Jasmine is turning 6 weeks on Thursday and things are going wonderfully well. I feel guilty reading some of your posts about breast feeding and although I have nothing to add, I really feel for you girls that are struggling and applaud your efforts. I just hope that you don't feel like you have to keep at it if it's not working for you. Like someone said (sorry, can't remember who), but the most important thing is a happy Mummy. You don't need to blame yourselves for anything you can or can't do with your babies. If you love them and care for them and meet their needs in the best way you can, then you can't feel bad. Give yourselves a break, it's bloody hard work and some people's bodies are just physically incompatible. I'm doing it because I can but also because it's free (and we're poor , plus all the other good reasons of bonding etc, but I'm sure that you would bond just as much looking into each others eyes, holding close to the body while feeding from a bottle. I hate any social stigma that surrounds BF vs bottle feeding and have seen women bruised for decades due to their inability to produce milk or whatever reason. Look after yourselves first so you can be the best Mums to your babies.

I'm not sleeping alot, not getting much done, still very sore some days from the cs and today had to practically sleep all day because yesterday Jazzy and I had a big day doing the groceries in town. Three feeds and three nappy changes while out and about makes it a bit awkward to say the least but i live out of town like a lot of you so I have to just adjust. It's only my second time driving since the birth so although I've had to do lots and lots of trips as passenger, I have to get used to now doing it myself. It's such a lovely feeling to drive your little one yourself though(quite surreal). she is a great little traveler, which is so lucky because she is profoundly deaf and we have had to make umpteen trips to Cairns with her (4 hours return) to see specialists of every variety and that won't stop any time soon. Next week we take her to Townsville which is 6 hours away to get hearing aids fitted and then we have to trot back up and down to Carins fortnights to have the hearing aids adjusted due to her growing ...errr. I wont' ever complain about her hearing loss, I certainly haven't shed a tear (yet) but the travel may wear a bit thin especially when we have to go to brisbane to meet the cochlear team. We have a happy, healthy girl and you will hopefully never hear me complain.

Cheers, look forward to meeting you all in time and sharing the ride xoxo