Pregnancy after LT TTC #14

brunette, how did you go?

ck77 - just blah to everyone else. you'll muddle through with what's best for you. We do cloth nappies (both mcn and terry squares) as well as sposies (going out and at night) and I got a lot of negative feedback from friends etc when I said i was going cloth. I usually found that saying condescendingly that "i really don't find putting on a load of washing a strenuous task" would put thme in their place!!!

talking of washing....

I wish my preg would hurry up and make itself known. apart from the ocassional twinge and feeling sick on and off, I keep forgetting that i'm supposed to be preg! which worries me no end!

Grub: Don't wish too hard my friend. I'm sick as a dog at the moment with all day nausea and tiredness and Tara either is getting a cold or her molar teeth, so I'm feeling it big time. Before you know it your little one will be letting you know that it's there and you will be counting down the days until it gives you some peace and quiet again.

Brunette: How did you manage to increase your calorie intake??? I've been aware that I will need to consume more calories to feed "bubble & squeak" but am finding it hard at the moment to eat. I've generally been having 5/6 small meals a day but by the time dinner rolls around the thought of some good protein makes me gag. Poor DH is having to fend for himself at the moment as I just don't feel like having a normal dinner. Any suggestions would be great.

Hello to everyone else, I'm going to go have a lie down.... I'm exhausted....

CK, it was a while ago, so I don't remember any specifics. I had a list of half a dozen OBs and googled their names (not a lot of info since all the forums are scared of being sued). I think you can post a question on the OB recommendation board here on BB and ask people to PM you any experiences they have with your doctor. I tried asking a question but only got one response, so it may not help.

Hi girls! Im back for holidays and sick as a dog. Hope all is good in here!
Welcome and congrats Grub :)

CK, I was thinking about why NWPH might have higher CS stats than other hospitals, and one reason it could be is that the IVF clinic virtually nextdoor would surely be sending a lot of traffic (ie PG women) their way. Plus a lot of women doing IVF are older (like me), there are probably higher numbers of multiples born (again, like me) and hence higher likelihood of CS being required (again, like me). Did you hear about a recent study which/showed that there are higher stats of CS occurring in private hospitals versus public hospitals? The study showed that OBs had good reasons for recommending CS; it wasn't just a matter of a woman saying `I want one', more that better prenatal care discovered more issues of concern that required a CS. Hope that makes sense and makes you worry less about going to NW and having a CS as a possibility. Has your OB even suggested to you that you might need one? Best bet I think would be to take in your birth plan and discuss how you want your birth to proceed, and then see what he says about it. How was Sat's class?

Kelly, for my first trimester I was ravenous. Couldn't get enough food. I would wake at 5 or half 5 and my stomach would be demanding food, so I'd have some yoghurt and fruit by the side of my bed on ice in an icebag to munch on. I was on steroids, though, for the first trimester and this no doubt contributed to my hunger. My appetite normalised for the second trimester and now I find I'm hungry but it's hard to eat a normal meal as the indigestion/heartburn is quite uncomfortable as are T2's feet kicking me in the ribs! Small meals like you're doing sounds like the plan. I wouldn't worry too much if you're not wanting a big meal or protein for dinner. It's early days and AFM I found that whatever I was craving in the first trimester was exactly what I should have been having when I read some books on nutrition (ie salmon with bones for omega3, tomatoes, avocado etc). Juniper will tell you that she suffered really badly with MS and has lost multiple kilos but her baby is growing just fine. As has been explained to me, your baby (in our case babies) will take whatever they need and it's the mother who will be left deficient :(

Jaki, welcome back. Sorry to hear you're not feeling well.

AFM, the scan on Friday was a mammoth event. I was on my back (albeit propped up on about 3 pillows) for at least an hour and right near the end the sonographer was pushing really hard on my lower stomach to try to scan the placenta. If she couldn't get an accurate shot without T1 in it then she was going to have to do an internal :o My back had been aching for about 20 minutes and I was starting to feel quite faint but I perservered until she got the shot, then I had to sit up as I thought I was going to either be sick or faint. I've never felt like that before but I imagine it's how you feel if you have low BP. We didn't get to see T1's face as bub was head down and spine upwards, exactly as you'd want it if ready to give birth! So was T2 but we got a partial shot of this bub's face which was nice. Havent' seen T1 since 19 weeks now as this bub wasn't playing ball at the 27 week scan either. As for their growth, both are on the 10th percentile. T1 is estimated to be 3lbs 4 oz (1.467ks) and T2 is estimaed to be 3lbs 5 oz (1.508). So on pure baby weight alone I'm carrying 3 kilos! Not to mention two placentas, amnio filled sacs, extra blood and fluid! At 31 weeks I have gained 12 kilos which I think is not too bad. My placenta is 24mm away from the edge of the cervix. It needs to be 50mm away for it not to be an issue. I have another scan in 3 weeks time. By this stage (34 weeks) if it hasn't moved further up it's apparently unlikely to do so. It's now been termed minor placenta praevia. I'll let you all know how I go at my 34 week scan. All up, I'm very happy they're growing nicely and no issues with the babies.

Great news brunette! FX that the pesky placenta shifts it ;)

Thanks Brunette, with DD I also lost weight in the first trimester and all up only ended up putting on 6kg's in total. I actually weighed less walking out of hospital than before I was pregnant. I'm seeing my ob tomorrow so he will hopefully give me some idea as to what I should be looking at with weight gain this time around. DD was only 7lb when born so I'm already predicting that these ones will be tiny bubba's as well, considering they will likely come earlier than DD. As for you placenta, the week before I had my c/s with DD I had a scan to check the position on the placenta, it was anterior but had slipped down and at delivery it was a full on placenta previa where they even had to cut through the placenta to get DD out. I was also anemic at the time so they were worried about blood loss but I only lost a normal amount of blood although I was having BT's for the next 3 days after delivery to make sure my levels stabilised. My FS has already warned me the chance of having a placenta previa this time aorund is very high, although I will be having another c/s anyway as the lower portion of my uterus is "underdeveloped" and there is no way that a babies head can engage anyway.

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Kelly... Juniper will tell you that she suffered really badly with MS and has lost multiple kilos but her baby is growing just fine. As has been explained to me, your baby (in our case babies) will take whatever they need and it's the mother who will be left deficient.

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I lost 10kg in the 1st tri and have lost more since. This morning I was 15kg down from my weight on EPU day. The only thing I should add to this is that I started off very overweight (110kg), so even with the weight loss I'm not at risk of wasting away. I've been hovering between 95-97 for a few weeks now. I'm actually surprised I was down this morning since I gave in to my Tim Tam craving on the weekend... So far no indication of growth problems (either too little or too much) for bub at any scan. I'm hoping to stay at this weight (as long as bub remains healthy) because the Mater starts limiting your labour and birthing options when your BMI goes over 35 (mine is currently 33).

Brunette, FX for the next scan. Glad to hear Friday's scan went well.

Afm, once my ticker catches up to the correct day (at 3pm), it'll say 100 days to go...

Hi all you lovely ladies!

Back from holidays, and like Jaki80, I'm sick as a dog. Head cold has migrated south on to my chest, as if I wasn't having enough trouble breathing already... :lol:

A massive CONGRATULATIONS :clap: and welcome to KellyD and grub17! Great to see you ladies in here. Brunette - how exciting that there's more twins!

Chrissy - I hear you on the cloth nappy thing, and people poo-pooing it (pardon the pun). I want to try reusables too, once I get my head around having a baby to look after, but so many people scoff when you say it. I had a quick look at 2 life cycle analyses of reusables vs disposables (one in England, one in Oz), and they both said if you wash in cold water and line dry, the environment is better off than if you use disposables. If you can't be bothered explaining this, just tell em to butt out! Its your baby, and your bills.

KellyD - I drank a lot of milk in my first trimester when I was too nauseous to eat, often adding Milo, Akta-Vite or Sustagen Sports. (Actually, I still do drink a lot of milk! Always craving it) Maybe you could try it to up your protein intake?

Sorry for not many persies today, hope you're all well and happy, and cooking along nicely! :D

Hi everyone,
Welcome to Grub - wishing you a very H and H 9 months!

Kelly- my natural BMI is 18-19 and I lost weight at the beginning of this pregnancy but no-one was concerned but that doesn't help when it's you! I was advised to eat chips and sausages which being a person who can't really eat fatty foods normally without getting sick I didn't really see how that was supposed to help! It's really dangerous for anyone to compare weights in pregnancy as it is any other time because everyone is so different, so hope the OB can steer you in the right direction :)

Chrissy- I have a friend who is obsessed with cloth nappies and found the opposite problem of being cursed for using disposables! I think we can all be so competitive when the truth is, if someone is happy doing cloths or disposables, that should be the priority. Happy Mummy,Happy Baby I say!

Leabie and Jaki-hope you are feeling better soon, being sick sucks when you are pregnant.
Brunette- great news on your scan, glad to hear they are both doing well.

Hello to all you other lovely ladies - hope you are enjoying and looking after yourselves wherever you are.

AFM - No real news, baby is pretty quiet like their big sister was, so I don't really realise I am pregnant except when I get up out of a bed or chair or have to pick up my 18 month old. Beautiful weather is just starting up, which is just magic as it's nice weather here pretty much until mid May now which is fabulous!

Lairdoz, you're so right about not comparing PG weights or weight gain as everyone is different. My OB is not fussed one way or another about my weight gain. All he worries about is that the babies are growing well - which is really all that matters. Nice to hear you're having good weather. Whereabouts do you live?

Leabie, sorry to hear you're sick also. That's no good at all. Hope you get better really soon.

Juniper, yay for 100 days to go!

Kelly, that's interesting about your placenta slipping further down nearer birth. I'm probably having a CS anyway; it's just whether it will be a general or spinal anaesthetic. It's very reassuring to hear that your blood loss was normal. I am freaking out about going in for a general and then bleeding to death on the table and never seeing my babies! I'm going to make my OB promise that if I have a general I will wake up to see them. FX both your placentas implant nice and high this time round.

Brunette: Is there a reason why they are considering a GA?? Even though my placenta was low I had a spinal with DD and the aneathatist (sp??) just made sure that he had a blood match done prior to the surgery in case I needed blood during or after the procedure.

Kelly, I think my OB is very cautious and conservative. When I mentioned to the MW who was conducting our antenatal classes the possibility of having PP and needing to have a general, straightaway she said,`Is X your OB?' So he must be known to do generals for PP. I think it's to do with the different anaesthetic used in the spinal and the general, and if you have a spinal and go into shock you can lose more blood than if you have a general. Plus when the patient is out to it they don't need to worry about any freaking out happening. As I'm sure you know, when the placenta attaches low it doesn't contract as it would if implanted higher so again more of a chance of bleeding more. I always find it interesting how different OBs operate differently even when a patient's symptoms are the same, do you know what I mean? So maybe if I had another OB even in Brisbane I wouldn't need to be knocked out if I have PP? I do like my OB though so will go with what he recommends.

Hello Girls- I have been so slack with writing in here but I have been stalking and catching up on everyone's stories!!! I'm so glad everyone is going so well!!!
Congrats to KellyD and any other new people in here, we seem to have slowed down with our new arrivals- fingers crossed we get an influx of BFP's soon!!

I'm doing really well. 30 weeks tomorrow! Still can't quite get my head around it all. It seems to have gone so quickly but now I feel like 10 weeks is too long to wait! I can't wait to hold my baby!!

Anyway- just wanted to pop in and say hi again, I'll try and be good and post more often
xx

Also- Brunette- I may have pp as well, I have a scan booked for 32 weeks to see if my placenta has moved up at all, it was quite low when I had my 23 weeks scan but I'm hoping that was so long ago, we've had plenty of time to move!!

Wow girls, I don't check in for a few days and now so much catching up to do.

Brunette, great news on the scan, hoping that placenta continues to move upwards for you...

Loving the discussion on the nappies / formula etc etc. Funny that I found that some of the most judgemental people are new mums! I remember at my new mums group, with DD she had colic and so cried every single session (actually all day for the first 3 1/2 months - luckily not all night though). At the end of one session these two mums said to me 'so are you going to feed that baby?'. I was so shocked, luckily the CFHN came to my rescue and told them the baby had colic and overfeeding would make it worse!

I used disposable with DD and started using cloth with DS when he was 18 months I think. I think the first few weeks would be difficult with cloth, firstly it can be difficult to get a good fit with small babies, and they just poo constantly so I just didn't want to wash like crazy whilst trying to recover. So I will probably use disposable for the first few months this time. If you want to go cloth there are heaps of different ones - I tried about 6 brands before finding one that I liked, a pocket nappy. Also different styles suit different baby builds as the type I like doesn't fit my neice very well. I have found a brand of biodegradable nappies called natures babycare or something like that at Coles, they are great and I use them for nights / going out as found using cloth at night gave DS a rash.

On the bottle thing, I didn't give DD a bottle of EBM until she was 3 1/2 months old when I started working one day a week and it took her a good month to work out how to drink properly. The first few weeks she drank hardly anything. DS we tried a bit earlier (about 6 weeks I think) even though I didn't go back to work for another 4 months and he got it alot quicker. Never really used a bottle unless I was at work, as found that throwing them on the boob was quicker and easier. But I think if you do plan to use bottles to supplement starting within the first few weeks makes it easier on bub. And I don't really see how they would get confused, they know their mum and what it is to cuddle up to a boob compared to a bottle given by someone else (just my opinion here).

On the breastfeeding thing, the best advice I ever got was to read about it before you have the baby, so you know about attachment etc and aren't trying to work it out in the first feed. Also each maternity unit should have a lactation consultant, I found one really helpful with DD. And with DD I did get sore / bleeding nipples for the first few days (common at the start I think) but once I got the attachment right they healed and after that it was never painful at all.
I found BF pretty easy but I know some people don't, so I think you just go with what feels right.

I can't remember who it was who was worried about the labour etc, but just remember that billions of women have done this and you will too and it is only the start of a wonderful journey. Kind of like what a wedding day is to the whole marriage. So don't worry too much about 'getting it right', it's what you do after that to nuture your beautiful bub that will really make a difference. Hope that makes sense.

AFM - had 19 week scan today. All good. Was still undecided going into the scan if I wanted to find out, and we had DD and DS with us, so told the guy to write it down as we def didn't want the kids (ie and everyone else) to know. And then I thought we can take the paper with us and decide later. But then he froze something on the screen and said 'that's pretty self explanatory' - low and behold we were looking at a (large looking) penis! Then he got a great shot of the scrotum as well. So I guess I found out anyway! I have never seen boy bits on US before, do they normally look big????
Anyway we are happy, the weird thing is even through I did think I was having a girl, we have only been able to think of one boys name this time around, and no girls one at all. So it's kind of good we can stop thinking about it now.... I feel bad for DD as she is so determined it's a girl as she really wants a little sister! Think we will end up telling her so she isn't disappointed when he is born.

Well should go and do housework....

Sorry for no persies but brain like a sieve and can't remember what everyone wrote....

Congrats Grub & wishing you a H&H 9 months.

Hey Maggie, congratulations on having a boy! Wow, and what a boy, from the sounds of it! Just kidding. Also, I really liked your comment about the birth and the labour and nappies, bf etc. Really helpful. You're so right, it's easy to focus on the birth (because you get so much info) to the exclusion of the big picture, like caring for that baby. I'm freaking out about both, but deep down, I know ... what will be will be. I will do my best, that's all I can do.

Congrats Glenny on 30 weeks.

Jaki and Leabie, hope you're both better soon. I'm sick too with a sore throat virusy thing. Bit of a drag.

Juniper and Brunette, glad that both of your scans went well. On the subject of internal scans, having had so many for IVF, it was kind of funny when I first saw my OB and he offered an extra scan and I was almost off with my jeans and undies before he could say "ah no, that's not necessary" and I was like "what? There's another way to scan?".

Also, Brunette, you sound like you have confidence in your OB and there's nothing wrong with cautious and conservative at all, I reckon.

WW, lol at whipping the jeans off. At our first OB appointment (12wks) I did ask about the pants issue before getting on the table and was so excited about keeping them on for once! Then at my NT scan (4 days later) they decided to switch to internal half way though. :( I swear the internal probe at the u/s place was at least twice the size of the ones either of my FS's had! :o

MaggiePie, congrats on a great scan and your little boy! I hope your DD takes the news well when you tell her.

Brunette, I'm torn on the GA if I end up needing a c/s. I'm really keen to avoid the epi, but also don't want everyone else to meet bub before I do... If your OB recommends the GA then no doubt he has a good reason to. I do seem to remember there being some connection between an epi and the amount of bleeding, but my sieve-like brain can't remember the details and it may even have been one of the other pain options.

:rofl: worrywort - i'd love to see the doc's face..."what is that lady doing?" hahaha

thanks all for the welcome :)

maggiepie - i did sposies for the first few months for a couple of reasons... had to get my head around having a baby and was focussed on getting feeding established; and i had a long, thin bub. so the mcn just didn't fit him properly for about quite some time.

and that's great advice re bf with Ds i knew all about labour and birth and such but not a thing about bf. i just assumed it "would happen" and when we had to really work to make it happen, it was hard. I bf for 7 months or so and all but probably one month was a struggle. in the end ds just refused the boob. But my great piece of advice for the first timers is try to avoid putting heaps of pressure on yourself on what you 'must' and "must not'' do. Do whatever you NEED to do and cut yourself some slack. I really did find my greatest critic was myself and i caused myself a lot of angst as a result.

oh and I love little boys! they are so adorable :)

as for the weight thing, I put on about 30kg with DS and only lost about half that. So am worried i'm going to be struggling to lose the weigh after number 2! I just found after DS was born I still haven't got the energy to exercise (nor the time mostly) so i can't imagine what it's like with TWO!

hi glennyc, lairdoz, brunette, kellyd, juniper76, leabie, jacki80 and all the other loverlies on here.

Has anyone got names picked yet? and if so care to share (no pressure tho)?

We aren't sure if we are finding out the sex yes. we did with ds.
gotta go. child clmbing into shower

Hi Girls

Everyone is a chatty lot today, but just wanted to drop in and let you know that all was good at the Ob today and both babies have grown with Twin 1 now measruing 9w3d (exactly to date) and Twin 2 9w2d. We even got pictures of them showing there little arms and legs... DH has now convinced himself that they are both girls (which I think they are) after being sure it was one of each, I think he is scared of being overrun with little girls in the house. Only thing Ob has advised re diet is to now along with my pregnancy multivitamin to take, iron, calcium and folate supplements as well, the health food store is going to love me.

He also advised that our aim is to get to 38 weeks for a c/s and is hoping to delivery 2 6lb plus babies, OMG I was huge with DD and she was only 7lb I will be an elephant if his predictions are correct. So next scan in 3 weeks (12 NT scan) and then I get a scan every 4 weeks, which will be so fantastic to see the babies grow and fingers crossed we might get to see the sexes at the 16 week scan.

Oh, DH has also decided that after today's positive Ob appt where everything appears normal that he is now going to start letting people know - with DD he had to wait until after 12 weeks as he is so concerned about something happening - but the Ob was very happy and can see no reason for something to go wrong - touch wood.

Anyhow, enough about me. I hope you are all doing well and love hearing how you are all going, it brings back so many memories from DD's pregnancy.

Grub & Kelly D - I just wanted to say a quick congratulations for your new little bundles on the way. Also, a quick question. I have been told that I will need to stop BF 3 months prior to my next FET, to give myself the best chance of success. I was wondering how true this is and if you did this?

Big hello to all the other lovely ladies cooking in here. I pop in every now and then to check up on you and look forward to the next big news.

xo

Our little boy will be Wyatt James. Unless we decide later we don't like it anymore.

Mitf- I've never heard the FET & BF thing but I have never asked. We planned on going straight back not long after this one is born so I'd better look into that!

Just a quickee before the boss gets in!

Brunette - I'll put together all my notes from the Dog/Baby class from last weekend, and type them this weekend when I have some spare time. It was actually pretty interesting. Fingers crossed your OB goes with a spinal so you can see those gorgeous twins straight away. Good theory too on why NW would have more c-sections.

Juniper - regarding googling my OB to get c-section rates, when you google my OB you get people commenting on how he's the 2 minute OB (you're in, then you're out). My quickest appt so far has been 4 minutes so I know exactly what they are on about. I guess because I haven't really had any issues with the pregnancy he doesn't need to answer a lot of questions and spend much time with me.

Grub - I love love love the retort "I don't find it that strenuous to do a load of washing", I'll be filing that one away for use down the track!

MaggiePie - thanks for the tip on those Coles nappies, I'll keep an eye out for use at night and for trips out. And massive congratulations that you're having a boy!! I'm sure DS is going to just love a baby brother to play with! Hopefully DD will be okay with getting a little brother.

I think I got some good news the other day (it's yet to be officially confirmed). Even though in 30 days :dance: I am redundant here at work, I *might* be eligible for maternity leave!! (which really doesn't make sense as the policy is that if you don't have a job to come back to then you don't qualify for maternity leave). So hopefully I'll find out about that within the next week and if so that adds 14 weeks of pay onto my redudancy so I might not have to search for a job as quick as I thought - - YAY!! That will be a massive load off my mind.

My 32 week growth scan is after work today, I've only put on 1KG in the last month so I'm hoping the little one is growing nicely, I'm a bit worried that I'm not giving him/her enough nutrients, even though I know the baby takes what it needs and then leaves me with whatever's leftover, it's still worrying.

Okay, boss is about to arrive, enjoy the rest of the week - Hi to everyone I missed.

Chrissy xx.

Hi everyone,

I am procrastinating , should be finishing off DHs tax but thought I would check in first. Thanks everyone for nice comments about having a little boy, I am getting really excited now. We have decided on Joseph Alan (both family names) of course unless he doesn't look like a Joseph when he comes out! Actually we had only just started thinking about names and that was the only name (boy or girl) we could come up with so so I think it's meant to be.
It's funny when you don't know what you're having you wonder about this the whole pregnancy, now that I know I find myself thinking more about 'what will he look like', 'will he look like DH or DS??'. Puts a different perspective on things I think.

Worrywart - ha ha ha about whipping those jeans off. I wonder what the Dr thought??? Hope you are feeling better, I also have a sore throat and itchy cough so annoying and it is testing out my pelvic floor big time.

Grub - for my preg with DD I exercised all the way through (did an aqua class the day I went into labour) and started back at the gym when she was only a few months old. I thought I was supermum. Then fell preg with DS and this stopped me. Just didn't have the energy. And it hasn't returned. Two will keep you busy but it is so great to see them playing games together and saying they are 'best friends'. It was then I decided that I wouldn't bother until I had finished having kids and then it will be my turn to get fit again (still don't know how I will find the time with 3 but will give it a go). Won't rush back to the gym until bub is one I think.
And I totally know what you mean about being your worst critic. We put so much pressure on ourselves to be the perfect mum, perfect wife etc. And it's not that anyone else expects it anyway. It has taken me two kids and a stunt of PND and counsellling to work out that I should just give myself a break! I'm much better at it now. And I no longer feel guilty for booking my kids into daycare one day so I can just catch up on house stuff. Like my DH says, the mum is the centre of the house and if she isn't well then the whole house suffers. He is a wise man....

Kelly, congrats on the great scan, glad to hear things are coming along nicely. Have fun telling people especially when you tell them there's two! That will be fun.....

Mitf, sorry can't help you with details on that one but I have heard something like that...

Jaki - love the name Wyatt!

Chrissie - hope the scan went well, and really hoping that you get maternity leave, what a relief that would be!

Well ok must go and do tax now....

Have a great day

grub, we've had the name for our first daughter picked for 7 years now... However, since two people in the company I work for have used the exact first/middle name combination since we picked it (most recently in May, by the man in the office next to mine), we're adding an extra middle name. Hopefully she won't mind since they're short names... Anyway, we plan to name her Amber Emily Rose (2 syllable surname). Emily was the middle name we had picked for a second daughter, so if we do have a second daughter we'll have to pick two new middle names now, but I'm thinking we could make one of them a "flower" name again.

CK, great news about possibly getting the maternity leave! Sounds like they want to look after you! FX you do get it!

Chrissy, that will be fantastic if you can get 14 weeks maternity leave on top of your redundancy. FX for you. Thanks in advance for typing up some notes on the dog/newborn class. My ****er spaniel thanks you for it, too :) Let us know how you go at your 32-week scan today. Are you having this to see if your placenta has moved up?

Glenny, FX that your placenta has moved up before you have your 32-week scan.

Maggie, I've heard from quite a number of women now how it's so much easier if you're going to put your baby on a bottle at some time to do it early on so there's less resistance. I've also read it in quite a number of books, too. Nazi ABA women! I think I told you guys about what happened with me, didn't I? Placenta brain strikes again. If I haven't I went to an ABA store to find out about expressing pumps for hire and was basically told to read the literature as it's not a good idea to BF and bottle feed as it leads to confusion for the baby! I could have strangled the woman. I wanted to express my own breast milk so DH could do a night feed and give me a break, and also in case I don't have enough supply for the twins. I don't know where some of these women get off, but I told her I had read the literature and quite a few experts contradicted what she just said. Ha, ha. Felt better after that. Congrats on having a baby boy cooking away! Joseph Alan has a great ring to it. I imagine it would be completely different to have one PG where you didn't find out the sex and to have another where you know the sex. Definite advantage is you start bonding with a son or daughter in your mind I think, and if you're clever enough to have already decided on a name then you can talk to them and call the by name. That's what I would do if I could decide on names!
WW, gee you made me laugh with you nearly whipping off your jeans for the scan. It's so true, though, isn't it? I mean how many times did we have to have the internal ultrasound wand thingy-me-jig?! It's nice to leave your clothes on and sometimes even your shoes :)

Juniper, this might give you a laugh. At my 31-week scan the sonographer didn't think she was going to get a clear shot of my low-lying placenta due to T1 being in the way. She said she'd probably have to do an internal. I was thinking she meant with her hand! Ha, ha, ha. It was obviously one of the ultrasound internal wands! Ha, ha, ha. What my OB told me about a general v spinal is that with spinal there's more of a chance if you go into shock you will bleed more because of the type of anesthetic used in a spinal. A general uses a different type of aneasthetic with less chance of haemhorraging. You know what, on my shortlist is Amber Rose. No word of a lie. Freaky. But then again, I currently have 15 names on my shortlist for girls :) One of my faves has become too popular and I'm really torn about letting it go or still choosing it. Maybe `Amber' is on its way to the favourite list if two of your work colleagues have chosen it for their daughters?

Grub, I am in name hell ATM. Bought a couple of baby books but I feel like I take one step forward and two back. It's so hard, and we've got two bubs to find names for. Aaagh! If you do find out the gender, are you sharing it or keeping it a secret?

Kelly, if you get two 6lb babies you will be doing really well. My cousin had identical twin boys and they were both low 6lbs so it can be done. Still it's an awful lot of baby weight, hey? Have you got two placentas and sacs, too? My last scan estimated both twins to be about 1.5 ks, so about 3lb 5oz each. My OB will deliver the babies at either 37 weeks (if I've got PP) or 38 weeks if not. Seems so long to wait but also not long at all, if that makes sense? I had an US at a specialised clinic for women at 12 weeks, 19 weeks, 27 weeks, 31 weeks and the next one will be at 34 weeks. You mentioned you would be scanned every four weeks. Is this at your OB's clinic or at a specialised US clinic? Just curious to see if they do things differently in different states with scans for mums carrying multiples.

Mitf, sorry can't help with your query as I don't know.

Jaki, Wyatt James is a beautiful name. Must be such a relief to have a name picked out. I'm so envious.

Hey Brunette: yep 2 placenta's and 2 sac's or DCDA Twins (fraternal). My scans will be at a specialist US clinic with reports forwarded to my Ob, although I've been told the sonographer is also an OB/GYN so is good at telling you what is going on with the babies. My Ob also told me that from 32 weeks onwards I'll also be having weekly checkup's at the hospital as well, with non stress tests and fetal monitoring etc...

Wow, it's been very busy in here!!

Re:BFing and bottle feeding, I can attest that it can be done personally. I had awful trouble BF'ing and ended up expressing from day 2, and my DD had both BF and the bottle everyday after that. She did go through a three day period when she was about 8 weeks where she rejected the breast, but I kept expressing until she came back to BF'ing again. I was never able to fully BF because of all the trouble I had at the beginning, my milk supply was never great and I had to take drugs to keep it up as expressing didn't stimulate supply in me as it does most other women. I only gave up BF'ing so that I could get my cycle back to start IVF.

Chrissy - great news on maternity leave, if you were supposed to/ and had already applied for maternity leave to start maternity leave before you were were given notification of your redundancy, then I would have thought you were entitled to maternity leave regardless. Have you checked with the fair work people (not sure what they are called, but there is a government body that can help find out that kind of stuff I am sure).Fingers crossed!!

Lovely for you ladies who have decided your bubs names - we are 99% sure of ours, but will wait until Junior arrives to confirm they look like the name we have chosen.

Glenny - hope your placenta moves up for your scan too.

Mitf- I know my cousin was also told not to be breastfeeding for a FET because prolcatin produced during BF'ing can impact ovulation or something like that.

Sorry - just got interrupted by DD and have to get off computer, hello to everyone I have missed and hope you are all enjoying your day
xxx

Can we lay off the Nazi comments, please?
The ABA is a volunteer group of mums trying to support other mums, they've not been rounding up and killing millions that I'm aware of.
Thanks,

Brunette, they didn't just both use Amber - they both called their daughters Amber Rose... I didn't mind so much with the first one (down in our Newcastle office), but the second one (in the Brisbane office) was a real slap in the face (due to timing and other factors).

Brunette- Thought you might like to know. There's a dog, baby and you session at North West on Nov 13 10am.

Hi girls, this is a quick one. I've been off the airwaves recently, although popping in every few days and trying to keep up. My brother in law and girlfriend are here from UK on hols, I'm still working some days, and my very close elderly friend is in hospital so I've been visiting and sorting things out for him. Makes for a tired wee airline.

All things are good though, have passed the 18weeks mark..yeh for me! Got my big scan booked for 9th Nov, a day before I'm 20 weeks, so that'll be great. I've requested the same sonographer as for nuchal scan as she was great. The nausea has almost vanished and although I was sick again, i've worked out that acidic food makes me vomit....so balsamic vinegar, apples etc.

DH has just started nursery painting and we're getting new turf at the weekend. All busy in the airline household.

Maggiepie, hope you're ok, my email said you'd tried to PM me but inbox was full or something so emptied it.
love to all of you and your tummys xx

Can I say in response to Marcellus, fair enough re use of the word "Nazi" but in my experience "militant" is a fair substitute for what I experienced. I have gone into the ABA store on one other occasion since my confrontation and felt quite upset in the stomach the whole time I was there. I should have been helped not made to feel bad or ill-informed when all I was doing was seeking out information on expressing prior to the birth of my first child - children.

Juniper, that's really hard when it's the entire name you've got your heart set on and someone in your office uses it. Did they know you intended using the name, or was it just a freak coincidence? I'm glad you're still going to use it, albeit with an extra middle name. I'm making more progress on names, cutting a few off the list but still got a loooong way to go.

Thanks, GlennyC, I'll see whether I can make it to NW on the 13th, although with Chrissy's good notes maybe I won't need to :)

Airline, not long till your next US. Good to hear your nauseu has virtually gone. Yay to getting started on the nursery.

:

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Hey Brunette: yep 2 placenta's and 2 sac's or DCDA Twins (fraternal). My scans will be at a specialist US clinic with reports forwarded to my Ob, although I've been told the sonographer is also an OB/GYN so is good at telling you what is going on with the babies. My Ob also told me that from 32 weeks onwards I'll also be having weekly checkup's at the hospital as well, with non stress tests and fetal monitoring etc...

---

I missed your post somehow, sorry, Kelly. Wow to getting weekly checkups at hospital from 32 weeks! I'm 32 weeks today and my OB has not suggested this. My next appointment is on Tuesday so I might ask him about it.

I dont want to say much on the BF subject as ive noticed fights start way to easily on this forum with that subject, but i will say just because someone volunteers for the ABA doesnt give them the right to make a pregnant woman feel bad when seeking advise. Being pregnant for the first time is so daunting, we come up with these 'plans' thinking of what will suit our lifestyles and trying to do the right thing. Nothing will go to our plans tho im sure. LOL. I can only imagine how much more thinking one has to do when expecting twins!!! Too many women fall into motherhood and seek no advice. And although that might not make them a bad mother, anyone who goes out and reads up and walks into a service looking for help should be just that, helped.

Lairdoz - I've known about the redundancy for over a year unfortunately, and fully expected to not be entitled to maternity leave, but someone in our head office mentioned something and I checked with HR and they're getting back to me (but said it's a possibility)... I'll probably hear something early next week and I'm starting to think it's too good to be true.

Brunette - the scan was just a routine growth one that he does and will be my last scan. My placenta has always been up and to the back, so touch wood it stays up there. Got some cute facial 3D shots, baby's left arm was across it's face over the chin area and it's LEFT FOOT WAS UP AGAINST THE FOREHEAD!! Oh to be that flexible! My OB doesn't predict birth weight but said baby is currently in the 73rd percentile (??) and that 'normal' is 10-90% (what a variance!). According to the measurements he did yesterday the baby is currently 5lb. I've heard they are never accurate. Apparently the next month is the high growth stage and that baby can double it's weight.... um that would mean a 10lb baby and I can't be having a 10lb-er!!

Airline - congrats on 18wks, you must be soooo looking forward to that next scan (it seems so long betweem them!). I hope DH does a fine job on the nursery, sounds like it's all go go go at your place at the moment.

Re BF - I've decided that I'm just going to have confidence that I CAN breastfeed well, and that baby takes to it well, and that I will be able to express within a few weeks so that DH can bond thru bottle feeding. I love that by the time DH gets home from work in the arvo that it'll be baby's grizzly time, and he will get a taste of what I have been doing all day long!

Brunette, I promise to type up those notes this weekend (just not sure exactly when) and pop them on here.

Hope everyone had a great week, and has an even better weekend lined up!

Chrissy.

geez you lot are a bunch of gas bags lol. Took me forever to catch up!

chrissy - fingers crossed you get that mat leave! hopefully they make the decision soon. and taht's an excellent attitude re bf! It's so hard after all we go through to get preg to have faith in our bodies. to quota obama "yes we can'' lol. and if you can't, serioulsy not the end of days.

hi maggie pie - can't wait for the 'best friend' comment... OMG you will have THREE! i'm in awe. we still have one frostie and i'm already mulling over the idea hahaha crazy women!

mitf - my FS advised me to stop BF to help wit the FET as *could be totally wrong* bf can interfere with fertility in terms of hormone levels etc and I also had to go back on metformin and he looked it up - it didn't seem too safe with BF. BUT i do know there is a real debate out there about continuing BF while doing IVF/FET. If you want to continue BF and do a FET, i'd so some research and challenge your FS to reasons for stopping BF. Personally, I didn't have the energy nor the inclination as DS was already self-weaning and after 7 months of battling to BF, i felt huge relief to throw the towel in (well relief after a month-long guilt trip and lots of tears).

RE militatant/nazi ABA people Brunette - I'm sorry you encountered an unhelpful person but i'd really encourage you to not tar all ABA people with the same brush. Before DS was born my non-BFing mother told me to stay away from ABA and used the same words you did. BUt I joined a local group for support when i had heaps of trouble, and all the mums were so lovely and supportive and very very non-judgemental. Some were still BF, others stopped at 6 mths or a year. Some expressed exclusively, some mixed it up. But, I believe it is true that in the first 6-8 weeks you need to get your BF relationship established with bub and milk supply flowing before introducing a bottle. Mind you we HAD to bottle feed (with breast milk) bub for the first 2 weeks because he wouldn't latch and he still got on fine afterwards. (he's been fully on the bottle since about 7 months)

I would serioulsly considering ringing the ABA hotline and asking them. Everytime i've called for help they are so lovely and really, hardly a stiff military uniform in sight! Espeically with twins ... that's a whole new ball game lol. But a lactation consultant told me that we get engorged when our milk comes in because we produce enough milk for 3 babies and it's only after a few weeks of feeding that your body will meet the demand iykwim. yikes! But I couldn't imagine trying to keep up with twin's needs without expressing and using the bottle!

and brunette and Kelly D --- i didn't even think about coming up with TWO unique and gorgeous names lol. and names that go together omg... that's a whole other headache I'm glad i'm not sharing but good luck!

Jacki - I likey Wyatt

and Amber EMily Rose, Juniper is gorgeous! I actually thought "oh what about amber'' just yesterday haha. But Emily is one of the names on the top of our girls list. along with Elizabeth and Lilly. Our conundrum, well my condundrum, is that i don't want a really popular name and Lily is very popular atm. But I just so love it. the other girl's name we like is Milla ... Milla Jean hhmmm

OMG i read this like four times over and can't see again who said they were going of Josheph Alan !!! sorry, sure i'll see it as soon as i post... but just wanted to let you know our boy name is pretty much set in sstone as we love it and DS nearly got named it... Marcus Alan :) alan is my dad's name.

Brunette - We've decided that we are going to find out but this time not tell anyone. We're just going to say we want the surprise this time. I did want to wait and not find out but patience is NOT one of my virtues lol.

kelly - congrats on the scan! i love the pic in your signature.

Okay. now who was calling whom gas bags??? hmmm lol.

Well we are at 6 weeks on Monday :) and today.. my dh is coming home after 2 weeks away... two weeks from hell as DS played up on me big time!!! and i'm sick and sooo tired.

hope you all have a great weekend. and hi to all the othe rladies i didn't get to mention this post.

Grub, I don't tar all ABA women with the same brush. I know there are good and bad everywhere - in every organisation. I had the experience I had. It wasn't pleasant, and I shouldn't have been made to feel the way I did. BTW, I am pretty sure she is not a volunteer but a full-time employee, but it really doesn't matter as far as I'm concerned. When you seek help, that is what you should get. I'm glad you had a good experience with them and they helped you. I'm a subscriber, or member, of the organisation and if I need help I will now contact a BFing consultant directly and avoid this lady because I don't need the stress. So anyhoo, moving on ... are you and DH hoping for a little girl as you already have a son?

Wow, Chrissy, the 73rd percentile, that's great. Although a 10 pounder sounds a little scary :OMG: Our twins are on about the 10th percentile, to be expected though. Our OB is happy with their growth, so we're happy. How funny that bub had her feet up against her forehead. Very flexible. And good for you being confident that you will BF; I like that attitude and I think I might adopt it too. I think you can easily get scared when you hear so many horror stories about babies not latching on, cracked nipples etc.

Jaki, thanks for your support. I appreciate that.

It's nice weather here in BrisVegas. The sun is shining and after the housework is done I'll get out in it. Have a good weekend everyone.

Gee it is like a busy highway in here at the moment!

Chrissie - love the name. I work with an Amber and she is lovely. My niece is called Emily Rose! On the growth scan thing, I think they can be fairly innaccurate. A girl from my mothers group had to go every week with her second bub as they were worried she wasn't growing / big enough. They estimated somewhere around 5 pounds and wanted to deliver early, but mum persisted and gave birth to a healthy 8 pounder?? Go figure.... Good on you with your confidence to BF, you go girl!!

Brunette, have to talked to any other mums of twins who BF / expressed etc?? They might be able to help. Someone wrote that when your milk comes in, you have enough for 3. I think I had enough for about 10! Seriously I looked like a pumped up Dolly Parton. This time I am actually going to take a photo! You will know what I mean when it happens. I worked with a mum who had triplets (and naturally can you believe). She was a supermum and BF all three exclusively until they started solids (like I said supermum). From the start she would express, then attach two (one on each boob) while she bottle fed the third at the same time. You should have seen it, it was quite amazing! She kept this up so I guess it is do-able. Although I do remember her saying that she had to eat alot and keep up her fluids and not get too busy (ha ha) or her milk supply would drop... You will work it out when the time comes but I think you are doing a great job of being prepared and getting some info. Expressing so DH can do the night feed sounds really good to me!....
I had to giggle at you talking about names, reminds me of my first preg. We had lists and more lists and it was such a huge draining task. And we ended up going back to one that we liked the whole time, but for some reason I felt like I had to read the whole book just in case I had missed the perfect name! This time no lists, we have just gone with what feels right. Maybe have a list and wait till you meet your bubbas - their faces might just put a name into your head, they have a way of doing that sometimes.

Airline - I was just trying to PM you as you hadn't posted in a while, wanted to make sure everything was ok. All good with me. Good luck for the scan, are you going to find out what you are having?? Glad your morning sickness is going

Grub - we are suckers for punishment wanting more kids aren't we?? I always wanted 4, but also wanted to be done by the time I was 35. DH is keen to get the snip after this one but the closer I get to meeting this bub the more I am thinking I still would like another. Time will tell I guess. Hope you get a good rest when DH comes home. Mine is away this weekend (Fri - Mon) and next weekend too. Hope you start feeling better soon.

AFM - Still going on renos. Me and kids all have head cold and cough and DH away for weekend so not much sleep last few nights. Managed to get kitchen and dining room undercoated today. Mum is helping she is a darling, but she is going to visit sister tomorrow so will be single parenting / renovating. Had a slight panic attack the other day that my sister is due before me and what if she has a boy and steals our name??? Trouble is I can't tell her as she knows I know the sex but doesn't want to know herself what I am having... She said her DH would probably want to know so I will try and tell him and tell him the name and then they can't steal it accidentally???? Any suggestions. I am only worried as it is a family name and the other day she mentioned that she liked that name. Ahhh!

Have a great weekend everyone...

oh maggie pie what a dilemna! regarding your family name and the threat of thievery! lol. sounds like hitting up your BIL would be good as he has veto power and your sis might not agree to not use it ie first in first serve??? i reckon you can manipulate BIL easier that SIS lol.

brunette - that sounds like a plan. we used a lactation consultnant for a little while and she looked like an old mary poppins lol but was so wonderful :) Have you thought about complaining to the aba about that chick so she doesn't do that to anyone else?

Just regarding your question... initally we REALLY wanted a girl and i know DH is still the same but I seriously would be so happy with either. I love little boys so much, they are too cute for words (i'm pretty sure girls are too tho lol). And i have all the stuff for a boy so it would be cheaper hahaha.

Maggie - i had always said 4 too! but we've only got one frostie left and if this pregnancy turns out as i hoped then we won't go for another cycle. I would settle for 2 but i reckon i can talk DH into using that frostie. I didn't realise til the FET this time how i think of those little frosties as babies... they are already in my family iykwim.

dh home safe... just taken bub-bub for a walk :) and he's taking him out to a play centre today ... i think it's more for daddy to play than ashton lol.

ox

girls I'm so sorry that this is another really short post, but life's still pretty crazy. my brain is not programmed to cope with all the things i'm juggling in it at the moment. the one thing that's just swimming along nicely is my pregnancy now which is the most important, but our sick friend's still in hospital and we are his only family, we still have guests, we have soil/turf that DH and friends are laying today, a basic barbie to thank all the helpers, a dog desperate for long walk, a trip to the hospital, a quick grocery shop and dinner at friends tonight. I used to have days like this all the time...but i am just too knackered now!!! ;-)

when our visitors leave I will dedicate an hour to replying to some persies. I am still trying to keep up with all your stories though.
Thank you maggiepie for thinking of me cos i was MIA...it's little things like that that make me smile, and love this site.

even if we have differing opinions (and lets face it we're human beings), we are all here for one reason and we all get sooooo much from this site. I salute us all ;-) :-) yeh for us and yeh for the site management xxxx