We seem to have a nice mix of boys and girls, first time and experience mums in this thread
Zac was born 30 June at 12.56 pm (one day before due date). Weight 3.81 kg, 51.5 cm long and HC 36cm. Labour was induced and wasn't pleasant, and he was eventually born by 'emergency' c section, for which I was extremely grateful! (not an emergency in the sense that the world was going to end otherwise, although that was starting to look like a good alternative to me )
we're still experiencing BF problems - hospital comped him from birth due to my gestational diabetes, and in our ignorance we relied on the comping and thought my milk wasn't coming in (why didn't anyone tell me that the demand needed to be there for the supply to come??) End result is we are BF plus comping and it is doing my head in. Have been working with an LC and have a strategy to build up my supply, so fingers crossed
And now I will sound like a complete idiot, but I would love to hear from others just what it's like to come home with a new baby and only rely on BF - what's normal? I've gotten so used to filling him up on formula that I panic as soon as he cries or if he doesn't go straight to sleep. The LC thinks that he is probably getting too much formula as he stacked on the weight once we left hospital, and I am worried that I am creating a sumo baby!
It's a bit sad, but I kinda want somebody to come and stay with me and tell me what to do, what's normal, what I need to worry about etc... so grateful for these forums as I don't know many people with children and I'm not especially close to my family (geographically and emotionally).
Enough of the 'poor me' - you can tell it's the end of the day and my sleep tank is almost empty can't you?!
lovelycate - I'm a second time mum and I want someone to come live with us for a while and tell me what to do, what is normal etc...
Don't feel alone and certainly don't feel stupid!
I can't BF so I can't help but just wanted to let you know we had our own feeding problems to deal with even on formula. We discovered after a few days home that she couldn't tolerate cows milk formula (don't even ask! She should have been put on soy formula from day one but the hospital was completely uninterested in helping us once they heard I wasn't BFing..) so after changing to a soy formula we then discovered other feeding issues that the projectile vomitting, reflux and dry reaching were hiding. It turned out she wasn't attaching to the teats on the bottles properly so we had to go buy one each of different kind of bottle till we found one she could take. Turns out she has to have the Mam Ultivent as it has a wide flat teat.
She is now feeding well and just have to work on the sleeping side of things...
It never ends..
So I am not going to apologise for the whinge - we are all sleep deprived and understanding new mums - right? RIGHT!
Anyway - looking forward to getting to know you all better and being there to support one another...
Sleep, feeding, settling and happy vibes to all.
Oh yeah - lovelycate - I meant to ask, if you don't mind, why you needed the c-section?
I was induced also but for extended spurious labour supposedly. What it means is I was in labour with 5 min contractions for a week and a half but failed to dilate...
I was in labour for 6 and a 1/2 hrs with 10mins of pushing included.
Hang in there lovelycate, comping is hard work. I did it with DD1 but no one told me I needed to demand feed to get my supply up. We crashed and went full formula at 4 weeks as I didn't ask for help or ask enough questions. Great to hear that you have a LC that should make a huge difference.
Bec - that is unfair about the hospital and you not BFing - but glad to hear that you have found a bottle and formula that is suiting DD. And yes we are all totally sleep deprived and allowed to winge, complain and gripe in general!
As for us, Grace has been BF since birth, and since the tonge tie was fixed feeding has been better. I'm also getting feeds down from 1.5 hrs to about 40-45 mins total, which means I get more sleep! She doesn't settle well at night, only if she is in bed with mum and dad, but does during the day in her bouncer - go figure!
We had our midwife come and check us today, Grace is nearly back to birth weight - up 220gms in 6 days - yay for the BFing! She has also grown 2.5 cm and her general health is really good. It is such a relief as like lovelycate was saying - how do we know we are getting it right????
I'm also coming to terms with caning my VBAC and asking for a c-section after going into labour naturally, but I'll put it all in my birth story soon.
Hope everyone is getting some sleep and enjoying their new bundles!
ryatha - thats the sleeping issues we face too... Teaghan will sleep in bed with us at night really well but won't sleep in her bassinette. However she will sleep in her rocker through the day really well!
we wwelcomed our little girl Hayley Anne at 7.47am (our little aeroplane!) on 12/07/09 after a 15 hour labour and 3 hours of pushing...needed the vacuum to help her out and they had to do an epi so have lots of stitches which are most uncomfortable. had no pain relief during labour except some panadeine forte and a shot of morphine once contractions started hurting a lot, but they had no effect anyway. she was 51cm, 35cm head circ & 7.67 pounds or 3.48 kg. decent size seeing as i'm only tiny! have no idea how she ever fit in...but she was a week overdue- guess she needed just a little longer to bake.
she is absolutely gorgeous and has a head full of dark hair. i just keep looking at her, finding it hard to comprehend that we made this beautiful little baby.
we arrived home yesterday afternoon on the hospitals extended care program...both DF and i were getting sick of dealing with the midwives, most of them were lovely, but i needed someone to sit with me and help establish b'feeding, and we just felt we weren't receiving much support. she is on a mix of formula and breastmilk as we have been having difficulties getting her to attach and suck. my milk has just started to come in (bb's very sore and uncomfortable tonight!) so hopefully things should start improving.
MIL went home today, i so wish she could have stayed longer, i am a bit freaked out about doing the right things and just need some reassurance from someone who has been there before!
To be honest, it's all a bit of a blur, but basically I got to 8cm dilated and didn't progress. After another 5 hours there was still a bit of a 'lip' and baby was still facing the wrong way, which I guess explains the amount of pain I had too...?
I think I've just made it through today's second cluster feed - we seem to alternate between afternoons or evenings, but today we had both so I might hit the sack...
cate - I'm sorry your induction ended that way but at least you have your gorgeous baby, all healthy and with you!
I hope you get some rest...
Storm - I am sure you will be fine! We are all here if you want to ask anything...
I tore as well after my epi and ended up nearly stitched from hole to hole - so I know uncomfortable!! Have you tried a hip bath? Where you fill the bath with enough water to soak your vagina and add some salt - I find that helps heaps! If it gets really bad, try spritzing water onto a pad and freezing it - it's not hard like a normal icepack and certainly not as cold - just nice to alleviate some of the discomfort...
I'd like to make a list of all our babies and when they were born and their size...
Could you all post at some point, please - name, dob and size?
Thanks!
jessica - glad to hear you're happier. i think it helps once you've made a decision one way or another & all the indecision etc is over. i hope the engorgement passes quickly.
cate - i totally hear you on wanting someone to tell you what's right etc. i don't think anything could have prepared me for the reality & i certainly had no idea just how overwhelmed i would feel at first & how crazily emotional i'd be!! i'm feeling like things have settled down a bit now (including the hormones!) & not feeling so out of my depth.
jng1977 - sorry to hear about the traumatic birth, but glad you have your little man & he's gaining weight
bec - you were at monash too? i had a friend who had a similar experience when it came to BF there.
ryatha - good to hear someone else has a little one who wants to be in bed with mum & dad as well! DP's brother gave us a little bed thingy that goes in your bed & so we've used that for the last two nights & he seems to sleep well in it. i have a fear of him wanting to sleep with us forever & not being able to get him into his cot or even the cradle but then i remind myself that he's only tiny! and he loves him pram to sleep in during the day & even some of the evening. just don't try the cradle at 'bedtime'
Inertia - hope the pain passes soon
we had our first MCHN appt on tuesday & corey had put on a little over 200g so i guess that answers any questions i had about whether he was getting enough milk. he's also grown a couple of cms.
sloane - yep, was at Monash. I can't fault the midwives on the labour ward that I had - 4 in total after a shift change, as they were perfect... But the aftercare I recieved on the maternity ward was however terrible! I was very happy to come home 24hrs after birth - least then I got some pain relief!!
Well, Teaghan slept for 5 and a 1/2hrs last night in her bassinette! Woot! She only came in our bed after her 6am feed... She is now taking between 70 and 75mls in her bottle and settling much better. So glad I got the new bottles!
bec - i loved the midwives in the labour ward as well, i thought they were great! i got a bit lucky with the maternity ward because i ended up in a room by myself & the midwives i had were nice. i still left after about 36 hours just because i felt like i wiuld be so much happier at home.
Sloane - I was pretty much forgotten about. I had a second degree tear and received no pain relief, my stitches weren't checked and Teaghan didn't receive her extra obs she was supposed to get after discovering meconium in my waters when they were first broken when I was induced...
However the midwives from the labour ward that missed the birth because of the shift change, came the next day to meet Teaghan and see how we were doing! That made up for all the crap we were put through...
that's bad. i had an episiotomy (sp?!) & i was given ice & finally a panadol. they offered voltaren & i said yes after a bit & then i didn't get one till just before i was discharged - think i asked on 3 different shifts & they always said they'd get back to me - i'd forgotten about that till you mentioned about pain relief!
totally agree - there was one midwife who did my monitoring a few times in the weeks before & saw me in the hall when i came in for the induction gel. when she saw my labour details the next evening she came over to the mat ward to find me & say congrats - she was awesome!
I had an episiotomy too. Which I then tore almost to my anus because Teaghan's heart rate dropped 5mins into pushing and never came back up so we had to get her out asap. An extra midwife and dr was called but by the time they got in the room, her head was nearly completely out. They were surprised I only pushed for 10mins and didn't need the forceps or ventouse - I was determined to get her out myself!
I tore and they did not even offer me any pain medicine or anything afterwards for my stitches. All I got was a water bottle for cleaning. By the next day I had to ask for some witch hazel pads and some ibuprofen!
)
so grateful for these forums as I don't know many people with children and I'm not especially close to my family (geographically and emotionally).
She has also grown 2.5 cm and her general health is really good. It is such a relief as like lovelycate was saying - how do we know we are getting it right????
so I might hit the sack...
Name ~ "Baby's Name" ~ DOB ~ Size 
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