MSE Pregnancy Club XV

tracyg

Has anyone used breast pumps before? I know there is the manual TT one in the Asda event which is a good price and tempting, but other people swear by the electric Medula one (think it was Mrs T) which is more expensive but she felt it was worth the extra. Any recommendations?

I used the manual TT one last time and have got in out again for this baby. I had real problems with my nips last time but really wanted to BF so I did a mix of BF for one feed and then express bottle fed the next for about the first two weeks. After then things got a bit easier and I managed to mainly BF for the next 4 weeks. Then DS took really poorly and we were in hospital for a week and I ended up caving and giving him some FF in hospital as I was so stressed and was really struggling to feed, by about 8 weeks he was FF totally. I felt so gulity about FF but had PND at the time after everything had happened so BF was just another thing I couldn't really deal with, that said as soon as DS was on FF he slept through the night.

So after that rambling lol to answer your question I found the TT one, it took me about 15 mins in total to express a full feed. IMHO a breast pump was really useful as it helped DH get involved more and I'd have given up due to the state of my nipples, it was easier on them to express rather then fed. I would like to BF this time but want DH to be able to give baby a bottle but how much time I'll have to be able to feed and express with a toddler is something we'll just have to play by ear.

I get really annoyed about how pushy some people - MW, HV, etc - can be about BF, some babies end up being poorly as the mothers feel so gulity about giving FF. I really think its a very personal issue and a decision that you, at the time your trying to do it, can make.

Glamazon

nancmat wrote: »

Oh re birth plan, is anyone sayng what they want done re umbilical cord, im thinking about having it clamped once its stopped pulsating, read in my hypno book this is reccommened if you want that approach to the birth, I was also going to say I want immediate skin contact with either me or hubby, so much to think about but i want to be pretty open on things as you never know whats going to happen x

No idea re umbilical cord - although our hospital 'active manage the 3rd stage of labour'. So you get the injection to deliver the placenta unless you specifically say you don't want it. Think I'll have the injection as the last thing I want is to be faffing about waiting for placenta to come out.

Skin to skin - Again our hospital deliver straight onto mum's chest unless you specify you don't want this to happen. OH knows that if anything happens to me he MUST do it regardless of how 'icky' baby is!

My birth plan will say

I will be using my TENS machine at first along with Paracetamol/Co-codamol

I want to move about as much as possible throughout labour

I will use gas and air if I need it (that should be when I need it!)

If I am not coping after this I will have the Meptid injection

I am allergic to Morphine so there is no way I am going to risk having the Diamorphine (ours gives Diamorphine instead of Pethidine)

I don't want an epidural unless I am really not coping - OH knows whether I'm not coping or just being a wimp

I am aware that in my case there is a 50% chance I may require a caesarean section HOWEVER, I only want this to happen IF myself or the baby are at risk and not just as a matter of course.

karen1907

I don't have any specific things in mind for birth - I suppose it is just worth knowing the pros and cons of each type of pain relief. In the NHS book there are some questions - one of which is do you need someone there who speaks your first language - Umm yes please!! :P
Another question was do you want the baby cleaned before it is passed to you - I was thinking yes it would be nice, but maybe having just had my baby I'll just want to hold it close and won't care (not sure tho as I have never had one before) I'll just play it by ear......

Fitzio

Thanks CB and tracy for your input. I really appreciate hearing all of the opinions on expressing and recommendations on what worked for everyone.

If the TT manual one is only £5 in the Asda event (had forgotten it was that cheap Glam!) then I will probably buy one if I can get hold of it as that's not much money. If I find it a hassle but want to continue expressing, then I can always buy an electric one at the time.

Thanks guys!

tracyg

Re - birth plan mine going to be 'please do what it best for mother and baby'. LAst time I had no real expections of the birth so was really pleased with how things went. Think if you say you want this, this and this and then it doesn't happen you end up so disappointed. I would LIKE a home birth, be as active as possible and upright for pushing, gas and air and tenes for pain relief, as little internals as possible (only one last time and one MW look up there to see if I was ready to push), immediate skin to skin and natural third stage.

I wanted a natural third stage last time but was so whacked by then I just wanted it all over with. My hospital wouldn't let the cord stop pulsating and then cut and jab, it was the jab and it all out or natural so I went with the jab. This time I'm going to try and push more for that as I don't see why they won't agree to it, prehaps might be easy if I do have a HB.

Something we did want last time and was lovely was for us to find out the sex without them telling us. DH was behind me and baby delivered onto floor so he couldn't see and I will never forget looking and shouting 'its a boy' to him, it was a lovely moment.

Nicki

Your birth plan sounds sensible Glam.

The trouble with a birth plan which says "No epidural, no matter how much I beg" particularly if you are a first time mum is that you don't know how you will cope in labour and you might really really need that epidural and find it hard to get because of your birth plan! Afterwards, you will either feel glad that you managed without or very traumatised by a long and painful birth without adequate relief, when your requests for help were ignored. This is particularly so if your baby gets a bit stuck and you need a forceps or ventouse delivery to get them out. These are very painful even with an epidural (speaking from personal experience!) and I can't even begin to contemplate how they would feel without any pain relief at all _pale_

I'm all for expressing preferences in a birth plan but leaving a degree of flexibility so that you can change your mind if you need to as the birth progresses. Maybe for those who think they really don't want pain relief but fear they may weaken at the time, you could do the S and M thing (so I believe anyway ) where you have a code word which means that once the code word is uttered, pain relief will be given, but any other begging or pleading will be ignored. Just don't be like the woolly mammoths in the latest Ice Age movie and forget what that code word is :rotfl:

Fitzio

The cleaning of baby is something I haven't given much thought to. I thought I would prefer a quick clean before being handed the baby (give me a few seconds to breathe and settle too!) but I think they said they normally just give its face a rub and clear any mucus from it's nose etc, and I am probably happy with that.

They also said that when they put it on your chest, after a minute they will start to "rough the baby up a bit to get a reaction" whilst you are holding it. It doesn't sound very nice, but I think they just meant give it a rub with a towel to get reactions so they can do the APGAR score (not beat it black and blue, roughing it up!!!).

BeenieCat

Fitzio wrote: »

The cleaning of baby is something I haven't given much thought to. I thought I would prefer a quick clean before being handed the baby (give me a few seconds to breathe and settle too!) but I think they said they normally just give its face a rub and clear any mucus from it's nose etc, and I am probably happy with that.

With DS my birth plan was basically, "do whatever needs to be done, i'll use gas and air".

I didn't specify whether i wanted him cleaned first, but they took him and weighed him as soon as the cord was cut, and cleaned him up. I can't remember if they dressed him but i don't think so. I was happy last time so i'll say to do the same again. I was a bit worried that he wasn't crying, so i had to ask if he was ok but he turned out to be a non-cryer anyway.

Fitzio

I was just going to say Nikki, I would definitely forget any code word!!! ha ha.

When DH and I were learning scuba diving, he would give me the universal sign, "are you ok?" which is making a circle with your finger and thumb. I was meant to give him that back to say "I am ok", but kept giving him a thumps up which looked like "I am in trouble and need to go to the surface!".
No matter how many times he pulled me up about it, I kept doing it and panicking him. I was just concentrating on my breathing etc so much that it kept going out of my mind!!

I am happy to go with the flow and state some loose preferences. I do think that you can set yourself up for a fall if you have too many expectations about what birth and being a mother will be like. It's my first time and I don't have a clue but will learn like everyone else. x

Glamazon

Fitzio wrote: »

Thanks CB and tracy for your input. I really appreciate hearing all of the opinions on expressing and recommendations on what worked for everyone.

If the TT manual one is only £5 in the Asda event (had forgotten it was that cheap Glam!) then I will probably buy one if I can get hold of it as that's not much money. If I find it a hassle but want to continue expressing, then I can always buy an electric one at the time.

Thanks guys!

It was £15 in Baby Event - I only got it for a fiver cos it was still there at the end of the event and they wanted to clear the stock.

Thanks Nicki - a code word seems a good idea but I will either forget it or blurt it out straightaway :rotfl:

I am keeping an open mind for labour - as long as me and baby are both fine after the birth then I will feel like I have accomplished a lot whether it's with no pain relief, having everything going or having a section.