Having a baby Old Style???

xxvickixx

I got my RLT bags from H&B and also took the tablets too, the advice is not to start taking until 37 weeks just incase they trigger premature labour, however I ate and drank mine religiously and my ds was still (at least) 2 weeks late!!!
As for the home birth, I hope it goes well, I attempted it and managed to labour for 9 hours at home with the midwife, then another (shift change) but it wasn't to be so transfered to the hospital, however if you are booked in for a homebirth your community midwife team still look after you even if you transfer to hospital (or in my area this is the case anyway). So I had my own midwife in hospital who stayed with me the whole time. The other women had only one midwife between 3/4. Worth knowing!!!

Sarahsaver

you do not 'need' a breastpump straightaway its best to wait, and in any case its more efficient to have the baby at your breast than a pump. If you have time to pump you have time to BF if you see what i mean
returning to work is different, but you are best to get advice from a breastfeeding counsellor who may have pumps you can try out;)

xxvickixx

You should wait until your milk supply is established until you start to express, but it's handy to have a pump ready as you might not be up for shopping around for a good pump at a good price at 4-6 weeks after giving birth, especially if you are breastfeeding as you will only have a short window to go on your own, or will have a tiny baby to take to the shops!
There is a lot to be said for expressing regardless of whether you plan on spending time apart from your baby, there may be an emergency which means you have to be separated in which case a good supply of breastmilk in the freezer is never a bad thing.

weezl74

Hi there sarah saver and vicky,

Is it impossible to go straight to expressing then? It's a long story, but I almost definately won't be able to BF but may be able to express, I hadn't read that you need to have established your supply first. I'd be grateful for any ideas or links I could look at....

Love Weezl x

Sarahsaver

pm'd ya;)
look for a US group called pumping moms (i think) they are great!

xxvickixx

I had to go to expressing after 3 days as I was seriously ill and was on medication so couldn't breastfeed, I expressed so that I could breastfeed when I came off the medication 2 months later. It took a lot of expressing to simulate breastfeeding but it hasn't messed up my supply long term as we are now still breastfeeding at 13 months!
Without knowing your resons for not being able to breastfeed I can't advise you on what to do but I second what Sarah has said about getting some expert information, but I am happy to help if you have any mum to mum type questions, and I have done a fair bit of expressing so I will help if I can. x

picklepick

hi girls

not sure if this has been mentioned before but thought id say...

buying second hand is brilliant. you can get nearly new for a fraction of the original cost. but....

please please please do not buy your babys car seat second hand. you will never know if it has already been in an accident and if it has some safety features may not be working correctly. a slight crack will mean the seat is more likely to fracture in an accident.

if you buy a pushchair/pram second hand that comes with a detachable car seat, please still think about buying a brand new one. safety comes before money saving!

the same goes for mattresses. by all means purchase a second hand cot but try to buy a new mattress.

lecture over haha

good luck with your new additions!

oh and not sure if this has been mentioned either but netmums has a second hand section on your local boards

blueberrypie

weezl74 wrote: »

Hi there sarah saver and vicky,

Is it impossible to go straight to expressing then? It's a long story, but I almost definately won't be able to BF but may be able to express, I hadn't read that you need to have established your supply first. I'd be grateful for any ideas or links I could look at....

Love Weezl x

It can be done, Weezl, but it will be hard work. I'd really recommend you talk to a qualified breastfeeding support person - they will be able to support you with expressing, with getting your supply going, and with breastfeeding directly if you're able to do so at all. There's a Yahoo group with bf supporters from various support organisations at http://groups.yahoo.com/breastfeedingukandireland and all the phone numbers for the orgs are on the front page of that group too.

(Re homebirth - I'd choose it every time! I'd four of my six at home - first was a hospital birth because I had no sense in those days ;-) - and my last was a transfer which ended in a c-section :-( - necessary, but still horrid. There's a homebirthuk email list on Yahoo as well, with loads of fantastic info and support.)

weezl74

Hi there.

I'm not the world's most practical person, being more of an ideas type.

I'm due to have a baby in 4 weeks. We have some equipment from freecycle and friends. But I'm a bit stuck. You see, I think that a lot of my friends in real life have different ideas of what's essential and what's just desirable or even a luxury, to those of us here on OS.;)

One example, a friend and I were chatting about what I'd need and she said a change table and change mat, and I told her about how in Martin's thrifty ways book it says to just put a towel down on the floor.:money: I think she was rather shocked!:o

What I'd love is if any practical old-stylers would help me out with 2 lists:

What do I need for my hospital bag, and how many of them? ie nappies: 1, 5, 20....?

What do I need in the house for his first month of life.

Any other prep I should do?

Thanks so much for any thoughts.:D

Penny and Pink, I had a trawl, but couldn't easily see a thread to add this to, but this might be the imsomnia! Please feel free to add me later if you get a chance, thanks- and sorry if there was an obvious one!:T:T:T

Love Weezl x

beemuzed

Hi Weezl - I've been wondering when your infant was due! As a granny I'm a bit out of touch with hospital requirements etc - but I do know we managed to bring our two up over 30 years ago without lots of things thought to be essential today! I did have a changing mat of sorts - the only advantage over a towel being that it could easily and quickly be wiped down whereas you'd need to wash the towel more frequently perhaps? Or maybe it's just boys who "perform" the instant you remove the nappy for changing?
Anyhow, I'm sure someone with rather more recent experience than me will be around very shortly. Take care of yourself - and I hope the next month doesn't seem endless!