12-24 weeks pregnant (part2)

claire16c

MSA - that is exactly what has happened to me.

I felt first small twitchy type movements at 17 weeks then progressed to more thumps movements/kicking. I saw my stomach moving about today!

But of course now because I feel it several times over the day, if I go for more than about 2 hours with no movement I'll sit there with my hands on my tummy waiting, I can't go to sleep until I've felt a kick.

I know they say start counting kicks/tracking movement at 28 weeks but I think once it starts you can't help it, plus when I was at the hospital they asked me was I having normal movement for me, clearly if I didn't feel anything now I'd be in a right panic.

I am just desperate to get through these next few weeks.

con1888

Has anyone found any woolen type maternity tights ? Can only find the denier ones and they aren't as warm.

Received a dress today from Ebay, from Mothercare range, simple black dress but it's lovely and looks great on Going into the city at the weekend for the Christmas market and some Christmas shopping and plan on wearing it with some thick tights and some new boots, which I have yet to buy too !!

I've had a good day today for a change.. long may it last!

samtoby

Had a nasty day I have a bug!

I really want to breast feed I am worried I won't be able to though x

sophiasmum

Ive breast fed both my children and honestly cannot fault it for convenience! I was able to combine feed from 4 months with dd1 but be warned (those hoping to mix feed bottle/breast) my dd2 refused a bottle until I went cold turkey with her at just over 6 months....she had happily taken expressed bottles from about 3 weeks and then flatly refused despite me trying different bottles etc. I really hope to breast feed again
As for me im suffering quite badly with eczema flare up, its def got worse with pregnancy and im feeling guilty about using steroid cream but its the only thing that helps.
Sorry to everyone else who is feeling rotten x x bexx im def not blooming!
Had my next scan date through - 8th jan.
.

con1888

I'm unsure about breastfeeding, I will try it because it seems that if you don't try it then it's very frowned upon but tbh I'm not that keen on it... I don't mind others doing it but personally I would feel awkward doing it in front of people ( I know it's the most natural thing etc ) I'm not going to rush out and buy a pump or anything but if I get on okay with it then I will get OH to go out and get me one though as think I would prefer to express for when out and about.

I'm also away a whole weekend when baby will only be 2 months old... can you express 4 days worth.. does it keep fresh etc?

LannieDuck

con1888 wrote: »

I'm unsure about breastfeeding, I will try it because it seems that if you don't try it then it's very frowned upon but tbh I'm not that keen on it... I don't mind others doing it but personally I would feel awkward doing it in front of people ( I know it's the most natural thing etc ) I'm not going to rush out and buy a pump or anything but if I get on okay with it then I will get OH to go out and get me one though as think I would prefer to express for when out and about.

I'm also away a whole weekend when baby will only be 2 months old... can you express 4 days worth.. does it keep fresh etc?

I don't think it's helpful to make Mums feel that they have to bf if they don't want to/can't. It's your choice, and you need to be relaxed about it because otherwise baby will pick up on the stress and wont be happy.

But it's possible to do discretely. A friend of mine had a bfing apron that she used to wear like a cape after baby was latched on (my DD never liked them so I couldn't use one). I used to use baggy tunic tops - when sitting down with DD resting on my knees, the tunic top came down over my chest and partly covered my breast (DD covered the rest). If you want to be discrete, it's quite easy to do. I also know Mums who only used expressed milk when they were out.

Incidentally, I never once got nasty comments about bfing whilst out and about. I fed DD in cafes, restaurants and museums. I imagine most people didn't even realise what I was doing

Yes, you can express 4 days worth, and you can store the milk in the freezer. But it may take time to build up that much of an extra milk supply. The quantity of milk responds to demand, so if baby is very hungry and suckles more, you'll start to make more milk. If you're using the expressing pump a lot, that has the same effect. I think at 2 months, you'd be able to express a bit extra each day for a week or two and have enough to last 4 days for your holiday.

con1888

LannieDuck wrote: »

I don't think it's helpful to make Mums feel that they have to bf if they don't want to/can't. It's your choice, and you need to be relaxed about it because otherwise baby will pick up on the stress and wont be happy.

But it's possible to do discretely. A friend of mine had a bfing apron that she used to wear like a cape after baby was latched on (my DD never liked them so I couldn't use one). I used to use baggy tunic tops - when sitting down with DD resting on my knees, the tunic top came down over my chest and partly covered my breast (DD covered the rest). If you want to be discrete, it's quite easy to do. I also know Mums who only used expressed milk when they were out.

Incidentally, I never once got nasty comments about bfing whilst out and about. I fed DD in cafes, restaurants and museums. I imagine most people didn't even realise what I was doing

Yes, you can express 4 days worth, and you can store the milk in the freezer. But it may take time to build up that much of an extra milk supply. The quantity of milk responds to demand, so if baby is very hungry and suckles more, you'll start to make more milk. If you're using the expressing pump a lot, that has the same effect. I think at 2 months, you'd be able to express a bit extra each day for a week or two and have enough to last 4 days for your holiday.

Thanks for that advice, I think the reason I'm so unsure is that no one I know has done it ! I know three people who did try but didn't get on very well with it at all. I wasn't bf and nor was my OH so our mums don't have any experiences either. I think it is 'around' a lot more in public now and doesn't shock anyone ( not that it should!) so perhaps I will feel comfortable enough if I decide it's for me.

I will definately try it though, I have told my MW I am willing to try but do not want to feel pressured and will crack up if it doesn't work and they try make me. Two of the three I know had really push midwifes... one of the girls had to beg for a bottle as her baby was screaming with hunger for 3 hours... it took her OH basically demanding a bottle NOW before they got her one... the other persons baby was pretty sick when he was born and she felt that they were saying if she bf's he will have a quicker/better recovery etc... then the consultant actually stepped in and said she should stop as his problem was to do with sugar levels and she wasn't getting much milk out which could effect his levels...

Obviously for every bad experience there are likely much more good ones but people tend to focus on the bad in life unfortunately

Fingers crossed I will be able to give out my own good experiences in the future but who knows..

neverdespairgirl

con1888 wrote: »

I'm unsure about breastfeeding, I will try it because it seems that if you don't try it then it's very frowned upon but tbh I'm not that keen on it... I don't mind others doing it but personally I would feel awkward doing it in front of people ( I know it's the most natural thing etc ) I'm not going to rush out and buy a pump or anything but if I get on okay with it then I will get OH to go out and get me one though as think I would prefer to express for when out and about.

I'm also away a whole weekend when baby will only be 2 months old... can you express 4 days worth.. does it keep fresh etc?

In response to the person who said is there anything good about it - yes. You can get sore nipples, and it can be a bit frustrating when the baby's going through a growth spurt and wants to feed all the time, but there are also loads of fantastic moments, such as when the baby puts one starfish-fat-hand on your breast, or grins at you while feeding, or just holding him and watching him feed.

It also gets you sitting down and resting a bit - which can be a great feeling, if you're knackered!

And there's a wonderful feeling of the baby growing, developing, and knowing that it all came from your body, that you are nuturing and feeding him.

I'm not one of the mothers who ever wants to judge people for breastfeeding or not, or working or not, or potty training at a particular age, or any of the rest of it. We are all individuals, as are our babies, husbands, parents, friends, all in our own set of unique circumstances.

But for me, it was something I was pleased and privileged to feel I could and had done. I breastfed / expressed exclusively for Isaac until he was 6 months old, and then breastfed and expressed with food introduced for another 6 months. From 12 months, I stopped expressing and fed him morning and night only, and stopped altogether when he was about 2 years old. I know that being a toddler-feeding weirdo isn't for everyone, but it was right for us.

I did read about the natural weaning age being 5-7 years old, but didn't fancy carrying on that long!

Expressed milk keeps for up to 8 days in the fridge, and longer if you freeze it. Have a look at the La Leche League website I posted earlier for more information about that.

In terms of feeding in front of people, and so forth, I'm lucky in that my mother fed all 4 of us until we were well over a year, so all my family see BF as entirely normal, and ignore it apart from helpful stuff like chucking over a cushion and getting you a glass of water.

LannieDuck

con1888 wrote: »

one of the girls had to beg for a bottle as her baby was screaming with hunger for 3 hours... it took her OH basically demanding a bottle NOW before they got her one...

It may be useful to take a newborn bottle and a little carton of pre-prepared milk with you in your hospital bag (you can buy these from the supermarket and they keep for ages; don't need refrigerating), just in case.

With my DD, my milk took 3 days to come in, and DD lost a lot of weight in the interim. The nurses were asked to do top-up feeds to help but we had to provide the milk because they "don't keep any at the hospital". They actually did - a nice midwife provided some to start us off because OH needed time to go buy some, but she said "don't let matron see it"!

There's definitely a pro-bfing agenda in the NHS atm. Not a bad thing in itself if it encourages people to at least give it a go, but I agree that you don't want to feel pressured if you're having trouble. So having some supplies in your bag as a back-up might make you feel a bit less stressed.

Edit: To add, for interest, that when DD ended up in SCBU for a couple of days (special care due to dehydration), milk appeared from everywhere! They mix feed in special care because babies can be in for a long time and I don't think any of the mums were managing to exclusively breast-feed, although many were expressing / mixed feeding. So some parts of the NHS aren't so militant about bfing.

chelseablue

Morning ladies

Nothing much to report from me at the moment

But I told my Nan our news at the weekend and she asked me if we were going to get married :rotfl::o