mommies to be DECEMBER 2010

I think the sacral odema might have something to do with an old injury, about 2 years old now.

I was thrown from a horse and landed on rocks on my back. I waited for about a week or 2 before I went to the doc for xrays and I fractured 2 vertebra. So I was on bed rest for a while and the pain does come and go depending on what I do. The injury was my L4 and L5 which is the lower back.

I think that with all my back pain, and with doing the housework today that it maybe started swelling to protect me??

I don't have a GP or anything so don't know who I could speak to about this...

So ladies, I have been having pretty bad back pain. Today I washed the floors and did some housework. I just took a bath and came into the lounge to where our full length mirror is to see how much bigger I am (I was in the buff). Hubby has noticed a huge swelling at the base of my back. I touched it and its about the size of an orange. Any ideas??

Why thank you Miksmommy!

Yes the midwife suggested that we visit their website. She says that they are brilliant!

Breast is best!

wow champers... that was very interesting... I am busy reading the Le Leche League "the womanly art of breast feeding" again and I recommend that for anyone who is serious about BF... I must say Champers summed it up very nicely!! (I love reading your posts) Thank you... I LOVE bf.. and its one of the things i'm really looking forward too!

Morning ladies!

What an interesting class last night was!

From being taught exactly how the baby must latch on to learning about the importance of breast milk, its fasinating!

Apparently baby must not be fed anything else for the first 6 months.

Common mistake mothers make is changing boobs during feeding. You get a foremilk and hindmilk. Foremilk is watery and quenches the baby's thirst. Hindmilk only is produced when the baby is drinking. Foremilk is like skim milk and the hind is like full cream. The mistake mothers make is that they think their boob is empty when the foremilk is gone and they change boob. What they are doing is giving the baby 2 doses of foremilk so they think they are full but they miss out on the sugar and the rest of the good stuff so end up being hungry sooner. Apparently this is all new findings, only 5 years old. So, feed from the same boob until baby is finished drinking. Next feed, feed from the other boob.

Did you know you can freeze your breastmilk? I didn't!

Another interesting fact is that skin to skin contact between you and your baby, you regulate your baby's temperature. Apparently a women, and only women, skin will drop or rise a degree to cool or heat the baby. Men's skin just increases temperature so if the baby is cold, give the baby to your hubby.

When breastfeeding you must have the baby inline i.e their ear, shoulder and hip must all be at the same level in a neutral position. You must put the nipple to the baby's nose and baby will open wide and latch on correctly. NOT mouth to nipple.

How do you know when a baby is latched on correctly? They have a wide open mouth, their nose is open, chin is against your boob, you can hear them swallowing and you can see their jaw is working.

Signs that baby is hungry:
- Rooting (you touch the side of baby's face and s/he turns their head searching for boob. They apparently will try to grab your finger)
- putting the fist in their mouth
- curling and sticking out their tongue
- Just searching for boob when you hold them

We got told that with engorged breasts we must call because there is a lot that must be done to deal with that.

She says that if we make sure that baby is latched on correctly, breastfeeding is not painful. BUT one feed with the baby incorrectly latched on is enough to give you cracked and painful nipples.

Feeding time: Minimum of 10 min, max of 45 min

Feed at LEAST 6 times a day and expect at least 6 wet nappies a day.

What else.... Sometimes a baby will just be a bit thirsty so will only drink a bit of the foremilk. Just like we might wake up and want a drink of water.

There are also different positions to feed your baby in. There is the cross cradle, cradle, football and side positions.

Wine... You can have a 1 glass a week straight after a feed. Same as chocolate. 1 block after a feed. Everything in moderation. And an interesting fact is that they discovered that breastfeeding babies LOVE the taste of garlic and vanilla. Obviously not together...

Have a great day ladies!!

Oh and the rocker, no it doesn't come with a footstool.

Morning Ladies

I took full length pictures last night (where my face also shows) lol.

I'm feeling ok today. Cannot wait to see baby tomorrow.

Champers- how was class last night?

Good morning ladies...

Nobody seems to be in a working mood here today.

GML, you look fabulous girl!!!! I love that white top by the way. All the best for Saturday....

Champers, unfortunately I can't open your pics. Hope the breasfeeding class went well.

Miksmommy, I've read the hypnobirthing book but haven't listened to the CD yet. The hypnobirthing definitely sounds good in principle, but I don't know to what extent I'm really going to be able to implement it in real life.

You need a birthing partner who has as active a role in the hypnobirthing process as you are, so they would also need to understand how it all works, and my hubby doesn't seem interested in reading the book (well actually, he's not much of a book reader full stop, quite odd for someone quite intellectual). The only other option is my mom, but I have a feeling she wouldn't take the whole hypnobirthing thing very seriously and just dismiss it as mumbo-jumbo. Also, the birthing facilities and gynae or midwife also need to be supportive of it. So I think I'm going to use some of the hypnobirthing relaxation techniques but not neccesarily a pure hypnobirth, maybe a fusion of that and the more traditional stuff. I'm going for antenatal classes from the end of this month so hopefully I'll be able to make a more informed decision then.