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CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!! I got so excited reading your reply it gave me goosebumps! I suspected you were busy giving birth and you certainly did! I am so happy for you. Katie is a beautiful name. At 7 lbs 14 oz (very close to 8 pounds) sounds like Katie is a good, healthy sized baby. So 18 hours of labor?? How did it go--please share as much of your labor and delivery details as you're comfortable sharing, when/if you have time of course. I'm sure you'll be much much more busy now but I'll look forward to your updates whenever you're able to give them. I'm interested in hearing about your transition to motherhood with a newborn, b___stfeeding, etc. I had no idea that b___stmilk took 72 hours after delivery to come. I always a__sumed the milk would be flowing and ready when the baby came---shows you I still have some learning to do. : ) Try to rest as much as you can when you're not too busy loving on and enjoying holding and looking at your baby!!!!

Tryingx3 - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy for you both. Katie - lovely name. My best friend just emailed me and told me he's just had a boy (called Jacob - Jake for short) and so the world has been increased by at least two lovely people in the last week. I'm so thrilled for you and can't wait to hear more news. Hope you can get some rest now and then. Perl - your turn next!!!!!! Speak to you soon.

Thank you guys! It has been awesome!! I can't believe she is a week old now. I will be so sad when I have to go back to work! Hopeful - I know someone who had a baby and named him Jacob (Jake) last week too!

Birth Story - Woke up at 2:45 a.m. went to bathroom, layed back down, felt an odd twinge/pain when I rolled over, started feeling a little crampy...went back to potty about 40 mins later and felt like there was a lot more pee than should be...still didn't turn on light!! I went back to bed having mild cramping - waited until 4:00 a.m. to wake my husband (he had stayed up late the night before - of course!)...went to potty again and water was pink! So...we packed him some stuff, printed our list of potential names and headed to hospital...I had only dilated 1-2 cm and it was definitely amnio fluid...so we were staying...About 7:00 a.m. they put me on pitocin hoping to regulate contractions. By 2:00 p.m. I still had not dilated any further but was having STRONG contractions - taking Stadol by that point (good stuff)... :-)....turns out I had scar tissue from my 2 previous d&c's and it was causing me not to dilate (nurse was able to sc___pe the tissue with her finger and things started happening - OUCH!)...it took 4 attempts (and 2 anesthesists) at an epidural because of my bad scoliosis - boy was that fun! Between the epi and Stadol I didn't have any concept of time until time to push - about 6:00 p.m. - nurse was supposed to go home, but was AWESOME and stayed past her shift - by 7:00 I was pushing and had a hard time pushing effectively - Katie's heartrate was getting high as she was ready to arrive- they had to turn off epi medicine in order for me to feel HOW to push. I pushed until 8:26 p.m. - tore slightly when delivering shoulders (made it through the head!). I had very little discomfort from the tear and don't have any problems now. I HIGHLY recommend a mirror as it helped me SEE what I was doing and helped me push better...when I wasn't squeezing my eyes shut! ha ha

Breastfeeding - BF has gone AWESOME too! I was SOOOO worried about that - more worried about that than delivery - due to modesty, etc. I have found that I am not that modest about that after all - I guess when it comes to your baby you change. I NEVER thought I would BF in front of my MIL but after getting only 2 hours of sleep our first night at home we called in help and I fed her in front of her anyway. Turns out I had a lazy eater and she was not getting what she needed. We went to lactation consultant and she was losing too much weight, so we were taught techniques to keep her awake and stimulated. We had to take her back the next day - the goal was for her to gained 1oz...but we had her up 4oz!!! The lactation consultation said she knew we would be aggressive when we left as I really wanted it to work - but we could back off a little - ha ha! My husband burps her and wakes her up and we had to swap her from b___st to b___st every few minutes in order to keep her actively feeding - it took BOTH of us to feed her each time - he even helped "pump" the milk at each feeding. We did that for about 2 days. She is now ACTIVELY sucking and having all the necessary poops/pees she should have - we weigh again tomorrow. I am no longer needing the "extra hands" except for keeping her from getting sleepy - my dh wakes her and burps her but no longer helping with "expressing". Just make sure you have researched the "latch" - I had a lot of trouble with getting her on left side and was sore some - but nothing unbearable - now we are getting to be pros. I just couldn't maneuver her on that side and she was getting sleepy and sliding to the end. I also make sure I rub colostrum or b___stmilk on nipples EACH time I finish feeding her. My milk came in slowly and had arrived by 72 hours, but I really couldn't tell but by Friday night was in FULL force...I had to shower and use warm compresses to relieve pressure that night. Sorry for the long posts, but knew you guys would be interested and might learn from my experience. I wish we could hear from dear SANN - I hope she is okay.

Tryingx3: thank you for sharing your experiences. It's more meaningful and helpful to hear this information from the point of view of someone who (recently) went through it--much better than reading about it from some book or magazine! Sounds like it was about 14 hours from time you got to hospital to time you delivered your little Katie. But the pushing part was from 7:00 to 8:26--that doesn't sound too long but I"m sure that while you're pushing it must feel like an eternity. It's really good to hear that when you tore even though you say it was only slightly that it didn't bother you too too much. When I've heard about women tearing during delivery, it has always frightened me to hear about it. I never thought that a mirror would help me out but now I might reconsider. I'm glad to hear that b___stfeeding is moving along smoothly for you too. What does the baby feed from for the first 72 hours if not b___stmilk? I better go take a b___stfeeding cla__s, it sounds like it could be just a little more complicated that it seems and I've heard that it's really difficult for some women. I'm happy it's going well for you though. Thanks again and please share whatever tidbits with us in the future as you're willing to share---it's very exciting and interesting to me!! Especially to hear that you and baby are doing great! This is week 32 for me--8 more to go! *******Hoping to hear from Sann soon. . .

Perl - I really lost track of time and could not have told you how long I pushed. I remember them telling me to give it my all and that they could tell I was getting tired. The whole room was like having a cheering section - you can do it, come on...hold it, etc... Yes, take a BF cla__s it is worth it. Also a good book is the Mother's companion to nursing (or something like that). Colostrum is what the baby gets the first few days until b___stmilk comes in. They said it really good for the baby and as designed all the baby needs during that time. 8 wks to go! In ways the last were the longest for me...not because I was miserable feeling, just seemed like nothing new was happening! :-)

Hello ladies : ) Sorry for not writng for the couple of weeks. I was on bedrest @ my in laws and I didn't had any chance to write at all cos mom in law was very concerned and didn't alllow me to do anything at all except eat,sleep and go to the bathroom. I feel alot better this week. Before I go on ... TRYINGX3 - CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU : ) : ) : ) PERL - How's everything with you? I read 8 more weeks to go hah : ) : ) : ) HOPEFUL - How are you doing? My updates ..... I'm now 10 weeks 3days today, I'm doing better this week and my energy level is up today. My gynae still has me on progestrone but no more injections for me (the past weeks ... doc gave in a progestrone injections every 2 days and it was a pain) On Monday ... I went for the "every 2 weeks follow up" with my gynae, she did another u/s and we saw a strong hb and baby gave us a "teddy bear" post. I can't wait for 1st trimester to end. Think I'll stop here for now. I'll write again ... once I digest what I had missed out these past weeks : ) Take care everyone : )

Yeah - SANN!! You are still with us. We have been worried and hoping to hear from you. You are doing SOOO Good! 2nd trimester will be here before you know it!!

Yipppee, thanks for the update and good news Sann!!! I'm glad to hear that you're getting your rest, and thta you're getting good help from in-laws and good monitoring from your Dr. That's great! First trimester will be over for you in just a few weeks. Hang in there, it's going to be alright. I hope you ladies continue to do well. Same stuff is happening with me----heartburn, swollen feet, and low energy days alternating with good energy days. My next appointment is next week and after that I'll be going every 2 weeks.

Tryingx3: if you have had any time to post, where are you posting at these days? I'd like to come and find you especially after my little one is born.

Hooray Sann is back!!!!! Sooooooo pleased you're OK. We were really getting worried. You're so close to the end of the first trimester now - I'm really jealous! I'm at 9 weeks 5 days and my next ultrasound is in one week so I'm really looking forward to that. Still quite anxious but the symptoms still seem to be with me so I'll try not to worry. Perl - sorry to hear that you're in some discomfort but it'll all be over soon!! HOORAY for us all! Speak to you soon.

Perl - I check this post and of course have hopped onto the b___stfeeding group. Lots of questions! ha ha ... I wanted to also let you know that within 1 week I have dropped 25 lbs. I really believe b___stfeeding has a lot to do with it - I could tell a difference from each day to the next my first week home. Weight loss has stabilized, but I am able to wear some of my bigger "normal" pants. Breastfeeding makes the uterus contract closer to its normal size than for mommy's who bottlefeed.

Hello ladies : )Thanks for the "welcome back", I feel great coming back to the board : ) I'm so sorry to have you all worried : ( I'll be home from this week onwards( if I carry on feeling better that is) and hopefully more energy to post like I did before : ) Tryingx3 - How are you coping with little Katie : ) Perl - Sorry to hear that you're having some 3rd trimester discomfort : ( Wellllllll ..... I can't wait to get them : ) So hang in there!!!! Hopeful - Thanks!!!! We're so close .... just a week apart. What symptons are you still feeling??? And how many u/s have you had till date??? Sounds like to me you doing really great : ) Good luck with next week and be sure you ask for a picture from the u/s. My updates .... Come Sunday, it'll be the begining of week 11 for me and I have another follow up with in 3 weeks. My pg symptons are still here but not half as strong as compare to the past few weeks ..... still feeling tired in the afternoons and really bloated after a meal. I had my bloodworks 3 weeks and everything is fine .... so far so good. Talk to soon : )

It's really good to see that you're back Sann! So glad to hear that your symptoms are easing up a bit as you're nearing the end of the 1st trimester which is when most of us start to feel much better and much more energetic. Trying: wow, 25 lbs in one week!! I look forward to that! I have heard that you can burn up 500 calories at each b___stfeeding session. I thougth that was an exaggeration but maybe not. I'm planning to b___stfeed too and hope that I won't have any problems doing it. Some of my friends have had problems getting their babies to latch on. Up until my last Dr. visit I was not gaining enough weight and these past few weeks it's been shocking to me how quickly the weight is coming on. I gained 5 lbs in the past 2 weeks alone! That's way more than the 1 lb a week average gain for the last trimester. At this rate I could gain 40 lbs or more by week 40 but I'm hoping this was just a growth spurt or something unusual. Last night I felt baby Peter rolling over and over and bumping me from every direction at the same time. It was really cute at first but when he wouldn't stop for several minutes, it started to worry me--a lot. Then there was no movement for a couple of hours and that worried me more---my gosh, it's so difficult not to worry one way or another. I got up and read some stuff on the internet about increased fetal movement and freaked out with what I read. I was so close to calling my Dr's office (at 4 in the morning) but instead I thought I'd get up have breakfast and a tall gla__s of orange juice to make my little guy wake up. It worked!! He gave me about 10 movements and I'm back to feeling good. *****I think it's great that Hopeful and Sann are so close in due date. Since I know both your stories, it will be great to continue reading about you at the same time at least until your little ones are born (I hope you both continue to post). I also look to you, Tryingx3, and your experiences since everything you're going through right now is mostly what l I look forward to. If I don't hear from you, I hope everyone has a great weekend. My baby shower is tomorrow so I'm really looking forward to that. Take care.

All sounds great ladies!!! SANN & Hopeful - you guys will be able to support each other through the next months...that is so great! Don't freak out when you start feeling good!! I gained almost exactly 40lbs - so am feeling good about weight loss - down 28lbs now - almost 2wks pp...still can't wear my jeans...or even close - the tummy is just not quite the same! ha ha Perl - I worried about movement until the time she was in my arms - she seemed to really slow down toward the end. Now I know why - she was busy sleeping! She is doing the sleep hard in the daytime and up at night! We are trying to nap during the daytime in order to make it through! My husband is able to be with me during this time - it is awesome. He is self-employed and things worked out where he could spend a lot of time with us right now and still work some over the Internet.