I didn't get baby flutters but at 22w6d I got the hardest kick in the ribs ever, only way I can describe it was I immediately visualised a bass drum being hit by the pedal, like 'thump thump' against my stomach.
I started feeling my baby at about 16 weeks, which I know is early but she's a little on the big side. Now I feel her all the time, you could actually feel her if you put your hand on my belly while I'm lying on my back.
...Which can be annoying because I can only sleep comfortably on my back due to my hips being extremely sore, and she's most active when I'm trying to sleep.
I first felt Elliot at 17 weeks. Then proper movements about 21/22 weeks.
Becky my milk dried up in about 3/4 days but the reason I had to stop BF was because my milk supply was low so reckon that's half the reason it stopped so quickly.
Elliot is 1 tomorrow. No sign of chicken pox so party is going ahead! We are both full of cold though which sucks as Elliot is just not himself. Poor little thing.
Does anyone know when I can start pumping breast milk? Obviously I have a while to go, but it'd be nice to have Lacey's first meal ready for her, plus freeze some ahead of time if I need some in a pinch (Like if I don't produce enough at one time, or if I can't pump for a while)
Edit: Just read that many women start lactating before 22 weeks...my breasts have grown a little but otherwise I have no signs of it. Now I'm concerned.
Last edited by TheOnlyOne : 17-11-2012 at 01:55 AM.
Reason: Added extra info
the first few days after you give birth, you produce colostrum, which is like, really calorific and not milk. after 2 or 3 days your milk comes in, and they recommend you dont pump for about 4 weeks so that your supply regulated its self.
your first meal will be in your boobs if you are choosing to breast feed, you dont need to worry about pumping or anything.
When you do pump, milk can be kept in the fridge for 48 hours, or frozen for a month before it needs to be used.
ah, hmm... im not sure how that would work. you should discuss it with your midwife. your milk will only come in if you express regularly. i think the first few days babies feed every hour/two hourlyish.
any particular reason why rather than baby taking it straight from the breast?
Aside from being uncomfortable with breastfeeding, I don't want to be the only person who has to feed her. If I switch back and forth, then it could confuse her and make feeding difficult.
I may change my mind about breastfeeding, but so far I just feel a little weird about it.
i dont want to come across as pressuring or anything, but breast feeding has so many benefits, and if nothing else, it means that you get to sit down for half an hour every 3 or so hours and no one can ask you to lift a finger :P
It took a few months before i dared to breast feed in public, and in the first few weeks my nipples were sore and all sorts, but it passed, and although i thought i would end up with tits resembling tennis balls at the end of socks, and nipples a couple of inches long, that hasnt happened at all. Im glad i persevered with it.
I think when the time comes, you'll do what ever is right for you, as long as your baby puts on weight and such, thats all that matters.
my partner has always been quite involved i express milk and he feeds the baby with a bottle if he is out with him, or if i havent been able to express, the baby will have formula from a bottle.
we were lucky, apparently babies can get nipple confusion and not really know what to do with a bottle, but Oliver has always been fine with both.
i would breast feed for the first few days till your milk comes in and then express, but what you want to do sounds very time consuming.
if you want to give your baby breast milk the best thing to to is to breast feed, I was only ever uncomfortable feeding infront of my dad, that felt really weird! but it is the most natural thing, having said that both my children lost weight when i was bf and we swiched to formula, and they are thriving, for them breast was not best and when the time comes the decision you make will be in the best interest of you and the baby
but if you want to give it breast milk then have a go at breast feeding and see how you get on
Just do what you feel comfortable with.
I didn't breast feed as i wasn't comfortable with it and that was the right choice for me. Don't let people make you feel guilty for not doing it. My daughter is very healthy, always has been and is very rarely ill.
It's so easy to get lost in constantly having to present
whatever face you believe a person wants to see rather than your own
Edit: Just read that many women start lactating before 22 weeks...my breasts have grown a little but otherwise I have no signs of it. Now I'm concerned.
The fact that your breasts have grown at all shows that you have the right equipment to produce milk, so please don't be concerned... There are really only a minute amount of women who can't produce milk and their breasts won't have grown at all during pregnancy.
I believe the best time to start expressing colostrum antenatally is from 36-37 weeks. I would advise against expressing before 36 weeks because (although the risk in small) nipple stimulation can cause contractions.
There are also a few situations where it really isn't recommended: if you've had premature labours before (or threatened prem labours), if you have any issues with your cervix (you'd know if you did) and if your having more than one baby.
I agree with everyone else on this as well, it does sound labour intensive, you won't quite know how you'll feel about breastfeeding till baby's born and I think it's worth trying, however it's your choice and whatever choice you make is the right choice! I recommend skin-to-skin contact for all babies no matter how you're feeding, it's so lovely and so beneficial for all involved!
Neither of my babies could sustain a latch, midwife said iif I wanted to express enough to keep up with supply/demand i'd have to be expressing 8 times a day. I managed 6times ffor the first couple of days then switched to 3 or 4 times, kept it up ttil 6 weeks with first when a blocked duct lead to severe mastitis I stopped so I could take stronger medication to get rid, it left me with scar tissue which meant 2nd time round I couldn't get much milk out I expressed for 8 weeks but by then my blocked boob was like a basketball so i stopped to allow it to go down. 3yrs on i can still get pinpricks of milk from both nipples lol
Mand, South Wales, Full-time working, single mother to 2 scarily independent girls.
I AM A PROUD PLUMERIA SISTER
just wondering, did any of you suffer from post natal depression? what was it like? was it different from depression that you have suffered before? what treatment did you get?
The fact that your breasts have grown at all shows that you have the right equipment to produce milk, so please don't be concerned... There are really only a minute amount of women who can't produce milk and their breasts won't have grown at all during pregnancy.
I believe the best time to start expressing colostrum antenatally is from 36-37 weeks. I would advise against expressing before 36 weeks because (although the risk in small) nipple stimulation can cause contractions.
There are also a few situations where it really isn't recommended: if you've had premature labours before (or threatened prem labours), if you have any issues with your cervix (you'd know if you did) and if your having more than one baby.
I agree with everyone else on this as well, it does sound labour intensive, you won't quite know how you'll feel about breastfeeding till baby's born and I think it's worth trying, however it's your choice and whatever choice you make is the right choice! I recommend skin-to-skin contact for all babies no matter how you're feeding, it's so lovely and so beneficial for all involved!
This is my first baby, but I think I will follow that advice anyway because I'm at a higher risk of pre-term labor because I have Lupus.
I still have quite a few weeks to go, so like I said, I might change my mind about breastfeeding.
I believe the best time to start expressing colostrum antenatally is from 36-37 weeks. I would advise against expressing before 36 weeks because (although the risk in small) nipple stimulation can cause contractions.
There are also a few situations where it really isn't recommended: if you've had premature labours before (or threatened prem labours), if you have any issues with your cervix (you'd know if you did) and if your having more than one baby.
I want to second this. If you choose to start expressing around 37 weeks, do it by hand, as you will be getting colostrum. Collect it in sterile syringes or cups - ask a midwife for some. Don't expect to get more than 1mL - even as little as 0.5 mL is a decent amount for just after the birth and the same antenatally. You need to do it by hand, not with a pump. You can probably look up how to hand express but it would be better to get a midwife to teach you.
You're a way off having to worry about this yet though, and there is really no need to express before you give birth, we only recommend it for women with diabetes because their babies can have issues with the blood sugars.
Beast milk begins to be made around 17 weeks but only a small amount of women notice any lactation before baby is born, so please don't worry.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break
that its heart may stand in the sun,
so must you know pain.
There are only two ways in which one can live their life. One is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is.
oh, effervescence, (im sorry i dont know your name).. ive been meaning to tell you, i finally have Oliver booked in to see a cranial osteopath, we are going on Monday.
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