Countjc

This forum always seems to have the answers to my questions as was wondering the same thing! I have signed up to waterbabies for their next term in September but was hoping to go along to jelly babies at Peckham pulse. Ryedalema I remember there being something about pre-booking for these sessions- how do you do that? I can never get through to them on the phone thanks J

fuschia so sorry to hear this. I have experience of MAU at both kings and tommies and found tommies to be more efficient with a bigger waiting area and their own radiologist right there. just a thought if you can get there as may be easier with the twins. i didnt need a referral there (also had bleeding at 8 and 13 weeks) good luck

I am same position as Deirdre and also recovering from SPD but dying to run maybe in a month or so. Which park did you do prambusters in- maybe I could start with that??

We had the snip yesterday and feeding does feel better although hard to know as my nipples are so destroyed! He is still fighting each time but I am hoping that as he learns he can do it without it being so hard for him that he will relax. e had a lovely session with the cranial osteopath today so hopefully will be more relaxed. I think the antibiotics and thrush etc are not helping. thanksfor all the advice- we are loading up on probiotics etc and following all the routines for hygiene. So fingers crossed we will get there. Once again, thank you everyone for all the reassurance and advice.

doc is convinced its mastitis rather than thrush- i am sure it is not as i dont feel fluey or can feel any blocked ducts. she then had a look at my son and agreed he had thrush on his bum so agreed i might have it but has given me treatment for both (although surely antibiotics can make thrush worse so going to avoid if i can) I have got the circular wound dressings called novogel which clare recommended but again doc felt that nipples should be kept dry, not moist. so much conflicting advice. also am having to express and bottle feed now as dr said nipples are possibly permanently damaged so giving them a rest till the snip on tues but this has actually taken a bit of pressure off me. just praying that they arent permanently damaged! thank again j

thank you for all the recommendations and heidi i think that is great advice and you are not being harsh. i always have a bottle on standby just in case. the good news is that he has latched perfectly the last 3 feeds without a fight and he has gained 350 g in the last 6days so am really pleased. am sure the osteopath trip must have helped but i now have nipple thrush so another obstacle to get past!!

thanks for all the kind messages we saw the cranial osteopath yesterday and it made him v. relaxed and his feeding feels more effecient but still an almighty fight each time to get him on. am wondering if anyone could recommend the osteopaths they have used? those of you who had tongue tied babies, have you got any tips for how to calm him before a feed as it is so stressful. i know it's only days till the snip but i am wondering how on earth i can get through just today. i do have plenty of expressed milk so can do the odd bottle. i thinkhe must have formed an assosciation with feeds being hard work for him as he will be totaly calm until he is nose to nipple and then the back arching head banging starts. i can still only manage rugby ball hold as he is so wild. thanks again, it is so nice to have so much support from all you ladies. i knew it was going tobe tough having a baby bi had no idea how heartwrenching it could be! j

Thanks again ladies We saw Clare last night and she was amazing. She diagnosed a posterior tongue tie before even looking inside his mouth just from seeing my nipples and the blisters all round his lips. she then showed us how his tongue kept sliding off the latch and that all his back arching and fighting is because he is so frustrated as each feed is so hard for him and he is clinging on with his lips. also as he cant latch properly, that is causing all the wind. It is such a relief to know what is going on and i can even feel it now each feed when he falls off. really hope that we get to see the dr next week for the snip. Fuschia thanks also for the tip- we are actually going to see a cranial osteopath today in E. Dulwich. Clare thought that he could help with his chin alignment and the fact he also has a spoon shaped palet. Just got to get through the next few days but am hoping that knowing there is a solution will give me more confidence. thanks again everyone Jenny

wow thanks guys- am literally heading to kings in an hour to see the tongue tie specialist there so maybe that is the case! thanks for the kind words, fingers crossed j

Hi there, Firstly just wanted to say a huge thanks to all of you that gave me advice about coping with a C-section at kings. Things went ok in hospital but all the tips that you gave me definately made life easier, particularly taking in extra food. Anyway, our lovely son was born 3 weeks ago today, a little early and jaundiced but well otherwise. I am having some major issues breast feeding and have looked at lots of past posts on here for tips but i think this one is a little unusual. He has a major fight every time I try to latch him on and in the early days it was sometimes taking an hour to get him on. In the meantime he utterly destroyed my nipples as the latches weren't always great. I've seen to great midwives and been to a breastfeeding cafe and have now perfected the latch and used all the advice given on here for cracked nipples but the fighting persists. We tried swaddling his hands behing him but that makes him more angry- he loves having his hand stretched out. He is quite windy so I am making sure that he is getting it all up after a feed, am using infacol and colief in his nightime bottle of expressed milk which is definately helping him on the wind front. i gave him 24 hours off the breast (to try to get the nipples to heal) and just on expressed milk in the bottle and he came straight back to the breast. my latest tactic is to get him on as soon as he wakes up but it is still a battle and i often need my partner/mum/midwife to help. we are going to kings to see if he is tongue tied but i am still not sure if that will solve the fighting. so i was wondering if anyone had ever experienced anything similar and has any tips or advice. I am determined to keep at it and teach him how to do it but by the end of the day I am in floods of tears for each feed and get very nervous as it leads up to a feed which I know probably makes matters worse. also the thought of being home alone and trying to do it terrifies me- my mum is currently here but cant stay forever. sorry for the long ranting email, hope someone out there can help.

hi ladies I am having my first baby tommorow- elective c sec at kings. He appears to be quite a big boy! Maybe see some of you in there! Best of luck to you all and looking forward to meeting some more local mums too. Jenny

Hi there I have been seeing some really great physios both on the NHS and privately for SPD (Symphysis pubis disorder where your ligaments get so stretchy that your pubic bone and hips start to move out of alignment) and also been having pregnancy massage to keep my circulation going. Although Kings is probably closer, St. Thomas's have a specialist womens health physio called Paula and she is amazing. She also does acupuncture and you can get hydrotherapy there twice a week which has really helped. You will need a GP referral and the number to call is 020 7188 5084. I see her for acupuncture and the hydro but their physio slots aren't v. long and get booked up. They will also give you a pregnancy compression belt which definately helps. So for physio I have been seeing this amazing lady in Wandsworth who specialises in pelvic pain in pregnant women. She works for six physio and is called lizzie- here is the link http://www.sixphysio.com/index.php/places/wandsworth-sw18. This has really helped to give me some mobility back. Annoyingly my works health insurance doesn't cover it but plenty insurers do but I figured it's worth the money if it helps the pain and I would say that this is the treatment that stands out above all the others. Then i have been havin a weekly pregnancy massage at Lesly Leale Green in Dulwich village to try to keep my blood circulating as I haven't been able to move properly since January. Again really good but more of a massage than specialist treatment. It is definately worth getting treatment asap as the heavier the baby gets, the more sore she could become. Hope some of this is useful and feel free to PM if you want any other nos. Best of luck

thanks for the clexane advice, i stop 24 hours before the c sec and then just have to wait and see. good to know its ok to breastfeed, i think i just picked up on an old wives tale.

Thanks again everyone for the great advice and I have managed to get hold of the breast feeding coordinator so all good that end. I have to say that I have found the care at Kings incredible so far and couldn't ask for more and now with a bit of knowledge about the labour wards I feel much more confident. I just had one last question, did any of you ladies have to inject clexane, a blood thinner after the c-section? I am on it at the moment due to lack of mobility with the SPD and so at risk of clots and the dr. said I may need to take it for a further 6 weeks after birth. I am hoping to get mobile asap to avoid this as had heard it can affect breastfeeding. thanks again Jenny

A friend of mine had similar problems with twins and found something called jellonet to help. Apparentely you can buy it behind the counter at a pharmacy and it is normally used for burns. I have no experience myself but might be something to look into or to ask midwife/GP about?

Wow Thank you everyone for all your kind words and great advice. Already feeling much more positive about it. I am also praying that the SPD magically disappears and gwod my physio has offered to do a hospital visit so I think I will take her up on that. I definately want to try to breastfeed- would anyone know how I get in contact with a bf counsellor beforehand? Thanks again and look forward to bumping into you all when I am up and about and able to explore Dulwich a bit more!

I am quite new to this area and this forum and have found lots of the recent posts really useful and full of advice for new mums so I thought I would see if anyone could help me out. Due to various complications in my preganancy I am due to have a C-section at Kings in a few weeks. I have got my head around the operation itself, thanks to a great NCT teacher and a very supportive midwife and husband but I am still quite nervous about the recovery. One of the major reasons for the section is because I have had severe Symphysis Pubis Disorder (SPD) and so haven't been able to walk without crutches/wheelchair since about 21 weeks and cannot weight bear at all. I was wondering if any of you had had a c-section or friends had and what advice they would give to aid a quick recovery. The other thing I am slightly anxious about is the post- labour ward at Kings as I know that I will have to stay in for at least 2 days. I have heard so many horror stories about the wards and the care and was wondering if anyone had any tips to make things easier. This is my first baby so I am probably being a bit over-anxious! many thanks

I went to the hydrotherapy pool at peckham pulse last night just for a general swim and they have jelly baby sessions. It seemed like a lovely place so I might try that one out too.

I was wondering about this myself. Can anyone recommend any pools around Dulwich for taking a little one too or are there specialised classes? thanks

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone had a child or could recommend Ruskin House School in Herne Hill as a nursery. I have heard lots of good things about Nellies, Clive Hall and Dulwich Day Nursery but I was wondering how this one compared. Many thanks Jenny