United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

i'm expecting my first baby in 4 weeks and have recieved some great support from site. i just wanted to say that the pregnacy itself has been wonderful for my bp arm. its been warmer, better colour, fatter and less painful. i can recommend it (ask me if i think the same in 4 weeks!!)

So glad things are going so well in your pregnancy. We all have problems when we have a baby but they bring so much joy it is worth it. Enjoy the next four weeks because your life is about to change in so many ways. A mothers job is never done you will love and worry about your child for life. It's a parent thing.
Lyn

Tina

I am so happy to hear that things are going well. I am obpi and it never dawned on me that I could not do everything I needed to do to take care of a baby. I was so young... LOL but I had three and the first two were only 14 months apart and I did manage and so will you it is amazing how natural compensation will come to you when it comes to doing things for the baby... I am so glad that the doctors are supportive of nursing.
Four weeks from now they will cut the "cord" one word of advice! The cord is NEVER cut it just becomes invisible! Right Lyn LOL
A baby is such a gift.
Kath

Hey Tina
many congratulations!
the best piece of advice I was given was by one of my friends, she told me that as I left the house to go to hospital to have my first baby, to take 5 minutes to look around the house, go into every room and commit the way it looks to your memory, because when you get back with your beautiful baby, the house will NEVER EVER look the same again !!!!!!!!!
how true it is - once that tiny baby comes home with you, every room in the house will be full of it's things!
I hope you have a peaceful, happy labour and may your baby have health and happiness always.
Karen

Hi Tina,
I also just read your earlier post about breast feeding. Good for you, good for baby.
Here is what I found out the hard way. When my first baby was born, the nurses took her away, since born at midnight, and I did not get to breastfeed her immediately. Well, 6 or 7 hours later, she did not want to. I later found out the the natural thing is for the baby to nurse immediately, and it comes natural. By waiting all those hours, it no longer came natural. And did we ever struggle to get her interested.

For my other two, they were both larger and the nurses said they were too worn out to nurse, so they took them away too. However, this time I knew better & got them back right away. For my 2nd & 3rd baby, they just took off and started nursing, with no problem. I also saw that you are a single mom. I used to be married. With the wrong husband, single can be better. Blessings to you and your new baby.

Hi Tina,

My wife and I have three boys and I changed diapers on all of them.

The cool part was how quickly they adapted to me. I think they sensed the precariousness of it all and were very co-operative. Although there were a few that were so messy that my one-handedness came in handy as an avoidance technique.

The other neat thing was how quickly they learned how to be picked up one-handed. They'd shift their little butts around and hang on to my forearm like it was the most natural thing.

Good luck and keep us posted!

I am due in 3 weeks also and I just had my surgery a month ago and my accident 4 months ago. I don't know how to breastfeed my baby.

Hi Susana
It's actually easier to breastfeed than bottlefeed as far as I'm concerned, because you only have to hold the baby with breastfeeding, with a bottle there is a bottle AND a baby to deal with-plus, it would be impossible for me to clean out the bottles effectively. I would hold the baby as anyone else would for the right side, using my left hand behind the baby's head and my arm along her body (I am right bpi) and for the left side I would hold her exact;ly the same way but with her body kind of under my arm and her legs coming out behind me-in fact this way changing sides babies get a more relaxing feeds because tey are not disturbed much when you change sides. Mothers of twins can feed both simultaneously this way.
It took a very long time of pain and fumbling to get breastfeeding right (not because I'm bpi, but because breastfeeding isn't easy at first, I think it took at least 3 weeks each time to get things right and owch!! it hurt at first... ), but I was very determined and I'm so glad I did it, it's not just for how much better for the baby it is, but for all that wonderful skin to skin contact that babies and their parents need so badly and noone ever tells you enough about that.
All the best Susana, let us know how it goes.:0)