Kerry Louise Norris

Thursday, 1 October 2015

My breastfeeding journey with Eva

I've never written about my birth with Eva and i'm not going to go into huge details about it but it was traumatic and I suffered a lot afterwards with needing an operation from a horrific infection. (The birth and infection are related to my breastfeeding story).

Before I had delivered I hadn't planned how I was going to feed my daughter. I was going to give breastfeeding a try but if it wasn't working then I wouldn't stress and push myself into it. I wasnt going to be forced into anything. I was very indifferent about it all. Luckily, as they laid Eva on my chest and I got to see her properly for the first time, she immediately took to feeding. I managed to feed her by myself the whole time I was in hospital. However, nobody showed me any other positions for breastfeeding or actually gave me any support or guidance.

When I got home my health started deteriorating. This was from the infection. The midwifes that came everyday to check everything seemed completely disinterested in my health and only concerned with how much I was feeding Eva (who was dropping weight daily). I had temperatures, was in constant pain, was being sick all the time and couldn't eat anything so as you can imagine my milk supply was drying up and I was struggling to feed my daughter. I couldn't even sit myself up at night to get her out of the moses basket and I could barely walk. I felt like a complete failure. I would cry all day at feeling so useless. I couldn't look after myself and therefore couldn't look after my daughter. At one point I remember contemplating throwing myself out of our bedroom window (we live in a townhouse so it is pretty high). I was devestated that my start to being a mother was so hard and unfair.

My own mum lives in Australia and I could only talk to her through texting which I did regularly as I needed the support. She was worried I had post natal depression. Hearing her say those words gave me a kick and a boost I needed. If there was one thing I was going to get right it was going to be to provide and care for my daughter in the best way I knew possible. Even though I felt horrendous, she was now my main priority and she needed me and relied on me to look after her. Even though I felt I was failing at being a good mum, I was determined to get the one thing right that brought me closer to her and developed our bond. That was breastfeeding. My husband had to do everything else for her as I was in too ill and in too much pain to be able to do it. This included changing nappies, getting her dressed, bathing her etc.

I took matters into my own hands and rang my local hospital (not where I birthed) to see if they would help me with feeding. I spent a day there with one of their breast feeding experts and came away so postive. I had learnt so many techniques and top tips. Finally things were looking up. After that I demanded to be seen by my gp who referred me to hospital immediately after seeing how badly I was infected. A consultant then gave me the correct treatment to get my own health back on track.

Breastfeeding was hard work but I did enjoy the closeness it gave us. I hated planning my day around feeds. For some reason I didn't want anybody (even family) seeing me feed her. At about 6 weeks something changed in my attitude towards it all (it must've been when my own health was improving). I decided to breast feed in public and from that moment on it was easy. Feeding was easy, expressing was easy and I was absolutely loving it. It became the most natural thing in the world.

I continued to breast feed her until I had to go back to work at 9 months. I would've continued but I work in an operating theatre and it really wouldn't have worked with the type of job I do. I never know when I am coming home and I wouldn't have wanted to stress about needing to feed if I was stuck in work. I found giving up an extremely difficult process as it was so rewarding.

I can't wait to be able to breast feed my next daughter. It's one of the things I'm looking forward to the most. I learnt so much from my journey with Eva and I'll be using all of that with my new baby. I also wanted to say that I am not a lactivist or whatever it is they call these people that are only for breastfeeding. This post is just about my personal experience and journey and I strongly believe whatever way you feed your child is fine. I just wanted to breastfeed, as I felt it was the only thing I could get right whilst being so unwell.

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Monday, 28 September 2015

You know you're in the 3rd trimester when

I thought i'd write a little post about the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. The home stretch of what seems to be the longest time ever!!! So here area list of 10 things. You know you're in the 3rd trimester when...

1) You drop something on the floor and stare at it for about a minute before deciding stuff it, it really wasn't that important anyway!

2) Getting out of bed involves determination, focus and a countdown from 3 to 1. It then involves a lot of twisting, rolling and all around general moaning and anger.

3) You count down how many shifts you have left in work by the day and hour.

4) You run yourself an amazing deep, relaxing bath and then when it comes to getting out a feeling of doom impedes you. You have no idea how you are going to get your whale like self out of the bath. The water starts spilling out from the sides, you slip, you try endlessly and you become tired. You lie there and think there are only 2 options available. You either drown or you wait to give birth. Anyway, you're allowed to give birth in water. It would be like having the baby in a very small birthing pool.

5) When someone says 'are you still pregnant?' you drift off into a wonderful daydream where punching them in the face is completely acceptable behaviour.

6) When wearing slip on shoes or boots become the only footwear option available to you.

7) You wake up one day and realise that you have ballooned over night and swelled up to the point where you can't get any of your rings off your fingers.

8) You worry about sitting down anywhere for fear of never getting back up again.

9) You haven't exercised at all during pregnancy but when you're on the home stretch, you become an Olympic champion at walking and bouncing on exercise balls. Anything to get that baby out!

10) You go out and the first thing you need to locate is the toilet. This also becomes the last place you locate too.

Pregnancy

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You know you're in the 3rd trimester when

Monday, 21 September 2015

Bump watch - Week 32

Week - 32. I haven't written an update in weeks, so I am very sorry about that!

Baby developments - Baby is now the size of a honeydew melon and should weigh around 4 pounds. Baby now has toenails, fingernails and hair (although mine probably won't). I didn't have any hair and neither did Eva. The skin is becoming smooth and soft and she gains a lot of weight each week (as do I).

My bump - It is safe to say my bump is now huge. I do think it's still mainly all at the front but I am now walking like a penguin and struggling to bend down. Stretch marks are still ok. No new ones as yet and I've been using a cream that seems to be making the ones I had less visible.

My symptoms - I had routine bloods taken at 28 weeks. My iron levels are severely low so I am now on iron tablets to help increase them and eating a lot of kale etc. I'm annoyed as i've been telling my midwife for weeks about how tired i've been feeling and how I've been feeling faint at work but she didn't bother to check me out properly. At least I now know why i've been feeling so lousy these last few weeks.

Movements - Bump now seems to have regular patterns of movement. I feel a lot more of her moving around as opposed to kicks. I'm just enjoying it all while I can as there'll be hardly any room for her to move soon.

Cravings - I finally got a proper pregnancy craving. I have to have this all the time, at least once a day. I am completely and utterly addicted to ice cubes. I love everything about them. Just the thought of them is making my mouth water.

Aversions - No real aversions, but I am not getting on with my iron tablets. They make me wretch and feel sick all the time.

Exercise - I was asked to review an online pregnancy pilates programme which I have been doing. For me it's more stretching though than exercise. I've increased the amount of walking I do too.

Baby items purchased - Still not a great deal of things bought. I'm starting to panic slightly as we are so disorganised and we do have quite a few things to get. I did buy a pack of newborn nappies though this week.

Best moment this week - Baby seems to have had a lot of hiccups this week, It's the funniest feeling. I love it.

Worst moment this week - I'm really not sleeping very well now due to how much I get up and go to the toilet. Lack of sleep has definitely been the worst problem this week.

What i'm looking forward to - Getting the nursery finished. (We haven't even started). We've been so disorganised. We had ever intention to get ourselves more prepared and ready but life has just gotten in the way.

How Eva is feeling - Eva talks about her sister a lot. She interacts with the bump too which is great. We try and keep her involves as much as we can. We've been asking what she would like to call her sister but the answer we have had is just sister lol.

Pregnancy

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Wednesday, 16 September 2015

Pregnancy Style - Look 5

Last weekend we were invited to a christening. I panicked as I knew I had nothing to wear. At 32 weeks pregnant I didn't really want to buy a new dress that I wasn't going to wear again. I'm trying to save as much money as I can so buying a dress in a larger size would mean I wouldn't get a lot of usage out of it. Someone advised me to buy something that would be suitable for breastfeeding. Genius idea I thought.

As per usual I'd left it to the last minute and I had to dash into town the day before the christening to try and find something. Most of my old breastfeeding clothes were from JoJo Maman Bebe so I thought I would try there first. They didn't have a huge selection in store and only had one occasion type dress. The hubby pointed out that even if I bought a more casual style one, it would still look dressy enough with a pair of heels.

I found this perfect maternity/breastfeeding wrap dress which was £39, wrap dress. I tried it on and immediately fell in love with it. I even managed to buy it in a small size. I think that's proof of how well made it is.

It's ideal as it's so versatile. It can be worn through your whole pregnancy for every day wear, work wear or evening and occasion wear. You just have to accessorise it accordingly. It also has concealed breastfeeding access so it can be used after pregnancy. The fabric is very comfortable and moves with you. It didn't feel tight in any areas. The skirt isn't a wrap skirt which is great as normally they flap open and you end up showing off your knickers!! You can also tie the wrap part at the front, side or back, therefore making the dress appear different every time you wear it.

I can't recommend this dress enough and thankfully I have checked online and they have it in 3 different colours so I am definitely going to get another one in black, Wrap dress.With the festive period coming up i'm going to need something to see me through all the family and work parties.

Have you bought any clothes from their before? They are my favourite place for maternity wear! It always fits so well.

Pregnancy

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Saturday, 5 September 2015

Kimberly Wyatt, Mum On A Mission 24/7 event

A few weeks ago I attended an event hosted by Kiddicare for parent bloggers, which was all about postnatal fitness for mums. The event was showcasing the lovely Kimberly Wyatt's new online exercise programme 'Mum On A Mission 24/7' which is available on Instructor Live. There were also other industry experts there, who were on hand to offer advice, support and guidance.

At the time I was 26 weeks pregnant and I wasn't too keen to actually participate in the workout incase I hurt myself. At that point I hadn't done any exercise at all during my pregnancy. I didn't want to risk anything as I was in London so I was very far away from home. So I sat down and relaxed whilst watching all the other mummy bloggers sweating away whilst exercising!

The workout is available on http://www.instructorlive.com/#!/ and is of course based around dance. We all know Kimberly Wyatt for being a member of the pussycat dolls and a dancer so I would have expected nothing less. The workout lasts 24 minutes and you should do it everyday if you can, to see results. It uses a high intensity interval training (HIIT) method which helps you burn fat fast. There are 7 different moves to each workout, which are repeated at high intensity and there are periods of recovery. If you want to find out more about the workout then read about it here, Mum On A Mission 24/7.

After watching Kimberly, Glenn and the other bloggers complete the workout, I realised I probably could have joined in. I have to admit the word HIIT scared me slightly but I could have joined in and not increased the intensity of each move. The moves were very simple to follow and some of them also managed a giggle from us which meant that everyone was having fun whilst working out. I was also worried about the dance element of the workout seeing as I have no coordination whatsoever but again the moves were easy enough even for a terrible dancer like me.

After the workout we had a question and answer session with a panel of experts which consisted of Kimberly, Glenn, Luke Walker - co founder of instructor live, Dan Cartner - a marketing executive from Sports Shoes, Mike - a marketing executive at Asics, Lynn coates from Kiddicare and Margarita Bennett a postnatal fitness instructor.

I learnt a lot from this session especially from Margarita Bennett. I never knew that the pregnancy hormone relaxin takes 3 months to leave the body after you have given birth and longer when you have been breast feeding. She also taught me essential things about my core and hips and also various techniques for birth. I think she will be a massive help to me once I have had this baby.

I also learnt that your feet can change after pregnancy so you need to make sure you are in the correct trainers. Wearing a good sports bra is also essential. I really struggled after having Eva with exercising because I was breastfeeding and the sports bras that I had bought didn't give me enough support. I found exercising very painful. This time around I will get measured properly and buy a decent sports bra.

With regards to nutrition, it's best to eat small, well balanced meals. If you need to snack go for healthy things like nuts and fruits. It's also essential to keep hydrated. You may feel hungry but it could be your body is in need of water.

I had a fantastic time at the event. I can't give you a full review of the workout seeing as I haven't actually done it yet but it does look fab. For £5.99 a month I think it's great. It's much cheaper than paying for a gym and you can enjoy these workouts from the comfort of your own home. I know I didn't feel very comfortable and confident in myself after having Eva to go to a gym so the idea of exercising in my home is more appealing. The only thing that did concern me is where I would find 24 minutes a day to complete the workout. With a toddler and a newborn I think it would be quite tricky to get that quality time. However, at the event there was a young girl there who decided she wanted to join in. Perhaps Eva would also like to do this. I won't know until I give it a try after bump number 2 is born.

Kiddicare did a great interview with Kimberly on life and exercise after becoming a mum which you can read here, Kiddicare interview and they also have some great advice on exercising after having a baby here, Kiddicare. If you have a few spare minutes please complete this Mum On A Mission survey for Kiddicare, survey. Kimberly was an inspiration to be around. She is a very positive person and a great mum.

Did you exercise after having a baby? Have you exercised at home before?

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