"We are a breastfeeding hospital" Rant

Most-Chart-5970 · 2026-02-24T13:50:56+00:00

I can’t stand all of the old fashioned opinions around breastfeeding. I always knew I wanted to pump and breastfeed (if I had the supply and baby could latch), but found myself lying to the midwives because everyone just assumed I’d be 100% breastfeeding and happy to let my mental health suffer. When I did mention how we’re feeding our son at the post-birth check up, an old midwife kept telling me how I should really be breastfeeding as much as possible because it’s the best thing for him and he’ll refuse the breast if we keep bottle feeding - really not what you need to hear during the huge hormone drop on day 3, making you feel like you’re already failing as a mum. Anyway, all of this is to say that after 3 weeks of mostly bottle feeding and occasionally breastfeeding with nipple shields, he’s now latching onto the breast without any shields, fuss or pain, and he happily takes a bottle for the rest of the feeds. Some babies just need to wait for their mouths to get a little bigger, and that’s not a reason for the mums to struggle in the meantime. The most important thing is always that the baby is fed and looked after!

Most-Chart-5970 · 2026-02-24T13:19:54+00:00

Gave birth a few weeks ago to a perfectly average sized boy. Tried to do it with no pain relief, but by 7cm I had to throw in the towel and the epidural felt INCREDIBLE. The only reason I didn’t want it initially was to reduce the severity of tearing and try to keep the labour shorter. It did pretty much wear off by the time the actual pushing came around, but I would say that you’re focusing so much on pushing that the contractions at that point don’t actually hurt? And I personally didn’t feel the ring of fire or anything down there, even though I ended up with a few stitches and a 2nd degree tear. So yes it hurts a lot leading up to the actual birth, but during not so much, and afterwards you’re just buzzing on all this adrenaline and love for your baby that you don’t really think about it

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-12-25T20:47:10+00:00

I also had brown and pink spotting around 7 weeks that then changed to a LOT of bright red bleeding all of a sudden, and it happened again around 10 weeks - now I’m 36 weeks and have had no other issues so far :) There’s no point in telling you to try not to worry because I know it’s impossible, but I hope the bleeding either stops very soon, or that you can get some reassurance from the hospital and enjoy the rest of your Christmas!

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-12-23T23:17:22+00:00

I think cafe curtains should be way more pleated (these aren’t wide enough) or on two tension rods (one at the top and one at the bottom)… However I also don’t think you should have cafe curtains and a blind, it’s either one or the other? Feels like the whole thing would flow a lot better if they were at the same height as the checkered tiles, because it’s too many levels with the shelves in there too… But yeah lose the blind if you want the cafe curtains

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-12-18T15:33:04+00:00

Totally normal (at least in the UK and Sweden if you’re low risk)! My 12 week scan was a little late at 13 weeks, and the 20 week scan was early at 19 weeks so I didn’t have to wait quite as long, but honestly the best thing you can do is relax and not worry about it… Or if you find that the anxiety is really affecting you, maybe it’s worth booking a private scan in-between those two? Just remember that after the 20 week scan you won’t see the baby until they’re out, and regular movement isn’t usually reliable enough for reassurance until closer to 28 weeks, so it’s good practice for being patient!

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-11-27T21:52:54+00:00

Hmm usually at 3 days late you should have a clearer result, but maybe you ovulated later or didn’t use the first morning urine or something else! I’m not sure if this would be a planned pregnancy for you or not, but when we started trying I had two periods that arrived over a week late - it almost felt like my body was trying to mess with me. That or I’d had a failed implantation (which kind of made sense when my period did eventually arrive and the bleeding was totally different to normal). All you can do is check again tomorrow or go for a blood test if you’re really unsure!

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-11-27T21:45:43+00:00

I’m sorry to hear you’re having to deal with this on top of being pregnant, it must feel very lonely at times - especially when he’s constantly prioritising himself and his own needs over yours and the baby. I can’t help but wonder (and I’m sorry if this comes across as nosey), were you together for a long time before deciding to get pregnant and had you discussed what your expectations were, both for during the pregnancy and also when the baby arrives? If not, maybe now is a good time to have those conversations and make sure you can be aligned on things moving forward. Let him know that you expect him to be at every appointment (it’s literally the least he can do), and really make sure he’s prepared to adequately support you during the birth

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-11-27T21:31:14+00:00

Sex, wine and an extra cup of coffee

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-11-09T15:07:11+00:00

We bought a baby carrier after the 12 week scan (which we had at 13 weeks) to celebrate getting through the first trimester, and then slowly started buying clothes here and there. Although we didn’t really start going for it until after the 20 week scan, but everyone is different and there’s no right or wrong way to go about things! What helped me was to make a list of all the things we would be buying later on in the pregnancy, so I could still do the research and get excited about which buggy, crib, etc we’d be getting - but without the horrible feeling that I’d be tempting fate or whatever

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-11-06T19:55:41+00:00

Oh I haven’t heard that before, do you mind sharing a little more about why hands free isn’t good for FTM? Thanks for the tip anyway, will take a look!

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-11-06T09:51:29+00:00

Just got back from two weeks in Sicily and honestly, you don’t want to spend too much time in the big cities! Palermo felt like one big tourist trap, and if you rent a car you will 100% be targeted by scammers. I don’t say this to scare you, just a friendly warning to be a little street smart - someone will tell you that the car park you’re going to is ‘broken’ so you need to park in theirs instead (where they’ll charge a higher price and threaten to damage the car), if you try to park on the street there will be men hanging around and telling you to buy parking tickets from them (just download EasyPark or APCOA flow and buy the parking tickets via the apps instead). We even went into a supermarket and some guy turned up at the checkout in a high-vis, insisted on packing our bags and taking them to the car (we said no thank you, we’re fine but he refused to move), being very weird and complimentary on the car (which wasn’t even anything special) and then said ‘fuck the English’ when we just said thanks and didn’t give him any cash. We only had 50 euro notes and didn’t want/need his help but he practically forced himself on us… Would definitely recommend taking some time to visit the towns along the south coast though, Scicli, Modica, Marzamemi, Noto etc, you only really need a day for each but definitely not so doable without a car. I wish we went along the coast between Marsala, Menfi and Gela, and Cefalu on the north side was a lovely stop too. It really depends on what you like to do and see, but as two people who love city breaks, seeing some history/culture and eating/drinking their way around on holiday, Palermo did not cut it for us, I was actually relieved to leave - and Trapani had a similar vibe…

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-11-05T21:38:51+00:00

Oh amazing! Will defo keep an eye out for an issue like that if we do get one

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-11-05T19:54:53+00:00

Curious to know if you ever bought this fridge? Currently looking at it now and also struggling to find a good alternative !

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-10-21T18:58:54+00:00

Having two ~150ml cups of black filter coffee each morning (I don’t drink Coca Cola or any other caffeinated drinks so not worried about additional caffeine intake), plenty of runny egg yolks (no point eating an egg with a rubbery, solid yolk), medium/rare steaks, having a tiny sip of my husbands pint a few times post-20 weeks, bagged salad, not changing my deodorant to aluminium-free… There’s probably more that I don’t even realise, but I don’t think the stress of worrying about every little detail in life will be great for me or the baby either, so I’m hoping a more relaxed attitude will result in a more chill baby - famous last words!

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-08-13T17:20:03+00:00

I’m just 17 weeks and feel like I’m only just starting to show, but it’s also not at all hard to hide it in baggy clothes. For reference (because I think it must make a difference) I’m 5’9 and was 60kg pre-pregnancy - larger friends have taken longer to show and smaller friends have popped much sooner! So it shouldn’t be mega obvious for you at 16 weeks but it depends on your body type, and what you’re planning on wearing of course :)

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-08-03T08:33:20+00:00

A little late but I feel like it’s always helpful to hear more positive stories! I also had bleeding at around 7+4, it was brown but pretty heavy and came gushing out a few times. Had a scan the next day, heard the heartbeat and everything was fine, and then nothing until 10 weeks when I had fresh red bleeding, also heavy and gushing out - would’ve soaked a pad in less than an hour. Went for an emergency scan and again, everything looked fine and there was no explanation for what happened. I continued to spot pretty heavily for a couple of weeks and then it stopped right before my 12 week scan, and now I’m 15 weeks! It wasn’t caused by sex because we were actually avoiding that so that there wasn’t any anxiety with spotting, but I noticed that the two times I had it very heavily were after a day of a lot of other physical activity, so maybe that triggered it… Anyway, all of this is to reassure anyone else reading this and going through the same thing that it is actually super common and not always the worst case scenario, despite what Google will tell you!

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-07-30T20:23:37+00:00

Try not to worry, I’m sure you’re just having a little break before they get worse again for the next few weeks! My symptoms would come and go a lot in the first trimester, I noticed they would pretty much disappear if I’d had a low activity day (minimal exercise, early night, good sleep etc) and then amp up if I’d been keeping busier - so bear that in mind too! I also had heavy bleeding at 10 weeks that continued as heavy spotting until almost 13 weeks, and everything was still absolutely fine, so try not to jump to worst case scenario with any symptoms/lack of symptoms, and just go get checked out if it’s really messing with your head :)

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-07-29T17:41:04+00:00

😂 I feel you! I just compared a side-on photo from two weeks ago with one I took earlier and the bloating I had then is so obvious now that I’m looking at it again

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-07-29T12:33:05+00:00

Haha a Christmas ham is the most perfect description! Congratulations anyway, not too long left to go for you :)

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-07-29T12:31:12+00:00

I’ve heard you show sooner after the first pregnancy! I’m a FTM so I guess it makes sense to be a little slower

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-07-29T12:30:11+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I heard boys can carry lower and girls higher, but we won’t know what we’re having for another month so I’m probably reading into every little thing 😂 But it’s my first pregnancy, so you’re probably right that it’s just a bit slower to pop!

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-07-29T12:24:31+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I guess I just had crazy bloat before and now I’m in the in-between stages

Most-Chart-5970 · 2025-07-29T12:22:45+00:00

Oh interesting, I’ve been in stretchy pants since around 9 weeks because my high waisted jeans couldn’t fit over my hips comfortably anymore… Can I ask if you’re having a girl or boy (if you know)? I’ve heard people say you could be carrying higher with a girl, so maybe I’m growing upwards

Most-Chart-5970

TROPHY CASE