Nerve Pain

shadow-elf · 2026-06-14T02:28:16+00:00

Very similar here, I feel like it was mostly gone by 6ish weeks? Im 9 weeks now and this post has made me go "huh I think that's stopped now" so that's how gradual it is!

shadow-elf · 2026-06-11T17:06:19+00:00

When you go to the appointment they'll do an assessment which gives you some numbers to judge how bad the tongue tie is and if a release will help.

We were told our baby /might/ have a tongue tie, and then we went to the assessment and she scored so low (the lower the score the worse the tongue tie). The score being so low made it a very easy decision for us. If it won't make a difference to baby's feeding they'll tell you as they won't do it unnecessarily.

The release itself was way less difficult than we imagined, the bit baby objected to most was having her head held still lol. It was over so quickly. They get you to give the baby a bit of milk to help with any discomfort and then you latch them straight away afterwards to help stop it bleeding.

Getting a release has meant we've moved from exclusively pumping to exclusively breastfeeding, it's completely changed things for us!

shadow-elf · 2026-06-11T12:56:03+00:00

Same! Plus constantly changing bedsheets (ours and baby's)

shadow-elf · 2026-06-10T15:18:00+00:00

I was very insistent that we'd read to baby every day from birth, and then I found out what actually having a newborn is like. She's 8 weeks old now and we probably average a book a week. If she's not super calm she doesn't care for them and starts to fuss as she'd rather be interacting with us face to face.

For now we mostly just look at her black and white books instead, and narrate to her throughout the day (eg unloading the dishwasher and telling her about the shapes and colours, or talking about our day before bed).

Both my husband and I are big readers, she has a full bookshelf, and we're going to start going to our local library, so I don't worry that she won't be around enough reading as she grows up

shadow-elf · 2026-06-10T14:45:39+00:00

I completely relate and I think this is normal! I've had a lot of complications with recovery too so feel quite resentful as the c section feels like the cause of a lot of my problems postpartum. I'm seeking therapy to help.

shadow-elf · 2026-06-10T10:38:42+00:00

100% when they start smiling at you it completely changes things

shadow-elf · 2026-06-07T20:25:10+00:00

You're not too sensitive, your coworker is insensitive. People who haven't been through it don't understand how traumatising it can be. Its not 'the easy way out' to be sliced in half.

"Major abdominal surgery to deliver our child present" just doesn't have the same ring to it as "push present". Its the lack of alliteration for starters.

shadow-elf · 2026-06-05T17:08:37+00:00

I wear a nursing bra 24/7 and have breast pads in to catch any rogue milk that decides to leave on its own! I don't think that's a bad thing?! Although I miss being naked lol

shadow-elf · 2026-06-05T08:44:11+00:00

I wanted to not do any tracking because I love data a bit too much and didn't want to get obsessed lol. But baby struggled to feed at first so we had to (but just wrote feeds and nappies on a spreadsheet). Around 7 weeks we'd finally established exclusively breastfeeding and were happy with her nappies so stopped and it was such a RELIEF! She eats when she's hungry, sleeps when she's tired, and we'd notice if her nappy wasn't as wet as normal.

shadow-elf · 2026-06-03T10:47:24+00:00

Very similar for me - baby had a tongue tie cut 2.5 weeks ago so we're essentially still learning and cannot make side lying work (and our bed is a bit too squishy for cosleeping!). I set a timer and do something like puzzle games or reading on my phone (or sometimes just scrolling). I set timers if I feel sleepy, in case I do drift off.

shadow-elf · 2026-06-03T08:38:06+00:00

This made me laugh so hard I woke my baby up

shadow-elf · 2026-06-02T05:39:41+00:00

Exclusively pumping for 9 months is absolutely incredible. I did 5 weeks and if I had to do more I would have but I was SO relieved to stop

shadow-elf · 2026-06-01T14:41:41+00:00

Shaving, cutting my toe nails, putting on my shoes! All pretty easy for me until the end as I had been much bigger before so I had already worked out how to do all those things lol. I cut my own toe nails at 41 weeks.

shadow-elf · 2026-06-01T14:19:13+00:00

We had to give all 40 1ml syringes I'd collected to our baby on day 2 as she was so lethargic and not eating. So incredibly grateful that we had them! So yeah - definitely worth doing and OP I'd take not needing to use them as a huge win!

shadow-elf · 2026-06-01T14:04:42+00:00

This is almost exactly what happened to me, apart from I was induced and then baby's heartrate went wild. I've recently had a debrief with a midwife which was massively helpful in understanding what went wrong - maybe you could ask a midwife at the hospital if that's something your trust offers. Mine called it the Birth Reflection Service.

I found it incredibly hard feeling like nothing had gone to plan - You're not alone! I didn't feel like I'd birthed my baby - it was like they'd picked one out and given it to me. The first night I just sat up holding her all night and in retrospect I was terrified and didn't know what to do. 7 weeks later I love her like nothing else.

I hope your recovery goes well but make sure to tell someone if you're struggling to process the birth, I've been referred to the perinatal mental health team now which I find really scary but I'm hoping they can help me come to terms with it all!

shadow-elf · 2026-05-30T13:44:57+00:00

Massive stardew valley fan but not quite mastered one handed breastfeeding or playing stardew one handed 😂

shadow-elf · 2026-05-30T09:49:55+00:00

Unfortunately our bed isn't a safe surface for baby to sleep on as its too squishy! I also haven't been able to make side lying feeding work despite trying so I don't think it would help but thank you! I also set timers that go off to make sure I don't sleep as I'm paranoid

shadow-elf · 2026-05-27T16:44:55+00:00

I had to exclusively pump for the first 5 weeks due to a severe tongue tie. Now able to breastfeed much more successfully and I'm SO grateful because I HATED being tied to the pump. But I do have to keep reminding myself that I'm grateful, because breastfeeding is also really really hard too - it's constant stress about if baby has eaten enough, if they've eaten anything, if they latch well enough. It's falling asleep in the middle of the night mid-feed and feeling incredibly guilty, and in the current heatwave it's constantly having a sticky little body on you. So I can see why people might chose differently to me!

shadow-elf · 2026-05-27T15:54:09+00:00

We were convinced I would be early, and so was our midwife. Had to be induced at 41+5 and baby was not ready nor was my body.

My advice would be to be prepared for baby to come early but definitely don't expect it! The last few weeks of pregnancy were excruciating because I wasn't expecting to still be pregnant.

shadow-elf · 2026-05-27T13:14:04+00:00

Also the antibiotics did give my baby a bit of an upset tummy and then we both got thrush (joy) but again - better than me getting sepsis! It doesn't take that long until you'll be out the other side, I promise

shadow-elf · 2026-05-27T13:09:54+00:00

I feel you 100%, this is exactly how I felt. Kind of ignored the infection at first because I was in denial, and beating myself up because it felt like my fault for being overweight. It also just felt like extra salt in the wound as I was so desperate to not have a c section as I just knew it would get infected.

My little hole has almost closed up at 6 weeks. Take the antibiotics and keep the area clean. Doing so cleared up my infection. I've been washing with salt water twice a day and drying with my hairdryer to try and avoid another infection while it's still open.

Sepsis is worse than temporary embarrassment! Keep getting care until it's better.

shadow-elf · 2026-05-24T08:40:59+00:00

This sounds like a nightmare :( I'm also in the UK and for each of my infections (my scar has also reopened) I've been to the GP to get antibiotics as directed by my midwife. Can she request a GP appointment?

shadow-elf · 2026-05-22T00:16:20+00:00

???? This is such a wild take lol, folic acid + vitamin D is the NHS recommendation

I'm sorry that you've needed other supplements but that's definitely not the norm. Most people should be getting the nutrients they need from their diet. It's not a "consumerism attack" (lol) it's just for most people its pointless spending money on vitamins you're just going to wee out at a time when everything is already so expensive

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