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Charters Anonymous Graduates Volume 2! – No more temping!

936 replies

Iwish · 24/05/2011 21:15

A nice cosy place to accommodate our growing bumps and little wrigglers.

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Pippaandpolly · 21/11/2011 21:40

Spilt this is probably silly but have you tried recreating your normal breastfeeding routine as far as possible when giving a bottle? Same position, hands in the same places, etc? And wearing as many layers as you can bear so she can smell you less? Also, put the tip of the bottle to her bottom lip and let a few drops fall on/in so she realises it's your milk? The other thing is to use Tommee Tippee bottles as they're shaped more like real nipples (well, they're not very realistic, but more so than other bottles!). I speak from experience of trying to get DD to bottle feed in about week 2 when she wasn't breast feeding OR bottle feeding and we were desperately using a syringe Sad It worked eventually but was pretty horrible, as she would do that screaming until hysterical thing at both my breast and the bottle. I still feel crap for not breast feeding but thank God she'll drink from the bottle if not the boob!

Pippaandpolly · 21/11/2011 21:41

Oh, and the Renovation Game is my latest guilty pleasure! (So gutted when The Real Housewives of New York City ended Blush)

GetDownYouWillFall · 22/11/2011 09:58

pippa don't feel bad about moving on to bottles Smile You know your baby best and sometimes it is the only thing to do. It certainly was with my DD. I beat myself up about it for ages, but it really wasn't my fault. They do just fine on formula.

spilt - funny that, my DS prefers the left side too, but he's too much of a greedy guts to reject the right side altogether! Thankfully he does take a bottle too. I've been expressing in the mornings and DH giving it to him in a bottle in the evenings. Although the past few nights he's gone down after his bath and we haven't woken him at 10 for the bottle. He was up at 3am last night for an hour, so I think the sleeping through thing was a bit of a fluke Hmm Oh well.

MrsA labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour......labour.................................. come on babyA you know you want too.... yes you do, oh yes you doooo!!! Grin

Glad to hear I am not a total freak re the not DTD. Was starting to feel a bit guilty at depriving DH. spilt I agree with you, I can't even bear to imagine what state things are "down there". They were a bit of a mess after DD, things can only have got worse Blush Grin [Note to self: attempt DTD only in the dark]

MrsP81 · 22/11/2011 12:41

Hi all!

It's been a while. I have been ill the last couple of weeks with chest/ear/eye infections and coupled with already struggling to adjust to my new life as a mummy I've been quite down in the dumps. Starting to feel better now so hopefully things will improve. It is reassuring to know that everyone seems to go through the same struggles!

DD half heartedly took a bottle the other evening but I think we need to persevere a bit more. Also having troubles with breastfeeding the last couple of days which could be related to my antibiotics, maybe it makes the milk taste a bit weird. I love BF when it goes well but it is hard to get my head around the fact that I can't leave her as she is so dependent on my boobs!

We haven't DTD yet but I think I will try and make an effort soon for poor DH!

Hope labour arrives for you soon MrsA!

I am also a sucker for a house programme and like the Renovation Game. Smile

spilttheteaagain · 22/11/2011 15:38

Phew! laptop is working. I tipped a pint of water over it in the middle of the night whilst feeding. whoops!

I'm glad I'm not the only person hooked to daytime tv. But the RG was shocking today, that poor house. I hate bodge-it jobs like painting tiles etc. Good god that bathroom. Sink pedestal wonky with a huge gap. Big new white tiles round bath, old small tiles everywhere else, half painted green, half painted white Shock and WTF were they thinking in the kitchen?? Ah but its fun to watch Grin

And back to babies... thanks pippa for the tips. We're using a tommee tippee bottle now after giving up on the Avent ones that came with the steriliser. It seems a bit better, in that she does at times tolerate it in her mouth but even then she has no idea what to do with it, and just licks and ends up pushing it out with her tongue. DH tries to give her the bottle, I try and stay out of it, because of smelling of milk myself as you say. We've been doing the bottle attempts with freshly expressed milk so it hasn't been fridged or anything to try and make it as acceptable as possible. Aarrrgh!
It sounds awful what you describe - baby refusing boob and bottle. It does worry me, what would happen if I couldn't feed? Too ill/medication/in hospital etc, if she won't have a bottle?
Please don't feel bad about bottle feeding. As a mum you have to make the best choice for your child and you taking account of circumstances etc. For you and DD that's bottles, and that's fine.

GetDown boo for the broken nights. It's really gutting when you think you've cracked it. We had a miracle night at about 5 weeks when she went 10pm-5.30am and one at 12 weeks where she did 11pm-7.30am. But otherwise she's up once or twice (or more...)

MrsP sorry you've not been well, that must be terrible with such a tiny baby. Have you had much support/help? Know what you mean about how overwhelming it is to be so depended on.

Come on babyA!

How are our pregnant ladies doing?

to nix and lady x

jaggythistle · 08/12/2011 21:32

Hello - anyone else still around?

Had second scan today and babbyjaggy2 is looking fine. Quite surprised to be half way there already all of a sudden.

How is everyone doing?

spilttheteaagain · 10/12/2011 09:24

Hi jaggy, great news on your scan. Yes am still here! Did you find out boy/girl or not? Hope raven is doing ok as well xx

We're all ok here, just recovered from the first bout of d&v which was horrible and scary, poor little baby. Amazing how quickly they bounce back though.

MrsA any sign of that young man yet??

spilttheteaagain · 10/12/2011 09:36

oooh scratch that! MrsA just checked on your nov thread and see the little chap has finally arrived. You poor thing, sounds like a hideously long drawn out affair, you have my full sympathies. And massive congratulations on your gorgeous (not so little)! boy Grin xx

Iwish · 11/12/2011 09:38

Hi all!

Thought I would see how you all are.

split hope your little miss is getting better. Must have been horrid. How old is she now?

Congrats mrsa hope you are ok.

Fab about your scan jaggy :)

Waves to everyone else. Hope mums, babies and bumps are well.

Joshua is 12 weeks old today, I can't believe it. We are still BFing and am loving it. And the last 3 nights have been fab, only 1 get up at around 5:30am for a feed Grin. He goes to bed 9:00-9:30pm and gets up 8:30-9:00am. Hope he keeps it up! He's also been in his own room in his big boy cot since 7+5 weeks because he hated the Moses basket and crib, he's so much happier in his cot.

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spilttheteaagain · 11/12/2011 15:13

Thanks Iwish, she's fine now. 16 weeks tomorrow!

Fantastic that the BFing has become enjoyable now. Does he still need the nipple shields or are you able to do without them? The sleeping sounds great, hope you're feeling well rested! Very brave having him in his own room. I am very clingy and DD is still in our bed and DH is in the other room Blush We have her cot in our room but it's too far away from me and I can't sleep when she's in it. I'm like a loon pacing from bed to cot all night to check on her Blush

I've just bought her a 4m+ beaker to try and get her to drink from. Bottles totally failed, so hoping she'll take milk in a beaker instead.

I think we're into the 4m growth spurt now. Constant feeding, and instead of being up once in the night, she's been waking 4-6 times a night for food

Off to the docs next week to see about getting my broken backside fixed. I have very painful piles damnit which I was hoping would go away by themselves, but instead are getting worse Sad

Hope everyones well Smile

Iwish · 12/12/2011 10:10

16 weeks has gone quick split oooh the growth spurts are awful, we went through the 3 month one the other week, his sleep messed up and was constantly attached to boob lol. It'll pass soon tho and she may sleep better. That's what Joshie did. What's her sleep usually like?

Yeh we are still usibg the shields but i figured hes happy with them and gaining weight so im happy too.
We actually put him in his own room by accident. We were doing the usual walking around in the dark trying to settle him and I put him in his cot so I could switch the mobile on in case the music helped and as soon as he was in the cot he was silent, so I left him and he fell asleep. We have a sound and movement monitor so that really puts my mind at rest, otherwise I would have had to go and get him lol.

Ouch about the backside! Hope they can help you get it sorted.

Joshua slept even better last night, bit of boob at 8:35 but he fell asleep so he had done more at 9:25 then he slept till 6:20 and had some more booby then back to sleep till 9:25!! Woohoo!

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GetDownYouWillFall · 12/12/2011 17:49

Hi all congrats to MrsA look forward to the birth story.

Well done on carrying on with the b/feeding iwish that's fab. It's great when it starts to get enjoyable and not painful anymore. I am realising too that it is much much more convenient than sterilising and washing loads of bottles and making up feeds all the time.

I've discovered that DS can really have his feeding upset if I get upset or cross Blush The other day I shouted at DD (not proud) and DS screamed and then refused to feed for hours and hours Sad It was awful, I felt so bad. Finally managed by lying down next to him sucking a dummy, sneaked the dummy out and shoved boob in, but it was not a nice experience. Will def not do that again!!

spilt sorry to hear about the piles. I've got them too, and they LITERALLY are a pain in the arse!! I went to the dr about mine - she gave me some cream and just basically said they get better over time, don't strain when doing a poo, and keep doing your pelvic floors. That was it. Hopefully they will get better soon. Well done on your DD getting to 16 weeks. Our little ones are growing and changing so fast aren't they xxx

Iwish · 12/12/2011 18:37

Hi getdown! You are right, it's sooo much easier than washing bottles etc. I love that I'm the only one that can feed him and I especially love our morning feed as he is so relaxed and happy. Awww bless your DS! It's sweet that he got upset at you shouting but I bet not v nice re the feeding. Joshua has done the screaming and not feeding thing too, it's awful isn't it.
What do you guys do about naps? Joshie has 3 naps a day, a couple of half a hour naps and a 2 1/2 hour nap.

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spilttheteaagain · 12/12/2011 19:02

Hi GetDown Smile
It's so lovely to hear from you all again, I've been wondering how everyone's doing. Love the subterfuge stealth boob! I do that occasionlly. She's worked out thumb sucking now (so cute!) but sometimes is too keen on the thumb to feed so I have to do a super fast swap.
Sorry you also have the piles, vile things. I have cream I've been using which seems to help a bit but was hoping there was something stronger around. They were so bad at the weekend I was going dizzy with the pain when I was on the loo Sad
I've heard rumours of suppositories with local anaesthetic in them, sounds great to me!

I know what you mean iwish about loving their total dependence on you. I love snuggling up in bed with her and feeding her to sleep and then dozing off with her in my arms. And waking up to her sweet little face and gorgeous grin

Nap wise. I've let her show me what she needs sleepwise and I just try and help her get to sleep when she needs to. It usually works out as a shortish nap (45mins ish) late morning, then about 2 hours kip in the afternoon, and then another hour or so in the eve. We try and get her to sleep around 8.30-10pm ish at night (very vague!) and she wakes about 8am properly (and numerous times inbetween for feeds!)
Overtired babies are haaaard work.

Do you sing to your babies? I need some new songs to add to my repetoire. Old Macdonald gets lots of grins, especially when he has a snake on the farm that goes "ssssssss" Grin

Iwish · 12/12/2011 22:01

Yeh I sing to Joshua. I can't remember many of the nursery rhymes but we sing 'twinkle twinkle', 'wheels on the bus', 'horsey horsey', 'incy wincy spider' and 'I'm a little tea pot'. We do a few little moves with them too Grin. I get a few giggles but he gets bored easily, charming!

Have you all spoils your LOs for Christmas? We have only got Joshua 2 prezzies. People keep telling us not to buy. We have got him a bumbo seat and a toy that has all different textures etc on it.

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MrsP81 · 13/12/2011 10:49

Hello ladies!

Fab news on your scan jaggy, that has gone very quickly indeed. Hope you're having a good pregnancy.

Congratulations MrsA! Xmas Grin Sounds like you had a bit of a rough ride but hope you're enjoying your little man now.

DD is 8 weeks already, that's gone so fast! I still wouldn't quite describe bf as enjoyable at the moment, although it is easier than it was. Glad to hear that you all have stuck with it though as it gives me a little bit of hope that things will get better soon! I'm getting lots of smiles and grins now so that helps too. Xmas Smile

We haven't got any christmas presents for DD, we need to save some money! I'm sure we'll get plenty from family so she won't miss out.

Iwish · 13/12/2011 21:06

Hello mrsp!
Wow 8 weeks has gone fast. I hope bf gets better for you soon, it's so worth it.
The smiles are fab aren't they. Joshua is giving us lots of smiles and giggles too and I love it. My heart melts every time.

Joshua had his 2nd set of jabs today, poor thing screamed so loud I was almost crying myself. Dp had hold of him and I say facing a corner with my eyes closed. Poor little man was really sulky and screaming when we got home 2. He's had 2 doses of calpol :(. Fingers crossed he feels better now.

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GetDownYouWillFall · 23/12/2011 12:55

Just wanted to pop in to say happy christmas to Charters friends and all the babies! Hope all the little ones enjoy their first Christmas! Off to family tomorrow for a few days.

Take care all xx

Iwish · 24/12/2011 15:22

Merry Christmas lovely ladies! Hope you all have a lovely time with your families

Love Nikkie and Joshie xx

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spilttheteaagain · 25/12/2011 10:53

Happy Christmas charters, babes and bumps xx

MrsP81 · 25/12/2011 21:36

Happy Christmas ladies, babies and bumps. Xmas Smile Hope you've all had a lovely day. Xxx

Iwish · 01/01/2012 09:18

Happy new year ladies! Hope 2012 brings lots of happy moments with your beautiful bundles of joy!

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LadyGoneGaga · 04/01/2012 11:24

Happy New Year all! Gone very quiet over here. Sorry haven't been around much. We're all well. Still feeding although she has a bottle of formula before bed and we are now weaning onto solids. She's really got the hang of it now. Pear and butternut squash are her faves. We had a lovely first Christmas with her but it was a bit sad as William was at his Dad's for the actual day. And excitingly, DP prpoposed in front of both our families and I said yes! So 2012 going to be mostly about wedding planning.

Hope everyone else had a great time and all the babies had lovely first Christmases. Xmas Grin

MrsP81 · 04/01/2012 13:42

Happy new year everyone!

Can't believe weaning time has arrived for you already LadyG, that seems to have gone very quickly. Congratulations on your engagement, very exciting news! Grin

DD was diagnosed with a tongue tie last week (at 10 weeks old) so that explains some of the difficulties we've been having. Just got to wait to have it fixed now but I'm really hoping for an improvement. She has such terrible wind at times so fingers crossed this will go some way to helping with that.

Hope everyone is well.

jaggythistle · 04/01/2012 18:41

Happy New year all :)

Had my 24wk MW appointment today and all seems fine. Despite my tummy feeling ginormous, it is apparently measuring fine Grin

Only about 4 months to go, which sometimes seems ages and other days not long at all.

MrsP81 DS's tongue tie caused enough problems in the 8 days before the MW got us a snip appointment so hope it helps you a lot too.

Hope all is good with you all. :)

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