December 2011 - Bring on the 2nd trimester

[jomouse]

Lets get with the glow :)

oh jomouse that comment is SOOO wrong. Foul, foul, foul!

I've only ever had my eyebrows waxed before, I was thinking about booking into a salon for downstairs, but the thought of exposing that area scares me a bit!
...which reminds me, when do MWs start wanting to feel about downstairs? (I know some ladies have said they will refuse), but when do appointments start to get intimate? My next appt will be in a couple of weeks - at week 24 - will it be then?!

My collegues must be wondering what on earth I am giggling to my self about. It is just hilarious that everyone is going through the same thing... forget down there... I can barely manage to motivate myself to shave my legs! Pretty soon I am going to get my self a plastic stool so I can sit down while taking a shower... otherwise I might never reach my feet!!!

jomouse are you serious... someone actually said that to you! GROSS!!!

Sorry to just butt in there msbuggy can bottle feeding creat problems with supply even if you bottle feed with purely expressed milk? While I will some how try and give it a go... I do want to bottle feed as well so I can give myself break and sleep a few extra hours and let my hubby do some of the feedings.

I too want to bottle feed a bit with expressed milk, because my sister didn't at all and her baby would never take a bottle and she was really tied then. She would have liked at least that the baby would take a bottle sometimes so she could get a break, but until she could use a cup, she had to breastfeed her all the time. My mum said she always breastfeed her children exclusively the first few weeks but then after about a month gave a bottle once a day or so (I think of expressed milk) so that the baby wouldn't reject a bottle later on when she needed to go out or wanted my Dad to feed or whatever. I am glad I have my mum's experience to listen to but any other advice is also very helpful!

jomouse we had an iCandy Apple jogger with DD which we liked and loved the fact the Maxi Cosi infant carrier from the car clicked straight in to it. The peach was about to be released around the time of her birth in August 2009 and while I prefered the styling I wanted to be sure I had a pushchair in place when she arrived, so stuck with the apple. A couple of NCT friends went with the peach though (they were due slightly after me) and they loved it. I think both the carry cot and chair seemed slightly smaller than the apple, which can be an issue if you have a very high percentile baby, but to be honest I have found we switched to the more compact umbrella folding type of pushchair by the time she was about 1yr anyway so this is less of an issue. We still have our apple in the loft and are thinkig it will be dusted off and have the addition of a buggyboard for when DS arrives. Still debating that one over a double buggy option however as DD still uses pushchair when tired and we are out all day, but might not by the time we are doing full days out with both of them, when she will be over 2.5yrs

I want to bottle-feed expressed milk, but I don't want the baby to reject formula if I just feed with BM and then I don't have the supply iykwim.

I work with the president of NCT so will also get RL support there (I think) lol.

lalababy For some women, yes it can. If (for example) you expressed in the evening to give one bottle over night from very early on then you would effectively be missing giving one feed during the night. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but prolactin which is one of the most important hormones involved in production of milk is higher over night, which makes feeding at night times very important to maintaining supply in the early days.

Also, pumps are not as effective at removing milk as babies, which means that while a baby is able to drain your breasts well (which means less chance of blocked ducts and mastitis too!) a pump doesn't provide your body with the same stimulation which makes you produce more milk.

Once your supply is established you can play around with it more, but as it can be difficult to (and is certainly stressful and time consuming) improve your supply the general advice is no bottles/pacifiers/alternative sucking of any kind until your baby is between 6 and 8 weeks old.

We say 6-8 weeks because almost everyone's supply will be well established by then, obviously, some women will find it happens earlier. If you have any initial latching or supply problems then it is likely to take a bit longer.

This giant essay sounds negative about pumping milk to bottle feed, but obviously provided that it isn't done too early pumping alongside breastfeeding works very well for many mothers.

msbuggy far from negative, I think your response is very informative - and especially useful for us first time mums who have no experiece with this stuff. It is all quite confusing ... and it is really great to get a bit of personalised advice! Thank you!

mmmcheese my friend can get her phil & teds in the boot of her fiesta is that helps you? Its also what we've gone for, quite pricey but so much more practical and folds much smaller than most doubles.

Ive beenwearing proper knickers since I was pregnant with DS, now I can't believe I ever used to find thongs comfortable! Does anyone else think their hair is growing quicker at the moment, mine seems to be growing faster than I can shave it off!

msbuggy sorry another bf question if you don't mind. How easy or difficult is it to bf a full-term healthy baby? DS was born before he'd developed a strong sucking reflex, despite me really wanting to bf. I was cup-feeding him formula in hospital whilst still trying to bf. He was perfectly healthy and after 3 days in hospital and being told we couldn't leave until I could feed my baby (and my milk having not come in so I couldn't express) I'm afraid I took the easy option to ff. I probably sound really selfish, I'd like to bf this time but with a 3.5yo at home I don't want to be in hospital for days on end.

To clarify, I love answering bfing questions. It would be a bit daft of me to be a BFC if I wasn't hugely a bit geeky about breast feeding!

seven Firstly, it is totally understandable that you just wanted to be home however you got there. You don't sound selfish at all. I know I felt like that with DD1!

It is a difficult question to answer! It will depend mainly on how much knowledge and support you have in place before this baby is born, then if you do encounter any problems you should be able to get them sorted quickly. As wonderful a BFC as I am there are things that you need someone to actually see to help with.

Many women go along to bfing support groups while pregnant to arm themselves with information, regardless of how they fed any previous DC. If you did decide to attend a group you would then have a relationship with a BFC already if you needed any support, groups also often have libraries containing every bit of breast feeding knowledge you could ever wish to know! PM me with your location if you want details of groups in your area!

Msbuggy - you are a star! Really appreciate your advice!

re expressing: I could hardly get a few ounces when I expressed with DD in the first 6 weeks anyway. I tried to give her express milk after that period and she completely refused bottled. Not saying it happens all the time but probably quite common. I am going to leave this dc with a childminder from 9 months onwards so will need to figure something out, might end up being sippy cups only though.

fusam cups can work really well with DC older than 6 months, skipping having to clean sodding bottles sounds good to me in any case! (my DD1 didn't latch until she was 3mths old so had bottles) Before 6 weeks, a few oz is all they need at a time anyway, breast milk is higher in calories than formula and breastfed newborns feed little and often!

OiMissus Thank you! I find it fun - I realise I'm odd!

Yeah I really wasn't too bothered in the end tbh, found sterilizing, expressing, etc a faff in the end.

Thanks msbuggy, really appreciate the advice, we're very lucky to have a BFC on our ante-natal group! My local sure start children's centre have a breast-feeding cafe one morning a week, is this the sort of group you mean? It would be quite handy as it's only a 5 minute walk away.

We're getting a Maclaren XT techno buggy & a Britax first class plus car seat (which should take squatter from 0-4, yay!).

My boobs are awfully huge (& sweaty!) gone from a 34DD to a 38E, only 19wks, expecting two space hoppers on my chest by the end of it.
Kri5ty, I'm 23 & have stolen DH's boxer shorts (elastic waist, no chaffing and a breeze, yes please) so it's not just you!!

DarciesMum, sorry DP forgot your anniversary!!

Hope every one has a lovely time getting waxed, after hearing about the decrease in pain threshold (and realising for the first time that plucking eyebrows hurts) I've decided against a wax & DH is learning about the sweet hell that is the smell of Immac/Veet (made him promise he'll defuzz me when I can't do it myself).

Jomouse that's really wrong, what an odd man. 'My' pregnancy perverts haven't said anything that weird yet, although when someone does I may have to unleash the 'do you have any idea how uncomfortable I am' mad lady card.

Anyone started 'glowing' yet or is everyone else as sweaty, grumpy, spotty & uncomfortable as I am?

Morning ladies!
My nails are long and lush and the best they've ever been! My hair now can last up to 3 days between washes. (that sounds dirty doesn't it?) I'm glowing - but it's because of the tan I got in Italy.
During the day, I feel great.
But come the evening, I am tired and grouchy, and I get restless legs and go to bed early. I have also developed a nice crop of spots under my chin and around my neck. I 'spose I'm lucky that my face is fairly clear.

But my big news is... we've got someone coming to view the house tonight! Yippee! So I'm working from home today to clean up in between bouts of mumsnet work.

I BF DD for the first 6 months and plan to do the same again this time around, all going well. The only times I expressed were when she was in hospital and was nil-by-mouth. Hospital pumps work so well! Even then she wouldn't then take the expressed milk from a bottle. I tried expressing at home, but found I struggled to get very much out using the home pump. I struggled even more in actually finding time between feeds and looking after DD to express in the first place. So I pretty much couldn't go out on my own for any length of time for 6 months, which sounds awful when put like that but in reality was fine.

I started to gradually introduce formula and bottles from months 5-6 so that when she started solids she was used to bottles (i.e. something other than breast). It was a bit of a battle initially to get her to take a bottle, but we perservered and in the end it only took a week or so before she happpily took it.

mrsbuggy it is fab for all of us that you are a bfc :o you helped me out alot whe i was all confused about expressing and my ignorant, uselss consultant!! I have booked NCT classes so i can go to the breastfeeding class, and i have read all up on different techniques... i love the idea of lying in bed feeding :)

awomancalledhorse omg omg omg why had i never thought about boxers??! I am soooo trying some on when i get home! and you OH is very nice to agree to immac you... mine won't even massage my feet lol

jomouse that is just plain wrong!! ewww

oimissus i was a wax virgin until about 3 years ago, i felt strange about it, but the place i go is great, i didnt feel awkward at all when i was there, and it hurt less than havin gmy eyebrows threaded!!

Yup my hair has taken over everything... it grows so fast i can;t even be bothered to keep my eyebrows groomed... my legs, well they are nice and fuzzy now too!! Well they are today, but i go away tomorrow so i guess i shall have t0 make an effot :( ... the only thing i AM keeping on top of is my blonde beard that has appeared :(

I wear DP's boxers for bed...usually Christmas ones!

kri5ty Lying in bed feeding is the best. I plan to bed lying in bed feeding for oooo...a week after DD3 is born.

My (head!) hair is long and shiny, even with the 2 DDs I have long nails, but by the DDs bedtime I am in a very bad mood so DP is doing it all. I just lie in bed reading, waiting for DD2 to turn up to bf to sleep!

Anyone thought about Christmas? My Mum offered to take us all out to a nice pub round the corner from our house, but I've said no as I might only be a week post birth and don't want to have to deal with leaky fluids, trying to breast feed and organise the DDs! I like that pub, they might not want me back after all that!

Currently I'm planning on buying M&S everything so I don't have to cook, telling everyone that they are very welcome to come round for as long as they like, but I'll be in my PJs! Must add new PJs to the 'baby list book' actually.

chistmas no :( i am due on the 13th.. with my 1st.. who according to the sonographer is "very lazy" i am booked in for a sweep on the 23rd... so i am imagining him to turn up on christmas day... so no plans what so ever here :( i may ask my dad to save some dinner and bring it around to us :) even though he lives 40 mind drive away!

mrsbussy... if he does turn up around his due date, we are planning m&s too!!

omg mrsbuggy* hmm my typing has got awful since pregnant, and i really dont know why!

We're going to do a massive online Ocado shop around due date Msbuggy, I don't think 38 weeks pregnant and christmas shopping crowds will mix.
MIL is going to be staying with us for a week or two pre due date so she shall be my personal slave chef.

Silly first pregnancy question; I'm 19 +5 and last night felt (external, woke up DH to feel it to make sure I wasn't going crazY) proper kicks. Is it way too early for that?

I'm due on the 2nd, so hopefully even if he arrives late, I should have had a good week or so to adapt. Normally either me, mum or my sister host Christmas dinner for the three families. And then we go to a big family party with uncles, aunts, cousins etc.
If we have moved into the new house by then (running ahead of myself perhaps), it'd be great to have everyone around for the big party. But I'll rope the family in to help out with the buffet - or the babysitting whilst I do the shopping and prep. :)
Just trying to work out my maternity leave this morning... How much time can I afford to take off? I'm counting on the "Keeping in Touch" hours to supplement statutory pay. (especially if we are in the new house with the new big mortgage! New mortgages don't allow the "mortgage holidays" you used to be able to take. Not good!)