Rat smackers extraordinaire enjoying a festive mince pies and brooking no argument that there will be the occasional sneeze birth before the end of 2013

[SweetieTime]

Ladies I think we need a new festive thread to take us through to the end of the year. And as it will be me to sneeze next –how did it get around to my turn so quickly???-- I thought I would do the honours.

from start of feed! dh reckoned it would be from end of feed, not sure why I believed him . I was awake from around 3 this morning and actually feel ok but I'm always worse when my sleep is patchy, I'd better get used to that though .
hmmmm I thought it was normal to iron them but it seems I'm taking nesting a step too far
can I ask keep have you found it fairly easy? and how are your nips?
I'd like to give it a go. but I'm not sure, I don't know anyone that got on well with it.

yay boo I knew another brooker had ironed too. couldn't remember if it was you or sparks so I was hoping for a confession . did someone do it twice by any chance? not that I'm planning on doing that. I just have a feeling Some one said they'd done it twice.

trix I am not going to lie, i was surpised at how difficult BF was at the start despite my AN classes. Neither you nor the baby know what youre doing, and if you get the latch wrong, which you will, then you get really sore nipples very fast. But, once you get the latch right BF is simpler, easier, cheaper, and better for both the baby and you. and lovly bonding. I would say that you will need a lot of support at the start - did your mum BF? If so then have her around. I have also made a lot of use of the hospital and NCT midwives and counsellors to check my latch and technique. do not think you can do it without support, as you have crazy hormones and it isnt easy and youll be getting no sleep. i found and still find it hard that you cant tell how much they are getting other than by nappies and weight gain.
for me the first 5 days were hard, then we both more or less got the hang of it. nipples sore for 3 days i think.

My nipples were sore for a lot longer than 3 days...not all the time, but it wasn't totally pain-free until M was 6 weeks old. It would get better and then we'd accidentally have one feed with a bad latch and it would be sore again. And Musical had continually bleeding nips for ages, with Iz possetting blood! Re bf, it can be really hard work at first. Totally worth it - I'm still going 21 months later, but be realistic. The best piece of advice I got was to expect it to take 6-8 weeks minimum to really get established and comfortable. And be prepared for cluster-feeding when the baby can and will feed for 2 hours or more in one go.

Use lots of Lansinoh!

yes - use lansinoh and ask for help before it gets too bad. I think I am a bit limited in my positions, and still learning, and still obsessing over length of feeds, weight gain (we have a weigh in tomorrow, eek). I think it will be lovely if DH is able to feed her once a day though, and so that later I can actually go out or leave her with someone for a bit. Though I guess feeds will space out in a few weeks i blooming well hope so

In my area the MW told me that 50% of people have given up BF by ten days. I really think that this is because they haven't asked for support and have got tired and everything. I am not against bottle feeding at all btw and do not judge people who have to or choose to do it, but if you want to BF then I think you need to be prepared.

Brilliant advice there Keep and Too. I so want to breastfeed. I think my biggest worry throughout this whole pregnancy is whether or not ill be able to breastfeed!

I take my hat off to you Boo and Trix!

You may take your hat off to us Maybe but found leave it lying around, Trix might iron it

Yes, the BFing advice above is very good and true, I would like to add, don't put pressure on yourself and drink gallons of water while you're feeding!

Maybe, the trial pack was from Essex County Council, but it doesn't look like they offer it anymore However, I've just had a scout around in Iz's room and have found the bits we had in it - we only ever used them on a teddy bear, as we'd bought our bitti tuttos before she arrived. Would you like me to send them onto you? They may help you decide, they may not.. but they're not doing anyone any good hanging around here! The pack was from Modern Baby and has one all in one, one cloth nappy that's shaped and one that's not (I think, not got them in front of me!) and two waterproof liners.

Don't think I ever ironed baby clothes when DD was tiny I do iron her clothes now so she doesn't look too scruffy! I also didn't pre wash her clothes - naughty I know, but we had just moved house and I really didn't have the time.. she seems none the worse for it! (insert lazy mother emoticon here).

All the advice about breastfeeding above (or below, if you're flipped like me) is excellent. Too is right, I had a horrible time for ages. Bleeding, cracking nipples was hellish. For me giving up wasn't an option as I had a sneaking suspicion that DD may be lactose intolerant (which she is) so didn't want her on dairy-filled formula, and had heard that the dairy free alternatives were grim. Definitely make sure you know about any local support groups or bf advisors - the bf advisor who visited me was invaluable. If you're really desperate don't rule out the use of aids like nipple shields. They actually did me more harm than good (seeing them fill up with blood is a scarring memory! ) but I know of many people they have helped. In terms of creams and helping them heal, I was told that the best thing to do was to express a bit of milk onto your nipples after a feed and let them air dry. Creams should go on and then put them away if you must - but keep reapplying. The best thing to do is keep them out to air as much as possible - just remember before you answer the door..

boo
its good to get feed back from people currently bfing or have done it. most people I know tried and failed. for instance my bestie said it was like the worse pain ever.
I've already invested in the nip cream you all rave about and the health visitor gave me info on the support groups etc. I want to try so I can at least say I have had a good. I've got bottles and formula just incase. I'd hope dh could do some feeds to so ill get a breast pump if I'm successful.

Musical that would be utterly amazing, thank you so much!!

It's brilliant we have a support network here. You lot tell us the things that other people don't! I like to be prepared. I also heard that starting the old nipple cream in the last few weeks of pregnancy was also a good idea. Yay or nay? Gone are the days of rubbing them with a scourer to toughen them up!!!

Just to give another view on bf, dd is 18 months and showing no signs of stopping. I had absolutely no pain whatsoever in the early stages. She kept falling asleep so I went to the bf clinic on day 3 and they showed me a different position to feed her in. She straddled my leg and sat upright to feed, it was much better for us and meant she brought her wind up while feeding too which is a bonus.

If there is a clinic or support group or whatever near you then don't hesitate to use it. I had brilliant bf support despite living out in the sticks in one of the most deprived areas of the UK.

DD has never worn ironed clothes, DH and me have really bad skin so pre washed everything for her. I forgot once and she got awful dry skin so unfortunately that is something I have to do.

I stood at the door chatting to the female dog walker for ages once. After she'd gone, I looked down and realised my shirt was open and one entire cup of my blue nursing bra was showing! M must have been less than 10 weeks old and I was v sleep-deprived.

Not a problem Maybe! I'll get the bits together and send you a FB message tomorrow :) My DH says that he didn't think the starter pack was brilliant, and that he doesn't like them but loves the nappies we got afterwards but maybe it'll help you with some decisions!

I can better that Too! When Iz was only a few months old (three maybe?) I had a meeting with some fellow composers in London about starting a collective. I took Iz along and she was very well behaved! We'd agreed the details and the terms, were sitting in a park and decided to take group photos. I had a handy keyhole top that was great for feeding in.. but had left the keyhole in the wrong place exposing nipples for all and sundry - and more importantly, for potential group publicity photos! Thankfully one of the fellow composers is a good friend who subtly managed to inform me of what was going on before the photo was taken, and hopefully before too many of the others noticed..!

I'm not sure about the nipple cream in the last few weeks Maybe. I didn't, and my nipples struggled.. but I won't blame that on a lack of starting nipple cream early! Though maybe next time I should attack them with a scourer just in case

Thank you so much lovely Musical! Your story is hilarious!! As is yours Too! And I bet at the time you were both too shattered to care

That's good advice Rubber. I'm very lucky in that my friend is a midwife, and she is now a breast feeding support MW too, so she had promised to give me as much help and guidance as I need!

Another story to encourage Maybe and Trix. DS was so very difficult to feed at the beginning because of a tongue tie. The MW support wasn't great but the NCT lady was an absolute marvel. DD, however, from minutes after she was born, just knew what she was doing. Some babies just do. It was and continues to be an absolute doddle to feed her, so it is not guaranteed it is going to be hard, so I don't want you to feel that it is going to be awful! (I'm just glad it was that way round though. Having DD first, it would have been a shock to have had DS!)

Hey all,

Glad to see we are all well!!

I am interested in your nappy talk, have any of you used cloth nappies but not had a tumble dryer / big space to dry?? I was looking for a cleaning service but couldn't find one in my area?

xx

Bumpie we don't have a tumble drier or garden! But apparently you aren't advised to tumble them for long anyway, we will be using airers and we are getting airers that we can clip to our balcony for some outside drying.

Thanks Dino, I like hearing good stories.

Morning all!

I don't have a tumble dryer Bumpie. We've found they dry fine on an airer (or on one of those small hanging dryer things with lots of pegs) during the winter, though obviously not as quickly as they would in a tumble, or as they do on a line in the summer. We tend to do a load of nappies every other day, and seem to be able to juggle them with the rest of the laundry.. just!

It is the laundry aspect that puts me off cloth nappies. I know perfectly well that I would wind up with a week's worth of festering nappies because I would have failed to wash them in time.

Booking appt at 9! I rashly told DH I would walk into town, and when he'd driven off I checked Google Maps and discovered it's 3.4 miles and estimated walking time is 1 hr 8 minutes. Taxi! I could easily walk 3.4 miles in hiking boots/trainers but I'm going on to work and I'd be wearing a dress and carrying my handbag and I don't want to have to wear trainers and carry my nice black boots which go with this dress. I suppose I could carry ballet pumps instead but then I have to cart a bag of trainers around all day. Taxi is coming instead, hurray! I had better get off the sofa and brush my hair/do my face/teeth etc or the taxi will arrive before I'm ready. The joy of getting to lie around in my own living room eating toast and drinking tea instead of rushing out the house at 7.15 and not having breakfast until I get to work!

I love hearing all the feeding stories especially the boob exposures
theres some really good tips there.
even the encouragement to use all the help thats available because I can see it being the kind of thing that I will get annoyed with and give up because I don't have to do it, without asking for any help.
I have an NHS antenatal class this morning, my first, I'm expecting it to be quite different to the nct ones.
I have the nct one this evening too, there's been talk of the couple who had their baby a week or so ago coming along to tell us all about it. I do hope they come.

too its lovely isn't it. my class is at 10. I am still in bed. I made my tea and porridge and fetched them up

Trix, I had a duvet on the sofa! I was wondering about volunteering to go along and demo breastfeeding with M at the NHS classes - do you think seeing a 21 mo bf would put a lot of people off? It would probably have freaked me out a bit before I did it myself. I'd have thought I was a lentil-weavery earth mother weirdo. Maybe I should wait and volunteer with the new baby, assuming s/he and I manage to bf ok.

I'm enjoying these nappy and breast feeding posts too, loving the boob exposure anecdotes Too & Musical

Can I ask those that breast fed, as I am really keen to, is it a good idea to get a breast pump now? I've been looking at the medela swing and getting a few bottles just in case and/or for MrS to help with feeding. Also it's good to pump to keep the supply going, right? Good idea or not?

Maybe I forgot to answer your qs a few pages back! I've been doing the lazy daisy classes, which have been really good so far.

Too good luck with booking in today.

Trix we have our first hospital antenatal class tonight! our nct ones start in the new year.

By the way all ok with the heart just another one of those pregnancy related issues..

too I'm not sure ........ I think I agree it would probably freak me out. maybe go offer yourself and see what they think. if I'm honest some of the videos I've watched of newborns bfing have scared me a bit .

That's brilliant news Solars!! Just another ailment to add to the massive list . I'm glad you're enjoying your classes! That's a good question about the pump. Everywhere that I've looked, it says you shouldn't consider introducing a bottle until at least 6 weeks so that your supply is established. But obviously if there are problems, you need to express sooner. I'd love MrM to be able to feed her, but I don't want to risk problems with latching. God, there is so much to think about!

Too I don't know if it would freak me out, but as first-timer, I think I would assume that seeing a toddler feed isn't the same as a newborn. If that makes sense? Good luck at the MW.

Hope your class goes well Trix! I'd be interested to see what the differences are! Must make it all seem very real!