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.

oh it is looking lovely in here. loving the Christmasy nick names too.
how do I give my smileys Santa hats? my Android app only has the regular ones .
so I thought that my NHS antenatal class was good actually. it just focused on feeding this time (there's 2 more classes)
we learnt much more about breast feeding than in my nct classes. it was much more practical, how to hold the baby, latching on etc etc and covered all the horrible things we had all been told about breast feeding, mostly myths. I feel much more confident about it now.
I find the nct is much more on the emotional side of things and very biased.
I've yet to learn about bathing and nappy changing hopefully one or other of the courses will cover this.
I will at least have made some friends through nct though

Aw you lot name changing to Christmas IDs, loving the name changes

Keep great weight gain, so pleased S is doing so well after the jaundice glitch. How did you get on with a bottle?

I had a lovely 40th birthday yesterday, loads of nice gifts and an amazing cake. I was so of hoping the twins might have put in an appearance but not. I may have had a couple of BH while out & about but it could have been the weight of the bump pulling down. I have accepted that I might go as far as the 16th which is only 11 days away so I have to get over myself.

I'm loving all the festive names!

Trix sounds really productive your NHS classes. We had our first one yesterday which I thought was really good too. It covered labour, signs of labour etc. Our next one covers labour too but also complications and the third deals with what to do when the baby arrives. Unfortunately because of Christmas we don't get a hospital visit but we can organise this ourselves with the hospital. I was quite surprised that she kept going on about home births and really promoting them? I was also surprised how big the class was, 10 couples I thought they'd only be about 5 or 6!

Happy birthday for yesterday Sweetie

Forgot to say Yay on the weight gain Keep

Too I also have my eye on the Medela Swing, I think I will invest in one before the baby comes, thanks.

Trix we have a baby bath but have never used it. We found it much easier to just take her in the shower with one of us. You aren't supposed to use any products on them at the start anyway, just water. In the shower the water just runs off so they aren't getting bum water on their head unless you hang them upside down IYSWIM. One of us would be in the shower holding her and the other ready with a towel to take her and get her dried and dressed after. The recommendations are to bath them no more than twice a week anyway as it can dry their skin out. You don't wash them straight away to allow the vernix to be absorbed by the skin so you have a couple of days before having to worry about it.

As for nappy changes, it is the law that the father must change the first couple of horrid, tar like nappies. You don't want to get involved with that when you have just given birth.

solars I think there wad about 12 of us at the NHS one and a few partners. there's 6 couples at my nct class.
rubber I will be sure to tell dh the nappy law
sweetie glad you had a lovely birthday. it must be fraustrating being so near but yet so far from eviction day. I bet it will wizz by though.

trix I was sure S would fox me by doing her meconium when dh had been sent home, but she was good and waited. I'd say a baby bath is handy for when they're v little, as quicker and easier. But not essential, and quite bulky if you have a small house.

sweetie have you not had bh till now? Am hoping for an earlier labour as you want it, but you've done so well for your twins keeping them in there cooking so long.

The bottle. Well, she took it no problem at all :) Had half, about 45mls, then burped, then another half. She was hungry an hour later though, but often feeds a lot in the evening. My hv was useless on how much might constitute a feed she gets from me. I guess it varies so much. Anyway, that's step one. I didn't express today as no time. She's not turned up her nose at the boob today either. Tomorrow I'm going to a bf support group, so will talk to them about it and feed back.

maybe / others on fb. My niece is 17 weeks older than S, and average size. She looks like a total giant , I cannot believe S will be like that in 4 months!!

So glad the bottle went well keep! I was told to wait until 6 weeks to avoid nipple confusion, but DD then only took a bottle as a last resort. Your method sounds much better!

Rubber I don't think DD read your laws about meconium. Her first dirty nappy was in the middle of the night, when I was in a sleep deprived haze in hospital, and still rather baffled by the fact the baby was mine and I had to look after her

I don't even want to think about the meconium yet

Keep that really does sound like the thing to try. My friend was saying for next she would definitely do the same. There is so much differing advice out there, I think you just have to find what works for you and your baby. I read a great article today so thought I'd share

How is everyone else doing?

I would say do it now if you and baby are feeding well, but perhaps not yet if you're having issues.

Thanks solars will read at 2am

Thanks Solars will have a read.

Looking forward to hearing what you learn tomorrow Keep! So pleased the bottle went well. Did you get a better sleep? Just seen your FB pics, how on earth so they manage to grow so fast!! I'd love to see a time lapse of them growing. Amazing. It still amazed me that fin was the size of a poppy seed 20 odd weeks ago!!

I so hope MrM gets the meconium. He is good with nappies though. He cleared his niece up after the biggest explosion I've ever seen! and it was all over his shorts

Oh Sweetie I am so utterly excited for you. Has time stopped still now? You're going to have two little people soon!! Amazing!!

Glad your class went well Trix and that you are feeling more confident now. It's all the great unknown isn't it?

I'm shattered. 3 hours sleep a night and 13 hours of work are not a good mix. Roll on 31st January!!

solars That article is great! Sums up parenthood in my experience anyway!
On the breast feeding/nipple confusion front in my personal experience I think it's a bit of a myth. DS1 just wanted to suck constantly and at 2 weeks old my boobs were in bits but I was terrified of trying a dummy in case he got confused My HV said to give him one (he hadn't lost weight in first week and gained nearly 1lb in second week so no feeding issues!) Anyway, he took the dummy fine and it never caused any problems with breast feeding. And DS2 wasn't keen on the dummy when he was little (loves it now though!) and he happily took his first bottle at around 3 months as well as continuing to BF as well. In my experience 90% of the things that we worry ourselves sick about turn out to be no problem at all for our little ones! We agonised about taking the dummy/bottle away from DS1 at the appropriate age and he didn't bat an eyelid!!

Trix at our TAMBA anti natal class the instructor had dolls for us to practice changing nappies and bathing. She had even left a surprise marmite for us to clean up on the dolls botty. I am sure we will all find our own way of doing things that work best for us & baby.

keep well done S on taking to the bottle so well. How did she get on overnight?
I know the twins are best where they are, they have given us an estimated birth weight of 6lb each by eviction day so I have to be pleased with that.

Maybe poor you, are you sleeping really badly?
That is a good way of describing it, time standing still. Hopefully it will be better when DH is here at the weekend but the days when he is at work seem to really drag.

Solars thanks for sharing that article, I will be giving it a good read this afternoon.

Am going to venture out today but will have to man up as I don't fit into any of my winter coats and my wooly poncho isn't really warm enough. I just need a few last Christmas gifts for DH, he is a total nightmare to buy for.

We had black treacle, pesto, mustard in our nappies. Surprisingly true to life of week 1. Also trix before I left godparents they asked if I was happy with nappy, bathing etc, so I think they'd have helped if I'd said no.

solars that article made me cry, though it doesn't take much. Thanks x

That sounds delicious Keep!

How did the shopping go Sweetie? Did you get all your presents? No, I not sleeping well at all. Still, all good practice for march

Lovely to see you Olives!

I haven't bought a single Xmas present. Argh. I blame kip for being early...
maybe I am finding the lack of sleep way tougher than I thought. Thank goodness its the weekend, dh might be home soon and can do much of the night shift tonight.

sweetie 10 days max! You're doing brilliantly x

Bf lady said I should really wait another two weeks for the bottle, and said its v important to bf during 1-4am to keep up supply. Am going to ignore, as I think I have plenty of milk, and even if dh does a midnight bottle I'll be next on by 3... Oh its all such a minefield.

wow good to know they make nappy changing practice realistic!
so here is my hospital bag list
nappies
maternity pads
going home outfits for us both
night dress x2
pjs
dressing gown
slippers
nursing bra?
old knickers
a few basic toiletries
hair brush
baby hat
blanket
3x vests and sleepsuits
maternity notes
birth plan
camera
book
pillows
snacks/drinks
cotton wool
2xtowel
champagne

too much? not enough? anything I've missed? anything unnecessary?

You're allowed to be otherwise occupied Keep! I would just pass S off a everyone's present . Hope your age to get some more sleep tonight. I think you need to trust your instincts with the feeding. I suppose no one is the same, so one rule can't suit us all.

That looks a good list to me Trix. I'm not bothering with nighties though, I've never worn them and don't plan to now!! I would also add your phone charger to the list, and breast pads. And lots of change for the car park/vending machines etc.

Anything you might want for labour, music, massage oil, hot water bottle I loved. We brought champagne, no way did I feel like it as I threw up my toast and tea!

Am kind of jealous in a way, its such am amazing experience...

Make a list of thongs to add/do at last minute. Ours was get maternity notes, feed cat, hide key for mum. Was Vv useful as we were in a hurry and a tizz.

(Towel to sit on in the car...)
Oh yes, car seat!

Keep I know we think pre-arrivals we sleep badly but I know post-arrival is when it gets really tough. I hope you get rest this weekend when DH can help out with feeds.

Trix list looks good. Do you need a bobble to tie your hair back? You might need more than one baby hat as they will put one on Treats when first born and it might get a bit gunky so you might need as fresh one just in case. I am not taking my own pillow but I am sure you can if you want. I also have a couple of baby cardigans, face clothes, hand sanitizer, tissues, wet wipes and nappy bags that can be used for anything grotty.

The bag list looks good, I would add breast pads, nip cream, paracetamol (in case the midwives run late and you're in need) a couple of nappy bags for stinky first poo)

Don't forget shoes for you to get home, and what baby will need in the car seat like jackets and blanket. Also, throw in a spare carrier bag, you get so much shit information, cards, leaflets, bounty stuff it comes in handy.

I'm a bit jealous that you're all about to start this amazing bit of your pregnancies.

thanks for looking over my list lovelies I knew I wouldve forgotten something.
should I take treats snowsuit? I wasn't sure if they can wear them whilst in the car seat, I'm sure I read something about the extra padding being unsafe as the straps aren't then tight enough or some thing.

trix good list. However, from my experience they don't let babies wear hats in hospital as it was far too warm. Mw took all hats off babies as they walked around. I brought one for trip home but that's it.

For trip home, your safer having baby in vest, sleep suit/outfit and cardigan. Then a blanket. Don't put snow suit on as like you sad it's not safe.

I would bring wipes and use them instead of cotton wool. You can buy water wipes however I just used normal ones.

Make sure you also have Vaseline or something for your lips, mine dried out with the g&a. Not a great look for pictures.

sweetie not long to go. How exciting.

maybe I hope you are able to get some more sleep over the weekend.

Oh just remembered I packed a couple of plastic bags, meant Dp could take home dirty clothes or stuff I didn't need and was in the way. It was very helpful otherwise I would have had a lot of crap around my bed.

thanks pen I think you will be right about the hats it was very warm when we went on our visit.
my hospital doesn't allow baby wipes I hate cotton wool .