January 2014 Thread 17 - and the final babies will be here any day now!

[Frizz1986]

Thought i would start up the last thread before we move over to postnatal thread.

I do think him leaving his job is the best thing and he has found some work to fill in should he not get anything else for a while. The bills will be covered and we have savings if we need them. Good to know people don't think this is a crazy idea!

Just had Henry weighed. He now weighs 8lb 13.5ozs! Little chunk has put on 1lb 4ozs in two weeks

humpty -just to warn you, the burps and farts with the dentinox can be epic! DS looked when he first did one!

Urgh my plan to stay in all day has just been scuppered. Off out to meet a friend for coffee in a bit now.

humpty -just to warn you, the burps and farts with the dentinox can be epic! DS looked when he first did one!

nature it doesn't sound crazy at all. I know we'd be better off if DP just took any job but he would have been miserable and unbearable to live with. Which is why I'm overjoyed he has a job he loves now and is planning on doing an MA instead.

Well I have a funny story to regale everyone with. You might remember the nagging it took to get my Christmas tree in december? To make up for not having it in early December, the green fucker has been lurking in my dining room fully bejazzled till…oh…about 10 minutes ago. It's fucking February! Have been reminding dp to remove it from my house for about 6 weeks.
I had finally had enough of it, sent DS1 to his grannys, stuck Cal in his bouncy chair with the white noise app, mustered the strength of 10 crazy women and dragged the 7ft bastard out of my house.

I am now going to eat leftover Chinese food and make a list of things for Dp to do. Hoovering is out, as he broke the vacuum last time he used it. Why on earth did I procreate with this man?? And then go back for more?

enormouse they do say you become ridiculously strong when the need arises, when you become a parent...

nature not mad at all. And enjoy coffee, you'll feel better for going out.

gobbo more epic than they are already? She's like a trucker as it is

enormouse that did make me chuckle! It's shocking how quick time has flown by

Ha enormouse well done. It's amazing the things we can do when necessary!

Well had a lovely walk with the pram and the dog along the prom to meet my friend, and coffee with her turned into dinner out with Dh. I love that the restaurant lets dogs in .

Well Dh arrived home from work feeling very ill and shivering. He didn't have tea and only ate some bread and butter and drink lemsip etc. Came up to bed at 8:30 as he had an hour sleep when he got home and he feels so awful. Don't think I will get any relaxing for my birthday tomorrow and it looks like I will be cooking my own tea and possibly eating it alone. Have told him he isn't to go to work tomorrow if he isn't better.
Hope he isn't ill all half term too as wanted to go out and do things as a family.
First uber mum role is here.... Looking after a baby, a dog and a poorly Dh. Let's see how I go!

Good luck Frizz I'm sure you will pass the uber mum rest with flying colours.

Aome excellent posts this morning about feelings about the baby, summed up exactly how dh and I were feeling after a tough night so it really helped to read the posts to him; made us feel much more normal and less alone. This forum is a life saver.

We have both been rehearsing our rendition of "tiny bastard" for later

Now all I can think of is "hold me closer, tiny bastard" :o

That reminds me of that MN thread where the woman was in the doctor's waiting room (I think), and she went to call her baby DS a whiny tinker and instead called him a tiny wanker :o
Even writing it now gives me the giggles!

Hope DH feels better today and can pamper you a bit, frizz. Happy birthday!

Happy Valentines Day, all. What do you have planned? DH and I have a Waitrose meal deal, which we'll no doubt eat in shifts, and some fizzy wine. Maybe Meredith will stay quiet enough for us to watch one of the programmes building up on the TiVo. We know how to live!

We're finally out of hospital guys!!! Yes!!!!

Utterly besotted with Finn. Three days old and he's already the tiny little overlord of our family - he has his dad utterly wrapped around his little finger. So lovely to kick back and chill all three of us in our flat. I even had a (75ml) glass of wine to celebrate - the first in eight months!

Of course this Elysian paradise has to have some downsides...

Nipples, ladies. Jesus, breastfeeding HURTS. All I keep being told is "if your latch is right it shouldn't hurt", but every MW I've asked about it says Finn's latch is great. He also seems to be getting all the colostrum he needs. But the pain is getting worse and I'm already on the verge of giving up, which I really don't feel great about. Any tips?

Co-sleeping. Having real problems getting Finn to go down in his cot, especially when it's dark. He's much happier sleeping on me (and sleeps for MUCH longer, e.g 3hrs rather than 20 mins). Anyone got any advice on how to get a newborn to settle in their own bed?

Despite all the drama and the pain and the section and the week in hospital... So worth it. He's just ace

Yay to being home angel!

Sounds like you're having the same experiences as a lot of us just a few weeks behind! :-)

Nipples - do you have lansinoh cream? Keep putting it on after every feed. Stick in there, it does get easier. Once your milk comes in they tend to feed for less time and it gradually gets better and better I found.
For me the 1st 30 seconds or so was excruciating. Then the pain eases off. Is this the same for you? My hv said that was normal ( but i'm no expert).

Sleeping - Lara is gradually getting better at 4 weeks but swaddling has really helped us lengthen naps and help her sleep off our chests. I've also got a sling which she slept in today whilst I was getting my DS dinner and clearing up etc. godsend! Thanks toby for the hints. It worked! Love it already!

Sorry to read some of you are struggling with unsettled babies. My preteen is causing me a bit of grief so newborn is easy in comparison! Though said preteen took baby for a walk up and down our lane while I made dinner as baby overtired.

Would be lost without the sling though!

Yay, pidgy, I'm so glad :)

Glad you're home, angel, and enjoying Finn.
My mw also said it's normal for bfing to hurt for the first 30 seconds or so. I'm 5 weeks in and it still does, though it's much more bearable. My let-down reflex is quite strong and that's uncomfortable, but it passes quickly.

As for tips on settling them in their own bed...

Sorry to hear you're having preteen troubles, blue. I feel your pain!

Pidgy Toby thanks! I really need to try to stick at BFing I think - it's exactly that, it's the first 30 secs or so that's just so excruciatingly painful. Glad you say it eases.

We've been lightly swaddling in blankets, but we do have a Grobag swaddle knocking about somewhere... Maybe that's the next line of attack. Just snuck a solid 3 hrs sleep in by letting Finn sleep on me don't tell the midwife

Blue sorry to hear re preteen issues - good to hear that they're helping with LO though. It's a start!

Toby, tiny bastard has had me in stitches and cheers me up whenever I think of it. Thank you! Wish I had known about it with DD, as she really was one.

Checking in to the colic club and the stuffy nose club. Both have really been interfering with feeding despite the super super snot remover the doctor recommended. Ladies, for the princely sum of 12 you too can suck your baby's snot out of his nostrils. Apart from being only marginally effective as the congestion is mostly inflammation here, I have been trying to imagine the thought process of the inventor. "Now, what would really reassure me as a parent would be being able to suck the snot out of my daughter's nose."

I clearly need to get out more and am just putting the snot remover down to one of those weird French things us Brits don't get.

Fly I totally relate about being on the third floor. I can only go out with a sling, and since in my ignorance I got a used baby bjorn it is not a prospect I relish. Seriously, what genius invented a baby carrier that carries all the weight on your shoulders and makes no allowance for boobs, while simultaneously being really bad for your baby? A ritual burning is clearly the way forward. Can't afford them but out of interest, what would you ladies recommend between the ergo and manduca? I like the idea of a wrap but doubt my ability to tie one. Thoughts?

Sorry for length of this post, I keep losing mine and then saving them all up in a mega post.

enormouse I am v impressed with your tree shifting abilities. Did it still have any needles?

sultana nour has a squint sometimes too. Could it be the shared bday?

frizz happy birthday! Hope your DH feels well enough to pamper you today, you are already an uber mum.

Nour's spots turned out to be baby acne + eczema, not heat rash. Prescribed emollient so will see how it goes. I have also been using ground up oats in a pop sock in his bath which immediately got rid of dry skin on his body. Feels a bit weird and the water looks like milk but it made such a difference.

I am v excited as just ordered first new thing we have bought for nour. Getting a travel cot with a changing mat as I am fed up of changing on the sofa with a towel and nour is getting fed up of sleeping in his nacelle. The bebe confort streety ones are tiny! N is only 54cm and 4.3 kg but there isn't much room widthways and he is feeling constrained. Much better ventilation on cot too.

Aargh, sorry for the rambling and hope everyone is more rested and babies are behaving, with mammoth sleeps tonight for valentine's day.

nature def go for it if your DP will be happier. My DH has been on unpaid leave for three years to do a PhD which will be of no benefit in his current job but is a lifetime ambition. It has been really hard at times but things have a way of appearing at the right moment. Also has opened our eyes to many different ways of doing things and made us both more flexible and resourceful. DH much more open minded too.

angel my advice on BF would be to keep asking. My latest trip to the HV was really useful for improving A's latch, wasn't even what we went for!
Call NCT bfeeding people, La Leche, everyone and anyone. If I get the latch right now (still not every time) it doesn't hurt. Taken four weeks, but my nipples salute me and you and the whole world, thanks BF

altered yay for new stuff! I've ordered a Moby, but it's my first foray into slings, so can't help.

toby we are doing similar shift eating tonight. My mum offered to come down and babysit, but we're not ready to go out and leave her yet.

Happy Valentines to you all!

My period has started. I know this because for two bliss filled days I wasn't bleeding.

now I am.

shit

altered it still had most it's needles but some were starting to go Brown.
Sling wise I have a moby and an ergo. The mobys great round the house and Cal loves it, always falls asleep in it and I find it really comfy. Even managed to make pizza dough with it on yesterday. Though it's a bit too hippy dippy for DP. The ergos great too but I need help to do up the chest strap. It's the one I use when I take Cal out as it the straps make it feel a little more secure.

angel glad to hear you're home. Re bfing I find the let down painful as mines quite forceful. (Have even squirted a surprised Cal in the face). Agree with buying lots of lansinoh.

Last night, Cal finally slept in his own crib the whole night thanks to a combination of white noise and swaddling. Though I did not as he's such a noisy sleeper and squeaks, grunts, mutters and farts all night long.

Hoping to go out with DP and the boys and register his birth after the HV has been. Maybe have lunch and buy each other something small and cheesy. Though he has bought me a new pair of converse. .

Any valentines day plans? Hope you all have lovely days.

I'm voting "tiny bastard" to be the group's theme song!

Happy birthday frizz! Go super mum!

humpty so glad you are feeling better. Your DH sounds fab! We have Ewan the dream sheep and I use him every night as Henry falls asleep to get him to associate him with sleep and it has paid off, as this morning when Henry was refusing to go back to sleep after feeding despite being tired, I turned on Ewan (that sounds wrong...) and Henry fell asleep! Hurray!

Omg toby! Your songs have cracked me up, and just when I thought I couldn't laugh any more "tiny wanker" came up! That's the funniest thing ever! Am still giggling now, while "hold me close tiny bastard" goes round my head! Feels so good to properly belly laugh and snigger like a naughty child!