Due February 2017 - Thread 8!

[DottyA]

Sorry all - I accidentally used the last message in thread 7. Hope you can find this one!

Thanks for the information, LondonGirl. I'll make a note of the other brand as well.

I think the Cybex seats fit the same adaptors as MaxiCosi and I hear the Cybex Aton is a really safe seat (no personal experience, but based on advice I got from from someone who used to sell car seats).

So anyone getting a buggy and looking into MaxiCosi seats, might be worth looking into Cybex as well. It's one of those things salespeople don't tell you when selling Bugaboos / Uppababies etc as they tend to push you towards MaxiCosi for some reason.

We had a maxicosi with bugaboo bee first time round. Haven't decided whether to use that again or buy something else this time. Still looking!

twocats is right. The cybex anon is the 3rd brand that is compatible. It's also a Which? Best Buy and has a 5 star safety rating for side and front crash impact with or without a base- so idetentical to the Britax Romer. John Lewis didn't have one on display though so we couldn't see it in action so that's why we've opted for the Britax as we saw it and felt comfortable with the installation. However Which? Say in their review of the belted cybex that the risk of installing incorrectly is 'very low' as it's extremely straightforward so it seems like an excellent seat. If I see it at the baby show maybe I'll change to that one!

Urgh....early glucose tolerance test today! So bored! Sat in a family centre for 2 hours on my own!! Grrr!! And no wonder these places have such stigma attached to them...some colourful characters to say the least! A toddler named diamonte with a vocabulary to match a sailor has to be the most colourful lol! Help me! Roll on 12pm!

Hi All

Carly hope your GTT isn't too awful, i'm expecting to have one after i've seen the consultant on 3rd October.

I have a stupid first timer question. I've been doing some research on various baby things over the weekend, and i've been looking at bottles and sterilisers as I'm hoping to express so DH can help with feeding. I have been looking at electric and microwave sterilisers, and some of them say that they stay sterilised for x hours as long as you don't open the lid. So what happens if you sterilise 6 bottles (for example), and then you only need to use one at a time?! If you open the lid and take one bottle out, are the rest then not sterile? Do you have to do a cycle in between each opening of the lid (which would seem crazy but I could not work out what the alternative is)?! I am confused and could not work it out from the product descriptions

Witch we used a Boots microwave steriliser which did the job for us. It came with tongs which you could use to pull the teats through the bottletops, which you also sterilised along with the bottles.

Then after I'd run the steriliser through the micro age I would use the tongs to assemble all the bottles so I didn't touch anything except the outside of the bottle, and then I'd have a set of 4 sterilised bottles to use as and when. I'd be happy to keep them like that for about 48 hours, after which I'd sterilise them again if not used. Not sure if that's common practice but it worked for us.

Hope your appointment went well Carly. I have to have one at 28 weeks. All I have to do is fast, drink lucozade and then appear at the hospital for a blood test 2 hours later though. I don't think I'd have the patience to wait for 2 hours with no snacks!
I'm afraid I have no idea Witch. Dd was a bottle refuser and I could only express tiny amounts so luckily I didn't have to worry about any of that. Hopefully someone will be along soon who can help.
Feeling exhausted today after a trip into London yesterday and chasing a toddler around the Tate Modern. I've learnt my lesson that she's not quite ready for these things yet! Having a more relaxed day today researching nursery furniture while dd naps.

witch my friend asked the same to health visitor and was told to assemble bottles once sterilised and store in the fridge until needed (empty bottles obviously seems as permalink them appears to be a big no no nowadays). My SIL also did this last year with her daughter. I will prob just do this too.

DH made me laugh the other week when we were talking about sterilising as he suddenly looked panicked and asked 'what happens if she licks me?' Lol! Think he has been spending to much time with our dog! Had to resist telling him she would instantly melt into a puddle of grunge and that would be the end of her...he has a lot to learn bless him x

I'm another Glucose Challenge competitor over here . My BMI is right on 30, the limit, so it has to be done. Not until week 28 for me though, apparently, and I'm like Friendly in that I have to fast from 8pm the night before and then go in to drink some Lucozade (I have to do it in the hospital apparently!) / have bloods. Delight!

Can I ask a first-timer follow on bottle/sterilizing question please? I'd also like to express for nights, so the OH can join in with feeds in the nighttime and so on. However.... he's pointed out that if we get a next-to-me cot and it's next to him, he'll still have to get up, go get a bottle and warm it, then come back to feed. Have any of you second-or-more time mums got tips for dads to be able to join in too, without the going downstairs/warming milk etc. I guess for me it's easy because it's just a case of boob latching (if it works) ... I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself very well and this is yet another area where I am 100% confused on what we'll need to do/what'll work best!

Kiki, I have the same question. I was hoping that we could just have bottles of breast milk on the night table for the mixed feeding at night in the same kind of bottle warmers you'd use in a changing bag. I think fresh breast milk lasts a while (could be totally wrong on that).

It would be great to know if what I'm envisioning is possible. Also, does milk really need to be warm for babies to drink it?

London it depends on the baby. Some (like mine) were perfectly happy to have it however it came, including cold from the fridge. Some babies I knew, however, would only accept it within a very small temperature range and drove their parents mad!

I should also say we never warmed milk, except to take the chill off it if it was fridge cold. We mainly gave it at room temperature which was fine for us.

London I'm glad someone else has the same question - and same thought process! I'd also assumed we could just have a clean, sterilised bottle of milk waiting for night feeds in the room with us (stored in a warming bag if needed). I just don't know if it's actually possible/recommended/hygienic/whatever else I might need to consider! The OH definitely wants to join in, I should add. To be fair, the question's come more from him than me so we can share duties and bonding

You can definitely keep breast milk at room temperature longer than formula, so I think that would work.

Twocats and Kiki I've read online from the Mayo clinic that fresh breast milk can be left at room temperature for 6 hours-- www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/in-depth/breast-milk-storage/art-20046350?pg=2

It can also be stored in the fridge for 5 days. I'm assuming I probably will only be storing it in the fridge for 24 hours before using it up (or I'll freeze extra beyond that if I'm really producing tons so it'll last longer).

If its been in the fridge for a day, I reckon we can have bottles on the nightstand for 4 hours still which is long enough to share the night feeding.

When we were doing work to the house, we also had a tiny mini fridge in our master bedroom from Argos (it was about 12 inches high and very cheap) so that's another option to keep extra bottles in the room and it would still fit on DH's nightstand. Also, useful if we need to do some formula feeding for any reason.

Hopefully she wont be too demanding regarding temperature and room temp or straight out of the fridge will suffice!

London you could keep a thermos of hot water and a jug to stand the bottle in by the bed if you needed to warm one up bed-side.

I breastfed the middle of the night feeds, but
DH would sometimes give an expressed bottle at about 10-11pm so I could have an early night and get a few extra hours sleep in, so that's also a way partners can help without needing to go downstairs in the middle of the night! I'm not the best person to advise though, as DS was sleeping from 10-6 by 8 weeks so we didn't have too many night feeds to deal with. We might be in for a shock with DS2!

twocats that's great your DS slept through so early. I have friends who formula fed who were equally as lucky and had always heard from others that only formula fed babies slept through so young. Its nice to know its possible with breast milk too.

I think a thermos is a good idea if she's fussy about temperature but hopefully it won't be necessary. We'll just see how it goes.

Carly and witch how did you go about booking the GTT test? It says on my notes that I have to have it but I have no idea how to arrange this or when or if they will
I love all this feeding talk!! I am getting excited
20 weeks today, it is becoming more and more real but still counting the minutes for Friday scan!!!
Any scans today?

ever I got told at 20 week scan that they would bring my gtt forward due to baby's tummy measuring big. Then the midwives rang and booked it about a week after. I had to go at 10am have a blood test then drink the sugary orange stuff and sit around for 2!!!! Hours for another test to see how my body copes with the sugar! Will get results on Wednesday! Wish me luck 😊

ever I imagine your midwife will arrange it for 28 weeks at your 25 week appt. I am so lucky that if results are negative this time I get to do it all again at 28 weeks! Joy! The hanging around is torture x

London to be honest I wasn't exclusively breastfeeding by that stage as I really struggled, so DS was having a bottle or two of formula by 8 weeks, but I still breastfed the night feeds and first thing in the morning as it was just easier than making up bottles. I do know exclusively breasted babies that slept through early but I think it is more common with formula.

Hi ladies... hope you don't mind me posting this.

Just found out there the now that a girl in my old team who was due her baby in 2 weeks time as went to the hospital due to feeling no movement and has been told her baby has no heartbeat! I can't stop thinking about her. They didn't want to tell me because they know I'm a worrier...

Can't even think what she's going through! Also can't wait for my scan in Thursday now!!

Twocats that makes sense. That's the experience of friends I had who mix fed and formula fed. When one of our friends had her second while her first was still a toddler, she added in a bottle just so the baby would sleep through as she couldn't cope with the sleep deprivation. She mix fed too though stopped breast feeding earlier than with her first. I say, do what makes most sense for your overall family dynamic. I'm just going to see how it goes.

Ever sorry your family have been insensitive especially after you successfully lost so much weight! My BMI has always been normal but I think whatever you weigh, people are obsessed with women's weight and bodies. Good look with your glucose test. Do you have diabetes in your family?

Evergreen I imagine you're the same as me as we're at the same hospital. I don't have to book an appointment. I was given a form (already filled in) for my blood test. I just have to pick a convenient day around 27 weeks (so results are in time for 28 week appointment). I fast for 12 hours, drink lucozade, record what time I have the last sip and then turn up at the hospital 1 1/2-2 hours later. There's a place on the ground fly apparently where you just ring the buzzer, tell them why you're there and they take your blood. I have an info sheet stapled into my notes.
It is possible for a breastfed baby to sleep. Mine was exclusively breastfed and slept for 7-8 hour stretches (midnight-7/8am) from just under 6 weeks. She did this until about 5 months when it all went horribly wrong. We're only just starting to get back to more than 3/4 hours in a row now at 21 months 😭 I'm so glad I had that time when she slept when she was younger though as it gave me time to recover and get used to having a baby without being a complete zombie.
One thing I would say is if you're going to introduce expressed milk/a bottle then do it reasonably early. By the time I tried at about 5 months my dd was in full bottle refusal mode and I didn't ever manage to get her to accept one. She still won't accept milk from anything but me now. I think she's particularly stubborn though!