Due October 2007 ~porkers can't keep their snouts out of the feeding troughs!

[j20baby]

part zillion

new chapter begins [grins]

ooooooo it's all so big and echoey in here..........

whooo hoooo...another one! hello all - hope everyones weekends were ok and that no one is feeling too hot - london has gotten really close this evening!

lol, you've all found it then

its miles too warm here, we have the fans going in every room and im sitting here naked
L

Think I'm going to do the naked thing too but might put on my new fitting bras...

i keep getting up in the middle of the night and stripping off, not got any fans atm, i was using dd's groovy chick one but it run out of betteries, she was not impressed!

well i'm off to bed, last day at work tomorrow, don't ya know

or rather batteries stupid baby brain, mushy head!

Evening everyone.

I feel as if I did 2 Race for lifes today. The traffic to the park was so bad that I got out the car just befor the gat and walked to the start (about half the race distance). I met my friend and it took us about !hou 10 munutes to do the 5k race distance, then walked back to the gate where my dad was waiting with the car.

Just had a bath to ease the aching muscles, DP is using the water now, so will need to help him wash his hair in a few minutes as his right arm is in plaster atm.

He is working tomorrow, but back at the hospital on Tuessday to see how much damage he has done. He was hoping to take October off to help me with the new baby, but if he is off too long now that just wqill not be possible.

I hope everyone else is well.

Good Morning All.... like the new title, very apt

Right I had a good nights sleep for a change, really needed it after no sleep on sat night. The food diary starts today, se if I can help combat this heartburn

Ds seems a bit 'off' today, its still early but he is already crying over stuff, he is lying on the sofa atm watching milkshake, refusing a drink and breakfast...

Morning all

Mrsfish, hope your son feels better soon and his just sleeply rather than poorly.

I didnt have a good nights sleep, but am getting used to that now. Had the lovely pleasure of de licing my dd hair last night AGAIN!! it drives me potty, im so careful about checking and treating her hair if i find anything, and tying her hair up and she keeps getting them. Someone at the nusery must just not treat them as shes fine until she goes back I getting fed up, as i have to do mine to. I have very thick hair, and dd is worse as its very think and curly! Make me so and

hope your all well, and just think another week over, getting closer by the day

Hugs

Lisa

Just thought I'd add

IT'S NOT RAINING!!!

We are going out on a bike ride ds, not me I'll walk with the dogs.

Then we'll go shopping and I may treat him to a doughnut at the cafe. The making spag bol -with some to freeze.

J20 -Enjoy your last day!
Mrs Fish -Am also fed up with the heartburn, have finished my large bottle of gaviscon and are now going to try the tablets.
Winnie -well done on the race for life especially whilst pregnant!

Well ds is complaining of his tummy hurting and he has just fallen asleep again and that is after a full 12 hours too. He must be ill as he is acting totally different to how he usually is in the mornings. Tis a pity because it isn't raining here either... Oh well will just see how he is when he wakes up.

Enjoy your bike ride Muppetgirl

lol, its raining here
D is happy drawing and sticking right now, thank godness

I forgot to say well done for race for life. and J20 enjoy the LAST DAY!!

L

THanks everyone.

I am paying for it now. My back and sides are aching. Not sure whether to call MW or not.

Did not sleep particularly well last night, but better than saturday. Needed to help DP with his collar this morning (he wears serarate collars fow work)

Need to wait in today as he is expecting a couple of deliveries. I wouldn't mind normally, but I need to get my avon books put out as the order is due in on Thursday.

Mrs Fish _ I hope DS feels better when he wakes.

MG _ I hope DS enjoys his bike ride and treat at the cafe.

J2O- enjoy yuor last day at work.

Everyone else - have a lovely day, whatever you are doing.

Morning everyone; glad people have had better nights. It was still raining so hard here this morning but is now really muggy...we can't win! Hope everyone has a good afternoon - winnie, get some well deserved rest!

Hello Everyone, I have just about managed to catch up with all the messages but I now have no hope of remembering what everyone said!

Hugs to those who have been feeling down, in fact hugs to everyone as I think we deserve it

Can't believe how quickly time is going by! And I am sure these next three months will just fly by, I am now at the stage where I just want to get on with it, like most people I have concerns about how I will cope when LO arrives and I would rather get on with than sitting thinking about it and worrying about it. On that note does anyone have any suggestions of good books to read to prepare us? I don't want anything which is heavily into routines more something to suggest generally structures!

MrsFish, sorry to hear you are struggling with heartburn, something which I have found which you may want to consider if I get too hungry I get heartburn as well! Oh the joys of pregnancy

Also MrsFish I think it was you who said they only planned to BF this LO for a week (apologies if it wasn't) feel free to tell me to bog off as I really don't want to open any cans of worms, but I am honestly interested in why. I am hoping to be able to BF but am also very aware that I am a naive first timer who is really too scared to read about all the pros and cons

Good new thread title J20! Thought you lot hadn't been talking much when I saw there was only a few messages! Should have known better!!!!

Muppet - did you manage to go elsewhere to get your bras fitted better then?

J20 - enjoy your last day at work tomorrow!

Winnie - hope your dp's appointment goes OK tomorrow. It would be a real bummer if he's not able to have time off in Oct to give you a hand. Surely if he has to be off work now though that would be sick time and then Oct would be paternity leave? Or does it not work like that where he is? Well done on race for life! Couldn't even contemplate that at the mo - where do you get your energy?!! The same place as J20 no doubt....

MrsFish - glad you had a good night's sleep last night - shame can't say the same for you lisa! Last night wasn't too bad for me but it tends to be a bit hit and miss at the mo. Hope your ds is OK too....

Polar - A book I found really helpful before ds was born was The Baby Whisperer by Tracey Hogg. It is based around a routine but much more friendly and do-able than our friend Gina. Having said that when ds arrived I didn't really follow much of it but it gave me some ideas in the early stages. A lot of friends found the What to expect the first year book good too - I didn't get it myself but they refer to it like some sort of bible! So might be worth a look. I have to say though that I'm not sure anything can prepare you for being a Mum - I wanted to be quite routine based but then ended up totally winging it - you might end up reacting very differently than you expect when your lo arrives but no harm in doing some reading - it made me feel better at the time if nothing else.

On the subject of breast feeding too - there is a fab book that I wouldn't have been without called what to expect when you're breast feeding and what if you can't by Claire Byams Cook (or something similar!) Great easy to read practical advice to address all sorts of problems you might have (and from experience most people have at least some problems with breast feeding sooner if not later). It doesn't have that whole sanctimonious thing going on which a lot of breast feeding books seem to have either which is why I liked it. Without that book and nipple shields not sure I would have lasted beyond the first 2 weeks last time and actually ended up bf for 5 and a half months (with formula at night which helped him to settle). I think anytime you can manage to do it will be beneficial for your baby and clearly the longer the better but having said that its not worth beating yourself up if for whatever reason you are not able to / choose not to. plenty of babies (me included!) do just fine on bottles. I'm going to keep an open mind this time. Would like to do 6 months but if its too difficult I won't feel bad about stopping - having a happy mum is more important at the end of the day.

Well we've been to soft play this am - had a lovely time and met up with 2 friends and their lo's who are the same age as ds. One is also expecting a lo due 3 days after me! Completely knackered now though but hopefully will have a couple of hours to chill while ds sleeps....

Hi PolarMummy - I bf ds1 for 5 months, it was hardwork and painful for the first month, if anyone tells you it only hurts if you are doing wrong its bull, sorry but it is, but if you persevere it does get better and I can say for the most part, it is then very easy once you have got over the newness and soreness of it.

My main problems with it were...
I felt like all I ever did was feed him, (every couple of hours) and you never know how much they are having. Now people will say that is what feeding on demand is all about and you have to deal with it... well I dealt with it but I wasn't overly happy doing it, also I would find I would feed him and then try and go out and do shopping, once I had got him ready, myself ready and got to the shops, he would be ready to feed again, not all facilities are great and the number of times I had to sit in the back of the car are too numerous to mention so I found it a real chore to go anywhere. I was also never very comfortable feeding him in public, I felt too self conscious and couldn't master doing it subtly.

Also if wanted to go out for the day without him (and I did a few times) or overnight which I did when he was 3 months old it would take me days to express enough for the babysitter to give him but then of course whilst out he isn't feeding so your boobs get full and then painful and you have to end up sitting in a loo somewhere expressing, I just didn't like it and felt too bound and not in control of my body. It did enable me to lose weight quicker though ;)

Yes it is good for them, as in it gives them ammunities from colds etc, but that is only whilst you bf them. As soon as I stopped at 5 months he then got constant colds, and I'm sorry I wasn't going to bf him for the next couple of years, just to stop him getting a cold.

The main reason I am only bf'ing this one for a week is so that he can get the colostrum which is the most important bit, also dh will be around that first week to help occupy ds1. I can not spend the amount of time feeding this one that happened with ds1, with ds1 being 2 years old and running around and having to do all the nursey runs etc. With FF I will know how much he his having at each feed and it will take less time to do the actual feed, thus not neglecting ds1.

These are my reasons anyway, it is obviously different for every one

Afternoon all ... great new thread title j20.

Am just going to say hi, and wave frantically - and say that I could have almost written your post, alice ... you've recommended the same book as I would - the baby whisperer is great, and the 'what to expect' book is great for answering the 'is this normal?' questions that you get at around 2am ...

As for bf, yep, again, I'm with you, alice ... except I bf until ds was 8 months old - he was on mixed feeding though from 5 months when I went back to work - but the lovely first thing in the morning and evening feeds were a lovely way to spend some time with him!

I did try expressing at work, but after somebody walked into my classroom while I had the breastpump attached to my boob, I stopped!

As I'm not going back to work for a longer period this time, I'm intending to bf for a longer time.

I was fortunate in that all of the friends I'd met through antenatal classes all bf their babies - so I had peer support to cal on when the going got tough - and it wasn't at all easy for the first 4 weeks or so ... these have been suggested to me this time - and I think I may give them a go ...

DS finally had his sports day this morning - 4th time lucky! and [smug mammy emoticon needed here!] he came 1st in his one race, and 2nd in the other ... I'm very proud!

Well, so much for a short post ... honestly, I'll manage it one of these days!

Have a lovely Monday all!

Thanks for sharing MrsFish and Alicet thanks for the advice, like you Alice I was bottle fed and would be healthier than my younger Bro and Sis who were BF!

When reality hits I am not sure if I will like B/F or not but I would like to give it a try for me but also for my DH as it is the only thing he has really said he wants for this LO. I know this makes him sound like he is putting pressure on me but he really isn't he was the first to say that it isn't something which is worth getting worked up over and that if it didn't work then it didn't work and we would use bottles. I have already decided I am not going to say "I am definitely not..." or "There is no way this LO will..." instead its "It would be my preference..." as otherwise I think I might be eating my words a lot

ejt - have saved that link in case I need it later! Looks great!

MrsFish - your reasons are all really sound and certainly some of the reasons I didn't take to bf as well as I had hoped. I wasn't that selfconcious in public though after the first couple of weeks when you really just need to get them out to have any hope of positioning them correctly! But I agree that its painful even with correct positioning - nearly all of my mates would say the same. It makes me quite cross that noone tells you about that in advance. It wouldn't have stopped me trying nor would it stop anyone who was committed to bf, but not telling you means that you are constantly thinking you are doing something wrong and just adds to the guilt. But agree it does get better and is very easy once you get the hang of it - this is the main reason I am giving it a go this time (other than the health benefits). Not having to worry about sterilising and taking enough with you is so much easier. The bonding thing is also amazing and bf always settled ds better than anything else. He also seemed to feed forever and really often but then that was because I let him - I was perfectly happy to have him feed for hours in the day as long as I had a good book or my laptop! Will definately not be able to do that this time but will see how it goes.... I agree I also found it hard not knowing how much he had had. Especially in the evening when apparetnly the milk quality is not so good. Ds would seem to need to feed for ages and would cry for more often. This is why I ultimately ended up giving him some formula at night so I would know he was crying through tiredness rather than hunger and had the confidence to put him to sleep without worrying. Hope this all helps polar! Its the sort of stuff I would have loved to know before ds was born as it would have reassured me I was doing a good job. Hope its not scaremongering as once ds got more settled on it and I was more relaxed it was great.

polar I think you are very wise to not heap expectations on yourself - I think this is the most important piece of advice I would give a new mum as its really impossible to know what will happen and how you will take to it all. And beating yourself up for not doing something you wanted isn't the way to go! Good luck to you! WIll be very happy to give you advice nearer the time too if you have any problems. The NCT breast feeding helpline is also great and you don't have to be a member or attend their antenatal classes to call.

Hi polarmummy (and all!)

I would recommend the baby whisperer book -it gave me confidence as she had a 'mum knows best' attitude whereas I found that Gina had a 'mum hasn't got a clue' attitude. I did know of mummy's using both so although I didn't like Gina, people have found her helpful and I certainly wouldn't criticise that!

I b/f for 6 weeks and thought I was a bloody hero I stopped due to not going out, pnd, not bonding etc. This time round I am going to do the first few days and then see how it's going. I have all the bottles in the house and now feel able to say 'This isn't going well' my dh is fully supportive in whatever I decide to do. I am having the pessary just after birth to regulate my hormones due to pnd to try and stop the mood chanages so I need to do some research to find out if this is okay whilst breastfeeding.

I hate the threads on here reagrding b/f I am an intelligent woman who has read quite a lot and I know b/f is best but circumstances don't always fit with what you have planned!

My friend who's just ahd the baby (last week) was worried about b/f and I just said, go with the flow but listen to your heart and mind.

Lisa; so sorry your family are going through the wringer...personally, I've been on the donor list for years but I think it takes something like this to make most people realise how important it is.I do hope things improve soon.
Winnie; congratulations on your race for life,you are a braver woman than I and I hope the aches subside quickly
J20; A free woman at last! Hope the last day flew past!
Hi everyone else...sorry if I forgot anyhting...baby brain
That new title is too close to the bone for words!!!.....I had a check up this morning with my consultant who strangely couldnt find the babys heart beat...with either of the 2 dopplers he used!!!! (I think it had something to do with the coconut body butter I used this morning interferring with the signal)If I hadn't already felt kicking I'd have been in a blind panic (he was!)except that he coudnt find my heart beat either and we both knew I was alive! So I got an extra scan.... and what should measure 28wks +3 days measures 29wks+5 days! and LOs tummy measures 30wks!!!!! He/She already weighs 3lb! No more lunches at the Willow Pool in Lymn with their massive wicked desserts for me!!!! No wonder I'm feeling so big and heavy! But BP and water works are fine so nothing to worry about...and I've got 2 magpies outside the window at this very moment..."2 for joy" isnt it? I'll try and pop inlater and see how everyone is doing but full teaching day ahead so we'll have to see...
Hope everyone is fine

ps Those who had a bad nights sleep...sympathy..same here!..(yawn)..blooming dreadful indigestion, close, muggy weather and snoring DH!