Due Jan 2008 - watch those pumpkin bumps grow!

[Amani]

hello!!!

I saw a couple of slings in action the other evening this early parenting course I went on and I think it's really cleared up my thinking re: slings.

I've now decided that I need two. One for around the house that will be a fairly unstructured, soft jersey type over the shoulder arrangement, and one for 'going out' that is a bit more about looking good, being ergonomic, and one that my DH would actually wear in public!

I think the 'going out' one is going to be a WilkiNet. Haven't chosen exactly which one I want for 'at home' yet, but have decided that I can't cope with the ones that require you to wrap yourself in about six metres of fabric...

prior to this I was v. confused about slings so feeling much better now, especially as I'm hoping to avoid using a pram/pushchair as much as possible and just carry the LO around.

oooh, also meant to say:

• squawking for everyone's excellent purchases, in particular congrats to Susie for the house purchase! Nice work

• Beller - go home and rest. Work is so not worth it. Esp. when surrounded by gits.

going home is laughable....the 2 guys i work with went out at 11.30...one didnt even say where he was going..and i cant even go to the loo! 50 days and counting..thats all i can say!

Naetha - I ordered our Buzz from groovystyle over the weekend, was the cheapest I'd found apart from going second hand. We ordered it in black and there is a 10 - 14 day waiting period for that. Will let you know if the order goes ok....

Beller - feel for you stuck in the office feeling rubbish, hope the day goes quickly.
Am also counting down the days, 35 working days left for me as I have 7 days of leave between now and when I go on maternity leave on 7 December. Think that calls for a celebration - off to get a snickers bar!

Sabinar - nice to see the slings you have chosen, think I'm going to just get one for around the house.

If anyone else has bought one, please put details online, still in deciding mode.

How awful of you to be stuck in the office.

My leaving date is 7th Dec - can't come soon enough!

Beller - are you still stuck at your desk and not even able to go to the loo? You really have my sympathies - what a berk your colleague is to disappear for hours with no explanation!!!

Amani and BWMum - my last day at work is also 7 Dec! PMSL laughing reading BWMum's post, as I had just sat down with a snickers bar and cup of tea, when I read her post about rewarding herself with a snickers - must be some kind of pregnancy craving That's my excuse anyway, and I'm sticking to it!

Sabinar - have seen some rave reviews about the Wilkinet sling.

My colleague has just returned from a 3 hour lunch break! Men. Beller - did your lot return?

My leaving date 26th November - commeee onnnnnn! Have annual leave for 4 weeks and then on maternity leave the day of my due date. A bit silly seeing as dd was a week early.

Anyway slings. They look so good on the Bringing up Baby programme. Do you think my baby bjorn baby carrier thing will be as practical. I saw Brad Pitt wearing one so I'm secretly hoping my dh will morph into him when he puts it on......

Hi Betty,

I've got a Baby Bjorn but was wondering about a newborn sitting sort of upright all the time (am quite keen on 'wearing' the baby most of the time). I might get an across the bosy one for indoors. Thoughts?

sorry - BODY. They're supposed to lay down most of the time aren't they? That's why they can't sit in car seats too long. Does this apply to structure dslings. Anyone know?

susiemj what do you mean by structured slings? I was told by my bf counsiler that the best slings are the ring slings or 'soft' slings like close baby carrier type like the Mum on the right hand side of this screen. This is because the ones that hold baby in between the legs affect the nerves in the groin which can affect balance and walking at a later stage.
Amamzing what you learn even after having 4 children

Hi folks - beller - so sorry to hear how rough you have been feeling - miserable!
Well done on house purchase susie - v exciting.
Everyone else's purchasing makes me feel guilty again at how little I have done! Am going to book one of those John Lewis sessions for the weekend after next for sure!
I watched BUB for the 1st time last night to see what all the fuss was about, and why everyone wants to string CV up from lampposts. I hate to go against the grain here but I really didn't think she was that bad. I think it's really easy to demonise her and gina ford as they don't have children but they do have heaps of experince with babies and tellingly are massively popular with mothers who re-hire them for other babies and strongly recommend them. I agree it's distressing to see the babies cry when hungry or tired but it was very very short term and then worked in terms of very quickly getting them into a routine which seemed to leave them and the parents very very contented. It obviously wouldn't work for lots of people, and I'm not sure I'm very convinced by anyone who says there is only one right method and you have to follow all of its limbs or everything will go wrong - the continuum just wouldn't work for me in having baby in bed for all that length of time and Spock seemed the worst of all world for tiredness. I don't know, and no doubt I will have much clearer ideas when baby born, but I found CV quite reassuring in a way and generally I don't respond well to authoritarian women (being a bit of a one myself!) Is that sacrilege and will you all now refuse to ever respond to my posts again?

Hi Gingeme - I meant one like a baby bjorn. ?

Thanks for all the congratulations about the house. It's our first buy and we're really excited! Now I have to do all the utility bills

I think I had heard that 'between the legs' problem and that's what put me off. Sadly I think I learned it off ER! But Baby Bjorn's can't be so bad if they're so popular, can they? What does anyone think o fmy two sling plan? - apart from twice as expensive !

Barristermum who?
susiemj what are the babybjorn ones like? Yes good idea to have two anyway bit like with bras one on and one in the wash

Barristermum - I have to agree with you (a bit) here...me and DH have been finding BUB really annoying, not because we hate CV (or anyone else) but because it is clearly filmed in order to manipulate the audience into responding in that way....grrr!!

Obviously they've taken some extreme examples (and its weird seeing Spock as the putative middle ground) but its the blatant attempt to over-emotionalise (hmmm, not really very good english, but its late and I've only just got ds into bed!) the feeding/sleeping/leaving to cry issue which is winding us up. IMHO it is the least helpful baby programme I've seen so far ;)

Sorry all...that was a bit of a rant, wasn't it?

I would say that I read she-who-shall-not-be-named's book a couple of times pre-baby and thought there was some sensible advice in it but found the over-rigorous approach ("do not under any circumstances, even if the world is about to end or your partner hasn't seen the baby for 2 weeks, bathe your baby after 5.30pm") and slight stretching of the truth ("your baby will be going through the night...oh, except for the peach water you'll be giving it at 4am which I failed to mention in the headlines") rather offputting.

In the end we went with the Baby Whisperer, which was a bit more baby-centred and problem-solving whilst still being fairly structured : the whole approx routine (or 'day structure' rather than schedule) fits on a single page and covers the first 4 months and she recognises that you obviously can't expect a newborn to wait until, for example, 1pm prompt, for its feed if its hungry at 12.30.

Even with BF-ing, DS went through from 11pm-7.30am by 7 weeks and slept through completely by 9 weeks. Without leaving him to cry with hunger or anything else (before anyone shouts at me!). Which is actually better than CV on BUB or GF claim they can achieve...

This might have something to do with me patiently and repeatedly explaining to my new baby that mummy is a much happier and nicer person when she has had more than 3 hours sleep, so its in everyone's interests to leave her for a bit longer!

But...(again, before anyone shouts!)...

...every baby is different. I have no doubt that my current bump will have an entirely different idea of how to be a newborn and might well decide to try to prove that just because a certain approach worked for its brother doens't mean it will do the same...!

So annoying - I posted a huge post to you all yesterday (or at least thought I did ) and it's not here!!

Hope eveyone is well and that I get more chance to catch up tomorrow.

Here here fluffymummy. Every baby is different as every parent is different All my boys have been dofferent babys but you do eventualy and most of the time naturaly fall into a routine. Some quicker and easier than the others but its all worht it thats for sure

hi all. Got my GTT results and am ok really chuffed as had gest diabetes with ds1 and he had problems with blood sugar when born.

Found a bugaboo gecko for 449 today. We plan to get it at weekend.

Re BuB, have to disagree about CV as I think her methods are awful and her attitude is worrying. Describing newborns as manipulitive and little madams etc. Tbh I didnt follow any method with ds1. I did what felt right and it worked.

Beller - hope you are feeling better.

Good news about glucose results Awen

Re. sling - used bb with ds and there were no problems. However, he was a large baby so we didn't use it after he was 3 months old (and mainly only used it in first two months). Do you think maybe it's a problem when baby is heavier, hence more strain on the groin. When they are tiny I wouldn't have thought the sling applies much pressure there at all.

Hi everyone..

Feeling much better today..although had a terrible nights sleep..have braxton hicks alot yest evening, then when i got in bed i had sharp pains all down my right side...Not sure if its ligaments stretching or what..but very uncomfortable

Bettymamma/lulubump - one guy didnt come back at all...and the other came back at 1.30...so i worked 7.10-4.30 withough a break nice...

Awen - great news re results!!

My sister is lending me a babybjorn, but i am thinking about getting a "soft" sling as well...will have a look at some of your suggestions.

Barristermum - Im not against a routine at all for children, being montessori trained, I do believe that children like routine and respond well to it. I think its more the way CV goes about it all. I do think she is FAR too regimented and her attitude stinks. These are 2-6 week old babies for god sake?But how much of this is for the programme and viewing figures who knows !

Morning,

I feel a bit like the quiet girl sat in the corner, but I am here - nodding in agreement to a lot of what people are saying and quietly noting down advice about slings, bf-ing etc, and sympathising with Fruitful's situation and marvelling at the fortitude of Gingeme's and Awen's DC.

All is well this end, just going through a bit of a tired stage again, but I picked up a cot last night - 2nd hand but in very good nick - another successful ebay purchase .

I'm still torn over the nursing chair -whether to splash out on an expensive Dutailier one or a cheaper version from kiddicare. And if I get one off ebay, how ever will I cart it home ?

Off to the midwife this morning for a checkup, so fingers crossed nothing unusual crops up.

Love to you all.

MrsB

Woohoo! I have my laptop and wireless internet in here. Bit slow but at least I can type. Kids are settling down, dh is utterly exhausted, and my bleeding/spotting is getting much less so I have some hope for getting out of here. I have a scan next Monday to check I don't have placenta accreta (really grim, 10% chance but they're had a quick look before and don't think I have it).

I had a paranoid moment last night when I realised baby hadn't kicked all day and hadn't woken up for a tapdance when I went to bed as usual. The nice thing about hospital is you can just go fetch a midwife - she listened in and said baby has prob turned round to kick my spine and is fine. He is also growing like fury - must be all the lazing around and eating that I am doing!

Haven't watched BUB as I think I'd be shouting/crying at screen and that's not too popular in hospital! My main prob with SWMNBN's book is the way she demoralises new mums and makes them feel they can't trust their own instincts, or learn for themselves what suits them and their baby, which are the most crucual things to learn! The routines are kind of handy for finding out what your baby might be capable of doing or indeed like to be doing. It was a revelation to me that a small baby who'd been awake 2 hours in the morning might be ready for a nap!

I have a Baby Bjorn and a ring sling. Bjorn is dead easy to use but not so comfy unless you're standing up - good for walks not MN'ing. Wouldn't have been able to use it for hours though. Ring sling I found v hard to adjust so that baby felt secure but was good for being relatively handsfree around the house.

Beller take some time off! I'm way healthier than you and I'm in here with people asking how I am every 5 minutes!

Awen - good about GTT - there are a couple of diabetic women in here and it sounds horrid.

Ooooh, I could go on ebay ...

Hi, just popping in quickly to link to this Blooming Marvellous sling:

sling

Just wondering what you all think of it, as I think it looks lovely.

Will be back later on to read through in more detail.

Hi fruitful - good to hear from you. Did you see my post from a few days ago asking if you are in the Rosie? If you are and you fancy a visitor, I am jut down the road from you . Happy to pop in and visit or bring you things in any time.

Morning ladies - is anyone else getting terrible cramps in their legs? I don't remember this from ds...I keep waking during the night in total agony. Its not just sore legs (which I did have), its full-on calf/foot/thigh cramps....

Mrs B - we got our nursing chair from kiddicare and it was fab, if not as pretty as others. The fabric has frayed a bit over the last 2 years and I'm sure some of the more expensive ones are a bit better made, but given the huge amount of use and abuse its had, its doing very well! Only drawback is that the cover doesn't come off for washing, so I can only sponge it down, whereas I'd prefer being able to wash the whole thing now and again....