Due November 2008....Mmmmmmmmmmmm....minty Gaviscon, swallowed not stirred

[LackaDAISYcal]

Thanks to Pinkali for the title

I have already apologised PROFUSELY, and re-tracted ALL christmas topics

Technically I think we can let you off Obs as I recall Pinky first mentioning christmas about 3 weeks ago!!

Hana love the bump painting idea!! I might go for a scary one and flash it at all the trick or treaters - that'll have them running!!

Ceebee thanks for convincing me to buy that changing mat RIGHT NOW!!!

Ok ladies - can I start a debate please?!? The topic is dummies.

I have never been a fan of them as I sometimes think they are used as a way to shut babies up (maybe thats the attraction!) so I have always planned not to use one for my LO's. As a first timer I might just be being naive about their usefulness so, do you use them, or plan to - and if so what do you see as the benefits??

Good topic chocorange, I am interested in this too. Am currently veerin towards the idea of dummies as my sister used one for her baby and it seemed fine, she doesn't use it all the time and now (18m) only has it at night. My crooked teeth are a result of lots of thumb-sucking so I'm not sure this is a great alternative!

Alos, just wanted to point you ladies in teh direction of www.lulasapphire.com - they have a sale on at the moment. I just bought a lovely butterfly wall sticker mural on impulse!

Ooh Choc - interesting one! DS does have a dummy but it has only ever been for sleep/naptimes or if he has been really really upset (very rare). It seems to have worked as he knows dummies stay in his cot and he rarely asks for one any other time (he has had phases when he wants it all the time - usually when he is ill - but we have been strict and he has got over it very quickly). I had to lay the law down with nursery though as they were giving into him!! My sister's 3 children had them in all the time until they were about 3 and I never wanted to go down that route. He is now 2 and as it is not an issue, have no plans to take it away from him and don't really have an age in mind to do so - maybe 3?

I suspect we will do exactly the same with this baby - but even more so now the SID guidelines do recommend dummies for sleeptimes.

God I detest dummies. I mean really really hate them. Irrational HATRED.
But, I think that this is due to seeing toddlers/older children having them SHOVED in, all the time, and thus not speaking properly.
I did buy one. But ds was easy baby. Didn't cry much. Apart from when he had colic, which was horrendous. He was totally not interested. Sucked his thumb for a few days. I was not impressed. But he stopped that aswell.
I do understand, that particularly in the early stages, they are an apsolute godsend for mums. And they are a comforter for babies.

If your baby likes it. What the hell. Anything to make life easy.

Oblomov ends her rant on dummies

dummies - With DS I said no never have a dummy! After a week I gave in. But DS only had it for a month to 2 max and we only gave it him when nothing else would work not as the 1st thing like I've seen some people do. We didn't have to wean him off it either. He just seemed not bothered anymore. So I will take the same relaxed approach with this one. But I will try to limit to a short period of time that we use it, prob 4 months of something.

The only thing that has made me think about using one was the SIDS advice - that made me feel a bit obliged to use one but I really don't like them. I guess its like everyone always says - you have to go with the flow and see what your LO needs / wants.

Midwife update - Water infection seems sorted. Blood pressure and bump measurement spot on. Baby heart rate strong. Baby kicking the monitor and midwife when she was moving him/her.

But ... my tests I had for water infection showed I have group strep b. I didn't have it with DS but fear of the unknown worries me a little .

Midwife sad dont worry just need to make sure I go to hospital for 4 hours before baby arrives to have drip of antibiotics. If I dont manage to get in then baby will have them for 48 hours after.

I really dont want baby to have the antibiotics or be in hospital 48hrs. But I really wanted to stop at home as long as poss but cant now. Just a little disappointed.

Did one of you ladies say you had group b strep? Sorry cant remember.

i tried ds on dummies when he was about 3 months, but he hated them! just spat them out, guess they are plasticky, cold and hard compared to nice, warm, soft nipples! (he wou;dn't drink from a bottle either tbh). oddly, he decided to suck muslin squares v early on (5mths), and is now a complete addict. He only has them for sleeping/ naps now, but CANNOT sleep without it. Gonna let it carry on a while, maybe 4 years old, see if he drops it of his won accord (can't stop at 3 yrs because this is when babies arrive and that will be traumatic enough!). in a twin book i have it says dummies are great for twins as one generally has to wait while you deal with the other one, but not to use past walking. i dunno, i have a couple leftover from experiment with ds and i am sure i will try it out, just depends on baby whether it will take it.

christmas plans - Nooooooooooooooooooooooo.

i took my sister and my friend to heathrow today. i won't see my sis till after babies, v sad. friend has been living with us for 10mths, now going back to australia. all quite hard to say goodbye, i was definitely not 'feeling it', just surreal. will take a few days to sink in.

Ohh - logged on at a good time - another debate........I hae to say (and apologies to you that do use them) I HATE dummies.....passionately....

Everyone I know who has used them has problems with their child giving them up - I know a nearly 4 year old who has to have it when he is upset and would rather that to a kiss and a hug.........A good friend is having a nightmare with her 2yo who won't give it up and another friend who had to keep creeping in to her baby everytime the dummy fell out to replace it as baby was unable to......

However, i also know ladies who have used them in the early days to great success.

Again, it is down to personal choice and circumstances, I would never say never but I just can't stand the sight of them and toddlers running around speaking through them (although my issue actually seems to be more toddlers/children with them rather than babies!)

BTW - Kylie was FAAAAABBBBBBBBBBB

DM x

Merry - I had a comforter like a mussy untul DH threw it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a tatty old towelling red PJ top aged 12m that i took a liking to at that age.......

didn't suck my thumb with it or anything, just used to smell it!!!!!

"Sucky" as it was fondly known was even mentioned in our wedding speeches as everyone knew about it....I would even take it on business trips (not to smell you understand, but it was part of me IYSWIM)

Sadly, DH "lost" sucky and to this day denies it was ever taken out of the bed........

Oh jesus wept, can't believe I have just admitted that

Am NEVER meeting any of you ladies now!!!

LOL at Sucky.
Oh its all becoming clear now

MM, even I love muslin squares. Not to suck or hold or anything. I just love them. Have loads. Best thing ever for bf.

i don't think i need to paint my bump for it to be scary - just whip it out! i get pitying looks even when i am dressed! (it's good in toilet queues though, people offer me to go first - ahhh).

ha ha ha dozy, i like the name 'sucky'! i wonder if ds will have 'ma muzzy' when he is married!! i'm sure his wife will rapidly lose it. i tried sucking it myself and it is quite nice . he does get a fresh one every day by the way!

I loved mama mia too! doesn't it make you want to weight less thasn 78kg and be in greece in a bikini?!!!

Dozy - lol at your 'sucky' - how very sweet! I can imagine it must have been a bit 'tatty' by the time your DH 'lost' it if you had had it from being 12 months old!!

It seems I am in the minority here then with dummies - I still maintain that they are ok for sleeping only but again, I had an easy baby/child who seems to be very accepting of things - maybe it wouldn't have been so easy to control it if he was a more demanding child.

And yes, there is a period where you have to get up and replace it during the night but, with DS, this only happened from being about 4 months old to 6 months - by which time he had learnt to put it in himself. Plus, he was still in our room at the bottom of the bed so fairly easy to crawl down the bed, still half asleep, and replace it - at which DS went straight back to sleep - much more preferable to a screaming baby!

I bet my parents/family have rarely ever seen DS with a dummy because he never uses it during the day - so I guess I think we have got the best of both worlds so to speak.

Sorry - I am ranting the other way

OK, this talk of dummies has got me thinking on a (sort-of!) related subject - microwaves! My sister used hers to steriiise the dummies hence the link! And of course the bottles for expressed milk/later on.

We don't have a microwave and have a tiny kitchen... will it really make our lives loads easier or can we make do without?

Sorry, don't want to hijack the dummy debate so please carry on with that too!

HI all
what's this about me being blamed for people planning Christams so soon? I was merely referring in passing to some stock I was making- no mention of turkeys or in laws!

LOl DM sucky that's very cute.

I must have had about half an hours sleep last night. DS and I resorted to watching Thomas at around 1am. Caught a bit of sleep this morning whilst DH was home but I'm hoping we get a better night tonight.

Dummies- I sucked my thumb. DD sucks her thumb.I tried a dummy with both my DC but neither wanted it.

Personally I think they are ok for bedtime if you feel the need but hate seeing children walking around in the day with dummies in.

Choc- I'm a bit confused by that mat- what does the harness connect to? The mat must weigh a ton to hold a rolling baby down? I've seen changing tables with harnesses but I must be misssing something I think.

I use the wedge shaped ones- they seem to be comfy and do hold the baby a bit, so less rolling over when nappy changing.

Thomasina we got a microwave when planning for ds and it has come in very useful. We stuck it on a shelf in the pantry, it's just a small, cheap one but it's great for defrosting batch cooking/chops etc. and baby food and warming the dc's hottie milk at bedtime.

I also have a microwave sterilliser which is very quick.

thomasina - i used a cold water steriliser, simply because you can just take the bits out of it whenever you need them (mostly it was all my breast pump paraphernalia in the middle of the night, when I really could not be bothered to microwave sterilise). if you steam/ microwave you have to use the stuff inside within a certain amount of time. tbh, i didn't use one much 'cos bf'd but just preferred convenience of cold water.