Calling all pregnant ladies in Blackheath/Manor Park/Lew

[MrsEJO]

Hello! I'm new to mumsnet AND being a mum ? this is my first!! Am only 15+3 weeks. I live in Blackheath / Lew and was wondering if there are any pregnancy groups that I can join / attend other than the NCT classes (I might be too early for those classes?). Just a gossip coffee on a saturday morning with people in the same boat would be nice!

I often catch the train from Blackheath St and wonder if there are any other 15 weekers on the platfrom just getting over morning sickness!!

Im very accessible to Manor Park too.

Would love to hear from anyone

Em

Hello, Tara373, you can get the 386 bus from Greenwich to Blackheath.

I will be coming along on Thursday, looking forward to seeing you all.

xx

P.S, do any of you know of any rememdies for hayfever that I can take while breatfeeding? Am really suffering at the moment, sniff sniff!

x

Hayfever info from NHS choices [nerd emoticon] There's probably nothing specifically recommended for preggers hayfever sufferers; it would be unethical deliberately to test whether or not they hurt you or the baby. As with everything else, old drugs or topical stuff (sprays are good, tablets not) are the ways to go. Check out this drug formulary if you want info on your usual favourite remedy. [double nerd] And yes, I do work in drug testing...

Definately coming on Thursday and bringing another Blackheath mum with us. Tupperbaby is now 95th centile for height so will need a big seat to sit on!

Hi

Shall be coming on Thursday now as friend pulled out of visit so looking forward to seeing everyone.

Beano7 - am a hayfever sufferer too and went to GP before giving birth to prep all the medication I could use once baby born. Been okay till last two days and GP said I could use everything Piriton, Beconase nose spray, Clarytin and resorted to the nose spray (Rhinospray something) in the end and seems to be working today.

Only thing you cannot take is Telfast while breastfeeding but everything else she said was fine as the dose is actually very small for hayfever tablets.

Really hope it gets better

Hi all, congratulations to all the new arrivals! Can't wait to meet the new babies.

I'll be at the Railway tomorrow and happy to tell people more about the Cranial Osteopathy - Aidan at the Sunflower Centre was excellent and Naima has been noticeably calmer and less fretful since the session.

Hi

Sorry I cannot make today just woken up with cold and sore throat, "That what happens when you go to sleep with wet hair" as my mother would say. Have not used a hairdryer in months as too worried the noise will wake DD.

Am pretty sure it's not Swinflu though that the primary school has reported a case in Blackheath!

Hope everyone enjoys todday.

ELlora

Hi Girls,
Can't make today as Jasmine is poorly. Signs of teething but can't possibly be at 8 wks ?!?! Am hoping she isn't coming down with anyting else though as immunisations are tomorrow.

Thanks for the news about cranial osteopathy, am definitely booking Jas in when I get the car back.

I will get to meet you one day, have a nice lunch.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the osteopath recommendation! I was looking to book an appointment. My little boy seems to always be very cranky and generally unhappy when waking up, regardless of how long he's slept for or where and even when he's definitely not hungry or wet. Anyone else found this? Does your little one always wake up crying?

And a couple of things to share: we're using cloth nappies almost exclusively (even when out and about), unless I forget to do a wash and we run out (we don't have a full supply yet). It's been working really well , even with miconium early on. No leaks, though my boy is a really heavy wetter sometimes and does number 2 up to 10 times a day . A lot better than the disposables we'd used - he got nappy rash and I really hated the smell of them (they smell like some kind of industrial glue or something). They were not any weird kind or anything - Pampers Sensitive.
So far we've had very good experience with Flexitots by TotsBots with their own wraps or ImseVimse ones, if anyone would like to try cloth... They do come in complete trial packs and are regularly listed on eBay - new and used, whatever your preference.

Also, we've gone through abit of a rough growth spurt around 2.5-3 weeks (apparently this is normal). What seemed to really help increase my milk supply were walnuts (on mums's advice) and drinking a lot of water/tea. So if you're having supply issues, getting some walnuts into your diet might be helpful.

My daughter seems to have the same issue Elk4baby. She doesn't always wake up crying, but often seems quite cranky and upset, even when she's just fed and had her nappy changed. I don't know if it's just adjusting to being out in the world or something more. We've got a session booked at the Sunflower Centre next week, so I'll try to come back with an update on how it goes.

Have a trial pack of cloth nappies, but not yet got up the energy to try them. Really should do...

Elk and Powdoc I know how you feel, Baby has colic and cries non-stop in the evenings...any good tips for colic? have tried almost everything...

We're going with a combination of sling (she seems to like being upright and close to us), Infacol, lots of winding after feeding and hoping that the cranial osteopathy might help!

Sorry to hear about other cranky babies, but this has really lifted me as I had another stint of tears from 4am-8am last night and beginning to wonder if my baby hates me.
Baby tummy massage seems to be working quite well in the day, but nothing pacifies her at night except closeness and being upright (as Powdoc says).
Staying with family tonight, which I can't see being much fun!

Of course she doesn't hate you Tara. You are her mummy and she loves you.

When I've been having moments like this I find it helps to concentrate on the fact that crying is the ONLY form of communication DD has right now. Sometimes that cry means something (feed me, wind me) and I can respond. Sometimes it seems to just mean 'Argh, this big bad world is all too much, put me back inside.' If that's the cry, then nothing I do is going to stop it. I am also trying to spend a few days taking a deep breath and trying to learn to differentiate between the cries and not assume that every one is for food. That way, when there's one you can't fix, it's a bit less heartbreaking - plus I don't end up feeding her every 20 minutes. Not that I find it that easy to follow my own advice when DD is screaming!

The other thing we have been focusing on is the possibility of wind. DD does arch her back a lot, as if she has trapped wind (and seems to be in a lot of pain at these times), and does some fabulous burps and farts. I have been trying to really focus on getting a good latch on the breast (obviously not applicable if you are using formula) as I read a really interesting article that a lot of misdiagnosed colic might actually be related to feeding www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2005/mar/30/familyandrelationships.healthandwellbeing.It hasn't been the miracle cure that the article suggests, but it has helped and, more importantly, it makes me feel like I am doing something.

Same goes for the cranial osteopathy, and will keep you posted on how it goes. Am determined not to tell the practioner about DD's birth (long, forceps) and see whether he can genuinely tell.

Oh, and use the search feature on here to read back through some historic threads. Putting in key words like 'colic', 'sling', 'newborn' etc gets you some cracking stuff. Made me feel LOADS better to realise that probably the majoirity of mums feel the same way and have the same problems.

Hi everyone,

Really sorry to hear you're having the same problems with gassy/colicky babies.
There are a number of things you can do about gas (might actually help with colic as well). It's an old remedy that your grandmothers might remember - 'dill water'. It's simple to prepare - simply pour boiling water over some dill in a cup, cover and let it steep like tea. Drink this slightly green water (no taste to it really) throughout the day. It will reduce gas in you as well as the baby (granted, of course, that you're breastfeeding).
In really desperate cases you can even give this water to the baby - just one or two teaspoons. We had to do this the first week, as my little boy was extremely gassy and sreaming in pain for hours on end.

Also, what I found helpful for gas and reflux (again might even help with colic) is a baby hammock. We have the Amby Nature's Nest, though I think there are a number of different ones out there. The Amby is quiet expensive, but we got ours on EBay very reasonably; there's always a few listed.

Another silly thing that helps to calm a crying baby - gym ball. Bouncing on it with baby in your arms (upright) seems to calm or at least entertain babies. This was suggested by a friend of ours and seems to realy help Anton as well. Just make sure the ball is not over-inflated, so you're stable.

Oh, and if you don't have a sling yet and thinking of getting one, try a wrap style one. These seems to work a lot better for tiny babies than the ones you put over one shoulder. My little boy was way too small for the one-shoulder sling I had. I ended up getting the Tinoskis from NCT shop on a friend's advice and am really happy with it. Once you get the hang of how to wrap and tie it, it's really simple to use.

Hello,
I am thinking of buying the Medela breast pump, anyone else using it? How do you find it?

I have the Ameda Lactaline - pretty much the same price as the Medela Swing, but for a double. It's working very well and has really helped me to adjust my milk supply.
In the mornings, I was producing more than my little boy needed, but then in the evenings when he was hungrier the supply was shy, so it was difficult to settle him to sleep. Pumping at the end of the evening feeds has helped correct this problem.

Hope everyone enjoyed the Bank Holiday and were thoroughly clucked over by adoring family/ friends/ random strangers in the street .

Anyone going to see Star Trek tomorrow? I hope I haven't left it too late to introduce Tupperbaby to sci fi...

hi tuuperwife
yep i'll be there tmw, its only our 2nd big scream so we are still novices!!
rosa x

oops! meant tupp not tuup!!

Hi all,
And hi to cateve79 in exactly same position as you. I am 27 weeks and looking to meet mums/ mums to be in local area.

Its great reading your posts and seeing everyone has had safe births and healthy babies- great comfort to a terrified first timer like me.

I will be on maternity leave from Mid July cateve79 so maybe we could meet up then and compare bumps or swollen ankles! Or even before if you not too tired after work.

Am based near Manor Park. Sorry to gatecrash,
Fliss 01

Hi all,

Anyone up for another Station lunch (1pm) on Tuesday? Saw a few girls at Running Mummies today and Tuesday sounded good....

Its been good to read the posts about crying babies... Rowan has had me wondering what to do with her but I reckon she just gets freaked out by the big bad world sometimes and crying is her only way to deal with it. Sounds like I am not alone...

Sadly Tupperbaby has his 16 week jabs on Tuesday so we won't be able to come. And I'm far to lazy to go to running mummies.

The old wives tales say they cry less after around 3 months, and it's definately true for us. And he didn't even have colic [sympathy for mums of colicky babies emoticon]. Massage is great for that 'what on earth can we do for the next half hour?' moment; he even holds his legs out for me! He's also now showing liking for things, like that weird cat mask on the kitchen wall. Last night we discovered the wonders of teething gel which is truly magical stuff and made my fingertips numb.

Hi everyone

I will try and be at the Station on Tuesday for lunch.

Sorry to read about the colicky babies, I went through a similar stage with Layla and used Infacol a few times which really helped.. I must say though that by 5/6 weeks things improved and I could then read what her cries were for.. she mainly has 3 types of cry.. over-tired, hungry or nappy!

SE8mum - I got the Medela breast pump and didn't get on with it very well although others in my NCT class have been fine with it, so I think it comes down to the individual. I have done a lot of expressing as Layla was a very sleepy feeder on the breast so I feed her expressed milk (and am now doing 1/2 and 1/2 with formula). I went through a few pumps and found the Avent handheld was the best in the end as it is quicker and more gentle. Hope this helps.

Hopefully see some of you on Tuesday. Feb80 and Rie1 - can you come now you're on maternity leave!?

XX