Due Jan 2010 - the final countdown and singing Auld Lang Syne to our bumps

[CantThinkofFunnyName]

Last thread nearly full - so here goes - our last hurdle....

Ali - at least you know how much he's getting with the bottle and you can fatten him up good and proper. I bet it is so lovely to be home with your beautiful new son. Some major envy going on here on the thread for those with their bubs already....

Thanks mama He has been spoken to by me about drinking, (he is 17 in feb btw) and hopefully he'll get some professional help with any issues now he's been referred. DH hasn't spoken to him since )step dad) and it creates a bit of an atmosphere, but its okay. I'm not excusing him drinking but the more I look at him I do feel sad that this has happened to him, although I appreciate it could have been alot worse, and he knows that as well.

I'm dreading the 3 dds getting older, they already have much more attitude that ds now.

Hi ali glad your home, at least with the bottle you'll know exactly how much he is having, ang hes had the first bit of milk with is really important, hope he turns into a little porker soon.

cant I would like to join in on the envy thankyou

SixMince - FWIW, my DSS, now 19, has had his father and I through the mill over the years with drink, drugs, fights etc. I really don't have any advice but just wanted you to know that you're not alone and someone else possibly knows what you are going through. x

Thanks can't I mentioned it to my mw as a tactic I may try should I go passed the 40 week point. I love that one, it's always good to see the smirks!

ali it's great that he's DS is home and I'm sure once he's settled his feeding will sort itself out.

Thanks cant good to know someone has been there and survived it, at times (few and far between I might add) it feels like the end of the world but he doesn't fight, no drugs (yet!!) just beer at the mo.
As dh is step dad he is not very good at voicing his feelings just bottles everything up and ges moody with everyone. His real dad doesn't know the half of it although I have told him this time to get a bit of support.

Anyway nice to know someones had experience I can draw on, Back to babys now please.

Nothing happening here only tightenings and back ache but I think I'm joining the UTI club, off to gp tomorrow for Abs.

24 Dec timmette/shinybaubles (DS 3) - boy
29 Dec CantThinkofFunnyName (DS 10 yr; DD 6 yr) - N Ldn - surprise
1 singalongamumum (DS 18mth)
1 TheMinnieBauble - 1st - boy
2 Lisylou1980
2 Liny - Nottinghamsire - girl
3 salvadory
3 sunshinejanuary - South London
3 Bethoo (DS 2 DD 8 mon)- Wiltshire
4 pepa (DS 3.5, DD 18mth) Toronto, Canada
4 Fraochsmum (1st baby)
5 Jasmeeen (DS1 6yrs, DS2 3 yrs, DC3 gender unknown)
6 oomska (DD 13mo)
6 crumpette (2nd DC)
6 gizzy1973 (1st baby)
6 Fakeplastictrees (1st baby, Sevenoaks)
8 STA1mum (DS15mth)
8 mistletoekisses (DS 2.3 yrs) - another boy!
9 bigpreggybelly (1st baby)
10 Zen1980 (1st baby)
10 lizzylu (DS 14mths)
10 Somewhathorrified
10 kittykat765 (DS 19mth) - Bristol
11 Katiei (DS)
11 anastaisia (dd b2005)
11 lilacpink (DD 3)
12 JoInScotland - 1st baby, Scotland
12 roastbeef
12 quirkychick (DD 4, Norfolk)
13 skidoodle (DD 13mo)
13 LessThenIdeal
13 Sleepingalot - Sheffield
13 Liskey
14 Thingiebob - 1st baby (girl) London
15 lynchy09 (DS14mth)
15 MrsVik - 1st baby - girl.
15 Sersi (DS1 6, DS2 4) - Herts
15 Worriedunfortunately (DD 4y)
16 Partyofsixsoontobeseven / SixMincePiesSoontobeSeven (DS 16yrs, DD 11yrs, DD 7yrs, DD 6yrs)- Surprise
16 DesertFairy (DD3)
16 ILoveDolly
17 slightlybonkers (DS 3yo)
17 MrsStripey (DS15mo)
17 showmethemummy/TheGruffalo DD4; DD2. girl
18 alfiesmadmother (DS1 7,DS2 5 and DS3 3)
18 Southwestwhippet
18 Sockmonkey (DS6 DS4) - Notts - Girl
18 Fififorgot (DD 3.5)
19 SuiGeneris
19 DeeMented
19 ampster (DS 18mo)- London E14 - Girl
20 sooooexcited (DS 2)
20 verytiredmummy (DS)
20 Totalmisfit (DD 3.4) - Norfolk
20 helenabeth (DS1 4.5, DS2 20mths)
21 Mowmi - Surrey
21 nomorebboze - nr durham
23 AutumnAir
23 Noodlesforbreakfast (DS 20mths) - girl
24 Sazlocks (DS 20mo) - surprise
24 Blocka (DD 32mo) - North East
24 Laura233
24 coffeeicecream (DS 9mo) - NW London
24 MamaLazarou
24 Biccy (DD 3)
24 Fibilou (1st baby) - girl
25 FlightofFancy - Surrey
25 Iateallthecreameggsyummy / HurryDowntheChimney
25 MissChatterbox (DD 4.5 DD2 2.5)
25 chickbean (DS1 3.3, DS2 1.3) - Harrogate -surprise
27 Happybump (DS 19mo)
27 Devotion (DD 6YRS & DD 3YRS)Faran for boy / Sylvie for girl so far...
27 Mama2b5 (DD-15,DD-8,DS-10,DS-4) - S London - Isaiah !!/Aaron ??
28 Brasso4 - Peterborough - girl - 1st baby
29 yangymac (DD 4) - girl
20 laurawantsababy (dd 1yo)
30 GetThePartyStarted
30 nervoussara - Brighton
31 IrrationalMother (DS 18mo)
32 Mrsjammi 23rd January - DS1 14, DS2 20 months, DSD 13, DSS 18

ARRIVED
1st Dec - Missmarjoribanks - boy Thomas William Francis (33+4)
10th Dec - ClaireDB - girl Mira - 5lb 11.5oz (36+5)
11th Dec - Alibobins - boy Jacob, 6lbs 1oz (37weeks)
14th Dec - londonlottie - twin girls Juliet 6lb 1 and Eve 5lb 6 (35+5)
15 Dec - Whensmydayoff - girl Olivia - 6lb (36+6)

Lottie Your little girls are so sweeeeeet. Beautiful pictures.
4 weeks to go now - but will probably be 6 if the boys are anything to go by.

Lottie it is so stressfull when the midwives are breathing down your neck all the time and one thing I found was that they all do things so differently.
Your girls are absolutely beautiful x x

Jacob is only taking 30-40 mil every 3 hours he gets so tired and wears himself out quickly but 4 days ago he was still being tube fed so its all new to him.

Going to get Dh to put some pictures on later as I can't do it

lottie I hope you get to go home tomorrow. BFing is very stressful and I cannot imagine it with twins but it sounds like you are doing amazingly well. When I had DD I was told it is almost unheard of for a baby to be breastfed and actually gain weight, they often lose half a pound or so and then start gaining, so you have done nothing wrong at all.

I'm sure they are just being super vigilant because it's twins and they were a little early, try not to take it personally.

Once you get home if you want to BF exclusively stick with it, your supply will increase with demand, it sounds like you are doing astonishingly well! I can't comprehend how tiring it would be having 2 littlies to look after at the same time!!! (((and they are gorgeous!)))

alibobins so happy that you are home with Jacob, we insist on pictures!!! pleeease!!

He's a tough little guy, you are doing so well if he was still being NG fed a couple days ago it must be really tough getting feeding started, how are you feeling otherwise?

I have to say I am joining the brigade at you having your babies already!!

I have now, I am amazed to say, packed a hospital bag!! whooo!! It's really small but I have managed to shove loads in just in case I have to stay, am planning on trying to get out asap without going to the postnatal ward... fingers crossed!

Now I'm feeling a bit more organised though he'll probably be late!

wondering how shinybaubles is doing.... 3 days to go...!?

Londonlottie You are not starving your children to death and whoever said this to you should be told in no uncertain terms that they are not being helpful and not to speak to you until they can be more constructive! When I mentioned a possible mixed diet to my SiL she suggested the tommee tipee bottles as the teat is really similar shape to a real nipple, as such it MAY cause less nipple confusion. Just an idea if you end up down that route...ofc pretty much everyone else on here will know better than me on this subject, I'm sure others have better info for you.

Morning all, hope you are all well.

Kids schools have been snowed off so everything I had planned to do today (redecorate tree, finish ironing, tidy my room), will now have to wait.

dd2 Is sooooooooooooooo disappointed, it should have been her xmas party today so she got up dressed in new clothes and had dd1 curl and braid her hair. Bless.

I also have all the presents to wrap which was my last job tomorrow.

Any way going into work at lunchtime to give cards eat chocolate and stuff, so its a bit like a party for her.

Have fun

36+2 and counting

london beautiful pictures of the girls, hope you sort out the feeding soon and don't get too down with the conflicting advice.

Getting excited for you shiny hope you're ok.

Hellloooo!!

What, no more arrivals this weekend? Looks like all of our bubs are planning to stay put until the New Year! Here's hoping!

Lottie - when DS was born, he weighed just 5lbs 1oz. He was tiny and didnt have enough energy to feed just from me. From as soon as he was born, he was put to the breast each feedtime (for the colustrum etc). Then he was topped up with formula. Once my milk came in, the same happened, he was put to the breast put then topped up with my ebm.
FWIW - once his energy was up, he breastfed with no problems whatsoever. Bottle feeding him initially caused no problems at all.
But at the time, I honestly hated it. I remember being in floods of tears as I expressed colustrum and watched him have formula. I was devastated. But I really wasnt given a choice. If he dropped below 5lbs, he would have gone into SCBU. All I wanted to say is that it was fine and I breastfed until DS was weaned.

CTFN - how are you feeling? How are your bits? Sorry if too personal a question

Crumpette - hope you have your feet up relaxing on your maternity leave!

Shiny - sending lots of positive vibes yor way and looking forward to hearing about the arrival

Sixmince - your poor DD, oh well, hope she has fun with you at your office.

Hope that everyone else is doing ok.
I have a check up this weds and am hoping all ok with bub. DS arrived at 37 weeks (which is a week today - yikes) and keep getting a v. spooky feeling that this LO is not going to wait to make him arrival either. But what do I know??
Am getting v. nervous and sad about leaving DS for 3/4 days though . He will have granny and my nephew on hand for entertainment (so am sure he wont miss me much), but I certainly hope I don't pine for him too much. Mum tells me that I will be enraptured with bub, and not to worry about it too much. Ho hum.

Only 4 sleeps until Christmas! Hoorah!

Hey Mistletoe - bits doing MUCH better. Think it must have been thrush now as the Canesten, ice packs and tea tree oil totally worked.

Had a lovely morning... coffee/breakfast with some of the mums from school and went to a fab restaurant, treating myself to Eggs Benedict with ham (om nom nom, yum yum yum), plus cappucino and then the manager came around with a bottle of champers so I had a bit of that too!! Ooooh, get me!

Then I had waxing appointment to prepare for c/s - ouch. Which tbh, has kind of finished me off as getting on/off the bed has flared up the SPD, so now am asking one of the mums to bring my kids back from school so I don't have to walk again in the snow!

I remember Shinybaubles saying that she had a week of visitors, family for Xmas to look after DS whilst she is in hospital etc so I would imagine she is up to her eyes but if she does check-in, hopefully she'll realise we're all sending her lots of good luck wishes and excellent c/s recovery vibes!

I have my pre-op assessment tomorrow and only 8 more sleeps til my baby. Getting v excited ....

Oh now I hurt! I think baby is pushing right down into my pelvis with it's bottom/feet and I am getting lots of sweeping pains and funny sciatic nerve type stuff going down my legs. Such a different feeling from when the head is down - quite bizarre.

Little sod - I can tell this is going to be one major problem child!!!

CTFN - DS was breech and I can tell you that his kicks bought me to a standstill. head down is far more comfy!

Your morning sounds lovely! Mine was spent in a solicitors office taking care of mundane but essential bits and pieces! Know which one I would rather have had!

BTW - you are on brave lady getting waxed in pregnancy. I did it once with DS, and was in agony! anyone coming near me with hot wax would get a right hook.

We are getting another bucketload of snow as I type!

Just had the bucketload of snow and now looks to be easing off slightly, thank goodness. DH had one job and one job only this Christmas (apart from cooking Xmas lunch) - to buy the crappy stocking fillers for kids from ToysRUs. Needless to say, it has not yet been done and he was hoping to go tonight or tomorrow. He is sitting here at home now saying "oooh, I don't think I'd better go tonight, this will all freeze over". Bloody wimp!!! Harumph.

Have told him in no uncertain terms and if he doesn't want to drive, then he has to walk to the local shops tomorrow to buy chocolate oranges, sweets, hair accessories, pens, pencils etc - anything that we might be able to fill a huge stocking with!

Still, we have to drive tomorrow to the hospital anyway and get guinea pig hay to tide through Xmas!

Hi everyone and thanks for all the good wishes.
The truth is ds has been sick for the last few days and has been physically attached to me, poor thing still not well. If he is still sick tomorrow I guess it's time to take him to the doctors.
I had an appointment on Saturday and they are estimating a 6lbs baby - so we will see if they are right. He is head down but very high up and I keep thinking maybe I should cancel the c section - but haven't.
Visitors start arriving tomorrow well my sis and her dh - I can't wait she's a born organiser and will take over the whole house and I will do nothing .
I really admire you and the breastfeeding londonlottie I know it isn't easy. Glad you're home alibobins. CTOFN glad you're feeling a bit better.
mistltoekisses I know what you mean about leaving ds, but he is so excited at being looked after by my sis - I will not be given a second thought .
Sorry if I have missed anyone out I am super sleep deprived.

londonlottie at saying you are starving the babies! That is not helpful at all.

FWIW I found most hcps actually knew very little about bf but the breastfeeding councillor did. I don't know what it's like in Switzerland but it might be worth trying to contact someone like LaLeche International for some advice? Dd weighed 7lb 1oz and lost 1lb by the time we got home. We were threatened with SCBU as she had lost more than 10% weight. The bf councillor helped with the latch whereas the mws just told me off for not feeding her enough/eating enough myself. You are doing really well.

Your girls are lovely lottie I hope they start gaining well with BF soon, I agree, they all lose a bit to start with. I used a Breastflow bottle with DS who couldn't manage any other bottle. I don't know anyone who has used them, but I've seen Supplemental Nursing Systems(SNS) mentioned as a way to supplement babies with EBM or formula but at the boob, its basically a bottle, with a tube you attach to your nipple, so baby gets a faster flow of milk with less effort, while still 'learning' breastfeeding. They look a faff to sterilise, but could be worth a try www.expressyourselfmums.co.uk/details1.asp/ProductID/292/sid//Medela-Supplemental-Nursing-System

So glad baby Jacob home alibobins and hope he gets the hang of this eating business soon too!
Painful week CTOFN, thrush then waxing, ouch!
I'll be booking mine in soon too though, will practice birth breathing during it!

Got stuck in the snow today, after an hour stuck in traffic just getting round the campus at work, I remembered the really steep hill I have to drive down to get home and started to panic. The traffic wasn't moving so went back into the campus at the next gate and parked up. Lots of buildings had locked up early as everyone sent home, so had to find one open to use toilet, then waddled the 2 miles home through the snow, looking like a snow weeble!! Mobile network down so couldn't let DH know what I was upto for a while. Was eerily quiet, like some disaster movie, all these cars stranded everywhere and people walking through the blizzard. I made it though with only one minor tumble. Baby wasn't engaged at all at appt this morning, wonder if it might be a bit now !!

Urgh. Just finished packing for Christmas back in ireland. Having to take ferry as won't be allowed fly home. This has just meant i've tried to fill car, unrestricted by luggage weight restrictions! Knackered after all that effort.

Finish work for mat leave tomorrow though! Yay!! MiL sent us a classic card for christmas that arrived today. Happy christmas, and oh here are addresses for great aunt and DH sister - they would really appreciate cards so on you go...

Given madness of prepping for first baby and finishing work and organising for christmas, there are NO cards. Bloody woman.

She is buying the car seat though! Must suppress indignation