Still frugaleering into Autumn.....

[Girliefriendlikesflowers]

New thread for us all to chat, support each other and hopefully save some money!!

Ok. Have read back to my last post of yesterday morning. You guys are a bit stalkerish aren't you....?!?! Haha!! cag was it you who mentioned my due date? Do you keep spreadsheets of things you know about people I made this joke at a colleague a while ago except I was the one keeping the fake spreadsheet...he didn't think it was funny

Still in hospital. I mentioned maybe going home today at lunchtime. Still here. Apparently I need to wait for midwife and dr to check me and baby. Sigh. Will start badgering tomorrow morning again. I'm desperate to get home.

I didn't sleep much last night. Think I was still hopped up on the natural endorphins and maybe in a bit of shock at what I'd done.

Just started experiencing the "after pains" which a friend told me about. Oooh. Painful but in a different way to yesterday.

Dparents came to visit this afternoon. I didn't think dm wanted to leave. She cried. A lot. Ddad was absolutely smitten with ds. He grabbed his massive hands in his teeny weeny ones!!!

Anyway. Day one has been good.

Em I wanted very much to go home at this point too, and sort of managed to escape. In the end what happened was that they sent a pediatrician to do mandatory checks on ds, then they let me go as long as I sent someone back to pick up the paperwork the next day. They made lots of excuses but I said I really definitely had to go as I'd not had a bath or anything to eat and really that needed to happen. They let me go but said to come back if things got tricky, which was kind of them.

Any luck with breastfeeding? That's the next hurdle at this point, and whether it's worth staying in hospital depends a lot on whether you are getting good help with that.

Good luck there.

em I don't think I've slept soundly properly since before dc! You always have half an ear open, and can be out of bed and running in a nanosecond.

You did an amazing thing yesterday. Sorry if we stalk a bit, I suppose it is a bit odd irl that some complete strangers are cheering you on!

Got some work done tonight, but will be chasing my tail all week as I was so lazy at the weekend. Got the dentist early tomorrow, and it's school photo day, dp will have to take them for the group shot. Right. Sleep.

Haha em nope no spreadsheet here 😂 I've often wondered if people really do that or if it's just a mumsnet joke! I just have a weird memory for numbers (caused many a shock at work with customer account numbers etc) and plus I admit I was excited to hear about little boy's appearance :o sorry they aren't letting you home yet, that's frustrating.

Annoyed I can't sleep but do feel a lot better than yesterday. Didn't sort out everything I needed to for tomorrow though.

Sympathies sunny I hate imaginative play! I just don't get it give me a board game with actual rules any day :o

Cag I've also got an a affinity with numbers I remember customer account numbers and phone numbers off the top of my head & car reg #'s but for some reason dates escape me

Em I know you're keen to go home but you really are in the best place for you & ds right now & you'll be home before you know it

Sunny you guys are half way through your dh's time away at this point well done

No spreadsheet here but what a good idea as I have a rubbish memory. Pleased things are going well.
Apologies if you are freaked out by the collective.

Haha no not freaked out at all! Just thought how nice it was you all cared enough to post asking what I was up to...and we're thoughtless enough to not bother to "@ tag" me in the posts - my emails auto ping to my phone. That would have been a nightmare!! Haha!

sunny we're getting there with feeding. I gave it a go rather sceptically. Thinking it may not work or I may not like it and that it was the "thing to do". It's a bizarre old feeling. But it's helping me and ds (named Charlie by the way totally outing myself) bond. I know he can't "see" me properly but he has huge dark blue eyes. Which sort of stare into me. Whether we keep it up long term I don't know. Dh thinks maybe we should on one level. But in a more practical (and I guess emotional one for him) he wants to feed him too. And at present can't. not feeling at all smug that this year I've done three awesome things he physically can't do...carried ds, gotten him out and fed him!

When dh has been here I've fed him, then dh has taken him afterwards for a cuddle.

ive mentioned to the midwives about going home today. Physically I don't feel there's a reason to keep me or ds in. Or if there is no ones told me. Mentally I was a bit overwhelmed yesterday but that's to be expected. And it's normal here for a couple of days in hospital then home. No where's far and the midwifes come to check on you.

I also feel both mentally and physically that I'll recover better at home. Dh will be there. Mum will be on call, I'll have all my stuff around me and can eat proper food! The food here is dire. To the extent I almost had "roast beef" for dinner last night with veggies etc only to look again at said "beef" and find out it was chocolate bread and butter pudding le yum but not something you want with gravy...!

I have a room to myself too which is nice. But also not. Because there's nowhere else to go. We have a view of the park (which last night saw the culmination i think of "tramp fight 2017" haha!) but it's nothing special. Only saving grace is that because it's just me and ds in here we can rest/sleep etc as needed and he doesn't get woken by the other babies. And we have to go home at some point. Can't stay here forever!

Ah em it's hard to sleep in hospital. Hopefully the dr will do their round this morning and discharge you.

Will need petrol today I think as lots of driving to do.

It was me who knew the due date Em, you don't want to be mentioning dates around me. I never forget. I'm the never forgive, never forget type.

Sunny I hate those courses too, especially cpr that's highly unlikely to work anywhere other than the set of crappy tv medical dramas.

I thought you could mix feed? It would be useful if you can't bf for some reason like your on a tablet contraindicated with bf. Or your poorly. Or you've drunk a bottle of Malbec

Lovely, lovely name.

I'm going to try & book a flu jab today. No one I work with seem to have noticed its predicted to be a bad one this year Going to aim for Friday so I have the weekend to feel like shit.

Em a newborn baby can focus exactly from your boob to your face so he can see you. I would say you can mix feed but you'd need to wait about six weeks I think. Or even better would be to express and then bottle feed that. Trouble is bottle feeding is much easier for the baby and so they can start refusing boob. But other babies are happy either way anyway it's such a lovely thing to do whether you do it for a week, six weeks or six months.

Thanks Mammy. You're right we are getting there. We have done one night now without incident, so that's feeling pretty good.

Fluffy I'm glad it's not just me about first aid courses. I used to find them just a bit horrifying, but now, having nursed ds through symptoms resembling meningitis twice, I am aware of the real practicalities on the ground, and I see it all very differently. Still not thrilled about having to have the discussion.

Charlie 😍 such a lovely name and from the photos it totally suits him!

Oh major strike out fail in my earlier post.

You can mix feed or choose to bottle feed. But if I'm honest the bottle feeding is very much frowned upon here. No idea why. We're planning to introduce it at some point though. Just makes things a bit easier. Takes the pressure off A bit. Whether that's expressed or formula I don't know yet. But we'll wing it.

I like the idea of a whole bottle of Malbec

Aww fabulous name em my friends also have a Charlie, but spelt Charley, for a boy

Ah I'm so jealous of your newborn snuggles em! Feel free to post photos of his tiny feet!

I worked with a woman who thought Charlie was a girls name because of Charlie's Angels. I don't think she'd noticed Charlie's voice was male.

She was quite shocked when our new boss had a son called Charlie.

She was at university too.

Love the name Charlie! It was one of our favourites too!

Today is another sunny day so I'm going to catch up on all the washing that's left and get it dried in the garden. Woo hoo! I love not having a massive tumble dryer (but wish I had a 3KG one) but it definitely requires thought and planning.

We've had our dishwasher for 4 months now and it probably saved our marriage

My only spend of the day is going to be on the bus.

Am going to spend the morning researching the company that I have an interview with. If I get the job we'll be able to overpay the mortgage and MSE website says

"Overpaying would save you £33,283 in interest alone,
and mean you pay the debt off in full 23 years & 10 months earlier."

Omg! That would be incredible!

I love Charlie. We have a female version of it in our house.

Finally got a look at ds mouth properly. His gun is a mess. Dentist at 10. Feeling shit as should probably have gone to a&e last night. really panicking is badly damaged. Shit man.

I've set up a new thread as the this one is almost full.