**DURHAM** 2010 Meet Ups!

[juneybean]

Our current line up (apologies if I've missed anyone!):

BettySwollux
BouncingTurtle
DizzyTrout
Foxytocin
Indith
JuneyBean
Laugs
LissyGli tter
Spiggy
StealthPolarBear
StickyLittleFingers
TeaMonster

What days of the week are best for day time meets? Also are mornings or afternoons easier?

January - I really want to go back to Cafe Continental in Durham! Any takers for coffee & cake?

Yes, I would love to meet up at Cafe Continental at 10:30ish on Friday - have both girls so will be a bit squashed but I can't turn down the chance for cake. I need to make the most of my temporary 4 day work week!

I'm up for that. Can't promise any kind of punctuality of course...!

Cool. Don't worry I am not terribly punctual. I am going to tell myself to get there for 10am, so I will be there for 10:30.
Weather looking quite nice, so perhaps after coffee and cake we can have a walk down to the little park down by the river?

Well my attendance is more iffy now - T's weight is still moreorless static and HV is coming back early on Friday to weigh her again ... if all goes well I'll be there if not I guess we'll be back at UHND with more checks.

Oh no Leggy! Who is your HV? Is it Debbie? I hope all goes well. Try not to worry too much, so long as she is feeding well, happy and producing plenty of nappies then the chances are that she is fine. Some babies grow more slowly than others but of course the HV will want to keep a close eye and make sure you have checks done just to be certain that there isn't anything else going on. FWIW I have had a friend sent to a specialist at the hospital for a slow growing baby, he just looked at her and said "why are you here? She is just small!"

All the best for Friday x

HV is Maria. Baby is absolutely fine in all other respects, although her dirty (not wet) nappies have recently ground to an aparent halt so there may be something going on now, although I can't see how that would explain the lack of growth before Monday.

Anyway, midwife and I both thought she had a growth spurt around week 40/41 so maybe she reckons she has a few weeks grace... here's hoping anyway!

It is common for bf babies to go for a long time without doing a poo. I don't know Maria at all. I think there is a bf group at the surestart on Laurel Ave have you been? May be worth having a chat with someone there just ot make sure your latch is fine and that she appears to be feeding efficiently. Otherwise just try to relax :)

On a different note, SPB's day off cake/my pre-birthday cake on Tues next week. I was planning on taking dd swimming so around 10.30? It will have to be Cafe Continental as I need their cake

SPB will you be with or without dcs? (note how cleverly I disguise the "will be able to sneak a lift home" question)

Leggy, sorry to hear you're stressed, hope everything is OK. I am also intrigued by 'T' :)
Indith I will be with children on Tuesday I'm afraid :( (although :o I get to see them - am missing them at the moment) But I'll see if I can use DH's car in which case we should be OK (assume W will be at nursery??) Can I let you know?

Hope things pick up with T soon Leggy, the lack of dirty nappies might not be an issue. H went 2 weeks without a poo when newborn, then pooed every day for two weeks Can't say if it affected her weight though as I only had her weighed at birth and 6 weeks (am allergic to my hv )

I may be there on friday...depends how confident I am at bringing two children out sods law as DC2 is doing 9 - 1pm Mon - Wed but 1.30pm - 3.30pm Thu - Fri this week lol.

But hopefully will be there for Tuesdays caking!

I'm also bringing along a heavily pregnant friend and her toddler. My only concern is the room for pushchairs - I think we'll have to fold them, right? Friend has a stroller so it'll collapse well, but my phil and teds double doesn't really get very small. I wonder whether they'd be okay with me leaving it semi-collapsed in their entrance hall. Hmmm, logistics-type musings ... any ideas from anyone?

Argh, I posted to an older version of the thread opened earlier today so I now look like I'm ignoring you all. My comment was refering to meeting up this Fri. Juney, hope to see you on Friday :) Leggy, I'm about to text you.

Don't worry about it SPB, would involve carseat faff, just thought I'd check :)

actually it probably wouldn't - Tristan can use his booster seat now so D could sit in the other one I assume? You would have to squeeze in the back but you're quite good at that!

Well if you are sure that it won't be a hassle that sounds good :)

I'll check with DH (if he is cycling he will need his car unfortunately as it has the roof rack on) and let you know.

Well weigh-in has been postponed so it's a more reasonable time scale for weight gain, so I'll be there tomorrow! I may beg help with top-ups of course...!

actually - does anyone have a FirstYears Breastflow bottle they could lend for the weekend? We're going to a wedding on Saturday and topping-up with a syringe in a suit isn't going to go down well with Beloved! These bottles seem a good bet for minimising confusion.

Haven't got one of those unfortunately. Do have a NUK bottle with slow flow silicon teat that's meant to be good and which we never used so is brand new - you're welcome to it. We've found this - available in Arnison centre Boots - to work very well for C, since the teat is nice and slow and you can gently squeeze the bottle to get a little into the baby if they haven't got the hang of sucking the bottle. The bottle itself is soft and the teat is wide and soft, a bit like a breast. Only hazard is that if they're not properly assembled they can leak as the entire bottle is flexible, but as long as one reads the instructions and practices reassembling once or twice it works fine. They saved our bacon with C, who rejected every other bottle.

Meant to say - good that weigh in has been postponed, since any 'lack of change' would have been within the margin of error for the scales. It sounds like you have found a sensible health visitor!

Leggy, I hope little T is putting weight on as I write. I wonder if maybe she is catching down to her natural weight-curve (she was big born, wasn't she?). Anyway good luck with it.

We're doing Musical Minis on Fridays now so not able to join you tomorrow morning - enjoy!

Frozen, I saw your post elsewhere about lecturing on breastfeeding. I don't think this would fit with your lecture, but you might be interested in the fact that recently the French feminist Elisabeth Badinter condemned breastfeeding as another chain that shackles women to a limiting maternal role that allows for no self-realisation. It occurs to me that this is all bound up in a particular notion of the self... I can't see why formula should be equated with freedom and breastfeeding with being trapped...

Sorry for thread hijack!

I might not be able to make it, I need to ring GP in morning as DS has another willy infection so will try and get an appointment for him. Hoping to make it anyway will let you know.

Chocoholica - oo, I think I remember reading about that in the Guardian. I'm now in the enviable position of having so much extra I want to bring to the lecture that I'm wondering whether I can ask to do it over two occasions. On the one hand I would like to keep the lecture primarily scientific but on the other hand it is such a wonderful opportunity to fight back a bit against the culture of bottle homage that we live in. I remember receiving the same lecture when I was a 3rd year undergrad and it really influenced the way I thought about infant feeding when I came to have children. Hmm, maybe I'll start by telling the students that!

x-post - hope your DS feels better soon KST, and hoping I see you tomorrow