The Zoo!

[WinomoreTheFruitbat]

Is it feeding time yet?

pull up a rock or patch of grass and get comfy in our new enclosure!

I still get so confused as to who most of you are on here, have to have the FB list open so I can remind myself.......
There isn't a name yet, is there?
Says me who takes forever to name her children
Don't worry Tigger, I also wasn't on the text list Hopefully af won't arrive anytime soon for you, can't believe it's cycle 24, can't imagine how frustrating it must all must be for you both.
How are you feeling Turk, all ready for your impending arrivals?? Can't imagine having 2 babies to look after at once, I'm sure you can't either!
Currently enjoying a nice glass of SA red, Thelema, if any of you come across it and enjoy red wine

I have just bought a pair of spanx pants! and a dress for fruitbat's wedding. nothing spectacular but the only thing I could find that I could bf in; now that is a tricky thing to find eh. I also went out to the shops with the pram and no DH to buy them! my first trip out just the two of us!

Nemo I love the name by the way! I told DH and he liked it too, thats is very rare; must be good. Hope you are well and will be home soon if not already? I can@t wait to read your birth story x

Just logging in quickly from a hotel and saw the news from Nemo so wanted to say huge congratulations I'm so pleased for you and can't wait to hear all the details and see the pics! Very of those of you with insider knowledge of names etc. I just checked FB but nothing on there!
Glad everyone else is OK although sorry to hear about BFN Tigger That sucks
Great news that you've got DD to take a dummy Meeow. Don't worry, it took my DH months to take E out on her own. I kept trying to persuade him just to take her to Sainsbury's which is 5 minutes' walk away just to have a few minutes to myself and for him to get used to taking her out but he was having none of it. In the end he took her to his mum's for a morning (1h drive away) because I think that felt safe to him if she did anything unpredictable such as an explosive pooh or whatever. The fact that he might have been stuck in a traffic jam with a screaming baby obviously didn't occur to him Men eh! Your DH will get there - baby steps as somebody else said.
Mamafox Thelema wine is fantastic DH and I discovered it when we went to SA 6 years ago when my sister and her then DP were living there. They've actually been to the vineyard
Talking of vineyards, DH, E and I are near Bordeaux touring the Medoc wine area and we've had a lovely time. Back to Ile de Re tomorrow and back to the UK a week tomorrow.
Hope everyone else is OK and look forward to catching up properly very soon Enjoy the rest of your weekend everybody.

Impala we have a case of the 2006 cab sav, yummt It's not in bottle stores here, so dh contacted the Australian importer for it & they agreed to sell us a case, although they don't normally supply to individuals but would this time as business had slowed. Gotta love the economic downturn for something
I am envious of your French trip, as always sounds wonderful
We had no family near us when the dd's were born, so it was just dh & I to get on with it. He may have been nervous but had no choice but to give me a break at times, there was just us.
Just had a lovely visit from my bf. We have known each other since we were 6yrs old & during ds's pregnancy was the first time I had felt her distance herself from me. With my awful hormones it really upset me all through the pregnancy but I've seen her 3 times in the 7wks since Connor was born & she's rung me twice in the last week - she only rung me once the whole pregnancy, all other contact was made by me. So hopefully whatever the problem is, has fixed itself. Her father was recently dianosed with brain cancer so that could be why she is making more effort?
ds is asleep on my lap, so peaceful

Afternoon ladies, finally got a minute to post as the last couple of days seem madly busy plus am trying not to use my spare minutes up on the internet.

The camping was a great success, well the DS part of it was. Invested in the BEST travel cot, bit pricey but he slept really well in it and it is so easy to put up and folds up tiny. DP did put his back out as our airbed had a puncture and he had to sleep on the floor and we got a flat car battery but N was a happy camper!

Tigger that you are on cycle 24, so frustrating for you. I think you should be our beautiful zoo panda - rare, gorgeous and any offspring will be extra precious.

Mamafox How strange about your BF, great that she's over it though, I recently got a call from mine who is rubbish at contact but has also taken this to a whole other level and had not contacted me at all when pg- really nice to reconnect. Isn't it great to have a glass of 2 of wine now! Can't believe DS is 7 weeks

Impala Can't believe how quickly the summer has gone. Love your bike seat for E - did you get it in France or here as I think DP would love it.

Fruitbat Keep me updated with how the BLW goes, sounds like a good start. We are definitely going to try as it sounds fun, if somewhat messy and frustrating, must be hard not to help them.

Hyena What fun things do you have planned for the rest of the summer, there's always something good going on in your house! Yes I'm torn about DP going back to work. Bet I will feel better once he's gone back and I realise I don't have to! We've got on surprisingly well and think N will be hard work as he's got used to 2 of us to entertain him!

Meeow Well done on the expressing, I think the early milk will be fine as it's not colostrum. Did DH enjoy the feed. I bet you find when he's back at school he's dying to get home and spend time with I so they will bond fine. Out shopping too very brave and for clothes! I bet your figure is back already isn't it

Penguinpoo you are very quiet, are you OK?

Hello to all my other fellow animals Hippo Wolverine Turkleton (and her ever expanding bunk bed belly!)and anyone else my addled brain has missed!

hi ladies
giraffe waddya think of my new name??
hope everyone is doing well

CD31 and no AF so we will see what the morning brings
xx ei xx

Hi all,
Busy few days here with day trips and visitors. DP and DD back to school on Weds so only one more lie in (and lots of peace and quiet ).
Nemo sent a photo of her gorgeous LO and she's beautiful. CONGRATULATIONS NEMO. Am so pleased baby T is finally here. Hope you're taking lots of family time to get to know each other and not feeling too sore. Can't wait to hear all about it.
Panda Fab new name. How are you feeling?
Giraffe So glad N behaved beautifully. Shame about the other PITA things. L has been quite difficult during the last few days - they def get used to having lots of attention with two of you to entertain them all the time.
MamaFox Just saw your status on FB. C is piling on those pounds. Well done you!
Impala Still very at your holiday. Enjoy the next week. .
Meeeow I love spanx but not the pain they bring. I always end up taking them off by the end of the eve so wear pants underneath them.
Turkelton How are things?
Fruity How is the BLW going? I'm hoping to give it a go this time. Can't be coping with purree!!! It takes such a long time.

Well 31 weeks here. Feel great and am hoping I continue to be filed with this energy. Iron level is quite low and doc wants me on iron tablets but don't want to take them just yet so am trying to raise my level with diet. I even ate red meat this week which is a first - can't say I enjoyed it but I'll give anything a go.

Waves to everyone x

Panda Love the new name. Panda eyes in a cool Girls Aloud make up way NOT a weeping way!

Have visions of Hyena dancing on the table swinging her spanx in the air xx

Had a text from Nemo. Her DH has added some piccies of T on FB. She suggested we add him as a friend via her FB page where it says: married to...... I've just put my request in.

Giraffe I was sent a video of me doing exactly that after my brother's wedding. How did you guess .

Just back from shopping. Bought DD 4 outfits for just over £100 - how can kids clothes be so expensive? They are very cute...

Hi All,

just had a read through the posts so hopefully will be able to remember everything ,
Panda at cycle 24, really hope this is your month and AF keeps well away, sending loads of baby dusty vibes your way xxx
Giraffe glad the camping went well and N had a good time hows your dp's back?
Hyena hard to believe we are next I've also been put on iron tablets
Meeow how are you finding the expressing? I'm hoping to express as much as possible so DH can help out with the feeding time. what exactly are spanx?
Fruity how are the wedding plans coming along?
Having scans every 2/3 weeks now to keep an eye on these two, they seem to be growing well though and within range, both of them have been breech though for the last 3 weeks, my doctor reckons if they havent turned by next week (week 32) that they will prob stay as they are so will be a section for me, which he said he will do at 37 weeks (thank god! )

Good evening ladies
I've just sent my FB friend request to Nemo's DH too and I saw the gorgeous photo of the new arrival on his profile - she looks so pretty. Can't wait to see more pics and hear all the gory details!
Giraffe Glad you had a lovely camping holiday and that N behaved himself. Enjoy your last lie-in tomorrow. By the way, the bike seat is a Weeride one. You can get them on Amazon and they also have a website - weeride.com. Expensive but worth every penny as E has loved it. So many people here have asked me where I bought it and we get comments every time we go out!
Turkelton Glad all is well with you and the twins. Only 5 weeks to go for you potentially - wow!
Hyena Glad all is OK with you too. Hope L snaps out of her difficult phase soon.
All well here - E crawled properly for the first time today She's been bum shuffling and getting around for ages but today she actually crawled properly. She's also been doing a lot of downward facing dog positions(yoga position - bum in the air, hands and feet on the ground)in the past couple of weeks and keeps trying to stand. We really need to baby-proof the house when we get back!
I forgot to say the other day, we went to visit some of our NCT friends down near Bordeaux as they have a house down there (gorgeous too - very ) and E got to see one of her little friends from the group. They enjoyed a swim in the huge paddling pool and also had dinner and a bath together. Must put the photos on FB! Anyway, my friend announced that she's 3 months pg There will be an 18 month gap between her 1st and no 2! She's the first of the group to be pg again and I know two others won't be far behind her. Not me though - E is more than enough! I don't know how those of you with more than 1 manage...

hyena cheers for the tip!
impala at E crawling! How cute!

tukleton I find expressing fairly straight forward although it does depend on the time of day. It works really well early or late in the day and good if 'I' is feeding on the other one.
P.s spamx are sucky iny tummy pants! Lol

Bf question: dd is freaking out when feeding on my left breast, it keeps becoming really engorged and lumpy and is squirts when I push it! I have been expressing off a bit before feeding her which work ok but I really want it to regulate again. Could it be to do with the fact that she is going an hour or two longer between feeds now? The other night she slept 6 hours! I know I shouldn't let her go that long but I was asleep! Lol

meeow it is possible the reason you are getting engorged on the left side is because you express some off before I has her feed. you body only produces what you need and if you are expressing and then feeding then your body is tricked into thinking you need more for that side and then makes more maybe stop expressing off and just feed her from the right side for a feed or two and it should even out
no news from me yet no AF and no signs etc and BFN yesterday
xx ei xx

ei sorry bout bfn My sil is well into her 2nd year of trying. I really hope things work out real soon! Thanks for the advice on the bf; I see what you mean about the expressing and your prob right but I only squeeze out enough so that 'I' can latch on and if I didn't feed from that one for a bit wouldn't I get a blocked duct? Or mastitis? Oh I'm so confused, there is so much conflicting advice out there. I am thinking about joining a bf group for advice.

meeow im pretty sure blocked ducts etc would be possible even if you do feed from the left side but either way on missed feed shouldnt make a huge amount of difference to the possibility of getting this. FWIW i was massive on my right side but could barely feed S off my left so i did this (fed 2-3 feeds in a row from the left and just hand expressed from the left- massaged out the lumpy areas with a warm towel) and it balanced out the feeds a little better
i would defo recommend going to a BF counsellor for more advice as they can be a huge support as your MW to refer you or your GP f needed
xx ei xx

Meeeow Agree with Panda that missing one feed won't make much difference. Is she very wriggly as N went though that stage on the left side - he still prefers the right but he eventually got the hang of both. Phone the NCT bf helpline - I found them to be excellent with my blocked duct.

Don't worry you'll find your own way. Oh and I'm like Panda and one side deffo more milk than other - if I feed on left in am you can see a noticeable difference in size after !

meeow BF can be such a minefield. I have to say that I did notice a big difference after 1 missed feed. In fact my first episode of blocked ducts was after a missed feed. I trie those gel things heated up and massage but the only cure for me was to feed through it - I was in a lot of pain from the engorgement but feeding was a huge relief after the initial few seconds. when I had my various BF problems I called La leche league as well as NCT as both were great. My local support was rubbish - the area I live in has a terrible rate of BF due to total lack of support . Hope you get the help you need - there are great people on the BF threads on here too xx

Thanks guys! Things are a little better today. I has had two settled nights and boobs are less painful. I've tracked down the bf helpline numbers for next time! X

Was just going to mention Meeow that my supply took about 2 months to settle down. Sometimes it was like trying to eat a Jelly Tot off a balloon for poor N!

If I was very engorged I would squeeze a tiny amount off by hand just so he could latch on.

Lol great analogy! I certainly don't think my supply is fully settled, it's only been 4 weeks though I suppose.

Morning all,
Had a text from Nemo to say that she was due home from hospital on Wednesday. Haven't heard anything else so if you're lurking then I hope everything is running smoothly.
Meeeow No other suggestions but hope everything settles down.
Giraffe N is looking as gorgeous as ever. Absolutely love the camping pics. He's such a dude.
Impala It's all downhill from here . I actually prefered it when L started crawling and walking. There wasn't much time between the two. She was walking unaided by 9.5 months..this one is going to be strapped down .
Turk Am v that you might only have 5 weeks to go. I bet I've got 10.

DP back at work and DD back at school tomorrow . Am so looking forward to a day to myself.

Was it something I said?

List update because I have nothing else to do...have updated Nemo too.

SWI
Tigger Cycle 24 (CP/MC april, june08 & april 09)

Infanticipating
Turkleton 32 weeks pg TWINS!! EDD 16 - 23 October
Hyena 32 weeks pg EDD 30th October
PenguinPoo 25 weeks pg EDD 16 Dec

Yummy Mummies
E GIRL! A. born 7th October 08 5lbs 12oz
Impala GIRL! E. at 0630am 4th November 08, 7lbs 15oz
Hippopotamum BOY! E. born 3rd December 08, 6lbs 5oz
WinomoreTheFruitbat! J. born 18th March 09, 8lbs 5oz
Havingagiraffe BOY! N. born 13th April 09, 6lbs 12oz
MamaFox BOY! C. Born 11th July 09, 7lb 13oz
WolvernineInMarigolds GIRL! F. Born 18th July 09, 9.24am, 8lbs 7oz
Meeeow GIRL! I. born 6th August 09, 3.09pm 8lbs 9oz
CaptainNemo GIRL! T born 28th August 09, 5.19am, 8lb 9oz

Hi Hyena hasn't it been quiet in here. Enjoy your lovely day to yourself, I bet you won't know what to do with it - don't clean all day!

I think N & I will quite miss DP being back at work but I'm looking forward to taking it a bit easier particularly when we have a bad night. I did have visions of the house being lovely and clean and the freezer stocked before the end of the summer but that hasn't happened - Oh well.

Is a baby like a tree in the woods - if you can't hear it grizzling it isn't actually doing it - No, oh well I'd best go and attend to the little monster darling.

Morning ladies,
Nemo says T is settling in well now they are home, she is hoping to log on sometime before Christmas
Meeeow How is the BF going?
Giraffe at having the house all organised before the end of summer, never works out does it? Love the new photo's of N, he's still rather scrummy!
Panda Anymore news from you, since the BFN
Hyena Offer is still there to come and clean my house, don't want you to forget
Impala Fantastic news of E crawling, although doesn't this mean you now have to have eyes in the back of your head?

Have been a little quiet lately as I've been struggling a bit and didn't want to complain on here, MW thinks I have SPD so referred me to physio I had hoped to enjoy this pg at some point but don't think that's about to happen anytime soon. Never mind as I said to DH last night it's only because we're going to have the most well behaved baby in the world instead Have started to buy stuff now, even bought a cot on Weds, £10 bargain from ebay, absolutely immaculate only used at the grandparents house so very pleased with that

I hope everyone else is well, sorry not to post personally to everyone, have a lovely weekend all