FESH Spa & Creche: Plenty more FESH in the brie

[CUNextTuesday]

Welcome all those with aching scars, undercarriages, eyelids and limbs. Find comfort here. Menfolk barred.

alps God knows.

alps The exact timing of moving up to the next car seat is determined by a complicated formula involving child's age, weight, level of discomfort in baby seat, make of vehicle (known as the Volvo factor), parents' level of skintness, and the timing of any car seat sales. If I remember the exact formula I'll let you know.

Bonnie didn't switch until she was 1. Clyde is 9 mths old next week and is about to hit the 10kg mark. I hadn't even thought about the car seat issue until I read your post. Meh.

muse I think it's amazing you're managing outings at this stage. I was still stuck on sofa permanently attached to a baby at 2 weeks. You are doing a lot better than you think.

casp I hope you are feeling better and got some sleep. We all seem to have a swamp creature residing in lungs here as well. Entire house is coughing up monster goo.

okes Thanks for the link. I am trying to skip over the -ves and cling hopefully to the +ves!

Silv think it is pretty much OK to eat cake catch up with your preggo mates as long as they themselves have had the pox. I was exposed to the pox when I was preggers but I was fine as I had already had it.

Moo you looked fab as you swished out of the pool. Did you notice my freshly shaven legs for the occasion? Peppa enjoyed her lesson and now is sleeping it off.

Re car seat I think mini Oke was about 9kg and about 8/9 mths old when I moved him to forward facing. Don't recall the 13 kg backward facing rule. I wish I had bought the Maxi Cosi Axiss car seat as it would be far better on the back. May be I will get this when we have to fork out for another for Peppa.

Cunty you haven't really filled us in on how being back is? How is it really? Hideous or mildly hideous?

I seem to always have puke down my left arm. I have now slopped some of my lunch down my top but being the slummy mummy that I am I am not going to change. The amount of washing this household produces is enough already without me changing clothes each day.

Okie & Pols is right about the pox Silv.

The Britax First Class can be fitted either forward or rear facing Alps, it reclines and lasts 'til they are 4yrs/18kg. That said, back in our day there weren't even seat belts in the back so car seats must have been non-existant, no?

okie/fanny/kate Thank you for your re-assurance - and fanny - I think your formula sounds exactly what I'm trying to figure out right now!

We have a very ancient car which scores high on the Volvo stakes - but due to said geriatricness (word!) the seatbelts aren't designed for fatties/car-seats so it's a real bind to get the baby maxi-cosi in. The toddler one - as per a youtube demo I found - is easy as pie as the belts go "in between" rather than encompassing.

I think it's because they've got no protection against whiplash - but was not aiming to put him bolt upright - it has 4 positions and I figured as it'll be a long day he'd be happier reclined WITH SPACE than cramped in babyseat. I refer once again to fanny's formula.

Also can't be doing with backwards facing due to not having 5-door vehicle.

moo just remember, the baby hasn't read GF

I was also thinking about car seats the other day and realising I had no idea when they were supposed to change

We are changing to forward facing at easter, i.e. whem i go and collect it grom mum's.

Yeah work is ok. Same people moaning about the same things and having meetings about the same old shite. Rastus is fine at minder's, having a gay old time. I don't fret about him and quite frankly i don't really miss him cos i know he's ok and i'm in amusing adult company. This situation could change when the novelty wears off, e.g. at the end of this week.

Tell you what, there'll be no hot bottom action in our house until i get used to this cycling lark. My arse is as tender as a lover's kiss

haha, I didn't want to be the first to bring up cunty's cunt! Very glad to hear all is well back at the coal-face.

Feshes, it is I. Have been home with Berwhale since Friday, but things haven't been going amazingly. Obv he is gorgeous, intelligent and generally brilliant, but we're really struggling with breastfeeding. He has a terrible latch which went undiagnosed until the BF'ing counsellor lady turned up yesterday. Due to terrible latch, I have NO milk. We're giving formula and I'm expressing but is all quite anxious making.

Also, crazy FESH - I have been weeping on and off since Tuesday. Is this normal? Or am I heading for PND?

It is I, cunty. Firstly yes, weeping is normal. It is the hormones, of which you have a surfeit. Commonly 5 days to a week and we all get baby blues. Not the same as PND so please don't fret my lamb.

I'm sure cos will be along re bf but my advice would be to take to your bed with your babby and a tube of Lansinoh and feed feed feed. Is the only way to increase supply. Have the formula handy but keep pressing on with the bf too. I hope your latch is sorted out and bravo for seeking prompt help - all may not be lost.

PS as far as i know expressing will not be as efficient at getting your supply going. It's actually quite inefficient for sucking purposes which is why it needs to be some you and baby time for as long as it takes. If it is important to you to bf, make that time and to hell with everything else incl getting up, getting dressed and entertaining visitors.

Oh Drom you poor love. Sorry to hear you are having a hard time of it. BFing is bloody hard at the beginning no two ways about it. But you can do it and Cunty is right - skin to skin in bed is the best way to bring in your milk, don't use any energy doing anything else. You can feed your baby and it might be a few days, but your supply will go up in that time although it might not feel like it. In fact for weeks your boobs feel empty although they are doing their job. PLease don't be discouraged - try and eat really well and often and rest as much as you can. In a few days everything will be different.

I don't agree 100% about expressing. As long as you are doing skin to skin, it might help to do 5 minutes twice a day to help stimulate your breasts. It might not actually produce much (nor is that an indicator of what your baby is getting), but thats the point. It's stimulating demand and helps get the milk going. That's the GF theory which is why she tells you to do it from 2 weeks in....

PS I also cried at the drop of a hat for weeks (in fact months) on end.

Cunty - sorry about your arse.

Okie - I went straight to underwear shop after swimming lesson and bought a new swimsuit. A woman in my class turned up in a bikini, full make up and PEARL EARRINGS. I kid you fucking not.

Just for the record. I didn't get out of bed much for about 3 weeks after babymoo was born.

Really sorry you're having a tough time with the feeding Drom, I hope you manage to sort it. Glad you got some help. We had terrible latch as well but early intervention helped.

Crying jags also completely normal, I have one most days. Especially when feeding was difficult, I spent quite a lot of time sobbing onto poor Bob. There's hormones, and exhaustion, and it's all a lot to deal with.

Stay in bed with Berwhale and have people look after you. Don't try and do too much.

Drom tears normal, in fact I sometimes use them to my advantage and blame hormones to get my own way. Not sure if I can still get away with it now (nearly 4 mths in) but I occasionally have a go .

Yup moo we had a bikini in our group too and there was 10 of us! How do you fit 10 people with babies in that pool? Fuck knows but we did it.

Drom get into bed (and stay there!) and put Berwhale between your boobies and let him have a little go whenever he wants. Skin to skin is very important too. If you perservere your milk WILL come in, but if it is too hard don't feel bad about feeding formula too. A couple of weeks in bed is only a short time in the grand scheme of things, and every woman could do with the rest after having a baby, especially those who have had a CS. Look after yourself for a little bit.

Thanks, peeps. The crying jags are so
NOT normal for me that I have genuinely been thinking I'm losing my mind!

You're all right about the skin-to-skin and bed thing. The problem is that Berwhale is now refusing the breast: the latch was so poor that he wasn't getting anything to eat and now he sees boob and thinks torture. So he latches on and comes straight off again. Am hoping that a couple of days of expressing will reestablish supply.

I find your talk of new mothers in bikinis fucking repulsive!

Dromster lots of skin to skin, Follow latch lady advice and plenty of fluids and good grub. Pls try to not stress. Easy for me to say I know but chilling will help! Oh and I still weep shed the odd tear. Tis called "frustration release"!

I've been thinking the same at times Drom, I cry quite a lot but the post-birth weeping was something else. I've never cried like that before. We are not going crazy, or at least not proper crazy. Do keep an eye on it though.

Yep, tears is normal Drom. Sometimes they catch me by surprise and appear for no apparent reason. Today I went to a local Homebirth Group meeting & burst into tears as soon as I walked in....proper sobbing too [bonkers]. Felt a right twat .

As for feeding - you just need to do what feels best for you. Happy Mummy = happy baby is the theory.

Time for bed I think....see you back here in a few hours

Alps - plz to reveal where your lunch was hiding !

Kate Durrr... down the back of the radiator by the front door. Obviously !

I am working from home today and I've done something to my router, the only person who can connect easily to our wi-fi is jb's phone. Even my phone is having tantrums. So I'm on a stupid Vodafone mobile connect card - do not bother unless you have no other choice. :( I am supposedly a professional who can't get internet sorted in her own home. This is akin to boxer being unable to pack a suitcase!

I'd never spoken to jb's mum until I was home with the baybee. Then I just bawled down the phone at her. I am not a teary person. DHB et al.

I burst into tears in car showroom when they said car wasn't ready, which works better than getting all shouty.

Tues hope your journey into work today was better. Have you tried a gel seat cover to assist in the comfort stakes?

I haven't taken the bike this morning. Want to know why? Because i have been awake since 2.30 this morning. Yes you read that right.

cunty What a lil' love - bless 'im. I'm going to assume this was Rastus intiated and not a passionate night with homme. F of curly & me is currently putting in a loft conversion. Mother will arrive in September and in return for childcare, dinner on table, washing & ironing she will receive 800 crisp, ironed sheets a month. Option for you?

Tbh I do have that sleeping stuff this end. Most of the time by 11am I'm in to my work groove and it's forgotten about, however I am asleep on the couch by 9pm a large percentage of the time. Just the way life is these days I think. If I want "time for me" I need to do it between 4 and 6am.