November 05 Babies - They're here!

[rodeo1]

Well, some are here!

Bob - you dont need to go to teh Hv if you dont want to. unless you find it reassuring of course. Well you need to go for the baby's injections (if you want them) but you dont need to go just to have him weighed etc. personally i never go except for the jags as i cant see the point.I feed him when he's hungry, he's gaining weight and has wet and dirty nappies on schedule. I dont want to have the HV tell me where he is on some growth chart - its not like I can feed him more or less accordingly - he's demand fed (his demand, not the Hvs!!!!).

Also we have raised a SN child so feel confident we would spot any developmental delays LONG before some HV. BTW this is nothing personal - we have had the same ( very nice) HV for 5 years. i just dont want to waste her and my time if baby is fine. If he is ill we need to see the dr anyway to prescribe. However, I have found the Hv useful in getting an emegency appointment with the doctor when necessary. In our practice it can take several days otherwise.

Sorry I know this is a very subversive viewpoint

Good morning all,

Kristingle, where are you? Is it up North somewhere?

Nova - V.Envious of your walk in Holland Park. Sounds lovely. Haven't been there for years - I am dying to take the LO out round the university parks but it's just too cold here. We are however, taking him away to the inlaws this weekend - not sure how he will take to hours of karaoke and a stream of visitors but here's hoping. No doubt I'll be disappearing to b/f every so often - nice excuse to escape me thinks!

Well, I am very happy this morning. Was worried that DS wasn't getting enough milk due to his frustrated head wobbles when feeding - discovered thanks to DH that it is simply a case of him needed to be winded!! Everytime he does that have just sat him up for a wind, he gives me a good few burps and settles back down to feed again Am pleased to say he managed an hour and fifteen minutes this morning and is now sat with this grandpa happily gazing around the room. Phew..Thanks, just had to share that!

Think i'll make a start on weekend packing. No doubt will take me a day!! xx

em..not 'this' grandpa but 'his' grandpa just in case anyone thinks i'm grabbing random grandpas in from the street for a spot of babysitting

Fed-up today. Cleaner has moved and can only come once a week now (instead of twice/three times a week). House rapidly looking like a tip and I have frends over for lunch tomorrow. Probably means I will have to get the hoover out - poo.............

BoB - I'm a bad mummy who lets her babies have a bit of a scream if they don't settle after the morning feed. This is my having bath, washing/blow-drying hair/getting dressed time. Most days the boys just sleep, but today they decided to scream in tandem for a good 20 minutes, before dropping off to sleep................surprised the neighbours did'nt complain about the noise!

Agree with you - it can be a bit of a mission to get out of the house, but I always feel better when I do. Can't stand being confined to the house for any prolonged period of time.

chacha, just read on here that Zayn has wind! I'd replied to your post on the bf thread about this being a possible cause. Glad you've solved the problem. DH's have their uses sometimes.
BoB, you are certainly back in a big way!! Don't worry about any bf militants on here. As long as baby & family are happy, what difference does it make?
Nova, I've not had that problem with Ella since EVERYTHING she wears is pink! After having a boy, I was chuffed to be able to buy nice girlie stuff.
Golden, how do you cope with 20 mins of howling?

Kristina, my hv didn't seem to think I had thrush as the pain isn't worse after a feed. Even though the kellymom site states that there may be no symptoms in either mum or baby. Having said that, she did say that she'd give me the treatment details so that if I did have it, I could tell the gp what was needed. She knows they are a bit lacking in this subject!

Diege, I'm with you on the sleeping when baby sleeps front. Ella has a mental time between 9pm & midnight so there's no point trying to go to bed until she's done & dusted. I'd rather wait than go to sleep only to be woken up after an hour.

Anyone watching Lost? Whilst pacing the floor at midnight I watched this week's E4 episode & it's really getting exciting. There are only 2 more episodes which they're showing as a double bill in Jan. Hope it's not a huge anti-climax.

Hope you're all not too stuffed with turkey sarnies & mince pies.

Yippee! We got 6 1/2 hours sleep last night I REALLY hope its the start of something!

Golden - thoroughly agree about getting out and about but must admit that we rarely do mornings! Seems to average 2 hours to get all 3 of us up, fed, washed and dressed, and that's better than it was! God knows how I am going to get Tessa to pre-school for 9.15am when she starts in January

Nova - hate to say it but Tessa was even mistaken for a boy at 18 months whilst in a bright pink dress! Some people are just stupid!

ChaCha - how are you getting on with the Matrix carseat? Who fitted it for you? Just asking as the shop we bought ours from fitted it right across the backseat of our car. When DH had a look at it he reckoned he could do a better job and fitted it to one side (therefore leaving room for a passenger). It was actually much more secure that way too. So much for 'experts' in shops!

Re Health visitors and weight - my mum and a friend used to go together to get their babies weighed and would always be reduced to tears by the women at the clinic. Mum was always told I was putting on too much weight and her friend was told her baby wasn't putting on enough. Both of us seemed to be happy and thriving so Mum rebelled and refused to go any more. Seems like little has changed in over 40 years

Got to go, I hear squawking

You were right Karma, definitely wind. Seems back to his usual content self. Will not hold my breath though.

Tessasmum - Thanks for that. It seems that even if there was a little extra space I wouldn't be able to get a seatbelt on. We have decided to buy a new car - I had my eye on a used jeep but DH has other ideas and is looking at an Astra Estate (any good?). We have just rented a car to take us to Wales this weekend. It's one thing after another...

Golden, you've got it sorted! I am lucky to get in the shower sometimes and that's with two pairs of hands! It's hard to believe you are with twins My admiration goes out to you.

Karma - I love lost too. Have been naughty and looked at the American web-site - they are a series ahead of us. I won't tell you what it said tho - you will have to wait and watch it, or look up the web-site!

Not sure who said it before, re: dealing with howling - a closed door and a loud radio, works everytime - wicked mummy.............(it does go without saying that I do make sure boys are fed/clean/not in pain/distress and are v. tired and ready for a sleep).

Tess - with you on mornings - where do they go? I usually venture out in the afternoons. Takes me about an 30 minutes to get boys and everything else ready to go, but only if I have timed it well - i.e. about 30mins/1 hour after a feed.

ChaCha - don't talk about car seats. I bought two before the boys were born, the sort that have to be strapped in everytime. Useless, far to difficult/complicated. Decided to buy another two - the ones with the base that stays in the car and the seats click in and out. But not finding them so easy to use either...........

Hi everyone! An early Happy New Year (as now everything else is late).

Have been totally caught up in Xmas and my Mum visiting that I haven't had a chance to post in ages. Had a great Xmas at home and Nathaniel was absolutely spoiled with all the gifts he got - lucky fellow!

Beginning to feel much more comfortable with parenthood now as have been getting out of the house and settling into a sort of routine with DS. He still sleeps through the night (sorry!) but it tends to be 1 am to 9 am which isn't going to be much fun for DH when he returns to work on Tuesday - he's supposed to be at work around 8 am.

Feeding is another matter as Nathaniel has still not returned to his birthweight (now three weeks old) so now every feed I'm giving him both breasts and then topping him up with formula - I'm hoping he'll be a nice chubby baby by Saturday when the midwife is coming back to weigh him again. I'm amazed he hasn't turned into a sumo wrestler with amount of food going in him, but if he's healthy and happy I'm not going to worry too much about it.

So North London mums (or any Mum who fancies a trip to North London) - lunch soon? Islington is very easy for me as it's just a bus ride away and since I've now made two bus trips with the Bugaboo and I'm almost ready to start yelling at people to clear out of the buggy area (but not quite yet ).

J xx

LilJ - I'm up for a meet - but must be somewhere I can get the double-buggy into.

Feel a bit embarrassed by the amount of pressies the boys got for Christmas - not even opened them all yet. Will start on the thank-you cards next week.

Speaking of chubby cheeks - this is what Natalie looks like now

ChaCha - I would think that an Astra estate should be fine (sorry!) The car I was talking about was an old style Astra. However if you want the perfect family car (in my opinion!) I would recommend a Picasso - can fit the lie-flat carseat and a toddler carseat in the back comfortably and the Jane plus shopping in the boot. Its selling point for us was just how easily our camping gear fitted inside the car and wasn't piled up on the roof like before. May not be your top priority though

Nova - LOL!! Need to get Ash weighed next week before 8 week check though only because my GP is scary and the letter said he needs to be weighed. Am quite curious though as he was 8lb 4oz at birth and 11lb 14oz at 5 weeks aned looks a lot chunkier now And he is still a very efficient feeder, usually 10 minutes at most!! Must try and get pictures onto Yahoo.

Golden - it was my Mum (the weighing clinic rebel!!) who recommended a closed door and loud radio to cope with twins, and me as well I'm sure. Didn't do either of them any harm as my brother is so laidback he's almost horizontal and my sister floats through the world as though on another planet

hi all,
thanks for the advicer re. health visitors. they gave me the impression i had to go every week. opskar has already gained 2lb and seems to also be getting chunkier so i have no concerns at the moment.i know what you mean about people spoiling the baby at christmas! we need to get new drawers just for all his new clothes. how can you be so patient to have unwrapped presents still though golden!? hehehee
hope you all get over your breastfeeding struggles..it sounds like really hard work to get into it!
has anyone dared weigh themselves yet? i only found out when in labour that i had gained three and a half stone during pregnancy..much more than i expected!

Well, trying to keep my drying out eyes (contacts!) open for another half hour and the late night feed - may ask about those lenses BOB at opticians, as would make life a lot easier. Are they painful though, and/or difficult to fit?
Kristingle - think your HV views are very sensible. Mine came today, supposedly for weight cherck for Libby, but I mentioned my 3 year old needed a 3 year check, which she did, but then forgot to weigh baby I have to admit that I didn't remind her, as I'm sure Libby is just fine, looks nice and chubby, and is really alert - didn't want to stress and anxiety about growth charts! . Feeling a bit guilty now though.
Thanks Beks for advice abiout variflow teats - the thought had crossed my mind, as the medium teats (3?)seem to have helped, but give her terrible wind(due to gulping I think) and she has brought up two whole feeds today (so back to square one really). Think I'll try vari tommorrow (the money I've spent on teats!! - there's something to be said for the old nipple!).
Fingers crossed for a good sleep tonight - she lasted till 5.30 last night (hence frantic gulping!), but wouldn't settle back, so early start.Think on balance I prefer 3ish waking, as you can get back to sleep. Moan, moan...

Have also been worrying about Londoner - may be that she is just away for Christmas?

Hi girls and babies a quick hello as ever Sam still feeding every 2 hours !!! will be 6 weeks on Tuesday and 14 pounds !! I'm less then when I fell though so that's a bonus !
Hope you're all well and happy and if I don't get back on Happy New Year to you all
lots of love

Sharon and Sam x x x

Evening girls, feeling very proud of myself tonight as I have just finished laying the underlay and carpet in Thomas's room - it's the first time I've ever done anything like that so it's not the greatest job in the world but at least it's done now & Thomas has some sort of room instead of a junk room

We're putting his cot up in our room tomorrow, as he is out of the moses basket and the carrycot now! what is everyone elses little ones sleeping in now?

Diege, know the feeling re teats, Thomas is still using a 1 but I've got 2's and vari flows too, still we'll get the use out of them eventually.
I was thinking about Libby after I posted last night and realised that Thomas had only gone up to 5 to 6ozs in the last week to week and a half and he's just turned 9 weeks yesterday and before that he was only taking 3 to 4ozs so she's not really that far behind him is she.

Nova, it's hard to believe that people are so stupid isn't it, Natalie is so obviously a girl & I bet all her accessories etc on the pram and car seat are pink too aren't they.
Although I must say that the next person who says to me "what is it?, oh shame, it was another boy then" is going to get a slap It's driving me nuts!!!

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who wonders where the morning has gone, I had just about got into the habit of getting us out of the house in time for pre-school & then they broke up for the holidays so I've got to get my routine back now, although I've got to admit that Thomas normally just gets put in a clean nappy and into the buggy in his pj's then I bath him etc when I get home again. I've never been a morning person and can often be found in my pj's at 11am - lazy mare!!!

Right best go and check on Ben as he was showing off tonight after being told to stop doing something for the umpteenth time just before going to bed and headbutted the corner of his bed, splitting his eyebrow open and giving himself a lump the size of an egg, so now i'm paranoid about letting him sleep. Better also retrieve the LO from dh so he can play his game, speak to you all tomorrow
BEKS

Morning everyone! Thanks for reassurnace Beks . You know, I was perfectly happy with 3/4ozs she was taking (and at 6 weeks too - thought that was quite good!), until HV said her percentilt drop at 6 weeks was due to hger not taking 5ozs! Feel a lot better after hearing about your feeding (which is actually what they recommned on back of SMA can!)Looking forward to trying variflow today (ooh, what a life!). Bet you feel you've really achieved something with Thomas's room - poor dd2 is still in our 'junk' room, and she's 3 . Libby is in a cot in our room, though this means we can't open the wardrobe doors properly. Hoping to move soon to bigger house!
I can empathise with the gender thing too - with 3 girls I'm getting either the irritating 'ooh, 3 girls...poor DH..' (eh, what's the sympathy for?), or (as if someone had died...ahhh, never mind, are you going to try for a boy?? . Someone always has an opinion...dd1 was always mistaken for a boy, in full pink regalia, and both dds often mistaken as twins (16 months apart - serious growth discrepancies here!).
Well, rant over - better get back to supervising dds sweet shop game (perhaps not a good present in retrospect!).

Well I have the bestest baby in the world! She laughed for the first time today and it's the best sound ever...

..and we moved her into the cot last night from the moses basket and there were NO problems

re: teats - we had to move Nat down to a 1 as she was eating too fast. Now she hardly brings up any food and doesn't get wind probs.

Back to Cow & Gate for Ezra. Found the Aptilmil made the reflux worse. Have booked him to see a cranial osteopath too.

Diego & BoB - I reccomend the lazer treatment. Had my eyes done about 5 years ago and wished I'd had it done 10 years before. It's been fantastic not to worry about glasses/contacts and to see the world as soon as I open my eyes in the morning.

ChaCha - cars, we bought a Volvo V70 when I was pregnant, with two extra toddler seats in the hatchback bit. Already finding it is not big enough. The twins car seats make it difficult to get another passenger in the back seat, and if you have luggage/shopping in the hatchback bit you can't really use the toddler seats.

Nova - have you bought the Lexus yet?

Diege - how do the variflow teats work? I need to slow down Ezra feeding. Where do you get no:1 teats from, all I ever see are no: 2.

Hi Golden - no we haven't got the Lexus yet, we're still waiting to take one on a test drive over a weekend. Once christmas is over and done with I think.

You use avent bottles don't you if I remember? Have you tried John Lewis for teats, thats where I got mine from.

Golden - I'm getting my variflow teats this afternoon from Boots hopefully, so will let you know how they perform - ooh, it's just like christmas all over again! Boots stock all 'numbers', from newborn to fastflow,; I use avent, but they do their own too. Love the idea of lazer surgery, but is it true that you only have a local anasthetic? (or is this njust an urban myth?)Not sure I could deal with eye surgery 'awake' .
Nova - that's lovely about Nat laughing . What did she find funny? I remember dd1 didn't laugh until 6 months, and then it was at the noise of my velcro trainer strap!

Just wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year Hoping that 2006 brings you all much happiness and very healthy, happy babies!!

Has only taken 3 hours so far to get ready for the weekend away. Have managed to pack his bag, feed him and load the dishwasher...think another 3 hours and perhaps will have ironed and packed our stuff, had something to eat and get the car ready. Boy!!!

Didn't have time to read all your posts today so hoping you're all well xx

we were playing peek-a-boo Diege

hi all!
it's lovely checking in and hearing snippets of all your new family lives!
how sweet nova..the first proper smile oskar did was heart melting..its amazing isn't it..can't wait til he giggles too!
congrats re the cot too..oskar is currently sleeping in a wicker laundry basket piled with blankets as WE ARE AWAY AND he wouldnt settle in the travel cot at all..its waY TOO BIG.
HAS ANYONE EVER SEEN A TRAVEL MOSES BASKET OR CRIB TYPE THING? WE COULD DO WITH ONE!
i'm scared about laser treatment golden! my cousin had it and has had six operations since to correct the scar tissue dmage..though he had it 12 years ago when it was less well advanced.
would be lovel;y to be free from the hassle!
i find these contacts the next best thing. they are just as comfy as normal. only thing is your eyes have to be good at oxygenating themselves, and you can't have them if you have any problems with blood vessels in your eyes.
The cranial osteopath sounds like a good idea, my aunts little one was a very restless baby until she took him to one.

can anyone recommend some good baby or postnatal groups in london, preferably south or central? i've been enjoying these busy festive days and am kind of dreading being back to the usual routine of me and oskar being alone all day during the week.