Nov 2010, our thread's babies are way more awesome than yours' ;)

[hmmSleep]

OK, so I sneakily added the word 'thread's', but went with SGJ's suggestion

I should add that "Spot Watch" is like "Spring Watch" but more itchy. I'm the Kate Humble of chickenpox.

do they look blistery, little water filled spots? then that could be the pox, but they usually start on the tummy and back, but again that varies. IF it is the start of the pox, once they have a few it normally doesnt take long for the rest of the spots to appear, ie within 24hrs or so.

i remember with one of my boys i could literally SEE the spots appearing before me! and they seem to get them in batches, or 'crops' of spots they call it, so a few one day, then a day or so later some more etc for a few days.

IIRC they were quite big even when they first appear.

My 2 started with one huge spot, followed very quickly by smaller ones, like 4mad said appearing before my eyes. If it is chicken pox hopefully he'll get it mildly. Mine had no symptoms other than the spots, great in one way but also meant I was cooped up in the house with 2 hyper children for a week until they'd crusted over!

Loooopy, this thread might interest you. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/1215366-When-did-your-period-return-if-breastfeeding

When dh got chicken pox he got spots on his head & they worked their disgusting poxy way downwards... Thank goodness Norry is small, pox in adults is repulsive! Having said that, hope Norry hasn't got it, obviously

Yes, they are tiny, water-filled spots. I guess it's unlikely to be anything else huh? I have spotted 4 today on his scalp and back of the neck so I'll inspect tomorrow morning and see if any more have appeared. It's pretty much the worst week for it as we'll have to cancel our trip to Montreal and I'm supposed to be doing a special project for my big boss this week, the first opportunity to shine since being back at work. DH can take him from Tuesday but if I need to have a back-up tomorrow they'll just take the whole project over anyway. Ahhhhhh!

Oh well, fingers crossed it's only a mild dose

Ha, sorry, missed your disgusting, poxy DH SGJ I had it as a child and it was 'orrible enough, your DH must have really been suffering, it sounds revolting.

I'm going to allow myself a small pfb moment - Norry is really, really fair skinned and I'm :( at the thought of his lovely transluscent pale skin being scarred because, let's face it, it's going to be impossible to stop him scratching :(

It might not be chickenpox. H has some spots like you describe on his head at the moment.

Even if it is, dd had it at 5 months and has no scars :)

Oh no Fen, poor Norry. I saw this new spray treatment for chicken pox on this morning the other week. It an alternative to calomine which is much effective at preventing itchiness.
Scratch mitts? Was your trip to montreal a holiday? Or business?
i've never had them, was a bit worried as at a family thing on sat and a 14 month old boy had some suspicious looking spots on his face, but his gm claimed they were dummy rash, not convinced so will also be on spot watch.
Not much progress with solids the last few days. DS has been off his milk and bit cold-y so we have held off. He seems brighter today so might try ahain later.
He hasn't pooed since Friday though, should I be worried? Longest previously was about 28 hrs. Is it constipation? How can I assist him?

Yeah, for those not on fb it's definitely chickenpox. I'm very glad I've already had it, fingers crossed for you lainey - perhaps you are just naturally resistant if you managed to avoid them in your childhood?

Not heard of a spray and my dr has recommended not using topically applied stuff. She said it doesn't usually do much and the risk of infecting the spots is quite high. He's not too spotty or scratchy for the moment so we'll see how we go. Thanks for offering me a glimmer of hope on the scarring wallace

Our trip was supposed to be a bit of both. DH is travelling loads at the moment for work, including being away all last week, so when he said he was going to be in Montreal next week I suggested we all go along and visit friends who have just moved out there. So now DH has flights booked for the whole 10 days and Norry and I can't go. How annoying is that? Not only am I going to be stuck at home again while he's off on a work jolly but he's away twice as long as he otherwise would be AND gets to hang out with MY friends. I would sulk, but I am already as he only brought me back some sodding dates from his trip to Dubai last week and they're not even chocolate covered.

Norry's also been constipated this weekend lainey We're also wondering if there is something we can do to "help"

oh fen, so sorry it is the pox :( re things to apply with the madboys i used aqueous cream that has calomine lotion in it, we can buy it from chemists here, not sure where you would get it from? MUCH easier to apply than the lotion and it helps their skin much more i found. hopefully he will just have a mild case, fingers crossed xxx

so sorry about your trip as well :(

re constipaton, merryn only poos every other day i was worried about her getting 'bunged up' so when i make up her formula feed i add an extra half an ounce of water ie she has 5oz which is 150 ml but i fill it up to 170ml with water and still jsut use 5 scoops of powder, hv says this is fine and she seems to have no problems going, infact on friday she EXPLODED out of her nappy, vest, everywhere, not pleasant.

also you can do tummy massage, clockwise and pedal their legs like they are riding a bike, the same things you would do with wind.

once weaning i found that apricots helped, so i would boil and puree some of the dried apricots you can buy and then mix a bit of that in with porridge, or some other food they were eating, its sweet so they generally like it! ditto prunes, just a few teaspoons purees in with some other food and that helps them go! obviously encourage them to drink water but many babies dont drink much water at this age, thats normal.

hold back on foods that are 'binding' bananas are a major cause of constipation in babies! and tbh it takes them a while to get used to doing slighlty firmer poos as they start solids, you only need be concerned if they are upset when trying to poo and if they strain a LOT, they may then get a little fissure in their bum (very common)

also i know someone mentioned moving onto follow on milk? this can also cause constipation, the extra iron in it. its fine to leave your baby on the first milk if thats what they are having, there is no need to change to follow on just because they are 6mths plus, its just a marketing ploy!

oh sometimes sticking a baby in a bath can help them poo, just being in the warm water helps tummy muscles relax.........

4Mad Ds has an aortic stenosis He will eventually need the balloon procedure to stretch valve and the valve will need to be replaced at some stage but nobody can tell when.

Loooopy I got my periods back at about 12wks with Ds. ( Breastfed til 11mths ) I had a period at 6wks with Abbie. I was not happy! I have the mirena coil now and don't seem to be getting periods. Hooray!

Sorry to hear about your chickenpox saga Fen and that your DH only brought you dates! I did laugh that they weren't even chocolate covered. I hope he redeems himself after Montreal. Sorry you can go.

Abbie still won't take a bottle but she seems to quite like water from a sippy cup so maybe she'll start taking some formula from a cup. I enjoy breastfeeding but it can be a tie when you can't leave them with a bottle. Luckily she likes her food so at least she won't starve if I have to go out for a bit.

Ebb that sounds worrying but I suppose you are au fait with all the ins and outs of it. Fingers crossed he doesn't need any interventions for a good while yet :)

I sense you are not taking my date dilemma seriously though Just before leaving he asked, "What about another ring?" [he bought my wedding ring there on a previous trip] so non-chocolate covered dates (almond stuffed tbf) were a little bit of a let down! I think I shall have to draw up a list for Montreal although I'd prefer the diamond his colleague bought for his wife

Sorry bout the pox, fen xx

grr just posted and it got eaten by the interweb.....

ebb glad your ds is ok for now, if you dont mind me asking, when he has his valve replaced do you know if they will use an animal or human valve? only my mum needs one replacing and she will be getting the valve from a pig!

fen if your mum cant get it i can get it and post it, my little chemist up the road sells the cream version :) and hope you get a fab present.

anyone else have grumpy babies? merryn been very whingey and fractious today, i gave her calpol in the end, figured maybe she is teething..... she was a pita to get to sleep this evening, hopefully she will be her usual self tomorrow, fingers crossed...

The little blighter won't go to sleep! He is tired but really not sleepy...

Thanks for the offer 4mad but DMum wrote it down (I spelt out aqueous for her ) so I'm sure she'll find it. I'm just grateful for the tip :)

Hope Merry and H cheer up soon :)

4Mad Not sure about the valve. I did read that they've learnt how to grow valves from human stem cells or something but that won't be developed properly for another 10yrs so in theory he could grow his own valve. Not sure how that works though. If he needs a valve before then ( hopefully he won't ) then he'll probably have a pigs valve. You can get mechanical valves but then you have to take medication for the rest of your life to stop the body rejecting it. Our Consultant is great so I'd take whatever he recommended. Although depending on when he needs a new valve, Ds will probably make the choice himself.

Abbie is very grumpy in the evenings too. I've dosed her with nurofen the past two nights as I think her teeth at hurting her. It's strange how different two children can be. Ds never suffered with his teeth at all. Abbie constantly has everything in her mouth -except Sophie the giraffe who was bought specially for her to teeth on!

my mum is slightly freaked by the pig valve, but they are meant to be really good!

a CRAP night here at the 4mad household, i dont know WHAT is giong on with merryn but she really isnt her usual self and i am bloody knackered. i am meant to be going out on thu night!! but if i dont get some decent sleep before then i may have to give it a miss.

we have just put merryn onto the 6mth + teats as she was fussing with the smaller ones, she seems to find the flow a bit fast and has to pause everynow and then but is drinking her milk much quicker and doesnt seem upset by the fast flow so think i will stick with them and she will just get used to the faster flow? she is big for her age, just grown out of the 6-9mth babygrows lenghtwise! so i figure she is big enough to cope with the faster flow?

hope your mum finds the stuff fen, its stocked in all the chemists i know so shouldnt be too hard to find and its only a couple of £ for a little tub and that will be PLENTY. i have used my tub for two boys so far and there is still loads left for when r and m get the pox!

and yes merryn has everything in her mouth as well, but fingers are her fave thing to chew on, that will have to stop once she gets teeth!

OH MEANT TO SAY!! kiddicare have starting selling nappies, wipes and babyfood online, CHEAPER than in the supermarket and they do bulk buy deals, plus free delivery on all orders over £29:99! the nappies are £4:00ish for 32, pampers so def cheaper than the supermarket! and the more packets you buy the cheaper they are!

adn those of you with constipated babies, they are selling the ellas pouches and there is a raising and prune one! perfect for making them poo! again cheaper than the supermarket.

thats RAISIN not raising!

Thanks 4mad, will definitely go and check out kiddicare now.

Lottie has a Sophie the Giraffe Ebb, I bought it for Dd1 5 yrs ago, both she and ds ignored it completely, but now it's all old, scratty, lost it's squeek, one eye rubbed off etc. (In otherwise looking like something that shouldn't be put in mouth) Lottie loves it, typical!

Hope the pox is going OK Fen.

I've pulled a muscle in my back at the moment so finding lifting Lottie really painful. Most annoying as Lottie is finally sleeping better, only waking once at night to feed (yipee!) but I'm being kept awake with back pain, grr!

Hmm that sounds rather unpleasant - can you take anything for it or do you have to grin and bear it? I hope you get a decent night's sleep soon :)

Thanks for your good wishes everyone.

Spot Watch day 3: Spots everywhere, even on his unmentionables Poor thing, he's still pretty cheerful though, such a good natured little noodle. DH stayed at home with him today (and will tomorrow) as I've got a mega-important thing at work this week. Hopefully after that he'll have stopped sprouting spots and be starting to feel a bit better so the DPIL will take over the relay for the end of the week. And the CM has confirmed she'll take him from next week (even if he's still a bit spotty) so that will be helpful.

oh thats good that your dh has been able to look after him! and that the childminder will take him next week :)

have finally managed to get merryn to sleep, she was a bit of a pita again, not as bad as the other night tho, i dont know what is bothering her :(

and boiler repair man just turned up!! at 8pm at night, he came yesterday but had to order a part but said he would be back wed, but was in the area so has come in to fix it tonight! means i can have a hot shower tomorrow morning and not a cold one and very nice of him to come 'out of hours'!