December 2011 - This too shall pass (with the help of imaginary woolly mammoths)

[Mmmmcheese]

Have gone with LMFs title suggestion :)

Morning all I've been up since 7.30 with boy despite having a sore throat and sounding like Barry White DH sneezed 3 times this morning proclaimed himself Sick and remains snoring in bed (man flu alert). Suppose it's got us out of his grandfather and parents duty which is a plus

Been offline last few days commit to be back with gusto now.

Morning

msbuggy Woke up with the rumblings of a cold too,

everyone else seems to be on the mend though not liking nappies on antibiotics!

hawther good luck for tomorrow
easilybored strong believer in happy mummy happy baby

aethel hmmm dummy, double edge sword really. We gave it to her as she is a sucky baby and they do say it can help if they have reflux. It Settles E so quickly when she is shows signs of tiredness, I give her the dummy and she is asleep with literally a minute BUT she has a habit of waking around 3am and is unsettled so
We play 'put the dummy in, dummy out , in, out, in, out - you know the song! With DS we had to go cold turkey at about 4/5 months only took a couple of nights though.

Off to town to get DS birthday presents, will be a football widow today to FA cup 'big game,big game' DP tells me - aren't they always

Oh easily I had the same decision as you but my supply never seemed to come in (despite BF counsellor, fenugreek, expressing etc etc) and after 7 weeks of guilt at thinking of stopping mixed feeding i asked myself why i was putting myself and him through the stress of him screaming round the breast and refusing to latch more often than not and had the same epiphany. he's been on bottles solely now for a week he remains thriving and the guilt has gone (just like some of the other ladies here said it would be) if it's right for you then that's all that matters.

I'm thinking dummies also LO constantly sucking his hand and when tired increasingly seems to need a bottle to fall asleep which I actually think is the sucking reflex rather than the food which is the issue. DH dead against it but I have 1 stashed in a drawer too and have experimented secretly with varying success. Need to have further discussions on the subject I think as if it reduces his distress I'm all for him having it occasionally.

Easily just concentrate on how well you've done up to now! Was nice to meet you and LO the other day, hopefully do it again soon!

Just read that back and sounded so wrong! I didn't mean that you're not doing well now argh, hope you get what I really mean. I'll shut up now!!

Oh yes, dummies can be a total lifesaver sometimes - I had a friend whose baby had really bad colic and she used a dummy with him for several months which kept her going with intact eardrums. The sucking reflex also provides a small amount of natural pain relief an that's why it can help settle a grumpy baby if they are refluxy/colicky/teething. In Special Baby care units they sometimes give the baby a dummy before changing lines or taking blood for pain relief reasons.

There's a world of difference between using a dummy for a little baby amd the thing that winds me up whenever I see it : a three or four year old who wanders rounds with a manky dummy amd hardly says anything because they are too busy slurping on it...

Totally agree with everyone re: soothers, ok for small baby to settle them (I give minimopsy one to settle her to sleep) but not ok when toddlers run around slurping. V snobby about that I must admit!

Seconding what aethel says, they gave the octopus a dummy when they wanted to faffing with his cannula in the nicu. He wasn't having any of it and snatched it. If you look on the pic in my flickr album you can see it:o

Well, given the unofficial motto of MN for babies is 'do whatever works'... We have three dummies stashed in moses, upstairs and in change bag. Sometimes they work, and when they do are a lifesaver; sometimes they get spat out with a horrified look of this is not nipple of booby! and he may or may not settle anyway.
But as aethel saays, sucking = pain relief, so if it helps then go for it!

Sequin, it's grim isn't it, the nappies when you're on anti-bs. When I took them it made DS colicky too, far worse than the couple of weeks of evening grumps later on. Hope all improves when you finish the course.

And your description of your OH's manflu is hilarious figgy, even if listening to him snore isn't...

Yesterday had some real plus points; DS actually settled in his cot for a sleep in the early evening, both of those things fairly unprecedented, although in the past week he has been more amenable to an evening as well as a morning nap. And we got our Valentines meal; I had my glass of Kir Royale first, and to my delight found the two-episode series finale of Dr Who with David Tennant and Billie Piper- heaven!

Hope all those who are exhausted, covered in sick, cleaning up poop or merely surrounded by a fug of baby farts find that their day improves...

I'm about to put half a cow in the oven. Well, I will be when a small boy is done communing with the milk. I've had a good clear out this morning, have got twelve bags of bumph to go to the rag bank at the tip.

Northern I may indulge in a little Who later, I've still to see the Christmas special:(

Well the beautiful sunny day has inspired spring cleaning here, if I'm lucky it'll get done before next spring!

We had a good night, she had a slow feed at 12 then slept until 6!

seven here too! Mostly garden stuff though, tis too lovely a day to be inside much.

Hare is marinating in the fridge for casserole later, just made chocolate biscuits and a cuppa.

I have to say LMF I didn't think it was one of the best; still better than most things on TV, but for me nothing will beat the Titanic/Kylie one.

I'm trying to decide whether to replace the cistern handle or tidy up the back garden- sure DS will be a massive help with whichever I choose!

Have tried dummy with squeaker, he was unimpressed, spat it out with a "WTF?! Where is my BOOB?!" Look. I don't mind them on babies but husband cousin has a little boy who's nearly three and he has it constantly, he talks with it in his mouth. Drives me crazy. Saying that, she let's him drink those Monstor energy drinks. I feel so judgemental but every time I see them I just think, well, I can't do a worse job of parenting than her.

Wow that makes me sound like a birch!

Oh, lMF, we had a nappy leak up the front this morning. Had to bath him and wash poo, out of his belly button. And he put his hands in it so it got in his hair and on his face. Boak.

You're all so productive today, think we're just going for a walk in the sunshine.

Ah yes, the swilling of poop from the bellybutton fun, I've ticked that box

Currently trying to get LO to settle in his moses by running the hob extractor on full blast in the kitchen, and keeping the footie on mute. Think we may have to start having more sleeps in his cot upstairs; I know you're not meant to, but the layout of our ground floor (not all one room, but all 'through', IYSWIM) means there's nowhere slightly quieter to put him.
At my Mum's, it was fine- we had the dining room- but here it just doesn't work.

DS was a massive help in tidying up the back garden as expected; wonder if he'll be as handy with the screwdriver for the toilet?!

And WTAF at giving a 2/3 year-old an energy drink? I really, really don't get that, as not only is it awful for him, it must make life more difficult for her, surely, if she's trying to get a hyperactive toddler down from the ceiling?

Hi all, we went for a nice lunch in a local village, where minimopsy slept in her car seat, then an hour and half long country tramp where she slept in the baby bjorn. Perfect afternoon. Luke what you imagine life will be like when you have a baby! I also drove for the first time since having her and wasn't even nervous (only took up driving again a couple of months before she wasborn after over five years of not driving at all). I am now wondering what kind of penance I will have to serve for such a great afternoon... Sleepless night perhaps?!

Squeaker was suckling on his arm earlier and I didn't notice how hard he was doing it until he had given himself a hickey!

I was dead against dummies, until they gp recommended it for his colic and to help with the teething! Although it still took me a few weeks to give in. Now he has it for sleeps, but spits it out after 10 mins, and if he is sleepy cranky it settles him.

Good luck for tomorrow hawthers and cool

easily you have done really well to do until now! And a happy mummy certainly does make a happy baby! If you're exhausted/ stressed then it's not good for you or squeaker! Who by the way is totally gorgeous!!

And god dam BT, crappy internet connection! But I THINK i'm back online!!

Welcome back :o

I am fighting the urge to get something delicious, hot and not cooked by me delivered. I may lose >_

We're Halfway home in a mcDonalds, had to stop cos DS was Waaaaaaailing in the back. Note to self: 6 week olds need to stop every hour and a half for tanking up :(

DHs man flu is in full swing I've had DS all day making bottles, doing housework, settling him while DH watched footie then went to bed and when he got up moaned about DS crying . I'm almost looking forward to getting a proper cold then he will have to reciprocate. He has been banished to spare room tonight as I'm not risking LO getting it.

Evening all, I agree with the use of dummies in moderation for small babies, as y'all say.
LO was given one by my mum ( ) which she magicked out of her handbag when he was kicking off in the old people's home just after Xmas. I was relieved as well as shocked, coz I couldn't calm him and didn't want to get my boob out! We've tried it a couple of times since but he hadn't taken it. ...Until last night. He was well-fed and had been awake and feeding ALL day. But we had friends around for dinner, and he started to kick off just as DH was serving. I decided to try a dummy again - I got him in the cradle feeding hold and duped him. He sucked on it and I ate my dinner over him, often dropping paprika stained rice over him (well, he's puked over me enough, I was getting my own back!).
I will turn to a dummy again on occasions such as this.
Good luck tomorrow hawthers!
How did you find lumps cool? my boobs, when full, feel like bags of pebbles! I hope that the scan/test shows that there is nothing to worry about. Your dr thought that they may be cysts, I hope that they don't even turn out to be that, - I found a lump whilst pregnant and the scan showed a kind of swollen gland -probably linked to milk production. The very best of luck.
easily good for your epiphany. Happy mummy, happy baby. (and figgy good to hear you've got past those initial feelings of guilt -totally unfounded!)
It has been a lovely weekend. It started with coffee and cake with the lovely NorthWestern ladies and their gorgeous babies on Friday, followed by a luxurious bubble bath, and then having friends around on Saturday, and finished today with beautiful sunshine and a nice visit with SIL and her family.

Good luck for tomorrow hawthers and coolhand.

Another one who agrees about dummies, fine for babies but not older ones. DS was a dummy lover but from 12 months it was strictly for sleep time only and we got rid of it completely by 18 months. I saw a boy who is a couple of months older than DS (so 3.9) a few weeks ago walking around a shop with a dummy, I was genuinely appalled . Eva can't seem to keep her dummy in, could it be due to the tongue tie? The GP said it shouldn't cause her any speech problems and she feeds fine so it's not worth getting anything done about it.

Plans for the week
Celebrate DH's 40th on Tuesday, taking DC's to soft play and out for dinner in the evening, then bubbly when we get home.
Going to a funeral on Wednesday and taking Eva (who I hope will sleep through it in the wrap) while DH and DS paint the dining room.
Take Eva for her 2nd jabs on Thursday.

Figgy - I sympathise entirely. DH spent the day in bed with a bad back while I brought him cool packs, snacks and meals and ran around trying to do housework and deal with a very, very unsettled DS - don't know what was up today. I found myself looking suspiciously at DH this evening when I think the poor man is in genuine pain! My hall was like an assault course at one stage with abandoned Hoover/mop etc while I tried to settle Luke. Only half am hour ago did I realise I hadn't put make up on or brushed my hair today.

Well done to all those who had v productive days - Mopsy that sounds lovely! Hope you survived the weekend away Aethel.

In answer to your q OiMissus, DH found the lump - I'll not go into the details. I had a pretty disastrous go at b/feeding which didn't last very long - I have lots of sympathy for those with supply issues having cried many tears myself in the early days and had a baby who screamed every time I put him near the breast as he associated it
with frustration - so my boobs are 'back to normal' as such. GP told me tmrw will be a breast exam, biopsy and ultrasound - I get the results there and then so at least it's all over and done with in one go.

Right, I'm off to bed! Wishing everyone a good night's sleep.