Post-grad Brookers book in here!

[TooImmatureTurtleDoves]

Thread 2.

Oh yes Jaggy, I hope you have a stress free time with DS2's jabs.

The Ergo is ridiculously expensive isn't it. (Like most things baby related). I had a BabyBjorn for DS which I didn't end up using as I stupidly didn't read any of the reviews until after I'd bought it and then didn't dare use it. [PFB emotion] The thing is, this time I just didn't know what carrier to get and then I didn't want to waste money on another one that I couldn't get on with so I just thought blow it, I need one now and this one's been recommended so I'll get it. I must use it though or DH will not be impressed! I've just had it out again and it looks quite complicated to get it all on with the baby and the insert too.

Biscuits if you're looking for a second hand one, there's a shop in my village which is purely little used baby goods. It might be worth giving them a call to see if they have one or if it's something they get hold of frequently? In the meantime of course you're welcome to try mine out. I'll make sure I've got it next time we get together. Did you go to that sling meet? I can't remember if you mentioned it or not.

DH and I are both blue eyed so I'm not expecting DD's eye colour to change. DS was born with very dark hair which is now a boring shade of mouse. DD was born (weirdly since neither myself or DH are gingers) with red hair and it's not showing any sign of changing. She's got really cute ginger eyelashes.

Split stomach muscles? Tell me more. I must have them too? Sounds like a good reason to still have a pg belly to me

the sick is a pain eh! i have to get supplies of clothes, bedding and muslins ready at night to save hunting about! plus muslin under his head in the crib of course.

just at hospital with R for my blood check now, hopefully everything is still normal. certainly no more bruises.

I'm sure the wee one will be fine with jabs, it was me that went pure white for DS1!

i was explaining to DS1 that the doctor will be giving his little brother some medicine today and it might give him a wee fright and make him cry!

Split stomach muscles - broadly if you lie down and just lift your shoulders off the floor (as if you were doing a really half arsed sit up), then put your fingers anywhere along your tummy in line with your belly button (in line going top to bottom not side to side), you can feel a gap if they're split.

Mine was I think 4 or 5 fingers wide when I had ds2 and so they referred me for a follow up physio appt. At that appt it was down to 1-2 fingers wide but I'm still supposed to be doing the exercises I haven't done them at all since the physio appt .

Scarlet I never read the reviews about the positioning thing until recently! But then we hardly ever used it anyway - probably no more than 15 times? So I'd like an ergo just to use occasionally when I don't want to take a pushchair. But for occasional use I'd struggle to justify the cost (since baby Bjorns go second hand for tuppence) - hence wanting a second hand one. I will no doubt pick your brains about the nearly new shop near you Scarlet

To check for split tummy muscles, lie on your back with your knees up/feet flat on the floor, put your fingers an inch above your tummy button and raise your head and shoulders up ~(ie, do a crunch). You might have to press quite hard with your fingers to feel but you should be able to feel the edges of your muscles. They run straight down the middle of your tummy side by side and they should be less than a finger's width apart. If they are further apart than that, you need to do exercises to close them. At my 6 week check the doc said I had a small separation but nothing to worry about, and I can feel that an inch above my tummy button they are a finger's width apart but the closer to my tummy button I get the wider they go, which worries me! I don't think the linea nigra is linked, but I'm not sure.

Scream, yes, M's paler blue is spreading out in a ring from her pupil amongst the dark blue. Lots of people have eyes like that, though - one of my friends has blue eyes with a gold ring around her pupil, it's beautiful. Ginger eyelashes sound adorable, Scarlet!

Pet, aren't pelvic floor exercises meant to help with wind control as well? I seem to be much windier than usual too.

Yy for R's jabs, Jaggy!

Jen, that happened with us too - v little sick to begin with and then suddenly blam! Constant puking. M has been sick heaps today. She threw up over her face when I was changing her 10 mins ago and before that she was sick in my bra. And on about 8 other occasions since we got up.

Oops, cross post Biscuits!

Thanks for the tummy muscles guidance - I'll check mine later. Am now clenching and holding... How many times do I have to squeeze the ol' pelvic floor before I'm all better again?

DS is 10 weeks old and has started puking much more this week, but for some reason I thought it might be because of his snotty cold. Is the puke here to stay? :(

Jaggy has he had the jabs? How did it go?

to hear about all the puking going on. I'm sooooo hoping that DD doesn't start doing that. I'm considering going to my GP about my puke phobia as my anxiety about it has flared up again this week. It's so stupid and irrational, but it's coming up to a year since DS last had a sick bug so I've convinced myself he's due one now and it's making me panic every time he comes home from playgroup.

Luckily he wasn't a sicky baby so I've no idea how I'll cope if DD starts. So far she's only done that little posset thing after she's been greedy guzzling.

I'm just worried the GP will laugh at me and tell me not to be silly and I've got to just get on with it now I'm a mum. Like he did last time I asked for anti-biotics in liquid form because I was worried the giant tablets would make me retch

Scarlet, I hope not being sick much runs in the family. And babies don't throw up like children or adults - they don't retch and they don't cry afterwards and it's just regurgitated milk. at your GP - what a gobshite.

Aargh, exploding nappy! I have been using the jump to 3-6 clothes as an excuse for not doing any washing, but now we're out of vests so I'll have to start again. Still got hundreds of unworn summer dresses.

Do you have entertainment guilt? I find myself feeling guilty for not playing with M during her every waking moment. She was sitting on my lap quite happily waving her little arms around while I was MNing and I felt guilty for not stimulating her. Is that weird? How much should she be stimulated?

jabs are later this afternoon, will let you know how much of a wimp i am!

had my own blood checked and i have even more platelets this week so it seems all good. steroid dose lowered again too.

R is v unsettled at the moment, just been wandering round the room with him. i think he's tired, but he doesn't want to feed till he's calmed down a bit, he's done a lot of looking hungry then screaming at a boob! it's normally just in the evenings though, so not sure what's up.

i wouldn't say he's mega sicky, just does copious posseting!

I don't know the answer to that Too but I have the same worry. I've just left DS2 on the playmat while I phoned 8000 different hospital departments to check various appointments etc thinking I'd go and play with him when I'd done - went back to find him asleep there Bad mummy :(

Scarlet if your GP says you should just get over it go and see a different one. And definitely make sure it's not the one that said that about the liquid antibiotics. If it stresses you out then they should be able to help you deal with it. You just need to find one that's not an arsewipe! And for what it's worth I think there would be no harm into looking into getting some support for it if it's getting to the stage where you're worrying about the idea of DS getting a bug rather than worrying when he actually has one iyswim? (Also for what it 's worth I don't believe tummy bugs are necessarily an annual kinda thing )

Yy - I haven't had a vomiting bug in years. I hardly ever remember having them as a child either. You could escape DS having them for a long time! But I agree with Biscuits that if it's stressing you now then you could do with a bit of help. I remember a discussion about this a few months back on the antenatal thread - did you say you'd had therapy in the past for it?

Biscuits, you are not a bad mummy! He was just sleepy - if he'd been upset you'd have known all about it.

Dream, that's so lovely about Ben :) Hope you get more happy moments and fewer colicky ones. The nipples are a lot lot better thanks - still a bit sore, but the biggest thing is that I haven't had to 'peel' them off of pads/bras for AGES where they were trying to heal over. They're so so so much better :)

Feeding is going ok - DD put on 10oz in a couple of weeks, so all seems to be great :) Still feeding very often though - I'm starting to offer her both breasts (she comes off one, I'm offering that one again, then when she comes off again offering the second) as she has been eating incredibly frequently, and I wonder if it's because I'm small breasted and therefore can't store as much? So if I ensure she's emptied one then move onto the next, she seems to be satisfied more quickly than if I stay on the one?

Weight wise.. not really sure with me, but I've got about half a stone to go before being back to my pre PG weight. Not sure I'll make it back though! I don't mind if I don't though as I was underweight before...

Healthy food wise, some days I have a zillion portions of fruit and veg and all is wonderful, and other days (like yesterday and today) it's all snacking. Shocking :( I've found buying less snacky food helps though - we have very little of it in the house.

Too, I need to start tying my hair back too - not because of choking but because DD pulls it! She also goes for my glasses if I'm wearing them. She's very handsy...

Jen / Jaggy / Too , also suffering on the sick front! DD's favourite trick is to smile at me, throw up down my top/bra, then resume smile/squeaky laugh thing! (too adorable to get cross/annoyed at!). She also seems to be sick/spit up if she gets too distraught - e.g. if I don't do whatever it is she wants quickly enough! Normally accompanied by bright red face, crying, and lots of tears - real tears, aww..

Scarlet, you need a new GP :(

All good here. DD has been eating and sleeping lots - 4 weeks today, so growth spurt time perhaps? Currently snoring on my lap..!

Current stress isn't anything to do with DD - in fact, asides from the nipples (which are so much better, hurrah!) I think I'm a relatively chilled out mum. However, I seem to have channeled stress into everything else. I've spent the last week going a bit mad because our previous owners put an extension down over the drain - with no way of accessing said drain! Extension floor is made of slate tiles. No way of knowing where said drain is. Need to plumb a washing machine waste water pipe into it before new kitchen is fitted at the beginning of July. Arrggggh... on the plus side, my Lovely Plumber came round today and we might have a plan of action, but still - stressy! I also got rather stressed at DH yesterday when he tried to tell me precisely where he wanted our new radiator .

I'm stressed that we've a holiday booked and i feel totally unorganised to be going away with these 2.

oh pants, R has just done a big poo while feeding. as soon as i lie him down he's bound to dribble milk everywhere!

jabs went fine though, DH ended up holding him this time as i was tidying away the dirty nappy that was produced while the doctor did his checks! luckily while the nappy was sealed and not while the doctor was checking his bits and hips...

I told you so, I told you so, I fcking told you so you lazy bstard! Honestly. I ask DH to go fill the hot water bottle and put it in M's bed and he whines and grumbles and eventually point blank refuses because 'if she's so sleepy, she'll just stay asleep'. I put her down less than a minute ago, and before I was even properly logged on to the computer I could hear her crying. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

Yay for good jabs, Jaggy! And brilliant that your platelets are back up again. Good work, Team Jaggy!

Poor Musical, sounds v worrying! Hope your Lovely Plumber's plan works.

There is silence from the bedroom.

Thanks for the tummy muscle advice earlier, will be trying that out once I manage to shift my resident chest frog!

Scarlet if your GP isn't taking your phobia seriously I second everyone who's already said you should find a new doc. I'm very that you weren't taken seriously the first time - how ridiculous and unprofessional! It takes guts to ask for extra assistance when you need it that's something I'm particularly rubbish at don't let one crappy doc get in the way of what you need.

Jaggy yay for R's jabs going well! I hope he's sleeping okay tonight as well?

Who was it that mentioned the Shred? After our earlier weightloss discussions, plus seeing my waistline in the baby photoshoot pics, also having my Nan round (size 10, obsessed with weight, lots of "encouraging" comments about my extra padding) I've finally bitten the bullet and ordered the DVD. Surely you should lose a couple of pounds just by paying for the DVD? No? So if anyone fancies starting the 30 days at the same time as me we could motivate each other through?

About to attempt The Transfer again. So far tonight DD has been quite amenable to being transferred, mainly because she just wakes up 45 mins later and demands boob/cuddles before going back to sleep. Oh how I miss the 2 hour feeding cycle nights!

he's sleeping about the same as usual so far. :)

He was quite worked up all evening as he seems to be at the moment, so i eventually rocked him about like a mad woman till he was relaxed on my knee and then offered him a feed while he was sleepy. this avoided more screaming at my boobs!

he was doing some super cute really loud thumb sucking earlier, which i am happy to encourage as DS1 suddenly started sleeping really well when he found his! he still sucks it when he's tired or going to sleep. we'll cross the not sucking bridge when we come to it...

so how much time does one require for shredding? i feel like I've no time to turn round at the moment, but I've heard a lot about this!

So this shred malarky - how long does it take each day? I like the idea but am not sure I could actually carry it off with ds1 around? Also does it require me to stop eating chocolate?

i just looked it up on amazon biscuits, 20 mins apparently.

it sounds really hard, but good! i think I'd have to build myself up to it somehow, as I'm at my most unfit ever. maybe some gentle Wii fit till i am not made of jelly muscles.

I will join you, scream can't start till after the weekend though, and I need to dig out the DVD. In fact, I might need to order a new one as I actually havent seen it since the move...
jaggy I think you can just go at your own pace so I am hoping total lack of fitness won't matter too much [hopeful face emoticon]

V good night here last night! dd2 slept the whole night in her own bed! up for feeding 3 times, obv, but I think that might be the first time since we were in hospital that she hasn't just ended up with me for all/most of the night!

That sounds good fishcake!

A fed at 10.30 and 01.30 but then slept till 6.15 so I feel goooood this am! Between her two feeds both dd1 and dh disturbed me but hey ho.

I also think I might be escaping the virus tI thought I was getting. Fingers crossed.

Yay for having a Shred partner Fishcake! I was hoping to start next Wednesday, if that suits you? I doubt my DVD will arrive before then anyway, plus Wednesday is exactly 8 weeks for us and also our GP postnatal check.

Jaggy, Biscuits, my current level of fitness is even lower than pre-pg when I was sitting at a desk all day! After 4 months of not being able to walk more than a few steps and spending all day lying down, I now get tired out just strolling on the common or attempting to walk up a hill! I like the fact that the Shred DVD is apparently just a short but intense circuit repeated several times. I imagine that for the first few days I might not be able to manage every single repetition of the circuit, but I'll do as many as I can then sit one repetition out if I have to then jump back in. Within the first few days I hope to be able to keep up for the full 20 mins though.

I'd like to do a 30 day detox at the same time, to force myself to stop eating junk/chocolate/takeaway for a little while. I find diets insanely hard to maintain though zero willpower so I might just try cutting down on crap instead of a proper detox.

Anymore takers? Even if you're not doing the Shred specifically, anyone else who fancies spending 30 days focusing on weightloss (through diet and/or exercise) is very welcome to join in!

Yay for Fishcake's excellent night!! Since Dream educated me about the dangers of co-sleeping I now always put DD back in her own bed, but this has contributed to her sleeping in only 45 minute bursts so it's not exactly a success yet! If I could get her down to three feeds in a night I would definitely be celebrating alongside you! Well done to your DD2!

Jaggy our attempts with the dummy so far have shown that DD really likes it but can't keep it from falling out of her mouth, so ultimately it just frustrates her. I would love for her to find her thumb! Glad R's sleep seems unaffected by his jabs.

I'll join in for trying to cut down on chocolate, cakes and biscuits. I don't necessarily want to cut down on overall volume of food (we all need 2000-2500kcals for bf anyway :)) but want to make it healthier.

scream - the cherry shaped teats are so much better for little ones. Tommee tippee do some. DD1 used the 0-3 month ones for ages. I always think dummy manufacturers totally overestimate the size of babies mouths!