April 2012 - little people who actually DO stuff now!!

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

Ta da

[newmummyvicky]

Not sure about my periods, I took cerazette pill so after and I don't tend to get them with that. I've had a couple of times where I forgot it this month, oh well no hicups!!! Hehe

Back in the land of dead today, dd was up between 430m-6am, nearly the whole time. I woke up at 4 thinking maybe this is the night were she will sleep throught, oh well! feeds before at 11pm, so not to bad, just crying at 430 probally her cold, ended up co sleeping till 8am.
Took her up earlier for a nap in my my bed, managed to catch up some zzzzz, I don't hope U cope thoose who have other kids and school runs ect! X

[laughingGnomette]

fliss - yay for 5 hours!!! He must have been reading your posts, clever little man!
Had a crap night last night. N has his first cold and was up every hour spluttering and screaming. He'd recently been getting much better at night but this may put a spanner in the works. Poor thing.
We are still trying to sort out our insurance claim from the burgulary in July. Life without a computer is bloody annoying.
N's eczema is starting to look better since I've stopped bathing him so often. Thanks for the advice.
I had the implant put in a couple of months ago and I'm still BF so no proper periods here. Yay!
I hope you're all well. Summer is certainly over isn't it?!!

[HenriettaChicken]

No periods here other than a random bleed 7 days after I started back on cerazette. Pill + bf so not that surprising.

Out of interest, are there any other contraceptive methods that stop flow? I hate it but, like newmummy I've become somewhat forgetful about taking them and we are NOT ready for a sibling!

[marshmallowpies]

I had a dirty nappy change at 2.30am, then DD woke for a feed about 6.45...then slept till 10!! This meant a very welcome extra sleep for me, as I was feeling rather wiped out - had very minor surgery at the GP yesterday (a cyst removed from my head boak) so spent the afternoon under a blanket on the sofa feeling sorry for myself (DH worked from home to keep an eye on DD and me).

Sleep must have done the power of good as I feel much better today and so glad the cyst is gone - it was harmless & painless but very itchy and irritating. Just got to wait for stitches to dissolve now...

[justhayley]

Lots of sleepy mummys on here. It's funny I'm sure the women from my RL post natal group & people I meet at groups are lying about their babies sleeping patterns lol. Iv been feeling crap this week about Noah not sleeping through. Everyone I come across seems to have a perfect sleeping routine, their babies are in their own beds & rooms etc. Not that I'm happy that some of you are struggling as well, but its nice to feel normal & no it's not me doing something wrong. I'm really bad at comparing myself & Noah to others, I know all babies are different but I cant help it.

I'm just watching one born getting all emotional and remembering labour - it's making me broody - not the remembering labour bit obviously!!

Got royally ripped off today. Went into madam jojo and picked up a sensory ball for Noah. Looked at the price and thought it said £7, so I thought that's not horrendous I'll get it. Got to the till and it was actually £17, I was too embarrassed to say I don't want it for that price so bought the stupid thing! Going to take it back tomorrow with some kind of excuse; not paying £17 for a little ball! There rant over.

Period wise - I had one about 5 weeks ago but nothing since should I be peeing on a stick!!! I have PCOS so only usually get 1/2 a year so interested to see if that changes.

Anyho off to bed now (for an hour or 2 anyway) got baby swimming in the morning I love it, def my favourite thing to do with Noah.

Night all xxx

[Jellybellyrbest]

Hi ladies! Been following but too busy to post...feeding & sleeping has completely changed here to being all over the show day & night. Solids still at the testing stage; every day or two I offer purée at tea time and she's getting buts of toast/bread. Sometimes she's keen sometimes totally disinterested.! Acc to my App she's now feeding 2.5 hourly whereas it was 4hrly before & the 1 or 2 (or 3 last night :-/) feeds continue. Dead on my feet. No periods here & stopping Cerazette as my mood is in my boots. Tried it 6weeks PN & only lasted 5 days: turned into a weeping mess. This time I'm a grumpy snappy weeping mess & getting worse. Not good.

Digi; I bet your Iron levels are low at that rate. Thats AWFUL! Did your Gp suggest checking them? I'm sure you feel rotten...you poor thing.

Work have been stressing me out. Doing my 10 KIT days & I've been in & out to sort. Got called into a meeting today to be advised they want us all to take 10% pay cut or there'll have to be redundancies. Which for me means working will be literally allowing us to pay for childcare with bugger all left. Am seriously considering becoming a Childminder. Having spent the last 6mths with my girls I don't want to reintroduce all the stress & hassle of my job & a new Nursery into their wee lives. It's certainly not worth the neater amount we'd pocket. So there's some v serious thinking being done in the Jelly household! Fliss; how did you find the change from your previous job to Childminding? I'm sure it's a long tough day....I know it's certainly not an easy option. But the potential benefits for my kids would hopefully outweigh the personal hassle/stress I'd have. (I think!!!).

Bear: thanks to your recommendation I've purchased 2 gorgeous dresses on E-Bay for DD!! Joules & Petit Bateau bargains! I'm so pleased-thank you! So far I've bought next to nothing as I've had hand me downs galore & pressies. DD is now into 6-9mths & I do need to buy vests & babygros, which I'll hopefully get in Asda after payday this week. It was lovely to actually choose s'thing for her to wear!

Better go to sleep. I'm going to regret this later I'm sure. Anyone else bloody freezing when they're up at night ATM?? Was soooo cold last night & the rain was battering the windows....it makes being up at night do much harder methinks. Really didn't mind it in the Spring...

[Jellybellyrbest]

It's certainly not worth the MEASLY amount we'd pocket I meant..this bloody iPhone!

[Jellybellyrbest]

Henrietta; meant to say, the Mirena coil reduces flow rate to practically nothing in some women. For others it causes daily spotting though, which can be as much a pain as a heavy period once a month. What one of the GPs I work with does is to prescribe a pill with a similar hormonal make-up as the Mirena. If you take it for a couple of cycles & it agrees with you, chances are the Mirena will too. TBH Cerazette isn't that different to the Mirena hormone-wise. The procedure to have it inserted varies in difficulty for women but is easier if you've had a baby in general. There's an implant you can have inserted in your arm too. It's popped in under local & releases hormones over a period of 2years....then there's the 12weekly Depo Provera injection. So there are lots of options!!! Your surgery should have leaflets on them all & should provide a counselling session to help you decide on the best one for you based on your medical history & personal preferences.

[Flisspaps]

Jelly I managed the change no problem. Registration is different now in that you have to do a course before you register rather than after, but if your council want you to do CYPOP5 then it's a breeze - that's the one I did just before and after DS was born.

I was lucky in that I had a mindee lined up - my friend asked me to look after her DD so I registered to look after her. If you have under 5s then there's a fair bit of paperwork - observations and planning, learning journals, risk assessments, policies etc, but for me, it was worth it to stay home (even with the Ofsted inspections!)

I've never made more than the bare minimum I need to pay my bills though, it's not a job you'll get rich doing, certainly not at first anyway.

I found the decision a no-brainer, I love working from home, being my own boss, the interaction with other children and being there for my own but it's not a lot of money and sometimes my two will have to come second as I'm being paid to look after the others.

[Jellybellyrbest]

Thx Fliss..am waiting on the Early Years Team to get back to me. It may be slightly different in NI. No plans for getting rich here (though wouldn't say no if someone tells me an easy way!), but work is a lot of responsibility & stress for what'll be *ugger all, especially if they succeed in changing our terms & conditions. (We're now embroiled in ugly Union/work negotiations which is horrible). And for that I'd be paying s'one else to look after my own DDs which now just feels wrong.

How was last night? Any more 5hr stretches for you? Em woke at 00.30 & 06.00! Great; except that my 4yo DD was wandering around at 4, woke her 6yo Sis & they had a full scale natter going on at 5!! Grrrrrrr....
I figure if I can earn enough to cover my bills, it'll be worth it. Actually feel very positive & energetic about it! They do say that change is as good as a rest!

[laughingGnomette]

Sorry to hear about your work dilemma Jelly. Good luck with everything, you'll be a fab childminder.

hayley - birth programmes always make me sob now. I had to go back to the hospital the other day to pick something up for dp and i wasn't prepared for the huge emotions I felt going back there. Not feeling broody yet though. I wonder who our first BFP will be?!

Poor N is really struggling with his cold. Had a temperature in the night and kept waking up howling. He is being very clingy today.

I've been thinking about where I was this time last year, DP was unemployed, I was getting over the shock of an unplanned pregnancy and I'd just found out I was at risk of being made redundant. Oh how things change, I can't imagine not being a mum now. I just wish is found you lot earlier! :)

[Flisspaps]

Yy to another 5 hour stretch - DS has been much happier today and yesterday too. No tooth though!

[digitalgirl]

jelly yes my iron levels are v low - but just within range. I sometimes take the iron tabs the gp prescribed but they have an unpleasant side-effect so I don't take them as prescribed.

Re work dilemma, could you hold out for redundancy of the childminding option is looking achievable? I wish I could do this as i live in an area of London where it's very well paid - we paid our cm £72 a day when she had ds1. But I think I wouldn't be very good with other people's children, I can just about manage my own.

We've had three nights in a row where I've managed to get a 4 hour chunk of sleep. Not sure if this means things are improving. I have yet another blister on my nipple so feeding on the right side is excruciating at the moment. Must remember to take paracetemol. Just don't understand why I'm still getting this every few weeks and ds2 is coming up to 6 months in a couple of weeks.

[newmummyvicky]

digi Ive had lots of nipple problems along the way, mine seem ok at the mo. but I would keep an eye on that blister! mine turned in a blocked duct! :(

hayley yes where I live and around me everyone else has perfect sleeping babies, its only when I look on here and realise it not just me! dd only wakes twice now, so she has got better. I'm trying to get dh to give her bottle tonight, but not holding my breath!

fliss and jelly must be a lovely job being a child minder? my mum did it for many years. I loved our house being full of kids, But i must say its not for me! I'm looking to do 2 days at boots, if me boss less me? i just have to wait to next yr to find out!

Trying to pack for our 3 night say in Devon, there is so much stuff U need for a baby.....
buggy, bibs, food , travel cot, bedding, clothes, towels and the list goes on.
We leave Friday and staying in a caravan. Hoping to do some swimming with L coz they have an indoor pool.

[newmummyvicky]

If my boss will let me? I mean! Lol x

[Flisspaps]

digital have you tried the liquid iron - Floradix, Spatone or Ferroglobin - the side effects aren't quite as painful severe as the iron tablets, with tablets a lot of the iron is wasted anyway (I think this is what causes constipation)

[digitalgirl]

I was taking spatone, I wasn't sure if it was having any effect that's why I thought I should take the pills. Maybe I'll go back to the spatone. It's not quite constipation but I do feel incredibly sore back there, even water stings. But when I don't take the tablets it's fine. Go figure.

vicky that's what I'm worried about. I popped it yesterday as it was massive, and today its still there and hurts even more .

Ds2 gave me fright this evening. Heard weird snorting noises on the monitor so came upstairs thinking he would wake up annoyed with a snotty nose. Found him lying in a huge pool of vomit, had rolled his head and face in it and all in his hair and ears. Dh was out so a huge struggle to clean him up by myself - try holding a 20+lb baby over a sink with one hand and a flannel in the other! (where's the bloody top n tail bowl when you need it?). Went all over the carpet too, so a huge clean up operation. Ds2 slept through it other than me trying to dunk his head in the sink. Popped him in the cot and he pukes again...am now too worried to sleep in case it happens again. He'd gobbled up some avocado at dinner, don't think his stomach was ready for it. Clearly not ready for solids yet. Will have to give him a few days off.

[Bearcrumble]

Ugh - worst night yet. Both DCs have colds. Poor DD couldn't feed and breathe at the same time and was making noises like an old man snoring. She wouldn't sleep at all. DH had her from 11-1am and then I did 1-6 then he took both of them downstairs (DS woke at 6) and let me sleep until 8.30.

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

Hmm, so I had my first bad HV experience today...
So what do you all think (not brave enough to run this by aibu, especially as im quite sure that i am bvu...)...
Should health visitors have to be parents?

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

Wish id quoted bloody guidelines at her
Pleased with myself for standing my ground though :)

[VintageNancy]

What happened beyond?

[Nordicmom]

Hi ! Haven't written for a while so an update ;
DD hasn't gotten the cold too badly so far unlike I feared and is sleeping on her stomache so has been fine at night despite the slightly snotty nose. She's a real whinge bag ATM though , absolutely driving me crazy . Not happy anywhere for long so resorted in to putting a bit of teething gel in case it is her gums . No sign of teeth still but chews on things manically ...She's asleep now finally though after the usual bedtime noises... Has done 4 full nights recently which is amaizing ! It's DH job to give her a 11/12 pm feed so hasn't effected me so much but it's a new development definitely and am very gratefull for her not being up at 2-3 am any more like before. Am aware that this could all still change many times... With DS it was years of interrupted sleep on and off untill he had all his teeth . Yesterday she hadn't even had her 5 bottles in the day so expected her to wake up but apparently no .
Clotheswise she is still at 5 m and at 50% in weight at last weighing wearing a lot of 0-3m clothes other than the vests and the babygros that got too short . She's got a lot of dresses and trousers , tops , cardigans etc that are still fine . Have got some 3-6 m too and a coat in 6-9 m she can wear with the sleeves rolled up. Have to get lots more warm gear . Mittens , hats, tights , leggins etc layers since its suddenly getting colder . Have gotten her snowsuit ages ago before she was even born . Putting her into the buggy seat soon so she can have the lovely footmuff that's been laundered after DS and is all ready and waiting . She'll look like such a big girl in it I bet !

[Nordicmom]

What happened Beyond??? I've been 3 times with R now and it's been fine but with DS half the time came out angry . For a few years when he was older I had a pretty reasonable one though. A lot of my friends haven't gone at all with their subsequent children after bad experiences as first time mothers . They were always made to feel bad . Draw of the luck I guess who u get ... For the surrogacy process I've been going regularly once a month to make an appearance .

[hugandroll]

Aww bless her nordic there is part of me that wishes A was still small enough to be in 0-3 clothes, feels like he's growing too fast because he's my last baby and he looks so grown up already as he's big and has two teeth!

Going away for the weekend tomorrow without my boys. I'm really looking forward to it on one hand and dreading it on the other, think I will cry when I leave them.

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

I was invited to a "baby development course" cause im in a flying start area, so although the letter was a bit patronising to start with, I went. Hey, I got free coffee and biscuits
The "lesson" was fine, nothing i didnt know, but no problems. Run by a lovely lady in roughly her late fifties :)
But she had a HV assisting her rubbed me up the wrong way rather quickly. I was eating a biscuit and DS snatched it off me and proceeded to eat it. He was sat up on my lap. Before I could take it off him, she said that he wasnt allowed that yet, so I replied nicely, oh its okay, hes already weaning, though obviously not on biscuits! She said, how old is he then, and i replied 5 months, but hes sitting and were blw. And she said well u still shouldnt be giving him anything, hes still too young. This was in front of the whole group.
I wonder if she didnt like me because i wasnt the typical teenage single mum and had some clue what i was talking about? (god that sounds so stuck up though!) we are all talking about how to know when your baby is ill. She mentions "the top of the head being sunken". Then watching a dvd i point out that the baby in the dvds fontanelle is depressed and she didnt react too well, said that it could be for any reason. Umm it was relevant because we were talking about it like 10 seconds ago, i thought the other mums might like to see what it looked like!!
Now the second thing i argued about... "Sick babies, ie when they have a cold or d&v, need extra water" collegue says she is not up to date on the current advice, is this also true for bf babies. Hv says yes. I say, no it isnt. she says bf babies do need extra water when theyre ill. I say, they don't, milk is all they need until they wean. She gives up, and says it is up to individual mums.

I was a bit of a bitc h, wasnt i...?