November 2012 - the birthplosion (thanks Peaky)

[StuntNun]

Previous post-natal thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/postnatal_clubs/1579907-November-2012-babies-are-here-at-last

Stats list: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/1485512-November-2012-Stats-List

Congrats detective

Does anyone else find the recommended 18c room temperature bloody freezing!?!

I've asked the midwives and health visitor are they sure this is ok and every time they say yes but Im literally sitting here with a hot water bottle :/

pass I'm using the powder, every morning I mix up three bottles. I place the cap on two of them while they are still very hot, when it cools it creates a vacuum. I then use them as I need to, and when I'm over someone's house I put the milk in there fridge. I also carry a small carton of milk just incase he has a growth spurt, or if the milk turns.

Evil

18deg is bloody freezing, I agree.

Oh heck - you lot would freeze in our wee house on the island - our bedroom gets down to 16C at night thanks to a wood fired heating system. Jonas is a hardy wee soul (actually he seems fine with his layers and blankets - it's me with my norks out BFing who freezes at 5am) on the plus side cold is good for preventing SIDS. That's what I keep telling myself. God I can't wait to be south in a gas centrally heated house rather than shovelling fuel onto a fire in the middle of the night!

18C feels really warm to me - but then I guess it depends what you are used to. When it made 18C here on the island last summer it made the front page of the newspaper.

I'd be happy if our room actually got down to 18, but despite the radiator being on low & the heating only being on 3 hours total between 3.30pm & 11pm, & off until 5.45am, the room thermometer never gets below 19-20 on a cold day. Must be the cavity wall insulation!!

Our house is barely below 20 degrees - it is cooking just now. It gets to 18 at night but never below. When I was pregnant 18 seemed fine but it is chilly now.

Thanks evil that's what I was hoping to do. Do you stick he bottles in he back kf the fridge then heat them when ready to use? We bought Hipp Organic powder and the instructions on the back bear no resemblance to the guidelines. It suggests water f 55 degrees. I will stick to the WHO guidelines.

I am happier in a colder room. 16 -18 is fine by me! I have extra layers of body fat keeping me warm .

I have had a lecture on safe sleeping at my first visit today . I hate being patronised. The midwives in this area check your bedroom... ffs. When she came I had literally just got out of bed after a night of no sleep - slept this morning 9-12. DP had taken the moses basket (with the baby!) downstairs to let me sleep for a while. She still wanted to look at the bedroom which was a shit tip thanks to events of last night!. She asked where he was sleeping, I said in the moses basket did he fuck, he 'slept' on me all sodding night. next to my bed, but that it didn't work well as I couldn't get up easily, and couldn't reach him to pick him up. I explained that tonight we would be putting him on DP's side, so he can just pass him to me with out me hurting myself, and that I am able to actually get out of bed! (Basket is touching my bed, and the wardrobe, so I have to drag myself to end of bed to actually get out!) This of course, is wrong. Because the window is on DP's side. He won't be next to the fucking window FGS! And he is there until I can move easily!

Pfffft. I am so glad I am not a dopey midwife . Well I hope!!

There is a thread on breastfeeding & bottle feeding forum with a practical way to make up formula safely. On phone otherwise I'd link... Water MUST be 70' or higher; Hipp are illegally misleading their customers apparently!!

I'm happier in a colder room too - well I am when trying to sleep. I can't bear sleeping in a hot room. We have the window open (well we did when it was just the two of us) as it's nice to hear the geese and other birds out on Scapa Flow. I'm guessing having window's open at night in the room with the baby is a no no though?

I've also noticed that J is virtually comatose in a very hot house (which might be handy at night were it not for the SIDS risk) we went to a pals and she put the heating up especially and I had to strip him off as it must have been nigh on 25-30C - he was red like a boiled lobster. He just snored the entire time whereas at ours he's active for at least some of the feed / sleep / nappy change cycle. I think wee ones get used to what is normal for their family. Poor J pulled the short straw and got us tight arses as family.

I'd heard that about HIPP and some of the other formula companies - their instructions make the product easier to make but less safe. It's so irresponsible.

Right, time to wake the little monster up! We are not having a repeat of last night, no thanks!!

Apparently the HIPP instructions talk about cooler water so you don't kill off the probiotics they put in, so they can make their claims. Very interesting reading...

Which also means that other bacteria in the powder are also not killed off. Given that powder isn't sterile... wah - I'd stick with the WHO guidelines and nuke the feckers!!!!

Totally-confused-about-sterilising-bottles-HELP has good advice, if you get further in.

Nuking is what I plan to do. As if the whole formula issue isn't complex enough without marketing bullshit making life more complicated and risking the welfare of babies.

I googled Hipp and found a thread from here. Someone emailed Hipp and their response was essentially "well, that's how it's been done on the continent for years". Hardly very convincing.

Am I being weird to be immensely proud that my 2.7yo DD is trying very hard to colour in a picture in a colouring book, and although not totally within the lines, managing to stick roughly to the shape?

Pass that's scarily unconvincing isn't it - presumably if they had clinical proof that heating to such a low temp was safe - they would have cited it. That makes me so angry

chunky totally appropriate to be proud. My DD is still at the eating-the-book stage. She can however count to 11 and knows all her colours.

I use near boiling water, as the powder is not sterile.

Well Yousef is sleeping on me at the moment after a flurry of feeding. He is feeding really well but its early days and I won't relax until my milk comes in. I put him in his bouncer for the first time today when he was nice and alert. It was lovely to see him looking about and watching Zak and Moody when they talked tio him.

Contemplating going to bed at nine but feel a bit mean to the DH who has been amazing. I will see if I can keep my eyes open a little bit longer!

YW one of the factors that reduced SIDS risk was having a fan in the room, probably because the moving air prevents the baby rebreathing stale air. By that rationale having the window open could be a good move so long as baby doesn't get cold.

I don't know if anyone remembers but I was eagerly awaiting finding out what colour eyes my DS3 would have since DS1 and DS2 both have brown eyes so I was hoping for a blue-eyed boy like DH. Well J's eyes are...

Grey I did not see that coming, I thought they would be blue or brown at birth. So I may have to wait a while to find out what colour they will end up. Did anyone else have any surprises in their baby's appearance?

It's true that over here in France they don't follow the WHO guidelines on making up bottles, even in the hospital. Apparently it's the same in Germany.

And the only reasons they do heat the milk are if the baby prefers it that way or if the water is too cold to dissolve the powder properly. No-one I have quizzed on the subject, medical professionals or not, have ever heard about risk from bacteria when preparing ff.

I learned about the guidelines on here.

Congratulations detective

Our bedroom never seems to get below 19 and that's freezing! DPs out tonight so it's just me LO and the dog, hoping we don't have a repeat f the last 2 nights im so desperate for a good few hours block sleep

We've just had an immense pooing session (dd, not me!) she's now feeding and going to sleep at last so hopefully can get some sleep too.

Out bedroom is the coldest room, it gets down to 15 degrees. I'm not even sure why it's so cold. It's got those velux windows so no curtains which makes a difference.

We've put masking tape across the extractor fans in the bathrooms as yet let in gale force winds straight into your face while trying to have a bath.