October 2013 Bus Graduates - Routines?! Our babies clearly haven't read the manual.

[Shirehobbit]

Apologies for the x-posting that meant there's no thread link in the last thread .
I'll start this one and hope people find it.

I had my medela swing off eBay ana although I did have my own tube (from neonatal as they use same ones) I didn't think it could get into machine? When I pumped on neo ward we just plugged our own tubes/flange and bottles into a shared machine in the pumping room.

Anna I think you can wash the tube. Well I have washed mine. I think you can sterilise the lot tbh. Boil it in water. It's clean. Done. Might want to buy new bottles.

Hayle was is the Swing in hospital. Medela hospital grade pumps have closed systems which don't let the milk touch anything except the pump set which can be sterilised or replaced. This is what is so confusing. I've been using a borrowed pump from the NHS, an Ardo which costs about £125 new, but is less popular so harder to find used. I assumed the Swing was equivalent but it turns out the Ardo calypso is a closed system.

I'm tempted to buy new parts and use the Swing but I don't know how risky that is. I hate myself for googling it.

I'm starting a thread in the bf forum.

Also DH is annoyed with me for making things so complicated to save a relatively small amount of money.

It was a double one ana symphony I think x

Can I just ask a stupid question. I am okay(ish) with no routine, although would LOVE to spend an evening, or just 10 mins, with DH. But the thing im less sure about is that DS will now not sleep anywhere other than on me or in bed being cuddled by me. To the point where if I cuddle him in bed and get out he'll wake/cry straight away. He'll be 9 weeks on Tuesday and I just can't see how to do anything about this. Does anyone else have the same??

mrsA exactly the sane here. 10 weeks tomorrow and last two nights when he's been sleepy around 8pm I've attempted to put him down half asleep... No chance. He wakes straight back up. I'm going with it for now and will try again in a couple weeks. (Hopefully his TT will be sorted and he will be more settled)

He's currently fast asleep on my chest.

Ana, I have 2nd hand medela swing. I boiled everything first and now just cold sterilise bit that actually touches milk. All ok so far!
Thanks for your understanding flyer. X

MrsA exactly the same here. My A will only sleep on me, and when I get up for a wee in the night she stirs straight away and I have to nurse her back to sleep. Sometimes I lie next to her with a full bladder weighing up how likely I am to wet myself, or can I wait until she wakes for a feed anyway. 8 weeks.

I'm a bit concerned that A rarely nurses for longer than a few minutes before she unlatches and cries or gets flustered and refuses to re-latch. Sometimes she'll then take the other side, but usually it's just lots of refusing to feed, and then within 30-60 minutes she'll be looking to feed again. I don't really get it! It seems like she's never truly full.

flyer you say our babies are very similar. To add to the similarities list - obviously they are both A's too, and they both have absolutely wonderful and gorgeous mummys but if I am right they were also both born at 40+2 gestation.

I've got my 6 week check up on Tuesday (at 8/almost 9 weeks), and things have been a little bit sore still where I had some of my stitches, so I decided to have a look today and see that I have a little bulging red area (about the size of a cigarette burn (all I can think of)) down there. I don't know how to describe it, but I am guessing that I shouldn't waiver the physical examination like I was hoping to do ... Also, either my lochia hasn't stopped, or I have gone straight from lochia to period. I'm not sure how you can tell?!

Ana, I read something on a bf group that said you don't need to sterilise for breast milk, so maybe it won't matter too much. I'll try to find you the link. And also, this may be very stupid, but maybe you could just express a little to get your milk through and throw the first bit away?!?!

Hello all, I've been appalling at keeping up with the thread so apologies - will do better have been on fbook so not totally rubbish hopefully.

We have a routine of sorts here but it is very much led by T and changes slightly each day. Fussy/sad period at 7ish each evening, otherwise very cheerful and sunny. All going very well.

Am going for my 1st post-baby run tomorrow evening, doctor said to leave it until December due to CS and wound taking ages to heal. Really shitting it nervous that I will be rubbish and not be able to do it Have any other CS people started exercising properly yet?

Hope everyone is well and excited about Xmas with our scrummy new babies

Ana hope this link works
www.llli.org/nb/nbjulaug07p168.html

Thanks Hayle, GT, lovely, and ready. I think I'll decide when the pump arrives. I'll have a look et the insides and maybe try it out to see how it feels and works. If I like it I would use sterilising solution like someone suggested in the thread I posted on the bf forum. And definitely replace the parts that touch me or the milk.

MrsA it's very similar here. During the day J will sleep in the sling or on a person. (Or car seat or pram while it's moving). At night I have to get him to sleep by feeding him, then I can put him down in the bednest. He's decided he can't sleep in the carrycot in the front room ever, no matter how fast asleep he is when he's put down.

I feel like everyone we know is pregnant. There's a new sonogram on Facebook every week. Today we found out DH's cousin, who is only in year of uni, is pregnant. I have such mixed feelings about it. I feel sorry for how hard it will make her life, but also happy that another baby is coming to the family, and sad that people are acting like something horrible has happened to her.

No exercise here Textbook (dd is 8 weeks tomorrow) except the occasional brisker dog walk or walk with pram. But mostly I just meander along...
I've got my GP check on weds so I'll ask whether I can start couch to 5k then.

This weekend we've been reflecting on a bad year with a great end, as it's been a year yesterday since my miscarriage and the horrendous hospital treatment that I received. My complaint to the hospital has been rather brushed over by them, but to be honest I don't really care any more. We drank Cava last night to honour and remember our little baby, and to celebrate that C has joined our family to complete it.

lovely the problem is more sterilising between different people using the pump, rather than sterilising after every use. LLL wouldn't recommend using a second hand open system pump. www.llli.org/llleaderweb/lv/lvjunjul04p54.html

I'm still on the fence about this.

pseudo what a bittersweet day for you.

Thanks ladies. Had become majorly anxious in last few days re where DS was (and wasn't!) sleeping.

Pseudo for both happy and sad thoughts. If I remember threads correctly we were in the same hospital - treatment was similar...

pseudo xx

for psuedo , it does remind us all how lucky we are xxx

ananifiko I have the medela swing, and had heard about it not being a closed system, but had also heard they are very popular second hand, so definately not a 'no-no' to use by a second person. The way they work, the milk is not meant to ever go up the tube (that is purely to send the suction to the funnel part) however if the pressure wasn't quite correct ( and I wasn't concentrating) the milk did go up a bit (but never all the way to the electric pump bit-as the tube is very long). When I got it out this time, the tube looked a bit manky, I emailed medela to ask where to get a new tube for it, and they sent me one for free, so maybe this may help you?

I have another baby here who only naps in sling. It is sooooo convenient for me (I can play with DS whilst she sleeps for hours rather than constantly trying to settle her in basket) but my plan is when she starts having predicable times for naps, that's when I'll start putting her down again (she does sleep fine in cot at night)

So H is now 8 weeks and for the past 24 hours has had croup. It has been awful watch in her coughing with a high tenp, but just lots of calpol, feeding and cuddles, she is definately sounding much better tonight, so fingers crossed over the worst!

Pseudo. Thinking of you. Rachel is right, reminds me how incredibly lucky we are to have our October babies.

I am feeling inspired by all the talk of running - will make an effort to start again this week (Baby S was seven weeks on Saturday). Really miss the running high but nervous about how painful it will be to start again...

However, with any luck won't feel quite so exhausted this week because S just went 5 hours between feeds! So excited, it is his longest ever stretch, and it feels amazing. Crossing fingers it start of a new nighttime trend.

ps Rachel so sorry about H's croup, hope she is doing much better

I can totally relate to so many of the comments above soup We are the same as you we have patterns that last a few days then they change! we don't force an exact bedtime but he is currently responding well to an earlier night than previously after figuring out his evening fussiness was linked to being tired. flyer glad you are finding it easier. It feels we are two steps forward one step back but no we have come so far. I was just telling dh how this little group have helped.

. I started some very low intensity climbing at three weeks. I then thought that you for the okay to start proper exercise at 5 weeks but my bitch of a doctor looked at me like I was simple and told me it was 12 weeks (I was a straight forward vb). I hat to plead with her to check my tummy muscles. She then seemed to take pleasure in telling me they has separated 'quite a bit' and to 'do Pilates'. I've got an expensive private Pilates session to get some help. I found it frustrating the doctor couldn't have a sensible discussion about it. I wanted to talk to her about the risk of a prolapse and understand why some stomach exercises are considered good and some bad so I can safely stare climbing a bit more. Climbing is so important to me before N came my social life, holidays all revolved around it.

At 6 weeks not 5.

Very interested to see that sterilising pump isn't necessary but a bit sceptical - there was an article in the Times a month or so ago about peo