Just Mumming 9- We're suffering the curse of Mel B, ST syndrome and the rise of the sleep snatchers. We've all had enough and would just like a good JS.

[PixieChops]

Morning Viroids

Welcome to the 9th Just Mumming Fred.

Pop your credentials down or not:

Name: Pixie
Age:29
Pests: 2- P (girl) 17 months old, R (boy) 4 months old
Things I can't do anymore- have a crap in peace, drink a hot drink, do any housework, shag ST, sleep, take naps.

Things I can do- carry a toddler, baby, dirty bottles and nappies down the stairs all at once, put a double pram up in 20 seconds, have a shower inc washing and shaving in under 5 mins. Be coco the clown on 26 mins sleep.

Thanks all. Sorry, bit of a lapse in positivity in the evening. He just isn't a sleeper and getting fed up with cold dinners and cups of tea or rushing to eat at 9.30 and getting straight to bed so I might get a solid hour before his first wake up. I know none of these things are big deals on their own but I'm just tired and see no end to a time when I need to be grateful for more than two hours sleep!

Thanks for the offer toast, sounds like a nice idea. Although could be weird! I am much jollier in RL, promise!

Hope everything goes well at the doctors purple. Just be honest with them, they are there to help.

Oh and I can see it is better pis, I know you're right. If I think back to that fog from the first couple weeks then I can see it's infinitely better. Just want it to get even betterer! Some kind of structured sleep would be a good start, just so I know what I'm doing.

It'll get there Dulcet we just can't say when! It's ok to feel a bit fed up. This is the shitty end of the parenting stick. I'm finding the nights a lot easier to deal with now I get at least a couple of hours in the evening to myself after she goes to bed. I've started throwing her on my back in a carrier to get food prepared (miniDulcet might be a bit young still) - I get a whole lot grumpier when I can't eat properly!

I think I have a blocked duct or something. My right boob is seriously painful. I'm trying to feed from that side more but it doesn't seem to be helping. BabyPis keeps kicking me in the sore bit too. She nearly made me cry last night. We did an emergency install of the travel cot in the bedroom after I came upstairs to find her stood up in her crib, head trapped under the mobile and rocking herself. TeenPis was yanked from I'm a celeb to help out. She seemed to sleep ok in it waking roughly every 2-3 hours for a feed which is unusually regular but it is leap time I normally doze while she's feeding but that wasn't possible with her pummelling my tits.

Aaaaaaaaaah Dulcet you know I agree with every bloody word you said! It's so hard sometimes and I totally get the dreading Monday - Thursday is my Monday as I then have B 24 hours by myself from then until Sunday morning.

It IS getting easier, you can see that, and it'll get easier as you go (but different - harder in other ways). It's absolutely fine to feel shite and resentful.

Sometimes I forget I have a baby and I think ooh shall we go out for dinner tonight!?! And then I remember I've got a baby and can't. But the good bits are so much more regular now and it's so much more enjoyable.

It's so shit and difficult to feel positive when they won't bloody sleep and you're knackered and fed up. How much time off are you having? Can you hand him to mil for a bit and get a break?

Wrt your question about how much milk. I generally leave 5-6 oz per feed as then I know there's enough, plus emergency formula which we've so far not needed. Less breast milk is needed than formula equivalent but it depends how often he wakes as to how many feeds obviously. Can you start freezing expressed milk now so that you have stock piled up? My freezer is full of the stuff!

Does he take a bottle already? If not you might want to try giving him one every couple of days now to make sure he will by the time you get there. But of course like the others said he might not be on much milk by then in which case he might not even need it!

Just think - only a few more months and then solids will make it so that you can leave him with dh a bit more and get some time to yourself back. Honestly you've not got long to go now, you're doing brilliantly.

B was a nightmare yesterday!!! Not his fault obviously but it was like his poor little body was going through a huge developmental change and he just couldn't cope with it. He was screwing and laughing at the same time and utterly knackered. Really difficult to deal with. Back into wake ups every couple of hours. The sleep was nice for the 2 nights I had where he just about slept through false sense of security ya wee crafty bugger

Making lists of what I need to take yo Scotland with us. We are staying in 3 different places so I've got to make sure I take everything - monitors, bath stuff, buggy options etc plus it's going to be freezing so I need to get him some mittens today. Eek!

Off to my last baby massage class now. He still has the rash from the oil/friction. Grrr

Screaming not screwing

Wil answer rest later I've missed loads of people's posts out. Got to run

How's your day going Dulce?

Hope the boob situation improves.Pis! Blocked ducts are not fun and these babies are so bloody clumsy!

Missing playgroup today to wait in for the sodding health visitor. Minipopz is in turbo whiney clingy mode. Am covered in snot and biscotti

Aww dulcet it does get easier, I promise! I know that probably doesn't help at the moment, but H is 9 months and I've been finding her lovely for the last couple of months - easy to occupy by taking her places because she's so nosey! You're nearly there.

pis hope the boob gets better, have you tried hand expressing in the shower and getting her to have her chin pointing to the bit that feels blocked? Both those things are meant to help.

Haha Popz - snot and biscotti sounds so middle class I know baby biscotti isn't really posh - BabyPis has them and she's an oik.

I'm trying to position myself to dangle feed but obvs didn't want to try that out in booby group! She's asleep.... Going to try for a nap....

La I do that too, shall we go out for dinner? Oh! No we can't really lol

Dulcet I hope you're having a better day lovie

Pis that sounds sore. Hope it's eased off now

We've been to baby massage, out for coffee then baby group. B slept through the last 2! Baby massage always sends him off. I'm beginning to think I'm wasting my time going to baby group after as he sleeps through it every week. I'm going to look for other groups.

We went back to the doctor and I didn't cry on him. He's given me a prescription for loads of the new milk. He asked how I was and I said much better but still anxious. He just said give it time. I did say I don't feel overwhelmed anymore. I was in such a state last week and I am loads better. I wouldn't say that the problem has gone away though but if I'm struggling I'll go back in

Snot and biscotti!
Ha
Classy boy popz

We think we've identified rs wake ups.. Extreme separation anxiety! It's horrid! Poor thing loses her shit when one of us even walks behind her...
Joy!

We are vair middle class doncha know not really

Ah, Min - we've got that too. It's a bugger eh!

Thanks for the love people. Today was better. He went down a bit earlier and stayed there while I ate my dinner at my own pace (mostly, I did rush a bit just in case) and while it was still hot! Plus, got a second hand jumperoo this afternoon and he loves it. Hoping it can buy me a bit more time!

In terms of time off la, you know yourself that's not easy. DH is great and will take him in the morning if he's up but that's only really an hour if I'm lucky. He's great at weekends and will sit watching football with him so I can get on. I'm sure MiL would help but feel guilty as he's not easy to look after, he has a cousin two months younger who is so easy so feel the comparison makes it clear how much more work he is. He does take a bottle quite happily and I'm stacking the freezer as much as I can but my tits are disappointing and only manage a couple oz at a time so it's slow work! When you off to Scotland?

Blocked duct sounds a bit horrible pis. I have only heard feeding and massaging it while feeding as the solutions to that. Hope it clears up soon.

Glad you're feeling better purple, sounds like GP is supportive. Might have to get us to baby massage if that's the result!

Got given the vitamins to give to him today at clinic. Meant to been having them since 4 weeks apparently! Everyone else using these?

Oh, and advice from Lynne on the check out at asda everyone - it's not right he's still waking at night, he needs the bottle. So now we know!

Purple Melba sleeps through most things too still. To the point where people are starting to ask me if she wakes up ever!
I'd like to do baby sensory but it's ££ and no point if she's going to sleep!

Dulcet we have vitamins here. Abidec. Because she was prem, and we are supposed to continue until she's 2. We also have a separate iron supplement. Good luck getting J to take them! If love to offer advice but Melba usually spits out half/most of hers so it's a daily battle.

Words of wisdom from Lynne! I had a woman call over to me 'I think she wants her tea!' In the shops last week when Melba was crying. Yes she probably does and I am headed straight for the car to do a glamorous car park feed this very instant but I can only go as fast as I can, thank you!

So it's not going well trying bottles with Melba. She spits out half of it and gets stressed, and it's stressing DH out when he tries to do it because she doesn't find it easy and will only have roughly an ounce before she stops altogether. and then afterwards she doesn't settle and go down. So I end up giving her boob to top up/settle her before she'll go back to sleep, which kind of defeats the object. Though since then I have had 3 hours sleep instead of 2 so maybe it did help to fill her up at least.

Time for our newest feature- what would Lynne do?

Lynn could do with a kick in the fanny

A mum at booby group was saying her mum and aunties were urging her to put baby rice or rusk in a bottle for her 6 week old baby. This isn't just outdated it's a fucking choking risk!

Oh and what vitamins

How's the boob pis?

Good morning! Just had an hour sleep while dh took B downstairs. I'm struggling to sleep in between night feeds at the moment. Knackered.

Lynne is the oracle, obvs. She's up there with everyone who tells me I don't have enough milk to feed such a large baby and I should wean early or top up with formula.

Love it toast! WWLD?

Are you talking about the D3 vitamins you're meant to give from 6 months? Although I'm sure there was debate about whether bf babies need them. If you have a healthy diet them a bf baby shouldn't need vitamins at least first 6 months.

La direct your booby hoses at the naysayers to demonstrate that you have plenty of milk. Your big baby is big because of your milk not despite it people are dumb.

The boob is still very sore. I'm favouring it and expressed some milk off it last night. The soreness is more localised now so I'll try combing it in the shower. Yesterday the whole thing was hurting. So some improvement!

I'm also really struggling with getting back to sleep after a feed. And going to sleep initially. How can I struggle to sleep when I'm so tired? Had a lovely nap yesterday with BabyPis

I think Lynne would advocate leaving melba to get so hungry she has to take the bottle toast. It's the only way she will learn.

I heard about that risks in milk thing the other day pis, doesn't sound safe! Glad the boob is better!

No, it's not those la. These are meant to be given between 4weeks and 5yrs and have vitamin A, B and D in I think. Seems like another one of those inconsistent things. Of the 7 in my NCT group, 4 have it, 2 don't and one had the premature ones toast mentioned.

This talk of Lynne reminds me of a lady I saw in a charity shop a couple weeks ago. J was crying, she walked past and said 'he's hungry' (popular comment that one toast!), I said 'he's always hungry' and she said 'I can see that from the size of him'!. I was , she didn't even stop walking! She didn't know how old he was to judge him as big even. Silly woman!

I get told all the time by people that I must top up with formula because B is so large. When I say he's EBF they are shocked. My mum constantly says I need to start giving him formula soon.

My mum tried to tell me to put baby rice in his bottle!

Lynne would be giving them whisky in their bottle to help them sleep. Apparently my parents did this to a sibling as they were having a party and needed the baby to sleep more!
I can't say anything as we're on our knees here after a bad night and she came over and took him out so I could get some sleep

toast how premature was your lo again? Just being nosy as E wasn't given any and he was 6 weeks early!

I knew someone who gave their baby rice in his last bottle to get him to sleep through at a young age inside my head I was and outside I nodded and said "hmmm interesting" and smiled.

People always say E is big, he isn't and even if he was so what! The just have to say something just tell me he is happy boy and I'll be happy

Cookie she was almost 6 weeks early. Interesting! I was told it is because prem babies don't get chance to lay down vitamin stores in final few weeks and so she has had them prescribed from 2 weeks old and the iron from 4 weeks too because she's ebf.

That's what the girl in my NCT group has as well, baby born at 34 weeks I think.

H was 4 weeks old and didn't have any vitamins prescribed :s she's on some from the chemist now which I started at 6 months when we started weaning.
Think it's another example of different approaches in different areas. It annoys me.