Jan '07: Finally, we can reach to cut our toenails, see to groom our ladygardens, and have norks the size of norway. Shame we're too tired to give a damn!

[2Happy]

Hmmm, hope it's not too long a title!

2Happy - I changed my name from coffeebeanz

Had a great weekend. DH has been away skiing so my parents camt to stay and I havent done a thing !

Can be a bit draining tho ..... my mum lasted exactly 4 hours before she told me to 'put him on the bottle to fill him up a bit longer !' but the classic quote has to be ...'Dont you think that now you are a bit older, your milk might not be quite as good as it was last time ... dont you think you should try the bottle? ' As you can see my mother has a bit of a thing about BF. Told her to just accept the fact that I'll be BF up to a year and to just get over it !! Mothers ....

Took DS1 to football on saturday and left LO with mum (he had been BF just before I left)with instructions that if desperate there was frozen milk in freezer and a new bottle in a packet. I was only going to be an hour and a half max. I forgot something so ended popping back home 15 mins later only to find milk defrosting and bottle already washed and boiled for 10 mins already !! and yet LO was as happy as Larry ?!

I must say he did drink from the bottle although I ended up with engorged boobs later on tho. Ouch.

UD - like the description 'cluster feeding' thats exactly what I'm doing and it seems to be starting to work as he will sometimes go for 6 hours in one stretch through the night.

Love the poo talk. Feel I must add a Pippa poo story. She is breast and formula fed, and yesterday morning I was amused to find after a particularly hard concentration spell from the lo, that there was a green layer of poo on top of a yellow mustard seed layer. Each time I wiped with cotton wool, I got a reat two tone special effect. Brilliant!

Vino - forgot to say hope you get better soon

wow you lot have been busy!
My mastitis has nearly cleared up now, thanks for well wishes from people! It wasnt as bad as last time, and I think me popping those homeopathic remedies must have helped a bit too - so I recommend them heartily.
Vino - mastitis starts with flu like symptoms, proper hot/cold shivering and feeling really pants, then the next day your boob starts to feel ultra tender, and maybe quite hot, and if you look at it in the mirror, the infected (moldy) part will show up bright red in a wedge shape. Its an evil infection in your milk ducts, and it can - in extreme cases cause absesses. YUCK!
You are meant to keep on feeding though it as the infection doesnt affect the baby, but it hurts so much you end up feeding and screaming with pain at the same time (unless I am a wimp?!) I have found it easier to express from the moldy boob to feed the LO from it, rather than have him near it with his greedy little gums.
Wilkie - re bras (yes, I like to think of myself as an expert on tits!) its a case of how long is a piece of string. If you think your boobs are probably not going to get any smaller, then go ahead and get fitted up for a new one. Just remember that the styles we wore prior to pregnancy may not be the best styles for us now. Eg - the fullness of the top of the breast tends to go after pregnancy, and depending on how big you got depends on how saggy or not you may end up. So when trying on bras, dont discount them as too big automatically if they bag at the top, you may just need a different style now.
BTW - Freya bras now do a pretty feeding bra for sizes up to an H. I brought it to bribe myself to keep going! If the agent provacteur leopard print one came in my size I would have brought that. Lucky really, I saved about £50 there! x

Must be the day for poo explosions!! DS had one this morning while I was feeding him so complete outfit change for both of us. Nice!!

lol at your (well, Pippa's!) multi coloured poo rgee! I'm about to start mix feeding with ds and not looking forward to the formula poo, at least bm poo is fairly innocuous.

kat3kits - your mum sounds just like mine except it's not bf that her 'thing' but weaning and potty training. She doesn't beleive in the 'new fangled idea' (her words, not mine!) of waiting until 6 months to start solids and claims I was on roast beef and yorkshire puds by that age and apparently I was potty trained by 1 year old as well (of course these 'new fangled disposable nappied' are the cause of 'delayed' potty training these days )

Haven't seen Lizzz posting recently? (although may have missed it with the number of posts over the weekend) - if you are there Lizzz you have massive sympathy from me as I now have mastitis and it's horrible. I have a patch down one side of my left boob which is agony so can't imagine what it's like if your whole boob is bright red, fingers crossed yours is getting better now. I really hope these anti-b's start working soon as I feel like crap

Oh, and due to the sad demise of a pet I need to change my name as doesn't seem appropriate to use it anymore. Will introduce myself when I think of something suitable!

that was good timing Lizzzz - please remind me what the homeopathic remedies are!

well Zac had his jabs at 14:33 precisely! he was such a good boy - brief pain cry then went back to sleep. think i cried more than he did (though not until i got home!!) think i may have him on me for the rest of the day now though as he's gone all clingy. i really don't mind though, as i thought he might never trust me again or something! i'm so stupid!

my grandparent bugbear is MIL's insistence that i give him cool boiled water in a bottle as he might be thirsty!! when i told her that breastmilk was food and drink together she said "Well, i've never heard that!"

UD - did you give Zac a feed prior to his jabs? I've heard that BF'ing just before will mean they are in a sleepy state and dont feel so shocked/sore from them. Is this true?

Hattie2 - you poor thing. Its evil evil evil. I hate mastitis sooo much. The homeopathic remedy I am using is called PHYTOLACCA. I have no idea if its working or not. I took anti biotics the first time, and as that was only 2 weeks ago DP suggested homeopathic this time as sometimes anti b's dont work so effectively again so quickly. I know homeopathic remedies take a bit of time to work, so I am not sure if its working or not. I also think that its making Dylans poo go black. As all today he has been straining like he is constipated and then blasting out black poo. Really weird. Am looking it up now. All black poo info greatly recieved! x

Those of you who are (still!) breastfeeding, I found this quite interesting. boobs
But I cant imagine BF when my LO has teeth!

Thanks for updating me on the list, 2happy, even though its months since I've posted, is it too late to creep back in the building? Actually I've been lurking for a few weeks seeing what everyone else's babies are doing, sleeping a lot better than mine it seems, and have finally plucked up the courage to post...
I can't remember who said the cranial osteopath helped with a sticky eye but thanks! Felix has had it constantly and when I read that I linked it to the fact that I have trouble feeding him on that side, I thought it was a problem with the milk/nipple but when I realised it was the same side I thought it might be some compression and it was. Took him this morning and ost said his jaw wasn't quite straight and there was some face compression from birth which meant the duct couldn't drain properly. Fingers crossed the treatment will help, he gets really angry on the left side, chomping down and kicking legs with a red face.
Oh, and I try and eat darker chocolate after dinner instead of pudding (sometimes works) but nothing beats buttons. Shared a big bag with dd, off school today with a cold, yum. What's happened to those big ones though? They were great.

Lizzz - Zac fell asleep in the sling on the way to the surgery but i did give him a feed before we left!!

i've put some more pics of him on my profile if anyone wants to look!

Thanks for the link Lizzz, but tbh I found it too wierd for me. 17 years BF is that woman mad ? and how the hell does her husband know ? I cant bear to imagine it

Teeth are OK by the way, you cant feel them when they suck (unless they bite you by mistake)

Pleasure, carrotcake
Interesting link, Lizzz, I'll remember to avoid garlic while ds2 is already growth spurting! But about bfing with teeth - ds1 teether at 4m or 5m IIRC so bfed with teeth for ages. As with most kids he had phases of biting, and yes it hurt. A real pain in the...well...tit frankly! But when they're not biting (again IIRC they usually have a phase of it at around 8m) you can't feel the teeth, and in fact I was surprised with ds2 how sharp his gums felt in comparison to my memory of ds1's feeding.

Have also looked at the link and the herbs bit is interesting. I've been gargling/drinking sage tea for a sore throat (friend swears by it) for a few days now and link says it's good for drying up milk supply. Bugger.

Lots of posts today - had to finish the bag of buttons of last night (oops) so sorry wlkie can't throw you one over sounds like the change in formula working for J glad he seems better.

UD was thinking of you at 2.16 (love your smiley pics on your profile!!) Hatties jabs were okay she screamed ater the first one and Ellie told the nurse off after the first jab for making her cry so when she got the 2nd needle out she said "you're not putting that in hattie" very protectively and nurse said "ok do you want it" ellie replied "oh no thanks hatties turn" think thats called sisterly love!

I have put some new pics on my profile still havent caught a full grin on camera yet. Sorry no personals can't remember who has posted what but at carrotcake welcome back stop lurking and start posting!!

tee hee EAH - wonder what the nurse would've said if ellie had said "OK then!!"

Sorry LTH and UD - I think you'll find I produced the cutest baby (check out my profile - have uploaded pic of J).

Well, Aptamil seems to be agreeing with my son so far - also the change in clothing is better, have been out today and had a bit of a splurge on dungarees and little romper suita - anything that doesn't have an elasticated waist band.

Lizz - thanks for the bra advice.

Have thrown my manky black pants away and am back in thongs , have shaved my legs and lady garden - attempted some contact sports last night but where my stitches were still feels tender so we gave up. Anyone else who has had stitches finding this and if so, how long do you think it will be tender for? Is there anything I can put on it to help - I am really really in need of some good sex (sorry if TMI) - I have rediscovered my horniness

EAH - V V disappointed all of the choc buttons have gone

Bollocks - still can't do that picture thing on my profile. Grrrrr!

wilkie - where did you get the dungarees? i've been looking for some cheap-ish ones for a while now. j is very cute...maybe it's just that January (and early feb, 2Happy & TR!!) are the cutest??

ok you can have the cutest boys I am claiming the 2 most beautiful dd's he he he

ud - i had that thought about the nurse to, hattie has had 4 poos this afternoon wondering if its from the jabs??

wilkie - just made some chocolate angel delight wold you like me to pass you some of that?

UD - got dungarees from Next and Matalan. Next also have some adorable short sleeve romper suits (£9 for 2).

EAH - [whiney voice] Noooooooo, I want Dairy Milk buttons (and come on...if you're making Angel Delight it has to be Butterscotch!!!)

Have written to work today to request part time hours (3 days per week) when I return - fingers crossed. If they refuse I will have to leave and find something else which would be a pain as I am on a really good salary and pro-rata would work out brilliantly - don't think I would find another job as well paid in this neck of the woods.

wilkie just for you went and bought some more from corner shop (well needed to replace ellie's) heres a bag

ellie loves butterscoth a/d but only had choc or strawberry when i went shopping! good luck for your new hours I had to fight for my days when i went back after having ellie had crap p/t hours to start with got a new boss after 2 months and he gave me my days (mon and fri) think my previous boss was a bitch (she had a real i'm the manager i'll do what i want attitude!)

Cheers EAH Mmmmm get that chocolate in ma belly!

Having a dilemma, J fast asleep on his playmat and has been since 6.15pm - he goes to bed at 9pm and am worried he won't go down. Should I wake him for the next hour?!?!?

Don't forget that program is on tonight at 9pm about the unmentionable person that is trying to close MN iykwim!

I'd be inclined to leave him,however, you could try picking him up and seeing if he rouses if he is flat out then he probably needs the sleep, Hattie goes to sleep by 7pm and sleeps till 7pm (albeit a 10pm and 3-4isham feed)

Glad you liked the chocolate did you notice they were the giant choc buttons!