The May 2007 Postnatal dilemma- 40 winks or 40 situps

[BefSnork]

thanks to soh/gw for the title

Hey guys. Tilda and I are back from Boston. Had a great time and I bought up big on clothes for her

Missed the chat and news from everyone. I got nothing at my 6 week check. Just are you having sex and checked my blood pressure. I thought it was total bollocks considering I had a CS and she didn't even check my scar.

Anyhoo - don't like that Scoot hasn't been online. I have her mobile so will call her and check she is ok - will let you guys know

Tam
xx

p.s LUPINS!!! i have tootsie rolls my friend so just need an address. Email me at cinnamon_to at yahoo.com

Sorry I haven't been around. Am in Cambridge awaiting start of Cambridge folk festival. Wahooooooooooooooooooooo! (it's the exhaustion I'm afraid). Haven't got time to read up so am making up my own May 07 news. In my head, LG&T and MKG are pregnant again and AM and Pebble are trying. MrsJB is thinking about it perhaps...

All well here. M weighs over a stone and has put on 6lb since birth. She's in 3-6 months clothes- snugly- and is officially the biggest human tank ever birthed in the East of England. Am fully decked out in patchwork, home-made stuff and look frightful but am inordinately happy and have festival fever. M has taken to sleeping 8hrs straight at night which is a jolly good thing as she doesn't sleep at all during the day. Await the Cambridge Festival TV footage with baited breath ladies, I'll be at the front during Show Of Hands with my norks out (not in appreciation of the music, I guarantee M will be feeding throughout).

Anyway, am having bbq to celebrate M's crashing entrance into the world on August 19th. All welcome. Please come!

See you when the festivities are done.

Hi All

AM I sympathise - I to did a 3hr ironing stint the other day, grrrrr, and guess what there is already another hrs worth at leat built up again, do you want to meet next week - i really must avoid donuts, well maybe if you threatened to break my arm unless i ate one, then it wouldnt really be my choice i would have to do it !! can do monday, wednesday or thursday or the weekend altho town at the weekend is grim!!

Cinntam, glad you had a good time, will be emailing you shortly - they are soooooo lovely help yourself if you havent tried any yet

GW glad to hear you sounding soooo happy, I cant belive M's weight

I too am on a ebayinhg frenzy atm - names lupins71 if anyone is interested in little girls clothes - still got a ton to list tnite - whats everyone elses ebay names i love having a look at other peoples auctions

We are off to swimming today - did think about putting A in him floatie thing but think we might just opt for the creche this time

Yet again another sleep record - 7 hrs last night 7-2 yipeeeee

Keep trying to get into my hp book but have no time have read about 5 pages, trouble is i reall want to do a good stint a it and get engrossed but must get this stuff on ebay and have nooooo time in the day now its the holidays

Have a good day all - hope scoot is ok

tam - tried emailing you but seem to have a problem it wont send - can you email me [email protected] thx Lisa x

how often would you bath a 7 week old?
i was doing twice a week. thinking thats not enough so now gonna do every other day. but others i have spoken to bath every day.
what do you do?

MID I bath Archie every eve it is part of his bedtime ritual. But we only use water no products. I think itss personal preference I was talking to a friend the other day who has never bathed her 7wk old she just tops and tails her.

Regarding the ironing is that what the pile of clothing is thats creeping up the wall is? I was expecting the cleaner to do it but as she has not come back since I asked her not to smoke in my flat I guess I will have to do it myself.

Halfway through HP I have no idea how you girls who have more than one child have already finished it - do you have a secret staff that you keep under the stairs to keep things running while you read?

MID I bath R every night but mainly because I always did the same with ds and he had a brilliant night time routine from an early age. She definitely gets off to sleep easier if she does have a bath and her only unsettled nights have been the ones wothout a bath. She definitely knows it is a signal to say 'it's bedtime now'. I don't alwyas use loads of products though.

Oh god, just back from baby massage - fu**in nightmare! I've been put in a group of 3 (including me) and one of the women is the most prissy cow I've ever had the misfortune to meet. She completely looked down her nose at me the entire time for being a 20 year old single mum. She hmmmed at the fact I had stopped breastfeeding, and scoffed in horror when I suggested she should try biting her babies fingernails if she was having no luck cutting them! (I find it easier and a lot safer, I was just trying to make a helpfull suggestion.) ARGH! I just want 1 mum friend the same age as me or near to it, just 1. Not that vile effort of a human being that's gonna look at me like a peice of crap because I'm 20 years younger than her and I don't consult some Nazi baby book every time my baby has a sniffle ffs! She was so anal about EVERYTHING. Might see if I can try and set up a young mums group where I live and see if there is any interest cause I can't keep getting shunned because I'm younger than these woman and not married.

On the other hand I thoroughly enjoyed massaging Charlotte and she seemed to like it too. My question asking whether I could use natural coconut oil instead of olive oil didn't seem to go down well with little miss that's beneath me however.

Madeindevon2 I chop and change washing C every day to every other day. If she's had a very explosive bottom one day she'll definitley have a bath. If she's been ok and just had wet nappies I'll leave it till the following day. Don't feel like you have to bath your baby every day if that's not what you want. There is no right or wrong, personally I' wouldn't leave it more than 2 days between baths though - purely because of the bowl movements my daughter is capable of.

AM you're a brave woman doing all that ironing. I don't mind it too much cause I love the smell of ironed clothes. Also find it quite relaxing for some odd reason

Lupins I would tell you my ebay name but it's my actual rl name in full so best not on a public forum.

GW have a fab time at the festival, am very jealous. Feels strange not calling you SOH!

Cinnamontam I'm glad you and M had a good time in Boston, again - jealous.

Abby good luck with the potty training

MID - Tilda normally has a shower with her Dad in the morning or me if the timing doesn't work. We just use water and I wipe her all over with a flannel. She loves it and has no cradle cap etc... her skin is beautiful
We do it most mornings but she will also often go 2-3 days without a shower. If we have more time then one of us runs an adult bath and gets in with her which she really loves
Floats like a little froggy girl

Lupins - I'll email you now

hello all! finally a chance to post as have been quite busy. we went to the lovebox festival last weekend which was fab - saw blondie play for the very first time and L loved it. there was even a tent full of cushions where you could breastfeed.

MKG am definitely with you on the ironing front - anything accidentally bought that needs ironing usually gets trashed or thrown pretty quickly! DP uses the iron for our shirts only.

RE bathing - I only bathed L once a week (in with one of us) until recently when shes a bit easier to handle. My mum's just shown me a fab way to do it, where you put about an inch or two of water in an adult bath, lay in a towel and put bub on that - she can kick and splash and keeps warm, but you have full access to clean.

I'm off to France this week too, so hope you all have a lovely time in sunny blighty

x

just come across this website which might be handy for some of you...

bringsome

MID we do it twice a week

Befsnork how do you have the time to come across all these site???

Just had a lovely swim with dd she loves the wave machine - plonked A in the creche so hour and a half he slept the whole time, made me laugh tho the said he makes some funny noises when he is asleep - you dont say!! althi he has got alot better

LW&L sorry your massage class wasnt a total success - there are some real snooty people out there - dont let it get to you xx keep trying is there a mum and baby class/ group near you?

Poor Cruz gets a bath when I can remember. I try once a week, but usually he ends up with a quick sponge bath with a wet washcloth. My goodness sometimes I forget to bathe myself how can I remember to bathe someone else. Except Mateo he's a mess all the time and he loves it.

This potty training lark is exhausting. Today we have 1 full on wee accident and 2 little ones and 1 poo ones. He has done lots of wees on the potty but they are all tiny - for those of you in the know, do you think every 30 mins is too often to put him on the potty? He doesn't know when he needs to go yet so it's trial and error. Maybe LG&T is the person, she must have done it hundreds of times....Biggest success of the day was him waking dry from a 45 minute sleep - cue 2 Smarties and lots of loony jumping around!!
Also on the success front - R has slept nearly all morning today and settled herself beautifully. She has slept a little this after noon but she is, dare I say it, content!

AbbyLou, I started with 30mins for the first 2 days. Then went to about an hour on day 3. When he starts kicking off about sitting on the potty, ie' No, Mummy I don't need to, I don't need a wee etc.... then he is begining to get the hang of it. Whatever you do, DO NOT PUT HIM back in a nappy. It is the most important rule when potty training. Only at bed or nap time should you put a nappy on him. You have to be prepared at all other times. Plenty of changes of clothes, plastic bag and towell on car seat. Short journeys for a few days. Potty always to hand. A sticker chart can really help too.
The reason this is such an Important rule is that the child needs to understand what is happeninig, by putting a nappy on them on Ocassions it confuses them very quickly, they can not understand that they have one on one minute and not at othertimes. The second important rule is to try to keep clothes on him. It will help him to understand that wet clothes and constant changing is not much fun, if they are in the nude they do not get the idea quite so quickly.

Sorry to sound like I know what I'm talking about but I followed these guide lines very strictly with H and he was dry in 3 days, clean in 4 and on the 5th night refused to put a nappy on, he had accidents in the first two days but has NEVER once wet the bed.

thanks to all re bathing.
i wanted to bath more but concerned about drying his skin.
he had really bad spots at 2 weeks til 5 weeks and has dry skin now and cradle cap!
not using any products but just water can be drying too.
but think i will bathe a bit more often as he likes it! (and helps with nightime routine)

Evening

Another miserable day here, wheres the summer??

I bath Alana either every day or every other depending on how much time I have spare although ive found that getting Ds2 to share a bath with her makes its a lot easier. At this age bathing a baby is more to do with personal preferences than nessecity, its not as if they are running around outside and getting dirty although im sure they would like to.

GW i assure you that im not trying for another baby although i agree with MKG that im missing being a part of an ante-natal thread. I know i moaned about being pregnant but I miss my bump my jelly belly just isnt the same lol

Ive just started sorting out a few things to put on ebay, mainly maternity and newborn. I actually feel quite sad when i think of selling some of Alana's things, it feels as though she is growing up too quickly

Thanks for that MrsJB. As you advised I have been determined to go 'cold turkey' and he hasn't had a nappy on at all during the day for 2 days now. I don't believe in pull-ups either, just more expensive nappies if you ask me.
He doesn't always have a nap now although he fell asleep on the sofa for 45 minustes today. When he woke up he was dry so I was very pleased. We haven't had any poo successes so far but he's getting there with weeing. The problem is he does a tiny wee on the potty, says he's finished and then does the rest afterwards somewhere else! I've been trying hard to get him to stay on the potty longer. On Sunday we have a 2 hour car journey so I'm not sure how that's going to work yet.

Anyone heard from Scoot? I tried calling her mobile but it was turned off so then sent a text but as of yet no answer...

I tried texting Scoot a few days ago and didn't hear, and tried again just now. Trying not to worry too much as she can't get mobile service when she's in her house. I'll write a note and post it in the morning.

I bathe A every night, but only because it's her bedtime ritual. When she was fractious and overtired at the in-laws (and I was considering not bothering with the bath), I stuck her in a sink full of water and gave her a once over and did as much of the bed routine as I could, (closing curtains etc) and she settled down.

I think the people who have finished Harry Potter must have house-elves or something...

GW - at you seeing Joan Baez. Hope it's great. Super news about the 8 hour sleeps. You deserve it! I get back from Chamonix on the 18th. Will see if I can swing a trip to Norfolk the next day - would love to see you. Send me the details.

LW&L - That woman sounds like a nightmare, but take it from someone who knows (I was 16 when I had DD1), please; she may not have been looking down on you for being a young mum. She probably just looks down on everyone. Be careful not to think that every awful person is behaving that way because of your circumstances. It will just make you miserable. You'll be very sensitive and expecting people to take issue with you, but people can surprise you. At 20, you're hardly a gymslip mother. Hold your head high and good people will give you the respect you deserve. The rest aren't worth worrying about.

Abbylou, the sticker chart may help with the whole wee in the potty. A little sticker for a little wee and a huge sparkly, fun sticker for a whole wee. H found the poo's tricker, it's a bigger action for them to get to grips with but usually once they've done one then they are happy about it.

By tommorow you should have a pretty good idea about how long he can go or needs between wee's. Putting a time on the sticker chart can also be useful to help you see a pattern. H was 2.3yrs when I did him, I was amazed that he actually only needed a wee about 3/4 times a day after about 3 or 4 days. The car journey will be OK. Make sure you have a carrier bag and then a towel on top of his car seat and a spare set. Plenty of changes of clothes. Don't let him have a drink for about an hour before you go if you can manage it and obviously make sure he does a wee before you go. Potty to hand in the car and maybe try to stop each hour to try him. I'm sure you are already but if not try to get him to start thinking about whether he needs to go, ask him before you make him go on the potty. Ask him directly though, do you need a wee? or do you need a poo, if he says No then ask him if he'd like to sit on the potty and try to get another sticker on his chart, if he still says no then remind him to tell you if he needs to do a wee or a poo. By starting this tommorow(if you haven't already) then it may mean that by Saturday he is begining to ask to go and hopefully you won't have too many probs on your journey.

I'm going to do Maddie in Oct, I can't wait!! She's not 2 yet but she is very interested in the potty and often tells me when she is doing a wee or has done a poo.

evening all, a bit busy here with lots of guests and school holidays.

We bath J every day really just for his bedtime routine, it seems to chill him out and now he loves it.

Gosh MrsJB you are potty training expert Stick with it Abby, shouldn't take longer than 2 weeks. DD took 3 days just before her 2nd birthday and DS took 2 weeks at just after his 2nd birthday, but is still in pull-ups at night a year on.. I haven't the energy for sheet changing just yet! It seems tedious at the start but well worth it. MrsJB's advice sounds good to me, I shall be coming back for more in about 2 years time

Have a great time GW/SOH at the folk festival.

And good to have you back Tam, hope you shopped til you dropped

Hello to everyone else.

I do hope Scoot is ok, probably a very simple explanation.

Thats a great idea about the note to scoot tyg. Please tell her that we are all thinking about her and hope they are all well.

LW, pahhh to the snooty woman at the baby massage class. I bet she is just jealous that you are a young, slim, beautiful free mummy, she's probably bogged down in her snooty boring life. >

I try to bath Jorja most days but I have no routine, it's just when I have time and she is awake. Today it was 3pm I use a tiny squirt of Johnsons moisturising baby bath but then I've never stuggled with H & M they are both very lucky and have lovely skin.

Jorja had a fab night last night, she fed at 11pm was asleep by midnight and slept til 9.40am. Would have been perfect if Maddie wasn't awake from 2-4am, grrrrr

Oh there's AM on MSN, I'm coming two ticks. xxx

Hope everyone else is well. ttfn

We bath Ella every day as part of her & Jack's bed time routine.

Been running round like a headless chicken today trying to get the last of the bits i need to take on holiday. Think i have them all now (fingers crossed). Started packing this evening, have so far managed to get most of the childrens done, just need to add sleepsuits and pj's then thats them done.

Been to Mothercare and Next today to check out the sales. Got a lot of bits for Ella & Jack and a swimsuit for me! Ella's is pretty much all for next summer with just a few extra bits that i have had my eye on. Jack's is mainly wintery stuff, jeans, trousers, long tops etc

No house-elves here unfortunately. Just an understanding dh and a ds who was happy to play outside in the newly finished garden Managed to read whilst feeding Ella and when she slept. Like i said in earlier post all the housework and ironing got put on hold.

MrsJB, hows the weather doing?? Do i need to pack wintery clothes? Having problems with the Cozy Coupe. Mothercare have no idea when they are back in stock There are still some on ebay i think.

GW, no more babies in the AM household. We are done thank you very much

MID I was speaking to hv the other day about dry skin, dd had it really badly as a baby and A'S feels dry but is no way as bad yet - anyway bath and wash using aqueous cream, it will clean as well as moisturise, then use oilatum/ diprobase - you can get all of this on prescription from your gp and if your hv can do prescriptions from them too (mine dont this time round ) we are doing all this anyway, but definatly do not overbath and use the moituriser twice a day

Feeling very tired tnite, so am going to go and curl up with someone called harry and hear about whats been going on at hogwarts, nite all xx

Really hoping scoot is ok