May 2007 Postnatal, sleep and smiles only please babies!!!

[Mrsjaffabiffa]

Thought it was time for a new thread.

Ella has just guzzled 4oz of formula! No protests nothing, help the bottle herself and fell asleep. Fingers crossed that it has the desired effect!

SOH, I have a lovely bottle of medised with your name on it. Missed the post but will send it in the morning, should get to you on Saturday

KK's/Quavers will be posted tomorrow also

SOH - remember that old adage, "Feed a cold; starve a fever"? It's more or less true. When you have a virus (anyone who has had a proper dose of flu can attest to this), you don't want to eat or even feel particularly hungry.

As MrsJB says, she has loads of reserves. That won't make you feel much better right now, but it's true. Lots of love to you all.

I am a walking medical mystery at the moment. My hideous skin rash (which LG&T had the misfortune of seeing yesterday) has stumped two GPs at my practice. Tch. Had to go for bloods today and they managed to get me a dermatology appt for next Thurs.

A woman I go to baby massage with has turned out to be a homeopath. She's going to take my case tomorrow and see if she can recommend something. Hopefully that will clear it before my appt. It's spreading to my face now. Ewww.

SOH my lovely I'mm so sorry you're having a rough time with M at the moment. I truly hope you and her are on the mend soon. I am sending you a mahoosive hug and putting all me energy into it.

Have just been reading all of our old posts from the ante natal boards and birth annoucments and it has made me all tearfull lol. To think that it was only a few months ago. Was reading Scoots posts telling everyone that I was going in for an induction etc and just made me think of it all again. Hadn't really thought about it all since it happened. Have had a bizarre rush of emotions thinking of those memories.

Felt myself getting frustrated with Charlotte earlier as she was unsettled and crying a lot, but have just gone into check on her and have had the biggest rush of love towards my little girl that it feels strangely unreal. She is getting so big and I think that with all the recovering and adjusting to becoming a mum I have been blind to just how quickly the time has gone. All of a sudden I'm sat here with a 4 month old baby girl snuggled up in bed and I cannot believe how quickly it has all gone. It's making me wish I had taken a minute to stop and appreciate it all a bit more.

I keep flitting from feeling envious of all my old friends and their student lifestyles to overjoyed with my life with my daughter. I feel like I'm in a wired place, and keep questioning whether I'm giving it my all. I never imagined being a mum would rack me so full of guilt for things that can't really be helped, as I'm only human! I'm not making any sense am I!!!

Suppose I just feel like I should be giving C more attention, but then if I did that I wouldn't be concentrating on myself at all. Why does motherhood have to be so darn complicated and full of contradictions!

Got C's passport now, arrived after only a week of being sent away, and have now applied for her European Health Insurance card. Think my place at Aberdeen has been confirmed and I'm in.....I think. Feeling even more pleased after my mum told me that in ranks 31 in the UK for Universities. Apparantly it's a good uni, which means I start in January. It's long distance so I can stay at home with C and study, though I need 16 hours of work experience, which is fab cause I can get out of the house and into a school for 2.5 days a week. Just need to arrange finances for it and get a childminder sorted. Degree from Aberdeen Uni and 2 years of work experience is not looking too shabby to me at the minute, and will hopefully mean getting onto a teacher training course will be slighlty more in my favour. Had the chunkster weighed on Tuesday (17 weeks) and she is 14lb 2oz! The last time she was weighed she was only 11lb 13oz. That hungry baby milk is obvioulsy going down a treat!

Hope you are all ok, I'm over my cold/flu thingy but C still seems to be suffering a bit. Must go to bed, night all x

Hoping you and M had a better night SOH, have you got a voice yet, can i call?

The kids have an inset day today (oh f**ck excellent) but dh wanted a lift in to work, his legs are tired from all the cycling . Anyhoo meant i had to put all the kids in the car at 720 this morning Luckily he works opposite a Mcdonalds so pancakes for all as compensation, me included. That will help the 'get back in my jeans' campaign not.

Have finally put a pic of B scoffing his baby rice on my profile, Cam all my others refused baby rice and went straight to 'proper' food. B is obviously desperate

TYG poor you my sweet, wander what it is? Sudden allergic reaction to D perhaps, or maybe nappy changing\washing up?????!

Must get organised, washing pile taller than me

AM you are such a sweetie

Well the formula trick didnt work - damn it! she was up twice.

I guess i should drag my backside upstairs and get dressed. Have spent all morning putting things away and putting photos in albums!

soh i feel for you. im still in chickenpox hell. (also a virus and lasts 7-10 days they say)
freddie slept from 7 til about 10.15 last night then screamed/cried/wimpered etc etc til 6am. slept again til 9.30. did a massive poo (maybe that was the prob? having sore throat can give you funny tummy....?)
been asleep with few little intermissions since 11....
it would be great to have a bit more sleep tonight but i cant bring myself to wake him now hes settled...hes ill surely he needs the sleep? he doesnt deserve all this at only 15 weeks old!

congrats on the exams....
scoot....gulp....u must be going for some sort of record!?
hi everyone....off to read some more and try catch up whats going on here.

just read your other post soh. sry it sounds like a nightmare for you. i feel bad for complaining about freddies chicken pox nows as im well....i can care for him. im just knackered...and being a mum i should be able to deal with that!
really hope you both get better soon.

MID, my ds had the Pox at the end of July and it was awful,his entire nappy area was covered in massive blisters. It's horrid and am not looking forward to Ella getting it. I was hoping that she may have gotten it at the same time, so that she was to little to know about it.

I AM SOOOOO BORED - i have tons of stuff to do and have zero motivation. I need a holiday away from the same old same old. I just want to veg and sleep but i know that i have ironing and cleaning to do. Sorry to moan - feel bad doing it as there are some of you battling illness

Will go away and try and find a little motivation.............

Hi all

Super & LG&T - lovely piccies!

SOH -Hope u are having a better day today

MID2 -Hope u have a better night tonite

Cam - hope the carrot goes down well!

Had G weighed yesterday @18 wks he is 14 lb 15 oz, measured his height this am and he is 66 cms, so methinks he will be towering over me when he is older!

Am - i don't know where you find the time to do these jobs! I am still in my pj's slovenly woman that i am!

LW - congrats on your exam results -I know what you mean a little about juggling student and motherhood, i am just about to start my changes to my phd thesis and i am feeling awful about not seeing G two days a week - it might go up to three depending on how things go - i really wanted my phd out of the way for when G came so that i could devote all my time to him for the first year at least. However i have to do some changes before i get the phd, and having spent four years doing it, i don't just want to walk away from it.

really looking forward to this weekend as Dh not working for once will be have to have some nice family time together.

Am - i have gone for the veging and sleeping option today - am bloody knackered!

Tut, tut you slacking ladies...

I have cleaned both bathrooms, scrubbed the kitchen floor, polished and hoovered right through and done 2 loads of washing Dontcha just hate love me

Have made B up a batch of creme de carrot with booby milk for his tea tonight. Am thinking he will gobble it up based on the last 3 nights wolfing down of the baby rice. Orange bibs it is....

SOH hope you are ok.

Mum2G i would opt for the vegetating mode if i could You too AM.

Beer time methinks, i have earned it

Vegetating? Vegetating? Long gone from my repertoire...

But orange bibs here we come! J gobbled up the orange stuff just in time to show off to daddy who appeared with impeccable timing and disrupted the whole proceedings Out goes the baby rice and in in in goes the carrot, yippee! Thank goodness dh is back, I am tired.

I luuuurrrvvve to clean, anyone want to compare their favourite products, come to me

April, if you are so bored, get yourself over here, I need some spreadsheets amaking.

Good luck Mumto with the rest of the thesis, well done on being so motivated.

MID, I hope the pox doesnt go on much longer, poor you and freddie. Maybe TYG that's what your skin rash is about?

LG&T oh baking goddess - any ideas for me to make for a harvest festival stall???

hi just popping in quickly - will catch up tomorrow, all of you who are thinking of weaning - huuugggggeee recommendation for the annabel karmel food blender £16.99 from boots its fantastic - whizzes up purees in about 30 seconds flat

hope your all well

Good lord ladies dont jump the gun...I cant be preggers again..I refuse to believe it for now, am only two days late and am putting it down to stress and being poorly..will get house move out of the way, then think about that one anyway!
But you are right Lgandt..if I were, at the time it was born I would actually have managed to have got 3 kids under 2 and a half...christ on a bike!

How so MKG?Have you had a fight?

Good o LWandL...sounds good with the uni etc!So proud of you with the exam results again!

Any word from SOH today?How is Mathilda?

What does the rash look like TYG?Does it itch?

M too little just yet to wean, thank God..I hate all the mushing carrot malarkey..

Glad DH is back Cam..you must get pretty knackered when he is gone with your brood..Cillit Bang..I bloody love the stuff!

Nice pics Super..

Lots of love to you and F MID...xx

M was up all last night again snuffling and coughing and very hot..got a bit scared she would have a febrile fit, which is a Lily trick..so undresed her and sponged her down which she did not take kindly to, but she was ok and cooled down after some Medised..ruddy tiring though for me and for her, poor mite..

Well im off to bed with my Idiots guide to pregnancy book I joke of course..crikey!

Harvest Festival Stall Cam?!Who would've thought the wife of a spy would be into such WI type things?!But if you want to send any samples my way do feel free..and no jokes about eating for two..

Evening all

Thought i would post before i go to bed because I doubt if i will get on here again this weekend. Its ds2's birthday party Sunday so I have lots to do. It was just supposed to be a small thing but at the last count there seems to be 17 children and 15 adults coming, he also has a bouncy castle as planned and on top of that MIL has booked a face painter and balloon artist, my sons not spoilt much is he? Have got him a great cake, its a Pirate of the Carribean themed one with his photo on. I dressed him up as Jack Sparrow and took the picture, he didnt know what it was for so he will be suprised when he sees it on Sunday

Have heard from ym friend with the poorly baby. Scarlette had a blocked bowel and has had quite a lot of it removed poor thing but at 7.30am today they were planning to take her off the morphine so all seems well. My poor friend had been torn between being at home with her other children or going to be with Scarlette but now she's arranged it so that she can stay at Alder Hey with her other youngest child who has CF (the other children are old enough to understand that Scarlette needs her mummy with her)so I dare say that has been a great weight off her mind. Im just so glad that little Scarlette seem to be doing so well!!

I went to my old school's open evening last night with ds1, god it was weird. I got goose bumps as I walked through the gate, it hadnt changed too much and still smelt the same lol. It was strange seeing some of my old teachers, most looked a lot older but one hadnt seemed to have changed a bit, he had looked exactly the same when i was there 13yrs ago. I was a bit dissappointed though, the one teacher I really wanted to see wasnt there, he was off sick after having an op. The main thing is ds1 was impressed with the school and the 35min walk to get there didnt seem to put him off (of course if he walks it on his own its bound to take more like 55mins lol and after doing it in the cold wet winter he is likely to change his mind) I have arranged for him to go back there on Tuesday to have a taster of what it is like to actually be a pupil there. He has to be there by 9am, will go to lessons, they will provide him with a free lunch and then take him back to his proper school at 1.30pm, hes quite looking forward to it. All I have to do now is hope he gets in there so fingers crossed. On the application I mentioned the hell he has gone through at primary and said I didnt want him going to the same schools as the bullies which will be the two local ones so im hoping they take that into account. Because we live so far away it is rare that a pupil from his school applies to go there but i dont know if thats a good thing or not. Oh well we only have to wait until Feb to find out

Right im off now, hope everyone has a nice weekend and all those who are feeling under the weather I hope you are soon on the mend

AM how was your night - any better?? I know what you mean about being fed up with the same old same old!! made a real differance going out with you lot the other day - came home feeling quite chipper

MID hope you have a better night and little freddie is feeling better soon

LGT How did you get time to do that lot with all the kids off - you truly are amazing - i struggle to wash up with one at home

Hmmmm dont know what happened there it wouldnt let me write anymore

Mum2G well done on the little guy growing so well

Scoot - it probably is stress - I was late this month Af arrived yesterday, not before i completly panicked though and had done a test lol!!!

Pebble - hope your ds gets into the school, will make a big differance being away from those idiots. Hope the party goes well - cake this way pl

Right my ever hungry baby is calling again

Hi all, just a quick check in to say we're back from Center Parcs. We had a fabulous time, very relaxing. Now we just need to save up to go back! C was a super star and didn't moan about his plaster once and the cast protector worked a treat so he could still enjoy as much swimming as he wanted. R loved it too and adapted well to new surroundings - she is now also on solids and enjoying it very much. Catch up with you all soon,hope the meet up went well.

Quick straw poll - is anyone actually waiting to 26 weeks before weaning? Doesn't seem that way to me.

No.My hv tried to get me to do it at 16 weeks and I waited until 19. My ds was weaned at 16 weeks and hasn't suffered for it. When he was small the advice was 4-6 months. I think you know when they are ready. I also think there is a big push for baby-led weaning at the mo and you can't really do that before 6 months.

Super, I think most will go on their insticts tbh. Certainly second, third and 27 time mums tend to throw most of the advice/Rules out of the window. I would not hold my baby back if they were showing the signs and need for it, just because they were not 26 weeks, it's that bloomin age thing again, surely a baby's weight, growth and appetite should come into it.

Jorja is not interested at the moment, she is still very content on her 7oz every 4hrs and doing 10-12hrs overnight. The 26 weeks thing is only within the last few years, when I had Harrison who will be 5 at Christmas it was 16 weeks and I weaned him at 13 , Maddie was 6.5mths before she was ready so I'll just let Jorja tell me when she want's it.

Have you started yet super or are you hanging it out?

When i had ds in 2005 the weaning age was 17wks, so thats what i did and he is fine. Ella was definately ready and pretty much gums your hand off until you feed her. There is no way that i could have waited until 26weeks as she would have been a nightmare and would probably have been feeding 24/7. In theory i should have waited until 30weeks given that she was born at just over 36weeks - no way

As MrsJB said jsut follow your instincts - you know whats best for your baby. HV's are there to help guide you but can in fact just be a hinderence. They will tell you what they have been programmed to say that particular week.

All that blasted talk of cleaning got me all restless yesterday that I just had to go and clean the house from top to bottom. Felt much better..

Scoot - Cillit Bang, what a great piece of branding, naturally I am more of an Ecover lady, feeling as I must, that I should compensate somehow for the jetsetting 007's carbon footprint As for the Harvest Festival, well one does feel that one ought to put back into the community somehow - actually its a three line whip from the school, bring something or bring some money So whaddya fancy oh-possibly-pregnant-one, banana cake or Guinness and chocolate loaf?

Super, you have to go with your instincts on the weaning front, dd was weaned about 13 weeks (she was huge like J) ds at about 5 months, J is not guzzling down the carrots but is happy to try them, and he is already sleeping better. They say it shouldn't really make any difference to their sleep and that milk has more vitamins/nutritious/filling than veg puree but I always saw a difference in their sleep patterns after they had started on solids.

Can anyone help on the cradle cap front? Does olive oil really work or can anyone suggest any alternatives?

Pebble, happy birthday to E, hope you all have a fun day

YAY i have finished the ironing woohoo..... i know there is still loads to do but as yet is hasnt been washed so i am not going to think about it!!

Taking ds to Bird World today just to get out of the house. Got myself a years membership (43 quid) and means that i can go as many times as i like and i dont need to worry about how long i am there. An hour is just about enough. They have birds (obviously) and a little farm, penguins and an aquarium.

We are going to be putting Ella into nursery on a Friday until Christmas and then once the new year hits she will go in on the same days as Jack. It will mean that i can get the house up straight for the weekend and also let me get on with a few projects that i have. It will also mean that it wont be a shock to her when she goes in properly in the new year.

Happy Birthday to E. Hope your party goes well Pebble.