October 2007 - the golden piglets have landed

[Mumpbump]

I couldn't find a postnatal thread - not sure if I am just missing it with post-childbirth brain! Anyone else around??

Muppet I carry Adam in a sling too if I have stuff I need to do.

Choc good luck with pil's!!! And I agree with Apricott about alcohol and bf - I was also told by mw that only a very tiny amount goes into your breast milk so its a myth that you shouldn't drink while bf. Another guilt trip for mums!!!

Dal Adams po sounds much like you describe since starting ff...

Well Adam has been started on gaviscon for probable reflux so here's hoping he's more settled...

Ejt hope mairwen is OK. And you of course.

Hope everyone else is doing OK too....

Muppet we have a hugabub which is bloody great. Totally hands free and supports your back well. Have to buy online - I got mine on ebay. Have also had a baby bjorn but this is MUCH better

I have a Kari-Me sling - soft wrap one - which is fine. It did hurt my back a bit once ds1 was about 6 or 7 months, but then I moved the loops which sit in the small of your back down so they were over my bottom and it was then fine. Joe sleeps really well in it - it's really snug and I bet you can get second-hand ones reasonably cheaply - new mine cost about £40.

Check out this muppet www.hugabub.com/

I got mine new on ebay for £47.50 - second hand ones are about £30

Alice - snap! I think they are great! I lent mine to my friend who had no. 2 last December and she never used anything else - including the sling her workplace gave her when she left... I am planning on getting my sister one too...

Also means you can calm no1 while playing with no2 doesn't it? Def a bonus!

alicet - it looks complicated to put on, how easy/difficult is it. For example if I wanted to put Ben in it from out of the carseat for when dropping Sam off at nursery, I want something as quick as getting the seat out of the car, but obviously it won't beak my back like carrying the seat does

I think it's the same as mine in which case, it is dead easy once you get the knack of it. It's fairly easy to get them in and out, but I tend to drive in mine rather than putting it on and off.

Ah... never thought of that whats it like when you are wearing a coat, do you put it over the top or the coat over the top?

Read this with interest - since am a bit housebound once DH goes back to work thanks to C-section, will deffo get one of those. Which ebay seller did you choose Alice?

Oh and any thoughts on colours? is it sensible to buy a dark one? (she says, eyeing up the pretty coloured ones...)

Thanks for the bf advice too. Hurrah. Couldnt bear being deprived red wine for too much longer...!!

MrsFish agree with mump that the first couple of times you get a bit tied in knots then its a piece of piss after that. I wear mine under my coat so it fits snuggly and then if I get too hot I can take the coat off rather than sweating like a llama! Agree too that it would be v easy to put on before you leave the house then put your lo in.

Choc I bought it from sophusamicus - she was v helppul, it arrived less than 24 hours after I have bought it and she exchanged the one I originally bought as I didn't like the colour. Bought the mocha one as I thought it would be all warm and choclately but in fact as dh put it I looked like an extra from Robin Hood! Went for black in the end as it goes with everything - would like the red / cream one but I wear a lot of pink!

One of the best things I have bought - wish I had had it with Sam!

And it does look exactly like mumps - did a web search on hers!

Choc if you like you can have a play with mine when we come visiting to make sure you like it if you like. Can bring baby bjorn too for you to compare to...

Thanks Alice, I think I will get one as he is definately a mummy's boy!
I did have a front carrying one with Ollie but found it hurt my back too much so never used it. This looks a lot better..

How often do you use it and will I be storing up problems for the future by not putting him down now -what do we all think?

I bathed both boys tonight with Ollie in the big bath and Henry in the baby bath. The running commentry from Ollie from his boat and diver was hilarious!! Then we had story and Henry was fast asleep on Ollie's bed so I kissed Ollie good night and then put Henry to bed where he still is now! (from 7pm) I MANAGED both boys in the bath. Good God isn't it funny what constitutes an achievement once you've had children!!

Dh has ordered the Chinese takeaway and also bought cakes (he's soooooo fab) so I'm off to eat, eat, eat.

Take care all
x

I have a calin bleu wrap sling - and now that Mairwen has calmed down in general, it's great - she naps in it for her late afternoon nap, so I can go and pick up ds without disturbing her!

Tying it is a piece of cake once you get used to it = it's just a bit daunting when you're faced with 5m of fabric!

In fact I have 2 - a fleecy one for the cold weather, and a plain cotton one for everyday - and yes, I do put a coat over it - but it has to be a big coat! I generally just wear a long-sleeved tshirt underneath my sling, as I get so incredibly hot - it's like wearing a hot water bottle!

Alice - thanks for the book - it arrived yesterday - the description of a reflux baby could have been written looking at Mairwen! Thanks also for the card - chocolate is most definitely the answer! I had this book when I first had ds, but got rid of it, as there was no way I was ever having any more (or so I thought!!)

muppet - I am incredibly impressed with your weight loss - I was 13-5just before M was born - I was going to do a weigh in and take a photo on my due date, but as I didn't quite get there, I didn't manage it! Anyway, I've gone down to about 12-2 ... am not pushing it until after Christmas - then it's back to Slimming World for me - you can do a modified form of their plan when bf, so it's ok!

Well, the ejt household is a lot calmer ... the Gaviscon appears to be working - Mairwen is constantly propped up - I was going to get a special pillow - but they cost $121 - so I posted a wanted request, and a lovely MNer has offered me her pregnancy wedge - I've managed to prop up the cot and the crib, and the pram is no longer flat, but propping up the change mat is a bit more difficult!

I still haven't got around to phoning the bf counsellors (I hate using the phone), and as a result of trying to feed her more upright, I have the mother and father of all backaches! Resolution for this weekend - phone the bf counsellors! Which would you recommend?

I was thinking of putting Mairwen onto 1 ff a day (the late night one) to try to get her sleeping, but as the reflux problem would probably be worse with her on formula, she's staying on an exclusive diet of booby juice for the time being!

Right, off to put a heat pack on my back ... wonder if dh will give me a back rub? May have to promise him some hot loving in return !

Hiya to everybody else!!

I put it over one layer of clothing and then add baggy cardigan/coat etc. over the top. Ds then goes inside the sling in his vest and sleepsuit only - he does sleep all the time! - and has my body heat to keep him warm.

The other advantage of these is that if you go from cold to hot, you just strip off your layers until you're comfortable and you know that baby is okay whereas with prams, I figure it might be trickier to get the clothing/covers right for the weather and it would be easy to overheat baby when you then go inside shops/cafes etc.

Plus, as Alice says, you can virtually forget about the baby and deal with your older child more easily, the sling hides wet patches from leaky nips (if relevant ) and you can put one of the "straps" over the baby's head so it holds their head to your body. Very yseful if you want to climb through tunnels with your older child as I was doing yesterday!!

X post with Mumpbump ... and it's all true!

Dead impressed at ejt even contemplating hot loving. I am far too paranoid about falling pg again this soon after Joe as I did after ds1!!

Just bought one from her...

She's got a great shop -shame I didn't find it until now!

Thanks Alice
x

Muppet - at what point does it ask you to specify colour? I have committed to buying one, but can't see where I can put this option?

Hi Choc, Zoe is doing really well thanks, despite the reflux she is putting on weight, she was 8lbs 7oz when born and last week at 6 and a bit weeks was 11lbs 4oz. She is still on exclusive breast milk, I am doing a mixture of BF and EBM. The EBM allows me to mix the thickener for the reflux in her bottle. Also means that I can make up slightly bigger bottles so DH can do a night feed at the weekends for me best of both worlds in my opinion. Plus I have been really lucky in that I haven't suffered from sore nipples or anything like that. I hope your trip to Tesco went well and that your MIL wasn't too judgemental, its hard to ignore the comments especially when you need reassurance that you are doing a good job. My mum was a fab help to me when Zoe was born and I couldn't drive, she came over every day helped with Zoe and also did things round the house, but she also did my head in at times because we are so different, mum keeps her house like a show house whereas I like my house to look like it is lived in Mum kept asking me if I would like her to tidy up I just kept saying the house was tidy

Hi everyone else hope you are all well. All this talk of drink is making me want one although I think a drink would knock me out at this stage. For what its worth I don't think that 1 or 2 glasses while BF makes a difference, a friend advised me to just have it as close to the end of one feed as possible to give the alcohol time to work its way out of your system.

Ok so to those whose babies are sleeping through the night or are even in a routine how do you do it? Zoe is demand feeding and really doesn't understand the meaning of routine!

Polar - great to hear from you and it sounds like you are doing really well! Adam is certainly not sleeping through the night - although he is a LOT better than Sam was at this stage! Geedy said that she had a magic plan to make them sleep through the week by 8 weeks - still waiting to hear from her how she does it! Thinking of offering her a job!

MrsF and muppet think should tell her that I have given her so much business!!! MrsF I added a note in with the paypal payment to tell her what colour I wanted. Agree with mumps comments too about how great they are!

Muppet I use it mostly while at home as tend to take Adam in the pram when we go out. Have used it out though and will do more so I can play with Sam at soft play and stuff. I'm not thinking about problems for the future - will deal with that if it happens! The dvd that came with it said that babies who are 'worn' close to their parents end up more confident and sociable or something like that) anyway rather than clingy...

Ejt - glad mairwen is happier and that the book arrived OK. We have gaviscon too now so lets hope it works for us too!

Anyway off to bed now ladies - see you all tomorrow...x

Muppet - missed your question about not putting your ds down. Ds1 was a nightmare to put down, but ds2 will go down (tummy down admittedly) fairly happily in his cot despite co-sleeping with me since birth and being carted everywhere in a sling. I have come to the conclusion that it might have more to do with a baby's natural temperament at this very early stage than sleep associations.

Can you tell that ds1 has been in nursery today and my dsc are now looking after ds2 - feeling quite proud of my participation in this thread today!! Now it'll probably be another month before I make it back!

Thanks alicet - bought, just hope I get use out of it now

Sure you will MrsF and if not you will be able to get most of the money back selling it on ebay anyway!

See you again in amonth then mump!

ejt not wanting to confuse you but a friend of mine was told that if she FF her baby the reflux would be better not worse. I think its because formula is thicker than breastmilk and is therefore harder for the baby to bring up. If you don't want to introduce formula would you consider expressing? Then you could still get DH to do one of the feeds?

Choc, I too was house bound and thought I would feel really trapped, but looking back I think it was really good for me, it forced me to stay in the house and recover, so when I started going out last week I was really ready for it.