November 2007 - None-day Morning Lay Ins!

[RGPargy]

Hey ladies! Our thread was getting a bit long so i started a new one. Hope you dont mind!

Happy Birthday RG! I hope Ellie got you something nice Sorry to hear she has excema. My brother had it bad but most kids grow out of it as you probably already know. She's overtaken Sara in weight!

Silk - have the blisters disappeared?

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. My best friend came to stay for a while. It was lovely - we were like 2 old women sitting around chatting all day. She's 4 months pregnant so I introduced her to mumsnet, which meant I never got a chance to log in myself because she was always on!

Not feeling too clever today - have a bit of a sniffle but it seems to have sucked all the energy out of me.

Re: Sara. She is sleeping through, smiles on cue, has lovely little gurgle chats with me etc but she is not putting on weight. I think basically she is a lazy breastfeeder. Won't go back on after burping. She only put on 1/2oz last week and 1oz the week before. Going to get her weighed tomorrow/wednesday and if she still isn't putting on weight, I'm going to have to resort to formula. Not too stressed about it because I've given her 11 weeks of nothing but breast milk, which is a big achievement.

Would have been nice if she would have thrived on breastfeeding, but never mind eh?

Did my first henna booking since Sara's birth on thursday. Felt very out of practise but the bride was very pleased with what I did so that's the main thing. Sara survived the 4 hours without me very well. I left her with my mum and a bottle of EBM. So that is one milestone out of the way!

Better go and shower.

Hi Choudru!

Ellie (and daddy ) got me a dishwasher and a box of chocs. I know the dishwasher isn't very exciting as a 40th birthday present, but it's the only way i was ever going to get one by asking for it for my birthday lol. There's a method to my madness!! It's being delivered on Wednesday so we've moved the washing machine into the conservatory and have made a space for the new shiny dishwasher. How exciting!! (yes, i dont get out much these days).

I'm very at Sara sleeping through!!! I think Ellie is slowly getting there - she knows it's bed time when we take her upstairs and settles well (when we're not replacing her dummy every five minutes for the first hour lol) but she's still waking every 3 hours It's a shame that Sara's not putting on weight with BF but as you say, she's had 11 weeks of mummy's finest!

Can you believe that yesterday i got offered two gigs in one day!! One was in Feb/March for a gig up north and the other was in June for a gig in Sydney, Oz!! I'm quite gutted tho because obviously i've had to turn them both down. Even if i was FF i dont think i could go because it's too soon to leave Ellie for the length of time it would take to get up north, do the gig and then come back. It would mean her having more than one bottle of EBM and i'm not really prepared to do that at this stage. As for Oz, well unless DP and Ellie could come, it's not even worth thinking about! They've both said they'll think of me for another time tho so hopefully all is not lost on those two.

I'm going to be starting my weekly radio show again at the beginning of Feb so if you want something to get you bouncing in your chair on a Sunday early evening, let me know and i'll give you the details of how to listen online lol

Right, I'm off to sniff my baby (and apply more cream). Have a good day everyone!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Rg, happy birthday to you - that was me and Meggy singing if you couldn't hear us.

She's got the blister like thingies back again this morning - so will need to give her more medicine. But she drank 3oz milk at 4.30 and 4oz at 10am and wasn't sick - so maybe she's on the mend.

I started being sick at 5am - at the same time she had 3 consecutive lots of diarrhoea!! DH was fast asleep in other room - couldn't wake and ask him for help as he was so poorly himself. Nightmare being ill and trying to look after an ill baby.

Never mind I feel loads better now and have slept on and off since 6am.

Happy Birthday!

Dishwasher sounds fab! Think of all the extra time you've now gained, not washing up/drying! (so really its an excellent pressie of extra relaxation baby sniffing time!)

Hope you and Ellie are having a lovely day.

With the gig up North couldn't you express weeks in advance to stock up on milk it last 3 months frozen. Or is it that you don't like the idea of her drinking from a bottle?

Choudru- are you really worried about sara's weight gain? I've been told in my bf training that its common for b/f to not gain much on a weekly basis, thats why they advise to weigh monthy to avoid worry of weight gain after 6 week sign off from H/V. It may be that she's just feeding to her current requirement and will then have a big growth spurt. Is she producing lots of wet and dirty nappies?

Another lazy day today grey and windy can't face to go out.

Choudru- just thinking is the health visitor worried? If not (just talked to the lady teaching the course) She said a good way to raise weight quickly is to try and feed at least every 2 hours and also to make sure that there are two feeds between 10pm and 6am. That is if you want to continue bf. (which you may not so i'm not trying to push it upon you just trying to be helpful)

Thanks for the advice Berry - I do want to continue breastfeeding very much. I also heard that bf babies can fluctuate in weight gain from week to week. But if you look at the past 4 weeks, Sara has only put on 7.5oz in the whole month

The thing is, she feeds, has a big burp and then she rarely wants to go on the breast again. Yesterday I bfed her and as usual she wouldn't feed after burping. I then tried her with a bottle of EBM, and she gobbled down 3oz!

So she's obviously still hungry but doesn't want to feed from me. Maybe she's finding the bottle easier?

She does wet her nappy regulary and does a no.2 once a day so she must be getting something.

When I express, I usually get 2.5-3oz in 20 mins. Not sure if that is 'normal'.

Will ring up the NCT helpline I think.

RG - when you next come up north for a gig - try to come to Leeds! Well done on the offers by the way - will definitely be giving you a listen once you get going again.

Silk - poor you! It's pants being ill and having to soldier on with the LOs.

I just spoke to a lovely NCT breastfeeding lady. She suggested a few options to try

1. when feeding Sara, to take her off the breast after 2 mins, leave her 1 min and then put her to the breast again. She said to continue this until Sara stops feeding. It's a technique that people use to keep the baby interested in feeding so they don't get complacent.
2. It is possible that my initial milk comes out too quickly, overwhelming Sara. So try expressing 1/2-1oz before feeding so that the milk comes out slower once Sara begins to feed. This will also stimulate more milk to be produced.
3. To try fenugreek supplements or brewers yeast to increase milk production.
4. To wake Sara up in the night for an extra feed.

Worth a try...

Good luck with BF Choudru! It's interesting to hear about Saras feeding as Anabel is also not feeding for very long and is reluctant to have more after she is winded. She is growing well I think although she hasn't been weighed for 4 weeks. She has her 8 week check up this thursday so will find out. I think they get more efficent at feeding quicker. I also only get about 2 oz after 20 mins of expressing so it's a bit depressing but I'm sure DD is taking more than that in the same amount of time.

I'm going out for dinner with work mates on Thursday night so have expressed some for just in case she wakes up and will express each morning to have some supplies ready. Does anyone have any tips for expressing? Berry? I have an electric pump from boots (boots brand) What should I do when I go back to work with expressing? Its not for another 2 months but I have started thinking about it.

Happy Birthday RG!!!
I got a dishwasher in the summer when we did up our kitchen and I don't know how I coped without it. Enjoy it!!

I just heard the news article about drinking coffee in pregnancy- what will they come up with next? I must say coffee made me throw up when i was PG so maybe it was my body rejecting it. I hate the scare-mungering that goes on in the media about PG.

We are going to NZ in a month to visit the family and bought the tickets about 6 weeks before DD was born. W had to ring and confirm with her name and birth date etc and they have charged GB375 pounds for her ticket!! Outrageous! Our tickets are 800 and she will be only 3 months old. Day light robbery.

Yes good luck Choudru! I guess some babies grow faster than others. And Fiona - I think babies get more efficient, so it doesnt mean cos Anabel eats fast that she isnt eating much, IFSWIM.
Rebecca eats fast sometimes and other times slowly but the slow times I think she's comfort sucking... She's putting on oodles of weight anyway. I get about 120 ml in 20 mins expressing but it is pointless as Rebecca rejects any form of bottle feeding at the mo!

Happy belated birthday RG! And a dishwasher is indeed a thing of beauty, specially with a baby in the house (saves so much time).

Rebecca's good sleep was shortlived and she's rubbish again now. Never mind. I had root canal today - the last round of it - and feel proud to have got through it.
Hope you and los are all doing well! x

hello everyone,

good luck with the bf tips choudru, and happy birthday rg!!

i insisted on a little dishwasher when we got our kitchen in - it has revolutionised my evenings!

phoebe was 6 weeks old and weighed 12lbs yesterday - hope she's not going to be a bruiser like her mummy!!!

still nowhere near getting into my normal jeans. sob -my maternity ones are getting so raggedy i am going to have to buy a new pair i think. DP has suggested four laps of the local park which i thought might be a good plan (....well two anyway!) but it was pissing it down today so i went to meet my sister for lunch (after letting all the ladies at her work coo at LO for a while!) and then for coffee with a friend of mine who had me in stitches all afternoon with tales of meeting her dad's new woman and letting a few edgy comments fly----hilarious!

Re- bf after the burp = phoebe doesn't seem to want to continue after i've burped her either so i normally don't burp her till she either falls asleep on my breast or till after she's had a go at the other side too. Her weight gain os slowing down but still seems to be good. The past couple of days i've noticed she's a bit distracted from feeding and pulls off the nipple quite a bit. i'm just going to keep an eye on it and see how that progresses.

it's my 30th next week, boo hoo - PILS are trying to persuade us to go out and leave LO with them but the thought of being away from her makes me feel ill!!!!!!!

Where is everyone today???? Hello... Hello....

It is a bit quiet today...

Well I didn't manage to wake in the night to feed Sara. I don't think I can cope with it - am exhuasted enough as it is, running around after DS1 and looking after Sara. I just can't bring myself to interrupt my sleep

Have asked DH to pick up some fenugreek tablets for me today though.

It sounds like a lot of our babies don't feed much after a burp.

All this talk of birthdays - mine is in 2 weeks. DH is a lovely man but he is rubbish at birthdays. For my first birthday after we got married - he bought me a fecking FILOFAX! How unromantic. I was well annoyed. So I'm not holding my breath for this one. Maybe I should just get myself a lovely present

I'm going to admit what a bimbo I can be. I have a dishwasher and I don't use it! Only because of the fact that I'm not one to let dishes accumulate - I like to do them immediately. And anyway - I don't have enough dishes to be able to only do one wash in the dishwasher a day IYKWIM.

How do you all use yours? Do you let it fill up and use it once a day or do you use it even when it's not full???

Hello lovely mums! Hope you are all well.

Choudru I don't blame you not wanting to get up in the middle of the night! How is the stop/start method working out for you?

I have just started expressing because my DH would like to take me out for my birthday at the end of the month and I am surprised how emotional I feel about it all. Giving the DS a bottle after BF exclusively just felt weird and I felt a bit sad especially as it took him a while to work out that he had to suck. He was using all his best breast-feeding techniques LOL. Think I will feel even more sad when I see other people feeding him, control freak that I am! Hope you don't all think I'm a silly cow .

Ara, I am so sick of wearing the same clothes! Especially the jeans which may as well have been welded on. But when I look in the shops I am so distracted that I can't make up my mind what to buy. Anyone else struggling with decision making?!

RG - Happy birthday for yesterday, hope it was a good one.

Fiona - re your DD's plane ticket price!

Silk - hope Megan is better? My DH had urticaria a few years ago (he suffers really badly with hayfever and it seemed to stem from that) and it is not pleasant. Hope you are feeling better too .

Fiona- I would start expressing now stocking up!(not everyday) As breast milk lasts up to 3 months frozen. You can express throughout the day, topping up your milk as long as you keep putting it back in the fridge straight after. Make sure you date your containers and leave enough room for expantion(sp?) Are you planning to continue bf in the mornings and at night?

Is it also posible for you to express at work somewhere private during lunch, do you have somewhere to store it? This will help with your boobs getting too full and leaking and you'll also have milk for next day freeze etc.

I find that Coby will only take about 2oz per feed at the moment(same as he would get from a breast)So if Mil is looking after him for 4 hours i know that 6oz is more than enough to have on standby for her. Try to express to Anabels needs whilst your at work, if you over express you'll start making enough milk for 4 babies! Hope that helps! I'm still learning!

Just a quick update. Dh and I are fine. Megan has started to improve and has started eating again today (not as much as usual though). Skin is still not good but we are seeing the dermatologist tomorrow.

Hope all of you and yr babies are happy, healthy and sleeping at night

ps with freezing you can put it in any container as long as its sterile. And by starting a little now it will put less pressure on you when you first start back at work.

Hi all

Silk, glad Megan is much better - what a relief!!

Sarah, I know how you feel about expressed bottles, but now DD wont take one at all I wish she would, so I am contrary Mary!

Ara, Rebecca is putting on weight at the rate of knots too (also bf).

I have a query. My ex-line manager, who is still senior to me but no longer my line manager, has been asking to come and visit. Eventually I suggested either Friday morning or late Friday afternoon (I'm out for lunch) and he replied 'yes sometime late afternoon will be great: we'll just turn up, so see you then'. Is it rude to write back and impose a time? I'm not usually obsessive about the times people appear but I really dont want to be feeding when he comes, or to have R needing a feed, cos he's a senior colleague and it just feels odd. I should add that I am happy usually to feed in front of all and sundry - in cafes, pubs, in front of family and friends and even some colleagues, but not him. Am I being anal???

Evening ladies!

First of all, thank you for my happy birthday wishes! I feel like i'm out of touch with birthdays tho because when DP and I raised a glass of bubbly and he said "Happy birthday!" to me, I said thanx, happy birthday. He actually had to tell me that no, you dont say it back to people unless it's their birthday too lol. I spent the day doing bugger all (as usual) and then DP, PIL, Ellie and I all went to the pub for dinner. We had three courses again and Ellie was a trooper and slept all the way through again. Bliss! Cannot wait for my dishwasher. I'm sure i wont know how i coped without it after a day or two (will be filling it once a day, Choudru).

Silk - how's poor little Megan? Those blisters do sound painful. It's good that she's taken milk and wasn't sick tho. That's a sure sign that she's on the road to recovery. How are YOU feeling now tho? It's a pig having to be "normal" when you're sick as a dog.

Berry - it's just that i dont like the idea of her drinking from a bottle. I'm terrified she'll catch on that it's easier to feed from a bottle than it is to get it from the breast and then start to refuse the breast.

As for burping and then not feeding again, Ellie is like that alot of the time too. She's quite content to have one side, have a burp and then suckle away on her dummy for a bit. Sometimes what i've been doing is giving her a couple of minutes rest then trying her on the other side and 9 times out of 10 she'll take the other side for a bit too.

Choudru - hope you get the BF sorted out. Next time i'm in Leeds, i'll come meet you and LOM for cake.

Fiona - agree with all the rubbish scare-mongering. FFS, when will it stop!!! As for nearly £400 for DD's ticket, i agree that it is just pure robbery! She wont even be sitting on her own seat!!

Choc - how's the tooth today? Sorry that Rebecca's sleep is pants again. You spoke too soon on that one then!

Ara - 6 weeks old and 12lbs??! Wow! What a weight!!

Sarah - i'm also sick of wearing the same clothes too. I just bought a new pair of jeans and a top but the jeans are rather snug on my (rather large) thighs. i'm sure a few sessions in the conservatory will sort it out soon enough tho.

Right, off to sort dinner.

Back in a bit!

Silk - glad things are better!

Choc - You are NOT being anal and yes, impose a time!!!

Berry thanks for the advice. Can I just top up any milk expressed throughout the day in the same container? I bought those breast milk bags which are really good. I'm only expressing at first feed at the moment (I've only done it a few times) I will deffo be still feeding her in the morning and at night when I come home- give me an excuse to sit and be served cups of tea and biscuits after work and snuggle DD of course.
I deffo need to talk to my boss about expressing during the day as my boobs will not cope and be bursting. I'll gradually express less during the day so that should help the leakage. I'm a teacher so not sure were I will be able to express as not really something you can do in the staff room.

Choc- deffo would not be happy about that guy just calling round. I get a bit twitchy if people pop round expecting to be socializing in the late afternoon as DD gets really put off her feeds and she grizzles when there are people wanting cuddles at that time. I'm very anal though

Choudru- I just put stuff straight in the dishwasher and then put it on when its full usually about once a day. at you still doing washing up. When we move I'll have to wait for new kitchen to be put in to use dishwasher it will be a shock to the system to have to wash dishes again and I hate them sitting round staring at me.

RG/ Sarah- DD has been fine drinking from the bottle in the 3 times she has done it. I wouldn't worry as I think they like going back to the boob as its more familiar. It might help to give her a bottle of EBM every now and then so if you do need to be away from her for a few hours one day you know she will cope. I have only been out for an evening once and it was fine but I missed her so much. DH realy enjoyed being in charge and enjoyed giving her the bottle.

Hi all, I'd like to say I've been really busy, but no more than usual, it's just that I've not got near the computer for a while. Anyhow, William has had a few really good nights, sleeping for 6 hours at a time which is lovely, and I think he has twigged that night-time is for sleeping.
We had 3 friends round for lunch on Sunday, it was lovely to catch up and I made a delicious mushroom and courgette lasagne (it was a really faffy recipe and took 2 hours but was well worth it) William sat in his bouncy chair watching me cook and giggling away. He's really engaging with the world around him now.

Sorry to read about all these poorly babies. Hope they're all starting to feel better now.

RG - Happy Birthday for yesterday

choc - you are quite right to impose a time, don't feel bad about it, I hate waiting around for people to turn up, I think it's a bit rude of guests to assume they can turn up whenever.

Fiona - I'm going to need to express at work too, (I'm also a teacher) and am going to speak to the H and S rep about where to express. I didn't express at work last time as i did half days so my boobs never reached that exploding point! Your employer has an obligation to provide you with a clean and private rooom to express and facilities to store milk.

sarah - I know what you mean about other people feeding your little one. The first time DH gave DD a bottle it felt so weird, and she wouldn't take it even though it was EBM, but when I gave it to her she was fine (eventually).

choudru - I fill up the diashwasher then run it, usually takes 2 - 3 days to fill; I am not a washing up fan

Being summoned for a feed now xxxx

Fiona- Its fine to add to the milk as long as you put it back in the fidge as soon as your done. (it will keep for 24hours in the fridge) I also agree with trying to introduce a bottle every now and then. Babies often do prefer the boob to the bottle (bottle gives faster milk but boob more comfort). Coby didn't like the bottle at first (didn't know what to do!) But he's fine with it now and it allows me to be more flexible!

Chocolate- Def say a time i can understand about feeding infront of certain people. I'm the same, much happier to do it in a cafe in front of people i don't know.

Had a lovely day today. We went for a walk, lovley sunny day and to Under Ones group, a NHS child dental person gave a talk on teath. Which was really interesting.

This afternoon played with ds he loves standing up and playing on his mat. He just lays there smiling and cooing and kicking!

Fiona- Its fine to add to the milk as long as you put it back in the fidge as soon as your done. (it will keep for 24hours in the fridge) I also agree with trying to introduce a bottle every now and then. Babies often do prefer the boob to the bottle (bottle gives faster milk but boob more comfort). Coby didn't like the bottle at first (didn't know what to do!) But he's fine with it now and it allows me to be more flexible!

Chocolate- Def say a time i can understand about feeding infront of certain people. I'm the same, much happier to do it in a cafe in front of people i don't know.

Had a lovely day today. We went for a walk, lovley sunny day and to Under Ones group, a NHS child dental person gave a talk on teath. Which was really interesting.

This afternoon played with ds he loves standing up and playing on his mat. He just lays there smiling and cooing and kicking!

Hi all , haven't caught up for ages.

Choudru - hope the Bf is going ok now. Don't feel alone. Give Thomas and I ring and we'll bring hob nobs ( less fattening than cake }

Happy birthday RG. You should def come to Leeds for cake. I'm really enjoying Heroes. Ta

Choc - Sounds like your colleagues don't have kids. Impose a time.

Silk - Glad to hear Megan is on the mend. Hop it continues.

Question for you all. Lots of the people I know with LO's keep telling me how they put their kids to bed a 7 wake them for a feed then back to bed etc. DS usually end up in his cot around 11ish having spent an hour or on Dh in the sling. He wakes sometime between 12 and 1 for afeed then again between 4 and 5. He's usually up around 7.30. I've tried waiting t'il l he's tired and putting him in bed but he just cries for ages and non of us can stand it.
As far as I'm concerned , if a six week old baby wants a cuddle he can have one. But I keep being told how important routine is for later on. Am I missing something ???

Have lurveley day XX

Good morning, having a quick catch up whilst the LO has 40 winks.

Fiona and Berry - I agree with you re expressing allowing you to be more flexible. I desparately need a haircut and don't fancy breastfeeding at the hairdressers (although come to think of it, it would probably be ok - I'm getting more and more casual about flashing the old norks!). I just hadn't realised it would be so emotional. Plus I find expressing a bit of a ball-ache. Berry - should you not express every day then? I don't really want to, is it ok to just do it as and when or should I give Adam a bottle every day to get him used to it? Sorry for all the questions!

LOL RG at wishing your DP a happy birthday! Sometimes before people even ask I say "I'm fine thank you" instead of "how are you?" and I still appear to have pregnancy brain. Glad you had a nice meal, good girl Ellie letting your mummy have 3 uninterrupted courses! To be honest I would rather take Adam out with us on my birthday but the DH seems hell-bent on us having some time out together which is fair enough, just hope we can relax enough to enjoy it!

Choc and Ara - Adam weighed 13lbs 6 at 6 weeks!!! All in proportion tho. I started a thread cos I was a bit worried but i'm just happy he is healthy and thriving even if he does look like a giant compared to the other babies at the postnatal group!

Vaccinations today, wish us luck xx