Sept 08 - Is it day or night?

[lollyheart]

Hope no one minds me starting a new thread?

foxy i love your post especially

once more, enjoy the feedy snuggles. before you know it, you'll be giving them spaghetti bolognese

am going to make that my middle of the night mantra its so true!!

lollipop You post made me smile because I've done the same recently with baby starlight and I didn't bat an eyelid. Rewind almost two years to when my pfb was this age and I'd lie awake at night wondering how I could tell if he had a slight itch on his back or something. Save your 'shit mum' worries for poor children that really DO have shit mums!

On second thoughts don't......In the early days of my first I couldn't read the paper without being in tears...

eandz Are you having a better day today? It SOUNDS like a growth sput. Feeding frustrates him because your body is catching up perhaps!

MelT That's very insensitive of your DP, but if anything is a test on your relationship, early days with a newborn is. Tiredness makes us all stroppy and unreasonable.

ninja lol at your post. If I'm honest you sound just like me!

debs75 This is just my opinion, but I personally wouldn't worry about where you put the money if you're not going to add to it ever. And why shouldn't you?........

Because, you and GP will save hard earned money for your LO, who, when 18 will be subjected to very hard sales and marketing pitches showing them what they can do with their large sums of money, - targetted by companies that have bought their details from the electoral register. At the same time universities will all put their fees up as 18yr olds are expected to have a lump sum of money available to them.

Chances are, many, many 18yr olds will be vulnerable to both peer pressure and marketing and not be mature enough to spend the money sensibly, and parents will have no control because the money is not in their name. Personally I am saving for my kids in other ways. I'm not selling their souls purely to avoid paying tax.

Pidge Hope it is going well. Regimes are not easy when you have other children. Good luck

Ok I have another confession - went to try and get another nursing bra (Only like the one I'm wearing and it's a bit pongy and started to walk out of the shop without my prma, I had to be called back!

I'm loving all the other confessions btw - doesn't it make you feel better to know that others are the same?

Not this time thankfully, but with no.1. I got tide marks on my neck I was showering so fast and inadequately!

And: I've bf on the loo

proper bad mummy.

took dd1 for her pre school booster jab. it was 3 jabs. did she howl esp after her most recent encounter with the nhs - ptting on cast. that is not the bad mummy bit.

drove home upset myself - went to undo dd2,s car seat to discover i never secured it into the car.

LOL to all the bad mother confessional stories. Yes have also fed in the loo, dropped crumbs (and soggy cornflakes on DS wolfing down breakfast while breast feeding), bathed him in a washing up bowl, and more horribly, screamed "shut up" in desperation in the middle of the night. I did feel guilty.

Are any of your LOs covered in rabid, red with a white head milk spots?

And once more, you breast feeding savvy ladies, what is best to do? Offer only one breast for as long as they want, or give them milk from both breasts every time? My LO feeds for 45 mins to an hour EVERY TIME, which is specially painful during the night. He is now 3 weeks old, so supposedly he should be more efficient at sucking?

I am a complete zombie today. He would not settle day or night and wants to feed all the time. Sigh.

I've also fed on the loo, discovered I hadn't secured a car seat in (wj=hen it slipped going down the ramp of a multistorey car park)

Pacita, is he swallowing for all that time? If he's just staying on you could swap sides when he has slowed right down and see if he takes more.

Thanks, Ninja, yes, I've tried that trick. You are right and he slows down sucking. Sometimes he seems to chew,rather than suck?

pacita, yes , A got acne at 2-3 weeks but by 5 weeks it had mainly gone. GP called it heat rash but basically it's one of those harmless things babies get.

today a is competing for the most soggy nappies and clothes award - of course today is the first day i thought it cold enough for a vest on him. i think he's on his 8th nappy despite me leaving him to finish each episode as it were...

tried calling breastfeeding cafe today because they said to get more details. got fed up elderly lady whose details havebeen published instead.
i look forward to being flexible enough to feed on the loo!

Maebh still has the acne she was born with - I'm told it's hormones! (DH always said I was v hormional)

Lolly - glad you are feeling better about the bf...hope it works out for you. Have tried Toby a few times on the breast but he is refusing totally now

However, he is now on 5oz of formula every 3 hours!!! He was weighed yesterday and is 10lbs 1 and a half oz!!! Wish he would go a bit longer at night, though...

Have any of you tried anything other than infacol for your babys wind/colic? Toby has been on it for about 10 days now and I dont think its helping at all. Toby is a month old tomorrow and I think I recall someone saying that they could have stronger stuff after one month???????

Love to all x

ROFL at all the 'bad mum' stories! Ds was born with really long finger nails, and I cut them as soon as we got home, a few hours after his birth. I cut four of his fingers in the process and he absolutely poured with blood. I knew my pjs would end up soaked in blood the night after I gave birth, but I was expecting it to be the trousers, not the top that was covered! I've never seen so much blood! The scabs took over 2 weeks to fall off too, so everyone who met him in the first two weeks of his life asked what was up with his fingers . The HV gave me a most disapproving look.
I remember dh forgot to put the wrap on dd's nappy when she was quite newborn, and she was sat on his lap having a bottle in a cafe and he got a massive damp patch, hee hee! He's never forgotten since

mamapumpkin hope you're doing ok today, any news on your dad's progress? Thinking of you

I can't believe you mums get a 6 week check! We get one for the baby but no one's interested in me...

moonlight I couldn't agree more about trust funds!

so glad to read that we're all as bad as each other in the bad mum stakes. Like starlight commented I don't bother about some things as much with ds2 but then when I think about them I think 'oops, bad mum' Haven't done anything too major yet just things like not changing nappy in night even though I know he's pooed, lying him on damp sheet where he's spluttered coz there isn't another clean one, forgetting that babies nappies need changed a lot more than toddlers ones and leaving him in same nappy for longer than I should, dropping food all over him, eating before feeding etc.
I also tipped ds1 out of his buggy a few weeks ago, hadn't done his straps up and caught wheels on a kerb. He fell flat on his face!

DS2 and I both had 6 week checks but the doc didn't really do anything to me, just asked if I was ok and that was it.
Doesn't seem logical that some of you get 6 week check for you and 8 week check for baby, I'm sure they could do them together.

DS2 threw up a whole feed all over me this morning. It was his 10.30ish feed which he had been telling me he desperately wanted for the previous 30mins so why on earth did he feel he needed to throw it all up?!? Good job neither of us had got dressed at that point.

he's in his bed at the moment, 1st evening we've tried putting him down rather than cuddling him all evening. he's been there 30mins but dh just went up to the loo and now I can hear noises from him. I'll blame dh if he wakes up.

Snap Debi.This is also the first night we have put ds to bed while we're still downstairs. It feels strange not having a limpet attached to me, but also nice to be able to get things done.

Fingers crossed for both of us tonight

Oh, and someone mentioned the spots on their lo's face. Mac is 6 weeks old and has had them for about 2 weeks now - he looks a right minger , especially after a feed.

If anyone sees Foxytocin tonight or in the morning tell her to check the Babywearer please

today i invited a couple mumsnet friends over for luch today...i didn't have time to shower (since yesterday) or do my hair, or put on makeup...i was still in my pj's and had to order take away...but i desperately needed company. it was really good to see them and i felt like they weren't judging me at all for not making more of an effort. it felt really good to see women i liked who had babies with them. theres a feeling of solidarity when our babies cry together and i have someone who i can change breast feeding stories with.

so i'm getting more and more depressed about my weight. i was ok with being huge while i was pregnant and i've been trying not to let it get to me since i'm breast feeding, but i'm seriously considering switching to formula so i can take the medicine i need to correct everything thats gone wrong due to my arthritis and thyroid problem.

thing is, i can put them off till Noah is 6 months old or i could do it right away and stop breast feeding. but to be honest, i'm just having such a hard time being happy with myself. don't get me wrong, i'm happy with everything and everyone around me...just not the way i look and feel.

what would you all do?

eandz speak to a breastfeeding counsellor today. re your meds, weight, feelings of coping, everything in your post. yhey counsel to support the whole mother-baby relationship not just feeding problems.

numbers on the right of this page

chin up, you are doing a fab job despite what you think or how you are feeling. check your email

thanks for the heads up indith

Thank you everyone for your 'bad mum' stories, I have regained my composure from the other day's activities now, can't tell she's my pfb much eh! ... pppppfb more like!

Moonlight - Your evening 5-hr frenzy and puke up session: do you use a dummy? I'm not an expert so I don't want to do any damage, but Elizabeth only throws up when she's fed for a long time and I believe this is because she's over full. Is it possible that little Starlight is comfort sucking? Milk will be taken in as a by-product even tho it isn't really needed. When I suspect Elizabeth of comfort sucking I give her a minute or so of enjoying it and then give her a dummy, she will always tell me if she is still hungry and she is now brilliant at spitting out the breast but sucking the dummy like a champ! I've found this also saves my nipples.

Mamapumpkin - So sorry to hear of your dad's health problems and your passport issue, I hope you get it resolved so that you can go to be with him soon.

Ninja - Thank you so much for your offer of your sling, it didn't go unnoticed even tho I didn't get round to replying! The Close sling that I saw on UKPL came the other day so I won't be needing to try yours, but thank you so much for the offer, it was very sweet of you. As it happens my mum also bought me a Baby Bjorn Active which I tried yesterday. It's so much easier to put on than the Wilkinet (XL so my DP can use it so I just can't get it tight enough and it slowly slips lower and lower!) and the baby stays in position the whole time too, but it's not as comfortable as the Wilkinet because the weight doesn't distribute, it's purely on the shoulders. I am going to try the Close sling tonight and am quite looking forward to it!

EandZ - I am very of you meeting up with other MNers, I'd love to do that again but no one lives near me in Oxford and now I think the commute to London is off the cards with Elizabeth as I'd need to put her in the car seat on the coach but it's so bloody heavy that I wouldn't be able to carry it round once I got there. I do have two girl-friends who have had babies within 3 months of me and also two others that are PG, and I've been seeing them every couple of weeks and it's just so lovely to talk to someone other than the baby or my DP (much as I love them both!) so I know what you mean. I do get dressed to see mine tho, although I don't know why I bother half the time because I look far more shit in my clothes that don't fit compared to my lovely pj's!

Lollyheart - Brilliant news that you've managed to get support from your Dr to help start BFing Fraser again, I'm really happy for you, well done!

Hi, just checking in. I haven't had a chance to catch up with the thread for a week or so (days blur so not really sure how long...). I'll try to catch up this morning.

I think I need some help as BF has become a nightmare - even my GP doesn't know what is wrong as I am in so much pain... will post more details shortly.

Hope you are all doing well.

Hi all - very quick one from me again. Grabbing two minutes in my new 'Feed up Arthur' campaign! Feeling pretty ok myself, apart from my left nipple, which feels as though someone has been sandpapering it raw. Grim. But we are going well on our feed, feed, feed routine, as far as possible whilst also chasing after two other kids. Thank goodness my mum and dad are still here.

My dad is taking dd2 to her music group this morning so I can stay home and feed, and then express and then top Arthur up. The bf counsellor said I could risk using bottles, rather than using a cup (I think because my latch is pretty good, and hopefully it's short term). So Arthur got 2oz of EBM in a bottle yesterday and absolutely guzzled it. It was such a weird feeling giving him the bottle, having not used them at all since dd1 was 6 months old. With dd2 we just didn't bother ever.

Anyway, 2 more days of marathon feeding, till the Saturday weigh in to see how he is doing. I keep telling him he's being fattened up like a Christmas turkey!

Haven't started on the domperidone yet, as I haven't had time to go to the pharmacy to get it ... oh well.

I have skimmed all your posts, so lovely to read everyone's many and varied baby experiences.

OK, caught up (ish!). Bad mother stories are cheering me up lots!

My BF agony is as follows:

1. Hard painful lumps in both breasts like clumps of gravel made out of shards of broken glass. Breasts get softer after feeding, but some lumpy bits remain. It is so painful it hurts to even cuddle DD against my front.
2. Really painful nipples. I wince at the prospect of DD latching. (Razor blades, electric shock, broken glass all happening at once.) I have some raised bits on the areola around the nipple that are very senstive - little red standing up bits. DD has a really powerful suck.

I have been in pain since last weekend and went to the GP yesterday. I thought it might be blocked ducts or possibly mastitis but I don't have any other symptoms - no redness, no fever or fluey symptoms. GP said I am in too much pain for it just to be blocked ducts.

GP looked in DD's mouth and said it was a bit white on her tongue so it might be thrush. (But would this explain the pain?)

GP gave me: thrush ointment for my nipples, thrush mouth drops for DD, and back-up prescription for antibiotics to hold on to in case the other mastitis symptoms do appear. I am massaging lumps in shower and when expressing / feeding and I think this is doing something...

Please help... I am at the point of giving up BF, though I know this would be the worst time to stop. I am enduring BF for the sake of DD, but it is taking all my strength and love to keep going when I am in so much pain.

lollipopmothershalloweenghost glad you got your close sling. They seem harder at first than a baby bjorn - but now I'm used to it I find it a lot easier. I also carried M in DH's baby bjorn yesterday as it was around and boy did my shoulders ache more.

EandZ could you buy some nice new clothes that you feel more confident in? (or a sack to hide in for 6 months?, sorry!) Would exercise help, or is it just the medication?

Well I feel I can confess all now, M is now asleep in a wet babygrow while I'm on the internet - I didn't want to wake her

Off to put Mat clothes in the attic.