September 08 Remember what we were doing this time last year?[wink]

[Debs75goldrings]

So what were we all doing this time last year?

Hi jenbot, welcome back! It's Ponymum. Love your Christmas name. Mine's so dull. I too have thrush. notcitus posted in the last few days how she got rid of it, which has inspired me to keep trying. Also foxy and starlight have some great advice and links if you want to trawl back.

Question for you nc: what strength did you use the grapefruit seed extract? My great news is i have just tracked some down at an independent shop, who are posting it out to me.

For those with babies unhappy with tummy time, I have a great tip. DD has a kind of tummy time on my lap and seems to really enjoy it - certainly a lot more than being face down on the floor. I sit on the sofa with a big pillow on my lap and turn her around facing outwards on her tummy (holding her a bit). She loves looking around the room and pushing up on to her arms and legs, so it seems to achieve the same things. Good luck!

DG a 5 hour stretch is brilliant! We tend to get ours either after his 10:30 feed or he wakes early for his middle of the night feed and then goes 4-5 hours.

Loving that so many of us feel the same about BF. It doesn't bother me at all, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm one of those who likes it a lot more if I just do a morning and evening feed (if I carry on that long).

donkeymum you do definitely deserve a medal. Hope you manage to track down some help.

Oh, and T has developed a love of sucking on muslins over the past couple of weeks - it is my fail safe settling technique! I am looking forward to the day when he has the co-ordination to hold it himself, so he can soothe himself if he wakes up at night. Not looking forward to having a child with comfort blanket thing (hate them) but at least if it's a muslin I can keep bunging them in the wash and giving him a clean one!

I know what you mean about putting your LO's on their front to sleep, but just remember that in days gone by it was recomended that baby sleeps on their front. also elliot often was positioned on his front on SCBU. we were so worried about him stopping breathing we bought an apnoea mat (around £50 argos) but then elliot had stopped breathing on several occations. [neurotic mum smilie]
I don't love bf but I can put up with it, until hes about 7-8 months til or til I HAVE to go back to work, but by then I will cut down to morning and night or just night.
I think Els is teething too, his gums have gone very pale and wobbly. but not excessivly dribbling, hes grumpy but no more than usual. oh well bath time!

Jenbot - Welcome back to our thread, it's good to see you. It doesn't sound odd at all what you said about being a bit jealous of no longer being pregnant. I went 11 days over which I thought I hated, but once I wasn't pregnant any more I really missed it, so I can only imagine it'd be worse if the pregnancy is cut short like yours was. How is your LO doing, saying her name is amazing!!

Kagey - My DD has been sticking her fist in her mouth as well, she's been doing it for a couple of weeks, is it a sign of teething then?

According to my MIL it is - along with lots of dribbling!!! I thought she was just extra hungry

imsantasmum children don't grow horns at all at 6 months old! Its just that they develop the ability to explore the world, which involves you retrieving them from underneath other people's tables in coffee shops, and their idea of good entertainment sadly doesn't usually involve a latte! Its a wonderful time, but very different from the newborn stage, that's all!

imsantasmum* DS slept on his stomach from 14 weeks, I used to be beside myself with worry but he had grobags, cool ventilated room and I could hear him on the monitor so I just prayed he'd be ok - he was .

DD hasn't started sleeping on her stomach though.

santasmum - during her colic phase, DD would only sleep on her tummy. DS was the same. HV told me she wouldn't advise it, but when she had her oldest that was actually the advice. My DB only slept on his tummy (not just naps). I think it's up to you obviously, though.

re BF - with DS I can't say I loved it, but I suppose I didn't hate or anything, it was what I thought I had to do, but I was looking forward to the time I stopped. When that happened (he self weaned just before his first birthday) I really missed the time and feeling of the feeding IYKWIM... the closeness... this time pretty much the same, though I "appreciate" it more as I know I will miss it once I stop and probably the fact that I haven't suffered painful nipples as much as last time together with knowing this is my last baby it's more "special" - I don't love IT, but I love DD's smiles back at me when she's finished and wants a chat [fsmiles]

oh, and she's been waking up too after sleeping too, and today had an extra day feed - she was 14 weeks last Friday

Hopefully - A muslin is the best type of comfort blanket if they are going to have one at all - dd went through a period of dragging one around with her (and still has one at night) but we have a dozen and they go in the wash every day or two with no objections from her. It started because I used to put one under her head in the cot to catch dribbles - when she was a few months old I used to find her cuddled up to it in the morning - very cute!

Can't say I love bf either but quite happy doing it for a good while (fed dd until 1 yr and was very ready to give up by then). I think it is much easier than faffing about with bottles and sterilising - always on tap - that is one of the biggest motivators for me as I don't have to plan going out.

Grrrrrrrrrr F%^&*ing DP! We use Hipp Organic formula for T's one bottle feed. I've just made it for the first time in ages and noticed the writing (in big letters, on the top of the box) saying the formulation has changed and to only use the new scoop. DP has been using the old scoop (2x the size) for about 10 days. Unsurprisingly T has been really constipated and suffering, much more uncomfortable and producing tar like poos, I couldn't work out why.
Now DP is in a strop with me because i had a go at him. I'm assuming it won't do T any harm, but the poor little chap has been suffering for a week for DP's carelessness

what would we do without muslins eh? ds1 (nearly 3) still loves his cloth, you wouldnt believe how much he gets in his mouth its horrible! ds2 seems to like snuggling up to his too (we had to buy yellow ones for him as ds1 did not want to share his white ones!) has always been brill for getting ds1 to sleep

fist sucking and chewing may not necessarily mean teething (thank god) as they are just orally fixated at the mo! IME you will really know when they are teething

am so looking forward to christmas!!

Good luck with your thrush Donkeymum (haha these Xmas names are going to confuse me!), I've had such slow help from the Drs, they said I couldn't have anything to treat me as I was breastfeeding, and that I just had to be clean (I am clean thank you very much!).
I will read back and look for advice!

Lollipopmother - 11 days overdue must have been quite frustrating, I met lots of overdue mums in the hospital when my LO was there, all waiting to be induced down the corridor!

Lolipop, LittleConnie kagey and all the others who replied - a huge great big thankyou. I know none of you are advising me to put her on her tummy but it just makes me feel relieved that I'm not the only one considering it and I'm not some evil person who wants her baby to come to harm.

The colic really has been hellish (though can't complain too much as that's been our only real bother), for C as well as DP and I. Can't remember who mentioned it wasn't there at the last feed and during the night but i found exactly the same - very bizarre. She has her dreamfeed at 10.30 and goes down with very little fuss on her back. The fact that she sleeps well in the evening on her tummy has transformed our lives over the past week.

hopefully I'm sure that T will soon get the xtra formula out of his system. Don't be too hard on your DP - over the weeks you've said really great things about him. I bet he's just as angry with himself.

Oh, and I had a omfort blanket until I was 7!!! Hey ho, so what. C loves her wrist rattles to suck on and is frantically trying to get her fist into her mouth. She's not teething but, we think, just wants to suck her thumb.

jenbot good to see you back. How old is your LO now?

Littledonkey thanks for the reassurance - I know C will b changing forever but some mums I meet in RL seem to really slag off their toddlers. i think ok, they are challenging but they're growing and finding their own personality, and you had em - try not to tell me how crap they are in front of them eh?

(Can you tell C is asleep?) Finally I am proud to announce that I have a hangover!!!! DP dropped me off at pub last night and I had my 'xmas do' with best friend. She has 2 older children and lives 20 miles away, so we struggle to meet up. We shared a 3 course meal, 2 botles of wine (between us, but even so ) and a bacardi & diet coke each.... I never intended to drink so much - most i have done for over a year obviously!!
Wonderful DP put sleeping baby in car and picked me up at 10pm, then did C's dreamfeed too, wot a star. I feel OK but so much better for going out, 1st time since C arrived!!! Highly recommended to recharge the bateries and giggle about sex and the world in general

She's 20 weeks and 4 days imsantasmum, she does things as if she were 8 weeks younger though mostly, so she's probably very similar to all of the other LOs on this thread.

Your night out sounds great by the way, I'm jealous!

imsantasmum how's the hangover?

meglet it's not too bad - C very sleepy today as she had her jabs yesterday, so that makes it easier. Drinking lots of water and am bad mother

Hi.
I don't seem to get time in front of the computer these days. Hi Starlight Hope 2009 is fantastic for you too.

Have a great holiday starlight, you'll have to let us know how many condoms you use

imsantasmum thanks for the reassurance - DP is usually very good! T has had one minor explosion today, so I'm thinking the worst is probably already past!

T is asleep in his cot! in the evening! First time this has happened for weeks and weeks - he's been settling worse and worse downstairs with us, getting disturbed by the tv, so we tried putting him upstairs and he's still fast asleep.

Go T!!!

As much as I love M, I cherish dh's and I few hours of together time while M is up in his cot snoring away.

Night of firsts here too. C is currently asleep upstairs in her basket on her tummy, first time in the evening since she was 2 weeks old. Fell fast asleep on her bottle! But DP is also up there with her, wrapping my xmas pressies so I've got the tv all to myself!!!

Hi all, just had a big catch up on here - had a manic few days - nativity plays, school stuff, general socialising and now DH has gone to the UK to bring his Mum over until Feb and the rest of his family arrive early next week...it'll be totally manic, but I love having the house full, and I know I won't get to see S as his 8 & 13yr old cousins will just carry him around all day!
Took him for his 4 month check this morning (16 weeks yesterday), and 2nd round of injections - he weighed in at a massive 7.52 kilos which is two and a half times his birth weight - so despite never been sure whats going in with BF'ing something obviously is! I think I'm enjoying it much more this time as I know I won't be having any more children & I want to enjoy it while I can! Totally agree with whoever said it would be nice just to get your boobs back for a bit though - I'm so looking forward to nice underwear & slightly more "normal" sized ones again! Am not sure how long to continue - there is no way S will take a bottle now, of EBM or FF, so I suppose I will have to wait until he can take a beaker? Annyone else struggling to get their LO's to take a bottle?
A big thanks too to Debithescot I ordered a rugby shirt too from that link you posted for my friends little boy, his Mum is in hospital at the minute so of course her DH opened the parcel - but he phoned & said it was totally gorgeous, really nice quality etc - so thanks for that!
Hope starlight has a fab time, it's going to be a bit strange without you and foxy for the time being!
Right, am desperately trying to batch cook & fill the freezer tonight, so onwards!