December 08 Supermums: We are all doing fine and our LOs love us!!

[kayzr]

Hello.

Trace I went with your idea!!

jam I am so sorry about your DH. Is he in banking (I know there are some of us in the same boat on that score. we are waiting to hear about DH)? Take care. Hopefully something good will come out of it (that's what we are trying to think...)

Turnip yes works for the bank that just announced 6 billion profit for the last yr. He has been given a relativley good package which should keep us going until the Autumn hopefully he can find something to begin at the end of gardening leave and then we would have a nice lump sum to save or pay of debts. Still bloody scary though especially when all those post baby hormones are flying around have gone from being depths of despair first thing to feeling quite positive now.

Right really am going back to read up on everyones news now.

jam is he out the door already? I know they do that mostly in banking. Think of all the help you will now have at home small comfort I know! Am thinking of you.

bugger i would do that turnip but i'm south....
jam sorry to hear about the dh job situation....

Jam sorry to hear about your DH. Hope he finds something soon. At least he got a good package.

Veggie the fires in Australia are terrifying just to read about. Poor people. I was just reading on the BBC website about how hard it is to catch the arsonists.

WG I sympathise re the MIL. My latest complaints about my in-laws follows so feel free not to read:
MIL was bringing her friend round to see DS2 and has a key to our house-so she let herself in without knocking. I know she visits a lot but she could still knock first.

She went through my internet shopping bill without permission and made comments such as 'caramelized onion homous eh?' 'I don't think cream eggs are essential' 'swimming nappies-oh I suppose he HAS to have those'

And finally, DD wanted to show FIL that she could do a forward roll. So after her saying 'Look what I can do grandpa' what was his reply ?'Oh look, a poorly performed forward roll' She is only 5! grrr

Major - I am aghast at both of those comments!!! and really quite heartbroken about the foward roll one. I bet the old mother tigress in you came out after that! (albeit with bitten lip to preserve family harmony etc)

bloody hell, i went to dahab and sharm when i was 18 (a shamefully 18 years ago) when dahab was a collection of huts next to the sea and sharm had one hotel (where i got the phonecall to tell me i'd got into my university). shows how much things have changed.
jam - so so sorry. hope he can find something somewhere. keep us posted.

jam - so sorry about DH's job loss

Is Veggie or any other boob gurus around?
my hot, red patch on my boob is a bit hotter and redder today and it's really quite tender. I'm trying to feed lots from it and have expressed from the other one, but I'm so confused about what this will do to my supply. Am i going to end up with loads of milk and get even more sore? I don't feel well today (headache, achy, sore throat) but I think that's perhaps the cold that dd1 has. Phoebe's still pretty snotty so although she slept a bit better last night she is still having short feeds of 2-4 mins. Don't know what to do for the best and I feel a bit tearful about it for no particular reason. Any advice?

Lu is going to her friend's party straight from school so need to go and wrap the present (a white fluffy dog in a velour pink carry case with purple handles and a matching brush - Lucy's choice! - apparently it's what 4 and 5 year olds like )

Trace - I am no expert but I had a similar thing 48 hours ago - sore boob, achey, sore throat. I thought it might be mastitis but apparantly if you are run down (eg you have a cold) you are more prone to blocked ducts, so I am not sure which was the cause and which was the effect iyswim? I didn't express as I did not want to increase supply and expressing hurts me a bit. Instead I got DD2 to hang out on teh boob all day. Even when she was just dozing. I also rested as much as I could and drank loads of water and went braless as much as I could. Finally I had several very hot showers and massaged the sore area, pushing towards the nipple. It seemed to work as I am OK now. I think the mega suck-a-thon from DD was most helpful.

Major - I cannot beleive any grandpa could be so heartless to a five year old. I would have had to be restrained from taking him outside and severing all contact (but then I can be a little hotheaded and its rarely wise).

major - x posted. good lord, mine sounds like a dream in comparison. chin up...

dd has just had first poo in about 35 hours and it's a corker (or rather not iykwim)

turnip - may well think about that yoga. will look at diary and location, thx

Major...............I had to put all those dots as I am speechless. Appalling. I think the comment about the forward roll, though not nice, is a poor attempt at humour (idiot) but going through the shopping list? Letting herself in??? How on earth did you prevent yourself from strangling her? I'd have been off like a banshee. How rude!

Trace, hope you feel better soon.

Hello ladies,

Thanks for your thoughts on jabs and calpol . I'll get some in just in case she feels poorly but won't give her any beforehand.

veggie It is very upsetting about the fires. I hope you hear that your friends are safe.

WG How's your friend doing?

Jam Sorry to hear about DH's job. It must be really hard for you.

WG Your rant about your MIL really made me laugh. There is something very irritating about MIL's advice/interfering even when they mean well.

major at your MILs comments about your shopping! And at your FIL. That is really mean to say to a 5 year old.

As we're on the topic of MILs... about 4 years ago I was in hospital quite far from home and DH was staying with me. The inlaws were looking after the cats and house. When we got back loads of stuff was missing, some of DH's shoes, rucksacks, various bits and bobs and it turned out MIL had 'tided' it away into the attic! I was so . Basically she just boxed up stuff she didn't like. She also used to put meat in my food (I'm a veggie)! Bonkers I tell you!

Hello ladies, I've had a couple of days off and as usual its impossible to catch up with you all....but I have missed you! I think DS is having his 12 week growth spurt early, it seems to have been non stop feeding lately. Met a woman yesterday who works with DH, she asked me if I had started weaning him yet as she did with her DS and he started to sleep through. DH quickly changed subject before I went off on a rant, don't think he wanted me to offend her. But honestly DS is 11 weeks the bloody stupid woman!

jam so sorry about DP's job. I'll keep things crossed that something will turn up. I'm sending positive vibes

WG Hilarious MIL tales - you must have patience of a saint. I have a low tolerance level with my MIL.

Veggie the Australia fires are devasting and are very hard for me to watch so must be awful for you. I hope your loved ones are okay.

major words fail me....

Hello,

Jam I am really really sorry. I hope he finds something soon.

WG I don't know how you keep your cool. Same for you Major. I was doing the internet shopping earlier while my MIL was here and she was nosing.

I booked my train and crufts tickets today. So once again thank you all so much.

The fires in Oz are really terrible. My cousin lives quite near to where they are but luckily I think he is just far enough away.

Hello everyone, I?ve missed you all! My absence hasn?t been due to my night out - it was good, but not THAT good , although I did fall over on the way TO the pub and I?m now sporting a greeny-yellow bruise on my arm. (turnip my birthday?s not til tomorrow ? the big 3-0, eek ? thanks for the birthday wishes, early, not late)

Firstly, I loved the terrible jokes, here?s mine to add to the collection:
What do you call an Italian with a rubber toe?
Roberto
(you have to say it out loud). It makes me laugh everytime I tell it (good thing really, no one else laughs at it )

I?m extra windy too ? at both ends ? and have been since DD was born. I?m hoping I become a pleasant person again sometime soon, and I?m very glad to hear I?m not the only one.

Lal I?m pleased to hear your DH delivered on your birthday in the end. And I?m also a rural driver, and will do anything to avoid driving in towns I don?t know or on motorways

Jam so sorry to hear about your DP?s job, and verso sorry to hear about your difficult weekend with DH - I agree that some time out could do you the world of good

On the jabs, I bought some calpol last week to be prepared, but have ended up mistakenly with calpuprofen ? should I go back for the normal calpol?

I have a question on pelvic floors ? I did do exercises quite regularly after DD was born, but they get done about once every 3 days now. How long should we keep doing them? Should I be trying harder?

The good news to report is that DD smiled for the first time on Sunday , its so beautiful and lovely (its a good job, as yesterday she decided sleep is for wimps, so if it wasn?t for the smiles she?d be up for sale on ebay by now)

can i ask you all a question?

how many of your babies can self-settle to sleep on a regular basis? by self-settle i mean you lie them down awake and they fall asleep without you rocking, pushing the pram, feeding etc etc etc.

arti yes sometimes. More in the day than in the night. At night he tends to fall asleep on the boob. I don't lie him down wide awake though, it's usually when his eyes are going droopy anyway.
Me and jj went to a sleep clinic yesterday and they said to me that DS was too young for me to worry about anything but the one thing I should do is make sure i keep trying to get him to self-settle rather than relying on any other method.

arti I must confess that L does self-settle most of the time. She will go down with eyes open and then have a squawk for anything from a couple of seconds to 3 minutes and then drops off. It just sort of happened rather than me stopping the feeding to sleep that happens naturally when they are very little.
After I swaddle her though I do cuddle her on my shoulder so that she "winds down" before putting her down awake. That way, the squawking is only that - and doesn't escalate into proper crying. We do rely on the white noise CD. But I don't worry about that - I think its just something she likes. But I am also addicted to it at night...
HTH.

arti ds can self-settle but only in the day tbh. At night its normally a case of rocking him for a while. He is such a mummy's boy.......

thanks guys. dd2 was quite good at self-settling but has totally stopped doing it for that past 4 days. if left she really cries. i am a bit gutted as dd1 was fed to sleep for months so dd2 was very refreshing.

SL - did the sleep clinic say what to do if they don't self settle? they said to keep trying but if they don't then what can you do?

no not to me as I said he could sometimes. They may have said more to jj as I think she has real problems getting her dd to sleep in the day at all.

apols for typing, growth spurt has hit so 1-handed!

Arti: DS2 will self-settle but not always, the pushchair guarantees he'll go off

Jam: sorry to hear about your DH. I hope something turns up soon. Good to hear you sounding positive

Turnip: would love to do yoga but would have overtired DS1 charging about disrupting everyone's chakras or whatever so not poss

at lunatic ILs - I have no good stories but do have an amazingly rubbish FIL who can rarely be arsed with us - babies do bring out the wrrst (and best) in families

re: weaning, my CM presented us with two packets of baby porridge - luckily through DH as I fear my face would have offended her!

Message withdrawn

arti - don't think she self-settles (and doesn't sleep during the day outside of the pushchair/car (apart from that one wonderful afternoon last week). we are probably too paranoid to find out - we shush her to sleep at night, but probably have to start trying to put her down before that sometime soon.

cat - take it you therefore can't come to the north london meet on the 17th?

jealous of the cambridge girls' sleep clinic - are there such things in london?