December 2008 Coven - white light and basket cases

[EffiePerine]

Seeing as LadyT broke the thread...

Lal so sorry .

JJ sometimes just tweaking your regular routine is enough to change the way they sleep. I really hope you have a good night.

Effie woohoo welcome to Essex would be lovely to meet up.

I agree with all those that do naps everywhere. With DS1 he was a real poo at napping but eventually managed to get him to nap in his cot but now he only ever sleeps in his bed which means when he is cream crackered and we are out and about he doenst sleep therefore becomes rather grumpy.But DS2 will sleep anywhere, well except for in his cot between the hours of midnight and 5am. makes life loads easier.

Off to bed crossing fingers, toes and saggy boobs for everyone to have a good nights sleep.

JJ I?m glad you?re feeling better this evening, and your day has been ok. Everyone has said some great things (which I?ve taken on board too as DD has had an unsettled day ? maybe its the change in the weather?) Someone (tilly, arti, someone else?) once gave a great piece of advice which I loved ? whenever their LO had a good routine day they would give themselves a GF pat on the back, whenever they read their LO?s signals well they would give themselves a baby whisperer pat on the back, whenever they gave lots of love and cuddles they gave themselves a pat on the back with what mothers do. I loved it that they credited themselves everyday with whichever was working at that moment in time, and I think of it often.

Trace I think you should definitely go to that PND group, even if only once. When I?m down your words and more importantly your experience is always so encouraging, and I always get the sense from you that there is light at the end of the tunnel and, even on bad days, you always always get a lot of pleasure from being a Mum. I think someone who can communicate that to people who are struggling would be a real boost. I hope you have a lovely sleep tonight, that HV was right, you (we all) should look after yourself in order to look after your LO?s.

Indith I hope both your DS and DD get better soon, sounds nasty, poor little things.

WG I just used a swim nappy the first time I took DD, as I didn?t want to get a little cossie that wouldn?t be used if she didn?t like it. She got cold pretty quickly (in about 10 minutes), so I got a little wetsuit and she can now stay in the pool for 45 minutes or so. Beware of the swim nappies ? as veggie mentioned, they don?t absorb water. I made the mistake of leaving it on DD whilst I dried her off, and all the water came out all over the towel and her dry clothes [poor sad wet baby emoticon] ? so take it off as soon as you get out of the pool.

Great news about your DS?s hips Daisy.

Your new house and garden sounds fab Effie, I hope the family Perrine will be very happy there.

Lal I have my fingers crossed that your lump will vanish as quickly as it has appeared and is nothing at all, it is very scary for you.

Jolly I got my spanx from Debenhams.

We had a drinking breakthrough today ? DD drank some luke warm (boiled) water from a cup (well from a bottle cover, as an experiment before I buy a cup). At first she was a bit shocked, but after a couple of sips she got the hang of it, was happily swallowing the water and even trying to grab at the cup herself by the end. I?m going to try her with some EBM next ? this could be my bottle breakthrough, I do hope so!

Wishing you all a good night x

Oh you lovely ladies you've made me a little teary, JJ we do need a big hug emoticon, something that would represent our collective arms around each other.

ZJ you have a beautiful way with words, you described exactly how I see Trace too, in such a lovely true representation.

Effie your house sounds lovely, don't worry about DS1 our DS1 had a little trouble adjusting to the move, he still describes himself as a London boy, and often says he want to go back to our 'London home' but he did settle eventually.

It's true get out while you can with the one child. I was quite miffed when we were on the main drag in the little town we were staying in on Santorini, at 10 pm and DS1 was flately refusing to go into a cocktail bar because it was too loud and he was tired. I had to go back to the hotel with him while everyone else stayed out and had fun.

Very quick one-
Sorry lal, hopefully it's a good outcome, but def don't google... I ended up in such a state at the GP with ds when he was first born, which turned out to be noting - all becuase of the internet... can be so good, yet so bad...
JJ you sound much happier - glad to hear. I agree on the napping anywhere front.... we have had ds lugged in the car seat / buggy to many a pub, shopping centre and restuarant etc since he was just a week old, so he's pretty good at sleeping in loud area's. I specifically bought a monitor the other day which has a vibrate option as my brothers house back home is quite big and he is planning a party one of the nights so it will be loud - even if ds is in the bedroom but I have no doubt he will nap ok...
Anyway, shocking nnight last night - woke every hour from 3am and I'm sure it was wind as I had run short on colic drops and he hadn't burped.... does anyone know - should he still really be needing these at 4 and a bit months?
Anyway, subsequently I'm knackered.... he's been asleep since 645pm so waking him for last feed and fingers crossed....
Hi Lady - glad to hear about your trip which sounded nice

Oh lal big hugs and lots of thinking about you. Did they give you any idea how long the whole finding out process will take? Not quite sure what to say but you know we are all here if you need a sob or rant, or just to share a large whiskey.

lal - whisky in the bath sounds perfect. candles, smelly stuff and some lovely music. pamper yourself. and turn your brain off. you can tell we are all thinking of you.

thanks for all the swimming nappy advice! will let you know how i get on when i summon up teh courage to go.

have just done some expressing - haven't done any for ages - and it came out like a bloody fountain. we might - hesitantly - try to give her a bottle tomorrow. oh how terrifying. sometimes i think i am such a wuss.

long nights of sleep to you all. and if the night is punctuated, remember there are many of us up at that time, too.

Evening all,
JJ I like the idea of a group hug emoticon!! Haha. Hope you get a good night. Honestly if you ever want me to look after S for a bit so you can get some time out then let me know, and I will give it a try!

Effie your new house sounds lovely and you sound so excited about it! I hope you enjoy it.

lal sorry to hear about stress with your lump. It is really good you are getting it checked out though, many fingers crossed it is nothing as is likely.

trace agree with others re postnatal depression group. I am sure that someone who has been trhough it and out the other side is one of the most useful things to have at a group like that! And am sure you would be great. Oh and sorry about your crying episode, i hope you have a good night.

I have been commanded to go to sleep soon by DH, so had better go. Oh and I have to say on the DH front mine is ace with DS and around the house, etc. I think maybe cos I am so slack at being tidy, etc, or at least used to be. He is certainly as good at looking after DS as me and enjoys it just as much. So they are not all rubbish. However, i do try not to criticise when he does something differently from me. Though I do draw the line at feeding food, and riding over rough terrain with him in the bike trailer.

Hurray, a friend of mine is coming down tomorrow to visit. We are going to go shopping and I may get some new clothes to celebrate not being as fat as I was a few months ago! LadyT you asked what I might buy ages ago, and I rudely forgot to answer you - I'm not really sure but will probably be tops only as don't think I'm thin enough yet to buy trousers if I'm going to go back to original weight. But probably some summer stuff, just to truly jinx the nice weather we had and make sure it stays manky.

Right, bed.

Morning all. Thanks so much for your kind words. Really makes me feel better. Veggie there's this rather brilliant new system where because I'm over 25 ( just a shade) and my Mum had breast cancer I see a consultant within 2 weeks - if he can't tell from a scan and needs to do a biopsy then will be at most a week or two after that. Thank goodness.

Swim nappies - they do work - even though you think they probably won't. Poor DS I used to put him in 2 because I thought they looked a bit weak. His little ass looked huge. I now know you don't need to do this. I also know not to tumble dry them. I had a complete blind spot and shrunk 2 or 3 pairs. As they're plastic coated they really shrink down to doll size. Which although quite funny the first time began to be a bit of a drag.

Veggie enjoy your yoga. I went to my first full on class yesterday - was good although full of lithe students. Which made me feel a bit like a heifer.

sybil couldn't agree more about how quickly it goes. A couple of friends have just had babies and DD looks so huge next to them. I forgot to say hurrah for school news too - you must be so relieved. Occasionally gets me into a panic now and we're years away from decisions. My emails about meeting up are getting bounced back - I have the virgin address - is that wrong?

LadyT glad your trip to Rouen was fun - I have a bit of a soft spot for the place - we stopped there on the way to the South of France for years. Have you seen Monet's pictures of the cathedral? He basically painted it again and again in different light/weather. Lovely. I do miss leisurely trips to galleries. These days it involves racing round trying to find pictures with dogs in them for DS. You'd be surprised how many there are...

Enjoy your shopping SL. Have virtually spent DH's first paycheck about 3 times over...And talking of virtual shopping netaporter has an outlet site here. Be still my...Pricey still, but nice distraction.

Lal, I am so sorry that you have this worry about your boob. Fingers crossed for a swift and safe resolution for you. I have lots of friends who have had lumps without being anything sinister, but I can see how terrifying it must be for you, my lovely. Are you off to Kings?

For emails, I do use the virgin one, but it's very unreliable. A better one is to put my first and surname together (without the .) then do @btinternet.com. I'll look forward to hearing from you.

SHocking night here - M just would not settle and waas up for most of it. Hey ho, this too shall pass. Now, where's the chocolate?

DD1 now trying to BF M. Clearly doesn't realise that hers are both non existent and the non functioning variety. It's very sweet though.

Happy Tuesday, all.

That's v cute about your DD, Sybil, and well done in sounding so stoical about your shocking night. I often try to remember to tell myself "this too shall pass", but immediately I hear myself respond, "when"?
Lal, am very pleased that you're getting seen so quickly, will be thinking of you.
PMK, sorry to hear you had such a ropey night, could it have been teeth? I think they can still get bad wind at this stage but are better at dealing with it themselves, I ditched the colic drops a while ago when I realised he was actually getting on with it himself, though his favoured method of getting rid of it in his sleep is to pull his knees to his chest - is your DS able to do that in his swaddle? Hope this last night was better.
On the nap front, have discovered that T will only sleep in pushchair if it's moving - he was awake for the entire exercise class yesterday and subsequently shouted the house down for the rest of the day. I felt annoyed for not being able to do that (all the other mums' babies were happily sleeping in their pushchairs) and then guilty for putting my needs before T's. Feel this will be a lifelong conflict though...
Off to the docs again this morning, T's cough got v bad and he's puking up his feeds from the strength of it . Feel like we live there at the moment!
Effie, so pleased the new house is good and your DS1 is enjoying it, even if it takes him a little while to settle in.

lol Sybil, I had the same probs with your virgin one (said mailbox full or something - you are v popular!) and I went to re send at the above one and almost put Sybilfaulty@ etc...
so funny Veggie and Lal, about swim nappy!! I will be using them on our trip so appreciate the advice!
Just answered the door to the postman and had been feeding ds with my shirt tucked into my bra which was just pushed up if you see what I mean? Nearly forgot! What a sight the posty would have had!!!
Well much better night here - no waking until 0545 so, was it the wind the night before? Or was it the fact that I went back to swaddling with arms pinned down? Will try the non pinned arm swaddle tonight with thorough winding and see what happens!
Gotta get out to shop for a bikini today... I'm sure it will be quite depressing.... Must start getting organised for our trip and not leave things until last minute....
standby flights looking hideous for our return have got back up tickets though so should be ok fingers crossed.

Morning,

Lal Sorry to hear about the lump. Try not to worry and I think it is brilliant you are being seen so quickly! Thinking of you!!

Trace I hope you had a good night last night. Try not to worry about crying too much, sometimes it is good to just have a cry.

Effie I'm glad the move went well and you like the house. It sounds like a lovely place you have moved too.

My Dads results from his lump came back yesterday. It was/is skin cancer but they got it all out so nothing to worry about. But it may come back because of his age and because when he was a kid no one used sun cream.

Hope everyone is well. I am fed up of the rain, it rained all day yesterday and is still raining now.

Massive projectile vom all the way across the room, entire contents of feed . There is def something wrong with him but I feel like I'm being fobbed off or made to feel like hypochondriac mum as he's not a skinny wraith, it's as if they're really not bothered looking for what it might be if he's not in immediate danger of starvation, even if he is in significant discomfort.
Glld news about the better night, PMK - and enjoy bikini shopping! I'm not brave enough so I order online and send back when it doesn't fit...

Lal I just caught up with your news. You poor thing. I have all my fingers crossed that it is nothing. I also have a hopeful anecdote for you: a good friend of mine had a lump after stopping BF three months ago. She waited a few weeks then went to the doctor who shocked her with an immediate referral. Then after much worry she woke up the morning of her hospital appointment covered in milk and with no lump! It turned out to be her last bit of mill blocking a duct. I hope to hear a similar tale from you v soon.

Kayz - that is good news about your dad. Thank God they got it all out.

Effie - lovely to have you back. You sound v happy which is nice to hear.

Summer - I am with you on the praising DH's front. Sometimes I think DH is better than me with the girls as he has infinite patience. He does do things differently and sometimes I have to restrain myself from criticism but when I leave him to it, and accept his slower, messier ways, he is great.

We have had two great nights here. Dd1 sleeping 13 solid hours and DD2 going from 6.30pm to 3am then having avqiick feed and sleeping 'til 6.45am. However there is no rhyme nor reason to why she sometimes sleeps well and sometimes wakes every 3 hours. For JJ's survey I can say she is in a cot in her own room at night which helps me sleep better but I can't say how well she sleeps as it is so variable. She has her third jabs later so that will no doubt put an end to this good phase...

Right, off to baby swimming. I hope she enjoys it as much as last week.

arti - what a wonderful night!

btw - where do you find swimming classes which take babies under 6 months - i can't find them.

kayz - great news about your dad
effie - can you post some photos?

re: dh - he is so good with dd, and takes her for an hour every morning, but when i come down i do find a used nappy just on the table, not put in the bin, some old clothes where he took them off, not in the laundry basket. it's like he does the job, but forgets the last 10%.

now... can someone talk me through in simple steps what to do with the bottle of ebm i have in the fridge, in terms of giving it to madam tonight. i'm going to ask dh to give it. how much and how should we warm it? should we shake it or not? what do we do with it if she refuses to take it? can we keep it and try again later? sorry to sound so elementary.

oh, and cat - that sounds worrying. poor T - hope it gets sorted. don't let those doctors fob you off (sure you won't).

kayz great news about your Dad that they managed to get it all out.

lal how frightening for you. I'm sure it will be okay but thank goodness for the speedy referral.

spot Poor T. Do not let them fob you off again. I'd refuse to move till they did something about it.

arti hooray for the sleep! DS managed from 7.30-1.30 last night and then up again at 4, so not bad at all.

My nan was supposed to come home yesterday but then they discovered she hada wound infection So she has to stay for another 24 hours and hopefully be home later today.

Morning all,

lal how worrying for you but glad of the speedy appointment. Am sure everything is ok [hugs]

daisy your poor nan, hope she will be home tomorrow. How's your granddad?

spot poor little T. As wg says, don't let them fob you off!

kayz glad your dad is ok, that's great news.

wg swimming lessons under 6mo, the only ones I've found are Little Dippers & Aquatots which are the expensive ones. I'm just going to take ds2 to the pool myself & then start local lessons at 6mo which are cheaper.

arti yay for the good nights.

Ds2 seems to be going backwards, only thing I can think of causing it is the dummy! He doesn't want a feed after 11pm, just pushes the bottle away. I've found it easier now to take him into bed with me in the spare room as he does go to sleep then. Dh has offered to do tonight though so I can get a proper night's sleep.

Kayz good for your dad that they got it all

Lal sorry you have a lump. As others have said, may well turn out to be nothing. My sister had a lump as a teenager, got sent to a consultant and it turned out to be a bloked milk duct, he literally stuck a needle in it there and then and it was cleared!

WG I've not found any difference between my giving EBM or Dh doing it. I find she takes it best when it is really rather hot. I do 20 seconds in microwave, swirl and back for 20 seconds. It feel like it should be too hot but she takes it. I'd start by just giving a couple of oz, you cn always add more if she takes it then if she doesn't use the rest of the milk to try again. In getting dd to take it we had better results if it was offered again later in the day,she would take it more hapily second time around.

Spot hope you get things sorted.

arti am of your night. Can I just hover around the edges and try to absorb some of your sleep?

pmk I answered the door to the postman while bf the other day

happy move effie

We use a reusable swim nappy too. I got given some hand me down ones with ds after I had already bought one so I double nappy to make sure no poo escapes, not that either of them have done a poo while swimming yet. I like the kushies ones as they do up like a nappy rather than pants so if they do poo it is much easier to take off. I put a pull on boots one over the top. Dd loves swimming and will stay in the pool for ages, poor ds seems to get cold very, very quickly but he loves it too so it always ends in a tantrum as he is freezing but doesn't want to get out. Took advantage of teacher friends over the holidays and took them both swimming together, getting dressed again was fun! Wrap warmest child in towel, dress cold child who is screaming. Now dress warm child who has started screaming from being left all soggy in a towel. Now dress freezing self while both children scream because they are tired/hungry/still cold. Not entirely sure that it is worth it for 20 mins in the pool! The resulting naps though definitely are

Lal - how very scary for you and your dh. Am praying for you. Really hope this next two weeks fly quickly for you so you can get some answers.

Kayz great news about your dad

arti am very pleased for you and your good nights...long may they continue - it's about time you had a break!

P was awake for feeds every 2 hours again last night but that's an improvement on the previous 2 nights so perhaps we're heading in the right direction! Am less tired and emotional about it all today . Phew! Lucy is being a madam at home so I'm going to ask her teacher this afternoon if she's playing up at school too...

I've just had some cheese and onion hula hoops but they haven't quite hit the spot...what now me wonders?

oh i forgot - seeing as you ladies are full of wisdom and experience and great taste...what shall I wear to BIL's wedding in July? A little way off yet I know but I'm assuming I'll still be BFing so may be limited somewhat! Lu is going to be a bridesmaid and as it stands I will be in my charity shop jeans (sooooooo comfy) and my bargain ebay BF top! help!

F**king rain!!! I had to go shopping and I got bloody soaked!!!

Is it really nasty to say I feel much more organised now DH is back working?

so i got to babycinema and finally saw a film worth seeing: state of play. now i'm not good at following plots at the best of times, so the krakatoa poo i had to clear up in semi-darkness during the opening 10 minutes meant i barely understood a word of the rest of the film (that and not having dh with me to ask "why has he said that/what's going on/why have they done that?"). and then i fell asleep during a very exciting 20 minutes. but it was jolly good - but i did pay £8.20 for a nap. i can recommend state of play, though - didn't see the tv version, but russell crowe is surprisingly good (not a fan) and helen mirren was surprisingly rubbish (ditto).

Kayz I get sooooo much more done when DH is at work. In fact things get all messed when he's on holidays, I can't be as controllingorganised

trace I am no style guru, so can't help[ you I'm afraid but whatever you wear I'm sure you'll look great! I always find a fabulous hat/head piece helps glam up any outfit for a wedding. I bet Lu is V excited at being a bridesmaid.

Think I'm coming down with something. My throat hurts and I have a sty coming in my eye. Probably a bit run down from lack of sleep Right best get off DS beached on tummy and getting in a right state.....

Hello all boob all better love the remedies, the ABs are safe in the medicine box. I still have the sore throat etc so probably swine flu, better quaratine myself and see if I can kill it with a combination of homeopathic flu remedy and Irish coffee with extra cream.

Baby yoga was good no svelte students, while the teenage pregnancy rate does seem quite high in Daarbay, non of them where in my class, just me and the other normal sized (or just over) ladies. They were all a but quiet a reserved though, I ended up nattering with the teacher she was lovely. It was actual baby yoga too mostly doing stuff with the baby. The classes I went to with ds1 were a little bit of stuff with the baby and a bit more the mums doing yoga which was ok but I kind of prefer doing my yoga separate and spending time doing cute stuff with him.

WG just swill the EBM don't shake as it messes up all the good fats breaks their bonds. Also you can take it out of the fridge and just let it come to room temperature or put it a bowl of hot water. I'm a bit against microwaves because they kill a lot of the goodness in the milk, however as it's not for every feed it's not really too much of an issue, and is very convenient. If you over heat it you can always put it in cool water to bring the temp back down.

Trace I quite like your eBay BF top, you could always wear some nice black troosers.

I'm a but sleepy after walking to gymnastics and back so can't remember what anyone else said, also ds2 is still a but grumbily I think he's feeling under the weather too, and not sleeping well during the day I think I'm going to download some of that White noise. Right gotta get sorted Ocado man will be here soon. I can never let them deliver the shopping into the kitchen because scared they'll fall over something in this messy house.