Jan 09 - weaning,smiling,laughing and chatting and loads more fun to come:)

[stripeywoollenhat]

there.

ooo yes Ray forgot to say congratulations to your dh. New baby, kicking ass at work, 2009 is his year! Fab!

Tree - you are doing a fantastic job and really should be venting on here more than you are. Come on lady, get it out, if I were in your shoes I'd be moaning a lot - you always seem so positive even with everything you're up against. Does sound like dairy is doing it but paed tomorrow will hopefully give you more answers. And honestly (I know I've said it before but..) DD's babyhood was shit - DH and I came very close to divorce - but now we talk about it with superlatives. You forget the bad bits quickly, much like childbirth.

Blocked duct here - bugger. Can't shift it. Tried comb, hot/cold compress, expressing, mega-feeds all afternoon from same side. Not moving. Off to bath... wish me luck.

Sorry Zach ill too Pat. DS still fussing, but not so bad.

Catch up with rest in a bit...

Another duct LenniEd!! That sucks big style!

Thanks for the morale support. I really feel like it is all just slipping away and being wasted in worry and colic. Poor lamb will never roll or do anything at this rate.

She was on her changing table tonight and did a buckaroo, and I was really surprised. Then I thought that really she could be able to roll for all we know.

Also [now this is plain daft] but I have the most beautiful crib, with white comapny lines, cashmere blankets, sheepsking to lie on all saved from dd1. May as well have left them under the bed for all she used them I haven't changed her crib sheet since she was born. She has never slept in it for more than one hour - once.

Pah!It's just no fun. Any group stuff I went to I just felt like an alien invader cos when they all talk about how good is the baby and does she sleep through the night, I want to head butt them or cry. Either is mostly unacceptable no?

pat - sorry zach poorly. when c has had colds it's always really hard to feed her because of the bunged up nose - i think she's only really had quite mild colds though, dread her getting actually sick. she does that thing with the belly slapping too, combined with really vigorous kicking. it's completely adorable.

lenni - bah to blocked ducts. last one i had was a right stubborn one, eventually got it by expressing while massaging (ie. beating the crap out of) the side of my breast using a disposable nappy full of boiling water. not nice but worked. hope your bath sorts it but if not, i recommend abuse by boiling pamper... glad ds has picked up a bit.

and rray, meant to say congratulations on mr rray's award

tree - i can't be doing with people who talk about 'good' babies. as though there are bad ones, you know? (course, c is always screaming her head off in the kinds of situation where people do talk about 'good' babies. a bad 'un, innit...)

so, headbutting is probably not on, but spitting in their tea, absolutely...

Lenni - am sure you have, but cold savoy cabbage is amazing pain relief if you need it and haven't tried it. Oh the glamour.

Stripey - I want to say 'oh well yes she is OK but I would have prefered a better model, one that speaks 3 languages and can cook'

It's a daft thing to say. Especially to a mum with bags like suitcases, coldsores, dribble around mouth and zits. Clearly not sleeping 10 hours a night. Clearly.

Hello everyone... a braindead serene wave from the EPPM household... DH and I are both incredibly tired.. and DS has been unable to sleep properly or eat properly all day, so I think we're all coming down with something... DD as batshit crazy perky as ever though

for pox... I'm assuming no MMR for them then dog?
Oh, and I like the 'just call me' bit... how longs that been there? [dim and confused emoticon]

Ewwwww for fridge poo tree but, whatever gets answers I suppose. Like Lenni, my DD's babyhood was shit too. Her toddlerhood made up for it though- it's worth it, but commiserations because I know what a slog it is

With the pushing off with legs thing- ds did it today on his changing table had no idea he was going to do stuff like that yet... but dh says he often rolls when I'm not there

RRay congrats to DP!

stripey whereabout in Africa did you live? (Did you grow up there?)

Oh and tree don't know if you know John Hegley's work at all? But DH and I always used to say about DD "She's a rip off" (its from one of his poems)

eppm - didn't live in africa, went on a three week camping safari a few years ago. botswana, namibia, south africa. it was amazing. but camping still sucks... sorry for not being clear

tree - i can't believe that child can't speak three languages yet. it's obviously a failure in your parenting...

Boo to blocked ducts and mums at group who claim to have the worlds best baby, they are in serious denial!

I did have a friend who went on and on about how well her DS slept as a baby. Really had to pretend to sympathise when, aged 1, he stopped going through the night and woke up at 5am every morning. She's had a year of that now and I have done well to resist the urge to laugh gleefully everytime she moans. Everybody has trouble with something. And if it's not sleeping or infant crying then its a toddler who won't eat or is hyperactive or clingy. I have never counted my chickens because I know some other problem will just come and slap me round the face as soon as I've finished being smug

stripey I'm a dork... I read that as you went camping in africa when you were a guide... so I figured you must have been living there, as not many guides go to anywhere in Africa on summer camp... except the ones who live there!

tree all those mums that claim their babies are best... well... just console yourself that yours is more beautiful worked for us!

eppm - wish it had been africa - a field somewhere in cork, in the rain, with beetles. i only went once, but i was a pretty rubbish girl guide, no good with string or anything...

Pat, maybe some people will have pics that help you recognise them on MN - or Facebook. A large crowd of women with buggies is usually a giveaway . Although the second Haringey meet up was funny from that point of view - 5 of us had met the first time but there was of all things a Netmums meet up and another smaller bunch of mums meeting up at other tables, all with babies. This was in a pub, and there must have been 40 mums with babies and 4 unaccompanied adults during the period of time we were there.

Tree, sorry you're finding things so tough. My answer was that yes, ds1 was good at being a baby.

Elkie -LOL at the thought of that pub with all the babies . Lucky you didn't go to the NM meet-up by accident!!
Probably should request some of them on FB so I know what they look like, god why don't I think of these obvious things!

morning

just done washing up and bins.

must get bracken up from monrning nap in a min

stripey - glad drs went ok

tree - sorry things r tough @ mo

pat - wear a carnation lol then you can all look out for ladies wearing carnations

having a quiet day here waiting in as well for vertbaudet bits

Will catch up later.. so ooooooooo tired...Jude woke up 1a.m. til 4.30 for no apparent reason...need sleep.

afternoon

chilling here. dd1 watching timmy time dd2 in cot for lunch time nap

hong kong - sorry for bad night sweet dreams

justdog - oh no hope they scab over quickly.
when dd1 had it a week before xmas we were stuck in about 12 days till they had all scabbed over.

Duct a bit better thanks Dog - still red and a little inflammed but I think the blockage has gone as no hard lump. Think DS shifted it at 4.30am as he was happily feeding and then gagged massively and loads of milk went everywhere was a bit horrid by that time though so I was quite happy to be soaked with milk!

Good luck with the pox - at least we are meant to have a lot of rain in the next few days so you shouldn't miss lovely weather. Although it is always nicer in your neck of the woods isn't it? Like being abroad to a northerner!

Off to hospital now for arthritis review and then his last set of jabs on the way back. Hopefully if I keep feeding him on that side more than the other it will get rid of it completely. Am really full of milk though from all the massaging and expressing and other side is full too as been using it less. Could be a recipe for disaster.

Sorry not to catch up properly, rushing out, but will be back later and have a good read (again) cos I've forgotten everything I meant to say.

Well done Ray's DP though!

Dog as bf continues you usually don't have that 'full' feeling but it doesn't mean there is any less milk. I almost never feel full these days, but am actually producing more milk (I get more when I express despite not feeling full).

If you are still concerned, fennel tea and putting to the breast more frequently for a couple of days has always worked for me.