November '09 and the months are flying by, our 3 month plus troop, and us, the knitted boob group!

[SirBoobAlot]

New thread, we chat so much!

Ninja, big hug from here too. I hope you will feel soon better.

TOK, so we both survived our in laws. Mine took Paula for a walk on saturday when I was in bed being sick. We said they should come back after hour as I didn't want to destroy her nap routine. They came back after 2,5 hours! They hadn't even taken their mobile phones. We already started to be worried. It's not that they are already very familiar with London and hardly speak any English. Until now my MIL doesn't see she made a mistake and keeps saying: but Paula slept so well

laugs, glad your book group was successful. Really a great idea. I am secretely dreaming of French or German classes for mums with babies with me as a teacher (don't know though if the teacher should be distracted too)

BBL, how are your boys today?

helips, I am currently living abroad, so I have some (not so) useful tipps but need to post later as Paula is just really getting unhappy.

Pavlov If it was something I really, really want to do with no other way of funding it and my MIL offered to pay, I would probably gratefully accept. (Obviously I don't mean my MIL but a nice hypothetical one!) I suppose it depends what your relationship with her is like. If she's the type to hold it over you that she got you qualified for the next 40 years, maybe not, but otherwise it is a means to an end. Pride is overrated.

Ninja Sorry to hear you're a bit sad/ down. We are always here if you want to talk.

I have found HVs in general very laidback about weaning at 6 months. I told my HV this time that I weaned DD at 5.5 months and she was really surprised "didn't you do well?!", which obviously suggests that many if not most wean before that. However, I also find it hard to go against the official advice. The HVs are the people on the front line, dealing with real babies and mums, not just writing the guidelines, so you'd think they would know what they are talking about, but then you read MN and everyone seems to think HVs talk a load of rubbish and are completely out of touch. I also find Mumsnet quite militant at times. I don't think people realise they are not actually helping but just putting others off with their hard line, bossy-boots approach

er, didn't mean to suggest any of you are bossy boots! I meant things like the breast and bottle feeding and the weaning boards, which I find a bit scary!

Ursi that sounds like a great idea. I don't think it would matter if you were a bit distracted if it were something a bit more relaxed like a German conversation group. I'd love to go to something like that.

Happy St Patrick's Day all!

Ninja hope you are OK, if you need to talk, we are hear listen [hugs]

Pav I agree with Laugs don't rule out Mil's help altogether. If you cannot get funding from another source then grab it with both hands, especially if you think it will benefit your family in the long run!

Ursi Pils are just so frustrating aren't they? They think they can just do their own thing and forget that it's YOUR child and YOU make the rules! I would be be very too.

BBL hope your boys are feeling better today.

Baby massage went great yesterday. There were 5 babies in total and Anya was the only one who didn't cry . She loved it, well, I'm not sure if she was enjoying the massage part or the looking around at the other mums, charming them with her giggles and smiles .

I too have ordered the BLW book and Sophie La Giraffe!

Ew, eau de Anya has just reached my nose, best go change her

All Amazon need to do now is sell a knitted boob and we're away!

Laugs thanks for what you've said about hv's and militant mn boards. I agree with you (when I'm not dithering as to whether I'm doing the right thing!) and wish I hadn't read some of the posts on those boards. One yesterday was all about any formula making baby's gut have the wrong bacteria in it, citing some study or other. As Ioan was given topups at the hospital all it did was upset me and make me feel as though all my bf has been in vain somewhat - now how is that helping a fellow mum?

[whispers] I've had two nights now where he's slept until 4am again could this be a taste of things to come? He feeds again at 6, 8 and 10 then so maybe he's just shifted when he's stocking up on calories?
Brought down the old toys and highchair from the loft yesterday which was a nice trip down memory lane again. DS1 has taken to playing with the baby toys again

Toby has thousands of spots. He has cried all morning except when I play Yellow Submarine to him (the only song that calms him, no idea why). I feel sick with anxiety.

Laugs you have given me an idea...

Ninja hope you are ok.

BBL poor Toby have you tried a bath with oats? It's supposed to be brilliant for chicken pox and exczema etc. You need proper oats (i.e. not ready brek) and then put then in a stocking or pair of tights, tie the end up then let the tap water run over it as you run the bath. The water will go sort of milky as the stuff comes out of the oats, and it will really soothe the skin. If he likes a bath, it might also help him stop itching as the cooler water will take the heat from his skin.

Ninja Hope you're ok. Don't stay away too long.

These blimmin colds! I think I've caught one now. Both DS' seem ok with their sniffles, hopefully it won't get the better of me.

Looking forward to hearing all our different experiences on weaning. I'm hoping once weaning is in good progress, the day-time naps become less irregular and fall in to 2 naps good naps a day

BBL Hope Toby is much better this morning.

BBL If you are that worried I would see a GP today. If you tell them on the phone it is a baby they always find space for you. Hopefully, the GP will only have the job of reassuring you everything is fine, but that is worth the trip.

Glad I have given you an idea! For a book group?

Hmm... DD and DH are off to see a Disney Princesses show tonight at the arena. He's told me this morning that everyone will be wearing princess dresses! I don't know why I didn't think of it before except she's never been to anything like this. She has a purple party dress and I've got a wand from my 21st! Hope that will do. Annoyingly, they are going with his friend from work who spends a fortune on her kids so I know her DD will be kitted out in the full garb. At least I hope DD is not old enough to notice the difference.

Sorry BBL X-posted. Poor Toby and poor you Are you able to take him for a walk in the pram for some fresh air, might help him sleep for you. I've not had to deal with chickenpox before, so sorry I can't hand out much advice.

Laugs She will look lovely dressed up in a little party dress and wand. Hope she has a lovely time!

helips, so I used to live in a small village in France and now in London but I'm not sure if I can give you useful tipps as I did not move with kids. It might be easier though to make contact with kids.
Do you have to organise everything yourself or is it done by your husbands work? In some countries it can be a bit tricky to open a bank account or getting a mobile phone,... Sometimes you will feel like the first foreigner coming to the country
It is very important that you take first steps in meeting new people. Those who already live there have already enough friends and aren't looking for new ones so it is up to you to start talking. This is actually easier with other foreigners as they have the same problem. Going to activities makes it easier and I guess, this part is even easier with children. I guess there are activities for children everywhere in the world.
Language classes are normally the easiest way to find people in the exact same situation as you are but I don't know if this will be possible with children. But obviously knowing the language would make your life easier too.
I'm not sure if this was helpful and there was something else I had in mind, but I can't remember right now. If it will ever come back, I'll let you know.

When I thought Toby was calmed by Yellow Submarine it turned out he'd fallen asleep sitting on my knee! He's in his cot now. I can't really go for a walk as DS2 is also spotty and people round here are really funny about seeing spotty children.

Laugs sounds fun! I'm sure your DD will look like a lovely princess! I always think home-put-together outfits are far better than expensive dressing up outfits.

I do want to start a book group! I need a project.

The oats bath sounds interesting. I'll have to make a dash for Asda when my mum arrives (she's coming over to keep me company as we are housebound again!).

So sorry to hear about Toby BBL. It's so good that they don't remember anything before age 1 isn't it?

Good to hear from you tigger

...and everyone else

No news here. Isla is full to the gunnels with wind as I was less than careful with my diet over the weekend: oats in stuffing, eggs in homemade brownies, soya in Free From choc muffins that DH proudly bought. Such sinfulness. Poor kid.

I was given a tin of hypoallergenic formula by the gastro at my request as I'm going to need it when I go back to work (a week in June then 4 days pw in August). I tried expressing at work before but it's just not practical when teaching. DD1 wouldn't take formula or bottle by 5.5 months so I really need to start with it now. But I SO can't be arsed with it AT ALL. I'm going to hate myself when I'm crying over an angry screaming hungry child who can't understand why she can't have her cosy boob later on...

Is anyone mixed feeding? If so, when during the day do you give formula?

Hobnob We give 6ozs of fomula at 11pm at night. It was for sleeping purposes and DH does this feed. DS will not take a bottle from me! So you're doing the right thing to act on it now.

Hobnob Just to add, if she doesn't like the bottle, then maybe try a sippy cup.

BBL, I've only seen your post about Toby now. I am so sorry. I'm sure your GP would see you as he is still so tiny. I guess there is nothing much you can do than waiting but at least the GP could reassure you.

Just out of interest, how many naps do your babies need? For how long do they usually nap and how long can they go without nap?
I think, I've read somewhere they shouldn't sleep for the last 3 or even 4 hours before bedtime. That would not be possible over here. Paula usually naps only 30 min (between 2 and 4 a day) plus, if I am lucky, one long one in the pram.
And she is actually rather terrible unhappy in the late afternoon and I can not imagine how it would be without nap. I thought one around 5 would be best, we start the bedtime routine around 7, depending on how tired she is and she is usually asleep before 8. But even from 5, 5.15 on it seems almost too long for her.

Actually she needs more attention now anyway. I do not know if it is age related (she is almost 4,5 months) or rather the amount of attention she got last week with the in laws. She is not used anymore to play a little bit on her own.
At night we are back to waking up and crying (in stead of just waking up and starting to move) and even after a feed she wakes up 10 min later. She falls easily asleep on me and as the last couple of nights I fell asleep too, she is now used to sleep on me for hours during the night. I guess that doesn't quite help to get her back to feel comfortable in the cot. (Why is there no sighing emoticon?)

hobnob we give a formula bottle at night here too. I used to give ebm but hoped formula would buy me more sleep, it didn't so I'm not sure why I still use the formula but as I have a packet I guess I might as well use it up.
Militants on the bf board have now sown the seed of doubt that I shouldn't be using it

Fruit oh for a longer nap, am hoping that weaning will help with that too.

Ursi Ioan normally has about 4 naps a day which last around 30 - 45 mins. He is more sensitive to noise now as he's much more interested in what's going on than sleeping! Also he gets bored more easily during the day so now needs entertainment of some sort. I try and rotate him around the various toys we have. Borrowed another from sil at the weekend so that's a new thing to look at. He can last about 20 mins before he's bored/overstimulated with it. Lots of libraries have toy libraries within them so that's an option to save buying lots of stuff.
I normally put him down about 2 hours after he wakes, but he can go 3 hours from the morning wake if we're doing things and he's not hungry.

hobnob I think it's a good idea to introduce a bottle now if you'll need to use one. I left too late with DD and she never took one.
You could start off with EBM if it's the formula you don't want to give, although if it's the faff you want to avoid then formula's obviously quicker than expressing.
For a while I was only feeding on one side and expressing from the other. I saved all of this up for the evenings, so I could go to sleep and DH stayed up to give DS a bottle. If you're looking for a time to give a bottle, I'd recommend this, purely for selfish reasons of course! I know your DH is under pressure though.

Becky I think you're a bit like me - we need a project on the go to keep us sane!

I can't find the wand for DD's princess outfit, so I'm going to send her in the dress with a white mouse and a lantern as a kind of Cinderella / Fairy Godmother figure. Might make some sort of glass slipper... She hasn't even seen the film/ read the book, so will be none the wiser.

Naps can be all over the place here. More often than not, we are up at 5am and he's ready for a nap within an hour of waking Then a couple more naps and a big nap late afternoon, so 4 maybe 5 naps. He is in his swing for his naps during the day. Once we're down to 2 naps, he will need to go up in his cot.

I have found having an older sibling in the house is great entertainment value and takes the pressure of me when I need to do something. DS2 loves watching his older brother and chuckles at everything he does!

We have four naps: 9-10.30amish, 12-1.30pmish, 3-4.30pmish and a last little nap around 6.30-7pm before bathtime. It does vary. If he is in the carseat he'll only sleep 20 mins, if in the pushchair he can sleep for ages, at home it can vary between 45 mins and 1.5 hours each nap.

We've just had chip shop chip butties for lunch. Yum city!

Help. I need to manufacture an Easter bonnet before Tuesday. This is all new territory for me. Any ideas?

Laugs I think I need to use formula rather than EBM because the hypoallergenic stuff is vile and they need to get used to it young, or else I'll be faced with a child who refuses it and all milk during the day until she's 1, like DD1. Also with these intolerances if I give EBM after making a mistake with my diet then that's double trouble as far as colic goes. I just haven't found the time for expressing at all this time around. My posh medela swing has been virtually unused .

naps - Isla can go all day without one some days. Honestly! It's mental. Other days she might have 2x2hour naps, one big 4 hour nap or lots of little catnaps. We're having a catnap day today.

hobnob do you have an old sun hat floating around anywhere (a bit of an ask in Aberdeen I know )? If so, or if you can get one from a charity shop etc., then you need to decorate it around the brim. Traditionally Easter bonnets have wide brims and are decorated with flowers, ribbon and little eggs Go wild!!

BBL mmmmm chip shop butties

Have had a lovely afternoon as SirBoob and Bryn came to visit, and also brought cake Both boys seemed quite interested in each other when they sat opposite, it was very cute!

London meet-up SirBoob and I will be able to get to South Bank for about 12. Where are we going to meet? We'll probably be heading off then by 3:30 so we can miss the rush hour commuters on the train home.

Sorry to hear you're feeling blue Ninja

12 sounds great for the South Bank meet-up to me. There's a wee row of restaurants near the national Theatre and there's a branch of Giraffe (appropriately) which I think is quite baby-friendly. Not done London with a baby yet so my knowledge not the best. Other Londoners? Maybe FB better place to sort out, scarlotti?

How about Maxwell's Silver Hammer BBL if you're sick to death of Yellow Sub? I seem to have it in my head a lot these days and Rosa quite likes my rendition of it, it seems!