March 2010- Group Therapy on the cheap

[ValiumtheConqueror]

And cupcakes

oh and can you believe that no one turned up at the MN Swansea meet up apart from me and my girls
Can't believe a wee sniff of rain put them all off - and for the record the hour that we spent at the park was dry.
Makes me apprehensive about travelling all the way to York incase no one turned up for MMMM!!!! You wouldn't do that to me would you?

A man?? There is a man on this thread??

I must get round to reading backwards but WILL really go to bed now.

yeah pacific get reading we have a man friend now so take your hairy legs off to bed !

Quick hello - hello! Just back home again after our 2 week stay in NI. It was lovely and a nice change of scenery, but it is nice to be home again. And it won't be long until we see my folks again - they'll be over here this weekend to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday.

When I bitched about the swing when DH first got it, little did I know I'd be missing it so much when we went away!

poor DD2 struggled a bit to settle on the 2 and a half hr car journey home, we had to stop twice - she was crying real tears and everything . However both girls were absolute stars on the ferry

pacific I would take the amby -you'll kick yourself if your routine goes to pot and you don't have it. Whatever works and all that...

shroomer love your MN Velcro

fliss lol at the midnight raspberries!

heckle everytime I put DD2 into her swing I think of you and how much you moaned!!!!
I agree they have a huge footprint but just such a good thing to settle them when you need to get on with making dinner or something urgent. I don't know how much longer DD2 will fit in it and I get sad thinking about that. I reckon after our Scottish holiday it won't be suitable anymore

so much to say and Ill forget it all...

Smac grr at the lack of attendance in Swansea. Was it an arse to get to? I hope you had a good day anyway.

Bookwormdad Im putting factor 50 on DD anyway - the pharmacist was ok with it as it was hypoallergenic. Better than a red uncomfortable baby. However I guess California is sunny more than 4 days a year, so keeping DD underwraps seems sensible!

We have had 2 nights of excellent sleep - just one wakening at 3am yesterday and 5am today. I put this down to giving her 4 oz of EBM at 5pm and boobies at 6.30. She has only just started accepting the bottle so this wasnt possible before.. clearly she was hungry every time she woke! Then She feeds at 12 (doesnt count ) and today woke at 8am. Didnt know what to do with myself! Another reason I think this has happened is that Ive turned the baby monitor off so I am only responding to cries and shouts not grunts (fliss love the raspberry story)

pacific great to see you again. Did you watch the world cup? What are the divisions in your house regarding national teams?

evitas any better last night?

sarah did you sort it out? DH came in at 11.30pm after football last night and made a phenomenal amount of noise so I woke up. Had to stop from shouting at him as would wake DD up and then i wouldnt sleep either, but .. grr!

heckle hows the throat? had my tonsils removed at 21 and havent had a bad cold or throat since. yey! (until tomorrow.. Stop Writing Things Down!)

Why do baby groups shut for the summer? Im about to go mental..

Thanks for linking for me PD I am rubbish at that stuff especially on iPhone!

It's amazing what some sleep does. I feel more human today. DS went down at 7.30pm, woke twice for feed. Both times I tried 'controlled crying' for the first time: 2 mins crying, 1 min me there shushing, 1 min me there shushing, 6 mins crying, 1 min me there shushing. Worked both times after 6 mins. We'll see what happens tonight. I am also trying it out for naps today, and has worked so far. Of course, it could just be down to his mood today, or a fluke.

hecklephone I also have MN bungee straps to be deployed if PDW goes AWOL again.

Smac - I was sad putting DS' 0-3 months in the loft

siamese - yes, what is it with baby groups shutting? What are we supposed to do? I have signed up fo 'baby yoga'. So middle class. It will liven up my week.

On the health front: sex still painful. Doc said was vaginismus 3 weeks ago and sent me for physio. First physio appt is next week. This is going to be a drawn out affair, and I don't think it is vaginismus. I'm using a local anaesthetic 5 mins before sex, and the first minute still hurts. Anyway, sorry if TMI. Babies are good contraceptives, as they say, so I am too tired anyway to keep trying. I want to try for another baby! How am I meant to do that if my bits aren't working properly?!

Oh, yes, definitely take the Amby, Pacific. Mine went to Germany and Scotland in DS's first few months rather than risk upsetting what little "routine" we had. And both Lufthansa and BA give you a 10k luggage allowance for an infant, don't they? The Amby comes in at 9.something, which is perfect!

I'm also a bit about packing away all the outgrown baby clothes, although not enough to be planning another little person to fill them. So, really really really should sort out contraception as am aware than BFing is not adequate protection. Mind you, as with Shroomer, I find babies themselves to be pretty good contraception (being the time and energy sapping individuals that they are). Anyway, Shroomer, I hope that the physio helps you.

Have had a wee look at your link, Ang*, and am going to have another one. My DD still likes to be slinged for naps (or have me lie ddown with her) and I really want to teach her to nap in her own bed - something I did not achieve at all too well with DS.

Sorry I've been MIA for a bit - just been madly doing my Doula training, which has been full on but amazing. I'm now officially looking for work as a trainee Doula - hurrah.

If you know anyone due after mid-October and they are interested in a trainee Doula (downside: less experience, upside: completed training, much cheaper, works with a mentor) - feel free to pass them my way!

My new website is a work in progress (must do a typo check) but do look: www.hackneydoula.co.uk

I'm going to try and post something interesting on the blog most days.

Sofya is just gorgeous at the mo.

PD - hurrah, welcome back!

Smac - sorry about your bits, glad at least you are seeing someone, hopefully they'll get to the bottom of it.

Can't hang around much today, but will be in touch v soon.

Thanks for the reassurance, all. As it turns out, I've not put him back in the cot since and I've reverted to my usual half awake/half asleep state for the entirety of the night. If I managed over four months of that before I hit a blank spot, I wonder when the next one is due

I'm so bloody irrtable a lot of the time. Sleep deprivation truly is something else. DP and I had a mini Talk about how things are. Kinda both voiced that we were struggling (with being so knackered plus James crying/being demanding so much of the time still), but holding on to the knowledge that it's not forever and we still love each other to bits.

I only just read everyone's posts and seem to remember... nothing. Blast. Oh, wait, rebecca fab news about your doula'ing! I'm afraid I know of nobody suitable but do keep us informed.

smac shocking that only you turned up! I'm sure us MMMMers aren't so fickle. And, certainly, with some North of the Boarder, a bit o' rain isn't gonna stop anyone .

shroom not sure how much of your down below you want to share but... what kind of pain is it? And where? Presumably dr has ruled out thrush/other (lady)garden variety infection? Certainly, whist I don't have any pain, I am quite often not as present in the moment as is necessary for full enjoyment as I'm still so focused on the baby. So don't rule out a psychological reason because it may even be subconscious. As for physio, say what??! I have some very strange pictures in my head!

fliss (and pd) I am still swaddling James as he really does startle awake quite easily plus will pull out the dummy with his hands and then cry . I worry about him rolling onto his front whilst swaddled (as he rolls very easily/smoothly from back to front - goes up on his knees too but shows no inclination of lifting his front half!) so I have rolled cellular blankets that keep him in place when I'm not beside him (generally when he sleeps in my bed in the day). Not sure where I'm goin with this... I think I'm saying that fliss I know that panic and pd yup, I'm still swaddling.

North of the boarder? Yes, that's right, north of the lodger. Border* I meant.

Hello there! I was summoned by a couple of you ladies from another thread - you know who you are! And really, I should be on here anyway what with ds1 being 1st March.

Things are going ok with us. DS2 is a dream baby. I don't mean to sound smug, I really don't, but after ds1 who was a nightmare, ds2 is so easy. He sleeps well, BUT not on his own. I haven't bothered to try that yet. He needs to be in the sling a lot during the day because we are out and about a lot, and also for protection from ds1 who has a love/hate relationship with him. So, he sleeps in the sling during the day, and in bed with me and dh at night. Saying that, I actually managed to put him down earlier without him waking, and he's currently asleep beside me on the sofa.

Feeding is great, no problems at all. Tandemming with ds1 is erm, interesting shall we say. I gave ds1 free reign for a few weeks, but I started cutting him back a bit. His main problem with ds2 is usually over milk. He wants to feed at the same time as ds2 at almost every feed, but I want to just nurse him maybe once or twice a day. Finding middle ground has been tough. Sometimes it is easier for me to just grit my teeth and nurse them together because that is less hassle than dealing with the fall out from refusing. He has been known to pull ds2 head to get him off the boob and then try to dive in there himself. I really thought that the bigger age gap (4yrs 4months) would help, but I think that actually it's because he's been on his own this long that he's taken to it so badly. This too shall pass, this too shall pass. etc He's off to school in August, so perhaps things will be easier then once he's got other things to think about...

We haven't started weaning yet. He's only 20 weeks and not showing many of the traditional signs of being ready. I did BLW with DS1 and it was easy peasy for us, so I am hoping for a repeat of this with ds2. We are still exclusively breastfeeding and I haven't been able to express because my milk won't store, so I haven't been apart from ds2 for more than about half an hour in total!

My ankle is doing ok. It's 6 months since I had the break pinned, and now it's good enough for every day life, but still not quite recovered to full strength and flexibility. I have screws sticking out on the outer side of the ankle and it's sore if I try to sit on the floor with my leg tucked under, or if I lie on a hard bed. I also have to choose shoes carefully because some will rub on the screw. I probably need to get the metalwork removed, but that would mean another operation, so I will leave it a while and see how it goes. The logistics of going in for surgery with two small children is enough to put me off!

Anyway, sorry for the epic post. I will try to have a read and see what you are all up to.

Manda Doc has tested for thrush and other infections. All negative.

rebecca congrats on being a doula. Sounds like a great job to do. I checked out your blog and love the video of the breast crawl.

Off to first pushy mothers class today.

Rebecca- congrats on becoming a doula! I had a doula for my birth although ended in emcs she was still amazing and such a massive help/calming influence.

Shroomer- is pushy mothers like buggy fit? I run round local park pushing pram on a Monday afternoon, been horrible in hot weather and I ache hell afterwards but that means it's doing something right?!

BWD - I use factor 50 baby sun cream but ds is fair haired and I am paranoid about sun, cue me wrangling with parasol everytime we change direction in pushchair

My baby's sleep is officially broken wanted feeding four times in the night

WHY IS HE BACK TO FEEDING TWICE IN THE NIGHT!!!!!!!?????

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I reckon the babes have been talking. After a few weeks of sleeping through we're also back to a couple of night wakings. Not too bad compared to lots of you, but a bit of a shock to the system. Arcadie, ang - sympathies. PD, IWCAS I don't know how you do it, but think you are both splendid!

Welcome back Mabroon - fab news about the leg being much better - fingers crossed you'll be cartwheeling around with the best of them soon.

Shrommer - pushy mothers: I'm impressed! I have an exercise DVD which arrived on Monday. I've probably burned calories just by looking at it haven't i? HAVEN"T I??!!

ang great to hear you had a good Doula experience. I can't wait to get started, it's such a privilege to attend someone's birth.

Shroomer thanks for checking out the site. The video is incredible isn't it. I really wish I'd done that for my birth - heck, I'll have to have another! I'm trying to post something on the site every day, so anyone who feels like checking it here's the actual link this time www.hackneydoula.co.uk. Oh and if anyone has any comments - good or bad, do let me know.

Manda - glad you and DH could have that talk. It is hard when you're both knackered but brilliant that you can talk it through and recognise the issues.

Rebecca- my doula has a website www.primalbirth.co.uk which I think is really good, your website is great too by the way, really like the idea of a blog, just thought I would show you what another doula had done.

angfirsttimer - yes it sounds the same: lots of running around a park and sit-ups on towels.

Rebeccacad - you have indeed burnt a Mars Bar's worth of calories just by staring at your exercise DVD. No sweat. Just by signing up to pushy mothers I've burnt 750 calories - all from my jawline I have also bought a DVD and I'm waiting for it in the post. I would love to try out the breast crawl with a baby (er, mine of course), but I read it takes an hour for the poor little mites to crawl from your abdomen to your breast - I couldn't bear it!

Good morning ladies

Rebecca- congratulations! The web site looks great and what a fantastic video

IWCAS sorry about the response from the hospital. I really don't know what else you should do.

My sympathies RKD, IWCAS, PDW, Ang. We had a slightly better night today, but DS is so grumpy during the day. He really needs to sleep more but he just sleeps for 45minutes....

Shroomer Enjoy your class. I also do something similar, but in fact I was too tired yesterday and I missed my class

mawbroon how can you feed to at the same time?! You must be really brave For me one is problematic sometimes, I can't imagine feeding two.

Have a lovely day
x

Morning all.

Sorry to hear about the non-sleeping/feeding-too-much-in-the-night babies. We had not a bad night, actually. Robin went down in her cot (already sleeping) from about 8.30 until 10.30 when she stirred so I fed her - first time I've tried a dream feed - and put her back into the cot. She stayed there til 2.30 then into bed with us. It's only a wee change but it's such a relief when she sleeps in the cot for a bit - gives me time in the evening to relax or time in bed to stretch out a bit!

My tonsilitis is better but I was slightly naughty and didn't finish my course of antibiotics

(waves to you all) ! i am looking after a friends 18month old who keeps being beaten by Rosie but popped in to say hi! xx

Afternoon all

Think the babies have definitely been talking, DD has stopped the midnight raspberries and has been up at 3am the last two nights and not settling. Big shock as she'd been sleeping so well really

On the plus side, she has decided to show me her rolling over skills today - 3 times, so it's not a fluke She's not half grumpy though - and ravenous. I'm quite thankful now that I'm FF, how you do it with two Mawbroon I don't know, I am in awe!

8Sariska* - quick question to a fellow Amby owner (and a fellow solicitor - there I've outed myself as an evil lawyer . Aer Lingus has 10kg for babies too. So (dumb question alert) if DH, me and DD are flying, with only one bag checked in, does this mean we can bring the Amby as well?

Delighted to se PD and the other lurkers return to the madhouse.

Who was it linked the babysleep site? Thanks so much - has helped me no end. I am now just rocking the cot during the 3am wake up rather than feeding her and changing her. Did this 2 nights in a row and she went back to sleep within seconds!!! I barely woke up myself. THANK YOU!!!!!!

Manda well done you for calmly discussing things with your DP. Me and DH are at each others throats (Ok I'm at his). He's going away for a week to work next week and I was dreading being alone with baby. Now I can't wait!

Rebecca respect on training and setting up a website!
I need to look into setting up a blog myself.

Wow DD just went into the cot for a nap with just a few seconds rocking [disbelief emoticon]

I brought her up to London yesterday to show her off to work and she was a little angel. Lots of people stopped me in the street and Victoria to say she was beautiful [preen]

Although a woman on the train said "what's her name" "Bay" says I. Silence. "What" says she. "Bay" says I. "Yes, that's what I thought...hmmm...unusual". 5 minutes later. "Does she have another name...a saints name that she can actually use?!" says she.

Bloody cheek