Dec 08 Ladies welcome to the new Bean, next stop, Summer.

[Veggiemummy]

Sorry very boring had to think quickly, not my best feature

hello hello. rubes - photo is gorgeous, you lucky thing! she is delightful.

well, i am now officially the best wife in the world as the surprise cricket match went like a dream - it was such fun and he was completely surprised and it was great.

but consequently have had mentalist in laws staying for a while which has driven me insane. it seems all mil wants madam to do is behave sensibly, eat everything up on her plate, be quiet and be a nice girl. makes me want to scream. i want her to have fun, be exciting, excited, interested, curious etc. different parenting styles. am also effing bored of being talked to indirectly through madam. instead of mil saying: "V, could you get some milk", she looks at madam and says: "i think mummy is going to get you some milk now" - AD INFIN-BLOODY-ITUM. imagine a whole weekend of being spoken at like this.

kiwi - re: ny and bfing... i reckon your supply would still be there after a week - i know when i stopped feeding madam my milk was still there 2 weeks later when i had a look. and i have to say, madam started sleeping better when i stopped feeding her - it was a comfortable habit we had both got into, and as long as you are fine with it, that is great, but stopping may possibly help with the early wakings, you never know. good luck with whatever you decide todo. oh, and i've always found madam has adapted well to all the changes i thought were going to be hard for her. i am so guilty of imposing my ideas on her - she has been right as rain in travel cots, in other people's houses, in bright rooms, on planes, on trains, etc. it may be i have a really easy baby now (after the initial hell), but everytime i worry about upsetting her routine/what she is used to, she confounds me by taking it way in her stride.

SL - can you call hopsital and remind them you are looking for a VBAC and get them to shift with a sweep? i am hanging on to every last piece of info about your VBAC in the hope it will give me the courage to ask for one, too.

our scan is in 2 weeks time - seems like an age. am still wretching like some freak. sometimes i only have to think about it and i wretch, so some of it must be psychosomatic - that or my gag reflex is so ridiculously sensitive at the moment. really hope there is a baby in there making me feel this vile.

Kiwi - your supply should be fine even if you don't express. When DD1 was 14 months I went to New York for 5 nights. I checked on MN & got lots of advice saying once you have been established for over a year it takes ages for your supply to dwindle. DD1 was only feeding one a day & I thought the trip would put an end to that. I had a tearful (for me) last feed before I went & thought nothing of my breasts all week. DD1 was fine with DH & didn't appear to miss me. She drank rice milk instead. On my return she had most definitly not broken the habit. Suddenly she wanted to feed several times a day & my milk was there. My only worry would be that if you go from constant feeding to none you will be engorged & could mastitis. Would you consider rescuing the frequency of feeds before you go?

Got to go but must quickly add that If I were you summer I would want a sweep ASAP. Studies show they are most effective if repeated 48 hours apart so when the NHS offers one, or two spaced a week apart, it's not following best practice.

Oh and LadyT, do you want to borrow my Phil and Teds??? I feel like I must lend it to someone. It's a great pram but it's just marking time under my stairs at the mo.

Avo that's really reassuring, thanks. I think I would need to pump a bit anyway, else I'll definitely become engorged and uncomfortable after a couple of days (the one time I was away from her before I was quite engorged by end of day 2) - which if I was trying to keep up supply anyway would be fine.

WG I wish DD was as adaptable! She seems to go a bit mental whenever we go on holiday - I think it's a coincidence and it's just that she still is teething fairly regularly (it seems to take her an age to grow a new tooth, still doesn't have very many) but maybe it's the disruption of her routine. Who knows?!

I do worry abotu the change of nursery for her too. Does anyone have any experience of that? She settled in pretty quickly when she started, but obviously I don't know how much I can possibly explain to her/ get her to understand about the new one! The routine/ atmosphere will be identical as it's run by the same people but obviously she'll be surrounded by new faces. Poor mite, the things we do to our kids eh?

That is so lovely of you, Avo, but whilst the P&Ts look fab, I think what I am going to do is try the Bugaboo and a sling and see how I go first, as I am vv anxious about managing a larger buggy on public transport.

Hi everyone, v quick catch up from me as I had planned to have a little nap when T did but that never really happens. Luckily the crazy waking seems to have been an odd blip and he's gone back to being pretty normal (e.g waking once in the night and settling again easily with the dummy). Do anyone else's DCs still use a dummy? If so, how long are you planning to keep them for? T is totally dependent on his to sleep but settles really well with it. THe only reason I'm wondering whether or not to get rid is the fact he still wakes in the night if he can't find it, and he has a massive gap between his front teeth. Ok, so do I so maybe it's hereditary but am wondering if it's dummy related too?

Summer thanks v much for offer of sending book, but TBH I can probably get it on Amazon for the same price as it would cost you to post, so no worries. Crossing fingers for something to start soon. Have you eaten your own body weight in pineapple yet?

My boobs are humungous, they were only this big last time when I was breastfeeding but am seriously worried I'm going to fall over at this rate! Am still wearing underwires as i can't bring myself to wear the soft ones yet (I look like the Queen with a unibosom ) but it's only a matter of time.

Kiwi, sounds like you had a lovely time in Berlin, I never realised it was such a child-friendly city. I've only ever been once and it was pre T so mainy involved bar hopping, You'd recommend it for a weekend with a toddler then?
Oh, and I was wondering, is your DD allergic to cow's milk and that's why she drinks oat milk? When I've tried T on dairy free diets to reduce his mucus I've only tried rice or soya, but good to know there's an alternative...

WG, and breathe....well done for surviving the weekend. My mum does the same talking through T, it's so annoying (not to mention manipulative). Any other classics she came out with? So glad the cricket match went well. IT was a lovely thought. If I did something like that for DP he'd probably propose he'd be so over the moon. But i am crap so it's unlikely

JJ, I have to say I got a bit lost with your theatre analogy but I hope you manage to have some sort of direct confrontation with the twat who ruined your budget.

A quick p&t promo: I find it great for trains and buses, as long as you don't need to fold it up.

Just popping on quickly, as mid-tidy and talking nightmare mystery pile under the stairs, Spot: DP's sister is a dentist and says that teethwise the dummy ought to go by the age of 2 if possible. We still use one for sleep (and very occasionally in emergencies in public places in the case of a meltdown). I know they don't look great and we are all made to feel hugely guilty about them but I had mine to sleep until I was 4 and went to school, and consequently am not v precious about such things. However, I will try and remove in the next few months but if she is unsettled by her new sister I am not bothered if it goes into next year, but then I will really try to stop for the sake of teeth.

Oh, I only get the ones with a ring so it can be attached to a muslin, so DD can always find it in the night. I think stroking the muslin is almost as important to her as the dummy, tbh.

Oh, and MIL ceremoniously gave DP some spenders last week, for our trip to Brussels this Friday. Very kind thought. Sadly the money was in Belgian francs

Oh that's quite sweet LadyT!!

wg my goodness that talking to you through DD sounds SOOOO annoying. Glad the cricket match went down a treat though, I thought it would!

Oh zoe thanks for offering to send the clary sage stuff but I will be near where jj suggested I get it from tomorrow so I will be able to pop in. I have booked acupuncture for tomorrow morning!! And I am going to call the hospital tomorrow and ask how I get a sweep. Still nowt happening!

oh thanks everyone. That is the most un ewok like photo I could find poor little A, actually she is filling out a bit and getting softer looking in the face. She's so unbelievably tiny though still! Very sweet.
DH has been a total knob today. My db went to London Dungeons but only the 2 eldest were going in with his dp so he had some time to kill with youngest so I wanted to go in on train and for dh to come with me. But no, he was hell bent on picking up these damn tools from his brothers house as he is going to be building a deck, and decided he didn't want to go into London as he's been a million times - did he EVER think for a second about doing something perhaps that I wanted to do and he didn't???? Especially in light of the fact my family are only here for 1.5 days longer. I flipped, and he has spent the better part of the last 2 hours saying sorry and trying to convince me to still go. DB went to harrods which was where I wanted to meet up with him (and he spent £51 on a couple of lemonades some wine and a meat and cheese platter - eek) but it really wasn't worth going in the end when it took a complete hissy fit from me before he realised what a twat he was being, especially when I pointed out all the support vehicle driving I've done with bike races that i haven't particularly wanted to at 4 in the morning. Dick.
He is kissing my arse so badly now, and it better continue.
We must plan a meet up for when my family go as I want to see if I can manage it with ds and dd. I want to get signed off to drive in a couple of weeks if possible which I did last time. it's doing my head in that I can't yet.
Vag were you referring to my dd with your Facebook update? Or is that a different someones new baby? If so I think you have been told her name wrong! Did you get my message on FB?
Quick BF question. I know cheerfulness is not ideal, but is the odd glass still ok? or two? i feel I've been indulging quite a bit with the fam here but I do try to feed first etc and not have too much when I do. She is feeding kind of every 3-4 hours or so.

Rubes - v little cheerfulness gets into your milk. Much safer than drinking while preggers. You just have to worry about dropping them.

@ Effie!
yeah I just looked it up - looks like the biggest prob would be it can inhibit let down and a few other things. Apparently a glass of cheerfulness will be eliminated from the breast milk every couple of hours, and generally I have only had a tipple or 2 after I've fed her.
I am currently expressing as I type as I know there will a few spots of cheerfulness for db's last night. I will be making sure she is well tucked up in bed when I do as well, to eliminate droppage risk

Expressing = so boring!!!

Spot yes would totally recommend Berlin with toddler, specially if you stay in Prenzlauerberg or, more likely, North bit of Mitte (not many hotels in P berg). There are playgrounds with sandpits - clean, safe - on virtually every single street - a couple even with bars..! DD was in heaven with her bucket and spade and we managed to chill a bit watching her. It's so safe and friendly i didn't feel like I needed to hover 2 inches behind her like in london playgrounds - and all the sand means tumbles are no problem.

Re the oat milk - DH is very anti-cows milk and has mild allergy to it so we're avoiding giving it to DD on precautionary principle really. She has cheese so not dairy free - and obviously my milk too! But she does seem to really like he oat milk.

Oops posted too early - Ladyt you can buy it in healthfood shops (incl holland & barest) so maybe worth a try for little O? It's definitely good for you and I have reservations about soya milk

And I've always enjoyed the odd tipple with BF Rubs! one glass only when she was v little (more would have probably killed me with the sleep deprivation and all..!) but have been known to have rather more than one now...!

Oh I have another question - what are your little ones sleeping in/under now? DD is still in a merino grobag which is getting a little small now - but shes a terrible thrasher/turner/wriggler in her sleep so I can't see how a baby duvet thing would work...?

i have the same issues, kiwi, T still has a sleeping bag but it's tiny and he's in the biggest one you can buy. He too is a nighttime wriggler but I figure maybe best to get used to the cover thing while it's still relatively warm as it might be a bit trickier in winter?

Lady I suspected as much re-dummy. It's so hard as it seems like such a comfort to him.

Rubes, enjoy the cheerfulness! I used to be gagging for 7pm every day as that was when I allowed myself a daily tipple...

Sorry Pubie I swear I typed in an A but it came our as E. I didn't think the itouch has preemptive text for names but apparently it does.

I'm having so much trouble keeping up. I had a little peep at the week I missed but only for up to Tuesday. Sybs I'm sorry no idea why I didn't get your text but my phone had no battery anyway.

Beans the cluster feeding maybe due to the six week growth spurt or due to expressing before 6 weeks. It should settle down though so if you can bear it hang in there. I understand what you mean I really needed the boys in bed in time so I could have sometime to myself. I did find with DS2 that trying putting to bee a little earlier helped but your already trying at 6 so not sure you can try any earlier.

Sorry had to post cos of stupid itouch thingy.

Lightening my MW provided her own clary sage and I only used it during the birth but it's wicked stuff really brings on the contractions. Mine slowed down (because I was being a chatterbox) and she popped some on a cloth and had me inhale a bit then put the cloth on a radiator next to my birth pool and it def moved things along. Oh I hope you start up soon and have a VBAC, I'm jealous I want to do another birth.

JJ you completely lost me but it's all crap.

WG your mil is mental. Also I was constantly reminded of your DH while away next door to our campsite was a L'oreal lab place. I know it's not Garbier but everytime we went past DH & I would both pipe up with 'ah the laboretoire!'

Right due to itouch I have to post a third time so pushing my three post rule.

Jam DS2 slept from 7-7.30 all but two nights. On one night he had an unsettled sleep I think because he was a little cold and on the other exception he actually slept 7-8.30! Generally he goes to bed around 7.30-8pm with DS1 but while we were away he was shattered & had to be in bed by 7. I think part of it was doing so much during the day. He usually sleeps until 6.30am to 7am ish so wake up time was not too different but he often has a wriggle and grump at around 5am which never happened.

LadyT I'm not going to be able to meet up next week as we are going camping again on an island up north. Sorry to miss you I had been planning on coming down to meet you then going back to Antwerp in the afternoon for a bit of shopping!

Ok have had to break my rule.

Trace it's so stupid with the LI rules but at least they know now. I heard of a case where a women couldn't cash in her critical illness insurance when she got breast cancer because she hadn't declared that her father had had kidney stones! WTF! It's stupid and really has no bearing on your eligibility they will just use anything to bump up the price or avoid paying. We are having trouble with DHs LI. He had loads in the UK, but here they have limited him to a quite low amount we feel. We are going to see if we can get some more.

Beans how was bath time tonight I was thinking of you when I chucked the boys in tonight. It does get easier. When DS2 was about 4 months I got a bath seat that really helped. It does get easier. Also I found the buggy board really useful but DS1 was 3.5 years so very different. Also you can get a soft insert and a head insert for the mackerel. I can have look to see if I still have mine. Otherwise just look for head insert on eBay you can get them for a couple of quid.

Clearly that should have read Maclaren not mackerel!

Hello! Veggie, thanks so much for your tips etc and for thinking of me. I seem to have bathtime sorted finally - I have taken tips from everyone on here and now run the bath with the bathseat in for Pru. Then pop in Whizz, let her muck around while I get Pru naked. Pop her in the seat and give her a quick wash - cue smiles from her and tummy button pointing from DD1! - then take her out, get her dressed and then wash DD1. Seems to work with minimal tears. Phew! Thanks to everyone for tips - they worked!

Re the head support in the mackerel (god that made me laugh!) - I got one from kiddicare for next to nothing and it's been brilliant. Thank you for tip though - and feel quite proud of myself for doing something right unprompted!!!

Rubes - I have at least 1 beer a night and sometimes 2 as have expressed earlier in the day for 10.30pm feed - or actually using formula mostly at that time as she sleeps longer after it.

Are you doing too much too early? I'm worried about you haring around and getting stressed. When your DB has gone, please please promise me that you'll relax and get some sleep during the day when you can?

xxxx

Hello, right ds fed and bathed by dh and in bed at 7pm (kiwi he's in his bed with duvet that zips up but fan on but I will have to re-asses the fan needage when I go to bed as well as reposition him as he'll be at a funny angle after coming out of bed to protest and then getting back in an falling asleep on the way in dd just bathed by me and in bed but not sure if asleep. I have a glass of cheerfulness and some expressed milk for the next feed (ala Beans style) and dh gone to collect db and tribe plus Thai take-away. Meltdown is hugely paying off
I promise I will get some rest Beans, as long as you promise to visit us
ok dd not quite as settled as I would like so must go.....