Question for anyone who's had a baby in December/Early January..or their own bday is then

hi, i have a son born in march and a daughter mid december, her birthday isn't really any different, we have plenty of notice to buy presents etc so money isn't extra tight for xmas, infact my son's birthday was 2weeks ago an i mentioned to OH that it looked bare as dd had more decs up (birthday and xmas +tree)... only thing is i know some ladies from here found difficult to book a venue for a december birthday, or people wanting to do joint presents, i just told my family any joint birthday/xmas presents would be remembered and they would get a joint one regardless of when their bday is lol... i do know afew ladies did now presents for birthday, and summer presents for xmas or vice versa. hth x

Let's introduce our selfs

g/c from BId10, but hoped i'd find a couple of u in here... and so i did! congrats again woopsie and eteam (loving the names!) was just having a browse on be as fb down and thought i'd take a peek... have to say i'm very broody seeing ur posts! but not planning to add baby no3 for a while yet... so excited for u both... and both of u, esp woopsie, who cares what anyone else thinks, about age gap, surprise baby, my first was a surprise, my second very much planned, but only a 19m gap, and most people assume she is also a surprise, but it's no ones business... space and money, there is never enough, but always enough... u'll find ways and means, not quite how u planned, but just as lovely all the same. much love to u both, and congrats to the rest of u DIJ ladies too... july is a great birth month (my birthday is 9th) usually great weather for birthday bbq and almost equal time to crimbo
wishing u all h&h pregnancies xx

Breastfeeding in public - how to be discreet?

hi, with 40G boobs i totally understand how tricky big boobs and bf can be, especially in public... now the weather is turning colder it works in ur favour... a low v neck jumper (boyfriend style or similsr) with a vest top underneath... pull the v neck down, and the vest top upwards, should allow to just have the essential bit out which baby covers anyway... much like the bf tops from h&m, which i like, not keen on the ones from mothercare though...alternatively debenhams do a nursing bra that has a drop down cup, but then underneath that is another layer with just a hole cut out for the nipple, so workes under most tops and being discreet... they go up to G cup... with a toddler in tow aas well as my 10months old (who i'm bf) it's impossible to stay in, so had to get the nack of it pretty sharpish, with my toddler when he was bf i didn't need to go out as much... try going to baby groups and bf groups and feeding there to build ur confidence... them move onto cafes with a friend for example... i even fed my dd when she was few weeks old walking round asda, couldn't do that now, she's too heavy, and too nosy!!! it comes with practice, but does get surprisngly easy once u get it, and handy clothing helps too... also muslins are great for just chucking over while ur latching and still unconfident xx

Help asking for a elective after emergency please

u have loadsa time to make a decision, i didn't make mine until 38.5 weeks! and even then u can change ur mine right up until incision made or baby crowning... so don't feel pressurised into deciding just yet xx

sleeping through, am i asking too much?

my 10month old dd still wakes in the night, it's only in the last month that it's dropped down to jsutr 1-2 times a night, before that it was pretty much 4+ times a night every night, and she wants feeding each time... personally i think they'll stop night waking and feeding when they're good and ready, each baby is different, my mixfed ds was sleeping through by 6weeks! the best we've had is 10-7, that happened once only, and it was last week! at least it shows she's heading int he direction... i egt annoyed ta the amount of people who tell me to cc or cio, she's getting there, jhst slowly, so need for any 'training'... as far as i can tell from any bf mum i've met, this is perfectly normal x

moving to ashford, kent, .. good/bad areas?

hi, thanks for ur reply, we're moving two weeks, to kennington,only about a mile from the town centre... can't wait now, jsut need to pull my finger out and strat packing!!! where abouts are u? do ua hve any kiddies yet/preggers/ttc or other? i've two, boy 2.5yrs and a baby girl who's 10months xx

poo... or lack of it!

ur mw sounds like a fool! bf babies are well known for going up to ten days without a poo... a poo is waste, breastmilk contains very little/nothing to be wasted, equalling no poo! also re the 10% loss... she's far from doing her job, yes more than 10% can be a worry, but it will most likley be down to a latch issue, easily resolved with the right help... not formula.. u have several options, ask her to refer u to a bf specialist, or support group as matter of urgency, u can also re admit back into the hospital and/or birth centre for 24/7 help for a few days til ur back on track (which is what i did with my son) or u can seek private help via organizatiosn like the nct or LLL ... also please seek out 'dispelling breastfeeding myths' on facebook, an invaluable page... u need to really concentrate on latch, get baby checked for tongue tie etc, and feed feed feed... if possible do nothing but... as soon as u start to introduce ff ur supply will drop, bf is a skill that takes practice from both u and baby, so practice practice as neithe rof u have done it before, u both need to learn it... make usre ur eating adrinking ppleanty, and sod anything else, just stay in bed all day, lots of skin to skin and feed all day until u crack it, remember to watch out for growth spurts also, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 4 weeks and 6weeks, each lasting a couple of days minimum where baby will want to feed non stop... don't be tempted to supplement at those times, the idea of growth spurt is to increas ur supply be supply and demand... oh, i'm sorry that sort of ranted but i'm cross at ur mw... congratulations and fingers crossed for a wonderful bf journey ahead of u xx

when do you plan on stopping BFing?

had planned 6months, then for a little while i thought i wasn't gonna make it, but then we did, 6m exclusively breastfed! yay! but then we were still both enjoying it, so i said to myself, 1yr, but now she's 10m and that one year milestine is coming round quick, and i still don't think either of us are ready to stop just yet, so i think, most likely finish completely on or before 18months ... my first i bf til 7months, he was mixfed from 3weeks though... was gutted i didn't even get to my 12week goal with him x

Help asking for a elective after emergency please

i had an emcs with my first, then with my second my consultant assumed i wanted vbac, i wasn't sure, then at 38 weeks i said no, i wanted elcs, i had to argue, cry etc, but they backed down... and i had my elcs... it is up to u, if they make u labour and something go wrong leading to an emcs u could potentially hold them responsible, especially if u when u 'agree' u say ok, but i want it noted in capitals that i'm not happy about vbac and have requested elcs... equally they can't force a woman into a cs if she wants a vbac... what i will say though is be sure, and u can change ur mind (as i did)... i got too scraed the closer it got, scared of a repeat birth like my eldest and scared i would get ptsd again (it was the ptsd making me scared) ... i wish now i had tried a vbac, as with vbac they are generally a lot more cautious so less likely to ever get to an emergency state and will do cs at first hint of trouble... i'm now thinking of no3 (not ttc yet) and as will most likely be my last am hoping to attaempt a vba2c, but apparantly i may have the opposite fight on my hands for that as they will most likley want me to go for an elcs

whatever u decide, i hope u have a happy and healthy birth xx

Midwife webchat clinic with PB's Nikki Khan, Tuesday 4th October from 12-1pm

hi Nikki, was just looking for some info re vba2c. i had an emergency c sec in march 2009 (due to failed induction, failure to progress, and heart rate decels of baby) following that labour/birth i ended up with ptsd... then in december 2010 i had an elective c section, all went smoothly no known issues with it, i had planned a vbac but as it got closer i just got too scared to try... now if and when we have our next baby (will be ttc in around 18m-2yrs time) it will most likely be our last baby (OHs choice) so i would love to try a vaginal birth (althopugh part of me thinks i don't want to risk ending on emergency)... my question is what are the stats for succesful vba2c and also how likely will the hospital support my decision for a vba2c... any info on this would be much appreciated. thank you xx

moving to ashford, kent, .. good/bad areas?

sma who

2yr old suddenly waking very very early!

cmpi- weaning back on to cow's milk...

head banging

how is every one? and turning two!

colief and breastfeeding

my cs birth plan

My planned C-Section birth story

being sick, what to feed him?

tt elec pump won't turn on! help please

help with tt electric pump

BS + pics (also in DiD)

she's here!!

vbac home birth?