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  • Monkey Runner - it will not be a problem.  You will be able to bop away to your fav. songs!  James will be 9 months tomorrow and I still breastfeed, have worked full time for 7 weeks before the summer and expressing was fine.

     NCT advice is not to confuse bottle / breast for first 6 weeks.  We followed this and then introduced a bottle of expressed milk.  Expressed milk can be frozen.  When you first try to express you might find there is little milk and almost topple into the pitts of despair - don't, it will right itself might just take a week or so.  James will take a bottle but would have less.

    Try expressing milk and freezing it (special bags/pots available from Mothercare/ Boots etc).  Then if you get into a habit you might find that you can leave a fresh bottle and perhaps some more fresh behind as well as a fully stocked freezer!  Frozen milk lasts for long enough and will reassure Daddy that they will be able to cope!  If you freeze it in smal amounts as well as when it is heated any excess is rubbish (gutting after all that effort you put in!)

     I think you should be fine, it will be a big wrench jus not seeing little one for so long!!

  • MinksMinks ✭✭✭

    MM and Janie - good points about the MMR.  It's so difficult though to know what to do for the best.

    Cragchick, sounds as though you're doing great running and fitness-wise.  I went for a run in the pouring rain and howling wind last night.  I ran past the station with a smile on my face as a load of commuters were disembarking from the train.  Got some funny looks but they don't realise how liberating it is to feel strong and fit again after months of tedious jogging during pregnancy and time off to recover after the birth.  Like you, I don't think my core is quite as strong as it was and I am always aware of the fact that I should be careful not to hurt my back again - but find it hard to exercise caution now that I can run faster again.  I also need to do more stretching - OK, I need to START stretching! - as my hamstrings are incredibly tight.  Trouble is by the time I get in from my run it's 7:30pm or later and hubby and I are climbing the walls with hunger, so all I want to do is shower and eat as quickly as possible!

    Taking Kit to the doctor today.  He's had a very dry rash on his back for a few weeks now and nothing I try seems to be helping it much.  HV said it was eczema but am not convinced.  It just seemed to appear out of the blue - am wondering if it's connected with teething as he's just sprouted his first two teeth.  It doesn't seem to itch or bother him in any way but obviously I want to clear it up.

    I too find the thought of going out and about is often worse than the reality.  Hubby is very laid back about it but I tend to get quite stressed.  I worry about where I'll feed/change Kit, whether he'll eat or be too distracted, whether he'll fall asleep or be too interested in what's going on around him then be tired and crabby because he's missed a nap, and then whether he'll sleep in the car after 5pm and be a nightmare to settle at bedtime because he's had too late a nap!  Usually most of my fears are completely unfounded.  Was very stressed before we went on holiday about disrupting his routine (having got him into it really well) and yes, we did mess about with it a bit while we were away.  He sometimes had his bath later or his last feed later, or his feed times during the day weren't at the exact times they usually are - but he slept really well away and we didn't get up to him in the night then or since we've been back.  They are more adaptable than you think.  We found that as long as we tried to keep his feeds and bedtime at roughly the same times - give or take half an hour or so - there was no problem.

    Met up with my antenatal group yesterday, as I do most Wednesdays.  Usually a few people can't make it but yesterday all 7 of us were there with babies.  Must say I found it a bit much and Kit was a bit unsettled in the end - too noisy and too much going on.  We lined all the babies up on the sofa in order of birthday for a photo - one started bawling then one by one they all joined in!  We couldn't stop laughing even though we felt a bit mean doing so!

    Kit will be trying pear puree today - will be a lot different from baby rice so will be interested to see how he takes to it. 

  • Hetty, its really hard. Do you have them in a routine yet? I used to get my shower during their morning nap 9-10 ish at that age. I often used to run during their lunchtime nap if hubbie was working at home.

     Entertainment wise while at home is baby gym. Once they can hold their heads around 3-4 months a doorway bouncer is great, as you can play with one while the other bounces.

     I would ensure they get naps at set times each day so they aren't too tired and clinging to you when they are awake, then they have the energy to play. I still take these two out for walks when they are grumpy fresh air is wonderful and they can now go in the baby swings which is great entertainment. Also invest in bouncy chairs which again keep one of both happy if you need to do something, or while feeding the other. Also helps keep them upright if like me you have pukers!!

    It does get easier, except they are awake more and need more entertainment, but once they start to play together you can  just sit and watch sometimes, drink a cuppa etc. And of course they sleep at night which helps immensely!

     Can help out with advice if you need more, have loads! Have you met any other mums with twins around they same age, that really helps me. I meet up every week with two mums and their babes and we compare notes.

     Expressing wise. I gave my two a bottle of expressed milk at 2 weeks, which progressed to a bottle of formula around 8 weeks as my milk supply was bad in the evenings. You can express and store in the freezer, or if all else fails allow babe to have formula for that evening, it won't harm them, although its easier said now then when hormones are raging. You will probably have to express and dump for that evening. We had no nipple confusion problems and they switched from either happily.

    I have a medela double electric pump which worked a treat. All over in 10-15 mins, and I was expressing 8oz from each boob by the time they were 4 months!

  • So much catching up to do! I smile to myself when I write about how I can't find time for this that and the other, but I find time to come on here and catch up image

    Hetty - that sounds like hard work! I know what you mean about going out, it's good for everyone to have a change of scenery and get some fresh air - it usually makes Hector drop off once he's got over trying to look at everything all at once, so we often do a 'round the block' to calm him in the evening. Obviously I can't talk from experience, and this might sound like a daft suggestion, but is it possible to double the girls up in a sling or slings? One on the front, one on the back, or both in a hammock style sling? You would at least have your hands free - sort of - to get something done. Hard work though! Just a thought...

    Just back from mums and babies yoga and enjoyed it a bit more this time, no puking over everything, which was a relief! We learnt some new moves to do during a nappy change and I had a good stretch (ooh I'm tight!). On my way home, I came out of the tube station and it was pouring down, sideways. I looked up and said 'oh no!' and a woman stopped and offered me her umbrella, not to share, but to keep! I refused at first, but she was insistant, how kind is that?

    Well, we went to our 8-week check yesterday...what a crap 'system'. It was truly disheartening. Husband took some time out to come with us, not imagining that we'd be there for two hours. It was at a health centre type place and there were about six mums there. This woman (a health visitor, it turned out) said 'you two', pointing at two of the mums 'undress your babies and I'll weigh them'. This went on in a very brisk manner and husband I were commenting on how we should just pop him on a conveyor belt. It was dreadful. Our appointment was at 3.15 and we eventually saw someone at about 4.30! All she did was go through the questionnaire I had filled in and went over any things that she thought needed highlighting. Rubbish. Since we were discharged by our - wonderful - midwife, we have had no continuity whatsoever and definitely feel like a number. Well, at least we don't have to go back now until he's one, unless we want to get him weighed.

    On a positive note, Hector has put on a pound in a week and is now weighing in at 11lb10oz!  

    Minks - well done on your run, it sounds rather lovely. Maybe some of those commuters were looking at you longingly, wishing they could do just that! 

  • Any of you tried 'Buggy Fit' or similar yet?  Am looking for one in Bucks area - no luck yet!

    GMx

  • oh excellent Janie, I think that's what I was looking for! There seem to be a few around my way.
  • cool - thx ladies - love the title 'Pushy Mums' ... nowt in my area, unless I start a group myself - hmmmm, we'll see.

    GMx

  • That looks ace, gutted there isnt one in bristol!

    Thanks for the advice MM - we have got a good evening (bottle, story and bed at 8 ish) and morning (cozy feed and cuddles in bed at 6 30 -7ish then we all fall back to sleep, I get a shower at 9 45 and girls wake up at 10ish) ... daytimes are a bit more haphazard as I amout and about lots but I have been making a mental note and the girls seem to nap around 11 30 and again late afternoon so maybe I need to try to be a bit more consistant with that..  They have bouncy chairs and sat in them for the first time without wailing today - seemed to enjoy watching me get my lunch with a running commentary!  I did meet up with a group of twin mums last week but it seemed all they did was moan.... may just have been a bad day so will go again next week.

    Ap - I have 1 sling which is great if one baby is wingy or awake while the other is asleep (usually sends the other off to sleep too!)  You can get a double but it is very expensive and I am not sure how long you would be able to use it without killing your back.  Your 8 week check sounds horrendous!  Will be interesting to see how mine compares next week.  My 6 week check was quite thorough with an abdo exam, BP, bloods and 10 min chat.

  • Pity Hetty and I have had no1 and no2 pregnancy in one go. May never get to have the more relaxed pregnancy as hubbie thinks another one will be too expensive! image)
  • MinksMinks ✭✭✭

    It's funny even thinking about being pregnant again when all we did on the pregnancy thread last summer was moan about how awful we felt for various reasons!!  They say the worst pain is soonest forgotten - can't say I experienced major pain since I had the dubious honour of a C-section (although the contractions I had before being taken to theatre were very intense) - a lot of my memories of the birth and the first couple of weeks afterwards have faded so I struggle to recall the details now.

    Cragchick, well done on the birthday cake!  Am dreading the birthday party stage.  Just hope the friends Kit makes don't have super-competitive parents who expect top-notch goodie bags and try to outdo each other with the superiority of their birthday cakes.  I'm adequate in the kitchen when it comes to day to day fare but I am no Gordon Ramsay.  If I have friends round to dinner at least one course will be courtesy of M&S!

    My brother is getting married tomorrow so have to pack for the wedding day and the following day.  Not sure what to do now Kit's on solids.  I assume defrosted puree will keep in the fridge for about 24 hours so if I make some up tonight it should be OK for tomorrow, and I can defrost a cube tomorrow for Sunday.  The hotel we're staying in doesn't have fridges in the rooms but there's apparently one behind the 24-hour reception we can use.  Will have to take steriliser and I think we'll just use cartons of formula for the weekend - bit pricey but less hassle than having to cart around a tin of powder and then keep the bottles refrigerated.  My mum, my aunt and a couple of others are helping us out with Kit by doing half-hour babysitting shifts in our hotel room once he's gone to bed, so hubby and I can attend at least some of the evening disco together.  My brother seemed to think we could just put Kit in his buggy in the corner of the room for the evening!  Er, no.  For a start I wouldn't want his little eardrums exposed to that level of noise; secondly it's hardly fair to expect him to sleep in his buggy in a noisy environment when he's used to going down in his cot in peace and quiet.  I don't mind his routine being a little bit disrupted (it will have to be to fit round the wedding schedule) but there are limits!

    Cragchick, my hamstrings are tight as a drum too.  Mainly because I never get round to stretching.  When I ran the London Marathon in 2006 I was out injured for two weeks during the training because I tore my hamstring insertion.  Physio said it probably happened because hamstrings are so tight and I started stretching religiously.  Of course, now that the injury is a distant memory the stretching is getting that way too ... image

  • Minks there are some very good sachets of single purees you can buy in supermarket like carrot etc. Which may help for that purpose. I try to make as much of boys food as poss, but do use jars and sachets for occasions such as that and for travelling. The boys hate them but they have a purpose!! Otherwise purees tend to be fine for 24-48 hours in fridge.

     I also never have time to stretch and my muscles are shocking. I get in from a run and have to get on. Running is going well though, even ran twice on monday, which was hard but felt pretty good. 7 weeks till half-marathon seems so soon.

    Best go boys are awake, no rest for the wicked!!

  • Enjoy your brother's wedding Minks image I think I've got my outfit sorted for the wedding I'm going to next weekend, it's not really very 'me', but I just want to feel comfortable. It's so hard to know what to wear for weddings, and so easy for the men!
  • Think this is probably it for us too .... I reminded myself several times to enjoy my pregnancy (and did apart from the last bit) and am trying to do the same now whatever challenges I face as its probably the only time I will get to be a mum to babies!  On the whole, have to say I am loving it!

    HV came today and the girls have put on nearly a pound each in 2 weeks, now 8 5 and 7 9.  Also had my first proper smile from Milla which was great (Ella obliged a couple of days ago but havnt managed to get one out of her since!).  Also, they sat happily in thier bouncy chairs for 30 mins this morning and played on the baby gym this afternoon - definately a good day!

    Found a buggy fit class fairly locally and am definately going to give it a go.... looking for an evening pilates class too so I can have an evening off!  Am starting to get a bit despondant... thought the weight would fall off feeding 2 but I have not lost anything for weeks and am 2 stone over my usual weight.  I have to keep eating as otherwise my milk is crap so hopefully some exercise will help.

    Enjoy the wedding Minks!

    The cake sounds great... my mum bought me a recipe book when i finished work but so far its unopened!  Maybe when the girls can cook with me!

  • Think I'm going to cry.  Just did a huge post and it's lost.  too long!  Will need to come back later, a girl's gotta eat!

  • Think I left it a bit long between visits - there was stacks to read!  This thread is getting busier!

    Louise is up to 9lbs 1 and thriving.  Still covered in rash but I think you are all right, it's just one of these baby things.  It certainly doesn't bother her. 

     Left boob still small but have bought a new breast pump, splashed out on medela electric one and it's increased production a bit.  I don't feel it drains my boob though which is weird.  The right one was really sore at the bottom yesterday so I reverted to the manual pump as I can move it about and really squeeze every bit of milk out.  I know that won't help my lopsidedness but ow it was hurting. 

    MR you will make the Take that concert no bother.  You just need to express one extra feed a day for a few weeks and freeze it and you will have more than enough.  Plus, a little bit of formula won't hurt.  We started giving Louise expressed milk at 8 days on advice of midwife - it was to reduce my engorgement.  We used tommee tippee closer to nature and there were no problems with her accepting bottle and reverting to boob.  She's greedy, she'll take food from any source.

    Take That though - I am soooo jealous! 

    Introduced Louise to the street last night at our street BBQ.  yes I live in suburbia!  She was a wee star, sat there eyes wide taking it all in and then calmly went off to sleep in spite of the total hubbub around.  We all had to move indoors though, it was baltic last night!

  • Splitting post to avoid losing it again!

    You girls are all so good going to classes.  I am not really a classes person apart from my spinning class.  My HV is trying to get me to go to a buggy tone or something and i keep smiling and saying yes maybe but with no intentions.  I think I am an exercise snob. I like my classes, if I go to them, to be ludicrously difficult with military like instructors yelling at you and I can't see buggy tone hitting the spot.  so spinning and circuits were acceptable but I haven't done aerobics since uni!  Actually I am possibly just an antisocial cow cos she's trying to get me to go to the new mums coffee group too and I can't be bothered - the thought of spending an afternoon with a zillion other screaming babies is just not pleasant!  It's one thing when it's your own... Yes I am officially anti social.  Maybe I'll make myself go on Thursday just for the hell of it.  It's the sort of thing I enjoy when I go but can never be bothered getting there.  That's why this forum is ideal!  All the company you need in the comfort of your own home!

     Went for two mental walks with the pram this week - 3 hrs each and the last hour is all uphill home.  Stopped at starbucks to feed/change Louise.  What a hoot.  Had a bottle of expressed milk with me and a fisher price flask thing so I could heat it.  Well, the bottle was too squat to fit in the lid to heat it up so I pushed it down.  Yeah well, it stuck.  so tried to remove it and lid came off.  so pulled the teat.  It just stretched in all directions.  Asked barista to borrow sink and she took it off me and upended it and I was screeching mind your hands, it's boiling water (it's the lawyer in me, I have to warn her of the hazard!) Got a big mug of boiling water off her and spooned some over the teat to sterilise it.  Then managed to drop the bottle into the mug and spill hot water all over table.  Finally ready to feed Louise and would she wake up?  Had to resort to evil tactics - put my cold frappuccino against her arm. That got a hmm and a swat with the arm. Eyes firmly shut.  Finally started opening and closing the velcro bit of her bib right in her earhole.  After 20 goes she propped one eyelid open. That was all it took!  In went that bottle!  I won't even begin to tell you about the changing side of things - suffice to say it involved two new nappies and a lot of loo roll clearing the place up!!

    Right, dinner should be nearly ready now.  Enjoy wedding Minks.  Good to hear from everyone.

  • Lots of posts to read - thanks everyone (this thread is a life saver for keeping me sane) it's early in the morning - only chance I get really to concentrate without distruption from little Jacob (9mths), or partner ... he seems to get upset if I'm up early without Jacob waking.  I love it - is only genuine 'me time' I get.

    We're suffering from teething and horrendous nappy rash (blisters), and poor little Jacob whimpers and screws his face up when he's changed.  I only use warm water and cotton wool when his botty is that bad.  Poor little scrap.  I use gallons of Sudocrem which seems to comfort him.  Any other tips from anyone on treating his botty blisters?

    Was so very lovely to see the sunshine yesterday ... at last got some laundry on the line (can't believe I said that - I am no domestic goddess)!

    Got parents over, and niece + boyf.  Niece is preggers so I'm looking fwd to hearing all about her progress; plus I have a pile of goodies to give her - she knows she's having a boy and I think I'm more excited than my sister (the genuine grandmother).

    No 'buggy fit' type classes in my area - big boo!  But I do try to attend aerobics and or yoga classes every week.  Got a 10k next Sunday and should be out training this morn. but will have to go this eve. in stead.  Had a curry last night and not good for carb loading pre a long run.

    Hope your Bank Hol weekends are going well and that the sun continues to shine and your sprogs are beautifully behaved and all are happy.

    TTFN

    GMx image

  • Ok, no need to go to any organised buggy classes...I have discovered a new way to exercise and entertain your baby all in one go: put some music on (or the pop video channel on telly, as I did) and dance your pants off! Hector loves it! I was really going for it and doing finger clicking and hand clapping and he was chuckling away for ages image Don't know what that says about my dancing...

     He's discovered his hands. He can stare at them for ages and is now trying to grasp at things. And his new thing in the past few days - not so much fun - is forgetting that, when he's tired, all he has to do is close his eyes and go to sleep. Oh, he's fighting the sleep! At least I've worked it out now though and know that the crying will stop when he realises he's just tired. Phew, getting to understand baby language can be hard! 

    Hetty - I know what you mean about the weight, mine's stayed put for a few weeks now, and it's a bit disheartening. And I thought it was meant to drop off when you're breastfeeding! 

  • MinksMinks ✭✭✭

    I don't know anyone whose weight has dropped off while breastfeeding - think it's all a myth.

    Wedding was fantastic and Kit was an absolute star.  I got a bit distraught at one point when everything was running a bit late - the speeches hadn't even begun and it was way past his usual bedtime.  He started rubbing his eyes and looking at me imploringly as if to say, "Please put me to bed, Mummy!"  I felt SO guilty.  I hate disrupting his routine and got a bit emotional - think I was tired anyway by that point and had found the day quite hard work getting everything organised, getting myself and Kit ready and then constantly having to focus on him throughout the day to make sure he was OK.  Some of the girls at the wedding were so kind though, telling me I was doing a fantastic job and it was OK not to be perfect all the time; it wouldn't do any harm for Kit's routine to be all over the place for a day or so.  They were right, of course - he was fine when we put him to bed and was fine the next day, if a little tired.  It didn't help though that hubby got completely wasted - worst I've ever seen him! - and I had to look after him as well the next morning!

    EF, LOL at your tale of changing/feeding Louise in Starbuck's.  Think we've probably all had a similar experience.  One thing I've found recently is the places are refusing to give out boiling water to heat bottles - twice I've been told it's against Health & Safety regulations.  One place on holiday wouldn't even fill our flask for us.

    MM, re. sachets of single purees, which brand are they?  They would be very useful.  I can only find sachets of several different things mixed together and he's only on single flavours at the moment!

    EF, like you I'm an exercise snob.  Buggy Fit classes really don't appeal to me either - in fact, I'm rubbish at classes.  I think it's because they're at a regular time and place - running fits around my life a lot better as I don't have to go somewhere to do it, I can just step out of the front door and go.  If I had to drive somewhere first I don't think it would happen.  And like you, if it's not hard I'm not doing it!!

  • MinksMinks ✭✭✭

    Janie, we've always woken Kit for a last feed at 10:30pm too.  It's worked really well as he's slept through from then until at least 6:30am since he was about 3.5 months old.  Now we've started weaning, I'm planning to get him off this last feed as soon as I can.  I'd planned to cut it down by 1oz every couple of nights until he's down to about 3oz, then just not bother waking him.  In some ways it's tempting to just go cold turkey and not wake him and see what happens, but I always tend to be overly cautious about these things!

    Cragchick, I wasn't very happy with hubby but what can you do?  In some ways it was quite funny - when we left the wedding to go back to the hotel about midnight, hubby INSISTED it was right out of the venue when I knew it was left as I'd been back and forth to the hotel a couple of times during the evening to do a babysitting stint or to give Kit his last feed.  Hubby wouldn't listen and marched off up the road in the wrong direction, staggering all over the place.  No amount of shouting at him on my part would persuade him to turn around.  In the end my brother had to go and get him!  If it hadn't been such a busy road I'd have been tempted to let him get on with it!

    I've seen those Ella's Kitchen sachets of baby food in Sainsbury's and they look very good - no additives etc.  Also the Plum Baby ones.  They do only seem to do mixed flavours (in my local Sainsbury's anyway) but he'll be mixing it up very soon so I will use them when we're out and about: much easier!  He had carrot puree this morning which seemed to go down well.  He didn't take to the sweet potato I tried him with yesterday at all - pulled a face at every mouthful then started spitting it out.  Not too bothered as sweet potato doesn't exactly form a major part of mine and hubby's diet so if he doesn't like it it's not a big deal.  Had planned to try swede and parsnip this week but Sainsbury's was out of both when I went there this morning.  Will have to try again later in the week.

    About time the little fella woke up so will sign off before this turns into another epic! 

  • Janie, we did the same waking the babes at 10.30pm. My two also slept from then until 7am from about 12 weeks, not bad for two premies. We dropped the feed around weaning time like Minks is about to. And yes we dropped by an oz each day. Then went for it one night, its bliss to put them to bed at 7pm, though I do have to pop in a give them a kiss before bed! I do love my boys to bits, but I also love it when they go to bed!

    Think I might be confused with the sachets of mixed veggies then Minks, couldn't find any single types. Sorry about that. Can recommend plum baby purees though when you can mix, especially the plum, pomegranate and guava. Boys love it!

    I started using formula for the evening feed around 8 weeks, as my milk was pretty crap at this time and I couldn't keep with boys growth spurts. I also used to express at 9.45pm and go to bed and hubbie used to feed the boys. Must admit it took a lot of persuasion from hubbie to give the boys formula as a top up, but it did make sense. 

    I stopped breast feeding at 5.5 months, and don't regret it now, but have to admit I did feel so guilty at the time. I was so exhausted I could barely stand up some evenings. Not long till cows milk now, can't wait! Boys now both taking anyway up cup for morning and afternoon milk, will change bedtime soon, then no more sterilising. Hurray!!

    Just put the boys in new car seats. Harry is a little bit small, but Joshie is fine. Nice to beable to turn round and see them in the car.

  • Well done on the wedding Minks, it sounds like you did really well, and you must have done for people to be saying so! We've got one this weekend and I'm not really looking forward to it to be honest (is that awful of me?!). We have to drive a few hundred miles and I am pretty certain my husband will end up in the same state as yours, as it's his old school friends, and they seem to like to revert to their rebelious teenage years when they get together! I think I'm doing husband's head in by asking every five minutes: 'what time does it finish?' 'how far is our hotel?' 'can we leave early?'. I'll be glad when it's done. I'm hoping people won't be wanting to hold Hector all the time as well, I'm not really into the passing him around thing, but maybe I'll just have to chill out a bit...we'll see!

    Janie, that sounds just like the growth spurt Hector had around week six, we were feeding every hour or so for a couple of days! It is knackering, but worth it image 

    Re: exercise classes, I had a look at the 'buggy fit' and did contemplate it for a bit, more as a social thing really, and something I could do with baby in tow, but I just know I would be itching to push it further and would get bored. I am more of a loner when it comes to training - good thinking time - but if I do a class it needs to be one where I'm being shouted at by a sergeant major type and feeling half dead at the end. Mmmmm, sounds like bliss image 

  • Janie I have a similar problem with milk supply in the evenings, worse if I have had a busy day or not eaten/drank properly.  I give the girls a formula feed at 7pm and it really chills them out, have also started giving them formula at 10 30 ish (we also do the wake or not debate!) to rty to get them to sleep longer as they have got into the habit of waking every 2 hours and I am knackered!  Not sure if it helps or not yet... some nights great, others not.  I express at 10 pm and use this milk during the day if I am outmso I can feed one and someone else the other.

    Worryingly had to use the expressed milk at 4pm as a top up today.... hoping it was just cos I had zilch sleep last night and didnt get to eat lunch til 3pm!

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