Pickle

Wow, that weight gain is amazing! My youngest (7.5 weeks) was 6lbs 3 at birth and is now just over 8lbs - and she takes big feeds. Your milk is obviously good stuff :) That's reassuring that you've already been checked for tongue tie, here's hoping it gets easier from here for you.

Back to the topic at hand... Sex?! Pffffft. With 3 children I'd much rather have red wine and chocolate any day! Might have to get the book for a giggle

No, this doesn't sound normal - sounds very much like my oldest who was diagnosed with tongue tie. I agree with Fuschia, try to see someone about it, as there may be help available. By 7 weeks things should be getting much easier, having since fed two more babies I realise now just how difficult my son was. Brilliant for persevering, but equally don't beat yourself up if you decide that you want to stop feeding her, you've done so well to get this far with the problems you've had and a 2 year old to deal with! Good luck P x

We've been "for a walk where the angels live" as my 5 year old has just been telling Daddy who was off playing hockey. A thoroughly pleasant walk through the cemetery on Forest Hill Road - it's beautiful in there at the moment with spring flowers everywhere, and the kids really enjoy looking at the graves!

I don't really want to get into a GF debate, however must say that nowhere in her book does it say to not feed your baby if he/she seems hungry. I followed her routines with my first 2 children, both were BF, and in my daughter's case she never took a bottle so was exclusively BF until 15 months. So it's not all doom and gloom for breastfeeding if you have babies in a routine :)

You could start with the basic phonics... http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=GB#/watch?v=Djz82FBYiug This is what they use in the school nursery my kids have been at, starting from the age of 3. It then develops from individual letters to blends, and eventually whole words which they focus on at reception age (4/5ish). Have fun, but be warned that the songs will haunt you in the middle of the night!

You could just keep something from your dinner the night before to quickly microwave for him? I used to do this a lot for my two, and it was also a good way to encourage them to eat "normal" family food which makes life much easier now as I just cook one meal that we all eat. Otherwise, I always have pots of tomato based pasta sauce and cheese sauce in the freezer which I zap and add to pasta when needed. Same with bolognaise sauce, an easy solution when I can't be bothered! P x

It transpired at the drinks last night that non-Kiwis reading this thread think kohanga reo is haka training classes for children :)) So I figure we meet on Goose Green to do a demonstration? I'll be the one with a ballerina and a pirate...

Thanks for arranging this, I'm pleased I finally managed to make it having watched the drinks threads enviously while pregnant! Nice to put some faces to usernames and catch up with those I already knew.

Oma rapiti, oma rapiti, oma oma oma... :) My Maori language skills are almost gone, but we refer to pukus rather than tummys, all is not lost!

How is everyone doing? I feel bad that I can't make any of the meets that you have, it kinda sucks being a 3rd timer with all the associated school related things which limit my time - and my middle child is quite a lot older than most of yours so we've outgrown toddler type activities. But anyway, I just thought I'd say hello. Kate is 7 weeks old today and doing really well. A few smiles now which is lovely! We had our doctors checkup this morning and all is fine - she's still little at 8lbs 2, but seems to be tracking along her graph nicely. Scarily I found myself looking at a mum with a tiny baby today and marvelling at how small it was - Kate looked massive in comparison which made me realise just how quickly the newborn stage passes. I hope you are all really well - do let me know if anyone fancies meeting earlier in the mornings. Nice been going for a fast walk round the park after school drop off (9:15ish) and would be free for coffee around 10ish. P x

Expressing is difficult, it takes practise to do it successfully. I expressed full time for my 1st child for 8 weeks due to a tongue tie so got quite good at it! The key to expressing quickly is not really the pump you have, but whether you manage to get proper milk letdown. If you dont get letdown (which is what the baby stimulates) you could pump for ages and only get a few mls which is frustrating and sore! You need to be relaxed - in an ideal world I would express in bed in the morning before doing anything else. As I mentioned before, the way that works best for me is to express in the morning while feeding my daughter on the other side. I managed to get 100mls in about 5/10 mins this morning using this method, whereas the day before I wasn't feeding her, was a bit stressed, and only got 40mls at the same time of day. P x

Little Bubbles? I used to go, it's brilliant - it's one where you sign up for a term. They have a website which a Google should bring up. P x

I'm organised, possibly too much so really. I've always been an organised person, and it seems with the arrival of each child I get even more so, but in my mind it's a coping mechanism. Kids uniforms and my clothes are laid out the night before. Breakfast bowls/cups/spoons on the table before I go to bed (right down to my coffee being in the cup ready for hot water, and my porridge soaking overnight). Washing in the machine on timer ready to finish at a time that means I can hang it before the school run... I could go on for ever! Throughout my life I've always been the person who's early, and this hasn't changed even ith 3 kids to organise. On my wedding day my Dad insisted we drive round the block a few times as I was even early for that. Between hubby's sport practice and my music rehearsals there's not a single night of the week that we're both home, so organisation is key. On the evenings I'm home I like to sit and relax and "work" (knitting, so although I get paid for it I dont really feel like it's work!) so I try as much as I can to have everything domestic/child related done meaning I don't feel I should be doing other things. Hubby is the opposite to me, not very organised and a prized "faffer". In the time it takes him to get ready to go somewhere I generally have myself and the kids ready and strapped in the car :) I think it depends on your Mum... Certainly as I get older I realise I'm just like she was at the same stage of her life.

Nabz, any cafe is fine for feeding, no matter where you are, but especially in East Dulwich. People are either chatting to friends or engrossed in their iPhones so won't take a bit of notice. As the weather gets warmer go to the park with a book and sit under a tree - something you can enjoy with just a baby and no older children to keep tabs on. I second the recommendation for Bumps and Babes. I went to the Red Post Hill one with my baby a couple of weeks ago. Alice is extremely welcoming, and a lot of people go with tiny babies. I'm planning to go again this coming Friday. I dont wear special feeding tops, just an old vest underneath whatever top I'm wearing. Top layer pulls up, vest stretches down, so you literally only expose enough for the baby to latch on. I answered the door to the gas meter reader today while feeding (admittedly I kind of forgot she was feeding!) and I honestly don't think he noticed what I was doing.

Technically the fact that you're breastfeeding means it's easier to get out and about, as you don't need to worry about how much milk to take with you! You may find that once you're more confident at feeding you are happy to do it when you're out. Have you thought about meeting up with the winter babies club group of mums? Maybe that would help you feel more at ease feeding in public if with other mums and small babies? I use the Avent electric pump and find it's good... I find it much quicker if I express at the same time as I give my baby her first feed in the morning - takes a bit of practise to master doing both at once but it's worth it. My first child was mixed fed and it didn't seem to make much difference in terms of how long he stayed full if he had formula. Pippa x

I use Tesco online too, the thought of battling my way round a busy supermarket fills me with dread after 5+ years of doing it online! Our weekly shop averages out at around ?110 - ?125 a week. This is for two adults and two school age kids, plus baby wipes, and also includes all of my lunches for the week as well as one of my older children. I use cloth nappies, so don't buy disposables very often at all. We buy milk separately as it's delivered by a milkman daily. My standards are loads of fresh fruit and veges, cereals, lunch stuff (ham, cheese, yoghurts etc) and meat. I plan my meals in advance so nothing I buy gets wasted. I've just started back at Weightwatchers to lose my baby weight, so my shopping delivery looked much healthier last week than it has for ages!

What time on Saturday will this be? Thanks

Ha ha, I know how you feel! The only time I get in the day where I can successfully express is just before we do the school run. My 5 year old son is fascinated by the mechanics of the pump so stands right in front watching, and my 3.5 year old finds the whole thing hilarious. Oh for the days when I could do it in the morning while lazing in bed! I add to existing milk, it's fine as others have said. P x

Me too. Would be fantastic if there was a weekday morning session that didn't start too late (by 10am)... This would be great for people with babies and older children at morning nursery sessions.

The Tiny Love playmat seems to be the one most people have, and we've had one for two of our kids - definitely worth the money and as they're machine washable they're fine to buy 2nd hand. You can hang all sorts of additional toys to them once baby gets more alert. We have a borrowed bouncy chair which we use a lot, however only because baby Pickle (6.5 weeks) is my 3rd child and often needs to be put somewhere while I tend to the older kids! Congrats on the arrival of your baby by the way! P x

Goodliz, remind me when I next see you and I'll chat to you about this at school. I'm a CA (not practicing these days obviously) so not much use in terms of the workload you'll face but may be able to help regarding job opportunities or help when you're studying x

I've been toying with the idea of getting one... Although do you think they're more useful if you're working? Technically there's nothing to stop me putting something in the oven in the morning, and I often prep dinner early in the day anyway, so not sure if I'd really benefit from one?

Details for the Crystal Palace centre can be found here: http://www.gll.org/centre/crystal-palace-national-sports-centre.asp

There is a Greek family that live close to me and have children at school with my kids... Their children are bilingual and I'm pretty sure they speak Greek at home. I'll mention this to the Mum when I see her next week x