Saffron

This is more about b/fing than oestrogen, but it's very interesting. http://www.breastfeedingclinic.com/pdf/Breastfeeding%20Kinetics.pdf

Thanks so much to everyone who came last weekend! If you couldn't make it to this one, hope to see you at the next one. Also, if anyone wants to meet on a weekday sometime, let me know and I'll start organising. Or if anyone would like to host, I'm happy to lend a hand too. Cheers all :)

My midwife told me that once feeds are consistently more than three hours apart, ovulation was more more likely. (I don't know on what she was basing that, maybe just experience.) I would infer from this that there is a threshold level for prolactin production in order supress oestrogen, but that's likely to differ greatly among women b/c every mother-baby dyad is different. I've no idea about oestrogen kinetics immediately post-breastfeed, but judging by how hormones systems run in general, I would guess there are small, acute cycles of rising and falling oestrogen on a background of very low, slowly rising oestrogen over a period of many months when babies are demand-fed and slowly weaned. This could possibly be very different in the case of scheduled feeding or abrupt weaning. You could increase oestrogen by consuming a diet high in natural oestrogens, but the result might be that you interfer with prolactin to the extent that breastfeeding is compromised. Is it the symptoms of low eostrogen that you're trying to address (fatigue, insomnia, night sweats)?

Two bras worn together might not be ideal, as you say. It could result in tighter areas where the uneven pressure could lead to blocked ducts. Have you tried a snug lycra-type sports vest over a soft, well-fitted nursing bra like Bravado?

Could they have new teeth coming? This made brushing difficult for my toddler for a long b/c her teeth were very slow to fully errupt. Although even with her teeth now stable, she's still not great at letting me brush them. I brush my daughter's teeth from behind, usually with her sitting on my lap. I do it while she's watching a little favourite cartoon. (Yes, television has it's uses!). She gets zoned out to Timmy Time etc, and I swoop in with the brush. This is the method I've found best. It's not ideal, but it works at least. Good luck xx

GinaG3 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It's wanted to say good luck. I know how you feel, > kind of. Our daughter is 3. Since 21 months she > started sleeping through but has never had a > routine. She has constant energy and doesn't go to > bed until sometimes 1am - its really gruelling. > > We had problems like you where she would wake up > for blocks of 2-4 hours during the night and it > was absolute murder for me, my partner just got on > with it, he wouldn't even notice as he just slept > through whereas I would deal with thrashing > tantrums to get back to sleep. I found it so hard. > I did notice pushing back bedtime, although I know > unrealistic and there are other solutions really > helped and almost immediately stopped her waking > in the night. I noticed putting her to sleep > anytime before 8 was an absolute no no. Napping > during the day was a big no no too, I only ever > allowed her to sleep after 8pm and that's when we > truly had unbroken nights sleeps, apart from > illness etc. But that's expected so I can't > complain. just make sure you get her up in the > morning at the normally time, if you do try this. > She will be slightly more tired than normal but > should easily fall into a new pattern. I've talked > people through this before with sleep issues and > it's helped a lot. Feel free to PM me, if you > would like. > > The later issues we are having with sleep now are > unrelated to this and are my own fault as I was > put on sedative medication leading me to not being > able to get up in the morning, meaning she slept > in to, after 2 months I'm still trying to break > this cycle but finding it sooo difficult. I can't > wait to get back into a normal sleep pattern > again. You just don't feel right do you?! Brilliant post! What a lovely (though difficult, I'm sure!!) example of a variation on normal. My toddler also goes to sleep quite late, and I'm sick of people criticising and looking down on me for this. I've found that earlier bed times cause major havoc and don't end up producing more/better sleep. She's still waking once a night but goes quickly back to sleep. I'm a SAHM until I find a postdoc grant, so it's not a big deal for me at the moment. (Mr Saff sometimes feels lonely, b/c I often sleep in Little Saff's room... but hey he has the bed/TV remote to himself, so it can't be all that bad for him!) I'm sick too of people saying that I caused this problem and that the only solution is to make her cry it out. There's no scientific support to such statements, and they're highly demoralising things to say to a sleep deprived parent. Anyone with sleep issues has my highest sympathy. xx

Hi RJ from your brief description, it doesn't sound like your LO has a sleep disorder, just disordered sleep. If you see what I mean? There's probably nothing wrong with your child, her sleep is just set to a pattern that differs greatly from your own. Although this pattern may be intrinsic to her, there are ways to modify it into something with which you can all live. This doesn't need to involve letting your child cry alone for extended periods of time, if you prefer a 'gentle' approach. There are many other forms of sleep modification, such as wake-to-sleep and fade approaches, which do not involve excessive crying. I hope you're able to find some help that will work well for your family, and don't be afraid to reject advice which doesn't suit your needs. There are many sources available for help with sleep. xx (Edited to say that I did not mean that to seem judgemental towards individuals who have chosen to let their children cry it out. It's just that I've encountered (a) people who let their children cry it out only b/c they didn't know other methods were available, and (b) people who felt like they were obligated to follow common sleep advice even if they thought it didn't 'fit' their child.)

I tried the moon cup years and years ago. I thought it was great. It was a bit tricky at first. I think it helps if you're not in a rush when you take it in/out. After I had an IUD inserted, it was advised not to use the moon cup anymore, b/c of a chance of it dislodging the IUD. That was a while ago. Has the advice changed? I thought it seemed fairly unlikely that the moon cup would dislodge an IUD, if the cup were removed properly. Any experience???

Hello all you parents of singletons! Bring your little uns round ours for Easter egg dyeing, then take your bucket and spade up to Hilly Fields at the end of my road to enjoy the sunshine. PM me for more details. xx

This kind of advice does little/nothing to support women who choose to cue feed but may find it difficult. Thinking about the kinds of things that would have helped me with cue feeding and sleep patterns, I'm struck by how different the postpartum care was for my friend who lives in Oxford. Midwives made standard home visits to her for much longer and the HVs were more knowledgable about infant feeding and sleeping. In addition, midwives saw her again around 7 months postpartum to review the birth and ensuing months. The mother's feedback then aided the midwives in improving their future service. Rather than rehashing moot points, I would like to see this kind of postpartum support offered to all mothers. Why is it not so?

Page 44, 2nd paragraph states that feeding on demand is a common cause of colic. There is no medical truth in this statement as I understand it. Cue feeding does not cause digestive problems related to colic. There is more contradictory advice about sleep/feeding on pp 82, 89-100, particularly the advice not to feed after certain times before the next scheduled feed, as it will disrupt the 7/7 sleep schedule which is the only schedule therein given as acceptable for good sleep. However, there is no medical evidence to show that all babies need or will sleep exactly the same amount of time. There are many more examples of this throughout the book. G. Ford, "The Contented Little Baby Book" (1999) Random House.

I've noticed that children often grow in spurts that alternate between upward growth and outward growth. We've definitely seen it in our child too, and GP confirmed it's normal. Minder's idea about the energy requirements for upward growth is very interesting. I would imagine that bone growth is highly energy consuming.

Just a note to confirm that we're on for this Saturday 24th March at mine (PM me for address etc)! :) We'll be decorating eggs and eating chocolates and toasting the fine weather. Indeed if it's as nice as today, we might even have a picnic! Hope to see you and your little ones on Saturday anytime from 1-4:30pm ish. xx

I agree with buggie. I did the intensive course late in my pregnancy, and I found it well-timed and useful. Plus, everything is still fresh in your head when your labour begins. :) Unfortunately, Hubbie and I had to move house unexpectedly just after our daughter was born. We only moved a couple of miles, but it meant that all the friends I'd made through my NCT class were no longer in walking distance. Because we didn't have a car at the time, I missed out on a lot of meet ups and support I would have otherwise had nearly on my doorstep. From my point of view, go to the very local class, even if your partner can't attend. (Is there anyone else who could go with you? Your mum or a friend maybe? Also, if you think you might want to breastfeed, try to attend one of the local b/fing classes too. Maybe your partner could go with you to that one? I didn't do the b/fing class, but in restrospect I wish I had.) Good luck! xx

Thanks, that's very useful. This is all a long way off for us too (daughter is only 2), but the years will go quickly enough I'm sure. Re the IB, I also read that moderate performance on the IB was considered by British universities to be equivalent to high scores on A Levels. Plus the GCSE/A Level system is not much recognised outside the UK, so IB would be better for students contemplating overseas universities. So much to think about!

RhubarbGarden Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "A schedule mum would not feed her child between > scheduled feeds, by definition" > > Actually, in the early days of implementing the GF > routine, if the baby asks to be fed between > scheduled feeds, then the baby is fed. GF states > that a hungry baby should never be denied a feed. > What happens once the routine is established is > that the baby doesn't demand feeds because its > needs are met before it gets hungry, so it doesn't > have to cry for food. GF also contradicts her own advice in her own CLB book (and yes, I HAVE read it), by saying that coming off the schedule causes sleep and digestive problems (which btw, there is no medical basis for her claim), but this thread is NOT ABOUT GF. I find it sad that so many posts have just fallen back to debate about sched v cue feeding, rather than trying to explore ways that support can be offered to mothers who want to demand feed in the early days (rem the study looked at 4-week old infants, not older babies), as clearly this research has demonstrated a benefit to the child of cue-feeding though it flags up that this can be tough for some mums. So, any HELPFUL suggestions, anyone???

It's no riskier than doing nothing, b/c you don't want accidentally to insult an innocent person. I think the idea is that you're supposed to take the pic in public view at a distance. If someone is dodgy enough to make aggressive actions towards you from a distance just for taking a picture, then it's a good thing that you've got a pic for your police report. If you felt uncomfortable, you also could take a pic surreptitiously. If someone is acting dodgy towards you somewhere out of the immediate view of others (or within close range in public), you should contact the police as others have suggested. This is the kind of issue their service was meant to address.

A friend who has lived in London many years gave me this advice: Take a pic of the suspected dodgy person on your phone and send it to a friend or your partner. Then if the worst is true and you are mugged for your phone etc, at least someone has a record of the person's face. Also, simply taking the pic might deter the person from approaching you. That's just some advice I was given. Thankfully I've never had to use said advice. Also re "care in the community", the sad but honest truth is that being in some way less able mentally or physically does not necessarily mean that the person is not up to something dodgy. I'm not at all casting aspersions. I'm making a statement about the corruptability of human nature. Rotten people can come in all shapes and forms. Especially for women, follow your instincts. Lone women or women with small children are easy targets for crime. If it is truly a case of mistaken identity, the innocent person shouldn't feel insulted. An honest mistake is just a mistake.

I've been reading about GCSE/A-Levels vs International Baccalaureate. I think the IB is better for several reasons (just my personal assessment, opinions differ), and we will definitely be reviewing the IB route for our daughter in the future. I think some state schools are now offering IB too.

If she isn't expecting any money, just think how happy her face would be when she finds two 20? notes tucked into her thank you card. It's a token amount really, but it would make a nice night out for a student. She's your goddaughter afterall. Do whatever you think will make her happy. xx

Talk to your GP if it's happening frequently. There may be an injury to the knee or some other problem with the joint of which you're unaware. A topical treatment would be better than an oral treatment, because topical treatments limit the overall exposure of the body to the drug thereby reducing systemic side effects. Have you tried topical arnica cream?

Yes, that's confusing. There are 2 threads? http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,855884,856231#msg-856231

Huguenot Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You've got 'evidence' that Gingerbeer is in fact > BBW but you're not posting it for legal reasons? > > Are we just losing the plot here? Have we > completely lost our sense of proportion? > > Do we really think we're going to end up in jail > for something that may or may not be a very > trivial practical joke or zero importance? > > Come on guys!!!! ;-) I have absolutely no intention of ending up in jail. My legal reasons have to do with the Elders of Zion, because I'm holding out for more money from the vapire squid of Goldman Sachs, depsite their efforts to baffle my global agents through fractional reserve banking. The next time the number 13 crops up on the Lotto, the Illuminati are going to contact me with more evidence, just as the Israeli national warned about 9-11. I'm watching my back for the Bilderberg group. They have lizards in black helicopters over ED, who were directly responsible for setting up OJ Simpson through the FBI/CIA for exposing the Apollo program as lie. ;-) Oh, and don't drink the water. Freemasons put fluoride in it at the behest of the Rothschilds to control factions within Opus Dei, whilst deflecting attention from their agents within the Knights Templar.

From a previous thread:

Write a brief letter to the school, expressing your concerns in the same polite straightforward way that you've done here. In the letter, ask the school to reply in writing, and also request a date and time when you would be available in person or by phone to discuss the matter. Homework is not necessarily a good measure of classroom learning. You really need to know a bit more about the teaching that is actually happening in the classroom. It's good to speak with other parents, but definitely keep trying to get in touch with the school.