Saffron

7lb 11oz sounds completely average, no? In the Western world, the average is 7.5lb, with a range of 5-10lb considered normal. Also, regular ultrasound scans aren't necessarily very accurate for estimating Baby's weight, which is probably why drs/MWs tend to err on the cautious side for women with GD or other growth problems in the foetus. I don't know if the newer 3-D type scans are better maybe? (On the subject of genes, I'm not sure how this is manifest in newborns... My husband is 6'1", and there are lots of tall people in both our families. Little Saff was born 54cm -- avg is 35-50cm! From my scans and size of bump, midwives thought she would be small/normal, but she was nearly 9lb (and I'm barely 5'6")!! From my NCT group, I had the 2nd largest baby, and yet I was the only one with no stitches and no interventions. I was also the only one who did perineal massage. Anecdotal, I know, but there is real clinical evidence to support the benefit of perineal massage. See this website for more info: http://www.epi-no.co.uk/ .) Best of luck with whatever choice you make, and have a happy pregnancy. xx

Not sure what you/they mean by "big"? Baby may be large but still well w/in the range of normal. If Baby is well-presented and labour progresses normally, there's no reason to think Baby can't be delivered vaginally. I agreee with others, in that you need to ask for more information from your midwives/obs team. You might also want to speak with a counsellor about hypotherapy and/or addressing fears in pregnancy. If your fears are unfounded, overcoming them will be very empowering. If, however, there really is problem, then to have all the info about your options will help you make the best choice. I have a friend who had gestational diabetes with both her pregnancies. I believe she had inductions with both, but delivered normally. I'm happy to put you in touch with her. xx

Dr Beckmann Stain Devils brand stain removers make special solutions for different stains. Most large grocery stores will carrry them, and some of the local shops have them too. http://www.dr-beckmann.co.uk/how-to-remove-stains/ and/or ? http://www.dr-beckmann.co.uk/how-to-remove-stains/ If you can't find either of these tonight, try this home remedy for stain removal... Many hard to shift stains contain both an oil and protein. Use laundry fabric conditioner to emulsify the stain first, to release the oil. Wash out the fabric conditioner using warmish water (not hot!) and washing-up liquid, which will thoroughly dissolve the oils which the conditioner has emulsified. Rinse well to remove all traces of soap. Then use biological laundry detergent to breakdown the remaining protein in the stain. You may need to let the bio sit for a while for the enzymes to work. If the stain lightens, but doesn't come out completely, try repeating the whole process. If the stain doesn't lighten at all, try the specialist stain removers when you can get ahold of them. Good luck! xx

Some women have a "dominant" breast. It's normal. You can try the MotherLove brand b/fing supplements (I ordered online, not sure where to buy locally). They have herbs which support the milk letdown reflex, like fenugreek, blessed thistle, goats rue etc, which are safe for b/fing of course. I also found acupuncture to be helpful for milk yield. Try Giles Davies (Barry Road practice: 07739 414 210). Although, you may just find that even if your yield/letdown are increased overall, you still don't have a 50/50% split. Annoying, I know, I had this too! xx

For mild to moderate depression, medication or therapy are equally effective, although therapy will take longer to become so in most cases. For moderate to severe depression, a combined approach is often suggested but not necessarily required. It really depends on what is causing the depression and on the individual's point of view regarding expectations of treatment. If you try one type of treatment and it doesn't work, be open to trying something else. For me personally, I was told by a GP (in Southwark!) that there was a 14 week wait for therapy. She also told me (wrongly!!) that there are no safe drugs to treat postpartum depression while b/fing. In fact she wouldn't even diagnose my postpartum depression, despite the fact that I have a history of anxiety and depression. She acted like I was just a whiny first-time mum with baby blues and fobbed me off to the HVs who were rubbish. Thanks. Thanks a lot. Tell the suicidal woman with a 3week old baby that there's no available treament. Very professional and upstanding. You should be applauded for your stupidity. I ended up having to see a private psychiatrist (Dr Jeremy Pfeffer 020 7935 3878) b/c I was so upset by the shoddy treatment I received through the NHS postpartum. It was very expensive, but I can say wholeheartedly that it was worth it to be treated like a human being. Sertraline was the treatment I chose, and I found it very effective. But as others have said, it really is a case of to each their own. The main thing is that you're proactive and open-minded about treatment options. There are as many types of recovery as there are forms of depression. I've also found acupuncture treatment to be helpful as an addition to medication. By using acupuncture I was able to take less medication and to come off of it sooner. Giles Davies (15a Barry Road, 07739 414 210) is an exellent acupuncturist and a very caring person. He and his wife have grown children of their own, so he understands postpartum issues from personal experience too. If your baby is very small, he can treat you while you wear your baby in a sling (most of the treatment points will be legs/hands), so you and your little one don't have to be separated. I've listened to Denise Welch speak very passionately about postpartum care for women. She herself suffered severe postpartum depression. She made the point that postpartum depression should really reclassified as postpartum illnesss b/c of the way it can affect every part of your body. No truer words were ever spoken!

Nah, I just chalk it up to a vicious round of insomnia! ;-)

QueenMab Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Even if there ARE risks linked to the MMR jabs > (although, as others have pointed out, there is NO > peer-reviewed research for this), the risks to > your children (and to others such as pregnant > women who have to rely on group immunity) of not > vaccinating is far higher. > > Anyone whose thinking is that they "wouldn't trust > a system that uses scare tactics instead of > educating and being honest" is not even being > rational, which goes to show how much hysteria and > irrational thinking end up informing some of the > most crucial decisions for our children. Very sad. Despite the fact that there is no link between MMR and autism, it is incorrect to say that there are no risks to immunisation. There are peer-reviewed and other medical publications listing the known risks, disclosed as side effects, to all currently available vaccines. Furthermore, pregnant women need not rely on group immunity. They themselves should have immunity from past immunisations. If there is a reason to believe your immunity has waned or that you did not seroconvert from your original MMR, you should be re-vaccinated prior to becoming pregnant. A very few individuals do not respond immunologically to vaccination. These women can be given antibody-type treatment in the event of coming in direct contact with someone who has measles/etc. I'm hugely FOR the MMR, but I don't believe that only ever offering a single vaccination schedule is correct. It is also my opinion that science must never support scare-tactics. Science should only provide information. Eventually, the use of scare-tactics only ever undermines the information it delivers. xx

Fuschia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In the us I think there is advice to make formula > up with boiling water but the formula > manufacturers dispute it for that reason > > I think we discussed this before. Seem te remember > saffron had the definitive answer. > Blimey, did I? Well there's another piece of my short-term memory gone. This is a very interesting thread b/c there are so many different hypotheses tangled up around one subject. Also, the fact that there are so very few reported cases of formula contamination makes it difficult to study. What we can assess are the basic scientific priciples about microbes and food safety. Common sense tells us that most of the microbes that infect humans will not survive either very cold or very hot temps, which is why either freezing or boiling are two good methods to acheive sterility (or at least relative sterility). This is b/c these microbes are evolved to thrive at ambient and/or body temperature. Furthermore, microbes which do actually thrive at extreme temps don't do well at ambient/body temp, so we don't generally worry about being infected by them. (Nature probably has a few very rare and strange exceptions to this.) Common sense also tells us that most of the microbes that infect humans will not survive extremes of pH or electrolyte concentrations beyond those generally found in the body. This is why chlorine or other chemicals are commonly used for sterilising objects, and salt/sugar are commonly used as food preservatives. Now apply these principles to water and the cleaning of baby bottles. It used to be common practice always to sterilise baby bottles & teats by boiling/bleaching etc. This was b/c tap water itself was known to be a source of infections (think: cholera in Victorian England). It is now recognized that modern tap water in the Western world is generally safe, and that combined with modern detergents like household washing-up liquid (or the use of dishwashers), bottles no longer need to be sterilised. It is enough to wash them in hot water and soap. Many drs are still advising parents to sterilise bottles b/c they have so long been in the practice of doing so. The advice is overcautious, but well-meaning. Ah, but there's still the problem of the water itself, no? If you're going to give Baby water in any form, it needs to be clean. That means relatively sterile, but also free from excesses of minerals/metals/etc. So you can filter-out impurities, and boil-out the microbes. Ding. We've arrived at our magical solution: cooled, boiled water. BUT, if you add anything else --like formula powder-- to the water, then you run the risk of re-introducing contamination to the solution. And here I think we hit the crux of the argument. Powdered solutions (similar to other processed food-stuffs) should in theory be sterile after undergoing processing and packaging. But remember, it's *relative* sterility we're talking about, not absolute sterility (which doesn't really exist outside lab conditions). So a few rare and hardy microbes might survive the processing action, or "normal" microbes might be accidentally re-introduced during processing. Even a relatively sterile container of powder is at risk of contamination once opened by the consumer. So, the question is how to quickly and safely sterilise the powder at 2:47am, with a bawling baby hanging off your arm, while your partner blissfully snores away in the other room, nevermind the fact that you just nearly gave yourself a heart attack in the dark by stepping on a plush teddy which you mistook for the cat... who is also blissfully snoring away in the other room. If you boiled the kettle and immediately poured the hot water onto the powder, you'd be very likely to kill off any nasty microbes therein (and you won't affect the nutritional quality of the milk by doing so). Leave a little space to add cold water (perhaps keep some cold boiled water in the refrigerator?), and you can arrive at a drinkable temperature very quickly. If you leave the boiled water in the kettle to cool for 20 min, you'll reduce the risk (marginally) of scalding youself when fumbling for bottles in the semi-darkness. Equally, you'll reduce the effectiveness (marginally) of the water to kill off nasties. And you might still have to add some cold water for it to be drinkable. You'd also have to listen to Baby screaming for 20 min, while you consider throwing yourself down the stairs. If you premade bottles of formula by adding boiling water to powder, then immediately capped and refrigerated them, they would be very unlikely to yield significant if any bacterial growth over the course of a few hours. You could re-heat them quickly in a bottle warmer. You could use variations on these themes if you have to make up powder feeds away from home. Of course don't forget that the most contaminated thing in the kitchen is probably your own hands, so don't forget to wash them. And, would it be totally wacky to suggest keeping formula powder in the refrigerator once opened? Just a thought. I haven't read any of the official guidelines from food agencies or the formula companies given on this thread. I'm just writting from my own knowledge of microbes and microbial growth. You can follow the logic for yourself and take it, or leave it. Or feel free to poke holes in it. :)

Fuschia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I had heard that some of the anti reflux formulas > couldn't be made with hot water > > But unless > By 'medicinal' she means 'sterile' then I don't > see how the bacteria risk is eliminated in her > suggestion ... > > Bit scary when even those advising on formula prep > don't grasp the implications of not sticking to > the 70 degree rule If the formula powder is packaged and then irradiated or autoclaved at an appropriate temperature, then it should be "sterile" until opened. If carefully handled and stored after opening, then it should remain safe. However, very few of the things that we think of as sterile in laymen's terms are truly sterile in laboratory terms. It may be that for legal reasons the company can call its product medicinal, but not sterile, even though basically it is sterile. Just a guess. Coincidentally, why would liquid formulas be at less of a risk of contamination than powders? Are they routinely autoclaved or irradiated or something? And powders aren't? If so, why not? Or is it that powders are more likely to be contaminated in the home after opening, b/c they come in larger portions?

Sear's book is an interesting but unscientific piece of propaganda, which has just happened to capitalize on a movement that was already underway for many reasons. There are many different vaccine schedules in use for a variety of reasons. The current "short" schedule for vaccine delivery in many areas was put in place not b/c it provides better efficacy to the individual, but b/c studies showed that delayed schedules led to low compliance, i.e., parents on delayed schedules were more likely to miss crucial later booster doses, resulting in poor immunity. It's not that a delayed schedule has "benefits" immunologically over a short schedule, or vice versa. It's more that a delayed schedule (w/in reason obviously... let's not be hyperbolic about it) is effective and safe provided that the boosters are still given with/in a reasonable time frame, and that all of the boosters are received.

Acupuncture is often helpful for PND and related issues. xx

See your GP and ask for a referral to a dietitian. I have heard of this problem postpartum in other women. The knowledge and support a dietitian can offer would be most beneficial. You might also find some alternative therapy helpful, in addition to seeing the GP. Giles Davies (on Barry Road, 07739414210) is excellent for acupuncture and has a lot of experience treating postpartum issues. Hope you're feeling better soon. xx

As an alternative to giving single injections, have you looked into altered schedules of immunisation? This would mean that you start the MMR series later and have more time between the jabs. These types of "delayed" schedules are now gaining popularity in countries such as the US and Denmark. After reading the actual research articles for myself (Andrew Wakefield = total idiot, btw), including information about alternative dosing schedules, Mr Saff and I decided for Little Saff that we would use the combined MMR, but take an alternate schedule for jabs. I found the nurses were always telling me off for being "late" b/c I was off the NHS schedule. I would just roll my eyes and start pouring out whatever sob story I had to hand about how I have no help around the house, am forgetful, have univeristy commmittments, etc... basically anything but actually tell them that I was purposefully using a different vaccination schedule. If I did, then I found that I tended to get lectured, or worse still get drawn into an argument. I like the combined jab b/c it's fewer injections. And although I think the NHS schedule is safe (in relative terms of course, I also think the delayed schedules are safe. After reading the evidence, I felt like the delayed schedule was right for us. Two years ago, there was an outbreak of measles at a local school/nursery. And last summer, there was a widespread outbreak of mumps in Surrey/East Sussex, which my friend's non-immunised teenage daughter contracted. This is just by way of saying that herd immunity is not viable in London and the Southeast in general. You need to think very carefully about what you would do, and how you would feel, if your child became seriously ill with one of these infections. If you feel unsure about the MMR, taking a delayed immunisation schedule might be the right course of action for you and your LO. xx

Little Saff had an extended viral tummy bug earlier this autumn. It started with vomiting every 2 hours all night, until I ran out of bed linen and we had to co-sleep on towels in the vomit. Terrible, went on for days, but the vomiting did lessen as the days passed. (Then after vomiting came a runny bottom and thrush!) Even after we'd both had baths, I kept sniffing little bits of vomit-smell in her hair. Top tip, a bit of Sanex-type alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel will get rid of this smell. A godsend! Re milk... is it cow's milk formula your LO has? Try switching to goat's milk formula. Goat's milk is much easier to digest. It's much closer to human milk than cow's milk is, so goat's milk undergoes less processing than cow's milk. It's not a magic bullet, but it might help. You could also try adding a little probiotic powder to the milk, to help prevent thrush and repopulate the good bacteria which antibiotics may have upset. Live yogurt is helpful, but a large proportion of the probiotics in the yogurt will not survive the stomach acid. Probiotic powders seem able to reach the intestines with larger amounts of the active cultures intact. Re ibuprofen vs paracetamol, it's whatever you think helps. You're the parent, with the child all the time, so you'll observe which (both?) helps most. Some people might be reluctant to give ibuprofen in the case of upset stomach, but small doses over a short period of fine should be fine. xx

Have you considered an Amby Baby Hammock to help with the reflux? Maybe when the reflux improves a little, you'll see an overall improvement that will carry over to the evening. Evenings are tough for a lot of babies, for too many reasons to count. Hope it gets better soon. xx

I've kept a favourite outfit from every stage. There's somthing about holding it, feeling the fabric, and seeing the pattern that speaks volumes more than any photograph ever could. Of course this drives poor Husband mad when he pulls open the wrong drawer looking for 2T clothes but gets a strange mix of too tiny rompers and socks instead!

I've been looking at different types of gym/dance classes for Little Saff too. We had a taster session with TumbleTots, but frankly I wasn't impressed. Some of the staff were very "pushy", and the fees are not small. We kept getting told off for not using the equipment quite right (it was our first session! ...and only session.) Plus there was a really pointless and totally out of tune sing-a-long waste-of-time bit in the middle of the session, just as my daughter was starting to get the hang of the play equipment. That being said, the time Little Saff did spend actually on the "gymnasticss" equipment was great. There just wasn't enough time on the equipment, and not a fantastically friendly atmosphere, to justify the price IMHO. We'll be sampling other classes in the spring and hoping to find something that works for us. I'd LOVE to hear about what else is out there, and what everyone else's opinion is!! :-) xx

Hi- yes there is a thread on this somewhere... I think Forumite 'Buggie' has posted particularly re dosage. Try PMing her. Regarding timing of medication: When you give the stated dosage on the box, are you giving just a single drug? I mean, do you give only ibuprofen, or only paracetamol? Try a double approach. Give the recommended dosage only, but give ibuprofen and paracetamol at the same time. Does that make sense? PM me if not. xx

Yes, I posted as much for anyone who might just be reading as for those who posted. You can often get differing medical advice even from professionals, depending on their own professional experiences. It's alwasy good to do a little of your own research! From what I know of friends with transverse babies, a relaxed approach seems to be the common denominator whatever approach they chose. Less stressed mums make more oxytocin and less cortisol? In that respect I can see why hypnotherapy and acupuncture are so highly recommended. I had antenatal acupuncture, and it was great. Little Saff loved it and would do backflips throughout the session. Good luck. xx

Have noticed recently that we go home from toddler parties with plastic bags full of plastic junk -- all of it the non-recyclable kind! Surely there's a better alternative for party bags? Has anyone used this company? http://www.littlecherry.co.uk/ Or know any others?

Oh dear. Amyw, hope you're sleeping better than we are!

It's a bit counter-intuitive, but it's worked for us: Try a later bedtime. Fill the extra time with a few special games (Little Saff likes puzzles and giant lego bricks). Give your LO a small snack (eg, maybe just some warm milk), then shift to cuddles and quiet time together, finally books and bed. This wears out your LO, and also provides extra bedtime cues for sleep. If you find it helps, then you can gradually move bedtime forward. You can combine this with your current choice of back-to-bed routine too. xx

Agreed, ibuprofen is fine, better than paracetamol for this type of pain/inflammation. (Insomnia. Sleep when the baby sleeps??? Ha! Little Saff is nearly two, and we still haven't managed to synch our sleep cycles. Sigh.)

Previous c-section delivery does not necessarily mean you can't have a safe and successful ECV. You need to consult with a team of obstetric specialists who have experience in this area to see if you are a candidate. xx http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19021458 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9846717

Yes, probably best if you can express a little from the affected breast overnight, but not as frequently b/c you need to get some good rest too. xx