Saffron

Oakwood Midwives were fab. We had a very good service from them. Sadly overall, I don't rate the rest of Forest Hill Road Practice, whom I am no longer with. My regular GP manipulated me into giving our daughter additional vitamin K drops at one postnatal app, then hassled me appallingly when I deviated from the standard immunisation schedule (we started a bit later and have more time in between). Another GP there told me *wrongly* that I would have to stop breastfeeding my 2 month old daughter if I wanted to go on meds for postnatal depression. And the final straw was the HV referring me to a nutritionist (a nutritionist?! she didn't even know the difference from a dietician!!) when my exclusively breastfed daughter was gaining weight slowly. She also gave me a bunch of rubbish advice about breastfeeding. We saw a private specialist who told us everything was fine in the end. I would go to Forest Hill Road Practice for the Oakwood Midwives, then change practices after the birth.

For hard fruits like apple, I took the skin off with a peeler. Then I used the peeler on the 'flesh' to peel off shavings of apple. Shavings of apple were easily sucked and gummed. You can also divide an apple into segments and parboil. This softens the fruit enough that even a toothless baby can munch it. Little Saff pretty much always ate what I ate. If I made casserole or bolognese I didn't add any salt. Many ready-made soups and sauces now come with no added or low salt options. xx

Meat and fresh fruit are just fine. We did BLW, no choking here. Little Saff did gag a lot at first, but that's normal. Babies have to learn how far in to put the food and how big a piece to tackle at once. Little Saff loved strips cut off a roasted lamb chop. She didn't have any teeth at all, but that didn't stop her. She would gum all the 'juice' out of meat and spit out the fibres. Cold fresh grapes were a favourite at the height of last summer. I cut large seedless grapes in half, then scored them a little. Lightly steamed broccoli dipped in houmus was also hughly popular. Try making oaty porridge with a bit less liquid. As it cools you can make it into little baby-sized chunks. Cow's milk yogurt and cheese are fine in moderation. (Cow's milk is high in sodium compared to breastmilk, so that's why you can't give it as a drink. Although a little is fine in cereal.) We had so much fun with BLW. It was really easy once we got into it. Happy Weaning! :) xx

Did you contact the company? I think someone on the Forum had a phone number for the London distributor, but I can't recall the thread.......

Unless you are due for some immunisations for you LO, or have another health concern, the checks are totally voluntary. However, you might keep getting reminder notices unless you phone to say you don't have any concerns so you're skipping it. We had an 8 month check last autumn. It was pretty pointless, as I didn't have any concerns. The clinic was a 10 min walk from us, and we got some free baby stuff from the HVs. So that was nice at least. If it had been a hassle to go, I probably would have skipped it. You might find this page useful: http://www.healthvisitors.com/parents/development_two_yrs.htm xx

Another nice quote: 'You did then what you thought was best. You do better now because you know better.' xx

Ruth, even with monitors or a drip, you should still be able to move around at least some. In fact, I'm always a little surprised when women in labour aren't encouraged to move. I can't remember if you said you had a doula? If you must be monitored, helping you to move around gently is something a doula would be able to do. I know you mentioned you're not keen on the idea of acupuncture, but have you tried acupressure? No needles involved and it might help your blood pressure. (Do you want to make a playdate for Cheeky S and Little Saff sometime? Hubbie has Little Saff fulltime for a couple weeks. He's looking for things to do.) :)

How about 'Listen now, or be ignored later' ? xx

A very interesting and emotive article indeed. It raises several issues, one of which is the banning/criminalising of home births, already a reality in some Western states. This smacks of a male-dominated ideology to me (so sorry fellas!). Surely the better thing to do would be to identify and address the risk factors associated with home births, rather than to simply remove the option of them altogether. I'm not opposed to hospital births. I'm simply opposed to removing the right to choose. The article touches mainly on two points of view: hospital birth vs home birth. But what about a third option? In countries like the US and Switzerland, birthing centres are a popular choice. They are like a home-away-from home for women in labour, but they are NOT a hospital. They are like a small hotel attached to the hospital or within minutes drive. Midwives or obstetric nurses oversee most of the care. You generally have your own room for your entire stay, no need to transfer from the labour ward to the postnatal ward. You can come to the birthing centre as soon as your contractions start, no need to be turned away from hospital b/c you are dilated enough. Any of your family and friends can come and go at any time day/night. Even children are welcome. There might even be kitchen facilities etc. You can generally have gas/air, and you might even have an induction or an epidural at a birthing centre. Then if you need emergency obstetrical treatment, the transfer to hospital is only minutes away. They just wheel you over to the next building, or some centres even have a dedicated ambulance service. Obviously I'm generalising. Not all birthing centres are this fab (well, the ones in Switzerland seemed pretty cool, but that's Switzerland for you!). But my wish for other women is that there would be more midwife lead birthing centres, so that women would feel they had a safe option that offered the comforts of home and without the institutionalism of hospital settings. xx

Belle Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That's interesting Saffron, I did raise this idea > once with my GP (before I got pregnant) - she > wasn't keen but didn't rule it out. If i went on > the same ADs as last time it would rule out bfing > but frankly I'd opt for sanity! > I was told by a GP that I'd have to give up bfing if I wanted to go on meds for PND. She offered me counseling -- with a 16 week waiting list!!!! Seriously, I would have hung myself in the closet by then. She didn't even offer to refer me to a psychiatrist but told me instead to the the HVs. Ridiculous. That's when I went private. (I also changed GPs). SERTRALINE is SAFE for BFING, and it is very effective at treating PND. If the prospect of difficult labour/birth is already causing you so much upset that you're considering a c-section, you have every reason to press for a referral to a specialist psychiatrist with experience of treating pregnant and postpartum women. Even if you never end up needing/wanting medication, only a specialist can give you the right advice. GPs/MWs/HVx simply are not trained for this. You have plenty of time to consider your options. Hopefully you can get to see a specialist on the NHS. If not I can very highly recommend Dr Jeremy Pfeffer. He is sympathetic, practical, and very straight forward. He will be happy to work with your regular NHS physician to prescribe the right treatment for you: 02079353878 for the Harley Street office. xx

Belle, you should be aware that if you have a predisposition to PND, then an elective c-section will not entirely negate this -- just as a difficult labour was not the total cause of it. And women who have had PND once are more likely to have it again. If you had a good response to antidepressants last time round, you might want to consider starting a low dose of antidepressants about 2-4 weeks before your due date. This is not something midwives and GPs will be very familiar with. I suggest you get a referral to a psychiatrist who has knowledge of this specific area if this is something you want to consider. I'm not sure how quickly you can be seen on the NHS, although I can recommend an excellent private pychiatrist who will be happy to write a prescriptive recommendation to your regular physician. There is some evidence that this type of prophylactic use of antidepressants can avoid PND or shorten its course dramatically. xx

Great quote. Very true!

When you make a right turn at a red light in the States, you must come to a complete stop before you make the turn. In other words, you cannot make a 'rolling stop' then turn. If you cannot produce a driving license, photo ID, and car insurance when requested, you may be held in custody or issued a citation until you can proivde the requested documents. (Although in practice you will probably just get a stern telling off b/c you are British.) Have fun! :)

'...formula saved me from stopping and now I mostly breastfed.' That's a really lovely way of thinking about it, ad 2000. xx

How about Salma Hayek breastfeeding another woman's baby in a hospital in Sierra Leone? So touching. With the widespread introduction of formula milk's after WWII, and the need for many women to work, wetnursing and cross-nursing began to decline. The real nail-in-the-coffin however, was the rise of the HIV epidemic in the 1980's. In just a few generations we've moved so far away from this practice that many people in the West now regard wetnursing with some disgust, or at least mixed feelings. Personally, I would have loved it if someone else could have breastfed Little Saff just a few times when she was an infant. As it was, I had very bad postpartum exhaustion partly due to a chest infection (and partly due to postpartum depression that wasn't being ackownledged by the medical profession!), and we had to give Little Saff a few bottles of formula. I don't feel guitly about it, but I do feel sad. Sad that there wasn't anyone else there to nurse her. Sad also for other bfing mothers today who have no other practical option but to give formula when things 'go wrong' with bfing. And even where wetnursing is available, many women wouldn't even consider it, as modern attitudes to this age-old practice have changed for the worse. So it goes.

We're always up for a swim. Little Saff is like a slippery fish! :)

That sounds great, but I heard you have to book in person for Jelly Babies and it's no more than 15 babies per session?

Sometimes I look in my daughter's mouth, and there are great blue and purple lumps on her gums where teeth will come through. We don't hesitate with the Calpol etc when she has a bad day. Bonjela on a baby toothbrush is also great. xx

Does anyone want to go swimming? We normally have swim class for my 15 mo daughter on Thursdays, but class is of course off for the break. We've been swimming at Wavelengths (Deptford). How are the pools round ED for little ones? Anyone fancy a swim on Thursday (Deptford or other pool?)? :)

Don't worry ladyruskin :) the dates seem fine to me. And there are always plenty of 'mummy friends' to be made on the Forum as well! xx

Don't forget the London Eye. Get on it at sunset and watch the city go from day to night, very pretty. Or if you want to go further afield -- provided the weather cooperates -- Hampton Court Palace is nice. :)

Does your toothpaste have SLS (sodium laurel sulphate)? This is a surfactant in most toothpastes. It's also an irritant for some people. Look for a toothpaste without it. You can also try an extra soft toothbrush. Sometimes acidic foods irritate the gums as well and can cause redness. I agree with Fuschia and others, very unlikely to be gum disease, but it's a good idea to see a dentist to put your mind at ease. I really wouldn't worry about giving her some juice, esp'y if it's a source of calcium for her. I couldn't find NHS guidelines, but the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 4 oz per day of straight juice. If she's having a lot more than that, you can always fade out the juice slowly as she learns to eat other calcium-rich foods. :)

Forgot to say also that you can try squeezing the breast as you pump to encourage the letdown. It's recommended that you squeeze gently, but I found that I had to squeeze firmly. xx

I recently sold some clothes through green-buttons. Items were collected for free, and I got a very fair price for them. :)

That is all completely normal and your milk is just fine. Your baby will always be better at 'milk removal' than a pump, and some women's bodies just don't respond well to a pump. When you read some the baby books, they talk about pump 6 oz here and 8 oz there etc as you were a cow. The reality is that pumping is a learned skill that your body does not necessarily take to naturally. Also your milk letdown is in part dependent on hormones. Your hormones vary with time of day, mood, stress level etc. And at just 7 wks postpartum, it would be pretty normal for your hormones to be all over the place. There are some things you can try. Not all pumps are created equally. Do you have a single only? You might want to try a double pump, or expressing/nursing on one breast while pumping on the other. Consider renting a hospital-grade pump for a few weeks. Medela is a good pump, but a hospital-grade pump will be a little bit better. It might be just the extra that you need. Try an herbal supplement to improve your letdown with the pump. I had one from Motherlove, which I found on the Le Leche League web page. It was from a company called Motherlove: http://www.motherlove.com/category/breastfeeding.html Acupunture can also help your milk supply and letdown. Giles Davies on Barry Road (07739414210) is a very experienced and sympathetic practitioner, as is Ella Keepax (07787118931) who practices out of Harley Street. Enjoy your baby, good luck and try not to stress too much about it! xx