Saffron

Oh also, your 'let down' can change as your milk supply becomes settled. Where you once might have had a slow let down and baby had a leisurely feed, you might now find your let down is more rapid. As baby grows, his suckle also becomes more efficient. The combination of rapid let down and efficient suckle for some mother-baby dyads can mean that feeding times come right down. There are so many variable with breastfeeding. You can really drive yourself to distraction (I know I did)! xx

Isn't there a sort of 'lull' in milk production around this time for a lot of women? I've read a few different schools of thought on this, but no definitive research, except to say that it's completely normal. You and your baby can work through it. It might even be that this is a break between growth spurts, so you LO isn't really that hungry. Pumping shouldn't interfere with his feeding. As long as a woman is lactating, her breast is never truly empty. As long as you're drinking enough fluids, everything should be ok. Many women give up breastfeeding their babies early because of *perceived* lack of milk supply. However, if you are healthy in all other ways, you will make enough milk. And if you consistently, gently encourage your baby, he will get everything he needs from you. Deffo go to the bfing cafe and get in tough with the people at Kings... but in the meantime, don't panic at all. In fact, you sound like you're doing a great job! xx

Oh no, that's terrible R_B! So sorry to hear you're having trouble. I would definitely change if it's upsetting you so much. You sound like you might also benefit from having a doula, someone to fight in your corner. xx

Cows milk has too much sodium to be a drink for <1 yo. Their kidneys can't filter it. I did the same as Pickle and just used cows milk in porridge etc, and Little Saff had some yogurt too.

http://www.myriadonline.co.uk/index.php Lots of beautiful things here. xx

Did you try a TENS machine? Or a float? http://www.floatworks.com/ Or a layer of aloe gel + a layer of white tiger balm? (Acupuncture is fine, really! Not scary:) )

I've just recently learned that viral rashes in babies and toddlers are not uncommon and can have varied appearances. As long as your LO is not unwell otherwise, you don't need to do anything. xx

Fuschia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "The chickenpox vaccine is not part of the UK > childhood vaccination programme, because experts > think that introducing a chickenpox vaccination > for children could increase the risk of shingles > in older people" I found the title of this article very misleading. After looking at the research myself, it seems that the most beneficial route would be to vaccinate both young people and the 'elderly', as (re)immunisation with the jab, is now thought to diminish the emergence of varicella virus as shingles. After looking into the research, here's what else I found: - Immunisation 3 to 5 days post-exposure can result in a 70-90% reduction in the likelihood of the exposed individual developing chickenpox - Immunisation with a booster 6 wks to 6 mos afterwards results in greater than 90% immunity for 10 to 20 years, so another booster in the teen years would be advisable. - About 1 in 100 children under 16 with chickenpox will develop severe complications, and a few of those children will die. - Younger children do appear to be less affected by chickenpox symptoms than older children, but no one really knows what the 'cut off' age is. The benefit of offering the vaccine to young children would be to give them immunity well before they reach an age where symptoms could become profound. MediCentre at Victoria Station offers chickenpox jabs for babies over 1 year old. The cost is ?73, with a booster at 6 weeks. An appointment is advisable to minimise waiting.

buggie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Just to reassure, I've never seen babies in A&E > with complications from chickenpox, I've heard if > mums being keen fir them to have it early as they > don't scratch as much = less scarring. Very sorry to say that my MIL's friend lost her baby at 6 days old due to exposure to chickenpox virus. This was some time ago, about 15 years. Perhaps there are better antibody treatments now. > Still unsure about the reasoning behind national > immunisation campaigns in the countries > mentioned... Could understand it being beneficial > once teenage/adult if not had chickenpox as it > does seem to affect adults more, but not seen > anything to convince me yet. The benefit would be not just to the potentially infected individuals, but also consider the loss in terms of people taking days off work sick or to care for sick children, passing the virus on to vulnerable individuals, etc. I was slightly shocked recently by the behaviour of a friend of mine. Her 2 yo daughter had been sent home from nursery for several days b/c of chickenpox infection. Instead of keeping her at home to minimise the spread, my friend was taking her out to playgroups and local playgrounds.

buggie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I find it especially surprising to see that some > who worry about giving the regular immunisations > are then seeming happy to consider giving/give > their child this. For the sake of argument this statement could also be turned on its head to read... It is equally surprising that some who don't worry about giving the regular immunisations are then seemingly against considering giving the chickenpox vaccine.

We are spreading our jabs out from the official schedule too. This is what we are personally comfortable with. Link to autism from MMR has been totally discredited. I have looked at the original research and I agree. MMR and autism are not related. However, there is a very real link between MRR and varicella (chicken pox) vaccines causing seizures if given too close together. So, if you are immunizing privately for chicken pox, make sure your private provider and NHS GP know what's happening. I think the reccommended time between jabs is 2-4 weeks generally. xx

Could there be hot water pipes in the wall near your thermometer? We have this problem. It tends to make the reading about 2 C above the actual temp. Also because of where the nursery is situated in our house, when the door is closed this room is always warmer than the rest of our house. This works out fine for Little Saff. She has preferred a warmer room temp since she was born. She sleeps really well in 23 C. We just dress her in light cotton pyjamas. I'm sure you LO will be just fine in a warm room if not overdressed. xx

Licensing may have changed recently...? From what I can tell, it's mostly marketed for pre-jab analgesia for 'fearful' children. I would think the other reason it's not so much used in A&E is because it requires the use of an occlusive patch for an hour prior to the injection. Also, don't do what I once did, which is to turn up with the Emla patch in the wrong place. Doh! Bad mummy. I'm quite curious to try it on myself when I get my next jab. SG88, hope all is well, and you survived. :) xx

Emla's UK website says it is for use in fullterm babies, children and adults. GP said Emla cream was fine for babies if there was no family history of allergy to the active ingredient. And it is available without a prescription. I ordered mine online b/c my local pharmacy didn't have it in stock. xx

Oh no, where were the 'I like biscuits' badges when you needed them! Is Tippee Toes any good? We are thinking about going... :)

The NHS mandate is to offer the BCG to all babies under 1 year old. If you feel you would like to delay your son's BCG, just have it recheduled. You may need to be firm about it though, as some BCG clerks can be quite pushy. SG88, I'd say go with your gut on this one. If your LO is not regularly mixing with high-risk populations, the risk of infection is extremely low. When/if you decide to have the BCG (or any other jab), give a dose of baby ibuprofen and hour before the jab. Then give a dose of baby paracetamol directly afterwards. This dual approach is more effective than giving only ibuprofen/paracetamol after the jab. A topical lidocaine cream called Emla is also available for babies/children (and adults!) who are particularly sensitive to jabs. xx PS (re the sleep -- or lack of it -- we have sooo been there with Little Saff about this time last year... I have so much sympathy for you!!)

Wednesday or Friday at mine? Anyone interested, give me a PM. xx

Hi gigi2000. There's a thread on here somewhere about how hard it can be to make new 'mummy friends'! There's a thread on 'mummy matchmaking' too!! Depending on where you are in the ED area, you might like Bumps N Babes (Goose Green, I think). There's a TinyTalk at St Barnabas (se23) http://www.tinytalk.co.uk/index.htm. Or if you're the Nunhead side of ED, you might be closer to the Baby Sensory classes at Brockley Cross (St Peters, Wickham Road se4). I can really highly recommend Baby Sensory. My daughter loved it, and I did end up making a 'new mummy friend' out of it. There might even be Baby Sensory classes starting in ED now. Not sure, check their website http://www.babysensory.com/en/Default.aspx? . Of coure if you're looking for something a little more central ED, Amanda and Kevin at Push Studios off Lordship Lane (behind W Rose Butchers) are super nice and offer a lot different classes. There is a Pilates for Mums class, where you can bring your baby with you. http://www.pushstudios.co.uk/classes.php

My daughter started teething around 2/3mo, but no teeth appeared until around 7/8 months. It was very troubling for her too. :(

With a runny bottom and a hungry tummy, it sounds like increasing her protein intake would help. Protein helps the body feel fuller longer and also slows digestion. Wholemeal bread dipped in egg and dry-fried. Cubes of plain hard tofu, sprinkled with sweet or savory seasoning. Homemade Quorn 'sausage' roles. Boiled eggs; quails eggs a great novelty. Whole chickpeas and butter beans. Large whole prawns (if seafood is ok). Nut butters (but try to find the natural ones w/out loads of additives). I'm sure I read somewhere that green (ie less ripened) bananas help slow digestion by a reation they have within the upper part of the small intetine.

The Hill Station community cafe (Telegraph Hill park) has 'Quiet Fridays'. Take the 484 from Goose Green to Telegraph Hill. Get off at the roundabout by the park. The cafe is oppposite the top end of the park, adjacent to the church.

Oh, just saw this thread. Very amusing! But I have to say that even as a mummy (and I like to think I'm yummy... well I can wear my skinny jeans again anyway), I sometimes find the other mummies predatory and territorial! I hope I never glower, and I always try to be welcoming. My daughter is very friendly too. If she sees you MrTwirly, she'll probably go out of her way to say hello (even though she is only 13 months). She's been known to cross entire cafes to pat strange men on the knees. (Hmm, let's hope she outgrows that before her teen years!) Anyhoo, if you want to borrow her and take the buggy on jaunt around the local cafes, you can have a blast running over peoples' toes whilst Little Saff blows raspberries. ;)

We're over our Chicken Pox scare. No sign of the pox here. Shall we try for a meet up this week? :-)

Yes this C-sec makes even my straightfwd natural birth look a bit stressed! I'm sure we all do have regrets (isn't guilt a part of parenthood?!), and it can be tough not to focus on them sometimes. I do like the idea of a natural c-sec, and it would be my hope for women in general that the techniques presented here would become more available and common place. I can really highly recommend course of antenatal acupuncture. I have scoliosis too. Mine is not so bad that I couldn't have had an epidural (at least no one ever mentioned it would be an issue...), but I REALLY didn't want one. Antenatal acupucture can help condition your body for the birth in addition to helping with common late pregnancy issues. Your acupuncturist can also attend you during the birth. And even if you do have a c-sec, postpartum acupuncture can help you to recover faster. Ella Keepax and Giles Davies are both very good acupuncturists. xx

Co-sleeping is the norm in many cultures. We sometimes still have Little Saff (13 mo) in our bed, usu if she wakes up a bit too early. It's only a problem if it's a problem for you. There isn't anything wrong or bad about co-sleeping. If you're co-sleeping with an older child, as far as I can see, the problem is mainly space. Would a super-kingsize bed be a good investment? I shall be following this thread with interest to see what parents of older babies say! xx Edited to say there's nothing ever wrong with comforting a crying child. When we hear reports of elderly people in care homes being neglected, people feel outraged, but yet we're told to leave our children crying 'for their own good'? Rubbish. (sits back and waits for the criticisms)