Saffron

Following on the birth of Little Saff nearly a year ago, my make-up routine went from absolutely beautiful, to absolutely abominable! Five minutes is REALLY all I can spare for make-up, and I'd like to learn how to make the most of it. I asked my friend and very talented make-up artist Fiona Tanner about doing capsule parties for a 5-min face. Here's her reply: 'I can do ?15.00 per person up to 4 people and ?12 for 6 or more. I can bring a small kit. If the ladies bring their make up bags then I can advise on each-if they explain their routine I can offer helpful hints- It takes about 20-30mins per person. -Best Fiona ' A couple of friends have already expressed interest, and I'm happy to host at mine. Get back to me with your thoughts (wk day/wknd?, morning/afternoon?) if you want to join the fun. :-) xx Saff xx

Hahahah :-D How lovely! xx

Yes, totally agree with Fuschia and GG3 :-) If he's asking to nurse, he may be asking for comfort as much as milk. (and bravo on the sign language!) xx

embo71 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > i have written a note on the door saying: > knock loudly as have a baby and sometimes cant > hear knocker BUT not after 7pm when baby is > sleeping..... > > > it seems to work..?!?! i think any door to door > salesman think 'mad mum answering door? no thanks' > and dont knock at all and anyone else we know and > they can ring us first... Hmmm, perhaps I'll get one of those 'Beware of Dog' signs, and cross-out the 'Dog' to read 'Beware of MUM'!

Have you tried hanging a sign over the knocker to say 'Baby Sleeping'? Oddly, Little Saff is usu ok with the door, but it always makes me jump! As for leaflets, don't even get me started. Imagine tryin to get buggy and baby out the door, with out letting naughty cat out the front, while sliding all over a pile of leaflets the size of Mont Blanc. Arrrgh.

pebbles Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hysterical, i have just chuckled out loud and gone > quite red (hubby looked very baffled) at the > thought of all of us walking around ed wearing > badges. love it, want to do it, but still feeling > a little red about it - if that makes sense!! > > ok, maybe a bit more expensive but how's about a > crocheted flower brooch??? - however seeing as i > live in tracky bums and fleeces i think a badge > would actually suit me a lot better?? > > or what about a badge but something smaller than > that?? > > i'll do a bit of searching now Little sterling silver charm pins??? ...could ask Lisa Moss (the silver smith on Nx Rd) to design something classy and wearable? (Alternatively, I'm up for wearing a badge on my track suit. xx)

There is an excellent private walk-in clinic at Waterloo Station. I think they charge around ?60, though haven't been there recently. I went there a couple of years ago when we had just moved house and weren't registered locally. They were very friendly.

supergolden88 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Feel so bad over this and coupled with lack of > sleep it's a recipe for lots of tears! Oh no, SG88, hang in there! :-) We had a sim problem with Little Saff around the same age. I wonder if it is something developmental like pH change related to growth of the GI tract...? Warm, dry air helped to clear up her rash. If your LO doesn't mind the sound, a hair dryer on low-low setting can get the skin really warm and dry before you apply nappy cream. Also Little Saff found a bath very soothing. Do you have a Tummy Tub? The Tummy Tub made bathing Little Saff safe and easy even by myself. I think you can order them from NCT/Mothercare websites. xx

Does anyone else need a 5-minute face? I'm down to a few knobbly bits in the bottom of my make-up bag, and I haven't bought any make-up from a proper cosmetics counter in ages. I'm not vain, but I'd like to be able to whip something on my face that would help me feel more priceless than worthless. With Little Saff nearly walking, half-hour of careful liquid eyeliner application is not on the cards. My friend Fiona is a brilliant make-up artist. She did the make-up for my wedding (the day before Little Saff was born, as some of you know). She's just recently started doing capsule make-up parties. I've been thinking to get her round to do one for the post-baby ladies (or men? she doesn't discriminate!). I'm not sure how busy she is in the run-up to holidays, or how much she would charge. But if anyone would be interested, I'd be happy to enquire and arrange a time and place. xx

Freudian ear slip!

If you find you don't get much expressing from just one breast at a time, try a double pump. I laughed at these when I first saw them, but I get better let-down when I express simultaneously. Also, if you have a very sucky baby -- like I did/do! -- try a bottle with a slower teat. Otherwise, baby just gulps down all the milk in one quick go. I have two breastflow bottles you're welcome to have if interested. xx

Oakwood midwives at Forrest Hill Group Practice are excellent, but I had a rubbish experience with the GPs and HVs there. We have since moved and changed GPs.

womanofdulwich Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > maybe baby oil first? Yep that should work too :-)

Vapour rub is in an oily base. First you need another oily base to dissolve the vapour rub. Then a soap (good shampoo) to break-up the oil. I would recommend trying plain vaseline/petrolium jelly, then a good shampoo and condition. You can also try peanut butter or vegetable oil. (This method also works to get gum out of hair.)

Research suggests many women perceive their milk supply to be low between 2 and 3 mos, so you're right in the middle of it! The key thing here is the word 'perceive'. If your baby is otherwise fine, then your milk is fine. There is no evidence to suggest that this 'perceived' drop in supply has any adverse effects on babies. Don't supplement with formula if you can avoid it, as this changes the gut pH and flora, and it could make your baby windy. Then you'd be out of the frying pan into the fire in that case. (This happened to Little Saff when we had to give a few bottles of formula b/c I had postnatal exhaustion and was in extreme pain.) Acupuncture really does wonders for milk supply. Giles Davies on Barry Road is very good, as is Ella Keepax who practices from Harley Street. I can look up their contact info if you're interested. Fenugreek combined with Blessed Thistle supports lactation, but you have to take much higher doses than what is recommended for general use. I had a really good tincture, more concentrated than any of the teas. I'll see if I still have the bottle somewhere to find out what it's called. If you can afford it, get some help around the house. A cleaner, a nanny one day a week, or even just a friend to cuddle your LO in a sling for an hour while you have a rest in the early evening. Hormones produced during rest/sleep help to support breastfeeding. Also, don't forget that just b/c you get nothing in the pump, it doesn't mean the breast is empty. Actually, the breast is never truly empty as long as you are lactating. And, the baby stimulates the breast better than the pump. So, baby can get milk even when the pump gets nothing. In addition, the baby can sometimes be getting a tiny trickle of fatty evening milk and not really making much of a swallow. Little dribbles of milk are just sliding down baby's throat while baby blissfully mouths the nipple, seemingly unaware of poor exhausted mummy above! These tiny fatty droplets may be just the food and comfort your LO needs in the evening. That said, I agree with others' posts that fussiness and wanting to suck lots in the evening may be comfort sucking / over-stimulation / cluster-feeding, or any number of normal behaviours. It's probably a sign of what an excellent mother you are that you find yourself worried about it! Keep up the bfing. You and your baby will be just fine. xx

I didn't have candida, but I did have other problems. The shape of Little Saff's mouth gave me very bad bruises. And I had/have Reynaud's phenomenon in the nipples. The pain was very similar to what you describe as thrush, but it is not candida infection (so no amount of antifungals would have helped). Probably the pain from bruised nipples was setting off the Reynaud's phenomenon -- basically a tiny muscle spasm in the capillaries supplying the nipple. It felt like terrible stabbing, shooting pains. I got lots of well-meaning but totally wrong advice about soothing the nipples with cold packs and cabbage leaves. Not only was the pain way beyond mere mortal cabbage leaves, cold things made it worse to the point of tears. I couldn't understand why the things that seemingly helped everyone else didn't help me! When the bruising eventually healed and Little Saff's latch improved, the Reynaud's episodes became fewer and less painful. I still have them occasionally, but they mostly just cause discolouration. It was a very slow road though. The initial damage to my nipples in our early days of nursing probably sensitised the nerves and made the Reynaud's worse. I was using nipple shields off/on for 3 mos, and wasn't pain-free till about 5 or 6 mos. Acupuncture was helpful, as was keeping my nipples warm, not getting chills (ha! try that with a winter newborn when the gas heating keeps going out!!). I also had a great lactation consultant who helped me find more comfortable positions for nursing Little Saff and gave me lots of reassurance. My GP didn't know you can get Reynaud's phenomenon in the nipples, and my HV didn't even know what Reynaud's is. I'm not downing them in any way (hey, they can't know everything). When I explained the problem, they were sympathetic/supportive. But if I hadn't done a little research myself, I wouldn't have known what the problem was. Also, if anyone reading this has Reynaud's phenomenon very bad, there are drugs to help, and they are ok for bfing. I was lucky that I didn't need drug treatment. Well done everyone for persevering! xx

Put a little blanket or some babygrows in you bed for the next couple nights. You can even put some breastmilk on them. They will hold your smell. Leave these for your LO when you go out. Of course you will miss your baby when you go out. That's nature's way. Not crazy at all. Enjoy your time away for a few hours... (and then enjoy your baby even more when you return!).

You can also put dry oatmeal in a food processor until it's powdered. Sprinkle the powder under running water in the bath and give it a good swirl. Do take care however, as oatmeal can make the bath very slippery. Also I agree w plimsoul, about 1/2 cup bi-carb in the bath is around the right amount. Making bi-carb into a paste with just a few spoons of water, you can place it directly on badly affected areas during the bath.

I second all of the above, plus ask your midwife/hv about reflux in babies. Bringing back full feeds frequently may be a sign of baby reflux. Your doctor can give you more advice on how to treat it. In the meantime, try keeping baby upright for a little while longer after feeds, and perhaps raise the head-end of baby's bed a couple of centimeters. This website has lots of interesting ideas for making babies more comfy: http://www.babyreflux.co.uk/ xx

Was just thinking of this thread this morning as Little Saff tried to dig a hole to Chine through my arm while nursing. This got her a merciless round of tickling that resulted in her forgetting about the boobie for a bit, and it chilled her out too. If your LO has picked and picnched your skin a lot in one place, try convering these areas with hydrocolloid plasters (eg, blister plasters) or silicone sheets -- ask a pharmacist if they have these in larger sizes too. These will protect your skin and be more difficult to pick off. Also, if your LO really seems to need something in her hands when nursing, perhaps you could try giving her one of those 'chicken fillet' type breast enhancers to play with? They have a texture very similar to skin. You can probably find some cheap ones on ebay. xx

Fuschia Wrote: > My real terror is of aftercare after a CS as > unresponsive staff is the trigger for me to really > meltdown. > Don't worry F. If that happens, we'll organise a crack team of Forumites to go down to the hospital and badger any unresponsive staff into submission and obedience! xx

Can whole-heartedly recommend Jill Dye 07816 136 477. xx

http://www.merinokids.co.uk/

Sorry, should have been more specific. Tea tree essential oil is very potent and should not be used on the skin directly. The gel formulations contain highly diluted tea tree eo, which is very effective at preventing secondary infection with bacteria (eg, staph & strep). Do be careful to read labels. Some gels contain parabens. You might not want these on children's skin (although - weirdly - they're in some nappy creams) Tea tree oe is also effective to relieve inflamation in the skin caused by other allergy reactions. But if you're unsure, just stick with aloe! :-) xx

OMG, that's terrible! I've never even heard of this. Baby Nappy Expose??? Any documentary film makers out there? When you give your LO nappy-free time, have you tried a little tea tree or aloe gel (the kind for sunburns)? I had a mild chemical burn on my arms a few months ago, and this was very soothing. Poor little bubby. I hope things resolve soon. x