The Nappy Lady

Very envious MrsC, I really wanted one, but didn't have the space. I think they are really wonderful. It is worth trying a few if you can before you buy on line as some are more comfortable than others. I tried out at the Baby Show and found one I liked for about ?100. Molly

Oh EMC, don't be too hard on yourself, I think we have all been there. Sooner or later your children have to realise what your limits are, and they will keep pushing until they find them. I only have to give my 5 year old a certain look now and she knows it is time to start behaving. Being a Mum, especially a single Mum is so hard, it would be impossible not to lose your temper now and again. Being shouted at now and again isn't going to do your little one any harm, I bet she gets far more love and cuddles overall. Hugs, Molly x

I've had this happen to Nappy Lady customers loads of times - no card left, but item waiting at the Post Office, it makes me furious. Molly

Hi Cath, Welcome and congratulations! I'm past the pregnancy bit as I have an 11 month old and a 5 year old but rest assured you are in the right place to meet lots of other people going through the same thing as you, I'm sure you'll have lots of 'bump' friends very soon. In the meantime, you may find the following thread very entertaining, if you haven't come across it yet, and it may give you a bit of insight into the 'gang' on here! http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,292489,page=1 Best wishes, Molly

Hi Lorraine, Are you sure your milk is 'drying up'? Don't assume because your breast (s) feel empty that they are. At this stage you will not be producing and storing milk as you do in the early days, but when baby feeds she should still be getting as much as she wants. My little one is now 11 months and my breasts generally look saggy and pathetic but I'm still feeding fine, and actually last month when in Spain my baby went back to b'feeding a lot (almost like a newborn) due to the heat and for a while I went back to being really full, which was a bonus on the bikini front!, but the minute we came back here her feeding dropped back to 3 or 4 feeds per day and I've gone back to having a couple of old saddlebags. I remember with daughter number 1 it was pretty much the same and I fed her up to 16 months old without any problems, and for years after that I could if I wanted get milk flowing if I wanted to. This sounds bizarre, but I was curious and so remember trying it and was amazed the milk just seems to sort of stay there once you've ever produced it at all....not massive amounts, but I could get a few drops, so I guess it would have come back if I'd had a baby to suckle. Oh and I've always had one side that produces much more than the other, and I think you naturally tend to favour that side which sort of encourages the whole thing, I have to be really carefully to ensure I feed equally on both sides despite one side always feeing much more full. Expressing should increase your supply, if you feel you need to, though I do think if you simply feed your daughter when you want to it will happen naturally. Azazingly there have even been cases of grandmothers breastfeeding their grandchildren as a result of being around them and allowing them to suckle. The human body is an amazing thing. Molly

HA, don't talk to me about snot.....both baby C and I have had the most awful cold (I've been on antibiotics and steroids for the past 2 weeks). So, not only do I feel awful, but I have Baby C's snot being wiped all over me, and her screaming every time I try to wipe her nose. So glam this motherhood thing! Sorry SB don't mean to steal your thread. Sounds like teething to me, but as others have said don't assume you'll see a tooth that soon. Also some teeth seem to appear with no upset at all whilst others cause days of misery. None of it makes sense to me. I believe that as another poster mentioned the teething moving around in the gums is a big issue and can go on for ages. It does become fun, but everyone finds it happens at a different point - one friend only likes children (including her own) from the age of 2 onwards. I love the tiny baby bit, and then love them from 2 plus, but don't enjoy the 9 to 18 months stage half so much, there is loads of cute stuff, but the mobile, into everything, no common sense, and very messy mealtimes part of it for me is very wearing! The one certainty though is that every stage, however good or bad it is does pass.......so, as I always say I know....HANG IN THERE! Just waiting for you to find the stage you love, it will come. Molly x

Very glad he's here at last HH, but sad that you didn't get to have a positive birth experience, something I would wish for every woman. Time does heal the memory though, and you are both safe thank goodness. I do hope your recovery is swift and easy. Enjoy the babymoon. Molly

Oh dear, it's all gone very quiet....do you think Heidi is stuck in hospital, or at home too busy cuddling her new arrival to post on here....hmmmmmmmmmm Hope she is OK.

Apologies if this has already been suggested but; It is very common for children to develop a 'poo' phobia when potty training. We had it with Daughter No.1 and for a while just let her have a nappy on for poos, whilst doing lots of positive talking about how food goes in, gets digested, then the waste comes out...I know it sounds crazy, but I really think it helped her to get with the programme. If you use disposables, a good thing to try is to cut a hole in the bottom of the nappy, then sit them on the loo to poo...that way they have the 'security' of being in a nappy, but see the result in the toilet - so you can praise them etc. After a couple of times they are often happen to dispense with the nappy and 'fly solo' so to speak. Another thing for disposable users, is to try putting a folded flannel in the nappy when your little one is about ready to potty train, so they start to associate the feeling of weeing with the resulting wetness. This can help them to make the necessary connections in order to potty train. Good luck with it. Molly

Dungarees, and tracksuit bottoms I'd say...and check out places like George at Asda and Primark. Another good tip (though may not be possible now) is to look out for trousers intended to be 3/4 length summer cut offs for older children, they work great over cloth nappies as full length trousers the first year, then as 'summer shorties' the next year, and often even fit for the 3rd summer once nappies are no longer in use! You may drop on a few of these in the sales at places like Baby Gap now I imagine? Molly

Hang in there HeidiHi, I agree they come out when they are 'fully cooked' and not before...but I do think walking helps to get the head down, and the more the head is down, the more pressure on the Cervix, which all helps when it comes to 'opening up'. So, if you can bear to keep walking do, and try going up and down stairs (or a hill) sideways, it takes ages, but opens up the pelvis in a different way. Whatever happens you know you're going to be holding your little boy soon, and if you are still preggers on 1st September at least you can say with complete certainty "I AM going to be having my baby THIS month"!!! Molly

Lovely to see some of you today. Look forward to some more get togethers when I'm back from our holiday. Molly xxx

KBN, Everyone's baby is different, don't think all the others sleep in a cot because it isn't true! 10 weeks is still very new, go with the flow, do what works for her (and you) in order to get rest and sleep. I reckon most babies start to click into a routine from around 4 months old. Just keep (gently) trying the cot and sooner or later you may find she settles better with it. I didn't use the cot at all until about 4 months old, but then she took to it very well, but we still do some co sleeping at night even at 10 months - usually when she is teething and waking in the night etc. Make the most of the baby cuddles, before you know it she will be a wriggly toddler! Edited to say - I know we are all programmed to feel guilty on some level once we are mothers, but try not to be, sounds like you are doing a great job. My guilt is that I didn't co-sleep enough with baby number 1, not that it seems to have done her any harm :)) Molly

Yes, was thinking even those of us with older ones would probably be OK there with it being holiday time. Will pm you my number now. M

Hiya, Are we meeting in the picnic area tomorrow, or do you think it might be better to make use of the fact that the 1 o'clock club is open mornings, given the potentially wet weather? Molly

I know - can't believe it myself - my oldest NEVER slept like that in the day. But this one is so busy when awake and does 4 or 5 hour stints awake so I think she just wears herself out trying to keep up with big sister. If the cot attempt fails you can always resort to buggy or boob, but at least you are trying, and hopefully sooner or later it will 'click in' again. Do you play music at bed/nap time. I think it helps massively if you have a CD which you play in the bedroom whenever putting them down, they really do get to recognise and take it as a cue that it is time to sleep. Molly

Just interested to know how common this is.... It seems that every time my little one is teething she goes right of solids other than fruit and yoghurt for about a week before the teeth appear. Even if no other signs of teething. Talking to a friend today she said both of hers are just the same, so I wondered if it is true for lots of other babies? If so, I can understand the yoghurt being soothing on the gums, but interesting that they go off all savoury food. I wonder why. Molly

That is so funny Pickle. Would be worth setting a camera up in the room don't you think, just to be able to see how she does it. Little tinker! Molly

I agree...sounds like he's just having a hard time with teeth...how long has this change to day time naps been going on for? They do go through phases, but if he's been happy in his cot in the past I'm sure he will come back to it, just keep trying. I always try to get my 9 month old down in her cot in the day as she sleeps for much, much longer that way. If in the buggy it is rarely more than 30 minutes, but can be up to 3 or 4 hours at lunchtime if in the cot (usually wake her up after 2 or 3 though or bedtime can become an issue)! But couldn't get her to nap in her cot in the day until she was about 4 months old, so it took a while. Now she seems to love it. Hope he is better soon, and some little teeth appear to explain it all. Molly

Hi Polly, If he is rolling over onto his front to sleep I'd say that is fine, though I'm guessing he can't yet roll himself back again (if so, he will before too long) - that may be why he's waking and crying (is getting a bit 'stuck' on his front). I think most babies choose to sleep on their front once they are capable of turning over. I've know some parents who have put their babies to sleep on their tummy from birth because it was the only way they would settle (and I have even heard a health professional say that it was OK in one instance, because they were having such issues with getting baby to sleep on its back). So, at 6 months I really wouldn't worry. Best wishes, Molly

I just find it annoying that the on line tax return form includes it in your overall income - what if I hadn't checked with them? I wonder if they would have picked it up of their own accord? Really naughty that they get stuff like this wrong. M

It is really important to try to get some rest in the day when it is like this....can you do that whilst DH is home, and next week when with parents? A couple of hours over lunchtime should do you the world of good, and early nights too if you can. Hang in there hun....

It is fine to soak the nappies, don't worry...only thing to watch is the TD / Nappisan etc. issue mentioned earlier in this thread. It is the waterproof things like wraps, out and about bags etc. that you absolutely mustn't soak, otherwise the waterproofing will perish. M x

Hi Gimme, Was thinking about this, and came to post pretty much what Mellors has said...I think it is very hard to plan this in advance of baby's arrival, though of course it is brilliant that you are researching the options. We have taken very different approaches with our two children. With No 1 she went into her own room at 1 week old...and not next door either, but into the room at the back, with us at the front of the house. It felt scary, but she and we all slept better as a result. We had a monitor, and I would get up and go to her in the night, feed her sitting in a rocking chair (often wake up an hour or so later to put her back in the cot!). She slept through the night from 10 weeks old and we never looked back, but I this this is purely down to her being a very heavy sleeper, nothing to do with where she was sleeping. With No 2 we all (she, me and Daddy) pretty much co slept for the first 3 months or so, there was a moses basket next to the bed, but I'd say she only spent about one quarter of the night in it if that...the snuggles were too nice, and to be honest I would fall asleep feeding her and the next time I woke up was when she was rooting for the next feed! She then went into her own room, into her cot, but we have a double bed in that room too, and for a good while I was still spending much of the night in there with her, co sleeping. Around 4 months we seemed to hit a real wall of lots of waking, difficult nights etc. and the co-sleeping really helped us to get through it. Since then she's slept better and better and I've gradually been able to spend more and more time back in my own bed, which is lovely and much appreciated :)) She started sleeping through about 2 or 3 weeks ago I'd say, at 9 months old, and often does 8pm to 6 or 7am now, apart from when she's got a cold or cutting another tooth. I really don't think I'd have been able to be operational in the day with my older daughter if I'd been up and down in the night feeding for 8 or 9 months, co sleeping was my saviour in that respect. My other half is quite a light sleeper, and has the kind of job that demands he is 100% 'with it' when he's working, so it really is necessary for him to get a good nights sleep and me to move out and take the burden of night duty if need be, I kind of see that as my 'job' at least whilst I am on maternity leave, but he does help when he can, and it is helpful now because if I go to her in the night she immediately expects and fusses for boob, which she doesn't really need, but wants...if he goes to her it helps to break that habit of course...though to be honest I don't mind if it carries on because I know it will stop of its own accord when it is ready, and even now I sometimes end up snuggled in the spare double bed with her from around 5 until 7 or 8am and it is lovely. :)) Molly

Excellent Gimme, This is the link to the page that lists all our assorted videos, so there may be others you find helpful.....it isn't me, but my colleague Wendy in the videos...not that that matters, but just thought I'd tell you! http://www.thenappylady.co.uk/public/articledetails.aspx?id=281 Glad the film you found was helpful. Molly