MSE Parents Club Part 4

My_Fathers_Daughter

Edit - daddies often feel left out of BF'ing - it is such a close thing between mum and babe.

Is it possible to introduce a bottle so dad can join in too?

This is one of the things that we did so I got a break.

And we (horror of horrors ) let Benjamin have a carton of formula in a bottle for a while (just in the evenings) so I could have a rest. Now my freezer is full of House White so he usually has EBM.

elle_gee

Afternoon all..

Weezl, I agree with everyone else. Your Fergie won't be like those children, he'll learn the boundaries as he grows

rmac, :T to you and your little one

Been busy this morning - got all of Rhys' clothes out and found a new place to store them all for now. He's now got 40+ vests, 15+ sleepsuits, 10+ dungarees plus 8 rompers, 5 pairs of trousers and 2 zip-up jackets :eek: Is now the time to stop buying?! To be fair, most of them are 7.5lb size and even the 6lb things still have plenty of growing room in them Then there's all the bigger things we'd already bought thinking we'd have a normal size newborn but that's all at mum's for now.

HeaLth visitor has been in this morning. Seems to think I'm doing a fab job Coincidentally, her son was in SCBU and is now in a wheelchair so she knows all about what we might be facing. She's encouraged me to get the DLA claim forms and she'll help me fill them in. Wants me to go down to the drop-in clinic next Thursday so that'll be our first baby club outing.

Builder also been to sort doors - needed some shaving off the bottom after the carpets were put in - and he'll be back on Monday to start the final bit of work (knocking out and rebuilding of a bay window).

OH's half day at work today he'll be home soon then we'll go for a walk to the shops, methinks

My_Fathers_Daughter

SusanC wrote: »

That sounds a bit of a con. Is she such an amazing childminder or are they so hard to come by that it is really necessary to pay out for seven months before you actually use her? Is it normal to have to pay that much in advance? (I think ClaireJones is a childminder so she might be able to say whether that is normal practice.)

How can it possibly be a con???

Childminders are trying to earn a living!!!

If my boss expected me to not work for a while he would bl00dy well have to pay me to sit and wait until he was ready for me!



EDIT - I think £30 is perfectly reasonable...if not generous!!! The childminder will not be earning for those 7 month (unless she very reasonably said she was able to temporarily fill the place).



Sorry if I sound angry, you have hit a nerve with me

pinkpig08

I have been using this childminder for the last few years as she has looked after DS whilst I worked. I didn't use her for a while as I got a job in a school so once he went full time I didnt need a childminder. Then I got my current job which means she just had DS in the holidays which she said was fine - I just paid for the weeks she had him. Like I say I understand that by keeping the place for me it would mean she would be getting no income for it - it's just annoying thinking you're paying for something you aren't using yet. Yes she is a good childminder and doesn't charge extra if she takes the children on outings etc and I know she's being reasonable, it's just me being tight!

pinkpig08

My_Fathers_Daughter wrote: »

Edit - daddies often feel left out of BF'ing - it is such a close thing between mum and babe.

Is it possible to introduce a bottle so dad can join in too?

This is one of the things that we did so I got a break.

And we (horror of horrors ) let Benjamin have a carton of formula in a bottle for a while (just in the evenings) so I could have a rest. Now my freezer is full of House White so he usually has EBM.

When did you start expressing MFD? Did Benjamin take the bottle OK and still BF? I don't really know whether 'nipple confusion' exists or not! I have a hand pump. I want to get a TT closer to nature one though to go with the bottles I have. I wasn't sure how long you have to BF before you can express and use a bottle?

elle_gee

pinkpig, you can express whenever you have more than LO wants - just freeze it (for max 3 mths) until you want to introduce a bottle

My_Fathers_Daughter

pinkpig08 wrote: »

When did you start expressing MFD? Did Benjamin take the bottle OK and still BF? I don't really know whether 'nipple confusion' exists or not! I have a hand pump. I want to get a TT closer to nature one though to go with the bottles I have. I wasn't sure how long you have to BF before you can express and use a bottle?

TBH I am not sure if I believe in nipple confusion or not...but I do know lots of babies who 'refuse' to take a bottle so I wanted to start Benjamin sooner rather than later.

You need to make sure that babe is latching fine with no issues first of all. You may regret introducing a bottle if BF'ing is not completely settled.

If you are happy that BF'ing is going well then start when you want to. I think we started at about 3 1/2 weeks. It was a struggle to get him to take the bottle to start with (he just used to play with it!) but we got there in the end. Now he get special daddy time and can also be babysat so mummy and daddy get some adult time too

TBH - if you are going to express regularly you prob need an electric pump so start with whatever you have and see how you go. If you can master feeding and pumping at the same time that is the best way to get the most milk.

Becles

Weezl - I'm not keen on looking after other people's children and I've had some badly behaved ones here. Mine have grown up with strict rules on what is and what isn't acceptable, and they are generally well behaved. Some children are brought up to think it's ok to dive bomb of sofa's and jump on furniture etc., so they don't understand they are doing wrong in someone elses house. It's not you, it's their parents who are to blame.

I'll look out a skirt later and measure it for you.

Charlotte's bed came this morning and I've just put it up:

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs175.snc1/6569_104840157843_606412843_2320572_6634558_n.jpg

It's a day bed, so she can use it like a sofa when she's bigger and got friends coming round to play.

Sami_Bee

Susan it's standard practice for childminders to charge half as a retainer so assuming Pink is wanting a full time place £30 is a good deal

SusanC_2

My_Fathers_Daughter wrote: »

How can it possibly be a con???

Childminders are trying to earn a living!!!

If my boss expected me to not work for a while he would bl00dy well have to pay me to sit and wait until he was ready for me!

EDIT - I think £30 is perfectly reasonable...if not generous!!! The childminder will not be earning for those 7 month (unless she very reasonably said she was able to temporarily fill the place).

If you reserved a place in advance at a private nursery or a private school you wouldn't have to pay a weekly fee for months in advance. My mum runs her own swimming classes and she never charges people a fee to reserve a place. She even refunds money already paid if a child has to miss a load of lessons for medical reasons (e.g. they break a leg). My husband works as a gardener and when people don't have him over the winter he doesn't tell them they have to pay a weekly fee in order to reserve him for the next summer. I just don't see it as any different to these other things unless there is some particular circumstance which can justify it (such as being very good and in demand or there being high demand due to a shortage of childminders). I can also understand having to pay a short term retention fee (say if you stop using the childminder for a few weeks) but to pay one for such a long time in advance seems a bit extreme to me unless there is some particular reason (as I said originally) to justify it.

My_Fathers_Daughter wrote: »

Sorry if I sound angry, you have hit a nerve with me

It's okay - everyone is entitled to their opinions and we aren't all going to agree with each other all the time. (Although I do try and keep my more controversial opinions to myself - I didn't realise this would be such a hot button topic or I might have been a bit more careful with my original wording.) I'm sorry the way I stated my opinion caused you offense.