MSE Parent Club

Snaggles

Goodness, I had no idea that breastfeeding could act as a contraceptive. It makes sense I suppose.

I am starting the process of weaning Natasha (from breastmilk to cows milk) - she will drink 3-4 fl oz twice a day now without a major tantrum, and I am breastfeeding her twice a day. I'm trying to use milk in her food too, to try to make sure she is getting enough during the transitional period. My boobs are really swollen and quite sore though, but in a strange way I quite like it, because I know they probably wont ever be so full of milk again. Is that weird?!

jo_b_2

cathie wrote: »

hello
I was wondering if any of you have relied on breast feeding as your only contraception?
My little girl is 7 weeks old now and I am pretty confident I will keep up breastfeeding fully for the first 6 months at least, I have read that it is 98% effective when breast feeding fully.
Any opinions?

Yes. I relied on it for 3 months with my eldest and 6 months this time around! Didn't get pregnant either time, but we were in a position where another baby wouldn't have been ideal but wouldn't have been the end of the world. (I did have a bit of a scare when my belly started getting fatter but, unfortunately, I'm just fat not pregnant!!) :rolleyes:

The official line is that it's about 99% providing baby isn't given any other fluids or foods. Having said that, I carried on not using anything after I started weaning my youngest (at 4 months) because he was still being breastfed regularly.

My periods didn't return until around 8 months first time around and came back a few weeks ago this time (unfortunately!!) You just need to remember that you're going to be fertile a couple of weeks before you get your first period, so there is a risk there.

I didn't want to go on the pill because of the hormones in the pill and any possible effect on baby boys! (I haven't read anything official about this at all - it's just my own irrational thoughts!) I also hate condoms - urgh! :rotfl: Mind you - the infrequency of any action in our household, it would be a bit of a miracle if I had got pregnant again! :rolleyes:

Becles

Mazcabs wrote: »

And he's started waking up again in the night....mind you isnt that a sign of weaning? HV keeps saying just another couple of weeks everytime I go..he's five months now so cant be that long to go.

Charlotte did that around 5 months. I used to just give her a couple of spoons of baby rice in an afternoon and that was enough to stop the waking.

suzukibabe wrote:

Does anybody else's child/children sleep walk?

My youngest son does.

I'd just got into bed a few weeks ago, when I heard someone run down the stairs. Got up and he was in the sitting room doorway, then turned and ran back up the stairs and got back into bed.

The other night I went up for a shower and I saw him leaning over the bannister on the landing. I didn't realise he was asleep then, and said "James, what are you doing there?". He replied "fishing but I didn't catch anything" and he went and got back into bed.

My eldest talks and sings in his sleep. We went up to bed recently and as we got to the top of the stairs we heard him shout "does anyone want to go canoeing?"

No idea why they do it, but neither have come to harm from it.

Glad to hear Adam is progressing well

redflame705

Hi. My baby is due in 3 days and I know it's probably a little soon to be thinking about it but something is playing on my mind a little bit. I'm having a year off maternity leave and when I go back I'll obviously need to consider some sort of childcare. Fortunately, my OH doesn't work on a Monday so that is a full day that I can work without having to worry about nursery care. My question is how much can I be expected to be looking at for childcare.
I know about tax credits and childcare vouchers scheme which both my and my OH's employers operate but I wanted to know what the expected initial outlay would be? I have to go back to work and earn approx £650 pm take home to cover bills etc. My other option is working from home but I have no idea what to do? Any helpful suggestions would be gratefully received Thanks

cha97michelle

i pay £26 a day for childcare for my little one - £130 per week. It is not cheap.

can i ask a question? Obviously with number 2 on the way, i will be wanting to reuse the cot, by which point DS will be about 21 months. We have already got him a bed (little tykes fire engine one from my sister) but i was wondering if anyone had any tips on moving them into a bed.

the only tips on having a 2nd baby i have seen is don't introduce anything new until about 3 months after the baby.

i think what we are worried about is that he will start getting up out of bed in the night and running around. Currently he is in a gro-bag. We will need to switch to a duvet as he is getting too big anyway, but would probably fall out of the bed.

anyone else done it this young? or got any fab tips?

Michelle, x

Lu_T

Becles wrote: »

My eldest talks and sings in his sleep. We went up to bed recently and as we got to the top of the stairs we heard him shout "does anyone want to go canoeing?"

I do!

Re childcare costs - never too early in my book! We pay £32/day at a nursery in Wakefield. That's about average for round here. It does include all 3 meals plus snacks though. A childminder may be cheaper, but not sure?

Depending on what your OH earns you will be entitled to some working tax credit. Have you seen this site? www.entitledto.com it's one Martin recommends. Bear in mind that if you use your voucher schemes you are unlikely to get the childcare element of working tax credit (at least that's what they've told me).

Theres a thing on flexible working in this month's Mother & Baby which is quite useful. It's got something in about working from home, so I'll have a look for it later. Perhaps you could compress your hours so you only work 4 days, then with OH off on Mondays you would only need to pay for 3 days?

Re big beds - a friend of a friend had their LOs in beds at just over 1yr :eek: Apparently they started by putting them into the bed for their afternoon nap then progressed to overnight. You can get 'big bed' Grobags/sleeping bags which may or may not restrict movement (Imogen certainly wanders around in her sleeping bag in her cot). In JoJoMamanBebe there are also some things which attach to the duvet and to the bottom sheet. Think they are more for stopping the covers falling off, but perhaps would encourage LO to stay in bed too? A baby gate across the bedroom door was how my Mum managed with me, but then she was always finding me asleep with a book by the door (I was using the light from the landing!) You can also get those bedguards to stop them falling out. HTH

redflame705

Thanks Lu T and Michelle. It's given me an idea on cost and I'll grab a copy of mother & baby. Cheers again

cha97michelle

redflame DS is at nursery in Doncaster. Like Lu T says, this covers childcare from 7:45-6pm if i want it, but usually 8-4:30, he gets fed three proper meals and 2 snacks, and he gets regular indoor and outdoor play. He makes sure i get my moneys worth by always eating everything put in front of him, and frequently seconds. I didn't look into too many alternatives to be honest, as this was the closest to my place of work. We share the same premises. Advice i got though, was look for one where the outside play area has moveable toys, i.e. ride on cars, balls - not just a slide etc. I think this is so they get chance to be more active as they are indoors a lot of the day. The only disadvantage of nursery is they are very strict that if they are even slightly poorly they can't go like at school, whereas a childminder may be a little more flexible. This was recently a problem when DS had the runs for 3 weeks with pretty much no other symptoms, and we had to keep taking time off work with him till he was fully recovered from it.

thanks lu T.

He has napped in the bed before at my sisters. I am hoping it won't need sides putting on as the bed has slightly raised sides anyway for the sides of the fire engine - they are just not as restrictive as a cot side. :rolleyes:

I'd also seen a sheet that had a gro bag attached to it, i suppose for when they get to this sort of size. He likes laying on his belly with his knees tucked up underneath him though, and he would not be able to move from being on his back, which seems to me as though it might be uncomfortable

Guess i will just let him get used to a duvet 1st in his cot, and then try naps like you said in the bed, and get another baby gate for the bedroom door. I am being very selfish here and not wanting disturbed sleep any longer than i have to, especially as DS is usually no bother - don't want him to suddenly start IYKWIM.

Michelle, x

Dormouse

Redflame - we pay £15 per session (1/2 day), but I think it's a couple of pounds more for babies/younger toddlers (my DS1 is 4, so he also receives government funding on top of that).

Good luck with the baby - how exciting, 3 days to go! :j

Michelle - I would say if DS is a good sleeper now, moving to a big bed shouldn't be too much of a problem (hopefully ). We managed without the sides for the bed too, as his bed is quite low anyway and had slightly higher sides anyway.

You will, of course, find that the first few nights he will wander about at bedtime, just because he can, LOL :rolleyes: :rotfl: , but he shouldn't be too bad at night, especially once the novelty wears off.

TBH, for us moving on to a big bed was a bigger deal than it actually was IYSWIM. It sounded scary but was fine when it actually happened. :T

DS1 was so excited by the new big-boy duvet covers (we stopped using grobags at this point too) that we was pretty good, and has been a brilliant sleeper since. Good luck

Becles

cha97michelle wrote: »

can i ask a question? Obviously with number 2 on the way, i will be wanting to reuse the cot, by which point DS will be about 21 months. We have already got him a bed (little tykes fire engine one from my sister) but i was wondering if anyone had any tips on moving them into a bed.

the only tips on having a 2nd baby i have seen is don't introduce anything new until about 3 months after the baby.

i think what we are worried about is that he will start getting up out of bed in the night and running around. Currently he is in a gro-bag. We will need to switch to a duvet as he is getting too big anyway, but would probably fall out of the bed.

anyone else done it this young? or got any fab tips?

Michelle, x

I put Joshua in a bed when he was 18 months old as I was pregnant again. James was just a year old has he had perfected the art of climbing over the top of the cot railings onto a small chest of drawers then jumping onto the floor. I was scared about him having an accident.

Both times, I let them choose the duvet covers and made it dead exciting. The bed was in the room for a couple of nights and we used to lie in it and read books and stuff. Then I suggested they sleep in it and they were willing to go in. I made out they were big boys and not babies anymore. The first couple of nights were hard as they kept getting back up again, but I just picked them up and said firmly "you stay in bed and I don't want to see you again till morning" as I put them back into bed. It didn't take long for them to realise I was cross at them getting back up and they stayed in bed!

I can remember them falling out a couple of times, but it wasn't a major issue. James was such a sound sleeper he didn't even wake up and I'd just find him asleep on the floor :rotfl: