MSE Parent Club

Becles

lollyred1 wrote: »

I have 1 question really how is everyone coping on just SMP really beginning to worry about it i have 1 pay pack until i go onto this. any advice would be great

Tight budgeting and watching every penny! Write down all your outgoings and make sure you are on the best rates for utilities etc., and check expenses you could cancel, such as gym memberships or magazine subscriptions.

When you go shopping, think "do I really need this?" before you buy anything.

Buy cheap baby clothes at Tesco/Primark/Matalan etc. They grow out of them so quickly and it's daft spending a fortune on premium brand names.

I'm on MA so I've only been on £112.75 a week since I stopped work before the birth, so it is do-able with careful planning.

Took Charlotte to Flamingo Land yesterday. Was a bit unsure how she would cope with it, but she was good as gold all day. There were plenty of places to change nappies there, and when she needed feeding, the boys and hubby parked me on a bench, while they went on some rides! Took her to see the animals when she was awake, and she got really excited at some goats and the babboons

Snaggles

We've been to Flamingoland this weekend too! (But Saturday, not Sunday)

We booked online through lastminute.com and saved £5 per ticket (normally we use 2 for 1 vouchers, but we couldn't find any this year).

The changing facilities are not exactly high tech, but all you really need is somewhere that's the right height, and the ladies toilets all had at least a worktop bit where you could change the baby. I spent a lovely 20 minutes sat on the grass in the picnic area in the sun feeding Natasha (took one bottle of expressed milk but we were there all day, so had to do another feed), with a pram slightly obscuring me from direct gazes. We had a great day!

I was wondering about giving Natasha some formula so I wouldn't have to keep expressing or hiding in corners, but when I tried it the other day, she had a couple of mouthfuls and then refused point blank to let it anywhere near her....in fact she actually said the word 'yack'...lol! Oh well, it will save me money at least!!

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone, we got back off our hols on Saturday and we both feel even more tired than when we went. Caravanning for 10 days isn't relaxing with a 9 month old. I'm used to our dishwasher and having homemade meals in the freezer so I don't have to cook every night, but all I seemed to do on holiday was cook, wash up and try to keep Jack out of crawling on wet grass.

I really wouldn't recommend it at this age.

Congrats Michelle, i didn't know mat leave was going up to a year, that's good news for you. For me its typical as with Jack I missed out on the 9 months by 3-4 months and now with this one, i'll miss out on a year by 2 months. I won't be doing this again though so never mind.

Purple, Jack goes down around 7pm ish and goes through (mostly) until 7-7.30am, but I am getting up a few times a night for a dummy run. Then he has breakfast and a play and goes back to bed around 9am for anywhere between 45 mins to 1.5 hours depending on how lucky I am. He's dropped his third nap so he only has an afternoon one, sometimes its after lunch about 1.30pm but if he's not willing then its after his 3pm bottle for another hour. He'll wake up play for a bit before tea at 5pm and still be able to go to bed again at 7pm. Long may these naps last as long as possible. I know a lady whose baby gave up all naps before 18 months......eek!

Snaggles

Dormouse wrote: »

You were right.

And I take back everything I've said about breastfeeding being different this time. I'm back in action with squirty milk fountains, strong letdown at awkward times (hate being in the car - those stupid seatbelts! ), and generally loads of leakiness. I think the only thing that's different is that I'm not faffing about with crappy pads this time, as I only use the ones that I know will do the job properly, so it doesn't seem as much of a hassle as it did first time round. :rolleyes:

Oh lol, I haven't been online much for the last few days and only just read this - poor you! I tell you what is much worse than car seat belts....the harness on the Corkscrew ride at Flamingoland... :rotfl:

I find Johnsons breast pads are the only ones that work for me, all the other brands leak at inopportune moments!

cha97michelle

Deleted_User wrote: »

Hi everyone, we got back off our hols on Saturday and we both feel even more tired than when we went. Caravanning for 10 days isn't relaxing with a 9 month old. I'm used to our dishwasher and having homemade meals in the freezer so I don't have to cook every night, but all I seemed to do on holiday was cook, wash up and try to keep Jack out of crawling on wet grass.

I really wouldn't recommend it at this age.

Congrats Michelle, i didn't know mat leave was going up to a year, that's good news for you. For me its typical as with Jack I missed out on the 9 months by 3-4 months and now with this one, i'll miss out on a year by 2 months. I won't be doing this again though so never mind.

Purple, Jack goes down around 7pm ish and goes through (mostly) until 7-7.30am, but I am getting up a few times a night for a dummy run. Then he has breakfast and a play and goes back to bed around 9am for anywhere between 45 mins to 1.5 hours depending on how lucky I am. He's dropped his third nap so he only has an afternoon one, sometimes its after lunch about 1.30pm but if he's not willing then its after his 3pm bottle for another hour. He'll wake up play for a bit before tea at 5pm and still be able to go to bed again at 7pm. Long may these naps last as long as possible. I know a lady whose baby gave up all naps before 18 months......eek!

sorry you didn't get much chance to relax on hols.

it was great news for me too about the mat pay. I don't know it is definite though as i haven't been able to find any information about it online.

hope you are feeling ok. I have only been back at work a week and i am already feeling exhausted but i don't know if that is the pregnancy or just being back at work and out the house for 7:30 every day again.

Plus, i already can feel my clothes getting too tight and i am not even 6 weeks yet. It will totally give the game away to work if i go back into mat clothes they have seen me in, so i might have to buy a couple of new mat shirts that are long enough to cover my trousers, then leave the button undone. Don't want to tell them until half term at least. :rolleyes:

[Deleted User]

Michelle, everyone was telling me I was showing at 8 weeks plus, but I was denying it saying it was the extra food I'd been eating to gain weight to breastfeed. However by 10 weeks I had to concede and get out my mat clothes again. I wasn't even in mat clothes until at least 17 weeks with Jack. I put it down to it only being 6 months since I was last pregnant and my body is stretched inside and still remembers what to do.

Even though I only breastfeed for 2 weeks with Jack I remember having problems with breast pads, not staying in place and sticking to me, so it hurt to remove them. Or washables the way to go or should I just spend on a quality one. I bought boots own which didn't seem to bad a price, but my samples of Johnsons did seem a better quality.

I have an appointment on thursday with my MW. I am hoping to hear the heartbeat as I'll be almost 17 weeks by then. I'm looking forward to it as even though I've been feeling the baby move since 11 weeks I haven't felt anything for the last few days. I expect everything is fine though.

heather38

right have been searching on the 12month mat leave and found this
Maternity
During 2008 or 2009 Work and Families Act 2006 The Government is expected to consult on measures to implement provisions in the Work Families Act 2006 to increase paid maternity leave from 9 months to 12 months and grant paternity leave of up to 26 weeks, some of which could be paid. Draft regulations are not expected before April 2008 but the Government is committed to introducing these provisions by 2010.
so it seems it will be april when the legislation comes in and 2010 when it goes to 12 months

spinning_hamster_wheel

The HV was round today, Amelie is 12 weeks on wednesday and she weighs 15lb on the dot!!! at 3 months exactly!!! Anyone else have a huuuge baby?? lol


bailey, I was the same with amelie, i didnt need maternity clothes til 26 weeks with my ds (he was 9lb 8oz at birth) but by 12 weeks with amelie the old jeans were getting tight! I think with a 2nd baby everything just goes southward at the moment of conception!

[Deleted User]

Spinning hamster your comment made me smile, as i remembered today i "dribbled" before I got to the loo in time, a big mental note to do more pelvic floor exercises this time. I got away with Jack only doing intermittent ones, this time I don't think it will be that easy. I must do them several times a day, its remembering though. Any tips or hints anyone to get into a habit. I can't spend the next 24 weeks dribbling.........

Snaggles

Ohhh owwwwwwwww.....what am I doing wrong???? I had a really painful blocked milk duct a few days ago and was in agony for a couple of days with it. It eventually went, but this morning I've got another one, in exactly the same place...

I'm not wearing a nursing bra (can't live without underwires no matter WHAT the health visitor says...lol), but the blocked duct is as far from any wiring as it could possibly be - it's in the middle at the top.

I've tried hot flannels, massage, feeding with Natasha's chin pointing to the lump (something I read on the internet.....had to lie down for that one ), it's just pants.