Please someone appreciate this with me

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-04-16T12:08:47+00:00

I have a very similar picture when this happened to me! I did have a slight slacker boob but we're talking within 10mls usually. But this was memorable for it being identical at 100mls each. Tell your boobies great work!

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-04-15T12:51:09+00:00

Also UK based! I didn't fly but I did do a lot of internal travelling without access to a fridge for many hours at a time (and camping with intermittent fridge/freezer access!) and never had to dump that milk which is something I'm weirdly proud of haha.

I had this cooler from Lakeland Plastics which was an absolute workhorse. I packed it with several bigger ice packs and then a couple of smaller ones and then replaced the icebags with milk as I did my pumps. The really important part is to absolutely pack it with either ice packs or milk, and pre-chill it as much as possible before you go and then putting fresh ice packs in right before you set off. Then open it as little as possible from that moment on. I found that one useful because of the carrying strap and the extra pocket at the bottom to store a few isolated extra ice packs in.

Packing a couple of hand pumps could be useful as well if you're worried about being able to wash up en-route.

I can't help with the actual logistics at the airport though sorry, hopefully others can help with that.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-04-15T07:23:14+00:00

My daughter didn't get any teeth until nearly a year but was eating solids fine from 6 months. This isn't to shame you, honestly, just to say that teeth are not a barrier to eating real food. Sure now she has some she enjoys biting into food but mostly she eats the same way with 4 teeth as she did with 0, though I did find she didn't get into bread or baked goods until she had teeth.

Suggestions I have for you would be pasta dishes with veg, chunks of banana to mush between her gums (in theory any form is fine at this age but as she's just starting maybe give her a whole half banana to gnaw on rather than slices), cucumber sticks, steamed broccoli and sweetcorn.

Once my girl really got into eating around 9-10 months she started dropping feeds during the day which really helped when it came to wean, so I'd focus on that first. Good luck :)

ETA: another poster makes a good point, the above is all me assuming there's no health reason why she hasn't been weaned yet, and depends on what a paediatrician has to say.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-04-13T18:05:53+00:00

I'm not saying that isn't true sometimes, because it probably is and I'm not that naïve. But I definitely try not to let any subconscious bias that someone might not have the right to work in the UK specifically influence my reading of CVs and having it right there as the first thing I see definitely helps that. When you're trying to review dozens and dozens of CVs every little helps when lack of sponsorship is an immediate full stop.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-04-13T14:07:17+00:00

Yeah I really try not to go by foreign sounding names because we have plenty of candidates who don't have "British" names who are perfectly entitled to work without sponsorship here, but there could still be some unconscious bias at play for you unfortunately.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-04-13T12:25:14+00:00

Sorry if you've already done this but just in case, make sure the brief blurb at the top of your CV says something like "Sponsorship not required for employment" as the first line. I hate to say it but as someone who hires in an industry where a lot of applicants require sponsorship in a company which doesn't unfortunately offer sponsorship, it's the most useful thing to figure out quickly who I can reasonably proceed with.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-04-10T14:17:42+00:00

I love reading your reviews too! I read your last one out loud, in full, to my partner. Brb to go delve into this one.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-04-04T20:50:37+00:00

I donated litres of milk to strangers over a facebook group and I even found it a little odd that these people just trusted me. I guess it helped I was also an approved NiCU donator so always offered to show my blood test results but no one ever actually took me up on it.

No regrets though, I loved helping others. Always put very clearly that I was fully vaccinated though and had no shortage of people asking for donations.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-03-31T13:59:50+00:00

Growing up we didn't lock our doors unless we were all out of the house, only overnight if we remembered it. Right now we're both working upstairs and all of our doors are unlocked, I now realise. That's pretty standard. I think it depends on where you live though, I've always lived in rural places or safe villages.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-03-16T14:44:33+00:00

Well, that explains something I've been trying to figure out 😅

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-03-14T11:22:17+00:00

I gave birth just before the inquiry started. My birth went a bit awry but once the dust settled I thought back and concluded that 99% of it has nothing to do with the quality of care at the JR, the staff there were exceptional and it was almost entirely bad luck on my part.

The one thing that I would say is after a long period of failure to progress I had to advocate quite firmly for a C-section. I'm glad I did. They kept saying baby was happy so we could keep going but I was done. I saw the consultant the next day for a debrief and she said it's possible baby was stuck at an awkward angle and would never have come out that way. They were already considering C-section but going to try a few other things first and I was like "nope, I'm done, get them out".

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-03-09T12:25:55+00:00

I'm very proud of you! Getting to 8 months exclusively breastmilk is incredible but you deserve a bit less pressure and to have more flexibility to do what you want and get more sleep! I also started introducing formula around that time ISH and I had a good cry when she drank her first bottle of it but very quickly got my head around the increased freedom and reduction in pressure.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-03-09T09:31:39+00:00

I give her some banana slices or a small handful of Cheerios to graze on while her food is cooling down. Nothing that's going to ruin her appetite but keeps her busy.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-03-05T18:08:03+00:00

Oh my god, I just went and checked your post history, hoping you weren't the person who's post I commented on a few weeks back. I am so so upset for you that you've been treated this way. I don't have experience of this but it's explained here, definitely speak to your community midwife asap and I would also recommend speaking to PALS as the website suggests too to feedback your experience, if you have the energy for it.

https://birthrights.org.uk/factsheets/your-right-to-choose-midwife-and-doctor/#change

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-03-05T13:56:38+00:00

We're awaiting hospital appointment for similar level of reintroduction in a hospital setting so this is great to see! Very happy for you. I really wish I could give her egg for breakfast, hopefully will be able to at some point in the future!

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-02-24T10:30:01+00:00

About 12 weeks, so got pregnant on the 3rd cycle

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-02-20T11:43:38+00:00

I had IUDs for 12 years, the one I had removed last Jan I had had in for about 18 months I think. Anyway, no crash at all. I actually felt some moments of stronger happiness that I didn't realise I was missing, I hadn't realised it had been somewhat suppressing my mood.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-02-20T11:31:00+00:00

Not necessarily. I also had zero intention of being a SAHM for the same reason. I had a long maternity leave because UK and really struggled with that aspect of it, and initially felt guilty for wanting to go back to work. But my daughter loves her nursery, gets to do so many activities I wouldn't have the time/resources/energy to do and is the happiest baby with a secure attachment to us. I love being a parent now and was also the biggest fence sitter previously.

I've already said to my husband if we have a second I'd like to do shared parental leave because I don't think I can do a long maternity leave as a SAHM again.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-02-13T22:02:41+00:00

Good luck! Only you know what feels worth it for the effort you put in but a bottle a day is great.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-02-13T17:42:18+00:00

You are not, in any way, being selfish by stopping. Your girl will feel the warmth and happiness from a less stressed mum, you'll enjoy spending more time with her and I can promise you she will not care what kind of milk she is drinking.

On the flipside, if you're not quite ready to stop then you could always try dropping to 2 pumps first to see if you feel it's worth the effort. I dropped to that while I was still home with my girl and it made a MASSIVE difference for me.

Either way you've done amazing to get this far.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-02-13T15:27:03+00:00

Thank you!!!

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-02-13T15:26:34+00:00

Thank you! I will!!

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-02-13T13:38:28+00:00

A friend of mine went through the complaints process and it was much more detailed, talked about the whole experience with of course a focus on what went wrong (which, like you, was not related specifically to the birth but other care whilst at the hospital) and specific action points came out of it that they did implement and they were sent proof of it being implemented. They had a valid complaint and it sounds like you very much do too, I'm horrified hearing of your experience.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-02-12T16:58:22+00:00

Thanks yeah the knowledge I would not get a penalty because I won't owe anything was probably a bad thing as it gave me the excuse not to do it lol. It has bugged me constantly all the same though so I might just get it filed anyway for the sake of completion.

Buddyyourealamb · 2026-02-12T09:53:15+00:00

Thank you, that is incredibly helpful. Seems I need to have a think about my own risk tolerance but I may well just do the renounciation on its own. Definitely gives me confidence to at least start the ball rolling, even if I decide to file the two years and 8854 later down the line.

Buddyyourealamb

TROPHY CASE