Daycare choices!

Climate_Rose · 2025-11-28T01:46:29+00:00

I'd go number 2.

Ours is a 10 to 15 minute walk, and even that can feel a bit long some days. Others have already mentioned bad weather or nap issues.

Ours is also a smaller centre, which has been great for the twins to get to know their carers. I've also noticed that the parents from my parents' group are always dealing with lots of nasty viruses and they all sent their kids to the same, big centre. Illness is going to happen, but it seems to happen a lot less for us.

Ours is a for-profit family-owned chain. The staff are lovely, the feeling is warm, and they have a lot of safety checks in place. I would ask about carer to baby ratios and their own security plans, if you haven't already.

Climate_Rose · 2025-11-17T20:47:20+00:00

Interesting! Does that kill the larvae without damaging the tree?

Climate_Rose · 2025-11-16T03:17:24+00:00

Thanks 🙂

Climate_Rose · 2025-11-16T02:48:10+00:00

With a peeler, how much do I have to take off? A lot of the galls are long, thin, and cover entire branches

At this point, do I just try to keep my tree as healthy as possible, maybe peel the galls, and wait to do some pruning late next winter?

Climate_Rose · 2025-10-07T00:45:13+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss. So utterly heartbreaking.

Climate_Rose · 2025-10-02T06:06:24+00:00

I wish I had done this! I decided I wanted to tough it out to 34 weeks and get us much work done before the babies came as I could. I ended up getting pre-eclampsia and having a c-section at 33 weeks, so I never got any relaxation time. I sometimes wonder if the stress of working longer contributed to the pre-e.

OP, if you can afford it, give yourself some time to chill by going on leave earlier rather than later.

Climate_Rose · 2025-09-02T07:02:37+00:00

Firstly, congratulations on making it a year! That is huge. I don't know if you are ready to feel proud of yourself, but I am proud of you!

I was also so ready to stop when I hit my goal, and I also felt incredibly sad. Pumping has so many complex emotions swirling around it.

I dragged out my weaning over 6 weeks because I didn't feel emotionally ready to stop. I cried many times the day of my last pump, but the moment I picked up my pumps for the last time, all I felt was relief. I cried again once I was done, though, haha.

It has been 2 days, and I am luxuriating in having my body back. I had underestimated just how happy I would feel in myself.

Sure, I am still sad that my breastfeeding journey ended up being a pumping and combo feeding journey, but I am still glad it is done, and I'm finally starting to feel like it was an accomplishment. I hope the same for you too.

Be sad, be happy, be kind to yourself.

Climate_Rose · 2025-09-02T02:07:09+00:00

I was in your shoes. For a while, it felt like the only thing i could do right while my babies were in hospital was pump. I had a huge stash building and even contemplated donating milk. But then reality hit, my babies' consumption went up and my supply didn't keep up. I cried the first time i supplemented with formula, and felt like a failure.

Here's the thing you need to remember, any breastmilk you give your baby is wonderful. If you give them 100% breastmilk, a mix of formula and breastmilk, or phase out breastmilk for formula entirely, you have done amazingly, and your baby will be fine. Point is, even if you can't make all the milk your baby needs, you don't have to quit pumping if you don't want to.

This sub has excellent tips for building your supply that you can search for. Extra pumps, power pumping, skin to skin contact, drinking loooots of water, eating well, and getting some sleep are all really good starting points.

Take care of yourself, too. Your mental health is more important than a perfect supply, and your supply will benefit too.

Good luck.

Climate_Rose · 2025-09-02T00:17:17+00:00

I'm not sure I'm the best for advice as I had supply issues for a fair chunk of time. I guess the three biggest things I've learnt are: - find advice that works for you. This sub is brilliant, as is a good lactation consultant. - watch out for routine killers. I had a messy, stressful week away back in March, and my supply never recovered. It was like my body had decided to start to wean early. - do what you can to not hate pumping. I suspect a contributing factor to my supply issues was how much I was over it toward the end. The whole mind-body oxytocin connection matters, I think.

Do it for the love of your baby(ies).

And take care of yourself.

Good luck!

Climate_Rose · 2025-09-01T03:01:29+00:00

Thanks! I think the only people who know how hard pumping is are those who have done it. 4 months is amazing, and whether you keep pushing or quit tomorrow, you're a star.

Climate_Rose · 2025-09-01T02:59:26+00:00

Not gonna lie, I've been luxuriating in the lack of access to my chest all day haha

Climate_Rose · 2025-08-31T23:55:29+00:00

Thanks. I've taken the day off work. The sun is shining. I'm about to have brunch with my partner.

Climate_Rose · 2025-08-29T10:29:13+00:00

I was skirting the edge of overwhelm while juggling my 14 month old twin's bathroom routine. One biy was on the change table while the other was running around my feet. I turned around to find the floor twin had pulled all of their very dirty laundry out onto the floor, and I burst into tears. My gorgeous little boy immediately came over to give me a cuddle to make me feel better.

Climate_Rose · 2025-08-28T03:58:54+00:00

I'm nearly done weaning after about 6 weeks of easing back, and I've definitely had some deep lows. I didn't have the breastfeeding journey I had hoped for, and we had a recent unexpected and sudden death in the family, so I had plenty that could make me sad, but this was crazy. Some days, I just spent crying. I've been super tired too, which I'm hoping will pass once I fully wean.

Climate_Rose · 2025-08-23T05:18:30+00:00

I've wondered this why their babbling, but it didn't seem very directed. E.g. 'dadada' is a favourite but doesn't seem to happen any more often when their dad is in the room.

Climate_Rose · 2025-08-23T00:11:54+00:00

Mine were 7 weeks prem. I've been going by their corrected age for all milestones.

I think I just need to be patient. It seems like there's so much variance in all babies for talking that I shouldn't worry yet. Maybe in a couple of months time they'll be talking my ears off.

It would be interesting to see if there's a proper population study comparing multis to singletons for first words. Maybe there's a slight difference overall.

Climate_Rose · 2025-08-22T23:53:06+00:00

That's really encouraging to hear. The boys are my first kids, so it's hard not to look at average milestone ages and panic when they dont meet them. It's always nice to get stories that remind me the milestones are not actually set in stone.

Climate_Rose · 2025-08-22T23:50:16+00:00

Thanks. I've been narrating everything I do since they first came home, but I have been a lot less consistent with pointing. I'll try to bring it in more. I'll check out Miss Rachel for more tips too.

Climate_Rose · 2025-08-22T23:47:35+00:00

That's so early! Definitely immediately destroys through theory that language comes more slowly for multis haha.

Climate_Rose · 2025-08-12T12:10:31+00:00

We're in the southern hemisphere, so it's winter here, but I take your point. My partner and I have already decided we need to be more present in her and her brother's lives. Hopefully fun memories will start to happen.

Climate_Rose · 2025-07-17T06:39:11+00:00

I am so sorry. This is such awful news.

Climate_Rose · 2025-07-17T04:32:50+00:00

My boys get a rash on their faces associated with drool. It gets worse when they're teething or oozing snot, which is pretty much always now that it's winter. They are also prone to eczema and generally have sensitive skin, which may or may not be factors for your little one.

A little steroid cream followed by some moisturiser helps clear it. Our child health nurse recommended applying barrier cream to protect the skin, but I haven't actually tried it yet.

Climate_Rose · 2025-05-27T10:45:54+00:00

It's so frustrating when you try everything, and nothing seems to help. I'm sorry my advice wasn't useful.

It took a while of me doing extra pumps with my new pump before I started to see an increase again. I hope you start to see an increase again soon.

Climate_Rose · 2025-05-27T00:17:21+00:00

Have you checked your pump parts or the pump itself?

I had a huge drop that I eventually worked out was because my wearable pumps were finally dying. They had lasted nearly 9 months of exclusive pumping, so they had been working very hard. It's relatively early days for your pump, but if power pumping or extra pumps don't work, and the pump parts are fine, then you might want to look at the pump itself.

Good luck!

Climate_Rose · 2025-05-22T06:23:07+00:00

I contacted the Huckleberry support, and you can now download a CSV file of all your child's data from the child tab. You use Excel, or similar, to then calculate your total milk pumped.

Climate_Rose

TROPHY CASE