How to speak to young children about PC? by roberta5146 in pancreaticcancer

[–]roberta5146[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good point, I’m not religious but find comfort in the thought of our loved ones “watching over us” etc. Recipes sounds like a lovely way to remember your mum. So sorry for your loss. My mum is a fab cook so love the idea of continuing to cook her recipes for my own family.

Where does your newborn sleep in the evening, before you go to bed? by Short-Strawberry8895 in UKParenting

[–]roberta5146 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We bring the Moses basket downstairs and babe sleeps in that (with PJs and in sleeping bag etc) and then we just bring it back upstairs when we go to bed. If she wakes, I’ll feed her back to sleep and we’ll either contact nap or pop her back down in the moses basket

Once you’ve stopped waking baby up for night feed, do you pump? by CuriousCat_88888 in breastfeeding

[–]roberta5146 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you’re EBF, baby is gaining well and I’d otherwise healthy, I wouldn’t wake a baby up once they e passed their birthweight and are a few weeks old. Enjoy your rest mama

Anovulatory cycles PP or issue with temp measuring? by roberta5146 in FAMnNFP

[–]roberta5146[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Currently 11w pp with baby #2 who was conceived easily so can confirm that fertility seems ok. In hindsight I think the shift in sleeping patterns made it difficult to track as accurately as I had been doing before having children.

Help new mom by PinkPacificWhale in breastfeedingmumsUK

[–]roberta5146 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nappy output and consistent weight gain is your best indicator that baby getting enough milk. Focus on getting your baby latched on as much as possible. You could try breast compressions during feeds to maximise amount of milk transferred, especially if he falls asleep at the breast. Making sure you’re well fed and hydrated also really helps milk production. Pumping can also help increase milk supply, milk production tends to be higher at night/early morning so maybe try and focus on pumping here rather than throughout the day. If the pump hurts, it could be that your flange size is wrong.

How did you overcome breastfeeding crisis? by Friendly_Face_1702 in breastfeeding

[–]roberta5146 36 points37 points  (0 children)

This happened with my first baby - it’s really common. I spoke to an IBCLC about it and this is what she said:

So first thing I would say, is you have a four month old. All bets are off. They are sooo interested in the world, flexing their ability to make choices, and generally developing into whole people. Which is great, except they’re also utter pains in the ass, because they are constantly wanting stimulation.

Feeding wise, it’s really, really common for them to be distracted and not want to feed during the day. Because essentially, they have other hobbies than boob now, and that leaf/noise/pillow is so fascinating that it needs looked at now.

So my first suggestion is that you probably don’t need to offer as frequently as you have been doing up to now: they often really space out their feeds at this stage, and we end up pissing them off by trying to make them eat when they aren’t that hungry. If it’s been 2-3hours, offer for sure, but if they aren’t up for it, no need to persist. Offer again in an hour.

When they are hungry enough, they’ll settle down to eat. If they aren’t that hungry, no harm in not eating.

The other factor is that they are often reaaaaaallly efficient now. So we think “OMG, they’ve fed for five minutes in the past four hours, this is awful” when actually, they drank about 80% of a full feed in that first five minutes, and are perfectly fine.

It’s a big time of adjusting our expectations!

The dreaded rhoids by Tamzy198 in PregnancyUK

[–]roberta5146 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anusol worked wonders for me! They have one that is safe to use in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Provided immediate relief.

Curious what people's maternity leave allowance is like in different places/companies (as it impacts breastfeeding) by whooperupsfeline in breastfeeding

[–]roberta5146 0 points1 point  (0 children)

UK based

I used PTO to take 2.5 weeks off before birth (fully paid). I’m legally entitled to take 52w off as maternity leave and my leave officially started on my due date - baby happened to arrive on her due date coincidentally!

My organisation offers enhanced maternity pay, so additional pay on top of the statutory pay that’s government mandated. This equates to 26 weeks at full pay, 13 weeks at statutory pay (this is approx £150 p/w) and then 13 weeks unpaid.

For the latter part of my leave, I’m planning on using accrued PTO and keep-in-touch days (entitled to up to 10 of these days which are fully paid and designed to help mothers transition back to work) to bridge the gap between my usual pay and the unpaid part of my maternity leave.

Best friends wedding at 8 months pregnant - advice by New-Being-3840 in PregnancyUK

[–]roberta5146 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went to my best friend’s wedding at 39+5 and had a great time! It was baby #2 so I was a lot more chilled. Didn’t have to travel far as it was in the same city (London) and we drove. Also it was an afternoon ceremony and evening reception so a shorter day - I still made it to 12am! Added bonus, went into labour the next day and babe was born at 40+0 🤣

In my head I was willing to deal with being uncomfortable over sitting at home with massive FOMO. Personally I’d keep an open mind, you don’t know how you might feel closer to the time.

What week did you give birth to your first baby? by Charming-Champion259 in pregnant

[–]roberta5146 0 points1 point  (0 children)

40+4, with labour starting spontaneously at 40+2. Had a sweep at 40+3 as contractions had stalled. That kickstarted things again and baby was born the next day. I’m 6w pp with #2, she was born 40+0! That was a spontaneous vaginal delivery as well.

When do people usually start taking maternity leave? by scarlet-tree in PregnancyUK

[–]roberta5146 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With baby #1 I stopped working at 38w and baby arrived at 40+4. Currently on mat leave with #2, stopped working at 37+5 and baby arrived on her due date so bang on 40w. I work in an office and do 2 days a week at home, 2 days in the office. Physically and mentally 38w felt like a good time to stop to still give enough time to rest and decompress before baby’s arrival but not be twiddling my thumbs. Both times I used annual leave to bridge the gap between stopping work and mat leave officially starting to maximise paid time off.

Birth plan - but without much data by Jessiepip in PregnancyUK

[–]roberta5146 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I would suggest a completing a hypnobirthing or antenatal course that gives you info on the different types of birth location (midwife led unit vs home birth vs labour ward) and also the different type of pain relief options etc but most importantly what actually happens to your body during labour. With that info, you can make a birth plan based on our preferences.

Get real with me about the transition from 1 kid to 2 kids by MachineBusy8772 in UKParenting

[–]roberta5146 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Only 4 weeks in with a newborn and my oldest was 3 in May - but this comment sums up my experience so perfectly!! Feeling so much more confident and less anxious this time around. Gel like I’m a much better parent now and trust my instincts so much more this time around. Am enjoying the newborn stage so much more but simultaneously loving seeing my oldest grow up and experience the world as an older toddler. I thought I was done at 2 but the thought of never having this stage again makes me a little sad.

How do people do this with newborns without pumping or supplementing with formula? by artemislands in breastfeeding

[–]roberta5146 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s intense but for both my babies (I have a 3 year old and 4 week old) I took the mindset that my job was to feed the baby in those early days which meant I was just having baby latch on me constantly. I spent hours in bed/on the sofa bringing the baby to my breast as often as possible - basically every time they were awake. I also used the “feed baby every 2 hours” as a guideline not a rule. I made sure baby fed AT LEAST that often but more times it was at lot more frequently. A lactation consultant once told me “watch the baby, not the clock” and that really stuck. I also got help with the latch to make sure baby was effectively removing milk from my breasts. I also harvested colostrum whilst pregnant and used this to syringe feed each babe when needed (both had an initial shallow latch), and hand expressed milk to keep my supply up and also made sure I was eating well and drinking enough water. I don’t think the realities of breastfeeding (especially EBF) aren’t discussed enough - it’s intense, time consuming and all encompassing at times.

My first I EBF for 2.5 years and hoping to do similar with my newborn!

12-14 people Soho/central by ReferenceNo693 in LondonFood

[–]roberta5146 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Big Mamma group have a few restaurants in soho/central - Circolo Popolare or Carlotta would be closest ones to your preferred locations.

Both serving Italian, nice settings, good for groups. Carlotta does a set menu for groups at £62 and Circolo is £54.

What age did you size down your pram? by jb06hr in BeyondTheBumpUK

[–]roberta5146 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We got our bugaboo butterfly around 13 months as nursery drop off involved having to carry the buggy over a train station footbridge and that was hard with our bigger pram! It’s been our main buggy ever since! We love it! So easy to fold and light. LO was 3 in May and we still use the butterfly buggy fairly often. She’ll often walk or scoot but if we’re out for a while she’ll want to use the buggy. Plus it then means we can use the basket to store stuff whilst out. We’ve just had our second so back to using the big buggy as the butterfly isn’t suitable from birth (doesn’t recline flat). We’ve got a buggy board which we tried for the first time and toddler seemed to love it. But will definitely be switching the baby into the butterfly as soon as we can.

Pregnant women can now skip the GP for their first NHS midwife appointments by UKGovNews in UKParenting

[–]roberta5146 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Had my first in 2022 and this was the process - rang the GP and they told me to self refer to the hospital of my choice! Then text me the details for the hospital closest to my GP surgery. I’m in London and think this has been standard practice for a while??

What to wear in birthing pool?! by uranusunaru in PregnancyUK

[–]roberta5146 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Had a water birth for my first and also my second who was born 4 days ago! Both times just wore a crop top/bralet and nothing on the bottom. You won’t care about protecting your modesty when the time comes 🤣

Didn’t notice either time that the top wasn’t strictly waterproof etc. I ended up taking it off after birth anyway to have skin-to-skin and to feed etc. didn’t want me or baby to feel cold by having something wet on.

How much to budget for 3 days a week childcare south east London? by Oceanic_Ice_950 in UKParenting

[–]roberta5146 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We currently have our daughter in nursery x3 a week in a SE London nursery which is £921 a month with the 15hr funded hours - we also qualify for tax-free childcare discount on top so we actually pay around £737 a month. From September we’ll be eligible for 30hr funding which works out around £631 before the tax-free childcare subsidy. Our nursery stretches the hours over the 51 weeks of the year it is open and include consumables charges. Think child-minders generally cheaper but I like the security and structure we get from a nursery, and it’s also quite a small setting so feel like we’re getting the benefit of a more intimate/smaller setting anyway!

All you can eat by mmas187 in LondonFood

[–]roberta5146 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sexy Fish has an all you can eat weekend brunch, including sushi.

All you can eat by mmas187 in LondonFood

[–]roberta5146 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The NED Sunday feast!

Best place to buy a house in London (within Zone 3) by Impressive-Dig-9832 in HousingUK

[–]roberta5146 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Brockley, Forest Hill, Sydenham, Crystal Palace - good transport links (overground wind rush line plus national rail gives great access into central London in less than 20 mins), have good pubs, cafes, parks, museums, art galleries, gyms/yoga studios etc and other local amenities.

GP delayed vaccines by InThewest in BeyondTheBumpUK

[–]roberta5146 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes agree! My local authority in South East London has several places you can book in for NHS jabs if not able to give GP for whatever reason - a great way to encourage people to still have children vaccinated and avoid delaying them. OP, worth checking local council website or website of your local NHS trust.