It’s been a while; what’s been going on?

It’s been a while since I last posted; sorry! What’s been going on since then, then?

Well, I’ve finished the Peer Counsellor course for a start, although we’ve opted for an extra session on healthy eating (I say “opted”; we were press-ganged really ) so we have that this afternoon but then no more sessions until our graduation on January 28th. I still don’t have my CRB check back and it seems like everyone else does; no idea why that is, there’s certainly nothing dodgy about me!

I’ve been to another session at Whiston Hospital which was excellent, and I feel now more “qualified” to give help and support now I’ve finished my course. I’ll blog on that in a bit. I also attended an antenatal class that N ran, and met up with a friend from Mumsnet.

I’ve fallen victim to a bit more biting from baby B as he’s been getting a top tooth through, bless him.

Baby B has been taking more solid food as his pincer grip seems to be coming along pretty well and he can grab more to put in his mouth. I’ve also been giving him small sips of water in the slanted open cup so he gets used to it.

I’ve been arranging, with K and another lady called H, a session at our local Sure Start centre for pregnant women to learn about breastfeeding. More on that in a bit too.

And the big one; I’ve been job hunting, which is why I’ve not been on here as often. Yes, the money has truly run out; I knew it would eventually although we were hoping it would last a teeny bit longer, but no. Come January, I have to be earning money and a reasonable amount. I’ve two interviews lined up in the coming weeks, with more applications on my desk for which I have to apply.

So that’s why I’m up at twenty past six, even though baby B is fast asleep upstairs; I’ve been neglecting my blog and thought it was time to make up for it, so I crept away from the bed early in order to do so!

Sleepy latch

This looks lovely; baby B has fallen asleep at the breast. But if I’m not careful, and he is startled, this is also when he bites! Ah well, it doesn’t happen often.

Poorly baby B

Poor ds. He has a shocking cold and is very, very snuffly. I have been feeding him around the clock in an effort to pass on as many of my antibodies to him as I can. Strangely enough I’ve not come down with the cold yet, but dh has, and is feeling very sorry for himself.

However, maybe it’s just ds’ age, or maybe it’s something to do with the cold, but I have very sore nipples as a result of being bitten! Once last night at four in the morning, and once again early this afternoon. It seemed to happen when he was comfort sucking; he does this often at night (I suspect he wakes less due to hunger and more to needing the comfort of the breast – not that there’s anything wrong with that!) and I wonder if his cold has anything to do with it too? Hard to know.

I also feel far too guilty about him having a cold to remove him from the breast with a stern “no” as is often suggested. I’ve just been keeping a moist little finger near his mouth when he’s feeding so I can take him off quickly and relatively painlessly!