Saturday 30 July 2016

Chatty Saturday

Well, I'm in the mood for a right chinwag. Lots of things popped into my mind whilst I've been doing the bloggy rounds. Although, now I'm here, blogging, I seem to have forgotten most of them which irks me. I'm also aware of loads of replies owed to bloggers on my last few posts. 

Suzanne over at No.38 had her baby granddaughter to stay over. And all her paraphanalia. Including some technology that sorta blew my mind! It's a machine that you programme in how much milk you need and it heats the right amount of water perfectly. Wow. 

In Miss 22's baby days, I fed her myself at first, though having a traumatic C section, plus being a 9lb 7oz newborn, meant I really struggled at first. I had to have her passed to me, then positioned on a pillow to the side to avoid stress on the scar etc. Anyway to any mama out there whoever had sore nipples from breastfeeding, I experienced that toe curling pain of latching on and wept! I think I gave up on day 3, I was still in hospital and had the 3 day blues. My bosoms were RED HOT AND ROCK HARD and fired milk out like the HG's high pressure water power washer when I heard a baby cry. Anyone's baby would set me off. Infact, on day three, the nice midwife ( I had two, they come in pairs, one nice one, one old nasty witch one  , it's the law ) found me in tears, in the shower, unable to move. What's wrong? She asked gently. Through sobs, I told her that Nasty Witch had told me I couldn't possibly mix feed my baby because my milk would dry up, and I'd summoned the strength to go get a shower - anyone who's had a CS will know how hard it is to stand upright and move straight away - I'd got in the shower, got out and struggled to get dry. Well done, said Nice midwife. Why are you crying? Well, says I, my boobs set off and I'm all soaked and I need another showerrrrrrr. I was a right mess! 
Nice midwife sorted me out. Showed me how to express from the sore boob and the HG fed Miss 22 with the, gasp, bottle and next feed from me on the non sore boob. And that is how we carried on. Breast and bottle - quickly switching to formula when we got home. Expressing milk by hand, Dr Miriam Stoppard way, is bloody hard work! So mixed feeding sorted us fine and we carried on until she was about 8 months when it was usually just an early morning feed from me. An aside is I hate the Bfnazis out there who are SO judgey Mcjudgey on mamas who choose to bottle feed. Some mamas doing it don't even have the choice so butt out NCT types!!! Mr 19 was mixed fed too so there! 

Wow, that went far more personal than I intended! What I HAD meant to share was...
In Miss 22's day, we boiled the kettle with freshly drawn water then let it cool down. We made up 6 bottles at a time and they were stored in the fridge until needed. You could only keep them for 24 hours. My ( I can't believe I'm RELATED to this person ) sister used to feed her babies COLD milk. COLD. Call social services!! I had a state of the art bottle warmer. Basically it was an electronic water bath! Nothing that a jug and a kettle of boiled water couldn't do - but it was useful in the middle of the night. 
The thing was, when Miss 22 was born, I still lived at home with my folks as the HG was doing up our house. So he used to make the bottles for me around 10pm every night. The kettle would be boiled at 9pm. Everyone knew they had NOT TO USE THE KETTLE, because being baby number one, if it said Miss 22 had to have freshly drawn water, then freshly drawn once boiled water is what she had. Except...on more than twenty five occasions, my sister would come in with her revolting slimy boyfriend ( who became her revolting slimy husband until she woke up and realised how revolting, slimy, controlling and abusive he was ) and he would, DESPITE KNOWING WE WERE MAKING BOTTLES, switch the kettle back on and brew up, thus setting the whole bottle making process back another hour. So, ex brother in law, you utter arsehole, I hated you then, I still hate you now. 

Ahem. In other news. 
We switched from Sky to Virgin today and the new internet is so fast, I bet this blog post is up n online before I even hit publish! This caused me to properly sort out stuff in my bedroom. We are going to redecorate. There's a factory shop that sells wallpaper and fabric on the outskirts of town but we can get to it quite easily from our house.

We went for a 6km stroll downt canal n back to this place. I saw some wallpaper that wasn't at all what I'd planned in my mind - auberginey colours I fancied. This was yellowy gold, shimmery and a bit floral! Sounds horrible but the HG liked it too! We needed five rolls. They only had three. I had a look round the fabric and didn't really see anything that'd go, that I liked. So reluctantly I left it. At home, the HG suggested we just paper the full chimney wall in this fancy paper . I was too tired to walk back. But I think I may go back and get it on Monday. If it's still there, it's mine! It's extra wide too! Oh and did I mention it's Harlequin, a brand I'd not heard of. A quick Google finds this paper online for a mere £59 a roll!  FIFTY NINE POUNDS. It's £2 in the shop I was in!! It's perfect, just end of a run. It's printed in the factory you see. TWO QUID! 
So we'll see Monday. 

Anyway, the Big Clean saw me unearth this groundbreaking technology - I knew I still had them. I am a Hoarder. 


Our first mobile phone! About twenty years old. This has now been thrown away ( now I've taken a photo of it - Hoarding is a disease you know! ) 



This beauty is probably thirty one ish years old. It still works! The tape, The Smiths, is one I probably made on my tape to tape 'ghetto' blaster. The nearest it ever got to the 'ghetto' was Elvis! 
I am keeping this. For posterity.


Whilst I am 'fessing up. Look see 

I don't use this museum piece, but I can't get rid - I bought this aged 17 whilst on a sixth form trip to Camden Tarn darn in London. We all bought Indian cotton embroidered tassel skirts in black too. This brings back teenage memories aplenty. It was basically like white pan stick for all Souxie Soux wanna bees. 

However - look at all this lot!
I never wear make up. I'm too lazy to take it off. I only wear it when I go out out. You'd think I had the raging social life of a celeb in Heat magazine. I NEVER GO OUT OUT! Sometimes, when I do, I think I look alright, but mostly I tend to go a bit Drag Queeny. I do like a slick of eyeliner and it has to be liquid. 

 Decided to treat us to a trio of trifles. 
Two with sponge for the lovers ( me ) and one without for the haters ( HG )! Strawberry jelly, unashamedly delicious tinned fruit cocktail IN SYRUP, custard, cream and a crumbled flake. Yum! 

Well, I've totally forgotten what else I was going to say. It'll probably come when I've hit publish. Not to mind. 

Lots of love from 

Rachel * watching Sleb Big Bro and loving it* Radiostar xxx 




31 comments:

  1. My preference is trifle without sponge but somehow the husband and kids think it must have sponge. I tend to do orange jelly and mandarins, lime jelly with pineapple, red jelly with fruit cocktail.

    Makeup? Love the stuff but hardly wear it due to the job. I swear I have eyeshadows to outlive me.

    Clothes? I buy clothes for the life that I think I should have! What does a uniform wearing nurse need with three suits???? High heels, ditto. I think I must secretly be a lady who lunches.

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    1. I think I'm secretly a lady that lunches who wears carefully applied makeup daily too! I have so many clothes that currently do not fit! I'm always trying to get back in them! I can't give up the cause! I never put pineapple in jelly as I read somewhere how it stops the jelly from setting. I do mandarins in Orange jelly too. But generally, we have mandarins in meringues! Creatures of habit!

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    2. Canned pineapple works fine in jelly. It's the fresh stuff that causes the setting problems. Something to do with enzymes.

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    3. Well I will now include them in my trifles!

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  2. Great post and I love how you say it just how it is. You are right, people shouldn't be judgemental about how others feed their babies, no one knows another's situation and it can be 'b' hard work and in my case lots of emphasis on the blood'y' as it was discovered I had a bleeding disorder 5 months after I had my son, so no wonder it was hard work and I was bleeding all the time! But nuff said.

    I think I still have my original mascara as well! How funny as I haven't worn makeup since my teens as I am absolutely useless at applying it and just generally lazy I think.

    Have a great Sunday

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    1. Hya Serenata, thanks for your lovely comments and my deepest empathy for you n your boobs! Blooming kids eh?! The only things I've never kept are old mascaras. Feeling very proud of myself! Hahahaha

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  3. Excellent post, Rachel-you do make me laugh! I have spent the whole dayat my old laptop doing lots of forms etc for my U3A as the one that gets used by everyone has caught a nasty virus. I am a bit rusty and the wee laptop is steam driven but with lots of feffing and jeffing I got the forms done-result. Your holidays are doing you the world of good I think-pace yourself and don't get too carried away with all your house blessing. Catriona

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    1. I love the fact I have the time and the energy to sort my house right now and I like doing it! The space I have in my room is immense now! So many boxes of stuff! And the dust - felt like an asthmatic I had so much on my chest!

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  4. Oh Rachel, you make me laugh. You should get that wall paper. You can have a "feature wall" if you just paper one of them. I had my first baby at 29 because I had it in my brain that I should have my first baby before I was thirty. Well, neither she nor I knew anything about breast feeding, and no it is not the most natural thing in the world. We had to go see a Lactation Consultant. Yes, it hurt like a bugger, but yes, it got easier. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. She knew how to drink from a bottle, as well which is a good thing in case I couldn't be home or with her at a feeding time. I also remember the Day 3 baby blues, or was it all the way to Day 5? Crying uncontrollably and just wanting someone else to look at this new baby. Lotsa fun. -Jenn

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    1. Well hooray for another mix fed baby! Good for you mama X thanks for popping by and sharing a giggle with me!

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  5. How I love your blog! Wish I could write like you. A giggle a second and then something more serious hits you! Thanks for lightening up my early mornings.
    J xxx

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    1. Aw Joy, thank you for that X. I had to rein it in about my ex b-i-l as I'd have written for England and it wouldn't have been pretty. Xxx

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  6. I wish I'd done mixed feeding as it would have been much easier when I went back to work although I didn't want to, it was to heart wrenching.
    I'm interested to know were this wallpaper place is. We need to redo our living room and dining room but can't find anything we all like. It took us 11 years to find the right paper last time (hated the big bold patterns back in the 90's and here tey are back again)
    Love trifle anyway as long as it dosn't have sherry in it.
    I still have a biba eye shadow in green glitter. I loved the colour but it didn't suit me.
    Carolx

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  7. Fingers crossed the paper is still there, I really want to see it!

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    1. Paper was there, I'll show you on the blog!

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  8. Dump the makeup, you should not keep it too long, a sin we all do. We have super fast Virgin, it's a sham Blogger is not as good. As for feeding, 1st was a breeze 2nd was on the bottle within a week. I did not mind the nasty midwife, I listened to my mum instead, I got really fed up with the bossy ones who had never had a baby!!

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  9. My DDIL has one of those bottle making thingy's.....I think it's fab.
    I also hate midwives who bully Mums into breastfeeding. It isn't right for everybody and nobody should be made to feel that they are less of a good Mum because they choose the bottle.
    Wallpaper for £2 a roll....gawd I'd be redecorating every week so hubby will be glad we don't live near a place that sells it at that price.
    My make up collection is pathetic and I don't know why I have any at all as I don't wear it ever....well I did have a bit on at my sons wedding six years ago but that was the last time I wore any.
    Hope you are enjoying your time off so far-x-

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    1. Oh I don't doubt for a single second that if Miss 22 was being born now I would have every single gadget going - I live with the HG! He's famous for it! I'm LOVING my time off so far. X

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  10. That's a lot of information for one post! My mind is reeling a little from certain mental images. I am another none make up wearer and also use the drag queen description. I managed to make an effort for the wedding and thought I scrubbed up ok but it's gone by the wayside again. I'm far too lazy. Thanks for brightening up my day. X

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    1. You are very welcome! I always feel so ver dressed if I put make up on for the day, but my daughter is one of these who never leaves the house without full slap - but then I think she does it so well!! But for me, like you, laziness wins! Panda eyes is not a good look!

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  11. Our all electric baby Jacob needed 3 plug sockets all to himself when he was here, I wonder when they get their first mobile phones?! :-)

    Love your posts, so smiley.
    Hope you are not counting down the days 'til term starts yet!!

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    1. Awww electric Baby Jacob! That made me chuckle! I have no idea how many days are left!

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    1. I'm so fat. I need to quit this trifle habit!

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  13. I'd forgotten about the 'don't boil the water more than once' rule until you mentioned it. I followed that piece of advice religiously for 12 months when literally the day after Amy's first birthday I stopped using boiled water at all because that was also a rule. I bottle fed Amy right from the start but expressed for 2 weeks with Thomas who was in special care for a couple of days, then he went on the bottle as well. Expressing then bottle feeding is like double feeding in my opinion. Thankfully I didn't come across any nasty midwives re. breastfeeding. Maybe because I was an older Mum they didn't try it on with me, they just asked me what I wanted to do, then trotted off to get me some milk.

    My make-up routine is very basic but I have to put it on or I don't feel dressed. I never buy anything other than what I need though, your collection is quite something!

    The trifles look scrummy. I love trifle, it's a Christmas treat at our house. It definitely has to have sponge in it, although I don't mind if it has fruit or not.

    Can't wait to see your newly decorated room, I think the paper sounds really nice. xx

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    1. Please don't hold your breath waiting to see my newly decorated room - I think we need to settle in for the long haul! The HG does do a good job, but he likes to take his time! And I'm not naggy!

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  14. I love how you say it just how it is your posts always cheer me up. I only wear makeup when I go out too and the furthest I go is usually the shops haha and then it's usually a bit of foundation to mask the pale complexion and a dash of lipstick. You brought the feeding thing back to me I managed to feed all 4 of mine but my eldest for just the first 6 weeks with bottles to supplement, I'm so glad those days are well and truly over, as for the trifle I'll have it anyway it comes. :) xx

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    1. Awww I'd give anything to go back and nurse ( once I'd got my scars healed and latching on issues fixed ) for another time. Prolly about three months old be perfect!

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  15. No makeup here either unless we're going out :-). Sooooo much easier ;-) xx

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    1. I'm going out today, and I've none on. Not even any perfume - it attracts wasps!

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Many thanks for taking the time to read my words and respond with your own thoughts. I always try to reply so make sure you pop back to see!