good news from my camp this morning - we have HAB'd successfully. there was a bit of grizzling and fidgeting but guess who has been asleep in the HAB for 40 minutes now. i could actually hold him AND make breakfast and do laundry. (what glamour!). i'm happy not sure how i would remove his sleeping carcass to get him into bed but i'll deal with that at a later date. i think for now this will make all the difference for breakfast and dinner time when he kicks up the biggest ruckus.

about cries - he mostly sounds the same. i tend to go by his pre-cry cues. he does the carnival clown mouth when he's hungry or sucks the back of his hand. when he's tired he's yawn central. when he's windy he has a little purple mouth or purple feet. i thought about getting dunstan baby language but figured i'd rather head the cry off at the pass than listen to it.

at his 5pm ****box hour, he is just crying because. that was the hardest thing for me to learn. some say it's because they get so much stimulation and input during the day that they need to vent. there is some argument that the back arching and things people blame on colic or wind is just emotional expression - i think of what toddlers do when they're chucking and emotional/tired spak - lots of arching and throwing themselves around.

so... the new MO for witching hour is just to support him through his cry. i hold him for as long as i can, and DH will have a go. he stops when he's ready - and it's usually in time for dinner. doesn't work if we're both fried though... then we have to put him in the cot and mummy goes out and sits on the letterbox with a coffee for 10 minutes. eep. haven't done that since i was a teenager, lucky the letterbox is big enough.

question 1: how many of you are exclusively b/f?

question 2: what do i need in my pump/bottle kit etc.

i went to get the Medela electric at Target yesterday but they were sold out. Then i saw all these bottles, milk bags, sterilisers and ya ya ya... so... i'm wondering what i need to get so i can get it all in the one hit and not have to run out later.

also - who belongs to ABA and is their book any good? is it too militantly bf?

are there any good websites about expressing breast milk... the how tos and whens etc??

re: little boy leads
my MIL swears that DH would have been MIA a long time ago had she not had him on a lead. she says it fosters a sense of security in them, especially in really busy shopping centres etc. not sure what i'll do when the time comes but i can see the logic in the meantime.