The Newborn & Toddlers Off-Topic Chat Thread

Tigeress · 05-04-2012 5:03pm

Its mad that so many of us have little ones with cough's! It must be the change in the weather lately alright!

My little fella is on daytime sleep strike..

red fraggle · 05-04-2012 5:32pm

3 months old today:D where has the time gone. i bought a 3-6 month jeans and she looks so grown up! fits her perfect.

congrats on the steps how strange! so cute!

my little one has a bit of a cough too but its the dry/snuffly nose thats awful at night. she sound terrible but it doesnt seem to be bothering her too much. now that shes 3 months ill try the breath easy vapour rub or olbas oil on a cloth.

CathyMoran · 05-04-2012 5:38pm

Shane was 2 last Monday - we took him to the zoo and left his sister in the creche as he does not get much time away from her. I am back in work again very soon, not looking foward to it, I met a friend this week and did some artwork for my children. Helen keeps on trying to walk, she will get there!

Harley. · 05-04-2012 7:16pm

Belated birthday wishes to your little guy Cathy. The Zoo is such a great place to bring them.

The weather is so messed up right now though. Had planned on taking my little one to Newbridge farm for easter egg hunt this weekend but looks like we'll be stuck home doing some painting instead!!

dublinlady · 05-04-2012 8:19pm

To all the coughy baby mamas!
Just something I know from experience -
A cough with congestion is most likely just a cough associated with a cold.
A persistent dry cough which is worse at night CAN ( sonetimes!) be associated with asthma - ESP during these months when hay fever is beginning!
Just to hear it in mind if cough lasts longer than 2 weeks - be worth talking to gp about!

Harley. · 05-04-2012 8:50pm

dublinlady wrote: »

A persistent dry cough which is worse at night CAN ( sonetimes!) be associated with asthma - ESP during these months when hay fever is beginning!
Just to hear it in mind if cough lasts longer than 2 weeks - be worth talking to gp about!

Thats exactly what mine had last year gp knew staright away said it was mild asthma, she was given an inhaler for while and was perfect after. Probably that again and yet it didnt come into my head till you said it dublinlady

lynski · 05-04-2012 11:12pm

my little man had a very bad cough last month, for more then 6 weeks (post-viral according to gp, can go on, etc etc)
anyway decided to try out the salt therapy place in newbridge and cough gone in 4 days and gone for over 2 weeks, starting to come back now, but i will give that a try again.

Knit wit · 06-04-2012 1:51pm

Hi lynski,
What is the salt therapy place in newbridge? My nephew has asthma (11 months) and a semi-permanent cold ... Would love to know more to pass on to his dad. Thanks

dublinlady · 06-04-2012 2:48pm

This is just a mOan...
3 hrs sleep last night. She was sore from wind. Today she can't eat cos she's tired and keeps falling asleep, can't sleep cis her tummy hurts and shes hungry. I haven't eaten anything weird that could be causing it. She won't even sleep in the sling for me. I'm so tired I'm getting annoyed at her. Then I feel guilty and start crying. The dog wants a walk and I can't move from the couch cos of the constant feeding - falling asleep - screaming cycle I'm now stuck in.

I know it's just a bad day - I know they are normal, I had an amazing lovely day yesterday . But its so hard to be there for her when I'm so tired myself. I can't even get lunch cos if I stop attempting to feed her and just put her in sling she becomes hysterical. We are too very cranky ladies.

doubletrouble? · 06-04-2012 5:23pm

posted this in pregnancy thread as well as it seems to cover alot of areas.
http://www.pregnancyandbabyfair.ie/
on 15th and 16th april RDS. 21st and 22nd april ,city hall cork.

caprilicious · 06-04-2012 9:14pm

Dublinlady I hope your day improved

The only thing I will say is I found from about 8 weeks on that those particularly tough days do lessen as baby goes longer between feed's. I hope you got a bit of dinner into you and sleep too. Everything tends to seem a lot worse when you're very tired x

Lynski I'd love to know more about the salt clinic too if you have any info please?

cbyrd · 06-04-2012 9:17pm

Oh god. . i'm tired too .. i haD 3 hours sleep last night but not all at the same time and then i got this great idea at half 8 this morning that i'd paint a bedroom . . and then i painted another one. . i'm wrecked. . . but i had a lovely scaldy bath.. both little ones are asleep and i've a lovely bottle glass of wine in my hand. . only downside is i have to work tomorrow. . . but now i'm ready for the big change over though... have to move the 9 year old into the 2 year olds room so i can put the boys in one room. . few more weeks and the baby's out on his own

CAN'T WAIT

Tigeress · 06-04-2012 9:18pm

Awe DL thinking of you today x hope little A has settled down for you! Those constant crying days are very hard but they don't last! Hope she sleeps tonight for ya & is in better form tomorrow xxx big deep breaths :-)

Tigeress · 06-04-2012 9:22pm

dublinlady wrote: »

To all the coughy baby mamas!
Just something I know from experience -
A cough with congestion is most likely just a cough associated with a cold.
A persistent dry cough which is worse at night CAN ( sonetimes!) be associated with asthma - ESP during these months when hay fever is beginning!
Just to hear it in mind if cough lasts longer than 2 weeks - be worth talking to gp about!

This is very interesting DL :-) thanks for the share! I've actually been thinking he might have a little hayfever! My OH suffers terrible from it & I always spend the spring with a runny nose lol so I think he was destent to get it

he's not too bad though & the cough seems better today! Good to keep all this in mind, if the cough is still as ba next week I'm gonna being him to the Doc for a check up just to be sure

wmpdd3 · 06-04-2012 10:12pm

oh dl, i'm having your week. good day followed by horrible day.
the only thing i can do for peace is to bring him to bed with me and feed him and let him sleep.

cant function when i cant even feed myself because i have to feed him...

he roared the place down tuesday and wednesday from 12pm to 12am. feed, sleep, roar, walk the floor, calm down, feed repeat.

last night i went out for a few drinks, other half gave him a bottle of expressed at 9pm, he slept till 12:30am!!!

i stayed in bed with him till 2pm than he fed every hour and was back to the sleep cry routine above.

so tonight i bathed him, he roared the whole time but i fed him after wards and now he's asleep for the last half hour.

10 weeks tomorrow, cant wait until he will feed every 2 hours, i wont know myself.

dublinlady · 06-04-2012 11:28pm

wmpdd3 wrote: »

oh dl, i'm having your week. good day followed by horrible day.
the only thing i can do for peace is to bring him to bed with me and feed him and let him sleep.

cant function when i cant even feed myself because i have to feed him...

he roared the place down tuesday and wednesday from 12pm to 12am. feed, sleep, roar, walk the floor, calm down, feed repeat.

last night i went out for a few drinks, other half gave him a bottle of expressed at 9pm, he slept till 12:30am!!!

i stayed in bed with him till 2pm than he fed every hour and was back to the sleep cry routine above.

so tonight i bathed him, he roared the whole time but i fed him after wards and now he's asleep for the last half hour.

10 weeks tomorrow, cant wait until he will feed every 2 hours, i wont know myself.

Will he feed every 2 hrs or more on good days? That's hard going Hun. A will go 2&1/2 hrs most days. Not today obvs..., today it's constant!! I left her with my oh for 3 hrs when he got on from work and have him expressed bottle and went for a sleep. Don't think I would have been able cope with the thought of another night like last night without some sleep.. It's not looking like tonight's gonna be much better as she really is struggling with her tummy. I've started drinking camomile tea tonight to see if it helps at all.
My friend had a baby - well a girl I know, 5 months ago and she never moans and says she loves it all do much and is so so happy all of the time... I sometimes wonder if she ever has days spent crying on the couch with a screaming baby attached.... Don't get me wrong I love being a mother and adore my little girl more than I can describe - but it's seriously not all pink frilly dresses and walks in the park!
Today had major wobble and really wanted to give her formula as felt it must be something I'm eating.... Didn't but gonna try the blandest of bland diets over next few days to see if helps! Its porridge and spuds and camomile tea for me!!
I had a pear today and 3 grapes and apparently that was bad. I can't seem to find any fruit I can eat - or veg. So she'll be fine but I'll be constipated.... Nice !

liliq · 06-04-2012 11:58pm

It will pass, it will pass.... I promise!
The first 6 or 8 weeks are a blur of feeding for me. I lost count of how many times I cried.
Food wise, I worried about it a lot at the start, but as the little ones get a bit bigger it's not as much of an issue either.

How Strange · 07-04-2012 10:10am

Ladies I remember those days from hell with the constant feeding and crying and feeding and crying. I was at home with my son all day yesterday and we had such fun. We did the food shopping so he smiled at all the ladies as we passed by (he knows the power of his smiles!); he had his jabs

and then a monster nap and we spent the afternoon playing games and taking some tentative steps. I'd clap and he'd laugh and try again. Then I bought bubbles and he was so amazed and delighted.

So what I'm trying to say is yes the early stage is difficult but it is a phase and within months you'll find yourself playing games and having fun with your little babas.

dublinlady · 07-04-2012 11:06am

How Strange wrote: »

Ladies I remember those days from hell with the constant feeding and crying and feeding and crying. I was at home with my son all day yesterday and we had such fun. We did the food shopping so he smiled at all the ladies as we passed by (he knows the power of his smiles!); he had his jabs and then a monster nap and we spent the afternoon playing games and taking some tentative steps. I'd clap and he'd laugh and try again. Then I bought bubbles and he was so amazed and delighted.

So what I'm trying to say is yes the early stage is difficult but it is a phase and within months you'll find yourself playing games and having fun with your little babas.

Amazing... Can't wait!!

lynski · 07-04-2012 11:09am

totally agree. i remember about 6 mths suddenly realising i did not have to feed him to sleep anymore, i was sad ;-?, silly i know.
Cant comment on the broken nights as my 5 yr old only slept through the night at nearly 5 (last oct, when baba was 7mths) so it has been years since i have had regular full nights of sleep. but now baba wont even sleep with us, not enough room for the starfish sleep position, so he cries to go back in the cot ;-(
It seems only a blink of the eye since i was up with the firstone, 5 yrs ago, never mind this one so try to get as much rest as you can when they do, screw the housework and the rest, it will only be a few weeks and then you wont know yourself.

Knit wit · 07-04-2012 11:11am

O Dublinlady I feel so sorry for u ... Ur not having it easy ... I can't offer any advice only to wish u well and hope things settle soon ... Try not to be too hard on urself ... If u need a break a bottle of formula won't kill ur little one (shhhh don't tell the mastafia I said that!) ... Good luck ... Thinking of u.

lynski · 07-04-2012 11:19am

dublinlady wrote: »

Will he feed every 2 hrs or more on good days? That's hard going Hun. A will go 2&1/2 hrs most days. Not today obvs..., today it's constant!! I left her with my oh for 3 hrs when he got on from work and have him expressed bottle and went for a sleep. Don't think I would have been able cope with the thought of another night like last night without some sleep.. It's not looking like tonight's gonna be much better as she really is struggling with her tummy. I've started drinking camomile tea tonight to see if it helps at all.
!

mmm, my 3 were all like this at this age, it passes, i seriously do not think it is your diet, I found, again that laid-back breastfeeding helped a lot with no3, as well as lying him on his tummy, or using the sling. we were lucky i persevered as it is looking like he has a problem with formula.
you could try giving the camomile to the baby,
Kellymom says the following

Are there any foods that I should avoid while I’m breastfeeding?

There are NO foods that you should avoid simply because you are breastfeeding. It is generally recommended that a nursing mother eat whatever she likes, whenever she likes, in the amounts that she likes and continue to do this unless baby has an obvious reaction to a particular food.
It’s suggested that everyone, particularly pregnant and nursing mothers, avoid eating certain types of fish that are typically high in mercury.
It is a good idea to restrict caffeine and alcohol to a certain extent, but it is rarely necessary to eliminate them.
Some food proteins (such as cow’s milk protein or peanut protein) do pass into mother’s milk. If there is a history of food allergies in your family, you may wish to limit or eliminate the allergens common in your family.
Any baby might react to a particular food (although this is not very common). If baby has an obvious reaction every time you eat a certain food, it may be helpful to eliminate that food from your diet. For more information, see Dairy and other Food Sensitivities in Breastfed Babies.

wmpdd3 · 07-04-2012 1:16pm

Dublin lady, being honest i didnt have this with my first last year, i could stay in bed with her all day and she would feed, sleep, wake, play, sleep. I could bring her anywhere as once i got into the car she'd fall asleep and when i got to my friends she would lie on a blanket for 20mins without a word. This little fella roars in the car, and between 1 and 8pm he feeds every 40mins. I have gripe water coming next week so i hope that helps. He 'gummed' my nipple last night so im in a bit of pain, ill give him teetha later. 10 weeks old today! I took baby 1 up early today and played with her until baby 2 woke up and it made her day!! Looking back over my posts from last year, she was napping every 3hrs at this age so hopefully thats on the cards soon.

Lola92 · 07-04-2012 2:47pm

E can reach the handles and open doors now... nowhere is safe!!!!

Harley. · 08-04-2012 11:02am

Hope everyone has nice easter today with kids. Mine had a very chocolatey brunch

wmpdd3 · 08-04-2012 12:25pm

Kids of today dont have the same resistance to chocolate, half a bag of white buttons and the 1 year old was sick!!

dublinlady · 08-04-2012 12:54pm

3 ppl bought A Easter eggs... She's not 8 weeks til tue!! God it's not good for my diet..... But .... A mothers work us never done!!!! Munch munch munch!!!!

sillysocks · 08-04-2012 7:58pm

My 15 month old got 8 Easter eggs!
The chocolate turned her nuts today (obviously she didn't eat 8 eggs!).even started biting in temper when we said no to anything, that's the start of it now.

lynski · 08-04-2012 8:05pm

brownies with the leftovers!
mine were delighted with their mini egg hunt - a little choco bunny each and a little egg with egg cup for me and daddy. then they were allowed to share one egg. but they already had eggs at nanas during the week, they are all delighted with themselves.

doubletrouble? · 08-04-2012 8:22pm

ohhh how time flies. been off work nearly 5 months now and i'm due back on tues. i've been with the twins all this time and it's kinda getting me down that for the next while i wont be around them near as much as i used to

.
is it always this bad?

Tigeress · 08-04-2012 8:30pm

doubletrouble? wrote: »

ohhh how time flies. been off work nearly 5 months now and i'm due back on tues. i've been with the twins all this time and it's kinda getting me down that for the next while i wont be around them near as much as i used to .
is it always this bad?

Oh Double I feel for you

are you going back full or part time? I'm due back in June & I'm already getting upset thinking about leaving him..

CathyMoran · 08-04-2012 8:33pm

Same here, am going back on Tuesday.

doubletrouble? · 08-04-2012 8:36pm

Tigeress wrote: »

Oh Double I feel for you are you going back full or part time? I'm due back in June & I'm already getting upset thinking about leaving him..

going back full time on shift tigeress, different days of each week

. going to miss the twins and purple.

dublinlady · 08-04-2012 9:24pm

doubletrouble? wrote: »

Tigeress wrote: »

Oh Double I feel for you are you going back full or part time? I'm due back in June & I'm already getting upset thinking about leaving him..

going back full time on shift tigeress, different days of each week . going to miss the twins and purple.

wmpdd3 · 08-04-2012 11:02pm

doubletrouble? wrote: »

going back full time on shift tigeress, different days of each week . going to miss the twins and purple.

I really feel for you, I really wasn't ready when my girl was 7 months, though I was fine when she was 13 months.

I worked 45 hrs over 7 days, sometimes 9/10 days in a row. had to go part time for my sanity. back on 25 hrs in june, other half will mine the 2 babies so, pretty happy about that.

Before I wentback last time, we went to Dublin for the day with baby and it was the best memory i have of my maternity. (bar her birth!)

What childcare did you sort out?

doubletrouble? · 08-04-2012 11:59pm

wmpdd3 wrote: »

What childcare did you sort out?

we haven't sorted out any wmpdd. i've been on unpaid leave for the last couple of months. purple is off till sept. it's been very hard with both of us looking after the twins even tonight the little man is acting up as i type. people say child care is just as much as a mortgage if not more. one of our options is for me to become a S.A.H.D.but i'll have to look into this alot further. the thoughts of leaving the twins for hours really gets me down.

Tigeress · 09-04-2012 6:45pm

Sorry to hear you're back in work so soon Double & Cathy! I would love to be a stay at home Mum but we any afford it

if only we could win the lotto! I'm only meant to be going back part time which suits brill but I was offered a promotion that would be full time.. I wanna take it because the money would be great & is a great step for my career but at the same time I hate thinking of someone else seeing him more on a daily basis than I would..

dublinlady · 09-04-2012 7:00pm

Tigeress wrote: »

Sorry to hear you're back in work so soon Double & Cathy! I would love to be a stay at home Mum but we any afford it if only we could win the lotto! I'm only meant to be going back part time which suits brill but I was offered a promotion that would be full time.. I wanna take it because the money would be great & is a great step for my career but at the same time I hate thinking of someone else seeing him more on a daily basis than I would..

I'm dreading going back to work... Have no choice but to go back full time as financially can't afford it. I do some shifts so will miss her bedtime sometimes

But I suppose that's life really.... Money money money.... Wish it was more economical for me to stay at home but it's not and we crippled with our boom time mortgage!!

red fraggle · 09-04-2012 7:26pm

hate reading all these posts. im due back in june and dreading it. hoping to get til august off with hols i accumulated. i do shift work which involves being gone from 2pmish til 12ish the next day including travel times. my mam will be minding her and my husband when he gets home from work. the thoughts of it tho. as shes gettin older its getting harder i think!!! i dont want to miss anything and when shes in her big cry she only settles with me!!

i know we all have to do what we have to do and we will adust to our new situations but we dont have to like it!!!!:(:rolleyes: i like the winning the lotto idea!!!

CathyMoran · 09-04-2012 7:35pm

The fulltime thing will be scary, will find out tomorrow. We have flexi-time in work but it is week 3 of 4 so will have to do longer hours to get my time in lieu. I will be doing 30 minute lunches as I want to spend as much time as possible with my two. My daddy will miss my daughter too as she was born just before my mother died and he is very close to her as we used to go out together 1-2 times a week.

How Strange · 09-04-2012 7:44pm

Good luck CathyMoran with going back tomorrow. The first day is the worst and then it gets easier. I have time in lieu in my job and it's fantastic. I try to work up 30-45 mins a day so I can use it for when my son is sick.

I'll buck the trend and say I wouldn't be a stay at home mum unless we had enough money to put my son in a crèche part time because I'd go crazy being at home with a smallie all day. Don't get me wrong; I love the bones of him but when I go to work I spend a day in clean clothes (without puke, snot and whatnot), I get breaks to drink HOT tea and a lunch break. Having said that I work 7.5 hours a day, I'm home at 5.30, I don't do shifts and I don't travel so I'm very fortunate in my situation.

Since having my son I have total respect for stay at home mums because it's a 24/7 job.

sillysocks · 09-04-2012 7:59pm

I agree HowStrange, I used to think I'd love being at home all day but as maternity leave went on I realized it wasn't for me. It was still hard going back to work but I was lucky enough to get a 4 day week, and I'm only gone from the house from 8.15-5.15 every day so it's not too bad. I always feel terrible saying I wouldn't like to be home all day with my little one.

Good luck to all going back soon, the first few days are the worst, and even the days leading up to it when you're dreading it.

doubletrouble? · 09-04-2012 8:01pm

with regards to the financial situation i think most of us are in the same boat, we're like dublinlady in that we bought at the peak. you hear lots of stories about bringing up babies/kids. when we read these posts they're mostly from parents that have had just one child at a time. most people think it's a doddle raising a child. but by christ no amount of reading/homework etc can prepare you for this.even reading in this newborns section i dont think there are many parents with multiple babies. myself and purple have good full time jobs yet we find it hard coping with the twins with two of us at home. just an hour ago the both of them screamed the house down looking for a feed at the same time. i'll have to wait and see what my job say about going early at the moment it's a 50/50. i think the shift work i do is a right killer, it wouldn't be so bad if it was the same hours day in day out.

CathyMoran · 09-04-2012 8:09pm

We have two children that have less than 14 months between them and I would love one more and then get my tubes tied! It does get interesting but it has been the happiest time in my life, they were planned and very much wanted and we went through a lot to have them. My biological clock is ticking as I am 38.

On a lighter note - we got our two year old a percy pig egg and he accidentally broke it and got very upset - maybe not the best idea...

My son and I have become a lot closer in the past few weeks - I was not able to hold him as much when I was expecting his sister so we lost touch a bit but he is a lot better now.

CathyMoran · 09-04-2012 8:14pm

I do think that raising children is incredibly hard but incredibly rewarding be it single or multiple births - with our age gap they both want diffenent things at the same time!

The_Conductor · 09-04-2012 8:33pm

CathyMoran wrote: »

I do think that raising children is incredibly hard but incredibly rewarding be it single or multiple births - with our age gap they both want diffenent things at the same time!

Increasingly they want the same things at the same time- and its not possible/feasible to have two of everything (and even if we did get two of everything- one or the other of them would want both (this evening for example- a Vtech phone was the hot most wanted item- and woe betide the child who had it........ Shane pushed his little sister over- and then when I was feeding him dinner- she came up to the chair and bit his toes.......... they do love one another- but sharing is a concept they are just going to have to learn- and fast........)

Both kiddies exhausted after their trip to the zoo this evening (I think we're trying to set a record for zoo visits- we got annual membership for Shane's birthday last Monday- and since then have paid 4 visits to the zoo.......)

Roll on next weekend- we live for the weekend!

wmpdd3 · 09-04-2012 9:23pm

jez, baby no. 1 on her own was a holiday, even when i couldn't walk when pregnant compared to being in the house with the 2 of them (16 months apart).

double trouble, i am afraid to imagine what ye go through.

the first 18 months are going to be ...testing.

lynski · 09-04-2012 10:48pm

my 5 yr old told us today that he loved being the only baby, mommy had loads of time for huggles and when his little sister and then little brother came along and took all the huggles and there was none left for him ;-(
he mostly gets on great with the other 2 and vice versa, the little man is getting more and more active and he is joining in and playing by himself. his fav game though is to empty the cupboards all over the floor in the kitchen, take out the onions from the veg basket and have a bite, try a potato or 2 and then wonder off the wreck another room. he is so speedy crawling now. turned my back on him at my friends house the other day and while we searched the house he was out side and almost around the back - the other children cam running to say he had escaped!
the mayhem in our house is crazy, but so far i am at home with them and can manage for another year or 2 I hope.
i have a girl who comes and helps me out for 2 hrs every week and that saves my sanity - it is my one luxury.

dublinlady · 10-04-2012 8:58am

Wondering if anyone has had similar?
A is sleeping amazingly at night - will do one 5 ish hr stint followed by one more 3-4 hr stint with an expressed bottle in the middle - usually around 3/3.30. Last night (And a few other nights!!) she woke up at 2 - grunting... Not looking for food ( she very obviously screams manically when hungry and puts hands to mouth alot) just lying there grunting... It's as if she's trying to push out a poo or wind or something? She poos once every couple of days ( dic said that's fine as breastfeeding sometimes leads to little waste) and does dirty farts.. As in they lightly stain her nappy about 3 times a day. Her poo's are not at all hard - they liquidy, so I don't think she's constipated but we really font know what to do about the grunting!!! She lay there for 2 hrs before looking for feed, just making a grunting racket!!! It's def not just her making noise for fun as she doesn't do all the time, maybe one night in 3, and seems uncomfortable when doing it but not sore ( she cries and whimpers if sore from wind!)
I'm at a loss of what to do for her! I can bring her to doc but not sure I need to!!
Just both of us and her are not getting alot of sleep with this and otherwise shed be great at night!!!
Not looking for medical advise as if noone has similar story I will take to doc, I just wondering if anyone else has a nightime grunted??!!!!

P.s sorry for all the poo talk but I figure this particular audience are well able for it!!!!

cbyrd · 10-04-2012 9:27am

I don't have one that grunts but one that will shout.. he was sleeping 11.30pm til between 8 and 9am.. then he started solids and bang went the sleep ... waking up to 7 or 8 times a night. Not crying but shouting squirming and generally uncomfortable.. we get up and put the dodi back in his mouth and he'd settle again..He goes down now about 8.30pm, i started giving him infacol about a week ago and some nights nurofen for teeth.. he has a bottle at about 11pm most nights now he'll sleep til either 2 or 4 am.. but we've had a few all nighters in the last 2 weeks..it's very hard.. i work part-ime and it ALWAYS the night before i'm working that is worst :eek: the infacol seems to be working to get wind out...:o

I actually look forward now to the days i'm working.. between haircuts i can sit down

its a busy house with 4 and no car for the last 8 weeks..but tomorrow i'll have my lovely big car..the first time we'll all have been together going anywhere since i was pregnant :eek: My new car seats will be delivered tomorrow .. i can't wait

The Newborn & Toddlers Off-Topic Chat Thread

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