December 2010 - 'I read the manual, she shouldn't be doing this just yet!'

[DuelingFanjo]

Tah-Dah! New thread, hope this is ok.

old thread here

So our babies are becoming more independent, saying more, eating more and bumping into stuff... Seems to have gone so quickly!

How are you all doing? How is it being back in work (some of you)? I have a month left before I go back and leaving Bob with my mum is getting harder rather than easier :( I want to spend more time with him not less, though I do understand that I have to let him go and get used to being with her. Not looking forward to the settling in at the nursery but hope by October it will all seem normal for both of us.

[itypefast]

Hello girls, I've changed my name from stenogirl.

DF - it will be hard to go back to work at first but it's so lovely that Bob will be with his grandmother - a lovely and special bond.

My Hannah is so big now and really long! She's so curious and is always waving hello. Still only crawling backwards but she pulls herself up all the time. Lots of bumps on her head :)
We've had a shite few weeks with regards to sleeping. She used to sleep 7-7. Now, there's no rhyme nor reason to her routine. She's so overtired most days, I'm finding it quite difficult. No sign of any teeth yet. She's BF'ing less and less during the day but drinking loads at night. Topsy turvy!
Tried Ashton & Parsons teething powders last night and she only woke once - feel almost human today!

Hope you're all well and enjoying the sunshine.
We're off to Portugal tomorrow. Looking forward to no cooking/cleaning!

[CJMommy]

Hello Ladies!!

I haven't posted for months but have lurked shamelessly!

Well, DD is 8 months this week; no teeth, commando crawling around the floor, desperately trying to stand and eats like a horse!

We are still bf but only just - down to one feed a day (morning) as back at work now and had no urge to be pumping at work. She has formula during the day from a bottle, although thinking of getting her to take this from a cup as she takes water from a cup with no problems.

Night time sleep improved significantly when we stopped co-sleeping and she went into her own room (about a month ago). Although she does wake some nights, I send DH in to settle her. Recently, I think her waking has been more linked to development more than anything else?

Napping in the day is a nightmare - 20 mins twice a day if we're lucky and she will only go to sleep if rocked........not sure how to tackle that one

I've been back at work a few weeks, PT at the moment but will be FT by November - god knows how I'm going to manage that, life seems so hectic at the moment!?

Anyway, great new thread title! Promise I'll try to post more and sorry if I haven't referred to anyone specifically but I have been keeping up with you all! Unfortunately, by the time I've read the thread, I've forgotten who's done or said what!!

[WhatWillSantaBring]

Another shameless lurker here. Like MrsS I tend to use my iphone to lurk and I takes ages to write anything, usually by the time I get halfway through, DD is wanting help again! This morning she is distracted by a Tupperware box so we're getting some extra time in bed.

Unlike a lot of the others she is pretty small still. Even though she's 8 months we're still in 3-6 month clothes (just) which is handy as I'm hanging out for the next NCT sales next month. She's just figuring out crawling (but hasn't got it yet) but all she ever wants to do is stand! Can be a real problem when I try to put her down as she tenses everything so I can't put her on her bum.

She's eating quite well but won't eat anything I make - ella's kitchen, plum and organix ready meals go down a storm though. I keep them for emergencies but as she refuses to eat most of the things I make, we resort to them most days. It's costing me a fortune!

We stopped BF a month ago and I'm ashamed to say that life is sooo much easier now, as I can give her a bottle anywhere rather than having to find somewhere to sit, whip my boob out and feed. Sadly (for me) there's been no sign of me losing weight now I stopped. The two stone I put on while breastfeeding are proving impossible to shift, and I'm getting really depressed about it.

Still, DD is wonderful- I can't get over just how much I love her. Some days I do feel overwhelmed by the drudgery of motherhood but then she smiles and it's all worth it again!

Waves to everyone. Sorry about your cat, Max.

[CJMommy]

WWSanta I'm having trouble with weight too, in that it won't bloody shift! I lost most of what I had put on during pregnancy in the few weeks following DD's birth.......then went and gained a stone! I'm doing SW and have lost 8lbs so far but need to loose another stone to get to pre pregnancy weight. It's taken me over 2 months tp loose that and I've been sticking to the plan well . It is getting me down.

We're on 6-9 month clothes but everyone says how small she is . Although, still in plenty of 3-6 month stuff too - depends on the make I suppose?

[kellestar]

DF thanks for the witty new thread!! Nice that your mum can look after Bob for you, discussed with DH and I won't be returning to work. But he hopes that I can start to take over some of his admin for him [runs a family business] would mean a small income but I can do the admin in the evenings/nap time.

itypefast Hope you have a lovely time in Portugal.

CJMommy Nap times were a pain, Bea was taking 5 20 minute naps a day. Now she has started to take a longer late morning nap, just before lunch of an hour or more. But then she will have a 30 minute nap at about 4ish, then bedtime at 7 and up at 7. She had a really niggly night last week and we think teeth may be coming soon.

WWSB I just put away all Bea's 0-3 and got 3-6 out a week or two ago. She's still so small, slim and tall, but full of energy.

We have proper hands and knees crawling and she can go very fast!! She's also started to cruise this week, we have a corner sofa and a fire guard around the fire place, so she can cruise in a U, back and forth. DH and I have to tuck our legs up onto the sofa or she'll whinge at us.

Weaning seems fine at the moment, we mix both jar and home cooked depending on what I have the time for. She had a lamb roast dinner on Saturday, eating off our plates. It was nice as Mil/Fil joined us and they were mostly amazed.

[kellestar]

I forgot to say that I am finally getting some new hair growth, it's covering up the major bald patch, it's all curly and is adding loads of volume at the roots. Trying to find a hair dresser who understands and can advise how it should be cut. Still getting handfuls of hair from the lengthy stuff. I have a stone and a half to loose to be back to pre baby weight, could do with loosing more as was overweight in the first place, doing a hell of a lot more active stuff but doesn't seem to be shifting.

[Chooster]

hi, another lurker here!! I also use my phone to keep up and then dont post, but am at PC while Jude sleeps.

Sorry you are feeling a little low about leaving Bob when you go back to work. What is your childcare setup? I can't remember is it full time? It will be so much easier once you are actually in the swing of it. When I went back (full time) after my first I was heartbroken before but after about a month we were all used to it and it wasn't so bad. I've had confirmation from work that I can go back 3 days!!! Wooo hoooo!!!! And my return date is now 9th January so not too bad. I'm really pleased as life with 3 is such a handful that working any more would have been so hard and stressful.

Good to see a new thread - well done DF!

Good to hear that the babies are all getting on well - sounds like we have some diddy little ones on here too! Jude is maybe slightly bigger than average I guess, not a whopper though. We've just cracked open the 9-12 month clothes - I can't believe how grown up he is getting! Crawling like mad and cruising and giving the most delicious smiles . But sleep in a NIGHTMARE!!!! Have posted on the sleep section and I finally last night tried to be a bit tougher and it was the best night in ages - he only woke twice and settled well both times. We've also almost finished bf, Jude just wasn't feeding during the day anymore and only at night, but I was becoming a human dummy and he was getting too much milk at night so I've cut that out. As a result we're down to one half hearted feed in the mornings.

We've got a busy busy time ahead as knocking wall down in our house and moving our kitchen -so lots of furniture moving, cleaning, painting and upheaval coming up... It'll all be worth it but messy few weeks .

[maxpower]

thanks for starting the new thread DF. It's a stressful time leaving your LO to return to work and I'm sure all of us who've done it will understand your anxieties and reluctance. But IME, the reality goes much better then you think it will, so try not to worry too much.

itypefast enjoy Portugal

CJ hope the transition back to work is going well, it's nice you can build up back to FT. Oh and baby clothes sizes definitely vary by brand.

WWSB thanks for the sympathies. DD ws having a bit of trouble understanding what had happened to the cat and the chicken. She told my DM that the chicken was behind the tree (where she'd seen DH burying it) but the cat was in heaven - clearly we didn't do a great job covering that topic!

Re weight, I put on weight when pg and just can't seem to shift any of it. I feel so bloody tired (even though Matty's slept through for months) I just don't have the energy to exercise and when I'm tired, I eat more (I guess it's my body's way of compensating for the lack of sleep - it's got to get energy from somewhere). I'm hoping I'll feel more inspired and find a bit of time once DD is back at school.

great news about the hair kellestar

chooster glad you've got your new working hours sorted out. I'm planning on going back to the same as I was working before, but I've got a bit of a problem my end, as the main route between nursery & DD's school is supposed to be being closed for 18 months from October! This is going to cause me serious issues dropping off/picking up the children, and that's not even taking into account that I then have to get a train to and from work on top of that bit. I think I'm going to have to leave work early on the days I'm doing the school/nursery runs and then make up the hours another day. Not ideal.

Matty still loves his food. I got a fab cookbook when DD was small (I don't think it's available any more) and she loved the meals in it. I used it with her until she was about 3. Thankfully Matty seems to be the same. He's got 3 teeth through and a 4th on the way. He kto get on his hands and knees to rck backwards and forwards, but he loves standing up. He's just started walking around if you hold his hands. He uses his playpen for support, but he has started to let go and stand unsupported for a few seconds if he distracts himself with something in his hands.

We've been to stay with the ILs and had a lovely couple of days. It made a big change as DSIL and her brood weren't there, so it was just DH, DD, DS, me and the GPs.

Just before I go, DD had us in stitches this evening. She was on her way to bed and overheard someone on the telly referring to popcorn as 'cornpop' but in her excitement to tell us what she had heard, she told us that the person had said 'cornpop' instead of 'cockporn'. DH and I didn't do a good job of disguising our childish giggling

[Chooster]

Ha!!!! Thats brilliant maxpower . Bless her!! Sounds like matty is going to head straight for walking and no messing about with this crawling nonsense .

[maxpower]

I think so too chooster - taking after his big sis

[MrsSnaplegs]

Morning all, thanks for the new thread DF. just a quick update from me as have to get ready for work in a minute

Hugh is still huge although his weight gain has slowed now he is mobile. He is in 12-18 month clothes mainly, tried to squeeze him into a 9-12 month vest last night and he looked like Jimmy Somerville in those tight white tee shirts he used to wear in the 80's

He has been fully mobile now for about 3-4 weeks, went from reverse crawling to full on crawling to cruising and now pushing his baby walker round. Has also managed to climb the first 5 steps of the stairs I think being bigger helps as he has so much muscle and strength to get around.

Eating well, moving away from puree onto a more normal diet just chopped small alongside what he can feed himself. He eats anything so quite happy there. 2 teeth at the front bottom with signs more on the way.

Sleeping is awful at present, used to go down really well with little fuss now has about 40 minutes of crying to settle and then is up twice in the night and taking a good 1/2-hour to go back down. That is the hardest with work and probably the best tip for those going back. Sort out night time sleeping otherwise you will be really tired. Part of the reason I am up now, he woke at 0430, got him back to sleep then realised I have cystitis so have been up since as can't sleep. Need to go and have a shower and get ready for work.

Have to go and see GP today as seem to have 2nd bout of mastitis even though I finished BF 5 months ago. Horrible oozing nipple (sorry TMI) - thought first time was just a blocked duct from stopping BF but now not sure so going to ask for an urgent referral to breast clinic - need to be sure it isn't something nasty.

[DuelingFanjo]

hi all. I spent 3 fruitless hours trying to put up the stair-gate today but need wall plugs and a drill so going to wait until Bob isn't here and get DH to be all manly and do it for me.

Bob is now cruising and taking a great interest in the stairs. he's also crawling off out into the hall and into DH's 'office' (just the room DH has taken over with computer stuff and other crap) which is nice as it gives me a break and kind of makes it obvious to him (DH) how much attention he now needs.

He's bumping into things and faceplanting onto the floor a lot (Bob, not DH) so every day we have wailing and then comforting and then immediately after crawling off to discover more stuff. I am in the middle of a massive de-clutter so we have odd bits of furniture in unusual places and crates of stuff for the car-boot which is very interesting for Bob but proving to be a bit of a hazzard. Can't wait to get it all out.

Bob is now eating loads more, he like it best when I load up a spoon and hand it to him or when he can just pick up chunks of food and stuff his mouth. Not that it's helping with his sleep, he's a right boob monster at the moment. He's cut is first tooth and I think there's another one on the way so the sucking must be helping with the pain.

All visits to my mum have gone well and I have loved the break it gives me. I have recently been looking forward to going back to work as I feel like it will in some ways be a break for me! Not looking forward to the settling in period at the nursery but hoping it will pass quickly and we'll both be happy. It's only 19 days until I go back - I just can't believe it's so near.

MrsSnaplegs I have no idea how I will sort Bob's sleep out before I go back to work, he is still waking several times between 2am and 8. I definitely will have to start going to bed earlier so I can get some quality sleep in whe he has his first long sleep. Sorry to hear about the mastitis, it's not something I have been unlucky enough to have but I did have a really painful blocked duct the other day.

Chooster I will be going back full time but am lucky enough to have a place at the creche right on the work doorstep - I can even go over to breastfeed which I may well do. I hope to go down to 4 days a week but my DH has just got a new job and we want to see how that goes before I make any changes. Bob will be in creche for 4 days and with my mum for 1 though she has said she might take him for 2 if it goes ok.

Anyway - mammoth post all about me, sorry. Hope everyone is ok and all the babies are doing well. My sister had her 20 week scan this week, her baby is doing fine and I am so pleased for her as it's a much wanted bab y after 3 previous miscarriages. I hope now she will be able to enjoy being pregnant as it will all go so quickly now.

[MrsSnaplegs]

Have an urgent appt at breast clinic on tuesday

[93pjb]

Much lurking here too!

MrsSL good to get it checked so soon but that must be very worrying. Fingers crossed it is nothing too serious.

I'm not back at work until nov and although I am mostly loving ml, I'm another one who will be secretly glad of the rest! Some days I get so fed up of having someone climbing up my leg all day...

Not getting much sleep here either. Why is it that when I mention it in RL it always feels like I am the only one with a baby waking at least 3-4 times night? It makes me feel a complete (overtired and overemotional) failure at times. Reading this thread makes me feel a lot more normal - thank you ladies!

chooster any chance of a link to your sleep thread as that sounds like what we are experiencing too?

Currently on "holiday" in Vienna which is gorgeous, beautiful weather and great for kids while dh is at a conference here. He keeps pointing out that he is "not on holiday" as though i'm having a very easy time of it looking after 2 kids on my own especially since he is home after we are all in bed! . Anyway, conference is over today so he is holding the baby while I catch up on v important mumsnetting...

[MrsSnaplegs]

93pjb - not sure to be impressed with speed of NHS for the referral or worried that they are seeing me so quickly!

another 0420 wake up call here - that's 4 days in a row at exactly the same time who gave my son an alarm clock in his head and how do I reset it!

Renamed him Benny (Hill)last night as he has started to stick his tongue out of the side of his mouth (as if concentrating hard) but has also developed a weird jiggy hip thrusting dance that looks quite rude but is very funny!

[KittyBump]

Hi everyone - great to catch up on all your news, I can't believe how quick the time goes!
Isabel is doing well, crawling like a demon and pulling herself up on anything that stays still. She has one tooth and is still not overly interested in food which is stressing me out a bit as I'm not sure what we'll do about milk when I return to work as she has always refused a bottle and doesn't really like a cup either.
CJ how did you go about stopping co sleeping? I think the time has come where I need to get izzy in her cot, and your mentioning that it improved your DDs sleep really pricked up my ears!
DF are you still co sleeping too?
MrsSL hope your appt goes well
Big wave to everyone else, very to those of you who have been brave enough to go abroad! We were planning to go away in sept but got burgled a fortnight ago so I don't feel like leaving the house now :(

[DuelingFanjo]

Kitty, yes I am still co-sleeping, even though I have put the cot up. We have vague plans to sort out the spare room and move him into there but this all depends on DH and his snoring, we actually all get more sleep with the current set up. Miind you, I do wonder if I disturb Bob.

BIL gave DS some Dr Pepper today! I was livid, struck dumb infact. I thought his mouth was bleeding so asked what it was and BIL said 'I gave him a taste of Dr pepper". DH told him off and I went upstairs and cried. Maybe a bit PFB but I really don't like the idea of him having fizzy sugary drinks and definitely not at 8 months ffs!

[CJMommy]

Kitty Well, to start with, I used to put DD in cot after early evening feed, around 7pm. When she woke around 10.30pm, she would then come into bed with us. Then, I started putting her down after 10.30pm feed and bringing her into bed when she woke around 2am.......that was the easy bit .

The hard bit was to then force myself to sit upright and feed her at 2am ish and then put her back down, when all I actually wanted to do was lie down in bed with her . It was a bit hit and miss really but eventually she got used to her cot more and more.

The final thing we did was move her into her own room at around 7 months. If she woke in the night, we agreed that DH would go into her and try to settle which has worked a treat...........she actually settles alot better for DH than for me now!

We only BF on a morning now as I'm back at work and she seems to be weaning herself off and seems less interested but am chuffed we've managed to carry on for so long.

[CJMommy]

Forgot to add that the whole processe took around two months from co-sleeping to cot sleeping. We probably could've done it much faster but I didn't want to......it was only because my return to work was looming and couldn't have continued the way we were and functioned at work too!

[KittyBump]

Thanks for the info DH is off work in a couple of weeks so I think imay try and move her then, fingers crossed! Xxxx

[93pjb]

Good luck today MrsSL

[MrsSnaplegs]

All clear at the clinic supposedly your ducts don't go back to normal until 12 months after stopping bfing and hence risk of continuing bouts of mastitis until next spring
Thanks for thinking of me, didn't tell anyone in rl except DH

[maxpower]

hi all,

93pjb & DF I was really ready to go back to work after having DD and it all worked out fine - she loved nursery, I enjoyed being back in the company of adults and being at work was definitely less work than being at home

DF I'm [shocked] at your BIL giving Bob Dr Pepper - DD's never had a fizzy drink and she's 5!

that's good news MrsS hope that's a weight off your mind x

Matty crawled today - well he uses his right foot to propel himself but it's definitely more of a crawl than anything else! We visited his future nursery as well, and got loads of requests to visit agin with DD as they all remember her fondly.

[Chooster]

Hi all! Been awol a few days a got a mad busy time at home. We're getting some building work done so most of our downstairs is a dust bowl and out of action so we only have a kitchen to do everything in. Oh well - it will be over soon!!

As for sleep, Jude is SO SO SO much better. For those of you on the verge of moving LO's into their own rooms, it was the best thing we did. I think I was disturbing Jude or maybe he could smell the milk, not sure, perhaps he just associated my bedroom / bed as a place to breast feed. So over the last couple of weeks we've been dropping breast feeding and I've introdcued a bottle once in the night. So now he'll go down at about 7.30 ish then have a bottle somewhere between 1 and 3 and then tends to wake at 6am. I've recently got DH to go in at 6 and he can normally get DS back off to sleep for about an hour. I did it this morning and he was not up for sleep at all!!! So back to DH tomorrow morning! But all in all a good move in the right direction. I'll try to cut the night bottle out at some point but at the moment things are just fine! Aside from that he's just an absolute joy! Loving crawling and cruising and finally a tiny tooth has poked through.

Mrs S - Great news from your appointment - very pleased its all nothing to worry about.


DF - Is Bob generally sleeping well for you? If so then I guess there is no rush to change things. Is DH in the spare room? My DH was in the spare room (now Jude's room) but now back in with me and to be honest he disturbs me as much as Jude ever did!

[Wholelottalove]

Hi everyone, haven't been on for ages but DF's new thread prompted me to post.

Glad to hear everyone is getting on ok. We're fine - similar to everyone else with crawling and pulling up etc. William has developed a comedy crawl where he goes on hands and knees, flops forwards onto his belly and repeats. He looks like a little caterpillar, but it gets him around! He is doing great with food - has pretty much anything and everything other than nuts and honey now. He was chowing down a chilli wrap (I took his out before putting the chilli powder in!) tonight. He has three meals a day but still BF on demand a fair amount as well. He's pretty big - into 9-12 months but not as big as MrsS Hugh by the sounds of it!

He's got four teeth and two more nearly through which is a bit of an issue as he is biting a lot. He's bitten my boob a few times but seems to be learning not to do it as I say no firmly and take him off. He's now experimenting with biting generally - he bit my foot this evenig, just crawled over and took and chunk out of it and I had to leap across the room at a baby group to grab him the other day as he nearly bit another baby's bum. Anyone elses' LO's doing this?

As for sleeping, we're still co-sleeping but starting to try and get him in his cot a bit more. He sleeps ok in the evening but wants to feed a lot through the early hours. He's so similar to his sister at the same age. As soon as he is in his cot a bit more we'll think about moving him to another room and then I am expecting his sleep to get better! He is still a bottle refuser but drinks from a cup well so not too worried about going back to work next month.

Will try and post a bit more regularly and keep up with everyone :)