July 2010: The end is nigh... To antenatal we say goodbye!

[stac14]

We're all nearly at the end so here is our last antenatal thread

thanks mlic i'll have to have a go at biting them i never really thought of it.

It's the daytime naps i'm struggling with and why i want to get her into more of a routine. She settles quite well at night after a bath & bottle but she's so stubborn when it comes to sleeping during the day. i resort to taking her out in the buggy a lot as i know she'll go off then.
I probably shouldn't complain as at least she's sleeping at night but it makes it hard for me to get things done during the day if she refuses to sleep at all.

lol tsc you have literally spoken my sceptic thoughts regarding routines and the baby having not read the book, i've said that so many times. but seriously i feel overwhelmed sometimes by how much i have to do during the day to keep the house tidy, bottles sterilised, feed myself etc. and how hard it is to keep on top of it all if Dreya decides not to sleep during the day

Today was bliss as my mum stayed last night and helped out while i sorted out Dreya's 0-3 clothes and put some flatpack furniture together.
Maybe me being on my own is what's making me crave some kind of routine as it's only me to give cuddles, feeds & bum changes.

i have so much respect for single parents now!

thanks tsc i know what you mean that the house can only get so messy and i've never been really that house proud.
i am on my own with her - doing the single parent thing not in a bad way just that i came back from living in St Lucia for 7 months last year and discovered i was pregnant with her. I still speak to her father but there's no way he's coming here or i'm going back there so this is how it has to be.

my mum helps out when she can but she works 1pm-9pm so altho she visits a couple of mornings a week she cant do much more.

Most of my friends work full time and they tend to visit in the evening when she's asleep.

sorry if this sounds like a sob story as it's really not meant to. i am incredibly lucky to have been blessed with this amazing gift and i love my daughter but other than a few hours at 7pm each night i dont seem to get a minute to myself.

i'm not working and am on benefits for the first time in my life after 10 years of working full time. i think thats why i need some kind of structure.

a friend of mine has a 9 month old and her DP does nothing so she tells me i'm lucky i only myself & Dreya to take care of as she feels like she's got 2 kids to keep fed & happy lol!

nixster rileighs only routine is she feeds at ten sleeps till 6, quick feed and back to sleep she has no structure during the day at all. My housework gets done if shes asleep or dp does it. I was on my own with ds and as tsc says you will get your own routine together. X

tsc fingers crossed dp and frank get better at the feeding lol at your fuckety fuckety fuck.

thank god for tax credits getting my first back dated payment on tuesday as living on £60 income support a week has not been fun!!

Nixster- the only book I would recommend is called Dream Babies by Christina Payment. It's a history of parenting books from 1800 or so and is genuinely fascinating. It was a gift and I thought it would be so dull, but I read it while I was breastfeeding and it's the most reassuring thing!

That's Christina Hardyment, sorry!

Nixter iv said so many times since having ellie that i really admire single parents. I know having to do everything is so hard but i think having noone to share the responibility of everything with is even harder. Fair play! U should be proud of yourself. Ans as tsc says the routine will come by itself.
Tsc thats shit about the bottle. Maybe the fact that your there too and he'd prefer the boob might have something to do with it? Whatever it is i hope you get your night out!!
Ellie doesnt have routine yet either. She generally goes 4 hours between feeds, sometimes more and then she sleeps.all night. But she doesnt go down at a set time or anything it all depends on what time she wakes up in the morning what time her feeds will be and then she just catnaps here and there and she has one good nap in the day too but its just whenever she feels it. Im happy enough with this as long as im getting my sleep at night!
Was out again last night. Then working today so am very tired now! Stil it was worth it cos it was a brill night!!
Ellies cold still there. I dont know if im imaging it bit think it might be gone into her chest. 50 bloody euro to bring her to the doc though so dont want to go unless i can be sure cos it could be just that the stuff is all lossening in her pipe and thata what i can hear

mlic our two boys sounds very similar. I needed to use up some ebm last night, Sam hadn't fed for a coupla hours and he took 2oz from the bottle with about 40 mins of trying to get him to drink. He then fell asleep after crying for ages and slept til half 10. He just doesn't feed much/for long but wants it often. I'm off to the doc's today to ask about reflux. I've started [whispers] putting him on his front to sleep and he settles far better. We've got a sensor monitor so I'm not too worried, and if it means he goes to sleep after a feed instead of screaming I'm happy. We're a long way from sleeping through too...after DD everyone said we were due an easy one - HAH!

nixster and tsc you have my respect. I've only been looking after DD and DS for 6 days as a 'single' parent and it's knackering. Lol @ tsc's level of squalor though :) DS sticks to DD's routine, if that means he's screaming downstairs while I put DD in bed so be it. I try to settle him before but he's got no routine at all. During the day he feeds/sleeps when he wants and spends the rest of the time either on my knee or in the Sleepywrap. Thank goodness we're moving next week and getting professional cleaners in, the house has gone to pot since DH started working oop north

tsc keep trying with the bottle and try getting your DP to give it if you can. If he's hungry he'll have to work it out, or you could try either a cup or a syringe. I never had the patience to cup feed a baby but apparently bf babies will drink quite happily by lapping it out.

kkfairy Sam's been really snuffly and I've started propping him up a bit so he's not lying flat. 50 euro for the doc's we're lucky that at this camp we can use the army med centre and it's less than 5 mins walk...going to miss it when we move!

Ow ow OW! I Love my daughter, I do, but God, I wish She'd lay still when I feed her. I swear she's almost pulled my nipple off. it's like breastfeeding the Churchill dog.

needle Dylan is the same, he pulls at my nipple, scratches my boob, even twists the skin in his chubby little hand! Our boobs must be made of tough stuff!

Ive got a friend and her 3 month old son coming round today, hes got a really bad cold apparently but Im going to chance it cos I really want to see them!

Hope everyone has a good day today :)

Hiya ladies, not up to much here today except attempting housework while rileigh catches up with baby tv

mlic i think if it works for you, you go with it. For me it was hard to let dp input in decision making as i was myself for so long but i have to say he is fab at helping out. Also like you say nice comments give you a boost.

chulita let us know how you get on at docs?

kk hope lo gets better soon, rileigh hasnt had the cold yet thankfully but no doubt it will be soon

Well zumba again tonight so rileigh and dp are going to mil's for an hour, ds has footy. I am trying to lose weight as i am worried my diabetes will come back, pity i love my grub so much. I'l have to dig out my scottish slimmers stuff x

The GP gave Sam some Gaviscon to try and said that if it makes no difference they'll try something stronger. It's a bit of a faff with bfing cos you have to either mix it in boiled water or ebm and give it after the feed which is a pita cos once he's finished feeding he's not really bothered with drinking another 20ml from a bottle. Worth a try though if it stops the pain...

stac I'm looking forward to moving and getting into Zumba, there's a class right near our house apparently. (not really looking forward to moving otherwise!)

We use Tommee Tippee closer to nature, S seems to switch between boob/bottle quite happily