June 2013 - thread 6 - will this thread see any early arrivals?

[AlohaMama]

Welcome back all June-ers, just realised we were about to run out of space on the old thread.

Mrs Bri - Is that because you are still providing sympathy blow jobs do you reckon?!

I'm with you Sunbeam

Good idea about getting OH to make you packed lunch Sarah. I remember with my first I was only getting around to breakfast at 12 the first day he went back to work!

Maybe, Sarah, maybe! :-)

Yes, things that can be eaten one handed are a great idea Littlemissexpecting. For both of mine I spent a good couple of months eating over the top of them whilst breastfeeding!

I don't think I'm batch cooking maybe I'm underestimating how hard it might be hubby doesn't cook so if I can't then I guess he'll live off toast and noodles hehe

Sarah I've also been reading Gina Ford. I like her routines (and have found them to work and actually make life easier than you think - you always know when you are going to be feeding and when the baby will sleep), but they aren't going to fit in very well for us - my husband would arrive home most nights just as I was putting the baby to bed, so he would never see it awake in the week. I might do GF + 30 mins or one hour, and drop it back when the baby is bigger. Routines definitely seem to help with colic and sleeping and I like my sleep.

I always batch cook - we are also veggie and I find cooking a big wok of fajita veg or risotto or lentils just as easy as a small one and since I haven't been working, I've been cooking more, so we already have some stocks in the freezer. It also stops the big step son and his GF filling it with cheap chicken and chips from iceland!

I spent most of today at the hospital - I went to the Dr this am and she was a bit worried about my BP and sent me to the maternal assesment unit who were very thorough! They did BP every 10 mins for an hour, monitored the baby for about an hour, referred me to a consultant (because I'm old!) and sent me for a growth scan. It was all ok. The scan was good because it showed that the Dr and 2 midwives were all wrong and the baby isn't actually transverse, it is head down . I think the poor little blighter must have inherited my big bottom! I have to go in to the maternity ward on Sunday to have my bp taken again, but generally it was all very reassuring.

Glad they're taking good care of you cycle.
Routines are great but I've found it tricky with breast feeding - neither of mine would go more than 2hrs between feeds during day . Kept beating myself up that I was doing something wrong but they're both happy & healthy.

I think if you have a baby that suits her routine then great but I've known many people (3 from our NCT) who've ended up very very unhappy as their baby wouldnt fit the schedule so ergo they were doing something wrong! I think her more recent book fits with the need for on demand feeding for six weeks to build supply but fairly sure older copies have a different schedule. Another one to look at which I liked (DD didn't) was the baby whisperer.

Last time DH just cooked sausages. That was it. This time his culinary skills have been greatly improved by him cooking every evening for almost a year during the week! I do bedtime while he cooks. We'll do a mix of batch cook and online shopping lists. What I have done is write a list of meals we like, so DH can pick up ingredients.

Last time I also ate really badly, often nothing but biscuits or cake until dinner. This time I have DD to get food sorted for so I kinda have to be more organised! In fact I have intentions to batch cook more cake for visitors than actual meals.

Has anyone bought a cot mobile for their baby? We didn't last time (hoped to have one as a present) but really wish we had and wondering what others have

I liked baby whisperer too. The problem I had was that with my scientist background I read so many books beforehand and when my babies didn't fit the books I really did feel like I was doing it wrong. Whenever I'd 'revised' for something beforehand I'd always done well at it so it did floor me a bit in the beginning. I'm a bit more relaxed now .

We had a lovely cot mobile last time Red - similar to this but different animals as earlier model. Unfortunately we got rid with the rest of the baby stuff!

www.mothercare.com/Tiny-Love-Classic-Mobile/269456,default,pd.html

Just going through my jojo and gap orders and finding that most is going back . Even though i'm 5ft 8 the linen trousers and maxi skirts are really too long, and i'm not in the mood for shortening!

Noticed earlier that Jojo do those bravado nursing bras mentioned earlier (at least I think they're the same) and you can get 10% off plus free delivery with mumsnet code MM21.

I'm very drawn to the idea of a routine, but find the Baby Whisperer ideas a little more managable, mainly cos it seems more about following structure but not at a fixed time. I think I'm going to take ideas from each and see what happens! I like the idea of the 7-7 day, and I like the idea of trying to settle without sleep associations, that sort of thing. I hate the way people can be very judgmental about routine - how cruel and all the rest of it. Don't we all have to find our own way and what works for us?

Glad everything is OK cycle.

We never had cot mobile. I think we were going for the avoidance of sleep props, and 'cot is for sleeping not playing mentality. Tbh am more relaxed on that now but never felt we needed one either.

As fellow scientist learner I really liked dr weissbluth. Has lots of stats and research in his book to support his theories and is all about working with natural body clocks. He also says you can't form bad habits in first 4 months, which I found helpful as I'd been stressing about not getting into a routine. He suggests a loose schedule but at the beginning just focuses on no more than 2 he's awake at a time, and doing everything to avoid baby getting over tired. Personally it worked for us, though I suspect D's was naturally a good sleeper anyway.

Hmmm might need to go bra shopping. Sleep bra I wear for lounging around the house is disintegrating before my eyes.

That should be 2 hours awake time.

I agree about figurines it out in your own time, but some routines which I've seen advocated for a tiny baby are almost doomed to fail as IMHO they are more suited to a slightly older baby. Knowing when growth spurts and sleep regressions howevee was brilliant, we found the wonder weeks ace as a guide wven though dd had issues.

Re the mobile that looks lovely! Thank you. I want it as a distraction in case I need to put baby in the cot while dealing with toddler. Or even to grab a quick shower while ensuring baby is well out of toddlers reach.

Had forgotten about the wonder weeks - that is brill. Think there might be an iPhone app...

Wonderweeks app doesn't get great reviews but amazon have kindle version of the book for less than £4 - bargain!

We got the book but website gives a reasonable overview, some of the quotes can be a bit but the gist is really reassuring when baby is grumpy!

We have a mobile too from mamas and papas its the once upon a time one
Decorating finished today and was definitely the best idea I ever had having a mural done its beautiful! I just want to spend every day in there

Recommendations for routine books is fab as I've never heard of any

cycle - we sort of used Gina Ford for DS, the important bit is to not just read the routines, but the chapters round them so you understand why she's saying to structure the routines in that way, so you can adapt it to your DC, while she tells you not to adapt them, real world gets in the way.

however this DC will have to fit into DS's routine! I have to have DS to nursery by 8am, so this baby will have to be up, fed, dressed and in the pram for 7:40am etc.

Dontmind That has always been my problem with GF -it's harder to fit in with other children, if they have other things going on. I did use the baby and toddler book of hers at one place which worked for them. I agree about reading around. You do have to do what works for your family. I've always found routines easiest - especially with bigger families, otherwise you can end up with everyone being hungry/tired and grumpy and that doesn't make for a happy day!

I like the Baby Whisperer FWIW - there's a bit in her original book which describes the different types of cry a baby does, I remember being amazed with DD that it was right :o she really did do a little cough before crying if she was hungry, the mantra type cry if she was tired, etc. Also having a rhythm to the day worked really well for me, it meant I knew what I was meant to be doing next IYSWIM. Not so bothered about that now, but definitely helped at the start.

Cycle glad to hear they're monitoring you. I'm sure it'll be fine but its nice to feel like someone's keeping a professional eye on things isn't it?

I had some flashing light type things in front of eyes at lunchtime today which was scary. Am going to see if it happens again and ring midwife if it does. I just don't have much faith in her tbh.

We didn't use any sort of routine for DS but kept reading things later on and thinking 'oo that would have been a good idea' so should maybe look into it now.

Dontmind and others who have nursery/school age little ones, I take my hat off to you. I'm pretty relieved that I'll have a little bit of time to get used to having 2 before DS starts school and I have to actually be somewhere by a specific time in the morning!!!

There is some really intelligent smart discussions going on here. Does make me wonder if i should pick up a book rather than sticking my fingers in my ears and shouting 'la la la la la la la la la la la' whenever i think about what happens next.

Morning!

We were recommended The Baby Whisperer by a friend with 2 kids. She read nothing for her first and he didn't sleep through till over a year old, used TBW for her second and he was sleeping through by 3 months!

From my research, any book that suggests routine and schedule, however loose, tends not to be supported by the hardcore breast feeding proponents, but then full-on demand feeding doesn't allow for much....

Whilst not really making any firm decisions till NewHuman gets here and we see what kind of baby we get (and assuming all bets are off for the first 2-3 weeks whilst we all get to know one another), the best thing I've come across in terms of advice, backed up by many friends in real life, is to not feed your baby to sleep. It's in TBW, too. So we have decided to take that advice, as self-settling skills from as early on as possible seem to benefit everyone.

Last NCT today - mammoth 4.5 hours. Gawd. Got to go walk the dog first. And coffee. Need coffee.

Have an aces day, all!

rue at least three people had recommended that part of The Baby Whisperer to me and I was a bit ... Interested that you think the crying 'translations' actually work!

Oh - and a friend told me that she found it really useful, for the first couple of weeks, to keep track of feeds, times, sleeps, nappies - helped her get to understand her baby's rhythm really quickly...