Graduated Elderberries - Thread 8

[Cavort]

The over 30's expecting/just given birth to their first little bundle of joy.

Thread 8 already!!

Brave how funny! I went to check last years thread and saw you got your bfp on 21st. I then changed my name to a B name as you were the second person with a bfp (no idea who the first one was!) and I got mine on 26th!!!
Yeah tough night as we are both still fighting the cold so when she does sleep I still can't relax due to blocked nose and cough
16 week jabs today and I have to go on my own. Dreading it.
How was everyone else's night?

Mine was quite ok, a few wakings but just a quick feed and back to sleep, and slept happily til my alarm.
It's snowing here, Viki was fascinated by those big flakes falling down. Could just put his babybjörn in front of the window and keep the baby amused for ages.

Same old story here, up for 2 hours 12.30-02.30 and an extra treat of her getting up to feed at 05.30 and then waking up every time I put her down resulting in her sleeping on me until 06.50 and me not being able to go back to bed. We've had this before when she wakes to feed after 5am, whereas if she wakes before 5am she will go back to sleep in the cot. She generally wakes around 4am so not usually a problem but very frustrating when it does happen, especially when I can see she's clearly still tired.

Poor cavort.

I first was woken by Miles at quarter to one this morning. To my surprise though he was already in bed with me. No recollection of putting him there or how long he'd been there
We got into a battle of wills - he wanted to sleep in our bed, I wanted him in his cot - which after much moving, feeding and dozing I finally won at 4.15am. We all then slept until 8am. Heaven.

Have been stricter in forcing him to sleep today and he went down much more easily tonight. Fx he's not too awful tonight.

Cavort - I bloody love the bubbledog on FB, made my evening!!

janey I fell asleep with Harvs in bed with me this morning...first time ever. I didnt sleep deeply but was scary to wake up with him right their.

He slept much much better feeding from the bottle, no half hour battle with wind. I've tried so many positions when feeding him and he always struggles plus I end up soaked in my own milk where he spits it up or dribbles it.....a sexy look. So for the time being a bottle is the way forward in our house. We have a kettle in the room so its easy to warm up.

On a different topic how long should I expect to bleed? Its been 2 weeks and although its quite light its still their!

I feel like he is changing so quickly, he is already more responsive and giving more back each day. Its amazing!

The bleeding can last up to 6 weeks, Mother, although mine was finished after 3 - I then had a short period a week later although I've not had one since.

I've just experienced the most frightening thing. H just started screaming. It started out of nowhere and was simply blood curdling. I sprinted out of bed and was there in 5 seconds. He was just lying in his basket - eyes wide. He stopped just after I got there but it took a few seconds for him to recognise me. He wasn't crying, no tears, but there were a few dry sobs as I picked him up.

A minute later he was completely back to normal.

It was bizarre and terrifying.

He's now had his early morning feed and is falling back to sleep as usual. The only difference is that he has seemed more sleepy than usual tonight - very quick to go down after his 3am feed even though he was not fully asleep.

He seems too young for night terrors. Could be a teething thing or a post jabs thing... but I hope to god it's a one off...

We've had a few episodes of unexplained brief screaming Brave but thankfully not that many. It is bizarre (and a bit scary the first time it happens).

How was your night Janey? I have to admit to a little chuckle over your bed/cot battle of wills. I'm sure we will all look back at this hell situation in years to come and laugh about it. That bubbledog video is so cute, I just couldn't resist it!

Well, Elodie decided not to get up for 2 hours in the night last night ... but woke four times instead. Twice she was hungry but the other two times she just woke for no reason and settled back off as soon as we picked her up. It just baffles the hell out of me how she was sleeping from 7-8pm until 4am before waking for her first (and sometimes only) feed and now she wakes around midnight.

brave when I was in Costas the other day, there was a baby that loved sitting there peacefully and then randomly doing this huge blood curdling scream! I'm saying that just to let you know the baby seemed absolutely fine and just liked screaming now and again (wasn't crying or anything) - although I do really hope this is a total one off for H and doesn't develop into a habit!

mother that's lovely about them getting more responsive. I went to water babies with janey yesterday just to watch Miles and the other babies swimming and see what the class was like, and it was so nice seeing them enjoying it and how responsive they were. made me want to blub a bit at times but held it together as janey's mum was there and I didn't want to seem like a preggers emotional wreck

Oh and no news on baby alex, have had Braxton hicks quite a bit and I ate chilli and pineapple yesterday Am debating trying to subtly get some dtd action going on over the weekend but it might just seem too weird with my big active bump and after the bleed, don't want to freak us both out!

We've had a few screams like that. Once in the middle of the night and DP won't up asking what I had done to the baby

Night was ok-ish thankfully. It's nuts that I now consider four wakes, two of them for feeds, an ok night now. First wake was at 1.45am though - so had a dreamy uninterrupted sleep from 10pm until then. Not great but def better.

Hold on is that his many times Elodie was up? Our babies are def in cahoots.

Every time I get a text from Alex I think she's in labour. I'm turning into one of those really annoying people we all moaned about

How are all the other knocked up berries doing? Hope we're bit terrifying you re lack of sleep!0

janey weirdly I love it when people ask about labour signs/"any news yet", I know most people find that annoying but I just love any excuse to bang on about it DH asked me last night to put bets on the date, I'm going for next Friday.

Harvey may have turned into a noctural devil child. He is a dream during the day, feeds, sleeps, doesnt really cry or fuss. But once we get to midnight it all changes, he wont settle in our room and fights and fights sleep, I've tried feeding, rocking, putting down awake, putting down fast asleep (that doesnt last!!), putting him down in his bouncy vibrating chair, basically everything I can think of. He wont have it. I gave up after an hour and a half last night, mainly as the snoring back of my OH was doing my head in!! Ended up downstairs with him in the spare room at 2am where we co-slept the whole night just to get some peace.
He woke up at 4.30am for a feed and went down again until 8am. Just so frustrating when he wont sleep!!

Plus my OH decided to go out and meet his workmates for breaky and left me slowly going round the bend. Oh and we have his mum and her friend round today they want to take us for lunch but I just want to hibernate. God I'm a grouchy cow today!!!!

We had a good night, just 2 wakings. But even our childminder keeps saying that she has never seen a child like that, he simply does not sleep during the day. Was with the childminder yesterday afternoon, didn't sleep a wink, while her own baby had a 2,5 hour nap.

mother if you don't want to go for lunch then don't. No need to suffer. You have a newborn, whatever you want, goes.

Hazle my friend's baby also doesn't nap at all, but sleeps 13 hours solidly at night (she used to BF but switched to formula and he interestingly stopped all night wakings the same week). Personally I would happily swap with her for my daytime napper!

Mother anything goes with a newborn and there are no such thing as bad habits yet. He is too young to know day from night so he may just not be tired around midnight. Just do whatever you need to at other times in order to get as much rest as you can. Predictability, routines, circadian rhythms, etc. will emerge on their own with time. Elodie has been a sleep fighter since birth. She has got better with age but still likes a small protest/grumble before succumbing to sleep.

Janey yes it certainly sounds like they hatched a plan between them last night. Lets hope they both decide to sleep tonight!

I'm already not sleeping but it is a bit daunting thinking how much worse its going to get before it gets better!

Feeling like I have turned a corner now onto the final stretch (37 wks/full term this weekend). I am getting more uncomfortable now and tired out. Plus waking up with really painful hands - can't bend my fingers cos they are too swollen! It goes away very quickly but an annoying way to wake up. Still I think I have got off lighth given there's no heartburn/varicose veins/haemahhoids/SPD yet touch wood.

Alex we have a sweepstake going too and my aunt has bagged next Fri for me. I would be 2 weeks early but seeing as baby is already 4/5 engaged according to last week's growth scan (had to have another one, all fine, baby is 6.7lb already) I am wondering if I am nearly done and might just pop before due date.

It does happen quod - my neighbour I just had lunch with had hers at 36 weeks and lots of people have mentioned theirs came early! I had a feeling I'd go overdue and think it's more common to go over. I've been quite lucky with late pregnancy symptoms as not suffering at all - it's purely the excitement and also wanting to get the pain over with that's getting to me! Mat leave is great though.

someone make me step away from Gina Ford!

Advice from my very good friend and mother of three lovely children, and a big advocate of Gina Ford: ignore her for the first six weeks, then follow about a quarter of her advice. If you do this she will change your life. If you follow all her advice she will ruin it!

Thanks janey, I can see no way of following her advice demands with Harvey at the moment. It's so robotic and he is far from being a robotic child at the moment. I shall make a note to look again in a month.
Seriously hats off to anyone who manages to follow it from birth!

Each baby is different and you have to do what works for yours. We would all be miserable if I spent the day getting Viki to nap, for example, even if all books tell me he should. Gina does not know Harvey, you do.

Have a look for the Janet and Roy thread in chat. I'm doing it, swapped addresses with someone in rural South Wales. My poor parents, but it's really making me laugh!

Statement from Angelcare re monitors, and link for free wire covers, should you want them here

No idea if last night was a fluke but after Harvey co-slept with me, I started wondering if maybe he was cold. Even under his many many blankets, broke out the grobag last night, which to be honest is a bit big, but he went down at 1.30 and slept through to 6.30 and is only just waking again now. He wriggles in his sleep and I kept having to recover him with blankets before, he cant escape the grobag so guess it kept him warmer. Feel bad thinking he might have been cold.

Also started to keep a note of when he slept/fed/was awake etc so I can compare with what the days were like when we have bad nights. As I'm expressing I can tell exactly how much he's eaten too which is handy.

Fingers crossed I'm starting to get this motherhood thing

I have had an NCT day - girls socialising in one place, boys in the pub, and a producive smash n grab in the local Nearly New sale. DP and I now back home comparing notes!

Janey I can't find this Janet and Roy thread - can you link to it? Is it about Xmas round robins? I love those.

mother Viki sleeps better in those Grosuits that have padded arms, maybe also worth a try.