Graduated Elderberries. Thread 9

[Cavort]

The over 30's expecting or just had their first baby.

Welcome to the AF while BFing club Lol It's a crappy club to be in.

Same here Purple, E is not fussy at all when it comes to food and happily eats everything put in front of her, but try to give a bottle of formula and her mouth stays clamped shut. She still takes a bottle of breast milk though. Tried a sippy cup and still refuses. I have started making her morning porridge with formula in the hope that she might get a taste for it but not worked so far.

I was told to mix breast milk with formula to help adjust him to the taste of formula, we never really needed to as he will take breast milk or formula without complaint. The doctor said to mix an ounce of formula in a 6 ounce bottle and then gradually increase the amount of formula and decrease the breast milk. Might be worth a try though if they aren't wanting to take formula.

She won't take breast milk from a bottle either though I haven't tried that in the sippy cup. I've got a different brand of formula to try then I think I'll give up. She's very... Spirited so I don't think she'll be persuaded to do anything she doesn't want to.

purple like the use of 'spirited', H is bloody stubborn. I always say he takes after Bruces grandpa who was a right stubborn sod.

Sophia was ok with a bottle the one time I tried it, but she won't take a dummy at all - tried it when she was upset one evening and then tried it again when she was calmer today, she just looked at me as if to say "that wasn't milk, don't try that again".

Happy New Years everyone. We didn't go to the party in the end so we're at home on the sofa and I'm glad! Don't have the energy this year! Really laughing as S is asleep on me and I forgot my boob was out until DH said "what's going on...babe you're spraying me!" My boob had gone crazy and his arm's soaked!

Happy New Year everyone

Haha alex thats an awesome start to 2014 for your OH. We stayed in too and it was nice.

H will rarely take a dummy, he'll only take it for comfort, not if he is hungry. Sometimes he is tired, but fussy and wont settle, then he will take a dummy. Tbh I've only got him to take it about 5 or 6 times, on the plus side when he does take one he will take different brands of dummy so I know he doesnt have an issue with a certain brand he just isnt that into dummies.

Haha Alex. Great start for your dh!
Over here we went to the beach to see the fireworks and L was gobsmacked by them! I had her in head phones which were a god send as it was all too noisy, and also in a sling on me. It was lovely. She went to bed at 1:30 and has only just woken up (it's 7 here) but still a pretty good night!
Here's to an exciting year to all of us and our babies. Lots to look forward to!!!

Sounds like you had a great New Year Lol

E will only take a dummy if she's really tired and generally spits it out once she's asleep. The dummy is a godsend in terms of getting her to sleep though - as soon as she starts sucking it you can see her eyes getting heavy. I also quickly switch nipple for dummy if she is feeding and getting sleepy as I didn't want her to become reliant on feeding to sleep.

We ended up going to a small family party at my Dad's last night, so we put E down about 8.30 in a spare bedroom and she slept until we woke her to take her home about 12.30, even slept through all the New Year fireworks, but we struggled to get her back to sleep once we got home so she ended up staying up until 02.30 but then slept until 09.00 so quite good really considering the disruption.

Happy New Year to you all and lets hope this is the year we all eventually get a baby who sleeps through the night!

I can't imagine it cavort... Does such a thing even exist?!

Happy new year all, from preggers berries to new mums and those of us with six month olds, it's going to be an exciting year all round.

L went to bed at 12:30 and didn't wake for a feed until 7. Then slept again until 8:30 and was up for an hour. Then slept until 1130 so we had a lovely new year day lie in - and she is asleep again.
Here's to lots of sleeping in 2014!
Over here the arrival of AF has prompted two people asking if that means I'm trying for number 2. Seriously!!!

Great sleep lol - between that and your holiday I'm very ! Sophia was awake and crying/feeding from 1am to around 3/4am so we didn't get much sleep after New Years and we've both been feeling it a bit today! We all got a bit stressed trying to work out the ergo baby carrier while she was crying this evening so we took her for a walk around the block in her pram to relax and cool off. The carrier isn't complicated but it's amazing how a screaming baby can make things feel more challenging and put the pressure on! She's just been curled up asleep on me which is lovely although she's kicking off a bit now I've put her down whilst having some food.

Those with babies - what works well for your babies to amuse them and settle them? We have some gear already (play mat/jumparoo that janey recommended) but wondering what other must-haves would be good to get. Maybe a vibrating bouncy chair? (We have a hand me down bouncy chair but it doesn't vibrate)

Alex we have this activity bar which she absolutely loves. It attaches to the car seat and pushchair and stops her from getting bored. We have this bouncy seat which she loves and has napped in since birth and still naps in now, even though she is getting a bit big for it. When she's awake in it we hang her own toys off the canopy to keep her entertained.

Eek Sophia's been crying for an hour and a half, her little body keeps going hard and legs kicked out straight, she won't be comforted. Been googling wind/colic/normal crying for the millionth time! Can anyone remember what their evenings/crying spells were like at 3/4 weeks? DH has just taken her downstairs and it's gone quiet so she's either stopped (woop!) or he's gone for another walk.

alex our vibrating bouncy chair is a life saver, he will settle and sleep in their if nowhere else. Have put him in it at night when he just wouldnt settle elsewhere.

So sorry she is/you are having a tough time and S is in pain. Hope it is quiet because she has settled. Harvey gets a bit like that with bad wind but Sophia's sounds terrible. Hope she settles soon and you have a good night.

H has a cough and cold, it is awful seeing him poorly!! The snot sucker is coming into its own though as is the saline nasal spray! Calpol is helping too. Booking a docs appointment in the morning as he is quite weezy with it. Poor little guy. Just hope he manages to get some sleep tonight so his poorly body can heal.

This is our bouncy chair, we dont even use the toy bar at the moment, the vibration is enough to settle him.

Happy New Year berries of the world!

Very un rock n roll here - we had our now traditional finger food buffet feast with a glass of pink fizz and in bed by 1030 only for H to wake up at 1130!

Desperately trying to get him to sleep earlier this week. We had an 830 on Saturday night but that proved to be a false dawn but we're averaging about 945 so that is still an improvement.

We're also playing with some first solids - I know it's early but he's now sitting independently at times and we're literally wrestling our food off him.

Tried him with some pureed carrot earlier - after a couple of gags until we reblended it he was reaching out to pull our hand (and spoon) into his mouth. Fascinating to watch and amazing how keen he was to eat.

Will try a couple of mouthfuls tomorrow, too. It feels good doing it with no pressure - ie offer a bit, leave it if he's not keen/bothered. Trying not to feel guilty that he's only 23 weeks...

gaaaaahhh so I have a horrible night, V just wriggling and complaining and wanting to feed all the effing time. I get up early and am at the moment at my desk, as I'm supposed to have a conf call with a lawyer in Singapore and she can't do any other time - I usually only start 9ish. And of course the stupid cow is late and her assistant asks if we can have the call in 45 minutes
I could have slept for 45 minutes! Well, she's not going to get what she wanted now. Ha.

alex Amby baby hammock worked very well for us, if V was a bit grumpy then we'd put him there and bounce it a bit, and he always fell asleep.
Ergo is a good carrier, but have you also tried a stretcy sling like moby, can keep her closer.

A friend lent me the tri cotti sling/carrier and its fab, can be used many different ways, it is super cosy and is guaranteed to make him fall asleep. I'll find a link and upload it.

Sorry V didnt sleep and that your client is being a pain!! I maybe got 3 or 4 hours sleep as H's cold sounded so bad, he is asleep on me now but I'm not in a position where I can sleep....massive fail

[[http://www.novanatural.com/media/pdf/assembly/3961_instr.pdf
This]] is the instruction manual for the tri-cotti slings.

www.novanatural.com/media/pdf/assembly/3961_instr.pdf
This is the instruction manual for the slings. failed with the link on the other one doh.

The ergo is so easy once you've mastered it - on and off in seconds. Start off fastening around your hips, and leave it dangling down so you have both your hands free. Put S in the infant carrier and hold her to your chest, then pull the straps over your shoulders one at a time and fasten behind you. Try a couple of times without S in it maybe?

Thanks, I managed to work the ergo no probs when she wasn't in it and screaming in my face Only thing is, janey do you find it gets them hot when wearing it around the house? Only as she seemed to be getting sweaty but that could be because she'd got worked up and the heating was on full blast. I did think about getting a sling like the one you recommended as well hazle but the ergo is quite pricey so I'd rather use that around the house if I can. Also, do I wear it under or over my outdoor coat?

Thanks for saying vibrating chair mother as we already have a bouncy chair but I wanted to justify buying a vibrating one!

DH did manage to get her asleep last night so I had 3 hours followed by an hour of feeding/crying and then 3 hours sleep again. Sorry about H's cold mother Am dreading the first cold, it's tough enough without throwing that into the mix! Today we're going for a walk in the forest with the ergo and then pub lunch so that should be nice. Am really trying not to wish away the next 9 weeks until colicky/wind issues allegedly get better!

How frustrating Hazle, I hope your day gets better.

Alex that chair we have is vibrating rather than bouncy, and it plays lullabies. E has had 2 colds so far - both just lasted a day or so and really weren't that bad, hopefully due to the BFing. Your Colic issues might not last another 9 weeks, it might be gone next week you just never know

DH is back at work today and he's buggering off on his annual boys' snowboarding holiday on Saturday. He did ask if I would rather he didn't go this year but it was booked ages ago before E's sleeping all went to shit so I said it was fine. Of course I am now dreading a week on my own in case she doesn't sleep well - FX her sleeping is still currently a little better, but he could be coming home to a very grumpy wife threatening divorce if she doesn't sleep!

I have both sling and ergo and only use ergo now, it certainly is easy once you've got a hang of it. But sling was better when V was tiny. Maybe see if you can borrow a stretcy sling to try?