January 2014 Thread 17 - and the final babies will be here any day now!

[Frizz1986]

Thought i would start up the last thread before we move over to postnatal thread.

Merry at first we put Sylvie in the silver cross pram in the living room to sleep as it's huge, but now I put her in her rocking chair thing and she will sleep in that. She's awake most of the time now she's 10 weeks though, and spends a lot of the time sat upright in the corner of the sofa as she loves being upright! We had the same problem with day and night and she just sort of learnt on her own and suddenly started sleeping at night. I can't remember how many week she was though. Maybe 5/6 weeks? The HV suggested keeping lights and sound low etc, but I find she sleeps through anything if she's tired so it doesn't make much of a difference here.

merry at 4 weeks I used to put DD in her basket if she was sleeping in the evenings and I would just have it in whichever room we were in. Didn't used to turn the lights or tv or radio down though as she's always slept better with noise and light (we still sleep with the bedside light on unfortunately as when she's asleep I'm too scared that turning it off will wake her!!) having siad that, often when she was very little i couldn't resist picking her up and letting her sleep in my arms while watching tv and I don't think it did any harm. Now she's 9 weeks and for the last week or so I have put her in the bednest in our room if she falls asleep anytime after 7pm and that's as close to anything routine like that we're doing. Also I have started to use sleeping bags so its easier to put her back into the crib after each feed as it's not all cold. With regard to wind and bf we had this too. We started using infacol around 4-5 weeks which seemed to help and biological nurturing is good but not very practical when out and about!! Also making sure she gets the hind milk seems to help. Have recently tried gripe water a couple of times but she hates it. Anyway sorry for the stupidly long post!!

Does abyone else worry about the neighbours? We can hear our upstairs neighbours even walking around their flat and they have a teenage child right above the room DD and I are in. I find it easily the most stressful thing about the nights when she's screaming, but I can't do anything about it. Maybe they will install some soundproofing!

Spged I worry too! We live in a back to back terrace so have neighbours on each side and one at the back too. Although the ones at the back have a screaming toddler, left side are drug dealers and right side constantly have screaming domestics so don't think I have much to worry about now I think about it!

angel yes, sponge freezes well, and Madeira sponge v well (easier to decorate). toby is right about defrosting though, make sure cake is 'dry' before decorating.

book hugs. Just massive hugs, that's all. And a kick for your DH.

sleeping (I already forgot who said what ), we don't dim lights or turn down tv, but it is harder to get her down unless I take her somewhere quieter/darker. When asleep she goes in the pram carrycot (too cheap to buy a Moses as well) and I put on the Snooze shade which keeps it dark! and the hood of the carrycot seems to keep the noise to an acceptable level. I don't want to end up creeping around her nap times, but it's hard when she won't sleep if it's too bright!

wind and bf we only now get burps after bf. I think she just eats faster now who knew she could get even greedier and I second Infacol. Amazing stuff. Gripe water can be diluted in boiled water, acc to my MIL, which may make it more palatable.

I had a lush day. MIL came to babysit, I went for a massage and pedicure. My back was caving under the weight of GigantaBaby (5.4 kg today at 6 weeks) so I was incredibly grateful. She's such a doting grannie! Was lovely to see them together.
Then had my first solo evening, DH went for a drink with friends. Inevitably he had too many, then wanted to hold her when he got back. I was not chuffed with this plan. We resolved that as usual I am right two pints is the baby holding-and-walking-around maximum particularly as he never looks where he's going when sober and has tripped over her bouncy chair about a gazillion times. That's fair, isn't it? Or am I being PFB?

Ugh...I'm all full of cold here which hasn't helped with the tiredness. Hoping its in its way out now.
Have been reading the 'Baby Whisperer' and trying to sort out Lara and get some kind of sleep at night!! Have also been reading up on sleep and babies.
A few things I've been doing which may be helping (or it may be that she is feeling better from her cold..who knows)

1. darker for naps and at night - no lamp on any more.
2. she's sleeping in the basket or cocoon but next to our bed (she was in the cocoon in the bed). SH no longer has to sleep top to tail.
3. put her down after her bath at 7 in our room - no longer goes downstairs with DH whilst I sleep.

She's still not going much longer than 3-4 hours between feeds at night, but we are making progress I feel. DS is at CM today so I'm hoping to get a few naps in so I can start feeling human again. Need to shift this cold ASAP!!

In awe at all the cooking going on! You lot are amazing!
Might make a lemon loaf tomorrow but might choose sleep instead.

toby you've reminded me I need to book 8 week jabs. Was told if be sent an appointment but haven't! It's next week too. Hope they have spaces.

mythree sounds like a busy week. Good luck writing the proposal.

mrsv I definitely don't miss being pregnant! Prefer having my body back and being able to bed and pick things up properly! Also like sleeping on my back again.

merry we have a Moses basket and a cocoonababy. For past 2 nights we're putting her to bed in our room now. I also put her down for naps now upstairs as it's far quieter than downstairs with a loud toddler.

Hope you feel better soon, pidgy.

Glad you had a nice day, humpty. :o @ imposing a 2-drink maximum for baby-holding!

I'm sooooo tired! Meredith went to bed slightly earlier last night, so woke for a feed at midnight. Then her usual 2am feed. Then my alarm went off at 4am so that I could feed her before driving DS to school for his 5am trip. Got back into bed for an hour when I got back but I think that was an error. Then took DH to the station.

MIL is coming over this afternoon and we're going to baby group this morning, so no chance of going back to bed now. I really ought to get the hoover out so that MIL doesn't judge me, but Meredith is asleep.

Thanks for all the responses, we actually had a pretty good night sleep wise. He fed at 10pm and was wide awake, played for a while then sat with him and read a book which made him dozy so took him to bed. Took a while to get him to sleep but he didn't wake until 4am, then again just before 8am. Regarding the neighbours I also worry, but like Felix mine are really noisy at night so serves them right!

I'm taking Henry into the city today to show him around work and have lunch. Would I be better with the sling or pram? It'll mean a bus and train and maybe tube (London bridge to canary wharf so I'm hoping step free?). He's so heavy and will be out a while wirh quite a bit of walking but I'm worried about pram on transport?

MrsV I'd use the sling but I'm an anxious mess when it comes to public transport anyway! You may be ok with the pram depending on what time it is. Unless public transport never really quietens down in London!!

pidgy sick over here too. It's crap. Just me and DS1 though.

Not really bothered about noise, we live next to a house that's used as a holiday home for tourists so rarely occupied and if it is people tend to be noisy and deserve it.

Re sleeping arrangements I have a Moses basket downstairs and a crib upstairs. Though this might change soon, Cals already hulking out of it but DS1 isn't ready to give up his cot bed yet. Is anyone using a cot? I've seen a lovely cot bed in ikea. I think it's the stuva one.

Managed to make pancakes today, I say 'make' I bought pre made white choc one's I heated up for DS and DP. I'm egg allergic so I can't have any but didn't want everyone else to miss out.

mouse Henry is in a Moses basket during the day for naps, but a cot at night. We got the kiddicare space saving cot, it's brilliant

So after popping to tescos with the sling this morning my back was already aching so I've taken the pram but bought the sling incase there's big steps ( I'm worried about tipping it up too much and him falling out after tackling huge steps like an idiot before. I didn't realise the pram was so big but bus has been fine so far as quite empty. No Oyster card on my Oyster card holder so hope that's our bad luck pver

What kind of sling is it MrsV?

Thanks frying will look into that one. This is the stuva cot bed that I was thinking of. DS has a lovely mamas and papas one that was passed onto us by a friend.

Phew, DS1 insisted on going out (wish he would rest) so DP has taken him to grandparents. I wish I had that much get up and go when I'm ill. And have managed to get Cal down for a nap so I think a cup of tea and many some biscuits are in order.

enormouse it's a baby bjorn original which was a gift from dhs friend so feel a bit ungrateful if I look at others. Was planning on going to a sling meet and trying them out but can't really do that now. He's such a chunk which doesn't help

enormouse I like that cot bed. The storage would be handy :)

Hi MrsV - have you thought about trying a rental sling from a sling library? Most seem to have ones to hire thru the post. Fair enough you don't get the personal fitting/tips/hints of a face to face sling meet but its maybe a half way house. I'm planning on renting a couple of soft carriers to try as Hugh is getting fairly sturdy and there are no sling meets locally
Have just realised I've bought another nursing bra thats too small :(

MrsV that's what I thought too. (Turns into own mother)

Babybjorns don't seem to be very well regarded on here. I have an ergo (as do loads of people on the thread) which I find very comfy. Though the back strap was a bit fiddly at first. It's more like a babybjorn with straps and buckles. Dp likes it for this reason - a bit more manly.

Also have a moby wrap which Cal loves. Always seems to fall asleep in it and I tend to wear it round the house. That's comfy too and there's always quite a few for sale second hand.

Enormouse I like that cot bed. We went to ikea to look at the Hensvik ones but I didn't like them in the flesh I really liked the one you posted but DP wasn't keen so we didn't get it. I've been looking everywhere for some solid wood nursery furniture but everything seems to be that fake wood. Even the ones I liked in Mamas and Papas which were really expensive! We are putting off buying the nursery furniture for as long as possible... My ultimate furniture would be some old 1970's stuff with cute lamb picture transfers on them I keep looking on eBay but they are always for collection miles and miles away.

Enormouse is there some sort if knack to doing up the back buckle on the ergo? I really want to use ours but I can't reach the clip at the back on my own. Damn my short arms

I do the strap at the back up before I put the arm/shoulder ones on and keep those as loose as poss.
So I'd do the back strap, place baby where he's supposed to be and then put up one shoulder at a time. Then tighten those. It's still a faff but I don't have to get someone to do me up.
(Short arms here too ).

felix ours is mamas and papas but I think it's fake wood too

puggle I don't want to be ungrateful so have to stick with the bjorn unfortunately. On the plus side its very easy to put on and Henry is very happy in it so think ill just have to strengthen up my back

Trip to city went well even though I timed it awfully and had to get bus and train back in rush hour. Pram wasn't as much of an inconvenient as I was expecting

We haven't even thought about nursery furniture, Leah will still fit in her moses basket for a while though.

She's been really good for the last 24 hours, it's worried me! I think nhs 111 will laugh at me if I ring up because my daughter's being well behaved...

I have a screaming baby tonight! No idea what's wrong with her after saying the other day that I was good at working out what was up properly jinxed myself there.

Just had a call from my sister saying the glass panel thing from the side of the bath fell off and sliced off the end of my 3 year old nieces finger she's got to have plastic surgery tomorrow to see if they can reattach it but there's a big chance her body will reject it and she will lose it permanently, poor girl. I feel so awful for my sister, she's really worried about her losing it and getting bullied at school. I have tried reassuring her but I don't really know what to say. It's awful. She said my niece said 'it's ok daddy, I've got another finger' She apparently stopped crying by the time they got to A&E and now she's at home playing on her DS happy as Larry.

mrsv I have a babybjorn too - I wasn't keen initially but I read the instructions last week and realised I wasn't adjusting it correctly to move weight from shoulders to waistband. You're probably more sensible than me but its worth a fiddle if you haven't. I just assumed it was like a rucksack.
I'll probably be dashed for saying it but its more comfy after 2 hrs than my moby - and the hip stuff is bad science. (hiding now)
Saying that, I am fancying a back carrier for the future....