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Connect with mums-to-be with similar due dates to share experiences and support.

Due April 2008 - the food porn thread for expanding waistlines!

949 replies

SantasGotABigFatEllieG · 10/12/2007 16:28

Hello

OP posts:
DennytwasNewYear · 13/12/2007 09:24

Sheds - sorry contented little baby is Gina Ford and northfeast so right my DD did not want to sleep at all, she also came out without the manual, she was kind of forced into the routines v reluctantly as i was loosing my sanity after 4 months with her fairly constant screaming. Def not for everyone though as did take 2-3 weeks of leaving her and ignoring the sreams which not everyone can do. (DS is completely diff child and needed v little guidance into the routine just kind of did it himself)

SantasNotSoLittleHelper · 13/12/2007 09:56

Morning all - wow, what a lot of posts! I was very lucky with DS1 he just ate, slept, ate slept then started sleeping through the night from about 12 weeks. I´m also blessed with a fantastic DH who did practically every single night feed.

SantasNotSoLittleHelper · 13/12/2007 09:56

Morning all - wow, what a lot of posts! I was very lucky with DS1 he just ate, slept, ate slept then started sleeping through the night from about 12 weeks. I´m also blessed with a fantastic DH who did practically every single night feed.

SantasNotSoLittleHelper · 13/12/2007 09:57

Sorry about that double post! Anyway whoever said babies snore - most definitely. DS had to be moved to his own room cos I couldn´t cope with DH & DS snoring all night Was awake at 4.45am as Sam is obviously training to be an Olympic gymnast I feel like I haven´t slept!

SantasNotSoLittleHelper · 13/12/2007 09:58

Remind me who it was that was saying she couldn´t feel her baby move & really wish she could ..... oh yeah, that was me

Sheds75 · 13/12/2007 10:18

I know what you mean about lack of sleep but only a short day for me today due to MW apt this afternoon. possibly followed by a pastie from Greggs as a treat

ScamparumpapumpMum · 13/12/2007 10:31

I had a very 'difficult' baby (colic/reflux, constant crying pretty much) and abandoned all the books (never fancied GF but probably would have given it a go in desperation...).

In the end speaking to a friend who said she knew a baby like mine who was only happy in the sling helped me no end - I just had her in the sling all the time except when she was feeding, then quite quickly she put herself into an eat/activity/sleep routine and was much happier after feeds so didn't cry until she was tired, at which point I would put her in the sling. Only probs are it's hard to sleep yourself or load/unload dishwasher/washing machine or (crucially) get food out of fridge with a baby on your front! DD slept through from 4 months from about 9-6/7 - she was bf and struggled with putting on weight, so took until she was weaned to go 12 hours without a feed) prior to that had phases of being OK and phases of being up for hours screaming after feeds due to digestive discomfort.

I think the main thing for me was that I hadn't anticipated how little time I would have. If someone had told me before I had her that fairly often I wouldn't have time to have a shower/clean my teeth I would have wondered what it was about looking after her that was going to take so much time. I realised I had to flip that conceptually and realise that for me to be doing something else the baby would have to be sleeping, and this was something she didn't do until we'd established the sling routine.

I would say that sleeping when the baby sleeps is harder than you think. Last time I found it hard because a) I was anal about having a tidy flat (o! how times have changed - you should see how I left our kitchen today ) and b) (which I only rationalised recently) you kind of want some time where you can be you again - much as you worship your new little person it's a big change going from an independent entity to someone who is entirely defined by their relationship with their new baby.
There's also c) when they have gone to bed at night you are torn between sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep beautiful sleeeeeeeeeep and actually spending some time being just you and DH again - the other thing I wasn't ready for was someone else being in our relationship. Sounds weird and it didn't impact my feelings for her at all, but it was SO much odder than I thought it would be having someone else in the flat.

Does that make sense to anyone?

So glad you guys couldn't cope with the snoring either! We managed about a month with DD (known as Truffle Pig at that point) in our room. Moving her (from moses basket on floor, never co-slept) didn't stop me being OBSESSED with the idea that she was somewhere in our bed and I was either going to lose her or squash her - literally every night until she was about 1 I would at some point find myself gently/frantically patting over/searching under the duvet for her. Mental.

SantasNotSoLittleHelper · 13/12/2007 10:52

Scamp - makes perfect sense to me. It was very weird having to share DH with DS & vice versa. I sometimes used to think "when was the last time DH & I had a conversation?" Love them both HUGELY though & that´s never changed

SantasNotSoLittleHelper · 13/12/2007 10:54

Talking of DH, he´s a little sore after his dentist's appointment but is practically cured of his dentist phobia as he now thinks his dentist is a god More teeth out on Monday though. He's taking today off but will be in tomorrow - mad - he´s entitled to at least 2 days off.

northfeastmummy · 13/12/2007 11:31

Yes, yes, yes Scamp - that captures how it was for me too, pretty much exactly! Except for my DD the vibrating bouncy chair was the answer so in a lot of ways it wasn't as tieing as the sling ... or wouldn't have been except I had to manually bounce it most of the time.

ScamparumpapumpMum · 13/12/2007 11:41

Prior to the sling discovery it was holding her and bouncing on the birthing/exercise ball. For HOURS on end. Led to a quite a strange figure, I can tell you - thighs like Arnie's and a belly like jelly! I shudder when I see one of those damn things now.

Glad DH is cured of his dentist phobia, Soph - great news! If only this God were above material longings and therefore free, eh?

SantasNotSoLittleHelper · 13/12/2007 12:04

Scamp - tell me about it! I'm just trying not to think about it too often. What the heck, it´s only money hey?

Sheds75 · 13/12/2007 12:17

can anyone tell me what day the list of things to buy was discussed, would like to read all about it but can't seem to find it

SantasNotSoLittleHelper · 13/12/2007 12:18

Sheds - yesterday. Go back a couple of pages you should find it.

TinyTimLivesinVictorianSqualor · 13/12/2007 12:32

Also WRT sleeping when baby sleeps, you often really don't dare, just incase as soon as you nod off they wake up again, then by the time you know they're in a deep enough sleep for you to try, it's pointless anyway cos it will only be for about ten more minutes!

I'm quite annoyed today, went to watch DD's nativity play thingy this morning, which was great, but popped into woolies afterwards to pick up a DVD for DP as his nan has given us some vouchers. The queue was huge but I wasn't too bothered, except for feeling quite faint, got to the till and guess what 'we havnet got any of those dvd's in stock'

Why the heck were they out on the shelf then?????

SantasGotABigFatEllieG · 13/12/2007 12:49

Loads and loads of useful advice today!

I have been too busy to post! Not good. Been dealing with a poor little girl whose mummy hits her lots and scares her. Made my heart break when she said how she rolls up into a little ball so her MUm can only hit her on the back as it hurts less that way. She's only 8. Makes me

OP posts:
TinyTimLivesinVictorianSqualor · 13/12/2007 12:53

Oh God Ellie, I know what it's like to be that little girl
Thank God there's someone to help her though, social services were over a barrel when someone reported my stepdad, I darent speak in front of him or my mum and they werent allowed to interview me alone.
At least peopel know now so they can help her. Send her to me, I'll look after her!!

dolly1 · 13/12/2007 13:21

Thanks so much for all the useful advice. Really helps. One - prob stupid - question is how do you know when they can sleep through? Is it just that they don't wake up crying? And what weight can you try that from?
I'm reading the baby whisperer and it seems like a good rough plan. Just full of stuff I didn't realise.

Ellie that's terrible. Poor wee soul. How anyone can do that to a child is beyond me. When you think of how much we care about these babies who aren't even here yet, it makes it all the sadder when you realise there are lots of children out there who will never feel that love from their parents. Just aweful.

SantasNotSoLittleHelper · 13/12/2007 13:21

TTLVS - how annoying. Even more so when they won´t give you one that´s on the shelf
EllieG - poor little thing Don´t envy you your job when you have to deal with things like that. She can come and live with us.

santagitta · 13/12/2007 13:23

Oh Ellie, how sad.

Dolly, I started to write down what a day was like at the beginning, as I was trying to see if there was any sort of routine. It went something like this:
7.00am dd awake, feed
8.15 dd scream.
8.45 dd sleep
9.30 dd feed
10.30 scream, awake
12.30 feed
1.15pm sleep
3.00 feed/ scream/ awake
5 sleep
5.30 awake
7.30 bath
8.00 feed
9.00 sleep
12.00am scream/feed
1.00 sleep
4.30 feed

and so on. Scampmum's analysis was perfect - it was like that for us too. I started working from home when DD was two weeks, and was a bloody wreck. Gave up again at one month. We used (more or less - not quite the same timings) Gina Ford, and it worked a treat. I found the beginning awful - I just didn't know which way was up for a few weeks. But nothing was as bad as the first night . Every day gets better.

SantasNotSoLittleHelper · 13/12/2007 13:24

Dolly - ime you don´t know when they can sleep through they just do! At least that´s what DS did. I woke up one morning in a complete state thinking "OMG I didn´t wake to give DS his night feed" rushed into his room at 7am & he was still fast asleep. It was a magical moment

santagitta · 13/12/2007 13:26

You know they can sleep through when they don't wake up for a feed. I was really, really lucky and DD slept through from about 7 weeks. Once she'd done it once, I never let her feed at night again (I'm a mean mummy...)It was really once I realised she wasn't going to die of hunger if she didn't have food every three or so hours...what a revelation!

SantasNotSoLittleHelper · 13/12/2007 13:27

It's DS Christmas concert at 2.30pm. They´re doing Babushka & he´s a Russian villager (may have told you all this already so sorry!) He´s got a speaking part - well, he has to say "Let's dance" so it´s a start

scorpio1 · 13/12/2007 13:28

Horrible isn't it Ellie. Hope you ok.

im having a day off from being a mum today, dcs at school/nursery. just sorting out last xmas bits , but my friend is babysitting Jamie.

i got new bras today - i am a 34b (yes i can hear you all pysl)

lunch today was salad philly and avocado sarnie (brown bread)

dinner will be meatballs (homemade) and tomato/pasta sauce.

Everyone ok? me and dp normal now, he is being very loving and yesterday i didnt really lift a finger.

scorpio1 · 13/12/2007 13:28

ds1 didnt sleep through until he was 2.

ds2 slept through at 5 weeks - 1130 - 0630 is good enough for me!

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