April Babies

[MrsDoolittle]

Well there had to be one...
Thought I might as well start it at Fennels suggestion.
You have all read enough from me how about you?

Bea - I am flabbergasted - Wow!! I thought I had it down to two, now I am REALLY confused!!

oh dear!!! hope i haven't confused you too much!!! like i said... just go to nappy lady and all will be clear!

hi all, back from a quite successful camping trip, though we did nearly turn round and come straight home when we arrived and it was raining. dd3 enjoyed it, in fact she slept for most of the time, she was easier than at home. and the nights in the van were better than our nights at home, everyone slept well. we are going again next weekend.

It's my dd2 I'm having problems with, she's very demanding at present, more since we had dd3, and she is being really hard work. I am dreaming of 24 hour nurseries but that's a bit mean, til we had the new baby I was really enjoying her.

Mrs D, we use several types of reusable nappies but mainly Motherease, the same nappies are now on our third baby so they've been excellent value. I can't advise on what are the best now as there are many new types since we bought all ours 4 years ago, but the Nappy lady site is very helpful. I'd really recommend reusables though, they're not really very hard to use/wash once you get used to them and you can save loads of money while feeling environmentally smug.

HD - glad the bf is going better. dd3 goes in the sling a lot too, I haven't had a problem with getting the other two out of the habit of being carried lots and co-sleeping when they get a bit bigger, cos they change so much every few weeks anyway.

Thanks Ladies, I am going through the nappy lady. I bought a Motherease and bumble to try. I like both of them, the bumble is particularly cute! They make dd look like a teletubby, but I think I am going to order half motherease and half bumbles. She has only just hit 10lbs!!
I am just beginning to realise there is a whole world of reusable nappies out there!!! If I don't get on with them I'll sell them and get different ones.
Glad that you had a good weekend Fennel!!
Dd is being really demanding at the moment - and she can really goooo oooon! Boy has she got lungs! She usually grinds me down. I feel like you HD - Am I setting myself up for problems later on? But I shall take Fennels advice and try not too worry too much as she keeps changing all the time.

Fennel - I'm so impressed that you're managing with 3 children - I'm finding it hard enough juggling 2..! ds1 is being quite good really - but he's definitely jealous of ds2 when I'm feeding him. He's started to try to climb onto the breastfeeding pillow (I've got one of those v shaped ones) when I'm feeding ds2, and either demand milk himself (quite hard explaining to him that I didn't feed him, dp did..!), or tells me to stop feeding ds2. Bless him - but he doesn't throw tantrums or anything, and has started to kiss ds2 goodnight and give him the occasional hug, so there's hope on the horizon for a happy family...!

Sooooooo tired today - went to see some friends and went on a short walk - probably a couple of miles - but I'm knackered...combination of interrupted sleep and generally being unfit is not good...

thankyou everyone for your kind words and support , no , the split was not a suprise , but my nan was !
ds is only wakeing once at 3am now , but this is due to bottle. bf was just not doing it 13lb at 6 wks !
when i am getting more sleep i think i will atempt to be slower to run to him , let the battle of wills comence !!
am v interested in the nappy lady thing , please let me know how it works out , keep havin visions of the nappy mountain i am helping to create and the image ( and smell ) is not a nice one !

dolbear - be careful with this nappy thing! I am discovering how addictive it is. I have just spent £140 this morning on a variety of nappies because I couldn't choose. I believe it is a good investment though.
Disposables just aren't as cute as the soft terry nappies.
Fennel - I am following the advice and looking for fleece in a material shop. Having said that, apart form the Motherease the nappies are all fleec lined.
dolbear - go and have a look at the nappy threads, they make very interesting reading.
I have used the nappylady which has been really good.

oooo! Sorry to butt in as not an april baby mum (february baby though!) Mrs D what nappies did you get? and can completely understand how you managed to spend that much!!!

Hi all (bea too).
MrsD - well done re ordering the nappies! Feel a bit ashamed as I feel I should be a reusable nappy user, IYKWIM (mind you, if there's so many to choose from, I'd never make up my mind - I tend to get paralysed by too much choice...).
Fennel - thanks for reassurance re carrying/co-sleeping. Can I ask how long you co-slept with your first two dds? Did you decide to move them into their own cot (or whatever) because you wanted things to change, or did you wait until they seemed ready? I am happy co-sleeping at the moment as it's working for all of us (she settles, we sleep), but there will come a time when we will want to reclaim the bed I think.
DS lay under the baby gym today (he's 4 and a half!) and also tried to get me to stop feeding. He's doing ok though (like your ds, dot). Looks forward to his dad coming home so he can get some undivided attention.

Just back from prancing up and down the road with fretful dd3 in the sling - a windy evening again. she's yelling downstairs now with DP.

dot1, I don't cope at all well the days I have dd2 and dd3 together. it's miserable and I spend my time yelling and in tears. but that's only a couple of days a week. I am just so glad dd2 goes to nursery 3 days a week.

Mrs D you are on the way to joining the Real Nappy Bore brigade - it's surprising how excited you can get about nappies isn't it? £140 is only about 6 months worth of disposables, think of it like that. It's hard to cost up but I think we've saved maybe up to £2000 by using washable nappies for 3 children.

HD - I suppose we co-slept til they were sleeping more or less through the night. which with dd1 was about 4 weeks old (angelic baby), dd2 was variable, on and off til 6 months. the way I got them out was starting with total co-sleeping, then when they're more settled and sleeping for a good long phase of the night, putting them "down" in the carrycot by the bed at bedtime and as soon as they woke and wanted feeding, bringing them into bed with me for the rest of the night. that meant that when they were sleeping through they were spending the night in the carrycot. so dd3 now is beginning to sleep actually in the carrycot more than in the bed as she's sleeping many nights straight through to 4 or 5. but if she was sleeping worse she'd be in the bed more. if you see what I mean.
so we didn't do it as long as other people do it, but partly cos with good sleepers (dd1 and dd3) there seems less need.

that £2000 looked a bit exaggerated so I went off and checked the figures, according to Ethical Consumer's calculations you save an average of £1000 by using washable nappies for one baby (disposables cost an average of £2000 for one baby, washables including washing an average £1000). so that means using our nappies for 3 babies we might have saved £4000-5000! Unbelievable.

(slinks off back to the Nappy threads to join the other nappy bores....)

Fennel - I am indeed joining the Real Nappy Bore Brigade! I also thought that your savings estimate was conservative, as someone had quoted me £8000 a year!!!
I bought 5 motherease one size, 5 bumbles and 5 bumbles. Originally I was going with the Motherease but Karen99 over on the nappy thread said try the bumbles . I did and fell in love with them - they are sooo cute. Then more research guided me towards the totsbots, I haven't tried them but understand they are very much like the bumble. So I bought the MEOS because of the easy popper mechanism (for the nursery), dh likes them best, and because they go from birth to toddler. However, the MEOS aren't the most absorbant and the bumbles are. They come already fleece lined and they have a pocket between the fleece liner and the nappy for boosters. These are new on the market - apparently! Then totsbots are supposed to be the most absorbant and very like the bumble, so very good for night time whereas the MEOS isn't. The ones I have ordered are also fleece lined, but unlike the bumble they are sized. I thought I'd have all of them in the end!! I think I must be sounding really boring

HD - I found I needed to reclaim the bed and I ended up doing like Fennel. I put her in the crib during the long spells of sleep, she was going til 6 but now she wakes up at 4.30 since i put her in a grobag! But that's another thread....

Sorry I meant MEOS, bumbles and totsbots!!!

Mrs D - I presume you mean £800 a year? that sounds about right. lots of money anyway.

It's a bit weird to find I am out of touch with all these new-fangled nappies, we have samples of about 6 types altogether but it's all changed since my day...
btw we found motherease worked ok even at night, and for toddlers, but neither of my dds had fat thighs as a toddler and they were out of nappies quite young - some say that's helped by washable nappies too.

oh dear, must Stick to Thread topic, and stop wittering about nappies!

Uhmmmm Fennel

Fennel (and MrsD) - thanks for the info re co-sleeping. Sounds a good way to move them from sleeping in your bed to sleeping in their own. MrsD, re nappies - hope the practical research goes well! (maybe see you next week as you suggested on email?)

Moving on from nappies atlast, I have another question.
I have reached a point where I really need to do other stuff now but dd will not be put down atall. Even to allow me to eat or make a cup of tea. Dh is finding her very difficult like this because we can't eat in the evening. She will cry for ever too.
How does anyone else find this?

Mrs D - I find it very tedious!

Many people swear by swings for this phase - you wind them up and they rock away while you have dinner.
Our latest is going to the local beer garden and having dinner there, dd3 likes it outside so cries less. an advantage of a summer baby.
Or we put her in the sling and walk around a lot.

Or you can have my stock answer for so many things - it really is a phase which will be gone in a few weeks, another month and you'll probably have forgetten these awful screamy evenings.

Hi everyone - I've not posted here for ages but have been checking this thread reguarly.

I'm interested in all the re-usable nappies but haven't had a chance to investigate it yet. Do you find them as absorbant as disposables? Sorry to be so graphic but does it contain no2's well ? Also having a ds I have noticed sometimes even using dispoables it leaks with no1's.

DS cries a lot - in fact dh calls him 'crying thing'. He loves being cuddled all the time too. Also I am worried too about setting myself up for problems sa he wants to be either cuddled or fed to sleep. If I try and put him down when he is drowsy he wakes right up and yells. I've tried leaving him for a few minutes (sometimes unavoidable anyway if I am dealing with dd) - but he won't settle back down. I think Fennel though you are right they do change every week. My sister said her dd cried constantly too when she was this age. However now her dd is 3 months she has stopped, and has come on lots and will even settle herself to sleep. So here I am busy counting down the weeks - and feeling incredibly guilty at the same time that I am wishing ds's first few weeks away !

HD - glad the bf is going so much better for you. Well done for perservering - I find it admirable

Still trying to get to grips coping with 2. DD isn't too bad with ds - yet. She keeps telling ds = "I'm not your friend" - esp when ds is yelling the house down, and tonight told him to go back inside mummy's tummy.

I'm glad I am not the only one going through this. I am feeling incredibly guilty right now though. Dh and I took dd out in the papoose with the dog - I needed the break. She fell asleep, as we knew she would but once we got her home and I lifted her into the carrycot her eyes snapped open!! I could see them resting on me in distain..Then came the chuckle before she opened her mouth.. and out came the looong cryyy... I was so disappointed I took her upstairs, closed the curtains in her nursery (not that it made any difference) and left her in her crib. I really didn't want to do this, but I was really struggling to stay calm and not take it out on dh. I decided I would take her out when she stopped crying. So we ate, drank tea, watched The Bill and she kept on going. I thought I would make it worse if I picked her up when she was crying. Finally I picked her up at 9.45!! She had stopped.
Now I have changed her and fed her and she's quiet!!!! But for how long?

MrsD, sorry you had a bad time yesterday - hope things improved after your post. Metrobaby, you're not the only one wishing the weeks away - I am not finding things as hard with dd as I did with ds but I still feel like this from time to time. To be honest, I prefer babies when they start to respond more, and aren't just feeding/pooing/sleeping machines...

Oh, I forgot crying! I should have said feeding/crying/pooing/sleeping machines!

HD, you also forgot puking. my dd is excessively possetty/pukey. anyone would think she's allergic to breast milk.

Metrobaby, not sure about the disposables/reusables absorbancy, I haven't noticed much difference when we use disposables. I think it's partly getting used to the reusables - they will leak if put on badly or they are the wrong size. and are fine if you get used to them.

Mrs D - hope your dd is a bit more settled today.

Ah yes, puking. Ds was like that. DD - touch wood - doesn't seem to suffer too badly.

my ds is pukey too. I don't get projectile puke though but can guarantee that after every feed, a little bit of regurgiated milk will come out - particularly when I lie him down on the chaging mat or if he does a big burp. Does this mean he is greedy?

HD - I must say I prefer them when they are older. I think my dd's age (3.5 yrs) is great as she is chatty and funny. I ;like the fact there are no naps to worry about, she can eat anything, and is potty trained. Although ds being this small has his advantages in being portable and bf - but I can't wait until he is also more responsive - although he is smiling now. He tends to smile most at his own reflection though!

MrsD - please don't feel guilty. I reguarly have to leave ds to cry for around 10 mins or longer every day in order to get things done. If I didn't dd would never get fed, or get to nursery for one. The constant crying can really get you down, and carrying them around all the time isn't an option either. My shoulder at the moment really aches as I am carrying ds around. He loves to wind down and go to sleep that way. Still no joy with a dummy either to help him wind down. I guess he is not a sucky thing.