May Babies... part 2!

[GeorginaA]

... just because we can't stop yammering on

Hey everyone,

I also thought there would be loads to catch up on, everyone must have been busy over the weekend.
dd2 seems to have developed a daytime sleep routine. I can tell when she's getting tired, pop her in the moses basket with the curtains closed etc and she goes to sleep but...she only sleeps for 45 minutes. Was looking at the Gina Ford book and she suggests, I know it's not set in stone, the morning nap of 45 minutes and then an afternoon/lunchtime nap of 2 hours but dd2 won't sleep for that long. still it's not a problem as it just means that she has an extra 45 minute nap, either in the moses basket or when we're out in the pram.

I was looking at a grobag in Asda the other day but haven't bought it yet. Will probably get it soon though. Bozza I think a grobag for a caravan in Scotland in October is probably a good idea Where about in Scotland are you going to?
DD2 spent Saturday night without any covers on her at all. It was really hot and muggy here and she kicked her cover off so I just left her. I would have liked to have left the window open but in the middle of the night it would have probably got to cold for her. Hasn't been as hot since though, in fact today it was down right cold.

Hi everyone,
Not much happening here. Weve got DD into a routine in the morning where once she shows signs of being sleepy she goes in her cot. But like Linnett she will only sleep for 45 mins. Its not so bad in the morning but throughout the afternoon she gets tired and 45 mins just doesnt seem to be long enough. What should I do? because we are normally out in the afternoons she naps in her pram or cat seat but once we get home at around 3 i would like her to have a afternoon nap in her cot, however she refuses to go down. Yesterday for example she fell asleep 10-11 12-1 and then showed signs of being sleepy(e.g fell asleep while held) at 4 so I put her in her cot but she grizzled on and off so I left her there and then after about 1 hour she starts playing and then after another 15 minutes she started to cry. I know she was tired as the minute I held her she fell to sleep, until laid down. So after 2 hours of lying in her cot she was still awake. This meant that she hadnt slept since 1 pm, she didnt go to bed until 9pm!! Do I spend a few days staying in and trying to get her afternoons into a bit more of a routine? or just give up trying to get her to sleep in her cot?
Our nights are still the same. DD feeds at 8 and then it takes us a while to get her to sleep approx 8-9 and then wakes about 3 hrs after for a feed. Ive tried waking her at 10.30 to give her a final feed so that hopefully she wont wake 2 hrs after ive gone to bed but she wont wake to take the feed. She goes 4-5hrs from her evening feed but unfortunetly because this feed is before 10pm we dont really see the benefit of it.
Heres last night;
Feed at 8pm,
fell asleep at 9pm
Feed at 12.40 = 4hrs 40 since last feed
Feed at 2.30 = 1hr 50 since last feed
Woke at 4.20 had to be rocked to sleep
Feed at 6.00am.= 3hrs 30 since last feed
She doesnt seem to be going longer for her other feeds, Im feeding every 3 hrs during the day so I cant see why shes still needing so many night feeds.

quick question

Those of you doing GF do you find that it does work and has it helped your d's go longer for feeds through the night?

Hard to say really, as I don't have a clone "control" ds2 to compare him with We did GF because I like routine, was better for ds1 to know he had time away from the baby and it stopped ds2 from getting tired (I'm lousy at recognising "I'm tired" over "I'm hungry" signs - this way if he starts crying half hour before bedtime then chances are he's tired and I put him down early. If he cries fifteen minutes before a feed is due then chances are he's hungry and I whip a boob out ).

I don't stick rigidly to times/feeds, but it does give you a better idea of what's coming in the day.

Incidentally, how do you get your babe to sleep in the first place? They have 45 min sleep cycles generally, so sometimes waking up after 45 mins is a sign they have bad sleep associations and are unable to resettle themselves without rocking/singing etc.

Just wanted to post quickly to share my happiness! Took DS to consultant today to have heart murmur checked out and there was none to be heard. Am mightily relieved as you can probably guess
Kbaby - we use GF and I do like it. However, it does take a while to kick in - I would say up to the 4 month mark. DS is only just getting awake enough to follow it properly. The lunchtime nap being more than 45 mins is a tricky one to crack - she does talk about it in the book and the reasons for waking after 45 mins (coming into light sleep and waking themselves up).
During the night we are not feeding any more (ie last feed 10.30pm and morning feed 7am). However, I think that is a very individual thing - ie. Prufrock's DS is going 7-7 already, I think. DS does wake up around 6am ish some days but is not hungry, his cry is definitely "oh bugger, I've woken myself up again and I can't quite get back to sleep because my sheets are all of a tangle now". I tend to go in and settle him back to sleep, usually just on my knee until 7am because its easier! Oh, I am also bottle feeding now so that may make a difference, although I think most of the others on the thread are bf.

Judd that's fantastic news, I'm so pleased for you!! Hope you got some bubbly in to celebrate this evening

Cheers Georgina! Have put my foot in it though - I was so pleased I rang my mum to tell her the good news.....only to realise half way through that I hadn't mentioned it to her before in order not to worry her! Whoops!
How are you getting along with your two?

Oops

Ds2 is a doddle... wish the same could be said for his older brother!!

I actually braved going out into town on my own with the two of them yesterday. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... but then we only did one stop (the building society to open an account for ds2). The trick seems to be to go in insanely early (on the dot of 9am) to get the mother & baby slot in the carpark (not just a luxury now with two doors to open wide!) and get in and out of town before feed time/sleep time/snack time/mummy's mental breakdown time...

Have you done Tesco yet with the huge tank-like trolley? I have once and don't fancy repeating the experience!
I must admit, I still feel a slight shiver of excitement at 5pm when I realise we've got bathtime and bedtime within easy reach! And if DH is home to help all...all the better!
Got to go, blimmin' LTN went wrong today, so DS is asleep wrapped in a blanket on the sofa! Serves me right for extolling its virtues

PS. I wanted to put "frission" of excitement but couldn't be sure of the spelling without getting the dictionary down and I didn't want to get it wrong on its first outing in my vocabulary! Mind you, I've just used it now without looking it up.....

I avoid supermarkets like the plague unless only going in for a couple of items (basket hangs nicely over the ends of the pushchair) - internet supermarket shopping rules!

kbaby, my dd is still like yours.....still feeding often in night. actually, she isnt crying, just waking and making noises, which get on my nerves so i feed her to keep her quiet! am putting her in own room when get home from mums, so hopefully, i wont hear her and she will go back to sleep - and go through the night??!!! hmm, i expect NOT. lets console ourselves with the fact that ours are two of the youngest on here!

actually i've given up counting and planning hours of sleep in the day and not worrying about it. can tell when she's tired or hungry so going with flow. prob a bad thing but am too lazy now. maybe its cos i am at my mums!

Evening all, I hate to say this but DS had an excellent night - 9pm until 6am with just the odd snuffle in the night, don't want to get too smug though as it could've been a one off! his patterns have been odd recently . . . plus I didn't sleep well as DP was snoring, DS was snoring and the mother of all thunderstorms was kicking off! plus I kept waking and expecting the 2/4am feed to come along . . .

Fingers crossed for tonight

Have to add that I can be rather too good at ignoring the snuffles as it would mean getting up so I don't . . . that sounds far worse than it actually is!

Me again, I just want to ask if all your little ones really cry when hungry/needing a change etc?. DS seems rather too content at times and doesn't cry much - his eye contact is excellent though and he "chats" when we are playing so should I be concerned about communication?

Today we went into Cambridge so he had a feed at 10.30 and then didn't make much noise until 3pm when I offered my finger and he vaguely had a suck, his nappy was dirty too (he did enjoy his subsequent feed and change though). I know he finds his pushchair very relaxing and often snoozes in it but surely if he were hungry and needing changing he would let me know?

I guess this sleep through the night made me wonder if it were all linked somehow.

Judd Congratulations on your good news, I'm so happy for you.

Libb, if he was hungry he would definitely let you know.
Well done on him sleeping 9pm-6am. I love it when dd2 goes right through until 6am. Some mornings, like this morning, it's 5am. still won't complain. I often hear her snuffling in the middle of the night but I don't get up to her either, I wait and see if she starts to cry then I'd get up but she doesn't she just snuffles around then starts snoring, lol
DD2 is on 5 feeds a day now, we're on bottles, and usually she has a feed at 5/6am then goes 4 hours then usually every 3 hours after that. She always has the bedtime bottle around 8pm.
Today she fed at 5am, 9am, 12pm,4pm then 8pm. not always on the dot of course you understand, like Georgina if she's sounding hungry at 3.45pm then I feed her.

Had an all right day today. We ventured to foreign horizons, Glasgow, and it was ok. Got on the train ok, but it was packed but we managed to get seats. DD2 was being really good and just sitting having a good look around at everyone and with half an hour to go, it's a 1hr journey, she tried to find her thumb and managed to poke herself in the eye with her finger oops she screamed for ages afterwards and wasn't very happy as you can imagine. But nobody said anything rude about her screaming so that was fine. The rest of the day wasn't so good. We didn't seem to actually do anything once we got there. Had a quick lunch and fed dd2, went to mothercare then a book store so dd1 could spend her book token, then went to the Disney store so she could spend her money that she'd saved. Spent ages in both of those shops. by which time dd2, who had been grizzly all afternoon and very windy wanted fed again so I took her off to a mother and baby room in a nearby shopping mall while dh went to Forbidden Planet to have a look at the graphic novels. Then once dd2 was organised it was time to go home. I didn't get to go to any of the shops that I wanted to go to and came home feeling like the day had been a non event. Oh well maybe next time it will be better. The weather was horrible as well, it was really grey and overcast but it was so humid I don't think I've ever known it so humid in Scotland. It was humid but cooler iykwim where we stay so it was a relief to come home and not feel sticky.

Does anyone know when it's ok to start sitting the babies up in their prams? I don't mean up properly but our pram has 4 levels of sitting. number 1 is sitting upright obviously for when they have managed to sit up by themselves, level 2 is slightly lower, 3 is lower still and 4 is meant to be even lower then it can lie flat. At the moment she's lying flat seeing as she's only 10 weeks old, but she gets very frustrated when she's awake as she can't see what's going on around her. We tried sitting her up with the pram at level 4, the lowest sitting position, today but she didn't seem to be as reclined as I'd have liked. She loved it though could see what was going on and her head control seemed to be ok but I was worried that it might be bad for her back so we only left her like that for about 5 minutes then laid her down again, much to her very vocal disgust! she would probably have been happier in the car seat but we didn't want to take the car seat as we were away for most of the day and again worried that it might not be good for her back.
I think we might need to get a sling as at one point we were carrying her around and she was so happy, she's just so nosy like her big sister was at this age. Honestly I don't know where my children get ther nosiness from, honestly I don't I'm sure Dh would tell you though, lol

Georgina, I put dd2 down in her moses basket when she shows signs of being tired, trying to rub her eyes getting grumpy etc. she gets put in the moses basket awake then falls asleep, sometimes she squwaks a bit but settles down and goes to sleep. I've tried leaving her if she wakes after 45 minutes but she gets really upset and is obviously not tired so I just get her up again. At night though she goes to bed awake falls asleep and that's it until morning.

Okay, it was a one off - he was also very vocal about it too. The power of Mumsnet strikes again, everytime I post a concern he goes and does the exact opposite. So here goes, my DS doesn't sleep a wink - it this just a phase or should I be concerned?

I wouldn't normally post at this time but we are both now completely wide awake. Brilliant.

Linnet - I've put my ds2 in the next angle up from flat in the pushchair (unless I want him to sleep). I figure that he's higher than that in his rocker chair anyway, and he's well supported - he can get a better view then. I just wouldn't put him up any higher where he might loll forward until he's sitting up by himself.

Georginaa, its strange sometimes when she starts to yawn I can put her straight in her cot and shell go to sleep, other times I have to rock her until shes dozy and make sure she is swaddled before she will stay asleep or shell wake up once laid down. She does also fall asleep in the pram or sometimes on her own in the bouncy chair.

Last night she wouldnt settle after a feed and the minute i swaddled her she fell straight off.

Well Done Judd weve got our appointment in September and I hope our news is as good as yours

Libb, DD cries when shes due a feed. At least thats what I think shes crying for, she could be just bored but the poor thing gets a boob shoved in her mouth anyway. She doesnt seem to cry when she needs changing mind and such the bad mummy that I am I occasionally forget to change it for a good couple of hours.
We have dd in the pram reclined when shes asleep and once she wakes I raise her a little bit so shes sitting a bit but leant mostly back. Otherwise shes so nosy she cries as she cant see anything.
I dont know if I should tell you about our night encase I jinx it, but it was probably a one off anyway so here goes,
Fed 10
Fed 3.30 =5.5hrs
Fed 7.30=4hrs that means i only got up once in the night horrayyyy....

oh well done kbaby! do you think that her being in her own room is helping to do the trick? do you have a monitor? is it helping you to ignore all the grunts and snuffles that mean nothing? cant wait to get back and put dd in her's....but also very sad to think that she is getting older

took dd and my friend, ok, my friend took us! to the beach today - well the coast. we walked along the prom, and pier, had chips and a mr whippy. the sun was shining.....gorgoeous. dd slept all the way there, all the while whilst there except decided to wake for her lunch when she smelled our chips, and slept all the way back! a LOT of sleeping. approx 11am - 4pm!!! eeeks, she has gone to bed now and is asleep, touch wood.

Good news Judd!

We're going to Newton Stewart - about a 3 hour drive from here I think. Can't remember who asked.

Kbaby your DD's daytime sleep sounds like my DDs. I've just got her to the point where I can put her down in a morning (and sometimes afternoon) and she'll go to sleep. But then she'll wake up after 45-60 minutes. I find thought that she is still tired and if I hold her will sleep for another hour. Think I'm going to have to get harsh and try to not pick her up but just comfort her/pat her which is what i did at bedtime.

She's ony started going down for a nap since we put the travel cot up in her own bedroom. So I take her in and draw the curtains and she knows its naptime.

Also I think she needs more naptime than Gina says (read the book but not doing it). I reckon she need about 4.5 hours. Plus sleeping 7.45 to 7 (although often awake a bit early). I'm working towards a routine of:
7 am Wake and feed
8.45 am Feed
9-11 Nap
11.30/12 Feed
1-3 Nap
3.30 Feed
5.15-5.45(approx) Nap (usually in pram)
6 - Bottle of expressed milk
7 - Bath
7.15 Feed
7.30/7.45 Bed
3 am Feed (this bit is DD's idea).

dd2 went to bed last night at 9pm as usual and slept right through until 8.30am!

Usually when she wakes at 5/6am I give her a 5oz bottle of milk then give her 6oz for all the rest of her feeds during the day, but since she slept so late I gave her a 6oz bottle and she had another 3 feeds during the day. So she's only had 4 feeds today not the 5 that she usually has, Hhhmm. Not sure about that.

She was very windy again today, she starts off ok then suddenly gets windy and nothing is moving that wind. We've tried the Windypops, Gripe water, lying her on her tummy but nothing worked. The best position for her was either being up on a shoulder or sitting up, supported of course, on someones knee. She just seemed so unhappy, poor little thing and I felt awful because it's obvious that this wind needed to come out one end or the other and I'd tried everything I could to help her but it didn't work. She also slept a lot today, she napped for a whole Hour this afternoon then woke up and an hour later went back to sleep for another nap. This was on top of her usual naps in the morning and late afternoon/early evening.

Still she went to bed quite happily at 9pm so I'll see if she wakes during the night looking for a feed. She doesn't have a temperature or anything and when she was awake and sitting up she seemed happy enough it was just when the wind rumbled about in her tummy she was so sad, she has a little petted lip which is so cute but such a shame as I know that it's because her tummy is bothering her.

thanks for letting me know that some of you sit the babies up a bit. I'm still not sure if I like the height that the first level goes up to. I'd be more comfotable if it was slightly more reclined as she just seems to be sitting so far up. It seems to be a bit more upright than her bouncy seat and I can't remember how old dd1 was when I started propping her up a bit to see more of the outside world, I'm pretty sure it wasn't as young as this though. I think I'll wait another couple of weeks before trying it again. She seems to have pretty good control of her head but I worry all the same.

egypt it mustve been the sea air it has the same effect on me
yes i think having dd in her own room has helped. i have a monitor on but only high enough to hear her crying so i can sleep through the groaning. i found that if she was stirring around the 3 hour mark i was feeding her just to try and keep her quiet, hoping she would go into a deeper sleep and i was awake all through the groaning, thumping, hand waving etc some nights for over 3 hours. she would grizzle and generally by the time id got out of bed shed fallen back to sleep only to start again once id got back to bed. whereas now i only feed her if she definetly cries and its around 3 hrs. ive also found that waking her at 10 for a feed has helped. i feel bad doing it though as shes normally in a deep sleep and she cries as the only way i can get her to wake is to lie her on the floor and change her nappy, which understandably she isnt very happy with. But it gets her awake enough to take a feed so ill keep on doing it.
last night was good again
bed and feed 8pm
i woke her at 10.30 for nappy change and feed
woke at 12.30 for swaddling
feed at 4 = 5.5 hrs since last feed
feed at 7.30
so again i was only woken once at night for a feed.[this is a breakthrough for us] she did wake at 12.30 but once i swaddled her she went back off. i didnt swaddle her when i put her down at 10.30 as it was still too warm.

bozza i found that even though she is still tired she never goes back down to sleep[currently sleeping on my lap] i tried the patting, sshhing and leaving her etc but it never worked and then the minute i pick her up she drops off. funnily enough though she will go back down on a friday and sleep for a few hours. dont know why it happens just on a friday..
to be honest we keep trying a routine but we never stick to it as once we go out it buggars it up.
typical day is
wake 7am
feed 7am
sleep in bed with me from 7-9am
feed 9am
play until 10-10.30. in this time we both get washed and dressed
nap 10.30-11.15
nap on lap 11.20-12.00
feed 12.00
the rest of the day we are out and so she sleeps on and off in the pram/car or recently pub beer garden due to nice weather and meeting friends.
5.00 play in garden in bouncy chair or mat
6.00 feed
7.00 bath
bed sometime around here
9.00 feed
10.30 wake for night feed
and then so far one feed around 3-4ish

how do you get dd to nap 1-3 if she wont be put down. do you find the bottle of expressed milk helps
linnett, theres a chemist by me that sells correction liquid, theyve made it themselves for over 100 years and its patented etc. we found it really good at helping dd's wind, she started burping after every feed. its only 2 pound. if you want i can send you some. it may be worth a go.

Judd that is such good news about the heart murmer - you must be so relieved. I hope you get similar good news kbaby.

Yes I am doing Gina Ford - well sort off. If anyone is interested this is our day (but please do remember that we are now 14 weeks, so slightly older - and days do make a difference at this stage) I also give thanks every day that I have once again been blessed with an amazingly easy baby - it is a lot of luck rather than anything I've done.

Between 7 and 8am I wake him (after dd has woken me). He feeds
9-9.30 He goes to sleep and sleeps for about 45 minutes. I usually put him in his cot, or he sleeps in the pram on the way back from dropping dd at nursery. But if I forget to take him up (usually because we are painting) he will fall asleep by himself under his playgym or in his chair
11am feed
12.30 I take him up for a sleep. He will v. occasionally not settle, so I stick a boob in his mouth and he goes.
2.30-3.00 he wakes, or I wake him and feeds (sometimes he will wake for a feed at 1.30ish as well, but goes back to sleep)
5.30 Feed
7.30 Bath with dd and dh, then feed 7.45-8.00 then he sleeps until I wake him again in the morning. About 2 or 3 nights a week he will wake and feed at 2.30ish. I can't be bothered with bottled water so just let him feed.

kbaby - this isn't to tell you you have to change, but if dd is sleeping from 7-9am, it is very unlikely she will sleep from 1-3, she just won't be tired enough. My dd used to be happy to go back to sleep after her 7am feed, so I would grab teh chance of a lie-in, but it wasn't until I made myself get us both up after the feed (well not up, but we used to stay awake and play with toys/watch breakfast TV) that she started settling easily and staying asleep at lunchtime. And congratulations on getting to the one waking stage - before you know it you'll be waking at 7am to a crying baby, rock hard boobs and a wet sheet

We had the DTaP privately in London on Tuesday - with a really lovely Aussie doctor. I feel a bit useless for having not fought harder to get it done at my GP's, but I just couldn't be bothered

Thanks for all being pleased about our lack of murmur!
Today, fired up by my new-found love of the medical profession, I booked DD in at the doctor's for a hearing check. Although she is nearly 2.8 yrs, she barely speaks and I managed to convince myself and DH last night that she DEFINITELY had glue ear and if we went to the doctor's, it would be diagnosed really quickly and easily, she would be cured and would be speaking in no time......
Of course there was nothing wrong with her hearing but I'm glad I got it checked just incase there was a teeny weeny chance that this was the problem. Oh well, back to the speech therapy waiting list!
Oh yes, DS (who is the real member of this thread!) is doing fine. Can get thumb into mouth very easily now and can also manoeuvre up the cot - little tike! We are still embracing Gina Ford and our day is much like Prufrock's (but without the 9am painting session!). I must admit, though, I may have to ask for some encouragement when we need to be flexible with it in the future. With DD I followed it to the letter and never veered off course - my PND made me cling to it like a dying man to a life raft . But that was then, and this is now - and everything is very different indeed!!