Those June/July babies

[motherinferior]

Just wondered how everyone's getting on, having actually produced?

I'm absolutely knackered, and have very nasty tear which is giving me grief (I ripped into the muscle a bit) but am in much MUCH better shape than with dd2 - and dd1 is thoroughly enthusiastic. Mind you, dd2 is still asleep most of the time. I'm aware that the next few weeks and months are going to be, ahem, not the easiest, which is why I thought it might be worth keeping in touch...?

ds hasn't got much hair, yet... I hope he doesn't take after his grandad who's completely bold
but he has the cheekiest grin when he smiles and I am sure he will be able to get away with murder with me as I melt just looking at him.

He's a wriggler and cannot stand still for more than 10 seconds (times this), he moves even when he's asleep. He's really cute when he falls asleep on my breast and then starts smiling and laughing in his sleep. Got a bit scared the first time he did that, but mw assured it is quite common...

My DD is so different to her two brothers. They were both blonde and bald. DS1's eyes went brown but DS2 stayed blue. DS2 is spit of his dad. DD has very dark brown hair and LOADS of it! eyes still blue but still loads of time to change (7wks old now) I had long dark hair as a babe so poor thing may be destined to look like me!

she is now quite chatty and loads of smiles. I just love those smiles, they make everything worthwhile don't they.

These babies all sound so scrumptious! Dd is the image of ds when he was a little one and I have been known to call her his name on more than one occassion. She is a very calm,smiley, happy baby and finds dh and ds fascinating. She has ds's hairline and is still quite dark but I think she will end up fair as her eyelashes and eyebrows are fair. She is madly into this ring that hangs down from her baby gym and concentrates intensely to grab it. She rolled over 3 times one day but hasn't done it since which is a relief! I remember that rolling over stage with ds and his frustration at not being able to get back again very well! Can't leave her anywhere though just in case she does it again. Anyway, am totally in love, hence this rambling post!

Well last night when DS2 stirred I did not go to deal with him , he shuffled around and made noises for about 45 minutes - a couple of times I thought he had gone back to sleep but he started again. In the end the noise was getting a bit more insistent and I went and dealt with him.

Will try again tonight.

Great to hear about everyones babies - must admit DS2 is such a cutey that I can forgive him everything. Now as for his stroppy big brother he is now turning into a lazy whingey annoying little brat - at least he is no longer demanding to be picked up all the time but nearly everything else is a performance !!

Agree about the smiles - and about the clinginess and demands of the poor older one (remember my sister being born when I was three...).

Hey, Dahlia, how did the christening go?

Its this Sunday coming - I am really looking forward to it now actually - have found a lovely top which is purple! (dh and dd1 are wearing some purple so we are all themed for the Violet thingy). So outfit is sorted. I love all these baby descriptions, they all sound so yummy. My dd2 looks identical to dd1 at the same age, you can't tell them apart in photos. She is like a little doll, really petite and dainty with a button nose, rosebud mouth and quite a sad expression in her big eyes til she laughs which is happening more and more. She will be 14 weeks on saturday and she is wearing 0-3 stuff!

My dd2 is just fitting into Newborn stuff still, but as both her father and mother are short that's hardly surprising (and also, since some of those newborn size clothes are very kind presents but hardly suitable for the weather we were having - ie long-sleeved velour tops, that sort of thing - it's just as well we'll get some use out of them!). Reckon we'll always be a size or so 'behind' again. Checked out shops for cold-weather clothes for her this morning, as dd1 was a Feb baby so her clothes for the same age are all far too lightweight.

Christening theme sounds really lovely. What flavour is the cake?

Hi Ladies

After two nights of waking at 6am and 6.30am we are back to 3.30am. Ah well and DS2 has stopped settling in the morning in his cot so things are not going well. Going to have to get tough as the poor mite is exhausted.

Also thinking of going cold turkey on the dummies as he had got too dummy dependent and not only do I not want to be up at night putting them back in but I have realised that I hate seeing DS2 with a dummy. Everytime I see a toddler with a dummy I cringe inside.

kaz, how I sympathize!
DS had started a couple of weeks ago weeks to sleep through the night, he was sleeping from 9PM until 7:00AM
I was so amazed and really felt fresh and energetic after weeks of broken sleeps.
However he has started again waking up at 4 and then 6 am, and last night he woke up at 2:30AM, then at 5:00AM and then at 6:00AM, I don't need to say that I am exhausted and also feel cheated... I really believed that we had reached the end of the tunnel and it was going to be all plain sailing from now on...

happyspider, same night for me last night and the last 5 nights, dd is now on 3 hourly feeds. I thought that giving her her top up bottle last thing was going to be a winner but any hope of that has been cruelly snatched away and it seems it dosen't matter when I give her her bottle, she's still up 2 1/2 or 3 hours later wanting another breastfeed! I am shattered too but bravely decided not to do any work this morning while ds was at nursery and for the first time since she was born, I went back to bed with her until 10.45am! Total bliss but then had a frantic 2 hours before collecting ds to cram in everything I should of been doing while I was asleep. I have now resigned myself to the fact that I have a non-sleeping baby and that its unlikely to change until she go's onto solids ( she says optimistically). Can someone tell me that is true.. please..I need to cling onto some hope of sleep in the future! Meanwhile, ds has got into the intensely irritating habit of when she finally falls alseep during the day.. of waking her up again! He said today rather sweetly that he is having alot of trouble learning to be quiet..bless but its driving me nuts!

Jessi - you have the right mindset by accepting that your baby is not agoing to sleep through the night. None of my sisters daughters did until they were about 1 1/2-2 years old - sorry solids did not make any difference. Some babies will just not sleep. My sister said that once she stopped being disappointed to be woken every night she got on a lot better. She had 4 babies by the way so you do get used to it

OTOH, jessi, it's still early days. Let's see how things pan out...

...here in the Inferiority Complex I think we're getting closer to a six/seven hour stretch, after 10.30/11 feed. Some nights. Occasionally. And have found a teat dd2 will slurp on.

It's also potty training time for dd1. So far only one pair of wet pants this morning

OH and Kaz, we're trying with the dummy too. Or to put it more accurately I'm trying, while dp says that 'oh, she'll find her thumb, dd1 did' (wrong, dd1 was much less dummydependent and anyway different child, took bottle no problem, etc etc). This means some kipping with dummy, some not. Am also trying much harder on formal naps, as with feeding patterns. Motherhood v hard for those of us of control freak dispositions, I find...

...anxiously watching dd1's bottom as I type...

Thanks Mears, I agree that once you've accepted it, it certainly helps. Rather stuipidly I had thought she would be like ds and so have been making comparisons to when he was a baby. He was a great sleeper and by comparing them I have realised I was just making it harder on myself! Just wish that dh when he does offer to give her a bottle in the early hours would do so with good grace without the huffing and puffing and constantly asking me to pass him things etc etc. Realised last night it would be easier to just do it myself but on principal I am going to persevere!

Jessi - it is very early to write baby off as non sleeping baby. I think it is harder this time for us as DS2 is still in our bedroom, DS1 was evicted as soon as he showed any sign of sleeping through the night. As we have a two bedded flat he will be staying in with us for the moment, thought starting to think that DS1 will like the company !!

On the dummies, I have been looking at some old threads on dummies and have decided that DS2 is not having a dummy for his night sleep. He has gone to bed the last two nights without it and when he woke up has been settled without it.

Now he has definitely found his thumb, totally confused as to what to do - getting totally different advice on whether thumbs or dummies are better. DS1 has a comfort type blanket and never showed any sign of thumb sucking. Oh well, do babies just give up thumb sucking or will I be stuck with a 10 year old thumb sucker.

You are right kazz33 - it is too early to think that Jessi has a non sleeping baby. I think I didn't explain very well that my sister felt she could cope much better when she stopped getting upset when her dd's did not sleep all night. She said the best bit of advice she read was not to search for the clock to see the time when the baby woke up during the night because she would get upset if it was only 2am or whatever. That made her grumpy so she just decided to accept night waking and not wish her life away. Hope that is a bit clearer.

I know Mears - as everyones baby on this thread is younger than mine ( I think ) it really is in the last week or so that I have developed some guidelines. But yes, when you relax and don't get stressed about the 3 am wakeups then you can enjoy it when its 5am.

Think I might have to start a thread on the whole dummy / finger sucking thing.

I have has 3 thunb suckers Kazz. The ds who had a dummy till eight months is the most 'huffy' of my 4 children. First 2 stopped sucking their thumbs at about 4-5 yrs. DD is 10 years old next month and still sucks it when she goes to bed or is watching telly. Her teeth are absolutely fine. I don't think it is a huge problem. I much preferred it when my babies got their thumbs because they could pop them in themselves whenever they felt the need.

That's exactly it, mears; I just want her to be able to settle herself without being dummied by someone else.

I'm trying to get her sleep cues extended beyond the dummy - in her cot, curtains drawn; I do use the dummy to signal sleep as well, but am going to cut down on that after about a week of this. How does that sound?

DD1's bottom continues to be mesmerising, of course. Oh, and I've got them both this w/end while dp goes off to wedding which features Sloanes and No Children. I asked him jokily if he'd get off with a bridesmade and he looked at me in horror at the idea of interrupting the potential for two nights' unbroken sleep

Mears, just what i wanted to hear - personally I don't want to stop DS2 doing what is relaxing for him and would prefer that to a dummy.

The sleeping through the night is on the way, so far had two successful nights - will keep on perservering , I feel its on the way, certainly not having to feed in the middle of the night makes a difference.

I keep thinking about weaning dd2 off her dummy because she is addicted to it, but everything is so straightforward at the moment I am scared of rocking the boat. She falls asleep downstairs after her last feed at 9pm ish and we take her up and put her in her cot, and hear nothing til 7am. I keep thinking that we should be letting her fall asleep on her own etc etc, but to be honest, I am just relieved that she is sleeping well and don't want to disrupt the pattern. Is that ok do you reckon? Opinions required.
ps. Motherinferior - its a sponge cake with buttercream filling, picked it up today and it is stunning - all scrolled icing around the edge and beautiful swirly writing, all pink and purple, it is just perfect. BTW, I wish you continuing success with the potty training!

Dahlia, don't rock the boat!!!!! We envy you your nights so much!!!!!!!!

I've been a craven dummy-user today. Must stop fooling around on the computer and go to bed, feed dd2, etc etc (especially as would usually be in bed now atm). Arranged dd1's first sleepover with a friend tomorrow, about which she is unflatteringly enthusiastic ('I sleep at Aoife's house, mummy, wiffout you, not you, I go on my own'. Oddly enough, with dp out of the house feel all able to do things like read in bed for hours - which is clearly stupid as I'll still have to do all the other stuff. Oh well, a last surf and will log off!

gosh Dahlia - why try and change something which is working so well. She is obviously able to settle herself without the dummy in the middle of the night, so not a problem.

DS2 can settle himself without dummy at night when he goes to bed. And, i am not using it when he wakes up in the morning - last night he woke at 5.20am - just another hour would do !!! But he seems to need his dummy during the day, personally i think it is because the flat is so noisy.

Dahlia , don't worry about the dummy I avoidec using one with Dd as I don't or rather didn't like them . I now use it with Ds and think maybe I was being a bit of a snob IYKWIM. Congratulations on your new found freedom

Thanks girls, will take advice and carry on as we are! Motherinferior, LOL at your dd1's sleepover comments.