The Final Fruition of the Frolicking Forays for the First Time Frolickers

[Spirael]

We came, we saw, we frolicked.

Now our PFB has arrived and we can begin the stressful befuddled guiltridden exhausting wonderful journey of parenthood!

(Or at the very least we can stop bothering the antenatal bunch until they join us!)

hh we still have days where Will just wakes up in a foul mood, so I hope it's perfectly normal. So far my experience of motherhood has basically involved lurching from one phase of bewilderment to another - just as you figure out how to keep them happy they move onto a new phase and you start all over again. So you're not alone, and Rose will probably be in a better mood in a couple of days

I've found that in general the reason for his crankiness is tiredness-if he's tired he will be quite happily sitting and playing and then suddenly just completely lose it and start crying. If it happens when he seems to have had a reasonable night's sleep and decent naps then it's usually a sign he's coming down with something or teething. There's also the developmental leaps they go through that cause bad moods (try reading the Wonder Weeks for more info - there's an iphone app which has a little calendar and tells you when to expect your baby to be grumpy!)

The other reason for random grumpiness seems to be boredom - he gets stir crazy stuck inside all day with me, and that started at about 3-4mths. When he's having a grumpy day I'll often just stick him in the pram and take him for a walk - if he's tired he'll chill out, or if we're lucky actually doze off, and if he's bored the change of scenery usually cheers him up.

Hope you get her head holding issues sorted soon too

Just wanted to come on quickly to thank you all for your support. I am still very raw and emotional but starting to see the positives that at least it can happen. We are still trying and hope to back soon to give you some better news

xxxxxx

zippys we will see you back here, hopefully sooner rather than later, but I'm sure you'll get your much wanted baby one way or another. Even if you have to have ivf the success rates are incredibly high nowadays - our local clinic has just published success rates of something like 70% of women having a successful pg off their 1st cycle and over 90% having a baby within 3 goes

hh how's Rose now? Hope she's less grumpy

Will is 11mths today It's so hard to believe that this time last year he was just a bump. Feels like he's always been here.

He's taken a few more steps by himself - not enough for me to declare he can walk though. Although I think he's doing his usual thing of actually doing pretty well with it at daycare but not letting me or DH see. He can pretty much run while holding our hands now - this morning he was doing it while I just had 1 finger under each of his armpits, so I think he might skip walking and go straight to sprinting

We've got a couple more words as well. He's saying hiya and nodding his head and saying yes. The head nodding is now his usual response to me shaking my head and telling him no....followed swiftly by a big giggle. Am really trying hard to keep a straight face so I don't encourage his cheeky naughty behaviour, but he's soooo cute I can't help but join in the giggles

hh I echo what bunny said...they seem to flip into being overtired very quickly. As soon as you see any signs of tiredness stop what you're doing and try to get her off to sleep. That's what helps me. And if you have an iPhone the wonder weeks app is really interesting and taught me that sometimes they're crying because they're going through a period of growth and are feeling slightly clingy. It stopped me worrying so much if nothing else!

Thanks for the reassurance, think it's because she's normally so happy that it hits me so much when she's having a grumpy phase! We got through today with only one or two very brief spells of screaming, so major improvements :) Unfortunately she has now decided her preferred nursing position is lying on top of me, great in the house, not so easy when out and about

PS: bunny yay for the steps and words. I always find it hard to look stern when little kids are doing something naughty and yet so cute, will have to practise for when Rose gets bigger!

hh hope Rose's mood continues to improve.

I started to convince myself Will has some psychological issues going on this week because he's been repeatedly hitting himself on the head. It dawned on me this morning, when he did it a few times then reached out to me, that the sign for mummy is patting on the head.......and I've been intensively trying to teach it to him for the past fortnight.

Hello! Sorry, this dropped off the threads I'm on so I have been a bit AWOL recently.

Haha, Bunny thats so funny! I can imagine you thinking WTF?!! as Will tried desperately to please you with his new sign! Nice that he wants to say Mummy though - Dada still outweighs Mama by about 50-1 in our house.
Will sounds like he is going to be walking very soon! T is still staggering about, holding on to things. She can run with her walker but makes very little attempt to try it on her own. She took two unaided steps the other day but it was really momentum rather than walking so I didn't get too excited!

Ow ow ow Crazy Has the thrush gone now? T had oral thrush at about 6 weeks and the anti-biotics didn't seem to do anything, then suddenly it was gone overnight a couple of weeks later.

Have you got your appointment through with the developmental doctor HH? The worry just never bloody stops does it? There is always something new to stress out about. Glad that Rose is feeling a bit more cheerful and that her weight gain has continued. Don't worry about her being grumpy for no reason though - as everyone else has said, it is so so normal. T sometimes has a lovely day, goes for an afternoon nap and wakes up as the child of Satan. No idea why! I just roll with it now and never ask myself what I've done wrong, I think they are just exploring the joy of being a complex being

The wonder weeks app sounds really interesting. I don't have an iphone or very regular internet access (I'm a bit of a Luddite! ) but is it tailored to your specific child or just a general guide? If its general could one of you have a look at 12 months and three weeks for me because T is going through a really funny patch and I'd be interested to know why. I'm ascribing it to teething, having a cold and a possible growth spurt but other than a snotty nose I have no evidence and I'm really just flailing about in the dark looking for reasons why she's being so clingy and whingy this week. Cheers!

I don't know how many of you "know" Florin but she got her BFP today. Hurrah!

And Late is up-diffed again after her miscarriage 9 weeks ago. Double hurrah!

Lots of lovely old-time Frolickers getting their richly deserved BFPs. Sticky bean vibes all round!

bunny that's so funny! Love it. A real lightbulb moment :)

pixie wonder weeks says there is a 'leap' at 53 weeks, the second part of which starts around 55 weeks. (leaps are phases where the child is learning something and their behaviour changes as a result) There's a definite clinginess to it and it's as a result of learning to view a series of activites as one 'task'... ie putting dirty plates in water, wiping with sponge and placing in the rack = doing the dishes. It says they want to be in control of the clinginess, so it's ok for them to leave you but not the other way round. Signs are that they have spontaneous temper tantrums, grab comfort objects more often, want to be entertained more often, cry more often and are cranky. You can help by teaching them some 'tasks' they can master on their own such as choosing which clothes to wear or dusting with a cloth...or by playing games which appeal to the new abilities...playing with 'real' things like a nappy bag, the phone or a bowl and spoon. Or a child's tea set/farm set.

Hope that helps and makes sense!

Bloody hell Crazy that sounds spot on. I am actually in a mild panic now about how much I must have missed over the last year from not having that app. It seems slightly mad to buy an Iphone just to get one app though! Right, have to think of some "tasks" now. (I fear that the dusting may just bemuse her as unfortunately I am a complete slattern and I'm not sure that she would actually understand what I was doing with a duster!) Letting her choose her own clothes could yield some hilarious results though!

pixie looks like there is a website... www.thewonderweeks.com/

Haven't looked at it tho, see what you can find out. I wouldn't worry about having 'missed' anything. T sounds like she is coming on in leaps and bounds so you must be a maternal teacher's pet naturally [hwink]

I have the wonderweeks app (was too tight to buy the book but reckon I would have got more out of it...) and it just scares me by pointing out how many more stormy periods are to come! [hgrin]

bunny that's fab, made me giggle out loud!

Hope your thrush has cleared crazy.

Back from hols now, C was a complete star and loved loved loved it. Will try and post a couple of photos on FB once I've uploaded them on to t'computer (or rather, once DH has uploaded them, I have a techno blind spot when it comes to digital music and digital photos). Downside is that her sleep is now completely up the spout. She was self settling for naps (with her mobile), now its feeding to sleep or nothing. Driving me potty. We've also cracked open the baby rice as of this weekend, but C seems really uninterested. Hum. Going to try sweet potato tomorrow and if still not interested may wait another couple of weeks before trying again. Which of you did BLW, and would you recommend getting Gill Rapley's book on it? I think it might suit C better than the puree route.

pixie [hgrin] at T not understanding about dusting....I think Will would be equally bemused

cherry glad you had a good holiday [hsmile] I'm not surprised C wasn't interested in baby rice-it tastes like cardboard. Ripe banana is a great first food (and no cooking/pureeing needed, just mash with a fork)-it's meant to taste pretty similar to breastmilk too.

I didn't do BLW - I did read the book though,as it's what we intended to do, and it's worth a read. In the end, Will seemed to want to eat food faster than his hands could get it into his mouth so we went the spoon feeding route. I offered finger foods along with mush right from the start, and he does pretty much self feed now.....this evening I got distracted during dinner, turned away for a minute and he'd given up waiting for me to load his spoon and just started stuffing handfuls of fish pie into his mouth [hgrin]

Dropping in quickly to praise BLW for cherry! We did it with the Lochtopus and it was brilliant. He is eating like a champ now, and we've both really enjoyed it. Blinking messy business though!! I would highly recommend the Gill Rapley book but I borrowed it from the library and then bought the recipe book which has a section in the front detailing the theory. Some good recipes too - Lochie highly recommends the tuna croquettes!

Will try and post properly soon - life is manic at the moment! And Lochie will be 1 next week! Arggghhhh!!

Worrisome That is good to know as we are doing BLW with Hannah. I never really planned to but did about a week of purees and didn't like it. She kept spoon grabbing and turning her head away. cherry Let me know how you get on. I would also recommend the BLW cookbook (I couldn't be bothered reading the theory but there is a good intro bit and a table saying which foods to try at different ages. There is a good thread in weaning for those currently doing BLW which I am on - come check it out if you get chance.

HH Hope Rose gets an appointment soon.

Things are not going well in the world of sleep. She settles so easily with her dummy, seahorse and blanket at night and for naps. We are on a pretty good nap routine now of two naps a day of over an hour each but still she wakes reguarly at night. Its been 3 plus times the last few weeks with 2/3 hour awake periods in the night recently. My eyes are propped open with matchsticks.

Options are: Full time cosleeping (attend to her before she wakes fully - will mean lots of night wakings and a bad back but hopefully more sleep for all), own room (might not help, waiting until we move house), CC (am very relucatant) or repeating "this too shall pass" over and over until something magical happens (this seems to be my current plan)

One day she will sleep through...

On the topic of moving house. We sold quickly and found somewhere quickly. 2 or 3 weeks away from moving and the seller of the house we are buying has taken her keys back off the agents and not contacted them for 3 weeks so we have no idea where we stand and it looks like we have wasted lots of money on the survey, solicitors fees. We have a couple more options house wise or we are going to rent for 6 months or so. If we do buy another house I think we will be staying with the in laws for a month or so. (We get on ok but I am dreading this) Just how I wanted to spend my last couple of months on mat leave!

halo remind me how old Hannah is now? We went through a phase of Lochie waking for up to two hours in the night when he was around the 9 month phase. Speaking to various friends, it seemed to be a bit of a trigger and tended to coincide with learning to crawl/stand (or in Lochie's case, walk!). Lots for them to think about and practise - I love the phrase 'its like they wake up and discover they have a superpower!!', it seems so apt!

She will get there, I promise. Mind you, we had a horrific night last night when lochie woke every hour between 7pm and 1am. He then slept until 6am and woke up happy as Larry. I was NOT impressed. Yet again, I am blaming it on teeth...

bunny love the whacking on head sign for Mummy! What a clever boy he is! Lochie has started being a right little mimic - he loves it when we yawn and he pretends to yawn too which is hilarious, especially if he's standing up as he throws his head right back and almost falls over! He's got the hang of the start of 'Wind the Bobbin Up' too.. although it's more like hit the bobbin..

Argh, had meant to do a proper email and respond to everyone but stupid work has got in the way!

She is 6 1/2 months, 7 months on the 29th. I am very afraid of the 9 month regression! I know she will get there, it just feels like everyone else's baby sleeps or wakes up briefly and feeds back to sleep. Not my little monkey! Tbh I can see the cogs whirring sometimes. She has just learned to clap and likes to practice that at night at the moment. Its quite cute looking back but in the middle of the night you just want the earth to swallow you up.

Lochie sounds such fun, are you doing anything for his birthday?

Ah so maybe a bit early for that particular regression, although it sounds like she's learning lots so perhaps she's just too busy to sleep! TBH I would ignore those who tell you their baby sleeps, I bet if you questioned them, 8 out of 10 class 'through the night' as from midnight to 6am or something..

He is cute, although he's a right rascal too. We're taking him to London Aquarium on the day and then out for lunch and then doing various family things on the weekend. We don't have the room for a party unfortunately, so it's a low key one this year!

Very quickly popping in to say Rose appears to have got over her grumpy period, as long as she gets decent naps in the day she's back to her smiley self! I ended up buying the wonder weeks book. It's very interesting although some bits are a little repetitive. Finally got referral app through, for the end of December!!!! Got to love the NHS. Luckily her neck seems a lot better, she isn't holding her head to one side all the time any more and is starting to lift it up again a little. Have to run so sorry for no name checks. Will be back for a proper catch up soon. Hope everyone's well [hsmile]

Lochtopus - love it! Thanks for the info worrisome

No advice on sleep flo just sympathy. We had four night feeds last night, feels very lonely when the rest of my antenatal group all have babies sleeping 7 - 7 apparently . Hannah's awake periods sound like a real killer, you poor thing, you must be exhausted after six months of no sleep. Can only recommend early bedtimes for you and lots of cake... and really, this too will pass. Rubbish about the house too - it's so stressful, and such a lot of money to waste. Fingers crossed that it's not fallen through.

Ps HH yay for Rose being back to her sunny self!

Hi all, I keep forgetting to check in here now we have fb!

cherry glad to hear you had a lovely holiday and that C enjoyed it, what a good girl! At least you know she can self settle, I am sure it's probably just a clingy phase and she will get back into the swing of things in the next week or so. Tabitha wasn't too keen on baby rice either until I mixed it with some fruit puree...so i just give her puree now without the rice. she loves papaya, banana, sweet potato (especially when baked) and butternut squash (ditto). All the sweet things basically! Little monkey. I am planning on starting BLW when she is 6 months as there's more you can give them then. I just wanted her to get used to food not always being in a bottle before then, and she was definitely ready with 2 teeth!

halo sorry to hear about Hannah's sleep. Youre dead right; one day she will just sleep through and you'll forget how hard it was when she didn't. And sometimes it's not that great a thing, since T doesn't sleep much in the day and by her bedtime I am absolutely exhausted! Especially during teething when she won't even let me have a wee without crying! Anyway, fingers crossed she works it out soon so you feel a little better. Thank god for maternity leave is all I can say! Really hope the house situation sorts itself out too.

hh have you tried taking Rose to an osteopath? We took T in the early days because she was always sleeping with her head to the left and we were worried it was something tight on the other side. She had 2 sessions of cranial osteopathy and was right as rain. Obviously Rose might need more but I would definitely recommend it, they says it's often something to do with the birth and correcting spinal alignment?

worrisome hope lochie has a fab birthday! Can't believe it is a year already... The aquarium sounds like such a good idea, I bet he will love it :)

Hi to anyone I have missed. Am trying to wolf my brekkie down before T wakes up!

halo sorry your sleep's up the wall again. William had his biggest sleep regression of the lot at 7mths - 3/4 nightwakings, one of which would last 2-3hrs every night for about 3 weeks. It was definitely related to him learning new stuff - he had a major leap forwards with crawling but also personality wise. And once he came out the other side of it he started sleeping through at least 1-2 nights a week, and aside from the odd blip here and there he's now sleeping an 11hr block every night, and taking 2x2hr naps in the day, so there is light at the end of the tunnel [hsmile]

hh glad Rose is back to her old self

Tried a different brand of nappies for William and it turns out he's allergic to them. He has a terrible rash where the elastic round the legs goes. I worked late today so DH gave him some nappy free time after dinner.......and the cheeky monkey did a huge poo right in the middle of the living room floor [hgrin]

Ha ha Will's poop story shocked us all into silence!

How's the house situation flo, have you moved in with the in laws yet? How's it going? And any improvement on Hannah's sleep post move?!

Weaning still not going great here, we've ditched the baby rice and tried sweet potato, carrot, banana, apple and pear. Obviously not altogether! Have ordered the BLW cookbook online and just going to wait a couple of weeks for C to turn six mnths and may give that a go instead. Just need to man up about my fear of her choking!

bunny Loving the idea that Hannah might get sleeping through soon. Last night wasn't too bad but napping has been terrible today so we will see how tonight pans out. Did you get quite stressed about napping? Sometimes I feel I have to decide to stay in to get good naps (and then it doesn't always work) or go out and accept the rubbish short naps?

cherry We move this weekend. I doubt sleep will improve - ill just be thankful if its doesn't get worse. Their spare room only has a 3/4 bed. DP might be kicked onto the sofa if she needs to come in with me.

BLW cookbook is really good cherry and before 6 mo I tried Hannah on both BLW and purees. Neither worked as she wasn't that interested but BLW was easier. At nearly 7mo Hannah is getting better. She is very interested, her poos are changing and she seems to chew and swallow little bits now. She hasn't choked once (touch wood) but I tend to give her fairly soft foods (banana, well roasted/steamed veg) She likes chunks of meat too and nibbles/sucks as them

I find it quite wasteful as food is always on the floor but its amazing to watch her progress.

Hannah bit me last week, on my nipple. Not happy as its been really sore all week. And today I got my first period. Its been light so far but not really sure what to expect. I really wasn't expecting it back for ages as Hannah feeds frequently.

Those with older babies, can you remember what you did it terms of dropping day feeds? Hannah "demands" a feed when grumpier, tired, hungry so basically I don't really know what she needs. Currently I feed at approx 7, 9, 11, 1, 4 and 6 during the day. I think I could drop some of those morning feeds but I don't like her to nap on an empty tummy and I always worry she might be thirsty (most water gets spat out). Solids are at approx 12 and 5. I don't do breakfast yet but I am going to add it in soon.