March 2005 part 3 - Support for the sleep obsessed!

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Which of course, we all are

Popsy, really sorry to hear about Harry. How awful Hope he gets better soon and you all get some sleep.

Well done Iris on crawling, how clever We are still nowhere near (not even on his hands and knees yet) and doesn't even show any signs of wanting to move anywhere. If he can't reach something, he just looks around to see what else is in reach and picks that up instead. Determined, he ain't

Spent this morning watching DD at her practise ballet exam (she takes her real grade 1 exam in two weeks) then the afternoon, watching her prance around the house working on the things she got wrong today. Also have had to shorten her character skirt which is an inch too long !!! which has taken me about two hours as I haven' got a sewing machine. So glad I've got a boy this time as DH can do the 'standing on the side of a fottball pitch' stuff whilst I stay in the warm with a cup of tea and some biccies.

Sleep tight everyone

Oh nearly forgot, Iris is gorgeous. What a lovely big smile

Oh popsy - poor Harry, what a worry for you. Hope he recovers quickly.

Pidge - lovely to see an up to date photo of Iris - she's beautiful, and has the same 'hairstyle' as Grace! She must be so chuffed with herself that she can crawl now. Grace is almost there I reckon, gets so frustrated with herself. She can usually get anything she wants (and that's everything!) by rolling and creeping though.

We had a terrible time with her last night - took an hour to get her to sleep because of all the noise from the fireworks. I felt so sorry for her, she must have wondered what on earth was going on.

Gave her spaghetti bolognese a couple of days ago - I 'd made some for the rest of us (no salt or pepper) and so blended some down for her. She loved it!

Busywizzy - ballet is taking over our life at the moment. DD1's ballet school are performing in the Lord Mayor's show in January so not only does she have her normal lesson on Saturday mornings, but also a rehearsal in the afternoon. Because it is 3/4hr mid-morning and the same mid-afternoon, we aren't able to do anything else all day Saturday apart from have lunch!

Hope everyone sleeps well tonight!

popsycal - poor little Harry - and poor you, it makes me so sad when my kids are ill. As you say - a bonus to get to stay off work though!

harry seems brighter but I am about to commit a crime on his big brother!!!!!

for three nights out of the last five, ds1 has woken at 4 and refused to go back to sleep

think it is going to have to be controlled crying again for ds1 - though dh and I are so tired I dont know whether we can face it
we can't go on like this anymore though

popsycal - gosh how awful. I really sympathise - I have completely lost my rag in the last week due to lack of sleep. At least our older child seems to be co-operating these days.

And Iris is heading the right way - woke at 2am, but resettled herself without my having to go to her, ditto at 2.30am, then fed briefly at 3.30am and 5.30am, and got up at 6.45am. We're moving towards a very decent night's sleep!

Still have my parents staying which is brilliant, as I'm finally getting loads of jobs done. We have laundry coming out of our ears!

Had a really good swimming lesson with Harrison today. All the other 5 babies were poorly so it was just Harrison and I with the instructor. As he's got quite confident at going underwater now, she decided we could try and actually swim underwater with him So she took him under, swam along for a bit and then let him go to swim back up to me. He looked a bit shocked the first time he came up but after that, he seemed to get the hang of it. What a clever little man

Still no word from work !!!!!

Popsy, can't believe the bad luck you're having on the sleeping front. Harrison sometimes wants to start the day at 5.30am and I think my worlds ended when that happens so how you must feel about 4 I can't begin to imagine

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Hi all. I've just caught up with all your posts and loved to read about the babies' progress.

We are fine here. I'm very busy with work. I use a computer without internet access and only get onto this one very rarely, otherwise /i know i can't resist. I'm doing 10 hours a week, from home.

Sylvia is now 8 months old. She's still crawling commando style (trying hard on all her fours too), sitting up, standing, changing positions easily. Still only two teets. She's off food these days, i don't know why. She's still in our bed so sleep is easy, she feeds on and off through the night. As it's done while we're both lying down we fall asleep without problems.

We went to Brighton for the firworks this Saturday and the old car race on Sunday. We stayed with a friend in a block on the shore, 23 floors up. Quite a view!

I've been feeling very down lately (not just tired) and have started some ADs last week. I think i might have to change them as i read there are better ones when breastfeeding.

This is a brief update from me. I'll try and keep up better. Thank you so much BW for thinking of me.

Cristina, great to hear from you but sorry you are not feeling os great. Hope it passes quickly and you feel better.

Popsy, hope Harry gets better soon (although wishing you another few days off work ,and dd1 sorts out his sleep. Still impressed with how you have coped for so long with such little sleep.

Misdee, I also hope next year gets better for you.

As for diets, I have been pretty good with eating (just cut out desserts, chocolate and sweets) and was losing weight, but the last week or so I have become a complete glutton and can see the fat piling back on my stomach again!

Its great to come to work on Tuesday morning to catch up with everyone !

We had a good weekend, Niklas is absolutely wonderful at the moment, still waking at around 5, but we have a playpen in our bedroom now and after feeding he has started to be quite happy to play there for a while on his own. I can only complain that I am tired as I have had too many late nights. Sunday unintended as we locked ourselves out of our house and had to wait for a locksmith to come and get us back in!

It was really tough this morning leaving him at the nursery, not sure if I was imagining but as I closed the door I thought he looked as if he was going to cry !

Anyone else's little one scared of the vacuum cleaner - Niklas has suddenly become terrified. Its hilarious!

Does anyone have any bright ideas of what I could wear for a wedding in the UK December?

Just have to add that the guy sitting next to me in the office is flying very low! , , giggle! Somehow with my very childish sense of humour I think its really funny! Ha ha ha!

And about babies... I think this is the first time I can really say that being pregnant again would be OK, and to have another baby in my arms would be really wonderful....

and another thing, congratulations Pidge to your friend with the new baby.
Wow out from a CS after 2 days , I still couldn't get myself out of bed on my own until about 4 days after or walk unsupported.

Welcome back Cristina, it is so good to hear from you although I'm sorry you are feeling low. Hopefully a change of AD's will help but please remember, we are all here to 'chat' and to offer help and support if you want.

Popsy, hope Harry is feeling better - a better night by any chance ????

Leo, I love reading your posts on a Tuesday as there's always so much to say. Isn't it amazing that so much can happen in just four days Harrison doesn't mind the hoover, the lawnmower or the jet thingy (also very loud) that DH uses to wash the cars. However, he's not sure about a toy that someone gave me recently that has buttons you push and they play tunes and flash lights. His bottom lip starts to quiver and he has to have someone very close by to reassure him it's OK. Aren't they funny little things.

A wedding in the UK in December, hmmmmmm. What about a trench coat, hat, scarf and gloves Sorry not much help am I. Maybe a winter type dress and boots. Hobbs/Next usually do some really nice ones as I often invest in a few for work during the winter. Not sure if you have this where you are though. If you wanted anything delivered in the UK and posted over to you, I'm happy to act as middle (wo)man.

Right, am seriously fed up of the cold I've now had for two weeks. It seems to come and go with different symptons all the time. One day I have a terrible cough, a few days later that feels better but my nose starts running and I'm sneezing all the time, then the cough comes back and now I have a really tight chest so am wheezing over everyone. I also keep getting really hot and feel sooo achey and tired. Harrison has slept well the past few days and yet I feel like an absolute wreck. Grrrrrrr Am going to have a nice hot bath now whilst Harrison is sleeping to see if I can soothe some of the aches away.

Have a good day everyone

Cristina7 - good to have you back, sorry to hear things have been tough for you. I really hope the ADs kick in and give you a lift soon.

Leogaela - I love catching up with your long posts at the start of the week too! This weekend it was pretty much just me drivelling on and on round here! I also cannot believe my friend was out in 2 days - I delivered "naturally" (so-called) and I couldn't walk more than 50 yards for about a fortnight, nor sit down, stand up or anything else without a fork lift truck. I can't remember was yours an emergency CS or planned - because that must make some difference. And as ever I guess the recovery is down to luck to some extent. And my friend really wanted to be home, because she felt so abandoned being on her own in hospital at night without her dp's support. So that was a major incentive.

We just had a great day out with my parents - went to the London Aquarium and even Iris seemed to enjoy looking at all the fish. Then we hit Tate Modern where she yelled her head off in the Turbine hall. Quite a good acoustic for a hollering baby we found.

Ohhhhhh, proud mummy moment coming up. Harrison has learnt how to give kisses Well, I say kisses, it's more like a slobbery suck but I know what he's trying to do. You say 'Harrison, give mummy a big kiss' and he gives a big grin, puts his hands either side of my face and then opens his mouth wide and waits for me to kiss him. Of course, he only does it when me and him are together and won't perform in front of anyone else, so DH thinks I'm making it up !!!

Ohhhhh, I love him, love him, love him

Oh, how sweet, Busy. I must try this with Sylvia too.

I went to have my eyebrows shaped today and Sylvia got so scared she cried and cried the whole 5 minutes or so. I don't know if she was scared of me with these funny wax papers on (also in the moustache area [schock]) or what exactly terrified her, but she cried so much. I kept saying "it's OK, it's doesn't hurt mummy" etc but she was so distressed.

Leogaela - can't have been fun being locked outside the house. DH did that once and I was away overnight. He climbed through an open window, after borrowing a ladder from neighbours. We live on the first floor.

How much solids do your babies eat? Sylvia is eating aboout a small jar size of solids a day, sometimes a bit more. I think it's a bit little but she's gone off cereals and has her first solid meal around 2-3 pm, maybe another one later on. She's doing fine with fruit, at least 2 a day. We have her check towards the end of this month, I'm curious to see how much she weighs.

Oh Busywizzy, that has made me melt! How cute is Harrison!

Have you tried overdosing on Vitamin C and taking some Zinc (not sure how much you should take of that but loads of vitc is fine) to help fight your cold? I guess the lack of sleep takes its toll on your immunity.

Pidge, I had an emergency cs, but had only just started labour when they had to stop it. The doctor said that my stomach muscles hadn't separated during the pregnancy (which I would proudly like to add is apparently very, very unusual and because I was so fit !) and they stitched them back together again afterwards so I think I suffered more than normal because of that. Also I was happy(-ish) in hospital as we had our own room and dh stayed there with us the whole time, even stayed over night (money very well spent!).

Sylvia, Niklas is doing fairly well on solids now but it has taken some time, he has at least half a banana and some cereal for breakfast, lunch he will eat about 2/3 of a avent pot of something savoury for lunch, some fruit or yogurt in the afternoon and milk porridge in the evening before bed. It sounds as if she is eating enough and if she is still breastfeeding a lot and often through the night she may just not need so much food.

Niklas seems to be making a lot of different noises now, it sounds as if he is saying 'da', 'la', 'ba'. I am excitedly curious to see whether his first real words will come out in English or Swiss-German.
He is also trying to wave. Its happened a couple of times, but this morning when we left him at the nursery and waved goodbye he stuck his hand in the air as if to wave !

Right, am off to the chemist today to get whatever I can to get rid of this cold (thanks for the advice Leo, will try both of those). Last night was awful and I've turned into the person in our household who keeps everyone awake I was up having coughing fits at 2,3 and 4. I woke up again at 5 and managed to wake Harrison in the process. Couldn't get him back to sleep so fed him and whilst doing so, had another coughing fit. 5 minutes later, in walks DD as I'd managed to wake her as well DH of course, slept through it all

Harrison has progressed with his kissing trick and now tries to kiss himself when I sit him in front of the mirror in our bedroom. He's very, very pleased with himself and looks hilarious so I've taken a picture which I'll try to get onto the photobucket later today.

Cristina, Harrison's food during the day goes something like this -
6.00am - full milk feed
8.00am - big bowl of porridge
11.00am - small milk feed
1.00pm - meat/fish and vegetables for lunch (about 3oz which is the equivalent to a small jar of baby food I reckon) followed by pudding
3.00pm - small milk feed
5.00pm - vegetarian tea (again about the amount of a small jar) and a yogurt
6.30pm - full milk feed

HTH

Ought to go and do ironing but am off to put my feet up with a cup of tea and some biccies whilst Harrison is napping.

Have a good day everyone.

Morning everyone!

Good to hear from you Christina although sorry to hear that you've not been feeling so great. Hope the ADs do the trick for you. It would be lovely to see some photos of Sylvia - have you got the details for the photobucket?

Leogaela - Grace is also terrified of the hoover - I have to wait until she is asleep before I can do any hoovering, and the upstairs only gets done at the weekend when one of us can take her downstairs so she can't hear it. I remember dd1 was exactly the same.

Busywizzy - awwww, how gorgeous! Ever since I read about Harrison's kisses I've been trying to get Grace to do it but she jsut grins at me like I'm daft! Sorry to hear your cold is no better. I had one that seemed to linger for ages (about 2 weeks) but - touch wood - it seems to have finally gone now.

Christina, with regard to solids, our day is along the lines of:

5am - both breasts
8am - cereal with 4-5 oz of milk mixed with fruit puree or mashed banana
9.30-10 - One breast
12.30-1pm - 6-8 cubes of savoury + youghurt or fruit
2.30-3pm - one breast
5pm - varies depending on how hungry she is - sometimes the same as lunchtime, sometimes just a few spoons of fruit.
6.30pm - both breasts

Breakfast is definitely the most popular meal of the day and tea the least popular!

Well, our normal routine has gone a bit haywire today. Instead of waking for a feed at 5am and then going back down for a couple of hours, Grace didn't wake until 7.10am (although she did wake at about 1am but dh settled her again quite quickly). I therefore put her down early for her morning sleep (about 9.15am) and have just heard a small shout from her. Am ignoring her though as it's gone quiet and I'm hoping she will go back to sleep for a bit! She usually has 2 hours in the morning.

Popsy - hope Harry is on the mend.

There are a few people we've not heard from for a while - wonder how 3mummy is doing especially.

Have a good day everyone.

Was also wondering about 3mummy.
Just been walking around our building site of a garden deciding what plants to put where. We are quite keen gardeners and have been dying to get started on our new gardening project. Had our new lawns laid last week and Lauren had her lunch outside for the first time today as it was finally a nice day. Think Summer has arrived - better late than never. Now we will probably swelter until March.
Hope you are feeling better Busy.

Hello girls!
STill off work with HArry. Things were looking up but today he has been poorly. I am taking unpaid parental leave for the rest of the week.
He has had 4 naps today and is in bed now
Not at all interested in solids but is luckily feeding well otherwise.
Poor little man.

OUr routine goes something like:
Between 6 and 7 - feed (depending on how much he has had int he night he will either feed off one side or both)
7 (on a work day) half a weetabix

Popsy, really hope Harry gets better soon.

Have put some new photos in the bucket.

i had to go before as i heard projectile vomit in the next room
he is so unsettled tongiht

popsycal - poor you and Harry - I hope he's on the mend really soon.

We had our first real bout of illness for Iris yesterday evening - she had been a bit grouchy, but it didn't stop her wolfing half an avocado mashed with half a banana, then she got even grouchier and finally she literally turned green and hurled the whole contents of her stomach all over me and herself. Anyway, she was then ok. Managed a full breastfeed and seems to be ok today, though rather grumpy.

Other than that she has been developing her crawling techniques, getting faster by the day!

Busywizzy - oh my goodness - have just seen the pic of Harry kissing - how cute is that