April 2011; springtime arrivals - blackbird, song thrush, mistle thrush, nipple thrush, nappy thrush...

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

Here we are, our new thread and this time we all have our babies !

I thought we were getting thrush again, but then realised I had let ds's latch get sloppy. He was constantly clicking and tutting at the breast but I was too distracted to notice.

Ds and I made butterfly cakes together this morning, ds got to choose the colour of the buttercream icing ..... It is a very lurid shade of pink and they are covered in sugar strands. You can never have enough sugar!

ecuse struggle post snip :o fnar!! I've resigned myself to the fact B just isn't going to latch, I could persevere and he would eventually get it, but I can't put myself or B through all the tears. I am however still expressing. I was going to give up, but the accountant in me has worked out that a months worth of formula is almost the same price as the hire of the pump! So, I'll stick with the expressing for as long as my supply holds up.

The infant feeding advisor did suggest I try using nipple sheilds again to get him latched, but TBH I can't be done with the faff. You need 3 hands to use a shield (well I do, one to hold B, one ot lift boob, and one ot hold the shield in place).

Sleeping here is still going well. Last night was 9-5.30 then back down til9.30!! He also has a good 2-3 hours in the afternoon. He takes after his mummy!

He seems to be wanting to sit up more and more, what kind of seat/support things do you guys have? He is too flat in his bouncy chair I think.

we're already onto the first night feed tonight. What is usually his long stretch has lasted less than 4 hours tonight. Which probably means he'll be up every hour from now.

And he was actually happy and lovely for most of today. I knew something would go wrong.

Lis good question about support. We're having the same thing here (although interspersed with 'woah, are those feet?!'). Biggest issue is the bath - he really wants to sit up and play but I struggle to hold on to the slippery wriggler. Any suggestions for that?

And with the feet thing, and rolling, I'm starting to wonder if the lovely fluffy but bulky washable nappies are restricting his movement, stopping him from raising his legs to look/roll. But I suppose that didn't hold back the generations in terry squares. Just seems a bit mean to stop a fun new game (or alternatively waste a bunch of lovely nappies and spend a fortune on disposables). Any thoughts?

Ok, so hourly was an exaggeration, but we've had 2:20 and 3am so far. The he woke again I was sneaking out at 3:15, so I'm still here.

At least it's not as hard as my poor neighbours. I met their 12wk old puppy earlier, they said it's harder than having a baby. Poor loves.

Oh, what I'd do for 10 hours uninterrupted sleep...

Ok, so hourly was an exaggeration, but we've had 2:20 and 3am so far. The he woke again as I was sneaking out at 3:15, so I'm still here.

At least it's not as hard as my poor neighbours. I met their 12wk old puppy earlier, they said it's harder than having a baby. Poor loves.

Oh, what I'd do for 10 hours uninterrupted sleep...

I used our Bjorn babysitter from 6 weeks and he's just gone a bit more upright. We also have a little bath chair.

Re: nappies I find M has more mobility in the slimfit ones like flips or carefully folded terries than in the Motherease or BTP Bumgenius pockets. Cloth is better for hip development anyway and they'll reach their toes and roll with it soon enough. It just makes nappy free time more important.

Part one of the wedding is over. We took H with us.

DP took H for a walk during the ceremony and he cried loads so phew! H then fell asleep for the canapes and photos and for the start of the meal but woke up as the speeches started. He took a bit of milk in the bottle but was too excited and wanted to look around so DP and I took it in turns to wolf our food/hold the baby.

He was then super charming in his sailor suit and was squidged by many guests, the bride then came over and wanted a prolonged cuddle. I chased her with a muslin to protect THE DRESS. It was as we all suspected, once the big day was under way she really didn't care.

I did have to attempt to boob feed as my chest was on the verge of explosion and H was a bit sick on my dress but never mind.

We left at about 8 as H was a bit overwhelmed by then and was starting to get a bit anxious. We got him home, he screamed for a while and wouldn't go down until about midnight.

DP was a star and had H a lot of the time so that I could see relatives and mingle.

Thank God the big one is over, now for the blessing on Sunday...

glad it all went well in the end cycle

Thanks for the nappy info Frak, we'll work in a little more no-nappy time.

In the interest of completion: we had 5:30 and then 7am exactly. I'll be doing the zombie impression and generally failing to cope all day then.

Ah that's fab cycle Hope Sunday goes well too.

S was awake so much yesterday. I took him to meet some relatives and he was awake the full 3 hours. He seems alot more himself now. Fed him at 8. Fell asleep on me at 9. Bed at 10. Fed at 345. Bed at 430. Fed at 745. Another lovely nappy!

Hope u all have lovely weekends. Dh is at the local beer fest this afternoon so this eve could be fun! He's taken Monday off tho and we are going for a pub lunch.

Cycle I'm glad you all got through it, sounds a lovely day :)

Petal - DS1 was definitely a little slower to roll than some other babies who were in disposables. He wasn't far behind though and it does nothing to hinder their general development so for me it isn't an issue.
The sleeping sounds a nightmare - I think you've hit the 4-month sleep regression early with F. I'm expecting T to regress any day and just trying to make the most of our decent nights for now!

In terms of sitting, the edge of our baby gym is inflatable and you raise it as they get older so T sits in that for a bit now. Is your bouncy chair adjustable? Ours will raise up a bit. Other than that we've just got some squidgy floor cushions from Ikea that we had for DS1 which we prop round him so that he can see what's going on.

Glad the wedding went well Cycle.

First decent night's sleep in ages here. P slept from 11 - 5.30 and then 7.45 -9.15. I must confess that she did wake up about 2ish and let off a series of squawks. They didn't turn into full blown screams, so I left her. Bad mummy me.

It's made me think that it might be time to move her into her own room though. I wake up at every sound she makes and am perhaps sometimes getting up and feeding her before she actually needs it. We're also running out of room in the moses basket rapidly, so we might have no choice but to move her. Is it really bad for her to be in her own room yet? She's only eight weeks.

I feel vaguely human for the first time in ages though. The sun is shining too - yay! Unfortunately DH is still in bed (all right for some), so am not sure I'll be getting out anywhere in a hurry!

Oh, and re sitting up and support. What are those Bumbo seats like? Has anybody got any feedback on them? I've seem them in the shops but don't know much about them.

Ali I think you could be right. Just been reading KellyMom (best website ever?!) which has reminded me that its all normal and to be expected. I just hope it settles by the time I go back to work, or I won't cope at all!

He did a whole series of beautiful rolls the other day when he was in disposables when it was hot. So I know he can do it, when the cloth nappies aren't restricting him.

We're off to check out the local garden centre. Hope this blue sky & sun lasts...

Starshaped F went into his big cot in his own room at 8 weeks because he grew out of his crib.

He slept brilliantly for a while too!

I do like having our room back, and having a little nest set up in F's room for the night feeds.

DI went from 11.30pm to 10am !!! I actually checked her at 9am in a panic, touched her cheek and heard a little "aahhhh" and then tip toed away !! Feel sooo good. Fed her and then manage to express 3oz !!

I'm having the best morning ever, gave DI some nappy free time in front of the mirrored wardrobe and she had a great time, talking away and laughing at the "other baby", it was so cute. DP and I sat video taping her, a really nice family moment

Now DP is cleaning out the kitty litter and then is going to look after DI while I go for a pedicure and manicure, I might even have my first drink in almost a year this evening as I've got lots of expressed milk stored now, mmmmm Southern Comfort & Coke I think

Hope everyone has a good weekend

Awh that's fab Aussie

much better night last night, only 2 wakeups from F. Shame, though that we were woken on several other occasions by drunkards & police.

we live in the arse end of devon (in a 'nice' area too) and it's almost worse than the student areas of Plymouth we used to live in. I don't understand...

Good to hear our babies are slowly and surely sleeping more (ILTMIMI gives I a hard stare!)

Bumbo's - I bought mine second hand thinking they were the best thing since sliced bread, but by the time ds1 & 2 could both use one they managed to flip themselves out of it in a short space of time. So I sold it last autumn knowing that I wouldn't use it for ds3. They are a nice idea, but I don't think they are as wonderful as you expect them to be, you may as well just prop them up with a pillow. Some people put their lo's in them when their lo is eating, but one of the signs of being ready to wean is that your lo can sit up unaided - which means they can go straight into their highchair. So after much waffling, I would say spend the money you were going to spend on a Bumbo on a better highchair.

I bet I have just x-posted with someone else who thinks Bumbos are fab!!

Everyone I know who has had a Bumbo has thought they were a waste of money with only about 2-3 weeks where they are of any use if at all!!

Yay, Ali agrees with me - high five!!!!

I can't stop eating today, infect I've been like that for a few days. I think I'll blame it on a growth spurt! Ds's, not mine!

Inflatable playnests are great, DS still enjoys sitting on/rolling/jumping/diving into his so much I had to get DD one of her own.

Hurrah, the wedding weekend is over!!!!

H only slept until 2.30am on Saturday night then would only sleep face down on me, which he hasn't done in aaaages. I therefore got practically no sleep after this point and burst into tears when DP woke up and was sobbing 'I'm too tired' for half an hour. After being sagely advised to wash my face and calm down I butter creamed the coffee cakes and whipped the cream for the victoria sponges ( grandma supplied the bases) and got on with things.

Blessing was great, lots of people wanted to watch H for me and when I joined the choir for the anthem (it was I was Glad, which was what Catherine Middleton walked up the aisle to at the royal wedding) I could see him being tiger in the treed by a family friend He loved the music and was gurgling happily whenever the brass ensemble played.

Headed home at about 7.45pm as both H and I were exhausted.

He then slept from 9.15pm-4.30! Then he went from 5-7.30 so I feel way better today for the 4 July BBQ with the American cousins.

Phew!

Awh well done cycle

Morning Ladies!! B has been a different baby over the weekend, really unsettled and proper screaming, which he hasn't done before. I can't fathom the reason. Could it still be from his jabs on Tuesday??? He is still sleeping his normal stretches, wet and dirty nappies feeding as normal. When we hold him he'll sit there happily for a while, then he'll let out a scream like someone has shot him. I'm worried he is hurt somewhere and we keep touching it and making it worse. I can't see anything to say this is why, but really am getting worried. Is it just a baby thing and I'm being a neurotic new mum??

Glad it all went well in the end Cycle, it sounds like it was quite the epic weekend all in all!

S has spent three days cluster feeding and comfort sucking. I think it's a combination of imminent growth spurt and teething. Poor thing just doesn't know what to do with himself. We were meant to be at Baby Massage this morning but after tears from 8.30am by 9.20am I figured we'd be giving it a miss, he's now zonked out on my bed after a dose of Calpol and plenty of boob.

DH did have a mushy moment during yesterdays scream/boob fest where he started saying thank you for going through all the pain at the start to keep up the BF because he wouldn't have the patience to do it. He also realised that when I say 'I've been stuck on the sofa with S stuck to my boob all day' I really mean it!

ILTMIMI also starving here, also blaming the growth spurt feeding. pass the cake!

We don't have a Bumbo, S has been in the one at the Children's Centre but never seemed keen. We have a Boppy cushion that was given and he's happy with that sometimes, though S usually likes to be propped up on the sofa between me and DH (nosey thing obviously thinks he's missing out on something otherwise!)

Lis, H was unsettled for about four days after his jabs so it could be that. I feel your pain though, I too felt awful that I couldn't comfort him x