March 2011 Windy bums and a good nights sleep - Will these wonders ever cease?

[GeekLove]

welcome to the new thread fellow March Mums!

Now they are all rolling suckin and gearing up for weaning!

Hi halestones and welcome. best twins comment I heard was to a friend with twin boy and girl of "are they identical?"..ummm let me see... one boy and one girl....

Sorry not posted much but have been lurking and dealing with O's horrible teething and cold which started out looking like an eye infection and is now a full blown cold making him miserable combined with seemingly another 2 teeth cutting. Bring on the calpol.... Two nights he was up at 1,2,3,4 and 5am. Last night I had to settle him about 10 times before midnight at which point I took him into bed and he slept for 3 hours before waking up again and at 4.15 I begged DH to help me out as I was pretty much at the end of my tether with it all! Just keep reminding myself that he feels like crap and isn't doing it on purpose!

Ironically he slept brilliantly whilst we were camping last week, and even let me have a lie in till 8.50 one morning!!

Was going to start weaning this week, but will wait till the little man feels better.

Lovely to hear all the weaning stories - hope we will be joining in soon. Sorry not to post personal replies but there was SO much to catch up on!

Oh and DS1 went to the ENT specialist at hospital today and had a hearing test and looks like he has glue ear. Have to go back next week to go over the results and decide whether they will monitor his hearing to see if it will improve naturally, or whether he needs an operation for grommits and to have his adenoids out.....

Welcome back, mixed, and can't believe you managed to read ANY books with 3 DCs!!! Also, welcome to halestones and renuagarwal. I just learned today that a friend/colleague in France had her twins a few weeks ago! Hope you have loads of support!

Petty, love the usage of the word "dummied"! Sounds like another rough night, but headed in the right direction. It's hilarious how sometimes the help of our DHs can make us cringe, though it's sweet. Hope tonight will be much better for you (and Halo).

Weaning is a fun mess, isn't it?!?! To make it exponentially messier, Franz grabs the spoon with one hand, then shovels the puree into his mouth with the other before placing the whole spoon in his mouth (or on his eye, or in his hair,...) Then he vomits (reflux hasn't improved) making all his clothes, blankets, and cloths a lovely shade of orange from the carrot or sweet potatoes. How will we ever take this on the road and feed him in a public place?

Finally saw the hv yesterday and Franz is a whopping 18 lbs! Not THAT big, but just heavy enough, as halo said, to make my arms, back, etc, ache. It's worth it as I LOVE pinching all that chub all day long! :) Am just feeling a bit like geriatric mum these days.

Ckny when did you start weaning? I was getting really pi**ed off getting covered in sweet potato vomit and that weaning wasn't helping the reflux but I have now seen as MASSIVE improvement in the last 2 days (2.5weeks after starting weaning). Now its just the other end that seems to be working 24/7....... I am mostly using fruit for the entirely selfish reason that it doesn't stink so much

I don't mind getting up once (at a push twice!) in the night - I am eternally optimistic that we can return to this! Off now to bank some sleep just in case though......

Oh and Arthur is about 18/19lb now and I dread picking him up from the floor.

Oh and another thing, Arthur doesn't have many toys and I think he's getting a bit fed up of rolling on his mat playing with his lamaze dog. What can anyone recommend for him? I like the lamaze toys because they are so functional but don't know what to get next?

Thanks for the warm welcome all - Not sure double the fun cheeseandbiscuits, feels like double the screaming right about now! :o

They're non-id twins, my partner carried them (I'm in a f/f relationship), after 6 unsuccessful rounds of fertility treatment we said, what the hell, we'll stick 2 in! , and yes, they're our first.

DS1 has 2 teeth (first one appeared a couple of weeks ago, second one last week) and DS2 has none, but lots of dribbling going on - Started weaning last week as both were showing all the signs (apart from DS2s lack of teeth) and HV suggested we start both breakfast & lunch, but no tea until 24 weeks.

On sleeping, I'm glad it's not just us that are having sleep issues, it feels like all other babies we know have been sleeping through since something ridiculous like 6 weeks and it's just ours trailing behind. We have one really good sleeper and suspect he would sleep through if not for his brother waking him up.

Sorry for the lack of personals, I'm just reading back!

HA, petty, at least fruit is healthy! Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since we started (very slowly) weening. We're now up to 2 meals/day b/c I'd rather wait until next week to try BLW. You're the 2nd person who's said that it took ~ 2 weeks for the puke to end, so looking forward! I was concerned that fruit would be too acidic, do you find a difference between feeding A apples v. bananas?

Regarding the play mat, Franz also seems a bit bored with all of his little soft toys and rattles. We've got the longest play time with his wooden toys from Germany.

Just had a HUGE scare with the not ripe enough avocado I tried to feed him today. There were teeny bits in it, and when he was washing it down with water, he completely choked (coughed, turned red, went silent...) so I grabbed him over my knee and hit his back...thankfully it all came out and he got over it after 5 minutes, though I was still shaking!!!!!!! :(

Hale, I feel as though parents w/ twins should be exempt from ever being sorry for anything! Who has the time?! :)

Cherub, hope DS1's ear heals naturally! Looks like it may be time to take O back camping to recover! :)

Oh no CKNY, was it a gag or a choke?Very rare to choke on something so tiny. Frightening nonetheless, poor you. Hope the reflux settles.

Congrats hale, what a lot you went through to get your lovely boys. Do not worry about the personal replies - you will be there all day.

Is anyone elses babies developed a real whine? I is doing it constatnly but there doesn't seem to be much wrong. I wonder if it is just another new sound she has learnt to make. Or she is frustrated that she cannot move around as quick as she would like. Either way, its not a pleasant sound! Am going back to my mums tomorrow, I need a break. DH is either studying or revising so a bit of help will be lovely.

We have been moved up a group at gymboree, I doesn't sit still for the baby group so we are now in the 'new crawlers' group - ha!

Evening everyone,
Welcome to our newcomers.

Bethan has spent 2 days in the past week with our childminder - 1 when i went into set up the classroom on Tuesday and then again yesterday when I had to return to work for a teacher training day. My childminder has told me that she is hard work , this is mainly because she is still not taking a bottle and is also only taking a small amount of water from a sippy cup!! I am not overally worried as she is on 3 meals a day and she loves her food...I am hoping that when she starts going properly next week she will begin to get into a routine and realise that I am not there to give her boob!!!!
I also have lots of faith in my childminder as she had DD1 from 7 months old..although I didn't like it when she said Beth was hard work, at least she is honest with me!!!

Exciting news though, we have our first tooth cut through and there is another one about to cut right next to it (this could also explain why she was a little tricky for cm this week as she was prob in pain and needing boob for comfort!)

Hope the sleep situation improves for you petty Bethan still wakes 2 or 3 times a night... I am unsure if it is due to her size and inability to take on board enough to go through the night or if she is using me as a dummy (and she won't take a dummy - guess too much like a teat from a bottle!!)

I am back to work properly next week Mon-Weds with my new reception class, I hope that I will be able to keep up with this thread but might be too tired for the 1st week or 2... I will try though!!
Hope all well x

ckny and that is exactly why i am too scared t try the BLW!! VV scary for you
Purple Good luck with the job! I remember Oscar's first day oh how he clung tightly to my hand!!
just a very quick post as i think i may have repetitive on my wrist it is REALLY painful! Anyway, since putting Cassie down to sleep on her tummy her sleep as improved dramatically!! Yay!! She sleeps for about 7-8 hrs wakes for a feed then back off!
she seems to be starting this nonsense about waking for the day at about 5-5.30am, i don't think so sweetcheeks..not in my house!! Here have a boob and go back to sleep theres a love!!!
well can't type anymore!! Hope you all have good weekends x

Touch wood I only had to "ignore"/dummy A for 2 nights and the last 2 nights he has woken at 2.30am and 5.30am for a feed, then up for the day at 8am! I can live with the 2.30/5.30am wake ups for the time being. TBH he didnt actually seem to need feeding at those times but he just seemed so awake it was easier to boob him.

Also, he can now sleep in a sleeping bag - no more swaddling yipeeeeeeeeee!

Sam - too much mn-ing? Does Cassie roll herself on to her tummy to sleep? I'm really hoping Arthur isn't far off from doing this now!

E wont actually drop off to sleep until he is on his tummy or side. If he is on his tummy I do still move him back just out of habit really but he much prefers it.

He has moved in with DS2 now and seems to not have any problems.

Night times were difficult in Turkey he seemed to wake loads but now we are back he seems a bit more settled.

DS2 is starting full time nursery on Monday so very soon it is going to be just me and E. Feel a bit about DS2 but he is really ready and very excited.

It will also make my days a bit easier with just E.

Welome to newbies.

Hi everyone

Sounds like everyone is having fun weaning, this is where I come in! (sorry for lack of personal response I do read everyday but not had chance to read the last few posts.

I have just started weaning today, Lucy is 6 months today I gave her a bit of baby rice with her usual evening bottle as advised in numerous weaning guides but I am still really worried about it all I have many questions, I just pretty much guessed how much milk I should use with the rice and she was taking it really well but as they said only 1 tsp on first go I didnt want to go overboard so just gave her rest of bottle.

How long do you stick to one meal a day and can it only be baby rice? when do you progress to 2 and 3 meals a day? Is it okay if they didnt take all their bottle as theyve had food with it too?

How much should I give? I want to make my own food and have bought a blender but Im reading that its good to not totally puree everything and to leave lumps in a few things. What fruit should I give and how? mashed or as a finger food? when do you introduce finger foods and meat?

I am mightily stressing over it and I dont know why, first child btw!

I am trying to use common sense with all this but I just dont know what foods and how much

My HV is rubbish and as I live in an area where theres no free parking they wont come out to me for help and guidance and the nearest weaning class is too far away!

Sorry for rambling completely but I have been reading your stories and you all seem so confident about it and I just need a bit of reassurance, I cant wait to see her little face but I dont want her to feel my anxiety over it!

Thanks everyone you guys are always here when we need you!

Katie, sorry you're not getting much support from your HV though it seems that much of this can be taken from various sources from the internet (perhaps Annabel Karmel's site www.annabelkarmel.com/nutrition/babies-6-months/weaning-guide or the weaning thread on MN?) My friends advised starting w/ veggie purees before fruit only b/c they are slightly less sweet and most babies prefer sweet. We started w/ one small serving of veggie per day for 3 days to test his reaction, so carrots for 3 days, then potatoes. Then I tried banana (only for 1 day b/c I wasn't worried about the reaction). Then after a week we went to 2 foods per day. Since he has reflux I'll wait until next week to go to 3 foods per day, perhaps baby rice in the morning, fruit puree at noon, then veggie at dinner. When he's 6 months + I plan to introduce finger foods (steamed carrots, broccoli, etc.) I may be overly cautious though...

Perhaps get a sense of what others are doing and put together something you feel comfortable with, and listen to your baby/trust your instincts!

Cheese and Sam, the avocado incident WAS scary as he had changed colour which is why I was sure he was choking. I took a day long hiatus from feeding him and now I just keep a close eye and feed him slower.

Cheese, Franz has been whining since our trip! I also wondered whether he's a bit frustrated that he can't reach things the way he wants to (i.e., forwards!)

Petty, congrats on the better sleeping and the sleeping bag! I think the sleeping bags have been our saviour since week 2 when we realised he was over being tied down swaddling!

Mixed, we also had sleep issues during our trip, and the HV said that even shorter trips could cause this so I dread our trip to Germany again next month!

Sam, hope your wrist is feeling better (when I get that I try to keep it straight as much as possible with my thumb against fingers when sleeping, or when holding my chunky monster,...)

Hello everyone, just a quick post as my mum is staying and she is driving me insane having a lovely time!

Weaning going well here, breakfast and tea, all BLW he hasn't refused anything yet, and broccolli and sweet potato are the firm favourites! Although ckny your avocado incident has absolutely scared the life out of me, I aways sit with him when he eats but sometimes he shoves so much food in his mouth at once.....

Welcome newbies halestones and Renuagarwal!

Right better go, mother is sat on the sofa watching me, looking thoroughly bored (we don't have a tv, angus is sleeping and its raining outside). Sigh. Enjoy your Sundays all!

Sounds like weaning is going really well for everyone. Can't wait to join in when ollie is over his cold. I have ripe pears waiting for him!

Feel a bit like I am not coping at the moment. Just about burst into tears in the street as ollie wouldn't settle to sleep at usual time as ds2 decided to show him some love and tickle his feet as he was nodding off. So thought I wouldn't be able to keep him awake till big boys nap when they all together.... I need the down time today as am so tired. Much worse than when ollie was newborn. For 6 nights now I haven't had more than 1 hr 20 sleep in a block and have prob averaged 4-5 hours total. Fingers crossed ollie much better but I can see 2 teeth cutting and that is now bothering him. Sorry to vent my frustration here but the support from you ladies makes a big difference!
Dh has been working v hard and is off to the office today from 2 and prob not back til 11 or midnight. He leaves every morning at 6 so I never get a couple of hours extra in bed which I think I would kill for right now!! I have asked him fir help a couple of times in the night recently as I was so tired I was stumbling as I tried to settle o and thought i might fall.

Hope we get back to 1 wakening a night soon. I do know this will pass soon but I do have to tell myself it over and over again!
Better try to sleep now whilst I can!

cherub I hear you. It's so hard sometimes, and I only have two, you have one more than me!!! I relate to that stumbling-in-the-night thing, I used to get that with DS1 who was much worse than Lara is, I used to think I was going to black out when I stood up sometimes. And DH had a different job then too and worked til midnight occasionally too - he would therefore sometimes go days without seeing DS at all and that only fuelled the fact that only I could settle him. Have you tried the teething powders? DS loved them. You need a night or two with bigger blocks of sleep to recharge a bit - I always think that 4 hours is the minimum block that makes the difference - once you get a solid 4 hours min block. Can you get DH to do a longer stint next time he has the next day off - or maybe he could even take a few days off if Ollie is going through a difficult patch?

I think it's harder now the little ones are a bit bigger and not so content to just sit and watch the bigger one(s) any more.

Katie Just see how LO gets on - my DS took to it very quickly but Lara won't even take a bottle so I'm not too hopeful for her!! They say a few teaspoons at first, maybe for a week or so and then up it to add breakfast there too or something. I think it's a good idea to start on lunch first, in case of any digestive discomfort - if you started with tea it might be more likely to disrupt the nighttime. Above all just see it as a fun new time - most of her nutrients will still come from milk, a good saying is "Food for fun until they're one" - which reminds you that it's not the be all and end all if it doesn't go too well at first!

weaning feeling very left out now, we still haven't started!! Taking Lara to HV on Tues to get weighed before we get going with it all towards the end of the month. Might start giving her the odd bit of banana or something.

Was going to write more but Lara is now whinging, both mine have colds. DS is sleeping his off but Lara is still not big on the daytime sleep!! DS sleeps more than her during the day!! Strange baby.

I am holding off til the end of the month too, loz. She rolled today, finally after weeks of trying!

Katie as you have waited until 6 month to wean you can pretty much give anything - no need for baby rice unless you want to? We started early so HV has advised that by the time we get to 6 months to stop pureeing and just mush up food with a fork. Luckily I am crap at pureeing so this won't be a massive transition for A . I second the annabel karmel website and her book too (she starts with first tastes, first foods and develops from there with idea for each stage of weaning). We started with things like sweet potato, carrots, parsnip, swede, pear, apple, banana etc (basically simple but sweet veg and fruit). I do use baby rice but just to thicken up something thats a bit too runny.

Hi all,

Glad weaning is going well for people and enjoy to those who haven't started yet!

Am reading and keeping up with people's posts but just on quickly to say that after weeks of E waking every two hours to feed the last two days he has woken ONCE! sleep at 7pm, awake at 1.30am ish and then sleep through until 7am. AMAZING. Wanted to say it for halo too- if your not seeing an improvement yet it will get better. I didn't think E would every get better but the last two nights have been fab. I do think that food helped here. He's 22 weeks and now on 3 "meals" a day though still taking milk throughout the day too. 19lbs!

Hope people had a nice weekend.

cherub Just a quick one to say that i'm thinking of you. I hope O lets you get some much needed rest tonight.

I will catch up soon, early night again tonight for me.

kpidgeon Woooo! That's brillant! No improvement like that here. We are on 3/4 wakings with the first being settled by the dummy (meaning she goes from 6-11 without food then up 1 and 4ish.) However but she is still often up for 2 hours from either the 11pm feed or the 1am feed. This will pass...

Seems to be our new mantra... "and this too shall pass"... We'll be sad when it does

oof all gone haywire again as he's totally blocked up with a cold.

Arghhh- darned snot!

This too shall pass yes..

I do Annabel Karmel too... its like i dont really have to think, she even has menus week by week.

Cherub - sorry you are having such a hard time. I have no words of wisdom but I hope it all evens out soon and you can feel a bit more normal.

Someone told me that the "new" weaning advice is to get them on the lumpy food quicker, is that true? Will ask HV tomorrow too but I don't hold much hope that I'll get more than a quizzical look, she's not the brightest fairy light on the Christmas tree!!

Knackered today. Lara woke twice last night and both times she only fed a bit and then just started chatting and grinning. Not wholly convinced she needs anything at night anymore as she's taking the mick a bit now!! However I won't be stricter until I know she's on enough food during the day. I'm stricter about putting her down awake now though, the only time she feeds to sleep now is at the end of the day, at actual bedtime.

Are all the bigger ones back to pre-school or school this week? This time next year, DS will be off. I am already worried about trying not to cry in front of him - I will feel like I'm missing a limb!

My mum is coming up at the end of the week for more house-hunting, I really hope she finds somewhere nice, it will be amazing to have her nearby.

Sorry for no individual replies - am on phone, DH working from home today so is hogging computer! Xxxx