November 2011 - early birds, just in time and late to the party, all welcome!!

[TwoJackRussellsandapumpkin]

Hi all,

just starting up a post natal thread for all the due in November peeps on the antenatal forum and anyone else who would like to join in too, hoping to see my arrival by the end of the week, so officially an early bird I hope :)

Sling meet is at Lev-Inspire!, in Levenshulme at 10 tomorrow according to manchesterslingmeet.com

Oh and my MIL swears by Milton to clean nappies, not sure whether it's safe for baby's skin after though!

Hi how is everyone.

I'm trying to get z to sleep without me cuddling him. He's okay at night in his crib but during the day he's used to being cuddled.he's 9 weeks. I go back to work at the end of the month and will have other small people to look after too!

He won't go if rocked by his daddy just me!! I've nurtured a clingy baby!!!

Hello all - well it's been a very long time since I actually posted. Turned into a complete lurker I'm afraid. Have enjoyed catching up with what you're all doing when reading via phone during middle of night feeds - but haven't mastered art of one handed posting on phone. Sorry because now I come back to ask for advice. Our DD now 9 wks old and has been a complete screamer for about 5 weeks - colic we think. Doc has said to try Infacol and today left me a vm suggesting I go lactose free for 2 weeks to see if that makes a difference. Ok I know that means cut cows milk out of my diet (I am bfeeding) but what am I supposed to replace with - I thought soya milk not good either? I am addicted to skinny lattes :( (decaf!)

Any other tips for a baby who cries all day every day? I am losing my sanity?

Thanks and v sorry for self absorbed post - having a mare!

Hello all.

Clingy babies - DD was (and still is) a total cling on. When she was a baby she would not be put down and cried after about 5 mins if i did, unless she was asleep.
I had not discovered stretchy wrap slings then, so I coped by getting out of the house. DD would settle if we went for pram walks and drives in the car. She also had colic from 2 - 10/11 weeks every evening. The only thing that worked for us was to put her to sleep on her tummy.
We would put her down after a bath and feed and within about 30 mins she would startle awake and cry till about 11pm.
At 10 weeks we put her to sleep opn her tummy after talking to other parents. We weighed up the risks (non smokers, house not hot, she was in a gro bag not blankets) and we checked her like hawks and it was a bloody miracle. the first night we did it, it went immediately.

DS is similar but different. He doesn't have colic and will happily sleep from 8pmish but he is such a noisy sleeper. last night he woke about 4am and chuntered on and off till 6am. He didn;t want a feed but would not settle. DP is away on business so I am knackered. Should go to bed :)

Oh and hadak - washable nappies - we are using tots bots bamboozle stretchies and they are fab. They see DS through the night no bother. I also have a few quick drying fuzzy bunz and bum genius in case of emergencies but they are nowhere near as good but much slimmer.
Have you thought about using washable fleece liners or paper liners to keep the worst of the poo from the nappy?
I suspect though you may be harming the nappies by soaking them. If you go on you tube and search the nappy lady, she sells loads and says that you should not soak modern nappies, especially not in nappisan.
I drop mine into the dry nappy bucket, lined with a mesh bag and I will put a few drops of tea tree oil in. once full (after about 3 days or so), I take the mesh bag out and put it straight into the washing machine. If it's open at the top, the nappies fall out during the wash.

I put it on a 60 degree wash with a pre wash. i put a couple of drops of tea tree oil in the pre wash drawer and a small amount of non bio powder in the main wash drawer and leave it to it.
So far, they are sparkling.

Night all.

Evening all! Hope everyone's well. 2nd round of jabs today, was dreading as had to go on own but actually not as bad as first time round.
pandia E was bad with colic but has grown out of it (she's over 13 weeks now)....have you tried a sling round the house? We have a Moby and it was great for settling on the bad days.

Sasamunde I will be there tomorrow at the sling meet, possibly with my mother in tow! She's visiting from Australia from when Caitlin was born and goes back Sunday so is trying to cram in as much time with us as possible before then! No idea what to expect, how many people will be there or how big the place is but we have an iCandy Cherry purple pram and I have dark hair which will no doubt be tied back in a ponytail (always is these days!). Come and say hi if you want to!

Sas was good to see you today and sorry we had to rush off - we were meeting someone for lunch (part of the cramming things in before my mum leaves on Sunday!). I hired a woven wrap sling to try with the idea that it'll be great for round the airport and in Australia as I thought it'd probably be cooler than the sling I already have but both times I've put her in it she's cried! We need to persevere a few more times to really test this out but so far she doesn't seem to like it at all!

Baby Sensory continues to be good for us and I really would recommend it. Caitlin loves the songs and actions, and she's so nosy she enjoys watching the other babies too.

We're off to baby swim tomorrow for the first time to see how that goes. Went to Mothercare today to get baby swimsuits with swim nappies built in. When we tried them on at home the elasticated bits that are supposed to hold in any accidents don't even go near her legs because they're too skinny! So she's in regular Huggies swim nappies and a tiny second hand swimsuit that we already have. I've had to borrow a cossie from my mum because none of mine fit me. Yet more motivation to begin the Shred. The DVD has been sitting on top of my DVD player since it arrived in the post on Monday!

Well, ups and downs here for us, Abi is back on the 75th centile! That's up 1.5 centile, and we're slowly building up a good bond with her and her food. I will be starting tiny tasters in 3 weeks with her though, to get the weaning started.
I'm amazed that I've got a 3.5 month old daughter - it's only really sunk in now she's so upright (sitting with only pillow support now, and on her own in her bumbo!) and talky. We're still not in a decided routine, apart from sleeping from ca 11 pm to 5/6 am, which is very Good Child.
Reflux is still as bad, but we're coping with the medications and tons of gripe water!

I'm up for Trafford meet next Thursday :) Could do with a venture out of the house.

We've also had to put her in a birth-4 car seat now, as her long legs were way outgrowing her baby seat :( My tall lassie!

Hi everyone and sorry for not posting for so long, I've turned into a right lurker and have no idea where the time has gone - Lucas is 10 weeks old tomorrow!

We started swimming on Tuesday and are going to a local class for babies. Lucas loved 'Little Dolphins' and he looked especially cute in his wet suit! I got a swim nappy from Boots, which just looks like slightly padded, waterproof trunks. He didn't poo so not fully tested yet!

I'm glad someone mentioned about teething as I think L might be, but people keep saying it's too early. He is fist sucking / chewing all the time and dribbling a lot, which are both new. He will also grind his gums against my finger and suck hard. His sleeping has changed the last few nights, he's waking more often to feed and for day time naps he might drop off when cuddled then startle awake and cry really hard. Also runny nappies and he seems to be struggling a bit to produce 2-3 dirty nappies, when he has been happily giving me 5 per day His eczema flared up this week, but I put it down to going swimming. Now reading on here, I'm back to wondering about teething again. I might try teething gel to see if it helps him.

Exciting talk of meet up in Manchester. Is anyone in the Midlands and fancy meeting? I've got some friends with babies but none of a similar age and it would be lovely to change that.

We're still EBFing and I seem to have a really good supply as I'm also expressing enough for a couple of bottles each week, which we either use to give me a night off, when we're out in a slightly tricky situation (or I want to wear a dress ) or I freeze it. Lucas is average for both weight and height, although his head circumference is slightly above average. I'm glad that wasn't the case when he was born! We had first jabs last week, which I hated as he really screamed when the needles went in. He seemed to be fine after a couple of days and we had plenty of cuddles and feeding to comfort him.

Lucas can now roll from front to back, grab for objects and raise his whole torso during tummy time. He's a proper little chatter and giggles lots, especially for his Daddy and Nanny. I can't quite believe how much he is developing every day! We're having him baptised in a couple of weeks so are busy preparing for that at the moment.

Re: nursery and work. I've been determinedly not thinking about it (really don't fancy returning to my old job and commuting to London) but have just applied for something new. Is basically sane level as I was but working 3 days a week, relatively local and in an industry I would prefer! Although I would give notice, so still a good few months away from starting if I did get it, I suppose I need to starting to look for a nursery / CM now - eek.

Sorry for mammoth post to catch up, I will try hard to be better at getting on here so I can be more 'little and often'

Hello all!

I've been a bit of a lurker recently too. I'm normally a total chatterbox, as you all know by now, but I've been struggling to think of anything to say that might be remotely of interest to anyone else!

DS dodged his second set of immunisations as he has come down with a cough, poor thing. But he is such a content smiley baby that even when he is not well he is still not too much trouble - he just needs a lot of cuddling at the moment, which I am happy to give.

I started back into my exercise regime this week. Did pilates class at the start of the week and then kettlebells last night. Squats and arm exercises are fine, upper abs are fine. Lower abs are screwed - when I tried even the most basic beginner version of the exercises it felt like my CS wound was going to rip open and my guts spill onto the floor. I used to be able to do 'the plank' for two whole minutes without breaks . Ah well, baby steps, I'll build it up slowly. Just have to remind myself that DS is a lot better than rock hard abs.

treacle I would have thought at least my upper arms were strong from pram wrestling but there's a bit in baby yoga where you have to hold your arms horizontally for about a minute and I can't even do that!

Well stone me Blake has gone to sleep in his sling despite howling the place down at the meet yesterday. Keep trying somersaults!
We made it onto their Facebook site too aaaaaah.

I can make it to the TC on Thur, may have a toddler in tow

I too have baby that doesn't settle at night. He is now waking at 2 and then around 4.30. Dh has been I'll last couple of weekends and working late so I am so tired.

Hand chewing and drooling here too so not sure if just that he has become aware of his hands or it is teething. Love reading about the swim lessons as am thinking of join swim class but next one not until April. Like Cali I can't believe I am a 3 month old baby now. Anyone else a bit sad at packing away outgrown clothes? I feel that I didn't fully appreciate newborn phase as I was just too shattered. Going to try out a few mother and baby classes - any else been to them? Little man does enjoy dancing with me so a music group might be good. Hopefully he will be a lucky mascot for Scotland this Saturday. He outgrew his Scotland top so I have cut it up and created a badge which is now sewn on another top. Gok eat your heart out!

Cookie my gorgeous DS is my last baby & I am savouring every minute - everything outgrown is tinged with a little sadness.

We've had a funny week as my little man has been really out of sorts - very unsettled & screaming which is just not him. A triple whammy I think - jabs on Monday, 12 week growth spurt & he has developed a nasty cold poor thing. No wonder he doesn't know which way is up.

Seems to be passing now though as y'day was much more like a 'normal' day.

My LOs seem to have prolonged pre-teething phases - lots of fist chewing & drooling weeks before any sign of teeth.

Going to try a post-natal exercise class on Monday, bit nervous about it really but having lost a few lb it's time to start tackling the jelly belly. Been looking into pilates too after all the enthusiasm on here!

Oh the joy - had a solid 7 hours sleep last night - from 10pm till 5am and had to wake him to feed then as my boobs were exploding. Am hoping it is a sign of things to come and not a one-off but even if a one-off, I feel sooooo much better for a good night's sleep.

I do remember things getting better around the 3 months mark so we are nearly there and hoping all will get into a pattern now.

Took Luke to be weighed yesterday and he was 14lb 10oz so still on his 75 percentile, a nice heavy little chunk!

Where are we meeting next Thurs and what time?

I too am feeling sad at getting rid of 0-3 clothes, but have sent some to Norway to my friend who had a little boy last week, some I dropped off yesterday to another friend who had a little boy last week (one called Alfie and the other Alfred bizzarely) and then another friend has found out she is expecting her first so I have packed up the moses basket with all the outgrown neutral stuff and all the equipment I bought but no longer need and am just waiting for her to come and collect it. So it is all going to good homes, I ended up with far more stuff than I needed as he lived mainly in babygros for the early months.

Hello all, been off for ages, hoping to resume from here, so havent cought up, just not gonna happen in the time! Struggled to find you all again as mumsnet has decided I have never posted on any threads. Hmm.
Not so great here - DS has a stomach bug, which, with the emetophobia, is my own personal nightmare. Really struggling. he is on the mend but it was rough and I feel like I am just waiting to see who goes down with it next. Not sure who I am dreading most, myself, the two month old baby or the partner I completely rely on for support when I'm scared. Anyway. Not doing well.
Other wise, Hettie is ten weeks. Still some worries over her head lag, seeing paediatrician on the 16th, but I wonder if I am just beginning to see some slight improvement.

Hi Ladies. Hope you are all managing to keep yourselves and little ones warm in this awful weather.
All ok here nothing exciting to report.
Just good to hear from you hope the tummy bugs disapear quickly. Is there anybody you can call on to help you deal with the cleaning up etc.. as I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you.
Ali, Cookie and other mums sad to be getting rid of the baby things. I know how you feel def last here (well at 44 I am lucky to have this little one )
Mrs A Thanks for tip on dry pailing re nappies I will give it a go although we have gone back to disposables at present as we are having major poo explosions!!
Teeth and Tummys Still undecided whether fist chewing is for yeeth or tummy discomfort bbut I am sure time will tell.
Am feeling slightly in awe of all you excercising mummies I really must give it a try!!
Wave to Poppet How's Willow doing on a DF diet has it helped at all?
Keep warm everyone- guess whose heating packed up llast night!!! But hubby managed to get it back on after a fraught couple of hours.

So ladies - how about meeting at the trafford centre on thursday at about 10.15am? There is a big starbucks next to a good set of loos by the big Boots on the upper floor - right by either debenhams or john lewis. Not sure which. I always park in the parent & child parking by the valet car wash if that helps - the lift takes you up by Boots. I'm defo goinmg cos DP has decided we need sushi for tea that night. I'm a chubster :) and have dirty blonde hair put up at the back - I have a black iCandy pram and have a free Boots change bag with me. I may be feeding DS with a tommi tipee bottle. Any takers?? My RL name is steph btw.

Hi, I am up for it - I'm Kath and will have a Jane navy blue pram with a little eskimo in it.

Are any of you on facebook then we can check out each others pics in readiness?

Bummer! I would have loved to do tc meet up but seeing my cousin this week who had baby same day as me and rearranged already so can't bail on that! Will have to get on the next meet up!

I'll post a link to my fb profile later tonight and I'll pop a photo of me onto my mn profile.

Posted photo of me and kids on profile. Can't link to fb as it'll make it public profile.

Hello all! My daughter held on till 2:30am November 1st!

Nearly had myself a Halloween baby!

I'm up for it too - Short and stout, with probably a bearcub in a sling, or a giant German Burberry monstrosity... I usually wear a big brown tweed coat and a purple scarf, long dark red hair.

Don't worry, you'll know me by the mad sleep deprived eyes and baby vomit.

Can we just agree that makeup and hair might not be perfect or even on, and clothes may have been worn once before. And no one will judge the other persons' chocolate intake