October 2011 - our happy, chatty babies!

[GroovyRach]

...

Just got back from mother/baby group, there's a baby 1 week older than C, weighs 18lbs and is reaching for &grabbing for the dangly things on the playmat!

I don't do nearly all that Cheshire, I wouldn't worry! They need quiet playtime too

Every day is different for us, and consists of me trying anything to avoid crying! I either play with him on mat or in chair, and spend half my time trying to get.him to sleep as he is determined to stay awake all day long.

tough love advice coming up. feel free to ignore.
if you spend all day entertaining them, they wont learn to pacify themselves,: something you may regret when they are 1\2/3/4 etc.

my advice would be to put them in cots, on mats, in bouncy chair and let them alone. if they're not crying there's nothing wrong with them. also babies cry as a way to tell you that something is wrong, its their only way of expressing themselves, so i dont see it as something to be avoided at all costs. i would only entertain/pacify if they cry and if im in the middle of something i wouldnt go running (unless they are distressed).

I sometimes get the feeling that S is bored. She will happily lay under her gym and is happy hitting and grabbing onto her toys now. Likes to babble and chat away to then but after a while gets bored and it's onto something different. I'm trying to get into habit of doing something every day, even if it's just out a walk. Today has been a bit diff but so far:

Up at 8.30am, bottle and dressed. I then put her back in cot with mobile on so I could get dressed and bag packed for the day. She had her 3month jags today so was mad rush to get out. Then we went straight to pick up my mum and headed out to shopping centre. I now have her sitting up in buggy so she is happy looking around at everything going on. Then I left her with my mum while I came out to meet some friends. My mum took her another walk in buggy up to asda. I won't be picking her back up till nearer 6 so will just be home for bath, bottle and bed!

Im very conscious of babies with flat heads, having seen a few when I worked in nursery. I'm trying now to have S sitting up/tummy time etc rather than being flat on her back most of the day. I bought her a bumbo seat too. She will sit happy for 10 mins max then wants out.

A friend of mine runs a baby discovery class on a Monday morning so may try to get along to that from now on, tue afternoon I will be working (when I go back), nothing on wed, Thursday a few other girls who stay near me with young kids take turns to meet at each others houses for few hrs with the kids. Had a few wk break over Xmas but hopefully get back into that. Few babies just a couple of mnths older than S so should be good as they get bigger then friday I work again. Want to keep up the swimming as she really enjoyed it and lots of long walks in the carrier when the weather gets nicer

Loved OBEM last night . That poor woman in red looked completely out of if tho. Think I might have been slightly like that . Not jumping about in pain tho, I lay just crying my eyes out with each contraction lol. Did you see the prog after it? I watched in disbelief at the placenta woman . To blend it up into a smoothie?! My god I feel sick at the thought of it!! I do love these programmes though. I like to watch and vow to myself that I'll never become one of those mums...

Hope everyone's having a good day so far!

Cheshire I do a lot less than that with M, I talk to her whenever I'm feeding/changing/burping/bathing her and sometimes for a short time in between. She has a toy bar that I sometimes attach to basket and sometimes she'll either lie in bouncer or in activity mat. But I just feel that DS needs more "playtime" attention than M does at the moment. And I'm tryig really hard not to make him feel pushed aside, even so I still think sometimes he does feel left out particularly wen I'm feeding her.

Every day seems such a blur to me, I couldn't tell you what we did! C managed to sick up all over his last cot sheet so I had to stick him in his pram for sleep. This morning he was refusing to go down, just crying from tiredness, only quiet when I pushed the pram, so I took him and dog out for a walk. He fell asleep for 20 mins but woke up when we got back. Then I had to get ready for group, so he laid in cot watching mobile, fell asleep at group after a feed, and woke up as we left! He had a feed when we got back, fell asleep back in pram, but keeps waking up and having a cry, rocking the pram sends him off again. He has a cough, I've just had a sore throat so worried he's got it off me :( no temperature or snit though

Snot*

He's hungry, guzzling away at boob even though he fed 1hour ago, must be growth spurt.

@ sassy hard cow emocion

We try to do tummy time everyday, have a play on his back on the mat (sometimes on his own with toys to look at while I tidy up sometimes while I talk/read to him - wombles atm) in his bouncy chair a bit, sitting on my lap, we often go for a walk as well.

Edward -I feel like that with ds2. Hos behaviour is going downhill rapidly especially when I'm bfing. I managed to spend 1-1 with him earlier for a bit. I do miss him tho and our snuggles.

Laying on bed bfing J wishing she let go so I can go bath ds2 and have time with him before bed, especially as dh and ds1 off to scouts soon. I need to be able to be in 4 places at once!

cheshire we do nowhere near that much either. Today we took DD to school then he stayed in the sling while I tidied and talked to him/myself. Then I had phone calls to make, he was in my lap grinning while I talked and pulled faces. Then we sorted his clothes he laid on the floor next to me was mostly ignored but he was happy. This afternoon I put him in the bouncy chair while I made brownies I hoped he'd sleep but he just watched me, grizzled and I bounced his chair while mixing. Since then he's been grizzling and napping on me while I've played on pc, read with DD, had tea, and watched tangled with DD. I spend most of my day holding him unless he's in a deep sleep but I'm not constantly interacting, he's more than happy to just ne close to me.
I think babies at this age are happy to watch the world go by and have very short attention spans. He soon gets irritated when DD and her friend are playing with him, he loves it at first but after a bit it's too much stimulation.
We have a play mat but he's not that bothered about it yet. The fish tank or lights are far more interesting :)

Oh God now I wonder if I am doing too much. Should I not sign her up for Baby Mandarin then? .

I forgot to add tummy time, free nappy time and NCT coffee morning and of course just general cuddling.

She got a leaflet through today inviting her to a baby group where apparently they sing songs and play with messy stuff so was hoping to start that after we finishing our swimming course.

I wont feel bad now then about leaving her on the gym while I do stuff then Sassy.

So interesting to see your routines with your babies! Yesterday Amotai wanted to play all day, it was exhausting but fun. Cheshire I actually do the same as you each day, but a lot of the things I have him do while I'm doing other things (ie in the play gym and in front of the mirror while I'm getting ready or on here ). What I've started doing is moving him around the house in the bouncynet watching me as I do chores and he seems to like that, ie I have him watching me cook and give him a spoon to play with, and show him the pots etc as I use them. I like that as I usually hate cooking so it makes it more fun for me, and we have a pretty safe part of the kitchen for him to be in.

One other thing that Amotai loooooves is me holding him, facing upwards so looking at me, while I do squats to music. Sounds weird, but it was something I learnt at a mum'n'bubs gym I've been going to. There is no single thing that makes him laugh more, I just wish I had the leg strength to do it more than once a day, as it is, my legs are always sore now!

Ha - don't worry cheshire - I do all those extra things you just added as well! If we're doing too much, at least we both are AND I have just enrolled in a baby sensory class as well for him.

Baby mandarin!! how funny!

I videoed sophia (usually to email to family in Canada) and showed it to her. The bottom lip started to tremble and that was her. Screaming!!! Proper scared screaming but was ok when I picked her up. Ashame but kinda funny. I thought babies liked to look at themselves...

not that i am the mecca of all knowledge penelope but you arent supposed to work the same muscles every day. (i have a gym instructor qualification) you're not giving your muscles change to repair.

my routine is this:
alarm off at 7am. wake chloe.
come downstairs while she gets dressed. leave 3 babies in bed. make bottles for j&i, toast for chloe. take bottles up to babies, get dressed, make sandwiches for chloes packed lunch. change bums. get j&i dressed bring downstairs. make mine and babies breakfast when chloe goes for the bus. bring eva down. feed her. change bum, put in bouncy chair, let her watch j&i playing. dance and play with j&i. juice and snack time at 11am. eva will fall asleep at some point in bouncy chair. put tv on from 11-12am. will try to iron or load washing machine/dish washer. nap time 12pm. up at 1.30. lunch. play some more. eva will be in chair, or in cot or on couch if asleep. cant put her on the floor until j&i are in bed. usually put music channel on about 3pm to sing and dance with j&i and eva watches. 4pm milk for j&i. 5.30 dinner. mad hour forj& i where they are much more animated for some reason. then its bed routine. wash, sleepsuits, teeth cleaned, drink of water. then its alone time for eva, sits on my knee, smiling, laughing, goes on the floor and then bed. obviously there are more feeding napping changes as and when. monday is playgroup in the morning and thats it. havent got a triple pram yet as......well lots of reasons. will do soon hopefully.

meant to say, so cant get out and about.

Do you think they know it's them? I can't tell. Sometimes Amotai looks confused that there are two of me, and sometimes ignores the other baby, but sometimes talks to his image. Is hilarious.

im a proper northern lass and up here, we'd be a bit and at taking babies to things like baby gym, french, mandarin! we'd assume you were a southerner!
think dp will have jacob going to wrestling though asap. so uncouth and uncultured!

Sassy yeah, you are right! I'll try and think of something else that makes A laugh as hard every second day then ...

penelope there is an experiment you can do, to see if they know its them. you put some preferably red lipstick on the tip of their nose and then put them in front of the mirror. the day they put their hand to their nose and touch it or try to rub it off, is when they know the reflection is them.

Oh god I'm getting that comparative mum terror- C isn't anywhere near holding and playing with spoons yet, he will hold soft things (blankets, toys) and try eat them, but nowhere near playing with or holding things. He refuses tummy time, and is only just starting to properly giggle. The only thing bar people talking to him that makes him smile is splashing in the bath in his chair. I've started putting him in the baby bouncer, which he seems to enjoy, but looks like he's concentrating in!

No classes for us, bar once a week mother/baby group at village hall, which is more for me to get out and chat really. Can't wait till he's able to come to stables with me :) As he's our first its all very new and we're still finding our way.

Pene squats are hard but good though, we used to do them in Bodypump which I loved because you could really feel the muscles being used.

Sassy what is the age difference between the twins and Eva? Is it difficult/freaking knackering with 3 so small? Don't worry Baby Gym just consists of her lay ON her gym hitting things, it's not a class, and I blame Pebble for the Baby Mandarin . Although I don't know where Pebble lives (and where they do Baby French), I used to live in Bury. Is that Northern enough? :)

Oh and I haven't got any red lipstick :( Will speak to Granny.

Bilbilo - we watched tangled today love it "mother knows best@.

Dh wants dd to do rugby when older eek. Not sure tbh. Ds1 is a prop and full contact and ds2 will be starting tag.

J isn't playing yet tho likes holding her muzzy and sucking it. She's not keen in tummy time and I don't remember every day . She like baths so might go swimming while ds2 at preschool. Feel guilty tho because I used to take him and now I can't.

Scheh P is exactly as you just described, P looks too small for tummy time when I try. She's so little (and gorgeous), they are all going to develop at different rates though.

They do Toddler Riding in our village. Snort!!!

God this is making me laugh now thinking of all these things.