December 2011 - This too shall pass (with the help of imaginary woolly mammoths)

[Mmmmcheese]

Have gone with LMFs title suggestion :)

P.s. Hope all well w everyone. LMF hope octoboy continues to iimprove. msb hope kitty comes home safe. hawthers sleep was indeed fab but I still feel exhausted. Guess would need a fee nightsvto catch up. But I presume I'd be more exhausted without it!

Still have terrible headache. Painkillers didn't work yesterday s not sure if I should try more or not.

Brilliant LMF! keep up the good work octoboy!

No rules mopsy as like all personality things babies' needs are different.
The dreaded Ms GF recommends 3 naps a day from 6 weeks, but she's a bit scary and I wouldn't go purely by her in any way!!

In practice given that baby has a certain number of feeds (and later meals) you'll find sleep either falls into a natural rhythm, or decided this nap lark isn't for them yet. DD1 was a "napper" and by about 8 weeks fell asleep midmorning, after lunch and mid-afternoon, and slept from about 9pm to 6am. I naturally believed (first-time-mum!) that this was due to my relaxed attitude and innate parenting talents (!!!!) cue an almighty shock when DD2 came along, didn't nap for more than 20 mind at a time til the age of 18 months (and even then a grudging 1.5 hrs after lunch only).

So see what you can get out of them and do what fits in with tour daily schedule. With DS I plan to put him down in his little carrycot thing whenever he seems to zonk and catch up with my to-do list, unless we have to go soemehere in which case it's the moby wrap, buggy or carseat!!

lmf : Yayy! for octoboy! (if you look closely you'll see they are made out of recycled oxygen tubing).

Ps mopsy, yep, no fast rules but if you want to do day/night signals I personally do think they help. Sounds like you're doing a great job. The babies often have other ideas about what they want/need which is why uber strict routines can sometimes be a bit of a recipe for disaster, loose plans are more likely to work!! It gets funny when they are bigger: DD2 would resist morning naps and then fall asleep face first into her lunch (literally...)

Thanks aethel. I did take a look at gf but it seems way too rigid for me. You'd never get to leave the house for more than an hour. I also ran through the baby whisperer also. Both seem to advocate roughly the feeding times we are doing (which we fell into naturally more or less) so I thought I'd try and roughly organise the napping too. I like to know roughly when I'm going to eat and sleep, I don't like it when it varies too much so I am taking it that it will suit minimopsy too.

The only definite feed and nap time for my LO (and by definite, I mean 50% of the time) is right after we get up, ie. the one, sodding time I'm not able to get my head down for a nap!

I'm afraid I'll have to disagree darcies, no diving by Utd, I'll leave that to Johnson at City! Shame we couldn't make it 4-3

I think there are a few pedants on here, sometimes I wonder if it's a curse or a blessing... my childhood was littered with incidents where I was forced to 'spot' errors, including one time where I was not allowed on the beach until I'd spotted all the mistakes in the sign warning you about the dangers of the tides!

We're getting random smiles hawthers - I'm so glad he's becoming a bit more interactive. I think that the the 4-12 week period is quite tough; they're past the cute, sleepy newborn stage but aren't at the smiling and reacting stage yet....although I'll probably be saying that about all stages as we go through them.

LMF that's fantastic news- how long does Octoboy need to go with oxygen before they'll let you home?

Big issue for me today is whether to go to bf group- we've had a lot of snow, and we live on the top of a hill (terraced housing not countryside). Sure Start centre is at the bottom.
Sooo....

• Do I go taking DS in sling?
• Or in the pram
• Or not at all?

Hi all, I have been missing in action for weeks now. Had my mum visiting, trying to get used to being a mum myself etc. DS is 8 weeks now, can't believe it. He has been feeding on my boob all morning. Too bad dad hasn't taken him to work with him :)

Aiming for some form of routine - no luck so far. At night he usually wakes at 1:30 and 4:30 amd I wish I could get him to wake just once! Any ideas???

Hi lala. two night feeds at 8 weeks is actually pretty good- what time does he
go to sleep before the 1.30 wake? Lots of babies conk out for their "long break" in the evening: the only thing I could suggest is that you try to keep him up a bit later by squeezing in an extra change-feed eg at 10pm then you and he go straight to bed after that. Trouble is, if he's decided his longer break is from 9.30pm -1.30am there may not be much you can do about it, apart from wait for it to stretch by itself. My friend used to do a "dream feed" at 11pm where she put baby down at 8pm, fed him while half asleep at 11 then webt to bed and baby would sleep til 3-4. I have no idea how she actually managed it!

Northern, if you really want to go out just do whatever feels safest. Buggies are mostly rubbish on snow, do you have walking boots or snow grippers (in which case I'd say try the sling.) if not then up to you, if your footing isn't confident may be less stressful to stay at home.

northern Miri is exactly the same, we get up at 7.30, her only vaguely reliable settled nap starts before 8.30. I agree on the 4-12 week bit being hard.

Miri smiles lots now, she has started to do a funny squeaky giggle too, usually when anyone strokes her face!

Question - anyone else's baby manage to be sick out of their nose? None of mine have done it before. It doesn't seem to bother her much, but it is odd!

msb no nose sick here, and we've had lots of sick lately.

We have lots of smiles but no laugh yet, though I think she's close. I looked in DS's baby book and he laughed at 11 weeks, Eva is 11 weeks today so hopefully it's imminent. Our routine has gone completely out of the window since Eva has been ill :(

Eva has had a bit of a relapse. She seems happy enough but threw up all of her morning feed, I even had sick running up my sleeve! DH has gone to look at getting a Renault grand scenic on Motability this morning.

northern I, too, live on top of a hill and not going to risk going down it to bf group, think too slippy for pram and don't dare with sling in case I fall.

Welcome back, LMF! Your Octopus is extremely cute, even with the extra, medical tentacles, and your older DC are lovely, too. I hope you don't ,issthem too much, and vice versa

It's Monday now, Darcieandskysmum, so hope you are feeling more relaxed without DP around... and that heknows it! Not being wanted is a very good fish slap indeed!

luckysevens, how's Eva?

Ah, AWCH and NorthernChinchilla, I've sprinkled DD with toast and all sorts, too. Once I even managed to drop a bit of boiled egg through the sling and out the bottom without touching her, but that was pure luck, as I'm rather a malco, and could not have "aimed" that well.

You're very welcome, girlsyearsapart, not least because it means you had time to post after your horrible-sounding start to your poor DS's life. Hope he will settle down once he feels less insecure and sensorially overloaded. I used to tell DS a bedtime story about the baby being born, and a major part of it was how upset the baby would be at the "bright, bright hospital", and how cold and noisy it would ve for her. Poor things, they don't like coming out at the best of times. No wonder yours is a Prince and the Pea!

Welcome back, BeeMyBaby! I am just getting to the end of my thank-yous (but given the Christmas season , many ofhedr gifts were late, too, so there! )

Hi, lalababy, with sch long feeds, I'm not surporised you've been MIA! It's also difficult to keep up while you've got somepone staying, isn't it? Never mind, this thread is eternal and you can always spin/weave yourself back in!

Has your cat turned up yet, msbuggywinkle? No doubt someone has taken pity on him and brought him inside...

That sounds like a lovely birthday celebration, AirofHope!

Aaargh at being left transportless in snow, Kate! I hope YouTube doesn't fail you! Something I've discovered appeals to botg toddlers and babies is throwing shadows on the wall or ceiling. DD was fascinated for ages on Saturday morning, andI got to lie down while doing it, so was v happy, too!

Re naps: I had to laugh at the idea of your DD2 sleeping in her food, aethelfleda, as it;s so fdamiliar! I think DS sometimes couldonly hold out till he got something in his mouth; then, with blood sugar restored, hepassed out. I call it "sleating"!

I ws so jealous of all this drinking I was reading about that I had a glass of red with some cheese yesterday evening, while watching the Shakespeare Retold version of Taming ofd tghe Shrew, with Shirley Henderson and Rufus Sewell. Did anyone see him last year in Zen, based on the detective novels set in Italy? That's the sort of zen one could best do with in one's life! Blimey.

Those watching Being Human: I haven't yet finished the episode, so no spoilers please, but wad anyone else shocked at Baby Splodge's wearing a hat while in her cot? Or do cot death guidelines not apply to the spawn of werewolves?!

Please forgive the typos; I'm typing one handed and am a pedant really (though try to temper it with kindness: I've spent a lot of time around non-native speakers of English, and my brother is dyslexic, so I can overlook form if the good "content" is there. For example, Air, I hope you won't mind my saying this, but you say on your profile that you're dyslexic, yet you are articulate and interesting in your observations, so I don't really notice, if you see what I mean).
(NorthernChinchilla, your parents sound the killjoy sort of pedants! Pedantry shouldn't be an exam to get into the beach; pedantry should be fun!)

Northern Can you tell I'm not a Utd fan - the first penalty was NOT a penalty though!

Seven Hope Eva is okay?

Mopsy Thanks, think DP knows he was in the wrong yesterday...he ordered my bridesmaid dresses last night

Sky has been sick through her nose twice. Shocked her at first but was fine with it.

I like to think i'm somewhat pedantic DP calls me pedantic all the time, as I'm forever correcting him

Just feeding Sky then to finish making my chicken & stuffing slices.

Well, I'll probably jinx myself now but I've been sleeping much better the past few nights & Rocco has been going 5 & a half to 6 & a half hours between night feeds :) Unfortunately he's still full of mucus which makes him very grumpy. Sometimes it makes him have coughing fits too which often leads to projectile vomiting :(

I'd be happy with 2 naps a day but I'm lucky if he manages 1! Lying him on his front during the day was helping him nap but now he wakes up after a couple of minutes unless he's being held or is in the sling so I'm vegging on the sofa today holding him. I'm hoping it's the snottyness that's waking him & things will get better once this cold clears up. Plu thanks for mentioning Zen, I love Rufus Sewell so I'll try to get hold of the series online.

He is 9 weeks tomorrow & is smiling loads, not really laughing yet but occasionally he squawks really loudly which makes me jump & he finds really funny. Has anyone tried or is thinking of trying baby sign language? He's babbling a lot & it'd be nice to communicate with him before he can talk properly, less frustrating for him too I would think.

We went to his grandparents for lunch yesterday & he decided he wanted to eat just as we sat down at the table so he ended up with crumbs of bread & cake in his ear I don't eat or drink anything hot these days as 9 times out of 10 I end up holding him & I'm worried I'll spill something.

msb I hope your cat has turned up. I have one that regularly goes missing since DS was born; she's not at all impressed with him.

Well, DP called when he got to work to tell me that the snow wasn't actually that bad and I should be OK; sure enough I made it down and to the group.

There was a woman there with an 18 day old and I could not believe the difference in size with DS! Really brought it home how quickly it all goes.

DS has just reached the stage where instead of poo-ing several times a day, it's once every couple of days. I checked that this was OK with the peer supporter, and then with immaculate timing he let rip. Went up to his shoulderblades and necessitated a change of onesie.

After lunch I felt shattered, and so 'cheated'- just took DS up with me and we slept together for a good couple of hours

So pleased to see you back lala, and as for advice with routine, see above- I'd be the last person to ask! However, I find it hugely reassuring Miri is the same MsB.

Seven- LO was chuckling happily in his sleep from before he was smiling, oddly. Still not smiling very often, to my disappointment.

After piglet finishes his feed I'm going to race around and tidy the place up so it doesn't look too slovenly before DP gets home...

Ladies... We're home:o

The octopus and I are now being alternately hugged and ignored by children and cats alike. It's good to be loved:)

Hi all, I've been lurking on this thread for a while now so was hoping you don't mind if I join in and start typing, not just reading :)

DS was born on 23rd December and is my first, but I also have a 9 yr old DSS (his birthday is 26th December so DP and I have made ourselves one expensive week by the time we add Christmas!)

Welcome home, LittleMissFlustered! We missed you, too!

Hi, BJR. That's quite a spread of experiences - how oldwas your DSS when you first "met"?

That's brilliant LMF, what a relief that you're back! Is wee Octoboy needing any further check=ups/medication/etc, or has he been totally 'signed off' as it were?

Hello BJR, glad you've de-lurked! We're the same in October, and it does get expensive, although having the two boys' birthdays sandwiching Xmas will make it an interesting time in your household.

LO is lying on his mat, on a blanket, watching the washing machine again, completely contented. Has allowed me to make sandwiches, clear kitchen, make salads, etc. So glad my Mum told me about that one...although will be glad when his bouncy chair turns up so he doesn't have to be on the floor.

northern our washing machine is in the utility room where it's freezing, our back door had actually frozen shut this morning. Eva likes watching the fish tank and the TV though.

LMF yay for octoboy being home! Does he have the all clear now? Having him in hospital must have been awful, Eva has had it too and thankfully avoided hospital, still feel so sorry for her though :(

I finally got a very small chuckle this afternoon! Eva hasn't been sick again but just seem to have occasional bad coughing fits now. It sounds like its more mucus in her throat that she can't clear.

DH sorted out the Motability car, we get it next month.

Plu DSS was 7 when we first met, he was very unsure about his new brother for the first couple of weeks but now thinks he's cute and likes to give him cuddles especially when he thinks no one is watching!

Northern will definately be a fun December week for us from now on. DP and I have agreed no more December babies for us!

Waiting for DP to get home from work so I can hand over DS and have a nice relaxing bath :)

LMF Yay! So glad to hear you're home

Welcome BJR

Honey I did baby sign language with DD and thought it was great. You can't start until they're about 6 months old or a bit older but it does help beat that frustration when you can communicate with each other. DD is 21 months and has excellent llanguage skills. Obviously from my sample size of 1 I can't say that's due to the signing, but it was fun to do either way. I started reading her bedtime stories from about 4 months onwards and have always talked to her about what we were doing, and sung songs a lot. I think all of these things help with developing communication skills.

Well the council got their act together this year and the roads were clear so I wasn't stranded after all. Thanks for the shadow suggestion though plu I'll keep that one up my sleeve!

I had my hospital appointment today and thankfully they think I won't need a surgical repair for my prolapse. I do have a pathetically weak pelvic floor though and have to start doing exercises 3 times a day. Check up in 6 weeks to see if that helps, but they said it'll probably be 3-4 months before I notice any improvement. They think the size of DS and the speed of the birth caused the problems, but I must confess to having been crap at doing my exercises through the pregnancy despite all of your encourangement to . That'll teach me

Really need to try and make more of an effort to come on here and keep up with everyone!

I just attempted to read and catch up but there are tooooooo many posts!!

hmm what news do i have...

1)LO is allergic to the protein in cows milk and is on hypoallergenic for now
2) Im thinking of using the hospitals birth afterthoughts service, but im scared!!
3)I managed to get out of the house today (im struggling with that!)
4) TMI but i have polyps and need to make an appointment with the GP, but again im , yet another reason OH and I still havent, ahem, done it, as i'm too conscious about this too... and still having pelvic floor issues!
5) LO fed at 7pm last night... then 6am!!

mopsy i just saw your post re feeds/sleep/naps etc

We are just learning this part now. Saul has now gone on to 4 hourly feeds, as he started being bored at the 3 hour ones. Whilst on 3 hours he slept after each one, but now he is a little older (10 weeks), he has started being awake for longer.

Obviously every baby is different, but we are trying to( and it seems to work for him), have the morning feed around 7am, he stays awake between 1hr 15 and 1hr 30 then he is ready for a sleep, he has between 1 and 2 hours in the morning, then 11am (or 4 hours from the breakfast feed) he has his next feed, again he is awake for the same amount of time then he sleeps for about 2 hours, he seems not to be able to wait 4 hours to the next feed, so we feed him at around 2.30, and he doesn't really sleep after this, just naps for between 40 mins-1hr. Then we noticed he was grizzly come bath time (6.30), so sometimes he has more naps in the afternoon and also a little bit of milk around 5ish, and his tea at 7pm.

He was waking up at 1 and 3am for feeds, ut the past 2 nights he has woken up, but not wanted food until 5 or 6am!!! :o
We also feed him in the dark at night, and if we have to comfort him, not make too much fuss, and during the day we alternate between sleeping downstairs with the noise, and upstairs in his basket.... of course we are no experts haha it just seems to work for him!!

ps lmf i'm so glad LO is home!! :o

lala thats similar times to sauls waking times and he is 10 weeks, however the past 2 nights he has woken up... but just chatted rather than cried, so we just put his dummy in (ashamed smiley), and he went back to sleep both times, and didn't wake up crying for a feed until 6 am!!