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

[Mmmmcheese]

Have gone with LMFs title suggestion :)

Welcome bjr March is our mad birthday month, we have my Dad, DD2, me and BIL!

Still no cat. I assume someone has taken him in as we asked all our neighbours to check their sheds today. I'm more upset than the DDs, he was a kitten that was being kept in a drawer at a childrens' home by one of the kids I used to work with. I syringed kitty formula for weeks.

lmf great that you're home!

Re waking times...I paid vague attention to when Miri slept and fed today. Went to sleep at 9pm, woke me to swap sides at 4 am, but she nurses most of the night while I sleep. She woke at 8am, fed then went back to sleep til 10am. Then fed hourly with occasional 10minute sleeps until 3 when she slept for an hour. Then fed constantly until now, she is just going to sleep for the night.

kristy so glad you've finally found out what was bothering him (and someone who took your concerns seriously. By his routine it sounds like its made white difference. I still feel so awful when I think back to Eva screaming for hours and how long it took us to realise what was wrong.

I meant to say in my last post hello to BJR, I wasn't intentionally ignoring you.

My 16 month old neice has the winter vomiting bug :(. I'm hoping Eva has a good night as we're hoping to go shopping tomorrow, though she's been asleep in the wrap most of the day.

Good to see you back kri5ty Hope you're getting the support from family and friends regarding the never going out again thing and the afterthought service. If not, we're always here and we hve tea, pompoms and a never ending supply of haddock:)

I'm away to my bed. Mine. In all it's creaky ancient glory:)

Hi all, kri5ty, we're just finding our routine now. She usually feeds at half tenish at night and then at three in the morning but have squeezed in an extra day feed today so will see what happens tonight. May have to wake her at half ten though. But trying to get her to drop the 3am feed by feeding her six times during the day instead of five. No idea if it'll work as thus is the first day I've tried but will keep it up for a week or two and see what happens. Today we also did an 'activity' after each feed (except the 'bedtime' feed at sevenish). Activity basically means her staying awake for a bit after a feed instead of sleeping straight away. Just being awake and looking around seems to be enough stimulation at the moment (7 weeks old). Then a nap aftervthe 'activity' and then it's basically time to feed again. So we will keep this up for two weeks or so and see if it suits. It's not that different from her natural feeding cues. But she was getting overtired so more structured napping might help if we can get into a good rhythm. Will keep you posted on progress! Still going to go out etc and work in feeds/naps in pram. It had to be compatible with my being able to leave the house/have a life! Plus don't want to be too rigid or I know it won't work. I just want a rough routine so we both know more or less when feeding and naps happen!

P.s. Hi bjr and LMF fab that you're home yay!

P.p.s.kri5ty I don't see anything wrong with giving a soother to a small baby to calm them down. You can break them of the habit while they are still small. I only use it at night in the cot.

I started out (as i'm sure you know), as being so anti dummies, but he started sucking his thumb! To be honest he is great, he only has it when he needs soothing, ie he will have it for 10 mins, spit it out and fall asleep without it, although we find it a good "sleepy cue" now, and if he is over tired when he takes it, he knows its time to settle down.

mospy thats exactly what we do, with the "activity", i didnt realise that some people say to do this, it just happened naturally, and his awake time has gradually increased, i think at 7 weeks he was doing 1 hour- 1 hour 15 ish. I didnt want a strict routine, but ours works for us, as we just alter the times if he is up early, but always try and put him down at 7-7.30pm

ps hellooooooooo bjr :o

thanks lmf i have missed the pompoms!! And have been in need of haddocks lol

seven i know, its horrible isn't it, all those weeks of screaming in pain, he s now after 1 week a totally different baby, smiling all the time (even if it is a the ceiling and lights, rather than people!) Our GP still hasn't prescribed the milk, the private health visitor told me which milk to buy, it was £35 but worth every penny, and now i can go to the gp and tell them that it was the milk, and this is the one he needs :o

msb aww i have missed the post about kitty :( i'd be so upset xx

lmf hurrah!!! So singled that LO is much better and you're home. Brilliant news! I am very proud of you (very silly as I don't really know you), but you coped so well. Hurrah!
msb Ali has has projectile vomiting bouts 3-4 times and each time it has streamed out if his nose. It upset me more than it upset him.
as for nighttime feeds, Ali usually starts his last feed between 9:30 and 10pm then he sleeps, he tends to wake at 2:15am-ish for 15 mins then sometimes we're lucky and he'll wake at 6, but more often than not, he'll fit in another at 4-ish. Grrrr!
darcies you're right, foul no. 3 shouldn't have been a penalty, but the ref was feeling guilty at the two previous penalties that he had missed.
BJR welcome!! And get saving for December next year! Welcome aboard!
seven yep, Ali loves our telly fishtank too. Goldfish are quite stimulating to the 8 wk old mind!
Everyone SQUEEZE!!! c'mon, no slacking!! (if you'll excuse the horrid pun!)
Kristy sounds like you're doing a great job! How is the bonding coming along? I hope you are feeling better and more relaxed. Xxx
msb good luck finding the cat (hugs)
plu I had notes to say something to you too, but I can't read my writing. :) oh yes, I remember. The midwives in hospital upturned all I'd learned by demanding a hat for my LO in bed and putting him in s cot with a canopy. I think there are different rules for newborns. ( but I didn't see your baby vampire thing).
And me? All is well here. No news. Got to catch up with Rupert Penry-Gorgeousness in Whitechapel now. 'Scuse me please.

hmm i want... no i NEED a peanut butter kit kat chunky!!

vanessa it's still not 100% there, i don't actually "feel" like a mum, but i do think it is coming along, and the afterthought service may help. I still haven't cried, although i did fill up a little before when he made the cutest sound after his sneeze!

Singled??? I can't even remember the typo that has been corrected! Replace with "overjoyed" for now.

Singled??? - not sure what was being auto-corrected there. Read "overjoyed". and then "has had", I think...

Oh Lordy, and now the first failed message didn't really fail . I give in. I'm sure Rupert and his OCD will make me feel better.

Oh and almost forgot. I made myself watch the extremely annoying Jonathan Ross at the weekend just to see David Beckham. Wasn't he just absolutely glorious? Sigh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mmmmmmmmm he sure was!! I was slightly upset he didn't join in getting his pants off!

I have no idea what our routine is. I have my alarm set for 7 just in case I need to fit in a feed DD before we all have to get up for the day and to get DS to preschool, but this is all very hit and miss. This morning, she fed at 5, which buggered up the morning timings. That was on top of her waking at 11 for over 2 hours (once we'd had a feed, screeched for a bit about pooing, changed a couple of nappies, had another bit of a feed, got hiccups, sorted out hiccups and had a last feed.). Thankfully, at least she is much better at being put down than DS, or perhaps it's just that I've got the confidence and will to put her down and expect her to go to sleep (obviously, I don't do it if she doesn't need it; that would be mean), whereas I was rocking and joggling DS for hours, and he wouldn't be happy going down without that. I've just, about 15 minutes ago, stuck her in her Moses basket fairly alert, and haven't heard a thing since, despite doing a bit of banging about in the kitchen.

One thing I find particularly difficult about "a routine" is that different suppers take different amounts of time to prepare, so on some evenings I might need the prep time earlier, rather than later (or this evening, for instance, there was minimal preparation time, as I just chucked some chicken goujons in the oven and made carrot sticks), so I will be feeding at different times, and will be free to feed at different times.

Oops, damn, I hear a noise...
Back after yet another feed.Pjhew!

awww plu hopefully its a short one hehe

OiMissus, that's crazy about the hat. After all, hospitals are extra-warm too!

Can't believe it: DD sleepily attempting to suckle my neck.Hasn't sge had enough?!

Oi if I recall correctly, they put a hat on minimopsy when she was just born (in the recovery room) but I was smacked out on pethidine/traumitised from horrible birth so have potentially imagined it. And hospital was roasting!

Saul's head was too cut and bruised for a hat, they tried but every time they got near him he screamed!

Alistair was a fraction below the ideal temp so they wanted us to give him a hat and a grandma knitted cardy which he wore in a cot with a heated mat and a hooded canopy.

Ohhh, poor Saul; that just makes me clench!

kristy :(

They put a hat on Eva when she was born but I just assumed it was because she was premature.

Morning all.

Morning

Quick question - anyone else waking their Lo to feed or is it just me?

Can't stop thinking about the packet of custard creams in the cupboard downstairs. Hungry.