March 2012 - Brewed to Perfection!

[TroubleAndFyfe]

Hello all, come and add your babies to the list and let's see what adventures they bring!

Fyfe was weighed yesterday and is 18lb 8.
He doesn't have set naps, he did for a while but I found he didn't sleep as well at night so I just let him sleep if he falls asleep, usually in the buggy or on me for 10 mins or so 2/3 times a day.
He has never slept through but now does 8-8 with 2 x 10 min feeds which is fine for me for now!

I am trying not to get too caught up with the developmental stages but found this website yesterday which I thought you may find useful. It showed me that maybe we are setting our expectations too high for what we think our babies should be doing at this age. Hope it helps.

Oh, great website, Pommes. I think you're right about setting expectations too high. I try to just relax and just think LO will do stuff when she's ready. I really want a 'mama' though...she's been saying 'dada' long enough! [hgrin]

Sounds like you're doing similar stuff to my pal on the eczema front, Lou. Guess there mo miracle cure, sadly.

I totally spoke too soon on the sleep front. We had some horrendous nights earlier in the week. Hours of rocking, sleeping but only when held, screaming the moment her bottom touched her cot mattress. I ended up sending DH to he spare room to get some shut eye and co-sleeping with LO for the first time. I had to sit u rocking her and then carefully put her down next to me. I say co-'sleep' but to be honest there wasn't much sleeping going on from me. It was rather lovely to just lay and watch her though...it brought back memories of the first night in hospital after having her, knowing I should sleep, but being too wired and too in awe of how lovely she was to sleep, so just laying there and watching her sleep instead.

Hello again everyone.

Well Lola's eczema has been a lot better the last few days, I tried the egg whites and metanium on her nappy rash but they didn't make a difference , so I put her eczema cream on and it cleared it up!

She cut another tooth on Monday so she now has 4. Have started giving her sandwiches and toast.

She has started giggling a lot more but isn't showing any signs of saying mum or dad yet :(

Fyfe has been miserable cutting tooth three looby! He had a temperature yesterday, wouldn't be put down and is completely off his food. He's just had his first milk feed of the day(!) but only for 5 mins and has fallen asleep. I'm happy that he's not unhappy and seems to be a normal temperature today at least..

I take back the giggling comment, she has been a grumpy little moo today! I don't think she is feeling great though to be fair as she bumped her head twice in the space of half an hour this morning. She has been sooo clingy and not interested in anything. Roll in bedtime, talking of bedtime, has anyone noticed baby is tired an hour earlier due to clocks changing, I find myself fighting to keep her awake or the last hour as I don't want to change her routine.

Oh no, sorry to hear your babies have been out of sorts, Trouble and Looby. I think Erin may be struggling with her third tooth too, Trouble. She's been really off feeding, which has me a bit worried as it's hosting up a bit (25 degrees yesterday). She would drink water from her soppy cup though, thankfully. She's been dribbling uncontrollably, sleeping badly and very red on one cheek. These top teeth seem like little blighters to cut!

4 teeth, Looby?! That's loads! I must say I'm a bit worried about when LO has 4 as she went through a real bitey stage when her bottom ones cut, which I found really awful when she was feeding. Not sure how my poor boobs will cope if he does that this time, having top and bottom gnashers would be even worse!

We went the other way with the clocks, so it worked much more easily for us. LO used to have a 6pm bed time (her choice) in the winter, so we just kept with her decision when the cooks changed and she now goes to bed at 7. It's so much better because it means my DH gets to hang out with her for longer in the evenings and it's not a manic rush to get everything done quickly.

Did anyone celebrate halloween? Tessa dressed up as fairy, a costume her grandma sent this summer and luckily it still fit (just barely). She and her Dad walked around the neighbourhood and she was admired :)

Sorry to hear about the grumpy babies. Tessa is joining them! No teeth yet, but I do think she is teething. She's also been waking up tons at night -- ever since we got back from Germany, it's every 1-2 hours. I'm not sure what's wrong, and if she maybe started reverse cycling when I was at the conference and just hasn't come back to normal, or if her teeth are bothering her or what.

Oh, and we have crawling! Not hugely consistent, but she can move around. She still can't get from her tummy to her back yet, although she seems to be able to go crawl to sit occasionally. And other times she seems to just get tired and stuck!

I stopped bf at 4 months so don't know what's it like, buy I think she had a bit of a flash back the other day as she bit my nipple!

We don't have any signs of crawling yet and she can't get from tummy to back either, she likes to sleep on her front and wakes in the night because she cant roll over!

Are you in oz beewi?

I put a pumpkin bib and hat on Lola and took her to the door but most came round when she was in bed.

The third tooth has cut! Hooray! Happy baby back!
We had a babies Halloween party today, Fyfe dressed as a zombie and won the best dressed prize!

Hello all. Well I've been offered a new job today which I really want to take but it means I'll be going back to work before christmas Its a little earlier than I planned but I really don't want to go back to my old job so I'm going for it!

I'll be visiting childminders next week so I might need some hand holding. Does anyone have any advice on what I should be asking? I can't believe I'm going to hand my little Grumpalo over to a stranger for 3 days a week.

Halloween was a bit of an anti-climax here, only 1 trick or treater and that was the little girl next door. I guess we'll have to eat all of the sweets!

Sam keeps getting onto his knees but topples over after a few seconds but I think it might be time to baby proof the house. I left the room for half a minute today and he rolled from one end of the room to the other, I only realised when he heard the clinking of my trinket box. He's like a little Indiana Jones

I have no advise re childminders im afraid but I'm available for hand holding :) I know how you feel I don't even really like leaving Lola with my mum or mil, not because I don't trust them, just because I know how she likes things done iyswim.

Well done to fyfe for winning the fancy dress competition :)

I definately need to baby proof my house Lola decided to try and chew the laptop charger today, it's time to invest in some shelves!

Wow! Congrats english!

Morning all, how are we all doing?

Sorry to hear a few of you have been experiencing teething troubles too. Callum?s fourth and fifth teeth have just cut, at pretty much the same time. My happy chap has turned into a grizzly bear. He was very sickly yesterday which is unusual for him, has anyone else noticed this with teething? Callum isn't very dribbly and my friend mentioned that if the dribbles aren't coming out, maybe they are trickling back in (if that makes sense?) which may have caused him to be sick much more than usual yesterday.

We had a very quiet Halloween, no trick or treaters at all (despite my lovingly carved pumpkin). Congratulations to Fyfe on his costume prize!

Have you noticed any ways that motherhood has changed you personally? I used to be a real Grinch when it came to Christmas, I would eventually get into the spirit but all present buying was last minute. Anyway, I have surprised even myself this year and have already bought baby many several presents, a Father Christmas outfit and an Elf outfit ? what is happening to me?

Congratulations English on the new job role. A month or so ago the company I work for offered me a role which has much more flexibility and involves lots of working from home; I seized the offer as it means I can almost have the best of both worlds but I have started to feel sick at the thought of returning, particularly venturing into the world unknown. I am due back in January but have been receiving almost daily phone calls/emails requesting ?favours? to do small bits of work, I feel bad saying no because of the opportunity they have offered me but really want to spend the last couple of months just enjoying Callum. I feel so sad that the happy blur that has been maternity leave is coming to an end.

Congrats english! I don't know much about childminders, either. DH is ours until he finishes his degree and gets a job... But I'll hold hands and watch and learn!

You'd probably have to ask DH if motherhood has changed me! :) I know people are sometimes the worst at evaluating themselves. One thing I have noticed, though, is that I feel less guilty about carving out time for myself. I used to be very protective of weekends/evenings, not checking work email weekends or late and refusing to the extent possible weekend and evening tasks, but I felt guilty about it, as it was all for my own benefit and my "family" was just DH. But now that DD is here, it is a lot easier for me to protect my time without feeling like I somehow shouldn't be.

Thanks all! Well after lots of research I've arranged to visit 4 childminders next week so fingers crossed. Dp pointed out that all of the ones I've chosen are older women, I wonder whether its a subconcious thing as I'm in my late 30's? Maybe I'm picking people who seem 'mum like' to me? I'm so excited about the job. The moneys rubbish but it has long term potential and will be great for us as a family.

I think motherhood has made me more laid back. I used to be obsessive about having a tidy house and everything had to be planned to the last detail. It didn't take me long to realise that ds hadn't read the schedule! I just go with the flow now and take each day as it comes :)

I agree english, I used to be so anal about have a tidy house, that all changed the minute we bought Lola home! I think I am more assertive now and stand up for myself more, Want to set a good example.

Lola has cut her 5th tooth today! The way we are going she will have a full set by the time she's one!

english - and everyone else actually! - one question to ask is whether they accept childcare vouchers as payment. They can save you hundreds of pounds a year on all registered childcare and all you need to do is sign up through work - v simple and easy to do and you just swap a bit of your salary for the vouchers. The childminder (or nursery or nanny, whatever you choose) gets the value of the voucher directly into their account so it's easier for them.

Please do feel free to either PM me or ask here if you need any more info/details cos joining a scheme is a no brainer

Has anyone's LOs started to show signs of handedness? I'm wondering if DD might be a lefty -- she puts food in her mouth with her left hand first, and often grabs with the left hand, though she uses both a lot too. I have no idea when these things develop! DH and I are both right-handed, but my aunt is left-handed.

And she's starting to eat a lot more! Definitely more than half the food appears to be vanishing now. Exciting :)

DF came to visit - he took a boat across the ocean! It's a business trip, and he's pahtolgically scared of airplanes. Work finally agreed to let him take a boat. We had dinner last night, and we'll see him again on Saturday. Then we're flying the other way next week! Time moves so fast.

broody we looked at the vouchers on he salary calculator and was surprised how much difference it makes. Well with doing. We think we've found a childminder and for once in our lives me and Dp are in agreement. She's quite like me, fairly relaxed and softly spoken, and her house is quite like ours so it feels like a home from home. Sam has met her twice now and is smiley and comfortable around her so we're very relieved. Totally flexible too so a real godsend.

mads I think I have a lefty too. He seems to very favouring his left at the moment. Is it genetic? Dp and most of his family are left handed.

Fyfe favoured his left too so DH and I were having this discussion about two months ago I then had a babycentre or similar email through about it saying that this will swap and change until they're two, until then you just can't tell! Fyfe is currently favouring his right!

Hi folks. Do any of you cosleep with your LOs? It's something we are trying tonight after the realisation that dd just won't sleep in her cot, crib or anything that isn't us! I only want to do it short term cos DH and I have barely shared our bed in the last five months so bringing little lady in is pretty much the biggest contraception ever! Any tips or advice most welcome

Have you never co slept broody?
We did for the first 3 months. I bring him in at around 6 most mornings now.. No tips as such, it's easy, just cuddle and sleep!
I hope it gets you more sleep.. we disturb him and he ends up waking more but it works for some people!

We co-sleep Broody and I feel much, much more human for it! The safest way is to have your bed against the wall, baby between you and the wall. It's recommended that baby has a separate cover (sleeping bag or cellular blanket) to reduce the risk of them wriggling beneath the duvet. Brilliant for breastfeeding and enjoying a little more sleep!

How are we all?

We have had the opposite problem. Sam slept fine until about 20 weeks then started waking up every couple of hours so we bought him into bed. Dp has pretty much moved into the spare room but to be honest we were so tired before we coslept that this is far better. We still go up together and read and chat (quietly) but as Sam always wakes around midnight, dp heads off to sleep in the spare room. I generally manage about 6 hours before he starts wriggling but if I give him a cuddle he drops off again so I get to snooze until about 7.15 :)
The practicals - I take the pillows off of one side of the bed and he sleeps on that side with his head at my shoulder height. He's in a sleeping bag and I sleep under a fleecy throw so it only covers me. I have a bed rail ow but when we first started it was by accident so I just put duvet and pillows on the floor. I've only lost him off the side once and he didn't even wake up! I tend to sleep with a hand resting on him so if he starts wriggling I wake up but tbh I don't know why I bother because he's perfectly capable of letting me know when he's awake.

If I'm honest it isn't what I would have chosen, and I do miss cuddling up to dp and chatting about the day but, before we coslept we were both exhausted and snippy and frankly not getting on that well due to.tiredness. Now we just make the most of our evenings and days and appreciate being well rested. Good luck! :)