October babies. Don't get lost

[lisbethsopposite]

Come in come in.

happy newy everyone! we celebrated by watching predators and toasted the ny with a hot mug of milk and went to bed at 11. u guys r ace, hope u have a fab 2013. clothes-wise, we r in sleep suits all the time unless we go out and i feel like putting her in a dress. we have hardly bought her any clothes, most of what she wears were gifts. i will be keeping her in sleep suits as long as possible as they r easy and comfy. we have been given some little leggings and cute t shirts, so we may expand our wardrobe to include those. yomping, i've heard mum gets more sleep co sleeping than any other option. we dont co sleep, but i usually feed her off to sleep in my bed and then we pop her in her cot (next to our bed)still asleep. often i drop off feeding her, but it is a weird, lighter sleep, i guess i am aware of her so i dont squash her. i think i would really struggle to get a good sleep co-sleeping. cant remember who it was, maybe october, who said they r all (inc. baby) sleeping much better with baby in another room. would u consider trying an alternate sleep arrangement?

Happy new year nobbers!

angelico so sorry to hear about your relative
yomping hope things are a bit better, sorry I couldn't offer any support when you posted.

We are having a weird few days. Smorglet was in a foul mood from Sunday morning, really grizzly and occasionally in what seemed like a complete tantrum. Took him to the market and he screamed so loudly at one point people were staring and one lady even came over to peer into his carrycot and see what was wrong?!
Have no idea what is wrong with him - but it has made him really fractious to feed too. Doing the shark attack thing, not latching, sucking for a few seconds then coming off and screaming the house down. Often it comes just before he does a fart but he seems so much more disturbed by it than normal wind?
Anyway, was gearing up for a long night then he slept from about 9pm to gone 7am and only had one quick feed at 3am.
So I assumed it was tiredness, but then yesterday he was a bit better in the morning - had our first proper giggles - but then big meltdowns again and almost near refusal to feed. Probably only had a couple of 5 min feeds all afternoon/ evening. I expressed about 40ml (all i could manage) just to make sure he was getting something. Wondering if its a lack of milk getting him frustrated? I have had a cold so would that affect supply? Trying to drink enough water but I probably don't get 3 litres in every day. Dh thinks maybe the taste has changed and he doesn't want the hind milk anymore - I'm sceptical about this mainly because dh doesn't know a great deal about bf so is just guessing.
Last night Smorglet had the biggest meltdown ever, just a few hours after my cousin arrived to spend nye with us. Think she was a bit and she used to be a nursery nurse!
Smorglet will be 10 weeks tomorrow - could it be another growth spurt?

Happy new year to all! We did some pretty amazing things in 2012 (making, cooking and hatching little critters) and there's even more cool/scary things to look forward to in 2013 (crawling and god forbid it... walking!) We were well in bed for new year as DH sick yesterday! He slept through the smoke alarm going off twice (no smoke or fire, just doing something dodgy grrrrr) as well as both night feeds. I don't know which I was more amazed about as DD screamed for 15 mins before feed and 30 mins after (i'm calling this month the screaming stage of development). Hoping it's just teething, but no red cheeks or sore looking gums so I'm probably wrong!

On clothes... we are vests and sleepsuits most of the time but I cos I use cloth nappies I'm finding they don't do up very well so tops and leggings are good. Also We appear to have short legs and a fat tum (kinda like one of those wobbly toys... can't remember what they're called) so 3-6m cloths too tight but 6-9 months have huge flappy legs!

Angelico and yomping we swaddle every night, would be total of 12 hrs, although I use a grobag too so only arms swaddled. Makes big difference IMHO. I think they can get addicted to it (makes it sound like crack cocaine ), my 12mo nephew still has to be swaddled every night to sleep!

orenishii love your meeting DH story

Sorry to be me me me - I also wanted to say thanks to all of you who have offered such great support since we started this journey together. Thinking back to those dark February days when we were all feeling pukey, to Spring and the horrible shooting out here that suddenly made me feel protective of my bump, to April and finding out my work contract was not being renewed, feeling a bit lost and unemployed then the house hunt saga and driving the length of France following two boys on a bike while 7 months preg... And all through it this little bean was growing and growing and making his presence felt in various ways. Now he's here I can't quite believe it, or comprehend how important I am to him. It's pretty overwhelming most of the time - he is gorgeous and I love him to bits though.
And at every stage I have been able to come on here, winge, moan, laugh, feel reassured and it has been great. Thank you. May 2013 bring you everything you wish for xx

Smorgs I dont think a cold could effect supply, and as babies are more efficient at getting milk than expressing (excluding tongue ties etc) then I would assume that if you can get 40 mls, then he could get more. I was told by a BF support lady that there is not really such thing as fore and hind milk. It made logical sense to me but I dont know what evidence there is so cant say for sure. Could your baby be coming down with a cold? The first time DD slept through, she came down with a cold the next day, then went back to night feeding (serves me right for boasting on here ). When her nose is blocked she behaves like you described, crying to be fed but keeps latching on and off and getting upset.

I used to be a nursery nurse too but you dont really get any experience with babies under 4 months, and definately no training wrt to feeding.

smile4me last time our fire alarm went off DH didnt even stir and DS lay in bed complaining that it was keeping him awake!

New years eve passed us by really, but I would say Thankyou for a whole year (!) of support, and Happy New Year!

I really should do some coursework....

Want that's really good to hear about the fore/hind milk thing as i've had similar worries to smorgs these last few days about supply. i expressed just to reassure myself - and got nothing! Which caused a lot more stress than it needed to. Smorgs I love that description - shark attack - I assume it's when they launch themselves at the nipple ferociously?? We call it the Python attack here, hahaha!

smileforme re swaddling, I think i might try it. I'm a big fan of the gro products - the bags and also the baby gros with the padded arms and they also do swaddle bags so i might try them.

re outfits - heavens no, i can just about keep up the organisation of vests and baby gros DS is either in vests and baby gros or vests and lovely velour type jogging bottoms and long sleeve t-shirts. Everything else just looks uncomfortable. I envy girl babies their leggings and woolly tights!

I think ds and I are at the younger end of this group - he was born on 27 October. For those of you slightly older - I guess reaching the 3 month mark - do you feel like maybe it's less exhausting? Obviously it's all exhausting I just mean...Quincy is such an easy baby and only cries when he needs something, but we're still at the stage of everything being in a 1.5/2 hour cycle and I'm switched on all the time. Do you think when they're a bit older, able to sit, play with toys etc, we get a slightly more relaxed period? Those with older babies - are you noticing changes?

Another tricky night and grumpy baby. For anyone who had a baby who slept well but then badly again, did the good sleeps come back??

Def keep telling myself is a growth spurt!

www.babycenter.com/404_should-i-worry-about-spoiling-my-baby_3446.bc

This made me feel good. I hate how often the word 'spoiled' is being used by my parents and MIL at the moment......

Noooooooo to the word spoiled Huffle! That word should be banned around babies :)

It certainly makes my blood boil every time Orenishii!!!!!

And I too am impatiently waiting on things getting a bit 'easier' (relatively speaking) DS was born on 17th, 11 weeks tmrw. But compared to say, 4 weeks ago, he is a little less demanding, so I am hopeful!!

Going to try and see someone AGAIN re feeding this week as sore nips and the endless cycle of creams, gels and cleaning is another exhausting issue in itself.

smorgs - teething? I know it seems to be my stock answer to everything at the moment but it snuck up on us so unexpectedly in a "nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" sort of way but expalined a lot of symptoms and grouchiness. I read a lot about it and one of the things I read was that sore gums can put babies off feeding for a bit. When mini yomping had her tongue tie cut, feeding was like you described for a bit - she would latch on and suck a few times then come off crying. Heartbreaking . So shark attack feeding could be due to pain in the mouth which could be sore gums from teething? I'll shut up now! You have had a really eventful year - I remember seething on your behalf at some of the comments your DH's cycling buddy made to you on that trip!

Beccus, I did proper cosleeping, with baby in bed next to me, for a bit and loved it, I definitely did get more sleep - but had to stop about a month ago as she just go so wriggly and windy that I wasn't getting any sleep even if she was. Don't think I could cope with having her in another room, I find it traumatic enough in the day when we (very rarely) get her off to sleep in her cot in the bedroom and we go downstairs. Thank you for the suggestions though, I really appreciate it and don't want it to seem like I'm just rejecting them out of hand.

Angelico, shit, sorry for your relative. Any news?

smile4me, we're the same with the leggings - 3-6 month too tight over cloth nappies so we are in 6-9 month trousers but they have to be rolled up lots! Were the wobbly toys called Weebles?

Orenishii, swaddling is one of the few things that really works for mini Yomping, sleep-wise. She is very wriggly and determined and Houdini's herself right out of the normal swaddle blankets (the ones which are just a piece of material in a specific shape) but the SwaddleMe is brilliant, it velcros closed so she can't escape. The security of this seems to calm her and help her sleep. She does the cutest stretches when it is undone too! They come in funky designs, ours has lions and giraffes all over it.

So - I finally have something positive to report on! Last night was an exhibition in How Not To Be A Parent... DH took mini Yomping out for a few hours to give me a break (so no cluster feeding to fill her up for the night), I drank an extremely large glass of red wine which I finished an hour before she came home for a feed (so blood alcohol level about as high as it could have been when I fed her, oopsy), we kept her up till just before midnight, and the bedroom was far hotter than usual. Result? She slept for 7 hours straight . Then I got her back down for another half an hour after a feed. I feel a bit dopy with all the sleep! Probably just a one off (or a cold, bugger, didn't realise that could cause a good sleep before it hit, Wantan!) and tonight we'll be back to 2 hour sleeps but still. Yay for 7 hours! And there is a definite pattern in that her 3 longest sleeps ever have followed her being taken out for the evening so she couldn't cluster feed. So now we need to try not to cluster feed her and find some other way to stop her crying in the evenings.

So a very, very Happy New Year from me, thank you for the support and for listening reading and responding and for the sense of humour that runs through this thread, it makes everything just that little bit easier. Here's to an amazing 2013 full of firsts, for all you amazing and inspirational mums!

Yomping awesome news on the 7 hour sleep!!! I don't know if it helps but i haven't done anything OTHER than have a glass of wine and not take DS up until midnight for his last feed and he's been sleeping through for bout a fortnight now. Maybe naughty-mummying is the way forward

I just found it so much harder sleeping earlier, knowing i'd have to pull myself out of sleep to feed him so i'd stay up, feed, and we'd drift off about 12.30 - and he started sleeping through to about 7.

wantanorange thanks so much for advice, have just put nasosal up his nose as there were a few bogies. He has fed a little better since. Tried to take his temp via ear and he went mental so thinking maybe ear infection?
squid loved your sisters parenting motto! I have often found comfort from thinking similar thoughts.

If anyone finds their LO getting bored in car seat I can highly recommend this:
www.habausa.com/products/infant-seat-mobile-chuff-chuff.html
My mum got it for us and Smorglet loves it and stares at the little man dangling off the car seat handle for ages.

happy new year all!

hooray for anyone having good nights. I'm so tired I'm a bit cross-eyed today and struggling to focus. have foolishly been reminding myself of the potential disaster looming in the form of a possible 4 month sleep regression and am freaking out. I'm such a silly mare, got enough to worry about without wasting time on things that may not happen!

it's just when I don't get enough sleep I find it hard to keep a lid on my anxieties.

still, by this time next year things will be so different! in fact, already are - ds2 is spending more and more time awake which is making things quite tricky as he's still a total Velcro baby. awake but wanting to be held and bounced ds1 isn't getting a look in and is behaving appallingly to try to get attention. am hoping that once the 12 week development leap is over ds2 might chill out a bit? ds1 never did so am not holding my breath.

sorry didn't mean for this to turn into such a rant!

angelico hope your relative turns a corner and rallies.

No worries Smorgs, I hope it works.

I think Arty is teething. She has been horrible the last couple of days and waking much more frequently in the night (causing my little meltdown . Every now and then does a little high pitched cry that sounds like it hurts. I tried massaging her gums and she went for it! She squealed with delight and was smiling and laughing. That lasts a few mins at a time and then she goes back to being upset. Her gums feel hard and look white. I thought it was to early but DS never suffered so I dont really remember how old he was.

Yomping 7 hours! Had to laugh at weebles. They wobble but they dont fall down! That's exactly how DD looks. Which nappies do you use? Have you seen Wee Notions? The wraps are gorgeous.

Huffle you are so right about spoiling. They dont have the cognitive ability to be manipulative yet. I think that if we respond everytime they cry, they learn trust, and therefore confidence which leads to more independent little people.

3 months today! Where did that time go?

Has anyone any experience with prolapse? I've apparently got a mild bladder one. Doc said I would be fine to run, which I have been doing, but the improvements I'd seen seem to have reversed...

Smorgs - a cold definitely wouldn't affect supply. Apart from a few drugs, the only thing that affects supply once it's established is feeding less or expressing from both breasts simultaneously. Like yomping I reckon it could be teething. DS has diarrhoea and slobbers, munching on his fist. Fortunately it hasn't affected nights much yet. He now manages 10pm-2am in his cot next to me. I just wish I could fall asleep at 1,0 but I have my only surge of energy at that time. Then he wakes and feeds, we fall asleep together and he wakes again every 90 min-2h for snacks.

Yawn.

We've largely moved into trousers and tops now. He looks rather sweet in them and I don't like poppers. They confuse my exhausted brain.

Well, how's 2013 so far? I feel like a sad old lightweight. Got through half a bottle of red the whole evening & it felt like red wine felt the first time I tried it - made me feel hot & headachy. Felt like I'd been crawling across the Sahara with my mouth open this morning. Natures way of putting me off over-indulging I guess?

Yomping - I think there may be something in the 'time of going to bed' thing. Baby Fjord would never stay asleep if we put her down early & the sleeping through stints of 5/6 hours (that have become the 10hr stretch she does today) never started before 12.30/1am. She still rarely goes down before 11pm most nights and if she sleeps from 21.30 she wakes around midnight for several hours. I wrestled with the notion of this late bedtime recently as it seemed that others were putting their same age babies down at 19:30 (so perhaps I should be?). After extensive searching for other's experiences online, I found no particular reason to put her down much earlier than 23:00 if it was working for us. For now we'll take the sleep & I'm working on paring bedtime backwards gradually so we can get to an 8/8:30 getting up time, which would be better for morning activities such as 'baby music' we're hoping to start. We have no particular need for her to be up at 7am or something until she starts Kindergarten perhaps although I appreciate others do - particularly those with more than one child or going back to work/starting childcare. Baby Fjord often wakes in the night but doesn't cry so I try not to touch or engage with her & she tends to fall back asleep after a short spell of tossing & turning. I hope you work it out. Last night seems super-encouraging! She can clearly happily go 7hrs without a feed. I'm positive you'll get this sussed now.

huffle - yay for that article! Got so sick to death of my MIL (it's always them, isn't it?) when I told her she napped 'on' us saying we were spoiling her. Then, when we'd take DD round her house MIL would spend the entire visit with DD sleeping on her!! Grrr!

Right must lift my behind & get packed as the ferry back across the fjord beckons!

wantanorange thanks so much for advice, have just put nasosal up his nose as there were a few bogies. He has fed a little better since. Tried to take his temp via ear and he went mental so thinking maybe ear infection?
squid loved your sisters parenting motto! I have often found comfort from thinking similar thoughts.

If anyone finds their LO getting bored in car seat I can highly recommend this:
www.habausa.com/products/infant-seat-mobile-chuff-chuff.html
My mum got it for us and Smorglet loves it and stares at the little man dangling off the car seat handle for ages.

Flip me. Given that I'm obviously getting something wrong thought I'd let DS lead the sleeps more today. Even tho I hav thought my routine was pretty much baby led. He went back to sleep this morn for an hour, up, farted LOADS, fed, played a bit and slept for 3 hours. Up again, fed and is now soundly asleep again!!!!!!!

Honestly. He must be growing. I remember this sort of event happening just before 8 weeks and he was suddenly more alert. What will we see this time? Solving quadratic equations?????

Going to let him lead bedtime sleep more too. No matter how late that seems to run!

Think I've been trying too hard.

Yay yay yay yay for mini Yomping!!!! Brilliant sleep!

Gah no idea why same post appeared twice?

elpis yomping teething definite possibility. He's been slobbering and sticking hand in his mouth and definitely had watery dirty nappy few days ago. Just tried to stick his hand in mouth while feeding too. Tried teething gel though and no effect? Is this because its the teeth moving around in gums rather than poking through? In that case do I calpol? Hate giving all these meds but equally hate seeing him in pain. Less shark attack now more suck for a bit then come off and scream frantically.
elpis re supply what does expressing from both sides do? I've got my new double machine but not used it much...

Relative hanging in there thanks. In hospital getting treatment. He's had a very long fight with ill health and keeps bouncing back but there's a gloomy sense that this might be the beginning of the end :( Thanks for the hugs.

On swaddling... Yomping had never heard of maximum swaddling times before, am firmly ignoring all parental guilt as long as bean is thriving and happy fecking teething aside and enjoying the guilt free sleep :o 11 hours was the maximum she went but for me that was a bit long as was worried she would go hungry plus she barely napped at all next day. And Smile4me interestingly I too have been worried about the 'swaddling addiction' - started a thread about it a few weeks back, some interesting responses about 'weaning' them from swaddling, the thread 'can a baby get dependent on swaddling?' is here.

Teething really is shit, isn't it? Bean is 14 weeks now, dentist said teeth moving is common from 10 - 12 weeks but can be earlier, especially if you were an early teether (I was). Mini has spent last few weeks perpetually drooling and chewing on fingers poor critter. Teethers too big to be useful. She didn't seem to be bothered much with pain until recently but having been away makes it hard to tell if it's teeth or the return home that has made her cranky. Gave her baby Neurofen last night which seemed to help a little (teetha podwer did nothing for discomfort although did give her a comical 'hmmm, what's this?' expression).

Now, possibly a mental question but to anyone in the know: if you want to have 2 kids is it better to have a) 2 babies b) baby and toddler or c) baby and older child? I ask because a few people I know swear it is easier having 2 babies than having a baby and a toddler. And I fucking hated pregnancy, CS recovery etc - but part of me feels like it might be better to do it all again sooner rather than later and get it over with - or risk not being able to face it all again. I am really enjoying the bean and don't want to miss out on her baby time but a baby and a toddler sounds like such hard work. Age wise I don't have the luxury of waiting till she's older. And workwise it could work out well - could return to work slightly sooner and not be there for long before qualifying for new maternity leave, plus option of career break. Going to start a thread in chat and pregnancy (under namechange) I think and see what responses I get...

It's completely bonkers that so many of us have early teethers?

Have you tried a teething ring (held in for him?), or a cold damp wash cloth?

We've found bonjela to be helpful, and have also calpol'd her. She has been suffering, and calpol helps her get some rest, so if she seems to need it, I'll give it.

Hate to specifically ask, elpis but I'm wondering too if double expressing is bad then?! Just waiting delivery of my new Lactaline pump. Not expressed in weeks and hoping to get back soon. When I return to work sincerely hope I'll still manage to BF and express.

I know I should really google..... X