October 2012 babies - over here nobbers!

[Smorgs]

This really will be the thread where all our babies start sleeping through the night... right?!

How-do fellow beanbakeroonies

Sorry it's been so long but struggling to find the time! My own fault for trying to do the final year of my degree whilst raising a newborn. I tell you something though, the whole experience of raising a child has given me new found respect for single parents...I mean honestly, how do they do it?!?! It's difficult enough when there are two of you!

Anyhoo - hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and New Year with their little ones - hopefully I will be on here a bit more often.

Will try and catch up on goings on between coursework and feedings!

Hello lovelies

Really happy today and just wanted to share really. Another good night's sleep (sorry) and we have a morning rhythm now... I feed her at 5.30am even though she's not quite awake, lying in bed with the turtle nightlight we got for xmas... we drift off again together. 6am I roll over and feed her off the other side. She has slept the night so she is always very hungry in the mornings, feeds for well over an hour often. boyfriend is asleep hugging me while i feed and it's my favourite family time.

Most days I go running or do a workout once she's finished that feed, or sometimes i just snuggle back to sleep with them.

We had some playtime today - books, massage, singing - then I usually go out with her in the sling... I buy my food on foot so i go often. the market know me well and always have nice things to say about jess. Boyfriend popped home for lunch (I am SO LUCKY he works 2 mins away) and holds her or changes her while we chat and i eat lunch.

afternoons we do more playing, then feed and she naps (usually in my arms, so i go on computer or read). evenings i cook and tidy the house and relax a bit while boyfriend looks after her then puts her to bed. i go down early but we still usually get an hour together after she's asleep.

it's just such a nice rhythm right now, i feel so de-stressed, even though i'm tired i feel so much better rested than i've been in years, and even though having to work around baby, i have so much more free time and independence than i used to.

some days are hard or frustrating, and there will be further difficult phases i'm sure, but just wanted to document a good one. Right now i was fixng her monkey mobile that the cats rippewd down and making a cake for a friend who had her baby boxing day... was trying to get her to settle herself to sleep but it never works in the day and so she is back in my arms again. I don't mind though. this baby phase probably seems pretty short when you look back.

(Apologies in advance if anyone reads this who is having a terrible day!!! I just... i just wanted to write it down whilst it felt this way...)

squid am having a totally shit day but wanted to drop by to say it was lovely to read about your happy days, don't worry!!

Good huffle. Just booked myself on baby massage class and requested list of baby groups from HV in new town. I WILL make RL mummy and baby friends!!!!!

And have just had McDonalds for lunch....... Good healthy BF food........

Nice tI hear your nice day Squid! Personally, I can never see it, I'm eat way too highly strung!!!!!!!!

I have had a terrible day too but it was really lovely to hear about your good one squid! I sometimes have those too I need to get out with her in the sling more, have got lazy and started using the buggy while I have DH off work to carry the car seat to the car (we live in a flat above shops so car houses buggy and lives quite far away).

Hope smiley had a good day at work - I am going in for a full day on Monday (inset day, I am a teacher.). I have been doing half days with babyfunch at a CM which has worked really well but nervous about leaving her for a full day (will she take a bottle? She did last time but has refused them at home save in the last two evenings recently). Also I will have to express at work which will be interesting!

funchum8am I have a bottle refuser too. Supposed to be going to college wed and thurs but keep chickening out. My attendence is awful! We had one very bad day when she went 8 hours between feeds and screamed a DH pretty much the entire time. HV says to persist but I'm not putting DD or DH through that again. Counting down the weeks until she can have real food!

Kyyria How do you do it?! What are you studying? I'm in my second year of BA in Early Years Care and Education, doing it through local college (Plymouth Uni partner college). I've got a 3500 word essay due in next wed, then a case study the following wed. Why did I choose this?!

Squid I love reading your posts. You are always so positive and it comes across like you are really making the most of your maternity leave.

Huffle hope you enjoy baby massage. I did it with DS but it is much more popular now and I couldnt get in with DD. I take her to Bambi club though and she enjoys it I think. She likes chatting to her cute German friend, he is very handsome but a week older. Not sure about this letting her chat with older boys .

crazy at least we are not alone....and DD doesnt have hair either, just a very fine layer of dark fuzz. DS was born with beautiful strawberry blond, long hair. Is it bad to think I got them the wrong way round?

Does anyone know if its ok to use infacol and infant gaviscon at the same time?

Honey mum I have used both together, never even thought it might be a problem! The Gaviscon has worked well so have stopped the infacol and no apparent difference without it though. I think infacol is fine with everything but do seek medical advice if you are not sure. Are you just starting the Gaviscon? Has worked wonders for us though I know it doesn't work for everyone.

Honey cannot help. Do you hav reflux baby? One GP gave me Gaviscon for wind but others disagreed as it is advised for reflux only. I give infacol and ocasional gripe water if still painfully windy.

If baby reflux I don't know if infacol advised?? Hopefully someone else will come along who knows! Or try posting on chat where you might get more traffic?

Sounds like you must have an unhappy baby

On that note I might try stopping infacol soon. He is def less painfully windy lately. But will I regret it?!! Hate giving DS chemicals for his wee tummy.

Thanks. Saw gp today who prescribed gaviscon as LO is screaming blue murder 4-7pm and 9-12pm and he thought reflux. Although have been reading it makes babies constipated so not sure what to do. As far as I can make out from Internet research gaviscon, infacol and gripe water are all fine together. Which is helpfulnn

Lost you all you nobbers.

Well baby is screaming and has been for the past 2 hours. Wind or reflux but nothing helping. Tried to get gaviscon down but he spat most of it back out. I'm losing my mind.

squid your day sounds amazing! Work is so overrated ay! Does DH look after Jess when you go for a run or do you run with her in buggy?

DD was born with heaps of hair first but judging by how much falls out onto the sheet every night, will be bald as shortly! Has a comic monk-style bald patch on the back and a bald line right around her head (I'm guessing there is some skull growth plate there or something!) I think she's just trying to look more like her Dad

Kyyria and Wantan I don't know how you're managing full time study with a baby... I'm attempting to do a masters part time (seemed like a really good idea a year ago!!!) and so far behind it's unbelievable. 3 exams and case report to do over next 5 weeks and going to be a total disaster!

honeymum I don't think you get immediate results with gaviscon for reflux... probably have some inflammation from acid burning baby's throat which will still be sore for a little while. Not that i've used it yet... every thime DD has screaming fits with feed refusal and reflux symptoms (which is always on a Friday night) I say 'right I'm going to do something about it' then by the time I get Dr appointment it's gone. Have you seen the website www.cryingoverspiltmilk.co.nz good info on reflux and treatment.

I was thinking today, how often do people wash your baby's hands? I realised today I don't do it very often and her hands spend a huge part of her day in her mouth! And what are you suppossed to do with toys... everything goes in the mouth. Or is it just good for the immune system (I'm definitely no clean freak... I dread to think how much crap [literally] I've eaten over the years on farm, but a baby with V+D is horrible yuk )

And cherry I've forgotten to make dinner altogether some days... get to dinner time and go 'oh crap'. Luckily DH isn't too fussy

Hi all..feel like massive stalker as joined u and posted a few times about a month ago and have kept up to date with everone but not posted since.

Firstly...look how far we have come!! Our babies are thriving!! Well done us and particularly those of u who have overcome difficulties.

Have a question as i sit here crying whilstfeeding my babe because trying to set up bedtime routine... Have any of u started this? DS now almost 12 weeks and all the books say to keep lights low, upstairs etc after bath. I have been doing this after half6 bath but then find i spend next 3hrs in DSs room and basically stress about him getting to sleep and barely see DH. Argh. DH tries to help but frankly gets totally stressed when i tell him how stressful it is or if i try and communicate my frustration. This then nakes it far worse and just wish i hadnt even got him involved.
This mumthing can be so isolating at times.
Sorry. Massive rant over.

londonlivvy, u were just tired, please don't feel guilty. i was a nobber this morning and forgot to take monitor to shower. poor babybeccus was crying by the time i remembered and rushed out, dripping water everywhere to go to her. we can't be perfect mummies all the time, we can only do our best.
honey - that sounds really tough, i have no experience of reflux, sorry. hope things r better now.
kyrria, good to c u back on here.
squid - lovely to hear about your day . i am loving mat leave as well. i think when they consistently sleep through, it makes all the difference, as does getting some endorphins from exercise. exercise is pretty unrealistic without proper rest. i try and get 8 hrs sleep but get up early to get stuff ( exercise, shower, dress, breakfast, a little housework) done before babybeccus wakes. then we follow some sort of feed, play and sleep order of things. i have expanded play to mean seeing my friends and going for coffees and having visitors as it's more stimulating for babybeccus ( & much more fun for me) than being stuck at home with me. today i got up, cooked lunch, did wii fit, showered, babybeccus got up unexpectedly early, so fed/ changed her, put her on playgym, i had breakfast, then walked to park, had coffee - i read magazine and she happily looked about, then had friend and her baby over for lunch, then walked back to theirs, had cup of tea, came home, baby beccus hung out with daddy and is now in bed.
yompimg, u r a trooper persisting with the bf in the face of shallow latch- it so uncomfortable when that happens. well done on your good tt decision

Honey how many weeks exactly is your LO? We had the same screaming issues but from 2am onwards but after about 3 nights of giving Gaviscon it got a lot better. She still woke in apparent pain but would go back to sleep for longer (well, 90mins instead of 10) after a feed and some Gaviscon. Also if it is colic not reflux it should clear by itself some time after 12 weeks ish. I am learning that many of these things have no solution, you just have to wait it out. There is even a website where a blogger talks about this as like a proper parenting choice which made me feel loads better when a very wide poster on the 'staying awake for night feeds' thread shared it yesterday. No good at links but if you google nurshable and look for her posts on WIO, waiting it out, it talks about taking that approach to sleep problems and crying babies. Doesn't fix the issue but made a lot of us on that thread feel better!

Anyway honey and others with reflux and terrible nights, I am feeling your pain!

Sorry realise went off on one and didnt finish question...
Do u guys follow strict bedtime routine?
Gave in tonight and took DS downstairs...
Asleep now!! Fingers crossed will last.

Good luck with tonight everyone. Im off to bed....for now. See u in the early hours....

Our bedtime routine is a bi odd as babyfunch appears to be living in a time zone four hours ahead of London (apparently this puts her in the same zone as Moscow, Iran and Azerbaijan!). So she naps from around 3 pm and the. At 5 we wake her and then play 'keep the baby awake' until 6.30 by which time she is ready for her last feed which we have upstairs along with a story, and then bed in our room with monitor on. There is no problem at all getting her to go down but before you curse me for being smug, the flip side is that she is up at 4am or thereabouts for the day . Today it was 2am (I may have mentioned that in previous posts just a bit!!)

If anyone has tips for getting a baby to sleep when they don't want to please let me know!

Bad news: DD threw up everywhere this afternoon.

Good news: We're at the in-laws so the soft furnishings are theirs. Plus - no diarrhoea yet, so hopefully not norovirus.

In bed munching emergency KitKat ration as never enough food out here and MIL overboils veg, so I turn down seconds.

I am very jealous of those of you (like Beccus you lucky thing but am sure there are others) who have babies who will lie happily on a playmat or look about happily while you read a magazine in a cafe... think mini yomping might be a people person unlike me. If she is awake, she wants company. She will play on the playmat if I'm there but if I leave her she will last out for a couple of minutes before crying. In a push chair, if I stop pushing it she will cry pretty quickly even if I am talking to her. Same deal with bouncy chair, she's OK in it if I'm there but not by herself or if I stop interacting with her for more than a few minutes. I guess she is just a sociable little soul and gets lonely easily!

We have the tonsure look here too, she was born with lots of soft, fine brown hair which has mostly rubbed off apart from a band around the base of her head which looks pretty silly!

I did go to the new parents course, made me cross (no surprise there!), will try to report in next couple of days.

And thank you for the nice things people said about persevering. I am proud that I have, glad it was possible to and relieved it has made a difference. If anyone remembers me posting about getting angry, the trigger was always feeds not going well. I realised today I haven't felt stressed like that in a week as feeding is finally going smoothly. I have an 8week cbt-based workshop starting next week, run by local counselling service, covering lots of things, anger management being one of them. Ironically, the source of the anger has gone now but it will be interesting to go and will give me good skills for the future, I'm sure.

Fingers crossed for good nights all round.

funchum following your routine slightly but at 6.15 we have a bath then feed down for around 8-8.30, dream feed at 11 and sleeping to 5-6.30. Feed again and out for another couple of hours. Def not a expert as this has only been on the go for a couple of nights but am hoping it continues. Jamie is 13 weeks on the large side16.5lbs at the last weigh in 2 weeks ago.

Trying to be strict about it in the hope it pays off.

yomping, i only realised cafes were play areas the other day when were in costa and i saw she was happily nosey parkering around. our playgym is in the kitchen, where we cook and eat. she'll go on it for 20-30 min in am, so i can pop her there and cook and have breakfast with her, but she is a bit over it after that 1st go and cracks it if she's on it more than a few mins later in the day.

meepsmum, our bed routine is just feed to sleep. we do bath before bedtime feed, but only 2/3 times a week...and we only ever change clothes after nappy leakage/mega spew....this usually happens daily, but not neccessarily at bedtime.

oh, i forgot to include in today's activities the often frutiless daily attempts to get babybeccus to self settle during the day and resulting meltdown and the 5pm daily grouchathon until we get her to sleep..rose tinted glasses and all