March 2013- here we go....

[Oodsigma]

Welcome old & new to the other side!

I'll start with a stats list!

Ood -ds 7/3/13, dc4! Elcs

If anyone wants to add any more details feel free!

leni most of mine say 11lb but ds is in one & I don't think he's quite there yet.

Ok maybe not then as we're still at 7lbs! Flappy arms are his thing - he likes to be able to stretch them about and pull his bottom eyelid down in a painful looking way... He even kicks his blanket off and looks vampiric whilst sleeping, funny thing

Ewan is a toy sheep that fixes by his tail to a cot or anything else, if you press buttons in each leg he plays ultrasound heartbeats, harp music etc, LO really loves the harp in particular.

He's currently asleep on Truffles, who's another sheep, one who flattens out to be a sort of bed on the floor with his head/tail preventing rolling. He's so soft!

That's an impressive collection of sheep you've got there, Leni. I think the care labels inside the sleeping bags say when you can use them, the 0-6 months ones we have are from 8lbs13. DS is an arm flapper too, he bloody loves his.

How was bath time, Stormy?

DD is an arm flapper too and we have used the sleeping bag since birth (she was 8lb 10). We did swaddle for about a week as was good to transfer her sleeping from sling to tight waddle but she started waking violently as soon as she realised she couldn't move her arms. She now flaps her arms around for about half an hour before she wakes so is back in the sleeping bag as those are all extra sleeping minutes for us too!

A bit screamy, plonko, but not as scary as I'd expected. And she chills out a bit once she's in there. Got her out and wrapped in a towel, dried the bum, picked up a clean nappy, and she weed. Thankfully I hadn't yet emptied the bath, so it was easy enough to just dip her back in there.

Our sleeping bags say 8lbs 13 too, or thereabouts. Not sure if we're quite there yet, I weighed her the other day and she was exactly 9lbs, but that was with nappy and vest on. But having tried both sleeping methods today, I think we'll stick with the swaddle for now, and just try to be extra ruthless with the arms. The flapping just freaks her out too much and she works herself into a strop.

Had another revelation, this time re: the flailing and odd noises and knocking the bottle away yet still being hungry. Teatime feed, the milk wasn't particularly warm but I thought it'd be fine. She took half an ounce then started the usual palaver. Warmed it up a bit and she drank the lot. So whoever else it was that was having that issue, try heating it up a bit?

I googled Ewan the sheep. Very tempted to get one.

Bad day here, was having a lovely time at a friends house, picked up LO to go do something & I've put my back out. Had to drive home & cried all the way, couldn't take car seat out of car & now having to be very creative with pillows to get her high enough to BF. Not good timing with a 6 week old & a puppy.

On the plus side we got her asleep & into her Moses at 10.15 & we're only just on first feed so that's a massive improvement. We used to swaddle her but she spent he's trying to get her arms out so she's in a sleeping bag now. I think our one's a GroBag & is from 8lb ish & is for 0-6m,it's gt extra poppers under the arms to stop them managing to wriggle in when they're wee.

Hi SoYo

Ouch about your back but great about the 4 hrs sleep before her first feed! I got DD down at about 10:30 and she went until 1am who he was fine. I took her into her room and fed her in there but tried to put her back down in the basket at 1:30 as I thought she was completely zonked out, only for her to makes her weird noises and awaken after ten mins and I've been feeding her on and off since then. Going to try to put her down again now though - wish me luck...

Okay she did go down but woke up after two hours so I'm feeding again...

Come on SD, give me just one three hour stretch please... DS is likely to wake though at 6:30ish which could be a right pain :(

*DD of course not SD ('sweet daughter'?).

Did you get much sleep, Wing?

I hope your back gets better soon SoYo, of all the times to have to deal with that!

Stormy my mum clued me into the warm bottle trick. It seems to work for DS but he's yet again bitching at the end of a bottle. He's taking 150ml each time! Greedy little bugger.

We had a horrible night. Usually he's a good sleeper but he just wouldn't be put down after a feed at about 2. I dozed with him on me until 5.30, then had a good cry (am no good when sleep deprived), bitched at DP for never ever doing a night feed and guilted him into dozing with DS until he had to get up for work. So out of character, I think it's down to the routine being ignored by DP the night before. Completely shattered now, I think it's time for a pj day.

plonko I could have written your post about last night, with the timings slightly changed!

DH brought DD downstairs after I had a go at him be ause he huffed when I asked him to change her nappy at 6ish ("it's the only break I get when you take her into the other room!" - me) and I did get back to sleep for an hour and a half. Then I had a shower and a lovely chat with DS when I came downstairs and I feel less stabby towards the world now. But it's that middle of the night/early hours feeling of ARGH and being crap and sleep deprived that does my head in.

It's hard isn't it? Retaining a sense of perspective in the small hours is worse than crowning. Fact!

DS had a bottle at 8ish then we settled down in my bed together for a nap so I was able to get another hour and a half or so. The tesco delivery man woke me up bastard baby cried nonstop for 30 mins and I had my first experience of how good cloth nappies are at containing those poo explosions. Have not managed a shower, food delivery is all over the living room floor and baby is still in yesterday's vest. I've decided to be philosophical about it all - shit happens, tomorrow will be better, and my hair will not get brushed today.

The small hours are a doddle. It's seven in the morning that I have trouble with. This is what happens when you spend years as a doley bum with no bedtime. I think the thing to do at this point is just abandon the ideal of eight hours' kip and resign yourself to catnaps for the rest of your life. Then when proper sleep happens it'll be a bonus.

plonko so long as you don't have pets running around the floor and investigating the food delivery. Don't suppose baby knows it's yesterday's vest; baby probably doesn't yet have much understanding of the concepts of "vest" or "yesterday". And the time to worry about hair would've been before the delivery man came. So you're doing grand!

SoYo hope your back's better soon, and yay for sleep.

At the moment DD gets her clothes changed when she needs to so is still in yesterday's vest and sleepsuit and I'm ignoring the little poo stain on the leg from last night

If I could only solve the getting her settled in the Moses basket I'd be tons happier. For me it's not the feeding that's the problem. But she'll be seemingly zonked out so I'll put her down and she starts rooting etc again so appears to be hungry. If she woke, fed, slept that would be easy though wouldn't it?!

Vest schmest, we work on the principle that unless it's wet or pooey it stays on!

Soyo crikey that's not a good thing to happen, are you suitably medicated?

Weird night here - fed at midnight and must've set my alarm wrong as I was on my own and knackered so woke up at 4.30am to grisly noises next to me having missed feeding time

Had a few disjointed sleeps but BFing just seems to put me into a coma lately. Supply is still crazy - 5 oz from one boob this morning and was still going, people have a knack of ringing the doorbell in the middle so I had to stop. Ordering online is great but it does mean I've almost answered the door with a boob out several times!

OH was sick at work last night so hoping he hasn't got a bug LO also did about 4 nappies worth of poo in about half an hour after saving it up all of yesterday morning. Sometimes his poo is green - is that normal?

Both Truffles and Ewan are highly useful and I would definitely recommend! Although I still kick myself that being a composer I didn't think to make my own (longer than 20 mins) harp music for him. Although I'm in a band on the side with one half of Groove Armada who made us a sleep track of heartbeat and white noise

Not sure if I've shrunk LO's clothes or if he's got longer but his funny banana feet are getting a bit tight in them. BB ring sling arrived today but I'm slightly too tired to figure out how the heck it goes on, or how one would breastfeed in it as it seems to cover the boobs?! Will require OH's assistance later methinks (if he's not sick).

Got a gp appt for friday morning for me to sort out my bleeding/clots etc, which means I'll have to take LO and probably feed him there somehow - really not ideal but they wouldn't give me an appt today or tomorrow... It's a 30 min walk so not exactly close.

I'm still in PJ's with unwashed hair and for the first time since the birth I've left last night's washing up undone. LO's being lulled by the Robopax and conducting an orchestra in his sleep...

I'm averaging a shower about every 4 days, so wouldn't worry! Laundry and dishwashing are taking precedence over mummy washing in this house and people will just have to cope. I had a ARGH moment myself this am when having had a fairly grisly night up to 1am and again from 6am-8am (and yes, there was a feed in the middle, but it went OK) some bastard chap from highways knocked on the door at 9 to tell me to move my car for resurfacing works vehicles to get through. I have now had to park about a mile away slight exaggeration and had to get my neighbour to sit for LO and get dressed and stop FINALLY BEING ASLEEP which was most vexing.

However, microwave steriliser has been delivered (hope will be easier for expressing kit) and have finished the nursery bar finding some shelves by putting up wall stickers, including a height chart giraffe, an alphabet and 1-10 set and a cute elephant with his name underneath which goes with his mobile. Am v pleased with my handiwork.

Spoke too soon about last night. after feeding 2-3.15 she was screaming at 4 then next feed at 5.15 & up until 7 with a poonami & full change in between! I had a sobbing fit at 6am when DH came in to see us before leaving for work as I was struggling to get out of bed to pick her up (couldn't twist to get her out of basket from bed) so he left a snotty mess behind this morning.

I'm so glad everyone said about changing them, I was starting to think bubs was a neglected child going 48hrs in one outfit (obviously not including poonami days where we have multiple changes).

I think the only reason I'm still getting baths every 2 days is because the only way Miss Madam will have a bath without screaming is having the space to float around in a big warm bath with me! We just have DH on hand to fish her out before I wash hair etc.

Thank god, I thought I was a slattern for only changing the vest if we'd had a messy nappy or were about to give him a bath. The house is remarkably clean, I shower and was ny hair every day...and I'm shattered...perhaps I need to put the brakes on a bit and just go with the flow!

I finally got a shower. Lunch was a bowl of alpen at 3pm, but according to them there adverts alpen makes you do lakeside yoga at dawn so you never know...

SoYo I hope your husband got the baby out of the basket for you before leaving? Oh dear, i hope you're dosed up now. Love the idea of a bath with baby but apprehensive - how warm can you have it? I like to steep in a boiling bath for as long as possible.

We've had the first true, unmistakeable smile this afternoon . That sleepless night doesn't look so bad now! Aww he is gorgeous after all.

Plonko he did indeed get her out, change her, make me a cup of tea & send me a lovely text from the driveway before leaving...he's not all bad really!

I normally have my baths so hot I have to catch my breath when sitting down, instead I've had it warm, just warm enough that I'm not cold sitting in it & it feels nice & warm to dip a foot in (probably warmer than I'd had the baby baths though, I'd tried for neutral body temp for them) and then I top it up with hot once she's out. A friend told me you can have it warmer than you think which is the only reason I was brave enough to try it.

She's been cluster feeding all afternoon & is once again attached. Not ideal when all I really want to do is lie down & rest my poor back!

SoYo hopefully all the feeding this afternoon means your DD will give you a good night? My DD's been sleeping a lot today so I'm already dreading tonight :(

DS is grisling more than ever toniggt - bless OH, he's been doling out tge daddy cuddles and administering the natural gripe water all afternoon whilst I wash up and cook. Ordered a bottle warmer and more breast milk bottles with a cool bag because I keep running out of space to put the stuff! I feel like a dairy cow today, if I'm not doing a feed directly I'm expressing one for later. Still can't get him to drink enough from the boob, even though he stops rooting and falls asleep after 40 mins he then starts shouting again minutes later. I hope he sleeps tonight

All the money I'd thought I'd saved by not buying 'luxuries' I've subsequently spent on things to make life easier, bottle warmers, a feeding pillow...

The sling is like a Rubix Cube frankly, if I ever manage to get him in it it'll be a miracle.

Anyone else got/had a sweaty baby?? Huge wet patches that are definitely not wee on his back when he's in his rocker or lying on Truffles.

DD isn't too sweaty but she does have little red spots that the MW said are heat rash. As it was mild here yesterday, our house was v warm in the evening after the hearing being in and therefore so was DD. but she's never been sweaty. Perhaps review the clothes or blankets situation on the rocker if your DS is like that?

So I'm on tonight's first feed. I'm in her room sitting on the futon and the vague plan of attack for tonight is for me to come in here to feed her as much as I can (as opposed to sitting upright in our bed, next to the Moses basket). I may also try swaddling her but I did practise that in the evening and totally failed to keep her arms in which sort of defeated the object

So instead, I've got two rolled up blankets to go on either side of DD to hopefully make her happier about going in there. I just need to get her to sleep in there straight after a feed and not on me.

Right, better change sides and I'll not be able to type as fast with my other thumb so I need to post this...

Leni, just a thought but if litte one has green poo and isn't settling well after 30 mins he might be getting too much foremilk and not enough ( so he feels full for a bit but it runs through him quickly) . I had ths issue 2 weeks ago as I have loads of supply. I found if I expressed a bit first ( to get out some of the foremilk) then litte one got to the slower hindmilk quicker and was happier on the breast and went for much longer between feeds. Worth a try? we have feat 2am and our sound asleep in our cot. Fingers crossed we ae it til 6 ish....

No sweaty babies here leni, but our house is difficult to heat and I only have him in a couple of layers most of the time. Green poo is normal, but I've also heard things similar to what Eig says. Nice stealth boast about Groove Armada

How were your nights, [Eig] and [Wing]?

I've been thinking about your sleep advice [Storny]. I think it's not so much clinging to the ideal of 8 hours a night, but knowing that he can be a really good sleeper, but occasionally we have a difficult night. Last night was brilliant, bath at 9, bottle at 9.30, slept til 2.30, bottle, slept til 6 then I brought him into our bed and he went back to sleep for an hour, fed around 7.30. Currently sleeping it off so I should get some breakfast and feed the cat really... But this is what I'd like every night to be. Very unrealistic I'm sure, but next week I've got five nights alone with him as DP is travelling for work! Eek!

Eig I read that could be it - he does it with formula too and expressed milk that I always do until empty since reading that. Sometimes burps are hard to shift so maybe he's like me (i can even vomit hours later if i have air stuck after a cup of tea!). No green ones yesterday though so it's not a permanent issue.

We've taken his vest off now which has helped his sweatiness, it seems to happen no matter where he's sitting/lying, hoping I'll manage to work out how the hell this sling works so he can be in that rather than on anything.

Keeps making us laugh by being asleep on one of us then suddenly rearing his head back and flopping off to the side, i think he's stronger than he realises!