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!

Zigwig once they use a dummy tge advice is to not take it away until 6 months which is really important because if it changing how they breathe. They're meant to have them for both naps and night time, must always remember to put it in, and if it drops out leave it out. That's the official line from the charity doing all the research. They say only start using after BFing is established, when does that happen?? We definitely haven't got to that point!

Have now got a nice c-shaped pillow that is amazing, I can just stick him on and not be constantly pulling him up on a pile of pillows.

Sounds like we all got colicy windbag babies frankly, little fart machines! I love when mine lifts up his bum to squirt out a loud poo...

He just refused to be put down anywhere all morning, so I was forced to figure out the sling and it worked - a full two hours of silence

Anyone know the difference between the long and short form birth certificates? Can't register him with our gp until we have one and he was born in a different borough which seems far away with him being so unsettled

Leni I filled out a form for my GP for DD but all I needed was her NHS number which were on her birth notes, not a birth certificate. That's a pain if you've got to have one sooner rather than later to register him.

Which sling have you got? :)

Long one has more info & you have to pay. Worth getting though as its more expensive later on and you have to send one for CB so a second is handy until that comes back.

I got a Babylonia ring sling, just got him back in it but not as well positioned this time, might take a bit of practice.

So i need the long form for CB? It doesn't say that on the form? What a stupid way of doing things last thing I want to do is trek to Hammersmith on the tube with him! OH's working for the next 5 nights so we can't go until he's off anyway. Damn it!

No, short birth certificate is fine for CB.

Thanks for the advice all. Decided not to risk the bottle in the end and made another. Didn't think about trying a sleepy feed. Might give that a go tonight.

Leni I can't see him letting me get rid of dummy before 6 months so that should be ok. He's quite attached to it. I guess he might get sick of it when he discovers his thumb. He already attempts to put his entire hand in his mouth.

I think you also need the long birth certificate to get a passport for them. We got one it was only £4.

I'll have a look in tkmaxx for a sleeping bag next trip to town, see what they've got. I've been given an ikea one already but it's way too big for him yet.

Yes I think it's long for passport , I had to get dd2 one at some point, that might have been why ( didn't get hers when I registered her as I had no money and xh didn't show.

Well DD only went from 9:30 till midnight tonight so not quite as good as her performance last night! I'm just giving her the second side and I hope she'll do a good few hours afterwards...

We had a lovely evening out with friends but it meant Miss Madam wasn't in bed until after 11 (it would have been sooner if it hasn't been for yet another epic transfer fail) but she's just up 10mins ago for her first feed since so not too bad.

I've just changed her & didn't do my usual trick of getting the clean nappy under before taking the dirty off....yes, you guessed it, poo in the sleeping bag (sounds like the an A A Milne tale). We haven't got a spare of this size so I've baby wiped it and shoved her back in it & it'll be a quick wash & tumble in the morning, slattern I am!

Fingers crossed for successful transfer & a good couple of hours after this!

Am I too late to join this party? Taken me ages to find you all as I navigate the site one handed on a phone in the middle of the night whilst nodding off....

Eco dd 25/3/13 dc1 home water birth

Hi eco (or should that be freckle?)!

DD went from 1:15 till 3:45 so not too bad and is currently on part two of this feed, swaddled back up and hopefully ready for transfer back into the basket once she's fed.

Hope you're all having sweet dreams right now?!

shhh, but we seem to have found some kind of rhythm... goes down with final feed 22.30 - 23.00 ish, wakes about 3am, 6.30am and 9.30 am which does actually give us a chance to get some sleep! feeling better as DH has done night shift last 2 nights to give me a break... bliss.

4 weeks old today. that means 1/6 of my mat leave gone

Wing I was having sweet dreams, yes. Baby stayed downstairs with the man since he was getting up at silly o'clock for the formula one. She fed at 9.15 and was asleep by 10, we ate, then I went to bed. He fed her at 2.30, 6, and 10.15 - I woke up each time but was able to go straight back to sleep.

Best part, the 10.15 feed she had a whole three and a half ounces! For this baby that's loads. And I get another morning off tomorrow because there's more formula one, bonus!

Welcome, ecofreckle, how are you managing so far?

Hi Eco! Totally sympathise with the thumb thing - the amount of times I've given up typing with my thumb because it takes forever and I keep hitting the wrong letters...

Awful day yesterday - DS didn't sleep all day and wouldn't be put down anywhere. This wind thing is getting trying. Getting some Infacol today.

Fed at 11pm, 2am (didn't go back down until 4am), and 6am by which time OH was home and came and rescued me from melt down because DS was screaming like mad again. He's even said he'll wake up early so I can sleep before he goes to work again - plus he's still better at the all important burping than I am!

DS no longer likes his rocker or being anywhere other than in his sling with me, although he loathes the whole getting into it part. I'm still mastering the process, it ain't easy and the instructions say 'baby will naturally fold his legs up like a frog' - will he heck!

Have realised that if I don't point his willy downwards then wees go up his back and completely bypass nappy. So I take back my slagging off of Boots

Hello lovely ladies and thanks for the welcome. I'm trying to catch up with your stories but am only up to page 3 so far. Dd not quite 3 weeks old so we're finding our feet. Generally all seems well but have my fair share of tearful patches. Thank heavens for friends who are mums and my dh. Dd sleeps for 3-4 hours at night but we're suffering from wind (mostly dd but after theatre for third degree tear and the associated laxatives/drug cocktail, me too!) so each feed is followed by winding and half hour of sitting up prior to returning to bed which makes for long feeds. Infacol seems to be helping but unsure what's in it and if it's ok for her little body. Our main thing is noisy, distressed sounding, jerky sleeping. I've recorded her to show hv such is my paranoia. So, that's how it's going our end, that and getting bugger all done other than baby jiggling :-) I'm looking forward to getting up to date with your back stories. Hope you're all well and having straightforward nights without too many dreams involving Tom Jones.
Ps. Is anyone considering the basic 'easy' pattern suggested by baby whisper? If so, how on earth do you persuade your baby to be any sort of active after a feed?! Dd looks drugged up after a feed and is always sleeping. Are we supposed to prod them....

DD went 10:30-3:30 asleep - I'm sure it's a fluke but it does do wonders for my sanity!

eco my DS (now 4) and DD make the most random loud elephant trumpeting and straining noises in their sleep. I've found these past few nights that swaddling her has kept her quieter and seemingly more rested but in the middle of the night the sounds are terrifying crazy.

leni, I remember that advice re little boys' willies in their nappies. Yes, always make sure it's pointing down before you seal the nappy! They do all their wees up front so are more like to leak onto their tummies whereas I think girls' wees go up the back (esp when they are lying down).

Hope you are all having a good night.

yep, midwife my first night said to make sure it always points down!

just gone from midnight to 5.10 again... bliss! DH did feed and change (of everything including sheets - downside ) and he's currently on a boob, but so much more manageable.

hi eco, certainly ds is a noisy sleeper - random fits of heavy breathing, snorting and squeaking plus wriggling all.normal here and again def helped by swaddling.

god, how did people do night feeds without smartphones?

Haha pudtat you are so right about smartphones! DS was born just after Xmas and I'd got a new fangled iPod touch as a present. I wasn't. On MN then but spent a lot of time in Facebook with my NCT friends :)

DD woke up more than normal in that feed (probably due to that long sleep) so it took me till 5:20 to get her back down but I really couldn't begrudge her that after giving me a long sleep beforehand. She is feeding again now though.

I had to feed her in a completely crowded tiny rural tea shop yesterday, with walkers and tourists sitting literally on both sides of me! I really never thought I would/could do that but when DD needs feeding, what else could I do? I did briefly ask the manager lady when she brought out lunch over and admired DD ('do you mind if I feed her. I'll be discreet.') and she said of course and even offered to keep my lunch warm for me.

I don't really know why I asked - I'd have had to have fed DD anyway - but perhaps because it was such a small place and I didn't want her to think I was putting off her clientele!

Hi Eco :)

Glad to hear everyone's feeds are starting to settle down. Wing so nice to have a decent stretch of sleep! Does wonders for morale. We've also ditched the Moses basket at nighttime, so George is now in his enormous cotbed. He's still in our room but no longer waking me with every little snuffle and grunt, it's like getting proper rest again!

After spilling bleach all over the only clothes that fit me, I decided to treat myself to some proper jeans yesterday. Cue massive hysteria over my new shape, but it feels good to have a waistband again. I did have a massive blub and am determined to get back in shape so I'm on a bit of a diet now. On the other hand DP inspected me and we've resumed relations. Not as scary as anticipated!

So glad there's been a turnaround in the weather. Does anyone else find themselves experiencing cabin fever on the cold days stuck inside with a tiny person?

plonko yay for relations! Glad it wasn't terrifying down there. No relations for us at the moment though - certainly didn't take my periods long to reappear. So I'm stomping about and being grumpy today, because waking up to a crotch like an abattoir is never fun.

I head out even when it's cold. The baby gets well wrapped up in her buggy, and I've figured out how to get the hat and gloves on her, so she's fine. Gorgeously warm today though, I just had a cig in just my vest and didn't shiver at all!

eco I'm in theory following the baby whisperer, because my sister swears by it and both her kids were fairly easy. But after five weeks I've come to the conclusion that my baby is really determined not to follow the pattern the baby whisperer describes. So I'm just using it as a general guideline for now. Mainly because mine has a pretty small appetite, and if she's fed immediately on waking she doesn't eat very much. So we've been doing activity first, then eat, then sleep (after a good ol' burping session). Seems to be working much better, and means we can keep an eye out for hunger cues before she starts crying. As for the three-hour repeating cycle, I'm being fairly lax with that too - she goes for a nap when she's really sleepy and she sleeps as long as she sleeps, so she's being fed roughly every three and a half at the moment.

I remember visiting my sister when my younger niece was only a couple of weeks old, and being amazed she fell asleep so soon after eating. My sister pointed out that when they're tiny, they really can't stay awake for very long. Somehow I hadn't realised that! From first waking to feed, to conking out afterwards, how long is that taking, eco?

Loving this early morning F1 thing - I didn't get up until 1pm! And when I finally surfaced, the man was feeding the baby - she devoured an entire three ounces in one go, made her an extra ounce and she necked that too. Nice to know she does have an appetite, even if she tends to forget!

My little boy is 5 Weeks old today ,
he's taking 4oz every 4-4.5 hours like clockwork ,burps then back to sleep asap sleeps great day and night he's a good wee soul .
I'm loving every minute of motherhood .would love another baby but how on earth do you split your time between 2 Children ?
glad to see everyone is doing well.

You're a braver woman than I, Stormy, I've been far too chicken to venture out too much. Then again I'd have to put on walking boots to traverse the woodland and near-vertical hill between my house and the town centre - not very pushchair friendly even in nice weather. My hips getting better though so I can actually walk around the supermarket without pain now, and I've swapped my silly tiny car for one I can get the baby carseat in It's taken awhile but I feel like I'm finally easing into this mummy hood lark.

And yes it's lovely to have relations again! Periods already? not pleasant but if you're having one you can at least be assured that Zoey's not going to become an older sister in 9 months time! Speaking of, does anyone know how soon a gp will prescribe the pill? I'm paranoid!

christi I think the idea is by the time you have a second, the first is big enough to entertain itself for a while. How anyone manages twins though, I don't know!

plonko I doubt I'd be making it out much if that level of mountaineering was involved either. But the shops are only five minutes away and the entire city's flat as a pancake. It's not really that much of an achievement.

I'm at the doctor on Saturday and will be making inquiries about the pill; will report back and let you know. I'm going to have to get used to everyone spelling Zoë's name wrong, aren't I? Even her grandparents keep forgetting the two little dots above the e.

Can get the pill from 6 week check!

Stormy .....
I'm 40 time is rushing past , don't want to leave it long to try for another :-)