April 2013 - We've all had our babies now. Let the (hard work) fun commence!

[HadALittleFaithBaby]

Thought I'd take the liberty of starting a new thread since the last one filled. So mark your places, get comfy and prepare for a few sleepless nights!

In particular we think of Empress and little Sam - hoping and praying he's coming home! :)

Hi Kelle I know what you mean , I completely forgot where I was in the thread, failed to catch up so just posted
About sleeping not sure what to advise as I co sleep but it does sound to me as if he's getting chilly, if he was noticeably warmer and then slept better. Is there a thicker tog bag thingy? Or maybe try one layer of air blanket over him, that shouldn't make too much difference but should be enough for him to notice iyswim?
Thanks for the tip about the travel threads. Ds and dd are very excited I figure we deserve it however a trans Atlantic flight with a the will be 10 month old, 5 year old and 16 year old......am doubting my sanity!

Another one here dropping in and out and so hasn't read the whole thread!

Kelle- our DS definitely wakes up feeling chilly usually around 5. Before that he's fine and I definitely wouldn't want to use an extra blanket all night as I'm sure it would be too much. So I just keep the blanket handy and as soon as I hear him at that time I just pop the blanket over his sleeping bag and that sees him through without a feed til 7 ish.

Oh pear spinning kind of fills me with dread but I know it works and I feel better for it! Been thinking about starting back. I only used to go once or twice a week and toned up loads which is what I need.

I tempted fate and spoke too soon about a good nights sleep - F went down at 9 then woke at 1.30, 4.30 and 6. Shattered today!!

enjay - I fantasise about a night like yours! We're still waking every 2 / 2.5 hours here. Oh well! Had jabs today and P seems ok xx

Not been posting much but I'm keeping up with all of your news x

Well H went 9.50pm last night til 5.30 this morning so not his longest but still good xx

We managed 9-4 last night then 5-8 so good for us!

wishful we still get 2.5 hourly wake-ups though T is erratic and has been known to go for 7. I'm sure P will go longer before long.

I have almost given up on introducing a bottle. T is 8 weeks and still refuses one even when DH gives it to her. I keep away but so far all she wants is the boob not expressed stuff in a bottle. I don't mind but I would maybe like a night out with friends in future and also wonder whether it will impact on my return to work. Has anyone managed to introduce a bottle later than 8 weeks? She's 8 weeks tomorrow and I wonder if I've missed my window, I'm going to try Dr Brown's bottles as I think someone recommended those (sorry can't name check at the mo).

tea my munchkin will not take breast milk in a bottle but will happily take formula from the bottle! I've tried freshly pumped milk and frozen and defrosted milk and no matter how hungry she is she won't take it. Swap it for formula and she downs the lot! We use the tommee tippee bottles with cow and gate milk. She also likes it quite warm. Don't know if that's any help but it may be worth a go!
We now give one bottle of formula everynight before bed and she sleeps for 6 hours, and we have a freezer full of milk that she won't drink!

mama I'm only avoiding co-sleeping as we are both so exhausted that we don't think it's safe. When I've got some decent sleep I don't mind co-sleeping and often did it with DD after the 2am feed. I did with W for the first part of the evening and then settled him in his crib at 10pm.

bonadea I may just try that extra blanket trick in the middle of the night when he stirs.

We had a lovely day at the Beach, it was warm and muggy but the tide was in so we all went for a paddle in the sea and it wasn't that chilly. Glad to be home and chilling on the sofa.

tea & keys have you tried a lipped cup? sometimes they will take from that when they won't take from a bottle. A doidy cup is great for this as it's an ergonomic baby friendly shape. It's good if you want it for occasional use.

B starts playgroup tomorrow. Feeling all emotional about my oldest baby growing up.

I'd just started on my new weightloss scheme after finishing BFing B and my weight went up as I struggled to adjust to needing smaller portions/less calories. I was doing Zumba and wanted to start C25K but was feeling really nauseous... and lo and behold I found out I was expecting W. I hope to go back to Zumba when I get some more time between W's feeds. But we are also taking over the family business in a few weeks time, we put it off from earlier this year as it was too much stress expecting W at the same time. So now DH is crazy getting everything ready for the handover in the workshop while I get all the paperwork prepared and his dad goes back to being an arse about women working [we are delicate types that can't be expected to do more than type a letter].

I have always been petite, a 6 occasionally 8. I bounced back fairly well after two pregnancies but third has taken its tol
I can still fit an 8. But I have a fair bit of excess skin on my stomach. Can exercise and diet even help this? I know I am lucky as I can fit in old clothes but I don't feel confident enough in my body to wear a lot of them due to my stomach. It is true what they say about girls stealing your looks I think!

Dd has been down since 9 but keeps stiring so I feel a rough night ahead

wishful it was only 2 weeks ago that F went through a growth spurt and we had 1.5 - 2 hourly feeds for 24 hours. It's true that you get used to less sleep but always want more no matter how much things improve! Fingers crossed for tonight x

tea does T have a dummy? I'm sure that's what helped F accept a bottle so easily? She's fussy about it and gags occasionally but wants dummy when she's tired. May help to get used to having something other than boob to suck!

RE: Bottles.

I had to start bottle feeding her from about 4 days old as she wasn't putting enough weight on as her latch seemed funny so started expressing and then had to supplement breastmilk from day 7 as she was just so hungry.

She gets boob every day and also gets pumped milk and formula, so she gets a bit of everything. If she's given the choice though she always wants the breast. It's funny because I am sure she still doesn't get much out of it yet it feels like she's latched right. It's just a bit bizarre.

She's still not eating much though at the moment but her sleepiness has gone down a little bit, although she is still fairly sleepy. Day 3 or 4 on no poo and it's really bothering her now, poor thing. It's also causing her to posset more and she's getting pretty upset with that, too.

Hope she feeds more than 2oz each time. She seems to have 2oz every 3 hours and then a 4/5 hour sleep then 4oz when she used to have 5oz every 3 or 4 hours. I just hope she's alright. She's happy though and having lots of wet nappies so going to give it a few more days before phone HV. I am pretty sure she's starting the teething process as she chops on my boobs and makes them achy right now and sticks my finger in her mouth and loves you putting a dummy/teething ring in the entrance of her mouth and rub it against her gums. Big smiles all round then!

I hope everyone gets a good nights sleep with the LOs.

x

Hi all!
I spoke too soon after BabyCandys vaccinations on monday, I'm now not entirely convinced that her 12w jabs weren?t just pure caffeine. She is now an adorable/exhausting mix of wide awake & super clingy! She fell asleep and napped straight after but the rest of Monday / yesterday / this morning she is totally alert, she's upset by things that didn't upset her before (d

(Oops too soon!)
...og woofing, hair dryer, me sneezing) and needs to be held. The sling wouldn't do, neither would being sat on my lap. Poor thing obviously feels a bit odd :(

It's interesting to read about how differently all the babies are getting on, and you Mummies too!
There's no way I could face running or spinning or Zumba, if I had a spare hour I would be baking a cake and drinking hot cups of tea and coffee!!

num3 I've also been told that daughters steal their mothers looks! Although I'm back in most pre-preg clothes now (wore skinny jeans on Saturday, woo!) I am a completely different shape and some will never fit again! I like my new hips and boobs, but the puffy belly can GTFO! :D

I think the UK is due a few nice days now, I hope you all enjoy the weather and don't spend the whole time doing laundry (like I have to as we're rapidly running out of everything!!)

candy totally with you - exercise is going to have to wait. I was back in pre pregnancy clothes after a month but they are the big clothes I was wearing before I lost two stone , not the ones in last summer!

went to a baby story and song class this morning which was great. S slept through the whole thing! I then left her with my mum for the first time and went for lunch with people from work. apart from a poo explosion both survived! Have indulged in cuddles on the sofa all afternoon.

DS slept from 12.30 to 7.30 last night, the longest yet. I did notice he grumbles when he's cold so just tuck a extra blanket round him.

I find myself procrastinating all day before a spinning class and then in a mad rush, get changed into my gym gear and kick myself out the door. The results show... It's worth it and there's no getting away from the mean trainer. I was always a size 4-6 pre-preg so underweight and was advised to eat extra calories. Now chubby size 8-10... None of my pre- preg clothes fit.

re the bottle issue, DS is 10 weeks and up until 5 weeks, he was drinking from the bottle as well as breast but suddenly gave up and he's not having any of it. Just boob. I used the medela calma teats which were meant for switching between boob and expressed bottle but that didn't last long. Better luck with different teats and bottles for those still within the window of opportunity.

Next up- book 12 week jabs. Calpol on standby.

Baby user hasn't stopped screaming since 3pm. Well there was a quiet 15 mins after I gave her calpol ( was jabs today!), I hope she settles soon.

Sorry will catch up on thread later now I marked my place!

Another run done! Shattered. Off to catch up with you all now

So the last week or so Hunter has been having his last bottle between 10-10.30pm then going thru til anywhere between 5.30-7.30am. The last few nights tho he's been really sleepy on that last feed, do you guys think I should start moving it progressively earlier?

Hope everyone has a good night!

enjay it sounds like our girls are in cahoots! Dd slept 9-3 on the weekend but it was a fluke. She's mostly having her last feed at 9pm ish then 1, 4 and who know after that.
I'm still grateful for the 4 hour stint but did get very excited at her longer spells...especially as I didn't actually sleep well myself those two nights...it is disappointing when the prospect of decent rest waves at you then goes off and hides!

Do most of you find night feeding keeps you up for an hr? Dd feeds quickly but I have to wait til she's deeply enough asleep to put back down.

breathless thanks for the frugi tip, love their stuff from afar but forgot it was cut for cloth. I mostly buy fair trade or 2 and hand so will spend some birth gift money on a couple of items.

Trish dd seems to want to sleep earlier too...but she wakes more often than H So I try to keep her clustering til 9ish. Could you move his bottle earlier but give a dream feed at 10? Others will have better advice I'm sure

Funnily enough Hollie has been very boob orientated today. Wasn't too fussed on the bottle and when my Mum was holding her she just kept looking at me and making slapping noises with her mouth. If I thought boob alone would sustain her I'd gladly do just the boob but it doesn't seem to so have to feed her every half an hour to 45 minutes otherwise.

She has been very clingy today though. Still overly sleepy and eating less than normal so waiting for HV to call back. She's happy enough most of the time though if she is with me - just very upset if I'm not around. I don't mind though, just want her to feel happy.

I am glad so many are having nearly full nights with the little ones sounds great. I don't mind when she does it and she doesn't do too bad; 9pm to 3am is fine by me.

user how is your lo now? Recovered from jabs? F was supposed to have hers yesterday but rearranged until next week as she's had a cold. Only appt was 8.45 - need to get me, F and my 3yo up and out early tht day!

trish you could try moving last feed gradually earlier and see how he goes? Atleast if it's gradual, he won't wake silly o'clock if it doesn't work!

looby F went 9 till 3.30 again last nite so hoping the 3 night feeds the other day was a one off fingers crossed anyway takes us an hour usually too - she feeds quick but I like a cuddle and make sure she's asleep and fb/ebay/candy crush before I put her back down. Sure we could do it quicker if we tried but enjoying the snuggles while I can

Thanks ladies xx think will try 9.30 then 9 etc xx he will always go til at least 5am so will see if it effects that xx

Thanks for the advice keys and kelle, I'll give formula and a cup a go. enjay, T won't take a dummy despite my best efforts. It's boob or nothing for her at the moment.

As T is now 8 weeks I'm a bit worried I might have missed the window of opportunity but I guess she must take a bottle at some point or she'll be coming to work with me.

lobby night feeds take an hour for us too. T may feed for a short time but it takes time for her to fall asleep soundly enough to transfer her back to the basket.