March 2013 - gurgles, giggles and going on holiday (for some of us at least!)

[pudtat]

Will this do? Never started a thread before so hope this works...

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Am in enviable position of having a baby who slept from 1930 til ....who knows when.... (still snoring) but I got up at 0530 to pump my boulders and do the washing, and indulge in a little one handed mumsnetting.

Thanks wing - I have managed to upload a photo myself too, but sadly cannot work out how to click on yours.... I'll take another look this evening.
VJ kit day here today too. Not sure how I feel about it. Need to re-boot brain and get it working.
Have sunny days everyone. The sun has got his hat on here in Norfolk.

Morning all - Well the good news is madam is back to sleeping through, and the bad, her recent hiccup was obviously 100% down to being a lazy muppet and not bothering when offered the breast. I've not cut out bm yet, I'm just expressing it so that I know how much she is getting. VJ - I know I could boost supply up again, but tbh part of the reason for going over to mixed is bf-ing is burning the weight off me. I've always been a tiny skinny runty thing but I'm now 10lbs down on my pre-pregnancy weight and it's not a good look.

Ah, the old milestones thing. Well ever since the HV asked me whether dd had discovered her feet yet, at 8 weeks (she hadn't.... she still hasn't) I'm with the rest of you - they just do stuff at their own pace. She's knows about hands - they are for holding Mr pink teddy so that you can eat his ears, grabbing people, whacking things, finding thumbs, all kinds of good things.... but feet? Not on her radar.

Wing - the dawn chorus sucks. Big time. I am convinced it is our feathered friends way of getting back at us for being anti-social enough to consider cats good companions. Or dogs. One of mine has a personal vendetta against blackbirds. If I was a blackbird I'd probably sing very loudly outside my place at 4am too.

OOOOHhhhhh photos Cute

Leni - good luck with the move - there is nothing quite like your first place, you'll never forget it. I still have nostalgic memories for my first flat, and still miss it. It was a tiny one bedder, but it was mine, all mine well mostly the bank's

Right, I'd better get the tiddler up and fed before buildery types rock up to ruin my day finish the painting.

Eco - gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous .

Wing - can't get into your profile

Morning all - thought i'd share my experience of my first KIT day yesterday which went better than expected. Finally got DD to start taking a bottle of ebm last week so DM had the means to feed her (phew) and, although napping is still screamy, I told her to do whatever she wanted to get through the day. She fed her at 10 and then I popped over at lunch to feed her again and then by the time I finished at 4.30, she was asleep so I fed her again at 5. DM and DF had played with her and had her sleeping on them most of the day - not surprising as we'd had a restless night but as it was the first time they'd had her all day, it went well and they said they'd do it again
I enjoyed the break but realised i'm not ready to go back anytime soon. Plus, I had to get up at 6.30 in order to get to work for 9 and I was shattered by lunchtime as, in reality, i'd been awake since 4 on and off. I've been trying DD in her cot for a few nights but she is really restless and wakes at 1, 3, 5 and 7. I'm going to go back to the moses in our room tonight as it's not working and will give it another go when i've got the patience for a sleepless night
Good luck to all having KIT days today - how long will you last before texting/calling to check everything is ok? I lasted an hour and a half...

Ha Any, I managed til lunchtime, but only because we record everything on the BabyConnect app and I logged in at work so could see how much he'd drunk, when he'd slept etc. big mother is watching you

Lovely pic of happy summit baby Eco! Wing, I can't get into your profile either.

Stormy, thanks for your various comments. Re dream feeds, my query was in relation to the top ups I need to give DS in addition to the bfing that i do. I have introduced a 10pm bottle df to try and keep his calories up and he usually takes it well, 100ml no probe except last night when he managed to start choking and woke up 40ml in, sigh so was wondering if it might work for the later night feed when I bf first and he has taken to refusing his bottle.

However, as yesterday was a particularly crap day for him taking additional ff, i tried to sneak an extra dream feed in at 9, planning to do the next a little later. But no dice - he simply lay there with the teat in his mouth, and no suckling reflex whatsoever.

DS is a cerebral little body really. Lots of looking at stuff and you can see the cogs turning. He has hands which are great for sucking, and is very good at batting hanging toys now, though grasping is still a bit of a puzzle. Legs are for kicking wildly while lying on your back (I have uploaded a photo too and his leg is a blur of movement ). Not so bothered about standing, though we are starting to be pulled into a sitting position. Still hates tummy time and head control is improving but still a bit Mr Wobbly Head. Smiles are to be doled out after careful consideration, but can be bestowed in return for mummy kisses and daddy hand eating and for his elephant wall sticker over his changing mat and when, having just had bum cleaned, further poonami is released. His vocal range is amazing though. Lots of noises and several with very specific meanings. It's much easier to tell when he's tired, or hungry or bored now as he can actually tell you. And facial expressions are great, who knew a bottom lip could project that far!

Good luck to everyone with KIT days today. I should really think about sorting one out before I completely forget that I even had a job never mind what to do when I get back. I keep saying that I miss work but I also think it's the adult company and conversation as I know for a fact when I'm back I'll know where I'd much prefer to be.

It's hair drying time here and baby boy is shouting for me to get off mn and make funny faces to go along with my funny hair. Hope you all have lovely days.

Kit days sound so stressful. I probably ought to arrange one but I think I'm going to jump straight into my flexible working application. Eco and Vj let us know how they go!

Aw photos Eco your girl is gorgeous! And Pud looks like you've been blessed with a long 'in too eh? Ive uploaded some snaps too cos im that much of a show off!

DS's feet are straining at the ends of some of his 3-6 month sleep suits. I went to see a friend yesterday who declared he'd doubled in size in about two weeks, so looks like we'll be out shopping again soon! The pile of outgrown clothes has become a mound. It also seems that we need to move up to size 3 teats, he's becoming so fussy on the bottle!

Development milestones are such a load of tosh. Unless there are real problems my philosophy is that your kid will develop on their own, in their own timeframe. We're just here to encourage that. I didn't bother with tummy time for a good month or so and then he presto, he was suddenly making crawling motions when we eventually went back to it. Every phase is so short and so much fun (!) that I told myself last week to stop reading the baby books just for interest, and just delight in his day to day.

Mmm, tasty looking hat plonko You must have a very 'tall' baby if he is already pushing the seams of 3-6 months! Could it be particular brand of clothing that's on the small side? I know many people who just cut the feet off sleep suits when they get too short in the leg so you don't have to run out shopping just yet!

Right, photo should be there now under my photos. It's of DD asleep yesterday morning :)

I may use a KIT in two weeks time to dial into a meeting down in London as it would be crazy for me to take DD down on the red eye train and probably end up feeding her in the meeting (er, not likely even though I am happy to feed her pretty much anywhere!) unless work would be prepared to pay for DH or D to come with me and babysit and I doubt that when train fares are approx £300 peak return.

Although I secretly would love to take DD first class on the train (it's sometimes cheaper than Standard on Virgin trains) and have all the staff cooing over her!

*or DM

All those adorable babies, it's making me want one! Oh wait, I already have one. Will try to get a decent photo of her after her nap.

plonko your friend may be right about him doubling in size. We're not even into the 3-6 month clothes yet! Not far off though, everything's fitting pretty well at the moment so give her a fortnight and she'll have outgrown it all. Particularly now she's actually eating a decent amount. Sunday set a new record: 31 ounces! This is because she's getting six feeds during the day and two at night usually, but the explodey 4.30am poo meant she had an extra night feed that day.

Dammit, she's just started squeaking. Still on 45 minute naps that you could set your watch by.

pud that later night feed, is he waking up and shouting for food, or are you going in and getting him up for a feed at a set time? If the latter, then it may be easier to just try a dream feed with a bottle there. But if he's waking up and then refusing the bottle it's a bit harder. Hmm. I suppose a bit of trial and error is required there, and there's a limit to how long you'll want to be sitting around waiting while he sleeps. Try after fifteen minutes and see how he goes? Or if he always wakes at about the same time for that feed, you could try setting an alarm for half an hour and seeing if he'll take a bottle in his sleep then.

worse what counts as discovering feet? DD's discovered she can kick me in the throat if I'm leaning over and talking to her on the changing mat. Does that count? Apparently it's hilarious.

eco are you getting 12+ hours of sleep without any feeds in there? If so I am very jealous! Not that our nights are bad, by any stretch of the imagination. Last night I fell asleep shortly after the 10.30 feed, which she slept right through, and she must've slept through the next one too because I didn't wake up until she started shouting at 6am. And after a bit of grumbling she then went back to sleep until 8.45. Definitely can't complain at that!

KFF as mobility increases, they get better at working their own farts out, and theoretically shouldn't be so bothered by them at night. Same with burps, I think.

Ah, I see Wing's sorted her profile. Another ridiculously cute baby!

Ahhh have we all started putting photos up. Will have to suss how to do that.

Ds is asleep and mil went for a walk. Spoke to dh about her not helping. He just said count the days until she goes and told me not to make myself tired with the housework. What a sympathetic dh i have... Not.

We are growing out of 3-6mths clothes too. Ds is on 98th centile for length. I measure him so i can write it in his baby books. I know i know but he is my pfb.

As for discovering feet. What is that hv on? Isnt it too early for that? Ds just kicks away and moves up the changing mat.

Well done to the little cherubs who have started to sleep through. I just have to teach my farty cherub to sleep through.

On another note there is a thread in chat where someone text their partner i love you and wrote what response they got. Quite funny. Some partners were suspicious. I joined in and text dh. The response i got was last night you hated me and now you love me.

Have a good day everyone.

Went to first playgroup ever today. DD clearly loved being surrounded by people but we only stayed for 15mins as there were a lot of snotty and clearly ill children there (was a newborn - 2yrs). Why anyone would bring an ill child somewhere like that is beyond me! This we will stick with sitting in the fresh air in the park looking at squirrels, birds and passers by!

I put up some photos too :)

We seem to have bogeys galore, but not really snot yet... dummy is back in favour and we've spent a good portion of the day rolling about on the floor!

Well- KIT day done and dusted. I'm knackered! Took me ages to get to sleep after dream feed last night (worrying about today) then couldn't get back to sleep after she woke at 4. However today was a success! Happily took bottles of ebm for dm, and napped, including one of an hour and a half! God knows dm'd secret there! Work was good, nice to get the brain going and it made me realise that I'm not really the SAHM type, looking forward to going back 3 days a week in November. What's nice is that since we've got home she's been unusually cuddly. Nice to feel loved!

Milestones: my 7th march but 0.4th centile baby is not the most sporty yet. Feet are still those weird things that fly toward her face. Batting of toys is very slowly starting to resemble grabbing. She hates tummy time and still has quite a wobbly head, although we're getting there! Very occasional standing but this little girl thinks kneeling is the coolest way to hang out. But she was an early smiler, a very early giggler, and listens to every word spoken with a face that pretends to be understanding.

:-) photos!! That's what my brain needs for hooking info about all of you onto. Pud i can see those cogs turning - lovely. plonko that's some head control you got going on there - cute! wing oh that little chubby arm - what a beauty couldn't you just nibble them they're so lovely? leni love that pic of him in blue - looks like a catalogue pic.
Think I got those babies matched to the right mummies.....
Thanks for posting those.
And thanks for the baby love you sent my way for our summit pic. It's so lovely when people say nice things about your baby isn't it? But all babies are delicious Oh, hang on.... when I was in Tunbridge Wells a couple of weeks ago there was a 6 page spread of all of the entries to the bonny baby competition and there were a few unsavory, or at least remarkable, ones

stormy This 12 hour sleep thing is very new. And probably isn't really a 'thing' yet! Just these last two nights. If I went to bed at 1930 too I'd doubtless get a lovely chunk of much needed kip but silly arse here stays up til midnight enjoying her DH, reading a book, doing the washing, telephoning my old man, languishing in a too hot bath...... I've woken much earlier than her because a) after 11 weeks my body is programmed to b) she has found her hands in a big way and the slurping noises can be heard in Suffolk and c) my bloody boobs are like rocks and the tiniest movement is agony: pumped 5oz in 10 mins this morning (is that normal for some of you mega milkers?). Having observed her for quite a while last night I could see that the thumb was being sucked hard and she was often raising her legs in the air and wriggling. But her eyes were closed and she didn't squawk for food. So maybe this doesn't count as sleeping through and I should be picking her up and giving her food (I know she'd take it; she's only refused once). It's a bit of a quandry really. But weigh in tomorrow and if they say she's ok I'll leave her be.
The KIT day today was as far from a KIT day as you can get. It was less keeping in touch and more 'a proper days work'. For various reasons my post hasn't been back-filled so my boss is carrying a lot on top of her normal stuff. There are a couple of projects she's been unable to keep on top of so she thrust those upon me. A day of finances and report writing for me. But that makes it sound unpleasant. It wasn't. I surprised myself by not finding it a massive chore and was able to engage brain just fine. any I lasted 1.5 hours too! I had asked DH to send me text to confirm the 10.30 bottle had got eaten but no text received. Ggrrrr!! They were in a coffee shop around the corner being coo-ed over by old ladies; bottle gone. DH popped back for her 1330 feed on the boob. They had a nice day together and the new bottle acceptance (found just last week) helped make it less stressful. VJ I too was wide awake at silly o-clock thinking about it and getting out of the house by 8 was tricky. You'll be impressed/mortified at the thought of my expressing what would have been the 1030 feed sat at the desk next to my boss (female), whilst typing into a spreadsheet one handed and taking calls from the IT man as my emails have been frozen. Not very classy, but there was a lot to do!
soyo cornwall sounds lovely. Wave to the south coast for me please if you see it. My nan was from those parts, and like DM a mightly fine example of a woman and taken from us much too early. How are you finding it with baby and someone else's toddler? I have had this twice now and found it inexplicably tiring, especially when you consider I wasn't caring for the toddler. It's an interesting glance into our future isn't it? Walking! Talking! Food! eek.....
KF ha ha :-) if I texted my DH I'd expect a similar response! I'm a bit up and down since this pregnancy/baby lark.

Speaking of DH I have sent him to theatre tonight to see Derren Brown's 'Infamous' tour as a slightly early anniversary present. I am sad to be having to miss it but hope he's having fun. So actually, on retrospect, I imagine if I sent a text saying I love you he'd reply with some gushy gratitude for being encouraged out on a night out.

Oooh the photos are amazing. I am rubbish and can't remember yet who belonged to whom but I so far have noticed a) baby gym mat thing and b) zoo baby gro in common. I will work out how to get pics of my tiny one. Although she looks decidedly undainty as although she's a tiny 10lb, about 9lb of that appears to be in her enormous cheeks!

Eco- I did not enjoy my expressing experience today. In my boss' office which doesn't lock so had to put a chair in front of the door and stick paper over the window! Oh- and I know the local paper baby competition well, I live in TW! It's run every year and confirms to me that yes, some babies aren't quite as attractive as all ours are!!

Stormy I'm impressed that your dd has started taking so much! That's about what we've managed in the last 24 hours, and I'm fairly sure chubbo's getting on for weighing a stone (clearly takes after me). Oh and I've ordered the door bouncer you recommended, can't wait for DS to try it!

Eco he hasn't tolerated us holding his head for nearly two months. Unlike Vj's LO, my DS seems to be more of a doer than a thinker. (Again, takes after me)
Sounds like you really enjoyed today. Great mental image of a multitasking mum answering phones, tapping away and expressing.

Loved seeing everyone's baby pics. Naw but yes, baby comps in my mum and dads local paper is always good for a laugh. Some of the names! I saw some poor kid with a triple hyphenate first name in there last year.

I realised earlier that DS has been on the same size feeds and teats for the last seven weeks. That can't be right, can it? Anyway I tried faster teats earlier to see if it'd solve the bottle fussiness but alas, he just kept choking. At one point he looked at me as if to say 'oh mother, really.' Back to the old ones for now! It's the supermarket clothes we particularly struggle with the length of, gap and next for nicely but bankrupt me

Ooh baby pics! I can't see any on my phone I'll have to go on the computer tomorrow to have a peek! Can't help but go mushy when looking at beautiful baby pics.

As far as development goes for DS, excellent at standing and head control is brilliant. He also started reaching and grabbing a week or so ago. He's definitely not feeling the rolling though, tummy time is no fun and he will kick up a fuss. The only time he rolls is accidentally in his sleep. One of my favourite things he does is reach for the toys on his playmat while having what sounds like quite an interesting discussion with them. Wish I knew what he chats about.

plonko DS has been on size 2 teats for a couple of weeks and has been on 210ml feeds for aaaaaages! Has anyone else started thinking about when to introduce baby porridge/muesli/etc? DM brought some over for him today and it says for 4-6 months but I think we'll start doing it sooner.

Ooh blimey, we're still on size 1 teats and haven't got past 180ml feeds either. He chokes even on those and has started sicking up a lot more lately

My boobs have broken - can't seem to express even a feed's worth now. Turning more and more to ff just to keep up. Frustrating after all that effort, but I'm really struggling with the allergies and nausea when we boob feed now despite the loratidine.

I've kept that jungle animals babygro for posterity

The pics are so so cute. I'll have to act my act together and add her-maj to the portfolio.

Developmental wise, well hmm... no idea where she is with respect with where she should be, but she seems a very happy little person which suits me just fine. She's definitely a thinker and bright as a button. Loves going new places and is fascinated by just stuff really. Faces in particular. It's quite embarrassing... she'll just stare, especially at people who look like they might not like babies. She sleeps less in the sling now as she wants to look around, and always wakes up on the high street in order to have a good old nosey at what's going on. The best part is she recognises people and routines. Daddy gets a huge smile and a giggle when he gets home (I can see where that's going....!), if she's been having a scream-a-thon in the pram it stops the second we walk in the front gate, the sound of the bath running can stop any amount of tantruming, as can my starting to make up a bottle, and her face lights up at the sight of the sling or the car seat. Those mean an outing. Yay!!!

No idea what she weighs, but physically she's going to be tall (at least I hope she is) as her feet are huge. It's tall or a troll. The first thing the midwife said as she busted her way into the world was 'oh my goodness.... look at those feet' ! That said despite their size she has yet to notice them (which was what the hv was on about). According to her, babies go through a phase of being fascinated by their feet, and will spend hours just looking at them. Really? She's fascinated by many things sure, but feet? Nope. I'd kind of be up for her spending more time looking at them and less time booting me with them, but hey ho. Head control, yup, we've got that, but rolling, no. Not unless you the sideways slump when attempting to crawl.

So there we have it, a potted summary of the achievements to date of the mini-worse

Leni how's your ds coping with the formula? I've had to up the amount here too, and it's given the tiddler horrendous trapped wind. Yesterday was a loooonnngggg day of tears, tantrums and terrible farts. Poor little lady, and poor me! Why do these things always happen on days DH is away and I'm flying solo?

Hope you all have had a good night, and are in the running for a good day.

Good morning all.

We too are still on size 1 teats. I dont even keep track on what ds feeds. He usually has 4/5 ozs every 3hrs.

Last night ds slept from 10-3.30 which is a big improvement. I have a sore throat and headache so im feeling rubbish.

Hey all, the big news here is first night without 3 am feed. Will it last, who knows, but given I got to sleep from midnight to 7 am I am delighted! I know some of you have 7 to 7 babies already but we are a long way off that. A few nights of this would make it all a lot easier!

This morning we have feet! We are going from being very VERY excited about it to very VERY cross that we can't coordinate ourselves sufficiently to grab them and eat them.

Dd refused dream feed last night but still went til 4.30. Might this be because she had 3 bottle feeds yesterday with dm? They were all ebm but do they take more that way than from the boob? It meant she had no formula at all yesterday instead of usual 2x5oz, but no obvious negative impact on length of sleep.

Eig if the worselet is anything to go by, you're in for an almost overnight improvement. She went from not sleeping through to just sleeping through without any pre-amble or discussion about it. Fingers crossed for you.

VJ you have feet!!! I'm jealous. I'm going to have to start pointing dd's out to her.

Hello all, was hoping I could join you although I am late to the 'party': DS was 12 weeks yesterday and I seem to recall things get easier from now (although as my DD is 6 I've forgotten pretty much everything and have to refer to pictures of her at his age to remind myself what I'm supposed to be doing)!

Lovely to read about all your gorgeous babies, am very impressed by eco's mountain climber, especially as I am currently eating Jaffa cakes in bed.

Am also very impressed by those expressing as I can't seem to find the time to do it and I'm sure I was well into it by now with DD. Any tips would be gratefully received as I'm reaching the point where I'd like to be able to drink more than one glass of wine at an appropriately timed gap between feeds!

Hope you all have a lovely day.