Martians 2014 (and the February early arrivals)

[LyraSilvertongue]

I expect it will be quiet in here for a while with only four Martians born so far and it not even being March yet

Those who have popped so far:
Coolhand
Dabarai
LyraSilvertongue
Wuxiapian

Mummy yes I'm only using the dummy to settle her for naps and, if she's very restless I might use it at night. I think if you are careful about the amount of time they use them then the whole dummy dependency thing is not a worry. DD usually spits hers out once she's asleep and doesn't wake up looking for it. I wasn't keen to start with, but she's a very sucky baby and if we don't use a dummy she'll probably end up sucking her thumb - she's already been sucking her fingers - and I figure it's easier to take a dummy away than her thumb!

Im going to use the bouncer more i think and may try the dummy! I think he looks for comfort which i mistakefor hunger so worth a shot

Mrs, glad to hear of the smiles! they make it worth it, I'm assured... tho I've yet to see one.

Frankel, we use a dummy too - when needing settling if stressed/overtired. And that's just me !

Mummy, yeah - it could be entirely coincidence. B sleeps in his basket in the front room, though it must be time to start thinking about his own room. But I need him to sleep consistently first, surely!

Em do you find that your lo only wants dummy when stressed or over tired? I really didnt want to use one but if it can be used succesfully for napping or nightime only then its worth a shot! I had to let him cry earlier before he settled and i noticed he was sucking his hands but had just been fed so im sure its comfort.
I put Jack in his basket in our room then later on he sleeps in his pram downstairs so i was interested to know what others were doing.

Yeah, he won't show any interest in the dummy otherwise. I heard it can help with colic too... something to do with the sucking reflex soothing tummy spasms. He spits it out when asleep too

Iv just given it to him and he seems happy enough normally i wld have fed him which is leading to him eating more frequently but less so lets see what happens, fingers crossed!

Hi all have had problems resetting my password so haven't been able to post for a while but sorted now.
Continuing to increase ff for ds - today decided to alternate bf and ff. He's taking the bottle well thankfully. He's currently asleep in my sling after appearing to be hungry - was crying and rooting but had only finished a bottle an hour before so thought it was unlikely. Fortunately the sling has settled him. If I was ebf still I'm sure I'd just have fed him, but now I know how much milk he's had I'm having to rethink!!

Re sleeping arrangements I believe the current advice is for the baby to be sleeping near you at all times (to reduce risk of SIDS) so ds sleeps in a crib downstairs during the day. I think the advice has changed as ds1 (age 4) slept upstairs during the day (or maybe I just misunderstood last time!).

Hi once glad to hear he is taking better to the bottle now thats good news.
I didnt think baby had to sleep near you during the day too i thought was just night time, i like him to be in a quiet room to sleep but maybe ill keep him down here more however i do find myself checking on him frequently love watching him

So glad you have all been discussing dummies, I have been agonizing over whether or not to give one to Finlay. He is a very sucky baby, i often thunk he's hungry when he just wants comfort. I've also been guilty of giving him the breast when I know that he's not really hungry but when he's screaming I know it will settle him. I think after reading What you have all said I am ready to try a dummy so thankyou ladies

C sleeps in her bouncer downstairs through the day at the moment. Or on me!

We only give her a dummy when she's really upset or to help her settle to sleep and it's working so far. She's a really sucky baby so we wanted to try and avoid thumb/finger sucking too Frank.

We've had a really tough day today, really feeling the lack of sleep and she's been really unsettled so hasn't wanted to be put down. I'm exhausted! She also absolutely hates bath time!

Tomorrow is another day :).

I don't like using dummy but I have been using it for sleep and it does seem to settle James and vhe spits it out when he doesn't want it.

Hehehe Comms you are not alone with the bath hatred, Fin screams the place down when he has a bath but after the bath when I rub olive oil into hid dry skin he loves it!

Puggy, Comms, I feel your pain about bath time! Ben loves it (actually being in the bath) but HATES getting dressed again after yells the place down.

Puggy, I was surprised at the stigma surrounding dummies - never wanted to use one on Ben as my sister didn't stop using hers 'til well into her toddler months, but I never knew dummies had proper usefulness other than soothing. Now I've experienced the first weeks of mummy-ship, I'm all for 'whatever gets you through the day'! Besides, it is still easier to stop the dummy habit than thumb sucking

Must say tho, Ben's a clever little sod sometimes - he'll refuse all attempts at comfort or soothing, so I'll eventually think 'maybe he really is hungry', make a fresh bottle, and then he just chews on it and dozes off!

Well last night was great, gave Jack a dummy when he started to stir but hadnt been asleep long enough and he went straight back off. He slept three hr blocks last night and the first night feed was after four hrs so shows he was seeking comfort rather than food! Reallyhope this continues

Puggy C just hates not being fully dressed! I was planning on taking her to baby massage classes but she'd just scream all the way through I think!

Mummy I'm glad the dummy is working for you! :)

DP was an absolute angel last night and slept downstairs with C. I feel like a new woman this morning! I still woke up every time she cried though.

Well due to a misunderstanding I had 9 hours uninterrupted sleep last night! DH volunteered to do the bottle feed after I bf at 9pm. The plan being he'd wake for a ff around midnight and then need a bf at 3-4 (alternating feeds at moment). For some reason dh decided to sleep downstairs and thought he was giving ff all night! So I woke at 630 wondering where everyone was, to find ds had ff at 1am, 430 and was just starting again! Fortunately I wasn't too uncomfortable so we can probably speed up the weaning off the breast. Felt strangely upset that I hadn't been needed by ds overnight though!! But 9 hours sleep was amazing!

Once i am jealous, 9 hours uninterrupted sleep sounds amazing, just the recharge you needed i suspect
Bet your dh is tired today though!

Wow Once 9 hours sounds imense!

I have sterilized a dummy and breast pump today so I'm all prepared, hopefully tonight will be more restful.

Aww Comms bless little C, such a girl thing to want to be properly dressed at all times!

Glad things are working out Mummy

Really jealous of those of you getting whole nights' sleep!

Time for a little moan - baby has been permanently hungry today, though fortunately my mum was visiting and so gave him a bottle of expressed milk while I had a nap. Was about to try the dummy for the first time when he fell asleep.

Then mother-in-law phoned having visited yesterday afternoon just after I had been to the baby clinic. He is steadily putting on weight although still on the small side. The health visitor I saw said she wasn't concerned as he was lively and alert, told me to carry on with what I'm doing and said I didn't need to take him back to be weighed for 2 weeks. The in-laws kept saying yesterday they were expecting him to be bigger, and then she phoned this afternoon to say they were really worried about his weight and had thought he looked 'gaunt and drawn'... I get on really well with my in-laws and I know they must be really concerned and are not trying to criticise, but I'm not sure how to reassure them or stop them from worrying me? I'm sure if he really looked worryingly thin the health visitors would have taken action. I think the main problem is that they are used to seeing their other grandson who is a) 6 weeks older b) was 6lb heavier at birth and c) is formula fed.

Any suggestions for what to say or do to reassure them? I feel that they are uneasy about me continuing to breastfeed but I'd like to continue, although if I'm advised by the health visitors to give formula I'm happy to do so.

PS (sorry for lengthy post above...) If you have a lying-flat pram (as apposed to car seat system), does it have a harness? We have picked up a second hand easy to fold pram and I can see how the harness works when it's in buggy mode, but not when it's in the fully reclined small baby mode. So I wondered whether perhaps they don't need a harness if they're in a proper pram? Otherwise it's always possible that there's a bit missing...

Imeg I'd just tell your in laws that the health visitor is happy with him and his weight gain is within accepted bounds. It's not fair of them to worry you like this, intentionally or otherwise.

Imeg I agree with Frank re your in laws. Just tell them what your HV has said. You sound confident you're doing what's best for him so stick with that :). Our lying flat carrycot for the pram (Uppababy Vista) doesn't have a harness, only the sitting up seat does.

imeg second what Frankel and comms say. Politely say you appreciate their concerns but the health visitor is monitoring him and is happy with his weight gain, they don't need to worry.

No straps in my carry cot either.

Thanks everyone, might get husband to phone them! :) He slept for 5 hours last night so must have worn himself out feeding constantly all day yesterday... Hopefully that means he'll be putting on lots of weight for his next weigh-in which will keep everyone happy. But will continue to see what the HVs say and follow their advice.

Hope everything goes well Imeg, having a newborn is stressful enough without everyone giving you unnecessary worry or advice no matter how well intentioned it may be.

Finlay had his first expressed feed last night, I can't say I got any extra sleep because I was so nervous I was awake watching but it went well so hopefully some extra sleep tonight! I have to admit visas surprised how painful the breast pump is and how long it takes to get enough milk!

Hope everyone else is having a good morning.