October 2014 // thread 5 // baby's first Christmas

[JeannePoole]

Welcome back!

(Dear greetings cards manufacturers: 'Baby's First Christmas' does NOT necessarily have to include Baby being liberally sprinkled with glitter from your shoddily-made merchandise.

Except that, as I'm rapidly discovering, it does.

Two hours of child wrangling between 1 and 3 suggests another day of urgh ahead, if only for my eyes.

Babymoose just slept from 11! We had to wake him up at 7 for meds & a feed! Definately a one off but im sure the sleep will help us all especially him. We had the vicks vapour pod thing on all night so i wonder if that helped his breathing.
Unfortunately we are one snotty household this morning, but at least we're not zombies :)

Another night of earlier bedtime here, and she went to bed happily after a feed at eight, without the fussing we've been getting lately, but she woke up at 12, 2.30, 3 and then 6.45 for good. I think maybe we're just going to have to hope that settles down a bit though as the earlier bedtime really seems to work better for her.

Goats child wrangling is the worst. So exhausting... Hope you get a nap in today.
Wonder that's amazing! You must feel like a new woman today!
We had a better night, Babysaz woke at 12, 4 and then 6....better than previous nights and went into his cot after the 12 feed too. I had to hold his hand a lot of the night which was pretty cute though! He seemed to really take comfort in that, and it was much better than having him actually sleep on me!

Morning all, it's bloody freezing today. Glad we didn't have to get up for a bum change in the night!! Etta slept until 7.30 which is ace. I'm scared about moving bed time as I enjoy getting 7 hours sleep
Goats how's Pippa doing this morning? Could it be 12 week growth spurt?

Glad a lot of people are getting more sleep!

I made a school boy error last night. R was quite unsettled last night woke at 12.30, and 4.30 he did nt really want to feed just fussed he went back off eventually woke again at 5.45 still not bothered about a feed went back off woke at 7.15. I brought him down with two of the other kids to discover a huge poo!! Can't believe I didn't smell it it's the first time since he was days old he's ever pooed at night.

Poor thing feel sorry for himleft in his own poo by bad mummy!!

On the positve side he is defiantly settling better in his big cot :)

pregnant I've done that a few times. Sometimes I just inexplicably forget to check her nappy, even though quite often I change it for the lolz because she just seems to like being changed. I have been known to take a completely dry nappy off and put it back on again, just to cheer her up.

As a matter of interest, how much cheerful time are other people getting at a stretch? We're 11 weeks here and seem to get maybe twenty to thirty minutes between finishing feeding and starting to grizzle (although on occasion we've had longer). Sometimes she can then be returned to a state of cheer, but I'm wondering if basically she needs to have a nap after about ninety minutes or so of being awake, even if it's just a short one, to sort of "re-set".

Tatty Lil snoozes after 90 minutes awake - lazy moo!

Could be 12 week growth spurt - she needs to spurt, still quite tiny. The shouting could be her testing her voice, so she can stop now, it works just fine!!

I too hold her hand quite a lot at night. Only during her recent crap sleeping though - it's cute.

tatty cheerful timing depends on how much you are entertaining her, and who has got her. This changes daily though, sometimes she can sit on my lap and play with my scarf for 45 minutes without a cross sound, sometimesshe ccan't bear to be anywhere near me and yells as soon as she's finished eating. We definitely start thinking about nap time after 90 minutes or so. After 5pm though it's VERY hard to get to sleep until 11ish, which is my challenge for January. Get our evenings back.

sazzle haha i do feel fairly good! Just trying not to get my hopes up about tonight!
As for content awake time weve had about 20mins on the playmat happy and another 20 of crying but not flat out screaming (yet) while dh has the worlds longest shower. I dont want to start feeding him because we're expecting a delivery and im off for a haircut (xmas present from dh!!) At 11.30 so i want to give him a good feed as close to that as possible :)
Really looking forward to sitting down for an hour and reading a book during this haircut lol

M can be happy for an hour or so, sometimes longer. Sometimes that is followed by whingeing/grumps for a while before he demands a feed. Other times he just wants a bit if quiet time and we put him in the bouncer and don't get in his face so much. I think often we think babies need entertaining constantly but it must be so exhausting having people making silly noises and faces in front of you. Since we left the house of 18 people he has calmed right down, hardly a cross peep the past couple of days. Now we are a this other grandparents who are much quieter and softer.

Our evening routine is bath at 7.30pm then bottle at 8pm which takes about 30 mins so he is mostly in bed between 8.20-8.45pm. He will then Wake anywhere between 2 and 4am for a feed. If he wakes at 2.30 then it's 5.30 for the next feed and up at 6.30ish ugh. If nearer to 3.30am then he will wake at 6.30am so much better. He often the needs a short nap around 8.30am but sometimes doesn't want to. Sometimes before the bath if not too tired I show him a couple of pop up books - he likes the Jan Piemkowski ones!

In Jan I'd like to slowly move his bedtime back to 7pm. I'm planning on doing more during th day with him like swim, baby sensory etc so reckon he'll need it. What I don't know yet is if going to bed at 7 means he'll wake after his current six hour initial stretch or continue going through to 3am. I'm also pondering doing a dream feed at 10.30pm once his bedtime is a bit earlier.

His 'routine' has been led by him. Until about six weeks he went to bed with us at 10.30/11pm but would become a screaming whingebag from overtired ess from about 8.30 or so and now I think he looks forward to going to bed in a funny way.

Of course it could all change next week!

Our "routine" is on/off snoozing in the evening then upstairs about 10 and into a half swaddle (hands out) and 2oz bottle then breast feed. He's normally asleep in the sleepyhead in the co-sleeper by 11 then a feed anytime between 2 and 5. If it's 2 I have a little go at settling without feeding which occasionally works. Then it's really difficult to get him down again but on a good day he'll sleep again until 8. Today he slept 6-9.

Why do hairdressers spend soooo much time drying your hair? Thats valuable eating time theyre wasting!

Can any of you recommend a mobile/light on the ceiling thingy to help with settling at night? I'd like N to go into his cot happy at bedtime and think 'watching' something might help him nod off easier?

Sazzle the tomy star light is lovely

Well in one week she's learned to giggle and to roll over! I'm very chuffed as she only really gets tummy time on my chest on an evening - for fear of being trampled by a marauding dog and toddler. She then giggled all the way through her bath tonight - especially when I cleaned under her chin and tried to unfurl her hands. Lovely! It fair made my day.

I tried to get a hair appointment yesterday Moose, since DH is off work to babysit. But my usual place is closed this week - damn those hairdressers having time off!

Aaaah yellow that's lovely the first giggles are one of the nicest things! R is still at the stage where he goes huh huh huh kind of like a car turning over when you tickle him but I'm sure the giggles not to far away :)

I got really upsetthe other night when r went into the big cot I've used the same Moses basket for all of them and I felt so sad to think i would never have another tiny one in there again :(
I know I'm a bit mad and I know that this our last baby but I think part of me will always be a bit sad about it.
I think I just need to get my head round that Whole pregnancy birth thing is behind me now and I should enjoy my family as it is.

Yellow sounds like you'be had a great day! Can't wait for noisy giggles
E is sticking anything she can grab straight into her mouth for a suck. We're all getting pretty damp from the dribbles

Too far away!

Aww yellow that sounds ace :D ds accidentally rolled over doing tummy time tonight! I think his giant head doesnt help haha!
munday we are soggy too! Started a few weeks ago has built up to 3 bibs a day lol and v loud chomping on his hands
babymoose had his head banged on the bath taps tonight by dh :s seems ok but rang 111 just to make sure/check what to keep an eye out for etc im sure he's fine but its just a little worrying :s

Pregnant we have that huh huh huh sound...he's SOOO close to an actual giggle I can't wait!
Stigz thanks will check it out.
Munday and moose - so soggy here too with a fist gnaw...it's luke he's teething, but he can't be yet. Can he?!!!

Sazzle I think they can start teething for up to 3 months before cutting a tooth. I sometimes notice E has pink cheeks so it could be.
How's babymoose doing? I get so upset if E accidentally knocks something.
Took DH a lot of singing and dancing to get her to sleep tonight, now just managed a dream feed. Looking forwards to getting our evenings back.

Sad grisly baby here thought it was his cold but lots of hand chewing too so maybe teething?! We have a last feed routine in dark etc so do I just bring that forward then? Trouble is I would think he would be used to me settling down too not going into the sitting room and having supper and chatting. We got yells when we tried that. But he does get so tired in the lead up to 10 ish bedtime!

Babymoose is not for sleeping tonight :( last night obviously a fluke, altho i am wondering if his head hurts